[u]Helena vs. Donte[/u] [color=8882be]”Ok… Um… Let’s wait until the coast is clear before heading outside… I don’t exactly want to mess up a room I’m sharing with someone… And even if your father eventually finds us… We’d be too busy dueling for him to do anything.”[/color] Helena said. She had a good point, and the less makeshift weapons nearby, the better. “Sure, let’s do that.” Around 20 minutes later they exited the dorm. By all appearances, the coast was clear. [color=8882be]”Um… Why exactly is your father so hard on you? U-uh! Just curious! If you don’t want to talk about… That’s fine…”[/color] Donte gave Helena a weird look, trying to discern if she was being polite or just stupid. “Because he’s a control freak and I have what Ms. Hibiki calls ‘𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇𝒾𝓉𝓎.’” He said it with an insincere sing-songy quality while batting his eyes like Wendy marveling at the rainbows over neverland. He then dropped the facade, abruptly scowling. “He’s got an ego bigger than Seto Kaiba’s and a big company full of yes-men to make sure he never doubts it.” Donte let out a weary sigh. “Any decision he makes is above reproach, any dissent is back-talk, and anything I want to do, he wants to control. I’m sick of hearing him tell me all about how I’ll thank him when I’m older. He’s been saying that shit for a decade and I’ve not once looked back and agreed.” He thought of telling her about juvie and the tattoos, and the subsequent fallout, but he caught himself. He had gone off a bit on Helena, and he barely knew the girl. “Enough about my scumfuck father. You seemed like you were in a pretty bad mood. Family got you down?” Helena was quiet for a moment before answering. [color=8882be]”They just don’t care as much as I thought they did… Suppose I’m just a monster to them…”[/color] They moved outside, taking up opposite ends of the empty space in front of the Slifer Red dorm. [color=8882be]”Listen… Are you really sure you want to go through with this? I-I’m not joking about me hurting people in a duel…”[/color] She said as she activated her duel disk. “Girlie, I’ve been in fist fights with knife-wielding thugs twice your size. Just keep your glock unloaded and I’ll be right as rain.” Helena looked to Chosen of the Celtic Guard, who simply shrugged. A glock is a gun, right? She drew her opening hand. [color=8882be]”First, I summon Celtic Guard of Noble Arms. Then, follow that with Ties of the Brethren. By paying 2000 of my life points, I can Special Summon 2 monsters from my deck that match Celtic Guard’s Type, Level, and Attribute. I Special Summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard and Celtic Guardian in Defense Position!”[/color] The three elven warriors stood together as they readied their swords, in preparation to block any incoming attacks. [color=8882be]”Finally, I set a card face-down. I end my turn.[/color] Donte gave a cocky smirk. He had all the tools to dismantle Helena’s defenses, after all. “First, I summon Armed Samurai - Ben Kai, and equip him with Axe of Despair and Butterfly Dagger - Elma. With 1800 attack, he’s just below the 1900 limit of your Obnoxious Celtic Guard, and can even attack multiple times! Go, Ben Kai! Destroy the normal one and the Obnoxious one!” The Samurai surged forth, one weapon in each hand. It smashed through the normal one with the horrid fleshy axe and stabbed the obnoxious one through the back, appearing behind it and disappearing just as quickly. “Now, to make sure he’s safe against the big elf, I’ll give him one more weapon; Gravity Axe - Grarl.” A larger two-handed axe appeared on Ben Kai’s back, and its attack rose up to 2300. “1 more face-down, then end my turn.” Helena sighed with relief. At least one of her warriors survived the attack. She drew and thought for a moment. [color=8882be]”I activate my face-down, The Warrior Returning Alive! This lets me add a Warrior Type in my Graveyard back to my hand. Then, I’ll summon it! Along with Special Summoning Chosen of the Celtic Guard.”[/color] The revived Obnoxious Celtic Guard stood with the younger warrior. [color=8882be]”Now I Tune Chosen of the Celtic Guard with Obnoxious Celtic Guard! Give rise to the protector of the faerie forest; Synchro Summon, Faerie Master of the Celtic Guard!”[/color] The warrior in shining white armor rose to the field, as Celtic Guard of Noble Arms’ presence empowered him. [color=8882be]”Next, I equip him with my Faerie Guardian Sword. Boosting his attack by a further 700.”[/color] The mystical blade materialized into Faerie Master’s hand, replacing his original sword. [color=8882be]”Now, attack Ben Kai!”[/color] Faerie Master lunged at the samurai, sword glowing in hand as he cut straight through. Ben Kai split in two before vanishing from the field, the cutting wind of the attack hitting Donte as he took Life Point damage. [color=8882be]”I… End my turn…”[/color] 8000 LP > 7000 LP Donte blinked as a vertical cut opened along his cheek, dripping flesh red blood. He brought his hands to his face, staring at the blood in confusion. A little higher or closer and he would have lost an eye. He stared at Helena, finally realizing that a temper tantrum wasn’t at all what she meant. [i]What is this?[/i] Of course, he had no idea what a psychic duelist was. Did she hack her duel disk to hurt people with hard light projections? If so, that was incredibly fucked up. It was also hardcore as hell. His respect for the diminutive girl shot up immensely, and he couldn’t help but throw caution to the wind. Donte drew, a little less sure of himself, now. He wasn’t scared, per se. If anything, the raised stakes were exciting. He chuckled a little. It was a nervous laughter, like a hostage laughing at a bank robber’s joke, but one that they found genuinely funny nonetheless. He had no answer to Helena’s board in his hand, but he could buy time, at least. “First, I activate Butterfly Dagger - Elma on Celtic Guard of Noble Arms.” Celtic Guard of Noble Arms - [color=green]2400[/color]/700 Helena raised an eyebrow. He didn’t want her thinking he was a masochist, so he explained. “this allows me to summon Guardian Elma, in attack. When she’s summoned, she lets me bring back an equip spell from my grave, and I choose Axe of Despair.” Guardian Elma - [color=green]2300[/color]/1200 “Now, I’ll equip Celtic Guard of Noble Arms with Rod of Silence - Kay’est, making him immune to all other targeted spell effects and destroying those spells, including Butterfly Dagger - Elma. With its effect, I return it to my hand, letting me equip it to its rightful owner, Guardian Elma.” Celtic Guard of Noble Arms - 2100/700 Guardian Elma - [color=green]2600[/color]/1200 “Now, Elma! Attack Celtic Guard of Noble Arms!” She dashes forward and, with a flip and a flourish, slices through the Celtic Guard in a flashy acrobatic maneuver like the protagonist of a ninja film. 6000 LP > 5500 LP “I end my turn.” As proud as he was of that play, it used a lot of resources and didn’t change the situation he was in. His hand was now empty and he still didn’t have control of the board. He grit his teeth and braced himself for the reprisal. Helena held her head as she was starting to get her usual headaches. Donte’s equip strategy was a smart move on his part, a strategy Helena didn’t see coming. She drew. [color=8882be]”I… I summon Celtic Guardian to my field. Faerie Master, attack Elma!”[/color] With Celtic Guardian appearing and bolstering his attack, Faerie Master rushed in and cut Elma down in an instant. 7000 LP > 6300 LP Donte winced, as the shattered debris of the Elma hologram washed over him like shards of glass. Celtic Guardian followed suit, attacking Donte directly. 6300 LP > 4900 LP He was bleeding now, a deep red staining his shirt on his side. It didn’t feel all that deep or serious, but a direct hit seemed to leave a more direct wound. [color=8882be]”Now, Faerie Guardian Sword’s secondary effect activates. When your Life Points are lower than mine, Faerie Master can attack twice during each Battle Phase. I-I’m sorry… Faerie Master, attack!”[/color] Faerie Master lunged at Donte, slashing down on him in a way that would’ve cut him in half diagonally. 4900 LP > 1600 LP Blood was everywhere, now. The cut wasn’t deep by any means, but it was alarming just how much of it was coming out of him. [color=8882be]”I end my turn…”[/color] Donte drew, adrenaline beginning to kick in to take the edge off the sting. His tank top was ripped now, exposing his abs and more of his leg-to-arm tattoo. He briefly pondered forfeiting before things went too far, but then he saw that he had drawn the perfect answer to the situation. The strongest card in his deck. Well, he couldn’t back out now. He smirked at Helena, as if this was a perfectly normal duel. “I banish an equip spell from my grave to summon Immortal Phoenix Gearfried!” A flaming knight appeared. Stylistically, it was all new, with shiny white armor and a sword and shield separate from the body. Still, Helena couldn’t help but think of it as the Gearfried she had abandoned coming back to haunt her. It was so surprising that she almost forgot the one card left in her hand. [color=8882be]“Oh! I’ll special summon Celtic Guardian - Swift Faerie Slash from my hand.”[/color] Donte nodded. It wouldn’t matter, probably. Maybe. “I’ll equip Butterfly Dagger - Elma to Gearfried, then attack Celtic Guardian with it, using its effect to take your Faerie Master.” As Immortal Phoenix Gearfried reared up to attack, the gem on its shield glinted and Faerie Master burst into flames. A moment later, the flames flew over to Gearfried’s sword, lighting it ablaze. Immortal Phoenix Gearfried - [color=green]3800[/color]/2200 Its sword came crashing down on Celtic Guardian. As the flaming blade made contact, the elf exploded, dealing hefty damage to Helena. 5500 LP > 3100 LP [color=8882be]“Since Faerie Guardian Sword was sent to the graveyard, I can search for a Celtic Guard card and add it to my hand. I choose Obnoxious Celtic Guard.”[/color] Donte nodded, unconcerned. “Go for it. I end my turn. Show me whatcha got.” Helena draws. It was another Faerie Guardian Sword. It could help search in a pinch, but she needed an answer to Phoenix Gearfried, and being able to hit over it with sheer attack was one of very few viable solutions. She set Obnoxious face down and switched Swift Faerie Slash into defense before ending her turn. Donte drew one of his favorite cards - Guardian Tryce. It was an awful card. His face-down Mischief of the Gnomes would let him set it without a tribute, but he couldn’t summon it since he didn’t have the required equip spell. Even if he did set it, what was the point of that? If he tributed Gearfried for it, he could bring it back later, but there was the risk of being banished or bounced. Ultimately Donte decided not to play it. There was no reason to grasp at straws when the momentum was in his favor. “Gearfried, attack the face-down, and take the other one to boost yourself!” He had two options here, and since Gearfried could only yoink face-up monsters, he might as well go for the option that leaves it with more attack. Gearfried lunged at it, but as Obnoxious Celtic Guardian flipped face-up, both of Helena’s monsters remained unharmed. “Huh?” Helena pulled out her PDA, looking up the card. [color=8882be]“Uh… it’s limited to 1.”[/color] “Fuck.” He really wasn’t cut out to be a professional duelist. His father shouldn’t have sent him here. Dueling was just another one of his hobbies the man had to go and ruin by signing him up for a regiment he never wanted, just like kickboxing, baseball, fencing, billiards, the violin, and everything else. They were fun, until he had to take hour+ long lessons for them every week. Dueling… Dueling was still fun, he supposed, though he hadn’t won a single game since arriving here. He wasn’t a sore loser, but damn if it didn’t prove he didn’t belong here. “I end my turn.” Helena drew, and to her luck, it was a solution to Phoenix Gearfried’s reign of terror. [color=8882be]“I place one face-down and end my turn.”[/color] Donte drew for his turn. Another guardian, but one that was useful when left in defense mode this time. He’d get rid of swift faerie slash this time. “Gearfried! Fry the other elf!” [color=8882be]“I activate my trap card, Mirror Force!”[/color] And just like that, Immortal Phoenix Gearfried was destroyed. Unfortunate, but it wasn’t the end yet. “I set one monster and end my turn.” Nothing on her field could outmuscle Guardian Kay’est’s 1800 defense, and even if she summoned something that could, it would probably fail to take out his remaining 1600 life points. Her deck seemed to revolve around 1400 attack monsters, after all. Nevermind that Kay’est didn’t stop direct attacks. She wouldn’t attack a face-down blind using a 1400 attack monster, right? Helena drew her next card, her spirit partner. It was just what she needed. [color=8882be]“I summon Chosen of the Celtic Guard and tune it with Swift Faerie Slash to Synchro Summon Faerie Master. I’ll equip another Faerie Guardian Sword to him, and use him to attack your face-down!”[/color] Guardian Kay’est flipped face-up, getting destroyed by Faerie Master’s overwhelming attack. So far, things were going as expected. It wasn’t out of the question to turn things around if he could draw an answer, like another Immortal Phoenix Gearfried or a Moon Mirror Shield or- [color=8882be]“Now, Faerie Master attacks directly!”[/color] Huh. Right, the sword lets her do that, doesn’t it. Faerie Master of the Celtic Guard stabbed him. Oh. That wasn’t good. A coppery taste flooded his mouth and he coughed. More blood flew out of his mouth, passing through the fading hologram of Faerie Master. That’s also probably not good. “Good game…” Donte collapsed. It took a second for Helena to process the situation before she let out a scream. [color=8882be]”This is worse than what I was expecting!!”[/color] She rushed over to Donte as she called the academy staff on her PDA. [color=8882be]”Someone help, please! There’s blood everywhere! I-I’m sorry, Donte! I’m sorry!”[/color] She exclaimed in a very panicked tone.