Yu-Gi-Oh! Genesis vs Armageddon [PG-13] (Chapter 2 is up, giving reps out for detailed comments!)

iCherry · March 9, 2012

No, I'm not making any promises about this one. If it dies, you saw it coming. I'm going to try and stick with this one though, I'll say that much.

Anyway, this was a little idea I came up with while thinking about generic "Chosen One" and "Light vs Darkness" stories. I wanted to take an approach on making a common plot like that into something interesting and with a lot of depth. The idea of the obvious Good Guy vs Obviously Bad Guy came up and I finally got off my ass to write about it. So... yeah.

[spoiler=Things to know before reading]- I will be toying with a bunch of Card Effects, so if something seems different, it's a new Anime Effect I've made for it (I.E. if something is removed or added) OR, it could be the real life effect. A mix of English and Japanese names will be used. Don't worry about being confused, because I link to every single card used. Featured Cards at the end of Chapters are for giggles.
- This fanfic will have no banlist in effect.
- I have a very, [i]very[/i] bad habit of Telling and not Showing a lot of the time, so if it seems like too much, please bare with it. I'm working on trying to get out of it.
- Before anyone says "There should be no music, because the viewer should be able to imagine their own" or someshit like that, you are in no way obligated to click any of those links. They are there only for fun and to give this more of an Anime Feel. So PLEASE do not post saying anything like that because I will NOT stop it. And when you see the (End Music) tags, just go to the last 10 seconds or so on the video. If short songs end before the tag, just repeat.
- It would be very nice if people would point out any errors. While I do trust my proof reader: [url=http://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/user/57805-andx/]Andx[/url], even the both of us may miss some stuff. xD
- The PG-13 rating is up there because of whatever language that'll be used with few instances of blatant swearing. Sexual Themes, Yuri, etc etc. Typical stuff.
- I apologize if Chapters look drawn out, because I usually don't mean for them to come out like that. I also deeply apologize if spacing looks completely f***ed up. Blame Microsoft Word and Skydrive ENTIRELY on that.
- I thought about it, and I won't be taking any extra characters for awhile. I only got one and he's the only one I'll eventually be using for now. So if I ever put up a character app, feel free to help donate characters when that time comes.
- That's about it. All I ask is for no harsh criticism and no "nice story" or "interesting" short posts. ^^[/spoiler]

Enjoy the various references, jokes, and many duels to come of the aspiring epic chronicle that I'm trying to make.

[spoiler=Prologue]The universe is gradually being annihilated… the stars are going out, other galaxies have begun literally collapse upon themselves, supernovas and black holes are found growing in every corner of space… The Milky Way is no different. The sun is going to explode; the planets will eventually be forcibly pulled out of their own orbit by a massive increase in the force of gravity… and they will all either fall into the sun or collide into one another. Other dimensions, other worlds… all of creation is on the verge of ceasing to exist entirely. On the insignificant Earth, the one bringing the end, and the one who will save us all reside.

The voices will guide them toward one another… intertwining their destinies, and determining the fate of everything.

[center]Yu-Gi-Oh! Genesis vs Armageddon[/center][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 1][center]1
Light and Shadow[/center]

[i]Open your eyes, young one…[/i]

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwFDAe-AJOw]Dream World[/url])

Heeding the mysterious voice that echoed throughout the mind, a young girl was awakened. Her ocean blue eyes were full of confusion as they scanned the area. The world was cloaked by a dense fog, with the outside of it showing only black. The female looked down to see that she was quite literally standing on water, which came out as gray from the reflection of the mist. She also saw herself in the water, seeing herself in casual clothing. It was nothing more than a white dress with sky blue butterfly wings designed on the fringes, along with matching white pumps. The girl had short, navy blue hair with a white hair clip

“Where…”

[i]Worry not, you are unharmed both here and the real world.[/i]

“Then where is this?”

[i]The world of Dreams.[/i]

“Oh that is so stupid.” the damsel responded, completely unamused by the cliché land where children visit in their sleep. She just groaned in irritation, knowing that nothing good could come from this. Suddenly, before another remark could be made, multi-colored orbs of light appeared and surrounded the girl. They started circling around her and speaking all at once.

[i]Erika Kourin![/i] a more childish voice called out her name.

“… Don’t call me Erika, please. Just Eri.” the woman requested that they call her by a selected nickname. What was odd was that she wasn’t surprised by the spheres being able to talk with her.

[i]You’re not scared of us or anything?[/i]

“I’ve been able to hear you guys since I was little… of course I’m not scared. This is just your first time being up front about it.” Erika replied to the single orb that was talking. From birth, this child has been able to hear voices from Trading Cards that originate from the game of ‘Duel Monsters’. Erika Kourin was now seventeen years old, which meant is has been a long time for her to get used to it. However, as she has said, not once have they contacted her in such a manner like this. It was time to get some answers. “… Why am I here and what do you guys want?”

[i]This is the first trial.[/i] the deeper toned voice from before responded. After it said this, Eri saw all of the light start merging into a large ball of energy in front of her. It eventually did nothing but fade away, leaving behind a Duel Disk. A deck was already loaded in. It was a rather wide model, shaped based on a white dragon wing. She was honestly confused at this sight.

“Wait a minute-“

[i]That is your Dream Disk, that has loaded in your deck with Dream Cards.[/i]

“I guess I use those in the Dream World. Okay, what the hell are Dream Cards?” she questioned. The concept was obvious, but the latter was not understood.

[i]Dream Cards are cards you will receive normally in the future. Dream Cards cannot be the cards you will awaken to, however.[/i]

“I’m not even going to ask about awakening to cards. But I think I get this… you want me to duel someone here. Where are they?”

(End Music)

[i]He was always there.[/i] the voice answered. As soon as it told her, Eri felt a presence that did nothing but send a chill down her spine. There was indeed a person there, but only as a visible silhouette. All Eri could do was make out that, from the build, it was a man and he had spiky hair.

“… Who… the hell…?” the girl questioned this man’s very being here. How did he get here and why is he here? They were the only two there, and she was called by her cards… meaning that this duelist had to be the same.

“Oh, now you can finally see me?” he asked her in a rather rude manner. Eri could clearly hear his voice, as he could hers.

“… This is a really messed up dream.”

“Compared to the others you’ve had about the spirits talking to you?” the male said, making her heart literally skip a beat out of shock.

“How… how did you know I had dreams like that?”

“We’re the same, girl.” he answered, then held his arm out. What Eri saw was a purple light shine from the limb, and then disappear. A Duel Disk appeared, but she could only see the shape of it, which too was like a dragon’s wing.

[i]C-Calm down... I’m just dueling in my sleep… man that sounds weird when I think about it… Dammit, what is going on?![/i]

“Are you prepared?”

“… S-Sure, I guess...” Eri reluctantly accepted the challenge of the trial the spirits forced them in. The Duel Disk reacted to her agreeing to the fight and activated. The other did the exact same. They linked up to one another, and both duelists shouted:

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFZVodkj9AE]Darkness Of Eternity[/url])

[center]”Duel!”
Eri Kourin
4000
Vs
???
4000[/center]

“I will take the first move.” the male announced as they drew five cards for their opening hands. He drew his sixth, and almost immediately slapped it down onto his disk. “I Normal Summon [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Infernal_Dragon]Infernal Dragon[/url]!” he called forth what the name of it described: a dragon. Its body was black and white, covered with purple spikes. On its shoulder, the spikes formed what seemed like shoulder plates. The tail’s endpoint was literally the shape of a trident. Two wings flapped out, revealing a red color underneath. [2000/0 Level 4 DARK Dragon-Type]

“An attack power of two thousand right off the bat? What the hell?!” Eri questioned its ludicrous strength for a monster that can be called out with no cost.

“Worry not; it is only a sacrificial pawn.”

“That’s an ass[b][/b]hole response toward the monster!”

“Hmph. I remove Infernal Dragon from play!” the crueler foe informed the woman of the banishment. The beast completely disappeared within the fog, taken away from their vision. Honestly, Eri felt bad to see it used like that. However, that’s how this game was going to be played. “I Special Summon the Black Vanguard, [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_Darkness_Metal_Dragon]Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon[/url]!” he shouted out, commanding his new creature to arise. Some of the fog on the battle was dispelled by the whirlwind it was appearing it, just so they could see: Metallic skin colored silver and black, along with red trimming, and gems in its top wings of the same color. Crimson eyes flashed as a sign of awakening, and the dragon let out a devastatingly powerful roar, which began to blow the duelists back. They managed to brace themselves and hold their ground, fortunately. [2800/2400 Level 10 DARK Dragon-Type]

“… Twenty eight hundred [i]and[/i] Level Ten on the first turn?!” a shocked Erika read the stats in complete disbelief. Her adversary just started laughing madly.

“That isn’t even the end of it! Once per turn, the Black Vanguard can call forth another Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard!” the man explained the effect of his leading beast, while holding up another card to use the effect.

“… BS.”

“I Special Summon [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gravi-Crush_Dragon]Gravi-Crush Dragon[/url]!” he once again dropped down yet another beast to his field. This one was green with red nails, resembling that of some sort of dinosaur. It had a steel collar around the neck, and two sets of spiked metal bands on its wrists with chains attached to them. It looked more like a monster thug, if anything. [2400/1200 Level 6 DARK Dragon]

“Damn it, this is ridiculous! How the hell am I supposed to take both of those down?!”

“That is not my problem. I set a card and end my turn.”

???
4000
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Gravi-Crush Dragon
Set Card
Hand: 2

(End Music)

“My turn…” Eri uneasily spoke while drawing her card. The time for complaints was over. Now was the time to figure out how to take those monstrosities down. She could feel the opponent… grinning. The fog was covering up some wide, sick and twisted smile full of arrogance. Knowing that [i]angered[/i] her entirely. “You! Wipe that smirk off your face!”

“I can put on whatever expression I please. You’re not in any position to be giving orders.”

“… I activate the Spell Card: [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tuning]Tuning[/url]!” the girl announced, going on with her turn since she couldn’t make a comeback for what the opponent said. In any world that has dueling, cards were the best backup for one’s words.

“’Tuning’ you say? So you’re a Synchro Duelist…”

“Nice observation, smartass. I can add one Tuner Monster from my Deck to my hand, and then I have to mill cards equal to that tuner’s Level. I’ll choose Junk Synchron.” Eri managed to finally return her foe’s smart aleck response before explaining the effect of the magic. The female duelist pulled a card out of the deck. The Monster Card was a Level Three Tuner, so three cards appeared on the field.

“I wonder if one of those will be something to help you use that Tuner…” the male spoke his thoughts, knowing that her monster relied on what was in her Graveyard, so these three cards were crucial to her plan. If she can’t take down one of those dragons this turn, it’ll already be over.

“… First…” Eri began the checks, first revealing [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Shield_Warrior]Shield Warrior[/url].

“That’s one level too high!”

“… Dammit, come on! Second!” This one was [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Necro_Gardna]Necro Gardna[/url].

“Oooh, very nice, but it’s still not the right level. Such an unlucky girl you are!” he spoke somewhat sarcastically in the beginning before beginning to laugh maniacally, already seeing the image of his victory next turn.

“Please… please…” Erika prayed before having the third card flipped. Everything was riding on this… at least, that’s how she felt under this pressure. The woman had absolutely no clue what was even at stake here. However…

“Do not take an eternity now! Go ahead!”

“… Third check!” with no further hesitation, she immediately turned it over, revealing [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Speed_Warrior]Speed Warrior[/url]. This shocked the both of them, but for Eri, it was more of a very pleasant surprise.

“What?!”

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL8KP2zvzN0]Eri's Theme - Soar[/url])

“Got it! Level Two Speed Warrior! What was that about me being lucky?!” the damsel questioned his earlier words, now with a voice full of confidence. That cocky aura she felt from the man was gone, which meant it really was her turn. “Let’s go, My Friend: [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Junk_Synchron]Junk Synchron[/url]!” Eri called out, creating a blue portal when the card was placed onto the disk. Out of it came an orange mechanical child with an engine on its back and scarf fluttering with the winds of the Dream World. [1300/500 Level 3 Tuner DARK Warrior-Type]

“… Hmph. How interesting to see how you’ll take one of my monsters down then.” he responded to the start of the comeback play while quickly regaining his composure.

“Watch out, because I might just send you back to the Waking World with this move! Junk Synchron, when Normal Summoned, can Special Summon a Level Two or lower monster from my Graveyard! I choose Speed Warrior!” continuing on by explaining the Tuner’s ability, another gateway opened up and an android-like soldier came rolling onto the battlefield with wheels on its shoes. It literally began to break dance while skating next to its ally before stopping to make an arrival pose to finish. [900/400 Level 2 WIND Warrior-Type]

“That won’t be enough… but you have…”

“When I Special Summon a Monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Doppelwarrior]Doppel Warrior[/url] from my hand!” the woman once again called forth another one of her allies, bringing a solider to the field armed with a loaded gun. His eyes were covered by the shadow of his hat, and he also wore a yellow scarf. [800/800 Level 2 DARK Warrior-Type]

[i]Ready anytime![/i] the same child-like voice from before informed Eri. She stopped for a moment to look at her first monster, noticing that it clearly came from him. All the girl did was smile and nod.

“I’m tuning my Level Two Doppel Warrior to my Level Three Junk Synchron!” the female duelist proudly declared, beginning some sort of ritual that signaled the Tuner to rev up the engine on its back. Only a moment after doing that, her friend’s body disappeared and was replaced by three orbs of light that took for the blanketed skies. The solider jumped up and flew after them. The spheres transformed into three green hoops and the warrior moved in the middle of the rings. Fifteen cards appeared in front of the damsel, and she immediately recognized one of them, the one card she was looking for. All the woman had to do was reach out for it.

[center]3 + 2 = 5[/center]

“Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon!" Erika recited a chant whilst the monster in the sky vanished and turned into two stars. With all of that complete, a pillar of light exploded from within and engulfed the rings and orbs. It blew away a vast amount of the mist, making their vision even clearer than before, only able to perfectly see their fields though, unfortunately. “Synchro Summon! Show yourself, [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Junk_Warrior]Junk Warrior[/url]!” she ordered the new being to reveal itself. The bring cylinder disappeared as the Synchro Monster flew out, cloaked in green light that soon disappeared. Its body was mechanical, like the Tuner’s, only purple and much larger. On its back were boosters and it had a bigger scarf. Similar to the Black Vanguard, Junk Warrior’s red eyes flashed as a sign of activation. It spun around, and then let out a battle grunt as it punched the air, releasing surging energy in the form of lightning. [2300/1300 Level 5 Synchro DARK Warrior-Type]

“You picked that one out rather quickly! Almost as if it was…”

“My favorite! My ace! Either one is right! But I’m not done yet, because Doppel Warrior Special Summons up to two Doppel Tokens in Defense Position when used as Synchro Material!” Eri pressed on with her nonstop calling of monsters. A duo of kid soldiers whose appearances reflected that of their original appeared on the field. [400/400 Level 1 Token DARK Warrior-Type]

[i]Now, this is our…[/i] Junk Synchron’s voice began.

“Power of Fellows! Junk Warrior gets a power increase equal to that of the Level Two or lower monsters on my field!” the woman read the effect of her monster, which relied on the bonds all of them shared with their leader. The children had a purple aura around them, and Speed Warrior a green one. The strongest fighter stood above them all, shining with golden energy that caused his attack power to skyrocket. [400 + 400 + 900 = 1700 + 2300 = 4000 ATK]

“An attack power of four thousand? … How could you call my move ridiculous…” the man spoke as if he was honestly shocked by all of this, but he did see it coming. However, he obviously didn’t predict a massive four thousand to challenge his twenty eight hundred for Red-Eyes. During this time, Eri felt like he did when he summoned enormous beatsticks. With one attack, the tables were about to be turned.

“Junk Warrior! Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!” the girl declared her attack, commanding the mechanical soldier to go forth and slay the beast. “Scrap Fist!” she named the assault as it shot forward with its fist up front, charging at the rival monster.

(End Music)

“… You stupid girl!” her foe responded, using the same arrogant tone.

“Eh?!”

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrDCU8aNyxk]Hope's Crisis[/url])

“Reverse Card, open! [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Zero_Gravity]Zero Gravity[/url]! This card forces all monsters on the field to change their Battle Positions!”

“Wh-what?!” Erika said, completely surprised by the card effect. It meant a number of terrible things for her. A gigantic purple sphere formed itself in the air and dropped down on the field. The dragons and the leading warrior were all switched to a defensive position, while the weaker units in the army of warriors unwillingly took a fighting stance.

“Did you honestly think the Black Vanguard would fall that easily?! Did you really think you had a [i]chance[/i]?!”

[i]Damn… I’m open for way too much damage on his turn… I gotta defend…[/i] Eri mentally went over a defensive strategy in her mind, holding up some useful trap cards for just that.

[i]We’ll protect you! So will those![/i] another voice similar to Junk Synchron’s spoke to her. The woman’s attention was brought to one of the Doppel Tokens, who looked back with a cocky smile. Eri only chuckled nervously, knowing that it wanted to help, but there was nothing it could do.

“I set two cards and end my turn…”

Erika Kourin
4000
Junk Warrior(Defense), Speed Warrior, Two Doppel Tokens
Two Set Cards
Hand: 2

“It is now my turn!” the male duelist began, dramatically drawing the top card of his deck with a stream of darkness following it. This worried Eri very much, especially with the feeling of terror she got from that single card.

“What is that...?”

“Your end! With the Black Vanguard’s effect, I Special Summon [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Diabolos%2C_King_of_the_Abyss]Demon King Diabolos[/url]!” believing this to be the key card for winning this battle, he slapped down the recently drawn card. A portal of a pitch-black world appeared, with a presence that was like that one would consider something like the [i]devil[/i]. Another large dragon clawed the sides of the gate, climbing out and exposing its body; covered in white and black scales, with chains hanging on parts of it, and blood red wings to match its evil eyes that glared into the soul… striking [i]fear[/i] into anything. [2800/1000 Level 7 DARK Dragon-Type]

(End Music)

“… W-What are you…?” Eri asked about the man’s identity, now scared of all the abilities he could have. This was only the third turn and she wanted the nightmare to end.

“The Shadow, and I suppose you are the weak and pathetic light.”

“… Hey… I-I’m not weak and p-pathetic!”

“Your voice trembles, as does your body in the face of what for all you know could be false danger! You are a coward!”

“I am not! Shut up!” Erika shouted out in her defense, having taken enough of his insults. However, it was obvious that she was forcing courage here, as she was still shaking and some tears were welling up in her eyes.

“Well then, survive this turn.” the man requested one thing out of her to prove her worth. She stopped shaking to realize she still has a defensive plan, so she could get through this assault with literally no damage with those traps. However… he was still grinning… he had to be.

“… Go on…” Eri said, ready to face this challenge.

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrxLTviFk6k]Disaster's Arrival[/url])

“I activate the Spell Card: [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/A_Wingbeat_of_Giant_Dragon]Wing Beat of a Large Dragon[/url], returning Gravi-Crush Dragon to my hand to destroy all of your Spell and Trap cards on the field!” the duelist followed up the summoning with this, having the dinosaur-built dragon engulfed by the fog, only for him to reveal it in his hand to the opposing player. Suddenly, the two demon dragons let out powerful roars that blew everything on her side back. She only screamed as she was sent flying, and her cards exploded into holographic shards. The approaching victory was made much sweeter seeing that the set cards were [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Scrap-Iron_Scarecrow]Scrap-Iron Scarecrow[/url] and [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Spirit_Force]Spirit Force[/url]. The enemy side hit the water as if they fell down on a hard floor while the man once again laughed crazily at her plan backfiring.

“Oh no… without those… ow…” Eri dreaded upon what was happening next, but she was in very real pain from falling. This couldn’t be right, she was certain that at the very least, the Dream World would leave her unharmed.

“Your precious wall of defense has failed you! Now I’ll destroy both of your Doppel Tokens to inflict fourty eight hundred points of damage to your life points, ending this game!” he announced his path to the win, having calculated that both attacks will inflict twenty four hundred points of damage, bleeding her dry of life. She only winced and moaned in pain as he pointed to the left token.

“My Black Vanguard! Do away with these insignificant pests! Ultra Dark Flare!” the man [i]demanded[/i] his dragon to attack, and it did ever so loyally when he called out the attack name.
Without hesitating at all, it fired out a blast of purple fire that annihilated the poor token. The shockwave from its destruction pushed them further back, and it lifted Erika off the ground only to make her roll onto the ground in even more pain. [Erika: 1600 LP]

“… Help… me…”

“Demon King Diabolos, finish her!” the order to kill was given, and it was more than happy to follow. Like its fellow beast, a blast was fired from the mouth. However, this one was made of pure energy and similar to the world it came from, the energy was pitch-black. Eri looked up and only stared in horror as she was about to die…

(End Music)

[i]We! Will! Protect! You![/i] a multitude of children’s voices all shouted. Speed Warrior, the lone Doppel Token, and Junk Warrior got in the way of the attack. Each and every one of them was blasted far back from where the duelist was, but they saved her life. She was surprised to see that they would lay down their own for hers… In her Graveyard Slot, a very bright yellow light was shining.

“… This is…”

“What happened? … Wait a minute… in her graveyard! Damn it, no!”

“It looks like we’re not out of the woods just yet... Necro Gardna’s monster effect activates, removing itself from play to negate Diabolos’ attack…!” Eri told her opponent about the support card that allowed them to keep on fighting, but did so while still trying to regain her strength. She was struggling to get back on her feet.

“A meaningless effort... I set a card and end my turn.” he labeled their wills to fight as foolish while placing his reverse cards down. At the same time, Erika was back on her feet.

???
4000
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Demon King Diabolos
Set Card
Hand: 2

“Let’s go guys! Now’s our only chance to strike back!” Eri shouted to fire up all of the cards in her deck while walking back to the battlefield, sounding like a natural born leader to them. She heard a bunch of voices all yelling ‘Yeah!’ at once. The enemy general scoffed at how spirited and dedicated they were. It was all far too amusing to him. … At least, it was until all of the monsters that protected the girl came back, ready to fight.

“…Hmph.”

“Hold on…” the woman had fourteen cards appear in front of her. She was viewing her Extra Deck to plan ahead and see what card she would need. “Junk Destroyer… I don’t have that, so this must be a Dream Card. It’s a damn good one at that. I can blow out his dragons and swing for game if I can draw something to get Junk Synchron back…”

“Hurry up now. We don’t have forever.”

“Shut up.” Eri demanded his silence as the Extra Deck disappeared. “Now then, it’s my-“

“Not so fast.”

“What now?”

“The destiny of your draw is in [i]my[/i] hands.”

“Excuse me?”

([url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM1is89r8Ws]Endless Destruction[/url])

“Diabolos’ monster effect activates! During my opponent’s Draw Phase, not only can I reveal that top card, but I can also place it on the top or bottom of your deck!”

“What the hell?! How many ridiculous card effects have you stocked up on?!”

“My deck was built for overwhelming power in numbers and to control the life of my foe. But enough of that! Diabolos! Eye of the Devil!” the dark duelist gave a little info about his deck before moving on to name the effect. Not only did the dragon’s eyes begin to glow, but Eri clearly saw a flash of light in the fog. The silhouette of her opponent now had gleaming crimson colored eyes glaring right at her. It was creepy and terrifying at the same time. The top card of her deck was shrouded by a black aura and lifted up into the air. It was revealed to all, duelists and monsters alike, as [url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Synchron_Explorer]Synchron Explorer[/url].

“No…” Erika felt drowned in depression at that moment because the one time she would get a perfect draw, it is completely out of her reach. This… was horrible. No matter what she could or even tried, he’s too strong. His monstrous deck did exactly what he described: overpowered her defenses, and controlled the game.

“You’re not light! You’re but a foolish child and a second-rate duelist who was lucky enough to be born hearing the spirits! You. Are. [i]Pathetic[/i].” the man relentlessly berated the poor girl, enough to get her on the verge of tears. He was just insulting her very being. She didn’t even know why she could hear the voices or why she’s being referred to as ‘Light’. Being some ‘Chosen One’ hero like in fairy tale wasn’t supposed to make her feel like trash, she thought.

“I… I…” before Erika could even respond, the two began to hear something coming from afar. They both turned to the left to see a gigantic tidal wave coming for them. “… What the…?”

“Ha ha! Even this world is falling!”

“’Falling’…? What are you talking about?”

“The universe is ending, didn’t you know?”

“No it isn’t ya moron! That’s just the crap scientists on TV shove down our throats!”

“Oh wow, you truly are an ignorant buffoon, aren’t you?!” the man questioned, insulting her once again while laughing at her.

“What’d you say?!”

“Think about it you idiot! Why do you think you never see the Sun?”

(End Music)

“… The Sun…?” Erika questioned as if he was talking about some sort of myth. For one reason or another however, she truly had no idea what he was talking about. There was no time to think about it anyway. The two turned back toward the tsunami, as it was too close for comfort now. The male grinned madly and welcomed it while Eri only took a few steps back before screaming.

-

“No…!” Eri shouted while getting up in her bed. She halted whatever movements she was going to make because she realized… this was the real world. The girl was only in a purple nightgown, in her bed.

“Eri!” a male voice shouted, practically busting the door down as he barged in. “You okay?! What happened?!”

“… Kaien…” Eri only said the man’s name before getting up. He stood there, completely confused and very worried. But she calmly walked over to her bedroom window and looked out of it. There was nothing but clouds outside. However, she could see the beach right outside with this view. “… I’ll tell you about it later… I had a really bad nightmare. … I’m back now, though…”

[center]Featured Card
[url=http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_Darkness_Metal_Dragon]Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon[/url][/center][/spoiler]
[spoiler=Chapter 2]
[center]2
Eri and Kaien[/center]

“Mmm… all the cake of Sweetland is mine for the taking…” Erika mumbled in her sleep, having some sort of bizarre dessert filled dream. She was even drooling about it, soaking a portion of her pillow in saliva.

“Erika! Get up!” a voice shouted from outside of the room, loud enough to be clearly heard from downstairs. The damsel’s eyes popped open, and an incredibly annoyed expression followed. She groaned in frustration while turning over to the side, hoping to go back to sleep. “Lunch is ready, and I have to get to work [i]now[/i]. So get down here!”

“ Ugh. [i]Monica[/i].” sleeping beauty muttered a name in absolute disgust. The yelling was obviously not going to stop, and [i]that woman[/i] would just stomp her way up her and force Eri to get up. With no way out, the girl just began to sit up in her bed. Eri yawned and stretched, then got on her feet and walked around the room to the window. The pink carpet she was walking on was littered with multiple objects: Cards, dolls, the remote to the large HD TV in there. It was clearly very messy, and she looked irritated with the way she was stepping on everything. Erika managed to make it without stepping on anything sharp, fortunately.

“Eri!!”

“Shut up! I’m coming down in a minute!” the disrespectful child shouted in response. After a moment, she sighed in a bit of depression and looked outside. The same beach and ocean were there, just like they were in the middle of the night. As were the sea of clouds blocking most light from the outer world. There was nothing to be happy about, because the sky has always been like this, every single day.

([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knvLA81LjU"]Calming Tide[/url])

-

[i]My name is Erika Kourin. I’m a sixteen-year old girl and an average duelist. I like to think there’s nothing wrong with me, like I’m a completely normal person, but I’m not. Ever since I was born, I’ve been able to hear the voices of Duel Monsters. Last night was the very first time they were ever clear and direct. I’m going to tell him about it… he might know what’s up.

Other than that, people say nothing is like what it used to be, but everything that’s here in this world now is normal to me. I grew up with the cloudy skies, so I don’t know what the “Sun” is. No one ever taught me.[/i]

-

“Eri, I know you’re probably doing some woman thing in there or whatever, and I’m gonna let ya finish. But Mom is going to flip her lid even more if you don’t hurry the hell up!” the male’s voice from yesterday spoke directly through the door. This made the girl turn around and angrily scream from how ridiculous that woman’s impatience was. The man left her to digging through, and trying on various things from piles of clothes.

After about ten minutes, she finally starting coming down a white staircase wearing the clothes she had on in her dream last night. On the first floor were many beautiful and expensive antiques. Hand carved statues, large plant vases with special designs of animals, leaves, and other things, and far too many objects made out of glass. A man sat on the red sofa in the room wearing a simple outfit consisting of a black, short sleeved T-Shirt and blue jeans. He had short and somewhat messy black hair, along with navy blue colored eyes in contrast to Eri’s lighter blue. Standing up by the furniture was a woman with hair similar to the boy’s, only more refined and much longer. She wore formal clothing of a skirt suit, all matching black colors. Both of the females stared at one another, aggravated with the sight of the other.

“Erika.” the older woman said.

“Monica.” Eri replied just as blunt and uninterested as her.

“Be grateful I let you sleep as long as you did. Your food is in the kitchen, I have to go to work.” the lady wanted the ingrate to be happy, and did her more of a favor for even leaving a dish. She turned her back and began walking toward the front door. Before going out, she looked back and blew a kiss to the boy still there. “Bye bye Kaien!”

“Bye mom…” he replied, sounding completely embarrassed. With that, she left.

“Good, now we can get some peace and quiet. Monica’s such a bi[b][/b]tch.” Eri spoke up as soon as that irritating woman left. The guy beside her just sighed, sad to see how the two basically hated each other with passion.

“Can’t you two get along? I mean, I get along with your dad, so why can’t you get along with my mom?”

“My dad isn’t an unpleasant ass[b][/b]hole, that’s why.” she said to him while coming out with some pizza on a plate. Eri sat down by Kaien, and looked at his face for a moment. He was annoyed with the strained relationship between the two, but knew there was no way to ever fix it, so he said nothing else.

-

[i]This is my step Brother, Kaien Kourin. That's not his real last name of course. His mom married my dad and never really minded being called by my father's surname. Since then, Kaien and I have been pretty close. I was skeptical about it at first, since I was used to being an only child, but I ended up really liking him. He’s like a big brother I’ve always wanted, because he always helps and cheers me up. Unlike his mother, who was only interested in dad. She doesn’t even care about me, which is fine because I never cared about her.[/i]

-

(End Music)

“So you wanna explain why you woke up screaming ‘No…!’ in the middle of the night?” Kaien said, questioning the girl's earlier outburst. Though the way he said it made Eri start choking on her food. He made it sound like it was some… lucid wet dream. Kaien hit his sister in the back to make her spit the piece out on the plate. The girl took a few seconds to catch her breath after nearly choking to death before responding.

“What the hell gives you some crazy idea like that?!”

“Relax! It was a joke!” the boy said in his defense, only because it looked like she was about to punch him in the face. Eri grabbed a bottle of water on the table and immediately started drinking it. He was going to say that was for him, but he decided it was best not to further push her.

([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU6zMh0bQwo&feature=related"]Tension[/url])

“… I had a nightmare…” she informed Kaien of what she said before after taking a drink.

“Tell me about it.” a concerned big brother requested, wanting to help. He felt Eri in a state of confusion and fear while trying to start off. She was hesitant to continue and trembled in place.

“Y-You remember about me being able to hear voices, right…?”

“Yeah. You said the cards talk to you. What about it?”

“They talked to me directly, taking me to some Dream World.” Eri told him about the very beginning, recalling the exact events clearly enough to frighten herself. Normally, not a single person would believe in some nonsense like this. But Kaien was different. Kaien was the type to find Eri’s ability to be very interesting, and was intrigued by the existence of this place she spoke of.

“Wait; is it like one of those Dream World things in the stories with some desires coming true or something?”

“How the hell would that have been a nightmare then?” she replied to his stupid question, sounding very upset. Eri actually grabbed one of the couch pillows and hit him with it.

“Oh! Ah! Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Keep going!” Kaien shouted, and then begged her to stop and continue the story. He was deeply regretting opening his mouth to say what he did. She was beating him hard with that pillow!

“Idiot!”

“Come on, just tell me more!”

“Hmph!” Eri pouted and put an end to her cushion assault. She was mad because while she was trying to be serious about this, he was being stupid. Much to her irritation, this was [i]normal[/i] for him.

“… Okay, Dream World, what did it look like?”

“… We were standing on water, and it was all foggy…” the girl spoke the vivid image in her mind, but while saying that, Kaien found something very odd about what she said.

(End Music, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aywKW4cunY&feature=related"]Mystery[/url])

“’We’?” the man asked about the first part. After the reaction he got however, he wished he didn’t. Eri seemed to get even more scared than she did before. It wasn’t anything she was remembering about descriptions of appearance. It was the insane laughter that was echoing throughout the mind. Then it began to flash to the ferocious beasts that appeared. All moving in to destroy her... “Eri, what’s wrong? Who was there?!”

“I-I dunno…!” she replied with a shaky voice.

“What do ya mean you dunno?”

“I couldn’t see him… only heard his voice. He called himself ‘The Shadow’.”

“… You sure this wasn’t some cliché storm dream?” Kaien just had to ask that because now this was really sounding unbelievable, even by [i]his[/i] standards.

“It was real… it was real because… when we dueled-“

“You [i]dueled[/i] in your dream?”

“Yes…” Eri confirmed, which just sounded silly. Dream World? That wasn’t too bad. Talking cards? She’s had that since birth, so that’s fine too. Playing a game of Duel Monsters in said dream? Now that was just plain ridiculous.

“… And you’re certain every single bit of this is real?” Kaien had to ask once more, because if it was, this was a very strange force they were going to dealing with.

“Kaien… what’s the sun?”

“Eh?”

“I’ve never seen the sun… you know all those guys on TV talking about the world ending, right?”

“Those bunch o’ whack jobs? Everyone and their mother know about them.” Kaien replied to her question while leaning back on the couch, regaining his composure after being surprised by the existence of another person in the dream.

“He said to think about it, why don’t we see the sun? He also said that that world was ending too, because a big wave came and nearly hit us…” Eri made note of that man’s words and repeated them to him, while also telling of a possible impending doom for that place. Kaien… was honestly at a loss for words. He just looked at his younger sister, who seemed to be very tired. He couldn’t think of any further input on the person she faced, but…

(End Music)

“If the world is endin’, then I’m gettin’ a Doctor’s Degree.”

“That’s about as possible as you getting a girlfriend.”

“Ouch…” Kaien winced at her harsh words, even putting his hand over his heart and clutching as if he had been stabbed. They both began to laugh at their sarcastic remarks. Kaien’s plan to get a giggle out of Eri and drop some of the serious tension in the air worked.

“… Hey… you want this?” Eri offered the rest of the pizza to her brother.

“Not hungry?”

“Not really… and if it was made by Monica, I really don’t want it.”

“Come on, you won’t even accept her food?!”

“I don’t like her and she doesn’t like me! How do I know if this isn’t poisoned or something?!”

“Jesus Christ…” Kaien said while facepalming, just awestruck by how she avoided his mother: Like a [i]plague[/i]. She just handed him the plate, and he took a bite out of the piece she started on.

“… Hey um, Kaien-“

“Go to bed.”

“Huh?”

“You’re tired as hell. Being in that Dream World must not do you well for sleep, sis.” Kaien took note of the bags under her eyes. Honestly, the rest of her just looked ill. As the big brother, it was his job to watch out for his weak little sister.

“... Kaien…” Eri started while getting up.

“Yea-“ he was interrupted because he took a pillow to the face.

“Stop trying to be cool.” the girl commented on his lame take on being the responsible elder sibling.

“Go to bed dammit.” an irritated Kaien demanded. “I’ll duel you tomorrow or somethin’ to get that dream off of your mind.”

“Pffft, Kaien, we both know that I’m the better duelist in the family.”

“That a challenge, missy?” Kaien asked, getting up and right in her face all bothered. Of course, he didn’t scare her in the slightest. The girl only put on an amused expression at his reaction.

“Yep! Or are you too scared to play card games with a girl…?”

“Get your ass in bed, I’m kicking it tomorrow.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear, you being yourself.”[/spoiler]

Raine · March 9, 2012

Well, I can honestly say I quite liked it.

In order, I felt as if the first scene borrowed VERY heavily off that music... seemed very first 5 minutes of KH to me but it fit in well.

I'm not sure what you wanted your Evil to Bad Guy ratio to be on ???? but he seemed very obvious bad guy-ish rather then some dark shadow being of evil-ness... maybe it was my imagination, that I waned him to be like that but... ignore that.

The duel mechanics and strategy have been a little predictable but I enjoy the use of older and less common cards blended with a bit of high tier stuff if not, making the duel just the least bit obvious.

Lastly, the music as a whole was very well chosen and elped me get into the scene more than usual without taking away or seeming out of place. Espessially ([url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL8KP2zvzN0"]Eri's Theme - Soar[/url]), that is a REALLY good BGM and it gave an uplifting, hopeful atmosphere to her move more so then the ????'s equivalent.

iCherry · March 9, 2012

Thank you!

I will admit, that part was intentional. After having recently played KH, looking back on the first scenes, it fit too well. :/

It's not your imagination, because that too was intentional. The plan was to make him obviously evil, so...

I'm trying to mix it up so it doesn't come off as if I'm taking turns from the anime and rewriting them on paper. So I'm glad it isn't completely predictable, at least. I like using uncommon cards a bit too, so that makes it better. lol.

THANK YOU. A comment about liking the music. That's what I wanted. The music choice should be nice enough, since I listen to it while I write. If I wrote with unfitting music, that'd be weird. xD I liked Soar very much and it was practically begging to be used as a theme of hope.

Glad you liked it, Raine. :D

CDDRodrigo · March 11, 2012

I enjoyed a lot reading this.

I must say your skills with descriptions are really good, and bar a few improvements that could be seen on the way of writing, it's a great work.

Obviously I loved how you use BOTH Nexus and REDRUM in the first duel <3

And yeah, that was clever of using Tuning's effect like in the Anime, and removing the no Special Summon restriction of Diabolos.

I liked reading this a lot, good job, looking forward to more.

iCherry · March 14, 2012

I apologize for the long wait. Trying to move a little faster with these chapters, I swear.

Also, I'll be handing out Likes to anyone who stops by to read and give a nice detailed post. Need readers somehow. :s

By the way, I thank you for your comments Rodrigo! My description skills aren't the best compared to my two teachers, but thank you. Lol. Toying with effects makes everything that much easier.

Piercer of the Heavens · March 14, 2012

Sadly I can't tell you what you can improve on because I personally am not a good writer. Sorry about that. What I do have to say is that I really like it, especially since the protagonist is a girl. I don't really see that too much, it might just be me though. The music is a nice touch as well, it really did help set up the mood.

I have only read the first chapter, but I will for sure get to reading the second one.

iCherry · March 14, 2012

That's fine, I just want comments. I usually make female protagonists for Yugioh Fics since the actual anime itself is obviously never going to make my dream come true. And I knew everyone would like the music. <3

Thank you for your comment!

Lt. Colonel Remo · March 14, 2012

Giving out free reps?

WHATS THE CATCH BESIDES READING IT?

Vairocana · March 19, 2012

[spoiler=]1 
Light and Shadow
 
Open your eyes, young one… 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwFDAe-AJOw" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Dream World</a>) 
 
Heeding the mysterious voice that echoed throughout <strike>the</strike> her mind, a young girl <strike>was awakened</strike> awoke("was awakened" isn't technically wrong, awoke is stronger). Her ocean blue eyes were full of confusion as they scanned the area. The world was cloaked by a dense fog, with the outside of it(outside of what? The world?) showing only black. The female looked down to see that she was quite literally standing on water, which came out as gray from the reflection of the mist. She <strike>also</strike> saw herself in the water, <strike>seeing herself in</strike> wearing ("seeing herself in" sounds awkward, imo)casual clothing. It was nothing more than a white dress with sky blue butterfly wings designed on the fringes, along with matching white pumps. The girl had short, navy blue hair with a white hair clip. 
 
 
“Where…” 
 
 
Worry not, you are unharmed both here and the real world. 
 
 
“Then where is this?” 
 
 
The world of Dreams. 
 
 
“Oh that is so stupid,” the damsel responded, completely unamused by the cliché land where children visit in their sleep(awkward phrasing. I'm not sure it's a cliche either). She just groaned in irritation, knowing that nothing good could come from this. Suddenly, before another remark could be made, multi-colored orbs of light appeared and surrounded the girl. They started circling around her and speaking all at once. 
 
Erika Kourin! a more childish voice called out her name. 
 
 
“… Don’t call me Erika, please. Just Eri.” the woman(alright. Is she a woman or a girl? I'd like some consistency) requested t<strike>hat they call her by a selected nickname</strike>(we know she requested they call her by her nickname, we literally just read how she asked them that.). What was odd was that she wasn’t surprised by the spheres being able to talk with her(Why? She accepted she was in the "world of dreams" easily enough. I don't know why her lack of surprise would surprise her). 
 
You’re not scared of us or anything? 
 
 
“I’ve been able to hear you guys since I was little… of course I’m not scared(again, then she wouldn't be surprised by her lack of surprise). This is just your first time being up front about it(I don't understand what she means by this).” Erika replied to the single orb that was talking. From birth, <strike>this child</strike> she had been able to hear voices from <strike>Trading Cards that originate from the game of ‘Duel Monsters’</strike>the trading cards in 'Duel Monsters' (which...I'm not sure how that equals floating orbs). Erika Kourin was now seventeen years old, which meant <strike>is has been</strike> she has had a long time <strike>for her</strike> to get used to it. <strike>However, as she has said, not once have they contacted her in such a manner like this.</strike>(because she said it, we don't need to repeat it here.) It was time to get some answers.
 
“… Why am I here and what do you guys want?” 
 
 
This is the first trial. the deeper <strike>toned</strike> voice from before responded. After it said this, Eri saw all of the light start merging into a large ball of energy in front of her. It <strike>eventually did nothing but</strike> faded away, leaving behind a Duel Disk. A deck was already loaded in. It was a rather wide model, its shape<strike>d</strike> based on a white dragon wing. She was honestly confused at this sight. 
 
 
“Wait a minute-“ 
 
 
That is your Dream Disk, that has loaded in your deck with Dream Cards.(I don't understand what you're trying to say in the second half of this sentence) 
 
 
“I guess I use those in the Dream World. Okay, what the hell are Dream Cards?” she questioned. The concept was obvious, but the latter was not understood. 
 
 
Dream Cards are cards you will receive normally in the future. Dream Cards cannot be the cards you will awaken to, however. 
 
 
“I’m not even going to ask about awakening to cards. But I think I get this… you want me to duel someone here. Where are they?” 
 
(End Music) 
 
He was always there. the voice answered. As soon as it told her, Eri felt a presence that <strike>did nothing but</strike> sent a chill down her spine. There was indeed a person there, but only as a visible silhouette. All Eri could <strike>do was</strike> make out was that<strike>, from the build, </strike>it was a man and he had spiky hair. 
 
 
“… Who… the hell…?” <strike>the girl questioned this man’s very being here</strike>. How did he get here and why is he here? They were the only two there, and she was called by her cards… meaning that this duelist had to be the same. 
 
 
“Oh, now you can finally see me?” he asked <strike>her in a rather rude manner</strike> rudely. Eri could clearly hear his voice, as he could hers. 
 
 
“… This is a really messed up dream.” 
 
“Compared to the others you’ve had about the spirits talking to you?” the male said, making her heart <strike>literally</strike> skip a beat out of shock. 
 
 
“How… how did you know I had dreams like that?” 
 
“We’re the same, girl.” he answered, <strike>then held</strike> holding his arm out. <strike>What Eri saw was</strike> a purple light shone from the limb, and then disappeared. A Duel Disk appeared, but she could only see the shape of it, which too was like a dragon’s wing. 
 
C-Calm down... I’m just dueling in my sleep… man that sounds weird when I think about it… Dammit, what is going on?! 
 
 
“Are you prepared?” 
 
 
“… S-Sure, I guess...” Eri reluctantly accepted the challenge of the trial the spirits forced them in. The Duel Disk reacted to her <strike>agreeing to the fight</strike> agreement and activated. The other did the <strike>exact</strike> same. They linked up to one another, and both duelists shouted: 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFZVodkj9AE" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Darkness Of Eternity</a>) 

”Duel!” 
Eri Kourin 
4000 
Vs 
??? 
4000
 
 
“I will take the first move.” the male announced as they drew five cards for their opening hands. He drew his sixth, and almost immediately slapped it down onto his disk. “I Normal Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Infernal_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Infernal Dragon</a>!” he called forth <strike>what the name of it described</strike>(awkward. Logically, it's probably going to be what it's named as. There's not need for that really awkward phrase): a dragon. Its body was black and white, covered with purple spikes. On its shoulder, the spikes formed what seemed like shoulder plates(techinal term is pauldrons, if you care). The tail’s endpoint was <strike>literally</strike>(there is almost no time where you will have to use the term "literally" to describe something. Just...describe it as it is.) the shape of a trident. Two wings flapped out, revealing a red color underneath. [2000/0 Level 4 DARK Dragon-Type] 
 
 
“An attack power of two thousand right off the bat? What the hell?!” Eri questioned its ludicrous strength for a monster that <strike>can</strike> could (keep tenses consistent)be called out with no cost. 
 
 
“Worry not; it is only a sacrificial pawn.” 
 
“That’s an a****** response toward the monster!” (I'm not sure how I feel about this line of dialogue.) 
 
“Hmph. I remove Infernal Dragon from play!” <strike>the crueler foe informed the woman of the banishment</strike>. The beast <strike>completely</strike> disappeared within the fog, <strike>taken away from their vision</strike>(If something disappears, it is taken away from your vision. Avoid redundancy.). <strike>Honestly</strike>, Eri felt bad to see it used like that. However, that’s how this game was going to be played. “I Special Summon the Black Vanguard, <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_Darkness_Metal_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon</a>!” he shouted out, commanding his new creature to arise. Some of the fog on the battle was dispelled by the whirlwind it was appeared in,<strike> just so they could see:</strike> Metallic skin colored silver and black, along with red trimming, and gems in its top wings of the same color. Crimson eyes flashed as a sign of awakening, and the dragon let out a devastatingly powerful roar, which began to blow the duelists back. They managed to brace themselves and hold their ground, fortunately. [2800/2400 Level 10 DARK Dragon-Type] 
 
 
“… Twenty eight hundred and Level Ten on the first turn?!” a shocked Erika read the stats in complete disbelief. Her adversary just started laughing madly. 
 
 
“That isn’t even the end of it! Once per turn, the Black Vanguard can call forth another Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard!” the man explained the effect of his leading beast, while holding up another card to use the effect. 
 
 
“… BS.” 
 
 
“I Special Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gravi-Crush_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Gravi-Crush Dragon</a>!” he once again dropped down yet another beast to his field. This one was green with red nails, resembling <strike>that of</strike> some sort of dinosaur. It had a steel collar around the neck, and two sets of spiked metal bands on its wrists with chains attached to them. It looked more like a monster thug, if anything. [2400/1200 Level 6 DARK Dragon] 
 
“Damn it, this is ridiculous! How the hell am I supposed to take both of those down?!” 
 
“That is not my problem. I set a card and end my turn.” 
 
 
??? 
4000 
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Gravi-Crush Dragon 
Set Card 
Hand: 2 
 
(End Music) 
 
“My turn…” Eri uneasily spoke while drawing her card. The time for complaints was over. Now was the time to figure out how to take those monstrosities down. She could feel the opponent… grinning. The fog was covering up some wide, sick and twisted smile full of arrogance. Knowing that angered her <strike>entirely</strike>. “You! Wipe that smirk off your face!” 
 
“I can put on whatever expression I please. You’re not in any position to be giving orders.” 
 
“… I activate the Spell Card: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tuning" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Tuning</a>!” the girl announced, going on with her turn since she couldn’t make a comeback for what the opponent said. In any world that has dueling, cards were the best backup for one’s words. 
 
“’Tuning’ you say? So you’re a Synchro Duelist…” 
 
“Nice observation, smartass. I can add one Tuner Monster from my Deck to my hand, and then I have to mill cards equal to that tuner’s Level. I’ll choose Junk Synchron.” Eri managed to finally return her foe’s smart aleck response before explaining the effect of the magic. The female duelist pulled a card out of the deck. The Monster Card was a Level Three Tuner, so three cards appeared on the field. 
 
“I wonder if one of those will be something to help you use that Tuner…” the male spoke his thoughts, knowing that her monster relied on what was in her Graveyard, so these three cards were crucial to her plan. If she <strike>can’t</strike>
1 
Light and Shadow
 
Open your eyes, young one… 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwFDAe-AJOw" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Dream World</a>) 
 
Heeding the mysterious voice that echoed throughout the mind, a young girl was awakened. Her ocean blue eyes were full of confusion as they scanned the area. The world was cloaked by a dense fog, with the outside of it showing only black. The female looked down to see that she was quite literally standing on water, which came out as gray from the reflection of the mist. She also saw herself in the water, seeing herself in casual clothing. It was nothing more than a white dress with sky blue butterfly wings designed on the fringes, along with matching white pumps. The girl had short, navy blue hair with a white hair clip 
 
 
“Where…” 
 
 
Worry not, you are unharmed both here and the real world. 
 
 
“Then where is this?” 
 
 
The world of Dreams. 
 
 
“Oh that is so stupid.” the damsel responded, completely unamused by the cliché land where children visit in their sleep. She just groaned in irritation, knowing that nothing good could come from this. Suddenly, before another remark could be made, multi-colored orbs of light appeared and surrounded the girl. They started circling around her and speaking all at once. 
 
Erika Kourin! a more childish voice called out her name. 
 
 
“… Don’t call me Erika, please. Just Eri.” the woman requested that they call her by a selected nickname. What was odd was that she wasn’t surprised by the spheres being able to talk with her. 
 
You’re not scared of us or anything? 
 
 
“I’ve been able to hear you guys since I was little… of course I’m not scared. This is just your first time being up front about it.” Erika replied to the single orb that was talking. From birth, this child has been able to hear voices from Trading Cards that originate from the game of ‘Duel Monsters’. Erika Kourin was now seventeen years old, which meant is has been a long time for her to get used to it. However, as she has said, not once have they contacted her in such a manner like this. It was time to get some answers. “… Why am I here and what do you guys want?” 
 
 
This is the first trial. the deeper toned voice from before responded. After it said this, Eri saw all of the light start merging into a large ball of energy in front of her. It eventually did nothing but fade away, leaving behind a Duel Disk. A deck was already loaded in. It was a rather wide model, shaped based on a white dragon wing. She was honestly confused at this sight. 
 
 
“Wait a minute-“ 
 
 
That is your Dream Disk, that has loaded in your deck with Dream Cards. 
 
 
“I guess I use those in the Dream World. Okay, what the hell are Dream Cards?” she questioned. The concept was obvious, but the latter was not understood. 
 
 
Dream Cards are cards you will receive normally in the future. Dream Cards cannot be the cards you will awaken to, however. 
 
 
“I’m not even going to ask about awakening to cards. But I think I get this… you want me to duel someone here. Where are they?” 
 
(End Music) 
 
He was always there. the voice answered. As soon as it told her, Eri felt a presence that did nothing but send a chill down her spine. There was indeed a person there, but only as a visible silhouette. All Eri could do was make out that, from the build, it was a man and he had spiky hair. 
 
 
“… Who… the hell…?” the girl questioned this man’s very being here. How did he get here and why is he here? They were the only two there, and she was called by her cards… meaning that this duelist had to be the same. 
 
 
“Oh, now you can finally see me?” he asked her in a rather rude manner. Eri could clearly hear his voice, as he could hers. 
 
 
“… This is a really messed up dream.” 
 
“Compared to the others you’ve had about the spirits talking to you?” the male said, making her heart literally skip a beat out of shock. 
 
 
“How… how did you know I had dreams like that?” 
 
“We’re the same, girl.” he answered, then held his arm out. What Eri saw was a purple light shine from the limb, and then disappear. A Duel Disk appeared, but she could only see the shape of it, which too was like a dragon’s wing. 
 
C-Calm down... I’m just dueling in my sleep… man that sounds weird when I think about it… Dammit, what is going on?! 
 
 
“Are you prepared?” 
 
 
“… S-Sure, I guess...” Eri reluctantly accepted the challenge of the trial the spirits forced them in. The Duel Disk reacted to her agreeing to the fight and activated. The other did the exact same. They linked up to one another, and both duelists shouted: 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFZVodkj9AE" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Darkness Of Eternity</a>)
 
 
”Duel!” 
Eri Kourin 
4000 
Vs 
??? 
4000
 
 
“I will take the first move.” the male announced as they drew five cards for their opening hands. He drew his sixth, and almost immediately slapped it down onto his disk. “I Normal Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Infernal_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Infernal Dragon</a>!” he called forth what the name of it described: a dragon. Its body was black and white, covered with purple spikes. On its shoulder, the spikes formed what seemed like shoulder plates. The tail’s endpoint was literally the shape of a trident. Two wings flapped out, revealing a red color underneath. [2000/0 Level 4 DARK Dragon-Type] 
 
 
“An attack power of two thousand right off the bat? What the hell?!” Eri questioned its ludicrous strength for a monster that can be called out with no cost. 
 
 
“Worry not; it is only a sacrificial pawn.” 
 
“That’s an a****** response toward the monster!” 
 
“Hmph. I remove Infernal Dragon from play!” the crueler foe informed the woman of the banishment. The beast completely disappeared within the fog, taken away from their vision. Honestly, Eri felt bad to see it used like that. However, that’s how this game was going to be played. “I Special Summon the Black Vanguard, <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Red-Eyes_Darkness_Metal_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon</a>!” he shouted out, commanding his new creature to arise. Some of the fog on the battle was dispelled by the whirlwind it was appearing it, just so they could see: Metallic skin colored silver and black, along with red trimming, and gems in its top wings of the same color. Crimson eyes flashed as a sign of awakening, and the dragon let out a devastatingly powerful roar, which began to blow the duelists back. They managed to brace themselves and hold their ground, fortunately. [2800/2400 Level 10 DARK Dragon-Type] 
 
 
“… Twenty eight hundred and Level Ten on the first turn?!” a shocked Erika read the stats in complete disbelief. Her adversary just started laughing madly. 
 
 
“That isn’t even the end of it! Once per turn, the Black Vanguard can call forth another Dragon-Type monster from my hand or Graveyard!” the man explained the effect of his leading beast, while holding up another card to use the effect. 
 
 
“… BS.” 
 
 
“I Special Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Gravi-Crush_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Gravi-Crush Dragon</a>!” he once again dropped down yet another beast to his field. This one was green with red nails, resembling that of some sort of dinosaur. It had a steel collar around the neck, and two sets of spiked metal bands on its wrists with chains attached to them. It looked more like a monster thug, if anything. [2400/1200 Level 6 DARK Dragon] 
 
“Damn it, this is ridiculous! How the hell am I supposed to take both of those down?!” 
 
“That is not my problem. I set a card and end my turn.” 
 
 
??? 
4000 
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Gravi-Crush Dragon 
Set Card 
Hand: 2 
 
(End Music) 
 
“My turn…” Eri uneasily spoke while drawing her card. The time for complaints was over. Now was the time to figure out how to take those monstrosities down. She could feel the opponent… grinning. The fog was covering up some wide, sick and twisted smile full of arrogance. Knowing that angered her entirely. “You! Wipe that smirk off your face!” 
 
“I can put on whatever expression I please. You’re not in any position to be giving orders.” 
 
“… I activate the Spell Card: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Tuning" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Tuning</a>!” the girl announced, going on with her turn since she couldn’t make a comeback for what the opponent said. In any world that has dueling, cards were the best backup for one’s words. 
 
“’Tuning’ you say? So you’re a Synchro Duelist…” 
 
“Nice observation, smartass. I can add one Tuner Monster from my Deck to my hand, and then I have to mill cards equal to that tuner’s Level. I’ll choose Junk Synchron.” Eri managed to finally return her foe’s smart aleck response before explaining the effect of the magic. The female duelist pulled a card out of the deck. The Monster Card was a Level Three Tuner, so three cards appeared on the field. 
 
“I wonder if one of those will be something to help you use that Tuner…” the male spoke his thoughts, knowing that her monster relied on what was in her Graveyard, so these three cards were crucial to her plan. If she couldn't take down one of those dragons this turn, <strike>it’ll</strike> it would already be over. 
 
“… First…” Eri began the checks, first revealing <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Shield_Warrior" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Shield Warrior</a>. 
 
“That’s one level too high!” 
 
“… Dammit, come on! Second!” This one was <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Necro_Gardna" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Necro Gardna</a>. 
 
“Oooh, very nice, but it’s still not the right level. Such an unlucky girl you are!” he spoke <strike>somewhat</strike> sarcastically <strike>in the beginning</strike> before <strike>beginning to laugh</strike> laughing maniacally, already seeing <strike>the image of</strike> his victory next turn. 
 
“Please… please…” Erika prayed before having the third card flipped. Everything was riding on this… <strike>at least, that’s how she felt under this pressure</strike>(don't undercut your tension). The woman had absolutely no clue what was even at stake here. However… 
 
“Do not take an eternity now! Go ahead!” 
 
“… Third check!” with no further hesitation, she <strike>immediately</strike>(if there is no hesitation, then it would be immediate) turned it over, revealing <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Speed_Warrior" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Speed Warrior</a>. This shocked <strike>the</strike> both of them, but for Eri, it was more of a very pleasant surprise. 
 
“What?!” 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL8KP2zvzN0" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Eri's Theme - Soar</a>) 
 
“Got it! Level Two Speed Warrior! What was that about me being lucky?!” the damsel questioned<strike> his earlier words</strike>, now with a voice full of confidence. That cocky aura she felt from the man was gone, which meant it really was her turn. “Let’s go, My Friend: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Junk_Synchron" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Junk Synchron</a>!” Eri called out, creating a blue portal when the card was placed onto the disk. Out of it came an orange mechanical child with an engine on its back and scarf fluttering with the winds of the Dream World. [1300/500 Level 3 Tuner DARK Warrior-Type] 
 
“… Hmph. How interesting to see how you’ll take one of my monsters down then.” he responded <strike>to the start of the comeback play while</strike> quickly regaining his composure. 
 
“Watch out, because I might just send you back to the Waking World with this move! Junk Synchron, when Normal Summoned, can Special Summon a Level Two or lower monster from my Graveyard! I choose Speed Warrior!” <strike>continuing on by explaining the Tuner’s ability</strike>, another gateway opened up and an android-like soldier came rolling onto the battlefield with wheels on its shoes. It <strike>literally</strike> began to break dance while skating next to its ally before stopping to make an arrival pose to finish. [900/400 Level 2 WIND Warrior-Type] 
 
“That won’t be enough… but you have…” 
 
“When I Special Summon a Monster from my Graveyard, I can Special Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Doppelwarrior" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Doppel Warrior</a> from my hand!” the woman once again called forth another one of her allies, bringing a solider to the field armed with a loaded gun. His eyes were covered by the shadow of his hat, and he also wore a yellow scarf. [800/800 Level 2 DARK Warrior-Type] 
 
Ready anytime! the same child-like voice from before informed Eri. She stopped for a moment to look at her first monster, noticing that it clearly came from him. All the girl did was smile and nod. 
 
“I’m tuning my Level Two Doppel Warrior to my Level Three Junk Synchron!” the female duelist proudly declared, beginning some sort of ritual that signaled the Tuner to rev up the engine on its back. Only a moment after doing that, her friend’s body disappeared and was replaced by three orbs of light that took for the blanketed skies. The solider jumped up and flew after them. The spheres transformed into three green hoops and the warrior moved in the middle of the rings. Fifteen cards appeared in front of the damsel, and she immediately recognized one of them, the one card she was looking for. All the woman had to do was reach out for it. 

3 + 2 = 5
 
“Clustering stars will call upon a new force! Become the path its light shines upon!" Erika recited a chant whilst the monster in the sky vanished and turned into two stars. With all of that complete, a pillar of light exploded from within and engulfed the rings and orbs. It blew away a vast amount of the mist, making their vision even clearer than before, <strike>only able to perfectly see their fields though, unfortunately</strike>. “Synchro Summon! Show yourself, <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Junk_Warrior" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Junk Warrior</a>!” she ordered the new being to reveal itself. The bring(bring?) cylinder disappeared as the Synchro Monster flew out, cloaked in green light that soon disappeared. Its body was mechanical, like the Tuner’s, only purple and much larger. On its back were boosters and it had a bigger scarf. Similar to the Black Vanguard, Junk Warrior’s red eyes flashed as a sign of activation. It spun around, and then let out a battle grunt as it punched the air, releasing surging energy in the form of lightning. [2300/1300 Level 5 Synchro DARK Warrior-Type] 
 
“You picked that one out rather quickly! Almost as if it <strike>was</strike> were…” 
 
“My favorite! My ace! Either one is right! But I’m not done yet, because Doppel Warrior Special Summons up to two Doppel Tokens in Defense Position when used as Synchro Material!” Eri pressed on with her nonstop calling of monsters. A duo of kid soldiers <strike>whose appearances reflected that of their</strike> identical to the original appeared on the field. [400/400 Level 1 Token DARK Warrior-Type] 
 
Now, this is our… Junk Synchron’s voice began. 
 
“Power of Fellows! Junk Warrior gets a power increase equal to that of the Level Two or lower monsters on my field!” the woman read the effect of her monster, which relied on the bonds all of them shared with their leader. The children had a purple aura around them, and Speed Warrior a green one. The strongest fighter stood above them all, shining with golden energy that caused his attack power to skyrocket. [400 + 400 + 900 = 1700 + 2300 = 4000 ATK] 
 
“An attack power of four thousand? … How could you call my move ridiculous…” the man spoke as if he <strike>was</strike> were honestly shocked by all of this, but he did see it coming. However, he obviously didn’t predict a massive four thousand to challenge his twenty eight hundred for Red-Eyes (how can he be shocked, see it coming, and not perdict (see) it coming? Condractions upon condtradictions). <strike>During this time, Eri felt like he did when he summoned enormous beatsticks. </strike>With one attack, the tables were about to be turned. 
 
“Junk Warrior! Attack Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!” the girl declared her attack, commanding the mechanical soldier to go forth and slay the beast. “Scrap Fist!” she named the assault as it shot forward with its fist up front, charging at the rival monster. 
 
(End Music) 
 
“… You stupid girl!” her foe responded, using the same arrogant tone. 
 
“Eh?!” 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrDCU8aNyxk" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Hope's Crisis</a>) 
 
“Reverse Card, open! <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Zero_Gravity" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Zero Gravity</a>! This card forces all monsters on the field to change their Battle Positions!” 
 
“Wh-what?!” Erika said, completely surprised by the card effect. It meant a number of terrible things for her. A gigantic purple sphere formed itself in the air and dropped down on the field. The dragons and the leading warrior were all switched to a defensive position, while the weaker units in the army of warriors unwillingly took a fighting stance. 
 
“Did you honestly think the Black Vanguard would fall that easily?! Did you really think you had a chance?!” 
 
Damn… I’m open for way too much damage on his turn… I gotta defend… Eri mentally went over a defensive strategy in her mind, holding up some useful trap cards for just that. 
 
We’ll protect you! So will those! another voice similar to Junk Synchron’s spoke to her. The woman’s attention was brought to one of the Doppel Tokens, who looked back with a cocky smile. Eri only chuckled nervously, knowing that it wanted to help, but there was nothing it could do. 
 
“I set two cards and end my turn…” 
 
Erika Kourin 
4000 
Junk Warrior(Defense), Speed Warrior, Two Doppel Tokens 
Two Set Cards 
Hand: 2 
 
“It is now my turn!” the male duelist began, dramatically drawing the top card of his deck with a stream of darkness following it. This worried Eri very much, especially with the feeling of terror she got from that single card. 
 
“What is that...?” 
 
“Your end! With the Black Vanguard’s effect, I Special Summon <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Diabolos%2C_King_of_the_Abyss" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Demon King Diabolos</a>!” believing this to be the key card for winning this battle, he slapped down the recently drawn card. A portal of <strike>a</strike> pitch-black <strike>world</strike> appeared, with a presence <strike>that was</strike> like <strike>that one would consider something like</strike> the devil. A<strike>nother</strike> large dragon clawed the sides of the gate, climbing out and exposing its body; covered in white and black scales, with chains hanging on parts of it, and blood red wings to match its evil eyes that glared into the soul… striking fear into anything. [2800/1000 Level 7 DARK Dragon-Type] 
 
(End Music) 
 
“… W-What are you…?” Eri asked <strike>about the man’s identity</strike>, <strike>now</strike> scared of all the abilities he could have. This was only the third turn and she wanted the nightmare to end. 
 
“The Shadow, and I suppose you are the weak and pathetic light.” 
 
“… Hey… I-I’m not weak and p-pathetic!” 
 
“Your voice trembles, as does your body in the face of what for all you know could be false danger!(what?) You are a coward!” 
 
“I am not! Shut up!” Erika shouted out <strike>in her defense, </strike>having taken enough of his insults. However, it was obvious that she was forcing courage here, as she was still shaking and some tears were welling up in her eyes. 
 
“Well then, survive this turn.” the man requested <strike>one thing out of her to prove her worth</strike>. She stopped shaking to realize she still <strike>has</strike> had a defensive plan(so she stopped shaking so that she could realize something? Maybe try "She stopped shaking as she realized), <strike>so she could get through this assault with literally no damage with those traps</strike>. However… he was still grinning… he had to be. 
 
“… Go on…” Eri said, ready to face this challenge. 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrxLTviFk6k" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Disaster's Arrival</a>) 
 
“I activate the Spell Card: <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/A_Wingbeat_of_Giant_Dragon" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Wing Beat of a Large Dragon</a>, returning Gravi-Crush Dragon to my hand to destroy all of your Spell and Trap cards on the field!” the duelist followed up <strike>the summoning with this</strike>, having the dinosaur-built dragon engulfed by the fog, only for him to reveal it in his hand to the opposing player. Suddenly, the two demon dragons let out powerful roars that blew everything on her side back. She only screamed as she was sent flying, and her cards exploded into holographic shards. The approaching victory was made much sweeter seeing that the set cards were <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Scrap-Iron_Scarecrow" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Scrap-Iron Scarecrow</a> and <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Spirit_Force" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Spirit Force</a>(this is confusing because we've switch completely into the villain's point of view). The enemy side hit the water as if they fell down on a hard floor while the man once again laughed crazily at her plan backfiring. 
 
“Oh no… without those… ow…” Eri dreaded <strike>upon what was happening</strike> what would happen next, but she was in very real pain from falling. This couldn’t be right, she was certain that at the very least, the Dream World would leave her unharmed. 
 
“Your precious wall of defense has failed you! Now I’ll destroy both of your Doppel Tokens to inflict fourty eight hundred points of damage to your life points, ending this game!” he announced<strike> his path to the win, having calculated that both attacks will inflict twenty four hundred points of damage, bleeding her dry of life.</strike> She only winced and moaned in pain as he pointed to the left token. 
 
“My Black Vanguard! Do away with these insignificant pests! Ultra Dark Flare!” the man demanded his dragon to attack, and it did ever so loyally when he called out the attack name. 
Without hesitating <strike>at all</strike>, it fired out a blast of purple fire that annihilated the poor token. The shockwave from its destruction pushed them further back, and it lifted Erika off the ground only to make her roll onto the ground in even more pain. [Erika: 1600 LP] 
 
“… Help… me…” 
 
“Demon King Diabolos, finish her!” the order to kill was given, and it was more than happy to follow. Like its fellow beast, a blast was fired from the mouth. However, this one was made of pure energy and similar to the world it came from, the energy was pitch-black. Eri looked up and only stared in horror as she was about to die… 
 
(End Music) 
 
We! Will! Protect! You! a multitude of children’s voices all shouted. Speed Warrior, the lone Doppel Token, and Junk Warrior got in the way of the attack. Each and every one of them was blasted far back from where the duelist was, but they saved her life. She was surprised to see that they would lay down their own for hers… In her Graveyard Slot, a very bright yellow light was shining. 
 
“… This is…” 
 
“What happened? … Wait a minute… in her graveyard! Damn it, no!” 
 
“It looks like we’re not out of the woods just yet... Necro Gardna’s monster effect activates, removing itself from play to negate Diabolos’ attack…!” Eri told her opponent <strike>about the support card that allowed them to keep on fighting, but did so while still trying to regain her strength</strike>. She was struggling to get back on her feet. 
 
“A meaningless effort... I set a card and end my turn.” <strike>he labeled their wills to fight as foolish while placing his reverse cards down</strike>. At the same time, Erika was back on her feet. 
 
??? 
4000 
Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, Demon King Diabolos 
Set Card 
Hand: 2 
 
“Let’s go guys! Now’s our only chance to strike back!” Eri shouted to fire up all of the cards in her deck while walking back to the battlefield, sounding like a natural born leader to them. She heard a bunch of voices all yelling ‘Yeah!’ at once. The enemy general scoffed <strike>at how spirited and dedicated they were</strike>. It was all far too amusing to him. … At least, it was until all of the monsters that protected the girl came back, ready to fight. 
 
“…Hmph.” 
 
“Hold on…” the woman had fourteen cards appear in front of her. She was viewing her Extra Deck to plan ahead and see what card she would need. “Junk Destroyer… I don’t have that, so this must be a Dream Card. It’s a damn good one at that. I can blow out his dragons and swing for game if I can draw something to get Junk Synchron back…” 
 
“Hurry up now. We don’t have forever.” 
 
“Shut up.” Eri demanded <strike>his silence</strike> as the Extra Deck disappeared. “Now then, it’s my-“ 
 
“Not so fast.” 
 
“What now?” 
 
“The destiny of your draw is in my hands.” 
 
“Excuse me?” 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM1is89r8Ws" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Endless Destruction</a>) 
 
“Diabolos’ monster effect activates! During my opponent’s Draw Phase, not only can I reveal that top card, but I can also place it on the top or bottom of your deck!” 
 
“What the hell?! How many ridiculous card effects have you stocked up on?!” 
 
“My deck was built for overwhelming power in numbers and to control the life of my foe. But enough of that! Diabolos! Eye of the Devil!” <strike>the dark duelist gave a little info about his deck before moving on to name the effect</strike>. Not only did the dragon’s eyes begin to glow, but Eri clearly saw a flash of light in the fog. The silhouette of her opponent now had gleaming crimson colored eyes glaring right at her. It was creepy and terrifying at the same time. The top card of her deck was shrouded by a black aura and lifted up into the air. It was revealed to all, duelists and monsters alike, as <a class="bbc_url" href="http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Synchron_Explorer" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Synchron Explorer</a>. 
 
“No…” Erika felt drowned in depression <strike>at that moment</strike> because the one time she would get a perfect draw, it is completely out of her reach. This… was horrible. No matter what she could(what?) or even tried, he’s too strong. His monstrous deck did exactly what he described: overpowered her defenses, and controlled the game. 
 
“You’re not light! You’re but a foolish child and a second-rate duelist who was lucky enough to be born hearing the spirits! You. Are. Pathetic.” the man relentlessly berated the poor girl, enough to get her on the verge of tears. <strike>He was just insulting her very being</strike>. She didn’t even know why she could hear the voices or why she’s being referred to as ‘Light’. Being some ‘Chosen One’ hero like in a fairy tale wasn’t supposed to make her feel like trash, she thought. 
 
“I… I…” before Erika could <strike>even</strike> respond, the two began to hear something coming from afar. They both turned to the left to see a gigantic tidal wave coming for them. “… What the…?” 
 
“Ha ha! Even this world is falling!” 
 
“’Falling’…? What are you talking about?” 
 
“The universe is ending, didn’t you know?” 
 
“No it isn’t ya moron! That’s just the crap scientists on TV shove down our throats!” 
 
“Oh wow, you truly are an ignorant buffoon, aren’t you?!” the man questioned,<strike> insulting her once again while</strike> laughing at her. 
 
“What’d you say?!” 
 
“Think about it you idiot! Why do you think you never see the Sun?” 
 
(End Music) 
 
“… The Sun…?” Erika questioned as if he was talking about some sort of myth. For one reason or another however, she truly had no idea what he was talking about. There was no time to think about it anyway. The two turned back toward the tsunami, as it was too close for comfort now. The male grinned madly and welcomed it while Eri only took a few steps back before screaming. 
 
 
- 
 
 
“No…!” Eri shouted while getting up in her bed. She halted whatever movements she was going to make because she realized… this was the real world. The girl was <strike>only</strike> in a purple nightgown, in her bed. 
 
“Eri!” a male voice shouted, practically busting the door down as he barged in. “You okay?! What happened?!” 
 
“… Kaien…” Eri <strike>only</strike> said <strike>the man’s name before</strike> getting up. He stood there, <strike>completely</strike> confused and very worried. But she calmly walked over to her bedroom window and looked out of it. There was nothing but clouds outside. However, she could see the beach right outside with this(what view?) view. “… I’ll tell you about it later… I had a really bad nightmare. … I’m back now, though…”[/spoiler]
 
You said you have problems telling, not showing. It seems to me you show us, and then you tell us what you just showed us. Work on using the other 4 senses, it's a very sight diven piece. Your point-of-view jumps all over the place. I personally don't like that, but I guess it's up to you. Just make sure it's clear who's point of view we're with.

iCherry · March 19, 2012

Proofreader has told me that he knows it's one of my fics by things like that. My previous editor told me it's apparently my style of writing as well. It is a very, [i]very[/i] irritating problem I have that I use to make it look more detailed.

As for the point-of-view jumping, I see what you mean. While I haven't gotten complaints about it until now, I really should've been working on that. . _.

Thank you for posting, I've been fighting to get them lately. I'll try fixing up things as I go along.

Vairocana · March 19, 2012

[spoiler=]2 
Eri and Kaien
 
“Mmm… all the cake of Sweetland is mine for the taking…” Erika mumbled in her sleep, <strike>having some sort of bizarre dessert filled dream</strike>. She was even drooling about it, soaking a portion of her pillow in saliva. 
 
“Erika! Get up!” a voice shouted from outside of the room, loud enough to be clearly heard from downstairs. The damsel’s(this is just me, but I really don&#39;t like the use of the word &quot;damsel&quot;. It makes her feel weak, imo) eyes popped open<strike>, and</strike> with an incredibly annoyed expression <strike>followed</strike>. She groaned in frustration while turning over to the side, hoping to go back to sleep. “Lunch is ready, and I have to get to work now. So get down here!” 
 
“ Ugh. Monica.” Sleeping Beauty muttered the name in <strike>absolute</strike> disgust. The yelling was obviously not going to stop, and that woman would just stomp her way up here and force Eri to get up. With no way out, the girl <strike>just began to sit</strike> sat up <strike>in her bed</strike>. Eri yawned and stretched, then got on her feet and walked <strike>around the room</strike>(we can infer that she walks around the room the the window so there is no need to explicitly state it...although I would say &quot;across&quot; would have been a better word, unless she&#39;s actually walking along the walls of her room to get to the window) to the window. The pink carpet she <strike>was walking</strike> walked (was ___-ing weakens the sentence. Whenever you can, avoid it) on was littered with multiple objects: Cards, dolls, the remote to the large HD TV in there. <strike>It was clearly very messy</strike>(you&#39;ve shown us it is messy, you don&#39;t need to tell us as well), and she <strike>looked</strike> was irritated with the way she was stepping on everything. Erika managed to make it without stepping on anything sharp, fortunately. 
 
“Eri!!” 
 
“Shut up! I’m coming down in a minute!” the disrespectful child shouted in response. <strike>After a moment,</strike> She sighed in a bit of depression and looked outside. The same beach and ocean were there, just like they were in the middle of the night. As were the sea of clouds blocking most light from the outer world(&quot;outer world&quot; sounds odd, unless she&#39;s living inside some sort of dome or something). There was nothing to be happy about, because the sky <strike>has</strike> had always been like this, <strike>every single day</strike>(if the sky has always been like this, then the sky has been like this every single day, because that means the exact same thing). 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9knvLA81LjU" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Calming Tide</a>) 
 
- 
 
My name is Erika Kourin. I’m a sixteen-year old girl and an average duelist. I like to think there’s nothing wrong with me, like I’m a completely normal person, but I’m not. Ever since I was born, I’ve been able to hear the voices of Duel Monsters. Last night was the very first time they were ever clear and direct. I’m going to tell him about it… he might know what’s up. 
 
Other than that, people say nothing is like what it used to be, but everything that’s here in this world now is normal to me. I grew up with the cloudy skies, so I don’t know what the “Sun” is. No one ever taught me.
 
So I really don&#39;t like this little blurb. Is this supposed to be her thinking? Who thinks &quot;My name is ___ and I am ___ years old, and this gender, and here&#39;s stuff about me, etc etc&quot; No one does that. You&#39;re telling us stuff outside of your narrative, basically. It breaks the &quot;fictional dream&quot; you&#39;re trying to establish. 
- 
 
“Eri, I know you’re probably doing some woman thing in there or whatever, and I’m gonna let ya finish. But Mom is going to flip her lid <strike>even more</strike> if you don’t hurry the hell up!” <strike>the male’s voice from yesterday</strike> Kaien (we know his name already, just use it.) spoke directly through the door. This made the girl turn around and angrily scream from how ridiculous that woman’s impatience was (so she literally gave out a wordless scream in anger about her mom(?) being impatient? That seems...kind of melodramatic.). The man left her to dig<strike>ging</strike> through<strike>,</strike> and trying on various things from piles of clothes. 
 
After about ten minutes, she finally <strike>starting coming down a</strike> came down the white staircase wearing the clothes she had on in her dream last night. On the first floor were many beautiful and expensive antiques. Hand carved statues, large plant vases with special <strike>designs of animals</strike> animal designs, leaves, and other things, and far too many objects made out of glass. A man sat on the red sofa <strike>in the room</strike> wearing a simple outfit consisting of a black<strike>, short sleeved</strike> (t-shirts by definition have short sleeves) T-Shirt and blue jeans. He had short and somewhat messy black hair, along with navy blue colored eyes in contrast to Eri’s lighter blue. (try fitting in descriptions in between dialogue and actions. When you sit down and describe a character for several lines it breaks the flow.) Standing <strike>up</strike> by the furniture was a woman with long black hair. <strike>hair similar to the boy’s, only more refined and much longer</strike>. She wore <strike>formal clothing of</strike> a skirt suit (suits, by definition, are formal), all matching black colors. <strike>Both of</strike> The females stared at <strike>one</strike> each another, aggravated <strike>with</strike> by the sight of the other. 
 
“Erika.” the older woman said. 
 
“Monica.” Eri replied just as blunt and uninterested as her. 
 
“Be grateful I let you sleep as long as you did. Your food is in the kitchen, I have to go to work.”(is there a reason she couldn&#39;t have made the food and left before Eri woke up?) the lady wanted the ingrate to be happy, and did her more of a favor for even leaving a dish(I don&#39;t understand what the last part of this sentence means, and you switched pov again). She turned her back and <strike>began walking</strike> walked toward the front door. Before going out, she looked back and blew a kiss to the boy <strike>still there</strike>. “Bye bye Kaien!” 
 
“Bye mom…” he replied, <strike>sounding completely</strike> embarrassed. With that, she left. 
 
“Good, now we can get some peace and quiet. Monica’s such a b****.” Eri spoke <strike>up</strike> as soon as that irritating woman left. The guy beside her just sighed, sad to see how the two <strike>basically</strike> hated each other <strike>with passion</strike>(hate is passionate by default). 
 
“Can’t you two get along? I mean, I get along with your dad, so why can’t you get along with my mom?” 
 
“My dad isn’t an <strike>unpleasant</strike> a******(a******s are unpleasant. That&#39;s why they&#39;re a******s), that’s why.” she said <strike>to him</strike>(they are literally the only two people there, of course she said it to him, no need to explicitly state it) while coming out with some pizza <strike>on a plate</strike>(this would be one of the times where you want to say that she went into the kitchen). Eri sat down by Kaien<strike>,</strike> and looked at his face for a moment. He was annoyed with the strained relationship between the two, but knew there was no way to ever fix it, so he said nothing else. 
 
- 
 
This is my step Brother, Kaien Kourin. That&#39;s not his real last name of course. His mom married my dad and never really minded being called by my father&#39;s surname. Since then, Kaien and I have been pretty close. I was skeptical about it at first, since I was used to being an only child, but I ended up really liking him. He’s like a big brother I’ve always wanted, because he always helps and cheers me up. Unlike his mother, who was only interested in dad. She doesn’t even care about me, which is fine because I never cared about her.
 
THIS IS TOTALLY UNNEEDED. You&#39;ve already told us ALL of this within the narrative. I know that Kaien is Monica&#39;s son (&quot;bye mom&quot;), I know that Monica is Eri&#39;s stepmother (calling her by her first name), I know that Eri and Kaien are close (him coming to check on her when she was having that nightmare, the way they interact). 
- 
 
(End Music) 
 
“So you wanna explain why you woke up screaming <strike>‘No…!’</strike> in the middle of the night?” Kaien said, <strike>questioning the girl&#39;s earlier outburst</strike>. Though the way he said it made Eri start choking on her food. He made it sound like it was some… lucid wet dream(....in what world does screaming &quot;No!&quot; translate into a lucid wet dream?). Kaien hit his sister in the back to make her spit the piece out on the plate. The girl took a few seconds to catch her breath<strike> after nearly choking to death</strike> before responding. 
 
“What the hell gives you some crazy idea like that?!” 
 
“Relax! It was a joke!” the boy said <strike>in his defense</strike>, only because it looked like she was about to punch him in the face. Eri grabbed a bottle of water on the table and <strike>immediately</strike> started drinking it. He was going to say that was for him, but he decided it was best not to further push her.(pov switch) 
 
(<a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AU6zMh0bQwo&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Tension</a>) 
 
“… I had a nightmare…” she informed Kaien of what she said before after taking a drink(this sentence makes no sense). 
 
“Tell me about it.” <strike>a concerned big brother requested, wanting to help</strike> he said concerned, wanting to help. He felt Eri in a state of confusion and fear while trying to start off. She was hesitant to continue and trembled in place. 
 
“Y-You remember about me being able to hear voices, right…?” 
 
“Yeah. You said the cards talk to you. What about it?” 
 
“They talked to me directly, taking me to some Dream World.” Eri told him <strike>about</strike> from the <strike>very</strike> beginning, recalling the exact events clearly enough to frighten herself. Normally, not a single person would believe in some nonsense like this. But Kaien was different. Kaien was the type to find Eri’s ability to be very interesting, and was intrigued by the existence of this place she spoke of. 
 
“Wait<strike>;</strike>, is it like one of those Dream World things in the stories with some desires coming true or something?” 
 
“How the hell would that have been a nightmare then?” she replied <strike>to his stupid question, sounding</strike>, very upset. Eri actually grabbed one of the couch pillows and hit him with it. 
 
“Oh! Ah! Okay, okay! I’m sorry! Keep going!” Kaien shouted, <strike>and then begged her to stop and continue the story</strike>. <strike>He was deeply regretting opening his mouth to say what he did. She was beating him hard with that pillow!</strike> 
 
“Idiot!” 
 
“Come on, just tell me more!” 
 
“Hmph!” Eri pouted and put an end to her cushion assault. <strike>She was mad because while she was trying to be serious about this, he was being stupid</strike>. Much to her irritation, this was normal for him. 
 
“… Okay, Dream World, what did it look like?” 
 
“… We were standing on water, and it was all foggy…” the girl spoke the vivid image in her mind, but while <strike>saying that</strike>she said that, Kaien found something very odd about what she said. (pov) 
 
(End Music, <a class="bbc_url" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aywKW4cunY&amp;feature=related" rel="nofollow external" title="External link">Mystery</a>) 
 
“’We’?” the man asked <strike>about the first part</strike>. After the reaction he got however, he wished he <strike>didn’t</strike> hadn&#39;t. Eri seemed to get even more scared <strike>than she did before</strike>. It wasn’t anything she was remembering about his appearance, <strike>descriptions of appearance</strike>. it was the insane laughter that <strike>was echoing</strike> echoed throughout <strike>the </strike>her mind. Then it began to flash to the ferocious beasts that appeared(I don&#39;t quite understand what you&#39;re saying here). All moving in to destroy her... “Eri, what’s wrong? Who was there?!” 
 
“I-I dunno…!” she replied with a shaky voice. 
 
“What do ya mean you dunno?” 
 
“I couldn’t see him… only heard his voice. He called himself ‘The Shadow’.” 
 
“… You sure this wasn’t some cliché storm dream(I don&#39;t know any kind of storm dream, cliche or otherwise, that involves men called &quot;The Shadow&quot;)?” Kaien just had to ask that because now this was really sounding unbelievable, even by his standards. 
 
“It was real… it was real because… when we dueled-“ 
 
“You dueled in your dream?” 
 
“Yes…” Eri confirmed, which just sounded silly. Dream World? That wasn’t too bad. Talking cards? She’s had that since birth, so that’s fine too. Playing a game of Duel Monsters in said dream? Now that was just plain ridiculous.(I&#39;m not sure how dueling in a dream is more ridiculous than talking to bits of cardboard) 
 
“… And you’re certain every single bit of this is real?” Kaien had to ask once more, because if it <strike>was</strike> were (subjunctive mood- if it is a hypothetical, it is always &quot;were&quot;), this was a very strange force they were going to dealing with. 
 
“Kaien… what’s the sun?” 
 
“Eh?” 
 
“I’ve never seen the sun… you know all those guys on TV talking about the world ending, right?” 
 
“Those bunch o’ whack jobs? Everyone and their mother knows about them.” Kaien replied <strike>to her question</strike> while leaning back on the couch, regaining his composure<strike> after being surprised by the existence of another person in the dream</strike>. 
 
“He said to think about it, why don’t we see the sun? He also said that that world was ending too, because a big wave came and nearly hit us…” <strike>Eri made note of that man’s words and repeated them to him, while also telling of a possible impending doom for that place.</strike> Kaien… was honestly at a loss for words. He just looked at his younger sister, who seemed to be very tired. He couldn’t think of any further input on the person she faced, but…(pov) 
 
(End Music) 
 
“If the world is endin’, then I’m gettin’ a Doctor’s Degree.” 
 
“That’s about as possible as you getting a girlfriend.” 
 
“Ouch…” Kaien winced<strike> at her harsh words, even</strike> putting his hand over his heart and clutching as if he had been stabbed. They both began to laugh <strike>at their sarcastic remarks</strike>. Kaien’s plan to get a giggle out of Eri and drop some of the serious tension in the air worked.
 
“… Hey… you want this?” Eri offered the rest of the pizza to her brother. 
 
“Not hungry?” 
 
“Not really… and if it was made by Monica, I really don’t want it.” 
 
“Come on, you won’t even accept her food?!” 
 
“I don’t like her and she doesn’t like me! How do I know if this isn’t poisoned or something?!” 
 
“Jesus Christ…” Kaien said while facepalming(I....really don&#39;t like the use of the phrase &quot;facepalming&quot; in an actual story.), just awestruck by how she avoided his mother: Like a plague. She <strike>just</strike> handed him the plate, and he took a bite out of the piece she started on. 
 
“… Hey um, Kaien-“ 
 
“Go to bed.” 
 
“Huh?” 
 
“You’re tired as hell. Being in that Dream World must not do you well for sleep, sis.” Kaien took note of the bags under her eyes. Honestly, the rest of her just looked ill. As the big brother, it was his job to watch out for his weak little sister. 
 
“... Kaien…” Eri started while getting up. 
 
“Yea-“ he was interrupted because he took a pillow to the face. 
 
“Stop trying to be cool.” the girl commented <strike>on his lame take on being the responsible elder sibling</strike>. 
 
“Go to bed dammit.” an irritated Kaien demanded. “I’ll duel you tomorrow or somethin’ to get that dream off of your mind.” 
 
“Pffft, Kaien, we both know that I’m the better duelist in the family.” 
 
“That a challenge, missy?” Kaien asked, getting up and right in her face all bothered (&quot;all bothered&quot; is an awkard phrase that is going to make me start shipping some KaienxEri, because that&#39;s what it sounds like). Of course, he didn’t scare her in the slightest. The girl only put on an amused expression at his reaction. 
 
“Yep! Or are you too scared to play card games with a girl…?” 
 
“Get your ass in bed, I’m kicking it tomorrow.” 
 
“That’s what I wanted to hear, you being yourself.”(was he not being himself earlier? I don&#39;t see any discernible difference in his behavior)[/spoiler]

I have no idea why it keeps breaking my code. :/

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Yu-Gi-Oh! Genesis vs Armageddon [PG-13] (Chapter 2 is up, giving reps out for detailed comments!)

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