DarkFoxKit: *Is a little uncomfortable with how an old, hand-me-down laptop was placed* Hey, everyone… I'm all the way in Arkansas, visiting my grandparents. Yet here I am, hiding away in the room I'm staying in, on my bed, with an old laptop cause the one I brought broke down. Updating this just for you guys. Though we do have an announcement to make.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Since we are currently no longer updating CoM we decided that going forward, we would start updating WAP on Mondays. So after this update, starting Monday December 9th, we will be updating on Mondays. Oh, we also created a Discord channel for those of you who want to come talk to us and chat. If you want the link to the discord, let me know and I'll get them for you. Either PM me, my name is just Darkzdragon, or post a review asking for the link using a signed in account, that way I can PM you.
DarkFoxKit: *Grumbles as she moves around, trying to get a little more comfortable* So there is something else I should let you Yu-Gi-Oh fans know. Onyx and I have only watched the original anime of Yu-Gi-Oh, I did watch GX before, and a little bit of 5D's, but not enough to understand the newer rules of the game. So the card game in the chapter itself will be based off of the original anime of Yu-Gi-Oh. We do try it to keep it within the rules of the second season in the Battle City arc though.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Though please, for the love of all that is holy, don't get on our cases if you notice something that doesn't match the 'official rules'. I swear, if anyone does it to be a troll… well let's just say I'm still hangry cause I didn't get a turkey on Thanksgiving…
DarkFoxKit: You don't want to see a hangry mode dragon, trust me. I'm also sore, so I'm not in the best of moods for the trolls either. Still, I do wish you all a happy late Thanksgiving, and please enjoy this chapter. We worked hard to make the card game entertaining and close to the original Yu-Gi-Oh anime. I've never played the actual card game in real life, so like Onyx said, don't get on our case if something doesn't match the official rules.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': As abridged Kaiba has said many times, screw the rules… though I personally don't have much money.
DarkFoxKit: *Stretches out* I apologize that the AN isn't super lively or funny today, it's hard to be funny when I'm not very comfortable. But we will let you guys get on to the chapter.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Have fun and remember, we have a discord channel now. PM me, Darkzdragon, for details. Or ask for the link, which you will have to retype as I had to put it in a special way to get past Fanfic's 'no links' policy, in a review using a logged in account.
DarkFoxKit: That means PM Darkzdragon, not DarkFoxKit. I'm not good with links.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': Any link requests to DarkFoxKit likely won't get a response as I'm the only one who actually has the link in the special format. Now, get on to the story.
Chapter 79: A Life or Death Card Battle
"I end my turn," I declared, since I wanted to see what Duul Aman's move was before I went on the offense.
"I see, interesting first move," Duul Aman commented before he drew a card. "I play Ghost Token in attack mode."
A green basic ghost with red eyes, a mouth, and a pair of arms and claws appeared onto the grid. I could see that it had 500 attack points and 400 defense points. It was a weak creature, so it made me wonder why Duul Aman put it in attack mode.
"Now, I sacrifice Ghost Token for Zombie Walker," Duul Aman stated.
The Ghost Token glowed before it exploded into pieces, then the pieces reformed, creating a creepy looking zombie onto the field, it had no eyeballs, its mouth was hanging open, its flesh pretty much rotted off. It had 1400 attack points, and 0 defense points.
"Now, I have Zombie Walker attack your creature," Duul Aman declared.
The creepy zombie walked to the other side of the grid, holding out its arms and rotting hands. When it stood over the facedown card, it pulled back its arm and slashed at the card. The card flipped over, revealing a ghost cat hissing before it was destroyed. The ghost cat only had 700 attack and 500 defense.
"What a weak little creature you made, only set up to sacrifice," Duul Aman remarked. "I'll end my turn. Choose your next victim for my Zombie Walker to tear into."
I was glad that by defending, I didn't lose any Life Points, but Duul Aman knew this game better than I did. I better figure out a strategy for this. I drew a card from my deck. I studied the cards in my hand. Hmm, I think I can make this work.
"I summon the Lunch Lady in attack mode!" I announced, placing the card onto the grid.
The Lunch Lady appeared onto the grid, she had 1000 attack points, and 1000 defense points. She was a level 4 creature. If I remember right, creatures who are level 4 and under can be summoned right away onto the battlefield. But creatures level 5 to 6 needed at least one creature to be sacrificed to be summoned, and 7 to 9 needed two sacrifices to be summoned. Anything higher would need three sacrifices.
"A food serving ghost? Interesting," Duul Aman commented. "Perhaps she can become my royal chef after I gain control of the world."
"Hello, dearie, would you like some cake?" The Lunch Lady asked in a sweet, gentle voice.
I was surprised that the Lunch Lady I summoned was talking. I decided to ignore it, as it was probably just Tucker's mind letting them feel more alive.
"I know the Lunch Lady wouldn't be able to take out your Zombie Walker right now, but if I combined her with this…" I put down a card into the magic zone.
The card I placed was called Meat Armor. With this enchantment card equipped to the Lunch Lady, she would be able to take on her meat form.
"TOO BAD! CHILDREN WHO ARE NAUGHTY DO NOT GET DESSERT!" Lunch Lady suddenly shouted before meat surrounded her, covering her up, and turning her into a meat monster.
With the Meat Armor equipped, Lunch Lady's attack and defense rose to 2000 points. Meat Lunch Lady let out a roar at the Zombie Walker.
"Now destroy the Zombie Walker!" I ordered.
Meat Lunch Lady threw out her meaty fist as a rocket punch. When it came into contact with the Zombie Walker, it was completely destroyed. Duul Aman lost 600 Life Points, bringing him down to 3400.
"For a first timer, you have a pretty good grasp of the game," Duul Aman complimented. "Let's hope you'll be able to use the grasp on the foundations of the game to not get wiped out in the next few turns."
"Heh, yeah, same here," I replied. "I end my turn."
"I like how quick you are to attack, it keeps my on my toes," Duul Aman stated as he drew a card from his deck. "But don't think this means this is going to be an easy victory for you. First, to take care of that meat monster."
Duul Aman set a card into the magic zone. "I play a magic card, Ghost Portal. This card will open up a Ghost Portal on the field, any ghost creatures left on the field will be sucked into it and removed from play."
I frowned as a green portal appeared in the center of the field, and it sucked the Lunch Lady into it, before the portal disappeared. I had to remove the Lunch Lady from play now. Normally when a creature gets destroyed, their cards would go to the graveyard pile.
"Now, I summon Deadly Servant in attack mode," Duul Aman stated, not missing a beat, summoning an anthro anubis creature, it had 1200 attack and 300 defense, onto the field. "And I shall have it directly attack you."
The anubis creature took out a couple of knives and jumped at me. I shut my eyes before feeling a sharp sting from the knives. I was a little surprised I felt actual pain from that, but when I opened my eyes, I didn't have a cut, I just felt the sharp pain. My Life Points dropped down to 2800.
"Well done, Deadly Servant," Duul Aman stated with a nod. "Ready yourself for a counter attack."
"Yes, my Pharaoh," Deadly Servant replied.
Since Duul Aman ended his turn, it was my turn again. How did I feel actual pain from that? Was it psychological pain? Well, whatever it was, this just makes the game even more dangerous. I have to watch out for magic and trap cards. They will also be the key to winning this game.
I drew a card from my deck. "Hmmm…"
I set down the card I just drew onto the magic zone. "I'm using the Lunchbox of Fortune, this allows me to draw two cards- what's so funny!?"
Duul Aman was laughing. "Why would you call a card that?"
"... It was based off of the lunchbox my dad made…" I huffed.
"Ahh, your glutton of a father," Duul Aman acknowledged, still laughing. "Was it the lunchbox that had more room on the inside so your father could pack an entire Thanksgiving banquet sized meal into a single container?"
"... Yes," I grumbled as I drew two cards from my deck, before realizing something. "Wait, how did you know that? Tucker doesn't know about the Fenton Fridge-in-a-Lunchbox."
Duul Aman smirked. "Well that is quite simple, Andrew. I know about that invention because I was given all of your brother's memories when I trapped him in a card."
I glared at that. "You had no right to invade my brother's memories."
I put down a creature card in a facedown defense position. Then I placed another facedown card onto the magic zone. Two of the cards appeared onto the grid.
"I end my turn," I stated.
"No need to be angry, Andrew, for soon you will become one with something much greater than yourself," Duul Aman said before he put a card onto the grid. "Now, I summon Mummy Servant."
The Mummy Servant was just a mummy, it had a bit of a rotting corpse, similar to the Zombie Walker earlier. Its attack was 1000 and its defense was 0.
"And now, I sacrifice these two pawns for someone with greater strength," Duul Aman declared.
The Deadly Servant and the Mummy Servant both let out shrieks of pain and agony before their bodies exploded into pieces.
"Come forth, my Royal Advisor, Hotep Ra!" Duul Aman called out.
I gritted my teeth a little when I saw Hotep Ra himself coming up from the grid, as if rising out of the earth. Hotep Ra opened his eyes and stood tall and proud. He had 2500 attack and 2100 defense.
"I am sorry for failing you, my Pharaoh," Hotep Ra apologized. "But I shall right my wrong by defeating this whelp!"
"See to it that you do," Duul Aman replied. "Now attack whatever weakling Andrew has hiding in that facedown card!"
"Yes, Pharaoh!" Hotep Ra said before he launched his extended black tentacles at the facedown card.
"Not so fast!" I called out. "I activate my trap card, Ghost Shield! This negates any ghost creature's attacks on my creature!"
My trap facedown card came up, creating a green barrier around my facedown creature, protecting it from Hotep Ra's tentacles, which bounced off the shield.
"Well played," Duul Aman remarked, his tone sounding excited. "Since you've managed to escape Hotep Ra's attack, I'll end my turn and see what you'll do next."
"Thanks," I sarcastically said.
Hotep Ra's attack points are really high. It's going to be difficult to get a creature onto the field to match his attack. I frowned before I drew a card from my deck. Hmm… if I could just summon her…
"I summon Technus in attack mode," I declared.
Technus came up from the grid, he gave a loud laugh. His attack was 1400 while his defense was 1200.
"It is I, Technus, master of all technology! I shall collect all the technology in this room to-"
"Shut up!" I snapped.
"Party pooper," Technus grumbled.
"Besides, there isn't any technology here~" Duul Aman smirked. "Simply dark magic. Andy, I know you're not that well versed in the game, but can't you at least try to beat me?"
"Don't get up on your high horse yet," I chuckled. "I'm not keeping Technus out for long."
"What? Come on, I can totally be useful!" Technus argued.
"I sacrifice Technus and Desiree to summon Dora," I declared.
Technus was ranting at me while he, and my facedown card, who was Desiree, disappeared in a golden light. Then Dora, in her humanoid form, came onto the field.
Dora only had 1500 attack and 1200 defense.
"That the end of your turn?" Duul Aman questioned.
"Yeah," I answered. Unfortunately, I can't change her position to defense, otherwise this wouldn't work.
Duul Aman drew another card before he put down two creature cards face down on the field next to Hotep Ra. "Hotep Ra, take care of that woman."
"Yes, my Pharaoh," Hotep Ra answered before he shot out his tentacles at Dora.
"This is going to hurt…" Dora frowned.
Dora let out a scream as she was grabbed by the tentacles and squeezed. I hissed as if I was being squeezed too, my Life Points dropped down by 1000, now I had 1800 left. Hotep Ra's attack ended, and he pulled back his black tentacles, but to Duul Aman's shock, Dora was still on the field.
"Oh? Does she have some effect that let's her survive an attack?" Duul Aman raised a brow.
"Not Dora herself," I answered. "Desiree, if she's sent to the graveyard, the next creature I put in play cannot be destroyed for one turn. Of course, they are forced into attack mode, so it's a double-edge sword."
"Ahhh, quite fascinating," Duul Aman commented. "That is a balanced effect, not too overpowered and doesn't give you simply a boon. The fact you were fair about making the cards leads me to believe that you are going to be a magnificent host."
I shivered at the idea that I would become this spirit's host. "Don't count your eggs before they hatch. I'm still far from defeat."
"So you are," Duul Aman chuckled. "I already have what I need set up, so I end my turn. Let's see what you do."
I drew a card from my deck, and placed another creature card facedown onto the field.
"Okay, Dora, I activate your special ability. Once Dora has been summoned to the field and survived an attack on the first turn, she'll be able to activate her dragon form," I announced. "So Dora, it's time to turn into a dragon, and show this Pharaoh a true ruler of a kingdom."
Dora gave a smile and a nod. "It will be my honor to teach this Pharaoh a lesson."
Dora's amulet around her neck began to glow brightly, and she grew into a large elegant blue and green dragon. She gave out a vicious roar at Hotep Ra. Her attack points sky rocketed to 3000, and her defense points up to 2750.
"Now attack with your dragon fire!" I ordered.
Dora shot out green fire from her maw, which burned Hotep Ra into ash, destroying him, bringing Duul Aman's Life Points down to 2900.
"Well… I have to say, Andrew, I'm impressed. You were able to summon a powerful dragon on your side," Duul Aman complimented. "And you were able to take down Hotep Ra, the strongest creature card in my deck."
I frowned, Duul Aman sounded too confident despite me supposedly destroying the strongest creature in his deck.
"What's wrong, Andrew?" Duul Aman asked, seeing my suspicious look. "Hotep Ra was indeed the strongest creature card in my deck… at least without needing to be equipped by magic cards. But I'm still confident I will win this game, and do you know why?"
I narrowed my eyes.
"Why don't we keep playing and see where this goes?" Duul Aman suggested.
"Fine," I said before I placed a facedown card onto the magic zone. "I end my turn."
Duul Aman smirked as he drew a card. "I use The Staff of Anubis to resurrect Deadly Servant from the graveyard."
The anthropomorphic anubius servant rose up from the grid, much like how Hotep Ra did. I frowned when I noticed there were three monsters on Duul Aman's side of the field.
Is he planning to sacrifice all three of them for a high level creature? I frowned in concern. Didn't he just say that Hotep Ra was his strongest base creature though? What could he have that would possibly need three sacrifices?
"Now, I sacrifice all three of my servants to summon… well, I'll just let you see~" Hotep Ra grinned before all three of his creatures exploded into pieces, and then…
My eyes went wide and I gave a gasp when I saw what, or rather, who Duul Aman summoned onto the field. Danny Phantom appeared on the grid, his eyes were closed. Danny had 2400 attack points, and 2100 defense points.
"You're using my brother!?" I snapped.
"You think I would forgo using a card that I even showed off?" Duul Aman calmly questioned. "I feel I should warn you, however, that if you destroy Danny, he'll become my slave permanently and you will not be able to free him from the card."
"That's not fair! I won't be able to take out Danny to get to you!" I scowled.
"If that's how you feel, then you should simply make it easier on yourself and surrender now." Duul Aman smiled.
I glared. "No, I will find a way to save Danny and defeat you."
"I'd like to see you try. You know, there is a reason why it took 3 sacrifices to summon your brother, despite his lower attack points compared to Hotep Ra's," Duul Aman remarked, gesturing to the still seemingly unconscious Danny. "But don't worry, you'll find out why soon enough. I place one more card facedown in the magic zone, and end my turn. Now, Andrew, do you have the guts to take down your brother with your dragon?"
I frowned as I looked at my floating unconscious ghostly brother. Dora had enough attack points to destroy him, but I knew I could never bring myself to do that.
I sighed, looking at my cards after I drew a card from my deck. None of these are going to help me. "I pass on my turn."
Duul Aman drew, but chose not to place any cards down. "Awaken, Daniel! Face your brother who you shall help destroy!"
Danny opened his eyes, and he blinked a little in confusion. "Ugh… huh…? What? Where am I?"
"Danny!" I called out.
Danny looked at me, confused, and up at Dora in her dragon form, as well as the two giant floating cards beside and behind her.
"Bro! What's going on?" Danny asked before he tried to move forward, but he found that he couldn't move. "Huh? Hey! Why can't I move?"
"We're in some kind of dark game right now, Danny," I answered. "You remember that card game, Battle Creatures, right? That's kind of what we're doing. I'm dueling against Duul Aman's spirit, and he's uh… kind of using you as one of his battle creatures."
"... What?" Danny just blinked. "I'm in a game?"
"Yes, yes you are," Duul Aman answered from behind him. "You should know, Daniel, if your brother defeats you, you shall become my pawn for eternity~"
Danny turned around, seeing Duul Aman for the first time since we got here. "So you're saying Andy can't destroy me or he risk losing me to you forever?"
"Pretty much," Duul Aman confirmed.
"How is that fair?" Danny grumbled. "I'm not participating in this game! Especially if it's against my brother!"
"Daniel, I order you to bow to me," Duul Aman instructed.
There was a green glow on Danny's body, and he was suddenly bowing to Duul Aman.
"H-hey! What!?" Danny shouted in shock.
"You don't have a choice on whether or not to participate," Duul Aman stated. "Now stop bowing and turn towards your brother."
Danny's body glowed green again before he stood up and turned to face me. Danny gritted his teeth, he didn't like this anymore than I did.
"Don't worry, Danny, I'll find a way to get us out of this," I reassured.
"I activate my magic card, Ace Move," Duul Aman stated. "When used on one of my creatures, it makes them use their Ace Move. As Danny is my only creature, I can only use Ace Move on him."
Uh-oh… Danny's ace in the hole is his Ghostly Wail, does that mean he'll be using that? I frowned.
Danny shut his eyes and gritted his teeth as his body glowed green again, he was trying to resist Duul Aman's control, unfortunately, Danny couldn't resist for long, and his mouth opened before he blasted out his Ghostly Wail on the field. I had to cover my ears, because it was in my direction, and I wouldn't be surprised if my head exploded from how loud Danny's Ghostly Wail was. I didn't lose any Life Points, but that didn't make it any less painful. Dora, however, was destroyed, and so was my defending creature, which was Klemper.
Danny finally stopped wailing, and he looked a little tired, but not enough to change back. I wasn't sure if Danny could change back while he's being forced to play as Duul Aman's creature.
"The Ghostly Wail destroys all enemy creatures on the field," Duul Aman explained. "You're lucky that using Ace Move makes me use up the creature's turn. I'll set down one card facedown, and end my turn."
I was without Dora now, one of my strongest creatures in the deck I created. But even if I could bring out a creature stronger than Danny, I still wouldn't take him out. I had to find a way to win this game without destroying my brother. There's a card in there that could help me with that, I just have to draw it.
I drew a card from my deck, frowning. Unfortunately, this isn't the card I need. All I can do right now is stall.
I placed another creature card in the defensive facedown position on the field.
"I end my turn," I announced.
Duul Aman drew a card before smiling.
"Tell me, since I'm about to win in this move, is there anything you would like for me to do after I am in control of your body?" Duul Aman questioned. "Perhaps go say goodbye to your family, or kiss someone you never built up the nerve to approach."
"You're not getting control of my body," I growled. "I don't care if you are using my brother, I'm not going to give up so easily."
"You tell him, Andy," Danny agreed. "Don't let this old Pharaoh intimidate you."
"Are you sure you don't want to make any last requests?" Duul Aman questioned. "After all, this will be the last turn of the game."
I didn't like how confident Duul Aman was about that. "I'm not making any requests to you."
"Very well then," Duul Aman sighed. "So, do you remember what I said about Danny needing 3 sacrifices to be summoned? You're about to find out why. Danny has quite the special ability that makes him so hard to summon."
"What special ability?" I frowned.
"I have a special ability?" Danny questioned.
"That's right, an ability that only activates once equipped with this…" Duul Aman turned over his facedown card in the magic zone, there was a picture of a blood red orb with a disturbingly familiar mist circling inside it. "The Orb of Corruption!"
"WHAT!?" Both Danny and I screamed at the same time.
The card behind Danny turned into a red crystal ball, and floated above Danny.
"Consume and corrupt Daniel, Orb of Corruption!" Duul Aman commanded.
"No! Stop! You don't know what you're doing!" I shouted frantically, seeing my nightmares coming to life before my eyes.
"I know exactly what I'm doing, Andrew~" Duul Aman smirked.
The red orb then started to crack, a deadly red mist starting to come out. Danny struggled as he tried to move, trying to get away from the orb, but his body was held still by the green energy. I almost jumped from my position to push Danny away, but a strong energy was holding me back.
"If you leave your platform, you surrender," Duul Aman informed.
The red orb shattered, the glass pieces disappearing as the red mist started to surround Danny. Danny gasped and shut his eyes, there wasn't anything he could do to escape from this. I couldn't do anything either.
I can't save him… I realized with horror as Danny's appearance slowly began to change.
The white on Danny's suit began to turn blood red, his nails grew long and sharp, his white hair turned dark red, his canine teeth grew out longer and sharper. When the mist faded, Danny opened his eyes to reveal they were bright red. I vaguely noticed that Danny's attack and defense points both skyrocketed to 4000 each.
I didn't stop him. I only delayed the inevitable… I paled, finding it very hard to breathe.
"Wh-what… happened?" Danny asked as he looked down at himself.
"I've unleashed your hidden potential," Duul Aman answered. "Now, Daniel, destroy your brother's face down creature card!"
Danny let out a yelp as his hands glowed with red ghost rays before he fired at my facedown card, which was Cujo in his puppy form. Cujo let out a whimper as he was destroyed.
I then noticed that Danny's attack power had gone up to 4800. I wanted to ask, but I was too stunned, still too in shock at seeing Corrupted Danny again to even move, let alone speak.
"Ahhh, you must be wondering about Daniel's special ability," Duul Aman noted. "Well, it's quite simple. For every ghost type creature in our graveyards, Daniel gains another 100 attack points. It fits into his whole eating other ghost core thing while he was in this form."
I looked at Duul Aman.
"You're wondering how I know about that? I told you before; I have all of your brother's memories, including that time when he was in his… as you called it 'Corrupted form'," Duul Aman explained. "I've pretty much won. Are you planning to just play the defense until you're all out of cards? Go ahead and squirm then. I'll let you have your next turn, that is, if you even can take your next turn."
I could barely even hold up my cards, just seeing Corrupted Danny had taken all the fight out of me.
"Oh, and if you do have any last requests, tell me before I have Daniel attack you directly," Duul Aman added.
How could I have let this happen? How could I have let both of my friends get taken and corrupted? I've not only lost Tucker, but Danny too. Corrupted Danny is going to destroy everyone again. He'll transform the world again. I can't stop him. Why can't I stop him? Why does he keep coming back!? I fell to my knees, feeling weak. There's no way to win… I've lost...
"Come on, bro, you have to keep fighting!" Danny suddenly shouted. "You can't let this stale old mummy take control of your body!"
I didn't respond.
"Andy! Listen to me! I know that I look corrupted again, but I promise you I'm not! This isn't real, I'm not actually corrupted! This is just a hologram!" Danny's voice explained. "Please, I'm still me, bro. I'm still Danny. You would know if I was corrupted again, don't let this hologram fool you, Andy! I know you're smarter than that! Please... you have to get up and fight, you have to win!"
It's not… real…? I opened my eyes and slowly looked back up to the battlefield.
"Andy, get up, please," Danny begged.
I slowly stood back up, looking into my brother's eyes. Danny and I silently looked at each other, until I realized that despite his eyes being red, he was still Danny. The kind, gentle, heroic brother that I grew up with. Danny's right… this isn't real. I can't let this beat me. I can still save him and Tucker. Danny isn't corrupted, he's still Danny.
I took a deep breath and let it out, calming myself. I looked down at my deck. I still have a chance, if I can just draw that particular card, we can still win this.
"Come on, Andrew, stop stalling and either draw your next card or forfeit!" Duul Aman impatiently stated. "If you don't start your move in the next 2 minutes, you will automatically lose."
"I'm drawing!" I snapped before drawing my next card. "Hmm…" It's not the card I need, but maybe I can use it.
"It doesn't matter what you draw, your brother will easily take out anything you use," Duul Aman confidently remarked.
I set down a magic card onto the magic zone. "I activate the Ghost Shield Barrier!"
A green barrier appeared in the space between Duul Aman and my side of the field.
"What?" Duul Aman frowned.
"The Ghost Shield Barrier stops all ghost creatures from attacking me or my creatures for 3 turns," I informed. Of course that also means my own ghost creatures wouldn't be able to attack Duul Aman's creatures either since the Ghost Shield Barrier keeps all ghost creatures out. But it doesn't matter, since I'm not trying to attack Danny anyways.
"So you're stalling, how annoying," Duul Aman grumbled.
"Yeah, keep it up, bro!" Danny cheered.
I put down a creature card. "Now, I summon Juliette onto the field."
Juliette appeared on the grid. She had 800 attack and 2000 defense.
"Oh? Where am I?" Juliette asked as she looked around.
"Juliette, I'm going to need your help in winning this battle and saving my friends," I said.
Juliette looked back at me and gave me a smile. "Of course, Andy, whatever you need!"
"Thank you." I smiled back. "Now, I activate Juliette's special ability. On the turn Juliette is summoned, she can automatically summon Scarlet to the field. Now Juliette, call your loyal holy knight onto the battlefield!"
"Scarlet, come to me!" Juliette called out.
I took my deck, and looked for Scarlet's card before taking her out. I put the pile of cards back in its place before I put Scarlet onto the field beside Juliette. Scarlet herself had 3000 attack points and 3500 defense points.
"You called, my princess?" Scarlet inquired.
"Andy needs our help," Juliette answered. "So we'll help him out however we can!"
"Of course," Scarlet agreed.
"That's cute, but what good would that holy knight do you?" Duul Aman asked. "As strong as she is, even she's no match for Danny in his corrupted form."
"Scarlet's got quite an effect, as you'll soon see," I remarked. "On the turn that she was special summoned by Juliette, I can cut her attack points in half in order to bypass your creatures and attack you directly."
Scarlet's attack went down to 1500 before she jumped past the Ghost Shield. The Ghost Shield didn't protect players from direct attacks after all. Scarlet summoned a spear in her hand before she jabbed it forward at Duul Aman. Duul Aman let out a cry as his Life Points went from 2900 to 1400. When Scarlet's attack was done, she jumped back to my side of the field, and landed beside Juliette.
"Nicely done, Scarlet," Juliette commented with a smile.
"Interesting tactics," Duul Aman observed. "I'm a bit intrigued that you made cards that can ignore monsters and magic and attack the opponent directly."
"I may not have played the game a lot myself, but I have watched an anime that uses it," I admitted.
"Bro, I've never been more thankful in my life that you're such an anime nerd," Danny spoke up in a teasing tone.
"You watched it too!" I pointed out. It feels weird doing playful jabs at my 'corrupted' brother.
"Did I…?" Danny questioned.
"Whatever," I grumbled. "I end my turn."
Duul Aman drew a card from his deck, before he placed a facedown creature onto the field beside Danny.
"I'm just waiting until your shield goes down before I destroy what little hope you have left," Duul Aman stated. "I still have another Ace Move in this deck. So summon all the creatures you want, they'll all be destroyed and added to Danny's attack."
"I hate that effect," Danny scowled.
"Now make your move, Andrew, you've got two turns left," Duul Aman stated. "I suggest you don't waste them."
I looked down at my deck. Come on, I need to draw that card. I drew out another card.
Box Ghost? Seriously? I groaned. Well, I suppose if nothing else, he could be a token to something else I might need to summon.
I put down Box Ghost's card onto the field.
"Beware!" The Box Ghost said as he appeared. "For I am the Box Ghost!"
"Really, bro? Box Ghost?" Danny questioned in disbelief.
"I am the Box Ghost! I have power beyond your comprehension with all things that are cardboard and square!" Box Ghost shouted dramatically, though his attack points were 300 and his defense points were 200.
"Yes, really Danny, Box Ghost," I answered Danny's question. Still think it's weird that I'm having a casual conversation with 'corrupted' Danny.
"Are you sure you're not still losing it because of this stupid hologram?" Danny asked in concern.
"I know what I'm doing Danny," I sighed. "Anyways, that's the end of my turn."
"One turn closer to your eventual demise," Duul Aman muttered in annoyance as he drew his card. "Hmmm… I end my turn. But on the next turn, you're finished."
"So glad that you're so confident," I grumbled sarcastically as I drew a card. Still not what I need...
I looked up to see the Ghost Shield Barrier had disappeared when Duul Aman ended his turn. I better make sure that Danny doesn't destroy my creatures as well as all my Life Points. I could place them all in defense mode, but what if Duul Aman has a 'Stop Defense' card? I'd lose all of my Life Points if he uses that and has Danny attack. My safest option is to use this magic card I set down earlier.
I turned over my facedown card in the magic zone. "Now I'll show you why I made the Box Ghost. I activate Duplication Box Concealment."
Box Ghost raised his hands, creating four boxes. Juliette, Scarlet, and Box Ghost were covered by the boxes, and the boxes moved around on the grid before stopping.
"It would appear all you are capable of now is stalling," Duul Aman stated with a small shake of his head. "It's sad that you are unable to simply accept your defeat."
"I don't care if you see it as cowardly, I won't let you defeat me so easily," I hissed. "Now make your move."
"Very well then. I have four choices, of course if I destroy the one with the pathetic Box Ghost in it, your Life Point will fall to zero faster than you could blink." Duul Aman smirked.
"Go ahead and try," I challenged.
"Fine then," Duul Aman looked at each of the boxes, I was careful to keep my face neutral on each one he faced. "Daniel, attack the box on the far left."
Danny hissed as his body glowed green, and he was forced to fire a red ghost ray at the far left box, destroying it. To my immense relief, however, Duul Aman chose an empty box. Finally my luck is starting to turn good again.
Duul Aman frowned when he realized he missed all of my creatures. "Looks like the goddess of luck is smiling down on you right now, Andrew, but luck won't last forever. It's your turn."
I drew my card. Come on, if I needed any luck, it's to draw that card I desperately need!
Since the Duplicate Box Concealment was already played, I could switch all my creatures to defense mode, so that way Danny won't be able to cause any damage to my Life Points.
"I end my turn," I announced.
"You know, Andrew, I've grown tired of this game of cat and mouse," Duul Aman spoke up. "It's time to finish this. You were quite an opponent, but I've had enough of your stalling tactics."
I frowned before Duul Aman smirked and placed a card on the magic zone. "Now, I activate Ace Move. Daniel, wipe them all out!"
I frowned and quickly covered my ears. Danny tried to resist like before, but he still couldn't stop himself from unleashing his Ghostly Wail. I was relieved that the sonic boom energy Danny was releasing wasn't red, likely because Danny never used the Ghostly Wail before as Corrupted Danny, thank goodness, so it retained normal Danny's Ghostly Wail. The boxes were all destroyed, along with Scarlet, Juliette, and Box Ghost. Corrupted Danny's attack went up to 5100.
"Now before you go getting any ideas about defending yourself again, I'll place this card," Duul Aman put a card down in the magic zone. "It's your turn."
That card Duul Aman placed in the magic zone… could that be a Stop Defense card? If it is, then none of my creatures can be put into defense mode. Which means if I let him attack me with Danny again, I'm done for. I frowned as I looked at my deck. Which means if I don't draw that card now, it's all over. Everything we've worked for will be gone. Please, please let me draw the card I need.
"Don't give up, bro!" Danny called out. "It's not over yet!"
I reached over to the deck, worried about the card I would draw. I could see myself losing, being taken over by Duul Aman, and Danny becoming his lifeless pawn, or truly Corrupted again. I paused my hand over my deck. Was that a vision? Am I going to lose?
I shook my head. If I'm going to lose, I might as well go down trying.
I drew my last card. My eyes widened as I looked at the card. Danny's going to tease me for this for a long time.
"Make your last move," Duul Aman said.
"Very well then," I said before I put down a card in the magic zone. "I activate the Bond of Brothers."
The card had a picture of me and Danny hugging each other.
"What?" Duul Aman frowned. "What is that supposed to do?"
"When you showed me Danny's card, I figured you would use him against me eventually," I stated. "So I created a card specifically for him. The Bond of Brothers allows me to take control of a Danny Phantom card, no matter the variant."
"No! You could not have foreseen the event enough to make a card like this!" Duul Aman scowled.
A holographic version of my human self appeared. Danny looked at the holo me as he approached Danny. Danny smiled as he took holo Andy's hand, and holo Andy took him over to my side of the field.
"You must have cheated! There is no way you would've been able to prepare such a specific card!" Duul Aman accused.
"Maybe next time you shouldn't show off your ace in the hole before the actual game. Not to mention, who's the cheater here? You were the one who was using my own brother against me!" I retorted.
Danny smiled as he stood on my side of the field now before holo Andy disappeared.
"I know you still have one monster defending you, so…" I put down another creature card on the field. "If I have Danny or Dora on the field, I can special summon Clockwork onto the field."
A clock portal appeared, turning its hands before Clockwork popped into existence, in his old man form.
"I foresaw this eventuality," Clockwork commented with a smile. "And it is one I am most proud of."
"Hi Clockwork," Danny greeted.
"Hello, Daniel," Clockwork greeted back.
"Now, I activate Clockwork's special ability. On the turn he was summoned, I can use his time magic to reverse the time a creature had been destroyed," I explained. "And I choose to bring back Dora in her dragon form."
"Tsk tsk, Dorathea, to have fallen so easily to an attack," Clockwork scolded. "Let's rectify that, shall we?"
Clockwork's staff began to glow before a large clock appeared in front of him. The clock was originally moving forward but it began to slow until it was stopped. The hands on the clock twitched a little before they rapidly started spinning backwards, taking time off the clock. As the time went down, the graveyard area began to glow.
"Come, Dorathea, there is still a battle to be had!" Clockwork called out before Dora, in her dragon form, appeared beside Clockwork.
Dora let out a battle ready roar.
"Thanks, Clockwork," Dora said gratefully.
"Now let's finish this," I said before declaring the attack. "Dora, destroy that hidden creature!"
"With pleasure." Dora smiled before she roared once more.
Dora flapped her wings before she took off into the air. Once high enough, Dora dove down towards the card of the hidden creature. The creature was some kind of ghost guard that appeared to be heavily armored, it had 1200 attack, and 2800 defense. Thankfully, dragon Dora was able to take it out with her dragon claws.
Once the ghost guard was taken care of, Dora landed back beside Clockwork.
"And now, to finish this once and for all," I said.
"Yeah," Danny agreed.
Duul Aman actually looked afraid, it was quite a sight to see.
"Now Danny, attack this old spirit directly and end this nightmare!" I yelled out.
"You got it, bro!" Danny flew up, this time attacking with his own will, both of his hands glowed a bright red. "Looks like it's time for you to go back to sleep, 'Pharaoh'."
Danny fired his ghost ray at Duul Aman, blasting the platform. Duul Aman's Life Points hit 0 upon impact. Everything started to go white after that. I couldn't tell what was happening. We won! We won! We did it… but what's happening now?
"Andy!" I heard Danny calling out.
"Danny!" I called back as everything became blindingly bright.
Reviews
Anime lover 3593: DarkFoxKit: Everyone was too busy fighting to notice Andy transforming, so don't worry about that (plus we don't have any plans of having anyone seeing Andy transforming… yet.).
Yup, I figured Andy doing a card battle was perfect since he is the strategic one, and Danny got to show off his battle prowess during the colosseum. And well, let's just say Andy won't be enjoying having to face his brother like this. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
MikotoSuoh23789: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': It was more than just a reference, as you can clearly see. It's not fully Yu-Gi-Oh but we had a whole duel and all that. ^^'
ZAFT Convoy: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': It was extremely fun to write considering we had just finished Season 0 of Yu-Gi-Oh and had been watching Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged.
haloguardian452: DarkFoxKit: It's actually fun for me to write about how Andy's discovering his powers since those are how I imagined how Danny's powers work, and it's nice to write out my own thoughts and theories on the ghost powers myself. Andy is the perfect outlet for letting all that out without it seeming out of place.
RedHood001: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, that's pretty much what Yu-Gi-Oh was all about, strategic or luck based games to win rather than a battle of strength. I figured it would be perfect to use for the Egyptian episode of Danny Phantom and have Andy take on the corrupted Pharaoh in a duel.
Luna Lillyth: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': We thought that it would make sense for Andy to be in a competition that mostly uses his intellect. We had also just come off a binge of Yu-Gi-Oh season 0 and Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged. We hope you enjoyed the duel.
Titanic X: Darkzdragon 'Onyx': It would be a bit harder to include Gundam as an actual thing right now. *Smiles mischievously* But perhaps in the future. After all there are plenty of plans in both mine and Fox's mind that would make this world a whole lot broader. After all, the show only explored a tiny section of the world and the Ghost Zone, so there is so much we could do.
The Moonfox Collective: DarkFoxKit: Don't know the reference. And yeah, Andy's quite careful with strategy, sometimes too careful though, which makes him hesitate, which isn't the best thing to do in the heat of battle. Hope we didn't disappoint with the duel.
Darkzdragon 'Onyx': I didn't know the reference either, so I looked it up. Apparently the reference/quote is what the game of Yu-Gi-Oh is called in the 41st Millennium in another abridged series I believe.
Mana: DarkFoxKit: Heh, well it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do an actual Yu-Gi-Oh duel. At first, I was thinking about having Danny be dueling with cards at the colosseum instead of being a gladiator, but Onyx told me that Danny's thing is fighting, while his brother is the more strategic one, and that made sense, so we decided to have Andy duel it out against Duul Aman instead. The Scarab Scepter may or may not come back into play in the future once this episode is over.
I like your idea where Vlad is set on avenging his perfect clone son by making Danny's life a living nightmare by corrupting the mayor rather than being the mayor himself. That does sound like something Vlad would do. While I understand Butch may have been under pressure, he's always had this thing with taking comedy to a mean spirited, Looney-Tune-like level. Look at Fairly Odd Parents, I know it's not a series we're supposed to take seriously, but in the later seasons the comedic thing had been taken way too high. From what I've heard about Bunsen's a Beast, it's got the same cringe-worthy levels of those later seasons of Fairy Odd Parents if not more so.
As for what I think Vlad should've done… I don't want to say cause we're going to be doing it once we get to season 3. XP