Hellowe! This was a tough chapter and a very long one, so we hope you will enjoy it!
Just to make you aware of it, there are no holograms in this duel, for they're not using duel disks or anything like that. It's old school dueling sitting cross-legged on the floor.
Chapter 3
Rex arrived ten minutes after Maya had left. Rose had been waiting extremely agitated and doubted she had done the right thing, inviting Rex. But there was no turning back now. The only thing she could do now was to enjoy the time she had with Rex, for it might be the only chance she could ever get in her life. Rose jumped up as Rex came in without knocking. They greeted each other and Rose offered Rex a seat on the ground as they didn't even have a little table in their room, let alone chairs or a couch. She asked him what he wanted to drink and offered him Pim's she had brought from Belgium. While Rose was taking the drinks and the cookies, Rex observed the room and asked where Maya was.
"Actually, I don't know", Rose said honestly, "but Maya knowing, she's searching for a bar so she can drink chocolate milk."
"Chocolate milk?", Rex asked a bit surprised, "I don't think they have chocolate milk at a bar."
"Huh?", Rose said in very big surprise, "How come that? That's just horrible! What a shame!"
"You've never been to a bar before?", Rex asked not being able to believe that.
"Euhm, no not really…", Rose admitted reluctantly, "but I have been in a tea room before! And they sell chocolate milk there!"
Rex didn't know what to say and just stared in astonishment at the person who was now sitting in front of him.
"Well apparently, I haven't missed anything at the bars if they even don't have chocolate milk. Shall we start the duel then?"
"Euhm, yeah…", Rex answered, causing Rose to think she had already made a crucial mistake. But she decided to act as if she wasn't aware of her weirdness.
"Okay, let's shuffle the cards then", she went on, "you may begin if you want."
"Okay, that's fine with me." Rex answered, deciding to pay full attention to the duel now. When they had finished shuffling each other's cards, they each drew five cards from their decks. As Rex drew his sixth card and carefully overthought his first move, Rose was scared to death that she was about to make a real fool out of herself and desperately hoped she could at least halve his life points.
"Okay", Rex said, "I'll start by summoning Kabazauls (ATK 1700/DEF 1500) in attack mode. And next, I'll special summon Gilasaurus (ATK 1400/DEF 400). When I treat Gilasaurus as a special summon, you can special summon a monster from your graveyard, but of course, you still don't have any, so that's impossible."
"Believe me", Rose said trying to hide her fear, "I know how Gilasaurus works. I've got one myself."
"All the better", Rex answered, "then it's your turn."
Rose drew a card and tried to do her best to think as carefully and especially as fast as she could to make sure Rex didn't have to wait too long.
"I put one card face-down and summon Jurrac Dino (ATK 1700/DEF 800) in attack mode. With it, I attack Gilasaurus. So that should do 300 points of damage to you (LP 3700).", Rose said, feeling relieved that at very least she had been able to do some damage to Rex.
"Okay", Rex replied, "anything else?"
"I end my turn." Rose said, hoping that Rex wouldn't risk attacking her Jurrac Dino out of fear for her face-down card, but unfortunately for her, Rex must and will always attack. He drew his next card.
"I put a card face-down as well and summon Uraby (ATK 1500/DEF 800) in attack mode. Now I attack Jurrac Dino with Kabazauls, so that they destroy each other."
"Okay", Rose answered, realizing that she was going to lose quite some life points in one blow.
"Next, I attack your life points directly with Uraby!" Rex said while raising his voice.
"In that case, my life points drop to 2500." Rose said, feeling like a big loser.
"Okay, your turn then.", Rex said satisfied. Rose drew a card, telling herself that she could still turn things around. That worked better when she saw the card she had drawn.
"I set a monster and end my turn."
"Oh, so we're defending now, huh.", Rex said, getting more confident with every second that passed as he drew another card.
"I put one more card face-down and summon Mad Sword Beast (ATK 1400/DEF 1200) in attack mode! Now, Mad Sword Beast has a special ability.", Rex explained, "When attacking a defence position monster, damage calculation is applied as if attacking an attack position monster."
"You mean pierce damage?", Rose asked just to be sure.
"Indeed, pierce damage.", Rex replied. "Now, there's a good chance the defence of her face-down monster is higher than the attack of my Mad Sword Beast", Rex thought, "but if that's the case, I can still activate my face-down card, Reinforcements, so Mad Sword Beast's attack rises to 1900. That will do it."
"I attack your set monster with Mad Sword Beast!"
"It's Black Stego (DEF 2000/ ATK 1200).", Rose said, while trying not to hurt Rex in any way by saying that fact. "I guess that means you lose 600 life points?" Rex decided not to waste Reinforcements just to save 500 life points, so he let it happen (LP3100).
"Fine", Rex replied, "then it's your turn."
"Okay, then I'll try to activate my trap card Just Desserts."
"Euhm, aren't you forgetting something?"
"What do you mean?", Rose asked a bit concerned.
"You still haven't drawn your card."
"… oh yes, of course! I can't believe I forgot it again."
"Again?", Rex asked himself in disbelief, "How can you forget to draw a card? Most people tend to draw a card too much. That is so weird."
"Sometimes, I could just hit myself on the head!", Rose thought, but she figured that the best thing to do would be to ignore her stupidity and go on with the duel. She drew a card!
"Okay, like I said, I'll try to activate Just Desserts. So you should lose 1000 life points."
"I activate Dark Bribe to destroy Just Desserts, but you're allowed to draw another card now.", Rex said.
"Okay…", Rose mumbled as she did so. "I lay a face-down card, set a monster and end my turn." "My stupidity is rising with every move I do. What was I thinking? That I was going to impress Rex with my dueling style? I'm such a fool… I… I need a cookie." Rose reached for the opened bag, but as she searched for any cookies, she couldn't find any. She glanced over at Rex and was just in time to see him lick off his fingers. "Well, good thing I brought three packages.", Rose thought as she opened a second package and took out her first cookie.
"Now, for the good part", Rex continued, not aware of anything at all, "I sacrifice Uraby and Mad Sword Beast to summon Black Tyranno (ATK 2600/DEF 1800)!"
"Wow! A Black Tyranno! I've always wanted that one!" That was the first thing Rose had said spontaneously that evening… after the thing about the chocolate milk of course.
"I know, and with it, I attack Black Stego!", Rex said proudly.
"Then I'll try to activate the Reliable Guardian, so that Black Stego's attack rises to 2700 for the rest of this turn."
"Good move, but not good enough I'm afraid.", Rex said even more proudly, "I activate Reinforcements so that Black Tyranno receives a 500 attack points boost for a total of 3100!"
"Oh my God…", was all Rose could say as she sent her cards to the graveyard. "Are you going to do anything else?"
"No, I'll leave it at that for now."
"Okay", Rose said in relief as she did draw a card! She knew she was in trouble now and told herself to stay calm and make sure she didn't do anything stupid. She had already made too many mistakes, but if she was lucky… she knew she had a few combo's that could turn things around for her. She looked at the card she had drawn and began thinking as deep and carefully as she could. This could do it, but it would be risky. If only Black Tyranno didn't have that damned special effect…
Rex was observing Rose carefully and could tell from the look in her eyes that she was having a hard time, searching for a way to save her life points. Because she hadn't really been a threat to him during the entire duel, he decided to make her aware of the danger she was in.
"You know, Black Tyranno has a special effect.", Rex started, " Whenever my opponent has no cards on the field except defence position monsters, Black Tyranno can attack your life points directly. I couldn't do that last turn, because you still had your face-down card, but now you only have one set monster. So be aware of that."
"I know that, I'm trying to search for a solution, but it's not easy."
"Oh, okay then, take your time."
"Okay, I'll have to wait for the next card I draw. Let's just hope the card that should follow did not get lost during the shuffling. Now, I have to keep him off my life points for one more turn, but how? I can summon Jurrac Protops now, but if he summons a monster that's stronger, he'll destroy it and then he can attack my life points directly. Of course, Jurrac Protops receives 100 attack points for every monster on his side of the field. So if he summons a monster, Jurrac Protops will have 1900 attack points. The chance that that monster will be stronger than that is extremely small. The chance that it is equally strong however is bigger, so if he sacrifices that monster by letting it attack Jurrac Protops, he can still attack my life points directly. I only see one solution then, I'll have to flip summon Jurrac Aeolo. That's ridiculous; he only has 200 attack points. If Rex attacks it with Black Tyranno, I'll only have 100 life points left… WAIT! I almost forgot! Jurrac Aeolo has a special effect!"
During all this thinking, Rex had been waiting patiently while eating cookies. He had noticed that Rose already had said 'I'll try to activate…' two times. Why was that? Of course, he had been able to stop her every time, but she couldn't know that in advance. Usually, you just say that you activate something, not that you're trying to. She was so terribly uncertain...
"I summon Jurrac Protops (ATK 1700/DEF 1200).", Rose said, "He gets a 100 attack boost for every monster you have on the field, so now he has 1800 attack points."
"Okay", Rex replied very calmly.
"And I'll tribute my set monster Jurrac Aeolo (ATK 200/DEF 200), so I can summon a lever 4 or lower monster from my graveyard and I choose Jurrac Dino (ATK 1700/DEF 800) in attack mode. There ends my turn."
"Okay", Rex said, not very impressed. He could tell she was making desperate moves in order to keep her life points as long as possible, but it wouldn't last forever. He drew a card. He didn't have a monster in his hand that had more than 1600 attack points. So she would last one more turn. "I attack Jurrac Dino with Black Tyranno."
"That means I lose 900 life points (LP1600).", Rose said, as she realized she could have lost a lot more life points than that. "Now let this be the card I am expecting!", Rose thought while she drew her next card. "I activate Dark Hole!"
"Dark Hole!", Rex said in surprise, "You put Dark Hole in your deck? Do you realise that you destroy your own monsters with it too?"
"Why is everyone so surprised when I play it?", Rose answered, "I'm not finished yet."
"Okay, what's your next move then?", Rex asked, doubting it would do her any good.
"Next, I activate Monster Reborn!"
"… Well, that's… surprising…", Rex said, realizing what a great, and at the same time simple, combo she had created. Why hadn't he ever thought of anything simple and efficient like that?
"I special summon Black Tyranno from your graveyard and attack your life points directly with it!" "Damn the fact that I don't have a monster in my hand to normal summon. I would have won the duel. Oh well, I'm in the lead right now."
"Then, I only have 500 life points left…", Rex said in astonishment.
"I end my turn.", Rose said a bit more confident.
"I can't believe it…, I'm totally defenceless…, how was she able to turn things around so drastically? Perhaps I've underestimated her… ." Rex drew a card. "Gosh, I couldn't have asked for anything better. I'll just summon Trakodon in attack mode to make sure she attacks and the next turn, I'll finish her off."
"I play a face-down card and summon Trakodon (ATK 1300/DEF 800) in attack mode. There ends my turn."
"Why for god's sake would he play that weak monster in attack mode? I can just attack and win the duel, so why didn't he play it in defence mode? It must have something to do with that face-down card, no doubt. I can't attack, it's too risky." "I end my turn."
"But you haven't even drawn a card!"
"… OH NO!", Rose screamed out while holding her hands against her head, "Oh well, it's too late now. I already said I end my turn, so go ahead. It's your turn."
"No no, you didn't do anything anyway, so just draw a card and redo your turn.", Rex said, confused beyond belief by Rose's uncertainty and nervousness. She was so different from all his former opponents.
So Rose drew a card, but decided that it wouldn't change the situation and repeated her turn end.
"I can't believe she did not attack! I could have laid a lame face-down card, just to make her believe I have a big plan. Unfortunately for her, I do have one, but she can't know that and instead prefers taking the risk that I can start summoning stronger monsters. This girl is WAY too uncertain."
"Actually, I am so stupid! He could have just laid that face-down card in the hopes I would think he has a big plan with it. Now he can start summoning strong monsters. Next time, I just attack when I have the chance. If there will be a next time of course…"
"Look, I draw a card.", Rex said with a smile, trying to free Rose from the chains that prevented her from relaxing a bit. But he achieved the opposite effect.
"Yes.", Rose said, looking down out of shame, "Some people tend to forget that from time to time."
Rex noticed this, but couldn't come up with anything to make clear that he didn't mean to insult her. He was getting a bit uncomfortable now. He decided to just go on with the duel. "I sacrifice Trakodon in order to summon Super-Ancient Dinobeast (ATK 2700/DEF 1400)!"
"A card with that many attack only requires one offer?", Rose asked in awe.
"Yep, but only if the tribute monster is a dinosaur.", Rex said proudly again.
"Wow…"
"I attack Black Tyranno with Super-Ancient Dinobeast!"
"That means I have only 1500 life points left… .", Rose said, realizing the end was near now.
"I end my turn and don't forget to draw a card!", Rex said just to be sure she wouldn't forget it again.
"I won't.", Rose replied, taking her card, "But I guess it won't be of any use anymore."
"Why not?", Rex asked a bit surprised.
"It's not like I still stand a chance. Super-Ancient Dinobeast is so strong."
"I know, but don't even consider giving up! Besides, you have a lot more life points than I do."
"Not for long I'm afraid.", Rose answered while she studied the card she had drawn. Perhaps she could buy herself some more time with this. "I summon Blizzard Dragon (ATK 1800/ DEF 1000) in attack mode. He has a special ability. Once per turn, I can select one monster you control so it cannot change its battle position or declare an attack until the end of your turn. And for now, I choose Super-Ancient Dinobeast. I end my turn."
"Somehow, she manages to save her skin every time.", Rex thought as he drew his card, "I can summon Two-Headed King Rex. It's not strong enough to defeat Blizzard Dragon, but in the end I don't have anything to fear. I still have my face-down card and besides, she won't attack as long as it's there." "I summon Two-Headed King Rex (ATK 1600/ DEF 1200) and end my turn. And draw a card!"
"Okay." Rose answered and drew a card, "He must be very annoyed with me that he always has to remind me of that." "I set a monster and…" "Am I now going to attack or what? I'm so afraid of his face-down card. Oh, screw it, just attack Rose, it's probably not that bad. Take your chance!"
"Yes?", Rex asked a bit curious.
"I'll try to attack Two-Headed King Rex with Blizzard Dragon!"
"… You're attacking me?", Rex asked astonished.
"… Yes I guess… or am I not allowed to?", Rose asked very uncertain.
"Oh yes, you are allowed, but I didn't think you would attack since you didn't do that last time either."
"So, have I done the right thing attacking you, or was I right fearing your face-down card?"
"Actually, you were right. I activate Mirror Force to destroy all your attack position monsters. Luckily for you, you only have one and the other is a set monster. So you did do a good thing not to attack last time."
"I knew it! I knew it! I just knew it! I knew I shouldn't attack and I still did it!", Rose exclaimed.
"But it could have been a lame spell or trap card. In that case, you could have finished me off a long time ago."
"But it wasn't!"
"Well, no but… you just always have to attack whenever you can!", Rex said.
"But you said yourself I did a good thing not to attack you the first time!"
"Yes, but… you couldn't know that!"
"That's why I didn't attack! Because I didn't know it!"
"But… I give up…", Rex said finally. There was no way he was going to get through to this girl.
"Oh well, I end my turn.", Rose said as she sent Blizzard Dragon to the graveyard.
"Okay." Rex drew a card. "So I guess Super-Ancient Dinobeast still can't attack?"
"No indeed, until the end of this turn."
"I attack your set monster with Two-Headed King Rex."
"It's Jurrac Monoloph (DEF 1200/ ATK 1500). Now I can special summon Jurrac Herra (ATK 2300/ DEF 1500) from my hand."
"Huh?", Rex asked a bit confused.
"Yes, it's Jurrac Herra's special ability. When a defence position Jurrac monster I control is destroyed by battle, I can special summon Jurrac Herra from my hand or graveyard."
"Cool…", Rex said in awe, but then he realized something. "If she attacks Two-Headed King Rex with Jurrac Herra, I'll lose the duel! Damn it, that means I'll have to use this card. I don't like that, it means you're desperate…" "I lay a face-down card and end my turn."
"So if I'm able to attack Two-Headed King Rex, I win the duel? Can't believe that, his face-down card will stop me… oh Rose, you idiot! I almost forgot to draw a card!" And so, Rose drew a card.
"I activate Survival Instinct!", Rex said interrupting Rose's thoughts.
"Euh, what?", Rose asked in surprise.
"Now I can select any number of dinosaur-type monsters in my graveyard and remove them from play. And for every dinosaur removed, I gain 400 life points."
"…" Rose didn't quite know what was happening.
"So let's see, I'll remove Trakodon, Mad Sword Beast, Uraby, Kabazauls and Gilasaurus. That means I gain 2000 life points."
"You… you have 2500 life points again?", Rose asked in great fear.
"Indeed.", Rex answered. "I can remove Black Tyranno too, but I prefer keeping it in case I can special summon from my graveyard. I've got a lot more life points than her now, anyway."
"I struggled so much to get him down to 500 life points and now look …, it's hopeless. Where did he get a card like that anyway?" "Where did you get a card like that?"
"Please, don't remind me…", Rex answered sadly as he thought back on his Orichalcos adventures. "I don't like the card anyway."
"Why not, you should.", Rose answered not knowing Rex' opinion about the card. "I've never heard of it before and it's perfect for a dinodeck." Rex however didn't answer. "But you're right, when I think back at what I've been through to get some of my cards, my stomach turns upside down."
"… Really?", Rex asked in surprise, "Would she really have done things as crazy as I did? Are Weevil and I not the only people with a terrible past? … Would she know about the Orichalcos? Did she use it once and lost her soul?"
"Oh, it's still my turn, isn't it?"
"Euh, yeah." Rex answered, waking up from his thoughts.
"Okay, I sacrifice Jurrac Herra, so I can summon Frostosaurus (ATK 2600/DEF 1700) and…"
"A Frostosaurus!", Rex yelled out, causing Rose to jump up a bit.
"Euh, yes… yes indeed!" Now it was Rose's turn to be proud.
"Is that one of the cards for which you had to do crazy stuff?", Rex asked totally absorbed.
"Yes indeed." Rose answered.
"Wow…"
"Okay, he's getting weird now.", Rose thought, "Perhaps I should just go on with the duel." "Like I said, I summon Frostosaurus in attack mode and I equip the spell card Black Pendant on it. Now Frostosaurus' attack points rise till 3100 and when this spell card is sent to the graveyard, you receive 500 points of damage."
"… aaahhhh!", was all Rex could 'say'.
"So I'll attack Two-Headed King Rex with Frostosaurus. Is that working?"
"Yes, it works. That means my life points drop to 1000.", Rex said, getting a little worried right now. She was dueling a lot better than before.
"Then I'll finish off by playing a face-down card. Your move."
Rex was relieved to see his next card. If he didn't stop her Frostosaurus right now, he would get crushed by it. "I activate the spell card Rush Recklessly so that Super-Ancient Dinobeast's attack rises till 3400 until my end fase! And then…"
"I'll try to activate Magic Jammer so I can destroy Rush Recklessly. Do you stop me?"
"No, I can't.", Rex knew he was in trouble now.
"Then I discard Remove Trap from my hand. Anything else?"
"I switch Super-Ancient Dinobeast to defence mode, set a monster and end my turn." Rex did not like to switch his strong dino into such a vulnerable position at all.
"Who's defending now huh?", Rose thought. But she didn't say anything because she didn't want to hurt Rex with such hard words.
"Don't forget to draw a card.", Rex reminded Rose as he noticed that she was thinking instead of just first drawing her card.
"… oh yes, of course, I think I almost forgot it again." She drew a card!
"No, I'm quite sure you forgot it again.", Rex said, laughing a bit.
"… Yeah, you're right.", Rose said, laughing a bit too. "Then I'll summon Lancer Lindwurm in attack mode (ATK 1800/ DEF 1200). This card has pierce damage."
"Oh no!", Rex exclaimed.
"I am afraid so and with it, I attack Super-Ancient Dinobeast. So -400 (LP600)?"
"Yes…", Rex said, getting really worried now.
"Then I'll also attack your set monster with Frostosaurus."
"Balloon Lizard (DEF 1900/ATK 500) is destroyed."
"Then I end my turn." "This is so great! He only has 600 life points left and is totally defenceless. If I'm lucky, I can win the duel next turn… just don't become too confident Rose! Duels can change with only one card."
"This is ridiculous!", Rex thought, "ever since that Dark Hole – Monster Reborn combo, I'm struggling to stay alive. I don't have a single card on the field!", Rex looked at the card he had just drawn. "… I'm back in the game!" "I activate the spell card Hammer Shot!"
"What does that do?", Rose asked a bit concerned.
"Now, I can destroy one face-up monster with the highest attack, so we'll have to say goodbye to Frostosaurus."
"Goodbye.", Rose said sadly to her card as she sent it to the graveyard. "Oh, that means you lose 500 life points too, since you've destroyed Black Pendant with Frostosaurus."
"Oh no! I forgot! Do I still have any life points then?"
"Let's see, yes… 100 to be exact."
"Damn it, I have to take control of the duel now!", Rex thought. "I summon Giant Rex (ATK 2000/DEF 1200) in attack mode and attack Lancer Lindwurm!"
"That's 200 points of damage to me."
"So you've still got 1300 life points left?", Rex asked just to be sure.
"Yes indeed."
"Then I'll lay a card face-down and end my turn.", Rex said. "Now she has no cards on the field! I'm going to win!"
"I'm going to lose…", Rose thought as she did not forget to draw a card. "I can't do anything but lay a set monster. I'm done." "I set a monster and end my turn."
Rex drew his card. "Great! I summon Kaitoptera (ATK 1400/DEF 700) in attack mode! First, I attack your set monster with Giant Rex!"
"Jurrac Dino is destroyed.", Rose said peacefully as she had already accepted her loss.
"… So you've got two Jurrac Dino's?"
"Yes, indeed. Now finish me off."
"Okay." And so Rex delivered the final attack of the duel. "I attack your life points directly with Kaitoptera!" Rose's life points dropped to 0. The duel was over.
"That was a tough duel.", Rose sighed leaning backward.
"Yeah…", Rex said doing the same thing.
"I need a cookie…" Rose took the second package but once again couldn't find any cookies. She avoided looking at Rex again and just opened the third and last package so she could take out her second cookie of the evening. "You're an amazingly good duelist, Rex."
Rex' eyes shot wide open at Rose at hearing those words. No-one had ever said something like that to him. He studied Rose carefully, causing her to start blushing and avoid Rex' stare.
"Gosh, I just can't act normal when he looks at me like that with those beautiful blue eyes.", Rose thought, getting shyer with every second.
"No-one has ever said anything like that to me before.", Rex thought totally confused, "Usually, people just insult me during the entire duel and then laugh at me afterwards when they win or insult me even more when they lose. Sometimes, they even beat me up… but this girl is so different. She has been kind to me during the entire duel, and now that she has lost, she isn't even too embittered because of her loss to give me a compliment…" All these thoughts were confusing Rex to no end. Every time people yelled at him and insulted him, he was forced to yell back at them and insulting them as well. It was an instinctive reaction out of pure self-defence. Now, he felt the urge to do something he had never done before… the urge to say something nice back. "I really enjoyed dueling you."
"… You did?", Rose asked, confused as well. "After all the stupid things I did? He's just trying to be nice to me. There's no way he's not annoyed with me."
"Yes… I really did. You're a very good duelist too and you would be even better if you wouldn't be so uncertain."
"Uncertain? What do you mean?" Rose obviously wasn't aware of her personality.
"Well, you know… you always say you're 'trying' to activate something."
"That's because I can't know if you will stop me or not."
"That's not important, you always have to believe it will work, show no doubt and just say that you activate it.", Rex explained.
"… You're probably right, but that just is not like me. I feel like a big fool if I say I activate something and then my opponent just cuts me short."
"You don't have to feel like a fool for that, that's just what happens in duels.", Rex said wisely. "And I think you wouldn't forget to draw so many cards, if you wouldn't be so stressed."
"I forget to draw cards out of stupidity. Not out of uncertainty."
"That's not true. Uncertainty makes you do stupid things, it doesn't mean you're stupid yourself."
Rose felt very warm inside as Rex said all those words. He really was a very good boy. She always had expected him to be like that, without even knowing him.
Rex experienced a new feeling. He had never tried to comfort someone before. It felt strange and weird, but also kind of good. They were silent for a few moments. Rex examining Rose and Rose staring at the ground. At last, Rex broke the silence.
"Are you actually English?"
"Huh?", Rose asked a bit surprised at the question.
"Well, you speak English well, but I get the feeling it's not your mother tongue."
"You noticed that right. I'm from Belgium."
"From Belgium? What's that, a mountain range or something?"
"No.", Rose said, laughing a bit, "Belgium is a small country in Europe. It lays between France and Germany. My mother tongue is Dutch."
"Dutch? Never heard of that before…", Rex said feeling a bit ashamed.
"Don't bother it. Not a lot of people know it. We're kind of meaningless to the world and it's a very rainy country, so not a single soul who goes on a vacation to us. You know, we don't have a government for already more than a year, but nobody really bothers it and the politics keep on peacefully negotiating. That's quite funny, isn't it? Any other country would have fallen apart by now."
"Yeah, that is funny…", Rex said a bit absent-minded as he was analyzing every word Rose said in an attempt to find the answer for her strange behaviour towards him.
"But the food is great in Belgium! Best country! I'm proud of it!", and Rose took her third cookie from the evening.
"Say something in Dutch.", Rex demanded.
"Okay…", Rose thought for a few seconds before saying with a smile on her face: "Ik hou van jou, Rex Raptor."
"What did you say about me?"
"I said: You're a good duelist, Rex Raptor."
"Oh… cool! Sounds beautiful!", Rex answered, once again flattered by the compliment. He however had no idea that Rose had said something completely different. She had said: I love you, Rex Raptor.
"I've never seen you in a tournament before. Is this your first one?", Rex asked curiously.
"Yes indeed!", Rose replied enthusiastically, "Maya and I are studying at university, so it's quite difficult to combine it with dueling. We're lucky Pegasus was so smart to organise the tournament during the summer holidays."
"You two study?", Rex asked in awe for he had left school a long time ago, "What do you study then?"
"Maya does Japanese studies and I am studying French and German."
"Wow, that's impressive."
"Nah, I'm having a few re-examinations, so next year will be tough. Maya however is a lot smarter than I am."
"Look, look! There's the uncertainty again!", Rex thought as if he had discovered a new dinosaur species. He'll name it: Uncertasaurus.
"Why is he so interested in me? Would he… No! No! Just no, Rose! Don't even dare to think about it, you will only get hurt."
And so, both of them had a hard time trying to see through each other. Finally, Rose had gathered enough courage to ask Rex something she had wanted to know for years. "What happened to you after the Regional Duel Monsters Championship? I've heard that you participated in Duelist Kingdom, but got defeated in the first round. After that, I haven't heard anything from you. So, what happened?"
Rex however didn't answer and lowered his head.
"Oh well, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. In the end, it's none of my business." There was a tense silence and Rose desperately searched for something to break it. "Anyhow, I'm sure you will make it till round two in no time. You have to, because otherwise, I am about to make a real fool out of myself and that just is unacceptable." Rex laughed a bit at those words. It was working! "Is Super-Ancient Dinobeast your strongest monster?"
Rex looked up, having forgotten his sadness in an instant. "No! I have a far better monster in my deck that will lead me straight to the top! But I'm not telling you which monster. It should stay a nice surprise."
"I'm happy to hear that", Rose said enthusiastically as well, "because Frostosaurus isn't my best monster neither. I would love to see our supreme monsters against each other in round two."
"I look forward to it!", Rex replied already getting excited. "How exactly did you get obsessed with dinosaurs?"
And so, a long and excited conversation between the two began. Rex told Rose, he had been obsessed with dinosaurs as long as he could remember. Rose said that she got fascinated by them, when she saw The Land Before Time and especially because of the documentary Walking with Dinosaurs. Whenever she saw an episode, she couldn't sleep at night. (She 'forgot' to tell Rex that he had attributed to her obsession as well.) Both of them were now relaxed and excited at the same time. For the first time in their lives, they could talk about dinosaurs in the knowledge they were understood by the other. Rex had often talked about dinosaurs with Weevil, but was always interrupted by insect talking or just ignored. Maya, of course, had always listened to Rose, but it wasn't the same thing to talk with someone who felt the same way.
"Is your favourite dinosaur perhaps Tyrannosaurus Rex, Rex?", Rose assumed.
"Yes… how do you know that?"
"Well, it was either that or raptor.", Rose reasoned.
"Why?"
"… never mind. It's just obvious."
"Oh… what's your favourite then?"
"Triceratops! No doubt! Its horns are sooooo cool!", Rose said, overexcited.
"Well, I'll eat you in that case.", Rex replied, smirking.
"Not if I skewer you on my horns!" Rose pretended to ram him with her head. In response, Rex showed his teeth and growled.
All of this was new to Rex. He had never had such an honest and open conversation with anyone without having to fear being insulted or whatever. Without really realizing it, he felt happy.
So they talked and talked and talked, until Rose somehow came back to reality. "Oh my God! It's almost midnight!"
"What?", Rex exclaimed not believing that, "Then I better go back to my room. We should rest well for tomorrow."
"Yes, you're right.", Rose answered reluctantly. "It really was a great honour to me, Rex. Thanks, you wanted to make some time for me."
"You're welcome, I enjoyed the time we spent together." And so Rex left, leaving Rose in the room, unable to think for a few moments. As she slowly came back to her senses, she realized Maya was still waiting somewhere, so she immediately sent a message. Much to Rose's surprise, she already came in after thirty seconds, so she didn't get lost after all.
"Just how long did that duel last?" Maya seemed a bit irritated. "It started at eight o'clock and now it's midnight!"
"We talked a bit afterwards… he's a GOD Maya!", Rose said with a strange smile on her face.
"I can see that! He quite literally turned your world upside down.", Maya replied as she looked over at Rose, who was lying with her back on her bed and with her legs in the air against the wall.
"He's such a GOD!", Rose exclaimed shaking her head violently, ramming the air.
"Seto is a GOD!", Maya screamed out, getting infected too.
"Huh?", Rose asked in surprise.
And so they began telling each other what had happened. They talked for nearly one hour and a half, which they figured wasn't very smart, but they couldn't sleep anyway. At two o'clock in the night, both fell asleep totally exhausted.
Maya: You totally screwed up, Rose.
Rose: Pfff, like you did any better. Besides, I am beating Mai in the next chapter!
Maya: No! I am!
Rose: Not that discussion again! I am!
Maya: No! I am!
Rose: No! I am!
Owl: Hoot hoot hoot! Translation: No I am!
Maya + Rose: You! Stay out of this!
Owl: Hoot hoot. Translation: I'm hungry.
Maya + Rose: ...