Yugi's team is in for it now! What will they face and how will they beat it? It sure won't be pretty!
Yugioh: The Hope of Six
Chapter 16: Kaiba Arc - Part 6
Aqua and the humans with her were definitely worried for their friends. They had watched as Yugi's team took down the opposing team Noah brought in. They were glad the others were okay. Just when Yugi's team could move on, Noah threw a curveball and unleashed something even worse.
"Guys, what do you think that is?" Mokuba asked, sounding afraid.
"Whatever it is, I'd hate to go up against it." Duke said.
"Yugi…" Solomon muttered.
"Yuya…" Yusho said to himself. Aqua said nothing as they all continued to observe what took place in Noah's tower.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Yugi, Yuya, Joey, Tristan, Tèa, and Serenity stayed rooted to their spots in fear. They couldn't move as the huge figure slowly made it's way to the arena. Each step it took shook the ground slightly. After a moment that seemed to have dragged on forever, the gang got a good look at their newest enemy.
It appeared to be a bald, muscular green alien that stood several feet tall. It had large black eyes and wore heavy looking armor over the main body. It also carried a much bigger version of the laser guns everyone else was carrying. As soon as it was completely through, the door closed once more. There was no way out at that point.
"What… is that?" Serenity asked, now terrified. Noah laughed as he got their attention.
"That, my dear Serenity, is your real enemy of Death T-1: The Martian Terminator! Quite a sight, isn't he?" The gang couldn't argue with that.
"What's the deal Noah?! I thought we had to beat your team to get out of here! You said nothing about facing off against some space freak!" Joey complained.
"I said the Death T-2 door would appear if you won, and you did. I never mentioned you were allowed to go through it… not just yet. Before you proceed to Death T-2, you must take down my creation as well! Make no mistake, he is much more deadly than those mercenaries that should've killed you guys. Good luck." Noah laughed once more before cutting off.
"So those four we took down were just the warm up, and now Noah just unleashed the big boss." Zarc noted with great annoyance.
'Yeah, emphasizing on "big".' Yuya replied mentally. He was very glad Yuzu wasn't here to deal with this… though he suspected she would face something just as dangerous.
"Guys, we can't just stand around and wait for it to crush us! We need a plan!" Tèa shouted.
"What do we do?" Yuya asked.
"Everyone, that thing may be big, but it's slow. I'll get it's attention while the rest of you circle around and blast it at the same time! That might be enough to take it down!" Tristan instructed.
Earlier, when each member of Noah's team was beaten, their weapons were taken to replace the fakes they had been given. Unfortunately, that meant they only had 5 working blasters, including the one Yugi originally took before this game started.
"Acting as bait for that thing?! Are you crazy?!" Serenity protested.
"This is not up for debate. It's the best plan we got, and I'm not going to let anyone else take the risk… especially not you." Tristan then gave his working weapon to her.
"Are you sure about this Tristan?" Serenity asked, afraid for his life. He gave her a confident smile.
"I'll be fine. Besides, being de facto team leader for this, I have to insure we win this fight and live." Serenity still felt hesitant, but she nodded.
"Be careful." She told him. Tristan nodded back before he ran to the far right of the arena.
"Hey, you big brute! You want a piece of me?! I'm right here! Come and get me!" He yelled while wildly waving his arms in the air. This seem to get the alien's attention. It changed it's direction, heading toward Tristan.
"It's working!" Yugi said.
"Now's our chance! Let's move!" Joey ordered as he and the others quickly took positions around the monster. Yugi made sure his weapon was turned back to it's original settings. He believed nothing less than that would work. As soon as everyone was in position, they aimed at the creature. "Alright guys… LET'EM HAVE IT!" With that, all blasters fired simultaneously at their target… to no avail.
"What the?!" Tristan yelled, not believing what he saw.
Before the blasts could hit it, the Martian Terminator had put up an energy shield strong enough to repel the attacks. Not one got through, though it did stop walking. "It has a shield?!" Yuya complained in shock. Yugi and everyone else cursed Noah for that.
Unfortunately, their failed assault yielded yet another misfortune. The alien slowly turned it's huge head around to look at the teens one by one… before settling on Serenity. The girl thought it was going to shoot her instead of Tristan. Rather than taking a shot at her, the huge enemy raised it's blaster rifle and pointed it upwards. It then fired a blast of it's own, far bigger than the ones Yugi and the others could muster.
The gang wondered why the brute had fired straight up instead of at them. The answer became apparent as the blast had burst into several smaller shots, with each streaking towards a member of Yugi's team. "Look out!" Yugi warned too late as the projectiles rapidly hit all but him and Serenity. The ones that were struck had their vest sensors turn green and release some kind of gas from just beneath the collars. At that moment, they started coughing and collapsed to the floor.
"Oh no!" Yugi shouted.
"Joey! Tristan! Everyone!" Serenity yelled as she and Yugi ran toward them. They reached her brother first who, to her horror, began to have trouble breathing.
"Serenity… Yugi... I'm not… feeling too good…" Joey said between huge gasps for air. The others were having the same reaction. Only Yugi and Serenity was spared from this, and they couldn't understand why.
'Could this be some kind of poison?' Yugi pondered.
"What did that freak do to them?!" Serenity panicked. The giant provided the answer as it spoke for the first time.
"As you can see, your friends are slowly being suffocated by the poison released from their vests. The energy burst from my weapon triggered it. Now they will all be dead in a matter of minutes." Even the voice sounded like it came from a cheesy sci-fi film. Yugi and Serenity turned to face the thing in shock and anger.
"You're saying Noah put poison in all our vests?!" The girl accused while she and Yugi examined their own vests. Once again, Noah neglected to mention a crucial detail about this "game". They were really getting sick of that.
"Why weren't we shot at?!" Yugi demanded.
"Noah instructed me to spare you, Yugi Muto, because of Vivian Wong's desire for you." The thing then turned to Serenity. "As for you, I chose who I believe to be the weakest member of your team, and you were the most likely candidate. If you wish to save them, the antidote lies within me. As you saw in your failed attempt to strike me down, my force field protects me from all damage. To shut it down and get the antidote, you must first defeat me… in a Duel." The Martian Terminator then produced a Duel Disk from within it's massive arm, Deck already inserted and activated. "You have no alternative, Serenity Wheeler. Do you accept my challenge?"
Yugi was hating this situation more and more. Serenity was taking it even worse. Now her brother and friends were dying and it was up to her to save them. Fortunately, she had brought a Deck and Duel Disk with her. She had actually been improving herself at playing Duel Monsters since Battle City. Now she would have to put her training to the test. She, however, was hesitant to move out of fear. 'What if I mess up? What if I don't win? What if I…?' Serenity was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her friends.
"Serenity… kick his butt…" Joey weakly told her before suffering a coughing fit.
"Go… get him." Tristan added before he too coughed.
"You… got this." Tèa told her.
"Beat him." Yuya muttered. Yugi then gave his own encouraging words.
"Serenity, they all believe in you. So do I. You just need to believe in yourself."
Hearing their words, and getting encouraging nods from the others, Serenity finally nodded and pushed her fears aside. She now looked very determined as she slipped on her Duel Disk, inserted her Deck inside, and activated her Disk. "You want a Duel? You got one! I will beat you and save everyone!" She strongly declared. The alien didn't seem concerned as their battle began.
"DUEL!"
(Serenity: 4000) (Martian Terminator: 4000)
"I will go first. My turn. Draw." The Martian studied it's cards carefully before making a move. "I Set a Monster facedown in Defense Mode, then play a Continuous Magic card called Code A Ancient Ruins. It's purpose will be revealed soon. I then Set two cards facedown and end my turn."
Serenity eyed her opponent, feeling very weary of what it was planning. 'He played a Magic card without explaining what it does. I guess I'll find out soon enough, but I can't spend time figuring out what he's up to. I need to end this fast if I'm going to save everyone.' "Okay, it's my turn now! I draw!" She declared, starting her first turn.
"Whatever your strategy may be, it will be doomed to fail. You have no chance of winning." The alien taunted. Serenity wasn't going to let that get to her.
"You haven't even seen me in action yet. I'm not as weak as you think, and I'll prove it! First, I Summon Laundry Dragonmaid in Attack Mode!" (WATER; Level 2; ATK: 500; DEF: 1600) Appearing on Serenity's Field was a young, blue haired girl in a purple maid outfit. She also had a long, light purple tail at her rear. "When Laundry Dragonmaid is Normal or Special Summoned once per turn, I can send the top 3 cards of my Deck to the Graveyard!" She does so with a smile, knowing they would help.
"Your Monster is just as weak as you are." Said the alien. Serenity smiled.
"This will wipe that thought away. Battle! Now that I've entered my Battle Phase, I can activate Laundry's other Effect! Once per turn, by returning my Dragonmaid to my hand I can Special Summon a Level 7 "Dragon" from my hand or Graveyard! I take Laundry Dragonmaid back into my hand to Special Summon her true form from my Graveyard! Time for some washing, Dragonmaid Nudyarl!" (WATER; Level 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1600) In Laundry's place from a huge geyser of water now stood a furry, purple and white dragon with patches of blue hair around the head. It indeed shared a strong resemblance to it's human counterpart.
'That dragon had to have been one of the cards she sent from her Deck.' Yuya noted.
"Dragonmaid Nudyarl, attack that facedown Monster! Whirlpool Cycle!" Serenity's dragon launched a swirling blast of water at the unknown Monster, which turned out to be a small, grey colored alien. The Martian expected this and acted accordingly.
"By attacking my Alien Grey, you triggered it's Flip Effect! I can attach an A-Counter to an opponent's face-up Monster, such as your Dragonmaid Nudyarl!" Just before Alien Grey was destroyed, it spat out a small, pink blob which stuck itself on Nudyarl.
"Gross." Tèa muttered in disgust. Serenity felt exactly the same.
"There is more. When Alien Grey is destroyed by battle and goes to the Graveyard after it was flipped face-up, I can draw one card." The Martian said as it drew another card. "Furthermore, now that an "Alien" Monster was destroyed, another A-Counter is added to my Code A Ancient Ruins via it's Effect." As another blob attached itself to her opponent's Magic card, Serenity started to feel concerned.
"What's with all those A-Counters? What are they for, to give you some kind of advantage?" Serenity questioned. The Martian chuckled.
"Perhaps…" Was all it said. It then appeared surprised when Serenity smirked.
"Good thing I'm working with the right Deck if that's the case. With the Battle Phase over, I can return Dragonmaid Nudyarl to my hand and Special Summon Laundry Dragonmaid back! That's one less A-Counter for you to work with!" She declared as her original Monster returned to her Field.
"Just a minor annoyance." It told her, still sounding calm. Serenity ignored it and moved on.
"I will now discard Nudyarl from my hand to shuffle a Monster in either of our Graveyards to their respective Deck! I return Dragonmaid Erdus in my Graveyard to my Deck! Next, I play Dragonmaid Hospitality! This Magic card allows me to Special Summon a "Dragonmaid" from either my hand or Graveyard in Defense Mode! I'll Special Summon Parlor Dragonmaid from my hand!" (WIND; Level 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 1700) Another young maid appeared next to Laundry, kneeling in Defense Mode. This one had curly blond hair and had a long green tail.
"Another weakling." The Martian commented.
"My Monsters may not have very high Attack Points, but they know how to work together! After Special Summoning Parlor, Dragonmaid Hospitality lets me send a "Dragonmaid" with the same Attribute but different Level from my Deck to my Graveyard! I send Dragonmaid Lorpar to my Graveyard! Then, when Parlor is Normal or Special Summoned, I can send a "Dragonmaid" card from my Deck to the Graveyard, except "Parlor Dragonmaid"! I send Dragonmaid Tidying from my Deck to the Graveyard! After that I Set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"Serenity is doing well so far." Atem said to Yugi, clearly impressed.
'Yeah, she has been practicing. Also, she has a good Deck.' Yugi replied before he heard more coughing from Joey, who was closest to him. "Hang on, Joey. You will get the antidote, along with everyone else." Yugi encouraged.
Joey coughed more as the Duel proceeded. All the while, he continued to believe in Serenity. 'You got this, sis.' He said in his mind, having faith in his younger sibling. Her opponent had faith of it's own… faith in it's inevitable victory.
"Your belief of defeating me is quite misguided. You shall lose, and everyone will die. My next move will prove how weak you are, Serenity Wheeler. My turn. Draw." The alien said as it started it's next turn. "I activate the Field Magic card, Otherworld – The "A" Zone!" The surroundings then changed to resemble a rocky moonlike terrain with darks clouds of color swirling underneath a sky filled with stars and far off planets.
'What does that do?' Serenity wondered. She had a feeling it wouldn't be good news for her.
"Now, by Sacrificing a face-up Level 3 or lower Monster on my opponent's Field, I can Special Summon a specific "Alien" in it's place!"
"What?!" Serenity shouted in shock.
"Your Parlor Dragonmaid's spot will now be occupied by my Alien Skull!" (WIND; Level 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1800) A white and gangly creature slammed Serenity's Monster from above and took the Monster Zone it possessed.
"Parlor Dragonmaid!" Serenity yelled in dismay. She didn't expect such a tactic from her opponent.
"Not cool, freak!" Tristan shouted before coughing loudly. The Martian Terminator chuckled.
"I am still getting started, girl. After Special Summoning it this way, Alien Skull gets one A-Counter and I cannot Normal Summon or Set this turn." Another pink blob materialized and latched itself onto the new Monster. "Next I activate my Trap, Detonator Circle "A"! It lets me destroy one face-up Monster with one or more A-Counters… and then we both take 1000 Points of damage! My Alien Skull is the only such target, so it gets detonated!"
"Both of us?!" Serenity shouted just before Alien Skull automatically exploded, damaging both players.
(Serenity: 4000 - 1000 = 3000)
(Martian Terminator: 4000 - 1000 = 3000)
"Serenity!" Yugi yelled.
'Why would that thing damage itself?' Yuya thought.
"Maybe… it plans to inflict more damage to Serenity than that." Zarc guessed. He didn't know how right he was until he saw Serenity being blown back and hitting the floor hard. What shocked him, Yuya, and the others even more was that Serenity actually appeared wounded. She now had burns on her face and arms.
"Ow… that explosion. It actually hurt." Serenity said to herself as she struggled to get up again. The alien smiled widely, showing sharp teeth.
"You felt the pain, didn't you? My Duel Disk was designed to damage my opponents for real, which is why you suffered those burns when my Monster was destroyed. You are most unfortunate to be facing someone with that kind of power." Serenity gritted her teeth but did not respond.
'Damn you Noah.' Joey thought furiously for this. He hated to see his sister getting hurt like that. Even more so, he hated being unable to do anything to help. All he could do was stay down and watch.
"With another "Alien" Monster destroyed, Code A Ancient Ruins gets another A-Counter!" Now two of those disgusting things were on that Magic card. "Next I play Alien Signal! It will allow me to draw cards equal to the number of A-Counters on the Field and Special Summon one "Alien" Monster from my hand! With two A-Counters, I draw two cards!" After it drew, the alien smiled more. "From my hand, I Special Summon the creature that will be the end of you: Cosmic Horror Gangi'el!" (LIGHT; Level 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2000)
Serenity trembled at the new, terrifying sight before her. It was a massive white behemoth covered in huge white tentacles with a mouth too big for it's head. It stared down at her, making a gargling sound similar to someone drowning.
"Afraid yet?" The Martian taunted.
"Don't listen to him! Keep going!" Yugi said strongly.
Serenity nodded at him. "Got it!" Despite how afraid she was, she didn't back away. "I'm not afraid enough to stop fighting! I activate my own Trap, Gravity Bind! As long as this is in play, Level 4 or higher Monsters can't attack! Your Monster can't get to me now!" She said strongly.
"Don't be too presumptuous. I activate the main Effect of Code A Ancient Ruins! Once per turn, by removing 2 A-Counter from anywhere on the Field, I can Special Summon one "Alien" from my Graveyard! I remove both A-Counters on Ancient Ruins to revive Alien Grey!" The small space Monster returned and stood next to its much bigger brethren.
"That thing may not be affected by Gravity Bind, but it isn't strong enough to beat my Dragonmaid in a fight no matter what form it's in." Serenity pointed out.
"You misunderstand my intentions." Her opponent said, confusing her. "Let me correct you. I send Alien Grey back to the Graveyard to activate my Orbital Bombardment Trap card! Now I can destroy one Magic or Trap card the Field, and my target is your Gravity Bind!" The Martian revealed as it obliterated Serenity's own Trap.
'Darn it!' Serenity cursed mentally. Her troubles were only beginning.
"Next I activate the Effect of Cosmic Horror Gangi'el! Once per turn, I can attach an A-Counter to an opponent's Monster, such as your Laundry Dragonmaid!" Serenity's Monster freaked out when the slimy thing became attached to it. "I now play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards! After that, I will Equip Gangi'el with Blaster "A", which gives my creature 500 Attack Points for each A-Counter on the Field!" Gangi'el gained a huge black laser weapon on one of it's tentacles and grew stronger.
(Cosmic Horror Gangi'el's ATK: 2600 + 500 = 3100)
"That's not good." Yugi said to himself.
"Now it is time to finish you and your dying friends. Battle! Cosmic Horror Gangi'el, attack Laundry Dragonmaid! Galactic Nova!" The Martian Terminator's weapon started to charge up for it's attack…
"You won't finish me! Remember my Dragonmaid's Effect? At the start of the Battle Phase, I can return…" Serenity started, but was interrupted by her enemy.
"Not this time! When an "Alien" Monster Equipped with Blaster "A" attacks a Monster with an A-Counter, the opposing Monster's Effects are negated! Your Dragonmaid cannot change form now!" The alien laughed to Serenity's horror.
"My Monster can't…?!" She couldn't finish question, staring at her now helpless Monster.
"It gets even worse for you! When a Monster with an A-Counter battles an "Alien", Gangi'el's other Effect reduces the Attack and Defense Points of the former Monster by 300 for each Counter during damage calculation! Then, when a Monster you control battles an "Alien" I control, the Effect of Otherworld – The "A" Zone also takes away 300 Attack and Defense Points during damage calculation! Your Dragonmaid is now both powerless and defenseless!" The brute was right as Serenity's Dragonmaid lost all of it's Attack Points.
(Laundry Dragonmaid's ATK: 0; DEF: 1600 - 600 = 1000)
'This is really bad! If Serenity doesn't do something fast, it's over!' Yugi thought, worried about Serenity's condition.
"Serenity!" Everyone else yelled, despite their increasingly dire situation.
"Game over." A grinning Noah said as he watched from his control room. The dark blast was nearly upon the weakened Monster…
"This is not over, Martian! I activate my Continuous Trap, Dragonmaid Downtime! Once per turn, I can return a "Dragonmaid" Monster I control to my hand!" Serenity declared as Laundry Dragonmaid vanished from the Field.
"What?!" The alien shouted, surprised for the first time.
"After that, I can choose one of two other Effects from my Trap! I choose this one: I add Dragonmaid Tinkhec to my hand!"
The Martian grew angry at this. The impudent girl rid the Field of the only Monster with an A-Counter. Without an A-Counter in play, Gangi'el lost it's Attack boost from Blaster "A", lowering it's power back down to 2600. Because of this, the Martian's assault won't finish off Serenity but would only inflict heavy damage.
Serenity barely added her new card to her hand before she took the full force of Gangi'el's attack. She screamed as she got knocked back again, laying facedown.
(Serenity: 3000 - 2600 = 400)
"Serenity!" Joey and Tristan yelled, worried for her more than for themselves, even though they were dying. Yugi, Yuya, and Tèa shared that same worry.
"I did not expect you to save yourself. You will only just prolong your own defeat and the demise of your friends. I Set two cards facedown and end my turn." The Martian said, finishing his turn.
Serenity lay there, feeling more pain than before since it was a direct attack from a powerful Monster. Her body ached over all over. "That last attack… really hurt a lot. I don't know if… I can last much longer."
"Serenity, don't give up!" Yugi told her.
She then looked over at her brother and close friends that were poisoned. They all stared at her, sickly pale and barely able to stay conscious. They wanted to help her, encourage her to go on. They believed in her. Serenity locked eyes with them and understood. No matter how much her body hurt, it would be nothing compared the suffering she would feel if she failed them and allowed them all to die. She had to get back up! She had to keep fighting for them! And that's what she did. Yugi knew she would.
The Martian Terminator was shocked even more to see it's opponent getting up yet again. "Impossible! Why do you not stay down?!" It demanded incredulously. Once she was upright, Serenity gave the alien a hard look.
"My friends need me! I can't give up on them, just like they wouldn't give up on me! I'm not stopping until I save them! My turn! Draw!" Serenity saw a way to make good on her word. "First, I banish Dragonmaid Tidying from my Graveyard to Special Summon Kitchen Dragonmaid from my hand in Defense Mode, but will return to my hand during the End Phase!" (FIRE; Level 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 1700) A long red haired female maid with a red scaly tail appeared on the Field. "When Kitchen Dragonmaid is Normal or Special Summoned, I can add a " Dragonmaid" Monster from my Deck to my hand except "Kitchen Dragonmaid", then I send another "Dragonmaid" Monster from my hand to the Graveyard! I add Nurse Dragonmaid from my Deck to my hand, and then send Laundry Dragonmaid from my hand to the Graveyard!"
"What are you planning?" The brute demanded.
"You'll see! Now I Summon the Nurse Dragonmaid I just got!" (EARTH; Level 2; ATK: 500; DEF: 1600) A pink haired young woman wearing a nurse uniform with a pink tail materialized next to it's red counterpart. "When Nurse Dragonmaid is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower "Dragonmaid" Monster from the Graveyard except "Nurse Dragonmaid"! I'm choosing to revive the one you destroyed before! I revive my Parlor Dragonmaid!" Her green Dragonmaid returned, looking for some payback. "Since Parlor was Special Summoned, I'll use her Effect to send Dragonmaid Changeover from my Deck to the Graveyard!"
Noah and Vivian were curious as they observed Serenity's actions. "What could that girl be up to?" Vivian asked out loud. Noah said nothing as they kept watching.
"Next, once per turn I can move Dragonmaid Changeover from my Graveyard to my hand, and return a "Dragonmaid" I control to my hand too! I return Nurse Dragonmaid to my hand!" Serenity then smiled. "Okay, time to bring out my Ace! I activate the main Effect of Dragonmaid Changeover to Fusion Summon a "Dragon" Fusion Monster using Monsters either in my hand or Field as Fusion Materials!
"She's Fusion Summoning?" The Martian questioned.
"I Fuse Nurse Dragonmaid and Dragonmaid Ernus in my hand to Fusion Summon Dragonmaid Sheou!" (LIGHT; Level 10; ATK: 3500; DEF: 2000) A graceful black and white dragon with horns and red wings emerged onto the Field. It roared defiantly at her master's adversary.
"Now my sister's playing hardball." Joey said with a weak smile.
"I had anticipated you Summoning a Monster strong enough to deplete my remaining Life Points. I activate my facedown Quick-Play Magic card, "A" Cell Recombination Device! It allows me to send an "Alien" Monster from my Deck to the Graveyard, and by doing so, I can attach an A-Counter for each Level that "Alien" had to a face-up Monster on the Field! I send my Level 1 Alien Psychic from my Deck to the Graveyard to add one A-Counter to your Dragonmaid Sheou!" Sheou growled in disgust as yet another pink blob Counter stick itself in place. With that A-Counter, Gangi'el's Attack Power goes up to 3100 hundred again, due to Blaster "A". Still, it wasn't strong enough to destroy Serenity's dragon. That wouldn't matter. He had another plan for that A-Counter.
"I'm really sick of those things." Tèa muttered annoyingly. Serenity thought the same thing.
"Now for my other Quick-Play card, Mysterious Triangle! This destroys one Monster on the Field with an A-Counter! After that, I can Special Summon a Level 4 "Alien" from my Deck, but it will be destroyed during the End Phase! I will terminate your Dragonmaid Sheou!" The Martian declared, preparing to destroy Serenity's Monster. However…
"That won't work freak! I activate Dragonmaid Sheou's Monster Effect! When my opponent activates a card or Effect, Sheou can negate and destroy that card! Your Mysterious Triangle is history!"
"Damn!" The alien cursed after losing the card that failed. Serenity wasn't done.
"That's not all! When this Effect is used, Sheou returns to the Extra Deck and I can Special Summon her human form in her place! House Dragonmaid, come out and clean his act!" (LIGHT; Level 9; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2000) Dragonmaid Sheou folded it's wings around itself and glowed white. After a few seconds, the wings unfolded to reveal a tall, elegant humanoid woman with black hair wearing glasses and a housemaid uniform. She also had a big black and white tail from the rear.
'Serenity really did pick a good Deck, especially against an opponent like that.' Joey thought. He recalled his sister telling him that she made her own Deck with Miho's help. Now Serenity was kicking butt with that very Deck, and her brother couldn't have been more pleased to see it.
The Martian Terminator, not so much. "Her new Monster may be weaker, but it is still strong enough to destroy mine even with the Effect of my Otherworld Field card. At the very least, I will still have plenty of remaining Life Points after she battles." It said to itself. Wrong again.
"Now I activate the second Effect of Dragonmaid Downtime! By returning a "Dragonmaid" I control to my hand, I can also return a Magic or Trap card my opponent controls to their hand! I return Parlor Dragonmaid to my hand, and then I send Code A Ancient Ruins back to you!" Serenity said as both cards disappeared.
"Why do that?" It asked, confused by this move.
"So I can use House Dragonmaid's Monster Effect! When another face-up "Dragon" I control returns to my hand, I can destroy a Monster you control! Your Cosmic Horror Gangi'el will now be swept away!" With one swipe of a rather large feather duster, House Dragonmaid eliminated the monstrous extraterrestrial from sight.
"NO!" Shouted the Martian in anger. It never thought Serenity could destroy that Monster without battling it. Now Otherworld was useless since there are no more "Aliens" in play, and with Ancient Ruins back in it's hand there would be no more A-Counters either. Still, there was one thing the Martian Terminator could still do. "I won't be defeated by the likes of you! I banish Blaster "A" from my Graveyard to use it's last Effect! It will give me Life Points equal to the combined total Attack Points of all "Alien" Monsters in my Graveyard! Alien Grey, Alien Psychic, and Cosmic Horror Gangi'el have a total Attack Power of 3100!" The huge alien revealed as it's Life Points went up big time.
(Martian Terminator: 3000 + 3100 = 6100)
"Seriously?" Joey tried to moan, but came out as a wheezing sound. Serenity and Yugi noticed their loved ones were having more trouble breathing. They were running out of time. The former had to finish the Duel now and get that antidote.
"Hang on guys! I'm almost done with that psycho!" Serenity said before returning her attention to her opponent. "You may have gotten more Life Points, but that's not gonna make any difference!" The alien titled it's large head.
"I would not say that. With the increase, I will be able to survive to my next turn." Serenity smirked.
"Don't count on it! By discarding my Dragonmaid Tinkhec, I can give 2000 Attack Points to a "Dragonmaid" on my Field until the end of the turn! My House Dragonmaid is now stronger than ever!" House gave a red glow when it powered up.
(House Dragonmaid's ATK: 3000 + 2000 = 5000)
"5000 Attack Points?!" Shouted her surprised opponent, but quickly calmed. "It matters not! You still won't win this turn!" Serenity shook her head.
"I think you forgot something. Battle! With the Battle Phase in play, I can transform my remaining Dragonmaid! I return Kitchen Dragonmaid to my hand and Special Summon the true form I just sent to the Graveyard! Come out to cook, Dragonmaid Tinkhec!" (FIRE; Level 8; ATK: 2700; DEF: 1700) A dark red dragon with blue claws and spikes emerged from flames that sprouted from Kitchen's previous position.
'Now she'll win for sure!' Yugi thought, smiling.
"Yes. It is over now for that monstrosity." Atem added with pride.
The Martian Terminator widened it's big black eyes and it's jaw shook. "This… this isn't possible! You were supposed to be the weakest one!" It could not understand how it made such an error. Serenity Wheeler had to be the weakest Duelist of the group. Serenity herself frowned.
"I'm strong because my friends believe in me! There is no weakness in friendship! I'm ending this! Dragonmaid Tinkhec, attack the Martian Terminator directly! Stove Scorch!" With a vortex of intense flames, Tinkhec struck the alien hard and took a huge chunk out of it's Life Points.
(Martian Terminator: 6100 – 2700 = 3400)
"Just one more!" Tristan said in anticipation.
"House Dragonmaid, finish that freak off! Dragon Cleanser!" Serenity's Monster did just that with a shower of light radiating from itself. The big enemy screamed as it tried to cover it's face from the final attack.
(Martian Terminator: 0)
As soon as her opponent's Life Points were depleted, Serenity saw the Martian fall to it's knees and the force field protecting it drop. Something small then fell out of it's Duel Disk and rolled toward Serenity. It seemed to be a spray canister.
"That must be the antidote!" Yugi surmised. Serenity believed that right away too. Without hesitation she picked it up and ran toward the others.
"It okay! I got the antidote right here!" She reached her brother first and spray it on his face. After being exposed to the blue mist, Joey stopped coughing and his breathing became easier. "Joey, how do you feel?" Serenity asked. Joey looked up and gave her a thumbs up, smiling all the while.
"Like a million bucks. Thanks sis." Serenity smiled back before attending to the rest of the gang. Once they were all cured, the team couldn't be more grateful.
"You did great Serenity." Yugi told her.
"Yeah, thanks. You saved us." Yuya said.
"I knew you could do it." Tèa said.
"You were awesome out there Serenity. You really have gotten good at the game." Tristan said. Serenity beamed from all their praise.
"Yeah, I really have." Serenity took our her Dragonmaid Monsters with pride and affection. She chose them not only because they looked "cute", but also because of their Effects of switching the weaker Monsters with their stronger counterparts in battle. They suited her perfectly.
"This is… unacceptable." Everyone turned to face the Martian Terminator again.
"Give it up already, will ya? You've lost." Joey said. The thing growled.
"I will… not allow you… to go free. NONE OF YOU!" It shouted as it's chest cavity opened up. It revealed a bunch of wiring and circuitry, confirming it was not an alien but a machine. But this was not what shocked Yugi and his friends. What did was what was in the center of the cavity…
"Is that… a bomb?!" Tèa yelled in shock. It was indeed a bomb, attached by some wires. It also had a timer.
"Uh… guys. I think we better get out of here, like now!" Tristan yelled, seeing it was going to blow in less than 30 seconds.
"What about those mercenaries? We can't just leave them!" Yuya shouted. They turned to look at where they lay, only to find them gone.
"They must've woken up and made their exit during the Duel!" Yugi figured.
"I'd say we do the same! Come on!" Joey barked as they ran. They were pleased to see the door to Death T-2 open once more. Thankfully nothing else was coming out to halt them.
"The door's open! Hurry!" Serenity yelled. The gang had barely gotten inside and the door slammed shut before they felt a powerful "BOOM" from the room where they just came. Yugi and everyone stopped to catch their breath.
"Everyone okay?" Yugi asked. His friends all confirmed they were.
"Man, these close calls are really starting to get on my nerves." Joey said.
"Tell me about it." Tristan said.
While everyone was recovering, Noah and Vivian smirked.
"Well, that was amusing. Too bad not one of Yugi's friends died." Vivian complained.
"It was only the first of the games, Vivian. I very much doubt they'll remain that lucky for the duration of their stay." Noah told her. "Now then, let us see how they'll handle Death T-2."
To be continued.