The Astronaut that Bars the Way
Shiho held the reins with his right hand as he activated his Duel Disk. He drew his five cards, and inserted them into the hand slot normally used for a Turbo Duel. He looked up at Sasuke, who was ready for this Duel. "So how is this gonna work, exactly?"
"The way a regular Duel works, but with an added twist. See, my horses are trained well, but they can still be spooked." Sasuke smirked. "If you fall off your horse, you automatically lose the Duel."
"What? That isn't fair!" Adachi shouted.
"Don't worry. The chances that my horses will get spooked are very low. But hey, its all in good fun, right? Let's do this!"
"Fine!"
"Let's Duel!" That shouted in unison.
Shiho: 4000 LP
Sasuke: 4000 LP
"I'll start this Duel off! And I'll start by summoning Aeronaut Gardna in defense mode!" Sasuke shouted as his monster appeared, a blue hue coating it. "Next, I'll place two cards facedown, and end my turn!"
"My turn, then! And I summon Azurian Bailiff in defense mode! And when he's in defense mode, I can activate his special ability, switching all other monsters on the field's battle positions!" Shiho's monster appeared, and it whistled its whistle, causing Sasuke's Gardna to switch to attack mode. "I'll also activate my Right to an Attorney spell card! This allows me to special summon an Azurian monster by changing the battle position of a monster on my field, so my Bailiff will change into attack mode, in order to make way for my Azurian Aide in defense mode! And since he's in defense mode, I can add two spell cards from my deck to my hand, so I'm going to choose my second Right to an Attorney and my Plea Bargaining!"
"An interesting strategy."
"Oh, I've got more planned! I'll be activating that second Right to an Attorney right now, changing my Aide into attack mode in order to special summon my Tuner monster, the level two Azurian Councillor!" Shiho's third monster appeared to the field. "Since my Aide is now in attack mode, I can add a trap card to my hand, so I'm choosing my Unlawful Detainment trap card! And now, I tune my level two Azurian Councillor to my level one Azurian Aide and level four Azurian Bailiff! A pound of the gavel, and all must stand in honor of this, the mightiest of judges! So all rise, for court is in session!
"Synchro Summon!" The two level stars of the Azurian Councillor flew out and encircled the other two monsters in glowing green Synchro Rings. The five level stars of the monsters within flew out of their bodies and aligned themselves in a straight line. A green light pierced through all of the stars and expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings, as Shiho fumbled for his gavel and pounded it down on his Duel Disk. "The one who presides over all! Azurian Grand Prosecutor!"
"Impressive." Sasuke sighed, checking his watch.
"Are you not taking this Duel seriously?" Adachi demanded.
"Not really, no. I know I'm gonna win. I have the remnants of a lost civilization on my side. You've got a few lawyers and a judge on yours."
"We'll see! The effect of my Grand Prosecutor allows me to destroy a spell or trap card on the field when it's in attack mode, so I'll be destroying your facedown on the left!" The Grand Prosecutor raised its gavel-shaped maul and smashed it down on the ground, causing a crack to pass through the ground before a spike exploded out of the ground and into the air, revealing Sasuke's facedown to by a trap card called Factory Accident. Both the horses seemed a little uneasy by the minor earthquake and the spike that followed, but they seemed to settle down. Sasuke smirked, and turned, riding away, his holograms following.
"Very good. Without my Factory Accident, I can't destroy your attacking monster."
"Hey! Get back here!" Shiho and Adachi spurred their horses to follow.
"Tell me this. How do you know I don't have a worse card facedown?"
"Well, we're about to find out! Azurian Grand Prosecutor! Attack with Smashing Justice!" Shiho's monster leapt into the air, and then descended, preparing to smash the Gardna, but it vanished, leaving Shiho, Adachi, and the Grand Prosecutor confused.
"You activated my spell card, Back to the Drawing Board! I can tribute my Gardna in order to summon another Aeronaut from my deck! And I'm choosing the Aeronautical Space Station!" Sasuke's monster appeared to the field, monolithic compared to the Grand Prosecutor. "Do you like it? And the best part? There's no way you can defeat it with that monster!"
"We'll see. I'll set one card facedown, and end my turn."
"My turn, then. And I'll summon my Aeronautical Satellite in defense mode! And I'll use the special effect of my Space Station, reducing its defense by five hundred in order to make all monsters I control impervious until my next Standby Phase!" Sasuke's new monster appeared to the field, as robotic arms reached off the Space Station in order to create a barrier, blocking all of Sasuke's monsters. "Good luck getting past this!"
"Grrr!" Shiho drew a card. "I'll place another card facedown, and end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn. And I summon my Aeronaut Pilot! And now, I've got all the pieces I need in place! I tune my level one Aeronautical Satellite to my level three Aeronaut Pilot and level six Aeronautical Space Station! Reaching far into the depths of space, this mighty machine has grown in strength beyond anything you've ever seen! This, the one that opens the door! Synchro Summon!" The single level star of the Satellite flew out and encircled the Space Station and the Pilot in a humungous glowing green Synchro ring. The nine level stars of the two monsters inside flew out of their forms and aligned themselves in a straight line before a bright green blast of light pierced them, expanding to the innermost edge of the Synchro ring. "Approach, Aeronautical Probe!"
Shiho's horse whinnied slightly as the light faded, and Shiho was shocked to see the enormous machine staring at him. "And I can activate its special ability, reducing its attack by 500 in order to destroy one monster on the field!"
"What?!" Shiho looked up at the eye-like portion of the Probe, and noticed it charging up red, preparing to blast his Grand Prosecutor. "No!"
Aeronautical Probe: 3500 ATK – 500 ATK = 3000 ATK
"Yes!" Sasuke replied as the Probe fired its blast at the Grand Prosecutor, causing it to explode. Shiho's horse really didn't like that, and it started to tug away from trailing Sasuke.
"No, no no no. Come on, horse. You can do this." Shiho whispered, and the horse seemed to calm down. "Okay. Bring it on, Sasuke!"
"Aeronautical Probe! Attack Shiho directly!"
"Not quite! I activate my Dial 911 trap card! This card will allow me to special summon a random Azurian monster from my deck with its effect negated, and it will prevent me from taking battle damage from battles involving it!" Shiho's Duel Disk slid a card out, and he drew it and slapped it onto the field. "What a perfect choice! A normal monster! Azurian Judiciary, level six with 2200 attack!"
"Its level and attack don't matter!" Sasuke replied as Shiho's monster exploded, however, it was a fair distance away from Shiho and his horse, so the horse didn't react.
"That's where you're wrong! I activate Unlawful Detainment! It switches your monster into defense mode, and allows me to summon the last Azurian monster that was destroyed in battle!" Shiho countered as his Azurian Judiciary returned to the field. "And this gives me everything I need to summon a new monster!"
"Intriguing!" Sasuke replied. "Show me what you've got, then!"
"I intend to! My turn!" Shiho drew a card from his deck. "I summon Azurian Clerk! And I'll tune it to my level six Azurian Judiciary! Law. The defining force of our society. I summon forth a dragon who is Law Incarnate! All rise, for court is in session!
"Synchro Summon!" Just with before, the two level stars of the Clerk flew out and encircled the Judiciary in two glowing green Synchro rings. The six level stars of the monster within flew out and aligned themselves in a straight line, a green light piercing through them and expanding to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings. Once again, more determined, this time, Shiho drew his gavel and pounded it down on his Duel Disk. "The Supreme Judge, Justiciar Dragon!"
Shiho's mark of the dragon started to glow, followed quickly by both Adachi's and Sasuke's. Sasuke smirked. "So this is your Signer dragon, eh? This ought to be fun. However you have overlooked one thing."
"And what's that?"
"He doesn't have enough attack points to defeat my monster, especially in defense mode!"
"Are you sure?" Shiho replied coyly. "Look again."
Sasuke looked again, and sure enough, the attack of Justiciar Dragon was much higher than it was just a moment ago. "Wait, what?"
"My dragon gains 500 attack for every WATER attribute monster in my Graveyard." Shiho explained. "By my count, that's six Azurians, all WATER attribute. Therefore, my monster gains three thousand attack!"
Justiciar Dragon: 2600 ATK + 3000 ATK = 5600 ATK
"Impressive. Fifty-six hundred attack is indeed a force to be reckoned with."
"That's right! Now, Justiciar Dragon! Attack, with Justice Wave!" Justiciar Dragon opened its mouth and roared, obliterating the Probe. This time, it was Sasuke's horse to get spooked, and it ran straight for a tree, but he brought it to a stop, Shiho stopping close to him.
"That was an impressive attack, but it does give me a bit of an advantage."
"How so?"
"When the Aeronautical Probe is destroyed, I can special summon all the monsters I used to summon it!" Sasuke explained as the three monsters he used to summon the Probe returned to the field. "So say hello again to my Aeronautical Space Station and Satellite, as well as my Aeronaut Pilot!"
"So I've given you the things you need in order to summon another monster?"
"That's right!" Sasuke drew a card from his deck. "When I control an Aeronaut monster with 500 or less attack, I can activate my Aeronautical Satellite, increasing its level by one for every card in my hand! I've got four in my hand, which means that my Aeronautical Satellite increases its level to be level five! Now, I tune my level five Aeronuatical Satellite to my level three Aeronaut Pilot! Shock and awe, to all those who witness this mighty being! This, the one who knows no limits! Synchro Summon!"
Four additional lights started blinking on the Satellite before it vanished, leaving the five blinking lights, which are, in reality, Level stars. The five level stars encircled the Pilot as it vanished, leaving behind its three level stars. Those three level stars aligned themselves in a straight line as a green light pierced through them and expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings, as with the other three Synchro summons this duel. "Electrocute all who stand before you, Spark-Nova Dragon!"
"And I take it that this is your own Signer dragon!"
"That's right! And he's got a special ability! Since your dragon has an effect to gain attack, I can negate that effect, and apply it to my monster, meaning I'll be the one to gain three thousand attack points!"
Justiciar Dragon: 5600 ATK – 3000 ATK = 2600 ATK
"Not quite. See, I noticed that every monster you've played so far has been a LIGHT monster."
"Yeah, so?"
"Without any WATER monsters in your Graveyard, you don't get an attack increase from my dragon's effect!"
"What?"
"And that means that my monster still has more attack than yours!"
"Not for long!" Sasuke countered, much to Shiho's chagrin. "That effect also applies to my own monsters! So by reducing my Space Station's defense by five hundred, I COULD protect my monsters, but instead, I'm gonna negate the change with my Spark-Nova Dragon, and increase its attack by five hundred, instead!"
Spark-Nova Dragon: 2550 ATK + 500 ATK = 3050 ATK
"What?"
"Now, then!" Sasuke's dragon powered up as it absorbed light from his own Space Station. "Spark-Nova Dragon! Attack, with Static Blazar Blast!"
Spark-Nova Dragon opened its mouth and blasted plasma at Justiciar Dragon, as both Shiho and Adachi watched in horror.