Ashley A's deepest secrets are revealed - including the fact that her ancestors ruled Atlantis before it sunk to the bottom of the sea! How did her ancestors survive over 10,000 years? Why did Atlantis sink? And why did Dartz want to destroy the Pharoah? Plus why does Ashley A want Spinelli to join the Ashleys so badly? As the answers are revealed, King Bob, Vince and TJ realize just how much is at stake in this ultimate duel.
King Bob, Vince, TJ and Ashley A were now floating on The Seal of Orichalcos above the legendary city of Atlantis after Dragon Master Knight seemed to have attacked Ashley A's monster for game. However, the attack had failed.
"Gentlemen, this is the legendary city of water - Atlantis - in all its glory, just as it was 10,000 years ago," Ashley A began. "Atlantis was a perfect civilization...or so my ancestor Dartz had thought. Surrounded by the vast ocean, the people were cut off from the rest of the world. The people led simple, satisfied lives. They worked together with all of life's creatures, knowing nothing of violence or greed. But one day...all that changed...as darkness engulfed the world and a strange material rained from the sky..."
"The Orichalcos..." TJ lamented.
"Please tell me story time's is over with. Your King decrees that we get back to the duel," King Bob deadpanned.
"The tale of my ancestral past directly affects your future, Caudell!" Ashley A snarked. "So if I were the three of you, I'd pay close attention. Now then...everyone thought the Orichalcos was a gift from the heavens, a miraculous substance that could be used for anything - energy, medicine, industry...everything under the sun. Thanks to the Orichalcos, the people of Atlantis made advancements in technology that we could never have thought to be possible. Soon, Atlantis became the most highly developed civilization the world had ever known. But with progress comes greed - greed and violence the likes of which my royal ancestors Dartz and Ironheart hadn't known before. "
"Ironheart and Dartz were your ancestors?!" TJ called out. "How is that possible?"
"The Orichalcos rotted people's hearts?" Vince questioned.
"If you two ask questions, this ridiculous story's never going to end," King Bob deadpanned further.
"It did, Lasalle. An environment that fulfills greed that easily breeds darkness in the heart. On Dartz's 21st birthday, Ironheart stepped down and allowed him to take over and fill his shoes. As the people of Atlantis continued to sink into the darkness and technology continued to advance, it was up to Dartz to remedy the situation. The people were growing more selfish and if he didn't act fast, he'd lose complete control. But soon, the Orichalcos began to test the citizens of Atlantis - those that were wicked on the inside became wicked on the outside. Dartz was even forced to kill his own wife, Iona," Ashley A told. "He didn't understand at first, but the Orichalcos revealed all to him - the people of Atlantis were evil and he had been chosen to wipe them out and rebuild civilization with the help of a mighty beast hidden under Earth's surface - The Great Leviathan. However, Ironheart stood in his way. Ironheart opened a gateway to the Dominion of the Beasts and formed a monster army of his own, beginning the Battle of Atlantis."
"What was the battle's outcome?" TJ asked.
"The battle ended in a draw. No one was victorious and Atlantis sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Ironheart's army was scattered across the Earth and sealed away until they'd be needed again. The Leviathan was stripped of its power and also sealed. Dartz tried again 10,000 years later but was stopped by Yugi Moto himself. Now it's my turn to finish what my ancestor started...by wiping the 3 of you out and making Spinelli into the Ashley she was always meant to be!"
"Why do you want Spinelli so badly?" TJ questioned.
Ashley A just chuckled. "It's simple, Detweiler. The name Ashley has always stood for beauty, specialness and charm. Your little girlfriend has tainted the name with her tomboyish attitude. All that's left for me now is to defeat the 3 of you in this duel, then my plan to turn Spinelli into one of us will finally come to fruition..."
"HANG ON! We already defeated you! Our Dragon Master Knight should've wiped out all your Life Points!" King Bob barked.
"Perhaps it should've...but I'm afraid it didn't. Your attack fell short of its target. So this duel is still on. King Bob, Lasalle, Detweiler...now feel my power!" Ashley A laughed as the 4 were transported back to the basement of Third Street School.
"Check it out, guys! They're back!" Gretchen cheered.
"Beat her, you guys!" Gus added on.
King Bob: 8000
Vince: 8000
TJ: 8000
Ashley A: 8000
"WHAT?! YOU DIDN'T LOSE ANY LIFE POINTS?!"
"That's Orichalcos Kyutora's special ability - it cancels out any damage I take..." Ashley A explained.
"That's crazy! She just dodged an attack by their strongest monster!" Mikey gasped.
"What's worse, it's her turn now!" Gus freaked.
"RETURN, CLAY STATUE OF THE ORICHALCOS!"
Clay Statue of the Orichalcos ATK: 1500 - 2000
"King Bob, Lasalle and Detweiler...it's pointless. You'll never defeat me! The power of the Orichalcos will swallow all 3 of you!" the blonde taunted as she drew her card. "Now back to the duel. I summon this - ORICHALCOS GIGAS!"
ATK: 400 - 900
DEF: 1500
"Next I'll enhance the power of the Seal with this...THE MAGIC OF ORICHALCOS DEUTEROS!"
Green rings soon flashed over the field as the card glowed in her hand.
"What's...going on?" King Bob stammered.
"I don't know, your majesty..." Vince froze.
"Somehow she's made the Seal of Orichalcos stronger..." TJ said as a second layer of the Seal appeared and locked into place.
"Gentlemen, WELCOME TO THE SECOND LEVEL OF DARKNESS!"
"The what?"
"I'm not sure how, but Ashley A just added another layer to the Seal of Orichalcos..."
"So what's that mean?" Gretchen asked.
"Orichalcos Deuteros - the second level of the Seal," Ashley A began. "The first effect of my Orichalcos Deuteros is the addition of 500 Life Points each turn for each monster I have in play. Since I have 3, that's an extra 1500 Life Points!"
Ashley A: 9500
"A Life Point restoration layer?" Vince gasped in disbelief.
"How are we supposed to wipe her out?" King Bob puzzled.
"You're not. It makes me invincible! Next I'll have Gigas and Clay Statue attack Detweiler's Dragon Master Knight! GO, MY MONSTERS!"
Clay Statue launched a lightning stream from its eyes while Gigas leaped into the air at Dragon Master Knight.
"Nice try! But my Knight's too strong!" TJ said as Dragon Master Knight destroyed both monsters.
"KYUTORA! ABSORB ALL THE DAMAGE!"
Just like before, Ashley A took no damage and just laughed off the attacks.
"My Life Points are safe and both my monsters return!"
Clay Statue ATK: 2500
Gigas ATK: 1400
Kyutora Damage Absorption Total: 23100
"That jerk! She's letting her monsters get their butts kicked on purpose so they can come back stronger!" Gus shouted.
'That can't be it! They'd have to be destroyed several more times before they're strong enough to beat Dragon Master Knight,' TJ thought to himself. 'Maybe the secret to beating Ashley A lies in her Kyutora's ability to negate damage...does it have another ability? One we're not aware of?'
It was back to King Bob now. "Alright, Armbruster! My move!" he declared, drawing his card. It was pointless to go after Gigas or Clay Statue because they would just come back and Kyutora would negate the damage. But if he were to go after Ashley A directly, he could be able to win the duel.
"I'll lay a card face-down on the field. Then, I call BLADE KNIGHT to the field in Attack Mode!"
ATK: 1600
DEF: 1000
"Since I have no cards left in my hand, Blade Knight gets 400 points! That ends my turn..."
'King Bob's setting something up...' TJ thought.
'Detweiler, we only have one chance...' King Bob told TJ through thought.
"My turn! DRAW! I reveal my hidden card - Compulsory Escape Device! With this, I can target 1 monster you control and send it right back to your deck! I think I'll be going after your Clay Statue! And once it's returned to the deck, it can't come back!"
Clay Statue vanished as it was returned to Ashley A's deck. But Vince wasn't done.
"Next, I'll play my CARD OF DEMISE! This forces the 3 of us to draw 5 new cards, so long as we discard our hands in 5 turns! Now I'll have Dark Dragoon attack!"
That was King Bob's cue.
"Lasalle, HOLD ON! I'm sacrificing my Blade Knight so I can activate my hidden card - REFLECT ENERGY! Now Lasalle, Detweiler, aim your monsters' attacks there at that satellite! Reflect Energy allows you two to attack Ashley A directly! It's in Kyutora's blind spot!"
Vince gave a slight nod. "Here I go! Dark Dragoon, ATTACK DIRECTLY! MYSTIC INFERNO FIRE BLAST! Dragon Master Knight, follow Dark Dragoon's lead!"
Both attacks hit the satellite, intending to end the duel right here and now. However...Gigas shattered to pieces and a force field was generated.
"OH NO!" King Bob gasped. "That attack was supposed to hit Ashley A, not her monster!"
"It's a force field! But how is she creating it?" TJ asked.
"By using the 2nd layer of the Seal, of course. It's simple - I make a sacrifice so that your monsters take the hit! You know what that means, don't you? Dark Dragoon and Dragon Master Knight just attacked themselves!"
The attacks were redirected around the force field right back into the monsters themselves.
"Rookie..." Vince scoffed. "Dark Dragoon can't be destroyed or targeted by card effects!"
"WHAT?!" Ashley A gasped.
"And what's more...by tossing out a card, Dark Dragoon can cancel out the effects of your Deuteros this turn and save Dragon Master Knight! So I'll toss out Gearfried the Iron Knight to activate Dark Dragoon's ability! In doing so, Dragoon gains 1000 points!"
Vince saved TJ's Knight just in time! It was now back to TJ.
"My draw now! And rather than walk into another trap, I'll simply play this - DE-FUSION! This splits Dragon Master Knight back into his former counterparts! That'll end my turn. But we still have the strongest monsters on the field!"
"Do you now?" Ashley A taunted. "I know everything...including human weakness and hopelessness. The 3 of you are no exception. Your biggest weakness...IS YOURSELVES! My turn! And I'll enhance the power of the Seal even further with my ORICHALCOS TRITOS!"
Just like that, a 3rd layer was added to the Seal.
"I'll explain Tritos's effect soon. But first comes this - the Ritual Spell Orichalcos Mirror. I'll sacrifice Timeater from my hand to summon my MIRROR KNIGHT CALLING! This in turn calls 4 Knights to the field to protect me!"
Mirror Knight Calling:
ATK: 0 - 500
DEF: 0
Mirror Knight Tokens (x4):
ATK: 0 - 500
DEF: 0
"Foolish boys...you'll never get past my Mirror Knights! And thanks to Orichalcos Deuteros, I gain 3000 more Life Points!"
Ashley A: 12500
"Now pay close attention to the mirror's reflection. Each knight reflects something or someone on your side of the field. That dictates the value of their Attack Points!"
"But that means..." King Bob gasped.
"That my knights gain the same amount of Attack Points as their targets! Go, my Mirror Knights!"
The first knight destroyed Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate, second one destroyed Dark Dragoon, the third destroyed Black Luster Soldier and the fourth one attacked King Bob directly.
King Bob: 7500
Then, the Mirror Shields returned. "What's wrong? Scared of your own reflections?" Ashley A taunted. "As long as Mirror Knight Calling remains in play, my Knights' shields will always return! That means my Knights are invincible! So go ahead and summon whatever you please..."
"Fine, I will!" King Bob called out, drawing his card. "First, I'll play my own CARD OF DEMISE! So the 3 of us draw 5 more cards, but in exchange we must discard our hands 5 turns from now. But it's worth it...for a fresh start. Next I play the Spell Card SILENT DOOM! This lets me bring back a monster in the Graveyard, like my BLADE KNIGHT! But he won't be out long because I'm sacrificing my Blade Knight to summon KAISER GLIDER!"
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2200
"I'll end with a face-down..."
"I must say I'm impressed, Robert. Kaiser Glider's ability renders him indestructible from monsters holding the same Attack Points as it does, so my Knights can't crush it."
'King Bob may be safe for now, but we need to find a way to destroy Ashley A's monsters, not hide from them...' TJ thought.
"That means it's to me! And I activate FUSION RECOVERY! This lets me return Red-Eyes Black Dragon and Polymerization to my hand! Next, I'll sacrifice Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight to summon RED-EYES ALTERNATIVE BLACK DRAGON!"
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2000
"Now I activate my Ritual Spell RED-EYES TRANSMIGRATION! I'll sacrifice Gearfied the Swordsmaster and Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my hand to summon LORD OF THE RED to TJ's field!"
TJ then became cloaked in a suit of armor resembling the Red-Eyes Black Dragon as he entered the duel field.
ATK: 2400
DEF: 2100
Spinelli was looking on from the sidelines at TJ's newest monster. 'Lord of the Red...the one Ritual Monster I could never summon...TJ's pulling out all the stops to save me...I love him...please...hang tough for me...'
"To conclude, I'll activate my MONSTER REBORN! Return to battle, RED-EYES DARK DRAGOON! TJ, you're up!"
"Right!" TJ said as he drew. The card he drew...
'Mirror Force...this should help tremendously.'
"I'll lay this down, then summon BIG SHIELD GARDNA in Defense Mode!"
ATK: 100
DEF: 2600
"That's all for now."
"How pathetic, Detweiler. Now then, since it's the start of a new turn for me, I get another 3000 Life Points!"
Ashley A: 15500
"We have to stop her and fast..." TJ said to his team. 'When Ashley A attacks, I'll use my face-down Mirror Force to counter her mirrors and destroy her Knights...' TJ planned.
"HOLD ON, FOLKS!" called King Bob. "I play my Trap! Your Knights are only safe as long as your Mirror Knight Calling Monster Card is out on the field. So now...I'LL SQUASH IT! GO, RING OF DESTRUCTION!"
A ring adorned with grenades flew out of the card and attached itself to the Mirror Knight Calling crystal, destroying it.
King Bob: 7000
Vince: 7500
TJ: 7500
Ashley A: 15000
"Now when your Knights are destroyed, they won't be coming back!"
That's when the Knights' helmets cracked open, revealing that they really were...
"WHAT?! SPINELLI?!" TJ gasped.
And it wasn't just Spinelli...TJ's sister Becky, Principal Prickly and Ms. Grotke were all a part of it as well.
"LET THEM GO!" Gus barked.
"Attack my Knights and you'll be attacking your friends, family and teachers..." Ashley A laughed.
"If I had played Mirror Force, then...Spinelli and Becky would be gone...by my own hand..." TJ thought.
"No matter what you do, you lose. It's impossible to defeat me without destroying these monsters and you can't destroy my Knights without destroying the souls of your friends, family and teachers..."
Now what will TJ do? His girlfriend, sister, favorite teacher and mentor are all a part of Ashley A's Mirror Knight army! How can he duel when attacking Ashley A could force him to attack Spinelli? Find out next time!