Continued From Last Post:
“Surprise!” shouted Stan. “My Trap Card can be activated whenever a Normal Trap or Normal Magic Card is played that doesn’t have a trigger. You may have kept me from attacking for three turns, but now you have to suffer the same restriction for three of your turns!”
“Okay, one point for you,” snarled Raven, “but the Swords around me will wear off before yours do, in case you didn’t know. So make your move.”
Stan drew.
Now that’s just what I need! he thought.
“I’m summoning this little spitfire in Defense Mode!” he exclaimed, putting a card down.
A shower of pixie dust fell upon his side, and a small form appeared in a burst of light. It was a little girl with blonde hair tied in long, pink braids. She wore a white robe with arcane symbols on the front, and carried a slender scepter topped with a shining orb. (1,200/0)
“Meet White Magician Pikeru!” chuckled Stan.
“How cute…” muttered Raven.
“I’m not done yet!” exclaimed Stan, choosing a card from his hand. “With Pikeru on the field, I can play a special Magic Card…
“You see, not many people know this, but Pikeru has a sister. Word hasn’t gotten out, because she rarely talks about her. Pikeru practices magic of Light, but her sister practices magic of Darkness. The sisters despise each other, each thinking that the other chose to study the wrong craft…
“But they can’t deny, in the end, that they are blood-related, and if the cause is great enough, one will come to the other’s aid…
“So I play the Magic Card… Sibling Rivalry!”
He threw a card into a slot. A card flew out of his deck.
“Sibling Rivalry can be played when one of the sisters is on the field, and let’s me Special Summon the other one… Thus, I summon Ebon Magician Curran in Defense Mode.”
A dark shadow formed next to Pikeru, and another young girl stepped out. She had long, dirty-blonde hair, and wore a black, fancy dress and a hood with “bunny ears”. She carried a leather switch in her hands. (1,200/0)
Pikeru and Curran gave each other dirty looks, and then turned to face Raven.
“Oh, they’re both adorable!” cried Yumi.
“True…” pondered Andy. “But this is… odd. I know what Pikeru does, but what secrets does Curran have inside her?”
“Your move, Raven…” said Stan, with a snide look.
Raven drew. She looked at the card.
Pikeru can increase his Life Points, she thought. and the more Monsters both of us have on the field, the more he gets… And I don’t even know what Curran does…
Playing this gal might be risky, but she may put me up for the perfect way to strike back once these Swords are gone…
She put a card down.
“I summon…” she announced, “Dark Scorpion Shanna the Quick, in Attack Mode!”
A new Dark Warrior appeared. This one was a teenage girl, wearing the same outfit as the rest of the Scorpions. She had short, black hair, and carried two long daggers. (1,300/500)
“Huh?” said Stan, in astonishment. “I’ve… I’ve never heard of a member of the Scorpions called Shanna the Quick…”
“She was a later recruit,” said Raven, with a smile. “And this is a rare card. Wait until you see her special talents!
“Your move…”
“Then I draw,” said Stan, “and now the two sisters can get to work!”
White Magician Pikeru waved her scepter and chanted.
“First,” said Stan, “Pikeru’s white magic increases my Life Points by 400 for every Monster on the field, and there are seven of them!”
Stan’s Life Points went up to 9,700!
Then, Ebon Magician Curran swung her switch over her head and chanted a different spell…
“Second,” explained Stan, “Curran’s black magic strikes you directly, blasting away 300 of your Life Points for each Monster on the field!”
Raven gasped! Curran swung her switch forward, and a beam of dark magic plowed into Raven, knocking her down!
Her Life Points fell to 5,900.
“And I think I’ll just pass for this turn,” he concluded.
“Whoa!” shouted Andy. “Talk about a combo!”
“Too bad those two hate each other,” commented Francesca, “they make a great team.”
Raven got up and drew.
“I’ll play my Pot of Greed…” she stated, placing a card into a slot.
“But don’t get the wrong idea,” she warned, as the jar handed her two cards. “I was never greedy – the folks who we stole from were much more avaricious than any of us…”
She looked at the two cards.
“I’ll pass as well,” she said.
The Swords of Revealing Light around her vanished.
Stan drew.
“Pikeru, Curran…” he said, “GO!”
Pikeru chanted again, and Stan glowed. His Life Points shot up to 12,500!
Curran cast her dark spell… Raven braced herself as the energy slammed into her! Her Life Points fell to 3,800.
“And now,” continued Stan, “I’ll sacrifice Mystical Elf for Dark Magician Girl!”
He switched cards, and lovely music started playing. Mystical Elf vanished, and the lovely female wizard spun out of the ground, brandishing her scepter! (2,000/1,700)
“My turn is over, which means your Swords are gone,” said Stan, as the Swords around him faded, “and Dark Magician Girl is stronger than any of your Dark Scorpions…”
“Not for long…” snickered Raven.
She drew.
“Let’s narrow the gap,” she said. “And this Magic Card should do the trick…”
She showed it to him.
“It’s a powerful card called Seventh Inning.”
“Seventh Inning?” quizzed Stan. “What kind of a card is that?”
Raven placed it into a slot, and the card appeared, showing a picture of an umpire behind a home plate. The umpire appeared on the field, and held out seven fingers.
“You know how in baseball games, when the seventh inning comes around, the teams are given a few minutes to rest and get their second wind? This card lets both duelists do just that.
“Seventh Inning can only be played when I’m behind in Life Points. It takes the difference in our Life Points, divides it in half, and adds that to both our scores. Do the math.”
Stan did a quick calculation.
“That’s nuts,” he mocked. “You’ll gain 4,350 Life Points, but so will I!”
“It doesn’t work that way,” said Raven, with a smile. “Simply resting can never make you stronger than your full strength. In game terms, this card can’t increase your Life Points beyond the starting point – so as it stands, this Magic Card won’t benefit you at all!”
Raven’s Life Points went up to 8,000!
“Now that my Life Points are restored,” continued Raven, “I’ll start working on yours…”
She placed a Monster Card down on her last slot.
“I summon Dark Scorpion Tornas the Joker!” she announced.
Yet another Warrior appeared. He looked even younger than Chick the Yellow, and while he was dressed in the same outfit as his teammates, the outfit was torn and ragged. He had unkempt hair and a dirty face. (300/300)
“Ha, ha!” laughed Stan. “That’s the weakest one I’ve ever… Wait… you summoned that guy in Attack Mode…”
“Uh huh…” stated Raven. “Tornas, attack Dark Magician Girl!”
Tornas stretched out his arms and made a flying leap at Dark Magician Girl! She gasped in surprise…
Then she lifted her staff and blew him to pieces.
“Are you nuts?” gasped Andy, who was wondering if Raven had lost her mind.
Raven smiled as her Life Points fell to 6,300.
“No,” said Raven with a grin. “You see, when Tornas the Joker is destroyed in battle, all other Dark Scorpions on the field have their Attack Scores increased to 3,000 for the remainder of the turn!”
Gorg, Meanae, Chick, and Shanna glowed with a dark aura, as their Attack Scores skyrocketed!
“Chick!” shouted Raven, “wipe out Pikeru with Scorpion smash!”
Chick lifted his hammer and slammed it into White Magician Pikeru, blasting her into particles.
“Meanae, obliterate Curran with Scorpion lash!”
Meanae lashed her whip forward, and Ebon Magician Curran screamed. She was blown apart.
“Gorg, attack Dark Magician Girl with Scorpion crush!”
Gorg slammed his mace into Dark Magician Girl’s gut, and she groaned. She fell to floor and shattered into pixels.
Stan’s Life Points fell to 11,150.
“And by the way, Stan…” continued Raven.
Gorg snatched the card off the top of Stan’s deck.
“HEY!” yelled Stan.
“I’m enacting Gorg’s other effect now,” she said, “enabling me to make you discard the top card from your deck when he damages your Life Points.”
She paused, and took a card from her hand (it was another Mystic Tomato).
“Now then,” she said, “now that you have no Monsters to defend yourself, I can activate Shanna’s special ability…”
She threw the card into her discard slot.
“By discarding one Monster Card, Shanna can attack three times in one round!”
“NO!” screamed Stan.
“Oh… my… God…” gasped Francesca.
“Shanna, attack him directly!” shouted Raven.
Shanna leapt up and made a slash at Stan!
“Again!” shouted Raven.
Shanna laughed and made another slash!
“One more time!” yelled Raven.
Shanna made a quick stab, knocking Stan down!
Stan’s Life Points sank like a stone, falling all the way to 2,500.
Stan took some deep breaths… he slowly pulled himself to his feet.
“Wow…” said Raven. “I’ve never done that before without reducing an opponent’s Life Points to zero. You just took 9,000 Life Points worth of direct attacks in one blow… what are you made of?”
“I’m starting…” gasped Stan, “to wonder that… myself…”
“Then make your move…” dared Raven. “I could have finished you off, you know…”
“Say what?” croaked Stan.
“If I had attacked Dark Magician Girl with Gorg first, I’d have gotten rid of another one of your Monsters – but hitting you for 12,000 points of direct damage would have been too much, so I decided to wait before winning.”
“How thoughtful…” groaned Stan.
The Dark Scorpions’ Attack Scores returned to normal.
“Give me… a minute…” gasped Stan.
Slowly, he drew. He couldn’t believe he was still standing – what was he made of?
“I’ll place… a card facedown…” he stuttered.
He fit the card into a slot, and it appeared.
“And then I’ll play my own Swords of Revealing Light!”
He threw another card into a slot, and the cage of Swords crashed down on Raven again!
“Not again…” sighed Raven.
She frowned.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll just draw, and pass this turn.”
Stan made a draw.
“All right,” he said. “I play Monster Reborn!”
He threw the card into a slot, and Dark Magician Girl reappeared.
“Guess who’s back?” he sneered.
(2,000/1,700)
“Crud…” sighed Raven.
“Now,” he said, “I reveal my Trap Card… a little thing called Gift of the Mystical Elf!”
The Trap lifted, and the huge image of Mystical Elf appeared behind him.
“This raises my Life Points by 300 for every Monster on the field – that’s 1,500 extra Life Points!”
His Life Points went up to 4,000.
“Bet you’re sorry you didn’t finish me when you had the chance!” exclaimed Stan.
“That’s what I get for being such a softy…” said Raven, sarcastically.
“Now, Dark Magician Girl, attack Shanna!” shouted Stan.
Dark Magician Girl aimed her scepter at Shanna and fired! Shanna the Quick screamed, and was blown to pieces.
“One down…” muttered Stan. “And it’s your move…”
Raven’s Life Points fell to 5,600.
Raven drew.
She turned the cards on her Disk.
“I’m moving all my Monsters to Defense Mode,” she stated.
Chick, Gorg, and Meanae knelt.
“And that will be all,” she said.
“Good,” said Stan.
He drew.
Now this is more like it! he thought.
“I summon my Gemini Elf!” he exclaimed.
He put a card down, and two twin elves in blue and purple with their arms around each other appeared. (1,900/900)
“Gemini Elf!” he ordered. “Wipe out Gorg the Strong with dual magic attack!”
The elves raised their free hands, and shot bolts of lightning at Gorg. He groaned, and burst into dark shards.
“Dark Magician Girl, attack Chick the Yellow!” he shouted.
Dark Magician Girl spun her staff, and blew Chick away.
“Your move…” said Stan, with a smile.
Raven drew.
Terrific… she thought, looking at the card. Where was this when I needed it?
“I have to pass this turn…” she moaned.
The Swords vanished.
Stan drew.
“Now to seriously take you down!” he exclaimed. “I summon Pixie Knight in Attack Mode!”
He put the card down, and a pretty female pixie in a green and blue suit and a witch’s hat with gossamer wings appeared. (1,300/200)
“Gemini Elf, take care of Meanae the Thorn!” ordered Stan.
The elves cast forth their lightning, and Meanae gasped. She fell and vanished.
“Now, Pixie Knight, attack Raven’s Life Points directly with pixie dust!”
Pixie Knight giggled, and shot forth a stream of sparkling dust! Raven shielded herself against the wave of energy, and her Life Points fell to 4,300.
“Dark Magician Girl, attack her directly with dark magic blast!”
Dark Magician Girl cheered and leapt into the air! She cast her dark spell, striking Raven dead center! Raven screamed and fell over.
Her life Points fell to 2,300.
“Yes!” shouted Andy. “Now Stan is winning!”
“He’s got this duel cold!” exclaimed Francesca.
“It’s your move, Raven…” dared Stan.
“I’ll draw one card…” said Raven, drawing.
She looked at the card, and smiled.
“Time to meet another member of the gang, Stan!” she exclaimed. “I summon Dark Scorpion Fandral the Dashing in Attack Mode!”
She put the card down, and a slim Warrior appeared. He wore the usual outfit, and had long, blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and wore a black domino mask. He carried a long rapier. He made a fancy thrust with the rapier. (1,500/800)
“And now,” continued Raven, “I’ll Equip him with a Dark Scorpion’s second favorite weapon – the Dark Scorpion Shiv!”
She fit a card into a slot, and a long knife appeared in Fandral’s left hand.
“This Equip raises the Attack Score of any Dark Scorpion by 700 points, so now he’s stronger than any of your fairies! Fandral, attack Dark Magician Girl with Scorpion’s blade!”
Fandral leapt forward and thrust with his rapier, stabbing Dark Magician Girl in the belly! She gave a cry, and shattered.
Stan’s Life Points fell to 3,800.
“And also,” said Raven, “now Fandral’s effect comes into… well, effect. When he destroys an enemy Monster, I gain Life Points equal to 300 times the fallen enemy’s star level. Since Dark Magician Girl is a six-star Monster, that means I gain 1,800.”
Her Life Points went up to 4,100.
“This is crazy!” shouted Andy. “They just keep bringing their Life Points up again and again!”
“Someone has to give soon…” muttered Francesca.
Continued…