Yu-Gi-Oh! Heroic Potential

[Aerion Brightflame]

As everyone else is mentioning it, even though 8000 life points makes it all more realistic. It not only increases the work on your end, but it just drags things out way to much, which will cut down on people who want to read.

I'm not saying you have to change it, since i personally i don't mind what size a duel is, i enjoy reading them all the same, but it's just a suggestion. Especially since some people have short attention spans. But it's your fic, so your choice.

[SerenadeDSM]

Whoakay, I did not expect this many reviews in just one week. .-. Before I start commenting specifically, I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to read and post.

[quote name='Onewhosetmalicious' timestamp='1342287693' post='5977888']
Yay you are here too! Glad to see a familiar face in this forum Good luck with fic, I see you got a good start already! (Btw gave you a little rep for the OP, I assume that helps people here or something XDDD)
[/quote]

Ah, nice to see you here too. Thanks for the support; now I'll be able to read your fic with Pojo's Card tags randomly inserting themselves into the prose. XD I wish you the best of luck.

[quote name='HiveNet' timestamp='1342365295' post='5979000']
Some else who uses ancient cards in a fic. That's nice to know.

This is an intresting fic. Firstly i say well done on the quality of duels. You haven't stretched them out to much, and you have a nice talent for the virtual duels. Your descriptions of the attacks, and the impacts is detailed, but not overhwhelming.

Interactions between characters is good as well, particularly in the tutorial. Even for people with a decent understanding of how the game works it isn't tedious to read which i have seen happen before.

My favourite chapter so far would be chapter 4, as i found it an awesome duel. I am mostly looking forwards to how you will work Pegasus's cameo into the wider story. Since, even though its early days, it seems kind of out of place.

Anywho. I'm looking forwards to reading more.
[/quote]

Thanks. I try to focus on the characters a bit before I kick off too much into the plot, which is why the first few chapters have been slow (still regret the tutorial, but not much I can do about that now >_<). While some canon characters do have a strong role in this, the main focus is gonna stay on Josh and Dave.

[quote name='Majestic Star Bahamut' timestamp='1342367165' post='5979020']
Just caught up and have read Chapter 2-4.

Well, I say read, to be honest I found myself skimming a lot of it. Chapter 2 I skipped the duel and read the bits at the end.

There's... nothing going on. Other than that one scene at the start of Chapter 3 where Josh is scared something's watching him, realises there is, then... chases after it? (Because that's normal behaviour in that situation and keeping in character shown ten seconds before hand. "Hey mister dark and sinister, come back.") From then on its just... a duel tournament.

The duels are not drawing me in either, because of the old-skoolness and the long 8000 LP thing, but what really threw me in that last one was the Jurrac. That made no sense at all that there'd be a single Jurrac in an otherwise old dino deck, and a Jurrac that isn't Guiaba or Velo. It just was a dinosaur with an effect that went off in that situation, but it being there in the first place was just really weird and inconsistent to have a new card pop up in a load of really old cards.[/quote]

While I'm glad that you admitted to skimming through my story instead of pretending that you read through it thoroughly, I will admit that, when I first read this comment, it came across as a little disrespectful. I know that wasn't your intent - you seem to be a nice guy - but just be careful how you word things because I almost blew off your review altogether. (Which I hate doing, because that's a dis-service to everyone involved) You can't say "nothing's going on" immediately after skimming through half a story. No matter how good or poor the writing is, skimming significantly dimmishes the quality of a work because some of the information isn't being entirely processed by the brain, and key parts can get skipped over. This story may not have the fastest pacing, but that doesn't mean progress isn't being made. New characters have been introduced, Josh witnessed his first live-action duel, Dave's deck and playstyle was shown, and a connection to the prologue has partially been made. Is it mind blogging? No, not really. But it's certainly not "nothing". I save my mind-blogging tickets for when things become more important.

As I mentioned in the comment above, and later in response to the other posts, I take it slow at first to build a foundation for the characters with small plotpoints in between, and with gradual plot progression as I go along. Right now most of that is happening behind the scenes, because, honestly, there's truthfully no reason for either Josh or Dave to be involved with Pegasus's/Kaiba's situation. If I just threw them in there, it'd come across as contrived, and no one likes that. Everything'll be tied together soon. There's no ticking clock right now, but that's only because no one realizes they're in danger yet.

I don't mean to sound overly defensive, so I'm sorry if I come across that way. It's just that you didn't explain very well [i]why[/i] you felt that nothing was going on. Because it wasn't connected to the prologue? That was done on purpose, to catch you off guard. Right now the plot and characters are slightly disconnected - running parallel to each other, but are not yet one entity - and it's only within the next few chapters that things start to fall together. ((And, once again, I regret the tutorial; normally I'd never let this happen so late >.>))

Hopefully that made sense, and I hope there's no ill-will between me and anyone here. I like to keep the peace.

Now that that's out of the way, let the responses continue!

Normally I would agree about the comment regarding Josh, except it actually [i]is[/i] in character for him to act timid and then suddenly have small bursts of courage and curiousity. This is just the first time it was shown; you'll see more of that later on. If that still doesn't make sense:
[spoiler=Minor, unimportant spoiler]I also hinted that that scene was actually a dream, so everything could technically be handwaved. It really depends on how you interpret dreams in general.[/spoiler]

I'll address the long-duel thing later in this post.

As far as the Jurrac card goes, I don't really see the problem. I intend to use a reasonable blend of older and newer cards in this fic, depending on how I want the story to flow. Techinically speaking, any card could really exist in any deck, but people tend to lean on synergy to dictate their choices (at least, in real life). In a fanfic, I tend to just go with the type of cards that match the character. This specific character uses Dinosaur cards. Jurrac Ptera is a Dinosaur card, and it happens to have a good effect that makes for an unexpected openning move. Does it "call for the situation"? I guess. Then again, most non-IRL duels are made that way, since the writer has to think ahead about other parts of the story (or, in this case, the duel). I intended for both duelists to throw their opponent's monsters back to the hand, and that's exactly what happened. Jurrac Ptera just happened to be one of the cards that covered both of the creteria. It was never really stated that Rachael didn't have other Jurracs in her deck, just that I dislike having characters restricted too tightly to archetypes, which plagues the metagame to no end. There are plenty of cases in this story where archetypes are used, but I try to mix things up every once and a while.

Like I said before, despite being a DM fic, I do slip in a lot more newer cards than you would normally expect, since I appreciate both the old and new aspects of dueling, and hope others share my interest.

[quote name='LowDog002' timestamp='1342374310' post='5979115']
Bah! Bahamut doesn't know what he's saying. I just got done reading the fourth chapter and I REALLY ENJOYED IT! To be honest, when I read through it, I didn't notice anything about the Jurrac monsters being misplaced. Like, since I am more geared to the Six Samurai and Ninja themed decks, I wouldn't be know anything about the dino themed decks. However, the exact opposite would be true as well; if you used a warrior themed deck, I would probably be like Bahamut and say that the deck was inconsistent.

ANYWAYS!!!
I really enjoyed the chapter and now I am a true believer that this story has true potential.
(I;m currently waiting for chapter 5, so you better hurry up man)
[/quote]

Honestly, I find that worrying about consistency too much bogs down the story by restricting the types of cards people use. I prefer cards that are able to synergize with other cards outside of their intended decktype, since that's how interesting decks are built.

And don't worry, Chapter 5 is going to be up tomorrow.

[quote name='Randomflyingobjects' timestamp='1342411595' post='5979573']
I started reading this fanfic just to see if it was worth my time. The first chapter was slow, but I took a chance and read the whole thing. There were a bunch of odd parts in the first chapter, but it started getting better by the chapter. Anyway, I critiqued your story, though there are some editing glitches.

Actually, besides chapter 1, there aren't enough problems to to a thorough critique for the other 3 chapters.

Anyway, it is a bit slow, especially with the 8000 point thing, but I like how there's an expert duelist, along with a new player, both starring. Just do a bit of fixing the first chapter, and we're good.
[/quote]

Thanks for the thorough critic. I won't specifically respond to each point made, but note that everything has been acknowledged and you really did help me fix Dave's monologue. I've been trying to figure out a good way of trimming it down without omitting it entirely, and your advice is just what I was looking for. As for the "searching" Card Analyzer thing, Chapter One is truly the only chapter where it analyzes so much stuff - after that it doesn't appear too often, except in the ending sequence.

I'll refer to your points when I go through my mass-editting of this. Thanks again.

[quote name='PirateQueen28' timestamp='1342420734' post='5979630']
[color=#FF33CC][size=4]I really liked your story it amazing! Your story also helped me undersatnd the rules more better so that way I know how to play better. [/size][/color]
[color=#FF33CC][size=4]I'll tell you this , when ever I need to look up the rule I'm going to come here and look through your story for help!!!!!! Every good job on you writting skills; keep it up. [/size][/color]
[/quote]

Thanks, good to know some people like the tutorial, even if it is a bit dull.

[quote name='Neo Galaxy' timestamp='1342447234' post='5979785']
[font=courier new,courier,monospace]Just finished Chapter 2.[/font]

I can definitely say that you don't have any issues when it comes to detail and describing things well. In fact, you have a really nice flow that I wish I had when it came to writing duels, because I feel like that's where I end up struggling most. You manage to briefly describe most of the cards with what appears to be relative ease, and from there, you just let the duel write itself.

The complaints that I have up to this point is how boring it is, for the most part. I'm sure it's something you've addressed, but it's just difficult to get into the story (at least so far) when the entire chapter is just a recap of something I learned how to do eight years ago. Aside from that couple of seconds at the end of the chapter, it doesn't appear there's much in the way of plot development at all.

Now I'm not sure if you're doing something similar to my own Fic, where you sort of set up a bunch of details and proceed to unravel the plot with one big answer session, and if so, I guess I'll find out as I continue to read.

As is though, I'd say you have [i]heroic[/i] potential, and it can really only get better from here, so I'll keep reading.[/quote]

Yeah, once again, I'll say that I regret the tutorial. It becomes relevent later on, so its too important to scrap entirely, but it was something the story could do without. Eh, too late now. Hopefully it didn't cause too much harm.

Yes, you hit the nail on the head. Everything starts in a slow progression - hinting at the threat, introducing the characters, the environment, the circumstances - until the peace breaks and everything goes into chaos. This is how I structure my stories.

As I said before, Heroic Potential has a lot of lurking plot points that haven't shown their faces yet because the characters haven't been given a reason to get involved. Most importantly, Josh doesn't even know how to play the game, so throwing him in there makes no sense whatsoever. The tournament serves as a stepping stone which'll allow the characters to mingle amongst themselves until they collide full-force into the plot. I find that when I just dive directly into the drama and action without setting up anything beforehand, I've usually wasted precious time that I could've spent letting people know who my characters are and what they are like. For some stories, immediate action is not the way to go. This is one of those stories.

Does that make sense?

[quote name='Pacmanexus' timestamp='1342448201' post='5979793']
First off, I'd like to say that your writing is really good, and I'm gonna continue reading this because of that. But there are some things about it that I don't like...

The first two chapters were boring, but they were supposed to be so it's OK I guess. Problem is, the duel in the later chapter was boring too. In Dave vs Rachael, I never felt any sense of drama. I never really felt like Dave was in serious danger of losing. Even if Tyranno had destroyed BLS, Dave still would've had substantial life points left. And his last turn was just a bunch of direct attacks...Id say one big problem is that with 8000 LP, and people winning like Dave, the duels seem more like IRL duels than fan fic/anime duels. And like Bahamut said, there's no plot going on...if I didn't want another Yugioh fic to read, and this one's well written, I would've stopped reading this because it's honestly kind of boring at this point.

I suppose in later chapters, stuff will happen, so let's see what goes on then.
[/quote]

[quote name='Neo Galaxy' timestamp='1342449384' post='5979804']
^ Now that you mention this, I want to mention it too.

As "realistic" as the 8000 Life Point duels are, I've never been a fan of using them, because it makes the duels far too dragged out and boring to the point where the reader just gets bored, especially because some people dislike reading duels in the first place. I'd suggest trying the 4000 point format as it allows you a bit more creativity coming up with effects and the sort, while not making it feel as though you're reading a novel.
[/quote]

[quote name='HiveNet' timestamp='1342450118' post='5979814']
As everyone else is mentioning it, even though 8000 life points makes it all more realistic. It not only increases the work on your end, but it just drags things out way to much, which will cut down on people who want to read.

I'm not saying you have to change it, since i personally i don't mind what size a duel is, i enjoy reading them all the same, but it's just a suggestion. Especially since some people have short attention spans. But it's your fic, so your choice.
[/quote]

Well, might as well go explain my mindset for the duels.

When I first started writing this fic, I had just been re-introduced to the game, and the fast-paceness was still shocking news to me (and Card Games on Motorcyles, but that's a story for another time). The first duel I wrote featured Black Luster Soldier, as you can see here (this wasn't the first one, though). I felt that the duels would end too quickly whenever Black Luster Soldier showed up, which happens alot in this fic, because of its massive ATK. So when I had the option to pick between 4000 and 8000, I leaned on 8000, and didn't think it would be too much of an issue.

Some of the duels seem to drag on from an outline perspective, but, judging from responses on other sites, that feeling seems to go away the more the plot directly ties with the duels.

I didn't really give the sense of danger in this particular duel because it was the first round of the tournament, and I wanted to show Dave's skill level as a duelist. He's gonna struggle; I agree that it'd boring if he didn't. In this fic, I don't really focus as much on Life Points as I do on control of the duel. Honestly, nowadays, how often do you see duels that end in two turns because of massive swarming and control? Even with 8000 Life Points, its VERY possible for a duel to end quickly if someone gets a good starting hand. A person could have 8000 or even 10000 Life Points, but have no useful cards on the field, staring down four strong monsters, and then topdeck into a dead draw. They lose, despite the fact that they have plenty of Life Points.

It's not so much that I disagree about the dragging at some points; it's more that I don't think pacing is an issue in that aspect. Plot-important duels can go on for a VERY long time and people will still watch/read them because they're engrossed in the drama. OTKs can occur and all those Life Points become 0 in one second. Just look at Josh's first duel. He may have made a newbie mistake, but it still proves the point. I didn't choose 8000 Life Points because it was realistic, I chose it because I felt that I would be able to succesfully tell a story by doing so. 4000 LP duels rely alot on attack-negating and removal cards, and that gets a little repetitive after a while. OTKs are even easier to pull off that way, and, with Dave's Black Luster Soldier, I felt that it'd be too easy for him to win, which is equally as boring.

Speaking of Black Luster Soldier, I treat some of the prevelent monsters as characters in their own right, and Black Luster Soldier happens to be one of the main stars. The duels in themselves are a story of a different plane, which is why I usually tap into the descriptive levels of dueling, instead of just telling everyone what the monsters look like. In Chapter Four, I showed that Dave's cards work together with him to reach a common goal, especially noted in the Covering Fire scene and the triple direct attack at the end.

Was there drama? On the field, yes. Outside of the stage, no. You could tell the drama wasn't high because Adam and Josh had an unrelated conversation in the middle of his duel. It wasn't [i]meant[/i] to be a high drama duel in terms of winning or losing. The only pressure on either player was that they would be eliminated from the tournament, which, in the long run, isn't a huge deal. Dave, however, didn't see it that way - he wanted to win because this is the first chance he has to achieve his dream, as mentioned in Chapter Three. The main purpose of this duel was to show how Dave plays and introduce Adam to Josh. That's really it.

Whoops, I went and had a little side rant. Hopefully I covered everything. ;

[Synchronized]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)][quote]Yeah, once again, I'll say that I regret the tutorial. It becomes relevent later on, so its too important to scrap entirely, but it was something the story could do without. Eh, too late now. Hopefully it didn't cause too much harm.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Yes, you hit the nail on the head. Everything starts in a slow progression - hinting at the threat, introducing the characters, the environment, the circumstances - until the peace breaks and everything goes into chaos. This is how I structure my stories.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]As I said before, Heroic Potential has a lot of lurking plot points that haven't shown their faces yet because the characters haven't been given a reason to get involved. Most importantly, Josh doesn't even know how to play the game, so throwing him in there makes no sense whatsoever. The tournament serves as a stepping stone which'll allow the characters to mingle amongst themselves until they collide full-force into the plot. I find that when I just dive directly into the drama and action without setting up anything beforehand, I've usually wasted precious time that I could've spent letting people know who my characters are and what they are like. For some stories, immediate action is not the way to go. This is one of those stories.[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Does that make sense?[/quote][/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Of course, it definitely makes sense, I don't doubt at all that you know what you're doing - it's very well written. Hey, if the story ends up being really good, then this'll totally be worth the wait regardless, so no complaints on this end. ^^;[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]A bit of shameless promotion perhaps, but maybe you could take a gander at my Fic when you get some spare time, too. It's awesome to see the activity in this section is picking up. [/background][/size][/font][/color]

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Neo Galaxy' timestamp='1342460978' post='5979978']
[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]Of course, it definitely makes sense, I don't doubt at all that you know what you're doing - it's very well written. Hey, if the story ends up being really good, then this'll totally be worth the wait regardless, so no complaints on this end. ^^;[/background][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#5A5A5A][font=tahoma, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3][background=rgb(251, 253, 254)]A bit of shameless promotion perhaps, but maybe you could take a gander at my Fic when you get some spare time, too. It's awesome to see the activity in this section is picking up. [/background][/size][/font][/color]
[/quote]

Thanks, it's always good to have some reassurance. *thumbs up*

I'll gladly read your fic. It may be a while before I comment, though - I've already promised a few others I would catch up on their fics, and I've been dealing with alot of medical problems recently, so I'm a little behind. XD

[Synchronized]

[quote name='SerenadeDSM' timestamp='1342461356' post='5979984']
Thanks, it's always good to have some reassurance. *thumbs up*

I'll gladly read your fic. It may be a while before I comment, though - I've already promised a few others I would catch up on their fics, and I've been dealing with alot of medical problems recently, so I'm a little behind. XD
[/quote]

Of course, that would be awesome! ^^;

Hope everything's alright!

[Des ＨＥＲＯ]

First thing I should say, I do like the aspect of a Main Character start to learn Duel Monsters at the beginning because it allows development to flourish easier than a Main Character being a champion at the beginning of the story. However, there aren't that much characters that are actually important in the story. From what has been shown, I could guarantee that Josh and Dave are important while guessing that Elisa and Adam might be important to the Plot. As for the other shown characters (Besides the cameos), I feel confident that they are minor because the two boys during the first two chapters had no names and barely spoke when watching, also Rachael along with the possibility of the remaining finalists to face Dave (Besides Adam...Maybes) probably only have the purpose in the Plot to be just fodders for Dave to beat. Only two characters in the Tournament have been given the most significant attention and are "coincidentally" at each half of the boards, so it is obvious who's going to be in the finals unfortunately...

I do find the story well written but the insignificance of a revealed plot (As already mentioned from past comments) are "ruining" your well written chapters and making them a bit boring. Chapter 1/2 were boring because everyone had around the same deck making most tactics dull and each winner won with ease (Elisa obliterated both Josh and unknown Opponent while barely taking Life Points making it realistic by it happening IRL yet dull for fanfic entertainment). Chapter 3 was probably the best so far because I found it to be a nice build up along with a potential rival to Dave. Chapter 4 had an interesting duel but it was obvious that Rachael would be defeated by Dave as she had no build up or importance unless the end of Chapter 3 is suppose to be what excites us. Your story is good and has so much more potential but that won't be achieved until the Plot properly develops.

I like how you put old cards for acting as a Tutorial to Josh for him to eventually develop and yet surprisingly have orginal/decent "choreographed" duels. But the cameo characters do limit what you can do...For one, Pegasus died sometime before the WRGP because one of the sponsors of the WRGP (Pegasus J Crawford Memorial Foundation) suggests that he passed away before the WRGP. How long ago before is undecidable, but it does limit the Synchro Archetypes you could introduce for Josh to learn from (I think Jurac's were late in the Synchro era) and could damage you introducing Xyz Monsters to Josh without causing some confusion to your readers.


Apologies for the harsh critism but your fanfic is interesting but it lacks some elements that could hopefully be sorted in future chapters. I will definitely be continuing on reading this. Good luck!!!

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='destruction hero' timestamp='1342467370' post='5980114']
First thing I should say, I do like the aspect of a Main Character start to learn Duel Monsters at the beginning because it allows development to flourish easier than a Main Character being a champion at the beginning of the story. However, there aren't that much characters that are actually important in the story. From what has been shown, I could guarantee that Josh and Dave are important while guessing that Elisa and Adam might be important to the Plot. As for the other shown characters (Besides the cameos), I feel confident that they are minor because the two boys during the first two chapters had no names and barely spoke when watching, also Rachael along with the possibility of the remaining finalists to face Dave (Besides Adam...Maybes) probably only have the purpose in the Plot to be just fodders for Dave to beat. Only two characters in the Tournament have been given the most significant attention and are "coincidentally" at each half of the boards, so it is obvious who's going to be in the finals unfortunately...[/quote]

Can't say much on these points due to spoilers, but I do agree that the early portions of this story aren't exactly my strongest work. It might stem from the fact that this was also my first fanfic that ever made it past chapter five, so I was really just happy to reach that goal. Right now it has about 18 chapters written, and I really think the later ones are a better reflection of my writing, both structure-wise and plot-wise (although there is one later chapter that I struggled with pace-wise, but we'll cross that bridge when it comes >.>).

[quote]I do find the story well written but the insignificance of a revealed plot (As already mentioned from past comments) are "ruining" your well written chapters and making them a bit boring. Chapter 1/2 were boring because everyone had around the same deck making most tactics dull and each winner won with ease (Elisa obliterated both Josh and unknown Opponent while barely taking Life Points making it realistic by it happening IRL yet dull for fanfic entertainment). Chapter 3 was probably the best so far because I found it to be a nice build up along with a potential rival to Dave. Chapter 4 had an interesting duel but it was obvious that Rachael would be defeated by Dave as she had no build up or importance unless the end of Chapter 3 is suppose to be what excites us. Your story is good and has so much more potential but that won't be achieved until the Plot properly develops.[/quote]

And, once again, I regret the tutorial. I wish someone was over my shoulder when I started planning the fic and shouted "DITCH THE TUTORIAL! DITCH IT NOW!!" but it's a bit too late for that. Can't really say much otherwise on that subject.

The plot picks up in the next chapter, and by chapter six it'll have a more engrossing story. For now, all I can really say is sorry and hope you guys can bare with me until the story fixes itself. :/

[quote]I like how you put old cards for acting as a Tutorial to Josh for him to eventually develop and yet surprisingly have orginal/decent "choreographed" duels. But the cameo characters do limit what you can do...For one, Pegasus died sometime before the WRGP because one of the sponsors of the WRGP (Pegasus J Crawford Memorial Foundation) suggests that he passed away before the WRGP. How long ago before is undecidable, but it does limit the Synchro Archetypes you could introduce for Josh to learn from (I think Jurac's were late in the Synchro era) and could damage you introducing Xyz Monsters to Josh without causing some confusion to your readers.[/quote]

Actually, I may as well bring that point now.

As I said in an ealier post, I started planning and writing this story before I knew much about 5Ds and Synchro Monsters in general (I originally thought they were Ritual-esque monsters, and the monster levels could exceed the level indicated on the Synchro card like you can for some Ritual Spells). As in, I didn't know how far into the future 5Ds took place and didn't realize Pegasus would be dead in that timeline. Synchros do appear in this story. Not too many; I actually make a point of only bringing in about 3 or 4 initially, and I created those all myself. However, there ARE some archetypes that are from the 5Ds era, but nothing significant. Looking over my duel outlines now, no real Synchro monsters are ever actually referenced or used. I realized my mistake about that and tried to justify it by saying Synchros were 'recently developed', so hopefully it makes enough sense to function properly with the story.

Xyzs do not appear at all, since they were released far after Heroic Potential was initially posted.

As for the non-Synchro/Xyz related cards, I don't really see why anyone should limit themselves that much when it comes to writing the duels. I mean, I don't really see why a character using Shield Wing in a DM fic would cause a huge hassle, since it has no barring on the story and, realistically, any non-Tuner monster and non-Synchro support card could exist in the DM and GX eras, just that weren't shown because the characters never faced a person who used them. Perhaps that's a weak excuse, but, really, I'd rather use a bunch of card people may be able to recognize and enjoy as opposed to creating a huge amount of created-cards just to do the same job.

[quote]Apologies for the harsh critism but your fanfic is interesting but it lacks some elements that could hopefully be sorted in future chapters. I will definitely be continuing on reading this. Good luck!!!
[/quote]

I didn't find it to be that harsh. Hope things get better as time goes on.

[Randomflyingobjects]

So... you already have the entire series written? And you're making us wait this much?

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Randomflyingobjects' timestamp='1342491789' post='5980492']
So... you already have the entire series written? And you're making us wait this much?
[/quote]

Not the entire series, no, but a decent portion of it.

I guess I only posted a few chapters at first because I wanted to test the audience here. Some people get scared off by a large amount of chapters all at once, and I didn't want that to happen. That doesn't seem to be the case here, so I really have no reason to withhold them from you guys. You've all been very helpful - actually, I don't think I've received better reviews in my life - and I was going to post them more quickly now that I know people are interested.

I'll throw the schedule out the window for now and post the next two chapters in about a half hour (just need to finish off something IRL first).

I really am thankful for the support, guys.

This actually works out pretty well; since these chapters flow into directly into each other. I hope you guys like 'em.

[spoiler=Chapter Five]

[center][b][b]Chapter Five[/b][/b][/center]



“Let Round Two begin! First up is Dave Litenur vs. Lucas Coffing!”

Dave, already prepared for the duel, waited patiently for his next opponent to arrive. The announcer also waited, looking to his watch every so often to make sure that Lucas made the deadline. Just as he was about to disqualify him, another teenage boy dressed in dark clothes ran onto the stage.

“Sorry I’m late. The lines were backed up.”

He whipped out his Card Analyzer, shoved it into his Duel Disk, automatically activating its platforms. The two combined into a single unit and lights came to life on its surface. On the other end, Dave’s did the same. They both collected five cards in their left hands, then simultaneously shouted “Duel,” sending the crowd into a frenzy.


[center][Dave LP: (8000)] [Lucas LP: (8000)][/center]

“I’ll start,” Dave said. Even with the new addition to his hand he found that he didn’t have many options. Luckily he had a stall tactic in mind. “I summon Black Luster Guard in Defense Mode.”

The card’s projection appeared horizontally on the ground in front of him. Lights spiraled from the square depicted on it, creating a hurricane of twinkling energy. When it faded an army soldier sat on the card, holding a long rectangular shield that hid the rest of its body from view. Only those on Dave’s side of the arena could see that the soldier was wearing black and gold armor. On its helmet a pattern matching the shield’s design rested on its forehead. (200/[b][b]1800[/b][/b])

“When Black Luster Guard is summoned, four Black Luster Counters are automatically placed on it.”

The shield’s gems, each positioned so that they marked the corners of a perfect square, began to glow a golden yellow. Although nothing else about the shield had changed, the extra golden color seemed to enhance its defensive capabilities.

“I activate my Black Luster Guard’s effect,” Dave slid his finger along his Card Analyzer’s screen, then pointed at his monster to continue his explanation. “By removing a Black Luster Counter from it, I can Special Summon a Black Luster Guard Token. And I’ll do this four times.”

The shield’s light separated from each gem, which flew to either side of the guard. The lights hovered over the ground for several beats, then exploded in a contained area. The lights took on physical shape, eventually creating four replicas of the original Black Luster Guard. (200/[b][b]1800[/b][/b]) [x4]

“With that I’ll end my turn.”

Lucas drew, placing his new card with the others. “So you have a defense system in place already? Good move.” He contemplated a bit before starting his turn. “Come on out, Noble Sage – Hex!”

A hooded sorcerer teleported onto the field in a puff of smoke, gently floating towards the ground with its blue robes hanging slightly over its feet. It landed, crossing its arms, allowing its sleeves to wrinkle in the process. ([b][b]1600[/b][/b]/1300)

“Since he’s not strong enough to destroy your guards, I’ll give him the Book of Secret Arts to give him a boost.”

The Spell Card gleamed next to Lucas, sending a green book flying into the sorcerer’s hands. It opened the book to a page bookmarked with a quill, read it over, and used its newfound knowledge to increase its strength. ([b][b]1600 --> 1900[/b][/b]/1300 --> 1600)

“Now get rid of his Black Luster Guard,” he shouted, directing the attack at the original monster. In response the book emitted a green glow, which replicated in the spellcaster’s opposite hand. It extended its arm, releasing the energy, sending it across the arena. Black Luster Guard prepared its shield. The light from the blast gleamed off from its visor as it drew close. Unfortunately, the guard’s defenses were not strong enough and it shattered into bits of data.

Dave gritted his teeth, looking back to his hand. [i][i]I can’t wait for too long.[/i][/i]

“Now I set two face-down cards and end my turn.” The holograms appeared as instructed. Hex brought its hand back to its side.

“My draw.” Dave pulled a card, only to see it was a Spell Card, to his dismay. He glanced over his hand once again, determining what would be the best course of action.[i] [i]Within three turns he could easily break through my defenses. I gotta make a move before that happens.[/i][/i] He figured he could bluff a card, and set a useless Trap Card face-down before gesturing his turn’s end.

“Alright, I’ll summon Noble Sage – Nelit in Attack mode.” Another robed sorcerer teleported into existence. Unlike Hex, Nelit’s robes were green and its dark brown beard could be seen, protruding into a point near its chest. ([b][b]1500[/b][/b]/1200)

“Next I’ll activate Shield Crush, which allows me to destroy one Defense Position monster you control.”

The green bordered card reappeared to Lucas’s left in an instant and a bright blue energy sphere formed where the picture should have been. Once it finished charging, it burst out of the card, ramming into one of the Black Luster Guards’ shield. The blast ceased, revealing that it created several cracks in the warrior’s weapon, breaking it into fragments, followed by the destruction of the warrior itself.

“Now Hex, take out a third Guard!”

As ordered the sorcerer extended its arm again, shooting the green energy beam created by the spell from its book. Another Black Luster Guard Token had been obliterated, kicking up dust from where it once stood.

With three of his guards gone, only two remained. Dave looked pass the sorcerers, beyond his opponent, and gazed into the stands where he could see his seat. He saw the duelist, Adam, sitting in the seat next to his, but the two nearby were empty.

[i][i]Where’s Josh?[/i][/i]


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Exiting from the men’s room, Josh returned into the packed vestibule of the main room. He made his way through the crowd, consciously avoiding the long lines of people that stood waiting for their turn.

[i][i]I’m glad I got out of there alive[/i].[/i] He looked back to the men’s room as he walked past the cafeteria doors. The line stretched from the doorway, wrapping around the curved walls of the circular building, leaving only a few gaps for people to walk in and out of the arena’s halls. [i][i]This place is a mad house.[/i][/i]


Just as he turned to head back to the arena, a group of people dressed in blue uniforms cut him off, one of them bumping into him with a thud.

[i][i]Oww…[/i][/i]

“Sorry kid.” The man stepped back. Once Josh saw his cap and the badge pinned onto his shirt he realized that he was a cop. “Didn’t mean to run you over.”

“It’s no problem,” Josh said respectfully. If there’s no one else in the world he felt he could trust it was the police. Although his friends in high school had always spoken badly about them, they had an air of authority that made him feel safe. And rightfully so.

One of the officers up ahead called back at them. “Nathan, hurry up. We need to find that deck!” They watched the officer run again, then the man faced Josh.

“If you’ll excuse me.” He tipped his hat in goodbye, and followed the others through the cluster of people.

Josh walked back down his original path, wondering why the police were here. Well, the place is crowded, so maybe it was just a security measure in case of a fire. But they said something about a deck… Maybe someone in the tournament lost their deck. That would make sense. In a building like this, things could easily go missing. Settled with this thought, Josh rushed down the hallway leading into the arena. He just hoped he didn’t miss anything while he was gone.


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Back on stage, Dave drew another card, angered by poor luck streak. If this continued his dream of dueling Kaiba would go down the drain. He couldn’t let that happen. But at the moment all he could do was wait.

“Really? Skipping a turn on me? I guess this will be easily than I thought it would,” Lucas joked. The comment stung Dave but he let it off with a grunt. “Hex, take care of another guard.”

Hex did as it was told. This time, it used its powers to lift one of the guards into the air, only to smash it against the floor. Pieces of the guard’s armor and shield flung up from the collision, and the warrior was no more.

“Your go.”

At that moment Josh returned to the stands. He saw Dave’s monster being attacked upon entry and saw its destruction by the time he had reached his seat, where he had asked Adam what he missed.

“Nothing really,” he said, flicking a speck dirt off his worn jeans, “I just got back here myself, but it seems like your friend’s being waiting for you.”

“What do you mean?” Josh asked, sitting.

“He summoned a monster on his first turn and used its effect to stall. Other than that, all he’s done is watch his monsters get man-handled and occasionally stare in this direction.” At that moment Dave did exactly that. Josh looked to Adam, who was examining Lucas’s spellcasters, then sent his gaze Dave’s way. Dave answered with a subtle twitch of his hand, bringing it to his Duel Disk.

“Alright,” Dave began, “[i][i]now[/i][/i] I’ll take you on.” The notion confused Lucas slightly, but no one else other than him and Josh seemed to acknowledge this statement. “I summon Black Luster Warrior.”

A young warrior appeared on the stage, its armor strikingly similar to Black Luster Soldier’s. The difference was mostly in its helmet, since it only had one spike that swung back instead of three branching spikes. Unlike Black Luster Soldier, this monster did not wield a shield and its hair was covered. It grinned at its opponents, anxiously holding its sword with both hands. ([b][b]1600[/b][/b]/1000)

“Finally, a challenge,” Lucas remarked. “Too bad it’s not strong enough.”

“Not alone it’s not. I activate The A. Forces.” The Spell Card flashed into sight, depicting several warrior-like monsters standing belligerently in front of a wavy force field, as if they were waiting for something on the other side.

“Card Analyzer activated,” Lucas’s Card Analyzer recited with a press of a button, “Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data: ‘The Allied Forces’ … … Data Found:


[center][b][b]The A. Forces[/b][/b][/center]
[center]
[Spell/Continuous][/center]
[center]For every face-up Warrior-Type and Spellcaster-Type monster on your side of the field, increase the ATK of all Warrior-Type monsters on your side of the field by 200 points.”[/center]

He pressed another button which brought up a new screen, showing the stat changes.

[Black Luster Warrior ([b][b]1600 --> 2000[/b][/b]/1000)]
[Black Luster Guard Token (200 --> 600/[b][b]1800[/b][/b])]

“Black Luster Warrior, attack his Noble Sage – Nelit!”

Eagerly, the warrior dashed at the target monster in a grateful stride.

“Not so fast!” Lucas called. “I activate Hex’s effect. Once per turn I can select one face-down Spell or Trap card you control and activate it as if it was my own!”

[i][i]What?![/i][/i] Dave watched in amazement as his face-down card rose up against his will.

Just as Black Luster Warrior was about to cross the half-way mark, a line of security officers appeared to block its path. They took their clubs and fended the warrior off, and when they were through, they turned to the Noble Sages who knelt down voluntary. Once they saw that Black Luster Warrior was doing the same, they walked back into the card, which dematerialized immediately.

“Looks like that card was No Entry!!, so now all monsters on the field are switched to Defense Position.”

“I know how the card works,” Dave grumbled, tossing it into the Graveyard’s slot.

“If the card couldn’t be activated at the time I would’ve taken damage. I guess I lucked out.” He laughed, noticeably angering Dave, who continued his turn.

“I set a card and end.” [i][i]Impressive, I gotta be more careful.[/i][/i]

“Alright, I summon Noble Sage – Krytra.” A third robed figured warped in between in other two. This sorcerer’s robes were red, matching the lipstick on its feminine face. ([b][b]1700[/b][/b]/1400) Lucas moved his cards on his Duel Disk, and the kneeling sages stood up changing to Attack Position. “Hex, finish off that last guard!”

Using its magical abilities it lifted the final guard into the air, who squirmed around trying to break out of Hex’s force. Before it could realize that it was no use, Hex slammed it against the floor, just as it did to the others.

Because Dave had less Warrior-type monsters on the field, his other warrior would lose ATK. Not that it mattered, it was going to be destroyed regardless.

[Black Luster Warrior (2000 --> 1800/[b][b]1000[/b][/b])]

“Nelit, it’s your turn!” On command Nelit gathered green energy on its hands as it circled them in front of him. Once his hands crosses paths, an X-shaped beam flew at Black Luster Warrior, slicing it into four perfect pieces before it was reduced to data.

Dave subconsciously brought his arms closer to his chest. The next attack was for him.

“Now Noble Sage – Krytra, attack him directly!”

The newest spellcaster clapped its hands together, closing its eyes as if it were praying. After a moment of silence it pointed both of its index and middle fingers at Dave, and a streak of bright red light shot at him. Dave took the hit, sliding back until he reached the end of the stage. Thinking he would fall over, he leaned forward just as the assault ended. He grimaced, slowly trudging back to the duel.


[center][Dave LP: (8000 --> 6300)] [Lucas LP: (8000)][/center]

[i][i]I better take out at least one of his sages before I make any big moves.[/i][/i]

He looked to his newly drawn card, which depicted an orange beam of energy bending around a mirror-like sphere, deflecting it back where it came from. [i]I could attack then set Mirror Force to get rid of Noble Sage – Hex.[/i] He glanced up at the blue robed sage, remembering its special ability. [i]I have to attack first so he doesn’t use it against me.[/i] Pulling a monster card out, he placed it onto his Duel Disk, causing it to flash in response.

“I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guard.” The green-armored warrior from Dave’s last duel returned to the stage, parrying its sword to intimidate its foes. ([b][b]1400[/b][/b]/1200) “And since it’s a Warrior-type monster, it benefits from The A. Forces’s boost.”

The energy depicted on The A. Forces’s card circled the Celtic Guard until it was covered in a wavy aura. ([b][b]1400 --> 1600[/b][/b]/1200)

“Obnoxious Celtic Guard, get Nelit out of my sight!”

Obnoxious Celtic Guard drew its sword close to its body, dashing forward as it let out a battle cry. On the other side, Nelit grinned to itself and looked over to Krytra. It nodded in comprehension, bringing its right hand just above its chest. After mumbling a few words, a sudden burst of spiritual energy enveloped the warrior, momentarily freezing it in place, discoloring its features to a depressing shade of gray.

“Oh,” Lucas began cockily. “Did I mention that Krytra’s effect allows me to pick the attack target once a turn?”

Dave gasped angrily as he watched his warrior’s body shift direction, angled so that it was facing Hex instead. Once it was positioned precisely, Krytra released the Celtic Guard from its spell, allowing it to resume its attack.

Obnoxious Celtic Guard rushed at Hex and swung its blade, only to realize it hit the wrong target. At the last second, Hex caught with the blade with an energy-charged hand, successfully blocking the strike. It pushed the blade out of the way to prepare its counterattack. Using the momentum from Hex’s push, Obnoxious Celtic Guard spun around as Hex fired another energy beam. With expert timing the warrior whipped its sword in front of its face, deflecting the energy beam at the ceiling causing the move to fail. Before Hex could attack again, Obnoxious Celtic Guard ran back to Dave to regroup. [(Dave LP: 6300 --> 6000)]

“Since Hex has 1900 ATK, my warrior can’t be destroyed in a battle against it,” Dave stated firmly. He knew that the damage from the attack wasn’t that severe, but if the attack went to Krytra instead he would have been without a monster next turn. He was getting sloppy and Lucas knew it. He quietly set down the Mirror Force trap and motioned to Lucas to continue the duel.

Once Lucas added the newly drawn card to his hand, he snickered to himself in amusement.

“This just got good. Time for a fourth Noble Sage. I summon Noble Sage – Arur in Attack Mode.” Another feminine sage teleported beside the others; this one wore bright yellow robes. It brushed its long, brown hair away from its eyes and formed an energy sphere in the same hand immediately after fixing its appearance. ([b][b]1400[/b][/b]/1600)

“I’m really getting tired of these Noble Sages,” Dave muttered under his breath, but Lucas still understood what his grunts meant.

“Hey Adam,” Josh asked, snapping Adam’s attention away from the duel. “I just thought of something. Why does this guy keep using Noble Sage cards?”

Adam drummed his fingers against his armrest as he spoke. “Most people tend to prefer certain cards over others. Sometimes they prefer a specific series of cards, like my Fallen cards and this guy’s Noble Sages. Others build a deck around a specific type like Spellcasters, Warriors and Dragons.”

“Oh, so it’s like how that girl Dave dueled only used Dinosaur-like cards.”

“Right. But a series of cards usually relate to each other in some way. So these cards are all Spellcasters with ‘Noble Sage’ in each of their names. People tend to build their deck revolving around a certain theme,” he nodded his head at Dave. “Your friend seems to favor Black Luster cards judging from his play-style. They’re all warriors that focus on securing dominance on the field. Meanwhile his opponent is using Noble Sages, which focus on using the opponent’s resources against them.”

[i] [i]So that’s why Dave is struggling so much, using your opponent’s cards must take a lot of skill.[/i][/i] He focused on Dave, saw his discouragement in his stance, but was soon distracted by another thought. [i][i]Adam seems to know a lot about different cards.[/i][/i]

“Hey Adam.”

Adam turned his head, making eye contact with Josh. “Yeah?”

“I gotta ask, how do you know so much about this game?”

Adam looked back to stage, watching Lucas type a command into his Card Analyzer. “Just practice. And watching others play. It’s easier to read into your opponent’s strategy if you’re not facing them in a duel.”

Josh took note of this. [i][i]I should warn Dave about that.[/i][/i]

“So what’s your favorite kind of card so far?”

The question surprised Josh, since he thought the conversation had already ended. “I dunno. I kinda like cards that Special Summon. I dunno about the specific type of cards yet.”

“Special Summons huh?” A microscopic smile formed above Adam’s chin. “That’s what my cards revolve around. Fallen monsters are mostly Warriors, but my favorite ones are Dragons. You don’t have to restrict yourself to one type of monster either, just use whatever cards work for you.”

“Thanks.”

Adam nodded and the two returned their attention to the duel.

Lucas punched the final button into his Card Analyzer, ready to make his move. “I activate Nelit’s effect. By paying 500 Life Points I can look at one of your face-down cards.” [(Lucas LP: 8000 --> 7500)] “Now let’s see what we have here.”

Nelit raised its arms straight out, the energy surrounding its hands extending until it reached Dave’s face-down card. The green energy twinkled along the card’s perimeter for a few seconds before the card was revealed to be Mirror Force. Again, Dave silently kicked himself for not checking his opponent’s cards before choosing his strategies.

“Mirror Force, is it?” Lucas seemed unfazed by the card’s disclosure. He picked out a new card, throwing it into a random slot on his Duel Disk. “I activate Magicians Unite. Since I have more than one Spellcaster-type monster on the field, I can increase one of their ATK to 3000 until the end of the turn.” He pointed to the designated monster. “And I choose Nelit for this effect.”

The team of sages began to chant in unison, gathering energy in between each of their palms. Nelit stepped forward, holding its hands farther apart. The other three sages gently pushed their energy at Nelit’s own energy sphere, allowing them to merge into a swirling rainbow of power. ([b][b]1500 --> 3000[/b][/b]/1200)

“The only drawback is that my other monsters can’t attack this turn.”

Murmurs among the crowd started to spread. Dave could guess their thoughts. [i][i]He’s still going to attack?[/i] [/i]Confirming everyone’s guesses, Lucas pointed a finger at Dave’s monster.

“Now Nelit, attack his Obnoxious Celtic Guard!”

Nelit extended its arms, releasing the energy in a large beam of spiraling colors. Calmly, as the beam drew close, Dave flipped over his already revealed Trap Card.

“I activate Mirror Force. Since you declared an attack, all your Attack Position monsters are automatically destroyed.”

A glimmer of light flashed over an invisible barrier surrounding Dave and his monster, exposing the trap’s presence. Lucas smirked as he pulled out a card from his Duel Disk, presenting it to everyone.

“I activate the Counter Trap, Glass Shatter,” he tossed it back into its original slot, allowing its hologram version to rise. A strange, swift force pushed the energy beam, causing it to accelerate faster than when Nelit had unleashed it. “When you activate a Trap Card that activates in response to an attack, I can negate its effect and any damage you would receive from the battle is doubled!”

The beam smashed through his barrier, sending jagged shards of glass flying around the room. Dave couldn’t hold back his consternation. Without missing a beat, the beam plowed into Obnoxious Celtic Guard, who had little time to prepare for the attack. It blocked with its sword but the force of the beam deluged it, sending it skidding backwards until it collided with Dave. They both slid until they reached the end of the stage, where they grunted from the unexpected strength of the blow.

With the end of its attack, Nelit brought its hands back against his chest, the combined power of those behind it still swirling at his fingertips. Obnoxious Celtic Guard slowly walked back to its spot on the stage, but Dave stayed in place. He was clearly shaken up. His eyes immediately found the number on his Duel Disk, glaring at it.



[center][Dave LP: (6000 --> 3200)] [Lucas LP: (7500)][/center]

Before Dave could make a move, Lucas flipped over another card, and its hologram did the same. “And since Nelit is a Spellcaster monster, the Trap Card Enlightenment allows it to attack again!”

[i][i]What!?[/i][/i]

The rainbow energy spiraled rapidly in Nelit’s hands, doubling in size within seconds. It promptly unleashed the beam, shooting it straight ahead. Dave was the first to react – he dove to the side, slamming against the floor. Obnoxious Celtic Guard, unaware of the second attack, got hit full force in the chest. The blast pushed the warrior until it fell onto its back. Dave glanced over his shoulder at his monster. If he had stayed in place he would have surely been knocked off the platform.

Dave and the green-armored warrior stood up weakly, trying to steady themselves before returning to the game. Lucas chuckled cockily.

“One turn left then this game is mine!”


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


[center]Card Analyzer activated…[/center]
[center]Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …[/center]
[center]… Data Found:[/center]

[center][b][b]Black Luster Guard[/b][/b][/center]
[center]**[/center]
[center][Earth][/center]
[center][Warrior/Effect][/center]
[center](200/1800)[/center]
[center]When this card is summoned or flipped face-up, place 4 Black Luster Counters on this card (max.4). By removing 1 Black Luster Counter from this card, you can Special Summon 1 “Black Luster Guard Token” (Earth; Warrior; (200/1800); **) to the field in Defense Position. These tokens can only be used for a Tribute summon, Fusion summon, Ritual Summon or Synchro Summon for a "Black Luster" monster.[/center]


[center][b][b]Noble Sage – Hex[/b][/b][/center]
[center]****[/center]
[center][Wind][/center]
[center][Spellcaster/Effect][/center]
[center](1600/1300)[/center]
[center]Once during either player’s turn, you can activate 1 Set Spell or Trap card on your opponent’s side of the field as if it were your own. If it is a Continuous Spell or Continuous Trap card then its effect returns to your opponent the turn this effect is activated. If the Spell/Trap card cannot be activated at this time, Set it face-down and you take 500 damage.[/center]
[center][/spoiler][/center]


[center][spoiler=Chapter Six][/center]

[center][b][b]Chapter Six[/b][/b][/center]



[center][Dave LP: (3200 --> 1800)] [Lucas LP: (7500)][/center]

Dave knew the damage he had taken this round was significant, but failed to realize how many Life Points he had lost until he looked at the damage calculator on his Card Analyzer. Lucas was right. If he made any more mistakes, this would be it.

[i][i]You got this Dave[/i],[/i] Josh thought. He could tell that last blow had embarrassed Dave. Even in a game like this, how often do you get knocked onto the floor?

With another card, the duelist scanned his hand with new determination. [i][i]No more messing around.[/i][/i] He slapped a card onto his Duel Disk with a defiant swing of his arm.

“I summon Marauding Captain in Attack mode!”

A blond warrior marched out carrying two long swords, one in each hand. Its silver cape rested elegantly against its teal armor as it crossed its swords together, showing pride in them. ([b][b]1200[/b][/b]/400)

[i][i]Hey, I have a card like that.[/i][/i]

Josh brought his deck out of its container, being careful not to drop any of his cards. If he lost any here, he’d probably never see them again. He searched through it until he found the most recently summoned monster. It was a common card, since it didn’t having any shiny lettering or holographic picture, but if Dave was using it then it must be good.

“When it’s Normal Summoned its effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon a Level 4 or lower warrior from my hand.” He flashed the intended monster. “I’ll use Black Luster Knight!”

Another black-armored warrior appeared from its card’s borders. This one bared a strong resemblance to Black Luster Soldier; however, the design of its armor consisted of golden streaks around the edges of each piece. A single golden horn protruded just above its forehead, curving around until it was inches from the back of the warrior’s neck. A black cape flowed down below its helmet, consuming its entire back in a veil of darkness. ([b][b]1400[/b][/b]/1200)

“And when my Black Luster Knight is summoned, it gains two Black Luster Counters.”

Two of the five streaks illuminated brightly on the edges of its gauntlets as the warrior unsheathed its sword. The crowd stared in awe at the warrior, watching it majestically swaying it out in a single motion. Lucas noticed their awe, but refused to acknowledge it. Dave directed everyone’s attention to the Spell Card hovering a few feet away from him using his free hand.

“And since I have two more warriors, my A. Forces card increases all of my monster’s ATK power. But I’m not done yet!”

[Obnoxious Celtic Guard ([b][b]1600 --> 2000[/b][/b]/1200)]
[Marauding Captain ([b][b]1200 --> 1800[/b][/b]/400)]
[Black Luster Knight ([b][b]1400 --> 2000[/b][/b]/1200)]

Dave slipped another card into his Duel Disk. The crowd watched eagerly awaiting for his move to reach its peak.

“Next up is the Equip Spell, Sworn into the Army and I’ll attach it to Obnoxious Celtic Guard.”

Miraculously, a small medal appeared just under Obnoxious Celtic Guard’s left shoulder. It glistened from the arena’s lighting, causing the tiny metallic circle to glare.

“A monster equipped with Sworn into the Army is treated as if it were Black Luster Soldier,” Dave stated confidently. To Josh he seemed to become suddenly impatient with himself since Dave immediately began his next move without any hesitation.

“Now I activate Black Luster Knight’s effect. By removing a Black Luster Counter from it I can increase the ATK of all my ‘Black Luster’ monsters by 200 points each. And since my Obnoxious Celtic Guard is treated as Black Luster Soldier, it reaps the benefits as well.”

The light faded from one of the streaks on the warrior’s gauntlet, only to remerge in the form of an aura that surrounded both it and Obnoxious Celtic Guard. The aura vanished as quickly as it came, but the support it gave remained.

[Obnoxious Celtic Guard ([b][b]2000 --> 2200[/b][/b]/1200)]
[Black Luster Knight ([b][b]2000 --> 2200[/b][/b]/1200)]

“Black Luster Knight, destroy Noble Sage – Hex with Sword Penetration!”

Black Luster Knight gripped its blade tightly as it ran toward Hex, bringing its arm back, taking aim with its sword. It yelled to intimidate its foe but the sage wasn’t fazed by the battle cry. Just before the knight was about to impale Hex, its body froze and the golden color on its armor turned gray. Hex calmly stepped aside, leaving the statue of a warrior on center stage.

“Did you forget already?” Lucas cocked his head at the red-robed spellcaster, who was chanting silently. “Noble Sage – Krytra can stop your attack long enough for Hex to switch places with another monster. This time I’ll have Nelit take the hit.”

The green-robed sage bravely stepped in front of its adversary, anticipating its death. When the time came, Krytra undid the spell, allowing Black Luster Knight to slay Nelit with a sharp shove of its blade. Despite its groans, Nelit smiled as if to say that its sacrifice was not in vain. Black Luster Knight retreated to Dave as the sage fell over and gave its last breath. [Lucas LP: (7500 --> 6800)]

Dave adjusted his hat from the rim. “I didn’t forget.” His emotionless stare unexpectedly pierced through Lucas. “Since Noble Sage – Krytra used its effect already, I can pick any monster I want for my next attack.” He thrust his finger at Hex, shouting. “Celtic Guard get rid of Hex once and for all!”

On cue the warrior dashed out to slay the targeted monster; it paused a moment before stabbing to ensure the blow was fatal. Then, it slayed the sage with a quick movement and it dissolved into the air. Dave was on a roll. [Lucas LP: (6800 --> 6500)]

“Now Marauding Captain, take out Krytra!”

“Not quite.”

Marauding Captain began to move as instructed, but the second it took its first step a mysterious pillar of light surrounded it. It continued to charge forward but the pillar was immovable. Eventually the captain gave up and the pillar vanished instantly.

“Each turn Arur casts a spell that prevents you from attacking with a certain amount of monsters, depending on the number of ‘Noble Sage’ monsters I control when you began your Battle Phase.” Lucas lifted up four fingers to prove his statement. “Since I controlled four ‘Noble Sages,’ only two of your monsters can attack this round.”

“Then I guess it’s your turn,” said Dave. For the first time over the course of the duel he felt completely calm. Josh assumed it was because he finally had complete control over the field, just as Adam said he would. Nothing could stop him now.

Lucas drew. His disappointment was evident from his movements as he placed a monster horizontally on his Duel Disk. “I summon Noble Sage – Xeyoi in Defense Mode.”

Another male sage clothed in orange robes knelt in between its female counterparts. (1800/[b][b]1000[/b][/b]) The two followed its lead, kneeling down beside it as well.

“And I switch my other Noble Sages to Defense Mode as well and end my turn.”

“Alright.” As Dave added a card to his hand, a weird fog started to encircle his left arm. This failed to surprise him, though. “I’m guessing this is Xeyoi’s doing?”

“You guessed right. If you have three or more cards in your hand Xeyoi makes one card unusable for the rest of the turn.”

“That’s too bad.” Dave lifted his hand, showing the cards he held. “’Cause I only have two cards in my hand this turn.”

Lucas blinked as the fog surrounding Dave dissipated. He knew this was the beginning of the end. More confident now than ever before, Dave continued his turn by throwing a Spell Card into a random slot.

“I activate Black Luster Helmet. Since my Sworn into the Army card treats Obnoxious Celtic Guard as a ‘Black Luster’ monster I’ll give it to him.”

A helmet, similar to Black Luster Knight’s, wrapped itself around Obnoxious Celtic Guard’s head; the main difference between them was the smaller horn which only reached the top of its head, as opposed to near its neck, and the twenty tiny jewels engraved into it. Once it adjusted to the warrior’s head-size, every other gem on the helmet started to glow bright yellow, matching the color pattern of the other ‘Black Luster’ cards.

“This card obtains ten Black Luster Counters when it’s played and each turn I can activate one of its many effects. For example.” As he spoke the central jewel blended in with the remainder of the helmet. He reached for his deck. “By removing one Black Luster Counter from Black Luster Helmet, I can draw one card.”

[i][i]There’s no way Lucas can come back from the way Dave’s playing now[/i],[/i] Josh thought. He noticed Adam had been entranced by the duel since it reached its turning point. Maybe he was trying to pick out Dave’s weak points? Well, if there were any.

“I summon Luster Dragon!”

The crowd perked their heads up at the sight of the sapphire dragon. It flew out on stage, stretching its thin, sickle-shaped wings as it landed. It gripped the ground with its claws to show off its muscular limbs and glared across the room with two ruby eyes. ([b][b]1900[/b][/b]/1600)

[i][i]A dragon in a deck full of warriors?[/i] [/i]Adam thought, readjusting himself in his chair. [i][i]Looks like I’m not the only one who does that…[/i][/i]

“I’ll remove the final counter from Black Luster Knight to increase its and Obnoxious Celtic Guard’s ATK by 200.”

The remaining golden color in Black Luster Knight’s gauntlets vanished only to be converted into power for the two warriors.

[Obnoxious Celtic Guard ([b][b]2200 --> 2400[/b][/b]/1200)]
[Black Luster Knight ([b][b]2200 --> 2400[/b][/b]/1200)]

“Now that I’ve used up Black Luster Knight’s counters I’ll tune it with Luster Dragon to Synchro Summon Black Luster Dragon Rider!”

Synchro Summon? Great… More rules. Josh was about to ask Adam, but he was so engrossed by the duel that it would be a waste of time. Instead, he typed it into his Card Analyzer which presented the information accordingly.

“Card Analyzer activated… Searching for Rule Data: ‘Synchro Summon’ … … Data Found:


[center][b][b]Synchro Summon[/b][/b][/center]



[center]Synchro Summons are another type of Special Summon that allows the player to Special Summon off-white monsters called Synchro Monsters. These monsters are similar to both Fusion and Ritual Monsters to a certain degree. Like Fusion Monsters, they reside in the Extra Deck before being played and thus can never exist in the hand or Main Deck. Tuner monsters tend to be weaker monsters with effects that allow them exist on the field longer or support other cards of their type. To Synchro Summon, a player needs to have a Tuner monster on the field. Then, like Ritual Monsters, they need to send it and 1 or more non-Tuner monsters on their side of the field to the Graveyard whose total levels are equal to the Synchro Monster that is being summoned. Synchro Monsters are recently developed cards and have only been in production for the past two years.”[/center]

Josh had a hard time absorbing this new set of rules. But since Adam said he could create whatever kind of deck he wanted, he figured he would just avoid these cards whenever possible. They’re too confusing.

During the time that Josh was looking up this information, Black Luster Knight emitted three circular rays from his body, surrounding itself until its body lost its features and eventually disappeared. The three rays floated over Luster Dragon until four more engulfed the dragon, joining the others. When all seven beams reached each other, they formed a straight line and a beam of lights shot abruptly shot through it. When the light disappeared, a black and silver version of Luster Dragon materialized above the field. A warrior similar to Black Luster Knight rode on its back, steadying itself as the golden-armored dragon darted toward the ground. ([b][b]2500[/b][/b]/1600) Josh had to admit he wasn’t expecting a big change, since the monster’s name implied an appearance like this. The dragon floated down gracefully as the warrior unsheathed its sword.

“When Black Luster Dragon Rider is Synchro Summoned, all cards that can have Black Luster Counters on them gain one each. And since it’s a Warrior-type monster it gains even more ATK from The A. Forces.”

The gem on Obnoxious Celtic Guard’s helmet restored itself as if it had never left. Meanwhile, the dragon’s golden armor gained a dark blue streak gleamed under its left wing, giving it the appearance of a scar. The energy from The A. Forces card radiated around the duo, successfully captivating the audience as it sparkled in the light. ([b][b]2500 --> 3100[/b][/b]/1600) It took aim at Krytra, awaiting its orders.

“Black Luster Dragon Rider attack Krytra with Flame Penetration!”

The dragon took flight once again, this time flying above the three kneeling sages. Purple flames burst out of the dragon’s mouth; the warrior thrust its sword through it, causing them to follow the blades point. With a trail of wisps close behind, the blade swiftly cut through the air until it came close to the red sage.

Krytra, who had been chanting the whole time, teleported away in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a soft cloud that covered Lucas’s entire side of the arena – it used its power to avoid the hit. The fire-infused sword pierced through the smog, dividing it as it soared through the air. When the smoke cleared, the yellow-clothed sage clutched its hands up to its heart, giving its last breath, allowing its body to vaporize with the remaining fumes.

Dave watched his dragon knight return to him while he calculated his next move. Arur had been destroyed instead. It didn’t make a difference to him but he knew that it was necessary to get rid of Krytra before Lucas could make a comeback.

“Obnoxious Celtic Guard,” he started. His contained excitement was evident in his voice. The warrior poised its body for combat. “Krytra is unable to change its target now. This is our chance to take it out, attack!”

With that the warrior leaped into the air, holding its sword high over its helmet. In a sharp, jerking movement, the Celtic Guard sliced Krytra in half destroying it instantly. Another attack was about to be ordered when the light barrier reappeared around him. Arur’s spell was still in effect.

“So, I guess since you had three ‘Noble Sages’ I can only attack twice this turn?” Lucas nodded with disdain. He knew it was pointless to continue anymore banter. “In that case I’ll end my turn by activating my dragon’s special ability.”

Another dark blue streak flashed under the dragon warrior’s right wing; the armor’s design was symmetrical once again.

“Whenever Black Luster Dragon Rider declares an attack it gains another Black Luster Counter. Right now it has two, and I’m able to remove both of them to increase its ATK by 300.”

The two streaks separated from the golden armor and began to encircle the dragon warrior. They grew smaller and smaller as they spun until they were absorbed into its skin. Lights twinkled from its armor revealing that the streaks had been recycled. ([b][b]3100 --> 3400[/b][/b]/1600)

Upon drawing his next card, Lucas scraped his bottom lip with his teeth in a quick, exaggerated motion. Clearly he didn’t get the card he wanted. A moment later a holographic card appeared behind his last sage followed by a Spell Card. Josh noticed it was the same card that Lucas just drew.

“I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy The A. Forces to end my turn,” He said gravely. Everyone knew this move made no difference in determining the winner, but it did reduce the power of Dave’s monsters enough to stall for a turn. Random members of the audience reached for their Card Analyzers to check the new ATK totals as a small tornado ripped the hologram to shreds.

[Obnoxious Celtic Guard ([b][b]2400 --> 1800[/b][/b]/1200)]
[Marauding Captain ([b][b]1800 --> 1200[/b][/b]/400)]
[Black Luster Dragon Rider ([b][b]3400 --> 2800[/b][/b]/1600)]

Dave smirked, fanning Xeyoi’s mist away from his cards. Victory was practically assured.

“I activate one of Black Luster Helmet’s effects. By removing three counters from it I can select a face-down card and if it’s a trap I can destroy it!”

As three of the gems faded, a scope fell in front of the Celtic Guard’s eyes. Dave punched in the command on his Card Analyzer and a crosshair shone over Lucas’s last played card. A thin strip of light slowly worked its way from one edge of the card to the other, revealing the card to be a purple card depicting a demonized human standing at the bottom of a hole underground. Once the card’s revelation was finished, a bullet shot from above destroying the card from its center.

“With your Trap Hole out of the way I can summon another Black Luster Knight without worry.”

Another warrior jumped down from the ceiling, its cape flapping wildly as it fell. It glanced at its dragon counterpart as its gauntlets lit up, seemingly aware of their connection to each other. ([b][b]1400[/b][/b]/1200)

“I’ll get rid of one of my Knight’s counters to give my monsters 200 more ATK each.” Dave watched as the right streak on each of the knight’s gauntlets vanished. The other warriors readied their swords for their final attack.

[Obnoxious Celtic Guard ([b][b]1800 --> 2000[/b][/b]/1200)]
[Black Luster Dragon Rider ([b][b]2800 --> 3000[/b][/b]/1600)]
[Black Luster Knight ([b][b]1400 --> 1600[/b][/b]/1200)]

Lucas backed away slightly upon seeing his reflection in Black Luster Knight’s sword. He knew there was no chance for him now.

“I’ll activate my final face-down card, Reorganized Resources!” Dave said, gesturing to the purple card ahead of him, causing it rise. It depicted Black Luster Knight exchanging its sword for Black Luster Guard’s shield. They seemed to be inside of a fortress that was under fire.

“When it’s activated I can take every Black Luster Counter on the field and allot them any way I please. And I’ll give all eight to Black Luster Dragon Rider. Then I’ll use its own effect to remove them to give it 1200 more ATK!”

The remaining streaks from Black Luster Knight’s gauntlets flung out towards the dragon overhead. Meanwhile every single gem from Obnoxious Celtic Guard’s helmet receded to nothing, as their energy did the same. Seeing that the helmet was no longer usable the warrior tossed it aside so it wouldn’t hinder its performance.

Black Luster Dragon Rider floated in place, allowing the energy to fuse into its armor brightening the once dulled out streaks. The audience stared amazed by the sight of the armor’s full design. After a moment of arousing the crowd, all of the streaks separated from the dragon’s armor and began to spin rapidly in a tornado of dark blue lightning. The warrior raised its sword high above its head, allowing the streaks to spiral into the blade leaving a discharge of energy in its wake. It pulled the blade’s handle down near its chest, pointing it towards its next target. ([b][b]3000 --> 4200[/b][/b]/1600)

Lucas took a step back; the three warriors before him stepped forward. With only a single sage in between him and four powerful monsters, he knew that it was all over.

Upon realizing that the match was his, Dave grinned, giving his final command. “Finish this. Take out Xeyoi then triple direct attack!”

Marauding Captain led the march with the other two land-bound warriors close behind. It whacked the sage down with its sword, leaving it helpless as it was subsequently trampled by the preceding warriors. Marauding Captain stepped back as both of its followers continued their parade. As they approached, each swung their blades at Lucas from either side in a single fluid movement. Lucas grimaced, but didn’t allow himself to lose his posture.

From above Black Luster Dragon Rider tossed its own blade, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Since he was distracted by other warriors, Lucas failed to notice the flaming sword until it pierced into the ground infront of him. Fire shot up as the sword crashed into the stage, flinging the teenage onto his back. When the barrage finished, each monster dematerialized into data, signifying the match’s end.

[center][Dave LP: (1800)] [Lucas LP: (6500 -->-->--> 0)][/center]

“The winner is Dave Litenur!”

Enthusiastic cheers filled the stadium as Dave waved in appreciation.

“That was a great game. I thought he was gonna lose for a second.” Josh eagerly turned to Adam, but his cold expression negated Josh’s joy.

“He over played it,” he said, standing up.

“What do you mean by that?” Josh asked.

“He would play almost all of his cards in one turn just so he can get them on the field without saving any for his hand. That kind of playing is slopping, even for field control. And on top of that he didn’t analyze his opponent’s moves at all, which caused his own cards to be used against him on several occasions. He nearly lost because he was too focused on one strategy and his opponent took advantage of that.”

He stared at Dave, who continued to enjoy the crowd’s applause. Josh took his comments into consideration, but was being focused really a bad thing?

After a moment of fierce silence, Adam stepped away. “I’m gonna go work on my deck…” He said quietly. Josh watched him work his way through the aisle, heading for the lobby.

[i][i]What’s his problem?[/i][/i]


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Two police officers walked through the crowded vestibule, being careful not to attract too much attention to themselves as their eyes searched the area. Eventually, they reached a private hallway where a security guard stepped aside to let them through. At the end they met with their boss, an old stout officer whose thin, grayish hair contrasted with his dark uniform and glimmering badges. Behind him a door was left ajar.

“Any luck?” he whispered, although he managed to keep authority in his words.

“Nothing chief. It seems that they got away.”

The chief glanced over his shoulder as if to see if anyone was coming. When he saw that the door hadn’t moved, he returned to the two.

“That can’t be. He said that as soon as it went missing that he had security watch all the exits. No one could’ve gotten out without someone noticing. They must still be here…”

They chatted for a bit, discussing what to do with their situation. The chief decided he would talk with him, surely he would understand. The younger of the two officers offered his assistance, but the chief reassured him.

“I’ll be fine Nathan, he’s angry enough as it is. Go patrol the perimeter again. Make sure you both check every inch of the building before you report back to me. Got it?”

“Yes sir.”

They nodded, then rushed back to the public while the chief opened the door. [i][i]This isn’t good. How could they have gotten in here?[/i][/i]

The chief found himself in a small lab-like setting with a single shelf against the opposite wall. A television screen, like the ones in the lobby, hung on the wall taking up nearly half its space. The rest of the room was either filled with chairs or tables, except for the corner where Seto Kaiba stood stiffly.

“Well?” he asked harshly, without looking away from the wall.

The chief shut the door before he spoke. “I’m sorry. They can’t find it. But I’m having the–”

“They can’t [i][i]find it[/i][/i]?!” Kaiba shouted, flipping the table next to him with a frightening jerk. Computers and hard drives toppled across the floor, landing near the chief’s feet. The chief stepped back.

“No… but –”

Kaiba faced him with overpowering fury. “What the hell do you [i][i]mean[/i][/i] they can’t find it!? Can you tell me how they got into my vaults – let alone my secret rooms – and managed to steal my [i][i]deck[/i][/i] within [i][i]five minutes[/i][/i] of my absence!?”

“I... I don’t know.”

The chief looked past Kaiba so he wouldn’t have to look him in the eye as he came closer. Behind the blazer-dressed duelist was a safe that had clearly been forced open – its door lied beside it on the ground, deformed and useless. Kaiba turned, drawing the chief’s attention back to him, and brushed his hands on another table, sending papers scattering through the air.

“Don’t bother speaking to me again unless you either have my deck back or you have the culprit dead in your hands. I don’t care what you have to do. Cut off all access to the building. No one is going in or out until my deck is found.”

Not wanting to anger him any further, the chief stepped out and closed the door. He pulled out his walkie-talkie and pressed the button to speak. He was about to put it to his mouth until he flinched from hearing something slam behind him. Kaiba probably threw another computer off the table. He took a moment to regain his focus, then pressed the button again.

“Tell my boys that I’m gonna be coming home late. Looks like we’re gonna be here a while.”


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


[center]Card Analyzer activated…[/center]
[center]Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …[/center]
[center]… Data Found:[/center]


[center][b][b]Black Luster Dragon Rider[/b][/b][/center]
[center]*******[/center]
[center][Wind][/center]
[center][Warrior/Synchro/Effect][/center]
[center]“Black Luster Knight” + 1 or more non-tuner Dragon-type monster(s)[/center]
[center](2500/1600)[/center]
[center]When this card is Synchro Summoned, place an additional Black Luster Counter on every card that can have a Black Luster Counter on them (including this card). Every time this card declares an attack, place a Black Luster Counter on this card (max. . By removing 2 Black Luster Counters from this card, increase its ATK by 300.[/center]


[center][b][b]Noble Sage – Arur[/b][/b][/center]
[center]****[/center]
[center][Wind][/center]
[center][Spellcaster/Effect][/center]
[center](1400/1600)[/center]
[center]Depending on the number of “Noble Sage” monsters on your side of the field at the start of your opponent’s Battle Phase activate the following effect:[/center]
[center]-1 or 2: Your opponent can only attack with 3 monsters per turn.[/center]
[center]-3 or 4: Your opponent can only attack with 2 monsters per turn.[/center]
[center]-5: Your opponent can only attack with 1 monster per turn.
[/center]
[/spoiler]

[Randomflyingobjects]

Read Chapter 5, and about to go on to 6. Quick question. Around the beginning of the duel, unless I miscounted, Lucas destroyed all 5 of Dave's stalling cards, yet Dave still had one later. Is this a mistake or what? Then, in the turn Dave did nothing at all, why did Lucas only attack once, as opposed to using the rest of his cards? Plus, if Dave had 'No Entry' face-down, why didn't he use it?

Finished chapter 6, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice comeback, but his LP could have been lower. Anywho, I'm glad that Josh is learning and getting the hang of everything.

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Randomflyingobjects' timestamp='1342503963' post='5980697']
Read Chapter 5, and about to go on to 6. Quick question. Around the beginning of the duel, unless I miscounted, Lucas destroyed all 5 of Dave's stalling cards, yet Dave still had one later. Is this a mistake or what? Then, in the turn Dave did nothing at all, why did Lucas only attack once, as opposed to using the rest of his cards? Plus, if Dave had 'No Entry' face-down, why didn't he use it?[/quote]

I'm not sure exactly what part you're refering to, but by the time Dave summoned Black Luster Warrior there was only one Guard left. Since Guard had 1800 DEF, the only monster Lucas had out that was strong enough to destroy it was Hex, and it had already attacked that same turn.

As for the 'No Entry!!' thing, I saw it as a precaution within a precaution. Like, in the event Lucas managed to destroy all of his Guards, he'd still be able to prevent a direct attack and stall for another turn. He didn't expect Lucas to use it against him like that.

[quote]Finished chapter 6, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a nice comeback, but his LP could have been lower. Anywho, I'm glad that Josh is learning and getting the hang of everything.
[/quote]

Thanks.

I actually thought his Life Points were pretty low, to be honest. It's more or less about perspective. 1800 seems like plenty of Life Points in a duel starting with 4000, since that's only about one direct attack from a strong monster. But in a duel with 8000 Life Points, getting knocked down to 1800 so quickly means you're struggling a bit. And since Lucas had pretty good control of the field, any misplay could've ended badly for Dave.

Like I said before, if the right cards are out, Life Points can go pretty quickly, so it really just depends on what's being played at the time.

And, I find that the more Josh gets involved, the more people like the story.

[Randomflyingobjects]

I guess it [i]is [/i]more or less prespective.

Wait, I just read through the resources again. I was thrown off by the existance of Nelit, so I assumed 3 monsters were destroyed turn 2. Sorry about that.

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Randomflyingobjects' timestamp='1342538211' post='5980971']
I guess it [i]is [/i]more or less prespective.

Wait, I just read through the resources again. I was thrown off by the existance of Nelit, so I assumed 3 monsters were destroyed turn 2. Sorry about that.
[/quote]

No problem. It's always good to question things once in a while. For a second I thought I slipped up.

I'm thinking I'll post Chapters 7 and 8 on Friday.

[Randomflyingobjects]

Alright, sounds good. Looking forward to reading them!

[Des ＨＥＲＯ]

I am glad that you will guarantee some major development into the fanfic.

Onto Chapter 5, I quite enjoyed it to be honest. Lucas seem quite an interesting character since he acted quite nice at the beginning but became more arrogant as he gained control over Dave. He easily deceived Dave into his "tricks" by arriving quite late and complimenting Dave's possibly unnecessary stalling. The 'Nobel Sage' archetype seem to be quite a well balanced in their low ATK with a semi decent effect, but together as a group they fit a combo that as shown managed to somehow push Dave into a corner.

I did like like Chapter 6 because the duel was well planned that the roles have reversed, Lucas was making the mistake (Does Xeynoi count or was that a way to reveal it's effect?) and Dave was suddenly dominating out of the blue. From seeing Adam's comment on Dave's style, I find that this duel was better than the previous to show how "sloppy" he sees Dave's tactics were by being pushed into a corner by a archetype with low ATK (Yet they were attacking quite a lot) and having his cards turned against him.

Great chapters overall. Even though Lucas is most likely a minor character who's purpose was to be a fodder to Dave that allows him to improve his tactics for his future duels in the fanfic, this Nathan guy seems important in the future because you did his encounter with Josh on purpose. Someone stealing Kaiba's deck seems quite bad since that could be bad for whoever wins because they took all that effort only to have a interruption...I guess it is good because it seems like a nice link to what is in the Prologue.

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='destruction hero' timestamp='1342546019' post='5981096']
I am glad that you will guarantee some major development into the fanfic.

Onto Chapter 5, I quite enjoyed it to be honest. Lucas seem quite an interesting character since he acted quite nice at the beginning but became more arrogant as he gained control over Dave. He easily deceived Dave into his "tricks" by arriving quite late and complimenting Dave's possibly unnecessary stalling. The 'Nobel Sage' archetype seem to be quite a well balanced in their low ATK with a semi decent effect, but together as a group they fit a combo that as shown managed to somehow push Dave into a corner.[/quote]

I wouldn't say arriving late was a trick; that was mostly to show how busy it was in the vestibule. But the rest of your analysis is accurate. If these cards were real, I could see Hex and Glass Shatter becoming staples.

[quote]I did like like Chapter 6 because the duel was well planned that the roles have reversed, Lucas was making the mistake (Does Xeynoi count or was that a way to reveal it's effect?) and Dave was suddenly dominating out of the blue.[/quote]

Kinda both. At that point Lucas was acting out of deseperation because he lost his hold over Dave's cards, and the duel.

[quote]From seeing Adam's comment on Dave's style, I find that this duel was better than the previous to show how "sloppy" he sees Dave's tactics were by being pushed into a corner by a archetype with low ATK (Yet they were attacking quite a lot) and having his cards turned against him.[/quote]

Yep, that's basically what Adam thought. Dave's beatdown dueling style really backfired on him alot in this duel, since Lucas's cards were able to manipulate that.

[quote]Great chapters overall. Even though Lucas is most likely a minor character who's purpose was to be a fodder to Dave that allows him to improve his tactics for his future duels in the fanfic, this Nathan guy seems important in the future because you did his encounter with Josh on purpose. Someone stealing Kaiba's deck seems quite bad since that could be bad for whoever wins because they took all that effort only to have a interruption...I guess it is good because it seems like a nice link to what is in the Prologue.
[/quote]

Thanks again for the review. Even though Dave is a good duelist, he still has alot of learn. But then again, everyone does; this game makes no sense. XD

[Bahamut - Envoy of the End]

[quote]I don't mean to sound overly defensive, so I'm sorry if I come across that way. It's just that you didn't explain very well [i]why[/i] you felt that nothing was going on. Because it wasn't connected to the prologue? That was done on purpose, to catch you off guard. Right now the plot and characters are slightly disconnected - running parallel to each other, but are not yet one entity - and it's only within the next few chapters that things start to fall together.[/quote]

Sorry if this is coming across as disrespectful, but I will try to explain better this time why I feel there's nothing going on.

Because there's nothing dramatic, or mysterious, or otherwise gripping happening.

There's duelling going on, but it's just two guys who don't have any connection having a (very long drawn out) fight with no personal interaction between each other, or overall goal or motive other than winning a simple tourney. There are dark hints of the theft of Kaiba's deck and a dream sequence... but that's not enough.

First few eps of Duelist Kingdom - The main characters grandad has his soul trapped inside a card, and sets the guy off on a quest to save him.
In 5D's, there's a personal need for payback in quite a dark and divided world setting, then in ep 4 it all explodes with the mysterious marks and that scary freaking dragon turning up.
In Zexal, bang off the first ep, this alien character turns up, along with a load of cards that are possessing people.

In GX, very little of stuff like this happens in its debuting episodes as it sets the scene of Duel Academy and meeting the cast. It's the worst of the four.

Also, don't reply by saying 'ooh but the action picks up after 8 or 9 chapters and it gets more interesting then'.

Doesn't matter how good it gets then. It doesn't matter if chapters 8 onwards are the amazing thing ever, if I've already lost interest and stopped reading by chapter 4.

That's my issue.

[Synchronized]

I have to agree with Matt here.

You're an excellent writer, but there's absolutely nothing to get invested in story-wise. I just tried reading through Chapter 3 and I found myself losing interest a little over halfway through.

I'm going to attempt to keep going with it, but we haven't even had any sort of mystery or suspense to hold onto.

[Aerion Brightflame]

It is hard to read through something where nothing relevant is happening. I know that it will end up picking up, but you kind of have to have it similar to a book. People will generally read the first few pages to see if its any good, so relevant things have to be happening from the start. I will keep reading, becuase its a decent thing to do. But this is some advice for if you do another fic in the future.

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Majestic Star Bahamut' timestamp='1342634985' post='5981984']
Sorry if this is coming across as disrespectful, but I will try to explain better this time why I feel there's nothing going on.

Because there's nothing dramatic, or mysterious, or otherwise gripping happening.

There's duelling going on, but it's just two guys who don't have any connection having a (very long drawn out) fight with no personal interaction between each other, or overall goal or motive other than winning a simple tourney. There are dark hints of the theft of Kaiba's deck and a dream sequence... but that's not enough.

First few eps of Duelist Kingdom - The main characters grandad has his soul trapped inside a card, and sets the guy off on a quest to save him.
In 5D's, there's a personal need for payback in quite a dark and divided world setting, then in ep 4 it all explodes with the mysterious marks and that scary freaking dragon turning up.
In Zexal, bang off the first ep, this alien character turns up, along with a load of cards that are possessing people.

In GX, very little of stuff like this happens in its debuting episodes as it sets the scene of Duel Academy and meeting the cast. It's the worst of the four.

Also, don't reply by saying 'ooh but the action picks up after 8 or 9 chapters and it gets more interesting then'.

Doesn't matter how good it gets then. It doesn't matter if chapters 8 onwards are the amazing thing ever, if I've already lost interest and stopped reading by chapter 4.

That's my issue.
[/quote]

Thank you for the explaination. It wasn't so much that your critique seemed disrespectful, just I didn't see anything that really backed up your point. This was much better. I do see my error, and I think the tutorial really screwed up the flow of this story. I try to avoid saying "it gets better!" because it's kinda of a cop-out, but I guess that's happening really only because this was the first fic I wrote that actually got off the ground. Trust me, I'm [i]never[/i] gonna do anything tutorial-like again in my fics, since that seems to be the main problem with the story. If I had known tutorials were recieved that way, I would've avoided it altogether. I probably should've added more to chapter four than Adam's formal introduction (and Dave's duel); I guess I was still thinking "holy crap I made it to Chapter Five!" without realizing that there wasn't much excitement otherwise.

If you manage to push past the next few chapters, I'd be greatful, but if not, I understand. Your reasoning is sound.

I'll keep this in mind for the future.

[quote name='- Neo -' timestamp='1342635237' post='5981988']
I have to agree with Matt here.

You're an excellent writer, but there's absolutely nothing to get invested in story-wise. I just tried reading through Chapter 3 and I found myself losing interest a little over halfway through.

I'm going to attempt to keep going with it, but we haven't even had any sort of mystery or suspense to hold onto.
[/quote]

[quote name='HiveNet' timestamp='1342635859' post='5981999']
It is hard to read through something where nothing relevant is happening. I know that it will end up picking up, but you kind of have to have it similar to a book. People will generally read the first few pages to see if its any good, so relevant things have to be happening from the start. I will keep reading, becuase its a decent thing to do. But this is some advice for if you do another fic in the future.
[/quote]

I'm basically just repeating myself here, but I see what you all mean. It wasn't so much that I didn't know what I was doing with the plot and flow, it had more to do with the massive plot detour that became the tutorial. If Chapter one and two were merged and I introduced stuff like Nathan and Adam in chapter two, things probably would've been easier to stick with. Like I said continously, I really regret it now. While the damage is clear, hopefully it isn't completely irreversable. :/

[Firebat DZ]

Captivating the audience can be so hard at time eh? Im very sure that's also the reason my fan fic hasn't gotten much of attention here. I mean, it's been developed over the course of a year now and the things you learn is such time are so much that you get to see the difference the more chapters you bring forth but that doesn't change the fact that your earlier chapters might be lacking (obviously speaking in general here not necessarily your fan fic). I have seen your later chapters and compared to them to your earlier ones, the difference can be seen and not that hard to spot. You can see your development as a writer as the story goes on. But I guess what makes an amazing writer is not only improving, but keeping a story consistent from start to finish. Keep going with your fic, it's not over yet and may these tips help you for when you make your next idea, I know it will be a smash hit!

[Randomflyingobjects]

It is possible to have a tutorial kind of thing without disrupting the story. For example, in Zexal, there's a bit of explaining when the opponent uses something that hasn't been introduced, like tribute summons.

[SerenadeDSM]

[quote name='Onewhosetmalicious' timestamp='1342637989' post='5982033']
Captivating the audience can be so hard at time eh? Im very sure that's also the reason my fan fic hasn't gotten much of attention here. I mean, it's been developed over the course of a year now and the things you learn is such time are so much that you get to see the difference the more chapters you bring forth but that doesn't change the fact that your earlier chapters might be lacking (obviously speaking in general here not necessarily your fan fic).[/quote]

This is true, no matter who you're refering to. Be it fanfic writers or real authors; people improve all the time. Hell, that's really true of anything. I take Mixed Martial Arts, and when I first started I would get thrown within the first two seconds of a practice session. Now it's much easier to keep my balance and defend myself, and read my opponent's movements. Looking back, all those mistakes I made were silly, so all I can do is laugh it off and move forward. Shouldn't be any different here.

[quote]I have seen your later chapters and compared to them to your earlier ones, the difference can be seen and not that hard to spot. You can see your development as a writer as the story goes on. But I guess what makes an amazing writer is not only improving, but keeping a story consistent from start to finish. Keep going with your fic, it's not over yet and may these tips help you for when you make your next idea, I know it will be a smash hit!
[/quote]

Thank you.

Consistency is the main reason I'm reluctant to change the beginning (besides Dave's monologue, that can be shortened with few consequences). Actually, now that I recall what my screenwriting teacher told me, a story's length dictates how long it should take for things to develop. This is gonna be going for a while, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing that I introduced everyone the way I did. If I were just starting this now, I'd probably rewrite the first few chapters to get rid of the glaring issues. Now that the story's already about a third way through, all I can really do is say "sorry about that" (as I have been) and keep writing.

While I do take it more seriously than my other hobbies, that's really all it is. A hobby. And practice, which'll allow for improvement as we said before.

[quote name='Randomflyingobjects' timestamp='1342656379' post='5982324']
It is possible to have a tutorial kind of thing without disrupting the story. For example, in Zexal, there's a bit of explaining when the opponent uses something that hasn't been introduced, like tribute summons.
[/quote]

I considered that too, but it'd kinda have the same effect as it does now. Zexal has a slightly different scenario - Yuma already knows the difference between a Monster, Spell and Trap Card, and has a basic understanding of the game. Josh doesn't have a clue where to begin. The only difference would be that Josh would be sitting in the audience while Dave duels, and either Adam or the Card Analyzer would be explaining things for the most part. Even if I did part of it off-screen, it'd still most likely have the same result. Tournaments and tutorials don't mix well. I should've figured that out sooner. >.<;

[SerenadeDSM]

Note: There were some small errors with certain card effects in Chapter 7's duel. I think the narrative makes up for it, and in future chapters I'm being more careful with this kind of thing.

[spoiler=Chapter Seven]

[center][b][b]Chapter Seven[/b][/b][/center]


With another round cleared, Dave and Josh were free to enjoy the stadium for a bit while they waited for the current match to finish. Since Adam was dueling, and the fact that Dave thought Adam’s opponent was terrible, they stayed in their seats to watch. They figured it would be quick. Josh studied Adam while Dave searched through his deck, stopping at Black Luster Soldier.

“I can hardly believe that this deck has really gotten me this far. I can almost see my secret weapon tearing Kaiba’s cards apart.”

Josh turned, realizing that he wasn’t just thinking out loud.

“I don’t think you should get too cocky.” He had been thinking about Adam’s criticism since the last round. “You still have two more rounds to win and you’ll probably have to face that Adam guy if he makes it to the championship round.”

Dave put his deck on his lap, looking up at the stage. “I’m not too worried about him. He’s good, but he hasn’t summoned any monsters yet that are strong enough to defeat my Black Luster Soldier.” He took off his hat, fixing it, then plopped it back on his head. “Even if he does, I still think I can take him.”

Josh sighed. It was hopeless. Once Dave had an idea in his head, it never got out.

“What were you saying that he told you during the last round?”

Josh looked to Adam, who began his next turn, before speaking. “He said that he studies his opponents to pin-point their weaknesses so that he has an advantage before the match even starts.”

Dave slotted his deck back into his Card Analyzer. “That’s actually a good idea. I give him some credit for doing that.”

Back on stage, Adam summoned a new monster, a warrior wearing tinted yellow armor dotted with blue gems at its joints and shield’s center. A red cape flowed from its neck-line, and that was when Josh noticed that it didn’t have a head at all.

“And since my Fallen Headless Knight is in Attack Position, every Fallen monster I control gains 400 DEF.”

Since it was the only monster Adam had, it was the only monster that benefited. Ironically, this boost had no use to it at the moment, as Dave pointed out.

[Fallen Headless Knight ([b][b]1450[/b][/b]/1700 --> 2100)]

“Now my Fallen Headless Knight, attack her monster.”

The headless monster drew its sword before hopping into the air. It dove down, slicing a demonic treasure chest in half. As it fell to pieces, worms shot out at the opposing duelist, who shook them off in disgust. [Hannah LP: (5200 --> 4750)]

“Since you destroyed my Dark Mimic LV3 I can draw two cards,” she said, trying to take her mind off the worms. “And when I draw Watapon with a card effect I can Special Summon it to my side of the field.”

A pink puffball popped into view, its huge oval shaped eyes gazing aimlessly in front of it. It shook its droopy antennas, rattling the smaller puffballs attached. (200/[b][b]300[/b][/b])

Adam remained serious despite the monster’s cute appearance. “I’ll set a card and end my turn.”

The hologram flashed behind Fallen Headless Knight and Adam placed his arm to his side.

His opponent drew. “I tribute Watapon to summon Vampire Lord in Attack Mode.”

A bat fluttered above Watapon, landing on its head as the fuzzball twitched in uncomfortable curiosity. It bit into Watapon, causing its eyes to become a demonic shade of red and its body unnaturally blue. The bat’s wings spread out, clapping them over the monster, covering completely it. When the wings opened a female vampire with sickly blue hair replaced the zombified Watapon, its dark purple wings and armor exuding the presumed sensation of death. ([b][b]2000[/b][/b]/1500)

“Next I’ll activate Overpowering Eye. Since Vampire Lord has 2000 ATK, it’s able to attack you directly this turn.”

The vampire smirked, skipping over Fallen Headless Knight in order to dive straight at Adam. While the crowd gasped, this failed to surprise him. He allowed the vampire to grab him forcefully and suck his Life Points away without ever flinching once. [Adam LP: (5500 --> 3500)] When it was finished, the vampire tossed him away, flying past his face-down card to return to its original position.

[i] [i]Wait[/i][/i], Josh thought, [i][i]why didn’t he use that card?[/i][/i]

“Whenever Vampire Lord inflicts damage to your Life Points its effect activates,” his opponent shouted confidently. “Now I can declare a card type and you have to send a card of that type from your deck to your Graveyard. And I pick Monster Card!”

Adam quietly complied, skimming through his deck thoroughly before throwing a card into the red slot on his Duel Disk. He placed his deck back in its spot, leaving a hand there to draw.

“My turn,” he said coldly. He looked over his hand carefully; long enough for Josh to notice that Dave seemed to be distracted. He knew this wasn’t good for him. He needed to focus on the present instead of a future that may not happen. But knowing Dave, he knew that he would have to come to this realization by himself.

Back on stage, Adam finally began this turn. “I activate the Field Spell Card, Fallen Nation.”

A slot, wide enough for a single card, opened on the right side of his Duel Disk where he promptly slid the declared card. It closed, and a flag pole grew out the ground until it was twice Adam’s size. The flag rippled in the (nonexistent) breeze, revealing its insignia that must’ve represented all Fallen monster – a script version of the letter ‘F.’ Several skulls and bones surrounded it near its bottom seeming to serve a weak protection against foes.

“When this card is out, all Fallen monsters gain 500 ATK and DEF.”

His Fallen Headless Knight turned to acknowledge the flag, but it was hard to tell exactly how it reacted due to its decapitation. ([b][b]1450 --> 1950[/b][/b]/2100 --> 2600)

[i][i]It’s still not strong enough to take out her vampire[/i][/i], Josh thought. But he could tell Adam had something planned.

“Now I offer my Fallen Headless Knight to summon Fallen Summoned Skull from my Graveyard!”

Adam shot a hand into the air and on cue a blue streak of lightning burst from the ceiling, consuming Fallen Headless Knight in a tower of static. It took shape, and seconds later the demonic fiend appeared with electricity trickling around its blue wings. ([b][b]2500 --> 3000[/b][/b]/1200 --> 1700)

His opponent took a slight step back, awestruck by the triumphant monster standing against her. “W-what?! But I don’t remember you summoning that monster.”

Adam brushed his hand past his single strand of red hair. “How quickly we forget. I sent it to the Graveyard myself when Vampire Lord used its effect.”

Both Dave and Josh leaned back in their seats. They were both thinking the exact same thing: [i][i]Clever[/i][/i]. That explains why he let the attack go through.

“I’m not done yet,” he said, addressing the flag pole behind him. “I activate Fallen Nation’s second effect. It enables me to summon an additional Fallen monster each turn and I’ll use its effect to bring back Fallen Headless Knight.”

Mounds of dirt gave way as a coffin drifted from the depths of the earth. Gravity dropped its dusty cover, causing a ring of dust to encircle it. The decapitated warrior stepped out and knelt, as if honored to be back. (1450 --> 1950/[b][b]1700 --> 2200[/b][/b])

“And just in case you forget,” he continued, noticeably angering his opponent. “Fallen Headless Knight increases the ATK all of Fallen monsters while it’s in Defense Position.”

[Fallen Headless Knight (1950 --> 2350/[b][b]2200[/b][/b])]
[Fallen Summoned Skull [b]([b][b]3000 --> 3400[/b][/b]/[/b]1700)]

3400 ATK. Josh remembered that Black Luster Soldier’s was only 3000. He knew that Dave was able to boost its power with other cards too, but by the way Adam has been playing he wasn’t too sure that it would be a cake-walk for him.

“Now Fallen Summoned Skull, attack her Vampire Lord!”

The fiend let out a beastly howl, thrusting its wings forward, sending three blue streaks of lightning at the vampire. It attempted to dodge the bolts by transforming into a tiny bat, but it was only able to avoid two bolts before the third connected with its ears. It plummeted towards the ground completely charred. [Hannah LP: (4750 --> 3350)]

The teenage duelist watched her monster become reduced to ashes. Thinking Adam’s turn was over, she prepared her hand to draw, but stopped when he abruptly activated his face-down card.

“I activate Ring of Destruction. With it I can destroy one monster on the field and inflict damage of our Life Points equal to its ATK.” Surprising everyone, he proudly pointed at his own monster. “Ring of Destruction, destroy Fallen Summoned Skull!”

A metallic tire flung out of its card hologram and at Fallen Summoned Skull, securing itself around its torso. Flames shot out rapidly, engulfing the fiend in a pillar of fire. Once it was completely consumed in fire, the tire exploded, projecting flames and debris in every direction. Even though it was only a hologram, many people ducked – including Dave and Josh – to avoid getting hit. The flames struck both duelists head on, but Adam appeared to be unaffected by it, presumably because he was the only one expecting this to happen. When the smoke cleared, only Fallen Headless Knight and the flag pole remained, with its banner unscratched by the blast.

[center][Hannah LP: (3350 --> 0)] [Adam LP: (3500 --> 100)][/center]




The referee peeked over the end of the stage to see if the explosion had ended. When this was confirmed, he fixed his sunglasses and hopped onto the stage.

“The winner is Adam Prince!”

Cheers clamored across the stadium as Adam made his exit. His opponent was still shaken up, patting her skirt to rub of the dirt. Eventually she was able to pull herself together, barely, and left as well.

It was an incredible match. Adam must’ve planned turns ahead for that plan to work. He was able to completely manipulate his opponent’s moves to make them work in his favor without her ever even suspecting it. He knew her strategy, that’s why. He watched her duel from the first few rounds and learned her style. But he drew it close, literally. With only 100 Life Points left, any miscalculations would’ve ended up as a loss. And yet he still won…

So this is power of a real duelist. Josh knew Dave had been playing for years, but he never considered that Adam had been playing longer. He glanced over at his friend to see how he reacted to the match.

Dave stared at the empty stage with passion beaming from his eyes.

Josh quietly approached. “You still think you can take him?”

He nodded. “You bet. Nothing’s gonna stop me from reaching Kaiba.”
[center]~*~*~*~[/center]




“Let the second Semi-Final match begin! Dave Litenur vs. Peter Grail with the chance to beta test a brand new line of cards at stake. Who’s going to win this?!”

Dave marched up the stairs to find his opponent already waiting for him, Duel Disk armed. His opponent’s pitch black, wavy hair was intensified by his pure white blazer. He wasn’t sure what kind of deck he used, mostly because he had been preparing his own deck in between rounds. He shoved his Card Analyzer into his Duel Disk, activating it and allowing the game to commence.

“Duel.”
[center][Dave LP: (8000)] [Peter LP: (8000)][/center]




“I’ll start things off,” the duelist, Peter, said as he whipped a card from his wrist. “I summon Shining Angel in Attack mode.”

A white robed angel transcended from the sky, gracefully landing on the ground. It folded its creamy yellow wings, rubbing its blond hair to ensure it stayed perfect. (1[b]4[b]00[/b]/[/b]800)

“Well, I guess it’s your turn.”

That’s it? This might be easier than he had originally thought.

“Alright.” He pulled a card, adding it to his hand. It was a pretty good hand too, especially considering how horrible his hand was last round.

“I activate Advanced Ritual Art!”

A Stonehenge-designed shrine rose out from the ground, encircling the field. Behind him an altar rose slightly higher than the other structures, and an ominous, green circle started rotating on its platform. At the center, a glowing sphere of energy floated inches from the ground, emitting a sense of serenity that took the breath of several audience members.

As Dave spoke, the sphere rose. “This card allows me to use Normal Monsters from my deck to Ritual Summon a monster from my hand.” He held up his Duel Disk so that the deck-slot was aimed at the sky. “Now I’ll send Luster Dragon and Dark Blade to Ritual Summon my Black Luster Soldier!”

Two cards ejected from his deck, transforming them into small spheres that zipped through the air. They circled each other, flying majestically into the air until the larger sphere absorbed them both with a ‘plop’[i], [/i]sending shooting towards the ceiling. From above, a streak of unnaturally green lightning surged through it, crashing into the altar at full force. Static whipped spastically around the stone structure. Peter’s hair danced frantically as the electricity drew it to the pillars behind him. He turned his head to see what was coming; when he turned back he saw the dark blue armored warrior standing atop the altar’s stairs. ([b][b][b]3000[/b][/b]/[/b]2500)

“Impressive,” Peter said.

Dave cocked his wrist. “If you liked that, you’ll love this! Black Luster Soldier, attack his Shining Angel!”

Black Luster Soldier leaped from the altar, bringing its blade near its shoulder. Shining Angel withdrew its wings in anticipation. Wind rushed past Black Luster Soldier, whipping its red ponytail around its back. Once the warrior was able to see its opponent’s pupils, it swung its arm into a semi-circle, successfully chopping off the angel’s left wing. Unable to stay airborne any longer, the angel slammed against the ground with a loud ‘thud,’ where it dematerialized into data.

While the soldier made its way back onto the altar, Peter picked out a card from his hand. [Peter LP: (8000 --> 6400)] He held it up, preparing to dramatically present it to the crowd.

“Just as I planned.”

Dave raised an eyebrow, looking to his monster out of the corner of his eye. There was nothing else out on Peter’s side. There was barely anything on the field at all – just his Black Luster Soldier and the stone pillars used to summon it. How could this be a part of his plan?

“He’s getting sloppy,” Adam whispered, though Josh wasn’t sure if he was saying to him or just thinking out loud.

Peter flipped the card; on the other side Dave, apparently astounded by it, took a defensive stance. Looks like the field wasn’t the only place cards were able to use their effects.

“When I take damage and have no other cards out, I can summon Gorz the Emissary of Darkness from my hand!”

A blur of shadows shot out from behind each pillar, fusing together into a single unit. Bit by bit the shadows took shape – two arms with large, bladed gauntlets. A black torso armor that tailed into a red, blazer-like cape that was torn at the edges. Silver armor, reminiscent of a skeleton’s bones, lining its black legs. Finally, a head; top half covered with a visor and crimson hair jetting up as if it wanted to cut the sky. The shadows finished transforming, revealing the monster to be human-like in appearance. It held up one of its armored hands, where a soft, glowing ball of light radiated over its fingertips. ([b][b][b]2700[/b][/b][/b]/2500)

Dave bit his lip. [i][i]That’s such a rare card. How’d he get his hands on it?[/i][/i]

“Since Gorz was summoned from Battle Damage, it can summon an Emissary of Darkness Token as well!” Peter said, waving his arm.

The monster held out its light-filled hand, and the light hovered away. Strange balls of energy surrounded Peter, only to charge at the glowing sphere. The light floated beside Gorz, absorbing the energy, growing exponentially with every tiny piece consumed. Eventually it grew to be about Dave’s height, then expelled into a maiden baring a sharp, glimmering blade. Its armor was similar to Gorz’s, but this monster’s head gear was silver, covering its hair and ears entirely. While it also wore gauntlets, these were silver, finned blades as opposed to Gorz’s hooked blades that protruded outward. Its torso piece was silver as well, resembling a shield with a golden gem at its center. Beneath the armor, the maiden wore a red dress that fluttered as the maiden took its post.[b] ([b][b]?[/b][/b][/b]/?)

Peter smirked. “This is Kaien, the Emissary of Darkness Token. As you can probably tell, she’s not like Gorz in anyway except appearance. Gorz is a Fiend monster, Kaien is a Fairy monster. Gorz is a DARK monster, Kaien is LIGHT monster.” He paused for emphasis. “And while Gorz’s stats never changes, Kaien gains ATK and DEF equal to the damage I took from your attack.”

Josh pulled his Card Analyzer and opened up the calculator app. Black Luster Soldier attacked with 3000 ATK against a Shining Angel with 1400 ATK. That equals… 1600 damage. [b]([b][b]? --> 1600[/b][/b][/b]/? --> 1600)

“And, let’s not forget that when Shining Angel is destroyed by battle I can summon a LIGHT monster from my deck as long as it has 1500 ATK or less.” He pointed toward the ceiling, nearly yelling at this point. “So I’ll bring out another Shining Angel in its place!”

A new angel descended from the sky, hovering in between its two allies. They all stared Dave down, awaiting his next move. ([b][b][b]1400[/b][/b][/b]/800)

Now this was impressive. Not only did he summon three monsters at once but he did it on his opponent’s turn, without needing to lift a finger. Dave was the one who did all the work. Josh watched Dave as he brought his cards up to avoid eye contact with them. While he was thinking of his next move, Adam stood up and turned to leave.

“Hey, where are ya going?” Josh questioned.

“I need to prepare for the finals,” he said flatly.

“But don’t you need to ‘analyze your opponent’s weaknesses’?”

“I’ve seen enough…” And with that, he left.

For a second Josh was disappointed that he did. He enjoyed Adam’s company. But at least he would be able to enjoy the game without anyone antagonizing Dave.

Dave looked over his hand intently. Although the match became three on one, none of Peter’s monsters were strong enough to take out Black Luster Soldier. But, he had already declared his attack for the turn. All he could do now was prepare for future battles. He took a Trap Card from his hand, tossing it into a slot in his Duel Disk.

“I end,” he said, gripping the rim of hat.

“Alright.” Peter drew a card, only to throw it in his Duel Disk as well. The hologram flashed below Shining Angel, who drifted towards the ground to land. “That’s it. Your turn.”

[i][i]Really?[/i][/i] Dave thought. [i][i]This guy seems a little too lax…[/i] [/i]He focused on the face-down card; his view of it was obscured by the angel as it landed. [i]That card he played must be a trap.[/i] He drew a card, recognizing it as The Warrior Returning Alive, a card he used in his duel against the dinosaur girl. He slipped it in between the others in hand, touching another Spell Card with his index finger.

“I activate Bait Doll to force the activation of your face-down card. If it’s a Trap, it activates whether it works or not.”

A voodoo doll emerged above the face-down card in a puff of smoke. It plopped onto the card, coercing it to rise in front of Peter. Mirror Force, a card that responses to attacks. Since it failed, the card shattered into thousands of digital fragments. Peter inhaled briskly.

“After Bait Doll is used, it returns to my deck.” He placed the card on top of his deck, shuffled it, and returned it to its spot in his Duel Disk. “Now I activate The Warrior Returning Alive and use it to bring Dark Blade from my Graveyard to my hand.” He whipped the card near his nose. “And I’ll summon it in Attack Mode!”

From under Dave, a shadow stealthily surged forward, stretching until it met with Black Luster Soldier’s. Once there, the shadow shot into the air and formed into the familiar blade-covered warrior who unsheathed its two signature swords. ([b][b][b]1800[/b][/b][/b]/1500)

“Black Luster Soldier, attack Gorz the Emissary of Darkness!”

Firmly securing its sword in its fingers, Black Luster Soldier charged at the spikey-haired warrior. Gorz lifted its arm parallel to the ground and a blade of its own rose from its shadow. It grasped and blocked Black Luster Soldier’s strike, pushing it away. When it moved in for a counterattack Black Luster Soldier spun a full circle, dodging the blow and stabbing Gorz in its back. Gorz, staring at the sword piercing through its chest, collapsed and dissipated into streamers of shadows. Now the battle was two on two. [Peter LP: (6400 --> 6100)]

“Sorry but just having a lot of monsters out doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed victory,” He said. “Now Dark Blade, attack his Shining Angel!”

Dark Blade crossed its swords in from of its face, dashing at the angel with stunning agility.

Peter smiled, taking a card from his hand. “Sorry, but just because your monsters are stronger than mine doesn’t mean that they can’t beat you.” He held up a card depicting another angel with sky blue wings somehow holding a glowing light in its arms. “I discard Honest to increase Shining Angel’s ATK by Dark Blade’s until the end of the turn!”

Dave raised an eyebrow. [i][i]Another rare card![/i][/i]

Peter tossed the card into the Graveyard slot, which responded with a glow. A large, sky-blue halo materialized above Shining Angel, flowing down, surrounding the angel, safeguarding it from the opposing monster’s strikes. With each blow, the ring twinkled and fairy dust burst out, covering both combatants. The ring expanded outward, forcing Dark Blade to stand down, and the airborne fairy dust fused into Shining Angel. [b]([b][b]1400 --> 3200[/b][/b][/b]/800) Dark Blade dashed at it to battle again. The angel gathered more fairy dust in its palm, slammed it into the warrior’s swords, smashing them until only their handles remained. Disarmed, the warrior had no choice but to accept its destruction as Shining Angel eradicated it with a wave of blinding blue light.

Dave watched dumbfounded as the angel returned to Peter’s side. [Dave LP: (8000 --> 6600)] That was the second turn in a row he used an effect from his hand, bluffing him into thinking that he was defenseless. From now on he needed to be more cautious.

Back in the stands, Josh was thinking along the same lines, only he also thought that this would be just the jolt Dave needed to snap him out of his trance. Dave concluded his turn, subtly shaking off his astonishment in the process.

Peter smiled as he drew. “Now the fun starts. I summon Copycat and use it to clone your Black Luster Soldier!”

A tall, oval mirror formed in front of him, glistening against the arena’s lighting. It was glared, but once it turned towards Black Luster Soldier, its reflection appeared alone within it. A moment later the reflection jumped out of the mirror as a carbon copy of Dave’s monster. ([b][b][b]? --> 3000[/b][/b][/b]/? --> 2500) Black Luster Soldier stared belligerently at its clone, keeping its sword poised. Dave looked to his warrior on the stone altar, then back at Copycat.

“A copy is never better than the original,” Dave stated with pride.

“No… but it’s just as good,” Peter countered with a chortle. “Copycat, attack Black Luster Soldier!”

The declaration caused gasps throughout the crowd.

[i][i]They’ll destroy each other[/i],[/i] Josh thought.

[i][i]I’ll be wide open[/i].[/i] Dave watched his warrior combat with Copycat, each move perfectly matching its opponent’s. Neither seemed to be able to gain the upper hand, but at one point Black Luster Soldier blocked the tip of the Copycat’s blade. The soldier pushed it away, moving in to impale its doppelganger. As the sword pierced through its chest, Black Luster Soldier felt another blade go through its stomach.

Black Luster Soldier stepped back dizzily, pulling its sword out of the monster. The clone smiled, knowing its mission had been accomplished. Using the remainder of its strength, Black Luster Soldier swung its sword at the clone like a bat, knocking it into one of the stone pillars formed from its summoning. The clone died on impact, and the pillar fell onto the one next to it, creating a domino effect that caused the whole structure to crumble. Black Luster Soldier watched the falling pillars circle the stage, finally meeting at the altar where it was born. When the altar was destroyed, it died as well.

The stage returned to normal, leaving only Peter’s two monsters and Dave’s face-down card in play. Since both monsters had equal ATK strength, neither player took any damage. Dave tried hard to hide his vulnerability, but Josh saw right through it.

Apparently, Peter did too. “Kaien, attack him directly!”

The maiden lifted its blade over her head, and dashed at Dave. It let out a battle cry to intimidate him but Dave refused to lose focus.

“I activate my Trap Card – Spirit Force!”

A card with an azure glow flew out of his Duel Disk, passing in front of Kaien as its blade came down on it. Her blade crashed into it, and the card transformed into a translucent version of Black Luster Knight, only his entire body was a ghostly shade of blue. It blocked the attack with its own blade. Surprised, the maiden called off her attack, giving the spirit monster a chance to revert back into a card and fly into Dave’s hand.

“It negates any damage I would’ve taken from your attack and allows me to add a Tuner monster from my deck to my hand as long as it has less than 1500 DEF,” He said, catching the card with his last word.

“Doesn’t matter.” Peter gave his Shining Angel a commanding glance. “Attack him directly!”

The angel complied, swooping through the air. With no cards out on Dave’s field, nothing stopped it from kicking him in the chest. Dave stumbled back slightly, but was relieved that the damage wasn’t as severe. [Dave LP: (6600 --> 5200)]

“I’ll play one more card face-down before I end.”

“My turn then,” Dave said, looking to his drawn card. Black Luster Sword. Now was his chance to turn things around. “I summon Black Luster Knight in Attack Mode.”

The warrior, in the flesh, jumped out of the card reproduced by the hologram projector. It showed off its armor, letting the crowd watch in amazement as two golden streaks lit up on its gauntlets. ([b][b][b]1400[/b][/b][/b]/1200)

“I’ll take a Black Luster Counter off my knight to increase its ATK by 200!”

Black Luster Knight shook its right gauntlet, ridding itself of a streak. It did the same to its left, gripping tightly on its sword’s handle in its sheath. ([b][b][b]1400 --> 1600[/b][/b][/b]/1200)

“Finally I activate Black Luster Sword and equip it to Black Luster Knight, giving it 1000 more ATK!”

The warrior unveiled its sword, revealing that it was not that the usual sword it carried. As Dave stated, it was the sword with gems in its handle, each glowing brightly to signify a boost in power. ([b][b][b]1600 --> 2600[/b][/b][/b]/1200)

“Black Luster Knight, take out his Shining Angel!”

The knight obeyed, charging full force at the floating monster. The angel tried to avoid its strike by drifting upwards but it was caught off guard by the knight’s quick movements. A large scar grew across Shining Angel’s body as its robes became torn. Both monsters fell toward the earth; Black Luster Knight being the only one who landed safely.
[center][Dave LP: (5200)] [Peter LP: (6100 --> 4900)][/center]

“Pfft, so what? Now I’ll just bring out another Shining Angel to replace it.”

Another angel flew down like its predecessors, stopping just as its feet would have touched the ground. ([b][b][b]1400[/b][/b][/b]/800)

“That’s right but my Black Luster Knight is far stronger than both of your monsters.” He slid a card into a Spell/Trap Card slot, allowing it to rematerialize beside him. “I end my turn.”

“That may be true,” Peter said, drawing to start again. “But so far strength hasn’t really been your strong point has it?”

Seeing that Dave ignored the joke, Peter immediately followed up by opening the card-sized slot in the side of his Duel Disk. He threw a green card in it that featured a red, winged fiend monster shielding its eyes from a blinding light that flooded the rest of the picture.

“I activate the Field Spell Card, Luminous Spark! This card increases the ATK of all LIGHT monsters by 500, but lowers their DEF by 400.”

A glimmering strip flowed along the floor, eventually rising up into wisps of light. The light grew in size and force, eventually becoming a massive, blinding tower that beamed from the arena’s hub. Dave covered his eyes with his Duel Disk; his monster doing the same with its sword. Peter closed his eyes, basking in the light while his monsters held out their arms, absorbing its energy.

[Shining Angel ([b][b][b]1400 --> 1900[/b][/b][/b]/ 800 --> 400)]
[Emissary of Darkness Token ([b][b]1600 --> 2100[/b][/b]/1600 --> 1200)]

Eventually the light dimmed down a bit, allowing the players to regain their eyesight.

“And while I’m at it, I’ll activate Shine Palace and equip it to Kaien, which gives her an additional 700 ATK.”

A medieval tower rose from the ground, casting a light onto Kaien from its peak. The maiden raised her blade, creating a pillar of light from its reflection. ([b][b][b]2100 --> 2800[/b][/b][/b]/1200)

“Kaien, attack his Black Luster Knight!”

Kaien brought its attention to the warrior, swinging its blade, sending the light-pillar with it. The light reconfigured into a bolt of energy that spiraled towards Dave’s monster.

“No you don’t!” Dave hit a button on his Card Analyzer before the bolt came near. “I activate Black Luster Sword’s effect - by removing a counter from it I can negate your attack!”

One of the gems on Black Luster Sword’s handle blew out, simultaneously transforming the sword’s color to an unusual shade of blue. The warrior cocked its arm up to block the light beam, barely succeeding as the beam crashed against the blade. Blurs of white and blue sparked from the blade in a struggle for control. Black Luster Knight knocked the beam away, redirecting it towards the ground where it vanished in the stage’s light.

Kaien gave Black Luster Knight a rueful stare. The warrior panted in silent celebration, but upon looking at its sword it realized that the battle wasn’t over yet.

“Of course,” Dave said. “Since I had to give up a counter from Black Luster Sword, my knight loses 200 ATK.” ([b][b][b]2600 --> 2400[/b][/b][/b]/1200) “But it’s worth the price since you can’t do anything else this turn.”

“Can’t I?” Peter hesitated for a second. He didn’t even look at his hand before he started to chuckle. “Yeah, you’re right. Your turn.”

Dave smiled respectfully. Peter wasn’t like most duelists. Whether it was overconfidence or not, he was more relaxed about his playing than others were. Maybe it’s because of experience. Then again, it’s probably because his deck is so rare.

“Alright.”

He drew, recognizing the card to be another Equip Spell Card. It featured a necklace with dog-tags buried in the sand, with footprints surrounding it in the background. Symbols of Duty. It was one of his favorite Equip Cards, probably because it was so useful. The gears in his head started to turn, this time he would calculate his moves before acting.

First, to activate Symbols of Duty, he needed a Normal Monster Card. He had just one in his hand – Black Luster Warrior. Then he needed to overpower his opponent’s monsters. He looked to his face-down card. He technically could have used it last turn, but he was happy that he had waited. Looks like things were set up perfectly this time. But Peter did have another face-down card… He needed a back-up plan. If things went awry, which they were bound to at this rate, he could easily lose the duel and his dreams would go down the drain. But that won’t happen.

That can’t happen.

Josh watched him look over his cards, continuously checking his Card Analyzer and occasionally glancing at Peter’s side of the field. He smiled. Looks like his – er, Adam’s – advice finally got through to him.

Dave took a card from his collection. Now was the time to strike.

“I summon Black Luster Warrior!”

The young trainee leaped cheerfully out its card hologram, squinting slightly when the intense light hit its eyes. It took its tiny shield in front of its face so it had time for its vision to adjust. ([b][b][b]1600[/b][/b]/[/b]1000)

Dave pulled out another card; this time he held it far from his body so that his arm extended straight out. Josh thought this was a bit dramatic for a card game but he was used to it by now.

“I activate Symbols of Duty!” He flipped the card with his fingers, quickly flashing it to Peter, immediately slotting it into his Duel Disk. “By sending Black Luster Warrior to the Graveyard I can revive a monster from either Graveyard and equip it with this card.” A blue monster ejected out his Duel Disk. “And I pick Black Luster Soldier!”

The blue card flew out to the center of the field, passing through Black Luster Warrior like it was a ghost, and the two entities transformed. The card spread out to reform into the powerful soldier it once was, while Black Luster Warrior converted into a small chained necklace. Black Luster Soldier kept its eyes closed, allowing the necklace to fall gracefully onto its shoulders, only opening them when it heard the dog-tags clang against its armor. ([b][b][b]3000[/b][/b][/b]/2500)

“Next I’ll take off another counter from Black Luster Knight to boost my monster’s ATK strength by 200 each.”

The remaining streaks on the knight’s gauntlets receded into the gauntlet’s design, leaving only the dark blue hue to glimmer in the omnipresent light.

[Black Luster Knight ([b]2400 --> 2600[/b][/1200)]
[Black Luster Soldier ([b]3000 --> 3200[/b]/2500)]

[i][i]3200 ATK?[/i][/i] Peter thought. [i][i]Now that’s good.[/i][/i]

“I’m not done yet.” He shot his arm into the air; his face-down card did the same. “I activate Collected Power! I can pick a monster and attach every Equip Card on the field to it whether it works or not.” He pointed to the most obvious target. “And I pick my Black Luster Soldier.”

Black Luster Soldier inhaled deeply; a strange force exuded from its body, causing the light from Shine Palace to cast onto it. Kaien, the Emissary of Darkness Token, scowled at the soldier, but there was nothing it could do to prevent the castle’s power from being taken. [Kaien ([b][b]2800 --> 2100[/b][/b]/1200)] Black Luster Soldier winced at the light, gesturing to Black Luster Knight to assist it. The knight considered its options for a moment, settling on giving its Black Luster Sword to its superior. [Black Luster Knight ([b]2600 --> 1800[/b]/1200)] [Black Luster Soldier ([b]3200 --> 4000[/b]/2500)] The two exchanged swords, allowing the soldier to reflect the beam of light using the blade’s metal sheen. It redirected the beam into the tower’s base, somehow causing it to erode through it. With time, the tower fell, leaving Kaien and Shining Angel to dodge the falling debris.

Black Luster Soldier looked back at its master, who nodded approvingly, and the soldier dove in to attack. It expertly avoided each piece of brick and stone that came its way. Kaien, too busy focusing on the collapsing tower, squealed when Black Luster Soldier came inches from its face. Just as the solider pulled its blade out, Peter flipped a card and a mechanical spring shot out, snatching Black Luster Knight in between its discs.

“I activate my face-down card, Magical Arm Shield! This allows me to change the attack target to a monster you control instead!”

“What?!”

Black Luster Knight resisted, struggling to break free from the device's snare. Even prying its sword under the disc did nothing. Once its grip was secured, the device swept the warrior off its feet, propelling it towards the falling gravel.

Black Luster Soldier, unaware of this, continued to drive its sword at Kaien’s torso. The maiden ducked, making the soldier hit a bolder instead. It attempted to pull its blade out as Kaien retreated, using the raining rubble as a cover. The now furious soldier tightened its muscles, tugging the blade until it jerked free. Knowing that its life was in danger if it stayed any longer, it chucked its sword clear across the field. Amazingly the sword successfully missed every piece of brick and stone that fell past it. Black Luster Soldier ran back to Dave’s side, nearly getting crushed by the tower’s roof in the process. The tower’s remaining base caved inward, leaving a thick layer of smoke (that was nearly invisible due to the lighting) cloaking Peter’s field.

Dave sighed thankfully when Black Luster Soldier returned to him. But Black Luster Knight was still lost in the destruction. What was that card Peter used? Magical Arm Shield? If he was right then his knight was a goner. His fears were confirmed when the knight stumbled through the clouds of dust, exposing its blood-stain body. Black Luster Soldier raced to its side. It caught the youth as it tripped over the ground. Black Luster Knight weakly handed Black Luster Soldier the Black Luster Sword, which was blood-stained as well. Guilt struck through the warrior’s heart as the knight died in its arms.

Black Luster Soldier carefully placed its body on the ground, picking up the sword the fallen knight had left it. It turned back to the smoke and saw Kaien laughing. The intended target had gotten away. This time.

But this time might be the last. With his plan foiled, Dave searched his hand. He slid a card into his Duel Disk, which rematerialized in front of him, and called out to Peter.

“You may have destroyed my monster, but you’re the one who takes the damage.”

“That’s right –” [Peter LP: (4900 --> 2700)] “– but it’s worth the price. Once I get rid of your soldier, you’ll be completely defenseless.”

Was he right?

Dave lowered his eyebrows. “Good luck with that.”

“Is that a challenge?” Peter drew. “I activate Graceful Charity. This lets me draw three more cards but then I have to discard two.” He tossed two cards into his Graveyard, though Dave couldn’t tell what they were since he was suffering from near-blindness. “And since I have exactly four Fairy-monsters in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my favorite monster – Archlord Kristya!”

Yet another rare card. And he was clever about using this one. He only had three Fairy-monsters in his Graveyard beforehand – two Shining Angels that Dave destroyed and an Honest he discarded earlier – but he must’ve sent a fourth using Graceful Charity. Smart kid.

“Now descend upon us, Archlord Kristya!”

A new angel dropped down from the ceiling; its body was covered in albino armor connected together by off-white, Greek-styled pieces that protruded further out of its elbows and ankles. More off-white armor lined over its lower body and left leg that acted as a type of exoskeleton. The upper portion of its body was also protected by the armor, but this part extended to its helmet that hid its entire head. Its eyes, which were barely visible behind the large horn attached to the helmet, stared coldly at the Black Luster Soldier. It spread its orange, phoenix-like wings as its flame colored sash hovered over its hips. ([b][b]2800 --> 3300[/b][/b]/2300 --> 1900)

[i][i]It’s still not strong enough to take out my Soldier…[/i][/i] Dave was content with his small advantage, but when Peter reached for his Graveyard it struck him – Archlord Kristya had another effect.

“And when Archlord Kristya is Special Summoned by its effect, I can add one Fairy-type monster from my Graveyard to my hand. So I’ll bring back my Honest card.”

Dave grunted slightly and took a defensive stance when Honest’s halo began to orbit Archlord Kristya’s body. Black Luster Soldier did the same, raising its shield in preparation.

“Now Archlord Kristya, attack his Black Luster Soldier!”

The white armored angel followed its orders, stretching its wings so that Honest’s ring expanded at an incredible rate. The ring smashed against Black Luster Soldier’s shield, creating friction from the collision that sparked along the edges. Black Luster Soldier managed to push it away, but the sparks created from the struggle quickly transferred themselves to Archlord Kristya. ([b][b]3300 --> 7300[/b][/b]/1900) With azure static trickling from his body, the angel swooped at Black Luster Soldier.

The soldier tried swiping at the angel with its sword, but the angel skillfully evaded each strike with nearly no effort at all. The angel moved in, but Black Luster Soldier refused to go down without a fight. It fended the angel off, swiping its blade at the angel’s wings, blocking with its shield when the angel attempted to hit back. The process continued; neither combatant showed any signs of fatigue or strain and the audience began to wonder what would happen despite knowing what the outcome would ultimately be.

At last the angel backed off, allowing the soldier to take a deep sigh of relief. But soon it realized it had set up its own demise. With each strike, the angel had been pushing it back until it had been pushed to the edge of the stage. The soldier eyed the angel, who glared back mischievously. They stared at each other for a while, seemingly suspended in time.

“Get out of there!”

The order from Dave alerted the soldier to danger once again, but the angel was too fast – it darted so quickly that it appeared to have teleported across the room. Black Luster Soldier felt the angel’s gauntlets crush into its armor, forcefully knocking it off the stage. As it flew through the air, the soldier managed to make eye contact with angel one final time. It felt its armor pierce through its back, let out an inaudible groan and its vision blurred until only darkness remained.

The crowd, as this happened, peered over the side of the stadium in order to get a better few of the warrior. Most could not see past the stage (including Josh), but those closest to Dave could see the mess of broken armor slowly digitize. Peter stepped forward, finger pointed at Dave, as he prepared his next move.

“Now this game is mine! Kaien! Finish hi – ” His voice choked. His eyes bulged out and his hand began to tremble as he lowered back to his hip. “No… this can’t be… I was so close!”

Murmurs began to spread across the crowd. No one was sure what had caused Peter to panic without warning. Josh scanned the field, eventually making his way to Dave. The camouflaged teenage smirked. In front of him a card had been raised, and Josh knew this could only mean one thing.

“When the Trap Card Dimension Wall is activated, any Battle Damage I would’ve taken from your attack is transferred to you instead.” Dave adjusted the rim of his cap. “My soldier didn’t die in vain.”

“No way…” Peter dropped to his knees, finally accepting his loss.


[center][Dave LP: (5200)] ([Peter LP: (2700 --> 0)][/center]

“And Dave Litenur moves onto the Final Round!”

Cheers immersed the arena as the remaining holograms faded and the stage’s light dulled out. Dave walked over to his opponent. Peter looked to him distantly, stood up, and quietly held out a hand as he drew near.

“Well, you definitely deserved that win.”

Dave reciprocated the handshake with a grin. “Thanks. You nearly had me there a few times.”

“Good luck in the finals.”

The two nodded and made their way off stage. Dave shot a glance to Josh, who answered with a thumbs-up.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I please have your attention.”

The clapping died down; at this point Dave had returned to his seat. Josh nudged him with his elbow and mouthed ‘Congrats’ as the announcer resumed his spiel.

“The Final Round will begin shortly. We’ll be taking a short fifteen minute break. Please feel free to visit the cafeteria and gift shops in the meantime.”

Josh turned to Dave, who congratulated him again, this time out loud.

“Thanks Josh, I guess your advice was right after all.”

Josh smiled and shook his head. “Don’t thank me. Adam was the one who told me that.”

Suddenly a solemn feeling fell over the two teenagers. They looked to the vacant seat next to Dave, before looking back to each other.

“Speaking of which, where did he go?”


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Massive clumps of people began to fill the empty lobby; slowing congesting the wide space so that Nathan was unable to move any farther.

“Nathan,” a voice rang out over his walkie-talkie. “We need strategize our search more thoroughly. There’s too many people in here to do a quick sweep. Meet me by the reception desk and we’ll talk there.”

He unclipped it from his belt, touching it to his mouth. “Roger.”

Nathan slid the walkie-talkie back into place. He had done other jobs like this, but none of those were nearly this taxing. His partner was right – there were too many people in this building. If anything were to happen the place would be thrown into hysteria in a matter of minutes. He took a deep breath, trying to pry a path through the walls of people that surrounded him. It took a bit of effort, but they finally moved.

Despite what he had initially thought, Nathan arrived at the desk before his partner did. He leaned up against it, surveying the crowd for him. Nowhere to be found. He was about to look in another direction when he locked eyes with a mysterious man wearing a gray leather jacket. The man’s stare was fierce; he wiped his hand across his nose, brushing the lone strand of red hair into the black spikes atop his head. The man stepped away from view as Nathan’s partner returned to the scene.

“Alright, now we can… Nathan, something wrong?”

Nathan watched the spot where the man had once stood. Something was off about him.

“Nathan, did you hear me?”

This time he acknowledged him with a nod, but remained transfixed on the crowd.

“No. Nothing at all.”


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


[center]Card Analyzer activated…[/center]
[center]Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …[/center]
[center]… Data Found:[/center]


[center][b][b]Black Luster Knight[/b][/b][/center]
[center]***[/center]
[center][Earth][/center]
[center][Warrior/Tuner][/center]
[center](1400/1200)[/center]
[center]This card cannot be used as a Synchro Material Monster except for the Synchro Summon of a Warrior-type monster. When this card is summoned to the field or flipped face-up, place 2 Black Luster Counters on this card (max.5). Once per turn, by removing 1 Black Luster Counter increase the ATK of all monsters with “Black Luster” in their name by 200 points.[/center]


[center][b][b]Black Luster Warrior[/b][/b][/center]
[center]****[/center]
[center][Light][/center]
[center][Warrior][/center]
[center](1600/1000)[/center]
[center][i][i]The young apprentice of Black Luster Soldier. He shows great potential; once his training is completed he may even surpass his master in skill.[/i][/i][/center]

[/spoiler]


[center][spoiler=Chapter Eight][/center]

[center][b][b]Chapter Eight[/b][/b][/center]



The audience members slowly refilled the otherwise empty arena, after mingling in the lobby and snack areas, to watch the remainder of the tournament. In five minutes, the final round would begin. Figuring that it would be impossible to fight their way through the crowd in time, Josh and Dave had stayed in their seats. Josh leaned back in his chair, shuffling his new deck with his left hand, while Dave looked over something on his Card Analyzer.

“Kaiba has three copies of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon in his deck. So that means he has a three out of forty chance of drawing it, assuming his deck has forty cards that is…”

Josh stopped shuffling and leaned forward. “Remember what we said earlier, right?”

Dave looked to his friend. “I know. One more round to go. But like I said, I’m not too worried about that Adam guy.”

“Are you sure? He seemed really good from what I can tell.” Although, he had to admit that he didn’t know much about this game to begin with.

“Yeah, I figured out his strategy during the last round.” He put his Card Analyzer on his lap and crossed his legs. “He tries to send his monsters to his Graveyard with his Spell Cards, then he tries to outsmart you with his Trap Cards. It’s a good strategy too. But most of his tactics are so unorthodox that they’re obvious when you really pay attention. I just need be wary of his tricks and I should be set.”

Josh leaned back again. “Alright.” He smiled. Dave knew what he was doing. He could trust that.

Once the stadium was repopulated, the lights went out and a spotlight shone on center stage. The announcer, who seemed to appear out of the floor, gave a two-minute warning and told the finalists to proceed to the stage. Josh bumped Dave’s fist as he passed him by, watching him make his way to the meeting spot.

“Good,” the announcer whispered to Dave. “Now we just need to wait for your opponent and we can begin.”

Dave nodded. Hopefully he wouldn’t take too long.


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Near a private entrance, Kaiba and his brother, Mokuba, waited in the shadows for the finalists to show up.

“Seto, are you okay?” Mokuba asked shyly. Kaiba patted him on the shoulder tenderly.

“I’m fine.” He pulled his hand away.

“But what about your deck? How are you going to duel without it?”

Kaiba hesitated, then spoke gravely, “We need to continue with the tournament as if it never happened. Hopefully we can bide our time...”

Mobuka turned to him. “I wouldn’t worry about that. These two guys are the best I’ve seen since Yugi Muto and Joey Wheeler.” Kaiba rolled his eyes at the mention of Joey’s name. “They’ll be able to put on a show long enough for us to find the culprit.”

“Let’s hope so,” he whispered under his breath.

“Mr. Kaiba,” the chief said, arriving behind them. “How are things holding up?”

Kaiba nodded. “We should be able to stall long enough for you to find my deck.”

Mobuka elbowed him teasingly. “Yeah, hopefully Seto can keep his cool while we wait.”

The chief and Mokuba forced a nervous laugh. There was a moment of awkward silence until the chief pointed to the stage.

“Look, that other boy’s here.”

They looked to the stage, watching the confident teenager somberly walk over to the other duelist. Kaiba stepped forward.

“I have to go up.” He glanced at the chief over his shoulder. “If you hear any word about my deck alert me immediately.”

The chief gave an assuring nod and stepped back into the doorway. Kaiba took a few more steps; a beam of light exposed him from the darkness. He steadily climbed the stairs, met with the other three, where the announcer handed him a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen. The duel that is about to take place is destined to be unlike any other.” Mokuba chuckled – everyone knew that Kaiba didn’t believe in destiny. “In the left corner we have a local duelist known as Dave Litenur and in the right, we an unknown duelist by the name of Adam Prince. Both are equally skilled in varying ways, but one thing we know is that they were able to make it here today.”

Kaiba paused to allow both contestants to take their spots on the stage, simultaneously allowing the audience room to applaud. Dave had his back turned to Josh, where he would be able to get a good view of Dave’s hand. The two showed off their Duel Disks, but waited for permission to activate them.

“As you already know, both of you already qualify to beta test a brand new line of cards. But that is not enough. In order to gain the title and glory of becoming a champion, you must win this round to have the once-in-a-lifetime chance to duel me.”

Dave stared at Kaiba as he gave his spiel. [i][i]I’ll be sure to.[/i][/i]

“If you win, then fame is yours. But now let’s return to the moment shall we?” He looked to Adam, who stood emotionlessly. Then to Dave, who remained focused on the famous duelist.

[i][i]Just one more round and my dream will come true…[/i][/i]

“Dave.” Hearing Kaiba say his name broke him from his trance. Kaiba held out a coin engraved with a dragon’s head on one side, fumbling with it. “Since you won with more Life Points during the last round, you get to call the toss.”

A formal coin toss. It was rare to see this in casual play, but even throughout this tournament the announcer had predetermined the turn order. He was honored to be left with this choice.

“Heads,” he said with confidence.

“Hmph.” Kaiba threw the coin into the air, where it flipped distinctively as it fell. When it returned, Kaiba griped it with his right hand, plopped it onto his left and called out the result.

“Tails.”

Dave grumbled. But he knew it didn’t matter in the long run – it was rare for the turn order to determine the winner.

“Adam, since you won the toss you get to go first.”

Adam darkly watched Kaiba step off stage, where Kaiba passed the baton to the announcer.

“Alright! Let the final round begin!”

The crowd cheered; Kaiba disappeared into the darkness. Only two spotlights remained, one on either player, each expanding so that their fields were lit up in a sharp, pale light. Kaiba acknowledged Mokuba as he came close, and the two turned to watch the match unfold.

[i][i]They better find it. Or else.[/i][/i]


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Each duelist activated his Duel Disk, clapping the two platforms together and swinging it so that it was facing the other player. They pulled their five cards and their Life Points meters ignited with electronic digits.

[i][i]Here we go.[/i][/i]

[center][Dave LP: (8000)] [Adam LP: (8000)][/center]

While Adam started his turn, Dave looked over his hand. First card was Black Luster Soldier. He lacked its Ritual Spell Card though, but with his Pot of Greed card he could easily pull it in addition to his normal draw. Then he had Black Luster Sword, Dimension Wall, and Black Luster Guard ready to support it if needed. He couldn’t have asked for a better starting hand. This game was good as his.

“I activate Graceful Charity,” Adam said. A Spell Card appeared depicting a red-haired angel cupping its hands under a glowing, pale card that floated above it. “This card allows me to draw three cards, but discard two.”

[i][i]So he’s gonna dump a Fallen monster into the Grave first thing.[/i][/i]

Adam looked over his new cards, then tossed two of them into the red slot of his Duel Disk.

“Next I’ll set two cards face-down.” Two brown-backed cards flashed a foot ahead of Adam. He pressed a button on his Duel Disk, and an orange card ejected from the red slot. “Now I’ll summon my Fallen Koumori Dragon from my Graveyard.”

The purple dragon appeared with a burst of flames, its yellow eyes glaring at Dave through the spotlight. ([b][b]1500[/b][/b]/1200)

“Your go.”

Dave pulled a card, disappointed to see it was Obnoxious Celtic Guard. He reached for his Pot of Greed card, but one of Adam’s face-down cards triggered the second he did.

“I activate Extended Trip-Wire. This lets me pick up cards from my deck until I draw a Trap Card. Then, if it can activate, I can use it immediately and send all the other cards to the Graveyard. Otherwise my picked-up cards go back to my deck.”

[i][i]I see right through that.[/i] [/i]Dave touched his finger to Pot of Greed, still preparing to use it. [i][i]His real plan is to populate his Graveyard full of Fallen monsters. It doesn’t matter what trap he pulls so long as it works.[/i][/i]

Adam drew card after card; Dave counted them as he pulled. An orange card. A green card. Another orange card. A third… he continued until finally drew a purple card and slid it into his Duel Disk. At that point he had seven orange cards, monsters, and three green cards, spells, all of them going into his Graveyard. Now he needed to be prepared for anything.

“Since my Ring of Destruction card was drawn, I’ll use it to destroy the only monster out – Fallen Koumori Dragon!”

A metallic tire stuck itself around Fallen Koumori Dragon’s neck. The dragon attempted to pry it off but fire shot out of the tire’s pores, completely submerging it. In a final effort to escape the dragon spread its wings, shooting the flames at both players. Dave shielded himself with his Duel Disk, while Adam took the hit unflinchingly.

[center][Dave LP: (8000 --> 6500)] [Adam LP: (8000 --> 6500)][/center]

Dave lowered his arm, glared at his opponent through the smoke. Adam barely seemed to care about the blast. Dave took his Pot of Greed card, slamming it angrily into a random slot.

“I activate Pot of Greed which allows me to draw two cards.” He brought the same hand to his deck.

“I chain Exchange of Spirit!”

[i][i]No way![/i] [/i]

Upon hearing the card’s name, Kaiba perked his attention at Adam. He and Mokuba watched the card rise from their corner, each of them stepping forward to get a better view. Dave was completely taken aback. He couldn’t believe he fell for this.

“Since I have fifteen cards in my Graveyard, I can pay 1000 Life Points –” [Adam LP: (6500 --> 5500)] “– to have our Graveyards switch places with our decks.”

Ghosts spewed out the card’s hologram, spiraling chaotically around the arena, a few headed for both players. A cluster of ghosts assaulted Dave, absorbing his deck one card at a time. As one ghost moved away, another one took its place, and the previous ghosts squished itself into Dave’s Graveyard. He tried to fan them away, but his arm passed straight through. He had no choice but to wait for the madness to finish. By the end of the mayhem, Dave’s deck was gone. Since Pot of Greed needed to take effect, Dave was forced to draw. He still had his hand on the empty compartment, pressing his fingers against the cold gray metal.

[i][i]No… this can’t be[/i].[/i] Dave’s heart became stone. He fell to his knees, found himself paralyzed by trauma.

Audience members shot themselves onto their feet. Despite the impressive move, everyone remained in silent awe, as if expecting more to happen. Even the announcer and, in the dark, Kaiba expressed their amazement. The holograms disintegrated; the platform on Adam’s Duel Disk unhinged itself into two separate units. For a moment, the arena seemed to become a place of mourning, as if a murder had just been witnessed.

Josh saw his friend digging his hands into the stage floor. He watched Adam walk over, snapping the announcer out of his trance.

“Dave Litenur has Decked Out. Adam Prince is the winner!”

A delayed uproar filled the stadium, louder than any other before it. Adam held out his hand to Dave, but Dave remained unresponsive. The shock was too much.

[i][i]Oh Dave… you were so close.[/i][/i]

Kaiba, too, stared at the duelists in horror.

“Seto,” Mokuba said. “Seto, what’re we gonna do now?”

Kaiba hesitated. “How the hell…”

“Seto.”

Mokuba looked to his brother, shaking his arm. Kaiba answered with a glare.

“Stall. I need to find the chief.”

With that he waved Mokuba away and whipped open the door, his blazer trailing behind him.

Back on stage, Adam crouched so he was eyelevel with Dave. He began to whisper. “Don’t worry. You’ll get your chance.”

Dave finally acknowledged him. Get his chance? What did that mean? Adam offered his hand again, Dave accepted reluctantly. They stood up, the crowd burst into a deafening frenzy.

“Next up we’ll have the Championship Round – Seto Kaiba vs. Adam Prince! But first we’ll have a fifte…”

A panic-stricken Mobuka sprinted onto the stage. Josh, probably the only person not caught up in the moment, noticed the announcer’s astonishment at his arrival. The announcer leaned in to hear what the teenager was whispering in his ear. When Mokuba stepped back, the announcer held up his microphone.

“Erhrm. We’ll be having a thirty minute break, then the Championship Round will begin!”

More cheers wisped across the stadium. Josh saw his friend step down the stage’s stairs, using his hat to hide his shame.


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


While the remainder of the crowd headed for the lobby, Dave and Josh stayed behind to talk. Dave looked through his deck again, this time with sullen guilt.

“Dave, you okay?” He waited, but Dave continued to search through his deck. “Don’t worry about the loss man, you still get to beta test those cards.”

Dave stopped, looked to him. “I was [i][i]so close[/i][/i]!” He started to sloppily shuffle his deck. “I’m never gonna have a chance like this again.”

“You don’t know that.” Josh said reassuringly. Though, from the way Dave sounded earlier, he knew that Dave was probably right.

“Whatever.”

Dave shoved his deck back into his Card Analyzer, collapsing in his chair.

“You wanna go home?”

Dave stared at the floor, sulking.

“Yeah. Let’s go…”


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


“What do you [i][i]MEAN[/i][/i] we can’t leave?!”

The security guard shook his head, holding out a hand to protect himself from Dave’s outrage.

“I’m sorry sir. Mr. Kaiba’s orders. No one is allowed to leave until the tournament is concluded.”

“That’s ridiculously stupid!” Dave shouted, waving his arms in exasperation. Josh gave a frightened look to the guard, who retracted his jaw. “What if there was a fire or shooting or something! Why the hell would you keep everyone here against their will!”

The security guard remained firm, but gentle. “If that was the case we would override the order. But until then we have to listen to what he says. I’m sorry.”

“Dammit!” Dave kicked a nearby pillar and trudged away. Josh stayed behind to apologize but the security guard simply nodded. With that settled, he caught up to Dave, who had started to push his way through the crowd. Josh followed, but struggled to reach him. People started crossing his path almost immediately.

“Dave! Where are you going!”

Dave didn’t hear him – whether it was because of the noise or his withdrawn anger, Josh wasn’t sure – and headed for the cafeteria door. Though Josh tried, he could not keep up with him. Eventually he was lost in the crowd.


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


“Nathan.” A voice rang from the police officer’s walkie-talkie. He picked it up, quickly trying to fight his way toward the cafeteria door so he could hear it better.

“Yes sir?”

“We have less time than we thought. Please hurry and find that de –”

There was a struggle on the other line, shortly followed by a deafening roar.

“Find that deck NOW!” Kaiba’s voice shouted, forcing Nathan to momentarily take the walkie-talkie away from his ear. “If you don’t find that deck in twenty minutes I’ll be sure to make your life a living hell!”

Nathan’s voice started to falter. “On it sir.” He hung up just as Kaiba began another barrage of threats. Now he was racing the clock.

He glanced around the crowd at first, waiting to see if he could anyone that looked slightly suspicious. Then he saw him – the same man from before; his gray leather jacket and his black spikey hair contrasting with that single strand of red hair that hung above his nose. This time he wouldn’t get away. Nathan silently marched in his direction, only to bump into another man from his haste.

“Ah, I’m sorry,” the boy said. It the same kid he had bumped into earlier; the timid one who wore the red sweatshirt.

“It’s alright. I’m just in a hurry.”

He was about to walk away so the suspect didn’t have a chance to escape, but stopped himself. The boy seemed troubled. Nathan cast his gaze at the spikey-haired man, just to make sure he was still there. When he felt secured, he questioned the boy before he left.

“You alright there kid?”

The boy seemed surprised when he asked. “Yeah. My friend just ran off, so I’m trying to find him.”

“Oh, I see. Carry on.” He nodded, tipping his hat. He was about to pursue the spikey-haired man when the boy started to speak again.

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

Nathan looked again to check if the man had left. He hadn’t.

“Sure. What’s bothering you kid?”

“What’s going on today? I mean, the announcer’s acting weird with all these delays and my friend and I weren’t allowed to leave before.”

Now he was stuck. He needed to think quickly so the boy wouldn’t be too concerned. Maybe tell the truth with a detached tone?

“It’s nothing. Something valuable was stolen before and the owner was making a fuss about it.” He wasn’t lying, just leaving out some key details. “Security’s playing along just to calm his nerves. There’s no need to fret.”

“Ah, alright.” The boy held out his hand. “Hopefully you find it so we can leave. My friend’s angry about his loss and just wants to get outta here.”

Nathan accepted the handshake. “Don’t worry, you should be able to leave soon.”

“Thanks.” The boy smiled politely, opened the door to the cafeteria.

[i][i]Hopefully this thief isn’t too dangerous.[/i] [/i]Nathan looked back to the crowd and, once again, the spikey-haired man was gone.

[i][i]Sh[i]i[/i]t.[/i][/i]


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


Josh entered the cafeteria, closing the door behind him. Now that there was a break in the tournament, the whole room was flooded with people waiting for the finals. It would definitely be harder to find Dave in here.

He walked straight ahead, thinking about what the cop had just said to him. Something was stolen. That was easy enough to understand. But wait… he never answered why the announcer was acting weird. Could something have been stolen from him? That didn’t make much sense. And he remembered before that all of the cops were looking for it. Was it really that important? Something didn’t add up.

Eventually Josh found himself at the center of the cafeteria – in between the wide rows of tables that stretched from one end of the room to the other. Not one seat was vacant in here, and every inch of the tables had either trays or cards laid out on them. He cupped his hand over his eyes in search for Dave but he still didn’t see him. Maybe he snuck out?

Josh twisted around, thinking that he would be able to find him from a different vantage point, when he slammed into a person dressed in dull business clothes. He heard a feminine grunt. A briefcase fell to the floor, spilling its contents all over the place.

“Ah, I’m so sorry. Let me help.”

He leaned down to pick up the small trinkets, including some make-up, a few sheets of paper, and a blue Card Analyzer. He was about to stand up when he noticed that the hinge securing the Card Analyzer’s deck slot was opened, a card was sticking out slightly.

A thought flashed into Josh’s mind, something he had heard before.

[i][i]“Nathan, hurry up. We need to find that deck.”[/i][/i]

Was that what the police officer was referring to? At that moment, another thought hit him.

[i][i]“I’m sorry sir. Mr. Kaiba’s orders. No one is allowed to leave until the tournament is concluded.”[/i][/i]

Mr. Kaiba… Why would he order to seal the exits if it wasn’t a big deal? He slipped the card higher to could read its name. Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Now a new voice rang out in his head. This time it was Dave’s.

[i][i]“They’re one of the most powerful Dragon-type monsters in the world. And he owns the only three copies in existence. It’s his signature card.”[/i][/i]

No… this was Kaiba’s deck! He sprung up from shock, but the business woman punched him in the gut, loosening his grip of the Card Analyzer. She snatched it away from him, tossed her scattered belongings into the briefcase and fled from the scene. By the time Josh recovered she was already half way across the cafeteria.

“Stop her!” Josh ordered aimlessly. Curious people nearby turned. “She stole Kaiba’s deck!”

Silence brushed along the cafeteria like a droplet of water hitting the surface. Josh chased after her. Others stood up to cut her off but she managed to smack them away with her briefcase. Josh was the only one who was able to follow her trail unflinchingly. The business woman rushed for the exit; as she drew close several people stood up with arms outstretched, successfully blocking her path. She had nowhere to run now.

The woman quietly cursed. Josh approached behind her, followed by others.

“Give it up.” “You got nowhere to run now lady.” “Give us Kaiba’s deck back or else.”

A minute smirk spread across her cheeks.

“Hand it over,” Josh said, gesturing towards the briefcase. He walked closer, finally recognizing the woman’s face. “You… you’re the receptionist!”

The receptionist’s smile widened. “That’s right!” She grasped his arm, tugging on it violently. Josh, having no time to react, found himself clung up against her body. A cold, metal circle touched his neck. The others trembled, backing off subconsciously. Josh tried to speak, he failed. He was paralyzed by fear.

“Alright,” the receptionist spoke coldly. “Now I’m gonna leave. If anyone follows me out this door, I’m gonna shoot.”

The others exchanged fearful glances, eventually giving in. Those blocking the door stepped aside.

“That’s right,” she said. She pressed the gun’s barrel tighter against Josh’s neck, walking him over.

So this was how his life was gonna end. All over a stupid deck of cards.

“Oh no you don’t.”

The receptionist stopped, glancing over her shoulder. Josh, too afraid to move, barely managed to see who was speaking. But he knew the voice. It was Dave.

“What the hell do you want?” She presented Josh, twisted the gun into his skin. Josh winced in panic. “You know what’s gonna happen if anyone tries to stop me.”

“What if I make you a deal?” Dave said gravely. “I’ll challenge you to a duel. If I win, you let him go and return Kaiba’s deck.”

The receptionist pulled Josh back by his neck. “The hell I am!”

“I’m not done yet.” Dave held out his Card Analyzer. How was he able to stay so calm? “If you win, not only will I let you run off with Kaiba’s deck, I’ll give you my deck as well so long as he’s unharmed.”

His deck? The one he spent six years putting together for this tournament. And he was willing to surrender it to save his friend.

[i][i]Me.[/i][/i]

“Hmmm…” The receptionist was intrigued. “You were a finalist, am I correct?”

Dave stiffened his lips; he nodded.

The receptionist flung Josh at the people near the door, gun poised at them. “You have yourself a deal!”

She bent down, opening her briefcase to expose a Duel Disk inside (how it fit in there Josh will never know). She fitted it onto her left arm, equipping it with Kaiba’s Card Analyzer.

“I’m gonna have fun with this.”

The receptionist waved her gun at the crowd, forcing them away as she and Dave climbed atop two tables, each separated by three tables in between them. Everyone cleared the area so that the holograms could appear without interference – though it was more likely because they didn’t want to be too close if things went wrong. Josh kept an eye on the receptionist’s gun, how she stuffed it in her belt before activating her Duel Disk. If he could sneak behind her and take it, then he may be able to overpower her so Dave wouldn’t be at risk. But it was too dangerous, and everyone knew it. All they could do was cower while Dave faced off against the most powerful deck in the world.

[center][Dave LP: (8000)] [Receptionist LP: (8000)][/center]

“I’ll start things off,” the receptionist said, drawing gleefully.

Josh recalled what Dave had said to him earlier. Kaiba had three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in his deck, so there was a three in forty chance that the receptionist would draw it. As long as Dave took control before that happened, he might be able to win.

“First I’ll summon the Lord of Dragons in Attack mode.”

On the table in front of the receptionist, a man dressed in a strange costume materialized. Its helmet was shaped like a spiked, eyeless dragon’s head, with the man’s face being inside its mouth. The off-white design of the helmet continued all the way down the man’s costume, and two dragon claws hooked onto its shoulders, connecting its long, night blue cape with the rest of its armor. ([b][b]1200[/b][/b]/1100) The man, formally known as Lord of D., held out its tree-bark brown hands and glowered at those who dared to make eye contact with it.

“I know that card,” Dave said. His voice never changed pitch. “It prevents all card effects from targeting Dragon-type monsters. But it’s useless without any dragons out.”

“Yes,” the receptionist said, picking out a new card. “But that’s about to change. I activate The Flute of Summoning Dragon!”

Dave gritted his teeth, tensed his neck. Many people around Josh started murmuring amongst themselves, clinging onto each other. He didn’t know what it meant, but he knew it wasn’t good. A golden dragon-shaped flute appeared in Lord of D.’s hand. It held the instrument to its mouth, blowing into the tail, emitting a low roar from the flute.

“This allows me to call out up to two Dragon-type monsters from my hand and summon them. And guess which ones I happen to have on me?”

Josh finally understood. Not even one turn into the game and the crowd had already lost hope.

“Come on out, my blue-eyed beauties!”

Sparkles of light flowed out of the receptionist’s Duel Disk, spiraling around each other into two twisters on either side of her. They intertwined, creating two white dragons, looming majestically over her head. Their tails whipped around as they roared, incidentally showing of the three-pronged spikes on either side of their cheeks. People crouched down to avoid the windblasts caused by the dragons thrusting their wings at their new enemy – Dave.

Dave gripped tightly onto the five cards in his hand, feeling the force of the wind pushing against his body. The receptionist cackled madly as each Blue-Eyes White Dragon let out another sound-breaking howl. Strain tightened all of his muscles, his heart was pounding heavily. The odds were against him.


[center]~*~*~*~[/center]


[center]Card Analyzer activated…[/center]
[center]Accessing Card Database… Searching for Card Data …[/center]
[center]… Data Found:[/center]


[center][b][b]Extended Trip-Wire[/b][/b][/center]
[center][Trap][/center]
[center]When this card is activated, pick up cards from your Deck until you draw a Trap Card. If the conditions allow, activate the Trap Card immediately and send all the other cards picked up to the Graveyard. If not, send the Trap Card to the Graveyard. Return all other cards picked up to the deck and shuffle it.[/center]


[center][b][b]Fallen Koumori Dragon[/b][/b][/center]
[center]****[/center]
[center][Dark][/center]
[center][Dragon/Tuner][/center]
[center](1500/1200)[/center]
[center]This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card can Special Summon itself from the Graveyard. You can only Special Summon 1 “Fallen” monster this way per turn. If a non-“Fallen” monster exists in your Graveyard, you may not Special Summon this card this way. This card’s name is also treated as “Koumori Dragon”. By destroying 1 face-down card on your side of the field, you can negate an opponent’s card effect and destroy it.[/center]

[/spoiler]

[Randomflyingobjects]

I read the first duel and enjoyed it thoughroughly, but the next chapter... not so much. You realize that you can only 'Deck Out' if you have nothing in your deck and you have to draw for the draw phase, right? That means that just because Dave had nothing in his deck, it doesn't count as a loss until his Draw Phase, which he had already passed. (And the 'Deck Out' rule doesn't apply when you have to draw by a card effect, like 'Pot of Greed'.) I was kind of looking forward to a lengthy battle, escpecially when Dave lost his deck. I wanted to see how he could handle the whole situation, instead of him losing everything in a couple seconds. I liked where it went at the end, with the receptionist dueling Dave, and the reason she agreed to duel in the first place. (Usually, they just challenge the bad guy to a duel and the bad guy laughs maniacally and accepts). Dave still could have lost, but the whole thing built up to him failing the moment he started. Even if he did lose, I wanted a spectacular loss.