"So these new Orichalcos Duelists have been using broken cards?" Kaiba asked Martin over the video phone, it was the day after the field trip and all of the students where back on Duel Academy Island getting ready for the tournament. "What were their names again?"
"Ritual of the Ancients, Pot of Chance and Pythic Victory." Martin responded and Kaiba nodded as he started typing away at his computer. "I searched all over Duel Academy's database, not only do those cards not exist but there's no records of them full stop."
"Someone's obviously creating extremely convincing fake cards; even the Orichalcos Model Duel Disks should not be able to recognize them." Kaiba answered as he stroked his chin. "I can only think of a handful of people who have this ability, Pegasus himself and the board of directors for I2."
"And Pegasus hasn't exactly been in the best of health lately." Martin added and Kaiba nodded in response. "Fortunately neither Chelsea nor Chloe where seriously injured in their Orichalcos Duels."
"Keep the other students on alert. It's likely that they'll be targeted soon and the tag tournament that the academy is hosting will keep them distracted." Kaiba added and Martin nodded. "Have there been any Duel Monster attacks since the last one?"
"Theresa did tell me that Eddie was attacked during an Autograph Session in his home city." Martin responded with a frown. "Besides that I have no clue."
"I remember the news report, it's fortunate that none of the children were injured." Kaiba remembered before frowning. "The tag tournament starts this evening correct? I intend to be there in person."
"Are you sure?" Martin asked and Kaiba nodded. "What about the students?"
"Don't tell them about my presence on the island, they are bound to feel pressured by it which will surely affect their performance." Kaiba responded before hanging up, Martin sighed before putting the phone down.
"After all that's happened this year I'll welcome an uneventful tournament." Martin thought as he glanced at the roster for the tournament. "The first match is between Andreas Freshier and Damien Tarnow and Daniel Troy and Chase Donavon, I hope the students can put aside the recent run-ins with the Seal of the Orichalcos and put on a good match."
*meanwhile at the Osiris Red Girls Dorm*
"Ugh, this is such bullshit!" Chloe groaned as she plopped down on the bottom bunk, Chelsea had been surfing the internet on her laptop when her roommate entered the room and she glanced up.
"Still pissed that they decided to stick you on the ship for the rest of the field trip?" Chelsea asked with a frown and Chloe nodded. "Chlo, I realize that it must've felt like being punished for getting lost but they probably just wanted to make sure that you didn't run into any other Orichalcos duelists."
"Okay, since when where you the voice of reason between the two of us?" Chloe said cheekily and Chelsea grinned sheepishly at that. "Besides it definitely felt like I was being punished, they took my deck and duel disk away for the rest of the trip and didn't let me out of the room unless I needed the bathroom or it was dinner time."
"Okay, I agree that that was way to fucking harsh!" Chelsea agreed as she turned to her roommate. "All you did was got separated because Jeff decided to take us through a heavily populated area of the city, at least tell me Maria took your side."
"I asked her about it on the way up, she said that her hands were tied and that they did it for my protection, needless to say I took a page out of your book and called bullshit on it." Chloe responded and Chelsea laughed at that. "And the less said about the Orichalcos Duel the better." Chloe added with a shudder. "At least the only ones targeted so far have been you and me."
"Yeah, emphasis on so far, weren't all the guys from Duel Academy that competed in Battle City targeted by the Orichalcos duelists?" Chelsea pointed out and Chloe frowned before nodding. "I know it's not exactly a pleasant memory Chlo, and the less said about your encounter with your dad the better, but you gotta admit, we all have to be on our guard."
"I know and that's why I'm not looking forward to the tournament." Chloe answered earning a surprised look from Chelsea. "What if the Orichalcos Duelists use the tournament as a distraction to infiltrate the island? They've already done that once."
"Thanks, I needed to be reminded about my first Orichalcos Duel." Chelsea commented sarcastically and Chloe laughed nervously. "I get what you're saying Chloe but they've been building towards this thing for a little over a month now and so have the competing duelists, there's no way in hell they'll cancel it now, not after all this time."
"I know, doesn't mean I have to be happy about it." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Come to think of it, they never revealed what the prize for the winning team was."
"Hey, you're right." Chelsea realized with a nod. "I'm sure they'll announce something when the tournament begins tonight." Chelsea added with a shrug and Chloe nodded in agreement, before either girl could say anything else there was a nod at the door. "I got it!" Chelsea told Chloe before getting up and answering the door. "Oh hey Tyler, what's up?" Chelsea asked and Chloe looked up when she heard the Obelisk Blue Student's name.
"Just checking up on Chloe following what happened yesterday." Tyler commented as he turned to the young Osiris Red Student. "How are you feeling?"
"Still pissed that they stuck me on the ship for the rest of the trip, as far as I'm concerned the fact that I had an Orichalcos Duel was punishment enough." Chloe sighed as she folded her arms. "At least our match is happening tonight."
"Actually our match got pushed back a few days." Chelsea told her and Chloe turned to her. "Jeff never specified but I think it has to do with our recent Orichalcos Duels."
"Okay, who's fighting in our place?" Chloe asked as she glanced at the two students.
"Andreas and Damien are facing Daniel Troy and Chase Donavon from Obelisk Blue." Tyler told her as he stepped into the room. "Daniel and Chase are good duelists but I don't think Andreas and Damien will have any problems with them."
"After that Theresa and Brandon are facing Rachel and Kyle, as much as I like Rachel and Kyle I don't think Theresa and Brandon will have any issues." Chelsea added as she checked the line-up. "Our match has been moved to the third day of the tournament."
"Yeah, against Donny and Drake, I don't know how well we'll do against them." Chloe commented as she leaned back on the bed. "Chelsea had a hard enough time against Drake when they dueled a few weeks back."
"Yeah, no thanks to that stupid trap of his!" Chelsea growled as she shook her head. "If I had drawn something like Heavy Storm, Judgment of Thunder or Mystical Space Typhoon that duel would've ended differently." Chelsea added with a frown.
"You'll be ready for whatever traps he throws your way and so will I." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "When are you and Marcus teaming up Tyler?"
"We're teaming up on the third day after your match." Tyler told her with a smirk. "I plan to use my second deck for that duel."
"You're not using your Psychics?" Chelsea asked and Tyler nodded. "That's a duel I'll be watching closely then."
"The match has already gotten people interested since it's my first Duel Academy match since my duel against Dmitri a few weeks ago." Tyler commented with a confident grin." Just do me a favor and don't tell the other students."
"Why?" Chelsea asked and Tyler chuckled.
"Dramatic effect I suppose." Tyler answered causing the two girls to face-fault. "Come on, can you honestly think of a better reason than that?"
"Yeah, I can think off about ten." Chelsea grunted as she got back in her chair. "Seriously though, even though we've had a while to prepare for our matches in this tournament, I'm not sure how well we will do."
"Yeah we didn't really have time to familiarize ourselves which each other's decks what with the Expulsion Duels, Duel Monster Attacks and Orichalcos Duels that have been happening since I returned from New York." Chloe added with a frown. "Closest we've gotten is when I dueled Chelsea's dad a couple of weeks ago."
"I mean yeah, we've seen each other duel plenty of times since Chloe returned from Battle City but besides that and Chloe's duel against my dad we didn't have a chance to get used to each other's decks." Chelsea added with a sigh. "Ah fuck it! We'll make it work even if we end up facing Theresa and Brandon in the second round."
"Good to know." Tyler said with a nod before checking the time on his watch. "Okay, Andreas and Damien's match should be starting in two hours or so, I'd better go find Marcus."
"Good idea, maybe we can try to do some last minute preparations in the meantime." Chloe commented as Tyler left, once he closed the door behind him Chloe turned to her roommate. "So will we be attending tonight's matches?"
"Chloe, that's like asking if most of Obelisk Blue is arrogant dicks." Chelsea pointed out with a grin. "Off course we're going!"
"That's good and all but did that e-mail say where the matches are taking place?" Chloe asked and Chelsea opened up the e-mail to check.
"Yeah, same duel arena where we fought for our places here at Duel Academy." Chelsea answered and Chloe stood up before walking over to Chelsea to read the e-mail for herself. "I didn't think I'd be happy to be returning to that place so soon after the Expulsion Duels."
"You call two weeks "so soon"?" Chloe asked and Chelsea merely shrugged her shoulders in response. "My guess is that the other duel fields are too small to hold the amount of duelists that are likely to attend the duels."
"True enough." Chelsea nodded in agreement before closing her laptop lid. "Come on, maybe if we get there early enough we can grab some quality seats." Chelsea added and Chloe grinned at that idea. "Besides Beth's meeting me there with her partner for the tournament, might as well kill two birds with one stone right?"
"Sounds good, I was starting to get bored anyway." Chloe shrugged before Chelsea unplugged and picked up her laptop before she tucked it under her arm. "Something for you to do in between matches?"
"Yeah, the battery life in this thing should last me an hour at most unless I can find a place to plug this thing in." Chelsea answered before handing Chloe the laptop cable; she took it and the two girls made their way to the center of the island.
*meanwhile at the Ra Yellow Boy's Dorm*
"Man, it's been so long since they announced the tournament I was beginning to think that they had completely forgotten about it." Marcus commented to Andreas as he looked over his deck, Andreas chuckled as he did likewise.
"Yes but on the other hand they likely held off on it so long so that the students could prepare." Andreas answered before looking over some of his best cards. "My teams up first, Chase and Daniel should provide an interesting fight."
"Yeah, I hope so; they are in Obelisk Blue after all." Marcus shrugged as he glanced around. "Wait, I thought Chloe and Chelsea where competing first?"
"Their match got moved to the third day, presumably due to their recent run-ins with….." Andreas paused before shuddering. "My apologies, I still have nightmares about the day when my soul was taken by it, the Orichalcos."
"I don't blame ya, when Lance beat his dad I thought we had seen the last of it." Marcus said with a frown. "You're partnering with Damien right? Doesn't he run a Dark Necrofear deck?"
"Used too, he told me that he threw that deck in the trash after he lost to Lance and started anew." Andreas told him as he fitted his deck back into his disk. "Apparently he intended to challenge Lance with the new deck but Battle City got in the way."
"Let me guess, the tag tournament got in the way off his second attempt at a rematch?" Marcus asked and Andreas nodded. "Well with any luck you'll end up facing Lance's team."
"That's what I told him." Andreas answered as he glanced towards Lance's room where the sounds of the Thrash Metal Band Warbringer where blasting out from. "In that case it'll be a match of the mismatched tag partners."
"You think that's bad? Tyler told me that he plans to use his second deck only he's not telling me what it is." Marcus said as he folded his arms. "And we're teaming up on the third day to face some guys from Obelisk Blue."
"Alexander Bender and Anton Kramer right?" Andreas asked and Marcus nodded. "I saw that on the line-up, never seen them duel before."
"Neither have I, they're transfer students from some Duel School in Europe according to Tyler." Marcus shrugged as he leaned against the wall. "Aren't the matches starting in an hour or so?"
"Yeah, I'm waiting for Damien to show up and after that I'll head over to the Duel Arena with him." Andreas said with a nod, eventually the music coming from Lance's room stopped and Lance stepped out. "Are you ready for the tournament as well Lance?"
"I was born ready." Lance said confidently as he rose up the arm that his Duel Disk was strapped too. "Even if my match isn't until the second day of the tournament I'm ready for anything."
"You're facing Jason York and Nicky Tryon right?" Marcus asked and Lance nodded. "I heard she was considering dropping out following the Duel Monster attack."
"Yes but from what I heard Jason talked her out of it." Andreas nodded as he thought back to that day. "Can't say I blame her, the official story did place blame on her duel disk."
"Well to be fair it was a malfunctioning duel disk that was blames." Marcus shrugged before noticing someone approaching the trio. "Looks like our partners have arrived." Marcus commented and Andreas and Lance looked up and saw Damien, Tyler and Evan approaching them.
"You guys ready for the tournament?" Evan asked once the trio of Obelisk Blue Students stopped in their tracks.
"We were born ready." Lance said confidently and the other two boys nodded in agreement. "Just don't cry when I beat you again Damien."
"Cute." Damien grunted before turning around. "Come on Andreas, our match is in half an hour and I know Daniel and Chase aren't going to lie down and let us beat them off…..that's not what I meant and you know it!"
"Sure, let's go," Andreas nodded before following Damien
"We'd better get going as well." Evan said and Lance and Marcus caught up to their respective partners. "We do want to get the best seats possible." Evan added and Lance grinned.
"By the way Tyler, does Chloe know that her team's match got pushed back?" Lance asked and Tyler nodded.
"I told her myself on the way over." Tyler confirmed with a nod. "Well technically her roommate did but you get the idea."
"Yeah, I guess they figured that having to duel the day after what happened yesterday would be a bit cruel." Lance shrugged as the boys left the dorm and headed to the center of the island. "Then again I also think that sticking her on the ship for the rest of the trip after the Orichalcos Duel was even crueler."
"She was pretty upset about it herself." Tyler admitted before shaking his head. "Still given that Chloe and Chelsea where both targeted by the Orichalcos Duelists I'd say it was a wise precaution."
"Just don't try saying that to Chloe." Lance said with a laugh as they entered the main building. "I guess this is where we split off."
"Indeed, the next time you see us will be on the duel field." Andreas said as he walked off with Damien.
*meanwhile*
"Mr. Kaiba, we have found an isolated spot in the duel field where you can observe the duels without being interrupted." Kaiba's assistant said as the CEO of Kaibacorp made his way towards the main building, he had just arrived by helicopter and was ready for the duel. "You'll be sharing in with the Obelisk Blue Headmaster however."
"He is a trusted colleague, that won't be an issue." Kaiba told him as he was led to the room in question. "What are the plans regarding my stay here? This tournament will take place over the next month and I don't think my Helicopter has enough fuel to make daily trips."
"We have living arrangements sorted out Mr. Kaiba, you will be staying on the ship for the duration." The assistant responded and Kaiba nodded as they entered the room. "Do you need anything? Popcorn? Hot Dog?"
"Some time alone so that I can enjoy the duels." Kaiba said bluntly and the assistant quickly left the room. "I didn't just come here to watch the duels, since Battle City ended there's been one attack by a Duel Monster and two students have been targeted by Orichalcos Duelists." Kaiba thought as he watched Andreas and Damien step out on stage. "To protect my company's reputation I need to make sure that the tournament goes off without a hitch."
"Good to see that you made it in once piece Kaiba." Martin said as he entered the room, Kaiba glanced up as the headmaster sat down next to him. "I hope you find your living arrange to your liking, obviously if we had more time we would've gotten you a better room."
"The room you prepared for me will suffice." Kaiba answered as Daniel and Chase entered the duel field. "So is this the part where you announce how this tournament's going to work?"
"Yes, off course." Martin said before leaning into the microphone. "Good evening students and welcome to the opening round of the long awaited Tag Team Tournament, I know the teams are eager to begin but first I have to explain how the rules will work." Martin said before checking his notes. "The opening rounds will occur over the next two weeks with the first round starting tonight and the second round starting next week, obviously the teams that won their matches in Round 1 will move on to the second round but rather than face the other team that qualified on the same day their opponents will be chosen at random."
"So if my team wins I could end up facing Chloe's team? That should keep things interesting." Andreas thought as he glanced towards Damien. "You have any thoughts on that Damien?"
"Should keep things interesting, that's for sure." Damien said with a nod as he turned to his opponents.
"This will continue into the latter rounds until we are left with two teams to decide who will win the tournament and its prize, three booster pack filled with extremely rare cards for both duelists." Martin continued causing excited gossip between the students. "The runners up will get a small cash prize and a booster pack each."
"Those rare cards would make excellent additions to my deck." Andreas commented out loud and Damien nodded in agreement.
"You guys are acting like you're going to win this match." Daniel said confidently as he and Chase shuffled their decks. "But the truth is, me and Chase have known each other since we were in Osiris Red and unlike most of the teams in this tournament we're familiar with each other's decks and strategies, those booster packs are as good as ours!"
"I may not have known Damien for as long you know each other but we've had a month to prepare for this tournament." Andreas said confidently as he and Damien shuffled their decks. "Prepare to lose!"
"Now onto the rules for the tournament, each team with start with 8000 life-points each, you may use each other's card's and show their hands to their partner but no strategizing between each other." Martin continued as the four duelists finished shuffling their decks and drew their opening hands. "In order to be eliminated both partners must be eliminated but if one partner manages to beat both of his/her opponents they both go through, that is all now let the tournament begin." Martin finished and the four duelists look over their hands.
"So…..what's the order exactly?" Daniel asked as he looked over his hand.
"I competed in a Tag Team Match during Battle City; basically it went counterclockwise from the right so I think it's a safe bet that this duel will use the same order." Andreas said before frowning. "And the least said about the circumstances surrounding the tag team duel the better." Damien thought before drawing his first card. "I set two cards facedown and I summon Berserk Gorilla to the field in attack mode!" Andreas played the card and angry ape appeared on the field with a howl (4/2000/1000). "That shall do it for my turn."
"And my turn begins!" Daniel said as he drew his card. "I start with a Spell Card called Heaven's Lost Property, we all draw three cards but in exchange we have to discard two." Daniel played the card and all four duelists drew three cards, after they gave their hands a quick once over they discarded their cards and Daniel sent his Spell to the graveyard. "Now I summon Zombie Master to the field in attack mode!" Daniel played the card and a tall silver haired man in ragged clothes appeared on the field (4/1800/0).
"He runs a Zombie deck? This should be interesting." Andreas thought as he discarded a card.
"Next I activate the effect of Zombie Master, by discarding a monster from my hand to the graveyard I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Zombie Monster like Beast of the Pharaoh to the field." Daniel played the card and a small black beast with a gold Egyptian style mask appeared on the field (3/400/600). "Finally I return one monster to the top of my deck to the graveyard to Special Summon the other monster I discarded for Heaven's Lost Property, Plaguespredder Zombie!" Daniel sent the card to the top of the deck and the small rotten zombie appeared on the field (2/400/200).
"Okay, let's cut to the chase." Andreas said as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "We all know that that's a tuner monster."
"Yes but I'm not done, I activate Double Summon which lets me summon Pain Painter as well!" Daniel played the card and the zombiefield painter appeared on the field (2/400/200). "We all know this guy was created to get around Plaguespredder's limiting but he has another effect, with it I can target Zombie Master and Beast of the Pharaoh and reduce their levels to two for the rest of the turn." Daniel explained as the two monsters levels went down. "Plaguespredder, let's give these zombies a Tune Up!" Daniel commanded and the three zombies leapt into the air, Plaguespredder dissolved into two green glowing Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Zombie Master and Beast of the Pharaoh, a bright flash enveloped the field and when it faded Archfiend Zombie Skull appeared on the field (6/2500/1200).
"Big deal Daniel, your big zombie may be strong but you left your tuner in attack mode and Plaguespredder's banished due to its effect!" Damien pointed out and Daniel grinned.
"True but he isn't sticking around, since Beast of the Pharaoh was used in the Synchro Summon I can Special Summon Zombie Master back to the field!" Daniel played the card and the silver haired man returned to the field. "Pain Painter, give Zombie Master a tune up!"
"Oh for fuck's sake, you're doing yet another Synchro Summon!" Damien grunted and Daniel smirked in response.
"Is there a rule that states I can only do one Synchro Summon per turn? I didn't think so." Daniel commented and the two monsters leapt into the air, when the flash faded Revived King Ha-Des appeared on the field (6/2450/0). "Normally I'd go on the attack right now but since tag team rules require I wait an extra turn and all…." Daniel shrugged before picking up two additional cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Daniel announced and Damien drew his card.
"Man, Daniel's not fooling around." Chelsea commented as she and the others watched the duel. "Pulling off one Synchro Summon in your opening move is impressive enough but two?"
"Yes but the strange thing is that's not his usual deck." Tyler told her and Chelsea turned to him with a look of surprise on her face. "He built it in preparation for teaming up with Chase who has a lot more experience than Daniel when it comes to Zombie type monsters."
"So wait, they're essentially a team of Zombie duelists?" Chloe asked and Tyler nodded. "That's so unfair; Andreas and Damien's decks couldn't be more different and their decks are essentially carbon copies of each other's decks."
"Like it or not there's nothing in the tournament rule book about doing that." Tyler told her and Chloe frowned. "Don't worry, Andreas and Damien are good duelists, at the very least they should be able to hold their own."
"I set two cards face down on the field." Damien announced as the two facedown cards appeared before him. "And I summon Blood Pirate – Ghost Ship!" Damien played the card and a large ship appeared on the field, however it was in a state of decay and had a large skull on the front (1/0/0).
"I was able to summon two Synchro Monsters with over two thousand attack points and the best you can muster is an old ship with no attack or defense points?!" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow and Damien smirked.
"Who said that was all I'm doing? Show them what I mean Andreas." Damien said and Andreas nodded before activating one of his facedown cards.
"Indeed, I activate my trap Labyrinth of Nightmare!" Andreas activated the trap and grinned. "Now as soon as Damien ends his turn off the monsters currently on the field will be forced into defense mode!"
"Why would you activate that? Berserk Gorilla will be destroyed when he's forced into defense mode!" Chase asked and Damien smirked.
"Just watch, I end my turn which activates the effect of Labyrinth of Nightmare!" Damien told them and Revived King Ha-Des and Archfiend Zombie Skull crouched down, Ghost Ship made no visible movement due to being a ship but Berserk Gorilla yelled in anger before shattering.
"Well, that was a waste." Chase commented dryly and Damien shook his head.
"Not quite because now that Ghost Ship has been moved to defense mode its effect activates, it allows me to take two monsters with "Blood Pirate" in their name and add them to my hand on the condition that neither of them are another copy of Blood Pirate – Ghost Ship." Damien explained before picking up his deck and searching through it, once he found the cards he was looking for he added them to his hand.
"And that's not the only effect that's activated." Andreas added as his life-points dropped to 7000. "Since a Beast Type Monster on my side of the field was destroyed and sent to the graveyard I can special summon another from my hand or graveyard and it all costs is a thousand life-points."
"Wait, I've seen that effect before!" Daniel realized as Andreas picked up a card in his hand. "You're about to summon Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest!"
"Correct!" Andreas confirmed as the massive green baboon appeared on the field with a howl (7/2600/1800). "Now I believe it was Chase's turn." Andreas commented and Chase wasted no time in drawing his card.
"So that's his new deck huh?" Chelsea commented with a curious look on her face. "Wait; don't tell me, recently released archetype?" Chelsea asked as she turned to Tyler.
"Am I really that predictable? Don't answer that." Tyler answered and Chelsea grinned at that. "But yes, the Blood Pirates are a new archetype, they were released during the Battle City Tournament and support for them like Ghost Ship only just came out."
"Guess that explains why Damien hasn't done much dueling since Lance beat him." Brandon commented and Tyler nodded. "He was looking for a new deck that no one else had seen before."
"This will be a piece of cake, all I'll need to do is end my turn and the monsters will be forced to change position again only this time it'll benefit us rather than them." Chase thought before retrieving a card from his graveyard. "I remove the Mezuki that I discarded for Heaven's Lost Property from play so that I can special summon Goblin Zombie!" Chase played the card after he pocketed the monster and a hideous goblin like zombie appeared on the field (4/1100/1200). "Next I return a card to the top of my deck to Special Summon my own Plaguespredder Zombie!"
"Here we go." Damien commented dryly as the small rotten zombie appeared on the field again. "Let me guess, you're about to Synchro Summon Doomkaiser Dragon?"
"Oh I will but first things first, I activate the Zombie World Field Spell!" Chase played the card and the scenery was transformed into a desolate area covered with human remains. "As long as this is on the field all monsters on the field and in the graveyard are treated as Zombies, not only that but as long as it's active you can only Tribute Summon Zombie Monsters."
"Encase you didn't notice we have more ways of getting high level monsters onto the field rather than just Tribute Summoning them." Andreas pointed out and Chase grinned.
"That's not my problem but this is your problem. Plaguespredder Zombie, it's time to give Goblin Zombie a tune up!" Chase announced as the two monsters leapt into the air, Plaguespredder Zombie dissolved into two green Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Goblin Zombie." Come on out Doomkaiser Dragon!" Chase played the card and a large skeleton dragon appeared on the field after the flash faded (6/2400/1500).
"Your dragon may be strong Chase but Green Baboon is the strongest monster on the field." Andreas pointed out and Chase grinned.
"Yeah but as soon as I end my turn you'll be forced to change it to defense mode and that'll leave it a sitting duck for our Synchro Monsters." Chase pointed out before grinning. "And now Doomkaiser Dragon's effect activates, it allows me to Special Summon one Zombie Type Monster from one of your graveyards."
"And thanks to Zombie World all of our monsters in the graveyard qualify." Andreas realized as the contents of their graveyards where shown via a hologram.
"Okay, I don't recognize Damien's monsters; Berserk Gorilla will just be destroyed by Labyrinth of Nightmare again…aha!" Chase decided before turning to Andreas. "I'll take Vorse Raider from Andreas's graveyard."
"Suit yourself." Andreas thought before retrieving the card from his graveyard and tossing it at Chase, Chase caught it before playing it and a zombiefied version of the hideous halberd wielding Beast Warrior appeared on the field (4/1900/1200).
"And that activates my trap card, go Trap of the Imperial Tomb!" Daniel activated the trap and grinned. "And this trap is bad news for you, since a monster from your graveyard was Special Summoned to our side of the field this trap will destroy two cards on your side of the field so say goodbye to your overgrown monkey and your ship!" Daniel explained with a grin.
"Don't count on it, I counter Trap of the Imperial Tomb with my own trap card Cursed Treasure!" Damien activated the trap which depicted a treasure chest with a sickly green glow around it. "Since I have a Blood Pirate monster on my side of the field this trap card will negate the activation of a Spell or Trap Card and destroy it!" Damien explained and Daniel shielded himself as Trap of the Imperial Tomb shattered.
"Okay, well that backfired….." Chase grunted as Daniel sent his trap to the graveyard. "But since I wouldn't be able to attack that glorified cruise ship for another turn anyway I'll set a card facedown….." Chase set the card down and its hologram appeared behind his dragon. "And end my turn which means Labyrinth of Nightmare's effect activates." Chase announced and once the monsters changed position again Andreas drew his card.
"I activate my Magic Planter Spell Card; in exchange for destroying Labyrinth of Nightmare I can draw two cards." Andreas played the card and once Labyrinth of Nightmare shattered Andreas drew twice.
"Finally realized that that card was doing you more harm than good?" Daniel asked and Andreas shrugged his shoulders as he sent his two cards to the graveyard.
"We never planned on keeping that card around anyway." Andreas answered before looking at his drawn cards. "I now change my baboon back to attack mode and I attack Doomkaiser Dragon!" Andreas announced and the baboon charged towards the dragon with its club raised up high…
"You're not getting past my Synchros that easily, I activate my trap card Spirit Shield!" Daniel activated the trap and the attack was blocked by a blood red force field. "As long as I remove one Fiend or Zombie type monster from my graveyard I can end the battle phase." Daniel explained as he pocketed Zombie Master.
"Maybe but once you run out of monsters to remove Spirit Shield will be destroyed." Andreas pointed out and Daniel frowned.
"Let us worry about that." Daniel answered and Andreas frowned.
"I set two cards facedown." Andreas set the cards that he had drawn with Magic Planter and they appeared behind his monster. "And I end my turn at that." Andreas announced and Daniel drew his card.
"Okay, as long as I have Spirit Shield on the field my life-points should be safe." Daniel thought as he looked over his hand. "But in the meantime….." Daniel decided before grinning. "Green Baboon may be too tough for my monsters to handle but Ghost Ship? I'm going to have Archfiend Zombie Skull sink it!" Daniel announced as the zombie stretched its arms out….
"I activate my trap Covering Fire!" Andreas activated the trap and Daniel's eyes widened when he heard the name. "And based on the look on your face you know what this trap does!"
"Yeah, since I attacked a monster on your side of the field that trap card will let you target one other monster on your field and add its attack to the defending monster." Daniel said as Ghost Ship and Green Baboon glowed briefly…..
"I got ya covered, I chain Covering Fire with my trap card Trap Jammer, and since it was activated during the Battle Phase this trap lets me negate it!" Chase activated the trap and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief as Covering Fire shattered.
"Actually you just did us a favor!" Damien announced and Daniel and Chase blinked in confusion. "I activate my Trap, Davy Jones Locker!" Damien activated the trap which depicted Ghost Ship sinking into the ocean. "Since you targeted a Blood Pirate monster on my side of the field for an attack this trap will let me Special Summon another Blood Pirate monster from my hand and redirect the attack to the new monster!"
"And you added two of them last turn!" Daniel realized and Damien grinned.
"That's right and I use my Trap Card's effect to Special Summon Blood Pirate - Mad Mary!" Damien played the card and a tall red-haired woman in a pirate's outfit appeared on the field wielding a large sword and as her name implied she had an insane look in her eyes (4/1200/2000).
"So the attack will be redirected to her huh? No big deal! She's an improvement over Ghost Ship but the attack will still damage your life-points!" Daniel shrugged as the lightning redirected towards Mad Mary.
"Don't count on it! You see when Mad Mary is Special Summoned via the effect of Davy Jones Locker or another Blood Pirate she can survive two attacks per turn." Damien explained before wincing as the attack hit Mary causing his life-points to drop to 6700. "Off course the trade-off is that the damage calculation is still applied."
"Fine, I'll just attack again and cause even more damage!" Daniel scoffed as Revived King Ha Des charged towards the female pirate…
"Yeah, not this time!" Damien said as he held up a card in his hand. "Say hello to Blood Pirate - Keelhaul Sal (3/700/1000), the other monster I added to my hand with Ghost Ship's effect last turn and she has an effect of her own." Damien explained before discarding the monster. "By discarding her from my hand when a Blood Pirate monster is targeted for a second attack in the same turn the damage gets transferred to you!"
"Wait, what?!" Daniel yelled out as Mad Mary blocked the attack with her sword and slammed it into the ground sending a shockwave towards Damien which brought his life-points down to 6750. "Better not risk attacking with Doomkaiser Dragon, who knows what other nasty surprises he has in store for us!" Daniel thought before picking up a card in his hand. "I set one card facedown and call it a turn at that." Daniel set the card down and Damien drew his card.
"Okay, my combo should be all set." Damien thought before looking at his drawn card. "I play a Spell Card called Man Overboard!" Damien activated the Spell which depicted a pirate falling off the side of a ship, presumably Blood Pirate – Ghost Ship. "To activate this I have to sacrifice a monster with Blood Pirate in its name but in exchange I get two draws."
"What kind of sense does that make? Isn't a man going overboard generally a bad thing?" Daniel asked as Blood Pirate – Ghost Ship's hologram shattered and Damien drew twice.
"Take it up with the guy at I2 who created the card." Damien shrugged his shoulders before sending his two cards to the graveyard. "But now Ghost Ship's second effect activates, since it was sent to the graveyard by a card effect I can revive one Blood Pirate from my graveyard as long as it's not the same monster I just sent to the graveyard."
"Wait, is that thing even legal?" Chase asked and Damien grinned.
"Yes but to be fair I can only activate the card's second effect once per duel, anyway my card of choice is a monster I discarded for Heaven's Lost Property a couple of turns back, Blood Pirate – Buccaneer Bible!" Damien played the card and a short man in a pirate's uniform appeared on the field crouching down, he had long black hair but most of it was hidden by a bandana and he was carrying a knife in his mouth (3/500/700).
"Why summon him and not Keelhaul Sal?" Daniel asked and Damien grinned.
"Two reasons really. Keelhaul Sal can't be Special Summoned from the graveyard and when Buccaneer Bible is special summoned via the effect of another Blood Pirate monster his level increases by 1." Damien explained as Buccaneer Bible's level went up to four.
"There's only one reason a monster would have an effect like that." Daniel realized as his eyes widened. "Buccaneer Bible's a Tuner Monster isn't he?"
"I knew you'd catch on quick." Damien said with a grin as Buccaneer Bible and Mad Mary leapt into the air, Buccaneer Bible dissolved into four Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Mad Mary.
"So what are you summoning? Is it Colossal Fighter?" Chase asked as he watched the Synchro Summon. "That would make sense; most of the Blood Pirates seem to be Warrior Monsters."
"They are with the exception of Ghost Ship, that monster's a Zombie Type." Damien answered before grinning. "But why would I summon him when I can't take advantage of his effect due to Zombie World?" Damien asked as the two Obelisk Blue students blinked.
"He's got a point." Chase admitted as the bright flash enveloped the field. "So what are you summoning?"
"This guy, come on out Blood Pirate – Quick Sword!" Damien played the card and once the flash faded a mountain of a man appeared on the field, he had a long black beard with matching hair and he was wearing the kind of gear you'd expect to see on a captain and was wielding twin swords (8/2200/1800).
"I was worried for a minute there." Daniel breathed a sigh of relief once he saw the stats. "But that guy's the weakest Synchro Monster on the field."
"Sometimes strength isn't everything because Quick Sword has a very powerful effect." Damien commented before picking up two cards from his deck. "I pick up two cards from my deck and if either of them are monsters than the real fun begins, if they aren't monsters then they get shuffled back into my deck." Damien explained before looking at the cards in question. "And it's my lucky day."
"You drew two monsters? How lucky can you get?" Chase asked and Damien shook his head.
"I wouldn't say I drew them, in fact once the effect's been resolved they'll be shuffled into my deck." Damien corrected him before grinning. "Basically the effects depend on the monsters attack points, what I mean by that is if one of the monsters attack points is bellow one thousand then one of your monsters gets its attack points cut in half." Damien explained and before Daniel or Chase could protest Quick Sword slammed it's swords into the ground cutting Doomkaiser Dragon's attack points to 1200. "Now the other monster I drew has an attack of 1700 which means you can't activate Spirit Shield's effect when it attacks."
"Wait, what?!" Daniel yelled out once it hit him. "That's gotta have a drawback."
"It does, basically I can't summon for two turns if I get two monsters." Damien explained before shuffling the monsters back into his deck. "Now onto business, Quick Sword, attack Doomkaiser Dragon!" Damien commanded and the pirate charged towards Chase's monster with surprising speed before cutting it down the middle bringing Chase's life-points down to 7000.
"You'll pay for that!" Chase responded and Damien grinned.
"I'll send you an IOU card." Damien responded before his grin widened. "And since I destroyed Doomkaiser Dragon Vorse Rader goes with him!" Damien added as Chase tossed Vorse Raider back at Andreas.
"Much obliged." Andreas said with a nod before sending his card to the graveyard.
"Don't get attached to Captain Jack Sparrow over there." Chase said with a frown. "As soon as my turn begins I'm sending him to the gallows!"
"That's pretty dark for trash talk." Andreas commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head. "And that doesn't even look remotely like Johnny Depp!"
"Let's focus Andreas." Damien commented dryly before picking up the two cards he had drawn via Davy Jones Locker. "I set these cards facedown and end my turn." Damien set the two cards and Chase quickly drew his card.
"I need to get rid of that Synchro before he destroys our other monsters." Chase thought before looking at his drawn card. "Hey Dan, you mind if I borrow Archfiend Zombie Skull?"
"If you intend to get rid of that pirate than by all means, do with him as you wish." Daniel nodded and Chase grinned as the zombiefied version of Summoned Skull appeared on his side of the field.
"That's exactly what I intend to do, Archfiend Zombie Skull, attack Quick Sword!" Chase commanded and the monster stretched its arms out…..
"I activate my trap." Damien activated the trap which depicted the pirates that Damien had used so far loading a treasure chest full of gold onto Ghost Ship whilst opposing ships fired on it.
"Fat lot of good that did you, that trap hasn't raised your monster's attack by one point!" Chase commented as Archfiend Zombie Skull launched lightning at the Quick Sword.
"Maybe not but Battle for Buried Treasure still has its uses." Damien responded as he discarded a card from his hand. "This trap can only be activated if a Level 5 or higher Blood Pirate monster is targeted for an effect or an attack, my monster survives the attack and I get to draw two cards, however unless I discard another Blood Pirate from my hand before drawing the cards then the Blood Pirate on the field is destroyed."
"You still take damage!" Chase pointed out and Damien winced as his life-points dropped to 6400.
"If it means getting another chance to use my Pirate's effect again I'll take it!" Damien answered and Chase frowned.
"I'll end my turn." Chase announced and Andreas drew his card.
"I set a monster in defense mode!" Andreas set the card and pointed to Revived King. "Now Green Babboon, destroy Revived King Ha-Des!" Andreas commanded and the monster charged towards Ha Des with his club held high…..
"Fine by me, I'll just remove a Zombie type monster from my graveyard so that Spirit Shield can end the battle phase." Daniel removed the card from play and Green Baboon's attack was blocked by the force-field.
"I shall end my turn at that." Andreas announced and Daniel drew his card.
"All right, let's go for Round 2!" Daniel said as he added his drawn card to his hand. "Revived King Ha Des, attack Quick Sword now!" Daniel commanded and the zombie reached forward with its claws again…..
"I activate my Trap Card Shift, and I'm using it to force Revived King Ha Des to attack Andreas's facedown card." Damien activated the trap and the zombie changed its course and ripped the facedown monster, revealed to be Nimble Mogumba (2/1000/100), to shreds.
"And that in turn activates two effects, first up is the monster you destroyed! I gain a thousand life-points back….." Andreas announced as his life-points increased to 8000. "But that's not all because not only do I get to Special Summon two more of them face down in defense position." Andreas said as he set the two cards down. "And finally since a beast type monster was destroyed in battle I can remove two beast type monsters in my graveyard….." Andreas said as he pocketed the first Nimble Mogumba and Berserk Gorilla…..
"Oh crap, I know that effect." Daniel gulped as Andreas played the card.
"That's right Daniel; I'm doing this so that I can summon the mighty Yellow Baboon, Archer of the Forrest in attack mode!" Andreas played the card and another massive baboon appeared on the field, this one was yellow in color as its name suggested and was carrying a massive bow and arrow (7/2600/1800).
"Fine, you managed to summon a powerful monster but that won't stop me from attacking again! Go Archfiend Zombie Skull, roast that Pirate!" Daniel commanded and the zombie stretched its arms out before launching lightning at the massive pirate destroying him and bringing Damien's life-points down to 6100. "Luckily for you I've already used up my other monster's attack so I'll end my turn at that." Daniel announced and Damien drew his card.
"I activate Pot of Avarice!" Damien played the card and retrieved Mad Mary, Keelhaul Sal, Buccaneer Bible, Ghost Ship and Quick Sword from his graveyard, shuffled them into his deck (or his extra deck in Quick Sword's case) and drew twice.
"Great, just when I thought we were rid of that pirate." Daniel grunted in annoyance as Damien sent his Spell Card to the graveyard.
"Technically you are." Damien responded earning confused looks from the other Obelisk Blue Students. "You see the Blood Pirate Synchro Monsters may have powerful effects but they share one weakness in common, they can only be Synchro Summoned once per duel."
"Then why did you bother to return it?" Chase asked and Damien shrugged.
"It was that or return a card I need for a combo." Damien explained before looking at his drawn card. "And here's part one of the combo, since I drew him outside of the draw phase and the only monster in my graveyard is a Blood Pirate monster I can Special Summon Blood Pirate - Sully the Staggering Drunk!"
"…..what was his name again?!" Daniel asked as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head, Damien played the card and a short man in pirate gear appeared on the field, as his name suggested he was carrying two bottles of beer in each hand (5/0/0). "Actually, scratch that, a Level 5 monster with zero attack and defense points?! Either it has a powerful effect besides the one you just mentioned or I2 went out of their way to make the most useless monster since Fusionist."
"Oh believe me he does." Damien responded before retrieving a card from his graveyard. "When he's summoned by his own effect I can take one Blood Pirate with a feminine name from my graveyard and add it to my hand."
"That's gotta be the most oddly specific effect in duel monsters." Chase commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head.
"Well according to the lure behind these cards Lully would hit on anything female whilst he was drunk, which was most of the time, so it makes sense…kinda." Damien shrugged his shoulders before playing a card. "Anyway back to business, I normal summon the monster I retrieved from the graveyard with Sully's effect, Blood Pirate – Eve the Bald!" Damien played the card a woman in a skimpy pirate outfit appeared on the field; she had long blue hair and was carrying a small dagger (2/700/600).
"And I'm guessing she has an effect as well." Daniel commented and Damien grinned.
"Yeah but that only comes into play when she's used in a Synchro Summon of a Blood Pirate monster and as luck would have it she happens to be a Tuner Monster!" Damien explained as the two monsters leapt into the air, Eve the Bald dissolved into two Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Lully the Staggering Drunk. "I tune my two monsters together to Synchro Summon Blood Pirate - Baird the Black!" Damien played the card and a bright flash enveloped the field, when it faded a tall pirate whose face was covered by a mask and he wielded a large sword (7/2400/1900).
"That's an improvement over your last Synchro Monster." Daniel commented dryly and Damien remained silent. "But he's still the weakest card on the field."
"Let me worry about that whilst you worry about Eve The Dawn's Special Effect, when she's used in the Synchro Summon of a Blood Pirate monster and the other monster was Lully the Staggering Drunk I get to draw two cards." Damien announced before drawing twice. "Otherwise I would've only been able to draw one card."
"So after all that hype the only thing she can do is give you extra cards? That's some combo." Chase said as he rolled his eyes.
"I wouldn't dismiss my move so soon; I equip Baird the Black with my Spell Card called Sword of the Seven Seas!" Damien played the card and Baird's sword was replaced with one that was ocean blue in color. "This sword can only be equipped to a Level 7 or higher Blood Pirate monster, as for its effect, well it's simple, all I need to do is remove one monster with Blood Pirate in its name from play from the graveyard like Eve the Bald." Damien said as he pocketed the tuner monster. "And Baird gains her attack points for the rest of the turn."
"Oh crap." Chase gulped as Baird's attack increased to 3100.
"Baird the Black, attack Chase's life-points directly!" Damien commanded and the masked pirate charged towards Chase…
"Did you forget about Spirit Shield already?" Daniel asked as he retrieved a card from his graveyard and pocketed it and Baird's attack was blocked by a force-field.
"Actually I didn't." Damien responded and the two duelists blinked in confusion. "By negating the attack you activated Baird's ability which destroys Spell and Trap cards equal to the number of monsters used in its Synchro Summon!" Damien explained and Daniel and Chase's eyes widened as Spirit Shield and Zombie World where destroyed one by one by Baird's sword. "However I can only use that during the turn that Baird's Synchro Summoned, there's another tradeoff and that is that I have to skip my next Battle Phase but that doesn't apply to my tag partner."
"We still have plenty of tricks up our sleeves!" Chase asserted and Damien smirked before picking up two cards.
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Damien set the two cards and Chase drew his card.
"Man, I don't remember Damien being this good when he faced Lance." Chloe commented as she scratched her head in confusion.
"That was a long time ago as far as his dueling's concerned." Tyler told her and Chloe turned to him. "His defeat at Lance's hands delivered a serious blow to his ego and from what I've been told the stunts Otto pulled during the Battle City Semi-Finals made him reevaluate who he should keep as friends, as for the improvements in his dueling skills, I think they happened naturally."
"Yeah well, if it's all the same to you I'm reserving judgment for now." Chloe answered with a frown. "My first meeting with him didn't exactly leave a good impression."
"Yeah, Brandon told me about that." Tyler responded with a nod. "I can't say I blame you either."
"I activate a Spell Card, go Spellbook inside the Pot!" Chase played the card and all four duelists drew three times. "At least he can't use the monster or his equip spell again, the only monster in his graveyard in that drunkard." Chase thought before looking at his cards. "I set two cards facedown and I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Doomkaiser Dragon!" Chase played the cards and the zombiefied dragon returned to the field.
"Why that and not Archfiend Zombie Skull?" Andreas asked and Chase grinned.
"You'll see why soon enough, for now I end my turn." Chase responded and Andreas drew his card.
"I don't like this, it's like he wants me to attack with my baboons." Andreas thought before looking at his cards. "I flip summon one of the mogumbas I special summoned last turn." Andreas announced as the small squirrel appeared on the field. "Next I activate my trap Beast Burial Ritual, to activate it I have to destroy my mogumba but in exchange I get to draw two more cards."
"I know that thing's effect, and I also know that you can't use those cards for another turn." Daniel pointed out and Andreas simply smirked.
"I'll cross that road when I come to it." Andreas said before picking up one of the cards he had drawn with Spellbook. "First off since I have two Beast Type Monsters on my side of the field I can Special Summon Chain Dog in attack mode!" Andreas played the card and a small black and white dog with a golden chain that had a padlock around its neck appeared on the field (4/1600/1100).
"Okay, I admit, that monster's kind of cute." Daniel grunted as he folded his arms. "But is that the best you can do?"
"Far from it, for my Normal Summon I summon the Tuner Monster Uni-Horned Familiar!" Andreas played the card and a small odd looking beast appeared on the field, it had a unicorn's horn and was blue and orange in color (2/0/700). "Next I flip summon my remaining Nimble Mogumba." Andreas announced as the third squirrel appeared on the field.
"Wait a sec, you now have enough Synchro Material Monsters for a Level 8 Synchro!" Chase realized and Andreas grinned.
"Indeed and I shall now take advantage of it by tuning Chain Dog, Uni-Horned Familiar and my last Nimble Mogumba together!" Andreas announced as the three beasts leapt into the air, Uni-Horned Familiar dissolved into two Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Chain Dog and Nimble Mogumba. "To Synchro Summon Lightning Tricorn!" Andreas played the card and once the flash faded a golden unicorn appeared on the field; it had several red horns sticking out of its body and had a blue mane (8/2800/2000).
"Great, he has three powerful monsters at his disposal." Daniel gulped as he stared down the three monsters. "And if it weren't for Revived King I'd be out of the duel."
"Don't worry, I have you covered." Chase reassured him and Daniel nodded at that.
"Now Green Baboon, attack Revived King Ha-Des!" Andreas commanded and the baboon charged towards the monster before slamming its club into it destroying it and bringing Daniel's life-points down to 5950. "Your turn Lightning Tricorn, attack Doomkaiser Dragon!" Andreas commanded and the unicorn let out a whinny before charging towards Doomkaiser Dragon…
"Not this time, I activate my Trap Card Assault Mode Activate!" Chase activated the trap earning a collective gasp from staff and students alike as Doomkaiser Dragon vanished from the field. "Doomkaiser Dragon may be gone but he's being upgraded to Doomkaiser Dragon/Assault Mode!" Chase played the card and a massive version of the previous monster appeared on the field, it growled menacingly at Andreas's three monsters (8/2900/2000).
"Hah, nice, when Doomkaiser Dragon's Assault Mode is activated so too is his Special Ability!" Daniel said with a grin once he realized what was going to happen. "With it Chase can Special Summon any number of Zombie Type monsters from any of our graveyards to his side of the field." Daniel explained as Goblin Zombie, Zombie Master, Pain Painter and Beast of the Pharaoh appeared on the field.
"The only problem with this combo is the fact that all of my monsters effects are negated and they'll be destroyed during the end phase." Chase continued before smirking. "So Andreas, do you have the guts to continue your attack?"
"Well, since you left your weaker monsters in attack mode, yes!" Andreas announced as Lightning Tricorn changed course and headed straight for Pain Painter…..
"I knew you'd do that." Chase said confidently and Andreas blinked. "I activate my trap card Assault Slash, since I have an Assault Mode monster active this trap will destroy every card on the field."
"Wait, what?" Andreas asked as a large explosion engulfed the field destroying the zombies first and then Andreas's three beasts…
"I activate Mutiny Squashed!" Damien activated the trap which depicted Blood Pirate – Quick Sword forcing other pirates to work. "Since I have a Blood Pirate monster that's about to be destroyed this trap will save it from destruction!" Damien explained as Laird braced himself for the explosion, the monster survived the blast but the other facedown card didn't.
"Okay, so I wasn't completely able to clear the field but what that move did do was allow me to Special Summon Doomkaiser Dragon again!" Chase played the card and the zombiefied dragon returned to the field.
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Andreas set the cards down and Daniel drew his card.
"Aren't the Assault Mode cards supposed to be incredibly rare?" Chloe asked as she scratched her head m confusion. "How did Chase get his hands on three of the Assault Mode cards?"
"That's a good question." Tyler agreed as he folded his arms. "But just because their rare doesn't mean they aren't obtainable, same can be said for your Silent Magician cards."
"Yeah but I got those cards in the first place because my stepdad runs a card shop." Chloe pointed out and Tyler frowned once he realized that she had a point. "But Chase…..okay I haven't spoken to him much since I joined this academy so I don't really know." Chloe admitted with a sigh.
"Okay, at least Andreas has lost his three powerhouses, maybe now we can start doing some damage." Daniel thought before looking at his drawn card. "I play a Continuous Spell Card called Call of the Mummy, as long as I have no monsters on my side of the field this Spell Card will let me Special Summon a Zombie Type monster from my hand." Daniel said before playing another card.
"That's going to be a problem." Andreas commented and Daniel grinned as he played the card.
"You have no idea; in fact I'll go ahead and use the effect right now to Special Summon Il Blud in attack mode!" Daniel played the card and a large strange zombie appeared on the field, it was pink and had a bloated chest that had a grinning face on it (6/2100/800).
"Thank you very much for the nightmares." Andreas said sarcastically as he stared down the monster.
"There's more to this monster than meets the eye, you see this big guy is a Gemini Monster and I'm using my Normal Summon to activate its Gemini mode!" Daniel explained as Ill Bud started glowing. "And its effect is a pretty potent one, as long as it's on the field I can Special Summon another Zombie from either our graveyards, however since you destroyed Zombie World a few turns back I'll have to make do with my own graveyard."
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Andreas commented as Daniel retrieved the monster from his graveyard and played it revealing it to be Zombie Master. "Wait, why didn't you summon either of your Synchros?"
"It wouldn't have been worth it." Daniel said honestly earning a curious look from Andreas. "Sure, I would've been able to do a fair bit of damage but if you somehow retrieved either of your Baboons from the graveyard and destroyed Ill Bud the Synchro monster would've gone with it." Daniel explained before pointing to Andreas. "Not like it matters, go Zombie Master, attack his life-points directly!" Daniel commanded and the monster started casting a spell.
"I activate my Battle Instinct Trap Card!" Andreas announced as his trap card flipped up and he picked up a card in his hand. "Since you just declared a direct attack this trap will let me Special Summon a Beast Type monster from my hand as long as it has 2000 or less attack points." Andreas said before playing the card revealing it to be another Berserk Gorilla.
"Well played, Zombie Master, call off the attack!" Daniel commanded and Zombie Master stopped casting the Spell. "Il Blud, attack Berserk Gorilla!" Daniel commanded and the strange zombie leapt into the air before body splashing the gorilla destroying it and bringing Andreas's life-points down to 7900.
"That's certainly the strangest death animation I've seen." Andreas commented dryly before activating a trap. "But since you destroyed my Gorilla you've allowed me to activate two effects, first my Animal Trail trap card which allows me to add another Beast Type monster to my hand." Andreas commented as he added the monster to his hand before wincing as his life-points dropped to 6900.
"Wait; don't tell me you're bringing back Green Baboon, Defender of the Forrest?" Daniel asked and Andreas grinned as he retrieved the monster.
"I'll let my next move answer that for me, as for the other effect…..well I guess it's time to welcome back an old friend!" Andreas commented as Green Baboon returned to the field with an angry howl.
"Fine, I set a card facedown and end my turn." Daniel set the card down and Damien drew his card.
"Okay, if I can get rid of that Gemini monster Daniel's field will be wide open for Andreas's turn." Damien thought before frowning. "But due to Baird's ability I can't attack." Damien thought before looking at his drawn card. "I play the Spell Card Treasure Chest of Greed!" Damien played the card which depicted a large treasure chest with an illustration of the infamous Pot of Greed on the front. "Since I have a Blood Pirate monster on my side of the field I can draw two cards." Damien explained before drawing twice.
"Just how many varieties of the Pot of Greed are there?" Daniel asked and Damien could only shrug his shoulders before looking over his drawn cards.
"Ask the guys at I2, not me." Damien answered before picking up a card. "I set a card facedown and end my turn."
"Ah yeah, I almost forgot about Baird's side effect." Chase admitted before drawing his card. "Hey Dan, you mind if I use Il Blud's effect?"
"Go ahead." Daniel with a nod and Chase nodded.
"Okay but first I summon Immortal Ruler to the field in attack mode!" Damien played the card and the robed zombie appeared on the field (4/1800/200). "But this guy's not sticking around for long because I'm activating his effect, by sacrificing him I get to return Zombie World to my hand!" Chase explained as the zombie disappeared from the field and Damien retrieved the card from his graveyard.
"Just when I thought we were rid of that thing." Andreas commented and Chase grinned as he played the Field Spell returning the scenery to the desolate wasteland.
"Please, I have plenty of ways to recycle my field spell." Chase responded as he pointed to Andreas. "Anyway I'm activating Il Bud's effect to retrieve Yellow Baboon from Andreas's graveyard." Chase announced and Andreas reluctantly tossed the card at Chase, he played it and a zombiefied version of the giant yellow baboon appeared on the field.
"And that gives me a chance to activate this, my second copy of Trap of the Imperial Tomb!" Daniel activated the trap and Andreas and Damien could only watch as their monsters where dragged beneath the ground by decaying hands.
"And that means that I can go on the offensive, Doomkaiser Dragon, Yellow Baboon, attack Andreas's life-points directly!" Chase commanded and the two zombies charged towards Andreas, they unleashed their attack on Andreas bringing his life-points down to 1900. "All I need to do is attack with Il Blud and Andreas is out of the match, hey Dan, may I borrow Il Blud?"
"Don't bother, I activate my trap card Damage Condenser, since I just took Battle Damage this trap will let me Special Summon a monster with attack equal to the damage I just took." Andreas announced before searching through his deck, he found the card he was looking for and played it revealing it to be Barrier Rat (3/0/0).
"Hey, I remember that card from your duel against Adrienne, that has the ability to survive one attack per round right?" Chase remembered and Andreas nodded. "Fine, I'll you may have brought yourself some time but it won't last, I'll end my turn." Chase announced and Andreas drew his card.
"He's right, unless I draw something soon I'll be eliminated and Damien will be left with a huge disadvantage." Andreas thought before looking at his hand. "I start my turn by normal summoning Red Forrest Fox!" Andreas played the card and a small red fox appeared on the field (2/100/100). "And when he is normal summoned his effect activates allowing me to Special Summon a Level 2 or higher monster from my graveyard, I chose Chain Dog!" Andreas played the card and the small black and white dog returned to the field. "His effects are negated and he can't attack off course but that's not an issue."
"Setting up some more defenses huh? That won't work; you left Red Forest Fox and Chain Dog in attack mode!" Daniel pointed out and Andreas grinned.
"Yes but I left them in attack mode because I know they won't be around for much longer, Barrier Rat is a tuner monster after all!" Andreas explained as the three beasts leapt into the air, Barrier Rat dissolved into three Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Chain Dog and Red Forrest Fox. "And I tune the three monsters together to Synchro Summon Red Baboon, Destroyer of the Forrest!"
"There's a third baboon monster?!" Daniel and Chase yelled out simultaneously as the monster appeared on the field, it was just as big as the other baboons but was blood red in color and was carrying a large club (9/2600/1800).
"Yes, and his effect is very deadly, you see the part about him being Synchro Summoned with three monsters is completely optional but when he is I get to destroy one card on the field for each Synchro Material Monster used to summon him!" Andreas explained and the two Obelisk Blue student's eyes widened as Red Baboon slammed its club into the ground destroying Zombie World and Il Blud taking the other monsters with it. "By the way, thank you for revealing Il Blud's side effect to me, otherwise I would've targeted Doomkaiser Dragon!"
"You're welcome." Daniel muttered sarcastically before sending his cards to the graveyard, Chase tossed Yellow Baboon back to Andreas and he caught it before sending the monster back to the graveyard.
"And now to continue the fun, Red Baboon, attack his life-points directly!" Andreas commanded and the massive baboon charged towards the student before slamming his club into him bringing his life-points down to 3350. "I set a card facedown and end my turn." Andreas set the card and Daniel drew his card.
"Mystical Space Typhoon, if I had drawn that last turn Andreas would've been eliminated." Daniel thought as he glanced at the Spell Card. "Ah well, better late than never!" Daniel decided before playing the card. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and I use it to destroy Andreas's facedown card!" Daniel announced as a storm washed over the field…
"I may be using a new Archetype but you can't go wrong with an old card, go Magic Jammer!" Damien activated the trap and after he discarded a card the storm subsided.
"Fine, I'll use Call of the Mummy's effect to Special Summon Spirit Reaper in defense mode!" Daniel played the card and the small, scythe wielding skeleton appeared on the field (3/300/200). "Not my best monster but the fact that he can't be destroyed in battle makes up for that." Daniel admitted before looking over his hand. "That ends my turn." Daniel announced and Damien drew his card.
"I activate a Spell Card called A Call to Arms!" Damien played the card which depicted Quick Sword recruiting some pirates. "This lets me Special Summon one Blood Pirate monster from my hand or graveyard with its effects negated so welcome back Baird the Black!" Damien played the card and the masked pirate returned to the field.
"Nice try but you can't get past my Spirit Reaper on strength alone!" Daniel pointed out and Damien grinned.
"I won't need to because now I activate my facedown card Song of the Sirens!" Damien played the card which depicted Ghost Ship crashing into some rocks whilst three women look on. "According to mythology the Siren's songs would often lead sailors to their deaths but in this case those same songs help them."
"What do you mean?" Daniel demanded only for a loud but beautiful song to fill the air, this lasted for a few seconds before Daniel's and Chase's eyes to widen when Doomkaiser Dragon and Spirit Reaper shattered.
"That's what I meant; as long as I have a Level 5 or higher Blood Pirate monster on my side of the field and I discard two Blood Pirate monsters from my hand Song of the Sirens will destroy all monsters on my opponent's side of the field." Damien said before turning to Andreas. "Mind if I borrow Red Baboon for this?"
"By all means, be my guest." Andreas nodded and Damien grinned.
"Then it's time to end this, Red Baboon, Baird, attack Daniel's life-points directly!" Damien commanded and the two monsters charged towards Daniel before striking him with their weapons bringing Daniel's life-points down to zero. "I end my turn but you gotta admit Chase, it's looking pretty bleak for you." Damien pointed out as Chase drew his card.
"You know what? I agree." Chase agreed before surrendering. "I surrender the duel to Damien and Andreas." Chase announced and the crowd cheered.
"Here are the winners of the match, Damien Tarnow and Andreas Freshier!" Martin announced and the crowd cheered as the two duelists grinned before waving to the crowd.
"Those guys are going to be a force to be reckoned with next round." Chelsea commented and Chloe nodded in agreement. "Then again they did just fine despite the differences in their decks so who knows? Maybe we'll do just as well." Chelsea said as she turned to Chloe.
"I hope so." Chloe nodded in agreement as she watched the four duelists leave the stage. "Theresa and Brandon are up next, I don't envy Rachel and Kyle one bit."
"Now that's something we can agree on." Chelsea agreed with a nod. "Come to think of it we never saw Kyle duel."
"I don't know much about his deck, all I saw off it was the closing moments of his match against Thomas Newborne a few weeks back." Chloe admitted as she scratched her head.
"Oh yeah, that was just before our little adventure in the Abandoned Dorm right?" Chelsea asked and Chloe nodded. "I'm hoping that we get put against his team next round, it'll be fun to see you kick his ass again."
"It'll be even more fun to kick his ass." Chloe responded before frowning. "Have you ever faced Spirit or X-Sabers before Chelsea?"
"I faced Spirits once, a girl at my old school thought that a Spirit vs. Watts duel would be fun, it was." Chelsea responded before frowning. "X-Sabers are one deck I haven't faced though."
"Pretty much the opposite is true for me." Chloe responded before frowning. "Still I'd take that over facing Theresa and Brandon."
"No doubt about that, we'll probably face them at some point but I'd prefer to get a few wins under our belts first." Chelsea responded and Chloe nodded in agreement.
"Andreas has improved a lot since Battle City." Kaiba commented as he watched the duel proctors prepare the stage for the next duel.
"He's always been a very good duelist but he simply had the luck of the Dinosaurs when he was drawn against Otto." Martin answered and Kaiba nodded. "This next duel however…."
"Theresa and Brandon vs. two Osiris Red Students, this shouldn't take long." Kaiba commented and Martin frowned. "I realize that Chloe is in Osiris Red but for a student from her dorm she is exceptionally gifted."
"There's potential in each Osiris Red student and Kyle and Rachel are no exception." Martin said simply as he watched the next two teams step onto the stage. "Our next match is a clash of the dorms, Rachel Travis and Kyle Winston from Osiris Red vs. Theresa Daniels and Brandon Thomas from Obelisk Blue!" Martin announced into the microphone and the crowd cheered.
"Man, I can already hear Obelisk Blue students taking bets on how long Rachel and Kyle will last. " Chelsea commented with an annoyed look on her face. "If it weren't for the fact that Martin can see us I'd be giving them a piece of my mind."
"And as entertaining as that'd be I don't have a way to block his view from hear." Tyler responded with a chuckle. "Seriously though, I like Rachel and Kyle but you can't honestly expect them to last long."
"I don't but that won't stop me from defending my dorm." Chelsea answered as she folded her arms, whilst that was going on the two teams where shuffling their decks.
"I hope you're ready, we won't go easy on anyone regardless of dorms." Brandon told them and Rachel grinned.
"Actually I should be saying the same to you." Rachel said with a grin earning confused looks from the older students. "We may be the underdogs in this match but we came up with a strategy that'll win us those booster packs!"
"Well in that case I can't wait to see it." Theresa responded and Kyle frowned. "Kyle doesn't seem convinced though, maybe it's just pre-match nerves."
"Rachel makes it sound so easy but honestly? It's not." Kyle thought as the two teams drew their opening hands. "But if we can pull this off we'll be shooting straight to the top!"