[IC] Yu-gi-oh! Scattered Memories

[Scarifar]

Azure Flames vs 7 Sins, Part 2

Turn 4: The Man
Yuna: 4000 LP / 3 cards : 1 monster / 3 Spell/Traps
The Man: 4000 LP / 5 cards : 1 monster / 1 Spell/Traps

"Draw!" The man called out, pulling a card off the top of his deck. Again he seemed to take a moment to glance at his hand, almost as if he was stalling for time. "I use 'Call of the Dark Demons' to discard 'Gekkido - Dark Demon of Wrath' to Summon 'Arina - Dark Demon of Lust'!"

Arina - Dark Demon of Lust - Level 5, ATK 2100

A Succubus-like demon apeared before the man, seeming to look lovingly at Yuna's monsters. "When 'Arina' is summoned, I can send one 'Dark Demon' monster from my deck to the grave to add one 'Dark Demon' monster from my graveyard to my hand. I send another 'Faer' from my deck to add 'Gekkido' back to my hand. Then I draw one card from 'Faer's' effect," One card ejected from his Duel Disk, which he quickly grabbed, "And you discard your hand and draw the same number of cards you discarded thanks to 'Gekkido' but I take 1000 points of damage."

Yuna placed her cards in the slot leading to the Graveyard, then drew 3 new cards from her deck.

The Man - 4000 LP --> 3000 LP

"Now! 'Arina', Attack her monster!" The man's shouts echoing in the warehouse.

"I activate my Trap card: 'Blue Fire Wall'!" Yuna countered. "When an 'Azure Flame' monster is targeted for an attack, I can negate the attack, then deal 400 points of damage!" A wall of blue flames suddenly rose up, blocking the path to 'Azure Flame Warrior', and the wave of flame reached over to the man, dealing the damage.

The Man - 3000 LP --> 2600 LP

The man recoiled backward a step from the flames, attempting to brace himself. Once the damage was complete, he regained his posture and said, "Well, that wasn't very nice, now why dont you be a good girl and surrender? 'Karn'! Attack her monster again!" The demon ran up and attempted to swallow the warrior whole. As 'Karn' chomped down, 'Warrior' raised his sword to pierce through. The battle ultimately resulted in each other's destruction, with neither player taking any damage. Immediately afterward, a blue fireball emerged from the Spell card 'Blue Burn' and shot itself towards the man, dealing 300 more points of damage.

The Man - 2600 LP --> 2300 LP

"That's my answer," Yuna responded.

The man looked from the battle up at Yuna, "Your go."

Turn 4: Yuna
Yuna: 4000 LP / 4 cards : 0 monster / 2 Spell/Traps
The Man: 2600 LP / 5 cards : 1 monster / 1 Spell/Traps

"Draw," Yuna said, drawing her next card. "If my opponent controls at least one monster and I control none, I can Special Summon 'Azure Flame Reinforcements' from my hand!" A small group of warriors with fire emblems on their armor appeared, ready to do battle.

Azure Flame Reinforcements - Level 3, ATK 1400, Phase A

"Next I Summon 'Azure Flame Stranger' in Attack mode!" Yuna said, a mysterious figure wearing a flaming cloak appearing on the field.

Azure Flame Stranger - Level 4, ATK 1700, Phase A

"Finally, I activate my Trap card: 'Burning Sacrifice'! By paying 500 Life Points, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower 'Azure Flame' monster from my Graveyard in Attack mode!" Yuna explained. "Appear, 'Azure Flame Booster'!" Another flaming monster appeared on the field next to 'Azure Flame Stranger'.

Azure Flame Booster - Level 4, ATK 1600

"I activate the effect of my 'Azure Flame Stranger'!" Yuna declared. "I can inflict 200 points of damage to my opponent for each 'Azure Flame' monster I control! With 3 'Azure Flame' monsters, that's 600 points of damage!" 'Stranger's arms emerged from his cloak, aimed directly at the man, then a fireball was formed and shot towards the man, dealing the 600 points of damage.

The Man - 2600 LP --> 2000 LP

"Also, while 'Azure Flame Booster' is on the field, all other 'Azure Flame' monsters gain 400 ATK!" Yuna explained.

Azure Flame Stranger - ATK 1700 --> ATK 2100

Azure Flame Reinforcements - ATK 1400 --> ATK 1800

"Battle! 'Azure Flame Stranger', attack his 'Arina - Dark Demon of Lust'!" Yuna commanded, 'Stranger' firing a stream of flame at 'Arina', who rushed forward, doging the stream. As they got close to each other, both spontaneously combusted and got destroyed.

"My attack continues! 'Azure Flame Reinforcements', attack him directly!" Yuna commanded, the trio of soldiers unleashing a battlecry and charging forward, flaming swords raised to slash away at him.

The man put his hand out, the card he had face-down flipping face up, as he yelled, "'Mirror Force'!" A white wall formed between 'Azure Flame Reinforcements' and the man, destroying all of Yuna's monsters as the 'Reinforcements' collided with it.

Yuna grimed, but did at least get some satisfaction from 'Blue Burn' firing 3 blue fireballs, dealing 900 points of damage.

The Man - 2000 LP --> 1100 LP

"I place 2 cards face-down, then end my turn," Yuna ended.

Turn 5: The Man
Yuna: 3500 LP / 0 cards : 0 monsters / 3 Spell/Traps
The Man: 2600 LP / 6 cards : 0 monsters / 1 Spell/Traps

"Draw!" the man exclaimed, pulling another card from his deck. "I activate 'Call of the Dark Demons' once again, discarding 'Senbo - Dark Demon of Envy' to special summon 'Gekkido - Dark Demon of Wrath'."

Gekkido - Dark Demon of Wrath --> ATK 2500

"When 'Gekkido' is Summoned, I can destroy one card my opponent controls, and I think that 'Blue Burn' is a prime target." Gekkido appeared to lift his huge arms into the sky above his head and smash them down on the ground sending shockwaves from the impact point over to Yuna's side of the field.

Yuna raised her arm to shield herself from the force of the blast when 'Blue Burn' was destroyed, but was not saddened by its loss. It had served its purpose.

"When 'Senbo' is sent to the Graveyard from my hand, I can Special Summon one monster from my opponent's Graveyard, but its effect is negated the turn it is Summoned, I choose 'Azure Flame Booster'!" Yuna's monster rose up in front of the man, but now he had a mark on him that was shaped like the symbol for Taurus. "Now! 'Senbo', attack Yuna directly!"

"Trap card, reveal: 'Reject Reborn'!" Yuna countered. "This card negates your attack and ends the Battle Phase, then I have to destroy all monsters I control and Special Summon monsters from my Graveyard equal to the amount of attacks I negated this turn!" A card ejected itself from her Graveyard, which Yuna took and played on her field. "Appear, 'Azure Flame Protector'!" Yuna said, a flaming golem appearing on the field, crossing its giant arms in front of it.

Azure Flame Protector - Level 4, DEF 2000, Phase B

"Alright, then I set one card and end," the man said, seemingly satisfied.

Turn 6: Yuna
Yuna: 3500 LP / 1 card : 1 monster / 1 Spell/Trap
The Man: 1100 LP / 4 cards : 2 monsters / 2 Spell/Traps

"Draw!" Yuna declared, drawing her next card. Upon examing it, she had a sudden urge to Summon it, then use it to Summon something else. Why she felt like so, she didn't quite know, but she trusted her instincts. "I Summon 'Azure Flame Reinforcements' in Attack mode!" Yuna said, the trio of soldiers appearing on the field.

Azure Flame Reinforcements - Level 3, ATK 1400, Phase A

Yuna's monsters were ready now. "Using my Phase A 'Azure Flame Reinforcements' and my Phase B 'Azure Flame Protector', I construct the Phase Shift Fusion Network!" Yuna declared, the two monsters transforming into 3 and 4 starry orbs, respectively, then heading into the purple galaxy that appeared overhead. As blue flames burst forth from the center occasionally, Yuna chanted, "With your flames burning blue, unleash them on the world! Show them your might, and engulf the world! Phase Shift Summon! Level 7! Show your Flames, Azure Flame Phase Shift Dragon!!!"

A blue flaming meteor descended onto Yuna's field, crashing into the ground and spreading the flames. The blue flames soon dissipated, and revealed a blue dragon with blue eyes, which roared as it was revealed. Two small dark orbs orbited around the dragon, similarly to an Xyz monster's Overlays, but unlike those, whose orbiting paths crossed, the paths for the orbs on the dragon were completely parallel.

Azure Eyes Phase Shift Dragon - Level 7, Phase A (ATK 2500)

"I activate my Trap Card: 'Graveyard Shift'! While I have at least 1 Phase A and 1 Phase B monster in my Graveyard, I can Phase Shift Summon using those monsters, but they are banished when they are removed from the monster I Summoned." A sly grin appeared on the man's face, "I tap into the Phase Shift Fusion Network using 'Senbo - Dark Demon of Envy' and 'Faer - Dark Demon Of Greed'!" Two sets of 5 stars flew out from the man's grave and up into the same galaxy-like form above them. A wall of fire rose around them, completely encompassing the duel. "Bringer of evils, Harbinger of woe, King of sins. COME FORTH! 'Azrael, King of the Dark Demons'!" as the man spoke, suddenly a huge fissure opened before him, a monsterous demon using its 10 arms to climb from within. It towered above everything but the dragon which it opposed.

Azrael, King of the Dark Demons --> Level ?, ATK ?, DEF ?

"When Azrael is Summoned, his level becomes equal to the combined levels of the monsters used to Summon him. Since I used 2 Level 5's, his level becomes 10."

Azrael, King of the Dark Demons - Level ?, ATK ?, DEF ? --> Level 10, ATK 3000, DEF 3000, Phase A

Yuna was stunned. The event that just took place in front of Yuna and the others, Phase Shift Summoning from the Graveyard without it even being his turn, seemed so impossible, yet it was. However, Yuna recovered from her shock and realized that even with a monster like that out now, the man she was Dueling was still doomed to lose. "It doesn't matter what you do now, because you're still going to lose!" Yuna yelled. "I activate the effect of my 'Azure Flame Phase Shift Dragon'! By banishing my 'Azure Flame Captain' from my Graveyard, my dragon gains half of my 'Captain's' ATK and DEF!"

Azure Eyes Phase Shift Dragon - (ATK 2500 --> ATK 3600)

"Go, 'Azure Eyes', attack 'Azure Flame Booster'!" Yuna commanded, 'Azure Eyes' jumping into the air and releasing a stream of blue flames from its mouth, engulfing 'Azure Flame Booster' and depleting the last of the man's Life Points.

The Man - 1100 LP --> 0 LP

The man scowled, then ran off to the other side of the room, where there was a second door leading to the outside. Yuna screamed, "Hey, wait!" and tried to run after him, but Yuji grabbed her shoulder and held her back.

"We have the guy's description. It'll just be a matter of time until he's caught," Yuji said. "As for everyone else here," Yuji continued, turning to face everyone. "Call the police. We'll get the girl back to school and get the principal to call off the lockdown."

Jin went over to the girl and removed her gag, then said, "Don't worry, you're safe now." while untying her from the chair. The girl merely nodded and said, "Thank you."

[Scarifar]

A month passed by, seemingly without any problems. The kidnapper incident soon became old news, and things went back to normal. Everyone worked hard on their studies and their Dueling, and new booster packs came out for everyone to upgrade their decks. All in all, seemingly normal. However, these booster packs contained a completely new and revolutionary monster: Phase Shift Fusion. It would change the way the game was played, and income for Industrial Illusions would soar.

However, it seemed like everything wouldn't be all right with the world.

---

During this month, in a building owned by Industrial Illusions, a meeting was taking place between the current president of that branch and an unknown Duelist. 8 muscular guards surrounded the two as they talked.

"So, to what do I owe this... pleasure of dealing with you?" the president asked, seething. "You have broken into quite a number of places owned by Industrial Illusions and created a metric ton of property damage, not to mention beating up so many security guards that they'll be understaffed for a month. Do you know how much this is going to cost? Worst of all, you had the gall to try to break into my office. For what purpose!??" the president ranted, absolutely livid now.

"I apologize, but it was necessary," the Duelist replied, showing no sign of regret or resistance.

"Necessary? NECESSARY??? What could be so damn important that-" the president ranted before being interrupted.

"This," the Duelist said, pulling out a card.

The president took a look at it, still scowling, but the scowl was replaced by a look of wonder. "What is that card?" he asked.

"This is a Phase Shift Fusion monster, and the beginning of our problems," the Duelist said.

"OUR problems? What are you blabbering about?" the president asked, still annoyed about the damages, but now willing to listen.

"I come from another dimension, one where Phase Shift Fusion monsters are common, as well as support for the various archetypes," the Duelist began calmly. "However, a certain Duelist managed to get a deck so powerful and dangerous that it killed someone and forced my colleagues and I to arrive in this dimension."

"So how does this concern me?" the president asked. "It seems like all you need to do is find this Duelist of yours and stop him from whatever he's trying to do here."

"Unfortunately, I don't have the time to waste merely searching. I have deemed this course of action to be the fastest solution," the Duelist said. "I need you to stage a city-wide tournament. Only the top 16 that remain within 24 hours will move on to the final Duels, and that is where I move to end our problems once and for all."

The president then began laughing, laughing so hard that he was slapping a table. When he calmed down, he said, "You can't expect me to just halt all our projects and create this tournament of yours just because of what you've explained to me. You can't even begin to imagine the time and money it takes to arrange everything."

"I can offer compensation in the form of Phase Shift monsters," the Duelist responded. "And this tournament would be a good way for people to start buying. Of course, you take all the credit for the concept of Phase Shift Fusion."

The president was about to tell the Duelist off again, when he realized what the Duelist just said. The president gave it some thought. A new concept in Duel Monsters would completely revolutionize the game. And all the credit belonging to him? That'd make him richer than even his wildest dreams. An evil smile crept on his face, then he cleared his throat and asked, "I assume I'll also get all the help I need to produce these cards?"

"All the help I can offer," the Duelist said.

"Very well then. I'm sold. Don't think I've forgiven you for the property damages you've caused over the past few days, though. You will be staying here until further notice. You don't want to be defeated, now do you?" the president asked.

"If that is what it takes," the Duelist said.

---

Yuji, Yuna, and Jin were examining a poster about the city-wide tournament being held. School had just ended for the week, and only the weekends awaited, which was when the tournament was being held.

"Won't this be fun?" Jin asked happily. "I suppose it's a good way to give the new cards a test drive. Phase Shift Fusion monsters. Say, isn't that what you're using, Yuna? I can see it now, a spy breaking into Industrial Illusions and stealing prototype-"

"Jin, please, shut up. I don't even want to know where that's going," Yuji said, tired from the day.

Yuna, not listening, was reading the rules on how the tournament worked. Every Duel won would earn that Duelist 10 points, and vice versa for every Duel lost. The top 16 would move on to the next stage, which was just a basic 1 v 1 tournament, with winners moving on to Duel the next winners and the losers gaining nothing. The prize for winning would be the title of "The Strongest Duelist" and a 1-of-a-kind card made just for that Duelist.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Yuna said suddenly.

Yuji and Jin stopped mid-sentences and turned to look at her. "What do you mean?" Yuji asked.

"Yeah, we got this new tournament, new cards, Phase Shift Fusion... what's wrong with that?" Jin asked further.

"That's just it. Phase Shift Fusion. Before that incident with the kidnapper, no one had ever even heard of Phase Shift, and now it's what everyone's talking about," Yuna said. "There's no way this could be a coincidence."

The three were silent, but then Jin broke the silence by saying, "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. No sense dwelling about it now. Besides, maybe this tournament is just what you need to finally get your memories back."

Yuna was silent for a moment longer, then said, "I guess. It's just... *sigh* never mind. I'm sure things will be fine."

[Joshua Tamashii]

Joshua was spending his day at the park, as he usually did, relaxing and enjoying the fresh air and nice weather while he layed down on a bench. He was content to just stay there until a group of kids passed. Joshua paid the no mind until he caught some words of their conversation, mainly 'tournament' and 'Phase Shift Fusion'. Getting up, he got off the bench and walked around town, quickly finding one of the posters advertising the tournament and the new summoning method.

"Now, that aint right. I already saw that form of summoning... unless they had it before the public announcement." Joshua muttered to himself, thinking. He knew Industrial Illusions could get a bit shady at times but history showed that it was rarely for the wrong reasons. The idea of a tournament to promote a new summoning method wasn't unheard of. They had done the same thing with Synchro, XYZ, and Pendulum when they came out apparently. But the events that had happened before this where what made him bothered about this tournament. The man had never been found and arrested and was still out there and he had used this supposedly new summoning method. Not only that, but something about the man's monsters bothered him.
The seven deadly sins and a demon lord. Maybe even lords, given that there might be more cards in his extra deck. A deck says a lot about a person and that deck spells trouble. And if he shows up again, will the kids in this thing be safe? He thought. Glancing at the poster once more, he turned and walked away. Seemed like he would be able to meet the local duelist a lot more easily now. And maybe he might get to find out a bit about that man and this new summoning method as well as possibly stop some trouble before it started.

[Eklispe]

Shopping? Again!?

Moros smiled happily and let out a yell of excitemnt as he jumped out the doors of school. Now they had the whole weekend and what more there was an awesome tournamnet being held. What more was there to ask for? "Ready to duel this weekend?" he jovially asked Cecile.

Giggling softly at Moros' display of excitement Cécile pondered his question moemntarily. "Well I've modified a bit of my deck again, plus I have a new card that I feel really suits my deck...So I guess we'll just have to wait and see!" She winked playfully at him. "Though I must admit," Cécile spoke a bit less enthusiastically. "I'm not sure how I feel about these new cards. Phase Shift seems a bit odd. Not to mention we saw them a good bit of time before they came out. What's with that?"

Moros thought about it briefly, "Maybe that TV show was like part of an advirtisment for the new card? Or maybe some kind of beta testing to make sure they worked properly with the duel disks. Its so cool how you're always making changes to your deck to make it better. I hope one of us wins the tournament and gets a cool custom card, I'd really like that." Moros said talking quickly and getting more excited as he thought about it.

"Well I mean, if I didn't keep changing things up then my deck would get more predictable. That is most definitely not allowed! As for that T.V. show as you seem to think. I haven't seen anything about that. Also why would they beta test it in the middle of a public place like that? And what about what Adrien told me about the others in the warehouse? It just doesn't add up...Oh well. In the end one of us will probably win the tournament. If it's a one of a kind custom card made just for you, what would you want Moros?" Cécile had somewhat gone on a rant and finally decided to slide back to the topic at hand.

Moros considered the question. He hadn't thought about what kind of card he would want. "Hm, maybe some card for my extra deck since I don't have anything in there. But I don't have any tuners so it couldn't be a synchro monster, and I don't have any fusion cards either. I guess the only card I could really use in my extra deck would be some sort of XYZ monster." Moros said thoughtfully. "But I bet you already know what kind of card you would want right?"

Blinking a few times Cécile finally laughed a bit. "But of course! I want my own unique Red-Eyes. Of course that's completely obvious probably, but I want my deck to be even more unique than Adrien's. We have a few differences here and there, and a couple of monsters to distinguish our decks, but if I could get my own card, and it would be a one of a kind. Well that would just truly set ours decks apart!" Near the end of her mini speech the excitement that picked up was overly obvious at the thought.

Moros smiled, Cecile got so excited over deck-building, even more than he did. "Well I think thats a great idea, I wouldn't like knowing someone who was using the exact same deck as me. That would be no fun at all."

"Hey! We don't have the exact same! They just have a lot of the same base. For one he has the Dark Armed Dragon, and for me I have my Trident Dragon!" Cécile retorted defensively.

Moros held his hands up placatingly, "Hey, hey, I was just generalizing. I'm sure they have very important distinctions that anyone could tell if they took a good look at it."

Cécile couldn't help but giggle. She couldn't pretend to be upset with Moros at all. "Tis true. Oh by the way. Have you been able to make any cool changes to your deck lately? I've been meaning to ask." Speaking a little sheepishly realizing how self absorbed she might have gotten.

Moros shrugged, "Eh, I've looked at some cards but my stomach wins the trade more often than not between those two choices. So I haven't gotten much new cards, just a few touches here and there. Thats part of why I want to win this tournament, I think I could really use something to spice up my deck a little."

Cécile gave Moros a pouting look. "But you gotta change things up! Come on! Surely you can do more than just a tid bit here and there! And it's not like you have to win the tournament card to do that either!" Cécile wrapped her arms around one of Moros' arms and started to drag him as she usually did. "Come on, we gotta get you ready for this tournament!"

Moros didn't even bother sighing at the inevitable latching onto and subsquent dragging of his arm. "Cecile come on, not everything has to change, if it ain't broke don't fix it right?" he asked knowing his question would no doubt be ignored and they would go card shopping because he didn't have the heart to refuse. Then he would tell her he couldn't afford them and then she would pay for them and he would feel bad just like had happened when she got his duel disk for him.

"Come on it'll be fun, just trust me!" Cécile responded as she dragged away swatting his comment down in flames. "Besides I think I have an idea to get some synchros in your deck! And as I've proven so many times to people around here, they are clearly the superior monsters!" And as such she began to drag him to the closer card shop this time.

Moros followed obligingly, "Alright fine, after all if you do it then it can't be that bad." he said they made their way to the card shop. "How do you plan on me using synchros anyway?" he asked curiously.

Cécile gave Moros a sly smile. "Now that dear Moros, is a surprise! Now come on!" After that statement Cécile began to start running and dragging Moros along for the ride.

Moros quickly got his feet and began running with her, with how often she dragged him places and him biking most of the time he was actually rather fit at this point. "Come on," he said as he easily kept pace with her, "At least give me a hint." he pleaded.

[Ammokkx]

Daemon was dozing off on a bench in the market disctrict, the cars being a good bit away and the only noise around being the chatter and walking of people. A perfect place to take a nap. At least Daemon had thought so, until he suddenly felt a heavy weight drop on his stomach at seemingly mach-speed. "GUH!" they let out in pain. Panicking and opening his eyes, what seemed to have fallen from above was... A dead bird. The hell? How does that even happen? The guy threw off the pigeon that had so rudely awakened him. Before the boy could go back to sleep he noticed a poster on a nearby wall. That wasn't there before... Maybe someone hung that up during his nap? Daemon jumped off the bench, curiosity getting the best of him. He scanned the poster, reading something about a city-wide dueling tournament... Wait, what?! "...Y-Yer jokin', right?" Oh lovely. People were going to be challenging him left and right.

Daemon took a look around the marketplace. The prize was a Phase shift monster, right? They seemed to have been used by that girl and that man at the warehouse... It's odd having witnessed something so new like that. How did they get a hold of it, they wonder...? Daemon shook those thoughts off, not a good time right now. The first course of action? Go scan the city for a hiding place before the tourney starts. The green-eyed boy does not feel like dealing with this. Daemon took off in a random direction, hoping to find something of use.

[Ryuzaki]

Xavier walked through the park, the other kids in his group discussing some new tournament, apparently containing Phase Shift monsters. Phase Shift? he thought, Don't I have one of them? He pulled out his deck and flipped around his extra deck past a few XYZ monsters before spotting his two Phase Shift monsters. Coming to a halt he thought for a second about what this meant. This had to have something to do with his past. Looking up at a giant screen attached to a nearby commercial building which advertised the tournament, he nodded and silently vowed to enter this tournament to learn more about his past.

[Scarifar]

"Plasma, direct attack with Blood Fears!" Megumi declared, knocking Alexander down and sending his Life Points down to 0. Megumi cheered, having won against Alexander for the 5th time.

Alexander sighed as he got back up, taking his Arcanite Magician off his Duel Disk and examining it. Arcanite Magician was a fine monster, but perhaps he would need something better than her if he would stand a chance in the upcoming tournament.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Megumi asked cheerfully, going over to Alexander and tilting her head playfully.

"It's nothing important," Alexander dismissed Megumi. "Let's go home. It's starting to get dark."

"Okay!" Megumi agreed, and the two walked off.

"What a match, though! If I didn't draw Plasma at that moment, I might have lost!" Megumi said. "It's all thanks to you for helping me with my deck!"

"Yeah, mm-hmm," Alexander said, still in thought about how to make his own deck stronger. Perhaps he would go to a nearby card shop and purchase a few packs. There might not be anything in them, but it was worth a shot.

"Alex, you sure you're ok? Maybe a little salty?" Megumi teased.

"Hush, you," Alexander replied curtly, rubbing Megumi's head.

Megumi giggled as the two walked.

---

The next day...

Alexander put together his last minute deck and inserted it into his Duel Disk. The packs he bought yesterday had a few interesting cards, but only time would tell if they were any good. Speaking of time, the time for the tournament was here. Alexander left his room and began wandering, intending to do his absolute best in the tournament.

[Eklispe]

Moros sighed, Cecile had gotten quite a few packs for him but he didn't like changing his deck that much. It felt too much like he was betraying it. He had only put in two or three of the cards he actually got. Oh well, now was time for the tournament to start!

Moros was already pumped up and he hadn't even started dueling yet. He stuck his deck into his disk and hopped on his bike making his way to the center of the tournament area and figuring he would work his way out from there. As he came to a halt to his surprise he didn't even have to look for someone as he was immediately challenged. "Hey you, you're playing in the tournament right? If so then lets duel!" his competitor said. Moros smiled eagerly, "Of course I am, lets duel!"

Machine Menace VS Kingly Might

Turn 1: Challenger
Challenger 4000 LP: 6 cards
Moros 4000 LP: 6 cards

"Since I challenged you, I'll start things off. I'll just set one monster facedown and end my turn"

Moros shrugged, that was fine with him, he liked the defensive game just fine.

Turn 2: Moros
Challenger 4000 LP: 5 cards, 1 set monster
Moros 4000 LP: 7 cards

"Hmm, I think I'll just set one monster, one face-down, and end my turn." Moros said placidly conducting his move.

Turn 3: Challenger
Challenger 8000 LP: 6 cards, 1 set monster
Moros 8000 LP: 5 cards, 1 set monster, 1 facedown

"Ha, now its my turn to go on the offensive. I flip up proto-cyber dragon, then normal summon another proto-cyber dragon. Now I'll use power-bond to fuse my two monsters on the field and the cyber dragon I have in my end to form the most powerful card ever, come forth and show me your power Cyber End Dragon!" The young boy called out as the monsters roared and charged at each other swirling around each other. The distinct sound of an arch-welder and a blinding flash of light quickly revealed that they had merged toghether to form a monster of fearsome might

Cyber End Dragon: 4000 -> 8000 ATK

"Now, my dragon will utterly annihilate your face-down monster! And because of his effect when his ATK is bigger then your DEF you take the difference in damage!" the youngster cried out triumphantly.

For a moment Moros actually though he lost on the second turn... until he remembered his facedown. "You got my monster alright but my LP are safe, because I activated the trap card Defensive Draw. When this card is activated I don't take any battle damage and I get to draw one card. In addition since you destroyed my Wightprince I can send a Lady In Wight and a Skull Servant to the graveyard."

"Aw I guess I'll just end my turn now, oh wait, I'll activate Dian Ketio the Cure Master to make sure I survive powerbond's effect." his challenger said quickly as his LP rose, then fell due to the 4000 damage. "Phew"

Challenger 4000 LP -> 5000 LP -> 1000

Turn 4: Moros
Challenger 1000 LP: 3 cards, 1 monster
Moros 4000 LP: 7 cards

"Well you almost had me, but it looks like its game over." Moros said confidently

"No way!" The young challenger said in disbelief, "I've got an 8000 atk monster on the field and you've got nothing, just how do you plan to win?"

"Like this. First I use One for One to send the skull servant in my hand to the graveyard in order to summon a King Of Skull Servants from my deck!" The royal purple robed skeleton appeared on the battlefield, standing on top of his servants.

King Of Skull Servants: 4000 ATK

"Big whoop, he has barely half my monster's attack!"

"And now." Moros said cheerily ignoring the belittling, "I'll equip him with the spell card Opti-Camoflauge Armour, which lets him attack your LP directly, King Of Skull Servants, attack his LP directly with Undead Retribution!" Moros called out. His skeleton nodded and took a step back, the pile of bodies he had been standing on now stood up and charged forward in a massive mob right past the terrifying dragon and directly at his challenger, covering him in a pile of bones and reducing his LP to 0.

Challenger 4000 LP -> 0 LP

Duel Over: Victory -> Moros

"Hey don't feel bad." Moros said to the clearly distraught kid, "That was a really cool move you pulled off, I just got lucky to beat you. Here, have a dollar, there's a nice place a couple streets over that sells ice cream cones for a buck, treat yourself alright?" The kid who had been almost sniffling a little quickly brightened up, "Thanks mister!" He said cheerily and quickly went to spend his new gained cash. Moros grinned and waved the kid off, folding up his fearsome duel disk back into its skull shaped travel mode. As he began looking for new challengers he nearly tripped over something. Looking down he saw it was the box for a structure pack. He picked it up and viewed it, Cyber Dragons, it looked like the kid had just gotten his deck today. Hopefully he would have better luck later.

[Ryuzaki]

Xavier looked around the Industrial Illusions lobby. There were tons of kids and adults alike who had just signed up for the tournament. He scanned the crowd for familiar faces to be his first duel. None. Somebody strange approached him, his duel disk was in the shape of a Dragon's head with a sword for the place where you would put your cards. "Hey!" The older guy said, he looked something like this but wore an Industrial Illusions pin, "Have you had a match yet?"

Xavier knew the answer but didn't want to look like a noob, after a few seconds of contemplation he decided to answer truthfully, ""No, I just signed up. I hear-"

"Excelent! Than this is your lucky day! Follow me!" The man cut Xavier off, pulling him over to a flight of stairs. Xavier reluctantly followed him to the top, and after a few corners, found himself in a huge glass room with a field for dueling in the center and seats just outside the glass. The only lights were inside the glass, and the brightness caused him to be unable to see the stands. "Congrats, bud! You get to duel one of the highest ranking employees of Industrial Illusions!"

Xavier was unsure whether to be ecstatic or terrified. He took a gulp and raised his arm, both of them shouted the customary "Duel!"

Xavier V.S. Aiden

Turn 1
Xavier: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Aiden: 4000 LP, 5 cards

"Being the higher rank here, I will go first" Aiden looked at his hand while speaking, then pulled out a card and threw it onto his duel disk, I summon 'Draconic Young' in Attack mode."

Draconic Young - 500 ATK 1500 DEF

"When Young is summoned, I can add one 'Draconid' monster from my deck to my hand, and Young becomes indestructible until my next stand by phase. I chose 'Draconid Hero Darlath'. Your move."

Turn 2
Xavier: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Aiden: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 1 monster

"Draw!" Xavier shouted as he pulled the card from his deck. "I activate 'Spellsword Reclamation', whenever any spell cards are banished I get to chose up to three and add them to my hand. Since my next move is summoning my 'Aprentice', this means I get 3 spell cards. I chose 3 copies of 'Spellsword's Grand Blade'! Now I equip them to 'Aprentice'."

Spellsword's Apprentice - ATK 1500 --> ATK 4500

"'Apprentice'! Attack 'Draconic Young'!"
Aiden - 4000 LP --> 0 LP

[Ciphra]

Tag Champ VS The New Blood

Adrien had been been spending a relaxing day in the inner city when he noticed the signs for the tournament. Of course he would be entering into the tournament just like the others woud be. It was this same area he returned to for said tournament. It would be no fun if he started out near the school where all the other students from his school would be, o this would probably spice things up a bit, hopefully.

"Duel disk... deck... extra deck... that's everything isn't it?" Amelia said to herself as she walked around the inner city. This was the first time she was entering a dueling tournament and dueling with other people. While she was certain she wouldn't do very well, she at least wanted to have fun and hopefully make some friends. Smiling, she walked around, looking for anyone who might be a possible opponent while occasionally stopping to watch other dueling that were going on around the city.

While he wandered Adrien was a little surprised at the amount of people there were in this tournament. It was good to see, but still surprising. Then something he hadn't really seen since he was back home caught his eye. There was a young girl walking around, clearly not even old enough to be in middle school, and to top it off she had a duel disk?

The true question here was whether or not she was just stepping onto the scene, or could she be a dueling prodigy? It wouldn't be the first time in history for that to happen, though the chances were highly unlikely. In either case it would definitely be a fun duel. If she wasn't the best then it would just be like back home helping the kids on the block gain some experience. If she was good then it would be a good start to this tournament.

"Hey there, enjoying the sites?" Adrien said as he walked up to the small girl with a kind smile on his face, a rare occasion saved mostly for kids or his friends.

Amelia had been watching a match between someone using Wind-Ups and another person using an Inscect deck when Adrien walked up to her and began talking. She jumped in surprise and quickly turned around to face the older boy, her face slightly red.
"U-um... yeah. " She said in a low voice as she looked at the ground nervously."I'm supposed to be in the tournament that's going on but I have no idea what I'm doing. Are you in it as well?"

Adrien chuckled a bit. "That I am. I'm guessing that this is your first tournamnet? By the way, you can call me Adrien, it's a pleasure to meet you." Adrien stuck his free hand out for a hand shake observing the girl. It was a bit obvious it was her first time at this sort of thing, but there was no need to be rude with a beginner. Everyone had to start somewhere. Now the question was how much potential did this girl have?

Amelia nodded her head at Adrien's question before looking up when he held out his hand for her to shake. Smiling, she gently shook it.
"I'm Amelia. Amelia Averyonna." She said before a puzzled look crossed her face."You don't sound like you're from around here. Are you from out of country?"

A smile crossd Adrien's face once more. "Why indeed I am Amelia. My surname is Allaire, I'm actually from France. I go to school here though and want to expand my career internationally and eventually me and my sister will probably be at the top of the duel world. Of course I won't be such an egotistical person as to say I'll be the next King of Games. I'm more for the tag duel scene myself. But enough about my rambling. Tell me a bit about yourself Amelia."

Amelia's face brightened a bit as Adrien explained who he was and his goals. However, it dropped when he asked about her.
"There's nothing important to say about me. I'm just your average girl." She said."But it must be nice to have dreams. I have none because I can't have any."

Adrien raised an eyebrow at Amelia. "And why wouldn't you be able to have any? Everyone has a dream or two up their sleeve! Whether it's to be the best duelist in the world, be half of the best tag team in the world, or even having the biggest collection of teddy bears! But everyone should have a goal, even you." Now Adrien had to admit his curiousity on this girl had been peaked and he would definitely have to duel her now. What better way to get to know someone?

"It's nothing important." Amelia said before looking back up at Adrien."So you're in the tournament right? Do you want a duel?"

"Hmmm, if you say so, and if you'd like to duel then it would be my pleasure Amelia." Adrien turned to walk to a good spot for himself for this duel but then looked back at her. "But I have one condition. If I win, you have to answer my question in more detail, if you win you get o ask me anything you'd like, and I will answer with complete honesty." Adrien offered before he went to his position.

"Yipee!" Amelia said cheerfuly, actually doing a little jump of excitement. She watched as Adrien walked away before turning back to her and giving his conditions. Amelia bit her lip and thought it over for a second before nodding. She raised her light green duel disk with silver highlights as the green outlined blade appeared."Alright then. Whenever you're ready."

Adrien dramatically raised his left arm and twisted it as his duel disk activated and he lowered it just as it finished clicking into place, the black highlights shimmering in the sun. He then continued to draw his five cards and then looked up at Amelia. "Well ladies first as always" he said pointing at her teasingly.

A few feet from Adrien and Amelia's duel, Joshua spotted them and stopped.
That's one of the kids from the warehouse. He thought to himself as he glanced at Adrien's opponent. She seemed young but that only meant she had more potential and more time to grow. But that potential needed to be nurtured. Would her opponent help her or possibly ruin her. Time would tell and so would this duel.

"The player who goes first doesn't draw so... hhhmmm." Amelia said, looking at her hand." First I activate Brain Reasearch Lab."

Around Adrien and Amelia, a futuristic lab bathed in pale green light materialized around them. Behind Amelia was a giant glass container filled with liquid but nothing else for the time being.
"Next I summon Krebons in attack mode and end my turn." A small humanoid creature that looked like a jester popped out infront of Amelia and laughed while dancing around and staring at Adrien.

Adrien raised an eyebrow as he drew his card. "Well then, this should be fun if your using the Research Lab'. First off I'll summon one of my personal favorites 'The Black Stone of Legend'." The shimmering black rock rose from the ground in a flash of light. "Don't worry though, the less than intimidating card has a fun little ability. I get to tribute him," As Adrien spoke the rock began to shimmer. "and then I get to special summon any Red-Eyes card from my deck, and I think I'll choose the famed Red-Eyes Black Dragon!"

The mighty dragon emerged from the stone roaring triumphently at the little jester and Amelia. "Now I'll activate a fun little card known as 'Dragon Heart'. This card requires me to send three dragons to the grave," Adrien grabbed his deck and chose three dragons and flashing them at Amelia and then swiftly putting them in the grave.

Another Red-Eyes user eh? Please don't tell me they have the same personality Joshua thought, growing worried now

"Now that I've put my three dragons in the grave my Red-Eyes Black Dragon gains one thousand attack points, and he's going to use all three thousand four hundred to attack your little Krebons!" Adrien had a lot of charisma behind his voice as he declared all of this and his attack. For one he hadn't had a chance to pull off a lot of his best combos in a while, and secondly he wanted Amelia to see his true passion for the game, and for his cards.

Krebons stood there as Red-Eyes fired a ball of fire at it. The jester held out it's hands and a green energy came out of them, wrapping around the ball and stopping it. The cheeky jester then began jungling it.
"While Krebons is on the field, I can negate any attacks aimed at him." Amelia said as she watched her monster, laughing at the sight." Normally this ability would cost be a few hundred lifepoints but I have Brain Research Lab out, so I can use it for free. And my field spell gains a Brain Token."

Krebons then threw the fireball away as a small brain was injected into the canister behind Amelia and floated in the liquid.

Adrien smirked as his dragon's attack went back down to 2400. "In that case I'll set one card face down and then end my turn."

"I'll draw then" Amelis said as she drew a card and considered her hand. She looked at her opponents face-down and frowned. She knew that could be a trap or a quick-play spell but she couldn't predict what it was. So she would have to take a risk.
"I summon Pandaborg in attack mode!" She said as a... well a pandaborg appeared on her side of the field." Then, thanks to Brain Reasearch Lab, I sacrifice Pandaborg to summon out
Overdrive Teleporter!"

The Pandaborg vanished from her field only to be replaced by a tall, lean man dressed entirely in white, cybernetic clothing with purplish hair and a mask covering his face. Behind Amelia, another brain entered the canister behind her.
"Next I use Overdrive Teleporters ability and summoned two level three monsters from my deck to the field." Amelia said. The man held out his hands and two portals appeared on the ground as Amelia's duel disk ejected two cards from her deck." Normally this would cost me 2000 lifepoints but thanks to Brain Research Lab, it's entirely free. So without further adieu I special summon Mind Protector and Psychic Commander!"

From the portals, a small green man in a UFO with a cannon as big as the craft and a small yellow creature with hands the size of it's body appeared.
"Now, I Tune the level 3 Psychic Commander with the level 6 Overdrive Teleporter to Synchro Summon the level 9 Hyper Psychic Blaster!" The two monsters rose into the air and Psychic commander turned into 3 balls of light that moved over to Overdrive teleporter, becoming rings that surrounded the man in the process. Teleporter turned transpartent with six lights inside of him before a bright flash of light occured. From the light decended what looked like a pure white mechanical man equiped with two blasters, one black and one white, landed on the ground in front of Amelia, sporting an impressive 3000 attack points.

Not bad. She was able to bring out an impressive monster with little effort. But I would beware that face down. If it's Mirror Force or Storming Mirror Force, she's in for a world of hurt. Joshua thought to himself.

"Now I'll tune the level 2 Krebons with the level 3 Mind Protector to Synchro Summon the level 5 Magical Android!" Amelia said, as the same process occured only this time the monster to appear was a lady with long red hair and equiped with a a curved sword and a wierd shield.

Adrien tilted his head slightly to observe things from a slightly different angle. This definitely wasn't bad for a kid her age, not to mention the cards she had weren't that of a some random kid who had scrounged together a deck. Adrien once more let a smirk creep onto his face. "Not bad Amelia, but the question is, will these monsters really be enough...?" Adrien offered still intrigued with who Amelia seemed to be.

"Only one way to find out, right? Hyper Psychic Blaster, attack Red-Eye's Black Dragon!" Amelia said, as her monster raised it's black blaster and fired at the dragon, aiming for it's head.

Adrien raised his hand out as a trap revealed itself. "I think not Amelia. I activate Negate Attack, which will not only negate your attempt, but will instantly end the battle phase as well!" Adrien let out a small chuckle. This was fun, and definitely not too intense like a lot of other duels he'd been in, at least not so far.

"Aaaaahhhh, no fair!" Amelia said, pouting a bit."Well then, I'll end my turn. And thanks to Magical Android, I gain 600 lifepoints for each Psychic-type monster on my field, including herself."

"Even if the attack failed, since her field was still full, she still got something from it. On top of that, it pressures him to get rid of that android." Joshua muttered to himself, slightly amused by this. No damage had been dealt yet but the girl held the lead in numbers and lifepoints. However, if that lab got hit, he knew the game could change drastically.

Smiling gladly drew his next card and then had a good chuckle. "Well I suppose this'll have to do for now. First I'll play a fun little card known as Card of Spell Containment. This allows me to draw two new cards." Adrien then drew his cards still smiling. Of course what he didn't say was that the card itself also stops him from setting any spell or traps, plus he can't use any spell cards this turn.

"Next I'll summon one of my personal favorites, Blizzard Dragon!" The young dragon came out screeching defiantly. "Next I think I'll use his special ability on your lovely Hyper Psychic Blaster!" The small white dragon blew a frost wind over the targeted monster leaving a thin sheet of ice over it. "In case you're wondering this means that your monster won't be able to attack me next turn, and that means I can also go ahead and have some fun. Now Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I think that Android has over stayed it's welcome, how about you show it to the graveyard!" Adrien pointed at the target for his Red-Eyes knowing full well it would be destroyed as well.

Amelia frowned as was less the happy to see her Blaster Frozen and her Android destroyed but Adrien's Red-eyes was gone now as well.
"My move then?" She asked

Adrien crossed his arms smiling and nodded.

"Alright then." Amelia said, drawing a card. She only had three cards now, but she had to make it count" With help from Brain Research Lab, I summon another Pandaborg and Psychic Commander. I then tune Psychic Commander with Pandaborg to Synchro Summon Psychic Life Trancer!"

A young girl with midnight blach hair and skin of a slightly green hue showed up on her field. the odd part about this girl were the mechanic augmentations on the left side of her body, including an entirely mechanical arm and leg.
"Now I use her ability. I banish Magical Android from my Graveyard to gain 1200 lifepoints." Amelia said. Lifetrancer held up her regular arm and held it out to Amelia, causing golden lights to surround and enter the young girl as her lifepoints went up."And with that done, Lifetrancer attacks your Blizzard Dragon!" This time Lifetrancer held up her mechanical arm and summoned a black orb of time-space energy, which it flung at the small dragon.

Adrien closed his eyes his smile not wavering one bit as his small, but faithful dragon shattered and he lost 600 life points. "I guess that means it's back to me then?" Adrien asked his eyes slowly opening and his smile widening as he drew his card. "You know Amelia, your actually not too shabby for someone your age, so I think I'll give you a real treat today. So first I'm going to ask you a question. What are the three rarest dragons you can think of in all of Duel Monsters?"

"... Stardust?" Amelia asked.

Adrien shook his head. "I'm not talking about those dragons...I mean the ones that aren't bound to someone, the ones that are rare to find, to obtain. Any guesses?"

Amelia shook her head, as she was rather unfamilair with monsters outside of her own or really famous ones.

"Then I guess it's my lucky day then. First I'll direct you to my last turn. Note that I purposely sacrificed my Red-Eyes Black Dragon. This is because one of the rare dragons has a rather tedious requirement. You see the only way you can summon him is by having three dark monsters in the graveyard. And that's exactly what sacrificing my Red-Eyes did. Now welcome my rarest card, Dark Armed Dragon!" Adrien raised his arm before dramatically throwing the card onto his duel disk.

After that the ground shook ferociously as metal dragon smashed into the ground from the sky above and roared in all its might and glory causing the earth beneath them to shake even further.

Amelia looked up at the dragon as it emerged from the ground and gulped. It's attack points were higher then a vast majority of her monsters. In fact, the only one that could beat it was Hyper Psychic Blaster. But she had a feeling that was not going to happen anytime soon. However, it was obvious the dragon scared the girl slightly, despite it just being a hologram.

"Hey Amelia!" Adrien called out to the small and now frightened girl. "You should probably take note of this next part because this is why he's such a rare and amazing creature. Now I just banish one of my lovely Red-Eyes in my grave from the game, and now that lovely lab you used so heavily is blown to bits by my monsters ability!"

Amelia let out scream as her lab was blown up by the dragon, the massive explosion causing her lifepoints to rocket down from 6400 to a mere 1400 points, the shockwave knocking her to the ground. She got back onto her feet, hoping he couldn't use the same trick more then once.

"Hey Amelia, I hope you haven't stopped with those notes, because now I can take these other two dark monsters out of my grave and remove them from the game and you can say good bye to our two monsters too while you're at it." It was always fun to use his Dark Armed Dragon, plus his love for the game normally came out heavily when playing with those that were young, or those close to him, thus he was happier than ever, and his smile resembled that.

After Dark armed had taken care of Amelia's monsters Adrien stood sideways and pointed at Amelia with a mostly open hand with a couple fingers directed at her. "Now Dark Armed Dragon, end this duel!"

Amelia watched as Dark-Armed Dragon's arm came down at her and took away the rest of her lifepoints in one blow. As her duel disk deactivated, she pulled out her deck and looked at it.
"In the end, I couldn't do anything. Not a single thing." she said, her tone a bit upset.

Adrien walked up to Amelia as his dragon disappeared and sighed but still had a smile on his face. "Hey Amelia. You did really good you know." Adrien said at first as he offered his hand out for a handshake. "Not a lot of people your age could pull off dueling as well as you did."

"But I barely did any damage to you and you completely destroyed me." Amelia said.

"A duel is about more then damage." Joshua said, walking over. "You know your cards and you're capable of comboing them. Infact, I would say you have the potential to go very far in this tournament with your combo skills. If I may, what was the last card in your hand?"

"Emergency Teleport." Amelia said sullenly.

"Truely a tough situation. But your opponent got lucky and simply drew a highly limited card when he needed it." Joshua said, thinking. "But outside of that, you had him on the ropes most of the duel. So take it as a victory if you ask me. Don't you agree, Mister Red-Eyes?"

Adrien chuckled rubbing his head. "I hate the term lucky, but that's about it in a nutshell I'd say. Not to mention the fact that not most people can pull off a good synchro deck, and yours is already on it's way to being a top of the line synchro deck from what I can tell. In fact I might have some ideas to help you out with it, well I mean technically my sister would be better than me at the whole synchro thing, but I'm sure I could manage a few ideas of my own!"

"You have a... oh dear god, please tell me your sister isn't who I think it is." Joshua said, a pain look crossing his face

'Huh. You know Cécile? Yeah me and her are tag team champs back in France! She and I own most of the worlds Red-Eyes Black Dragons as a team-:

"Oh just shut up." Joshua interupted."I can understand why you two were deported. your sister is such a sadistic and condescending... nevermind, there are children here. I cannot say whatever I wish."

Adrien rubbed the back of his head and laughed a bit nervously. "I'm gonna guess you saw her dueling Megumi? Or maybe it was one of the other ones? In any event she's really not as bad as you probably think." Adrien kept laughing a bit to avoid the issue he'd dealt with more than once thanks to his sister.

"In any case, she's hardly champion material. I'd place money on me beating her." Joshua said before looking back at Adrien." At least you seem respectful. Better then some pros I've fought but worse then others. Given time, you might be worthy of being at the top, both because of your skills and your character. Still, if you want to prove that to me, maybe you can watch over the young lady here and help her improve."

Adrien smirked. "While it might be something I do back home a lot, it's not really up to me. It's her decision on whether or not she wants my help, oh and for the record, as much as you probably don't want to hear it. She might be one of the rudest people you've met when it comes to dueling, and one of the most heartless, Cécile is going to make it to the top. She'll definitely make it there before I do, and for that matter I'd peg my money on her getting there before anyone at our academy does. But anyway. Amelia, what do ya say to dealing with me for awhile?"

"I have no doubt she'll make it, the question is for how long. Her reputation as a person will be down the gutter in no time and she might find that no one will challenge her because of her toxicity." Joshua said. "In other words, even if she reaches and remains at the top, whether she'll be acknowledged and recognized as one of the best of our time is another story."

Amelia listened to both of the older boys as they talked. when Adrien adressed her again and asked if she would be willing to join him, she nodded.
"If you're willing to put up with me." She said.

"You might want to use your better deck though." Joshua said off handedly.

Adrien put a hand on Amelia's head and chuckled a bit. "I've dealt with far worse than you, this'll be fun!" Adrien said for a small pep talk of random proportion. "Oh and by the way," Adrien took his hand off Amelia's head and held it out to Joshua. "I'm Adrien. Adrien Allaire.

Joshua shook Adrien's hand when it was offered to him.
"Joshua Tamashii. Wondering duelist." He said." If you're up for it, I'm up for dueling you sometime. I'm in this tournament too."

Adrien raised an eyebrow and turned to Amelia. "What do you think Amelia? Should I show Mr. Tamashii, the Wondering Duelist, a good time? Maybe show him a new trick or two?" Adrien winked at Amelia jokingly.

"I think you'll find me harder to take down." Joshua said.

"I'm more then willing to watch." Amelia said.

"Alright then." Joshua said before moving away from the two. He put on his duel disk, a black thing is silver highlights before pulling out two decks. He considered them before selecting one and placing it in his disk."Ready?"

Adrien shuffled his deck and then inserted it into his duel disk. "I suppose I better be." Adrien said with a smirk as he raised his duel disk once more.

[Scarifar]

The Hero slaying the Red-Eyes Black Dragons

Cécile had found a nice fountain to sit at as she opened a single pack. She had gone to the store to get Moros some new material, but she couldn't help but buying one for herself. It just seemed, well it seemed right. As she looked through the pack she saw one or two that might come in handy, but then the last one was a bit...odd. She'd never seen or heard of it before, but it definitely was in her hand, but parts of the whole card didn't seem right. But she could just tell it was meant to be hers. She took out her deck and put in the new card and then put her deck into the custom duel disk and smirked as she looked up at the sky. This was definitely going to be a good day.

Megumi was looking around, and came to the realization that she was lost. She didn't recognize her surroundings, and wondered if she shouldn't have taken that last turn. She continued walking in the hopes that she would find something familiar, or maybe find a Duelist to beat in the tournament. However, there didn't seem to be anyone on the path she was taking. Sighing, she continued walking until she found a fountain, and there seemed to be someone behind it. Making her way around it, Megumi found someone she was certainly not expecting. "Cécile!" Megumi greeted happily.

"Huh?" Cécile looked back down from the sky to see one Megumi coming towards her. "Oh, hey there Megumi, how goes the start of our lovely day for you?" Cécile called out, her accent a bit thicker than usual today.

"Not much today," Megumi responded. "No one around to Duel." Megumi was silent for a bit, then asked, "How about you? You wanna Duel?" Megumi lifted up her Duel Disk and continued, "I still have a score to settle with you."

Cécile giggled. "I suppose you do, but are you sure you can handle it?" Cécile teased, raising her custom Red-Eyes duel disk in its unready, but still threatening enough, position. "After all, I did win pretty badly next time and I'm not sure that's the best way to start off a tournament. Plus I hear you've been on a bit of a winning streak lately!" Cécile offered in an almost congradulatory way.

"That's because I'm not the same girl you defeated last time," Megumi said, proud to have earned that streak. "I even managed to beat Alex and his Spell Counters. You won't beat me this time," Megumi said confidently.

Cécile put her usual cofident smirk on. "If you say so Megumi, but when I break that beautiful, yet fragile, streak of yours, please don't go around telling everyone I didn't warn you." Cécile rose as she said this and also brought up her arm to where it was diagonal compared to her body as her Red-Eyes Duel Disk activated in all its menace and the red glows slowly appeared on it. "Now then, I'll let you make the first move."

Turn 1: Megumi
Megumi: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Cecile: 4000 LP, 5 cards

"Duel!" Megumi yelled, drawing her first five cards. After examining her hand, Megumi declared, "I activate the Spell card: Upstart Goblin! I draw 1 card, and you gain 1000 Life Points."

Cecile - 4000 LP --> 5000 LP

"Then I place 3 cards face down, and Summon Cardcar D," Megumi said, a blue car appearing on her field.

Cardcar D - Level 2, ATK 800

"By Tributing Cardcar D, I get to draw 2 cards, but then it becomes the End Phase," Megumi explained, the car zooming away before disappearing. Megumi drew her two cards, then said, "Turn End."

Turn 2: Cecile
Megumi: 4000 LP, 3 cards / 0 Mon / 3 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 6 cards

Cécile drew her card and glanced at her hand before looking back up. "Well, looks like we're going to have some fun with this one, Megumi. First off, I'll introduce you to one of my cards you should be very familiar with: The Black Stone of Legend!" Cécile giggled a little bit. "Can you guess what happens next?"

The Black Stone of Legend - Level 1, ATK 0

"Hmph, I know what it does," Megumi said as she scowled. She remembered all too well what happened the last time.

Cécile grinned. "Excellent! Then please give a warm welcome to my good friend Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Cécile threw her arm up as the dragon burst from the Black Stone roaring. "He's been dying to see you again Megumi, and to show his happiness I think he'll go ahead and take a chunk out of your Life Points now!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon - Level 7, ATK 2400

As the black flames were shot towards Megumi, she countered, "I Special Summon Battle Fader from my hand in Defense mode!" A black device appeared in front of Megumi, swinging its pendulum-like arm and forcing the black flames to disappear. "When you declare a direct attack, I can Special Summon this and end the Battle Phase."

Battle Fader - Level 1, DEF 0

Cécile frowned slightly. "Cute, real cute, but that won't completely save you. See Megumi, you're not the only one who's upgraded their deck since we faced last, and I'd just hate to see you have a sacrifice ready and waiting, or some petty wall to hide behind, so I think I'll play my Dragon's Gunfire. This card allows me to destroy one face up monster you control with up to eight hundred defense points, and I think you know what that means." Cécile grinned as she played the card and then pointed at Fader. "Say good bye to your only defense!"

Megumi braced herself for the resulting blast that destroyed Battle Fader. "When Battle Fader leaves the field, it gets banished instead of getting sent to the Graveyard," Megumi explained, placing the card in her pocket.

Cécile giggled softly. "Well it was nice seeing him for that short little time. Now I know you're hoping I was done, but I'm not! Next I'm gonna use this little guy's ability. He's known as Black Metal Dragon. Cute, isn't he?" Cécile taunted. Now the way this works is that I get to equip him to my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and now Red-Eyes gets a nice little boost of six hundred. Isn't it great? But wait, I'm also going to leave these two facedowns just to keep you company too!"

Red-Eyes Black Dragon - ATK 2400 --> ATK 3000

Turn 3: Megumi
Megumi: 4000 LP, 3 cards / 0 Mon / 3 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 1 cards / 1 Mon / 3 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled as she drew her next card. Examining it along with the rest of her hand, she knew what to do next. "By Banishing Upstart Goblin from my Graveyard, I Special Summon Spell Stryker from my hand!" Megumi declared, the little wizard with a viking hat appearing on the field.

Spell Stryker - Level 3, ATK 600

Cécile blinked a few times. "Um, Megumi...You know that think won't touch my dragon...Right...?" Cécile taunted lightly.

"Which is why I'm Tributing it to Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6!" Megumi continued, undaunted. The reddish, metallic dragon appeared on the field, screeching loudly.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 - Level 6, ATK 2300

Cécile shook her head. "Please tell me you have something to boost that card, or I might be a little disappointed..." Cécile continued to tease.

Still unfazed, Megumi continued, "Now I activate the Spell card: Level Up! This upgrades my Horus to LV8!" The dragon then began to glow, its silouette growing larger, being replaced by a larger and more threatening dragon.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 - Level 8, ATK 3000

Cécile smiled. "See, now that's more like it. No doubt proving dragons are superior to everything as usual."

Now Megumi took the time to ponder her next move. Her Horus proved to be a formidible threat, but against the powered-up Red-Eyes, it would only end in a stalemate. Then she remembered a face down she had. "Go Horus, attack her Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Megumi commanded, the metallic dragon firing a black stream of its own fire. "I also activate a face down: Forbidden Dress! This card decreases a monster's ATK by 600, and makes it unable to be targeted or destroyed by card effects. Of course, I choose your Red-Eyes!" Megumi said.

Cécile smirked and raised a single finger and wagged it side to side. "As cute as this attempt is, I think my Negate Attack has something to say about it." Cécile smirk never ended as the trap revealed itself.

Red-Eyes had its ATK lowered, but the black stream of fire was absorbed into a swirling vortex, leaving Red-Eyes unscathed. Megumi scowled, then said, "At the End Phase, Red-Eyes' ATK returns to normal."

Turn 4: Cecile
Megumi: 4000 LP, 0 cards / 1 Mon / 2 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 2 cards / 1 Mon / 2 S/T

"Awww pity." Cécile playfully pouted. "It was a nice try though Megumi, but you should know by now I never let my enemies destroy my beloved Red-Eyes! Now then I think I'll have some fun with this by drawing, and now Red-Eyes, let's get rid of that Horus, shall we?"

The two dragons unleashed their fire at each other, only for both to destroy each other in the process.

"Now for my second trick, I'll activate the Trap card known as Red-Eyes Spirit, this will let me bring back my Red-Eyes-"

"I won't let you! I activate my own Trap card: Royal Decree!" Megumi countered. "This negates all other Trap card effects on the field."

"What a shame, too bad for you I still get the effect of my Black Metal Dragon, which allows me to choose any Red-Eyes card in my deck and bring it to my hand, oh and I think I'll choose this one right here, Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" The grin on Cécile's face grew slightly dark as she showed Megumi the card. "Next I guess I won't get to attack with them this turn or anything, but I'll Summon this lovely Blizzard Dragon. Sadly he won't be sticking around like usual because I'll be banishing him so you can finally witness the might of Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Cécile played the card with excessive assertiveness and confidence. Finally the metalic roars could be heard from a great distance as the dragon lowered to the ground from above. "Following this, I just have to say once more that you won't keep my dragons down Megumi. Using Metal's Effect I can finally resurrect my great and powerful Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The Red-Eyes Black Dragon rose from the ground and roared in triumph once more as it stared down Megumi. "I suppose it's your turn now Megumi." Cécile folded her arms confidently, and as usual held that same confident smirk.

Turn 5: Megumi
Megumi: 4000 LP, 1 cards / 0 Mon / 2 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 1 cards / 2 Mon / 0 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled as she drew her next card. It wasn't much now, but perhaps it may come in handy. "I Set one monster, and end my turn."

Turn 6: Cecile
Megumi: 4000 LP, 0 cards / 1 Mon / 2 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 2 cards / 2 Mon / 0 S/T

Cécile giggled a bit darkly. "Megumi, you showed so much promise! Where did it all go? Come now, tell me you aren't giving up already!" Cécile taunted once more.

"We'll see who'll be giving up after this turn!" Megumi yelled back.

Cécile smiled. "Well I guarantee it won't be this second Red-Eyes I get to Summon thanks to my Metal's effect," Cécile giggled as she played the card from her hand and the second Red-Eyes Black Dragon rose up roaring defiantly. "Now Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroy that monster she's trying to hide!"

As the monster was destroyed, Megumi showed a wide grin. "The monster you just destroyed was Graydle Alligator, and I get to activate its effect! When it's destroy by battle or Spell effect, I can attach it to one of your monsters and take control of it! Of course, I choose your Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" The half-petrified alligator appeared next to Royal Decree, and Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon moved over to Megumi's side of the field to face Cecile.

Cécile smirked. "Cute trick, I'll give you that. I suppose I'll just have to Xyz Summon my Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon using my two Red-Eyes Black Dragons then and call it a turn."

"During your End Phase, I activate my face-down: Scapegoat!" Megumi declared, 4 differently colored sheep appearing in front of Megumi.

Cécile shook her head. "So quick to forget Flare's ability? Say good bye to five hundred Life Points. Come now Megumi, let's not slip up here!" Cécile chided.

Megumi raised her arms in front of her to shield herself from the flames. She knew she was taking a risk by even just activating Scapegoat. However, she trusted her deck, and she was hoping for the one card that could save her.

Turn 6: Megumi
Megumi: 3500 LP, 1 cards / 1 Mon / 2 S/T
Cecile: 5000 LP, 1 cards / 1 Mon / 0 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled, more loudly than usual. Seeing her next card, Megumi was a little disappointed, but it gave her a second chance. "I play Upstart Goblin, allowing me to draw 1 card and giving you 1000 Life Points," Megumi explained, then taking another black fireball from Flare Metal Dragon's effect.

Megumi - 3500 LP --> 3000 LP

Cécile - 5000 LP --> 6000 LP

After examining her next card, she grinned from ear to ear. "I Tribute three of my Scapegoat tokens to Special Summon my most powerful monster!" Megumi declared. "Strike fear into your foes, and let none oppose you! Take their power and use it as your own! Arise, 'Destiny HERO - Plasma'!" Megumi chanted, the purple-armored man appearing on the field.

Destiny HERO - Plasma - Level 8, ATK 1900

"I activate Plasma's effect! I can target one of your monsters and have Plasma absorb it, and of course I choose Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon!" Megumi said, Plasma spreading his wings and forcing the dragon to be pulled into his wings. The dragon struggled under the membrane for a second before sinking back down. "Plasma gains half of the absorbed monster's ATK," Megumi explained further.

Destiny HERO - Plasma - ATK 1900 --> ATK 3300

"Finally, I'll use the effect of the Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon you so kindly gave me to Special Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6," Megumi said mockingly, the metallic dragon appearing on the field once more.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6 - Level 6, ATK 2300

"Now, let's start the Battle Phase!" Megumi said. "Horus, attack Cecile directly!" The reddish metallic dragon fired a black fireball, taking a chunk out of Cecile's Life Points.

Cecile - 6000 LP --> 3700 LP

"Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon, direct attack!" Megumi commanded, the black metallic dragon firing its own black fireball as well.

Cecile - 3700 LP --> 900 LP

"Finally, Destiny HERO - Plasma! Strike her down with Blood Fears!" Megumi commanded. Plasma spread his wings, and fired a barrage of what appeared to be drops of blood.

Cecile - 900 LP --> 0 LP

Cécile had raised her arm to protect herself from the barrage of attacks and finally lowered it when it was over and gave Megumi a friendly warm smile.

Megumi began panting after the attacks were over and the monsters disappeared. It was so exciting to see the monsters attack, and for Megumi to deal so much damage in so little time. As the smoke cleared away, though, Megumi saw Cécile smilimg. Megumi then saw fit to smile as well, and even wave at her. "I won!" Megumi cheered happily.

"Not bad Megumi, I'm glad you've gotten better." Cécile closed her eyes and started to turn. "Keep that up and you might even make it into the top tier of the school like me." Cécile kept smiling at Megumi before turning and wakling away. As she walked away though, the last card in her hand gleamed just long enough for Megumi to see it as she walked off and started to put her cards away. "I'll see you later, Megumi!" She called out over her shoulder.

Megumi waved goodbye, but slowly stopped after catching a glimpse on that gleaming card in Cecile's hand before it was put away. She didn't know how to feel now. Pondering it for a bit, she then realized that she was still lost. She looked around for a few seconds in panic, then realized that things started to look familiar again. Megumi then ran off in a different direction, glad to not be lost anymore.

[Ammokkx]

"You sure you don't need us following you around?" Jin asked Yuna.

"I've only lost my memory, not my common sense. I'll be fine," Yuna replied. "Besides, if we stay together, we'll have less of a chance to get to the finals."

"Suit yourself then," Jin said, and Yuna headed off to challenge anyone she would come across.

"Well, I don't think you need me, Yuji-kun," Jin said, flashing a grin at Yuji. "See ya in the finals!" With that, Jin ran off to go do his own thing as well.

Yuji sighed. It was time to act now. Yuji went off in a different direction from the other two, intending to win every duel he was in.

Daemon was walking through the city, minding his own business. He made the very clever choice of hiding the duel disk he had in his backpack, this way NOBODY knew that he was a duelist! ...Except for those that viewed the spectacle in the skatepark. And the entire academy. Thoooose might be a problem. Daemon was in the market, sneaking through the crowds of people. Around him a few duels seem to have started already... Though that's exactly what he'd like to avoid. While looking at one, the brown haired boy bumped into another person, and got flung right to the floor.

"O-Ow..." Daemon rubbed the area above his behind, it hurting from the impact with the floor. He looked up to the person he ran into by accident, apologizing with "Ehehe... Sorry about that one." Then the kid took a better look. "O-Oh. You're Yuji, aren't you...?"

Yuji had been walking for a while, watching other Duels taking place as he went. There was some competition going on, and Yuji knew that he should be careful if he were to make it to the finals. Distracted, he bumped into another person and stumbled backwards for a bit before regaining his balance. He looked to see a boy who looked a little older than him and was on the ground. "No worries, it was my fault," Yuji replied. The boy seemed to recognize him and mentioned his name. "Yeah, I am. Are you from the academy?"

Wait, why the hell did Daemon think it was a good idea to call this guy out by name?! Mentally the boy was kicking himself for this mistake, but physically he got up without any worries. Dusting off his sweater, he gave a half-assed smile at Yuji. "Sure am. Heard your name crop up a few times, so it was a lucky guess." While normal people would give out a hand to shake, Daemon instead started staring off into... Nothing. While his eyes were aimed at Yuji, they sure weren't focused on him and it was noticable.

Yuji noticed the odd look in the boy's eyes, but couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly it was. Regardless, it was of little concern. "If you're from the academy, I assume that you're a Duelist," Yuji concluded. He lifted up his currently inactive Duel Disk and challenged Daemon, "How about a Duel?"

If the boy was kicking himself earlier, now he's flinging himself into the wall over and over again. Well, show's over. Now he HAS to play in the tournament. "Duelist...? Yeah, I am..." Daemon flung the bag over his shoulder to his front side and ruffled through it. It took him a little while but eventually found what he was looking for: A black painted mass produced KC disk. It's went through a few modifications but you could still see the original below it. Daemon first out his back on the floor, then slid the disk across his arm. He walked back a few steps and took a hold of the deckbox on his belt. It popped open with one smooth motion, Daemon grabbing the cards inside and throwing them inside the holder on the disk. By now the boy had stepped far enough away from Yuji, ready to start at any time. The brown haired boy extended his arm, causing the Duel Disk to activate by the two ends sliding into eachother. "Ready when you are."

While Daemon was getting ready, Yuji activated his Duel Disk, the blade forming and becoming ready for a Duel. "Let's do it," Yuji said. "Duel!"
"Duel!"

Duel! The Ice King Vs. The Kid

Turn 1: Daemon
Daemon: 4000 LP / 5 cards
Yuji: 4000 LP / 5 cards

Daemon drew his five cards and looked at them, thinking of his first move. He smirked at one of the cards in there. "Alright, for my first card I choose this!" The Field Spell compartment slid open, and Daemon threw a card in there. A net of sorts sprawled across the field, between the two duelists. "Extra Net. Whenever one of us Summons something from the Extra Deck, the other draws a card." Daemon looked over his cards again... Nothing too spectacular, honestly. "Now I activate my Spell card called Ante! With this, we both reveal a card. If it's a trap or spell, it's level is zero. The one with the highest level wins!" Daemon slipped a card from his hand, holding it out in front of Yuji with it's back turned.

Yuji looked over his hand for the Ante. Nothing was particularly high leveled in his hand. He then decided on his Level 6 Ice Born Falcon. After pulling it out of his hand, he revealed it to Daemon. "Level 6," Yuji said.

"That your final answer? 'Cause mine..." Deamon turned his card around, revealing the Level 8 Swordsman of Revealing Light. "...Is higher! The loser discards his card, then takes 1000 points of damage."

Yuji was disappointed, but was also expecting to lose the Ante. Yuji inserted his Falcon into the Graveyard and took the damage.

Yuji: 4000 LP --> 3000 LP

"I end my turn with placing a card face-down." Daemon sighed in relief, now that that turn's over. He made the best he could out of that hand, and now Yuji was up to show what he had in store.

Turn 2: Yuji
Daemon: 4000 LP / 2 cards, 1 Field Spell, 1 S/T
Yuji: 3000 LP / 6 cards

As Yuji drew his next card, he took the time to ponder his opponent's strategy. Ante was a card that relied on having high-leveled monsters in the hand, and Swordsman of Revealing Light was a monster that could Special Summon itself in the right circumstances. It was too early to tell exactly what it was, but Yuji wasn't going to be idle. "I Summon Ice Born Egg in Defense mode!" Yuji declared.

Ice Born Egg - Level 1, DEF 0

"When Ice Born Egg is Normal or Special Summoned, I can Tribute it, then Special Summon an 'Ice Born' monster from my Graveyard," Yuji explained as the Egg cracked open. "Revive, Ice Born Falcon!" The light blue falcon emerged from the egg and screeched loudly.

Ice Born Falcon - Level 6, DEF 2500

"I then place 2 cards face down and end my turn," Yuji said. He would have liked to attack, but wouldn't be able to without getting his Falcon destroyed by Swordsman of Revealing Light.

Turn 3: Daemon
Daemon: 4000 LP / 3 cards, 1 Field Spell, 1 S/T
Yuji: 3000 LP / 3 cards , 1 Mon, 2 S/T

"Alright, My turn! Draw!" Daemon jerked his card from the disk's deck slot and looked at it. A few seconds later the boy let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he can go on the offensive now. "Alright, when there's not a single monster in my Graveyard this baby can be Special Summoned!" Daemon revealed his card to Yuji, portraying a woman dressed in some sort of shamanic outfit and a sword on the hip. "Come on, Guardian Eatos!" He threw the card onto the disk, a few seconds later the woman rising from a vortex in the ground in Attack position.

Guardian Eatos 2500 ATK 2000 DEF, Level 8 WIND Fairy

"Now, from my hand, I activate the following Spell card: Riryoku. It halves one of your monsters' attack and adds it to my own!" Ice Born Falcon was forced to land as a stinging pain overcame it, swirling darkness forcibly pushing itself out of the bird's body. It shot to Eatos' blade, turning the fine steel edge into a black, sinister color.

Ice Born Falcon - ATK 2300 --> ATK 1150

Guardian Eatos - ATK 2500 --> ATK 3650

"Battle phase!" Daemon was getting riled up now. He took a lead for a very small moment and wasn't about to waste it. Two facedowns? Bring it. "Eatos, slash at Ice Born Falcon!" the boy declared, signalling the attack to start. Eatos lowered her now dark-looking blade down towards Falcon for a second before grabbing the hilt with both of her hands. She dove down and charged straight for the artic beast, stabbing it through the chest and blowing it up into particles.

After Ice Born Falcon was destroyed, Yuji said, "When Ice Born Falcon is destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon 2 Level 4 or lower 'Ice Born' monsters from my deck. I Summon two Ice Born Chicks in Defense mode!" Two bluish chicks then appeared on the field.

Ice Born Chick - Level 3, DEF 100

Alright, nailed it! This wasn't as bad as the green-eyed one of the two thought it'd be at the start, though something tells the boy this wasn't the end. "You use Exceeds, don't you? You're a pretty big name around campus. Just because you have your title doesn't mean I'll go easy, though!"

"I expect nothing less," Yuji replied curtly.

"Heh! Great. With that, I end my turn as well as the effect of Riryoku!" Daemon yelled excitedly. Only three turns in and the duel was already intense... A grin couldn't help but be formed on the boy's face. Yuji was a terrifying duelist, by most accounts that is.

Guardian Eatos - ATK 3650 --> ATK 2500

Turn 4: Yuji
Daemon: 4000 LP / 1 card, 1 Mon, 1 Field Spell, 1 S/T
Yuji: 3000 LP / 4 cards, 2 Mon, 2 S/T

"Draw," Yuji said as he drew his next card. "Using my two Ice Born Chicks, I construct the Overlay network!" A black-and-starry swirling galaxy appeared above, and the two chicks turned into balls of energy that shot into the center. "With fangs made with the thickest of ice, feed on your foes and freeze them with fear! Xyz Summon! Freeze them all, Ice Born Frost Dragon!" Yuji chanted, the icy dragon roaring as it appeared on the field.

Ice Born Frost Dragon - Rank 3, ATK 2100, OL 2

The dragon flew right into the net, an inevitability considering it was in the way. "Remember, Extra Net 'nets' me a card! ...Thaaaat was horrible." The dragon managed to struggle free right as Daemon drew, him now shutting up.

"I activate my Frost Dragon's effect. By detaching one Overlay unit, it can attack twice this turn," Yuji explained, the dragon eating one of the little purple orbs that revolved around it. "Battle! Ice Born Frost Dragon, attack Guardian Eatos!" As the dragon rushed towards the angel, Yuji continued, "I also activate a facedown Quick-Play Spell card: Quick Freeze. When an 'Ice Born' monster I control battles an opponent's monster, my 'Ice Born' monter gains 500 ATK, and your monster loses 500 ATK!"

"Trap card open!" The facedown Daemon placed in the beginning opened up, revealing a box that diverted an arrow inside of it. "Anti-Magic Prism. When my opponent activates a Quick-Play Spall card, it destroys one card on the field." Daemon smirked. This was great, he didn't ACTUALLY expect to be able to use this card AT ALL. Getting saved by the silliest things... "I choose your Ice Born Frost Dragon!"

"Trap card open: Frozen Guardian," Yuji countered. "This turn only, Ice Born monsters I control cannot be destroyed by card effects." As a beam fired out of the prism, an ice statue of a shieldmaiden appeared in front of Ice Born Frost Dragon, repelling the beam.

Aaand there goes the smirk. And here the older of the two thought he got the upper hand... Oh well, time for a new course of action.

Ice Born Frost Dragon - ATK 2100 --> ATK 2600

Guardian Eatos - ATK 2500 --> ATK 2000

Ice Born Frost Dragon then flapped its wings powerfully, sending a strong gust of wind that blew away Guardian Eatos.

Daemon - 4000 LP --> 3400 LP

"Now for a direct attack!" Yuji continued, the wave from the earlier attack still heading towards Daemon.

Daemon knew he had a card in his hand that could stop the attack, but... It just wasn't worth it. The hit landed, knocking the guy's LP down by a hefty chunk.

Daemon - 3400 LP --> 800 LP

"I now Summon Ice Born Eyes in Defense mode," Yuji said, a frozen statue with eyes that appeared to be looking around randomly appearing on the field.

Ice Born Eyes - Level 3, DEF 1000

"I place one card facedown and end my turn, and Ice Born Frost Dragon's ATK returns to normal," Yuji ended.

Ice Born Frost Dragon - ATK 2600 --> ATK 2100

Turn 5: Daemon
Daemon: 800 LP / 3 cards, 1 Field Spell
Yuji: 3000 LP / 2 cards , 2 Mon, 1 S/T

"My turn, Draw!" A single bead of sweat rolled down the older boy's face. The heat was really coming in now, and the effects were noticable... Or uh, cold? Whatever the right phrase for this was, it didn't matter. The green eyed one took a glance at his card and nearly cry out in joy, as it'd get him out of here. "Alright, I activate this Spell card!" Daemon slid it into the disk, revealing a black hole sucking in Decayed Commander. "Dark Core. It allows me to discard a card, then banish one of yours!" Daemon threw his swordsman into the grave, then pointed at Dragon. "Slay the dragon, my valiant knight!"

Ice Born Frost Dragon was then absorbed into a black hole. Yuji took the card from his Duel Disk and showed it to Daemon for a second before placing it in one of his pockets.

Daemon took the last card of his hand and put it onto the disk. "Now, because of Barbaros' effect from my hand I can Summon him without tribute. His ATK becomes 1900, though."

Beast King Barbaros 1900 ATK 1200 DEF, Level 8 EARTH Beast-Warrior

"Battle phase! I attack your Ice Born Eyes with my Barbaros!"

"I activate the effect of my Ice Born Eyes," Yuji countered. "Once per turn, I can negate an attack targeted at an 'Ice Born' monster." The eyes suddenly glowed red, and Barbaros seemed to freeze with fear and back off.

"Tck." Daemon clicked his tongue. Not much use to do anything now... "Alright then, passing things off to you! Turn end."

Turn 6: Yuji
Daemon: 800 LP / 0 card, 1 Mon, 1 Field Spell,
Yuji: 3000 LP / 3 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T

"Draw," Yuji said, drawing his next card. "I Summon Ice Born Commander in Attack mode," Yuji said, an armored figure appearing on the field.

Ice Born Commander - Level 4, ATK 1900

"I activate Commander's effect! Once per turn, I can target one 'Ice Born' monster I control and either raise or lower its Level by one until the End Phase. I choose my Ice Born Eyes, and raise its Level by one," Yuji explained.

Ice Born Eyes - Level 3 --> Level 4

"Now, with my two Level 4 monsters, I construct the Overlay network!" Yuji declared, the two monsters flying into the swirling galaxy above. "Frozen steel in hand, heart as cold as ice, warmth shuttering in fear of your might, strike them Frozen! Xyz Summon!!! Freeze them all, Ice Born Warrior Nordread!!!

Ice Born Warrior Nordread - Rank 4, ATK 2500, OL 2

"With Extra Net, I draw one card!" Much like the dragon before it, Nordread got stuck in the giant net that runs across the field. Once Daemon drew his card it broke free.

"I activate the effect of Ice Born Warrior Nordread! By detaching one Overlay unit, I can return an 'Ice Born' monster from my hand or Graveyard to the deck, then Nordread gains ATK equal to the returned monster's." Yuji explained. "I return Ice Born Falcon in my Graveyard to my deck, and Nordread gains 1150 ATK!"

Ice Born Warrior Nordread - ATK 2500 --> ATK 3650

"Ice Born Warrior Nordread, attack Beast King Barbaros!" Yuji commanded, the warrior swinging its mighty weapon at the chimera.

Daemon looked at the card he drew and... Laughed. Laughed harder than anyone should. Barbaros was destroyed and the boy's life dropped to 0, a smile on his face. "I fully admit my loss, 'Ice King'. Guess you're as good as they say."

Daemon 800LP > 0LP

Aftermath

After the monsters all disappeared, Yuji went over to Daemon and extended a hand to help him up. "Just call me Yuji. I don't really like being called 'Ice King'," Yuji said.

"Haha, sure. And thanks for the hand..." The older boy grabbed onto the extended hand and pulled on it slightly to get a bit of balance going, then dusting off his behind. "I wasn't actuallly intending on fighting in this tourney a whole lot, but now it seems like I gotta, eh? Good luck with your duels, by the way."

"Same to you," Yuji said. "By the way, I don't think I ever caught your name."

"...Know what? Let's keep it that way. Don't need an onlooker spreading a rumour that I suck, haha."

"Fair enough," Yuji said, nodding. "Well, bye, and thanks for the duel." With that, Yuji began walking away, searching for his next opponent, whoever that may be.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Tag Champ vs The Traveler

Turn 1
Joshua: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Adrien: 4000 LP, 5 cards

"I'll go first then." Joshua said, drawing his opening hand" I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite. Then I activate his effect. By sacrificing Alexandrite, I can special summon one normal Gem-Knight monster from my deck. I summon Gem-Knight Crystal to the field in attack mode and call it a turn."

Gem-Knight Crystal: ATK: 2450 DEF: 1950

Turn 2
Joshua: 4000 LP, 4 cards
Adrien: 4000 LP, 5 cards

Drawing his first card Adrien smirked. He wouldn't have to be as kind in this duel. Supposedly this guy was good, or at least he talked a big game. Now it was time to make him put his money where his mouth was. "Well this looks like it will be a promising duel after all!" Adrien declared in excitement. "First I'm going to activate a card that you might recognize if you witnessed my last duel, Card of Spell Containment. This will allow me to draw an extra two cards from my deck." Adrien stared at Joshua with a smirk on his face as he drew his two cards.

"True but you can't put any face-downs on the field." Joshua noted

Adrien let out a chuckle. "Well it looks like someone knows his stuff, that's good."

"I'm willing to bet you're going for Red-Eyes. If you do, you'll power him up to get rid of Crystal. Chance are, you're drawing to try and get Dark Stone of Legend." Joshua said

Adrien couldn't help but laugh. "Well you're half right Josh, and even more so because I did draw what I needed. "Now I'll summon my Black Stone of Legend!" Once more the shimmering rock rose from the ground. "Sadly for you though you're wrong about what I want to summon, or at least partially. Now I sacrifice my Black Stone to summon an even greater beast, my Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning! This is the only card in my deck that isn't a dragon and is one that I try and avoid using a little. I pride myself on my dragons, but sometimes it doesn't hurt to have a little insurance."

Red-Eyes Archfiend of Lightning: ATK:2500 DEF:1200

"I think I see what you're aiming for. A one turn kill." Joshua said." May I ask if you run any fusions on your deck?"

Adrien smirked. "Now that would be telling, and that would be no fun. Besides, my Archfiend has enough attack to destroy your monster and for that is all I need. Now Archfiend, destroy his only defense!"

Joshua watched calmly as his knight was struck by lightning and destroyed in a shower of sparks.
"Expected." He said simply as his lifepoints dropped by a mere 50 points. "However, you were not able to Gemini summon your monster. However, you won't get the chance to. Draw."

Turn 3
Joshua: 3950 LP, 5 cards
Adrien: 4000 LP, 5 cards

Joshua looked at his hand and knew his move. He had four monsters and one spell. But that spell was all he needed to win this.
"First off, I activate Gem-Knight Fusion. I'm sure you know how this works. I can take any monsters in my hand or on my field to fusion summon a Gem-Knight fusion monster. So I send Gem-Knights Garnet, Obsidian, and Tourmaline to the graveyard to Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond!"

Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Diamond- ATK:3400, DEF:2000

"Now, I activate Obsidian's effect. When he's sent from the hand to the graveyard, I can special summon one level 4 or lower normal Gem-Knight monster from my graveyard to my field. I summon Gem-Knight Tourmaline from my graveyard in Attack Mode. But he won't be staying around long. I use Diamond's special ability. by sending Tourmaline back to the grave, I can fusion summon Gem-Knight Prismaura!"

Gem-Knight Prismaura- ATK:2450 DEF:1400

"So, I think you see where this is going to go, do you not, Mister Adrien?"

Adrien tilted his head and frowned slightly. "If I'm not mistaken you're going to discard that last card in your hand to activate your monster's effect to blow up my own monster which you're hoping and praying will work so that you can kill me off this turn."

"Let's see here... given your response, you likely have something to counter. It's not Effect Vailer. If it was, you would've used it on Diamond when I used her effect. So you're likely to have a monster that can summon itself when one of your monsters is destroyed. It isn't a spell or trap, as you cannot activate either of those from your hand during my turn, unless you have a monster that would let you. Which you clearly do not." Joshua said, looking at his last card. Discarding it was an option. But for now, it was best to keep it as a back up, given his opponent's confidence "Diamond, you are up. Destroy his Fiend."

Adrien shook his head. "Well bye buddy." Adrien shook his head as his monster shattered. "Too bad for you though that it's not very long lasting. You see this lovely card in my hand here special summons now," Adrien played the card in defense mode revealing his Red-Eyes Tracer Dragon. "And there's a bonus. You see I also get my Archfiend back." Red-Eyes Archfiend rose from the ground again in attack mode. "Too bad for you, haha." Adrien smiled pleasantly chuckling and rubbing the back of his head for a moment.

"Congrats, you can be predictable." Joshua said, shrugging." Now's let's see... Dark Armed is likely next on account that you'll use Dragon Heart to send the required Materials to the grave. At that point, I lose. However, you can only have one copy. But the chances of you getting it with you deck, which relied on high draw power and deck thinning are rather high. On the other hand, if you don't get Dark Armed, you likely have another Red-Eyes monster or some field clearer. Again, like your sister, your brute force with no finesse. Given how I have very little chance of surviving... well, let's see you prove me right. your move."

Turn 3
Joshua: 3950 LP, 1 cards
Adrien: 4000 LP, 5 cards

Adrien smirked as he drew his next card. "You know, I've noticed you think you're pretty smart Joshua. And while you're usually accurate, you can be so off other times my friend. First I'll play this lovely card known as Card of Red Stone. This allows me to place this here Red-Eyes Black Dragon into the grave and then I get to draw two cards." Adrien went through the fun little motions as he spoke.

"Archfiend Black Skull Dragon." Joshua said, shrugging

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "What are you going on about? I was actually just going to show you that you were right. My draw is actually really nice." Adrien revealed the Dark Armed Dragon he just drew. "Now incase you hadn't noticed I have a little numbers issue right now for getting it on the field."

"No you don't." Joshua said

Adrien sighed. "As I was saying, I can fix that, but sadly you were wrong once more about how I'm going to do it. See first of all I'm going to activate the lovely card in my grave, Black Stone. That will let me bring it back to my hand and put my Red-Eyes Black Dragon go back to my deck.

"Predictable." Joshua said, knowing full well Adrien would do that.

"That's fine, it doesn't matter how predictable it is Joshua, because as you and I both know, you can't do a thing about it, and in the end we both know how this duel ends. Besides, I'm not the only one running a predictable deck here. The only difference between our decks is that your deck is a one trick pony, mine on the other hand has all sorts of tricks." Adrien smirked.

"True, this weaker deck of mine is. So I give up this match, since you have clearly won. But sadly, you seem to be worth less then I thought." Joshua said, deactivating his duel disk." Dark Armed is all you know. Now, if I played around that, I wonder what you could do? You showed me nothing new. Show me something to make me excited next time."

"Careful what you wish for Joshua. I was playing nice this time. You think you know everything. You've only seen a fraction of this decks true potential, and on top of that. I don't need it's full strength to beat any deck you'd throw at me. As arrogant as that might sound," Adriens friendly face dropped. "it's the hard truth, and the facts are what they are. I was expecting more from you." Adrien closed his eyes as his duel disk deactivated. "How disappointing."

Joshua laughed
"Guess that makes two of us. Oh well. All things considered, neither of us are worth anything in the end. We'll both meet the same end and be equal in that. But were as you're only satisfied with being in the spotlight, I'm good with the shadows. Small deeds to help those who actually need it." He said, shrugging yet again. "I wonder, will you actually be able to help your new apprentice here or will you hinder her. she'll show your true worth in the end. Thus she'll show me whether I'm right or wrong about you. Your powers are impressive, just like your sister's. But in the end, you're both not worth looking up to yet."

Without another word, the older man walked away, raising his hand in good-bye and not given Adrien a chance to reply or counter.

[Ammokkx]

Daemon was wandering the market plaza aimlessly after the duel with Yuji. It was quite the thriller, and he managed to land quite a few good blows on the local 'Ice King'. That felt great, considering the boy's just an average duelist and his deck is rather... Improvised. Unfortunately, after that encounter, Daemon had no choice but to be in the tournament at this point. Nobody seemed to want to duel him after seeing the kind of deck he played... Which is weird, since it's actually less powerful than it seems. The sixteen year old took particular notice of a certain ponytail in the crowd. You don 't usually see dudes wearing ponytails... Sleazily they shuffled over, and from behind, gave a few taps on the shoulder to the older boy. "Yo."

Joshua stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He had been thinking about his duel with Adrien and trying to figure out how to counter what he had seen. Really, if would prove tricky, but he had no doubt he could do it. But for now, it seemed like he had someone who either wanted to talk to him or possibly duel him.
"'Sup?" He asked

"What's up with the ponytail?" Daemon asked bluntly. It probably came off as rude, and it was, but the boy didn't mean it like that. In his eyes it was just odd to see someone with that hairstyle walking around. Then the younger of the two took notice of a second thing: There's a disk hanging from that older guy's wrist. "fu-" Daemon managed to stop himself right before saying it, literally swallowing his words. "A-Ah! Fellow duelist, eh? Fancy seeing those!" The green-eyed boy threw up a quick act, very clearly fake.

Joshua raised an eyebrow. This new one was definitely a jumpy one.
"Calm down kid, I aint gonna hurt you or anything." He said calmly. "Yes I'm a duelist. As for the ponytail... let's say getting it cut while traveling on the road all the time is not exactly an option."

Huh. So this guy was like some adventurer or something? Or like a person from TV travelling around the world? Maybe he's a rockstar that this country hasn't heard of yet... Wait no, all of those would definitely allow him to cut his hair. Must be a fashion statement that they deny. "Cool. Cool." ...Aaaand suddenly Daemon went back to the 'Chill guy' attitude. Talk about a jumpy mood... The kid flung his arms behind his head, the black painted duel disk now being fully visible on the left wrist. "So I'm guessing you're in the tournament, then? I mean, you're flaunting off that disk pretty well." ...Which was hypocritical, since Daemon's doing exactly the same. Not that he'll ever admit it, though.

"And so are you, given how you don't seem to be hiding yours at all either." Joshua pointed out. Seems he had come across a weird one this time. then again, he came across many weird people in his travels, so this was nothing new or spectacular. "Still, if we're both in the tournament, might as well participate, right? So, up for a game?"

"...Figures." Daemon should've kept his mouth shut. Him running it has lead to yet another duel he'd actually rather not have... Though it'd be rude to decline at this point. "Alright, you're on!" The mouth of the boy curved upwards into a smirk and his feet took a few steps back. Didn't take long to be far enough from Joshua. The green-eyed boy stretched out his left arm, the disk being in "Stand-By" mode now switching to the "Ready" mode. "Your call."

Joshua frowned at the boy initial reaction. Seemed he didn't want to take part in the tournament but he still accepted the challenge. Maybe he just wanted to avoid being rude. Well, thinking about that would get him no where. He lifted his arm with his black and silver Duel Disk and activated it while inserting his deck.
"So, you want to go first or shall I?" he asked

"Heh, letting me choose? How kind. I'll take you up on the offer of going first, then! But first... I believe we have to signal this thing to start, don't we?" A playful tone was in the younger of the two's voice, hinting to the best part.
"Duel!"

Joshua smiled. He was already liking this kid. Less of a stick up his ass.
"Duel!" He said, in a calm but slightly excited tone

The Wandering Duelist Vs. The Kid

Turn 1: Daemon
Daemon 4000 LP, 5 cards in Hand
Joshua 4000 LP, 5 cards in Hand

"Alright! My turn!" Daemon yelled excitedly, looking over his hand. Now that it actually started the boy seems a lot more peppy compared to seconds before... But that would soon have to fade. His heart utterly broke when looking at this hand. "I... Set 4 cards and and my turn..." Yeah, he's not feeling particularly great at the moment.

Turn 2: Joshua
Daemon 4000 LP, 1 card in Hand, 4 S/T
Joshua 4000 LP, 6 cards in Hand

"Draw." Joshua said as he drew a card. His hand consisted of two possible fusions, but against a backrow like that, he wasn't going to risk it yet."I summon Gem-Knight Tourmaline in attack mode." He said, as the yellow armored knight with a matching tourmaline gem on it's chest plate appeared." I then set two cards and end my turn.

Gem-Knight Tourmaline: ATK:1600 DEF:1800

...Oh what? He ACTUALLY didn't attack? ...OH GOD HE WAS ABOUT TO END HIS TURN. "Wh-Whoa! Hold up a sec!" Daemon flicked his hand across the Duel Disk, a trap card opening up. "I activate my Dust tornado to destroy... My own card."

Joshua narrowed his eyes.
He must have some sort of plan. Destroying his own facedown means he's going to get some sort of benefit from it. Well, let's see what he's got. He thought to himself

A tornado blew across the field, kicking up all sorts of dust and garbage along with it. The strong gusts would've sent anyone flying, Daemon's hair and jacket being a clear example of that with how hard they're blowing in the gust... It eventually found it's way to the third card he set, the quick image of a Monster card popping up before being sent to the grave. Second later, the monster depicted on it rose up from behind Tourmaline and stabbed its sword through the gem-based warrior, shattering it. "Surprised? The card you saw being destroyed earlier was my Artifact Morraltach! I can set it as a spell card on my turn, and if it gets thrown to the wolves on yours I get to destroy a card and summon it!" The blue sword in the spirit's hands glowed, a ready stance flashing as it's ATK was displayed.

Artifact Morraltach 2100 ATK 1400 DEF, Level 5 LIGHT Fairy

"And NOW you can end!"

"Seems I lose again, but I get the gist of your deck. All your monsters go to the spell and trap card zone. You then destroy them on my turn for your benefit. A true Artifact deck." He said.

Turn 3: Daemon
Daemon 4000 LP, 2 card in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T
Joshua 4000 LP, 3 cards in Hand, 2 S/T

"...Wait, what?" Daemon drew his card, but didn't ham it up like normal. His deck wasn't artifacts at all... Well, it could be for all Josh knows. Daemon got a good look at the card in his hand... Yet again, nothing useful. Not for now anyway...

"Erm... Battle Phase!" The boy cried out, though still a bit taken aback from what Joshua said. Way to jump the gun... "Morraltach, go for it!" At Daemon's command the fairy warrior rushed forward to hack at Joshua's life. It ran and ran, then gave a quick slash to the chest before jumping back to the original spot.

Joshua LP 4000 > 1900

"And uh... I end, I guess? You okay buddy?"

"We'll see I guess." Joshua said.

Turn 4: Joshua
Daemon 4000 LP, 2 card in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 4 cards in Hand, 2 S/T

"Draw... I summon Gem-Knight Alexandrite in attack mode. But don't worry, he won't be sticking around for long. I activate his special ability. By sending him from my field to the grave, I can summon any Gem-Knight Normal monster that I want from my deck. I summon Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode."

The white armored knight glowed and shattered to reveal a knight with orange armor and matching garnet on it's chest as well as an oversized fist for it's weapon.

Gem-Knight Garnet: ATK:1900 DEF:0

"Now, I activate the spell, Absorb Fusion. I add Gem-Knight Crystal from my deck to my hand. I then banish Crystal and Garnet. "Gem containing Fire's fury, mix together with the unmovable crystals in the earth! Fusion summon! Rage with your unstoppable Fiery blade, Gem-Knight Citrine!"

On this field, a knight in brown armor, adorned with a blue cape and an orange citrine on the chestplate appeared, swinging it's sword that looked to be made of solid magma once before placing it on it's shoulder.

Gem-Knight Citrine: ATK:2200 DEF:1950

"OhgodIknowwhatthatthingdoes." Daemon stammers out, the words being spoken about as fast as someone on sugar high would. With that, I mean it's barely a coherent sentence.

Joshua just barely made out what Daemon said. Wasn't the first person he heard talk like that.
"Good spares me some time. Citrine, cut down his fairy!" He said as the swordsman moved forward and sliced Daemon's monster in half."After that, I'll end my turn."

Daemon LP 4000 > 3900

Turn 5: Daemon
Daemon 3900 LP, 3 card in Hand, 2 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 2 cards in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T

"Ergh... Draw!" Alright, the heat was on now. Uh... Quite literally at that. The younger boy's hand wasn't exactly great either... He'd have to make due with what he's got. "Ergh... When you've got a level 5 or higher monster on the field, I can special summon the following card from my hand!" Daemon slammed the card on the disk horizontally, a vortex on the ground opening up. From it rose a metal contraption of sorts, having its arms crossed and sitting on what seemed to be a single knee...

Junk Giant 2000 ATK 2400 DEF Level 6 EARTH Machine

"That... That'll have to do. End."

Turn 6: Joshua
Daemon 3900 LP, 2 card in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 3 cards in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T

"Draw." Joshua said, looking at the card in his hand. Nothing he could do yet, given present circumstances." I set one card and end my turn."

Turn 7: Daemon
Daemon 3900 LP, 3 cards in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 2 cards in Hand, 1 Monster, 3 S/T

Daemon closed his eyes for this draw. The others have been nothing short of abysmal, and this could very well be a death sentence... "...Draw! The boy just barely glances with a squinted eye, but they soon open up wide after noticing what he actually just got. "YUP, This works! I switch my Giant from Defense to Attack for my first move!" The huge golem of metal got up, turned to Daemon and scratched it's head. "...Don't look at me like that!"

Daemon sighed at this. His own monsters, questioning his skills! Truly a low point... "A-Anyway... I follow up by activating my spell card, Riryoku! It halves your monster's attack, then adds it to mine!" Citrine was forced to clutch it's chest suddenly, a stinging pain overcoming the warrior. A dark orb suddenly forcibly yanked itself from the knight, forcing it down on a knee as Junk Giant clutched it... Then shattered it. A surge of power coursed through the thing's body as it cracked mechanical knuckles in preparation for a fight.

Gem Knight Citrine ATK 2200 > 1100

Junk Giant ATK 2000 > 3100

"Well... that aint good." Joshua muttered, not liking where this was going.

"Batlle Phase!" Joshua's opponent grinned and snapped their fingers. "Attack, Junk Giant! End the duel!"

"Trap open. Gem-Enchantment! I sacrifice Citrine to summon the Tourmaline in my graveyard in defense mode!" Joshua said as his current knight was replaced by the yellow one.

"Tch..." Damn. Daemon nearly had the guy. "Well, even then, your Tourmaline still doesn't have the defense points to resist my golem's overwhelming power right now! Resume battle, Junk Giant!" The golem let out a roar and threw itself shoulder-first into Tourmaline, attempting to shatter it.

Joshua's monster blew up under the impact, kicking up a cloud of dust. From said cloud, a bolt of energy flew out and struck Daemon for 1600 points of damage to his Life Points.
"And now, for my next trick, Brilliant Spark." Joshua said as the dust cleared and he stood with the trap face-up and glowing next to him. "When you destroy a Gem-Knight, this card deals damage to you equal to it's original attack points"

"GUH!" To say that Daemon flinched from the bolt was an understatement, he himself looked like he was about to book it! And his hair stood up for a split second, making it look like some weird anime-style thing you couldn't replicate even if you tried.

Daemon LP 3900 > 2300

"W-Well then... I end... My turn..." Daemon looked pretty roasted right now.

Turn 8: Joshua
Daemon 2300 LP, 2 cards in Hand, 1 Monster, 2 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 3 cards in Hand, 2 S/T

"Draw." Joshua said, looking at his cards. He could work with this. "First off, I activate Brilliant Spark's effect from the grave. While it's there, I can discard a Gem-Knight monster from my hand to exchange it for Brilliant Spark. Sweet deal yeah?"

"And then you'll set it, summon something with 2300 or more and when I attempt to destroy it I lose. No, yeah, this is great. I have the worst luck..."

Joshua chuckled.
"Then you'll hate this even more. You see, I discarded Gem-Knight Obsidian. Given how you knew Citrine's effect, shall I assume you know his?"

"Tourmaline's back, isn't it...?"

"And your grand prize is a Tourmaline on my side of the field in attack mode, rising from the grave once again!" Joshua said

"I've seen that thing more times this duel than I have seen articles describing how Adrien's a dick! Sheesh man, give that thing a break!"

"Oh... you hate that asshole too. Now I feel slightly bad for doing this." Joshua said before activating his face-down. "Gem-Knight Fusion anyone?"

"WHY WOULD ANYONE SET A NORMAL SPELL CARD FACE-DOWN?! HERE I THOUGHT IT WAS MIRROR FORCE OR SOME SHIT!" Daemon threw his hands up in the air, then slumped forward with a defeated look on his face. "I hate you..."

"Because if you destroyed it, I would laugh since I can banish a Gem-Knight from the grave to get it back?" Joshua asked, resisting the urge to laugh his ass off at this kid. Seriously, you couldn't pay for this kind of entertainment. "Anyway, moving on, I fuse the Tourmaline on my field with the Gem-Knight Lapis in my hand to summon Gem-Knight Prismaura."

Gem-Knight Prismaura: ATK:2450 DEF:1400

"Discard gem-knight, discard Junk Giant, discard life, discard tournament. Thanks, It's not like I'm already getting screwed from seven different angles."

"Uh huh... kid, you okay?" Joshua asked, actually growing a bit concerned now.

"Me? Oh, no no. Completely and utterly fine. Great! Get on with it." Daemon may say he's fine, but he's glaring three daggers through Joshua with only two eyes.

"... Right. Lapis adds Tourmaline to my hand, who I then discard to active Prismaura's ability to destroy giant, blah, blah, blah, Prismaura, show him the business end of your lance." Joshua said. The first thing Prismaura did was send out a bolt of electricity from it's weapon that instantly destroyed Junk Giant in a nice explosion. From the smoke, Prismaura charged Daemon and attempted to pierce him with it's lance.

So much smoke was kicked up by Prismaura that Joshua was unable to see his opponent, even after the explosion hit and it jumped back onto the field... And once it cleared, Daemon stood there with 2300 LP. "Defense draw. I get one card and your monster does nothing." Daemon drew the card aggressively.

"Well, I set Brilliant Spark and end my turn." Joshua said. He had a feeling he was done now, unless Spark went off without a hitch.

Turn 9: Daemon
Daemon 2300 LP, 4 cards in Hand, 1 S/T
Joshua 1900 LP, 1 cards in Hand, 1 S/T

"It's my turn. Draw." Daemon swiped the card from his disk, then revealed one of the cards in hand to Joshua. "Schwarzschild Limit Dragon. I can special summon this card when my opponent has a monster with more than 2000 attack. The dragon appeared out of the ground, but before it ever hit the field something grabbed at it's throat and started pulling it back into the grave. "Self-Mummification. My dragon gets dragged into a shallow grave." But Daemon wasn't done. The other card face-down flipped open, revealing a man talking to the Dark Ruler Ha Des. "A Deal With Dark Ruler. When a level 8 or higher monster hits my graveyard I can summon my ultimate beast."

A shadow raced across the floor and a roar filled the area, the sky suddenly turning orange instead of the blue they just were. "Dragon which lost it's way, watching comrades get slain... Take your anger out on all that stand in your way." The plaza behind Daemon got destroyed as a rampaging beast burst through, blowing up gusts of wind while it's at it. Appearing on the field, it roared at Joshua. "Berserk Dragon."

"Well damn, that aint something you see often. A Berserk Dragon." Joshua said, watching the scene unfold. "Seems to be a good card for ya. Matches your personality."

"And it'll spell your doom. I activate another card from my hand..." As Daemon slid the card into the required slot, he gave up another meanwhile. The orange skies now turned pitch black as a dark hole appeared in the middle, sucking in everything except Berserk Dragon. "Dark Core. I discard a card and banish your monster."

"And you have won this one." Joshua admitted. Normally he would end the match here, but he figured the kid deserved to vent some anger. So did his dragon. Also, it wasn't everyday he got to see this monster at full power so this would be fun.

Bersek Dragon 3500 ATK 0 DEF Level 8 DARK Dragon

"Battle phase." The dragon's right eye started to glow, it's claws unburrowing themselves from the floor. "Eradicate the enemy with your fearless anger, and destroy those whom once thought you weak! RAMPAGE BURST!" The dragon rushed forward at Joshua while holding fiery breath in it's mouth. It coiled around the older duelist and made sure for there to be no way out. All the pent up anger was released in one huge wave of flame, overwhelming Joshua and sending his life down to 0.

WINNER: DAEMON!

The aftermath

"And another lose... not the deck to use here. To unadaptable. Faster but burns out too quickly." Joshua said, more to himself then Daemon.

Daemon's anger quickly faded and the boy let out a sigh of relief. How the hell did he win that? Though hearing what Joshua had to say afterwards the boy couldn't help but frown. "Wait, what? You think like that about your deck? No wonder you lost. If you have no faith in your cards, how could you ever win?" The younger one let his disk go stand-by and walked over to Joshua, then handed over he own deck. "Look at mine. It's a cobbled together mess of junk that nobody would play, but I believe in them. And that belief in my cards pulled me through."

"You got the wrong idea kid. I do believe in my deck, but I also know when it's outmatched in an area. So far, every duelist here has been unpredictable and used the weirdest decks I've ever seen. As a result I need a deck that can adapt to situations more readily. Gem-Knights are good. But as it stands, their to suffer defeat after defeat. But, I aint gonna stop using them just yet. My other deck is for more... serious occasions." Joshua said.

"Any deck can win." Daemon shook his head, then pulled out his phone. A few clicks on the screen later he showed it to Joshua. "Ever heard of the legendary duelist Yusei Fudo? He started out with nothing but scrambled together cards from the lowest of the low. With those very cards, and the belief in the deck, he managed to win against everyone standing in his way and save humanity. His deck was outmatched by everything, everyone. Yet he never gave up and dueled his way to the top." And sure enough, on the screen was a picture of Yusei Fudo and it described his legacy. "Your deck is strong. Don't think it isn't just because you've lost a few duels here."

Joshua sighed.
"Any deck can win yes. But, sometimes your deck just won't work. As I said, i aint throwing my deck away. It's not like I've lost faith in it. I'm just listening to what it's saying, if you catch my drift." Joshua said.

"Neither mine nor Yusei's deck should have, either. In fact it was him that made me think of attempting to duel in the first place..." ...But Daemon had a feeling Joshua wouldn't bend on this topic. "Anyway, we've both got a long way to go." Daemon took back the deck he gave to Josh and slid it into the Duel Disk on his arm. "I'm going to go buy more packs and find some more people to duel. I'll see you around." And with that, the boy walked away from Joshua.

Joshua watched the boy walk away before pulling out his other deck and looking at it.
"... I'll give you more time to rest. The vanguard's work isn't finished yet." He said to it before putting it back and walking away.

[Joshua Tamashii]

Adrien sighed and shook his head. 'Well he's a bit full of himself. Especially for someone who couldn't even get past the first tier of my deck, of course I'm one to talk on that.' Adrien thought to himself as he turned to Amelia and smiled once more. At least seeing new potential always brightened up things. "Well Amelia, looks likes it's back to just you and me huh?" Adrien said cheerfully. "What do you think after that one?"

"I think you're both rather rude, but he's actually smarter then you give him credit for. He had two decks but why use one that had a lower chance of winning against you?" Amelia said

Adrien turned his head to where Josh walked off still smiling. "Because you use a weaker deck to test people Amelia, and while that's all fun in games, I don't just show people my full deck if they aren't willing to show me what they really have either. Though I'll give you one thing. You're right that I don't give him enough credit, though I could say the same about you giving me credit you know? His deck is overly predictable which is why I didn't have to worry one bit. Gem Knights will always be strong, but if you know what to expect they're quite simple to deal with. Now, what shall we do next?" Adrien offered.

"If a deck is overly predictable, then how do you counter the predictability?" Amelia asked, obviously not going to drop this soon.

"Well that's the simple part. You just do what I do. Let them believe that your deck is completely predictable. The trick is not letting it actually be that predictable. Or I suppose you could go with the method of some decks and try and make it too good to matter, though that's not really a thing, but hey it's always amusing to see people try right? Another thing you could do is just not make a predictable deck. Make something unique." Adrien randomly got a huge grin on his face and started laughing.

"So Archetypes are pointless." Amelia summarized

While laughing a bit still Adrien nodded. "If all you have is that Archetype, then yeah. It's basically doomed to fail against any real duelist." Adrien sighed and calmed down. "I learned that the hard way when I was younger. That's why when I got my first Red-Eyes and I changed my deck up a bit I knew what I wanted to do for my true deck."

"So I'm doomed to fail." Amelia said, sounding miserable now. "Might as well give up."

Adrien shook his head. "There you go with that doom and gloom stuff again. We'll work out something just for you, don't you worry. The first trick is figuring out what truly suites you though, then we'll go from there. Also that reminds me, you owe me a more complete and honest answer now Amelia." Adrien looked her in the eye more serious this time, but not losing the sense of care.

"I know what I want. I simply can't seem to have it." Amelia said, not looking Adrien in the eye as her cheeks turned a bit red." So what do you want to know?"

"Where to start with you, hmmm. Let's go with why you're always so down about your lack of dreams, and Duel Monsters first." Adrien replied. He had to get answers and help her, but she definitely was going to be a bit more difficult than others.

"That ties in with everything else." Amelia said. "My parents own several big companies. I'm their only child and thus their only heir. As such, I'm set to inherit everything. My entire life has been planned out for me."

"Ah, well that would definitely explain a few things. Tell me do you know anything about the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons?" Adrien pondered.

"Seto Kaiba." Amelia said. "Who doesn't know about them?"

"Exactly. And do you know anything about Seto Kaiba himself?" At this point Adrien was wondering if he could get Amelia to give herself hope, or perhaps he would have to explain, either way hopefully he could work this out on the fly.

Amelia gave Adrien a look that seemed to ask how stupid he thought she was.

"Humor me..." He bluntly stated.

"Took over his adopted fathers company, made it into his own, transforming it from a weapons producing company to what we know it as today. Unlike him though, I can't pull that off." Amelia said

Adrien laughed a little. "Well that wasn't what I was trying to get you to do so that's fine. The point here is do you really think his adopted father let him learn to play the game and practice, or even collect the cards?" Adrien gave her a quizical look.

"No. And neither do mine." Amelia said

"So what? You think Seto Kaiba just rolled over and took it? Of course not! He practiced anyway, he found ways to improve, hell he-"

"HE had a support system. I have nothing." Amelia interupted

Adrien gave Amelia a wide grin. "Well that's not true at all! For one you got me now! Secondly I know someone that would be more than happy to help, if not more than that! Hate to break it to you Amelia, but starting today you just got that support system you've been needing, so let's try this again. What is your dream Amelia?" At this point Adrien wasn't going to take no for an answer. Whether she liked it or not, she had his support now.

"You think a bunch of people they don't know or acknowledge are going to change anything?" Amelia asked

Adrien chuckled. "What they don't know, won't hurt them, right?" Adrien then winked at Amelia.

"... I just want to be free. I want to leave my life behind." Amelia said, putting her head in her hands. "But I lack the strength to do so."

"Hey Adrien! I finally found you!" A girl with a heavy French accent called out suddenly walking up to the pair.

Adrien smiled still looking at Amelia. "Well this was unexpected. Amelia, I'd like you to meet my sister, Cécile." Adrien turned smirking a bit as his sister walked up to them. "And Cécile, I'd like you to meet Amelia."

Cécile giggled and then smiled. "I didn't realize you were with someone, my apologies Miss Amelia." Joked a bit. "It's a pleasure to meet you though!"

"Uh huh." Amelia said, not really paying attention.

Cécile tilted her head and then poked Amelia on the nose randomly and without saying a word.

"What?" Amelia asked, looking up.

Cécile had leaned down so she was right in front of Amelia's face. "What's got you all down?" Cécile clearly being the more assertive of the siblings already took point while Adrien stood in the background smirking and shaking his head.

"What's it to you?" Amelia asked

Cécile poked Amelia in the forehead this time before reaching into her secondary card holder and dug out a card. "You know, it's a bit rude to act that way to someone who wants to be a friend, plus if he's sticking around it means I gotta show up and actually help out when needed. Unless he became better at the whole pep talk thing when I wasn't looking?" Cécile asked teasingly as she offered Amelia a card.

"I'm not going to take a card for free. I need to earn it." Amelia said

Cécile grinned at that. "Excellent idea! I'll accept your challenge!" Cécile jumped back as her custom duel disk activate and unfolded and spread it's wings. "How about this, if you damage me once, whether you win or not, the card is yours?" Cécile offered, though it was a bit implied that it was being forced on Amelia.

"No. Win or lose determines it all. And if you hold back, you win automatically." Amelia said, activating her duel disk.

"Hmmm if that's the case, then how about this. I win then you..." Cécile pondered for a moment. "You have to drop this little routine of yours and let me help you out, if you win the card is all yours?" Cécile offered as she drew her first five cards.

New Blood vs Tag Team Champ member 2

"Sure." Amelia said, drawing her five. She wasn't going to use Psychics this time. She would use her other deck. "I set one monster and end my turn."

Cécile drew her card and smiled. "Interesting start. A bit defensive, but we can see how well it turns out for you. First of all I'll start this turn off by summoning a classic starter, my Black Stone of Legend." The black shimmering rock appeared before her. "Next it's lovely ability allows me to sacrifice it so that I can summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Cécile raised her hand out in front of her as the dragon rose up and roared at Amelia. "Now let's find out what's behind door number one, destroy her set monster Red-Eyes!"

Amelia watched as her facedown was destroyed and she sent it to the graveyard.

"When Gulldo is destroyed, I can special summon a level 2 or lower Gusto monster. I summon Gusto Egul from my deck in defense mode." Amelia said, as a small bird appeared on her field.

"Awww how sweet." Cécile giggled. "In that case I'll set two cards, and then I'll call it a turn."

"Draw. I set another monster face down along with another card and end my turn." Amelia said

Cécile raised an eyebrow. "You know you have to attack to win right Amelia?"

"Depends." Amelia said. "It's your move though."

Cécile shrugged. "True. I think I'll set a monster of my own. And then I'll have my Red-Eyes attack that set monster of yours!" Cécile smirked as the set monster raised up and shattered into oblivion. "Well looks like that one didn't help you much. Let's see what you got Amelia!"

Amelia drew her card.

"I summon Pilica, Descendant of Gusto in attack mode. With her effect, I summon Gulldo from my grave. Then I tune Gulldo with Pilica to Synchro Summon Diagusto Sphreez." She said. Unlike her last Synchro summons, this time a tornado surrounded her monsters and when it vanished, a young woman with while green hair was crouched on her field." Due to Sphreez's effect, I add Caam back to my hand from the grave. I end my turn."

"Oh so you like to Synchro summon? Your my kind a person then Amelia, let's see if I can't spice it up in here then! I'll draw." Cécile looked at her and and smiled. "Looks like we'll have to hold off on me synchro summoning this turn, but trust me...By the end of this duel you won't be disappointed. I'll place one card face down, and I believe that'll do it for now, so show me what you got Amelia."

"I draw. I summon Caam, Serenity of Gusto in attack mode. then I'll use her effect to send Gulldo and Pilica from the grave to the deck and draw one card. I set two card face-down and call it a day."

Cécile shook her head. "You know, I was trying to be nice by letting you attack first, but I suppose if you don't hurry up I'll have to attack first instead you know? I'll draw." Cécile looked over her hand and smiled softly. "First I think I'll summon my Blizzard Dragon then I'll let him show your Caam a cool time by freezing her over preventing her from attacking next turn." Cécile smirked as the dragon froze over Amelia's monster. "If you don't attack this turn I might just have to say screw it and attack you know? Your move."

"Draw. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your face-down on the right." Amelia said

Cécile frowned as the trap blew up and shattered. "Well that wasn't the nicest thing to do, but fine. I can live without it, especially with the way your going about this."

Amelia shrugged and switched Egul to attack mode

"It's your win then. I end my turn." She said

"Oh? Now tat's a little too...Oh what's the word...Sad? In any event, I hope that isn't the case. I was wanting to show you a bit more of my ability. Oh well." Cécile drew her card and smiled. "Well at least we can end this with a bang. First off I'll place two more cards face down, then I'll summon my Red-Eyes Tracer Dragon." The small and scrawny Red-Eyes Tracer appeared. "Next I'll reveal my set monster, Dread Dragon. Now I'll tune my two level four dragons with my level two Dread Dragon." Cécile paused for a moment as the monsters began to transform. "Now behold, the mighty Trident Dragon!" The mighty dragon came out in a burst of fire causing the air to waver from the heat itself.

Amelia had to fight against the heat wave, barely managing to keep on her feet but having to fall to one knee.

"Now when I summon this monster I can destroy up to two of my own cards, and it gains an additional attack for each card I destroy. I think I'll choose my Red-Eyes Black Dragon, and how about one of my face downs." The fire around Trident Dragon intensified heavily for each card destroyed. "Now you asked me to not hold back, which means I don't plan on letting you survive this turn if I can help it Amelia, it's nothing personal ya know?"

"I know. It's just a game right?" Amelia said, looking up at the dragon

"So they say anyway. Now unfortunately this means we have a small problem. You see I have a certain fondness, it's a bad habit really. Care to venture what that might be?" Cécile ask in almost a quiz format.

"Nope. Don't care." Amelia said." Just waiting for the inevitable."

"See now that's just no fun Amelia! We gotta work on that personality of yours! Seriously Amelia. You gotta have more fun with this, but anyway. I have this thing for finishing off my opponents with a direct attack. Can you take a guess at what the problem here is?" Cécile continued.

"I have three monster. You only have three attacks." Amelia said. "So I assume you're going to use a spell or trap now?"

"Correct!" Cécile said cheerfully. "Care to take a guess at which one?"

"No." Amelia said, guessing that this was not her day.

Cécile sighed. "Yep definitely going to have to work on that part...In any event I'll just show you! First I'll activate Compulsory Evacuation Device! This will let me send any monster we have out right now back to the hand, and I think I'll choose...Your own sychro monster, I do have a spot for synchros in my heart so I suppose I should spare that one."

Amelia watched as Sphreeze vanished from her field, sighing.

"Maybe I'm not cut out for this game." She muttered to herself

Cécile sighed sympathetically. "Hey Amelia. I'm guessing Adrien neglected to tell you about our careers back in France?..."

"I know about them. Tag team champs." Amelia said

"Then why do you look so sad if you knew what you were up against?" Cécile now let her curiosity get the better of her in the middle of the duel.

"Just continue. You have a game to win." Amelia said.

Cécile frowned. "With that attitude I'm half tempted to forfeit...Why do you have to be so closed off Amelia? I just wanna help you know?"

"Win and I'll tell you." Amelia said

Cécile rolled her eyes. "Fine, now Trident Dragon show her why you're one of my all time favorites, destroy all her monsters starting from left to right and go for her life points!"

Amelia watched as the Dragon's headed reared back and fired at her. However, the first attack, aimed at Egul, was blocked.
"Draining Shield. Now I nullify your attack and gain lifepoints equal to your Dragon's attack points." She said.

"I still have two more attacks, now let's try this again. Destroy her Egul Trident Dragon!" Cécile repeated.

Amelia held her ground as her lifepoints dropped to 4200 and Egul was then replaced with a young girl.
"Equl's effect allows me to summon a monster when it's destroyed by battle. I summon Winda, Priestess of Gusto." She said

"Cute, now Trident Dragon Destroy Caam!" Cécile retorted.

Amelia's lifepoints dropped to 2900, but she was still standing after that brutal series of attacks with one monster on her field in defense.

Cécile smirked. "I'm glad you're fighting to stay alive, now I'll activate Red-Eyes Spirit!" The trap card rose up. "This will bring back an old friend, now welcome back my Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Cécile raised her arm up as the mighty dragon returned. "Now Red-Eyes show Winda why your also in my top list of dragons!"

Winda was destroyed in a ball of fire, but a tiny bird, Gulldo this time, took her place.
"That'll about do it for me this turn." Cécile cheerfully responded.

Amelia drew her card.
"I set one monster and one card Face-down and call it a turn for now." She said, praying beyond a hope that should would last long enough to draw the monster she needed. Then again.

Cécile drew her card and frowned slightly. "Not what I was hoping for, but it'll do. I'll set one card face down, and now Red-Eyes destroy her set monster!"

Amelia watched as another Egul was Destroyed
"With Egul, I Summon Gusto Pilica from my deck. Then with her effect, I summon Gulldo but it's effects are negated." She said as the little girl and the tiny bird appeared on her field.

Cécile sighed. "Well that gets a bit redundant. In that case Trident Dragon attack her Pilica, hopefully then I won't have to deal with another defense..." Cécile said doubtfully.

The little girl went out like in a blaze but Amelia wasn't that surprised at this point. She looked at her graveyard.
Caam, Pilica, Egul, and Winda... I can win this. She thought to herself

Cécile smirked as she folded her arms. "Hey Amelia, just thought you should know, I win on my next turn."
"Maybe. During your end phase I activate a trap: Blessings for Gusto." she declared, opening the card. "Since I have three or more Gustos in my grave, I can target three of them Two go to my deck and the third is special summoned. I return Winda and Caam to summon Pilica, but her effect can't be used again."

At this point Cécile rolled her eyes. This had gotten a bit redundant.

Amelia smiled and drew her next card.
"I'm sure you remember this. I tune Gulldo and Pillica to summon Sphreez. Then with Sphreez, I add Egul from my grave to my hand. But now I activate another trap: Whirlwind of Gusto, which will prevent you from activating anything when I declare an attack this turn."

Cécile smirked "Well that's a shame then, Too bad that won't save you from this card." Cécile stretched out her arm as the card slowly came up. "I was hoping to not use this considering I have to sacrifice one of these two beautiful dragons, but it has to be done...I reveal Burst Breath! This means that by sacrificing my Red-Eyes Black Dragon all monsters on the field with defense less than my Red-Eyes attack automatically be destroyed. Unfortunately for you my Trident Dragon has twenty-eight hundred defense so he'll be sticking around." Cécile gave a sympathetic smile as the field wiped clear of every other monster in a blaze of glory.

Amelia's eyes suddenly turned cold.
"Spare me your false sympathy." she said, her tone like a sharp blade of ice. "I activate Contract with Gusto to return Gulldo and Pilica to the deck and destroy your remaining face-down card."

Cécile narrowed her eyes a bit as her face down exploded.

"I set Egul face-down and end my turn." Amelia said

Suddenly Cécile's eyes widened a bit as she drew her next card. She'd wanted to use this card for so long. Not for any good particular reason, but just because of how it looked. "Now I'm going to equip my Trident Dragon with a card I've wanted to play for a long time now, Silver Wing!" A single silver wing grew around one of Trident Dragon's actual wings. "Next, I'll have Trident Dragon attack your set monster!"

Egul died, Winda took it's place. Strong defense again.
"My turn yet?" Amelia asked" Or are you going to keep trying to show off?"

Cécile chuckled. "Oh trust me, if I wanted to truly show off, you'd know it. But sure go ahead and make your move!"

Amelia drew her next card.
"I set one monster and one face-down and end my turn." She said

"And here we go again. It is cute I suppose." Cécile offered. "Now then let's see what I draw this time." Cécile drew without taking her eyes off of Amelia. "Next I'll activate Black Stone's ability from the grave to bring it back to my hand and put my Red-Eyes back into the deck. Next I'll summon my Red-Eyes Wyvern to the field in attack mode and that'll be the end of this one..."

"Shame. Draw. I summon Pilica, who summons Egul from the grave and... well you know. My face-down was Gulldo, which brings out Sphreez, which'll let me add Guldo to my hand." Amelia said as a familiar process repeated." Now, let's see, my monsters have... 1000, 200, and 2000 attack points... I can beat you this turn."

"Oh yeah? Let's see what you got." Cécile kept smirking at Amelia.

"I switch Winda to attack mode then attack Trident Dragion with Egul." Amelia said, as the small bird with a mere 200 attack points flew towards the giant dragon, a difference that would leave Amelia with only 100 lifepoints

Cécile blinked a couple of times unimpressed. "I hope something impressive is about to happen, I really do..." Trident Dragon launched a stream of fire at the monster in the process.

The stream of fire went straight for Amelia before Sphreez got in the way. The next thing Cecile would know, the stream would fly at her and deal the damage Amelia would've taken to her lifepoints instead.

A smirk appeared on Cécile's face as her life points dropped. "See now that's more like it."

Amelia frowned.
"You're holding back now." She said

Cécile shrugged. ""What makes you say that? You can clearly see one of my most famed monsters infront of you, and not just that I've played several of my other good cards."

"You're smirking, which means something is going your way. I've noticed you two only smirk when you're getting what you want." Amelia replied

"But of course, but what is it that I want? That's the more fun question now isn't it!" Cécile said cheerfully.

Amelia simply frowned.
"Egul summons another Winda due to his destruction and that Winda will attack your Trident Dragion." She said

Cécile watched as her Trident Dragon repeated the last sequence.

"And I win." Amelia said as Sphreez reflected the attack and dealt the 2000 damage Amelia would've taken from the attack over to Cecile.

As the monsters faded Cécile smiled and walked over to Amelia. "Not bad Amelia, that was actually pretty good." Cécile offered the card to Amelia that she had won. "I believe this belongs to you now."

"We'll see." Amelia said, looking at the card to see what it was. Frowning she shook her head. "Not interested."

Cécile closed her eyes and giggled. "It's not like you have to use it. It's more of a sentimental gift. It's the meaning behind it, not the card itself silly. This is the card that gave me hope as a duelist, and I want to pass it on to you now Amelia." Cécile slowly opened her eyes smiling at the young girl.

Amelia took the card and looked at it thoughtfully.
"Thank you... are you sure you want to give me something you value so much though?" She asked

Cécile giggled cheerfully. "Of course. Just make sure you take good care of it."

Amelia didn't reply as she put the card in a pocket were it was unlikely to get bent or damaged. She then looked between the siblings
"What now?"

Adrien smiled. "Well now you're going to tag along with Cécile, because I need to go deal with more people for this tournament. Judging by her attitude she isn't in this one to win it." Cécile in return laughed a bit embarrassed as she responded. "Haha, yeah, you caught me." Adrien rolled his eyes. "Why you do this sometimes I'll never understand. We'll do the usual then afterwards?" Cécile smirked and nodded as she also responded. "If it's really a custom, I think the synchro idea would be best though if you win." Adrien nodded as he walked off.

Cécile smiled and giggled once more. "Now Amelia! Let's get our show on the road too, what do ya say?" Cécile asked kindly.

Amelia frowned as she looked over at Cecile
"Why are you so mean in a duel but so kind outside of one?" She asked

Cécile blinked a few times a bit confused. "Am I really that bad in a duel? I mean I know I can get a bit harsh, and cruel, and a bit over the top...Okay so I might be pretty bad, but I dunno. I just connect with my monsters, and I just really get into the whole thing, I'm not sure how to really explain it." Cécile attempted to explain, hoping to have made at least slight progress.

Amelia frowned but otherwise didn't pursue the topic. She looked around as her stomach grumbled, causing her face to go a bit red.

Cécile giggled a bit at Amelia's embarrassed look. "Come on, let's go get you some food before we go and do anything else."

[Ciphra]

Alexander had made his way to the city square. The place was lively, with Duelists everywhere participating in the tournament. Some were losing, some were winning, but everywhere people were Dueling. All Alexander needed to do was find himself an opponent.

Adrien had finally gotten some alone time again. No one following him, no one looking up to him. Nope just him. Now he had to just find a way to enjoy this time of peace. So of course he went to the city square to find someone to duel. It figured that it would be packed on this wonderful occassion, and what also didn't surprise him was finding someone he knew. "Hey Alex." Adrien spoke in his casual bored tone he usually had when he wasn't around kids like Amelia. "How's the tournament going for you?"

Alexander turned his head to find Adrien talking to him. "Oh, hi Adrien," Alexander greeted. "I actually haven't found anyone to Duel yet. Truth be told, I barely got here. How about you? How are you doing in the tournament?"

Adrien smirked. "I already got a couple of wins under my belt actually. Looking for my next opponent now, but perhaps you'd rather face someone else to warm up?" Adrien offered a bit smuggly.

"I suppose you'll do," Alexander said, smirking as well. "I don't think I've ever actually Dueled you before. It was always Megumi and Cecile doing that instead." Raising his Duel Disk, Alexander continued, "I expect nothing less than full force."

Adrien raised an eyebrow as he raised his own Duel Disk. "You have a point. Girls, what can you say, right?" Adrien chuckled as his duel disk came to life and he drew his first five cards in one draw. "Since it's your first duel, I'll let you have the first go."

"How generous of you," Alexander said. "Duel!"

The Calculator VS The Aggressor

Turn 1: Alexander
Alexander: 4000 LP, 5 cards
Adrien: 4000 LP, 5 cards

After drawing his five cards, Alexander said, "I play the Field Spell: Magical Citadel of Endymion!" Alexander declared, the area around them turning into a grass clearing with trees around them, and a giant citadel with runes all around it behind Alexander. "Then I activate the Spell card: Terraforming! This allows me to add one Field Spell card from my deck to my hand, and I add Magical Citadel of Endymion to my hand," Alexander continued. "Of course, the one on my field gains a Spell Counter from Terraforming." As a giant "1" appeared on the citadel, Alexander said, "Now I Summon 'Defender the Magical Knight' in Defense mode." A heavily-armored warrior appeared on the field, crouching behind a tower shield. "Defender gains a Spell Counter when he's Normal Summoned," Alexander explained, the orb in the middle of his shield turning black. "Finally, I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn," Alexander said.

Turn 2: Adrien
Alexander: 4000 LP, 1 card, 1 Field Spell (1 C), 1 Mon (1 C), 2 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 6 cards

Adrien drew his card while looking at the field before glancing at his hand momentarily. "Well this should definitely be a fun match to say the least. First off I think I'll play the Spell card: Mystical Space Typhoon, and I'll be using it on your right face down!" Adrien pointed at said card after he played his own card.

Alexander shielded himself with his arms as a raging whirlwind destroyed his face down card, which revealed itself to be Scrap-Iron Scarecrow before being blown to bits. "Don't forget that my Citadel gains another Spell Counter from your Mystical Space Typhoon," Alexander said.

Adrien smiled. "That's quite alright. Next I'll play another Spell card known as Cards of the Red Stone. This allows me to discard this Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my hand to draw two more cards." Adrien drew two more cards after discarding his Red-Eyes. "Next I'll play a classic for my deck, The Black Stone of Legend." The shimmering black rock rose from the ground. "As per the usual he won't be sticking around since I'll be activating his effect to Special Summon my Red-Eyes Black Dragon from my deck!" The rock exploded in streams of light as Red-Eyes Black Dragon broke free from the rock roaring magesticly.

"Trap card activate: Bottomless Trap Hole!" Alexander countered. "This card allows me to destroy a monster with 1500 or more ATK that you just Summoned, and banishes it as well!" A giant hole suddenly formed on the ground, and a giant goblin emerged from it to reach up and pull down the dragon with it.

Adrien grinned. "Well that's a shame, but I'll manage. Next I'll place two cards face down, and I guess that'll send it back to you."

Turn 3: Alexander
Alexander: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Field Spell (3 C), 1 Mon (1 C), 0 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 2 card, 0 Mon, 2 S/T

"Draw!" Alexander said, drawing a card from his deck. Gaining nothing of momentary importance, Alexander said, "I switch Defender to Attack mode and attack you directly!" The knight emerged from behind his tower shield and charged, swinging his short sword downward at Adrien.

"I think not. I activate Dimensional Prison!" Adrien waved his hand as the card revealed itself.

Alexander grimaced as Defender suddenly disappeared. Dimension Prison was one of the few cards that Defender couldn't use his effect against. He took the card from his Duel Disk and showed it to Adrien before placing it in his back pocket. "I place 1 card face down and end my turn," Alexander said.

Turn 4: Adrien
Alexander: 4000 LP, 1 card, 1 Field Spell (3 C), 0 Mon, 1 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 3 cards, 0 Mon, 1 S/T

Adrien drew his card glancing at it out of the corner of his eye bfore finally playing it. "I Summon Red-Eyes Wyvern in Attack mode. Next I'll have him attack you directly!" Adrien said while pointing directly at Alexander.

Alexander shielded himself with his arm as Wyvern attacked and reduced his Life Points a bit.

Alexander - 4000 LP --> 2200 LP

"I think that'll do for now. I'll end my turn," Adrien folded his arms and observed the field.

Turn 5: Alexander
Alexander: 2200 LP, 2 cards, 1 Field Spell (3 C), 0 Mon, 1 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 2 card, 1 Mon, 1 S/T

"Draw!" Alexander said, drawing a new card. It was one of his newer cards he had added to his deck. "I play the Spell card: Reading Up! By removing 3 Spell Counters from my side of the field, I can draw 2 cards, but I can't gain any Spell Counters when Reading Up resolves," Alexander explained. He drew 2 new cards and examined them, then continued, "Now I Summon Apprentice Magician in Defense mode!" A young boy wearing purple armor and carrying a green staff appeared on the field, crouching and holding his arms out in a cross.

Apprentice Magician - Level 2, DEF 800

"When Apprentice Magician is Summoned, I can place a Spell Counter on a card I can place a Spell Counter on, and I choose my Magical Citadel of Endymion," Alexander said. "Turn End."

Turn 6: Adrien
Alexander: 2200 LP, 2 cards, 1 Field Spell (1 C), 1 Mon, 1 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 3 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T

Adrien drew his next card a bit dramatically and glanced once more with the corner of his eye instead of full on looking at it. After doing so though he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Well it's been fun Alex, but looks like it's time to wrap this up and move on to the next opponent." Adrien put the card in his hand for now. "First I sacrifice my Wyvern to summon Tiger Dragon!" The mighty Tiger Dragon rose up howling vigorously. "The fun thing about him is I get to blow up up to two face down spell or traps, and I think we both know what that means for your facedown. Now Tiger Dragon, destroy his only face down!"

Alexander grimaced as his face down Mirror Force was destroyed. One piece of his defenses were down now.

"Now that that's out of the way, I banish my Tiger Dragon to Special Summon a much mightier dragon known as Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" The metalic dragon descended screeching and roaring loud enough to cause minor shockwaves as it slowed down and hovered above the ground. "Next I'll use his special ability. This allows me to Special Summon any dragon from my hand or Graveyard, and I'm going to choose the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my Grave!" The mighty Red-Eyes Black Dragon rose roaring defiantly.

Adrien stood there a moment with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "Well Alex? What do you think of my dragons? I guess we finally know what happens when my mighty dragon deck faces off with your Spell Counters huh? Now Red-Eyes Black Dragon, destroy his monster!"

Alexander shielded himself from the shockwave of the blast that destroyed his Apprentice Magician. "I activate the effect of my Apprentice Magician! When he's destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Spellcaster-type monster from my Deck in facedown Defense mode," Alexander explained, a facedown monster replacing his Magician.

"Now Darkness Metal Dragon, destroy his monster!" Adrien retorted.

The second blast destroyed his facedown monster as well, which revealed itself to be a second Apprentice Magician. "I use the effect of this Apprentice Magician as well to Special Summon another Level 2 or lower Spellcaster-type monster," Alexander said, yet another facedown card appearing on his field.

"That's perfectly fine by me, I'll end my turn." Adrien's smirk never once wavering.

Turn 7: Alexander
Alexander: 2200 LP, 2 cards, 1 Field Spell (1 C), 1 Mon, 0 S/T
Adrien: 4000 LP, 1 card, 2 Mon, 1 S/T

"Draw!" Alexander said, drawing his next card. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can Special Summon The Tricky from my hand!" Alexander said, a jester-like creature with a question mark for a face appearing on the field.

The Tricky - Level 5, ATK 2000

"Now I flip over my facedown monster!" Alexander said, revealing it to be Arcane Apprentice.

Arcane Apprentice - Level 2, ATK 400, Tuner

"Now I Tune my Level 5 Tricky with my Level 2 Arcane Apprentice!" Alexander continued, the two monsters turning into 5 stars and 2 green rings, respectively. "Wielder of sealed arcane forces! Use our power and destroy all that oppose us!" Alexander chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear, 'Arcanite Magician'!"

Arcanite Magician - Level 7, ATK 400

"When Arcanite Magician is Synchro Summoned, she gains 2 Spell Counters and 1000 ATK for each one," Alexander explained.

Arcanite Magician - ATK 400 --> ATK 2400

"Plus, when Arcane Apprentice is used as a Synchro Material, I can add one 'Assault Mode Activate' from my deck to my hand," Alexander explained, adding the ejected card to his hand. "Using Arcanite Magician's effect, by removing one Spell Counter from my side of the field, I can destroy one card my opponent controls!" Alexander explained, a dark orb floating into Arcanite Magician's staff and charging it with dark energy. "Destroy Red-Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon!" Alexander commanded, Arcanite Magician firing a bolt of dark lightning.

Adrien shielded himself from the blast as his Darkness Metal Dragon shattered into a million pieces. "Not bad, Alex, not bad," Adrien said, smiling. He was definitely enjoying himself on this one.

"What's more, I can keep using Arcanite Magician's effect as long as I have Spell Counters," Alexander said. "Destroy his Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" Alexander commanded, Arcanite Magician firing another bolt of dark lightning.

Adrien crossed his arms as his Red-Eyes was destroyed, and said nothing.

"Finally, destroy that face down!" Alexander commanded, firing one last lightning bolt and shattering the face down card, which revealed itself to be Seven Tools of the Bandit.

"Arcanite Magician, attack Adrien directly!" Alexander commanded, Arcanite Magician firing a white bolt of lightning at Adrien.

Adrien - 4000 LP --> 3600 LP

"I place one card face down and end my turn," Alexander ended.

Turn 8: Adrien
Alexander: 2200 LP, 0 cards, 1 Field Spell (0 C), 1 Mon, 1 S/T
Adrien: 3600 LP, 2 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

Adrien drew his card indifferently. "I'm impressed you managed to come back and actually hurt my life points a bit Alex, but that ends here. Sadly for you I prepare for anything you send my way, or at least I try my best, and that includes letting you destroy both of my Red-Eyes monsters. Now I have exactly what I need in the grave and I have you to thank for it, now I special summon to the field my ultimate Dark Armed Dragon!" Adrien threw an open arm up into the air as his Dark Armed Dragon descended from above and crashed into the ground causing the earth to shake before he roared triumphently making the tremors intensify.

Alexander's eyes widened at the sight of Dark Armed Dragon. He knew then that he had lost.

"Now I banish my Red-Eyes Black Dragon and my Black Stone of Legend, thus activating my Dark Armed Dragon's ability! For each dark monster I banish I get to destroy a card of yours on the field. First we'll go with that face down, and next we'll destroy your only monster!" Adrien stood there with such confidence, and his voice held more charisma in it than ever.

Alexander didn't bother activating his Trap card before his field was wiped. It would make no difference in the outcome regardless.

"Now then, Dark Armed Dragon, end this duel and attack Alexander directly!" Adrien called out as he pointed directly towards Alexander one last time.

After Dark Armed Dragon reduced the last of his Life Points to zero, Alexander said, "Seems like I overestimated myself. It's your overwhelming win."

Adrien relaxed slightly and a calm smile slowly came across his face. "Hey you did good Alex, it was definitely a lot of fun. We'll have to do it again sometime." Adrien walked over and offered Alexander a handshake.

Taking the handshake, Alexander replied, "Next time we do, though, I hope I show more than this. Maybe it's time to switch decks. Arcanite Magician is great and all, but it's not really working like it used to. Even Megumi's been beating me lately."

"Hey man, you just need to be you. Upgrade, change, it doesn't matter. As long as your deck represents who you truly are. In any event, whether you change your deck or not, I look forward to dueling you again Alex." With that Adrien waved as he began walking off. That was win number three. Now to find the next opponent once more.

[Scarifar]

Mr. Baubles, the President of the branch of Industrial Illusions, was enjoying some new gadgets of his that he had bought with his now vast amounts of money. Of course, they were for both work and play at the same time. After all, he was extremely wealthy now, so why not indulge himself?

However, his play time would soon end for the moment. As the door to his office suddenly opened, Mr. Baubles fumbled with a remote to turn off a screen on the wall and was about to pretend like he was doing work on a tablet when he realized who it was. "Oh, it's you," Mr. Baubles said. "What brings you to my office today?"

The mysterious Duelist was holding a tablet of his own, and he scrolled through it before speaking, "Thanks to your technology, I have managed to find the Duelist I am searching for faster than I anticipated."

"I see," Mr. Baubles said, his tone of voice clearly showing that he didn't really care. "But you still haven't told me why you're here."

"I would like permission to go out and resolve this matter once and for all," the Duelist said.

"Ahhh," Mr. Baubles said with understanding. He was just about to approve it when he remembered the agreement they had. Doing some quick thinking, he said, "I'm afraid I must refuse, however. After all, we made a deal. You even signed a contract." Mr. Baubles opened up a document on his tablet and showed it to the Duelist just to prove his point. "If I were to just let you go, then what kind of businessman would I be?"

"Very well then," the Duelist said without complaint. "However, I do have another request."

"Hmm? And what would that be?" Mr. Baubles asked.

"My comrades have also entered the tournament, and I would appreciate it if they received some aid to gain a spot in the finals," the Duelist said.

"Hmm..." Mr. Baubles considered. "I suppose I could pull a few strings. After all, I'm already making sure you're always at the number 1 spot."

"Thank you," the Duelist said before leaving.

---

Meanwhile...

Jin's OTK

Turn 1: Sam (NPC)
Jin - 4000 LP, 5 cards
Sam - 4000 LP, 5 cards

"My turn! Sam said. "I play the Spell card: Double Summon! This allows me to Normal Summon twice this turn! First I Summon Queen's Knight, then King's Knight!" The two Poker Knights appeared on the field, one after the other.

Queen's Knight - Level 4, ATK 1500

King's Knight - Level 4, ATK 1600

"When King's Knight is Normal Summoned while I control Queen's Knight, I can Special Summon Jack's Knight from my deck!" A new knight appeared on the field, standing alongside his comrades.

Jack's Knight - Level 5, ATK 1900

"Finally, I activate the Spell card: Polymerization! This fuses together all my Knights to Summon my most powerful monster!" Sam then began chanting, "Champion of knights! Rise up for your comrades and defeat your foes! Stand your ground, Arcana Knight Joker!" The three knights crossed their blades, and a new knight took their place, appearing much more powerful than the others.

Arcana Knight Joker - Level 9, ATK 3800

"I then activate the Spell card: The A. Forces! This gives all Warrior-type monsters I control 200 more ATK for each Warrior or Spellcaster-type monster I control!"

Arcana Knight Joker - ATK 3800 --> ATK 4000

"Turn end!" Sam said with confidence.

Turn 2: Jin
Jin - 4000 LP, 6 cards
Sam - 4000 LP, 1 cards, 1 monster, 1 S/T

Jin looked at Arcana Knight Joker with surprise. "That was it? That's quite disappointing," he said.

Sam looked at Jin with confusion and said, "What are you talking about? You've got nothing, while I have a monster with 4000 ATK! All I need to do is attack, and then I win the Duel!"

"Too bad you won't reach your next turn," Jin replied. "I Summon Heroic Challenger - Double Lance in Attack mode!"

Heroic Challenger - Double Lance - Level 4, ATK 1700

"When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon another 'Double Lance' from my hand or Graveyard in Defense mode!"

Heroic Challenger - Double Lance - Level 4, DEF 900

"With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay network!" Jin declared, the two monsters transforming into two balls of energy and flying into the black starry galaxy above. Jin began his chant, "King of warriors! Let loose a single strike to wipe out your enemies! Smite your foes, Heroic Champion - Excalibur!"

Heroic Champion - Excalibur - Rank 4, ATK 2000, OL 2

"You can't expect a single 2000 ATK monster to defeat my Arcana Knight Joker!" Sam said.

"Not unless I do this!" Jin replied sharply. "I activate the effect of Excalibur! By detaching both Overlay units, I can double my monster's ATK!" The two glowing orbs that had been revolving around the monster winked out of existence, and a red aura emanated from it.

Heroic Champion - Excalibur - ATK 2000 --> ATK 4000

"F-FOUR THOUSAND??!" Sam exclaimed.

"I also activate the Spell card: Heroic Chance! This doubles the ATK again!" Jin explained.

Heroic Champion - Excalibur - ATK 4000 --> ATK 8000

"Battle! Excalibur, destroy Arcana Knight Joker!" Jin declared, and Excalibur raised its blade to strike downward at Arcana Knight Joker, slicing through both the knight and the blade he used to try to defend himself with.

Sam - 4000 LP --> 0 LP

---

Short Duel with Yuna

Turn 6: Norvandell (NPC)
Yuna - 2600 LP, 3 cards, 2 Mon, 2 S/T
Norvandell - 1400 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 Field Spell

"Airknight Parshath, attack Azure Flame Booster!" Norvandell commanded, and the centaur warrior slashed through the fiery monster.

Yuna - 2600 LP --> 2300 LP

"Of course, I can now draw 1 card, as per Parshath's effect," Norvandell said, drawing a card. "I set one card, and end my turn."

Turn 7: Yuna
Yuna - 2300 LP, 3 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T
Norvandell - 1400 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T, 1 Field Spell

"Draw!" Yuna yelled, drawing a card. "I Summon Azure Flame Beast in Attack mode!"

Azure Flame Beast - Level 3, ATK 1500, A

"Now with my Azure Flame Beast and my Azure Flame Protector, I construct the Phase Shift Network!" Yuna declared, the two monsters flying into a purplish spiral galaxy above. "With your flames burning blue, unleash them on the world! Show them your might, and engulf the world! Phase Shift Summon! Show your flames, Azure-Eyes Phase Shift Dragon!" The blue dragon appearing on the field, unleashing a roar upon arrival.

Azure-Eyes Phase Shift Dragon - Level 7, ATK 2500, Phase A

"I activate the effect of Azure-Eyes Phase Shift Dragon! By banishing an 'Azure Flame' monster from my Graveyard, I can increase the ATK of my Dragon by half of the banished monster's ATK!" Yuna explained. "By banishing my Azure Flame Warrior, Azure-Eyes gains 850 ATK!"

Azure-Eyes Phase Shift Dragon - ATK 2500 --> ATK 3350

"Azure-Eyes, attack Airknight Parshath!" Yuna commanded, and the dragon leaped into the air to unleash a burst of fire at the centaur.

Norvandell - 1400 LP --> 0 LP

[Joshua Tamashii]

"Two games, two loses... man, if this keeps up, I'm not gonna see if there's more to this thing then what they're saying." Joshua muttered to himself as he walked through town. He glanced down at his duel disk and the Gem-Knight deck inside of it. He didn't want to switch decks until the finals but if he never made it to them, there would be no point. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a few seconds to think, making him blind to his surroundings.

Megumi hummed happily as she walked. The tournament was rather exciting, and things were so lively. She did wonder who her next opponent was going to be after Cecile. She wasn't sure who she wanted to challenge next. She then put the thought aside and decided to just let it happen. Whoever came next would be whoever she came across that interested her. As she turned a corner, she then bumped into someone, making her fall backwards with a scream.

Being as unaware of his surroundings as he was, it came as no surprise when Joshua ran into someone. He opened his eyes and quickly grabbed the person who had ran into him by their arm out of pure instinct. When he saw they had been in the middle of falling, he quickly helped them back to their feet.
"Sorry about that. I should've been watching where I was going. Are you okay, Miss?" he said as he examined the girl who had ran into him. She looked familiar.

Before she hit the ground, Megumi found herself in the arms of the man she bumped into, and she was back on her feet before she knew it. "Um, y-yeah, thanks," Megumi said, still wondering how that was even possible. Megumi then noticed the Duel Disk on his arm and asked, "Hey, are you participating in the tournament too?" The man looked familiar too, though she wasn't sure why that was so.

"Yep. Not having much luck though. Why, are you in it?" Joshua asked.

"Yeah, I was about to go find someone else to Duel!" Megumi said enthusiastically. She stepped back and lifted her arm to show her Duel Disk, then asked, "Do you wanna Duel?"

Joshua smiled as the girl moved away and raised her Duel Disk. He thought about it before nodding.
"Sure, a Duel sounds good, but you know what might make it more interesting?" he asked.

Megumi tilted her head, confused. "No, what?" she asked back.

"You ever been part of an Action Duel?" Joshua asked. "They're very fun, if you can put up with running around a lot."

Megumi widened her eyes in surprise. An Action Duel? That was something she never did before. She wasn't entirely sure on how an Action Duel was different from a regular Duel, but there was only one way to find out. "Sure, that sounds kinda fun," Megumi said.

"Alright then. This should be fun." Joshua said, pressing a button on his Duel Disk.

'ACTION FIELD ON: CROSSOVER'

All around Joshua and Megumi, transparent objects of various colors and shapes appeared, most floating in the air. Between the two of them, in the air, was a large transparent dome with bright white cards floating around in it.
"You know the chant?" Joshua asked.

"Umm... no," Megumi said.

"Alright then, allow me." Joshua said before jumping into one of the newly produce objects and spreading his arms. "Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! ACTION DUEL!"

As soon as Joshua was done speaking, the orb of cards exploded, sending them all over the field.
"Ladies first." Joshua said before he dashed off the look for an Action Spell.

[b][u]Turn 1: Megumi[/b][/u]
Megumi: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T
Joshua: 4000 LP, 5 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T

Megumi watched as the orb of cards exploded and sent dozens of cards scattering everywhere. Then Joshua ran off, making her ask, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"I told you, Action Duels require running. Just make your move, I won't be that far away." Joshua shouted back.

Curious to see where this would lead, Megumi looked at her hand to see what she would do first. "I Set one monster, then place 2 cards face-down," Megumi said. "Turn End."

[b][u]Turn 2: Joshua[/b][/u]
Megumi: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T
Joshua: 4000 LP, 6 cards, 0 mon, 0 S/T

"Draw." Joshua said. "I activate the Spell, Gem-Knight Fusion. I fuse Gem-Knight Garnet with Gem-Knight Lazuli. Gem holding the power of fire and green stone that values friendship, combine and bring forth a warrior wreathed in flames! Fusion Summon: Gem-Knight Ruby!"

On his field, a pillar of fire erupt before something swung out from and dismissed said pillar, a warrior in bright red armor with gold highlights and a bright blue cape wielding a halberd standing in front of Joshua.

Gem-Knight Ruby: Level 6, ATK 2500

"Thanks to Lazuli, Gem-Knight Garnet returns to my hand. Now, Ruby, attack her face-down monster!"

An image of a half-petrified alligator appeared for a moment before being sliced in half by Ruby's weapon.

Megumi - 4000 LP --> 3000 LP

"When Graydle Alligator is destroyed by battle or Spell effect, I can target one monster you control and equip my monster to it, then take control of it!" Megumi said.

"Well... shit." Joshua muttered under his breathe as Ruby was taken over by the parasite and moved to Megumi's field. "I Summon Gem-Knight Garnet in attack mode and set a card face-down and end my turn."

Gem-Knight Garnet: ATK:1900 DEF:0

His move done, Joshua began moving again, knowing he needed to get an Action Spell.

[b][u]Turn 3: Megumi[/b][/u]
Megumi: 3000 LP, 3 cards, 1 mon, 2 S/T
Joshua: 4000 LP, 2 cards, 1 mon, 1 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi said, drawing a card. If this was a Fusion deck, then there was one monster in her deck suited to take care of that. "I Tribute Gem-Knight Ruby to Summon Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6" Megumi declared, the monster disappearing and being replaced with a reddish, metallic, bird-like dragon.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV6: Level 6, ATK 2300
"Go, Horus, attack Gem-Knight Garnet!" Megumi commanded, the dragon firing a small black fireball.

"Not good." Joshua said, still running and climbing. He spotted a card on a nearby platform and sprinted to it as the fireball came closer. The attack hit Garnet and exploded, but from the smoke, a bolt of energy flew out and hit Megumi for 1900 points of damage. On his side of the field, the Trap Card: Brilliant Spark was face-up and glowing.

Joshua - 4000 LP --> 3600 LP

Megumi - 3000 LP --> 1100 LP

"Seriously, this might as well be a regular Duel now," Joshua muttered, sitting down on his platform and looking down at Megumi. He knew Horus well, and knew that all his Spells were now worthless.

The lightning bolt flew out of the smoke and hit Megumi, who was unprepared for it and was sent falling backwards with a scream of surprise. When she got back up, she saw the Trap card that was now face-up on the field. Megumi scowled, then said, "At the End Phase, after Horus destroys a monster this turn, it evolves to Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8!" The dragon then began to glow and change in size, growing larger and resembling a dragon rather than a bird.

Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 - Level 8, ATK 3000

"Turn End," Megumi said.

[b][u]Turn 4: Joshua[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 2 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 0 Mon, 0 S/T

Joshua drew his card without a word before looking down at Horus. That thing was going to be a pain in his ass and he only had three ways around it. Two through brute strength and one through effects. But for now, he didn't have the means for either method so he had to stall.
"I activate Brilliant Spark's effect. By discarding one Gem-Knight monster, I can add it to my hand. I discard Gem-Knight Obsidian." He said, putting the Monster into his Grave and taking the ejected Trap Card. "Then I activate Obsidian's effect. When he's sent to the Grave from my hand, I can Special Summon a Normal Gem-Knight Monster from my Graveyard. I Special Summon Gem-Knight Garnet in Defence mode and Set one card before calling it a turn."

Best I can do for now, but chances are she has a way around such a simple plan, he thought to himself.

[b][u]Turn 5: Megumi[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 3 cards, 1 on, 2 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 2 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing a card from her deck. Examining the card she drew, she then said, "I activate the Spell card: Pot of Duality! I excavate three cards, then I pick one to add to my hand while the rest and shuffled back into the deck." Megumi then pulled out three cards from her deck and revealed them to Joshua as well, showing Upstart Goblin, Battle Fader, and Forbidden Dress. Picking out Forbidden Dress, and placing the other two back into her Deck, Megumi continued, "Now I Summon Cardcar D in Attack mode!"

Cardcar D - Level 2, ATK 800

"First I place one card face-down, then I activate Cardcar D's effect! By Tributing Cardcar D, I get to draw 2 cards, but then it becomes the End Phase!" Megumi explained. Cardcar D drove off, then turned back around and drove straight back towards Megumi, disappearing before the car hit her and made the top two cards of her deck glow, which Megumi drew. "Turn End."

[b][u]Turn 6: Joshua[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 3 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 1 on, 1 S/T

Joshua drew his card and looked at his hand. Nothing useful. Horus was blocking a quarter of his deck and the entirity of the Action Cards he could use to help him out. But, he had to work around that and pray he got the one card in his deck that he needed.
"Turn end."

[b][u]Turn 7: Megumi[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 5 cards, 1 mon, 3 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 1 mon, 1 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing a card from her Deck. Megumi would love to be.able to attack, but not if it meant that Brilliant Spark would activate again. Still, it wouldn't be a problem for long. "I place a card face-down and end my turn," Megumi said.

[b][u]Turn 8: Joshua[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 4 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 4 cards, 1 Mon, 1 S/T

Joshua drew his card and glanced a it. Good.
"I Summon Gem-Armadilo in Attack mode. With his effect, I search for a Gem-Knight Monster from my Deck and add it to my hand. I then set one card face-down and end my turn." He said

[b][u]Turn 9: Megumi[/b][/u]
Megumi: 1100 LP, 5 cards, 1 mon, 3 S/T
Joshua: 3600 LP, 3 cards, 2 mon, 2 S/T

"Draw!" Megumi yelled, drawing yet another card. A smile appeared on her face as she realized what she drew. "I Special Summon Grinder Golem to your side of the field!" Megumi declared, an odd-looking machine with a sawblade protruding from its upper body appearing on the field.

Grinder Golem - Level 8, ATK 3000

"When Grinder Golem is Summoned like this, I can Special Summon two Grinder tokens on my side of the field," Megumi explained, two smaller versions of the Grinder Golem appearing next to Horus.

Grinder Token - Level 1, ATK 0

"Finally, I play the Spell card: Fiend's Sanctuary!" Megumi declared. "This card Special Summons a Metal Fiend token onto my field." A metallic being composed primarily of steel orbs then appeared from the ground via a magic circle.

Her smile grew wider as she then declared, "I Tribute all three Tokens in order to Special Summon my ace monster!" Megumi then began chanting, "Strike fear into your foes, and let none oppose you! Take their power and use it as your own! Arise, 'Destiny HERO - Plasma'!" The warrior with webbed wings and purple armor appeared on the field in all his imposing glory.

Destiny HERO - Plasma - Level 8, ATK 1900

"I surrender." Joshua said, putting his hand on the top of his deck. The objects around them disappeared and Joshua landed on the ground with barely a buckle of his knees, despite being several feet up at the time.

Megumi was disappointed, but not surprised. Things had been pretty one-sided for a while. Megumi went over to Joshua and extended a hand for a handshake. "Good game?" Megumi said as a common courtesy.

"For you maybe. For me, I got trampled from beginning to end. So it's less of a game and more like a one-sided romp." Joshua said, glancing at his deck. "The duelist around here are so odd... right, no more joking around then. First stop, Industrial Illusions. Enjoy your tournament."

Turning around, Joshua left while raising his hand as a way to say good-bye.

Megumi didn't know what to say after that, though she eventually waved back and yelled, "Bye!" after Joshua turned around and walked away.

[Eklispe]

Exciting Opportunities

Moros got off his bike in front of the impressive looking building. So this was Industrial Illusion hm? It was quite the impressive building, he wondered if any other duelists had come here yet. Well at the very least he could take a look around. Surprised there wasn't anybody here, even though it was just a side entrance, Moros tested the door and found that it was unlocked. Cool. He went inside and wandered around a little taking some stairs up to the next level. Then he heard the sounds of what he thought was someone dueling. Following his ears he made his way deeper into the building and found Xaiver there dueling some guy with silver hair and a black jacket. The two were in some sort of fancy dueling arena, they were inside some sort of glass box and there were a bunch of seats, almost like a tournament style thingy. It seemed Moros got there right as the duel started... and ended.

Aiden was thrown back by the blast that came from the 2 swords 'Apprentice' held, and Xavier had the most smug grin on his face. Aiden got up and looked at Xavier, "I'm very impressed. Perhaps we will meet in the finals." he said, walking away without bothering to introduce himself, as he reached the door, he turned to face Xavier, "You can tell your friend he can stop snooping around now."

"Hey!" Moros cried out, offended. "I wasn't snooping, I was exploring. Besides if you don't want people here the doors should've been locked right?"

Aiden chuckled, "I meant lurking in the seats, it is unkind to watch a duel without making yourself known. But..... oh well, what can be done? The name's Aiden. I assume you have heard of me?" As he finished, Aiden held up the arm on which his duel disk rested as if posing.

"Um..." Moros's voice trailed off uncertainly as he struggled to recall where he might've seen the duelist with the fancy disk before. "Some commercial thingy right?" he asked uncertainly.

Aiden rolled his eyes at the reference to the commercial he had done a year ago when he had first joined Industrial Illusions, "Close, but no cigar. I am one of the top duelists here at Industrial Illusions. So good that the company printed this deck for me, custom made." He tapped his duel disk to indicate the deck he was talking about.

Xavier looked at the guy with a smirk, thinking of how this guy might be connected to his past. "Have you ever seen me before, Aiden?" Aiden looked at him and shook his head.

Moros almost asked how the man was ranked top if he had lost in a single turn but realized at the last second that that would probably be considered rude. Instead he focused on the deck the high ranked duelist had bragged about, "That's super cool, whats you deck do? From what little I saw it had dragons and stuff. How can I get one, do I have to work here? Can I work here? Will you hire me?" Moros asked the questions one after the other quickly becoming more and more excited.

Aidens head began to spin at the rapid fire questions, then began to methodically answer them, "Ummm..... 1. It abuses Attack boosts that can cause my monsters to have up to 14000 ATK, if I play right. 2. The closest I could see either of you getting to one of these," Aiden tapped the disk again, "would be the prize of the tournament. 3. Depends. 4. See number 3."

Moros hmmed thoughtfully. "Thats cool, and super scary. 14,000 is a lot." In fact so large that it tied with a fully powered King. He wondered how hard it was for Aiden to get his monster out. "Now you said me working here depends, depends on what exactly?" Moros didn't have a job and having some spending money could be cool. Maybe he could get Cecile a gift to pay her back for all the help she gave him.

Aiden thought for a second, wondering if this boy would be a good tester, or maybe even a mascot for new decks. He lifted a finger to his chin and then snapped his fingers, "I know! Why dont you and your friend here duel, and put on a show. I dont want to see an epic one turn kill, I want to see a dramatic duel. The more entertaining the better. If its amusing enough, I might offer you two kids jobs." The look on Aidens face was the most genuine expression he had since Xavier had first saw him.

"Awesome its a deal!" Moros said excitedly and his dark duel disk unfolded from his skull watch travel mode and the dueling section formed. Similair to the a spine with the swirling patterns on the disk gleaming with darkness, seemingly prepared for battle, he and got ready to get into the room, before realizing he had no idea how to get inside. "Erm, could you open the... thingy?"

Aiden pressed a button on his disk and the glass dome retracted into the floor, leaving the lighting that hung from the celing to light the stands too. He glanced in Moross direction and noticed his disk, the limited edition skull style disk that I.I. had given to a nearby designer disk shop. "Complements on the disk, it was my idea to release those." He pointed to the boys wrist.

"Really? Thanks for putting the idea out, one of my friends got it for me." Moros called out as the dome opened and he eagerly jumped into the battle arena displaying his disk, "You ready to go Xaiver?"

Xavier raised his generic Duel Disk shamefully, clearly disappointed he didn't have a custom disk. "Why not! Lets go!" The bland disk fanned out to reveal generic card slots and Xavier stepped forward to engage the duel.

Aiden jumped out of the arena and sat in the stands, not intending to stick around. He closed the arena with his Disk and pointed to a button on Xavier's side of the arena. Explaining that that opened the arena as well as the button on his disk. He slouched over and tried to look comfortable.

"Sweet, since I challenged I'll let you go first!" Moros called out and waited eagerly for Xaiver to make his first move

Duel!, CLEVER NAME!

Turn 1: Xaiver
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 6
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 6

"I draw!" Xavier shouted, pulling his starting hand from the disk. "To start my turn I will summon one monster facedown, then I set one card and end."

Turn 2: Moros
Moros 4000 LP, Cards 7
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards 4, 1 facedown, 1 set spell/trap

The defensive game hm? Well Moros had plenty of experience with that, "I'll think I'll mirror your move and leave it to you." Moros called out confidently as he set his cards onto the shimmering black portals. What do this guy use again, wizards or something? The red eyes on his disk gleamed as if in anticipation of the upcoming battle.

Turn 3: Xaiver
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 1 facedown, 1 set spell/trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 1 facedown, 1 set spell/trap

Xavier looked at his draw before placing it in a Spell and Trap zone, saying, "I set one card facedown and end."

Turn 4: Moros
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 6, 1 facedown, 1 set spell/trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 4, 1 facedown, 2 set spell/trap

Moros looked at his opponent curiously, normally people were just raring to attack. How unusual, well at this rate it wasn't going to be dramatic at all. As he knew from experience most set monsters were only set when the owner wanted it to be destroyed so attacking it would be unwise. However next turn he should start something if his foe didn't. "I'll set one more monster, and 1 more card before turning it back to you."

Turn 5: Xaiver
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 4, 2 facedown, 2 set spell/trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 1 facedown, 2 set spell/trap

Xavier worriedly drew his next card. If he didn't get something soon, it would be over. "I set 2 cards facedown, then I summon Spellsword's Apprentice, banishing all spells from my hand deck and graveyard facedown."

Spellsword's Apprentice - ATK 1500

"Now I end." There was a finality to his voice that showed he was confident.

Turn 6: Moros
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 2 facedown, 2 set spell/trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 2, 1 facedown, 4 set spell/trap

Moros puzzled over the move, while it was nice for him to leave a monster in attack position that was quite a strange effect that it had. Presumably he could use those cards somehow. Well he would carry on with his plan regardless. "Alright, to kick things off I'll activate my trap card Tyrant's Temper! This allows me to tribute one monster making my monsters unaffected by trap cards. I'll tribute my face-down monster, Wight-prince."

His little cackling skeleton flickered and shattered. "Now because of his effect I can send a Lady in Wight and a Skull Servant to the grave with him." Moros called out as two more cards were sent to the grave. "Now I'll normal summon, King of Skull Servants to the field!" Moros announced as his ace monster appeared, boasting a reasonable amount of attack

King of Skull Servants - ATK 3000

"And since you were kind enough to place a monster in attack mode I think I'll destroy it with Vengeance Blast!" A ball of swirling, howling, spirits flew from his royal skeleton to Xaiver's monster

"Not so fast! I activate my Quick-Play spell, Ancient Blade of the First Spellsword! When you declare an attack on a Spellsword monster with less attack than your monster, This card equips to that monster and it gains ATK equal to the difference." Xavier called out triumphantly.

Spellsword's Apprentice - ATK 1500 ---> 3000 ATK

Moros pondered briefly the worth of activating his King's effect to summon him back to the field, but concluded he didn't want to act rashly and banish cards so quickly. After all zombies never stayed in the grave for long. So when his attack landed it exploded in a display of force that sent both monster's shimmering to the graveyard. "I leave it to you." Moros said simply, curious to see his foe's next move.

Turn 7: Xaiver
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 4, 1 facedown, 1 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 3, 1 facedown, 3 set spell/trap

"Draw!" Xavier yelled, looking into the stands. Upon close examination, he noticed that Aiden was gone, or at least not visible. Regardless, he continued the duel. "I activate one of my other facedowns, Spellsword's Greed. I shuffle my banished pile and take the top card off of it." One card shot out of his disk and into his hand. "Now I summon my Spellsword's Grand Master in attack mode!"

Spellsword's Grand Master - 1800 ATK

"Now I equip him with the card I drew from my Banished pile, 'Ketisu - Flaming Blade of the Spellswords'!" In 'Grand Master's' left hand appeared a long katana with bright red flames along it. "When a monster is destroyed by a monster with Ketisu, it deals piercing damage. Now, Grand Master, Attack his facedown!"

Moros grinned as his facedown monster was revealed to be his Lady in Wight with its fearsome defense she easily blocked the attack with a wave of her hand, deflecting the flaming sword to the side. Now that his lady was face-up it fit right into his next turn.

Lady In Wight - 2200 DEF

"Well then, I end." Xavier said, lowering his arm slightly.

Turn 8: Moros
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 1 monster, 1 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 4000 LP, Cards: 1, 1 monster, 1 facedown, 3 set spell/trap, 1 equip spell

Moros carefully thought out his next move and eventually decided on what he saw as the simplest and most effective move. "I'll activate the spell card Dark World Dealings, allowing us both to draw, then discard 1 card."

Moros explained as he did so, his actions following his words. "Now that I discarded Mezuki to the graveyard, I'll activate his effect, banishing him to Special Summon my King of Skull Servants back to the field! His 3000 attack is more than enough to overwhelm your monster so I'll destroy it with Vengeful Rebuke!" Moros said as his monster appeared back on the field and simply pointed its bony finger at Xaiver's spellsword, bones flying forward in a deadly hail.

"I activate another one of my facedowns! 'Spellsword's Concealed Blade'! When an opponent's monster declares an attack, I can activate this trap and equip it to one 'Spellsword' monster I control. It gains 500 ATK and cant be destroyed for the rest of this turn." Xavier said, still holding on to the notion that he was winning.

Xaiver - 4000 -> 3200

Moros shurgged, no skin off his back, he still dealt 800 damage right? "Nice save, cant wait to see what you do next." He said excitedly. Now the duel was picking up, good, he wanted to make sure that it looked awesome for the duelist guy so he could get a job or an awesome custom deck or something.

Turn 9: Xaiver
Moros 4000 LP, Cards: 5, 2 monsters, 1 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 3200 LP, Cards: 2, 1 facedown, 1 monster, 2 set spell/trap, 1 equip spell, 1 equip trap

"I draw." said Xavier, pulling another card from his disk. "I activate the effect of Spellsword Channeler! I can discard her to place one Mana Counter on each Spellsword monster I control." A white aura began to surround Grand Master. "Then I activate Grand Masters effect, removing his Mana Counter to add any spell from my banished Pile to my hand. I choose Spellswords Grand Blade, boosting him by 1000!"

Spellsword Grand Master 2300 ATK ---> 3300 ATK

"Now, Grand Master, Attack his King!" Xavier cried triumphantly.

His king raised its hands futilely in defense as the overcharged spellsword charged forward slashing him into pieces, traces of power from the combat striking Moros slightly

Moros: 4000 -> 3700

Moros grinned as the pieces reformed back into a complete monster, "Thanks to my Lady In Wight's effect any level 3 or lower zombie monster's can't be destroyed in battle, and that in includes my King!"

"Now to end my turn I activate one of my facedowns, Spell Recollection. When a spell card is destroyed, it is banished instead. Then I activate my last facedown, which is also my field spell, Spellsword Arena, and end." Xavier said, flipping the 2 spells over.

Turn 10: Moros
Moros 3700 LP, Cards: 6, 2 monster, 1 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 3200 LP, Cards: 2, 1 facedown, 1 monster, 0 set spell/trap, 1 equip spell, 1 equip trap, 1 continuous Trap, 1 field spell

Moros drew his next card and viewed his hand, his next move was quite simple really. "Now I'll activate the spell card Foolish Burial sending Wightprince from my deck directly to the graveyard. As we both know because of his effect I can send a Lady in Wight and a Skull Servant to the grave with him." Moros announced as he sent the three cards to the graveyard and banished his spell card.

King Of Skull Servants: 3000 -> 6000

"Now that my King is all powered up I'll use him to destroy your grandmaster, make him bow before you with Undead Army!" The skeleton raised his hand calmly and the bones beneath him rose into figures and charged wildly at the well equipped grandmaster slashing and swinging.

Xaiver 3200 -> 500

"I activate my hand trap, Spellsword Savior. While I control 3 or less monsters, I can discard one Spellsword monster to negate the destruction of a Spellsword monster I control." Xavier discarded his second Apprentice with a look of anger. He had to draw right next turn or it would be over.

"Hm, I'll just set two more cards and turn it over to you."

Turn 11: Xaiver
Moros 3700 LP, Cards: 3, 2 monster, 3 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 500 LP, Cards: 1, 1 facedown, 1 monster, 0 set spell/trap, 1 equip spell, 1 equip trap, 1 continuous Trap, 1 field spell

"I draw!" Xavier smiled. This was exactly what he needed. "I summon my Phase A monster, Spellsword of Light! Now I control both phase A and Phase B monsters, I'm sure you see where I'm going. First I flip Spellsword of Warding into face up defense-" Xavier was cut off by Moros.

Moros grinned, it looked like one of the cards Cecile had gotten for him would come in handy after all. "Yeah I do see where this is going, so I'll activate the trap card Summon Limit! This prevents both players from summoning monster more than twice per turn, and since you've already normal summoned and flip summoned, you can't do any more summons this turn!" Moros said triumphantly

Xavier grunted, he couldn't even Overlay never mind Phase Shift. "Damn you're good, pass." Xavier said with a slight edge to his voice.

Turn 12: Moros
Moros 3700 LP, Cards: 4, 2 monster, 3 set spell/trap, 1 face up trap
Xaiver 500 LP, Cards: 0, 0 facedown, 3 monster, 0 set spell/trap, 1 equip spell, 1 equip trap, 1 continuous Trap, 1 field spell

Moros frowned briefly, well cursing should never be part of a duel, no matter which way it was going. He drew his next card and pondered his movements. He could end the duel now unless he was sorely mistaken, but he wasn't sure if this met the criteria for landing a job.

Even if he did want to stretch the duel out how would he fake it? There was just no plausible way that he could see making it any longer. Well he would just have to hope that the duel met expectations and finish it off, "King, end it." Moros said simply and his skeleton raised his arms one last time, conjuring a whirling sphere of destruction and hurled at the grandmaster. His disk glowed with a malicious light as the last of his opponent's LP faded.

Xavier 500 --> 0

Post duel

Xavier was sent flying back into the button that opened the arena by the force of the blast. He cried out from the pain of the metal guard digging into his back. He stood and the glass began to peel back, revealing the stands in a blinding glow that illuminated every inch of them. Xavier scanned the seats for the face of the Duelist that had encouraged the duel. "Huh?" he muttered as he realized that the man was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Moros called out, confused when he saw that they were alone. "Where'd he go!?" He looked slightly annoyed, how was he supposed to know how well he did if the judge wasn't here!

Xavier turned to Moros, "What kind of guy promises to watch a duel and leaves?!" The annoyance in his voice was more apparent than the despair in his final turn had been. He dashed up into the stands and out the door he had come in through. "Hey! Get ba-" Two large security guards stood nearby the door, one on each side.

"What were you doing in there?" one said, grabbing Xaviers arm.

Moros followed Xaiver, though somewhat more slowly. When the guard apprehended Xaiver he spoke up, "We were just dueling, your top duelist or whatever said we could and that if we make it good enough he would give us a job. Now where'd he go?" Moros asked the guard.

"Aiden left here a while ago, saying two kids might be in the building causing trouble. You seen em?" The guard said, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, never heard of em, now can we go?" Xavier pleaded, preparing to gnaw his arm off in case of emergency. The man let go of Xaviers arm and nodded, confirming that he was allowing them to leave. Xavier began to walk quickly around a corner, pulling Moros by the sleeve of his shirt. "You think Aiden was talking about us?" He asked just as they rounded the corner, angered at the man.

Moros pondered the question, "Well he could've I suppose. But why would he tell us to duel then leave? If he just wanted to sic the guards on us he could've sent them in there while we were dueling." Moros scratched his head confused. He didn't get this at all, but mostly he wanted to know whether he could get hired or not. "Maybe we can go down to the lobby and ask if we can see him?" Moros offered.

"Yeah, we can try that." Xavier agreed, nodding and looking around. "Do you remember how to get there? I didn't really pay attention when he brought me here..."

Moros shrugged, "I assumed you knew where the lobby was. I came here through some back door, but I don't know where anything else is."

Xavier examined the halls more closely, further down the one they were standing in he recognized a painting, then began to rush down the hall, calling back to Moros to follow him. After a few more corners and a flight of stairs, they were in the main lobby of Industrial Illusions.

Moros smiled, "Awesome." and walked up to the person at the front desk. "Hey, I was wondering if we could talk with Aiden? He said he was going to watch our duel and talk to us afterward but then he left early and we don't know where he is."

The receptionist lifted the phone next to her and dialed some sequence of numbers, but after a few seconds she turned and said, "I'm sorry, it seems like Aiden is out right now. Maybe if you come back later than he might be here to give you that information."

Xavier put his hand on his forehead, this whole situation was getting on his nerves. He looked at Moros and walked out the front door.

"Well alright, thank you lady." Moros said and turned to explain the situation to Xaiver but to his surprise Xaiver had already left. "Aw, I didn't even get to say good game." Moros said under his breath disappointed. Guess he would just look for some more people to duel. How many wins did he need for this tournament anyway?

TLDR

Back and forth for a bit but KOSS's overwhelming attack and Lady in Wight's effect won the game. Also they got ditched. Rude.

[Scarifar]

A man who delves too deep

Joshua walked through town, towards the Industrial Illusion branch that helped out around this area. Something about this tournament was off. Though he didn't know what, something in his gut told him it was, especially given the inccident in the warehouse before Phase Shift came out. How could a summoning method exist before it was released? Well, testing, of course, but the cards wouldn't be able to be taken out of Industrial Illusions. Then leaks and other things the company might want to avoid would occur.

Sighing, he looked at the building in front of him, trying to figure out how best to approach this problem. Thinking about it, maybe asking a few questions would be the best place to start really. Walking into the building and looking around the lobby, he spotted a receptionist and approached her.

"Excuse me ma'am, who is in charge of this building?" he asked.

The receptionist was absentmindedly typing on a keyboard, inputting various pieces of information into certain areas, when a man came over to ask something. "Well, sir, the President of this branch of Industrial Illusions is Mr. Baubles," she replied. "May I ask who you are, sir?"

"No one special, but I do have a question for the president: Why was Phase Shift summoning announced after it's release and not on the day of it?" Joshua said, deciding on a direct approach. Stir up the nest enough and some bees were bound to come.

The receptionist was confused at the point. This conversation was taking a rather odd direction, and she was not trained to deal with it. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you are talking about, sir," the receptionist said. "However, I can pass along your message to the President the next time he becomes available." At this point, though, the electronic lock on the front door engaged, unknown to both Joshua and the receptionist. The elevator numbers above the elevator door also showed the elevator going down.

"You do that. I'm sure he'll find me if he needs or wants to." Joshua said, going to leave. He tried to open the door, only to find it locked. Chuckling to himself, he turned around and looked at the elevator coming down. "Now, did I catch the queen bee or a mere worker bee I wonder."

A dinging noise sounded as the elevator reached the lobby floor, and the elevator door opened, revealing a man with a rather well-made suit. "Sir, I think you have an appointment with me, do you not?" the man asked. The receptionist looked up, surprised to see all this going on. "M-Mr. Baubles! What are you-" the receptionist tried to say before being interrupted. "Now, now, Ms. Liu, this man is a very important person, and I'd hate to see him leave so soon, and before even coming to greet me," Mr. Baubles said. The receptionist hesitated for a second, then said, "Y-yes, Mr. Baubles."

Mr. Baubles then gestured to Joshua and asked, "Now then, why don't you come to my office? We have some important things to discuss." He had been holding the elevator doors open the entire time, waiting for Joshua to come through.

"Queen bee it is," Joshua said, moving forward and into the elevator. He would wait until the President got in and the doors were closed before speaking again. "So... Mr. Baubles, seriously? How much random stuff do you collect to get that name?"

Going back into the elevator, Mr. Baubles pushed the button for his floor and waited for the elevator to take them to his office. As classical elevator music played, Mr. Baubles extended a hand for a handshake and introduced himself, "Let's get the formalities out of the way. I'm sure you know already, but my name is Mr. Baubles. Don't make fun of the name or I will make you regret it." All of which was said with a smile.on his face.

"Too late, already did." Joshua pointed out before thinking things over. "Name's Joshua, but beyond that, I'll only say if things turn out for better or for worse. Now, formalities are out of the way, correct? Then I suppose we can get to business before or after we're out of this elevator. Which would you prefer, as you are the one in charge here."

"Let's get into my office first before we get to business," Mr. Baubles said, his smile now slightly strained.

"If you stress out too badly, you'll likely ruin your face." Joshua said, noticing the force behind the smile.

"Believe me, you don't want to make an enemy out of me," Mr. Baubles said, his tone of voice making it clear he wouldn't stand for any more. "Now then, I believe we're here," Mr. Baubles said as the elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing his office. In many places there was a tv screen, most of which were off, of course. On his desk were a few electronic gadgets, most of which were phones and tablets. "Now then, business," Mr. Baubles said as he walked over to his desk. "What problems are you having regarding my lovely Phase Shift Summoning method?"

"I don't. I just question why you're lying about when it came out. I seem to remember see two duelist using them a few days ago while dueling. Maybe you will know the cards. One deck was demons based off the Seven Sins. The other deck was Azure Flames. I assume your company made these cards?" Joshua said, relaxing in a chair on the opposite side of Mr. Baubles' desk.

"Those were the first prototypes for Phase Shift Summoning," Mr. Baubles said, thinking quickly. "They were supposed to be used for testing purposes and nothing more. Would you be so kind as to explain how you heard about them? I was sure they were supposed to be airtight secrets, and I'll reprimand whoever was foolish enough to leak them out to the public."

"Well, judging by the looks of things, it looked like a kidnapping scenario. I suppose you were shooting a movie as well?" Joshua asked, crossing his arms.

"A kidnapping?" Mr. Baubles said, his feelings of confusion and surprise genuine this time. "This is the first time I've heard of it. To think, our prototypes being used for such purposes..." Mr. Baubles was silent for a moment, then continued, "Were any names mentioned? Maybe an appearance? Something to help pinpoint whoever it was that caused this stain on Industrial Illusions."

"What makes you think I'll tell you?" Joshua asked.

"Seeing as we're on the subject, why wouldn't you tell me?" Mr. Baubles asked back.

"Same reason you won't tell me the whole story. Niether of us trust one another," Joshua said.

"To be fair, you're not exactly someone of great importance, now are you?" Mr. Baubles said. "I can't just explain all these company secrets to a complete stranger. Heck, I may have already said too much about the prototypes already."

"And if I said I think that those weren't prototypes, I assume your response would be that I'm wrong?" Joshua said.

"Of course," Mr. Baubles. "Where would you even get that ridiculous idea?"

"How about I ask you something in response: How long has Phase Shift been under development then? Surely that fact won't hurt t tell since it's officially out now." Joshua said, resting his chin on a hand.

"A couple years," Mr. Baubles said, waving his hand dismissively. "The idea just came to me, and I thought, why not make this idea a reality? And then, here we are."

"Then I'm sure you remember the first monster you came up with. It's name, effects, type, attribute, and stats. Care to fill me in?" Joshua asked.

Mr. Baubles' eyes shifted up and to the left, then returned to Joshua and he said, "Well, th-the first monster was... Well, I-I wasn't d-directly involved with that. I was too busy dealing with... o-other matters. You know, financial ones."

"Oh, but it was your idea right? To ensure your vision came across just fine, you had to be involved. Or, if what you said was the case, they would've brought the first cards to you to make sure they matched your vision." Joshua said. "So, care to try again?"

Mr. Baubles looked away again, realizing he was caught. He began to sweat nervously, frantically thinking about how to save his reputation, and more importantly, his career. Before he could come up with something, though, a voice behind Joshua said, "Allow me to explain." Behind Joshua was a figure wearing a simple brown robe, with a hood that prevented people from seeing much of his face. "Please forgive Mr. Baubles. I asked to keep this matter secret, but it seems you have began to know a little too much."

"No, I'm just not an idiot like the others. Not to mention I've seen my share of trouble." Joshua said, standing up and turning to face the new figure while also making sure he could keep an eye on Mr. Baubles. This new stranger gave off a bad vibe and he didn't like it. "So, Cult Man, care to explain what's going on here? Or do I have to do something to earn that information?"

Ignoring the jab at his outfit, the man merely shifted his gaze and asked, "You are a Duelist, are you not? For someone like you, there is only one way to convince you that what I say is true." The man then flung his left arm out, revealing the equipped Duel Disk. "With a Duel. Simple terms. Win, and I tell you everything. Lose, and you leave without complaint."

Joshua smiled.
"Sounds good enough to me." He said, raising his duel disk. He reached for his Gem-Knight deck when his disk's silver outlines emited pale, bluish flames. He looked at it for a bit before smiling. "Guess their hungry. Alright, the Knights have played enough. Time for some real fun."

He reached for his Infernoid deck and put it in, the deck becoming surrounded in pale flames as well.

Mr. Baubles, who had his head down in worry throughout this entire exchange, then raised his head and interjected, "Not in here! We have facilities for such things!" Walking past Joshua, he grabbed the robed man's shoulder and led him to the elevator, speaking to him in a hushed tone, "You better convince him to leave without spilling our secrets, or else my aid to you is cut off." Opening the elevator, he held the door open and turned back to Joshua, saying, "Get in here. Get this Duel out of the way, then get out of my sight."

"You seem certain that I'll lose this." Joshua said, walking into the elevator and waiting for them to arrive at their arena.

The trip was silent, perhaps uncomfortably so, but it was a short trip. With a ding, the doors opened, revealing a room with plenty of machinery, and in the center was a large Dueling ring.

Once they arrived, Joshua exited the elevator and walked to the otherside before turning around and facing his opponent, his duel disk activating, summoning a disk made of the same flames coming from the device.

"Come on then. Step into the Void." He said.