Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh GX, sorry! Enjoy the chapter and please, please review.
Episode Two
Insect Barrier Part I
Alex stared at his opponent, Bugs, in the eyes. They were covered by large, thin, glasses. Bugs' eyes were an entrancing turquoise green, the pupils were large then a normal person's. His face was plump and round and his lips were small and thin. His hair was short and died turquoise-blue, he had large ears. The blue overcoat that he was wearing was a little snug for his small body, but it was Obelisk Blue uniform.
Bugs chuckled, "Prepare for a world of hurt," he commented as both players picked up five cards.
Alex laughed, "With a name like Bugs, I'm not very intimidated."
Bugs glared, "I'll go first," and he drew a sixth card.
He snarled, "I summon Pinch Hopper (1000/1200) in attack position."
In front of Bugs materialized a large green grasshopper. It had large transparent wings and its legs went up past its head.
Bugs continued, "But that's not all, cause not I activate the magic card Insect Imitation!"
In front of Bugs appeared a green magic card. The card depicted a green egg cracking open.
Bugs proceeded to explain, "Thanks to my Insect Imitation by tributing my Pinch Hopper I can special summon one monster from my deck one level above him, Pinch Hopper is a level four so I can summon…"
Bugs took Pinch Hopper off his duel disk and placed him in the graveyard. He took out his deck and began to flip through it, about a third of the way through he came across the card he was looking for.
"Millennium Scorpion," Bugs announced. A long creature slithered onto the field. It had a navy body and a short tail with a golden orb on the end. On top of his head just above his large mouth was a golden Millennium Eye, Millennium Scorpion had 2000 attack points and 1800 defense points.
Jay began to laugh, "Why don't you just surrender now kid, there's no way you can win."
Alex grinned, "Surrender…nah. How can I embarrass him if I surrender?"
Bugs snarled, "Embarrass me…no. I will embarrass you, because now Pinch Hopper's effect is activated, when he is sent from the field to the graveyard I can special summon one monster from my hand, and I choose…"
Bugs scanned the four cards that made up his hand. He selected the card all the way to the right, "Chainsaw Insect (2400/0) in attack mode!"
A small beetle appeared on the field. Where its teeth were supposed to be was two large chainsaws.
Alex went crazy, "2400 attack points," he shouted in amazement. On the first move Bugs had manage to summon one monster with 2000 attack points and another one with 2400.
Bugs laughed, "Well…I guess that will be good enough, I end my turn."
Alex drew a card, giving him six cards in his hand, while Bugs had three.
"Alex, Alex," Trisha and Nick started chanting supporting. A small group of five Ra Yellows and two Slifers had come over to watch the duel.
Alex scanned his hand, thinking up a strategy. "I summon Machine King Prototype (1600/1500) in attack mode!" A tall man made up of metallic red and silver machine parts appeared on the field. Machine King Prototype stood at an impressive six and half feet tall.
"And now," Alex said smiling. "I'm going to activate my monster's effect. I can send one card from my hand to the graveyard and in exchange I can send one of the face up monsters on your side of the field to the out of play zone."
Alex discarded Machine Duplication and a missile was sent speeding out of Machine King Prototype's right arm. The missile ripped its way across the field and hit Chainsaw Insect, blasting it into the graveyard.
Bugs recoiled, "You still won't beat my Millennium Scorpion," Bugs announced confidently.
Alex responded, "Are you so sure…I activate two Machine Conversion Factories!"
Leaving two cards in his hand Alex placed two magic cards on the field. Machine King Prototype's attack suddenly shot up to 2200.
Alex cleared his throat, building up the suspense as a few more Slifers and a couple of Obelisks joined the crowd.
"Now Machine King Prototype…attack!"
Both of Machine King Prototype's fists moved to the side to reveal two more red missiles, one in each arm.
The missiles soared across the field and hit Millennium Scorpion square in the back, blasting him into a million pieces and reducing Bugs' life points to 7800 (Alex:8000 Bugs: 7800).
Trish and Nick's chant picked up again, "Alex, Alex…way to go," and a few members of the crowd joined in as more duelists arrived to watch. Alex noticed four duelists joining in particular.
Alex had heard all about those four students from his brother Jard. Three of them were Ra Yellows and one was an Obelisk Blue. If Alex recalled from what Jard had told him, one of the Ra Yellows, the one with the big brown hair's name is…Jaden! The little one with the blue hair was Syrus, and the one with the long spiked hair was Chazz. And the Obelisk Blue's name was…Bastion! Alex had seen Chazz and Jaden duel on TV during the school duel two years ago, and the other Alex had heard about from Jard.
Alex smiled proudly, he had manage to defeat two 2000 plus monsters in one turn, Alex was more then satisfied so he ended his turn.
But Bugs was angry as he drew a card, giving him four in his hand. Bugs snarled, "You won't make a mockery of me," he warned.
He scanned his hand but all he did was set one monster in defense mode, and then it was Alex's turn again.
Alex drew a card, which gave him three in his hand. "I activate Pot of Greed," he announced giving him four cards in his hand.
"I summon Nanobreaker (1600/1800) in attack position." A tall thin woman appeared on the field. She had dark stringy hair and she held a large metal saber. She had on light pink armor and she wore burgundy under it.
"Now Nanobreaker," Alex began, "attack his monster now! Nanoslash attack commence!"
Nanobreaker slid forward across the field, she swiftly stopped in front of Bug's monster. She took her sword and stabbed it right in the card's back. For a moment the monster Insect Knight flickered on top of the card…then it broke into nothingness.
Alex grinned smugly, this was easier then he expected. "Now Machine King Prototype, attack Bugs directly! Missile Blast!"
Machine King Prototype's arms slid backwards to reveal four missiles, two on each arm. The red missiles launched forward at fifty miles per hour. They hit Bugs in the stomach, sending him reeling back. The crowd parted to make room for the duelist, whose life points dropped down to 5600 (Alex: 8000 Bugs: 5600).
The crowd began to cheer and clap for Alex who smiled proudly as Bugs rose back up.
"Come on Bugs I expected more from you, after all Weevil Underwood is your dad but…you have sufficiently disappointed me."
Bugs growled, "Listen buddy, I have been going easy on you. But now it's time to take it up full force, you'll regret those words."
Alex laughed, "Ok bug-boy…stop bugging out." The crowd chuckled and Bugs grew red as Alex ended his turn.
Bugs drew, giving him four cards in his hand. "I activate Pot of Greed," he said viciously. He picked up two cards from his deck, giving him five in his hand.
"I place one card facedown and I place one monster in facedown defense mode." Bugs ended his turn with three cards in his hand.
Alex drew, giving him four cards in his hand. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, to destroy your facedown card."
A large hurricane wind lashed out at Bug's facedown card. The card was soon sucked into the hurricane. The card was revealed to be Mirror Force as it was broke in half from the wind.
Bugs growled as Alex continued his move. "Now Nanobreaker attack his facedown monster!" Nanobreaker launched herself at Bug's monster. She took her sword and swung it at his facedown monster…it was Howling Insect (1200/1300).
Bugs chuckled, "When Howling Insect is destroyed as a result of battle I can special summon one monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field."
Bugs took out his deck and swiftly flipped through it. "I summon Flying Kamakiri #1 (1400/900) in attack mode!" A large green and red monster with huge transparent wings appeared on the field.
Alex snickered, "And how will this help? Machine King Prototype, attack!" Machine King Prototype launched his missiles straight at the insect.
Flying Kamakiri #1 was blasted into oblivions as Bugs shielded himself from the blast. Bugs' life points dropped down to 4800 swiftly (Alex: 8000 Bugs: 4800). Now the cheering really picked up for Alex, the only ones not cheering were the Obelisk Blue who stood stunned that a Ra Yellow was creaming an Obelisk Blue. Alex spotted Jard standing smugly in the distance observing the duel.
But Bugs spoke up, "And now thanks to Flying Kamakiri #1's effect I can special summon another monster with 1500 or less attack points," Bugs quickly looked through his deck and retrieved another Flying Kamakiri #1 before he shuffled his deck. As the new monster appeared on the field Alex ended his turn with three cards in his hand.
Bugs drew, giving him four cards in his hand. Bugs began laughing maniacally, "Oh Alex…now you are going to see the full potential of my deck."
Bugs quickly activated a trap card from his hand, "I activate DNA Surgery!"
Alex pondered this move; DNA Surgery turned all monsters on the field to any type the user declared.
Bugs continued, "I choose to turn all monsters on the field to…Insect-type!"
Suddenly Machine King Prototype and Nanobreaker's face started turning into the face of a bug's, warped, green, and scaly.
But Bugs was no where near done, "And now I activate Insect Barrier!"
Now it all made sense, it hit Alex like a ton of bricks. Along the dividing line of the field a yellow barrier materialized and the crowd grew silent.
Bugs laughed triumphantly, "Insect Barriers stops my opponent's insect-type monsters from attacking. And thanks to DNA Surgery all of your monsters are insects…meaning none of them can attack!"
The Obelisk Blue's began to cheer; the loudest by far was Jay. "Yeah Bugs, show em' what you're made of!" Bugs smiled.
"And now I sacrifice Flying Kamakiri #1 in order to summon Insect Princess (1900/1200) in attack mode!"
Flying Kamakiri #1 let out a shrill cry and suddenly disappeared into the heavens. In it's place appeared a new, more powerful monster. She was tall and slender. Insect Princess had yellow armor on and four pink arms. She had two large antennas attached to a crown on her head and she had two large butterfly wings attached to her back.
Alex studied the monster, "It has pretty good stats…but not for a six-starred monster."
Bugs grinned, "Never judge a book by it's cover, or a Duel Monster by it's stats. Insect Princess attack Nanobreaker, Insect Poison Swirl!"
Insect Princess began to flap her wings furiously and a rain of golden powder began to flow from her wings. The dust made its way across the field and overwhelmed Nanobreaker. At first nothing happened, but soon her knees buckled and slowly…slowly…she dropped to the ground, defeated.
As Nanobreaker disappeared Alex's life points dropped for the first time, down to 7700 (Alex: 7700 Bugs: 4800).
Bugs smiled and suddenly something happened to his Insect Princess. She began to glow green and her attack points shot up to 2400.
"What," Alex shouted.
Bugs laughed again, "When Insect Princess destroys an Insect-type monster her attack increases by 500 points."
Alex nodded, this added to Bug's perfect strategy. As long as DNA Surgery was on the field Alex couldn't attack and every time Insect Princess destroyed a monster she would gain 500 attack points.
Bugs grinned and ended his turn with one card in his hand.
Alex grew; his head raced trying to figure out a way to tip the duel back in his favor.
Alex wasn't relieved when he saw what he drew. But then he noticed something that could work…
"I sacrifice Machine King Prototype to summon Blowback Dragon (2300/1200) in attack mode!" Machine King Prototype broke into hundreds of parts. The parts started shaking and slowly formed a new monster, Blowback Dragon.
Blowback Dragon was a thin metal dragon with a stubby tail and five thin, red, guns on top of its head.
Bugs spoke up, "If you haven't noticed Blowback Dragon has 100 less attack points then Insect Princess."
Alex snickered, "As a very wise Bugs Underwood once said "Never judge a monster by their stats'."
Bugs hated having his own words used against him.
Now Alex crossed his fingers and had a little faith, "I activate Blowback Dragon's effect. I can flip three coins; if at least two of them land on heads I can destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field."
Bugs snarled and braced himself, this could ruin Bugs' strategy.
Three gold coins appeared on the field in front of Blowback Dragon. The coins quickly started flipping until they became three floating blurs. The coin all the way on the left sopped first…Heads.
Alex jumped up with joy and the suspense grew, the crowd was silent, watching the duel.
Then before Alex knew it the one on the right stopped…Tails.
Alex winced and Bugs let out a sigh of relief, it all came down to the final coin, in the center. It continued to flip…and flip…and flip.
Then it came to a halt.
Blowback Dragon stood still…then it charged up it's guns and Bugs' face grew pale. Blowback Dragon unleashed five long shots at Insect Princess, completely demolishing her.
Bugs cried out, "No."
Alex laughed, "Ok, now I end my turn." Alex had no choice, Insect Barrier was still up, he ended with two cards in his hand.
Bugs drew a card aggressively. "I activate Pot of Greed," Bugs announced giving him three cards in his hand.
Bugs quickly thought up a move, "I summon Ultimate Insect LV 1 (0/0) in attack position!"
Ultimate Insect was a small creature with a blue head and a large red rear end.
Alex considered making a comment but thought it better not to while Insect Barrier was up, he wasn't in such a good position to mock.
"And I end my turn," Bugs announced happily and Alex drew giving him three cards in his hand.
"I set one monster in defense mode and now I activate Blowback Dragon's effect."
The same three coins appeared on the field and immediately began to flip. The coin in the center stopped first…Tails. Alex winced. He had to defeat Ultimate Insect LV 1 this turn because after that Bugs would most likely level him up to Ultimate Insect LV 3…then 5…then 7. The coin all the way on the right stopped now. Blowback Dragon stood still and the coins disappeared.
"I end my turn," Alex concluded leaving him with two cards in his hand, it was Heads.
Bugs drew a card and smiled, "I activate the effect of Ultimate Insect LV 1; during my standby phase I can sacrifice it to special summon Ultimate Insect LV 3 (1400/900) to the field."
Bugs sacrificed the card and flipped through his deck until he found the appropriate monster.
Ultimate Insect LV 3 was a large purple insect with brown eyes all over its body.
"Come on Alex," Trisha cheered and a few others joined in. But the cheer faded out, the duel was getting good and people were starting to turn to Bugs' side.
Suddenly Blowback Dragon's attack reduced to 2000. Bugs chuckled, "Thanks to Ultimate Insect LV 3's effect my opponent's monsters attack is reduced by 300."
Alex growled and Bugs continued with two cards in his hand. "I activate Meteor of Destruction," Bugs added.
Alex swallowed as a black cloud formed in the sky. Seconds later a large burning meteor shot from the cloud straight at Alex. The meteor came running at one hundred miles per hour.
It hit Alex sending him flying across the field. He sat up wearily, his life points dropped to 6700 (Alex: 6700 Bugs: 4800). Meteor of Destruction quite plainly reduced Alex's life points by 1000 points as long as they were above 3000 before the card was activated.
Alex stood up weakly and Bugs spoke up. "I end my turn, because attacking your facedown monster might be a mistake."
Alex growled, he had wanted Bugs to attack. Alex picked up a card, giving him three in his hand. Alex saw the card he drew…and he smiled.
To Be Continued…
Next Time on Dueling GX…
The conclusion of the Alex vs Bugs duel! Will Alex be able to pull ahead and defeat Bugs' strategy? Or will Bugs summon Ultimate Insect LV 7 and wipe out Alex, causing Trisha to go on a date with him? Find out next time on Dueling GX and remember to REVIEW!