Yuri strapped on his Duel Disk and took position across the field from Hugo and Alan, two state champions from America. It was thanks to Crystal's eagerness to see Yuri challenged that he was forced to face them both at the same time. He glared at her, fury burning in his eyes, his glowing one seemed to spark. But she didn't care. She still kept that annoying beautiful smile on her face and gave a thumbs-up to wish him good luck.
"Bitch," he muttered. "I need to stand up for myself more often."
It is a good quality for a king, Ser Norman said. As I said before, show courage, Yuri. And no mercy. These two fools don't belong in this tournament. Show them why.
"Thanks." He drew his cards and his opponents did the same thing. They all shouted 'Duel!' and the Life Point counter displayed 2000 LP.
Ren folded his arms and took a deep breath. "I sure hope you know what you've done, Crystal."
"I was able to get Yuri to nab two gold coins in one Duel. Trust me, Ren. I know Yuri can handle this."
"I sure hope you're right," said Nick. "It would suck to see Yuri kicked out of the tournament because you got cocky."
Patty couldn't help but giggle. "Hey, babe, that'll at least knock out your greatest threat in the whole tournament."
"I don't know," said Tyson. "If these guys knock Yuri out of the tournament, they'll be Nick's greatest threat."
"I'll begin first!" said Alan. "Then it goes to Hugo and then you. Since you're the one with the handicap, you get to have an extra 1000 Life Points by default."
"Hey, Yuri's got more Life Points," said Natalya. She struggled to keep Patty's excited puppy in her arms. "That'll give Yuri an advantage, huh? Hold still!"
"He'll need every advantage he can get," said a kid from the back. "Yuri's up against two state champions. He's got no chance against them."
"Wow! I didn't think I'd see a Yuri vs Alan or Insector Hugo match until the finals. But here they are in the first match of the tournament."
Alan chuckled, soaking in the admiration from his followers. "Well, Yuri, our adoring fans have waited long enough. Time for me to kick things off. I summon Trakadon in attack mode!" He placed the card on his Duel Disk, customized to look like a volcanic wasteland with red RGB as lava and tiny moldings of dinosaur bones here and there. "And I'll play the Wasteland spell."
The grass around Alan's feet died out and turned into a giant patch of dirt with a few yellowed weeds blowing in the breeze from numerous cracks on the ground.
"This will increase the attack of all dinosaurs on the field by 200. But why stop there? I'll boost his power with Raise Body Heat, which will increase Trakadon's attack by another 300 points. Do the math, Yuri, this dino is gonna stomp you back to the stone age!"
All the power-ups Alan gave his Trakadon increased its ATK to 1800.
"I bet you're thinking he's not so tough, eh Yuri? Well, I'll set these two cards face-down and activate Pot of Greed to grant me two extra cards. And that'll be it for me."
"My turn!" said Hugo. He cackled in his throat. "I'll summon Killer Needle in attack mode!"
Hugo summoned a giant wasp with its giant purple stinger already out and ready to impale Yuri's monsters. "Terrifying, isn't he? Well, watch as I increase his attack with a field spell of my own. Forest."
More trees magically grew out of the ground and surrounded their playing field.
"Heh, heh. I suppose you know what thrives in the forest, don't you, Yuri? Bugs! This will give my Killer Needle a field power bonus of 200! Also, I'll increase his strength with the spell, Follow Wind, increasing his attack to 1700. And to make sure I get no surprises from you, Yuri, I'll set this trap card just for you. Yes! The honor of taking Yuri out of the tournament. And it's going to be all mine!"
"Keep dreaming, bug brain!" said Alan. "We may be in this match together, but I'm going to be the one who'll take Yuri out."
"You're the one who's dreaming."
Ren rubbed his chin, his lips formed into a grin. "Hmm. Look at that. Trouble in paradise. They're in a team together but they're at each other's throats. That's sure to lead to disaster. I suppose you knew this was going to happen."
"Yeah. I know Alan and Hugo well from all the times Brett took me to Duel Monsters events in America. Those two are friends but when on the battlefield, they lash out against one another as enemies. Their greed and lust for victory are sure to give Yuri another advantage in this match. While he's got a cool head and strategizes to beat these dorks, they'll be trying to one-up each other. They've fallen for my trap and I'm loving every second of it."
"My turn!" said Yuri. "Draw! I'll special summon two Gilasaurus in attack mode!" He summoned two brown raptors with glowing yellow eyes. They snarled and hissed as their 1400 ATK displayed over their heads. Their points suddenly increased to 1600.
"Hey, look at that!" said Natalya. "Yuri's Gilasaurus got the field power bonus from Alan's field spell. Way to use their own cards against them, Yuri!"
"Thanks, Nattie. All right, time for a field spell of my own. I activate Gaia Power!"
A giant mythical tree grew behind Yuri and loomed over the field. A strange noise like ghostly windchimes sounded in the breeze along with the rustling of its branches.
"This will increase the attack of all Earth monsters by 500 points, increasing the attack of my two dinosaurs to 2100!."
Alan laughed at Yuri's move. He pointed at him the way a child would at school if they were teasing someone.
"Smooth play, Yuri. Your two Gilasauruses may have gotten a sweet power bonus from my field and yours, but my Trakadon is still stronger at 2300!"
"What did I tell you?" said Crystal. "He gets a 100 point lead in attack points and already he thinks he's won the game."
"I'm not finished," said Yuri. "I sacrifice my first Gilasaurus to summon Big-Tusked Mammoth!"
A giant mammoth with purple fur and bronze tusks appeared behind Yuri. It raised its trunk in the air, bellowing a battle cry and rearing up on its hind legs. It stomped on the ground, rocking the earth. Its attack was 2000 and with the Gaia Power field spell, it was now the strongest monster on the field with 2500 ATK.
"Wooo!" cheered Nikki. "That's my boy!"
Tyson clapped his hands and raised his fist in triumph. "You get em', dawg! Way to show them who's king around here!"
"Tell your friends to cheer while they can," said Hugo. "I've got stronger insects just waiting to destroy you, Yuri!"
"And I've got bigger dinos that'll show Jumbo over there who's boss!" said Alan. "Draw! I hope you and your Black Tyranno have said your goodbyes, Yuri. I tribute my Trakadon to summon the mighty Super-Ancient Dinobeast!"
Trakadon was taken by a geyser of lava that burst out of the ground beneath its feet. In his place stood a two-story-tall beast with a body that looked like bluish-white rocks. It had two worthless wings on its back and two red eyes that sunk into its skull.
Alan crossed his arms over his chest as the dinosaur's 2700 ATK now 3200 ATK appeared next to its head. Steam hissed out of its mouth as it hissed.
"Now I activate my trap card. Fossil Excavation. This forces me to discard a card, and if I do, I can special summon a dinosaur from my graveyard. And it just so happens to be the dinosaur I discarded. Megazowler!"
His Megazowler came out of the ground from a ball of light. It was an Alternate Art card, for it was white in color with red stripes and black horns. Yuri could see the rainbow foil and gold lettering of the card flashing in the sun on Alan's Duel Disk.
"I see you're impressed, Yuri. Well, it gets better. When a dinosaur monster is special summoned from the Graveyard while Super-Ancient Dinobeast is on the field, I can draw a card. And thanks to your Gaia Power spell, my Megazowler's attack increases to 2300. Now, my monsters have got you right where I want you. With this attack, I'll wipe out that mammoth and your Life Points. Attack!"
His monsters didn't move.
"What's going on!? I said attack!"
"Sorry, but you can't," chuckled Yuri. "Not while Big-Tusked Mammoth is out on the field anyway. While he's standing strong, your monsters can't attack the turn they are summoned."
"Lame!" shouted Alan. "I set a card face-down and end my turn."
"So you gave yourself an extra turn," said Hugo. "Big whoop. My turn! I'm gonna turn things up with this card, Basic Insect!"
He summoned the weak praying mantis monster he used to beat Alan earlier. At 500 ATK he didn't seem all that menacing. Yet.
"He doesn't seem like much, does he, Yuri? Well, watch as I turn Basic Insect into the most powerful monster on the field. I'll equip my Basic Insect with Insect Armor with Laser Cannon!"
The Basic Insect was covered with spiked leather armor and a giant laser cannon on the back, which was so heavy it forced Basic Insect to hunch forward.
"What? Not enough to frighten you, Yuri? Well, I'm not done! I tribute Basic Insect to summon from my deck the mighty Armored Basic Insect with Laser Cannon!"
Nothing much changed about the monster other than its size. And its attack points, which were now 2400.
"Now to boost his power with this! Laser Cannon Armor!" Armored Basic Insect with Laser Cannon got an upgrade. The cannon on its back grew a second cannon of shiny white steel. "Heh, heh! This will increase my insect's attack by 1500 points (Anime Effect)! And with my Lv 2 Power Boost, he'll gain an extra 1200 points!"
Two giant turbines attached themselves to the insect's armor boosting its attack to 5100. And since it was an Earth monster, it got the field power bonus from Yuri's Gaia Power field spell, making its attack points grow to 5600.
"Yes!" the boy cheered, pumping up his fist.
"Look at that!" cried Nikki. "That gross bug's attack points went up to the top of the charts!"
"My God!" whispered Crystal. She was beginning to regret making this challenge. Hugo and Alan were far better Duelists than she had given them credit for. And it was showing. Both of them had summoned strong monsters in no time at all.
"Man, if it wasn't for that mammoth, Yuri would have lost his match last turn," said Nick.
"Come on, Yuri, get yourself out of this mess," Patty muttered under her breath.
Hugo leered and sent her an air kiss. "Don't count on it, sweetness. I got Yuri just where I want him. I use the spell card, Tribute to the Doomed!"
"Oh no!" said Ren. "He'll destroy Yuri's mammoth!"
"If he does, that overpowered insect will attack and destroy him!" said Natalya.
"No fair!" shouted Alan. "I wanted to be the one to beat Yuri!"
"Too bad! This victory is mine! ATTACK!"
"I think not!" said Alan. "I activate the trap card, Attack Guidance Armor! And I'll equip it to my Megazowler!"
"What's he doing?" said Nick. "Attack Guidance Armor forces the attacking monster to battle with the monster it's equipped to. He's going to destroy himself."
The Armored Basic Insect with Laser Cannon shifted towards Alan's Megazowler. It fired and destroyed it. The blast following the attack was massive, sending a giant cloud of dust into the air, followed by a terrible gust. Everyone hollered in terror from the blast, shielding themselves from the gust and debris.
"You fool!" Hugo shouted. "You just let me beat you!"
Alan didn't answer. When the dust cleared and the boom following the explosion died down, it revealed Alan standing strong with all his Life Points and a trap card hovering next to him.
"I reveal my second face-down card!" Alan continued. "Return Damage! When your monster attacks me and I receive battle damage, I take no battle damage. Instead, you take the damage from the battle."
The crowd gasped. Alan just betrayed his tag team partner. Hugo fell to his knees. His Life Points plummeted to 0 and the holograms of his monsters vanished. "No...No...I...I lost? I...I...I'm out of the tournament."
Alan adjusted his jacket then laughed. "Do you really think I'd allow myself to be stuck with him in a Duel against Yuri, Crystal!? Ha! I knocked one nuisance from the competition. Now, all that's left is Yuri."
"You planned this all along?" said Crystal. "You wanted to take both Yuri and Hugo out in this Duel?"
"Damn, right. And since I beat him, his gold coin is mine."
Hugo was so dumbstruck by what happened that he didn't even move. Alan shook his head and walked to his fallen comrade, taking the gold coin out of Hugo's pocket himself, followed by his secret rare Magic Cylinder card.
"Now I've got the two gold coins you need, Yuri. You want them, you have to beat me. Now it's just you and me. Dinosaur Duelist against Dinosaur Duelist. Who is the true Dinosaur King, here? I guess we're about to find out."
"If you say so," Yuri said. "Sorry, but that was really low, man. You annihilated your own partner."
"Yeah, so?"
"So? You just lost the only advantage you had," said Crystal. "You're up against Yuri alone. A very grave mistake."
"Ooo, I'm shaking in my boots. Your turn, Yuri!"
"I know!" Yuri shouted. "I switch Gilasaurus to defense mode and summon this card face-down. That will be it for me."
Once again, Alan formed a nasty grin. "Heh. Good. I was hoping I could end this game in style. I activate the Card of Demise. Now I get to draw five cards, but if I don't use them in five turns, I lose them in five turns." He drew the cards from his deck and added them to his hand. His grin got even wider. "Time to see if I can turn this Duel around."
"Game mechanics?" Patty whispered. "Oh no! Treasure Cards! The Maximum Monsters and stuff. Other people have them, too?"
"You didn't think we were the only ones who did, did you?" Crystal asked.
"Heh, heh, heh," Alan chuckled. "Allow me to introduce my two most powerful monsters!" He held up two cards. It took a while, but Alan eventually finished his complicated combo and summoned the two aces of his deck.
Diablos
ATK/3300 DEF/1300 LV 6
Kosmos
ATK/2900 DEF/1200 LV 7
He placed the cards on his Duel Disk. They were then shrouded by an electric aura that put the cards together like a magnet. When the two cards clashed, it made the sound of metal colliding against metal. After that, two creatures from the Megazowler species stomped out of the forest.
Diablos was colored red with black stripes and a very long frill with five black horns. The brow horns and the nose horn were also long and covered with gold banding. He pawed the ground, blowing steam out of his nose. Kosmos was colored blue and black with cosmic-styled patterns to make his body look like it was covered in stars. He had two black brow horns and his nasal horn was shaped like a sword.
Alan took a moment to bask in glory as he looked at the astonished faces of the other Duelists, even Yuri's group looked shocked to see his new monsters. They worked best when they were together on the field. They protected each other from being destroyed by card effects or even getting destroyed in battle. Since Diablos was the toughest one, he gave Kosmos a power boost when attacking.
His two dinosaurs bellowed like bulls and charged across the field. Diablos's horns started glowing red and zapped Gilasaurus with a red laser, turning him to cinders. Despite it being destroyed, they still charged towards the face-down monster. Kosmos reared up on his hind legs to perform an attack of his own. Yuri pressed the button behind his trap card frantically but it didn't activate. A red light inside the button kept flashing, informing Yuri that he was not allowed to perform such a move.
Kosmos roared and smashed the face-down monster Yuri summoned earlier, which was Uraby. The raptor hissed in defeat before shattering into a thousand pieces. Yuri's Life Points went down to 1300.
"What happened?!" he cried, looking at the counter on his Duel Disk. "My trap card didn't work and my Life Points took a hit!"
"Ha! Damn right they did. Alone, Kosmos already has the ability to cause piercing damage. However, since he's on the field with Diablos, he gains another special ability, which allows him to negate the activation of trap cards when he attacks. Also, at the cost of three cards from the top of my deck, Diablos is allowed to destroy one of your monsters during the attack."
The crowd let out a gasp. Such power. It was unfair.
"Those are some bullshit card effects," said Nick.
"Pfft, not so bullshit if you're the one using them, right?" Patty asked sarcastically.
Alan balled his fist, cackling like a madman. Many turns went by, Yuri was stuck on the defensive throughout most of the Duel. He didn't get the chance to build enough monsters to use as Tribute for his bigger dinosaurs because the two monsters in front of him always wiped them out faster than he could summon them. Thanks to a few spells, he was able to hang on and avoid taking damage.
When Yuri was down to his last 1200 Life Points, Alan attacked him directly with Kosmos, but Yuri activated his face-down card, Command Silencer, and stopped Kosmos from attacking. The spell also allowed Yuri to draw a card, which happened to be another spell that came in handy.
Contagion of Madness, a spell Patty gave him for good luck. It sure saved his ass this turn. Not only did it stop Alan from attacking, but it also dealt damage to his Life Points equal to half his monster's ATK points, reducing his Life Points to 750.
"No fair!" he shouted.
"He just got himself a lead!" Nikki squealed and clasped her hands together.
On Yuri's next turn he miraculously drew Swords of Revealing Light, which paralyzed Kosmos and Diablos for three turns.
"YES!" his friends cried out together
"How pathetic," said Alan. "The Prince of Aquarius resorting to using Swords of Revealing Light? What good will a three-turn delay do you, Yuri?"
"More than you know," said Crystal. "The last thing you want to do is give Yuri time to recover. And believe me, he's always turned the tables when he gets a moment to breathe."
Alan laughed. "Crystal, you do a good job hyping up Yuri's abilities. However, based on what I've seen this whole match, he's a disappointment. He clearly doesn't belong here in the big leagues like us. Well, if I can't attack Yuri for the next three turns, I might as well boost my offense so that I can unleash an all-out dinosaur assault on him. I summon Ballon Lizard! Then I use the spell Ultra Evolution Pill to summon Frostosaurus!"
A chilling wind blew out of the trees. The ice and snow combined to form a long-necked sauropod covered in ice. It let out an eerie moan, waving its neck from side to side as its 2600 ATK was displayed.
"Not a smart move!" said Yuri. "When you special summon a monster, I can special summon Cyber Dinosaur from my hand!"
He smacked his new card on his Duel Disk, conjuring what looked like a mecha version of Black Tyranno. It had his shape and even ATK, standing strong at 2600 like Frostosaurus. Yuri wanted to attack. His Cyber Dinosaur was much stronger than Diabolos and Kosmos, but he was fearful of the face-down cards. It was now his turn.
Crystal started getting nervous. Sweat dripped from every pour in her body. "Oh, Yuri, come on. You've almost got him."
"Draw!" Yuri said. He gasped when he drew Blizzard, one of the Carnotaurus cards Priscilla gave him.
Awesome. He couldn't do much now and ended his turn. "Your move."
Alan noticed his smile earlier and scoffed. "I seriously doubt anything will help you," he said. "In two turns, I'll strike you down and claim my victory! I choose to also end my turn without playing a card."
"Don't celebrate just yet," said Yuri. "I draw!"
It was Graceful Charity. This was it. He had only two chances to get what he needed. He drew the two cards. And….Nothing. He didn't draw Flamberg.
"Oh no," Patty said, clinging onto Nick's arm. "That face. He didn't get what he needed."
Nick rubbed her shoulder to soothe her nerves. "Come on, Pats. Don't sell Yuri short just yet. He can beat this guy. He'll figure something out."
"I sure hope so," she said. Something lurking in the shadows of the forest caught her eye. "Huh? What was that? In the trees?"
"Something wrong, Patty?" Tyson asked.
"No, I...I thought...I thought I saw Andre."
"It can't be," said Nick. "He wasn't invited to the tournament like us. Besides, he split. Didn't he say something about 'going home' or whatever?"
"Yeah, you probably just saw a squirrel or something, babe," said Nikki. "I'd focus on the match. Yuri drew something that might turn things around."
"I activate the card, Raigeki!"
"And I activate my face-down card, Magic Jammer! Your spell is useless!"
"No! He was so close to getting rid of that thing!" said Patty.
Alan drew. He shrugged his shoulders and said: "I choose to end my turn without playing a card."
"This is it," Yuri said. His fingers reached for his deck, but it felt like it was running away from him. It seemed to get farther and farther no matter how far he tried to reach for it.
"What's going on?" Yuri asked.
Despite clearing your soul of the foul monsters Bakura placed into it, it seems you still carry doubt. In your cards and in yourself.
Yuri looked to see Ser Norman hovering beside him. "I don't know if I can do this. There's still so many cards in my deck and the odds of drawing him are so low."
What did I teach you when we first met, Yuri. I told you to trust in your deck and in yourself. There is a mystical force out there beyond you comprehending. The Heart of the Cards. Place your faith in it, and it will never steer you wrong, even in your darkest moments.
"The Heart of the Cards. Right. You're not the only one who taught me that. He did, too. Yugi. Hold on." He began to feel warm inside. His heart stopped beating and grew calmer and calmer. He noticed a phantom hand reaching for the cards above his own hand. Yuri suddenly had the urge to jump into the lion's den and wrestle with them. "This feeling. I can...I can feel his presence. Yugi! He's with me."
He's always with you. You know what power you hold, child. Now UNLEASH IT!
Yuri's hand was covered in flames of white and gold. He swiped the card off his deck, trailing flames as well.
His glowing green eye flashed as the divine power inside him awakened and tangled space and time to give Yuri what he needed to slay the monsters his opponent had.
The slow pace of the last few turns thanks to Swords of Revealing Light allowed him to accumulate the right cards he needed to summon both monsters Priscilla gave him. The carnosaurs finally made their debut.
A cold vortex of ice and snow swirled around Yuri. From inside the vortex came another great roar that shook the stadium. Yuri's new monster was bright blue, with scales the sparkled from all the ice. The areas on its back, thighs, and forearms were covered in black, thick, rocky plates. It had two long horns on its head and a short gold horn over its snout and a ring of platinum on its nose.
Then, a tornado of fire swirled out of the clouds and formed into the second half. The creature inside took two giant steps out of the vortex to reveal itself. Flamberg had the same look as Blizzard, save for the fact his body was a blazing lava orange and his black-armored plates had molten cracks on them. Its horns were on fire.
"OH NO!" cried Alan. "No! No!"
"Oh, yes! And now I'll use his effect. And since these two guys also work well on the field when they're together, I can activate Flamerg's speciall effect. By banishing three dinosaurs from Graveyard, I can revive a Level 7 dinosaur-type monster from my Graveyard. I bring back one of the cards I discarded with Graceful Charity's effect. Black Tyranno! Return!"
Flamberg stomped on the ground with all his might, cracking it open and revealing a pool of molten lava underneath. He roared to the sky, summoning a black chain with a giant iron claw that dropped out of the clouds and sunk into the hole he created. It stoped, rattling violently when it clung onto what it was searching for. The chain lifted Black Tyranno out of the lava pool. Magma poured down his iron-hard body.
"No! No! Nooooo!" Alan wailed. It was all over.
Yuri commanded his monsters to attack. They ganged up on the Kosmos and Diablos, ripping and tearing until they were finally destroyed along with the rest of Alan's Life Points.
"Shit!" he said, falling to the ground and slamming the dirt with his fist. "This can't be! I lost."
The crowd cheered and whistled for Yuri's victory. The first Duel of the tournament had concluded and Yuri was the victor. Once he gathered his things and survived a big group hug from his friends, he approached Alan.
"All right, you know the rules," he said. "Fork over Diabolos and Kosmos and the two gold coins I'm owed."
"Two?" Alan mocked him. "I don't think so." He handed Yuri Diabolos and Kosmos along with one gold coin.
"Hey!" said Crystal. "I thought we had a deal!"
"Yeah, we did. The deal was Yuri would win two coins if he beat me and Hugo. Well, he only beat me. The one who beat Hugo was me, so I won his gold coin."
"He has a point," said Ren. "Just let it go, Crystal. Yuri will get him next time."
"Yes, indeed," said Alan. "I'm still in this tournament. Go ahead and keep those two loser monsters, Yuri. I've got more powerful dinos in my deck itching to take you down. The next time we meet, it's a whole new ball game. So watch your back."
He put on his backpack and walked away. The crowd parted to let him through.
"Way to go, Yuri!" Patty said. "That was amazing."
"And scary!" said Natalya. "I think I need to change."
"Too much info, Nattie," chuckled Ren. "Good job, Yuri. Well done. You didn't get the two coins like we thought, but at least you managed to nab yourself two new monsters."
"Those things are out of this world," said Crystal. "Makes me wish I was in this tournament so I could use the new cards I got."
"Same," said Patty. "Man, that was just round one of this whole thing. Something tells me this isn't going to be a quiet tournament like I thought."
"When are things quiet with this guy around?" Crystal said looking at Yuri. "Well, that was fun. What now?"
"What now?" said Nick. "Y'all are forgetting I'm in this tournament, too. I want in on the action. So let's go look for an opponent for me to face."
"Sounds like a good idea," said Nikki. "But don't get cocky. These players come from all around and a lot of them are carrying cards we've never seen before. Who knows how many more rare monsters are out there. There are going to be some tough challenges in these games."
"Yeah, but so long as we're together, we can face them," Yuri said confidently.
"Yay!" said Crystal. "All hail the power of friendship! I want to see another Duel. Where can we find an opponent for Nick?"
Ren scratched his chin for a moment, then he snapped his fingers. "On our way here, I heard some kids talking about lots of Duels taking place in the meadow."
"Then the meadow it is!" said Nick. "Race you guys there!"
Without even waiting for them, he zoomed out of the forest. "Wait up!" Yuri called as he and the others chased after him.