THE MARINCESS MISTRESS
Yuka spent part of the night going through her deck. She wanted to make sure that everything was good to go for tomorrow's duel. Sure, she had easily beaten Flynn, but she didn't know anything about Alice's dueling style; for all Yuka knew, Alice was going to be a ruthless opponent.
After putting her deck away, Yuka booted up her duel pad and brought up Alice's stats. Alice used a Marincess deck, which were all named after various sea creatures and resembled beautiful young women. From what Yuka could tell, the Marincess archetype was based on Special Summoning themselves from the hand whenever there was a Link Monster on the field. They also seemed to have some Graveyard effects, and a lot of protection.
Yuka had managed to get some rest during the night. It was now late the next morning, and they were on their way to the Duel Gym.
Along the way, they stopped at a card shop so Hugo could get another card for his Extra Deck, the Link Monster Firewall Dragon.
"Just had to stop and shop, didn't you?" Yuka asked playfully.
"Give me a break; I've been wanting this one for a while," Hugo said as he put the card into his Extra Deck. "Besides, we still made it on time."
"I do wonder what Alice has ready for lunch," Shelly mused.
They walked through the doors of the gym and were immediately met by the smell of chlorine. A few people were already in the pools, diving and splashing as they played and practiced. The three of them looked around, trying to spot Alice; she wasn't in any of the pools, and they didn't see her on any of the diving boards, so where could she be?
"There you three are," a familiar voice called out to them. They all looked to see Alice's trainer approaching. "Hi, I'm Dana, Alice's trainer. She wanted me to let you know that she'll be ready in a few minutes; she's just finishing up in the shower."
"No worries," Hugo said. "But does that mean that lunch is gonna be late?"
"Seriously, Hugo?" Shelly asked
Dana chuckled. "Right this way, kids."
They followed Dana through a set of double doors near the back of the pool area, which led to a long hallway lined with various doors. One of the doors was labeled "Cafeteria". Dana opened the doors and stepped in, holding the door open for the rest of them. The long, L-shaped counter in the room was covered with plates of turkey sandwiches, fruit bowls, vegetable trays, various cups of yogurt, and a large salad bowl with various dressings set up nearby. At the very end of the counter were jugs of assorted fruit juices.
"Wow. Nice spread," Hugo breathed hungrily.
"Yeah, someone went all out at the grocery store," Yuka agreed.
"Hey, gotta make sure there's enough for everyone," Dana said. "Alice should be here soon." Just then, another door opened as Alice stepped into the room. "Good timing."
"I didn't keep you guys waiting too long, did I?" Alice asked. Her hair was still slightly wet and her skin was glistening a bit, a sign that she had just finished her shower not long ago.
"No, we just got here," Shelly answered.
"Then what do you say we get to snacking, and then Yuka and I can get to dueling," Alice suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Hugo said.
It only took a few minutes for them to get their plates of food and start eating, and within a half hour, lunch was over and they were back out in the main pool area.
"Want to duel at one of the empty pools?" Alice asked Yuka.
"Um...Okay, sure," Yuka said. "Sounds like fun."
Alice led Yuka over to one of the medium sized pools. The two duelists took their places at either end of the pool, separated by nearly fifty yards of water and standing on the lower diving boards.
Shelly spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She nudged Hugo on the arm, getting his attention.
"What's up?"
"Don't look now," Shelly said, "but Yuka and Alice have an audience." She pointed to the other people in the building, the people who had been in the pools and were now fixated on the two duelists, who were just activating their duel pads.
Yuka and Alice set their Life Points to 8000, drew their first five cards, and said "Let's duel!"
"I'll start us off, if you don't mind," Alice said. "I'll start by summoning Marincess Sea Horse in attack mode." The monster she summoned was a pretty blonde girl in a blue and pink dress with gold shoulder pads, boots, and wrist bands. "And since she's a Level Three monster, that means that I can create my link circuit."
"So, she's going to Link Summon?" Shelly asked.
"The summoning conditions are one Level Four or lower Marincess monster, so I set Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Arrow." Marincess Sea Horse turned into a blue tornado of energy. Water splashed everywhere as the twister spun. "I Link Summon Link 1 Marincess Sea Angel." This new monster was a much younger girl in a white dress with white hair. "When Marincess Sea Angel is Link Summoned, I can add a Marincess Spell Card from my deck to my hand, so I'm going to add Marincess Battle Ocean to my hand." She pulled the proper card from her deck, and her duel pad's auto shuffle feature kicked in, shuffling her deck. "Now I activate Marincess Battle Ocean." The water level of the pool rose, breaching over the edge and onto the floor. "With this card on the field, all my Marincess monsters gain 200 Attack Points, so Marincess Sea Angel's Attack Points increase to 1200. Now I'll set two cards face down and end my turn.?"
"My turn, then," Yuka said as she drew a card. She looked at her opening hand - Lightning Vortex, Ghost Ogre and Snow Rabbit, Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands, The White Stone of Ancients, and Melody of Awakening Dragon. "I activate the Spell Card Melody of Awakening Dragon, sending The White Stone of Ancients from my hand to the Graveyard to add Blue-Eyes White Dragon and Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon to my hand. Next, I reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand to Special Summin Blue-Eyes Alter|tive White Dragon!" The dragon roared at Marincess Sea Angel as it emerged on the field. "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon, attack and destroy Marincess Sea Angel!" The dragon opened its mouth and fired forth a stream of energy, hitting Marincess Sea Horse and obliterating her, dropping Alice's Life Points to 6200.
"That triggers my Trap Card," Alice called. "Marincess Snow! When a Marincess Link Monster I control is destroyed, I can Link Summon one from my Extra Deck with a lower Link Rating. Sure, Marincess Sea Angel only had a Link Rating of 1, but I can still bring out Marincess Blue Slug." The monster that was summoned was another young girl, this one in a blue dress and wearing a head band with frilled antennae on it. "And since she was Link Summoned with the effect of Marincess Snow, she's unaffected by card effects as long as I control her."
"Anything else before I end my turn?" Yuka asked.
"Yes, actually. When she's Link Summoned, I can add a Marincess monster from my Graveyard to my hand, so I'm taking back Marincess Sea Horse."
"I'll end my turn here then. and on the End Phase, since White Stone of Ancients was sent to the Graveyard this turn, I can Special Summon a Blue-Eyes monster from my deck, so I'll bring out Dragon Spirit of White and use its effect to banish your Marincess Battle Ocean." The dragon flapped its wings, and the pool's water level returned to normal Alice's monster lost its Attack Point boost. "And since you control a monster, I can tribute Dragon Spirit of White to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon." Dragon Spirit of White vanished as Blue-Eyes White Dragon took its place, roaring triumphantly.
Alice drew a card. "First, I'll Special Summon Marincess Sea Horse next to Marincess Blue Slug's Link. Then I'll summon Marincess Pascalus." This monster was another beautiful girl who just seemed to be made of pink, from her outfit to her hair. "And when she's summoned, I'm allowed to Special Summon another Marincess monster from my hand in Defense Mode, so I'll Special Summon Marincess Crown Tail." This monster looked more mature than the others, dressed in black with a red waist duster.
"Doing that will trigger the effect of Ghost Ogre and Snow Rabbit in my hand," Yuka announced as she showed the card to Alice. "Pascalus's effect will still go off, but she's also destroyed." Marincess Pascalus let out a gasp as she turned into a puddle of water.
"That's fine," Alice said. "I can still create my circuit again. The summing conditions are at least two Water monsters, so I set Marincess Blue Slug, Marincess Sea Horse, and Marincess Crown Tail in the Link Arrows. I Link Summon Link 3 Marincess Marbled Rock." This new monster was wearing a red and violet dress designed to look like fish fins and scales, and her hair and nails were covered in spikes and quills. "With her effect, I can add a Marincess card from my deck to my hand, so I'll add Marincess Sea Horse to my hand again. Fortunately for you, I can only use the effect of Marincess Sea Horse once per turn, so I'll set another card face down and end my turn here."
"I draw, then," Yuka said as she drew a new card, the Trap Card Quaking Mirror Force. "With two Level Eight monsters on the field, I can build the Overlay Network. I XYZ Summon Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" Her two Dragons were pulled into the black hole that accompanied an XYZ Summon, emerging as the proper XYZ monster. "And since I have a Galaxy-Eyes XYZ monster on the field, I can XYZ Summon again for Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon!" Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon morphed into its more powerful counterpart. "And now I remove one Overlay Unit to activate Full Armor's effect, destroying one of your face down cards." Full Armor let out a loud roar as one of the orbs circling it was absorbed into its body; the face down card directly under Marincess Marbled Rock was destroyed. "Now, Full Armor, attack Marincess Marbled Rock!" Full Armor opened its mouth and prepared to fire its burst of energy.
"I don't think so," Alice countered. "I activate the other effect of Marincess Marbled Rock, sending Marincess Sea Horse from my hand to the Graveyard. Now not only is Marbled Rock not destroyed, I also take no battle damage." The dragon's burst of energy hit Marbled Rock, to no effect.
"Shoot," Yuka huffed. "Fine. I set a card face down and end my turn." She set Quaking Mirror Force face down.
Alice drew a card to start her turn. "I summon Marincess Sea Star in Attack Mode." This monster looked more boyish than the others, wearing rounded teal shorts, a blue sleeveless shirt, a white scarf, and the hair was styled and spiked. "Now I activate Marbled Rock's first effect to add Marincess Sea Horse to my hand. Next, I'll banish Marincess Pascalus from my Graveyard to add Marincess Snow to my hand. I'll set one card face down, the Special Summon Marincess Sea Horse next to Marbled Rock's Link." For the third time this duel, Marincess Sea Horse appeared on the field. Now it's time for another Link Summon. I set Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Arrow to Link Summon Marincess Sea Angle, then use her effect to add another copy of Marincess Battle Ocean to my hand. Now I activate Battle Ocean, giving all my girls a 200 Attack Point boost. And then I'll Link Summon one more time, this time setting Marincess Sea Star in the Link Arrow to bring out Marincess Blue Slug."
"That's a lot of Link Summons," Hugo mused as Blue Slug appeared on the field.
"I'm not done with that yet," Alice said. "I got one more Link Summon in me. For this one, the summoning conditions are at least two Water monsters, so I set Marincess Marbled Rock and Marincess Sea Angel in the Link Arrows. I Link Summon Link 4 Marincess Great Bubble Reef." This new monster was a tall, elegant looking woman with torquiose hair and a matching dress, wearing a purple kimono-like jacket and carrying a staff topped with a bloomed flower. That's going to end my turn."
I don't get it, Yuka thought. Even with the boost from Battle Ocean, her monsters are much weaker than my dragon. Wouldn't she be better off summoning monsters that can actually defend? I know that one of those face down cards is Marincess Snow, so maybe the other one is a card that can protect her? If that's the case...
"I draw," she announced as she drew a new card, the Spell Card Reload. "I use another Overlay Unit to destroy the face down card on your right. Now, Full Armor, destroy Blue Slug!"
"I banish Marincess Crown Tail from my Graveyard!" Alice called. "Blue Slug is still destroyed, but I take no battle damage." Blue Slug was destroyed, and Alice's Life Points remained at 6200.
Shelly couldn't help but let out an admiring whistle. "She's good."
"Yeah," Hugo agreed. "She's only taken one bit of battle damage so far; everything else has been protection."
"On the other hand, she still doesn't have anything strong enough to deal with Yuka's dragon," Shelly said.
"I end my turn," Yuka said with an annoyed huff.
Alice drew a card. "During my Standby Phase, I activate the effect of Great Bubble Reef to banish a Water monster from my Graveyard to draw a card, so I'll banish Marincess Blue Slug and draw one card. Doing this also boosts her Attack Points by 600, so 2800 becomes 3400. I Special Summon Marincess Sea Horse in Attack Mode." Another copy of Marincess Sea Horse appeared. "Next, I summon Marincess Blue Tang in Attack Mode." This new monster was in a frilled dress of various blues. "When she's summoned, I can send one Marincess card from my deck to the Graveyard, so I'll send Marincess Mandarin, which then triggers her effect, Special Summoning her next to Great Bubble Reef's Link." This monster was a much younger girl wearing oranges and yellows. "I can only do this when I control at least two Marincess monsters. And now, I Link Summon again. I need two Water monsters, so I set Marincess Mandarin and Marincess Sea Horse in the Link Arrows to Link Summon Link 2 Marincess Crystal Heart." The monster that appeared was a blue heart shaped crystal surrounded by a column of water.
"When Marincess Mandarin leaves the field, it's banished instead of going to the Graveyard," Alice continued. "This increases Great Bubble Reef's Attack Points to 4000, same as your dragon's."
"So all that protection and Link Summoning wasn't just to keep your monster on the field, it was to boost it?" Yuka asked.
"That's right," Alice answered.
"That's pretty smart, actually," Hugo admitted.
"Now it's finally time for me to enter the Battle Phase," Alice said. "Marincess Great Bubble Reef, send that dragon back to the fairy tale it came from. Bubble Beam!" Great Bubble Reef pointed her flower-tipped staff at Full Armor Photon Dragon. Bubbles started streaming from it, all shooting right towards the dragon.
"That'll destroy your monster too!" Yuka cried.
"I know," Alice said as Full Armor Photon Dragon counterattacked; both monsters were destroyed. "But that triggers my Trap Card, Marincess Snow, letting me Link Summon a monster with a Link Rating less than Bubble Reef's, so I'll bring out my final Blue Slug, which also lets me take Sea Horse from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. Now, Marincess Blue Slug, attack." Marincess Blue Slug jumped into the pool, swam over to Yuka, and splashed her with water, dropping her Life Points to 7300. "Blue Tang, you're up. Attack her Life Points directly."
"I'm not going to let that one hit," Yuka said. "I activate my Trap Card, Quaking Mirror Force, putting your Blue Tang into face down Defense Mode.
Alice just shrugged as Blue Tang went into face down Defense Mode. "Oh well. You're turn, cutie."
Yuka drew a card for her turn; Sage With Eyes of Blue. "First thing I'm going to do is banish The White Stone of Ancients from my Graveyard to add Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon back to my hand. Now I'll Special Summon it by revealing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now I'll summon Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands in Attack Mode." Manju appeared, it's multitude of hands being the only thing keeping it from being submerged. "His effect lets me add a Ritual card to my hand, so I'll add Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon. Now I activate the effect of Sage With Eyes of Blue from my hand. By sending it to the Graveyard, I can send one effect monster on the field to the Graveyard to Special Summon a Blue-Eyes monster from my deck, so I'll use Sage to send Manju to the Graveyard to Special Summon Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
Both dragons roared as they stared down Alice's monsters; Blue Slug stared up at the dragons in awe and fear.
"I know that your Blue Slug can't be hit by effects thanks to Marincess Snow," Yuka continued, "So I'm just going to go right into my Battle Phase. Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy Blue Tang! White Lightning!" The dragon's attack struck true, destroying Blue Slug and dropping Alice's Life Points to 3900. "Alternative White Dragon, attack Crystal Heart!"
No! Alice screamed internally. I don't have any cards in my hand, so I can't protect my Crystal Heart! She winced as Crystal Heart was destroyed, splashing and soaking her with water and dropping her Life Points to 900.
"I'll end my turn there," Yuka said.
Alice drew a card. "I can't Link Summon because Blue Tang is stuck being face down, so I'll end my turn here."
Yuka drew a card, Maiden With Eyes of Blue. "Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon will use its effect to destroy Blue Tang." Alternative White Dragon shot a burst of energy from its mouth, destroying Alice's last face down monster. "Blue-Eyes Whate Dragon, attack her Life Points directly and end this duel! White Lightning!"
Alice could only smile as the dragon's attack hit her directly, dropping her Life Points to 0.
The pool's water level returned to normal as the duel pads' hologram emitters were shut off. Yuka ran around to the other side of the pool to get to Alice. Alice was just standing there, a smile on her face, her eyes closed.
"Alice?" Yuka asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Alice said. "It's just that, it's rare for me to get to play such a fun duel. I can't even remember the when the last time was. I think you've got what it takes to go all the way, Yuka."
"Thanks, Alice. You know, you're pretty good too. I wasn't expecting a Marincess deck to have so many tricks up its sleeve."
Alice raised her duel pad and pressed a button. Yuka's duel pad beeped; she booted it up, saw the small image of Marincess Marbled Rock on the display.
"That's the Pistris City badge," Alice explained. "It means you're one step closer to qualifying for the Duel Monsters Championship League."
"Way to go, Yuka!" Hugo cheered.
"Great dueling," Shelly added.
"Thanks, you guys," Yuka said. She booted up her duel pad again, bringing up the map. "It looks like the next gym's going to be in Salamandra City, but that's around the other side of the bay."
"The fastest way there would be to take the St. Charleston," Alice said. "It's a small liner that travels the bay and the outlying islands."
"And we'll probably need tickets to board," Yuka said as she turned her duel pad off. "Which are probably going to cost more than even Hugo can afford."
"Lucky for you kids, I've got some passes," Alice said. She reached into her bag and pulled out three brochures and tickets. "I don't plan on using these, so you kids might as well make use of them."
"Thanks, Alice," Yuka said as she gave one ticket to Hugo and one to Shelly.
"We'd better haul tail," Shelly said as she looked at her ticket. "The ship leaves tonight."
"Shoot, we gotta go!" Yuka cried. "Come on, you guys. Bye, Alice! Thanks for the match!"
They hurried out of the building. "I know how to get to the docks," Shelly said. "Follow me."
They ran as fast as they could; it was the middle of the afternoon, and they had only a couple of hours to get to the docks.