The wind kicked up again, the grass and leaves swayed as far as the eye could see. One by one, kids from around the park stopped what they were doing to gather around the duelists. Tommy looked at the smug Cat who stood from a good ten feet away, his gaze became more villainous with each passing second. The Ape stood at the Rabbit’s side.

“Don’t let him intimidate you, now make your move,” the Ape whispered.

“Make your first move,” Tommy ordered. It may not be what the Ape had in mind, but it is what he decided.

“With pleasure,”

They both drew five cards and Tommy quickly looked them all over, but honestly it didn’t look like he had much to work with as they were mostly normal monsters without effects that could gain him a real advantage.

“I play a monster in defense mode and one card facedown,” the Cat stated as cards many times bigger than the normal ones appear over the ground before him as holograms. “Your move,”

Kids whispered between each other and pointed at the facedown cards. Tommy could not understand what they were saying, he wasn’t trying to.

Tommy drew a card, still didn’t look like much, but it could work. “I summon Alexandrite Dragon,” the card appeared over the ground and a tan-colored dragon not much bigger than him emerged from it and hovered in the air, awaiting his orders “2000 attack 100 defense”. Unsure of the best course of action, he makes a choice. “Alexandrite Dragon, attack his monster,” he said timidly.

The Cat grins as the Dragon flies at his monster. It turns face up to reveal a Man-Eater Bug. “When this monster turns face up, it destroys any monster in play,” the Cat explains.
The giant, green bug takes a swipe at the dragon, destroying them both. Tommy’s spirit sank a little as his playfield was now devoid of cards.

“Keep cool, this is all part of the game,” the Ape says gently.

“This is part of the game alright,” the Cat sneers as he drew his card. “I summon Ancient Gear Knight,” a rusty-looking robotic knight with a lance and a shield appeared, aiming its weapon at the boy “1800 attack 500 defense”. “Attack!”

Ancient Gear Knight lunges at Tommy, taking a swing. Even if it was a hologram, it was scary, like it was really happening and he flinches at the assault. Tommy’s life point display drops to 2200. A few of the kids watching let out a groan from watching the weapon pass through the Rabbit.

“Just like the Dog,” the Cat mocked. “On my second main phase, I play a soul reversal spell card, which puts a flip monster from my grave on top of my deck to draw next turn. My Man-Eater Bug,”

That’s not good, Tommy thought. He drew his next card; this could be Interesting. “I play a monster facedown, your move,”

The Rabbit watched as the Cat draws his deadly bug and adding it back to his hand, giving a little gulp. “Ha, attack!” the Cat declared.

The knight swung at the monster and it turned face up to reveal an admittedly cute box with pink ribbons wrapped around it and toys spilling out of it, which was promptly destroyed. “That is Box of Friends, I can now summon two normal monsters with zero on either stat from my deck in defense mode,” Tommy explained as he searched his deck for something worthwhile. “I summon Genewarped Werewolf and Heretic of the Sun Dragon,” the Wolf had four arms and certainly looked like it’s been corrupted “2000 attack 0 defense”, the Dragon looked like a large, golden sphere “0 attack 0 defense”

“Fine, then I place a monster facedown, and switch my knight to defense mode and end my turn,” the Cat stated as the new card and his knight changed to a bracing position.

“That’s his Bug,” a child pointed out.

“Shut it!” the Cat spat at the boy.

“I appreciate your support, but I have a handle on this,” Tommy replied.

Still, the Rabbit cringed, he knows that the monster is the Bug, even if he does get an advantage, it will just get rid of it. He drew his card, and the strategy in this deck was starting to make sense. With renewed confidence, he takes a monster from his hand. “I sacrifice my Werewolf to summon Knight of the Red Lotus,” a large knight appeared before him, ready for battle with his mighty sword “2100 attack 1800 defense”. “Next, I play Order to Charge, this spell card requires me to sacrifice a normal monster to destroy any monster you have. I choose my sun dragon and I select your facedown monster,”

The giant sphere flew towards the card and they both were destroyed, ignoring the Bug’s effect. The Cat grumbles with annoyance.

“Also, my Knight can summon any level 4 or lower normal monster from my grave and I retrieve my Alexandrite Dragon,” the Dragon once again takes flight over the battlefield “2000 attack 100 defense”. With the knight at its side, they seemed like an unstoppable force. “My dragon attacks your Dark Blade,” his mighty monster obeys, crushing the Cat’s monster, leaving him wide open and his eyes go wide with shock. “Red Lotus, attack him directly,” Tommy’s Knight leaps at his opponent, swinging his great sword, taking the Cat down to 1900 life points. All the kids cheered at his comeback, even Tommy was starting to feel confident.

“What do you think about that?” Tommy asked through his grin.

“I think, you need a reminder of your place,” He draws his card and glares at Tommy. “I place one card facedown to join my other facedown card as well as another facedown monster. “Your turn,” he sneers.

The Ape didn’t look as optimistic as Tommy did, but he also didn’t look discouraged. He simply glanced over the field at all the unknown factors. “You have put on a good show so far, but just remember that “Winning” doesn’t mean anything,”

Tommy nods. “I’ll b careful,” he draws his card. “Okay, one card facedown,” the image appeared behind his two monsters. “My Knight will attack your monster.

As Tommy watched his Knight raise his sword and charge, the Cat grins and one of his facedown cards lift itself up, revealing itself, a trap card.

“I activate Astral Projection, it forces your monster to attack me directly,” the Cat explained and Tommy’s Knight ignores his monster and proceeds to attack him. The Rabbit was confused, this will end the game. “I activate my second trap,” the other card reveals itself. “Spirit Barrier,” a gold dome encircles him just in time to deflect the Knight’s weapon, sending him back towards his spot in front of Tommy. The worst part is that the Cat didn’t lose any life points.

Tommy stood dumbstruck staring at the two traps, what just happened?

“Let me explain,” the Cat said smugly. “As long as I control a monster, I can’t lose life points. Which means, I am invincible,”

To Be Continued