//------------------------------// // Bonz // Story: An Equestrian Element // by Quillion9000 //------------------------------// Joey’s Nightmare Joey was running through a misty darkness as Blue-Eyes White Dragon slowly encroached upon him. He ended up tripping, and the powerful dragon landed before him terrifying the underdog duelist. Kaiba then appeared, larger than life, staring down at him. Even though he was giving up, Kaiba mocked him anyways calling him nothing more than a scared puppy cringing in fear. Even though Joey tried to refute that, a dog suit appeared around him anyways. Forest, Morning… The second day of Duelist Kingdom, as well as the last day to get the needed star chips to enter the castle, had finally arrived with the gang getting some well-deserved rest. Of course, Joey’s rest was rather disturbed by his nightmare until he was awoken by a droplet hitting his face. He bolted to a sitting position while taking deep breathes. “A dream.” Joey then got angry. “Kaiba, we’ll see who eats the dog chow on this island!” He got to his feet before addressing everyone. “Alright, it’s time to wake up!” “Joey, what’s wrong?” Yugi asked. “Uh, couldn’t you have waited a bit longer?” Sunset yawned and reluctantly stood up while rubbing her eyes. “Last night was a long one.” “Sorry Sunset, but it’s a brand-new day.” Joey declared firmly. “I want to get my last five star chips and qualify!” “Well, you don’t have to yell about it.” Tristan commented. “Hey everyone.” Tea greeted as she joined the group. “What’s all the commotion?” “Good morning, Tea.” Yugi greeted. “Where’s Mai?” Joey asked. “Wasn’t she with ya?” “She said she had to go…” Tea dug into her pockets before producing a paper. “…but that I should give you this, Sunset.” Sunset took it, and the rest crowded around her. “You’re alright, Sunset. It doesn’t change the fact that I have the desire to beat you, but our next duel will be an honorable one. Also, I seriously owe you one. Mai” “I wouldn’t hold my breath on her returning the favor.” Tristan commented. “I don’t know.” Sunset smiled. “Just like Mai, I have that desire to beat her; however, it’s more like what it was before I found out she was a cheater.” She nodded. “Maybe we can trust her.” “Even if we can’t trust her, we’re the team supreme, right!?” Joey questioned. “Right!” Everyone agreed. “Yeah, then it’s time to move out!” Joey declared. Path Once more, the gang was back on the move and on the lookout for duelists. This time it was all for Joey since Sunset and Yugi were already qualified thanks to the events that took place yesterday. “I wonder just how many duelists are left on the island.” Bakura commented. “They shipped a dozen home yesterday.” Joey responded. “I bet even more have been eliminated since then.” Tea added. “Some of those must have been good players with powerful cards.” Yugi continued. “That’s not even accounting for any of our fellow competitors who might have already made it into the castle.” Sunset replied. That made everyone remember Blueblood ten star chips last night after having an initial eight the first time they ran into him on the island. Beyond him, excluding Yugi and Sunset since they knew they had the needed star chips, the group could only speculate on who else did the same. “That’s a good point.” Yugi noted. “At this point, any duelist we find are likely to be stronger than the last meaning Joey’s got some tough duels ahead.” “Tough duels ahead.” Joey noted as he stopped. “Careful what you say Yugi.” Tristan was attempting to lighten the mood. “You got Joey here shaking in his sneakers.” “What!?” It only backfired since all those words did was remind Joey of what’s already been on his mind. “You think I’m a scared puppy or somethin’?” “If the collar fits!” Tristan declared. “Alright, break it up!” Tea shouted as she got between then. “Gr, just bring on any duelist.” Joey stated firmly. “I’ll cream them.” “That’s the spirit Joey.” Sunset stated. Yugi nodded. “Yeah, you got to believe in yourself.” Joey ate up the words; however, no one there noticed three guys, all with gauntlets, watching them from afar. The first had red hair and sunglasses, the second had medium length, spikey hair, and the last was the most distinct of the three. He had a sunken face with long, messy blue hair. “’Cause no one else does.” The sunken faced one declared making the others laugh. “I want that one.” “If you like them tall, skinny, and stupid, Bonz, that guy fits the bill.” The black haired guy responded. “Oh yeah, you’ll demolish him.” The red head added. “Who are they anyways?” “Keep your shirt on Sid.” The black-haired guy replied. “I’m trying to get a tighter focus on them.” “No idea who the others are, but that runt looks like Yugi.” Sid supplied. “Yugi?” The guy questioned. “He’s that kid who beat Kaiba.” “Really?” Bonz questioned a bit surprised. “We best tell the boss, Zygor.” Sid stated. Zygor and Bonz agreed. Clearing Bonz, Zygor, and Sid returned to a man, Bandit Keith, sitting atop a rock. Keith wore white pants, a red shirt, a black vest, an American flag bandana, and sunglasses. “What do you have to report?” Keith asked. “We found three duelists.” Zygor reported. “This first is some girl dressed like a punk with ten star chips in her gauntlet.” “The second is some stupid git.” Sid added. “Only five-star chips in his gauntlet.” “The last had ten-star chips too, and we know he’s a good duelist.” Bonz informed. “Yugi Muto.” “Yugi, huh?” Keith grinned while cracking his knuckles. “Yeah, I’ve heard of him. Supposed to be a tough squirt provided you actually buy into his reputation.” “Yeah. Yeah!” Zygor was liking what he was hearing. “That supposed duel against Seto Kaiba wasn’t televised, and we’ve never seen him duel any other time either. Who’s to say Yugi Muto is good at the game at all.” “Right.” Sid stated. “Even if he’s got the star chips, it’s likely any duelist he took down was nothing while we’re teamed up with the most brilliant, blooming duelist on the whole island.” “That’s right.” Keith responded. “If you bums want to keep winning, you’ll keep cool and let me do all the thinking for ya.” “You won’t hear me complaining about that, boss.” Zygor declared. “You got the brains while I’m the muscle.” “We’ll hammer any blinking duelist who gets in our way.” Sid added. “You hear that, Pegasus?” Keith grimaced as his gaze turned to the castle. “Soon, it’ll be payback time for what you did to me during my shot at the Intercontinental Title.” He remembered that day well because it was when he lost all his credibility. Keith was certain he had Pegasus on the ropes until the creator of the game scribbled some notes and called a kid in to take his place. Using Pegasus’ note, the kid beat Keith. “You cheated me.” Keith thought. “Because of you, I went into a downward spiral and ended up losing my title as the American Champion. Thanks to you, I didn’t even make it to the finals and my title was gone. Now, I’m on the upswing.” “So, who’s our first target?” Bonz asked. “The dweeb goes first.” Keith stood. “Then, we’ll use him to get to the other two and take all their star chips while we’re at it.” Path “Hang on, I need to go take a leak.” Joey stated. “Classy way of saying it as ever Joey.” Tea responded exasperated. “That’s Joey for you.” Tristan chuckled. “I mean, he’s just one classy guy.” Joey laughed sarcastically. “You’re as funny as ever, wise guy.” He walked away. “Anyways, I’ll be back in a moment.” He eventually found a good place to go since it had a small waterfall nearby where he could wash up after. Just as he finished and was drying his hands, there was rustling behind him. He turned around only for Zygor to land a powerful haymaker knocking him out. Cave: Duel Arena, Later… “Wake up dweeb!” Zygor yelled. Joey came to before gripping his face in pain with an enraged expression. “Gah, that hurt you, big jerk!” He looked around noticing he was on the blue side of a duel platform. “Wait, where am I? Where did you take me?” Zygor simply chuckled. “The boss wants you up!” Joey rose up along his side, and while his opponent wasn’t standing across from him yet, he did take note of Bandit Keith and Sid sitting behind the red side. “Eh, what’s going on here?” He noticed the ‘décor’. “Gah, what’s the deal with this place!?” Bonz rose across from him. “Welcome duelist to the arena of lost souls.” Joey flinched back. “Abandon hope for no duelist gets out of here alive.” “Gahhh!” Joey screamed in terror. “Help! A ghost!” Path “Joey’s been gone an awfully long time.” Yugi noted. “Don’t suppose he might have gotten lost?” Tea asked. “I don’t know about that.” Sunset stated. “Joey doesn’t seem like he’s the type to get lost.” “I agree.” Yugi nodded. “It’s more likely he was challenged to a duel.” “I bet that’s it.” Tristan agreed. “I must have gotten on his case a little too hard about being scared, so now he’s gone to take a duel by himself.” “Okay, let’s split up and try to find him.” Bakura stated. “Right.” Tristan nodded. “Yugi, you, Sunset, and Tea should go that way while Bakura and I check this way.” Everyone agreed before running off in search of their friend. Cave:Duel Arena “Prepare for your final duel.” Bonz declared menacingly. “This arena will be your graveyard.” “Spot on mate.” Sid chuckled. “He’s got the dweeb petrified.” “I don’t believe it.” Zygor added. “Look like the guy fainted on his feet.” “Yeah, so do something about it.” Keith ordered. “Wake him up.” “You got it!” Zygor threw a skull nailing Joey in the head. “Rise and shine dweeb!” Now, Joey’s face and head hurt. “The ghost of the dead are all around you Joey.” Bonz chuckled darkly. “There’s no way to escape from your fear.” “Eh, who says I’m scared?” Joey questioned. “You can’t hide the truth from the spirits.” Bonz retorted. “They see you frozen in fear.” “Okay, I was afraid.” Joey admitted. “Though, it wasn’t because of your routine or this place.” He pointed at his opponent. “It’s your creepy face that gives me the willies!” That got Bonz’s acquaintances laughing up a storm. “Well, he’s got you there.” Keith stated truthfully. “Yeah, you even spook me out.” Zygor added. “That’s coming from someone on your side.” “Well, if you’re on my side, stop laughing at me!” Bonz was frustrated as he held up his gauntlet containing four star chips. “Now, are we going to duel or keep standing around? Lay down your star chips now.” Normally, Joey would be all for dueling, but he was less than enthused by how these guys got him into this. “Eh, I never agreed to this!” “Tough luck.” Keith retorted. “You either duel Bonz now with the chance to keep all your star chips or simply forfeit them to get your exit.” He shrugged. “You could try running, but that’ll just result in a beating before we take all your star chips. What’ll it be, mutt?” “Mutt…” Joey was reminded of his nightmare. “If I run from this, I really am nothing but a whimpering mutt.” He had just found his confidence. “That means I’ll just need to beat ya.” He took out his star chips and slammed them down. “My five star chips against your four!” “Let’s Duel!” (Joey 2000/Bonz 2000) “Put him away quickly, Bonz!” Zygor called out. “Send him to the grave with a Zombie card!” Bonz gave a thumbs up. “Guess it makes sense he’d play Zombies given where they took me.” Joey noted. “You don’t stand a chance.” Bonz drew. “All my Zombie monsters will have you begging for mercy, and the first one I’ll summon is…” “Not so fast, squirt.” Keith drew his attention. “Keep hand advantage and stick to only one play per turn. Additionally, your one play should be the card on the far left.” “The one on the left?” Bonz looked at it. “Zanki? That’s no Zombie monster.” “Trust me, Bonz.” Keith stated. “I put that card, and others like it, into your deck for a reason.” “I don’t get it.” Bonz responded. “This isn’t a Zombie, so nothing in my deck prior should support this.” “Don’t argue with me, squirt.” Keith smiled. “Just do what I tell ya.” “But…” Bonz began only to stop as his boss growled. “Play the card.” Zygor spoke up. “Bandit Keith won’t steer you wrong.” “Yeah, how could we have gotten this far without his advice?” Sid added. “Mai made that rule when I challenged Rex because she thought I was getting by on advice from Yugi and Sunset, but I know it couldn’t have been like this.” Joey was frustrated. “What is this? A duel by committee? Are you going to play the card or not!?” “Right.” Bonz relented as he changed plays. “Whatever you say. I summon Zanki(LV 5/1500/1700).” A blue warrior in red armor appeared. “I’ll end my turn there.” “Alright, my move!” Joey drew. “This monster won’t only dent Zanki’s armor, but they’ll be taking a chunk out of your life points. Go, Goblin Elite Attack Force(LV 4/2200/1500).” A force of silver armored goblins appeared. “A level four monster with 2200 ATK!” Bonz exclaimed shocked. “That’s right, creep.” Joey declared. “He’ll be taking all that ATK to your Zanki! Go, Elite Attack Force (Joey 2000/Bonz 1300). A monster like Attack Force is then forced to defense, and that can’t be changed until my next End Phase. Speaking of End Phases, this is mine.” “Gr, he wiped Zanki out along with a chunk of my life points.” Bonz stated frustrated. Despite the situation, Keith was just as confident. “Looks that way.” “So, why did you make me play that lame card?” Bonz asked. “If I’d used one of my Zombies, I’d have been fine.” He drew and was ready for his next move. “This time, I must play…” “Not that one.” Keith interrupted. “Pick the second card from the left.” “Huh?” Bonz plucked the card. “Crawling Dragon? While it has enough ATK to destroy Elite Attack Force, this still isn’t a Zombie. Even if I do destroy his current monster, he could just summon something next turn to beat it.” Bonz gave Keith the side eye, but the guy was unfazed. “I know you don’t like this, but just keep playing as I instruct. This is all a strategy from the guy who has never lost to anyone who wasn’t cheating.” “Until now.” Bonz muttered before deciding to reluctantly go with it. “I’ll summon Crawling Dragon(LV 1600/1400).” A medium sized, orange dragon appeared. “He’ll now destroy your Elite Attack Force. Then, I end my turn.” “That all you got, skull face?” Joey drew. “Looks like you weren’t that scary after all. I’ll summon my Blue Flame Swordsman(LV 4/1800/1600).” A swordsman in blue armor appeared wielding a blue, flaming sword. He’ll destroy your dragon (Joey 2000/Bonz 1100). Your move!” Bonz drew only for Keith to give his input. “Now, play the card on your far right.” This only frustrated the Zombie user more. “You heard me, and make sure it’s in ATK like the prior two to ensure he attacks it. Wouldn’t want the dweeb to hesitate and not attack.” Bonz groaned. “If you don’t want to trust me, I’ll keep my advice to myself.” He waved the Zombie user off. “It’s all up to you. Refusing me just means more for the others.” Bonz still didn’t like this, but he decided to relent for the third time. “I summon Akihiron(LV 5/1700/1400).” A monstrous, ugly looking fish monster appeared. “Your move again.” “Heh, that the best you got?” Joey drew before smiling. “I don’t even need to summon another monster because my Blue Flame Swordsman will make fish fry out of your monsters (Joey 2000/Bonz 1000).” Bonz was now worried on top of frustrated. “Skull Face scared.” Joey noted confidently. “I got him on the run, and that’s where I plan he stays. Even with Yugi and Sunset having their star chips, I’m not going to put everything on them. I’ll give this my best for my sister.” “Now what?” Bonz asked his boss worriedly. “Just relax.” Keith still wasn’t shaken up by the events which had transpired. “You’ve got this duel won.” “What’s the matter?” Joey smirked. “Can’t fight this duel on your own. Maybe your coach should step in instead.” “Big talk coming from someone who doesn’t see a strategy.” Keith crossed his arms. “Bonz has this in the bag all thanks to you.” Bonz drew and looked over the card before going wide eyed. “This card is perfect for all that set up.” He looked back at a confident Keith who merely nodded. “He really did know what he was doing.” “Lay it down Bonz!” Keith exclaimed. “This is the combo piece that will spell your doom!” Bonz shouted. “I activate the continuous spell, Zombies’ Rise! Every turn, including the turn I activate this card, I must discard one card from my hand, I also can’t summon, in any way, any monster whose original type is Zombie.” “What’s the point of all that?” Joey asked. “Seems like a dud to me.” “A card with restrictions like that has one heck of an effect, dweeb.” Keith responded. “In return for following said restrictions, Bonz can now revive monsters, whose original type aren’t Zombie, from the grave up to the number of free monster zones he has.” “Also, any monsters revived through this card’s effect become Zombie Type, can’t be destroyed by battle, and gain ATK equal to 200 x the number of monster’s summoned through this effect.” Bonz continued. “I call Zanki(LV 5/2100/1700 effect), Crawling Dragon(LV 5/2200/1400 effect), and Akihiron(LV 5/2300/1400 effect) to the field.” Grotesque, zombified versions of the three prior monsters all appeared to the shock of Joey. Path Mektaveus was just coming off an early morning win which brought his total star chips to eight. Two shy of being able to enter the castle. Considering he had a full day to get the last star chips he’d need, he felt good about his odds. He’d just come out of the tree line and onto a path when he noticed what looked like a wallet on the ground. “That’s odd.” He carefully scanned his surroundings since this wouldn’t be the first time someone attempted to jump him in this way. “I’m not seeing anyone.” Even though he didn’t see anyone, the Superheavy Samurai user was still cautious as he approached the wallet and picked it up. He flicked it open only to see a picture that made him pause. It was a picture of a young girl with brown hair and matching eyes. Mektaveus brought out his own wallet and flicked it open to show he had a picture of a younger girl with the same raspberry red hair as him yet her eyes were blue. Unlike the girl in the wallet he found, the one in his wasn’t wearing a uniform. “Yeah, this confirms it.” Mektaveus put his wallet away. “This wallet must belong to a big brother, and if he’s anything like me, he wouldn’t simply lose this.” He looked around before his eyes settled on a nearby cave. “Seems about…” “Hey, what are you doing with that!?” Tristan’s voice rang out angrily. Mektaveus turned to see two familiar people approaching him. If he remembered everything he heard during his time around that group and his opponents, then they were Tristan and Tea. The former looked a bit angry and was pushing ahead towards him. “Tristan, let’s not jump to conclusions.” Tea stated. “I mean, Mektaveus didn’t seem like the type to do anything to Joey.” Tristan looked at her and was conflicted. While normally Mektaveus would be insulted over anyone assuming he’d jack some guy’s wallet, the worried looks on these two, as well as Tea’s words, told him there was more to the story. “Look, I don’t know what you think about me having this wallet, but I just found it on the path.” Mektaveus handed it over to Tristan. “You two seem like good people, so I’ll trust this really is your friend’s.” Tristan took it. “In that case, there’s no problem with me handing it over.” “Yeah, okay.” Tristan sighed. “Look, I’m sorry.” At this point, Yugi, Bakura, and Sunset joined them. “Joey’s just gone missing, and we can’t find him. When I saw his wallet… Well, the guy would never simply lose it.” “I assumed as much when I saw what was inside.” Mektaveus just felt that picture couldn’t have been anything but that. “Smelt like foul play to me. If I were a betting guy, I’d say your bud is in that cave there.” “Sounds like you have experience with this.” Sunset commented. Unlike with a few others on this island, she wasn’t suspicious of Mektaveus; however, there were certainly lingering doubts. She didn’t want to think a duelist like him was a bad guy, but Bakura didn’t seem the type either until his other side came out to play last night. “For now, let’s just say this isn’t the first time I’ve happened across a wallet like this.” Mektaveus responded honestly. “Anyways, I feel involved. Regardless of how you feel about it, I’m entering that cave with you to see this through.” “Alright, let’s go.” Yugi voiced. Cave The group had walked into the cave and eventually came across a couple of coffins. “What is this place?” Tristan asked. “Careful, this could be a trap.” Yugi noted. “That’s an understatement.” Mektaveus stated. “That said, whoever went to lengths to set this up is sloppy.” “Agreed.” Sunset moved on. “Just don’t touch them, and we should be fine.” Duel Arena Joey was currently facing down three monsters who all outstripped his Blue Flame Swordsman in ATK. “Talk about turnin’ the tables.” “Now, my Akihiron will destroy your Swordsman (Joey 1500/Bonz 1000).” Bonz chuckled confidently. “This is the end for you, duelist. All the monsters you thought were gone returned stronger than ever. Now, it’s your turn, but I doubt there’s much you can do.” “I have a monster in my hand that can get over those monsters, but I’d rather save it.” Joey prepared to draw. “I need something else that can turn the tides in my favor.” He drew before smiling. “Hey Bonz, answer something for me.” “Hm, what is it?” Bonz asked. “Your monsters can’t be destroyed by battle, but I don’t recall you saying that your life points were untouchable.” Joey smiled. “What would happen if I attacked one of your monsters with something stronger than them.” “Uhm… well…” Bonz began nervously. “Of course, it wouldn’t do anything.” “Is that so?” Joey questioned. “Well, let’s just see that, shall we? I summon D.D. Assailant(LV 4/1700/1600).” A blond-haired warrior in silver armor and with a huge sword appeared. “That’s your big play?” Bonz laughed. “Even if my monsters weren’t protected from battle destruction, he’s too weak to destroy even my weakest monster.” “Looks like someone needs a lesson, but I don’t blame ya when every play you’ve made has been mapped out by someone else.” Joey responded. “A deck of monsters alone doesn’t function unless isn’t designed to. For every other deck, you need back row to bolster your monsters. Cards such as my Lighting Blade which can only be equipped to Warrior-type monsters like D.D. Assailant(LV 4/2500/1600 effect) raising his ATK by 800.” Bonz was now sweating a little. “Big deal, your monster is now only four hundred ATK stronger than my weakest monster.” “Considering you said my monsters couldn’t damage yours through attacks, you should have nothing to worry about.” Joey retorted confidently. “In that same vein, you should have no problem with the fact that my equip also cuts all Water attribute monsters ATK by 500.” Akihiron(LV 5/1800/1400 effect) “No!” Bonz exclaimed. “It’s really starting to sound like you’ll still take damage even if your monsters can’t be destroyed.” Joey declared. “Let’s find that out through my Assailant attacking your Akihiron (Joey 1500/Bonz 300). Looks like you were bluffing. I end my turn.” Bonz was sweating as he drew. Cave The group had come to a fork in the rode with a row of skulls, holding candles, in the middle. “This looks like a problem.” Tristan commented. “Which way do we go?” “Gee, both ways look so inviting.” Tea responded sarcastically. “Considering your bud might be in here, there isn’t much choice other than to press on.” Mektaveus retorted. “He’s right.” Yugi declared firmly. “We need to find Joey now.” Everyone agreed; however, Bakura’s foot suddenly sank into the ground a bit. “My foot!” Soon after, they heard rumbling down the tunnel they came from. “This can’t be good.” Sunset commented. “Whatever it is, it’s coming…” Tristan began. He stopped as a huge boulder was coming right at them, and everyone freaked out before sprinting down the hall on the left. Unfortunately, it led down leading to the boulder following them. “Why is that boulder chasing us!?” Tea yelled. “It’s because we ran downhill!” Tristan responded. All Bakura could do was yell, “I’m sorry!” As they continued to sprint for their lives, he tripped over his own feet shocking everyone. Mektaveus managed to grab him by the shirt and haul him along. “Your fabric better hold up because I can’t get a better grip right now!” “Gah!” Sunset yelled. “We’re coming up on a dead end!” There was no other way to go, and they were all forced to stop upon reaching the wall. Everyone was trapped between the oncoming boulder and wall. Tristan stopped between the group and the boulder while getting into a firm stance. “There’s no other way, so I’m going to fight!” Tristan declared. “Tristan, you can’t punch out a boulder!” Yugi yelled. “I’m certainly going to try!” Tristan yelled back. He then roared as he threw a punch with all his might… only for his fist to impact into the boulder until it popped leaving a speaker on the ground. This shocked everyone. “It was… just a balloon.” Tristan stated in disbelief. “Yeah, and that’s a speaker.” Yugi noted. “Someone wired that for sound.” “Bet it’s whoever is in this cave.” Sunset added. “They really don’t want us to find them.” “Just like before, this is sloppy.” Mektaveus noted as he put Bakura down. “I mean, we certainly believed this was real, but that rolling over us wouldn’t have done anything. Might have been unluckily knocked out by the speaker rolling around, but that’s it really.” Duel Arena “Relax Bonz.” Keith spoke up still not sweating a thing. “The dweeb is a bit better than we thought, but no one beats me. Discard the card on your left to pay for your spell. Then, activate the one on your far right. With this combo, your victory will be assured.” “The card on my left to pay before then activating the card on my right…” Bonz looked at the combo before smirking. “Alright, I’ll discard this card on my far left to maintain ,y continuous spell. Then, I’ll activate Zombie Supreme Rising!” “Zombie Supreme Rising?” Joey questioned. “This spell requires me to banish Zombie Rising from my field or grave to activate it.” Bonz explained. “If I banish the required card from the field, any monsters brought back through its effect go with it. Then, I can normal summon any 1 non-Zombie type monster from my hand as a Zombie type monster, and I choose Sengenjin(LV 8/2750/2500).” A hulking, blue monster with one eye appeared before its skin decayed. “Big deal!” Joey exclaimed. “That big guy is only marginally stronger than the prior three you had, and he’ll end up doing little to me even if you destroy my Assailant.” “You should know from the first spell that this one’s effects aren’t over.” Bonz retorted. “The monster summoned through Supreme Rising gains 200 ATK x the number of any monster banished through this equip spell’s prior effect. 3 monsters means a six hundred boost!” Sengenjin(LV 8/3350/2500 effect) “That just made your monster stronger than a Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” Joey exclaimed. “Exactly.” Bonz laughed. “That said, this card has one last effect, but Sengenjin must first destroy a monster. Your Assailant is the only target (Joey 650/Bonz 300). Now, Supreme Rising deals damage equal to the ATK increase of its equipped monster if it has any.” (Joey 50/Bonz 300) “No, I’m down to fifty life points.” Joey was sweating. “That was something, but you made one mistake.” “Oh yeah, what would that be?” Bonz asked. “When D.D. Assailant is destroyed by battle, he banishes himself and drags the monster that did the dead to the same zone.” Joey declared. “No, my Sengenjin!” Bonz exclaimed in shock. “You really need to keep your cool Bonz.” Bandit Keith chuckled. “The dweeb is rattled because he knows you still got cards to play. Even if he overcame that combo, there’s still a card in your hand strong enough to stave him off.” “Another card…” Joey commented. Dealing with the prior combos was hard enough, but if Bonz had a card on the level with those combos, Joey wasn’t certain he had, or could draw, something to match it on his next turn. “Looks like you’re reaching the end of the rope.” Keith commented. “I told you there’s no beating me.” “Yeah, he is the best there is.” Zygor added. “You can leave your star chips at the door.” Sid finished. “At the rate I’m going, maybe I should just give up.” Joey thought melancholically. “Maybe Kaiba was right…” He shook his head. “No way! Joey Wheeler doesn’t know the meaning of giving up! Do your worst!” “Very well.” Bonz stated. “Consider yourself lucky you have no field; otherwise, Red Ogre(LV 7/2800/2100) would have been able to demolish it.” A large, red ogre with a club appeared. “With that, I end my turn.” “How am I supposed to overcome that monster?” Joey thought disparagingly. “Nothing in my hand is strong enough to deal with it. I even managed to conserve Red-Eyes until now, yet he’s four hundred short of tying and seven hundred short of getting me a win. I wish Yugi were here.” “Joey!” Yugi shouted. Joey looked in the direction the voice came from and learned his ears weren’t playing tricks on him. Yugi was here along with their group and, surprisingly, Mektaveus. “Yugi, you’re really here.” Joey stated in shock. Keith growled before turning to the other two. “Block them.” Zygor and Sid nodded. “What kind of duel arena is this?” Yugi asked. “Whatever this arena is, I doubt Joey would come here willingly.” Sunset glared at the opposing side. “I bet those guys ended up dragging him here.” “Looking at it, that sounds right to me.” Tristan stated before his attention zeroed in on Zygor and Sid who had moved to stand in their way. “In that case, this duel is over.” “That’s not up to you, chum.” Sid responded. “If any of you want to stop this, you’ll have to get past me.” Zygor added. “It’d be my pleasure.” Tristan stated firmly. “You say it’s just you, but this looks more like it’s the two of you.” Before he could move, Mektaveus stepped up beside him. “Considering I happen to like these guys, and I can’t stand lousy cheats like you, might as well even the score.” Alright, let’s get them.” Tristan declared as he charged. “Right there with you.” Mektaveus stated as he joined him. Sid flicked two marbles into their heads hard enough that it momentarily stunned the two and offset their feet. Zygor then rushed in and slammed his fist into their guts. They were winded and reduced to their knees. “Tristan/Mektaveus!” Yugi/Sunset shouted worried. “Are you two, okay?” Tea added. “Hey, back off…” Joey began as he prepared to hop down and aid them. “Hold it!” Keith yelled drawing his attention. “If you leave the arena, you forfeit the duel, and I get your star chips.” “Eh, that wasn’t part of the initial deal!” Joey yelled. “You only said I’d forfeit my star chips if I left the cave!” “This duel is illegal anyways!” Tea shouted angrily. Bakura nodded. “Right Tea.” “Wrong Tea.” Keith retorted. “When the dweeb threw down star chips, he accepted this duel.” “That means he simply needs to beat you punk.” Tristan stated as he stood. “To ensure it happens, he needs the motivation.” Mektaveus looked at him. “Give him his wallet.” Tristan looked at him. “What’s in there is all the motivation people like us need.” Considering the guy did just run in to help him help Joey, Tristan decided to trust him. “Alright.” He took out Joey’s wallet. “Here, try this!” He threw is, and Joey accepted it before opening the thing. “Serentity!” “That’s your little sister, right?” Mektaveus asked. “When it comes to big brothers like us, the family we hold closest is all the motivation we could ever need to put punks like them in their place.” “Heh, you’re right.” Joey turned back around now full of motivation to win this, but he wasn’t satisfied getting back to it until he determined one thing. “Alright bandana, you’ve been my real opponent this whole duel; however, I don’t know you. Just who are you?” “Don’t you know?” Keith asked. “They call me Bandit Keith.” “You’re Bandit Keith?” Yugi asked. “I’ve heard that name before.” Tea noted. “We heard about him from Kaiba just last night.” Sunset informed. “Beyond that, Bandit Keith was the former Duel Monsters Champion of America until he lost early on in their regularly scheduled tournament. The same tournament Shining Armor won to become the new champion.” “No wonder he’s been able to lead skull face into overcoming anything I try.” Joey noted. “That’s why you should pack it in.” Keith responded. “Bonz has every strategy he’ll ever need to overcome you. No matter what you do, you can’t beat him.” “You’re wrong.” Joey declared firmly. “I have everything I need to win and simply need one card to finish this.” He put his hand on his deck and drew. “What do you know? I now have the combo that will end this. It all starts with Red-Eyes Black Dragon(LV 7/2400/1200).” The black dragon with red eyes appeared which genuinely shocked Keith for the first time this duel. “Red-Eyes… Where did this dork get a card that rare?” He quickly regained his composure. “Even with a card like that, Red Ogre is stronger. You can’t beat it.” “You’d be right until I equip him with the card I just drew.” Joey smiled. “It’s my Archfiend Staff of Despair.” A demonic staff merged within Red-Eyes body making him glow a sickly green; however, it didn’t hurt the dragon. “What!?” Keith was dumbfounded. “You have an equip like that to!?” “Boss?” Bonz asked now worried. “W-What does that do?” “Don’t bother hearing the explanation from him because I’m just about to explain it myself.” Joey declared. “During my Main Phase, I can make every monster you control lose ATK equal to half the current ATK of the monster equipped with this spell until the end of the turn. Red Ogre(LV 7/1600/2100 effect) “My Zombie’s ATK just dropped significantly!” Bonz exclaimed in shock. “Now, Red-Eyes will end this with Inferno Fire Blast!” Joey exclaimed. Red-Eyes fired on Red Ogre obliterating him (Joey 50/Bonz 0). “How… could I lose?” Bonz asked in disbelief. “Alright!” Tristan declared. “Way to go!” Mektaveus cheered. “Joey won!” Tea added. “There’s your usual come from behind victory!” Sunset continued. “Great job Joey!” Yugi finished. Keith simply stood up and began to walk towards the exit while addressing Bonz. “See you around, loser.” “Wait, boss!” Bonz called out. “Bandit Keith!” Now that the situation was over, Mektaveus was glaring at Keith who looked at him. “You use Machine type monsters, right?” “What if I do?” Keith returned. “You give duelist like me a bad rep.” Mektaveus declared firmly. “A bad rep?” Keith scoffed at that. “Reputation like that doesn’t matter. Duel monsters is doing whatever it takes to win the duel.” He smirked. “If anything, a duelist like you gives me a bad rep. After all, some nobody using Machines like me is laughable.” “We’ll just see who the real disgrace to our chosen type is, Bandit Keith.” Mektaveus called out. “I’m making it to Pegasus’ Castle, so you better make it in because I want to wipe the floor with you in front of anyone watching back home.” “Wipe the floor with me?” Keith laughed. “Oh, you got me quivering in my boots.” He then walked out flanked by his cronies. “What a jerk.” Tea noted. Joey had collected the star chips, now having nine in total, before rejoining the group. “Listen everyone, I’m sorry you were dragged into this.” “Eh, it’s alright Joey.” Yugi responded. “Yeah, you were jumped and dragged in here.” Sunset added. “If anything, I think we all blame Keith and his people.” “In the end, you beat him.” Tristan stated. “How many star chips were on the line anyways?” “I bet all five of mine against his four meaning I only need one more to enter the castle.” Joey responded. “While that’s all well and good, I’m hoping we can finally get out of this place.” Tea stated. Everyone could agree with that sentiment.