//------------------------------// // (Part 2:) Boldness and Blindness // Story: Yugioh Spiez: Opperation Duel: Final Season // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// CHAPTER SEVEN At WOOHP, Jerry was still tracking the climate conditions, and they were steadily growing worse. More tropical storms were hitting major countries, one was even heading straight for Duel Academy Island, and monsoon season was about to come very early in Africa, where Alex was now. All this plus newer readings ultimately confirmed Jerry’s big fear. At Duel Academy, we all knew the storm was coming, as it could be seen form plain sight, but it seemed no big deal to us, we got storms all the time. I decided to watch Alex’s duel from start to finish, and this time I wouldn't turn the signal off, wondering if that mystery duelist would show up, but I was still very worried. She wasn’t in good shape already with her current duel. Sabrina came in, after tending to her duties with the unaffected students “Most of them are sleeping in their dorms.” she said “The rest are all behaving normally.” It amazed me how they were acting so brave at a time like this. “How’s Alex doing?” “Not very good…” I said showing her the results. The score stood… SCORE: Alex: 1300 VS Fluttershy: 11,000 If Alex didn’t turn the duel around on her next turn, she’d be history, but Sabrina and I both had faith in her. I taught her well, just as she now taught others at the school as well. Alex had to stay strong. She never gave up once before, and she wasn’t about to now. She gently placed her hand over her next card saying, “Come on now, show me some love!” and plucked out her card. She then took 500 points of damage from the Burning Land card which was still in play. SCORE: Alex: 800 VS Fluttershy: 11,000 But she gazed at the card she just drew, and saw another card she was holding, and then gazed at Fluttershy wickedly. “Hmm?” said Fluttershy. “You like light, harmony, and all that stuff?” Alex sneered “Well, how about this; I activate the spell YU-JO FRIENDSHIP!” “Huh?” cried Fluttershy as she saw Alex softly walking up to her, and then she extended her hand to her, but Fluttershy wasn’t stupid. “I know what you’re trying to do. If I put my hoof in your hand, then both our scores become half the combined total of us both.” “That’s right…” Alex said. Fluttershy scoffed “Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I decline your handshake.” Alex only snickered and showed her another spell card she was holding called UNITY. “Sorry to disappoint you…” she said “But if I play Yu-Jo Friendship while I’ve got this baby on hand, you can’t refuse me.” and with that, she grabbed Fluttershy’s hoof, and shook it softly much to Fluttershy’s chagrin! The scores now stood… SCORE: Alex: 5900 VS Fluttershy: 5900 Alex cheered as she casually went back to her spot. “Ah, yeah…! Alex is back, baby! This oughta’ keep me going for a while, but for now I’ll place one card facedown and I’ll switch all of my dragons to defense mode.” (Def: 2000) x2 (Def: 2400) Fluttershy felt her boldness turning to anger, and she drew her next card. She lost 500 points, but then gained 200, while Alex lost 500 too. SCORE: Alex: 5400 VS Fluttershy: 5600 “I can’t let her make a comeback like this.” Fluttershy thought quietly “I’ll bet she just threw her Unity card facedown. I know when it’s played on a monster in defense-mode it gains the defense points of all other monsters she controls.” Fluttershy suddenly realized that would help herself a great deal, and would severely lower Alex’s life points close to zero. “I have to be bold. Have to be assertive!” she muttered softly, and she ordered her Lion Heart to attack Metal Dark Red Eyes again. “Not so fast, activate the trap; KUNAI WITH CHAIN!” “What…?!” Fluttershy cried in shock, and then watched as the chain ensnared her lion, tied him down hard, and changed him to defense-mode. (Def: 100) “Ha! You walked right into it…” snapped Alex “See, by turning my monsters into defense mode, I figured you’d think I played my Unity card, so I set a trap for you instead, and you’ve forgotten something important too; it may be alright to be a little assertive, but overconfidence can lead to blindness.” Fluttershy growled and stomped her feet angrily, but she had no choice but to end her turn. So Alex drew her next card. She still took 500 points of damage… SCORE: Alex: 4900 VS Fluttershy: 5600 …but she really like what she drew. “Stand Back, Alex is in the house! I sacrifice my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, so I can play JINZO!” (Atk: 2400) “Ah… Jinzo?!” Fluttershy screamed! “That’s right…” replied Alex “And you know what that means, all your trap cards are worthless now, and that includes your Gravity Bind!” “Oh, no! Oh, no!” cried Fluttershy Alex gazed up at her Jinzo, and the hologram gazed back at her and actually gave her a thumb-up. Alex never forgot the many times Jinzo had saved her. Even though she loved her Red Eyes dragons to pieces, she remembered that every card she ever played had its meanings. Fluttershy was really in a tough spot now, and Alex turned her Dragon’s back into attack mode. “And by the way my Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon lets me use his special ability to get my Red-Eyes right back from the graveyard.” Red Eyes returned, giving Alex a fully forced army, much to Fluttershy’s horror. First Alex ordered Jinzo to destroy Fire Princess, and it succeeded, but since Jinzo was negating traps, Alex’s Dragon Rage didn’t work, but that didn’t matter to her. Next, she ordered her Red Eyes to destroy Lion Heart, and since it was in defense-mode it exploded, and Fluttershy couldn’t retaliate with its ability because she took no battle damage. She gazed at the remaining ashes of her fallen lion and felt tears coming to her eyes. As pitiful as Alex could have felt, keeping well focused she informed Fluttershy that she was wide open. Fluttershy gazed all around and realized there was no escape, and Alex ordered her other two dragons to the frontline. “Go Red Eyes Darkness! Go Red Eyes Dark Metal! Attack her directly!” The two dragons roared and soared straight at Fluttershy, Darkness Metal attacked in a swift blaze, they blasted her hard, but as Red Eyes Darkness attacked. "No!" shouted Fluttershy "I discard KURIBOH!" "Ah!" cried Alex "That stops my dragon from damaging you. Oh, well, you still take 2800 points of damage form my first attack" SCORE: Alex: 4900 VS Fluttershy: 2800 Poor Fluttershy looked charred like a well-done steak. Fluttershy lay on the ground, quivering and with tears of fear in her eyes. "What's the matter?" Alex taunted "Ready to give up yet?" Fluttershy could hardly believe what just happened, but she quickly reminded herself “Be bold, be assertive! The light and harmony are on your side!” and she bolted upright at her post and her rage began to spike again. “Whoa! She’s got more guts than I thought.” Alex said to herself. “I’m not going to be afraid, never again!” Fluttershy sneered, and she drew her next card. She still took damage from the Burning Land and then gained 200 from Marie SCORE: Alex: 4900 VS Fluttershy: 2500 “I activate ONE DAY OF PEACE!” “What the?” snapped Alex. That card allowed both players to draw a card, and until the end of Alex’s turn, neither player took any damage of any kind. This frustrated Alex immensely, but at least she got to draw. “Now I’ll play this; POT OF DITCHOTOMY!” That card allowed her to take three monsters of different types in her graveyard, shuffle them into her deck and then draw two cards. Her battle phase couldn’t be conducted, but she ended her turn anyway knowing Alex couldn’t hurt her. Alex drew her next card, but she felt frustrated as she thought “I got all these super bad-boys on my field and even if I attack her I can’t do anything.” “I’ll play POT OF GREED, so I get to draw two cards. Then I’ll just place one card facedown and end my turn.” Now that her turn was over, Fluttershy drew her next card. She then took her 500 damage and then gained 200. SCORE: Alex: 4900 VS Fluttershy: 2200 As for the card, she really liked what it was. “It’s time to avenge my fallen friends.” Alex blinked once. “I activate the spell CHANGE OF HEART, and it lets me take control of one of your monsters.” “Hey!” snapped Alex as she watched her Jinzo get snagged. “Give him back!” “Now why would I want to do that?” hissed Fluttershy “But you know, since he looks so lonely, I guess I’ll play this to go with him; MAJESTIC MECH- OHKA!” (Atk: 2400) It was a card Fluttershy was able to summon without tributing, and it was a very pretty card for her to look at. It’s glowing reminded her of what she was fighting for, the light of harmony, and helped her to gain more boundless courage. “Now I overlay these two level six monsters!” Alex growled as she watched her Jinzo leave the field. “With these monsters…” Fluttershy went on “I build the overlay network, and I Xyz Summon INZEKTOR EXA-BEETLE!” (Atk: 1000) “Huh…?” snapped Alex “It’s only got 1000 attack points. How’s that supposed to help you?” Fluttershy snickered “For one thing, it helped me get rid of your Jinzo, which lets me play this trap XYZ EFFECT!” “Ah!” gasped Alex. She knew that could activate when a monster was Xyz Summoned. Now Fluttershy was able to destroy one card on the field, and she chose Dark Metal Red Eyes. “Not him?!” cried alex. “Yes!” hissed Fluttershy “And I’m not through. I use my monster’s special ability; by using one overlay unit, and then destroy one face-up card each of us control!” Alex gasped and watched as both the Burning Land card and her Dark Red Eyes dragon exploded, leaving Alex with only her normal Red Eyes. Fluttershy’s grin widened “Now that that’s done, it’s time for a little change in ranks.” Alex’s eyes widened “You mean…?” Fluttershy nodded and played her card “Go, RANK-UP-MAGIC ASTRAL FORCE!” As the card was played, her astral mark and monster glowed wildly and Fluttershy let out a huge and real roar of bravery. “Now, I overlay my Beetle, and I rebuild the overlay network, I summon NUMBER 23: LANCELOT, GHOST NIGHT OF THE UNDERWORLD!” (Atk: 2000) It was a Zombie type monster, the only one that Fluttershy actually had in her entire deck. “Zombies really freaked me out.” She explained “Well, pretty much everything did, but with all this boundless confidence I have, I can handle it now, especiall since my monster can attack you directly!" Alex gasped, and Fluttershy sent her monster right in. “I don’t think so…!” snapped Alex “Now that Jinzo’s gone, I can play my trap CHASM OF SPIKES!” “I don’t think so either…” said Fluttershy “I activate Lancelot’s ability; by using an overlay unit, I can negate your card’s effect.” “Say what?!” snarled Alex, and sure enough, her trap failed allowing Fluttershy’s monster to strike her directly and give her a full 2000 points of damage, and pushing her off her feet. SCORE: Alex: 2900 VS Fluttershy: 2200 “Talk about a cheap shot.” she groaned, and as she got back up to her feet, a terrible sight met her eyes as her prized possession “My Red Eyes Black Dragon!” exploded in a ball of flames. Fluttershy snickered “Oh, I forgot to mention; whenever Lancelot attacks you successfully, I can destroy one monster you control.” Alex growled softly, but now Fluttershy had to end her turn, not that it mattered, because Alex wasn’t faring too well. She couldn’t use a single one of the four cards she was holding. “Come on deck, I need you to pull through for me!” she cried in her thoughts, but what she got didn’t please her... ...until she thought deeply of what she could do. “Maybe… it could work…” “I’ll place two cards facedown and I'll place this monster in defense-mode. That’ll do it for me.” “My turn then…” said Fluttershy, gained 200 life points. SCORE: Alex: 2900 VS Fluttershy: 2400 And now I get to attack again! Go Lancelot!" "Hold it!" snapped Alex "I activate my ENCHANTED JAVELIN trap card, and it lets me gain life points equal to your monster's attack" Fluttershy couldn't allow this. "I use Lancelot's ability to negate your trap." The trap was stoped and destroyed. "Ha!" scoffed Alex "You just used your monster's last Overlay unit, that means he can't hit my directly anymore." "Fine then, I'll attack your monster instead." Alex's Facedown monster was a RED EYES WYVERN! and it got destroyed. This was it, Alex seemed really stuck now. “You only have one turn left before I completely wipe you out.” sneered Fluttershy “And once I beat you, I can finally prove that I’ve changed, all thanks to the light of harmony.” “Ever heard the expression, don’t count your chickens before they hatch?” Alex said as she got back up again. “I can still turn this around.” she drew her next card. “I’ll place two cards facedown and end my turn, and now, I'll activate Red-Eyes Wyvern's effects. When I end my turn, and if I didn't summon a monster. I can remove Wyvern from the graveyard, and that let's me summon my Red Eyes Black Dragon back to the field.” (Def: 2000) Fluttershy couldn;t understand why Alex summoned her dragon in defense-mode, but she wasn't about to let it get to her, now that she was only one move away from victory. Now Fluttershy’s monster had no overlay units on it. Fluttershy drew her card and took another 200 points. SCORE: Alex: 2900 VS Fluttershy: 2600 “This is where it all ends now!” Fluttershy sneered “I activate OVERLAY REGEN, which attaches itself to my monster as an overlay unit to shield me, and now… say goodbye! Lancelot, attack…!” “Hold on!” snapped Alex “I activate my face down; NEGATE ATTACK!” “Nice try…!” hissed Fluttershy “But I can activate my monster’s ability now and prevent that.” Alex’s trap card was negated instantly, and Alex grinned and said “Got’cha!” “Huh?!” “I was hoping you’d use your monster’s effect like that, now there’s nothing to stop me from using my other card. Activate DOUBLE DRAGON DECENT!” Fluttershy gawked in shock. “This trap works whenever you use an Xyz monster to attack me directly. Now I can Xyz Summon a monster of my own, as long as it a Dragon and a Light attribute, and I negate its effects.” The overlay network appeared, and out came Alex’s monster “Ladies and gentlemen, introducing NUMBER 91: THUNDER SPARK DRAGON!” Her new dragon roared and sparked with electrical currents. “Fluttershy felt her legs give a little quiver as her nerves started to pick up. “And what’s more…” Alex said “My dragon now gets to intercept your monster’s attack, and his attack power becomes equal to that of yours. That’s 2000 attack points.” Fluttershy gasped, and just as she feared, the two monsters collided and destroyed each other. Alex sighed heavily in relief. “That was way too close.” As for Fluttershy, she felt all her boundless confidence starting to fade as she gazed at the shattered remains of her best monster. “And now that your turn’s over, here I come!” Alex sneered as she drew her next card. “Nice!” she said “I play DOUBLE SPELL! It lets me ditch my Unity card, and I can help myself to any spell card that you used, like POT OF GREED.” Fluttershy watched as her Pot of Greed popped magically out from her graveyard zone, and activated on Alex’s field, letting her draw two cards. “Draw all the cards you like, you still can’t stop me!” “Well, maybe I ought to change that, by wiping you out!" "What?!" "I activate STAR BLAST This card let's me shave one leve of this monster I have for every 500 points I pay, and I think I'll pay 1000 points." SCORE: Alex: 1900 VS Fluttershy: 2600 "So now, instead of this monster being level seven, it's now level five. That means all I gotta do now is sacrifice my Red Eyes so I can summon my main girl; YELLOW SPY GIRL!” (Atk: 2300) It was another card she truly treasured as much as her beloved Red Eyes; the very card I made for her and it resembled her too. Fluttershy gazed up at it, and felt tears of fear coming back to her eyes, and Alex spoke gently to her. “I thought I’d end this gently for you, so I’ll use her ability. I can pay one half of my life points…” SCORE: Alex: 950 VS Fluttershy: 2600 “And you take 500 points of damage for each card you have on the field and the ones your holding, like your Gravity Bind!" "What?!" cried Fluttershy. With her Gravity Bind still in play, and two cards she held, that cost her 1500 direct points of damage. SCORE: Alex: 50 VS Fluttershy: “1100” Fluttershy sagged down hard embarrassed, and ashamed. Her spirit had been shattered, and she felt there was nothing she could do at all to make any comebacks. "I give up!" she cried, and with her surrender the yellow light vanished from the sky. Back at my terminal, I leapt for joy and shouted “YES!! SHE DID IT!!” Sabrina and I hugged each other feeling very happy and relieved, but the happiness was soon interrupted when we remembered what we had to watch out for now. Any second it was going to come…!