Author's Note: I own nothing in relation to Yu-Gi-Oh GX.
CHAPTER 12 – RECLAIMING AN HEIRLOOM
I took the three cards my uncle had sent me and mixed them into my deck, hoping that they would become as useful as they seemed. I checked the time and set out for the duel arena once again. It was getting dark, so I knew this duel would have to be relatively quick if I wanted to get any sleep for Wednesday's classes. Kicking open the doors, I found Mindy and Jasmine already there, waiting for my arrival. My card collection sat waiting for me on the sidelines, and Alexis was watching intently from the stands.
"You better keep your end of the bargain after I obliterate you," I snarled with narrowed eyes. Mindy and Jasmine giggled wildly, obviously thinking I didn't have a chance.
"Right, like a Slifer is going to beat TWO Obelisks at the same time!" Jasmine laughed, readying their dueling devices. I sighed, figuring that they were too busy reading magazines to see the tournament on the first day. I irritably locked my deck into the device strapped to my arm and stepped up to the dueling ring.
"Let's get this over with," I growled. "I have classes tomorrow."
"Fine," Mindy shot back. "And the handicap rules?" I pulled out my notepad from my pocket and began to read off the list of custom rules.
"Our turns are taken much like a tag team duel," I explained. "It will be as if I am two people. But since my 'teammate' and I have a much stronger mental bond, so to speak, I am still only permitted five zones of each type, as well as being limited to the normal amount of 4000 Life Points instead of a team total of 8000. Clear?"
Mindy and Jasmine nodded in understanding, visibly more confident than ever. Each of us drew five cards to start off our hands, the Life Points were set, and Alexis declared the start of the duel.
"DUEL!"
Mindy/Jasmine 8000 – Alistair 4000
Mindy took the first turn and drew her sixth card, beginning with a summon.
"Shining Angel (1400 / 800), attack mode!" she shouted, calling a winged spirit in white garbs to the field. "I'll play one face-down card too, and end my turn!"
A set card shined and appeared behind the summoned angel, what I figured to be a trap. I drew one card and looked over my hand. None of my special cards had turned up yet, but I figured it was only a matter of time before I could unleash their powers. I opted to start things simple.
"I'll throw down a face-down card as well, and then bring out my Skilled Dark Magician (1900 / 1700)!" I declared, calling upon a monster many had seen me use before. I glanced at my face-down card and then at Mindy's figuring the risk was worth a shot.
"Attack! Destroy that Shining Angel!" I commanded my Magician, as the enemy was blasted to pieces by a beam of purple and black light. The damage carried over, and Mindy and Jasmine's Life Points decreased to 7500.
Mindy/Jasmine 7500 – Alistair 4000
"Since you destroyed my Shining Angel," Mindy interrupted, "I'll activate her ability! Now I can automatically summon any Light monster from my deck, as long as it has 1500 attack points or less, so I summon Maiden of the Moonlight (1500 / 1300) to take its place!"
Another angel materialized onto the field in place of the destroyed Shining Angel. This one looked similar from what I could tell, except it was female and seemed to be controlling some sort of golden orb of energy. So far I had seen only Light-type monsters, and I wanted to wait a bit longer before I felt it was safe to make Mindy and Jasmine pay the price for skipping out on my tournament run. I looked down at my hand and shrugged, deciding to save further strategies for later.
"I'll end my turn with that," I concluded, waiting to see what Jasmine had up her sleeve. She smiled as she drew a card to add to her hand, and looked over at Mindy, nodding.
"I summon Hoshiningen (500 / 700) in attack mode!" she announced, calling what looked like a yellow star cutout with boots and colorful streamers fluttering around it. Jasmine went on to explain its special effect.
"As long as Hoshiningen is on the field, all Light monsters get 500 more attack points!" she stated, as the Maiden of the Moonlight and Hoshiningen both raised their attack powers to 2000 and 1000, respectively.
"And that's not all!" Mindy added after I winced, knowing my Skilled Dark Magician was now overpowered. "All Dark-type monsters have their attack power LOWERED by 400 points!" I grumbled incoherently, my Magician now having only 1500 attack points following Hoshiningen's ability. It seemed Jasmine wasn't done, however.
"And to protect my Hoshiningen, I equip him with this! Heart of Clear Water!" she continued, using a spell card that turned Hoshiningen slightly transparent. "When Hoshiningen is equipped with this, he can't be destroyed in battle or by spell cards that target him! So he's here to stay! That ends my turn."
I narrowed my eyes, annoyed at such a stubborn spell card. Of course, by my Magician's effect, he gained one spell counter for the activation of Heart of Clear Water, but I had more crucial matters to deal with. I drew my next card and smiled at my luck. It would cost me my Skilled Dark Magician, but it would get rid of that pesky Hoshiningen.
"First I play one face-down, and then I sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician," I started off, "so I can summon my Cybernetic Magician (2400 / 1000)!" Mindy looked peeved, but I reassured her. "Don't worry, I'm not touching your Maiden. I'm going after that Hoshiningen!" Jasmine laughed confidently.
"Yeah right, I already told you, you can't destroy Hoshiningen when it's equipped with Heart of Clear Water!" she informed me again. I countered by explaining my new Magician's effect.
"That is true, but unfortunately, Heart of Clear Water only works on monsters with less than 1300 attack points," I told her with a smile. "And by discarding one card from my hand, my Cybernetic Magician has the ability to set one monster's attack power to 2000!"
Declaring Hoshiningen as my target, I sent a single card to my graveyard and increased its attack power to 2000, thereby causing Jasmine's Heart of Clear Water to shatter. Now the coast was clear.
"And since my Cybernetic Magician is a Light-type monster as well, his attack power increases to 2900!" I shouted. "Now attack and destroy that Hoshiningen!"
My Magician slammed a brilliant beam of light into Hoshiningen, smashing it into nothing but stardust. As a side effect, Mindy and Jasmine's Life Points dropped further to 6600.
Mindy/Jasmine 6600 – Alistair 4000
"I'm not finished!" I shouted, revealing my face-down card. "I activate the trap card, Magician's Circle! Now we can each summon one Spellcaster monster with an attack power of 2000 or less and summon it to the field."
I fanned out my deck and selected the card I wanted, laughing quietly to myself as Mindy and Jasmine desperately checked their cards three times over. Obviously, neither of them HAD any Spellcasters in their decks.
"What a shame, it seems you don't have the necessary monsters for my Magician's Circle trap," I teased them. "Oh well, you'll have to live without. But for now, I summon my Dark Magician Girl (2000 / 1700)!"
The playful and giggle-happy Dark Magician Girl warped into view through my Magician's Circle card, joining my Cybernetic Magician on my front line. I looked back down at my hand, my fingers dancing on yet another card.
"Dark Magician Girl, destroy that Maiden of the Moonlight!" I ordered, watching her gather a ball of pink energy in her wand and hurdle it at the Maiden of the Moonlight. The explosion blew the monster away, shaving Mindy and Jasmine's LP down to 6100 to boot.
Mindy/Jasmine 6100 – Alistair 4000
"Feeling outnumbered?" I taunted them. Mindy waved the dust away and activated her face down card.
"I activate Option Hunter!" she countered. "Now Jazz and I regain Life Points equal to the attack power of the monster you just destroyed!" I snorted in amusement and activated my face-down card: Trap Jammer.
"Do you really think I'm that naïve?" I laughed, as Option Hunter shattered and disappeared, getting a frustrated glance from the two girls. "Oh, come on now," I assured them with a flicker of sarcasm. "Besides, you won't be outnumbered as badly anymore, because I'm sacrificing both my Cybernetic Magician and my Dark Magician Girl!"
They watched in bewilderment as my two Magicians dissolved into dust. With an exuberant motion, I played their replacement.
"Now I call forth my Sorcerer of Dark Magic (3200 / 2800)!" I yelled, the familiar black-cloaked mage taking to the field. Of course, it wasn't familiar to Mindy and Jasmine, since they foolishly skipped out on the tournament.
"By the looks on your faces, I can tell you have no idea what his special ability is," I snickered, making them even angrier. "As long as I have my Sorcerer over here, I can negate and destroy any trap cards you activate! Consider yourself lucky… you two don't seem to know much about strategy, so I've taken away your ability to strategize."
Being the arrogant duelist I was (hey, it's the heat of the moment), I laughed slyly at their predicament. I looked at the final card in my hand.
"I'll toss this face-down and end my turn," I added, giving Mindy a shot. She drew a card and looked over what she could do. Finally, she saw a card she needed and smiled deviously.
"Hey Jazz," she asked her friend. "Got the spell I need over there?" Jasmine looked at her hand and nodded, somehow knowing what Mindy was talking about. Mindy finally played a spell of her own.
"I use the magic card, Exchange!" she announced. "Normally this would let us see each other's hands and we would exchange one of our cards. But since there's three people here, I'm going to exchange cards with Jazz, just like best friends should!"
I tried not to vomit at the supremely cheesy friendship quip, and watched as Mindy and Jasmine showed each other their hands and traded one card from each. Mindy couldn't have been happier.
"Thanks, Jazz!" she chimed. "Now I can play the ritual card she gave me, Shinato's Ark!"
I raised an eyebrow, pondering just what these scheming girls were up to now. She held up a pair of monsters – Bountiful Artemis and Spirit of the Harp – and sent them straight to her graveyard. I counted eight stars total… this was going to be ugly.
"By sacrificing those two monsters, I can Ritual Summon this! Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300 / 3000)!" Mindy bellowed with triumph. I was soon staring down a giant golden-winged warrior, dressed in a royal white cloak. He descended onto the field before Mindy and Jasmine, who now already seemed to be thinking of which cards of mine they wanted the most. I simply narrowed my eyes and clenched my fist tightly.
"Shinato, attack his Sorcerer!" she commanded. I would have activated my Elemental Absorber trap at that point, but I needed a monster card to use it, and unfortunately, my hand was empty. I could only watch as Shinato blasted my Sorcerer with a fierce light burst that left me blinded for a few moments, thus putting a mild dent in my Life Points which now sat at 3900.
Mindy/Jasmine 6100 – Alistair 3900
"That's all for me!" Mindy sang happily. "Your turn, Alistair. Or you could just give up!"
I laughed at that remark, refusing to surrender to Alexis's dimwitted roommates. I told myself to forever respect Jaden's intelligence after meeting those two. I drew my next card, and raised an eyebrow. For the second time, I had drawn this card in the perfect situation.
"I play one monster in defense mode," I declared. "That's all I need."
Jasmine was next, and she drew her card. Thankfully she didn't have control over Shinato, so I was safe for this turn at least.
"I summon Majestic Mech - Senku (1800 / 1050) in attack mode!" she proclaimed. Another Fairy-type monster was called to the field, bearing white and blue wings and a robotic appearance. "Attack that face-down monster!" was her declaration, as the Majestic Mech slammed a ball of white lightning into my defense monster, which was none other than the Morphing Jar.
"Surprise," I said with a smile as the Morphing Jar was obviously destroyed. But along with it, the cards Mindy and Jasmine held were destroyed as well. "By activating my Morphing Jar's effect," I explained to them, "our hands are sent to the graveyard, and we each draw five new cards."
The two girls obeyed and now had five cards in their deck. I again had nothing to discard, so skipped right to the drawing. And what a draw it was. I suppressed my smile and gave my best poker face to Jasmine.
"Are you finished?" I asked politely. Jasmine was still staring at her cards. I guess she got a bad draw, but it hardly mattered.
"Fine, I end my turn," she caved, causing the Majestic Mech to vanish into the graveyard because of its effect. "But Mindy will still obliterate you!"
I laughed and drew my next card.
"I'm afraid she won't get another turn," I shot back confidently. Mindy and Jasmine stared at me incredulously.
"You're bluffing!" they shouted together.
"Am I?" I asked them with a pleasant grin on my face. I shook my hair out of my face before grasping the card I held on the far right – one of the three cards my uncle had bestowed upon me earlier this evening.
"You two are in luck," I chimed. "Just before I came here, I got a letter from my parents. The letter was nice, but what I also got were three brand new cards. Three cards no one has ever seen me use. Hell, I've never even seen me use them before."
I took the first of three family presents from my hand and played it.
"Now here's the first one!" I bellowed at them. "A brand new addition to the game of Duel Monsters! I play the magic card, Trusting the Deck!"
If Mindy and Jasmine were perplexed before, their expressions of obliviousness far surpassed that mark. I laughed and shook my head.
"I don't expect you to know what it does," I told them. "It was just created mere hours ago by Pegasus himself. And I've got one of, if not the, first copy of it. Now, ready for its effects? First I pay the price for its use… I send all cards from my hand and field to the graveyard, and then reduce my Life Points by 2500!"
Mindy/Jasmine 6100 – Alistair 1400
I ditched the five remaining cards in my hand, while my Elemental Absorber card rose and shattered. Also as declared, my Life Points decreased to 1400.
"Why did I do all that, you ask?" I teased. "Well I'll show you. Trusting the Deck allows me to make all those sacrifices in the name of the trust I have in my cards. So now my deck rewards me for my sacrifice, by allowing me to draw ANY THREE CARDS I want!!"
Mindy and Jasmine went from puzzlement to shock, as I fanned out my deck and selected the three cards I needed to end the game.
"Now with that out of the way, the REAL fun begins!" I continued. "I remove Dark Magician Girl, Sorcerer of Dark Magic, Skilled Dark Magician, Mystical Elf, Magician of Faith, and Cybernetic Magician from the game!"
I played the first card, one of my favorites.
"I now summon the one and only Chaos Sorcerer (2300 / 2000)!" I declared, the heart and soul of my deck taking shape before me. But I certainly wasn't finished – not after removing six monsters from my graveyard.
"Now you have the privilege of meeting the two OTHER cards my uncle presented me with!" I kept shouting, my throat starting to ache. "Meet Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning (3000 / 2500), and Chaos Emperor Dragon – Envoy of the End (3000 / 2500)!!"
Mindy and Jasmine now seemed unconcerned, and I had a feeling I knew why.
"Have you forgotten that Shinato has 3300 attack points?" Mindy giggled. "You know… more than all of YOUR monsters?"
I was pretty fed up with these two. I imitated Mindy's ridiculous giggling and replied with, "Have you forgotten that Chaos Sorcerer can instantly remove monsters from play?"
Now they were scared. I love this game.
"Chaos Sorcerer, remove Shinato from the game!" I hollered in victory. The Chaos Sorcerer fired a twin blast of light and dark energy at Shinato, circling him in a double-helix field that completely warped him off of the field.
I continued with the assault: "Now, Black Luster Soldier, Chaos Emperor Dragon, the field is clear, so attack them directly!" The Black Luster Soldier crushed Mindy with its holographic blade, while the Chaos Emperor Dragon belched merciless waves of fire at Jasmine. When all was said and done, their Life Points cumulatively plummeted to a mere 100.
Mindy/Jasmine 0100 – Alistair 1400
"Oh, then there's my Dragon's special effect, which I'll gladly pay 1000 Life Points for," I finished, allowing my Life Points to drop to 400.
Mindy/Jasmine 0100 – Alistair 0400
The Chaos Emperor Dragon then froze and suddenly exploded, engulfing the entire field in the blast. The smoke took quite some time to clear, but when it did, Mindy and Jasmine were sprawled out on the floor, the cards in their hands strewn over themselves and the duel ring.
Mindy/Jasmine 0000 – Alistair 0400
"By destroying every card on the field and in our hands, you lose 300 Life Points for each one," I quietly explained as Alexis rushed to help her friends up. "13 cards for 3900 points of damage. I think that would be enough."
I was tired and somewhat angry, so I didn't bother with the niceties. I merely stepped out of the dueling ring and picked my my card collection before heading for the door.
"Hey! Alistair!" they called after me. I stopped, albeit reluctantly, and turned around to see Mindy and Jasmine rushing up to me.
"…We're sorry," Jasmine finally said, prompting an eyebrow raise from me. "You're… really good."
I blinked a couple of times, and Mindy nodded in eager agreement.
"…Thank you," I eventually replied. "But steal my cards again and I'll come looking for them. And I won't be nearly as happy as I was today."
I continued to head for my dorm with my cards in tow, never looking back. If I had, I would have probably fallen over laughing from the look on Alexis's face. Her plan had at least been partially foiled this time, and the ball was now back in my court.
I wonder what Atticus is doing tomorrow.
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Author's Note 2: "Trusting the Deck" is a magic card I made up, so don't go looking for one. XD