Yu-Gi-Oh! Equus

by moviemaster8510


Chapter 36: Bully

With another ride from Alex, the three friends arrived at the Egg Harbor Café within minutes. However, there was a very long line that was already extending out the door. Seeing that it was mostly teenagers, Alex understood why.

“Looks like everyone is celebrating the end of school,” commented Alex.

“So, what?” asked Tom. “You wanna stay here, or do you want to find someplace different?”

“I think we can wait. Plus, that will give Sarah and her friends some time to meet us so we can all eat together.”

“Alright,” said Tom, “you reserve us some seats. I’m running to Starbucks and getting an iced coffee.”

Since Alex, Tom, and John arrived at a small parking lot on the corner of Jackson and Main, it was about a two minute walk to the Starbucks on Main and Jefferson. Tom only wanted it to be brief just in case, by some miracle, that there would be many open seats within the next couple of minutes. He briskly walked towards the place and got in. Strangely, the line wasn’t nearly as long as the one at Egg Harbor, but Tom was very thankful for that.

After a couple of customers later, Tom ordered his drink like it was a routine.

“Grande ice coffee with skim milk, sweetened.”

The cashier rung him up and told him to wait by the counter until his drink was finished. Tom stood patiently when he noticed a familiar face walking towards the entrance: Reese. However, he was joined by another familiar face. He was very tall, very thin, and had combed red hair. Despite it being late spring, he was wearing a wool coat and black jeans, along with expensive black shoes. It was Rich, Reese’s friend from school and its Dueling Club.

The sight of Rich made Tom cringe. And soon enough, he’d have to confront him too. Rich and Reese walked in and almost immediately noticed Tom as he waited for his drink.

“Tom,” said Rich in a faux friendly tone, clearly indicating that he was going to enjoy tormenting them. “So, where are your other friends? Did they decide to dump you after they figured out what a worthless human being you are?”

Reese, had he never been a Stone of Equus bearer and subsequently met Tom, he would have not thought anything about Tom being bullied, in fact, he would more than likely chuckle along with Rich. However, Reese was nearly disgusted at hearing his new friend being taunted like that. He wanted to protest but a nagging feeling stopped him.

“I’m getting an iced coffee while we wait for our reservations at Egg Harbor,” Tom answered flatly.

Tom didn’t feel like cracking jokes with Rich now. If he could just tell him what was what, then hopefully it would suffice for Rich. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.

“Who’s we? Like you and your mommy? How cute.”

“Rich…” quietly spoke Reese, but he wasn’t heard.

“Are you going to get a huge glass of milk and spill it all over your big boy bib?”

“I was eight when I did that…” mumbled Tom.

“Rich,” spoke Reese, even louder. Still nothing. Rich moved his hand towards Tom’s cheek. Tom could have easily overpowered him physically, but instead, Tom did nothing, accepting his humiliation with angry eyes.

“And then mommy will wipe it off for you,” continued Rich, “and then she’ll pinch your cheekies and say–”

Before Rich could pinch his cheeks, a hand stopped him. Rich looked over and was shocked to find that the hand belonged to Reese.

“I don’t appreciate you treating my friend like that.”

The anguish that Tom had felt immediately turned upside down into pure joy, especially seeing the look on Rich’s face when Reese acknowledged Tom as a friend.

“What?” asked Rich. “Him? Your friend? He’s a scrawny little pipsqueak!”

“He’s more of a friend than you’ve ever been.”

“What are you talking about? Do you know what I’ve done for you? I made you great again after you dropped out of that private school downtown. Without me, you would have been as lowly as Tom.”

Reese chuckled.

“You really think that I wouldn’t have been as good as I am now without your ‘help?’ The reason I was even inducted into that private school was because I was a good enough duelist on my own, and I certainly didn’t need the help of a skinny-ass hipster such as yourself.”

Rich couldn’t believe what he was hearing. No one ever called him out like that before. Tom wanted to say something in return, but the sound of a girl’s voice called him.

“Grande iced coffee, skim, sweetened?”

“That’s me, guys,” said Tom, grabbing his drink and making his way towards the exit. “Bye, Reese!”

“Wait!” called Rich. “I’m not done with you.”

“But I’m done with you.” Tom casually walked back down Main and towards the restaurant.

“But…” stammered Rich, now at a loss for words.

“And another thing,” said Reese to Rich. “Lose the coat during the summer. You look like a moron.” Reese also began to walk towards the exit, but stopped, as if he had thought of something. “In that case, keep the coat. It suits you.”

Reese left Starbucks with Rich frozen in place. He followed the path to where Tom was heading, hoping to catch him. Thankfully, he hadn’t gotten far, getting to the Main and Jackson intersection on the Northeast side. Reese briskly walked until he was alongside him.

“Sorry about that,” said Reese to Tom, who took notice to Reese with nonchalance, still enjoying his frothy beverage. “I guess I just began to realize how much of an ass that guy was.”

“Why did you ever hang out with him in the first place?” he responded.

“After I dropped out after the Kyle incident, I began going to public school. I guess when Rich found out I was a hotshot at the private school, he invited me to attend their dueling club. He was always trying to act like my buddy, especially when he saw how good I was. I didn’t have too many friends then, but Rich’s admiration towards me just made me feel too good to not let him alongside me. In hindsight, I’m sure he only did it to look better than he really was.”

“Rough,” was all that Tom could say, and Reese partially couldn’t blame him.

“What about you?”

“Huh?”

“When he mentioned something about spilling milk, you said that you only did it when you were 8. What’s that mean?”

“You really want to know?”

“Yeah.”

“This is it. I was drinking from a carton of milk during lunch, it slipped from my hands, I tried catching it, but it spilled all over my shirt. The end.”

“Really? That’s it?

“Yep.”

Both Reese and Tom took a pause before busting out into laughter. After they calmed down, Tom continued to talk.

“Yeah, he always found the littlest things to tease me about. Mostly, he would taunt me because of my height, and being as tall as he was, it was easy for him to get a sense of empowerment over me, so it made it a lot easier for him. Of course, he would never bully me when Alex was around.”

From the outside of Egg Harbor where Alex and John were waiting, he saw both Tom and Reese at the intersection.

“Is that Reese?” asked Alex to himself while looking out.

“Well,” replied Reese, “hopefully you won’t have to deal with him again.”

Not even a second after that statement, about two cups worth of milk splashed onto Tom’s shirt. Reese and Tom angrily looked to see Rich with a now empty Starbucks cup in his hand.

“Just like old times, huh Tom?” Rich taunted.

Reese was about to take Rich on, but Tom surprised Rich by running up and hugging him, getting his milk-soaked clothes all over Rich’s coat. Rich violently pushed him off, leaving him falling to the ground on his back. Alex and John caught sight of this and ran towards the commotion. Reese grabbed Rich by the lapels of his coat as Rich flailed and squealed, trying to break free.

“Stop!” yelled Tom, putting his hand up.

Reese calmly set Rich back onto his feet while Tom got back on his.

“If he wants to come at me, he certainly can… in a duel.”

“What?” asked Rich, his voice back to its taunting voice. “Are you for real? Do you know who you’re talking to?”

“A beanpole poser who apparently squeals like a pig when he’s backed into a corner like a scared child?”

Rich’s face read something along the lines of, “Did he seriously just talk to me like that?”

“Dude,” spoke Rich, his voice loosing control, “do you want to get your ass kicked?”

“You couldn’t even hit water if you fell out of a boat.”

It was clear that Tom was beyond being intimidated by Rich’s verbal insults. There was one last thing to settle this.

“Fine,” said Rich. “I accept your challenge. Where shall we go?”

Tom peeked behind him to see Alex and John standing there.

“Yo, John,” called Tom, “mind if we borrow the Terrace?”
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Alex, John, and Reese stood on the sidelines while Tom and Rich stood in position to duel.

“You know,” said Rich, “they didn’t appoint me the head of the Dueling Club for nothing.”

“What,” said Tom, “did they draw your name from a hat? That seems to be the most sensible reason.”

“It’s because I’m better than you, and I always will be.”

“Really? Just me? Because from the way Reese told me how you loved to lick his boots on a constant basis, he would have seemed a more likely candidate.”

“Shut up! The point is, I’m going to beat you and that’s final!”

“Dream on.”

Tom and Rich constructed their duel disks, unsheathed them , and drew five cards from their decks.

“DUEL!” they yelled.

Rich vs. Tom

Rich’s Turn: Rich activates the field spell Forest, having all Insect, Pant, Beast, and Beast-Warrior types to gain 200 ATK and DEF. Rich sets one monster face down.

Rich ends his turn.

Status: Hand-4 Life-4000 Monsters-1 Face Down Cards-0
***************************************************

“I’m not sure what you thought that might do you,” said Tom, “but you do know that I have a Beast and Beast-Warrior deck, right?”

“I’m more than aware,” said Rich. “I’m not dumb like you.”

“Alright. Let’s see what a ‘dumb’ person can do.”

***************************************************
Tom’s Turn: Tom activates Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two. Next, Tom summons Gladiator Beast Laquari (ATK: 1800 DEF: 400) (ATK: 1800 -> 2000, DEF: 400 -> 600).

Tom attacks Rich’s face down monster with Gladiator Beast Laquari, which was a Pinch Hopper (ATK: 1000 DEF: 1200). When Pinch Hopper is sent from the field to the graveyard, Rich can special summon an Insect-type monster from his hand, choosing Earthbound Immortal Uru (ATK: 3000 DEF: 3000) (ATK: 3000 -> 3200, DEF: 3000 -> 3200).

When Gladiator Beast Laquari attacked, Tom can shuffle Gladiator Beast Laquari back into the deck and special summon another Gladiator Beast monster from his deck, choosing Gladiator Beast Darius (ATK: 1700 DEF: 300). When Gladiator Beast Darius is special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, Tom can special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from his graveyard, although its effects are negated, choosing Gladiator Beast Dimacari (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200).

Tom overlays Gladiator Beast Darius and Gladiator Beast Dimacari to xyz summon Amber Minotaur (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1900) (ATK: 2400 -> 2600, DEF: 1900 -> 2100). Tom activates Amber Minotaur’s effect. By detaching one xyz material from it, Tom can normal summon again from his hand without a tribute, summoning Gladiator Beast Alexander (ATK: 2400 DEF: 600) (ATK: 2400 -> 2600, DEF: 600 -> 800).

Tom places one card face down and ends his turn.

Status: Hand-3 Life-4000 Monsters-2 Face Down Cards-1
***************************************************

Interesting, thought Reese. Rich’s ace usually brings out a great deal of dread within most duelists, but Tom still brings his own ace out along with another monster. Could he really be beyond Rich’s control?

“You think your itsy bitsy spider scares me?” asked Tom, smiling confidently.

“Itsy bitsy spider?” asked Rich. “So you really are a baby?”

“Baby? So you like Justin Bieber?”

“Wha- no…”

It was visible in Tom’s smile and Rich’s face, which was draining of hope, that Tom was beating him. Alex and Reese couldn’t help but snicker.

“Screw you, Tom! You won’t beat me! How’s about I take that Equus card of yours off your hands? It doesn’t belong to a worthless duelist like you anyways.”

***************************************************
Rich’s Turn: Rich summons Chainsaw Insect (ATK: 2400 DEF: 0). Rich then activates Earthbound Immortal Uru’s effect. By tributing one monster he controls, (Chainsaw Insect), he can take control of one monster his opponent controls until the end phase, choosing Amber Minotaur.

Rich activates Amber Minotaur’s effect, detaching an xyz material from it to normal summons again without a tribute, summoning Brain Crusher (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500) (ATK: 2400 -> 2600, DEF: 1500 -> 1700). Then, Rich equips Earthbound Immortal Uru with Insect Armor with Laser Cannon, having it gain 700 ATK (ATK: 3200 -> 3900).

With Earthbound Immortal Uru’s effect, it can attack the opponent directly. Rich attacks Tom directly with Earthbound Immortal Uru.

Tom’s Life Points: 4000 -> 100

Rich then attacks Gladiator Beast Alexander with Brain Crusher, but Tom activates Attack Invulnerability, preventing Gladiator Beast Alexander’s destruction by battle this turn. Since Brain Crusher's ATK is equal to Gladiator Beast Alexander's, Brain Crusher is destroyed. Rich then attacks Gladiator Beast Alexander with Amber Minotaur. Since both monster's have equal attacks, Amber Minotaur is destroyed.

At the end of the battle phase, if Gladiator Beast Alexander attacked or was attacked, Tom can return it to his deck to special summon a Gladiator Beast monster from his deck, choosing Gladiator Beast Bestiari (ATK: 1500 DEF: 800).

Tom activates Gladiator Beast Bestiari’s effect, destroying one spell or trap card on the field when it's special summoned by the effect of a Gladiator Beast monster, choosing Forest (ATK 2600 -> 2400, DEF: 800 -> 600) (ATK: 1800 -> 1600, DEF: 1400 -> 1200) (ATK: 2600 -> 2400, DEF: 2100 -> 1900) (ATK: 3900 -> 3700, DEF: 3200 -> 3000). With Earthbound Immortal Uru’s effect, if there is no field spell on the field, it is destroyed.

Rich places one card face down and ends his turn.

Status: Hand-1 Life-4000 Monsters-0 Face Down Cards-1
***************************************************

Rich grunted, having lost control of Amber Minotaur. Despite taking a heavy hit, Tom stood back up, proud and tall.

“Come on!” cheered Alex. “Beat that clown!”

“You shut up!” yelled Rich to Alex. “He’s a loser, and he always will be! He’s got 100 life points while I’m still full. He’s finished!”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” said Tom. “I’ve got a little combo in my hand that can take you down. All I need is the right card.”

“No way you’re drawing it.”

“Only one way to find out.”

***************************************************
Tom’s Turn: Tom summons Gladiator Beast Samnite (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1200) (ATK: 1600 -> 1800, DEF: 1200 -> 1400). Tom shuffles Gladiator Beast Bestiari and Gladiator Beast Samnite into the deck to fusion summon Gladiator Beast Gyzarus (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500).

Tom activates Gladiator Beast Gyzarus' effect, destroying up to two cards on the field when it's special summoned, choosing Rich's face down card. Tom then activates Monster Reborn special summoning a monster from the graveyard, choosing Amber Minotaur.

Tom attacks Rich directly with Gladiator Beast Gyzarus.

Rich’s Life Points: 4000 -> 1600

Tom then attacks Rich directly with Amber Minotaur.

Rich’s Life Points: 1600 -> 0

Tom wins.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

“Alright, Tom!” cheered Reese.

“Impossible,” mumbled Rich, lying weakly on the ground.

“That was fun,” said Tom, walking to Alex, John and Reese. “So, how long do we have to wait for a table? I'm starved.”

Rich could hardly believe it. Tom had just beaten his enemy, and he seemed more concerned about breakfast.

Am I really that little of a threat to him now?

“About a half hour,” answered Alex.

“Screw that,” bellowed Tom. “Let’s just go to Grandma Sally’s. They’ve always got tables.”

“Sounds good to me!” answered John.

“Let me call Emma,” said Reese. “I’ll see if she wants to come with.”

“Alright,” replied Alex. “I’ll find us a good table.”

As Alex, John, and Tom walked downstairs to the shop floor, Tom picked up his phone to call Jenny about the change in plans.

Reese followed by, completely leaving his humiliated former friend behind.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

After breakfast, Alex, Tom, John, Reese, Emma, Sarah, Zelda, Jenny, and Lisa returned to downtown Naperville, where they spent the rest of the day shopping and occasionally dining. The nine of them had just exited the local Red Mango around late afternoon. They were planning on hitting a few more shops and then calling it a day. As the group continued to walk around, Tom began to lag behind. This was the perfect opportunity for someone to pull a fast one on him. Tom then felt two fuzzy hooves be pulled over his eyes.

“Guess who?” questioned the voice of Rainbow Dash.

Tom immediately turned around and gave her a friendly hug. Rainbow Dash’s voice caused the others to turn, allowing them to see Twilight and her other friends, having returned from Equestria.

“Twilight!” shouted Alex. “You’re back.”

“Of course,” responded Twilight. “We were only visiting after all. So, what have you all been up to?”

“Just shopping and walking around,” said Tom. “Care to join us?”

“Sure. I’d love nothing more than to spend the afternoon with my friends.”

Alex and his friends continued to walk while Twilight and her friends tagged along. Twilight, however, went straight to Alex's side. Happy to see her again, he stroked her mane as they walked.