Chapter 11: Bittersweet

Tatsumaki and Enzo stared each other down. This was all wrong. They were supposed to be celebrating their victory over the Dustshoot Gang right now, not having a leadership dispute.

"Enzo, please!" cried Emi. "Tatsumaki didn't mean to step on your toes! He and I actually just talked about this last night, and he was gonna apologize once we beat the Dustshoot Gang! You don't have to do this!"

"Sorry, Emi, but he does have to," said Jo. "Truth be told, I've been feeling the same way as Enzo. It feels like Tatsumaki has taken over as the leader of the gang, and I don't like it."

"Neither do I," replied Taza.

"Honestly, I feel the same way," said Ryo. "Enzo has been our leader for two years now, and I don't like the idea of some kid we barely know taking over. Even if he's done a lot for us over the past few days, I have to remain loyal to our leader."

Manda held up his hands. "Come on, Ryo, it's not that serious, right? Tatsumaki himself even said that he doesn't wanna be the leader!"

"The fact that you don't get it shows you're not as loyal to Enzo as we are," spat Taza. "However this Duel shakes out, I'll follow his lead, even if it means we're no longer Breakers."

"Agreed," said Jo.

"I'm with you, too," said Ryo.

"Guys, come on!" cried Manda. "You can't seriously mean that you'll quit the Breakers if Enzo loses, right?"

"That's exactly what we mean," said Jo firmly.

"Yoroi, say something!" demanded Emi.

Yoroi shrugged. "We haven't even been here for a week. It's not our place to interfere in this. We've been wanting to join up for a long time, so I'm gonna stay a Breaker regardless of the outcome. If Tatsumaki wins, I'll acknowledge him as the new leader. If Enzo wins, same deal."

Emi was torn. On one hand, Yoroi had a point. Joining the Breakers had been their goal for over a year now. On the other hand, Tatsumaki had done so much for them, and she wasn't sure she could betray that.

Tatsumaki and Enzo began their Duel, with the former taking the opening turn.

"Draw! I'll start things off by activating Thunder Dragon, discarding it to add two more to my hand! Then, I Set a monster, Set a card, and pass the turn over."

"My turn! Draw!" Enzo checked his hand briefly, then made his opening move. "First, I activate the Spell, Nobleman of Crossout! This removes from play a Set monster, and if it was a Flip Effect monster, all other copies of that card are removed from both players' decks!"

Nobleman's effect removed the Gravekeeper's Spy that Tatsumaki had Set, which in turn removed the remaining two copies from his deck, as well as all three from Enzo's deck.

"I'll also Set a monster and a card, and end my turn!"

"This duel seems to be off to a slow start, even for my standards" noted Emi. "And considering my normal strategy, that's saying something."

"That's how the boss's deck works," replied Manda. "His early turns are spent building up resources before he turns the corner and starts grinding the opponent down. Not exactly explosive, but it's effective. In all the times I've dueled him, I've never even come close to winning."

"Draw!" exclaimed Tatsumaki. "I Set another monster and a card, and end my turn!"

"Tatsumaki must not be drawing anything to get an offense going," remarked Yoroi. "Enzo's field was wide open for an attack and yet he Set a monster instead."

"Draw! Sorry, kid, but I've seen the way your deck works. Your Flip monsters have incredibly strong effects, so I know better than to set them off! I activate the Spell, Soul Exchange! This allows me to Tribute Summon using one of your monsters this turn, at the cost of giving up the ability to attack! Now, I Tribute your Set monster to Summon Mobius the Frost Monarch [Level 6/WATER/Aqua/ATK2400/DEF1000]!"

"And now it begins," said Manda. "This is what I was talking about earlier. The boss is ready to go on the offensive now; a bit faster than usual, if I'm being honest."

"When Mobius is Tribute Summoned, he allows me to destroy up to two Spell or Trap Cards, so your Set cards are about to be history!"

"Well, if I'm gonna lose it, I may as well use it!" said Tatsumaki. "Trap Card, open! Torrential Tribute destroys all monsters on the field whenever a monster is Summoned!"

"Damn, that means I don't get the effect of my Set Apprentice Magician. She has to be destroyed by battle for that. I end my turn."

"Both players have no monsters on the field and they're both at full Life Points," said Yoroi. "Is this what it's like when two decks with superb defensive power go head to head?"

"They're fighting tooth and nail for a superior position and an advantage on resources before committing anything." replied Taza. "It shows the extreme level of respect they have for each other's dueling skill."

"Yeah, but in terms of resources, it seems like Tatsumaki has the edge right now." said Ryo. "The only thing that's uneven right now is the number of cards they both have, and when he draws his next card, the kid will have five to the boss's three."

"Draw! I Summon Sangan [Level 3/DARK/Fiend/ATK1000/DEF600, and attack you directly! I end my turn."

Tatsumaki: 8000 Life Points.

Enzo: 7000 Life Points.

"Draw! I Set a monster and end my turn."

"Draw! It's interesting that you chose to Set a monster rather than try to attack me. Sangan is relatively weak in terms of ATK. Did you really not draw anything that could beat it in battle, or are you just trying to keep its effect from going off?"

Enzo shrugged, opting to avoid directly answering the question. "Only one way for you to find out, I guess."

"I guess so. First, I Summon Bazoo the Soul Eater, then I activate my Card Destruction Spell! We both discard our hands and draw the same number of cards, so I'll discard and draw three, and you'll do the same with two!"

"That Dimension Fusion combo you pulled off against Chairo was pretty impressive," said Enzo. "I don't think I like the idea of you drawing a bunch of cards at once to try and find more pieces for it."

"Well, you're about to like this even less. I activate MST to destroy your Set card!"

"What was that line you said a moment ago? If I'm gonna lose it, I might as well use it? I activate Ring of Destruction, destroying your Bazoo and dealing us both damage equal to its ATK!"

"Fine, then. In that case, I'll have Sangan attack your Set monster!"

"You've hit my Gravekeeper's Guard [Level 4/DARK/Spellcaster/ATK1000/DEF1900]! On top of taking 900 damage from running into him, his Flip effect will send Sangan back to your hand!"

"That's a little annoying, but hardly the end of the world. Next, I remove from play a Thunder Dragon and DMOC in my grave to call forth Chaos Sorcerer! Now, Sorcerer's effect with remove Gravekeeper's Guard from play! I Set a card and end my turn."

Tatsumaki: 5500 Life Points.

Enzo: 5400 Life Points.

"Draw! I activate Pot of Greed to draw two new cards! Next, I activate Brain Control, paying 800 Life Points to take control of Chaos Sorcerer! Then, I'll get rid of it to Tribute Summon Granmarg the Rock Monarch [Level 6/EARTH/Rock/ATK2400/DEF1000]! When Granmarg is Tribute Summoned, I can destroy any Set card on the field!"

"Damn, that's bad," said Tatsumaki.

"Now, Granmarg attacks you directly for 2400 damage! After that, I'll Set a card and end my turn."

Tatsumaki: 3100 Life Points.

Enzo: 4600 Life Points.

"My turn! Draw! I activate Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two! Even though this might not be enough to win right now, I have to go for it! I activate Heavy Storm, destroying all Spells and Traps on the field!"

"Damn, my Raigeki Break! I was gonna use that to destroy your next monster and keep the pressure on!"

"I'm not done yet! I activate Dimension Fusion, paying 2000 Life Points for both of us to Special Summon all of our monsters that have been removed from play!"

To his field, Tatsumaki brought two copies of Gravekeeper's Spy and a Thunder Dragon in Defense mode, and DMOC in Attack mode. Enzo brought forth three copies of Gravekeeper's Spy and a Gravekeeper's Guard, all in Defense mode.

"You know what happens next! The effect of DMOC lets me buy back a Spell from my grave! I select and activate Graceful Charity to draw three discard two once again! Now, I activate the Equip Spell Snatch Steal, equipping it to Granmarg and allowing me to gain control of it! Now, Battle!"

"Not good, but at least I have enough monsters in the way that he can't finish me yet," said Enzo bitterly.

"Granmarg, attack Gravekeeper's Guard! DMOC, attack a Spy! With that, my turn is over."

Tatsumaki: 1100 Life Points.

Enzo: 4600 Life Points.

"Draw! First, I gain 1000 Life Points from the effect of Snatch Steal! Now, I Tribute Spy for Zaborg the Thunder Monarch! [Level 5/LIGHT/Thunder/ATK2400/DEF1000]. When Zaborg is Summoned, I can destroy a monster on the field, so say goodbye to DMOC!"

"Damn!"

"Now, Zaborg, attack Gravekeeper's Spy! That's the end of my turn."

"Draw! First, the Sinister Serpent I discarded last turn comes back to my hand! Now, I activate Lightning Storm, discarding the Serpent again to destroy all face-up monsters on your field!"

"Every time I get the upper hand, you seem to turn it around."

"I'm just trying to get this over with, one way or the other. Now, I switch my Thunder Dragon to Attack mode, and have it and Granmarg attack you directly! That ends my turn."

Tatsumaki: 1100 Life Points.

Enzo: 1600 Life Points.

"My turn! First, your Snatch Steal gives me 1000 Life Points. Now, I Summon Tribe-Infecting Virus, and activate its effect! I discard one card from my hand to declare a monster type, and destroy all monsters of that type! I declare Rock to destroy Granmarg! Since I have no more cards in my hand, I'll end my turn there."

Tatsumaki: 1100 Life Points.

Enzo: 2600 Life Points.

"Draw!"

In any other circumstance, Tatsumaki would have smiled at the card he just drew. This, however, would not be a joyous occasion no matter what the outcome.

"I Tribute my Gravekeeper's Spy to Summon Airknight Parshath! Now, Airknight will attack your Virus for 300 damage! Now, his effect lets me draw another card! Thunder Dragon will now attack directly! I'll end my turn."

Tatsumaki: 1100 Life Points.

Enzo: 700 Life Points.

"Damn, he's managed to run me out of cards," said Enzo. "I'm relying on the top of my deck here."

"Neither of them can hang on to an advantage for more than one turn," said Emi. "One of them will end their turn in the driver's seat, and the other will immediately take it back the following turn. It's like watching a turn-based version of boxing."

"Draw!" Enzo breathed a sigh of relief. "I Set one card and end my turn."

"My turn! Draw! My Serpent comes back to my hand! I now remove Gravekeeper's Spy and Thunder Dragon from my graveyard to Special Summon another Chaos Sorcerer! Now, Sorcerer will attack you directly to end this duel!"

"I activate my Set card, Call of the Haunted! This will allow me to resurrect Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!"

"Nothing on my field can attack over a Monarch right now, so I'll Set one card and end my turn."

"Draw! I Tribute Zaborg to Summon another Zaborg, and his effect will destroy Chaos Sorcerer! Now, Zaborg, attack Airknight Parshath! I end my turn."

Tatsumaki: 600 Life Points.

Enzo: 700 Life Points.

Tatsumaki drew a card to begin his turn, but whatever card it was, it was irrelevant. "I'm sorry, Enzo, but this is the end. I open my Set card, Return From the Different Dimension! By paying half my Life Points, I Special Summon as many of my removed from play monsters as possible, but they return to where they came from at the end of the turn! Now, welcome back DMOC, Thunder Dragon, and Gravekeeper's Spy! Now, DMOC's effect buys back a Spell! I choose Lightning Vortex, which I'll now activate, discarding a card to destroy your Zaborg! Now, with no other cards on your field, DMOC will finish this duel with a direct attack!"

Tatsumaki: 300 Life Points.

Enzo: 0 Life Points.

"Boss, no!" cried Taza.

"Our leader was beaten?" exclaimed Ryo. "That's impossible! No one has ever beaten his Monarch deck!"
A single tear streamed down Tatsumaki's face as the Duel ended and the holograms faded. "Dammit, Enzo! Why did you make me do this?! Why did you have to challenge me?! You knew you couldn't win! You knew you couldn't beat me, so why?!"

"I had to make sure the Breakers would be in good hands," shrugged Enzo. "I'm forty eight years old, Tatsumaki. The peak of my dueling skill is long behind me. I can only go downhill from here. If the Breakers are gonna make it into the Pro Circuit, they can't have a dusty old relic like me dragging them down. You, Yoroi, and Emi, though? You three are the new generation. You have the ability to lead this band of idiots to the highest peaks of dueling."

"So, you were gonna leave the Breakers no matter what?" asked Emi.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's time I retired from being a gangster. I think I'm gonna drift around for a bit and see if I can't find some legitimate work."

"But, this is your crew," argued Tatsumaki. "I'm just a benefactor, but you're the leader! Even though today's operation was my idea, we needed your approval to move forward with it! I have resources, but I don't have what it takes to lead people! You've proven that you do by keeping this gang together for so long!"

"Lead them? I've been at the head of the Breakers for two years, and in that time, look at all the nothing we've accomplished. We were living out of an abandoned building, scraping by for food and getting caught up in turf wars with other gangs. Then you came along, and in under a week, we've gone from struggling to survive to having a monopoly on this entire territory. You've given the Breakers food, shelter, new clothes, upgraded decks, and peace of mind so we can focus on tournaments without worrying about rival gangs muscling in on our territory. Any leader worth their salt will do what's best for the people under them, and handing over the reins to you is the best thing I can do for these idiots now."

Enzo turned around to leave, but Tatsumaki stepped forward to continue his protest. "Enzo, wait! You don't have to do this!"

Enzo cut him off by sticking his hand up as he walked away. "Sorry, my decision's final. Good luck, kid. I'll be rooting for ya." He walked off into the sunset without looking back as the others watched. No one said anything else, as a final sign of respect for their former leader and his decision.