Lu: It's me again! Yes, I know I haven't updated in ages, but I ran out of steam with this chapter. Not enough romance, y'know? Anyway, here's the next chapter. And it has a duel in it! An proper duel, in which I actually researched and got the life points and attack points right! Be proud of me! DayDreamerz, this chapter's for you!
The Red-Eyes dove sharply, while Mai held onto Joey for dear life. Despite the heart-stopping thrill of the dive, she shrieked with laughter, burying her face into Joey's shoulder. The dragon halted seconds before it collided with the ground. It flapped its wings slower and slower until the tips of its claws were touching the dirt, and then it fell heavily onto its talons. Joey jumped off and helped Mai down. She was still giggling slightly, and she collapsed into his arms. Around them, the rest of the group were dismounting Curse of Dragon and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"Well, here we are," said Duke. "I don't see any qualification cards."
"They're hidden around her. Anyone who still needs cards can look," explained Seto, and everybody nodded. Joey and Mai took the left hand border of trees, Seto took the right hand border, Yami and Yugi took the last line of trees. Duke and Ryou helped them all in turn. After two minutes, Seto let out a cry of triumph.
"I've found three cards!" he exclaimed. "There are four of us, so one of us will have to duel." Joey, Mai, Yami and Seto met in the middle of the clearing.
"I'll duel," sighed Yami. The other three opened thier mouths to protest, but Yami silenced them by holding up a hand. "I want to duel. It will be one of my first ever duels without Yugi to help, and I need to get used to it. But first I need to find somebody to duel."
"Thank you Yami," chorused Joey and Mai, while Seto nodded appreciatively. Yami smiled, and took out his deck, slotting it into his duel disk. Joey and Mai took one card each from Seto's outstretched hand. There was an intricate design on the card, consisting of snakes and vines intertwined.
"Hey Kaiba, what's with de snakes?" asked Joey, his face screwed up in concentration as he tried to figure it out. He spun the card around a couple of times. Seto sighed like his trials would never end, and took the card from Joey. He spun it upright, and handed it back. Joey noticed it them. The snakes, which were a deep crimson, seemed to be joined at the tail. The vines were arranged so that they made a skull around the snakes. Joey glanced at Mai's and Seto's cards, which were the same.
"It's a Hydra," explained Seto. "A mythological 5 headed snake, that was killed by Hercules. If the heads were cut off, two more would replace it. The venom of the Hydra is poisonous. The middle head was said to be immortal, which is why the middle head on here is slightly darker than the others. I had it made especially for this tournament. It's a monster card, level 4 with 2000 attack and defence."
"That's strong," commented Mai. "Does it have any special abilities that may disadvantage the duellist?"
"No, I thought anyone who managed to get to the finals deserves to have a strong monster. It's name is Skull Hydra, by the way," Seto informed them. Yami was waiting patiently for them to finish their conversation so he could find someone to duel.
As the chattering subsided, Yami said, "We could fly on the dragons again. That way we can see any other duellists. But Kaiba, why should they duel me if they don't have anything in it for them?"
"They have to. It is against the rules of the tournament to turn down a duel. Mokuba is keeping a very close eye on this, so any duellist that turns down a duel will have to answer to him," replied Seto.
"I see. So what if someone challenges one of you?"
"Den we'll crush 'em!" shouted Joey. "So let's go!" Everyone else nodded in agreement. They jumped on the dragons and took off. Seven sets of eyes scanned the forests below, looking for a duellist who could possibly have a qualification card.
"I can see someone!" yelled Yugi. "Down there! At the edge of the trees! It looks like Weevil!" The dragons dove down towards the green-haired duellist. Landing on the ground next to Weevil, the gang jumped off of the dragons. Yami ran up to Weevil.
"Weevil, do you have a qualification card?" asked Yami. Weevil nodded, smirking. "In that case, I challenge you to a duel, Weevil," stated Yami.
"I don't have to accept," sneered Weevil.
"I'm afraid you do," boomed a voice from no where. It reverberated about the virtual world, as if it were the voice of god. "As comissioner of the tournament, I, Mokuba Kaiba, will be forced to disqualify you if you do not accept Yami's duel, Weevil."
"That was quick," whispered Ryou. The last echoing syllables of Mokuba's announcement disappeared from the land.
"Fine, I'll accept your duel, but only on one condition," sighed Weevil.
"What's that?" asked Yami.
"That if I win, I get to take the rarest card from your deck, like in the last tournament. Then I'll have an Egyptian God card, and I'll be unstoppable!"
"I agree to your conditions, Weevil. Let's duel!" The two duellists drew their first cards. Yami surveyed his hand.
'Gemini Elf, Mystical Elf, Yami, Raigeki and Trap Hole. A very good opening hand if I do say so myself,' thought Yami. He signaled to Weevil that he could go first.
"I summon Girochin Kuwagata in attack mode!" announced Weevil. A bug with huge pincers on its face appeared on the field, standing upright on its two lower legs. "With an attack of 1700 and a defense of 1500, this bug will take out almost anything that stands in its way. I also play the field magic card, Forest, which raises the attack and defense of all insect monsters by 200 points, boosting my Girochin's attack points to 1900. I'll finish my turn by placing this card face down."
"I draw," declared Yami. He drew a trap card, Widespread Ruin. "I summon Gemini Elf in attack mode, and use the field magic card Yami to increase its attack points to 2100! This also knocks off your field magic card, bringing your Girochin's attack point back down to 1700. I also place these two cads face down before attacking your monster!" The twin elves appeared on the field, as did the black and purple darkness produced by the Yami card. Two face down cards also appeared. The elves conjured up a glowing white ball, and threw it at the bug simultaniously. Girochin Kuwagata was destroyed instantly, and Weevil's life points dropped to 7600. "Your turn, Weevil."
"Yes," said Weevil venomously, drawing his card. "I summon Jirai Gumo in attack mode!" A huge, gross spider-like monster appeared on the field, making a hissing sound.
"Oh no you don't!" smirked Yami. "I activate my trap card, Trap Hole. This card destroys your monster." A large hole appeared in the ground below Jirai Gumo's eight feet, and the spider fell in. It writhed in pain for a couple of seconds, before disappearing completely, along with the hole. Weevil looked distraught, but recovered quickly.
"I play these two cards face down before ending my turn," he stated. Yami began his turn by drawing a card, which turned out to be Opticlops, a strong fiend-type monster with 1800 attack and 1700 defence.
"I summon Opticlops in attack mode!" announced Yami, placing the monster on his Duel Disk. A monster with long arms and legs, a horn on its head and a reddish tinge to its skin appeared.
"I activate Windstorm of Etaqua, which switches the position of both of your monsters on the field to defense. You cannot attack this turn," announced Weevil.
"In that case, I shall end my turn," sighed Yami. Weevil drew a card.
"I summon Giant Flea in defense mode, and place another card face down," said Weevil. "That will end my turn."
"My turn," said Yami, drawing a card. "I play Heavy Storm magic card, which destroys all of your face down cards, although mine are destroyed too. I also play Raigeki, which destroys your Giant Flea. I have left you defenseless Weevil. I switch my two monsters into attack mode. Gemini Elf, Opticlops, attack his life points directly!" The elves shot their glowing ball of magic straight at Weevil, while the Opticlops lumbered forward and punched Weevil clumsily. Despite of the lazy punch, Weevil's life points took a severe drop, all the way down to 3500. Weevil flinced, muttering all manner of curses and swear words under his breath. "And with that, I end my turn."
"Finally," muttered Weevil, after drawing a card. "I use Monster Reborn to bring back my Jirai Gumo, and then I summon Arsenal Bug. Jirai Gumo, attack his Gemini Elf. There is a slight drawback to the Jirai Gumo card. I have to flip a coin, and if I call wrong, then my life points are halved before attacking. I call heads!" Weevil took a coin from his pockets, and flicked it into the air. The coin flipped over, while the onlookers held their breath. It finally landed on tails.
"Damn," swore Weevil, and then recovered. His life points were cut to 1750. "Oh well, I still destroy your Gemini Elf, which brings your life points down to 7900. I will end my turn now."
'This doesn't look good,' thought Yami doubtfully. He drew a card to start his turn.
"I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards," said Yami, taking the two cards that his Duel Disk had ejected at his words. His face lit up in triumph as he saw the two cards. "First of all, I play this magic card, Tremendous Fire. I must first reduce my life points by 500, but I get to reduce your life points by 1000. Weevil you have put up a strong fight, and without cheating for once, but the duel ends here. I attach this magic card to my Opticlops. This Axe of Despair equip card increases my monsters attack points by 1000, making it 1000 points stronger than your Arsenal Bug. And since you only have 750 life points, I believe that our duel is about to end. Opticlops, attack his Arsenal Bug." Opticlops' lengthy arms raised, as the blade on the axe rotated until it was straight above the neck. The axe swung down, and then the bug disappeared.
"Yeah, go Yuge!" yelled Joey.
"I believe you owe me a qualification card, Weevil," smirked Yami, holding out his hand for a hand shake. Weevil hit the hand away, and started to walk away. Seto cleared his throat loudly.
"Give him his qualification card, Weevil, or you will be disqualified from the tournament," he threatened. Weevil glanced at Seto, and then threw the card over his shoulder before running into the forest. The card fluttered downward, before Yami caught it.
"Is this the card?" Yami asked Seto, showing the card to him.
"Yes, that's the one. Congratulations Yami, you mare now officially a finalist of the Conflict Duel tournament," said Seto.
"Conflict Duel tournament?" questioned Mai.
"Mokuba and I decided on the name this morning. Most of the good names were already copyrighted to other companies, so we just had to sit there and brainstorm all night."
"Well, we've just got to avoid other duellists until the end of the simulation. Then we'll be able to start preparing for the finals," said Yami, pocketing the Skull Hydra card.
"And that is in approximately 10 seconds," said Seto, looking at his watch. A loud beep filled the ears of everyone in the virtual world. As the ten seconds came to a close, the world around them flickered, and they all fell unconscious.
Lu: Well, what do you think? I changed the life points to 8000, 'cause 4000 just isn't enough. I'm 82.1 complete in my Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship Tournament 2004 game! Yay! Anyway, review y'all! Press dat little blue button!