Chapter 3
The boy sat in his room, smiling at his cards, which were spread out across the floor of his dormitory. Even though the foolish teacher had placed him in the second highest dorm, he was unfazed, and knew all he would have to do would be to show how incredibly powerful his cards were.
The relationship that he shared with them was immense, and no-one could defeat them. Those cards had crossed galaxies with him, changing with the times from stone to card. But the spirits remained the same. The spirits with whom he had struck out creatures of unimaginable power. These were the creatures that had brought both the first and second fall of the demon Dreadroute, even though the second fall was from behind the scenes.
Michael smiled, pleased that he had not been remembered by Rory from the previous year, when he had infused his Monster with the boy to bring about Dreadroute's downfall.
He had decided. He would duel every student in Obelisk and win, and by doing so, cause the shadows to arrive. He could not allow any more time to pass. He bowed his head respectfully to his cards, and scooped them up in to a pile, and proceeded from his door, to stand in the grounds.
The sun was shining brightly on the first day of the academy's year, and Michael did not have to wait long before his plan succeeded, and a gang of three Obelisks approached him, all frowning angrily.
"Hey!" One of them yelled "You're that kid who cheated Rory to get in to the school!"
"Yeah!" Another piped "He's cool! He killed a demon last year and saved the entire school! Him and Richard Capricorn, that is! And where were you?"
"Off in diapers, probably!" the third laughed. The others joined in, until they were interrupted by a smile creeping up Michael's mouth.
"How about a duel then?" He smirked. "All three of you. And since I already used my trick once, it can't fool you!"
"Fine then!" All three of the Obelisk boys yelled.
Ten minutes later, all three of the boys were grinning, their fields glowing with power. The first one, with 2400 life points, was standing behind his Red-eyes black dragon, its jet black skin shining in the sun as it prepared for its next attack. (2400/2000)
The next boy was laughing at Michael's pathetic field, a dimly lit grassy area with two face-down cards. He had 2700 life points and was guarded by a Dark Magician Girl, its attack raised highly by the monsters already destroyed and in his grave. (2600/1700).
The third of the three boys, their leader, had just tributed two monsters at that moment, and after ending his turn had crowned his field with Buster blader, whose purple armour radiated its power, and whose sword longed to cut down Michael. (2600/2300). The gang's leader was nearly invincible, with still 3500 life points.
Michael had held out against the monsters relatively well so far, with 2100 life points left, though he had not summoned any major creatures. Numerous people had gathered to watch, eager to see Michael fall.
The boy was laughing in his head, though on the outside looked worried. He could not believe that the three opponents actually were falling for the same trick as Rory. He lifted his head, showing the confidence again, and the three boys simultaneously realised that they had been tricked. But it was too late; Michael was already lifting his card.
"I activate my return from the different dimension card! It means that by paying half my life points, and lowering to 1050, I can bring back any five cards removed from play. So I bring back my Mechanical chaser, Robotic knight, Inpachi, Machine king prototype, and my Perfect machine king!"
As the five androids appeared, the boys shrunk beneath them. (1850/800), (1600/1800), (1600/1900), (2000/1900), (6200/1500) "How did they get removed from play? That machine king wasn't even in your graveyard!"
"Oh he was. First, I discarded him with graceful charity, then I removed them with soul release. I've been waiting for this since the very beginning! I activate my Diffusion wave motion, and chain the easy road! This combo means that I do not need a level seven spellcaster to activate my wave motion, and I can allow my Perfect machine king each attack instead. All I have to do is pay the 1000 life point price."
As Michael shot to 50 points, the leader of the gang gasped, hoping that one of his underlings would have fallen first, he now knew that they would all fall this turn.
"Now then, perfect machine King, attack and destroy buster blader!" Michael roared, as the machine shot out a beam of energy. "And I chain DNA surgery, so all monsters become machines, and my monster has enough power to fry you!"
The beam continued, and blew the buster blader apart, burning it's controller to the ground with the remaining damage, and sending him to zero points.
"Now, attack Dark magician girl and Red eyes black dragon!" Michael screamed, as the monster repeated the attack pattern exactly the same twice more, leaving the three Obelisks lying helplessly on the ground.
Michael turned to the crowd, and smiled. "Who's next?"
Slowly but surely, Michael cut down the horde of Obelisk Blue students, so that few were left. As the sun rose right overhead, he grinned, drawing the last card he would need in this duel.
"I summon cyber dragon in attack position!" he yelled, as a large silver plated dragon appeared next to him. "Now I use fissure and megamorph! This combo destroys your vorse raider and raises my dragon to 4200 points, allowing me to win the duel!"
The previous duel had lasted only a single turn, and Michael was beginning to get disappointed. None of the Obelisks were a match for him. Suddenly, he heard the slightest twitch behind him, and spun on the spot, turning just in time to see a boy with long hair, wearing an Obelisk blue uniform.
"I know what you're thinking." The boy smirked. "You think that none of the Obelisks are worthy of you. Well, I'm no ordinary Obelisk."
"You want a duel, weakling? I'll bring you down in one second!"
"No-one can defeat Richard Capricorn!"
"So, Richard, you are Rory's friend. Well, then it would appear that you are my next opponent, and my cards will be set upon you. Prepare for your demise."
"Oh really." Richard smiled. "I think that you're the one going down, Michael!"
The boys stepped to opposite sides of the grassy area upon which they stood, drawing in the biggest crowd yet, as this match would be nearly as spectacular as if Rory had challenged Michael himself.
"So, where is your little friend, Rory?" Michael teased "Is he off sulking? Or has he sent you to do his dirty work for him?"
"I come on my own agenda." Richard smirked, drawing five cards, plus one additional one. "And I'll start showing you that with this, my battle ox card!"
A large brown ox appeared in front of Richard, swinging an axe to and fro in front of it. (1700/1000)
"Then I set one card face down and end my turn." Richard smiled
"Fine, I counter-summon with Mechanical chaser. Now attack my monster!"
The large green, tool wielding android appeared, swinging swords and sceptres in every direction. (1850/800). Suddenly, it flew forwards at Richard's monster, but Richard flipped his card.
"I activate my sakuretsu armour. It destroys your monster, and sends it straight to the graveyard."
The android burst in to flames, and burnt to dust, leaving Michael open to attack on the next turn.
"Fine then. I end my turn by playing my future fusion card." Michael muttered, as the card that had successfully destroyed Rory's proctor deck appeared next to Michael.
"My turn." Richard grinned, admiring his hand. "I special summon Gilasaurus from my hand, which allows you to bring back your mechanical chaser as well."
A small brown dinosaur leapt on to Richard's field, and suddenly, Michael's mechanical chaser rose from its ashes on his field.
"Next, I set one monster in defence mode, and end my turn."
"Good." Michael nodded, noting all three of Richard's monsters were weaker than his. "I summon heavy mech support platform, and equip it to my mechanical chaser."
A small metal clamp appeared, and fastened itself to Michael's monster. (2350/1300).
"Now, my machine, attack his battle ox!" Michael roared, as his creature flew forwards, finally able to chop down the beast.
Richard held up his arm, taking the hit full on. He barely flinched as his life points fell to 3350.
"My turn." He smirked, looking at his new card. "And I start with Pot of greed. I draw two cards, and set both face-down. Now I tribute both my monsters to summon Ryu Ran. Then I use earthquake, to turn both monsters in to defence position, but I chain guard penalty, letting me draw 1 card."
Next to Richard appeared an enormous egg, with wings and a pair of eyes sticking out. It pulled its wings in front of it, and growled sinisterly. (2200/2600).
"Now, I set 2 cards and end my turn." Richard smiled, though he was aware that this turn, a monster would be summoned by future fusion, and might take him out.
"Good." Michael laughed. "Now, my Cyber twin dragon is fusion summoned to the field, and I tribute my other two monsters for my perfect machine king."
Next to Michael appeared an enormous two-headed silver dragon with one body and tail, and a laser for one head, as well as his perfect machine king. (2800/2100), (3200/1500).
"And my cyber twin dragon's effect allows it to attack twice! That means its game set!" Michael chuckled. "Now, attack his Ryu Ran!"
The dragon shot out a giant energy blast from one of its heads, which crashed directly towards Richard, and exploded outwards, creating a giant cloud of smoke. However, when the smoke cleared, Richard and his monster were both still standing, and both of Richard's trap cards had flipped face-up.
"How did you survive that attack with full life points?" Michael gasped
"I used my trap cards. First, my astral barrier makes all of your attacks direct attacks instead. Next, my spirit barrier means that all direct damage is reduced to zero if I still have a monster on my field. So if you attack, the damage is routed back to me, and is negated because my monster is still on the field, and now un-targettable!"
A massive round of applause sounded from the crowd, as Michael stood stuttering, his bond with his cards beaten by another duellist's combo.
"You shall be destroyed!" Michael roared, his face full of anger. "I shall wipe you from this duel!"
Richard laughed silently, and pointed a finger at Michael "I'm sorry, but your days of trickery are over! I'm about to expose you as the terrible duellist that you are. And this is just the first of my combinations with which I'll seal your deck."
More cheers filled the crowd, and Richard remembered his duel with Rory the year before. It was the same cheers that he had got from his combo then, and he received the same appreciation.
"To start my next turn, I summon my alien infiltrator in attack position, and I will attack through the right hand side of your duel disk!"
The small grey alien appeared, brandishing its guns and snarling at the two large machines in front of it. (800/800). After a moment of standing still, it leapt forwards, flying through the unguarded flank, and blasting Michael with a shot from its guns, knocking him down to 3200 points.
Richard waved for Michael to proceed, but frowned when he saw the smile creeping onto his opponent's face.
"I have just realised the flaw of your combo!" he laughed "Your barriers can only last if you have monsters on the field, so when I destroy your monsters, you shall lose the duel!"
The crowd gasped, but Richard just chuckled, barely even noticing.
"I activate my dark hole spell card!" Michael sniggered, holding the card in to the sky. "It destroys every monster on the field!"
Richard's eyes widened as a giant black vortex filled the field, and all of the monsters were sucked inside. As he trembled in the wake of the blast, Michael let out a thunderous cry of laughter.
"Now I summon my machine king prototype in attack mode!" Michael grinned, as his large, red android stepped in to the aftermath of the blast, brandishing its tools. (1600/1500). "Now he attacks you directly, and I set a card face-down."
The robot launched itself at Richard, smashing it's fists in to him and knocking him backwards. When he stood up again, his life points had hit 1750.
"I remove from play the lost guardian in my graveyard to summon megarock dragon, and then I tribute him to summon infernal incinerator by chaining the easy road!"
First, Richard's small stumpy rock warrior that had been tributed for Ryu ran earlier appeared, though it faded, and was replaced by the great, earthy monster that Richard used often. Finally, the dragon burst in to flames, from which the incredible beast rose.
Its red and black skin shone violently in the sun, and the fire shooting from its nostrils lit the ground. (3000/1800).
"Now, my monster will strike down your king!" Richard roared, to further applause.
The creature pulled back on to its rear legs, and shot out a wreath of flame, which engulfed the helpless machine king, and covered Michael in a dark torrent, sending his life points right down to 1800.
Michael smiled through the blaze, as he lifted his face down card. "I activate my damage condenser, and chain my own copy of an easy road, meaning that I can summon any monster from my deck that I choose! And I call forth the Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!"
Richard was shocked by the sudden twist in events, and gaped as a mighty mechanical dragon rose before him, with thousands of cogs, gears and bolts bursting from it. It's eye shot a mad red through the large mechanical head that had been moulded to the black motorized exoskeleton, from which two long, spined wings and a caterpillar track burst. (3000/2000).
"I end my turn." He stuttered
"Good." Michael smiled. "And since he was summoned via the easy road, he gets all the effects he would have had if he had been tribute summoned by tributing each of the three gadgets. So I equip him with ancient gear tank!"
A large grey cannon with wheels attached to the caterpillar tracks at the front of the gadget dragon. The gun turret rocketed round in a circle, whilst the enormous machine above it let out a rattling roar, which sounded like the acceleration of a motorbikes engine amplified through a mega speaker. (3600/2000).
"Next, my monster will attack and destroy your incinerator!" Michael laughed, as his beast shot forwards, the tank's guns firing at maximum capacity, and its jaw letting forth a giant flaming blast.
Richard held his arm over his face, trying to block the oncoming attack. His combo would no longer protect him, even though he had a monster on the field, because one of the dragon's effects prevented the use of spells or traps during the battle phase. He was on his own this time.
The giant demonic beast shattered, and the mechanised dragon's beam burst through, singing Richard. His life points dropped to 1150. Suddenly, the Dragon shot out another round from it's gun turrets, which caused Richard to collapse to the floor.
"You see, since my Dragon was summoned with an easy road, it is as if he was summoned by all three of the gadget brothers. That means that when he destroys one of your monsters as a result of battle, he deals 600 damage direct to your life points, and when he deals battle damage to your life points, he deals 400 more."
Richard stepped back on to his feet, grimacing at the 150 life point counter.
"Ok. I destroy both of my barrier trap cards to special summon anteatereating ant!" Richard stated.
A giant black ant appeared beside him as his two barriers vanished, and snapped it's teeth viciously.
"Next, I use my dian keto the cure master, and then with my ant's effect, destroy your tank!" he continued
Michael raised an eyebrow, watching Richard's life points rise to 1150 again, then fall to 550, and the tank part of his dragon explode. (3000/2000).
"Finally, I activate my megamorph spell card on my ant, giving it 2000 extra attack points!"
The ant glowed, expanding in size until it was larger than Michael's dragon, and the crowd cheered so loudly that Richard and Michael could barely hear.
"Now, my monster attack!" Richard yelled, looking around the crowd and smiling, until his eyes settled on Michael's smile, and he froze, just in time to see his opponent lift a spell card from his hand and slap it down on the field.
"I activate Limiter removal!" Michael laughed, though Richard only saw the movement of his lips as his heart stopped beating, and he realised his defeat.
The crowd seemed unaware, still cheering, until the dragon let out another burst of flame, and Richard's entire field exploded in fire.
"Just like all the others, you have failed." Michael murmured, turning from the duel, and walking away, his dragon fading in to his deck and leaving with him.
Richard remained motionless on the floor for minutes afterwards, on his knees as he let his mouth hang open in disbelief. The viewers around him slowly began to filter away, quietly talking to each other, and pointing from behind their hands at Richard, who knelt motionlessly.
After everyone else had left, the two boys walked up to him, and he rose, talking to them but not turning around.
"Rory, I hope that you're ready." He snapped, trembling with anger "Because I want you to take that Punk down before the end of the day!"
"Everything's set." Damien smirked "We've arranged for tomorrow's lectures to be very exciting."
"By mid-day tomorrow," Rory laughed "Michael shall no longer be victorious."
NEW CARDS FROM THESE DUELS
THE EASY ROAD
SPELL
QUICK-PLAY
When a spell or trap card that you use requires a specific monster, monster type, monster element or monster strength to be activated, you may use a different monster instead.