Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Tournament of Tears
Chapter 4: Sand Battle
Terra stepped forward, his sand-colored hair ruffled up and a calm smile on his lips. "My little host…it's a pleasure to see you outside of our body."
Griff stepped forward next, and his eyes said what his body couldn't. ("I will beat you Terra, if just to prove that your demonic existence doesn't make me what I am.")
The Mediator yawned. "Begin."
Griff- 4000
Terra- 4000
"I'm first, draw!" Griff glanced at the drawn card. "Dark Scorpion-Meanae the Thorn (1000/1800) in defense mode." The only female member of the Scorpion gang appeared in play in a crouching position. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field. End turn."
Terra drew. "Now I'll show you the truth of the matter! My power can't be stopped by you! Activate Thief King's Cohorts! This card can only activate when my opponent has a monster in play and I don't…I can now special summon Thief Horseman (1600/1000) from my deck to the field!" A red-eyed being on a horse holding a sharp scimitar appeared in play. "Go now, attack his monster!"
"Why? Your monster doesn't have enough attack…"
"From my hand I play the quickplay magic card Bandit's Trick! This card can only be activated when a monster with Thief in its title attacks. I can cut the attack of my monster in half and attack you directly!" (800/1000) The rider created a scythe of energy from its sword that slashed right into Griff. "You're finished…when this monster deals you battle damage, you discard a card from your hand!"
"That might be true…" Griff smiled and pointed at the cut along his clothing.
"Where's the wound?" Terra's eyes widened in understanding. ("A trap?") Pain spiked up his arm and he looked down to see a long scar running along the length of it.
"My face-down card was Dark Scorpion Reversal. This card allows me to switch the target of any damaging effect to another appropriate target." Griff pointed at his 'spirit'. "So discard a card from your hand."
Griff- 4000
Terra- 3200
Terra smirked and discarded a single card. "Clever move, human…"
That reminded Griff that at the moment he was a human…and hence he might not be able to stand against any actual damage in this kind of duel. "Anything else, Terra?"
"Yes," the wolf demon mused to himself for a moment, and then slid two cards into his disk. "I set two cards on the field and end my turn."
Griff drew and pointed at Meanae. "I sacrifice Meanae to summon Dark Scorpion-Gorg the Strong (1800/1500) to the field!" The woman disappeared and was replaced by the Dark Scorpion's largest member. "Gorg, attack his monster now!" Hefting its hammer, the mighty warrior leapt towards the rider with intent to crush…
Terra shook his head sadly. "You walked right into my Emergency Casting!" Energy flowed around the wolf thief's body. "Now I may play any one magic card from my hand!" All around them the arena changed and turned into a dark cave filled with treasure. "The field magic card Thief's Treasure Vault! When a monster with Thief in its title destroys a monster as a result of battle, I may choose to either discard a card from my opponent's hand, or I may discard the top two cards of your deck!"
Griff frowned. "But Gorg is stronger than your monster…"
"Only for the moment. Reveal Reinforcements!" The rider charged and slashed right through Gorg. "This card raises the attack of one monster on the field by 500." (2100/1000) "And because of that, you must now discard two cards at random from your hand."
Griff- 3700
Terra- 3200
Griff looked down at his hand and watched as one card faded away. Grasping another card, he slid it into his graveyard slot. "You're good Terra, but you missed my killer combo! I set one card face-down on the field…and activate Mirage of Nightmare! End turn!" A deep sigh left the boy's mouth. ("I will do this…for my family name. I can't lose to you.")
Terra heard this in his mind, and then shut off the mental connection that Griff knew nothing of. ("I don't need to cheat…not for you.") He smiled again. ("I respect your will too much for such a method.") He drew.
"During your standby phase, I use the effect of Mirage of Nightmare to draw four cards!" Griff snapped four cards off of his deck.
Terra placed another card onto his disk. "Perhaps so, but I will still summon a new power. Another of my Thief Horsemen!" Another of the horse-riding thieves appeared on the field. "Attack his life points directly!"
Griff pointed at his set card and it flipped up. "I activate Confusion amongst the Ranks!" Mirage of Nightmare faded away. "By sacrificing one magic or trap card on my field, I can redirect your Horseman's attack to the other!" The horse turned and ran right into its brother, both of them blowing apart. "Also, because of this the effect of your field card forces us both to select one of the two effects for our opponent!"
"I'm first." Terra pointed at Griff's deck. "Discard the top two cards of your deck."
"The top two cards of my deck?" Griff blinked in surprise. "Why would you do that? I have four cards in my hand…do you not care that they are there?"
"I don't have to explain." Terra rubbed a finger under his nose. "Just do it."
Griff did so, and his eyes widened at what was discarded. ("My Pot of Greed and Don Zaloog…") "Then I choose to discard the top two cards of your deck." Two cards disappeared from Terra's deck.
Terra sneered and held up his hand. A single card appeared within his grasp. "Thank you, dear human."
"How did you…"
"The effect of my field card is that when a card is discarded from my deck or hand by the effect of my opponent, the top magic card of their graveyard is activated by me!" He flipped over Pot of Greed and drew two cards. "And now I have the necessary methods to protect myself from the likes of you. I set two cards face-down on the field. End turn."
Griff drew. "Here I go!" His eyes locked onto Terra's field. ("He has no monsters at all, but he does have two set cards. They must both be traps, because if they were bluffs then he would have only risked setting one.") His hand grasped a card from his set and he slid it into his disk. "I activate Giant Trunade! All magic and trap cards in play return to my hand!" The field returned to normal as Terra was forced to pick up his field magic card and his two set cards. ("Now…I can win this now…") "First I play the magic card Warrior Returning Alive!" A card slid out of his graveyard slot. "I can add one warrior type monster from my graveyard to my hand!" He threw Don Zaloog onto his disk. "Come out now, Don Zaloog!" (1400/1500) The leader of the Dark Scorpions appeared on the field and lifted up his revolvers.
Terra frowned at this. ("This crap…again with these half-rate thieves…")
Griff snapped another card up. "I activate the magic card Dark Scorpion Revival! This card can only be activate when Don Zaloog is on the field. I can special summon one Dark Scorpion from my graveyard to the field!" Gorg appeared on the field again. "Go now, finish this! Double Revolver!" Don Zaloog snapped his revolvers and shot Terra twice, leaving bullet holes in the arms of the wolf demon. "Now, put him out of his misery!" Gorg launched across the field and slammed his hammer down onto the demon's neck. "And that's 3400 life points of damage…you're done Terra."
The wolf demon dropped to his knees…and then lifted his head up, a dark smile on his face. "Is that so? I beg to differ, if you look at the life points."
Griff- 3700
Terra- 300
Griff bit his lower lip. "I can't believe it…you had that card face-down?"
"That's right." Terra stood up and brushed himself off, unaffected by the bullet wounds to his arms. "I set the trap card Insurance face-down on the field. When it is sent from the field back to my hand, then I gain 500 life points."
Griff sweat-dropped at that. "What…why would you…"
"It worked, didn't it?" Terra yawned. "Now then, is your turn done?"
"No way!" Griff pointed at Terra's hand defiantly. "Firstly, discard the top card of your deck through the effect of Gorg the Strong!" A burst of energy came from Terra's deck as the top card disappeared. "Also, Don Zaloog discards a random card from your hand!"
Terra yawned again as his Insurance trap card disappeared. "It's no problem at all, fool."
Griff slid two cards into his duel disk. "Finally, I set two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."
Terra drew. "And now you lose it all in one big flash. Firstly, I replay the Thief's Treasure Vault!" All around them the field changed once more. "Also, I play the other card that I set face-down on the field as a bluff for you. It's my Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "And the reason I with-held such a powerful card until this turn is because I just drew Research on the Pot of Greed. When this card is activated, I may draw two cards if Pot of Greed was played during this turn." He drew two more cards, giving him a hand of four. "Now then, I play the magic card Thief King's Interest. This card activates when Thief's Treasure Vault is in play and my opponent has two or more monsters while I have none. I draw one card for every monster that you have on the field." Two cards left his deck, leaving him with five cards in hand. "And now the end of you begins, my dear human charge."
Griff frowned calmly, his eyes glancing at his two set cards. "I'll be fine…"
"That's what you believe, but what you believe is wrong." Terra slid a card into his disk. "Because firstly I activate the continuous magic card Throne of the Thief King!" A stone throne appeared on the field. "Also, I activate Monster Rebirth! From my graveyard, I can shuffle one monster back into my deck." He shuffled one of his Thief Horsemen back into his deck. "And then from my hand, I activate Thief King's Cohorts!" The Thief Horseman that had been shuffled into his deck appeared on the field. "Then I summon another Thief Horseman from my hand into the field!" Now there were two Horsemen in play. "It's all over for you, Griff."
"I'm far from done! Or have you forgotten that Gorg has more attack points than your two creatures?" Griff felt like he was being underestimated…
"I haven't forgotten at all, but you should understand that you are finished here!" Terra flipped one of his hand cards over. "I activate Thief King's Arrival! This card can only be activated when Thief King's Throne and at least two monsters with Thief in their title are in play! I may now bring out Thief King Bakura!" (2500/2300) A shadowed form appeared draped across the throne, a glass of wine in one hand. It was the white-haired form of the ancient Egyptian thief. "This is your end. My final card is Thief's Scimitar! When there is a monster in play that has Thief in its title, then its attack is increased by 500 points!" (2100/1600) One of the two Horsemen started to glow. "Go now!" Both of the Horsemen charged across the field and lifted their swords to slash through Griff's two monsters.
Griff pointed at one of his face-down cards. "I'm far from done! Reveal Mirror Force!" A glowing prismatic barrier appeared in front of him. "This card will destroy you and your monsters!"
"Is that so?" Terra tapped the side of his head. "Did you think I'd forget so quickly that you had two face-down cards in play?" Mirror Force shattered. "The power of Bakura allows him to sacrifice his attack to negate the activation of a single trap during the battle phase."
Griff's eyes widened as his monsters were torn apart immediately.
Griff- 3200
Terra- 300
Terra closed his eyes. "I end my turn right here and right now. Your remaining face-down card must have been a bluff, and therefore you are finished. End turn."
Griff stood silently and his eyes glanced at his set card. ("There's only way to win now, and for me to activate it…") His hands grasped the top card of his deck. "It ends here Terra! I won't let your ambitions to win defeat me!" He drew. "From my hand…I activate Reinforcements of the Army!" A single shimmering light came from his deck. "This card adds Cliff the Trap Remover to my hand!" He slapped the card onto his disk. "I summon Cliff to the field!" A glasses-wearing man holding two knives appeared on the field.
Terra smiled slightly. "Cliff can't win…"
"And he won't. Therefore, it's time to call out the true thief king." Griff's face-down card flipped up. "I reveal Dark Scorpion Spirit Transfer! By removing Don Zaloog, Gorg the Strong, and Meanae the Thorn from my graveyard, I can special summon Chick the Yellow (1000/1000) from my deck to the field!" The shortest member of the Dark Scorpions appeared alongside Cliff.
"And now you have two weak thieves…" Terra lifted up a single finger. "It's the end for you, and you know it, don't you?"
"No…it's not done until I saw it's over! Don Zaloog…Meanae the Thorn…Gorg the Strong….return!" The three called monsters appeared on the field and the Dark Scorpion Bandits struck their perfect poses.
"But how…"
"Dark Scorpion Spirit Transfer has a second effect. If the removed monsters allowed me to summon the last Dark Scorpion in my deck, then I may special summon the remaining Dark Scorpions from my removed from play pile to the field." Griff smirked calmly.
"You're out of cards, Griff." Terra returned the smirk. "And despite the effect of Gorg, you won't be able to clear my field and finish me off."
Griff rubbed a single finger under his nose. "Actually…"
Terra went pale. ("Wait…my life points…") He went completely silent.
Griff pointed at the Thief Horseman. "This ends here! Gorg attacks for game!"
"Bakura has more than one effect!" Terra pointed at Bakura. "When you attack, I may negate that attack by letting you draw one card!"
Griff drew a single card, and his smirk didn't relent. "Perhaps, but you seem to forget who you are facing! I'm just as sneaky as you are! From my hand, I activate the final card of this duel…Dark Scorpion Team Strike! This card can only activate when all of the Dark Scorpions are in play! During this turn, I can attack you directly with Don Zaloog!" The leader of the Dark Scorpions appeared right in front of Terra and put the revolver right against the demon's head. A loud click rang out across the arena.
Griff- 3200
Terra- 0
Terra stood there silently…and then smiled as he started to fade away. "I'll admit, I'm impressed…Griff Mohistava…" And then he was gone, back within the mind of his opponent.
Griff turned and walked towards the stands, ignoring the applause he had gotten. He had bigger things on his mind.
The Mediator yawned again and the screen started to flash. "Now then, let the next duel begin, since that last one was so sad."
The screen freaked out for a moment, snow covering its face…and then it showed the next duel.
Gasps of complete and utter surprise came from everyone, excluding one of the two duelists on the screen.
Jennifer Pilkington vs. Kilomet Sestros
To be continued…