Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Silenced Legacy ❯ Bowler's Vengeance: Above Exodia, Part 2 ( Chapter 21 )

Episode #21- Bowler's Vengeance, Part 2

Mere seconds were an eternity as the Magical Slots' middle slot began to slow down. Kaiba turned down his stress to a conclusion.

'Yeah, right. Like Ashley can pull off something stronger than my Judge Man.' Kaiba thought, 'She can't possibly have anything stronger, especially since she runs an Exodia Deck.'

'Come on, gimme a Seven.' Ashley crossed her fingers. The middle slot slowed until it hit a red Seven. "Yes, now I can summon one of my monsters from my Deck!" Ashley cheered, "But I'll wait for the final slot."

"Hey, Duke, you know a lot about gambling. What are the chances Ashley will get another Seven?" Tristan asked while keeping his gaze on the final slot.

"It's worth something, Ashley's already has a good chance of scoring on Kaiba." Duke replied, "What I'm concerned about is what monster Ashley intends to play."

"Look, the final slot, it's slowing." Tea pointed out as the third slot slowed down until it landed on a black line with "BAR" in white text.

"Heh, looks like you can only summon one monster, and I doubt you have anything good." Kaiba smirked.

"Guess again, Kaiba," Ashley cocked back, "I don't have a monster with an attack higher than that of your Judge Man, just a very tactical monster to even the field." She pulled a card from her Deck, "Now I summon Excalibur Dragon in attack mode!" Ashley declared as the Slot Machine exploded into a show of lights and jackpot winner beeps. The machine then exploded with fire; the celebrations ceased and were muffled by the smoke.

"What trick is this?!" Kaiba questioned over the explosion.

"It's not a trick, Kaiba." Ashley boasted as the dusts began to settle, "I've been to Las Vegas several times before and it gave me an idea. I'm too young to gamble at the slots, so why not take my chances of Las Vegas to the Dueling arena? I'm quite the lucky charm here today." She briefed as a silhouette appeared from the smoke. It had Dragon feature like the ones you'd see at Medieval fairs; wings, horns, claws, and everything. It's green scales glistened by the starlight above the Kaiba Craft and its orange eyes reflected the dawn of power, "Kaiba, before you stands one of Las Vegas' proud features, the Excalibur Dragon!"

"Big deal, your proud Dragon only stands at a mere 2400 attack points. My Judge Man can slay it easily." Kaiba argued.

"Allow me to finish, Kaiba," Ashley kept her confidence, "the Excalibur Dragon is one of my favorite monsters not only by its name but also by its effect. I can target one equip magic card and destroy it. Excalibur Dragon, destroy the Big Bang Shot!" Ashley commanded and the Dragon unleashed a breath of fire straight for Kaiba's Judge Man.

'No, if Big Bang Shot is destroyed...' Kaiba thought just before the fire hit dead on. Another explosion was set off and Kaiba's Judge Man was destroyed.

"Huh? My target was only your equip card." Ashley questioned as the smoke cleared.

"A downside to my magic card: if it's destroyed, so is my Judge Man." Kaiba sighed.

"That explains the explosion." Yugi commented.

"Well, normally when a monster is summoned by Magical Slots, it can't attack. But to have some fun, I'll sacrifice one of my defense monsters for another in defense. And that'll be it for me." Ashley finished her turn.

"My turn." Kaiba stated and drew his card, 'Perfect, even with this Ashley's Excalibur Dragon doesn't stand a chance.' Kaiba slid the card into his hand and pulled out two others. "This turn I play Lord of D. in attack mode and use The Flute of Summoning Dragon to summon two Dragons to the field, namely two of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

"This isn't good, is it?" Serenity asked Joey.

"No, but with a line of defense past her Dragon, Ashley has a little bit to go for before Kaiba reaches her Life Points." Joey answered. Kaiba's wizard appeared with a gold dragon horn in his hand. He blew into it once and two of Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragons flew into battle.

'Come on, make my move.' Ashley's hand trembled to activate her down card.

"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, White Lightning Attack, destroy her Excalibur Dragon now!" Kaiba commanded and one of his dragon charged up for an attack. It was ready to fire and launch, though the lightning sphere headed towards the sky. Everyone gasped as the Blue-Eye's shot was thrown off. The Excalibur Dragon rammed its twisted gold horns into the White Dragon's neck. "How is that possible? Clearly my White Dragon should have finished the Excalibur Dragon."

"True, Kaiba, should have." Ashley replied, "But I activated my down card, Rush Recklessly. It increases my Dragon's attack for one turn, lifting its attack strength to 3100, a little more than that of your White Dragon. Now, Exaclibur Dragon, counterattack with Merlin's Gift of Raging Fire." Ashley commanded. The White Dragon was still locked in its horns and the Excalibur Dragon opened its jaws to bring a red inferno to its chest and destroying it. The White Dragon shattered as Kaiba's Life Points dropped by another 100.

"Alright then. My second White Dragon will attack your defense!" Kaiba declared as his second Blue-Eyes White Dragon headed for Ashley's newer monster. The explosion only resulted in the formation of a stone wall.

"Yet another sloppy mistake. You've hit my Labyrinth Wall, which has the same defense points as your Dragon's attack points." Ashley pointed out, "And now it's my turn, I presume?"

"Not yet, I place one card faced down and end my turn now." Kaiba called as a card aligned itself behind his legion, 'I can't afford anymore screw-ups, if this is one of the Exodia pieces, I'll send it to the Graveyard immediately.'

"OK." Ashley breathed and drew her card.

"Activate Drop Off!" Kaiba called before Ashley could see her card.

"What?!" Ashley argued.

"This card will automatically send the newest card to your hand to the Graveyard." Kaiba proclaimed.

"Curses! That ruins Exodia!" Ashley cried as she sent her final piece to the Graveyard.

"Whoa, that nearly let Ashley win the game." said Tea, "But now, it looks like Kaiba has the advantage."

__________

"Forget it, Guinaldo." Kaiba barked, "There's no way you can win this Duel now that I've destroyed your Exodia strategy." Ashley kept her head low, slowly a smile began to crack.

"Kaiba, there's more than one way to win with an Exodia Deck." Ashley smiled, "I can put the other Exodia pieces to a better use. It's still my turn, so now I'll sacrifice my Labyrinth Wall for one of my greater monsters." Ashley boasted. The Labyrinth Wall disappeared in a display of lights and reassembled itself to an animal shape.

"What is that?" Kaiba questioned as the lights faded. Tan, clay bricks structured the monsters body frame to a sphinx form. Two, dark blue cannon were mounted on the shoulders and it shifted itself to a readied position.

"Kaiba, here is Bolban." Ashley announced as the monster unleashed a roar, "And my sphinx's first target is your Lord. of D. Bolban, Cannon Fire!" Ashley commanded as the sphinx fired two shots at the same time.

"Reveal faced-down card, Negate Attack!" Kaiba declared and the cannon blasts were deflected, "Negate Attack will cancel out your attack."

"Fine then, make your move." Ashley passed turn.

"You've made your final mistake." Kaiba drew his card, "I sacrifice all three monsters to summon Obelisk the Tormentor!" He declared as all three of his monsters vanished in beams of light and merged together into one. The beams widen until it covered Kaiba's half of the arena.

"Obelisk the Tormentor?" Ashley repeated to herself aloud.

"It's Kaiba's Egyptian God Card. Be careful Ashley!" Yugi yelled over the thunderous roars.

'A God Card...will this trap card work on it?' Ashley looked to her down card, 'Here goes nothing.'

"Behold, Obelisk the Tormentor!" Kaiba announced and the light dimmed down, "Your creatures have no chance of surviving its unstoppable force!"

"Precisely why I had this trap card waiting." Ashley activated her down card, "I play Royal Oppression. At the cost of 800 Life Points, I can destroy Obelisk right on the spot!" She declared as her Life Points dropped to 7200.

"Impossible! Trap cards have no effect against an Egyptian God Card!" Kaiba called.

"No, my target was not Obelisk." Ashley stated, "My target was its pass to existence in battle. By using Royal Oppression, I destroyed the only three monsters you had on the field to summon Obelisk, leaving your field wide open for a direct assault."

"Alright!" Tristan cheered.

"Never underestimate a female, I always say." Mai complimented.

'No, I will not lose this Duel to a weakling.' Kaiba thought in anger, "Now I use Monster Reborn to summon back my Blue-Eyes White Dragon and attack Bolban now!" He made his play as quickly as his resurrected Blue-Eyes appeared and blasted Bolban to dust, costing Ashley another 500. 'Nothing will stop me from achieving all the God Cards, including Yin-Yang.'

"I'll discard my Sinister Serpent to bring Bolban back to the field." Ashley announced as her monster returned in attack mode.

"How?" Kaiba questioned.

"This is one of my most favorite monsters." Ashley answered, "See, when Bolban is sent to the Graveyard, whether it be by battle or effect, I can discard one monster card from my hand to return it to the field. And now that it is my turn," Ashley drew her next card, "I think I'll play this magic card, Bolban's Petri-Roar. This card will turn all of your monsters to stone and reduce their attack points by 600." She captioned. Bolban positioned itself and roared. A whirlwind of smoke blew past the White Dragon as it froze to stone and its attack power dropped to 2400.

"No, my Blue-Eyes!" Kaiba cried.

"Now, Bolban, attack the White Dragon with your Cannon Fire!" Ashley commanded. Bolban fired both shoulder cannons and shattered the White Dragon, costing Kaiba another 100.

"Man, Ashley hasn't lost control of this Duel yet. She still has 6700 Life Points." Joey commented.

"But Kaiba still has a good 7300 on his half." Tea added.

"It's my turn now, and I refuse to lose at my own tournament." Kaiba called and drew his card, "Perfect... I play Cyber-Stein in attack mode!" Kaiba called as a weak fiend appeared.

"Cyber-Stein, I think my cuz has one of those." Ashley commented.

"At the cost of 5000 of my Life Points, I can summon one Fusion monster from my Deck. So, by means of altered summoning, I call forth the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" Kaiba declared. The Cyber-Stein soon held a card in its blue hands.

"Um, how powerful exactly is a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon?" Ashley asked Yugi.

"Its attack strength is off the charts! 4500 attack!" Yugi called. Ashley looked back to Kaiba in obvious panic. Another maelstrom kicked up around the arena and larger dragon flew into battle. It stopped short behind Kaiba with three heads swiveling around a single body.

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack her Excalibur Dragon now, Neutron Blast!" Kaiba commanded. The Dragon heads joined to make one sphere of white lightning and fired with immeasurable impact.

"No, the Excalibur Dragon can't handle that much power!" Mai cried.

__________

I found myself back in the Shadow Realm, in an empty hall. The torches still were brimming the walls with their orange glow. I sighed and paced further in. I came across the same glass case, housing a variety of cards, some of which I couldn't recognize. I stared long and hard into the pane until an image came before the glass.

Two people were Dueling, one was Kaiba and the other was Ashley. Kaiba has just summoned forth the Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon while Ashley had Bolban and Excalibur Dragon.

"So, you can see the Duel, too?" Yami Marik snapped me out of it. I looked up from the case, he stood just on the edge of the Shadows, "I must say I'm quite impressed with your cousin. She manages to hold out this long against Seto Kaiba, she even made it where Kaiba can't summon Obelisk."

"And why are you back down here?" I asked in a low voice.

"Just a thought, you might be planning to get back to your body. But which one though?" Yami Marik answered sarcastically, "Your only chance is the body that I've made for you. You can't get to Miran because of the shackles I hold you down with."

"Don't think I know that?" I mouthed-off.

"Miranda." Yami Marik mumbled before a surge of electricity sent me to my knees. Just a few seconds sent my adrenaline to a rush. I managed one knee up from the ground before I felt a sharp jab to my back, Yami Marik held the Millennium Rod near the top of my back with the dagger's point unsheathed, "You do remember our bargain? I won't let any harm come to you if you do as I say. You're staying down until the fourth round ends. Or, I could change that a bit, if you're willing to a bargain."

"Pardon?" I asked while in my kneeling position.

"I'll repossess Marik after the Duel between Kaiba and Ashley is done. I'll let you roam freely in your secondary body to witness the power of The Winged Dragon of Ra." Yami Marik explained, "However, no one must know of yet that I've created the body in the outside world." I felt the Rod's needle pull away from my back but I refused to move. Yami Marik came to my left side and crouched down to kneel beside me, "Do we have a deal?"

* * * *

"Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, show them your unstoppable force!" Kaiba announced as the blast came charging in. The shot made a direct hit on Excalibur Dragon. Ashley was thrown clear across to the back railing and her Life Points plummeted to 4600.

"Ashley, are you all right?" Yugi cried.

"Hey, Bowler, say something!" Joey called out.

"I've seen better days, trust me." Ashley mumbled and staggered her way back to her position.

"Ashley, forfeit the Duel before you get anymore damage." Yugi advised.

"No way! I'm not going to lose just because I'm at a disadvantage!" Ashley yelled and recovered herself, "And now it's my turn." Ashley drew out her card, "And now, Bolban, attack Cyber-Stein now with Cannon Fire!" Ashley commanded off the mark. Bolban fired and landed directly on Cyber-Stein, knocking Kaiba's Life Points to 5550.

"You've may have made some progress in attacking my Life Points," Kaiba began to comment, "But still, your Bolban doesn't have a chance against my Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon."

"Bolban will spare my Life Points, it'll automatically goes into defense mode if it destroys a monster in the result of battle." Ashley announced and her sphinx dropped to its defensive position.

"A pathetic attempt to save yourself." Kaiba smirked and drew his card, "Go, Ultimate Dragon, destroy Bolban now!" The Dragon launched another direct assault on Ashley's Bolban, sending her Life Points down by 2000.

Ashley breathed harshly as she got back to her feet.

Yugi resorted to switch with Yami. "Ashley, now! You have to forfeit this Duel!" Yami called from the sidelines.

"No, there's more than one way to win if Exodia is down." Ashley grunted and drew, "And I'll prove it. First I'll discard one of my Exodia pieces to summon Bolban back in defense mode." She made her move as Bolban reappeared in a defensive position, "And next, I'll play Fissure. Your Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon is the only monster on your side of the field so it was made an easy target for Fissure." She declared as a crack on the surface sent Kaiba's Ultimate Dragon plummeting to the Graveyard.

"I think Ashley's making a comeback!" Joey cheered.

"Next, I'll switch Bolban to attack mode and prepare him to fire at my signal." Ashley announced her next move as both cannons were aimed at Kaiba, "This Duel is over!"

To be continued...

* * * * * * * * * * * *

New cards played

Magical Slots: Magic Card. Toss 3 coins. If two out of three are heads, Special Summon one level 5 or higher monster from your Deck to the field in face-up attack mode or defense mode. If all three are heads, Special Summon up to 2 level 5 or higher monster(s) from your Deck to the field in face-up attack mode or defense mode. If all are tails or one is heads, inflict 500 times the number of cards in your hand as direct damage to your Life Points. The summoned monster(s) cannot attack on the same turn they were summoned to the field and they cannot attack the opponent's Life Points directly.

Excalibur Dragon: Dragon/Wind. Monster/Effect, 7/2400/2000. Once during your Standby Phase, destroy on face-up Equip card.

Bolban: Rock/Earth. Monster/Effect, 6/2500/1200. When this monster attacks, it is sent to defense mode after the Battle Phase. When this monster is sent to the Graveyard, discard one monster card from your hand to Special Summon this creature in face-up attack or defense position.

Bolban's Petri-Roar: Magic Card. You can only play this card when a "Bolban" is present on your side of the field. For one turn, all monsters are Rock-class and have their original attack strength decreased by 600.