Before we get started, I have three things that I must tell you.
1: I am sorry that I am a day late in putting this up but it took my beta-reader a bit longer to finish the duel (again, I give full credit to that duel to her since she definitely made it worthy of being a championship duel). But the next two chapters are without duels so I won't be late with them (I hope).
2: I changed it to where Celina lives in a foster home as opposed to an orphanage and already made the change in the previous chapters (I think I caught all mentions of it but feel free to point out if I missed any). As my beta-reader pointed out, it makes much more sense in this day and age.
3: Yes, I do know Ally of Justice Decisive Armor is a Synchro monster but, in order to make this duel much better—and because both my beta-reader and I agree that Decisive Armor is a badass ace monster—we agreed to change it to a Fusion monster. The changed stats will be included at the end of this chapter. I hope no one minds and I am sorry if you do.
Okay, sorry about the long beginning author's note but I had to point these things out.
Thank you to SuperNeos2, Guest, DarkZorua100, decode9, StrawHatLuffy94, EndlessNight025, a1993, Lightclaw's Shadow, iloveyugiohGX93, Kamen Rider Sting and reven228 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest!
And, as usual, thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader (huh, I forgot to put this in the last chapter, aw well) and, as I already mentioned above, credit for this duel goes to EndlessNight025.
I do hope you enjoy the finals of the US Duel Monsters Championship Tournament and the next chapter will be the "Prelude to Chaos", heehee (that's actually the title of the next chapter, by the way). Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
6
The Finals: Dragons and Machines
Saturday morning came and Jaden was up with the sun due to another nightmare. He rolled onto his side but knew it was pointless to get back to sleep. It didn't help that he was having a bad feeling. But what could be causing this bad feeling? he thought.
He sighed as he rolled onto his back and sat up, deciding to get ready for the day. He was excited about seeing Keith versus Celina today, though, but then, he always was excited before either watching or participating in a duel.
Getting to his feet, Jaden stretched and went to get ready. As expected, his dad had already left; he was always one to wake up before dawn.
A few hours later, Jaden was ready to go while Raiden was still fast asleep, bundled under heavy blankets since the room did get a bit chilly during the night because of the air conditioner. Jaden watched his sleeping brother and then grinned.
'You're gonna get him back for telling Kasumi to give you a wake-up call as well as for a few days ago, aren't you?' Yubel said.
Of course, Jaden thought. He thought about summoning a monster but decided against it and just grasped the edge of the mattress before flipping it. With a yelp, Raiden ended up on the ground with a thud, entangled within his sheets. Raiden's head poked up from behind the bed as Jaden let the mattress fall back down, laughing.
"Oh, that was so not cool, Judai," Raiden growled, untangling himself from the sheets and getting to his feet.
Jaden smirked. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" he said.
Raiden responded by tossing a pillow at Jaden.
He ducked and jogged out of the room, shouting, "We're going out for breakfast so hurry up and get ready!" as he left the room, barely avoiding the next pillow his brother had chugged at him.
'Raiden hates it when you do that,' Yubel commented, floating after Jaden as he headed toward the elevator. The gang had decided to meet in the lobby.
"Oh, I know it irritates him. It's why I do it," Jaden said with a smirk.
Yubel shook her head, amused.
Jaden walked into the lobby a few minutes later to find almost everyone there; Kasumi was yawning, covering her mouth as she did so, as she talked with Alexis. Arina was talking with a tired looking Chazz while Kyle, Atticus and Keith were also talking nearby. Arina spotted Jaden first.
"Good morning, Jaden," she said.
"Morning," Jaden said, walking over to join Alexis.
"You're actually up? Has the apocalypse begun?" Kasumi asked, eyes dancing with amusement. She knew that Jaden did actually wake up by himself at times because of his nightmares, but that didn't stop her from teasing him about it all the time.
"Funny, Kas, real funny," Jaden said dryly, wrapping an arm around Alexis's waist and kissing her cheek. "Morning, beautiful."
Alexis chuckled, cheeks going red. "Morning," she said, turning and giving Jaden's cheek a kiss.
"Where's Raiden?" Kasumi asked.
"Unless he fell back asleep, probably finishing getting ready," Jaden said with a shrug.
Kasumi rolled her eyes. "That's something you would do," she said.
Jaden didn't respond.
Raiden walked into the lobby at that moment, yawning and glaring at Jaden, who just smirked back at him.
"Like I said before, payback," the E-Hero duelist said with a shrug.
"What happened?" Kasumi asked.
"I finally got him back for that little wake-up call he told you to give me," Jaden said.
Kasumi snickered.
A while later, the gang and the adults had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. As they ate, they discussed what they were planning on doing after the tournament ended. Matt and Emily were staying for a few more days, which meant Kyle, Alexis, and Atticus were also staying. Arina told them that her parents were fine with her staying for a few more days while Chazz just shrugged and said his brothers' probably didn't care.
"They haven't cared so far, so why should they suddenly care now?" he had said.
"Can we stay a few more days too, Dad?" Kasumi asked.
"I did take an extra week off just in case you wanted to stay a bit longer after the tournament ended, so that's fine," Kaede said.
"Sweet! I have more time to learn how to surf!" Raiden said brightly.
"Sweet! I get to watch you wipe out more," Jaden said.
Raiden glared at him.
. . .
Celina looked through her deck.
She still refused to use the cards Slade and Jagger had offered her. She was determined to duel Keith using her own cards as she felt more comfortable with them. If she lost, she lost. She wouldn't get upset because she would know that she had done her best with her own cards.
Her Ally of Justice cards were amazing. They had only been released in the same month that Slade and Jagger took her under their wing and she had gotten them right before then, though she still had some trouble working out the kinks but she was confident in them.
Celina shuffled her deck and then fanned the cards out as the door to the hotel room opened and Slade and Jagger walked into it. As usual, they were dressed in suits and Jagger was carrying a briefcase that Celina knew was filled with the cards they were still trying to get her to use.
"I'm not using 'em," Celina said, not giving them time to talk.
Slade sighed. "Celina, we're just trying to help you win," he said.
"So you've said, several times now, but the answer is still no. Like Marik said, I should use the cards I'm most comfortable with and these cards"—she held up her deck—"are the ones I'm most comfortable with."
Jagger placed the briefcase next to Celina on the bed. "They will be there if you change your mind," he said. "Just don't lose. Got that?"
The whitenette shook her head. "I'm already gonna be able to participate in the World Championship Tournament, Mr. and Mr. Princeton, why must I win this duel?" she said. It wasn't the first time she had asked that question and, like all the other times, the Princetons didn't answer her. Granted, she knew that winning was a fantastic feeling but she had the feeling it was more than that with the Princetons.
"Second place is not good enough," was all Slade said while Jagger just remained silent.
"For you, it isn't. It is for me," Celina said, slipping her deck into her deck case. "But I'll still do my best." She would like to win; to become U.S. Duel Champion would be an amazing accomplishment. However, she wanted to win on her own, with her own skills, using her own cards. She was not going to take the easy way out, if using rare and powerful cards was considered the easy way out, that is.
With how much they're harping on me to win and to use their cards to do so, it's as if they doubt I can win, Celina thought.
Slade and Jagger left but they were replaced by another person, a more familiar person. Tall, slim, and older with long blonde hair and kind gray eyes, Ms. Thomas stood in the doorway of the hotel room with a small smile on her face as Celina stared in utter shock.
"Ms. Thomas!" she gasped, jumping to her feet and rushing over to join her foster mother. "What are you doing here?"
"Why else? I'm here to watch your duel," Ms. Thomas said.
"But what about the other kids?"
Thomas grinned. "They wanted to see you duel, too," she said.
"But how were you able to get tickets? It's been sold out for months," Celina said, still stunned that her foster mother was there.
"It's a good thing I have friends in high places in the dueling world," Thomas said. "She was able to pull a few strings to get me and the other children here."
"Where are they?"
"In the lobby. I decided to come up and surprise you and I figured you would want some warning before you're tackled by the little ones. Lisa's watching them."
Celina chuckled. "Just let me finish getting ready and I'll meet you in the lobby. It shouldn't be more than five minutes," she said.
Thomas nodded and left the hotel room.
A little over five minutes later, Celina stepped out of the elevator and walked into the lobby.
"Celina!"
"Oof!"
The white-haired girl suddenly found herself on the ground with three five-year-olds sitting on her; two were girls who looked alike, with the same brown hair, while the third was a boy with darker brown hair. All three of them wore identical grins of happiness.
"Renee, Natalie, Gabriel, it's good to see you, too. But could you please get off me?" Celina asked.
The three children giggled, but they did as they were told and climbed off her.
"I did warn you," Thomas said.
"I know," Celina said, getting to her feet.
"I can't wait to see you become Duel Champion, Celina," Renee said excitedly.
Celina chuckled. "I'll do my best, Renee, but Keith's a strong opponent and he has been champion for two years now."
"Yeah, but you're the best, too. You're gonna win!" Natalie said excitedly.
"Uh huh, and it's gonna be awesome!" Gabriel agreed.
Lisa, the second oldest of the kids in the foster home who was only ten, walked over to join the kids. "All right, you three, we should get you something to eat for lunch before we head over to the arena. Celina's gotta go now," she said.
"Aww, can't she stay longer? We haven't seen her in, like, forever," Renee whined.
Celina smiled; she missed this, she really did.
She knelt down in front of Renee, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I've gotta go, Renee," she said. "The duelists have to get there early in order to get ready, and all that. I'll see you after the duel, okay?"
Renee pouted but nodded. "Okay," she said.
Lisa walked over to Celina as the white-haired girl stood up. "Good luck out there, Lina," she said. "I know you're gonna be great, whether you win or lose."
"Thanks, Lisa," Celina said. "I'll see you at the arena. Maybe, afterwards, Ms. Thomas, we can treat the kids to ice cream."
"Ice cream!" the three five-year-olds shouted at the same time.
Thomas laughed. "We'll see," she said.
"Yay!"
Lisa chuckled at the little kids' enthusiasm.
"Come on, Lisa. Let's get the little ones fed. We'll see you at the arena, Celina, and good luck," Thomas said, turning to Celina.
"Thanks," the whitenette replied and watched as Thomas guided Lisa, Renee, Gabriel and Natalie away.
. . .
"So, are ya ready for this?" Joey asked, relaxing in an armchair as he watched Keith go through his deck.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Keith replied, not looking up from his cards. "Celina's gonna be a tough opponent, though. I'm sure I'm gonna be in for a fight to keep my title."
Bakura, who was sitting in another armchair, smiled. "I agree," he said quietly.
"We'll be cheering ya on, though," Joey said.
"Thanks."
Keith shuffled his deck and placed it back in its deck case. He then stood up and walked over to the window of the VIP box where Joey, Yugi, Kaiba and Pegasus would be watching the duel; the latter three weren't there yet. Bakura and Marik were only staying there for the time being; they said they wanted to be as close to the action as possible, though, and so would be sitting in the front row as they had during Keith's semifinals duel.
Already, the stadium was filling up with people. Keith scanned the crowds, not surprised to find his parents, brother, cousins and their friends being among the first to arrive. They had taken to arriving early to avoid the rush.
"Well, I'd better get going," he said, turning around.
"We'll walk with you," Marik said, getting to his feet.
"Good luck, Keith," Joey said.
"Thanks, Joey," Keith said as he, Marik, and Bakura left the VIP box.
. . .
"Who do you think'll win?" Jaden asked his brother as he sat down in the stands.
Raiden shrugged. "I dunno. Seeing both of 'em duel, it's gonna be tough for either of 'em to win, I think," he said.
"While I am cheering for Keith, I already know he's gonna have a fight on his hands. I've seen a few of Celina's other duels, not just the semifinals duel against Nathan, and she certainly is determined," Kyle said quietly with a small smile.
"It's gonna be one intense duel," Atticus said.
Arina nodded. "Well, I'm just looking forward to a good duel," she said.
Chazz was looking into the arena silently and Arina followed his gaze to find Slade and Jagger talking with Celina near the dueling platform. She took her boyfriend's hand in hers and gently squeezed it. Chazz gave her a small smile but otherwise said nothing.
"If you want my opinion, Chazz, I think you're better off without them," Arina said quietly.
"That doesn't change the fact that I basically don't have a family anymore," Chazz murmured and then shook his head. "But whatever, you're right. I don't need 'em."
Arina didn't say anything. She knew that Chazz was still hurt by his brothers' rejection of him, heat of the moment response or not. She placed an arm around Chazz's shoulders and gently kissed him on the cheek, causing his cheeks to redden.
"Let's just enjoy the duel, okay?" she said.
Chazz shrugged and nodded.
Jaden was watching the entire exchange without the couple noticing. Poor Chazz, he thought. He knew it would not be a good idea to say such a thing out loud as he knew Chazz would not want pity. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like, were he in Chazz's position.
He cast a sidelong glance at his own siblings. Kasumi and Raiden were laughing at Shire's antics as the little fairy duel spirit flew around their area of the stadium, flying past people and mimicking others while Rogue chased after her, trying to get her to calm down. He smiled a little.
I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Rai and Kas with me. They're my family and I love 'em. I would hate to lose 'em. Is this how Chazz feels? Jaden turned to Chazz again. Even though his brothers treated him badly after the School Duel, they are still his family.
'While I agree with that, Judai, I don't think you should interfere. It's his problem to overcome, not yours,' Yubel said gently.
I know, but I can't help but want to help, Jaden admitted silently, turning back to the arena before Chazz noticed he was watching him.
'Your heart is in the right place, Judai. It's good that you want to help, but there are some things you just can't help with,' Yubel said.
I know.
. . .
"Welcome, everyone, to the Finals of the Duel Monsters U.S. Championship Tournament. How is everyone feeling today?" Jackson called and was answered by the roar of the crowd. "Ah, we've got a good crowd today. Today we will determine whether or not we will crown a new Duel Champion, or if Keith's streak will continue with his third U.S. Championship win in a row. Now let's get to it! First, welcome back our commentators for the event, Elizabeth Harley and Bryan Stone."
Again, people cheered, impatient for the duel to begin.
Jackson chuckled. "The energy in the room sure is strong. Since the crowd appears to be getting impatient, let's get to it!" he said.
Celina stood away from the dueling platform, checking to make sure her duel disk was strapped securely to her arm and then shuffling her deck. Slade and Jagger stood off to one side.
"Just remember to go out there and win," Slade said.
"Yeah, yeah," Celina said.
Jagger leaned toward his brother and murmured, "Do you suppose she is going to use the cards we gave her?"
"If she doesn't, she will lose," Slade murmured back.
Unfortunately, Celina heard them and she flinched. They really do doubt my ability to win on my own. I've gotta prove 'em wrong, she thought, determination flaring through her.
"First off, let me introduce the challenger. She is the representative of the Princeton Group and the Ally of Justice duelist. Please give a warm welcome to Celina White," Jackson called out.
Celina stepped onto the platform as Ally of Justice Thunder Armor flew over her and she waved at the cheering crowd, focusing on the upcoming duel and not on her mentors doubt in her ability to win. I can win this on my own. I know that I can, she thought.
"And now, let me introduce her opponent. He is the two time United States Duel Champion and the Dragon Duelist. Please give a warm welcome to Keith Rhodes!" Jackson called out. The crowd cheered, Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 flew overhead, roaring as Keith walked onto the platform, waving at the crowd.
"Now, duelists, cut each other's deck and let's get this duel on the road," Jackson called.
Celina took a deep breath as she walked over to join Keith who smiled at her.
"Good luck," he said, holding out his deck to Celina as she placed hers in his hand.
"Thanks. You too," she said as she cut the U.S. Duel Champion's deck.
She and Keith retrieved their own decks and walked to opposite ends of the dueling platform, their duel disks whirring to life as they did so.
"Dragons versus Machines, this is going to be interesting," Elizabeth commented.
"You've found every duel so far interesting," Bryan said.
"True."
"Ready, Celina? 'Cause I ain't gonna go easy," Keith said with a smile.
"I'd be disappointed if you did," Celina said.
"Duel," they declared as they drew their opening hands.
Keith: 8000
Celina: 8000
"I'll start things off," Keith said, drawing his sixth card. He looked at it and then placed it on his duel disk. "And I'll go with Twin-Headed Behemoth in Defense Mode."
A twin-headed purple dragon appeared on the field and wrapped its short wings around itself as it crouched to the ground (A: 1500/D: 1200).
"And I'll end with one card face-down," Keith added, inserting a card into his duel disk and a vertical facedown card appeared at his feet. "Let's see what you got, Celina."
Celina smiled as she drew her sixth card and then picked another card in her hand. "Okay then. I activate Cost Down," she said, holding out the card and then inserting it into her duel disk.
"Nice. By discarding a card in her hand, Celina can downgrade the Level of every monster in her hand by two until the End Phase," Elizabeth said as Celina did exactly that, discarding Ally Salvo from her hand.
"And now that Clausolas is a Level four monster, I can now summon it directly to my field in Attack Mode," Celina said, placing the card on her disk.
In a spiral of wind, a bronze metallic bird with sharp metallic gray claws appeared on the field, spreading its wings as it let out a screech (A: 2300/D: 1200).
"A Level six monster with that strength on the first turn? Not bad, Celina," Keith said with an incline of his head.
"Let's see how you like his attack. Clausolas, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth," Celina ordered. Her machine bird flew into the air and then over until it was directly above Twin-Headed Behemoth before it dived downward, sinking its metallic claws into the two-headed dragon and ripping it to pieces.
"And then I'll place this facedown and end my turn," Celina added as Clausolas returned to her side of the field, its Level returning to 6, as a vertical facedown appeared at her feet.
"And my Twin-Headed Behemoth's ability activates, allowing me to Special Summon him back to the field in Defense Mode, but with only 1000 Attack and Defense," Keith added as his purple two-headed dragon returned to the field, crossing its wings around him as it power decreased (A: 1500-1000/D: 1200-1000).
"My draw now," Keith said, drawing a card and then picking another card from his hand. "I summon Spear Dragon in Attack Mode."
A blue-and-tan dragon with a spear-shaped nose appeared on the field, wings outspread as if ready to strike (A: 1900/D: 0).
"And next I activate Rush Recklessly, giving Spear Dragon 700 extra Attack," Keith added as his blue dragon was surrounded by a white aura (A: 1900-2600).
"And I also switch Twin-Headed Behemoth to Attack Mode."
His purple dragon stood up, spreading its wings and snarling.
"Now, Spear Dragon, attack Clausolas," Keith ordered; his dragon flew into the air.
"I activate my Trap, Dimensional Prison," Celina began, pressing a button on her duel disk.
"And I activate Royal Decree to negate the activation of all Traps but itself," the U.S. Duel Champion added and Celina swore as her card became useless and Spear Dragon continued with its attack. It shot forward so rapidly, it was a blur until it crashed into Clausolas, causing the machine bird to be ripped to pieces.
Keith: 8000
Celina: 7700
"And it's now switched to Defense Mode because it attacked," Keith added as Spear Dragon curled its wings around itself upon returning to his side of the field.
"And now, Twin-Headed Behemoth, attack Celina directly." His purple dragon roared, unleashing a burst of purple energy that struck the duel disk she used to shield herself.
Keith: 8000
Celina: 6700
"Celina is already down by almost 2000 Life Points. While it's not much damage, every Life Point still counts and Keith is certainly continuing to show us why he is champion," Elizabeth commented.
. . .
"Celina better get back into this," Slade murmured to Jagger. They had moved to sit in the front row to watch the duel.
"Relax, Slade, if she has our cards, she will make a comeback," Jagger said.
"I hope so. She won't win if she doesn't."
Unbeknownst to them, they were sitting close to a certain white-haired young man who frowned upon hearing his words.
It wasn't that much damage. And I'm sure she can win on her own, Bakura thought, turning his attention back to the duel.
Marik, who had also overheard Slade and Jagger's words, shook his head. "Did they miss the duels that Celina won to get to this point?" he muttered.
"No idea. I'm sure Celina can prove them wrong, though," Bakura said.
. . .
Celina took a deep breath. Great, lost almost 2000 Life Points in just one turn but I suppose it's not as much as it could be, she thought as Keith signaled the end of his turn (Spear Dragon A: 2600-1900).
"My draw," she said, drawing a card. I've gotta turn this around somehow, she thought and then glanced at the card she just drew.
"I activate Allure of Darkness so that I can now draw two cards," she said before doing so. "But now I have to banish one Dark monster in my hand, like my Ally of Justice Rudra." She pocketed the card before holding up another one. "And now I summon Ally of Justice Unlimiter to my field in Attack Mode."
She placed the card on her duel disk and her bug-like machine appeared on the field, the long thin blue saber-like nose pointed at Keith (A: 600/D: 200).
An idea formed in her head and she held out another card. "I activate Monster Reborn to bring back Clausolas," she said and her bird-like machine reappeared on the field (A: 2300/D: 1200).
"And now I activate the effect of Unlimiter. I can tribute it to double the attack of one Ally of Justice monster that I control, and Clausolas is the only other one I have on the field," Celina said as Unlimiter vanished into the Graveyard and Clausolas was surrounded by a blue aura (A: 2300-4600).
Keith whistled in appreciation. "Not bad," he said.
"And it's gonna get worse for ya," Celina said with a grin. "Clausolas, attack Twin-Headed Behemoth."
With a screech, the bird-like machine shot forward before grasping Keith's behemoth and tearing it to pieces.
Keith: 4400
Celina: 6700
"Oh, nice comeback by Celina," Bryan said excitedly. "She's knocked the U.S. Champ down by almost 4000 Life Points."
. . .
Marik whistled in appreciation. "Not bad, not bad at all. You and he were right, he's definitely gonna have a fight on his hands now," he said.
Bakura nodded in agreement, casting a sidelong glance at the Princetons sitting nearby.
"Well, at least she's starting to give this so-called champion a thrashing," Slade said.
"Well, we'll see if she can keep it up," Jagger said. "After all, Chazz did the same with that Jaden kid and still lost."
"True."
. . .
"Wow, your bro's gonna have to make a good comeback, eh?" Jaden said, glancing at Kyle, who shrugged.
"He's only getting started. Still, that was a good move by Celina," he said with a small smile, gazing at the white-haired girl as she signaled the end of her turn (Clausolas A: 4600-2300).
Alexis raised an eyebrow. "You've got a crush on her, don't you?" she said.
Kyle's blush deepened and he looked down timidly but didn't respond.
. . .
Hmm, I'm gonna have to mount a pretty big comeback to even out the scores, Keith thought, drawing a card and glancing at it. This can help for now. "I place this facedown and end my turn," he said, inserting the card into his duel disk.
Wonder what he has planned? Celina thought, drawing a card. "I summon Ally of Justice Reverse Break in Attack Mode," she said.
A machine with a glowing green drill on the front and wires wielding spinning blades jutted out around it (A: 1200/D: 1200).
"Reverse Break, attack Spear Dragon," Celina ordered and her monster immediately surged across the field before its blades sliced the blue dragon into mincemeat.
"Now, Clausolas, attack Keith directly," the Ally of Justice duelist ordered.
"Not so fast. I activate my face-down, Scapegoat!" Keith said, revealing his face-down and four Sheep Tokens appeared on the field; they were pink, orange, red and blue in color (A: 0/D: 0) x4.
Damn. "Clausolas, take out one of those Sheep Tokens," the whitenette ordered and her bird-machine shot forward before ripping the red sheep token into pieces.
"I end my turn," she said.
"My turn," Keith said, drawing a card. "And I summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode."
He placed the card on his desk and a metallic bipedal dragon with a falcon's head appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1000).
"Horus, attack Reverse Break," Keith ordered and his dragon roared before unleashing a blast of dark flames that enveloped the machine and it shattered into golden pixels.
Keith: 4400
Celina: 6300
"And I will end my turn, which means I can trade in my Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 for LV6!" Keith added.
His dragon was enveloped by black flames and was then replaced by a larger silvery metallic bipedal dragon with large wings instead of arms; it roared as its wings spread (A: 2300/D: 1600).
Okay, that's a strong monster, Celina thought. But it has the same strength as Clausolas, so if I can get the right card, I can take it down.
"My draw," she said, drawing a card and looked at it.
Well, this will definitely work, she thought.
"Since all the monsters in my Graveyard are Machine-Type, I can Special Summon Gearspring Spirit from my hand."
A white automaton with two large wind-up keys protruding from its back then floated onto the field, draped in a light purple kimono as it crouched down in Defense Mode (A: 100/D: 100).
"I now activate Gearspring Spirit's effect," Celina went on. "Once per turn, I can target one face-up monster my opponent controls and reduce its Attack Points to zero until the End Phase, which means your Dragon's about to get a whole lot weaker, Keith."
Clearly having chosen Horus as the target for Gearspring Spirit's effect, the robotic Shikigami's eyes glowed before using its power to envelop the Black Flame Dragon in a white light, severely weakening as its Attack was reduced to nothing (A: 2300-0/D: 1600).
"Next, since I still have my Normal Summon, I'll bring out Machine Lord Ür in Attack Mode."
A crimson and gold celestial-like robot soon appeared, hovering next to Celina's two other monsters (A: 1600/D: 1500).
"Now, Clausolas, destroy Horus," Celina ordered and her monster flew forward before clawing at the weakened enemy monster, causing Keith to wince as his Life Points went down.
Keith: 2100
Celina: 6300
"You're up next, Ür," Celina declared, ordering her next monster to attack. "Oh, and due to its effect, it can't inflict any damage on my opponent when it battles, but I think the fact that it can attack every monster on your field once each kind of makes up for that."
"It can what?" Keith questioned, but soon got his answer when Machine Lord Ür suddenly unleashed three laser beams and obliterated his three remaining Sheep Tokens.
"And I will end with that," Celina said.
. . .
"Oh wow, she got him down to almost a quarter of his Life Points. Man, she is good!" Jaden exclaimed.
"Keith'll make a comeback, though," Kyle said confidently.
"Well, let's see what he does next," Kasumi said.
. . .
"My turn," Keith said, drawing a card. "First, I activate Graceful Charity to draw three cards and then discard two." He did so before adding, "And next I activate Snatch Steal to take control of Gearspring Spirit."
Gearspring Spirit struggled as it was surrounded by a light before it was forcibly dragged to Keith's side of the field.
"Now, I'll use Gearsping Spirit's effect to target Clausolas and reduce its Attack to zero."
Though it looked a little unhappy to comply, the metallic Shikigami used its ability to zap away all of Clausolas's strength (A: 2300-0/D: 1200).
"And next, I sacrifice Gearspring Spirit to summon Chthonian Emperor Dragon in Attack Mode," Keith added and the Machine on his field vanished to be replaced by a large black, green, and gold winged dragon (A: 2400/D: 1500).
"Then I'll activate Double Summon so that I can Normal Summon a second time this turn, but rather than summon a new monster, I'll use it to Gemini Summon Emperor Dragon as an Effect Monster."
The regal dragon on the field let out a roar as a red aura surrounded him and his true power was unleashed.
"And get this: his newfound effect lets him attack twice during the same Battle Phase," Keith grinned while Celina's eyes went wide, realizing that meant trouble for both of her monsters.
"Go, Chthonian Emperor Dragon! Attack both of Celina's monsters!" the Dragon duelist commanded.
"Oh boy." Celina braced herself as the fiend lashed out, firing off two blazing-hot fireballs in rapid succession that soon smashed into Clausolas and Machine Lord Ür, causing them to burst into thousands of pixels while Celina lost 3200 Life Points in all.
Keith: 2100
Celina: 3100
"And I will end with that," Keith said.
. . .
"Nice comeback," Atticus said with a nod.
"Celina's still in the lead, but Keith did narrow down the gap a bit with that attack," Alexis agreed.
. . .
"My move then," Celina said, drawing a card. "And I activate Card of Sanctity so that we each draw until we're holding six cards." They drew until they had a full hand.
"And now I summon Ally of Justice Core Destroyer in Defense Mode," Celina added, placing the card on her duel disk.
A four-legged gold and silver robot with only a mechanical red eye for a face appeared on the field (A: 1200/D 200).
"And then I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Royal Decree before placing two cards facedown and ending my turn," Celina said.
A mini tornado spun across the field to send Royal Decree flying into the air before a vertical facedown card appeared on the field.
"My draw," Keith said, drawing a card before pointing to Celina's lone monster. "I'll have Chthonian Emperor Dragon attack your Core Destroyer."
The moment the Dragon let loose a blast of fire from his mouth with the intent to blast away the Ally of Justice monster clear off the field, Celina acted quickly by pushing a button on her duel disk.
"I activate my face-down card, the Continuous Trap, DNA Transplant!" she exclaimed, one of her facedown cards springing upwards. "As long as this card's on the field, the Attribute of all face-up monsters will become which ever one I declare, and I'm picking Light!"
Thanks to the power of Celina's Trap, both monsters on the field momentarily glowed gold as their Attributes changed to Light.
"Ally of Justice Core Destroyer's effect now activates," Celina went on. "When it does battle with a Light-Attribute monster, that monster is instantly destroyed at the start of the Damage Step, without applying any damage calculation."
Since there was no taking back Chthonian Emperor Dragon's attack now, Keith could only watch as Core Destroyer fired off a blue laser beam from its tail in retaliation that not only caused the fireball headed its way to explode, but also Emperor Dragon himself when the deadly beam struck him afterwards.
"Damn… Well, I'll admit you got me there, Celina," Keith admitted with a slight chuckle. "I really thought I had this duel won for a second."
"Hey, you're not the only one who's going all out today, you know," the white-haired girl giggled.
"That's what I like to hear," her opponent grinned before switching over to his second Main Phase. "In that case, I'll set this monster in facedown Defense Mode, and then I'll place three cards facedown and end my turn."
One horizontal and three vertical facedown cards appeared at Keith's feet as his turn came to a close.
Celina drew a card. "I activate my other face-down, Escape from the Dark Dimension to Special Summon the Ally of Justice Rudra I removed from play back when I played Allure of Darkness," she said and a bug-like blue and white machine then appeared (A: 1900/D: 1200).
"And after switching Core Destroyer into Attack Mode, I'll then activate Book of Taiyou to flip your facedown monster into Attack Mode," she added and the card flipped up to reveal a purple haired pale-skinned woman wielding a staff topped by a crescent and dressed in a blue and red robe (A: 300/D: 400).
"Since Magician of Faith was flipped face-up, her effect activates, which lets me take a Spell Card in my Graveyard and add it back to my hand," Keith explained before retrieving Snatch Steal from his Grave, briefly showing it to his opponent for verification.
"That won't matter much if you can't get past this round, which may very well be the case seeing how Rudra gains 700 Attack when it battles a Light monster," Celina pointed out. "Now, Rudra, attack Magician of Faith!"
"Sorry, but that's not gonna happen," Keith suddenly interjected. "I activate my Draining Shield Trap Card, which not only negates your monster's attack, but also increases my Life Points equal to its Attack Points."
When Rudra shot forward to attack, it ended up coming in contact with a green force field, preventing it from reaching Magician of Faith while also converting its Attack into Life Points for Keith.
Keith: 4000
Celina: 3100
"Core Destroyer can still attack, though," Celina brought up before ordering her second monster to attack Keith's monster.
Due to Core Destroyer's effect, Magician of Faith was instantly destroyed before damage calculation was applied, which means that Keith lucked out and didn't lose any Life Points from that battle, though he was officially fresh out of monsters now.
"I set one card and end my turn," Celina finished, another reverse card appearing at her feet.
"Which means it's my turn now. I draw," Keith declared before doing exactly that.
"First, I'll start out by summoning my second Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4 in Attack Mode," Keith said, placing the card on his duel disk and his bipedal dragon returned to the field with a roar (A: 1600/D: 1200).
Celina frowned, wondering what Keith had planned.
Keith smiled and then held up a card. "And next I activate the Spell Level Up!" he declared, holding out the card.
Celina's eyes widened.
"Now, I can level up my Horus the Black Flame Dragon from LV4 to LV6," Keith added as his dragon vanished to be replaced by the much larger version from earlier in the duel (A: 2300/D: 1600).
Though Keith's monster was certainly formidable, the Machine duelist calmed down when she remembered that her Ally of Justice monsters' effect made it so they still had the upper hand since DNA Transplant was currently making all monsters on the field Light-Attribute.
However, what Keith did next quickly disrupted her wishful thinking.
"Next, next I activate Snatch Steal to take control of your Core Destroyer!"
Just like that, Core Destroyer was—as the Spell's name implied—snatched up from Celina's field and transferred over to her opponent's, making her curse under her breath a little.
"Now, Core Destroyer, attack Rudra," the U.S. Duel Champion ordered and his stolen monster fired off its blue death ray that instantly incinerated its former ally. Escape from the Dark Dimension went to the Graveyard along with it.
"Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6, attack Celina directly," Keith commanded and his dragon roared as he began to go on the attack.
"I activate my face-down card, Call of the Haunted, to Special Summon Ally of Justice Rudra back from my Graveyard in Attack Mode!" Celina quickly shouted before her Trap took effect and returned her bug-like Machine to the field (A: 1900/D: 1200).
"Horus, stand down." Keith chose to cancel his monster's attack after the forced replay took place, knowing that attacking Rudra would only end up destroying Horus since Rudra gains 700 Attack Points when it battles a Light monster, which Horus technically was at the moment due to Celina's DNA Transplant still being active.
Though he seemed somewhat disappointed, Horus obeyed, the black fire he had been charging up in his mouth quickly dying down.
"I'll place one card facedown and call it a turn."
"My draw," Celina said, drawing a card.
"Since it's now your Standby Phase, Celina, Snatch Steal's additional effect grants you 1000 Life Points," Keith informed the white-haired girl then as her score went up.
Keith: 4000
Celina: 4100
"Well, isn't that nice?" Celina managed to quip, though, in her book, even compensation like that still didn't quite make up for having her monster taken from her. "Anyway, I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards."
After her Spell resolved and she was granted two additional cards, Celina's eyes began to dance with excitement when she saw that one of them was Overload Fusion.
This was it. This was her chance to turn this duel around.
With her fingers now slightly trembling in anticipation, Celina picked up and the card and inserted it into her duel disk. "I activate the Spell Card, Overload Fusion!" she exclaimed. "With this, I can banish monsters on my field or in my Graveyard to Fusion Summon a Dark Machine-Type Fusion Monster, so by removing the Level six Ally of Justice Clausolas, along with Ally of Justice Reverse Break and Ally of Justice Unlimiter, from play I'll now call forth Ally of Justice Decisive Armor in Attack Mode!"
The three aforementioned monsters briefly appeared on the field before a cloud of smoke crackling with red lightning completely enveloped them. Moments later, out of the smoke then emerged a gargantuan gold and blue armored robot that looked more like a giant floating fortress. Decked out with a massive plasma cannon on its back and two slightly smaller cannons for arms, this new monster definitely looked like a killing machine (A: 3300/D: 3300).
The crowd murmured to each other, eyeing the new monster in surprise and awe.
. . .
"That is an awesome monster," Jaden said.
Raiden nodded in agreement.
"Not bad," Chazz said.
"Keith's in trouble now," Kyle said.
. . .
Slade and Jagger exchanged glances, vaguely impressed.
Marik whistled. "That is a cool monster. Keith's definitely in trouble now," he said.
Bakura nodded in agreement. You really do have what it takes to be a champion, he thought with a soft smile.
. . .
"How do you like my real ace monster, Keith?" Celina inquired, practically beaming with pride now. After all, it wasn't everyday she managed to summon it out.
"It really is something else…" Keith breathed as he stared up at the new monster in awe.
Celina giggled. "I'm glad you like it, but you haven't seen anything yet," she said. "Since there are Light monsters on your field, I'm able to use one of Decisive Armor's effects."
"'One' of them?" Keith echoed. "How many does it have, exactly?"
"Well, there happen to be three, but I'm go with its second effect for this turn," the Machine duelist informed him. "So now, by sending one card in my hand to the Graveyard—" she paused as she discarded her Battle Fader—"I can now destroy every Spell and Trap Card on your field!"
After that declaration, Decisive Armor began to charge up its two arm cannons in order to take out Keith's entire back row.
"If that's the case, then I activate my face-down, Emergency Provisions," Keith said, revealing one of his facedown cards. "By getting rid of my other two face-downs and Snatch Steal, I regain 3000 Life Points."
The moment when Decisive Armor finally fired off its lasers, three out of the four Spell and Trap Cards were already sent to the Grave due the effect of Keith's Spell, and only Emergency Provisions was destroyed, but not before increasing his Life Points by a considerable amount.
Keith: 7000
Celina: 4100
Since Core Destroyer was no longer equipped with Snatch Steal, it returned to Celina's side of the field, leaving Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 as Keith's lone card on the field now.
"You're lucky you managed to buff up your Life Points, because you're defiantly going to need them right now," Celina said before taking the last card in her hand and placing it on her duel disk. "I now summon Ally of Justice Garadholg in Attack Mode."
An android-like monster covered in orange white metal appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 400).
"Now, Rudra, attack Horus," Celina ordered. "And don't forget, when Rudra battles a Light monster, it gains 700 during the Damage Step only."
Her monster shot forward before its claws glowed green as its strength was temporally elevated to 2600. It then slashed through Keith's dragon, causing him to shatter (Rudra A: 2600-1900).
Keith: 6700
Celina: 4100
"And now I'll have Core Destroyer, Garadholg, and Decisive Armor all attack you directly!"
Her three remaining monsters then sprang into action, each going after Keith. Core Destroyer galloped into him while Garadholg punched the Dragon duelist with one of its robotic fists. Decisive Armor was the last to attack, and its assault was by far the most devastating. It unleashed a brilliant blast of plasma out of the giant cannon on its back, its power so great that it nearly shook the whole arena to its core when it finally hit its intended target.
Keith: 600
Celina: 4100
Everyone gasped as Keith, who had been knocked down from the backlash of that last attack, pushed himself to his feet.
"Wow, Celina is really taking it to Keith. One more attack like that and she'll be the new U.S. Duel Champion," Elizabeth gasped.
"You okay?" Celina asked her opponent, wondering if she had overdone things a little there.
"Yeah, I'm good," Keith assured the whitenette with a nod.
. . .
"Wow, Keith's really in danger now," Marik whistled. "She is good."
Bakura nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but I'm sure Keith's got some tricks up his sleeve," he said.
"She's got this duel won," Slade murmured to Jagger.
"That's supposing she doesn't screw up on her next turn," Jagger murmured back. "But it does look like she's won."
. . .
"Anyway, since I'm out of things to do now, I'll end my turn," Celina said.
"I draw," Keith said, drawing a card before smiling after seeing what it was.
"You did a good job, Celina, but I'm afraid that this duel is over," he said, holding out a card. "I activate the Spell Card, Dragon's Mirror. By removing five Dragons in my Graveyard in my Graveyard from play, I can now Fusion Summon Five-Headed Dragon!"
Like in his duel with Marina, a large, ornate mirror with a frame that resembled a dragon appeared seconds before ghostly versions of Twin-Headed Behemoth, Spear Dragon, Chthonian Emperor Dragon, and two Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV4's flew out of Keith's Graveyard and disappeared into the mirror.
After a bright light shown from within the looking glass, the enormous multi-headed Dragon took the field with a mighty roar erupting from each of its five throats (A: 5000/D: 5000).
"And there it is: Keith's Five-Headed Dragon, the very same monster he used to achieve victory in his last duel," Bryan commented upon seeing the newly played monster. "Will he be able to pull off a repeat performance?"
"Your dragon certainly is strong, Keith, but even if it attacks one of my monsters, I'll still have Life Points left," Celina pointed out. And then on my next turn, I'll be able to destroy it with Core Destroyer's effect and then attack directly with one of my other monsters, she added to herself.
"I don't think that'll be the case after I activate this," Keith grinned, revealing the last card in his hand to be Megamorph.
"No way…Megamorph?" Celina felt herself go slightly numb after that, realizing what was coming next.
"That's right," Keith nodded as he inserted the card into his duel disk. "I equip Five-Headed Dragon with this Spell, which will double his original Attack as long as my Life Points are lower than yours."
With another ferocious roar, Five-Headed Dragon's Attack Points suddenly skyrocketed (A: 5000-10000/D: 5000).
The entire audience gasped in awe at the Keith's powered up monster.
"10, 000?!" Jaden exclaimed.
"That's a lot," Kyle agreed.
"Let's go, Five-Headed Dragon! Attack Decisive Armor and end this duel!" the U.S. Duel Champion commanded.
More than happy to oblige, the dragon's five heads each let loose a blast of elemental energy from their jowls, all of which converged on their way to their target, creating one giant multi-colored ball of fire. The blast then smashed into Decisive Armor with a nearly ear-deafening bang, causing the massive Machine monster to blow to a million fiery bits as Celina took a whopping 6700 points of damage, blowing her off of her feet in the process.
Keith: 600 WINNER
Celina: 0
"And there you have it, folks," Jackson shouted. "Your winner and still the United States Duel Champion, Keith Rhodes!"
Cheers erupted from the crowd as the holograms vanished and Keith waved at the crowd before walking over to join Celina. "Good duel, Celina, you really almost had me there," he said, holding out a hand to her.
She looked up and took his hand. "Thanks," she said, pulling herself to her feet. She smiled before adding, "Rematch, sometime?"
Keith grinned. "Anytime, Celina, anytime," he said.
. . .
Slade scoffed. "I knew she wouldn't win. She made the same mistake as our foolish former brother. If she had used our cards toward the end when she had Keith on the ropes, she would have won," he said.
"Just as foolish as Chazz had been," Jagger said as he and Slade stood up and walked toward Celina as she left the dueling platform.
Bakura watched them go with a worried frown before he also got to his feet.
"Where are you going?" Marik asked.
"Something's up," Bakura said quietly before he slipped out of the stands and walked after the Princetons.
. . .
Celina watched as Keith remained on the dueling platform, talking with Jackson about the duel, before she spotted the Princetons walking over to join her.
"You lost," Slade said shortly.
"I did my best, though," Celina said with a shrug. "He was just the better duelist, I guess. And I almost had him." She had been very close and, while she wasn't a sore loser, she still couldn't help but feel upset because she knew that if she had lasted one more turn, she would have won.
"You would've won had you used our cards. We told you this would happen," Jagger said. "You made the same foolish mistake as our former brother and you lost the duel."
"So? I'm still in the World Championship Tournament. I don't see what the big deal about me losing is," Celina said.
"I've already said this before but I will say it again. In our books, second place is not good enough. We took you under our wing in the hope that you could be a champion, but when you got the chance to become champion, you screwed it up!"
"And all because you wouldn't use the cards we were giving you," Slade added.
"I wanted to try to win on my own," Celina objected.
"Yes, and you lost, just as we thought you would," Jagger snapped. "We knew you wouldn't be able to last against Keith on your own because you never would've made it this far had it not been for us. If we had not taken you under our wing, you would never have even made it through the first round of this tournament!"
"That's not true," Celina protested. Is it?
"It is true," Slade said coolly. "You've failed and we have no time for failures and so we will not keep on sponsoring you."
Celina was shocked. She didn't think that her losing would lose her the mentors who had helped to get her this far in this tournament, or so they said but a part of her believed that. "But…" she began.
"Forget it," Jagger said. "You won't change our mind. You are just like our foolish former brother, a weak, worthless failure."
Celina felt, to her horror, tears begin to appear in her eyes. The word worthless echoed in her head. When she thought it was her fault her parents had abandoned her, she had felt like they didn't think she was worth anything and that was why they left her. When she saw everyone at the orphanage getting adopted when she was little, she had thought no one would ever see her as worth being part of their family.
She was worthless, a worthless failure just like the Princetons said.
Tears slid down her face and she found she couldn't take the glares she was receiving from the Princetons anymore. She turned and bolted from the arena, tears streaming down her face as she ran. In that moment, she completely forgot that there was one person whom did care for her as if she was her own daughter.
. . .
Bakura was downright furious as he watched Celina run from the arena, tears streaming down her face while the Princetons watched on, not seeming to care how their words had obviously hurt the white-haired girl. He stalked forward.
"You two are real assholes, you know that," he said quietly, causing the two Princetons to look at him while Marik, who had joined Bakura, glanced at the Occult duelist in surprise. It was rare for Bakura to cuss; actually, Marik couldn't recall a time he had ever heard Bakura cuss.
"Excuse me?" Slade demanded.
"You heard me," Bakura said quietly. "Celina is worth ten of you. She is an amazing duelist whom has proven time and again that she has the potential to be a champion. She dueled with her own cards and with her own skills, rather than with cards that may have won her the duel. She is not worthless and she is not a failure."
"She lost," Jagger said curtly.
"So what? Everyone loses. It's part of the game. No one can be completely undefeated, not even Yugi is undefeated, despite common belief," the Occult duelist said.
"We don't have to listen to this. Celina made her own choice by refusing our help and she lost as a result. She will no longer be sponsored by us. She won't make it long in the pro circuit without our help," Slade said curtly.
"She will make it in the pro-circuit," Bakura said quietly, "because I am going to take her under my wing and try to help her reach her full potential." He brushed past the Princetons and immediately ran in the direction Celina had gone.
. . .
Celina sat on the sidewalk, gazing at the distant ocean. Her face was red and her eyes were puffy but she wasn't crying anymore. She remained seated on the ground, her knees brought up to her chest and her chin resting on them. She was still having a hard time wrapping her mind around what the Princetons had just told her.
I guess they really did only care about my dueling ability, she thought.
"Celina?" A quiet voice sounded and Celina turned, surprised when she spotted Bakura standing there.
She quickly wiped her face. "Hey, Mr. Bakura," she said softly.
"Call me Bakura," Bakura said. "May I join you?"
Celina nodded and the white-haired older man sat down beside her on the sidewalk.
"You know what your mentors said to you was wrong, right?" Bakura asked.
Celina said nothing.
"You aren't worthless and you aren't a failure," Bakura said gently, resting a hand on Celina's shoulder.
"But I lost," she whispered.
"So? Didn't I tell you Yugi himself isn't undefeated? You win some, you lose some. That's life. The trick is learning from your mistakes so that you can get better. That's something the Princetons don't seem to understand. They are the kind of people that if you aren't a winner, you're not worth their time. I see the potential in you, though, Celina. Didn't I tell you that you had the potential to be a champion?"
"Well, yeah, but I only got as good as I am because of the Princetons," Celina said.
"I don't believe that," Bakura said with a shake of his head. "Listen, you may have lost today, but that doesn't mean anything. You have the potential to be so much better than you are. Personally, I think the Princetons were holding you back."
"You…you do?"
"Yes. That is why I would like to take you under my wing."
Celina's jaw dropped, shock flaring through her. The duelist she admired the most wanted to take her under his wing? She was speechless, unable to think of anything to say and could only stare in shock at the older whitenette.
"We'll have to figure things out 'cause I do live in Japan and I'm not exactly as rich as the Princetons, so I won't be able to visit every week," Bakura said. "I guess I can talk to your parents or guardians, if you agree, that is."
Celina was still staring in shock.
"Hey, Bakura," Marik said, walking over to join them before he frowned at Celina. "Is she okay?"
"I think she's in shock," Bakura said.
"Y…You would really w…want to take me under your wing?" Celina whispered, finally breaking out of her shock.
"Yes," Bakura said. "If you want some time to think about it, though, I understand."
Celina was silent. To be mentored by the duelist she admired the most? It was like a dream, one she did not want to wake up from. It was an amazing opportunity, but she just didn't know if she could trust Bakura after what happened with the Princetons.
But could she really pass this opportunity up?
"I…I don't know if I'll…be able to trust you after what just happened but I'd…like to give it a shot. I…can't pass up an opportunity like this, I just can't," Celina said.
"Trust is earned, not given," Bakura said, "so I completely understand. I'll need to speak to your parents or guardians, though, since we're going to have to make arrangements and all that."
"Celina!"
"There's my guardian now," Celina said, pushing herself to her feet and Bakura stood up as well before they turned to find Ms. Thomas walking over to join them with Renee, Gabriel, Natalie, and Lisa just behind her.
"We were looking in the arena for you, but Keith said you were out here," Ms. Thomas said before she frowned. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."
"I'm okay," Celina assured her as Renee, Gabriel, and Natalie dashed forward and hugged her, congratulating her on the duel and telling her that she would win next year. She just smiled down at them and gently hugged them back. As she gazed at the other foster children as well as up at her foster mother, she realized that she was wrong; there was someone out there who cared for her.
Ms. Thomas cared for her and Renee, Gabriel, Natalie and Lisa all looked up to her as if she was their older sister. They were her family. She really wasn't alone.
She really was worth being part of someone else's family.
How could I have forgotten that? She wondered silently.
Thomas, observing Celina for a moment, turned to look at Bakura and Marik. "Hello, who might you two be?" he said.
"I'm Bakura and this is my friend, Marik," Bakura replied. "It's nice to meet you, Miss…"
"Thomas, but you can call me Bethany. Huh, so you're Bakura," Thomas said with a gentle smile.
"Bakura wants to take me under his wing, Ms. Thomas," Celina said.
"He does? That's amazing. I remember you telling me about how much you admire him. But what happened with the Princetons?"
Celina sighed. "They refuse to mentor me anymore since I lost the duel," she said.
Thomas shook her head. "Just because you lost? That's wrong," she said.
"It is. I, however, see Celina's potential and I want to help her achieve it," Bakura said.
"But I don't know how it would work. I mean, he lives in Japan and, unlike the Princetons, he doesn't have the money needed to visit every week like they did," Celina said.
"To be honest, Celina, this is an opportunity that you simply cannot miss. If you want to go through with this, I can and will help out in any way that I can," Thomas said.
Celina smiled softly at the matron. "Thank you," she said softly and then she looked at Bakura and added, "And thank you, too, Bakura, for giving me this opportunity."
Bakura gave her a soft smile. "You're welcome, Celina," he said softly.
. . .
Ally of Justice Decisive Armor
10
DARK
Machine/Fusion/Effect
"1 Level 6 or higher "Ally of Justice" monster + 2 "Ally of Justice" monsters
ATK: 3300
DEF: 3300
Must be Fusion Summoned and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. Once per turn, if your opponent controls a face-up LIGHT monster(s), you can activate 1 of these effects: ● Select 1 Set card your opponent controls and destroy it. ● Send 1 card from your hand to the Graveyard to destroy all Spell/Trap Cards your opponent controls. ● Send all cards in your hand to the Graveyard to look at your opponent's hand and send all LIGHT monsters in their hand to the Graveyard. Then, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the total ATK of the opponent's monsters sent to the Graveyard.
(Stats in italics are those that were changed to turn this monster into a Fusion monster as, as I stated before, it was originally a Synchro monster.)
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: and there you have it! The finals of the US Duel Monsters Championship Tournament is done! I hope it was good. And the changed stats are above. Again, I hope you don't mind that it was changed
Bakura: hmph, whatever
Jaden: I liked it
Jesse: it was a cool duel!
Blaze: yup and we are on to the second and final arc of this story
Bakura: where shit hits the fan basically?
Blaze: basically speaking, yes
Jaden: so what happens in the next chapter?
Blaze: you'll see. As I stated at the beginning of this chapter, the next chapter is called "Prelude to Chaos"
Jaden: oh boy
Jesse: so, do you got a question for today?
Blaze: I do…somewhere
Yami: (walks into room and holds up piece of paper) you left it in the living room
Blaze: whoops
Yami: (sighs) today's question is: Of the three Dimension Dragons that have been revealed in Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V, which one is your favorite? If there is more than one, or you like all three, then just name them in the order that you like them. If you can't decide that, simply say so. Blaze's favorite is Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon coming in at second and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon as third.
Blaze: Yuto's Dragon is just awesome!
Jesse: but you don't know anything about Yuri's Fusion dragon, do you?
Blaze: no, that'll be revealed later on in the series I assume
Bakura: yeah, yeah, so are you gonna end the chapter now?
Blaze: you look bored (hands Bakura sledgehammer) go smash things
Bakura: (takes sledgehammer, grins and goes to go smash things)
Yami: I'm getting out of here before Bakura gets me into trouble with Kaiba again (takes off)
Blaze: (chuckles) well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will be posted either next Sunday or Monday and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.