Chapter 11: How Yuya Got His Groove Back
Yuya sulked out of the dueling arena, his near loss replaying over and over in his head. His concerned friends ran over to him.
"Yuya, are you okay?"
"I...I almost lost. If he had five more seconds, I would've..."
"Hey, its okay, you'll get him next time!"
Yuya just silently started walking off.
"Um, Yuya?"
"I...I need to be alone right now..."
"Yuya, wait!"
"And where do you think you're going?"
Before Yuya could leave, Skip grabbed his wrist, forcing him around to face him.
"Dad, what are you doing?"
"Look Yuya, I understand that you're upset, but you're not going to win every game. Losing is just a part of growing as a duelist."
"I know that! But if I lost, I would've had to give up my Pendulum cards. Pegasus trusted me with the prototypes, and-"
"Look Yuya, you can mope about it all you want, but it won't change what happened. So man up and get a hold of yourself!"
Yuya just remained silent. Seeing he wasn't going to get through to his pupil, Skip sighed and released his arm.
"Fine, if that's how you want to be, then I challenge you to a duel! You win, you can go off and sulk all you want. But if I win, you man up and quit feeling sorry for yourself!"
Zuzu, feeling her father was pushing him too hard, tried to intervene.
"Lay off him, dad! He almost lost his best cards, the least you could do is show some support!"
Gong placed a hand on her shoulder, restraining her from going farther.
"Don't interfere. Believe it or not, this is your father's way of trying to help."
A few minutes later, the two of them were all set to duel.
"Alright Yuya, get ready! Ally, you know what to do!"
"You got it, dad! I activate the field spell Showtime Street!"
The duel field transformed into the same flashy town that Yuya dueled Pegasus in.
"Duelists locked in battle..."
"Kicking the Earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters, they storm through this field!"
"Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action..."
DUEL!
Skip: 4000
Yuya: 4000
"I'll take the first turn, Yuya! And I'll kick it off with U.A. Stadium!"
The flashy street disappeared, in its place emerged a giant sports arena, with cheering crowds surrounding the duelists.
"Next, I activate the spell card Double Summon! Now I can normal summon twice this turn, so come on out U.A. Midfielder (1200/1000) in attack mode! And if I normal summon a U.A. monster, I can add another one to my hand, like U.A. Perfect Ace. Next, by returning Midfielder to my, hand I can special summon U.A. Mighty Slugger (2300/700) in attack mode! And once per turn, if I special summon one of my athletes, Stadium gives all monsters on my field 500 attack points (2300-2800). Next, I normal summon Midfielder again, and add U.A. Perfect Acce to my hand thanks to Stadium's effect! And by returning Midfielder to my hand, I can special summon him (1500/2500)! I end my turn."
"Alright Skip, get set to get decked! I summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker, and add-"
Before Yuya could finish his sentence, a fast pitched ball of electricity collided with his Joker, destroying it.
"What the-"
"Sorry Yuya, but by discarding a card from my hand my Perfect Ace negates your monster's effect and destroys it! No searching for you, I'm afraid."
"Not bad, but I'm not done yet! I activate the spell card Pendulum Call, discarding a card to let me add 2 Pendulum Magicians to my hand, and who better than my Stargazer and Timegazer Magicians? Next, I set them in the Pendulum Scale, allowing me to summon Performapal King Bear, Performapal Whip Snake, and from the extra deck Skullcrobat Joker! Next, I activate Whip Snake's effect to switch your Mighty Sluggers attack and defense! King Bear, destroy Slugger (2200-2500)!"
The royal bear slashed the futuristic batter across the chest, causing it to explode.
Skip: 3000
"I'll end my turn there. Your move, principal."
"Gee, thanks. First, I activate the spell card Cards of Sanctity, letting us each refill our hand. Next, I summon U.A. Libero Spiker (1800/1800) in attack mode! And with Stadium's effect, I can add U.A. Dreadnought Dunker to my hand. Next, I return U.A. Perfect Ace to my hand to special summon U.A. Dreadnought Dunker (2500-3000/1800) (1800-2300) in attack mode! Next, I equip Dreadnought Dunker to give him 1000 attack and defense points (3000-4000/1800-2800) Now to go on the offensive. Dreadnought Dunker, attack his royal highness! And with Powered Jersey, you'll take double the damage"
"Before you do, I'll use Whip Snake's effect to switch his attack and defense points!"
Spotting an action card wedged in the ground, Skip sprinted towards it, scooping it up and playing it.
"I activate the action card Foul Play! When a card or effect is activated, this card negates and destroys it!"
Yuya could only watch as a bolt of lightning struck down his Snake, while the sports player created a ball of energy and slammed it down, destroying Yuya's monster as well as his Timegazer Magician.
Yuya: 400
"Surprised? When Dreadnought Dunker inflicts battle damage, he can destroy one card on the field and destroy it, like your Timegazer. And don't forget, if you don't have a magician or Odd Eyes monster in the other pendulum zone, your Stargazer Magician's scale becomes 4. Not that it matters, because Powered Jersey lets him attack twice. End this duel!"
Fortunately for Yuya, he managed to snag an Action Card before the attack hit.
"I activate Damage Banish, reducing all the damage I'd take to zero."
"It won't do you any good. Libero Spiker, attack Yuya directly!"
"I activate the effect of Performapal Kuribohble. Since you attacked me directly, I can special summon him and redirect the attack to him, and I special summon him in attack mode (300/200)!"
"But what good will that do? You'll still lose the duel.
"Actually, I won't. Any damage I would take from your attack is changed to life point gain for me!"
Yuya's new monster created a protective barrier around him, letting him gain the life points he would've lost.
Yuya: 2400
"Not bad, Yuya. I set one card face down and end my turn."
"Alright Skip, no more playing around. I set Odd Eyes Unicorn in my other Pendulum Scale!"
"And while you do that, I activate my Libero Spiker's effect! By returning a level 5 or higher U.A. monster from my hand to the deck, I can special summon a different from my deck and return Libero Spiker to my hand, so come on out U.A. Playmaker (2600-3100) (4000-4500)!"
"Is that supposed to scare me? I Pendulum summon Performapal Bubblebowwow, Performapal Kaleidoscorp, and my newest performer Odd Eyes Phantom Dragon (2500/2000)!"
Skip gasped in shock as Yuya's new dragon emerged from the portal. It looked similar to his Pendulum Dragon, but was dark blue with grey armor.
"You're not using your ace monster?"
"What fun would that be if I always used the same tactics? Next, I activate my field spell Performapal Dramatic Theatre! For every monster I control with a different type, all of my monsters gain 200 attack points (2300-2900) (2500-3100) (100-700). Now Phantom Dragon, attack his Playmaker, and Unicorn gives him Bubblebowwow's original attack points (3100-5400)!"
Skip's newest monster tried to shield himself in vain, evaporating as the attack sent Skip flying.
Skip: 700
"I'm still in this, Yuya!"
"No, you're not. When Phantom Dragon deals damage to you, you lose 1200 life points for every Odd Eyes monster in my Pendulum zone. That's game!"
Skip yelled in pain as lightning struck him, ending the duel.
Skip: 0000
Yuya wins!
Yuya ran to his collapsed principal, helping to his feet.
"Are you alright?"
To his surprise, Skip sprung back to his feet, ready for more.
"Alright? I'm better than I've ever been! This duel has gotten my blood pumping! I've never been prouder, Yuya!"
"Thanks, and you know what? I think I've got it now. I can't live my life living in the past. If I want to grow as a duelist, I've got to look forward to the future!"
"Exactly. Now come on, who wants to have a go at me next?"
Zuzu and Ally laughed. That's their dad!
High in the skies of Paradise city, a very unique jet soared through the skies. It was pure white, and one could easily mistake it for a dragon...