First Duel. Red Eyes Vs Harpy Lady
From the comfort of his palace, Maximilian Pegasus enjoyed watching the duels commence on his private viewing system. He watched, and schemed. 'All over the island, my unwilling pawns are in place. The duels have begun and right now, the slow process of elimination is well under way. Only the strongest Duel Monsters players will survive and those of insufficient skill will fall by the wayside. This will be a sight to behold…'
He then looked at the security footage of Sora and Kairi fighting the Heartless. "Just who are you two?" He muttered.
"I can answer that for you" said Luxu coming out of the darkness. His hood is up to conceal his face.
/with the others./
Meanwhile, the gang finally emerged from within the dark and stuffy forest, inviting the rays of warm sunlight that bathed their bodies. Glad to have finally made it out into the open again, they followed the path back into the lush meadows. Sora dropped his bag by the side of a cliff that was overlooking the ocean and plopped onto the green grass. Leaning back on his arms, he breathed in a deep breath of fresh air. Kairi then chose that moment to cuddle next to him .
"Okay, it's my turn now. I'm taking on the next duelist I see." Joey grinned excitedly.
Tea sighed as they watched Joey bound for the cliff and stare off towards the shimmering ocean. "I worry about him sometimes…" said the brunette.
"We should be worrying," said Tristan. "There are tournament-level duelists here. Joey needs to be really strong."
Sora glanced towards the blond as he gazed thoughtfully over the beach, a hopeful twinkle in his eyes, which held pure determination in helping his sister. "He seems ready." Sora said.
"Joey can do it," Yugi nodded with a bright smile. "He's worked so hard already. Grandpa and Kisara trained him well, and for the past week, he's had nothing but practice."
"I agree. I've showed him my technique for some of my strategies and he almost beat me in the last practice duel we had anc I don't even use my real deck," said Kisara. Kimi is playing with her stuffed dragon.
"We can only do our best and support him" said Miho
"Guys, come take a look," Joey said, gaining their attention. "It's so beautiful here."
After exchanging curious glances with one another they joined Joey at the edge of the cliff. Their eyes began to sparkle just from the sight of the ocean. It was so vast, stretching towards the horizon. A few duelists raced across the small beach below them, chasing each other, laughing and smiling, When they turned their attention towards the other areas of the island that they could see, they spotted many duelists everywhere, scattered over the island with Duel Monster Stadiums set up at every twist and turn.
"Wow, look at them all…" Sora said, looking around at all the stadiums that were open. There were only a handful they could see with duelists surrounding each one, and there were bound to be more open on the other side of the island.
"Okay, I'm going in." Joey said, putting his game face on.
"Are you sure you want to do this? If you do, you could risk giving up your only Star Chip." Tristan blinked, making Joey's face pale in realization.
"Don't panic, Joey. You can do this, you know that, right?" Yugi said, trying to calm his friend down.
"I hope you're right, Yug," Joey replied. "This will be my first official match and I can't afford to be knocked out at the start."
"I'm sure that not everyone here is as pro as Weevil, Joey." Sora said. "There's probably someone here on our level."
"You lost, cry baby, now give me your Star Chips!" An annoying voice shouted, making everyone cringe.
"A voice that annoying can only belong to…" Tea glanced nearby where it looked like a duel just ended. One of the players was complaining about how his opponent couldn't have been psychic and that she cheated. The Watcher who was observing the duel had already left, apparently not caring about the player's complaint. And his opponent, the one who called him a cry baby and was laughing at how pathetic he was, the owner of the voice that Tea hated so much, "Mai!"
Kisara was the most angry at her cousin before she calmed herself down. She didn't want Kimi to see her angry. She hated the fact Mai picked on those who lose to her.
Well, if it ain't the cheerleaders." She stated as she walked up to them. "So, Yugi, are your duels going well?" Mai asked conversely.
"I'm making progress," Yugi said neutrally. Tristan and Sora stepped up behind Tea, just in case she decided to start mauling Mai. Judging from the look on Tea's face, there was a 95 chance of that happening.
"Take her," Tea whispered harshly to Yugi, "Knock her out of this tournament and off of the island."
"Tea, control yourselve" said Kairi
"You know, I'm definitely up for a duel. And the person I want to duel is…" Mai paused, before leveling her finger…At Joey.
"You."
"Huh? Who, me?" Joey asked looking around to make sure that her finger was aimed at him and not Yugi or.
"What, you didn't hear me? It's you I want to challenge, Joey." Mai replied.
"Why., I'm just a rookie who just started to play" said Joey,
"I heard you, Yugi and Sora talking on the boat ride here. Yugi needed to give you one of his Star Chips so that you could compete in the tournament. My strategy is to take out the weakest players first." She explained. "Considering how you wouldn't even be here if Yugi hadn't given you one of his Star Chips, that must make you the weakest duelist on the island."
"Do you have to be so insulting?" Joey asked as he was starting to lose his cool. Tea, Miho and Tristan tried to convince Joey not to take Mai on, pointing out that she's an expert duelist and how Joey only has one Star Chip and can't afford to give it up, especially to someone like her.
"Stand up for Joey, volunteer to duel in his place." Tea pleaded to Yugi as he looked from Joey to Mai and back again.
"This is his decision to make," Yugi concluded. "Show Mai what you're made of Joey!"
"Right. She thinks I'm a pushover, well I'll just show her." Joey nodded.
"Yugi!" Tea, Miho and Tristan protested.
"Don't you see, this is my chance to prove myself, to show everybody that I'm not scared." Joey replied. "Don't forget, Gramps and Kisara trained me. Granted grampa never finished my training and granted I wished I could've practiced a little more before being thrust into a tournament this huge with so many heavy hitters, but to be honest, I think I can take her."
Everyone could see that Joey's mind was made up, as he and Mai went over to the duel arena.
"Since you have only one measly Star Chip, I only have to bet one of mine against you." Mai said, placing her Star Chip down on the corner of her duel mat.
Joey wasn't too worried, only for that to change when he saw that in addition to the meadow part of the field, there were also mountains and even a piece of the forest. "Oh! What are all those mountains doing on my field?!" Joey asked in concern.
"The field we're battling on is forty percent forest, forty percent mountain, and twenty percent meadow," Mai informed him. "So either suck it up or surrender."
"Fine" said Joey placing his star chip on the side, "so why are you in the tournament?"
"For all the perks," Mai replied with hesitation. "For the luxuries, cars, fancy hotels, it comes with the package."
"I guess that means she wants the prize money like Joey." Sora guessed.
"Well, you have to admit, she's honest." Yugi said.
"Yeah, honest, not sincere," Tea retorted harshly.
"So that's why you want the prize money, how selfish of you." Joey smiled boldly.
"How dare you try to judge me, you little snot?! Just who do you think you are?" Mai said haughtily.
"You only duel for things, but for some of us, we duel for the people we love." Said Joey.
"You'll show her, Joey!" Sora encouraged. "Show her what it's like to duel from the heart!"
"Let's duel!" Joey and Mai shouted.
LP: Joey: 2000/Mai: 2000
"I'll let you go first," offered Mai.
"You'll regret that." Joey said, drawing his first card. "I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman!" His chosen monster was a sword-wielding warrior in green armor who materialized onto the field.
"That wasn't a bad opening move," Joey smirked.
Masaki the Legendary Swordsman-ATK/DEF: 1100/1100 1430/1430
Mai countered his smirk with one of her own. "We'll see about that," she said, placing the cards in her hand upside down on her dueling mat and began humming while moving her hands over those cards.
"Um, what are you doing?" Joey asked with wide eyes.
"Divining my cards. I have to mystically choose which one of them is the best," Mai stated calmly while picking one up as she spoke. "And I choose, Harpie Lady, in attack mode!" The creature she summoned, sure enough, resembled the winged mythological creatures of Greek legend, looking like a human female with plae bluish-gray tint to her skin and long red hair, having cerulean wings attached to her arms and yellow claws and talons for hands and feet. She had green eyes and wore a deep blue leotard.
Harpie Lady- ATK/DEF: 1300/1400 1690/1820
"I'll still take it on. Masaki, attack!" Joey yelled as his swordsman drew his sword and charged at the Harpie Lady.
"Joey, wait!" Yugi shouted in alarm as Harpie Lady twisted in the air, talons and claws poised for a counterattack, "Monsters that walk on land are at a disadvantage to monsters that can fly!"
Masaki the Legendary Swordsman
ATK/DEF: 1430/1430 1100/1100
Joey's eyes widened as he saw Masaki swing his sword and the Harpie Lady fly out of the way and countered with her talon and destroyed Masaki.
LP: Joey: 1410/Mai: 2000
"So Joey blew it already?" Tea asked.
"Not exactly, he just attacked too quickly," Yugi explained. "He did it without realizing what Mai's Harpie Lady was capable of."
"Oh cards, speak to me!" Mai called out as she began chanting again. "Show me the card that will show these rodents who the true mistress of the dueling area is!" She exclaimed as she laid a card face-down. "My psychic powers are so powerful that I could run circles around muscle-heads like you."
/what the heck Mai? What are you doing?/ thought Kisara. This wasn't how her cousin normally played. No it couldn't be that Mai was cheating too.
Joey's arm shook, almost making him drop his cards.
"He's losing it!" Tea gasped.
"Guess that mophead wasn't ready for this after all." Tristan guessed.
"Joey, don't let her card tricks fool you!" Sora said. "You can't let it get to you!"
"Yeah, got it!" Joey said as drew a card for his next turn. played it. "I summon Tiger Axe! And with the field power bonus, he gets a hefty boost!"
His next monster was a burly tiger in armor, brandishing a large ax.
(Tiger Axe-1300/1100 1690/1430)
Although his Attack Points were higher than Harpie Lady's, Joey forgot something important. Tiger Axe was another land monster.
"Joey, you're still not thinking…" Yugi said.
"We just went over this, Wheeler!" Mai laughed. "You can't fly in the air with me, you're stuck on the ground. Because of this, you lose the field power bonus."
Tiger Axe ATK/DEF: 1690/1430 1300/1100
"Harpie Lady, attack his Tiger Axe!" Mai ordered, as Joey's monster was shredded from the sharp claws of her Harpie.
LP: Joey: 1020/Mai: 2000
"It'll take stronger monsters than your land-based wimps to beat my Harpie Lady!" Mai said as she slid a face-down card onto the scanner. "Now I'll play this card without even looking. I give you a hint: it's an equipment magic card that will help me defeat your next monster in one turn."
"Again with all that psychic stuff?" Joey asked, putting a monster in defense mode. 'Since I don't know what she had planned next, I have to get defensive.'
"Running scared, are we? Fine then, I'll show you: Cyber Shield to juice up my Harpie Lady!" Mai said as she played her face-down card.
Harpie Lady ATK/DEF: 1690/1820=2190/2320
The Harpie Lady then pounded Joey's face-down monster, which was Kojikocy.
Kojikocy-ATK/DEF: 1500/1200
"This is so much fun!" Mai said gleefully. "In case you're wondering, the next card you're thinking of won't be of any help either."
"Mai has ESP, it has to be it!" I'm going to lose this duel and any chance I have to save my sister!" Joey said, seeming like he had given up.
"Settle down," Yugi said. "Joey, remember what my Grandfather taught you about how to play Duel Monsters."
"Don't let her rattle you! She's just trying to psych you out!" Tea called from the sidelines.
"Stay out of this!" Mai snapped at Tea. "Your brainless cheerleading isn't going to help him against the superior strength of my Harpie Lady!"
"Hey Mai, concentrate on the duel, not on the sidelines," Sora called out.
But Mai ignored him. "Don't you get it? Friendship doesn't win duels and it never will. It hasn't helped him any. He's defeated and he knows it. You're all just a bunch of worthless tag-a-longs."
"Not true," Tea came back.
"I beg to differ. There can only be one champion. On this island, in this tournament, someone can be your best friend one minute and be your worst enemy next. Once the competition forces you to face each other in a duel, where's your friendship then? That's why the only person a duelist can rely on is himself. I hope that your defeat today teaches you that lesson," Mai concluded. Kisara was quiet but she looked at Joey. Mai's little speech had already got to Joey and he was on the verge of losing his cool.
Yugi decided to take action. He summoned the power of his Millennium Puzzle. "Don't listen to her, Joey; we're here to help you just like you're always there for us!" Yugi's voice was confident but not to the point of snootiness that Mai exhibited. It seemed to immediately draw everyone's sights on him. "Trust me on this; she's just trying to divide and conquer; a strategy that has been used for centuries. Believe me, I know." A golden eye briefly appeared on his forehead.
"When you get that look in your eye, I believe everything you say," Joey said.
Mai laughed. "Do you really think Yugi wants you to be the champion? He's a duelist too, you know. Eventually, you're going to have to take him on."
"yugi doesn't even care for the Championship Mai," thought Kairi.
"We have to look out for one another."
'That's right; we have to look out for one another. We're a team, but I also have to win this contest for Serenity.' Joey replayed Serenity's message in his mind. 'Maybe Yugi's right about this thing,'Joey decided. 'I have to stop listening to Mai's nonsense and start using my head.' He closed his eyes, deep in thought. 'There's gotta be a way to defeat Mai... if I can just figure out how she knows what her cards are... if she's not psychic, then it must be something else that she's doing.'An aroma crossed his nose. 'What's that smell? I never noticed it when my eyes were open.' He smelled many different aromas, they were coming from... Mai's cards! That was it; that was how she was doing it!
"Let's go, kid, it's your turn!" Mai's voice brought him back to reality. Joey opened his eyes and stared directly at Mai.
"I see through your card trick!" Joey announced catching everyone by surprise, especially Mai. "You sprayed each of your cards with different perfumes! And by smelling each card, you can tell which one it is even when they're faced-down! So you don't need to look to play your cards. That way, you can psyche the other player out!"
Mai gasped. "No way, how can an amateur like you see through my aroma strategy?"
"MAI!" Growled Kisara. There was fire burning though her eyes seeing he cousin cheat as well. "You and I are having a nice little chat after this duel!" Exclaimed Kisara. Mai then suddenly looked afriad of dealing with her cousin.
"I have to admit, you had me buying into the whole psychic power shtick. I was too freaked out to think things through because of that. But you're not a psychic at all; you're just a big fake!" His friends cheered. "Yugi, thanks, bud, you were right!"
Now it was Mai who was losing her cool. "Just because you saw through my little psychic act doesn't mean you're going to defeat me in a duel!"
"I think you're wrong," Joey said. "Before, you were winning by confusing me and trying to turn me against my friends. But now my mind is clear and I know who I can trust. All you got is your cheap tricks and I won't fall for them any more!" Tea, Miho and Tristan cheered.
"Well, I'm not sure what to do; I don't know what it says in the rulebook about cheating through smells. Joey, if you like, I can declare the duel invalid." Said Kisara. Mai looked hurt at her cousin who looked at her disappointed. "I thought you were better than this Mai. Your sinking to Weevils Level. At least you don't sabotage other peoples decks. "
"No need," Joey said, taking a card from his hand. "I'm going to teach her the same lesson that Yugi taught Weevil, that cheaters never win, by kicking her butt the old fashion way! By finishing this duel legit. And my strategy starts now.I play Meteor Dragon in Defense Mode!"
a small dragon with a meteor shaped body appear.
Metoer Dragon (ATK/DEF-1800/2000)
"So what you manage to get a defense…your still going down." Said Mai. She draws from her deck and then she grins, " My card will be Elegant Egotist!"
"What does that card do?" Joey asked.
"It's simple; it's magic lets me make duplicates of my Harpie Lady!" Mai's single Harpie Lady became three. One was the original, another had spiky blue hair and the third had short orange hair.
"Now what?" Miho asked holding Kimi.
"He was struggling with just one of them." Tea said.
"Don't give in, Joey!" Tristan shouted. "You still have all kinds of moves you can make!"
"Like what?" Tea asked.
"How should I know, ask an expert. Yugi?, Kisara" Said Tristan
"It's Joey's duel, he has to figure it out," Yugi simply said. Kisara nodded.
Joey looked through his hand. "I don't have anything that can stand up to three Harpie Ladies."
Mai let out a laugh of triumph. "And I will keep using the magic of Elegant Egotist to double my Harpies again and again each turn! But while my Harpies multiply, I can't attack so it's your move. Of course it won't do you any good because you'll soon be up against an army!"
"An army of Harpies, how do I fight a whole army?" Said Joey
"Don't give up, Joey!" Yugi called out. "Think about her strategy. She's been using only one monster card and strengthening it with many magic cards. But there's a serious flaw in her dueling strategy..."
Joey began to catch on. "She's just been juicing up the Harpie Lady every turn. But if she has mostly magic cards, maybe the Harpies are her only monster cards. I bet if I can defeat those three Harpies, she won't have any monsters left to defend herself with.
"Joey!, don't forget…you have one monster that can take on her Harpie Ladies. ." Said Kairi, remembering Joey has Red Eyes.
"One monster?…..Right…My Red Eyes." Though Joey. He looked at his hand ,I don't have it in my hand, I'll have to draw for it... but what if I don't get it? What if…'
Yugi recognized the look on Joey's face, it was the same look he got while trying to draw the final piece of Exodia. 'Trust in your cards, Joey, trust in yourself!'
"Here I go, it's all or nothing.' Joey held his breath closing his eye. He didn't realize it but next to him is a man in black armor that greatly resembled him only he has Black hair and red eyes, the man put his hand on top of his. Joey drew the top card before opening his eyes,
"Yes!" Said Joey before he then said. "I play the Red Eyes Black Dragon!"
The playing field unleashed a dark wind as a pair of Red Eyes are seen moving though the darkness. A black-scaled dragon flew from the dark wind and landed on Joeys side of the field with a tremble. Its glowing red eyes were piercing, and it stretched its wings as far as they could go, displaying its overbearing power to Mais monsters. Then it let out a gut-wrenching roar.
"Alright, Joey played his Dragon" said Kairi.
(Red Eyes Black Dragon-2400/2000)
"Is that really the Red Eyes Black Dragon….how did an amateur like you get ahold of such a rare and powerful card," said Mai in shock of seeing the black dragon,
"Even I ask myself the same question….a rook like me getting one of the most powerful dragons in all of Duel Monsters…but I have something I'm fighting for and that is to get the Prize money so I save my little sisters eyesight for good!" Said Joey. Red Eyes looked at Joey and nodded. Only Sora and Kairi saw the motion.
"My harpies are still strong enough to take the hit of your Red Eyes. Direct attacks are forbidden in Duelist Kingdom. You take one out and more will come back with each turn" said Mai.
"Not happening. I'm taking all three of them out right now….reveal facedown! Polymerization!" Said Joey revealing his Polymerization magic card.
"I have two monsters that can merge together to create an even stronger monster….Red Eyes Black Dragon, Meteor Dragon! Combine your strength into one!" Said Joey. Red Eye Black Dragon roared before taking flight alongside Meteor Dragon. The two did a small dance before merging which created a glowing red light, the light died down to reveal a new Dragon. a bulky dragon with lava like veins, Rock like skin and it was just as big as blue eyes white dragon. Meteor Black Dragon roared as it was summoned to the field
Meteor Black Dragon(3500/2000.
"Even if you manage to take out all three of my monsters..I'll still have life points!, direct attacks are forbidden in duelist kingdom" Said Mai.
"Not really…I have a magic card that can power up my dragon…Salamandra! Since Meteor Black Dragon is a Fire monster. He gains 700 attack points." Said Joey. Fire shot up from the field up to Meteor Black Dragon. Increasing his attack power.
(Meteor Black Dragon(4200/2000.)
"Oh no!" Exclaimed Mai in fear,
"Time to end this! Meteor Black Dragon! Destroy her harpies with Burning Dark Meteor!" Said Joey
Meteor Black Dragon roared before surrounding himself with an orb of redfire. He then descended down towards the Harpie ladies with the speed of a falling meteor. All of them were helpless to defend themselves as the dragon made contact creating an explosion.
(LP: Joey: 1020/Mai:0)
"He did it!" Tea cried.
"Joey won!" Tristan threw in. "I knew he could do it."
"But didn't you say that earlier..." Miho teased.
"Aww stuff it, the point is he won," Tristan interrupted with a blush. A blush that Kairi caught.
"Thanks, guys," Joey said. "I couldn't have done it without your support, especially yours, Yugi."
Yugi gave his best friend a thumbs up before returning to his normal self.
"How... how could I lose to such an amateur?" Mai wept.
"Hey, Mai, it's like I was trying to tell you, Duel Monsters is about more than just kicking the other guy's butt. If you're ever going to be a real champion, you gotta learn to start caring about someone other than yourself. Isn't that right, Yugi?"
Yugi nodded, in his mind, he was thinking, 'I'm proud of you, Joey. Your training really paid off. You went from someone who had nothing but eagerness and attitude to a winning Duelist who duels with his head... and his heart.' Joey received his star chip and the group left, leaving Mai on the platform.
"Ohhhh Mai"
Mai looked down to see Kisara with her arms crossed. The latter not looking really happy with her. "You and me….Talk now"
Mai gulped seeing she was in deep trouble.
/end chapter/