Yu-Gi-Oh! Invasion of the Clear Brigade - Arc 1: Hunt for the "Numbers" [IC: Started/Currently Accepting]

[Brinolovania]

Jayce smiled. "Good! It would be boring if you couldn't counter that. Now let's see..." He studied he cards in his hand. "As I haven't used my Normal Summon yet...I set one monster." A horizontal holographic card back appeared. [i]Let's see...If I play this right...I can bring out Graam fast and crush this lady without breaking a sweat! This is gonna be fun...but first, that monster...[/i] He grabbed a card from his hand. "OK! I set one card face down, and end my turn!"

Jayce:4000
Hand:3
Field:Cyber Dragon, Face down monster, face down spell or trap

[DeckShuffler711]

Taking his D-Gazer back, Setsuna adjusted it carefully. Watching Number 17 get an increase in power, his eyes narrowed. That was actually a tad disappointing to him, but he couldn't admit it. Then again, Number 07 was just a Bottomless Trap Hole for either players. "A 2500 Atk point monster is impressive, but not strong enough," He said as watched Kai end his turn. He should have attacked the Mother Grizzly. She would have gained a new monster, but at least he could have inflicted some damage!

Turning his attention to Natalie, Setsuna watched the combo at hand. Barely keeping track of it, his eyes widened as she Synchroed for an Ice Barrier monster. It wasn't the legendary one his uncle loved to abuse, but it was still powerful nonetheless. To his amazement more, he began to quake as he watched her make an overlay network, for her own Number. Staring at the beast, he could only look in horror at it. That thing packed an amazing 3000 ATK and was a Rank 3. That alone to him was scary as could be! "How is he suppose to defeat both of them?!" He asked as he looked over at Souta.

[Dementuo]

Kai took a step back in shock. "Another Numbers card?!" He said in disbelief. "I'll activate my Counter Trap Card, Photon Barrier!" Kai quickly declared. "When my opponent Special Summons a monster with a power higher than that of the strongest monster I control, then I can banish two Photon monsters from my grave, and force you to skip your Battle Phase! Also, you can't summon any other monsters this turn." Kai explained hastily, ensuring the safety of his own Numbers. "I remove Photon Breaker and Photon Crusher from my grave." he said, slipping the two cards into a separate zone of his duel disk.
[i]"So she herself has a numbers card... I knew there'd be more out there, but I never thought I'd actually see them." [/i]Kai thought. [i]"Next turn, I have the chance for a counter-attack, though. If I can tray the right cards, then I'll be just fine. Hopefully..."[/i]

[evilfusion]

Natalie chuckled, her eyes glinting with amusement. "So, you use that sort of card to defend yourself from attacks from my monster. How interesting...but I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before you lose. I'll place one card facedown, and call it quits for this round."

It didn't really matter to her if she couldn't attack this turn. It just meant she had to wait. The best his Number could do was draw with Acid Golem, even if it increased its ATK again. Unlike him, she could handle the power of her Number. Acid Golem was a truly fearsome force, if one knew how to use it. The duelist she had stripped the card from had been clueless, and had ultimately been overwhelmed by his own cards.

Her monsters glowered at Kai, eager for a fight.

LP: 4000
H: 1
M: Dewloren (ATK: 2000), Acid Golem (ATK: 3000, 2 units)
S/T: 2 f/d

[Dementuo]

"My turn, Draw." Kai said, breathing a bit heavily from the shock. [i]"Damnit! I can't sacrifice Leviathan in order to take out Acid Golem, but I can't just leave a 3000 beatstick out on her field. I don't even know what that thing does!"[/i] Kai sighed. [i]"This will have to do."[/i]
"I activate Photon Sublimation! My banishing two more Photon monsters in my grave, I can draw two cards! I remove Photon Sabre Tiger and Photon Lizard!" Kai declared, picking up another two cards. Kai, now grinning from his new hand, put down one of the cards. "I activate Photon Hurricane! I return the two Spells and Traps on your field back to your hand, since I have two cards in my hand!" Kai stated, as a large, sparkling hurricane whipped up, blowing against the face-down cards.
(Response?)
"Next, I activate Splice into Photon! With this, I can select one of my level 4 or lower banished Photons, and Special Summon it to my field! The power of it becomes 2000 as well, though it hardly matters. I choose to revive Photon Crusher!" he continued. A large, white warrior holding an even longer metal staff faded into the field. (ATK: 2000)
(Responses?)

LP: 4000
Hand: 1
Field: Number 17 (1 Unit), Photon Breaker
S/T: 0

[evilfusion]

Natalie blinked once, extracting the two cards from the rear slots of her Disk, and watching with amused bewilderment as Kai continued to make plays. Thus far, he had only played newly drawn cards from her observations. Was the last card in his hand such a big deal, something that would let him change this situation around? Even without her Traps laid, he still had nothing on the field that could smoothly attend to either of her monsters. Sure, he could boost Number 17 to 3000 and crash his Photon Crusher into Dewloren and Number 17 into Acid Golem, but all that work would do nothing but clear both their fields, and she would undoubtedly emerge triumphant in the long run.

So what was he up to?

LP: 4000
H: 3
M: Dewloren (ATK: 2000), Acid Golem (ATK: 3000, 2 units)
S/T: 0

[Dementuo]

"First, I detach the last overlay unit of Number 17, bringing him up to 3000 points!" The dragon bit through the second unit, both orbs now gone. The aura around it glowed brighter. (ATK: 2500 --> 3000) "Second, I activate the secondary effect of Splice into Photon! I can revive another Photon monster, so long as I banish a third Photon in my grave along with this card! I'll remove the second PHoton Sabre Tiger, to revive Photon Lizard! This time, though, Photon Lizard's power won't rise to 2000, but will instead become that of Photon Sabre Tiger's." Kai explained. "But once again, it doesn't matter! I tribute Photon Lizard in order to add Photon Slasher to my hand!" Kai continued a flow of moves, snatching the card that popped out of his deck. "After that, I'll summon it." he said. Another large, white-and-blue warrior joined the first one on the field, the second one wielding a large sword instead of a second arm. (ATK: 2100) "Finally, I'll release both Photon Crusher and Photon Slasher." Kai finally completed his long, strenuous combo. He had never had to go so far before. The two monsters burst into an array of red bubbles. The bubbles floated towards one another, forming into a shape like a cross. They solidified almost instantly. Kai grabbed part of the cross, and, taking a small step back, hurled it into the air. Millions of light particles spiraled around it, being sucked into it like a galaxy. "Hikari no keshin, ima kourin! Incarnation of light, descend now!" Kai chanted. The light particles clustered, forming a torso. Then two, scaly arms. Then two similarly scaly legs. Then finally a large head. The particles darkened, forming into a very large, bright dragon. In the eyes of the dragon, Kai could see the glow of a galaxy. "Arewareyo, Garakushiaizo Foton Doragon!!" (ATK: 3000)
(I'll give you a chance to respond, or have your character react here.)

[evilfusion]

Natalie watched the flow of moves with relative disinterest. In the long run, she knew that he'd have to sacrifice his Number in order to defeat hers, and was starting to wonder where his combo was taking him. Unless he assembled 3 monsters with 2000 ATK apiece, he wouldn't be able to strike her down in one move.

"What..." she managed to wonder, as he released his two Photon monsters. A look of alarm flashed across her face as the dragon began to appear and her hands shook. What was happening? It was then she got a good look at the new dragon, and unlike Number 17, this was one hell of an intimidating creature. She knew what was coming. Number 17 would destroy her Number 30, and this new monster, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, from the sound of it, would lay waste to Dewloren. Then she would have to struggle against the new monster instead of a Number. A daunting task, but one she could definitely handle.

"A fitting ace monster," Natalie said, regaining what was left of her composure and smirking at him. "Come at me, then."

LP: 4000
H: 3
M: Dewloren, Acid Golem
S/T: 0

[Dementuo]

Kai smirked. "If you insist!" he said. "Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack Acid Golem of Destruction! Hakai no Foton Sutoreamu!" Kai commanded. The dragon reared back, a bright azure glow forming at its' mouth. It unleashed an enormous blast of light directly at the Numbers. "I activate the effect of Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! When he battles another monster, I can banish both battling monsters until the end of the Battle Phase!" Kai said. Galaxy-Eyes began to fade out, clinging onto an also-fading Acid Golem. "Next, I'll have Leviathan Dragon attack your Dewloren! Vice Stream!" he ordered his other dragon, which followed a similar motion as Galaxy-Eyes. This time, the blast was a deep blue instead of white-azure.
(Response?)

LP: 4000
Hand: 0
Field: Leviathan (Attacking Dewloren, 3000 ATK), Galaxy-Eyes (Attacking Acid Golem, using effect)
S/T Zones: 0

[evilfusion]

"It does what?!" Natalie gasped, once again her composure slipping. A monster that banished other monsters temporarily? But...if an Xyz monster left the field...that...wasn't good. She could do nothing but watch helplessly as her acid-spewing golem vanished from the field, and her Synchro monster was blasted apart by his second monster. She raised her Disk, defending herself from the residual attack.

LP: 3000

Her eyes ablaze with cold determination, she glared back at Kai, her field empty, and knowing full well that the next move was not going to be pretty.

LP: 3000
H: 3
M: None
S/T: 0

[Dementuo]

Kai gave a sigh of relief. A minute ago, he was in a dire situation, facing down two powerful monsters with only one of his own. Now, he had both his aces out, and was close to winning. "Next turn, I can just ram through with Leviathan, and finish her off with Galaxy-Eyes. "During the end of the Battle Phase, both our monsters return." Kai said, both Galaxy-Eyes and Acid Golem fading back in. "When Galaxy-Eyes banishes an Xyz monster through his effect, he absorbs the overlay units!" He continued. The two glowing orbs that had circled Acid Golem before were now floating gently down to Galaxy-Eyes. The two orbs were absorbed through the red gem on the dragon's chest. The gem began glowing brightly, and Galaxy-Eyes got a red aura flowing around it. "It gains 500 points for each overlay unit absorbed." (ATK: 3000 --> 4000) "I'll end my turn."

LP: 4000
Hand: 0
Field: Galaxy-Eyes (4000 ATK), Leviathan (3000 ATK)
S/T Zones: 0

[evilfusion]

Natalie stared, stunned for a moment. Galaxy-Eyes also gained ATK when it banished an Xyz monster? How could she have lost control of the duel like this?

"It's my turn," she muttered, drawing a card without even looking at it. As if that was the cue, Acid Golem slowly turned towards her, yellow eyes glowing with malicious intentions. "During the Standby Phase...unless I remove 1 of Acid Golem's Overlay Units...it inflicts 2000 damage to its controller," she said quietly.

The Golem roared in her direction, flecks of acid phlegm flying over her, the ground sizzling where it struck. She braced herself, grunting as waves of energy cascaded from the Golem and struck her. With a cry, she was thrown back onto the ground, wincing with perceived pain.

LP: 1000

[i]Why bother standing up...while Acid Golem has no Overlay Units, I cannot attack with it. And while it's on the Field, I cannot Special Summon. I had brought out Dewloren to counteract this if worse came to worse, but he not only neutered my Golem, but destroyed my out to my own cursed monster[/i]...

Natalie shook slightly, slowly pushing herself up and standing, breathing a little heavier, staring at the ground, one fist clenched. It was so much like that other day, when she had been knocked off her pedestal by another duelist, and since then unable to ever get back to the school's number one duelist. And now, she was at the mercy of an opponent that was all but new to the school...maybe she wasn't as skilled as she thought. Maybe she didn't have what it took to wield Numbers, or learn their secrets.

Maybe...

It was taking all her strength not to cry, but she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Why was she unable to ever do anything great, no matter how good she did? As she clenched her fist, she felt a burning sensation on her hand, glancing down to see the faint outline of the number "30", the font matching that of the golem's mark. Abruptly amused for no apparent reason, she cast a glance back at the two opposing monsters, silently noting their ATK strength. She shut her eyes and plucked the cards from her hand.

"I'll set 3 cards," she whispered. "Turn End."

LP: 1000
H: 1
M: Acid Golem (no Units, ATK: 3000)
S/T: 3 f/d

[DeckShuffler711]

Watching the massive counterattack Kai had used, Setsuna couldn't help but grin. Galaxy-Eyes seemed like such a powerhouse card! He actually wanted one for himself now, but he was happy if he could get some stronger Mech cards. Shaking his head, he looked over at Natalie. Staring at her, he watched as she got up from her own Golem's attack on her. Things were not looking good on her end of the due at all. "Oi! Fight back! I know you can!" He shouted as he pointed at Natalie.

His eyes narrowing as he realized he had yelled that out of instinct, he looked over at Souta and Kenta. Turning his attention back to the duel, he laughed nervously and looked back at Galaxy-Eyes and Number 17. Those two were a scary powerful duo on the field. One at 4000 and the other at 3000, it seemed almost impossible to counter attack. Taking his deck box, he pulled his own deck out of his duel disk and pulled his Extra deck out of the box. "What would you guys do in her situation...?" He asked his deck as he stared into the mass collection of Mech monsters, spells and traps that seemed a tad out of place to anyone, but him and his father.

[Dementuo]

[i]"Huh... Her attitude changed suddenly. Is something wrong...?"[/i] Kai wondered, a bit startled at her sudden change in mood. [i]"Ah, nevermind that. I've got to focus."[/i]
[i]"Acid Golem's effect burns her for 2000 on her standby phases... That means that if I just end my turn now, then she'll lose. But, she has three cards set, one of which is probably meant to counteract that effect. But..." [/i]Kai looked at the ground around his opponent. It was actually sizzling, burning, eaten away by the acid. Not just from the D-Gazer's image, but in reality, too. He could tell, he could smell the fumes. [i]"..."[/i] Kai looked up at Leviathan. [i]"My god, Galaxy-Eyes... What kind of monsters are these...?"[/i]
Kai drew his next card. [i]"That acid will kill her if it hits again... I need to get that thing off the field."[/i] Kai thought, looking up at Leviathan once more. [i]"Galaxy-Eyes can end this duel, but it won't stop Acid Golem... If she has something to recover her life, then my best bet is to crash my Numbers with hers. It'll save her from Acid Golem's effect, and leave her open to an attack from Galaxy-Eyes. These Numbers... They really are powerful." [/i]Kai decided.
"I'll have Leviathan Dragon attack your Acid Golem!" Kai declared.

[evilfusion]

As the six winged dragon launched a burst of energy at Acid Golem, Natalie allowed herself a faint smirk. "Crashing your Number into mine? I take it you didn't want to risk your Galaxy-Eyes to a Trap Card," she noted, doing absolutely nothing as the attack approached her monster. [i]If he attacked with Galaxy-Eyes, he would deal 1000 points of damage and win...so he must have read that I have a Trap Card that affects my monster's ATK power.[/i]

"During Damage Calculation, I activate the Trap Card: Burning Fighting Spirit!" she announced, her card flipping up to display a warrior engulfed by a fire aura. "This card equips to one of my monsters, and if you control a monster whose current ATK is higher than its original ATK, my equipped monster's original ATK is doubled, at least during the Damage Step"

She chuckled. "You were so good to increase your Galaxy-Eyes and Number 17's ATK above their original, Acid Golem's original ATK is doubled, to a whopping 6000!"

Acid Golem roared, absorbing the dragon's attack and then slammed its massive fist forward, catching Number 17 in the face. (ATK: 6000)

LP: 1000
H: 1
M: Acid Golem, battling Number 17 (Damage Step, ATK: 6000)
S/T: 2 f/d, Burning Fighting Spirit (equiped to Acid Golem)

[Dementuo]

"Wh-What?!" Kai stuttered, his Numbers exploding into a rain of debris. (LP: 4000 --> 1000) [i]"She... Is she stuck on the duel or something?! What's with this girl?" [/i]He thought, shaking himself off from the impact. "Alright... Galaxy-Eyes, attack Acid Golem of Destruction!" Kai declared. Galaxy-Eyes reared back again, firing off the same azure light at it, though the dragon's red aura intensified the beam. "During my own Damage Calculation, I activate the effect of Honest in my hand!" Kai shouted. "During my Damage Calculation, Honest increases the power of Galaxy-Eyes by your Acid Golem's power!" (ATK: 4000 --> 10,000) "Galaxy-Eyes, finish this duel, and get rid of that damn Numbers! Hakai Foton... SUTOREAMU!!!"

[evilfusion]

"Nitwit!" Natalie hissed under her breath, the yellow '30' on her hand seeming to intensify its glow. "I chain to Honest with my second Trap! Mirror Wall!"

The Trap flipped up, displaying a reflective wall like a sheet of ice. It glowed and a shimmering barrier made its way between Acid Golem and Galaxy Eyes.

Natalie smirked. "Too bad. You were reckless. Chains resolve backwards, as you know, so first Mirror Wall halves the ATK of your monster before Honest resolves, making your originally 4000 ATK Dragon level down to a mere 2000 ATK. Since there no longer is a monster on your field whose ATK is greater than its original ATK, Burning Fighting Spirit ceases to apply a bonus to Acid Golem, so your Galaxy-Eyes only gains 3000 ATK from Honest."

"In case you're having trouble with the math, that ordinarily means Galaxy-Eyes' ATK becomes 5500. However, because Mirror Wall is a Continuous Trap, it halves the bonus from Honest, bringing your ATK total to 3500 once the chain has resolved. Which means, your Galaxy-Eyes' ATK is higher than its original ATK, and Burning Fighting Spirit reapplies, doubling Acid Golem's ATK to 6000."

"It makes no difference now. This duel is mine," Natalie said softly. "And your Number follows suit..."

Acid Golem roared, drawing back its fist and rearing forward to deliver a final blow to Galaxy-Eyes.

LP: 1000
H: 1
M: Acid Golem (battling Photon Dragon, ATK: 6000 vs ATK: 3500)
S/T: 1 f/d, Burning Fighting Spirit (equipped to Acid Golem), Mirror Wall

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

The woman started her turn by, obviously, drawing a card. She then Normal Summoned a strange red-armored beast with three heads, a single glowing eye on each one, and odd sections of its body that had a light blue glow. (1300 ATK|LV3) The monster, Photon Cerberus, from what could be seen in Jayce's display, emitted a powerful howl that sent out a blue shockwave, causing blue electricity to spark on not only the holographic Trap Card Jayce had set, but also the real one on his Duel Runner. She then ordered her monsters to attack, the powered-up Photon Crusher heading for Cyber Dragon while Photon Cerberus attacked next, going for the face-down monster.

[Brinolovania]

Jayce gritted his teeth as his face down was stopped. "Rgh..." He could only watch helplessly as his dragon exploded (Life Points:4000 -> 2000). [i]Half of my life gone in one attack...I need to be careful.[/i] But then he grinned as Cerburus charged the face down monster. "How nice of you. My monster is Dekoichi the Battlechanted Locomotive! Due to its flip effect, I draw a card!" He pulled a card from his deck as a black train appeared (DEF:1000), then exploded. He smiled wickedly. "Go ahead with your moves, woman. It doesn't matter that my monsters died...because my ace comes out next turn."

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

The enigmatic rider set a single card on the field, to replace her Lumenize that had been activated earlier, and ended her turn, her Crusher going back down to its original stats. (4100 ATK -> 2000 ATK)

???: 4000 LP
Hand: 2
Monsters: Crusher (2000 ATK|LV4), Cerberus (1300 ATK|LV3)
Spells/Traps: 2 FD
Graveyard: Lumenize


Delilah, back at school, was impressed at the tenacity of the girl utilizing the thirtieth Number Monster. Personally, Delilah disliked that monster, but it seemed as though Natalie had triumphed over her foe. Now, she wondered what her Photon-using compatriot would do to counter such an incredible reversal that could mean the end for either player.

[Brinolovania]

Jayce grinned. "Let the fun begin...my turn, I draw!" He now held 5 cards. "For my first move...I normal summon Blakc Salvo (ATK:100) A small, round, black explosive-like thing appeared. "When Salvo is normal summoned, I can special summon a level4 Dark machine monster from my Graveyard! Be revived, Dekoichi!" The train reappeared. "I could synchro summon now...but what fun would that be? I'm gonna show you something good here...I play Resonance Device! I select two monsters with the same type and attribute, and their levels become equal. Both of my monsters are Dark Machines, so both become equal to Dekoichi's level, 4!" He grin widened. "This is the end...I overlay Dekoichi and Salvo!" A strange black number 32 appeared on Jayce's right hand. "I create an Overlay network with these two monsters! Xyz Summon! Come to me...Number 32! Machine Angel Graam!" A dark sphere with wings appeared. It suddenly glowed- and a giant dark angel emerged. It was completely black with glowing red eyes. It pulled out a long sword. "Behold...the Numbers!"

(Response?)

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

The woman doesn't seem to have been affected by the combo. In fact, she hasn't shown that much in terms of emotions during this entire duel. Instead, she simply flips up her other Trap Card in response to the Xyz Summoning.

Matter-Antimatter Reaction
Trap/Normal
Activate when your opponent Summons a monster; Your opponent targets 1 Xyz Monster in their Extra Deck and monsters in their Deck that fulfill the requirements for the Xyz Summon of the targeted Xyz Monster; Special Summon the targeted Xyz Monster and attach the targeted monsters in your opponent's Deck to the targeted Xyz Monster as Xyz Materials. (This Special Summon counts as an Xyz Summon). Your opponent cannot attack with any Xyz Monsters during their next Battle Phase.

Immediately, a large silver cylindrical device with glowing sections appears alongside the two duelists, and starts powering up, whirring rapidly. As the machine whines louder and louder, electrical bolts appear on its casing, and it emits an aura of power. Finally, the machine explodes in a burst of light that can be seen for miles all around. At the school, Delilah turns to see the pillar of light, and smiles.

[Astolfo]

Kuroi stumbled back into the shadows, shocked by Number 30's curse and the supreme power of Galaxy-Eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a shockwave of light he recognized as a Photon Number Hunter card. He sighed, knowing he would have to defeat them someday for their Numbers. "Such a waste of powerful duelists. Alas, there will be casualties from now on most likely." Kuroi thought maybe an alliance with them currently would be beneficial, but he'd have to be careful so he wouldn't be betrayed. His black and lightning-blue eye flashed with thoughts. He made up his mind. Kuroi would strike an alliance with them, at least for right now. He strode out, being careful to disperse the shadow that formed on his arm to form a duel disk. He tried to erase the malovelence from his eyes, at least until he got the alliance over with. He strode out of the shadow of the nearby vending machine and yelled " Hiya kid! How's your duel goin'?" Kuroi gave a brief surge of mental power into the female dueler, saying he was a Hunter as well. Kuroi winked at the female and grinned malovently for a second, before turning back to the boy, all false smiles and such. He thought it was such a bore, to trick the boy, but oh well. Kuroi sighed.

[Brinolovania]

Jacye seemed unfased. "If it doesn't affect Graam, I don't care at the moment." He looked at his Extra Deck. "For the Xyz monster, I choose Wind-Up Zenmaister. For the materials, I choose 2 more copies of Dekoichi from my Deck." Two cards popped out of his deck, and he grabbed them. From the light, an odd, mechanical thing appeared. (ATK:2500) "It has the same ATK as Graam. But, unfortunately for you, Numbers cannot be destroyed, except by other Numbers, so Zenny is pretty much useless. But I want to do damage...so Graam attacks Crusher!" The angel lept forward, its sword swinging.

[Dementuo]

Kai's eyes widened. "What in the-" Before he could finish, Galaxy-Eyes burst apart, creating a large shockwave that blasted Kai backwards. (LP: 1000 --> 0) The holograms faded, and Kai pulled off his D-Gazer. He stood himself back up slowly, still a bit shaken from the shock, and brushed himself off. He sighed. [i]"She's strong, though it was partly due to her Numbers..."[/i] Kai thought. [i]"Even though I lost, at least we're safe from that Numbers card now. Man, that thing... Number 30... Are there more Numbers like it?"[/i] He looked over at his triumphant opponent. [i]"And aside from that... Just who is she?"[/I]