Nobody wants to know what happened? Well, only one person seems to have read the first chapters anyway. : /
Anyway, so I was working on the duels for the story a good couple years ago... and I happened to finish one particular large, complicated duel considering the way I was intending for it to end. Thanks much to my friend RadicalR for that one. I mean, this duel literally took about three or four hours to do. So I go home that day, and the duel was gone from my bag. He saw me pack it, I specifically remember packing it... needless to say, I was furious. I did not feel like doing those four hours all over again, at least not so soon... so the project stagnated. Fortunately, my brother wanted to duel after a while, for the first time in forever, really. That got me thinking about the story a little... then when I went to visit my father in Florida last month, I talked with a friend about the fanfiction, and she seemed interested. I started getting really interested too, until I became completely stoked to work on it. As soon as I got home, I cracked down on this damn story, and I'm proud to say that I think it turned out much, much better than it was originally, since I actually went back and revised the chapters I had completed so far. Made a few major changes, and I think this turned out so much better.
I'd like to dedicate this whole fanfiction to RadicalR, because his help with the duels and even the philosophical discussions regarding the characters as well as other things were quintessential to the heavy pride I take in this story.
And now, without further ado, I present Chapter 3!
"Chapter 3: Weakness"
By: Agent Baron
"It's about time," spouted Engar. "Can you tell I'm eager to enjoy this? Heh... You go first!"
Von Stupor drew from his deck, leering at Engar.
This man is utterly insane... Von Stupor thought to himself. I don't know what will happen if I lose or win... "I'll set one M/T and one monster. That ends my turn!"
"I'll draw! I'll set an M/T and summon the Great Angus! End turn."
A large red creature with powerful jaws leapt from its card into the field.
He summoned a Great Angus... this monster is four stars, with 1800 attack, and a FIRE-type beast monster. A tough one, and in the hands of an aggressive opponent can be brutal. I'm going to bank that his set M/T is not a defensive one. "I'll flip summon my set monster, the Man-Eater Bug! This card allows me to destroy one monster on the field regardless of position, and I choose the Great Angus!"
The insect popped from its card and lunged itself at the beast. It gave a quick bite prior to being slapped away. The Great Angus was unfazed for a moment, when it grew light-headed and collapsed suddenly, disappearing from the field.
"Next," Von Stupor continued. "I'll sacrifice my monster to summon the powerful Jinzo, and attack your Life Points directly! If you're going to counter, I hope it's a Quick-Play Magic card, because any traps activated while Jinzo is on the field are instantly negated!"
Jinzo, upon appearing in Man-Eater Bug's place, charged a telekinetic ball of energy and shot it at Engar, nailing him right in his chest.
Clenching his fist, he said sharply, "My turn! I'll start by playing the Magic card 'Tribute to the Doomed'! By discarding a card from my hand to the graveyard, I may destroy one monster on your side of the field! Jinzo goes bye-bye!"
A coffin shot from under Jinzo through a hole which had appeared in the floor and bandages wrapped around him from all angles. Once completely wrapped, he fell into the coffin, which returned to the depths.
"Next, I'll summon the Solar Flare Dragon! It's a bit weak, I'm sure, but it has a nasty effect! At the end of my turn, you lose 500 Life Points!"
Von Stupor watched in surprise as a flame-laced serpent flew out of its card, eyeing him.
"Go, Solar Flare Dragon, attack Baron Von Stupor's Life Points directly! End turn!"
The creature obediently flew over and slammed Von Stupor with its tail. The blow knocked him back a few steps, but he was otherwise fine. The embers streaming from its body rained upon Von Stupor, dealing extra damage as per its effect.
Another FIRE-type monster... he thought. His deck is obviously fire-based, and he certainly knows what he's doing. I must finish this duel, however, and return to my mission!! "I draw! First I'll play 'Bait Doll', which shall force the activation of one of your face-down M/T cards! If it is a Trap and the timing is incorrect, then it will be negated and destroyed! If the timing is correct, then it follows through—"
"...And if it's a Magic, it returns to the normal position, I'm not stupid Baron Von Stupor." Engar finished for him. "I am keeping up with you in this duel rather well, you know. Then again, if I'm not that great, that must also mean you actually really suck, right?" A snicker escaped his lips and Von Stupor stared. "Oh, and you've just activated my 'Waboku' Trap card. Could have used it later, but doing it now is still doing me a bit of a favor, you know? Heh."
Growling, Von Stupor set a monster and ended his turn.
What could I have possibly done to make this man so hell-bent on doing this to me?? he wondered to himself exasperatedly and set a monster, ending his turn.
"Wow..." Engar continued. "5600 to 5500, and I'm in the lead! Awesome sight, isn't it? I'm winning against the guy who tied with the King of Games!"
"You have a 100 point lead..."
"Well, it's not much, I guess. I suppose I better do something about that, eh? I'll summon the Raging Flame Sprite!"
A fire branded fairy came from its card and flittered in place.
"This card's got a nice effect," boasted Engar. "You see, I don't trust your face-down monster after seeing that bug back there, so I'm going to leave that around and concentrate on what really matters to me. My Raging Flame Sprite is allowed to attack your Life Points directly! Now, 600 damage each turn is nice, but the wonderful part is that its attack increases by 1000 points after each successful attack! Feel the burn, baby! Go!!"
The sprite waved its magical stick about and launched a fireball at Von Stupor. Having nothing to defend himself with, he was hit in his chest, sending his Life Points to 4900. The monster's wand began to glow softly, indicating its attack growth.
"You talk too much," Von Stupor commented flatly, and set a second monster.
Engar stopped for a moment and stared.
"Ass," he uttered. "Interesting how you're saying that when you're losing. I'd expect you to be trying to teach lessons in morality if you were in my position, huh? I saw a lot of that on television during the big Battle City tournament. Like they say, if you can't take the heat... stay out of the oven!! Raging Flame Sprite, attack!"
Engar's monster charged its wand and launched another projectile at Von Stupor, hitting him in the face making him jerk back from the force. His Life Points dropped to 3300 and the monster's attack steadily increased to 2600.
"Don't dish it out if you can't take it!" Engar scolded him. "You think everyone wants you walking all over them while talking down to them like they're some child?!"
"I do it to teach lessons!! The people I have dealt with sink into steadily growing spirals of destruction and need one such as myself to force them back onto the right path!"
"Pah! You oughtta just let people help themselves, instead of intervening all the time, acting like you're all perfect! I'll summon the Ultimate Baseball Kid and end my turn!"
A little leaguer stepped out from its card waving a bat around, warming up. It had flames of determination in its eyes.
"This monster's attack is 300 by default," Engar explained. "but its attack raises by 1000 for every FIRE-type monster I have on the field, giving a grand total of 1300!"
"I need not justify myself to you, Engar! I have more pressing issues at hand!"
"Really, like what?!"
"I just told you earlier, you buffoon!"
"I knew that, now shut up and play your cards or I'll implode this building in a heartbeat!!"
Baron Von Stupor, after feeling his eye twitch, furiously flip summoned the Witch of the Black Forest on the field.
"Wait a minute!" interjected Engar. "She's a weak monster, so you're up to something! I'll activate my trap card, 'Backfire'! You'll now take 500 points of damage for every FIRE-type monster on my side of the field that is destroyed and sent to the graveyard!"
"Very well! I'll play the Magic card 'Riryoku', and transfer half of your Raging Flame Sprite's attack to my witch, giving it a 1300 point advantage over your sprite! Go, my witch, and attack the Raging Flame Sprite with Meghid!"
The witch cast its spell at the sprite, killing it instantaneously and without wound. It dropped to the ground like a dead insect and faded away.
"Now we are tied, at 4400 Life Points a piece, Engar. I'll now sacrifice my witch to tribute set one monster, and by sending it to the graveyard, I have triggered its effect. I may take one monster with a defense of 1200 or less from my deck and add it to my hand. That ends my turn."
"I'll simply summon the Great Angus and end my turn; and now, Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack grows to 2300! You're at a disadvantage! What'cha gonna do??"
"I'll pass this turn."
"Well then! I'll pay 800 of my Life Points to special summon my Great Angus from my graveyard, and that shall increase my Baseball Kid's attack to 3300! You're not looking so hot! To think I've even been giving you all this time to come back, and you're hardly doing a thing..."
"I might do better if your voice hadn't grown so damned annoying..."
Engar's neck twitched.
"I set a monster and end my turn," announced Von Stupor calmly.
"Mmmm... Great Angus, attack the set monster!"
"Not so fast, I activate 'Mirror Force'! All of your attack positions monsters-- all of your monsters are destroyed instantly and your attack is negated!"
The Great Angus, blew a large fireball at the set monster, which hit an unseen barrier and exploded into much shrapnel, piercing and felling every monster on the field. The entrails of the monsters turned into embers, which all blew back to Von Stupor, inflicting 2000 points of damage to his Life Points as per 'Backfire''s effect.
"Hard blow to me, but worse to you, you moron," Engar taunted.
'Tis time to finish you, you loud-mouthed heathen, Von Stupor thought to himself. I currently have a 'La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp' face-down and a 'Dark Blade' in my hand. With no defensive card on his side of the field, I can easily summon my Dark Blade and attack him with both monsters to win! This duel is over! "Not quite, you fool! Your arrogance will indeed be your down..." Wait!! This man is absolutely insane and easily a loose cannon... If he wants to duel me so badly, it would only be to win. What would happen if I won? ...What would happen if I lost? I'll gamble and keep him alive, but in a strategically weak state for now, and see what happens when it looks like I can win... "I'll flip summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp and then summon from my hand the Sonic Bird, which carries a special effect! I may search my deck and take a ritual magic card from it and place it into my hand!"
An emerald-skinned genie emerged from its card as the a jetpack-clad eagle with goggles rocketed from its respective card hologram and onto the scene.
"Both of my monsters, attack!"
La Jinn flew over and gave Engar a hard slap to the face as the Sonic Bird followed suit by flaring its jet pack at the side of his head, sending his Life Points to a scarce 400.
Afterwards, Von Stupor gauged his reaction and was not pleased. He noticed Engar's free hand balled up very tightly and shaking lightly. His head had a slight twitch to it.
This man has completely lost it... I do not know what to do... realized Von Stupor.
"I draw," Engar began. He was suddenly very quiet and equally serious. "I'll set one monster, then remove Ultimate Baseball Kid from play from my graveyard to special summon the Spirit of Flames. This monsters attack increases by 300 during each of my Battle Phases."
A bright red, devilish creature rose from the ground, engulfed in flames. It gave Von Stupor a hard stare as it growled lowly.
"I use my Spirit of Flames to attack the Sonic Bird!"
The behemoth, with a mighty hand, grabbed the Sonic Bird and squeezed hard. After a moment or two, it threw the charred remains at the ground, which promptly fell to pieces from the brittleness.
"1300 Life Points..." Von Stupor uttered to himself. I can still finish him if I want to... I believe I shall go for it... The surprised shock may give me enough time to subdue him with my mask's power. "I shall play the 'Black Illusion Ritual'!"
"Ohhh, here comes that again. I'm really scared," Engar commented sarcastically.
"I'll sacrifice my Dark Blade from my hand to ritual summon the almighty Relinquished!"
A large golden pot bearing an embossed eye on the front sat between two flaming goblets. The fire was inhaled into the pot and the bizarre creature then burst from within.
"I'll use Relinquished to absorb the Spirit of Flames and then La Jinn to attack your set monster!"
Relinquished began an immense suction coming from a hole in its lower torso. The Spirit fought his hardest, but could not overpower the inhalation and soared into Relinquished. Relinquished's shoulder flaps closed over its body and the spirit's face emerged from the right flap.
"I remember that..." Engar spoke aloud.
La Jinn soared over and Engar's UFO Turtle popped out of its card. La Jinn grabbed the monster by its shell, held it high and slammed it to the ground, breaking the shell off and spilling its entrails everywhere. La Jinn turned and happily held the shell out to Von Stupor when it exploded and sent chunks of shrapnel at Von Stupor, dealing 500 damage to his Life Points. La Jinn, sat with a stupefied look for a moment and returned to it position, wiping the black residue from its face and body.
"UFO Turtle has an effect that allows me to pull a FIRE-type monster with an attack of 1400 or less and special summon it to the field," Engar explained. "and I'll choose... a second UFO Turtle! Oh, and hey... you may wanna be careful... Destroy two more monsters and thanks to 'Backfire' you'll be history, buddy! Wa ha ha ha..."
Things are not particularly in my favor anymore... Von Stupor reluctantly figured.
"So hey, I'm going to play a Field Magic card here, 'Molten Destruction'! This increases the attack of all FIRE-type monsters by 500 points! Next, I'll attack La Jinn with my UFO Turtle!"
The entire room suddenly transformed into the site of an active volcano. Embers and ash billowed all about, and behind Engar was a volcano, the lava pouring down its sides. A laser popped out of the shell of the UFO Turtle and beamed a hole straight through La Jinn's shoulder, crippling him prior to sending a final shot through his head. La Jinn dropped and faded as Von Stupor's Life Points fell to 700.
"I'll shift Relinquished into defense position and end my turn!" announced Von Stupor.
"Awww... playing the coward now, eh? Fine then, I'll summon the Little Chimera! This will increase the attack of all FIRE-monsters on my side of the field by 500!"
A small cat with bat wings emerged from its card.
"Now, since your Relinquished uses its equipped monster to keep its own self alive, I'm going to attack it with my UFO Turtle first, and then my Little Chimera!"
The UFO Turtle readied its laser and fired at Relinquished. It completely impaled the creature, but was kept alive by comsuming the energies of the absorbed spirit of flames. Left resourceless, however, the Little Chimera then pounced upon it and blew a stream of flames at its eye, killing it within moments.
"Your turn," Engar mentioned cooly. "Your final turn."
Von Stupor could hardly believe it. Though he had his chance and missed it, he still couldn't believe that this entire ordeal had happened. Even worse, though, he knew that his opponent would walk away thinking that he had beaten Von Stupor honestly.
"There is one thing left, that I can do," he said. "I will admit, I have no way of winning this duel. Even worse, I cannot tie it. I will freely speak aloud that I could have finished you off a while back, Baron Von Engar, but quite frankly, I'm afraid of your reaction. You will have won this duel, however, you will not be able to say you defeated me, because the one of the last things I would ever desire is for someone as arrogant and selfish as you to claim dominance over myself. I shall play the Magic card 'Dark Hole', and destroy all remaining monsters on the field! Because you have two left, I will take 1000 Life Points of damage and destroy my own self!"
"What?!" Engar shrieked. "No, you wouldn't!!"
"I just did."
A large ball of dark energy appeared and knocked Engar's remaining monsters of their feet. Swirling around the room, they eventually warped into the abyss and the room returned to its original pre-duel state.
"You dirty bastard..." Engar muttered.
"You've had your duel, now leave me! I think you have paid me back my dues..."
Chuckling, Engar said, "Well played, Von Stupor. Didn't expect you to go down in a blaze of glory like that! Some may call that copping out, but I'd rather speak of it as irony in my case, I really didn't expect that. Besides, I wouldn't really want to defeat you like this anyway."
"I don't care what you think, I will be leaving now."
"Oh no, not yet. As part of our, ahem, predetermined ante, I will now be confiscating your deck for winning."
"What?!"
"You didn't think I was gonna let you off that easy, did you really? Haha! You forget, you've taken away something very, very important to me, and even left me in a state of turmoil and (in case you haven't noticed) even a state of... oh, shall we say eccentricity."
"Funny, I would prefer the term insane."
"Don't they mean the same thing?"
"I see eccentric as being crazy without also being detrimental to yours or anyone else's health. You're hardly eccentric."
"...True, I guess. So anyway, that deck."
"I'm not giving you my deck!!"
"Oh, I think you will, if you want your friends to live through this wonderful visit to Industrial Illusions..." Engar waved the detonator about.
Von Stupor, free fist clenched, extracted his deck from his duel disk and handed it to Baron Von Engar.
"Oh, wow... I can really feel your weakness ebbing from inside..." he commented, and began to walk toward the door. "Oh, and by the way..." He turned and tossed the detonator to Baron Von Stupor, which merely turned out to be a laser pointer. "I don't know how to rig up bombs!"
Before Baron Von Stupor could even react, Engar held a stone into the air, which exploded in a luminous blue light that blinded him. By the time his vision cleared, Engar was long gone.