Chronicles of the Ascension - Arc 1 [Currently at Chapter 13: Dark Confrontation]

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]Chronicles of the Ascension

Arc 1: A Duelist in Rapture

 

PROLOGUE: Tied to the Pattern

 

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"On the heights, all paths are paved by daggers."

-Old Saying, Writer Unknown

 

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Yugi Muto

 

Seto Kaiba

 

Joey Wheeler

 

Marik Isthar

 

Jaden Yuki

 

All great duelists, legendary figures who shaped the world of Duel Monsters around them. All exceptionally well-known and respected in their time, immensely skilled - nearly undefeated. All of them seemed to have 'the gift', the ability to twist the odds, manipulate the possibilities, draw the card they needed at the right moment to pull off a victory from the brink of defeat.

 

Was it coincidence?

 

Was it a series of flukes, luck, that brought them to that point?

 

Was it just their strong will, their courage, their mental and physical strenght that led them to the top?

 

Or was it something more? A grand scheme, a plan that picked out these particular individuals, fate itself incarnate into their decks, guiding them by their hands through the twirling maelstrom they each found themselves far more times than once?

 

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"As has been instructed, so has been done."

 

The voice, calm and collected, belonged to a man, close to his thirties, with shaggy, rather long black hair casually surrounding his face. His black eyes were expresionless, and gave you the feeling you were staring at twin pools of darkness. He could be considered good-looking, with a slim, tall figure that showed agility in movements, and a black trench coat and a pair of black breeches, completed by dark brown boots and fingerless gloves comprised his outfit. He was standing in the middle of a dark room, lit only by several computer screens hanging from the walls.

 

On the one opposite to him, a light trembled, and another man appeared. The man on the screen wore a cloak with a very high neckband that concealed his face up to his dark eyes, deep and penetrating.

 

"Then, were the numbers correct?" His voice resounded in the chamber, slightly distorted by the computer transmission.

 

"Yes. Three."

 

"Impossible!" Another man appeared on the screen to the left. He was dark-skinned and bald, and featured a nose-ring and two golden earrings. He looked quite muscular. His clothes were white. "Three in the same place? Is this some kind of trick?"

 

"It is unlikely, but not impossible." The young man corrected in a patient voice. "You know I am not mistaken, don't you, Aginor?"

 

The man who had been called Aginor grunted, then cleared his throat. "Never use that name again. I thought that had been made clear."

 

"This is beside the point." A woman's voice spoke from the right, and the young man changed his position so he could look at her as well. The faces on the computer screens also shifted, indicating that they were connected with each other in the same way they were connected to the black-haired man. The woman could indeed be called beautiful, with long, straight black hair and deep green eyes under curved eyelashes, a thin nose and pleasantly full lips.

 

"Ah. Yes." The cloaked man in the high neckband said, sounding almost amused. "Dear Cyndane is right. We've found them. And this fact, my friend, means that we have three excellent specimen to study. Three newborn ta'veren, that rare breed of people whom the Pattern chooses to shape around. We have the keys to fate in front of our very eyes."

 

"But we can't use them." Aginor growled. "You said it yourself - you can't manipulate a ta'veren. Even the Pharaoh, the strongest duelist of all time, was defeated when matched against a powerful ta'veren. If you try to handle them, they will revolt - if you try to force them, the Pattern itself will revolt."

 

"But I don't mean to try to force them, nor manipulate them in any way." The man corrected airily. "I merely wish to guide them, so they can follow the path the Pattern carved for them without falling. For they can still be defeated, and if they fall, the Pattern may crumble."

 

"You said ta'veren are almost invincible." Cyndane frowned.

 

"Yes, but not until they learn to utilize the full extent of their gift. And even then, if confronted with other like them... who knows what could happen."

 

Everyone gasped at these words.

 

"You mean there are more ta'veren?" Aginor grunted. "Three from the same region, and now you're telling me there are more?"

 

"Five more, to be precise." Came the reply, calm as ever. "Indeed, it looks as if these are troubled times, my friends. But Time does not wait for any man - or woman" he added quickly as Cyndane glared at him "and the Pattern weaves as the Pattern wishes. We all have to flow with it. Do you wish to flow against the Pattern, Aginor?" He inquired, a fair hint of warning in his tone.

 

"N-no sir." Aginor mumbled, and crossed the fingers of his right hand. Everyone mimicked him, and one by one, the faces vanished, plunging the room in darkness again. The sound of a door opening and closing indicated the young man had left as well.

 

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

So this was the prologue. As you can see, it will be a rather plot-driven fiction, with emphasis on the story and its twists. Of course, there will be a lot of dueling, starting from the next chapter, but everything will ultimately tie in to the plot.

 

I'm borrowing a few words and concepts from ''The Wheel of Time'' book series by Robert Jordan (deceased now). Anyone who's read the books will instantly feel familiar with them. I think even those who haven't will understand the concepts with ease as they read the story, but at the end of each chapter, I will explain some words / ideas that may call for it. Keep in mind, it's not a crossover story at all. Just a few concepts integrated into the plot.

 

Also, this was merely a prologue, so forgive the short lenght.

 

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GLOSSARY:

 

-The Pattern: People also know it as ''fate'', ''destiny''. It is the grand scheme that ultimately dictates the course and fate of every single soul. Most don't believe in its existence, and think they can carve their own path in their lives, but since ancient times there were those who served the Pattern and accepted their roles into that greater plan.

 

-Ta'veren: A very rare breed of people. Ta'veren, instead of having their lives being ''woven'' around the Pattern, being subjects to fate, instead manipulate the Pattern around them, twisting it to serve them. Ta'veren are selected by the Pattern itself to serve a specific cause, and they most often find themselves struggling against their destiny. Ta'veren are considered exceptionally ''lucky'', meaning they have a sort of ability to ''twist the odds''. Around a ta'veren, people might say things there wouldn't even be a one-in-a-million chance of him saying them under normal circumstances. Around ta'veren, accidents that would cause instant death barely leave a scratch on the victims, and seemingly harmless events can inflict far more serious damage. The Pattern is distorted around ta'veren, and as such, everything around them is quite unpredictable. More importantly, due to that ''twisting of fate'', ta'veren are exceptional in the game of Duel Monsters, that seems to be intricately tied into the Pattern - though how, remains unknown.[/align]

[Kocrow17]

Amazingly good read. From just reading the prologue, I can guarantee I will be sticking with this series. After reading I see what you mean by my fic lacking in detail. Will all the Ta'veren be already existing characters in Yu-Gi-Oh?

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

@God Kaze: Whoo, a reader hooked just from the prologue! I thought I'd have to post at least a couple of chapters before I got someone to read this... thanks for your positive comments! And no, not at all. The characters I mentioned in the beginning were indeed ta'veren, but the story takes place around 20 years after the Duel Academy events, so most of them are kind of dead =/. I will be using original characters, although a few of the old ones (from the GX series) just might be making comebacks...

 

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CHAPTER 1: Twisting the Odds - Part 1

 

A wind rose across the well-paved streets and picturesque houses of Domino City. It was a soft, pleasant breeze, doing nothing to reduce the warmth of the summer afternoon.

 

The wind swept through the city, flowing across the grasslands that surrounded it, to settle on the ragged hilltops located directly to the north. A serene picture, peaceful. Enough to make a man forget his troubles for a bit. Or a teenager, for that matter. Such as the one lying atop the grass that crowned a nearby hill. His straight, black hair fell down to almost cover his brown eyes. He was not short, but neither excessively tall, and had a rather well-built figure. His black-coloured backpack that was just lying next to him had the name 'Rand' branded on it with bright white letters.

 

The young man watched as the wind swept past him, his eyes drifting to a small piece of paper that seemed to be struggling against the currents. He had to half-close his eyes against the intense afternoon sun to catch a better glimpse of it. Twirling when two opposite currents interwined, it was a card from the popular Duel Monsters game. It flew in his direction, to land smoothly in the open palm of his extended hand.

 

"Hey, what do you know." The teen said, looking at the card. It was an orange-coloured monster card, six stars drawn on top of an illustration of a man holding what appeared to be a lightning bolt. "Stormweaver Aldros. This kind of rare card isn't just found flying in the wind."

 

Of course, he knew what this was about. For a long time now, he did have a strange tendency to... attract... those twists of luck. Around him, a coin could be tossed fifteen times in a row, and all fifteen would land on 'heads'. After he had been saving for three months to buy a pair of sneekers, he visited the store and found them at 50% off, special offer of the day. He could not control it, and it was not always good luck - if what he invoked could even be called luck. When he was trying to steal sweets from the pastry shop during the night with a couple of his friends, it happened to be the one night the owner would forget her purse inside and come back to get it, catching them red-handed. He still sighed at the memory; Miss Nora was a pleasant woman, easy and quick to forget and forgive, but she had a heavy hand, and she would not let them go until she had made sure each of them could barely sit for three days. It was almost certain that the only flying card in the whole city would land in his hands. His, or Mat's, or Irene's. Those two had seemed to attract chance as much as he did, and they often ended up hanging out together, even though Irene had a certain... distaste for Mat's rogueish tendencies.

 

Rand held the card, examining it carefully. Soon enough, however, a young boy no more than fourteen years old at best came charging into sight, hastily climbing the hill he was standing on.

 

"My card! My card!" He wailed, tears gleaming in his blue eyes, while he flung his arms around wildly, trying to maintain his balance while running. He had not noticed Rand yet. Rand sighed. He could hide the card, claim that it was his, or simply bully the kid into letting him have it, but he had no intention of doing any of these things. It was a strong monster, but he would win often enough in Duel Monsters without it. He always did.

 

"Hey, kid." He yelled after him, motioning him to come closer. As the young boy reached him, he vaguely remembered seeing him in school - he had finished school just a month ago, while the boy - Olver was his name - was just in his fourth year. "That yours?" he held out the card.

 

Olver's eyes shone with relief and tears for almost losing his precious card. He clutched it tightly and mumbled incoherently something that could have passed for thanks. Rand sighed again. Did he act like that when he was growing up?

 

"Be careful with it, kid. It's too good a card to just lose it." And even better if you knew how to activate its special effect, but Rand kept that to himself. It was on his own experience that young Olver would learn how to become a great duelist if he wanted to, not on Rand's or anyone else's.

 

"Thank you, thank you mister!" Olver finally managed to speak coherently.

 

"Call me Rand!" The teenager yelled after him, then sighed for the third time. He hated being treated like a full grown-up, but Olver was already almost halfway downhill, out of earshot, holding his card against his chest.

 

"That was a very nice thing of you to do." A female voice, clear and serene, sounded right behind him, and Rand jumped. Whipping his head around, he noticed a beautiful young woman, or at least, she looked young. There was something... strange about her face, something that prevented Rand from putting an age to her face. Long-stranded light brown hair spread smoothly over her shoulders, her piercing blue gaze having an almost playful tint in it, while simultaneously looking deep and serious. But before he could dwell on it, she spoke again.

 

"It was a pretty rare card you gave away, you know."

 

"I know." He said irritably. What was so different about her? nd how the hell had she walked all the way up to him when just minutes ago there was noone as far as the eye could see in any direction, except him and the boy? "Anyone would give it back though."

 

"Is that so?" She said, and laughed, her laughter as clear as her voice, then she turned serious again. "Well, that may as well be. Here, take this." She held out a card that she had seemingly produced out of nowhere, and wriggled it in front of Rand's nose. "If you give away cards like that one so easily, you might have need for it." She laughed again.

 

"Wait, I don't want..." Rand began, but then his breath caught. The card he held was an 8-starred effect monster card, featuring an angel clad in shining white armor.

 

Oh, it could have been just coincidence before, but giving away a rare and powerful card just to receive a far better one an instant later was just too ridiculous a twisting of chance.

 

"Hey..." he started as he raised his head from the card, only to remain there gaping, his unfinished words hanging from his mouth. The woman had vanished without a trace.

 

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AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

I know I had promised a duel and more lenght in the first chapter, but after second thought, I decided to split what was originally a long chapter into three smaller parts. It is pretty easier to post more often this way, and I think it will help readers keep up with the flow of the story better. Just a few notes on the chapter... you may have noticed I avoided giving away details on the two cards that I have mentioned so far - I've noticed most people will usually provide links to their cards. Well, until I use them in dueling, I don't want to reveal too much about them, especially those that play a role into the plot.

 

On an unrelated note, the mysterious woman in the end of the chapter is not Cyndane in disguise. I wouldn't pull off something as cheap as that =/. You will find out more soon enough.

 

On an even less related note, something that I forgot to say in the prologue: the saying that is placed in the very beginning is not randomly put there. It will be important, but you'll have to wait until the end of the first arc to find out why.

 

To make up for lack of lenght in each chapter, I will post at a pretty fast rate until I hit the limit of what I have thought for the story. Expect about a new chapter per day / 2 days, for quite some time.

 

Last, I would like to say that I really appreciate your feedback, and anything, any kind of criticism you can give me on my writing style, as well as my writing format will be welcomed and taken into serious consideration. Thanks in advance.

 

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GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

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CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Each time an important character is introduced in a chapter, I will put in a short profile for him in this section. I will also update older profiles here, if something new is revealed about them.

 

Rand:

-Age: 18

-Hair Color: Black

-Hairstyle: Straight, Short

-Eye Color: Dark Brown

-Height: 1.80m

-Weight: 55kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Unknown

-Deck: Unknown

-Personality: Cheerful, carefree, helpful, kind. Kind of a dreamer at times. Optimistic, generally.

-Hobbies: Collecting dueling cards, relaxing, writing.

-Likes: Sweets, dueling.

-Dislikes: Embarassment.

 

Olver:

-Age: 14

-Hair Color: Blonde

-Hairstyle: Straight, Short

-Eye Color: Light Blue

-Height: 1.30m

-Weight: 40kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Stormweaver Aldros

-Deck: Unknown

-Personality: Insecure, but overall happy. Lacks confidence. Trusting and reliable.

-Hobbies: Playing with cards, even though he is not a good actual duelist yet.

-Likes: Strong-looking cards.

-Dislikes: Being shunned.

 

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SPOILERS:

 

This section will contain a bit of an introduction on the next chapter. Though I will not reveal anything important, and just give you the idea, if you want to be fully surprised, don't read it. =/ Oh, and don't worry. Next chapter will definately contain dueling. It was actually planned for the scene just after this chapter's last scene, so it will be first thing in the second chapter.

 

A coin tossed yet not landed.

 

A wolf's smile, a rogue's eyes, a gambler's heart.

 

Who will the Godess of Luck smile upon the most?

 

Next Chapter: Twisting the Odds - Part 2[/align]

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

None

 

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CHAPTER 2: Twisting the Odds - Part 2

 

The tall, blonde-haired young lady flickered her head backwards, letting her hair flow around her shoulders. Her green gaze was set on watching the cluster of children gathered in front of her, that were making a fuss standing up and leaving the small, well-lit room. Cushions and pillows were scattered on the floor - Irene always believed that a pleasant, delightful environment helped a great deal in letting the children relax and absorb what she taught them easier.

 

She had voluntarily taken up the job of caretaking small children and teaching them things like writing, reading, drawing, and even card dueling on request, and she had to admit, she thoroughly enjoyed it. She always treated her students gently, even those who were mischievous; although they would occasionally receive a soft spanking - soft by Irene's standards, some of them complained they couldn't sit for the rest of the day after their punishment. The children liked her as well, and she had the most fun during the constructive hours she spent with them.

 

"Irene-sensei." a young, red-headed girl with a slim, almost fragile picture said, distracting Irene's thoughts. She looked up - the classroom was mostly empty, except for a few kids in the back still gathering up her things, but two girls, both red-headed, but very different in appearance, stood before her. While Lina was thin and had deep blue eyes and long hair and a feminine demeanour, Helena was taller, with black eyes and shorter hair, and had a more sturdy build, earning her the - not unjustified - reputation of a tomboy. Those two seemed unlikely candidates to get along well, but surprisingly, they had become best friends almost immediately after they met each other.

 

"How can I help you, Lina?" The teacher replied gently. She avoided referring to the children with the word for 'little' - she knew it irritated them.

 

"Will you duel with us?" The girl said, Helena nodding.

 

"Duel?" Irene said, startled. Neither of them had shown any real interest in her dueling classes, and she would never expect them to walk up and challenge her in one. Well, not Lina, anyway. But there was no reason to refuse. She did, occasionally, enjoy a good duel - it was not her favourite hobby, but it could be fun.

 

"Alright then." She said after a few seconds. "Which one wants to go first?"

 

"Actually" Helena replied "we were thinking that you could duel both of us at once."

 

Irene nodded. A double duel was not unusual, and considering her age and experience in the game, it was only fair they had an advantage.

 

"I see. Well, fine by me." She said finally, retrieving three duel disks from the closet behind her. They were of the simple, standard Battle City design. She handed the pair two of them, and attached her own to her left arm. Finally, she fumbled in her pocket for her dueling deck - against the children, she would much rather use a practice deck, but none was handy nearby. When she turned around, Lina and Helena had already put on and activated their disks. The life points for them were set to a sum of 4,000 - it would be unfair if they dueled with their collective life points double than Irene's.

 

"You go first." Irene said. Lina nodded, and took the first turn.

 

"I Summon 'Little Fairy of the River' in defense mode." She said. A cute, light-blue colored fairy appeared on the field, with her hands crossed in front of her. She had only 600 ATK points and 700 DEF points - a weak monster to start with.

 

"I will also Set one card face-down." Lina added, placing a concealed card in the Spell Zone. "Your turn, sensei."

 

Irene grinned, drawing her card. She was pretty certain that the hidden card was going to stop her from attacking the fragile monster, but she was about to give it a try.

 

"I Summon 'Sorceress' Warden' in attack mode." She placed a monster card on the field, and an iron-clad warrior bearing a brown cloak and a long silver blade appeared. The monster had 1700 ATK and 1400 DEF points, a solid 4-star monster.

 

"Sorceress' Warden, attack the Little Fairy of the River." Irene commanded, and her warrior charged in, aiming to slash the little creture with his sword.

 

"I activate my Spell card, 'Fairy's Shielding Bubble'" Lina interrupted. Her Quick-Play Spell card formed a blueish bubble around her monster, and the Warden's sword slammed harmlessly into it. "With this, I can turn the ATK points of any monster attacking a Fairy-type monster in defense mode to zero."

 

Irene winced as her life point counter was reduced by 700 - the DEF of Little Fairy. Perhaps she had underestimated her pupils.

 

"What's more" Lina continued "is that, whenever Fairy's Shielding Bubble is sent to the Graveyard, I may discard a Fairy-type monster to the Graveyard so that I can move it back to my hand." The girl sent a monster from her hand to the Graveyard, and retrieved the Spell card.

 

Irene frowned. It was a solid plan. "I will Set two cards face-down and end my turn." She finished, placing two cards in the Spell and Trap card zone.

 

"My move now." Helena picked up. "I Summon 'Little Fairy of the Woods' in defense mode." The new creature was similar to Lina's fairy, only brown and green. "As long as it remains on the field together with Little Fairy of the River, neither of the cards can be destroyed. I will also Set a card face-down and end my turn."

 

Irene was catching on. They were trying to build up a shield against her attacks that would render them safe, and then mount a sizeable offense from behind that barrier. She drew, and glanced at her card. It was just the card she needed to teach Lina and Helena that if a defense cannot be overwhelmed, it can be bypassed. But she needed an extra turn to do that. In the meantime, she could continue building up her forces and stop them from taking a bite off her Life Points.

 

"I Summon 'Sorceress' Apprentice'." She said, summoning a red-clad witch with an ebon quarterstaff. With 1800 ATK and 1000 DEF points, it was another solid 4-star monster. "I also place another card face-down and end my turn."

 

"Now I will activate my Spell card." Lina said after drawing her card. "'The Fairy Lady's Pearls'." A tall, beautiful woman dressed in a flowing light blue cloak and holding a handful of pearls appeared. "While there are two or more Fairy-type monsters on our side of the field, this card will increase our Life Points by 1000 and also allow me to draw any desired card from my deck."

 

"Not if I can stop it." Irene said, as the Fairy lady's body began glowing. "I activate the Trap card, 'Sorceress' Seal'. With it, I can negate the activation of your Spell card and get to draw a card instead." A runic circle formed around Lina's Spell card.

 

"Not if I use this." Helena tapped her face-down card, and the circle vanished. "Trap Jammer negates your Trap's effect and destroys it."

 

"I draw" Lina said, and selected a card from her deck, adding it to her hand, while their Life Points increased to 1000. "I will Summon 'Keeper of the Fairy Grove' in defense mode." While it was a rather weak monster, with only 600 ATK and 1600 DEF points, its special effect increased the ATK and DEF of Fairy-type monsters on the field by 300 points. Now the two Little Fairies each featured 900 ATK and 1000 DEF points. "I will also Set a face-down card and end my turn."

 

"Not bad." Irene said, drawing. Just the card she wanted. Of course. Twisting the odds. She glanced at Lina's face-down card. She was fairly certain it was Fairy's Shielding Bubble. If so, she would render it pointless in this turn.

 

"I will sacrifice my Sorceress' Apprentice to summon 'Liandin, the Grand Sorceress'." She said, and her monster vanished in a blur of light to be replaced by a similar, but much more elegant woman in red and gold. With 2300 ATK and 1700 DEF points, it was by far the strongest monster on the field. "Now I activate 'Sorceress' Decree'." She revealed one of her face-down cards, which formed a barrier of white lightning around the duelists. "As long as my Grand Sorceress remains on my side of the field, I can pay 500 life points during the end of each of my turns to switch all your monsters' battle position." Indeed, as she spoke, the three Fairies on Lina's and Helena's side of the field switched to attack mode.

 

"Now then." Irene continued. "My Warden's special ability allows him to attack twice during the same Battle Phase, as long as my Sorceress stands beside him on the battlefield. Go forth, now! Destroy their monsters!"

 

A sphere of fire appeared in the Sorceress' hands, and was hurled against the Keeper of the Fairy Grove, incinerating him. Without him, the Little Fairies' defense dropped back to its original value, and the Warden slashed once, twice. With all the three monsters gone, Lina and Helena's combined Life Points dropped from 5000 to a mere 1100.

 

"Now I will pay 500 life points to keep my Trap card on the field, and end my turn." Irene said. She was satisfied that she had taught the girls something. Her life points were reduced to 2800, but it was worth it if she could control her opponents' monsters' positions.

 

"I activate the Trap card, 'Faerie's Fall'." Lina said. Irene's eyes widened in surprise. She was sure the face-down card had been Fairy's Protective Bubble... "Any monster that destroyed a Fairy-type monster during the previous round is sent to the Graveyard."

 

Both of Irene's monsters were destroyed in a flash of red light. Without her Sorceress, her Trap card was destroyed as well, removing the barrier around the battlefield.

 

"My Sorceress may be gone, but I can still use this:" Irene said. "'Soceress' Legacy'." She revealed her trap card, that transformed into a stone wall emerging from the ground. "When my Sorceress is destroyed, I can Special Summon 'Spell-Blocking Barrier Wall' to replace the loss." With only zero ATK points, the wall was formidable in its defense position, featuring 2000 DEF points.

 

"Let's see..." Helena mused. "I activate 'Card Switch'. With it, I can trade a card from my hand with a card from another player's hand. And I choose Lina."

 

The two girls' duel disks glowed, and their Field Spell card slots opened. Helena placed a card in hers, and Lina one in her own. The two cards glowed, and were traded through the disks. Lina glanced at hers and placed her to her hand, and Helena took hers with a small smile.

 

"I will now activate the card drawn by Fairy Lady's Pearls, 'Nephilim's Rise'. It's a Spirit Ritual Spell card, just like those you taught us about last time, sensei."

 

Irene scowled. Spirit Ritual was a new mechanic implemented only a couple of years ago. It allowed the duelists to Special Summon certain Ritual monsters by sacrificing monsters of the same type. Such cards were still rarely seen. How had Lina gotten her hands on such a card?

 

"By sending 'Fairie Lady of the Lilies' from my hand to the Graveyard, I can Special Summon 'Ophelia, the Angel's Daughter'." An angelic figure appeared on the field, only slightly resembling the Fairy that was sacrificed to bring it forth. Even though it was a 6-star monster, it featured 2500 ATK and 2200 DEF points, enough for any 7-star.

 

"I know activate Ophelia's special ability." Helena said, while her angel moved her hands to a praying position. "Once during my turn I can Special Summon a Fairy-type monster from our Graveyard to my field in defense position." Keeper of the Fairy Grove appeared back on the field, and Ophelia's ATK and DEF points were raised to 2800 and 2500 respectively.

 

"Now I will attack Spell Blocking Barrier Wall." Helena said, and Ophelia sent an white energy ball towards Irene's defense, but it bounced off, and Lina's and Helena's Life Points dropped to 900.

 

"Sorry girls." Irene said. "My Wall's special ability allows me to send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard to increse its defense points by one thousand until the end of the turn."

 

Helena finished her turn, and Irene drew. "I will now activate my monster's other effect. By sending it to the Graveyard, I can move a specific Equip Spell from my deck to the field." The wall disappeared, and was replaced with a shining blue quarterstaff. The head of the staff was a silver eagle. "This is the 'Spirit Summoning Staff', a special card that can only be brought to the field by means of the Spell Blocking Barrier Wall."

 

"But there is no monster to equip it with." Lina said, observing the weapon.

 

"Yeah, but this won't remain so for long." Irene replied, placing a Spell card on the field. "Monster Reborn!"

 

The field began glowing with a golden luster, and Grand Sorceress Liandrin appeared again, placing her hands on the quarterstaff. Her ATK points increased by 500 to 2800.

 

"Now that my Sorceress has her staff, I can activate its ability" Two silver-coloured spheres, seemingly made of liquid light, appeared on the field. "and Special Summon these two Spirit Tokens." The Tokens had only 500 ATK and DEF points each.

 

"But they won't stay here for long, either. I will tribute them to Summon 'Emerald Guardian'!". A massive, emerald-coloured steel-clad beast-warrior appeared on the field, with a massive 2800 ATK and 2500 DEF points. "Your Angel Daughter Ophelia is strong, but now..."

 

Emerald Guardian attacked Keeper of the Fairy Grove, smashing it to dust, and reverting Ophelia's ATK back to 2500. Subsequently, Liandrin unleashed a fireball at the angelic being, destroying it and reducing Helena's and Lina's Life Points to 600.

 

For being cornered, with two powerful monsters facing her non-existent defenses, Lina seemed surprisingly calm as she drew her next card. "I will now Summon 'Fairy Priestess' in defense mode." Another Fairy appeared, with 1600 ATK and 1400 DEF points, shielding her body with her white wings. "And now, I can activate the card Helena gave me. 'Fairy's Kindness', with it, I can draw as many cards as there are monsters on the field." Lina drew three cards from her deck.

 

"I will set two cards face-down, and activate 'Fairy's Soul Ritual'. With it, I can send River Nymph to the Graveyard and Spirit Summon Ophelia back on the field in defense position. I end my turn."

 

Of course. All they could do now was defend. So Irene would feint an attack, and she would use her newly-drawn Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Fairy's Protective Bubble and win this duel without giving them a chance to mount another offensive. She moved her hand to play her Spell...

 

...and a blinding headache shook her body, immobilizing her on the spot. She caught her forehead, trying to focus her eyesight, while recovering from the momentary excruciating pain that hit her.

 

"Are you alright, sensei?" Helena asked, worry obvious in her face. Irene's face must have gone pale.

 

"I'm fine." Irene replied, shaking her head to clear the black spots. It was there, and she could not do anything about it. She just had come to accept it over time.

 

The hidden card on the left of Lina's side of the field shone with a bright light. Irene knew it was not Fairy's Protective Bubble, because the card placed to the left was one of her newly drawn cards, while the one to the right came from her original hand. Yet at the same time, she knew that was the card she had to destroy.

 

From a very young age, Irene sported a peculiar ability. Usually minutes before someone - including herself - was in danger, she could see a bright golden aura around the person or thing that was going to hurt him or her. Unless she intervened, it would happen, and that was certain. She did not always manage to stop it - in the beginning, the first times she had learnt how to utilize her ability, that had pained her a lot, not being able to stop others from hurting. But she had just accepted that as well - you couldn't prevent all the sad things in life from happening.

 

The peculiar thing was, the same thing happened during her duels. Whenever her opponents played a monster or card, even a hidden one, that was going to be of particular danger to her monsters or life points, she saw it enveloped in bright light. She tried to shut off this ability while dueling, because it gave her an unfair advantage, something which she despised. Most of the times, she succeeded, but she could not control it all the time, and at random intervals, it could come to her accompanied with that excruciating pain. She hated it. As far as she could remember, she wished she did not have that 'gift'.

 

But when it came into effect, when she saw those visions, ignoring them was like trying to stop the sun from shining. It simply could not be done. 'Instinct', her mother had called it. 'The instinct for survival'. Well, it was as it was, and there was nothing to be done about it. She sighed. The girls should have won this duel - they had played exceptionally well, and their teamwork was flawless.

 

"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon." Irene said, targeting the card to the left. A maelstrom enveloped it, and the light disappeared. When it was gone, the card was visible for a second before it was destroyed.

 

"Faerie Stigma." Irene said. "So that's what you had been planning."

 

Lina and Helena stood with their mouths open."A-amazing, sensei! I tried to show you which card was the Fairie's Protective Bubble, so that you would destroy that and not the other one, but you saw through it!" Irene smiled bitterly. Nothing to be done.

 

"Well, be careful whom you are trying to pull your bluffs off with. Now I equip my Emerald Guardian with 'Silver Metal Gauntlet', increasing its attack by 500 points. Emerald Guardian, attack their Fairy Priestess."

 

"Have you forgotten about Fairy's Bubble?" Lina asked, astounded. "I activate it to..."

 

"No, you don't." Irene said. She was terribly tired, and she just wanted to be off to bed. My Spirit Summoning Staff can negate any Spell card you activate, as long as I sent it to the Graveyard." The staff in Liandrin's hands vanished, and the Emerald Guardian smashed Fairy Priestess to dust.

 

"Thanks to Silver Metal Gauntlet, the difference between Emerald Guardian's attack and your monster's defense points is inflicted to your life points as battle damage." Lina and Helena winced as their life points dropped to zero.

 

"Aww..." Helena mumbled, disappointed. "We still can't beat sensei, even with our new strategy..." Irene just now noticed that about a dozen of the children she was teaching had gathered in a semi-circle behind them to observe the duel, and were now murmuring with excitement. It was a really close call, as far as they were concerned. And actually, far closer than they could know.

 

"You've done very well." Irene patted Lina's and Helena's heads with her hands. She had now put her dueling disk away, and pocketed her deck again. "You just need a bit more practice."

 

Her class left, and she sighed again. She really was tired.

 

Suddenly, to the back of the compound her 'school' was housed, she heard muffled voices. She didn't think it was a thief or burglar - there was no headache, and plus, who would come to rob a house in the middle of the day? - so she could go and find out what was going on.

 

"Come on, one more time!"

 

"I said no."

 

"Please... you sure you don't want this?"

 

Irene half-opened a door. A boy, not much taller than her, lean with dark brown hair was sitting in the room in front of a girl. She looked small, definately younger than either of them. Once she saw the boy's honey-coloured eyes, sparkling with an amused light, and his rogueish grin, she instantly recognized mischief. Oh, on Mat, she recognized mischief very well.

 

He didn't appear to have noticed her peeking through the door.

 

"Come on, a kiss against this pretty necklace." The hair on Irene's head almost rose. "All you have to do is score a higher number than me."

 

The pretty girl sighed. "Alright, fine..." she took a dice from the floor, and tossed it into a cup. They both peered into it for a moment.

 

"Five." She said with a small smirk. "Lucky toss."

 

"We'll see." Mat grinned, taking the dice. Irene pursed her lips. Oh, she knew what was going to happen.

 

"Six." He announced brightly. "Now, for my prize..."

 

"MATTHEW!!" Irene yelled at the top of her voice, bursting through the door.

 

"Uh-oh. It's 'Matthew' time." The fool boy said with a grin. "You better get out of here." The girl didn't need any more encouragement, and slipped through the back door. Turning, Mat tossed the pretty jewel at her, and she grabbed it while giggling. Irene had a strong desire to rip out her guts.

 

"Yes, Irene? May I be of assistance?" Mat turned back to face her. His wolfish grin was back, and his eyes sparkled with amused innocence. Irene writhed.

 

"You never learn, do you?" Irene growled.

 

"What's wrong? You jealous? You know you can get one too..." He started towards her.

 

"I swear, if you take one more step..."

 

"Alright, alright, I got it." He said, a little too hastily. He was not entirely unafraid of her, no matter what he pretended. Just two years older than him and Rand, and Irene had played the role of an older sister for almost as far as they could remember.

 

"Good. Now I'm hitting off to rest. You don't get into any more mischiefs."

 

"Got it." Mat said, scooping up the cup and the dice. He always carried those with him. He grinned at her, and she left, but not before rewarding him with a long, interrogating glance, trying to figure out what he was up to. But his rogue-like face gave nothing. Eventually, she left.

 

Once alone, Mat sighed with unconcealed relief. "Man, that was close." He said, walking through the back door outside. It was already afternoon - he had won over 50 dice tosses in a row with that girl, and kissing sure made time pass quickly - and the sun was slowly setting.

 

"You Mat?" A boy's voice said just behind him. Mat grinned. The kid had tried to play sneaky and surprise him, but he had caught on his presence ever since he walked out the building.

 

"That be me." He replied casually, spinning on his heels to face the young teen. He was tall for the age his face would give out, no more than 15 years old. He had a dueling disk in hand.

 

"I want a duel with you." He challenged Mat, staring him in the eye. He was trying very hard to hide he was a little in awe. Mat was a renowned young duelist, especially due to his great luck. Mat suppressed a grin.

 

"Sure thing, shoot right ahead." He said, drawing his own duel disk and setting it, placing his card in the designated spot. "But be careful:"

 

"Luck is a tricky Lady." He smirked, drawing his first cards.

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

So, this chapter pretty much concludes the introduction of the three main characters - all ta'veren, as you may have realized by now. I hope I got to draw some interest with the duel - until I am finished with my full introduction of the main cast, things can't really kick off, so please bear with me for a couple more chapters.

 

I also want to apologize for the lack of card links. Finding the pictures and making each individual card would take... much more time than writing the chapter, and that is time I don't have. That's where the fun kicks in: I'll be running a contest so that you guys to make them for me! Hence, the next section.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

Monsters:

 

Name: Little Fairy of the River

Attribute: WATER

Type: Fairy

Level: 2

ATK: 600

DEF: 700

Effect: As long as "Little Fairy of the Woods" is face-up on your side of the field, this monster cannot be destroyed in Battle.

 

Name: Little Fairy of the Woods

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Fairy

Level: 2

ATK: 600

DEF: 700

Effect: As long as "Little Fairy of the River" is face-up on your side of the field, this monster cannot be destroyed in Battle.

 

Name: Keeper of the Fairy Grove

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Fairy

Level: 3

ATK: 600

DEF: 1600

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, the ATK and DEF of all Fairy-type monsters on your side of the field is increased by 300.

 

Name: Fairy Lady of the Lilies

Attribute: WIND

Type: Fairy

Level: 6

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1600

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, increase your Life points by 700 during the End Phase of each of your turns.

 

Name: Ophelia, an Angel's Daughter

Attribute: LIGHT

Type: Fairy

Level: 6

ATK: 2500

DEF: 2200

Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can only be Ritual Summoned by the effect of "Nephilim Rise". Once during your turn, you may select a Fairy-type monsters from your graveyard

and Special Summon it on your side of the field.

 

Name: Fairy Priestess

Attribute: LIGHT

Type: Fairy

Level: 4

ATK: 1600

DEF: 1400

Effect: NONE.

 

Name: Sorceress' Warden

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Warrior

Level: 4

ATK: 1700

DEF: 1400

Effect: If there is a face-up monster with "Grand Sorceress" in its card name on your side of the field, this monster can attack twice during the same Battle Phase.

 

Name: Sorceress' Apprentice

Attribute: FIRE

Type: Spellcaster

Level: 4

ATK: 1800

DEF: 1000

Effect: Unknown

 

Name: Liandrin, the Grand Sorceress

Attribute: FIRE

Type: Spellcaster

Level: 6

ATK: 2300

DEF: 1700

Effect: Unknown

 

Name: Spell-Blocking Barrier Wall

Attribute: EARTH

Type: Rock

Level: 4

ATK: 0

DEF: 2000

Effect: Send the top card of your deck to the Graveyard in order to increase this monster's DEF by 1000 points until the End Phase of the turn this effect is activated. Send this card from your side of the field to the Graveyard to Set "Spirit Summoning Staff" from your deck to your side of the field.

 

Name: Emerald Guardian

Attribute: LIGHT

Type: Warrior

Level: 8

ATK: 2800

DEF: 2500

Effect: Unknown

 

Spells:

 

Name: Fairy's Shielding Bubble

Type: Quick-Play

Effect: The ATK of any monster attacking a face-up defense position Fairy-type monster becomes 0 until the end of the turn this card is activated. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, you may discard one Fairy-type monster from your hand in order to move it back to your hand.

 

Name: Fairy Lady's Pearls

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated if there are two or more Fairy-type monsters on your side of the field. Increase your Life Points by 1000 and select one card from your deck and add it to your hand after showing it to your opponent. Shuffle your deck afterwards.

 

Name: Card Switch

Type: Normal

Effect: Select a card from your hand and give it to another player. Then he / she must select a card from his / her hand and give it to you.

 

Name: Nephilim Rise

Type: Spirit Ritual

Effect: Send "Fairy Lady of the Lilies" from your side of the field or your hand to the Graveyard to Ritual Summon "Ophelia, the Angel's Daughter" from your hand or your deck.

 

Name: Fairy's Kindness

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated if there is a face-up "Fairy Priestess" on your side of the field. Draw as many cards as there are monsters on the field.

 

Name: Fairy's Soul Ritual

Type: Normal

Effect: Send a monster from your hand or your side of the field to Special Summon a Spirit Ritual monster of the same type in face-up attack or defense position from your graveyard.

 

Name: Spirit Summoning Staff

Type: Equip

Effect: This card can only be equipped to a monster with "Grand Sorceress" in its card name. Increase the ATK of the equipped monster by 500 points. Once during your turn you may Special Summon up to two "Spirit Tokens" (LIGHT/Spellcaster/500-500) on your side of the field. Send this face-up card from your side of the field to the Graveyard to negate the activation of a Spell card and destroy it.

 

Name: Monster Reborn

Type: Normal

Effect: Special Summon a monster from either player's Graveyard on your side of the field in face-up attack or defense position.

 

Name: Mystical Space Typhoon

Type: Quick-Play

Effect: Destroy a Spell or Trap card on the field.

 

Name: Silver Metal Gauntlet

Type: Equip

Effect: This card can only be equipped to a monster with "Emerald" in its card name. Increase the equipped monster's ATK by 500 points. Each time the equipped monster destroys a defense position monster, inflict the difference between the equipped monster's ATK points and the destroyed monster's DEF points as Battle damage to your opponent's life points.

 

Traps:

 

Name: Trap Jammer

Type: Counter

Effect: Negate the activation of a Trap card and destroy it.

 

Name: Fairy's Fall

Type: Normal

Effect: Any monster that destroyed a Fairy-type monster during the previous turn is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.

 

Name: Fairy Stigma

Type: Counter

Effect: Whenever a Fairy-type monster is destroyed, inflict damage equal to its original ATK points to your opponent's life points.

 

Name: Sorceress' Seal

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated if there is a monster with

"Sorceress" in its card name. Negate the activation of a Spell card and destroy it, then draw one card.

 

Name: Sorceress' Decree

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated if there is a monster with

"Grand Sorceress" in its card name. Once during your turn, you may switch the Battle Position of any monster(s) on the field. You must pay 500 life points during the End Phase of each of your turns, otherwise this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard.

 

Name: Sorceress' Legacy

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated when a monster with

"Grand Sorceress" in its card name is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard. Special Summon "Spell-Blocking Barrier Wall" from your hand or your deck in face-up defense position.

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Irene:

-Age: 20

-Hair Color: Pale Blonde

-Hairstyle: Straight, Long

-Eye Color: Green

-Height: 1.70m

-Weight: 50kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Grand Sorceress Liandrin

-Deck: Sorceress-based deck

-Personality: Honest, straight-forward, but a little shy at times. Helpful and kind to those who need it, but stern against mischief. Protective of those who need help.

-Hobbies: Poetry, taking care of children.

-Likes: Children, reading.

-Dislikes: Mischief, dishonesty.

 

Helena:

-Age: 14

-Hair Color: Red

-Hairstyle: Short, Curly

-Eye Color: Black

-Height: 1.55m

-Weight: 40kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Ophelia, an Angel's Daughter

-Deck: Fairy deck.

-Personality: Somewhat of a tomboy. Can be very protective of her friends, and very aggeressive at times.

-Hobbies: Swimming, running, dueling.

-Likes: Sports, activity.

-Dislikes: Idleness, reading.

 

Lina:

-Age: 14

-Hair Color: Red

-Hairstyle: Long, Straight

-Eye Color: Blue

-Height: 1.50m

-Weight: 37kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Ophelia, an Angel's Daughter

-Deck: Fairy deck.

-Personality: Shy and withdrawn, generally, but generous and honest once she gets to know someone. Easy to befriend and trust people.

-Hobbies: Singing, reading, cooking.

-Likes: Feminine stuff.

-Dislikes: Noise, trouble.

 

Matthew:

-Age: 18

-Hair Color: Dark Brown

-Hairstyle: Medium Lenght, Curly

-Eye Color: Light Brown

-Height: 1.73m

-Weight: 55kg

-Favorite/Signature Card:

-Deck:

-Personality: Roguish, mischievous, and seemingly a little rough-mannered but honest and caring if you get to know him.

-Hobbies: Gambling, dicing.

-Likes: Girls, being lucky.

-Dislikes: Responsibilities he has to handle.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

A shifting of the threads.

 

The bet is set.

 

And the Pattern weaves as the Pattern wishes.

 

Next Chapter: Twisting the Odds - Part 3

 

[/align]

[Umbra]

From one plot-fanfic-writer to another, I can only say this.

 

Really good. This proves that fanfics aren't all about dueling. The Background is.

 

Rate: 9,5 out of 10.

 

Pros:

- Story

- Characters

- Grammar and Spelling

 

Cons:

- Names (direct rip-off in some places, intended or not, I do not care which.)

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

@Umbra: >_> <_< ^_^... yeah, most of the names are kind of rip-offs. But I was never really good at picking names, so yeah... it's better that way, I think. Plus, the sources I used aren't well-known here at all... so meh >_>. As long as it's your only issue, I'm perfectly fine with it =/. Thanks for the comments, and keep them coming!

 

===

 

CHAPTER 3: Twisting the Odds - Part 3

 

"So." Mat said, as the life points were set, and they drew their starting hands. "What's your name, kid?"

 

"I'm Lan." The boy replied defensively.

 

"Well then, Lan. I guess I'll go first." Mat smirked as he drew his first card. "I Summon 'Lady Luck's Maid', in attack position!" A young woman, wearing an elegant silk dress embroidered with silver and golden coins and holding a dice, appeared on the field. With only 1300 ATK and 1500 DEF points, she didn't seem like such a powerful opening move. "This card has everything I need: Luck, and pretty girls." Mat said, flashing a smile.

 

"So is your turn over?" Lan asked.

 

"Far from it. You see, when I have Lady Luck's Maid on the field, I can activate this little Spell card here." With that, Mat played a Spell card that resembled a sack of coins. "'Yieldings of Luck'. It remains on the field as long as I control at least one face-up monster with 'Luck' in its card name, and allows me to Special Summon two Ladybird of Luck Tokens!" Two miniature sculptures resembling tiny silver birds appeared next to the Lady Luck's Maid in defense mode, although, they had zero ATK and DEF points.

 

"You're probably wondering what use I have for two monsters without any points, that I cannot even use for tributes. Well, allow me to demonstrate." Mat activated another spell card. A dice appeared in the middle of the field. "'The Lady's Chosen'. I can activate this card to Special Summon a monster whose Level stars equal the number I get from the dice, if I have Lady Luck or her Maid on the field." The dice rolled, and landed on a full six. Lan's eyes widened. Oh, he had heard the rumors. Just not believed them, until now.

 

"Unfortunately, the monster I want to summon is Level 7." Mat informed his adversary. "So I can sacrifice one of my Ladybird Tokens to increase the number of the dice by 1." One of the tiny statues vanished, and another black dot appeared on the dice. "Now I use The Lady's Chosen to Special Summon Slot Machine in attack mode!"

 

A gruesome mechanical construct that looked like an oversized slot machine appeared on the field. A formidable creature, with 2400 ATK and 2000 DEF points. "But I'm not done yet. If I use this 'Gambler's Coin' Spell card, I can activate my Slot Machine's effect to attack you directly for 500 damage and draw another card!" A coin was inserted in the Slot Machine, and it shot out a bolt of black metal, striking Mat's opponent. While Lan's points dropped to 3500, Mat drew another card.

 

"What do you know?" He exclaimed. "Another Gambler's Coin!" Mat used his second Spell card to inflict another 500 points of damage, and to draw another card that turned out to be his last Gambler's Coin.

 

"Now I'm done." Mat said, satisfied. He had two strong monsters on the field, and while his hand only contained three cards, his opponent's field was empty and his own Life Points were full, while Lan's had already dropped to a meager 2500.

 

"About time." Lan growled, drawing. "I Summon Koumori Dragon in attack mode!" The vicious purple dragon with 1500 ATK points appeared on the field.

 

"Are you sure this is a wise move?" Mat asked. "You may be able to destroy my Lady Luck's Maid this turn, but you're leaving yourself open for an attack during the next one."

 

"One thing at a time." Lan replied between pursed lips. "Koumori Dragon, strike down his Lady Luck's Maid!" The creature unleashed a breath of fire at Mat's monster, who winced before being incinerated. Mat's Life Points dropped to 3800, and Luck's Yieldings was sent to the Graveyard.

 

"I warned you." He said. "You can't get rid of Luck so easily." A coin appeared above the blackened remains of Lady Luck's Maid. "If I spin heads, I can bring back my monster." The coin was tossed, it flipped in mid-air, Mat watching amused, Lan scowling at it...

 

...to land on tails.

 

"Looks like your luck is not infinite." Lan commented, a hint of satisfaction in his tone.

 

"Quite true." Mat replied, his smug grin never leaving his face. "But where luck fails, I have my skills to fall back to. By sacrificing my second Ladybird Token, I can toss the coin again." The coin spinned once more, to successfully land on heads this time. Lan's mocking smirk vanished as Lady Luck's Maid was brought back from the grave.

 

"And Luck is a pretty unforgiving enemy." Mat mused philosophically. "Every time she is brought back by her effect, she receives a boost of 400 attack points." The attack of Mat's monster increased to 1700 as she loomed threateningly over Lan's drake. "Anything else before ending your turn?"

 

"I'll just place two cards face-down." Lan replied scornfully. "That should do it."

 

Oh, he was not bad, Mat had to admit. He was hiding the glee of a trap ready to be sprung behind his apparent anger. It was not a bluff, no matter how Lan wanted to make it look like. He was good. Just not good enough.

 

"I Summon 'Banker's Bodyguard' in defense mode!" Mat said after drawing his card, a bulky monster armed with a warhammer appearing on his side of the field. Even though he had a mere 200 ATK points, his 2200 DEF points were more than enough for a four-star monster. "He may require an upkeep of 300 life points per turn to remain on the field, but since he protects my monsters from any Trap cards that designate them as their targets, it's worth it. Now, Lady Luck's Maid, it's time to take your revenge against Koumori Dragon!"

 

The female moved to smack the dragonoid with her dice, but to her - and Mat's - dismay, she was stopped by an invisible barrier. A Spell card was now revealed on Lan's side of the field.

 

"By activating my 'Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King', I can send a Spell card from my side of the field to my Graveyard to completely protect my monsters until the end of this turn." Lan's second face-down card vanished, and his grin deepened.

 

"What's worse for you, the card I just discarded is called 'The Undead Beckon'. When it is sent to the Graveyard, I can tribute one of my monsters, namely Koumori Dragon" a bony, writhed hand appeared from within the ground, grabbing the small dragon that writhed in agony before vanishing "to Special Summon another, far stronger one! Meet my Silver Mist Dragon!"

 

A loud roar cracked the afternoon silence, as a huge, silver-colored dragon covered in a dense cloud of fog that only occasionally parted to reveal the monster within appeared. With a massive 2800 ATK and 2600 DEF points, it was now the strongest monster on the field.

 

"Uh-oh, I didn't see that coming." Mat thought, frowning. His tendency to brutally underestimate some opponents had taken effect again.

 

"Alright." He sighed. "I switch my Slot Machine to defense position, place one card face-down and end my turn."

 

"Not much you can do, is there?" Lan said, drawing. "I activate my Silver Mist Dragon's effect. By sending one card from my hand to the graveyard, I can select 'Veil of Mists' from my deck and play it immeditely!" The boy played a card into his Duel Disk's Field Spell slot, and the mists surrounding the dragon extended to envelop the entire field in their silvery fog. Mat was barely able to see the dragon's glowing eyes. He could only see a shadow of Lan at all. "Not only does this spell increase my dragon's attack points by 500, but it decreases the defense of all monsters on your side of the field by 500 points."

 

"I will now summon another monster." Lan said, and the silhouette of a black-clad swordsman appeared from within the mist. "I could attack your Lady's Maid, but then you could bring her back again. So I choose to attack Banker's Bodyguard with my Dark Blade!" With his defense points decreased to 1700, Banker's Bodyguard did not withstand the 1800 ATK point assault of Dark Blade, and vanished after a single slash. "Now, my Silver Mist Dragon, destroy his Slot Machine!" A breath from the dragon's direction, comprised of a compressed air funnel, enveloped Mat's other monster and vanquished it. "Your turn."

 

"I draw." Mat said. Pot of Greed. A good draw. "I activate Pot of Greed!" With that, a green pot with a smiling face drawn on it appeared on the field and was destroyed, after releasing two cards. "Now I can draw two more cards!" Mat drew his cards, and looked at them. "And since this card" he showed Lan a monster card, even though he could not see it in the fog "was drawn by a card's effect, I can Special Summon it directly! 'Lady Avarice', in defense mode!"

 

Another lady appeared on the field, with a mere 1200 ATK and 1400 DEF points, holding a large jar similar to the Pot of Greed. "Now that my Lady Avarice is on the field, I can activate this." He revealed his face down card, four identical black pots which produced one card each. "Pot of Avarice. I can draw five cards, as long as I discard my entire hand at the end of my turn."

 

Mat drew his renewed cards, and smirked. "I tribute both my Lady Avarice and Lady Luck's Maid to summon my own, personal favourite monster... Lady Luck!" A larger, more beautiful version of Lady Luck's Maid who was clothed in coins instead of a dress, not concealing too much of her body either, appeared on the field, smiling. She appeared to produce an aura that dispersed the mist around her a little. She had 2400 ATK and 2200 DEF points, a decent score, but not enough to rival Silver Mist Dragon. "Lady Luck, attack his Dark Blade!"

 

A shower of golden coins rained on the unseen monster, that destroyed in a crash. However, Lan's life points remained untouched. "As long as my Silver Mist Dragon and my Veil of Mists remain on my field, you cannot reduce my Life Points through Battle damage." Lan said.

 

"I see." Mat replied. "I will play three face-down cards and end my turn." With that, he discarded the last card in his hand, and waited for Lan to pick up where he left. It was unlikely he would attack with three face-down cards on Mat's side of the field, whether he believed it was a bluff or not.

 

"I play the 'Dragon Stomp' Spell card." Lan said after a few seconds. I can destroy one of your face-down cards and inflict 500 points of damage to your life points." He targeted the card to the left, which was 'Spellbinding Circle'. He was lucky, too. "But that's not all. I have another Dragon Stomp." His second card vanquished the Spell card 'De-Spell'. "Now I will attack your Lady Luck with my dragon!"

 

The torrent of wind enveloped Lady Luck, destroying her. Mat's Life Points dropped to 2100, placing him lower than Lan. Oh, the boy was good.

 

Just not good enough.

 

"I activate my face-down card, Monster Reborn" Mat said "and with it, I bring back my Lady Luck!" The Lady appeared again, staring at Lan's dragon indignantly. "What's more, when my Lady Luck is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon 'Lady Luck's Servant' from my graveyard!"

 

"When did I destroy it?" Lan wondered, a bit flustered.

 

"You didn't. It is the card I discarded last turn. Now come back, Lady Luck's Servant!" A man with mustache and monocle in black liverie with coin-embroidered collar and wristbands appeared, holding a walking cane. But he only had 1500 ATK and 1000 DEF points.

 

"Your monsters cannot harm my Dragon!" Lan snapped, obviously angry that he couldn't understand Mat's play.

 

"Don't be so certain." Mat replied smugly. "As long as Lady Luck's Servant is on play, my Lady Luck receives a nice boost: 200 bonus ATK points for every Spell card in my Graveyard!" Counting Monster Reborn, Yieldings of Luck, the three Gambler's Coins, Pot of Greed, Pot of Avarice, the Lady's Chosen, and De-Spell, it was a total of 9 cards. Lady Luck's ATK rose to 4200 points. "Now your dragon is toast, and with it, the rest of your Life Points!"

 

"Not really." Lan said. "If I send my Veil of Mists to the Graveyard, I can switch my Dragon to defense position and safeguard my life points from direct attacks this turn." The mists subsided as the dragon was destroyed, but Lan's life points remained safe, and Mat could not attack with Lady Luck's Servant.

 

"I set a card face-down and end my turn." Mat said. Oh, he was winning alright.

 

"Alright. Then I..."

 

A wooshing sound echoed behind Lan. His head whipped around, and Mat's eyes followed, as a woman with long, straight black hair, and beautiful green eyes, her features smooth and delicate, appeared.

 

"That is quite enough, my boy." She adressed Lan softly. "You don't need to do anything else now."

 

"But... but..." Lan stammered. The new arrival stared at him patiently, but disdainfully, the look a mother would give her son if he tried to deny responsibility for his mischief. Mat knew that look. Mat hated that look. Poor boy had no chance. He took off his duel disk, retrieved his deck, and handed it to the beautiful woman. Oh, she was beautiful. Mat thought. A little old for him, maybe, but damn, so beautiful.

 

The lady retrieved Lan's disk and waved him off, apparently having lost interest in him. Lan stalked off to the back of the building, casting an accusing glance at Mat, as if this was his fault.

 

"Now, Master Matthew." The woman said sweetly, causing Mat to jump up and flinch. He was not used to that polite tone. "You've done very well against young Lan here. But now it is time for me to step in and measure your luck - and skill."

 

"My name is Cyndane." She said, and, without resetting the life point counters or the field, she placed her own deck where Lan's was, drew two cards - as many as Lan had in his hand when he left the duel - and then drew another one.

 

And now Mat had a strange feeling, like this duel was some sort of fated thing. Not that he believed in such things, but...

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. With this, the introductory chapters are concluded, and now we're moving trench-deep into the plot, as you've probably realized after reading the plot twist in the end.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

Card list is postponed again, since I can't find the motivation to sit down and write all the cards that have been used so far... but I will do it before the next chapter comes along, I promise. =/

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Matthew:

-Age: 18

-Hair Color: Dark Brown

-Hairstyle: Medium Lenght, Curly

-Eye Color: Light Brown

-Height: 1.73m

-Weight: 55kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Lady Luck

-Deck: Luck-based Deck

-Personality: Roguish, mischievous, and seemingly a little rough-mannered but honest and caring if you get to know him.

-Hobbies: Gambling, dicing.

-Likes: Girls, being lucky.

-Dislikes: Responsibilities he has to handle.

 

Lan:

-Age: 15

-Hair Color: Blonde

-Hairstyle: Shoulder-Lenght, Straight

-Eye Color: Brown

-Height: 1.63m

-Weight: 50kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Silver Mist Dragon

-Deck: Generic / Silver Mist Dragon Support Deck

-Personality: Acts tough, but he's in fact a kind person.

-Hobbies: Dueling.

-Likes: People appreciating his help.

-Dislikes: Losing, being embarassed in front of others.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

Paying for Luck.

 

A New Thread.

 

A Whisper of Fate.

 

Next Chapter: A Journey

 

[/align]

[Mad Hopz]

WHOA! O_O I am amazed! This is the most detailed fanfic i have ever read in my whole life! i'll be sticking to this one!

[Kocrow17]

I just finished chapter 2, reading chapter 3 tomorrow, and I have to say I like what I see. All three characters have their own personalities that separate them.

 

I just think your cards need more individually unique names. All of the two red-head cards had “Fairy” (with the exception of a few), and the same goes for Irenes “Sorcerer/sorceress” cards. It’s great they all have something in common, but that only really works well with monsters (Elemental Hero, Gravkeeper, etc.). Spell and Trap should have some diverse titles. Like “Fairy Bubble” to “Nymph Guard” or something like that. Oh, and that “negate the activation of a spell card and draw 1 card” card was REALLY overpowered, unless I’m missing something.

 

Like I said, I’ll be reading chapter 3 tomorrow, can’t wait^^. I hope this helps.

[Guest Ixigo]

@sauromon666: Thanks heaps man! I'm trying to make a solid story instead of just a series of loosely connected duels, so you can expect it to become more complicated and detailed as it goes on. Hope you keep enjoying it!

 

@God Kaze: Thanks a lot! Hmm, I see where you're going about the card thing. I guess I'm just not that good at creating good card Sets, but you are going to have the chance to fix that (read below)! Oh, and about Sorceress' Seal, it requires a spellcaster-type monster with 'Sorceress' in its card name to be face-up on the field before you activate it. I just didn't mention that because people don't usually read out the whole effect of their cards if it's not important right then. When I make the card list, all effects will be cleared out.

 

===

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

 

Visit this contest:

 

http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/showthread.php?tid=17732

 

Here, you will have the chance to make cards that can be included in this fanfic, and win well-deserved prizes!

 

===

 

You can expect the next chapter sometime tomorrow.

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

None

 

===

 

CHAPTER 4: A Journey

 

"Uh... you sure you don't want to start this over?" Mat asked hesitantly, trying to meet that Cyndane girl eye-to-eye. He found it hard to look directly at her eyes though, which seemed to bore directly into his head.

 

"That's quite alright." She said smoothly, in a tone that said you couldn't ever disagree. "Now, if you're ready...?"

 

Mat nodded reluctantly, and gulped silently. What on Earth was going to happen in this duel that made him feel so uneasy? Why did this feel like fate?

 

---

 

"Why do I feel like... like a storm is coming?" Rand wondered, rushing downhill towards the city. What with the people popping up, the whole card exchanges and his usual daydreaming, he had forgotten about the hour, and now the sky was painted in the crimson and orange of the setting sun. There was still light enough, but either way...

 

"Your name don't be by any chance Rand Turner, would it lad?" A deep, rough voice with a heavy accent made him flip backwards. He hated people constantly sneaking up on him; you'd swear that personal cloaking devices had been invented today.

 

"That's my name." He answered, keeping his temper in. The man was a head taller than himself, and twice as broad. He was wearing a black navy uniform with several golden marks, and a white navy cap. His white beard and thick eyebrows added even more to the appearance of a 70's seafarer. All he lacked was the pipe and the parrot. Bursting his temper on him would do no good.

 

"This came for you." The man fished out a small black box from his coat. "I got paid to deliver it to you personally, and got paid well. So, here it is."

 

Great. First the card, and now this. What a day. Rand removed the package cord - it was bound quite tightly, it had to be an important package, especially considering the personal delivery. The box had only a silver S symbol scribbed outside it, ornate and glistering in the setting sun. He had never seen that insignia before. His curiosity rising, he opened the lid.

 

The first thing in the box that drew his attention was a dueling card. Picking it up, he examined it carefully - another angel card, a female clad in white and silver, sitting atop a throne of clouds. Ten stars decorated the card.

 

"What the hell is this?" He mumbled softly. There was no doubt, but he took out the other card from his coat pocket and compared them. Yes, this was a long way from what could be called coincidence. Who the hell would send him a combo of such two rare and powerful cards?

 

Absorbed as he was in his evaluation of the card, he forgot the rest of the package until he absent-mindedly fumbled a circular object. He pulled it out to see a silver badge with a red D and a blue A scribbed on it. He knew that sign - it was from the Duel Academy. There was also a piece of paper tucked inside. He took it out; it was a letter. It was sealed with the same symbol as on his badge. He started reading.

 

Dear Mr Rand Turner,

 

We are pleased to inform you that you have been chosen as a Honorary Guest Duelist for the Duel Academy's Exhibition Matches this year.

 

Please board the ship 'Blue Eagle' from Domino City Harbor following Tuesday, 9:00 AM. All expenses for your journey and your stay in the Duel Academy have been paid in advance.

 

With regards,

 

Chancellor Sheppard

 

"What the hell?" Rand said aloud, unable to contain his surprise. "Duel Academy Exhibition Matches? And I'm an Honorary Guest Duelist? This must be a mistake, I've never studied there!"

 

"That's why they call you a Guest, lad." The navy officer said while laughing loudly. "Every year the Duel Academy picks the three best duelists in the country that have not graduated from the school and invites them in a series of exhibition matches against the Academy's top students."

 

"The hell? I've never heard of that before." Rand said sceptically. "You knew about this?" He turned on his messenger.

 

"Nope." He replied. "Never met the man who brought this to me, and I've been doing this for years."

 

"I see... so I have to board the 'Blue Eagle' next Tuesday... that's like five days from now!"

 

"'m sorry, lad." The interruption came again. "Did you say the Blue Eagle?" When Rand nodded, he continued. "That be my ship. I be Captain Bayle. Bayle Domon." He stretched an arm, that Rand grasped. If he was going to travel to the Duel Academy on his ship, he'd better be in good terms with the man. Bayle had a strong, although weathered, grip. "We be leaving next Tuesday for Duel Academy Island."

 

"I see." Rand said. He didn't see at all. Did the Academy had some habit of sending out rare cards to its Guests? And how did that explain both of the cards then? "Say, Captain Bayle, you sure noone else touched this packet before you handed it to me?"

 

"Of course I be sure, lad." The captain seemed offended. "Locked in my cabin ever since I got it, the key on me. The locked untouched. Once we hit the shore, I came straight to you. Plus, the package was closed and the letter sealed, right?"

 

"Right." Rand said. Nothing of this even came close to 'right'. "And I don't suppose the Academy hands out rare cards to the Duelists it invites, does it?"

 

The captain looked baffled for a moment, then began laughing out heartily. "Never heard of something like that. You wanted new cards for your deck or something?"

 

"Nevermind that." Rand muttered. Well, he was going to Duel Academy alright - maybe there he could figure out who was sending out all these rare cards to him, and why. Unless... Rand looked at the Captain. Could he be behind this? Rand didn't believe it, but you could never be too careful. He had to keep close tabs on the man during the journey. Anyway, it had been a long time since he had last been to Duel Academy, and his last visit, even though it didn't turn out exactly as he had expected, had been quite fun. "So, who are the rest of the Honorary Guest Duelists?"

 

"No idea." Bayle shrugged. "They send out different ship Captains after each of them."

 

"I see." Rand said again. Well, it was not important for now. "Then, I guess I'll see you on Tuesday." He turned to leave, but Bayle's voice stopped him.

 

"Wait, lad. If the Academy invites you, you must be a pretty strong duelist. You won't object to having a duel, I hope?"

 

"What, here?" Rand asked. He liked dueling, but he was not really in the mood - plus, if he wanted to leave next Tuesday, he had to start preparations soon.

 

"No, no." Bayle said. "But as soon as you get on my ship, it will be arranged."

 

"Fine, then." Rand replied. "I'll be seeing you nine sharp on Tuesday, captain."

 

"You got it, lad." Bayle smiled.

 

---

 

"Irene-san?" A girly voice sounded behind the young woman as she entered her house. She sighed. She was living alone, ever since her father died and her mother had to be transported to a hospital outside the country for a unique kind of psychosomatic disease. It was a good five years now, and she had gotten used to it, but some of the girls she was teaching had taken it upon themselves to come every now and then and help her with the housework - as if there was much to do, with only one person living there, and that one as organized and orderly as herself. She appreciated their good intentions, even though they sometimes irritated her.

 

"Yes, Jeane?" She replied tiredly, taking off her purse and leaving it on the small table next to the couch. Her living room was spacious for one person - sitting there always made her feel... lonely. She sank back on the pillows of her armchair, and waited for the girl to tell her what she wanted. She liked Jeane - she was nearly the youngest of the children in her class, but she had a more serious and collected attitude than most.

 

"A man came by to drop this off." She was holding a letter in her hands. "A very cute, young man, I would say." She giggled. Irene sighed again. Her friends had been schooling the girls in her class to try and make her get a boyfriend, after they themselves had failed. She hated that. She did not need a boyfriend. Hell, she did not want a boyfriend right now. Hastily, she sent the image of a young man with black hair away from her mind. That had nothing to do with this. Nothing! Something of her irritation must have shown on her face, because Jeane gulped and quickly gave her the letter.

 

"Irene-san? Irene-san?" Jeane asked, worriedly, after a few moments. "Uh, Irene-san, are you alright?" It was probably a stupid question, as Irene was clutching the letter so hard it had been almost ripped apart, and blood was trickling down the lip she was biting. And she didn't even seem to notice.

 

"Irene-san!" Jeane squeaked. She was afraid the woman was going insane, the way she just stared blankly at the letter. "What's wrong?!"

 

"My mother." Finally, Irene murmured hoarsely. "She... died." Strangely, her voice was distant and cold, nowhere near as emotional as her actions.

 

"Ah. Ah... I'm so sorry, Irene-san." Jeane pleaded, rushing off to the kitchen, to return moments later with a pack of tissues. "But, but, she was sick, so..."

 

"She didn't die of her sickness." Irene interrupted her, in the same hoarse tone. "She was killed. Assassinated. Murdered." Probably repeating those words was not the ideal way to talk to a child, but Irene seemed to have lost all sense of her actions at the moment.

 

"Ah!" Jeane squealed again, dropping the tissues. "We... we should call the police, or something..."

 

"This letter is from the police, fool girl!" Irene snapped, wildly flailing the piece of paper in front of the girl. Jeane now looked ready to cry. "Look, I'm sorry, Jeane. I shouldn't take it out on you. I just need some rest, ok?"

 

Jeane nodded, tears welling up her eyes. She was not angry, she was just sad about Irene. All the girls liked their teacher, and sympathized with her losses. But there wasn't anything she could do there, except upset her more, so she just left.

 

Irene stared at the closed door blankly for several minutes. Then, the letter just fell off her hands, and she started crying. She cried long, and hard. But finally, she had no more tears to shed. Grabbing the letter and decisively wiping away her tears, she skimmed through it, her eyes darting about that little piece of paper as if to absorb every word.

 

"So there is a suspect, huh?" She said to herself after reading it again. Her voice was cold, but her tone was regular. She had control of her emotions now. "And there are clues in the Duel Academy? Well, then that's were I'll go."

 

Irene then fell asleep on her chair, her eyes closing almost automatically after she finished speaking. The hardest day she had had in years, and she had the unmistakable feeling far harder ones were coming her way.

 

---

 

"I begin by activating 'Divine Cure'." Cyndane said, and she was enveloped in a bright light. "With this Spell, my life points increase by 700." True enough, her life point counter rose to 3200. "Now, I activate 'Spell Resonance'. If the only cards in my graveyard are Spell cards, I can use this effect to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Spellcaster-type monster from my deck directly to the field. And I choose 'Oracle of Light'."

 

A white-clad woman, cloaked and hooded, appeared on the field. She had a mere 1400 ATK and 1000 DEF points. But something told Mat this was not over. And he was right.

 

"I see you're already well-acquainted with Lady Luck." Cyndane said, giving Mat's Lady an appreciative look, which she returned suspiciously. "And also, Lady Avarice." So she had been around for at least a few rounds before she intervened. "Then allow me to introduce you to another one of the six Ladies. Come forth, Lady Fate!"

 

Oracle of Light vanished to be replaced with a female similar to Lady Luck, only clad in a far more concealing glistering green cloak, embroidered with silver stars and moons. She appeared in defense position with a strong 2400 DEF points, but only 1600 ATK points. "And my Oracle has a special effect as well - whenever she is sent to the graveyard, I can pay five hundred life points to draw a card. And if I pay three thousand life points, I can draw six cards!" Mat didn't like the sound of that. Cyndane's life counter dropped again to only 200, but she was now holding seven cards.

 

"I think I'll just place a couple of cards face-down." She said, and two cards appeared in her Spell and Trap Zone. "Finally, I activate 'Crystal Sphere'. I can equip this card to my Lady Fate. Now, in the beginning of each of our turns, right before we draw a card, we have to guess what type of card it will be. Should we guess right, we will receive five hundred extra life points - but if we're wrong, we will lose as many life points, and the card that we just drew will be discarded."

 

"Sounds like my type of card." Mat smirked. He was lucky with guessing. "Now I guess it's my go."

 

"Don't forget you have to guess on what type of card you will draw." Cyndane said, her melodic voice almost disturbingly soft.

 

"Alright." Mat replied, his hand on his deck. It was in those instances his luck proved the most valuable - maybe even more than just his luck. His... how would Rand put it? 'twisting of fate'. He just knew he was going to draw a Spell card.

 

"I call it a Spell card!" He said finally, and prepared to draw.

 

"Not so fast." His opponent interrupted him again. "I activate my Trap card, 'Game of Destiny'." A trap appeared, resembling some sort of twisted cylinder with a multi-colored box on one end. "As long as it remains on the field, once per turn I can select one card from your Graveyard and add it on top of your deck, and then select a card from my Graveyard and add it on top of mine. Provided, of course, my Lady Fate remains on the field."

 

Now Mat's Graveyard shone, and Lady Luck's Maid replaced the card he was about to draw. He grimaced, picking up the card, which was immediately destroyed, and his life points dropped to 1700. He realized that not only was he doomed to remain with an empty hand and lose five hundred life points each round, but Cyndane would only increase hers. A tough spot, and there was nothing he could do about it, except...

 

"Lady Luck, attack Lady Fate!" Mat's monster unleashed a torrent of coins at Cyndane's, but they dispersed in the middle of their course, blocked by an invisible barrier.

 

"I activate another permanent Trap card, 'Invisible Force Matrx'." Cyndane said, as a complex array of interwining green lines of light, seemingly laser beams, materialized around the playing field, before becoming invisible again. "As long as I pay one thousand life points at the end of each of my turns, my monsters cannot be destroyed."

 

"Fine, then I end my turn." Mat growled. This was getting bad. Cyndane smiled at him.

 

"I predict that I will draw a Spell card." She said, drawing. Of course, she had drawn the card she herself had put there from her Graveyard when she activated her trap. "And a Spell card it is." She said, holding up Holy Cure. "Not only do I receive 500 life points from my trap's effect, but I also activate it to restore another 800 points. Cyndane's counter rose to 1500. Mat's teeth were grinding. Now she had enough life points to keep her Matrix on the field. And with her card combo, he could not even draw another card.

 

He was beaten.

 

But suddenly, Cyndane looked behind her, and shook her head. Mat's hand was hovering over his deck, ready to surrender - no point in continuing a lost match - and he was trying to discern what had drawn Cyndane's attention, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, everything here seemed out of the ordinary.

 

"Ah, there is someone coming for you." Cyndane said suddenly, flashing another one of her smiles at him. Those smiles made him nervous. "I suppose I have wasted enough of your time. Perhaps we'll see each other again soon, then we'll have a chance to continue this." With a last smile and a whooshing sound, she disappeared inside the nearby park, her steps fading out abnormally fast.

 

"What the...?" Mat began, his hand still on the position to declare a surrender, even though there were no monsters on the field and his duel disk had been deactivated, when he heard footsteps from the other side. Spinning around, he saw that, not exactly unexpectedly, Cyndane was right.

 

"Mister Mat." A man with a big white mustache, dressed in a black suit, wearing a black hat and trimmed glasses said stepping out of a limouzine. "I have a personal message for you from your brother."

 

"My brother?" Mat said. Mat's older brother Damien was the president of N.D.S.C. corporation - National Duel Sponsor Conclave, the largest official Duel Monsters company in the world since Maximilian Pegasus' disappearance that disbanded Industrial Illusions. He was considered the fifth richest person in the world. Mat hadn't spoken to him in years.

 

"You are presented with the offer to visit Duel Academy next week, as a sponsor of our corporation to present and test the latest card sets created by your brother." The man said. Mat vaguely remembered his name was Thomas or something. "Here is your invitation."

 

Mat skimmed through the official paper and sighed. Oh, he was going to be a sponsor alright.

 

He was just glad none of his friends would be there in the Duel Academy to watch him ridicule himself as a rich kid's younger brother.

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, despite the general lack of dueling. It was essentially the set-up of the next part, which will be the biggest part of this arc. Also, I finished the Card List for chapter 2 (the first chapter that actually contains dueling cards). You may be seeing "unknown" in some card effects - that's because I don't want to reveal them yet. =/

 

Anyway, I know some of you may think that the story is kind of bleak... and that's kinda true. I don't think much of happy-go-lucky stories (favourite Yugioh arc ever being the Yubel arc).

 

Jut so you know... here's when things start getting really interesting, plot-wise and dueling-wise, so keep reading and reviewing.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

This chapter's cards are pending.

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Bayle Domon:

-Age: 46

-Hair Color: Dark Brown

-Hairstyle: Medium Lenght, Curly

-Eye Color: Light Brown

-Height: 2.01m

-Weight: 80kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Unknown

-Deck: Unknown

-Personality: A seafarer. Strong and cunning, there is little that can shake Bayle Domon's nerves or confidence.

-Hobbies: Fishing, Relaxing by the sea.

-Likes: Journeys, Rare cards.

-Dislikes: Staying too long in one place.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

A Murder.

 

Quest for Answers.

 

A Beast of the Deep.

 

Next Chapter: The Blue Eagle

 

[/align]

[Guest Ixigo]

Come on, people, give me a reply, something. I want some feedback before posting the next chapter.

[SebastiaanZ]

Very well written, Ixigo. You sorta combined ideas from two of my favourites, YuGiOh and The Wheel of Time and I both love them so I certainly will like this.

 

9.75/10

[Khaostheclown]

I really like your style, but I think I would like it more if there were more Male cards. I have noticed that a lot of your characters, both male and female, use Feminine cards such as Lady luck and Rand with the angel cards.

Just a suggestion.

Also, Pot of Avarice doesnt work that way.

 

~Khaos

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

@Khaostheclown: Lol, Rand's deck doesn't have many female monsters, actually, as you're going to see in this very chapter... just the rare angel cards he received were females. And I know about Pot of Avarice, I should probably just change the name to avoid confusion. But even if you see pre-existing cards, they will probably have some effects changed - after all, it's in the future, and stuff such as card rules change often both in real life and in the series.

 

@MasterSepman: Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I will possibly be introducing more WoT elements in a DM concept as the story progresses. I've been thinking about how to do it without getting it ridiculous, and I have some ideas... hope you stick with it to find out!

 

===

 

CHAPTER 5: The Blue Eagle

 

Two young men, a tall, rather well-built one and a shorter, leaner one, were rushing along the busy road carrying two large suitcases each. They were casually dressed, jeans and regular black shirts covered by trench coats - it was summer, but the morning breeze was not so pleasant near the docks.

 

"Why the hell did she have to bring two with her?" The shorter one growled, pushing by a truck that was loaded with firewood. It was still summer, but a newly formed major industry called 'The Halcyon Storm', apparently specialized in some sort of duel monsters engineering researches had recently established a massive laboratory where once a great pine forest stood. Despite protests from environmentalists, Halcyon Storm lawsuits just had too much money, and the result was Domino City getting its firewood early this year. "And more importantly, why do we have to carry them?"

 

"Give her a break, she isn't going there with all expenses paid, like we do. She needs to bring her own stuff." Rand told him patiently. "Plus, you shouldn't upset her right now. She's our friend, and she's going through a really rough time."

 

"Truth be told, she didn't seem very emotional to me." Mat shrugged. He was right. The day they learnt what happened from the children in her class, they went to her house to offer their sympathies and support - she had obviously been crying, and she was really upset, but when they went to her home today to pick her up, she was rather... cheerful, and reeking of an unyielding determination. Rand just supposed it was her way of coping with the situation - having her mother not just killed, but murdured, must have really weighted down on her psyche.

 

"And she should have all expenses paid." Mat kept his whining as they dragged the heavy luggage across a side street that was thankfully much emptier, and offered a shortcut to the harbor. "I mean, they are the ones that invited her there, no?"

 

"Yeah, but as far as they are concerned, she only needs to go, testify, and return. She has the travel ticket paid with return, but that's the extent of it, and she's probably going to stay there for the funeral as well."

 

"Makes sense..." Mat shrugged. "But where the hell is she?" He checked with his electronic watch. "It's eight-thirty, we're supposed to be aboard in a half hour."

 

"She said she'd meet us there..." Rand mused. "But she's gonna have a tough time making it through this much traffic."

 

Eventually, however, as they arrived at the harbor, they saw Irene standing next to a large pile of crates, casually talking with a man Rand instantly recognized as the captain of the Blue Eagle that he had encountered last week.

 

"Ahoy, lads!" Bayle said cheerfully, waving his massive hand at them. Mat grimaced, and pulled with an effort the suitcases he was carrying towards that direction, Rand following close by.

 

"What took you so long?" Irene asked, apparently completely carefree. "I hope you didn't damage anything..." She frowned, fingering her belongings. Mat bit a curse.

 

"Say, captain, when do we leave?" Rand asked.

 

"As soon as these here are packed, lad." Bayle replied, waving towards the crates and the suitcases the two boys had dropped there. He whistled, and immediately five hulking men rushed towards them, each picking up some of the luggage and carrying it off through the raised platform into the ship.

 

The Blue Eagle was not exactly a luxury ship, but it was still quite big, featuring two large decks and several cabins above a massive storage room.

 

"Not many passengers this time." Bayle shrugged, checking a catalogue he retrieved from his huge jacket's pocket. "About thirty. Main cargo's these." he pointed at the crates. "Fresh new dueling cards for Duel Academy! And don't think about sneaking off to grab a few for free" he warned when he saw Mat staring at the countless boxes, almost drooling. "They're safeguarded against theft. You wouldn't be able to use them until they were activated anyway, and that ain't happening until they're legally bought."

 

"Wasn't thinking about it." Mat said indignantly. "My own deck's good enough for me."

 

Bayle laughed heartily. "We'll see soon enough, lad." The sea veteran turned to Rand. "You haven't forgotten our deal, right?"

 

"Nope." Rand said, slamming his coat pocket, where his duel disk was. "Armed and ready."

 

"Good to know." Bayle smirked. "Because as soon as we get on the ship, our duel is ready."

 

"Waitasecond." Mat interrupted, going over the passenger list. "I know that name... Nadia Chesley. Wasn't she second in this year's National Female Duel Championship?"

 

"Oh, yeah." Rand said. "Damn, second best duelist in the entire country... she's got to be awesome."

 

"Who beat her?" Irene asked curiously. She had been given the chance to enter the Female Duel Championship several times, but she had declined the offers - she had never been one for professional dueling.

 

"Haven't you heard?" A member of the crew who was at that time carrying Irene's bags. "It was Alicia."

 

"Alicia?" Rand frowned, and then his eyes widened in surprise. "The Alicia? You mean Halcyon's Alicia?" When the crewman nodded, Rand pursed his lips in thought. "Damn, I had heard she was good, but I never realized she was on that level. Guess Halcyon's done a good job on its promo scouting."

 

"Yeah well" Bayle said "some say she's not just the best duelist amongst the gals, some say she's the best duelist in the world. She's a pro, they say. She does nothing but dueling. That's how rumor has it, at least. I'd stay clear of such people if I were you. I've heard she uses some pretty brutal tactics in battle."

 

"Well, it's not likely we're to meet her any time soon." Rand said heartily. "It's not like she's gonna be on the ship or something, right?" Mat laughed nervously, but Rand caught him double-checking the passenger list with the corner of his eye.

 

"It's about time." Bayle said, checking his watch. They all moved towards the ship behind him.

 

---

 

"Ready lad?" A few minutes later, Rand and Bayle were confronting each other on a large arena, the tournament style, set up on the Blue Eagle's upper deck. Many people had come to watch, including the crewmen that were not busy right then and about a dozen of the passengers.

 

"Damn, that girl is hot." Mat commented dreamily, but Irene's elbow pounding on his ribs made her wish he had swallowed his tongue. He had been leering at a tall, lean girl with dark complexion, beautiful green eyes and long black hair. She was dressed in a long white robe-like dress. That, along with her golden necklace made her the perfect mirror-image of an ancient Egyptian.

 

"Stop daydreaming about her." Irene's whisper was commanding, and he gulped. "What do you think of the others?"

 

Mat took a look at the rest of the passengers. A boy, no more than his age, looked like the average sports guy - huge sneakers, a white jacket with the symbol of the Nicks across the chest, and a Nicks cap. He had curly black hair, and he was taller than Rand, but little more muscular than Mat. He didn't take particular notice of him, his eyes drifting off to a man standing nearby - even though he was as tall as Mat, next to the Nicks fan he looked rather short. He was wearing a dark brown trench coat and tight black pants, and his long brown hair was tied up in a ponytail. He was carrying a digital camera and a suitcase of what looked like photography equipment. A professional photographer then, aiming to get some good shots at the Duel Academy.

 

Further apart stood a couple, a man and a woman, nothing worth noticing about them except that they dressed in a similar, kinda eerie way - long black cloaks, tight black clothing inside, and dark leather fingerless gloves. Their skin was rather pale, and their hair and eyes black, emphasizing on the contrast even more.

 

"Those guys creep me out a bit..." Mat whispered to Irene, who nodded slowly. "They are probably part of a cult or something... best stay away from them."

 

Further to the left, on the opposite side of the arena as them, sat an even more peculiar man. He was also dressed in black, only his coat was that of a regular - albeit particularly successful - businessman. He also had dark round sunglasses and a black round hat, and wore a creepy smile on his face. He was leaning casually against the back of a large armchair, and taking notes on a notebook while using the dark brown briefcase on his lap as a stool.

 

"And I thought the other ones were weird..." Mat muttered, hastily averting his gaze once he thought the guy had caught them looking.

 

Next, his eyes fell on an extremely muscular, bare-chested man, whose tan made him look even more fearsome. He had spikey hair a very dark blue color, and big eyes. He wore a fisherman's breeches, and was casually standing near the edge of the deck.

 

Mat didn't have the time to observe the remaining five, as the duel initiated.

 

"I'll let you have the first move." Rand said, as both he and the captain set their duel disks and life counters and drew their opening hands. Mat noticed the smiling man seemed to have taken an interest, as his eyes now looked as if they were focused on the arena - not that you could tell with those sunglasses.

 

"Alright then." Bayle replied. "I play Great White in attack mode, and then set a face-down. That'll do."

 

Mat frowned. Great White was a decent monster, with four stars and 1600 ATK, but it wasn't a very good opening to play by itself... that face-down must be a trap.

 

"Alright." Rand said. "My move."

 

He drew, and absent-mindedly glanced at his coat pocket. He hadn't added the new cards - while they were powerful, they would require thought to be successfully implemented in his deck, plus, he wasn't all for just using cards given to him by a person he didn't even know. He glanced at Bayle's face-down. It could be a trap... if so, he had ways to counter it.

 

"Well then, it's time to introduce you to my deck." He smiled. "I activate the continuous Spell card, 'Crimson Star Encampment'!" A spell card resembling a large army gathering, with tents and fires and soldiers standing on guard, appeared on Rand's side of the field.

 

"So you're using a Crimson Star Army deck, then?" Bayle said. "Interesting. This deck is supposed to be able to counter any strategy, but the full set hasn't been completed by anyone yet." The questioning look he gave Rand carried the message.

 

"No, it's not complete." Rand replied. "I've got about three-quarters of its cards, but they work, most of the time. Now, Crimson Star Encampment allows me to trade a monster in my hand with 'Crimson Star Army' in its card name for another one from my deck once per turn, as long as they are the same Level. Now I send 'Torrent Blade', whose name is treated as if it contains 'Crimson Star Army 2nd Squad' from my hand to my deck..."

 

He picked out a card from his hand and put it back into his deck, then reviewed his deck before selecting a card and putting it into his hand. He shuffled his deck and replaced it. "...to get 'Seraph Hunter', a member of the 1st Squad, which I summon in Attack mode!"

 

A sword-wielding, blue-clad angel appeared in front of Rand's spell card, with 1700 ATK and 1400 DEF points.

 

"Seraph Hunter cannot be affected by trap cards that specifically designate a monster as their target." Rand said. "Now go, Seraph Hunter, destroy Great White!" The angel rushed towards the giant shark, slashing it with its sword - Bayle's life points dropped to 3900.

 

"Not bad." The captain commended. "I reveal my face-down card, 'Abyss Grave'!" Water appeared underneath the remains of Great White, and a seemingly endless hole opened within them, consuming the shark. "As long as it remains on the field, all Water-type monsters that are destroyed are removed from play instead."

 

"I see." Rand replied sceptically. So there was no trap for him there yet. But what was the purpose of that card? "I play a card face-down, and end my turn."

 

"That starts off mine." Bayle said, drawing. "I play another face-down, and summon Fiend Kraken in defense mode!" The Fiend Kraken, with an ATK and DEF of 1200 and 1400 respectively, appeared on the field. "That's all."

 

A trap for him? Or another card with some sort of ability whose use Bayle seemed to be saving for later? Only his second turn, and Bayle had gotten him thinking.

 

"Since I wish to keep my Crimson Star Encampment on the field, I have to pay 800 Life Points." Rand said, and his counter dropped to 3200. "But I won't use it this turn. Instead, since you like Water monsters so much, I summon 'Marine Trooper' in Attack mode!" With that, a soldier dressed in blue commando uniform carrying a machine gun appeared. It had 1500 ATK and 1000 DEF points.

 

"Heh." Mat said to Irene. "That's Rand's strategy... the Crimson Star Army is a very versatile set. It consists of cards categorized into six different classes, according to attribute. Each class specializes in one specific area... attack, defense, damage, protection, life point increase and support... so they are fit to combat any strategy, and the Crimson Star Encampment ensures Rand will get the right cards to combat any opponent."

 

"With Marine Trooper on the field, I can discard the top card of my deck each time I receive damage outside Battle to negate that damage. And now, I'm using him to attack Fiend Kraken!"

 

The Marine Trooper loaded his weapon, but Bayle's face-down card was revealed.

 

"Summons of the Sea." Bayle said. "As long as I sacrifice a Water monster from my side of the field, I get to end your Battle Phase and draw an additional card." Fiend Kraken was removed from play, and Bayle drew a card. "You done?"

 

"Pretty much." Rand sighed.

 

"Well then" Bayle said, drawing again. "it's time to kick it up a notch! 'Amazon of the Seas', come forth!"

 

Another water monster, this time resembling a blue-haired mermaid, arrived on the field. While it had only 1300 ATK and 1400 DEF points, Bayle had placed her in attack mode.

 

"Now I equip her with 'Aquatic Lance'." Bayle commented. For every Water-type monster on the field, excluding herself, she receives a boost of 400 points." The ATK points of Amazon increased to 1800, and she made a threatening growl.

 

"Since attacking your Marine would drop her attack score again, I will attack your Seraph Hunter instead!" Bayle ordered, and Amazon of the Seas tossed her lance, piercing right through the Seraph. The score now stood at 3900 - 3100 in Bayle's favour.

 

"Very well." Rand said, drawing. "Now that my Marine Trooper is on the field, I can discard the top card of my deck to keep my Spell card from taking a bite off my Life points. And I will also reveal my trap card, 'The High Call'. This can only be activated if we have the same number of monsters on the field, namely one, and allows us both to Special Summon a monster from our graveyards in face-down defense mode." A large sounding horn appeared above their heads, releasing a piercing noise. "Since your monsters have been removed from play, you can summon nothing. I, on the other hand..." A card appeared horizontally in Rand's monster zone. "Now I tribute both my Marine Trooper and my face-down monster to summon Jack of Blades, the commander of the second squad!" A Wind-type warrior appeared, clad in black, his long black hair whistling at the wind. He carried two long katanas. His ATK and DEF stood at a towering 2600 and 2200. "Also, since the face-down monster I used to summon him was 'Personal Squire', he receives an additional 500 ATK and DEF points."

 

"Personal Squire?" Bayle frowned. "When did you... oh, Marine's effect."

 

"Yeah." Rand replied. "And now he will attack your monster!" The battle was clearly one-sided, and Jack of Blades destroyed Amazon of the Seas with one slash. Bayle winced as he took the devastating 1800 points of damage, dropping his life points to 2100.

 

"Not bad..." He said. "But sending Aquatic Lance to the Graveyard allows me to search my deck for up to two Water monsters and send them to the Graveyard. Ergo" he pointed at Abyss Grave "remove them from play." A couple of monsters - Rand barely recognized Giant Jellyfish and Aqua Madoor - briefly appeared before being tossed into the abyss.

 

"And now" he said "it's time for the fun to begin."

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

Alright, I wanted to present some of the supporting characters that will play major roles in this arc, even though I didn't give out much details about them, so I had to cut the duel in half - otherwise this chapter would be too big. As you can see, Bayle's dueling style is rather methodical, hence why the slow start. Things will get more hectic for Rand next chapter though.

 

On that note, the next chapter is almost finished, so expect it shortly. Until then, I hope I can update the card lists as well.

 

Enjoy.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

Monsters:

 

Name: Marine Trooper

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Warrior

ATK: 1500

DEF: 1000

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, whenever you receive damage outside of Battle by your own card's effects, you may discard the top card of your deck to negate it. This monster's card name is treated as if it includes "Crimson Star Army 5th Squad".

 

Name: Seraph Hunter

Level: 4

Attribute: Light

Type: Warrior

ATK: 1700

DEF: 1400

Effect: This monster cannot be targeted by Trap cards. This monster's card name is treated as if it includes "Crimson Star Army 1st Squad".

 

Name: Personal Squire

Level: 2

Attribute: Earth

Type: Warrior

ATK: 750

DEF: 800

Effect: Whenever this monster is used as a tribute to Tribute Summon another monster, increase the summoned monster's ATK and DEF by 500 points. This monster's card name is treated as if it includes "Crimson Star Army".

 

Name: Jack of Blades

Level: 8

Attribute: Wind

Type: Warrior

ATK: 2600

DEF: 2200

Effect: ???

 

Name: Great White

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Fish

ATK: 1600

DEF: 800

Effect: N/A

 

Name: Fiend Kraken

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Fish

ATK: 1200

DEF: 1400

Effect: N/A

 

Name: Amazon of the Sea

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Fish

ATK: 1300

DEF: 1400

Effect: N/A

 

Name: Giant Jellyfish

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Fish

ATK: 1200

DEF: 1500

Effect: N/A

 

Name: Aqua Madoor

Level: 4

Attribute: Water

Type: Spellcaster

ATK: 1200

DEF: 2000

Effect: N/A

 

Spells:

 

Name: Crimson Star Encampment

Type: Continuous

Effect: Once during your turn, you may place a monster with "Crimson Star Army" in its card name from your hand to your deck in order to select another monster with "Crimson Star Army" in its card name with the same level from your deck and add it to your hand. Shuffle your deck afterwards. You must pay 800 life points during each of your Standby phases, else this card is destroyed.

 

Name: Aquatic Lance

Type: Equip

Effect: This card can only be equipped to a WATER monster. Increases the equipped monster's ATK by 400 points for every other WATER monster on the field. Whenever this card is sent to the Graveyard from your side of the field, you may search your deck for two WATER monsters and send them to the Graveyard. Shuffle your deck afterwards.

 

Traps:

 

Name: The High Call

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated if both players have the same number of monsters on the field. Both players are allowed to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower monster from their Graveyard in face-down Defense position.

 

Name: Abyss Grave

Type: Continuous

Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, all WATER monsters that are sent to the Graveyard are removed from play instead.

 

Name: Summons of the Sea

Type: Normal

Effect: This card can only be activated during your opponent's Battle Phase. Send a face-up WATER monster from your side of the field to the Graveyard to end your opponent's Battle Phase and draw a card.

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Rand:

-Age: 18

-Hair Color: Black

-Hairstyle: Straight, Short

-Eye Color: Dark Brown

-Height: 1.80m

-Weight: 55kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Unknown

-Deck: Crimson Star Army deck (about 3/4 complete).

-Personality: Cheerful, carefree, helpful, kind. Kind of a dreamer at times. Optimistic, generally.

-Hobbies: Collecting dueling cards, relaxing, writing.

-Likes: Sweets, dueling.

-Dislikes: Embarassment.

 

Bayle Domon:

-Age: 46

-Hair Color: Dark Brown

-Hairstyle: Medium Lenght, Curly

-Eye Color: Light Brown

-Height: 2.01m

-Weight: 80kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Unknown

-Deck: Water-style deck

-Personality: A seafarer. Strong and cunning, there is little that can shake Bayle Domon's nerves or confidence.

-Hobbies: Fishing, Relaxing by the sea.

-Likes: Journeys, Rare cards.

-Dislikes: Staying too long in one place.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

The Eagle flies.

 

And the struggle continues.

 

Who will the destiny claim as its harbinger?

 

Next Chapter: Encounters

 

[/align]

[Malik37]

I have to say that this is an amazing fanfic. I am glad school was done so that I may read all the chapters. It was beyond worth it. It actually made reading more fun and the descriptions you provided allowed me to vision the characters and action vividly. I feel at least honored that I am in the contest to help support your fanfic. I give this fanfic 9.75 out of 10. I hope to read more exciting duels, new combos and more plot details in the future. Now I got to work even hard on those cards. Great job.

[Khaostheclown]

Man, I Gotta say that your style of writing is great. If its not to impolite, I'd like to ask how old you are? your writing style would suggest you are older than most who visit this site.

on a different note: I really like the creativity and thought you put into the decks that your characters use. It makes for much more interesting dueling. Keep it up. I will be an Avid reader till the end. You have my support!

 

*Stands in a militaristic fashion and salutes.*

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

@Malik37: Thanks a lot, man, it really means a lot to me. I'll definately find a good character to use your cards.

 

@Khaostheclown: Thanks. Well, I guess I am older than most here, since I'm almost 18. But I've been writing on that level for 3 years now, it doesn't make much of a difference. And I'm not a native English speaker, btw, so yeah, it all comes down to how much effort you put into your work. About the decks, I was really worried I couldn't pull them through good enough, since I've only started Yu-Gi-Oh! again very recently, and I never bothered much with the real-life TCG, so I don't know much about it... I'm glad I was able to pull off something good there. Thanks for your comments!

 

===

 

CHAPTER 6: Encounters

 

"Huh?" Rand was slightly unnerved, as Bayle drew his card.

 

"All this monsters that have been removed from play..." Bayle said, a smirk etched on his face. "All you've been doing was offer a massive tribute..."

 

He held up a card.

 

"I activate... 'Tribute to the Dark Ocean God'!" The liquid abyss that was formed by Abyss Grave started to stir, and a frightening roar pierced the sudden silence. The sea around the large ship stirred and howled, and a strong wind picked up.

 

"This Spell card is used to summon the mightiest Water monster you have ever seen... arise, 'Nightmare Kraken'!!"

 

The roar of a behemoth shook the arena, as the darkened shape, first the huge black body mass and then the three massive, spiked tentacle-like tails flapping out of its back appeared... behind Rand.

 

"Eh?" Rand murmured once he got past the shock of such a giant creature appearing. "It seems like..."

 

"...it's on your side of the field." Bayle finished the sentence for him. "After all, you are the one who sacrificed the monsters to summon it, what did you expect?"

 

"Well not that." Rand answered, eyeing the huge black sea beast. It had 3500 ATK and 3000 DEF points, much more than any Water monster Rand had ever seen or heard of.

 

"Anyone else think this monster is more trouble than it's worth?" Mat asked nervously.

 

"That's... pretty certain, actually..." Irene muttered in response.

 

"Alright, what's the catch with it?" Rand asked.

 

"Well for starters, its owner cannot possess any other monster than itself..." Bayle said, and Jack of Blades writhed as he was sucked within the Kraken's enormous jaws. "It can yield a few other surprises, but I'll let you discover them yourself. I place a face-down monster and end my turn."

 

"Fine..." Rand said. "That begins mine." He drew a card. His life points were reduced by 800 to 2400, only 300 points above Bayle.

 

"I set a face-down, and activate the effect of Crimson Star Encampment, sending 'Rogue Dealer' from my hand to the graveyard, a warrior of the 6th Squad, to retrieve 'Angel Venus' from my deck. Now I summon her in attack mode!" An angel monster, with only 1400 ATK and 1600 DEF points, appeared next to the Kraken, but was immediately blown to bits.

 

"Why'd you do that?" Bayle frowned. "You just wasted your monster."

 

"Well, not exactly." Rand corrected. "When Angel Venus is sent to the Graveyard by a card's effect, I get to draw two cards."

 

"And that's not all..."

 

"Since you have given me this monster, I might as well use it. Nightmare Kraken, attack his face-down monster!" One of the Kraken's tentacles rose, and descended on the concealed monster, destroying it instantly. Its other two tails snapped at Bayle, and he groaned as he lost 1000 life points.

 

"Forgot to mention." He muttered. "When Kraken destroys a monster on the field, its controller loses life points equal to that monster's attack points, if it was in attack mode, or its defense points if it was in defense mode. That was a price worth paying though, for the monster you destroyed was 'Mother Grizzly', which lets me Special Summon a Water type monster straight from my deck, as long as its attack points do not exceed 1500." He picked out a card from his deck and slapped it on his duel disk. "Here goes... 'Armored Starfish'!" The little starfish appeared on the field, but it only had a ridiculous 850 ATK points.

 

"That's a turn..." Rand said. Bayle smirked, and drew.

 

"You wonder why I'd summon such a weak and useless monster..." Bayle said. "Well, I need it to summon this! I sacrifice Armored Starfish to summon... The Flying Dutchman!!"

 

The huge pirate ship that rose from the arena, floating a few feet above it as if it were on the open sea, resembled more of a shipwreck, battered and ruined. It was summoned in defense mode, and it had 1600 ATK and 2400 DEF points.

 

"What the heck?" Mat said. "That's a pirate ship! I've never seen such a card before..."

 

"That's the captain's specialty." A voice said behind him. He whipped his head around to see a crewman, muscular and bulky, leaning over the ledge to watch the field of battle. "Ship-type monsters are only designed in Europe... I think they're planning to introduce them in America during this exhibition in the Duel Academy, but so far, the captain's one of the few in the U.S. who even knows of them, let alone uses them..."

 

"What good will that ship do?" Rand asked, watching carefully. There just had to be a catch...

 

"I'll let you in." Bayle smiled, his one missing tooth making his smirk appear broader. "You didn't get a chance to see it in your last turn, but the Kraken is a pretty berserker creature... you cannot direct its attacks. They target randomly a monster on the field, and when there are none, it will direct its attack against the opposing player."

 

"However... the Flying Dutchman is a cursed ship, whose captain is the harbinger of death itself... as long as the Flying Dutchman is on my side of the field, I can control the Kraken during your turn!"

 

"Alright..." Rand muttered. "That all?" When Bayle nodded, he drew a card. His life points dropped to a further 1600.

 

"I don't understand... it's not like I can have any monsters for the Kraken to destroy. What does he intend to do with it?"

 

"I will once again use the effect of Crimson Star Encampment to exchange 'Shield Keeper' of the 4th Squad for another 'Angel Venus' from my deck." He exchanged the cards. "Now I will summon her... and she is destroyed by the Kraken." The angelic creature was destroyed, prompting Rand to draw two cards. "And since there is no way I can avoid this... you get to control the Kraken, although I don't see what good it will do you."

 

"Very well." Bayle's smirk widened. "I opt not to let the Kraken attack."

 

"Huh?" Rand wondered. "No attack?"

 

"And here goes, the Kraken's most feared ability!" Bayle exclaimed. If it does not get a meal during a turn, it is utterly displeased at its master... which, for all purposes, is you." The Kraken turned on him, an angry glow in its red eyes.

 

"Uh-oh..." Mat muttered.

 

"Each turn you do not use it in battle... it directly attacks you for one thousand points of damage!"

 

The three tails gathered around Rand, raising a huge cloud of dust and debris, but when it subsided, Rand was standing, his life points intact. A light, semi-invisible barrier was around him.

 

"I figured there was something wrong with this." Rand said. "So I set this: 'Angel Light Barrier'. As long as it is face-up on the field, and it will be as long as I'm willing to remove a Light monster in my graveyard from play during each of my Standby Phases, I'm safe from all non-Battle damage."

 

"Hmm, smart." Bayle said. "I guess it's my turn then?" Rand nodded, and the captain drew.

 

"Unfortunately, you barrier is not impenetrable. I activate the Spell card, 'Broadside'! It enables any Ship-type monster to attack you directly for half it's attack points!" The Flying Dutchman turned so that it's broad side was facing Rand, and fired off it's five cannons. The huge cannonballs swept past the Kraken's head, striking Rand for 800 damage points.

 

"And guess what. It is an equipment spell, which means, you'll be seeing it against next turn."

 

"Damn, one more hit and I'm done." Rand thought, looking at his counter. "I draw." He said. "And since keeping the Encampment on the field longer would mean me losing the duel, I discard it." The Spell card was destroyed. "But I will remove my Seraph Hunter from play to keep my barrier intact." He looked at the card he drew, and smiled.

 

"I will equip The Flying Dutchman with two of the same Spell card called 'Crest of Valor'..." Two odd-looking shields crested with a red lion in a golden circle appeared on the ship held by two flagpoles. "Those two increase the monster's attack by 500 points each, but they won't be staying here for long. I activate 'Eternal Rest'!". The spell card engulfed The Flying Dutchman in a black light, and the ship was destroyed.

 

"Surprised?" Rand smirked. "Eternal Rest will destroy all monsters with equipment spells attached to them... and now that my two Crests of Valor were sent to the Graveyard, my life points increase by 500 for each, meaning a total of 1000 points. But that is a precaution, because your field is empty, and my Kraken can attack you directly..."

 

"Not so fast." Bayle interrupted. "When my Flying Dutchman is destroyed, it leaves a remainder... 'Cursed Shipwreck', in defense mode!" A pathetic mass of scorched black wood appeared, with zero attack and only 600 defense points. "And because it's weak, when the Kraken destroys it I won't lose too many points." The Kraken's tails attacked the shipwreck, and it was ruined. Bayle's life points dropped to 500, while Rand's now stood at 1800.

 

"Fine. Your move." Rand said.

 

"Then I draw. And I will first set a card face-down, then play 'De-Spell', which will cause your barrier to crumble." Rand's barrier was destroyed, and the card was sent to the Graveyard. "Next I summon 'Giant Red Seasnake' in attack mode." The huge snake serpent, with 1800 ATK and 1600 DEF points, unwrapped on Bayle's side of the field. "That will do."

 

"What are you planning... but the Kraken is immune to Spell and Trap card effects... at best, he's stalling... at worst, he's planning something bad... after all, he knows his cards much better than I do, but I can't afford to keep the Kraken from attacking for too long. So I... huh?"

 

The Kraken led out a horrible scream, and began disintegrating, until a horrible explosion obliterated it completely. Rand shielded himself as its remains rained down on him. Once the chaos settled down, he glanced at the arena. His Kraken was gone, his life points had dropped to a mere 50, while a Ring of Protection was shielding Bayle.

 

"What the heck happened?" He exclaimed.

 

"My Cursed Shipwreck's special ability." Bayle explained. "If it is sent to the Graveyard as a result of battle, the monster that destroyed it is removed from play during the Standby Phase of its controller next round, and both players receive damage equal to half that monster's attack points. As you can see, my Ring of Protection shielded me, but you took the full brunt of the attack."

 

"He's right, damn. I'm almost out of life points, and he has a decent monster up there, but no face-downs. I know I can turn this if I get the right card..." He drew.

 

"I summon the 'Iron Legion' in defense mode!" Rand said. A formation of soldiers known as the Turtle from Roman times, carrying large tower shields, appeared on the field. With only 1000 ATK but 2000 DEF points, they were a formidable force.

 

"Heh, setting up a defense?" Bayle said. "It won't work. I sacrifice Giant Red Seasnake to summon 'Ferocious Orca' in attack mode!" A giant orca appeared on the field, and with 2400 ATK and 1000 DEF points, it seemed pretty ferocious too. "Ferocious Orca, chew on his little army over there!" The giant carnivorous fish launched itself across the battlefield, stomping the defensive formation with a loud crash - when the smoke cleared, there were only broken spears and shields left.

 

But Rand was grinning. "You know, most people say the 4th Squad is only good for defending... and in a sense, they are right! By removing Iron Legion in my graveyard from play, I get to summon a powerful equipment Spell from my deck, so strong that it needs that specific requirement to be employed... 'Shield of the Legion'!" A massive, metal shield appeared on the field.

 

"That's an impressive shield" Bayle said "but who are you going to equip it to?"

 

"You'll see." Rand said with a smirk. "Now, since it can only be equipped on an Earth Warrior, I summon 'Mithril Titan' in attack mode!" A towering monster made out of pure metal appeared on the field, wielding a giant war hammer. Despite its intimidating looks, it had only 1400 ATK, and 2000 DEF. "Now Mithril Titan, arm yourself with that shield. Shield of the Legion is just what the name suggests, a giant shield. Not only does it increase the defense of the equipped monster by a thousand points, but it makes it indestructible in battle, and prevents it from being affected by any monster effect that designates a single target, as long as it is in defense position."

 

"But your monster is in attack mode." Bayle frowned.

 

"Yeah, that's why I'm activating this: 'Battle Style Shift'! Using this, I can pick a Warrior-type monster on my side of the field, and exchange his attack for his defense, and vice verca, including all bonuses!"

 

"Oh, crap..." Bayle muttered, as the Mithril Titan raised his shield menacingly, and his attack increased to 3000.

 

"Mithril Titan, attack his Ferocious Orca and finish this duel!" Rand yelled, and the titan lifted his shield and smashed Bayle's monster to dust. The captain covered himself as the aftershock of the battle reduced his life points to zero, and Mithril Titan vanished from the field.

 

"Nice." Bayle told Rand, after the smoke cleared. "You found a way past my main strategy, and you smashed right through my play style change - literally." He winced. "I can see why the Duel Academy picked you, lad."

 

"You made me sweat a lot of times there, captain." Rand smiled in response. "Those ship monsters are the blast!"

 

"Yeah, and you just got to see one of them. Chances are, more will appear in the exhibition matches... just wait and see. Rumor has it, there will be other new monster types introduced there as well..." He said with an enigmatic smile.

 

"Awesome!" Mat whistled, as Rand and Bayle parted. The captain headed to his cabin, and Rand joined his friends.

 

"That was a close call." He said, cheerfully but a little tiredly. The recent duel disks had thousands of little energy vibes that created a small electrical shock whenever you lost life points, or a monster of yours was destroyed. Of course, it was miniscule, unable to cause anything close to real harm under normal circumstances. The scientists who had created it explained it would take a direct attack of 10,000 damage to knock a duelist unconscious with that method, and even that wouldn't have lasting effects, so even though many had complained, the counter-argument that many casual sports like football could cause much more serious injuries, along with the duelists' enthusiasm of experiencing something that came close to the myth that were the "Shadow Games" swayed the view, enabling the major duel companies to promote the new duel disks. In a duel that lasted long enough like the one between Bayle and Rand, even though the shocks themselves were minor, their frequency from the continued blows put a slight strain on the duelists' muscles, making them feel slightly tired afterwards.

 

"Yeah..." Irene said absent-mindedly, looking at the spot ahead of them. Turning to look, Mat and Rand spotted three men, none taller than Mat, wearing suspicious-looking long grey coats that concealed everything beneath them. Their faces were not exactly the faces of people you would consider trustworthy on first sight - long, drawn-out features, slightly slitted eyes and messy hair gave off that bandit-like aura.

 

"Looks like we got some bad company on this boat, folks." Mat murmured. "I think I know what they are."

 

"What?" Rand asked, curiously.

 

"They are usually called 'The Blacklists'. They go around and sell forbidden cards, or rigged regular ones so that they can be used normally in regular duel disks. They can give you a few copies of 'Monster Reborn', and you'd be able to use them all in one deck."

 

"Eh..." Rand said. "They're going to the wrong place then... the security in the Duel Academy will surely arrest them - if we could figure out who they are, there's no way those guys can't - so yeah... maybe they're just a bunch of weirdos..."

 

Mat and Irene still looked unsure. Rand sighed. "Look, whatever they are, it's not our business. They will be dealt with soon enough, so..."

 

Mat seemed to relax a little, but Irene was still frowning. Rand wondered why she looked so bothered with small things... he expected she would be upset, but her behavior was just plain out weird.

 

Of course, Irene couldn't tell them about the golden aura she watched around dangerous people or objects... and she certainly saw one right now. And it was not around one of the three 'Blacklists', if Mat's assumption was correct... it was around a figure behind them, a plainly-dressed, regular-looking average teenager with spikey brown hair and a determined face... one that noone would have given a second glance to. In fact, she wouldn't even have taken notice him, if not for the bright aura...

 

...and it was truly the brightest aura she had ever seen in her life.

 

---

 

Just about half an hour later, Irene found herself lying on her bed in her cabin. She had a decently comfortable room, maybe not as big as Mat, who was travelling as a promo duelist, or even Rand, who was the Academy's guest star, but when they had offered to trade she had declined - she neither needed nor particularly wanted a very big room.

 

A soft tap on the door distracted her from her thoughts. Her first reaction was to reach for a broad, military-style dagger that was resting on the desk next to her bed, but she quickly withdrew her hand. Over time, she had learnt to identify her 'visions' - she would see a bright golden aura around things that were dangerous, and its intensity would determine just how dangerous they were to her or others; and she would have a stabbing headache if the danger was imminent. Even if the person on the other side of her door meant her harm, the absence of a headache meant it was not something immediate.

 

However, as much as she had come to trust her senses, she would be a fool to randomly take chances. She slipped her knife within her sleeve, sat upright on her bed and called for the person to enter...

 

Against anything she could have expected, a tall man with short silver hair entered the room, his eccentric appearance, nose-ring and broad clothes not reminding her of any of the passenger she had seen on the ship. In fact, he was quite different than anyone else she had seen in her life... well at least, he did not emanate any kind of aura, so she was safe... she thought.

 

Nervous, she waited for him to start talking.

 

---

 

Mat was sitting casually on a bench on the ship's lower deck, leaning against the furniture's soft pillows. Images of that beautiful exotic dark-skinned girl mingled in with his usual thoughts of mischief and adventure. Damn, she was pretty.

 

Suddenly, a whistling noise, like the leaves' shifting against the breeze, distracted his attention and prompted him to open his eyes.

 

"You!" He yelped, recognizing Cyndane who was standing in front of him, smiling. "You are that woman from before!"

 

Leaping up, he stood upright - even so, he was little taller than her.

 

"It's time I got some answers from..." he started, but he was cut short, as the image of her in front of him seemed to be... distorting, like... a painting peeling off.

 

"What in the name of hell is going on here..." Mat muttered, watching as the woman in front of him was... replaced... by another one.

 

---

 

Rand stuck to the upper deck after his duel with the captain was finished. Sighing, for the utmost time, he took out the two mysterious cards from his pocket to examine them. He had run both down his computer to make sure, and his suspicions had been confirmed. Extremely rare, difficult to use, and powerful in the right deck... but the second one needed the first to be played... what was all this about? Those cards could never be found in a regular card store, and Rand doubted even the black market or those Blacklists could have such powerful cards.

 

His thoughts were interrupted as another boy entered his field of view. Seemingly no older than Rand, and of the same build, he was only a fraction shorter but seemed to exude an aura of confidence and command that Rand definately did not recall encountering often, no matter the situation.

 

"Who are you?" He asked cautiously, wary of the other person's dark blue eyes that were almost... intimidating. He drew himself up to his full height and replaced the two angelic cards back into his pocket.

 

He didn't have the best of feelings about this...

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

Well, one more chapter down, with a (or three) cliffhangers in the end. Just in case you are wondering, yes, the next few chapters are going to follow our three protagonists separately, as the plot will start to pick up, and lead into the climax of this arc.

 

Also, whoever wants to make custom characters for this story, feel free to make them and PM them to me (I prefer that than posting them here). Just follow the character profile below:

 

Name:

-Age:

-Hair Color:

-Hairstyle:

-Eye Color:

-Height:

-Weight:

-Favorite/Signature Card:

-Deck:

-Personality:

-Hobbies:

-Likes:

-Dislikes:

-Role in the Story: Type what you picture your character as, ie: Student in the Academy (what dorm?), Freelancer Duelist, Promo Duelist (these are usually famous duelists who participate in contests to promote new cards etc), Villain... NOTE: This is optional, and it does not mean that your character will be that, but I will take it into consideration.

 

If you've made custom cards and want them in, PM the list also. I must warn you though, most of the main character spots are already occupied. I have several good spots for villains though, and a whole bunch of secondary characters that need to be filled. So, feel free to submit your ideas (it doesn't have to be just one character) and there is a good chance you'll see them in.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

I'll make it later.

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Bayle Domon:

-Age: 46

-Hair Color: Dark Brown

-Hairstyle: Medium Lenght, Curly

-Eye Color: Light Brown

-Height: 2.01m

-Weight: 80kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Nightmare Kraken

-Deck: Water-style deck

-Personality: A seafarer. Strong and cunning, there is little that can shake Bayle Domon's nerves or confidence.

-Hobbies: Fishing, Relaxing by the sea.

-Likes: Journeys, Rare cards.

-Dislikes: Staying too long in one place.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

The Keepers of the Gate

 

The Coin Spins

 

Driven to Madness

 

Next Chapter: Gods of Death

 

[/align]

[Malik37]

All I can say is finally. I've been waiting for this chapter for a while. That way the last chapter ended was really good cliffhanger. This is the type of storyline and entertainment that gets people to read more. Nightmare Kraken was such an interesting card, I only wish I had a visual. I love the concept of the "Blacklist". How often do you make a new chapter?

 

 

I will definitely try to make a custom character.

[Guest Ixigo]

[align=justify]RESPONSE TO FEEDBACK:

 

@Malik37: Thanks a lot, man, it really means a lot to me. I'll definately find a good character to use your cards.

 

===

 

CHAPTER 7: Gods of Death

 

"Alright, just what the hell is going on here?" Mat asked, his voice too high-pitched, as the woman... transformed... in front of his eyes. The one now standing before him was of the same height, but looked younger, her eyes were pitch-black, her skin complexion a shade darker, her hair longer, and even though they were the same color as before, a long strand falling in front of her head that was a striking blue color made the difference. She had a playful look in her eyes.

 

"Huh?" She asked, her voice having a more playful tone as well. In a way, she was more beautiful than Cyndane. "Is there something wrong?"

 

"What..." Mat gulped. "What happened to that Cyndane woman? I mean..."

 

"Oh, you mean this." She laughed, and her body seemed to twirl with a stream of wind, as it gradually resumed its previous appearance. Mat's mouth was gaping open.

 

"It is called the 'Mirror of Mists'." Cyndane, or whoever the hell that girl was, said. "Allows me to assume the form of any person I choose, as long as I have a clear image of them in my mind. I just used Cyndane's appearance to draw your attention." Mat was mumbling incoherently.

 

"Anyway, you can call me Diana. I am... an associate... of Cyndane's." She added, after seeing that Mat could not pronounce something coherent.

 

"What do you people want from me?" He snapped, once he found the words. This was really, really not what he had signed up for.

 

"Well Mat." Diana said patiently. "You should have realized for yourself by now that you are a little... special, for lack of a better word. You are a ta'veren, in business terms."

 

"A ta-what?" Mat wondered, but decided it wasn't really the time. "Yeah, I know I'm a little luckier than usual, but..."

 

"I'm not talking about your luck." Diana interrupted him, her exertion of patience obvious now. "If you do want to get technical, it must be some kind of side-effect of your status, but it's really not the main point here."

 

Mat was really starting to lose track of things now. He determined that the woman was simply insane. But crazy people could be dangerous, so he decided to play along. "So I'm a ta'veren." He stated, like it was the most obvious fact in the world. "Still, that doesn't explain what you want from me."

 

"Well, like I said" Diana replied, her tone sounding as if Mat was supposed to know all this beforehand! "ta'veren are... important, for lack of a better term. I'm sure you have noticed that for yourself - people falling from a three-storied building and surviving without a scratch when you are around, while others just tripple over a pebble and instead of a sprained ankle they find themselves with a broken leg..." She looked questioningly at Mat, who was starting to get angry now.

 

"Have you been watching me?" He demanded.

 

"We didn't have to." Diana said. "These are all examples of what happens when a ta'veren is around. We have kept certain tabs on you - like I said, ta'veren are too important to just be left as they are - but we haven't been observing you or interfering with your life." Mat did not see a difference.

 

"Anyway, this is all beside the point now." She continued, and while Mat disagreed, he let it slide. "Due to the importance of those who carry the gift of ta'veren, there are people who want to influence - control them, to shift the course of events as they desire."

 

Mat stared at her incredulously. "So just my presence can change how badly a person is injured people will hunt me down? And besides, the only ones I've noticed that have been hunting me down are you people."

 

"If you think your influence as a ta'veren only extends to such a limited area, you deceive yourself." Diana replied calmly. "Ta'veren are those chosen by fate itself, the whole world shapes around them. Ever heard of Yugi Muto, Seto Kaiba, Jaden Yuki? They were ta'veren as well."

 

"Yeah, there's no doubt about it. She's crazy." Mat thought. "So anyway" he said, trying to change the topic to something that actually made sense "let's just say I am that important. What do you want me to do?"

 

"Nothing special." Diana said. "We do not believe in changing the course of events from what has been determined, or pulling strings to alter anything in our favor. However, there are people who do, and we seek to stop them. To achieve that, ta'veren are their primary target, and it is our goal to ensure that those ta'veren are adequately prepared to confront and resist them."

 

"Eh..." Mat said, now really at a loss for words. "So you are saying that people are after me... to force me to change destiny for them... and you want to make sure that I can protect myself...?"

 

"Precisely." Diana replied simply.

 

"Yeah, you are crazy." Mat concluded confidently. "And just how exactly will those people try to use me? And what am I supposed to defend myself with - or against, for that matter?"

 

"Well." Diana seemed hesitant. "You do remember the examples I gave you before, right?" Like anyone could forget being told he was like Kaiba - or even better, Yugi. "It does seem that these... people... organizations, if you prefer... use the popular game of Duel Monsters to try to influence events to their favor."

 

That was it for Mat. He fell backwards, smashing on the big couch while clutching his stomach. Tears flowed from his eyes as he was laughing uncontrollably. When he finally managed to stop, he looked at Diana. "Of all the ridiculous things you said today - and they were a lot - this was the worst. Evil super-powers using a children's card game to control the world?"

 

Diana rolled her eyes. "A children's card game?" She asked disdainfully, as if Mat was the one defying all logic here. "Think again. Your brother is the head of the most successful business corporation in the world, built exactly around that children's card game. International conferences are held under the cover of worldwide Duel Monsters tournaments. Right now, this game is a major political and economical factor for the whole world. And not even taking into account the mysterious records dating back from five years ago and before, recording events such as time-travel, dimensional-travel, and people losing their lives - or worse - over that same children's card game."

 

Mat frowned. She did have a point about the first one - the second was just rumor and myth, created to hype an already ridiculously popular game. Some people believed, others - sane people - didn't. Then he rolled his eyes as well. Look at him, trying to make sense out of the ramblings of a madwoman. Maybe he was losing it as well.

 

"Anyway." Diana said suddenly, breaking the silence that had lingered in. "Cyndane told me you like to use a Divine Ladies deck. She told me you already used Lady Avarice and Lady Luck, and you seem to have Lady Muse in your deck as well." It was all true. They were watching him, after all - he hadn't even used Muse in his duel with that kid or Cyndane. "So my guess is, you are missing these three?" She took out three cards from her coat's pocket.

 

The boy's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Lady Vanity, Lady Fate, and... he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Where... where..." He stummered.

 

"Where did I get these?" Diana laughed heartily. "Well, we have our resources. Anyway, I'm willing to give them to you - they should work well in your deck - if you do me a small favor."

 

Mat stared in disbelief. Oh yeah, even if he hadn't come to that conclusion already, he now definately knew the woman was crazy. "What do you want?" He asked.

 

She pulled out a duel disk, and it was a model Mat had never seen before. Tilted with a blueish glow, in an elegant, lean shape, it seemed particularly elaborate, inscribed with several golden symbols along its lenght. "If you defeat me in a duel, they are yours."

 

Mat took out his own disk. For those cards, he would be a ta'veren, or whatever that crazy woman wanted.

 

---

 

"Whoa, no need to get so worked up." The one standing opposite to Rand said, looking like he was taken aback. "The name's Ray. I heard you were a Honorary Duelist in the academy this year. I am the second one."

 

"Oh." Rand tried to hide his relief. "Well, I'm Rand." He extended his hand, and the other person grasped it in a solid handshake. Truth be told, he was quite agitated, and a little was enough to set him off-balance.

 

"So you've been in this exhibition thing before?" Rand asked, trying to find a subject to talk about.

 

"Nope." Ray replied, leaning to the edge of the ship to stare at the sea. "I've heard it's pretty cool though. Some of the best duelists in the world gather there. I've heard Jaden Yuki is going to be this year's star."

 

"Jaden Yuki?!" Rand exclaimed, shocked. The one who was supposed to have travelled to another dimension and had the powers of a Duel Monster, that Jaden Yuki? Rand did not believe the half of it, but it was still pretty much enough to create a legend. Suddenly, he found the journey far more enjoyable. "So we'll actually get to meet him? That is great!"

 

"Not just meet him, I think." Ray smiled. "From what I've heard, there's gonna be several ex-stars of the Academy there, some Pro League champions, and other Promo duelists as well as ourselves, the Guest Duelists.. The exhibition matches consist of a series of duel between all these, under worldwide coverance. It should be pretty exciting."

 

Exciting? Heck, this event was much more than Rand had signed up for. He was already looking forward to this.

 

"So, you want to do some practice before we get in over our heads there?" Ray asked pulling out a duel disk, his voice not showing off any of the nervousness Rand himself was suddenly feeling. "You're the first one I've seen to use a Crimson Star Army deck, and you handled the captain's strategy pretty well. I want to see if it really can counter any strategy at all."

 

"Sure, why not?" Rand picked his own duel disk. He hesitated for a moment, pulling out his two angel cards, and then put them back into his pocket.

 

"What'cha got there?" Ray asked curiously, and Rand sighed.

 

"Nothing, just a few cards I considered adding. But I can't use them in this deck, so..."

 

"Alright." Both duelists stood a few feet apart, facing each other, and picked five cards from their respective decks. The life point counters set. "Whenever you're ready..."

 

"Heh." A figure from the shadows said, observing the scene. He was tall, dark-skinned and bald, and bore quite a few earrings. He was dressed in a white cloak. "Looks like I won't have to be concerned about these two... let's see though - this may just turn interesting."

 

"My draw!" Ray exclaimed, drawing a card. He smiled. "And this is exactly what I need to make a grand opening. Activate Field magic, 'River Stygx'!". The deck around them began transforming into a piece of black, desolate land, that even in as small an area as the ship's deck allowed, reeked of death. A river of black water was flowing between the two duelists.

 

"Great, another card I've never heard about. And what does it do?" Rand inquired. Ray smirked.

 

"You'll see. For now, I summon 'Banisher of the Light' in defense mode!" The man with the forbidding outstretched arm, palm facing towards Rand, appeared on the field, kneeling in defense position. He only had 100 ATK, but 2000 DEF points. "As you know, as long as Banisher of the Light is on the field, any card that is sent to the Graveyard is removed from play instead... and now, I activate 'Graceful Charity'! With this card, I can draw three cards and discard two afterwards..." Ray drew three cards, and then showed Rand two monster cards before throwing them off to his discard pile. They shone by the effect of Banisher of the Light, and were immediately removed from play. "And here is where the first effect of River Stygx kicks in. Every time a monster is removed from play, a 'Death Spirit' token is Special Summoned on my side of the field." Two miniature statues resembling gargoyles with their arms folded in front of them appeared on Ray's side of te field. With 500 ATK and DEF points, they weren't anything impressive.

 

"What do you intend to do with them?" Rand asked warily. The form of these tokens, and the field spell, were unnerving.

 

"I will sacrifice them" Ray replied, "along with Banisher of the Light, using the special effect of my monster, to summon him on the field! Come forth, 'Nthara, Eater of Flesh'!"

 

"What the hell?" Rand exclaimed, as Ray's three creatures vanished, to be replaced by a giant black entity that only faintly resembled human form, covered in fog and black smoke. Broken chains hung from the being's wrists and ankles. "What is that thing?"

 

"Nthara is a Shinigami-type monster." Ray explained, as the newly summoned monster settled beside him. "It is a monster type not widely known - I've never met anyone except myself who uses them. They've been around for quite a few years, though. I think they are going to be introduced officially in the exhibition."

 

Rand could only stare in awe as the monster growled threateningly - and with 2600 / 2000 ATK and DEF points, it made quite a case. He really looked forward to this exhibition now - he wanted to see whatever else would be revealed.

 

"And here comes the second effect of River Stygx." Ray continued. "All shinigami-type monsters on the field have their attack and defense increased by 300 points." Nthara's ATK and DEF rose to 2900 and 2300 respectively. "I'll end my turn with that."

 

"Damn, what an opening." Rand thought. "But I guess if I'm going to duel Jaden Yuki and people of his league, I'd better get used to that level of play..."

 

"My draw!" Rand glanced at the card he just drew. "Hmm, not bad, but I can't make a good offensive with those..." He frowned.

 

"I place a monster in defense position, and two cards face-down!" He said, and the three cards, one horizontally in the front, and two vertically placed behind it, appeared on his side of the field. "That will do for starters."

 

"Very well." Ray said, drawing. "Then, I summon 'Mystic Tomato' in attack mode!" The monster resembling a Haloween pumpkin appeared on the field. "Nthara, attack his face-down monster!" A dense beam made of black fog extended from the shinigami's hand, enveloping Rand's face-down monster and destroying it completely.

 

"You just triggered 'Aqua Scout's' special effect!" Rand said. "I will call a card type, and then you must show me your hand. If there are any cards of the type I called, you will discard one of them - otherwise, I receive 500 points of damage."

 

"Fine." Ray replied. "So what is your choice?"

 

"Spell cards." Rand replied after a moment's uncertainty. Ray sighed, and showed his opponent his hand. Rand frowned. There was another weird looking Dark monster, that seemed weak with only four stars, a trap card that looked like a mirror of fog, and a spell card that displayed a wounded man trying to fend off a giant monster that resembled the shinigami on Ray's side of the field. Ray discarded that card.

 

"What does it do?" Rand asked curiously.

 

"Well, you just might get a chance to see later on." Ray said enigmatically. "Let's continue with the duel now."

 

"Alright." Rand replied. "I activate my trap card 'Crimson Star Reinforcement Unit'! When one of my monsters is destroyed, I can replace it with one of the same squad, but there is a catch. You get to draw one card for every monster that I would need to sacrifice if I were to normal summon that monster."

 

As his trap card, showing a warrior rushing to replace a fallen soldier , was revealed, Rand picked a card from his deck. "Sea King Myrmidon, the strongest monster in the 5th squad." A behemoth, resembling a cross between a sea serpent and a dragon, wielding a massive anchor, appeared on the field. With 2700 ATK and 2500 DEF points, it came pretty close to combating Nthara. "Since its Level is 8, you get to draw two cards." Ray drew two cards from his deck.

 

"Are you sure it is ok to let me have cards like that?" Ray questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Either way, I will set two of them face-down and end my turn. Oh, and before I forget, Nthara's attack increases by 500 points each time she destroys a monster."

 

"It's a she?" Rand asked, but his true worry lay in the fact that the shinigami now possessed a sizeable sum of 3400 ATK points.

 

"It's your go." Ray said. Rand drew his card.

 

"I activate 'Death Mask'." Ray said before Rand had a chance to do anything, and the trap card Rand had seen in Ray's hand materialized, to shape into a demented mask that attached itself on Nthara's face, making it even more frightening. "When this card is activated, I can remove a shinigami-type monster from play... and since I have one..." Nthara vanished in a blur of light, along with the mask. The trap card remained though.

 

"What did you do that for?" Rand questioned, puzzled. Ray smirked enigmatically.

 

"You'll see..." He replied. "Either way, I activate 'Ferryman from the Beyond'." He revealed his second face-down card, which was one of the cards he had drawn due to Rand's card effect. A black boat appeared in the waters of the river in Ray's fiels spell card, featuring a sole skeletal figure, disturbingly reminding Rand of the Grim Reaper, wielding the single row. "To activate this card, I must have River Stygx on the field. When a monster of mine is removed from play, I can Special Summon any number of monsters from my deck or hand whose total Level stars do not exceed the Level of the monster that was removed from play minus two. Oh, and it is a continuous trap card, so I can use its effect multiple times. But for now, you'll just have to worry about these guys... Necromancer Apprentice and Fiend Slasher!"

 

A small skeleton cloaked in black and holding a staff appeared, kneeling in defense position, with a meager 500 ATK and 300 DEF points. A somewhat more imposing fiend which resembled a clawed feline, twisted in darkness, materialized next to it, featuring 1500 ATK and 1000 DEF points. Being Level two and four respectively, they added up to six, which was two less than Nthara's own level.

 

"Done?" Rand asked, slightly nervously.

 

"Pretty much." Ray replied casually.

 

"Well then..." Rand looked at his cards. "I summon 'Seraph Hunter' in attack mode!" The angelic monster he had used against Bayle appeared again, featuring 1700 ATK and 1400 DEF points. "Attacking your Mystic Tomato wouldn't account for much, I suppose, since you could just replace it, so I'll attack your defensive monsters. Seraph Hunter, Sea King Myrmidon, destroy his monsters!" The huge sea beast rushed across the arena, and sliced Fiend Slasher in half. As the angel approached Necromancer Apprentice, however, it was stopped as if by an invisible shield. Rand groaned. "Let me guess, a..."

 

"...special effect?" Ray finished his sentence for him. "Yeah, Apprentice Necromancer can redirect any attack against him to another Dark monster on my side of the field. The monster I select will be removed from play during the Damage step, but since it will be destroyed anyway..." Seraph Hunter changed his course, cutting Mystic Tomato in half. Ray's life points dropped to 3700.

 

"And now that Mystic Tomato is destroyed, I get to Special Summon a Dark monster from my deck, as long as it's attack is 1500 points or less... let's see..." Ray skimmed through his cards. "This one. 'Fairy of the Deathlands'." A distorted, demented fairy with a wicked smile and black wings appeared on the field. She had 1500 ATK and 1000 DEF points.

 

"Very well... I end my turn." Rand frowned.

 

"And my turn begins." Ray drew, and smiled. "I summon 'Whiptail Crow' in attack mode!" Another Dark monster with 1600 ATK and 1300 DEF appeared on the field, a giant pitch-black crow with blood marks all over its body.

 

"Now I will activate this monster... another Shinigami card, 'Faelan the Soul Drinker'!"

 

"What?!" Rand exclaimed in surprise. "But you need..."

 

"...two Dark and one Light monsters to summon him, yes." Ray concluded his sentence. "Here's where Fairy of the Deathlands effect comes in - she is simultaneously both of Dark and Light attribute."

 

"Oh crap..." Rand muttered, as another shinigami, even more frightening than Nthara, grey skinned and with giant talons protruding from his body, appeared on the field. His already formidable 2600 ATK and 2000 DEF rose to 2900 and 2300 respectively.

 

"Well, how do you like the second member of my little group?" Ray asked, as the shinigami loomed over the field of battle."

 

"Intriguing..." the black-skinned figure muttered, placing a finger on his chin.

 

===

 

AUTHOR'S NOTES:

 

Sorry for slow update people, but... Christmas, buying presents, family etc got in the way of my free time. I'll try to update more often in the future.

 

The shinigami type is kind of inspired from Death Note, basically. Also, I know that Irene did not make an appearance in this chapter - you won't be seeing much of her until the second arc now - not dueling, at least.

 

Also, on the matter of Custom Characters. I already received three very good suggestions, and it's most likely that I will use them all. However, there are still more free spots open, so hurry up and PM me your ideas. Details in the previous chapter's notes.

 

===

 

CARD LIST:

 

I'll make it later.

 

===

 

GLOSSARY:

 

No new entries in the glossary for this chapter.

 

===

 

CHARACTER PROFILES:

 

Ray:

-Age: 18

-Hair Color: Black

-Hairstyle: Straight, a little messy.

-Eye Color: Dark Blue

-Height: 1,78m

-Weight: 54kg

-Favorite/Signature Card: Unknown

-Deck: Shinigami Deck

-Personality: Slightly playful and mischievous, but can get serious if the need arises. He acts casually and makes friends easy.

-Hobbies: Relaxing, Investigating mysteries.

-Likes: The paranormal, challenges.

-Dislikes: Having nothing to do.

 

===

 

SPOILERS:

 

The Wrath of Death.

 

The Wrath of Fate.

 

And the one pulling the Strings of Destiny...?

 

Next Chapter: Divinations

 

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[Khaostheclown]

This one was great, I couldnt stop reading it. Once again, your custom characters and thier style of dueling makes for a constant good read. lovin' the creativity behind the created decks they use too. Keep it up bro!!

[Umbra]

What happened with this fanfic?

[Guest Ixigo]

What happened with this fanfic?

 

Eh, I just got caught up in Christmas stuff. I have the next chapter all planned out, I'll get my butt down and start writing it now, so expect it up soon.

[Umbra]

Ah, ok. Good. Fine. Yes.

[Saiba Aisu]

Wow. You're great! I love how your story throws the unknown together! I think I have some better ideas on how to re-work my prologue and characters. Great job! 9.5/10.

[purplerobot]

that last chapter was great

no offence to other fanfic writers but yours is my fav