1x01 - Going Gagaga for Gogogo!
Akio Eswara carelessly ripped the flier down from the noticeboard and examined it more closely. The only two friends he had to his name stood on either side of him, an eyebrow raised as he scratches his messy brown hair in confusion. Chouko Akimoto - the only girl Akio had ever gotten up the courage to talk to - sighed in exasperation. Her blonde curls fell down on either side of her face and she had to blow gently to knock a strand out of her eyes. On the other side of Akio stood Hikaru Endo. A wide teen in comparison to the slight Akio, he was the bulkiest member of the trio and often acted as a bodyguard for the smaller two.
"What is it?" Chouko asked with no real interest in her voice.
"Looks like -" began Hikaru.
"A DUELING CLUB!" Akio interrupted excitedly, fist pumping the air. "This is so cool!"
Almost every pair of eyes in that school hallway turned on Akio. The majority of the residents at Ketto High were used to Akio's loud and active personality but it still irked a handful of the students. However, Akio was always too hyperactive to care. So much so that it even bothered Chouko and Hikaru sometimes. But their friendship had existed for too many years for them to ask Akio to change.
"Another one? There's loads already," Chouko tutted.
"Yeah, I know!" Akio nodded. "But I might actually get into this one!"
That comment sparked laughter from both his friends. It was well-known that Akio wasn't the best at dueling, in fact he'd lost five consecutive duels that week, much to the sixteen-year-old's dismay.
"You gonna try out?" Hikaru asked gruffly.
Akio smiled. "Of course."
"Tryouts are tomorrow," Chouko observed. "Want us to come over tonight and help you work on your deck?"
"What makes you think my deck needs work?" Akio snapped with mock rage. "But, uh, yeah. That would be great."
"Well, we better get to class," Hikaru reminded the others. "See you tonight Akio. Your place, seven sharp."
"Bye!" Chouko chanted as she walked away with Hikaru in tow.
Akio took one last look at the flier before sliding his tiny orange backpack off his shoulders and stuffing the leaflet inside.
Akio's older sister Haruna made exaggerated chewing noises as he devoured the bowl of risotto his mother had prepared for him. It was six o'clock and the teen needed all of his energy up for when his friends would arrive in an hours time. Akio took no notice of his sister and mother's disgusted faces as he finished the meal and rushed upstairs to make some final alterations to his deck.
As promised, Hikaru and Chouko made their way to Akio's residence right on time. Too lazy to go downstairs and let his friends inside, the boy's mother answered the door with a look of glee on her face.
"Oh, Akio's friends! What a pleasant surprise. Hikaru, Chouko, can I offer you some leftover rice?" Asked the gentle elder.
"Good evening Mrs Eswara," Chouko greeted politely. "Akio invited Hikaru and I over to help work on his deck for club tryouts tomorrow!"
"Club tryouts?" Mrs Eswara replied, puzzled. "Akio informed me of no such thing."
"He only saw the flier today," Hikaru assured her while brushing his jet black hair across his forehead. "Also, I'll take a bowl of rice if that's alright!"
Ten minutes into the hour and the trio had already made themselves comfortable on Akio's bedroom floor. Cushions were spread out across the carpet and cards jumbled between the three of them. Hikaru enjoyed another spoonful of rice as he took in the familiar surroundings. Various posters of pro duelists were plastered across the walls, in particular above the single bed Akio slept in each night. On the bedside table was a mixture of items. A writing pad stuffed with lined paper that Akio presumably used to write down strategies and other dueling-related work, a pencil case full of equipment. However, the most noticeable objects were numerous photo frames encased with family photos. More specifically, photos of Akio's father, whom had disappeared several years ago, leaving no trace of his whereabouts. The search had not gone on long.
Akio rarely spoke of his father but his friends could often tell when the elderly man played on Akio's mind. They could see his thoughts play across his eyes. Despite the boy's loud personality, he did a good job of concealing his emotions. Chouko had pushed him to vent those emotions through dueling but it was difficult. However, she was convinced that her best friend would learn.
"This card is so powerful," Hikaru commented, examining Gagaga Magician. "You can make it any level you please. It's the perfect material for Xyz Summoning."
"Hey, you're right. I've never used it that way before!" Akio replied with a big grin.
"Are you serious?" Chouko pouted. "This card should be leading your deck to victory. Use it more often!"
"I will," Akio nodded, happy to see his friends assisting him. "Not to mention I have this card too."
"Gagaga Girl?" Hikaru gasped. "A combo with these two spellcasters can make almost any Xyz requiring two overlays!"
"She's pretty too," Chouko giggled.
The night continued in that fashion. Exchanging cards, discussing potential strategies, joking around with each other and the like. Eventually, it got late and darkness fell and it was time for Chouko and Hikaru to head home. But Akio stayed up late that night, play-testing hands and working out ways to combo his monsters. He looked over a few special cards his friends had donated to him with burning passion.
The next morning, Akio hurriedly dressed, gulped down breakfast and rushed out the door without a goodbye to Haruna or Mrs Eswara. He ran through the crowds that covered the city and made his way to school. With ease, he endured the first few lessons before the bell rang for lunch and he met up with Hikaru and Chouko before tryouts. The duo had decided that they would come along to support Akio. If he failed, he would most certainly need it.
The door to the art classroom swung open and the three friends wandered inside. The room was pitch black, much to their confusion. Suddenly, a spotlight shone down on them and an announcer spoke out from the void.
"Challenger, step forward," came the voice of an older male.
Akio did as told and the spotlight followed him. "I'm here to audition for your dueling club."
Suddenly,in a blinding flash of light, the darkness was gone and a group of four older students stood before him atop a crimson red stage. Curtains flapped behind them due to the breeze circulating the room from the open glass dome roof. Each of them had a confident smirk on their face. The first member, a tall teen in a beige jacket with spiky brunette hair, who appeared to be the leader and had an old-fashioned brown duel disk with stones jutting out in various areas. The second member was a girl with long wavy red hair. Akio could tell her confidence intimidated Chouko and sparked some feminine jealousy. A harmonica was attached to the back of her duel disk. The third member was another male. Short and skinny, he didn't appear to pose much of a threat. On the side of his duel disk was a miniature boom box which seemed oddly out of place. The fourth and final member was yet another male in a flapping blue coat with bleached hair and a slight look of arrogance on his face. His duel disk was rimmed with a fake blade, which couldn't be used as a weapon in any way. Their name tags read from left to right - Kenshin Marugo, Masami Obanata, Noboru Suzuki and Ryou Yoshida. Akio could tell it would be hard to keep track of them all.
"To earn your place at Bittersweet Dueling Club, you'll have to beat me, the leader," Kenshin said.
"Bittersweet?" Chouko queried. "What kind of name is that?"
"As in Bittersweet Symphony," Ryou answered. "Duh."
Noboru looked nervous and so didn't say a word. Masami on the other hand, remained silent because she didn't appear to care.
"You're on!" Akio said excitedly, putting on his Duel Gazer. "Let's duel!"
"Best of luck," Kenshin said with a smirk as he equipped his own Gazer.
Akio: 8000
Kenshin: 8000
"The challenger gets to choose who starts," Kenshin informed him, blocking out the cheers from Chouko and Hikaru.
"I'll begin then!" Akio said gratefully. "I summon Gagaga Magician in attack position!"
A purple portal appeared on the ground in front of Akio. Out of it rose a slim man wearing a navy blue costume. Brown shoulderpads spiked off from his suit and a tuft of silver hair shot out from beneath his hood and covered one of his eyes. Sparks of purple electricity surged around his body and a chain wrapped around his torso. (1500/1000)
"Now, because I already control a Gagaga monster, I can special summon Gagaga Clerk from my hand in defence position!" Akio announced.
Another portal appeared and out of it backflipped a young lady in a white coat and a black dress. Her long spiralling red hair was somewhat reminiscent of Masami. (400/800)
"Awesome move! It's only the first turn but Akio already has two monsters out on the field!" Hikaru said.
"It's a shame he can't attack," Chouko agreed.
"To finish, I'll set a card face-down in my spell and trap card zone," Akio ended his turn before swivelling around to his friends. "How cool was that!"
"Congratulations," Kenshin said. "You summoned two weak monsters with almost no support."
"Oh," Akio muttered. "He's kind of right."
"It's my turn now," Kenshin called out, drawing a card. "I start by activating Miracle Rupture! With this card, I can send one rock monster to the graveyard from my deck and then draw a card! That's not all. Next, I'll play Foolish Burial! With it, I can dump another monster from my deck to my graveyard."
"Why is he sending all these cards to the graveyard?" Hikaru wondered aloud.
"He's preparing for something," Chouko answered vaguely.
"Next, I summon Gogogo Giant in attack mode!" Kenshin exclaimed.
A tall brown robot descended from the sky and landed on the field with a thud. It towered over Gagaga Clerk and Gagaga Magician. (2000/0)
"Now it's effect activates and I can special summon the Gogogo Ghost I dumped with Foolish Burial from the graveyard in defence mode!" Kenshin continued. "Come on out my samurai!"
Suddenly, floating segments of red and gold armour floated down from above the duelists. The sectors were connected by a strange blue entity that inhabited them. It rose a sword above it's head, ready to strike. (1900/0)
"Then, my Ghost's effect activates. When it's special summoned, I can resurrect Gogogo Golem from my graveyard thanks to the Perforation of Miracles I played earlier!" Kenshin finished assembling his troops.
A round green bot with blue arms and legs fell with the same elegance that Gogogo Giant did. It crashed on to the floor of the classroom with a loud bang. (1800/1500)
"Now, with my three level four monsters I can construct the overlay network! Xyz Summon! Rise, Thunder Spark Dragon!" Kenshin ordered.
The three Gogogo monsters glowed brightly before combining into one light. From that light rose a blue dragon which sizzled with electricity. The three energies of the overlay materials orbited Kenshin's monster. (2400/2000)
"Oh jeez," Akio grumbled. "I'm so toast!"
"Hang in there Akio!" Chouko called.
"You can do it! We believe in you!" Hikaru assured his friend.
"I'm not so sure..." Akio sighed.
"I wouldn't be either," Kenshin howled. "I detach my three overlay units to destroy all of your monsters!"
"What?" Akio yelped as the three energies surrounding Thunder Spark Dragon evaporated and Gogogo Golem, Ghost and Giant were sent to the graveyard.
The dragon opened it's maw wide and prepared for a devastating explosion. A yellow beam collected itself inside the Xyz monster's mouth before shooting out towards Magician and Clerk.
"Not so fast! I activate my face-down card!" Akio roared. "Gagagaguard!"
"Quite the mouthful," Kenshin remarked.
"When I control two or more Gagaga monsters, I can make it so neither of them can be destroyed by battle or by card effects this turn!" Akio informed.
"Not bad at all," Kenshin smiled. "But that doesn't mean you can't take damage this turn."
Aiko gulped as the dragon prepared for an attack. Gagaga Magician looked back at it's owner, whose confidence was diminishing with every passing second. A beam of light hurtled towards the Magician, passing it and striking Akio in the chest.
Aiko: 7100
Kenshin: 8000
"I just realised," Chouko said as Akio recovered. "Akio could have used Gagaga Magician's effect to make it level two and performed an Xyz Summon."
"You're right!" Hikaru realized.
"I'm not through yet," Akio winced.
"I end my turn," Kenshin laughed.
"I draw! Perfect. I summon Gagaga Gardna in attack mode!" Akio placed a card down on his duel disk.
Yet another portal opened and slowly a larger boy wearing all black and goggles ascended on to the battlefield. His goggles slipped down his face and over his eyes as he readied the shield he was wielding. The shield was large with a red rim and a blue and yellow interior design. (1500/2000)
"Not bad. But not good enough," Kenshin commented complacently.
"Are you forgetting that I can perform Xyz Summons too?" Akio chuckled heartily.
"Alright!" Hikaru punched the air.
"I overlay Gagaga Gardna with Gagaga Magician to Xyz Summon Gagaga Cowboy!"
"I really hope he isn't making a mistake," Chouko shook her head as Akio's monsters began to glow.
"What do you mean?" Hikaru questioned as Akio's monsters combined.
"Magician and Gardna both have very useful effects that Akio has failed to make use of," Chouko explained. "Could come back to haunt him."
"Come on out, my Xyz monster!" Akio bellowed.
Out of the light, a cowboy dressed in brown with a tattered purple cape and dual-wield hand guns leapt forth on to the battlefield. The man fixed his askew cowboy hat and prepared for a shootout. (1500/2400)
"You gotta work on your maths dude. That thing has just over half my monster's attack points," Kenshin pointed out.
"For now," Akio said, his confidence returning. "When Gagaga Cowboy attacks, I can remove an overlay unit. Then, he gains one thousand attack points and the opponent's monster loses five hundred. Who's failing maths now?"
"Oh shoot," Kenshin growled as Akio switched Gagaga Clerk to attack mode.
"Cowboy, attack!" Akio commanded.
The Xyz monster pointed it's handguns at Thunder Spark Dragon and the ball of energy representing Gagaga Magician was sucked inside the barrels. Gagaga Cowboy pulled down on the trigger as the attack points of the battling monsters changed. (1500-2500/2400) (2400-1900/2000) The bullets collided with the dragon's face and it exploded upon impact. A resulting gust of wind almost knocked Kenshin off his feet.
Akio: 7100
Kenshin: 7400
"Now, Gagaga Clerk, finish our assault! Attack Kenshin directly!" Akio cried.
The lady span in to the air, whipping her pristine white coat around in circles. Eventually, she twirled right into Kenshin, causing a minor dent to his life points, before returning to Akio's side of the field.
Akio: 7100
Kenshin: 7000
"Aw yeah! Now Akio's in the lead!" Hikaru observed.
"But only barely. Don't get your hopes up," Chouko instructed. "The other members of Bittersweet don't seem phazed. Other than Noboru. He always looks scared."
"You've gotta stop being so negative," Hikaru grunted in response.
"I'm done," Akio said.
"Excellent," Kensin drew. "I activate Monster Reincarnation! I discard a card to bring Gogogo Giant to my hand. Now, I'll summon him!"
The same brown robot appeared, it's effect activating once more. (2000/0) Gogogo Ghost returned (1900/0), then Ghost resurrected Golem. (1800/1500) However, this time another effect activated and from the sky fell a clunky navy robot with glowing red eyes. (0/2200)
"With Reincarnation, I discarded Gogogo Gigas. When a Gogogo monster is special summoned, like with Giant or Ghost's effects, I can summon him too. The only cost being I can't do my battle phase this turn," Kenshin explained. "Now, I activate Gogogo Gofu!"
"What's that do?" Akio asked.
"If the only monsters you control are 'Gogogo' monsters, once per turn, each of those monsters cannot be destroyed by battle. While you control 2 or more 'Gogogo' monsters, you take no effect damage. If you control no 'Gogogo' monsters, destroy this card," Kenshin recited the effect. "I overlay my Gogogo Giant and Gogogo Ghost to Xyz Summon Number 106: Giant Hand!"
The rock-type and zombie-type shone brightly before merging to bring forth an enormous stone hand that encompassed most of the field. The ends of each finger opened up to reveal what appeared to be some kind of laser weapon. (2000/2000)
"He summoned four monsters in one turn." Hikaru said in shock. "Why didn't he Xyz summon again?"
"Since Gogogo Gigas prevents him from undergoing his battle phase this turn, I suppose he decided to wait until he can attack. But I can't be sure," Chouko answered. "Besides, he has Gogogo Gofu out. He wouldn't want his spell to be destroyed before he could use it."
"Your turn," Kenshin finished.
"Okay," Akio swallowed.
"Don't attack Giant Hand with Gagaga Cowboy!" Chouko shouted across the field. "His Xyz monster can negate the effect of one of your monsters! Your Cowboy won't be able to beat it!"
Akio looked back. "Thanks, pal. In that case, I'll use Gagagarevenge to ressurrect Gagaga Magician from the graveyard!"
Once again, the purple portal spiralled into existence and Gagaga Magician jumped up with enthusiasm. (1500/1000)
"Now I use Gagagawind to summon Gagaga Girl!" Akio announced.
An identical portal to Magician's opened up and instead a smaller female version bounded in to existence. (1000/800)
"He's finally gonna use that strategy we talked about!" Hikaru bellowed.
"No, he isn't," Kenshin snorted. "I use my Giant Hand's ability to negate Gagaga Magician's effect. Rendering that combo useless."
"Are you forgetting something? Gagagawind already increases Gagaga Girl's level to four," Akio laughed. "I can still construct the overlay network."
"Shoot," Kenshin growled as the overlays around Giant Hand evaporated.
"First, I'll use Gagagabolt to destroy Gogogo Gofu!" Akio said, activating a spell that caused a bolt of lightning to strike Kenshin's continuous card and destroy it. "Now, I overlay my Gagaga Magician and my Gagaga Girl to Xyz Summon Number 39: Utopia!"
The two spellcasters flashed purple before their spirits ascended and merged. From the purple flash that ensued, a warrior in gold and white armour appeared, slashing it's sword in preparation. It's mechanical wings closed as it glided elegantly on to the field. (2500/2000) Utopia's attack points then increased due to the effect of Gagagarevenge. (2500-2800/2000) As did Gagaga Cowboy's. (1500-1800/2400)
"Not to mention Gagaga Girl's effect activates! When she's in an Xyz Summon with another Gagaga, I can target one of your special summoned monsters and make it's ATK 0!" Akio snorted, pointing at Giant Hand. (2000-0/2000)
"Wow, what an awesome move!" Hikaru bellowed.
"Kenshin isn't down for the count yet," Chouko added. "Don't get overexcited."
Now, I'll summon my companion in dueling! Kurivolt!" Akio announced as a small black sphere with a red horn and bright yellow eyes poofed into existence. (300/200)
"What could that thing possible achieve?" Kenshin wondered aloud.
The spirit of Kurivolt appeared beside Akio. It winked, signalling for Akio to use it's effect. The teen grinned.
"What a fantastic idea! Thanks, partner!" Akio replied.
"Who is he talking to?" Hikaru asked from the sidelines.
"No idea," Chouko shook her head as she pondered the situation.
"I activate Kurivolt's effect!" Akio said, much to Kurivolt's joy. "I detach my two Xyz material from Number 39: Utopia to special summon two more Kurivolt from my deck!"
Utopia's overlay units energized Kurivolt. The young creature's lightning bolt-shaped horn glowed with intensity. Out of nowhere, two more Kurivolt materialised. Each one made a high-pitched squeal as it arrived in the arena.
"Now I can construct the overlay network once more. I combine my three Kurivolt to Xyz Summon Number 83: Galaxy Queen in defence mode!" Akio yelled, performing his second Xyz Summon of the turn, much to his friend's delight.
Masami, Ryou and Nobori simply shook their heads in despair as a tall woman with dark purple hair and a long, flowing blue dress materialised between Akio and Kenshin. Chouko and Hikaru cheered from behind their best friend and Kurivolt nuzzled Akio's neck. (500/500)
"By giving up one overlay unit, I can prevent my monster's being destroyed by battle until mynext turn and if a monster attacks a defence position monster, it inflicts damage equal to the different between my monster's attack points and your monster's defence points!" Akio explained. "Now, I'm aware of Gogogo Golem's effect to survive battle once per turn while it's in defence, so my Utopia will attack Gogogo Gigas instead!"
"Oh no!" Kenshin screamed as his rock monster was slashed in half by Utopia's sword and his life points decreased due to Galaxy Queen's ability.
Akio: 7100
Kenshin: 6400
"Now, Gagaga Cowboy, attack his Giant Hand!" Akio announced as his warrior surged forward, firing away.
"No!" Kenshin squealed as he was blasted into the air but landed safely on the curtains behind him.
Akio: 7100
Kenshin: 4600
"That's some major damage!" Hikaru punched the air happily.
"Even I have to admit, that was impressive," Chouko remarked with a smirk.
"During my main phase 2, I'll Chaos Xyz Change!" Akio exclaimed.
"What's that?" Hikaru demanded.
"I don't know," shrugged Chouko. "He never told us about that."
"Instead of leaving my Utopia vulnerable with no overlays, I'll construct the overlay network using Utopia to Xyz Summon Number C39: Utopia Ray!" Akio had never appeared so in control and powerful.
The white of Utopia's armour darkened to a gloomy black. It's wings expanded, also becoming dark. The upgraded Xyz monster descended, lowering itself through the open glass dome roof above them. (2500/2000)
"He's never dueled like this before," Hikaru commented.
"This must mean something to him," Chouko remarked.
"I'll switch Gagaga Clerk to defence position and my turn is over," Akio finalized.
"Time for a comeback," Kenshin mumbled, drawing a card from his deck.
"You're supposed to be our leader," Ryou grumbled from the sidelines, agitating Kenshin.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kenshin growled without turning to his teammates.
"You aren't exactly doing us proud," Masami slipped in. "Think of our image."
"What's wrong with your image? Akio's perfectly good!" Chouko roared.
"I-It's be-because Kenshin is l-losing so e-easily," Noborou stuttered. "It l-looks bad."
"So? It means you'd be lucky to have a duelist as good as Akio on your team!" Hikaru replied.
"Guys -" Akio interrupted.
"STOP!" Kenshin bellowed, silencing everyone in the room. "AKIO AND I ARE DUELING AND QUITE FRANKLY, YOU'RE ALL RUDE."
No one knew how to react.
"R-Right," Akio said under his breath.
"Now then, I believe it was my turn?" Kenshin motioned to his hand and Akio only nodded. "I activate a second Miracle Rupture, with it I dump Revival Golem to the graveyard and draw a card."
Out of the blue, a bulging black creature with bright yellow teeth ascended from the ground and kneeled in defense mode. (100/2100)
"What happened?" Akio inquired.
"When Revival Golem is sent from the deck to the graveyard from the deck, I can special summon it." Kenshin explained with a smile.
"That's an awesome card," Akio replied. "Now you have two level four monsters!"
"That's right, and I'll happily construct the overlay network when I summon another. Come on out, Dust Knight!" Kenshin continued.
A tough-looking warrior clad in shining iron armor materialised besides Revival Golem and Gogogo Golem. (1400/1200)
"Usually, when Dust Knight is flip summoned, I can send an earth attribute monster from my deck to the graveyard. But that won't be necessary," Kenshin grinned.
"Looks like he's finally back on track," Ryou noted.
"P-perhaps," Noborou nodded in agreement.
Masami and Chouko were too busy staring at one another to comment. The flaring battle that was going unnoticed by the others - Hikaru included - was distracting the two girls from the duel.
"That's not all. I activate Monster Reborn and I'll use it to ressurect my Number 106: Giant Hand!" Kenshin was far from done. This became apparent as the Xyz monster returned to the field. (2000/2000) "Now, I activate Rank-Up Magic - Barian's Force! I overlay my Giant Hand to Xyz summon it's upgraded version! Number C106: Lava Palm, Giant Hand Red!"
The large rock palm slowly turned red and cracks appeared where magma dribbled through. Akio stepped back in amazement and fear, mixing together to create a feeling of ambivalence. (2600/2000)
"My Barian spell also allows me to steal an Xyz Material from one of your monsters!" Kenshin cackled as Utopia detached from Utopia Ray and joined Lava Palm. "Now, I detach Utopia to activate Lava Palm's ability. It negates the effects of all other face-up cards. So your monsters are no longer protected by Galaxy Queen!"
"Oh no!" Akio kicked the floor.
"Now, I overlay my two Golems and my Dust Knight to Xyz Summon Recycle Rhinobot!" Kenshin declared.
The lights that emerged from the Xyz Materials became scrap metal with connected together to form a metallic rhino. (2700/2000)
"Oh shoot! That monster has the highest ATK on the field!" Akio gasped.
"This isn't good," Hikaru said, nudging Chouko.
"Oh!" Chouko giggled, snapping back to reality. "Yeah. Damn."
"Next, I'll detach all three of Rhinobot's Xyz Material to give Lava Palm 500 ATK for each!" By this point, Kenshin was ready to go in for the kill. (2600-4100/2000) "Recycle Rhinobot, destroy Gagaga Cowboy!"
The machine stampeded in to Akio's warrior, crushing it and causing Akio to have to place a firm hand on the wall to maintain his balance.
Akio: 6200
Kenshin: 4600
"Lava Palm, destroy Utopia Ray!" Kenshin ordered.
Fireballs appeared on the tips of each of the Chaos Xyz's fingers. Utopia Ray braced itself, as did Akio. The boy's monster was instantly decimated and he dropped to his knees in hopelessness.
Akio: 4600
Kenshin: 4600
/TO BE CONTINUED/
