Chapter Twenty-Nine
29
The Looming Beast
The Day of the destined duel arrived. The students began to gather to fill the seats at the Duel Field. Connar really wanted to be part of it... She hadn't been able to see her friends in days, thanks to her father's punishment, and so wound up missing out on a lot of events with them- With her father still staying in a private room on the campus grounds, unknown to the rest of the school residents who weren't notified, it wasn't like she could easily sneak off to meet with them, either. The risks were way too high. She sighed as she stood at a distance and watched the duel field stands fill up.
"Good luck guys..." she whispered softly hoping with her heart that her sentiment would reach them. As the last student entered the auditorium and the door closed, Connar was then picked up to be escorted by none other than her father himself.
"Let's go, Connar." He growled,"Your duel is this way."
He's still mad.
It didn't take much for Connar to pick up on his chills.
"Yes, sir." was all she could muster as she followed him alone down the empty hall way.
As they entered an empty duel field, all doors and exits were locked behind them to ensure that no one could come in or out until the duel was over. Without a word, Seto Kaiba seperated from his daughter when the doors closed behind them, and he made his way into the stands, sitting with his arms crossed and kicking one leg over the other, looking down at her from above
She heaved a heavy sigh and made her way forward onto the duel field, where her opponent waited for her.
"I hope you're ready, Connar." said Mokuba as he stood with a chilling serious expression."It's time to duel."
She gave a firm nod in undertstanding and set her deck into its disk in order to activate it-
"I take it, you remember the conditions to this duel," Mokuba stated clearly. He has been a commissioner to many tournaments back in his day, so he always made sure to speak clearly and clarify any rules, regulations and conditions no matter who was playing.
"Should you win this duel, Connar Rose, you will be cleared of your misconduct strike on the school record and will get to remain here on Duel Academy to continue your education-which according to your more recent grades and your current situation- you clearly need more of." he stated.
She gave an awkward groan. It wasn't that she was failing any of her classes... But her marks could use some improvement. Especially considering her father likes to specify that he aims to raise the best of the best...which she clearly has not reached... yet.
"That's correct..." She stated, to signify that she heard the statement clearly.
"Very well." said Mokuba,"However if you lose, you are to be expelled from Duel Academy and shipped back home...where your father will handle the rest." he stated. She twinged a bit and gave a nervous glance to her father whose presence still loomed over her, even from the stands.
"Do you accept these conditions?" he asked.
"I do." she said firmly.
"Good, then we'll begin." he said back, activating his own duel disk,"Duel!"
Mokuba: 4000
Connar: 4000
"Normally I would say ladies first, but since this is to determine your punishment, I think I will oblige!" said Mokuba as he drew a card from his deck,"I will start by summoning Alligator's sword, in attack mode!"
Alligator's Sword:
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1200
"And I'll leave off with two face downs and end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn!" Connar stated as she drew from her deck and took a glance over in her hand.
Alligator's sword...
She thought to herself.
I remember seeing Uncle Joey use a card like that...
I guess he and Mokuba have a couple of similar cards...
She paused as she shifted through her hand.
It's not a bad summon...but I only have one card in my hand that can beat it...
"I'll summon Breaker, The Magical Warrior in attack mode!" She exclaimed as she watched the lights dance to reveal a spellcaster warrior decked out in red.
Breaker The Magical Warrior:
ATK: 1600
DEF:1000
"Once Breaker hits the field in a normal summon he gains a spell counter!" she stated,"And for each spell counter on this card he will gain 300 points of attack!"
Breaker The Magical Warrior:
ATK: 1900
DEF: 1000
Mokuba let out a whistle.
"That's certainly a bit of a power boost, huh?" He gave a smirk as he waited to finish her move.
Uncle Mokey is smiling...
She thought to herself
I think he wants me to attack his monster...
She pondered.
He must have set a trap!
Well then...I guess I better lower my chances.
"Yeah it's a nice little boost but Breaker also has a special ability!"
"Does he, now?" her uncle asked.
"That's right!" she exclaimed,"See by removing one spell counter from Breaker, I can destroy one of your face downs!" she stated.
The question is...which one?
She darted her eyes back and forth between the two face down cards
I have a fifty-fifty shot of destroying the trap he set for me...
I'm just gonna have to go for it!
"I choose the one on the left!" she stated.
"Oh, no!" Mokuba let out a cry and covered his face with his arms as his left face down went up in smoke,"But won't you lose your boost now?"
"Yeah I will." she said as Breaker's attack dropped back to its original 1600,"But it's still just enough to take out Alligator's Sword!"
Breaker The Magical Warrior:
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1000
VS.
Alligator's Sword:
ATK:1500
DEF:1200
"Here I come, Uncle Mokey!" she stated and sent her warrior forward to fight.
"Nice moves, Connie." Mokuba said,"But you failed to fully think through the set up of the field!" he grinned and flipped his other face down,"Negate Attack!"
"No, I destroyed the wrong trap!" she stated as her warrior had to bounce back to its original position thanks to her uncle's trap activation.
"On contrary." he said to her,"See even if you had destroyed Negate attack instead, I still would have stopped your attack because the trap you did wind up destroying, was Waboku!"
I see...
Connar thought to herself.
I didn't take into account that he had layed down two traps...
So either way, my attack would have been negated.
She sighed.
Negate Attack and Waboku, huh?
she chuckled.
I guess it shouldn't surprise me that he had those traps...after all he was the one who gave me mine, and showed me how to use them, no doubt he would have a few of his own.
"You got me." she said softly," I'll end my turn."
She glanced over toward the stands where her father sat watching and as he noticed her look he closed his eyes and turned his head in disappointment, which didn't make her feel any better.
"Then that makes it my turn!" said Mokuba as he swiped the top card from his deck and placed it in his hand,"I'll release my Aligator's Sword, in order to advance summon my level 5 Rude Kaiser, it attack mode!"
Rude Kaiser:
ATK: 1800
DEF:1600
"Now with him on the field I'll go ahead and send him to attack your Breaker!" he stated as he motioned his monster forward and it sliced Breaker The Magical Warrior into red shreds.
Rude Kaiser:
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1600
VS.
Breaker The Magical Warrior:
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1000
Mokuba: 4000
Connar: 3800
"I'll end my turn now with a face down. You're turn, Connie."
Another face down...
She thought to herself.
"I draw!" she took a moment to look over her hand.
I don't have a monster in my hand that can beat Rude Kaiser...
She thought to herself.
But...maybe...
"I'll start by summoning Neo The Magic Swordsman." she said as she lay her monster on the duel disk.
Neo The Magic Swordsman:
ATK:1700
DEF:1000
"And I'll equip him with The Book Of Secret Arts, which will raise Neo's attack and defense by 300."
Neo The Magic Swordsman:
ATK:2000
DEF:1300
"Now I will send him in for an attack."
Mokuba smirked and shook his head.
"I'm activating a trap!" he stated,"Kunai With Chain, which actually has two effects!" he grinned,"The first being to stop your attack by changing Neo in defense mode!"
Neo The Magic Swordsman:
ATK:2000
DEF: 1300
"While the second gives my Rude Kaiser a power boost of 500!"
Rude Kaiser:
ATK: 2300
DEF: 1600
"Grrh..." she growled to herslf and gritted her teeth.
He stopped my attack!
She fidgetted nervously as she looked back into her hand.
"I guess I have no other choice but to end it here with a face down."
She sighed and examined the field. Her uncle stood before her with a sly smile and her dad shook his head in the stands.
Who could blame him?
Her uncle has been playing this game flawlessly so far and she has been making rookie mistakes.
"You need to calm yourself, !"
Kaibaman?
"You are letting the pressure get to you, and it is messing your game up!" he huffed.
How can I not?
She asked him.
My father is in the stands watching every move I make and he's far from impressed.
"You focus too much on what's around you and not enough on what's in front of you!" he stated.
The Spirit's pep talk shook her up as she looked into her hand and smiled.
Got it!
"If you're ready for me Connie, It's time for me to make my next move!" said Mokuba as he drew from his deck. His eyes widened for a bit but it only lasted an instant and he maintained a smile as he prepared to play his next card. "I'll summon Griffore...and I'll power him up with Beast Fangs!" he said as he layed down the round dragon-like beast.
Griffore:
ATK: 1200- 1500
DEF: 1500- 1800
"Next I'll activate the continuous spell card, Poisonous Fangs!" he grinned,"Now I'll attack your now defense mode Neo with Rude Kaiser!" he stated and Connar let out a squeal as she watched Neo get Sliced and Diced away,"Next I'm coming for your life points with griffore!" he grinned and Connar took a fall back while her life points fell down.
Mokuba: 4000
Connar: 2300
"Now thanks to my Continuous spell, you will lose another 500 every time a beast inflicts battle damage!"
Mokuba: 4000
Connar: 1800
Connar held her arms over her face defenseively sending glances to her father who remained stone faced and disapproving. She could feel the sweat trickling down her spine while her life points remained less than half and her uncle's remained untouched.
"My turns's over Connar but yours is up...be careful though." he smirked,"It could end up being your last."
He's right...
Connar thought to herself as she drew from her deck and shifted her eyes between her cards.
If I don't do something this turn...I'm definitly not gonna have a next one!
She started breathing heavily and her vision began to blur.
Let's see...I have a card face down on my field and-
"Ms. Connar...calm yourself!" Kaibaman's voice startled her.
"You have a move you can make-!"
"Ah..." she panted softly and looked into her hand once more..."Right...I got it." she smiled and began her next phase of attack "First I will lay down 3 more face downs!" Connar stated as "Next I will summon out my life long partner!" she grinned,"Kaibaman! in Attack mode!"
"Attack mode!?" Mokuba blinked,"Why attack mode!?"
Kaibaman:
ATK: 200
DEF: 700
"You think You're the only one with an equip spell?" She grinned,"I'm activating one myself, called Mage Power, and I'm equiping it to Kaibaman!" she stated,"That's a 500 power boost to his attack and defense for every spell and trap in my field, and I count 5-with the inclusion of Mage Power itself!"
"But that will make his attack become...2700!" Mokuba gasped with wide eyes and gave an impressed grin,"Haha way to power up a weaker monster...not bad!"
Even her father seemed impressed with that turn around and raised his eyes.
So she found my little gift in her deck, it did she...?
He blinked and gave a slight wry smile.
Not bad...I'm happy to see she still uses Kaibaman...though...that may just be the biggest costly mistake she makes in this duel.
Kaibaman:
ATK: 200- 2700
DEF: 700- 3200
"And I'll start by attacking my biggest threat-Rude Kaiser!"
Mokuba held his arms defensively as Kaibaman took on Rude kaiser one on one.
Mokuba: 3600
Connar: 1800
"Nice come back, Connie." Mokuba chuckled.
"That will be it for my turn." she said happily, finally having taken a step up in the match.
"Then that makes it mine." said Mokuba as he drew,"This might be the end."
"What do you mean?" Connar asked,"Kaiba man is the strongest card on the field there's not many cards in duelist's decks that will be able to stop him so easily now."
"Maybe not." Mokuba grinned,"But I was waiting for you to play him."
"Huh?" Connar blinked and gave him a curious look.
"Watch and learn." he smirked and flipped over a spell card from his hand,"I am activating a spell card called Brain Control!" he stated,"At the cost of 800 life points, I get control of your monster until the end phase!"
He said as he set the card on the disk for activation.
Mokuba: 2800
Connar: 1800
"No! Kaibaman!" She cried out as her monster switched sides and she clenched her fists and bit her lip.
"Sorry Connie...but I did say I wasn't holding back!" he smirked,"Now allow Uncle Mokey, to show what your Kaibaman Card can really do."
Connar's eyes opened wide.
"...What do you mean?" she blinked,"With Kaibaman in your control you can just wipe me out right now!"
Mokuba smirked and shook his head.
"Now why would I do that?" he grinned,"Too soon and too easy." he shrugged,"See, Kaibaman has a special effect. But you have to have the right card to make it work." he explained," Now I know for a fact that you don't have it..." he stated,"...But I do~" he smirked and swung his hand to the side as he made his next play,"By special effect of The Kaibaman card that you so graciously loaned to me-thank you sweetheart," he winked,"I can tribute him in order to special summon this monster!" he beamed as he lifted the card from his hand and grinned.
Connar's eyes widened.
"No...No way..." she said trembling,"There's no way dad gave you that..."
"Well...only one way to fund out." he gave her a pained smile but it didn't last long as he continued his move," In accordance to the Effect of Kaibaman, I will now tribute this monster in order to special summon: Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Blue Eyes White Dragon!?
Connar gasped and took a gaping gaze upon the maginificent beast that formed before her in a shine of bright white light.
Blue Eyes White Dragon...
My Dad's best card...
Is now staring me down like its next meal...
And I am here standing before this ultimate dragon...like a sitting duck!
To Be Continued