It had been a few hours since Chelsea and Hu teamed up to duel Marissa and Tony and now Chelsea was back in her dorm-room with her roommate Chloe, both girls where getting a rest-bite due to the fact that they had been in some intense duels that day and they didn't have class until later that evening.
"So is it safe to assume that you'll be avoiding dueling for a few days?" Chloe asked as she sat down on the bottom bunk and Chelsea looked up from her laptop.
"Yeah, but only as much as I can." Chelsea answered with a nod. "My first class after tomorrow's tag duels is Duel Theory and, well, you couldn't get out of it despite feeling down as a result of your last Orichalcos Duel so I don't think I have much of a chance." Chelsea added before grinning. "Not to mention the promotion duels on Saturday."
"Yeah, that is something I'm definitely looking forward too." Chloe responded with a nod. "I'll miss the uncomfortable beds, the cramped feeling of the dorm room, having to share the same plug for my phone charger as your laptop charger…..wait, why will I miss this place again?" Chloe asked getting a laugh out of Chelsea.
"Well, if anything we'll miss what we learned here." Chelsea responded and Chloe nodded in agreement. "But I think we should focus on winning our promotion duels, or at the very least getting a draw."
"What will happen if a draw happens?" Chloe asked and Chelsea turned to her.
"You didn't read the handbook when you won your promotion duel, did ya?" Chelsea asked and Chloe shook her head.
"I was too excited to find time to read that thing." Chloe responded and Chelsea nodded in understanding. "I could've read it during the boat trip but then my duel with Otto happened, not to mention my temporary roommate deciding to play hairdresser."
"Hey, at least Ora apologized once you got that gunk out of your hair!" Chelsea pointed out and Chloe laughed whilst nodding in agreement. "Fortunately I had my streaks done by a pro, including how often I had to re-dye my hair to keep the look! Anyway we were talking about the promotion duels?"
"Yeah, I was asking about what would happen in the event of a draw." Chloe nodded and Chelsea nodded.
"Right, basically if a draw happens it'll depend on who your facing, if you're facing a teacher like Martin for example you'll either get promoted or stay in your current dorm based on your performance in the duel, if you draw against a student from your own dorm then whoever had the highest amount of life-points will get promoted." Chelsea answered and Chloe nodded.
"And if both our life-points hit zero?" Chloe asked and Chelsea checked the handbook.
"Then that will depend on how many cards are left in the deck, according to Tyler that rule has screwed over quite a few Lightsworn players for obvious reasons." Chelsea responded after thinking for a few minutes. "If you draw against someone who's a dorm higher than you, in other words all our friends who are up for promotion, then both duelists get promoted."
"Life-Points won't play a factor?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.
"They will but the lower ranked duelist will automatically get promoted, the higher ranked one will depend on the things I previously mentioned." Chelsea answered as she shook her head. "It's not exactly a popular method of promotion especially for Ra Yellow students but it has happened before, I think Theresa told me that she was promoted to Obelisk Blue that way."
"I think I'll wait until I know who I'm facing before deciding on what my plan will be on Saturday." Chloe decided and Chelsea nodded in agreement. "Wasn't the next banlist supposed to have leaked by now?"
"You mean the actual one after that emergency one that pretty much did our decks in this ass with no lube?" Chelsea asked and Chloe just stared at her slack jawed. "Trust me, I've been there and I've done that, it's not fun."
"…you mean back when you were straight, right?" Chloe asked and Chelsea nodded. "Either way, I won't be sleeping tonight."
"Neither did I back when I tried it." Chelsea answered and Chloe sweat-dropped. "Anyway, it should be easy enough to check." Chelsea added as she opened up Firefox. "Well what do you know? DA's website has the new banlist already." Chelsea said as she read it.
"I won't have to change my deck again, will I?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shook her head.
"Your safe, hell your deck will be even stronger." Chelsea answered as she turned to her. "Magician of Faith is at one."
"Wait, seriously? Man, back when dad told me about her I thought she would never come back, remind me to pop down to the card shop before Saturday Night." Chloe said with a grin and Chelsea nodded. "Maybe you can run it too?"
"Chloe, the only vital spell cards I run are Burial, Wattcastle, Lightning Recharge, Duplicity…..actually you have a point there." Chelsea admitted after thinking for a few minutes. "As for the other changes, the big dragons are limited; Dragon Ravine and Return from a Different Dimension, Self-Destruct Button and Sixth Sense are banned."
"They brought Sixth Sense back? I thought that card was so broken that it was never released overseas?" Chloe asked and Chelsea shrugged.
"Apparently it was one of the final decisions Pegasus made before he stepped down and his daughter took over, if re-banning it is her first move then I definitely support it." Chelsea answered before scrolling down. "I think we both know who will be mad that Return's gone though."
"Yeah, namely Brandon and Lance, Brandon didn't even get to use Return again following his Expulsion Duel." Chloe responded with a nod. "Right before his big match tomorrow as well."
"Yeah, Return could've done some major damage in Brandon's new Chaos deck but now we'll never now unless it gets unbanned again." Chelsea responded before frowning. "Here's the bad news, Storm, Avarice, Reborn and Card Destruction are still gone."
"Damn, I was hoping they'd come back!" Chloe cursed to herself. "Is there anything else?"
"Debris Dragon got hit to one so there's a bit of damage on Tyler's team as well." Chelsea said as she looked at the list. "Remember that Sacred Sword card that Donny used against us? That's limited too alongside Divine Wind of Mist Valley, Final Countdown and Spellbook of Fate; man Lance's team can't catch a break with these banlists, " Chelsea said with a chuckle. "Chaos Sorcerer and Lonefire Blossom are at two, Tenki, that XYZ they limited last time, Tour Guide, T.G. Striker, Plaguespredder Zombie, Mezuki and Archlord Kystya are all off the banlist."
"Well if they wanted to kill the Dragon Rulers they just did that in spades!" Chloe said before realizing something. "Aren't Lance and Marcus in Duel Theory right now?"
"Yeah, they are based on what they told me." Chelsea responded with a nod. "And banlists, as far as DA go, usually go into effect as soon as they are posted on the site, let's hope for his sake that he doesn't try to use it."
*meanwhile at Duel Theory*
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN RETURN'S BANNED?" Lance yelled at Martin as his trap card was taken away, his duel was the last one of the class and he had tried to win his duel against Marcus with Return. "IT WASN'T ON THE LAST BANLIST!"
"You didn't see the announcement, did you Alvers?" Martin asked as he rubbed his ear in pain and Lance shook his head. "The new banlist was sent to the board this morning and was posted on the website this afternoon, as per Duel Academy policy it went into effect immediately.
"But…..but can I at least keep Return? You know, for when I2 decide to bring it back?" Lance asked and Martin shook his head. "Just fucking great, as if that damn emergency banlist didn't hurt my deck enough already, can I at least have a rematch with Marcus?"
"Sorry Alvers but….." Martin trailed off as the bell rung. "Your out of time, I'll try to schedule you in next week and I'll have you two fight each other again then." Martin said as he walked off and the rest of the class left.
"Sorry dude, I didn't see the announcement either." Marcus said as he walked up to him. "I'll just be happy if my deck gets out unscathed."
"Speak for yourself, knowing my luck they probably hit my partner's deck too!" Lance responded with a frown as they left the class room. "At least that's my last class of the day. I'm off to the card shop to find a replacement for Return."
"Then I'll see you at the dorm room." Marcus nodded as the boys went their separate ways; Lance made his way to the card shop pretty quickly and saw a pair of familiar faces going through packs. "Hey Brandon, hey Theresa," Lance greeted them and they looked up.
"Hey Lance, I'm guessing you know that Return's banned?" Brandon asked and Lance nodded with a grunt. "And judging from the look on your face you found that out during a duel."
"Worse, I found out during Duel Theory." Lance answered and Theresa and Brandon winced once they realized what that meant. "Martin didn't even let me keep my copy of Return from a Different Dimension for fucks sake!"
"Harsh but at least you didn't find out during your promotion duel." Theresa pointed out and Lance nodded in agreement. "We've made some great finds in this pack so maybe give it a shot?" Theresa suggested before handing Lance a booster pack.
"Thanks." Lance thanked her before opening it up and looking through it. "Okay, that would do me no good in my deck, neither would that, maybe as a side deck card…hello…?" Lance commented before producing one card from it and reading the card's effect. "D.D. Dynamite, I think I just found my answer."
"Let me see that." Brandon requested and Lance showed it to him. "It seems like it would make for a powerful combo with Inferno Tempest." Brandon pointed out once he read the effect and Lance nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I just gotta hope that Evan can compensate for being limited to one Spellbook of Fate." Lance commented as he paid for the card.
"I wouldn't doubt it since Magician of Faith is now legal." Theresa commented and Lance face-faulted when he heard that. "Let me guess, you only know that Return is banned?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Lance responded as he got up and added D.D. Dynamite to his deck. "I mean, Magician of Faith, seriously? Hasn't that thing been on the banned list since it was created?"
"I think it has but I guess I2 felt it was time it was brought back." Theresa commented before shaking her head. "Christ, that thing hasn't seen play since the Duelist Kingdom Tournament."
"I'm just glad that there's no plans to bring back Kaiba's prototype duel disks." Lance commented as he shook his head. "I remember seeing a video of those things on YouTube which featured a duel using those things between two Kaibacorp employees and I spent half the video wondering two things, how the hell they were supposed to work and how long until someone gets clonked in the head by accident."
"I think I saw that same video…..and yeah I was pretty much wondering the same thing." Brandon admitted as he went up to the counter. "I guess it's a good thing those things where redesigned for the original Battle City Tournament, hell can you imagine trying to do a Synchro Summon with those things?"
"Well it's not like Synchros and Tuners were around back then but even then that's still a terrifying thought." Lance agreed as he heard footsteps approaching them and looked up. "Oh hi Chloe, I'm guessing you saw the banlist." Lance commented as Chloe entered the store.
"Yeah but I'm mostly here to get two copies of Magician of Faith, one for me and one for Chelsea." Chloe answered as she got in line. "Chelsea would've come with me but she has homework to do."
"Not surprised considering how much of a workaholic she is." Theresa responded before pausing. "When she isn't playing Total War or reading the bible with heavy metal in the background." Theresa added before frowning. "Is she holding up okay?"
"Yeah but she just wants to take it easy with dueling for a few days, I mean, two tag duels in a row can get pretty exhausting after all." Chloe responded and Theresa nodded as Brandon got out of the line letting Chloe step up to the counter. "You have any copies of Magician of Faith?"
"You're in luck, I just got the shipment and you're the only one who's asked about it so far." The shop keep answered before picking up a box. "You said you wanted two, right?"
"That's right." Chloe nodded as she watched the shop keep ring up the order. "Does that say thirty dollars, seriously?"
"You sound surprised, I card this old and powerful would normally go for more but with DA's discounted prices for students and all…." The shop keep answered as Chloe started searching through her pockets for loose change.
"I knew I should've grabbed my purse before leaving!" Chloe thought when Lance stepped forward.
"If it's okay, can I pay for her cards?" Lance asked and the shop keep nodded, he paid for the cards in cash and handed them over to her. "If you're worried about paying me back don't be, just make sure to use her well."
"Thanks Lance." Chloe said with a broad grin before taking the cards and walking out of the shop.
"Trying to get on her good-side before asking her out?" Brandon asked and Lance laughed sheepishly at that.
"Maybe it's that or maybe I'm just being a good friend…..to a smoking hot girl who I have the hots for….." Lance trailed off before sighing. "I hope this works."
"I hope so too, for your sake." Theresa responded as she looked through the cards in a pack. "Do you have any classes left today Lance?" Theresa asked and Lance checked his schedule before shaking his head.
"Duel Theory was my last class for the day I don't have another class until after tomorrow's duels." Lance added before turning to Theresa. "How do you guys feel about your match? It's a pretty big one even if you take out the fact that it's a duel between friends."
"Probably the same way Chloe, Chelsea and Andreas felt earlier." Theresa responded as she turned to him. "I know it'll be a great match but I would've preferred fighting another team."
"You want to name names?" Lance asked and Theresa glanced around.
"Between you and me, we were hoping to face Cameron and Jessica in this round." Theresa responded with a frown. "And the reason ties into Jessica's ace monster."
"Acid Golem of Destruction," Lance commented with a grunt. "That thing is way too overpowered for a Rank 3 monster."
"That's exactly why we want to face them." Brandon chimed in with a frown. "That team is already powerful enough with Cameron's Steelswarm monsters but Acid Golem pushes it over the top, I don't know if my new Chaos Deck has an answer for it but I'm willing to try."
"Err, no offense but couldn't your new Envoy monster be lumped into that group." Lance pointed out as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "And Theresa, you have so many decks that I can barely keep up with them!"
"Okay, Lance, first off I retired the majority of my decks last week because I realized that over twenty decks were a bit too much, that and it was hard making sure that they each got equal play." Theresa responded with a frown. "Second, you'd have a good point about Envoy of the Twilight except for one thing, the summoning requirements."
"I had to redesign my deck to make summoning it possible and maintaining the best results at the same time." Brandon added with a frown. "I get what you're saying but trust me I wouldn't have added Envoy of the Twilight if it was as broken as Acid Golem."
"Okay, I get the point." Lance sighed as he pocketed his hands. "Well, I've got what I came for so I'm off to my dorm, see you guys tomorrow." Lance said as he went to leave the shop.
"Oh Lance, there's one more thing before I forget." Theresa called out to him and he looked up. "The school should be posting the roster for the students up for promotion in the morning."
"Thanks, I'll keep an eye out." Lance responded before leaving the shop.
*the next day*
"Okay, so we're in agreement that we'll be skipping today's duels, right?" Chelsea asked as she turned to her roommate, who was in the middle of getting dressed, it was early in the morning and the two girls where getting ready for the day ahead including the duels. "As much as I'd like to watch the duel between Theresa, Brandon, Marcus and Tyler I don't want to be in the same room as Cameron and Jessica."
"Yeah, we're agreed there." Chloe nodded as she pulled down her black naval exposing halter top and grabbed her blazer. "Besides, Andreas is letting us use his room so at least we won't be cramped in here."
"True enough, that and they should be back in time for Cameron and Jessica's match." Chelsea responded with a nod. "And if we can avoid bumping into Cameron and Jessica as well that's definitely a plus." Chelsea added before she started packing up her laptop. "Well we're both dressed so really, what's keeping us from going over now?"
"My duel disk, that's what." Chloe answered as she put it on. "I want to be prepared encase you know who decides to visit the island." Chloe added and Chelsea nodded before grabbing her duel disk.
"Good point, we've been caught unaware before and I don't want that to happen again." Chelsea responded as she put on her duel disk and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Anything else you can think off?"
"No, not really, let's go." Chloe added as the two girls made their way out of the dorm room.
"By the way, thanks for getting me Magician of Faith." Chelsea added as she turned to her. "Those cards are pretty expensive, how did you afford to pay for both?"
"I didn't." Chloe answered and Chelsea turned to her with a confused look on her face. "No, I didn't steal them, I'm pretty sure that would net me a second expulsion duel." Chloe added and Chelsea sighed in relief. "Lance paid for both."
"Wait, seriously? Okay, Chloe, seriously, what the hell's stopping you from asking him out at this point?" Chelsea asked and Chloe blushed. "You think new cards are expensive? Cards fresh from being unbanned are even more expensive and he did that for you?"
"Err, well…." Chloe trailed off and Chelsea turned to her.
"I mean, the next thing you'll tell me is that he told you to not worry about paying you back!" Chelsea added and Chloe nodded, Chelsea stared at her for a few seconds before grinning. "Chloe, take it from me, if I was single and straight and he did that for me I would've asked him out as soon as the transaction was complete!"
"Yeah but you've had more boyfriends and girlfriends that I can count!" Chloe pointed out and Chelsea shook her head as she folded her arms. "Besides, I told you why I don't want to ask him out…."
"Yeah, I know, you're afraid to take the leap because of what your dad did to you and your mom." Chelsea said once she checked to see if any of the new students where close enough to overhear their conversation. "But trust me, a guy who's willing to do that for you is a keeper! Like you said, I've had more than my fair share of partners, both genders, but that just means I have the most experience with this kind of thing!"
"I…..I need some time to think on this!" Chloe sighed and Chelsea just shook her head before leading her along. "Besides, how do I know he was just being nice?" Chloe asked and Chelsea face-palmed.
"Chloe, Lance is a nice guy, don't get me wrong but there's a line between being nice and having the hots for someone." Chelsea answered as she turned to her. "Don't forget, I've been there and you haven't, I actually have experience when it comes to these things." Chelsea added before sighing. "I know you said that you need some time to think on this but if someone of the opposite sex who your friends with spends that much money on ya then he's obviously looking for a relationship upgrade, you should give him a chance, that's all I'm saying."
"Maybe your right," Chloe said as she rubbed the back of her head nervously. "But I still need to think on this, how about you give me until after today's duels to make up my mind?"
"Sounds good…..oh shit!" Chelsea said before checking the time on her watch. "If we don't want to miss the opening moves we'd better get moving now!" Chelsea added and Chloe nodded before the two girls made their way to the southern end or the island.
*meanwhile*
Whilst the students who weren't competing today where gathering in Andreas's dorm room the four duelists that where competing next where already nearing the duel arena.
"You think your replacement for Return can work?" Theresa asked as she chose her deck and started shuffling it, Brandon let out an exasperated sigh and she looked up. "Brandon?"
"Sorry Theresa but I'm just sick of changing my deck so much!" Brandon grunted as he shifted his weight. "Sangan's banning was bad enough but then came the emergency banlist that pretty much hit every deck in the school and don't even get me started on the next one!" Brandon added as he started shuffling his deck. "All I want is one build of my deck that doesn't get hit!"
"Let's hope that Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Twilight doesn't get hit." Theresa nodded in agreement. "Still I understand where you're coming from, your deck getting hit once is annoying enough but it getting hit in three consecutive banlists, maybe it was inspired by your Battle City performance."
"If it was then Dark Armed Dragon probably would've been hit as well." Brandon responded with a frown before shaking his head. "Let's try not to jinx it! By my watch we'd better get going." Brandon added after checking his watch and Theresa nodded in agreement before following her boyfriend up the stairs that would lead them to the arena.
*meanwhile*
Whilst their opponents where discussing strategy Tyler and Marcus where doing the same on the other side of the arena.
"Okay, I think it's pretty clear that Brandon's the biggest threat on the opposite team." Marcus said as he folded his arms. "Theresa may be one of the best students in Obelisk Blue but Brandon's new Chaos deck is just deadly man."
"I agree, especially after Chaos Sorcerer came off the limited list and is now on the Semi-Limited list." Tyler agreed with a nod as he shuffled his deck. "We faced some stiff competition in the last round but if we can eliminate Theresa and Brandon we'll be the team to beat in the next round!"
"You make it sound easy." Marcus commented with a frown. "She may have retired several of her decks but Theresa's four decks are still wild cards, no pun intended, we won't know what deck she's running until her turn begins!"
"True but that doesn't make her unbeatable." Tyler responded as he led his partner up the staircase and too the arena. "If that were true she would've won the Battle City Tournament."
"Yeah, that's something I've been wondering about for a while now that you mention it." Marcus commented as he turned to him. "If Theresa had won would she still be able to go to the academy? I mean it's not like Battle City is a small tournament that no-one's heard off."
"I'm sure Duel Academy would've worked out some kind of arrangement with any potentially interested agents, I know Chloe earned some interest from the agents thanks to her coming in third but my dad's insisted that they wait until she graduates." Tyler commented as he shook his head. "Chloe did do very well in Battle City, much better than anyone thought she would, but she's still a seventeen year old Osiris Red Student."
"She's eighteen actually she had her birthday the week before that field trip." Marcus corrected him as they reached the door to the arena. "That is unless you were talking about her age at the time of the tournament off course."
"I was and I do know Chloe celebrated her birthday recently." Tyler responded as he opened the door. "But that's not important. I was to focus on winning this match." Tyler added and Marcus nodded as they entered the arena.
"Welcome to the ninth day of the Tag Team Tournament boys and girls." Martin called out over the PA system and the crowd cheered as spotlights shone upon the two teams. "Today's duels kick off with a match between Tyler Kaiba of Obelisk Blue and Marcus Reynolds of Ra Yellow and Theresa Daniels and Brandon Thomas of Obelisk Blue, the order will be as follows, Theresa followed by Tyler followed by Brandon and finally Marcus!"
"He didn't waste any time did he?" Theresa thought to herself as the four duelists activated their duel disks and drew their opening hands. "I don't know about you boys but I say we skip the pleasantries and jump right into the action!" Theresa said and once the others nodded in agreement she drew her opening card. "Not bad, I was going to use my Dark Attribute deck like I did in the last round but since Brandon's changed his deck so it's more Chaos oriented I've changed that as well." Theresa thought before playing a card. "I activate Cards from the Sky!"
"You're using your Fairy deck? You haven't used that since Battle City ended." Tyler pointed out as Theresa banished a monster and drew two cards.
"There's a reason for that, I've been retooling it since then." Theresa said as she sent her Spell Card to the graveyard. "I set one card facedown and a monster in defense mode to end my turn." Theresa announced and once her cards appeared on the field Marcus drew his card.
"Retooling it?" Chloe asked as she watched the duel, she and Chelsea where in Andreas's dorm room with the others watching the duel on Andreas's desktop computer, all besides Chelsea who was watching it on her laptop. "I had a hard enough time beating that deck back in Battle City but now?"
"Yeah, but I can think of a couple of reasons." Chelsea chimed in as she glanced at her roommate. "Like I said earlier, the latest ban lists have not been kind to our decks to say the very least, that and, well she was defeated by Eddie whilst she was using that deck."
"No matter what she's done to her deck she's going to be a tough opponent in this tournament." Andreas responded and the others nodded in agreement. "Almost makes me glad that my team was eliminated yesterday." Andreas added and Chelsea nodded.
"Yeah, I mean we were going at it for a while you and Damien really gave us the hard time we were hoping for but in the end we came out on top." Chelsea responded before turning to her laptop. "And I just realized how dirty that sounded." Chelsea added as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.
"Chelsea, did you even listen to that sentence as it came out of your mouth?" Andreas asked her with a deadpan look on his face as Chloe blushed furiously. "Not even Lance makes those kinds of innuendos any time he has to assert that he isn't bonking Chloe."
"Did you have to word it like that?!" Chloe said as she, somehow blushed an even deeper shade of red.
"Just be glad he didn't drop all pretenses Chloe." Chelsea sighed to herself as she turned to the duel whilst trying her best not to laugh at the angry look Lance was giving Andreas.
"Okay, Theresa's deck choice did throw me through a loop as I thought she'd be using her Dark Attribute deck like she did in her last duel." Marcus thought as he looked over his hand. "It's a problem sure but I can work around it!" Marcus thought before playing a card. "I activate Cards of Consonance! I discard one weak dragon type tuner from my hand….." Marcus announced as he sent the monster to the graveyard. "And I draw twice!"
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Theresa chimed in as Marcus drew his cards and sent his Spell Card to the graveyard. "You did combo that with White Stone right?"
"Nope, I have something else in mind!" Marcus responded before looking at his drawn cards. "I set this card facedown and a monster in defense mode to end my turn." Marcus set the two cards and Brandon frowned before drawing his card.
"If the Tuner he discarded for Consonance wasn't White Stone then what was it? I don't think it was Maiden with Eyes of Blue, even if he had that card it's a Spellcaster and wouldn't qualify for his Spell Card's effect." Brandon thought before looking at his drawn card. "Well, everyone else has kicked off their turns with a draw card so I may as well join in the fun, I activate Allure of Darkness!" Brandon played the card and drew twice before pocketing a monster.
"How the heck did we all manage to draw drawing cards at the same time?!" Marcus asked with a raised eyebrow and Brandon just shrugged.
"Just a coincidence I guess." Brandon responded before picking up a card. "For my normal summon I bring out Gaia the Polar Knight!" Brandon played the card and the knight in jet black armor appeared on the field (4/1600/1200). "I set one card facedown and end my turn which means the monster I banished for Allure of Darkness's effect returns!" Brandon retrieved the monster from his pocket and played it revealing it to be D.D. Scout Plane (2/800/1200) and once that was done Tyler drew his card. "I can't think of many draw cards that are Psychic specific and the ones I can think off are Trap Cards so we should be safe."
"I set this card facedown." Tyler said as a facedown card appeared on the field. "And I summon T.G. Rush Rhino!"
"Okay, that's different…." Brandon trailed off as a new monster appeared on the field and it was a large muscular humanoid rhino wearing blue armor (4/1600/800). "You're actually using your second deck for once."
"Judging from the look on your face you were expecting my Psychic Deck." Tyler responded as he folded his arms and Brandon nodded. "That's why I dusted off this deck, to keep you guessing but in any case I end my turn." Tyler announced but before Theresa could draw her card Brandon activated his trap. "Exchange of Twilight, I just knew that would be your facedown card."
"What can I say? It's been a great asset since I made my deck more chaos oriented." Brandon responded and Theresa drew her card after waiting to see if anyone else was activating a trap. "And more importantly Theresa can't use her Legendary Dragon so the only way this is going is if either of them uses MST."
"I summon Dunames Dark Witch!" Theresa played the card and the fairy appeared on the field (4/1800/1050). "And I activate my Trap Card Spiritual Light Art – Hijiri, unless either of you have a trap card to reveal in your hand I will continue to use its effect." Theresa added and once the boys shook their heads Theresa continued as her monster vanished from the field. "I tribute my witch to summon the monster I banished to use Cards from the Sky last turn and I think you recognize him!" Theresa added as she played the card and Airknight Parshaff appeared on the field (5/1900/1400).
"Crap, that card can inflict piercing damage!" Marcus realized as his eyes widened and Theresa grinned.
"That's true but we may as well face that facts, Parshath is a monster that has not aged well." Theresa admitted as she picked up another card. "I mean, a Level Five monster with only 1900 attack points? Not even his effect can make up for that!" Theresa added before playing a card. "As for where I'm going with this, well thankfully I2 created an updated version of him which I'm playing now, I tribute Parshath to Special Summon Neo-Parshath, the Sky Paladin to the field in attack mode!" Theresa played the card and Parshath disappeared from the field, in his place stood a clearly older version of him that was almost entirely covered in feathers (7/2300/2000). "I realize that my new monster doesn't look much better on paper but on top of his optional summoning condition he retains the original Parsath's effects!"
"That's not good." Marcus winced as Theresa played another card.
"But who said I was done there? I activate Sanctuary in the Sky!" Theresa played the card and the scenery changed to the magnificent palace in the sky. "As you know this Field Spell will protect my life-points as long as I have a Fairy Type monster on my side of the field which I obviously do, but Neo-Parshath has another effect and what better way to demonstrate it then to show it off? Neo-Parshath, attack Marcus's defense monster!" Theresa commanded and the fairy took flight towards the monster, revealed to be Masked Dragon (3/1400/1100) which was quickly destroyed bringing Marcus's life-points down to 6800.
"I activate my dragon's effect! And I use it to summon Fang Dragon!" Marcus played the card and a small, ugly dragon appeared on the field, it was brown in color and had long fangs (3/800/1200).
"Okay, that's a new one, probably came in the booster pack with the Blue-Eyes White Dragon reprint." Theresa thought as her monster glowed. "You may have a new monster on your side of the field but I can still activate my monster's effects, first since I just inflicted Battle Damage to you I get to draw an extra card." Theresa said before drawing her card. "And the other effect is something you're going to hate, in fact it works similar to Ancient Sacred Wyvern with one major difference, he doesn't lose any points if my life-points are lower and the points get added to both his attack and defense score!"
"You're kidding?!" Marcus yelled out and Theresa shook her head as her monster's attack points shot up to 3500. "This is bad!"
"It's only going to get worse!" Theresa responded and Marcus quickly activated his trap.
"In any case I'll use my trap card and take a page from Chelsea's book…no, I won't be getting angry because I'm losing…..I activate Damage Gate and I use it to summon the Tuner monster from my graveyard!" Marcus activated the trap and retrieved the monster before playing it. "Namely this guy, I summon Galaxy Serpent in defense mode!" Marcus played the card and a small blue dragon appeared on the field (2/1000/0).
"Okay, that monster I've heard off, Marcus why would you waste a slot in your deck with that card?" Theresa asked with a frown on her face. "Yes, it's a tuner monster but it also has the rare distinction of being one of the few Normal Type Tuner monsters!"
"I have my reasons." Marcus responded as he sent his trap card to the graveyard. "Are you done?" Marcus asked and Theresa looked over her hand.
"Yes, I am." Theresa responded and Marcus drew his card.
"Theresa's not messing around." Chloe commented as she and the others watched the duel. "Did she even have Neo-Parshath in her deck back at Battle City?"
"I don't think she did but then again she may have either added it recently or never got a chance to use it." Andreas responded as he looked up from the computer. "Either way she has a very lethal combo going."
"It will get even deadlier once Brandon starts his turn." Lance added with a frown. "I remember that Polar Knight's effect from Brandon's last Orichalcos Duel and he already has a perfect set up for his effect thanks to D.D. Scout Plane, as for Exchange of Twilight, he may as well have an open door to summon Dark Armed Dragon and that new Envoy monster."
"Setting up the graveyard is all well and good but actually drawing the cards you need is another matter." Chelsea pointed out as she looked up from her laptop. "Take my last Orichalcos Duel for example, I was very lucky to get that opening hand alongside Beckoning Light as my opening draw otherwise it would've been a hand full of dead draws."
"That is a good point but Brandon has pulled it out of the bag before." Andreas agreed with a frown. "What about Marcus and Tyler's decks? What do we know about them?"
"Nothing seems to have changed about Marcus's deck since Battle City outside of a few new cards." Chloe responded and Chelsea shook her head.
"Chloe, remember that Duel Theory class where I took on Marcus?" Chelsea asked and Chloe nodded. "I know you were too busy fighting that new girl Natalie but I got to see a lot of his new cards for myself and trust me, his deck's a lot different nowadays."
"No offense Chelsea but I'll believe it when I see it." Chloe responded and Chelsea shrugged her shoulders. "What about Tyler's deck?"
"I don't know much about the T.G. monsters beside the fact that the initials stand for Tech Genius." Lance responded with a shrug. "There was that deck that was making it big a couple of years back, T.G. Agents I think it was, and they hit T.G. Striker to hurt it."
"Yeah and it only just came back from the limited list." Chelsea chimed in with a nod. "I'd say Tyler chose a hell of a time to dust it off." Chelsea added before turning her attention back to the duel.
"I guess now would be a good time to explain Fang Dragon's effect!" Marcus said as he added his drawn card to his hand. "All I need to do is reveal one Spell Card in my hand like so….." Marcus said before turning his drawn card around revealing it to be Dragon's Mirror, he turned it back around and shuffled it back into his hand before continuing. "And I get to increase his level by the level of one Level Four or lower Normal Dragon Type Monster on my side of the field for the rest of the duel at the cost of me being able to attack with him but more importantly that means he's now a Level Five Monster!" Marcus added as Fang Dragon's level increased.
"That can only mean one thing….." Theresa's thoughts trailed off as her eyes narrowed. "You're planning a Synchro Summon!"
"You got it! So I'll just go ahead and…" Tyler turned to Marcus and shook his head indicating that he should wait. "Err, okay, actually I'll set this card facedown and end my turn." Marcus set the card down and Brandon drew his card.
"Why did he hesitate? He was in a perfect position to Synchro Summon a Level Seven monster." Brandon thought as he added his drawn card to his hand. "Unlike you Marcus I'm not going to hesitate with this move, first I activate Polar Knight's effect and I tribute D.D. Scout Plane to use it!" Brandon announced as his weakest monster vanished from the field, once that was done he started shuffling through his deck. "With this effect I take one Level Four Light Type Monster from my deck and add it to my hand." Brandon added before he found the card he was looking for, added it to his hand and shuffled his deck. "But before I do anything else I'll use my Trap Card's effect!"
"I think I can guess your combo now." Tyler commented as Exchanging Twilight started glowing.
"You could say that." Brandon responded as he picked up and sent Dark Crusader (4/1600/0) to the graveyard. "Now that I've sent a Dark-Type monster to my graveyard I can add a Light Type Warrior Monster from my deck to my hand!" Brandon added before picking up his deck again, once he found the card he wanted he added it to his hand and shuffled his deck. "And finally I summon the monster I just added to my hand via Polar Knight's effect, Gaia, the White Knight!" Brandon played the card and the knight in white armor appeared on the field (4/1600/1200). "I could use White Knight's effect but I'm not going to do that." Brandon added before pointing to Marcus's dragons. "Usually it's the knight who slays the dragon, just ask Chloe, and I'm about to continue that tradition!"
"Activate Trap Card Threatening Roar!" Tyler interrupted him and a loud roar echoed out forcing the knights to back off. "Sorry I didn't use this earlier I wanted to confirm my suspicions first."
"No problem man, I'm just hoping your plan works." Marcus responded and Tyler nodded in response before they turned their attention to Brandon.
"I have nothing else to do so I end my turn." Brandon announced and Tyler drew his card.
"I summon the Tuner Monster T.G. Cyber Magician to the field!" Tyler played the card and a small, male magician appeared on the field, he was wearing futuristic looking armor and was carrying a staff (1/0/0). "This monster is unique among the other Tuner Monsters as I can use the monsters in my hand to assist in the Synchro Summon of a T.G. Synchro Monster!" Tyler added as another copy of Rush Rhino appeared on the field. "So I tune the Rush Rhino in my hand with T.G. Cyber Magician!" Tyler announced as the two monsters leapt into the air.
"That doesn't sound good." Brandon commented as the Synchro Rings surrounded Rush Rhino and a bright flash enveloped the field, when it faded the monster that was revealed was another male Spellcaster though this one was clearly older, was wearing silver and black robes and was carrying a book (5/2400/1800).
"Say hello to T.G. Hyper Liberian!" Tyler announced with a small smirk on his face. "I'll get to its effect shortly but first, Liberian, attack Polar Knight!" Tyler commanded and Liberian casted a spell at the knight destroying it and bringing Brandon's life-points down to 7200. "Marcus, is your facedown card Urgent Tuning?"
"Err, yeah, why?" Marcus asked and Tyler nodded, he quickly got the idea and activated the trap card. "I activate Urgent Tuning! Galaxy Serpent, give Fang Dragon a tune-up!" Marcus commanded as the two dragons leapt into the air, once the bright flash faded a monster Theresa and Brandon recognized from Battle City appeared on the field. "I Synchro Summon Exploder Dragonwing!" Marcus announced with a grin as the dragon growled (7/2400/1600).
"Excellent that means that I can use Liberian's effect, whenever a monster is Synchro Summoned from now on I get to draw a card." Tyler explained before drawing a card.
"That's why you wanted me to wait!" Marcus realized and Tyler nodded.
"Yes and now we have three powerhouse monsters on our side of the field!" Tyler responded with a grin as Exploder Dragonwing flew over to his side of the field. "Exploder Dragonwing, attack White Knight!" Tyler commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the knight incinerating it and bringing Brandon's life-points down to 5600. "Sorry Brandon but this time it was the dragon that slayed the knight!"
"You had to say it, didn't you?" Brandon groaned and Tyler shrugged his shoulders.
"You opened the floodgates on your previous turn." Tyler pointed out before pointing to his remaining Rush Rhino. "Rush Rhino, attack his life-points directly!" Tyler commanded and the monster charged towards Brandon. "When Rush Rhino declares an attack his effect activates increasing his attack points by four hundred!" Tyler added as Rush Rhino's attack increased to 2000.
"Then it's a good thing that that attack won't be connecting, Neo-Parshath, intercept the attack!" Theresa commanded and the fairy launched a beam of light at the beast warrior destroying him and bringing Tyler's life-points down to 6700. "Not only did I save Brandon from taking a lot of damage but I get to draw a card thanks to Neo-Parshath's effect!" Theresa added as she drew a card.
"I activate Rush Rhino's second effect, when it is destroyed by battle I can take another T.G. monster from my deck and add it to my hand." Tyler announced before picking up and searching through his deck, once he found the card he was looking for he added it to his hand. "The only downside is that it can't be another copy of Rush Rhino but my deck has more monsters where that came from." Tyler added before picking up the card he drew with Liberian's effect. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Tyler announced and once Exploder Dragonwing was back on Marcus's side of the field Theresa drew her card.
"Man, they've really turned things around now." Lance commented as he watched the duel on Andreas's laptop. "I'm glad I didn't bet any money on this match!"
"You were betting money on the matches?" Chelsea asked with a raised eyebrow and Lance shook his head.
"No, that was Evan but that's beside the point." Lance responded and Chelsea grinned at that. "What I meant was that I would've had a hard time deciding who to bet on."
"And I'm guessing the fact that the match features four of your friends didn't help your decision." Andreas added and Lance laughed nervously. "Just out of curiosity, who did you bet money on for my match against Chloe and Chelsea?"
"Do you want me to get my ass kicked by Chelsea?" Lance asked as Chelsea glared at him. "At the risk of being attacked by a short tempered metal chick with a background in Karate…continuing that sentence will be the worst idea I've ever had."
"If it helps we'd try to restrain her long enough for you to get away." Andreas responded and Lance just shook his head as Andreas turned his attention back to the duel.
"I said it to my new roommate and I'll say it to you, it wouldn't matter how far or fast I'd run because she'd catch me!" Lance responded getting a laugh out of Chelsea.
"That's not fair I'd at least give you a ten minute head start!" Chelsea responded and Lance shook his head. "Anyway I think we're missing a match here!" Chelsea added and the others turned their attention to their respective computer screens.
*back at the duel*
"Okay, both Marcus and Tyler have powerful monsters on their side of the field but Exploder Dragonwing is by far the biggest threat." Theresa thought as she added her drawn card to her hand. "I can't risk them negating my monster's effect and attacking with Dragonwing because not only would I lose one of my best monsters but my life-points would take a serious hit." Theresa decided before pointing to Exploder Dragonwing. "Neo-Parshath, attack Exploder Dragonwing!" Theresa commanded and the fairy prepared his attack…..
"Nice try Theresa but I had a feeling you'd try that! Activate trap card, Negate Attack!" Tyler activated his trap and Theresa frowned as the trap bounced off of a force field. "It negates the attack and ends your battle phase, couldn't get any simpler really."
"I know that." Theresa responded with a grunt before picking up her drawn card. "I set this facedown and end my turn." Theresa announced and Marcus drew his card.
"Tyler brought me some time with his trap but unless I can get rid of Neo-Parshath before her next turn Theresa will continue to draw whilst dealing damage and her monster will get stronger the lower our life-points get." Marcus thought before looking at the card he had drawn and grinning. "And I have just the ticket!" Marcus thought before playing the card. "I activate Forbidden Chalice!"
"Oh crap!" Theresa cursed as Neo-Parshath took a sip from the infamous chalice and doubled over in pain as his attack dropped to 2300.
"That's right! And Neo-Parshath is mine for the taking!" Marcus announced as Exploder Dragonwing breathed fire at Neo-Parshath destroying him and bringing Theresa's life-points down to 6700. "And Sanctuary in the Sky can't save you from effect damage!"
"I know that!" Theresa grunted before activating her trap card. "But Sanctuary in the Sky does allow me to activate this, Sacred Salvation!" Theresa announced as her trap card flipped up depicting a wounded man limping towards the palace depicted on Sanctuary in the Sky's artwork. "This trap requires Sanctuary in the Sky to be active on the field; since a monster of mine was just destroyed by a card effect I can Special Summon another monster from my deck." Theresa added before picking up her deck. "Only side effect is that it can't be an effect monster so I'll just summon another Dunames Dark Witch!" Theresa added as the brunette fairy returned to the field.
"Yeah, I think I can guess what she wants Brandon to do next." Marcus thought as he glanced towards Brandon. "He's bound to have more than one copy of those Knights cards and if he can summon Polar Knight he can use Dunames as tribute fodder for his effect." Marcus thought before picking up and setting his drawn card. "I set this facedown and end my turn." Marcus announced and Brandon drew his card.
"Exploder Dragonwing is a problem and unless we solve it soon our time in this tournament will be short lived." Brandon thought with a frown as he looked at his drawn card. "I have the three monsters I need to summon Dark Armed Dragon but drawing it is a….." Brandon trailed off before setting his drawn monster in defense mode. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"I can't think of many monsters in Brandon's deck that are defensive, beside maybe D.D. Sprite and the Dark Scorpions." Tyler thought as he drew his card. "I could attack Theresa's monster but Sanctuary in the Sky will protect her life-points so it's best to leave that to Marcus, Brandon's monster on the other hand….." Tyler thought before pointing to Brandon's defense monster. "T.G. Hyper Liberian, attack Brandon's defense monster!" Tyler commanded and Brandon smirked as the spell was cast at the monster, revealed to be Magician of Faith (1/300/200) which was quickly destroyed. "I knew it was a matter of time before that thing saw play once it came off the banlist, I just didn't expect it so soon."
"Please don't talk to me about Banlists, my deck has been hurt enough by the last few banlists as it is and I'd rather not be reminded!" Brandon responded before sending his monster to the graveyard and retrieving a Spell Card in its place. "Since I've only played one Spell Card up to this point I guess it's pretty obvious that I've just retrieved Allure of Darkness!"
"Yes, it is." Tyler responded before looking at his hand. "I'll save this for later." Tyler decided before turning to Theresa. "I end my turn." Tyler announced and Theresa drew her card.
"I'll admit I was kind of hoping to be the first one to use Magician of Faith in the tournament." Chloe said with a sheepish grin on her face as she watched the duel with Chelsea on her roommate's laptop. "But even I have to admit that that would be an almost impossible task given how quickly the shop sold out of the card."
"Tell me about it, I was considering ordering a copy from your dad's shop if you couldn't get me a copy." Chelsea responded with a nod. "Is it me or has the weather been a bit hotter than usual today?" Chelsea added as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. "I almost left my blazer in my dorm room for fuck's sake."
"Chelsea, you're kidding right?" Lance scoffed as he took a sip from his drink. "It's not that hot."
"Lance, you're from Arizona, of course it's not that fucking hot to you!" Chelsea responded with a roll of her eyes. "I mean hell my older sister attended culinary school up there and every time I went up to see her I had to remember to were my summer clothes."
"Your sister's a chef?" Lance asked with a raised eyebrow and Chelsea chuckled.
"Yeah, Jamie is." Chelsea responded as she turned her attention back to the duel. "She moved to L.A. after she graduated and she works there she works at one of the top restaurants in the city, every time we've gone up to see her she's managed to blow us away with her cooking." Chelsea added before grinning. "What can I say? I inherited my dad's talent for dueling; she inherited mom's talent for cooking!"
"If we end up in LA somehow do you think that she'll do you think to cook for free for us?" Andreas asked and Chelsea grinned.
"She did tell me over the phone that she'd be willing to cook for any friends I'd make if I ever came back to the states with them, it'll just have to fit around her schedule." Chelsea responded as she shook her head and watched the duel.
*back at the duel*
"So far so good, Tyler attacked Brandon's monster just as I hoped and didn't take control of Exploder Dragonwing for a follow-up attack." Theresa thought before looking at her drawn card and quickly playing it revealing it to be another copy of Cards from the Sky. "I think you know how this works by now." Theresa added before pocketing a monster, drawing her cards and sending her Spell Card to the graveyard, once she saw one of the monsters she had drawn she grinned to herself before quickly maintaining her poker face. "I end my turn at that." Theresa announced and Marcus blinked before drawing his card.
"Why would she leave her witch in attack mode? She knows she won't be able to save her life-points with Sanctuary's effect when I attack with Exploder!" Marcus thought before looking at his drawn card and playing it. "I activate Dragon Shrine! Think of this like a Dragon exclusive version of Foolish Burial!" Marcus announced before picking up and searching through his deck, once he found the card he was looking for he sent it to the graveyard and shuffled his deck. "But there's a twist, you see I just sent a Normal Dragon Type Monster to my graveyard which activates Dragon Shrine's second effect allowing me to send another dragon type monster to my graveyard." Marcus added before sending another monster to the graveyard.
"Okay, that first monster was likely Blue Eyes White Dragon which means he's planning something as a back-up." Brandon thought as Marcus sent his spell to the graveyard. "But what was the first monster?"
"Exploder Dragonwing, attack Dunames Dark Witch!" Marcus commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the witch. "Not even Sanctuary can save you Theresa."
"No, but this card can!" Theresa announced before flipping around her copy of Honest before sending it to her graveyard and Dark Witch's attack shot up to 4200, Dark Witch dodged the flames in the nick of time before firing a beam of bright light at Exploder Dragonwing destroying it and bringing Marcus's life-points down to 6200. "Marcus, I know you've been dueling Chelsea in duel theory so you had to know that that was a common trick by duelists who run Honest in their decks." Theresa pointed out as her witch's attack returned to normal.
"I know that but I guess I jumped the gun." Marcus grunted before glancing towards his graveyard. "No need to worry, come next turn I'll be all set up to bring out the big guns!" Marcus thought before turning to Brandon. "My turn is over." Marcus announced and Brandon drew his card.
"Theresa's trick brought us some time and more importantly destroyed Exploder Dragonwing." Brandon thought as he looked over his hand. "And it's up to me to continue the momentum!" Brandon thought before playing Allure of Darkness, pocketing a monster and drawing twice. "Tyler, if you think I'm about to let you use your librarian's effect again think again! Since I have three Dark Type Monsters in my graveyard I can Special Summon Dark Armed Dragon!" Brandon played the card and Tyler's eyes widened as Brandon's signature monster appeared on the field. "Next I remove D.D. Scout Plane from play to destroy Liberian!" Brandon pocketed the monster and the dragon raised its tail high before slamming it down on the Spellcaster destroying it.
"My librarian may be gone but I'm far from defenseless! Since a Synchro monster I control was just destroyed I can Special Summon T.G. Metal Skeleton!" Tyler played the card and a tall, metal skeleton appeared on the field in defense mode (2/1100/0).
"You realize that I can easily destroy that thing right?" Brandon asked as he stared down the monster.
"How do you know that's its only effect?" Tyler asked and Brandon hesitated. "For all you know it has a devastating effect that only activates from the graveyard, do you really want to take that chance?"
"I can't tell if he's bluffing or not." Brandon thought as his eyes narrowed. "If it was an archetype I was familiar with I'd know for sure but I don't." Brandon thought before sighing. "I end my turn." Brandon announced and once D.D. Scout Plane was back on the field Tyler drew his card.
"My bluff worked." Tyler commented with a smirk and Brandon's eyes widened. "All of Metal Skeleton's effects are active as long as it's on the field! But since you hesitated I can put this duel back in our favor." Brandon added before looking at his drawn card. "I summon T.G. Striker!" Tyler played the card and an armored man with a visor over his face appeared on the field (2/800/0). "Now I activate One for One! I discard one monster….." Tyler trailed off as he sent the monster to the graveyard. "So I can summon Tuningware!" Tyler announced as the small machine appeared on the field.
"Okay, we all know that TG Striker is a tuner monster so you may as well get it done." Brandon said as his eyes narrowed. "In fact as I remember it the fact that it's a tuner monster was the reason it was limited in the first place."
"Well, it was that and the fact that T.G. Agents needed to be hit but that's beside the point." Tyler said as his three monsters leapt into the air, Striker dissolved into two Synchro Rings that quickly surrounded Tuningware and Metal Skeleton. "I suppose you're expecting me to summon another Hyper Liberian." Tyler commented as he retrieved a monster from his extra deck. "But I have something else in mind, by treating Tuningware as a Level Two Monster I Synchro Summon Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius!" Tyler played the card and a new monster appeared on the field, it was a blue, two headed wolf with silver, spiked armor that growled at Tyler's opponents (6/2400/1500). "First I draw a card thanks to Tuningware's effect." Tyler added before drawing a card.
"You seem to be missing the point." Theresa pointed out with a frown. "Your wolf is strong but Brandon's dragon is stronger."
"No, I'm not!" Tyler responded with a grin. "Sirius, attack Dark Armored Dragon!" Tyler commanded and the wolf charged towards the much larger dragon, the dragon easily dodged the wolf's claws before flattening it with his tail bringing Tyler's life-points down to 6300.
"That was pointless." Brandon commented as Tyler sent his monster to the graveyard, however when Brandon saw the grin on Tyler's face he frowned. "Or was it?"
"Don't ask me, ask Dark Armed Dragon!" Tyler responded and Brandon blinked before turning to his dragon and his eyes widened when he saw that the dragon's attack had dropped to a mere four hundred. "When Sirius is destroyed and sent to the graveyard I can target one monster my opponent controls and reduce its attack by 2400 points!"
"Oh shit!" Brandon cursed under his breath one he realized what that meant. "If Marcus summons Blue-Eyes White Dragon on his next turn I'm in big trouble!"
"It's not a total loss Brandon." Theresa chimed in and Brandon turned to her. "Don't forget, Tyler destroyed his own monster to weaken yours."
"That's true but I'm far from defenseless, I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Tyler set the two cards down and Theresa drew her card.
"He's up to something but what? For all I know one of his facedown cards is Call of the Haunted." Theresa thought before looking at her drawn card. "I'll save this for later." Theresa decided before pointing to her witch. "Dunames Dark Witch, attack Tyler's life-points directly!" Theresa commanded and the fairy fired her attack at the portly duelist….
"I activate my trap card! Go Attack Guidance Armor!" Tyler activated the trap and Brandon's eyes widened as the hideous armor appeared on Dark Armored Dragon, Theresa could only watch as the witch directed her attack at the dragon destroying it and bringing Brandon's life-points down to 4200. "Your dragon is destroyed and you have no one to blame but your partner!"
"Dude, that's a bit harsh isn't it?" Marcus asked as he turned to him. "Don't forget that whilst they may be our opponents they are still our friends!"
"It's alright Marcus I should've seen that trap coming." Theresa admitted before quickly setting a monster. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn." Theresa announced and Marcus grinned before drawing his card.
"Okay, since I just entered my standby phase and I have no monsters on my side of the field I can Special Summon Totem Dragon from my graveyard in attack mode!" Marcus announced as he retrieved the monster and played it, it was a small green, odd looking dragon with a winged compass attached to its tail (2/400/200). "But my monster won't stay around for long, I activate Dragon Reincarnation! I banish Totem Dragon to bring out the big guns!"
"I think we all know what he has in mind." Brandon commented to Theresa and she nodded in agreement as the mighty roar echoed through the stadium, seconds later the Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared on the field (8/3000/2500). "I'm going to assume that I'm your target."
"Well, you where, but I've got bigger plans!" Marcus responded before playing a card. "And they start with A Wingbeat of Giant Dragon!"
"Oh no….." Brandon trailed off as the dragon took flight and with one mighty beat of its wings destroyed every remaining Spell and Trap Card on the field destroying Sanctuary in the Sky last. "You realize that you took out Tyler's last trap card right?"
"I can live with it." Tyler responded as Marcus returned his monster to his hand. "My trap card will do more damage in the graveyard anyway, especially if Brandon summons Envoy of the Twilight." Tyler thought before turning to Marcus. "Last I checked he still has a move to do."
"That's right, but first I activate Raiding the Dragon's Cave! Since I have a Level 5 or higher dragon type monster in my graveyard I get to draw two cards." Marcus played the Spell Card and quickly drew two cards. "Now I haven't done my normal summon yet so why don't I use it to summon another Totem Dragon?" Marcus played the card and the small odd dragon appeared on the field. "Next, I activate Double Summon!"
"Wait, your activating that after you've used up your regular normal summon? Totem Dragon has another effect, doesn't it?" Theresa asked and Marcus nodded as the dragon disappeared from the field and the Blue-Eyes White Dragon returned to the field.
"That's right, as long as Totem Dragon is on my side of the field it counts as two tributes!" Marcus added before pointing to Dark Witch. "Sorry Theresa but with D.D. Scout Plane in defense mode and Sanctuary in the Sky in the graveyard your Dark Witch is a sitting duck! Blue-Eyes, attack with White Lightning!" Marcus commanded and the dragon opened its maw before letting loose with its famous attack destroying the fairy and bringing Theresa's life-points down to 5500. "You'd better hope that Brandon draws something good because otherwise not only will we win but we'll be the ones to beat in the third round! For now I end my turn." Marcus announced and Brandon drew his card.
"Don't get ahead of yourself Marcus, don't forget that that was the main reason you were eliminated during the first round of the Battle City Tournament." Tyler reminded him and Marcus frowned when he realized that Tyler had a point. "But I have to agree, it is looking dire for you two right now."
"We'll see!" Brandon responded before looking at his drawn card. "Spellbook inside the Pot, this is an inherently risky card but if I draw the cards I need we may be able to win this." Brandon thought before playing it, once the hologram appeared on the field all four duelists drew three cards. "Perfect!" Brandon thought before playing another spell card. "I activate Monster Reincarnation! I discard one monster and retrieve Dark Armed Dragon!"
"I'd be worried if you actually had enough monsters to summon that thing, unless the monster you discarded was a Dark Type Monster." Tyler responded and Brandon shook his head.
"Not exactly but I'll get to that in a minute, first I tribute D.D. Scout Plane to summon one of my favorites, Caius, the Shadow Monarch!" Brandon played the card and D.D. Scout Plane disappeared from the field, in its place stood the shadow monarch that Brandon had used several times since Battle City (6/2400/1000). "I activate his effect and my target is Marcus's dragon!" Brandon announced as the monarch fired up its shadow ball.
"You've activated my trap card…..from the graveyard!" Tyler interrupted him as he retrieved the trap card that Marcus had destroyed which depicted Dark Scorpion – Chick The Yellow bring dragged by a decomposing hand into a grave. "This trap card is called Skill Suppression and if I set it facedown and it's destroyed by a card effect I can remove it from play to negate the effect of a monster for the rest of the turn." Tyler explained as he pocketed the card and Caius doubled over in pain. "I can only activate it once per duel but I just foiled your comeback play!"
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Brandon asked with a smirk and Tyler blinked. "You're not the only one who can bluff around here Tyler and I just bluffed the hell out of you! Let me put it this way I have exactly six monsters in my graveyard, three light monsters, three dark."
"Oh no….." Tyler trailed off once it hit him. "You're about to summon Envoy of the Twilight and Dark Armed Dragon!"
"You're right on the money!" Brandon responded as he pocketed his three light type monsters and Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Twilight appeared on the field (8/3000/2500). "Unless either of you have Effect Veiler in your hand I'm activating Envoy of the Twilight's effect, since the monsters I just banished are all light type monsters I banish Blue-Eyes White Dragon face-up!" Brandon announced but he could tell from the resigned look on their faces that neither of them did, Envoy of the Twilight slammed it's sword into the ground sending a shockwave towards Marcus's monster destroying it. "Next, since I have three dark type monsters again….." Brandon trailed off as Dark Armed Dragon returned to the field. "I know math isn't your best subject Marcus but the combined attack of my three monsters is 8200, the duel's over for you!"
"I'm just glad I lost to you and not Cameron and Jessica." Marcus sighed as the three monsters launched their attacks at Marcus bringing his life-points down to zero. "Tyler, I know you're the best duelist in the school but can you turn this around?"
"I can't, I have no monsters left in my hand and Theresa's turn is next, if I somehow survive that it will automatically jump to Brandon's turn because of your elimination." Tyler sighed before taking a deep breath. "But I guess I inherited my step-father's pride, I'll face defeat like a man rather than surrender!"
"I had a feeling you would, I end my turn." Brandon announced and Tyler drew his card, he sighed to himself before passing his turn.
"The truth is, if I had drawn this last turn we'd still be in the driver's seat." Tyler thought as he looked at his copy of Effect Veiler. "Brandon would've been forced to use an alternate method of destroying Blue-Eyes but knowing how cautious he is he likely wouldn't have run the risk of running into another effect negator."
"Brandon, I need your monsters." Theresa told him and Brandon nodded as the three monsters made their way over to his girlfriend's side of the field, Theresa pointed her hand at Tyler and the three monsters launched their attacks at him bringing his life-points down to zero.
"Here are the winners of the match, Brandon Thomas and Theresa Daniels!" Martin announced over the PA system and the crowd cheered. "In just a few moments we will host our next match, Cameron Matthews and Jessica Stevens of Obelisk Blue vs. Keri Harmon and Lacey Morse representing Osiris Red!" Martin announced and the crowd cheered, Martin backed away from the microphone and turned to Tyler. "Are you disappointed that your son lost?"
"I have nothing to be disappointed about except for the possibility of Reynolds not being promoted on Saturday." Kaiba answered as he turned to Martin. "My son fought a hard match and even though he lost he is taking it like a man, besides my daughter's also in the tournament and as I understand it her team's competing tomorrow."
"Yes, they are." Martin nodded in response as the four duelists left the arena.
*meanwhile*
"Well, that was as close as I expected it to be." Lance commented as he rested his hands behind his head. "Shame that Marcus and Andreas won't be in the next round though."
"I'm sitting right next to you, don't rub it in!" Andreas warned him and Lance laughed nervously. "What's the plan now?"
"Theresa told me to tell you guys that we're meeting them at her door room to watch the next match and considering how cramped Andreas's room is right now I think that's a good idea." Lance responded and the others nodded before getting up and leaving the room, Chelsea was the last to leave the room as she had to pack up her laptop.
"The competition's getting even fiercer." Chelsea thought as she packed up her laptop. "If I want to keep up I'll need to update my deck again, maybe add some more Synchros…."
"Chelsea…" A demonic feminine voice rang out and Chelsea looked around.
"Hey, did you guys here something?" Chelsea called out to the others and Lance poked his head around the doorway.
"Hear what?" Lance asked and Chelsea shook her head.
"Forget it maybe it's just nerves going into the promotion duels on Saturday." Chelsea shrugged her shoulders as she packed up her laptop and joined the others outside. "That wasn't nerves, was it Wattchimera?"
"No it wasn't, I'll report this to Silent Magician immediately." Wattchimera answered and Chelsea nodded. "Be on your guard, this is similar to Chloe's situation during her last Orichalcos Duel." Wattchimera added and Chelsea nodded with a gulp.