Hello everyone and welcome to Shadowchasers: The Big Easy.
As I'm sure you're aware, this is my attempt at duplicating the hit that was (is?) Cyber Commander's Shadowchasers fanfiction. It's also my first story on this site. So maybe I'm a little ambitious, but what can I say? This just seems like a fun fanfiction to write, especially with Cyber Commander encouraging people to write their own Shadowchasers stories. If the title didn't give it away, this is set in the city of New Orleans. I'm not from New Orleans, so I'll try my best to not mess up any of the geography. However, since this is taking place in the 5D's-era future, I'm at liberty to invent certain things as I see fit.
Let's take care of a few things first. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh GX or Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's in any way, shape or form. Due to the nature of one character's deck, this fic will use the Field Spell Speed World 2 when a Riding Duel takes place.
Speed World 2
If you activate a non-"Speed Spell" Spell Card, take 2000 damage. During each player's Standby Phase, place 1 Speed Counter on this card (max. 12). You can remove any number of Speed Counters from this card to activate 1 of the following effects:
● 4: Inflict 800 damage to your opponent for each "Speed Spell" card in your hand.
● 7: Draw 1 card.
● 10: Destroy 1 card on the field.
Due to Cyber Commander's guidelines, I can tell you that I will attempt to avoid a situation where a player has 800 Lifepoints or less and could be defeated if an opponent draws a Speed Spell. This fic will obviously use 5D's rules, that is, Speed Counters are required to play Spells if you're dueling on a motorcycle. Synchro Summons will figure prominently in this fic as well. I will not set rules on the names of cards that I use, choosing to use the OCG names for some and the TCG names for others. I will, however, mostly use TCG names simply because that's what most people will recognize. I will also not set rules on what banlist I will be using, however, you can rest assured that characters will not run Monster Reborn and the like, nor will they use multiple copies of clearly overpowered cards. I may create cards now and then as I see fit, and I will use anime-only cards, but the same rules will apply as for banlisted cards: They won't be ridiculously overpowered.
There isn't much else I can think of at the moment, but if something comes up, I'll be sure to notify you. Therefore, without further ado, let's get on with the story.
Chapter One
000000
Night Assailant
000000
They call New Orleans the Big Easy, though as someone who's lived here his whole life, I can tell you, life in any place but Uptown is anything but. I've seen more tragedy than you can shake a stick at. Hurricane Katrina may be a distant memory and a lesson in history textbooks, but you can't argue that it didn't leave a lasting impact on New Orleans.
A year before I had the job I have now, my best friend was brutally murdered by the police for a crime he didn't commit. Nothing unusual, you say? Well, my best friend was a gnome. No, not the little man in a hat that you see on suburban lawns, but a short, wild-haired, green-skinned humanoid who loved to tinker with things. He actually built me my first D-Wheel from junkyard parts, and some police just looking for a target caught him scrounging parts for what he wanted to turn into a franchise: a sentient machine whose primary function was to play the most amazing practical jokes you could think of. But those are gnomes for you, fun-loving pranksters.
Needless to say, the police didn't know he was a gnome or they wouldn't have bothered him. You see, gnomes are what are known as Shadows, mythical creatures that appear as ordinary humans or are discounted by ordinary humans. The human brain constantly seeks a logical explanation for everything, so a frost giant smashing a building becomes a crazy construction worker with a crane. But I'm different. I grew up around Shadows and recognized them for what they were, making me an Aware. So now I'm part of a group of people like me whose role is to monitor and regulate Shadow-human interaction.
I am Adrian Belton, Shadowchaser, and today I have to deal with a real Shadow criminal, and he's a repeat offender.
A lone D-Wheel sped down the darkened streets of New Orleans' Ninth Ward. The rider, a young African-American male, was out on patrol, something that was needed in the crime-ridden Ninth Ward. This night, however, appeared to be fairly quiet, until another D-Wheel sped out from a side street and nearly collided with the patrolling D-Wheel. Adrian (for that was the patroller's name) swerved aside at the last moment and was about to make a rude comment about the other's driving skills, until he took a close look at who was driving. The driver was a tiefling, a human with a demon in their family tree. Adrian recognized this particular tiefling as Ignatius Faust, easily distinguished by his curved rams' horns on his forehead and his flaming orange eyes. To an ordinary human, he would have looked like a typical Western European with a constant sneer on his face. Ignatius prided himself on the tight spirals his horns made, and often thought of himself as a demon, though he had a human mother. He was a fence, and had been behind bars twice before for peddling stolen goods.
"Stop right there, Ignatius!" Adrian hollered. "I thought I recognized you from our last briefing..."
"Hellfire!" exclaimed the tiefling. "You're a Shadowchaser, just the kind of people I need off my back right now. Listen, cut me a break, I just got out a week ago. I don't need to be going back there just yet."
"Hmph," Adrian muttered. "I'm afraid I can't do that, brother. John told me you'd be out soon and he also told me your habits. You're never this reckless unless you've got stolen goods on you."
"Well there ain't much you've got to go on there, Shadowchaser," Ignatius said derisively. "You don't have any evidence."
"On the contrary, sucker," Adrian replied. "My radio's tuned to the police scanner, and I just got word of a break-in at their confiscated goods depot. You're getting sloppy in your old age, Faust, or do you just want to be caught? Now, you can save yourself a beating by coming with me quietly, or you can take your chances with the police. Trust me, Shadowchaser HQ is a lot friendlier than your local jail."
For an answer, the tiefling rammed his brass-colored chopper into Adrian's Yamaha, and attempted to pull away.
"You know, I didn't want to have to do this," Adrian sighed. He punched a button on his D-Wheel's console and an image of Spell Card with an elongated picture of a highway streaking towards a bright light came up.
"Speed World 2, set, on!" proclaimed a computerized voice.
"So that's how it's going to be, Shadowchaser," said Ignatius. "I should warn you, I'm something of a pro when it comes to Riding Duels."
"I'll believe it when I see it," replied Adrian. "Now, let's get this show on the road!"
"Riding Duel... Acceleration!" they shouted in unison as they drew their hands and the duel began.
(Adrian: 8,000 SPC: 0)-(Ignatius: 8,000 SPC: 0)
"Let the pursued have the honor of the first move!" Ignatius shouted. "I draw! And I think I'll start things off with XX-Saber Emmersblade (1,300/800) in Attack Mode!"
In a flash of light, a four-winged, armored insect appeared, carrying a pair of green sabers.
"And I think I'll end things with a facedown." He slipped the card into his Disk and a Set card appeared for a moment and vanished from sight, its presence indicated only by Adrian's display.
"Fine then. It's my move!" exclaimed Adrian as he drew and Speed World 2's effect raised each player's Speed Counters by one and their D-Wheels picked up speed.
Hmm. Those X-Sabers are pretty rare cards. I doubt an ex-con could have gotten those fresh outta jail, Adrian thought. I have a pretty good idea of what he took from the depot.
He looked over his cards and threw one on his disk. "I summon my Blade Knight (1,600/1,000) in Attack Mode!"
A man carrying a curved sword and a kite shield leapt onto the field and struck a heroic pose.
"Go, Blade Knight! Attack his Emmersblade!" Adrian shouted.
The swordsman dashed over to the insect and made a swift slash, showering Ignatius with the glowing shards of his monster.
"Ughh!" grunted Ignatius. "I activate my Emmersblade's effect! Now I can summon a Level 4 or below X-Saber from my deck, and I choose X-Saber Uruz (1,600/1,000)!"
A warrior with a bestial red mask and girded in red armor materialized, carrying two jagged short swords.
"I'll set a card, same as you," Adrian said. "Back to you, perp."
(A: 8,000 SPC: 1)-(I: 7,700 SPC: 1)
"Hey, I resent that!" Ignatius exclaimed, hurt. "You don't have anything on me yet! But that won't matter, once I defeat you!"
He drew a card and both duelists' Speed Counters became two. "I summon the Tuner Monster, X-Saber Airbellum (1,600/400)!"
An armored lion-man with steel three-clawed gauntlets appeared and roared its defiance at Adrian.
"And now, I'll tune my Level 4 X-Saber Urz with my Level 3 X-Saber Urbellum!"
A Synchro Summon, thought Adrian. This could get ugly.
Airbellum burst into three stars, which turned into three green rings through which Uruz passed through and dissolved into four stars. A burst of light enveloped both the rings and the stars and a man with a bull-horned helmet and two massive swords strapped to his back emerged.
"Synchro Summon! The Level 7 monster, X-Saber Urbellum (2,200/1,300)! And now, my trap! One Seriousness, activate!"
Ignatius' facedown flipped up, and Urbellum's two swords were replaced by a glowing energy blade (2,200/1,300 + 800/0).
"Not only does this card give Urbellum 800 extra points, but whenever he destroys a monster, I get to draw a card!" Ignatius said. "Now, Urbellum, strike down his Blade Knight!"
Urbellum made two strikes, disarming Blade Knight and then running him through. Adrian's D-Wheel swerved as he took 1,400 points of damage.
"Now, when Urbellum damages you and you have four or more cards in your hand, one of them randomly goes to the top of your deck," Ignatius said.
Adrian did so.
"Now, One Seriousness' effect activates and I can draw a card," said Ignatius and added a card to his hand. "I'll set one card and leave it at that."
(A: 6,600 SPC: 2)-(I: 7,700 SPC: 2)
Adrian drew the card he had placed on the top of his deck and saw his and Ignatius' Speed Counters rise to three.
Not much here, he thought. Maybe a fresh hand will make a difference.
"I'll set two cards facedown and throw a monster in defense mode," he said as his cards appeared before him. "Turn end."
Ignatius drew and their Speed counters clicked up to four each.
"All right, it's time to get a little payback. Now I'm the one in control," Ignatius gloated as he took a card from his hand and placed it on his disk. "I'll summon X-Saber Anabelera (1,800/1,100) and have her take down your facedown monster," Ignatius said as a blond woman with a metallic whip emerged from a portal and slashed at his Set monster.
It flipped up to reveal a cackling jar that shattered under her attack.
"Hellfire, a Morphing Jar!" Ignatius shouted angrily.
"That's right," replied Adrian. "And you know what that means, we gotta ditch our hands and pick up five new cards."
Adrian discarded his one, while Ignatius had to get rid of four. They each drew five cards from their deck.
"Hold on, kid, because this is going to hurt! Urbellum, attack him directly!" Ignatius shouted, with a maniacal grin on his face.
"I thought you said you were good at this, Ignatius," chuckled Adrian. "If you were, you would have noticed my three facedowns. I activate the Trap, Defense Draw! Now all that damage is negated and I get to draw a card."
Adrian parried Urbellum's blow with his own standard-issue Shadowchaser sword, and then made a draw. The tiefling only growled in response and waved his hand to signal the end of his turn.
Adrian drew a card. "From my hand, I activate the Speed Spell - Angel Baton! Now I can draw two cards and send one to my Graveyard!" Adrian looked over his cards and slipped one into his Disk. "Now I reveal my facedown, Limit Reverse! This Special Summons the monster I just discarded!" Limit Reverse glowed, and Comrade Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200)appeared.
"With him on the field, all my Warriors get a 400-point power boost!" Adrian explained. "Now I'll Summon my Trident Warrior (1,800/1,200 +400/0)! And by summoning him, I get to call a Level 3 monster to the field, like my Gauntlet Warrior (400/1,600 +400/0)!"
A muscular, caped man holding a trident leapt out of a portal and made a gesture, and a warrior with an oversized red shield attached to his right hand appeared and crouched in defense.
"Even if you attack Urbellum with Trident Warrior, it'll still be a draw! And none of of your other monsters can beat Anabelera," protested Ignatius.
"In case you didn't know, my swordsman is also a Tuner," said Adrian. "I tune my Level 4 Trident Warrior with my Level 3 Comrade Swordman!"
Crackling with energy, you appear... Punish evildoers with the power of the storm! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Lightning Warrior (2,400/1,200)!
A masked man with wild blonde hair wearing silver armor and a torn red cape appeared, electricity emanating from his body and leaping between his body and the ground.
"How do you like my ace monster, Ignatius?" Adrian asked. "It's not strong enough to defeat your X-Saber right now, but let's let my facedown take care of that. Go, Dust Tornado! Destroy his One Seriousness!"
A gust of wind burst from Adrian's Trap and shattered Urbellum's sword (-800/0).
"Now my Lightning Warrior can take down Urbellum," Adrian said. "Lightning Warrior, attack Urbellum with Lightning Punisher!"
The masked warrior slugged Urbellum, and he groaned and shattered.
"Now you get hit with my monster's effect!" Adrian shouted. "You lose 300 points for each card in your hand whenever he destroys a monster, and thanks to my Morphing Jar, that's 5 cards! Go, Lightning Ray!"
The tiefling screamed as lightning blasted from Lightning Warrior's hand and struck him for 1,500 points of damage. His D-Wheel spun briefly before he righted it.
"Well, that gave me a bit of a tingle," Ignatius said calmly. "But it'll take more than that to finish me off."
"I'll set one card and end my turn," Adrian said.
(A:6,600 SPC:4-I: 6,000 SPC: 4)
Ignatius drew a card, as each player's Speed counters increased. Next, he hit a button on his Disk and activated his set card.
"Here's where my comeback begins! I activate Gottoms' Emergency Call! So I get a couple of X-Sabers back from the grave, and I choose X-Saber Uruz (1,600/1,000) and X-Saber Urbellum (2,200/1,300)!
Two familiar faces appeared: the bull-masked warrior with two swords and the red-armored swordsman.
"Then, I'll Summon X-Saber Palomuro (200/300) from my hand," Ignatius said as a reptilian swordsman appeared.
"Did I mention that Palomuro is a Tuner?" Ignatius mocked. "I'm tuning my Level 4 Uruz with my Level 1 Palomuro to Synchro Summon... X-Saber Wayne!"
A cowboy wielding what could only be described as a pistol with a knife attached to the end of it appeared, firing several shots in anticipation.
"Now I'll activate Wayne's effect," said Ignatius. "When he's Summoned, I get to call out a Warrior from my hand and I choose my X-Saber Axel (400/100)!
A man with a jagged sword stepped out of a portal and crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive position.
"Next comes my Speed Spell - Rapid Shotwing! This gives a monster 100 extra points for each of my Speed Counters, and my Wayne looks like he needs some extra punch!"
A pair of mechanical wings affixed themselves to X-Saber Wayne and raised his ATK to 2,600.
"Wayne, destroy his Lightning Warrior!" Ignatius commanded. The cowboy spiraled high above Lightning Warrior and rained down shots on him.
"Looks like you forgot about my Gauntlet Warrior's effect," Adrian said smugly. "I can sacrifice him to raise my Warrior's attack by 500 for one battle! And that's all he's gonna need."
Gauntlet Warrior dissolved into a bolt of energy that surged into Lightning Warrior's body. (+500/0) Lightning Warrior dodged the bullets and exploded upward, and with a charged fist, smashed X-Saber Wayne into thousands of glowing shards. Then, he blasted Ignatius with lightning, inflicting 1,200 more points of damage.
Ignatius grunted. "I activate the effect of Axel. When an X-Saber is destroyed, I get to draw a card. I'll also switch Anabelera to defense mode and set a card. Turn end."
(A: 6,600 SPC:5-I: 4,500 SPC: 5)
Adrian drew and each duelist's Speed Counters rose to six and their speed picked up.
"I summon Exiled Force (1,000/1,000)," Adrian said, as a motley group of warriors appeared. "Now I'll use its ability and sacrifice it to destroy Urbellum!"
The warriors leapt at Urbellum and pounded him into submission, but not before he took several of them with him.
"I'll remind you that Axel's effect means I get to make another draw," Ignatius said.
I've got to stop his draw engine... Adrian thought. But right now, it's not that much of a threat, so I'll let it go.
"I activate the effect of Speed World 2, by removing four Speed Counters, I can hit you with 800 points of damage for each Speed Spell in my hand, and I have 2!" Adrian cried as he dropped behind and a bolt of energy erupted from his D-Wheel, striking Ignatius.
"Now I think I'll play them both! First my Overboost will give me back all the counters I just lost, then Shift Down will let me remove them all to draw 2 cards," Adrian explained as he picked up two new cards from his deck. "Go, Lightning Warrior! Destroy his Anabelera!"
"Ha! For a Shadowchaser, you're not that smart," Ignatius crowed. "I play my Trap, Raigeki Break! By discarding a card, I can destroy another, like your Lightning Warrior."
He slipped a card into his discard slot and a bolt of fire shot at Lightning Warrior, only to be stopped by a glowing dome that in turn caused his Raigeki Break to shatter.
"A Destruction Jammer? I guess you're not as dumb as I thought, Shadowchaser," muttered Ignatius.
Lightning Warrior then proceeded to cleave Anabelera in half and blast Ignatius with another 900 points of damage. Ignatius glared at Adrian as he drew another card per Axel's effect.
"I'm getting a little tired of that monster's effect, so I'll bring back my friend Palomuro to help by paying 500 points, since you destroyed one of my X-Sabers," Ignatius snarled.
"I'll set three cards and leave it at that. And during the End Phase, due to Overboost, my Speed Counters become one. But that's an improvement, so I'm not concerned. Back to you," Adrian said as three set cards appeared briefly and disappeared.
(A:6,600 SPC: 1-I: 1,500 SPC: 6)
Ignatius made a draw and saw his Speed Counters rise to seven and Adrian's to two.
Hellfire... he thought as he reviewed his hand. I'm going to have to gamble on Speed World 2's effect. Here goes nothing...
"I activate Speed World 2's effect! By removing seven Speed Counters, I can draw a card." He made a draw and grinned. "Meet my XX-Saber Boggart Knight (1,900/1,000)! And with his effect, I can bring out XX-Saber Darksoul (100/100)as well!"
A fiendish-looking man in spiky armor carrying an energy cutlass sprang onto the field, accompanied by a hooded man carrying a wicked scythe.
"I'll tune my Level 4 Boggart Knight, my Level 3 Darksoul, and my Level 1 Axel with my Level 1 Palomuro to Synchro Summon my ultimate fighter... Strike him down, XX-Saber Gottoms (3,100/2,600)!"
An enormous armored man in a red cape wielding a gargantuan sword came forth and swung his sword menacingly.
"Destroy his Lightning Warrior!" Ignatius commanded, and Gottoms surged forward and cut down Lightning Warrior. "I'll throw a card facedown and activate the effect of XX-Saber Darksoul. Since he went to the Graveyard, I can grab an X-Saber from my deck." He added a card to his hand. "I end my turn."
(A: 5,900 SPC: 2-I:1,500 SPC: 0)
Adrian made a draw and watched his Speed Counters go to three, while Ignatius' became one. "I end my turn."
"Nothing you can do, eh?" said Ignatius with a wicked grin. "There's a world of hurt in store for you. I draw!" The Speed Counters increased to four and two, respectively. "I summon XX-Saber Garsem (1,400/400)," Ignatius said as an armored gazelle wielding two swords appeared. "Now I'll activate it's effect, giving it 200 more points for each X-Saber I have, and I count two, so that's 400 more points. Garsem, Gottoms, attack him directly!"
The gazelle leapt forward and made two quick slashes, causing Adrian to cry out in pain. Gottoms followed it up with a massive strike from his blade.
Adrian grit his teeth and said, "I activate Damage Gate! Now I can summon a monster from my Graveyard with attack equal to or less than Gottoms' attack, and I choose Lightning Warrior."
A dark portal appeared, and Lightning Warrior stepped through it.
"Hmm... I'll throw another card facedown to reduce the damage I'll take through your monster's effect, and end my turn," said Ignatius.
(A: 1,000 SPC: 4)-(I: 1,500 SPC: 2)
Adrian drew. "Now phase two of my plan begins, as I summon Twin-Shield Defender (700/1,400) in attack mode. But he's only here so I can play this, my Speed Spell - High Speed Crash! By sending him to the Graveyard, I can destroy your first Set card!"
Ignatius frowned as his set Sakuretsu Armor shattered.
"Now, Lightning Warrior attacks Gottoms! Go, Lightning Punisher!" Adrian cried.
"What! This is suicidal! What are you planning, Shadowchaser?" Ignatius asked angrily.
Adrian's facedown Waboku flipped up and Lightning Warrior bounced off of Gottoms unharmed. Then, another Trap revealed itself, showing Gaia Knight, the Force of Earth breaking through some chains.
"I activate Synchro Ring! So, when my Synchro monster isn't able to destroy your monster in battle, it doubles its Attack and gives it another shot!" Adrian explained as Lightning Warrior roared with newfound power.
Lightning Warrior surged towards Gottoms and smashed him into shards with one swing of his powerful fist. Then, like so many times before, lightning blasted from his palm, inflicting 900 points of damage to Ignatius, dropping him to 0.
(A: 1,000)-(I:0)
Ignatius cursed as his D-Wheel hood blew open, steam burst from his engine, and his console flashed 'DEFEAT' at him. Adrian pulled to a stop beside him and grabbed his deck from the holder. He then pulled a small device from his pocket and a small beam of light ran over the cards.
Adrian smiled. "Just as I thought. These have been marked, like everything else the police confiscates. But you've got nothing to worry about, Faust. After doing a couple of stints for selling magical items, the time you'll get for this will seem like nothing. Unless that D-Wheel is stolen too."
Ignatius snorted. "Nope. This is my personal one, that I had in storage. And the evidence will prove me right."
"No doubt," said Adrian and lifted a small gemstone. A flash of light, and Ignatius winked out of existence. Adrian pocketed the gemstone and pulled a mobile phone. "Hello, New Orleans Police Department? I've apprehended a thief who took some goods from your Ninth Ward Depot. Who am I? ...Can you put Sergeant Harrison on? He'll vouch for me."
A new, gruff voice crackled into the phone. "Who is this?"
" 'Quan? This is Adrian. I got the thief that made the recent break-in at the depot. I'm at Banks and Dupree. Can you send a couple of guys down to get the goods? The perp's identity is sensitive, if you know what I mean."
Harrison grunted in acknowledgement. "Understood. I'll instruct my guys to pick up the stuff, and not worry about the thief. This isn't the first time, you know."
"Thanks, man," Adrian replied. "There aren't enough Awares on the force as it is. This guy could've been trouble if you'd tried to take him in."
"Well, thanks for handling it," Harrison said. "You take care of yourself, okay? Say hey to John for me when you get the chance."
"Will do," Adrian replied. "Catch you later, dude."
He ended the call, and after placing a wheel lock on the D-Wheel, mounted his Yamaha and sped off, wind whipping at his jacket.
Another day, another perp apprehended, thought Adrian. Seems a little repititive, but at least it beats working at the docks.
He relaxed his expression as he rode, finishing up the rest of his patrol.
Ignatius was a perfect example of the types of crooks we got as Shadowchasers. Thieves mostly, but the occasional arsonist or murderer. John likes to talk about the days when being a Shadowchaser meant both tenacity and diplomacy. In his day, apprehending the usually dangerous criminal was a breeze compared to patiently explaining to the police why exactly he couldn't release the perp to them. Now we've got people like 'Quan and others in NOPD that understand who we're dealing with. That's not to say being a Shadowchaser ain't challenging. It just comes with a different set of challenges now than it did back in the day. But John's still the best Shadowchaser around...
How's that for a first chapter? A little rough, yes, but we'll see a different kind of Shadowchaser, the mysterious John in our next chapter, "Neo Aqua Madoor".