OOC: What, you only realized it just now? And I thought that was an intentional decision on your part. xD
IC:
"Well?" Tacey demanded haughtily, "Are you going to play that 'fabulous' card of yours or not?" her voice practically oozed with sarcasm at the word 'fabulous', "If you think I'm falling for a cheap bluff then you're sorely mistaken."
Pegasus shook his head at the statement, "Tacey-girl, has anyone ever told you that you sound just like Kaiba-boy?" he tutted disapprovingly, "I'm most certainly not bluffing." his grin widened, "My toons are quite genuinely magical. Observe."
The graveyard slot in his duel disc began to glow with visual effects, "For my first trick, I shall bring back the monster I discarded last turn; Toonborn Frog!"
The card slipped dutifully out of the graveyard slot and into one of the empty monster card zones, the air on Pegasus' field blurring once more, only to reveal a small, harmless looking frog with disproportionately large eyes. Its skin was orange in color, with black stripes criss-crossing over it and a pair of white, angel wings seemed to have been attached to its shoulders by means of a length of tape.
"You see, Tacey-girl." Pegasus continued as the peculiar amphibian continued staring at the rich girl, "Should Toonborn Frog happen to be in my Graveyard during my Standby Phase while Toon World is in play, my amphibian friend can come back for an encore."
"Big deal." Tacey replied indifferently, "It's only got a measly 100 points."
"Now really, Tacey-girl." Pegasus tutted disapprovingly, "You should know better than to judge a toon by its cover. Observe." he raised the solitary card in his hand into the air, "I tribute Toonborn Frog and one of my Goat tokens to summon..." he purposefully withheld the end of his statement as the yellow sheep and Toonborn Frog vanished from the field and were replaced by a black box with gold-lining and a large, white question mark inscribed on it, a dramatic drum roll emerging from the background, "Toon Dark Magician!" in a puff of smoke, the box burst open, an ominous figure in dark purple clothing emerging. Well, that is to say that the figure would have been ominous had he not been the size of a five-year old. In all other respects he looked just like the Dark Magician, but the hat was ridiculously oversized and kept threatening to tip over and the staff was so big that the tiny creature had to hold it with both hands to keep it steady.
Tacey raised an eyebrow, "From little girls to little boys, Pegasus?" she remarked, "You really do have issues."
"Once again, Tacey-girl, you sound just like Kaiba-boy." the billionaire retorted calmly, "Don't let his innocent appearance fool you, Toon Dark Magician is quite the powerhouse. Why just by summoning him I'm allowed to bring back a spell card from my graveyard, provided, of course, that it has 'Toon' in its name or specifies toon monsters. And as it so happens, I have a card just like that in my graveyard, so welcome back: Toon Table of Contents. But that's not all." he reached out a hand dramatically, "Reveal face-down, Toon Anvil!"
Pegasus chuckled as a giant, black steel anvil appeared on the field, "Classics are always the best, aren't they - Tacey-girl? With this card, I can flatten any monster on the field whose defense points are at most half the attack points of one of my toon monsters. Now which one to choose?" he pretended to contemplate his decision thoroughly before slipping into one of his usual expressions of childish glee, "Oh, I know!" he exclaimed, clapping his hands as Toon Dark Magician pointed his staff at the anvil, an aura of dark energy encasing the object and lifting it up into the air, "Bye-bye, Sharpshooter."
At these words, the dark energy dissipated, causing the anvil to descend with the usual cartoon effects and land down on top of the archer on Tacey's field, a cloud of dust with 'CRASH!' written onto it with large, red letters accompanying the creature's disappearance.
"And now..." Pegasus continued, "Toon Dark Magician, attack Bountiful Artemis!"
"Reveal face-down, Negate Attack!"
Effect draw: Divine Wrath
"Who would have thought it?" Pegasus remarked as the familiar swirl of energy blocked his magician's attack, "I end my turn."
"Like you had a choice."
Draw Phase: Ebon Magician Curran
Neither was hardly a high-utility card at the moment, but then again...Tacey glanced at her full six-card hand, she really had all she needed already.
"I summon Royal Double."
Following the girl's announcement, a the recently vacated spot became occupied once more, though the creature was far less masculine this time around. Though the creature was draped in a gray cloak which effectively concealed its features, the generally slender body build and slight hint of curves beneath the cloak identified it as a girl. A dainty little hand extended from beneath the cloak was holding into a large fan of alternating black and white patterns which effectively covered the creature's face while the hood of the cloak kept the back of her head away from view.
"She might not look like much right now, but she's got quite the ability." Tacey continued, "You see, if I summon her while Court of Nobles is in play, my Royal Double can become a near-perfect copy of either princess, provided that the subject is on my field or in my graveyard. And as it so happens, your Dark World Dealings card helped me out in that regard. Royal Double, replicate Princess Curran!"
The creature nodded, tossing aside its cloak with a deft little hand movement to reveal a large, billowing dress, its color alternating between a dark pine green and black, with elaborate patterns embroided in white around the hem and upper parts of the dress and a robin egg blue ribbon connected to a sizable, gold-colored ornament at her chest. Her orange hair, no longer concealed by the hood, was tied into two neat braids, one on each side of her face, and as the creature clasped her fan shut and placed it aside, a face identical to Curran's was revealed, complete with a self-satisfied little smirk, while the familiar blue rabbit in the suit quickly hobbled over, placing the ridiculously styled royal hat on the creature's head before proceeding to keep them hem of her dress away from the ground.
"Next, I'll switch Bountiful Artemis into defense position." Tacey announced, the creature dutifully crossing its arms over its chest and lowering into a defensive position as she gave the card on her duel disc a quarter turn, "Then, I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn."
"That works just fabulously for me." Pegasus trilled as he drew another card, "First, I'll bring back my Toonborn Frog again, in Defense Position." with a cheerful little croak, the peculiar amphibian with the taped-on wings appeared once more, crouching in a defensive stance on the Billionaire's field, "Then, I'll activate this: Toon Table of contents, which of course-"
"Let's you add a toon card from your deck to your hand." Tacey interrupted, "I know what the card does, so stop stalling and use it."
"Patience, Tacey-girl, patience." the billionaire replied calmly, investigating the contents of his deck, "Ah...this one shall do the trick!" he announced triumphantly, selecting one of the many cards and deftly shuffling the rest before placing them back in the deck slot, "And I'll play it straight away; so goodbye Toonborn Frog and Goat Token." just as one the previous turn, both the peculiar amphibian and one of the pastel colored sheep vanished from his field, "I summon, Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!"
With a high-pitched roar slightly resemblant of a squeak, a new monster appeared on the field. It was a reptile of some sort and about the same size as Tacey's monsters, white in color with a pair of stunted wings growing out of its scaly back and a ridiculously over-sized head with two, swirly toon eyes. Sharp teeth lined its abnormally large mouth and equally sharp claws on both its fore- and hind-legs glinted as the creature struck a pose, its bicep swelling up and erupting into a small volcano.
"But the fun doesn't end there." Pegasus continued, completely disregarding the fact that Tacey hardly considered the pitiful new 'fabulous' by any stretch of imagination, "I activate Toon Parade!"
This was a move that Tacey hadn't anticipated, "What in the name of all that is sweet and sugary is that?!" she inquired sharply.
"Oh, it's one of my most fabulous support cards." Pegasus replied, grinning contentedly, "You see, if I activate this after summoning a toon monster, I can bring out up to two his little friends to play, provided that they are of the same level as the monster I summoned. And is it so happens..." his grin grew more sinister as two more dragons, identical to the first, spawned on the field, accompanied by cheerful marching band music and a shower of colorful streamers and confetti, "...that's precisely as many as I have. Now of course powerful cards like this don't last forever. At the end of my turn, all toon monsters on my field go back into my deck."
Tacey relaxed visibly. Things were still under control, then; Pegasus thought he could sweep her in a single turn with a triple direct attack from those overgrown newts, but the moment he declared that attack he'd be in for a nasty surprise. He really should have known better than to play all in with Tacey Edgeworth on the other side.
"Now prepare yourself, Tacey-girl!" Pegasus trilled, "For you're about to witness a power the likes of which you have never seen!"
'And you're about to fall down right on your powdered face.'
"I remove my three toon dragons from play."
"Say what?!" Tacey shrieked, looking up from her reverie in time to see the three lizards diving towards Pegasus' Manga World spell card, the creatures squabbling and shoving each other in an attempt to fit in between the pages before finally slipping inside, the comic book shutting with a loud bang before beginning to rumble fiercely, energy crackling around it and the virtual sky around them darkening ominously, "Just what are you doing, Pegasus?"
"Why I'm summoning the strongest monster in my entire deck." Pegasus replied, his expression now shifted firmly away from childish and effeminate in favor psychopath on the verge of world domination, "Behold and be amazed, Tacey-girl, for you shall be the first duelist to face the greatest, most devastating, most delightfully fabulous toon monster of all time; the one, the only-"
Tacey stamped her foot in irritation, "Just play the stupid card already, you silly little man!"
Pegasus gave her a disapproving glance, "Tacey-girl." he remarked, "You have no sense for drama. Very well then, I summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate Toon!" he raised his right hand into the air to give his proclamation additional dramatic effect, and on queue the comic book sprung wide open again, a burst of brilliant white light shooting up into the sky, spreading out into a massive shape in the sky above. As the lights slowly died down, Tacey found herself staring down three pairs of swirly toon eyes and identical shark smiles, each one attached to its respective head, which in turn were connected to the creature's massive torso by means of three, long necks. Like the creatures used to form it, the monster was bright white in color, but in terms of size it was easily three times as large as its predecessors, looming threateningly over the cards on Tacey's field with its scaled wings spread wide and the even larger-than-before claws glinting threateningly.
"Isn't he just the most adorable thing you ever saw?" Pegasus chirped, beaming at the grotesque being as if it was a cute little kitten, "Now for his first ever performance, I think he deserves some privacy. I switch Toon Dark Magician into Defense Position." the spellcaster - who was looking even more dwarfed than usual now that he was standing next to the gigantic beast - obediently followed suit, lowering itself into a protective stance, "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Toon, attack her Royal Double!"
Three identical, roguish grins spread across the monster's faces at the command, all of them inhaling so hard that all creatures on the field were tugged violently by the breeze and the pages of Manga World fluttered helplessly in the wind. Apparently, Pegasus had seen to it that this particular card really put on a show. Well, it was heading towards an embarrassing finale.
"Reveal face-down, Judgment of the Princesses!"
Effect Draw: Mirror Force
There was a distinctively sadistic touch to Tacey's smile as the chains sprang forth, binding the massive beast, "It looks like your ultimate monster just got the death sentence, Pegasus."
"Oh?" the billionaire replied nonchalantly, just as his dragon flexed its muscles, the chains snapping.
"What?!" Tacey stared in disbelief at the scene, "Your monster should have been destroyed!"
"Really, now..." Pegasus tutted, wagging his index finger at her, the beast mimicking him, "If my dragon could be destroyed by just any trap card it wouldn't be much of an ultimate toon now, would it? My precious toon is immune to all card effects - so bye-bye, Judgment of the Princesses." sure enough, the likeness of the card on Tacey's field shattered into pieces, "Now where were we before I was so rudely interrupted?" he smirked, "Oh yes, Ultimate Toon: destroy her Royal Double."
The dragon nodded enthusiastically before proceeding to unleash its attacks, the resulting visual effects so bright that Tacey had to shield her eyes, and by the time she opened them again her monster was long gone, the life point counter busily at work as it deducted 3000 points from her score. Suddenly, a thought struck her, however, some of her previous confidence returning.
"That means your time is up." Tacey remarked, "All toons go back to the deck, including that overgrown newt of yours." she pointed an accusing finger at Blue-Eyes Ultimate Toon.
"Oh, I should think not." Pegasus retorted as he shuffled Toon Dark Magician back into his deck, "Like I said, my Ultimate Toon is immune to all card effects; that includes Toon Parade, so you won't be forced to part yet. I end my turn."
"Lucky me." Tacey grit back.
Draw Phase: Solemn Judgment
Dismal, that card would have saved her skin one turn earlier, but it was no good against something already on the field. Come to think of it, what was good against something like that? She bit her lip as she stared down the opposition, if card effects were a no-go then her only shot at victory was to take it down in battle, but when faced with 4500 points of non-deductible attack power that was easier said than done; there was certainly nothing that powerful in her hand or deck. Tacey felt like screaming; this couldn't be it, she wouldn't allow this! She had been so close to utterly eliminating the flouncy millionaire, too close to just let it all fall down because of one cheaty card. That thing had to have a weakness; everything did. That was the whole point with duel monsters, but what could possibly...her glance swept across the field in search of answers, finally settling on the most obvious one. Of course! An improved Toon World it may have been, but in order to empower toon monsters this 'Manga World' had to cater to their common weakness as well. The only problem was drawing into it...but that she did have something for.
"I summon White Magician Pikeru."
At her command, the familiar, red-haired girl in her white robe whom Tacey was used to encountering when she had done something socially reprehensible appeared on the field, peering anxiously at the situation.
"Tacey, do you have plan for this?" the spirit inquired cautiously, "You know I'm not strong enough to-"
"I know." Tacey replied, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Out loud, she did her best to not give off the impression of a weirdo who talked to her cards, "I activate Coronation of the Princesses." the girl announced, slipping her Solemn Judgment card into the graveyard and barely paying attention to the little crowning animation. Compared to her twin, Pikeru had something distinctively pleasant to her appearance as she stood on Tacey's field, clad in white, puffy dress with peach-colored lining around the hem and the ends of the sleeves, which were so long that they all but covered her hands from view, elaborate, pink ornaments with a few dots of teal around the shoulders granting the outfit a bit of color. Like her sister's, her hair was arranged into two neat braids, and she also wore a rather ridiculous-looking hat, though this one had been styled to resemble a goat's head, complete with a spiral horn design on each side. She held her scepter firmly clutched in both hands, maintaining a defensive pose while a peculiar little goat dressed in a black smock covered behind her, still dutifully hodling up the hem of her dress.
"I place a card face-down and end my turn."
"Now who's the desperate one?" Pegasus inquired, "I summon Toonborn Frog once more. Now, attack her Princess Pikeru with super special awesome dive bomber attack!"
"Come again?"
"Oh, never mind what it's called." Pegasus snorted as the tiny amphibian sprang into the air, preparing to lunge at Pikeru, "The bottom line is that your princess is about to meet a Frog who's going to change her life."
"Reveal face-down, Mirror Force!"
Effect Draw: Harvest Angel of Wisdom
"Now that was just plain mean." the effeminate billionaire remarked as the power of the trap card blasted the little amphibian into pixels, "Oh, Ultimate Toon...attack Tacey-girl directly!"
The dragon sprang to work enthusiastically, once again forcing Tacey to cover her eyes as another burst of blinding light struck, this time directly at her, and her life point counter dropped down to 500.
"I play a card face-down and end my turn."
Tacey took a deep breath, gathering her composure. It was now or never, if she didn't get the card she needed this turn the duel would be over.
"I draw."
Draw Phase: Mystical Space Typhoon
Tacey's face lit up at the sight and she experienced a rare urge to punch the air triumphantly, but that would have been all too Achanish so she restrained it.
"Make your move already." Pegasus remarked, feigning a yawn, "You know my Ultimate Toon is indestructible, so spare yourself the trouble and let me end this."
"Oh, I'll end this alright." Tacey replied levelly, "Your dragon might be invincible, but your Manga World card isn't!"
"You wouldn't-" Pegasus protested.
"Oh yes I would." Tacey retorted, "And I will too. But first, I'll activate the effect of my Princess Pikeru, granting me a grand total of 1600 additional Life Points." it seemed slightly redundant, but Pegasus had already turned around a losing situation in this duel once, and she had no wish to let him do so again, "Next, I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"
As spell card and slot connected, a sizable twister appeared on Tacey's field, small sparks of energy crackling around the vortex as it zoned in on the comic book on Pegasus' field, "This duel is over!"
"Indeed it is." the billionaire concurred, "I activate Dark Bribe!"
Tacey flinched, "But that means..."
"Your typhoon is negated." Pegasus remarked calmly, the storm on the field dissipating just before it managed to reach its mark, "But don't feel bad, Tacey-girl, you'll get another card in replacement. Two, actually, thanks to that fabulous Artemis of yours."
Effect Draw: Royal Justice, Magic Jammer
"Oh joy." Tacey replied woodenly, "I place a card face-down and end my turn."
"Then I'll end this duel." Pegasus remarked, Toonborn Frog rematerializing on his field once more, "Blue-Eyes Ultimate Toon, direct attack!"
Tacey, quite frankly, was numb, allowing the arm with her duel disc to slip to her side as the final attack made contact, causing her life point counter to flatline and the holograms on the field to fade. She had lost, granted against overwhelming odds, but it was a loss nonetheless. The rich girl grit her teeth; this was unfair, completely unfair! By all rights she should have won! She always won! Pegasus had cheated again, she was sure of it.
"Oh, wasn't that just a fabulous duel?" the flouncy little cheater trilled, stashing his deck and duel disc into the safety of their designated suitcase again, "Why I haven't had this much fun since that time I defeated Kaiba-boy back in Duelist Kingdom. Oh, don't give me that look." he added as Tacey was about to mention the way he had blatantly cheated in the aforementioned duel, "A duel's a duel and a deal's a deal. Besides, it could be worse, wouldn't you agree...Achan-boy?"
His last remark was not directed at the millionaire-heiress in front of him, but instead at the sole non-suit wearing spectator of their little match, a knowing grin on his face.
"Achan?!" Tacey twirled around, the embarrassment-induced reddening of her face now complemented by that of righteous indignation, the girl taking a threatening step against her now-identified teammate.
"Ahh...the camaraderie..." Pegasus chirped in a pleasant tone, "Why this is starting to feel like Duelist Kingdom all over again, but I've really got to get going; I have an important dinner to attend to." he beamed at the both of them as he gestured for his grunts to gather, waving a last farewell before stepping into the limousine, "Have fun!"
Quite a few messages could be read from Tacey's expression, but 'fun' just wasn't one of them, "You've been spying on me?!" she thundered, her own suits preoccupied with dutifully securing the perimeter - a rather large perimeter, come to think of it - "How dare you?!"
OOC: 3648 words filling about 8 and a half pages of a standard Word document...just for this second half...*Dies* proper duels take time to describe, it seems. xD