Annex 026: A Heavy Metal Overture
Hundreds of duelists drove, flew or rode towards Dreamworlds entertainment center. They came from the four corners of the land and beyond to be a part of this years tournament. Some were early, others took all day just to get there. The gang arrived too late in the evening to do anything but head to their suites and unpack. The first round would begin early next morning. They did not have the time to play around in the park either, much to Alice's disappointment. But at least their room had a TV. "Is the room doing it for you?" Emily and her sister took one suite. Uno had his room all to himself. "Better than fine. If I can sleep on your couch I can sleep anywhere." He had nothing to complain about, even the pillows were perfectly soft. "...Maybe we should train a little, before it all starts tomorrow?" Alice said, not for the first time. "I keep telling you, Relax. No need to get tensed up. Tomorrow's concerns are for tomorrow." Uno shrugged it off and dropped down on his bed. It was hard to believe he was here now. "You're right. Whatever happens happens." She nodded. Winning would be nice, but it wouldn't be worth anything if it wasn't fun.
...
"WELCOME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" And fun was the word of the day, in Doms case. "ARE YOU ALL GETTING COMFORTABLE?" His voice blared through every speaker in the stadiums. Duelists and duelist enthusiasts filled the thousands of seats in the open amphitheater. Each guild was heavily represented by their friends and family as well. "Round one is just about to begin!" Dom was their host, standing in his own personal skybox and shouted into his mike at the top of his lungs. The masters excitement infected the audience and they all burst out into hysterics.
"You made it!" Down below in the front row, Cassius waited. "I know, I know we're late." His friends dropped by during the first few duels of the day. "We would have made it sooner, but we got lost." Emily stated. They wouldn't have gotten off track except her sister had to stop and marvel at some object or landmark every turn. "This place is huge. Was it a Colosseum, like from really long ago?" Alice's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Eh, not that old. Dom bought this place and converted it into a place for duels. It used to be a concert hall back in the 17th century." That explained why it looked less like a sport arena and more like they were about to watch a musical. "Well we're here now. I hope your partners don't mind." Uno noticed a good dozen synchro guild members to his left and right. It was expected for them and for Emily to stay with Cassius, but he and Alice were not from the same guild. "I wouldn't have given you our seatnumbers if I didnt want you here, Uno. They wont be difficult. You're my friends and they know it. The odds of us having to fight right away are minimal."
"Ah. Then.. mind telling us how this usually goes?" Uno and the Brandts were the newbs here. Cassius had done this before. "Of course. With 64 players we will have six rounds across six days. Today we're in the elimination round where duels are done in quick succession. You are not told who your opponent is until the previous one ends. Who you face depends on your ranking. High seeds like me usually get paired up with low seeds like.. you. But again, low odds. Though Dom is personally hosting the tournament this year, so he might throw some rules around." That man liked to keep the duelists guessing. "Who are the top seeds anyway, besides you? I am guessing Adamant is one." Emily theorized. Not that she needed to. A familiar explosion went off in the background. The losing opponent had been overwhelmed by a Raidraptor XYZ-monster. "THE WINNER IS ADAMANT!" Dom screamed and the cheers followed. "You guessed it. The champion from last year gets the first duel this year. Looks like he made it a short one."
"THE NEXT DUEL WILL BE.." As Adamant walked off the stage, indifferent to the praise from the people around him, Dom started his slotmachine. A huge screen at the top of the theater, which usually gave live close-ups of the duel for those in the backrows, now displayed two new images. "JORIS BAKKER AND EMILY BRANDT!" It was go-time. "Me? Already?" If Emily had understood any of what was going on with the bracket, she might have anticipated this. "I guess so! Go ahead, Emily." Cassius stepped out of the way. From where they stood, it was a short walk to the dueling stage. "Okay." Emily shuddered a little. "You got this, Em! Don't be scared!" Alice encouraged her. Her big sister braced herself and steeled her nerves. "This is..easy. Still wish mom and dad could be here." Emily groaned and walked forward. "Wait. Your parents could not make it?" Cassius had been speculating as to why they were the only three to show up. "Mom says she will come as soon as she can, but she doesn't know when that is." Alice sighed. She would miss their first few duels either way. "And dad's not here. His boss wouldn't let him leave work yet. But he can watch us on TV right?"
She was right. This entire event was shown on the national public channel, live. "Oh. There she is." Mr. Brandt could see his little girl walk unto the stage. "Show them what you're made off, Emily!" He said loudly, as if she could hear from across the country. He would have liked to do more than watch. From where he was he could not even hear what the duelists were saying. All he had to listen to was the energetic host. "IF YOU ARE JUST TUNING IN FOLKS, I will bring you up to speed! One one side we have the fierce redhead and newcomer Emily, who just joined the synchro guild. On the other end is our lean man Bakker from the fusion guild. One can tell by the merchandise all over him! Let's join back in, shall we? Emily has just set one card down in her spell/trap zone and one monster face-down. What will her deck be? She is not telling, so we wont spoil the surprise either! The ball is in Bakkers court! He hasn't changed his deck from last year! We know his favorites!"
Bakkers LP: 8000 Emily's LP: 8000
"Does she look nervous? I can't see from here." Alice tried to get a better angle, since Emily was standing with her back towards them. Her sister had taken her first turn calmly enough. "Not to me. Trust her, Alice. It is always better to start of defending, especially with her deck." Cassius folded his arms and smiled. "Oh from what I hear, I know she can win." Uno claimed. For once he would actually be able to see one of Emily's duels.
In fact it got quite easy for Emily, once she focused on just the duel. She felt all her worries just slip away. It helped that Bakker was all about being vocal. "Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman!" The duelist summoned a very young six-legged dragon(1/400/300) with white feathers all over its body. "I add a Destruction Sword card from my deck to my hand!" The Whelps effect was used to search his deck, a move that Dom helpfully explained in the background. "Buster Blader, the Destruction Swordmaster!" That was Bakkers choice of card. "Man, that is a mouthful. Just say Buster Blader." Emily was not going to bother with the full name. In fact, part of the monsters effect was to be treated as a normal Buster Blader. "Hrumph! Do not disrespect the Buster!" Bakker removed the Whelp from his field. It could be tributed to special summon a Buster Blader monster from his hand or graveyard. Naturally the Destruction Swordmaster was what he put on his field. "He shall attack you now!" The dragon hunter knight(7/2600/2300) in blue armor took out the golden sword on its back and used it to cleave Emily's set monster, Giant Rat(4/1400/1450) into bloodless pieces. "The monster slain by this Buster Blader is equipped!" The remains of the Giant Rat were absorbed by the warriors blade. "Now any monster with the same type as the Rat, can be destroyed if I unequip it! What do you think of the Buster now?" Bakker boasted.
"That's nice." Emily shrugged. She did not feel as overwhelmed by this duel as she thought she would. "But what I will summon is not another Rat." Giant Rat was a beast-type monster, which did not matter to all the machines in her deck. With the destroyed rat's effect, Emily special summoned the earth-elemental Superheavy Samurai Big Benkei(8/1000/3500) from her deck in attack position. The warrior switched itself to defense mode with its own effect. "Superheavy Samurais?" This came as quite a surprise to Bakker. He, like many other duelists, only knew Superheavy Samurais as an undersupported archetype. "Then I..will use Wizard Buster Destruction Sword!" He moved to his second main phase and equipped a monster from his hand to the Blader. It was another dragon whelp, which transformed into a pair of daggers. "I retake Buster Whelp!" Wizard Buster could be unequipped from Buster Blader, to retrieve a Destruction Sword card from the graveyard. "I set these two cards. Your move!"
"Worried I am gonna kill your Buster already? You act as if your traps aren't worth anything." Emily realized what Bakker was planning for his next turn. Benkei would kill Buster Blader, but a duelist could revive Buster Blader with a Buster Whelp card. "Still." Emily drew her next card. It was not precisely what she wanted, but it would do. "I activate the spell card, Galaxy Cyclone. It destroys your left spell or trap." Her Galactic cyclone could shatter only face-down spell and trap cards, she would at least take care of one problem. "That was Miracle Restoring." Bakker took the card of his field. He still had one trap left. "..." Emily went for it. "I can do the hand-thing too. I activate Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer!" She placed a monster card on Benkei as an equipment card. Soulpiercer was a bow, and Benkei grabbed it with his hands. "Soulpiercer adds 1000 defense points to a Heavy Samurai! And you probably already know, Superheavies attack from defense mode!" The big samurai(1000/4500) did not make one forward move. He fired from where he stood. The soulpiercing arrow struck Buster Blader and killed it. "I set a monster and end my turn!"
Bakkers LP: 6100
"Buster!" Bakker cried out for his monster like it was a dear friend. "I will avenge him. Right now!" As soon as his turn began, he re-normal summoned the Buster Whelp(1/400/300). This time he used that monsters effect to add a Destruction Swordmaster spell card to his hand. Then he tributed the Whelp to revive Buster Blader from the graveyard. "Now!" He activated his other trap card. "Declaration of Rebirth! I declare a type, and all monsters on the field or in the graveyard will share that type!" He grinned. "I declare Dragon!" With one command, the Rebirth trap mutated Big Benkei and Buster Blader. Dragonic flesh, spikes and wings grew out of their armor. "What is that good for?" Emily had to ask. "For this! I activate Destruction Swordmaster Fusion!" There was the spell he added to his hand. "I can fuse monsters in my hand or on either side of the field, to create a fusion monster that requires Buster Blader as one material!" Buster Blader jumped into the fusion maelstrom. "The other material in this case will be.. a dragon!" Big Benkei was dragged in as well. "H-hey!"
Declaration of Rebirth, Continuous Trap
When you activate this card, declare 1 Type. All monsters on the field and in any graveyard are treated as the declared Type.
The dragonized samurai and swordsman were forced together, they would form the newer and tougher dragon slaying knight(8/2800/2500). "Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman. He can pierce through monsters and gains 1000 attackpoints for each dragon in the graveyard." All three cards in her graveyard only made the Dragon Destroyer(8/5800/2500) stronger. "I also equip these cards, Magnum Shield and Robot Buster Destruction Swordsman!" An equip spell and a dragon monster were given to Buster Blader. The former was a red and gold shield that added the destroyer(8300/2500)'s defense points to his attack points. The latter turned into sword with a blade of pure heat. "Let's see what stands in our way now! My fusion monster attack your hidden one!" Buster Blader, with his piercing sword, cleanly cleaved through Emily's set Superheavy Samurai Swordsman(1/1000/1800).
Emily's LP: 1500
"Oof! She barely made it." Uno gasped out loud. "Oh no! How will she fight back now?" Alice was worried. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to lose in round one. But the crowd was shouting like it was over and done. "Nah. It's not over yet." Only Cassius kept his confidence. "Her victory is already there, and she sees it."
"Right. Two can play at that game.." Emily took a card from her deck. "I assume you did not forget that when you took away Big Benkei, his Soulpiercer equipment was destroyed?" A 'sent to the graveyard' Soulpiercer searched the deck for Samurais to add to its owners hand. Emily used this effect on a Superheavy Samurai tuner monster; Battleball. "TUNER? Oh my, do you see that?" Dom acted surprised over the intercom. As if his company had not made the card himself. "Gonna synch eh? No problem! Because my fusion monster negates the effects of all dragons on the field and forces them in defense position!" Thanks to the dragon Declaration, none of Emily's samurais could attack while in defense mode. This was also why Samurai Swordsmans attack reducing effect had not triggered earlier during its fight. "Bring on your synchro, if you can! Arms Buster Blade will stop any destruction spells you have too!" Its effect prevented the activation of spell and traps that were already on the opponents field.
"So?" To counter that, Emily activated the effect of Galaxy Cyclone from her graveyard. "My spell can also be banished from the graveyard, to destroy face-up spell and trap cards. I destroy Declaration of Rebirth!" The spatial cyclone swallowed the continuous trap. "Bah!" The dragon mutation was taken away from the dead and from the now less powerful fused Buster Blader(5300/2500). "Yeah, well. I bet your synchro still can not stand up to my fusion monster!" Bakker yelled defiantly. "Well you'd win that bet. But that is why I said 'two can play that game'." Emily normal summoned her tuner, a ballshaped steampowered samurai(2/100/800). "Meet Battleball. Now that I don't have spell or trap cards in my graveyard anymore, he can target one of your monsters and use them as the non-tuner material for a Superheavy Synchro summon!" Emily let the news sink in. "My monster? My Buster?" Bakker could then watch and only watch as Battleball turned into synchronizing rings. The rings circled around the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman. "No, NO!" It was reduced to eight level stars, and the ten-star synchro summon process began.
"You had your Buster, I have my warlord." A new Samurai(10/2400/3800) took shape. The samurai was immense; armored in gold, green, red and black. It was like a divine lord had stepped down in a mechanical armor. "Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo!" Of course it sat in defense mode. Like Big Benkei too could attack from that position. "I had no idea that Superheavies had synchros... But it can only give me 3800 points of damage." Bakker was a little relieved. He would survive an attack like that. "No, not really." Benkei stabbed his sword into the floor of the stage. "Hey Dom! I will do the honors!" She shouted at the masked man above. "Susanowo has another power! If there are no spells or traps in my graveyard, I can take one of his!" The sword came back, as it punctured a certain equip spell. '!" Magnum Shield was set on Emily's field. "What?" Bakker spasmed. "Convenient." Emily flipped the equip spell, and equipped it to the Warlord. As it was in defense mode, Susanowo(2400/6200) gained defense points equal to his attackpoints. "Amazing." Bakker cried out.. "Yeah.. Direct attack!" Susanowo used his new shield to knock the opponents lifepoints away.
Bakker's LP: 0
The silence after the fatal blow lasted but a few seconds. "WE HAVE A WINNER! Emily defeats Bakker with her brilliant display of synchro summoning! Without a doubt she is going places!" Dom exploded with an unbridled passion. He heaped praise upon the winner, incited the duelists and shamelessly plugged the new synchro superheavy samurai cards that was now be available at any Dreamworld store. But for now Emily was the only one with such a powerhouse in her deck. "But..Buster." Bakker meanwhile received no cheers. He had failed his deck and his guild. "Hey don't take it so bad. I wouldn't have won if you hadn't used that equip spell." Emily tried to be a bit nice to him. They might have been on opposing sides, but the fusion guild was not the guild she disliked. "No. My loss is my loss. We.. I was weaker than you." He would have none of it and walked away. "Well..that's another way to see it." The girl shrugged.
Her opponent might have been down, but there were plenty of people happy with the outcome once she got back to the front row. "Did you see that!? You all saw it, right!" Her sister being one of them, and probably the one with the highest volume. "Uh yeah. I saw it. I was there." Emily did not want to make a big deal of it. Though it did feel like a rush. "Don't act like that. You did great. Just listen!" Uno motioned his hand to the rows above. The duelists were chanting Emily's name. "Oh god." Emily averted her face. She did not want that much attention. "Heh. You've earned it. What did I tell you guys? You were betting she would lose in the first round, werent you?" Cassius looked at his fellow guildsmen. "Hey. We weren't serious." Jet coughed and rubbed his neck. "But she wouldn't have made it without the guild." It had been Cassius who told Dreamworld to make new Superheavy Synchro monsters for Emily's deck. He had also given her better spells and traps like Galaxy Cyclone. Those cards could banish themselves to make the graveyard spell and trap-free. "I think you're just happy I can't duel you, Jet." Emily said with a grin. She was in too good a mood to let him wear her down.
"Cassius.. the next duel is about to be anounced." One of the other synchro duelists spoke up. The big screen was flipping photos again. "Oh I get it now. It's like he's shuffling a deck!" Alice laughed. The screen finally stopped at two pictures. "!" Another familiar face appeared.
'THE NEXT DUEL WILL BE BETWEEN AKAI DIAZ AAAAAAND THE MYSTERIOUS... UNO!"
(To be Continued in Annex 027: Welcome, Oddball Guild)
New Cards used by Emily Brandt
Superheavy Samurai Soulpiercer
Superheavy Samurai Battleball
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Superheavy Samurai Warlord Susanowo
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Galaxy Cyclone
Cards used by Joris Bakker
Buster Whelp of the Destruction Swordsman
Buster Blader the Destruction Swordsman
Wizard Buster Destruction Sword
Robot Buster Destruction Sword
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Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman
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Destruction Swordsman Fusion
Magnum Shield
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Miracle Restoring
Declaration of Rebirth (+)
(+ Based on the Trap used by Kaiser Ryo in YuGiOh GX)