Chapter Thirteen
Josh’s heart thumped heavily in his chest. Sweat slipped passed his ear, sliding down his neck. His hand, still on the doorknob, was frozen in place.
Behind him, Dave stepped forward silently. He, too, was clearly shaken up.
“Open the door,” he whispered. “We need to make sure Mr. Muto is okay.” He put his hand on top of Josh’s, turned the doorknob for him.
The once organized shop was now an area of chaos. Cards and glass fragments laid sloppily across the floor, creating a messy path leading to the desk. A man stood at the end; his tall, bulky build towered over Mr. Muto, who was lying on the floor with his eyes closed. A cracked had formed on the glass behind him – the man probably threw him into it.
“Mr. Muto!” Dave yelled against his will. He ran forward, Josh grabbed his arm, forcing him back.
The man turned around; his worn, blue uniform turned with him, revealing its rusted badges and tears. He lifted his chin, showing a deep-cut scar trailing from the top of his neck to the bottom of his left eye.
“Who the hell are you?” The man asked gravely.
“I should be asking you the same question!” Dave shouted, stepping forward again. Josh restrained him. “What the hell are you doing to Mr. Muto!”
The man held out his right arm, aiming the in-hand gun at them. A click snapped throughout the room.
“I came here in search of powerful cards.” He showed his left arm, revealing a Duel Disk. “I heard the old man here holds the best cards in the country, so I decided to pay him a visit.” His lips formed a crooked smile.
“You’re insane! He’s done nothing to you!”
“No, but my boss wants me to prepare for our… ‘project’, and he needs powerful cards to do it.”
Dave thrust his left arm, breaking free of Josh’s hold, showed the man his Duel Disk.
“If you really want rare cards take mine! My deck has plenty of rare cards!”
“No.” the man turned. “You may have been a finalist in Kaiba’s tournament, but your cards aren’t what we’re looking for.”
Kaiba’s tournament… Josh perked his eyebrows up in realization.
“You’re with the receptionist!” he shouted, joining Dave.
The man laughed darkly. “If that’s what you call her. Yes, she is with my organization but she’s one of our underlings. She failed her mission so I decided to make up for her stupidity.”
Grandpa roused, started to stand up.
“Ah, looks like the old man’s finally awake.” The man clasped a strong hand onto Grandpa’s bicep, pointing the gun just above the shopkeeper’s nose. “Now, I’ll tell you one last time – give me all your powerful cards or I’ll shoot you and burn this whole place down!”
“No, please!” Grandpa shouted, afraid to get too close.
“That’s enough,” Dave stepped forward again. “I challenge you to a duel. If I win you leave without second thought. If you win you take as many cards as you want!”
“Is that so?” The man turned back, angrily darting his eyes at Dave. The gun soon followed. “Do you think I’m that stupid?!”
Alarmed, Dave backed up. Josh drew in his breathe.
“You used the same trick on that dumb b
itch. It’s obvious that you’re the better duelist here…” He paused, eyeing Josh’s Duel Disk. “But I’ll take your offer.” He lowered his gun. “If I duel your friend instead.”
Josh’s eyes lit up. His voice shook.
“Me?! No! Nononono
no!”
Dave stepped in front of him.
“He’s never dueled before in his life!” It was sort of a lie, but Josh wasn’t complaining. “That isn’t fair at all!”
“Then how about this?” The man said, lifted Grandpa by the arm. Grandpa weakly limped in his hands. “I’ll duel with 4000 Life Points instead of 8000, and you get to monitor your friend’s actions.”
“But I don’t even have a deck!” Josh shouted, tossing his arms to the side. The platform on his Duel Disk knocked into his sweatshirt, knocking out his Card Analyzer, knocking it onto the floor. The case broke, spilling his cards everywhere.
Josh stared at them, dumbfounded.
The man chuckled. “I’ll see you outside.” He dragged Grandpa past them, looked over his shoulder as he exited. “The name’s Jonathan, to answer your question.” He laughed again.
Josh bent over, picked up the Monster Reborn card at his feet, silently prayed.
“Dave.” His eyes trembled. “You didn’t tell me this game involved guns.”
~*~*~*~
Jonathan tossed Grandpa onto the dirt beside him; the short, old man rubbed his head, steadily crawling away from Jonathan’s gun. He managed to slide about a foot away before he collapsed on the ground.
He cupped his face in his hands. “I’m getting too old for this...”
On the other side of the entrance, Josh shuffled his deck, with Dave standing over his shoulder. Josh was happy that Grandpa’s shop was so isolated for two reasons. One, there wouldn’t be anyone around to watch him embarrass himself when he lost. Two, there wouldn’t be anyone around to watch him embarrass himself when he had to dodge bullets like a frantic chicken.
“Remember, pay careful attention to your opponent’s cards. That’s the reason I beat you in the Arcade. If you don’t, we’re dead.”
“Yeah, so no pressure right?” Josh said dryly. He shoved his Card Analyzer into his Duel Disk. Dave realized his mistake.
“Sorry. I didn’t –”
“I know what ya mean,” Josh said. He held up his arm, trying to figure out how to turn the Duel Disk on.
“Don’t worry. If you need me I’m right here with you.”
Josh finally found the button – the Duel Disk miraculously swung together, nearly chopping his left hand off. Its blue platform swung to the side, and its meter lit up with electronic digits. He drew his five cards, looking them over as Dave told him to. On the other side, Jonathan laughed again.
“This should be quick.”
[Josh LP: (8000)] [Jonathan LP: (4000)]
“Since I start with a disadvantage it’s only fair that I go first, right?” He cracked wicked smile. “I summon Volcanic Slicer in Attack Mode!”
A bipedal dinosaur-like monster charged out its reanimated card hologram. Though it had no visible eyes on its spikey golden armor, its stare pierced through Josh’s soul. (
1800/1200) It growled, exhaling a small ember from its fangs.
“Don’t worry,” Dave said. “He can’t attack the on the first turn of the duel, so you still have a chance to strike back.”
Jonathan smiled again, revealed that one of his teeth was cracked. “Not quite. Thanks to its special ability I can inflict 500 damage in exchange for its attack each turn.”
Josh’s eyes widened. Dave took a defensive stance.
“And, as you said, I can’t attack this turn, so that sounds like an excellent trade off!” Jonathan proudly clutched his fist. “Volcanic Slicer, set him ablaze!”
Volcanic Slicer reared its head back, using its entire body’s momentum to shoot a fireball from its mouth. The molten sphere reflected in Josh’s gaze, struck him full force. He stumbled back, but Dave caught him by the arm. [Josh LP: (8000 --> 7500)]
“Are you okay?”
Josh caught his breathe, nodded. He had just survived his first real attack. But judging from the tournament, he hadn’t seen anything yet.
“That’s nothing compared to what’s next!” Three cards flashed at Jonathan’s feet. “Your turn.”
Josh stepped forward, gripping his top card. He was shaking – he couldn’t control it – but he couldn’t let his opponent know.
Jonathan raised an eyebrow. “What’s the matter kid? Scared?”
Shit. He drew, averted his attention to his hand. The drawn card was Cross Counter – the card that had humiliated him in his first duel against that one kid. Then he looked to his other cards. Shadow Ghoul, Dark Jeroid, Double Attack, Stealth Bird, Attack and Receive – all cards he’d seen Elisa use in his lesson. This calmed him down greatly.
He actually knew what to do.
“Alright,” Josh said, taking the Dark Jeroid card out. “I’ll summon this monster!”
Dave watched him slowly fit the card onto the center space, the multi-limbed ghoul remerged before them. It groaned, holding its bottom hands near its lowered face. (
1200/1500)
“Too bad, that card’s too weak.” Jonathan smiled, repressed a chuckle. “Looks like I chose the right opponent for this duel.”
Grandpa slowly stood up, regaining his strength.
Come on Josh, my shop depends on you.
“No-not quite.”
Dave looked to Josh. This wasn’t good. Even if Josh had a strategy in mind, Jonathan could easily overwhelm him with his current mentality.
“I use D-Dark Jeroid’s effect to decrease your monster’s ATK by 800!”
The blue ghoul held out his hands and spikes. A thumping sound resonated from its body; its heart above its head shined with a dark pink glow. A soundwave shot out at Volcanic Slicer, and the monster irritably held its stubby arms to its non-existent ears. (
1800 --> 1000/1200)
“Now I activate the Tra… er, Spell Card, Double Attack!” Josh had trouble shoving the card into its slot, eventually it fell in place like a key to a lock. “By discarding a higher leveled monster I can have my Dark Jeroid attack twice this turn.” He threw his Shadow Ghoul card into the red slot, which he knew led to the Graveyard. He was slightly surprised to see that when he placed the card above it, the Duel Disk automatically sucked it up.
Dark Jeroid prepared to pounce.
“Ha, not bad kid,” Jonathan whispered, though everyone could still hear him.
“Dark Jeroid, attack!” Josh felt empowered when he gave the command. The monster lunged at the dinosaur-monster, crushing through its armor with its sharp spikes. [Jonathan LP: (4000 --> 3800)]
“But not good enough.” Josh’s heart skipped a beat. Jonathan activated a Trap. “When a FIRE monster gets destroyed Backfire gives you a nice surprise!”
The center card rose, fire surging out of it immediately. The blast submerged Dark Jeroid, knocking it back to its original spot, with the residual flames searing Josh’s torso. Josh held a hand to his chest, bending over. [Josh LP: (7500 --> 7000)]
“Agh, this is too much.” Josh weakly looked to Dave. “How do you handle all this?”
“You get used to it.”
Jonathan crossed his arms. “Are you done yet?”
Dave helped Josh recompose himself.
“Not even close,” Dave said. “Double Attack is still in effect, which means Dark Jeroid can attack again!”
Josh looked to his monster as if it had disobeyed. “You heard him!”
Dark Jeroid pounced again, this time using all its strength to throw itself straight at Jonathan.
Another Trap rose. “I activate Firewall!”
A card ejected out of Jonathan’s Graveyard, igniting as it struck the ground, creating a literal wall of fire, successfully stopping Dark Jeroid in its tracks.
“No!” Josh yelled in dismay.
“Yes.” Jonathan held out his arm, presenting the card responsible. “With Firewall out I can banish a FIRE monster from my Graveyard to stop any direct attack I choose.” The flames went out. “Nice try.”
Josh hung his head. “Sorry Dave, I thought I had him there.”
“That wasn’t your fault, I thought you did too,” Dave said. Josh brought his gaze to him. “He’s not playing around. Be prepared for anything now.”
Josh returned to the duel. “I’ll try.” He slid Cross Counter and Attack and Receive into two slots, their enlarged forms greeting him a few steps ahead. “But I dunno if I can take much more of this.”
“I take it that your turn has ended,” Jonathan said. His third Trap rose, depicting a woman gleefully basking in a sun shower. “I activate Solemn Wishes. Each time I draw a card I gain 500 Life Points.” He drew, causing the designated card to shine. [Jonathan LP: (3800 --> 4300)]
“What a cheap way to get around his own rules,” Dave grumbled.
“And now it’s time to pay Firewall’s fee to keep it in play. A measly 500 Life Points per turn.” [Jonathan LP: (4300 --> 3800)]
An excellent strategy, Grandpa thought.
The two cards cancel each other out but he still gets the benefits of both.
“I’ll place a monster in Defense Position and end to give you a fighting chance.”
A horizontal brown card appeared ahead of the other three. Jonathan crossed his arms again.
Alright Josh, the new duelist said to himself.
Concentrate. You can do this.
His next card was Salamandra, which he remembered Elisa equipping to a FIRE monster to increase its power. But he had no FIRE monsters out right now, so it was useless.
Josh glanced over his shoulder at Dave. “What should I do?” he whispered.
Dave leaned closer, whispering in his ear. “Try setting Stealth Bird face-down and keep Dark Jeroid in Attack Position. He’ll probably go after the Attack Position monster to eat at your Life Points and will probably ignore your face-down Stealth Bird for the moment. Then next turn you can Flip Summon Stealth Bird to inflict 1000 damage to him.”
“But Stealth Bird only has 700 ATK, won’t it get trampled the turn after?”
“No, look at the rest of its effect – it can flip itself face-down once a turn.”
“Hurry up,” Jonathan shouted to them. “I’m on a timetable here. My boss doesn’t like it when his subjects are late.”
Subjects? Josh took his Stealth Bird card, pressed it on the slot next to his other monster. “I’ll play a monster face-down.” A brown backed card flashed ahead of Josh’s two traps. “And now I’ll have my Dark Jeroid attack your face-down monster!”
Dark Jeroid leapt, using its many hands to push it off the ground. Dave tensed.
“Josh, no!”
Josh glanced back. “Huh?”
Dark Jeroid slammed its spikes into the opposing face-down card, smashing it to bits. A small, green robot momentarily appeared in its place, shattered like glass a second later. The fragments hovered, and Jonathan laughed.
“You destroyed my Volcanic Blaster, which means I get to take one ‘Volcanic’ monster in my deck and move it to the top.” He shortly searched, presented the card a beat later. “I think I’ll use Volcanic Rocket.” He shoved his deck back into his Duel Disk, placing Volcanic Rocket on top.
“Was that what you were warning me about, Dave?”
Dave shook his head.
“And now –” The floating fragments flew into Jonathan’s Trap Card, igniting its frame. “– Backfire inflicts 500 damage to you!”
“What?!”
A stream of flames burst out of the card, engulfing Josh in the wave. [Josh LP: (7000 --> 6500)] Josh held his chest again. Dave comforted him.
“You gotta pay attention to the cards he has out. His cards support FIRE monsters so it’s safe to assume his whole deck revolves around them.”
“These FIRE monsters are pretty tough,” Josh said weakly. He strained to straighten his posture.
“And they’re only gonna get tougher!” Jonathan snarled, drew a card. “Solemn Wishes gives me 500 extra Life Points for drawing –” [Jonathan LP: (3800 --> 4300)] “– and Firewall takes it away.” [Jonathan LP: (4300 --> 3800)] “Now I’ll summon a monster.” He flipped the card with his thumb. “Guess who!”
Volcanic Rocket darted out of the trees, cutting the air with its sharp wings. The brown pterodactyl-like monster landed, keeping its body close to the ground, poised to charge. (
1900/1400) True to its name, while the monster was idle, it resembled the aerodynamic shape of a rocket.
“When this card is summoned, I can take a Blaze Accelerator card from my deck and put it in my hand.” A card from the center of his deck stuck out. The scarred duelist took it with two firm fingers. “Your Dark Jeroid has been out longer than necessary. Volcanic Rocket will change that.”
Volcanic Rocket lifted its limbs off the floor, aimed itself at the ghoul. Whipping its tail back, it shot forward, slicing through the ghoul with its beak, resulting in a small explosion. Josh and Dave covered their eyes with their sleeves. [Josh LP: (6500 --> 5800)]
“Now I’ll activate Blaze Accelerator!” A tiny, three-legged machine perched itself beside Jonathan. The machine unfolded, setting up its weapons, and aimed its single barrel. “Of course, I can’t use it this turn, so I’ll end.”
“He has a lot of Continuous Spell and Trap Cards,” Dave said. “Do you have anything that can take them out?”
Josh shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
Dave grimaced. “Those cards are gonna be a problem if we don’t stop them soon.”
Josh pulled a new card, the Stronghold Guardian. Now he remembered his first duel completely – he attacked into a Defense Position monster, and his opponent powered it up with this card. Then, he used Cross Counter to double the damage and destroy the attacking monster.
He looked to his face-down card, which he knew to be Stealth Bird. All he had to do was reveal it so that Jonathan would know its DEF value – that way, Josh would be able to trick him into attacking it and use the same strategy that had done so much damage to him.
It was worth a shot.
“I got you now!” Josh flipped over the card, switching it to a vertical position. “I summon my Stealth Bird!”
A sky-blue bird soared out of the card, fluttered over the field. Its head resembled a bat, and perked its ears just as a bat would. (
700/1700)
“Not strong enough to take on my Rocket.”
“No.” For some reason Josh’s heart skipped a beat. But why? He knew what he was doing.
Oh Josh, Dave thought.
Please don’t let your nervousness get to you.
“When Stealth Bird is Flip Summoned, it inflicts 1000 damage to your Life Points!”
Josh pointed at Jonathan; Stealth Bird dove in, folding its wings so its strike was quick and sharp. Jonathan cringed, then swatted his arm as the monster flew away. [Jonathan LP: (3800 --> 2800)]
“And now I’ll use Stealth Bird’s second effect to return it to face-down Defense Position.” A hollow card appeared on the ground, serving as a landing pad for the bat-like bird. Once its talons touched its surface, it reverted back to a normal brown card. “That’s it for now.” Josh’s hand trembled as he brought it to his side.
“Like I said, this’ll be quick.” Jonathan drew. [Jonathan LP: (2800 --> 3300)] “You know what? I don’t think you’ll be getting to my Life Points for a while. So I don’t need this card anymore.” He gestured towards his Firewall card, which shattered on cue.
Now his Life Points will constantly increase without any hindrance, Grandpa thought, touching his fingers to his chin.
This isn’t good.
“Now let’s see what we have here…” Jonathan looked at his drawn card. A wicked sparkle glimmered in his eyes.
Josh froze again.
Jonathan held the card close to his Duel Disk. “I Set one card face-down.” He slid it into a lower slot. Once the card fit in entirely, small bits of rainbow static sparked around his Duel Disk; its platforms glared unusually bright.
For a second – so quick that it almost went unnoticed – the holograms flickered, disrupting the images so that they appeared jumbled bits of electronic data. Another second later, they reverted back to normal.
Huh? Josh blinked.
What just happened?
“Time to put my Blaze Accelerator to use!” Jonathan shouted, picking out another card from his hand. The tiny machine whirred to life, aimed itself at his opponent. “By discarding a Pyro monster with 500 or less ATK, Blaze Accelerator allows me to destroy a monster you control.” He threw a card into his Graveyard – Dave noticed it; knew it to be Volcanic Counter – and the tiny robot charged up its barrel.
It was aimed at Stealth Bird.
“No!” Josh stared at the barrel, traced its path with his eyes.
My strategy’s ruined if it’s gone!
“Fire!”
The machine blasted a small bullet-sized monster, sending it spiraling across the lawn. It slammed into the brown card, setting it on fire. The bat-like bird tried to escape the flames, but its wings had been ignited, rendering unable to fly away.
Josh stared at the ashes, the smoke. His plan was up in smoke.
“You’re lucky,” Jonathan stated, calling for everyone’s attention. “Whenever Blaze Accelerator is used, I can’t attack for the rest of the turn. So I’ll place a monster face-down and end.”
Jonathan watched Josh’s hand move for his deck, grinned.
“Alright, my go.” He was in bad shape. He needed a good card to save him, and he needed it now.
He drew.
Dave watched Josh lift the card closer to his face, as if he moved in slow-motion. On the other side of the field, Jonathan’s smile widened.
Josh knew this card. It wasn’t his. At least, not originally.
“It’s called Exchange. When it’s activated both players pick one card in the other’s hand and they trade it until the end of the duel. If you have no other options this card can help you out of a bind. But don’t use it if you don’t want your opponent taking away a key card from you.”
Adam… Josh lowered the card slightly, gazed at Jonathan’s hand.
He held one card.
Adam was right. If he could swipe a strong card from Jonathan – which, from the way he’d been playing, wouldn’t be a problem – he may be able to turn this duel around.
It was his only chance.
“I ac–” A rising Trap Card cut him off.
“I activate the Trap Card, Theft.”
Dave and Grandpa raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve never heard of that card,” Dave said aimlessly. Josh turned to him.
“I don’t think a card like even exists,” Grandpa mused. “Surely I would’ve heard about it.”
Jonathan smirked. “If you’re so sure, then why don’t you check that Card Analyzer of yours and find out?”
Dave waltzed over to Josh. “Do it.”
“Right,” Josh nodded, opening the search menu. He typed in the card’s name – Theft – and waited for the bar to finish loading.
“Card Analyzer activated…
Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data: ‘Theft’ …”
Hehehe…
“Searching for Card Data… … …”
“What’s wrong?” Dave whispered. “Did you type it in right?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what’s taking so long.”
“… … … … …No match found.”
“What?!” Dave and Josh shouted simultaneously. They stepped back, as if a windblast had shoved them, and glowered at their opponent.
He laughed madly.
“What kind of trick is this?” Dave yelled, angrily clutching his fist.
Jonathan calmed himself; the sinister grin never left his face. “This is the power of the Deck Hackers!”
Deck Hackers? Josh receded into his thoughts.
“Once I take your deck back to my new boss, we’ll be one step closer to ruining this company and eventually I’ll burn it down with my bare hands!”
“No, but my boss wants me to prepare for our… ‘project’, and he needs powerful cards to do it.”
“Yes, she is with my organization but she’s one of our underlings. She failed her mission so I decided to make up for her stupidity.”
“Who are you?” Josh finally spoke. His fear disappeared; replaced by curiosity. “What kind of organization is the ‘Deck Hackers’?”
Jonathan’s smile twisted. “As I said, I am Jonathan. And, just as I said before, the Deck Hackers is an organization that needs rare cards for our plans to be successful.” He turned to the side, met his gaze with Grandpa. “Of course –” he looked back to the two duelists “– most truly powerful cards have way too many restrictions on them. So…”
He began to laugh again, reeling his head back.
Everyone silently waited for him to continue.
“So, we decided to create our own!”
“But how!” Dave stepped beside Josh. “Cards need to be registered on the Card Database for them to work with our Duel Disks. If there’s no data on it in our Card Analyzers then there’s no way you can use it.”
“You two don’t listen very well, do you?” He held up his Duel Disk, showing his Card Analyzer. Its screen went red. “I’m with the Deck Hackers. In other words, we hacked the system so we can do whatever we want!”
Josh shot a frightened glance at Dave.
Dave returned his own.
“Back to the duel,” Jonathan commanded. “Since none of you can figure out what this card does, I’ll gladly explain it to you. By paying 800 Life Points –” [Jonathan LP: (3300 --> 2500)] “– Theft enables me to take any cards you draw and put them in my hand.”
No!
Static whipped around the Trap Card in question until it finally stabilized its position.
“I don’t believe it,” Dave said under his breath.
The silhouette of a hand flung out of the card, snagging the Exchange card out of Josh’s hand. He tried to grab it back, but the arm retreated, tossing the card into Jonathan’s hold.
Jonathan presented the card to him. “What’s wrong? Did a take a good card from you?” He laughed again.
Josh moped, looked to the two cards in his hand. Stronghold Guardian, and Salamandra. Without another monster, his strategy was ruined. He had no choice but to put Stronghold Guardian out to defend his Life Points.
“I play a monster and end my turn.” A horizontal card flickered before him.
“That’s it? Looks like I did more damage than I thought.” Jonathan yanked out a card [Jonathan LP: (2500 --> 3000)], placing it beside the single card in his hand, which Josh knew to be Exchange. “Let’s see here… ah, I know.” A Spell Card rose up; Dave grimaced at the sight of it.
“Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards, and Solemn Wishes gives me more Life Points since I drew again.”
[Josh LP: (5800)] [Jonathan LP: (3000 --> 3500)]
“Now, to use your own card against you, I activate Exchange!”
Josh’s heart skipped a beat at the sight of it.
“I’m not gonna insult your intelligence on this one…” Jonathan smiled. The holograms vanished. He walked towards his opponent boastfully.
“Remember, read their effects carefully and take a card that you think he can use against you,” Dave said.
Josh nodded, walked forward.
The two duelists met in the center of the playing field; Grandpa watched them look over the others’ cards.
“You’re not giving me much options are you?” Jonathan said, taking the Salamandra card. With empty hands, Josh glanced at the three cards Jonathan had.
All of them were monsters. That was a good thing – if he didn’t draw one next turn he would at least have one ready. Now it was just a matter of which one to take. The first card was a small monster whose body resembled Volcanic Slicer’s head. That didn’t matter much – he needed to take Dave’s advice and judge it by its power. 100 ATK, 0 DEF. That didn’t seem very useful…
The second one looked far stronger – it looked like a massive blob made of molten lava. A cage hung from its chest, containing a person inside. It looked pretty cool. No, that didn’t matter. He needed to check its stats. 3000 ATK, 2500 DEF. Now that was more like it. Wait – it probably needs some Tributes to summon it, which would make it useless under his command. But, then again, Dave did say to take the card that could be used against him...
The last one was a mouse-like monster that looked like it had been infused with some magma. It was a vanilla-colored card, so that meant no effect. But if its stats were good, that wouldn’t make a difference. 500 ATK and DEF. It was easily the worst option there…
He made his choice. Josh carefully slipped the Lava Golem card out from Jonathan’s grip.
“’Bout time.” Jonathan turned his back and returned to his spot by the trees.
As he made his way back to his own spot, Josh read over the card he took.
Hey, this is better than I thought. He stopped, faced his opponent once again.
It lets me use my opponent’s monsters to summon it. That’ll leave him wide open.
“What’d you get?” Dave asked.
“It’s good. I have an idea,” Josh whispered.
“Volcanic Rocket, destroy his face-down monster. Volcanic Impact!”
Volcanic Rocket kicked off the ground, launching itself through the air. It stabbed its beak into the brown card, resulting in an explosion that kicked up dust from the ground. Volcanic Rocket flew out of the dust cloud, showing off its agile shape.
“Heh, it’s your turn.”
“Are you sure Josh?” Dave asked, peaking over his shoulder. “Let me see the card you too–”
“It got it,” Josh interrupted. “I know how to handle this.” He smiled. Blue-Winged Crown was his latest card. It didn’t have bad stats, but without an effect it wouldn’t be able to take on Volcanic Rocket. But for his plan, he didn’t need to battle it at all.
“Now to use
your card against you!” Josh held it out. “I offer your two monsters to summon the almighty Lava Golem!”
“Josh, no!” Dave nearly dove in to stop him, but he had already thrown the card down.
Grandpa gasped.
He tricked him!
Jonathan stared at his monsters; lava washed over Volcanic Rocket, soon dripping onto his face-down card as well. They melted into a pool of molten goo, which stewed together, swirling until two yellow eyes glared out of the puddle. Lava exploded out of the pool, consuming Jonathan entirely as it stretched upward until it was almost the size of building next to them. The lava shaped into a massive blob-like being, and a cage seeped through its chest, containing Jonathan inside. (
3000/2500)
“Now how do you like that!” Josh pointed, then immediately lowered his finger. Something was wrong.
“You idiot.” Jonathan cackled. “When Lava Golem is summoned, it’s summoned to the
opponent’s side of the field! This monster’s mine!”
“N-no!” Josh stumbled back. How could he have been so stupid!
“Josh! You didn’t read its effect did you?” Dave shouted.
“I-I did! But...” Josh shut his eyes tightly, shook his head. “I guess I didn’t read close enough.” He took his last card, held it near his ear. “I’ll make up for it though! I summon Blue-Winged Crown in Defe–”
Jonathan wagged a finger. “Sorry, but Lava Golem takes up your summon for the turn.”
No… This can’t be it. Now he’s wide open. Josh’s world spun out of control. Why did this have to happen to him? All he wanted to do was watch!
“Since you have no other cards to use, I guess you’re done.” Jonathan smiled and drew. [Jonathan LP: (3500 --> 4000)]
Lava Golem groaned, holding its colossal hands closer to its chest.
Josh eyed the golem.
What’s going on?
Molten lava oozed from the monster’s arms, dripping onto the cage underneath. It slimed down each bar, occasionally dripping onto Jonathan himself, who cringed as the liquid rock burned his flesh.
“Hehe,” Jonathan opened one eye, gritted his teeth into a smile. “The pain feels good.”
“What just happened?” Josh demanded.
“Lava Golem’s fee. As long as I control it, I take 1000 damage each turn. That’s what I was referring to when I was talking about powerful cards – too many things holding them back!” The vaporizing lava reflected in his eyes. [Jonathan LP: (4000 --> 3000)]
That’s a lot of damage each turn… Josh fumbled with the Blue-Winged Crown card.
If I can stall long enough I may actually be able to win.
“I think it’s time to use the gift you generously gave to me. I activate Salamandra!”
A flaming, serpentine dragon swirled out of the ground, wrapping Lava Golem with its body. The golem outstretched its arms, and the whole being erupted with an aura of fire. (
3000 --> 3700/2500)
Josh gulped.
“Lava Golem, strike at his Life Points! Magma Fist!”
Grandpa covered his eyes with his sleeve. Josh braced himself for the impact. Jonathan swung his fist across the air. Lava Golem hurled a punch at Josh simultaneously, as if its movements were linked to its master’s. A gooey, flaming punch struck the duelist, causing him to stumble backwards slightly.
“Agh!” Josh screamed; wisps of pain shot through his body.
“Round two!” Jonathan threw an uppercut; the Lava Golem mimicked him, shooting residual flames from its molten fingers. The punch crashed into Josh’s torso, toppling him over onto his back. [Josh LP: (5800 --> 2100)]
“Josh!” Dave shouted, watching his friend fly past him.
“Hahahaha! This is too much fun!” Jonathan relaxed his fists, Lava Golem did the same. Josh sat up, rubbing his head.
Dave faced him, angered. “You’re sick! Picking on an innocent person – this is power play!”
“You’re right.” Jonathan snickered, touching his pocket. “This is power play.” He eyed Josh, who had just started to stand again. “You can’t win. My cards are better, and my strategies are better. There’s no hope for you.”
Dave stepped forward, gripping his hat. “That’s it.” He held up his arm, flashing his deactivated Duel Disk. “I’m not gonna stand here while my best friend gets slaughtered by a flaming thief!”
Josh slowly lifted himself off the ground. His body ached everywhere. When he stood up a tight pain webbed on his shoulder blade. It probably bruised.
Jonathan’s smile widened. “I think you will…” he whipped out the gun, shot two bullets in quick succession. Dave leapt as dirt flew up by his feet; his hat flew off his head as he came back down. He slammed onto his rear, the hat landing a few feet behind him.
Josh got up, ran to his side. “Dave, no!”
“Get outta the way!” Jonathan shouted, gesturing for him to move beside Grandpa.
Dave carefully lifted himself off the ground.
“Are you alright?” Josh whispered. This had gotten far more dangerous than he had ever dreamed.
“Who cares about me?” Dave silently countered. “We can’t let him get away with this.” He slowly limped next to Grandpa, who helped him stabilize his balance.
“I suggest you call it quits right here. I mean, why should I do any more harm to an innocent young boy like yourself?” Jonathan mocked. “The worst I’m gonna do is steal some cards. Why go through any more pain for a few pieces of cardboard?”
What he said made sense. But…
Josh sent a weak glance to the shop. Grandpa and Dave, both barely standing, were staring at him, hopeful, no… that wasn’t it. They were fearful. Their lives were at stake – and that was something he couldn’t risk anymore. He stared at the ground, contemplating his decision. Under his foot, he noticed something. Dave’s hat. He picked it up, holding it firmly.
Jonathan watched on; raised an eyebrow.
“I’ve had enough of this!” Josh yelled, putting Dave’s hat on his head. “I don’t care how good you are or how bad I suck, I refuse to lose to
you!”
Jonathan smirked. “Then show me what you got, boy!”
“I activate Attack and Receive!” Josh outstretched his hand; the Trap Card rose on command. “When I take Battle Damage it sends 700 damage your way.”
“Heh, so what?” [Jonathan LP: (3000 --> 2300)] “It’s not gonna make a difference in the long run. Now go.”
Right. Josh held his hand on his deck, breathed in through his nose. So much pressure was on this next card. And – even if he drew a good one – he wasn’t sure he would be able to use it correctly.
It’s now or never.
He drew.
A Spell Card, featuring a golden grail, rested in between his fingertips, staying there as he read it over.
This might work… this might just work.
“What are you waiting for?” Jonathan asked impatiently.
Josh glared at him. “This!” He thrust the card into its slot. “I activate Cup of Ace!”
The golden grail materialized in the center of the field, magically filling up with water in an instant.
“Here’s how it works. The grail chooses one of us –” he pointed at himself, then at Jonathan, who listened intently – “and that player gets to draw two cards.”
That’s a very risky move, Grandpa thought.
It could easily backfire.
Josh waved his arm. “Now, choose!”
Silence swept across the playing field, followed by a light breeze that softly ruffled the trees. Everyone – Grandpa, Dave, Josh, Jonathan, and the giant creature towering over them – stared at the grail, expecting it to do something, but it never moved.
At that moment, a leaf danced through the air, guided by the wind, aimlessly floating in spiraling wonder. It passed both duelists, who traced its path with their gaze, until it finally landed in the tiny pool of water.
Both players leaned in to see.
The leaf pointed to Josh.
“Yes!”
Dave and Grandpa, with renewed energy, high-fived each other, then gave Josh a thumbs-up. Josh returned it; the holographic grail disintegrated, though its water remained, flowed towards the chosen duelist.
“Looks like I get the cards!”
“Not like it’s gonna make a difference.” Jonathan shrugged.
Josh slipped his two new cards out, tried to contain his eagerness. Both cards related to fire – Tremendous Fire, a Spell Card, and Raging Flame Sprite, a Monster Card. It wasn’t much, but now he knew what to do.
He really knew!
“Here we go!” Josh held out his next card. “First I activate Tremendous Fire!”
Three light-blue pixies descended from above, holding small embers in each hand. They circled the field, throwing them down, setting the ground on fire. The flames scattered and spread, whipped around aimlessly without any hope for control.
“Huh?” Jonathan backed up in his cage. “What is this?!”
“Tremendous Fire, of course.” Josh smirked. His first
real confident move. Ever. Dave couldn’t have been prouder. “When it’s activate you take 1000 damage while I only take 500!”
Flames lashed out at Jonathan, slipping past the cage’s bars, searing his worn clothes. [Jonathan LP: (2300 --> 1300)] He clutched his chest, grabbing onto a nearby bar with another hand. On the other side, a wave of fire crashed over Josh, drowning him in the intense heat. [Josh LP: (2100 --> 1600)] He cocked his head upwards, resurfacing as the flames died out.
Both players panted heavily, each glared at the other on the opposite side. Jonathan recomposed himself, and Josh adjusted Dave’s hat on his head.
“Not bad, kid.” Jonathan sighed, transformed it to anger. “But don’t think a flashy spell is gonna turn things around.”
Josh smiled. He had the lead now. And if he did his math right, Lava Golem would wipe out the rest of Jonathan’s Life Points in two turns. All he had to do was survive one last turn, and he would win.
He would
actually win.
“I place a monster face-down and end my turn.” He set his Blue-Winged Crown card onto his Duel Disk, kept his hand against the brown backing.
Just one more turn.
“Alright,” Jonathan said, drawing. “And remember, with Solemn Wishes out, I gain 500 Life Points since I drew.” [Jonathan LP: (1300 --> 1800)]
Josh’s heart stuttered. He
did forget about that card. And, now that he rapidly recalculated, he realized he needed to survive two more turns, not one. He could do it.
He had to.
Come on Josh. You got this. Dave inhaled through his nose, held his breath.
Believe Josh, Grandpa thought.
Josh clutched his fist.
I can do this.
It’s all over, Jonathan thought, staring at the card in his hand.
The second I discard this Volcanic Scattershot to activate Blaze Accelerator, he’ll lose nearly all of his Life Points... He lifted up the rest of his hand – specifically the monster he drew last turn.
Then I’ll offer my Lava Golem to summon Volcanic Hammerer, which’ll wipe out the rest.
Jonathan extended his arm, grinning madly. “This game is mine!”
Josh tried to hide his fear, failed. Dave and Grandpa gasped.
“I activate Blaz– ”
“Groooo….”
Huh?!
Both players looked up at the groaning magma monster. It stood still; its animation froze and the lava once flowing down its body halted in place. Static rippled out of the monster, then the other holograms began to flicker as well.
Josh looked on in disbelief. “What’s… going on?”
“His monster,” Grandpa said, awestruck. “Its effect hasn’t activated yet…”
“Groooa….”
Lava Golem’s animation resumed – it lifted its arms, only to have them crash back onto the ground. The creature flickered and flashed, before it vaporized into nothing.
“CARD READ ERROR,” Jonathan’s Card Analyzer said. “DAMAGE CALCULATOR DISENGAGED.” [Jonathan LP: (1800 --> 0)]
“
NO!” Jonathan squealed, flailing his arms around like a mad ape. “How could this happen?! It must be a glitch!”
Josh, though grateful, couldn’t help but stare at the defeated thief.
Rage burst out of Jonathan’s eyes. “
You!” He pulled out his gun again.
Josh reflexively jolted back.
“I will not be shown up by a rookie!” He tensed his hand, put pressure on the trigger.
“Jonathan,” a voice said through a tiny speaker hidden in his ear. “That was me. I needed to get your attention.”
Jonathan lowered the gun. A puzzled Josh sighed.
“Return to me now. I need you for the next phase of our plan.”
Josh, keeping his gaze on Jonathan’s gun, did his best to catch his breath.
Calmly, Jonathan put it away. “I’ll get you next time.” He pulled something out of his pocket, threw it onto the ground. Sparks shot upward, creating a veil of smoke.
“Wait!” Josh shouted, covering his eyes.
The smoke cleared; he was gone.
Dave ran to Josh’s side, with Grandpa walking behind him.
“Are you okay?”
“Who cares about me?” Josh said, laughing. “We’re alive – that’s all that matters!”
Dave smiled, laughed too.
“Here, I think this is yours.” Josh took off the hat, tossed it onto Dave’s head.
“Thanks.” The camouflage teenage quickly readjusted it.
“Josh!” Before Josh could even turn to look, Grandpa latched onto him. “You saved my shop!” He yelled tearfully. “How can I ever repay you?”
Josh tried to shake him off. “It’s alrigh–”
“I know!” Grandpa jumped off. “You said you wanted to build a deck, right? So I’ll give you a deck’s worth of cards, for free!”
Josh nearly declined, when Dave intervened.
“That’s sounds great.” He nudged Josh.
Grandpa bowed, clapped his hands together. “Are there any specific kinds of cards you would like? I’ll fetch them out right now. Just say the word!”
Uh... Josh put his hand on his chin. He may as well. Dave was gonna make him build one either way.
“I did like those FIRE cards,” Josh finally said, looking between the two. “And I also like these bird cards I kept drawing.” He took his deck out of his Duel Disk. “But I don’t think there’s any card in my deck that’s strong enough to take on a huge monster like that Lava Golem, so I’m gonna need a card like that.”
“You could base your deck around it, too.” Dave said. “Just like how I use Black Luster Soldier.”
“Yeah.” Josh nodded. “Oh, that reminds me.” He started looking through his deck. “While I was dueling that guy we noticed my deck didn’t have a way to deal with Spells and Traps.”
Grandpa nodded. “Right, you’ll definitely need to cover them.”
Josh sifted through his cards again, noticed his Monster Reborn card. That’s when he remembered something else. Something Elisa had told him.
“And I also like cards that Special Summon monsters, especially from the Graveyard.” He paused. “Is… that too much to ask?”
Grandpa smiled widely, clapped his hands again. “Of course not! I have just the card.” He rushed back into the shop; the other two followed.
He led them back to the customer service desk, where he began throwing boxes of cards over his shoulder, nearly hitting Josh in the head a few times with them.
“Ah!” Grandpa shouted, lifted up a card from the wreckage. “Here it is.” He turned around, sacredly handed it to him.
Josh took it with his fingertips, held it closer. It was a monster; a FIRE monster, too. The image itself depicted a phoenix majestically flapping its wings, with fire swirling from its head, wings and tail.
“Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys,” he read aloud.
“Yep, it’s a good card too,” Grandpa stated. “It can summon itself from the Graveyard if it’s destroyed by any means besides battle, and when it does – it wipes out all Spells and Traps on the field!”
“That’s perfect!” Josh shouted, presenting the card to Dave. “Thanks Mr. Muto.”
“No problem,” the old man winked. “And call me Grandpa.”
“Come on,” Dave said, gesturing towards the pile of cards on the floor. “Let’s start building that deck.”
~*~*~*~
Darkness cascaded down the tall steel doors as they slowly creaked open. Jonathan, the size of an ant compared to the doors, cautiously entered, alarmed by the slamming doors behind him. Shadows enveloped the room, and, though this did not surprise him, his heart rate quickened like the gradual beat of a drum.
“Hello, Jonathan.”
Jonathan approached the voice near the opposite wall. He could see the base of the throne, as well as the rigid outline of his master, but the rest of his features were obscured by the shade.
“Hello Master.” He bowed.
The voice waited for Jonathan to face him before speaking. “I’m sure wondering why I cut off your little game.”
“Yes.” He clutched his fists. “I
had those cards in my hands, and there was no chance that that kid was gonna wi– ”
“Relax, Jonny.”
Jonathan suddenly looked up, loosened his grip.
“I called you here because I have a use for your skills. You’re too important to fetch cards like an underling.”
A grave expression crossed Jonathan’s face. “You mentioned ‘the next phase’ is in motion?”
“Yes.” Jonathan could vaguely see a glimmer in his master’s eyes. “And I need your help, Jon.”
~*~*~*~
Card Analyzer activated…
Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …
… … …
Internal Error:
Cannot Access Card Database.