Reaper of Despair
03-14-2005, 02:43 PM
Hello again, everyone out there in the real world. I have looked over my fic and quickly realized that some of you are right; it is starting to look a lot like Battle City. But I already have up to episode 55 done, so there’s not much I can do about it. I can promise you this, though. At the end of the finals, that’s where it breaks away from being like Battle City. But for now, this is what I’ve got, so enjoy.
Episode 39: Through the Flames
The sun was rapidly moving in the evening sky. According to the large clock in the town square, it was now 6:47, meaning that there was plenty of time before the tournament ended. But time wasn’t an issue for one blonde duelist, who was facing down an enemy of whom he knew nothing about. But one thing was for sure: she knew a lot about him.
“Alright, I accept your challenge, Niesha. And I expect some answers when this duel is done,” Joey declared as he activated his DD2.
“Let’s not focus on what will happen at the end of this duel, but instead, let’s think about the duel itself, shall we? Now, since I challenged, I get to pick, and I’ll go first.”
Joey nodded and drew his opening hand of five cards, and Neisha pulled her first five, along with the sixth card for the start of her turn, and the duel.
(Joey: 6000) (Niesha: 6000)
Niesha barely took one glance at her hand before playing her cards. Joey shrugged his shoulders at that. He figured that either she was extremely positive that this would be a great move, or she wasn’t a good strategist. “I’ll just place one card face down and summon Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) in attack mode to end my turn.”
A simple brown backed hologram appeared, followed by a fierce serpentine dragon that appeared to be made completely of flames. Two horns stuck out of the monsters head, just above two narrow green eyes. Joey shrugged and started to draw, but before he could, the Solar Flare Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a ball of flame that struck the blonde duelist, knocking him back.
(Joey: 5500) (Niesha: 6000)
“Oops, did I forget to mention that my dragon does an automatic 500 points of damage to your life points during the end of each of my turns? I should do better to remember that in the future,” Niesha said, innocently biting on one of her nails.
Joey wondered whether or not she did it on purpose as he drew, but he had no time to mull over it. He had to take out that dragon before it did some real damage. “I’ll summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode!” In a flash, a bronze skinned warrior in a golden armor chest plate and spiked helmet appeared on Joey’s side of the field. “Axe Raider, cut down the Solar Flare Dragon!”
The warrior unsheathed an axe from its back and charged forward, ready to slice through the monster in its path. And that’s just what it did. Joey’s monster swung its axe downward and made a clean cut through the dragon’s neck. Then, Niesha pressed an activation button, just before her monster shattered.
(Joey: 5500) (Niesha: 5800)
Suddenly, Joey was struck by yet another ball of flame that came from Niesha’s side of the field. He looked up and Niesha’s face up trap card was his only explanation. “Allow me to introduce you to my Backfire trap card. It deals you 500 points of damage when a Fire attribute monster on my side of the field is destroyed. So, my dragon has been avenged.”
(Joey: 5000) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey soon realized that Niesha played those cards on purpose. Despite his destroying the monster and dealing damage to her life points, Niesha managed to do more damage to him than he did to her, thus keeping her lead and a slight advantage. Joey wasn’t dealing with a rookie.
“Fine, Niesha. I see you were well prepared for that move, so I’ll make my own preparations with one card face down. Now bring the fight.”
Niesha chuckled, then, shook her head, letting a few strands of her hair fall over her face slightly. “Whatever makes you feel safe, Joey. Anyway, I draw.” Niesha brushed back the strands and pulled her next card. She made a faint noise of interest before playing her cards. “One card face down and a monster in defense mode. That’s all for now.”
Joey stared at her simple play and grimaced. With two mystery cards, he needed to be careful. But he still needed to gain some kind of an advantage. “I’ll summon Pitch Black Warwolf (1600/600) in attack mode!” In a flash of black sparks a muscular wolf with spiky black fur appeared. The monster stood on its hind legs and held a long black sword in one of its claws. “As long as my Warwolf remains on the field, you can’t activate trap cards after I declare an attack.”
Niesha let a look of disappointment cross her features as she looked at Joey’s new monster, then, her face down cards. “Hmm. I guess that means that my trap card is useless. Oh well.” The girl simply crossed her arms and motioned for Joey to continue his turn.
But the blonde duelist only found himself even more confused by Niesha’s seemingly unshakable confidence, despite the fact that she couldn’t protect herself. Joey shook off his doubts and went with his gut feelings. “Pitch Black Warwolf, destroy Niesha’s face down monster!”
Joey’s monster rushed forward and slashed down at the face down hologram on Niesha’s side of the field. A large green turtle with a metallic pointed shell over its back appeared for a split second, then, shattered from the attack. Niesha smirked as she ejected her deck from the slot. “The monster you just destroyed is known as UFO Turtle (1400/1200), and its effect allows me to special summon a Fire monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field in attack mode.”
Joey groaned as another UFO Turtle hit the field, and Niesha’s Backfire trap card unleashed another volley of flame that knocked Joey to the ground and put him 500 points closer to defeat.
(Joey: 4500) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey gave Niesha a quizzical look after getting up, and the girl shoved her deck back into its slot, then, stared back at him. “Don’t look so surprised. UFO Turtle is a Fire monster just like all the other monsters in this deck. So expect to be taking some serious damage in this duel.”
Joey only sighed and decided to hold off on his next attack, until he could find a way to balance out the damage he was taking. “Okay, Niesha. I’ll just end my turn at that.”
The red headed duelist smiled and drew. “Well, I was hoping to have two of these out to activate its second effect, but I guess I’ll just settle for one, so here’s another Solar Flare Dragon!” Niesha laughed as the flaming serpentine dragon reappeared on the field and roared at Joey. “Next, I’ll switch UFO Turtle to defense mode, and place a card face down. Now my turn is over, but the damage isn’t!” The Solar Flare Dragon spat out its fireball and put another dent in Joey’s life points.
(Joey: 4000) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey recovered and drew, but found himself in a dire situation. ‘If I attack that UFO Turtle, I’ll take another 500 points of damage and she’ll summon another monster to the field. So the best choice is to destroy the Solar Flare Dragon I suppose. Well, here goes.’ “Axe Raider, attack the Solar Flare Dragon!”
Joey’s warrior rushed forward, then, leaped up and delivered a downward slash to the flaming dragon, shattering it in the process. Of course, Backfire did its job and hit Joey with even more life point damage, much to the delight of Niesha, who only lost 200 points from the attack.
(Joey: 3500) (Niesha: 5600)
“Well, it would seem that despite all your best moves, my life points remain higher than yours, and I’ve still got more tricks up my sleeves. Trust me, Joey, this is going to be a tough duel, and I won’t let up on you for one second. So end your turn, so that I can really turn up the heat,” Niesha declared.
‘Niesha’s right. Even if I clear her field, I’ll be the one taking most of the life point damage. But I can’t give up, not if I’m going to reach the top.’ “Niesha, this is a tough duel, but I’ve been in worse situations than this, so get ready, because you’re not the only one who’s just getting started!”
Joey motioned for her to go, and Niesha drew, taking Joey’s words to heart. ‘Well, he’s got the heart of a warrior, but does he have the strength? Only one way to find out.’ “Now, I’ll activate the spell card Tremendous Fire! It deals 1000 points of damage to your life points and 500 points of damage to mine. But I’ll chain to it with this, my Blessings of the Flame trap card!”
Niesha’s spell card appeared first, then, one of her face down cards flipped up. A massive twister of fire shot up around Joey, but a tongue of that fire lashed out and stuck Niesha in the chest. However, her life points remained the same.
(Joey: 2500) (Niesha: 5600)
Joey looked at her with confusion as the flames died down. His confusion was only made worse when a small ball of flame with two eyes and a fanged smile popped out of the Blessings of the Flame card. Niesha chuckled as she explained what happened. “My trap card is activated when I take any effect damage. That damage is negated and I can summon a Hino Token, whose attack and defense are equal to the amount of effect damage I would’ve taken, or in this case, 500, in defense mode.”
Joey breathed a slight sigh of relief as he realized that her token was weak and couldn’t do that much damage. But he was still in a tough spot as far as monster advantage went. Although he had stronger monsters, Niesha’s Backfire card seemed to even out the odds and put him at a disadvantage when it came to life points. “So is there anything else for your turn, or are you through?” Joey asked.
“Not yet. I’ll just switch Solar Flare Dragon to defense mode. And speaking of Solar Flare Dragon, I end my turn.” And with that, the flaming dragon spat out another ball of fire that brought Joey down another 500 points.
(Joey: 2000) (Niesha: 5600)
“So, Joseph, if you don’t mind my calling you that. It would seem that we have reached the home stretch of this little duel of ours. So let’s see if you can pull that miracle card to save you.” Niesha crossed her arms and waited for Joey’s draw. The look on her face wasn’t one of overconfidence, though. It was a look of curiosity. She really wanted to see if Joey could pull it off.
Joey took notice of the look on Niesha’s face and nodded, almost as if he were agreeing with a silent request. The blonde duelist snapped the top card off of his deck and glanced at it. A smile slowly crept across his face as he held the card up. “Now I sacrifice my Pitch-Black Warwolf, and I summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!”
The tall humanoid machine rose from the ground and crossed its arms in front of its chest. Joey smirked as the monster’s effect went to work, shattering every trap card on Niesha’s side of the field with a blast of energy from Jinzo’s glowing red eyes, but Joey’s face down card remained unharmed. “So, your deck is capable of producing such a rare and powerful monster, I see. Well, it’s good to know that you’re still in this,” Niesha said with a smirk on her face.
“Yeah, Jinzo has gotten me out of few tight spots, including this one. But that’s not all, because I activate the spell card Smashing Ground! This card automatically destroys the monster on your side of the field with the highest defense, which would be UFO Turtle.”
Joey slid the card into his DD2 and a line of cracking ground shot toward the monster, swallowing it into the earth as soon as it reached its target. Niesha frowned at her monster’s destruction, since Backfire wasn’t on the field anymore, and UFO Turtle had to be destroyed in battle for her to get its effect. “Now, Axe Raider, attack the Solar Flare Dragon!”
The golden armored warrior rushed forward and swung its axe over its shoulder, ready to deliver the deathblow. But before it reached Niesha’s monster, a wall of fire sprang up, blocking Axe Raider from its intended target. The warrior had no other choice but to trudge back over to Joey’s side of the field, where the blonde duelist was waiting for an explanation.
Niesha simply ejected a card from her graveyard and showed it to Joey. “I stopped your attack with my Flame Barrier spell card. When it’s discarded from my hand, all attacks this turn are negated. But that’s not all it does,” the redhead added with a mischievous grin. The twister of flames shot forward and struck Joey, doing more damage to his life points.
(Joey: 1500) (Niesha: 5600)
“When it’s discarded from my hand to the graveyard, it does 500 points of damage to your life points. So, now, it’ll be even easier for me to finish you off.”
Joey knew that she might have been right. With the way her deck played, he was almost certain that she had some way to reduce his life points without actually attacking. The blonde reluctantly ended his turn, and Niesha drew for hers. After looking at the card she drew, she looked up at Joey with an almost sad look in her eyes. “Well, Joey, you’ve played a nice duel, but I’m afraid that this is where it ends for you. Ready?”
Joey simply looked on, knowing that Niesha wasn’t really looking for an answer to her question. “Here it comes. I summon Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective (2000/0) in attack mode!” With a flash of sparks and light, a large round monster that appeared to be made of nothing but molten rock with an eye looking out through the center, materialized on the field. “You’re going to get a kick my monster’s special ability,” Niesha said with a smirk.
Joey knew that he was in trouble if her monster was as powerful as he thought it was. “So what’s this great special effect that you’re so sure will bring me down?” Joey tried to keep his composure as Niesha’s sudden laughter rang out. It wasn’t a laugh of superiority or anything, but it was an actual laugh of humor, almost friendly in its tone.
“Well, I’m glad you asked me that. I can sacrifice up to two Pyro type monsters on my side of the field to my Gaia Soul. Then, things get interesting.” The Solar Flare Dragon and Niesha’s Hino Token turned into fire and were absorbed into Gaia Soul. “After that, my monster gains 1000 attack points for each monster sacrificed, putting Gaia Soul at a grand total of 4000 attack points!”
An intense flame surrounded the molten creature as Niesha spoke these words. “4000 attack power?! I haven’t seen that kind of power since…the Egyptian god cards,” Joey said as he looked on at the mass of magma that stared at him through its one, blue eye.
Niesha placed her hands on her hips and stared at her monster. “Well, I can’t say that my monster is on par with Osirus, Obelisk, or Ra, but it does enough firepower to win me this duel. Gaia Soul, attack Jinzo with Flame Soul Blast!” The monster unleashed a massive ball of fire at Joey’s machine. If the attack hit, Joey would take 100 more points of damage than he could, ending the duel for him.
The blonde duelist grimaced, then, activated his face down card. “I activate my face down card, Graceful Dice!” The card flipped up and a small oddly dressed yellow creature emerged from it, holding a large blue six-sided die in its small hands. “My Jinzo’s attack power will increase according to the number rolled times 200. It won’t be enough to beat your Gaia Soul, but I will be able to survive no matter what’s rolled!”
Niesha looked on as the creature dropped the die and let it roll on the ground. The die bounced twice, then, stopped on a three. “Ok, your Jinzo gains 600 attack points, so I guess you will survive this one,” Niesha said, hiding how annoyed she was the Joey was able to live for one more turn.
The fireball from her monster slammed into the newly powered up Jinzo (3000/1500), shattering it with a powerful explosion, and dropping Joey’s life points into a danger zone.
(Joey: 500) (Niesha: 5600)
Niesha folded her arms and thought for a second. “Okay, Joey. There’s nothing else I can do right now, so I’ll end my turn. And now, thanks to one of its effects, my Gaia Soul is destroyed. That’s the price you pay for power, I suppose,” Niesha said as the molten monster shattered.
Joey breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at his deck. He drew slowly, hoping that his next card could help him win. As Joey looked over at it, he could feel a twinge of hope, before he felt despair. ‘Oh no! I can’t summon this to the field. All I’ve got is Axe Raider. What am I going to do?’
Joey glanced over at another card in his hand, and immediately brightened up, though he knew that pulling it off would take a little more luck on his part. He pulled the card out of his hand and slid it into his DD2. “I activate Star Blaster!”
The card appeared on the field, and Joey’s Axe Raider disappeared. “So you can make your monsters disappear now? Is that it, or is there something more impressive behind this?” Niesha asked, though she knew the answer.
“Oh, there is. Just watch.” Another six-sided die appeared on Joey’s side of the field, and began to roll. “The number that’s rolled will be added to the number of level stars my Axe Raider has.” Joey could only watch in great suspense as the die began to slow down. There was only one number that he needed, and after the die stopped, he blessed his incredible luck. “Alright! The die came up as a three,” Joey said, holding up three fingers.
“Okay, so the dice roll of three plus Axe Raider’s four level stars equals seven. Now that question is, seven what?” Niesha said as she crossed her arms. Her curiosity had reached its peak, though she did her best to hide it.
Joey’s smile as he pulled one card from his hand was so wide that he could’ve swallowed his ears if it got any wider. “That seven means a level seven monster, which can be special summoned from my hand. So read it and weep, Niesha!”
Joey slapped the card down on his DD2. With a flash of sparks, a large, gaunt black dragon appeared on the field, and roared at Niesha with a beak-like mouth filled with fangs. The monster’s piercing red eyes seemed to burn a hole through the redhead as she looked at Joey. “Alright, Joseph. What have you summoned through that effect?”
Joey chuckled through his smirk as the dragon floated down next to him and folded back its wings. “With this, I’ve summoned the Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000), one of the most powerful monsters in my deck. But he’s about to get even more powerful, because I activate my Dragon Nails spell card! This equip card will raise my monster’s attack power by 700 points!”
Niesha grimaced, as metallic claws appeared over the mandibles of Joey’s dragon, increasing its strength to 3100, and putting it one step above its distant cousin, the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Joey grinned as he gave the command. “Red Eyes, attack Niesha directly with Inferno Fire Blast!”
The dragon opened its mouth and began gathering intense heat inside. Niesha reached for an activation button, but stopped after catching the gleam in Joey’s eye. ‘Okay, Joey. You can have this little attack, since it is your favorite monster and such,’ the redhead thought as Red Eyes unleashed the mighty ball of flame that slammed into her with incredible force and knocked Niesha to the ground.
(Joey: 500) (Niesha: 2500)
The redheaded duelist made her way to her feet, and brushed herself off. “Well, Joey, congratulations. You managed to deal me the most life point damage either of us have taken all duel long. But don’t get too excited, because I will end this duel when my turn comes.”
Joey could feel a slight twinge of concern, but quelled it with a quick glance at his powered up dragon. “Well, let’s see. I’ll place two cards face down and end my turn.”
Niesha drew, but didn’t bother to look at the card she drew. Instead, she picked out another card. “Here it comes. This is the end of this duel. I activate Blast Furnace!” Her spell card appeared and a massive pot materialized on the field. Suddenly, the Red Eyes Black Dragon was grabbed by a tendril of fire that jumped out of the top of the pot. The tendril pulled the Red Eyes into the pot and a massive fire erupted from the opening.
“No, what have you done to Red Eyes?!” Joey yelled out, as the fire seemed to grow in intensity. He wasn’t as concerned about the destruction of his monster as he was about what it would bring.
“Well, to put it simply, I’ve fried your monster to a crisp. But don’t worry, because it wasn’t for nothing,” Neisha said as the pot tipped over so that the opening was facing Joey. “Blast Furnace allows me to destroy one of your monsters, then, do damage to your life points equal to 200 times the destroyed monster’s level. So now, Blast Furnace, fire!”
All the flame that was brewing in the pot suddenly exploded toward Joey with a great bang. The blonde lowered his arms and shielded his face as the gigantic inferno engulfed him, and dealt him 1400 points of damage.
(Joey: 0) (Niesha: 2500)
Joey sank to his knees as Niesha walked over to him. The blonde looked up at her, then, held up his DD2, which still had his Red Eyes occupying a monster card zone. “Here, Niesha. According to tournament rules, I owe you my rarest card.” Though Joey tried his best not to show it, it still felt as if someone had ripped out his heart and tossed it into a moving blender.
Niesha looked at the dragon for a second, then, shook her head. “No, Joey. I make it a policy of mine to not take cards from people who truly respect and love them. Plus, he’s not a Fire monster, so he wouldn’t fit in my deck, and I can’t think of anyone who’d want him, so it wouldn’t make good trade bait.”
A smile slowly returned to Joey’s face as he looked into Niesha’s emerald eyes. “Thank you, Niesha. You’re one of the nicest people I’ve met aside from my friends.” Joey got up off the ground and brushed himself off, then, began gathering his deck together.
“Well, since you did hold up your end of the bargain, it’s time for my to hold up mine. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but you need to tell Yugi everything that I tell you, got that?” Joey nodded and Niesha smirked. “Good. Now, here goes.”
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Original Cards:
Niesha: Blessings of the Flame, Flame Barrier, Blast Furnace
Anime Cards:
Joey: Star Blaster (Doom Arc), Dragon Nails (Duelist Kingdom Arc)
Episode 39: Through the Flames
The sun was rapidly moving in the evening sky. According to the large clock in the town square, it was now 6:47, meaning that there was plenty of time before the tournament ended. But time wasn’t an issue for one blonde duelist, who was facing down an enemy of whom he knew nothing about. But one thing was for sure: she knew a lot about him.
“Alright, I accept your challenge, Niesha. And I expect some answers when this duel is done,” Joey declared as he activated his DD2.
“Let’s not focus on what will happen at the end of this duel, but instead, let’s think about the duel itself, shall we? Now, since I challenged, I get to pick, and I’ll go first.”
Joey nodded and drew his opening hand of five cards, and Neisha pulled her first five, along with the sixth card for the start of her turn, and the duel.
(Joey: 6000) (Niesha: 6000)
Niesha barely took one glance at her hand before playing her cards. Joey shrugged his shoulders at that. He figured that either she was extremely positive that this would be a great move, or she wasn’t a good strategist. “I’ll just place one card face down and summon Solar Flare Dragon (1500/1000) in attack mode to end my turn.”
A simple brown backed hologram appeared, followed by a fierce serpentine dragon that appeared to be made completely of flames. Two horns stuck out of the monsters head, just above two narrow green eyes. Joey shrugged and started to draw, but before he could, the Solar Flare Dragon opened its mouth and spat out a ball of flame that struck the blonde duelist, knocking him back.
(Joey: 5500) (Niesha: 6000)
“Oops, did I forget to mention that my dragon does an automatic 500 points of damage to your life points during the end of each of my turns? I should do better to remember that in the future,” Niesha said, innocently biting on one of her nails.
Joey wondered whether or not she did it on purpose as he drew, but he had no time to mull over it. He had to take out that dragon before it did some real damage. “I’ll summon Axe Raider (1700/1150) in attack mode!” In a flash, a bronze skinned warrior in a golden armor chest plate and spiked helmet appeared on Joey’s side of the field. “Axe Raider, cut down the Solar Flare Dragon!”
The warrior unsheathed an axe from its back and charged forward, ready to slice through the monster in its path. And that’s just what it did. Joey’s monster swung its axe downward and made a clean cut through the dragon’s neck. Then, Niesha pressed an activation button, just before her monster shattered.
(Joey: 5500) (Niesha: 5800)
Suddenly, Joey was struck by yet another ball of flame that came from Niesha’s side of the field. He looked up and Niesha’s face up trap card was his only explanation. “Allow me to introduce you to my Backfire trap card. It deals you 500 points of damage when a Fire attribute monster on my side of the field is destroyed. So, my dragon has been avenged.”
(Joey: 5000) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey soon realized that Niesha played those cards on purpose. Despite his destroying the monster and dealing damage to her life points, Niesha managed to do more damage to him than he did to her, thus keeping her lead and a slight advantage. Joey wasn’t dealing with a rookie.
“Fine, Niesha. I see you were well prepared for that move, so I’ll make my own preparations with one card face down. Now bring the fight.”
Niesha chuckled, then, shook her head, letting a few strands of her hair fall over her face slightly. “Whatever makes you feel safe, Joey. Anyway, I draw.” Niesha brushed back the strands and pulled her next card. She made a faint noise of interest before playing her cards. “One card face down and a monster in defense mode. That’s all for now.”
Joey stared at her simple play and grimaced. With two mystery cards, he needed to be careful. But he still needed to gain some kind of an advantage. “I’ll summon Pitch Black Warwolf (1600/600) in attack mode!” In a flash of black sparks a muscular wolf with spiky black fur appeared. The monster stood on its hind legs and held a long black sword in one of its claws. “As long as my Warwolf remains on the field, you can’t activate trap cards after I declare an attack.”
Niesha let a look of disappointment cross her features as she looked at Joey’s new monster, then, her face down cards. “Hmm. I guess that means that my trap card is useless. Oh well.” The girl simply crossed her arms and motioned for Joey to continue his turn.
But the blonde duelist only found himself even more confused by Niesha’s seemingly unshakable confidence, despite the fact that she couldn’t protect herself. Joey shook off his doubts and went with his gut feelings. “Pitch Black Warwolf, destroy Niesha’s face down monster!”
Joey’s monster rushed forward and slashed down at the face down hologram on Niesha’s side of the field. A large green turtle with a metallic pointed shell over its back appeared for a split second, then, shattered from the attack. Niesha smirked as she ejected her deck from the slot. “The monster you just destroyed is known as UFO Turtle (1400/1200), and its effect allows me to special summon a Fire monster with 1500 or less attack points from my deck to the field in attack mode.”
Joey groaned as another UFO Turtle hit the field, and Niesha’s Backfire trap card unleashed another volley of flame that knocked Joey to the ground and put him 500 points closer to defeat.
(Joey: 4500) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey gave Niesha a quizzical look after getting up, and the girl shoved her deck back into its slot, then, stared back at him. “Don’t look so surprised. UFO Turtle is a Fire monster just like all the other monsters in this deck. So expect to be taking some serious damage in this duel.”
Joey only sighed and decided to hold off on his next attack, until he could find a way to balance out the damage he was taking. “Okay, Niesha. I’ll just end my turn at that.”
The red headed duelist smiled and drew. “Well, I was hoping to have two of these out to activate its second effect, but I guess I’ll just settle for one, so here’s another Solar Flare Dragon!” Niesha laughed as the flaming serpentine dragon reappeared on the field and roared at Joey. “Next, I’ll switch UFO Turtle to defense mode, and place a card face down. Now my turn is over, but the damage isn’t!” The Solar Flare Dragon spat out its fireball and put another dent in Joey’s life points.
(Joey: 4000) (Niesha: 5800)
Joey recovered and drew, but found himself in a dire situation. ‘If I attack that UFO Turtle, I’ll take another 500 points of damage and she’ll summon another monster to the field. So the best choice is to destroy the Solar Flare Dragon I suppose. Well, here goes.’ “Axe Raider, attack the Solar Flare Dragon!”
Joey’s warrior rushed forward, then, leaped up and delivered a downward slash to the flaming dragon, shattering it in the process. Of course, Backfire did its job and hit Joey with even more life point damage, much to the delight of Niesha, who only lost 200 points from the attack.
(Joey: 3500) (Niesha: 5600)
“Well, it would seem that despite all your best moves, my life points remain higher than yours, and I’ve still got more tricks up my sleeves. Trust me, Joey, this is going to be a tough duel, and I won’t let up on you for one second. So end your turn, so that I can really turn up the heat,” Niesha declared.
‘Niesha’s right. Even if I clear her field, I’ll be the one taking most of the life point damage. But I can’t give up, not if I’m going to reach the top.’ “Niesha, this is a tough duel, but I’ve been in worse situations than this, so get ready, because you’re not the only one who’s just getting started!”
Joey motioned for her to go, and Niesha drew, taking Joey’s words to heart. ‘Well, he’s got the heart of a warrior, but does he have the strength? Only one way to find out.’ “Now, I’ll activate the spell card Tremendous Fire! It deals 1000 points of damage to your life points and 500 points of damage to mine. But I’ll chain to it with this, my Blessings of the Flame trap card!”
Niesha’s spell card appeared first, then, one of her face down cards flipped up. A massive twister of fire shot up around Joey, but a tongue of that fire lashed out and stuck Niesha in the chest. However, her life points remained the same.
(Joey: 2500) (Niesha: 5600)
Joey looked at her with confusion as the flames died down. His confusion was only made worse when a small ball of flame with two eyes and a fanged smile popped out of the Blessings of the Flame card. Niesha chuckled as she explained what happened. “My trap card is activated when I take any effect damage. That damage is negated and I can summon a Hino Token, whose attack and defense are equal to the amount of effect damage I would’ve taken, or in this case, 500, in defense mode.”
Joey breathed a slight sigh of relief as he realized that her token was weak and couldn’t do that much damage. But he was still in a tough spot as far as monster advantage went. Although he had stronger monsters, Niesha’s Backfire card seemed to even out the odds and put him at a disadvantage when it came to life points. “So is there anything else for your turn, or are you through?” Joey asked.
“Not yet. I’ll just switch Solar Flare Dragon to defense mode. And speaking of Solar Flare Dragon, I end my turn.” And with that, the flaming dragon spat out another ball of fire that brought Joey down another 500 points.
(Joey: 2000) (Niesha: 5600)
“So, Joseph, if you don’t mind my calling you that. It would seem that we have reached the home stretch of this little duel of ours. So let’s see if you can pull that miracle card to save you.” Niesha crossed her arms and waited for Joey’s draw. The look on her face wasn’t one of overconfidence, though. It was a look of curiosity. She really wanted to see if Joey could pull it off.
Joey took notice of the look on Niesha’s face and nodded, almost as if he were agreeing with a silent request. The blonde duelist snapped the top card off of his deck and glanced at it. A smile slowly crept across his face as he held the card up. “Now I sacrifice my Pitch-Black Warwolf, and I summon Jinzo (2400/1500) in attack mode!”
The tall humanoid machine rose from the ground and crossed its arms in front of its chest. Joey smirked as the monster’s effect went to work, shattering every trap card on Niesha’s side of the field with a blast of energy from Jinzo’s glowing red eyes, but Joey’s face down card remained unharmed. “So, your deck is capable of producing such a rare and powerful monster, I see. Well, it’s good to know that you’re still in this,” Niesha said with a smirk on her face.
“Yeah, Jinzo has gotten me out of few tight spots, including this one. But that’s not all, because I activate the spell card Smashing Ground! This card automatically destroys the monster on your side of the field with the highest defense, which would be UFO Turtle.”
Joey slid the card into his DD2 and a line of cracking ground shot toward the monster, swallowing it into the earth as soon as it reached its target. Niesha frowned at her monster’s destruction, since Backfire wasn’t on the field anymore, and UFO Turtle had to be destroyed in battle for her to get its effect. “Now, Axe Raider, attack the Solar Flare Dragon!”
The golden armored warrior rushed forward and swung its axe over its shoulder, ready to deliver the deathblow. But before it reached Niesha’s monster, a wall of fire sprang up, blocking Axe Raider from its intended target. The warrior had no other choice but to trudge back over to Joey’s side of the field, where the blonde duelist was waiting for an explanation.
Niesha simply ejected a card from her graveyard and showed it to Joey. “I stopped your attack with my Flame Barrier spell card. When it’s discarded from my hand, all attacks this turn are negated. But that’s not all it does,” the redhead added with a mischievous grin. The twister of flames shot forward and struck Joey, doing more damage to his life points.
(Joey: 1500) (Niesha: 5600)
“When it’s discarded from my hand to the graveyard, it does 500 points of damage to your life points. So, now, it’ll be even easier for me to finish you off.”
Joey knew that she might have been right. With the way her deck played, he was almost certain that she had some way to reduce his life points without actually attacking. The blonde reluctantly ended his turn, and Niesha drew for hers. After looking at the card she drew, she looked up at Joey with an almost sad look in her eyes. “Well, Joey, you’ve played a nice duel, but I’m afraid that this is where it ends for you. Ready?”
Joey simply looked on, knowing that Niesha wasn’t really looking for an answer to her question. “Here it comes. I summon Gaia Soul the Combustible Collective (2000/0) in attack mode!” With a flash of sparks and light, a large round monster that appeared to be made of nothing but molten rock with an eye looking out through the center, materialized on the field. “You’re going to get a kick my monster’s special ability,” Niesha said with a smirk.
Joey knew that he was in trouble if her monster was as powerful as he thought it was. “So what’s this great special effect that you’re so sure will bring me down?” Joey tried to keep his composure as Niesha’s sudden laughter rang out. It wasn’t a laugh of superiority or anything, but it was an actual laugh of humor, almost friendly in its tone.
“Well, I’m glad you asked me that. I can sacrifice up to two Pyro type monsters on my side of the field to my Gaia Soul. Then, things get interesting.” The Solar Flare Dragon and Niesha’s Hino Token turned into fire and were absorbed into Gaia Soul. “After that, my monster gains 1000 attack points for each monster sacrificed, putting Gaia Soul at a grand total of 4000 attack points!”
An intense flame surrounded the molten creature as Niesha spoke these words. “4000 attack power?! I haven’t seen that kind of power since…the Egyptian god cards,” Joey said as he looked on at the mass of magma that stared at him through its one, blue eye.
Niesha placed her hands on her hips and stared at her monster. “Well, I can’t say that my monster is on par with Osirus, Obelisk, or Ra, but it does enough firepower to win me this duel. Gaia Soul, attack Jinzo with Flame Soul Blast!” The monster unleashed a massive ball of fire at Joey’s machine. If the attack hit, Joey would take 100 more points of damage than he could, ending the duel for him.
The blonde duelist grimaced, then, activated his face down card. “I activate my face down card, Graceful Dice!” The card flipped up and a small oddly dressed yellow creature emerged from it, holding a large blue six-sided die in its small hands. “My Jinzo’s attack power will increase according to the number rolled times 200. It won’t be enough to beat your Gaia Soul, but I will be able to survive no matter what’s rolled!”
Niesha looked on as the creature dropped the die and let it roll on the ground. The die bounced twice, then, stopped on a three. “Ok, your Jinzo gains 600 attack points, so I guess you will survive this one,” Niesha said, hiding how annoyed she was the Joey was able to live for one more turn.
The fireball from her monster slammed into the newly powered up Jinzo (3000/1500), shattering it with a powerful explosion, and dropping Joey’s life points into a danger zone.
(Joey: 500) (Niesha: 5600)
Niesha folded her arms and thought for a second. “Okay, Joey. There’s nothing else I can do right now, so I’ll end my turn. And now, thanks to one of its effects, my Gaia Soul is destroyed. That’s the price you pay for power, I suppose,” Niesha said as the molten monster shattered.
Joey breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at his deck. He drew slowly, hoping that his next card could help him win. As Joey looked over at it, he could feel a twinge of hope, before he felt despair. ‘Oh no! I can’t summon this to the field. All I’ve got is Axe Raider. What am I going to do?’
Joey glanced over at another card in his hand, and immediately brightened up, though he knew that pulling it off would take a little more luck on his part. He pulled the card out of his hand and slid it into his DD2. “I activate Star Blaster!”
The card appeared on the field, and Joey’s Axe Raider disappeared. “So you can make your monsters disappear now? Is that it, or is there something more impressive behind this?” Niesha asked, though she knew the answer.
“Oh, there is. Just watch.” Another six-sided die appeared on Joey’s side of the field, and began to roll. “The number that’s rolled will be added to the number of level stars my Axe Raider has.” Joey could only watch in great suspense as the die began to slow down. There was only one number that he needed, and after the die stopped, he blessed his incredible luck. “Alright! The die came up as a three,” Joey said, holding up three fingers.
“Okay, so the dice roll of three plus Axe Raider’s four level stars equals seven. Now that question is, seven what?” Niesha said as she crossed her arms. Her curiosity had reached its peak, though she did her best to hide it.
Joey’s smile as he pulled one card from his hand was so wide that he could’ve swallowed his ears if it got any wider. “That seven means a level seven monster, which can be special summoned from my hand. So read it and weep, Niesha!”
Joey slapped the card down on his DD2. With a flash of sparks, a large, gaunt black dragon appeared on the field, and roared at Niesha with a beak-like mouth filled with fangs. The monster’s piercing red eyes seemed to burn a hole through the redhead as she looked at Joey. “Alright, Joseph. What have you summoned through that effect?”
Joey chuckled through his smirk as the dragon floated down next to him and folded back its wings. “With this, I’ve summoned the Red Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000), one of the most powerful monsters in my deck. But he’s about to get even more powerful, because I activate my Dragon Nails spell card! This equip card will raise my monster’s attack power by 700 points!”
Niesha grimaced, as metallic claws appeared over the mandibles of Joey’s dragon, increasing its strength to 3100, and putting it one step above its distant cousin, the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Joey grinned as he gave the command. “Red Eyes, attack Niesha directly with Inferno Fire Blast!”
The dragon opened its mouth and began gathering intense heat inside. Niesha reached for an activation button, but stopped after catching the gleam in Joey’s eye. ‘Okay, Joey. You can have this little attack, since it is your favorite monster and such,’ the redhead thought as Red Eyes unleashed the mighty ball of flame that slammed into her with incredible force and knocked Niesha to the ground.
(Joey: 500) (Niesha: 2500)
The redheaded duelist made her way to her feet, and brushed herself off. “Well, Joey, congratulations. You managed to deal me the most life point damage either of us have taken all duel long. But don’t get too excited, because I will end this duel when my turn comes.”
Joey could feel a slight twinge of concern, but quelled it with a quick glance at his powered up dragon. “Well, let’s see. I’ll place two cards face down and end my turn.”
Niesha drew, but didn’t bother to look at the card she drew. Instead, she picked out another card. “Here it comes. This is the end of this duel. I activate Blast Furnace!” Her spell card appeared and a massive pot materialized on the field. Suddenly, the Red Eyes Black Dragon was grabbed by a tendril of fire that jumped out of the top of the pot. The tendril pulled the Red Eyes into the pot and a massive fire erupted from the opening.
“No, what have you done to Red Eyes?!” Joey yelled out, as the fire seemed to grow in intensity. He wasn’t as concerned about the destruction of his monster as he was about what it would bring.
“Well, to put it simply, I’ve fried your monster to a crisp. But don’t worry, because it wasn’t for nothing,” Neisha said as the pot tipped over so that the opening was facing Joey. “Blast Furnace allows me to destroy one of your monsters, then, do damage to your life points equal to 200 times the destroyed monster’s level. So now, Blast Furnace, fire!”
All the flame that was brewing in the pot suddenly exploded toward Joey with a great bang. The blonde lowered his arms and shielded his face as the gigantic inferno engulfed him, and dealt him 1400 points of damage.
(Joey: 0) (Niesha: 2500)
Joey sank to his knees as Niesha walked over to him. The blonde looked up at her, then, held up his DD2, which still had his Red Eyes occupying a monster card zone. “Here, Niesha. According to tournament rules, I owe you my rarest card.” Though Joey tried his best not to show it, it still felt as if someone had ripped out his heart and tossed it into a moving blender.
Niesha looked at the dragon for a second, then, shook her head. “No, Joey. I make it a policy of mine to not take cards from people who truly respect and love them. Plus, he’s not a Fire monster, so he wouldn’t fit in my deck, and I can’t think of anyone who’d want him, so it wouldn’t make good trade bait.”
A smile slowly returned to Joey’s face as he looked into Niesha’s emerald eyes. “Thank you, Niesha. You’re one of the nicest people I’ve met aside from my friends.” Joey got up off the ground and brushed himself off, then, began gathering his deck together.
“Well, since you did hold up your end of the bargain, it’s time for my to hold up mine. I’ll tell you everything you need to know, but you need to tell Yugi everything that I tell you, got that?” Joey nodded and Niesha smirked. “Good. Now, here goes.”
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Original Cards:
Niesha: Blessings of the Flame, Flame Barrier, Blast Furnace
Anime Cards:
Joey: Star Blaster (Doom Arc), Dragon Nails (Duelist Kingdom Arc)