Chapter 24- On the Road to the End
They all climbed the ladder out of the base, Matt in front, Flynn in back.
"Exactly where are we going anyway?" Julie asked.
"Oh, yes, you weren't with us when we spoke about that. We have to go to the Shadow Realm in order to end this."
"Oh, great."
"Yes, it's not much fun."
"Hang on, how do we get to the Shadow Realm?" Drake asked.
"Pick a gate, any gate." Keith suggested.
"Okay, how do we get back?"
"We'll figure that out when we end this invasion." Matt said.
"Isn't that kind of irrational?" Flynn said. "Why would we go somewhere we can't leave?"
"We are expendable, if we can stop the invasion. If we must spend the rest of our days in the Shadow Realm, it will be a small price to pay for the salvation of humanity from the powers of the Shadows."
"Kind of a grim sentiment."
"Don't worry, I doubt we won't be able to leave." They finished climbing the long ladder and filed out of the pit. There was a large array of fiends waiting for them.
"Oh, great." Drake said. The only place where he had seen more fiends in one place was in Keith's deck, and this was contesting even that.
"Surrender now! We have you surrounded! You cannot escape!" said one intelligent fiend. It seemed rather proud of itself for having caught them in such a bad place.
"Hardly." Matt said. He hadn't even raised his shotgun. "On the contrary, I have you right where I want you." He gave the metal door they had just come out of a good kick. "Brooklyn!" There was a series of metal clicking sounds, but nothing happened. The fiends laughed.
"That didn't do anything! What are you going to do now?" The intelligent fiend asked.
"GET DOWN!" Matt said, seconds before it started. As Drake hit the dirt, he heard the telltale sounds of bullets whizzing over his head. All the fiends were ripped to shreds by whatever was shooting, except of course the intelligent one who had ducked too and wouldn't have been killed anyway. Matt stood up again and everyone followed suit. The fiend glared at him.
"You asshole…"
"Oh, come on, like I'd let you take us alive?" Matt said. "Of course I'll go down fighting."
"Then I'll duel you right here, right now!" the fiend said, and activated its duel disk.
"Oh, fine. Be prepared for total annihilation, though." Matt said. He activated his duel disk.
"I thought you said you wanted us to experience these shadow games?" Drake asked.
"Yeah, Matt, neither Keith nor I have ever been in one." Flynn pointed out.
"I know, but after saying things like that I have to duel. To trash talk someone and then decline their challenge is bad policy." Matt said. He returned his attention to the fiend.
"Let's duel!"
Matt: 4000Fiend: 4000
"I shall begin!" said the fiend. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"Very well, then. My turn." Matt said, and drew his card. He smiled. "I activate a field spell card… Council of the Old Guys Named Jeb! This potent field spell grants all Spellcaster-type monsters an extra 300 attack and defense, as well as giving all my Mpire monsters 200 extra points. But that's not all. You see, with their combined wisdom, the Jebs can see into the future. So, every three turns, starting with this turn, I can look at the top three cards of my deck and re-arrange them in any way I wish."
"Nasty." Keith said. "That basically allows him to create a strategy much faster than his opponent."
"I doubt that you'll last much longer." Matt admitted. "Because now I'm going to activate my Mpirian Speed Summon. Instead of summoning or setting a monster this turn, this card allows me to normal summon two Mpirians from my hand. So, I think I will summon my Old Guy Named Jeb (Light/Spellcaster/Mpire/Effect, 1900/1800) and my Mpirian Fire Mage (Fire/Spellcaster/Effect, 1700/1000)."
" 'I doubt you'll last much longer'? Ha! You couldn't break my defense if you tried! Not with those two monsters, especially when one is a weak old man."
"Check again. His body may be frail but his magic is strong."
"1900 attack points! I'll say that his magic's still got some punch." Drake said.
"And also, since I summoned Jeb while the Council of the Old Guys Named Jeb was on the field, I can special summon two more Jebs from my deck. And, furthermore, they all gain 500 attack and defense points thanks to the council."
"So? My defensive monster can still protect me."
"I'm not done yet! Thanks to their incredible knowledge and wisdom, the Old Guys Named Jeb grant all Spellcaster-type monsters who are not named "Old Guy Named Jeb" an extra 200 points! So that gives all of my Old Guys 2400 attack points and it gives my Fire Mage, hm, let's see… 2800!"
"Wow. That's a lot of attack points on the field at the beginning of the game." Flynn said.
"Yeah, and a lot of monsters to support in a Shadow Game." Keith said.
"But look at him. He's fine." Flynn said. Drake thought he had a point. Though he had almost as many monsters as was possible on his side of the field, Matt didn't seem to be struggling to support them at all. In fact, he looked much better than he normally did.
"Okay, now that we have established how much power I have, Mpirian Fire Mage, destroy his monster!"
"Ha! That was my Unhappy Maiden! Now your Battle Phase ends!"
"Oh, darn. And I thought Matt had him." Julie said.
"Very well. I'll just have to wait a turn for my Old Guys to introduce themselves to you. But, a question first- do I smell an Exodia Deck?" Matt said.
"Huh? Where's he getting that?" Drake asked.
"Only a stall player plays a card like 'The Unhappy Maiden,' and since he just played one, it is a reasonable to assume that he plays a card like Exodia to win the game."
"Ha! Even if you know what I'm going to play, you can't stop him! I have four pieces already, and there is no where for you to prevent his appearance."
"Another question- do you feel lucky? For I set a face-down and end my turn."
"There isn't a card in the world that can stop Exodia! I draw." He drew a card. "I summon Witch of the Black Forest (Dark/Spellcaster/Effect, 1100/1200) and I attack your Old Guy Named Jeb! And when she's destroyed, I'll pull the last piece of Exodia from my deck and win!"
"Not yet!" Matt gave a dramatic gesture over his facedown. "I activate Request For Advice! I can only activate this card when there is both 'Old Guy Named Jeb' and 'Council of the Old Guys Named Jeb' face-up on the field. Then, you flip a coin and call it. If you call it right, then you can activate an effect. I'll elaborate on those later. But if you call it wrong, then I get to use an effect."
"Okay!" The fiend conjured a coin out of midair and flipped it in the air. "Heads!" It called. Drake thought that time seemed to slow down as the coin rotated slowly through the air. Then it came down at last and the fiend caught it, then flipped it onto the back of his hand. The fiend kept his hand over it for almost a minute, then slowly pulled it away. "NO!" The coin had come up tails.
"Alright, then. Let's get to the effects. For every 'Old Guy Named Jeb' on the field, I can either destroy one card on the field, draw one card, special summon one monster from my hand, or, the big kicker, force you to toss one card from your hand!"
"No!"
"So, since I have three Old Guys, I force you to toss three cards from your hand!" Three pieces of Exodia went from the fiend's hand to the graveyard. "And, since that card did not stop your attack, you must continue!"
Matt: 4000Fiend: 2700
"I still get to bring a monster to my hand!"
"So? You can't summon it."
"Oh." The fiend pulled a monster to his hand. "Your turn."
"I draw." Matt drew. "Now, all my monsters, obliterate him!"
Matt: 4000Fiend: 0
"I win." The fiend's duel disk began to glow, and then it exploded, killing the fiend. Matt wiped the little drop of sweat from his brow, and turned back to the others. "Let's roll."
"You just pulled out a potentially disastrous victory, and that's all you can say?" Keith said.
"Well, what else is there to say?"