Well, as number of you know, I will be leaving for home for about a week this weekend. As such, I wanted to get this chapter up. Again, it's another of my rushed works, but that's how Kevin's chapters often end up. That and the fact that I rushed it a bit. But it still turned out quite nice I think. Sadly, it's not as long nor as intense as the last duel, but it should still suffice. Now, before we go on to the chapter, I must first hand out prizes!
Okay people, the lecture Etsu gave Kai was pulled from two sources which are technically one-in-the-same. Most of it is from Ruruoni Kenshin: Legend of Kyoto when Kenshin fought Aoshi Shinomori in Makoto Shishio's hideout. Said lecture began at the end of one episode, and ended in the first half of the next. However, there was a part of the lecture which I got from Samurai X: Reflection, which is the final OAV for Kenshin. More specifically, I got it from the last part of his battle with his brother-in-law, Enishi, just before they use their ultimate attacks. To see which parts are from which, or just to see the incredibly awesome quotes, they're in my profile, which I updated last week.
Anyway, The White Mage and Seeker of the Soul each get ten billion kudos for guessing the correct Anime, but they did not get the correct scene.
MatrixFighter- I confess, I hadn't thought that anyone except Seeker of Noble Paladin would come close. And yet you easily told me what I wanted to hear, and for that, you get eleventy billion kudos. Yes, eleventy.
Now, on with the chapter!
Chapter Twenty: Revival of the Dragon Gods
"Wraith the Shadow Ryu (3500/2800) attack directly!" Kevin Hunter ordered the black behemoth, who released a large stream of fire upon his first opponent of the Battle City Finals, defeating the young man, leaving him coughing and woozy.
Kevin-1100/Boy-0
"I win!" Kevin shouted with glee. He approached the boy and extended his hand, into which the young man placed a monster card. Turning around, Kevin entered the elevator and was off to his next challenge.
"Hope I run into Sakura soon. We need a rematch." he said to himself cheerfully. The last match hadn't taken very long, nor had it been very hard or hard. "I wonder who I'll face nex-" he was cut off as the doors promptly opened and his opponent revealed.
Standing tall and firm in her blue coat was none other than Sernea Kaiba, deck in place and Duel Disk active.
"Ready, Kevin Hunter." It was not a question, despite how it was grammatically structured. "I had hoped with all my soul that I'd face you here, but I hadn't thought it'd happen so soon. Most excellent. Now I'll be able to draw on all three Blue Eyes White Dragons in the final rounds of this tournament."
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Kevin replied nonchalantly. "When this is over, the tables will turn and I'll be the one with two Blue Eyes. I'm much stronger now than I was two days ago."
"And you think you're the only one who has improved?" she asked. "And you truly think that I was using my full strength last time?" This caught Kevin off guard, and he eyes her suspiciously for a moment.
"You're just trying to scare me." he determined. "You had to have been taking me seriously last time we dueled."
"Not so." she affirmed. "Although I was determined, I had rushed into that duel without properly reformatting my deck to face you. Plus, I underestimated you. It wont happen again." She drew five cards.
Kevin-4000/Serena-4000
"Bring it on." Kevin challenged, pulling six cards. "For now, I summon a monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"Then I will play Graceful Charity." Serena started off, drawing three cards before discarding two from her hand. "Next I will summoned Hydrogedon (1600/1000) in attack mode." A creature that looked almost like a dinosaur of some sort appeared, its skin brown with ripples of off-white running through its scales. "Hydrogedon will attack your monster!"
The monster opened its mouth and fired a stream of what appeared to be water at Kevin's face down monster, which flipped over to reveal to two headed dragon with purple scales and black spines before it was destroyed. "And since Hydrogedon destroyed a monster, I get to special summon another Hydrogedon (1600/1000) to my field from my deck, and I'll attack you directly with it!" Instantly, another of the brown monsters appeared and attacked with his own liquid burst.
"You destroyed Twin-Headed Behomoth (1500/1200)!" Kevin shouted. "So he'll return instantly to defend me with his stats lowered slightly (1000/1000), but in defense mode, so I'm safe." Kevin sighed as a defense appeared, taking the brunt of the attack.
"Very well. You're still defenseless. I'll get you next turn." Serena shrugged, not bothered that her chance at an early lead had been halted. "For now, I'll just set one card face down and end my turn."
Drawing a new card, giving him six in hand, Kevin grinned. Despite his empty field, he wasn't worried. "I play Polymerization to fuse together my Lord of Dragons (1200/1100) and my Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) into my King Dragun (2400/1100)!" Kevin's serpentine monster with the human torso appeared and fanned its wings out menacingly. "Next I'll use his special ability to summon my Death Volstargaf (2200/1700) in attack mode!" The red scaled reptile with green armor-like scales was his next creature, howling menacingly. "And then my normal summon, which I'll use to summon a monster in defense mode!"
Kevin looked out upon his two menacing dragons, both anticipating their chance to attack.A chance Kevin would not be denying them. And he didn't need to worry about retaliation, because his King Dragun would protect his dragons from her card effects, even if her face down card was a trap. "King Dragun, attack her first Hydrogedon!"The ten-foot long human-ader fired a blast of rainbow colored lights which consumed and obliterated Serena's brown creature with ease.
Kevin-4000/Serena-3200
"Death Volstargaf, your turn!" In a blaze of blue fire, Serena's last monster was destroyed. "And my Death Volstargaf deals another five hundred points of damage to you when he destroys a monster." Kevin explained.
Kevin-4000/Serena-2100
"Activate trap card!" Serena called as her card flipped up.
"King Dragon will protect my dragons from your trap." Kevin interrupted.
"Except I'm not going after your dragons." Serena explained as she pulled her deck free. "Flat LV 4 activates when my monster is destroyed and allows us each to special summon a new level four monster to the field. I'm summoning Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650) in attack mode."
"I'll summon Magma the Hellfire Ryu (1600/1200) in defense mode." Kevin completed his turn with one card in his hand, but a field full of four monsters, three of them powerful dragons staring her field down.
"Going to summon a Blue Eyes?" Kevin asked her mockingly. Although he knew a Blue Eyes could tip the balance of power out of his early favor, he was rather certain that she didn't have one in her hand.
"No." was her simple response. "I'm going to sacrifice my Kaiser Seahorse for my Crystal Dragon (2500/1900) in attack mode." A dragon made of white crystal with four wide wings, a long tail, and tanned spines running down its back was her new weapon. Despite how menacing it looked, it was at the same time extremely beautiful.
"Next I summoned Crystal Templar (1600/1700) in attack mode." A man in armor seeming to be made of the same rigid and white crystal as the dragon appeared, gripping a long staff with a long, curved blade in his right hand.
"Now I'm going to union my two monsters together." she explained as the warrior leapt into the air as the dragon stooped low, allowing him to land on the dragons back in a riding position. "This raises Crystal Dragon's attack by one hundred, plus another one hundred for every monster on your field at the time I activate this effect, so it gains a total of five hundred attack points (3000/1900), just as strong as a Blue Eyes White Dragon."
"No." Kevin muttered. He had been sure that he'd be able to keep a hold of his lead, that she'd be unable to recover. And yet she had, and was going to strike back with a vengeance.
"Crystal Dragon, attack his King Dragun!" Serena ordered and the beast obeyed, folding its wings about its body and then opening them again, flinging a hailstorm of glass at Kevin's monster, which was torn apart (literally) by the assault.
"What kind of holograms did you make?" Kevin nearly screamed, his young, inexperienced mind shocked by the brutality of the attack.
"I don't know."Serena responded, also slightly unnerved. "It was never that realistic in the tests we ran on them back in Kaiba Corp Labs. I can only assume Ouja increased the intensity for his own enjoyment. He may be my business partner, but I'm not very fond of his personality." she admitted. "Anyway, I end my turn."
"I switch Death Volstargaf to defense mode." Kevin began after adding a second card to his hand. "Now that it's my standby phase, Magma deals you two hundred points of damage!" The small red dragon lifted itself up and arched its neck back, a ball of flames forming there which it hurled at Serena, bursting on impact with her raised arms.
Kevin-4000/Serena-1900
"That ends my turn." he said, slipping his newest card into his Duel Disk face down. Hopefully, that set card would turn things around once again.
"I set two cards face down and then I summon Emerald Paladin (1300/200) in attack mode!" Another warrior, this one in green armor and a shield made os pure emerald appeared. "And when I summon Emerald Paladin, he lets me summon Emerald Dragon (2400/1400) in attack mode!" Another dragon appeared, this one with green skin and blue eyes. In fact, it looked almost exactly like Kevin's Luster Dragon. "Now my Paladin will union himself to my new dragon, bolstering its attack by three hundred (2700/1400)!"
Gulping, Kevin anticipated the coming attack. He had to hope that his one face down card would be enough. It had never failed him before, and had often been a game-breaking move. He just had to hope that it held true.
"Crystal Dragon, attack Death Volstargaf!" Again the four wings curled around the creature and then snapped open, unleashing a wave of glass fragments upon Kevin's monster.
"Go Mirror Force!" Kevin shouted as one of the most powerful cards in the game activated and a seemingly glass wall appeared between Kevin's field and the coming attack.
"Useless." Serena responded, leaving Kevin puzzled -until he saw that her attack was ripping through his shield! "Crystal Dragon cannot have cards chained to its attack. You just wasted one of your better cards." she explained as his dragon was shredded slowly.
"Emerald Paladin, go after his Hellfire Ryu!" Slowly the large beast began to flap its wings, each beat picking up speed and power until it was generating gale force winds, and with those winds were dozens of curved, emerald green energy blades.
Kevin-2500/Serena-1900
"Why did I lose Life Points?" Kevin asked, looking at his Duel Disk.
"When equipped with Emerald Paladin, Emerald Dragon can strike your Life Points, even if your monster is in defense mode." Serena evenly explained. "Do you see it, Kevin? Do you see the power of my determination to hold the third Blue Eyes White Dragon?"
"Shove it!" Kevin responded, drawing a card. "We've both had the lead in these first few turns. It doesn't mean anything!"
"Wrong, Kevin. I control the field, and there's no way you will take that control away from me. I will take that Blue Eyes from you, and correct history."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, intrigued by her words.
"Perhaps it's time someone told you the truth." With a sigh, Serena began to gather the information she had gathered over the years concerning her great-grandfather and the Blue Eyes White Dragons. "As you know, the three Blue Eyes were gathered together by Seto Kaiba, from whom I descend. Then, as he grew older, he separated them for their protection until his son was old enough to take responsibility for them. One was given to Yugi Muto, another to Isis Ishtarl and Dalin Summatin, and he held onto the last one. My grandfather, Seto's son, was a brilliant duelist and used his titles, as well as Kaiba Corp, to help rebuild the world after the events which devastated the planet. However, in a world as corrupt as this, it wasn't safe to hold that kind of power and wealth. My grandfather was attacked in the streets and killed, and his Blue Eyes taken. It was my father who recovered the other two, and ever since then, my family has been searching for the third. And that is what has led me to you, Kevin Hunter."
"My father didn't steal it!" Kevin shouted back in rage. "Don't you dare talk that way about him!"
"I didn't say it was your father, Kevin, who killed my grandfather. For one, your father would have only been about fourteen when it happened. No, it wasn't anyone in your family. It was one of the early gangs using the name of Rare Hunters that did it. However, they were raided by the police, your grandfather was among them. He found the card, and rather than returning it, he kept it and passed it through your family line."
"Are you saying my family is full of thieves?" Kevin seethed.
"No, I'm saying you've been led astray because someone left out some details." Serena defended.
"I don't believe it." Kevin shot back at her. "This is crap, and you're full of it."
"Whether you believe me or not really doesn't matter to me." Serena sighed. "Because the spirits of the Blue Eyes know the truth, and they wont deny me victory. Perhaps that's why I couldn't beat you last time; because you didn't know the truth. Well now you do, and now the complete set of my families prized cards will return to our bloodline."
"I'll show you." Kevin snarled, looking his two cards over. I play Raigeki to destroy all of your monsters!" Serena gasped as the bolt of lightning descended from the heavens and struck her field, incinerating her four monsters. However, Kevin was left even more so thuderstruck when he saw that her two soldiers had remained. "How?"
"When these monsters are equipped to their pets, they can't be destroyed. Their faithful dragons take the blow for them, and so they've returned to my field to defend me."
"I don't care how many monsters you have! I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two new cards." Once again, Kevin was looking at a hand of two cards, and he was forming a new plan of attack. "I sacrifice my face down monster for Kaiser Glider (2400/2000) in attack mode!" A gold covered creature which looked to be more like a massive bird that dragon appeared, screeching into the air. "Next I'll special summon my Clone Dragon (0/0) whose attack will now instantly become that of my Kaiser Glider!" A small dot of light appeared before Kevin, looking more like a glowing worm than a dragon. However, it quickly began to morph and grow until it was an exact replica of the golden bird.
"Kaiser Glider, attack her Emerald Paladin!" The large beast raised its head and released a ball of yellow light that sped toward Serena's green armored soldier, blasting it to pieces. "Clone Dragon, get rid of her Crystal Templar!" With the exact same form as the previous attacker, Kevin's second monster attacked and destroyed Serena's last monster. "Now I end my turn."
"I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Serena's turn was simple, but basic, grated her situation of zero cards. However, it also meant that she had no monsters left to protect her Life Points.
'I'm worried about those face down cards, I'll admit it.' Kevin contemplated. 'But if I don't take some form of action, she'll get to retaliate.'
"Kaise Glider, attack directly!" The same as before, the gold skinned beast raised its head and fired a ball of searing gold light at Serena, who's only reaction was to casually wave her hand over one of her face down cards, which flipped up and a dome of translucent light formed around her.
"Drain Shield will negate your attack and increase my Life Points by your monsters attack total. Anything else?"
Kevin-2500/Serena-4300
"Clone Dragon, attack her directly and undo everything she just achieved!" The second wyrm raised its head and prepared an identical attack, which it hurled at Serena. However, at the last second, a large blue dragon made of rigid diamond appeared, its wings wrapped around its body to protect it. With ease it withstood the attack, completely unharmed. "What the..." Kevin was speechless.
"Last turn you sent four monsters to my graveyard, combining with the five I already had there." Serena began to explain to the bewildered Kevin, her face barely visible above the view of the massive dragon. "Then, when you attacked and my Drain Shield went to the graveyard, I had ten cards therein. That was enough to activate the special ability of one of my monsters known as Carbonedon, who I discarded with my Graceful Charity magic card. When Carbonedon is in the graveyard with ten other cards, I can remove it from play to instantly special summon my Diamond Dragon (2100/2800) to the field, who has plenty of defense points to fend you off with." she explained. "Also, when Diamond Dragon is attacked while in defense mode by a monster who has fewer attack points than my monster does defense points, the attacking monster is destroyed." True to her word, the clone of Kevin's monster exploded into pixels while his Life Points decreased yet again.
Kevin-2100/Serena-4300
"I'll end my turn there." Kevin growled, having no cards left in his hand to play. His Kaiser Glider was all he had. Then again, Serena was also top decking.
"I play Painful Choice!" Serena pulled her deck free once again and began to shuffle through her various cards until she had selected the five she wanted, which she placed on her Duel Disk, causing holographic images of each to appear for Kevin to see: Amethyst Dragon (1700/1200), Repayment of Losses, Diamond Soldier (1800/1600), White Dragon Decent Ritual and Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200).
Scanning over the cards, Kevin bit his lip trying to decide. Something wasn't sitting right with him. 'Why would Serena grab both her ritual magic card and the ritual monster? No matter what I choose, the entire set is destroyed because at least one of them will be destroyed, making the other a dead weight in her deck. Then again, what choice do I have? I don't want her to access any of those other dragons.'
"You can have your White Dragon Decent Ritual." Kevin finally decided. Serena nodded and added the one card to her hand while the other four went to the graveyard.
"That would be the most logical move, wouldn't it, Mr. Hunter." Serena mused. "Then again, it doesn't matter, nor do you know much about some cards in the game."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, puzzled by what she had said.
"First off, you should have chosen Repayment of Losses." she began her explanation as she reached for her deck. "When sent to the graveyard, I get to draw one card." She added a second card to her hand. "Then there's my other face down card, Fallen Angels Gift, which returns all cards to my hand that I just discarded. Therefore, I get all of my cards back." Fanning out her hand of six new cards, Serena began to plan her move.
"First is my Descent of White Dragon Ritual, discarding my Amethyst Dragon to summon my Paladin of White Dragon (1900/1200)." Slipping one card into her magic zone, another into her graveyard, and finally a third onto her field, Serena welcomed one of her favorite monsters, a creature who made it significantly easier to play using her dragons.
"Next I summon Diamond Soldier (1800/1600) in attack mode." A warrior in sparkling diamond armor appeared, hoisting up a great sword, the blade made of solid diamond! "Now I'll unity my Diamond Soldier to my Diamond Dragon, bolstering Diamond Dragon's attack by four hundred (2500/2800). So now I'll switch my Diamond Dragon to attack mode to add to my forces." The dragon began to open its wings, which seemed to be quite the task for the stiff body structure of the beast. Overall, that gave Serena a powerful union monster and an average powered ritual monster, but he wouldn't be around much longer.
"Now I'll set one card face down and then trigger my last set card, Emergency Provisions, sacrificing my Repayment of Losses to gain one thousand Life Points and to draw another card." she chuckled as her last two magic cards vanished and her Life Points ticked up while she drew a card, leaving her with two in her hand.
Kevin-2100/5300
"Excellent." she smiled arrogantly. "I play Mandate of Heaven, paying the one thousand Life Points I just gained to name a level eight or higher monster in your deck and add it to my hand." she leered at Kevin for a second as he tried to absorb this information. It's not that the card effect confused him, it was simply the fact that the reality of it wouldn't sink in. He knew what she would do, and it was as if his mind and heart wouldn't allow him to accept it. "I choose your Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Kevin-2100/Serena-4300
Kevin looked on in shock as she walked across the field to him. His mind wasn't registering anything, but his body was working on its own, pulling his deck free and handing her the card before shuffling again.
"I'll set one card face down on the field, and then I'll have my Diamond Dragon attack your Kaiser Glider!" Much like Crystal Dragon, Diamond Dragon folded itself within its wings for a moment before snapping them open to release its own hail of sparkling rocks, only these were much larger and pointed, unlike the jagged bullets that her previous monster had used. They tore through the armor of Kevin's dragon with easy, once again leaving a thrashed carcass for a few seconds before it vanished. Had Kevin been more aware of the situation, he may have been tempted to throw up.
Kevin-2000/Serena-4300
"Now I'll sacrifice my Paladin of White Dragon for my Blue Eyes White Dragon, and that will end my turn." The white armored soldier and his small dragon vanished and were replaced by the much larger wyvern.
Snapping back to his senses as Serena's dragon roared, he noticed that she had summoned her own Blue Eyes instead of his. Grunting in frustration, Kevin drew a new card, praying for a good top deck himself. Glancing at the magic card, he grinned at the product of his prayers.
"I play Nightmare Steel Cage!" Instantly the thick, black steel bars sprang to life around Serena and her monsters, forcing the two mighty dragons to crouch down low, unable to move at all. "That ends my turn."
"You can't hold me forever." Serena scoffed, drawing again. "I play Unbridled Desire, which allows me to draw three cards without cost. Then I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Then I'll go again, and I'll play my Cost of Greed magic card, removing Lord of Dragons, Divine Dragon Ragnarok, Magma and Twin-Headed Behemoth from play to draw four cards!" Pulling a fresh hand free, Kevin breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's exactly what I was hoping for, Kevin. I knew you'd play some sort of drawing effect soon, since your hand was empty, so I had this card face down." she gloated as her face down card sprang into action. To Kevin's surprise it was not a trap card, but rather a quick-play magic card. "Desire for Compensation allows me to instantly summon two level four monsters to my field in defense mode when you add extra cards to your hand." Selecting the two cards which Kevin knew not to be his Blue Eyes, Serena set the monsters onto her Duel Disk. "I summon Ruby Soldier (1500/1200) and Bloodstone Marauder (1900/1300)." Two more warriors in special armor, both in shimmering, but different shades, of red, appeared. "Bloodstone Marauder allows me to place one Bloodstone Dragon (2900/1600) from my deck to my hand." Popping her deck free, Serena searched out the desired monster and then reshuffled.
"As I was saying," Kevin restarted his main phase, annoyed that Serena had read his move and used it against him so effectively. Now she had four monsters, two of great power at her disposal, and two more waiting in the wings. "I end my turn."
"Then I shall first sacrifice Ruby Soldier and Bloodstone Marauder to summon Bloodstone Dragon (2900/1600) in attack mode. However, it too is locked in under your cage for now." For the second time in his life, Kevin looked upon the beast of shimmering red rock, the same creature that had cost him victory in his last encounter with Serena.
'Why didn't she summon my Blue Eyes?' Kevin asked himself, surprised by her move.
"Now I will play my Life Slashing Treasure." Serena continued. "I draw four cards so that I reach five in my hand, but in five turns I will be forced to discard them all." Fanning out her new hand, Serena began to revel in the possibilities. But for now, it was not the time. "I end my turn, and your Nightmare Steel Cage is gone." She ended, slipping one card into her magic zone.
"That may be, but now I can start to take back control." Kevin declared boldly. "I play Pyre to discard one card to special summon my King Dragun (2400/1100) once more to the field." True to his word, the hybrid creature reappeared, ready for battle. "Next I'll use his special ability to special summon Tyrant Dragon (2900/2400) in attack mode." Next to his crossbreed monster appeared the brown-scaled dragon, one of the most powerful and feared ever. "I'll now play Dragon Trophy, a continuous magic card that will let me draw one card each time a dragon destroys an enemy monster. And my last card is my called Taxation of Soul, which allows me to draw one card for every one removed from play, so that's four more cards!"
Once again with a hand full of cards, Kevin began to contemplate his options. "I play Dragon Lord Call, which acts like a Flute of Summoning Dragon, but does not require that I have a Lord of Dragons in play and it effects the graveyard instead of my hand. So here come two more." he called, pleased to have drawn such good cards. "Kaiser Glider (2400/2000) and Death Volstargaf (2200/1700)." Both the armored and the green scaled dragons appeared, ready for battle.
"That's very impressive, Kevin." Serena consented. "But not enough to beat me. I have Diamond Dragon equipped with Diamond Solder, a Blue Eyes White Dragon, and my Bloodstone Dragon all ready for battle. Each of them could rip through your lesser creatures."
"You've forgotten Serena, that I have one more card in my hand." Kevin grinned, ready to unleash a massive blow. "I equip my Tyrant Dragon with United We Stand!" A gold aura began to surround Kevin's mightiest creature on the field as streams of the same gold color flowed from his other four monsters into the dragon. "Since I have five monsters in play," here he paused and nodded to his Clone Dragon which seemed to have been forgotten. "Tyrant Dragon now gains four thousand extra attack points, placing him way beyond your monsters (6900/2400)."
"No!" Serena shouted, her genius mind working a few quick calculations. 'If he attacks, the best I can escape with is four hundred Life Points.'
"Since Tyrant Dragon has sixty-nine hundred attack points, and Diamond Dragon only has twenty-five hundred, I think I'll attack him and wipe you out!" Without having to charge up, the leviathan unleashes a river of scorching flames which consumed and melted Serena's white skinned creature. "I win!"
"Oh really?" Serena asked, coughing a little on the smoke coming from the smoldering pile of ash that had been her dragon. "Not quite. When Diamond Dragon is attacked, I can switch its battle position at the cost of three hundred Life Points. However, with the Diamond Soldier attached to him, I can perform that maneuver without cost. Also, when Diamond Dragon is destroyed with Diamond Soldier still on him, I can summon Diamond Soldier (1800/1600) to the field instantly." The pile of ashes at Serena's feet began to stir a little until a hand reached out, followed by the rest of the diamond clothed warrior.
"Fine, have it your way." Kevin growled. "For my Blue Eyes!" he called. "Tyrant Dragon, use your multiple attack ability to attack her Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he ordered, and the beast obeyed, once again releasing a wave of fervor upon Serena's field. However, this time damage was dealt and there would be no stalwart warrior to take its place.
Kevin-2000/Serena-400
"Now, Kaiser Glider, attack and destroy her Diamond Soldier!" The golden beast followed his order without fail, firing a ball of amber energy at Serena's monster, who exploded.
"By destroying Diamond Soldier you allow me to special summon one Ruby Dragon (1600/12000 in defense mode" A thin dragon with bright red plating appeared.
"Die, damn it!" Kevin shouted in frustration. "Just die and give me back my fathers card! Death Volstargaf, attack her Ruby Dragon!" Opening his beaked maw the dragon discharged a stream of blue flames. Not only would it wipe away the monster, but it would deal five hundred damage from his monsters effect, wiping her out!
"Diamond Shield!" Serena called as her quick-play card activated. "As you should know, this card negates one attack and allows me to special summon any of my jeweled dragons to the field, such as a second Ruby Dragon (1600/1200)."
"King Dragun, attack her new monster!" Kevin nearly screamed. Raising his arm, Kevin's monster released five streams of lightning from his fingertips which wrapped around the small red dragon, causing it to explode. "Now, Clone Dragon, attack her last Ruby Dragon!" Just like Kaiser Glider, the duplicate monster lifted back its head and fired a ball of light, causing her monster to explode on impact.
"Happy now?" Kevin shouted, drawing four cards for his Dragon Trophy card's effect. "You've managed to fully piss me off!"
"If you're going to be this irate simply because of my stalling, Kevin, then you'll give yourself a seizure before too long." Serena calmly replied. "For now, I shall set one card face down and then I'll play Brain Control!"
A large brain appeared on her field and unleashed two ghostly hands which crept across the field and sunk into the head of King Dragun, whose body went limp and his eyes glazed over before he floated over to her field.
"Why did you take that?" Kevin asked, rather perplexed.
"For his special ability." Serena explained. "I'll use him to special summon Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600), and then I'll play Pot of Greed. I'll follow that up by using Silent Doom to summon my Radiance Dragon (1000/1200) which I discarded with Graceful Charity to the field in defense mode." A small reptile appeared on her field, its entire body glowing. "When summoned, Radiance Dragon increases my Life Points by the total number of the dragons in my graveyard multiplied by three hundred. I have nine, so I gain twenty-seven hundred Life Points."
Kevin-2000/Serena-3100
"Next I will sacrifice King Dragun and Radiance Dragon to summon my Sapphire God Soldier (2800/2000) in attack mode." A mighty warrior descended upon Serena's field, armed to the teeth with shimmering blue plate armor and grasping a large blade made of sapphire. "Now I will union my God Soldier to Sapphire Dragon, increasing Sapphire Dragons attack by his attack total, meaning Sapphire Dragon now has more than double the attack points it did a moment ago (4700/3600)."
"Not nearly enough, though." Kevin chortled, amused by her attempts to overpower his Tyrant Dragon. "Heh, even without my Blue Eyes, I can beat you. Even better is the fact that my Blue Eyes is in your hands, and you're going to lose!"
"I'm not trying to beat Tyrant Dragon." Serena explained. "At least, not yet."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked, yet again not understanding the meaning behind her words.
"You forget that Dragon Trophy works for both players. So, Bloodstone Dragon, attack and destroy Kaiser Glider!" Rising from the ground were it looked as if it had been sleeping, the burgundy lizard opened its mouth and let loose a large ball of fire which completely consumed Kevin's weaker monster, dealing damage to his Life Points, but also weakening Tyrant Dragon slightly (6100/2400).
Kevin-1500/Serena-3100
Drawing a card, Serena seemed rather pleased with her draw. "I play Dragon Lore, which allows me to increase the attack points of any dragon I control by its base attack for one turn. At the end of the turn, that dragon is destroyed. So Sapphire Dragon now gains an additional nineteen hundred attack points (6600/3600)."
"It's not possible!" Kevin shouted. "I can't lose my Tyrant Dragon!"
"You just have!" Serena countered, directing her next words to her blue dragon and its rider. "Sapphire Dragon, attack Tyrant Dragon now!" Surprisingly, the scrawny wyvern was capable of lifting itself and its large rider into the air, and then with great speed charged Kevin's field, sword raised. With relative ease, combining the forces of gravity with the speed of the dive, the God Soldier dropped his blade, decapitating Kevin's monster. The head and body both fell to the ground and lingered for a second before vanishing. Kevin grasped his mouth with both hands, trying to hold back the bile that was rising.
Kevin-1000/Serena-3100
Drawing again, Serena scowled. "Now my Sapphire Dragon is destroyed because of my Dragon Lore's effect. Not that it really matters. It would have been destroyed anyway as a result of having Sapphire God Soldier ride him." Serena watched rather nonchalantly as her monster exploded and relinquished control to Kevin.
"Oh, now it's on!" Kevin shouted, drawing a fifth card into his hand. "I switch Clone Dragon and Death Volstargaf to defense mode and set one monster in defense mode." Kevin relented, furious that he had lost control again so quickly. Not only that, but it had been his own magic card that had made it possible!
"God Soldier, attack his Clone Dragon!" Serena ordered. "Bloodstone Dragon, go after his Death Volstargaf!" Within a matter of seconds, Kevin's two monsters were destroyed, leaving only a lonely face down defense card between him and her. Not only that, but Serena got to draw another card. However, she did not play it, and ended her turn.
"I'll set one more monster in defense mode, and end my turn." Kevin conceded, again with a low growl.
"Then it'll all end soon, Kevin." Serena stated, drawing a fifth card. "I'll set two more cards face down and then have both of my dragons attack your two monsters!" The two shimmering monsters unleashed their attacks, cutting Kevin's monsters to pieces.
"You've destroyed Avarice Dragon (500/200)." Kevin explained. "I get to draw two cards now." Fanning out a hand of seven cards, Kevin began to ponder for a second. He then looked away from his cards to stare at Serena's two monsters, then at her three face down cards, and then up at the sky, and finally back to his hand, and his eyes suddenly widened with a sense of realization.
"Prepare yourself, Serena, to meet a god amongst dragons!" he shouted, reaching for one of the cards he had drawn a few turns back. "I play my second Pyre, discarding five cards from my hand to bring back five dragons from my graveyard!" Slapping all but one of his cards into his graveyard, Kevin waited anxiously for the five cards that were then deposited into his hand, which he laid out on his Duel Disk. On his field appeared once again his Death Volstargaf (2200/1700), Kaiser Glider (2400/2000), King Dragun (2400/1100), Clone Dragon (0/0) and his Avarice Dragon (500/200).
"Now for a play that even make Seto Kaiba proud!" he exclaimed, holding his one card above his head. "I play Magical Substitute, which costs half of my Life Points, but can act as any magic card that has been played this duel. And I choose my Polymerization!"
Kevin-500/Serena-3100
Realization dawned on Serena at the instant as the giant vortex of fusion appeared and began to pull all five dragons in. She knew instantly the legendary beast that Kevin was invoking!
"I fuse together five dragon monsters in order to summon the ultimate dragon! I summon the Five God Dragon (5000/5000)!" The beast was huge, beyond any other that Kevin or Serena had ever summoned. But beyond that, it had five heads! Five serpentine heads, one of fire, another apparently aquatic, another of darkness, one with dark scales, and the center one tan with a set of horns that appeared to look like some sort of crown.
"This is an invincible monster, Serena!" Kevin bellowed hysterically. "It can't be beaten by anything but a Light monster. But there's no way you could summon a monster strong enough, let alone such a selective type, in time. For now, Five God Dragon, attack Sapphire God Soldier!" As one, the five heads opened their respective maws and gathered energy, firing five individual attacks that merged together as they sped for her monster, disintegrating him almost instantly.
Kevin-500/Serena-900
"End turn." Kevin laughed. Serena drew her card, gave a look of dismay, switched her dragon to defense mode, and ended.
"Is that all?" Kevin mocked. All he needed was a monster with nine hundred attack points and he could end the Duel. Sadly, he was greeted by the face of his Flute of Summoning Dragon magic card, which was completely useless to him at the moment. "Five God Dragon, attack her Bloodstone Dragon now!" Again the five heads unleashed their apocalyptic attack, dissolving Serena's last card. Kevin nodded to her with a sneer on his face, allowing her to begin her turn.
Slowly she drew a card, but was cut off by Kevin's harsh voice. "Remember, the time has come for you to discard your entire hand!" he said, and she complied. "It's over for you Serena. You have no cards in your hand, and your pathetic face down cards can't stop my Five God Dragon. Because if they could you'd have used them already! You can't scare me out of attacking! You're done! The Blue Eyes White Dragon will soon be mine!"
"Kevin, did you think I'd play Life Slashing Treasure in such a high stakes duel without taking some precautions?" Serena asked of him, instantly shutting him up. "Activate face down card, Card of Sanctity, allowing me to draw six cards, and you get three." Both duelists drew their new cards and took a quick glance at them.
"Now Kevin, since I had to discard my hand, your Blue Eyes returned to your grave, but now it will leave your domain forever."
"You can't be serious." Kevin ridiculed, despite the fact that Serena's face showed that she was anything but kidding.
"I play Monster Reborn on your Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!" Kevin's graveyard began to glow and then spat a card out of it, flinging said card across the field and into Serena's hands, from whence she slapped it onto her Duel Disk. With a howl unlike any Kevin had ever heard uttered by the leviathan, it rose from a vortex of pure light. "Next up is Premature Burial, paying eight hundred Life Points to revive the Blue Eyes you destroyed earlier on!" A second vortex appeared, and out emerged a second Blue Eyes White Dragon.
Kevin-500/Serena-100
"Now, I'll play my Polymerization card to fuse them together with the Blue Eyes in my hand to create my great-grandfathers secret trump card, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"
The three dragons slowly descended into the dark vortex behind them, twisting and warping into one. After a few seconds, a new creature appeared. This newest dragon was equally massive to Kevin's Five God Dragon, but only had three heads, each appearing to be a more advanced version of the normal Blue Eyes.
"Most impressive, Serena, but your dragon is still five hundred points to weak. Too bad."
"Go face down cards!" Serena commanded, as if not hearing Kevin's words. "Ultimate Burst Stream allows each of the heads of my dragon to attack separately with an attack power of forty-five hundred. Then there's my Brave Attack, which will combine all three of my dragons attacks into one, meaning its forty-five hundred times three, coming at you all at once!"
Kevin took a step back in fear and realization. He glanced at his field; nothing! He stared at his hand of cards: nothing! He looked across to Serena's hydra, and it was as if he heard a voice telling him to let it go.
"But I don't want to!" he yelled. But these words fell on deaf ears as the three dragon heads charged their attacks together (13500). "There must be something-"
"There is nothing, Kevin! You've tried your best, but the Blue Eyes have chosen me!" Serena called. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack!"
The three attacks surged as one across the field and collided with Kevin's monster, which seemed hesitant to fall at first, but soon gave in and began to fall back, crumbling into dust as it fell.
Kevin-0/Serena-100
Falling to his knees, Kevin began to weep uncontrollably. Serena looked down on her field, at the three dragon cards which were on the plate. Undoubtably this was how her great-grandfather had felt a century before whenever he played them together.
Sadly, Serena was snapped out of this reminiscence by a sudden scream. She looked up from her cards to see Kevin howling in agony as he clutched his chest, convulsing.
'Did the defeat cause him to have a nervous breakdown?' Serena wondered as she stared in shock at the situation before her. After a minute, Kevin's body lurched forward and slammed against the ground with a thud, and moved no more.
Rushing over to him, Serena checked for a pulse and was relieved to find that there was one, and that it was stable.
"But, what happened?"
"It's simple, my dear Miss Kaiba." an eloquent voice mused from behind her. She whipped around to find Ouja Monotori there, a Duel Disk on his arm and active. "He's simply had his soul removed."
"You're joking. You don't really believe such a thing is possible, do you?" Serena scoffed.
"Why don't I prove it to you, then." Ouja smiled. "We will duel, you will lose, and I will take your soul."
"But why?" Serena asked.
"Because, I don't want Kai to be under any more stress when he Duels me." Ouja shrugged. "He's awakened the power I wanted him to awaken, but one more duel than is necessary would just be such a bother, as it would drain him and would make me wait longer. No, I'd rather do things this way."
"Very well, Ouja.' Serena coldly stated. "Prepare to lose, and then you'll give me some real answers and not this crap about taking souls."
"Please, if you want to be so down to business, then draw your hand." he barked, drawing five cards. "And, please, don't call me Ouja anymore. Call me Bakura."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
In a small cylindrical room, Kai Kaethan lay against the cold steel. He wasn't moving. His breathing was silent. But in his dreams, he thought her heard a scream. His fingers twitched.
To Be Continued...
Wow! Bet you didn't see that coming!There you have it. The end of the conflict between Serena Kaiba and Kevin Hunter. Sure, it wasn't my best work, but there are reasons why I don't like writing for Kevin Hunter.
Anyway, as said, that's the end of that. Kai's unconcious still, Kevin's soul is gone, and Serena's taking on a whole new type of fight!
I would like to thank Aldea for providing Serena Kaiba, who fit the role perfectly and made this chapter work. Furthermore, I would like to thank Seeker of the Soul, because without him and the idea for the union monster companions to the Jeweled Dragons (as he and I call them) this chapter would not have been possible. Again, thank you both.
Next Time: Ouja, or better yet, Bakura, has revealed his true actions and has challenged Serena to a duel with her immortal soul on the line. But can Serena fight back when she doesn't fully understand what she's dealing with and when her opponent is a thousand year old spirit who has many times before displayed his proficiency in the game of Duel Monsters? And what of Kai? What is it that Ouja wants from him? And will he be able, after the bout with Etsu, to defend himself, let alone the innocent people in this fortress who have had their souls ripped from their bodies? Wait and see.
Next Time: The Dark Game of Destiny
Review Responses-
Gearried the Iron Angel- Indeed, it was quite the chapter. A lot of pain did go into it, but what I got out of it was the greatest creation I've ever rendered. And I did see your new one (Which you should already know, since I reviewed it over 24 hours ago).
The White Mage- I liked that chapter a lot as well. In fact, it's now my favorite one that I've done. But I don't know if I'd say that I worship Kenshin. What makes you say that I worship him? I mean, yeah, it's a good show, probably my favorite anime, but I don't know what ever gave you the idea that I worship him.
Seeker of the Soul- That lecture was a good one, as was the duel. And far better than D'harim's scene, that it was. Concerning the lecture, I figured you'd be one of few to figure it out, and that'd you do it via simple logic. And hey, I was right.
Matrix Fighter- It is good that she got through to Kai. But the question now is, can he really change and adapt his life, or is it too late for him? And well done in getting the correct scene.
Noble Paladin- You are focusing too much on the idea of reactions by the characters to specific events. And, if Etsu did die, he'd become more depressed than he had been before, because he'd determine that it was his fault. And no, you're wrong with all three of your guesses.
Blue-Eyes White Knight- Good to see you up off your butt and reviewing again. There you have it. I think it did a good job of sending Kevin off with a bang, no?
The Helldragon- What's wrong with a long Duel? They're fun, you know, for the kids. As for Kai getting smacked around, let's not forget that first of all, he started off with only a portion of his full strength. Furthermore, by the time he was in full swing, she had a number of Breaker's on the field, which create their own sort of lock.
G.O.T. Nick- No, not Outlaw Star. I haven't seen that show since I was 13 man. And I only saw that episode twice. But a good and original guess, so I guess I'll slip you a Kudo for it. And of course Kai's gonna get stronger with each duel. At least, he will for the time being. There are limits, after all. It's just that Tenken was trying to draw out his power, while Etsu was helping him get a grip on reality.
SulliMike23- Mien GOTT? What is that? Anyway, yes, like flies they do drop. It happens when you have evil Egyptian tomb robbers who refuse to die in a position of power.
John- Indeed, they did battle. Of course, the title and the episode description I gave may have both tipped you off, cheater.
There you all have it. See ya.
Original Cards-
Kevin- Cost of Greed, Magma the Hellfire Ryu, Wraith the Shadow Ryu, Pyre, Dragon Lord Call, Dragon Trophy, Magical Substitute
Serena- Crystal Dragon, Crystal Templar, Emerald Dragon, Diamond Dragon, Unbridled Desire, Radiance Dragon, Diamond Shield, Dragon Lore, Ultimate Burst Stream
By Seeker of the Soul- Emerald Paladin, Diamond Soldier, Repayment of Losses, Sapphire God Soldier, Ruby Soldier
By Aldea- Bloodstone Dragon