Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Cheerleader Strikes Back ❯ A Modest Proposal ( Chapter 15 )

The Cheerleader Strikes Back

 

Chapter 15

 

A Modest Proposal

 

The helicopter landed on the balcony of Duelist Kingdom, and Tea flung open the doors, hopping down. Dax powered down the chopper as Drake stepped down from the pilot's cabin. Yugi, Joey and Tristan followed Tea outside as Drake and Dax walked down the hall that led into the castle.

“Follow us.” Dax muttered. Tea and the others followed the two boys down a winding hall that led to a spiral staircase. The stairs went down 2 floors to a blank wall. Dax reached up and pressed his palm against the cold stone, and an invisible scanner appeared, scanning his hand. The blue glow subsided as the wall slid to the right, revealing the main corridors of the castle.

“Identification confirmed, Daxter Falk.” A computer droned. Dax and drake led the group down the hall to a large pair of steel doors. Drake reached for a key card in his pocket and swiped it through a card reader. Dax punched up a five-digit code on a keypad on the other side of the doors, and they clanked open. Tea, Yugi, Joey and Tristan gaped.

The doors opened to a lush, large room that was carpeted in royal blue carpet. Paintings of Duel Monsters in combat lines the walls. A large mahogany desk lay on the far side of the room. The wall behind it was almost completely covered by a huge computer screen made up of 25 smaller screens. Currently, most of them were inactive, but some were showing Duel Monster tourneys, and two were tuned into a factory that was manufacturing the cards. Behind his desk, Pegasus smiled and held up his hands.

“Welcome Tea. And hello to you once again Yugi-boy, it's been a while.” The Industrial Illusions chairman chuckled.

“We brought her as ordered Mr. Pegasus.” Dax said as he and Drake snapped a salute. Pegasus nodded.

“Well done once again Mr. Falk and Mr. Clawfang. You can go now.” The two employees nodded and slipped past Tea to the doors, closing them behind them. “Well Tea, you're looking well. I hear you've become quite the competent duelist since the last time we saw each other.” Tea cringed.

“What do you mean?” Tea asked. Pegasus' grin grew wider, and he reached out to hit a key on the computer on his desk. The screens behind him all blinked to life, showing the same footage.

“Moisture Creature, attack!” Tea blushed as the screens each replayed her final move in her duel against Kaiba.

“Oh, you mean that.” Tea laughed nervously. Pegasus shrugged.

“Well when someone as hard-headed as Kaiba-boy loses to a so-called amateur, word tends to get around. Congratulations.” Tea nodded.

“Thanks, but you do you want with me?” She asked. Pegasus sighed.

“Well ever since Yami-boy left, Duel Monsters just hasn't been the same game it once was. Now it's gotten to a near obsession with some people.” Tea flashed back to Rochelle and Vick.

“Yeah, I've noticed.” She replied dryly.

“The game itself has never been better sold, but the soul of the game is gone. Kaiba-boy isn't likely to agree to my proposal, and while Yugi-boy is as good a duelist as he ever was, no one cares anymore, he's yesterday's news. No offence Yugi. What I think the game needs is a bright new face endorsing it. Someone who plays for the love of the game, not for money and power like Kaiba-boy always did.” Realization crept up on Tea, and she shook her head.

“No way, you can't be serious.” She said.

“This new `Queen of Games' fad may be just what we need to boost our stocks even higher, and bring the game back to what it used to be.” Pegasus insisted. “I'm prepared to offer a 3 year contract as the new official mascot of Duel Monsters. And if you want to bring Yugi-boy along for the ride, I'll be more then happy. What do you say?” Tea pursed her lip.

“Excuse me for a minute.” She said, spinning around. “What do you think guys?”

“A job with Industrial Illusions? I'd take it.” Tristan said.

“Yeah Tea, you were worried you wouldn't be able to go to New York. With the money you'd make working for Pegasus, you'd be able to easily afford it.” Yugi said happily. Tea nodded.

“Yeah, good point…” She said to herself. She turned around. “Pegasus, you've got a deal.” She said proudly. Pegasus smiled.

“Marvelous Tea, good to hear. However, I simply don't give out contracts for free. If I hired everyone who showed dueling talent, I'd have hired half of Japan by now. You want this job, you've gotta earn it.” Pegasus typed on his computer, and the wall of monitors behind him slid apart into the wall. The wall opened to a large balcony overlooking the sea. And if Tea didn't know any better, she'd swear there was a dueling podium on either side of the balcony.

“You want to work for me Tea? I'd be more then happy to hire you. But first, let's make sure you're as good a duelist as they say, hm?” Pegasus removed a deck of Duel Monster cards from the drawer of his desk and walked out onto the balcony. “You win Tea, and you'll be the official Queen of Games, and our newest spokeswoman. Lose, and this opportunity is out the window.” Tea sighed and ran onto the balcony, Yugi, Joey and Tristan behind her. Tea removed her deck from her Duel Disk and set it on the podium. The system powered up, and the holographic emitters on the podiums lit up. Pegasus and Tea shuffled their decks and set them on the field.

“If I win, I'll be the official Queen of Games…” Tea murmured. She smiled and looked up at Pegasus. “Let's do it! Bring it on Pegasus!” She challenged.

“I plan to. I'll set one card face down, and a monster in defense mode.” Pegasus said, laying the cards on the field. The compact holograms of the dueling podiums projected the two cards onto the field as Tea drew her card.

“I'll summon `Hysteric Angel' (1800, 600). Hysteric Angel, attack!” The male fairy adjusted his glasses and fired a beam of light at Pegasus' monster. With a cry of pain, `Toon Alligator' (800, 1600) was destroyed.

“A nice opening move Tea, but now I'll take this duel up a notch. Activate the trap `Toon Reinforcements'. This card activates whenever a card with `Toon' in the name is destroyed, and lets me automatically play any other Toon card from my deck.” Tea gasped as Pegasus whipped out his card. “Now Tea, welcome to `Toon World'. And I can play this magical town at the low low cost of a mere 1000 Life Points.” The infamous one-of-a-kind card floated onto the field with a loud pop, it's pop-up streets glowing a bright blue.

“Toon World?” Joey snapped. “Man, every time he plays that card, it gets more and more annoying!” Yugi nodded.

“Yeah, and Pegasus changed the rulings for Toon monsters all the time. Who knows what kinds of power he's given them now?” Pegasus winked.

“I'll show you now, Yugi-boy. I summon `Toon Mermaid' (1400, 1500) and `Toon Cannon Soldier' (1400, 1300).” The maniacal machine and clam bounced onto the field. “And now, I'll sacrifice both of them to summon `Manga Ryu-Ran' (2200, 2600)!” A gigantic egg slammed down on Pegasus' field, and cracked apart to reveal a large red dragon.

“Hold on!” Joey shouted. “Ya can't do that Pegasus, you can only summon 1 monster per turn!”

“Yeah, but those are Toon monsters he summoned Joey.” Yugi explained. “They must have a special ability.”

“Right again Yugi-boy. It just so happens that Toon monsters count as Special Summons, with means I can summon as many of them as I want each turn.” Pegasus said. “On the bright side, no Toon monster can attack on the same turn it was summoned. But not to worry, I've got more in store besides attacking. I'll activate `Spell of Sanctity'! This lets both of us draw until we each have six cards in our hands. Then I'll set two cards down and end my turn.” Tea nodded.

“Okay. I summon `Hoshinigen' (500, 700). And I'm adding my `Celtus of Dagla' to my Hysteric Fairy, giving him an extra 500 points, along with the points he gets from Hoshinigen being on the field!” The fairy (2800, 600) flexed its muscles as the twin blades appeared in his hands. “Now Hysteric Fairy, attack Manga Ryu-Ran!” The fairy flew into the air and dove at Manga Ryu-Ran.

“Activate `Toon Defense'!” Pegasus yelled. A long chain wrapped around Manga Ryu-Ran and pulled it to the side before the blades could reach it. “As long as this card is in play, I can redirect any attack on a Toon monster to my Life Points.” Hysteric Fairy flew again, blades outstretched at Pegasus. “And now I think this would be a good time to play `Spirit Barrier'!” An invisible shield rippled around Pegasus, blocking Hysteric Fairy and tossing it back to Tea's field. “With this card, any damage done to me by your attacks becomes 0, provided of course, I have a monster on the field.” Yugi gasped.

“Oh no, this is bad.” He muttered. “As long as Pegasus has both those cards in play, his monsters are practically invincible. Tea's attacks against them get redirected, and then they do nothing because of Spirit Barrier.”

“C'mon Yug, you sound worried. Tea's gonna wipe the floor with those Saturday morning rejects.” Joey laughed.

“Now it's my turn again, and I'll activate `Magic Reflector'.” A large, round ball of electricity appeared around Toon World. “Now whenever a card effect would destroy my Toon World, my magical barrier will protect it and keep it safe. And next, I'll activate Manga Ryu-Ran's special ability. By paying 500 Life Points, he can attack directly. Manga Ryu-Ran, attack! Nasty Nostril Flame!” The red dragon inhaled and sneezed a flurry of fire at Tea. The girl clenched her eyes shut as the holographic attack covered her podium. “And to end my turn, I'll play `Sebek's Blessing', which increases my Life Points by an amount equal to the damage you just took from my attack.”

 

-Tea: 5800, Pegasus: 8700-

 

“Man, he's already got 3000 more Life Points, and it's only his third turn!” Joey complained. “This ain't fair!”

“I beg to disagree Joey.” Pegasus said. “No monster is unbeatable, and no strategy is fool-proof, and my cards are no exception. Trust me, Tea can still win this. Provided, of course, she can wipe out Manga Ryu-Ran, before he wipes her out!” Tea nodded and drew.

“Don't you worry about that Pegasus! I plan to take him down!”