Nathaniel gave a loud sigh as he stretched out his arms over his head, the adrenaline leaving his body. It had gotten pretty dark while he and Megan were stuck in virtual reality playing card games, which probably meant that the time was getting pretty late since they were in a dessert. Considering how much of a sweat Nathaniel had worked up jumping around and climbing up and down ladders, it was probably a good idea to head back to his dorm and take a shower before going to bed. He had just Action Dueled in a dress shirt and tie too. Yeah, t-shirts will definitely be the order of the day tomorrow.
"Well, I should probably head back." Nathaniel said to Megan with a yawn and a stretch. "See you in class tomorrow."
Giving a wave to Camryn in farewell, Nathaniel left the arena and began his trek back to the main building. Now that the sun wasn't beating down on him like a drum, it was actually quite cool walking around in the desert night. It was a calming walk and his sweat cooled quickly. As Nathaniel came close to the Duel Tower, he suddenly thought that he should probably visit the card shop. Judging from his last duel, there were probably some cards he needed to replace. Like Fluffal Mouse. In fact, he wondered who included that in the decklist in the first place. Plus, there was supposedly a new pack that included new Performapal support, and that was always exciting.
When Nathaniel reached the building, he headed straight for the card shop. As he prepared to set his points down, so to speak, his gaze shifted towards a hulking giant. Seriously, this guy was huge. And Nathaniel was just standing there. In the card shop. With this giant of a man. What would his parents say?
"Well, the coin has it. But hey, we can always duel later." Nathaniel said to Camryn with a shrug as he walked past her.
Nathaniel felt an excitement in his body as he strapped his Duel Disk to his arm, standing with Megan and the Colonel. Sure there was no audience or anything like that, but he was dueling with someone who appreciates the game, and that was enough. Plus there wouldn't be any of that Junior Disaster nonsense. Always a plus. Nathaniel thought to himself with a small, barely noticeable twitch of the eye.
As the Solid Vision set into place, Nathaniel looked to his opponent and grinned. "Ready when you are."
Megan looked at the circus that popped up around them in surprise. It was perfect for Performapals, literally designed for it. Had Snipes chosen this field on purpose or was it happy coincidence? Either way it was sure to make for an interesting duel.
"DUELISTS LOCKED IN BATTLE! KICK UP THE EARTH AND SOAR IN THE SKIES ALONGSIDE YOUR MONSTERS! ACTIOOOOOOON!"
Alright, now this hand wasn't nearly as bad as her last two. Quite reasonable in fact. "Alright, I think I'll start things nice and slow, I'll set one monster and two more cards, then leave it to you. Let's see what you can do!
Turn 2: Nate Nate 4000LP: 6 cards Megan 4000LP: 2 cards, 1 set monster, 2 set S/T
"My turn! Draw!"
His initial hand wasn't great, but as Nathaniel looked over the new card in his hand, maybe he could pull something off. Regardless, he was planning on making his first real duel of the year a spectacular one.
Standing on the platform opposite of Megan, Nathaniel slapped a card onto his Duel Disk. "Let's get this show on the road! Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between! Please welcome to the field: Performapal Spikeagle!"
On Nathaniel's command, a large brown bird with sharp wings, sunglasses, and a bowtie appeared on the field. It flapped its wings in introduction, and the shades on its eyes gleamed in the circus lights.
Performapal Spikeagle: Level 2, 900 ATK
"And Spikeagle is not alone, because he is about to be joined by our lovely assistant! Please give a warm welcome to Performapal Helpprincess!"
Performapal Spikeagle moved to the side as a girl dressed in purple appeared amidst a cloud of smoke. She had on a spotted bowtie, and purple hair decorated in twintails. In one hand she held a phone with its cord severed, and in the other a winged staff with a big gloved hand at the end.
Performapal Helpprincess: Level 4, 1200 ATK
"Now prepare your eyes for Spikeagle's dazzling performance! Using his effect, I can target one monster I control, and allow it to inflict piercing battle damage this turn! And I target our lovely Performapal Helpprincess!"
Spikeagle flew to the top of Helpprincess's staff, and circled around its big hand. Soon, the fingers of the hand began to grow sharper and sharper. Kind of like nails, but razor nails.
As Nathaniel prepared to moved to the Battle Phase, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. An Action Card hidden in plain sight, although this one was suspended in midair. It seems it was in a location that was meant to be reached by trapeze, but Nathaniel had a better idea. He jumped off his platform and onto Spikeagle, who desperately flapped its wings a little before stabilizing its altitude again. As Nathaniel and Spikeagle flew to the Action Card, Nathaniel pointed a finger towards Megan's face-down monster.
"Battle Phase! Performapal Helpprincess attacks your face-down monster! Go!"
Helpprincess raised her staff with a triumphant grin and moved in towards Megan's set monster before smashing her staff into it from above.
Attacking with such a weak monster? He must've thought she just put down something as a bluff or to stave off attacks. Either way it wasn't enough to beat her monster. The monster flipped face up and Mystic Swordsman Lv.4 appeared, violently slamming his sword into the staff attack of the princess. Megan merely gave a confident grin and waited for Nate's response.
Mystic Swordsman LV4: Level 4, 1600 DEF
Nathaniel LP: 4000->3600
Nathaniel groaned as Helpprincess's attack was deflected. Mystic Swordsman LV4 was bad enough, but if Mystic Swordsman LV6 hits the field, then he's really in hot water. Pinning his hopes, he swiped the Action Card with one swift motion before lowering himself back onto his original platform.
"Not the best performance," Nathaniel sighed. "but we save the best for last. I set two cards face-down and yield the stage to you."
Megan drew her next card with another grin, nice, about time this one showed up. Of course at this rate she wouldn't need it but still. She checked the field again, with two set cards and the possibility of a trap card attacking would be rather dangerous.
What's more if her swordsman got destroyed she would be helpless and it would only take a few turns to finish her off. Too risky "Alright Swordsman, lets go looking for some cards, oh and switch to attack mode." Megan announced and jumped on his shoulders.
Mystic Swordsman LV4: 1600 DEF->1900 ATK
The swordsman stood up easily managing Megan's weight and ran across a tight rope towards an action card that'd been spotted. It'd take a while to get to but it was the closest one. At least the little circus monsters looked weak for now, but she'd learned from her last duel that attack wasn't always an indication of strength."Oh and its your turn to resume the stage." she said somewhat belatedly.
Not attacking? Interesting tactic. Nathaniel thought as he drew his next card. Still, his hand was not getting any better. Even if Megan didn't attack last turn, it seemed the best he could hope for was a stalemate.
"I-"
At the sound of his voice, his monsters stood at the ready...
"-set a card face-down and end my turn."
...And promptly faceplanted at Nathaniel's unremarkable turn.
Ah goody, there was the backup she needed in the event of failure. She snatched up the action card and glanced at it in parting. "Alright, to kick things off I'll tear apart your middle face down with my Mystical Space Typoon, then Mystic Swordsman will slice apart your eagle." Of course her plans didn't factor for her coming along on the ride.
Simply following orders her monster leapt forward sweeping with his magic blade to pixelate the monster. Besides having lower attack it was also his transportation for the moment so it was a double whammy. Being carried along was exhilrating considering the speed of her monsters attack and quite fun. Maybe she should do that more often.
Nathaniel covered his eyes as the circus was suddenly overcome by a powerful gale, and his middle face-down revealed itself to be Negate Attack before succumbing to the winds and shattering to pieces. And as if that wasn't bad enough, Mystic Swordsman immediately moved to destroy Spikeagle. The well-dressed bird attempted to fly away, but the swordsman proved to be too fast, and Spikeagle was sliced clean in two, forcing Nathaniel to brace himself against the shockwaves that ensued.
Nathaniel LP: 3600->2600
Megan grinned, sweet, looks like she got lucky with hitting that negate attack and it looked like his action card hadn't done him any good. What's more in addition to dealing some nice damage her monster leveled up. "Curtains close for your eagle, now I'll enter the end phase and allow my Mystic Swordsman to level up to level 6!" Megan annouced as she leapt off her monster and he shimmered breifly. Better armour, stronger swords and most importantly, more attack. "Your turn to take back the stage!"
With Mystic Swordsman now up to LV6 and one of his best protection cards destroyed, Nathaniel could not think of a worse situation, and he was really trying. He let out a deep sigh as he looked at his next draw. This performer was late to the show. Still, the show must go on, and Nathaniel slapped his next card onto his Disk with renewed vigor.
"While the curtains may have closed on Spikeagle, I bring you our next performer. The amazing Performapal Skeeter Skimmer!"
The new monster that appeared was a large, orange water strider, clad once more in the Performapals' signature bowtie and tophat. On each of its little insect legs were white gloves, and its back was designed like a boat.
Performapal Skeeter Skimmer: Level 4, 500 ATK
"I'll switch Helpprincess to defense position next and then end my turn.
Eh, not bad not great. Megan looked suspicously at the monster that had just appeared. 500 ATK, but it was in ATK mode and he'd switched his princess to defense. Cleary he was either baiting her to attack the princess and ignore the skitter, or he had a rather specific card. But he hadn't played anything last turn so odds were he was bluffing besides, it was too good an oppertunity to let pass.
She'd wait until later in case he did have something but what she could do to get some extra oopmh in there was... "I'll activate the spell card Solidarity, raising my Swordsman's attack to 3100, then I'll use him to tear apart your skeeter.". If Nate let this next attack go through he'd be in for a hurting. Her swordsman raised both his swords now and once again lunged forward to pixelate another one of Nate's weak monsters.
"Skeeter Skimmer has a trick up his sleeve." Said Nathaniel as he activated Skeeter Skimmer's effect. "When he's targeted for an attack, I can negate that attack, and then switch Skeeter Skimmer into defense position!"
Skeeter Skimmer raised two of its six legs to protect itself, and Mystic Swordsman's blade was blocked by a colorless barrier. However, even after the barrier dissipated and the danger was past, Skeeter Skimmer was still covering its head.
Performapal Skeeter Skimmer: 500 ATK->1600 DEF
Hmph. She should've known better. She'd have to make a note of that in what she was going to dub her Dueling Notes. It seemed most poeple didn't try bluffing and it wasn't wise to assume they did something stupid without cause. "Nice trick, turn end."
Nathaniel looked at the next card he drew with a slight annoyance. It was really not helpful right now.
"I set one card face-down. Then, I will introduce the fourth member of our little troupe: Performapal Whip Snake!"
This time, what appeared was a purple viper, with more top hats and bowties. It wore a grin that curled its lips up to its starry cheeks, and it did a little dance as it joined its brethren on the stage.
Performapal Whip Snake: Level 4, 1700 ATK
Hope this works! Nathaniel silently prayed in his head. It was showtime.
"Now, on with the show! I switch both Performapal Helpprincess and Performapal Skeeter Skimmer to attack position!"
Skeeter Skimmer took its legs off of its head and Helpprincess raised her staff once more. Both looked ready for action.
Performapal Helpprincess: 1200 DEF->1200 ATK
Performapal Skeeter Skimmer: 1600 DEF->500 ATK
"And now Performapal Whip Snake unleashes his grand performance! Once per turn, I can target one monster my opponent controls, and switch the current values of their attack and defense points! Show them your stuff, Whip Snake!"
Whip Snake moved to the center of the stage and began performing a weird hypnotic dance, focusing its eyes on Mystic Swordsman.
Mystic Swordsman LV6: 3100 ATK->1700 ATK
Good thing Megan did have a backup for something just like this. "Nope, I'll activate my face-down quick spell Enemy Controller and I'll use it to change-" Megan thought a moment more. She was going to change his monster to defense mode, but if she changed her own monster to defense mode, his monster would slam into a 3100 DEF wall. Except it only worked on the enemy.
Dang it, why couldn't it have been named just controller? Ah well, "To change your snake back into defense mode!" An oversized controller appeared in her hands and she looked at it quizzicaly before proceeding to button mash on it in hopes of using it correctly. Whatever she did seemed to work.
"Not so fast!" Nathaniel cried. He has been sitting on this card for nearly nearly the entire duel now, and it was finally time to play it. "Action Card activate! Invisibility! With this card, not only can Whip Snake not be targeted for effects, it is also unaffected by them! Which means your Enemy Controller won't be controlling anything!"
On Nathaniel's command, Whip Snake's purple image suddenly became completely transparent. It continued to dance, despite nobody actually being able to see it.
"Heh, you just made me pull out my real show stopper. I play my action card Big Escape. It doesn't effect your monster, it just ends the battle phase!" Megan called out triumphantly. That'd been a little close, he'd had more tricks than she'd figured. Without that action card she would've been hurting and been a little hard pressed to recover. But now from what she could tell his monster's were out of tricks and all in attack position.
"Oh come on!" Nathaniel was this close. It was a close call for both of them, but despite his initial frustrations, Nathaniel could not help but grin like an idiot.
"Not a bad show, but my Performapals always have a trick up their sleeve. I end my turn and yield the stage."
Always had a trick hm? Could that nasty snake's effect be used during her turn as well? If so it meant she had to attack with more defense than her opponent's attack. Luckily they were weak enough she could still pull that off. What's more, she'd gotten a friend to join her swordsman. "I'll normal summon the Exiled Force to the field." A crowd of ruffians appeared all around her, balancing precariously on the various tight ropes and wooden poles and such that made up the area.
Exiled Force: Level 4, 1000 ATK->1800 ATK
"Did you know Performapal Whip Snake can use his effect during my opponent's turn? Because he totally can! Go ahead and dance, Whip Snake! Show'em!"
Whip Snake once again danced its scaly little dance, and Mystic Swordsman's attack once again dropped to 1700.
All these cards with all their effects that she didn't know enough about. She'd would've studied them to make sure she knew them, but memorizing all the cards she might face would be impossible. Oh well, she'd have to work from experience. "Then I'll use them to swarm your little Skimmer." There, now even though his snake could use that pesky effect it didn't matter, her swordsman could still take apart the little princess. The ruffians managed to pull themselves together charging the little bug, some of them falling to the ground after losing their balance, but still valiantly charging.
"Skeeter Skimmer's effect activates! By changing it to defense position, I can negate your attack!" Once again, Skeeter Skimmer covered its head and a protective bubble appeared around it. The ruffians who had finally organized were once again knocked back into disarray.
Performapal Skeeter Skimmer: 500 ATK->1600 DEF
Again!? These clowns were starting to get on her nerves. She'd thought the little bug's thing had been like a once while on the field thingy. Argh, what did the little princess do again? Summon things? Not a priority then. The only real option then was to get rid of that bug with her swordsman so it couldn't curl up again. "Fine, Swordsman, make mincemeat outta that buggy." Megan said dismissively as her Swordsman gave the stumbling ruffians a disdainful glance and leapt over them gracefully, bringing his blades crashing down upon the bug's fragile body.
Even with his monster's imminent destruction hanging over him, Nathaniel was still grinning, because this was the chance he was waiting for. "Trap Card activate! Wall of Disruption! When my opponent declares an attack, Wall of Disruption causes their monsters to lose 800 attack points for every monster they control! You control two at the moment, so your monsters lose 1600 attack points each! Told you I had a trick up my sleeve."
Mystic Swordsman's movements suddenly became sluggish, and Exiled Force pretty much just gave up entirely.
Mystic Swordsman LV6: 1700 ATK->100 ATK
Exiled Force: 1800 ATK->200 ATK
Megan glared at her opponent's side of the field, unable to stop her weakened Swordsman from futilely slamming his blades into the pesky bug's shell. He was blown back from the recoil, plowing through the motley crew that made up the exiled forces and into Megan, causing her to unceremoniously thud into the wooden post behind her.
Megan 4000 LP ->2500
It didn't even matter what position her Swordsman was in, it seemed Nate was determined to make him useless either way. Her useless troops on the other hand didn't necessarily need any attack to be of assistance."FINE, exiled force, drag that snake down to the grave with you!"
With fresh energy the gang of miscreants clambered over the ropes, falling more than walking and latched onto the snake, falling off the wires onto the floor far below, the whole gang and the snake vanishing in a burst of color. "Your turn." Despite being slightly peeved at this point Megan had to admire the resilience of his defenses. A bloody pain to get through is what it was.
That wasn't good. Whip Snake was one of his best cards. Nathaniel was planning on going for the knockout punch on Mystic Swordsman this turn, but it seemed like that wasn't going to happen.
"My turn! Draw!
Not much he can do now. "I set one card face-down! Then I switch the positions of both my monsters and end my turn!"
Megan grinned, well that should cut down on the amount of stalling he was managing to pull off. She could use her spell but it wasn't really needed right now. On the other hand it would help her get through his defenses quicker. Hmm. She'd wait. Better to see what she needed and if it could be helpful later, her field was fine the way it is.
"Battle phase, Mystic Swordsman tear apart the princess!" Regicide? Matricide? Something-cide. Not good enough to make a snappy remark at least. Her swordsman was now looking much for able for battle and showed it as he crossed the impractical battlefield with amazing speed, attacking the princess from either side with his blurring blades.
"It may not save the princess, but I do have a Trap Card ready to activate! Go, Pinpoint Guard!" Nathaniel's face-down revealed itself, showing the image of a huge blue hand reaching from below the ground.
"This card can be activated whenever my opponent declares an attack, and I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower monster from my Graveyard back to my field, and it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. Performapal Whip Snake, time for your encore!"
Performapal Whip Snake: Level 4, 900 DEF
On Nathaniel's call, a portal opened up on the ground, and out popped Performapal Whip Snake once again. However, Helpprincess was not so lucky, and she let out a small shriek as she shattered under Mystic Swordsman's blade.
The snake was back again. Those monster's of his just couldn't handle being out of the spotlight could they? Well it was too late to switch to defense mode and when the snake pulled the same trick her swordsman would be done for. That meant she had to go for an action card. The next closest one she saw was towards the top of the tent, stuck at the nearly very top into the wood. "I'll set one more card. Come on mystic, run like your life depends on it! Oh and your turn again."
It looks like Nathaniel had Megan on the ropes, but he knew nothing was over yet, especially if she was scrambling for an Action Card.
"I switch Whip Snake to attack position and activate his effect once more, switching the attack and defense points of your Mystic Swordsman!" Nathaniel cried as he turned around and slid down the ladder to the ground below. Meanwhile, Whip Snake once again performed its little dance, its effect all too familiar for everyone involved.
Mystic Swordsman LV6: 3100 ATK->100 ATK
Once Nathaniel's feet touched the ground, he pointed his finger towards the sky where Mystic Swordsman was. "Whip Snake, attack Mystic Swordsman LV6!"
Whip Snake leaped into action, springing from pole to pole as it got higher and closer to Mystic Swordsman.
"Throw me!" Megan ordered her swordsman and she was tossed upwards clutching the post just below the action card. Grinning she snatched it from the post and looked at it. Trap? The card exploded and stairs appeared on her disk demanding a card to be put in. Slip-Up.
"Uh, trap card, Royal Decree activate!" Megan called out, a wall slamming on top of the stairs and saving her the trouble of having to recycle a card. Phew that would've been bothersome. Unfortunately her Swordsman was out of luck and was forced to battle the snake without any aid and was summarily crushed in the twisting coils. One of the swords flew away in the explosion of light grazing Megan's arm.
Megan 2600 LP -> 1000 LP
Royal Decree? Uh oh. Better activate this while I still can. "I chain my own Trap Card, Jar of Avarice! This card lets me shuffle five cards from my Graveyard back to my deck, and then I can draw one card."
A huge purple-faced jar appeared in the middle of the circus, and began sucking in the air around it, along with five cards. From the top of the jar then popped out another card, which made its way to Nathaniel's hand.
"I'll then have Skeeter Skimmer attack you directly!"
Skeeter Skimmer began to climb up a pole to move closer to Megan. However, when it got there, all it could do was give her a light poke with its stinger.
Megan 1000LP -> 500 LP
Oof. Nasty critter wasn't it? At least she was still alive for another turn, still could still kind of recover from this. Maybe. Her next draw could very well determine the way this duel would swing.
"With my Battle Phase over, I'll end my turn with a face-down and my Spell Card Burden of the Mighty. Alright, my Performapals will take a brief intermission for now. The spotlight's all yours."
Turn 13: Megan Nate 2600LP: 1 card, Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500 ATK), Performapal Whip Snake(1700 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, 2 set S/T Megan 500LP: 5 cards, 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
Really! Did everyone run that card? Was there a royal decree for spells? Cause it was looking like she needed that. Megan drew her next card irritated and searched for another action card, even if it was a trap she had royal decree out so it didn't matter. To her pleasant surprise she saw one far below, in a pool of water seemingly placed just for this. It was still really far down.
With this card... math ran through Megan's head as she calculated her best move. Couldn't beat snake, attacking Skimmer did nothing, defense mode was the only option. What card would she summon though? Megan said "I'll set one monster and take a bow." and proceeded to dive off the wooden post she was clinging to for the action card floating lazily in the pool below.
Turn 14: Nate Nate 2600LP: 1 card, Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500 ATK), Performapal Whip Snake(1700 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, 2 set S/T Megan 500LP: 4 cards, 1 set monster, 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
As Nathaniel drew his next card, he looked to see Megan reaching for another Action Card. However, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something else. The glint of an Action Card bubble hidden under the platform. There was no way he was reaching that by himself, but an Action Duelist was never alone.
"Alright Whip Snake, attack her face-down monster!"
While Whip Snake leaped to take a bite out of Megan's defenses, Nathaniel once again ran for the ladder, and began to climb back up to the platform he had just climbed down from.
The monster was revealed to be Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, but its defense proved too weak to hold off the snake and it was crushed. However. "Now her effects activates and I can special summon a monster with 1500 or less attack from my deck. I'll summon Obnoxius Celtic Guardian to the field." His attack and defense were suitable to save her LP for another turn.
As Megan summoned a new Warrior to her field, Nathaniel realized he had made a terrible mistake. He swore to himself that he would not repeat the same mistake next turn, but for now...
"Whip Snake! To me!" Nathaniel was on top of the platform once more, and Whip Snake leaped to his side before coiling around his arm. Nathaniel then got down on all fours and reached below the platform with Whip Snake on his arm. He knew he couldn't reach the Action Card, but Whip Snake definitely can.
Whip Snake returned to Nathaniel with an Action Card in its fangs. When Nathaniel saw it, he almost ducked for cover, but no explosion came. Then he saw that giant wall and remembered that Royal Decree worked both ways.
"Nice!" Nathaniel laughed, giving Whip Snake a playful pat on the head. "Alright, I'll set one more card face-down and end my turn."
Turn 15: Megan Nate 2600LP: 1 card, Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500 ATK), Performapal Whip Snake(1700 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, 3 set S/T Megan 500LP: 5 cards, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1800 ATK), 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
Her samurai hm? Puny attack and the same defense. Plus that nasty spell card on the field. Still, her guardian had 1800 attack. Her other monster, if she played it. Hmm, 500-400+800+900. That added up to 1700, enough to tie. If she attacked the snake with both one would have to be let through. Or.... ya that was much a much better plan. "I'll activate my spell card, The Warrior Returning Alive, to return my Exiled Force from the graveyard to my hand. Then I'll normal summon them to the field."
Exiled Force: Level 4: 1000 ATK->1400 ATK
Not good. Nathaniel knew what was coming, and if Exiled Force destroys Whip Snake again, he'll lose his only way of getting past her monsters. If there was ever a time to scramble for Action Cards, it was now. Throwing safety out the window, Nathaniel leaped off his platform and jumped from floating balloon to floating balloon. He was sure there had to be an Action Card hidden around here somewhere, and sure enough he was right. One balloon way off to the side.
He leaped for it and stood precariously perched on top of the balloon. Staying as still as possible, he reached for the Action Card. Well, the name was suitable enough, but the effect was not what he needed. Nathaniel looked sadly at Whip Snake below. This was not going to be good for the little guy.
Heh, now she out attacked his snake twice, and could use her force's effect. Pesky snake was going down this turn one way or the other. Could the snake use his effect during the battle phase? Argh too many things she didn't know. She had to play it safe because she couldn't survive another hit from that dang bug. "Exiled Force is going to bring your snake back where it belongs!" In an eerie repeat the knaves piled onto the snake, dragging it back into the graveyard with them. Was there any point in attacking the little bug? He could have it in whatever position he wanted next turn anyway. Nah, not worth it. "Then it's back to you."
Turn 16: Nate Nate 2600LP: 3 cards (1 Action Card), Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, 3 set S/T Megan 500LP: 5 cards, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1800 ATK), 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
Nathaniel silently drew his card, not wanting to rock the balloon he was on and possibly suffer a nasty fall. He gently jumped from balloon to balloon, retracing his steps back to his platform.
"Alright. I end my turn." He said when his feet hit solid ground again. Not much he can do now.
Turn 17: Megan Nate 2600LP: 3 cards (1 Action Card), Performapal Skeeter Skimmer (500 ATK), Burden of the Mighty, 3 set S/T Megan 500LP: 6 cards, Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1800 ATK), 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
Perfect. Snake out of the way. Monsters to use. Thing were looking up again. Megan was briefly torn between which monster to summon but made up her mind quickly. The one with the least risk and effort needed to be useful. "Now I'll summon my Command Knight in attack mode." Megan said pleased with her draw. Even if Nate managed to get that snake back Command Knight had plenty of defense.
Command Knight: Level 4: 1200 ATK->2000 ATK
Obnoxious Celtic Guard: 1800 ATK->2200 ATK
"First off, my Obnoxious celt will trigger your skimmer's effect by attacking him!" Under the careful directing of the fiery knight, the celt rushed forward striking at the nasty bug with his heavy sword.
"Consider it triggered." Skeeter Skimmer's protective barrier once again formed around it as it assumed a defensive position, blocking the opposing monster's attack.
Performapal Skeeter Skimmer: 500 ATK->1600 DEF
"Now Command Knight, shishkabob that bug!" Her knight personally led the attack now careful stabbing with a flaming blade, traversing the obstacles as though they weren't even there.
"Uh oh. It looks like it's time for... a Hippo Carnival!" Nathaniel shouted with a grin. One of his many set cards flipped face-up to reveal a green card depicting a number of hippos in dancer's dresses. "When this card is activated, I can Special Summon three Hippo Tokens to the field. They have zero attack and defense, but their dancing is second to none! Look! Even your Command Knight can't keep her eyes away!"
Three dancing hippos appeared on the field in perfect synchronicity. Command Knight's blade, once aimed at the defending Skeeter Skimmer, now headed straight for one of the hippos instead.
Hippo Tokens: Level 1, 0 DEF
Son of a-, it seemed like Megan would never get through his monsters. What's more he could switch his bug back into attack mode now. Poo. Well there was nothing she could do now. Really needed to look up that royal decree for spells. "Well I suppose it goes back to you."
Nathaniel sighed as he drew his card. It really wasn't what he needed right now. Looks like all he can do now is buy time.
"First thing's first. Skeeter Skimmer switches back to attack position so that he might perform once again. And then I'll set a monster face-down and end my turn."
Hm. Well that wasn't very helpful. Still, she didn't need it. This turn she'd have plenty of firepower. "Now I'll normal summon Ben Kei, and equip him with my Lightning Blade!". A heavily wounded samurai appeared on the field, an energized blade appearing in his hand.
Armed Samurai - Ben Kei: Level 4, 500 ATK->2100 ATK
"Now Ben Kei will tear through those tokens!" The samurai obliged, rushing at the hippos slashing at one with the energized blade, then ripping out one of the arrows and impaling the other one.
Well that was violent. Nathaniel thought with a cringe. The hippos may be gone, but he still had two more monsters on the field. He just had to hold on.
Wow, he was hardcore."Now my Command Knight is going to take care of that last face-down monster!" Once again Command Knight strode forward confidently, removing her sword from her sheath and igniting it to slash apart the set monster, which revealed itself to be Fluffal Mouse. "And since there's no point in attacking your nasty bug I'll turn it back over to you." Soon she'd manage to get through the last of his defenses and finally win. Nate had been tougher than she'd thought.
Another less than useful draw. Nathaniel had a lot of defenses set up, but he can't hold out forever. He needed to do something drastic.
"I activate the Spell Card Galaxy Cyclone! This card allows me to destroy one set Spell or Trap Card on the field. However, since there are none on your side of the field, I will have to destroy one of my own. I destroy my face-down Damage Gate!"
A great cyclone of winds roared in the middle of the Action Field, swirling the balloons around the eye of the storm like planets around a star. Soon, one of Nathaniel's face-down cards shattered in front of him, and the storm subsided.
Megan narrowed her eyes suspiciously. People didn't do stupid things. They did things that looked stupid but proved to be smart later. His face-down was useless because it was a trap so he hadn't really lost anything. He must have some way to use one of them in the grave. Still her next card almost fully loaded her field with monsters and Nate's field was slowly depleting. Doubtless his action card was something useful since he was holding onto it. Which reminded her she should pre-emptively start looking for another one.
She saw one that was floating in the middle of a flaming ring. Only if I have to to, she told herself slowly moving towards it as she played out her turn. "I'll summon Dark Blade to the field,"
Dark Blade: Level 4, 1800 ATK->2600 ATK
"then enter the battle phase. Benkei smash that beetle into pieces!"" Megan had forgotten how hardcore ben was. He'd appeared next to the poor bug in an instant, pounding the shocking blade into the creature as many times as it took for it to die.
"Erm, good job Ben. Next, attack Guardian, then Dark Blade, then Command Knight!" Megan yelled in exuberance at the thought of finally breaking past his defenses and tasting sweet victory once again.
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Swift Scarecrow! By sending it to the Graveyard, I can negate my opponent's direct attack and end their Battle Phase!" As Nathaniel slid a card from his hand to his Graveyard, a metallic scarecrow materialized in front of Nathaniel, wielding twin twigs. Despite its unimpressive stature, it stood stalwart in protection of its master, fending off attacks from all three warriors.
How many stalling cards did this guy have? He still hadn't even used his action card! "So many defenses, guess its your turn again"
She says that, but Nathaniel's defenses were steadily running out. At this rate, he's done for unless he can draw a counterattack. With that said, however, he still had a card to play.
"I activate the Spell Card Swords of Revealing Light!" Three giant glowing swords stabbed themselves into the ground around the field, creating a barrier around Megan's monsters. "Thanks to this card, I'll be safe from your attacks for three turns. I set a monster face-down and end my turn."
Turn 23: Megan Nate 2600LP: 1 cards (1 Action Card), 1 set monster, Swords of Revealing Light (0 turns) Burden of the Mighty, 1 set S/T Megan 500LP: 7 cards (1 Action Card), Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (2200 ATK), Command Knight (2000 ATK), Armed Samurai Benkei (2100 ATK), Dark Blade (2600 ATK), 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Lightning Blade (equip spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap)
Royal Decree for spells. It had to exist somewhere. Nothing to bust it with, so none of her monster's could attack for a while. UGH. Whats more her hand was full. Well she'd just have to set down some dummy cards that weren't helpful yet. One at a time of course. "Set, back to you." Megan said irritated by another one of Nate's many, many, many defense cards.
Turn 24: Nate Nate 2600LP: 2 cards (1 Action Card), 1 set monster, Swords of Revealing Light (1 turn) Burden of the Mighty, 1 set S/T Megan 500LP: 6 cards (1 Action Card), Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (2200 ATK), Command Knight (2000 ATK), Armed Samurai Benkei (2100 ATK), Dark Blade (2600 ATK), 1 Solidarity(cont. spell), 1 Lightning Blade (equip spell), 1 Royal Decree(cont. trap), 1 set S/T
Nathaniel could understand Megan's frustration, but he was certainly not going to lay down and keel over. If his deck won't give him what he needs, then he'll just buy as much time as he needs until it does. He never was the type to give up. After all, where's the entertainment in that?
"Draw!"
He glanced at the card he drew out of the corner of his eye. It was good enough.
"From my Graveyard, I activate the effect of Galaxy Cyclone! I already used it once, but by Banishing it from the Graveyard, I can use it again! Only this time, I can destroy a face-up Spell or Trap instead! I destroy your Solidarity!"
A great cyclone of winds rose from beneath the ground, and this one didn't waste any time. It brought itself straight down on Megan's face-up Spell, shattering it instantly.
H-hey! That was like mystical space typhoon but better. What was up with that? Now all her monsters down 800 attack. Luckily Command Knight saved them from being utterly helpless but still.
"And then, from my hand comes the royalty we all know and love: Performapal Helpprincess!" The purple girl from way back at the beginning of the duel was back once again, raising her staff with a wink.
Performapal Helpprincess: Level 4, 1200 ATK
"Battle Phase! Let's get this show on the road, Helpprincess! Attack Command Knight!"
Helpprincess raised her big staff and charged at the red-armored warrior. The hand and the end of the staff balled itself into a fist as Helpprincess thrusted it at her opponent.
Command Knight simply took a step back and the other three monsters stepped forward in front of her. "Ha, not so fast. You can't get to my Command Knight until you get through all of my other monsters first!"
Nathaniel gritted his teeth as he analyzed the field. All three of those monsters had higher attack than Helpprincess. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. And if worst comes to worst...
"A slight cast change, but no biggie. Helpprincess will just attack Armed Samurai - Ben Kei instead!" Helpprincess stopped her charge and took a look around. Then, after locating the one called Ben Kei, she raised her staff and charged again.
Megan looked at the princess skeptically. People didn't do stupid moves. But that looked pretty stupid. Unwilling to use anything to stop it Megan simply watched to see what would happen.
Helpprincess thrust her staff forward, but it was easily parried by Ben Kei's Lightning Blade, leaving her wide open. As Ben Kei raised his sword to finish her off, Nathaniel played the last card in his hand.
"During the Damage Step, I activate the effect of the last card in my hand! Action Card: From the Brink of Defeat! When my monster battles this turn, I can activate this card to have it gain 800 attack points during damage calculation only!"
Performapal Helpprincess: 1200 ATK->2000 ATK
To Ben Kei's surprise, Helpprincess blocked his attack with renewed strength. Then, in one swift motion, she knocked him right upside the head with her big hand.
Ben Kei shattered from the force of the blow and his lightning blade exploded, arcs of lightning racing out and lightly touching Megan.
Megan 500 LP -> 0
Winner: Nathaniel
Megan stared at the field in outrage as the circus collapsed around them. She'd been winning! She'd practically won! But what ticked her off even more was that she could've used her action card to stop the attack but hadn't.
People never did stupid things. Never ever. But she'd expected a tie from the battle at worst, not this. He really was a showman. She sighed and reluctantly reached out a hand to Nate. "One hell of a show."
"Yes! Nice work!" Nathaniel shouted as she gave Helpprincess a passionate high five before she disappeared along with the rest of the Action Field.
He then turned to Megan with a big grin on his face. "I'll say. You had me on the ropes for pretty much the entire duel. You're pretty amazing yourself." Nathaniel replied as he returned her handshake.
Megan got out Mystic Swordsman Lv.4 and chopped up a weak monster jumping straight to six and proceded to lead the match for a bit. Nate made good use of his snake to cripple Megan's Swordsman along with some good traps to keep pressure on the field. Megan took back the upperhand but was defeated by a sudden attack boost on princess while attacking her weakest monster.
Well, if I had to elaborate, Nathaniel used to want to be like Yuya's father, Yusho Sakaki, since that guy was like the pioneer of Entertainment Duels and Action Duels in general.
He's given up on that dream though, and now just wants to be a normal white-collar, but sometimes he just can't help himself.
Angelo sighed as he took the 100 points but that meant that the Worm was officially gone! "Bad move Brad! Goodbye Worm King! Thanks to Akyls's special ability when he is destroyed while equipped to a monster I can choose one card to be destroyed and I'm looking at it!" Angelo said pointing to the king.
Brad realized that he really needed to look into what other decks could do. He was about to resign yet another of his big hitters to its demise when he remembered another card from his first turn. "Wait! Spell card, activate: Forbidden Dress!" As Akyls rocketed towards Worm King, the two collided in a huge explosion. But as the smoke cleared, Worm King still stood, but was now cloaked in a beautiful, shimmering white dress. "At tha cost of 600 ATK until tha end of tha turn, I can make a monster immune to targetin' or destruction by card effects until tha end of tha turn." Worm King did an awkward spin, to illustrate both the fact it was not destroyed and that it had a wonderful outfit on now.
Heads up for next time, Aklys does not work like that. If Aklys is destroyed due to the equipped monster leaving the field, be it Synchro, destruction, or otherwise, then Aklys is no longer considered to be equipped when it is destroyed and it cannot activate its effect.
"Yep, just like Yuya Sakaki." Nathaniel answered with a smile, glad that there were other people up to date with Entertainment celebrities, even if people only knew him because of his father. "I don't use any of the Pendulums though. That stuff isn't really my thing."
"Ahem." Now Megan's staring was making him a little uncomfortable, although he tried not to show it. Instead, he tried to turn the conversation somewhere else. "If you like, I can give you a little demonstration."
