Lawsuit
"Five o'clock on the dot." Shiho looked up from his watch as the sound of a Duel Runner started echoing through the Duel Stadium. Mateo raced in, and braked to a halt right next to Shiho and his own Duel Runner. They looked at each other for a moment. "You arrived exactly when you said you would."
"I try to be punctual." Mateo lifted his Deck, and Shiho did the same. "Are you sure this is the only way to resolve this? We could just talk."
"NO! We're done talking." Shiho inserted his Deck into the deck slot of his wrist dealer. The sound of his deck shuffling echoed through the stadium as footsteps could be heard in the entranceway. Mateo looked over as Yusei, Jack, Crow, and the others stepped into the arena. He nodded to them, and Yusei nodded back.
"Fine." Mateo put his own deck into his wrist dealer, which shuffled. He revved his engine. "Let's do this."
Shiho smirked as he revved his own Duel Runner's engine. They pulled up to the starting line as the counter materialized. Both Mateo and Shiho pressed buttons on the Duel Runners as a wave of light spread off both of their Duel Runners. "Duel mode engaged. Autopilot standing by. Activating the Speed World 3 field spell."
The counter began to count down. As soon as it reached the start signal, Mateo and Shiho sped down the track, the turbo duel beginning. "Let's Duel!"
Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 0
"I'll take the first move!" Mateo drew a card from his deck. "Draw!"
Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0-1
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 0-1
"I summon Hunter Dragon in attack mode!" Mateo's monster roared as it erupted to the field, gliding just behind Mateo above the track. "I'll end off my turn with three cards facedown!"
"It's my turn, then! Draw!"
Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 1-2
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 1-2
"I summon Azurian Juror in attack mode!" Shiho's monster appeared, sitting alone in a juror's stand. "So long as my monster is in attack mode, he cannot be selected as an attack target! And since he is the only monster I control, that means you can't attack me at all! Finally, I'll set two cards facedown, and end my turn!"
"I'm up again, then, eh?" Mateo drew a card from his deck. "This is where you've made your first mistake, Shiho! Assuming I can't make a move when you've only got one monster on the field is a poor way to conduct yourself!"
Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 2-3
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 2-3
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!" Mateo declared. "And I'll prove it! I'm activating my facedown trap card! Dracoalesce! I can discard one Dragon-type monster in my hand and tribute one from my field in order to special summon one Synchro monster from my Extra Deck! So by discarding the Luster Dragon from my hand and tributing the Hunter Dragon on my field, I can cause my Black Rose Dragon to coalesce to the field! Now bloom, Black Rose Dragon!"
Luster Dragon appeared to the field for a brief moment, before both monsters were enveloped in a large rose. As the petals blew away in the wind, the monster left behind was the Black Rose Dragon. Mateo held up his index and middle fingers as the card materialized between them. "And that's not all! Because I'm summoning the White Stone of Legend! This level one tuner monster won't be staying on the field for long, though, because I'm tuning it to my level seven Black Rose Dragon!
"Clustering starlight, flow, and give form to this mighty creature! Illuminate the path of destiny!" The single level star of the White Stone of Legend glowed as the rest of it vanished. The star flew over to the Black Rose Dragon and wrapped around it, creating a shimmering green Synchro ring. Black Rose Dragon roared softly as it faded away, leaving only its seven level stars. The stars twisted until they aligned themselves in a straight line. A green light pierced them all before expanding to the innermost edge of the rings. Mateo held up his hand as a glowing rectangle of light appeared, which he gripped. The card stopped glowing as it took form as Stardust Dragon. "Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon!"
With a roar, the blue and white creature erupted to the field. It glared at Azurian Juror, and took up a battle stance. Shiho began to laugh. "Ha ha ha! All of that, but only to summon Stardust? Powerful as he may be, there's no way he can attack my monster!"
"Not quite! I activate a Speed Spell!"
"A Speed Spell?"
"That's right! Let's go, Speed Spell – Attack Barricade!" Mateo called as he activated the second-last card from his hand. "Think of this like Block Attack to Stop Defense. When I have 2 or more Speed Counters, I can target one monster in attack mode and switch it into defense mode! So I'll switch the Azurian Juror to defense mode! And when he's in defense mode, his special ability changes! And with his effect changing, that means that now he is the ONLY monster you control that I can attack! Now go, Stardust Dragon! Shooting Sonic!"
Shiho growled as Stardust Dragon reared its head back. When it brought it forward again, shimmering energy blasted from its mouth, vaporizing the Azurian Juror. "And with that, I'll end my turn, now that your field has been left wide open."
"All you've done is temporarily delayed the inevitable! It's my turn! Draw!"
Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 3-4
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 3-4
"I summon Azurian Prosecutor in Defense mode! And when my Prosecutor is in defense mode, I can special summon a level 3 or lower "Azurian" monster from my deck!" Shiho reached over to his deck as it shuffled, a card being ejected from the top. "I summon Azurian Enforcer! And there's more where that came from!"
Shiho pressed a button on his Duel Disk as his monster appeared in attack mode. The card he had set facedown flipped and activated. "I use Speed Spell – Right to an Attorney! At the cost of all four of my Speed Counters, I can special summon a level 4 or lower "Azurian" monster from my hand or Graveyard, and I'm choosing my level 2 Azurian Clerk by changing my Enforcer into defense mode!"
A third monster! This could be a problem. Enforcer allows Shiho to change its level based on the combined levels of all other Azurian monsters on the field, and if he does it the way I think he will… Mateo gulped. Justiciar Dragon will be on the field by the End Phase. If his goal is to end this duel quickly, then he'll find a way to summon another monster. That's how my plan will work. But only if.
"Now I summon Captain Azure!" Shiho slapped his card onto the monster zone of his Duel field. "When I control two or more "Azurian" monsters, all of which in the same position, I can special summon Captain Azure from my hand in the opposite position! And since all of my "Azurian" monsters are in Defense mode, I can summon him in Attack mode! And now, time for these three "Azurian" monsters to say sayonara in order to make way for my most powerful creature! I tune level two Azurian Enforcer and level four Azurian Prosecutor with my level two Azurian Clerk!
"Law. The defining force of our society. I summon forth a dragon who is Law Incarnate! So all rise, for court is in session!" The two level stars of the Clerk flew out and created glimmering green Synchro rings around the other two monsters as they faded into nothingness, only their combined six level stars remaining. The stars re-aligned themselves into a straight line as a green light pierced through them all and expanded to the innermost edge of the two rings. Shiho held up his gavel and pounded it down on the monster zone where his monster was being summoned. "Synchro Summon! The Supreme Judge, Justiciar Dragon!"
Mateo looked up as the green light faded, and Shiho's mighty monster appeared to the field. Shiho started laughing. "I've got this duel won already!"
"I don't know about that, Shiho. Sure, your dragon gains five hundred attack for each of the four WATER monsters in your Graveyard, but that only brings him up to 4600 Attack! Which means that even if you destroy my Stardust Dragon," Mateo explained, "Captain Azure doesn't have enough Attack points to wipe me out!"
"Doesn't he?"
"What?"
"When Captain Azure is the only Azurian monster on the field, he gains 200 attack for each of his levels!" Shiho replied. "During each End Phase, he gains one additional level, but currently, he is level 4 with eleven hundred original Attack points!"
"Oh, no!"
"Oh, yes! That means that my Captain Azure gains eight hundred attack points, putting him up to nineteen hundred attack!" Shiho thrust his hand forward. "Justiciar Dragon! Attack Stardust Dragon with Liberty Flame!"
Mateo looked up as Justiciar Dragon breathed blue fire on his Stardust. In a moment, he was eradicated as a shockwave of real energy smashed into him. "Eeergh!"
Mateo: 4000 LP-1900 LP
"Oh, no, Mateo!" Luna called, but Yusei put his hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about him too much, Luna." He said. "He's got this duel completely under control right now."
"Are you sure?"
"Mateo probably knew that Shiho would summon Justiciar. He may have also planned on him summoning Captain Azure." Jack explained. "He's putting on a show for Shiho, making it look like Shiho's won already. But Mateo's not going down this turn."
Lune turned back to the duel on the track. I sure hope you guys are right about that.
"Captain Azure! Attack Mateo directly with Azure Night Baton! End this once and for all!" Shiho watched with anticipation as Captain Azure drew his nightstick and launched at Mateo in a full vorpal strike. This is it! I've beaten Mateo Yurigaya! If I can beat him… I can beat anybody!
"Sorry to say, Shiho, but I'd like to keep my life today."
"Fat chance of that!"
"We'll see!" Mateo called as Stardust Dragon erupted to the field again, warding off Captain Azure.
"How could you summon Stardust back to the field on my turn? Unless… Perhaps you used Call of the Haunted? But no matter, your Life Points are less than half, and…" Shiho looked down at the Life Point counter, and noticed Mateo's Life Points.
Mateo: 4000 LP
"How can this be? I know I attacked and dealt 2100 damage to you? You must have cheated!"
"No cheats, Shiho. Just skill, coupled with some very old cards!" Mateo called as his trap card appeared, already activated. "I'm surprised you didn't notice me activate this trap card. Or were you so focused on your false hope of winning this turn that you failed to notice what happened around you?"
"Grrr…"
"I used my Mirage Ruler trap card! When I activate this trap card, it transforms my field into a mirage, keeping an exact duplicate of each of the cards on my field as the top layer!" Mateo explained. "As my field changes, the mirages change to copy the changes that occur, but the mirages remember. And when I get targeted for a direct attack, I can send my Mirage Ruler trap card to the Graveyard! Then I can negate that attack, and special summon all monsters that were destroyed in battle and sent to the Graveyard, and I regain the damage I took! After all of that, I have to pay 1000 Life Points, but it's a small price to pay!"
Mateo: 4000 LP-3000 LP
"That was an interesting trick, Mateo, but I've still got the upper hand!"
"We'll see, Shiho!" Mateo drew a card from his deck. "I vow this duel to show you my true power. But first I'll force you to see those you have destroyed in your quest for ultimate power! I set one card facedown, and I'll summon the Maiden with Eyes of Blue!"
Mateo: 3000 LP SPC 4-5
Shiho: 4000 LP SPC 0-1
"Just what are you planning? That won't allow you to summon Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, because Stardust Dragon is not a Normal Dragon-type! Unless…"
"Unless Azure-Eyes isn't my intention at all! I'm tuning the level one Maiden with Eyes of Blue to the level eight Stardust Dragon!" The single level star of the Maiden flew out and circled Stardust in a glimmering green Synchro ring. Stardust faded away with a roar, leaving its eight stars behind, which re-aligned themselves in a straight line as a green light pierced through them all and expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro ring. Mateo held a card up, as the green light enveloped the Stadium. "Illuminate the path of destiny! Descend from the Heavens, Archangel Gabrius!"
"Archangel Gabrius?!"
"What the hell is an Archangel Gabrius?" Crow asked.
"It's Illeya's most powerful monster." Luna whispered.
"That was the card left behind when I destroyed that ridiculous Illeya?!"
"She poured her heart and soul into that duel, and sacrificed a lot in order to prevent me from being lost to your foul corruption, Shiho!" Mateo replied as Archangel Gabrius drew its mighty Archangel Sword. "And allow me to show you how I'll do that! Archangel Gabrius! Attack Captain Azure with your Archangel Blade!"