Howdy!

I realize I haven't updated in a while, and I also realize that in the past I've made all sorts of excuses as to why I hadn't. This time, however, the reason is simple: This chapter was a killer to write.

I'm sure most everyone who has written Yu-Gi-Oh fics knows of a common problem while outlining duels - sometimes you make a mistake regarding a card's effect and you don't notice the mistake until you're almost finished, and correcting it requires changing everything that comes after that part? Yeah, it happened twice this time. Not to mention I had to do a lot of research on the hobby of Terone's opponent for this couple of chapters, some research on an actor whose films I have never actually seen (it will make sense, trust me) and quite a lot of tweaking before I had something I was satisfied with.

But hey, it's finished! For now at least.

So… here goes. And assuming I have indeed posted it by the 4th, have a happy and safe Labor Day everyone.

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Chapter Seven

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Someone Noticed

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Well…

I looked at this strange card for a long time. It isn't that I didn't recognize it… Quite sure even casual players of this game knew what it was, but I was also doubted anyone expected to pull it from a booster pack, as a reprint or otherwise.

My hand trembled. Much like when I "found" Horntail's card, I was nervous, but this time, it was not out of fear of possibly holding an illegal bootleg card, but out of excitement of having a card that every young player had always wanted, which by all rights, should be in a museum.

I was tempted to put this in my deck right then and there and use it during the duel I was due to have in less than an hour. But ironically, it would be a hindrance, my deck not the type it could benefit from, or vice versa. In fact, it was unlikely I could build a deck that did.

But once I realized this, I swallowed hard. Something was wrong. The card gave me an uncomfortable, almost ominous feeling…

"Hey, flyboy! It's three-thirty!"

Thankfully, Jenni's sudden reminder snapped me out of whatever odd trance I had been in. I took the packaging that the card had come from, along with the other cards, opened the drawer in the bedside table and put them inside. Normally, I'd ask Jenni to look up information on that set, but seeing as she was nice enough to cook tonight and would be occupied with that until seven, I'd wait until tomorrow.

Before I closed the drawer, I noticed another deck case there. Oh, yeah, I thought. I took it, opened it, and looked through the cards, quickly finding a special one that I needed for this duel - a Level 8 Rock-Type called Dungeon Dragon.

I placed it in my main deck and shuffled. Then I brandished my Duel Disk dramatically as I activated it. Like I had noted before, I was going to enjoy this…

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I got to Edgewood Courts at about 4:15; a few tennis matches were still going on, and it seemed he had chosen a good spot. The courts were available by reservation only on weekdays, and the last reservation time of the day was at 3PM. Most matches didn't last more than an hour, so there wouldn't be any distractions once he got here.

If he did. I sat on a nearby bench to wait, but even as most of the tennis matches wrapped up, I didn't see any sign of him. At 4:45, I checked my watch and wondered out loud, "Maybe he got cold feet or something…"

"Or maybe he just wanted to see you sweat a little before you humiliated yourself."

I rolled my eyes, turning and seeing Hunter standing there, a young man slightly younger than me with a boyish face, thick, shaggy, brown hair, jeans, and a green blazer. Just as direct - and just as annoying - as ever.

Hunter Rian was a pro-duelist who, much like Jenni, I had known from grade school, and we used to be friends. His sponsor was Trask Enterprises, a company that, suffice to say, didn't get along very well with Frantisec. I have a suspicion that Hunter signed with them simply to annoy me, mostly because he bluntly told me that was why.

Now, I know, the idea of someone like me having a "rival" for no reason other than the sake of having one is a little dated, but I did indeed have a reason. Hunter's folks weren't exactly rich, but he was always well-off, and got into the card game long before I did. He'd even given me a few pointers now and then.

Hunter's biggest… quirk was that he was something of a conspiracy theorist, and by that I do not mean he was the type who believed in crazy things like the New World Order secretly ruling the world with nanotechnology spread via vaccines. He didn't trust authority because "the system" the folks in charge used to govern the world was broken and flawed, and that there were unscrupulous people who tried to exploit the flawed system for their own selfish reasons. I think he learned this from his parents.

Now you might be saying right now, "Wait, hold on Terone, a lot of people think the same thing!" Indeed, and to a degree those people have a point. It's basically a fancy way to say, "life isn't fair," and it isn't. But Hunter had an odd approach to this realization. He figured that exploiting the system was a "trick" that anyone could learn, and that succeeding in life was all about figuring out just how and why "the system" was flawed.

I know. It doesn't make sense to me either. The important thing was, the schism between us started when we were both fourteen and signed up for a Sealed Format tournament.

For those who don't know what that is, I'll explain. Also known as a "grab bag tournament," this is a tournament with special house rules done to promote a new expansion pack. Once you pay the entrance fee, you're given a certain number of packs from the new set, usually four or five, and for the first round, you use those packs to make a deck; usually, some standard rules of the game are waived, like the 40-card minimum rule for decks and 3 copies maximum of a card per deck. Win round one, you win additional packs from the set and can improve your deck, and this continues until there's a winner. Because the cards are given out at random, the player with the least experience has as much chance of getting a good card as the one with the most.

But Hunter - who seriously wanted one of the rarer cards of the set - didn't think it was as random as most thought. He seemed to think there was some rigging involved by the judges, and that they would give certain cards to contestants who met specific conditions, and claimed he had "done the math" amid other research and found out what those conditions were. Now I'm sure he never told me about most of them, but one was having to be 12th in line when the event started. Well, he managed this at least, and I was in line behind him, but then, someone ahead of him got a call on his mobile and had to leave, putting Hunter 11th in line. He noticed it of course, and offered to buy lunch if I took the spot in front of him.

Of course, I thought he was being ridiculous, but hey, if he was buying lunch… If anyone hasn't gotten the point here yet, the card he was trying to get was the Dungeon Dragon card, so you can tell what happened. Now, I suppose I might have made the situation worse by trolling him a little, asking if maybe he "forgot to carry the two," but Hunter has been angry at me ever since, thinking I had somehow done it on purpose, or that I was "in on it."

Oh, and he never did buy lunch.

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Right now, he was leaning against a parking meter, where he had clearly been watching for some time.

"Saw your duel with Monty, figured I'd come by for the sequel."

"So, I assume you are in this too?"

"Naturally. Anything to get ahold of a special card. I already have a good one but don't think I'll tell you what it is." As if to goad me, he held up a game card, backside forward that I could only assume it was a Blockbuster card. "Give you a hint, are you a fan of James Cameron?"

"So, it's either a Xenomorph or the Terminator?" I asked. The brief look of surprise on his face seems to indicate to him that his hint was a little too much of a hint. "Well, whoever it is, I'm anxious to meet him!" I stood up, activating my Duel Disk and daring him to bring it on.

"Whoa, whoa there Terone! Afraid I can't." He took the card, placed it in his own deck and hit the Disk's auto-shuffler. "Afraid I have a prior commitment coming here at six. Just wanted to watch yours, I mean, seriously, Terone I get more laughs from your duels than the stuff on HBO that you have to pay for."

Wait, huh? You're not 'HR'?"

"Oh, damn," he said with a chuckle. "Never noticed that… I think your opponent is over there… Wait, here he comes."

"Hey, thanks!" The voice came from a man who looked to be about forty years old or so, wearing a typical fashion for the sport, a green t-shirt and cargo shorts, both spotless and obviously expensive, plus a headband worn over his shaggy brown hair. His remark was directed towards an attendant throwing him a towel.

"Hey, sorry that took so long, went into overtime, but well worth the wait, wouldn't you say?"

I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too, Harrington."

Harrington Rosewood was a duelist I had never interacted with much but had certainly noticed. It was hard not to, seeing as he always had to be the center of attention at whatever event he was competing in, be it Duel Monsters or tennis. He wasn't quite as stubborn as Hunter was, but just as annoying and even more of a prima donna. I heard he was a wanna-be "big man on campus" at one of the Duel Academies but failed to stand out among the biggest ones. Eventually, he decided to focus on tennis, but occasionally dueled as a pro as sort of a "gimmick duelist" - of course, he didn't like being called that - folks like him preferred the term "concept duelist."

"Didn't know you were into this sort of thing."

"Usually only in the off season." Harrington stopped to wipe his brow. "But hey, you know what they say, no such thing as bad publicity, especially when it's free publicity!"

Oh, that was for sure.

"Yes, quite the tennis racket."

"Oh, you like it?" I wasn't sure whether he got the joke or not, but Harrington quickly took his racket from the case and brandished it dramatically. "Custom made, and it isn't one of those newfangled nylon and fiberglass things, this is a laminated walnut frame with genuine catgut."

"So, how many cats had to die to make it?" asked Hunter.

The look on Harrington's face indicated he didn't like Hunter any more than I did. "It's made of sheep intestine, wise guy. And not as many as you think, it doesn't take many guts to make a racket." Then he looked at it, turned it over as he did, and added, "Of course, the man who made it charged me £350 for it, now that takes guts."

I had a suspicion that Hunter may have put Harrington up to this, and that his 6PM match was, in fact, his intent to challenge the winner of this duel. Why? I can only imagine he wanted one of my cards. If I ended up winning, Hunter could win it from me, but if Harrington won it from me, Hunter could win it from him. Of course, I could have been wrong, and Hunter hoped I won because he wanted Harrington's card.

And I'll be honest here, if Hunter's card was either of my assumptions, I certainly wanted to duel him.

"Well then…" said Harrington with a grin. "Shall we?"

"Oh, by all means."

We stood apart, the Duel Disks activated. It was time for stage 2.

(Terone: 8,000) - - - - - - - - - - (Harrington: 8,000)

"I'll draw," he said, "and then I'll start with these." He said and placed two set cards in his Spell Zone. "And that will be all for now."

This was, I should mention, Harrington's style. While most decks were about 50% Monster Cards, his monster-ratio was a lot lower. He depended on Spells and Traps to inflict damage and defend himself from it. So, I had to play conservatively for now. I made a draw, then picked a Spellcaster who could do just that - I hoped.

"Defender the Magical Knight!" I exclaimed. The monster that appeared was a short, stocky, bulky figure wearing plate armor made in the style of a wizard's cloak and cap, with a long, flowing cape. Most notably, however, was his rectangular tower-shield that was as large as he was. (1,600 ATK)

I was about to use another card, but I was interrupted by a perky, bubbly female voice that I recognized extremely well…

"Hello Duelists! Yolanda Vejas here at Edgewood Courts, where the Duel Monster's BLOCKBUSTER is well underway!"

"That's right, Yolanda," said a less exuberant male voice, "where it seems our dedicated combatants are the Duelist of Hogwarts Terone Brickman and that conquistador of the courts, Harrington Rosewood."

If you recall, the reason I gave for not abandoning my duel with Orville was the thought of the archenemy of all pros noticing and spreading word that I was a quitter. Well, it seemed this time I had utterly failed to evade this dreaded enemy - known to most as "the press."

"I don't know much about tennis myself, but I'm certain Harrington plans to volley far more than tennis balls in this competition. Say, Yolanda, aren't you dating that tennis player from Oxford?"

"Oh please, Brett," laughed Yolanda, "that is ancient history! Most boring three months of my life. He was kind of sweet at first, but he couldn't commit to anything."

"Well, not like I didn't warn you. Love means nothing to folks in this sport."

"Do they always act like this?"

I was still not quite used to the odd AI this new system had, but I was much less surprised at the comment from Defender. I just nodded and said, "Yeah."

Judging by the expression on Harrington's face, it seemed he wasn't impressed by the lame joke either. Most pros would rather be punched in the face by Obelisk the Tormentor than deal with their annoying commentary, but in our line of work, it was unavoidable. Yolanda especially annoyed me; the way she tended to put such exuberance on her first name when introducing herself always made me cringe.

But I couldn't worry about that now. I wanted to make a direct attack, but as I said, with Harrington, that wasn't wise.

"I'll set one more card, and then it's your move, er, I mean your serve."

But Harrington wasn't ready to serve just yet, as he activated one of his Trap Cards. "Buffalo Log!" he announced.

"Buffalo Log?" mused Brett. "A little early for Christmas, isn't it?"

"That's a Yule log, Brett," replied Yolanda. "A buffalo log is when spectators are seated in accordance with what side they support - hard as it is to believe, tennis fans can get rowdy at times."

"But in this case," added Harrington, "it may get a lot rowdier. This Trap Card's effect requires each player to flip the top card of his deck, and if it's a monster that's Level 4 or lower, it's summoned."

Naturally, I complied quickly. "I've got Alexandrite Dragon!" I exclaimed.

"Not bad, I have D.D. Trainer."

Simultaneously, two monsters appeared, my own shimmering gemstone dragon on my side (2,000 ATK) and on Harrington's side, Coach Goblin riding on the back of the D.D. Crazy Beast. (2,000 DEF)

Okay, that one is going to be hard to get by. Unfortunately, I'd have to wait a turn to even try. However, Harrington's move was rather simple (yet with the same enthusiasm he always had), setting one monster and one other card.

"Go on," he said with his usual smarmy tone.

I drew, then turned the card around - Lava Dragon. Still not enough to get past D.D. Trainer but it would help set up for someone who could. I used the card, causing a spouting geyser of lava to erupt on the field. The lizard-like Dragon crawling out was heavyset and hulking, with no wings, smooth, violet scales, and eight legs. (1,600 ATK)

"Not going to use him just yet, but… Alexandrite Dragon, attack the set monster!"

Of course, my overconfidence and bravado were quashed quickly as Sangan appeared on the card, right before Alexandrite's shimmering breath blew it to bits. "Thanks!" said Harrington with a laugh and got a card he needed from his deck.

"Don't let him get to you, Terone, this fool is all talk." Defender didn't actually need to tell me that, but I couldn't help but be agitated with Hunter glaring at me, which of course, was his likely intent. The Duel Monster motioned to my three facedown cards and added, "Just be ready to use those."

I nodded, and then nodded to Harrington. "Go ahead."

"Yes, I draw!" said Harrington, enthusiastically grabbing a card from his deck. "I'll set one more card, and then… I'll use the Spell Card, Card Destruction!"

Given how he had said "and then," I didn't expect something so lackluster. It was a card with a well-known effect, each player discarded his hand and then drew an equal number. I didn't realize that this was the first part of a combo, and part two followed as his Trap Card opened.

"Disgraceful Charity?" I exclaimed.

"You got it! Now we each get back all those cards we just discarded."

While this card did bring my hand up from three to six, it gave Harrinton a total of eight. And he used them quickly, setting yet another monster and another card in his Spell Zone. "And… That'll do it for now."

This was starting to be frustrating. I had a hand of six, but as yet, nothing that could defeat D.D. Trainer… But making my draw, that seriously changed.

"I activate the Trap Card, Dragon Soul Serenade!"

Using the Trap caused some ominous-sounding flute music to waft over the playing field. Alexandrite Dragon growled a little, but then started to sway to the music, as the flutist - Dragon Piper - appeared behind it.

"This little ditty lets me Special Summon a Dragon from my hand, in exchange for sending one back to my hand of the same Level."

Alexandrite Dragon melted into white mist as the music continued to play, and then a Dragon Capture Jar appeared in front of Piper, slowly drawing the mist into it.

"So, Alexandrite, take a breather - Rare Metal Dragon, you're up!"

The jar burst open, and with a shadowy explosion and a loud roar, the heavily armored Dragon took its place. (2,400 ATK)

"Small problem, I'm not allowed to summon Alexandrite Dragon again this turn, but I also have this one, Spined Lindworm!"

Using this one, a small Dragon with brilliant golden scales, no wings, a bestail-looking face, and five tails, each tipped with a sharp spearhead, hopped into the space next to Rare Metal Dragon. (1,900 ATK)

"Now this should be enough to break through that defense! Rare Metal Dragon, attack with Flashing Steel Blast!"

As I'd hoped, D.D. Trainer was blown to pieces by the focused beam of brilliant energy. With one obstacle out of my way, Spined Lindworm went next, its five tails darting towards the set monster; a cherub with wings and a bow appeared before shattering.

"Ugh, Skelengel."

"Thanks again!" Harrington laughed, as the flip effect let him draw once.

"Oh, you're welcome. Lava Dragon, get him! Volcanic Strike!"

The burning salamander roared, and the ground shook as a flaming fissure broke through the ground, darting towards Harrington.

"RUDE!" said Harrington with a chuckle. "I activate Receive Ace!"

Crud, I had forgotten about those. This was one of those nasty Traps he used, its effect not only protecting him from one attack, but hitting the attacker with a backlash of 1,500 points of damage - a potent blow that would hopefully remind me not to do that again. It did have a cost, requiring him to discard the top three cards from his deck, something I figured was far more of a benefit than a cost.

"Fifteen - love!" announced Harrington. "Sloppy attempt there, Terone."

But I wasn't done yet. "Seems you can hit a volley, Harrington, but can you manage a lob?"

"Wait, I -" he started, and then Defender the Magical Knight rushed at him, shield first, slamming into him with the shield and knocking him off his feet.

(T: 6,500) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 6,400)

"AND… advantage to the receiver!" laughed Yolanda. "Harrington may be a tennis player, but this seems more like squash."

"And it seems we might be experiencing technical difficulties with the broadcast," replied Brett, "the server is down." Both laughed. "Seems that combo he pulled was more of a benefit to Terone than it was for him."

That seemed to be true, yes, but now that I was ending my turn with a hand of seven cards, I had to discard one of them, which was always a tough choice.

Let's see here, Familiar Knight, Alexandrite Dragon, Magna Drago… Hey… My hand went to Masked Dragon. This could work here…

I discarded it and said, "So, it seems its 15-All."

"But still the first set." Harrington grunted as he got up, pulling a comb from his pocket as he did so, continuing as he used it – the man did seem obsessed with his hair. "But one thing I know about this game, it can change in a moment's notice. Here… goes!"

Disposing of the comb, he drew, glancing at the card quickly, and then using one of his set cards. "I activate… Jobber Ace. Because you have at least four monsters and I have none, I can summon a monster with 1,000 Attack Points or less. Here comes The Big Server!"

This was indeed Harrington's ace card, or so I had heard. From a distance, this wouldn't look impressive, a slightly muscular man wearing the same polo shirt and cargo pants style as Harrington himself (orange and blue) plus a blue bandana covering his head and long, gray hair. But… Looking at it from where I was, it was clear it was a cyborg or android of some sort, with mechanical legs, partially mechanical arms, and an expression that seemed blank and soulless. Its tennis racket was built right into its right arm, substituting for a hand. (300 ATK)

"Doesn't look so tough."

"Looks ain't everything kid," said the monster, something that really surprised me this time. The Big Server's voice was snarky and coarse, with an accent that reminded me of Brooklyn. "Know how they say it ain't whether ya win or lose, but how ya play the game? Well only fair to warn ya… I play dirty."

"Looks like you need more convincing," said Harrington. "Because I summoned this monster using Jobber Ace, it can't defend and your monsters are, for this round, indestructible and impervious to damage. But he, on the other hand, can still be very dangerous." He held up three Spell Cards. "With the right accessories, that is."

Playing all three of the cards in turn caused two Equip Spells and one Continuous Spell to spring up on his side. Two of them - The Dark Door and Mage Power - were well known, while the third was called Giant Racket, and was aptly named. The Big Server was now carrying a comically large tennis racket on his back that was even larger than he was.

"Seems Terone might be a little over his head here," said Yolanda.

"Oh, you said it," replied Brett. "If memory serves right, Giant Racket makes Big Server impervious to one attack per round and protects Harrington from any damage from that attack, and making it even harder for Terone, The Dark Door prohibits each player from attacking with more than one monster per turn, so one attack is all he'll likely get. While that applies to Harrington too, the Big Server can make direct attacks, and Mage Power increases that paltry 300 Attack Points by 500 per Spell and Trap that he has, so if my math is right, that's a full 1,500 more, giving him a near-unbeatable offensive wall." (1,800 ATK)

"An' this one's going straight down the alley!" exclaimed the Big Server. He tossed the ball upward - not a standard tennis ball, it was metal and covered with spikes like a mace - and served, the ball shooting past my monsters and slamming into my stomach. Not the worst direct attack I'd ever had to deal with, but one of the most brutal.

(T: 4,700) - - - - - - - - - - (H: 6,400)

"That's 30-15, advantage, Rosewood! Now, when Big Server deals out damage with his serve, you get to draw once, and I get a special Spell Card from my deck."

He meant Service Ace, I believe, and that was the last thing I needed right now.

"So, I'll set one monster and then you're up."

I did a quick scan of the field and the cards I had. Time to put my combo into motion.

"I summon… the Tuner monster, Magna Drago!"

Playing the card caused a Dragon to appear next to Light Lindworm, the same size, with dark red scales. A pretty typical-looking Dragon, but the first step in one of my best combos. (1,400 ATK)

"I'll tune together my Level 2 Magna Drago and Level 4 Light Lindworm…" The small Dragon spread its wings, flew upward with Lindworm in toe, towards the shimmering Synchro Rings, fading into stars as they soared through.

(*2 + *4 = *5)

"I Synchro Summon… Vulcan the Divine!"

There was a low growl, and then flames again erupted on my side of the field where the two dragons had been. The monster striding from the flames was a muscular Beast-Warrior tiger-man, wearing a kilt and holding a flaming, iron hammer. (2,000 ATK)

"That guy's all bark and no bite!" said the Big Server with a laugh.

"But in this case, his bark is much more dangerous than his bite. You see, simply by summoning him, he can blow two monsters off the field, one of yours, and one of mine."

"You gotta be kidding…"

"How's this for kidding?" growled Vulcan. He threw his arms open and let out a loud roar, causing the Big Server to stagger against a powerful sonic wave. It was too strong for him, and he toppled backwards, disappearing as both the Giant Racket and Mage Power cards shattered. Defender had to leave too, of course, but hopefully I could use him again later.

Harrington was starting to look annoyed now. "Bring it on!" he dared.

"Not just yet… I've got another monster to summon, and seeing as we're playing for blockbuster icons, I'm going to bring out one of the most iconic! It starts with moving Lava Dragon to Defense Mode." I turned the card on my disk from vertical to horizontal, and it lay down and curled up. (1,200 DEF) "This means I can sacrifice Lava Dragon to bring out two Dragons, one from my hand, and another from my Graveyard."

The Dragon vanished in a smaller spout of flame; Magna Drago appeared again (600 DEF) along with the two-headed, winged, Twin-Headed Behemoth. (1,200 DEF)

"And again, I Tune Magna Dragon with Behemoth…"

(*2 + *3 = *5)

"I Synchro Summon X-Saber Wayne!"

The Synchro Warrior materializing on my field was an odd combination of the modern and traditional, a tall, muscular, grim cowboy with shaggy hair and beard-stubble, and also with armor that seemed to be equal parts rawhide leather and metallic-blue armor, with a long, tattered cloak, red bandana around his neck, and (naturally) an appropriate matching-style of hat. As an X-Saber, the insignia of that faction was printed on the armor's right shoulder guard, which was also on his belt. (2,100 ATK)

"You think I'm afraid of that big lug?" said Harrington with a laugh.

"Watch your mouth, pilgrim," said the Warrior's voice. "Lemme tell you something, you gotta be a man before you can be a gentleman."

"That's right," I added, "and I can use Wayne's effect to summon another Warrior, like Familiar Knight!"

Using the card caused the grim, dark, armored Knight to appear. (1,400 DEF)

"That's quite an impressive team he's got," said Yolanda.

"True, but it doesn't make it any easier for him," said Brett. "Harrington still has that Dark Door, and that door is still admit-one per turn only."

Of course, Wayne needed no prompting here, he quickly drew his twin revolvers, twirled them dramatically, then fired three rounds from each of them at the set monster. Unfortunately, the well-dressed lady Spellcaster that appeared on the card - Lady of Faith - let me know I had made the same mistake a third time.

"Damn," I said out loud.

"Thanks again!" exclaimed Harrington.

Of course, my monsters seemed just as annoyed at Harrington as I was. Wayne put his hand on his hip and said, "This is gettin' to be ri-goddamn-diculous."

"If that's cowboy-talk for 'this guy is getting on my nerves'," added Vulcan, "I concur."

Okay, okay, I thought. No pressure… no pressure… Damn, why did I have to be the adult in the room? I waved my hand and said,"Service, please!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Harrington drew, and then used The Big Server's card again, causing the android pro to appear once more. (300 ATK)

"And then, I'll boost him with both the Mage Power I got from Faith and Fighting Spirit!"

Now it was obvious why Harrington had been so chill about me summoning so many monsters. Fighting Spirit was similar to the well-known Equip Spell, United We Stand, but in this case, boosted the monster's Attack Score by 300 for each monster the opponent had. This combo brought The Big Server's score up to 3,300; and it seemed he wasn't through yet. He went for another card… and then, oddly, for the first time, he seemed a little uncertain. He seemed worried about that card for some reason.

"HEY!" exclaimed Wayne again. "Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight here!"

I was fairly sure right now that Harrington could hear this odd dialogue, especially since that comment seemed to tick him off enough to make up his mind. "I activate Brutalizer Volley!"

"Ooh, I don't like the sound of that!" exclaimed Brett.

"Neither do I," added Yolanda. "In tennis, a brutalizer occurs when a player hits his opponent with the ball, usually - and hopefully - by accident. But while such shenanigans are usually frowned upon in such a contest, in this contest it's encouraged!"

Of course, I had no idea what this card was either, but I did notice it was that Brutalizer Volley was a Continuous Spell, and as such, it brought The Big Server's already-considerable Attack Score to 3,800.

And this time, when he made his "serve" and slammed the ball with his racket, it turned into a ball of flame, crashing across the field towards the target, which naturally, meant yours truly.

"Much as I hate to make a tired old cliché," said Yolanda, "this match could well be decided by sudden death!"

To be continued…

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Ooh, another cliffhanger! Again, I'll hopefully not leave everyone hanging as long as before. If you like, leave a comment for review, that helps a great deal.

Oh, and of course, the fanmade cards; as usual, only those with actual effects used in this chapter will be here:

Buffalo Log (Normal Trap Card)

Image: A tennis match between the Big Server and Berfomet, seen from the point of view behind the former, diving to receive a jump smash by his opponent.

Effect: Both players excavate the top card from their decks; if an excavated card is a Lvl4 or lower monster that can be Normal Summoned, it is Special Summoned to its owner's field. Otherwise, it is placed at the bottom of the owner's deck.

Dragon Soul Serenade (Normal Spell Card)

Image: Dragon Piper playing his flute over a Dragon Capture Jar amid the backdrop of the Goblin Circus. A shadow of a Dragon looms behind him.

Effect: Target 1 Dragon-Type monster you control; return it to the hand, and if you do, Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type monster from your hand with the same Level as the monster that was returned to the hand. Cards with the same name as the returned monster cannot be summoned or set this turn.

Jobber Ace (Spell Card)

Image: A tennis match between Stinging Swordsman and Opticlops, seen from the point of view behind the latter, a powerful smash hit from Swordsman knocking Opticlops off his feet.

Effect: Activate when your opponent controls 3 or more monsters and you control no monsters. Special Summon, from your hand or GY, a monster with 1,000 ATK or lower in attack Position. The battle position of a monster summoned via this card's effect cannot switch. The turn you use this card, your opponent's monsters cannot be destroyed by battle and your opponent takes no battle damage from battles involving monsters they control.