Yugioh the Dark Dimension

[MewMew3]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Welcome to Season 3 of my series (Season 8 of Yugioh), where I will write things differently than before and in a better style. A typical chapter from now on will be five pages at most to have more content in each chapter and spent less time writing, since I dislike the style authors use to write most novels and I simply don’t have the free time now as I did before. I like how less verbal artforms like film, paintings, and games work since they use symbols and actions to give you substance rather than telling everything up front or through tedious dialogue between characters. I hope to translate my ideas in a similar war albeit through writing. I’m trying to explore different ways of writing and conveying more serious ideas so forgive me for being pretentious.

 

Prologue

 

 

She woke in a sudden moment, in her sleeping bag on the airport floor, not from any nightmare that frightened her out of her sleep but from something she did not understand yet. Her sleep, deep and dreamless, was the coma of a person who, after a day of immense suffering and fatigue, falls into for what seems like countless hours, as the infinite sleep a person falls into as she dies or the infinite sleep before birth. A second ago she was not and now at this moment she was. She sat up, hot and sweating from the heat of the sleeping bag and in constant pain from her bruises, burns, and broken ribs; she forgot at all who she was or what happened, and looked around the airport for answers, to piece her shattered self back together, as Atem the lost pharaoh did when recovering his long buried memories.

 

Nature gave her body of strong build of average height, her powerful hands wide, her fingers long, her nails large. Her face reflected the person behind it: a broad forehead, full cheeks and lips, dark brown eyes as vessels for a burning, fiery light, her skin brown and red, and her hair a lion’s mane of black curly hair. She was Marina Bozuslowsky, daughter of Aleksandar Bozuslowsky and Arifa Masri, but she long shortened her name to Maya Brook. She started dueling as a professional at the age of seventeen, joined her friends JC, Yukio, and Jolene to become national champions and defeat the snobbish rich demagogue Matthew, remained a pro for four more years, entered this world championship tournament to somehow stop the now late Egyptian dictator Heishin and claim the forbidden ancient Book of Isis, and now waited for the tournament finals having succeeded doing both. And she liked playing the piano, writing satires, communism, alternative subcultures, and black cats. “I think I got it about right.” She said to her heart.

 

Maya hobbled her way to a large pane of class, her breathing aggravated by the broken ribs, to see the outside world. Never before had she seen a sunnier, prettier June morning, nor did she feel a sun comfort her through her black sleeveless shirt and jeans quite like this either. But she did feel a deepening darkness despite it all, a gathering pressure, an electric static before the storm. Too many people died in this tournament from the resurging Ghouls, too many secrets revealed from Mathias and his warrior Saints, and she underwent too much struggle and loss already.

 

Yet all this struggle, sacrifice, revelation, was merely the tip of the iceberg, the darkness that was to come. Ra-Amun, the sun, shattered the world through his divine powers into stark bright lights and black shadows, a contrast where all stood revealed. It would be high noon; each finalist would smash against the other with everything they had, everything they were in these last duels, and only one person would stand on top. Maya’s whole life was at stake for if she won she would pay off her many dueling and college debts but if she lost she would be in ruin. More importantly, she knew her innovative dueling would not keep her ahead of her competition forever, and she needed to push herself further not just to stay in the game but reach a new creative level. All life was art and war, darkness and heroism. If music taught her anything it was these principles from Beethoven, and the Eroica the finest lesson. Let this heroic journey reach fulfillment at last.

 

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Pegasus J. Crawford, the man who created Yugioh itself, put himself deep in thought as he quietly sipped his wine in the small dining room of the complex that would be the lodgings for all eight finalists. He went so far as to design each room to reflect the true nature of each respective finalist, putting his great skills as a painter to use, whereby the carpenters, electricians, and plumbers followed his exacting instructions. The dining room, the hub each apartment revolved around, held eight large mirrors that reflected off each other face, creating a prism of infinite refractions within each mirror. Pegasus saw his own self in one mirror; his dandy red business suit, his tall stature, broad shoulders, long fair hair, one brown eye, shattered into shapes he could barely recognize.

 

Such was the true nature of humankind, where there was no one person in each body but only a labyrinth no Theseus could ever escape. What of the Minotaur at the center? Pegasus amused himself with the idea of seeing it revealed by the finalists playing his very game. The high priests of Egypt extracted Ka monsters from people’s souls and used them in battle for this very purpose; it was one reason Pegasus created this game in the first place. The Millennium Items, magic artifacts smelted from gold and the bodies of ninety-nine sacrifices, used by the high priests for such purposes, were lost, but the Book of Isis, holding one spell used to create the Millennium Items – merely one spell of the many mysteries – was still at large. The evil person who used the Book would cause untold catastrophes, which Pegasus wanted to avoid at every cost. He instinctively reached for his left eye socket but did not find the Millennium Eye he used to have within. He could no longer use its divine powers to see further than mortal eyes could. Now he was just a man and could only use his human powers.

 

Pegasus left the complex behind with such melancholy thoughts in mind, trotting on the soft sandy ground of the small Pacific Island where the finalists would be held. The warm light, blue sky, and fresh sea did not comfort him but only worsened his mood, the setting sun cut through everything with its harsh light. He thought of Sophia, one of his favorite adopted children and protégés, locked in the dangerous tournament, and hoped she would come out in one piece. Using a refined wooden cane, the debonair Pegasus showed his grit as he slowly climbed his way up a rocky hill and the massive pyramid at the center of the island he built alongside his colleague Kaiba, the battleground every duel would take place, laboring his way to the very top.

 

Seto Kaiba, the mighty technocrat who singlehandedly drove Yugioh in its modern form with his massive wealth and brilliant inventions, stood tall with his shoulders crossed as a bronze memorial statue, glaring down the pyramid to the white sand, green trees, and blue waves beneath him. Let this tower engrave in history the supreme achievement of the tournament’s winner and prophesize the great events of the future, the imperious Kaiba thought. Here, in this very tower he built, let history be made! He thought back to the first Battle City tournament he hosted thirteen odd years ago, how he also hosted the finals on top of a mighty tower, and watched history form as Atem became the first official world champion. Now he would witness something just as grand in the thirteenth Battle City as the Yugioh game would evolve to an ever higher level.

 

Pegasus, who finally reached the top, cut Kaiba’s lofty thoughts, “Whew! We should have made a smaller pyramid, Kaiba-boy. I think we made our point.” He patted his damp face with a silk handkerchief before stowing it away in his suit. Kaiba turned his piercing blue eyes to glare at contempt at the annoying man who cut his thoughts with such a frivolous remark. The two men could not have been more different. The gay, effete Pegasus contrasted the severe Kaiba, who had tall and with broad shoulders as Pegasus, yet wirier, donning his battle armor; a black leather body glove with a long white trench coat. He wore this same uniform at the first Battle City and wore it now even though he would not duel. He had a far greater plan, to defeat the very champion of this tournament to take the title of King of Games for himself. Why waste his time in an entire tournament when he would make it to the finals anyway? “Speak! Why are you here?” He demanded at Pegasus.

 

The debonair man sighed in a knowing way, “Very well, my Wagnerian Ubermensch. I would like to just share the beautiful view with you but, as such simple joys are far beneath the higher man such as yourself, I will get to the point. Beware of the Book of Isis and the people who seek it. It is owned by a finalist, it calls out to me, knowing I once held a Millennium Item. The Ghouls have been thwarted but one dangerous man remains, Matthew Carter. He will enter the finals to claim the Book for himself and avenge his grandfather’s demise, but even if he fails Gernand remains as well as a dark shadow, an evil intelligence I know little about. They are not threats right now but they will be.”

 

“First of all,” Kaiba scoffed at Pegasus, “The Ubermensch derives from Nietzsche you illiterate old fool. Second, I couldn’t care less about any occult threats lurking under whatever rock they choose to hide in. My tournament is about the future, not the dusty ancient past. You would do well to remember that.”

 

Pegasus rebounded, “You call me an old fool but look at yourself! You sound exactly like you did thirteen years ago, right down to the ‘I focus on the future’ spiel. You carry the obsessions and grudges you held for literally over a decade. Imagine how bad they would smell if they were food. You are, dare I say, an Ubermensch parody, more like Siegfried than Dionysus. It was this thing called satire. You know, a joke?”

 

“Jokes are for happy-go-lucky, shallow types who cannot stand the darker sides of life.” Kaiba growled. “Do you want me to destroy you before the finals even take place?”

 

“I must disagree, Kaiba-boy. Humor let’s us see the extra dimension in our lives as tragic creatures we would otherwise never see and transcend them, and this includes the so-called darker sides of life as well. Only man lives in such horror he needed to invent laughter. You are a tyrant but will never be an artist while I will always be both, and only this type of person can win this tournament.” Pegasus did not budge and inch throughout their entire discussion and, seeing Kaiba’s mild surprise, said, “Yes, who would have thought little old me who created Yugioh in the first place would know so much. You’re constipated character is why you always failed to beat Yugi and why generic antihero rival characters always fail.”

 

Kaiba became so frigid the very warm air around them dampened. “You’re meaningless foppish words did not move me an inch.” But Pegasus knew it wasn’t true. He had a special talent in annoying Kaiba and nothing amused him more than seeing Kaiba overreact, like watching Donald Duck throw a tantrum in a Disney cartoon. Kaiba punched a code on his duel disk, a newer sleeker model that outdated even the new models the finalists had used up to this point, the machine projected a holograph roster of all eight finalists, which Kaiba read out loud.

 

Matthew Carter

Heir to the Carter Foundation. Twenty-two years old. Has not dueled in a tournament since he lost the nationals in 2005. Dominates the opponent with powerhouse monsters overriding effects, favors Lightsworn and Horus.  

 

Mathias Blackheart

Leader of the Saints, a team of professional duelists based in Ireland. Age unknown. Uses psychological warfare. Favors Nordic Gods and Horus. Teammates are Maximus and Ivy.

 

Maria Wight

Best duelist of Team A Cappella. Based in the UK. Twenty-three years old. Wins through card control by controlling resources. Uses Normal Pendulum monsters.

 

Svanhildur “Stella Nova” Minervadottir

Leader of Team Stratosphere. Based in Iceland. Twenty-three years old. Specializes in controlling the field with floater monsters. Favors Yang Zing. Notable teammate is Willow.

 

Marina “Maya Brook” Bozuslowsky

Best duelist of Team Baby Blast Furnace. Based in Iceland. Twenty-two years old. Used a variety of strategies in her career, now swarms the field to create many high level Extra Deck monsters. Favors banishing cards. Teammates are Yukio and Sophia.

 

Hannibal Davidson

World-renowned archaeologist and classical scholar. Based in Athens. Thirty-one years old. Uses strategies that spring during the opponent’s turn. Favors Artifacts.   

 

Tamas Varga

Leader of Team Impossible. Based in Hungary. Twenty-eight years old. Uses beatdown. Favors all Dragon-Types. Teammates are Bence and Beze.   

 

Weevil Underwood   

Leader of Team Loser Dog. Based in Japan. Twenty-six years old. Uses strategies that slowly weaken the opponent’s monsters and bind the duelist in a lock. Favors all Insect-Types (obviously). Teammates with Rex Raptor.

 

“Kaiba! Weevil may be a loser but you must at least pretend he is noteworthy. He did survive the tournament after all. He has just as much right to the finals as everyone else.” Pegasus admonished his colleague.

 

Kaiba scoffed at the mere idea then left in a huff, leaving Pegasus alone to appreciate the view on top of the pyramid. The Egyptians thought the pyramid likened to the rays of the sun and thus paved a stairway to the Underworld. Well, Overworld if you think about it, Pegasus joked to himself. So, which finalist would make it to the top and reach the Heaven of being forever remembered in history? Did it even matter? Well, it certainly did, at least for Pegasus’ entertainment and Kaiba’s vainglory.  

[MewMew3]

Duel 1 – Gathering the Metals

 

 

Matthew lunged at Xiaoyi, who held his dear Alexis hostage, only to have the awful woman bat him away by smacking him in the face, as if he was but a large beetle; the astonishing force from the small woman landed him facedown in the sand, scorching his face. Matthew Howard Carter, one of the wealthiest men in New York City, virtual center of the world, heir to his grandfather’s fortune as former curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, former American National Champion, lost everything, as small and lost as an insect in the barren land far from home. His brown hair and tanned skin did little to protect him from the harsh sun and sand.

 

Xiaoyi, small and pale with a large head, features as fine as those of a porcelain doll, gave little regard to the red sunburn mounting on her cheeks like a blush, even seeming to enjoy the fiery sun above her. Matthew could not look at her without shielding his face with his hands for the sun made her long black hair burn with a bright light. Xiaoyi gripped Alexis, Matthew’s lover of many years by the hair, as black as hers, almost to the point of ripping it off her pale head, but Xiaoyi was deaf to her captive’s tears, giving Matthew a steady gaze with her dark brown eyes.

 

Her temperament phlegmatic, she spoke to him as if she read his thoughts, “No, Gregory, you couldn’t escape your plight even if you transformed into a bug and burrowed in the sand. Your failure to defeat the Saints, to even defeat your high school friend, doesn’t sit well with me. Frankly, I think you’re problem lies with motivation. While I’m no life coach I would like you to be more proactive in your career. You’re the boss of the Ghouls, aren’t you? I know Seeker, Umbra, Lumis, and Keith are all dead – God bless their souls their job was a huge commitment – but they would feel entitled to a promotion over you. They worked at their job for over a decade but the kid with the trust fund gets to be boss instead. I’d say it’s a little unfair too.”

 

Matthew threw a fistful of sand at Xiaoyi in a fit of rage, only for the woman to laugh at him, as aloof and cruel as the sun itself. But he, above it all, knew who to truly hate. Maya ruined his life. If the insolent fiend only accepted her loss at New York’s Duel Academy with dignity, she would never have formed an antimeta team with her degenerate high school friends, then she would never have dethroned him in the Nationals, then he would never have fallen into a pit of morose self-pity, then Xiaoyi and Gernand would never have come to his doorstop, then he wouldn’t fight Maya and her comrades again, then he would never be groveling in the sand as a scarab beetle. His downward spiral was an arrow, pointing straight to Maya. Everything stemmed from her.  

 

Xiaoyi again seemed to have read his mind for she asked quizzically, “What if you let her win and enter the Academy?” then enjoyed herself watching Matthew violently reject even considering the idea of a different future. “Cheer up, kid. The scarab beetle is a symbol of eternal life but whether you become Gregory or are born again as a god is your choice. Pretentious Kafka references aside, not like you ever cared, remember that I gave you all your dark powers.” Matthew opened his shirt, revealing the palm-shaped black mark reminding him of his dark pact with her, the pact that gave him the power to use Horus the Black Flame Dragon as his Ka, his monster spirit as direct manifestation of his creative life force. Xiaoyi concluded, “You are linked to me by a red thread. Your thoughts are my thoughts and if I die so do you, so think twice before attacking me.”

 

She threw an dagger sheath coated with gold between his knees. “King Tut’s own dagger, forged from the iron of outer space, not like the incest-ridden gimp will need it anymore. Pretty cool, isn’t it?” She violently pointed at Alexis’ chest. “Use it to kill this whore. Severe the very last tie you have to another human being and you will truly be a man with nothing to lose, only then will you have the strength to destroy Maya and reclaim your life.” When Matthew hesitated, Xiaoyi barked so severely it shocked him. “DO IT! Kill her quickly or I will kill her slowly.”

 

Matthew stood up, picked up the dagger, trembling, his hand wavering, unable to step forward. Xiaoyi rolled her eyes, annoyed she had to further motivate the spoiled brat. She tore out Alexis’ left eye, Matthew heard a clear pop and Alexis shrieking in pain and terror, watched frozen in terror as Xiaoyi popped it into her mouth, chewed it carefully, swallowed it. When Matthew still refused to act, Xiaoyi tore out and gobbled Alexis’ other eye, frozen once more by his lovers’ screams. Xiaoyi pulled the unhappy woman up, licking the blood and tears off her face with enthusiasm. “The hero needs an inciting incident before undergoing his quest!”

 

Now blinded, Alexis could take it no longer. “Kill me, Matthew!” She implored to him. “Take your revenge on Maya to reclaim your life! I will do anything, even lose my life, to see you happy again!” Matthew slowly paced to her, his blood so frozen he felt cold in the middle of the desert. Alexis could no longer see him but she gripped Matthew’s hand tight with one hand, caressed his tearful face with another, and told him goodbye. Matthew stabbed her in the heart with the dagger of kings, relieved to see her die so quickly, then attacked Xiaoyi in rage only for her to smack the dagger out of his hands and point it at his throat.

 

“Destroy Maya and everyone else who challenges you in a shadow game, your dark powers will increase enough so you may challenge me. Follow this path if you want to kill me.” Matthew collapsed to the ground in sobs, knowing there was nothing else he could do, but learned to embrace his fate. In his despair he found a small hope, that perhaps he could shed his old skin as the beetle does and emerge into a better person with a better life. That hope was all he had left.   

 

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Meanwhile, off in the distance, hiding behind a ruined temple wall, a man named Hannibal Davis saw the whole terrible ordeal. He checked to see was in the clear, he dashed into his van and drove at a furious pace to Cairo airport, wiping the sweat off the stubble on his round tan face, the grease off his curly dark hair, airing his round overweight body with his shirt, all caused by nervousness less than the heat itself. He stumbled to the airport gate, himself a tournament finalist, telling the news to none other than the Saints themselves.

 

Mathias, the Saint’s leader, a gentle giant, dropped his slice of Buffalo Chicken Pizza, the gaiety of the Saints evaporated. A resilient, gregarious man, almost nothing could fade Mathias Blackheart, except something like this. His comrades; the small, thin, red-headed Maximus, and the fit, equally fiery-headed Ivy, knew everything Mathias did. Long before the tournament began, the Headmaster of their Irish monastery foretold to them the prophecies of Revelations; he predicted a Red Dragon, sired by Zorc Necrophades the Satan and demiurge of this world, rising from a fiery pit to destroy humankind, a woman clothed in sun giving birth to the Savior who will defeat the Red Dragon after a long war over the fate of the human race.

 

The Red Dragon is none other than Matthew Carter, Mathias thought to himself, since he wielded Horus the Black Flame Dragon as his Ka. The woman clothed in sun is Maria Wight, fair as the daystar, holding the power of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon within her, and the Savior the son she would one day have with Seto Kaiba. But these answers did not satisfy him. His own Ka was none other than Horus the Black Flame Dragon as well. Was he the Red Dragon? Impossible! A righteous man like him could never be a minion of the Devil! He eyed Maximus with glaring suspicion, his brother in arms wielded Shining Swordswoman, did that entitle him to the role as the Archangel Michael and the privilege of smiting the Devil? Maximus always wanted to surpass him as a duelist but in now way would Mathias give him this right even if he did become the better duelist!

 

Mathias told his comrades he needed a break, that too much pizza made you s*** worse than eating too many chilidogs. He patted Maximus in the shoulder, whispered in his ear, “Don’t get too proud or your hubris will be your downfall.” leaving Maximus bewildered. He was almost out of earshot when Maximus reminded him behind is back, “Same applies to you.”

 

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Stella Nova joined Maya by the airport window. The two women, of similar height and temperaments, seemed a bit like long lost sororal twins on virtue of looking as different as the sun and the moon. Stella was a woman of handsome features with a prominent nose, both hair and eyes falsely colored pink by dyes and contacts, wearing a tie-dye shirt and jeans that closely hugged her body. “Are you ready for the finals?” She tentatively asked Maya, who said she didn’t know, and Stella replied, “Not so sure either.”

 

Maya turned to her counterpart to talk about politics, one of their favorite subjects, to get her apprehensions out of her mind. Most people saw politics as rather serious and grown-up but Maya saw how experience trumped popular belief; she found politics to be the most childish and frivolous thing in the world, and far easier to handle than her hidden thoughts. The obvious proof was in watching politicians and celebrities do their work. You may say the errors of leaders lead to war and suffering of all kinds, but the grave cost of buffoons’ mistakes only adds to the farce. But then politics reminded Maya of how she murdered Heishin in cold blood and would rather not think of that either. She was trapped.

 

Stella noticed one man and several women in black burqa’s pass by them, seeming to view the two duelists with caution and mistrust, a rightful attitude since Pegasus and Kaiba exploited Egypt for its history and current turmoil for publicity while Heishin himself wanted more tourist revenue, and Maya said as much. Stella told Maya her outrage, “It’s horrible how people in America, Britain, and even Germany are talking about banning burqas. People of nonwhite ethnicities have the right to cultural expression and should not be culturally oppressed by laws coming from such problematic normative perspectives.”

 

Maya turned around, not to see if the one man and several women were still around but to see if any of Stella’s fanbase was present, unlikely as it was. She gave Stella a funny look, when Stella asked what was the problem she obliged, “Stop talking like a columnist from Jezebel. I sometimes wonder if you’re making a PR move when you say such canned phrases. No feminist fan is here to judge you for using the wrong pronouns or judge me for appropriating my mother’s own culture when in high school. I want to know what you really think.”

 

Stella hugged Maya instead until they were uncomfortably close. “We slept together more than once before you got a boyfriend but no matter how close we got we always felt far apart; I always feel a certain small desperate loneliness that can never be bridged. I sometimes think it has something to do with being a progressive celebrity for so many naïve kids.”

 

This struck a chord within Maya who had a similar feeling deep inside; she could never let down her guard to reveal what was really inside her because if she became weak someone would hurt her, like father did, sometimes even mother, and like many clever animals built a wall to protect herself. But she wanted to reach out across the infinite void that is between two minds to make contact but she could never do it, she never even dared. Instead she pressured Stella to tell her true opinion about burqas only to have Stella push her away. Another conversation on politics became fruitless, no surprise there at all.

 

Maya by returned to her dear friends Yukio and Sophia to play dominoes Yukio brought along with them. Maya may have been their best duelist but she was terrible at dominoes, loosing every game. She scratched her head in bewildered amusement, wondering what was going on, “I’m getting a brick hand so bad like I did in Duelists Orochi 2.” Making Yukio and Sophia laughed at her in good cheer, Yukio saying, “You’re overthinking it. It’s just dominoes.”

 

Maya scanned the faces of her friends. Yukio, tall and stringy, with short spiky black hair, some black stubble, and an idealists’ light in his eyes, glinted with mischief. Sophia, of pale but average body, dark red hair tied in a single compact braid, impressionable dark brown eyes, and introspective look, had the same mischievous shade on her face. “You two must be working together to beat me.” She leapt behind them to see their hidden dominoes for herself. The plot revealed, she shouted, “The conspiracy is real!”    

 

“You mean like that one made by that fartknocker Alex Jones where the Illuminati are making kids gay by putting estrogen in their juice cartons?”

 

“Yes, Beavis.”

 

“No, I’m the Butthead of the group. I’m more cool and rational. You’re the impulsive lunatic, Beavis.”

 

“Butthead is rational?”

 

“Relatively speaking, yes.”

 

Sophia had to roll her eyes at them for their mock argument. “Speaking of which,” she commented. “You dorks are more like Rex and Weevil than you know.” inciting Maya and Yukio to protest such an absurd and slanderous idea before debating between each other whether the flat earth theory or the hollow earth theory was the dumbest conspiracy in existence. Sophia vouched for one conspiracy an ignorant woman posted on YouTube claiming rainbows in the mist made by backyard sprinklers was from the government putting something in the water supply. Maya and Yukio gave her a gold medal for effort but dismissed her in the end.

 

The trio heard Maria gliding away at the piano near a café, something Maya could tell by the choice of music and playing style – Her eyes may sometimes fail her but her ears never did – and saw the Saints and a few other people crowd around her. Maria, Maya judged, was very much a musician of the later Romantic style; playing slowly, using the pedal as if the piano was a car, long arching lyrics, her face contorting into all manner of expressions. She played some fine Tchaikovsky and Chopin indeed, with all the Victorian malaise of a House of Mourning. Maya could almost hear the coughing of the sensitive artist with consumption, too good for this cruel world.  

 

Maria finished, the Saints cheered, Maya as well, she asked Maria for her turn to play. Maria, tall and fair as a statue, an albino with pensive blue eyes, brushed by Maya with typical aloof contempt, like Maya was someone horribly offensive by her very existence. Maya returned the gesture with typical defiance and wit. Maya thundered on the piano with her own repertoire of Cherubini and Beethoven, her face showing concentration but otherwise betraying no emotion. Maria judged Maya to be using Classical and early Romantic styles; with a fast and vivid tempo, crisp, dynamic volumes and colors with lightning fast transitions, forceful and deliberate use of rhythm. Oh yes, the vain noise and pride of Lucifer before the fall, much like so many radicals in that period, cruel and ugly, making light of things that should be beyond humor, disrespectful to the natural laws of art. The Saints cheered for Maya when she finished her program like they did for Maria.

 

The contest continued, the two duelists rotating from one new piece after all, determined to wear the other down. Yukio and Hannibal were impressed with witnessed the two lionesses bite and scrape the other. “By Jove himself, it’s as if Minverva and Ishtar fought for the title of wisest and most powerful goddess!” Hannibal couldn’t help himself from stammering. Yukio put his hand on Hannibal’s arm, “Calm down, dude. No woman is worth worshipping.” And before Hannibal could object to such a sexist claim Yukio quickly added, “Men even less so.”

 

Three hours passed, the combatants not quite exhausted but starting to get there. Maya had no choice but to play the wild card she kept in store until this very moment. Maya decided to play her second favorite piece of music, Handel’s Suite in Bb, Beethoven’s Große Fugue being her first, Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag being her third. She danced with Handel, enthusiastic but graceful and light on her feet, going through the prelude, sonata, and variations. Now she arrived at the minor minuet she decided now to take a completely different direction, the improvisations she made up in her mind during the whole contest would now be unleashed. She played a minor variation of Handel’s theme, similar to the minuet itself in form but different in substance, then a minor singing variation, then bursting the tension with a violent tarantella. She returned to Bb to play more variations, each one faster and more volcanic than the last one – she would not let Maria win! – until she came to playing small dotted rhythms and 64^th notes triplets – “Ack!” Maya clutched her cramped wrist but quickly went back, playing the last bars of her last variation, before clasping her wrist again.

 

Everyone applauded, except Maria who turned away from the crowd, thinking Maya vastly overstepped her bounds. It was mortal sin for a performer to play outside the composer’s intentions, as if someone today could dare suggest to a genius of the past. No Handel or Beethoven existed today because people like that are no longer born in our decadent age. Mathias threw Maya’s afflicted hand into the air to announce her victor only to cramp Maya’s arm by accident, Maya taking the pain in stride. All this only revealed the philistine, vulgar, and shallow attitudes of modern times, the crowd whooping as if at the circus.      

 

“Guess I was too hot for her to Handel!” Maya bragged in good spirits to which Mathias, not knowing his strength as usual, slapped her so hard on the back she nearly fell headfirst to the floor.

 

Sophia preserved all for posterity with her trust video recorder, remarking, “Yugioh and bad puns, going together like chocolate and peanut butter.” When Yukio reminded her that she didn’t like Reeses candy at all, she replied, “That’s the point.”  

 

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Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor, Weevil being our remaining finalist, were doing less dignified things. “Goddamn it Rex I need to use the bathroom! I gotta’ PEE!” Weevil jumped up and down like a grasshopper; his teal blue hair, molded in a Beatles haircut, and his huge round green glasses bouncing with him.

 

“We’re getting there, butt-muncher.” Rex said as he evened out his dirty aged red beanie and scratched his long greasy brown hair.  

 

“Up yours, asswipe!” Weevil met Rex, his narrow squinting blue eyes meeting Rex’s sharp brown ones. The two got lost in their quest for the public bathroom, Weevil now almost ready to burst.

 

“Remember that time at Charles de Gaul Airport when we got lost so long you did pee yourself and everybody laughed.” Rex himself chuckled a bit at the fun memory. “Man, that airport looks like a schizophrenic made it.”

 

“Not helping!” Weevil desperately shouted. They saw a man named Tamas, the last finalist and a nondescript man after his short blond hair and black leather coat, and his teammates play testing each other for the finals. Weevil asked him for directions to the bathroom, Tamas answered, Weevil relieved himself, the two asked Tamas again for directions back to the right gate, Tamas again pointed, the two went their way.

 

Weevil witnessed the crowd surrounding Maya and Maria and got a wonderful idea, he whispered it to Rex, who grinned at the thought. Weevil promised Rex twenty dollars if he did what he wanted, to which Rex accepted, and he dashed around the airport, pinching every female finalist’s butt. They all yelped, much to Rex and Weevil’s delight. Stella claimed sexual harassment, Maria condemned the horrible disrespect to women, Maya chased after them to beat them up.

 

“WEEVIL! BUDDY!” Mathias caught Weevil, giving him the biggest bear hug in his live, enjoying watching Weevil squirm in his embrace. The insect shouted, “I have a restraining order and I will sue you as soon as I get home! Rex did it! It was his idea but I told him not to do it because it was sexual harassment punishable by castration and sensitivity training but did he listen? No!”

 

“You have a home?” Maya said in mock surprise. “You look like a chain-smoking stoner, so I guess you do live under a bridge or in your mother’s basement.”

 

“Ha ha! Very original!” Weevil tried his best to point at Rex. “There’s the culprit, get him!” Yukio caught Rex by the scruff of his neck, who squirmed under his grasp, babbling everything he could to save himself but nothing helped him. Mathias threw Weevil at Maya, telling her to hold him, saying sometimes you needed 1950s parenting. Weevil and Rex protested, they were in their late twenties! Mathias let loose his belt on their asses, cracking it on their tender butts The two stooges pleaded for mercy but none was given. Weevil threatened to call his lawyer but no one cared. Rex said he would sleep with any woman nice enough to free him, thinking his little trick would work. It didn’t.  

[MewMew3]

Duel 2 – Infinite Mirrors

 

 

Each finalist saw a white jet with blue stripes cut across to clear blue sky, seemingly coming out of the sun, as if from Heaven itself, and gracefully land on the runway. The jet was so pale and gleaned so brightly under the sun that no finalist could look at it directly before adjusting their eyes. Only one man stepped out of that bird of paradise, Isono; a tall severe man with short, neatly trimmed graying hair and whiskers who somehow managed to wear a suit under such blazing heat, everyone knew him to be Kaiba’s right-hand man. Things were getting serious.

 

Isono seemed to have access to the airports controls for the finalists heard his grave voice, “Attention please. The Battle City Tournament No. 13 finals have begun. Gate K-13 will currently be boarding with the finalists each team selected. Mathias Blackheart, finalist No. 1, begin boarding! Maximus Clay, finals tournament commentator, also begin boarding!”

 

Mathias and his comrades grimly heard those words, knowing that the test of the Headmaster’s weighty prophecy was soon to be tested, but nonetheless Mathias stood as tall as he could, as if he wanted his shadow to obscure Maximus and Ivy with his towering shadow, ready to face the challenges ahead. However, Maximus and Ivy rose from their seats to face Mathias from the front, Maximus offered his hand to his brother in arms, “Godspeed. May our choice be wisely made and you be up to the momentous task.” To which Mathias hugged his friends, hiding his umbrage towards his brother, and the two men walked out into the concrete plane beyond leaving Ivy behind.

 

“Hannibal Davidson, finalist No. 2, begin boarding!”

 

The famous archeologist and bearer of bad news accepted his destiny with courage, duty-bound to the Stoic tradition he willingly embraced many years ago. He gave his wife, Indira, the Minerva and Venus of his life, a final call on his phone, telling her loved her, worshipped her, bidding her farewell as a Spartan off to war. This grim and self-important man left the common world to the fight ahead, determined to stop the rogue Matthew and Maya, whoever be the Red Dragon, at all costs.     

 

“Svanhildur ‘Stella Nova’ Minvervadottir, finalist No. 3, begin boarding!”

 

Stella embraced her friends, took a last selfie with them all, and left for the finals, a little nervous but happy to duel such challenging foes, and the fame and outreach! If every girl in the world saw her become world champion, the bright light of inspiration she would infuse in their souls would make the world a better place.

 

“Maria Wight, finalist No. 4, begin boarding!”

 

Maria, who carefully eyed each finalist with scrutiny, cast her sharp scrutiny at the dismal and gross fiend Maya for a second, which Maya returned with her own piercing tigerish glance, before heading on out. She wished Kaiba to see her ascend to becoming champion every step of the way, so she may prove to be worthy of him and win his love.

 

“Marina ‘Maya Brook’ Bozuslowsky, finalist No. 5, begin boarding!”

 

Maya only felt her broken ribs at that point, each breath she took splintered her chest, but she would never tell Yukio and Sophia that because they should surely never let her go off to fight in that condition. Believe it or not, Maya always felt like this since childhood, a constant dull pain or weight on her shoulders but one inside the mind, but whenever saddled too much she would stoke the flame inside her extra bright to burn it away for a while.

 

Now was such a moment, with no room for fear of failure or death but only glory for the spirit, and she would shine bright and strong. She gave Yukio and Sophia every card she owned except for a black binder of the most essential ones she would need. Before Yukio could object, saying he would never take such a gift, Maya shut him up by grabbing him and kissing him ardently, lewdly, then gently hugged Sophia with a sweetness and candor mirroring the girl’s heart. She bid them farewell and stepped into the concrete plain full of glaring sunlight beyond.

 

She say Mathias and Maximus standing close together, their shoulders turned away, Hannibal trying to marvel what little nature was around him, Stella waving at her, Maria gazing at her with contempt. She joined with Stella to discuss the finals, wondering where Kaiba and Pegasus would take them; if Egypt was not exotic and epic enough than what was? Something from the future, beyond the dusky history of Egypt perhaps?

 

 “Tamas Vargas, finalist No. 6, begin boarding!”

 

They saw a man with a crew cut on top of a head with a nondescript face, wearing a black leather jacket despite the head and worn out jeans, his eyes shielded by sunglasses, and couldn’t help poking fun at him. He looked like every other local tournament jerk out there, the kind of guy who would beat eleven-year-old kids with the current meta deck then strut around like he was the toughest s*** since Kaiba came out of his ludicrous Blue-Eyes White Dragon Jet with a jetpack. But this Mr. Vargas did make it to the finals, somehow, but the two women could not overcome their prejudice and kept taking potshots at him.

 

“Weevil Underwood, finalist No. 7, begin boarding!”

 

No one could suppress their laughter; even the stiff Isono twitched his manicured thin mustache and smirked a little, but arrive Weevil did, short, squat, and bug-eyed, barking up at everyone like a small dog, demanding respect. Stella, noticing something strange with her sharp eyes, gave Maya notice of it; as the workers crammed a few bags in the jet, did one seem to move like someone was inside it?

 

“Matthew Carter, finalist No. 8, begin boarding!”

 

Silence. Maya felt very cold, waiting to see the man who wanted her dead was far worse than being with him in person. Everyone else waited as if frozen. Isono checked his watch after fifteen minutes. He repeated, “Matthew Carter, finalist No. 8, begin boarding!” Nothing. He decided it was time. “We shall all board.” In everyone went. Maya was last.

 

She was just about to get in when she saw HIM stalk towards her, Matthew himself, a short but sturdy light brown-skinned man, his brown eyes piercing, smoldering with volcanic hate underneath the earthen surface. Maya and the man she destroyed looked at each other for a brief moment, not saying a word, matching his steel resolve for her own. She didn’t care how he felt, he nearly killed her, Sophia, Yukio, and actually killed many others. Maya began to wonder, once again, how a tournament where so many people died and a government shattered in could high rating and scores of cheering fans, but she dropped it. It was all too late.

 

All the finalists huddled inside the jet, all seats facing each other, making any privacy impossible and forcing all duelists to face each other for hours on end. Isono retreated behind the crew as a flight attendant of sorts and the jet took off. Maya knew the jet was flying west of Egypt into the Atlantic with Earth’s orbit as the noon sun stayed behind them rather than setting in the evening.

 

Regardless, Matthew stared at her throughout the entire journey with a fixed intense gaze Maya did not believe was possible. To say she felt deeply uncomfortable was an understatement, but she could not reveal any weakness to such a dangerous man, a monster she created by daring to fight for her right to live and duel the way she wanted all those years ago. The other finalists were nearly as daunting a challenge; there was no weak link among them, even Weevil could defeat her if she was not careful. Mathias kept his eyes closed the entire time as if meditating. Hannibal kept his head down to read a book. Stella studied her rivals closely with a caution that mirrored Maya’s. Maria stared at a small picture of Kaiba she kept with her with a restless look on her face. Tamas slept the whole time with his leg awkwardly stuck on Maya’s lap. Weevil fidgeted the entire time, sometimes happy, sometimes anxious. Thus did six numbingly intense hours pass in this way until they landed on the unknown island.

 

Isono opened the door, the first to leave, directing the finalists to their final destination. The island was as Shangri-La except it did not float; most of the ground was fine white sand or short grass and trees, heated bright by the sun but cut by start black shadows, the weather warm and mild but with a sometimes chilly wind, nothing but the wide blue ocean and the wide blue sky surrounded it for miles around. The finalists walked to the mainland, and gasped at the sight of the massive pyramid at the center, almost as large as Khufu’s at Giza, with two other giants, Seto Kaiba and Pegasus Crawford, waiting for them at the pyramid’s base.

 

The austere yet august Kaiba greeted them in his frosty manner, “Congratulations at making it to the finals. As host of this tournament I applaud your achievement but as you are all too aware the real struggle has just begun. Every duel you fought through before is nothing but child’s play compared to what you will face tomorrow. At eight o’clock sharp everyone will arrive to the base of the pyramid and climb to the top where every duel will be held. Each duel will last for exactly twenty minutes at most, with each duelist given thirty seconds at most to make any move, and if the duel doesn’t end on time the duelist with more Life Points will be declared the winner.”

 

“Hey! Wait up, guys! Aah!” Everyone turned to see Rex gasp for air as he ran after them. Weevil was as shocked as everyone else to see his friend, asking how he god here, with Rex explaining, “I snuck in the luggage, you know, like we did in the Doma Arc, the one nobody liked.” The two bros laughed together at their silly adventure thirteen yeats ago, with Kaiba seething in annoyance and everyone else rolling their eyes.

 

Pegasus, smarmy as ever, gestured to the finalists, “This way to your lodgings, fellow duelists. Even the greatest men need to sleep.” He said, twirling his cane around in a gentlemanly way as he guided them to what looked like a large building. He showed them inside, directing them to the dining hall n the center surrounded by mirrors and the surrounding rooms, each designed to match the character of each finalist, then notified them of dinner being served within a few hours, so it is good to be prepared.     

 

Everyone did so. Maya crashed unto the bed of Room V, nearly shouting in pain from her broken ribs, clutching her chest and writhing in bed. She could never relax, could she? Joking aside, she unpacked her bags, hiding all her cards in her binder and the Book of Isis, stashing both away in a trap door underneath a drawer – almost as if Pegasus knew she would hide the Book the first thing she did – The room itself was simple with great color contrasts, a sun of deep red, bronze, and burning gold painted above where the ceiling light hung at the room’s corner and dark greens, blues, and blacks below on the floor level. A wide desk was placed below the ceiling light and golden sun so she could work on any dramatic art form she wanted while right next to a single large window to the sea and sky outside. Truly, it was an inner sanctum; Pegasus only needed his mortal eye to see into her heart and she fully understood that Pegasus was a profound man beneath his foppish demeanor. How did Pegasus design everyone else’s room?    

 

Maya took a long warm shower, shaved her body hair, tamed her mane of black hair with conditioner, afterwards donning black sneakers, black jeans, and a black sleeveless shirt. Everyone sad down to eat a simple yet filling dinner of soup and meets, each finalist had many chances to look into all the mirrors surrounding them, to see themselves infinitely reflected and refracted among the reflections of the other finalists. It was all too surreal, easily dislodging any comfortable sense of self. Maya knew Pegasus was an artist as she was, though a painter to her the musician, and she pondered exactly what message did Pegasus want to tell them or the world for that matter.

 

After dinner, the host Pegasus appeared before his guests, with the press of a button he caused a small hologram projector to appear at the center of the table, the lights dimming. He threw his finalists the final curve ball the tournament had to offer, “Ladies and gentlemen, you have all evolved prodigiously as duelists in my marvelous tournament, now you must evolve further, for in the finals I will have you premier a new game mechanic into Yugioh, none other than Link Summoning!”

 

“What?”

 

 

The projector revealed all with Pegasus making the right comments to their questions. A duelist could no longer Summon monsters from the Extra Deck: Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, or Pendulum for that matter, with impunity like they did throughout the entire tournament. They could only Summon one monster from the Extra Deck in a new Monster Card Zone for each player made for that purpose. But they could Summon more monsters by using Link Monsters, new Extra Deck monsters, that each had one to eight Link Markers on the card pointing to another Monster Card Zone based on the card’s Link Number, which now became “Linked Zones”, allowing the player to summon more Extra Deck Monsters. Imagine the Extra Deck Zone as one electric socket; most an Extra Deck monster was one plug but Link Monsters were plugs with extension sockets, allowing you more plugs.

 

But how did a duelist Summon Link Monsters? A Link Monster needed the number of monsters equal to its Link Number, thankfully no Level requirements needed. Examples: Decoe Talker; a Link 3 Monster needing “2+ Effect monsters”, needed 3 monsters to be sent to the Graveyard, at least 2 of them would have to be Effect monsters. Encode Talker; a Link 3 Monster needing “2+ Cyberse monsters” needed 3 monsters to be sent to the Graveyard, at least 2 of them would have to be Cyberse monsters. Link Monsters could be used as Material for the Summoning of other Link Monsters, but only as 1 Material or the number of Materials equaling it’s Link Number. Example: Firewall Dragon, a Link 4 monster needing “2+ monsters”, could be made using Decode Talker (3 Materials) and 1 other monster (1 Material) but not by using Decode Talker and 2 other monsters. Also: Link Monsters had no DEF, so cards like Book of Moon, Burden of the Mighty, and Return to the Frontline had no effect on them since they could never go into Defense Position.       

 

All the finalists were dumbfounded at first but soon reacted violently to this astonishing twist in different ways. Tamas, a typical reactionary gamer, stormed out the dining room, shouting how Yugioh was dead and the game was broken now and he would never play Yugioh again. Maria held a frozen look of mild distaste but sighed and resolved to learn the new rules before retiring to her room. Mathias shrugged, then proclaimed to Pegasus, “You got yourself a game, old man.” Pegasus was pleasantly surprised, it was the reaction he liked but was too smart to expect it from anyone.

 

Maya cocked her head and laughed out loud, rueful and glad at the same time. “So Konami, I mean Pegasus, finally figured out Dracoslayer Pendulums were cancer killing the game. You have no idea how many Ghouls used that against us! But I must ask: how long will it take for these novel Link Monsters to become old and replaced by something even more outlandish? Three years? Two this time?” She didn’t even mention how Pegasus thought Internet references were still novel: Decode Talker, Firewall Dragon? What was this, the late nineties? Did Pegasus still use AOL dial up or something? Did Space Jam just come out?

 

Maya could see Pegasus deflate a little and it was a good sign, for it was always important to curb the pride of nobles: aristocrat, bourgeois, or otherwise. This got Pegasus to hand over binders to the remaining finalists, holding none other than a set of staple Link Monsters of all kinds for all different archetypes, yet to be released to the public and slowly over many years. “And I still have yet to tell you about the New Duel Disks you will use for the finals.” Pegasus cheerfully chipped in.

 

The finalists groaned, which Pegasus swatted aside, “Oh hush, you babies.” Before he called the hologram projector back into the table and opened a large silver briefcase, revealing what looked like a novel, high-tech gadget but had no board to place any cards and only one slot for the Main Deck. “My dear friend Kaiba-boy wanted to show you his new toys tomorrow but I couldn’t help it but show this wonder of technology to you, I hope you keep it our little secret. From now on, even the cards you will play with will be holographic but that won’t mean you can use any card you want. You have to scan your cards in the Main Deck to build a card database, then use it to build your Deck. I’ll leave it up to you bright souls to figure out how to do all of that.” Pegasus finally bit his guests farewell and bed time, it was long in the night, so the finalists made their way to their rooms.

 

Except Maya. Pegasus abruptly grabbed her shoulder, and Maya, on edge this whole time for so many different reasons, nearly attacked the man out of shock but stopped herself at the last moment. Pegasus said to her, deathly serious, “Thank you for looking after and protecting Sophia, my adopted daughter and prodigy, your responsibility was not at all expected but you fulfilled it. Please protect her life and ensure her well-being in the future.”

 

Maya replied simply, “You have my word.”  

[~ P O L A R I S ~]

Pegasus J. Crawford, the man who created Yugioh itself, 

 

Nah fam Yugioh is Yugioh/the king of games/Yami Yugi/Atem/the Pharaoh and the series is named for him and his kingliness of games. Pegasus created Duel Monsters, which is one of the games Yugioh/the king of games/Yami Yugi/Atem/the Pharaoh is the king of. 

 

Otherwise pretty cool. I liked Xiaoyi. 

[MewMew3]

Nah fam Yugioh is Yugioh/the king of games/Yami Yugi/Atem/the Pharaoh and the series is named for him and his kingliness of games. Pegasus created Duel Monsters, which is one of the games Yugioh/the king of games/Yami Yugi/Atem/the Pharaoh is the king of. 

 

Otherwise pretty cool. I liked Xiaoyi. 

 

In this cannon Yugioh has gone through many changes and renamings. Pegasus created the game in 1993 (the same year Magic the Gathering was created in our dimension) and back then called it Magic and Wizards. Just before 1996 (when the events of the first Yugioh Anime happened) Pegasus renamed it Duel Monsters and refined the rules. By 2009 (13th Battle City Tournament) Pegasus revamped the game again and renamed it Yugioh, making it just like the card game in our dimension. 

[MewMew3]

Duel 3 – Emergence

 

 

People expect sudden breakthroughs, revolutions, and emergences of consciousness to be loud, violent, and obvious to see, but in truth they are born so quietly into this world at moments so mundane you would miss it if you blinked. The violence, fanfare, and flame are merely echoes after the fact the way your thoughts are born of your passions but only dimply echo them. Xiaoyi pondered these thoughts, amusing herself with philosophy, in the bathtub where Gernand her master would soon join her. While the old man readied himself to pluck his favorite peony flower, to crush his favorite butterfly, she turned her thoughts to many years ago when master and student met.

 

Xiaoyi was twelve and a half years old when she ran away from home, stranding herself on the great mid-West American desert, the highway her lifeline, sometimes hitching a ride on people ready to lend a helping hand to an urchin. Her pale skin was burned red into a blush as it was in Egypt, she remembered. And there she saw Gernand for the first time, in action; the large fat man dragged two boys with his monstrous strength from an old car out into the highway, gripping their heads with large vices for hands. The young men pleaded for their lives, tried appealing to the man’s heart as if he once loved them, but Gernand was cold as ever. They outlived their usefulness in pleasuring him or being worthy students to his cause, so he crushed their skulls as the giant he was. Xiaoyi saw Gernand kill with his monstrous strength, screamed, ran as far away as she could.

 

She met that fearsome man again on the highway again later that same early June day, during sunset. The girl froze in terror but did not run away this time as he stood in front of her path, sitting still as a little bird in front of a cobra, hoping he would leave her be. He never did; instead he went out to talk to her, and the whole dialogue went as such:

 

GERNAND: “I know you saw me dispatch my last two students for they were too weak to fulfill the tasks I require them. I am as a farmer and I prefer large, strong trees with deep roots that yield the sweetest fruit, but enough of my obscure metaphors. I, like you, am a drifter of sorts, searching for something but a little lost. I have traveled the world for centuries, believe it or not, going on many libertine adventures to expand my tastes and learn all about mankind and the world. Yet I need a companion, someone to transmit by knowledge to so it may remain immortal should I perish, yet no apprentice is strong enough to keep faithful to my evil principles, and they waver. I tire of them anyway and dispatch them as I see fit.”

 

XIAOYI: “…”  

 

GERNAND: “I must have frightened you, no doubt; a pity. I see from your shirt you come from Los Angeles, yet why would you leave? It is a fine city with warm sunny days, Hollywood nearby, easy drugs and porn as they are the true trades of the land, anything a spoiled child could want. You want to run away as fast as you can, which I easily understand, but mark my words only I have a gaze penetrating enough to know what you truly want and how you may get it. You want freedom, hence you ran away, but I wonder how that desire pressed itself upon your heart, my little creature.”

 

XIAOYI: “M-Mama was not well in the head. Shortly after she became pregnant with me she had vivid dreams of a great black demon, the Devil she thought. S-She kept having them after I was born, thought the Devil sired me, not dad, tried to drown me when I was a baby, so dad locked her up. Mama just died in hospital and dad killed himself.”  

 

GERNAND: “I am very sorry to hear that.”  

 

XIAOYI: “Please, Sir, let me go. I am frightened and I don’t understand your riddles. I will never tell anyone what I saw you do to your… b-back there.”

 

GERNAND: “That concerns me not in the slightest. You want freedom after such a woeful childhood, do you, but do you know what freedom is?”

 

XIAOYI: “I never want to be in such a bad home anymore, full of pain. I learned from school it means having your rights protected and doing what you want as long as you don’t infringe on their rights and –“

 

GERNAND: “Wrong! Fools and dupes everywhere prattle freedom but have no idea what it really means, what sacrifices you must make to be a free man! Look around, desert wildflower; you see this wide dessert and setting sun, home to lizards, snakes, and scorpions with no pity for you. Nature is the cruel mistress who rules over all, She alone grinds the cosmic mill, the creatures crushed underneath it doomed to live an endless cycle of raping and killing, these being the true and only principles of living beings.”  

 

XIAOYI: “But what about God?”

 

GERNAND: “Don’t be an idiot. I know you are too smart to be believe in fairy tales, let alone big for your age, so let me outline the grade school truths for you. God, like all orthodox religions, is a lie created by earthly powers as propaganda to control the minds and hearts of its people, working in tandem with the State to do so. Excuses in believing in gods or afterlives beyond this world are specious at best; you have no way of perceiving either except through mental illness and they are redundant to Nature in the end, who is the only God there is. Of all gods, you can only touch this cruel mistress and thus only Her Divine Laws exist; Power and Pleasure at all costs!”

 

XIAOYI: “But what of other people and the animals? I wish I stayed home, maybe to become a vet one day to take care of animals?”

 

GERNAND: “It is only natural that one who loses God flees to his vestiges, humaneness. – How interesting out little chat is! We have moved past two and half centuries of thought already! – We are born in this world utterly alone and in misery; our flesh separates our minds so far apart true understanding of what it is like to be another person cannot be done, and your very life proves that evil rules the world. Every moral in this world, I repeat, every moral is a human invention, created by a ruling class to dominate their subjects, bolstered by their deluded pride, and upheld by centuries of convention, and every moral is man is a dupe taken by one of the three. Quickly looking at cultures around the world you will see that not one virtue or vice exists in the entire globe that is upheld by all peoples. It is natural for living creatures to will for power, to take what they can, to pursue what pleases them. Only then can they have a few trifling pleasures before Nature grinds them to dust under Her millstone.”

 

XIAOYI: “So freedom to you is only license. Sir, please let me leave. Your speeches are so tedious.”

 

GERNAND: “Girl, you know nothing of freedom.”

 

XIAOYI: “I don’t know how to feel. I want to leave you this instant but listening to you somehow makes me feel strong.”

 

GERNAND: “You want to become powerful, to compensate for a life of powerlessness and frustration, oh yes! I foresee your natural talents emerging already; you will have power greater than the earth’s, a cunning surpassing the worst tyrants, and an evil so great you will ruin man and his children, forever will you be known as his greatest Enemy. I will help you gain this power; become uncivilized, let no restriction bind you, answer to no man but me and you will be the cruel embodiment of Nature herself.”

 

XIAOYI:  “What inspired your prophecy?”    

 

GERNAND: “The Supreme Being that is Nature. I am no prophet but merely a philosopher able to predict the far future by observing natural laws. You may say the two are similar in essence. I say no, and here’s why!”

 

And Gernand expounded on his philosophy for another hour. Xiaoyi knew a classmate back in Los Angeles who just discovered Atlas Shrugged, and he would read the book aloud whenever not in glass. It’s author was the dullest, most conceited human to have ever lived, hence her prose, and Gernand was almost as bad as she was. Yet despite the decrepit man’s failings the young Xiaoyi was strangely compelled by his doctrines, drawn toward their owner in fascination and revulsion at the same time. She knew there were indeed a few kernels of truth in his creed, however dimply she could perceive them, and she resolved she would learn everything she could, and then, when the time was right, break away and find her freedom.    

“I will show you everything.” Gernand beckoned her. “You will learn all the secrets of Nature.”

 

And that was how Xiaoyi submitted herself to the cruel Gernand, going down and under to find her knowledge, who in turn wasted no time giving his eager pupil her first lesson. He forcefully tore the sunflower from its roots, ripping it apart, and Xiaoyi knew someone by the flesh for the first time.

 

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Maya pulled an all-nighter rebuilding her deck from the ground up. She completely discarded her old deck, the one that swarmed the field with low ATK high Level Dinosaurs to Xyz Summon all sorts of powerful monsters. It was great, but not enough for the finals, especially not now, and she even suspected that Pegasus created Link Monsters just to make her deck useless. She wondered if every other finalist had the same suspicions.

 

She built a new deck but it too was a failure. She threw her cards at the wall of her lodging. It was frustrating! She knew what she saw, what she wanted, and was so close to grasping it yet unable to! Her thoughts turned to Sophia; she lusted after every other person, treating love with ridicule as she was too disgusting and evil a person to deserve it, but with Sophia things were different. She felt she could trust her heart for once, the only time in her life, she listened to it. What did she feel to that sweet sunflower? It must be infatuation; she never knew what love was like before and she wasn’t ready to make any wild guesses in that area.

 

Sometime when her team was in Luxor, Sophia mentioned being in love with a boy, to which Maya scoffed off at first. But Yukio coaxed Sophia on to get to understand her feelings, something Maya would never let him to do her, and Sophia did answer what she thought love was like. She had said, “Love is not a feeling but life itself. It is a doing, not a being. Only it lights the stars.” Maya pretended not to listen to her younger and better peer, but she did.

 

Maya could indeed relate that description of love; it was passion, specifically the desire to give, to give the creative life force, and being enlarged as that life force erupts out in the greatest show of power and strength. Maya loved when she wrote or played music, she loved when she worked on a story or some other writing while Jolene drew, she loved when she created anything for Sophia. It was limitless, a power that could break past every cruelty and limit of the earth, every weakness of being human, and reach even beyond the stars, greater than the universe itself. She picked up one card, Beatrice Lady of the Eternal, the card where she always thought of Sophia. Now she got ideas! And she started working. This new deck would have deeper strategies, every facet of the deck linking together into a far greater whole, a deck that could touch almost anything. A Beatrice Almighty deck.  

 

Maya looked at you, the audience, directly. “Let this new way of dueling work. Let me evolve Yugioh and go to a higher game.”

 

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Gernand slid himself into the bathtub with great effort, his total mass nearly crushed Xiaoyi inside it, his body riddled by so many folds his shriveled small penis could never be seen. But there was no want of trying, the old man fancied himself a young and vigorous Don Juan and took his time toiling with Xiaoyi. The old man bit and carved into Xiaoyi’s flesh until blood came out, taking special delight in biting her tits and ass until blood came out, which caused him to eject a few drops of sperm with Xiaoyi’s assistance, then collected the blood into a basin. He darkly muttered an Egyptian chant from millennia ago, causing the blood to whirl upward on its own, assuming a snake-like shape then slithering into Gernand’s mouth. The effects came right after; his pure white hair revived some blond in it, his small watery blue eyes lost some cataract, and his flesh sagged slightly less.

 

Gernand told Xiaoyi a long time ago that his ritual prolonged his life for a while, provided he cruelly withdrew and drank the blood of one he lusted after while in the whitest heat. The spell itself. Gernand told her, came from the Book Isis, the only spell known after the one that used ninety-nine sacrifices to create the Millennium Items. Gernand, now done with his chores, could relax in his bath with his slave.

 

Now was the time. Xiaoyi quietly excused herself so Gernand would not notice, returned with a meteorite blade, and drove it straight through Gernand’s chest, bowls, and groin thirteen times each. The old dog woke in a fright, startled but not dead, his fat saved him. He was many times Xiaoyi’s size, able to crush her bones with no effort, but he fled in terror. He tripped out of the bathtub, over the wet floor, out of their private room deep in the Luxor country, his jowls, stomach, and ass cheeks desperately flabbing after him. Xiaoyi calmy walked after him, sure to take her time in witnessing the coward bleed to death with fleeing for his life.

 

The student soon cornered the master in a deserted alleyway with little effort. The frightened Gernand called forth his Ka to defend himself in a last resort for his safety, an ancient and great but flightless eagle, only for Xiaoyi to smash to bits with her dragon Ka, the damage rupturing Gernand’s internal organs. He lay dying, he glanced up at his student one last time, now towering over him, and cackled while chocking in his own blood. He created the person to embody Nature in all Her caprice, viciousness, and destructive power, but he did not have time to say his thoughts or even appreciate him.

 

Xiaoyi drove the dagger into him in a white hot fury hundreds of times, her face pale with rage, her lips peeled so far back every ferocious tooth in her wide mouth could be seen, shredding Gernand’s body so much she skinned him and bathed herself wet in his blood.

 

It was over as quickly as it began, an event surreal even to a seasoned killer as Xiaoyi. She dropped the meteorite dagger in fatigue, not caring about it anymore. She went back to the hotel room, slinking in the bathtub alone, the water inside mixed with her and her former master’s blood. Gernand was dead and she needed to make excuses for his superiors. But now was not the time.

 

Well, Xiaoyi thought, this is a pretty nice blood bath. Get it? She helped herself with some red wine and turned on the bathroom television to the Yugioh channel. It was time to see which basement-dwelling loser played a children’s card game better than anyone else. She crossed her fingers, hoping Maya would win, as she was the key to all her planning up to this point. Maya had retrieved the Book of Isis. That was certain. Now she needed to keep winning, keep that book in store until the right moment came. Xiaoyi had no idea gambling could be so fun – no wonder it was so addicting! – and though Maya was the dark horse at the races she hoped the dark horse would win for a change.

[MewMew3]

Oops! 4Kids forgot to censor the Xiaoyi and Gernand scenes. But then again they would have to censor everything anyway. 

[MewMew3]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I really like the creative games in Yugioh YouTube channels like TheRarely’s and the strong games in Yugioh: Dark Side of Dimensions. I intend to make my games somewhere in between where characters use creative decks not limited to one archetype or combo but play efficient moves to not make the duels too tedious. A player should interact more with their opponents when they play. Way too many games you see players making a giant setup to make an OTK. That’s boring and I don’t want that in my duels unless in the middle or endgame.

 

Duel 4 – Ignition!!!

 

 

Mathias could not sleep this morning, his mind under the hardest pressure, the need to stop the Headmaster’s doomsday prophecy from coming true was first in his mind. Matthew was the Satanic Red Dragon, he knew it – or did he? – if he lost to Matthew the world would be doomed but if he defeated the young man… would that make him the true Red Dragon? His powerful Ka, Horus the Black Flame Dragon, did not help matters. He was not under this much pressure in his entire immortal life since World War II.

 

So Mathias decided to play a little game to calm his mind, and so he peeked into every lodging to see exactly what everyone else was up to: Maximus, Maria, Stella, Tamas, Rex, and Weevil were fast asleep in their bed, Maya and Matthew were missing. And he found Hannibal in the dining room. Mathias said hello to his comrade and Hannibal returned the gesture, then asked what was bothering him.

 

Mathias told him everything about the Headmaster’s prophecy, slightly relieved to talk to someone, and then let Hannibal speak out of courtesy. Hannibal told him the awful truths burdening him, speaking, “I know all about the prophecy; Maximus told me long ago, but my concern is more personal. I knew Matthew’s grandfather very well; he was a kind, wise, profound man, and I even privately taught Matthew about everything; archaeology, anthropology, history, art, culture, and so forth. Now that I see his moral decline, his dark powers, the threat he poses to everyone, I may need to kill him. No, I must kill him! It is my moral duty to prevent suffering in this world! But, what if it’s wrong? What if I overstepped into excess; from courage into rashness, from justice to dogma?”

 

“Whether the prophecy is true or not Matthew used dark magic for malice and he must be dealt with in a shadow game.” Mathias assured his friend. “I also worry about his rival.” And when Hannibal asked why, Mathias answered, “She too has a powerful and dangerous dragon Ka, she utterly defeated Matthew a long time ago, and in doing so caused his mental collapse and moral decline. She is the source of his rage and his ambition, which is how he grew into such a powerful thread as a duelist and a wielder of shadow magic.”

 

Hannibal prayed, “May God help us find the right path in the middle of the thorny woods.”

 

Meanwhile Maya enjoyed the breezy midnight beach outside, listening to the soothing waves, moving towards and away, towards and away… every star was in view on this remote island, opening the full cosmos to her. She climbed up the steep pyramid, keeping the Book of Isis in a bag close by her to keep it safe, and found Matthew on top of the pyramid. Her arrival prompted him to gaze away from the waves below and stars above, staring at her coldly, hate in his eyes; her blood froze.

 

He said, “What are you doing here? Wait until we duel, then tell me you’re sorry and beg for mercy.”

 

Maya retorted instantly, “I will never say sorry or beg you for mercy. I will fight you to the death, show you as much mercy as you showed to other people, but I do sometimes wonder if our fates could have been different. You and I had many chances to choose a different path; when I lost to you in the academy tryouts, when JC betrayed our team for prophet, even when we dueled again, but we persisted, not knowing what we were doing. And here we are, ready to kill each other. This is how our rivalry will end; we decided so.”

 

Matthew: “You don’t believe in Fate do you or other such magical nonsense women love?”

 

And Maya: “No, but I believe in the power we have in our choices in life, and how we must always be strong and accept the consequences. I didn’t care when I was teenager, I just wanted to shake things up and piss people like you off, but now I understand better. Killing Heishin taught me that. I am prepared to kill you as well and accept the results.”

 

And Matthew: “Oh, how responsible. Our little afro punk grew up to be a serious thinker. Congratulations.”

 

And Maya: “I can’t say the same about you. You just want to kill me no matter what. Tell me, what future do you have even if you defeat me?”

 

“None of that matters. You will one day realize that too.” Matthew said with finality.

 

Hours passed in silence, day broke, Kaiba and Pegasus made their way up the pyramid to its top, followed by every other finalist. Pegasus notice his two remaining finalists, “What, no breakfast? One shouldn’t duel on an empty stomach! If I may do the honors.” He handed each finalist one Millennium Item Card, just like the ones they had been collecting for the entire tournament; Mathias got the Millennium Puzzle, Tamas got the Millennium Eye, Stella got the Millennium Rod, Maria got the Millennium Scales, Hannibal got the Millennium Scales, Weevil got the Millennium Key, Hannibal got the Millennium Necklace, Matthew got the Millennium Cube, a secret eight Item, and Maya got the Millennium Ring.

 

“Now hold your cards to the sun!” Kaiba barked at them. “Each card casts a golden shadow only during a certain time of day; this is how we determine who duels!” The finalists did as they were told, the sun revealed who was to duel; Matthew’s and Hannibal’s cards cast golden shadows. Suddenly a golden platform rose beneath them, the capstone of the pyramid where the finalists would duel, and four cameras rose from the sides of the pyramid’s top to record each duel in 3D. “Now take your positions!” Kaiba ordered.   

 

Hannibal confronted his former student, “Matthew, I beg you, please cease your revenge, it only causes destruction and misery. Think of your honor, of your grandfather; what would he say to you if he knew of all you had done?”

 

Matthew growled, “Shut up you naïve fool. You know nothing of my grandfather.” He sprung his new duel disk to life; lighting blue from his wrist to his shoulder, a device on his head began reading his brainwaves. A holographic deck appeared in his duel disk, Matthew drawing five cards. Hannibal did the same.   

 

Matthew: 8000 || Hannibal: 8000

 

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “I Summon Celeste Dragon!” Matthew’s holographic card vanishes, reforms on the field in a larger form, and vanishes again but in light as a transparent dragon made of tiny stars emerges from it. “I set 3 cards facedown. This will do.”

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Perhaps I should knock some sense into you. I Summon Traptrix Mymeleo!” Hannibal’s card vanishes and a young female magician and her pet plant take to the field together. He sets 4 cards facedown, ending his turn. “Every duelist who attacks me makes a fatal mistake. I have the high ground. Turn end.”   

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Too bad this isn’t Star Wars, you punk, only coward play Traptrix. Celeste Dragon, tear apart his annoying little girl!” And his dragon breathes forth a supernova blast.

 

Hannibal sees everything coming at him. “I play Artifact Sanctum, summoning Artifact Beagalltach from my Deck, then using his power to destroy two of my facedown cards.” A huge broadsword appears, then manifests a spirit of itself so it can be used, to slice apart Hannibal’s cards. “I activate Artifact Moralltach and Artifact Scythe; I Summon them and use their other effects. A large sword and scythe rise from the Graveyard. “Moralltach, destroy Matthew’s Dragon an Scythe, paralyze his Extra Deck!” Moralltach decimates Celeste Dragon into stardust while Scythe binds its target with a dark spell.

 

Matthew is not amused, “Cute, but I mill Carboneddon to revive Celeste Dragon.” His creature reforms but with its battling power halved. “And I play my Set Infernal Reckless Summon!” Letting two more Celeste Dragons to appear.

 

Hannibal is once more prepared, “Bottomless Trap Hole!” And all of Matthew’s monsters vanish into a void.

 

Cringing in disappointment, Matthew plays a new card, “Dragon’s Mirage. I end my turn.” As he does so, he Summons 4 Dragons from his Deck, powerful new Hieratic Dragons, equal to the number of his old Dragons were destroyed; Hieratic Seal, Dragon Core Hexer, Hiertic Dragon of Su, but their ATK and DEF are halved.

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: Curses, he thinks, Matthew already swarmed the field! “I switch all my monsters to Defense Position and set 2 facedown cards.”

 

Matthew snorts at this move, “You are a coward, Hannibal, you could have killed my weak Dragons. Are you scared of my Trap? Now I realize the morals you taught me are as useless and cowardly as you are.”

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “Let’s get this Duel really started, shall we?”

 

“I agree.” Hannibal shoots back, “Dimension Barrier, and I call Link monsters! There will be no Ultimaya Tzolkin combo on my watch.”

 

“Then I will rely on something else. I tribute Hieratic Dragon of Su to Summon Tongue Twister and use Su’s effect to destroy your facedown.” His blue dragon shattered, reforming into a giant ugly red-shape field, then Hannibal’s card is destroyed. However, Hannibal does benefit as he Summons Artifact Caduceus, an enchanted staff, to his field.

 

Matthew says, “You better watch this, Maya; see your own tactics used, as they should be, to truly destroy another human being! I overlay Hieratic Seal and Dragon Core Hexer to Xyz Summon Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon, then continue my overlay with Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor Photon Dragon, then Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!” His dragons fell into the overlay network wormhole, giving rise to a mighty interstellar dragon only for it to give rise to a new one, and then another new one. “I activate two of its effects. I mill 3 Dragons to my Graveyard, you banish 3 monsters, and I detach 1 Material to let it attack twice!”

 

Maya reflects on Matthew’s strategy from the sidelines. If Matthew uses her own ruthless moves, then she will face a mirror of herself in battle. If that is so, then it is another reason for her to grow beyond her past, beyond her limits.

 

Hannibal reminds Matthew he made a mistake; he did not activate Galaxy-Eyes Full Armor’s effect to pop an Artifact, to which Matthew response, “Of course not you idiot! As long as you have a full field you will struggle to kick your combos off, and I want to trample you down before you do that. I activate Dragon’s Rage so I can do piercing damage! Now, Dark Matter Dragon, destroy Artifact Caduceus and Traptrix Mymeleo!” The huge black dragon beats its wings, two black gales cut through Hannibal’s cards as knives, and push Hannibal staggering back. (Hannibal LP 8000 à 5200)

 

“Clever,” The old man admits. “But not enough to beat me. I Summon Artifact Vajra from my hand and with his appearance my entire back row is destroyed.” A magical vaijra manifests a blue spirit to wield it and shatters Hannibal’s cards with lightning bolts, which only brings out more Artifacts. “I activate Artifact Sanctum and my second Artifact Moralltach in my Graveyard; you’re attackers are destroyed!” A new Artifact emerges from the dusty Graveyard, and Matthew’s aggressing fiend and dragon burst into flames.

 

“I’m not done yet, old man.” Matthew insults his opponent. “I banish Tongue Twister to draw 2 cards and set 1 facedown.”  

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Brace yourself Matthew! I will put an end to your ways! I link 2 Moralltach and 1 Scythe to Link Summon Artifact Uraniawar, then overlay Vaijra and Beagalltach to Xyz Summon Shark Fortress!” Three of Hannibal’s Artifacts fall into three arrows on the edges of a square portal, lighting them, allowing a new Artifact a be Summoned; a rocket-like missile manifesting a black spirit to carry it. The two remaining Artifact’s fall into an overlay network, letting shark-shaped submarine to cross to the other side.

 

Stella grabs Maya, points at Hannibal’s new Artifact, “Is that nuke?”

 

Maya answers, “Yes. Uranium is the antique weapon of our times.”

 

“Wow, that is… profound. Who knew Pegasus cared so much about the future of the human race.”

 

“He is the sensitive artist type, after all.”    

 

Banter aside, Hannibal announced, “Preparations are complete, Matthew. The rash man only blunders. Now I am ready to attack!”  

 

“You only attack when you’re certain you won’t be challenged. Are you moderate, or mediocre?”

 

“I detach 1 Material from Shark Fortress, now attack Matthew directly twice!” His submarine strikes Matthew with two torpedoes, blasting his opponent’s Life away. (Matthew LP 8000 à 3400) Hannibal is just about to cripple Matthew for good but he pauses midway in declaring his attack.    

[MewMew3]

Duel 5 – The Darkness Returns

 

 

Hannibal halts his direct attack, ready to strike the final blow, but cannot bring himself to defeat Matthew even though it is the best thing to do. He drops his fighting arm, pleading to Matthew once more, “Stop your rampage, revenge is never the answer. Remember what your grandfather taught you – what he taught you through me; you cannot truly change this world, maybe some physical things or situations on the surface level but not the natural order guiding the universe. You must become aware of that order and work with it, not just passively react to it. You are consumed by vengeance; your anguish dominates you and you become like a dog in car, going wherever the engine takes you.

 

“Even rich men, like your grandfather, like you, who have good fortune, health, education, freedom, entertainment, luxuries, know better than to let themselves be torn by their passions and the highs and lows of life. You know it is the poor who are easily led and wasteful, hence their poverty, but even vicious men of wealth and power destroy themselves. Every good man of importance, such as your grandfather, knew to restain his power, to rule ethically; this virtue is how society is run without which is chaos. What kind of man are you who will destroy everything in his path for vengeance?”

 

Hannibal sternly points at Maya watching the duel from the sidelines. “This woman is not worth your suicide. She is aggressive, selfish, vicious, rapacious, and irresponsible: an insult to her sex. You may not have been aware of her conduct between the four years since she defeated you but I have seen her flaunt every virtue. Do you want to ruin your life over such a woman?”

 

Maria glares at Maya from far away, so intensely Maya can hear her hissing if she listens hard enough, while Stella asks her, somewhat sternly, if she hid any dark secrets from her.

 

Maya shrugs the accusers away with exasperation, “I refused to do what my corporate sponsors wanted and made the first move on anyone I wanted to f***. Apparently that makes me a fallen woman unworthy of being Hannibal’s Stoic muse. I’m glad he never watched me take a s*** because if he did he might have called me human, and that’s terrible.”

 

“See, she is worth it.” Matthew demonstrates to Hannibal. “You don’t get it; she is as pure and honest as a child while you probably lie even to yourself. The ‘natural order’, my teacher, of the world is centered on vice and death. Want to act ‘in accordance with Nature’ as you would put it? Rape, kill, and steal! Every creature does so to life but only humans are dishonest enough to pretend otherwise. This is how ‘men of importance’ have ruled the world and kept society running; by raping, killing, and stealing from everyone else not as lucky.”

 

Matthew reaches a high point in his despair. “Leave your academic fantasy world, you old fool! Rich people like me have always known in our hearts the secret to living well is by cold, brutal oppression! The virtues we tell society to live by is a cover to trick ever niggardly inferior, everyone who is not one of us, to living in peace under our power! Hypocrisy, not virtue, is the name of the game, you idiot!” And he breaks in manic laughter. “Welcome to this world, this world of death, of destruction, of utter darkness! Ha ha ha ha!”       

 

The cultured, dignified, reserved Matthew had completely broken down, though Maya knows his decline would reach a low point watching it happen before her eyes sends chills down her spine. “Matthew, you’re so edgy right now you’re slitting my wrists for me.” Let her lame jokes hide her fear, which Matthew, nor any opponent, can ever see.

 

“Oh I will slit your wrists, Maya, until I watch you bleed dry.” Matthew snarls at her.

 

“That’s it! Channel that pent up Black Sabbath rage! Mommy didn’t give you an X-box for Christmas and you’re pissed! You’re ready to shoot up a school any minute now!”

 

Mathias, who watched the duel quietly up until this point, runs into Maya, ready to shut her up. “Don’t! Provoke! Him!” He shouts at her, shaking her to her senses.  

 

Matthew: 3400 || Hannibal: 5200

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Enough of this foolishness! I’ll end this duel right now! Artifact Uraniawar, attack Matthew directly!” His spectral soldier throws its weapon, a deadly radioactive missile, straight at its target.  

 

But Matthew will have none of it. “I activate Scapegoat!” Four tiny, harmless sheep, shield their master from any damage, now only three sheep was one of them was sacrificed to Hannibal’s attack.

 

“Practice time is over. Old man, look at this!” Matthew tears his shirt open, revealing the ghastly wound on his chest; a blackened mark in the shape of a small hand with a reddened Eye of Horus symbol carved at the center. He raises his fist into the sky, his Eye of Horus burns with bright light, and black smoke and energies shoot from his fist, morphing into the shapes of skulls and horrid beasts before engulfing the whole arena in a deadly fog.

 

“Let the Shadow Game begin! We manifest our monsters as symbols of our will with our life-force, or in other words we use our Ba to give energy to our Ka, since you are such a history buff. But if you can’t take the heat playing a real duel or lose, you die! Let’s go!”

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “I link up one Sheep Token and link up the other two Sheep Tokens to Link Summon Link Spider and Proxy Dragon.” Two grid-like squares manifest in the arena, and the Sheep Tokens dissolve into spirits, flying into and igniting corners of the squares known as Link Arrows. The portals open, letting two advanced robots – at least that is what they look like – emerge. “And I link them up to Link Summon Decode Talker!” And his new monsters die to open the gateway for another monster. Matthew screams, drawing in his life-force to birth a monster, a cyber warrior, in a duel for the first time.

 

“So this is what a Link Summon is like.” Kaiba comments, frosty as ever. If he is not mistaken, Matthew will then bring out a dragon named Tzolkin, which will let Matthew easily Summon Sycnrho Monsters with powerful locking effects. If so, Matthew’s strategy would be nothing new, as Hieratic players have long perfected this powerful combo, just adapted to a new format.

 

Matthew explains, “Decode Talker links two Monster Zones with its Link Arrows, letting me Summon monsters from my Extra Deck there, which I will do. I banish Carboneddon from my Graveyard to Summon Hieratic Dragon of Eset from my Deck.” A small silver dragon but with large golden wings appears, but only briefly. “I Tribute it to Summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit, which activates it and lets me Summon Labradorite Dragon from my Deck.” And surely enough one dragon is replaced by two; one light and one dark.

 

“I tune the two together to Synchro Summon Ultimaya Tzolkin!” The dark dragon turns into green rings, the light dragon into stars, align, flash into light. A larger than life, snakelike dragon made of red flames entwines itself around the whole arena. “I Set a card facedown, activating Tzolkin, letting me Summon an Extra Deck monster: Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!” The dragon of flames draws a fiery ring with its wing, and Matthew’s next redoubtable dragon, a white and silver beast flies through. “Now, my Synchro Dragon, destroy the old man’s baleful Artifact!”

 

Matthew’s dragon smashes its target with a hailstorm of crystals, but Hannibal bears it. (Hannibal LP 5200 à 5000) The scholar shouts through the wind and hail, “I’m not dead yet! I use Uraniawar’s effect; I destroy my facedown card to save it!” His facedown Moralltach shatters.

 

“No luck, old man!” Matthew counters, “I activate Crystal Wing’s effect: negate and destroy your Artifact!” And his dragon rains unto Hannibal’s monster with its breath.

 

Hannibal, though he faces huge danger, merely smiles and winks. “I discard Ghost Ogre and Snow Rabbit from my hand!” A small, spirit girl flies from Hannibal’s hand, dives inside the dragon, breaking its crystal body into shards from the inside. Yet Matthew’s dragon’s effect persisted beyond its death, and Matthew let Hannibal know it; it smashed Artifact Uraniawar into bits. Hannibal cried out in pain as the pain inflicted on his spirit, embodied in his monster afflicted him, and the tie between his Ba and Ka was cut.

 

But Hannibal stands strong, a small loss like this cannot bring him down. “I Summon Artifact Moralltach since I destroyed it, which means I destroy your Tzolkin!” The spectral warrior throws its huge sword, brimming with electricity, at the fiery dragon god, cutting into its heart, the dragon dissolving into flames. Matthew snarls at Hannibal for impudence, killing his Tzolkin Combo so easily, but Hannibal waved his finger at his former student, “You always overlooked one important step in your games as well as your studies.”

 

“Your tricks won’t save you. This is a real battle, not a debate.” Matthew orders Decode Talker to destroy Moralltach, which it does, again severing Hannibal’s connection to his monster and inflicting him with intense pain. (Hannibal LP 5000 à 4800)

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: This duel is really taking a toll on poor Hannibal. Now is the time for Plan B. “I set a card facedown and Summon Cardcar D.” A floating wheel-less racecar appears. “And I offer it to draw two.” His car vanishes. “Turn end.”

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “My onslaught will continue. I Normal Summon Hieratic Dragon of Gebeb and banish to Special Summon Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, and use its effect to revive Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon from the Graveyard.” His smaller Hieratic dragon appears, evaporates to another dimension, and before Hannibal knows it he once more stands in the way of two mighty and dangerous dragons, one black and red, the other white and silver.

 

“Decode Talker gets 1000 ATK from co-linking two monsters. Decode Talker, cut down Shark Fortress!” The blue warrior slices deep into the shark-shaped submarine, leaving an electric blue mark behind it; the fortress blows. (Hannibal LP 4800 à 3900) “Crystal Wing, smack my insolent opponent a good one!”

 

Hannibal sees the attack, and serves his dish to Matthew. “I activate Obliterate!!! I mill an Exodia piece to bypass your dragon’s effect with a Trap card, and bounce it back to your Extra Deck!” A spectral image of Exodia, the forbidden giant, forms behind its owner, and hits its target with a fireball.

 

Matthew is not amused. “You targeted my dragon this time, so you will not bypass Decode Talker’s effect; I Tribute Red-Eyes!” His decoder atomizes the red and black dragon, crams it in its blade, jumps in the way of Exodia’s fire, splitting into harmless pieces with his blade. Then it dives for Hannibal’s card, slashing it to ribbons. Hannibal returns his discarded Exodia piece to his hand, since his card was destroyed.

 

But it doesn’t save him from Matthew, who cries, “Crystal Wing, hit him directly!” The dragon showers Hannibal with the fury of Matthew’s ice and fire, slamming him to the ground. (Hannibal LP 3900 à 900) Mathias watches the onslaught with pain in his heart, for each hit on Hannibal is a hit on him, but he keeps himself detached. Nothing is worse than breaking a duel, let alone a Shadow Game, which brings terrible magic upon any cheaters or cowards.

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: Hannibal rises to his feet quickly, his spirit unbroken. He still has Plan B. “I Summon Exodia the Forbidden One, equip it with Wonder Wand, then use its effect to Tribute it and draw 2.” Exodia, only a harmless head, appears, only vanish from the spell of a wand. “I play Monster Reborn to revive Exodia’s head and Tribute it to Summon The Legendary Exodia Incarnate!” The head revives and dies once more, an offering to a god, which finds the sacrifice to its liking. A raging fire erupts from the darkness, circling the field, a golden giant forms from the amber flames, primed for battle. Yet Hannibal holds off his attack. “I set two cards facedown end my turn, which means Exodia Incarnate lets me get back an Exodia piece.”

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: “How you manage to keep Artifacts and Exodia consistent in your Deck is a mystery to me. No matter, Exodia Incarnate is weak, with only 1000 ATK. You’ll need more Exodia pieces in your Graveyard to fight me.”

 

“We’ll see.” Hannibal said with confidence. “Don’t overlook a factor this time.”

 

“I don’t plan to. Crystal Wing, destroy Exodia!” This time the dragon absorbs Exodia’s power with its wings with its effect, adding its ATK to its own, then rains a hailstorm of crystals on a new target.

 

“I activate my Traps, Forbidden Sealing and Radio Half Life! I discard my Exodia piece to mill two more from my Deck and I banish Artifact Moralltach from my Graveyard! Trap combo, go!” Matthew watches in horror as Exodia’s power rises to 4000 ATK while his Crystal Wing dragon’s ATK drops to 3500. The Egyptian giant sends Matthew’s dragon flying to its death with one punch. (Matthew’s LP 3400 à 2900)

 

Matthew examines his field with dismay. His Decode Talker, being a Link Monster, cannot change into Defense Position. “I end my turn.”

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: “Good! I activate Enchanted Exchange; I mill a Spellcaster and add a Fairy from my Deck to my hand, and I set a card facedown.” Exodia grows in strength to 5000 ATK. “Exodia, obliterate Decode Talker!” The giant burns Matthew’s only monster to ash. (Matthew LP 2900 à 200) Matthew howls in torment as the flames scorching his monster scorch him as well, the bond between him and his will manifest violently severed. Hannibal ends his turn, retrieving an Exodia piece to his hand. 

[MewMew3]

Duel 6 – A New God Awakens

 

 

Matthew: 2900 | Hannibal: 900

 

Mathias, watching the epic duel from the sidelines, is so shocked and puzzled by Hannibal’s hesitation he clasps his jaw with his hand, glancing around the arena to make sure he is not hallucinating the event, seeing everyone is as shocked as he is. “Why did not Hannibal pummel him! He is one turn away from killing Matthew in his own Shadow Game!” He rages to himself, the voice in his head so loud he believes for a brief moment everyone can hear him. Then he realizes Hannibal is only human and no normal person can easily take a life.

 

Mathias clasps the Philosopher’s Stone on his chest; a glowing crystal in small gold cage, made from the very leftover gold used to create the Millennium Items. His stone gave him and Maximus a life far longer than human, the Headmaster of their great monastery in Ireland prolonged their lives to prepare all Christendom for the End Times. Mathias chastises himself for his lack of mercy and remorse, and with that he doubts his goodness again. Was he the Red Dragon the Headmaster prophesized?

 

Hannibal withdraws his fist, refraining from striking Matthew with a crippling blow, and reaches out to him one last time. “Matthew, ask yourself; would your grandfather kill for revenge? He would be so ashamed and sad, to see his great grandson, so intelligent, talented, and tasteful, throw away all his potential. And all your terror and murder for what; to get back at people not worth the trouble for losing a card game? You know you’re better than this.

 

“I do not speak to you as a teacher but as another flawed man. I remember the day I realized the error of my ways and changed. I was married to Indira, a beautiful noble woman, an Indian princess, no an Indian goddess of all virtues you used to have, but one day One day I failed to worship her, this Eternal Feminine.” Every female finalist groans at the hearing of such praise, but Hannibal fails to hear them. “I met a girl online, more comely than my dear Indira but nowhere near as beautiful or intelligent, but I pursued her, and Indira divorced me when she found out. Ever since then I embraced a different life, a life of stoicism and reflection, but never has a day gone by without me doing good deeds in penance. Matthew, it is never too late to repent and return to a nobleman’s life of virtue.”

 

“Elitism and classism much.” Stella remarks from the sidelines with a snark.

 

Maya is about to respond but Kaiba chortles in her place. “He’s a stoic. Of course he acts like Caesar while pretending to be humble, as if anyone cares about the moral drama in his life.” Maya might as well have said it.

 

Matthew listened to everything his former mentor said – truly he did, he paid attention sincerely – shaking his head and laughing sadly, unable to take anything Hannibal said seriously anymore. He has to tell the truth. “Old man, you never knew my grandfather. He had connections to the Ghouls for over a decade, and he profited from their rackets, not only their usual extortions but also from the antiques black market. He was not a good person. No ‘nobleman’ is. I told you, as an insider, the owners of the world use morals as a one-way street. Sorry.” And he means it.

 

Hannibal drops the card in his hand, devastated.

 

“God is a cruel satirist; He truly works in mysterious ways.” Maya comments, noticing Mathias listening to her as if he just realized something. “Listen, Hannibal. Stop pretending to be selfless. Your philosophical garbage is all about you; you’re self-blame and life of penance is the sick pleasure you get from self-pity and your preening self-aggrandizement. You cheated on your wife, big deal. Every other man and woman was once a cuckold, me too.   

 

“If you want Matthew or me for that matter to live in penance and self-denial, you can forget it; an utterly useless and stupid way to live. You won’t revive the dead, nor mend you’re wife’s broken heart, nor stop you from hitting on naïve college girls in the future. Your massive guilt, especially the kind of guilt you have, will just corrode you and bore everyone else. Your God will not tell me how to live my life. I have no sympathy or pity for you. You can lose this Shadow Game and die for all care. I never thought I would cheer for Matthew in my entire life but I do now. I would laugh at this sad joke but it is too pathetic.”            

 

HANNIBAL’S TURN: The old man thrusts his fist at Matthew again. “No! Your grandfather was not an evil man! You will pay for his crimes and yours! Exodia, smash Decode Talker!” The Forbidden One grinds Matthew’s monster with its massive fist. (Matthew LP 2900 à 200) The strike sends shocks into Matthew’s body, nearly making him fall over. “My turn ends, so I return an Exodia piece to my hand.” Hannibal concludes.

 

“This duel is done.” Kaiba snorts, turning around to leave, his white trench coat billowing behind him as always. Matthew’s Ultimaya Tzolkin tactic was well established long before the finals began, and even that didn’t same him. He added nothing new to the game.

 

Pegasus playfully wags his finger at his old friend. “You shouldn’t leave the duel until the last card is played, Kaiba-boy. Who knows what may happen next!” His advice received the usual ungrateful barb.  

 

MATTHEW’S TURN: Sometimes a duelist knows when he draws a powerful card, and this is such a moment; Matthew knows he will end the duel in total victory! He just knows! “I draw, and I activate Dragon’s Mirror! I banish 5 Dragons in my Graveyard to Summon Five God Dragon!” A huge mirror appears behind him, and as five ghosts go inside it a dragon of godlike powers; of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Dark, smashes through the other side of the looking glass. “Now, Return From the Different Dimension!” Matthew pays half his Life and every dragon he banished comes back. (Matthew LP 200 à 100)

 

“Now, old man, you will see God! I banish 4 of my Dragons; Five God Dragon, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon, Proxy Dragon, to summon from my Extra Deck GOLDEN GOD DRAGON!!!” Matthew’s dragons fly to the heavens, vanishing into the gathering thunderstorm. Lightning strikes the field, the god thunders down from a higher plain to manifest in earth below; a huge dragon of six wings, covered in a near infinite amount of golden scales.

 

Kaiba turns around in surprise, with everyone else gasping stupidly at the splendorous beast in play. Weevil and Rex huddle together as lambs, trembling in terror. Maya saw something in each of the dragon’s scales and, squinting hard enough, found that each scale was inscribed with three words: Thou shalt not! A godly monster indeed.

 

Hannibal drops his duel disk on the ground. “Seize you’re win, Matthew. You earned it. I was wrong about your grandfather but I’m not wrong about you. I know that deep down you are a good person.”

 

Matthew is unmoved. “Golden God Dragon, destroy the old man! Make this duel my game!” His dragon rises a hundreds of meters into the air and crashes down on Hannibal in a vortex of fire. The mighty Exodia resists but is soon consumed by the flames. Hannibal feels nothing but the most terrible pain in his entire life, with every nerve burning as if in Hell, but he makes not one sound. Matthew’s dragon rises to the sky, returning to the higher dimension where it came, and Hannibal, burned and broken, drops.

 

Matthew: 100 | Hannibal: 0

 

All the darkness from Matthew’s evil magic floated away, leaving the bright afternoon sun to shine clearly, as if nothing happened.

 

Mathias, Stella, and Mokuba rushed to help the fallen duelist. Rex and Weevil still tremble in fright. Maya, Maria, and everyone else remained still, as if not knowing what to do. Mathias desperately pleaded to Hannibal to wake up, shook him, slapped him, pushed his chest and breathed into his mouth, but all in vain. Hannibal was gone. Stella hugged Mathias as he wept.

 

Kaiba left, this time for good, but grumbled, “First we had the Sacred Beasts to match the God Cards, then the Wicked Gods, then the Dragon Gods, then Golden God Dragon.” His one-time God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor, was no longer special. “Come with me, Mokuba.” He ordered, and Mokuba obeyed.

 

Pegasus shrugged. “An excellent duel, certainly legendary, it satisfies my connoisseur taste, but I must be going, for half an hour at least. Until next time. And Isono,” he addressed Kaiba’s referee. “Remove the corpse.” The finalists were fighting dogs or race horses for all he cared. The plebs weren’t people.

 

Only Mathias, Stella, and Maya remained; Mathias weeping, Stella consoling him, Maya remaining unmoved, but Stella rebuked her, “Maya, you’re so cruel.”

 

Maya seemed dazed for she replied as if talking to herself, “Hannibal was right about Matthew. He is a good person deep down but went the wrong way. He seemed so friendly when we just dueled, before I saw he condescended me, but I think I briefly saw the true man, even if just a second. But I’m not a good person. I could have grown up in a whole family, with my mom alive, my dad kind, and our money intact. But no good upbringing will change who I am. The tournament revealed to me my birthright.”

[MewMew3]

NOTE: I changed the font of all chapters from Times New Roman to Verdana. It makes them easier to read. 

[MewMew3]

Created Cards

 

Matthew's Cards:

 

Celeste Dragon

LIGHT/Dragon/Level 6/2400 ATK/2200 DEF

1)   If you control no monsters: you can Normal Summon this card without any Tribute.

2)   If this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: you can send 1 Dragon monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. Special Summon this card, but half its original ATK and DEF. If this card would be removed from the field, banish it instead.

 

Dragonic Desperation

Continuous Trap

1)   Activate when you Special Summon a Dragon from your Graveyard: Special Summon as many monsters as possible with the same name from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard.

2)   If this card is removed from the field: banish all monsters Summoned by this card’s effect. At the end of your opponent’s next turn: send this card to the Graveyard.

 

Dragon Mirage

Spell

1)   During your End Phase: Special Summon Dragons from your Deck equal to the number of Dragons you control that were destroyed this turn. They cannot attack, and their ATK and DEF are halved.

 

Golden God Dragon

LIGHT/Dragon/Fusion-Synchro-Xyz-Pendulum/Level-Rank 10/ATK 4000/DEF 4000/Pendulum Scale 13
4 Dragons

PENDULUM EFFECT:

1)   If your opponent activates a Spell, Trap, or monster effect: you can banish 1 Dragon from your hand, field, or Graveyard to negate and destroy your opponent’s card.

MAIN EFFECTS:

2)   Must first be Special Summoned from your Extra Deck by banishing 4 Dragon monsters you control of different Extra Deck types.

3)   If this card would be targeted or destroyed: you can banish 1 Dragon from your hand, field, or Graveyard, and this card is not destroyed.

4)   If this card is destroyed: you can send this card to a Pendulum Zone instead of the Extra Deck.

5)   If this card is destroyed: you can Special Summon 1 banished Dragon (ignoring all Summoning conditions).

6)   If this card destroys your opponent’s monster by battle: it can attack once more.

 

Hannibal's Cards:

 

Artifact Uraniawar

LIGHT/Fairy/Link 3/2800 ATK/Arrows: top, bottom-left, bottom

3 “Artifact” monsters

1)   Once during your turn: you can set 1 “Artifact” monster from your Graveyard facedown in one of your Spell & Trap Zones.

2)   Once during your opponent’s turn: if this card or a card its Link Arrows point to would be destroyed: destroy 1 Spell or Trap you control; this card is not destroyed.

 

Forbidden Sealing

Trap

1)   Send 1 Normal monster from your hand to the Graveyard. Send up to 2 Normal monsters with the same Type and Attribute from your Deck to the Graveyard

 

Radio Half Life

Continuous Trap

1)   Once per turn: when one of your monsters battles; banish 1 “Artifact” monster from your Graveyard. Half the ATK of 1 monster on the field.

2)   When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: you can banish it to Special Summon as many of your banished “Artifact” monsters as possible. Return all monsters you control to your hand at the end of the turn.

 

Enchanted Exchange

Spell

Activate 1 of these effects:

1)   Send 1 Spellcaster from your Deck to the Graveyard; add 1 Fairy from your Deck to your hand.

2)   Send 1 Fairy from your Deck to the Graveyard; add 1 Spellcaster from your Deck to your hand.

[MewMew3]

Duel 7 – Courage from the Cowardly Lion
 

 
Mokuba swiftly ordered the best medical team Kaibacorp had to offer to tend to Hannibal’s unmoving body. Mathias truly wished his companion Ivy was here so she could heal the body through her Ka and revive the person within, but, and Mathias hated the idea, Ivy could only work her magic if Hannibal was alive. A dead man was impossible to reach; Mathias knew only One, a perfect being, who brought back the dead. The helpless Mathias took much coaxing from Stella and Mokuba to let go of his friend’s body so the doctors might save him, so he let them with great reluctance carry Hannibal to an emergency room.
 
Maya watched the procession of doctors, nurses, and body in silence, unmoved, while Matthew gloated at his victory; the vanquishing of his prey with his dark magic gave him an exalted rush he always wanted in his life and strength as his shadow powers grew. Did Yugi face such a runaway train in his Battle City? It was terrifying to watch. Maya always felt a rage inside her, a fire held back like a corked volcano; perhaps Matthew is what she would look like once that volcano destroyed itself in an eruption.
 
Kaiba barked his orders, “Don’t go anywhere next, shrimps! Raise your Millennium Item cards in the air and let the sun decide the next duelists!”
 
Mathias could not believe Kaiba’s callousness, for he knew Kaiba to be a cold man but never did he imagine such cruelty. Ready to tear that man apart and his smug foppish friend, he would have jumped but felt the barrel of a gun on his back. “I’m sorry, Mathias.” Isono said, his apology genuine. “But if Kaiba wishes the duels to go on, they will go on.”
 
The finalists reluctantly put their cards in the air, waiting for the sun to give its verdict. It soon did; gold light from Mathias’ and Weevil’s cards hit the floor. Isono announced, “It is settled! Mathias Blackheart versus Weevil Underwood! The duel will commence within twenty minutes sharp!” Weevil ran away with Rex in an instant, knowing just how strong Mathias was and how weak they were in comparison, but Mathias did not care. He hurried to the medical room, Stella and Maya trailing behind him.
 
The doctors had tended to Hannibal’s body as best he could, their leader explaining Hannibal’s state to Mathias. He was not dead but in a coma. Mathias was deeply relieved to hear the news but he knew it meant his friend’s life now completely depended on Matthew’s defeat. If Matthew did not fall his dark spell would not be undone, and Hannibal would never waken. Mathias placed a gentle hand on the body’s brow. “I promise to save you.”
 
Stella decided to confront Maya at this point. She knew her well enough, or so she thought. “I don’t understand you. Don’t you feel any pain in your heart, any pain at all for Hannibal’s suffering?”
 
Maya had a hard time telling her, “I don’t, but I don’t know why.”
 
“Bullshit!” Stella rebuked her. “You hated his philosophy of living in penance, so you thought he was better dead. Why would that matter to you anyway? What did you do, kill someone?”
 
Maya turned her back to her former lover, pressing her forearm against the wall and her head on it, breathing deeply. She had to accept what she did, and do so by telling the truth. She faced Stella gain, saying. “I will, but take off your pink contacts first.”
 
Stella did not bother to ask why because she already knew, so she did so, revealing her true eyes; they were as clear and blue as the sky itself. Maya said, every word heavy but somehow managing to speak, “I killed Heishin, the dictator of Egypt, when we sacked Cairo, freeing the nation. He kidnapped me and threw down a dark pit, which I stayed in for three days, believing I would die. – My ribs are still broken. – I hated Heishin, so I killed him. I saw him tell his son he loved him before I sent a bullet in his brain without blinking. You would think the lights in his eyes would vanish as the soul does after death, assuming there is a soul, but his eyes stayed bright with the same emotion they had a moment before. It was terrifying; like he was a zombie.”
 

Stella stepped a pace backward on hearing such gruesome details. A lesser woman would have demonized Maya as a monster for killing a man but Stella understood the circumstances that pressured Maya to become a killer. She felt relieved, to be honest. “You were more open to me, honest to who you are, now than at any point when we were together. You were always guarded. Even when we had sex, you never connected your heart to mine; you only pleasured my body.”

 

“I don’t do dating or relationships. I thought I made that clear the moment we met.” Maya explained to her like she was a teenaged girl. “As far as I’m concerned, friendship is one thing while sex is another, and the former does not imply the latter in any way; it does not even imply love. I funked enough people over the years to put Lizzie Lape to shame, but funking them did not mean I cared for any of them in any way unless I valued them more deeply, valued them as friends, outside of that.”  

 

“Seeing how you pump and dump every man or woman that arouses you, I am shocked, in retrospect, you managed to be faithful to me for a year. Have you ever loved another person in your life, or at least cared for them beyond their use to you? Or do only feel the low emotions of hatred, pride, lust, jealousy, and excitement? Are you a human being, or only a reptile that can speak?”

 

Maya lowered her voice into a soft growl. “Nothing is more pitiful than a woman in love, if such a thing exists. The one thing I hate most about my sex is their pathetic romantic fantasies; they choose idiot partners based on it rather than anything remotely involving reason, then wonder why men resent them and women are unhappy.”

Stella was aghast. “Talk about internalized misogyny! But that makes sense. You appear to be a radical progressive, what with being a black Jewish woman who defeated score after score of entitled American white dudes, but act like a female CEO. You’re a Queen Bee, Maya. You hate other women because you see them as a threat to you. I expected Audre Lorde. I got Hillary Clinton.”
 
Maya thought in a flash that perhaps she should “open her heart” and grab the b**** by the mouth, but she did not. Either way, she lost it. “Take your third wave feminist garbage somewhere else! First, I can’t be Jewish as my mother wasn’t a Jew. Second, if you actually went to your local tournament you would realize how many white kids truly play this came. And third, have you done any real work to help a woman, a Jew, or a black person?
 
“I have lectured in colleges, debated in meetings, gone to marches, lost three fourths of my livings – my livelihood – in a lawsuit, got punched in the face by a neo-Nazi, punched another neo-Nazi in kind when he tried to hit my face but missed, got pepper-sprayed in the eyes and literally dogpiled by cops in armor, had my addresses doxxed by a punk and got swatted in the same week. I did everything in the last four years to change this game, to break the corporate hierarchy so prep school kids like Matthew did not control every piece of the metagame and rule unchallenged. Nothing worked, and do you why? It was because everyone was like you; you complained at Starbucks, you blogged at Jezebel, you whined about the pay gap and women at STEM, and so forth. But did you suffer to make any change happen beyond needing to block someone on Twitter or go to the occasional protest? You did not. Your feminism and professional dueling career are a balancing act of fame, following, and publicity. Mine never was.
 
“And don’t you dare lecture me on love either. Do you believe the funny little feeling you felt in your little heart and the fantasies you daydreamed about was love? There is no such thing as love in this world and even it did exist no one would be worthy of it, and I am the least worthy person of all. My mother quickly learned the limits of her ‘love’ for me when my father poured boiling water on her hands.”
 
Mathias shook his head, groaning. “This is like watching Malik and Bakura argue with each other. Get a room, ladies, and critique your feminist praxis somewhere else, not next to a dying man. And Maya, do your self a favor and get help. You even disturb me right now.”
 
Stella put her pink contacts back on, and looked at Maya’s dark eyes that lit with Hell’s fury. “I am sorry you are such a unhappy and lonely person. You are not an evil person, but you like to pretend you are so you don’t have to change.” Before Stella left, she informed her once lover. “Don’t tell me what doing a balancing act is like. Every single thing you did for the last four years was a calculated political move. Goodbye.”
 
Mathias placed his hand on Hannibal’s forehead before getting up. “I really need to pee before I find Weevil and make him duel me. I can’t believe I have to babysit that dork. My friend nearly died.”
 
Maya laughed a bit. “Talk about a mood whiplash. We will abruptly enter a comic relief scene any minute now.”
 
Mathias was utterly confused. “What?”
 
“The audience will get confused if I don’t tell them. And don’t forget how the entire gaming world is watching the tournament in earnest despite – no, because – people are dying. The author will have to explain that sooner or later.”    
 
“Who cares what the audience thinks! Just because you can break the fourth wall now doesn’t make you special!”
 
“Well I guess it makes sense for Yugioh to be a dangerous spectator sport.” Maya thought out loud. “Loan sharks cut a sports gambler’s finger off if he doesn’t pay his debt and athletes get paralyzed trying to become world famous. What makes Yugioh any different?”
 
“I don’t care about the logic or philosophy here. My friend is almost dead and I have to babysit a millennial.” Mathias ended the conversation. He met Rex Raptor at the bathroom door only to learn Weevil had trapped himself inside rather than face Mathias in a duel. Mathias could not believe this. He would not be Weevil’s self-esteem counselor! He wrapped the bathroom three times with his large fist, nearly breaking it down each time. “Open up, Bug Boy! I gotta’ go!”
 
“No!” Weevil shouted across the door. “I have a restraining order against you. There’s no way I’m leaving.”
 
“I’m too cool to ever get a lawsuit. You can’t avoid dueling me and getting your ass handed to you by my Nordic Gods. It is God’s Will for you to be his butt monkey and there’s nothing you can do about it. Now open up or I swear in the name of Jesus Christ you will get the biggest swirly in your entire life.”
 
This threat sent Weevil trembling, and Mathias could even see it from over here, and worse, he knew Weevil would wet himself any time now. It was beyond pathetic. Weevil spoke, “I- I’m really scared! Ever since me and Rex lost at Duelist Kingdom we’ve been nothing but picked on and beaten up. We even forget Yugi and Joey landed us in this mess by defeating us; it’s like our mockery is some existential fact of life. I want to fight in the finals, maybe even win. I’m so excited I made it to finals of the World Championship, the first time in my life! But I’m scared I’ll lose horribly and everyone will make fun of me again.”
 
Rex tried to encourage his friend, “You can win, Weevil! Even if you lose the finals you can still do a really cool duel. People will at least have to respect that.”
 
Mathias took his turn; he was sure to make it count. “Weevil, I’m not here to be your mommy or your cheerleader or read you The Little Engine That Could, but I am here to tell you this. This is your very first, and may be your very last, time as a finalist. You can face me like a man and try to win fame and respect or you can walk away and never get another chance. This will probably be the best day in your entire life, so you might as well seize it.”
 
A minute passed. Another minute. Another. And another. Weevil opened the bathroom door, standing as tall as he could. “I challenge you to a duel, Mathias.”
 
“That’s the spirit!”
 
“But,” Weevil just noticed his pants felt a little wet and cold for his liking. “I had a little accident.”  
 
Mathias slapped his palm on his face and dragged it down so tightly he nearly pulled his face off.

[MewMew3]

Duel 8 – The Power of the Small Creatures

 

 

Everyone gathered once more at the duel arena except Matthew and Maria, who would not debase themselves watching a loser like Weevil duel, Mathias standing on one end of the platform, Weevil at the other (now with fresh new pants). Isono thrust his hand into the sky, like a salute, shouting, “LET THE DUEL BEGIN!”

 

Mathias = 8000 | Weevil = 8000

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “My turn! I’ll start the duel with a monster and card facedown. You’re move, kid.”

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: “My turn! I draw! I summon Naturia Marron and activate it.” A large cartoon version of the common plant appears, staring widely at Mathias with large eyes, and Weevil soon sends a card from his Deck to the Graveyard. “Marron, attack his facedown monster!” With a quick whip of its vine, the marron extinguishes a blue, flaming ghost.

 

Mathias says, “I activate Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts. You destroyed my monster, so I Summon it to my field.” A large brown – or was it a yak? – assumes its role in Defense Position.

 

“Playing Nordics as usual, I see.” Weevil observes, wagging his finger at Mathias. “But as Confusious would say ‘only when a mosquito lands on your testicles does a man truly learn to solve problems without violence’.”

 

Mathias groans, “That doesn’t even make sense, and I doubt you came up with that lame meme yourself. You obviously stole it from 9Gag or whatever perverted website you kids visit these days.”

 

“My point is simple. Never underestimate the power a mouse can wield over an elephant.” Weevil explains to his bewildered student.             

 

To which Mathias rebukes him, “If you have to explain your point to me you clearly didn’t make it the first time. What is it with this tournament and bad philosophy anyway? Matthew’s philosophy is bad. Hannibal’s philosophy is bad. Stella’s philosophy is bad. Maya’s philosophy is terrible. Kaiba’s philosophy is sociopathic. Pegasus’ philosophy is nihilistic.”

 

“It matters not. I Set two cards facedown.”

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “Get ready, Bug Boy. I’ll show you an elephant in the room you will be forced to notice. I switch Tanngnjostr in Attack Position, which activates it and lets me Summon Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts from my Deck.” A smaller, white goat leaps into play.

 

Weevil decides it is now time to act. “I activate Naturia Sacred Tree: I Tribute Marron to Summon Naturia Antjaw from my Deck.” The marron disappears, replaced by an ant with wings carrying an acorn. 

 

“I Summon Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant.” A woman resembling a Valkyrie but with angel’s wings sweeps in.

 

“You Normal Summoned a monster so I Special Summon Naturia Cosmobeet from my hand.” Weevil declares, as a a dancing beet shaped more like a mandrake leaps from his hand onto the field.  

 

“And I tune all of them to Synchro Summon Odin, Father of the Aesir!” All his monsters vanish in the sky, thunder roars and the heavenly patriarch descends to this world.

 

“Oh no!” Rex despairs from the sidelines while Weevil is too scared to speak, but he acts anyway, summoning two Naturia Fruitfly from his Deck.

 

Mathias easily shrugs away such tactics. “Nice try, Weevil, but Nordic Gods are too strong. Fruitfly can’t weaken them far enough to control them. I activate Odin’s effect, making him immune to Spells and Traps.” His elder god glows a bit, then a green wave ripples past the field. “Time to attack. Odin, swat that Fruitfly!” And the god does so with ease.

 

But Weevil isn’t out of tricks yet. “I activate Powerful Rebirth! I resurrect my Fruitfly and increase its Level by 1.” The annoying bug reappears, refusing to go away, not too unlike Weevil himself.

 

Mathias Sets a card facedown, ending his turn, while Rex cheers his friend on.

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: “I tune Cosmobeet, Antjaw, and my other Antjaw to Synchro Summon Naturia Barkion!” The beet transformed into a portal of neon green rings and the other monsters disappear through it as stars, and a large green dragon comes out the other end. “I summon Naturia Butterfly and ready my two Fruitflies in Attack Position.” The two flies ready for battle, joined by a large butterfly. “Barkion, destroy Odin!’ The lowly dragon dares to assault a god, now its ATK weakened from a mighty 4000 to a small 1600, all because of Weevil’s buzzing flies.

 

Mathias refuses to suffer such humiliation. “I object with my Trap: Phantom Knight’s Fog Blade!” But before his card can even fully stand up, Weevil banishes two cards from his Graveyard, letting Barkion’s effect come into play. The dragon snorts green fire through its nostrils, breaking the Nordic God in a loud shatter and toasting Mathias’ trap card in the process. (Mathias LP 8000 à 7100)

 

“The rest my monsters, attack directly!” Weevil barks shrilly as a little dog, his insects following suite to harass Mathias some more. (Mathias LP 7100 à 4900) “I Set a card facedown and end my turn.” With the passing of his words, Mathias banishes Vanadis from his Graveyard, letting Odin rise once more, and draws a card from its effect.

 

Mathias simply can’t believe Weevil is putting him in so much danger, that Mathias – saintly, modest Mathias – has his pride as greatest duelist in the world scorned by a pathetic loser like Weevil so deeply he could kill Weevil any minute now.

 

Maya, by contrast, finds Weevil’s game refreshing; he plays a more control-centered game, unlike so many other duelists who played one big flashy ace monster after the next, while Mathias tried to keep up, as large and clumsy as an elephant. Strangely enough, that was how she dueled throughout most of the tournament despite her antimeta tech-ins, but as she looks at her duel disk she knew she would duel differently. She considered as much when building it. Still, it will be fun to see Mathias solve his pest problem.

 

“I will not be bullied by a bug!” Mathias declares with righteous fury. “I will triumph, no matter what! I will defeat you, Weevil! I will defeat Matthew! I will save my friend and the world from darkness!”

 

“You go, girl!” Maya cheers him on with great sarcasm. “You’re a strong, independent duelist, and you don’t need no Bug Boy telling you how to duel!”      

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I draw, and it’s just the card I need. The luck of the strong is always with me. I activate Fog Blade from my Graveyard, I banish it so I –“

 

“No such luck.” Weevil objects to him. “I banish two cards from my Graveyard to activate Barkion.”

 

“Not this time, Weevil. I activate Effect Shutdown!” A tight, spiked, steel cage shuts over the green dragon, shocking it with volts until it shatters to bits. “But I can’t draw next turn.” Which, Mathias guesses, explains why most people don’t use it so much, but it sure helped him now.

 

He resumes, “Fog Blade’s effect goes off, letting me Summon The Phantom Knight of Ragged Gloves from the Graveyard, then I activate Ayers Rock Sunrise to Summon Tanngrisnir from the Graveyard and use my deceased Beasts to decrease all your monsters’ ATK, and I Summon Guldfaxe of the Nordic Beasts.” His fiery blue phantom and white goat return from death and are quickly joined by a fiery red steed.

 

“Your second Nordic God will be as powerless as your first.” Weevil declares, “I activate Urgent Tuning! I tune Butterfly and my Level 4 Fruitfly during your turn to Synchro Summon Black Rose Moonlight Dragon!” A new slender dragon, black and red, replaces his now deceased green one, as surely as the moon rises.

 

Rex leaps up and down from the sidelines like a small child. “Yes! YES! You got him, Weevil! Keep those punches coming!”

 

Mathias ignores Weevil’s play, carrying on. “Get ready for two elephants in the room. Since Odin returned from the Graveyard, my Extra Monster Zone is empty. I tune Guldfaxe, Tanngrisnir, and Phantom Gloves to Synchro Summon Thor, Lord of the Aesir!” His monsters rise into sky, swallowed by the aurora that descended upon them, and from this heaven falls the mighty Thor and his awful hammer.

 

Weevil uses his chance as he sees fit. “Since you Special Summoned a high Level monster, my Rose Dragon kicks in, it bounces Thor back into your Extra Deck.” His dragon blows a gust of wind at the god, only for it break. Weevil is shocked his strategy didn’t work, but Mathias soon reveals why.

 

“I activate Law of the Aesir. A Nordic God monster I choose can’t be targeted.” Mathias explains. “I activate Odin’s and Thor’s effects.” Two pulses ripple out over the field. Thor negates all your monster’s effects, giving my Nordic Gods their full strength. Odin, smash the rose dragon! Thor, take out a Fruitfly!’ Odin burns holes into the dragon’s body, causing its collapse, while Thor swings his unwieldy hammer to swat the fly. (Weevil LP 8000 à 6200)

 

“I activate Sacred Tree, I tribute my Fruitfly for Glow Up Bulb in Defense Position.” Through this maneuver, Weevil sacrifices his one-eyed seedling to Thor’s wrath, suffering no damage. Even Mathias admits it was a clever play.

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: “I’m not done yet. I Summon Traptrix Myrmeleo, and use its effect to search for a ‘Hole’ Trap Card.” His impish female creature, part human part antlion, appears. “I activate Glow Up Bulb, milling my top card to Summon it from the Graveyard, then I tune it with Myrmeleo to Synchro Summon Naturia Beast!” His seedling appeared, then disappeared with the antlion in a scheme of green and white to call upon the green-mane lion. Weevil ends his turn with two cards facedown.

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I don’t draw this turn due to Effect Shutdown and I banish a Nordic monster from my Graveyard for the upkeep of Law of the Aesir, like any of this will benefit you. I activate Odin and Thor. Now, my Nordic Gods, attack!” Odin finished off the green lion in short order while Thor vanquished the last Fruitfly.

 

“I activate Pinpoint Guard to revive Myrmeleo, and thus use its other effect to destroy your Law of the Aesir!” Weevil summons his fairy antlion once more, who spreads her transparent wings, then flies over to Mathias’ trap to destroy it.

 

“Since you destroyed Law of the Aesir, I can add a Nordic card from my Deck to my hand. I set a monster facedown.” Mathias thus concludes his turn.

 

Rex keeps cheering for Weevil despite Weevil’s huge disadvantages, with wallops of “You can do it, Weevil!” and “There is always a way around a tough problem!” and “Just keep dueling and you’ll earn us our long due respect in no time!”

 

Kaiba can only scoff and roll his eyes. Not only did those two dorks make it to the finals they sound exactly like Yugi’s old geek squad. Oh yes, the nerd herd would cheer Yugi on and on…

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: Weevil heeds Rex’s words. He needs them more than ever now. He discovers just such a strategy. He cannot defeat the Nordic Gods head on, but he can lure them into a trap.

 

“I activate Miracly Synchro Fusion, banishing Naturia Beast and Naturia Barkion from my Graveyard to Summon Naturia Exterio!” The ghosts of his dead monsters circle each other, swirl into one in a blaze of blue and green light, then all light blasts away; a creature looking like a huge blue and green beast pops into existence. “I summon Naturia Marron and activate it.” A second Marron with wide eyes appears this duel, and Weevil returns two dead Naturia monsters to his Deck and draws a card. “I set a card facedown and end my turn.”

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I banish a Nordic monster in my Graveyard for upkeep.” Mathias ponders his next move intently. Weevil is clearly setting a trap, he figured that out instantly, but how would he play around it? Naturia Exterio can negate almost anything he plays and while Thor can negate that Weevil has many traps waiting for him, including the trap he searched with his Traptrix monster. Mathias knows his Nordic Gods, mighty as they are, will have to take a hit, then he will counter in a way to preserve his field. He loathes the idea of his Nordic Gods stooping so low but he must do it.

 

“I activate Odin and Thor, making your ace monster, Weevil, history. Thor, attack Marron.”

 

“You fell for it!” Weevil exclaims with glee. “I use Sacred Tree to Tribute Marron and Summon my third Naturia Fruitfly from my Deck, then I play Inferno Reckless Summon, bringing back my two other Fruitflies!” Weevil’s plant vanishes and are replaced by three flies who weaken the Nordic Gods so severely with their effects not even the mighty Thor can kill them; the god’s hammer bounces back as if made of rubber to clobber its owner in the face. (Mathias LP 4900 à 3400)

 

Maya sees something that happening so many times with her, Stella, and Stella’s teammates. Inferno Reckless Summon was her ace cards against so many meta decks this tournament, but by the looks of things it will become another meta trend. Such is life.

 

Weevil and Rex dance happily in synch as if together, looking forward to the fall of a duelist as mighty as Mathias and the fame and respect they would get.

 

“You should really get back on form.” Maya suggests to Mathias. “This duel looks great on Weevil’s resume, not so much on yours. I’m serious, would you rather face Matthew or have poor Weevil die a horrible death?”

 

“You don’t need to condescend to me.” Mathias responds back to her. “I know the stakes. I set a card facedown.” As Mathias ends his turn, he thinks to himself, “Millennials are such brats.”    

[MewMew3]

Duel 9 – Valiant Effort

 

 

Mathias: 3400 | Weevil: 6200

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: “I draw!” Perfect, exactly the card he hoped for to make a perfect victory! “I activate my two Fruitflies to steal Odin and Thor.” Watching his great monsters controlled by someone as weak as Weevil gives Mathias something close to heartbreak, something he had not felt in nearly a century. Even the old masters Pegasus and Kaiba see the move in shock; Pegasus is pleasantly bemused while Kaiba seethes at the blasphemy of Weevil controlling god cards.

 

“I activate Odin and Thor’s effects to protect them.” Weevil watches his gods bathe the field in their magic with a contentment alien to him for many years. “Naturia Exterio, destroy Mathis’ facedown monster!” The turquoise king of beasts rips apart a tiny rodent hiding underneath the facedown card like a burrow.

 

“You triggered Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, letting me summon Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts from my Deck.” Mathias explains as he plays another monster facedown. Weevil commands Thor to smash the card with its fist, squashing the poor goat flat, which lets Mathias Summon two Nordic Beast Tokens. Annoyed, Weevil has Odin throw one of the Nordic Beasts out of the arena, and decides to add insult to injury.

 

“You will never get your Nordic Gods back; I tribute Odin and Thor to Summon Insect Empress!” The giant Nordic Gods dissipate into a winter storm of hail and snow as a queen ant of titanic size takes all the space in Weevil’s field. Weevil adjusts his glasses as he is wont to do whenever he thinks himself to be clever. “See, I was very careful to keep all Insects in my Graveyard, because my Empress gains 200 ATK for each Insect in my field and my Graveyard; thus the Empress claims 3800 ATK to her name.”  

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: Pegasus and Kaiba are in further shock; Pegasus more bemused than ever as if tricked in a silly prank, Kaiba more outraged than ever; to think a cockroach like Weevil could throw away two gods like they were nothing. What was Yugioh coming to!

 

Mathias declares to his opponent, “I should praise you for taking control of the Nordic Gods but letting go of them was a huge mistake. I activate Monster Reborn to revive Thor!”

 

“Oh no you don’t; I counter with Exterio to negate it!” Weevil banishes a card in his Graveyard and mills a card for its cost.

 

“I counter it with Divine Wrath, one of my favorite cards! I discard a card to negate and destroy Exterio!” A single bolt of lightning strikes the mighty beast down, leaving only ashes behind, as if the Nordic Gods themselves punished Weevil. “Thor, arise!” Mathias completes his ritual, and once more the hammer-wielding giant stands tall as Weevil, and Rex, melt into a puddle of tears.

 

Maya wafts the air to her nose with her hands as if she cooked a master chef’s dish and circles the fingers of her left hand. Classic antimeta in action. She can almost taste poor Bug Boy’s tears. They must be delicious. As for the look on Kaiba’s face; he looks like he took a laxative for once.

 

Weevil did not give up yet. “I’ll banish your precious Thor with Bottomless Trap Hole!” But he sells himself short as his trap simply vanishes in thin air. When Weevil cannot figure out why, Mathias clues him in, “Your Fruitflies lowered Thor’s ATK so low your trap couldn’t banish him.

 

“If I may continue, before I was so rudely interrupted.” I Tribute my Nordic Beast Token to Summon Draugalf of the Nordic Alfar from my Graveyard, as I discarded it through Divine Wrath, and use its effect to revive my Tanngrisnir.” A dark, undead elf devours and dissolves the Nordic Beast as it resurrects itself, bringing back a white goat with it. “I activate Phantom Knight Gloves, the first monster you destroyed, banishing it from the Graveyard to mill The Phantom Knight of Ancient Cloak, and then I activate it to banish it to add The Phantom Knight of Silent Boots to my hand, and I Summon it.” A ghostly and silent ninja slips out of the darkness into the light.

 

“I tune Draugalf, Tanngrisnir, and Silent Boots to Synchro Summon Loki, Lord of the Aesir!” Mathias’ monsters rise to the heavens and the trickster god condescends to grace his field in exchange for the sacrifices. “I activate Thor’s effect!” To which the hammer-wielding god smashes the field, crippling all of Weevil’s insects, allowing the Nordic Gods to regain their full strength. “Thor, destroy the Queen!”

 

Weevil has one more card up his sleeve. “I play Golemgoroth’s Roar and sacrifice all my Fruitflies!” His empress of Insects ruthlessly, gruesomely devoured her servants to gain unfrequented strength.  

 

“You’re Empress will gain 4500 ATK in the process; so Loki, negate that trap!” The Nordic God zaps her with an aerosol can he conjured from thin air, the empress shriveling away from the poison. “Raid, kills them dead.” Loki seems to have a sense of humor too; he even gestures to Thor, as if letting him finally attack, to which the gruff, no-nonsense Thor gladly did, dramatically using his hammer as a fly swatter to finish the job. (Weevil LP 6200 à 4900) “Loki, strike Weevil directly!”           

 

“OH NOOOO!!!” Weevil raves in complete horror and disbelief, his hands and mouth locked into a pose from The Scream painting, before Loki shocks him into a dizzy mess with a jolt of black magic from its finger, making Weevil twitch as an insect sprayed with a can of Raid. (Weevil LP 4900 à 1500)

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: But Weevil still persists. “I set a card facedown and end my turn.”

 

MATHIAS’ TURN: “I activate Thor’s effect, now Thor, attack his facedown!” The burly god eagerly smashed a Naturia Cherry flat, turning it to jam. This let Weevil Summon two more Naturia Cherry facedown, and Mathias forces Loki to make quick work of one of them. “I set a card facedown. Make your last turn count, Bug Boy.”

 

WEEVIL’S TURN: “I am the strongest, the most resilient creature there is, like the cockroach. I will survive, and no matter what happens I will always come back to annoy you like the pest I am!”

 

“You got it, Weevil!” Rex jumped and shouted from the sidelines. “Show him whose boss!”

 

“Um, nobody has compared themselves to a cockroach like it was a good thing, but if it works for you, dude, sure. Whatever.” Mathias must concede this odd self-praise as beyond his understanding.

 

“I activate Monster Reborn to Summon Naturia Mosquito from my Graveyard!” The typical ankh appears on the field and resurrects a cute mosquito with wide cartoon eyes. Mathias wondered for a second when he last saw the Mosquito but soon realized Weevil milled it when he played Naturia Marron on his very first turn. He concedes to Weevil again; that was pretty clever.

 

Weevil explains his plan, “Mosquito is weak but any battle damage from a Naturia monster goes back to you, meaning you’ll lose the duel. Naturia Mosquito, attack Thor!” His petty bug rushes over to annoy the stern warrior Nordic God. The audience is truly tense as this is the third time today it seemed like Weevil would actually win. The world truly becomes upside down. Cats chase dogs. Weevil is a champion. Trump isn’t president. Israel and Palestine coexist in peace.

 

Time to end the party, setting things right; Mathias reveals his trap, “I play Skill Drain; I pay 1000 Life to negate all monster effects.” (Mathias LP 3400 à 2400) Thor swats the mosquito with his hammer in comical fury, putting Weevil’s ambitions to rest. (Weevil LP 1500 à 0)

 

Mathias: 2400 | Weevil: 0

 

Isono thrust his hand in the air; the referee announced, “Mathias Blackheart wins the second quarterfinal duel! Duelists, let the sun decide the next two contestants!” The remaining four finalists did as they were told; the sun decreed that Stella Nova duel against Tamas Vargas.

 

Tamas showed little interest, flicking away dirt from his nails. He seemed to speak more to himself than the outside world. “I’m lucky to face women in my next two duels. Beating them won’t be hard; I’d rather duel a retard like Weevil if I wanted a challenge.”

[MewMew3]

NOTE: I try to keep the number of created cards down to 3 at most, unless the created cards are part of a unique archetype of my making. The Nordic archetype has always been the most awkward for me. If it wasn’t for the plot I would favor Naturia over Nordics in an instant. 

 

Mathias’ Cards

Effect Shutdown

Quickplay Spell

1) Negate the activation of your opponent’s monster’s effect, and destroy it.

2) Skip your next Draw Phase.

 

Law of the Aesir

Continuous Trap

1) Once per turn, during either player’s turn: target one “Aesir” monster you control; it is unaffected by all card effects, except this one, until the end of the turn. 

2) During your Standby Phase: banish 1 “Nordic” monster from your Graveyard (not optional). If you cannot, destroy this card.

3) If this card was destroyed and sent to the Graveyard by your opponent’s card effect: add 1 “Nordic” card from your Deck to your hand.

 

Draugalf of the Nordic Alfar

DARK/Spellcaster/LV 4/ATK 1300/DEF 800

Tuner

1) You can Special Summon this card from your Graveyard in Attack Position by Tributing one Nordic monster you control.

2) If you Special Summoned this card from your Graveyard: you can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower “Nordic” monster from your Graveyard in Attack Position.

 

Weevil’s Cards

 

Insect Empress

EARTH/Insect/LV 8/ATK 2200/DEF 2400

1) Increase the ATK of this card x200 for every Insect in your field and Graveyard.

2) You must Tribute 1 monster you control to attack with this card. During the End Phase, if this card destroyed an opponent's monster by battle this turn: Special Summon 1 "Insect Egg Token" (Insect-Type/EARTH/Level 1/ATK 100/DEF 100).

3) If this card would be destroyed (battle or card effect): you can Tribute 1 “Insect Egg Token”, and it is not destroyed.  

 

Golemgoroth’s Roar

Trap

1) Target 1 EARTH monster you control: Tribute all other monsters you control and increase the selected monster’s ATK x1500 for each monster Tributed, until the end of this turn. 

[MewMew3]

Duel 10 - Why No One Likes Meta

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aXmSngkzD0

 

The two duelists, Weevil and Mathias, stepped down from the arena, wearied out from their trials, Weevil too tired to feel disappointment, Mathias too exhausted to enjoy his victory. Poor Mathias could not appreciate his conquest anyway; he thought Weevil was so weak just struggling to beat him was a humiliation. It was at that moment when Mathias saw his pride, in a brief flash, the pride of Lucifer, and the red dragon that was his Ka rose again to confront him. Mathias would have felt shame but he was too tired. Weevil fell into Rex arms, Rex hugging and consoling him, but Weevil was happy despite his loss. He knew, at last, he made himself into a strong duelist.

 

Pegasus reminded the remaining finalists with a feigned kindness to take care of themselves with a short break; Stella and Tamas would fight each other next round. Stella eyed Maya once but said nothing, would not condescend to speak to such a terrible person. Maya got the message but wanted Stella to win, so she would face her in the semifinals – because she still loved her? “Nonsense! I want to grind that woman to the curb so she would never challenge me again!”

 

Maya told Stella in plain English, “Tamas is what my dad would call a го́пник; his dirty cheap jeans mismatched with a track sweater, and his demeanor of course, will tell you that. So he will duel like one.”

 

Stella quickly figured out it was Maya’s way of calling Tamas a meta, netdecking sheep, but with some racism and classism thrown in, because Maya simply had to make everyone her enemy or rival in some way while projecting her ingrained inferiority complex on other people, as if putting others down made you stronger.

 

Stella left Maya behind, putting her amateur psychoanalysis behind her, and it was here that Stella remembered how they met in the first place. Stella recalled the entire history to her heart: “I remember traveling with my teammates to New York for an International Circuit, a massive informal round robin tournament where duelists around the world jousted each other for an entire week. On the third day, I went to a bar in New York’s skyline, and met one teenager named Zusan who dressed up as Princess Peach – it was Halloween night – and this girl was a real King of Games, who played other games so well – unlike Maya, who was only good at Yugioh but couldn’t get herself out of a paper bag in dominoes – oh yes, I watched her fail horribly at the airport.

 

“Anyway, I remembered Zusan, because earlier in the week I saw her wipe the floor with every chess hustler at Union Square at the same time – blindfolded and tipsy! She was now dead drunk, and she saw he tell a sexist man off, saying, ‘I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself!’ Zusan went up to me and said, ‘I’m a big girl too. Wanna’ make out?’ I shrugged and we did so. – Why not? – Maya, who had been drunk and sex-crazed for boys every night, found us and joined in the melee, suggesting we do a human centipede that night. I won’t remind myself what that kind of threesome that was, but I’m sure the depraved Maya invented it on the spot.

 

“A year later in Iceland, Maya proposed to go on a date with me, provided she beat me in a duel. The nerve, after embarrassing me like that! She was surely, abrasive, and insolent, but had a roguish charm. And she paid for all my mother’s treatment when she had breast cancer, while she was in a tight spot with money, losing all her money to get back home or even stay in a hotel. So I accepted, and we both dueled with Archfiend decks – for chess, as legend has it, came from a Shadow Game played in India known as the Archfiend’s Duel. Maya recalled the Spanish love poem where Mars challenged Venus to a game for her love, Mercury as the referee, and easily won, as Maya did.

 

“Maya dropped her libertine ways. No longer did she drink, party, and gamble – I don’t blame her, to suddenly taste wealth and fame after living in the Lower East Side projects! – I was the sole aim of her affections, but then something happened…”

 

“Stella and Tamas, please enter the arena immediately!” Isono commanded, breaking her train of thought. Did she brood for that long?    

 

The two duelists took their positions, Tamas commenting, “Ready to get cucked, girl?”

 

“Cucked? What is that supposed to mean?” Stella was a little confused.

 

“It means to get served, retard.”

 

“Ugh.” Го́пник indeed.

 

Mathias mused to himself. “Isn’t that reference several years in the future? It’s like the author is writing in 2017, but the setting is in 2009. Hmm.”

 

“Duel start!” Isono declared, and the game was off.

 

Tamas: 8000 | Stella: 8000

 

TAMAS’ TURN: “Zoodiacs are the best meta deck out there and I’ll show you why rogue decks suck peanut butter coated monkey balls. I Special Summon Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow, and activate it’s Effect to give me two Vague Shadow Tokens.” With his commands a black sparrow swoops in faster than sound, small in size but burning with a huge fiery aura, and with it arrive two smaller sparrows. “Go Link Summoning! I get rid of my two Shadow Tokens to Link Summon Link Spider, then all my monsters to Link Summon Decode Talker!” Soon all birds transform into two cybernetic spiders, then a digital knight in deep blue armor wielding a single-sided blade.

 

“Next comes the Zoodiac combo! I still didn’t Normal Summon yet, so I Summon Zoodiac Ratpier, and activate her to mill a Zoodiac monster, and overlay her to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Boarbow, then overlay Boarbow to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Broadbull, and detach 2 Materials, one to search for a Zoodiac monster, two to Special Summon another Zoodiac Ratpier from my Deck, then overlay Broadbull to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Chakanine, and detach 1 Material to resurrect Zoodiac Ramram, then overlay Chakanine to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Tigermortar, and then overlay her to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Drident, and use her Effect to pop Ramram, then activate Ramram to revive a Ratpier from the Graveyard.” An enormous train of warrior-animals quickly arrive and disappear, one at a time: a rat, a boar, a bull, a dog, a ram, a tiger, and a dragon.       

 

“I overlay my two Ratpiers Xyz Summon Daigusto Emeral.” The revived rat and ram warriors make way for a flying one. “I activate its Effect; I detach 1 Material to return 3 monsters from my Graveyard back to my Deck to draw 1.” Tamas pants from reciting such a trying and boring list, his face blue, then sets 2 cards facedown.        

 

“Bet that was too hard for you to follow.” He insists.

 

“I saw everything perfecly.” Stella answered. “You memorized a move set, nothing more. That doesn’t take skill.”

 

“I’d like to see you beat me, retard, or are on your period with your girlfriend?”

 

STELLA’S TURN: Stella seriously wonders at this point how such a lowly and stupid cur made it this far in this tournament. Oh, right, he netdecked and abused a broken deck. Tamas would have had no challenge a few years ago but now things are starting to change. She wishes she faced a worthy opponent for a change, like Maria, but she takes comfort from the thought that if she wins she will face Maya next. “I hate you, Maya,” Stella thought. “But I’d rather duel you than anyone else. Wait for me.” But it is Stella who waits, as she struggles to find a way to counter Tamas, not just his Zoodiacs but his two hidden cards; she has to play perfectly.

 

“Each duelist has a minute to make a move.” Isono reminds her. “You have thirty seconds left.”

 

Twenty seconds pass.

 

“Come on, retard, make your move already!” Tamas demands her.

 

Ten seconds.

 

“I’m bored, fa**** b**** fa****! You got period problems?”

 

Five seconds.

 

Four.

 

Three.

 

Two.

 

One.

 

Zer-

 

Stella has lost patience with this fool. “I Special Summon Blackwing – Gofu the Vague Shadow, and use his effect to Special Summon 2 Vague Shadow Tokens.” Her own three sparrows make due entrance. “I link up the two Shadow Tokens to Link Summon 2 Link Spiders.” And her digital bugs appear as well.

 

Tamas points his finger at her in petulant indignation. “Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite! You’re copying me! ARGLEBARGLESKGURKDGJDGHGOSBGHSKGKDGF!”

 

“Sit down and shut up, manchild! I’m not done yet; I link up all my monsters to Link Summon Yong’an the Brave Purple Dragon!” Three old monsters leave the stage for someone new to enter the spotlight: a small but strong and stout purple dragon with golden horns.

 

“I activate Drident to pop your gay monster!” Tamas interrupts her play, with his dragon lady thrusting a trident through the purple dragon’s heart. “I put that to a stop. G.G., L.O.L.”     

 

“You didn’t. Spyro – I mean, Yong’an – has a Quick Effect letting me Special Summon Jiaotu, Darkness of the Yang Zing.” Whereby an evil Chinese dragon shrouded in black smoke billows into form. “And since Yong’an died, I’ll return a Wyrm from the Graveyard to my Deck, namely Yong’an itself. I knew you’d be frightened of a monster you never saw before, but there’s much more.

 

“I activate the Permanent Spell Supply Squad, then use Jiaotu’s Effect.” Stella sends 2 Yang Zing cards from her hand to the Graveyard and, in turn, she brings forth Taotie, Shadow of the Yang Zing and Pulao, Wind of the Yang Zing; thus the elements of shade and wind join her side in dragon form. “And I tune Jiaotu and Taotie to Synchro Summon Yazi, Evil of the Yang Zing, and use its effect to destroy itsenf and your Zoodiac Drident!” Her two evil dragons align, opening the gateway, and a large black dragon flies in from the clouds to smash into Tamas’ field.

But Tamas reacts: “Go, Decode Talker! Tribute Daigusto to protect Drident!” The latter shatters as glass, the pieces absorb into the glowing sword of the former, who throws it straight into the evil dragon’s heart; the beast roars, misses its target, falling off the pyramid towards its death.

 

Yet this does not deter Stella in the slightest. “Destroying Yazi lets me Special Summon a Wyrm from my Deck. Meet Mare Mare, the parent seahorse! (And I draw 1 card from Supply Squad.)” A huge father seahorse shows up, his womb seeming ready to burst at the seams. “I use its Effect to Special Summon 3 Mini Mare Mare Tokens, then tune one of them with Mare Mare to Synchro Summon Accel Synchron, and use its effect to Mill a Jet Synchron to raise its Level by 1.” The parent seahorse gives birth to three children, but soon merges into one of them to become an android motorcycle, nature becoming machine, its Level raised from 5 to 6. “See my one Yang Zing left? His use is revealed now; I tune Accel Syncro with the remaining Mini Mare Mare Tokens with Pulao to Synchro Summon Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier!” All of Stella’s diverse monsters vanish to allow a great white and blue dragon to travel to the paradise south from its icy home from the north.”

 

Tamas sees Stella’s intention straightaway, to banish his precious Drident. He springs his Trap, “Solemn Warning!” Tamas pays the steep price of 2000 Life so a Biblical sage and call upon God to smite the icy incarnation of Satan. (Tamas LP 8000 à 6000)

 

But Stella merely laughs at Tamas’ solemn antic. “Excellent, my batman gambit is complete! I never planned to battle you this turn, but to lock you down. I activate Soul Charge to bring back 4 Yang Zing dragons lost this turn: Chiwen, Taoti, Pulao, Jiaotu; let LIGHT, DARKNESS, and WIND return!” Stella loses a grim 4000 Life; she crumples under the weight of her burden as a fountain of light rays springs from her chest, and the dragons burst forth from the light. (Stella LP 8000 à 4000) Stella, still strained but going in full force, pants, “I link up… Pulao and Jiaotu… to Link Summon Li’bao – Brave Bichromal Hunter. And I tune the remaining… Yang Zings… to Synchro Summon… Chaofeng, Phantom of the Yang Zing.” Her whole army disbands into two camps, going their own ways to become stronger forces. A cheetah sporting a flaming bow and arrow leaps to Stella’s right as slithering serpent with wings arrives from Heaven, its body trailing as long as the Great Wall.

 

Stella regains her breath from letting her monsters work their magic, and concludes, “I play Pot of Avarice, recycling my Yang Zing monsters back to my Deck to draw 2 cards, and I set 2 cards. My turn is (finally) over.”       

[MewMew3]

Duel 11 – Why Netdeckers Should Be Shot

 

 

Tamas nearly shits himself seeing such a long-winded turn, and one that achieved so much, nearly breaking his whole deck. It might as well have done so, since Chaofeng, Stella’s ace dragon, negates all his EARTH monsters, meaning all his Zoodiacs are useless, and furthermore, it is shielded by a marathon of prevention Effects inherited from all the lesser Yang Zing dragons that gave their lives to bring their king into being.   

 

Mathias, feeling a little naughty, gives Stella the left-handed comment, “Impressive combo and lock you got there. Maya would be proud.”

 

And Maya decides to add salt to the wound with, “I hope Chaofeng is not all you got, like when Sophia murdered you back in Egypt; I’d be disappointed otherwise.”

 

“You’re serious!” Stella is flabbergasted. “Chaofeng is the boss monster of the entire Yang Zing archetype; what more could you possibly want?”

 

“I want you as the ace, not one stupid monster or stupid archetype, and you know exactly what I’m talking about. You’d better give it to me this duel.”

 

“I’ll give it to you when we duel, and so much more.”

 

Now Mathias is confused. “What esoteric gibberish are you two shouting now? Just by your code language I know you two were lovers.”

 

Maya brings upon herself to explain the details, “Me and Stella used to drink lots of coffee together along with -------- and --------, and after these sessions we would talk about how to improve this stupid card game, how to take roguedecking, as it were, to the next level. I don’t know about Stella, but regarding me, it is top secret.” She then shouts at her estranged ex-girlfriend, “You better have some antimeta or something interesting or I will climb up there and smack you myself.”

 

“Burn in Hell.” Stella rebukes her.

 

“I heard Hell’s pretty lit. You should join me.”

 

“It’s a pretty big room for you two.” Mathias comments. “You should get it.”

 

“Can I join in?” Tamas offers.

 

“NO!”

 

TAMAS’ TURN: “Aww.” Tamas pretends to groan in self-pity. He draws, which is exactly the right card he needs! “Raigeki!” he shouts as he activates his card, and all of Stella’s monsters die under the stroke of a single thunderbolt.

 

“COME ON! I WORKED SO HARD FOR THIS FIELD!” Stella shouts in disbelief, her hands on her head.

 

Even the stoic Kaiba throws shade at such a cheap and easy play, and declares that starting next year he will join the game once more and drag Yugi himself back kicking and screaming if he has too. The metagame as become cancer for much too long, and while he commends Maya and Stella for their efforts at turning Yugioh back into a kind of art, it is too little too late. Next year, he will muck the floor with every netdecker who ever lived!

 

Though Stella has suffered a heavy blow, she is far from dead, as her cards, even her dead monsters, unleash all of their Effects. Thus Stella declares, one after the next, “Supply Squad, Chaofeng, Li’bao, and my triggered Permanent Trap Yang Zing Creation, all go off, in this order: I draw a card from Supply Squad, add a Wyrm from Deck to hand from Chaofeng, kill your Drident from Li’bao, and Special Summon a Yang Zing monster from my Deck with Yang Zing Creation!”

 

“jabroni, you’re such a baka, you know that?” Tamas falls to throwing slurs again. “I play Cosmic Cyclone to banish your Creation!” And so Tamas pays 1000 Life so his space cyclone can disintegrate Stella’s card. But Tamas, much to his chagrin, cannot stop any of Stella’s other cards, not even the targeting effect of her hunter, as using Decode Talker’s effect would lose his Drident anyway; and that is how Li’bao the cheetah hunter pierced the chief Zoodiac’s heart with a burning arrow. Tamas minds little of it, as he can easily replace her.

 

Stella pounces on her narrow window of chance, “I activate Dimension Barrier, and call Xyz Monsters! No more Zoodiacs this turn.”

 

“Shrill women like you are cancer. You should go back to blogging at Jezebel from where you came from.” The annoyed Tamas exclaims.

 

“For once I agree.” Maya enjoins him, just to piss Stella off.

 

Tamas rejoins the duel. “I Normal Summon Zoodiac Thoroughblade, and use its Effect.” A fiery man-horse wield an exceptionally long and broad sword gallops into the fray, and Tamas discards a Zoodiac card to draw a new card. “Decode Talker, Thoroughblade, hit Stella directly!” The monsters cleave at Stella with their mighty strength, but Stella survives the assault. (Stella LP 4000 à 100)

 

“Dammit! I almost got you! I set a card facedown and end my turn. It’s not like you can do anything anyway.”

 

STELLA’S TURN: Stella draws, and remarks, “Maya, you wanted me to use some antimeta. Well, I did, but that won’t kill Tamas. I’ll prove you wrong, as you are with many things, with something more interesting. I Normal Summon Zoodiac Ratpier!” And behold, Stella’s own rat warrior takes her stance.

 

“Hypocrite, hypocrite, hypocrite! Netdecker, netdecker!” Tamas is so shocked and offended he can only blabber.

 

“Oh settle down already, you spastic virginal twerp. I use Raptier’s Effect to mill another Ratpier, then overlay her to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Drident, and use her effect to pop your Thoroughblade.” Stella’s one Zoodiac transforms into another one, and this new fighter thrusts her trident to slay Tamas’ monster. “I overlay Drident to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Chakanine, and use her effect to revive the second Ratpier,” The dog fighter replaces the tigress, and through her magical skills resurrects the second Ratpier. “I overlay Chakanine to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Tigermortar and detach the Chakanine Material to attach my dead Ratpier to it, and use its other Effect (given by the Ratpier Material) to Special Summon another Zoodiac Ratpier from my Deck.” And so another rat warrior assumes a ready stance. “Then I overlay Tigermortar to Xyz Summon another Zoodiac Chakanine, and use her effect to revive the last Ratpier.” Another dog warrior appears and the last Ratpier with her.”    

 

“This neat little engine just gave me 4 Materials, so I will use them all to Link Summon Borreload Dragon!” Her Zoodiacs she worked so hard to get into play dissolved into four marker arrows, a gateway forming in their middle, and a fearsome dragon of scarlet and deep blue arrives. “Borreload, attack Decoy Talker.” Her dragon assaults the digital knight, but with a killing breath, but a toxic one, brainwashing it to her side. “Now, both monsters, finish Tamas off!” The knight slices at Tamas’, hitting him hard, but the dragon is not so lucky. (Tamas LP 3000 à 700)

 

Tamas reveals his Trap, “I activate Xyz Reborn, reviving Drident and attaching the Trap to her as Material, then detach it to kill Borreload.” His dragon lady revives, brandishing her trident, ready for revenge; she lunges at Stella’s dragon.

 

“I use your Decode Talker’s Effect, sacrificing my Borreload to destroy Drident!” Stella counters, her mighty dragon vanishing, her new monster impaling Tamas’ best Zoodiac, sending the dragon lady to a shallow grave once more. “I set two cards facedown.” Stella ends her turn.

 

Tamas, shocked at such a timely play, falls to foul shouting and cursing at Stella. Pegasus covers his dainty ears, refusing to hear such fowl language while Kaiba, annoyed, chips in his broadcasters with the microphone in his trenchcoat, ordering them to censor Tamas straightaway.

 

Mathias nudges Maya gentle on the shoulder, whispering, “That was amazing, wasn’t it?”

 

Maya shrugs in distain. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I thought Tamas channeled Bandit Keith from beyond the grave. Maybe he’s a psychic; he should help Jolene with her astrology nonsense.”

 

“Playing hard to get won’t win Stella back.”

 

“You assume I care about Stella; I don’t, at all.” Though Maya doesn’t admit it, Stella’s brilliant move does touch her heart with fire, the same fire she felt a few years ago that made her fall in love with Stella to begin with. Stella used Tamas’ own cards, his own hackneyed archetype, for a unique strategy and, to add the icing to the cake, threw them away as the fodder they are to bring out a higher monster. Maya would applaud Stella, but then remembers that she hates her.  

 

TAMAS’ TURN: “I’ve had it with your ‘rogue’ Deck insulting me, jabroni baka noob! I’m going for the ultimate Zoodiac Combo” Tamas’ humility (or lack thereof) is put to its short limit, while Stella perks her ears at “ultimate Zoodiac Combo”, knowing exactly the well-known tactic Tamas would play next.

 

“I activate Zoodiac Combo in my Graveyard, which I sent there by Thoroughblade’s Effect; I banish it to return all my 5 Zoodiac Xyz Monsters to my Deck and draw a card. Then I Normal Summon Zoodiac Bunnyblast, now overlay her to Xyz Summon Zoodiac Hammerkong, Zoodiac Tigermortar, Zoodiac Broadbull, Zoodiac Chakanine, and Zoodiac Drident. Then I Xyz Summon all their second copies from my Deck, and finally I Xyz Summon Zoodiac Boarbow!” The parade of double Zoodiac animals commences its procession on Tamas’ field, climaxing with the arrival of a boar archer, aiming his arrow at Stella’s heart. Yes, it holds only 500 ATK but that meager strength is enough to take out all of Stella’s Life.

 

Stella, taut as a wire, springs in a pinch. “I activate Great Horn of Heaven!” The cornucopia horn appears, then blasts Tamas’ best monster with the power of its notes, yet Tamas draws a card from its drawback Effect. Stella lets herself smile for the first time this duel, saying, “You won’t be attacking me directly with Boarbow this turn, let alone even battling since I skipped your Main Phase.”

 

“Another batman gambit. I’m impressed.” Comments Maya to Mathias.

 

Tamas grovels, setting two cards facedown, calling his turn over.

 

STELLA’S TURN: Stella draws, seizing her chance. “I destroy two monsters in my hand to Special Summon Mariamne, the True Dracophoenix!” A lithe and airy dragon of six wings of gauzy feathers makes her graceful landing, and since Stella destroyed Yang Zing monsters, she brings out Suanni, Fire of the Yang Zing and Bi’an, Earth of the Yang Zing (and draws a card from Supply Squad).  

 

“I activate Dimensional Barrier!” Tamas declares. “And I declare…”

 

“Yes, declare what?” Stella inquires, eager for victory.

 

Tamas cannot decide what kind of Extra Deck monster to choose, because Stella does not need any Extra Deck monster. And Tamas’ other card? A Solemn Strike he cannot play for he lacks the Life to pay for it.

 

“That’s what I thought. All monsters, direct attack! End the duel!” Stella’s monsters all blow away their target at once, throwing Tamas off the arena.

 

Stella concludes the duel, “Easy come, easy go. Good riddance.”

 

Tamas: 0 | Stella: 700

 

----------------------------------------------------

 

Xiaoyi watched every duel so far in her hotel room back in Egypt, guzzling down popcorn and wiping the butter oil on her white dress where her breasts were, without a care in the world. She couldn’t wait to see Maya’s duel coming up next, eagerly wondering what her super secret new strategies were, then pondered with sarcastic thought if she, as a Chinese-American woman, should be offended by all of Stella’s and Tamas’ “cultural appropriation”. She couldn’t care less over something so little, as opposed to all the truly offensive things she did over the last two weeks.

 

Why, she counted with her fingers, she brainwashed a vulnerable young man, instigated a brutal dictatorship resulting in the deaths of thousands, pulled the strings of a resurgent crime syndicate resulting in more pointless deaths, killed a few Egyptian soldiers, killed Matthew’s girlfriend, tricked her “master” into going along with her scheme while thinking it was his the whole time, then she finally killed him. That made four acts of fraud on one hand and three acts of violence on the other. But wait! She was still committing her final fraud.

 

At the moment three policemen knocked on the door; investigating the murder of one Gernand de Laclos lead them to this apartment. Xiaoyi took off her only piece of clothing and lewdly kissed the chief officer, bidding him to taste the tight, petite, and sweet woman they could only mail order from Thailand, and only in their pathetic dreams. The cops easily lost to the temptation, all of them falling for her, wherein they re-enacted the groping they had done to a woman a few months ago while pretending to conduct a body search, this time finishing the job they privately longed to do for so long; Xiaoyi herself thoroughly enjoyed their silly fantasy, even discharging before they did. As soon as the men expired, losing all their steam, Xiaoyi instantly slit their thoughts as if they were cattle; now her fantasy was complete.  

 

Xiaoyi sighed in disappointment, watching three pools of blood soak the hotel carpet – make that four acts of violence so far, still an underachiever – Now she had to clean the mess she made and get out of the country before she was arrested, an inconvenience that annoyed her enough to throw a small tantrum. That these stupid cops would pooh-pooh on her watching Maya’s duel live on television!  

[MewMew3]

STELLA'S CARDS

 

Yong’an – Brave Purple Dragon

WIND/Wyrm/Link 3/ATK 2350/Arrows: Top, Bottom-Left, Bottom-Right

2+ Effect monsters

1)   When this monster is Successfully Special Summoned: you can Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower Wyrm monster from your hand.

2)   When this monster is destroyed by battle or card Effect: you can return 1 Wyrm monster from your Graveyard to your hand.

3)   If a monster this card points to would be destroyed by battle or card Effect: you can destroy this card instead

 

 Li’bao – Brave Bichromal Hunter

EARTH/Beast-Warrior/Link 2/ATK 1850/Arrows: Top, Bottom

2 Level 4 or lower monsters

1)   If this card is destroyed by battle: target 1 “Brave” monster you control; increase its ATK by 1000, also all face-up monsters your opponent controls must battle it.

2)   If this card is destroyed by card Effect: target 1 monster your opponent controls; destroy it.

[MewMew3]

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Choreographing duels is still hard, and I wished I filled in the backstories of my characters more in Season Two, but I did not have that vision yet, so I will do it in future chapters. I find my writing throughout Season One and Season Two to be too stilted, serious, and humorless, which hurts it. I want to balance comedy and tragedy, humor and drama, in the best way I can; in the past I was too serious, now I may be too funny. Yes, I’m a pretentious twat, but I one day wish to write real books, not stupid Yugioh fanfics.  

 

Duel 12 – An Axe to Grind

 

 

The duel concluded, Tamas sank to the ground, wailing, “How could I lose to some rogue deck noob!”

                                             

“I’m disappointed.” Stella admitted to everyone present, no longer bothering to acknowledge Tamas’ existence. “I wished I faced against someone who could actually duel.”

 

Maya cut Stella’s complaints short by reminding her, “He did come a hair’s width of killing you. Keep that in mind.”

 

“Please don’t fuel my humiliation even more than it needs to.” Stella no longer had the strength for a verbal joust with her one time lover.

 

Pegasus was thoroughly amused by the circus act that performed before him but Kaiba had enough; the CEO of Kaibacorp called his bodyguards to clean up the trash; he was tired of seeing garbage in his tournament. Several burly men in dark green suits, their eyes hidden with sunglasses, appeared as if they were hiding underneath them the entire time, soon they hurled Tamas away. Garbage in. Garbage out.

 

Only Maya and Maria remained to duel, and both finalists took the stage without delay, but they gave a moment’s pause to study one another as if to remind themselves why they hated each other so and how their duel would shape the future of Yugioh’s history as a game and franchise.

 

----------------------------------------------

 

Maya used her newfound powers; she reached for the fourth wall and froze time for a brief moment, speaking to you, “Perhaps you would like to know why we hate each other so since the author did not develop our conflict last season due to poor writing. Then allow me to fill you in, ‘dear’ reader.

 

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, before George Lucas f***ed up his franchise, before the author f***ed up this franchise, sometime after Battle City, one class of duelist emerged. As Yugioh became more standardized, a metagame developed, and with it came duelists who ran meta decks. You either ran Chaos Control, Monarchs, or DAD or you lost. Losers never mattered. It is a big country club, and you ain’t in it.

 

“But – what’s this? – the loser dogs wanted a change. The waiters wondered how they would pay rent. The cooks wished they could feed their kids with better food. The black golf chauffeurs didn’t want so much water drained from their neighborhoods to sprinkle on grass. The Mexican cleaning maids wanted their kids to go to a decent school. And everyone outside the plantation wanted some of that golf course put to good use instead wasting people’s time in a boring game.

 

“So people used rogue decks, on purpose! Me, JC, Stella and other included. We formed our own little teams, networked with each other on LinkedIn the way Park Slope yuppies do, and viola! We have a new class, a counterculture of rogue duelists, and some of us even got inside the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and sold out. JC, who kept calling me an oreo for having salt and pepper parents, wanted to be David Clarke so bad he tried to crush the loyal, and I put an end to it, then forgave him since his temptation is all too present to we minorities.

 

“So what does this have to do with Maria Wight, Duchess Whore of Cambridge? In all honestly, she is a good person who cares about those she loves more tenderly than I ever could and has high moral standards on what the world should be like, although our visions are very different; but she is very stuck-up. Kisara was an angel too good for this vulgar world, and so is she. She also reminds me of my nasty 4^th grade English teacher: proper, respectable, graceful, dignified, but cold, snobbish, and boring.

 

“One fine night of wholesome fun; Jolene made amateur porn with Yukio since not even her dad could pay her Sarah Lawrence College tuition, then she got back to me where we ate pot brownies, and we turned on the news to make fun of Katy Perry’s vapid lyrics, Bald Brittany’s mental breakdown, and Justin Timberlake still trying to make sense of him revealing Janet Jackson’s boob at Super Bowl Halftime, where he blinded thousands of innocent children by exposing them to a woman’s nipple.

 

“Instead, we got this albino b**** talking about Yugioh, and I hoped this would be my day off. – A game is fun when you play it only for fun, not so much when you use it to make a living. – Maria, the albino b**** in question, said, as I recall, the following, with a lofty air of dignity: ‘The Yugioh game is falling far away from it’s old roots. Dueling used to value honor and duelists’ pride as the prime virtues of the age, and the market is moving so fast in printing new cards and banning old ones the game could collapse into ruin.’

 

“I agreed with her so far, but soon we parted ways in opinion, for I a smelled something rotten at this point, and it wasn’t the stale moldy pizza but Maria’s late 19^th century pretenses: ‘Duelists have degenerated from warriors into professionals; the game reduced to celebrity, career, and politics. Any so-called rogue duelist with a functioning brain can wield a legendary monster, no longer the few worthy chosen, as it were, by the primal force of Destiny. I blame the duelists such as Maya Brook and Mathias Blackheart most for this decline, for purposefully assaulting our best and brightest duelists, even crushing their pride and careers in their victories; such was Matthew Carter’s fate under Maya’s combat boot, a fine man who didn’t have to meet his demise in this way.’

 

“’Some people complain about netdecking and meta decks, how they have no skill and so forth. That is a lie; of course they do. I’m in fact glad we have netdecking because it keeps only the strongest duelists with the strongest decks intact and stops the game from declining any further. Rogue duelists take away real competition from the game and replace it with inferior dueling. They have no right to bash duelists who take the game seriously and thus succeed. If you want to win, duel the right way.’      

 

“I burst into laughter at this point, almost expecting Maria to expound on the Great Man Theory or mention the words ‘democracy’ and ‘Idiocracy’ in the same sentence. The interviewer – who was Maximus by the way – tried to steer the discussion to more nuanced terms, but I my very existence caused Maria’s dignified façade to crack, just a little bit, she fell into condemning me, presuming to know all the secrets of my heart. ’Maya’s behavior is disgusting. That whore sleeps with anyone she wants, incapable of sensitivity, never in her life having a pure deep love affair. She pushes through and manipulates anyone to get what she wants, and to hell with the consequences! While she is good with humor and ridicule, those are talents reflecting a frivolous mind; incompatible with older, more serious souls.’

 

“OH NO SHE DI’N’T! I nearly choked on my beer out of amusement and I was baked at this point, but I still got mad; this tedious Romantic was mildly annoying, until now when she roused me to fury. She could call me a whore all she wanted as whoring is the oldest and noblest profession in human history, call me a degenerate as I was a libertine who paid no serious mind to such moldy prudish morals, imply I was an alpha b**** as it was a label to be proud of, even treat a children’s card game with deathly seriousness.

 

“But to attack humor and satire; the lulz itself; to put shame on Thalia, one of the Muses who together redeem human suffering in the endless cold black stormy ocean that is universe? Unforgivable! I resolved that very night to crusade in vengeance against this mortal nemesis of the lulz, to show her how much of a troll I could be, to make her die the most humiliating death!

 

“Jolene prompted with her gentle arm, advising caution to me, ‘But Maya, vengeance is not the way, as it only hurts yourself. Negative energy clogs your chakras and disrupts your bodily harmonies. Please take blue cooling crystal and breath deep with me. Kumbaya, kumbaya, hare hare Krishna…’ Her new age nonsense only inflamed me more. I pulled the yoga mat from under her, figuratively and literally, and formed a convoluted scheme on the spot that would take months to fulfill so I could have my vengeance and drive home my dissent against Maria for the whole world to see.   

 

“’But isn’t your scheme really petty? And what of your college education, protests, and donation campaigns?’ Jolene reminded me, to which I retorted, ‘We’re famous important people! Petty bullshit is what we do! As for my schedule, I’ll book it!’

 

“So I carried my pointless scheme to fruition; I created the persona of a brownnosing fan, most fitting as she was brownnosing Kaiba himself, and stroked her ego by telling her lies she wanted to hear while couching her vulgar and ignorant prejudices in the most aristocratic tone of voice. She wanted to know who my persona really was and meet me in person, either because she was suspicious of me or she was a gullible loser with low self-esteem, or the odd fusion of both, and invited me to a party in Kaiba’s mansion on April 1st.

 

“I knew it would only be a matter of time before she figured out I was tricking her the entire time, but I wanted to cause the whole fiasco to blow up in the way I desired. So how does Spongebob make a fool out of an old fuddy-duddy like Squidward or a belligerent miser like Mr. Krabbs? I needed the help of a Patrick Star, and Jolene willfully played the part; even she had to get in on the action. We dressed up in fancy dresses and masks, passing off as vapid celebrities from Beverly Hills. We also recruited Yukio to play the part of a celebrity reporter, and some random loser named Fujita to hold a camera and broadcast it on a YouTube channel.

 

“Positions set, battalions ready, fore! We invaded Maria, alone, without her heroic savior to protect her, introducing ourselves as Hollywood Celebrities, and began our friendly chat. The grave damsel had the discretion to be suspicious at first, but I buttered her up the same way I did on social media, and within a short time a few jokes, gossip, and cocktail drinks suckered her in. Jolene broached the topic of Yugioh and rogue duelists – Maria slipped a bit – and I ramped up the debate, attacking Stella, Mathias, and Maya in the third person in ever more vulgar ways. Once Maria became drunk and aroused enough to explode, Yukio turned Fujita’s video recorder towards her to capture the train wreck in all its glory.

 

“Maria aired all her resentment, like it was dirty laundry, into full view, delivering a monologue Ayn Rand would have enjoyed, ‘Screw political correctness, I gotta’ get this s*** out! Rogue duelists are f***ing scrubs not good enough to play the game and antimeta duelists are butthurt f**s who hate the game and want to destroy it! And you know how those stinkin’ looters act; like f***ing martyrs of ‘creativity’! HAH! Like a failed modern artist is ‘creative’! A loser dog is a loser dog no matter what he does, and his dueling proves it! Poor people f***ing complain so much about how they can’t compete, they can’t get good enough cards! Well if you f***ing degenerates worked hard enough instead of robbing stores, smoking crack, and invading my country to breed white people out of existence you could! The natural laws of competition and economics make it so! Some people are superior to others – what’s wrong in admitting that? – and not everyone will make it no matter how much you dumb down schools and jobs!  

 

“Me and Jolene mockingly wondered if loser dogs begat poverty of if poverty begat loser dogs, and I was tempted to ridicule the drunken Maria further by prompting her to solve her own chicken-or-the-egg riddle, but she pwned herself with fresh material of her own. As usual among drunks, wails followed rages, and Beata Maria was no different. And did she bitterly complain, ‘I just don’t understand Seto sometimes! He claims he loves me like the world but he’s as cold in love as in money! He only told me I was beautiful once, and it was as stilted as an Anakin-Padme dialogue! And he can barely get hard or touch me right or make me feel like a woman, like he only gets hard playing Blue-Eyes White Dragon in Attack Position! Or when making his new gadgets – does he screw a robot waifu or something!’

 

“Not only did I tear away her lofty veil to reveal her opinions for what they truly were, she sabotaged Kaiba’s image in the most intimate way, thus killing two birds with one stone. But our victory was short-lived. Kaiba, the stern bulldog, rushed to save his damsel; he tore away my mask and Jolene’s. ‘How dare you ridicule me and my fiancé; no one attacks the Kaiba family and gets away with it!’

 

“’Hold your horses. You didn’t marry her yet.’ I reminded him, enjoying myself as I pushed his berserk button.

 

“He lost all control, lunging at my face, barking like a military officer, ‘I’ll kill you, worthless scum! You snake – no, worm – on the face of the earth!’ I dodged his punch but Jolene was not so lucky; he bloodied her nose. His strike at Jolene pricked my heart with pain and anger. I started at Kaiba to retaliate but the CEO was a trained master in Krav Maga; he smashed me on a table, splitting the table in two. By this time, real reporters and broadcasting crew arrived, their cameras flashing brilliant white from every anger it burned dark holes in my vision and nearly gave me a seizure.    

 

“I knew exactly what Kaiba would do next. Every grown man settled his disputes by playing a children’s card game, and Kaiba was the white knight defending his lady’s honor. – I confess, I an intense envy burned in my heart at that moment. No one ever loved me as much. – There was no way I could survive a duel against Kaiba at this point nor did I have any score to settle with him; instead I declared, ‘Maria, I challenge you to a duel!’

 

“Maria answered, ‘Yes! Now!’ Kaiba protested the duel since we were both drunk and furious at each other, but Maria silenced him, calling upon Kaiba’s guards to get her duel disk. I readied my own, for I was prepared with any event that could happen, instant dueling included. We fought each other hard until Maria noticed that I copied her deck, card by card, which did not take very long.

 

“Maria was furious, ’How dare you netdeck me!’

 

“’What?’ I replied in sarcasm, ‘I thought netdeckers were good for the game by stopping so-called degenerates like me from ruining it. It can’t be you hate them now I use their tactics against you.’

 

“Maria burst into sobs, yelling, ‘You’re also a hypocrite, Maya. You like playing the part of the rebel all right with your studied rudeness; you hate the meta and all the dueling world but you need both to stay relevant. Once the meta is gone, once you kick all the traces, you will have no more purpose in life.’ I understood everything she said but accepted it; to think I could accept that biter pill at this moment.

 

“The poor girl’s body was too innocent of alcohol to process the dose putting her in a delirium. She vomited all over the floor in utter ruin; my victory was glorious. I had revealed Maria’s hypocrisy to the entire world, hammering the final nail in the coffin. Mission accomplished. – At the same time I wondered if this was how Bakura felt carrying out his schemes, searching for the weakest spot to strike the enemy, hammering out every step of the plan to the last detail. I clearly mastered the art by this point but I still sometimes thought, ‘How tedious all this is!’

 

“Kaiba, who was sober, understood fully what happened. He smashed Fujita’s video recorder on the floor; Fujita ran like a coward and our machine was broken, but the damage was done. He called his personal guards to arrest Jolene, Yukio, and me this instant, something he had full power to do as he practically owned all of Domino City. Running away from Matthew’s goons years ago gave us much experience, so outpacing Kaina’s henchmen was easy. We sped away in our cheap rental car, clumsily singing with the loud rap music, living fast and ready to die young:

 

Swimmin’ laps around a bottle of Louis the XIII,

Jumping off of a mountain into a sea of Codeine,

I’m at the top of the top but still I climb,

And if I should ever fall the ground will then turn to wine,

Pop-pop, pop-pop, I feel like flying,

Then I feel like frying, then I feel like dying.

 

“And we crashed into the busiest intersection of the city. It was truly a shame I didn’t die, because I passed out in jail and the next thing I saw was Stella, who had flown to Japan just to bail me out. She said grimly, ‘You paid for my mother’s cancer treatment. I paid for your bail. We’re even.’

 

“I tried explaining everything to Stella, my obsession with revenge, my plot, my intensions, but Stella would have none of it, as if I could have justified myself anyway. She shut me down, ‘And what were you exactly trying to prove; that you’re a giant hypocritical idiot too? Our relationship is over Maya. You and the two clowns you call friends are free. Now get out and do a human centipede,’

 

“Yukio whistled and howled in laughter just at the thought of remembering what had happened last night. ‘Whoa! Man, that was sweeeeeeeeet!’

 

“Stella had none of it. ‘Seriously, you all, grow the f*** up!’

 

“And that was how Stella and me parted ways. It wasn’t until I was sober, literally and figuratively, that I understood how cruel and pointless my prank was, feeling bitter remorse, yet I could not let go of my feelings of vindictive satisfaction. Both our reputations we tarred black and it took a full year to wash it all away; Maria accused of racism and I accused of jealous queen bee sabotage. I had even planned to deliver a sob story about how Maria made me feel less of a person and hurt young women everywhere, to ridicule naïve progressives as well as elitist snobs to make the circle complete, and because I felt like it, but there was no point to it.  

 

Kaiba, who like me could not suffer his pride scorned, tried to grind me down with endless lawsuits and have me banned from dueling forever, but Maria must have seen me as a skilled and worthy duelist in spite of everything I did to her because she offered me a plea bargain in a supreme act of forgiveness. I accepted; I was banned from dueling for six months and took down the offensive video from the Internet, and we both gave public apologies. We were civil thereafter; never again did I publicly insult her or scrap at her again as a spotted hyena in return for her kindness, but we carry distain for each other to this day.

 

“And that, my friend, is how my hatred of Maria started and my relationship ended. Killed two birds with one stone, huh.”

 

----------------------------------------------

 

As Maya prepared to duel Maria for the last time, she now understood it was not Maria she truly hated but her father, who embodied Maria’s cold distain.

 

Maya’s father once told his only child, after he lost his prestigious job of his own fault and mother was dying of lung cancer, both blows forcing the family to live in a Manhattan project building, in a fit after his young daughter who, with a frenzied mind, an aching heart, and with no one to turn to, got into a huge fight with another child at school; he said to her, “You good for nothing brat, you are unworthy even of my punishment.” And when Maya saw her sick and bald mother, weeping over the phone after hearing her family still disowned her for marrying outside the Islamic faith, and came to embrace and comfort her, her mother sighed in sorrow, “You ruined my life.”

 

There was nothing Maya could have done with her parents but she could put their ghosts to rest, and she would do that by dueling Maria with basic fairness and charity. No matter what Maria did, she would keep composure. This simple approach, not the grandiose silly image of gamers as chivalrous warriors, was what the honor of the duelist truly was, if such a thing even existed.   

[MewMew3]

Honestly, I wish someone took the time to judge my work as thoroughly as Aarikku and Rob_Lucci_CP8 do at Pojo.com. Even a harsh judgment would be preferable to nothing. 

 

Judging has been done this way:

https://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=1267421

https://www.pojo.biz/board/showthread.php?t=1267419

I know, I want people to judge me, it's odd. I don't know if they or other critics read all my previous work (Season 1, Season 2, Season 3 up to this point), but each chapter gets a couple hundred views each, so I guess, maybe. Would be a major plus because it adds context to all my recent chapters.

Sorry I haven't been responding to other fanfics. I am so busy with other things and writing each new chapter is like birthing a new child. I hope my effort at least shows.

I will even recap every chapter I wrote since Season 1 if a critic requests it.

[MewMew3]

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Been working on music theory stuff to try to get something published, so I've had some delays. I should be getting the next duel out within a week or so. 

[MewMew3]

Finished the next duel. It's going to be truly epic. *whew* It was really hard to do, and I'm still not fully comfortable with Burning Abyss yet.

[MewMew3]

Duel 13 – Settling the Score

 

 

Maya and Maria truly did not like each other but at least they did each other the courtesy of shaking the other’s hand before starting their duel. “I remember the kindness you showed me last year, hence why I saved you from Seeker when the tournament began.” Maya told her rival in good honor, yet still enjoying a small amount of her mischief at causing Maria slight embarrassment. “But I don’t spare anyone from a barb or two.”

 

Maria looked down on Maya as usual, condescending to remind her that she promised to be serious. But Maya replied in turn, “I’m always serious, and when I joke often I’m deadly serious. You still don’t know how humor works, not that you had the chance to learn much.” Maya glanced at Kaiba long enough for Maria to get the hint.

 

Maria dismissed such trivial remarks. “I don’t care. Let’s duel, now!”

 

“No, let’s not. Why do you want to win this tournament?” Maya paused to let the shocking effect of her words sink in, that someone would be crazy enough to not play a children’s card game at the drop of a hat.  

 

“I want to become the Duel Queen!” Maria affirmed with sternness, yet with a small hesitation. “You must build a tower from the corpses of the vanquished to grasp glory from the heavens!”

 

“No, Xerox Maiden with Eyes of Blue. That’s Kaiba’s answer, as vapid as a blimp and as subtle as a cold brick. I want your answer. Forget Kaiba is here. Pretend only you and your disdain for me exist and answer: why do you want to win?”

 

Maria’s entire face stiffened from cold to freezing, answering coolly, “That is not your business nor will it ever be. You dare insult the person who saved your life.”

 

“I saved yours, goldfish, the debt is repaid.” Maya reminded her. “As much as I hate you, Maria Wight, I do like you. You have a reserve, dignity, elegance, effortless grace I want but can never have, but those qualities aren’t enough for a woman; I told Sophia the same thing. Long ago, before the creation of our universe, the Author created a Kisara 2.0 as the main character, a woman with strong qualities but a wight nonetheless. Don’t be like her. Don’t live and die for an unworthy man.”

 

“You talk like you can influence the will of God.” Maria said.

 

“Perhaps because I am the Devil.” Maya answered.

 

“Then you are deluded, as well as proud and blasphemous.” Maria let her duel disk sing colors of blue and white, preparing the ground for their battle. “No more small talk.”

 

“But games are small talk.” Maya gave her bon mot as her own duel disk readied for their fight. “There is nothing wrong with that.”

 

Maria: 8000 || Maya: 8000

 

MARIA’S TURN: “Play time is over. I Normal Summon Maiden With Eyes of Blue and set a card. I end my turn.” Maria seems to have cloned herself as girl of long silver hair takes her place beside the duelist, both hardly different.

 

MAYA’S TURN: “Wait, are you running a Blue-Eyes Deck? How?” But Maya soon finds the answer to her own question. “Kaiba let you use his data, didn’t he?” And when Maria gives a twinkle of a smile, Maya scoffs. “And people keep telling me blue-eyes white privilege is a lie.”

 

“Maya, you don’t have what it takes to get privileges.”

 

Maya pretends not to hear her; she says, “Sorry, I can’t hear you from your high horse up there.”  

 

“I’m not high, you’re just so low.” Maria retorts.

 

“As low as Hell itself.” Maya let a dangerous light flare in her eyes. “I Normal Summon Tour Guide From the Underworld, using its effect to Special Summon Graffiacane, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, and overlay them to Xyz Summon Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!” A sprightly coquette train conductor in a tight black outfit arrives with her train on station, bringing with her a fiend with coarse fur and a barbarous snout, before merging together in the overlay network to bring out Dante, the fantastically reimagined medieval warrior poet.

 

“I use Dante’s effect to mill three cards and give it 1500 ATK; now the Graffiacane I detached and Ciriatto, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss I milled activate in the Graveyard: I Special Summon Cagnazzo, Malebranch of the Burning Abyss from the Deck and Graff from the Graveyard. Now, my fiends, attack Kisara 3.0.”

 

Dante raises his sword to slay the sacred virgin as if she was the idol of an infidel, but Maria saves her by using her effect. The maiden clasps Dante’s sword, and with an elvish chant of sorts brings out Blue-Eyes White Dragon from Maria’s Deck. That was before Maya resumed her savage attack, her demons tearing the maiden apart as if they were a wild boar and hound.

 

Maya ends her turn: “I set two cards and activate Scarmiglione, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss from my Graveyard, letting me search for another Burning Abyss monster.”

 

Mathias Blackheart, carefully watching the duel from a safe distance, cannot help but appreciate Maya’s theme. He had always loved the great Dante’s works for his entire life and seeing the Malebranche work as a team refreshed his immortal soul – he had not seen anyone use the Burning Abyss archetype in a long time – but he soon felt a twinge of fear; if his ally used devils to attack an angel, where did his immortal soul stand? Maya would ridicule the idea, no doubt, but his worry did not die.

 

MARIA’S TURN: “I can’t tell you how deeply you disappoint me, Maya,” Maria condemns her. “I expected something more from your ‘top super secret strategy’, not run-of-the-mill Burning Abyss. Like Andy Warhol, all edge, no substance. And like Kaiba, all bluster only to get worfed.”

 

Even Mathias agrees with her, remarking to Maya, “You don’t look like a cock tease but you gave me the bluest balls in literally a hundred years.”

 

Those words trigger something ferocious in Maya, igniting her into a gleeful cackle so shrill and cold it made Pegasus’ blood run cold, lit Kaiba’s eyes with a shade of fear, and raised the back hairs of Matthew’s head. Pegasus and Kaiba could have sworn they heard Bakura’s voice; yes, that voice of the most obscure yet most dangerous of great duelists.

 

Maya sometimes broke into eccentric laughter over some obscure private thought she enjoyed all to herself, and this was no different. “So Maria does have some wit in her. I thought her soul, as an angel’s, was too pure to house the sorrows that bring laughter into the world. My evil charms must be working. Tell me, how does it feel to be human?”

 

Matthew comments bitterly, “If anything, Xiaoyi’s charms must be working. I’ve had enough of parables and riddles for one lifetime, and I swear on my grandfather’s grave I will kill every pretentious moron on this planet!”

 

“Yeah, whatever, dude.” Mathias easily brushes Matthew’s impotent rage aside. Maya doesn’t even pretend to not hear him, letting the villain stew in his own bile.

 

Maria ignores Matthew too. “I play The Melody of Awakening Dragon, discarding a card and adding two Blue-Eyes monsters to my hand. Next, Pre-preparation of Rights. Adding a Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster to my hand. I reveal a Blue-Eyes White Dragon in my hand to Special Summon Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon and Dragon Spirit of White, and use their effects to pop Dante and her facedown card.” A greater version of the classic white dragon pokes its head from a magic portal, vaporizing Dante with a burst of its electric breath before fully summoning into view, while a smaller waifish white dragon burns away Maya’s trap…

 

That is, after Maya triggers it. “I play Fire Lake of the Burning Abyss! I destroy Cagna and Cir to destroy your dragons and your facedown card!” And in a flash of white lightning from Maria and a storm of red flames from Maya, the field is made into a barren desert. Only Maria’s classic Blue-Eyes White Dragon remains. Maya activates her Dante, returning Graff from her Graveyard to her hand, Cagna, milling a Burning Abyss Spell Card, and Cir, reviving Scarm from the Graveyard.

 

Disappointed even more, Maya proceeds to summon one of her greatest monsters. “I play Return of the Dragon Lords to revive Blue-Eyes White Dragon, then activate Chaos Form to summon my ultimate beast! Light transforming into darkness, rising from the depths of chaos, forging the path to victory, come forth…!”

 

Maya cuts her off. “Stop your chanting right there! I play Hand Destruction!” Maya’s brief actions stops her rival in her tracks, giving her an opening to throw another verbal dart. “Chanting for an ace monster, really? And I thought I was pretentious. Now, we discard two cards and draw two; that includes your cancer Ritual Monster.” 

 

“Well that came out of left field.” Mathias admits that even he did not see that coming.

 

Kaiba had boiled in rage from Maya’s irreverence throughout the duel and he can control it no longer. “How dare you call my great dragons cancer!”

 

But this aggression does not deter Maya in the least from firing shots back. “But they are cancer, Mr. Aneurism. They’re part of the power creep that is slowly killing Yugioh, majestic wings and grandiose ATK points aside.”

 

“That power creep allowed you to get ahead in Yugioh, you impudent hypocrite. A third rate duelist such as yourself should be at least thankful.”

 

“I promise I’ll send you a gift card as thanks, preferably from a small independent business. Now fold your hand, Maria, your poker face is slipping.”   

 

Maria solemnly discards her hand. “That was a clever way of stopping a Ritual Summon. The only way I can overcome such a tactic is by lucking out.” She draws her new hand, including all the required cards. “And lucked out I did. I Ritual Summon Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon!” The bright June sky darkens into thunder and lightning as the shadow counterpart of the blue-eyed dragon comes forth.

 

“Oh, Fishstyx! Destiny is cruel.” Maya admits. “But there is danger in taking things at surface value. I activate Blaze Accelerator Reload from my Graveyard; I banish it to mill a Volcanic Scattershot, then use it’s effect!” Maya mills two more Scattershots, allowing all three to rise from the dead to wipe Maria’s entire army.

 

Maria counters Maya’s strategy with her own. “I banish my Return of the Dragon Lords Spell to protect all my dragons!” And true to her word, her army is saved from Maya’s wrath, but not Maria herself; the tsunami of fire crashes into her with a terrifying fury. (Maria LP 8000 à 6500)

 

But Maya has more tricks in her sleeve. “I activate Farfarello, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, the other card I discarded, to banish your Chaos MAX Dragon!” Her tricky goblin leaps from the netherworld, clasping unto the mighty dragon so much larger than itself, but still makes it disappear.

 

“But I still have the classic Blue-Eyes; now destroy Scarm! Burst Stream of Destruction!” And Maya’s wretched fiend sees a quick end, through it’s trouble-making days are far from over.

 

“I end my turn.” Maria finishes. “But my army increases. I discarded two White Stone of Ancients this turn, letting me Special Summon a third Blue-Eyes White Dragon and a second Blue-Eyes Alternative White Dragon from my Deck!” By this time Maria’s field is full of dragons.

 

All Maya can do is use her measly Scarm again to search for another Burning Abyss monster, and though she betrays a smarmy attitude of breezy insolence she is truly afraid – or was it anxiousness? No. Excitement? No. It was apprehension.

 

Maya sometimes thinks of herself as an opposite, or more accurately a shadow compliment to Yugi. Both are eccentrics who come from obscure backgrounds; both have troubled pasts though Maya bullied while Yugi was bullied; both came, as Mathias said, out of left field to take the gaming world by storm; both are tricksters and cunning strategists, both have vast hidden depths beneath misleading appearances, Yugi appearing meek and mild, gentle as a child, Maya appearing sullen, witty, and impulsive. Maya was even born on the opposite of Yugi’s zodiac sign or some other stupid s*** Jolene would say when shopping at Namaste.

 

And now, like Yugi did thirteen odd years ago, she too faces the most iconic and dangerous dragons in the entire game, with a small chance of survival. Yes, she can dodge such cumbersome beasts with skill, but you can run away an avalanche or trick a giant for only so long. Maria truly is a shadow compliment to Kaiba, and a fine one at that; she never denied her skill

 

But now, practice time is over. Through her wit, her barbs, her teasing, Maya had tested the waters of the engagement, as she always does, and in this manner found the weaknesses in her opponent to exploit. Maya can no longer hold any secrets; she has to bring out the big guns.      

[MewMew3]

Duel 14 – Shatterpoints

 

Maya’s habits still amaze her at times; for instance how she holds herself back out of fear even when in danger of losing a tournament she cannot afford to lose, and she wonders what Freudian backstory leads to such behavior. Her father can beat her until she bleeds, and has done so more than once. Maria could never touch her.

Or is it Kaiba who is scary? Her father shares Kaiba’s height, his broad shoulders, and ice-cold blue eyes. It doesn’t matter at this point. She’ll hire a shrink after the tournament, when she can use the prize money to actually afford one.

But there is more going on. Maya confirms what she suspected for many years now: Maria wants Kaiba’s love, respect, and approval. But why would she want that? The same reason Maya sought for it in Stella, and failed. Maria will fail too.

 

Maria: 6500 | Maya: 8000

MAYA’S TURN: “I banish Good & Evil of the Burning Abyss in my Graveyard to discard a Burning Abyss monster to add another one from my Deck to my hand. Next, Libicocco, Malebrancho of the Burning Abyss activates in the Graveyard: I Special Summon Graff from my hand. And I use the effect of Barbariccia, Malebranch of the Burning Abyss to Special Summon itself from my hand.” Her two demons fly out from a volcanic geyser from Hell: a burly bearded monster and a beastly dog.

“I discard Fluffal Bear from my hand to set Toy Vendor from my Deck, and activate it; I discard Fluffal Wings from my hand and draw another card.” It was Carboneddon, a non-Fluffal monster, so Maya had to discard it too. Every other duelist in the arena betrayed a mild look of shock, a look Maya didn’t have the time to notice, so engrossed in fulfilling her complex strategy. “And I banish Fluffal Wings from my Graveyard, plus Fluffal Bear, and destroy Toy Vendor to draw two cards. Toy Vendor activates when destroyed, so I search my Deck for Fluffal Bear.”

One engine done, now another one; together they move the entire machine. “I link up Barbar and Graff to Link Summon Cherubini, Black Angel of the Burning Abyss!” Her monsters align in a fiery grid to be sacrificed, and the black cherub, satisfied with Maya’s tributes, rises from the fires of Hell. “Graff now activates. I Special Summon Draghignazzo, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss.” A black-winged fiend with the scales of a black dragon follows the black cherub into the mortal realm in an iron leash.

“I use Cherub to mill Cir to give its ATK a boost.” But such a meager offensive increase is far from my Maya’s objective. “I use Cir’s effect to Special Summon Scarm from the Graveyard. I overlay Draghig and Scarm to Xyz Summon the second Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss, and use it’s effect to mill three cards. But I’ll take the evolution further; I discard Malacoda to overlay Dante to Xyz Summon Beatrice, Lady of the Eternal!” As the eternal feminine descends from Heaven to absorb Dante into herself, Maya thinks of Sophia, that beautiful soul, and how that beauty brings Sophia down.

“This is it.” Matthew thinks to himself. “It’s the arch stone of her deck.” But the thought triggered his fragile mind, setting him into a rage as soon as he grasps it’s meaning. He screams at Maya, “Don’t tell me you will not use your Golden God Card this duel! You will not insult me by not dueling at your fullest strength!”

“I won’t need to use a god if I don’t have to.” Maya replies to him in a tone as relaxed and cool as if she is drinking Texas moonshine in a rustic bar. “And how would you know, anyway? Did you read the script?”

“I acknowledge you as my one rival, so you must have a god to rival mine! It’s destiny!”

“Or a cliché plot.”

Mathias tries to whisper to Maya as best as he could from a few meters away, if such a thing is even possible. “Top-say reaking-bay the ourth-fay all-way.”

“Speak Normal.” Maya says. “I can’t understand you.”

Mathias repeats himself, “Diruam non murum quartum et re fabricam destruere.

Maya bats his warning aside. “A quis iocus non nocere.”

Maria can only stare at them quizzicly. “I have no idea what kind of Italian they’re using. Do you know, Seto?”

Kaiba shakes his head. Gozaburo Kaiba, is stepfather, never bothered to school him in the humanities, as he thought they had no purpose to running a multibillion dollar company. Matthew, however, who did learn the wisdom of antiquity from his grandfather, replies, “I understand them perfectly. They’re making a dumb joke.”

Pegasus takes his turn to make a coy comment, the first one in this entire duel. “I’m impressed. The American education system hasn’t failed everyone.”

Now Maya starts her third engine. “I Normal Summon for the first time this turn; come out Illusion Brigadier, and use it’s effect to Special Summon two Illusion Tokens and deal you, Maria, 900 damge.” A hunchebacked fiend stooping from carrying two massive turrets appears and copies itself twice, then all three fiends fire six blasters at Maria. (Maria LP 6500 → 5600) “And now I Tribute the three of them to Special Summon Raviel, Lord Phantasms!” The skies blacken to smoke, lightning shakes the entire pyramid they stood on, threatening to split in two, and a giant diety, a king of fiends and shadow magic, is called forth from the netherworld.

Mathias gasps in surprise. “Illa fregit cerebrum meum.” And everyone else shares the same feeling.

Maya is still not done. “I activate the Field Spell Fallen Paradise!” The dueling arena transformed into a desolate valley, a barren whithered tree towering over the entire group on the side, yet still made bright by the early afternoon sun. “And I use it’s effect: since I control a Sacred Beast monster, I draw two cards.” It is time to battle! “Raviel, destroy Maria’s Alternative Dragon.” The lord of phantasms turns all the shadows around it, made so sharp and black by the bright sun, into living beings that together drag Maria’s white dragon to its grave. (Maria LP 5600 → 4600)

“I activate Fluffal Bear, discarding to set Toy Vendor from my Deck. And I Set three cards facdown. I end my turn, making Scarm activate, meaning I search for a Burning Abyss monster.”

Stella, who silently stood in the corner watching the duel so far, begins to leave the arena. She saw Maya’s strategies, everything she needed to know, and will not dignify Maya with her prescence any more.

“Stella, where are you going?” Maya calls out to her with anxiousness.

Stella says nothing, and Maya changes her tone from anxiety to indignation. “Giving me the silent treatment, huh. What are you, in third grade? Grow the f*** up!”

Stella climbs down the stairs of the pyramid, with Maya hollaring at her, “Do what you will, but I guarantee it will be your loss!”

MARIA’S TURN: “Your terrible fiend does not frighten me. Darkness always triumphs over the light! I banish both White Stone of Ancients in my Graveyard to add two Blue-Eyes monsters to my hand. I activate Pot of Avarice to shuffle the five remaining monsters in my Graveyard back in my Deck to draw two cards. “I activate the two Cards of Consonance I just drew, each one makes me discard a low Level Tuner to draw two cards, which then triggers the two White Stone of Legend in my Graveyard; I banish them and add two Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my Deck to my hand.

All Maria’s cards at this point this turn served to replenish her hand, so she may mount a counterattack. “I Normal Summon The Agent of Creation – Venus!” The first offender appears, a placid and delicate goddess. Maria undertakes a difficult sequence of Link Summoning; she uses Venus’ effect to Special Summon many Mystic Shine Ball from her Deck, and uses them to Link Summon Link Spider and Proxy Dragon afterwards, paying 1500 Life Points in the process. (Maria LP 4600 → 3100) “I link up Venus, a Shine Ball, and Proxy Dragon to Link Summon Firewall Dragon!” The three diverse creatures dissapear so the cyberverse dragon could cross to the physical plane.

Since Maria did Normal Summon a monster, Maya Special Summoned a Phantasm Token to her field, a weak dwarf of its sire. Regardless, ss soon as Firewall Dragon appears, Maria uses its effect, “I bounce your Beatrice back to the Extra Deck.”

Such a play shocks Maya, but she reflexively makes her commands, “I activate Beatrice to mill a card.” The eternal feminine vanishes by Maria’s hand, the irony not lost to Maya. “I detatched Draghig to use Beatrice, so I use its effect to put a Burning Abyss monster at the top of my Deck.”

Once Maya got her bearings together after a few seconds, she understood Maria’s tactic. “Firewall Dragon pointed to Raviel with its Link Arrows, letting it bounce Beatrice, and since she would not be destroyed you got around Cherub’s protection. That was really cool. See, you’re more than Kaiba’s trading card.”

“Thanks for the left-handed compliment, I guess. I reveal Blue-Eyes in my hand to Special Summon Dragon Spirit of White and use it’s effect to pop...”

“You guess what?” Maya says. She set three cards facedown and Maria’s new dragon could only banish one. She took great care to hide Toy Vendor among them, shuffling her cards before setting them all facedown at once. Only one of them can protect her from Maria’s onsluaght, so Maya made it hard to find.

Maya finds the scene amusing; kind of like when Yugi would hide his Dark Magician inside magical hats, forcing Kaiba to play a guessing game. Too bad this guess game is nowhere near as awesome.

Maria tries to read Maya’s mind, pointing at one card, then another, trying to detect any sign of nervouseness, then holds her finger over the middle one. Maya keeps her poker face stiff with a smarmy look she knew would annoy Maria oh so much, and oh how well it worked. “I’ll make give you a hint, Maria. The card on my left is Toy Vendor. Perhaps you should choose a different card.”

“Maria Wight, you have ten more seconds to make a move.” Isono the referree warns her. “Failure means discquialification from the finals.”

Pressured into action, Maria declares, “I banish the middle facedown card!”

“JACKPOT – For me that is! Jar of Avarice!” Maya plays her Trap Card right before it gets erased from existence. “I shuffle five cards in my Graveyard back to the Deck and draw one. Better luck next time with the Monty Hall problem.”

Kaiba turns his already scowling face a shade darker with a grimace. “I can’t believe Maya would use such a cheap trick.”

“If meta duelists can use cheap decks, Kaiba boy, Maya is perfectly entitled to use cheap tricks.” Pegasus gives a sly comment. “Reminds me of the good old days, when I used mind games to utterly control my opponents.”

“And a fair bit of cheating, I might add.” Kaiba reminds him.

“It doesn’t matter! Chaos MAX Dragon, destroy the Phantasm Token!” Maria commands, clearly frazzled. “Eat 6000 damage!”

“Never!” Maya refutes her. “I activate Delta Barrier, bringing back two more from my Graveyard to block all damage!” Her weak token remains standing.

“Firewall Dragon, Dragon Spirit of White, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon, destroy Cherub!” The rest of her dragons open fire, eager to send the fiend back to Hell.

“I use Cherub’s effect. I destroy all Delta Barriers, letting Cherub survive battle three times.” The black cherub bears the brunt of all three attacks, deflecting one after another, but at great cost. The dragon’s combined powers hit her hard, almost throwing her out of the arena, the impact of her already broken ribs on the ground sears her with a piercing pain, as if her chest and back are being stabbed by countless knives. (Maya LP 8000 → 1500)

Maya is more than hearty enough to take such a hit, and even when smashed against the ground and in extreme pains, she still sings Maria’s praises for nearly killing her with such mighty attack, though she makes a codetta, “I am never this well-behaved in a duel. I must still feel crushed by my debt to you. How annoying.” But what truly hurts her is not the petty pain in her body but the fact Stella left.