013 - Earth Versus Light

Blake, Spencer, and Robert were all sitting together in a circle of desks. They were nearing the end of another five minute break before the third duel began.

"I . . . just can't believe it. Not at all. It was . . . like he was just laying down to die." Robert spoke in a hushed tone.

"He was such a dominating force when I dueled him," Blake muttered agreement. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Spencer said, "but did you see him when he walked out? He was . . . so sullen."

"I don't think he's going to take that loss very well," Blake sighed. "He just lost to Robert who is - no offense, Bert - a novice. He's gonna take it hard, but instead of giving him a dose of humility, I think he's just gonna be a bigger jerk."

Spencer nodded pensively. "Yeah. All this time - even signing up for this tournament - he was planning on fighting me. Instead of taking a chill pill from this loss, I think he's gonna blame it on a fluke and really start to come after me even more."

Blake smiled. "At least now we know he's beatable."

Spencer sighed and lurched to his feet. "I'm a little nervous about my duel coming up, but, even so, I guess it's time to keep this thing moving."

"Yeah," Blake agreed, also rising to his feet. Robert obediently and silently followed, quietly enjoying his unexpected victory.

"Alright!" Spencer called, projecting his voice to the room. "It's time to continue today's matches with round three! Up next, we have Adam versus Megan!"

The two duelists stepped forward, taking their places at either end of the arena.

Adam was short and mildly pudgy. He had on brown cargo shorts, green and white Vans, and a black shirt adorned with AC/DC's logo. He had long brown bangs hanging down on his brow, slightly messy, almost concealing his eyes. He had an excited grin on his face.

Megan was a girl with fair blonde hair falling daintily about her shoulders. He was in a light pink shirt and blue jeans displaying her slender frame. She was smiling brightly.

"Ready, Megan?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, I guess!" Megan said with a laugh.

"Well, ladies first," Adam declared.

"Thanks!"

ADAM: 8000LP

MEGAN: 8000LP

Both players drew their hand of five and Megan drew her sixth to begin the duel.

"Okay," Megan began cheerily, "I'll begin by summoning Ancient Elf to the field in attack mode!"

A pale-skinned man appeared, wearing hard purple armor and holding aloft an ornate scepter. 1450/1200

"Now, I'll set two cards for a little protection and end my turn." Two cards appeared behind the Ancient Elf.

"Awesome!" Adam smiled, snapping up his first draw of the duel. "I'm ready to go!" Looking happily at his hand, he selected a card and layed it on the field. "I summon a monster: Battle Ox!"

Roaring, a muscular form appeared. Its body, though over-muscular and humanoid, was covered in brown ox hair, and its head was a roaring, horned beast's. It wore a chestplate of blue and yellow armor and swung an axe through the air. 1700/1000

"Oh! He's so strong!" Megan commented.

"Oh, yeah!" Adam gloated. "And he's coming right at your Ancient Elf!"

Battle Ox let out a triumphant battle cry, rushing across the field with its axe held high.

"I can at least protect my Life Points by activating Waboku!" Megan tapped the corresponding button on her duel disk and the holographic representation of the trap card on the field flipped to reveal a picture of women in teal robes. "It absorbs any damage I would recieve and protects me for the rest of this turn!"

Battle Ox slashed through Ancient Elf's armor, removing it from the game. The horde of teal-robed women, who had appeared between Megan and the battle area, absorbed the shockwave given off by Ancient Elf's destruction.

Adam nodded sternly to Megan. "Good play, but don't expect this duel to be easy for you."

Megan laughed. "I can say the same for you!"

"Well," Adam continued, "I'm going to lay down a face down and end my turn."

"Alright," Megan smiled, "I'll draw." She glanced at her card and slapped it onto her duel disk. "I'll lay down a monster in defense and end my turn."

Adam scrutinized this move as he picked up his next card. "So, protecting yourself. I know you've got some tough defense in your deck, so I've got to pay attention to that."

"Only one way to find out," Megan said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, so I'm going to summon Master and Expert!"

A deep brown furred creature appeared, similar to a lion, with a long mane of golden hair. Atop it was a strange brown-skinned man with a green scarf, controlling the beast's every move. 1200/1000

"Now, I'll lay down a face down card and send Battle Ox on the assault!"

Megan grinned knowingly. "I figured as much, so I layed down my Mystical Elf to defend me!"

The blue-skinned woman with golden hair appeared, chanting her song. 800/2000

"Now you'll feel the hurt of your mistake!" Megan exulted.

Battle Ox continued his charge, the axe high in the air. Mystical Elf, her hands clasped in front of her, began to glow with a golden aura. The axe fell upon her, but the aura grabbed it, releasing shockwaves that sent Battle Ox flying back to Adam's field and that struck Adam himself.

ADAM: 7700LP

"Well," Adam conceded, "I suppose I'll let you go."

"Alright," Megan agreed, adding a new card to her hand. "First, I'm going to activate my spell on the field." She tapped a button on her duel disk. "This is my Last Will spell. With it, when I lose a monster, it leaves something behind: the will to bring another monster out!"

"So if you lose a monster you get to summon a monster, huh?" Adam summised.

"That's correct," Megan nodded. "And it just so happens that Mystical Elf is being tributed to bring out a monster we saw earlier today: Gyakutenno Megami!"

The green haired elven woman from before reappeared. 1800/1600

Megan continued. "Now, as per the spell I just played, I'm able to summon a monster from my deck to my field in face-up attack position, as long as that monster has fewer than 1500 attack points. And so, welcome to the field: Hoshiningen!"

A scroll of paper appeared on the field, and some stylized writing was played across it. It began to glow until it became a brilliant beacon of light, and when it finally resided, a creature had taken its place. A five-pointed star had appeared, with the bottom two points sporting brown boots. From its back, blowing in some holographic wind, were two rainbow streamers. The front of the star had two squinting eyes and a small mouth. 500/700

"That's the monster you intend to play?" Adam scoffed. "You went to all the trouble of using your Last Will spell and this is what you bring to face me?"

"Yes," Megan replied confidently. "But you haven't even waited to see what Hoshiningen's special effect is."

"I'm dying to know," Adam replied dryly.

Megan grimaced. "Be sarcastic now, but you're not going to like this."

Hoshinengen lifted into the air and began to glow brilliantly, shedding its light on the entire field. Gyakutenno Megami was washed in the light. 2300/1600 Hoshiningen also felt the effects of its own light. 1000/700

"What?" Adam cried. "How did your monsters become so powerful all of a sudden?"

"Hoshiningen's ability gives every Light attribute monster on the field an attack boost of 500," Megan explained calmly. "So all of my monsters are strengthened by it! Now you see why I called him to the field!"

"Aw, man," Adam growled. "That is a tough card! Now your monster's really strong!"

"Exactly," Megan smiled happily. "And since Gyakutenno Megami has been powered up so much, it's the perfect time for her to attack your Battle Ox!"

Gyakutenno Megami leapt forward, spinning round and planting her foot into the Battle Ox's exposed stomach with a deep thud. The Ox cried out in pain before bursting into bits of data.

ADAM: 7100LP

"What a beautiful show, Gyakutenno Megami!" Megan exulted. "Now I end my turn."

Adam snapped the next card off the top of his deck. "Awesome! I drew Pot of Greed, and I'll play it so I can draw two more cards." He added two new cards to his hand. "Next, I'll give my Master and Expert a boost of strength with Invigoration! It raises my monster's attack with the only side effect of lowering its defense. A small price to pay for a strengthened monster."

Master and Expert began to glow with a bright aura, giving it the will to fight even harder. 1600/800

"Now, I send my Master and Expert on the assault to destroy your Hoshiningen!" The beast leapt forward, tearing into the star-like creature with its razor-sharp fangs. The monster was ripped to shreds, as were a small portion of Megan's Life Points.

MEGAN: 7400LP

Gyakutenno Megami cried out indignantly as the power Hoshiningen had given her was drained from her body. 1800/2000

"But that's not all," Adam exclaimed, "because I've got a spell card to clear your field completely: Fissure!"

A chasm in the earth opened beneath Gyakutenno Megami, into which she fell with a despairing cry. "That wasn't nice!" Megan whined.

"I think that's enough punishment for one turn," Adam sighed. "Go ahead."

"Right," Megan nodded, drawing.

Spencer shook his head in awe. "That was a great play on Adam's part. Both of them have been playing flawlessly, and that was a perfect example; he was able to bring Megan's Life Point total down nearly to where his is with just one attack."

"Yeah," Blake nodded. "We have lots of great duelists here, and this duel can go either way."

"I'll set one monster and end my turn," Megan announced. The face down card's hologram appeared before the blonde-haired duelist.

Adam drew his next card and slapped it down onto his duel disk. "I summon the Hitotsu-Me Giant in attack mode!" A muscle-bound humanoid with green-scaled skin appeared on Adam's field, with one cyclopian eye in the middle of its forehead. Its wide, gaping mouth displayed razor-sharp teeth. 1200/1000

"Now, I send my Master and Expert to destroy your face down and my Hitotsu-Me Giant to hit your Life Points!" The two monsters rushed forward. Master and Expert tore Megan's monster to bits, while Hitotsu-Me Giant struck Megan with it's massive holographic fist.

MEGAN: 6200LP

Adam ended and Megan drew. "I play Red Medicine to give my Life Points a 500 point boost!"

MEGAN: 6700LP

"Next, I throw down another monster and end my turn!"

Adam drew. "I send my monsters in another attack!" And again, Megan's monster was destroyed and her Life Points were struck.

MEGAN: 5500LP

"End turn."

Megan drew, again threw down a face down monster, and ended her turn.

Adam drew. "I have another Invigoration spell to increase my Hitotsu-Me Giant like I increased my Master and Expert." Hitotsu-Me Giant glowed with powerful aura. 1600/800

"Now, I attack again!" Adam declared.

MEGAN: 3900LP

Megan drew. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master to give my Life Points a boost and then I end my turn."

MEGAN: 4900LP

Adam drew another card. "Both of my monsters will now attack you directly!" Hitotsu-Me Giant swung his massive arm to strike Megan while Master and Expert leapt forward to bite away her Life Points.

MEGAN: 1700LP

"If she doesn't get something fast, this duel is over," Spencer growled.

Megan snapped up the top card of her deck, her eyes full of hope, and slapped the card onto her duel disk in defense mode.

Adam drew. "I send my monsters on the attack again! Hitotsu-Me Giant, destroy her face-down monster!"

Hitotsu-Me Giant launched across the field, and a blue-skinned woman appeared to meet him.

"You've attacked my Mystical Elf!" Megan cried happily. "And even though your Giant is a strong attacker, she has a magic defense that will stop your attack and send its power back at you!"

"Alright!" Blake cried. "She found a way to come back!"

Hitotsu-Me Giant's arm swung forward viciously, only to be caught by golden aura. Mystical Elf began to chant, and Hitotsu-Me Giant was sent flying across the field, slamming down unceremonially in front of its owner.

ADAM: 6700LP

Adam begrudgingly ended his turn. Megan drew and set one card face down in her spell and trap zone, ending her turn.

Adam drew. "I play Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts, in attack mode!" A brown furred monster appeared, lion-like but with humanoid arms. It was quadripedal, and sported a horn atop its head before its flowing black mane. 1500/1200

"That will end my turn," Adam finished.

Megan drew and played her card. "I activate the spell card, Red Medicine, to boost my Life Points yet again!"

MEGAN: 2200LP

Adam drew and sighed. "It looks like this is the end of the duel. I have the spell card Shield and Sword!"

"Whoa!" Blake cried. "That's a great play!"

"With this card, all monsters on the field exchange their attack points with their defense points until the end of this turn."

All the monsters on the field had their stats switched. Master and Expert and Hitotsu-Me Giant both switched their identical stats. 800/1600 Gazelle's power swapped slightly. 1200/1500 And Megan's monster suffered an extreme loss. 2000/800

"If your Mystical Elf was in attack mode, this card would really have helped you," Adam said. "But since Mystical Elf is in defense mode, that 2000 attack is useless to you."

"And your Gazelle is strong enough to destroy my defender!" Megan cried desperately.

"That's right," Adam replied, "which is precisely what I will send him to do right now! Gazelle, attack her Mystical Elf!"

Gazelle coiled his powerful haunches, launching across the field with stunning speed. Roaring, he slashed his huge claws across Mystical Elf, skewering her.

"Now I send my Master and Expert and Hitotsu-Me Giant on the offensive!" The two monsters again rushed forward to deliver a harsh blow to Megan.

MEGAN: 600LP

"I end my turn," Adam declared, and all monsters' attack and defense scores reset themselves.

"I draw," Megan pronounced, "and set a monster in defense position! That will be all for my turn."

"I draw, then," Adam announced. "Now I activate Gravedigger Ghoul. With it, I can remove two of the monsters in your graveyard from the game. That way, they're beyond your reach for the remainder of this duel - just in case you were planning a comeback. So I send Gyakutenno Megami and Mystical Elf from the Graveyard and out of existence!"

Megan watched unhappily as the two cards popped out of her graveyard slot. She slid them into an auxillery slot where they could no longer be accessed.

"Now, I send Hitotsu-Me Giant on the attack!"

"You've made the same mistake twice," Megan laughed. "Because you've attacked my Spirit of the Harp, whose stats are identical to Mystical Elf, you're going to lose Life Points again!"

A golden-robed woman strumming a harp appeared. 800/2000 Hitotsu-Me Giant rushed forward, but was sent back by a burst of energy from a strum of the harp strings.

ADAM: 6300LP

Adam grimaced as he ended his turn.

"Draw!" Megan cried. "Now I'll set a monster and end."

Adam growled, "Now I'll summon Monster Egg in attack mode!" An egg appeared on the field, with a hole in its shell revealing red eyes. 600/900

"Now my Hitotsu-Me Giant will attack your face-down!" Hitotsu-Me Giant rushed forward, slamming its massive fists down on Megan's face-down monster.

"That's too bad," Megan smiled, "because the monster you attacked was my Magician of Faith! When she's face down and flipped face up, I get to pull a spell from my graveyard and put it in my hand. And since your Giant's attack flips Magician of Faith face up before destroying her, I'm pulling Dian Keto the Cure Master into my hand."

"Alright, I end my turn," Adam grumbled.

"Draw," Megan declared happily, pleased with her previous move. "Well, I have two spells to activate: The Dian Keto I got with my Magician of Faith's effect, and the Goblin's Secret Remedy I just drew. Combined, these spells will increase my Life Points by 1600!"

MEGAN: 2200LP

"After that wonderful boost, I will end my turn."

Adam nodded and drew. He played the card face down in his last open monster zone. "This duel's almost over, but for now I'll end my turn," Adam sighed.

"Now," Megan said, having drawn her next card, "I'll play Lady of Faith in attack mode!"

A woman in green robes appeared. She was wearing a large, elaborate red headdress, from the bottom of which her soft blue hair could be seen falling round her shoulders. 1100/800

"My Lady of Faith will now strike your Monster Egg!" Megan declared. Lady of Faith chanted a spell, which wafted a soft blue light across the field. The light surrounded Monster Egg, and the creature burst into bits of data.

ADAM: 5800LP

Megan nodded, signalling the end of her turn.

Adam drew. "Well, it's been a long duel, but it's over now. I flip my face down monster face up." A long-nosed bird wielding a scythe appeared. 450/500 "And," Adam continued, "when this Hane-Hane is flipped face up, I can choose one monster on the field to send back to its owner's hand. That monster is your Spirit of the Harp!" Hane-Hane slashed its scythe in a sweeping motion, sending a gust of wind across the field that struck the Spirit of the Harp and made it disappear.

"Next," Adam said, "I tribute Hane-Hane to summon Battle Steer in attack mode!" Hane-Hane disappeared, and in its place was a huge bipedal steer. It had two massive horns atop its head and was sporting a flowing red cape. In its muscular arms it held a pike with three sharp points. 1800/1300

"I send my Battle Steer to slash your Lady of Faith to bits!" With a feral roar, the monster rushed forward to blast Megan's creature to smithereens.

MEGAN: 1500LP

"And that's it," Adam said solemnly. "Any of my monsters would be able to reduce your points to zero, so I send my Gazelle on the attack to end this duel."

"Man, that's devastating," Spencer said.

Gazelle leapt forward, appearing before Megan in a flash. She lowered her head in acceptance and Gazelle's claws flashed.

MEGAN: 0LP

The holographic cards faded as Adam walked toward Megan. He outstretched his hand and they shook.

"Good game," Megan said.

Adam nodded. "Good game to you too."

"Wow, you both gave good performances," Spencer said, clasping both of them warmly on their shoulders. "And now, we'll take a five minute break before the final duel of the day."

The duelists and spectators all broke into small groups for conversation. Blake, Spencer, and Robert were standing together.

"Well, you're up next," Blake commented.

"Yeah," Spencer replied.

"You think you're ready?" Robert asked.

"Yeah," Spencer nodded. "It won't be easy, but I think I'm ready to do it. I'm not ready to give up my title yet, and I'll defend it with everything I have!"

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A/N: When I had Adam activate Shield and sword, it swapped the attack and defense of Hitotsu-Me Giant and Master and Expert, both of whom were equipped with Invigoration and had the stats 1600/800. I swapped them to 800/1600, but actually their original stats (1200/1000) would be swapped and then the effect of Invigoration would take place. The actual stats after Shield and Sword's activation should have been 1400/1000. This was simply a mistake I made and realized much later, and, should Shield and Sword see more play in the future, will hopefully be rectified.

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Begun Thursday evening, March 15, 2007

Completed Sunday, 1:02am, April 1, 2007