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“I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO!” Virgil yells as he and his best friend Tama build their decks to duel Seto Kaiba. “I’ve gone through a few different ideas, but I don’t know how to synergize with you. Honestly, I know the Ally of Justice cards would be a huge problem for him. But, he’s remarkable at adapting, and I don’t know these cards well enough.”
“I’m just using Dark Magician,” Tama replies nonchalantly, looking over her deck one final time. “You can use that Leech card though, that might throw him off.” Virgil smiles hearing that, and looks through one of his card cases, finding a card that Jaden trusted him with.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?” Tama looks up and sees the card in his hand.
“You think if I use this, you’ll be ok with me using your monsters?” Virgil asks.
“We’re a team. Of course, you can.”
“Ok, then I know what deck I’m using,” He responds, picking up a copy of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
“And we’re here for what may be the match of the century! Seto Kaiba has challenged the two finalists to a 2-on-1 duel!” The MC from yesterday yells. “Let’s bring out our duelists!”
Tama and Virgil step to the center field, wearing matching Kaiba Corp sleeveless jackets. Tama in black, and Virgil in red. They walk arm in arm, waving to the cheering crowd, the grins on their faces wide enough to see from the tops of the stands. A cloud of smoke appears from the other side of the stadium, and through the smoke, comes Seto Kaiba. He walks perfectly in tune with the song “You’re Not Me” that’s playing over the loudspeakers. He meets the two in the center of the field as the trio shuffles each other’s decks.
“I hope you both brought your a-game because I don’t take kindly to my time being wasted.” Kaiba flatly states. The duelists all take their decks and head to their respective duel areas.
“Since this is a 2-on-1 duel, there will be special rules! Mr. Kaiba will start with 8000 Life Points, while our challengers will have 4000 Life Points apiece. Both Challengers have separate fields but will share their graveyards. If a challenger's life points hit zero, their partner has access to any cards that are still on their field. Finally, no player can attack their first turn. Challengers, do you accept these rules?” The MC asks.
“Yes!” Virgil and Tama reply in unison.
“It’s time to set the stage!” The MC shouts to the crowd. He hits a few buttons on the control pad, and the field around them transforms into a coliseum. The audience cheers as Seto Kaiba activates his duel disk.
“Let’s Duel!” All three duelists declare. As they finish, a Heads-Up Display appears over all three of them, revealing their current life points and the cards they have in their hand.
Turn 1: Seto Kaiba - 8000 LP; 5 cards in hand
Virgil - 4000 LP; 5 cards in hand
Tama - 4000 LP; 5 cards in hand
“I’ll make the first move,” Kaiba declares, as he draws a card. He looks at his hand and smirks. “I’ll discard the White Stone of Legend in order to activate my spell Cards of Consonance. Now, I get to draw 2 cards.” Kaiba draws his two cards, and his graveyard starts to glow, with a bright light. “When my White Stone of Legend is sent to the graveyard, I can add one Blue-Eyes White Dragon to my hand.” Virgil and Tama can both swear they hear the faint roar of the legendary dragon as it adds itself to Kaiba’s hand. “Since I have no monsters on the field, I can special summon my Kaiser Vorse Raider to the field!”
(Kaiser Vorse Raider: 1900 ATK/1200 DEF)
“And he won’t be alone, I summon my Familiar Knight to the field as well.” With a bloodlust in its eyes, the Knight steps forward, brandishing a hand-and-a-half sword in one hand and a solid metal shield in the other.
(Familiar Knight: 1200 ATK/1400 DEF)
“I toss 2 cards facedown and end my turn. You have 2 turns to impress me.”
Turn 2: Virgil - 4000 LP; 5 cards in hand
“Ok, here I come, Mr. Kaiba!” Virgil says, drawing for his turn. “I activate the spell card Red-Eyes Insight and send my Red-Eyes Wyvern from my deck to the graveyard in order to add Red-Eyes Transmigration to my hand. Now I set a monster and end my turn.”
“Are you trying to piss me off? Using cards that a 3rd rate duelist would find acceptable?” Kaiba asked, glaring at Virgil.
“No, I just thought that Red-Eyes vs Blue-Eyes would be a fun matchup.” Kaiba just grunts at that but allows Tama to start her turn.
Turn 3: Tama - 4000 LP; 5 cards in hand
“It’s my turn!” Tama cheerfully says. “I wonder if his deck are 3rd rate cards, then what will mine be? I activate the spell card Dark Magic Circle!” A golden circle with magical runes appears on the ground at Tama’s feet, circling around her, as she’s enveloped in a magical aura. “With this card, I can look at the top 3 cards of my deck, and add one Dark Magician, or one of his cards to my hand.” Her deck glows as the top 3 cards hover around her. She grabs one of them, and the other two magically float back to her deck. “I chose the spell card Secrets of Dark Magic. And now, I summon the Chocolate Magician Girl!”
(Chocolate Magician Girl: 1600 ATK/1000 DEF)
“I activate Chocolate Magician Girl’s effect! Magical Refresh! This lets me send a spellcaster from my hand to the grave so I can draw a new card!” She sends her Dark Magician to the graveyard and draws one of the cards she placed back with Dark Magic Circle. “Now I set one facedown and end my turn!”
Turn 4: Kaiba - 8000 LP; 3 cards in hand
“So far, I remain unimpressed. But you still have another turn to change my mind,” Kaiba says, as he draws. “Let me show you how a real duelist makes a move! I activate Ancient Rules, and with it, I can summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon straight to the field. Come forth, my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” The card in his hand glows, and erupting from a pillar of light, comes the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. The dragon lets out a majestic roar, and the shockwaves cause Virgil and Tama’s jackets to whip out behind them.
(Blue-Eyes White Dragon: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
“Now I activate Monster Reborn, returning the White Stone of Legend back to the field. But it’s not staying for long. I tune my White Stone of Legend with my Blue-Eyes White Dragon! My legendary dragon, let your eyes reflect the sky, as you reach new potential! Descend from the skies, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon!” The mighty dragon lets out a proud roar that the crowd feels in their bones. Kaiba adds another Blue-Eyes White Dragon to his hand, due to White Stone’s effect.
(1+8=9)
(Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon: 2500 ATK/3000 DEF)
“And Mr. Kaiba has shown off one of his most powerful monsters early on in the duel! How will our challengers respond, if they can?” The MC interjects.
“First, my Familiar Knight will attack your set monster!” Kaiba declares. The Familiar Knight leaps into the air and aims for Virgil’s set monster. Before it can make contact, Tama intervenes.
“I activate my facedown, Magical Cylinders! This lets me set Magic Cylinder straight from my deck. And, I can activate it this turn.” A card sets itself from her deck, as the Knight keeps charging. “Now I activate Magic Cylinder! This will reflect your attack right back at your life points! And by removing Magical Cylinders from play, I can double the damage you take!” Tama grins, arms folded, as a magic cylinder appears in the path of Familiar Knight. It drives its sword through the cylinder, and the second cylinder appears in front of Kaiba. The Knight’s sword emerges from the second Cylinder, striking Kaiba in the gut.
Kaiba: 8000 → 5600
“Not a bad play. However, it doesn’t stop my Kaiser Vorse Raider from attacking!” The Kaiser Vorse Raider lunges for Virgil’s set monster, with its enhanced halberd stabbing into the face-down card. A baby version of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon appears and explodes.
“I activate my Red-Eyes Baby Dragon’s effect!” Virgil declares. “I can summon one level 7 or lower Red-Eyes from my deck, and then equip it with my Baby Dragon! Now, it’s your time! My dragon with the piercing Red-Eyes, unleash your ferocity! I summon the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” A pillar of fire erupts from the ground, and in the shadows, glowing red eyes can be seen. A pair of jet-black wings emerge from the flames and a ferocious roar dispels the fire.
(Red-Eyes Black Dragon: 2400 ATK/2000 DEF)
“And since I summoned a monster using Baby’s effect, I can equip my Red-Eyes with Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, to give it a 300 attack point boost!”
Red-Eyes B. Dragon 2400 → 2700
“Since my Vorse Raider destroyed a monster, it gets even stronger,” Kaiba points out, as the Kaiser Vorse Raider gets slightly larger.
Kaiser Vorse Raider 1900 → 2400
“There’s no use in attacking your magician girl, I know her effect, so I end my turn,” Kaiba says.
Turn 5: Virgil - 4000 LP; 4 cards in hand
“I activate Pot of Greed!” Virgil declares, showing the card he just drew. “With it, I can draw 2 more cards from my deck! I summon my Black Metal Dragon in defense mode.”
(Black Metal Dragon: 600 ATK/600 DEF)
“Now I activate my facedown, Red-Eyes Transmigration! I offer Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Black Metal Dragon as a sacrifice. Red-Eyes Black Dragon, encircle me in your embrace. I ritual summon the Lord of the Red!” Virgil is enveloped in bright light, with the spirit of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon overlaying with him. Enveloped in head-to-toe black dragon armor, Virgil has become the Lord of the Red
(Lord of the Red: 2400 ATK/2100 DEF)
“I activate the effects of Black Metal Dragon and Red-Eyes Baby Dragon, letting me add a Red-Eyes card and a level 1 dragon to my hand. I add Return of the Red-Eyes and The Black Stone of Legend to my hand. And since a card effect is activated, I can activate the effect of Lord of the Red, to destroy one monster. I hope you weren’t attached to your Vorse Raider.” As he says that, a ball of fire appears in his hand, and he lobs it at the Kaiser Vorse Raider, obliterating it.
“I attack your Familiar Knight!” Virgil leaps into the air, assisted by the armor, and dives forward with his fist extended.
“I activate Command Silencer. This negates your attack and lets me draw a card,” Kaiba says. A barrier appears in front of Virgil, throwing him backward. Thanks to the armor, he’s able to gracefully turn that into a backflip and lands perfectly on his feet. Virgil sets 2 cards and ends his turn.
Turn 6: Tama - 4000 LP; 4 cards in hand
“This is getting fun!” Tama yells as she draws a card. “Now I activate Change of Heart, to take your Azure-Eyes!” Azure-Eyes flies over to Tama’s field, and fury darkens Seto Kaiba’s face. “I summon my Berry Magician Girl in defense mode, and with her effect, I can add Lemon Magician Girl to my hand!”
(Berry Magician Girl: 400 ATK/400 DEF)
“I attack your Familiar Knight with my Chocolate Magician Girl! Dark Magic Burst!” The Chocolate Magician Girl points her wand towards Familiar Knight, and a blue energy burst fires at it, destroying it.
Kaiba: 5600 → 5200
“Since you destroyed my Familiar Knight, each of us can summon a Level 4 monster to the field. I summon my Rare Metal Dragon in attack mode.”
“I summon Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight in defense mode,” Virgil says. Tama doesn’t summon a monster.
(Rare Metal Dragon: 2400 ATK/1200 DEF)
(Gearfried the Red-Eyes Iron Knight: 1800 ATK/1600 DEF)
“Now, Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon, attack Rare Metal Dragon!” Tama commands. Azure-Eyes fires a blast of light, but Kaiba is prepared.
“I activate the Attack Guidance Armor trap card, which redirects the attack back to your Chocolate Magician Girl, meaning no matter the outcome, you take the damage.”
“I use my Chocolate Magician Girl’s effect to summon Dark Magician in defense mode from my grave to redirect the attack, and then Azure-Eyes’s attack points are halved. And since I summoned a Dark Magician, I can banish a card you control, so goodbye Rare Metal Dragon.” Azure-Eyes’ blast collides with the defense-positioned Dark Magician, rebounding back to her life points.
(Dark Magician: 2500 ATK/2100 DEF)
Azure-Eyes Silver Dragon 2500 → 1250
Tama: 4000 → 3150
“I end my turn,” Tama says, as Azure-Eyes returns to its owner.
Turn 7: Kaiba - 8000 → 5200; 2 cards in hand
“During my standby phase, my Azure-Eyes’ effect lets me revive my Blue-Eyes from my graveyard.”
“I activate Lord of the Red’s effect to destroy your Azure-Eyes!” Virgil interjects, tossing another ball of flame at it. As Azure-Eyes gets destroyed, its roar gets reciprocated, as Blue-Eyes White Dragon returns to the field.
“I activate the spell card Spell Sanctuary. This lets us all add one spell card to our hand.” Kaiba adds Polymerization, Virgil adds Cards of the Red Stone and Tama adds Dark Magic Attack. “I activate Polymerization, fusing my 2 Blue-Eyes White Dragons! My Legendary Dragons, merge together and inflict double the pain! I fusion summon the Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!”
(Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
“Attack the Berry Magician Girl! Twin White Lightning Burst!”
“I activate Berry Magician Girl’s effect, when it’s targeted for an attack, I can switch her to attack mode and then summon Dark Magician Girl to the field from my deck!”
(Dark Magician Girl: 2000 ATK/1700 DEF)
“And I activate Negate Attack once her effect activates” Virgil chimes in. “So now your battle phase is over.”
“I set one card, and end my turn. Congratulations, consider myself slightly impressed,” Kaiba says, slightly amused.
Turn 8: Virgil - 4000 LP; 4 cards in hand
“I activate Cards of the Red Stone. By sending Red-Eyes Black Flare Dragon to the graveyard, I can draw 2 cards, and then send another Red-Eyes Black Dragon to my graveyard!” Virgil draws 2 cards and looks pleased with himself. “I equip Lord of the Red with the spell card Mage Power! It gives him 500 attack for every spell and trap I control. And I set 2 more cards from my hand, so he gains 2000 attack points!”
Lord of the Red 2400 → 4400
“Then I activate Return of the Red-Eyes, and since I have Gearfried, I can summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from the grave. If this goes through, this is game! Lord of Red, attack Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon!” Virgil jumps in the air, diving forward, as he prepares to strike Kaiba’s dragon.
“My Spell sanctuary has another effect. It lets me activate normal spell cards during your turn, so I activate Heavy Storm, destroying all Spells and Traps on the field!” A strong hurricane emerges, surrounding the field, destroying all of the cards in the Spell/Trap Zone.
Lord of the Red 4400 → 2400
“And since you no longer have your magic, your monster is too weak to put up a fight against my dragon. Twin Burst Dragon, counterattack!” As Virgil dives forward, he sees the Blue-Eyes Twin Burst Dragon open both of its mouths and fire a combined stream of lightning at him. Unable to defend himself, he takes it full-on, getting blasted several feet back, his Lord of the Red armor destroyed.
(Virgil: 4000 → 3400)
“And since my Spell Sanctuary was destroyed, I can set one spell card from my deck,” Kaiba adds, as he adds another card to his field. Virgil slowly gets back up, his confidence a bit shaken as he ends his turn.
Turn 9: Tama - 4000 → 3150 LP; 5 cards in hand
“I activate my Secrets of Dark Magic spell card, which lets me fuse my Dark Magician and my Dark Magician Girl together, to form The Dark Magicians!” Her two monsters come together, and a flash of light envelops them. When the light fades, her two monsters are still standing together but bound by a magical aura. They move as if they are mirrored reflections of the same person, and their pink and purple lights dazzle the audience watching. “I activate the spell card Raigeki, destroying your monster. And since I activated a spell, my monster lets me draw a card and if it’s a spell or trap, I can immediately set it facedown.” As the wicked thunderbolt crashes into Kaiba’s field, The Dark Magicians raise their wands and the top card of Tama’s deck glows, as she draws her card. She looks at it, and with a smile immediately sets it in her spell and trap zone. “Now I attack you directly with Chocolate Magician Girl and The Dark Magicians!” The twin wands of The Dark Magicians fire a huge blast of energy at the same that Chocolate Magician Girl fires her blue energy blast at Kaiba.
“I activate my facedown spell, Shrink, which halves the attack of The Dark Magicians,” Kaiba responds.
The Dark Magicians 2800 → 1400
Kaiba: 5200 → 2200
“I switch my Berry Magician girl to defense mode, set one card, and end my turn.”
Turn 10: Kaiba - 5200 → 2200; 0 cards in hand
“And Mr. Kaiba has taken a massive amount of damage. These two challengers are in complete sync, following up on each other’s moves! What will he do to turn the tables?” The MC yells into the mic, as Kaiba draws a card for his turn.
“I activate Pot of Greed, so I can draw 2 more cards!” Kaiba declares, pleased with what he drew. “I banish my Kaiser Vorse Raider and White Stone of Legend to summon the ruler of the light and the dark! I summon Chaos Emperor Dragon: Envoy of the End!”
(Chaos Emperor Dragon: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
“Attack the Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” Kaiba roars. Chaos Emperor Dragon fires a black flame towards Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and it explodes into a fiery ball.
Virgil: 3400 → 2800
“Now I activate my dragon’s effect! By giving up 1000 Life points, I can send all cards on our fields and in our hands to the grave. And then you both take 300 points for every card sent to the grave. You both tried, but this duel is over!” Chaos Emperor Dragon glows, and a white light erupts from it.
Kaiba: 2200 → 1200
“I activate my facedown!” Tama yells as they’re all bathed in the bright light before Chaos Emperor Dragon explodes. As the smoke clears, both Virgil and Tama are still standing upright, with Kaiba being surprised that they have life points remaining.
Tama: 3150 → 1450
Virgil: 2800 → 1100
“H-how?” Kaiba asks, with genuine surprise radiating on his face.
“I activated Ring of Life. By destroying a monster on the field, me and the player who controls that monster gain its defense as life points. So I destroyed Virgil’s Gearfried, and we both gained 1600 life points. And we also took 300 less points because of that too,” Tama says, with the two of them grinning at each other.
“And you, Virgil, you knew of her plan?” Kaiba asks.
“Not at all, but I trusted her because she’s my best friend,” Virgil said earnestly, sharing a look with Tama. “We have each other’s back whenever it gets rough.” Tama nods her head in agreement with Virgil, and Kaiba is reminded of Yugi Moto and Joey Wheeler. Not just because they’re using cards that would be at home with those two nerds, but their bond seems true and steadfast. He’ll never admit it to them, but he does have a huge amount of respect for the pair of duelists. Yugi truly earned the title of King of Games, and Wheeler has an impressive duel record, all things considered. Kaiba looks at the two duelists in front of him and just nods his head to them in understanding.
“Since I’m ending my turn, I activate the effect of The White Stone of Ancients that I sent to the graveyard. When I send it to the graveyard, during my End Phase, I can special summon a Blue-Eyes monster from my deck. Behold, my very soul, Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Soar again!”
(Blue-Eyes White Dragon: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
Turn 11: Virgil - 4000 → 1100; 0 cards in hand
“I activate the effect of my Black Stone of Legend! By sending one of my Red-Eyes Black Dragons back to my deck, I can add it back to my hand!” His duel disk glows, as the Black Stone of Legend and Red-Eyes Black Dragon is removed from the graveyard. He adds the Red-Eyes to his deck, and the duel disk auto shuffler takes care of the rest. “Now I’m gonna throw down a facedown and end my turn. And since I didn’t normal summon this turn, my Red-Eyes Wyvern can activate, and remove itself from my grave so my Red-Eyes Black Dragon comes back!” With both Red-Eyes and Blue-Eyes on the field, they both roar at each other, leading the crowd to get even more hyped at the showing.
Turn 12: Tama - 3150 → 1450; 0 cards in hand
“Since everyone else got to do it, it’s only fair I join in and activate my Pot of Greed! And with it, I get to draw 2 more cards!” She looks over to Virgil and sees that despite their losing situation, he’s not stressing out. It reminds her of when they used to duel with Jaden and Jesse together. It was always fun, even if Virgil and Tama had never won a single game against them. “I activate the field spell card Magician’s Salvation!” A Dark Magic Circle encircles the entire field, with the runes along its golden borders glowing briefly before dimming down. There’s a faint purple haze glimmering over the field, and flashes of Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl can be seen through it.
“That’s an apt name for the situation we’re in,” Virgil remarks. The pair of them laugh, as Kaiba continues to stare at them stoically, his face unreadable.
“My Salvation lets me set the trap card Eternal Soul straight from my deck! And I throw down another facedown on top of it. That’s all for me!”
Turn 13: Kaiba - 2200 → 1200; 0 cards in hand
“Fortune seems to smile at me. I activate the spell card, Card of Demise. And with it, I can draw until I have 5 cards in my hand. But if I don’t use them in 5 turns, I lose them in 5 turns. Don’t worry, I plan on winning long before then.” Kaiba draws 5 new cards from his deck and lets out a laugh. “I activate Dragon’s Mirror! I banish all 3 of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons! Feast your eyes on the most powerful of all dragons, in its fully evolved glory! I fusion summon your collective demise, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”
(Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon: 4500 ATK/3800 DEF)
The sleek, almost metallic, sheen of the Ultimate Dragon catches the midday sun, making it shine even brighter than it already is. It lets out a noble roar, loud enough to be heard even outside of the stadium.
“Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack Tama directly! Hyper Neutron Blast!” The three heads on this majestic dragon simultaneously charge their White Lightning attacks, and as the energy overflows, it creates a sphere of energy in front of the dragon. Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon launches its attack, but some of the mist from Magician’s Salvation starts to shimmer, as Tama activates her facedown card.
“I activate Eternal Soul! And with it, I can summon Dark Magician to the field in defense mode. And not just that, but Magician’s Salvation lets me summon Dark Magician Girl to the field whenever I summon Dark Magician!” The purple haze turns almost liquid as both teacher and student spellcaster revive from the graveyard.
(Dark Magician: 2500 ATK/2100 DEF)
(Dark Magician Girl: 2000 ATK/1700 DEF)
Dark Magician takes the blast, and Tama can hear it scream in pain. “S-since you destroyed one of my spellcasters, I can add the Magikuriboh you sent with to the grave back to my hand.”
“Cute move, but it won’t be enough. My dragon has evolved to new levels and can attack 3 of your monsters, as long as I send some other fusion monsters to the grave. I send my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to the grave in order to attack your Dark Magician Girl! Let her join her teacher in oblivion!” Dark Magician Girl is swiftly defeated, and Kaiba turns his attention to Virgil. “Don’t think you’re out of the clear yet. I send a second Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon to the grave in order to attack again! Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, get that lesser dragon out of my sight!”
“I activate my facedown, Magical Trick Mirror. And when you attack, I can take one spell card from your grave and immediately activate it! I activate Card of Demise, so now I get to draw until I have 5 cards in my hand. And if I don’t use them in 5 turns, I lose them in 5 turns,” Virgil says, echoing Kaiba. He draws 4 new cards, as his Red-Eyes Black Dragon gets destroyed.
“You two keep evading certain destruction, but your luck is bound to run out,” Kaiba says, as he sets 3 cards. Virgil can read that he seems to need that one card left in his hand, as he didn’t normal summon a monster this turn.
Turn 14: Virgil - 1100 LP; 5 cards in hand
Tama looks at her friend, trying to decipher his facial expression. He looks lost in thought like he has a plan, but he’s trying to get to the part where his plan starts. He turns to look at her and offers her a quick grin. She cocks an eyebrow at him as if to ask a question. He nods his head, and the pair share a grin. She knows exactly what has to happen now.
“I activate the effect of my Eternal Soul!” Tama declares, surprising Kaiba. “I bring back my Dark Magician yet again! And because of my Magician’s Salvation, his ever-faithful student is right by his side!” Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl both return to the field in defense mode. Tama gulps nervously, hoping she’s right about this play. “I also activate Call of the Haunted, letting me special summon one monster from my grave. And since my grave is shared with my partner, I choose one of his cards! Be revived, Red-Eyes Black Dragon!” Virgil lets out a laugh as his dragon lets out a mighty roar on Tama’s field.
“Now we’re getting somewhere!” Virgil declares. “I’m going to fuse the Red-Eyes Black Dragon with Dark Magician!”
“That might be the most impressive statement I’ve heard, considering that both of those monsters are on your partner’s field,” Kaiba responds, curious as to where this is going.
“I activate the spell card Super Polymerization!” Virgil declares as he discards his Black Stone of Legend. “I can fuse monsters from any field! The Ultimate Wizard meets the ferocious Black Dragon, learning a new type of magic! Fusion Summon, our combined feelings! Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!” The Dark Magician gets even darker and, similar to Virgil earlier in the duel, seemingly dons the Red-Eyes Black Dragon’s spirit as it forms protective armor around the Magician. His staff turns into a dragonbone sword, and piercing red jewels adorn the entire armor.
(Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
“Now I activate my Dragoon’s effect. I can destroy a monster on your field and you take damage equal to its attack! Dark Magic Flame!” A black flame erupts from Dragoon’s sword, in the shape of a dragon, and flies towards Kaiba’s dragon.
“That’s a good move, but you should have tried a bit harder. I activate the effect of the Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in my graveyard. By banishing it, I can protect my dragon and destroy your monster.”
“Well, it’s a good thing then my Dragoon spent years learning ancient draconic magic, and as such, I can negate the activation of an effect and destroy it by discarding a card from my hand. And my Dragoon gains 1000 attack points if it succeeds.” As Dragoon launches a counterattack against Kaiba’s Ultimate Dragon, a barrier appears, halting both monsters.
“I activate Card Guard. By discarding a card from my hand, I can prevent my monsters from being destroyed this turn by card effects!” Kaiba shouts, defending his dragon.
“I set 3 cards facedown, and end my turn,” Virgil says, determination still evident on his face.
Turn 15: Tama - 1450 LP;1 card in hand
“It’s my turn!” Tama says. Fear creeps through the corners of her mind, and she looks to Virgil to see a wide grin on his face. He turns to look at her, and the two of them just bust out laughing. Kaiba narrows his eyes, confused about where this is going.
“Tama, can you believe this? We’re dueling Seto freaking Kaiba!” Virgil says. “Whether we win or lose, how many people can say they took on Kaiba?” Tama looks at him and nods in agreement with his assessment.
“We’re going to win, we made it this far, and there’s no turning back!” Tama declares, “I activate Eternal Soul to revive my Dark Magician yet again!” Dark Magician emerges from the haze in defense mode, prepared to give his life to protect Tama. “I throw down a facedown and end my turn. We’ll prevail through any of your challenges!”
Turn 16: Kaiba - 1200 LP; 0 cards in hand
“I activate Pot of Desires! By removing the top 10 cards of my deck from the game, I can draw 2 new cards!” Kaiba says. He draws his cards and immediately activates one. “I activate the spell Mystical Space Typhoon. With it, I’ll destroy your Eternal Soul, and get rid of all of your monsters!” The typhoon blasts a strong gust of wind at the tablet hovering over Tama’s head and shatters it. As the pieces fall, they land directly on her field, destroying both monsters on her field. “Now, Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack Tama directly!” The Ultimate Dragon lets out a mighty roar and fires a blast toward her.
“I activate my face-down card!” Tama yells. “Since I’m going down, my Breakthrough Skill will negate your dragon’s effect, so you can’t attack Virgil a second time!” Tama yells as the blast gets closer to her. She bows her head down as it approaches, but at the last second, it changes course. She looks up in surprise and sees the blast heading towards Virgil.
“I activate my facedown, Trap Reborn! By paying half my life points, I can banish a trap from your grave and use its effect as this card!” Virgil yells.
Virgil: 1100 → 550
“I chose Attack Guidance Armor from your graveyard, redirecting your monster’s attack to whatever wears this cursed armor. And just my luck, it comes in Dragoon’s size!” He turns towards Tama and gives her a grin. “You got this, I believe in you.” The blast connects Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon. And the shockwave knocks Virgil back.
Virgil: 550 → 0
“N-not yet. I got one more card to use,” Virgil says, fighting the urge to hit the ground. “I activate Wish of Final Effort. S-since you destroyed my monster, its attack points are given to Tama as life points.” A spirit guardian emerged from the trap, with a glowing sword, and hums a prayer. They point their sword at Tama, and she regains 3000 LP.
Tama: 1450 → 4450
“Now, win the duel Tama. I left you… a little something,” Virgil says, as he takes a knee to the ground. Kaiba looks at the play Virgil just made, and can’t help but give a small smile, reminded of the time that he did the same. For him. The man he can never duel again.
“My attack isn’t over yet!” Kaiba declares.
“But, your monster’s effect is negated! You can’t attack again!” Tama yells.
“Not with Neo Blue-Eyes, but I have other means!” He responds. “I activate De-Fusion from my hand, returning my Neo Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon in order to special summon my 3 Blue-Eyes from the Grave. But wait, there are no Blue-Eyes in my grave, until I also activate my facedown, Burial from a Different Dimension, and send them back to my grave. And the cherry on top, my last facedown, Emergency Provisions. By sending De-Fusion and Burial to the grave, I gain 1000 Life points for each!”
Kaiba: 1200 → 3200
(Blue-Eyes White Dragon x3: 3000 ATK/2500 DEF)
“And since I special summoned a Blue-Eyes, I can bring my trap card back from the graveyard! The Ultimate Creature of Destruction gets set back to my field!” Tama remembers him discarding a card for Card Guard, now she gets why he did it. “Blue-Eyes White Dragon, attack her directly! White Lightning!” Tama is bathed in the lightning, as she takes the attack full on.
Tama: 4450 → 1450
“Since I took damage, I can discard my Magikuriboh, and revive my Dark Magician, yet again. And my Magician’s Salvation lets me resummon Dark Magician Girl in defense mode.” The two remaining Blue-Eyes destroy both of her magicians, leaving her field wide open again. “I can bring Magikuriboh back to my hand too.”
“Hmph, teamwork, hope, belief,” Kaiba sneers. “You remind me of the dweeb squad.” His expression softens for a second, and he quietly adds: “At least there’s more people like them.”
Turn 17: Tama - 1450 → 4450 → 1450; 1 card in hand
“It’s my draw!” Tama says, trying to pour her entire soul into her deck. She knows she can win, she just needs to draw a single card. “I activate Card of Burial Magic! By banishing Dark Magic Circle, Dark Magic Attack, and Secrets of Dark Magic from my grave, I can draw 2 more cards!” She silently looks at her deck, as if pleading with it to give her what she wants. She silently draws her two cards, and looks pleased! “I activate Foolish Burial! And with it, I send Apprentice Illusion Magician to my graveyard! Now that she’s in the graveyard, I have enough material to activate Magicalized Fusion! By banishing the Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl. Chocolate Magician Girl, Berry Magician Girl, and my Apprentice Illusion Magician, I can fusion summon! The spirits of 5 mages, pillars of Magic, combine together to form the ultimate mage! I fusion summon my Quintet Magician!” A magical golden mirror appears in front of Tama, and her 5 magicians enter. The purple gems adorned along the mirror all glow, and in the mirror, the shape of her new mage forms. Stepping out of the mirror, holding a spellbook in one hand, and staff in the other comes the Quintet Magician. Adorned in black and blue robes, it glows with a magical aura, illuminated by the 5 Dark Magic Circles surrounding it.
(Quintet Magician: 4500 ATK/DEF)
“When Quintet Magician is fusion summoned with 5 different Magicians, it gets to activate its effect, and destroy all cards on your field!” The Dark Magic Circles around Quintet Magician start to glow and fire magical lightning across Kaiba’s field.
“I activate my facedown, The Ultimate Creature of Destruction!” Kaiba declares. “I select one Blue-Eyes on my field, and it can’t be destroyed by battle, it’s unaffected by other cards, and any monster this Blue-Eyes battles gets destroyed!” The lightning destroys everything on Kaiba’s field, but one Blue-Eyes glows with an electric aura. “There’s nothing you can do, you can’t inflict enough damage to win.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Kaiba. Remember, my partner’s field is still in play. And he left me one card. And if I’m right, then this is game! I activate Virgil’s facedown!” She silently prays that it’s the card she thinks it is. The facedown card slowly flips up and Tama is overjoyed to see the result. “I activate Leeching the Light! All of my monsters gain attack equal to a light monster's on the field! A gem appears in front of Quintet Magician, and it absorbs all of the light from Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba’s dragon darkens to a dull grey, and as the crystal fully absorbs the light, it sets itself on his staff. Kaiba looks on in horror (with a small bit of pride he will never acknowledge), as her Magician gets strong enough to end the duel.
Quintet Magician 4500 → 7500
“Quintet Magician, attack! Dark White Lightning attack!” Quintet Magician raises its staff, and the Dark Magic Circles all spin faster than anyone can track. Each circle fires out a stream of dark magic, and the Magician itself fires a huge burst of pure white light, reminiscent of the attack Tama took earlier. The dark magic streams combine with the light, giving it a negative aura, and as the blast gets closer, Kaiba just nods his head in defeat.
Kaiba: 3200 → 0
The crowd goes absolutely silent, seeing Kaiba’s life total hit 0. Then, Virgil starts cheering, and the crowd goes wild.
“This is the first time we’ve seen Seto Kaiba lose since his defeat against Yugi Moto over a decade ago!” The MC cheers. “This has been a monumentous duel, and Virgil and Tama proved their skill!”
Tama helps Virgil to his feet and immediately knocks him back to the ground as she jumps on him, giving him a giant hug. They lock eyes and share a grin between them, excited to do something that almost no duelist has done before. Their grins slightly fade as Seto Kaiba approaches them, a serious look on his face.
“Congratulations, duelists,” Kaiba states, in what sounds like a genuinely honest voice. “We’re going to have a discussion after the celebrations, I will find you.” He walked off briskly, but with no trace of shame or embarrassment.
“This was some celebration. Pro duelists from everywhere wanna sign us!” Tama says, excited. The pair is standing on a penthouse balcony, overlooking Domino City, holding drinks. “There’s this Atlas guy that looks promising, and who knows, maybe we can duel him!”
“And also that Lion company too, they seem to wanna make a secondary academy, maybe that could be something we get involved with?” Virgil asks, a bit overwhelmed at the options.
“Actually, I have something bigger in mind for both of you.” Comes the voice of Seto Kaiba. The pair turn to look at him, and he locks the door, so it’s just the three of them. “I’m starting a program, similar to my space initiative.”
“The one that created the Neo-Spacians that Jaden used?” Virgil asks, his interest peaked.
“Yes. That one. I figured, given what happened after that, and the things I’ve learned, if there are other dimensions out there, maybe we should see if they can duel,” Kaiba says, holding 2 new duel disks. “If you choose to accept this, these duel disks will hone in on a nearby dimension. Of course, both of your disks are synced, so where one goes, the other follows. We need to make sure that we’re showing these other dimensions who’s on top.” Virgil and Tama look at each other, and to Kaiba’s utter shock, seemingly have an entire conversation with just their eyebrows and facial expressions. They both turn towards him, with smiles on their faces.
“Where do we sign up?” They ask in unison.