Chapter 9: A Strange New World
Joey was ready for his next opponent. After the timer limitation from Yugi's duel, he wasn't going to take any chances and immediately set out to his next room which wasn't all that far from where Yugi's duel was. The others decided to leave him be and grab some snacks with Andrew, who had to leave not long after for his own duel. They came back to find Joey still sitting and waiting for his opponent, a good ten minutes on the timer left.
"I can understand that Joey doesn't want to lose a duel on account of a technicality, but this is ridiculous," Tristan commented.
"That's Joey for you," Yugi said.
Soon, a brown-eyed girl in a lab coat and wearing glasses entered in from the opposite side. "If my hypothesis is correct," she said, "then you must be Joey Wheeler."
Joey smiled and leapt up onto his feet. "Dat's me, da one and only!" he said. "And you are...uh, you are..."
"Gwen Mitchell, and the pleasure's mine," the girl replied rather dryly. "Shall we get started then? I have a couple of experiments to get back to."
Joey smiled but was noticeably ticked by her last statement. "Sure," he said, "I'll be sure to beat you fast enough so you can do all the experiments you want."
While the players shuffled each other's decks, the others finished their snacks and prepared to watch.
"Know anything about this girl, Yugi?" Tristan asked.
"I don't think so," Yugi answered. "Why do you ask?"
"I dunno," Tristan replied. "She just seems kinda familiar to me, I guess."
"Now that you mention it," Tea said, "she does look familiar. But I don't think we've even met her before."
They're not the only ones, Yugi thought. I can't shake the feeling that we've met this girl before too.
I'm beginning to see it as well.
Yugi had suddenly entered into his mind and found Yami there. "You don't think..."
"It's just a feeling, but it's one I've had since we met these last few duelists," Yami said. "It's strange, but ever since we saw Joey's first duel, there has been a sense of familiarity with all of them."
"I just wish I knew what it all meant," Yugi thought aloud, bowing his head.
Yami reached over and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. "We'll figure that out soon enough," he said, "but for right now, we'll need to cheer on Joey in his duel!"
Yugi looked up and nodded before they came back to the real world. "Good luck Joey," he called out from the spectator booth.
Joey and Gwen had already finished up shuffling each other's decks and had already taken their respective sides of the field. After drawing their hands, they each called out, "DUEL!"
Gwen: 8000
Joey: 8000
"Analysis shows it's my move," Gwen said, drawing her next card. "I will begin with the Green Gadget (4/1400/600) monster in Attack mode."
A green colored robot with a gear face appeared on Gwen's field, clenching its fists ready for battle.
"And with the effect of my Green Gadget, I'll add a Red Gadget from my Deck to my hand," Gwen continued before Setting two cards. "My turn ends with two face-down cards."
"Alright, it's my turn!" Joey declared, drawing a card. "And I summon out Gearfried the Iron Knight (4/1800/1600) to da field in Attack mode!"
The ironclad knight was summoned onto Joey's field, ready and prepared for battle.
"Alright, Gearfried," Joey declared, "time for your attack!"
The knight lunged forward and struck down the gadget creature, eliminating it from the playing field!
Gwen: 7600
Joey: 8000
"And with dis face-down card," Joey summed up, "I end my turn!"
"Then it is mine once again," Gwen said, drawing her next card. "First, I will start with the Machine Assembly Line spell card, which will give my Machines an additional 200 Atk points. And now I'll also add in my two face-down cards: Ultimate Offering and Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"
As she activated her various cards, they appeared on the field, and upon activating her final card, a large robotic creature with three ports on its chest appeared on the field.
"Now with Stronghold the Moving Fortress, I have a Level 4 Trap Monster with 0 Atk and 2000 Def," Gwen explained, "and with Ultimate Offering, I'll be able to perform more than just my one Normal Summon each turn, so long as I pay 500 life points for each additional Normal Summon."
Well dat can't be good, Joey thought. Now she can bring out more monsters dan before! But den again, if I remember right, dat card lets me do da same thing too!
"Now I summon Red Gadget (4/1300/1500) from my hand to the field as normal," Gwen continued.
Another geared creature, this time red and with the gear on its back, appeared on Gwen's field.
"And when Red Gadget's summoned, I add Yellow Gadget from my Deck to my hand," Gwen said. "And then, by paying 500 Life Points per Ultimate Offering's effect, I summon Yellow Gadget (4/1200/1200) onto my field in Attack mode."
Gwen: 7100
Joey: 8000
A yellow creature with a gear as part of its main body appeared on Gwen's field next to the red creature.
"And when Yellow Gadget's summoned, I add another Green Gadget from my Deck to my hand," Gwen said. "And with another offering of 500 Life Points, I summon the Green Gadget to my field, adding another Red Gadget from my Deck to my hand."
Gwen: 6600
Joey: 8000
As she said this, another green gear creature appeared next to each of the other gear creatures.
"Dat's a lotta monsters!" Joey exclaimed.
"An astute observation. Your analysis of the situation is accurate," Gwen said. "Now that my three Gadgets are on the field, Stronghold the Moving Fortress gets a boost of 3000 Attack points."
The three Gadget monsters then hopped into each of the ports in Stronghold the Moving Fortress, boosting its power!
Stronghold the Moving Fortress (4/0/2000 - 4/3000/2000)
"In addition, all my Machines gain 200 Atk points due to Machine Assembly Line," Gwen added.
Stronghold the Moving fortress (4/3000/2000 - 4/3200/2000)
Green Gadget (4/1400/600 - 4/1600/600)
Red Gadget (4/1300/1500 - 4/1500/1500)
Yellow Gadget (4/1200/1200 - 4/1400/1200)
"NYEH~"
"My turn isn't over," Gwen continued. "I now summon Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo (4/0/2000) in Attack mode."
Gwen: 6100
Joey: 8000
A large brown robot with a single port on its chest appeared on the field, powered down and bent over.
"My Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo has a similar ability to that of my Stronghold the Moving Fortress," Gwen continued, "except instead of needing three Gadgets on the field, it only needs one to boost its Atk power by 2000."
Boot-Up Soldier Dread Dynamo (4/0/2000 - 4/2200/2000)
"And now for my army to strike," Gwen announced. "Stronghold, attack and eliminate Gearfried the Iron Knight."
The giant fortress moved forward preparing to eliminate the iron knight from the field!
"If this attack goes through, Joey's Life Points are gonna drop to 0 in no time!" Tristan yelped.
Joey smirked at that moment, a smirk which became a chuckle.
"And what is so funny?" Gwen asked.
"You fell right into my trap!" Joey said. "Reveal, Magical Arm Shield!"
A pink shield appeared on Gearfriend's arm, opening up and then extending a gripping claw of sorts that latched onto Green Gadget! It removed the monster from Stronghold the Moving Fortress and placed it in front of Gearfried!
"With my Magical Arm Shield," Joey explained, "I can take control of one of your monsters when you make an attack and change the attack to da monster I just nabbed! And since I nabbed one of your Gadget monsters, your Stronghold no longer has the monsters it needs to operate at full power!"
Stronghold the Moving Fortress (4/3200/2000 - 4/200/2000)
"Hmm, intriguing," Gwen said. "However, because Green Gadget moved to your field, it no longer gains the power from Machine Assembly Line."
Green Gadget (4/1600/600 - 4/1400/600)
"Won't matter much, he's still strong enough to take down the Stronghold," Joey replied. "Now Green Gadget, destroy Stronghold the Moving Fortress!"
The green machine was forced to strike at the fortress, blowing it up and forcing the other two gadgets to evacuate their ports!
Gwen: 4900
Joey: 8000
"Regardless, whenever a Machine monster is destroyed, my Machine Assembly Line gains 2 Junk Counters," Gwen said.
Machine Assembly Line (2 Junk Counters)
"And now to take care of that Gearfried the Iron Knight," Gwen continued. "Go, Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo."
One of the Gadgets boarded Boot-Up Soldier - Dread Dynamo's port and powered the machine up, allowing it to launch its attack on Gearfried!
Gwen: 4900
Joey: 7600
"That is all I'll do for now," Gwen said, ending her turn. Green Gadget returned to her field as the Magical Arm Shield faded away.
"Alright den, my move!" Joey said, drawing a card. "And now I Special Summon The Fiend Megacyber (6/2200/1200) to my field in Attack mode!"
The golden armored warrior appeared on Joey's field, ready for battle.
"Since you have at least two more monsters than I do," Joey explained, "I can summon The Fiend Megacyber from my hand. And now I'll also summon Alligator's Sword (4/1500/1200), alongside Swordsman of Landstar (3/500/1200) and Panther Warrior (4/2000/1600) with the aid of your Ultimate Offering!"
Gwen: 4900
Joey: 6600
Alongside the golden warrior appeared an alligator man wielding a sword, a smaller fairy warrior equipped with leathery armor and a sword of its own, and a large panther clad in armor and wielding a sword of its own.
"It doesn't matter how many of those monsters you summon," Gwen said. "I've already done the calculations, and there isn't any way you can beat me in this turn!"
"Dat may be," Joey said, "but I think I can get pretty close. Now I pay 500 Life Points and sacrifice my Alligator's Sword, my Swordsman of Landstar, and my Panther Warrior in order to summon out Gilford the Lightning (8/2800/1400)!"
Gwen: 4900
Joey: 6600
The three new monsters disappeared as quickly as they had appeared and brought forth a mighty warrior that came down in a mighty bolt of lightning! From that same bolt came other bolts of lightning which struck down all of Gwen's machines!
"In case you hadn't figured it out," Joey continued, "my Gilford the Lightning has the special ability to destroy all your monsters when he's summoned to the field with three sacrifices! And now, Gilford and the Fiend Megacyber attack your Life Points directly!"
The lightning warrior drew out his blade as the other threw a punch at Gwen! After his comrade's retreat, the lightning warrior struck Gwen with a mighty blow from his blade!
Gwen: 0
Joey: 6600
Joey walked over to shake Gwen's hand, saying, "Not bad dueling!"
At that moment, Gwen pulled out a small piece of paper, handed it to Joey, and before Joey could even ask, she left the arena. The others walked up to Joey, looking at the paper.
"What's it say?" Tristan asked curiously.
Joey read the paper: "You will lose your next duel. -LI"
...meanwhile, in the office of Matt Zero...
Kaiba remained seated in front of Matt's desk, while Matt himself sat across the desk from him, sipping on a glass of milk again. Setting the glass down, Matt began, "So I see you're doing well in the tournament."
"I suppose these duelists are just slightly more challenging than the last round," Kaiba remarked smugly, and then he asked, "So what's this about? I doubt you just asked me to praise my dueling skills."
Matt smiled and nodded. "Very much so," he said, standing up from behind the desk and walking over to the window. "My only request is that I wish to borrow the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in your possession."
Kaiba's eyes narrowed. "You know I'd never consider an offer like that," he answered back. "What's the catch?"
Matt nodded. "I understand under normal circumstances you would never think of it," he said. Then he turned to Kaiba and continued, "But I'm not asking these under normal circumstances, you see."
"Oh really? Did you want to throw them into the prize pool as well? Give runner-up a chance at holding three legendary Blue-Eyes?" Kaiba asked, almost mocking Matt. He was less interested in the proposal as much as he was in wrapping up the conversation.
Matt leaned over the desk to look Kaiba in the eye. "I'm asking this in order to save the world," he said gravely.
For a moment, there was silence. Then Kaiba simply chuckled. "You're saving the world? Please," he mocked.
"I'm serious," Matt stated. Kaiba just couldn't help but smile, and then his smile disappeared as he too became serious.
"Listen, you'll have to try harder than that if you want me to even consider handing over my Blue-Eyes," Kaiba stated in kind. "These aren't just three of the rarest cards in the world. These dragons are my very heart and soul. Asking for them isn't going to be like asking to borrow another child's toy. You might be pretending to save the world on your own, but don't patronize me by suggesting I'll just loan them out to anyone."
Kaiba made to stand up from his seat and head for the door. Matt sighed and bowed his head. "Wait..."
Kaiba stopped, despite his own insistence on leaving. He looked over towards Matt, almost humoring him to state his case. Matt looked up from the desk, looking directly at Kaiba with all the desperation of a cornered rat.
"What do you know of the Trinity?"
AUTHOR'S NOTES
A brief duel and a brief request. Let's get a look at some of those cards:
Machine Assembly Line (Continuous Spell)
Effect: All Machine monsters on the field gain 200 ATK. Each time a Machine monster is destroyed, add 2 Junk Counters to this card. You can send this card to the GY, then target 1 Machine monster in your GY whose Level is less than or equal to the number of Junk Counters that were on this card; Special Summon that target.
Stronghold the Moving Fortress (Continuous Trap)
Effect: Special Summon this card in Defense Position as an Effect Monster (Machine/EARTH/Lv 4/0 Atk/2000 Def). (This card is still a Trap card.) While you control a face-up "Green Gadget", "Red Gadget", and "Yellow Gadget", this card gains 3000 ATK.
NOTE: In the story, Stronghold is summoned in Attack Position, contrary to its real-life counterpart here. Of course, it wouldn't be as fun to have it start in Defense Position.
Ultimate Offering (Continuous Trap)
Effect: During the Main Phase: the turn player can pay 500 LP; immediately after this effect resolves, Normal Summon/Set 1 monster.
NOTE: When this card first came out, the text indicated that either player was able to use this effect, partially giving leeway to a wide variety of issues. While the cost was reasonable, it could still allow for either player to swarm the field with monsters, with whoever had the most powerful turning into the victor in the long run. With later erratas, the effect of this card was changed to benefit only the player who controlled it rather than being worded in a way that it could work for both players. Here I've used its original effect, in which Joey and Gwen are both able to utilize the card's power.
Boot-Up Soldier Dread Dynamo (Effect Monster)
Level 4, 0 Attack, 2000 Defense, Machine, EARTH
Effect: While you control a "Gadget" monster, this card gains 2000 Atk.
Magical Arm Shield (Normal Trap)
Effect: When your opponent attacks while you control a monster: Target 1 face-up monster your opponent controls, except the attacking monster; take control of that tagret until the end of the Battle Phase, and if you do, it is attacked instead, and you proceed to damage calculation.
The Fiend Megacyber (Effect Monster)
Level 6, 2200 Atk, 1200 Def, Warrior, DARK
Effect: You can Special Summon this card from your hand if your opponent controls 2 or more monsters than you.
What's the purpose of asking for Kaiba's Blue-Eyes anyway? What's Matt's connection to the Trinity? And who's this "LI" character? Perhaps we'll find out in the next chapter!
