Episode 5: A Beastly Duel

Later that day, Joseph and Nick congratulated Frank on his first victory. All three started to get hungry, so they went to a restaurant, ordered a pizza, and ate it at one of the restaurant's outside tables. While they ate, Joseph and Nick had a duel for fun. Nick first played Firegrass (700/600) in Attack Mode. Nick said, "Good move, right?" Joseph said, "Yep, pretty good move. But..." Joseph then played Shining Friendship (1300/1000) in Attack Mode and said, "Not good enough." Joseph then had Shining Friendship destroy Firegrass, and Nick lost 600 Life Points, bringing him down to 1400. Nick said, "With a card that powerful, I don't think I can win." While Nick was talking, Joseph secretly played a Silver Bow and Arrow card. They didn't know they were getting spied on by a contestant named Luna. Watching their duel, Luna didn't think Nick would stand a chance against her, so she ran off and planned to meet with them later. Nick drew his card and said, "I'll play Horn Imp (1300/1000) to match your Shining Friendship." Joseph said, "I wouldn't be too sure about that, Shining Friendship, attack!" Then Shining Friendship destroyed Horn Imp, and Nick lost 300 more Life Points, bringing him down to 1100. Nick said, "How'd you do that? Both creatures had the same strength. Joseph said, "Were they? Nick, you were so busy complaining about my Shining Friendship you didn't realize I played a Silver Bow and Arrow card, raising Shining Friendship's power by 300." Then, Shining Friendship's power rose from 1300/1000 to 1600/1300. Joseph drew his card and said, "And now that it's my turn, I'll just draw and pass, giving you another shot." Nick drew his card and said, "I play Monster Reborn and bring back Horn Imp (1300/1000). Next, I play Horn of the Unicorn to raise his power 700 points." Then Horn Imp's points rose to 2000, and Nick had him destroy Shining Friendship. Then Joseph lost 400 Life Points, bringing him down to 1600. Joseph drew his card and looked at his others. Joseph said, "Dark With (1800/1700) in Attack Mode. Next, I play De-Spell to remove your Horn of the Unicorn." Then Horn Imp's power dropped back from 2000 to 1300. Joseph said, "Now, I'll have Dark Witch attack your Horn Imp." Then Nick lost 700 Life Points, bringing him down to 400. Joseph said, "Finally, I'll play Hinotama to decrease your Life Points by 500." Then Nick lost 500 Life Points, bringing him down to 0. Frank said, "Wow, Joseph, you can play like a champion even with your beginner's deck. You could win this tournament if you try." Joseph said, "That's what I'm trying to do." Nick said, "Well, I say bring it on. I'm itching for a duel with my tournament deck. And I'm betting to win." Joseph said, "You could barely touch my Life Points in this practice duel. I would like to see you try to duel anyone here." Nick said, "OK, but I get to pick who."

After lunch, Joseph, Frank, and Nick went downtown and found Luna by the fountain. Luna said, "Well, well, well. Aren't you those three I saw dueling at the pizza place?" Joseph said, "That would be us. Who are you?" Luna said, "Name's Luna Roar, and I would like to duel you. I saw you duel your friend, and I know you won't stand a chance." Nick said, "Me?" Luna said, "That's right. How many coins do you have?" Nick said, "I haven't dueled yet, so I still only have 2." Luna said, "Too bad. I have 8. Which means once I take yours, I'll be halfway to the finals." Joseph said, "How did you get six more coins already?" Luna said, "I dueled three opponents and beat them all. They're getting on the bus as we speak." Joseph, Frank, and Nick looked at the elimination bus and saw three more people boarding. Nick said, "OK, I'll risk it. Let's get it on."

Nick activated his duel disk, and his Life Points started at 8000. Luna did the same, and her Life Points also started at 8000. Nick said, "Before we start. What are the stakes, Luna?" Luna said, "Since you only have two coins, I only have to wager two against you." Nick and Luna both wagered their coins and drew their first five cards. Luna pulled Dimensional Rift Maker, Beast Fangs, Scapegoat, Polymerization, and Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts. Nick drew Tyler, the Palace Guard, Princess Karen, Katie, the Witch of the Dark Woods, Max, the Palace Guard, and Chessland. Luna said, "I'll start this duel." Luna drew Ojama Black from her deck and said, "With Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200). Now I play Beast Fangs. This card raised Gazelle's power by 300 points in attack and defense." Gazelle's power then rose from 1500/1200 to 1800/1500. Luna said, "I'll now lay two cards face down and end my turn." Nick drew Talking Crow from his deck and said, "I play Tyler, the Palace Guard (1500/1200) in Attack Mode. And since we're in the town square where people like him hang out, he gets a field power bonus." Joseph thought, "He better not attack; Luna has two face-down cards." Then, Tyler's power rose from 1500/1200 to 1950/1560. Nick said, "Destroy Gazelle!" Luna said, "You activated my trap card, Dimensional Rift Maker. This trap activates when you declare an attack and then banishes the attacking monster." Then Tyler, the Palace Guard, got destroyed and removed from the game. Nick thought, "No, she eliminated my warrior." Luna said, "My turn, hon." Luna drew Mystic Horseman from her deck and said, "I play Mystic Horseman (1300/1550) in Attack Mode. Now, my Mystic Horseman and my Gazelle will attack you directly!" Then Mystic Horseman attacked Nick directly, and he lost 1300 Life Points, bringing him down to 6700. Then Gazelle attacked Nick directly, and Nick screamed when he did. Then Nick lost 1800 Life Points, bringing him down to 4900. Joseph shouted, "Nick!" Nick was down for the count, but he got back up. Luna said, "Ok, I'm ending my turn." Nick drew Luke, the Palace Guard, from his deck and said, "Meet, Luke, the Palace Guard (1500/1200). And thanks to the town around us, he gets a field power bonus." Luke's power then rose from 1500/1200 to 1950/1560. Nick said, "Destroy Mystic Horseman! Then, Luke, the Palace Guard, destroyed Mystic Horseman, and Luna lost 650 Life Points, bringing her down to 7350. Luna said, "Not bad, but you're going to have to do better than that if you want to survive my beast army." Luna drew Enraged Battle Ox from her deck and said, "I'll switch my Gazelle to defense mode. And I'll also summon Ojama Black (0/1000) in defense mode." Nick drew Witch's Cottage from his deck, saying, "First, I sacrifice my Guard to summon Katie, the Witch of the Dark Woods (2250/1200) in Attack Mode. And I'll hide her inside her Witch's Cottage. Think of this like the Toon World card Pegasus used on Kaiba and Yugi. If Witch's Cottage is on the field, any card with the word 'Witch' in the title is safe from your attacks, but when I bring them out, they're free to attack you, and then I have the option of either keeping them on the field or hiding them back inside Witch's Cottage." Now, Katie, the Witch of the Dark Woods, destroy her Gazelle!" Then Katie, the Witch of the Dark Woods, destroyed Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts. Nick said, "I end my turn." Luna drew Gyaku-Gire Panda from her deck and said, "I pass this turn." Nick drew Rachel, the Dark Soldier, from his deck and said, "I summon Rachel, the Dark Soldier (1400/1200) in Attack Mode. And she also gets a field power bonus, thanks to the fact that we're in the town square." Then Rachel, the Dark Soldier's power, rose from 1400/1200 to 1820/1560. Nick said, "Attack Luna directly!" Luna said, "I reveal Scapegoat!" Then, four Scapegoat tokens appeared, and Rachel destroyed one of them. Nick said, "Oh man, how am I going to get to her Life Points with three Scapegoats on the field?" Luna said, "You can't. And that's my whole plan."

To Be Continued