Blargh! A Blog!

Created by Leon, pen name Leon L.

Disclaimer

I do not own the Yu-Gi-Oh! names in any way. I only own my own characters, and all locations, cards, and card names featured in this story serve for entertainment purposes only.

Word from the author

This will be a long series. It's a work in progress, but that's how I've always written.

This is my first time writing a Yu-Gi-Oh fan fic, though it's not my first fanfic. I'm a bit experienced (going on 6 years now), but I can be a little off on the writing. Sorry if you feel forced to laugh at my writing skills, but I still do it for the fun of it.

However, if you enjoy reading a lot, then you're in for a treat. So sit back, relax, enjoy that cup of coffee (or cocoa, or anything really) and read this story at your leisure. Just be sure to make time for it, if you can. This is my first time writing entirely in prose form at the suggestion of a certain someone. I look forward to her reviews (if she has any) but I would love comments from my audience as well ^^

Enjoy this fanfic.

The Characters (so far)

Name: Sarah Anderson
Age: 20
Hair: Black
Eye color: Brown
Outfit: Dresses conservatively, usually seen in a green T-shirt with a long-sleeved plain white shirt underneath, and blue jeans.
Signature Deck: Nordic
Signature card: Valkyrie of the Nordic Ascendant
Bio: The main protagonist of the story. She is a Swedish girl whose family immigrated to America, and spends most of her time there quarreling with her father. Generally nice, although she loses her temper at times. When not at home, she would go looking for a job or Duel with anyone at the local park. One night, her life takes a dramatic change, and the story will reveal more on that later. With balanced skills in Dueling, especially with the Nordic cards, she is nicknamed "The Valkyrie" both by her peers, who admire her, and the pros, who mock her.

Name: Leon Nyström
Age: 14
Hair: Blond
Eye color: Blue
Outfit: Mostly rags, wearing a red shirt and khaki shorts.
Signature Deck: Spirit
Signature card: Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi
Bio: Sarah's younger cousin, and possibly her best friend at the beginning of the story. Orphaned at a young age, young Leon is welcomed at first into Sarah's household, but is framed by an unknown thief who stole his uncle's savings, and is forced to live homeless on the streets. Receiving a Duel Disk on his 14th birthday from his cousin, who always believed his innocence, an incident involving Sarah's monsters puts him in a hospital, and as a result he has a fear of dueling with holograms. Despite his struggles and money problems, he has yet to sell a single card from his Deck, his only prized possession.

Prologue

The Northern Lights shined beautifully in the sky. A woman stared at them as if she never seen such a beautiful sight. With a frown in her face, she begins telling her story.

Valkyries. In Norse Mythology, they decide who live and who fall in battle. If they exist in Dueling, I'd say they don't like me at all. I'm not exactly the best Duelist around.

Dueling has been around for a long time. People play cards with images of monsters and spells in order to win. And many types of monsters, to boot. Ritual monsters. Fusion monsters. Synchro monsters. And the new Xyz monsters. Take your pick. You can't go wrong if you are the best. And now that Duel Disks come with the hologram option, kids and grown-ups can't contain their excitement whenever they Duel.

Here's where I come in. I play for fun most of the time, but I can get carried away by the excitement and try to win at any cost. That's when I start losing. Since you're already here, I'm guessing you made time to hear me out. I urge you to listen to my story. I can only tell you once.

-----

Chapter One: The Fateful Night, Part 1.

The story begins at the local park on sunset. A duel was going on between Sarah and Leon. Bystanders watched, while pros would just ignore the commotion and walk away. The duel was casual, and no holograms were involved. It was just a table and the cards in play that made this duel.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like I made a good draw!" Sarah yelled out to impress the audience, as she made her draw. "I tribute both of Tanngrisnir's tokens! And use them to summon this creature: Dark Simorgh!!"

The girl proceeds to place the Monster Card face-up, one that held the image of a bird. A graceful-looking bird with dark plumage, with its wings open and glaring the hold of the card, as if it was roaring at her. But Sarah focused on the matter at hand because she knew this great bird of divinity would help her win with its 2700 ATK points.

"Now I use him to attack your Asura Priest! You lose!"

"Oh, man." The young Leon knew it was coming, but he still couldn't believe that he had lost to his older cousin. Every time they dueled, he would always get close to winning. Close being the key word here as he would always lose in the end. Sarah was not a pro, but she knew enough about the game to come up with strategies without breaking the rules. Many beginners needed a rulebook in hand or a computer nearby just in case there was a problem with rulings. Beginners tend to make mistakes and misplays, and there are those who would give a beginner a hard time just for making an illegal move. In the end, Leon was glad they were both able to have fun. Sarah understood that he was just beginning, and would always offer advice if he really needed it.

The audience was less than impressed, however. These days, if you didn't play the way other people played then you would be boring. And Sarah had just used her Nordic Deck as tribute fodder for her stronger monsters. It was legal and all, but using such a primitive way to play a Deck archetype that's normally used for Synchro Summoning turned people away.

"Dark Simorgh in a Nordic deck?"

"She had the field set up for any of the three Aesir!"

"I'm sorry, but I don't really own any of them." Sarah pointed out with a look of disappointment on her face.

At the sound of this, the people began to leave. They were unhappy about how things turned out. The three Aesir were only the Nordic deck's most powerful cards, compensating for their weak monsters. Having all three was the Nordic Duelist's main goal in completing the deck. Having all three meant absolute control of the Duel. They were based on the three gods mentioned in Norse Mythology. They were Loki, a trickster and son of a giant. Thor, who wore his belt and lift his iconic hammer, Mjollnir, to create thunder and lightning. And Odin, known as the All-Father due to being the main god among them all.

Some have said that Loki and Thor are the sons of Odin, while others say that the trio are actually brothers. Loki would be a malevolent being by playing tricks on others. Legends have stated that he even offered Odin the legendary spear he carries today, the Gungnir, in exchange for a woman's full head of hair.

But whatever the legends say, one thing is for sure. In the game of Duel Monsters, the three were brothers-in-arms. Loki's tricks and pranks were useful in detecting Traps. Thor took care of troublesome monsters. And Odin? His power would protect his brothers from harmful spells and traps. Sarah's eyes would always shine every time she thought about obtaining the cards. "Someday" she would always say. But the spectators' words started to sink in and she had just started to feel the sting of their criticism. But her younger cousin approached her, and made his attempt at making her feel better.

"Ignore them, Sarah. That was awesome, and I had fun!"

"Thanks, Leon. Let me see your hand. I want to see how lucky you were."

"Sure. Here you go." Leon gladly handed over the cards he had left on his hand. "I didn't have much at that point. I just-"

"Leon, you had Honest in your hand?!" Sarah shouted, almost in shock.

"I do. What does he do?"

"Your Asura Priest was a LIGHT monster. If you had sent him to the card Graveyard after I declared my attack, your monster could have gotten a huge ATK boost!"

"I could have won?"

"Yeah! I'm kinda surprised you didn't use him." She couldn't believe that Leon didn't capitalize on the one opportunity he could have beat her, but it seemed obvious now that he just didn't know. "More importantly, I can't believe you were able to get one at all. He's a rare card, you know. And nowadays, every Duelist is allowed to have just one in their Deck."

"He's that strong?" Leon asked with a confused look on his face, unable to believe that a weak monster like Honest had such an interesting effect.

"And that's precisely why I'll tell you to never let him go." Suddenly, Sarah heard some footsteps coming up from behind her. "Hold that thought."

She turns around to see a boy, maybe just a little older than Leon, who had also witnessed the Duel. But he seemed a bit intimidated that Sarah was a bit taller than him; he could only reach her shoulders. Nevertheless, he mustered up enough courage to explain his presence. "Wow. Was that really a Dark Simorgh?"

"Yes it was! Wanna see?" Sarah said as she started looking through her pouch, which was colored in green. She finds the card the boy asked for, and lets him look. "I like to keep powerful cards in my Deck. I don't have any of the Aesir, you know? They are hard to find."

The red-haired boy then went straight to the point. "I don't believe it. Is he for sale?"

Sarah was then about to refuse even the thought of letting go one of her powerful monsters. However, just thinking once about her cousin made her change her mind. "Yeah. With cards like him not being rare anymore, I'm willing to give you Dark Simorgh for just $15." She said this with a smile on her face.

"Are you sure? Most people would set the price at least twice that much."

"Well, I'm just in a good mood today." The girl tried so hard to keep a poker face on. But the boy didn't pay attention at all. He was too busy already making the transaction between them. He pulled out the money and gladly gave it to Sarah.

"Then here you go!"

Sarah takes one last look at the card she was giving away. No longer in her possession, she sighs as the boy smiles at the new addition to his Deck. "Take good care of it, alright?"

"Yeah. He's the last card I need for my Deck, actually." Now happier than ever, the boy couldn't help but smile and nod as he introduced himself. "I'm Roger."

"I'm Sarah. And that's my cousin Leon. We're from Sweden."

"From Europe?" Roger meditated on Sarah's response for a moment, but he quickly stops thinking about it right when he looks at the time. "Well, I gotta get going. Thanks again for the card!" The boy then runs off, still happy about getting Dark Simorgh. Leon was a tad confused why someone would give away a powerful cards like that. "Why did you give him your strongest card?"

"I don't really need him." Sarah began. "Dark Simorgh goes better in a Deck that needs him. If that Roger guy needed him, odds are he has a Deck with WIND and DARK monsters." It was at this point that Sarah knelt down to Leon's height and placed her hands on his shoulders. The boy was in rags and they both knew why. Leon had just realized why Sarah gave away the card. "Besides....you need the money, Leon."

"Sarah....."

"No use thinking about it. It's not any different from the times I've given you money, right?"

"But is that the only reason you did it?"

"And why does that matter? You go ahead and enjoy yourself, okay?"

Leon knew there was no use arguing about it. Sarah was far from perfect, but she was always fair and kind. Stubborn, too, and he knew it. And those three things about her would mean one thing when merged together: When she had something to give him, she never took no for an answer. With a tear in his eye, Leon gladly accepted her offering. "I-I will!" The two end up hugging each other for a bit, and go their separate ways as the sunlight continues to fade.

-----

It was that day that began to change our lives. That night, I stopped by a comic book store to see who I could duel. I didn't have any luck, so I left by 8 in the evening. I waited at the bus stop so I could catch my ride home. But sometime during my wait....I saw him. My cousin was being chased by a group of punks. What confused me a little is that Leon had a bag with him. I didn't know what was going on, so I followed them.

Having cornered Leon as more teenagers showed up, the boy was scared. Leon had nowhere to run. "Give us those cards, kid. We stoled them fair an' square!" Another thug then steps up, this one a bit uglier than the other due to the fact that it looked like the word "soap" didn't exist in his vocabulary. "Unless you wanna end up like that shop owner! All beat up and stuff."

"No!" Leon was already freaking out, like he couldn't actually believe he was being cornered by a group of thugs. "That guy is my friend, and he'd go out of business if I let you steal all the cards he has!"

It was the leader's turn to step in. He actually looked better than his underlings, and better built as well. But his presence was more intimidating than the other thugs. "Forget it, guys. It's obvious the kid's not gonna budge. We better force him."

Sarah had no choice to step in now. If she didn't do anything Leon could get hurt. Or worse. "Stop! Leave him alone!"

"And who's the cutie?" sad the uglier thug.

"Wait a sec, I know her!" the gang leader stepped up, with a slight smile on his face.

And I knew him, too. Cliff Taylor, a no-good leader of a group of punks. Ever since Dueling became a big thing in America, he's been going around beating other Duelists for their cards. Sure, he'd beat them in a Duel, but lots of people say he cheats.

"If it isn't the little Valkyrie. Still as pretty as always."

"Oh, you flatter me too much." Sarah said with a hint of sarcasm. "What do you want with my cousin?"

"Little brat stole our cards, that's what!" Cliff pointed out rather arrogantly. He was okay with placing the blame on someone smaller than him, and he knew he wouldn't fight back.

"That's not true!" Leon protested, as loud as he could. "You stole the cards from the shop-"

"Oh, please. I won them fair and square in that duel with him."

"You cheated!" Leon snapped back at him. And just then, a thug from Cliff's posse then grabs Leon by the shirt collar, making the leader laugh. "Oh, boy. I wasn't expecting this." he said, sneering all the while. Sarah already had enough of the leader's attitude. "Let him go, okay?! He only did what he thought was right!" Sarah was making a brave stand for her family, but inside she was scared. She knew how to fight back in case things got ugly, but she had a doubt in her mind that she'd be able to take on three thugs at once. But fortunately, Cliff himself had other plans. "Sure. I only have one condition, though." Sarah became puzzled at the leader's words". You duel me, right now. I let the kid go, and if you win, I'll give back the cards he thinks I stole."

Now he was talking. Sarah's first response was quickly putting on her custom Duel Disk. It looked simple enough, with the extended parts being mostly white with red sky blue-colored linings. And the main part was almost entirely red. Seeing this, Cliff did the same thing. His Duel Disk, however, had patterns on it not unlike a graphite floor with a hint of purple. Sarah only had one question. "And if I lose?"

Cliff already had his answer. "You and the kid will give me and the fellas your Decks! I know they'll get better if we used them!"

Sarah could not believe what she heard. Putting her own Deck on the line was fine by her, but also putting her cousin's actually made her think twice about her decision. That is, until Leon tosses a small pouch to his cousin. "Sarah! Catch!"

"What's this?"

"Your Extra Deck!"

"But I-!"

"I made it myself!" Leon went on. "I snuck a few cards in there from the cards I got from them!"

"Why you little-!" Cliff almost lost it, but in the end he kept his cool. In his mind, that pouch of cards was rightfully his. "You know what? Fine with me. I've seen you duel anyway, and I still think I'll beat you."

"Save it for when you're actually winning!" The Duel Disk turn on, prompting Sarah and Cliff to begin. "Let's have a fair Duel!!"

-The Duel!-

Sarah
LP: 4000
Cards in hand: 6

Cliff
LP: 4000
Cards in hand: 5

The duel began with both players' Duel Disks projecting a holographic field, which allowed everyone to view the holograms of monster cards and card effects once put into play. And that wasn't all. Thanks to the introduction of the Duel Gazer, the surrounding area could be changed into anything the Duelists wanted without interfering the daily lives of any bystanders that happened to be nearby. Leon was the only one present who didn't have a Duel Gazer so he didn't see any of the changes on their surroundings, but Sarah quickly tossed hers down his way. She figured it would be better if she wasn't distracted by the background holograms, and Leon would enjoy it more if he could see holograms. He loved it so far, as the setting has changed to a factory. The streets within a 100-foot radius were gone, but if Leon wanted to see them again, all he had to do was remove his Duel Gazer.

"I'll start!!" Sarah began by making her first draw.

"Fine by me! Make your move." Cliff said with an angered tone in his voice. But he was patient enough to keep calm.

"I will!" Sarah yelled out. She had just drawn Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant. The rest of her hand included Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts, Garmr of the Nordic Beasts, Mirror Force, and Polymerization. It was a good start, she thought. "What I'm gonna do is lay this card face down!" She then inserts the card in one of the slots on her Duel Disk, and a hologram of a face-down card is soon projected. "Then I lay this monster face down as well! That ends my turn." she had been allowed a good start. She had four cards left in her hand, which is a good amount when card advantage sometimes plays a good role during the game. But now it was Cliff's turn, so Sarah had nothing left to do but brace herself.

"Good. Now I'll draw!" Cliff was quick to make his draw, and wastes no time in getting things done. "I'll go ahead and play the Spell Card, Dark World Dealings!" Sarah didn't like what she was seeing already, even though she wasn't familiar with the Dark World deck. "What is that?! What does that do?"

"It's very simple." Cliff stated with a smirk. "The two of us get to draw one card! Then we both discard one card from our hands. Player's choice."

"Then I'll discard a monster. I'll discard my Mimir of the Nordic Ascendant. What's your pick?" Being able to draw more cards at any given time was also a good thing, since it lets the Duelist(s) involved at an advantage. Being able to get your cards quicker led to different possibilities, but Sarah couldn't help but think what Cliff's plan was. What did he have to gain from both of them drawing a card and then discarding another from their hand?

"My choice? That'll be my Beiige, Vanguard of Dark World!" Cliff smugly pointed out as he was more than happy to send his own monster to the card Graveyard, a section of the Duel Disk where used cards end up in once they have served their purpose. "Then I'll use my monster's special ability! If he's discarded by a card effect, I can summon him from the Graveyard! Now, Beiige! Come out to play!"

A hideous-looking monster then materializes in front of his master. With his weapon in hand, he was ready to follow Cliff's commands. Sarah was frightened at the thought of the monster rushing to attack her and her monsters, and with 1600 ATK points she had every reason to be. Entering the Battle Phase, Cliff makes his command. "Now, Beiige! Attack her face-down monster!" Beiige more than happily attempts to harpoon Sarah's face-down monster. However, the monster is revealed to be an enormous hamster, who uses its super speed to repel the attack. Beiige regains his footing, and goes back to his side of the field. "What just happened?!" Cliff said with a startled look on his face.

"You just got forced back by this cute little critter! Meet my Super-Nimble Mega Hamster!" Sarah smirked has she revealed her means of defense. The hamster may have seemed cute and cuddly, but its enormous size was enough to repel Beiige with hardly an effort. The hamster chitters while looking at Cliff, not annoyed as normal hamsters would be but it was actually pleased. So pleased it looked that Cliff thought it was mocking him. With its DEF points at 1800, and thus the difference between the attack and defense, Cliff has lost 200 Life points, bringing them down to 3800. The thug wasn't pleased that his monster, as strong as it was, was not enough to kill such a cute critter.

"He's also a Flip Effect monster!" Sarah went on. A Flip Effect monster has an effect that activates after being attacked or summoned from its face-down Defense position. "Thanks to his special ability, I can fetch another Beast Type monster from my deck and Special Summon it, as long as it's a Level 3 or below! And I choose to summon my Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts!"

The hamster then yells out, crying out as if it wanted to be heard. A black goat suddenly appears next to it, but it was only seen to verify Sarah's pick. "The downside of my Hamster's effect is that my Tanngnjostr has to be summoned face down, so I'll do just that. And because of the rules of Duel Monsters, I must shuffle my Deck once I'm done." Following the rules down to the latter, it suddenly occurred to Sarah that Cliff would start cheating at some point, if what her cousin said was true. He remained calm and collected, and above all he gave off an aura of pure confidence. Once Tanngnjostr was flipped face-down, he proceeded to finish his turn.

"Hmph. Now that you're done, I'll activate my Dark World Lightning card! It lets me destroy one card that is face down, and discard one of my cards when it's done. And I choose your face down Trap!" A dark lightning strike suddenly sets Sarah's Mirror Force on fire, burning the hologram to ashes. Cliff was quick to mock his opponent for such an amateurish move. "Setting a good Trap on the first turn? Ha!" All Sarah could do was grunt in exasperation, as Cliff continues his move. "nextI'll discard my Kahkki, Guerilla of Dark World by the effect of Dark World Lightning!" The process of playing a Spell card and discarding a monster reduced Cliff's hand to three cards, but he knew it was well worth the effort. "With Kahkki's special ability, I can destroy any of your monsters after I discard him to the Graveyard! So say goodbye to that precious goat of yours!"

The spirit of Kahkki then appears in front of Sarah's Set monster. Drawing his dagger, the hideous monster slices the card in half. With the hologram revealing Tanngnjostr sliced in half as well, it soon disappears along with Kahkki. Sarah was disgusted not only by the appearance of the Dark World monsters, but also how their strategy leaves no room for mercy. "I can't believe this is happening. He ruined my strategy...."

"Lucky for you, I don't have anything I want to play right now, so I end my turn." Cliff finally said, and ever so confidently. Even his henchmen were impressed.

"Good move, boss!"

"Dark World monsters don't need an Extra Deck to win, especially against an amateur like her!"

But Leon kept his faith on his family, and it hasn't dwindled even for a second. "She can still beat your boss! I've seen her Duel! She won't give up after something like that!"

It was amazing that Leon didn't give up on me. A move like that can scare me, especially if it's seen in a hologram. Come to think about it, I was never used to dueling in holograms. His faith in me motivated me to go on, and focus!

With newfound motivation, Sarah began her turn. "Now I draw!" She began to think of a way to recover from that devastating combo. Sarah still had her Hamster on the field, and its defenses were strong enough to ward off hundreds of monsters in the game. But she knew she couldn't rely on her Hamster forever as she could just lose it to another Dark World Lightning card. "Come on, think! So far, he only has one monster out, and my Hamster has higher Defense Points. A good defense is great." Sarah finally looks at the card she just drew, raising her hopes up. "Des Kangaroo! He's perfect!" She turned to Cliff as she Sets her monster. "You've forced me to be defensive, so I lay another monster face down, and end my turn."

Cliff wasted no time in making his draw. "Is that it?" With not much else to do, he points at Sarah's face-down monster. "Alright, Beiige! Finish off her face down monster!" Beiige was quick to attack again, this time revealing Sarah's monster: Des Kangaroo! Sarah smirked once Cliff realized his mistake.

"You got careless enough to attack a face down monster again! And this one comes with a special ability as well! If my Kangaroo is attacked by a monster with an ATK power lower than his DEF, he destroys the attacking monster!"

"What?!"

"So bid farewell to your Beiige!!!"

The ability of Des Kangaroo then activates. After Beiige swings his weapon and misses, the green-skinned Des Kangaroo counterattacks with a punch to the kisser, sending Beiige tumbling skywards as he is destroyed. The Kangaroo then glares at Cliff with its glowing red eyes. "And since you attacked a monster with a higher defensive power, you lose 100 Life Points, bringing them down to 3700!"

"Big deal. So I made a mistake. It won't happen again! I'll just summon my second Beiige, and end my turn!" Cliff doesn't hesitate to summon another Beiige, which was of course just as ugly as the first. Nevertheless, Sarah moved on with her turn. "My turn!" She grins after seeing what she had drawn, and despite her first strategy getting ruined, she already had a Plan B in mind. "Here I come, Cliff! I activate Polymerization!"

"A Fusion card?! Nordic players normally don't carry that with them!" Cliff retorted.

"And it looks like I was able to throw you off! I will send my Big Koala from the hand, and Des Kangaroo from my field." Sarah then places her Big Koala on the field once she placed Polymerization. The system confirmed it and Des Kangaroo as the correct Fusion Monster materials needed to Fusion Summon, and their appearances begin to distort and swirl into a single point. "Now that it's done, I'll summon a powerful creature! Behold! The two symbols of Australia combine into one! Rise and fight for the ultimate championship, my Master of Oz!" The Big Koala and the tiny Des Kangaroo combine into one. The end result was a large green-skinned koala, with Des Kangaroo's purple vest and red boxing gloves. It also had Big Koala's peaceful look in its eyes, until it suddenly glares at Cliff with a menacing look. It's power is revealed to be 4200, which frightens Cliff a little more.

"No! Why didn't I invest more on Trap Cards?" Cliff was starting to regret challenging Sarah to a Duel, now that it was him who was at a great disadvantage. The Master of Oz was raring to go, and Cliff knew that if he had not placed his second monster on the field, the Duel would already be over.

"Tanngnjostr was destroyed earlier on in this Duel." Sarah began as she suddenly pointed at Cliff. "Master of Oz doesn't have any special abilities, but I guess that's the prize you pay for pure raw power! Now, Master of Oz! Avenge your fallen comrade!" The massive marsupial then makes a great leap towards Cliff's monster. With nowhere to run, Beiige only stood and raised his spear, only for it to snap by Master of Oz's giant fist, which also flattens Beiige where it stood, destroying it. This in turn lowers Cliff's Life Points all the way down to 1100. One more punch from the giant mutated marsupial and it would all be over. "Alright! Way to go!" Leon shouted, as it had now hit him that it won't be long now before Cliff loses.

The thugs could only look on in embarrassment. The uglier one began to snicker, seeing his great leader being beaten by a girl. Cliff quickly caught on, and a glare was all it took to silence his subordinate. He turns back to Sarah with the same stare, but she bravely kept her ground. "Now I wanna know! What's a Nordic player "doing with Fusion monsters?!

"It's simple. Beast monsters go well with the Nordic Beasts, which make a good art of my Deck. They are like wolves in a pack; they may not have a lot of support, but they can definitely support each other! I don't think there is anything you can do, so save yourself from embarrassment and give up! Nothing can beat the Master of Oz! I end my turn."

"You think I'm just going to give up?! Never!" His next draw was exactly the break he needed to rid himself of any further embarrassment. He assumes his confident smile as he reveals his draw. "Now I play my Field card, Gates of Dark World! Watch closely, because this is the card that will bring your demise!!"

Thanks to Cliff playing a Field Spell Card, the battlefield begins to change into the gates shown in the card artwork. With the gates slightly opened, Cliff is ready to make his move. Cold mist began to emanate from the gates, which looked like they could open at any given second. Sarah was already growing worried, as she felt that she was now standing in Cliff's territory. "What are you up to now?!"

"Good question. Why don't you see for yourself! By the effect of my Gates, I can remove one of my Fiends from the game, allowing me to discard another one and letting me draw one card!"

"Oh, no..."

"You're catching on! So I'll start by removing my first Beiige from the game! Next...I'll discard my Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World! And now I draw again."

The aforementioned combo keeps Cliff's hand at three cards, but Sarah remained on her toes as she prepared for the worst. "That's not all. Now that I discarded my Grapha, his special ability activates once my combo is pulled off. I can pick one card on your side of the field....and Grapha takes it along for the ride!"

"Any of my cards?!"

"Right! Now your overgrown koala is a goner!"

The Gates then open, as dark winds try to suck the Master of Oz in, eventually succeeding and thus destroying it. "No....Master of Oz...." Sarah said weakly, her hand halfway extended as if she wanted to stop it, but at the same time realized that she couldn't.

"I'm not done. Your Hamster is also about to get schooled! I play Smashing Ground, allowing me to destroy the monster on your side of the field with the strongest DEF!" Once Cliff plays the spell, the ground began to shake. Leon looked on frightened while the thugs were already pleased that their boss would not disappoint them.

"But I only have one monster!" Sarah said in shock.

"Doesn't matter! That just means your Hamster will be destroyed!" A large fist then hits the ground, creating a hole beneath the Super-Nimble Mega Hamster, causing it to fall on it. "Not my Hamster!"

"Finally, I'll summon my third Beiige! But I won't need him."

"And why is that?" Sarah asked, obviously dumbfounded.

"Because I can return him to the hand, and summon my Grapha from the Graveyard!" The third Beiige disappears from the field as his card is returned to the hand. In turn, a giant dragon-like creature takes his place, ready to follow Cliff's commands. The dragon looked fearsome, and its skin matched Cliff's Duel Disk perfectly. It lets out a loud roar as Cliff continues his turn. "And that's not all. My Gates of Dark World gives my creature a nice boost, increasing his ATK and DEF by 300 points!"

Grapha lets out another roar, as the Gates of Dark World increase its power even more. With 3000 ATK points and nothing on its way, the dragon fiend prepared to attack his opponent. "Now, Grapha! Punish the unbeliever and attack her directly!" The strengthened monster launches a powerful breath attack, hitting Sarah directly. Although it was just a hologram, the force behind the attack seemed pretty real, knocking Sarah to the ground as she screamed. The impact knocks Sarah to the ground, leaving her unconscious. "Sarah!!!!" Leon hsouted as he ran to his cousin's side.

"These are holograms. Hmph. She probably passed out from the impact. Tell you what. I'll give her five minutes to get up. If she doesn't get up by then, I'll take both of your Decks by forfeit!!" Cliff began to laugh while Leon began to shed a tear. Sarah showed no signs of getting up. "Please.....wake up!"

To be continued

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Guess That Card!

Normal Spell Card

Effect: Destroy all monsters on the field.

Be sure to guess before the next chapter is posted! The answer will be revealed then!

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