Predatory Showdown
It's been about half an hour since Cody, Jeremy and Eric talked about the reason behind Cody's absence, the people who've been after him, and not to mention his past. They even went through the messages Cody's parents left for them, including the one Eric guarded. Things went relatively well up to this point. But now, there was a problem. Supposedly, the final message is said to be kept by Sonia, a maid who used to work for Cody's family. However, no one knows where she was today. Even Eric didn't have a clue of where she could have gone to. So, the first thing to do was to find her.
And right now, they were at the apartment building where Cindy lived. Eric and Cody were outside, with the latter moving the duel runner he and Jeremy had been working on. "So you guys have been building a duel runner?" Eric asked, staring at it with curiosity.
"We sure have." Cody replied. "We've been working on it since my old one got trashed."
"I can't believe you were able to get this much done. Did you really get the parts from a junkyard?"
Cody laughed a bit. "You'd be surprised what you could find there."
"Got that right."
The two of them turned and saw Jeremy come out of the corner. They also noticed Mimi sticking her head out a little behind him.
"So is that Mimi you mentioned?" Eric asked.
"That's right." Cody nodded. "Try to be careful around her. She's very shy."
"Got it." Eric merely took a couple of steps when Mimi hid behind Jeremy. "Hello there. You're Mimi, right? Cody told me about you." He said gently before kneeling down a bit. He smiled a bit as Mimi peeked again. "It's okay. I'm Eric, Cody's cousin."
"Cousin?" Mimi repeated.
"Yeah, that's right. So don't worry." He held his hand out, offering a handshake. "I think we can be good friends."
Mimi stared at him with a shy look. But after a short while, she stepped away from Jeremy slowly, and reached Eric's hand out. And then, he clasped her hand slowly and gently before shaking it a bit. At that, Mimi smiled a bit.
"I see you're getting along pretty well." A female voice spoke up behind Jeremy.
Eric looked up to see Cindy smiling down to him with her arms crossed. And he couldn't help but give her a surprised look. "Cindy Storm?"
"It's been a while, Eric." She greeted. "How's the pro circuit treating ya?"
He turned to Cody. "You know each other?"
"Yeah. Right after we came to the city, we explained the situation to her, and she's been helping us a lot ever since."
"For real? That's cool."
Cindy smiled and nodded. She then dropped her smile.. "But since today's my last day off, I won't be able to be much more help. That said, do you guys have everything you need?"
"Sure do." Jeremy replied, holding up his bag.
"We better get moving." Cody said.
"Then good luck. You guys are going to need it. Oh, before I forget..." Cindy reached into her pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper. "In case you need me, just call me, okay?"
"Sure." Jeremy took it.
"And while I'm at it..." Cindy reached into her pocket again and pulled out a couple of keys. "Here's my keys to my Emerald Phoenix."
"Your duel runner?" Jeremy blinked. "Are you sure?"
"Trust me, you guys might need it someday." Cindy smirked.
"If you say so, then fine." Cody walked over to them and took the keys.
At that moment, Cindy leaned towards him with a threatening look. "But I warn you. If my Emerald Phoenix ends up like your previous runner, then you're going to wish that I put you behind bars when we first met."
Cody gulped. "Got it."
"Where are we going?" Mimi asked curiously.
"To Eric's place." He replied and turned to her. "We'll be staying with him for a while."
"Okay."
"Thanks for all the help you've given us up to this point. We really appreciate it."
Cindy waved it off. "Don't mention it. Just doing my job. I hope that you guys will find that Sonia you mentioned."
"Sure." Cody turned to the others. "So, shall we?"
Jeremy and Eric nodded.
"Here we go!" Cody said as they placed the 'soon-to-be' duel runner right next to Eric's runner (Which impressed Cody and Jeremy). They were inside what looked like a garage of some kind. "Now we have a place to work with it in."
"So what now?" Jeremy asked.
"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" Eric replied and held up a photo of Sonia. "We'll look for Sonia. Hopefully, we'll find her somewhere in the city."
Mimi tilted her head. "Who's Sonia?"
Cody smiled to her and kneeled down to her eye level. "Sonia is an old friend. She's been missing for some time."
Jeremy leaned closer to Eric. "You sure we should take her with us?" He whispered.
"I know it's risky, considering that Morningstar Foundation is looking for Cody." Eric replied. "But it might be even riskier to leave her all alone, without anyone watching over her."
"Hm, good point."
Cody stood up and turned to them. "Let's get going."
"Right." Eric nodded.
And so, the gang was walking around the city. And as usual, Cody and Jeremy were wearing their hoodies to keep their faces hidden. They asked some random people if they've seen the person in the photo. But so far, every person they asked had no clue of where she was.
"Man, I wonder where she is?" Eric muttered.
"No one ever said this would be easy." Cody replied.
"Tell me about it." Jeremy added. "I mean, searching for one single person in this big city? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"But we have just begun. Let's keep looking."
As the boys were talking to each other, Mimi noticed a nearby store. She got curious and walked over there. It was a card shop, from the looks of it. There different kinds of Duel Monsters cards in display behind a big window. She noticed one particular card. It was a monster card. An effect monster that was level 1 with 200 attack and defense points. It had a picture of a pair of cherries, each one having a face and tiny limbs. One cherry was smiling with its eyes closed. The other cherry, on the hand, had its blue eyes open.
"Mimi?"
She almost jumped when she was called out. She turned around and saw Cody.
"What are you doing? I told you to stay close."
"I'm sorry. I was..." She trailed off as she eyed on the card.
Cody followed her gaze and noticed the card display. "Oh! You were looking at those cards?" He glanced at the different cards and smiled. "A Duel Monsters card shop, huh? That's a place I'd love to visit."
"As a matter of fact, you used to visit this place." Cody turned to his right, facing Eric and Jeremy, the former speaking. "You and I used to come to this place often when we were kids."
"Really?" Cody asked curiously, earning a nod from him.
Flashback
"It's true. And given how much we loved the game, we couldn't stop staring at the cards they had here."
A younger Cody and Eric leaned against the window, staring at the card display with excited looks on their faces. Cody's mom, Sandra, and Sonia were standing right behind, looking amused.
Flashback end
"We even pressed our faces against the glass a few times." Eric added, laughing a bit.
"Is that so?" Cody smiled in amusement before glancing at the car display again. "Well, maybe I'll pay this place a visit someday after this entire thing is over."
"Speaking of visiting, do you see that restaurant over there?" Eric pointed to a nearby place. It was mostly red, and a certain Chinese theme. There were Chinese lanterns hanging in front of the windows. And there was a sign above the entrance, surrounded by the stature of a Chinese dragon. "You and your family loved to visit there to have some Chinese food."
"Really?"
"Yup. And if I remember correctly, you always had Kung Pao Chicken."
"I see."
"Sounds pretty good." Jeremy replied. "But for now, maybe we should move on."
"Good call." Eric said as the gang moved on.
And just like before, they asked random people they ran into. But no luck so far. As they kept walking, they came to an area with a fountain. Cody ended up stopping himself and staring at the fountain for a moment.
"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.
"Oh!" Cody snapped out of it. "Sorry."
"Did you notice anything?" Eric asked.
"No, it's not that. It's just, well..." Cody eyed on the area. "I don't know why, but there's something about this place that feels familiar."
"Hm?" Eric looked around and then he snapped his fingers. "Oh right! When we were younger, you always met up with Misty here to play with her."
"Really?"
"Yeah, that's what I used to here from time to time."
"I see..." Cody then stared at the fountain again. And when he did, something flashed in his mind...
Flashback
A younger Cody was sitting near the fountain, staring up to the sky. He seemed a little bored at the moment.
"Cody!" A girl's voice called out.
He turned to the direction the voice came from and saw Misty (younger) waving to him. He smiled. "Misty!" He got off his sitting place and walked over to her.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Misty apologized.
"Don't worry about it." Cody replied, rubbing the back of his head.
Misty giggled and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go!" She then dragged him away.
Flashback end
Cody smiled fondly as the gang kept walking.
They continued their search, asking even more people, in hope of getting some clues about Sonia's whereabouts. This went on until the sky turned from blue to orange.
"Man, no luck so far." Jeremy sighed.
"We had only just begun. We'll find Sonia eventually." Cody said.
"You're right." Eric replied. And then, he felt his stomach, which started growling. "But it's starting to get late. How about we have some dinner and call it a day?"
"Sure." Cody nodded.
"But before we head back home, there is one certain place I would like to show you."
After a short while, the gang walked through the city, with Eric taking the lead.
"Here it is." He declared.
Cody, Jeremy and Mimi looked ahead and saw a pretty big house. Although, it didn't look so good. There were dust on the windows and the door was very broken. There were even a few holes in the roof.
Cody approached the building slowly. "So, this is..."
"Yeah. This is were you lived." Eric confirmed. "Ever since that incident years ago, no one has taken care of this house, let alone enter it or anything."
"I see." Cody entered the building and looked around. The placel looked like a mess. There were broken mirror shards and old papers littering the floor, furnitures looking like they've been either turned upside down or broken.
As Cody entered what looked like the living room, his eyes landed on a window that was open. He then froze when something flashed in his mind...
Flashback
"Hurry up and get the boy!" A male voice said.
A younger and frightened Cody ran into the living room and opened one of the windows.
"There he is!" He looked back and saw a group of men in black suits rushing over to him.
He yelped and jumped out through the window and ran for his life.
Flashback end
"Ah!" He shook his head at the sudden memory. "Th-that's..." He muttered and moved back instinctively. "Huh?" He then felt something he stepped on. He looked down and saw a photo in a frame. He picked it up and wiped off the dust that covered the picture.
Once he was done, he saw the picture of himself as a kid, standing in front of his parents. And all the three of them were smiling.
He stared at the photo for a moment until he felt something on his right cheek. He touched it with his hand and felt something wet. It was then he realized that it was tears. He was crying.
The others were still outside, waiting patiently for Cody to come out. Jeremy was about to go in, but then saw Cody come out of there.
"Cody. How did it go? Did you find anything?"
"Well, other than this, nothing special." He replied, holding up the photo.
"Let me see." Eric said. Cody handed him the photo, letting him have a look. He frowned. "Your parents, huh?" He looked up. "You must miss them."
"Yeah." Was all Cody said before walking away. Mimi gave him a worried look before rushing after him. Eric and Jeremy merely looked at each other before walking after him.
Some time after they left, a new person approached the abandoned building. Their high-heeled shoes suggested that this person was a woman. But she was wearing a grey coat, and a red cloth that kept her hair hidden, making it hard to tell what she really looked like. She walked up to the building and kneeled down before placing two white flowers on the ground near the entrance.
"Man, that was good." Eric sighed, rubbing his stomach as he sat down on the couch. Meanwhile, Cody and Jeremy put the dishes away. "I never pegged you for a cook, Cody."
He smiled. "Well, when I grew up in the Satellite, I had to help Martha with stuff in the orphanage."
Flashback
"Sometimes, I even helped her with dinner."
Martha was standing near the oven, stirring a pot of soup, with Cody standing next to her and watching.
Flashback end
"So I learned a few things."
"Sounds like she's a good and caring person."
"She is."
"Although, she'd get pretty strict with us sometimes whenever we misbehaved." Jeremy added.
Eric laughed a little. "Sounds kind of like Sonia."
Cody crossed his arms. "I wonder where she is."
"Don't worry, we'll find her." Jeremy assured her.
"So where's Mimi?" Eric wondered.
"One of your guest rooms. She got pretty tired so I took her to bed." Cody replied.
"I see." Eric leaned back. "Well, you guys sure have been through a lot. I mean, looking for clues while avoiding Morningstar Foundation. That's crazy."
"You tell me."
He then smirked. "Not to mention meeting interesting Characters. I still can't believe that you two are friends with Cindy Storm."
Jeremy smiled awkwardly. "To be honest, I myself find it hard to believe that, considering that she at first used to chase us as a Sector Security officer."
Cody smiled. "And judging from what she said earlier, I take it you and Cindy faced each other in pro duels?"
"We sure did. In fact..." Eric stood up and walked over to a nearby drawer and took out a small case with a disc inside. "I have one of those duels recorded."
"Is that so?"
"Sure is. Do you guys want to watch?"
Cody and Jeremy looked at each other for a brief moment before nodding to him. "Sure."
"Alright then!" Eric turned the TV on and walked over to a player that was standing beneath it. He inserted the disc, and after a moment, the TV screen showed the arena of Kaiba Dome.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! get ready for a duel that will take the Pro dueling by storm!" The MC said, getting applause from the crowd. "Now let's meet our competitors. First up, is the man with the fierceness of prehistoric nature. It's Eric Stone!" The crowd cheered as Eric made his entrance, waving to them while riding his duel runner, clad in his turbo duel outfit.
"Your duel runner looks really cool." Jeremy complimented.
"Thanks. I came up with the design myself."
"And next, his opponent! She's quite the beauty, but with her dueling deck, she can be like a flying predator! That's right, folks! It's Cindy Storm!" At that, Cindy made her own entrance, riding on her own runner and waved to the cheering crowd. As for her outfit, it was a formfitting, black motorcycling suit that had some purple linings. She was wearing a black and purple matching helmet.
"I hope you people are ready for turbo duel! I'm sure our duelists are! So let's get this started!"
Eric and Cindy took their places at the starting blocks and activated Speed World. "Duel Mode engaged: Autopilot standing by." And the entire arena turned purple. "Turbo Duelists. Countdown initiated." The familiar holographic screen appeared and began the countdown. "Ready. Set. Duel." It gave them the green light and they took off.
Eric: 4000 SC: 0
Cindy: 4000 SC: 0
"I hope you're ready, because you're about to get blown away!" Cindy drew. "First I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth in attack mode!" A portal opened up, from which a purple dragon with two heads emerged. Both heads looked identical with a pair of horns and fangs, but with a couple of differences. One head one small, blue horn and matching blues, while the other head had a red horn and red eyes. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1200 LV: 3) "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown card." A card appeared next to her runner for a second.
"My turn!" Eric drew.
Eric: 4000 SC: 0-1
Cindy: 4000 SC: 0-1
"And I'll start by special summoning Gilasaurus to the field!" From a portal, the familiar brown dinosaur emerged. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 400 LV: 3) "And because that was a special summon, I can play another monster. And I choose Souleating Oviraptor!" And another dinosaur came out of another portal, and it was an oviraptor, just like the name suggested. But this oviraptor was pretty unique. Its onyx skin was covered in various black markings, like tribal tattoos. Its face, head crest, hands, feet and tail were blood red in color and there was a strip of blue flame running down its back. (ATK: 1800 DEF: 500 LV: 4) "When this monster is summoned, I can take a dinosaur type monster from my deck, and either add it to my hand or send it to my graveyard." The scroll on his duel runner showed him a list of the different dinosaur cards he had in his deck. The moment he touched one of them, the deck shuffled automatically before the top card stuck out. He then took it. "And this happens to be a second Gilasaurus, which I'll summon right away!" At that, another Gilasaurus appeared. (ATK: 1400 DEF: 400 LV: 3)
"Look at that! On his first turn, Eric was able to summon three ferocious dinosaurs! And all of them look like they're ready to sink their teeth on Cindy's dragon!"
"Now my Oviraptor, destroy her Twin-Headed Behemoth!" The fiery dinosaur screeched as it tackled the dragon, allowing its flames to burn the two-headed creature before it exploded.
Cindy: 4000-3700
"And now I attack you directly with Gilasaurus number 1!" One of the brown dinosaurs roared before charging toward Cindy.
"I play a trap card! Dimension Wall!" Cindy's facedown card flipped up and faced Gilasaurus before being replaced by a dimensional portal. "Sorry, but thanks to this card, the battle damage from your attack goes to you instead of me!" At that, the dinosaur entered the portal.
And after a short moment, a new portal opened up right in front of Eric. As soon as the dinosaur emerged, Eric gritted his teeth and leaned over his runner. By doing so, he avoided from colliding with his monster. But barely.
Eric: 4000-2600 SC: 1-0
"Whoa! That was a close one." Cody commented.
"Yeah, that move really surprised me there." Eric replied. "Not that I would let her get away with that." He then focused on the video.
"Okay, you got me good there. But I still have my other Gilasaurus! Now attack!" The other brown dinosaur charged forward and and slashed Cindy with its claws.
Cindy: 3700-2300 SC: 1-0
"Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." Eric concluded, inserting a card into his duel runner.
"Before I begin my turn, I activate the special ability of Twin-Headed Behemoth!" Cindy said. "During the end phase of the turn it was destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can resurrect it. The only downside is that its attack and defense points become 1000." A new portal opened up, and the two-headed dragon appeared again. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "I draw!"
Eric: 2600 SC: 0-1
Cindy: 2300 SC: 0-1
"And now I release my Twin-Headed Behemoth in order to advance summon Luster Dragon #2!" The dragon was replaced by a rainbow-colored portal, from which a new, imposing emerald dragon emerged. It had two hind legs and smaller arms, a whip-like tail, snake-like neck and wide wings. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1400 LV: 6) "Then I activate the speed spell, Overboost!" The named spell card appeared. "Thanks to this card, I gain 4 more Speed Counters. Of course, when my turn comes to an end, my Speed Counters will be reduced to one. But I'll take my chances..."
Cindy: 2300 SC: 1-5
At that, Cindy went faster. "Especially since I can now play another speed spell! Speed Energy!" As Cindy played her speed spell, it released some blue energy that entered Luster Dragon #2's body. "For one turn, I can use this card to increase my monster's attack points by 200 for each of my Speed Counters. And I've got 5, so that gives my Luster Dragon 1000 points!" (ATK: 2400-3400) "Now attack one of his Gilasaurus'!" The dragon turned to Eric and spat out a torrent of flames.
"I activate my trap! Doom Accelerator!" Eric's facedown card flipped up. "This trap activates when I'm about to take battle damage from one of your attacks. What it does is to give me 1 Speed Counter for every 500 points of damage I'll take. Meaning your attempt to slow me down is about to make me faster!" At that, one of his Gilasaurus' was engulfed by the flames and then destroyed.
Eric: 2600-0600 SC: 1-5
And thanks to the added Speed Counters, Eric was now driving his duel runner right next to Cindy. "And look at that! Eric lost a whooping 2000 life points, but in return, gained 4 additional Speed Counters! The question is, will Cindy Storm keep up with him after that?!"
"I place two cards facedown and end my turn." Cindy concluded as two facedown cards appeared briefly, while her duel runner slowed down.
Cindy: 2300 SC: 5-1 (ATK: 3400-2400)
"Then here goes!" Eric drew.
Eric: 0600 SC: 5-6
Cindy: 2300 SC: 1-2
"First I activate the speed spell, Angel Baton! With this, I can draw two cards from my deck, and then send 1 card from my hand to the graveyard." He drew two cards and then discarded one. "Then I summon Babycerasaurus! From a portal that opened up, a green triceratops baby wearing a piece of an egg shell emerged. (ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2) "Then I'll play another speed spell! High Speed Crash!" The named spell card appeared. "Due to its effect, with at least 2 Speed Counters at hand, I can destroy one of my cards in order to destroy another card on the field. And guess what. I'll destroy my Babycerasaurus in order to destroy one of your facedown cards!" His triceratops glowed. And so did one of Cindy's facedown cards.
But when that happened, Cindy smirked. "In that case, I'll activate it before it gets destroyed. Activate Slip Stream!" The facedown card in question flipped up.
"Oh! I recognize that card!" Cody noted.
"Yeah, and I kinda felt stupid for using my destruction card on that one." Eric replied.
"Since I currently have fewer Speed Counters than you, my amount will become the same as yours on my next turn." Cindy explained right before her trap card and Eric's triceratops were destroyed.
"Not bad, but I'll get something too. Since Babycerasaurus was destroyed by a card effect, its special ability activates. It allows me to summon a level 4 or below dinosaur type monster from my deck. And I choose the tuner monster, Jurrac Gallim!" A portal opened up, releasing a dinosaur that almost looked like a bird. It had a yellow body with red stripes and purple head, feet, and tail. Strangely enough, there was a large gun barrel constantly vomiting fire embedded in its belly. (ATK: 1200 DEF: 0 LV: 2)
"Tuner monster?" Jeremy repeated.
"Yup." Eric smirked. "And you know what that means."
"And now, Jurrac Gallim! Tune with Gilasaurus!" In a flash of light, the fiery dinosaur was replaced by two rings of green light that surrounded the brown raptor. Its body turned transparent, revealing three stars that lined up before creating a beam of light. "I synchro summon Jurrac Velphito!" The light died down and revealed a purple and red dromaeosauridae with flames covering most of its body. (ATK: ? DEF: ? LV: 5)
"Undetermined strength?" Cindy asked.
"That's right, and that's because my Velphito's original attack and defense points are equal to the total original attack points of its synchro materials. Jurrac Gallim had 1200 attack points, and Gilasaurus had 1400, so... well, do the math." (ATK: ?-2600 DEF: ?-2600) "Now, Jurrac Velphito! Attack with Inferno Charge!" The fiery dinosaur turned around and rushed towards Luster Dragon #2.
"Reveal trap card!" Cindy's remaining facedown card flipped up. "Windstorm of Etaqua!" It then released a powerful gust that pushed the dinosaur back. "Sorry, but this trap card lets me change the battle mode of all your face-up monsters." And then, Eric's dinosaurs lowered themselves and turned blue.
"Whoa! Talk about a comeback! Eric may have the strongest monster on the field, but Cindy was able to push him back. But how long can she last before he goes prehistoric on her?"
"I'll end my turn with a facedown." Eric concluded while inserting a card into his duel disk.
"Then it's my turn!" Cindy drew. "And thanks to the effect of Slip Stream, I now have the same number of Speed Counters as you."
Eric: 0600 SC: 6-7
Cindy: 2300 SC: 2-7
"And I just drew the speed spell, Shift Down. This lets me draw two cards from my deck... right after I remove six of my Speed Counters."
Cindy: 2300 SC: 7-1
As her runner slowed down, Cindy drew her extra cards. "Next I summon Bladefly in attack mode!" The familiar giant fly with the big blade appeared. (ATK: 600 DEF: 700 LV: 2) "And with this bug on the field, all wind monsters gain 500 extra attack points, while all earth monster lose 400 points." Both of her monsters glowed green. (ATK: 600-1100) (ATK: 2400-2900)"Bladefly, attack his Souleating Oviraptor!" The giant insect flew towards the oviraptor and slashed it with its blade, making it explode. "And now, Luster Dragon #2! Destroy his Jurrac Velphito!" The dragon spat out another torrent of flames, burning the dromaeosauridae to ashes. "Then I'll end my turn with a facedown." A facedown card appeared briefly.
"My move!" Eric drew.
Eric: 0600 SC: 7-8
Cindy: 2300 SC: 1-2
"And I activate the trap card, Survival Instinct!" Eric's facedown card flipped up. "This lets me remove a number of dinosaur type monsters in my graveyard from play and then regain 400 life points for each of them. And I'll remove all 7 of them!"
"7?" Cindy repeated, sounding confused. "Shouldn't there be 6 of them in there?"
"I used Angel Baton to send one of them to the graveyard. So there are actually 7 of them." Seven cards came out of his graveyard slot.
Eric: 0600-3400 SC: 8
"And here's another thing you should know about the card in question. It's a certain monster that I can summon whenever it's removed from play. And this monster is known as Giant Rex!" A portal opened up and released a new dinosaur. It was a brown Spinosaurus with a green fin on its back and green stripes on its tail. (ATK: 2000 DEF: 1200 LV: 4) "And if I used this bad boy's ability to summon it to the field, it gains 200 extra attack points for each of the remaining dinosaurs I've removed. So that's 1200 extra points for Giant Rex!" (ATK: 2000-3200)
"But with Bladefly still in play, that dino loses 400 of them since it's an earth attribute monster." Cindy pointed out as the spinosaurus glowed red. (ATK: 3200-2800)
"That may be, but I've got something to heat things up!" Eric held up one of his cards. "I activate the speed spell, Final Attack! With at least 8 Speed Counters, I can use this card to double my monster's attack points for one turn!" (ATK: 2800-5600)
"Thanks to Eric's speed spell, his Giant Rex's attack points are sky-high! If this attack hits, then it's over!"
"Go, Giant Rex! Destroy her Luster Dragon #2!" The Spinosaurus roared and charged towards Cindy's dragon. And then, it slammed her monster with its tail, making it explode.
"And that's it! Eric's Giant Rex took out Cindy's Luster Dragon #2! Which means..." The MC's words were cut off when Cindy suddenly emerged from the smoke, seemingly unfazed. "Wait! What's this?"
Cindy: 2300-0400 SC: 2-1
"Unbelievable! Cindy Storm is still in the game!"
"I don't understand! You should have a lost!" Eric said in shock and confusion.
Cindy smirked. "That would have been the case if I didn't use my Wall of Disruption card." A trap card was revealed.
"A trap card?" Jeremy noted.
"Yeah, and a powerful one." Eric replied. "When your opponent's monster attacks, that card can be used to make every monster they have in attack mode lose 800 attack for every monster they control."
"I see..." Cody said, understanding the whole thing.
Flashback
Giant Rex roared and charged towards Luster Dragon #2. "So Cindy used her trap card to weaken your Giant Rex." Cindy's facedown card flipped up. (ATK: 5600-4800)
Flashback end
"She's really tough."
"Looks like you survived this round, but you won't last for long. I summon Jurrac Velo in attack mode!" A portal opened up releasing a velociraptor. Its main body was green, its head was red, and its hands and feet. There were even flames on its hands. (ATK: 1700 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And because this is the end of my turn, Giant Rex is now automatically destroyed because of the effect of Final Attack." The Spinosaurus shattered into pixels. "It's your turn."
"Alright then!" Cindy drew.
Eric: 3400 SC: 8-9
Cindy: 0400 SC: 1-2
Cindy looked at it briefly. "I play a facedown monster in defense mode." A facedown card appeared. "Then I'll switch Bladefly to defense mode and end my turn." The big insect turned blue.
"I draw!"
Eric: 3400 SC: 9-10
Cindy: 0400 SC: 2-3
"I summon the tuner monster, Jurrac Brachis!" From a new portal, brachiosaurus emerged. Its head was red while the rest of its body was purple and covered in flames. (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1000 LV: 3) "Now attack her Bladefly!" The brachiosaurus screeched and turned to Cindy before charging forward. It ran over the giant fly, crushed it. "And now, Jurrac Velo! Your turn!" The velociraptor roared and rushed towards Cindy's facedown card. It flipped up and revealed a tiny, yellow chick with a piece of an egg shell on its head. (ATK: 300 DEF: 200 LV: 1) Jurrac Velo devoured it entirely with ease.
"You just attacked Cheepcheepcheep." Cindy pointed out. "And because of that, you triggered its flip effect, which allows me to summon a level 5 or higher tuner monster!"
"For real?!" Cody widened his eyes.
"A real shocker, isn't it?" Eric commented.
"So say hello to Labradorite Dragon!" A portal opened up and released a big, four-legged dragon. Its body was dark grey, decorated with round crystals. The wings on its back appeared to be made of the same kind of crystals. (ATK: 0 DEF: 2400 LV: 6)
"Now there is a powerful, defensive dragon standing between Eric and Cindy! Ladies and gentlemen, things are about to get extreme!"
"No kidding." Eric said. "I knew that with that monster in play, I needed to be ready for Cindy to bring out one of her best monsters."
"So what did you do?" Jeremy asked.
"The best thing I could do in this situation."
"In that case, I'll tune my Jurrac Brachis and Jurrac Velo in order to synchro summon Jurrac Giganoto!" The brachiosaurus turned into three rings of light and surrounded the velociraptor. Its body became transparent, revealing 4 stars that lined up before creating a beam of light. When the light died down, the fiery red, yellow and blue T-rex was revealed. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1800 LV: 7) "And thanks to its special ability, all of my Jurrac monsters gain 200 attack points for every Jurrac monster in my graveyard!" (ATK: 2100-2500) "That ends my turn."
"I draw!"
Eric: 3400 SC: 10-11
Cindy: 0400 SC: 3-4
Cindy looked at her new card and smirked. "You're about to get it now. I summon Harpie Girl in attack mode!" A portal opened up, from which a pretty young-looking Harpie emerged, She had long, blonde hair, pinkish feather wings on her arms and a blue dress. (ATK: 500 DEF: 500 LV: 2) "And now, Labradorite Dragon, tune with Harpie Girl!" The crystal dragon roared before it turned into six rings of light that surrounded the young Harpie. "Now join together to bring out the upcoming storm!" Harpie Girl's body became transparent and revealed two stars that created a beam of light. "I synchro summon Cyber Slash Harpie lady!" The light died down and revealed the golden armored, purple feathered Harpie. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 1400 LV: 8)
Eric gritted his teeth.
"Cyber Slash Harpie, attack! Destroy his Jurrac Giganoto with Super Talon Strike!" The Harpie flew high up to the sky and then dive bombed on the T-rex before slashing it with her claws, causing an explosion.
Eric: 3400-3300 SC: 11
"And with that, your dino friend has gone extinct." Cindy joked. "And soon, so will you. Your move!"
"I draw!" Eric drew.
Eric: 3300 SC: 11-12
Cindy: 0400 SC: 4-5
He looked at his new card and grimaced a bit before playing it. "I summon Jurrac Ptera in defense mode!" A pteranodon emerged from a portal. It was green with its body covered in flames. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1500 LV: 3) "And that's all."
"My turn!"
Eric: 3300 SC: 12
Cindy: 0400 SC: 5-6
When Cindy looked at her new card, she smirked. "Looks you're in trouble now! I activate the speed spell, Rapid Shotwing!" The named card appeared. "If I have at least 4 Speed Counters, I can increase my monster's attack points 100 for each of them. And since I have 6 of them, that'll give my Cyber Slash Harpie Lady 600 points. But first, her special ability activates! Once per turn, when a spell or trap or effect is activated, I can send 1 Harpie I control, or one of your monsters, back to its owner's hand."
"Oh no!"
"That's right! Your Jurrac Ptera is gone!" The Harpie flapped her wings, creating a gust a swallowed the pteranodon before it vanished. "Which means you're wide open for a direct attack, with some enhancement from Rapid Shotwing!" (2600-3200) The Harpie charged forward and struck Eric's duel runner from behind with her claws, making him spinning out of control.
Eric: 3300-0100 SC: 12-9
"Ow! That's gotta hurt! Eric's down to 100 life points! From this perspective, Eric looks like a prey chased by Cyber Slash Harpie Lady, who looks ready to swoop down and grab him like a hawk!"
Eric managed to regain control while Cindy started to get closer from behind. "I'm afraid you're about to bite the dust! Sorry, Eric. But this duel is mine!" (ATK: 3200-2600)
"You really seem to be in a tight spot." Cody said.
"Yeah, it sure looks that way." Eric replied.
"So what now?" Jeremy wondered.
Eric simply smiled. "Right now, it was time for me to make a move."
"I draw!"
Eric: 0100 SC: 9-10
Cindy: 0400 SC: 6-7
Eric took a deep breath before looking at his new card. When he did, his eyes widened before he smiled.
"Oh! Does that look on your face mean you drew something?" Cody asked.
"Oh yeah, really good." Eric replied.
"Hate to disappoint you, Cindy, but you're the one who's gonna bite the dust! I summon Tyranno Infinity!" From a portal, a greenish T-rex with a pair of horns emerged with a mighty roar. (ATK: ? DEF: 0 LV: 4) "I bet you're wondering about its attack strength. Well, it's attack points are equal to the number of my dinosaur type monster that I've removed play multiplied by 1000!"
"What?!" Cindy exclaimed.
"And in case you don't remember, there are six of them, so..." (ATK: ?-6000)
"Oh my god!" Jeremy muttered in shock.
"Talk about luck of the draw." Cody commented while Eric nodded with a smile.
"Alright, Tyranno! Let's wrap things up! Take out her Cyber Slash Harpie Lady!" The T-rex roared and turned before rushing towards the Harpie. She tried to strike back, but dinosaur rammed her with a lot of force, making her explode.
Cindy: 0400-0000 SC: 7
Cindy's duel runner released a lot of smoke and stopped while Eric went on for his victory lap, with the crowd cheering loudly.
"And that's it! Eric Stone is the winner! The best comeback one would make in such a predatory showdown!"
The video showed Eric waving to the crowd before it reached the end.
"Wow! What a duel." Jeremy said, amazed.
"I'll say." Cody replied. "To be honest, I wasn't sure how that duel would've end."
"Yeah, I gotta admit, I was pretty worried there in the last turn." Eric said. "But that's one of the funny things about dueling. Sometimes you don't know what might happen."
"I hope Cindy didn't her loss too hard."
"Nah, not at all."
Flashback
After his victory lap, Eric stopped right next to Cindy's runner. "She might have been disappointed, but she sure enjoyed that duel as much as I did." He held his right hand out. Cindy glanced it for a moment before giving him a smile and shook hit.
Flashback end
"So no hard feelings."
"I see." Cody let out a yawn. "I don't know about you guys, but I think it's time to turn in."
Jeremy stretched his arms a little. "Good call. We'd better continue the search tomorrow."
"I just hope we'll find Sonia soon."
Eric placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, we will. The city may big, but I know she's around here somewhere. You'll see."
Cody nodded before staring through a window, which showed the starry night sky above the city buildings. 'I hope so."
And that's that. And since this was the third 5D's chapter, you all know that means. Time for to start working on the second season of 'The Second Hero'! Until next time.