Destiny City: The Numerix Wars [IC/PG-16]

[ChampionZero]

Destiny City. An island City-State, halfway between the US/Canada Border and the coast of Japan. This mini-tropolis, no bigger than Hawaii, is home to a population of about 1 million people, united by a love of a card game. Though many would call us simple folk, the people of Destiny City are far from that.

 

It's summertime, and with summer came the restlessness of the Street Duelists, spending time outside where they could easily find opponents. Since the appearance of the mysterious "Numerix" cards, the city has seen a fair bit more Dueling than usual. Konami remains silent on the legitimacy of the cards, but people still take advantage of the fact that they work with all Duel Tech on the Island. That particular group includes you.

 

[spoiler=OOC]OK, everyone, it's a sunny summer morning in early July. Where are you and what are you doing?

 

[Draconus297]

Crystal walked down the street, her mind on Numerix-043. Frozen Construct, huh . . . one of 100 special cards . . . and it's mine. A flutter of excitement passed through her ailing heart as she realized that she had something that made her unique, in a good way this time.

 

Ever since the Numerix Hunt, as it was currently being called by the media here in Destiny City, had begun, everyone was eagerly combing high and low for these cards, and challenging one another to Duels out of the merest suspicion that they had one.

 

The basic idea behind "Numerix Duels" was that, if you lost while you had one, you had to hand over one of your Numerix . . . which, except in rare cases, was typically someone's only Numerix.

 

As a Duel went on on the highway above her head (two guys on Duel Runners using Stardust Dragon and Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, each accusing the other of having a Numerix), Crystal ran her hand over her own Duel Disk with an itching, a hunger to Duel.

 

A voice in her head was demanding she subjugate, control, quiet this loud city . . . but the sheer force of her cynicism assured her she wouldn't be all that good at it.

[0PxPz0]

Kori was speeding down town, looking for a challenger like the voice compelled him "Numerix sixty one, Vengeful Mage, perfect card for the villain ColdRush." he thought, stopping at a nearby park to to adjust his mask and wig "No one can know that the infamous ColdRush is just some kid . . ." he looked around, hoping the voice would guide him towards another Numerix holder like it promised when he found the card.

 

he remembered hearing about the Numerix the day he found sixty one, it was also the day he heard about some new AntiHERO cards meaning he would be buying packs until he got something. Kori had spent half and hour and a hundred or so dollars buying and opening booster packs until he felt something with the last one. Kind of like when you feel you'll get a home run or you feel you'll win the lottery. He opened the back and shuffled through the cards, mostly generic spells and traps lastly he saw the black border of an Xyz monster, for some reason he felt compelled to take a closer look "Numerix Sixty one, Vengeful Mage, I guess it's cool. Not what I expected from those super rare cards." he said, suddenly a voice entered his mind as he held the card "ColdRush. You are the bane of Destiny City. You alone can control the Numerix. Find and collect the others and your dream will be fulfilled."

 

That was about two weeks ago, he's been searching for more Numerix without any luck ever since, disguised as his evil alter ego, ColdRush, the controller of the AntiHERO archetype and the one that would some day control all of Destiny City.

[Tinkerer]

Kenji sat in the front of his shop. The large windows allowed him to watch the people pass by outside. He hadn't decided to open the shop today while the police investigated the shattered remains of the many clay figurines littering the floor. As far as Kenji could tell, it was very likely that the person who had broken in was probably some delinquent.

 

Kenji raised the cup of tea he was cradling to his lips. His deck was on the table face-down but he was fiddling with a single card, one that he had found among the remains of one of his figurines: an Xyz card called "Numerix 020: Keydra". He had never seen the card before, but it it seemed special in some way. He even neglected to tell the cops about it. Either way, it seemed to compel him to go and hunt down the culprit himself. Fortunately, it appeared to be tailor made for his Deck.

 

"Mr. Tsusawa?"

 

Kenji turned to face the young cop, surreptitiously placing the Numerix card on top of his Deck face-down. "Yes?" He said with a smile.

 

The cop seemed to loosen and returned the smile, "We have finished looking around. We might have discovered a few prints that could further our investigation. We would like your signature for letting us remove the shards."

 

Kenji took the document and scanned it, it was typical legal jargon but it basically summed up to what the cop had said. He signed it. "it's a lovely day." Kenji said, handing the sheet back. "might be a good day to watch a duel or two in the park."

 

The cop, seeming to get Kenji's point, said quickly "we'll be out of here in a minute. Thank you for your compliance."

 

Kenji stood and stretched. He poured out his cold tea and grabbed his Deck. When the police left, Kenji headed out, hoping, despite how unlikely it would be, that he would be challenged to a duel so that he could test out his new card. Kenji grinned to himself, feeling young again.

[)e//!s0P]

Jack felt the breeze on his face. He felt adrenaline flow through his veins. He was really ready to obtain more Numerix cards. He had 1, but he knew it would be hard. Especially on a duel runner with speed world 2. That would not be fun.

 

He remembered when he first held his Numerix, and it was interesting. He felt like an evil had awakened deep within. But it was kind of obvious that if it had a name like'Dragon of the Idea of Evil', it had to have an evil endusing effect. But he remembered it's pure strength. It had strong will, like it wanted something done. He remembered it's cold, hard voice.

 

"You may own me, but I'm running the show. When I require it, you shall do what I wish. Or else."

 

Yikes. He definitely needs some breath mints. But just like his dragons, Jack is as hard as solid steel. He doubted that 76 could actually do that. He sped off to find a duel.

[GarlandChaos]

"Doku, what's taking so long?! Hurry up!"

 

The delinquent groaned in response to the voice coming in through her cell phone. "Yes, mother." She rushed out of her room, which was located in the back of her gang's hideout, and began slipping on her gas mask and sprinting out the door.

 

"You do realize how much crap we'll be in for if we don't pull off this job, right?" the voice from the cell phone said anxiously.

 

"Lunch, it'll be fine!" Dokuko responded through her mask. "Just calm the hell down. Now where's the place again?"

 

"It's the oriental pottery shop over on Acacia Avenue. You literally can't miss it; it sticks out like a sore thumb."

 

Dokuko chuckled. "Acacia, huh? That's just a few blocks over." The delinquent picked up her pace as she made a quick turn onto the next street. "This'll be a cinch."

 

After about 10 minutes of running, Dokuko arrived at her intended street, but didn't expect to see an older man wearing oriental clothing walking on the same lane as her. Not able to react in time, the delinquent crashed head-on into the man and fell backwards onto her posterior.

 

Rather angry, she started yelling at the older fellow through her gas mask. "What the hell was that?! Watch where you're walking, you old fart!" Dokuko frantically stood up and dusted off her clothes. "I'd teach you a lesson or two in a duel, but I've got a place I gotta run to. So smell ya later!"

 

The delinquent maneuvered around the man and continued her sprint, stopping in front of the pottery shop, which...apparently already got ransacked.

 

"Hey, Lunch," Dokuko said to her fellow street duelist over her cellphone. "Apparently some dude already trashed the place."

 

"Wait, what?!" the voice from the other end of the phone exclaimed. "Oh, just great! Because of your own damn tardiness, the operation's a failure! Start running back to the hideout, me and the others will catch you there." A click sounded from the device, signalling the end of the call.

 

With an annoyed groan, Dokuko started running back in the direction she came from, making sure not to bump into any pedestrians this time.

 

[spoiler=OoC (EDITED)]Now that that mistake was fixed, let's try again, shall we?

 

[CatmanDaGamer]

Alexa stepped onto the bus cautiously, having little idea of anything regarding buses in this annoying city. Everything was so loud and crowded, from the Street Duelists to the ever-so-frequent Turbo Duels.

 

"It's as if this place revolved around Dueling..." she muttered.

 

Alexa sat in the seat closest to the exit. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a specific card from her deck. Mastery Wizard she thought. She gaped at the card in awe, itching to use it soon.

 

Something tugged at the back of her mind whenever she held Numerix-027, a want, almost a lust, for more of these things. Alexa shoved the card into her pocket, and tried to ignore it.

 

I wonder who has the other Numerix cards, or how many there are, she thought, as she pulled out a sketchbook and pencil from her backpack; and began to work.

[Tojin]

In a small apartment near Destiny City University, what at first glance looked to be a tangled lump of blankets and sheets slowly shifted and rose, only to fall away and reveal a still quite sleepy young woman. Allie rubbed at her eyes and yawned, stretching, before glancing out the open window next to her bed. The sunlight streaming in illuminated a world which had already passed through morning and into lunchtime. Ordinarily this would have thrown Allie into a frenzy of getting dressed and horking down some breakfast before sprinting to class, but today... Today was summer break. Today, Allie could afford to sleep in, take her time getting ready, and eat a nice breakfast while scrolling through Tumblr on her phone. And that's exactly what she did.

 

About 45 minutes later, Allie, now dressed in her usual getup (pale pink summer dress with a black shirt underneath, simple black skirt, flower hair clip, and some sandals), stepped out the front door, ready to enjoy a nice day out. She also had brought her deck and duel disk with her, of course; going without in a place like Destiny City was almost unthinkable. On an impulse, she took her deck from her pocket and removed a card from her Extra Deck, staring at it intently. Numerix-010: Initial Zeppelin - or more specifically, the guns bristling from the body of the machine depicted in the card's art - glared back at her. As always, a flat, mechanical voice resounded loudly inside her head. Primary directive: Gather other Numerix. Holder must execute primary directive.

 

Allie let out a short breath, amused. "Nah. Maybe later." She replaced the strange little card back with the rest of her deck. and stuffed that back in her pocket, before proceeding to the nearby park for a walk. A part of her hoped that someone would challenge her to a duel, so that she could summon her Numerix - they were a particularly hot topic nowadays, after all - but the rest of her would much rather just relax.

[Yui]

---

Turn 16

Kin: 13800 | Kimiko: 2500

"Now would be a good time to quit," Kin urged. "My turn! Draw!"

 

"Do your worst! I know you've got a Numerix card, and when I win, I'm taking it for myself!" In front of the short girl standing opposite Kin, a splendidly-structured squad of spectral samurai stood strong, sending a sense of superiority down the spines of the spectators seeing the sudden scuffle. "You've got no cards on the field, and only two cards in your hand. I don't see how you could possibly get over a field like this!"

 

"Alright, let's call it a bet. I'll win this turn, and when I do, you'll buy me...fifty burgers. If I don't, you can have my Numerix."

 

"Hah! Easy win for me! Get on with it!"

 

"As you wish. I Normal Summon Cookie Kingdom Crumble!" In front of Kin, the image of a small fairy carrying a basket of cookie crumbs - and seeming to have some trouble with the weight of it - appeared. "Next, I activate Crumble's effect! By sending another copy of Cookie Kingdom Crumble from the Deck to the Graveyard, I'll increase my Life Points by 1000!"

 

Kin: 17800 -> 18800

 

"Next, I activate the spell card Corporate Cookie Kingdom, and use its effect to Special Summon one Cookie Kingdom monster from my Graveyard, and I choose my Cookie Kingdom Crumble! And now, using my two Level 4 Cookie Kingdom Crumbles, I'll form the Overlay Network! Rank 4, Numerix-004: Herbal Remedy! And to make things even better, this monster's attack is equal to the difference in our Life Points. Take a moment to realize what that means if you need to."

Numerix-004: Herbal Remedy: Rank 4 | LIGHT | Plant/Xyz/Effect | 12300ATK / 12300DEF

 

"...wait! Let's call--"

 

"No ties. Herbal Remedy, attack her Shiranui Sunsaga!" On her command, the monster now before her - a gorgeous angel seemingly made entirely of flowers - spread its petal wings and emitted a pink haze. The smell was rather pleasant...until the whole thing turned into countless razor-sharp sakura petals and rocketed forward, besieging and destroying the largest of the samurai assembled before Kin's opponent.

 

Kimiko: 2500 -> 0

 

"Now, about those burgers."

These are pretty good, Kin mused to herself, shoving the tenth burger into her mouth and down her throat. She looked rather pleased with herself, and the large bag in her arm stuffed to the brim with wrapped-up hamburgers. They're juicy and the juice is full of flavor, but the patties themselves have that fast food-like texture and flavor. It's the best of both worlds. And the buns are warm and super-fresh. As Kin looked up above to the nearby highway, she saw two duelists racing by, locked in a duel and each accusing the other of having a Numerix card. People were sure getting worked up about these things. Were limited-edition things really that valuable to people? Kin mostly defended hers because she didn't trust anyone else with it. Atsushi maybe, were he alive, but...

 

That's life I guess. Kin mentally shrugged, watching the duelists as they went and taking a bite of the next burger, not paying as much attention to where she was going as she normally would due to an interest in everone's scramble to get their own Numerix. Which, in turn, led to bumping into someone. Her jaws instinctively locked down onto the food in her mouth to avoid dropping it, as she looked back to her own elevation to see who she'd bumped into. A girl. Not much shorter than Kin herself, which was a bit surprising, and...frail-looking. Really frail-looking. As if she'd shatter like glass if Kin punched her.

 

"Sorry, wasn't watching my step. You alright?"

---

[The Frost King]

Lance Campton woke to the sound of his phone ringing. Groggily, he sat up in his bed and looked to the dresser beside his bed. Spotting the phone, Lance picked it up, answered it, and put it to his ear. “Hello?” Lance asked before letting out a yawn. “Hey Lancelot! Are you out saving damsels in distress and slaying dragons?” Lance smiled as he heard the familiar joking voice of Chris, one of his friends. “No, I’m not. I’ve currently been having trouble fighting the monster known as ‘the hotel bed’.” Lance jokingly replied and heard Chris laugh in response. “So Lance, how is it in Destiny City?” “Well I arrived here yesterday afternoon, so I haven’t had the time to go out and explore yet.” Lance replied before letting out another yawn. “Oh okay. Call me later today when you’ve had time to explore. Hopefully you’ll finally find a girlfriend. Honestly, I’m surprised that you don’t have like 10 girlfriends since you have that amazing ability to attract females to you.” “Like I’ve said before, I haven’t found the right girl yet.”  Lance replied. “Well sir Lancelot, I wish you luck in your quest to ‘find the right girl’. But now, I must say goodbye, lunch is calling!” Chris replied in a fake British accent. “Bye Chris.” Lance said before hanging up. Looking at the clock on his phone, he saw it was 12 o’ clock. “Dang, I slept late.” 

 

Last night, Lance had checked into The Seaview Hotel, a four star hotel on Destiny City. He had come up to the 3^rd floor and went to room 103, his room, and came in to find a card laying on the hotel bed. Lance, thinking that the card was left by the previous occupant, was about to bring it to lost and found when he suddenly saw the name of the card. Numerix 66: Marchosias. Lance had never seen the name before and decided to google it. No results came up for the card, but there were a few blogs and forums that mentioned ‘Numerix’ cards randomly popping up on Destiny Island. After staying up late and reading a few more blogs, Lance had decided to keep the card.

 

Now, Lance got up out of bed before walking to the bathroom. After a quick shower, Lance put on his usual outfit, which consisted of a designer black leather jacket, a white undershirt, torn blue jeans and a pair of shades. Lance put his phone in his pocket, along with his deck and a compact red duel disk. He left the apartment and went to the elevator, taking a quick ride down. As he walked through the hotel lobby, he noticed some of the people in the lobby staring at him. ‘Of course their staring at me. After all, you don’t always see a famous model/duelist in public.’ Ignoring the stares, Lance walked out of the hotel and looked at the sky, smiling. It was beautiful weather, making it the perfect day to explore. And with Destiny City, there were so many possibilities.  Since Lance hadn’t eaten yet, he headed off in search for a restaurant  

[Draconus297]

"I-I'm fine," Crystal stammered, looking up at the amber-eyed girl who'd bumped into her. Her weak heart trembled, and her arm was practically numb- Frozen Construct wanted a fight, and it wanted it now. However, Crystal wasn't too keen on potentially losing the one thing that helped her feel cool again, and she had no idea how good this girl might be.

 

Fool. I can sense it . . . one of my brethren . . . A Numerix holder. Fight. Win. Subject her to my might . . .

 

Frozen Construct's voice was insistent, but Crystal refused. "I'm Crystal. Crystal Fraclair," the young woman introduced herself, trying to fight the chill in her am as she extended it. She could see the look in this girl's eyes . . . it looked like pity for this fragile waif in a blue dress. Deserved pity- she was weak, helpless.

 

You have my help, foolish girl, Frozen Construct reminded her.

[Krashkube]

Ken was riding around on his Duel Runner on one of the countless highways that were above Destiny City, trying to ignore the voice of his Numerix ringing in his head so as not to fall off his Runner. As he rode around, looking for a shop to get better parts or better fuel for his ride, he heard angry shouting beside him. He looked behind him for a moment, and could see a man on another Runner with a Shooting Star Dragon quickly approaching him. He was about to turn on his Duel Disk and complain about the man summoning a monster before the duel even started until he saw another Turbo Duelist, this time with a Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon yelling at the first guy. In the middle of it all, Ken could make out the words "Numerix holder" before turning down a lane that would lead to the main streets of Destiny City.

 

"Numerix, huh? Seems like everyone's looking for one of these things now. I'm just lucky I got my hands on mine." He thought as he parked his Duel Runner just outside a small shop for Turbo Duelists. As he walked over to the entrance to the shop, he pulled out his Numerix, "D.D Dragon", from his pocket and quickly looked over its effects before putting it back, worried someone might see it.

 

After buying a new engine which the owner of the small shop said would make his Duel Runner go twice as fast, he realized that he was hungry and decided to go look for a restaurant. The voice of D.D Dragon was still ringing in the back of his head, telling him to go faster, to rule over this city and to find more of these strange "Numerix" cards.

[The Frost King]

Lance looked around at some of the different shops he passed by, while he continued his search for a restaurant. While he did this, a few people had stared at him as they realized who he was. At one point, an excited young female had come up to Lance and asked if she could take a selfie with him, which he had replied with a yes. Lance didn’t mind the attention. I mean sure, he was on vacation and attention was the number one thing to avoid. But Lance, being the nice guy he is, really didn’t mind that much.

 

Continuing his search, Lance found a burger restaurant called Beef It Up. After ordering his meal, he sat down at a window seat and waited for his food. Suddenly, Lance heard a demonic-sounding growl, as if a hound from hell was right beside him. He looked around, looking for where the sound was coming from. He saw that nobody was reacting to the noise. It was then he realized that he was hearing it in his mind. And then, a snarling, loud voice spoke. "I smell other Numerix........" 

 

Lance was wondering if he was dreaming, when he remembered something he had read from a blog last night. On the blog, it mentioned a person finding a Numerix and then starting to hear a voice in their head telling them to get more Numerix. Lance reached into his pocket and pulled out the card he found last night, Number 66: Marchosias. Looking at the card, Lance slightly smiled. “Well, today just got a whole lot more interesting”

[)e//!s0P]

Jack's Hunger had taken over. He had left the turbo dueling area, and went into the shopping area. He had been here a dozen times, mainly for the dueling center, but he knew it was chow time. He had seen what he perceived as 1,000,000 restaurants. Authentic Japanese, Waffle Houses, even a Donut place he never knew the name of. But 76 said,

"No, keep going straight. Take a left. No, your OTHER left."

Eventually, he said,"Stop. I sense 2 Numerix cards." He stopped at a burger place called Beef It Up. Jack has no clue that this place existed. But Jack had no choice. The demonic voice kept urging to continue. He walked inside, got a table, and waited for 76 to identify anyone. He suddenly noticed a man in a window seat. He had red eyes, black jacket. He recognized him, but Jack couldn't figure out his name. Suddenly, He saw the outline of a wolf surround him. He felt a shadow of his demon dragon envelop him. Things could get bad, and he had no control. Numerix 76 was in the drivers seat.

[GarlandChaos]

When Dokuko returned to the HQ, the first thing she noticed was the gang's van parked in front. Instead of going for something fancy, it was a simple vehicle with a silver coat of paint. On the outside, at least. Inside the van was a completely different story altogether. All sorts of gadgets and electronics were stored away in its cabinets, with the main laptop usually found on a desk near the back of the vehicle. The only time it wasn't on the desk was when it was inside the HQ itself, typically being handled by the gang's very own tech expert, Trinity.

 

Speaking of the gang, they were waiting for Dokuko when she opened the front door to the HQ. At the front of the group of three was Lunch, a rather chubby young man with shoulder-length black hair. He was wearing his standard outfit: Baseball cap, sunglasses, orange vest, black tank top which exposed his admittedly large stomach, blue jeans, and sneakers. Impatiently tapping his foot, he said, "Well, there you are. Nice job being tardy for two things in one day."

 

"Oh, shut it, Lunch!" Dokuko snapped, removing her gas mask to reveal a nasty scowl. "As if you haven't been late for anything before in your life!"

 

Rushing to stand between the two gang members before they began to kill each other was a woman, just a year younger than Dokuko herself. She was more petite than the other, buxom lady, and had blue eyes and yellow hair tied into a ponytail. Her attire consisted of round spectacles, a gray business suit, and brown loafers. "Guys, cut it out!" the young lady exclaimed pleadingly. "One botched operation is nothing to get bloodthirsty over!"

 

"Trinity is right," the rather tall man in his mid-20s said calmly, stepping out from the back of the three person crowd. The man known only as Bullet and the gang's designated leader had brown hair that stretched down to the middle of his stomach and a scar running across the leftmost of his pair of green eyes. His outfit of choice was a red leather jacket with spikes, black leather gloves, a Pink Floyd t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of army boots. "There's plenty of other opportunities for us to get down and dirty. No need to cry over spilled milk." The gang leader chuckled.

 

"Yes, Leader," Dokuko and Lunch said in unison.

 

"We may not have been able to steal the ancient vase supposedly inside the pottery shop, but Trinity managed to pick up some other news from around the city." Bullet's gaze shot over to the blue-eyed blonde, who nodded in understanding.

 

"Right. Dokuko, you know that Xyz Monster you have? Mother Harlot, I think it was?"

 

"You mean the card my parents left behind?" the gang member inquired. "Of course. Why?"

 

Trinity grinned, obviously excited. "Well, word on the street is there's a bunch of other monsters like it. Numerix Monsters, if I remember correctly. Konami apparently denied making any of them, so there's definitely something weird going on, especially since yours-" The blonde aimed her gaze at Dokuko. "-is apparently Numerix 90. So there's gotta be at least 89 other Numerices out there!"

 

Bullet nodded. "Indeed. And what I want us all to do is go out searching for duelists in hopes of finding some with their own Numerices, and win them from their owners in a duel. I'd imagine they'd end up being full-on ante matches, since, from what Trinity has told me, absolutely every duelist in the city wants as many Numerices as they can get their hands on. So be sure to try your damnedest to not lose your Numerices because of some rookie mistake. Understood?"

 

"You got it, Leader!" the three gang members exclaimed in unison.

 

"Alright, then let's split up and get this show on the road!"

 

With that said, the gang rushed out of the HQ, each going their own separate ways. Dokuko ended up going in the direction of Acacia Avenue, but made a turn onto a different street when she made it to the crosswalk, going left instead of right this time.

[Tinkerer]

Despite the sudden engagement with the brash young girl, Kenji's spirits could not be dampened. He quickly made his way to the park, ignoring the stares of tourists and small children. He had no rationale for feeling so chipper, but he didn't question it... Until he heard an odd jingle.

 

It seemed to have come from close by. Turning on the spot, Kenji looked around, hoping to identify the source of the oddly perturbing yet somehow familiar jingle. Nothing around the park seemed capable of making such a unique sound and what seemed almost odder was that no one else even appeared to question it. Thinking it might be best to find a seat so he could get his head on straight, Kenji headed further into the park, all the while hearing the incessant jingling of...

 

"...Keys!" Kenji exclaimed. That's what it sounded like. He reached into his pocket to grab his small ring of keys to examine why they were suddenly so loud, when he accidentally pulled his deck out. His card tumbled all over the cobbled road. The day just seemed to be getting better.

[Tojin]

Even though it was the middle of summer, the weather was pleasantly cool outside, and Allie felt her spirits continue to lift. She was more used to absolutely crushing heat during summer, so weather like this was a nice change. Allie strolled down the cobblestone path happily, taking in the sights and wearing an honest smile.

 

Her Numerix, however, was insistently prodding at her mind with murmurs of Acquire Numerix. Acquire Numerix. Acquire Numerix. She tuned it out. It was pretty easy after you got used to it. Though to be fair, Allie had a lot of practice with this sort of thing; her parents, what with their endless lectures on how to run a business properly, economics, and the stock market (seriously, what small child is gonna listen to a lecture on the stock market?!), were perfect for honing that particular skill.

 

As Allie walked along the sidewalk, she noticed an older man dressed in traditional Japanese robes - something of a rare sight - on the path ahead of her, rummaging through his pockets in search of something. Suddenly, he stopped, said "Keys!" excitedly, and instead pulled out... a deck of cards. One of which happened to escape and float away on the breeze, right towards Allie, stopping at her feet. She stooped to pick it up, and out of curiosity, turned it over to see what it was.

 

Numerix-020: Keydra stared back at her.

 

Numerix detected.

 

Allie's smile gained a calculating edge. This day had just gotten a whole lot more interesting.

 

She walked up to Kenji, still wearing that grin, and offered him his card back, held between two fingers. "I'm thinking you should be a tad more careful with your cards, hmm? Never know what might happen." She held out a hand to shake. "My name's Allie Marquez. Yours?"

[0PxPz0]

"Two Numerix are near, go get them and claim your power." Kori ignored the voice commanding him to look for the cards for the most part, allowing it to lead him around the park to a very interesting sight. From just behind a tree Kori, dressed as ColdRush of course, watched a man yell out the word keys as if he just remembered some secret code word then drop hwhat Kori assumed was the mans Numerix on the path before some girl came over to help "Take the Numerix now!" the voice of sixty one was loud and angry. "I can't just walk over there and take on two duelists like that. I need a plan." he thought "We'll see what we can learn about them first, play innocent and stuff like a real villain would." he said out loud, this time more to the card than himself. Doing his best to sneak up on the two duelists Kori stood a good five feet away pretending to just be passing by, looking through his deck, not revealing his own Numerix to them.

[ChampionZero]

Riding up one lane over from Ken was a standard-model black Duel Runner painted with flames that crawled back from the front wheel to lick at the back one. Sitting in the driver's seat was a nasty-looking fellow. He was a bit on the short side, maybe 5'6", and short, slicked-back black hair gleamed on his head like a helmet. A black leather jacket clung tightly to his body, and he wore tall leather boots. His green eyes glittered hungrily as he looked over at Ken. A shadow descended over both of them, one shaped like a draconic figure over Ken, and over him, a more demonic one.

 

"Hey! I see you! You can't hide from me!" He sneered. He drifted over to the adjacent lane. "You a duelist?"\

 

Your Numerix's voice becomes more prominent. He must have one too.

 

"He has one of us. Take it from him."

 

 

The Numerix-holding members of Beef It Up heard the door chime as a cheery-looking young man peeked in. He smiled, and his body followed him through the door as he looked around, extremely happy about something. He was average height for a guy his age, about 5'9", maybe 5'10". His hair was brown, tied back in a long braid that rested on his shoulder. He wore a navy blue t-shirt that read "i have an app for that." and some casual jeans. A square bag was slung over his shoulder, resting on his hip. His eyes were a similar hue to his hair, and they drifted about lazily, stopping on each person in the room with a Numerix. A shadow seemed to fall over him too, but it was somewhat more abstract than the others.

 

 

 

Dokuko found herself running through an empty street at first, but then heard someone shout indistinctly from a nearby, unusually wide alleyway. A flash of light cast two shadows, one towering over the other, against the brick wall she could see. The smaller one of them collapsed, and the light died.

 

Walking out of the alleyway with a Duel Disk on his arm and a blank, unimpressed expression, came a guy in a stereotypical sunset-orange, flowery Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda Shorts and sunglasses, smoking the last few centimeters of a cigarette. he had a short, messy blonde fauxhawk sticking up from his head. And a voice spoke in her head, telling her he had a Numerix. Urging her to take it. Subjugate him. Crush him.

[)e//!s0P]

Jack saw the man's Numerix Shadow before he came in. The man seemed as if he saw the shadows as well. Jack took control all of a sudden. He heard 76's voice, saying over and over, "Get that Numerix."

 

Jack approached this man, who's brown eyes stared at his own, lazily. Jack knew what to say.

 

"So, umm" Jack stammered. "You seem to be starting at that man in the window seat and me. I noticed him as well. How about we take this outside to settle who goes for him?"

 

Then, Jack got up close, and whispered in his ear,"I know you have a Numerix. I'm challenging you to a duel."

 

Numerix 76 growled. " Good move. I wouldn't have thought of that." It paused. " It's Lunch Time."

[GarlandChaos]

Dokuko noticed a flash of light in a nearby alleyway and stopped dead in her tracks, wondering what the hell happened. She saw two shadows on the wall of the alley, the smaller of which collapsing in front of the other individual. Another street duelist? the gang member thought. Whoever that taller guy is, he must've bodied the other dude or something. Doesn't explain the flash though, unless he actually killed the dude.

 

She then felt her body tense up as she watched the taller man walk out of the alleyway. Holy sheet... the female gang member thought to herself. That's a thug if I ever saw one. Dokuko's eyes then directed their attention towards the contraption on the thug's arm. A Duel Disk! This guy's gotta be a street duelist, then!

 

The white-haired delinquent then heard a distinctly female laugh echo in her head. O~hohoho! Looks like we've found our target already, dearie! The voice belonged to Dokuko's memento of her parents, Numerix-090: Mother Harlot, although she didn't know it at the time. You see that man in the absolutely GAUDY get-up? He has one of the cards you're looking for. The female gang member's eyes narrowed. She found a Numerix holder already? It was honestly kind of hard to believe, considering the massive population of Destiny City. Dokuko knew what had to be done, however. And even if she didn't, her Numerix was all too eager to remind her.

 

Destroy him! Crush him! Subdue him! Dominate him! TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY OURS!

 

Hearing the haunting laughs of both the skeletal mistress and her multi-headed steed, Dokuko stepped forward, removed her gas mask, and announced her desire to duel the thug. "Hey, you!" the delinquent barked at the man. "I know who you are and what you have! So let's make a wager! If I win, I get your Numerix! If you win, you get mine! How's that?!" Eager to get the show on the road, the white-haired gang member booted up her own duel disk and grinned in excitement. Mother Harlot was already beginning to have an influence on Dokuko, and it would only grow stronger as time went on.

[The Frost King]

Lance’s eyes instantly darted to two different people in the restaurant. Lance knew why these two people had caught his attention, because Numerix 66 told him they had Numerix. “It’s time for the hunt……get ready to go in for the kill!” 66 told him.

 

Lance’s smile turned a bit sinister. “Well, I’m on vacation to take a break and have some fun. And duels are always fun.” Then Lance saw one of the Numerix holders walk up to the other and talk to him. Lance’s smile then dropped. “But I think that I’m gonna let them duel and I’ll just watch.”

 

Numerix 66 was not happy with that. “WHAT?! But the Numerix are right there, ready for the slaughter! Are you afraid of them?!” Lance felt Numerix 66 trying to take over.

 

“No, I’m not afraid,” Lance said calmly. “I’m being smart. There are two of them and only one of me. If I go into a 3-way duel with them, my chances of winning become very slim if they decide to team up against me.”

 

Numerix 66 started to calm down, realizing that Lance was right. “Fine. We will do it your way…….for now.”

[Krashkube]

As Ken rode a ramp back up to the highway, he saw another man approaching him from another lane. Curiously, the unpleasant man had a demonic-looking shadow looming over him, and as Ken looked up for a brief moment, trying to ignore the guy, he could see a draconic figure - D.D Dragon, by the looks of it - beside him. As the unpleasant man with the demonic shadow drifted over to the lane beside Ken, the man sneered, "Hey! I see you! You can't hide from me!" Ken sighed and turned his Duel Disk on, before hearing a voice ring through his head. You see that man with the Duel Runner beside you? He has one of us, go take it from him and do it quickly.

 

The man with the demonic shadow over him started to ride dangerously close to Ken, and he simply asked, "You a Duelist?" 

 

Ken looked over at the man. "If you keep riding that close to me and we crash, then I might not be Dueling for much longer. Anyways, I know you've got a Numerix card and that you want to duel me for some reason, so let's make a deal." Ken held up his Numerix card for the thug to see. "We'll duel, and if I win, I get your Numerix, and if you win you can have mine!"  Ken moved away from the other guy, and heard his Numerix again. Going in for the kill already? Good for you, now all you have to do is crush that fool.

[Tinkerer]

Kenji hurriedly picked up his cards, counting each one as he grabbed them. The jingling seemed to be growing more intense somehow... Until a young lady came up to him holding a card.

 

He didn't catch her first words as a shadowy key had appeared over the Numerix card she held out and the key... Pointed at the girl.

 

"...name's Allie Marquez. Yours?"

 

Kenji gave a large smile, trying to hide his confusion at the whole thing.

 

"Yes, I am Kenji Tsusawa. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He bowed his head slightly as he retrieved his card and shook her hand. As soon as he took the card out of her hand, the jingling sound returned. The shadowy key had split into two and one was pointing at a young man who, when Kenji glanced at him, seemed to look away.

 

"Yes, well..." Kenji began, looking back at the girl, "I am usually quite secure. But it seemed I was overexcited and was careless. I thank you for returning my card to me." Kenji closed his eyes sagely and continued, "I was hoping to see an exciting duel in the park, but the prospect seems to have gotten the better of this old man." Kenji nodded and gave himself a small smile. No one would need to know that his duel monster card seemed to have a mind of its own.

 

[spoiler OOC]Kenji doesn't realize this, but he has a shadow over him with the appearance of a large lock. Numerix Hunters should be able to see this shadow and the keys as well.

 

[ChampionZero]

He grinned viciously. "HA! Alright, let's roll!"

 

robotic voice spoke from the road speakers and the Duelist's Runners, and Ken and the thug across from him felt their bikes change gears and drift into the rightmost lane, the thug speeding ahead of him.

 

DUEL MODE ENGAGED. AUTOPILOT STANDING BY. AUTHORIZATION PENDING... AUTHORIZATION GRANTED, DUEL TRACK CONFIGURATION PROCEEDING. ALL NON-PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE VACATE THE DUELING LANE.

 

A row of holographic signs about the size of trucks cut their lane from the rest of the road and a side-ramp opens, a bunch of road pieces unfolding from the random nearby city parts, forming an irregular circuit around the immediate area.

 

"Bring it!"

 

 

 

Smiley sighed, and shrugged. "Well, I'm taking my lunch to-go, then."

 

After briefly grabbing a small paper bag, he set it next to his foot and unzipped his bag, producing a hot pink, rectangular Duel Disk and attaching it to his left arm. Then, he put on a matching Duel Gazer over his right eye, and a straight blade unfolded and locked into place.

 

"Alright!" He chuckled. "I'm ready when you are!"

 

 

The thug stared blankly for a few moments... and then shrugged. "Kay." His maroon Duel Disk unfolded a simple, curved blade, and he attached a Duel Gazer to one of his sunglasses lens.

 

He seemed... stoic, to say the least.