Tracy ran through the forest. She frantically pushed through the undergrowth, shoving aside branches and plants until the sounds of monsters roaring and people battling faded into the distance. Gasping for breath, she fell to her hands and knees on the bank of a small stream. How could something like this happen, yet again? The student took a moment to breath, gasping for breath as she laid against a tree trunk. Her school uniform was torn and dirty from her flight through the forest.
The North Duel Academy. One of the four dueling schools, where the world's best and brightest duelist went to hone their skills and enter the pro dueling arena. Tracy had high hopes when she joined. Her dueling prowess in the entrance exam earned her a place in the Ra Yellow dorm, the highest a first year student could achieve on entrance if they hadn't attended an intermediary dueling academy. But then her first day had started. She had made the mistake of challenging an older student to a duel, a member of the Obelisk Blue dorm. The most skilled and elite duelists at the academy. He had seemed nice when they were talking, but it was quickly revealed to have been a falsehood. And Tracy had been soundly defeated.
That first day seemed to be a prophecy for her time here at Duel Academy. Ace the tests, lose the duels. And not just against the elite Obelisk Blue students, or her fellow Ra Yellow dormmates. But even losing to Slifer Red students, students that were seen to have the lowest dueling skill. Then came the day of the exams. As to be expected, Tracy had done very well. But what happened after, no one could have expected.
Suddenly, the island of the Duel Academy was overrun. Strange cloaked raiders, appearing from nowhere, began to rampage about. They forced students into duels, and then began to take students that lost to them captive. But just as soon as they had appeared, they vanished.
That had been weeks ago.
Today had started as a special day. The day of the Tag Team Duel tournament. Tracy had decided to try her luck, teaming up with another Ra Yellow student. Surely, working together with another student, she would be able to work up a victory?
In reality, what had resulted was an incredibly embarrassing first round knockout. Tracy and her teammate had gone against another Ra Yellow, who had teamed up with a Slifer Red student. Both her and her partner had been helpless as their opponents thoroughly trounced them, in front of the entire school. Just another loss to add to her track record.
Tracy had gone back into the seating area, watching as the other duelists continued onward in the tournament. Then, just before the finals started...
The raiders attacked again.
The first time the raiders had attacked, Tracy had tried to fight back. But the raider she had dueled against was just too good, and she had been captured. Tracy had no intention on letting that happen again. So instead of standing her ground and dueling, she ran into the forest. She had been lucky enough last time, that the raiders retreated before they could do anything to their captives. This time, she might not be so lucky.
Tracy splashed some water from the stream onto her face. What was she doing? She couldn't just stay out here in the woods forever. Who knew how long the raiders were going to be here. She had to form a plan. Heading back to the school was a no go. Back to the dorms would be a bad idea too, likely the next place the raiders would go after the school. But maybe not all of the dorms... There was the abandoned Obelisk Blue dorm. Students weren't allowed to go there, so perhaps the raiders would overlook it as well. Tracy wasn't one for breaking the rules, but these were dire circumstances.
"Help! Someone, help!" A voice cried out from deeper in the forest. Tracy froze. It sounded like another girl! Could it be a raider? They had mostly been older. "Please, someone help me!"
Tracy swallowed nervously. Fear told her to ignore the pleas for help, to keep hidden. But what if it really was someone that needed help? Or another student that had gotten hurt?
Tracy crossed the stream, heading towards the voice.
"Is anyone there?! H-hello?!" The voice called out. The student pushed through the undergrowth, emerging into a small clearing. In the center, a long abandoned well stood. But no person. It had sounded like the voice had been coming from the clearing.
"H... Hey! Is someone there?" Tracy called out.
"Whoa!" Across the clearing, there was a blur of grey. A girl hung upside down by her knees, smiling at Tracy. She wore a grey hooded cloak, and long pink hair spilled off her head. Her face was carefully manicured in makeup, perhaps just a little too much. "Huh, it worked. I can't believe someone fell for the old 'help me' trick!"
The girl dropped out of the tree, landing on her feet and clasping her hands behind her back. She was shorter than Tracy, but Tracy could see the duel disk on her arm.
"You're-"
"One of them? Yep!" The pink haired girl said cheerfully. "Trixi's the name, girlfriend! Now, put up your daisy dukes! It's time to duel."
"No way!" Tracy said, taking a step back. "Duel? Your group is rampaging all over the school, just to play Duel Monsters?! Why can't you just enter a tournament like normal people?!"
The pink haired girl stepped forward, keeping the same distance from Tracy.
"It wasn't a request, girlfriend."
"Last time you creeps showed up, I only dueled because a group of your friends cornered me and threatened me." Tracy said. "I'm out of here."
Trixi's grin grew. The forest around the pair darkened. Black mist began to seep from the trees. Tracy walked through the clearing, but as reached the edge of the clearing she found she could go no further. The dark mist that was swirling around them had formed some sort of wall, preventing her from leaving the clearing. Tracy's eyes widened. She tried to push her hand through the mist, but it was like pushing a wall.
"What... what is this?" Tracy said, looking back to Trixi.
"Like I said. It wasn't a request." Trixi said. Her left cheek began to darken, as if a bruise was rapidly forming. The makeup on the left side of slowly melted, and small black flames grew on her cheek. The black flames burned away the makeup on the left side of Trixi's face, revealing a strange symbol burning with the black flames.
"What's the matter, girlfriend? Never played a Shadow Duel before?!" Trixi said. She activated her duel disk. "It's simple. Just think, a normal duel. But the stakes are a bit higher than that. You win, you get to go free and I'm out of comission. I win? Well... I get something of yours."
How was this happening?! Tracy looked around the clearing, watching the dark mist swirl. This seemed so familiar. It was nothing she had experience herself before. And yet... That was it. The recordings of Duelist Kingdom, when Yugi Moto duel Maximillion Pegasus. And again, in the recordings of Battle City with Marik Ishtar dueling Mai Valentine. Most everyone had said it was just glitches and errors in the recording equipment. But some said it was something else. Something darker.
"I don't... I don't wanna duel you." Tracy said. The dark mist rushed towards Tracy, so quickly Tracy thought it was going to crush her.
"Hold on!" Trixi called out. The darkness stopped, just inches from Tracy. "Are you saying... you forfeit the duel?"
Tracy looked to the darkness, then to Trixi. Not playing was not an option.
"... No." Tracy said. Trixi clapped her hands, smiling at Tracy.
"Hooray!" Trixi said. "That's the way to go, girlfriend! Showing some of that Ra Yellow spirit!"
The darkness sank away from Tracy, fading back to the edge of the clearing. The dark mist had completely enveloped the clearing now, casting everything in a strange, otherworldly purple glow. Tracy could feel a cold shiver go down her back. It felt almost as though she had stepped into another world. The Ra Yellow activated her duel disk.
"Now, since you were so silly as to try to forfeit the duel before it began, I'm going to be the one going first." Trixi said. The pink haired girl drew from her duel disk, fanning out the cards in her hand.
"Hmm. Decisions, decisions. What should I do? Eenie, Meenie, Mienie... This one!" Trixi said. The pink haired girl placed a card on her duel disk. "I'll summon Traptrix Myrmeleo, in attack mode!"
In the clearing, another girl appeared. She had short white hair, and was dressed in white and orange clothes. The orange clothes seemed to resemble insect chiten, and she had a pair of horns on her head. The girl looked nervous, and for a good reason. Her foot appeared to be stuck in some sand. She tugged on it, trying to free herself, but to no avail.
Traptrix Myrmeleo
ATK/ 1600
DEF/ 1200
Tracy frowned. She hadn't seen this monster before.
"When Myrmeleo is summoned, I can add one 'Hole' Trap card from my deck to my hand." Trixi explained. "I choose the card 'Trap Hole'!"
That was a card Tracy recognized. The Trap Hole card was a tricky and mean card. It was a trap that activated when the opponent Normal or Flip Summoned a monster with 1000 or more ATK points, and instantly destroyed that monster. It would leave her wide open for a powerful attack.
"Then, I'll set three more cards face down, and end my turn." Trixi said. Behind Traptrix Myrmeleo, three large face-down Duel Monster cards materialized into existance. With that many cards thrown face-down, one of them had to be Trap Hole.
"My turn." Tracy said, drawing a card. The Ra Yellow student looked through her hand. She didn't have any ways to destroy Trap Hole, at least not yet. But there were ways to get around Trap Hole. She could set a monster face-down. It wasn't a Normal Summon, but if Tracy flipped up the monster and it had more than 1000 ATK, Trixi could activate the Trap Hole.
"I'll activate a spell card, Pot of Desires." Tracy said. A large two-faced pot conjured itself into existance. One side was green, leering face. The other, a pudgy, purple face with crystals for teeth. "I banish 10 cards from the top of my deck, face-down. Then, I can draw two cards."
Cards flew from Tracy's deck into the pot, disappearing as they went. Once the last card disappeared inside, the pot shot out two cards into Tracy's hand with a burp.
One of these cards was one that could help here. Tracy's eyes rested on her D.D. Assailant card. It was a strong monster, with 1700 Attack points and 1600 defense points. If she set it in face-down defense mode, it could withstand an attack from Myrmeleo. And if Myrmeleo was the one that flipped up D.D. Assailant, it wouldn't be considered a Flip Summon and she could avoid triggering the Trap Hole card! Not to mention, D.D. Assailant was strong enough to destroy Myrmeleo if he attacked.
"Okay. I set one monster face down, then set another card face down too." Tracy said.
"That's all? Lame." Trixi said. The pink haired girl drew a card to start her turn.
"Ooooh, look at who I have here. I summon Lonefire Blossom!"
Next to Traptrix Myrmeleo, a plant began to sprout. It had a pair of stalks, one yellow, one brown, that twisted together. Purple leaves sprouted off of the plant, and the stalks came together to sprout a large, bomb-shaped head.
Lonefire Blossom
ATK/ 500
DEF/ 1400
"Now the fun part. I can tribute Lonefire Blossom to Special Summon one plant monster from my deck. So, say hello to Gigaplant!" Trixi announced. The 'bomb' on the head of Lonefire Blossom exploded, kicking up a massive dust cloud. A low roar rumbled through the clearing, with a massive plant sprouting from where the blossom once stood. It had a massive green trunk and sharp, insect like legs. Vines whipped around the plant like tendrils, and its head was a massive red maw full of pointy teeth.
Gigaplant
ATK/ 2400
DEF/ 1200
"Go, Gigaplant! Attack that face-down card!" Tendrils and claws lashed out, striking Tracy's face-down monster. D.D. Assailant revealed itself from the card, the masked warrior lashing out with his massive sword. But it was to no avail. Gigaplant's tendrils wrapped around D.D. Assailant, dragging the warrior into its mouth and consuming it.
"Be careful what you eat. I activate D.D. Assailant's effect." Tracy said. "When it's destroyed by battle, it banishes both the monster that destroyed it and itself!"
A burst of strange purple energy enveloped the massive plant, and when it disappated, the plant was gone. Trixi pouted.
"Oh boo. Thats lame." Trixi said. Her smile slowly returned. "But it looks like I still have another monster on my field! Go, Myrmeleo! Avenge Gigaplant and teach this little Ra the meaning of pain!"
The insect monster girl put on a tough face, pumping her arms. Suddenly, a massive insect burst from the ground beneath the monster girl! It was now that Tracy could see Traptrix Myrmeleo in its entirely. The monster girl was no girl at all, just an apendage on the head of the massive insect. One that Tracy recognized looked similar to an antlion. The massive insect slashed at Tracy, and the hit actually knocked her off her feet. Tracy gasped in surprise. That was no illusion... That monster was real!
Tracy's life points fell to 2400, and she slowly got back to her feet.
"Yeah, all right! I did it! I did it, yay!" Trixi said, hopping around. Tracy could feel a bruse forming on her side where the monster hit her.
"H.. how?" Tracy gasped.
"Oh come on girlfriend! Don't tell me the freaky clouds, my ugly tattoo, and purple atmosphere didn't tip you off?" Trixi said, resting a hand on her hip. She rubbed the black symbol on her face, holding some of the black flames in her hand before shaking them off. "This here is a shadow game, girlfriend. The stakes are much higher than bragging rights here."
A shadow duel. Whatever that was, Tracy was sure it wasn't good. The most Tracy had staked on a duel before was a grade for an assignment, this was on a whole other level. She couldn't possibly... No. It was like Seto Kaiba had shown during his famous Battle City Tournament. A true duelist needed to be able to duel anytime, anywhere, and in any condition. This shadow game, these real monsters... Tracy couldn't let it get to her. It was just another way for this raider to throw her off her game.
Trixi looked around their battlefield.
"It is a little drab around here, isn't it? I'll just spice it up a little, and activate a spell card. Welcome to the Verdant Sanctuary." Trixi said. Around the duelists, the forest grew thicker. Flowers sprouted, but in this shadow realm, they appeared dark and sickly.
"As for what it does, well, we'll get to that later. Your turn, girlfriend!"
"I draw!" Tracy said. She needed to stay focused on the battle at hand, especially with almost half her lifepoints gone. Gigaplant may be gone, but Tracy was sure not to forget about Trixi's Trap Hole lurking in her backrow. But Tracy's deck had came through, and given her another way to circumvent the trap.
"I activate the spell card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation." Tracy said. The spell card appeared on her side of the field, depicting a gastly spirit reaching out of a strange portal.
"By discarding one card from my hand, I can special summon one of my banished monsters. So I'll special summon D.D. Assailant back to the field." Tracy said. She crossed her arms confidenty. "Since its a special summon, you can't trigger your Trap Hole."
A tear appeared in space in front of Tracy, and out jumped the D.D. Assailant. But as soon as he jumped out, the ground crumpled away beneath him! The warrior screamed as he fell into the pit, completely vanishing from view. Tracy stared down the massive hole, and watched in horror as the hole closed up. Her spell card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation, exploded into pixels and vanished.
"Wh... But Trap Hole-"
"Who said I was activating Trap Hole?" Trixi asked. One of the raider's face-down cards had flipped up, showing green goblin falling down a deep hole surrounded by leering faces. "Oops! Looks like I had a Bottomless Trap Hole set here too! Y'know, that card that lets me banish a monster summoned with 1500 or more attack points?"
"I-I know what that card does!" Tracy snapped. The Ra Yellow swallowed nervously, looking through her hand again.
"I'll just... set a monster face-down, and end my turn." Tracy said. Trixi giggled.
"You should've seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" Trixi said, drawing a card. "This is wayy too easy! Are you sure you're a Ra student?"
Trixi giggled again, and gestured to Tracy's face-down monster.
"Myrmeleo, destroy that face-down monster!" The massive insect crushed the face-down monster, which flipped up to reveal a small fairy creature. It screamed in terror before being crushed.
"I'm sorry, Sprite..." Tracy said, watching guiltily as her monster's pixels disappeared.
"Now I'll just set another card face-down, and end my turn." Trixi said. Tracy scowled, and drew a card for her turn.
Her last few moves hadn't worked... but with this card, she might be able to turn the tables.
"I activate the spell card Dimensional Fissure." Tracy said. There was a loud tearing noise, just like when D.D.R. was activated. Above the two duelists, a massive portal tore open in space. It depicted a purple, swirling cloudy form, much like the area they were dueling in.
"Now I'll summon D.D. Survivor." Tracy said. A monster appeared on Tracy's field, a blond man in strange metal armor, wrapped in a brown cloak.
"Summoning a monster as strong as D.D. Survivor, when you know what'll happen? It's like you're trying to lose." Trixi said. She grinned, throwing up a hand. "You activated my trap card! Trap Hole!"
A sinkhole suddenly appeared beneath D.D. Surivor, and the monster was sucked into the depths of the earth. With a shattering noise, the warrior disentigrated into pixels. But instead of disappating like normal, the pixels were sucked up into the massive portal above the two duelists. Trixi frowned, watching the pixels go.
"... What was that about?" Trixi asked. Tracy stared down the pink haired raider, her eyes burning with determination.
"My Dimensional Fissure. It changes the rules of the game. Now, when a monster is sent to the graveyard, it's removed from play instead. Banished, to a Different Dimension." Tracy said. "I end my turn. But, since my D.D. Survivor was banished this turn, he survives. He's special summoned back to my field, and I bring him back in attack mode!"
A flash of light flew down from the massive portal, and the cloaked man stepped out of it. He branished a dagger, taking a ready stance.
D.D. Survivor
ATK/1800
DEF/200
Trixi stared up into the swirling portal, and slowly smiled. She ran a hand through her hair.
"Well. It's about time you give me a little bit of a challenge. At least now, its interesting." Trixi said, drawing a card. She looked through her hand, and frowned. "I guess you have me on the defensive now. I'll switch Myrmeleo to defense mode, and set a monster face-down. I'll also activate another neath spell card. Check out this one, Spiritual Forest!"
The air around the two duelists became shinier, and tiny motes of light appeared in the air. Like small will-o-whisps, floating around.
"And what's this card do?" Tracy asked.
"Oh, you don't already know? Well, I guess it's just another card you'll have to wait and see." Trixi said. "Now take you turn, girlfriend!"
"Stop calling me that." Tracy said, drawing a card. She had an opening now, and needed to capitalize on it. With the combo of Dimensional Fissure and D.D. Survivor, Survivor could keep coming back every time it was destroyed. Tracy needed to keep up the pressure.
"I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer." Tracy said. Another monster appeared on Tracy's field. This one was a man, a monk wearing a red mask that covered half their face.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
ATK/1800
DEF/700
With her two strong monsters on the field, it was time to begin her offensive.
"D.D. Survivor, destroy Myrmeleo! Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, attack the face-down monster!" Tracy commanded. The two monsters rushed towards Trixi's field!
The North Duel Academy. One of the four dueling schools, where the world's best and brightest duelist went to hone their skills and enter the pro dueling arena. Tracy had high hopes when she joined. Her dueling prowess in the entrance exam earned her a place in the Ra Yellow dorm, the highest a first year student could achieve on entrance if they hadn't attended an intermediary dueling academy. But then her first day had started. She had made the mistake of challenging an older student to a duel, a member of the Obelisk Blue dorm. The most skilled and elite duelists at the academy. He had seemed nice when they were talking, but it was quickly revealed to have been a falsehood. And Tracy had been soundly defeated.
That first day seemed to be a prophecy for her time here at Duel Academy. Ace the tests, lose the duels. And not just against the elite Obelisk Blue students, or her fellow Ra Yellow dormmates. But even losing to Slifer Red students, students that were seen to have the lowest dueling skill. Then came the day of the exams. As to be expected, Tracy had done very well. But what happened after, no one could have expected.
Suddenly, the island of the Duel Academy was overrun. Strange cloaked raiders, appearing from nowhere, began to rampage about. They forced students into duels, and then began to take students that lost to them captive. But just as soon as they had appeared, they vanished.
That had been weeks ago.
Today had started as a special day. The day of the Tag Team Duel tournament. Tracy had decided to try her luck, teaming up with another Ra Yellow student. Surely, working together with another student, she would be able to work up a victory?
In reality, what had resulted was an incredibly embarrassing first round knockout. Tracy and her teammate had gone against another Ra Yellow, who had teamed up with a Slifer Red student. Both her and her partner had been helpless as their opponents thoroughly trounced them, in front of the entire school. Just another loss to add to her track record.
Tracy had gone back into the seating area, watching as the other duelists continued onward in the tournament. Then, just before the finals started...
The raiders attacked again.
The first time the raiders had attacked, Tracy had tried to fight back. But the raider she had dueled against was just too good, and she had been captured. Tracy had no intention on letting that happen again. So instead of standing her ground and dueling, she ran into the forest. She had been lucky enough last time, that the raiders retreated before they could do anything to their captives. This time, she might not be so lucky.
Tracy splashed some water from the stream onto her face. What was she doing? She couldn't just stay out here in the woods forever. Who knew how long the raiders were going to be here. She had to form a plan. Heading back to the school was a no go. Back to the dorms would be a bad idea too, likely the next place the raiders would go after the school. But maybe not all of the dorms... There was the abandoned Obelisk Blue dorm. Students weren't allowed to go there, so perhaps the raiders would overlook it as well. Tracy wasn't one for breaking the rules, but these were dire circumstances.
"Help! Someone, help!" A voice cried out from deeper in the forest. Tracy froze. It sounded like another girl! Could it be a raider? They had mostly been older. "Please, someone help me!"
Tracy swallowed nervously. Fear told her to ignore the pleas for help, to keep hidden. But what if it really was someone that needed help? Or another student that had gotten hurt?
Tracy crossed the stream, heading towards the voice.
"Is anyone there?! H-hello?!" The voice called out. The student pushed through the undergrowth, emerging into a small clearing. In the center, a long abandoned well stood. But no person. It had sounded like the voice had been coming from the clearing.
"H... Hey! Is someone there?" Tracy called out.
"Whoa!" Across the clearing, there was a blur of grey. A girl hung upside down by her knees, smiling at Tracy. She wore a grey hooded cloak, and long pink hair spilled off her head. Her face was carefully manicured in makeup, perhaps just a little too much. "Huh, it worked. I can't believe someone fell for the old 'help me' trick!"
The girl dropped out of the tree, landing on her feet and clasping her hands behind her back. She was shorter than Tracy, but Tracy could see the duel disk on her arm.
"You're-"
"One of them? Yep!" The pink haired girl said cheerfully. "Trixi's the name, girlfriend! Now, put up your daisy dukes! It's time to duel."
"No way!" Tracy said, taking a step back. "Duel? Your group is rampaging all over the school, just to play Duel Monsters?! Why can't you just enter a tournament like normal people?!"
The pink haired girl stepped forward, keeping the same distance from Tracy.
"It wasn't a request, girlfriend."
"Last time you creeps showed up, I only dueled because a group of your friends cornered me and threatened me." Tracy said. "I'm out of here."
Trixi's grin grew. The forest around the pair darkened. Black mist began to seep from the trees. Tracy walked through the clearing, but as reached the edge of the clearing she found she could go no further. The dark mist that was swirling around them had formed some sort of wall, preventing her from leaving the clearing. Tracy's eyes widened. She tried to push her hand through the mist, but it was like pushing a wall.
"What... what is this?" Tracy said, looking back to Trixi.
"Like I said. It wasn't a request." Trixi said. Her left cheek began to darken, as if a bruise was rapidly forming. The makeup on the left side of slowly melted, and small black flames grew on her cheek. The black flames burned away the makeup on the left side of Trixi's face, revealing a strange symbol burning with the black flames.
"What's the matter, girlfriend? Never played a Shadow Duel before?!" Trixi said. She activated her duel disk. "It's simple. Just think, a normal duel. But the stakes are a bit higher than that. You win, you get to go free and I'm out of comission. I win? Well... I get something of yours."
How was this happening?! Tracy looked around the clearing, watching the dark mist swirl. This seemed so familiar. It was nothing she had experience herself before. And yet... That was it. The recordings of Duelist Kingdom, when Yugi Moto duel Maximillion Pegasus. And again, in the recordings of Battle City with Marik Ishtar dueling Mai Valentine. Most everyone had said it was just glitches and errors in the recording equipment. But some said it was something else. Something darker.
"I don't... I don't wanna duel you." Tracy said. The dark mist rushed towards Tracy, so quickly Tracy thought it was going to crush her.
"Hold on!" Trixi called out. The darkness stopped, just inches from Tracy. "Are you saying... you forfeit the duel?"
Tracy looked to the darkness, then to Trixi. Not playing was not an option.
"... No." Tracy said. Trixi clapped her hands, smiling at Tracy.
"Hooray!" Trixi said. "That's the way to go, girlfriend! Showing some of that Ra Yellow spirit!"
The darkness sank away from Tracy, fading back to the edge of the clearing. The dark mist had completely enveloped the clearing now, casting everything in a strange, otherworldly purple glow. Tracy could feel a cold shiver go down her back. It felt almost as though she had stepped into another world. The Ra Yellow activated her duel disk.
"Now, since you were so silly as to try to forfeit the duel before it began, I'm going to be the one going first." Trixi said. The pink haired girl drew from her duel disk, fanning out the cards in her hand.
"Hmm. Decisions, decisions. What should I do? Eenie, Meenie, Mienie... This one!" Trixi said. The pink haired girl placed a card on her duel disk. "I'll summon Traptrix Myrmeleo, in attack mode!"
In the clearing, another girl appeared. She had short white hair, and was dressed in white and orange clothes. The orange clothes seemed to resemble insect chiten, and she had a pair of horns on her head. The girl looked nervous, and for a good reason. Her foot appeared to be stuck in some sand. She tugged on it, trying to free herself, but to no avail.
Traptrix Myrmeleo
ATK/ 1600
DEF/ 1200
Tracy frowned. She hadn't seen this monster before.
"When Myrmeleo is summoned, I can add one 'Hole' Trap card from my deck to my hand." Trixi explained. "I choose the card 'Trap Hole'!"
That was a card Tracy recognized. The Trap Hole card was a tricky and mean card. It was a trap that activated when the opponent Normal or Flip Summoned a monster with 1000 or more ATK points, and instantly destroyed that monster. It would leave her wide open for a powerful attack.
"Then, I'll set three more cards face down, and end my turn." Trixi said. Behind Traptrix Myrmeleo, three large face-down Duel Monster cards materialized into existance. With that many cards thrown face-down, one of them had to be Trap Hole.
"My turn." Tracy said, drawing a card. The Ra Yellow student looked through her hand. She didn't have any ways to destroy Trap Hole, at least not yet. But there were ways to get around Trap Hole. She could set a monster face-down. It wasn't a Normal Summon, but if Tracy flipped up the monster and it had more than 1000 ATK, Trixi could activate the Trap Hole.
"I'll activate a spell card, Pot of Desires." Tracy said. A large two-faced pot conjured itself into existance. One side was green, leering face. The other, a pudgy, purple face with crystals for teeth. "I banish 10 cards from the top of my deck, face-down. Then, I can draw two cards."
Cards flew from Tracy's deck into the pot, disappearing as they went. Once the last card disappeared inside, the pot shot out two cards into Tracy's hand with a burp.
One of these cards was one that could help here. Tracy's eyes rested on her D.D. Assailant card. It was a strong monster, with 1700 Attack points and 1600 defense points. If she set it in face-down defense mode, it could withstand an attack from Myrmeleo. And if Myrmeleo was the one that flipped up D.D. Assailant, it wouldn't be considered a Flip Summon and she could avoid triggering the Trap Hole card! Not to mention, D.D. Assailant was strong enough to destroy Myrmeleo if he attacked.
"Okay. I set one monster face down, then set another card face down too." Tracy said.
"That's all? Lame." Trixi said. The pink haired girl drew a card to start her turn.
"Ooooh, look at who I have here. I summon Lonefire Blossom!"
Next to Traptrix Myrmeleo, a plant began to sprout. It had a pair of stalks, one yellow, one brown, that twisted together. Purple leaves sprouted off of the plant, and the stalks came together to sprout a large, bomb-shaped head.
Lonefire Blossom
ATK/ 500
DEF/ 1400
"Now the fun part. I can tribute Lonefire Blossom to Special Summon one plant monster from my deck. So, say hello to Gigaplant!" Trixi announced. The 'bomb' on the head of Lonefire Blossom exploded, kicking up a massive dust cloud. A low roar rumbled through the clearing, with a massive plant sprouting from where the blossom once stood. It had a massive green trunk and sharp, insect like legs. Vines whipped around the plant like tendrils, and its head was a massive red maw full of pointy teeth.
Gigaplant
ATK/ 2400
DEF/ 1200
"Go, Gigaplant! Attack that face-down card!" Tendrils and claws lashed out, striking Tracy's face-down monster. D.D. Assailant revealed itself from the card, the masked warrior lashing out with his massive sword. But it was to no avail. Gigaplant's tendrils wrapped around D.D. Assailant, dragging the warrior into its mouth and consuming it.
"Be careful what you eat. I activate D.D. Assailant's effect." Tracy said. "When it's destroyed by battle, it banishes both the monster that destroyed it and itself!"
A burst of strange purple energy enveloped the massive plant, and when it disappated, the plant was gone. Trixi pouted.
"Oh boo. Thats lame." Trixi said. Her smile slowly returned. "But it looks like I still have another monster on my field! Go, Myrmeleo! Avenge Gigaplant and teach this little Ra the meaning of pain!"
The insect monster girl put on a tough face, pumping her arms. Suddenly, a massive insect burst from the ground beneath the monster girl! It was now that Tracy could see Traptrix Myrmeleo in its entirely. The monster girl was no girl at all, just an apendage on the head of the massive insect. One that Tracy recognized looked similar to an antlion. The massive insect slashed at Tracy, and the hit actually knocked her off her feet. Tracy gasped in surprise. That was no illusion... That monster was real!
Tracy's life points fell to 2400, and she slowly got back to her feet.
"Yeah, all right! I did it! I did it, yay!" Trixi said, hopping around. Tracy could feel a bruse forming on her side where the monster hit her.
"H.. how?" Tracy gasped.
"Oh come on girlfriend! Don't tell me the freaky clouds, my ugly tattoo, and purple atmosphere didn't tip you off?" Trixi said, resting a hand on her hip. She rubbed the black symbol on her face, holding some of the black flames in her hand before shaking them off. "This here is a shadow game, girlfriend. The stakes are much higher than bragging rights here."
A shadow duel. Whatever that was, Tracy was sure it wasn't good. The most Tracy had staked on a duel before was a grade for an assignment, this was on a whole other level. She couldn't possibly... No. It was like Seto Kaiba had shown during his famous Battle City Tournament. A true duelist needed to be able to duel anytime, anywhere, and in any condition. This shadow game, these real monsters... Tracy couldn't let it get to her. It was just another way for this raider to throw her off her game.
Trixi looked around their battlefield.
"It is a little drab around here, isn't it? I'll just spice it up a little, and activate a spell card. Welcome to the Verdant Sanctuary." Trixi said. Around the duelists, the forest grew thicker. Flowers sprouted, but in this shadow realm, they appeared dark and sickly.
"As for what it does, well, we'll get to that later. Your turn, girlfriend!"
"I draw!" Tracy said. She needed to stay focused on the battle at hand, especially with almost half her lifepoints gone. Gigaplant may be gone, but Tracy was sure not to forget about Trixi's Trap Hole lurking in her backrow. But Tracy's deck had came through, and given her another way to circumvent the trap.
"I activate the spell card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation." Tracy said. The spell card appeared on her side of the field, depicting a gastly spirit reaching out of a strange portal.
"By discarding one card from my hand, I can special summon one of my banished monsters. So I'll special summon D.D. Assailant back to the field." Tracy said. She crossed her arms confidenty. "Since its a special summon, you can't trigger your Trap Hole."
A tear appeared in space in front of Tracy, and out jumped the D.D. Assailant. But as soon as he jumped out, the ground crumpled away beneath him! The warrior screamed as he fell into the pit, completely vanishing from view. Tracy stared down the massive hole, and watched in horror as the hole closed up. Her spell card, D.D.R. - Different Dimension Reincarnation, exploded into pixels and vanished.
"Wh... But Trap Hole-"
"Who said I was activating Trap Hole?" Trixi asked. One of the raider's face-down cards had flipped up, showing green goblin falling down a deep hole surrounded by leering faces. "Oops! Looks like I had a Bottomless Trap Hole set here too! Y'know, that card that lets me banish a monster summoned with 1500 or more attack points?"
"I-I know what that card does!" Tracy snapped. The Ra Yellow swallowed nervously, looking through her hand again.
"I'll just... set a monster face-down, and end my turn." Tracy said. Trixi giggled.
"You should've seen the look on your face! It was priceless!" Trixi said, drawing a card. "This is wayy too easy! Are you sure you're a Ra student?"
Trixi giggled again, and gestured to Tracy's face-down monster.
"Myrmeleo, destroy that face-down monster!" The massive insect crushed the face-down monster, which flipped up to reveal a small fairy creature. It screamed in terror before being crushed.
"I'm sorry, Sprite..." Tracy said, watching guiltily as her monster's pixels disappeared.
"Now I'll just set another card face-down, and end my turn." Trixi said. Tracy scowled, and drew a card for her turn.
Her last few moves hadn't worked... but with this card, she might be able to turn the tables.
"I activate the spell card Dimensional Fissure." Tracy said. There was a loud tearing noise, just like when D.D.R. was activated. Above the two duelists, a massive portal tore open in space. It depicted a purple, swirling cloudy form, much like the area they were dueling in.
"Now I'll summon D.D. Survivor." Tracy said. A monster appeared on Tracy's field, a blond man in strange metal armor, wrapped in a brown cloak.
"Summoning a monster as strong as D.D. Survivor, when you know what'll happen? It's like you're trying to lose." Trixi said. She grinned, throwing up a hand. "You activated my trap card! Trap Hole!"
A sinkhole suddenly appeared beneath D.D. Surivor, and the monster was sucked into the depths of the earth. With a shattering noise, the warrior disentigrated into pixels. But instead of disappating like normal, the pixels were sucked up into the massive portal above the two duelists. Trixi frowned, watching the pixels go.
"... What was that about?" Trixi asked. Tracy stared down the pink haired raider, her eyes burning with determination.
"My Dimensional Fissure. It changes the rules of the game. Now, when a monster is sent to the graveyard, it's removed from play instead. Banished, to a Different Dimension." Tracy said. "I end my turn. But, since my D.D. Survivor was banished this turn, he survives. He's special summoned back to my field, and I bring him back in attack mode!"
A flash of light flew down from the massive portal, and the cloaked man stepped out of it. He branished a dagger, taking a ready stance.
D.D. Survivor
ATK/1800
DEF/200
Trixi stared up into the swirling portal, and slowly smiled. She ran a hand through her hair.
"Well. It's about time you give me a little bit of a challenge. At least now, its interesting." Trixi said, drawing a card. She looked through her hand, and frowned. "I guess you have me on the defensive now. I'll switch Myrmeleo to defense mode, and set a monster face-down. I'll also activate another neath spell card. Check out this one, Spiritual Forest!"
The air around the two duelists became shinier, and tiny motes of light appeared in the air. Like small will-o-whisps, floating around.
"And what's this card do?" Tracy asked.
"Oh, you don't already know? Well, I guess it's just another card you'll have to wait and see." Trixi said. "Now take you turn, girlfriend!"
"Stop calling me that." Tracy said, drawing a card. She had an opening now, and needed to capitalize on it. With the combo of Dimensional Fissure and D.D. Survivor, Survivor could keep coming back every time it was destroyed. Tracy needed to keep up the pressure.
"I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer." Tracy said. Another monster appeared on Tracy's field. This one was a man, a monk wearing a red mask that covered half their face.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
ATK/1800
DEF/700
With her two strong monsters on the field, it was time to begin her offensive.
"D.D. Survivor, destroy Myrmeleo! Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, attack the face-down monster!" Tracy commanded. The two monsters rushed towards Trixi's field!