legendhiro Posted June 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 sorry again for not getting the chapter up yet. my internet's been down all day. tomorrow for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanAtlus Posted June 7, 2009 Report Share Posted June 7, 2009 sorry again for not getting the chapter up yet. my internet's been down all day. tomorrow for sure. Meh.But on the other hand, who are we to copmlain about it.My last update is also over two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted June 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2009 my internet's gonna be down for awhile, so i won't be able to get you any updates. i don't expect it to be down more than a week, and by them i will hopefully have several chapters ready to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted June 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2009 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stigma_Horrizone Posted June 16, 2009 Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 you know, this hiatus bored me out!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted June 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 16, 2009 it won't be muck longer, but i only have about an hour a day online. it makes updating anything hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stigma_Horrizone Posted June 17, 2009 Report Share Posted June 17, 2009 bump!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy Posted June 19, 2009 Report Share Posted June 19, 2009 I've been away from from this fan-fic for some time now (time to come back xD ). sorry for this ^-^"This is a great fan-fic, I just had some stuff to do...(it will be a long way to look back at pages until I find where I left :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted June 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2009 i've been away for awhile too actually (and it's my fic). but new stuff will be coming as soon as i can help it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted June 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2009 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stigma_Horrizone Posted June 29, 2009 Report Share Posted June 29, 2009 aww man, when is it gonna be up!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stigma_Horrizone Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 any new updates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted July 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 expect one in a day or two. i'm editing the first couple chapters, but other than that, they're ready. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Dorcus Posted July 12, 2009 Report Share Posted July 12, 2009 Hey I have just read this fan-fiction all the way through in the last 2 days. It is pretty good. I can't wait for Book 6. Anyway my favorite character's are Rocky and Tucker. I actually duel in real life with a rock deck just like 'Rocky' and my secondary deck is a fire/pryo deck like Tucker. My favorite book was #3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted July 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2009 thanks for the comments. rocky and tucker are my current favorites too (though i might change my mind someday), followed by john and then kimi and karen. my real life deck is like john's, or at least my casual play deck is. as for book six, it begins now. it would have started a few days ago, but something major happened that tied me up for awhile. i won't bore you all with the details, but long story short, my uncle was commited and i got his house. anyway... [spoiler=Chapter One] The Last Meeting of the Duel Force I woke up one morning, and it hit me; I was finally a high school graduate! In fact, many of the Duel Force’s members had graduated recently. Karen, Tucker, Rocky, Lawrence and Monty were all out of high school and ready to move on with their lives. Max was already planning to quit the Duel Force soon and go into the world saving business for himself, and Kimi had recently been accepted into some gifted school overseas. She would attend her Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years there. None of us had said it yet, but the Duel Force was through. Marik was gone. Exodus was gone. The Dark Divine Dragon was defeated. The remnants of the Order were still at large, but they had the Duelists Elite to contend with. We were no longer needed. We were finally free to live our lives. I reached over and switched of my alarm, thoughts like these running through my mind at light speed. The Duel Force was to meet later today. I planned to tell the others then that the Duel Force was to be disbanded. I sat up and looked out the window. The sky was completely clear. No clouds at all. I took a deep breath and I sighed deeply. Then I began my day. I showered, dressed, and headed down the stairs. I microwaved some left over Chinese food that I found in the fridge, plopped down on the couch, and watched some TV. I could hear Sarah getting ready upstairs. The meeting was supposed to start in forty minutes. I waited another thirty before my sister finally lumbered down to meet me. Her curly blonde hair was still wet. She was wearing a powder blue hooded sweatshirt, faded jeans, and glasses. “You’re late, Sister,” I said. “Well,” she replied, “I guess we’d better get going, Brother.” We both smiled. We stepped outside and walked to my car. I drove us to the mall where we found our friends, our team-mates, waiting for us in the Game Center in our usual corner of the room, sitting at our usual two tables. I greeted my friends. I’d become close to every member of my team in one way or another. For just a minute I wished that I hadn’t. If I didn’t know them so well, it would be a lot easier to tell them what I had to tell them. I sat down at one of the two tables next to the beautiful dark-haired Karen. We were sort of a couple. Or at least I think we were. “Alright guys,” I said, “I’m going to get right to the point.” I looked from face to face. All eyes were on me. I took a deep breath and said, “This will be the last meeting of the Duel Force.” “What?!” Tucker demanded, standing up and leaning in over the table top. He planted his hands on the table with a loud “thud”, and his Soul of Fire flickered, glowing with a red light that was almost as bright as my oldest friend’s red hair. “You can’t do that,” said Jen, flipping her hair, recently died black and purple, back over her shoulder. “Why would you want to?” Sarah asked, sounding a little hurt. “That’s easy,” said Rocky, leaning back in his chair, straitening his trademark khaki explorer’s vest. “He knows that most of us are at a point where we’re going to have to choose between this team and continuing on with our lives, and he wants that choice to be an easy one. Everyone here knows that many of us will be parting ways soon, weather we talk about it with each other of not. Now that all of our enemies have been defeated, I for one plan on finding the Duelists Elite and joining their ranks. I want to continue doing things that are bigger than myself. “And I’ve got that school back home in Japan,” said Kimi, pushing her shoulder length black hair out of her dark eyes. “But I don’t want it to be over,” said Amanda. “I was just into it!” “Yeah,” said Kristin, twirling her long light brown hair around her index finger, “I don’t want it to end either. The only reason I’ve gotten confident enough to compete in tournaments is because I’m a member of this team, and people know it.” “The only reason we lasted this long,” I said, “was because we had enemies. But it’s like Rocky said. Our enemies are gone. We don’t need to protect the Souls anymore. The only other reason for us to carry on would be so we could call ourselves the Duel Force at tournaments. But none of you need to. You’re all strong on your own.” “But maybe we want to,” said Tucker. “Maybe you’ve forgotten how this all started, but I haven’t. This team was formed to duel. You even said that you wanted Duelists everywhere to know about us. To know our name.” “They do,” I countered. “Which is why this isn’t right,” said Karen. “Duelists everywhere admire the name Duel Force. John, you won the world title. You. Some kid from Ohio. Not Yugi Moto, you. You’ve given Duelists everywhere hope, inspired them to be all that they can be. We all have. Which is why we should find a way to go out with a bang!” “We should have a tournament!” said Tucker. “John, we’ll have a Duel Force only tournament, and when its done, if you still want to end this thing, I won’t say a word.” “Honestly,” said Lawrence in his typically indifferent tone, “I don’t care what we do.” “I do,” I said, “and a tournament doesn’t sound like a bad idea. But we’ll need four more people to make an even sixteen.” “There’s Jenna,” said Sarah, “and Mom.” “And I’m sure Christopher wouldn’t mind another shot at you, John,” said Jen. Tucker counted on his fingers, “But wait, that’s only fifteen. Who else could we get. We need one more.” “And don’t forget,” said Monty, “that we don’t even have a place to hold an event like this.” I smiled, “Just leave everything to me.” We hung out for awhile, talking cards, life, and anything else that came to mind. After a few hours Sarah and I headed home. I dropped her off and then drove to the bank to make a withdrawal. It was time to dip into my winnings. On my way home from the bank, I made some calls. I called Jenna first, inviting her to compete. She eagerly agreed, anxious to prove herself to me. Then I called Christopher. He seemed just as eager himself. He never passed up an opportunity to test his skills against mine. I knew my mom would agree, so once I was home I remained in the car long enough to make the final, most difficult call. I took a deep breath as my call was put through to Kaiba Corp. Next Chapter Arrangements Made Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Dorcus Posted July 17, 2009 Report Share Posted July 17, 2009 Great Chapter man. Really good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanAtlus Posted July 18, 2009 Report Share Posted July 18, 2009 So we'll get to see Kaiba again?Or is Kemo competing? :O Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted July 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2009 you'll see. new chapter tomorrow or the next with the answer to why john called kaiba corp. realize that it might not be for the reasons you think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted July 24, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 chapter two is up. let me know what you all think. i know there hasn't been any action, but we've found out some interesting things. [spoiler=Chapter Two] Arrangements Made I called everyone the next day, asking them to meet me at my house at noon. Jen was the last to arrive, Kris in tow. When Jen saw that everyone else had already made it, she asked, “So what’s this all about, Boss?” I smiled, “I hope you guys are all free tomorrow, because I used some of my Grand Championship winnings to rent out the opening day of the new Kaibaland Columbus for our tournament!” They were speechless. “Tomorrow,” I continued, “we’re going to compete against each other in front of a full stadium, with the action broadcast to the entire nation!” “R-really?” Tucker stammered. “That’s awesome!” “This is unbelievable,” said Monty. “How’d you pull it off?” “All I did was offer to give Kaiba back a portion of the two hundred thousand that he gave me, and another chance to see the guy who beat Yugi duel. He actually seemed to care more about the latter.” “So everyone in the nation will be able to watch us duel?” Karen asked. “Yeah,” I said, “isn’t it great! Now you can finally prove what a great duelist you really are.” “But that’s the thing, John,” she said furiously, “I’m not a great Duelist!” I frowned, “Come on, Karen. You’re a great Duelist.” I stepped closer to her, “You’ve been playing using someone else’s style for a while now because you’re afraid to change the deck that your old mentor gave you. But I know that if you’d just take the time to find your own style, you’d find your confidence again.” She sighed, looking away as if deep in thought. Then finally she said, “Okay, but you and I aren’t speaking.” “He’s right for once though,” said Lawrence to Karen. “You’ve only made, like, two changes to that deck since Pegasus gave it to you.” She punched him. “So,” my mom said as she stepped into the room, “does this mean that I’m going to duel on national television too? I don’t know if I’m good enough.” “You’re better than me,” I replied. She only shrugged. “I need to upgrade my deck,” said Tucker, starting up the stairs, “I’m gonna raid your extras.” “How are we getting there?” Monty asked. “Bus,” I said. “I got us a charter bus. It’s picking us up tonight at ten at the end of the street. We’re staying at the Kaibaland Resort.” “How much of your prize do you have left?” Sarah asked, frowning. “I thought you wanted to live off of that until you could get your career started.” “I have enough,” I answered. “Two hundred thousand is a lot of money, and it’d built a little interest since the tournament.” “I’ve gotta go pack,” said Jen excitedly, heading for the door, her sister in tow. Everyone else stayed for awhile. We discussed the details of the tournament. Everyone was excited, especially me. If I won a televised tournament against a group of high level players like my friends so soon after winning the Grand Championship, it would really help to get my career rolling. Dueling is really the only thing I’m good at, and it had been awhile since I’d wanted to be anything but a Pro Duelist. But becoming a Pro wouldn’t be easy. I’d done some reading. Duelists with more experience than me with decks just as strong had been turned down plenty of times before. But even if the odds were against me, the fact didn’t change that I was more determined that I’d ever been. I would make this dream of mine come true, no matter what. Everyone was gone within an hour or so. My friends were all taking this tournament very seriously, even Rocky. But then again, he’d been taking dueling a lot more seriously since he’d heard about the Duelists Elite. He was either trying to improve quickly, or he was trying to catch their eye. Either way, I was proud of him. He’d always been very laid back. It was good to see that he’d finally found some direction. I also got the feeling that he was looking forward to finally testing his strength against some of his team mates. As team mates we’d never really felt right about dueling each other at full strength. But this was the last highlight of the Duel Force. It was now or never. I can’t describe how much I was looking forward to seeing how far my friends had come first hand. As the last of my friends disappeared through the front door and I headed up to my room to pack, I couldn’t help but glace down at the deck box clipped to my belt. I could feel the power of my spirit monster, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’, as well as the manifestation of my Duelist’s Soul, the Great Maju Garzett’. Since the formation of the Duel Force this deck had been at my side in one form or another. I’d fought many powerful opponents with this deck, but I considered my friends to be stronger than any of them. This tournament would be my greatest test yet. Tucker After grabbing some of John’s spare cards (something that I do a lot) and heading home, I sat in tiny little room for hours flipping through my deck again and again. I searched though the piles of garbage and dirty cloths for every spare card I had, laid them out, and examined them intently. But despite my efforts, I couldn’t find much that I wanted to change. I removed the Asmodians, the Fire Fiends that I’d used during the Grand Championship, in favor of some more Pyro monsters and support. But otherwise, my deck remained the same. My theme hadn’t changed, but the execution of it had. My friends wouldn’t see it coming. Karen I stepped into my room, or rather Kimi’s family’s guest room, sat down on the floor beside the bed, and took my deck apart, laying ever card out in front of me. John and Lawrence were right. I needed to change some things around. So I removed the relinquished cards, which had never been my favorites, as well as several others that I realized I didn’t really like, replacing them with some of my favorite cards. I kept the Toons, but at this point at least half of the cards in the deck were ones that I’d picked myself. The Toons were no longer my heaviest hitters. I’d built a new, unique deck with a new, unique strategy. I’ve already decided, I thought, that I want to design cards. But it’s important to me that I get to fight John again. I want to show him how strong I am. I’ve wanted to duel him again for awhile, but I’ve chickened out every time I had the chance, and it’s getting in the way of whatever there is between us. I have to settle this, once and for all! Sarah “I don’t even know why I agreed to compete,” said Jenna. She and I were hanging out in my room. We’d been friends for awhile now. “Why not?” I asked. “Well, for one, you guys won’t even let me join the Duel Force. But I guess it doesn’t mater now that the band’s breaking up.” “No way,” I said, removing the CD that we’d been listening to and replacing it with one I’d burned myself. “This team is a good thing. I won’t let it die, even if I have to carry on myself.” “Yeah,” said Jenna, her eyes lighting up, “yeah! If John does go through with this and he really does break up the team, we’ll take over and keep it going. You can take John’s place, and we’ll rebuild the team with strong duelists that we find ourselves!” My face lit up as well, “Yeah, let’s do it. We’ll create a new Duel Force and we’ll keep fighting to get stronger!” Rocky My deck is a rare type. It’s equally offensive and defensive, a balance that’s not easy to achieve, believe me. But my deck was due for a serious overhaul. Defensive cards were hard to find. Most Duelists avoided them in favor of more aggressive tactics, so single cards that worked in my deck were always hard to find. But I had to find something, so as I walked to my house from Johns, I stopped at Wilson’s Cards, one of my favorite places in the world. The owner, Mr. Wilson was an old friend. I did the majority of my card shopping at his store and I helped out there with stocking and stuff whenever I could, and in exchange he gave me good deals and good advice. I was browsing some of his older stuff when I came across an old gift box that looked like it’s been put together by Mr. Wilson himself a long time ago. It read “Stone Guardian Gift Box”. Glued to the front was an image of a massive-looking stone creature with huge fists. I felt a strange connection to this creature as soon as I saw it. I took the box up to the counter. “Hey Rocky,” said Wilson, straitening his inch thick glasses before wiping down the counter with a damp rag, “what can I do for one of my best customers?” “How much for this box,” I asked, placing the gift box on the counter. “Wow,” said Wilson, genuinely surprised, “I’d completely forgotten about that. You can have it, no charge.” “Really,” I asked, “you sure?” “Oh yeah,” he replied, “all it does is collect dust, and besides, you’ve helped me out plenty of times. Take it, get out of here, and don’t look back.” He smiled and shooed me out the door. I smiled as I stepped outside. It wasn’t far to my house. Once I arrived I went strait to my room and opened the box. There were twenty, maybe twenty five cards in it, mostly rock monsters with some pretty scattered effects and Spells and Traps that went pretty well with them. They were pretty good, but only a few were great. Then I got to the last card, the cover monster, and I saw how all of the cards fit together. I looked at that card, and I knew that my deck would finally be complete. I looked at that card, and I knew that I’d finally found the face of my Soul. Lawrence I was lying on my cot in Tucker’s basement. Ever since we’d been freed from the Order, Monty and I had been living out of Tuckers. We’d set up a pretty decent little apartment in his basement. Things weren’t bad, or at least not as bad as I was always saying they were. We were left alone. In fact, I don’t think Tucker’s drunk of a dad even knew we staying there. Monty and I had been working and saving up, and we planned on heading off to college in the fall. But for the time being I laid there staring at the ceiling. I thought about what John had said to Karen, and what my response had been. She, Monty and I had each learned to duel from one of the game’s living legends. Karen was probably in the process of personalizing her deck at that very moment, and Monty had long since made his deck his own, but I still relied completely on the cards that Seto Kaiba had given me all those years ago. Even though I’d put together a strategy all my own years ago, I’d never had the guts to put it into my deck and use it. I’d always acted tough, but in reality, things got to me. And what I’d said to Karen was really getting to me. It was time for me to finally use that strategy. The strategy that relied on the true power of my Soul, my true Soul card. Jen I chose Insect cards for my deck because Insects are the only cards in the game that not only work together, but evolve during game play to suite the situation. Every strategist needs to be able to evolve their plans on the fly, and that’s what Insects allowed me to do at a level that no other cards could achieve. But even as my understanding of the game grew, so did the selection of available cards. Even as my strategies evolved, my deck would evolve. Just recently I’d added a few surprises that gave my deck considerably more potential. It would be almost impossible for me to lose. Kristin I’d always used the Machine OTK style, incorporating all of my favorite cards. But my deck had begun to feel incomplete. New cards had been released that would make my deck stronger, So I took my deck apart and put it back together using some of those cards. Soon my deck was stronger and faster, and my monsters were able to reach even greater levels of power. This was going to be a great tournament. John I sat in my room and watched TV until eight. All the while I knew that my friends were getting ready for the challenges that they were about to face. I knew that Kimi would be sitting with my mom downstairs, sifting through her deck, and that Max would be testing his deck repeatedly against whoever had the guts to challenge him, looking for weaknesses to correct. I knew that they’d all be ready, and that they wouldn’t let themselves down. For only the second time in years we would be dueling for ourselves. We would be dueling to prove to the world and to each other how strong we really were. People started to show up at my house at nine o clock. They didn’t want to risk being late. I looked at my friends’ excited faces, and I felt proud. I could feel with all of my heart and soul that tomorrow I would see the full extent of their strength. I would see the maximum extent of the Duel Force’s power. Next Chapter Pairings; The Mysterious Sixteenth Duelist Revealed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stigma_Horrizone Posted July 24, 2009 Report Share Posted July 24, 2009 sweetness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senron Posted July 25, 2009 Report Share Posted July 25, 2009 Wow Legendhiro that was an awesome chapter. I'm glad you've finally started book 6. This is going to be awesome especially because it's been a while since we saw some of the characters duel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Dorcus Posted July 26, 2009 Report Share Posted July 26, 2009 Chapter 2 of Book Six was cool, I wonder who the 16th contestant will be. I so wish it is Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
legendhiro Posted July 31, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 chapters three and four... [spoiler=Chapter Three] Pairings; The Mysterious Sixteenth Duelist Revealed! The bus pulled up at the end of the street at nine fifty. We opened the compartments in the side of the bus and loaded our bags, keeping our smaller carryon bags with us. The doors opened and we piled inside. Sarah recognized the driver, “Hey, Mr. Wilson! I didn’t know you drove busses.” Wilson pushed his glasses back up his nose and smiled a gummy smile, “Sure do! I drove busses for thirteen years before opening my store. None of ‘em as nice as this one though. I told Johnny ‘bout it once, so when he needed a bus driver, he came to me.” “Sweet,” said Sarah as she found her seat. My mom climbed in last and sat in the first seat. She was asleep fast, leaning her seat back as far as it would go. It was only a few hours to Columbus, but it was late and we were all prepared to sleep if the need arose. We had a big day coming up. Christopher sat on the opposite side a few rows back. He sat quietly and stared out the window. The rest of us sat in the back and spent our time goofing off, but soon several of us drifted off to sleep as well. It took us less than three hours to arrive at the newly opened Kaibaland Resort. The third shift check-in lady was really nice. We piled into our rooms. I changed into some old sweats and climbed into bed. I needed to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be big. “Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Grand Opening of Kaibaland Columbus!” The voice of the tournament announcer rang over the speakers and the crowd which filled the entire stands cheered. I marveled at how many people had come to see the Duel Force compete and said to my friends, “When Kaiba Corp. hosts a tournament, they don’t pull any punches.” “We didn’t do this,” said a suited man who was with us in the stadium’s back room. “The name Duel Force sold itself. We just put it out there.” “You mean people saw that the Duel Force was throwing this tournament and it sold this many seats in two days?” I asked disbelievingly. “Exactly. I’m not nearly as impressed as you are. In fact, I expected this many people. I’ve been a fan of yours for years.” I was more than a little stunned, but I smiled and said, “Thanks.” I looked thoughtfully around the plush and comfortable sitting room where we would wait and watch the others duel. There were several seats, all situated to give those seated in them a good view of the large monitor that displayed the stadium outside. I didn’t know if this was transmitted to the waiting room alone, or if it was the same feed that was being transmitted around the world. “For today’s event,” the announcer continued, “we have a special treat. Welcome to the Great Duel Force Tournament!” The crowd cheered again. “Now allow me to introduce the participants in this tournament,” The announcer said, and the image on the monitor switched to the one displayed on the massive overhead monitor in the stadium outside. An image of my face popped onto the screen, and the announcer said, “First is John, the leader of the Duel Force and the current World Champion!” The cheering increased in both volume and intensity. The image changed, showing Christopher this time. “Next is Christopher Johnson, the undisputed King of O.T.K.!” One by one the image changed, showing each member of my team, introducing them and their decks one after another. It went on for several minutes until Jenna’s name came up. “Introducing Jenna, a new rising star on the tournament seen. Her style is different, so much so that it can’t be adequately described. I guess you’ll just have to see for yourselves.” The announcer paused and then continued on, sounding confused, “There’s a sixteenth slot, but we don’t seem to have the name of whoever is supposed to fill it. I guess it’s a surprise. Anyway, our computer has randomized and paired the names of ever Duelist competing.” He announced the pairings. It would be me vs. Karen and Rocky vs. Christopher in the first block, Block A, Lawrence vs. Tucker and Sarah vs. Max in Block B, Jen vs. Kristin and Monty vs. Amanda in Block C, Kimi vs. my mom and Jenna vs. the mystery Duelist in Block D. As the Announcer finished, the crowd cheered. “Now,” said the announcer, “would the competitors please step out onto the stadium floor?” “Alright,” said the man in the suite, “it’s time for your first appearance. Just step outside and let the camera get a look at you.” So we stepped outside through a large door that led strait onto the stadium floor. The cheering grew even louder. “Waddaya know?” said Tucker. “We do have fans!” “Okay John,” said Sarah, “give it up. You said you got a sixteenth guy. Who’d you get?” “Is it Yugi?” Jen asked. “You guys no him,” I said, “and no, it’s not Yugi. Just wait. You’ll see when he gets here, and he’ll be here soon.” The arena was open to the sky and lit by the light of the sun. The air had been mild all day, but suddenly, out of the blue, a dark cloud rolled in overhead. A single bolt of lightning flashed, and the crowd gasped as it struck the ground in the stadium center. The lightning faded, and the clouds parted, and there, where the lightning had just struck stood a figure in a long light gray jacket, white shirt, and light khaki cargo pants. His hair was dirty blond, but as unruly as mine. His eyes were an amber color, and his expression was confident. He wore a duplicate Soul of Darkness around his neck. Though his face was unique it was also eerily similar to mine, and if he were to speak, it would be clear to everyone present that he and I sounded alike as well. “That’s not fair,” said Jen. “Yeah,” said Tucker, “You don’t really expect us to fight him do you? I mean, he’s the Forgotten Duelist. Do you really expect us to Duel Hiro?” “Who better to test your strength,” I asked, “than the Legendary Forgotten Duelist himself?” “That’s a little selfish,” said Jen. “How so?” “Your forcing us to fight someone that we have little if any chance of defeating just because you want to fight him yourself.” “You’ll live,” I said, and I stepped forward to meet my counterpart and shake his hand. “You ready?” I asked. He smiled, “I’m just glad this worked. Trying to reproduce what happened when Blackheart cast me out of your body to give me a body of my own was a long shot, but it looks like it payed off.” The crowd was still in awe. Not only had someone just appeared in a flash of lightning, his face as it appeared on the overhead display was similar enough to mine that we could be twin brothers. They didn’t know what to think. Christopher walked up and stood nearby, “I’ve always had a feeling that that crystal around your neck was more than it seemed, but now I hear that you use it to ask this guy for help when you duel.” He crossed his arms and gave me a look that said he was genuinely angry. “He’d ask for my help on occasion,” said Hiro, “but only against cheaters and criminals. Never against anyone he considered a worthwhile opponent.” I looked as Christopher with suspicion. Did he know about the Souls and the Shadow Games? Seeing my expression, he smiled and said, “Your mom filled me in.” I nodded with a frown, “Of course she did.” “Well,” said the announcer, “what a show. As always Kaiba Corporation spares no expense in entertaining its guests. Now let’s begin. Will the first Duelists please step up to their respective platforms!” I looked over at Karen. She looked me in the eye and I saw a fire there that I hadn’t seen since the first time she and I had dueled. She was finally ready for our rematch. Karen Yesterday, when I was working on my deck, I’d realized something. I’d thought that John was being selfish in pushing me to fight. That he was trying to make me into a Duelist. But I’d realized that all he wanted was to see how much I’d changed since the day that we’d met, and the only way he knew how to do that was to face me in a duel. He didn’t want me to become a Duelist, he wanted to test his spirit against mine. So as much as I didn’t want to fight, I steeled myself up and stepped up onto the platform located on the right, prepared to bare my soul on the battlefield. Christopher My opponent was Robert “Rocky” Stone. He was the least known member of the Duel Force, having only competed in a few low rung local tournaments. I knew nothing about him, except that everyone who faced him said he was strong. In fact, one of my fellow members of Team Beatdown, a more than competent Duelist, had faced him once, losing in the second turn. Afterward he’d said that Robert “Rocky” Stone might even be stronger than me. I intended to prove this theory wrong. John When we had each reached our positions on the platform, it rose about twenty-five, maybe thirty feet into the air. “And now,” said the announcer, “let the opening day ceremonies begin!” [spoiler=Chapter Four] Round One; John vs. Karen and Rocky vs. Christopher Johnson “You ready Karen?” I asked. “More than you’d believe,” she replied. “Then here goes. I summon ‘Giant Orc’!” A massive fifteen-foot goblin with a club in hand appeared at my side (ATK: 2200). “You’re too predictable,” said Karen. “I’ve seen you use that card plenty of times before.” “Maybe,” I said, “but you’ll see that I’ve still got a few surprises up my sleeve. I place one card face-down, and I end my turn.” “Alright,” said Karen, “I summon my new key card, the ‘Allure Queen LV 3’.” A young woman in a black skirt and a rather revealing top appeared. She carried a short staff and held her spare palm to the sky, summoning several small flames that floated around her hand and arm (ATK: 500). “My ‘Allure Queen’, at level three, can use her unique powers to mesmerize one monster of her level or below once per turn and move it from your side of the field to mine to shield her from harm. So I combine her ability with the Spell card ‘Demotion’, lowering your ‘Orc’’s level by two, making him a level two monster.” ‘Allure Queen’ blew on the flames and they flew to my side of the field, circling his head. He was instantly hypnotized into following those flames back to Karen’s side of the field where he fell into a sitting position. “Next I play ‘Graceful Charity’, letting me draw three cards, as long as I discard two cards from my hand afterwards.” She drew and then discarded. “Finally I play ‘Monster Reborn’,” she said, “to Special Summon the monster I discarded for ‘Charity’’s effect, my ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’. This swordsman is sworn to protect his queen with his life.” A swordsman in a mask emblazoned with the symbol of an eye appeared, standing in front of ‘Allure Queen’ with his sword drawn, ready to take any hit meant for her (ATK: 1700). “Now I attack with both monsters,” said Karen. ‘Allure Queen’ summoned several more flames that combined into a magical fire. It floated at me, hitting me in the chest, moments before the swordsman slashed me with his blade (8000-500-1700=5800). Karen continued on, “I place two cards face-down and activate ‘Mirage of Nightmare’. Now I’ll draw four cards during your Standby Phase, and discard four during mine.” Okay, I thought. I have no monsters, but if I draw one I can combine it with my face-down card to retake the field. I drew, and I smiled. Perfect. When I activate my face-down ‘Skill Drain’ I’ll regain control of my ‘Orc’. Then I’ll summon ‘Strike Ninja’ and attack with both, and I’ll control the field again. I didn’t want to activate ‘Skill Drain’ so early on, since it will cancel out my monster effects as well, but it looks like I don’t have a choice. “Like I said before,” Karen announced, “I get to draw.” She drew four cards. “I begin my turn by activating ‘Skill Drain’, paying one thousand Life Points (5800-1000=4800) to free my ‘Orc’ from your control.” “Ah,” said Karen, “but you know as well as I do that I can anticipate every move you make. Reveal ‘Seven Tools of the Bandit’, paying one thousand of my own Life Points to negate your Trap and destroy it (8000-1000=7000).” I smiled, “Then I’ll simply summon the black clad ‘Strike Ninja’ (ATK: 1700), place two cards face-down, and end my turn. Don’t forget to discard four cards from your hand.” “I won’t have to,” Karen countered. “I reveal ‘Emergency Provisions’, sending ‘Mirage of Nightmare’ to the Graveyard to recover the thousand Life Points that I payed (7000+1000=8000).” This is it, I thought. This is the Karen that I want to fight. It’s time to settle things once and for all so we can move on. Rocky I’d never met Christopher before today, but I knew him by reputation. From what I’d heard, I knew him to be a skilled problem solver with impressive deductive reasoning skills. I had to stay at least one step ahead of him if I was going to have even the slightest chance of beating him. Alright, this is it. This deck is closer to me than any I’ve ever built. It’s time to let it loose. I pulled the six cards that would make up my opening hand, chose four of them, discarded three, and placed the fourth on the Duel Disk, “I send ‘Alpha the Magnet Warrior’, ‘Beta the Magnet Warrior’, and ‘Gamma the Magnet Warrior’ from my hand to the Graveyard to summon one of my most powerful cards.” Three monsters made of various magnet-themed parts appeared, splitting up into base components and recombining into one tall warrior with horns, wings, and a shield and sword in hand. “Behold my ‘Valkyrion the Magna Warrior’ (ATK: 3500). “I place one card face down,” I said, “and end my turn.” “Lucky draw,” said Christopher. “Luck,” I replied, “had nothing to do with it.” John “During my Standby Phase,” said Karen, “I sacrifice your ‘Giant Orc’ to level up my ‘Allure Queen’ to level five.” My ‘Giant Orc’ disappeared, and the ‘Allure Queen’ grew a few years older, her outfit growing more elaborate as she grew more beautiful. “Now she can mesmerize and control monster at or below level five.” ‘Allure Queen’ summoned her flames again, sending them to dance around my ‘Strike Ninja’. He walked to Karen’s field where he stood protectively over his new queen. “I attack with ‘Allure Queen’,” said Karen. A flame hit me in the abdomen (4800-1000=3800). “And I attack with ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’,” Karen continued. “Not so fast,” I said. “I reveal ‘Enemy Controller’, changing your ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ to defense mode.” An oversized game controller appeared. A cord extended from it, attaching to the ‘Bodyguard’’s chest. “See, I can control your monsters too,” I said as the soldier was forced to drop to one knee and lower his sword. I smiled, Sorry Karen, but I’m not going to lose this duel. “I draw,” I declared, “and since you control at least two more monsters than I do, I can Special Summon my favorite card, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’.” There was a flash of black and yellow static, and a black and yellow armored warrior appeared, his fists alight (ATK: 2200). “Next,” I declared, “I reveal my face-down card ‘Call of the Haunted’ to bring my ‘Giant Orc’ back from the dead.” The massive goblin returned to the field, standing at my side (ATK: 2200). “I attack ‘Queen’s Bodyguard’ with ‘Giant Orc’, Club Slam attack!” ‘Giant Orc’ raised his club and ran at the much smaller warrior. ‘Bodyguard’ tried to parry the blow with his sword, but it shattered and the warrior was crushed under the weight of the blow. ‘Giant Orc’ raised his club, stumbled back, and fell over (DEF: 0). “Now, ‘Fiend Megacyber’, attack ‘Allure Queen’ with Megacyber Impact! My ‘Strike Ninja’ will absorb the blow, and then you won’t have any monster to sacrifice in order to level your monster up next turn.” My ‘Fiend Megacyber’ ran strait at the ‘Allure Queen’, and something truly unexpected happened. Rocky “You’ve summoned a powerful monster,” said Christopher, “but sadly, it won’t last long.” I only smiled. “I activate,” said Christopher, “the Spell card ‘Painful Choice’. You should know what it does.” “Of course,” I replied. “Which five cards do you choose?” Christopher smiled and flipped through his deck, selecting five cards. He placed them on his Duel Disk, and holograms of them appeared above his head. They were two Water-Type ‘Blizzard Dragon’ cards, and three Fire-Type ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ cards. ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ was weaker in terms of attack, but his effect could be trouble, but ‘Blizzard Dragon’’s effect was tricky as well. “Add ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ to your hand,” I commanded, “and discard the rest. Also, I chain the Trap card ‘Rock Bombardment’. I send ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ from my deck to the Graveyard to deal you five hundred point of damage.” The massive stone warrior, ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ appeared in the air above my head. His body shattered, becoming hundreds of small sharp stones that bombarded Christopher like bullets (8000-500=7500). “That won’t make a difference,” said Christopher, “because this duel is about to turn a full one eighty. I remove two ‘Blizzard Dragons’ and one ‘Solar Flare Dragon’ in my Graveyard from play to summon my most powerful card, my ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’!” A pillar of water and a pillar of fire rose up and swirled together. The water froze, and then both the fire and ice merged, taking on the form of a massive icy blue and red dragon with two heads. It let out a powerful roar (ATK: 2300). “My ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ has an ability,” Christopher said. “I discard a card to destroy one of your monsters.” He sent a card to the Graveyard, and the two heads of the ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ attacked in succession, destroying ‘Valkyrion’ in an instant. “Now I attack directly,” said Christopher, and the Dragon breathed ice and fire down on me from above (8000-2300=5700). “I place one card face-down,” said Christopher. “This duel is over.” I almost smiled, He has no idea. John ‘Megacyber’ held his fist high and charged at the ‘Queen’, and the hypnotized ‘Strike Ninja’ moved to absorb the blow. But before ‘Megacyber’’s attack could hit, Karen herself jumped in the way, taking the attack full on (8000-2200=5800)! “Reveal,” she said, “the Trap card ‘Absolute End’. This card lets me defend my monsters this turn, instead of the other way around.” “Gutsy move,” I said, “but brilliant as usual.” “Thank you.” “I place one card face-down,” I continued, “and end my turn.” “I draw,” said Karen, “and I tribute your ‘Ninja’ to increase my monster’s level once again.” ‘Strike Ninja’ disappeared, and the ‘Allure Queen’ grew older yet again, her outfit becoming even more extravagant (ATK: 1500). “Because my ‘Allure Queen’ has reached her final, level seven form,” Karen explained, “she can finally affect monsters of any level. So I’ll bring your ‘Fiend Megacyber’ over to my side.” ‘Allure Queen’ released a wave of dancing flames, guided by the magic of her staff. But as soon as they reached my monster, he disappeared. Karen looked shocked, “W-what happened?” “I activated ‘Interdimensional Matter Transporter’,” I replied, “Removing my monster from play and allowing him to dodge your effect. He won’t return until the End Phase.” Karen wasn’t happy, but she did a good job of hiding it. “In that case,” she said, “I attack and destroy your ‘Giant Orc’ with Hypnotic Blaze.” ‘Allure Queen’ summoned up a fireball and launched it at the unconscious goblin, destroying him. “And finally, I pay one thousand Life Points (5800-1000=4800) to open the door to ‘Toon World’.” A green book appeared, fluttering open. Pink smoke appeared from within its pages. “I summon ‘Toon Mermaid’,” a caricaturized mermaid archer lying in an open oyster shell appeared, “and I tribute both of my monsters to summon the most powerful Toon, ‘Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon’!” The smoke increased, and both ‘Toon Mermaid’ and ‘Allure Queen’ were swallowed up by the book. From the smoke emerged a white cartoon dragon with massive round blue eyes. He let out a lighthearted roar and flipped in mid air (ATK: 3000). Smoke poured from the book again, and eight cartoon goblins emerged, each one carrying a club. “I finish my turn by summoning my ‘Toon Goblin Attack Force’. Next turn I’ll attack directly with both monsters. This duel is over.” “My ‘Megacyber’ returns,” I declared, “and I begin my turn with ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two more card.” I drew and said, “This duel isn’t over yet.” Rocky “I begin my turn,” I said, “with ‘Heavy Storm’, destroying your face-down card.” A powerful wind picked up, carrying Christopher’s card into the air. It was revealed as ‘Negate Attack’, a moment before it was torn to shreds. “Next I activate ‘Card of Sanctity’,” I declared, “allowing us both to draw until we each hold six cards.” My hand was empty, so I was able to draw six new cards. Once I was done, I chose and activated another Spell. “I pay eight hundred Life Points to activate ‘Premature Burial’, summoning my ‘Giant Soldier of Stone’ back from the Graveyard.” The massive stone swordsman appeared behind me (ATK: 1300). But I wasn’t done yet. “Next,” I said, “I tribute my soldier for the mighty ‘Guardian Sphinx’.” ‘Stone Soldier disappeared, and behind me appeared a massive stone sphinx. It was so large that its stone paws reached around the entire field (ATK: 1700). “But that’s not all,” I said. “Watch and learn. I sacrifice a monster with ‘sphinx’ in its name to summon my most powerful card, the very face of my Soul, the mightiest shield, the God of Defense, ‘Exodd, Master of the Guard!” ‘Guardian Sphinx’ disappeared, and a massive stone statue appeared in its place. It was shaped like a man made of living rock. The clothing and Headdress carved into the stone of its body was patterned after those of the famous monster ‘Exodia the Forbidden One’. His body was a light golden color. His hands were connected together at the knuckles, and he towered over the entire stadium floor (ATK: 0/DEF: 4000). Christopher swallowed nervously and I saw bead of sweat form on his brow. “I-I’ve never seen that card,” he said. “It’s not surprising,” I replied. “Most duelists ignore it because they can’t see its true power. Lucky for me I’m not most Duelists.” I smiled, “Lucky for me, unlucky for you. Watch as the ultimate shield becomes the ultimate sword, with the Spell card ‘Shield and Sword’!” The ‘Master of the Guard’’s huge stone fists broke away from each other. Bits of stone fell from the joints along his body as his usual motionless body came to life (ATK: 4000/DEF: 0). I smiled again, “Don’t forget that your ‘Dragon’’s stats also switch (ATK: 1600/DEF: 2300).” I took three cards from my Graveyard and placed them in the pocket of my vest, “I remove ‘Alpha’, ‘Beta’, and ‘Gamma’ in my Graveyard from play to summon the powerful ‘Megarock Dragon’.” The three magnet monsters appeared, broke into chunks of stone, and merged together into a large, stone, wingless dragon (ATK: 2100). “Finally,” I said, “I equip ‘Exodd’ with the Spell card ‘Megamorph’, doubling his strength.” A glowing ring appeared below my monster, and he grew even larger (ATK: 8000). “’Megarock Dragon’, attack!” I commanded, and my dragon raised his stone claws and cut ‘Frost and Flame Dragon’ to pieces (7500+1600-2100=7000). “I finish it,” I declared. “’Exodd’, attack with Guardian’s Might!” ‘Exodd’ raised his fist, wreathed in golden light, and brought it down on Christopher from above (7000-8000=0). I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Finally my deck was as strong I knew it could be. John “I begin my next move,” I declared, “with the Spell card ‘Painful Choice’. I take five cards from my deck, and you choose one for me to keep. Then I discard the rest.” Even as I spoke, I flipped through my deck and chose five cards. The field slot on my Duel Disk opened, and I placed the five cards on my Duel Disk, four in the Monster Zones, and one in the Field Zone. Holograms of the five cards appeared above me; ‘V – Tiger Jet’, ‘W – Winged Catapult’, ‘X – Head Cannon’, ‘Y – Dragon Head’, and ‘Z – Metal Tank’.” “I’ll let you keep ‘W – Winged Catapult’,” Karen said. I added ‘W’ to my hand and sent the rest to the Grave. “Then I activate,” I said, “the Spell cards ‘Soul Release’ and ‘Dimension Fusion’. I remove ‘X’, ‘Y’, and ‘Z’ from play, and then I pay two thousand Life Points (3800-2000=1800) to Special Summon them to the field.” The sky seemed to open up, and three monsters emerged; the blue torso ‘X – Head Cannon’, his shoulder-mounted cannons charged, ‘Y – Dragon Head’, the robotic red dragon, and the small yellow tank with the stalk eye, ‘Z – Metal Tank’. “I remove my three magnet monsters from play,” I said, “to combine them together into one.” ‘Y’’s wing’s broke away, and a panel on his back opened. The sphere that made up ‘X’’s base settled into the red dragon’s back. ‘Y’ set down on the back of the ‘Metal Tank’, and the process was complete. “Behold,” I declared, ‘XYZ – Dragon Cannon’ (ATK: 2800)! “I discard ‘W – Winged Catapult’ to activate my monster’s effect, destroying ‘Toon World’.” Energy lanced from the three part monster, vaporizing the book. The explosion consumed the two Toon monsters as well. “Attack, Cannon Firestorm.” ‘X’’s and ‘Z’’s cannons fired, and energy poured from ‘Y’’s mouth. Karen was hit, and her Life Points fell (3800-2800=1000). “Now I finish,” I commanded, “with Megacyber Impact.” ‘The Fiend Megacyber’ struck, and the battle ended. Karen smiled, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you next time.” [spoiler=Card of the Day]In a deck like Rocky's, a deck that specializes balancing offense and defense, there may be no better finishing card. His ability makes it easy for his controller to deal damage, even without attacking, and cards like 'Shield and Sword' and 'Great Spirit' can be used to turn him into an attacker the surpasses most others. Next Chapter Lawrence vs. Tucker, and Sarah vs. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
senron Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Awesome chapters and, I'm glad John's XYZs got a work out. And Rocky literaly crushed Christopher. Can't wait until the next chapter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryno Dorcus Posted July 31, 2009 Report Share Posted July 31, 2009 Go Rocky, Exodd is my favorite card. I love it when it is used to it's full potential. Chapter 3 and 4 were pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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