Chapter 47

Dungeon Dice Monsters Part 2: The Showdown

Everyone outside and inside the Black Crown was gathered around the TV screens, anxiously waiting for the battle between Twilight and Duke to begin. Even around the world on DMTV, the battle was about to be broadcast. Inside the arena, Twilight and Duke were ready to go. "Remember our deal, Devlin. I win this, and Spike goes free. No more dog suit, no more demands. He may be my personal assistant, but I don't humiliate him like you're doing." Twilight stated. "Agreed, just don't forget the flipside to that coin, princess. You lose this game, and Yugi never plays Duel Monsters again. NOW, let's get it on!" Duke responded before snapping his fingers, which was a signal for the Duel Monsters players stands to be put away. "Looks a bit different than a dueling arena, huh?" he asked as the Dungeon Dice Monsters players stands were set up. "Well get used to it. Dungeon Dice Monsters is a whole new game with a completely different set of rules. And to keep up, you're gonna have to pay close attention." he added as the playing field changed to a 13x13 grid board. "Don't you worry. I'm a good learner." Twilight responded. "You better be, Twilight, because I know this game inside and out, so if you want to win you're gonna have to learn it as well. Now let's get started." Duke said as both players took their places. 'Looks pretty straightforward.' Twilight thought before a compartment opened to reveal all the different dice and their symbols.

"Lost already? Relax, I'll walk you through it. That compartment that just opened up, its called a Dice Pool. Select fifteen dice from it to use in the game. I would give you some tips on which ones to pick, but if you're a fast learner, you might not need them." Duke said after he picked his own fifteen dice. 'With all these different colors and designs, it's hard to tell which ones I should pick.' Twilight thought. "Come now, princess, I have mine already set." Duke said. "I'm ready when you are." Twilight responded, revealing she picked her fifteen dice, too. "Now here's how it works, these dice will be kinda like a dueling deck. And just like you shuffle a deck of cards, we shuffle these, just drop them in the shuffling chute." Duke explained as he dropped his dice in, followed by Twilight. "See? Easy. The dice automator will randomize your fifteen dice in groups of three. Take a look." he continued before Twilight's first three dice are ready. "You get three dice per round. You roll all three at the same time and then you get to make your move depending on what you roll. I'll explain more about that a bit later. Now, take the three dice out of the auto hatch." he continued before both players picked up their first three dice from the auto hatch.

"Good. Now here's how you score. In this game, players have heart points. They're like life points in Duel Monsters, but you only get three and that's it, and whoever loses all three of their hearts first is out. Alright, game on!" he continued. "What's he mean by that? Twilight just learned the rules!" Joey stated. "Yeah, and I bet that's just how that glory hog likes it." Rainbow added before the cheerleaders starting cheering for Duke. 'Geez, are we gonna have to go through all that every time Duke makes a move? Next to a few things back in Equestria, this is the most embarrassing thing I've ever had to endure.' Spike thought. "Alright, Twilight, I'm gonna make my first roll. So from here on in, you're gonna have to listen carefully and learn as we go." Duke said before rolling his dice. "Now, see those markings on each of the six sides of each die? Those are called crests. Different crests do different things. Take that green die for example, that star crest I just rolled is for summoning a creature. To be able to summon something, at least two out of the three dice that you roll during your turn have to land with the same type summoning crest facing up. And it appears that I already came up with two matching summoning crests on my first roll of the game." he continued before pushing one of his dice into the board. "Now, the dimensionalising part of the process. Watch as I, dimension the dice!" he bellowed before the die appeared on the holographic board.

The die then opened up. "And there you go. I summon, Ryu-Kishin!" he continued before his monster, a level 2 spellcaster with 10 attack points, 10 defense points, and 10 hit points, appeared. "My very first monster is on the board." he added. "The monsters are inside the dice?" Yugi asked. "And it looks like the dice themselves are part of the game." Rarity pointed out. "I'm glad you made that point, my little cheerleader in wading, that's one of the key elements to Dungeon Dice Monsters. For, you see, once a die unfolds to reveal a monster, it becomes a dungeon pathway. And with enough pathway, I can construct a route my monsters can use to get to your heart points." Duke said. 'Oh, I get it. The way to destroy your opponent's heart points is to get your monsters close enough to attack the hearts directly. So, the more dice I can turn into pathways, the better. Sounds simple enough.' Twilight thought. "Go ahead, princess. It's your move." Duke said. "Devlin, don't you forget, if I win this, my personal assistant gets his freedom back." Twilight reminded. "Right, if you win. If." Duke responded. "Spike's counting on you, Twi. If there's anyone who can beat Devlin, other than Yugi, it's you!" Joey called. "Joey's right. We've got your back no matter what!" AJ added. "And as far as I'm concerned, if Yugi wasn't in the tournament at Duelist Kingdom and you were, we'd gladly follow you in to battle as the Queen of Games!" Rainbow shouted. 'As if. Today, that cheat's reign will end!' Duke thought.

"Go, dice roll!" Twilight shouted, but none of the crests came up as a match. "Great, none of the crests match!" Twilight said in distress. "Well, yeah. Cause the levels of the dice you threw were way to high. Oops. Guess I didn't mention the different dice have different levels. Allow me to explain; there are six types of crests on the surface of each of these dice. Summon, movement, magic, attack, defense and trap crests. How often each of these crests appears on the die depends on that die's level. The level two die that I just used had three summon crests on it, so it was easy for me to roll two of them. But, the easier a monster is to summon, the weaker it is. Now, look carefully at your dice, Twilight." Duke responded before Twilight did so. "They each have one summoning crest." she pointed out. "Right, and that makes it much more difficult for you to roll a pair of them. Of course, if you had, you would've summoned a very strong monster. Still, I'm of the opinion that in the early stages of the game, its better to go for a low level sure thing. After all, the odds of summoning a monster with high level dice are slim to none." Duke stated. 'Oh, no. Almost all the dice I picked from the dice pool are high level.' Twilight thought in distress.

"Sorry, Twilight, but if all you have are high level dice at your disposal, it'll be really hard for you to summon anything." Duke said. 'I can't believe this! The game just started and I'm already at a HUGE disadvantage.' Twilight thought. "Hey, Duke, maybe you should've told Twilight all the rules before you started the game!" Rainbow shouted. "I'm with Rainbow, this different dice level stuff changes everything!" Yugi added. "Why don't you start the game over?" Fluttershy suggested. "If it were someone else, maybe, but not now, not when I'm playing against a princess. I'm sure she'll be okay, even though I wanted to play Yugi instead." Duke responded before his next three dice came up in the auto hatch. "Go, dice roll!" he shouted. This time, he rolled a movement crest and two level two summoning crests. "Yes! Another two summoning crests! My dungeon path will extend and I'll have two monsters on the field! I dimension the dice, and unlock, Yaranzo!" he declared as his creature, a level two invincible monster with 10 attack points, 10 defense points and 10 hit points, appeared. 'His dungeon path is getting closer and closer to my heart points and I'm not even on the board yet!' Twilight thought in distress. "I'm coming for you, princess. And since I rolled a movement crest, too, I can use it to move my monster even further along the dungeon pathway." Duke said as Yaranzo moved forward one space. "Oh, FYI, if you don't want to use a crest that you roll, you can save them for later in your crest pool. Now go ahead, it's your turn." he added as Twilight readied her dice.

"Go, dice roll!" she shouted. But once again, none of the crests matched. 'Not again! No matching crests!' Twilight thought. "Nothing again, huh? Maybe you should try blowing on your dice for good luck. Now its my turn! Go, dice roll!" Duke said, chuckling before rolling his dice, rolling the same crests he did on his last turn. "Well, would you look at that? Two more summoning crests! And here comes the surprise inside, Gator Dragon!" he added as one of his dies dimenionalised and, from it, the Gator Dragon, a level two dragon with 10 attack points, 10 defense points and 10 hit points, appeared. "And I'll use the movement crest I rolled to advance him." he concluded as his dragon moved forward one space. "My roll, now." Twilight said, and finally came up with two summoning crests. "Alright, two summoning crests, but are they the same?" she asked. "No they're not, I'm afraid. You see, their levels aren't the same. And according to the rules, that doesn't count towards summoning." Duke answered. "Thought as much." Twilight said. "Guess its my turn again." Duke said before taking his dice from the auto hatch. "Ooh! Level four dice! They were too hot for you to handle, so lets see how I do with them. Go, dice roll!" he continued before rolling the same things he rolled in the last couple turns. "Well, what do you know? I guess Lady Luck has the hots for old Duke Devlin, like every other girl I've met. I mean, what is this? My fourth summoning in a row?" Duke said before one of his dice dimensionalised a chest.

"What's with the chest?" Yugi asked. "This is what's known as an item summoning, princess. But more on that a bit later. Now roll." Duke answered. Twilight did roll, but didn't get any summoning crests. 'No! Another miss-roll!' she thought in anguish. "Well, this is a big surprise, isn't it, your highness? I mean, at this rate, I'll have you beat even before you get a monster on the board. If it was Yugi I'm facing, I'd have automatically revealed that he wasn't the real deal as his title of King of Games states. Go, dice roll!" Duke stated before rolling two more summoning crests. "Yes! Another summoning, and that means I'll have a monster right near your heart points! Dimension the dice!" he shouted before his dice appeared and opened. "This time I summon The 13th Grave!" he added as his monster, a level two invincible creature with 10 attack points, 0 defense points and 10 hit points, appeared. 'That 13th Grave is just three steps away from attacking me! I have to summon a monster and take it out, otherwise I'll lose a heart point for sure!' Twilight thought. "Come now, princess, it's not very ladylike of you to keep your audience waiting." Duke said. 'And soon, I'll show everyone that you're just a loser sticking up for a cheater who never could've beaten Pegasus.' he thought.

'This is it. No matter how high the odds are stacked against me, I have to believe its possible to roll two summoning crests. Just like how Yugi's grandpa taught me to believe in the Heart of the Cards, I have to believe in the Heart of the Dice!' Twilight thought as she took her next three dice from the auto hatch. "Go, dice roll!" she shouted as she rolled. The first die landed on a magic crest, to Duke's delight, the second landed on a level four summoning crest, and so did the third. "There! I finally got two summoning crests! Now I can summon a monster at last and defend my heart points!" she said with a smile, much to Duke's chagrin. "Dimension the dice!" she declared before her first monster, a level four dark monster with 30 attack points, 20 defense points, and 50 hit points, appeared. "Behold, the Mighty Mage! Now I'll access my crest pool and use a movement crest to move Mighty Mage forward so that he can destroy The 13th Grave!" she continued as her monster moved forward one space and in attacking range. "Mighty Mage, attack with Lightning Staff!" she commanded before The 13th Grave was destroyed. "In your face, Puke Devlin!" Joey shouted. 'Yes!' Spike thought with a grin. "Duke, knowing a game and all its rules may gain you an advantage, in this case when it came to you assembling your creatures against me, but now I have a monster of my own, ready to defend my heart points!" Twilight said with a confident smile.

Outside the arena, everyone was watching the match on the TV screens, amazed at Twilight's last move. "Keep it up, Twilight!" Yugi shouted. "What do you guys think? Is Twilight in the clear?" Tristan asked. "I don't think so, Tristan. Duke's dungeon path is more widespread than Twilight's, and he still has more monsters on the board. And that means Twilight has a long way to go in order to win." Rarity answered. "Congratulations on getting your first monster, Twilight, just four more and you'll have as many as I do. My turn, now. Go, dice roll!" Duke said before rolling two summoning crests. "Whoops. Spoke too soon, make that five more. Dimension the dice!" he corrected before dimensioning the dice. "I've now unlocked, the Blast Lizard!" he shouted before his creature, a level two beast with 10 attack points, 10 defense points and 20 hit points, appeared. "Don't be fooled by his low level status, princess. When played in just the right way, Blast Lizard has a special attack that packs a surprising punch." he added. 'Special attack? Sounds like another rule that Duke conveniently forgot to tell her. She'll have to be on her guard.' Yugi thought. "My roll, now." Twilight said before looking at her dice. 'Alright! Some low level dice. I knew I picked a few of these, it should be easier to summon a monster now.' she thought. "Go, dice roll!" she shouted before rolling two more summoning crests. "I now dimension the dice and summon forth Winged Dragon, Guardian of the Fortress!" she added as her monster, a level two dragon with 10 attack points, 10 defense points and 10 hit points, appeared. "Now you have two monsters of mine to deal with, Devlin." Twilight stated confidently, but Duke just chuckled and grinned.

"Not for long, princess. It's my turn. Go, dice roll!" he responded as he rolled two magic crests and a movement crests. "Looks like you failed to summon anything this time." Twilight said. "Whoever said I was trying to summon a monster on this roll? You may be royalty, but you must also be a bit dense. Remember what I said about playing my Blast Lizard in just the right way?" Duke responded. "Wait, you were rolling for his special attack, weren't you?" Twilight asked. "That's kinda right, Twilight. The Blast Lizard's attack requires four magic crests. I already have two in my crest pool, so I had to roll two more, which I did. So now I use a movement crest to put my Blast Lizard in position, and use four magic crests to have him attack your dragon!" Duke answered before the Blast Lizard's bomb blew the Winged Dragon to smithereens. "Too bad. You worked so hard to get the dice needed to summon the Winged Dragon, too." he added before the girls started cheering. "Don't give up, Twilight! You can still beat him!" Tea shouted. "It's my turn. Go, dice roll!" Twilight shouted before rolling three attack crests. "Not a single summoning crest." she said in disappointment. "It's my turn, now. Go, dice roll!" Duke said before rolling two summoning crests. "Well, looky here, another summoning, and with level three dice, as well. Dimension the dice!" he said before his dice appeared and unboxed. "I summon the Dark Assailant!" he called before his creature, a level three invincible monster with 10 attack points, 20 defense points and 20 hit points, appeared. "Now I'll dip into my crest pool again and use two movement crests to put Blast Lizard and Gator Dragon within striking distance of your heart points!" he added.

Soon, both monsters were within striking range of Twilight's heart points. "You can go ahead and take your turn, since nothing you roll is gonna get you out of the mess you're in. I mean, I don't even know how to get out of this and I'm the one who invented the game." he concluded. "So, the champion is the creator, huh?" Twilight asked. "Wait, you created Dungeon Dice Monsters and your its master player?!" Yugi asked. "That's right, Yugi! And everyone in the entire world should know it! I should be known as the second greatest game creator in all the world right now, but I'm not, Yugi, and it's all because of your cheating against Pegasus at Duelist Kingdom! You could've only beaten him by cheating, seeing as Pegasus has TWICE as much gaming skill as you, or the friend of yours playing against me right now!" Duke bellowed angrily. 'That dice brained baboon! He has no idea that Pegasus was the cheater at the Duelist Kingdom thanks to his Millennium Eye!' Joey thought. "You ruined my life that day, Yugi, because the defeat you handed Pegasus changed everything for me!" Duke continued. "How? What does Yugi have to do with your game?" Fluttershy asked.

"I dedicated my life to creating Dungeon Dice Monsters. I spent all of my free time perfecting its gameplay and finetuning the rules. And when I was finished, it was clear that I made something truly remarkable. I decide to send it to the only man who could appreciate it; Maximillian Pegasus! A couple days past and I didn't hear anything from that great game master, until I got this crazy email. He said he read my proposal! I couldn't believe my eyes. He said he wanted to fly me out on his personal helicopter so that we could discuss the game in person. The next day, I was brought to Pegasus' island home, Duelist Kingdom. I could hardly believe it, all my hard work was paying off! I was gonna meet my idol, Maximillian Pegasus! Once we met, Pegasus immediately challenged me to a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters. I expected him to be good, but he was phenomenal. It was his first time playing the game and he completely overpowered me. Me! The guy who created it! He conquered me with the likes of Relinquished and the Illusionist Faceless Mage! I was amazed with his skills." Duke explained as he remembered everything that happened, him creating the game, sending an email to Pegasus, receiving an email from him, traveling to Duelist Kingdom, and playing and losing a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters to Pegasus, unaware that he was using his Millennium Eye to stay one or two moves ahead of him the entire game.

"And with a single handshake, the deal was sealed! He told me he'd draw up the official contract after he hosted a Duel Monsters tournament that was taking place on his island. The tournament that you were heading to, Yugi. And ever since you beat him there in the finals, I haven't been able to contact him at all. Everything that I worked for was sent to limbo that day, and its all your fault!" he continued. "You fool. You don't know how Pegasus treated my friend at all!" Twilight shouted. "Treated him?! Pegasus is a great man, until Yugi arrived and broke his spirit with his dirty cheating ways, and now I'll have my revenge by breaking you on his behalf!" Duke retorted, this prompted Yugi to let Yami take over. "Duke Devlin, I've never cheated at anything in my life! Not any game, nor at life!" Yami declared. "Please! You expect me to believe that someone like you could defeat Maximillian Pegasus? Seto Kaiba, maybe, but Pegasus?! You wouldn't even be able to hold your own in Dungeon Dice Monsters, as your friend's royally embarrassing showing demonstrates!" Duke responded. "Dagnabbit, just listen for once!" AJ shouted. "Why should I listen to those who stand up for a cheater?!" Duke asked. "I wouldn't admit my love to a cheater! Your hero worship of Pegasus has made you blind to the truth!" Fluttershy shouted. "You're in LOVE with that cheat?! And to think Twilight called me a fool! Well, they say love is blind, and you're about to look at someone who's about to retire from Duel Monsters forever once I crush his dear royal friend! Now, as for you, princess, roll!" Duke responded as he turned his attention back to Twilight

"Oh, I'll roll alright! And I'll defeat you!" Twilight responded before rolling two summoning crests. "There! With two level three summoning crests, that's another monster for me! I hereby dimension the dice, and unlock, Thunder Ball!" she declared as her monster, a level three warrior with 10 attack points, 10 defense points and 30 hit points, appeared. But Duke just scoffed. "Thunder Ball may be a level three monster, but his stats really aren't that strong. I'm afraid he's not gonna be a lot of help to you." Duke said, figuring in his head that since Twilight doesn't know how, she wouldn't be able to use Thunder Ball's special attack before he grabbed his three dice from the auto hatch. "My turn, now! Go, dice roll!" he shouted before rolling an attack crest and two movement crests. "Yes! One attack and two movement crests! I'll advance my Blast Lizard and Gator Dragon into attacking position." he continued before his creatures were just inches away from Twilight's heart points. "Look out, Twilight!" Spike shouted. "Both Blast Lizard and Gator Dragon are right on top of her!" Joey said. "And that means her heart points are in range of both of them!" Tristan added. "Get ready, Twilight, my Gator Dragon is poised to attack! Now, Gator Dragon, do it! Swamp Fire Blast!" Duke called before the monster's attack landed and took one of Twilight's hearts.

"Great! Now she's got just two left!" Rainbow said in distress, prompting the cheerleaders to go for another chorus line. 'I wish these three would just clam up already!' Spike thought as Duke laughed in triumph. "You've got just two heart points left, princess, but not for long, cause my two monsters are ready to take them out next round!" he stated. "I won't give up." Twilight said defiantly. "Well, I admire your determination, but the whole city and the whole world is about to see you lose and let Yugi down, then he'll be forced to retire from Duel Monsters in shame! Pegasus will be avenged and Yugi will be exposed as the sham he really is!" Duke responded before laughing in triumph. 'What can I do? Duke has more monsters, more dungeon path and more heart points than me, and he's in a position to attack again. How am I supposed to beat him at his own game?' Twilight thought in distress, gripping her dice as she tried to come up with some sort of plan.