Yu-Gi-Oh! CYCLE [IC: Currently Arc 1]

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

As if guided by some unknown force, Sora snapped back to her senses. She had a card that would be able to get her out of her situation, and stood up slowly, saying a phrase Markus probably wouldn't have expected to come out of her mouth. "Activation upon declaration of End Phase: Jar of Avarice!" She flipped up her Trap Card, which popped out a golden, gem-encrusted jar with a human-looking face on the front. "By returning Graceful Warrior, Necro Warrior, Breakout Warrior, Junk Synchron, and Waveform Vortex from my Graveyard to my Deck, I can then draw 1 card!" She went through her massive Graveyard, withdrew the selected cards, and placed them into her Deck, then had it shuffled and drew a single card, smiling at the result. "Next, now that it's my turn, I draw!" She drew a second card, adding her total to 3 in the hand, but that's all she needed.

 

"First, I will flip up my other Trap Card, Call of the Haunted, to bring forth Synchron Carrier in Attack Mode!" A tombstone rose up, and a mechanical arm burst forth to reveal a bulky orange robot with a yellow towing attachment dangling from the back. (0 ATK|LV2). "Next, I will Normal Summon Synchron Explorer from my hand!" Another bulky robot, this one more spherical, with a portal in the middle, took its place on the opposite side of Synchron Carrier. (0 ATK|LV2) "Synchron Explorer, when Normal Summoned, gets me back a Synchron from my Graveyard, and I choose Quickdraw Synchron!" The portal in Explorer's chest whirred to life, allowing for a mechanical desperado with a traffic light for a chest to emerge from the portal. (700 ATK|LV5|Tuner) "Quickdraw Synchron lets me only use him to Synchro Summon Synchros needing Synchron Tuners, but in exchange, he allows me to substitute him for ANY Synchron!" Quickdraw Synchron grabbed the pistol at his holster faster than Markus could blink, firing off a shot that transformed him into five rings, which Synchron Explorer entered to become 2 stars. "Great blue beyond opens up into a bright new day! Fire up and race under clear skies! Synchro Summon, start your engines! Nitro Warrior!" The array erupted into a burst of light that allowed a huge hulking figure, seemingly demonic, with horns and fire spewing from multiple ports, to land next to Sora, glowing orange eyes glaring down at Markus as the cybernetic creature cracked its knuckles. (2800 ATK|LV7)

 

"And I'm not done! Synchron Carrier lets me Normal Summon again, as long as it's a Synchron, so I will get out my friend Junk Synchron!" The tow cable lashed out into Sora's hand, hooked one of her two remaining cards, and pulled the card out, transforming it into Junk Synchron. (1300 ATK|LV3|Tuner) "And Junk Synchron can bring forth another one of my friends from the Graveyard: Tuningware!" A fourth monster joined the fray, this one a small robot with a scarf and a face concealed by the giant frying pan he had on his head. (100 ATK|LV1) "Now, let's bring out another Warrior!" Junk Synchron grabbed the engine on his back, specifically a cord attached to it, and pulled, revving the engine up and turning him into 3 rings. Tuningware floated up into the trio of rings, becoming a single star. "Great blue beyond opens up into a bright new day! Prepare to defend the right to live under clear skies! Synchro Summon, suit up! Armory Warrior!" Once more, the Synchro Summoning array exploded out to allow a silver and black mechanical knight with various red and gold blades slotted into places along his body, going through the armor. (2100 ATK|LV4)

 

"Thanks to Tuningware, I get to draw a card, and now, I can use Armory Warrior's effect!" He pulls off some of his livery on his armored chest to reveal a slot with a hilt embedded in it, which he reaches into. "I equip Salvage Warrior from my Graveyard onto Armory Warrior, granting him a 1000 ATK powerup!" With a grunt, Armory Warrior withdraws the blade, revealing it to be a massive anchor-shaped sword larger than he is. (2100 ATK -> 3100 ATK) "Finally, I activate Waveform Vortex! Since I control a Synchro Monster, I can destroy one card you control!" Space rippled in front of Sora's trio of Warriors, bending and swirling until a twister of distorted space, only visible by how it caused everything else to be warped through its view, lashed out and obliterated Markus' only card on the field. "Markus, I could keep going with Synchro Summoning. You see, you brought about your own defeat by allowing me to use every resource I could from my Graveyard! But I only need a fraction of those cards to take you down! Now, I enter my Battle Phase! First up is Nitro Warrior! Since I just activated a Spell Card, he gains 1000 ATK for this attack!" The abdomen flared up and launched him towards his opponent, pulling back a now-flaming fist. (2800 -> 3800 ATK) "Dynamite Crunch!" The blow created an explosion around Markus, taking out a good chunk of his remaining Life Points. (Markus: 6000 LP -> 2200 LP) "Armory Warrior, attack! Arsenal Unleashed!" Rapidly, Armory Warrior began to withdraw the myriad blades in his body, launching them expertly at Markus, before finally slicing at him with the massive new blade the warrior had gotten. This would've finished Markus, but as Sora turned her back to get on her Duel Runner, she quickly added. "Fleet Warrior, attack while in Defense Mode for your DEF stat! BROADSIDE BARRAGE!!!" As if on cue, the many point-defense and artillery turrets on the huge ship-like mech pointed at Markus, and several rocket pods opened up their salvos, the projectiles curving and falling just as all of the turrets opened up, adding insult to injury as the Solid Vision system briefly lagged from the spectacular conflagration created by Sora's huge Synchro, which faded like the others to reveal a battered and beaten Markus. "Not bad for a bimbo, huh?" She snarked, putting on her helmet to calmly ride back to the waiting room after having dealt over 10,000 points of damage to the cocky jabroni.

 

[spoiler=Cardex]

Jar of Avarice
Graceful Warrior
Necro Warrior
Breakout Warrior
Junk Synchron
Waveform Vortex
Call of the Haunted
Synchron Carrier
Synchron Explorer
Quickdraw Synchron
Nitro Warrior
Tuningware
Armory Warrior
Salvage Warrior

 

 

[Draconus297]

Gloria stood in the doorway of the room as Sora returned, offering her a nod. "You did well. I hope to see you in the finals- that would be a Duel worth the effort." With that, she turned and returned to her spot by the screen, her coat fluttering like a cape behind her, her jet-black hair flowing despite the lack of wind.

 

The dull-eyed assistant somehow managed to stay bored throughout all this. "Calling Roll and Kira Dearborn to the arena."

 

A young Japanese boy- not even a young man, just a boy- stood up and rushed through the door, followed by a tall, elegantly slender blonde.

[King K. Azo]

Rock looked over to Micheal and nudged him with his huge arm. "Go congratulate her," he says. Now was the time to try to do something. He only prayed that Micheal would heed his advice. Then again, why would he take advice from a wandering loser that could never score with a woman even before he became silent? Now was not the time to ponder that question though. "I could carry you over, if you wish so,"

[JessicaMuddy]

William watched as Sora, the winner of the most recent duel, walked back into the room full of contestants. Before he had a chance to go congratulate her, the stern Gloria stood up and congratulated her fellow opponent. "You did well. I hope to see you in the finals- that would be a Duel worth the effort." William then stopped to think of such an event, but only for a few seconds, before snapping back to reality.

 

"Shiranui! My words must have reached her! Oh, thank you for lending her your strength in such a desperate time." After realizing that he had just said more nonsensical words out loud, he decided against personally congratulating her.

 

Shifting focus back to the TV, he saw a beautiful woman preparing to battle against a small child. "I would say I know how this one will turn out, but judging from the last duel, I think anything's possible in this tournament."

[Techi☺]

Micheal glared at Rock. "I don't know feel so invested in my dating life, Rock. And I swear that if I find it it is because of something petty, or if you just enjoy tormenting me.." He began speaking to Rock softly as his icy sensation melted and he began to heat right up. With the weight on his heart over the fear of Sora losing now fading, and the belief that he will get to talk to her more still alive, it was hard to be anything but happy. His blue eyes looked over to Sora, whatever movement in the air made his still-damp brown hair drift as his eyes glued to her. "Look, just stop pushing me too much. Girls and dueling don't mix. You fixed my fear of dueling, but I am not afraid of girls. I am no psychologist, but if you make me come across as so urgent for a relationship then I am sure she will think that is all she means to me. Listen. You and I are friends and we support each other. I will oblige your request this time, but you can drop the threats." He spoke to Rock so freely as the corner felt secluded and it was rather hard to belief that even the closest duelests could hear them at all. His blue eyes, less piercing now and much more concered, would look to Rock. "When I talked to her before... Something about the way her eyes looked back to me made me feel so ... uhm-At home. Like the boiling grease of anxiety in my chest was quelled when she let me have her attention. Even if so briefly. I don't know what that means, but Rock, I don't want youfucking that up. Okay? Another threat out of you and I can't promise we will be on good terms, damnit. After the tournament-Tell me why you feel like I should have a girlfriend so urgently. I will go talk to Sora like you asked and your previous threats are forgiven." He divulged his thoughts so freely to Rock, unlike during their training. His words ere farm from caustic and the heart behind them was clearly understood. He gave his friendly Rock a sockpunch to the arm and a smile. "And don't go hinting to all the ladies that I am single while I am gone, you goon!" His smile was fair and his eyes reflected a small sense of playfulness. He wanted Rock to not be so worried all of the time and to know that Michea was happy the way he was.

 

 

The thin male returned his blue eyes to Sora from across the room as he began his journey. His damp brown hair moving gently as the odd coloration of the room made the damp hair even darker than normal. This strange pattern left his skin seemingly more pale by comparison. He swayed his way past the odd-speaking William as he nodded to the Male when they crossed eyes. Not a missed beat as he didn't stop for William, but marched right past Blake in the crowd of duelists. He didn't quite see Margaret either, since she didn't catch his eye. Micheal stepped within an acceptable chat range as he looked to Sora's eyes with a smile. His personality upgrade and his shift in posture was apparent for those sensitive to the changes in a person. "Hey,watching your duel was difficult at first. I was afraid that, if you lost, you wouldnt return to the room and I didn't feel comfortable not getting to talk to you again." He put his hand on his face. "Uhm, ignore that part. Sorry I am so... personal with you. Ugh, so-Congratulations." He cringed a little, obviously embarrassed himself. He revealed his regular smile to her after this.

[Draconus297]

Gloria's eyes were glued to the screen- the ravenette had arbitrarily made Sora her rival, and thus needed to know who the redhead would be facing next.

 

============

 

"I Summon Rollerhead!" Roll yelled, as the boy's field suddenly had a superball with a face on it. "And, by making sure I don't Summon monsters of any Type but Rock, I get 2 more Rollerhead!"

 

The trio of bouncing cartoon faces didn't make much of an impression on Kira, who simply frowned.

 

"And, with these 3 monsters I open the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon: Rockin' Rollerhead!" The trio of balls were ducked into a spiral resembling a galaxy, and a much larger ball, this time bearing a wheel around its center and a pair of arms, took their place. "By detaching 1 Xyz Material, I can Special Summon 1 Level 4 Rock monster from my Deck in Defense Position- let's go, Gogogo Goram! Because I detached Rollerhead from a Rank 4 Xyz monster, Rockin' Rollerhead gains 1000 Attack Points! Also, thanks to my Goram's special ability, it switches itself to Attack Position! ATTACK!"

 

"I activate Negate Attack," Kira said, mildly irritated.

 

============

 

Gloria watched with definitive interest.

[King K. Azo]

Rock mulled over what Micheal had told him. Perhaps he was pushing too hard. Maybe. It was hard to tell, but hey, he would stop. At least his small companion was doing it now. Maybe the giant did have a problem with communicating how he felt, or at least how to handle certain social norms. Apparently, forcing people to talk to someone else is not good. Could of fooled him, with the way people tried to force him to talk.

 

The duel itself was interesting. The kid using Xyz Summons was pretty good, not to mentioned had a decent name (Rock and Roll. Ha), but the Trap master was pretty good herself. She seemed to be getting annoyed though. She may push for the win soon.

 

At the very least, it got Rock's mind off bitter memories and to the less bitter present.

[Premier Alexander Romanov]

Sora re-entered, and was greeted by a raven-haired woman who used a coat as a cape, wishing her good luck to the finals. "Oh! Yeah, good luck to you, too! I just hope I actually run into some fun decks this time!" She parked her Duel Runner off to the side, and got off of it to go talk to Margaret, when Michael approached her, looking paler, with wet, slightly darker hair. He seemed a bit more confident, though. "Umm...thank you..." She smiled back, a bit awkwardly. She wasn't very good with men, but he seemed to nice. "I...do you mind if...I tell you something a bit personal? I mean, you've opened up about your brother, so I figured I could share something about me." She fidgeted somewhat and looked away. "I'm...not very good at anything but dueling and motor vehicles. I can understand this game amazingly, along with some other games, and I seem to have a knack for building and repairing anything regarding something that has two or more wheels and an engine, but...I can't do much else very well..." She twiddles her thumbs, not sure if she's getting what she's saying across, without sounding like she's an idiot.

[Techi☺]

Micheal liked that he wasn't the only one feeling weird. As she spoke to him, he heard how she sounded differently. Her word choice definitely led Micheal to belief she was being so much more personal than before. She said it herself at one point, that she was sharing something with him "You have so much already, Sora. Good at this, good at that... I have a knack for talking and as far as the world around me is concerned-Then that would be it." He smiled a little wider as he was quite used to complimenting others while stringing himself out like a prop to be smashed. Like before, he gave her shoulder a small pat and thought really hard about what his brother might say. His smile warmed and color truly returned to his face as his blue eyes locked onto something inside her own eyes. "When I was young I was told that you do not need to regret not being good at everything because no one can be. I will add to that. After seeing what you can do out there, hearing of your accomplishments and all: I will say that when you are so damn good at what you do that it looks like a friggin' art: You definitely do not have to worry about anything else." He ran a hand through his hair as it finally dried to extent, showing how fine his hair really was. "Don't wish me luck in my match, okay? I think you're great and I would hate to have you build up an expectation just to watch me get destroyed. " He turned a little more and looked to Rock in his corner. "I regret being so good and making friends because when it comes to everything else-" His lips parted as he sighed. "I am serious Sora. And I know watching the beginnjng of your duel got me so worried. But, the difference in our stories is that I am a total loser. If watching a totally one-sided duel breaks your heart-For the next Round-You should probably take a snack break." He was being honest. Be showed no signs of musing.

[Draconus297]

Roll, the little Xyz boy, returned to the room, grinning from ear to ear. "I did it! I won my first match!" He quickly rushed over to HAYATE, of all people, who high-fived him.

 

"Micheal James Sawyer and Desmond Devon Devorough," the assistant droned in her ever-uninterested voice, "to the arena floor, please."

 

From a spot on the couch, Desmond stood and tipped his quite sharp bowler hat to the assistant, who snapped her gum by way of reply.

 

The man was all high-class, from the aforementioned nice hat, to an immaculate silk suit, to a tasteful tie, to shoes so polished they gleamed even in the spectator room's low lighting. A shock of gleaming gold hair poked out from the back of the hat, tied into a thin, unobtrusive braid.

 

Upon entering the arena, Desmond politely tipped his hat to the crowd and the TV cameras, earning a very audible squeal from the women in the audience.

 

"We have a treat for Duel 13, folks! Here we have the two eligible bachelors duking it out- that's right, ladies, snag these guys before they get swept away!" The announcer said conspiratorially into the microphone, earning a cross frown from Desmond.

 

"That informational survey was taken in confidence," Desmond said quietly.

 

"We have Desmond Devon Devorough, a college student at Illusion Tech, who claims to know every single card in the game! In fact, his photographic memory means he probably already memorized every face in the audience!" The announcer continued to yell.

 

"And his opponent, Micheal James Sawyer, is no slouch either! He qualified with a nearly 95% win rate on his Dueling Record! He truly is a white knight through and through!"

 

"I'll let you have the first move, Michael," Desmond said softly.

[Techi☺]

Micheal nodded to Sora as he was called out to duel during the conversation. The blue-eyed thin male marched right pass the bored assistant and stepped out into the arena with Desmond in step behind him. With no eye for fashion, Micheal only noted the relaxed nature of his opponent. "A white knight? And I cannot believe that is my actual percentage..." Micheal comments briefly on his introduction as he looks into Desmond's eyes unassumingly. Micheal carried a look void of entertainment. His eyes looked into Desmond's as if he knew he already lost and Desmond was his friend in a play ready to give the killer performance for their fans. "The first move? Your generosity moves me." There was not even the least bit of sarcasm in Micheal's voice as he let his soft, socially welcoming voice match Desmond's tone.

 

The maroon shirt slipped down from Micheal's right shoulder as it plopped onto his feet and he drew his five cards. The first look at his cards changed nothing of Micheal's facial features. Either he was a poker player extraordinaire, or Micheal already had a idea of how this was going to go. "The announcer said that you have a good memory and I respect that trait. Days go by in my life when the closest person to my heart drifts away in the past. I spend hours each morning looking at a picture of them on my phone and wonder why I can't remember their face without it." Something about Micheal's heart felt weird as he spoke, as if the cool appearance of his well-spoken enemy reminded him so much of his brother. "I have kept our audience waiting long enough. Forgive me. I Normal Summon Ketsuen Knight - Jaiyo!" Micheal took no further pauses as he placed the monster card from his hand onto the first spot on his duel disk. Small blue holographic bits appeared and changed color before pulling together as a very cool and aloof white haired man witha large red coat and puple pants. The coat was large and very fantasey esq as it covered most of his body. Belts attatched to his body all over his waist and legs gave him the restrained emo look. This was further difficult to tell for certain as his white hair moved like a snake in the wind to cover his eyes and his coat mostly covered his mouth. The helpful screen appeared to designate his ATK and DEF as 1400/1900. "Since you know all of the cards, I bet I don't even have to tell you that even though I started with five cards-Normal Summoning Jaiyo gives me another card to keep my hand at five." The wind blew his soft brown hair as he smiled for Desmond. He really felt alive again, playing against this man who was so much like his brother. The white haired Jaiyo raised a thumbs up with fitting brown gloves as the coolest way to designate Micheal's green light to draw another card.

 

Micheal plucked his next card from his duel disk and added it to his hand. His eyes narrowed for just a moment as he gulped and looked back to Desmond. The look was a mix of a grown man having fun at a tournament for card games and a child looking at the bike that he was going to ride for the first time. And his designated riding location was down hell mountain. "This is going to be my first time performing this kind of summon. Forgive me if I am a little nervous." He spoke endearingly as he placed two cards onto his Pendulum Zones. Blue lights shoot upward on both sides of their arena as large holograms of Vain, a tall black clothed and haired man with long black hair, a katana and a red chest plate- And Yin, a shorter knight with white and black armor weilding a shield and sword, both appear. "You see, with my Pendulum Zones empty I can add my Pendulum monsters Ketsuen Knights Vain, and Yin to those Zones. Their effects respectively are: Vain has a Pendulum Value of eight Red and eight Blue and while he remains on the field, my Ketsuen Knights gain 500 ATK. That puts my Jaiyo at a classy nineteen hundred. My Yin has a pendulum value of 1 Red and 1 Blue and after a special summon occurs, I have to banish him. Sadly, his effect makes it difficult to keep him on the field. But, it is worthwhile to use him this way." Micheal explains his monsters and their numbers are displayed as he speaks. As Jaiyo's ATK raises, he pulls out his handgun from his coat. The aloof white haired monster simply keeps it hanging in his hand.

 

Fire erupts in Micheal's heart as he looks Desmond with a look of wonder. The field fills with aweful blue light as it swivels around his Pendulum monsters and it collects itself into a red window of light between the two of them. "Rock told me my first time was going to be painful and confusing... oh well. Since we resume in my main phase, and both of my Pendulum zones are occupied by Pendulum monsters whose Pendulum Values sit on both sides of the levels of monsters in my hand: I can perform a Pendulum Summon. With Values of one and eight, I can Pendulum summon monsters from my hand that are levels two, three, four, five, six, and seven. I happen to have two Ketsuen Knight - Tang monsters in my hand whose levels are both four. Sadly, after this Pendulum summon is performed: Yin will banish himself and I won't be able to Pendulum Summon until I draw another Pendulum Monster!" Micheal described what he was doing as it happened. His heart felt like it was on fire as the wind shook his side of the field. The two monsters he spoke of left his hand as he placed them in defense position. From the red window: Two young taoist looking monks leaped onto his side of the feild. They both performed a small ceremonial dance with intense motions before assuming a medatative pose to signify they are defending. The helpful board appeared to display that they were both at 500/2000. The red window shattered as Yin vanished and Micheal placed Yin into the banished pile.

 

"Though the game may be over for my Yin monster, my turn is far from over. We have another summon on the way and I am excited to say: This monster isn't all just for show either. Since my Tang mnsters are tuner monsters, I can use one of them with my level four Jaiyo to produce a Synchro Monster of level eight. A spear weilding bad ass king of the flames, to be precise! Micheal grew excited after his Pendulum summon. The flame in his heart shined so brightly in his eyes that the audience could see their white knight was in his zone. As he described his Synchro Summon, the two monsters closest to his left, one Tang and one Jaiyo, began to levitate upward. Tang glew brightly as he reached his point in the sky and became a column of four green circles. Jaiyo erupted into four flamjng balls that designated his level. The flaming level signs floated insjde the green circles up in the sky as they came to a perfect alignment. "What is obtained by fire rewards only ashes. Your kingdom remains: Come forth! Fallen King Daito!" Micheal spoke in a tone like a ritualistic chant, cheirshed words with fire inside them. His right hand shot forward as an explosion of holographic fire shot forward from the summoning circles. These flames torpedoed forward and looped back so vividly that spectators would feel the warmth gently grace their face. This flame columned downward on Jaiyo's old zone. A spear and shield seperated the flames into large blistering wings behind a spartan king as he grunts an echo of true battle lust. The screen displayed his stats to be 3600/2100. "As powerful as he appears, Daito cannot attack your life points directly. I will set one card and end my turn." Micheal sets his face down as he gives Desmond a thunbs up to drive the point home. It was Desmond's turn and as much as Micheal was having fun, he expected to lose.

 

Field:

Daito: 3600/2100

Tang: 500/2000

1 Spell/Trap

Pendulum: Vain(8)

Hand: 0

[King K. Azo]

Rock stayed in his corner as he watch Micheal and Sora make conversation. The silent giant had excellent hearing- although sometimes he wished he didn't -and could make out that Micheal, in nearly less than an hour of knowing the lively duelist, had shared something personal with her. Rock was sure if he was feeling concern for the fact that Micheal was opening himself up way too fast- yes, Rock wanted the two to date, that's when you start to open yourself up -or if he was, dare he say it... Jealous that she was able to get something that took Rock almost two weeks to receive. All hail the power of boners.

 

"Now be fair," he thought to himself as he looked to the duel. "You haven't been exactly open about your past, why would you expect him to be the same?"

 

The young child surprisingly won, heading over to HAYATE and high fiving him. Maybe others found that weird, but Rock could see how the insanely spiky haired man would be good with kids. Rock folded his arms and wondered if he was more like the manly HAYATE, would life be better? All he knew was that he wished he had the courage to be that open and hot blooded.

 

His head snapped up when the forever bored assistant- seriously, he was being to believe HE showed more emotion that her. -called for Micheal and Desmond. It was time to see how his friend did.

 

The first thing he noticed was that Micheal seemed... Nostalgic, as he faced his opponent. Perhaps they knew and had dueled each other before? No... He wasn't a duelist until about a month ago when Rock took him under his broken wing. Perhaps the man just reminded the bookstore worker of someone close to him.

 

He had the smallest of smiles as Micheal was able to Pendulum and Synchro summon on the first turn and bring out his key card. Good, he was going all in the first round. Perhaps he would make it to the top after all.

[Draconus297]

Desmond nodded quietly, acknowledging Micheal's move as legitimate. "My turn begins, then. I draw."

 

"I activate the Spell Card known as Dimensional Gate," he said softly, as a huge bronze archway with a swirling blue portal in it appeared behind him. "Every time I Special Summon an A/D monster, my Gateway receives a Warp Counter- respecting, of course, the ruling that I only receive one Counter should I Special Summon more than 1 at the same time."

 

"I now pay 3000 Life Points to activate the Normal Spell-" Desmond continued, his quiet voice demanding the audience stay silent, with sections of the crowd dedicated to shushing each other.

 

"Once per turn, Daito can- Micheal interrupted.

 

"Negate a Spell or Trap Card once per turn, I'm aware." Desmond replied, adjusting his hat at Micheal's stymied expression. "So, I'll activate the same Spell Card again, paying another 3000 Life Points to activate Alter Contract. This forces me to forgo my Battle Phase, but I get to Special Summon 3 Level 5 or lower A/D monsters."

 

Suddenly, three withered gray humanoid forms lacking eyes took up positions in front of Desmond. "I Summon 3 copies of A/D Shadow Claw. Three identical Level 5 monsters I can then use to Xyz Summon. Allow me to open the Overlay Network, and reveal the mighty A/D Numerix."

 

The triple eyeless monstrosities were replaced by a monstrously massive gray hand, with a gleaming gold eye in the palm.

 

{A/D Numerix

DARK - Rank 5 - Fiend/Xyz - 100/3500}

 

"Don't bother attempting to attack Numerix. Any Battle Damage I would sustain in battle with it is inflicted to you instead," Desmond explained. "I detach 1 Xyz Material from Numerix to create 2 A/D Tokens. They're Level 3. I now Normal Summon my A/D Acolyte, who is a Level 4 Tuner. You can see where this is headed. Synchro Summon!"

 

In a display of four green rings and six white lights, a massive, withered gray serpent that was partially covered in machinery appeared on Desmond's field.

 

{A/D Emperor

DARK - Level 10 - Fiend/Synchro - 600/4000}

 

"My A/D Emperor is impervious to the attacks of Synchro monsters, and can claim any monster who attacks it as an Equip Card. It would be best that you leave it alone," Desmond continued.

 

The Gateway now had 3 Counters on it. "Interesting thing about my Gateway- its Counters can be used as substitute for Tribute," Desmond explained, showing off how much of a plan he had. "By relinquishing its Counters, I Special Summon my A/D Demon Overlord!"

 

A massive, vaguely humanoid gray form with narrowed red eyes and impossibly massive yellow teeth took up a spot directly in front of Desmond, the man himself visible between its legs.

 

{A/D Demon Overlord

DARK - Level 12 - Fiend - 4400/4400}

 

"The effects of all cards on your field will be negated for your next 3 Standby Phases. I cannot harm you now, however," Desmond said. "So I must end my turn."

 

[Micheal: 8000 LP]

[Desmond: 2000 LP]

 

[spoiler= Cardex]

Dimensional Gate

Continuous Spell

Every time an "A/D" monster is Special Summoned, place 1 Warp Counter on this card. You can substitute Warp Counters for Tributes required for the Tribute Summon of an "Alter Dimension" monster.

 

Alter Contract

Normal Spell

Pay 3000 Life Points to Special Summon 3 Level 5 or lower "A/D" monsters. You cannot conduct your Battle Phase this turn.

 

A/D Shadow Claw

DARK - Level 5 - Fiend/Effect - 200/2600

As long as this card is in your Graveyard, the ATK of all face-up monsters your opponent controls is decreased by 500.

 

A/D Numerix

DARK - Rank 5 - Fiend/Xyz/Effect - 100/3500

3 Level 5 Fiend-Type monsters

You can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to Special Summon 2 "A/D Tokens" (DARK - Level 3 - Fiend - 600/600) to your side of the field. If this monster would leave the field by your opponent's card (by battle or card effect) you can detach 1 Xyz Material to prevent this monster from leaving the field. Your opponent takes all Battle Damage from battles involving this card. If this monster has no Xyz Materials on it, add 1 "Alter Promotion" from your Deck to your hand.

 

A/D Acolyte

DARK - Level 4 - Fiend/Tuner/Effect - 1500/0

Cannot be Summoned, unless you control 2 or more "A/D" monsters. When this monster is used for the Synchro Summon of a DARK Synchro monster, that monster cannot be targeted by your opponent's card effect.

 

A/D Emperor

DARK - Level 10 - Fiend/Synchro/Effect - 600/4000

1 DARK Tuner + 1 or more DARK non-Tuner monsters

Once per turn, you can target 1 monster your opponent controls: equip it to this card (max. 1). This monster gains ATK equal to the combined ATK and DEF of a monster equipped to it. If this monster battles a Synchro monster, the opposing monster is destroyed before damage calculation.

 

A/D Demon Overlord

DARK - Level 12 - Fiend/Effect - 4400/4400

Cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. Can only be Special Summoned by Tributing 3 monsters you control (this counts as Tribute Summon), and cannot be Summoned by other ways. When this monster is Summoned successfully, place 3 Warp Counters on it. During each of your opponent's Standby Phases, remove 1 Warp Counter from this card. As long as this monster has Warp Counters, the effects of all cards on your opponent's field are negated

 

 

[JessicaMuddy]

Michael silently walked passed William, nodding at him. William smiled back, but Michael had already turned away. It was time for the man's match, but Will couldn't tell if he was excited or nervous as he stepped out into the stadium. Michael had started off with a strong start, setting up great Pendulum Scales and making a Level 8 Synchro Summon too. "I like him... Shiranui... We must keep track of him." William muttered. Unfortunately his opponent, Desmond, had a plan of his own. "Three blatantly overpowered monsters, and knowledge of every card in the game? This guy is pretty... Shady. Also, Devorough... That's! No... He wouldn't cheat though, would he?"

[King K. Azo]

Rock narrowed his eyes when he saw this... Desmond summoned his three monsters. It was unreal. In any other deck, any one of them would be a boss monster, and hard as hell to summon. But he had summoned all three in one turn. Sure, it took 6000 life points, but that wasn't enough of a price. Now Micheal couldn't touch him unless he had an Effect Veiler... And since Rock had helped train him, he had a pretty good idea that either he didn't have one in there or he wasn't going to draw it anytime soon. This was not looking good for the thin boy.

 

However, a nagging thought came to his head. Such cards shouldn't be released to the public. Sure, his own Silent monsters were strong, maybe at the same level or slightly lower than these, but they were LV monsters. They never started that strong, and it took hard work and dedication to make them transform into their final forms. This was quite frankly bullshit. He was two seconds away from grabbing an official and FORCING them to stop the duel so this could be checked out.

 

With a crack of his knuckles, he scanned the room to find anyone official looking and do just what he planned.

[Techi☺]

Micheal grins to his opponent. He knew he would lose this duel. As well as he did before, he never told Rock that the placement rounds Micheal participated in were mostly against other rookies. Few had good decks and most were loaded with level eight monsters to maximum deck size. Pitiful, Micheal looked down to his maroon shirt from the three larger monsters. He was glad that his opponent was about to wipe him out completely. With his opponent being this powerful, maybe people won't consider his defeat to be so embarrassing and perhaps he won't be such a loser in their eyes. His fingers pinched the top card as his eyes looked to his cool opponent. Micheal's expression was spare of any kind of regret or sadness. He truthfully found the resolve to finish this without digging himself further into the grave. He drew one card and didn't look at for very long. "I don't like to gamble, but I did make a guess. My guess was correct, what I drew wasn't going to help me very much." Hiws card was placed facedown on the field and he smiled wide. Telling his opponent what his card was would probably break some rules. Instead, placing it down would probably show that it was a spell or trap that was useless against his boss card. "My Ming will be returned to defence position and I end my turn." He nodded to Desmond as he picked up his maroon shirt.

[Draconus297]

Desmond nodded. "It takes considerable maturity to accept a loss as you have. I'll make this quick," he said softly.

 

"First, I will Tribute both monsters you control to Special Summon A/D Sludge Daemon to your side of the field," he said, and suddenly Micheal's monsters vanished, replaced by a massive gray pile of sludge with teeth.

 

{A/D Sludge Daemon

DARK - Level 8 - Fiend - 0/0}

 

"Normally," Desmond continued, "Sludge Daemon would have 2000 Attack and Defense Points for every monster of yours I tributed. However, its effect is negated, due to my Daemon Overlord."

 

Desmond frowned. "Now, I activate Shared Dimensions. With this, our Life Points are added together, and we each take half."

 

Suddenly, Micheal's Life Points dropped to 5000.

 

"Now, my Emperor and Overlord will destroy you. Sincerest apologies," Desmond said, as the two named monsters struck Micheal with considerable force.

 

============

 

Five pillars, in a world with a black sky and twin red suns.

 

Five beings, bathed in golden light- a knight, a sorceress, a child, a two-headed dog, and a giant.

 

The pillars unfurl into titans- one of water, one of magma, one of stone, one of sand, one of smoke.

 

The titans and golden warriors trade blows, and all goes white.

 

============

 

Gloria grit her teeth. Something about all this smelled fishy- especially considering Micheal had been unconscious the last twenty minutes.

 

"What. Did. You. Do." Gloria pressed Desmond, her finger poking into the man's chest on each word.

 

"I did nothing," Desmond said, his tone as even and soft as ever. "Merely Duel with the Deck I had been provided."

[King K. Azo]

Rock wasn't mad. No, Rock was a calm, calculating man. And he calculated that the duel was complete bullshit. To top it off, Micheal was now in a coma for the past twenty minutes. So no, he wasn't mad. He was absolutely and utterly pissed. It took all the officials- ALL of them -to hold back the giant of a man and keep him from strangling the college student with his massive hands. Even that couldn't completely stop Rock from progressing closer and closer, although it did admittedly slow him down greatly.

 

"I... will... kill you...," He growled as he struggled. The sleeping giant awoke, feeling rage like he hadn't had felt in years. Anyone around him could sense the killing intent radiate off him like heat radiates from the sun. However, underlying all the rage was that sense of failure. It was in the end, his own fault that Micheal was hurt in such a way. It was the Silent Duelist that believed that Micheal was ready, that thrust him into a tournament, placing it in his head that he could win, building him up on a foundation of sand. Now the storm came, and Micheal wasn't ready. He shouldn't have been so easy! He should have summoned one of most powerful monsters he had while he trained Micheal. Instead, he used things like Silent Mecha LV12 or Silent Magician LV8. How could he had been so stupid and not foreseen the bookstore worker fighting someone so powerful?!

[JessicaMuddy]

As soon as Michael was struck with the final blow of the duel, William saw a flash of light, then a mysterious giant covered in golden light. Snapping back to reality, he look puzzled. "Wh-What was that?"

 

20 minutes. That's how long Michael had been out for. This made William's face change to a look of concern. Though Desmond, Michael's opponent remained calm. Too calm. "What did he do?!" Gloria was pressing up against his body attempting to look as intimidating as possible. William turned his head to see the large man named Rock calmly pacing towards Desmond. Even every guard in the area couldn't hold him back. It was clear Desmond had done something. William got up and ran towards Desmond, then, as he got close to him, William jumped forwards, attempting to tackle Desmond to the ground.

[King K. Azo]

Rock took a deep breath. He had let rage overwhelm him. Yes, Desmond needed to die get punished, but it could wait until they were sure Micheal was okay. He shook off the officials on him and walked over to Micheal, bending down and picking him up gently with his large hands, like he was afraid he would crush him. For such a light man, the bookstore worker felt so... heavy to Rock. It must have been the guilt getting to him. 

 

He carried him over to a couch and laid him down, positioning him so he was laying on his back. From there, he became a silent sentinel, daring ANYONE he didn't approve of to even think of approaching the couch.

[Draconus297]

"Talk, Devorough," Gloria said, standing over Desmond as William had forced him to the floor. "If this is the Solid Vision getting too solid, well, I have a whole Deck stuffed to the brim with black holes to test out on you."

 

"If this were my doing," Desmond said, brushing himself off and getting to his feet, "you'd know. I was just given a new Deck to use, and I did. That's the only thing that has changed between my usual Duels and now."

 

"Bull," Gloria said bluntly. "There is no way someone could stay calm in a situation like this. You are; ergo, you expected this."

 

Desmond smirked as he adjusted his hat, picking it up where William had knocked it off. "Please, Ms. Tenebria, your accusations are baseless."

 

"Not entirely, nephew dearest," Damien Devorough, the designer of the world's premier form of entertainment, said as he entered the room. The family resemblance was extreme- the same taste in hats and suits, the same face shape, the same blonde hair. However, where Desmond's outfit was a tasteful, muted black, Damien wore a striking purple. Where Desmond wore his hair back in a thin braid, Damien wore his shoulder-length hair rather freely, if restrained by his hat.

 

"What do you mean?" Desmond and Gloria asked simultaneously.

 

"It wouldn't be fun to tell you everything," Damien responded coyly, leaving the room again. "Good seeing you, nephew. Hope you like the Deck!"

[evil cucumber]

  Blake was caught off guard with all those sudden events. He was quiet until noticing Gloria worried about the duelist laid in the middle of the arena. What could have happened? Did that Michael guy just got severely injured during a duel? Is this possible? A strange feeling of fear resonated all over his skin, a fear that somehow told him to not get in those people's path.

 

  As Rock took Michael's unconscious body to a safe couch, Blake heard the man that is supposed to be the creator of Duel Monsters stepping into the room and talking to the last round's winner. Wait. So he did use a Deck that is exclusive to him...no wonder why it is so relentless. That is kinda unfair, though. Blake kept these thoughts only to his mind, given how everyone in that room seemed to be agitated or trying to get answers. So he decided to just wait for things to get clearer, and hope for the tournament to not get cancelled after that.

[Techi☺]

The coolness of water surrounding him had long since gone sour and become uncomfortable. His eyes openned to the unsettling sight of an empty blue sky that appeared endless. Not the blue room he had expected. He was floating effortlessly at sea and his fingers had become as water-logged as possible and he could smell nothing but the salt of the sea. His surviving this long was pure fantasy. Any wave large enough to flip him over was good enough to kill him while he was out cold. His hair that would dip into the water occasionally had felt strange from all of the substances it gathered that traveled in the water. From his brief gaze at his hand, he saw how pale he had grown. For some reason, the sun didn't even make him feel warm. This was a dream, all right. He couldn't tell why it felt so real, minus the sun and the logical survival flaws.

 

Hell, he even felt a little hungry. This was a dream, but no ordinary dream. Why was he in the middle of a sea of salt water, all alone? "These are your tears." Came an echo of a voice so impossibly lovely. Micheal didn't normally have those sorts of dreams, but he had his fingers crossed anyway. Though he longed to find the source of the voice, he didn't expect to find a little sail boat so suddenly appearing beside him. A young woman with impossibly long black hair had been the source of the words. "Just joking. Usually people are long-faced here because they think they're actually dead. Normally, if I just leave them alone out here, they drown and then surface wherever they originally fell asleep. But, this little guy wouldn't stop barking until I gave up. If I didn't come out to help you, I think he would've barked until I died from sheer annoyance." She continued to speak as Micheal's eyes moved across the boat to two puppy heads that hung over the side. They were both whining endlessly as if the puppies wanted him to hurry up and get into the boat so they could lick his face off.

 

The woman with longer-than-reality black hair had been wearing a pure-white komono and was rowing the boat. She used the long stick to pluck him out of the water and plop him before her inside the boat. His eyes looked over the woman before he scanned his clothes. He was wearing precisely what was on his body when that bastard blasted him in the duel. His eyes scrolled back up to the goddess that saved him. "I'm thankful that you think I am that attractive. Young man, you really should becarful of what pops into your head. Everything, everyone you meet in the next few days will know you by what you think. Not what you say. We are all connected. Just a means of delivering you to where you gotta go. Well. All except for him." She pointed her index finger to the puppies. Micheal looked and his jaw dropped. It was a two-headed puppy. But, it looked so happy. Usually two-headed animals are freaks created by mutations and strings of rotten luck. "Wrong again, wonderboy. This 'dog' or however you see him... It wasn't born at all. This is the way it's will manafests. But, just because it isn't part of us, doesn't mean it doesn't read your thoughts as well. That dog and you, well, the reason why I don't see him is because he is your will. And look at him, I am sure you see him as a, uhm, 'puppy' because your will is weak. Baby-ish. Honestly, you walked into that room prepared to lose and you did. That's why he isn't happy with you,"

 

The two headed puppy barked at Micheal before biting his chest twice, once with each mouth. A little pain was appearent from Micheal's voice as his blood ran down his chest. "You may have been wondering why this dream feels oh-so-real. It's because, for once, you're going to remember this. We're sick of watching you bumble around with our power. That doggy, your will, has lived through these dreams time and time again and it doesn't want to try to protect you anymore. Since you keep sheltering it, pulling your punches and preparing yourself for defeat time and time again... We're going to drill the message into your funking skull." She spoke more rapidly after the dog's bite. She sounded almost excited. Yet, her face never seemed to glow with any ounce of excitement. Like a doll, she spoke to him with just her mouth moving. "Now, stand up, wonderboy. It's time you hopped off my cheerful bus and for your night at home to begin." The doggy released Micheal and stepped to the side of the boat to look down into the water.

 

"Wait, bus? Cheerful? Night at home? What do you mean?" Micheal finally spoke, getting his words out as fast as he thought him so he could finally converse with this bizarro-angel of death. She giggled and reached forward to grab the collar of his blood-stained dress shirt before dragging him off of the boat and into a ring of light above the water. With a bark, the twin-headed dog followed into the ring of light. And then, the weirdest thing yet occurs. Instead of hitting water, like he expected, gravity shifted while his eyes were shut and he fell foward onto a dirt road. He didn't expenct everything to shift ninety degrees so suddenlty and his feet were not braced properly for standing. He got himself to his feet as the doggy began licking some leaves nearby. It was a straight dirt road in the middle of a jungle. So much forestation that it was honestly a tunnel inside this weird forest with entangled trees serving as a roof. As Micheal looked to the left, there was a weird yellow school bus driving right out of sight with great speeds.

 

"Wow. It really was a funking bus." Micheal spoke. The twin-headed dog nudged his leg as if to acknowledge his statement, but get his attention. Micheal looked to the right to see that the tunnel keeps going. "Do we go this way, Doggie?" He sounded unsure and the twin-headed puppy bit his leg with one head. "Ow, Ow ow ow ow! Okay okay. Let's go." Micheal felt, from the bite, that the puppy considered his question stupid and the answer obvious. The way the puppy released his leg and started walking confirmed this.

 

As they walked, the tunnel never seemed to go deeper. As if each inch of the damned forest was the very same and in a loop. This went on and on until a tall male with long white hair would leap out of the forestation and tackle the doggie. "Orthie! Oh my god, I am so glad you're back! Things were getting dark in the forest! None of my brothers wanted to hang out with me and I was starting to die of boredum!" The tall male with a long red coat laid on the ground where he landed with the twin-headed pup licking his face and hair.

 

"J-Jaiyo?" Micheal mumbled before stepping closer. The thin book-shop owner was shocked as the duel monster was alive before him. The long-white haired man looked to Micheal with a cool look.

 

"So you really are back, huh? It sucks that you never remember me. You know? Recently, you seem so much like a drone." Jaiyo's voice calmed as he didn't move when he spoke to Micheal. The puppy kept licking his face with both heads.

 

Micheal stepped closer as he kneeled before the odd duo. "I'm sorry. But, that lady on the boat told me that I am going to remember everything now. My guess is that I am here because of the duel that I lost..." Micheal trailed off as he rubbed the puppy's furred back.

 

"Yeah, you're here because of something important you forgot years ago." Jaiyo spoke softly in return, making his way to a standing position and dusting off his purple pants. "Something you and your brother did together. You have totally forgotten it, and a large part of who you are. Sadly, it's why you lost." Jaiyo spoke as he continued dusting himself off, but giving up. Micheal focused before giving Jaiyo a confused look. "Why are you trying to remember what you just don't remember? Look. Micheal, brother-You are here to learn. So you never forget again. That's why we crossed a line that Terran usually wouldn't." Jaiyo reached forward and poked Micheal's forehead. "We are teaching you a lesson. You're here as a guest to be taught something that your brother never got the chance too." Jaiyo had a cool look on his face and he spoke boldly. But, tears rolled down Micheal's cheeks and that made the cool-looking lanky man shake a bit. "W-wait, don't cry Micheal!"

 

His words were too late. Rain pelted them from all sides as everything grew pitch black. For some reason, Micheal felt totally exposed to this world. It must have been inside him. No attempt to control his facial features or choke his eyes out from crying seemed to work. The dog rushed up and tackled Micheal. The two fell and the twin-headed puppy was on his chest, licking his tears. "Aw, Orthie, Micheal doesn't need that. I'm sure bringing up his brother only made him cry so quickly because he forgot that he can't hide his emotions here." Jaiyo spoke with a cool tone again before stepping forward and plucking the pup off of his chest.

 

"I can't... Hide?" Micheal went from sad to confused so quickly. He couldn't tell why his heart was so manic all of a sudden. "Just like my thoughts, with that woman on the boat-bus-damnit... Is the reason why I cannot shelter my heart in my chest like usual because this world Is my heart?" His voice escaped his lips before he could really think, again. This allowed him to communicate normally but it limited the depth of his conversation.

 

Jaiyo laughed in his cool voice before offering Micheal his hand to help him back up. "Maybe you don't really forget everything afterall. Here, lemme help you up." Micheal too his hand and Jaiyo tugged him up quickly. A monster's strength must translate well here. "C'mon, Terran and the others will want to talk to you too. Even though I already know what they will say, it isn't my place to say it. Remember how Ariel told you that we are all one?" Jaiyo poked Micheals nose, almost forcing the young male to smile at the oddity. "Exactly. Now, let's get to Terran. He'll say things so much more bold than I can. And, he can even show you what you've forgotten too." Jaiyo's voice grew cheerful as he held the pupp in one arm and took Micheal's hand with his left, charging directly into the woods.

 

Just as Micheal expected, the worlds changed so quickly. Suddenly, they were in a throne room with a powerful-looking man sitting at the throne. Daito, the spear-weilding spartan-looking king. This was his part of the Ketsuen world. The facts about Micheal's heart would be returning to him so quickly. With each fact that was revealed to him, a glowing puzzle peice shined like a miracle to reveal the neighboring peices. Micheal has definitely been here before. With a grunt, Daito pointed to the door opposite of him in the throne room. "Th-thank you, Fallen King." Micheal spoke as quickly as he thought, again. Otherwise the creatures in this world would have spoken as if he already said it and his ability to keep up with the conversation would melt away far too quickly.

 

"There's no need to thank him, you goof." Jaiyo sounded childish with a smile as he nodded to the proud king. The three of them rocketed to the door as the puppy barked a happy bark with both heads. Micheal closed his eyes as the doors didn't seem to be openning for Jaiyo.

 

That was a mistake, because he openned them to a whole new world of confusing. Standing before the trio was a brown-cloaked man who faced a giant upside-down waterfall from the only upright cliff in the area. The water rolled upwards into the sky-No, it ran upwards into the very Sea Micheal was in early. The man had large anime-esq green hair that stood powerfully. He also must have been wearing some sort of thin black headband as it wrapped around the back of his head. "I'll just-:eave you two to talk. Terran has got this from here." Micheal dropped and he would expect Jaiyo to walk away with the puppy. But, the puppy also fell to it's paws as Jaiyo dematerialized between them.

 

This world felt so much more real. The water crashing upward had put off such a cool breeze and this made the hair of Micheal, the cool man and the puppy to flow like they were in a dramatic scene in a movie. "Micheal. Even though I, and the others you have seen in your deck and inside this dream world symbloize your heart, you have forgotten us. The way we talk to you with such fondness. Our hearts are yours and yet- You never hear us when we cry out for you to have faith." The green-haired man spoke without pause. As he turned, his pale face with green, vibrant and energetic eyes stared directly into Micheal. The headband had proven to be goggles and the brown cloak covered his mouth and clothing. Tears rushed down the man's face as he spoke. "As a child, you were never difficult for our hearts to reach. You didn't need us back then, however. Your brother kept you company, protected you from the bullies, and he held what little power of ours he could find. He was so powerful that he would utilize our forces. Even though we were never meant to be his, and he didn't hold even half of our power, he challanged powerful duelists and defeated them with our power. Your power. You have been so blind, so weak, because your brother always saw for you. Always faught for you. But, the time for kitty gloves is over, Micheal. The Ketsuen is finished waiting for you to recognize us. Waiting for you to really find us."

 

Micheal couldn't stand being talked to without getting at least one word in. Though, it appeared like the man was fully capable of running down the whole story for Micheal without his input. Our thin, pale, book-store worker had stood to his feet and looked to the man with as strong an appearence as he could muster. "James did what he wanted to. I get that. I'm not James. I get that. But, who are you to tell me you're done waiting? What am I supposed to do? You remember me oh so damn much. That's great. But, this feels like the first time for me. The first time we have ever talked. I don't get it. Okay? Where have you been? I don't even remember you name, damnit!" Micheal spoke back as he stepped closer to the tall, stronger looking male with goggles.

 

"You only forget because your heart is so weak!" The man spoke, stepping closer as well. "Your heart and will have dwindled. The death of James wasn't just one tragedy, you turned his death into an excuse to cry and dwell in your own shame. The death of James and the death of your heart and will has been a tragedy the Saywer-kin has shared equally. Don't you see that? Instead of being strong, like you should have been. Instead of having the heart you needed to realize that James never asked you to cry for him. Never asked you to bleed on the inside for him... You just let yourself fall apart. And with that, your greatest strengths have held up in here. Look at this world." The man turned and used his arm to show Micheal the upside down waters. "Before you started to rely on James to keep this world in balance for you... These waters were a calm ocean. They didn't need to float anywhere. They knew they were exactly were they belonged. We all expected you to have a hard time with the lose of James, we did to. You're our brother, and so is he. But... Micheal... These waters have been wandering aimlessly for years. Years."

 

"T-Terran?" Micheal let his tears fall again, he couldn't hold them back. There wasn't an ability to hide his feelings here. The green haired man with goggles looked back to Micheal with a smile as he nodded. "I'm so sorry. You relied on me to be a man by now and I just havn't. And it's all my fault." Micheal spoke slowly as he approached Terran to stand beside him, looking off the cliff to stare down into the sky. What a funked up world his heart has become. "I forgot what meant to be who I am. I put up so many walls on the outside that I stopped growing on the inside. I can see now." Micheal let what came to his mind leave his lips that very instant. He knew some of his words would be a little impromtu, but it was the only way he would feel normal. In this world, to have a conversation with these guys, he had to be spontaneous or they would just keep talking, knowing what he said anyway. It just wasn't a way that Micheal was used to opperating.

 

"You've remembered my name... And that's quelled my rage, for now. But, I still need to save this world from your lack of confidence." Terren reached forward and placed his gloved palm on Micheal's shoulder.

 

"D'you mean that you're going to tell me how?" Micheal asked with a raised eyebrow. Terran shook his head.

 

"You'll never be a real man if I have to friggin' tell you what to do. After all, you havn't exactly been doing too too bad. For a child." The last part made Micheal's eyes narrow before Terran laughed and and squeezed his shoulder a little. The puppy sat calmly, iddly.

 

"C-can't you see the dog?" Micheal asked, amazed that Terran has yet to not or address the twin-headed dog.

 

"Nope. Myself and the others can only imagine what that twin-headed puppy looks like from knowing what you think. Jaiyo is the only Ketsuen who can directly interact with Orthie. This is because Jaiyo is your favorite. You bastard. Why not me, huh? Do you have a thing for white hair?"= Micheal grew nervous and forgot to speak before he thought. "Oh-Have you fogotten I know what you think? C'mon you bastard. Remember why he's your favorite so I have a reason to kick you ass and jumpstart this whole being a man thing. Okay? What is it? Is it that your have a thing for white hair? Don't have a symbol of me in real life yet? I know, funk this whole monologue bullshit-I'm throwing you into flashback-ville. See you on the flipside!" Micheal translated the words into actions far too late as Terran got excited and pushed Micheal into the waters.

 

 

---

"Come on, Mike! Play another with me!" James voice echoed softly in the pale dream-world. They both sat in a field together. Wind rolled the grass around them as a young Micheal sits before two duel-mats with their cards sprawled out as an end of a game. Behind the two of them, at the corner of the field, was a tall tree with a primitive tree house in it. Their grandfather built it with them not even a year before this. Inside was a silly bed that James tried to sleep a few nights they spent up at their grandparents place, Two bookshelves for their things they liked to keep here, a couple of boardgames they never picked up, and toy gun their cousin always played with. Frankly, their cousin always got to play with slightly more dangerous toys. Perhaps their mother protected them more because of the way their father passed away.

 

"No, James, you always beat me. I've had it. Can't we play something else?" Micheal didn't recognize the little boy's voice as his own. He didn't realize how much of a whiner he was. A sore-loser, that definitely didn't sound right.

 

"Alright Micheal. I do give you the most powerful cards... But, I guess pitting the Kin-type against eachother isn't that much fun for you." James spoke with a much more level head. The older brother had been playing it cool around Micheal all along to distract him from his negative qualities. Micheal never grew up thinking of himself as a whiner or a sore-loser, no one ever called him those things. "Let's play whatever you want." His younger voice would sound like a sailer or a surfer. His heart must have been like a calm ocean, always.

 

With this, Micheal openned his eyes wide and realized he was dreaming-still. "N-no, James, duel with me more. Please." Suddenly, Micheal took the place of his younger self and realized why he has cried so much from the beginning of this dream. This would be the place they planned on putting him to help him grow up. Tears rolled down Micheal's cheek as he tried to fight the dream and have one last afternoon with his brother. An afternoon to finally say he was sorry. To finally hug him one last time.

 

"You're right, we can play checkers. A simpler game. I don't mind that at all. We have all day, afterall." James smiled and stood up, giving the top of Micheal's head a pat like Micheal was still a kid. The short-black haired boy, whose skin was just as pale as Micheal's, stood and walked to the tree house. The moment of contact and the way the dream carried on anyway had shocked Micheal and he didn't move at first. He realized the James wasn't stopping to ask why he wasn't following since Micheal couldn't influence the dream.

 

"Damnit.." Micheal let his feelings swell before punching the ground and getting to his feet. Defeated, Micheal let the dream carry out. The simply-dressed boy version of James gleefully climbed the ladder to the clubhouse while the bloody shirt man version of Micheal followed shortly behind.

 

"Let's see, where did I place that infernal box with all of the checkers?" James spoke, and reminded Micheal of the way the two of them would address some games. They didn't speak wholly unique from other kids, but it was felt like it was their own thing. For some reason, his heart swelled more. Micheal bit his lip as he refused to let the instructions to where they kept the checkers leave his lips. Sadly, the dream carried on anyway. "Ah, right, we leave them under the bed. Hold on, I got them!" James crawled under his make-shift bed. The thing always looked dangerous, but Micheal knew he was fine under it. Suddenly, without controlling himself at all, Micheal looked down to the deck in his hand. He must have collected his cards from the duel without thinking. After this moment, Micheal doesn't remember having his own deck, or really what was in it.

 

The strength to move has left Micheal. The dream's purpose was about to reveal itself as Micheal turned and set the deck inside a little black box and placed the cover on it. It was ontop of the bookshelf that was fairly tall for the two boys. Micheal's eyes open wide as he realized the whole purpose of this dream wasn't to give him the chance to dwell on his older brother even more, but to finally remember where HIS portion of the Ketsuen cards have been lying in wait all of these years. The dream forced Micheal to turn back to his cheerful older brother as he was dropped the box and prepared to move to set up the board.

 

Before James could sit down, Micheal moved to hug this younger-teen version of James to his chest. The waterfall didn't stop now as Micheal let his tears run into the hair of his older brother. He hid his face in the fine black hair as he sniffed to himself and fought the knot in his throat to speak. He knew it was pointless, he knew this was the memory of his older brother and not the real one, but he had to do this anyway. He wasn't afraid. "I love you, damnit. I cherish every damn moment we spent together now that I will never get a new one again. You loved me too. I see that. I squandered your time, but you put up with it. Cherished me the most and looked past my difficulties... You showed me what it meant to be a brother, really. To show someone that they mean something to you without letting their differences or their difficulties hold you back. I'm not done missing you, you little bastard. But, I'm going to take hold of this lesson you taught me. I'm going to find what is truly important to me and hold it to my heart like I was held to yours. I'm never letting you-" Micheal was cut off as openned his eyes.

 

The world around him returnned to normal as the dream must have cut off. His blue eyes searched the room to find that not much as changed and he sat up on the couch. Rock stood facing away and things seemed to be pretty hectic. It was clear that he probably shouldn't be moving this early, as his gut dropped what felt like six feet into the floor and his head was impossibly light-But, he felt a new ambition summon within his heart. A heat that radiated throughout his body. His thin, long, white hand touched Rock's back as he realized that he was finally back where he belonged: The real world. Where real world logic applied and he could think about what he said before spitting it out. "Rock, I gotta go grab something at the edge of the island. Thank you for moving me. I might be back before the end of this thing and I intend to watch the final fight. Stay here for me?" His weak, soft voice reached out to his friend. This world was so different from the world that was in his heart. He could keep details hidden from others, scenarios and subjects could center on other people. He was free to move as he pleased, interact or choose not to interact properly. He did miss the damn twin-headed dog, though. That was cool. Even if it did take chunks out of the thin boy. His body was normal again too, just a little weak.

[King K. Azo]

Rock felt the hand touch his back and inwardly sighed in relief. He turned to look at his one friend, having a strange half smile on his face. "You're awake. Good," he said. "Forgive me. I failed you as a mentor...," After all, he held back. He made his student unprepared to face off such powerful cards and lose out on his chance to be champion. He was the reason Micheal went in a coma.

 

The request Micheal made of him finally registered in his head. "The edge of the island? In your condition? You'd be better off telling me where to go and let me get it for you. You shouldn't move after being knocked out for over twenty minutes," Seriously, what the hell was he thinking? The answer was he wasn't. Obvious answer is obvious.

[Techi☺]

"Talking isn't your forte, I get that. But, you did not fail me as a mentor you damned lug! You did plenty for me and our month of training means a lot. Honestly, do you think a 90-94% ish win record was just a damn fluke? No. I got out there and I played the game and I couldnt have even known the number of cards I should have had without you. And stop this whole feeling bad nonsense. So the attack felt pretty funking real and I saw some very funking weird sheet. This notion that you should be upset or that you owe me is bullshit. The smile is a good start, though." Micheal showed an array of emotion as he spoke. Freely. His mind and voice sat behind no wall as the most truth a man could spill, a message from the heart, was unloaded upon his friend. Micheal loved this freedom and his fear that Rock would mistake his words was alleviated by the fact that he knew he could reiterate the whole message by heart given it was written with it in the first place.

 

Micheal stood up and wobbled a bit as he took his deck out of the duel disk and shoved it Rock's pocket. "Hold onto it for me. It is my brother's and if someone tries to take it from you: I want you to really pull their fingers right off. I will be back and don't you dare say that you want to go instead or suggest coming with me. I won't have it. No. Shut up." His pale face lit up as he smiled to his own humor and waved to Rock as he stepped to the door. "Loosen up while I am gone you oaf! I will be right right back! If you get too bored waiting for me... Just tell Sora I have a crush on her or something. Bah bye!" The pale, thin, soft male waved back to Rock more with a huge grin and closed eyes. Enjoying himself like a coffin-sized weight has been lifted from his shoulders. His voice probably traveled through the room before he shut the door and charged out of the area. He was completely gone within the minute.