Green is Mean
Over at the Obelisk girl dorm, a certain, green-haired girl dressed in a light-blue night gown with red flower patterns was just pulling herself out of the bed in the morning. Yawning a little, she walked over to a window and opened it. She smiled at the nice view of the forest and lake with the morning sun shining.
"The nature on this island is amazing. I'm really glad to be back." Cynthia mused.
"Alright, let's begin..." Sheppard said, facing the faculty members, who were gathered for a meeting. "Yesterday's match between the returning Kaito Sherman and Jeff Nachbauer turned out to be a great success of testing Kaito's skills to see where they stand."
"So are we planning the same thing for Cynthia Pepper?" Miss Fontaine asked.
"That's the plan." Sheppard replied. "Seeing as she and Kaito start studying again along with today's first year class, it'll be best to see how well she fares and be able to evaluate her."
"So all that's left is to find an opponent for her." Crowler said.
"Indeed."
"Let's see then..." Professor Sartyr pulled out a file for Cynthia. "She's a duelist who uses a deck full of plant type monsters, some of the cards able to allow her to quickly fill the field with them."
"I see." Sheppard stated. "Choosing an opponent for her shouldn't be too hard, then."
"If you don't mind, Chancellor, I know someone who could be an ideal opponent for Cynthia." Banner spoke up while petting his cat.
"Is that so?" Sheppard asked curiously. "And who might that be?"
"It's..."
There were a lot of students walking around the campus, considering the fact that it was weekend. Andrew, Shiori and Kaito were walking towards the main building.
"Whoa! So Camula used mind control and forced her to duel you?" Kaito asked.
"Yeah, and it wasn't easy to beat some sense into her." Shiori admitted. "Especially since some of her cards were the same as Camula used."
"Not to mention she tried to steal our souls with that Illusion Gate card." Andrew added while glancing at the armlet he was wearing. "Good thing we had our Shadow Charms that stopped it."
"I figured as much." Kaito nodded. "Have you used it other times?"
"No, that was the only time I used it so far."
"I see."
"So, anyone up to visit the card shop?" Shiori suggested.
"I am." Andrew answered.
"Why not? I could use some new cards." Kaito added.
At that, the trio headed straight to the card shop. But, on the way, while walking in the hallway...
"Let go of me!"
They saw three people ahead. Two Obelisk Blue boys, one with spiky red hair, and one with short white hair. And each one of them was holding an arm, belonging to an annoyed Cynthia Pepper. "I'm sorry, but I really don't have time for you."
"Come on, we're nice guys." The boy with red hair said.
"Yeah, what's wrong with spending some time with us?" The boy with white hair added.
"Is that Cynthia?" Andrew wondered.
"Looks like it." Kaito said. "And it seems those guys are causing her trouble."
Shiori couldn't help but glare at this scene. "Oh yeah?" He then quickly walked over them and spoke up. "You heard her, she doesn't have time for you!"
"Huh?" The Obelisk boys turned to him with confused looks on their faces.
As for Cynthia, she looked at him for a second before she smiled. "There you are! I've been looking for you!"
"What?" The boys asked in unison before she slipped out of their grip. And then, she quickly approached Shiori, and wrapped her arms around his right one, much to their shock.
While Andrew and Kaito were surprised by this, Shiori was slightly embarrassed. "I... um... sorry?"
"You made a promise, remember?" Cynthia asked, playfully poking his nose. "That we would have some alone time, right?" She added, pushing his arm between her breasts, causing Shiori to turn bright red.
"WHAAA!?" The two Obelisk boys exclaimed before lowering their heads and walked away depressed.
"And there they go." Kaito noted.
"S-so..." Shiori spoke up, still red in the face. "What was that about?"
Cynthia let go of his arm. "Those two have been bothering me since I woke up and I needed an excuse to get them to leave." She then smiled at him. "And so, you arrived just in time to help me."
Shiori looked away, still embarrassed. "...You're welcome."
Andrew shook his head, amused. "Anyway, we were about to head to the card shop. You want to come?"
"Sure, why not?" Cynthia agreed.
With that, the four of them made their way to the card shop. When they arrived, they saw a bunch of other students crowding around a bin with a certain kind of packages.
"Oh! Looks like it's Sandwich Day." Andrew noted.
"Oh yeah." Kaito grimaced. "I remember the last time I tried my luck on that day. I got a sandwich that tasted so terrible that I had to puke."
"Uugh!" A disgusted moan was heard. The group turned to the direction it came from and saw Jaden on his knees, holding a sandwich with a bite while looking green. Syrus and Chumley were kneeling down next to him.
"And speaking of terrible sandwiches." Shiori commented before approaching the Slifer. "What's up, Jay?"
Jaden groggily looked up. "Hi guys." He muttered.
"I take it you got a bad sandwich?" Andrew guessed, though it was pretty obvious.
"Yeah, Jaden happened to pick a sandwich with spinach stew." Syrus explained.
"Yuck! That's really gross." Kaito said with a grimace.
"Totally." Chumley agreed.
Cynthia giggled. "Tough break. I think I'll give it a try." She approached the bin.
"Good luck." Shiori said.
The green-haired girl plucked out a sandwich, took off the wrapping, and took a bite.
"Well?" Andrew asked curiously.
After a few seconds, Cynthia swallowed the bite she'd taken out and opened up the sandwich, showing everyone what she got. "I got it!" She said with a bright smile.
"No way!" Jaden said in disbelief. "You actually got the eggwich? Just like that?"
"Wow! Nice one, Cynthia." Kaito complimented.
"Talk about luck of the draw." Shiori commented.
The other students nearby moaned in disappointment. Among them was a Slifer student with purple eyes and an 'interesting' hair style. It was short and split in two colors. One half was black, while the other half was white. This guy was wearing a Slifer Red Jacket that was unzipped, revealing a black t-shirt with a skull on the chest area, and blue jeans. He snapped his fingers at the scene.
"Boy. That chick sure got lucky. And being lucky enough to get a really tasty sandwich is usually my thing." He then heard a beeping, from his left wrist. He took a look and saw his digital watch beeping. "Oh, time for my 2 hours nap." He was about to leave, when he suddenly heard a beeping that didn't come from his watch. "Hm?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out his PDA. "Now what?"
Later on, most of the gang left the card shop, with Andrew, Shiori, Kaito and Cynthia still being there. Andrew and Kaito sat at one of the tables. Shiori and Cynthia sat at another one. The former was slightly nervous by having the Obelisk girl sitting on the opposite side.
Cynthia observed the cards he was sorting out. "That's a lot of ritual monsters you got there."
"Yeah. They're my favorite." The Ra replied.
"I see. And why is that?"
"Well, when I was a kid, I used to watch duels on TV, seeing the greatest duelists in the world dueling. And there was one time, Yugi Moto himself dueled someone. His opponent had him on edge, but then, Yugi pulled out something incredible...
Flashback
A younger Shiori was sitting in front of the TV that was showing the King of Games facing a man wearing a black business uniform and sunglasses. The man had two Marauding Captains on the field, each one wielding a Lightning Blade, while Yugi Moto only had Dark Magician on the field.
And it was Yugi's turn. "I draw!" He drew a card. He looked at it and nodded. "Alright! I activate the ritual spell card, Chaos Form! And with its effect, I sacrifice Dark Magician in order to summon Magician of Chaos!" Dark Magician was swallowed by a vortex of dark and chaotic energy. And then, after a moment, a new monster emerged from it. He looked just like Dark Magician. But, his robes were dark blue with red lines and blue jewels on his hat. His face had blue skin, and he had blonde hair instead of purple. Plus, he was wielding a staff that matched his outfit. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 2100 LV: 7)
Shiori was amazed by this. "Wow!"
"And now I activate the spell card, Thousand Knives!" A bunch of glowing knives appeared in the air. "Since my new Magician has the ability to have the same name as my original Magician, I can use this card to destroy one of your monsters." The spellcaster pointed his staff forward, making all the knives to hit one of the Marauding Captains.
"And now, my Magician's ability activates. Once per turn, when a spell, trap or effect is activated, he can destroy one card on the field!" The Magician created a purple ball of magic energy from the tip of his staff and fired it at the other Marauding Captain, obliterating him instantly. "And now you're wide open! Now Magician of Chaos, attack his life points directly with Chaotic Dark Magic Attack!" The magician fired another magic energy ball that blasted Yugi's opponent, sending him flying.
Shiori watched this in awe, his eyes focused on the ritual monster.
Flashback end
"It's because of that one single duel, that I developed my ritual themed dueling style, and why I want to become a duelist." Shiori finished.
Cynthia smiled and nodded. "Can't say I'm surprised. The king of Games can have such a big impact on people when dueling."
"While we're talking about favorites, would you mind telling me why you became a duelist with a plant deck?" Shiori asked curiously.
"Why I'm using a plant deck, you say?" Cynthia asked. "It's simple. Because I like nature."
Flashback
A very young Cynthia Pepper, wearing a green sundress, was joyously running around in a meadow, full of countless flowers, complete with a couple of trees.
"Ever since I was a kid, I always appreciated the nature. The flowers, the trees. You name it."
The young Cynthia then sat down on the ground, staring at the beautiful meadow from the top of a hill with a smile.
Flashback end
"The plants are just so beautiful." She said, sighing dreamily. But that happy expression was replaced by a sad one. "Too bad not all people feel the same way. Some of them just decide to pollute the Earth in many ways."
The ritual duelist just nodded. "That's true. For example, some people would decide to build a water treatment plant at a lake, without caring about the living things in its deep. If only they realized that Earth needs to survive as much as we do."
As soon as those words left his mouth, his hands were suddenly grabbed by Cynthia, making him gasp with a blush on his face.
"Exactly!" Cynthia replied seriously. "We're talking about of the world we're living in! If people keep desecrating Mother Nature, it will have a bad effect on all of us!"
Kaito and Andrew, who were watching this, merely blinked at Cynthia's reaction. "She's really passionate when it comes to Mother Nature." The former noted.
"She sure is." The latter agreed. "I can't really argue with her point though."
"Same here."
Shiori was really nervous, his face getting redder by every second Cynthia was close up. But before he could get more nervous, both of them heard her PDA beeping. She pulled it out and saw that she got a message.
"What is it?" Shiori asked.
After reading silently for a moment, she smiled and replied. "Looks like they have chosen my opponent for my duel."
"That's great." Shiori said. "I wonder who your opponent might be."
"Well, whoever it is, I hope they can give me a challenge." The plant duelist said, getting up.
"Good luck."
"Don't worry." Cynthia said and winked. "With you watching me, I don't need luck."
Shiori blushed again. "R-right."
Andrew and Kaito looked at this with an amused look on their faces.
Just a few minutes later, Cynthia was standing at one end on the platform of the dueling arena, where all the other students gathered in the seats above. Andrew, Kaito and Shiori were sitting together, along with Jaden, Syrus, Chumley, Bastion, Alexis, Jenny, Zane, Clover, Xander and Matt.
"So now it's Cynthia's turn to duel, huh?" Matt said.
"Yes, and considering her skills, the teachers probably picked a formidable opponent." Bastion replied.
"Especially since Alexis and Jenny teamed up against her and almost lost." Clover added.
"No kidding." Xander said.
"And it wasn't a nice experience." Jenny muttered, shuddering at the memory of that giant plant that wanted to eat her and Alexis.
"Attention please!" Dr. Crowler spoke up. "Now, today's match will feature another one of our students coming back from the unfortunate incident. And that student is Cynthia Pepper!" The girl in question smiled and waved to the audience who gave her an applause. "And her opponent, from Slifer Red, we have Daniel Stewart!"
Some of the student were muttering, confused that a Slifer became her opponent. A moment later, everyone saw the person in question enter the arena. He had hair that was half-white and half-black and purple eyes. His Slifer jacket was unzipped, revealing a black t-shirt with a skull on the chest area. He was also wearing blue jeans. Cynthia raised an eyebrow upon seeing the guy look like he was bored.
When he reached the other end of the platform, he stood there silently for a few seconds... before he covered his mouth an let out a loud yawn. "Sorry."
This caused practically everyone to fall with anime style.
"Really?" Michael questioned. "Is that guy really Cynthia's opponent?"
"I was honestly expecting someone from Obelisk Blue to duel her." Alexis said.
"But maybe there's a reason he was chosen." Andrew assumed. "What do you think, Bastion?"
"To be honest, I don't know?" The intelligent Ra shrugged. "Daniel is... well, very lazy. Other than that, I don't know anything of him."
"What about you guys?" Andrew asked, turning to Jaden, Syrus and Chumley.
"Sorry, but we hardly know anything either." Jaden replied.
"We have never seen him duel before." Syrus said. "All we've seen him doing is taking naps. Like, very often. He even sleeps more than Chumley, if that's even possible."
"Yeah." The koala duelist nodded.
"Tell me about it." Xander said.
Flashback
Xander was sitting at a tree, tinkering with a busted duel disk.
"There was one time I was fixing things, when I found him napping near me."
"SNORE SNORE"
Xander blinked and looked up and saw Daniel sitting on a branch, snoring loudly.
Flashback end
"I don't see why he would be a worthy opponent."
The one who answered to that was Zane. "I have witnessed some of his duels. He's actually more skilled than you think."
"Really?" Kaito asked curiously.
"And how good is he?" Xander asked.
"Just wait and see." Zane said.
Meanwhile, Cynthia and Daniel were shuffling each others' decks.
"So, you are one of those former Shadow Riders, right?" Daniel asked.
"Yeah." Cynthia replied with a frown. "Does that bother you or something."
Daniel shrugged. "Not really. I've heard that you and the others were brainwashed or something. I don't see why I should hold a grudge."
"Glad you can see it that way." Cynthia smiled.
But then, the Slifer looked annoyed. "But what really bothers me is that I was the one being called to this duel. And just when I was about to take my 2 hours nap. What a pain."
The plant duelist sweat dropped. "How did you get to this school?"
"By using my dueling skills, of course. I may not be as book smart or athletic as other people, but at least I'm a good duelist."
"Well then..." Cynthia held out his deck. "How about you show me how good you really are?"
Daniel simply took his deck and handed over hers. "Sure, no problem."
On one of the seats, Sheppard himself was watching this. For the moment, his thoughts went back to the meeting with the teachers.
Flashback
"Daniel Stewart? From your dorm?" Sheppard questioned.
"Yes. I assure you, he should be good enough for the match." Banner replied.
"I'm sorry, but I don't see why a Slifer would be an 'ideal' opponent for Cynthia." Crowler said skeptically.
"Not that I like the way he says it, but I have to agree with Crowler." Miss Fontaine added. "Daniel is a very lazy boy. He's always sleeping most of the time. Even during during my lessons."
Banner pulled out a file for Daniel. "He may not be serious when it comes to studying, but his dueling skills are a different story."
Professor Sartyr took the file and read it. He then found something that surprised him. "12 victories against Slifers. 15 victories against Ras. And 20 victories against Obelisks?"
Miss Fontaine widened her eyes while Crowler dropped his jaw.
"The Slifers may be the lowest ranked duelists, but some of them have potential. And Daniel is no exception."
Sheppard nodded. "I see. If you're so sure about this, then I'll let him know."
Flashback end
'Let's see if you made a good choice, Banner.' He thought.
The duelists were now standing on each end of the platform.
"Let's end this quickly. I need to catch a few 'Z's." Daniel said, activating his duel disk.
"Just don't think I'll go easy on you." Cynthia replied, doing the same.
"Now then, let the duel begin!" Crowler announced.
"GAME ON!"
Cynthia: 4000
Daniel: 4000
"I'll go first." Cynthia declared and drew her sixth card. "And I'll start with Botanical Girl in defense mode." A sinisterly beautiful teenage girl seemingly made of plant matter appeared, wearing a dress made of leaves, her hair formed from petals and a pitcher plant. (ATK: 1300 DEF: 1100 LV: 3) "Then I activate the spell card, Rose Bell of Revelation. This lets me add a plant type monster from my deck to my hand, as long as its attack points are 2400 or more." A card came out of her deck. "And I choose Gigaplant."
"A good start. She's now holding a card that can give her an advantage." Bastion said.
"All she has to do is summon it." Matt added.
"I end my turn with a facedown." Cynthia concluded and inserted a card into her duel disk.
Daniel yawned again. "Okay, here goes." He drew his sixth card and looked at it, and then at his hand. He then smiled. "This will do. I activate the effect of Skull Conductor in my hand." A transparent figure appeared. It was an undead man wearing a musical conductor's outfit. "By discarding this guy, I can summon two zombie type monsters from my hand, as long as their total attack strength is 2000 points. No more, no less."
"Two monsters in one move? That's sweet." Jaden commented.
"I wonder what he's gonna play." Andrew said.
"I play two Burning Skull Heads in attack mode!" In two small flames, two skulls on fire appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 800 LV: 3)
"I was honestly expecting something better." Cynthia stated.
"Then you won't be disappointed after this: When Burning Skull Head is special summoned from my hand, you take 1000 points of damage. And since I summoned two of them..."
"It will be 2000 points of damage!" Shiori realized.
"Damn! The duel had just begun, and Cynthia's already losing half of her life points." Michael said.
The two skulls spat fire at her, forcing her to block with her duel disk.
Cynthia: 4000-2000
Once the assault was over, Cynthia lowered her duel disk. "Wow! You don't waste any time."
"And I'm just getting started. I sacrifice one of them in order to play my Summoned Skull." One of the Burning Skull Heads disappeared and was replaced by the skeleton-like fiend. (ATK: 2500 DEF: 1200 LV. 6)
"Ooookay. I think I see what you meant earlier." Kaito said, glancing at Zane.
"Then I'll use the spell card, Rush Recklessly. Thanks to this, one monster on the field gains 700 attack points for one turn. So my Burning Skull Head gets a power boost." The flames on the named monster intensified. (ATK: 1000-1700) "And that's enough for it to destroy your monster. Now go!" The skull head shot itself at the Botanical Girl, shattering her into pixels.
"You triggered my Botanical Girl's special ability. When she's sent from the field to the graveyard, I can add a plant type monster with 1000 or less defense points from my deck to my hand." Cynthia searched the card she wanted until she found it and held it up.
"Not bad, but I still have Summoned Skull, and you're wide open. Summoned Skull, attack! Lightning Strike!" The named monster fired a bolt of lightning.
"I reveal my spell card!" Cynthia's facedown card flipped up. "Seed of Deception! This lets me summon a level 2 or lower plant type monster from my hand. And I'll bring out the one I just took from my deck. Rose Lover!" The familiar woman in red dress appeared and crouched down in front of her. (ATK: 800 DEF: 800 LV: 1) And not too soon, she was struck by the lightning and exploded.
Daniel snapped his fingers. "Shoot. I almost had you. Oh well, better luck next time. I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet. (ATK: 1700-1000)
"In that case..." Cynthia smiled and drew. "I'll start by activating the effect of Rose Bell of Revelation."
"What the what now?" Daniel asked in shock.
Cynthia took the card in question from her graveyard slot. "By removing this card from play, I can summon a plant type monster with 2400 or more attack points from my hand. Now rise up, Gigaplant!" The floor shook as the Venus flytrap headed behemoth rose up behind her. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1200 LV: 6) "And for my next move, I gemini summon my Gigaplant." The giant plant glowed white.
"So that thing is a gemini monster?" Daniel asked.
"That's right, and now I can activate its special ability. I can summon an insect or plant type monster from my hand or graveyard. So I'll resurrect my Botanical Girl." The girl in leaf dress returned. (ATK: 1300 1100 LV. 3) "Then I'll activate the spell card, Fragrance Storm. This spell card lets me destroy a plant type monster and draw a card from my deck." With those words, Botanical Girl shattered into pixels before Cynthia drew a card. She looked at it and revealed it. "And it looks like I drew a plant type monster, which means I can draw another card." She drew.
Daniel yawned again. "Are you done yet?"
"Not yet. There are few more things I need to do. For starters, I can take another plant type monster from my deck to my hand, thanks to Botanical Girl." Cynthia took another monster from her. She then held up another card from her hand. "And now for the next part. The first card I drew by the effect of Fragrance Storm is Rose Fairy, and whenever she's moved from my deck to my hand by a card effect, I can summon her to the field." A small, pink fairy with a red rose as hair appeared. (ATK: 600 DEF: 1200 LV: 3)
"And then I activate the special ability of Rose Lover in my graveyard. By removing her from play, I can summon a plant type monster from my hand. Goodbye, Rose Lover..." The named monster appeared briefly. "And hello, Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms!" A giant cherry blossom appeared next to Gigaplant, revealing the woman in purple kimono. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1200 LV: 8)
"Three monsters at once." Jenny said in amazement.
"And one of them being one of her strongest monsters." Clover added.
"And now for Talaya's special ability. For every plant type monster on my field, she gains 100 attack points. And including herself, that's 3." The princess glowed with a blue aura. (ATK: 2800-3100)
"Boy! You sure take the term 'green is mean' to a whole different level." Daniel commented.
"And that's just the beginning, because now I activate the field spell, Forest!" After she placed the named card in her field spell tray, both duelists found themselves on a grassy ground, surrounded by trees in all directions. "With this card in play, any monster that's either an insect, beast, beast-warrior or plant type gets 200 attack and defense points." (ATK: 600-800 DEF: 1200-1400) (ATK: 2400-2600 DEF: 1200-1400) (ATK: 3100-3300 DEF: 1200-1400)
"Now she's serious." Andrew commented.
"Definitely." Shiori agreed. "Go, Cynthia!"
"Now Talaya, destroy his Burning Skull Head with Cherry Blossom Storm!" The princess waved her fan and summoned a cyclone of cherry blossom that completely swallowed the skull head.
Daniel: 4000-1700
"And now my Gigaplant, destroy his Summoned Skull!" The named monster raised its arm and slammed the skeletal fiend.
Daniel: 1700-1600
"And now you're defenseless." Cynthia pointed.
"I wouldn't say that." Daniel said nonchalantly, much to her confusion. But then, to her shock, Summoned Skull and Burning Skull Head reappeared in a flash of light. And then...
Daniel: 1600-4000
"What!? How did you bring those monsters back? And why were your life points restored?"
"When you attacked, I activated this trap card." Daniel pointed at the now face up trap card. "It's called Mirage Ruler. When all of my monsters are destroyed, this trap card returns them to the field, and I regain the life points I lost. However, after all of that is done, I lose 1000 life points."
Daniel: 4000-3000
"So he brought his monsters back and restored all of his life points, minus 1000. A clever move." Bastion observed.
"It would seem we underestimated that guy. He's actually really good." Xander added.
Sheppard smiled at this.
"I end my turn with a facedown." Cynthia concluded, inserting a card into her duel disk.
"My move then." Daniel drew. "And it looks like I drew the spell card, Pot of Greed." He drew two more cards and looked at them. "And what do you know? One of my extra cards is Makiu, the Magical Mist."
Cynthia gasped.
"With a thunder type monster, or Summoned Skull on my field, I can destroy all your monsters with defense points equal to or less than its attack points."
"Uh oh! Summoned Skull has 2500 attack points." Syrus pointed out.
"And all three of Cynthia's monsters have 1400 defense points." Jenny added.
A purple mist suddenly appeared on the field. It was so thick that no one could see. Eventually, it faded and showed everyone that Cynthia's side was monster free.
"Luckily for you, my spell card forces me to skip my battle phase this turn, so I'll switch Burning Skull Head to defense mode and summon The Lady in Wight, also in defense mode." A card image appeared under the skull head as a skeleton woman in a black dress with a tattered grail in her hand appeared. (ATK: 0 DEF: 2200 LV: 3) "And that's all."
"Alright, my draw!" Cynthia drew. "And I activate my own Pot of Greed." She drew her extra cards. "And then I activate the spell card, Miracle Fertilizer!" The image of the spell card appeared. "Here's how it works; once per turn, I can summon a plant type monster from my graveyard. So I'll bring back Talaya!" A new giant cherry blossom bloomed from the ground and revealed the kimono wearing woman. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 1200 LV: 8) "And she gets stronger, thanks to the field spell and her special ability." (ATK: 2800-3100 DEF: 1200-1400)
"Boy, she's harder to get rid of than weeds." Daniel commented.
"It gets worse, because now I activate the spell card, Wonder Clover. This lets me send a level 4 plant type monster from my hand to the graveyard." Cynthia slid a card into the graveyard slot. "And after that, my monster can attack twice this turn. Next I activate the trap card, Plant Food Chain." Her facedown card flipped up. "This trap card becomes an equip card that gives my plant type monster 500 more attack points." (ATK: 3100-3600) "Now Talaya, attack his Summoned Skull!" The woman waved her fan and summoned a storm of cherry blossom petals. The skeletal fiend was swallowed by the attack and exploded.
Daniel: 3000-1900
"And don't forget, my monster can attack twice this turn! And my next target is your Burning Skull Head!" Another Cherry Blossom Storm and swallowed the skull head. But... the petals were instantly burned by the flames from the skull head. "What the!?" Cynthia muttered in shock.
Daniel wagged a finger. "Sorry, but that was a poor choice. And it's all thanks to The Lady in Wight's special ability." The monster in question glowed purple. "As long as she remains on the field, all other level 3 or lower zombie type monsters are invincible in battle."
"So Cynthia attacked the wrong monster?" Jaden asked.
"Yes. A mistake that might cost her dearly." Bastion replied.
"I end my turn."
Daniel yawned again. "Let's end this quickly." He drew. "I play Card of Demise. Now I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand." He drew a new hand. "Lucky me. I sacrifice my two monsters in order to summon Skull Flame." The skull head and skeleton lady disappeared into flames. And from those flames, another skeleton rose up. It was dressed in purple witch doctor robes that showed off the rib cage and a red cape behind him. Flames danced around his person. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2000 LV: 8)
"And I thought the previous skeletons were scary." Syrus said nervously.
"No joke." Chumley agreed.
"That monster is worse than you guys think." Matt said grimly.
"That's one big skeleton." Cynthia said, staring at the tall skeleton's form. "But at least Talaya is stronger than him."
"True, but that doesn't mean I can't damage your life points. My Skull Flame has a special ability. Once per turn, I can special summon a Burning Skull Head from my hand. And I'll summon it in defense mode."
"What!?" Cynthia exclaimed as a new Burning Skull Head appeared. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 800 LV: 3)
"And you know what happens next." The skull head shot itself at Cynthia, who blocked with her duel disk.
Cynthia: 2000-1000
"Ouch! Another thousand points of damage." Andrew said.
"For a sack of lazy bones, that guy is really skilled." Clover added.
"Now I play Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three cards, and then discard two." Daniel drew three cards and discarded two of them. "I end my turn with a facedown." A card appeared at his feet. "Oh, and before you make your move, there's something you should know about my Skull Flame. Instead of drawing a card in my draw phase, he lets me take a Burning Skull Head from my graveyard and add it to my hand."
Cynthia's eyes widened.
"And there are two Burning Skull Heads in his graveyard. So if Cynthia doesn't get rid of Skull Flame this turn..." Xander trailed off.
"Then Daniel can bring back one of the skull heads from the grave, summon it, and wipe out the rest of her life points." Michael filled in.
"So what's she gonna do?" Syrus asked.
"Attack it, of course." Jaden replied. "Her Talaya is strong enough to destroy it."
"That's true, but he's expecting that." Zane said. "Otherwise, he wouldn't have placed a facedown card."
"My move." Cynthia drew. 'Talaya has 3600 attack points, and that's enough to destroy Skull Flame. But...' She eyed on Daniel's facedown card. 'It's possible that his facedown card is something to stop my attack.' She then looked at the card she drew and smiled. 'But luckily, I know what to do.'
Daniel noticed the look on her face.
"First I activate Monster Reborn! And I'll use this spell card to resurrect Botanical Girl!" The girl in leaf dress reappeared again. (ATK: 1300-1500 DEF: 1100-1300 LV: 3) "And then I'll summon Arcane Archer of the Forest in attack mode!" A brown-haired archer in blue shirt and shorts with a ragged, brown cloth appeared next to Botanical Girl. (ATK: 900 DEF: 1400 LV: 3)
"That doesn't look like a plant type." Daniel noted.
"He's not, but he does work well with them. You see, by sacrificing a plant type monster, he can destroy one spell or trap card on the field."
"Oh!" Daniel's eyes widened.
"So I'll sacrifice Botanical Girl to destroy your facedown card." The named monster disappeared, and the archer prepared a glowing arrow. And then, he fired it and it shattered the facedown card.
"So much for Michizure." The Slifer commented.
"What's Michizure?" Chumley wondered.
"A trap card that can be activated when one of your monsters is destroyed." Alexis explained.
"It lets you destroy one of the opponent's monsters." Jenny added.
"Now I'm safe to attack." Cynthia said. "But first, since Botanical Girl was sent to the graveyard, I get to add another monster to my hand." She searched through her deck and took the card she wanted. "And now I attack! Go, Talaya! Cherry Blossom Storm!" The princess created another storm of cherry blossom petals that swallowed Skull Flame. Everyone waited anxiously for a moment before an explosion occurred, and there was no trace of Skull Flame.
Daniel: 1900-0900
"Alright! That's it!" Jaden cheered.
"She's got the upper hand now." Michael added.
"Go, Cynthia!" Shiori cheered.
"Now, Arcane Archer of the Forest, attack his Burning Skull Head!" The archer fired another arrow that pierced through the skull head's... um, forehead and shattered it into pixels.
"And with that, I end my turn."
"In that case..." Daniel said as he drew and looked at card he drew and the one that was in his hand. "I can end this duel with a bang."
"Now what?" Cynthia frowned.
"First I activate the spell card, Foolish Burial. This lets me send a monster from my deck to the graveyard, and I think I'll take Skull Servant." A monster appeared briefly before disappearing. But everyone could see what it was. A skeleton in purple robes.
"Another skull monster?" Xander questioned.
"That's right." Clover replied with a grim look on her face. "And if he's gonna do what I think he is, than Cynthia's in big trouble."
Daniel slid the card in question into his graveyard slot and then held up another card. "And now I summon this! The almighty King of the Skull Servants!" Dark smoke erupted from the ground, from which a new monster rose up. It looked like Skull Servant, but it was taller and darker. (ATK: ? DEF: 0 LV. 1)
"Undetermined?" Cynthia wondered.
"Yup, and it's all because of his special ability. His original attack points are 1000 for every monster in my graveyard that's either Skull Servant or King of the Skull Servants."
That made Cynthia pause for a moment before she thought about it. 'If that's the case, then how many of them are there? I know that he sent one to the grave with Foolish Burial. And I'm sure there are more than one in there. Come to think of it, he used Graceful Charity, so could it be he discarded another one. Or maybe...' She then realized something. 'He didn't discard one Skull Servant when he used that spell card. He discarded two! Then that means...' She looked at the Slifer. "You have three Skull Servants in the graveyard, don't you?"
"Yup, you got it." Daniel nodded.
"But that will give your king 3000 attack points. That's still not enough to defeat Talaya."
But as a response, Daniel smirked and wagged a finger. "Whoever said he has 3000 attack points?"
That made the plant duelist really confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about this..." At those words, four spirits appeared in front of the King of the Skull Servants. Three of them took the form of Skull Servant. The fourth one was a monster Cynthia definitely didn't expect.
"Is that The Lady in Wight!?"
"Sure is, and the reason she's here is because she has another special ability. When she's in the graveyard... her name becomes Skull Servant!"
Just like Cynthia, the gang gasped at this words.
"So she becomes another Skull Servant?" Shiori muttered. "But then..."
"That means I actually have 4 Skull Servants in my graveyard!" Daniel said as the skeleton spirit entered the king's body, making it glow purple, while his eye sockets glowed red. (ATK: ?-4000)
The audience gasped at the new monster's strength.
Daniel let out another yawn. "Finally. One attack, and I can finally have my nap time. Now then! King of the Skull Servants, destroy her Archer!" The tall skeleton conjured a sphere of dark energy from his palms and hurled it. The gang, minus Zane, watched in horror as the energy sphere quickly approached the archer. But then... it changed direction! "Huh?" Was all Daniel said before the sphere collided with Talaya and destroyed her. And when that happened, Miracle Fertilizer was destroyed as well.
Cynthia: 1000-0600
"Wait! Time out! Why did Talaya take the hit instead of the Archer?" Daniel questioned.
Cynthia giggled. "Sorry about that. The truth is, you couldn't attack my archer at all. As long as I have a plant type monster on the field, he can't be attacked.
Daniel blinked twice before rubbing his forehead and sighed. "How long is this duel gonna take?"
"I'm sure it's gonna end as soon on as I make my next move."
"Sure. Whatever. Make your move. I doubt you can win this though."
"I'm afraid he has a point." Bastion said. "Without Miracle Fertilizer, Cynthia can't resurrect her monsters, and I don't think she can play something strong enough to defeat King of the Skull Servants."
"Don't be so sure about that. Anything can happen at this point." Jaden said.
"Yeah, I'm sure Cynthia can turn this around." Shiori said, determined.
Andrew smiled at him. "Then let's hope she'll do it."
Cynthia took a breath before placing her fingers on her deck. "Alright, it all comes down to this." She muttered. "Please, give me the right card." And she drew. Everyone watched as she paused, holding the card she drew. Eventually she looked at it. And then, she smiled.
"Well, what did you get?" Daniel asked with a bored tone while picking his ear.
"The I card I just needed. But first, I'm gonna summon Evil Thorn in attack mode!" A shriveled-looking green plant with a withered pink flower came up from the ground next to the archer. Growing out from the stem was a black, thorny seedpod. (ATK: 100-300 DEF: 300-500 LV: 1)
"But that thing only has 300 points. That's not enough to defeat that skeleton king." Syrus pointed out.
"True, but attack points aren't everything." Andrew replied. "I'm sure this is part of her plan."
"How is that thing gonna help you win?" Daniel wondered while scratching his head.
"For starters, I can activate its special ability. If I sacrifice it, I can give you 300 points of damage." The black seedpod on Evil Thorn swelled up and exploded like a grenade. Shrapnel rained down on the field towards Daniel, who held up his arms in an attempt to protect himself. Not that it stopped a few fragments to brush past his body.
Daniel: 0900-0600
"And since I used this effect, I'm allowed to summon two more Evil Thorns to the field." True to her words, two copies of the first plant appeared. (ATK: 100-300 DEF: 300-500 LV: 1)x2 "But because they were summoned by this effect, they can't activate their effects."
"Then why summon them in the first place?"
"So I can activate a spell card known as Tomatapult." A spell card appeared. "By sacrificing a plant type monster, this card gives you 400 points of damage."
Daniel blinked. "So, with two Evil Thorns on your field, then the damage..."
"Will be enough to take you out." Cynthia filled in, smiling as her two monsters were absorbed into the spell card. And then, the card shot out a tomato.
Daniel stared at the flying tomato before shrugging. "Well, at least I can finally have a sleep." When the tomato landed at his feet, it exploded. The smoke cleared after a moment, revealing Daniel sitting on the ground.
Daniel: 0600-0000
Everyone applauded as the holograms disappeared.
"Yes!" Shiori cheered.
"Woo! You go girl!" Clover pitched in.
"Nice one, Cynthia!" Kaito cheered.
"And the winner is... Cynthia Pepper!" Crowler announced over the cheers.
Sheppard smiled, nodding in approval. "An impressive duel. Well performed by both of them."
Cynthia approached Daniel and extended. "That was a nice duel. No hard feelings, right?"
Daniel just shrugged letting her help him up. "Nah, it's okay. I'm just glad it's over."
"Ya know, you may be a Slifer Red, but I think you could raise up in ranks, if you just tried."
"Perhaps, but that would be a pain to work so hard." Daniel then yawned. "Anyway, now that that's over, I think I'm gonna catch some 'Z's. See ya later." At that, he walked away.
Cynthia just smiled and shook her head. She then waved to audience who continued the applause. She especially waved to the gang and winked at Shiori, who slightly blushed but kept applauding.
Finally. I'm gonna skip the excuse for taking so long go right to this: I hope you liked this chapter. Until next time.
