Last time out, TJ and Gus defeated Tyler Q and Tyler T to get one step closer to stopping the Ashleys' evil plot and saving Spinelli. Next up is a duel in the auditorium against the other half of the Tylers...where an endless maze could prove too much to handle.
Tyler Q and Tyler T have been defeated. TJ was leading his friends towards the auditorium, where Tyler Q had mentioned that his next match would be held.
"Do you have any plausible idea where we're going, TJ?" Gretchen questioned.
"With any sort of luck - one step closer to saving Spinelli!" TJ beamed. 'Hang in there, Spinelli...we're coming...'
Inside the Ashleys' clubhouse, the Ashleys were proceeding with Operation Ashley S - their makeover of Spinelli. So far, all was going according to plan from the swap of her outfit to a total makeover to making her watch what appeared to be 'My Little Pony'. That's when Ashley Q and Ashley T climbed through with their respective brothers.
"Ashley A - Ashley T and I found our brothers knocked out on the gym floor," Ashley Q alerted.
"We believe Detweiler and his friends may have been the ones responsible. Looks like they were beaten in a duel earlier," Ashley T informed.
"So they have...very well, then," Ashley A remarked. "Drop the little worms on the couch. Ashley T, return to where SAL 3000 once stood and prepare for Detweiler's arrival. Ashley Q, Ashley B, you're with me...we'll proceed with Operation Ashley S as scheduled."
'TJ, I know you're out there fighting to break me out of this...I just know you can pull through...' Spinelli thought to herself, TJ's spirit burning bright in her.
Once the group reached the auditorium, they were met with a duel field that had a 9x9 grid on it sporting 2 blue podiums and 2 red podiums. The red podiums even had doors attached.
"What is this place?" Vince asked. They were soon answered by Tyler A and Tyler B.
"You have entered...
"...sacred ground..."
"...where only duelists..."
"...can be found!"
"Well, we're duelists..." Gus sheepishly replied.
"Before you pass..."
"...across this chamber..."
"You must agree..."
"...to face the danger!"
"YOU'RE TRAPPED!"
"AND THE DOORS ARE ALL LOCKED!"
"YOU'LL FACE THE INFAMOUS...TYLER GANG!"
"Chosen by our sisters as Eliminators..."
"To take Detweiler's girlfriend for themselves!"
"And if...by some crazy fluke you manage to win, why then..."
"...a puzzling new test shall begin!"
"For over my shoulder, you see a door. And over Tyler B's, you see..."
"...one door more!"
"The test, a choice..."
"...that you must make..."
"WHICH OF THESE DOORS WILL YOU TAKE!"
"One door leads to detention..."
"...where you will spend all your school days!"
"The other door's the path you need."
"Choose correctly and be freed!"
"But which door leads out?"
"And which leads to woe?"
"That's for you to guess..."
"And for us Tylers to know!"
"So even if TJ wins, we could still be without our dear Spinelli forever?" Mikey feared.
"Against us, one mere duelist would be creamed..."
"...so you must duel as a team!"
TJ then stepped forward. "Tag team it is. Vince, care to join me?"
"You got it, bro! Alright, you rotten Tylers! Me and TJ are gonna clean your clocks!"
TJ: 8000
Vince: 8000
Tyler A: 8000
Tyler B: 8000
"First turn honors are mine! I'll begin by playing this - the LABRYINTH WALL - in the Field Zone!" Tyler B declared.
And with that, an entire maze came out of the field, to the surprise of Vince and TJ.
"Now for the rules of our battle - each player will begin with 8000 Life Points, as per usual. First team to eliminate both their opponents wins..." Tyler A started. "The turn order is as follows - Tyler B will play, then TJ, then I'll go, followed by Lasalle. As for the gameplay in the labyrinth, it too is also quite simple. All monsters we summon will act as pieces on a gameboard. Each monster can move a number of spaces equal to its level and while your monsters are moving, ours will be moving as well! And if you're able to get past our monsters and reach the end of the maze, your reward will be a choice of 2 doors. One will lead to Spinelli while the other leads to nothing but despair."
Vince growled at the constant rhyming. "Enough of the rhyming, you two!"
"Okay then..." The Tylers said together.
"We'll give you a clue..." Tyler A started. "While everything one of us tells you shall be true..."
"...the other will speak nothing but lies to you."
"Wait a sec...I've heard this before..." Vince said to himself before turning to TJ. "TJ, stop me if you've heard this before. There's this fork in the road and a young man looking to get to the Village of Truth. So he stops for directions from a villager. But he doesn't know if the villager is from the Truthville or Liarsburg. So he asks the villager to take him to his own village. A truthful person would take the young man to the Village of Truth on account of being truthful while a liar would take him to the Village of Truth as well, 'cause that would be lying!" the athlete dissected. "So all we gotta ask these 2 clowns is to show them their door. So, Tylers...show us which door you're guarding!"
'Ha! Now the truthful guy will point to his own door while the liar will point to the other door...' Vince thought.
The result: Tyler A pointed to Tyler B's door while Tyler B pointed to his own door!
"BINGO! Tyler A's the liar and Tyler B tells the truth! Now you just gotta ask Tyler B which door leads out of here and we're set!"
TJ just shook his head. "That sounded too easy, Vince."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean your riddle has much in common with our present dilemma. But there's a few key differences and those differences change the game entirely. In your riddle, there was only one person to question at the crossroads. Here, we have 2 - Tyler A and Tyler B. If they are, as they say, 1 liar and 1 truth teller, the liar would never admit to it. That would be telling the truth. The only way they could both make that statement is if both Tylers were lying. In short, we can't trust the Tylers...or this riddle. The Tylers were simply leading us astray."
"Boy...and I thought Ms. Grotke was confusing."
"Never you mind, Vince. Let's duel now and save the door dilemma for later. I believe it's my turn now. First, I'll lay 3 face-downs. Next up, since it's the only monster in my hand, I can Special Summon SWIFT GAIA THE FIERCE KNIGHT!"
ATK: 2300
DEF: 2100
"Now I'll play this - CARD OF SANCTITY! So we all have to draw until we're holding 6 cards!"
After resolving the effect of Card of Sanctity, TJ saw he had a much better hand and decided to put his strategy in motion.
"Since I haven't Normal Summoned yet, I think I'll summon this - QUEEN'S KNIGHT in Defense Mode!"
ATK: 1500
DEF: 1600
"Queen's Knight, Gaia - advance 4 paces into the maze."
"4 spaces and you're already in too far!" Tyler B taunted.
"Now it's my turn! And I'll be merging Shadow Ghoul into the Labyrinth Wall itself through means of POLYMERIZATION!"
Wall Shadow:
ATK: 1600
DEF: 3000
"Next, I'll activate STOP DEFENSE to force your Queen's Knight into Attack Mode! Wall Shadow, REAPING CLAW SLASH!"
The Wall Shadow moved through the wall, appearing next to Queen's Knight and slashing her, destroying her.
TJ: 7900
"Very lethal..." TJ quipped.
"So now you know our strategy is unleashing a monster you can't see," Tyler A remarked.
"FOOLS! You won't know when the Wall Shadow's about to attack!" Tyler B taunted further.
"My turn now. I'll summon out GEARFRIED THE IRON KNIGHT! But he won't be out long, because I'll activate the Spell RELEASE RESTRAINT! Gearfried, unlock your metal armor to become GEARFRIED THE SWORDMASTER!"
ATK: 2600
DEF: 2200
"But since I can't see your slippery little specter, I can't attack it. So I'll just lay this face-down and pass the turn."
It was back to Tyler B. "My turn, then. I'll lay this face down - the Landmine Spider, Jirai Gumo! Next I'll use the effect of LABYRINTH HEAVY TANK to summon it without a tribute and move it forward 7 spaces!"
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2400
"Well done, Tyler B! That should trap them in our maze!"
"Thank you, Tyler A!"
"Back to me, then. And I'll summon OBNOXIOUS CELTIC GUARDIAN in Attack Mode!"
ATK: 1400
DEF: 1200
"Celtic Guardian, forward 4 spaces to join Gaia."
Tyler A just laughed as he drew his card. "Have you learned nothing, Detweiler? Wall Shadow, ATTACK HIS CELTIC GUARDIAN NOW!"
Yeah...Vince says otherwise.
"Trap Card open! KUNAI WITH CHAIN!"
Wall Shadow was all wrapped up!
"WHAT?!" Tyler A screamed out.
"The card I played face-down last turn was my Kunai With Chain card! It stops any opposing monster foolish enough to attack. I laid that card down to help TJ! Now reel 'em in, Gearfried! It also raises Celtic Guardian's Attack Points by 500! TJ, it's all you!"
"Celtic Guardian, take out that Wall Shadow with SILVER BLADE SLASH!"
With one swing of his mighty sword, Celtic Guardian took down the Wall Shadow.
"Lights out for your shifty shadow!"
"NO!" Tyler A squeaked out.
"WALL SHADOW IS BEATEN!" TJ and Vince said in unison.
Tyler A: 7700
"To stop our decline, these 2 we must halt!"
"Don't look at me! It's not my fault!"
"Ha! We keep this up and Spinelli will be saved in no time!" Vince cheered.
"Right. But we haven't won yet. We have to keep on our guard if we hope to beat the Tylers and then...beat the Ashleys at their own twisted game."
Inside the Ashley clubhouse, Ashley A was watching the duel intently with her favorite frappe mocha.
"A toast to Detweiler...for winning the first round...with the help of his little friend Lasalle..."
Back to the duel...
"We're just getting warmed up, Tylers! Stand back!" Vince called out, drawing his card. "My Blue Flame Swordsman should heat things up! I'll place him in Attack Mode!"
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1600
"I'll move him 4 spaces, one for each of his level points. I'll also move Gearfried forward 5 spaces to consolidate our forces. I've already used Kunai With Chain's Trap effect, but it still works as a regular Equip Card, raising Gearfried's Attack Points to 3100!"
"It doesn't matter if your forces are one or many, for soon..."
"...there won't be any! Labyrinth Tank, advance 7 more spaces! Labyrinth Tank wields futuristic weaponry; your archaic soldiers don't stand a chance! And somewhere in the labyrinth lurks another trap for your unwary warriors..."
"Don't you two ever zip your traps? You're up, TJ!"
TJ drew just the card he was looking for. "I activate my face-down ANCIENT RULES card! This lets me summon a high-level monster without having to sacrifice something first! So I play...THE DARK MAGICIAN!"
Just like that, TJ's ace appeared!
ATK: 2500
DEF: 2100
"Dark Magician, advance 5 spaces to join Vince's Gearfried."
On that command, Dark Magician leaped into the air, flipped 4 times and landed next to Gearfried. Gearfried then greeted Dark Magician with a warrior's bow.
"Awesome move, TJ! The gang's all here! They're a team, just like all of us!" Vince cheered.
"Right. There's strength in numbers. Together, they have a much better chance of conquering this murderous maze. I'll lay 2 more cards face-down to complete my turn."
Tyler A started his turn, drawing his card. "We shall see about that..." he said, then gave a sly grin.
"I don't like it when those Tylers grin..."
"I've drawn a very powerful Spell Card. Face the wall-warping powers of...the MAGICAL LABYRINTH!"
When the card was laid down, the maze started to change shape...and cut off TJ and Vince's monsters from each other!
"That's just great! Our guys are cut off!"
"That's the power of Magical Labyrinth, Lasalle. It reshapes the maze according to our will," Tyler A explained. "That should put a wrench into your strategy..."
"NO! Our strategy's blown!"
"Don't let those rotten Tylers rattle you, Vince. Focus on what you need to do..." TJ encouraged.
"Right. Thanks, TJ! Gearfried, advance 5. Swordsman, forward 4 and regroup! The closer our guys get to the exit, the closer we get to getting out of here and saving Spinelli from your sisters, Tylers!"
TJ then took note of where Blue Flame Swordsman was walking.
"VINCE! WATCH OUT!"
"TOO LATE!" said Tyler B. "LASALLE'S ACTIVATED MY TRAP! GO, PREY OF JIRAI GUMO! And now the Landmine Spider attacks Blue Flame Swordsman!"
A giant spider came up from the ground, wrapping its legs around Blue Flame Swordsman and destroying it.
"Your Swordsman is vanquished!"
"And you lose 400 Life Points!"
Vince: 7600
"400 points?!" Gretchen gasped.
"Vince walked right into that one...that's not like him at all," Gus assessed.
However, Vince was unfazed. The aspiring athlete just held a smile.
"I wanted you Tylers to spring your Trap. You see, Blue Flame Swordsman has a special ability. Whenever he's taken out, the original Flame Swordsman can step in to take his place!"
Tyler B was not impressed. Drawing his card, he laughed off Vince's move. "So you replaced your Swordsman. Big deal! I'll lay a card face-down in the backrow. Now Labyrinth Tank, advance 7 more spaces! I'll then activate my COST DOWN Spell! By tossing out a card, I can lay this monster face-down in Defense Mode. That ends my turn. You've got plenty to worry about now. My Labyrinth Tank is within striking distance of your Flame Swordsman. It's all over for him in the next round. Then you can worry about what other surprises I have in store."
"Enough talk. It's back to me!" TJ called out, drawing his card. "And we'll counterattack with the MYSTIC BOX! I'll be using it in combination with the Dark Magician!"
A black, rectangular box soon appeared around Dark Magician.
"What's this?"
"Watch as my Dark Magician is sealed within the first Mystic Box...AS SWORDS RAIN FROM THE SKY!"
"DETWEILER'S GONE MAD! SACRIFICING HIS OWN ACE MONSTER!"
"Wait, Tyler B...look!"
A second box appeared around Jirai Gumo.
"Another box? Materializing around my Jirai Gumo?"
The first box opened, revealing...JIRAI GUMO! Dark Magician appeared in Jirai Gumo's place, in front of Flame Swordsman and right behind Gearfried.
"MY SPIDER'S AN ARACHNO-KABAB! And the Dark Magician is..."
"UNHARMED?!"
"Correct. My Dark Magician magically switched places with your spider, trapping it within the first Mystic Box and destroying it...bringing an end to my magic act!"
"But how?!" freaked Tyler A.
"A good magician never reveals his secret. Now to take out that tank. Dark Magician, eliminate Tyler B's Labyrinth Tank! DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"
Dark Magician charged up his wand, then fired a stream of mystic energy at Labyrinth Tank, destroying it.
"Let's see what that does to your Life Points!"
Tyler B: 7900
"Alright, you rotten Tylers! Now me and TJ are gonna clean your clocks!"
"Of yourself, you think too much. Show them, Tyler A, our lucky touch!"
Tyler A drew his card and smiled.
"I don't like it when those Tyelrs grin..." Vince feared.
"Sanga of The Thunder is one of three gods that control Thunder, Wind and Water. The remaining gods are Suijin - God of Water and Kazejin - God of Wind. If our luck holds 2 more turns and we acquire them all, they can be combined to form the GATE GUARDIAN! I'll use the effect of our Field to set this face-down, ending my turn."
A Chinese-style box soon appeared on the field.
"What could be in there?" TJ questioned.
"Don't know. But we'll break it open and find out once our guys get there!" Vince said as he drew. "I'll lay 2 cards face-down. Then I'll have Gearfried move 7 spaces and Flame Swordsman move 5 spaces towards the end of the maze! Almost home, TJ!"
'I can't let Lasalle and Detweiler escape the maze until we've assembled all the pieces of the Guardian!' Tyler B thought to himself, drawing his card. "Now to test my luck..." He had drawn the 2nd piece. "Suijin - the Water God! I'll use our Field's effect to double our pleasure!"
A 2nd box soon appeared.
"Another Chinese box?" Gretchen freared.
"What could they possibly be?" Mikey asked.
"I got a bad feeling about those boxes, Vince."
"Me too, TJ."
"I now play my hidden DUNGEON WORM! Return to the surface in Attack Mode!"
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1500
"And I'll add the INVIGORATION Spell Card, boosting its power by 400 points!"
"What is that beast?" TJ questioned as it dug underground.
"It's a burrower and it's coming for your Celtic Guardian!"
But Celtic Guardian wasn't destroyed.
"Nice try, Tylers. But my Obnoxious Celtic Guardian is safe from damage from all monsters with 1900 points or more!" TJ explained. "Since my Guardian had 1900 points, I'll only lose 300 Life Points!"
TJ: 7300
"TJ, let's pull a winner out of our hats!"
TJ nodded as he drew his card. "I thik I'll do you one better with this - LIGHTNING VORTEX! I'll simply toss out my Electromagnetic Turtle and all face-up monsters on your field are automatically destroyed! So say goodbye to your worm!"
A stream of lightning entered one of the holes in the labyrinth, sussing out Dungeon Worm and destroying it.
"Now that that pest is out of the way, it's time to work on your Life Points! And since this is a team duel, I can use Vince's monsters if he allows."
"My cards are your cards, TJ. Go for it!"
TJ gave a nod and proceeded with his attack. "Dark Magician, attack Tyler A directly! DARK MAGIC ATTACK!"
Tyler A: 5200
"Now Gearfried, don't hold anything back! Attack Tyler B! Go, LEGENDARY SABER STRIKE!"
Tyler B: 4800
'I have to get the last piece of the Guardian..." Tyler A thought as he drew. "I'll use the effect of Prey of Jirai Gumo in the Grave. By banishing it, I can draw any one of Suijin, Sanga or Kazejin that is banished or in the deck to our hand. Tyler B?"
"Right!" Tyler B said as he drew out the last piece. "Ah! The 3rd piece! This will seal their fate!"
"The 3rd piece! With which we'll now create..."
"...a monster that will..."
"ANNIHILATE!"
"Against..."
"...The Trinity..."
"...they can't defend!"
"All their Life Points..."
"...we will rend!"
"We use our Field to place..."
"KAZEJIN - GOD OF WIND!"
The ground started to rumble as the boxes shook on the field.
"What's going on, TJ?" Vince asked fearfully.
"It's The Trinity! It's in the class of Exodia!"
"ELEMENTS OF THUNDER, WATER AND WIND! SUIJIN, SANGA, KAZEJIN BEGIN! MELD YOUR POWERS IN ETERNAL LIGHT! SHOW THESE FOOLS YOUR UNSTOPPABLE MIGHT!"
"He is pain beyond description!"
"He'll mark the graves with your inscription!"
"GATE GUARDIANS COMBINED!"
ATK: 3750
DEF: 3400
"Next, I play this Spell - RIRYOKU GUARDIAN! Since our Life Points are lower than yours, we can halve your Life Points and add them to our Gate Guardian!"
"NO FAIR! It's like cutting our chance to win in half!" Vince called out.
TJ: 3650
Vince: 3800
Gate Guardians Combined:
ATK: 7400
DEF: 7200
"Next, I reveal my hidden CARD OF SANCTITY! This forces us to draw until we're all holding 6 cards!"
Once that effect resolved, Tyler A got a small grin on his face.
"It's time to end this...I play COST DOWN! Now by tossing out my Shadow Ghoul, I can summon the MONSTER TAMER without a sacrifice! Now Gate Guardian, attack the Flame Swordsman and eliminate Lasalle! THUNDERSTROKE ATTACK!"
Gate Guardian charged up the attack from its midsection, firing it at Flame Swordsman, however...
"I play my Trap! BLAZING MIRROR FORCE!"
TJ was ready and waiting with a Trap!
"BLAZING MIRROR FORCE?!" The Tylers flinched.
"OH NO!" Tyler A squealed.
"Blazing Mirror Force activates when an opponent attacks. It reflects your attack right back at you, destroying all your monsters and then we all take damage equal to half the total Attack Points of the destroyed monsters! Your Guardian had 7400 points while Monster Tamer has 1800. That's 9200 points, half of which is 4600. Normally, this would cause Vince and I to lose. However, I planned for this as well. I chain DAMAGE DIET! This halves all damage Vince and I would take this turn."
In a plume of fire, Gate Guardian and Monster Tamer were destroyed.
Tyler A: 600
Tyler B: 200
TJ: 1350
Vince: 1500
"So, you managed to destroy our Gate Guardian. However, we have something even more powerful. Tyler B?"
"I play my hidden card - DARK ELEMENT! Once we pay half our Life Points, we can summon this - DARK GUARDIAN!"
Tyler A: 300
Tyer B: 100
Dark Guardian:
ATK: 3800
DEF: 3800
"And in case you were thinking of trying to destroy it in battle or by a Spell effect - think again! Dark Guardian is immune to destruction by battle and Spell effects!"
"Dark Guardian, attack the Dark Magician!"
"Don't think so! I banish Electromagnetic Turtle from the Grave to negate your attack and reduce all damage to 0 this turn! Vince, take it away!"
"You got it, TJ! Let's end this!" Vince chimed in as he drew his card. "I'll play my own ANCIENT RULES card! This lets us summon a high level monster without a sacrifice! TJ?"
"Alright, Tylers! This is the card Spinelli gave me to set her free from your sisters' clutches! So try this on for size - RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON!"
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2000
Vince gave a small nod and flipped up one of his hidden cards. "And now, I play this - CLAW OF HERMOS! I combine Hermos with TJ's Red-Eyes Black Dragon to create...RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON SWORD!"
"AHHH! A COMBO!"
"And who better to wield our new weapon than Vince's Gearfried! Thanks to Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword, Gearfried gains 1000 Attack Points plus an additional 500 points for every Dragon in play and in the Grave, giving it a grand total of 4600 points!"
"OH NO!"
"It has enough power to wipe us both out in one strike!"
"And it'll make that a direct strike! Because thanks to my Swordmaster's special ability, whenever it gets equipped, it immediately takes down one monster you control - namely your Dark Guardian!"
Dark Guardian blew to bits, signifying its destruction.
"Our field's wide open!" Tyler A shrieked.
"And their Swordmaster hasn't officially attacked yet!" Tyler B added.
"GEARFRIED AND DARK MAGICIAN, ATTACK THE TYLERS DIRECTLY AND END THIS DUEL!" TJ and Vince called out. On command, their monsters launched their final attacks at the Tylers, knocking them to the ground and scattering their decks.
Tyler A: 0
Tyler B: 0
TJ and Vince: WIN!
After the duel, the Recess gang made their way to the Tylers, TJ picking up 2 cards from their decks - Obelisk the Tormentor and The Winged Dragon of Ra.
"You two pests aren't worthy of such power..." TJ started. "By the way...the exit is Tyler B's door. Guys, let's press onward."
In the basement where SAL 3000 once stood, Ashley T got a call from Ashley A on her cellphone.
"Hello?"
"Ashley T, the Tylers failed miserably...as expected. Prepare the duel ring. Detweiler approaches."
"Like, right away, Ashley A," Ashley T said to her leader as she hung up. "Well, TJ-boy...prepare yourself for your true test..."
The Tylers have been dealt with. Now it's time for TJ to face The Ashleys to save Spinelli! First up - Ashley T! We'll see that duel...NEXT TIME!