"It HAD to have been Kaiba. No one else can just screw with the duel disks this way. Ooooh, when I find him… I'm gonna give him a piece of my Lunar Scepter!" Serena muttered angrily as she prowled the streets in search of the CEO of KaibaCorp. She clutched at her Moon Prism, only to find it was missing. "When did I drop my Prism…? Whatever, I don't need that thing to clobber him anyway," She said dismissively.
"Looking for someone?" Serena spun around to see the very object of her search. "I tracked you after your last duel," He said emotionlessly. Serena growled and made to charge him, but he jumped aside. She spun back to face him with anger etched into her face.
"You ruined that match for me! I would have won my sixth locator card from her!" She complained. Seto narrowed his eyes.
"First off, you can't prove that I had anything to do with your equipment malfunctioning and I am neither confirming nor denying that I did. Second, both of you were injured," He said, gesturing to her fresh lacerations from Benten's double strike. Serena gave a "humph".
"I was just fine, thanks. I've dealt with worse, being a," she lowered her voice, "Sailor Scout."
"Really? Speaking of which, it seems as though you've dropped your Moon Diamond or whatever it's called. You're acting extremely unlike yourself, Serena. I've not even know you but a day and I can tell," Kaiba shot back. Serena pondered that one for a moment. Come to think of it, she had been feeling a little more… aggressive as of late.
Serena dismissed these thoughts and activated her duel disk. "Confirming, denying, evidence or not, I know you're the one that cost me my locator card. You owe me a match!" She challenged. Kaiba thought for a moment.
She'll create another Shadow Game… and if she does, monsters like my Blue-Eyes White Dragon could permanently injure her. On the other hand, if I win I can get that cursed Wicked Dreadroot card out of her possession and maybe save her life- or the lives of anyone else she might duel, He struggled with himself inwardly for a moment. "…Fine. You want a piece of me? Let's duel," He said finally.
"Alright. Ladies first, so I'll draw and play a facedown monster as well as three other cards. Go," Serena said.
"Damn!" Kaiba swore as he felt the shadow energies already begin to surround them. It's already happened… Damnit, I was hoping to maybe get this over with beforehand, He thought. " I play Spear Dragon in Attack Mode!" He announced as a needle-nosed dragon emerged with a cry (1900/0). "I'll lay down two cards and call it a turn," He added. Serena frowned. Seto hadn't taken the bait and attacked.
"I draw and Flip Summon my Gladiator Beast Hoplomus, Special Summon Test Tiger and use its ability!" Serena said. The cat appeared before both monsters glowed and left the field. "Gladiator Beast Laquari hits the field with 2100 ATK now! Attack Spear Dragon!"
"I play Negate Attack!" Kaiba responded. Serena blinked a few times. Kaiba was playing defense early on… that wasn't like him at all. "Fine. I end my turn," She said.
"I…" Kaiba thought as he looked through his cards. If not for the current conditions, he could tear into her with his Soul Exchange and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. But especially with three face-down cards… not to mention the Shadow Game that made every attack very real. For all he knew, a White Lightning could burn half her face off. "I'll sacrifice my Spear Dragon for Luster Dragon #2!" He said. The emerald dragon roared as it appeared (2400/1400). "One more card facedown," He added.
Now Serena was just confused. Sure, she had face-down cards, but that had never stopped Seto Kaiba before. Why was he holding back now? She smiled as she drew. If he wanted to stall, she'd bring the fight to him.
"I'll Special Summon another Test Tiger!" She began. "I'll toss these guys to the Grave," She said, placing all the monsters on her field into the Graveyard. "And I'll summon The Wicked Dreadroot!" She declared. Kaiba clenched his free hand as the demon descended upon the field. "And now that he's out, your little dragon just got even smaller! I attack!" She ordered.
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"I'd say that's a pretty good beacon," Rebecca said suddenly. Everyone followed her finger until they saw The Wicked Dreadroot falling from the sky. "That's gotta be her. Come on!" She said. She still hadn't changed back from her Sailor form and was getting some odd looks from passers by.
They came up on the duel just as Serena declared her attack. "Another Shadow Game! Kaiba… KAIBA!" Atem yelled as they came within hearing distance. Seto heard his rival's call but didn't answer, instead steeling himself for the coming blow. With one massive claw Dreadroot cut through Kaiba's dragon, then continued on and smashed into Seto. The Kaiba brother flew several feet before landing flat on his back.
"Is that… all you got?" He asked through a grimace as he got back up. He shook his head to clear it, then looked back to Serena. "Come on, you ending your turn or what?" He asked impatiently.
"Yeah. I'd say I've done enough damage," She smirked. Kaiba frowned. He needed a card to take out Dreadroot… without hurting Serena. Even if he DID have a way to attack it, no card in his deck could hit 9000 ATK.
"Hey, Atem," He called over his shoulder. Atem cocked his head. "Want to wish me a bit of that heart of the cards voodoo you're always talking about?" He said wryly. Atem raised an eyebrow and stared. Even in the face of this evil God and staring down potential death if that thing got a direct hit, Kaiba was sarcastic as ever.
"Well, here we go. I draw!" Kaiba said. The moment he touched the card, before he even took it off his deck he knew it was what he needed. He smirked as he looked at it. "Heh. I play my entire hand facedown. Amongst those cards is one that will take down your God," He said. Serena looked uncertainly at Kaiba.
Damn that poker face… I can't tell if he's screwing with me. But there's not a card in his deck that can reach further than 4500! No way he can take out my Dreadroot. He has to be bluffing, She decided. But just to make sure… "I draw! And I'll play Gladiator Beast Darius!" She said. An upright armored horse appeared (1700/300 /2 = 850/150).
"You Normal Summoned a monster, so I'll use Cloning to give myself a defense!" Kaiba replied as a precise of Darius took shape in a defensive stance. Serena snorted and shrugged.
"Fine. Darius, attack that doppelganger!" She ordered. The horse again tried to resist, almost imploring Serena to rethink. She looked at it coldly and Atem's face fell at the sight. It was heartbreaking to see the Moon Princess, normally an icon of justice and peace, ordering her creatures to inflict maximum pain. Kaiba actually laughed as the clone was destroyed.
"Dreadroot, direct attack!" Serena cried. Dreadroot did nothing. "I said attack!" She shouted again. A "tch" noise from Kaiba took her eyes from the God to him. "What did you-" She stopped as a Spell card flipped.
"Command Silencer puts a soundproof wall between you and one of your monsters for a turn. It also allows me to draw one card," He added. Everyone on the sidelines breathed a sigh of relief.
"Atem, Kaiba's always been a power player. Why is he being so defensive now? Isn't that really unlike him?" Rebecca asked. Atem nodded.
"Kaiba is unpredictable, that's for sure. He knows he's in a Shadow Game and if I'm right, he's trying to play without attacking with any strong creatures. He doesn't want to hurt her," He said.
"Maybe not, but I want to hurt YOU!" Before anyone could react, Bakura jumped Atem from behind and knocked him to the ground. Rei and Rebecca made to attack him, only to be slammed by Neflite and Jaedite. "Get OFF!" Atem grunted, kicking the evil entity off of him. To his side he saw Rei run down a back alley to transform away from the growing crowd that had been watching the duel and were currently scattering. Rebecca, still in Sailor Moon form, was deadlocked in a test of strength with Neflite while Jaedite chased after Rei.
Kaiba shot a look at Serena, turned his head to the fight that had broken out and turned to her. "Your friends are in trouble, but you no longer care, do you? Dreadroot's influencing your free will, Serena! Look at yourself!" He said fiercely. She turned to look at the raging battle as Rebecca threw a punch to Neflite's midsection.
"…They're taking care of themselves, they don't need me for now. Besides, Rebecca has my Prism. They can handle the enemy, you and I have unfinished business!" She reminded him.
"Yes, Serena, that's it! Your friends can handle us just fine. Until I do this, that is! I summon Gra…pha?" Bakura leafed through his deck once. Twice. Three times. Grapha was missing. Where the… He snared as he figured out what happened. At the same time, Kaiba began to chuckle.
"Looking for something?" He asked, revealing the Grapha cards hidden away on an inside pocket of his coat. "You forget, thief wannabe, I'm the master of all dragons! Even your demonic drakes will ultimately belong to the one and only dragon tamer!" Kaiba said with a finality that surprised even Atem.
Bakura was furious. Kaiba had stolen the most powerful cards from his deck when he'd kicked it during their previous struggle. "Fine! I'll summon Snoww, Beige, Brron, Goldd and Silva!" He said even as the dark warriors appeared. Atem's eyes darted from one to the other as the two Scouts and he backed into each other.
"I call upon the Dark Magician, Buster Blader, Dark Magician Girl, Magician of Black Chaos and Black Luster Soldier!" He declared. He fell into massive concentration as he summoned the energy required for such a mass summon. Rei saw Atem fall to his knees as the Pharaoh became weak with fatigue.
"Rebecca, protect Atem! Mars Incinerate!" Rei shot a blast of fire at Neflite, who'd tried a sneak attack and had to throw herself to the side. Atem's monsters clashed with Bakura's with a mighty battle cry from both sides and Kaiba ducked as he saw the flame come his way.
"Don't worry, we're fine," Serena laughed as the fire dissipated before his eyes. So, they were inside some sort of bubble shield… "It was my move, I believe! And Darius' effect allows me to Summon Gladiator Beast Laquari! (2100/400 /2 = 1050/200)"
"Hold on! When you destroyed my clone, Flat LV 4 goes off, allowing both of us to play a Level 4 monster from the deck! I'll take Vorse Raider!" He said. The beast with an axe rose in Defense Mode (1900/1200 /2 = 950/600). Serena smiled.
"And I'll bring Bestiari to the party!" She replied (1500/700 /2 = 750/350). Kaiba hesitated, but held up a hand.
"…I'm sorry, Serena. Ring of Destruction to destroy Bestiari and hit both of us for its ATK!" He said. Serena's eyes widened as a choker of grenades exploded on Bestiari. Serena yelled out as the flame of the explosion licked at her leg and Kaiba grimaced as a stray piece of Bestiari glanced off of his shoulder (8000 - 750 = 7250 both). "Are you okay?" He asked as he instinctively moved to dodge a Moon Tiara Magic and Dark Magic Attack combo. Serena smirked at the pointless move.
"Fine. I end my turn," She said.
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Amy gasped as her "team" heard the sounds of what sounded like a war coming from a good mile or so away. She turned to Yugi, who held out his hands.
"I'm no fighter, Amy. Tristan might be able to help, but…" He said.
"What, you think I can't handle myself?" Tea demanded. Tristan put a hand on her shoulder.
"Tea, we're talking about people from an evil dimension with shadow magic, not the average school bully," He reminded her. She considered before nodding in agreement. "Well, Amy can definitely help out. You can transform… uhm, in there?" He said. She followed his finger and raised an eyebrow.
"A porta-potty? Seriously? Ugh, the life of a superhero. Superman doesn't deal with this, he has phone booths," Amy muttered as she entered the stall. A moment later, Sailor Mercury ran out, leaving the others to catch up.
"Eager to get to the fight or get out of the toilet?" Yugi asked with a laugh. Amy gave him a fisheye.
"Both."
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"Atem, doin' alright? Screw off!" Rebecca added, knocking away Brron into the waiting staff of Dark Magician Girl. She turned back to Atem. "As I was saying…" She said.
"I'll be fine. Just… give me a moment more," He said inbetween labored breaths. She nodded and turned back around to see a spear from Beige coming at her.
"Oh, crap," She said, putting her hands up. When the weapon didn't connect, she opened the eyes she'd squeezed shut. Amy was standing over her, Icicle Sword in hand, parrying the attack. A solid kick to the face sent the dark monster flying as Amy helped Rebecca to her feet. "Thanks for the save. Kaiba and Serena are in the middle of a Shadow Game and Bakura decided he'd have the Negaverse and his whole friggin' deck assault us," She explained.
"A Shadow Game?!" Amy asked sharply. Rebecca gave the short version of what had happened between Serena and Neflite. "I wondered why in the name of Mercury you had the Moon Prism," Amy said. Rebecca nodded. "Speaking of them, it seems like Kaiba's losing. Dreadroot's on the field," She pointed out.
"He's been playing really defensive, completely unlike his normal dueling. He thinks Kaiba's trying not to hurt Serena," Rebecca said, pointing to Atem.
"Is he gonna be alright? No offense, but you don't exactly look your finest," Amy noticed. Atem, having gotten to his feet, nodded.
"It took a bit to regain my strength after summoning all those monsters… I haven't done that much shadow manipulation in some time," He explained. Amy nodded and looked around. "Well, we have a brawl to fight here, let's get kicking," She said before launching headfirst into the melee with a Shabon Bubble Blast.
"Let's go," Rebecca said.