"Um, Addy? Are you, sure we're safe scoping around here?"
"'Course I'm sure. I've explored places like these in the past without any issues...Mind you, it was usually when none of the machines were running."
"Haaah, somehow, I knew you'd say something like that..."
We're now about two or so hours into the first day of the World Duel Carnival Preliminaries, and we find ourselves zooming in on a massive construction complex within Heartland City, where Athena was leading Tiffany through after parting ways from Caden and Caswell shortly after the former's duel with Striker to continue her search and collection of Heart Pieces...
Mind you, only one out of two girls was confident in navigating between the skeletal framework of the unfinished skyscraper.
"As long as we avoid the main machinery and don't run into the workers, we'll be fine. Trust me: Most of these sites are built with a similar blueprint and exit-entrance points."
"If you say so. I just don't wanna become a part of another workplace safety violation."
Astral cuts into the girl's conversation with his own questions of curiousity.
"Why is she so nervous? What exactly happens at this place called a 'construction site'?"
The girl with red irises replies dryly,
"Eh, mainly architectural work. The plan for this site in particular is a new shopping mall, which according to Yoko, is supposingly going to join the ranks of 'biggest in the world'...I honestly find the idea of a new mall a little ridiculous, I mean come on: Heartland's already got enough places to shop at as it is."
The trio was soon entering another higher level of the gutted building, and all the banging from the various machines down below was starting to get to the girl with black bobbed hair.
"A-Addy, how much further do we need to go?"
Athena peers down over the railing for the walkway they were currently standing on to determine their location.
"Hmm...I see an exit point at least a couple floors down and several yards from where we are. Should be about, twenty minutes or so?"
She notices the nervous expression on her friend's face, and flashes a smile of reassurance.
"Hey, it'll be fine; we're in a relatively safe area of the building."
...But those words would come to bite the girl with long shaggy black hair tipped copper red with a vengeance just a few seconds later, when three pieces of a girder suddenly come diving from somewhere higher up!
"Guh! Tiffany!"
Said girl lets out a small scream while cowering down to cover her head to embrace for impact...before being yanked forward by Athena just as a large excavator comes charging in to whack the girders away...!
"Don't just duck down, you idiot!...Thank god that excavator was he-Oh shit!"
The girl with red irises cuts herself off when she notices that the mass machine showed no signs of stopping, before gripping Tiffany's wrist to tug her along in a run to escape being rolled over. Wiping away the last of her shock, the latter retorts,
"Relatively safe my left foot! I'm gonna be giving Akira an earful next time we see him for suggesting this so-called 'dueling hotspot'!"
"Hey, don't blame him; how was he suppose to know this place would be buzzing with construction activity today?!"
Yes: Apparently, the reason for the two girls and celestial being to come to such an area was of a supposed tip from an acquaintance that spoke of a few duelists enlisted in the WDC hanging around this part of the city...
Anyway, they ran until they reached a strong, stable piece of the framework that would more than likely prevent the machine from following.
"Jump!"
Athena and Tiffany sprang through the opening and slid to the ground of the walkway on the other side...
(CRASH)
And just as predicted, the excavator would go smashing against the girders, the glass windows shattering to pieces!
"Hah, hah, hah, you okay, Tiff?"
"Hah...yeah, I'm, okay..."
Shaking her head, Athena thinks to herself with a mix of relief and irritation,
Man, that was too close for comfort...
Where'd that excavator come from, anyway, and where'd the driver get their license from, crash test dummy school?
She would soon receive her answers, when a young male voice comes calling down as they exit from the driver cockpit.
"You numbskulls aren't wearin' helmets! Don'tcha guys know that construction sites are dangerous places?...Gah!"
He then fumbles on his feet and goes tripping onto the ground below, giving us a better view of his appearance. He was a young teen about as tall as Flip, perhaps half an inch or so taller, with pale peach skin, light peanut brown hair styled upward in a spiky way, sharp magenta-brown eyes standing out with his equally prominent eyebrows, and wore an outfit consisting of an orange-yellow t-shirt under a purple-red vest, tan pants held up with a simple belt, black/orange boots, long orange wrist bands, and a simple beaded necklace. The white construction helmet he was wearing on his head previously was now hanging behind him by a strap.
Sitting up with a sigh, the boy then says,
"Sorry for almost turning you into pancakes. I saw the beams fallin' and went to hit 'em outta the way, and then accidentally put the excavator into gear, and I couldn't reach the dumb pedal to stop it."
Taking in their full appearance and cooling down most of her surprise, Athena fires back with a raised brow,
"I'm sorry, but aren't you technically in as much fault as we are for wandering 'round a place like this? Unless you can show me your worker's license, I'm not buying your crap."
"Hey, watch it, smart-mouth! Cody Callis does not talk crap!"
Said young man folds his arms with a hmph while glaring at the girl with red irises, she mirroring his expression...Tiffany rolls her eyes with a sigh before speaking up:
"Excuse my friend here; she has a bad habit of being a smart alack...Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Cody. I'm Tiffany, and she's Athena."
She smiles brightly and adds,
"Thank you for your attempt to rescue us. That was really brave of you."
...Cody felt his face heat up with a blush from the sweet compliment, prompting Athena to ask with a more relaxed demeanor,
"Yo, you alright, dude?"
He tries to brush it off with feigned irritation:
"Tch, dauh, what's everyone lookin' at?!"
Meanwhile, Astral's mismatched irises cast down to a small metal nut on the ground, fueling more fascination towards his current surroundings...
A couple minutes later, the small group of three turned four would be overlooking a large dump truck hauling in a load of dirt for another section of the ground foundation, directed by a LitterBot acting for traffic control. Athena comments,
"Wooow, never seen a dump truck that big before..."
"Oh, that's Gracie. She can haul like, 300 hogs."
"Uhm, that's construction talk for tons, right?" Cody replies,
"Yeah, or at least that's what my old man and his crew refer to."
"You're dad's a foreman, then?"
He nods with a proud smile at Tiffany:
"Yep, for this site and a couple others across the city."
Athena remarks with a slight smirk,
"Heh, that would explain where your terminology comes from, but then again, kids usually pick up on alot from their parents."
I certainly did from my own folks...
"This concerns me..."
"Hm?"
She looks up in front of her to see Astral fixating his gaze on a few metal support beams.
"Those enormous beams over there, appear to be held up by no more than a few metallic pieces. That strikes me as a precarious arrangement."
Since she couldn't really explain the concept aloud without one of the other three looking at her strangely, Athena chose to U-turn back on it later and moved onto another subtopic regarding this site.
"Say, Cody, you know the name of that large machine over there?"
"Oh that's Barnaby: That thing could lift a mountain."
The girl with bobbed black hair held up by her daisy hair clip on the left fringe looked up at the apparatus in question, namely, a tower crane, with a nervous smile.
"I certainly don't envy whoever's working that monstrosity. That's way too high off the ground for my liking."
Athena rolled her eyes slightly before replying cheekily,
"That's 'cause you're a chicken when it comes to heights."
"Am not!"
"If you say so~...I wouldn't mind going up somethin' like that. It'd be hella cool to operate."
Cody replies to her with a smile,
"Because it would make you feel super-strong, right? Yeah. That's pretty much why I decided to step up and compete in the World Duel Carnival."
The girls formed surprised expressions, not expecting their new friend to be a fellow competitor, and he goes on with his reasoning.
"I may be a little guy, but when I'm dueling, and controlling these powerful monsters, I feel bigger than I am. Makes me feel like there's nothing I can't do."
Athena smiled a bit and shared in the sentiment:
"Dunno about the whole control bit, but I understand the feeling of being on top of the world when you duel."
"So-uh, does that mean in the Duel Carnival?"
"Sure am."
The boy with light brown hair's smile shifts into more of a smirk as he turns to face the girl with long, shaggy raven hair tipped copper red.
"Re~ally? Well I hate to break it to ya, but no one stands a chance against by Heavy Machinery Deck."
"Tch, that confident, are we? Might just hafta test that statement of yours with my own deck."
"O~h, sounds like a challenge."
Athena's mouth curved into a friendly smirk:
"You better believe it. Let's get it on, (throws up her duel disk) and find out whose cocky attitude trumps who! Duel Disk: Go!"
She then snaps on her gazer:
"Duel Gazer: Show me the impossible! Heh, somethin' tells me this new chapter'll be interesting. Better not disappoint, Cody!"
Augmented Reality Vision Link Established.
"(Both duelists) Now let's Duel!"
The boy with magenta-brown irises would take the lead initiative in this newest battle.
"You ready to rumble? I'm goin' first; I Draw! And I'm kickin' things off by summoning a monster! Here comes, Jumbo Drill!"
The first monster we would see in this duel read as a Level Four with 1800 Attack Points, and held the appearance of a blue metal machine with two large multi-point drill arms.
"Next I'm activating the Charging Construction Spell Card! Since I summoned Jumbo Drill, Charging Construction lets me bust out another heavy hitter in Defense Mode. Get ready to tremble under the sheer awesomeness, of my mighty Road Roller!"
Another Level Four monster comes rushing onto the field, with 2000 Defense Points displayed, their appearance being a yellow Roller Compactor.
"And now I activate Jumbo Drill's special ability: Since Road Roller's on sight, Jumbo Drill gains 300 Attack Points."
Athena watched her opponent's plays with a careful eye but a somewhat playful smirk.
"Hm, so he's a leaner towards heavy offense, eh? Interesting, yet I should expect that considering his deck..."
Astral comments back,
"Your response is certainly one I did not expect. Your opponent just summoned two monsters..."
"Tch, I know that; I'm not blind."
Cody finishes his first turn:
"I now end my turn by throwing one card face-down! Bam! Now you're gettin' to see what my mighty machines are all about."
"Yeah? Well here's where you see what I'm all about! My Draw! First, I summon Gagaga Magician to the field!"
Astral felt he had to remind the girl just what she was currently up against.
"Athena, look at the Attack Points of your opponent's monsters. I am sorry to say, that Gagaga Magician can't put a dent into them."
"Maybe not now, but he'll stand a better chance after an Equip Spell. I activate from my hand, Bound Wand! Whenever a monster's got a hand on this baby, their Attack Points increase by 100 for each of their Levels. In which case, Gagaga's power is now sittin' pretty at 1900!"
It was the girl's opponent's turn to comment on the strength difference that was still present despite the light increase.
"Eh, that's a pretty neat stick and all, but your magician still isn't strong enough to put a dent into either of my mighty machines."
"You sure about that?"
Cody's brow rose in confusion, as Athena's smirk grew slightly before she says,
"I now activate Gagaga Magician's special ability! Once per turn, I can shift his Level from One to Eight, which in this case, I'm crankin' all the way up to Eight, giving him another 400 Attack Points thanks to Bound Wand!"
In which case, the spellcaster's strength rose to 2300...Astral's lips quirked up slightly with a nod of approval:
"Very good; you know what to do from here."
"Uh-huh. Gagaga Magician: Attack Jumbo Drill with Gagaga Magic!"
The magician charges forward with his Bound Wand at ready, and Cody would face the challenge unafraid.
"Bring it on, 'cause I'm playing the Trap Card, Foreman's Fury, so now 1000 of your magician's Attack Points are about to disappear!"
A shot of fire is blown from the card to blast against Gagaga Magician, robbing him of his strength to leave him at only 1300 Attack Points!
"No way!"
"Oh yes way!"
A drilled arm from Jumbo Drill goes flying to nearly impale the spellcaster, destroying him in a cluster of pixels, while Athena's thrown back by the after-impact as her Life Points diminish to 3200. Tiffany cries out the former's name from the sidelines, while Astral instructs,
"Use Bound Wand's effect, now, Athena!"
"Grh, right. I activate Bound Wand's effect! Now the monster equipped with this card is able to return to the field after the battle ends."
"That will help, but the situation is still dire...You should focus on defending: That way, you will not take Battle Damage if your magician is destroyed again."
Athena bopped her head up and down slightly in agreement as she fully stood upright.
"Fair point; I'd rather be minimally tossed about like a rag doll if I can help it...I'm returning my magician in Defense Mode!"
In which case, instead of his usual 1500 Attack Points, it would be Gagaga's 1000 Defense Points on display as he rose from the hex circle connecting the battlefield to the Graveyard...
"Then I place one card face-down, and end my turn. You're up, Cody."
Said boy with the peanut shell-shaded hair felt a smile of amusement form on his lips at seeing what his opponent's line of defense was.
"Do you seriously think you can defend against the power of my heavy hitters? (Grin) Let's find out! I Draw! I'm summoning Strong Shovel Excavator to join me on the job site!"
True to the description in its title, this Level Three monster with 1800 Attack Points mirrored an regular excavator machine, but with teeth in the shoveling mechanism on its front, and two metal claws on its side.
"Now that Strong Shovel has dug in, Jumbo Drill gains another 300 Attack Points..."
So now that monster's total stood at a strong 2400...
"And now Strong Shovel's gonna dig its way into Gagaga Magician!"
Astral softly cries out Athena's name as the monster excavator started its charge, to which she would answer to calmly and with no hesitation.
"I activate my Trap, Half Unbreak!"
A large soap bubble flows out from the face-up card to engulf the spellcaster protectively just before the teethed shovel could crush him...!
"With this trap, my monster's safe from being destroyed this turn, and any damage that could've been dealt my way would've been cut in half."
Cody admits halfheartedly,
"Not too bad there. You and your monster got through that without so much as a scratch..."
He then forms another smirking grin as he adds in a teasing taunt,
"Well then, guess I'm gonna have to find some other way to hammer you into the ground."
Athena smirks back and retorts,
"Oh by all means, give it your best shot, even though Half Unbreak's effect will remain in play."
"Too bad that's not gonna stop Jumbo Drill from attacking...and Jumbo Drill's got a special ability!"
The largest drill bit on the monster's charging arm starts grinding against the bubble shield...
"When your magician's in Defense Mode, and Jumbo Drill's Attack Points are greater than your magician's Defense Points, the difference is dealt to you as damage!"
So while Gagaga Magician may have been saved from the blunt end of the stick, Athena was not, flinching back as sparks of power from the drilling impact shoot her way, her Life Points depleting down to 2500.
"Hehahaha! You see that? That's what my machines are all about: Just tearing down anything dense enough to stand in their way!"
Yet even with that in mind, Jumbo Drill wasn't without its own faults, as evident by the sudden shift to its very weak 100 Defense Points right after finishing their attack, much to Athena's confusion.
"Hm? Uh, what's with the sudden mode shift; that an aftereffect?"
This seemed to fluster her opponent a little, as evident by the light blush of embarrassment.
"Oh, uh, thing about Jumbo Drill is that after it attacks, it's gotta go on the Defense until the end of my next turn. (Awkward smile) Mandated Union Break, I guess, hehehehe, i-it's construction humour..."
"I, see...Sounds like a bit of a bum disadvantage unless you use it right."
"Hey, if you want heavy machinery to do what heavy machinery do best, maintenance is a must! It's like my dad always says, Heartland City wasn't built in a day!..."
Sensing that his yammering might go on for a bit longer, Astral gets Athena to clue in on the open opportunity.
"This is your chance; do not waste it." She snaps out of her daze and quickly replies,
"Gah-uh, right! It's my turn, ain't it? I Draw! First things first, I'm switching Gagaga back into Attack Mode...Next, I summon Mystical Donator to the field!"
This Level Two monster with 800 Attack Points was on the smaller side compared to others, and held the appearance of a bishop in sky blue robes decorated with powder blue stars and trimmed with yellow, holding a thick book under his arm...
"Mystical Donator's got the most selfless heart around. Once per turn, he willing sacrifices his Attack Points to either a fellow monster to increase their strength, or to me to add onto my Life Points. For this turn, I'll have him give up his strength to Gagaga Magician."
On that note, the spellcaster receives his gift from the little bishop, his strength rising to 2300 Attack Points, much to Cody's dismay.
"Nagh, nuts and bolts!"
"Gagaga Magician: Attack Strong Shovel Excavator!"
One punch eliminates the machine from the field, and their wielder goes flying backwards onto the floor as his Life Points decrease to 3500...
"I place another card face-down, and end my turn, which means Gagaga Magician and Mystical Donator's strengths return to normal."
As she settles back to pass the turn baton to her opponent, Athena adds as an afterthought,
"Your monsters certainly pack power, Cody, but just remember that Dueling is much more than sheer strength on its own."
"Interesting. What else is there besides power?"
She raises a brow at Astral for asking such a question:
"I would think you of all people would know that answer already. Brawn can only really help you if you pair it with Brain."
"By which, you are referring to tactics and strategy?"
"Exactly! It's naive to believe you can win if you're big and powerful..."
"And what would you know about it?!"
The pair snap away from their conversation to the sound of their opponent's outburst, he rising to his feet with his magenta-brown irises blazing from a contained anger at something that was clearly outside this duel.
"Two guys suddenly get into a fight, then the bigger one wins; the bigger one always wins!"
The girl with red irises was taken aback by the major shift in emotions.
"Whoa whoa, back up a sec! What are ya goin' on about?"
Though lowering his volume ever so slightly, Cody's temper over the unveiling subject did not cool.
"Half-pint, Short-stack, Small Fry. Oooh, I've been called all sorts of names! Back in Elementary School, the big kids always made fun of me. Pushed me around, took my lunch money...One day, I was lookin' at a job site my dad was workin' at, watching the machines doin' their thing, and that's when it hit me. You know who stands up to a Bulldozer?...No one, that's who, 'cause you don't mess with power! People respect power when they see it; they get scared by it..."
He forms a more firm grin on his face, sure of his goals:
"Me and my machines, we're gonna show the World Duel Carnival what power's all about! Then we'll see how many people will be calling me Little Stuff, Bite-sized or whatever!"
The young man would be thrown completely off guard by the following monotone response.
"...I don't respect power."
"Hn?!"
Athena's eyes had been narrowing with every bitter word she heard spew from Cody's mouth, and by the end, she was a little more than a mix of annoyed and frustrated.
"I find power to be overrated and stupid, least in the manner you're speaking. Respect through fear? Ha! A joke if a ever heard one! You have to earn someone's respect to truly receive it, which your tormentors obviously never did, and what you're not doing right now. Cody, you're heading down a bad path: Don't let something as dumb as being big and strong blind you."
Her two friends present found themselves staring at the girl in some shock for her words, while her opponent on the other hand...felt the words go flying over his head like a strong gust of wind, before contorting his face into his own expression of aggravation.
"Grrrrh, I'll show you who's blind! (Swipes up a card) Ha! To kick things off, I'm activating the Scrap and Build Spell Card! Scrap and Build gives me the go-ahead to summon a low-level machine-type monster straight from my Graveyard, so Strong Shovel's gonna pull a double shift! Oh, and when this card's summoned from the Graveyard, it gains a Level!"
In which case, Strong Shovel Excavator rises back onto the field as a Level Four...
"Next up, I'm activating another Spell Card, Overhaul! This doozy approves work efficiency across the board by allowing me to grant all my monsters on the field an additional level!"
Athena felt herself growl with anger as she watches both machine-types become Level Five Monsters.
Why do I get the feeling he's about to do what I think...?
"I hope you're ready, 'cause you're about to see real power..."
Astral says to the girl worriedly,
"Athena, this is bad...!"
"Ya think?!"
"I overlay Level Five Jumbo Drill, Road Roller and Strong Shovel Excavator!"
The three machine-type monsters transform into contrasting streams of orange light to go diving into the red vortex opening up in front of their wielder.
"With these three monsters, I build the Overlay Network! Here comes the awe-inspiring, pulverizing...the ultimate machine in my crew!...I XYZ Summon, Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry!"
This Rank Five monster was quite the behemoth machine, comprised of many elements from various types of construction vehicles, while also carrying a pounding 3200 Attack Points!
"Holy-That's a ridiculous-strong machine!"
"Sure is! When you hafta absolutely demolish something, accept no substitutes!"
Athena's POV
Okay okay, ease up, Addy, don't go into the worse case yet.
Just because this thing's ginormous doesn't mean it won't have a weakness or two. Just have to find it...
"Athena, that monster is strong." I reply sarcastically,
"Nooo, really? Never would've guessed," costing an annoyed gaze from him to bore into my skin...
"I now activate Digvorzhak's special ability! By using one Overlay Unit, Digvorzhak can knock three cards outta your deck, and haul them off to the Graveyard!"
Auh, that's what I call a dirty ability!
The cards this round to fall victim would be Gogogo Golem, Goblinbergh, and Blustering Winds...I cursed under my breath, but apparently this was just the start of my problems, as Cody informs me.
"Now for every monster that was sent to the Graveyard, one monster on your field is destroyed."
"What?! Auh crap, that means-"
"That means your field's about to become a demolition site...Go, Melting Mover!"
The stupid-big machine starts its engines, before charging forward with its crane arms held up to mow down on both Gagaga Magician, and Mystical Donator!
No!
Tiffany cringes to herself with worry, her knees knocking together and hands locked in a prayer position.
"Addy..."
I do my damnedest to remain brave for the both of us, but a bit of anxiety slipped out from behind my mask to make my forehead crease and my teeth clench.
"Dammit, I gotta figure out an alternative, or that thing's gonna bury me alive in the rubble..."
Astral speaks to me to try and assist in curbing any rise of fear:
"Just remain focused, Athena."
I nodded with a swallow, just as Cody calls out,
"Alright, Digvorzhak, it's full-throttle time!"
Next thing I knew, that machine monster started blaring its deep horn and revved its engines so loud, the sound was practically bouncing off the unfinished walls! I quickly moved to clamp my hands over my ears:
"Agh! That's way too loud! Mrh...feels like my ear drums are gonna burst...!"
How the hell has Cody not gone deaf using this card?!
What's worse is that the noise was so consuming, I could barely make out the sound of Astral calling to me to do...well, something. I couldn't understand what he was trying to tell me.
"What?! I can't hear you, Astral! Say that again?!"
His voice was really muffled, so I could only really make out him calling my name, then saying I needed to...again, do something.
"Do what?! I still can't hear you!"
God, talk about miscommunication...
What would save the both of us in the end was when he employed the tactics of that classic game of Charades, gesturing one of his palms to...flip upward?
Wait...Ooh, now I got it!
"Activate the Trap!"
Astral gives me the thumbs-up to show I got the message correctly, so I scramble to use the card on my side of the field.
"I activate the Trap, Small Resistance! When your monster attacks, I can choose a Level Four or below monster with 1000 or fewer Attack Points, and your monster loses that same amount! I choose Mystical Donator, which means Digvorzhak loses 800 Attack Points!"
As soon as my little bishop rose from the Graveyard for that moment, that mass machine's strength dropped to 2400.
Might not be much, but I'll survive another round, at least...
The pulley crane arm still comes whacking against me, of course, and I flew backwards with a yelp as my Life Points fell to 100, much to Tiff's dismay.
"Athena!"
Cody was a bit impressed by my abilities:
"You somehow keep managing to survive my attacks. You won't be so lucky next turn!"
I rose back onto my feet with a grunt, before looking over my current hand with a poker face.
Alright, crunch time: I'm at the end of my rope with 100 Life Points, so it's gotta be this turn to counterattack...
Now then...how to take that colossal machine down...
"What is that machine made of?"
"Hm?"
I turn to Astral in confusion from his question, before cringing in irritation from that monster's horn again...which would once again make verbal communication difficult.
"Astral, I didn't catch that last bit!"
Sighing to myself in frustration, I look down at nothing while grumbling to myself,
Days like this where he's more irritating than a malfunctioning alarm clock...
"And there are days where you are more stubborn than a bull."
...Now that was something I didn't miss:
"Hey, watch it, you-...Wait a minute...I actually heard you that time."
Uh! Just like...at that door, and inside the key.
"You remember, do you? Yes: I felt for this situation that Telepathy would be best."
Smiling sheepishly, I reply back in my mind,
Ah-heh, yeah, no kidding. Better this than both of us losing our voices in a screaming match...
His lips curved upward slightly at my joke:
"Agreed. This certainly saves us both from an unnecessary migraine...Now that I have got you, I have made the following observation about this place known as a construction site. These gigantic structures that you humans make, are comprised of many individual parts."
Mhm, that's, kind-of part of how foundation works...
"Take for instance that hexagonal piece by your foot."
I look down where he was pointing, and wound up picking up a tiny metal nut.
This nut? What about it?
Astral patiently explains:
"Consider how tiny that piece is, and yet, it will contribute to the support of this colossal structure."
We glance around at the site as well as Digvorzhak...
"Every piece plays an important role. Without even the smallest of components in the right places, the entire foundation would collapse."
Collapse...under weight...Ah! Of course, duh!
My mind began spinning the gears towards a new plan, just as my opponent began suspecting I had lost my mojo to keep going.
"Wha'sa matter, Athena? Have you been frozen in place by awesomeness? Don't be hard on yourself. It happens to alot of people."
My mouth curves into a confident smirk:
Maybe so, but I'm not one of those people. Not today.
"I Draw!...Ha, yes, Kurivolt! Come on out to the field, little guy!"
My electrical bomb friend comes zapping up front and center, and as I suspected he'd be, Cody was amused by my choice of offense.
"Look at that dinky little pipsqueak...What's that runt gonna do to my machine? It's just gonna scratch its paint job!"
I frown at his hypocritical attitude, before calling back,
"I wouldn't be so quick to make fun of Kurivolt, 'specially after I activate his special ability!"
Heeding my words, my monster strikes out twin shots of electricity to snare my opponent's Overlay Units, much to his surprise.
"W-What's happening to Digvorzhak's Overlay Units?!"
"Lemme break it down simple for ya: Kurivolt's ability allows him to steal away your XYZ monster's Overlay Units, and change them into Kurivolt Tokens!"
"Are you serious? I-It can turn Overlay Units into monsters? (Small smirk) Well, ain't that somethin'. Still, how are those three little monsters gonna take down something like Digvorzhak?"
I hold out my next card and retort with a smart alack smile,
"Here's your answer: The Mini Guts Spell Card!...Alright, Kurivolt Tokens, charge in and do whatcha gotta!"
The two tokens on either side of the original Kurivolt fly up quickly to fasten themselves face-first onto different weak points of Digvorzhak...A minute passes, and they finish their work before falling back with dizzied expressions from all their energy placed into this sneaky attack.
Good work, you guys...
Cody seemed to think otherwise, overconfident in his monster's strength.
"Hehahaha! Nice try, pal, but don'tcha see? Nothing can stop my ultimate machine! Especially not-"
He would cut himself off...when he spots several of the screws and nuts making the support for parts of his monster start to unscrew and fall out!
"Wha-?! What's happening to Digvorzhak?!"
Following that first wave of sabotage, the colossal machine then spurted coughs of smoke and sparks of electricity, giving a more prominent vision of total mechanical failure...
"Excellent work, Athena. By using Mini Guts, you were able to tribute two Level One Monsters, to strip his machine of Attack Points."
I nodded with a little smile matching Astral's, and I hear Tiffany mutter with a hopeful smile of her own,
"I knew Addy would find a way..."
Meanwhile, my opponent was on the verge of a panic attack:
"But, this ain't right! Those little monsters are so pathetic!"
Oh, the irony...
Astral encourages me to keep going:
"You can finish this off right now."
"Sure can! Kurivolt, send Digvorzhak to the scrap heap!"
My little monster charges upward to stand just a couple feet from one of the huge spotlights on the huge machine...before striking it with his electrical blast, knocking out the last nut, and jump-starting the final demolition for Digvorzhak, the impact sending Cody backwards with a yell as his Life Points dropped to 3200...
"Then due to the other effect of Mini Guts, you take damage equal to Digvorzhak's original Attack Points."
(...Ka-BOOM)
The machine blows to kingdom come like a watermelon hit with TNT, and Cody coughs and sputters from the wave of dust and smoke splashing his body, as his Life Points are whacked down all the way to zero...!
And that, is how the little guy trumped the giant.
As the AR World fades to a close, I look over to see the boy I dueled pulling off his gazer with an expression of disbelieving frustration.
"...Daaauh, nuts and bolts! Something that small, isn't suppose to take down something that big!"
Pulling off my own gazer as Tiffany returns to my side with a cheery smile, I call back to Cody with a teachable smirk,
"Size never guarantees strength, my friend."
"...Whadda you mean?"
I gesture to this unfinished building and alliterate:
"Well, take this gigantic structure, for example. So many large parts, that are held together by even more smaller bits...All I'm saying is that the little guy label, doesn't always account for the greater potential."
He looks up all around the place...and a small smile of realization forms on his lips.
"...Greater potential, huh?"
We all move out of this area of the construction site to one that opened to the outside, where Cody would lightly toss me his Heart Piece to catch.
"Here ya go, Athena. Ya beat me, so my Heart Piece is yours now. Don't waste it."
I reply in good nature,
"Don't plan on it...and thanks."
I look down at the little bit of fake gem with Tiffany peering over my shoulder.
"Now you have three out of five, Addy."
Nodding, I think to myself as I put the piece into the framework,
Just leaves two more to go...
"Ya know...I think I lost because I underestimated what little guys are capable of...which really means, I underestimated what I'm capable of."
Clapping a hand lightly against his shoulder, I chide,
"Hey, I get that. Believe it or not, I used to have similar issues back when I was younger...But then I learned something important just a little more than a year ago."
"Oh yeah, what's that?"
"...As long as you know yourself, everything will turn out fine."
Cody looks at me with a bit of awe...before nodding back with a firm smile of his own...
"Hey!"
That's when we all jump from the sound of a man's voice calling from above, and turn around to see a worker just a little taller than my new friend glaring down at us with a fist waving in the air.
"You know you're not suppose to be up here, Cody!"
The three of us down below mutter nervously,
"Uh, oh..."
"Oooh, not good..."
"This, is what I'd hoped we'd avoid."
"You could get hurt! Get outta here before ya dad sees you!"
He didn't need to tell us twice, and we all scrambled around to start speeding out of this complex, myself thinking with a cheeky grin,
Next time, we go at night.