Yu-Gi looked the stranger over and nodded, "Yes...."
"I'm really glad I found you first," Kevin Hunter answered. Yu-Gi and Téa shifted nervously. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you guys are still a bit freaked about this who situation."
"That's an understatement," muttered Téa. "I hate penguins...."
"You've already dealt with Crum?!" gasped Kevin.
"Yeah," agreed Téa.
"He had no right messing with someone as lovely as you," replied Kevin. Téa seemed a bit surprised and stammered a bit.
"You seem to know a lot about this place and the Big 5," said Yu-Gi.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," agreed Kevin, rubbing the back of his head. As he raised his arm he revealed the duel disk strapped to it. "I'll explain it all."
"Can we please keep walking while we talk?" asked Téa. "It's too cold here." She was the least prepared for a winter expedition. She was only wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.
"Sure," agreed the guys and they started over the ice.
"So Kevin...you were going to explain?" prompted Yu-Gi.
"Yeah," he paused. "I'm not exactly sure where to start...."
"The beginning is always good," suggested Yu-Gi.
"Sure," the new-comer shrugged. "I guess it started when I entered the Battle City tournament."
"You entered?" asked Téa, a bit surprised.
Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I was doing really well too. I had four locator cards and everything....Then things started to go wrong."
"What do you mean?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Well, I ran across this guy who said if I followed him to duel on some new kind of technology Kaiba Corp. was cooking up and won, I'd get two locator cards instead of one, putting me right into the finals. So I jumped at the chance," Kevin continued.
"Pity things that seem too good to be true often are," sighed Téa.
"And this was the case," agreed Kevin. "It turned out to be some sort of test for the new virtual reality world...what we are stuck in now. The guy that found me was working for the Big 5. They wanted to make sure everything worked for when you guys showed up, so they decided to use me as a guinea pig." He clenched a fist at that. "I guess they thought I'd be an easy target." He smirked. "But they haven't been able to bring me down yet. The problem is, I haven't been able to find a way out of here. On the other hand, I've almost figured this place out. I also know they have a major grudge against you guys and Seto Kaiba. So I told myself I'd help you in any way possible; first to spite them and second, hopefully, all of us can find a way out of here."
"Wow....." muttered Yu-Gi after an awkward silence. "That's a lot to have happen...."
"Tell me about it," sighed Kevin. "I am really getting sick of it."
"I don't think we ever introduced ourselves," said Téa. "I'm Téa Gardener."
"A lovely name," said Kevin as he smiled at her.
"And I'm Yu-Gi Motou," added Yu-Gi.
"No way!" exclaimed Kevin. "You're the Yu-Gi Motou? It's an honor to meet you."
"Thanks...." muttered Yu-Gi, a bit sheepishly.
"Do you know how we can find our friends?" asked Téa. Then she shivered a little bit.
"Not precisely," said Kevin. "Noah likes to change this place at whim, and if he doesn't want us to find them we won't. Our best bet is to keep going until we find them."
"Great....." muttered Yu-Gi and Téa.
"Well, anything has to be better than hanging out here," said Téa, rubbing her hands on her arms to try to keep warm.
"Here, you can have my blazer," said Kevin as he took of his red jacket. "I've been here a bit longer, so I'm used to it."
"Wow...thanks Kevin," said Téa as she accepted it.
"Anything for a pretty lady," replied Kevin with a smile. Téa flushed a bit.
"You must be a pretty good duelist if you managed to get four locator cards," said Yu-Gi.
"Of course," smirked Kevin. "My dad taught me everything I know about dueling. I hope to make him proud by winning this tournament as soon as I get out of here. I only need two more locator cards."
"Um...I'm sorry Kevin, but the finals are already half over," said Téa.
"What?!"
"You haven't been missing anything, trust us," said Yu-Gi. "You are probably better off not being in them."
"What do you mean?!" demanded Kevin.
Téa and Yu-Gi were saved from having to answer by a door appearing in mid- air.
"What is this?" asked Téa.
"One of Noah's favorite games," sighed Kevin. "It means he wants us to go to the next level, so to speak."
"Should we open it?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Yes! It's freezing here!" exclaimed Téa.
"We'd be better off," agreed Kevin. "Noah doesn't like it when you don't play along, and he's liable to make things even harder."
"Okay," agreed Yu-Gi. He put a hand on the doorknob. "Here goes nothing."
**************************************************************************** **
"Hey!" exclaimed Joe, turning around from the middle of his duel. "Who let in the draft?" Téa, Yu-Gi, and Kevin had emerged into a courtroom. The three had opened a door straight to his duel. It was quite a change from the frozen wasteland they had escaped. This looked like a genuine courtroom, complete with jury box. There were only two people present, Joe and his opponent, Johnson. Johnson had taken the form of Judgeman; he wore a violet and gold outfit complete with cape and crown that was supposed to look regal. But his face was so primitive with large round teeth, a flat nose, and square chin that one would think it had been a barbarian shoved into a king's outfit.
"It's Joe!" Yu-Gi exclaimed.
"Yu-Gi! Téa!" Joe gasped as he turned around. He looked Kevin over suspiciously. "And who's that?"
"Order! Order in the court!" ordered Johnson as he pounded his gavel in front of him. "If you three do not be quiet, I will have you thrown out of my courtroom!" They shared a look and took a seat behind Joe.
"You're on trial?" asked Yu-Gi.
"I'm dueling one of the Big 5!" Joe said with a smug smile.
"You're going to have to be careful," cautioned Kevin. "That's Johnson, and he's tricky..."
"It's my move," interrupted Johnson.
The duel wasn't looking great for Joe. He had no monsters in play and 2500 life points, but one face down card. Johnson had 1200 life points and Mystical Elf in defense mode. The golden haired elf had a defense of 2000, making her a considerable barrier.
"This doesn't look too good for your friend," commented Kevin.
"Joe can handle himself," said Yu-Gi. "He did come in second in the Duelist Kingdom."
"He was second?" asked Kevin. "I never heard. All anyone talked about was you because you won it." Yu-Gi flushed a little from the fame he still had not adjusted to, but he was busy focusing on the duel.
"I play Curtain of the Dark Ones," announced Johnson. His monster appeared on the left of his Mystical Elf. It was basically a long black cape with two skeleton arms sticking out. Its stats were a mere 500 and 600. "Now, I activate Polymerization to fuse together my Mystical Elf and my Curtain of the Dark Ones to form Kamion Wizard." As he talked he laid his magic card down. The two monsters spiraled together, creating a black-clad warrior with a large scythe. Its attack was only 1300, and somehow Joe seemed disappointed at that.
"Now I play Sinister Justice," declared Johnson. "That let's me attack you directly now. Go Kamion Wizard!" The warrior charged forward and raised its scythe. It slashed across Joe's chest and he gasped in pain. Joe's life points dropped to 1200.
"But Sinister Justice cost me 200 life points to play," added Johnson. That brought him down to 1000. "I play one face down card and end my turn."
"My turn then!" said Joe, a bit snappishly. "I play Panther Warrior in attack mode!" His animal turned fighter appeared in front of him. It stood on its hind paws and carried a sword and shield, as well as wearing some basic green armor. Its attack was 2000, but Panther Warrior required a tribute in order to attack. "Then I'll also play one card face down and end my turn."
"You're up to something, oh well," Johnson said with a shrug. "I activate my magic card Leading Question."
"What does that do?!" gasped Téa.
"It's major bad news," answered Kevin, who was glaring daggers at Johnson.
"This magic card allows me to add 800 attack points to any monster made up of two other monsters," announced Johnson. "That makes my Kamion Wizard stronger than your Panther Warrior!"
"Oh no!" gasped Joe.
"Now, Kamion Wizard, attack his monster!" ordered Johnson.
"Ha!" laughed Joe. "Now I activate Skull Dice!"
"A trap card?!" gasped Johnson.
"Exactly!" said Joe with a big smile. "And the attack of your monster will be cut depending on what number I roll!" As he spoke an imp holding a die as large as itself floated to the middle of the field and dropped the die. It spun around and landed on 6.
"Yes!" cheered Joe. But before he could finish his cheer, the die jumped and landed on 1. "No way!"
Johnson smirked, "You are going to have to find more convincing evidence than that."
"That's tough luck Joe!" called Yu-Gi. "But you can still win this."
"It seems everyone had rotten luck around Johnson," said Kevin, dryly.
The Kamion Wizard completed its attack, slicing Joe's Panther Warrior to ribbons. That brought Joe down to 1100 life points. The duel was starting to turn in Johnson's favor. Joe started his next turn, looking grimly at the cards in his hand. He didn't have that many choices of monsters or magic cards that could help him out of this tight spot.
"What's the matter?" asked Johnson, taunting him. "Did you use up all your best moves during the first stages of the trial?"
"No!" protested Joe, but it was true.
"You almost had this won! Until he turned it around and whipped you," Téa cheered. The guys sweat-dropped.
"I play Swordsman of Landstar in attack mode," announced Joe. His monster looked like a marshmallow that had been shoved into armor. It had a Pillsbury © doughboy head with big bright eyes. It carried a sword and shield, but it hardly seemed a threat, and its stats mirrored that. "Now, I activate Graceful Dice!"
"Alright Joe!" exclaimed Yu-Gi.
A chibi angel floated down much like the imp had done for Skull Dice. It dropped a large green die, which rolled on the floor a bit before landing with the 6 side up.
"YEAH!" Joe cheered. But again he had not completed his shout when the die jumped and stopped on one. Just like Skull Dice, Graceful Dice did not affect the monster at all.
"Oh no! Not again!" groaned Joe as he collapsed, anime-style.
"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Téa.
"For some reason, I'm not surprised," said Kevin with gritted teeth.
"What do you mean?" asked Yu-Gi.
"I'd tell you, but I can't prove it," answered Kevin.
"The verdict is in, you're finished," Johnson said. "Because I know activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Clear the Courtroom!"
"Not this again!" groaned Joe.
Johnson smirked. "I will pay 1000 of my life points and force you to send all your monsters on the field to the graveyard." Johnson now had 800 life points left, but Joe was forced to discard his Swordsman of Landstar. "And now..."
"My turn's not done yet!" exclaimed Joe. "I play two face down cards. Now you can go, your honor." The last part was laced with heavy sarcasm.
"I activate Pot of Greed," announced Johnson. "I bet you wished you had this card, Joseph." Joe currently had no cards in his hand. He smirked.
"Now I can, because I activate Gamble!" Joe announced.
"Huh?" asked Johnson, a bit surprised.
"You heard me," said Joe. "I activate Gamble, and it only works if I have no cards and you have six or more, which you do now!"
"Gamble? That sounds risky," said Téa.
"It is," agreed Yu-Gi. "It is one of the riskiest moves in Duel Monsters. First Joe will flip a coin and call it in the air. If he is correct he gets to draw a new hand, but if he is wrong he forfeits his next turn."
"He can kiss his next turn good-bye," grumbled Kevin.
"Don't be so negative," Téa scolded. "Joe has a fifty-fifty chance."
"Not here," muttered Kevin, quiet enough so that no one heard him.
Joe picked up a small silver coin that had materialized in front of him. He put it on the back of his hand and flipped it into the air, where it turned over itself several times. He then caught it and placed it on the back of his hand. Without yet looking at it Joe called, "Heads!" He removed his hand. "No way! It's tails! Awwww. The world hates me...." Johnson was chuckling.
"Hey! I ain't done! I activate my last magic card, Scapegoats!" announced Joe.
"This is bad," muttered Téa, Yu-Gi and Kevin murmured their agreements.
"You expect to meet me with fuzzballs? It's my turn," said Johnson, his Judgeman disguise giving a big toothy grin. "I use Polymerization to fuse together Armail Warrior and One-Eyed Shield Dragon to create Dragoness the Wicked Knight!" His newest fusion formed from the cards in his hand. It was knight wearing dragon green armor. It's shield resembled the face of the One-Eyed Shield Dragon, and its armor was styled after the Armail Warrior.
"Great..." muttered Joe. "And he can use Leading Question to make that one even stronger."
"Correct," said Johnson. "Now, Kamion Wizard and Dragoness the Wicked Knight, attack two of his Scapegoats!" The tiny pastel colored goats didn't stand a chance.
"All right, my turn!" snapped Joe.
"Order! Order!" yelled Johnson, banging his gavel. "You forfeit this turn. Remember, you called heads but you got tails!"
"Dang it!" Joe exclaimed as he punched the wooden railing in front of him. "Ow...note to self, do not punch virtual railing."
"This luck of yours is bound to change, because it can't get any worse," Téa tried to encourage him.
"Téa, as far as pep talks go, this is not your best work. I'm running out of options here!" Joe called back.
"Hang in there!" Yu-Gi yelled.
"My turn again, and I will take out your last defenses with my monsters! Attack!" order Johnson. The last two Scapegoats fell.
Then, something none of them were expecting happened. In front of the jury box a green column of light began glowing. Everyone present gasped in surprise. That light quickly formed into a solid object, a person.
"Noah!" gasped Yu-Gi as the aqua-haired boy appeared.
"What are you doing here?!" snapped Kevin.
"Johnson, I've had enough of your tricks!" snapped Noah, ignoring everyone else. "I will not tolerate cheaters!"
"But Noah!" stammered Johnson. He was beginning to sweat. "You must understand my position! I'm desperate to get out of here, and I need his body to do so!"
"You don't deserve that prize Johnson," Noah said. It seemed almost silly that this little boy could be making that massive Duel Monster squirm. "Not after what you've just pulled."
"So he cheater." Joe said, his hands forming fists.
"Yes, it's true, the honorable Judgeman is a fraud who has been cheating you from the beginning," Noah replied, coolly. "He's been using my virtual technology to tamper with your dice rolls." His eyes flashed dangerously at Johnson as he said that.
"I knew it!" exclaimed Kevin.
"How about I tamper with your face you big fat fake!" Joe growled, raising a fist.
"Please Noah!" begged Johnson. "You must try to understand! I had no other choice!"
"Then I'm afraid I have no other choice but to fire you," said Noah. "What you do reflects me. And I will never prove I am more deserving than Seto Kaiba if you cheat. Gozaboro should have left everything to me, and now I'm going to gain it all back. But I will not tolerate cheating!"
"Excuse me boy if I may, the defendant would like to speak," Joe interrupted. Johnson and Noah both turned and looked at him. "I'm willing to let this duel continue, if Judge Gruesome agrees to clean up his act."
"What?! Are you crazy?!" yelled Kevin. "If you keep your mouth shut you have this thing won!"
"I don't know who you are, but when I beat this fraud, it proves Joe Wheeler doesn't back down and duels honorably!" Joe exclaimed.
"You do realizes the stakes still stand," said Noah.
"Of course," said Joe.
"Have it your way," said Noah. Then he vanished.
"You are a fool!" laughed Johnson. "Prepare to say good-bye to your body!"
It's my turn, so why don't you shut up," said Joe. He drew his next card. "I think my luck is beginning to change now. I use Pot of Greed and draw two more cards!"
"Big deal," said Johnson. "That cannot save you from the sentence you are about to receive!"
"You do a lot of talking, we'll see where all that hot air gets you!" exclaimed Joe. "Now I move my Deckmaster onto the field!" His Flame Swordsman took two steps and stopped in front of Joe. It was a strong- looking monster, wearing blue armor with red trim and holding a large sword and stern expression. However, its attack had been decreased to 1300 thanks to Joe using its Deckmaster's special ability. "Then I play two magic cards. The first is Burning Soul Sword, which I equip to my Flame Swordsman to raise its attack!"
"You seem to be forgetting something," said Johnson. "You need to tribute a monster to use Burning Soul Sword."
"I haven't forgotten," replied Joe. "I tribute a monster, and it's attack points get added to my Flame Swordsman."
Johnson sighed, "Then you over looked something. You have no monsters on the field to tribute!"
"That's where my next magic card comes in," announced Joe. "Reveal Arjudice Decision!"
"What does that do?" asked Téa.
"It's another big risk on Joe's part," answered Yu-Gi. "First, he draws two cards. Then Johnson picks one. If it is a monster card, Joe can immediately summon it to the field. If it is a magic card, it goes to the graveyard and Joe's turn is over!"
"This move will end the duel one way or another," said Kevin.
Joe drew two cards and held them up, one in his left, and one in his right. "So what's it going to be, your honor?" He smirked.
Johnson looked at the cards, then he studied Joe's face. "I chose the one in your left hand."
"Are you sure?" asked Joe. "I mean, really, really sure? You do realize this entire duel rests on your choice."
"Yes I'm sure," answered Johnson. "The fact that you asked me twice proves I guessed right!"
"Okay, have it your way," Joe answered with a smile.
"Erm..." stammered Johnson, unnerved by the smile. "Wait..."
"Yeah Joe! Stay tough! Johnson is losing his cool!" Yu-Gi cheered
"Come on! Pick a card already. The suspense is driving me crazy!" Téa exclaimed.
"If you can't take it imagine how Joe feels right now," Yu-Gi said to her.
"Is this your final answer?" asked Joe.
"I've spent years and years convincing people that lies were truth," Johnson said. "Yes!" He pounded his gavel. Joe's smile grew and he started to turn the card over.
"WAIT!" exclaimed Johnson. "I've changed my mind, I want the one in the left!"
Joe flipped it over, revealing the monster card Goblin Attack Force. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt."
"No!" yelled Johnson.
"Oh yes!" cheered Joe. "Now I tribute it and add 2300 attack points to my Flame Swordsman, which makes him strong enough to wipe out your Kamion Wizard and you remain life points! Attack Flame Swordsman with Burning Sword of Battle!" His monster raced forward, his sword burning brightly. It turned the Kamion Wizard to ashes.
"NO!" yelled Johnson as he body began to break apart. "How can this be?! I once convinced a jury that a man who had hydrophobia stole a boat! How can I lose in the courtroom!? NO!!!" And he was gone.
"Yes! You did it Joe!" cheered Téa and Yu-Gi.
"Thanks guys! Now we need to find the others," said Joe.
"Yeah, before the Big 5 do," agreed Yu-Gi.
"The Big 5?!" exclaimed Joe.
"They want to duel all of us..."
"What do you mean all of us?!"
"I mean everyone they brought here...."
"But Serenity has never dueled before!!! We need to find her!"
"Okay, calm down Joe," said Téa.
Joe, however, was far from calm. He picked up Kevin by the collar. "You! Where is she!"
"I don't know!" Kevin protested as he squirmed free.
"I don't know who you are, but you have to know where she is! I bet you are a spy for the Big 5!" accused Joe.
"My name is Kevin Hunter, and I am stuck here as much as you are!" Kevin yelled back.
"I don't believe you!" exclaimed Joe.
"Well, it's the truth!" Kevin yelled back.
"BOYS!" screamed Téa. "We aren't helping anyone this way! Now quit fighting with each other!"
"Right! I need to find Serenity!" agreed Joe. With that he turned and raced for the nearest door.
"Wait up!" yelled Yu-Gi as everyone else took off after him.
**************************************************************************** **
Drake and Lara had opened a door that had lead them to a dingy factory section of an unknown city. The factories all seemed run down, with boards across the windows and doors. Everything seemed covered with dust. The pavement was cracked with tiny plants growing in it. The air was still and silent. But it was sunny and dry, which was a major improvement from the swamp they had escaped from.
"Hello!" called Lara. "Anyone here?!"
"Another fine mess Kaiba has gotten us into," grumbled Drake.
"Do you think you could use the gauntlet to get us out of here?" asked Lara.
"I don't think so," replied Drake. "Considering we aren't even 'here.' Here is just a virtual illusion, and we never left the hanger. So I really couldn't teleport us back, because we are technically still there."
"This place seems real enough," said Lara. "I can even smell the motor oil."
"Yeah," agreed Drake. "It's not like that demo form before. Noah is toying with us, and I don't like it."
"Neither do I," agreed Lara. "I can't wait until one of them shows his face. Then we can teach him a lesson!"
Drake chuckled, "Yeah, the Big 5 made the mistake of luring the best duelists in the world here. They are going to pay for shame Industrial Illusion's name. What would a bunch of sleazy businessmen know about dueling anyways?"
"Why don't we show you!" said a voice from the shadows.
"Who's there?!" demanded Drake and Lara as they wheeled around.
Two figures walked stiffly out of an alley between two warehouses. They didn't look like normal humans, and that's because they weren't. The first was a cubical robot with a red and black covering. The second was a bald creature in a green robe with mechanical implants. They were the duel monsters Robotic Knight and Jinzo.
"Looks like the circus lost a few freaks," Drake said, glaring at the newcomers.
"You always were disrespectful young Pegasus," replied the Jinzo.
"Do we know them?" Lara asked Drake.
"I have a hunch..." he answered.
"Perhaps re-introductions are in order," said Robotic Knight. "I am Nesbit, former tech expert of Kaiba Corp."
"And I am Lector, former right hand of Gozaboro Kaiba," added the Jinzo.
"Good, the Big 5," said Lara with a smile.
"Just the people we were looking to pound," added Drake. "Of course, I use the term 'people' loosely."
"How amusing," said Nesbit, dryly. "But for all your taunts, your bodies will be ours! Then we can bring Industrial Illusions under our thumb!"
"It won't be too hard," added Lector, haughtily. "From what I hear, the CEO has vanished off of the face of the planet."
"Grrrr," growled Drake. "You leave dad out of this!"
"I hope you said 'good-bye' to him," responded Nesbit. "Because you are never going to see him again, once we win this duel and leave your minds trapped her forever!"
"You'd never be able to beat us!" Lara said, cutting off Drake's insult. "You failed at business, and you'll fail at dueling."
"It's going to be fun putting you in your place," said Lector. "So let's begin this!"
"Yes, let's!" agreed Drake. They all activated their duel disks.
"You'll be playing by our rules now, and you have to select a whole new deck!" said Nesbit. The virtual card database appeared in front of Lara and Drake.
"What the?!" gasped Lara.
"Simply touch a card and it will be added to your deck," explained Lector, in a tone one would use on a child. Drake and Lara shared a look, then quickly began reassembling their decks as fast as they could.
"I have a good feeling about this," said Drake with a smile as his new deck appeared in his duel disk. "Let's go! The sooner we start this, the sooner you two freaks can lose!"
"Haven't you forgotten something?" asked Lector. "According to our rules, you still have to pick a Deckmaster."
"Big deal," shrugged Drake. He picked up his deck and flipped through it. "This is a no-brainer. I chose Lord of Dragons!" His monster appeared behind him. The Lord of Dragons was a humanoid monster, but its bone-lined armor was so thick it was hard to tell.
Lara was having a bit harder time picking. "Any of my monsters would do a good job as a Deckmaster," she thought. Then she came across her Dark Magician Girl. "Dia! Of course!" As she began to pull her Dark Magician Girl out, her Witch's Apprentice fell out and floated to the ground. The card sprang to life and a hologram of her appeared. The Witch's Apprentice had flaming red hair, tiny dove wings, and a blue robe. A broom rested casually in her right hand.
"That's your Deckmaster?" asked Drake, a bit surprised.
"Well....I wanted my Dark Magician Girl," said Lara, holding her favorite card between her fingers.
"Too late!" laughed Nesbit and Lector.
"Rules state that once a Deckmaster is chosen it can't be changed," said Nesbit.
"Fine. She'll make a fine Deckmaster," said Lara, confidently. The Witch's Apprentice beamed.
"Since we have taken the forms of monsters, we will be both the duelists and the Deckmasters," said Nesbit.
"Now, ladies first," said Lector. "You two had better be familiar with the rules of a double duel."
"Of course!" snapped Drake. "My dad did invent this game after all!"
"Drake, calm down," said Lara. "We'll prove it to them in this duel." She drew her opening hand. "Hmmm...I play one monster and one magic card face down."
"I will go next," volunteered Nesbit. "And I will also play one monster face down and end my turn."
"Then I play Spirit Ryu in attack mode," announced Drake. His first monster appeared directly in front of him. It was a pale blue, almost translucent. Its attack and defense were equal at 1000.
"Now it's my turn," announced Lector. "I will also play one monster face down. Then I activate Solemn Wishes, which will give me 500 life points for ever card I draw."
"Okay, the first round's over," said Lara. "Now I can attack! But first, I'm going to tribute my face down monster for Dark Magician Girl!" Her favorite monster appeared in place of the face down card hologram. The Dark Magician Girl twirled her staff and smiled. Her attack was 2000, since there was no Dark Magicians in the graveyard. "Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack Lector's face down monster!" She nodded, raised her staff, and blasted the card.
It flipped over long enough to reveal Dreamsprite. That monster could normally be a pain to try to eliminate, because her special ability allowed her to redirect incoming attacks to another monster. But since Lector didn't have any other monsters, the Dreamsprite was destroyed.
"Now you have no monster protecting your life points," said Lara to Lector. "And you are wide open for a direct attack!"
"However, it is now my turn!" interrupted Nesbit. "I will also tribute my face down monster and summon the unstoppable Machine King!" A monster that strongly resembled the Robotic Knight appeared. This one was taller though, and had a circular chest and barrel like arms. Its attack was 2200, but it gained 100 attack points for every machine type monster on the field, including itself, which brought it to 2300 attack points.
"Before I attack, I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability," said Nesbit.
"This doesn't sound good," muttered Drake.
"By discarding one machine type monster from my hand to the graveyard I can hit you both with 500 direct damage!" he yelled. He slid one card into his graveyard. "Activate Final Artillery!" As he said that hidden compartments opened on his chest and launched missiles, which hit the other two duelists. They both cried out in pain as their life points dropped to 3500.
"Lara! Are you okay?!" called Drake.
"I've been better," she muttered. "And you honey?"
"I'll be fine once I take these tin cans to the scrap yard!" he growled.
"You have always talked big Pegasus," said Nesbit. "But you are about to experience the true power and superiority of us machines. And what better way to show you then my attacking your girlfriend? Now, Machine King, attack the Dark Magician Girl!" The Machine King turned and opened fire on the spellcaster.
"You've overlooked my face down card!" said Lara. "I activate Negate Attack!" A transparent barrier formed in front of her monster, deleting the attack.
"You'll find we won't be so easy to beat," said Drake with a smirk. "That's because we know what teamwork really is! You corporate scum wouldn't know loyalty if your lives depended on it."
"You had better watch your words, before we make you swallow them!" snapped Lector.
"Swallow this!" said Drake as he started his turn. He put Monster Reborn on the field face down. "First I play this. Then I will activate Spirit Ryu's special ability! By discarding one dragon type monster from my hand, I can increase Spirit Ryu's attack and defense by 1000 points for this turn!" His monster growled viciously as its stats were both raised to 2000. "The monster I am going to discard is my Tyrant Dragon." He slid his prized card into the graveyard.
Lector and Nesbit laughed. "You are discarding something that powerful? You certainly can't be half the duelist you claim to be!" laughed Lector.
"That is yet another reason why machines are superior to creatures of flesh and blood," said Nesbit. "You can program machines, and they will act according to their programming. They cannot go insane, like you have!"
"Laugh now," said Drake. "Because you won't be laughing when I'm done! Lector, you have no defense! Prepare for a direct attack from my Spirit Ryu! GO!" His monster took flight, blasting a powerful beam at Jinzo. Jinzo gasped and slid back a couple of feet as his life points were cut in half.
"Yes! Way to go Drake!" cheered Lara. "We'll have them beaten by the end of our next turn!"
"It's not over yet!" growled Lector, straightening himself up.
"Your right," said Drake. "My turn is not over. I will now activate my magic card, Monster Reborn, to bring my Tyrant Dragon back from the graveyard. The Tyrant Dragon requires one tribute to do so, but it is better than the two tributes it would require for a normal summoning! So, I will tribute my Spirit Ryu to revive my Tyrant Dragon!" The holograms showed his favorite dragon rising out of the ground. It was huge, nearly as large as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The Tyrant Dragon was black, but it seemed to be glowing like magma. It looked like the dragon from European myths, except it was much more vicious than anyone ever depicted. Its attack was 2900 and its defense was 2500.
"To make things even worse for you two, I will reveal my face down card, Dragon's Rage!" announced Drake. "This card let's me do damage to you even if your monsters are in defense mode!"
"I think not!" yelled Lector. "You are forgetting my Deckmaster's special ability. As Jinzo, none of your trap cards will work!"
"Dang..." muttered Lara.
Drake glared at him. "Since my battle phase is over, I will end my turn now.
"Before my turn starts, Solemn Wishes will give my 500 life points as I draw my next card," said Lector as his life points went up to 2500. "Then I play one monster card face down in defense mode, and one magic card face down as well. That ends my turn."
"How exciting," sighed Lara.
"Oh? And you can do better?" asked Nesbit. "Your Dark Magician Girl will fall to my Machine King next turn!"
Lara bit her lip and drew her next card. "That's if you can find her! I play Magical Hats!" Four top hats appeared on the field in front of her. One covered her monster. Then they shuffled around, so it was impossible to say which one the Dark Magician Girl was hiding under.
"A common human trick," said Nesbit. "It is cowardice. Us machines know no fear." Lector rolled his eyes.
"Let's see if your robotic brain is any good at guessing!" snapped Lara.
"Before I wipe out your monster, I will play Clockwork Knight!" announced Nesbit. "This magic card turns all the monsters on the field into machine types!" The monsters on the field all became robots, with robot plates and wiring.
"Oh no....this is bad," groaned Drake, who's whole deck had been dependant on his dragon type monsters.
"There are four monsters on the field, that means my Machine King now has an attack of 2600!" declared Nesbit. "Now to finish off your Dark Magician Girl. Machine King, attack the second hat on the left!" The Machine King once again opened fired, but when the dust cleared, the hat turned out to be empty.
"It appears machines aren't very good guessers," said Lara.
"First, I place one card face down. Now, you will learn you're place human!" snapped Nesbit. "Because I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again!"
"Great..." groaned Drake and Lara.
"This time, I will discard two machine type monsters from my hand to activate Final Artillery!" The couple once again gasped in pain as the missiles exploded around them. Their life points dropped to 2500. "Give up now, because your bodies will be ours!"
"Never!" growled Lara.
"You haven't won this yet!" added Drake.
"You do not know what power you are dealing with boy!" snapped Lector. "You could save yourselves a lot of pain by giving up now!"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" growled Drake. "But it's my turn now, and my Tyrant Dragon can attack!" He drew his next card. "I play Winged Dragon and Guardian of the Fortress in attack mode!" His blue dragon appeared next to his Tyrant Dragon. It seemed like a dwarf in comparison. It's stats were 1400 and 1200. "Now, tinhead, say good-bye to your 'unstoppable' Machine King! Tyrant Dragon, blast it!" The Tyrant Dragon bellowed and spread its wings. In a huge burst of fire it melted the Machine King. Nesbit was down to 3800 life points, because of the increased attack of his monster.
"And now you are open to a direct attack!" added Drake. "Winged Dragon, attack his life points!" The Winged Dragon growled and blasted one single hot fireball at Nesbit. He jerked as his armor became smoldering hot. His life points dropped to 2400.
"You aren't going to get our bodies!" snapped Drake. "And according to your own rules, you will be the ones trapped here forever when we win!"
"It's nothing short of what you deserve, too!" added Lara.
"If you are done with your speech, I am going to begin," said Lector, annoyance in his tone. "First, Solemn Wishes will give me 500 more life points, taking me up to 3000. Then I activate Life Absorbing Machine, which will recover any life points I lose this turn at the start of my next turn."
"That's assuming you have a next turn," said Lara. Lector ignored her.
"Then I play Injection Fairy Lily!" he announced. A red-haired fairy in a nurse's outfit appeared in front of him. She held a shot that was almost as long as she was, although she was a rather petite monster to begin with. Her attack was a mere 400 points.
"This monster will be your end!" exclaimed Lector.
"That puny thing?" asked Drake, skeptically.
"Yes," said Lector. "She will beat you, your pathetic monsters, and your pathetic Deckmasters. Then we will escape this nightmare in your bodies!"
"You have a weird definition of pathetic," said Lara.
"Just watch! Lily, attack the Tyrant Dragon!" ordered Lector. Lily smiled, and sat on her syringe, which went flying towards the dragon. There was a large explosion.
"As if that would work," muttered Drake. The smoke cleared. "What the?!" His dragon was gone, and Lily remained standing. The life points on his duel disk showed he was at 2000.
"That's Lily's special ability," said Lector. "I can give 2000 of my life points to her attack points!" His life points were now down to 1000.
"No way!" gasped Drake, who was still stunned. "I can't believe that puny thing took out Tyrant Dragon!"
"Believe it, because things are going to get a lot worse for you," said Lector, rather arrogantly. "Then I play three magic cards, and activate one of the them. I activate Time Seal, which will prevent your girlfriend from drawing a card at the start of her next turn!"
"Big deal," glared Lara. "I still have enough skill to take you down, baldy."
"Oh?" asked Lector. "Then show me."
"Fine," said Lara. "I summon Darkfire Dragon to the field." Her newest monster was a serpentine dragon composed solely of flames. Its attack was 1500 and its defense was 1250. "Now, I will reveal my Dark Magician Girl!" Her Magical Hats faded, showing her favorite monster, standing poised to attack. "You see Lector, you aren't the only one I can attack, and Nesbit had no monster left on the field!"
"You wouldn't!" stammered Nesbit.
"Oh yes I would!" said Lara. "Dark Magician Girl, direct attack!" The Dark Magician Girl smiled and raised her staff again. A dark wave of magic shot out.
"Ha! Now I activate Recycling Plant which will revive my Machine King!" laughed Nesbit.
"Oh no!" cried Lara. It was too late to call off her attack. Her Dark Magician Girl's attack was reflected back by the stronger monster. Lara's monster broke apart. Lara's life points dropped to 1700, because the Machine King had an attack of 2800, thanks to Clockwork Knight and all the monsters in play.
"Lara!" gasped Drake.
"I'm fine. We can still win this," she said.
"It's going to be hard," thought Drake. "Half of my magic cards are useless, because my monsters are no longer dragons. I can't even use my Deckmaster's special ability! And thanks to Jinzo, we can't use our trap cards!"
"Then I will play Block Attack," said Lara. "This will force my Darkfire Dragon from attack mode to defense!"
"Good move," complimented Drake. "We cannot let them win this!" Lara nodded.
"You are doing nothing more than stalling," said Lector. "And your time is running out!"
"Yes," agreed Nesbit. "And we will finally be free! I hope you enjoy the scenery here, because you are going to be here a very long time! Now, Machine King, attack the Winged Dragon and Guardian of the Fortress!"
"No!" gasped Drake as his monster broke into data and disappeared from the duel. Drake's life points stopped at a slim 700.
"It appears we do know more about dueling than the son of the man who invented the game!" said Nesbit. "Now, to hurry things along, I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again!"
"Oh no!" they groaned. But it could not be stopped. The missiles once more exploded. Lara had 1200 life points, and Drake only had 200. Lara was sweating, but Drake had slid to the ground in pain. There were severe physical consequences form dueling in the Virtual World.
"Drake! Drake! Are you okay?!" called Lara, concern rising in her voice.
"I'm...fine..." he stammered as he struggled to his feet.
"Don't hurt them too badly," said Lector to Nesbit. "After all, we do need their bodies when we win."
"Of course," agreed Nesbit. This earned them glares.
"My turn," said Drake, who was breathing heavy. "I use Mystical Space Typhoon on your Clockwork Knight! Say good-bye to your Machine King's power-up!"
"Why don't you say good-bye to your Mystical Space Typhoon!" countered Lector. "I activate Imperial Order, which, for 700 life points, prevents you from using any magic cards!" The lowered his life points to 300, but he didn't seem too worried.
"Oh no!" gasped Lara. "Now we can't use magic or trap cards, and our monsters are just helping Machine King!"
"You've lost already!" said Nesbit. "You're bodies are ours. I think the first thing I'll do to Industrial Illusions is improve its technical output. No one cares about cards, the real money is in computers and machines!"
"You aren't going anywhere!" snapped Drake. "I am not going to let you escape!"
"You have no choice!" countered Lector.
"You have to win this first," growled Drake. "I play one monster face down. That ends my turn."
"A pathetic move from a duelist who had no other options!" said Lector. "Now, thanks to my magic cards, my life points are now 3000, but I will pay 700 of them to keep Imperial Order in play. Then I will tribute my face down monster and summon Satellite Cannon!" There was a loud explosion, then something shot high into the sky.
"Satellite Cannon?" asked Lara. "I don't see it."
"That's because it is in orbit high above us right now!" laughed Lector. "And I doubt you have anything that can attack it all the way up there!"
"There has to be a way..." muttered Lara, but she was beginning to feel discouraged. Her Deckmaster put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
"You don't stand a chance!" said Lector. "And now I will reveal the power of my Satellite Cannon!"
The next thing Lara knew her Darkfire Dragon exploded, leaving nothing but a charred black circle in front of her. She screamed and jumped back in surprise.
"Lara!" exclaimed Drake.
"I'm....fine, just shaken," she answered, and she sounded like it.
"What hit you?" asked Drake, looking around.
"That's the power of my Satellite Cannon," said Lector, smugly. Drake and Lara shared a wary look.
"My turn," said Lara. She drew a card and evaluated the situation. There seemed like so little she could do, with no magic or trap cards, as well as no monsters that could attack the Satellite Cannon. "What am I going to do?" she thought. "I need to somehow regain full control of all my cards."
"I can help," whispered the Witch's Apprentice in her ear.
Lara jumped a bit. "How?"
"If you discard one trap or magic card from your hand, I can destroy one trap or magic card on the field," the Duel Monster answered.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" asked Lara. Then, louder, "I will discard one card and activate my Deckmaster's special ability!"
"What?!" gasped Nesbit.
"Now, my Witch's Apprentice will destroy Imperial Order!" declared Lara.
"No!" yelled Lector. "This...!"
"Now, we can use magic cards again, Drake!" cheered Lara.
"Yes! I knew you'd find a way," replied Drake. Both of them were beaming.
"And now I can activate Monster Reborn, and bring back my Dark Magician Girl!" said Lara.
"So?" asked Lector. "Your monster cannot reach my Satellite Cannon."
"And it only makes Machine King 800 attack points stronger than your monster," added Nesbit.
"Um..." stammered Lara.
"Attack me!" said Drake through his teeth. Lara looked at him, surprised. The look they shared explained everything, though.
"No sharing plots!" snapped Nesbit.
Lara glared at him. "I chose to attack Drake's face down monster card!"
Lector and Nesbit looked stunned.
"It's a suicidal attack! She has given up!" laughed Lector as the Dark Magician Girl did as she was ordered.
"Not quite!" exclaimed Drake. "Reveal Fiber Jar!"
"Fiber Jar?" asked Nesbit.
"Yes, Fiber Jar forces all of us to take all of our cards in our hands, graveyard, and on the field and shuffle them back into the decks!" said Drake. "So, no more Satellite Cannon, no more Machine King, and no more Clockwork Knight!"
"Yes!" cheered Lara.
"No!" cried the two members of the Big 5.
"Now, we all have to draw a new hand," said Drake. They all did so.
"My turn is not over yet," chimed Lara. "I will use the magic card Dark Magic Curtain, which lets me special summon my Dark Magician!" Her monster appeared in front of her, glaring at the now defenseless members of the Big 5. "Attack Nesbit!"
"NO!"
"Dark Magic Attack!"
There was a huge wave of magic which blew Nesbit to atoms, screaming the entire time.
"One down, one to go," smirked Drake. "And since Nesbit is gone, it's now my turn!"
"You..." stammered Lector, but he couldn't say any more. He just gulped.
Drake looked at the monsters in his hand. "I summon Grey Wing to the field! Then I will discard one card." His newest monster only had an attack of 1300, which was less than the life points Lector had remaining. Lector began to feel the faint stirrings of hope, but they were premature. "Direct attack, Grey Wing!" This brought Lector down to 1000 life points.
"That means it is my turn now," said Lector.
"Not quite!" said Drake. "I discarded one card, which allows me to activate Grey Wing's special ability, double attacks!"
"Double Attacks?!"
"It can attack twice in one turn, if I discard one card at the start of my turn!" said Drake with a broad smile. "Good-bye Lector! Grey Wing, attack!"
"NOOOO!!!" Lector's screams faded into nothingness.
"We did it!" cheered Lara. She ran over and embraced her beau. He hugged her back.
"You know, I feel better now," he said. Lara nodded in agreement.
A door materialized in front of them.
"I bet this is the way out!" exclaimed Lara.
"What makes you say that?" asked Drake.
"Well, we won our duel, so according to the rules, we get to leave here in our own bodies," Lara answered.
"You're right!" agreed Drake with a smile. "Let's go." He put a hand on the doorknob and opened it.
**************************************************************************** **
"I'm really glad I found you first," Kevin Hunter answered. Yu-Gi and Téa shifted nervously. "I'm sorry. I'm sure you guys are still a bit freaked about this who situation."
"That's an understatement," muttered Téa. "I hate penguins...."
"You've already dealt with Crum?!" gasped Kevin.
"Yeah," agreed Téa.
"He had no right messing with someone as lovely as you," replied Kevin. Téa seemed a bit surprised and stammered a bit.
"You seem to know a lot about this place and the Big 5," said Yu-Gi.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," agreed Kevin, rubbing the back of his head. As he raised his arm he revealed the duel disk strapped to it. "I'll explain it all."
"Can we please keep walking while we talk?" asked Téa. "It's too cold here." She was the least prepared for a winter expedition. She was only wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.
"Sure," agreed the guys and they started over the ice.
"So Kevin...you were going to explain?" prompted Yu-Gi.
"Yeah," he paused. "I'm not exactly sure where to start...."
"The beginning is always good," suggested Yu-Gi.
"Sure," the new-comer shrugged. "I guess it started when I entered the Battle City tournament."
"You entered?" asked Téa, a bit surprised.
Kevin nodded. "Yeah, I was doing really well too. I had four locator cards and everything....Then things started to go wrong."
"What do you mean?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Well, I ran across this guy who said if I followed him to duel on some new kind of technology Kaiba Corp. was cooking up and won, I'd get two locator cards instead of one, putting me right into the finals. So I jumped at the chance," Kevin continued.
"Pity things that seem too good to be true often are," sighed Téa.
"And this was the case," agreed Kevin. "It turned out to be some sort of test for the new virtual reality world...what we are stuck in now. The guy that found me was working for the Big 5. They wanted to make sure everything worked for when you guys showed up, so they decided to use me as a guinea pig." He clenched a fist at that. "I guess they thought I'd be an easy target." He smirked. "But they haven't been able to bring me down yet. The problem is, I haven't been able to find a way out of here. On the other hand, I've almost figured this place out. I also know they have a major grudge against you guys and Seto Kaiba. So I told myself I'd help you in any way possible; first to spite them and second, hopefully, all of us can find a way out of here."
"Wow....." muttered Yu-Gi after an awkward silence. "That's a lot to have happen...."
"Tell me about it," sighed Kevin. "I am really getting sick of it."
"I don't think we ever introduced ourselves," said Téa. "I'm Téa Gardener."
"A lovely name," said Kevin as he smiled at her.
"And I'm Yu-Gi Motou," added Yu-Gi.
"No way!" exclaimed Kevin. "You're the Yu-Gi Motou? It's an honor to meet you."
"Thanks...." muttered Yu-Gi, a bit sheepishly.
"Do you know how we can find our friends?" asked Téa. Then she shivered a little bit.
"Not precisely," said Kevin. "Noah likes to change this place at whim, and if he doesn't want us to find them we won't. Our best bet is to keep going until we find them."
"Great....." muttered Yu-Gi and Téa.
"Well, anything has to be better than hanging out here," said Téa, rubbing her hands on her arms to try to keep warm.
"Here, you can have my blazer," said Kevin as he took of his red jacket. "I've been here a bit longer, so I'm used to it."
"Wow...thanks Kevin," said Téa as she accepted it.
"Anything for a pretty lady," replied Kevin with a smile. Téa flushed a bit.
"You must be a pretty good duelist if you managed to get four locator cards," said Yu-Gi.
"Of course," smirked Kevin. "My dad taught me everything I know about dueling. I hope to make him proud by winning this tournament as soon as I get out of here. I only need two more locator cards."
"Um...I'm sorry Kevin, but the finals are already half over," said Téa.
"What?!"
"You haven't been missing anything, trust us," said Yu-Gi. "You are probably better off not being in them."
"What do you mean?!" demanded Kevin.
Téa and Yu-Gi were saved from having to answer by a door appearing in mid- air.
"What is this?" asked Téa.
"One of Noah's favorite games," sighed Kevin. "It means he wants us to go to the next level, so to speak."
"Should we open it?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Yes! It's freezing here!" exclaimed Téa.
"We'd be better off," agreed Kevin. "Noah doesn't like it when you don't play along, and he's liable to make things even harder."
"Okay," agreed Yu-Gi. He put a hand on the doorknob. "Here goes nothing."
**************************************************************************** **
"Hey!" exclaimed Joe, turning around from the middle of his duel. "Who let in the draft?" Téa, Yu-Gi, and Kevin had emerged into a courtroom. The three had opened a door straight to his duel. It was quite a change from the frozen wasteland they had escaped. This looked like a genuine courtroom, complete with jury box. There were only two people present, Joe and his opponent, Johnson. Johnson had taken the form of Judgeman; he wore a violet and gold outfit complete with cape and crown that was supposed to look regal. But his face was so primitive with large round teeth, a flat nose, and square chin that one would think it had been a barbarian shoved into a king's outfit.
"It's Joe!" Yu-Gi exclaimed.
"Yu-Gi! Téa!" Joe gasped as he turned around. He looked Kevin over suspiciously. "And who's that?"
"Order! Order in the court!" ordered Johnson as he pounded his gavel in front of him. "If you three do not be quiet, I will have you thrown out of my courtroom!" They shared a look and took a seat behind Joe.
"You're on trial?" asked Yu-Gi.
"I'm dueling one of the Big 5!" Joe said with a smug smile.
"You're going to have to be careful," cautioned Kevin. "That's Johnson, and he's tricky..."
"It's my move," interrupted Johnson.
The duel wasn't looking great for Joe. He had no monsters in play and 2500 life points, but one face down card. Johnson had 1200 life points and Mystical Elf in defense mode. The golden haired elf had a defense of 2000, making her a considerable barrier.
"This doesn't look too good for your friend," commented Kevin.
"Joe can handle himself," said Yu-Gi. "He did come in second in the Duelist Kingdom."
"He was second?" asked Kevin. "I never heard. All anyone talked about was you because you won it." Yu-Gi flushed a little from the fame he still had not adjusted to, but he was busy focusing on the duel.
"I play Curtain of the Dark Ones," announced Johnson. His monster appeared on the left of his Mystical Elf. It was basically a long black cape with two skeleton arms sticking out. Its stats were a mere 500 and 600. "Now, I activate Polymerization to fuse together my Mystical Elf and my Curtain of the Dark Ones to form Kamion Wizard." As he talked he laid his magic card down. The two monsters spiraled together, creating a black-clad warrior with a large scythe. Its attack was only 1300, and somehow Joe seemed disappointed at that.
"Now I play Sinister Justice," declared Johnson. "That let's me attack you directly now. Go Kamion Wizard!" The warrior charged forward and raised its scythe. It slashed across Joe's chest and he gasped in pain. Joe's life points dropped to 1200.
"But Sinister Justice cost me 200 life points to play," added Johnson. That brought him down to 1000. "I play one face down card and end my turn."
"My turn then!" said Joe, a bit snappishly. "I play Panther Warrior in attack mode!" His animal turned fighter appeared in front of him. It stood on its hind paws and carried a sword and shield, as well as wearing some basic green armor. Its attack was 2000, but Panther Warrior required a tribute in order to attack. "Then I'll also play one card face down and end my turn."
"You're up to something, oh well," Johnson said with a shrug. "I activate my magic card Leading Question."
"What does that do?!" gasped Téa.
"It's major bad news," answered Kevin, who was glaring daggers at Johnson.
"This magic card allows me to add 800 attack points to any monster made up of two other monsters," announced Johnson. "That makes my Kamion Wizard stronger than your Panther Warrior!"
"Oh no!" gasped Joe.
"Now, Kamion Wizard, attack his monster!" ordered Johnson.
"Ha!" laughed Joe. "Now I activate Skull Dice!"
"A trap card?!" gasped Johnson.
"Exactly!" said Joe with a big smile. "And the attack of your monster will be cut depending on what number I roll!" As he spoke an imp holding a die as large as itself floated to the middle of the field and dropped the die. It spun around and landed on 6.
"Yes!" cheered Joe. But before he could finish his cheer, the die jumped and landed on 1. "No way!"
Johnson smirked, "You are going to have to find more convincing evidence than that."
"That's tough luck Joe!" called Yu-Gi. "But you can still win this."
"It seems everyone had rotten luck around Johnson," said Kevin, dryly.
The Kamion Wizard completed its attack, slicing Joe's Panther Warrior to ribbons. That brought Joe down to 1100 life points. The duel was starting to turn in Johnson's favor. Joe started his next turn, looking grimly at the cards in his hand. He didn't have that many choices of monsters or magic cards that could help him out of this tight spot.
"What's the matter?" asked Johnson, taunting him. "Did you use up all your best moves during the first stages of the trial?"
"No!" protested Joe, but it was true.
"You almost had this won! Until he turned it around and whipped you," Téa cheered. The guys sweat-dropped.
"I play Swordsman of Landstar in attack mode," announced Joe. His monster looked like a marshmallow that had been shoved into armor. It had a Pillsbury © doughboy head with big bright eyes. It carried a sword and shield, but it hardly seemed a threat, and its stats mirrored that. "Now, I activate Graceful Dice!"
"Alright Joe!" exclaimed Yu-Gi.
A chibi angel floated down much like the imp had done for Skull Dice. It dropped a large green die, which rolled on the floor a bit before landing with the 6 side up.
"YEAH!" Joe cheered. But again he had not completed his shout when the die jumped and stopped on one. Just like Skull Dice, Graceful Dice did not affect the monster at all.
"Oh no! Not again!" groaned Joe as he collapsed, anime-style.
"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Téa.
"For some reason, I'm not surprised," said Kevin with gritted teeth.
"What do you mean?" asked Yu-Gi.
"I'd tell you, but I can't prove it," answered Kevin.
"The verdict is in, you're finished," Johnson said. "Because I know activate my Deckmaster's special ability, Clear the Courtroom!"
"Not this again!" groaned Joe.
Johnson smirked. "I will pay 1000 of my life points and force you to send all your monsters on the field to the graveyard." Johnson now had 800 life points left, but Joe was forced to discard his Swordsman of Landstar. "And now..."
"My turn's not done yet!" exclaimed Joe. "I play two face down cards. Now you can go, your honor." The last part was laced with heavy sarcasm.
"I activate Pot of Greed," announced Johnson. "I bet you wished you had this card, Joseph." Joe currently had no cards in his hand. He smirked.
"Now I can, because I activate Gamble!" Joe announced.
"Huh?" asked Johnson, a bit surprised.
"You heard me," said Joe. "I activate Gamble, and it only works if I have no cards and you have six or more, which you do now!"
"Gamble? That sounds risky," said Téa.
"It is," agreed Yu-Gi. "It is one of the riskiest moves in Duel Monsters. First Joe will flip a coin and call it in the air. If he is correct he gets to draw a new hand, but if he is wrong he forfeits his next turn."
"He can kiss his next turn good-bye," grumbled Kevin.
"Don't be so negative," Téa scolded. "Joe has a fifty-fifty chance."
"Not here," muttered Kevin, quiet enough so that no one heard him.
Joe picked up a small silver coin that had materialized in front of him. He put it on the back of his hand and flipped it into the air, where it turned over itself several times. He then caught it and placed it on the back of his hand. Without yet looking at it Joe called, "Heads!" He removed his hand. "No way! It's tails! Awwww. The world hates me...." Johnson was chuckling.
"Hey! I ain't done! I activate my last magic card, Scapegoats!" announced Joe.
"This is bad," muttered Téa, Yu-Gi and Kevin murmured their agreements.
"You expect to meet me with fuzzballs? It's my turn," said Johnson, his Judgeman disguise giving a big toothy grin. "I use Polymerization to fuse together Armail Warrior and One-Eyed Shield Dragon to create Dragoness the Wicked Knight!" His newest fusion formed from the cards in his hand. It was knight wearing dragon green armor. It's shield resembled the face of the One-Eyed Shield Dragon, and its armor was styled after the Armail Warrior.
"Great..." muttered Joe. "And he can use Leading Question to make that one even stronger."
"Correct," said Johnson. "Now, Kamion Wizard and Dragoness the Wicked Knight, attack two of his Scapegoats!" The tiny pastel colored goats didn't stand a chance.
"All right, my turn!" snapped Joe.
"Order! Order!" yelled Johnson, banging his gavel. "You forfeit this turn. Remember, you called heads but you got tails!"
"Dang it!" Joe exclaimed as he punched the wooden railing in front of him. "Ow...note to self, do not punch virtual railing."
"This luck of yours is bound to change, because it can't get any worse," Téa tried to encourage him.
"Téa, as far as pep talks go, this is not your best work. I'm running out of options here!" Joe called back.
"Hang in there!" Yu-Gi yelled.
"My turn again, and I will take out your last defenses with my monsters! Attack!" order Johnson. The last two Scapegoats fell.
Then, something none of them were expecting happened. In front of the jury box a green column of light began glowing. Everyone present gasped in surprise. That light quickly formed into a solid object, a person.
"Noah!" gasped Yu-Gi as the aqua-haired boy appeared.
"What are you doing here?!" snapped Kevin.
"Johnson, I've had enough of your tricks!" snapped Noah, ignoring everyone else. "I will not tolerate cheaters!"
"But Noah!" stammered Johnson. He was beginning to sweat. "You must understand my position! I'm desperate to get out of here, and I need his body to do so!"
"You don't deserve that prize Johnson," Noah said. It seemed almost silly that this little boy could be making that massive Duel Monster squirm. "Not after what you've just pulled."
"So he cheater." Joe said, his hands forming fists.
"Yes, it's true, the honorable Judgeman is a fraud who has been cheating you from the beginning," Noah replied, coolly. "He's been using my virtual technology to tamper with your dice rolls." His eyes flashed dangerously at Johnson as he said that.
"I knew it!" exclaimed Kevin.
"How about I tamper with your face you big fat fake!" Joe growled, raising a fist.
"Please Noah!" begged Johnson. "You must try to understand! I had no other choice!"
"Then I'm afraid I have no other choice but to fire you," said Noah. "What you do reflects me. And I will never prove I am more deserving than Seto Kaiba if you cheat. Gozaboro should have left everything to me, and now I'm going to gain it all back. But I will not tolerate cheating!"
"Excuse me boy if I may, the defendant would like to speak," Joe interrupted. Johnson and Noah both turned and looked at him. "I'm willing to let this duel continue, if Judge Gruesome agrees to clean up his act."
"What?! Are you crazy?!" yelled Kevin. "If you keep your mouth shut you have this thing won!"
"I don't know who you are, but when I beat this fraud, it proves Joe Wheeler doesn't back down and duels honorably!" Joe exclaimed.
"You do realizes the stakes still stand," said Noah.
"Of course," said Joe.
"Have it your way," said Noah. Then he vanished.
"You are a fool!" laughed Johnson. "Prepare to say good-bye to your body!"
It's my turn, so why don't you shut up," said Joe. He drew his next card. "I think my luck is beginning to change now. I use Pot of Greed and draw two more cards!"
"Big deal," said Johnson. "That cannot save you from the sentence you are about to receive!"
"You do a lot of talking, we'll see where all that hot air gets you!" exclaimed Joe. "Now I move my Deckmaster onto the field!" His Flame Swordsman took two steps and stopped in front of Joe. It was a strong- looking monster, wearing blue armor with red trim and holding a large sword and stern expression. However, its attack had been decreased to 1300 thanks to Joe using its Deckmaster's special ability. "Then I play two magic cards. The first is Burning Soul Sword, which I equip to my Flame Swordsman to raise its attack!"
"You seem to be forgetting something," said Johnson. "You need to tribute a monster to use Burning Soul Sword."
"I haven't forgotten," replied Joe. "I tribute a monster, and it's attack points get added to my Flame Swordsman."
Johnson sighed, "Then you over looked something. You have no monsters on the field to tribute!"
"That's where my next magic card comes in," announced Joe. "Reveal Arjudice Decision!"
"What does that do?" asked Téa.
"It's another big risk on Joe's part," answered Yu-Gi. "First, he draws two cards. Then Johnson picks one. If it is a monster card, Joe can immediately summon it to the field. If it is a magic card, it goes to the graveyard and Joe's turn is over!"
"This move will end the duel one way or another," said Kevin.
Joe drew two cards and held them up, one in his left, and one in his right. "So what's it going to be, your honor?" He smirked.
Johnson looked at the cards, then he studied Joe's face. "I chose the one in your left hand."
"Are you sure?" asked Joe. "I mean, really, really sure? You do realize this entire duel rests on your choice."
"Yes I'm sure," answered Johnson. "The fact that you asked me twice proves I guessed right!"
"Okay, have it your way," Joe answered with a smile.
"Erm..." stammered Johnson, unnerved by the smile. "Wait..."
"Yeah Joe! Stay tough! Johnson is losing his cool!" Yu-Gi cheered
"Come on! Pick a card already. The suspense is driving me crazy!" Téa exclaimed.
"If you can't take it imagine how Joe feels right now," Yu-Gi said to her.
"Is this your final answer?" asked Joe.
"I've spent years and years convincing people that lies were truth," Johnson said. "Yes!" He pounded his gavel. Joe's smile grew and he started to turn the card over.
"WAIT!" exclaimed Johnson. "I've changed my mind, I want the one in the left!"
Joe flipped it over, revealing the monster card Goblin Attack Force. "Ouch, that's gotta hurt."
"No!" yelled Johnson.
"Oh yes!" cheered Joe. "Now I tribute it and add 2300 attack points to my Flame Swordsman, which makes him strong enough to wipe out your Kamion Wizard and you remain life points! Attack Flame Swordsman with Burning Sword of Battle!" His monster raced forward, his sword burning brightly. It turned the Kamion Wizard to ashes.
"NO!" yelled Johnson as he body began to break apart. "How can this be?! I once convinced a jury that a man who had hydrophobia stole a boat! How can I lose in the courtroom!? NO!!!" And he was gone.
"Yes! You did it Joe!" cheered Téa and Yu-Gi.
"Thanks guys! Now we need to find the others," said Joe.
"Yeah, before the Big 5 do," agreed Yu-Gi.
"The Big 5?!" exclaimed Joe.
"They want to duel all of us..."
"What do you mean all of us?!"
"I mean everyone they brought here...."
"But Serenity has never dueled before!!! We need to find her!"
"Okay, calm down Joe," said Téa.
Joe, however, was far from calm. He picked up Kevin by the collar. "You! Where is she!"
"I don't know!" Kevin protested as he squirmed free.
"I don't know who you are, but you have to know where she is! I bet you are a spy for the Big 5!" accused Joe.
"My name is Kevin Hunter, and I am stuck here as much as you are!" Kevin yelled back.
"I don't believe you!" exclaimed Joe.
"Well, it's the truth!" Kevin yelled back.
"BOYS!" screamed Téa. "We aren't helping anyone this way! Now quit fighting with each other!"
"Right! I need to find Serenity!" agreed Joe. With that he turned and raced for the nearest door.
"Wait up!" yelled Yu-Gi as everyone else took off after him.
**************************************************************************** **
Drake and Lara had opened a door that had lead them to a dingy factory section of an unknown city. The factories all seemed run down, with boards across the windows and doors. Everything seemed covered with dust. The pavement was cracked with tiny plants growing in it. The air was still and silent. But it was sunny and dry, which was a major improvement from the swamp they had escaped from.
"Hello!" called Lara. "Anyone here?!"
"Another fine mess Kaiba has gotten us into," grumbled Drake.
"Do you think you could use the gauntlet to get us out of here?" asked Lara.
"I don't think so," replied Drake. "Considering we aren't even 'here.' Here is just a virtual illusion, and we never left the hanger. So I really couldn't teleport us back, because we are technically still there."
"This place seems real enough," said Lara. "I can even smell the motor oil."
"Yeah," agreed Drake. "It's not like that demo form before. Noah is toying with us, and I don't like it."
"Neither do I," agreed Lara. "I can't wait until one of them shows his face. Then we can teach him a lesson!"
Drake chuckled, "Yeah, the Big 5 made the mistake of luring the best duelists in the world here. They are going to pay for shame Industrial Illusion's name. What would a bunch of sleazy businessmen know about dueling anyways?"
"Why don't we show you!" said a voice from the shadows.
"Who's there?!" demanded Drake and Lara as they wheeled around.
Two figures walked stiffly out of an alley between two warehouses. They didn't look like normal humans, and that's because they weren't. The first was a cubical robot with a red and black covering. The second was a bald creature in a green robe with mechanical implants. They were the duel monsters Robotic Knight and Jinzo.
"Looks like the circus lost a few freaks," Drake said, glaring at the newcomers.
"You always were disrespectful young Pegasus," replied the Jinzo.
"Do we know them?" Lara asked Drake.
"I have a hunch..." he answered.
"Perhaps re-introductions are in order," said Robotic Knight. "I am Nesbit, former tech expert of Kaiba Corp."
"And I am Lector, former right hand of Gozaboro Kaiba," added the Jinzo.
"Good, the Big 5," said Lara with a smile.
"Just the people we were looking to pound," added Drake. "Of course, I use the term 'people' loosely."
"How amusing," said Nesbit, dryly. "But for all your taunts, your bodies will be ours! Then we can bring Industrial Illusions under our thumb!"
"It won't be too hard," added Lector, haughtily. "From what I hear, the CEO has vanished off of the face of the planet."
"Grrrr," growled Drake. "You leave dad out of this!"
"I hope you said 'good-bye' to him," responded Nesbit. "Because you are never going to see him again, once we win this duel and leave your minds trapped her forever!"
"You'd never be able to beat us!" Lara said, cutting off Drake's insult. "You failed at business, and you'll fail at dueling."
"It's going to be fun putting you in your place," said Lector. "So let's begin this!"
"Yes, let's!" agreed Drake. They all activated their duel disks.
"You'll be playing by our rules now, and you have to select a whole new deck!" said Nesbit. The virtual card database appeared in front of Lara and Drake.
"What the?!" gasped Lara.
"Simply touch a card and it will be added to your deck," explained Lector, in a tone one would use on a child. Drake and Lara shared a look, then quickly began reassembling their decks as fast as they could.
"I have a good feeling about this," said Drake with a smile as his new deck appeared in his duel disk. "Let's go! The sooner we start this, the sooner you two freaks can lose!"
"Haven't you forgotten something?" asked Lector. "According to our rules, you still have to pick a Deckmaster."
"Big deal," shrugged Drake. He picked up his deck and flipped through it. "This is a no-brainer. I chose Lord of Dragons!" His monster appeared behind him. The Lord of Dragons was a humanoid monster, but its bone-lined armor was so thick it was hard to tell.
Lara was having a bit harder time picking. "Any of my monsters would do a good job as a Deckmaster," she thought. Then she came across her Dark Magician Girl. "Dia! Of course!" As she began to pull her Dark Magician Girl out, her Witch's Apprentice fell out and floated to the ground. The card sprang to life and a hologram of her appeared. The Witch's Apprentice had flaming red hair, tiny dove wings, and a blue robe. A broom rested casually in her right hand.
"That's your Deckmaster?" asked Drake, a bit surprised.
"Well....I wanted my Dark Magician Girl," said Lara, holding her favorite card between her fingers.
"Too late!" laughed Nesbit and Lector.
"Rules state that once a Deckmaster is chosen it can't be changed," said Nesbit.
"Fine. She'll make a fine Deckmaster," said Lara, confidently. The Witch's Apprentice beamed.
"Since we have taken the forms of monsters, we will be both the duelists and the Deckmasters," said Nesbit.
"Now, ladies first," said Lector. "You two had better be familiar with the rules of a double duel."
"Of course!" snapped Drake. "My dad did invent this game after all!"
"Drake, calm down," said Lara. "We'll prove it to them in this duel." She drew her opening hand. "Hmmm...I play one monster and one magic card face down."
"I will go next," volunteered Nesbit. "And I will also play one monster face down and end my turn."
"Then I play Spirit Ryu in attack mode," announced Drake. His first monster appeared directly in front of him. It was a pale blue, almost translucent. Its attack and defense were equal at 1000.
"Now it's my turn," announced Lector. "I will also play one monster face down. Then I activate Solemn Wishes, which will give me 500 life points for ever card I draw."
"Okay, the first round's over," said Lara. "Now I can attack! But first, I'm going to tribute my face down monster for Dark Magician Girl!" Her favorite monster appeared in place of the face down card hologram. The Dark Magician Girl twirled her staff and smiled. Her attack was 2000, since there was no Dark Magicians in the graveyard. "Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack Lector's face down monster!" She nodded, raised her staff, and blasted the card.
It flipped over long enough to reveal Dreamsprite. That monster could normally be a pain to try to eliminate, because her special ability allowed her to redirect incoming attacks to another monster. But since Lector didn't have any other monsters, the Dreamsprite was destroyed.
"Now you have no monster protecting your life points," said Lara to Lector. "And you are wide open for a direct attack!"
"However, it is now my turn!" interrupted Nesbit. "I will also tribute my face down monster and summon the unstoppable Machine King!" A monster that strongly resembled the Robotic Knight appeared. This one was taller though, and had a circular chest and barrel like arms. Its attack was 2200, but it gained 100 attack points for every machine type monster on the field, including itself, which brought it to 2300 attack points.
"Before I attack, I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability," said Nesbit.
"This doesn't sound good," muttered Drake.
"By discarding one machine type monster from my hand to the graveyard I can hit you both with 500 direct damage!" he yelled. He slid one card into his graveyard. "Activate Final Artillery!" As he said that hidden compartments opened on his chest and launched missiles, which hit the other two duelists. They both cried out in pain as their life points dropped to 3500.
"Lara! Are you okay?!" called Drake.
"I've been better," she muttered. "And you honey?"
"I'll be fine once I take these tin cans to the scrap yard!" he growled.
"You have always talked big Pegasus," said Nesbit. "But you are about to experience the true power and superiority of us machines. And what better way to show you then my attacking your girlfriend? Now, Machine King, attack the Dark Magician Girl!" The Machine King turned and opened fire on the spellcaster.
"You've overlooked my face down card!" said Lara. "I activate Negate Attack!" A transparent barrier formed in front of her monster, deleting the attack.
"You'll find we won't be so easy to beat," said Drake with a smirk. "That's because we know what teamwork really is! You corporate scum wouldn't know loyalty if your lives depended on it."
"You had better watch your words, before we make you swallow them!" snapped Lector.
"Swallow this!" said Drake as he started his turn. He put Monster Reborn on the field face down. "First I play this. Then I will activate Spirit Ryu's special ability! By discarding one dragon type monster from my hand, I can increase Spirit Ryu's attack and defense by 1000 points for this turn!" His monster growled viciously as its stats were both raised to 2000. "The monster I am going to discard is my Tyrant Dragon." He slid his prized card into the graveyard.
Lector and Nesbit laughed. "You are discarding something that powerful? You certainly can't be half the duelist you claim to be!" laughed Lector.
"That is yet another reason why machines are superior to creatures of flesh and blood," said Nesbit. "You can program machines, and they will act according to their programming. They cannot go insane, like you have!"
"Laugh now," said Drake. "Because you won't be laughing when I'm done! Lector, you have no defense! Prepare for a direct attack from my Spirit Ryu! GO!" His monster took flight, blasting a powerful beam at Jinzo. Jinzo gasped and slid back a couple of feet as his life points were cut in half.
"Yes! Way to go Drake!" cheered Lara. "We'll have them beaten by the end of our next turn!"
"It's not over yet!" growled Lector, straightening himself up.
"Your right," said Drake. "My turn is not over. I will now activate my magic card, Monster Reborn, to bring my Tyrant Dragon back from the graveyard. The Tyrant Dragon requires one tribute to do so, but it is better than the two tributes it would require for a normal summoning! So, I will tribute my Spirit Ryu to revive my Tyrant Dragon!" The holograms showed his favorite dragon rising out of the ground. It was huge, nearly as large as the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The Tyrant Dragon was black, but it seemed to be glowing like magma. It looked like the dragon from European myths, except it was much more vicious than anyone ever depicted. Its attack was 2900 and its defense was 2500.
"To make things even worse for you two, I will reveal my face down card, Dragon's Rage!" announced Drake. "This card let's me do damage to you even if your monsters are in defense mode!"
"I think not!" yelled Lector. "You are forgetting my Deckmaster's special ability. As Jinzo, none of your trap cards will work!"
"Dang..." muttered Lara.
Drake glared at him. "Since my battle phase is over, I will end my turn now.
"Before my turn starts, Solemn Wishes will give my 500 life points as I draw my next card," said Lector as his life points went up to 2500. "Then I play one monster card face down in defense mode, and one magic card face down as well. That ends my turn."
"How exciting," sighed Lara.
"Oh? And you can do better?" asked Nesbit. "Your Dark Magician Girl will fall to my Machine King next turn!"
Lara bit her lip and drew her next card. "That's if you can find her! I play Magical Hats!" Four top hats appeared on the field in front of her. One covered her monster. Then they shuffled around, so it was impossible to say which one the Dark Magician Girl was hiding under.
"A common human trick," said Nesbit. "It is cowardice. Us machines know no fear." Lector rolled his eyes.
"Let's see if your robotic brain is any good at guessing!" snapped Lara.
"Before I wipe out your monster, I will play Clockwork Knight!" announced Nesbit. "This magic card turns all the monsters on the field into machine types!" The monsters on the field all became robots, with robot plates and wiring.
"Oh no....this is bad," groaned Drake, who's whole deck had been dependant on his dragon type monsters.
"There are four monsters on the field, that means my Machine King now has an attack of 2600!" declared Nesbit. "Now to finish off your Dark Magician Girl. Machine King, attack the second hat on the left!" The Machine King once again opened fired, but when the dust cleared, the hat turned out to be empty.
"It appears machines aren't very good guessers," said Lara.
"First, I place one card face down. Now, you will learn you're place human!" snapped Nesbit. "Because I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again!"
"Great..." groaned Drake and Lara.
"This time, I will discard two machine type monsters from my hand to activate Final Artillery!" The couple once again gasped in pain as the missiles exploded around them. Their life points dropped to 2500. "Give up now, because your bodies will be ours!"
"Never!" growled Lara.
"You haven't won this yet!" added Drake.
"You do not know what power you are dealing with boy!" snapped Lector. "You could save yourselves a lot of pain by giving up now!"
"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" growled Drake. "But it's my turn now, and my Tyrant Dragon can attack!" He drew his next card. "I play Winged Dragon and Guardian of the Fortress in attack mode!" His blue dragon appeared next to his Tyrant Dragon. It seemed like a dwarf in comparison. It's stats were 1400 and 1200. "Now, tinhead, say good-bye to your 'unstoppable' Machine King! Tyrant Dragon, blast it!" The Tyrant Dragon bellowed and spread its wings. In a huge burst of fire it melted the Machine King. Nesbit was down to 3800 life points, because of the increased attack of his monster.
"And now you are open to a direct attack!" added Drake. "Winged Dragon, attack his life points!" The Winged Dragon growled and blasted one single hot fireball at Nesbit. He jerked as his armor became smoldering hot. His life points dropped to 2400.
"You aren't going to get our bodies!" snapped Drake. "And according to your own rules, you will be the ones trapped here forever when we win!"
"It's nothing short of what you deserve, too!" added Lara.
"If you are done with your speech, I am going to begin," said Lector, annoyance in his tone. "First, Solemn Wishes will give me 500 more life points, taking me up to 3000. Then I activate Life Absorbing Machine, which will recover any life points I lose this turn at the start of my next turn."
"That's assuming you have a next turn," said Lara. Lector ignored her.
"Then I play Injection Fairy Lily!" he announced. A red-haired fairy in a nurse's outfit appeared in front of him. She held a shot that was almost as long as she was, although she was a rather petite monster to begin with. Her attack was a mere 400 points.
"This monster will be your end!" exclaimed Lector.
"That puny thing?" asked Drake, skeptically.
"Yes," said Lector. "She will beat you, your pathetic monsters, and your pathetic Deckmasters. Then we will escape this nightmare in your bodies!"
"You have a weird definition of pathetic," said Lara.
"Just watch! Lily, attack the Tyrant Dragon!" ordered Lector. Lily smiled, and sat on her syringe, which went flying towards the dragon. There was a large explosion.
"As if that would work," muttered Drake. The smoke cleared. "What the?!" His dragon was gone, and Lily remained standing. The life points on his duel disk showed he was at 2000.
"That's Lily's special ability," said Lector. "I can give 2000 of my life points to her attack points!" His life points were now down to 1000.
"No way!" gasped Drake, who was still stunned. "I can't believe that puny thing took out Tyrant Dragon!"
"Believe it, because things are going to get a lot worse for you," said Lector, rather arrogantly. "Then I play three magic cards, and activate one of the them. I activate Time Seal, which will prevent your girlfriend from drawing a card at the start of her next turn!"
"Big deal," glared Lara. "I still have enough skill to take you down, baldy."
"Oh?" asked Lector. "Then show me."
"Fine," said Lara. "I summon Darkfire Dragon to the field." Her newest monster was a serpentine dragon composed solely of flames. Its attack was 1500 and its defense was 1250. "Now, I will reveal my Dark Magician Girl!" Her Magical Hats faded, showing her favorite monster, standing poised to attack. "You see Lector, you aren't the only one I can attack, and Nesbit had no monster left on the field!"
"You wouldn't!" stammered Nesbit.
"Oh yes I would!" said Lara. "Dark Magician Girl, direct attack!" The Dark Magician Girl smiled and raised her staff again. A dark wave of magic shot out.
"Ha! Now I activate Recycling Plant which will revive my Machine King!" laughed Nesbit.
"Oh no!" cried Lara. It was too late to call off her attack. Her Dark Magician Girl's attack was reflected back by the stronger monster. Lara's monster broke apart. Lara's life points dropped to 1700, because the Machine King had an attack of 2800, thanks to Clockwork Knight and all the monsters in play.
"Lara!" gasped Drake.
"I'm fine. We can still win this," she said.
"It's going to be hard," thought Drake. "Half of my magic cards are useless, because my monsters are no longer dragons. I can't even use my Deckmaster's special ability! And thanks to Jinzo, we can't use our trap cards!"
"Then I will play Block Attack," said Lara. "This will force my Darkfire Dragon from attack mode to defense!"
"Good move," complimented Drake. "We cannot let them win this!" Lara nodded.
"You are doing nothing more than stalling," said Lector. "And your time is running out!"
"Yes," agreed Nesbit. "And we will finally be free! I hope you enjoy the scenery here, because you are going to be here a very long time! Now, Machine King, attack the Winged Dragon and Guardian of the Fortress!"
"No!" gasped Drake as his monster broke into data and disappeared from the duel. Drake's life points stopped at a slim 700.
"It appears we do know more about dueling than the son of the man who invented the game!" said Nesbit. "Now, to hurry things along, I will activate my Deckmaster's special ability again!"
"Oh no!" they groaned. But it could not be stopped. The missiles once more exploded. Lara had 1200 life points, and Drake only had 200. Lara was sweating, but Drake had slid to the ground in pain. There were severe physical consequences form dueling in the Virtual World.
"Drake! Drake! Are you okay?!" called Lara, concern rising in her voice.
"I'm...fine..." he stammered as he struggled to his feet.
"Don't hurt them too badly," said Lector to Nesbit. "After all, we do need their bodies when we win."
"Of course," agreed Nesbit. This earned them glares.
"My turn," said Drake, who was breathing heavy. "I use Mystical Space Typhoon on your Clockwork Knight! Say good-bye to your Machine King's power-up!"
"Why don't you say good-bye to your Mystical Space Typhoon!" countered Lector. "I activate Imperial Order, which, for 700 life points, prevents you from using any magic cards!" The lowered his life points to 300, but he didn't seem too worried.
"Oh no!" gasped Lara. "Now we can't use magic or trap cards, and our monsters are just helping Machine King!"
"You've lost already!" said Nesbit. "You're bodies are ours. I think the first thing I'll do to Industrial Illusions is improve its technical output. No one cares about cards, the real money is in computers and machines!"
"You aren't going anywhere!" snapped Drake. "I am not going to let you escape!"
"You have no choice!" countered Lector.
"You have to win this first," growled Drake. "I play one monster face down. That ends my turn."
"A pathetic move from a duelist who had no other options!" said Lector. "Now, thanks to my magic cards, my life points are now 3000, but I will pay 700 of them to keep Imperial Order in play. Then I will tribute my face down monster and summon Satellite Cannon!" There was a loud explosion, then something shot high into the sky.
"Satellite Cannon?" asked Lara. "I don't see it."
"That's because it is in orbit high above us right now!" laughed Lector. "And I doubt you have anything that can attack it all the way up there!"
"There has to be a way..." muttered Lara, but she was beginning to feel discouraged. Her Deckmaster put a hand on her shoulder for comfort.
"You don't stand a chance!" said Lector. "And now I will reveal the power of my Satellite Cannon!"
The next thing Lara knew her Darkfire Dragon exploded, leaving nothing but a charred black circle in front of her. She screamed and jumped back in surprise.
"Lara!" exclaimed Drake.
"I'm....fine, just shaken," she answered, and she sounded like it.
"What hit you?" asked Drake, looking around.
"That's the power of my Satellite Cannon," said Lector, smugly. Drake and Lara shared a wary look.
"My turn," said Lara. She drew a card and evaluated the situation. There seemed like so little she could do, with no magic or trap cards, as well as no monsters that could attack the Satellite Cannon. "What am I going to do?" she thought. "I need to somehow regain full control of all my cards."
"I can help," whispered the Witch's Apprentice in her ear.
Lara jumped a bit. "How?"
"If you discard one trap or magic card from your hand, I can destroy one trap or magic card on the field," the Duel Monster answered.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" asked Lara. Then, louder, "I will discard one card and activate my Deckmaster's special ability!"
"What?!" gasped Nesbit.
"Now, my Witch's Apprentice will destroy Imperial Order!" declared Lara.
"No!" yelled Lector. "This...!"
"Now, we can use magic cards again, Drake!" cheered Lara.
"Yes! I knew you'd find a way," replied Drake. Both of them were beaming.
"And now I can activate Monster Reborn, and bring back my Dark Magician Girl!" said Lara.
"So?" asked Lector. "Your monster cannot reach my Satellite Cannon."
"And it only makes Machine King 800 attack points stronger than your monster," added Nesbit.
"Um..." stammered Lara.
"Attack me!" said Drake through his teeth. Lara looked at him, surprised. The look they shared explained everything, though.
"No sharing plots!" snapped Nesbit.
Lara glared at him. "I chose to attack Drake's face down monster card!"
Lector and Nesbit looked stunned.
"It's a suicidal attack! She has given up!" laughed Lector as the Dark Magician Girl did as she was ordered.
"Not quite!" exclaimed Drake. "Reveal Fiber Jar!"
"Fiber Jar?" asked Nesbit.
"Yes, Fiber Jar forces all of us to take all of our cards in our hands, graveyard, and on the field and shuffle them back into the decks!" said Drake. "So, no more Satellite Cannon, no more Machine King, and no more Clockwork Knight!"
"Yes!" cheered Lara.
"No!" cried the two members of the Big 5.
"Now, we all have to draw a new hand," said Drake. They all did so.
"My turn is not over yet," chimed Lara. "I will use the magic card Dark Magic Curtain, which lets me special summon my Dark Magician!" Her monster appeared in front of her, glaring at the now defenseless members of the Big 5. "Attack Nesbit!"
"NO!"
"Dark Magic Attack!"
There was a huge wave of magic which blew Nesbit to atoms, screaming the entire time.
"One down, one to go," smirked Drake. "And since Nesbit is gone, it's now my turn!"
"You..." stammered Lector, but he couldn't say any more. He just gulped.
Drake looked at the monsters in his hand. "I summon Grey Wing to the field! Then I will discard one card." His newest monster only had an attack of 1300, which was less than the life points Lector had remaining. Lector began to feel the faint stirrings of hope, but they were premature. "Direct attack, Grey Wing!" This brought Lector down to 1000 life points.
"That means it is my turn now," said Lector.
"Not quite!" said Drake. "I discarded one card, which allows me to activate Grey Wing's special ability, double attacks!"
"Double Attacks?!"
"It can attack twice in one turn, if I discard one card at the start of my turn!" said Drake with a broad smile. "Good-bye Lector! Grey Wing, attack!"
"NOOOO!!!" Lector's screams faded into nothingness.
"We did it!" cheered Lara. She ran over and embraced her beau. He hugged her back.
"You know, I feel better now," he said. Lara nodded in agreement.
A door materialized in front of them.
"I bet this is the way out!" exclaimed Lara.
"What makes you say that?" asked Drake.
"Well, we won our duel, so according to the rules, we get to leave here in our own bodies," Lara answered.
"You're right!" agreed Drake with a smile. "Let's go." He put a hand on the doorknob and opened it.
**************************************************************************** **