6Chapter 5: The Heat of Battle
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"Well, at least this is better than breathing sand," offered Dylan as the four friends trudged along the walled path that Joshua had made for them through the desert. Despite the comfortable shade they enjoyed in the morning and evening, the middle of the day was still dreadfully hot, which was made no better by the fact that water was of a finite supply.
"Koukin, can't you use your ninjician powers to get us some umbrellas or something?" Zero pleaded. Koukin looked at her sympathetically and began searching his pockets.
"Sorry, Zero," he answered regretfully, after having produced an eggplant, a silver locket, and a live rabbit. "I've only got my fan, and you don't want to be waving that constantly while you're walking. You'll just tire yourself out."
"I'm actually not bothered by the heat so much when I'm busy wondering how in the name of Arceus you manage to store a live rabbit in your pocket," marveled Dylan.
"Who's Arceus?" Kaje asked as he unwrapped a chunk of sawed-off cactus and began eating the mush that was inside.
"No idea," said Dylan with a shrug. "Hey! Stop eating my food! How did you even—"
"Keyboard," interrupted Kaje. "Also, Koukin's been teaching me at night, when it's not prudent to be spending extra energy by walking."
"Yet you can expend energy to learn how to steal food and keep animals in your pockets?" Zero asked, arching a brow.
"Eh, details," Kaje and Koukin said in unison with an identical shrug.
"Hey, look!" shouted Dylan suddenly, pointing in the direction they were walking. The end of the path was quite near, and it opened onto a vast city. At the edges of the city were ramps that led to several levels of raised walkways that were made of some kind of transparent, tinted material. The bottom level of the city had no areas for walking, and was paved with sandstone. Vehicles hummed through the streets at the bottom level, apparently running on solar energy. Above the city was a solid sheet of the same material that made up the walkways, casting the entire place in a pleasant cool shade.
"I would presume that this is Desolas," Kaje pointed out. Suddenly, there came a rush of wind that managed to kick up a bit of the packed sand that made up the path the four travelers were walking along. Looking up, the group spotted a figure in red and gold armor. The style was similar to that of Joshua's Disk Mode armor, but instead of the skull symbol, this person had the profile of a hawk emblazoned in gold across its chest. The person was soaring overhead thanks to a pair of wide wings that were connected to its back.
"Look out!" shouted Zero as the figure folded back its wings and slid into a dive that sent it hurtling down, right at the group. Everyone scattered to the walls of the path as the figure skidded to a landing, wobbling on its legs and fluttering its wings.
"Watch where you're diving, there!" Dylan scolded indignantly. "You could've killed one of us!"
"Sorry," the armored figure said sheepishly, the voice revealing that the figure was male. He stood up straight, folded his wings back, and the armor quickly folded into a red Duel Disk with the golden hawk insignia on it. The wearer was a shrimpy-looking teenage boy with shaggy dirty blonde hair. His face was expressionless, and his eyes were squinted, as if he was trying very hard to focus on something in the distance. "I'm not really used to having the extra arms, so landing with the Duel Glider is always a bit of a mess."
"Oh, come on!" raged Dylan. "Can just anyone use those stupid Disk Mode things?"
"Actually, yes," the boy answered. "They did a demonstration on it the first day of the tournament, in the City Zone. I thought everyone had gone to it."
"No, we… sorta left right after our first Duel," Kaje explained, scratching his head. "I didn't figure we'd need to do much in the City Zone."
"More like you were so excited to go, you didn't bother to make any preparations," pointed out Zero.
"Fair enough," admitted Kaje. "How's the Disk Mode thing supposed to work, anyway?"
"It's actually pretty simple," the boy said. "If you'd like, we could have a Duel, and I can walk one of you through the instructions on how to activate one."
"Sounds good to me," Koukin offered. "No Accolades, though. I'm not putting a bet on a practice Duel."
"Understandable," agreed the boy. "By the way, my name's Tobias."
"Koukin," replied Koukin. "Now, let's Duel!" At the sound of his words, the Duel Disks activated.
"If you don't mind, I'll go first," Tobias said, drawing his cards. "I'll place a card face-down, and that will end my turn."
"That's it, huh?" asked Koukin as he surveyed his opening hand. "All right, then. I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke, in Attack Mode." The gray-clad warrior appeared from the card image, spinning the kunai he held. "Now, I think I'll upgrade those kunai he's got by activating the Axe of Despair." A hand-axe with a round head appeared, but Tobias held out his hand in a halting gesture.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass judgment on that activation," he said apologetically. "In fact, this decision is so solemn, it'll cost me half of my Life Points." The face-down card was flipped up, revealing a bearded, robed man. Tobias's Life Points dropped to 4000 as the axe shattered. "This completes the first step in activating a Disk Mode during a Duel. Your Life Points have to be 4000 or less."
"Seems reasonable," noted Koukin. "That, however, leaves you open for an attack. Sasuke, have at him!" The master ninja jumped into the air and spun, letting fly both of his kunai.
"Next, activating a Disk Mode takes some concentration, but once you know how to do it, it's not too hard," Tobias continued. "Disk Mode, activate!" Like what happened before with Joshua, Tobias's Duel Disk began to disassemble, and his cards were laid out on a floating sheet of metal. The remaining parts of the Duel Disk assembled themselves into the red and gold armor Tobias had been seen in earlier. "Once you've activated the Disk Mode armor, you can then decide which mode you'll use. Each one requires the banishment of cards from a different area. Since I have no cards on the field, no Extra Deck, and only one card in my Graveyard, I'm limited to the Duel Sword and the Duel Shield. I'm going to activate the Duel Sword by banishing all of the cards in my hand." As the five cards were placed in the banished pile on Tobias's field, a shining gold and red sword materialized in his hand.
"I see, so there are several activation conditions involved, and even then, you're limited to what you have access to," Kaje observed. "That means you'd have to plan out which Disk Modes you're going to use in your Duels."
"Exactly," confirmed Tobias. "Not to mention that you can only use one Disk Mode per Duel. Also, you're summoning yourself as a monster to the field, and if you get destroyed, you lose the Duel."
"Seems pretty risky," Zero added warily.
"The effects you gain can be well worth it, though," Tobias assured. "Speaking of which, I don't suppose you want to go through with your attack, Koukin?"
"Not especially…" passed Koukin after noting that Tobias's Attack Points were 2500. "I think I'd rather set a card face-down and end my turn."
"That's fine by me," Tobias said as he drew a new card. "Now to show you what the Duel Sword is capable of. Take this!" The scrawny Duelist swung the sword in a wide arc, sending a wave of energy at Koukin that shattered his face-down card. "Once per turn, I can destroy one card on the field, but I can't declare a direct attack. Naturally, I'd rather have an attack that goes through, and that's why I destroyed your Mirror Force instead of your monster."
"He's good, I'll give him that," Koukin admitted as he placed the destroyed card into his Graveyard slot. "That's the kind of strategy I'd normally use."
"Do you have predator instincts, too?" asked Tobias curiously. Koukin shook his head, and Tobias's face showed just the slightest signs of disappointment. "Oh, well. Didn't really expect to find any others like me here, anyway. Time for me to attack, by the way. My original Attack Points are equal to half of my Life Points, and this sword gives me an extra 500 Attack Points, so you'll be taking 700 points of damage." Tobias ran forward and swung his weapon furiously at Sasuke, who tried futilely to block the blows from the long golden blade, but ultimately shattered, taking Koukin's Life Points down to 7300.
"I'll allow it," he said, not even wincing at the damage.
"Good, because I'm going to go ahead and forfeit the Duel," said Tobias nonchalantly. Instantly, his armor folded into itself, absorbed his field and cards, and attached itself to his arm, once again a Duel Disk.
"No mincing around for you, huh?" Koukin asked, his voice giving off a mixture of amusement and exasperation.
"No time, really," answered Tobias coolly. "Not if I'm going to teach you guys how to activate Disk Modes outside of a Duel and make it to the Desolas Cup in time to enter."
"Oh, yeah, there was a sub-tournament we were going to go to," Kaje recalled with a snap of his fingers.
"Yeah, people are kind of anticipating it," said Tobias. "Not to mention that it's in the center of town, I can't really fly inside the city, and the entry cutoff is tonight. I'm sorta in a hurry."
"So teach us how to use the Disk Modes outside of a Duel, already!" Dylan urged. "I wanna learn fast, so I can rematch with Joshua and get him back for that cheap victory!"
"If you're gonna learn fast, you're gonna have to learn how to focus," Tobias explained. "Because there are no cards or Life Points outside of a Duel, activating a Disk Mode takes a lot of concentration and energy. The trade-off is that you get to use them whenever the mood suits you, provided you have the energy to pull it off. Since I was a hawk before I came here, I've got a leg up on most folks on the concentration thing. The way I see it, the only useful modes are the Glider and the Tank. Nothing else really works outside of the game, since there's no need for swords or shields or any of that. Speaking of which…" Tobias stepped back from the group and spread his arms, allowing his Duel Disk to reassemble as armor and wings around him. "Before I go, each of you try the Disk Mode, and see if you can do it." As he stood watching, each Duelist closed his or her eyes in concentration. Koukin managed to form the armor, and a magician's staff appeared in his hand. Zero and Kaje were able to form roughly half of the armor, and Dylan was able to turn his Duel Disk into a green blaster with streaks of blue and a snake eye on each side.
"Two out of four ain't bad," Kaje said with a shrug. "to steal the song of a certain someone."
"Keep working on it," laughed Tobias. "Anyway, I gotta fly. Maybe I'll catch you guys at the tournament, and we can Duel for real." With that, he flapped his wings, caught a warm breeze, and shot off into the air, heading toward Desolas.
XXX
"How are we supposed to find anything in this stupid city?" Zero growled as the group wandered aimlessly through the raised streets. Below them, the cars, trucks, and vans whirred by almost noiselessly.
"Normally, I'd suggest we buy a map," suggested Kaje. "However, it seems finding something as simple as a convenience store or a rest stop may be a chore in this huge city."
"Well, considering we've been walking around for roughly three hours, that much is fairly obvious," Koukin pointed out. "Have I mentioned that I don't care for walking around too much?"
"Seconded," cosigned Kaje.
"Wimps," Zero and Dylan said in unison. Kaje and Koukin seemed about to retort when they turned a corner that opened onto a large, open space. In that space stood a large crowd of people, at the front of which stood a woman with very dark skin. She was dressed in a dark green robe, and a hood kept her hair and eyes hidden.
"Something tells me this might be the entry area for the Desolas Cup," Kaje surmised. "I don't know who that lady up there is, but she looks very official."
"That could be because she's holding a clipboard," offered Zero.
"That might do it," Koukin agreed.
"Are you guys aware that they're handing her their Accolades?" asked Dylan nervously. His friends nodded simultaneously. "I'm a little unsure about this. I thought a sub-tournament would just be a chance to Duel a bunch of people, not a big gamble."
"An entry fee would make some sense, though," reasoned Koukin. "I mean, we had to pay money back in our world if we wanted to enter an official tournament."
"Hence why I never entered them," Kaje pointed out. "I see where Dylan's coming from, but the game seems a lot more balanced here. I haven't seen anyone use a Deck that completely sweeps anyone else."
"Don't you still need a new Deck?" Zero asked, causing Kaje to look at his Duel Disk sadly.
"What kind of an idiot loses his Deck?" asked an olive-skinned woman standing at the back of the group of people in the plaza. She was about Zero's height, and her long hair was jet black.
"The same idiot who bet it in a Duel with a group of space-nomads who are trying to get their world back from a race of alien parasites," Kaje sighed. The woman raised an eyebrow at him, and after a moment, she let out a sigh of her own.
"Things weren't ever completely normal, here in Desolas," she said resignedly. "but until a week ago, at least the only people telling stories like that were insane. Now we've got talking animals, transforming Duel Disks, and suddenly, anyone with a Duel Disk is mysteriously bankrupt."
"What do you mean, 'anyone with a Duel Disk is mysteriously bankrupt'?" asked Koukin. The woman sighed again.
"Outworlders, huh?" she retorted. "No sense trying to explain, if you don't live here. I could show you to the nearest card shop, though."
"That would be most appreciated, ma'am," accepted Kaje, doing a deep bow and tapping three fingers against his throat.
"Oh, cut that out!" the woman chided, taking hold of the neck of Kaje's shirt and dragging him back up to his full height. "If you're going to thank me, don't make a spectacle of it, okay? By the way, the name's Maya. I'm going to have to ask you not to call me 'ma'am' ever again."
"Now that I know your name, I won't have to," replied Kaje with a grin. "Now, lead the way."
As it turned out, the nearest card shop was only about a block from where the contestants were signing up for the Desolas Cup, and it was fully equipped with all manner of cards from several different worlds, as well as a machine for creating one's own personalized cards.
"Hey, this should come in handy," Dylan noted, approaching a computer terminal with a keyboard. "It looks like a card catalogue."
"That it is, sir," confirmed the sales clerk, an old man with white hair that had receded most of the way. "The shops in Desolas have been equipped with every card currently in existence from all involved worlds. However, I must insist that you take no more than ninety cards, lest you void the contestants' reprieve."
"Contestants' what now?" asked Kaje.
"It's very simple, sir," the old man replied in his wheezy voice. "Contestants in the Gauntlet of Eternity are exempt from all expenses here in Duelia. Though this comes as an inconvenience to most business owners, we are a generally hospitable folk, so we don't mind lending a helping hand."
"That's quite generous of you," Koukin admired. "My friend's Deck was actually recently stolen, and we were hoping to replace it."
"By all means," nodded the clerk enthusiastically. "Just pick the cards from the catalogue, print the list, and I'll get the cards for you."
"Thanks," said Kaje as he sat at the terminal and began to type. Within a few minutes, he had printed the list and handed it to the clerk.
"Would you like a set of sleeves with that, sir?" the clerk asked. "Each Deck purchase comes with a custom set, and I see no reason to exclude you." Kaje accepted gratefully, and was shown to a machine with a touch screen, on which a blank rectangle was displayed. After several minutes of designing, Kaje printed the sleeves. By this time, the clerk had come back with the requested cards. Kaje took the cards, fitted them in the new sleeves, and inserted them into his Duel Disk.
"Thanks a lot for your help," said Kaje with a nod to the clerk. "With this new Deck, I'll be able to enter the Desolas Cup."
"Jolly good, sir," the clerk approved.
"So what cards did you get?" asked Maya as the group walked back to the plaza. "I was busy looking at some cards for my Extra Deck, so I didn't get a chance to see what your new Deck was going to be."
"I'm afraid you've missed your chance, then," Kaje teased. "You'll have to wait until the sub-tournament to see it."
"That's fine," Maya retorted. "I was going to show you my Deck before the tournament, but if you'd rather treat me as an adversary, I guess that's your prerogative."
"You know what they say," started Koukin.
"Something about a toaster?" Zero asked.
"No," Koukin answered as Dylan put his hand to his forehead. "I was going to say that rivalry is conducive for good chemistry."
"You mean if I Duel against Maya, I get to balance equations?" asked Kaje in mock innocence as Maya hid her face in her hands.
"Oh, you'll balance equations, all right," said Koukin. "Wink, wink. Wink."
"Oh, brother…" Dylan grumbled.
"If I had a desk, my head would be hitting it," Zero added. Just then, they reentered the plaza to find that the crowd had thinned considerably. Only eight other people were gathered there, not including the robed woman with the clipboard.
"I wonder why everyone left," thought Kaje aloud.
"Most of them left after they heard about the entry fee," said Tobias, turning around. "In order to enter, you need to put up three Accolades, and a lot of people spent so much time getting here that they haven't been Dueling enough to have more than the starting five Accolades."
"I can relate," Dylan complained. "Stupid Joshua…"
"It does seem risky," remarked Koukin. "Out of the four of us, I have only seven Accolades. If any of you entered, you'd only have two left, except for Dylan, who'd have one."
"It's safe to say that the winner would get all of the wagered Accolades, though," Kaje pointed out. "That would award the winner a pretty good advantage over the other competitors."
"I say it's worth it," offered Maya. "I've lived in this freaking city my whole life, and I'm ready to take a few chances."
"I like her spirit," Zero said emphatically. "I'm going for it!"
"I don't know," muttered Dylan. "I don't really want to lose this tournament and end up with one lousy Accolade." Koukin got a thoughtful look and seemed to ponder for a moment or two, before reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his Accolade book. He opened and took one of the sparkling gems from its pocket.
"Here," he said, holding it out to Dylan. "If you have two Accolades, you're good for at least two Duels after the tournament."
"Are you sure?" asked Dylan, taking the gem and turning it over between his fingers. "I wouldn't want to impose."
"It's no imposition at all," Koukin assured him. "Even having given you one, I can enter the tournament and still have three left. That should suffice until I can get some more, I think."
"So it's settled," decided Kaje. "We'll all enter the tournament."
"Good," the robed woman said in a strong voice. "Because with you five entering, we'll have enough Accolades and Duelists to begin the tournament."
"It is getting close to evening, isn't it?" wondered Maya.
"Prevening, actually," Kaje corrected.
"What?"
"The time in between afternoon and evening," explained Zero. "Prevening."
"I've never heard of that."
"It'll catch on," assured Kaje. "It fills a desperate need."
"Sure it does."
"It does," Kaje agreed. The exchange was interrupted by the robed woman, who cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention.
"If you are done discussing meaningless terminology, I need your names and entry fees," she said. Each Duelist gave his or her name and handed over their three Accolades apiece. Once all of that had been done, the woman walked to the edge of the open area, and all eyes turned on her. "Welcome, Duelists! I am Dunia, sovereign governor of the Desert Zone, and I will be the judge of the Desolas Cup. Now that we have our roster, I will proceed to determine the matchups." Dunia held out her hands, and sand began to blow in from the desert outside the city. It came from all directions, buffeting the contestants as it collected in front of Dunia. When the process was complete, Dunia held a twelve-sided die comprised of sandstone. She hefted the stone into the air, and it rolled across the glassy plaza. When it stopped, it displayed the number six. "The first Duelist to step forward shall be contestant number six: Lea." A tall man wearing a long black trench coat stepped to one side of the plaza. The ornamented coat concealed most of his body, except for his black-clad hands and feet, and his thin, sneering face. A mass of red hair swept backward from his forehead in a multitude of sharp points. His Duel Disk was a bright red-orange, with a black chakram insignia on its face. Dunia held her hands out, and the die levitated back to her. She rolled it again, and the number displayed was eleven. "Lea's opponent will be contestant number eleven: Zero." Zero stepped to the opposite side of the plaza, while the other eleven people stayed at the edges.
"Good luck, Zero!" Koukin cheered.
"Thanks!" said Zero a bit nervously as her Duel Disk, which was black with three cobalt slashes of flame, activated, along with Lea's.
"Let's Duel!" they shouted, and the Life Point counters were set.
"Ladies first," Lea invited, giving Zero a come-on gesture after he drew his first five cards.
"For such a sarcastic-looking person, you sure are polite," noted Zero, drawing her opening hand.
"Hey, looks can be deceiving," Lea said with a grin. "I've always been a loose cannon, but I like to think that I've got a sense of honor."
"Good to know," acknowledged Zero. "I start by summoning Naturia Strawberry, in Attack Mode!" An upside-down strawberry whose stem made up its body appeared and opened its big pinkish-red eyes as its Attack Point display popped up, showing 1600. "I'll also set two cards face-down. That's it for my turn."
"I activate the Spell Card 'Blaze Accelerator'!" Lea announced after drawing his sixth card. A blue turret on a tripod materialized in front of him. "If I've got a Pyro monster in my hand with 500 Attack Points or less, I can send it straight to the Graveyard to get rid of a monster you control. Problem is, I can't attack if I do that. Got it memorized?"
"I guess so," replied Zero. "although I think it's a bit more important that you have it memorized."
"Hmm… I suppose you're right," Lea allowed. "No one likes a smartass, though. Now it's my turn to summon, so I'll bring out Volcanic Slicer, in Attack Mode!" A bipedal reptile with silvery armored scales appeared in a burst of flame, its Attack Points display showing 1800. It turned its eyeless head from side to side, seemingly trying to judge its surroundings by sound.
"Thanks for Normal Summoning," crowed Zero. "When you do, my Strawberry gets 100 Attack Points times the level of your monster!" The strawberry sank its body into the ground and squeezed its eyes shut in concentration. As it did this, it grew considerably larger, and its Attack Points shot up to 2000. "Now, since you Normal Summoned a monster, I can Special Summon Naturia Cosmobeet from my hand!" A round brown beet with stubby limbs and flowers growing from its head appeared next to Naturia Strawberry. Its Attack Points totaled 1000.
"Cosmobeet!" squeaked Kaje, clapping his hands and hopping up and down.
"It's kinda cute, I guess, but why are you so excited?" Maya wondered.
"Don't ask," advised Koukin before Kaje or Dylan could say anything.
"Look at that," Lea observed. "You set up a nice little monster for me to burn with my Slicer, but those two face-downs have me a bit wary. Instead of attacking, I'll just activate Volcanic Slicer's special ability. As long as I don't attack, I can have him deal you a whopping 500 points of damage." The armored reptile inhaled and breathed out a fireball that cruised over Zero's monsters and hit Zero in the face, taking her Life Points down to 7500. "Now that that's done, I'll go ahead and set a couple face-downs of my own and end my turn."
"Oh, no, 500 damage," despaired Zero sarcastically. "Since your turn ended, my Strawberry's Attack Points go back to normal." The red fruit shuddered as it shrank to normal size. "Now, I'll tune my Cosmobeet and Strawberry together to Synchro Summon Naturia Barkion!" Cosmobeet turned into a brown ball of light that spun around Strawberry, which became an additional mass of brown light. They swirled together and solidified into a long four-legged dragon with green and brown scales. It whipped its tail back and forth, opened its mouth, and roared as its Attack Points total appeared above it, showing 2500. "Barkion, attack Volcanic Slicer!" The dragon began to run forward, but Lea flipped up a card, and a metal figure jumped up in front of Barkion.
"Before you can do that, I'm activating my Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," he informed. "Once per turn, I can use it to negate one of your attacks. It then flips back face-down."
"Wrong!" countered Zero. "By removing two cards from my Graveyard, I can negate a Trap Card you activate and destroy it. Good thing I needed two monsters to Synchro Summon." The two cards changed slots in Zero's Duel Disk, and Barkion continued its charge. As it rammed its head into Volcanic Slicer, the silvery reptile fell backward into a fiery vortex that appeared next to Lea's Blaze Accelerator.
"Upon my Slicer's demise, I'm activating my other Trap Card, which I needed to bait you into leaving alone," Lea said, eliciting a growl from Zero. "This, my friend, is Backfire, and it deals you 500 damage every time a Fire monster is destroyed." The vortex swirled and pulsed before sending a streak of flame at Zero, hitting her and taking her Life Points down to 7000 as Lea's Life Points dropped to 7300.
"That's gotta be annoying," Maya commented. "Lea seems to have the right moves to keep Zero's Life Points just below his." Koukin nodded.
"She'll have to pull out some drastic maneuvers if she wants to stay ahead of him," he added.
"It's lockdown and removal versus removal and burn damage," Kaje put in. "They'll both have some trouble keeping things on the field."
"I end my turn," Zero grumbled.
"I'll trade up my Blaze Accelerator for a Tri-Blaze Accelerator," announced Lea, sending his Spell Card to the Graveyard and playing another. The blue turret was engulfed in fire and emerged with a shiny silver sheen and two extra barrels. "Now, I can use any Pyro monster in my hand to destroy your monsters, and you'll take 500 damage for each time I do. As usual, though, I can't attack."
"Great…" sighed Zero.
"It is, actually," Lea continued. "I think I'll use it right now and discard my Volcanic Counter to destroy your Barkion." A flaming red quadruped with a dragon head leaped from Lea's hand, promptly shrinking into a fireball that was absorbed into the three-barreled turret. The weapon then fired, sending a barrage of small fireballs that caused Barkion to explode and Zero's Life Points to tick down to 6500. "Next, I'll set a monster face-down and that'll do it."
"I'm gonna kill that stupid turret!" Zero shouted. "I activate Mystical Space Typhoon!" From the sky, a dark patch appeared, from which a storm of rain and lightning was released that struck the Tri-Blaze Accelerator and shattered it. "Next, I activate the Double Summon Spell Card, so I can summon Naturia White Oak and Naturia Vein!" A white oak with small eyes, a goofy grin, and flowers on its branches grew up from the ground. From its branches dropped a monster with a leaf for a head that sported a creepy grin. Its black body was concealed by a mass of leaves. "With these two monsters, I can make sure you won't get any more of those Blaze Accelerators out. I tune White Oak and Vein together to Synchro Summon Naturia Beast!" Just as Cosmobeet and Strawberry had done earlier, White Oak and Vein turned to light and combined to form a white tiger with tree trunks for legs. On its neck, back, and ankles grew tufts of leaves. The monster growled menacingly as its Attack Points display showed up above its head, reading 2200. "Naturia Beast, take care of his face-down monster!" Lea's card flipped up, revealing a round turret standing on two legs. Zero's monster leaped forward and swung one of its big tree bark paws, catching the turret's leg and making it fall over and shatter.
"Why, thank you," Lea said with a bow. "First, my Backfire will deal you some more damage." The flaming vortex pulsed and sent another streak of flame at Zero, bringing her Life Point total to 6000. "Next, my Volcanic Blaster's effect lets me place a Volcanic monster on the top of my Deck. I'll select Volcanic Queen." Lea's Duel Disk shuffled his cards, placing the selected card on top.
"Well, I'm stuck," sighed Zero. "Your turn."
"Lea certainly makes for a dangerous opponent," Kaje said, scratching his chin idly. "Theoretically, if he keeps stalling with Defense Position monsters, he can whittle Zero down without taking any damage himself."
"Gee, thanks for the support!" Zero yelled.
"I only meant that this would be a challenge," defended Kaje. "Defeating him is a simple matter of overpowering his defenses to compensate for the damage you'll take for destroying his monsters."
"Which I'm sure you can do!" Dylan cheered to break up the argument.
"What encouraging friends you have," mused Lea. "Kinda reminds me of the friends I've made through my experiences with Organization XIII. I'm sure they're probably out saving the universe right now."
"And you're not helping them because…?" Maya prodded.
"Hey, I've always got an agenda," the redhead assured her with a sneaky grin. "Speaking of which, here's your chance to overpower me, Zero. I'm sacrificing your Naturia Beast to summon Volcanic Queen on your side of the field."
"Hey!" Zero protested as the verdant tiger was shredded into pixels, to be replaced by a reddish-orange serpentine dragon with two arms and a pair of large wings. The fiery monster screeched triumphantly as its Attack Points display materialized, reading 2500. "Put my Beast back!"
"Can't, sorry," denied Lea. "Now, with the Volcanic Queen on your side, you're allowed to sacrifice monsters during your turn to deal me 1000 points of damage for each one. However, at the end of your turn, you have to sacrifice a monster, or you'll be taking 1000 points of damage yourself. Got it memorized?"
"Yes!" Zero said through gritted teeth.
"Good, 'cause I can't actually summon anything once I've played Volcanic Queen," Lea continued. "That being said, I'm gonna have to end my turn."
"I summon Naturia Guardian!" yelled Zero exasperatedly. A giant brown tree bearing red fruits sprouted from the floor of the plaza. A small face became visible on its trunk as its Attack Point total was revealed to be 1600. "Now I can pull ahead of you! Volcanic Queen, attack Lea directly!" The dragon flapped its wings to gain some altitude and swooped down at Lea, slashing at him with flaming claws and taking his Life Points down to 4800. "Now, Naturia Guardian—"
"Ah, ah, ah," halted Lea. "Since you dealt me Battle Damage, I'm going to deal you some. By removing the Volcanic Counter from my Graveyard, I can copy the Battle Damage over to you." Lea's Graveyard slot opened, releasing a blast of fire that hit Zero and sent her Life Points plummeting to 3500.
"You bastard!" raged Zero. "Guardian, attack!" The giant tree shook, and a spiky root rose from the ground underneath Lea, bringing his Life Points down to 3200. "Your turn."
"Don't forget," Lea reminded her. "you need to choose between your Naturia Guardian and your Life Points."
"I choose my Life Points, I guess," mumbled Zero. Volcanic Queen promptly wrapped its body around Naturia Guardian, engulfing it in flames and causing it to disappear.
"First, I activate a Spell Card called Solidarity," Lea said after drawing his next card. "Since I've got nothing but Pyro monsters in my Graveyard, all Pyro monsters I control gain 800 Attack Points. To show you, I'll summon Volcanic Rocket." A silver reptilian rocket with red wings flew up from a burst of flames, and its Attack Points started at 1900, then jumped up to 2700. "When it's summoned, I get to add a Blaze Accelerator to my hand from my Deck." Lea's Duel Disk spit out the appropriate card, and Lea instantly put it into the card slot, causing another blue turret to appear. "Of course, I'm not going to bother attacking, so it's your move once again."
"I set a card face-down and end my turn," said Zero simply, clearly disappointed with her lack of options.
"Don't forget, you need to sacrifice a monster, or suffer the consequences," Lea reminded her. "So, which'll it be, kiddo?"
"I'll take the damn damage," chose Zero begrudgingly. Volcanic Queen turned and spat and fireball that hit Zero in the stomach, taking her Life Points down to 2500.
"I'll sacrifice my Volcanic Rocket for a little number I like to call Volcanic Hammerer," informed Lea as he took his next card. The rocket was engulfed in flames, out of which stepped a red-orange bipedal reptile with a dinosaur's head and a flaming tail. It grinned hungrily at Zero's field as its Attack Points display appeared, showing first 2400, then 3200. "Now to activate its special power," Lea continued. "Instead of attacking, I can have my Hammerer deal you 200 points of damage for each Volcanic monster in my Graveyard. Let's see… There's Slicer, Blaster, and now Rocket. That'll be 600 Life Points." The humanoid monster breathed a fireball into its hand and threw it like a baseball, hitting Zero in the face and sending her Life Points down to 1900. "My, my. Looks like I've taken the lead. It's your move, Zero."
"I Flip Summon my Naturia Cherries!" she announced proudly. A pair of cherries with feminine eyes, each adorned with a cherry blossom, dropped down from a tree that quickly grew from the ground. The tree promptly withered once the cherries were in place. "Next, I'll activate my Trap Card, DNA Surgery!" Zero flipped up one of her face-down cards, and Volcanic Hammerer's skin changed from red to green, as did Volcanic Queen's.
"What's going on?" asked Lea, looking nervous as Volcanic Hammerer's arms sprouted leaves and vines.
"This is the first part of my master plan," Zero explained. "See, not all of my monsters are Plant-type monsters, which is pretty unfortunate. So, I slipped a DNA Surgery into my Deck for just such an occasion."
"And what kind of occasion is that?" worried Lea.
"The occasion where I need a Plant monster that can destroy the entire field," Zero pointed out. "Now, I'll tune my Naturia Cherries with your Volcanic Queen!" Naturia Cherries became a ball of brown light that spun around Volcanic Queen, who became a ball of red light. They swirled together and solidified into a black dragon with red flower-like wings and many thorned tendrils. As soon as it was done materializing, its skin turned green, and its Attack Point display read 2400. "I Synchro Summon Black Rose Dragon!" The dragon screeched and flapped its wings, causing a storm of rose petals to kick up. "When she's Synchro Summoned, I have the option of destroying every single card on the field, but I'm going to activate one of my Trap Cards as a second chain link to Black Rose Dragon's effect! I equip Black Rose Dragon with the Plant Food Chain Trap Card!" Zero's other card flipped up, and her dragon shoved one of its tendrils into the ground like a root as its Attack Points rose to 2900. "Now, with all of my cards in place, Black Rose's effect can resolve." The storm of rose petals became an outright typhoon, encompassing the entire plaza. When it cleared, all of the cards were gone.
"What was the point of that?" shouted Lea exasperatedly.
"The point was that I was able to destroy my Plant Food Chain by card effect," explained Zero. "When that happens, I can summon a Plant monster from my Graveyard, like Naturia Strawberry!" The upside-down strawberry grew from the ground and took a clumsy fighting stance. "Next, I'd like to point out that I haven't Normal Summoned this turn, and I've got another Strawberry in my hand." A second strawberry grew from the ground and stood next to its doppelganger.
"You've gotta be kidding me…" Lea complained. "I'm about to get beaten by pieces of fruit?"
"Damn straight!" cheered Zero. "Naturia Strawberries, attack Lea directly for the win!" The sentient berries ran forward and tackled Lea, sending his Life Points ticking all the way down to zero.
"All that time, I could've attacked and finished things earlier," remarked Lea. "Your field control strategy had me thinking you were ready with a Mirror Force or something."
"Maybe, but my Trap Cards would've worked with any monster, so I could power up my monsters and save them from being destroyed in battle," Zero pointed out.
"Great job, Zero!" encouraged Kaje.
"Very nice use of card chains," Koukin agreed. "I wasn't aware you were carrying a DNA Surgery."
"That's what Side Decks are for," Zero reminded him.
"I have to admit, that was pretty good," said Lea, holding his hand. "even though I'm out my three Accolades. Kudos, kiddo."
"Stop calling me 'kiddo'," Zero requested. "The name's Zero. Got it memorized?"
0:359:18:27:54
Yeah, this took me awhile, but writing a Duel the right way is pretty difficult when you can't see the cards for yourself. I guess it's a bit short for this version of the story, but I didn't want to drag it out. Expect there to be a couple of Duels per chapter until the Desolas Cup is done. There are twelve contestants, and a loser's bracket, so that's another thirteen Duels to write, and I don't feel like dragging this out for thirteen chapters. Thanks for reading, and if you read, please review!