In 2009, the game Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's Tag Force 4 was released.
Many years later, a story based on the game was created.
But the story could not live without the game. And the game could not breathe without a gamer.
When "he" failed, lost in the sea of his creation, all hell broke loose... and the plot, with its data corrupted, had no choice...
But to restart.
Chapter One - Fanning the Flames
"Nightmares again?" The wonderful blonde-haired woman that was Alexis asked, frowning on the monitor displayed in the room. "Jaden was right. You really are letting this change get to you. It's not too late, you know. If you want, I can still make the call to let you join me here in the States."
"No," Konami - our crimson-clad protagonist - replied. "It's not that I don't want to see you Alexis, but you've got your own life to live. You all do. I can't, won't... hold you back. I'm done being a burden. Besides," he added with a smile. "Who knows what Chazz would say if he knew I was spending time with you?"
"He'd say that it's a good thing he doesn't listen to senseless rumors, that's what!" Chazz's voice barked through the speakers as he entered the chatroom. "There's no way you two are hanging out. You're in different countries!"
Alexis exhaled slowly. As always, dealing with the Princeton heir was an exhausting task. "That's what we were just talking about, Chazz. Konami's still been having those strange dreams of his. I was hoping he'd fly over to the States so we could deal with them together."
"What?! No way! Red Hat's not going anywhere unless I can come too!" Chazz shouted, prompting both Alexis and Konami to wince in response.
"Jeez, dial it back a little, would ya? There's no need to be concerned." Konami said. "I already told Alexis that I don't want to be a burden. Besides, I'm pretty sure that somehow, we've discussed this before."
Chazz snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. Admit it. You're just too much of a slacker to bother buying a ticket, aren't you? You haven't changed at all since graduation... it's no wonder you didn't make it in the Pro Leagues."
"You know Chazz, that might've actually stung a little if you did anything other than dance around in an Ojama Yellow costume when you're up on stage." Konami replied. "Tell me, are you still 'Chazzin' it up?"
"That's enough you two!" Alexis hissed, silencing the two before they could really get going. "You shouldn't fight all the time, it's unbecoming."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Chazz drawled. "I only got on to see if any of you've spoken to Jaden recently anyway. That slacker still hasn't paid me back for booking him a flight to the Himalayas a few weeks ago!"
Konami rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you know how he is. He'll probably get back to you. You know, in another year or two."
A cough from Alexis broke their thoughts. "Erm, actually guys... Jaden isn't in the Himalayas. He's here. With me. In the States."
There was a moment of silence on Chazz's side. Konami took that moment to brace himself.
"SAY WHAT?!" Chazz roared a second later, shaking the very screen with the sound of his voice.
"He wanted to stop by and see how I was doing," Alexis shrugged. "Who was I to say no? Besides, I wanted to see how much stronger he's gotten."
"Knowing him, he's in a whole 'nother league than before." Konami sighed, ignoring the muttering coming through Chazz's mic. "Anyway, as much as I'd like to sit here and keep talking with you guys, I should really get going. I still have a lot to do today, and I'm not too sure, but I think the plot is calling. Later."
Alexis blinked in surprise at the sudden dismissal. She made as if to say something urgent into the cam but before she could speak-
Konami disconnected.
"Now then," he said, closing his laptop while rising from his chair. "How should we begin?"
Where else, but Downtown?
The area was a haven for the poor and less fortunate, for it was there and there alone that they were not judged for their status. Only the strength of their deck mattered, and it was for that very reason that Konami preferred it to the cold and calculating surroundings of Tops.
He'd toured the area often following his initial arrival to the city; so much so that he'd grown accustomed to the bustling crowds and overeager enthusiasts looking to make some Depii. Yes, the streets of downtown were close to becoming a second home for the young Duelist, and not without good reason.
Konami ceased his movements, and turned his head down a nearby alley just as a booming explosion echoed through the streets.
"Another day, another Duel." he said, moving toward the scene.
It was a common occurrence. Even with Sector Security's ban on unauthorized Duels, there was nothing like a good old game of Duel Monsters to unite the people of New Domino. Duel Monsters.
Of course, that wasn't to say that card games fixed everything...
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Yusei Fudo beats Jack Atlas in the local Fortune Cup! Daily Duel here! Catch the Daily Duel!"
"Oh, shut up girl. That was weeks ago! Hurry up and tell us something we don't know!"
With mad and often frustrated growls, many impatient passersby brushed past the woman, knocking her to the ground on their way to the local Duels. Konami watched it happen with a weary, if not decisive gaze. Really, some people were just beyond help.
That didn't mean it was nice to leave them hanging.
"Carly," Konami greeted, offering the young woman a helping hand. "Still selling papers, I see."
"Trying," the girl corrected, taking Konami's hand so he could pull her back to her feet. She sighed. "I don't know why my boss even bothers. He has to know that no one bothers buying newspapers anymore! Not when they have the website and television channels just waiting to be pulled up on their PDAs!"
As you might have guessed, Carly was a reporter for New Domino City's main news station, the Daily Duel. Konami had met her during his first day in New Domino; back when he'd suffered an encounter with the dreaded 'Black Rose Witch.'
The two of them hit it off easily enough, what with both of them denounced by the crimson-haired witch and all. Konami had been laid into for picking up cards, and Carly? Well, the Arcadia Movement never did care for nosy people. After the Witch blew them off they'd struck up and easy friendship, but the lack of a story eventually did Carly in. From what Konami could tell, she'd been demoted to full-time newspaper duty - something he wouldn't wish on even his worst enemy.
Lookin' at you, Kojima.
"Well," he said finally, realizing Carly was waiting for a response, "keep hanging in there, okay? It might not seem like it, but this crap post you're on has some upsides." Carly gave Konami a blank stare at that, and Konami couldn't help it, he laughed. "No, I'm serious. I mean, think about it. You're on the street all day, every day. Where better to find a story to get you back in your boss's good graces, eh?"
Carly frowned. "I wouldn't have to get into his good graces if I hadn't fudged the Arcadia Movement interview!"
"There was nothing you could do," Konami told her. "So stop beating yourself up about it and focus on something new. No rhyme intended."
Another explosion rocked the streets, and Konami took that as his cue.
"Take these Duels, for instance." he said, "There's plenty of them going on throughout the city right now. Why don't you focus on some of the up-and-coming talent? I'm sure at least one of these street Duelists is looking to make it big."
"Interviewing people isn't as easy as you seem to think," Carly retorted. "But I guess it's worth a shot. What'd you have in mind?"
Konami raised his brow, even as another eruption roared through the downtown area.
"Oh, I don't know," he drawled. "Personally, I was hoping that you'd think the giant explosions everyone seems keen on running towards would look promising. But, I guess if that doesn't interest you-"
"Oh, it does!" Carly interrupted, pushing up her curly-eyed glasses as she spoke. "After all, the first rule of scooping is that explosions are bad news. And bad news... is good!"
With those words in mind, she took off toward the recurring blasts, eager to find herself a scoop worth telling. Konami rolled his eyes after her, and while part of him wanted to leave things be, his greater half decided to follow. After all, despite what he'd told Alexis and Chazz...
There wasn't a single damn thing he was supposed to do that day.
Or maybe there was. He didn't have a very good memory. But something interesting was bound to happen, right?
You certainly wouldn't be reading this otherwise.
"'Scuse me! Pardon me! Reporter coming through! Move it!"
It was surprising, Konami thought, watching Carly work her way through the crowd. He hadn't expected her to get very far before asking for his help, but apparently her earlier failures had taught her much. She was downright vicious in her assaults. Konami had no doubt that many a toe were injured thanks to her violent stomping. Still, their goal was ultimately to reach the center, not spare the feelings of those who'd pushed her down onto the cold, hard curb just minutes prior.
In fact, after thinking about it, Konami figured that the sore toes would do the scumbags good. Maybe it'd teach them a little thing about manners.
He doubted it, but hey, it was worth a shot.
"Ow!" someone hissed after a particular nasty boot crush.
That one was Konami's fault.
Not long after, they'd reached their destination. The center of the crowd was brutal and action-packed, and why wouldn't it be? There was a Duel taking place.
Two young men of similar stature were going at it with everything they had. Their Life Points had been beaten and bruised, and from the looks of things, the Duel itself had dragged on for quite some time. There were few monsters or cards on the field... Konami realized that the Duel was coming to a head.
"This is it," one of the young men hissed; Konami noted his sand-colored hair. Sandy, he thought, even as the man continued his move. "the final assault! Gaia Plate, make my dream a reality! Direct attack!"
A colossal giant borne of stone howled between the young men, and it charged recklessly toward Sandy's dark-haired opponent. At the same time, Konami winced as he watched the face-down card on the dark-haired man's side of the field begin to rise.
"Ooh," he muttered. "Bad move."
"You fool!" the dark-haired man shouted. "You've made your last mistake! I activate my face-down card, Magic Cylinder!"
"Say what?!" Sandy gasped.
Needless to say at this point, it went like you thought it did.
A boom and a burst later, the Duel was over. Konami thought it had been an adequate ending, but Carly was less entertained.
"What kind of idiot dives head-first into a face-down?!" she asked twenty minutes later, throwing her hands about wildly as Konami accompanied her back to the plaza. "Even I know better than to do that, and I suck at Duel Monsters!"
"It's too bad," agreed Konami. "I really thought you might've been able to interview one of them, too..."
"Not if they have lame skills like that, I won't." Carly replied. "If it's gonna be scoop-worthy material, then they at least need to be Jack's level. Or Yusei's. I hear he's pretty good too."
"Well, he did beat Jack at the Fortune Cup-" Konami tried to say, only for Carly to cut him off before he could finish.
"I don't need to be reminded about that," she bemoaned. "I've been saying it hundreds of times for the past thirty six hours, remember?"
Konami thought thirty six hours was a bit of an overstatement, but he supposed that if he'd been the one stuck on street corners selling newspapers no one wanted, he'd be a little 'off' too. "Well," he told her, "the good news is, even with this Duel being a bust, there are still plenty of other Duels to look for."
It was true. The area was still packed with people, and it was only a matter of time until they came across a Duel truly worth seeing. Until then, they'd just have to wing it. Fortunately, the crowd's like-minded mentality meant that they could go with the flow. They proceeded to follow the larger groups for some time, watching as all manner of up-and-coming street Duelists paired off to stare at each other dramatically. Some of the Duels were interesting - Konami himself had made note of one involving the use of Royal Library and Exodia - but not once did Carly find someone worth interviewing.
It was starting to get a bit old, really.
"It's not that hard," Konami groaned several hours later, wondering why he'd put up with the girl for so long. "All you have to do is walk up to someone and ask if they wanna be famous. That's it. That's literally the only thing you have to do."
"I know, I know! It's just... there's supposed to be a feeling, you know?" Carly asked. "Deep in my gut. It's supposed to tell me whether what I'm doing is right or wrong; if this scoop I'm chasing is worth the effort or not! I'm not getting that feeling, Konami. I don't know if there's something wrong with me, or if I just haven't found the 'one' yet, but as a super-scoopy journalist I can't just drag just anyone off the street! They need to be someone unique. They need to have something incredible. They need to do something-"
There was a sudden detonation behind her, and both she and Konami turned to watch as numerous individuals started to flee the scene.
"Explosive?" Konami tried, only to receive a roll of the eyes for the effort before rushing to see what had caused the commotion.
It certainly wasn't anything he'd been expecting, that was for sure.
Unlike the other street Duels, the damage caused by the whatever created this had yet to fade. The streets were alight with fire and smoke, and in the midst of it all, a small, red-haired girl stood in the center, smiling.
Think Children of the Corn, but with more fire.
Way more fire.
"Okay," Carly said slowly, wincing away from the flames after waving her hand near one. "Maybe scooping wasn't such a good idea after all! I mean, this stuff feels hot! Like, hot hot!"
"I know, right?" Konami asked. "It's almost like it's a FIRE or something!"
Carly scowled. "You know what I mean! It's supposed to be a hologram. Fake! Do... Do you think that maybe they're a Psychic Duelist? The person responsible for this, I mean."
"Maybe," Konami said slowly. "As much as I hate to admit it, a Psychic would be capable of doing this. But personally, I think we have a bigger problem on our hands. That is to say, the fact that I feel like we've done this before."
"You feel it too?" the girl in the fire asked him suddenly, prompting Carly to flinch in surprise. "Then it seems the god was right. There is a connection between those cleansed by flame." she laid a hand over her chest, and quoted some insignificant passage someone made up. "And so the many shall be cast into the fire, and the believers cleansed by the might of the searing flames... You... do believe, don't you?"
Carly seemed rather offput by the girl's question, so Konami decided to take point.
"Depends," he said.
The girl tilted her head curiously. "Depends?" she asked. "On what?"
"On what you're asking if we believe in." Konami replied. "Because I mean, if you're asking if we believe we can fly that's one thing, but if you're asking if we believe in... say, Kanye West's presidental campaign, that's another." He gasped. "Discussing real-life celebrity politics in a story based on a videogame? No way!"
"Gods!" the girl shouted, bringing his mind back to the problem at hand. "Do you believe in gods?"
Konami felt his lips twitch. Of course, it would be that question, wouldn't it? Well, as a former student of Duel Academy, there was only one thing he could say to that.
"Gods?" he repeated, stepping in front of Carly to join the girl in the center of chaos. "You mean 'God', right? That is to say, Slacking Slifer, the patron Lord of losers like me."
"Blasphemy!" the girl hissed. "You'd dare befoul the Lord of Searing Flames with talk of such nonsense?!"
Konami blinked in surprise. "Uh, Lord of Searing what now?"
The flames surrounding them seemed to grow in size and intensity, and Carly called out as she was suddenly blocked out.
"H-Hey, Konami!" she squealed.
"Carly...?" he wondered, turning his head back to regard the girl. His vision was met by a wall of flame.
"...ish you..." the girl whispered softly. Konami's head swiveled back around to face her, and he raised a brow curiously at her words. "I'll punish you, you blithering fool!"
"You know, if you were anything other than a small child, I might've actually been scared by that." Konami admitted. "As it is, I don't know what to be more surprised by. The fact that I still feel like we've done this before, or your extraordinary vocabulary."
The girl's eyes narrowed, and the mechanical device attached to her forearm whirred to life. Konami stared at it and sighed. "Alright," he said. "Déjà vu it is."
Enough dawdling. It was time to get to work.
"DUEL!"
The two shouted as one, drawing five cards from their respective decks even as the flames roared around them. Outside the circle, Carly blinked rapidly, wondering if she really heard what she did.
"H-Hey, hold on a moment! Don't tell me you two are Dueling in there?!"
"Ladies first," Konami said, ignoring Carly's question in favor of acknowledging the opponent before him. An opponent whose name he still didn't know.
It was Alice.
"I'd thank you, but the Lord didn't teach me to be polite!" Alice replied, and she drew a sixth card from her deck, starting the Duel once and for all.
TURN ONE - ALICE - SIX CARDS IN HAND - 4000 LP
"I'll set three cards face-down, and let you go!" she shouted. The decision had been made rapidly, and to be honest, Konami was surprised. The first turn of a Duel often involved the summoning of at least one monster. Just what was Alice playing at?
As he watched her set the three cards she said she would, Konami felt his eyes narrow. He was no fool. His time spent at Duel Academy had taught him many things, especially what it meant the drop titles like "Lord of Searing Flames." The sight of three cards on the field only furthered his paranoia, but there was no way Alice had that card...
Right?
"My move," Konami muttered quickly, unsure of whether or not he wanted to find out. "Draw!"
He retrieved a card from the top of his deck, and added it to his hand.
TURN TWO - KONAMI - SIX CARDS IN HAND - 4000 LP
He glanced at his hand for the first time, and gawked. "What the - are you serious? Did I really-" he turned his gaze away from his cards, instead focusing on the small holster attached to his pants. On it, Konami noted the words STARTER emblazoned upon it in large, golden letters. "Slifer Slacker! I'm using Starter Deck: Kaiba. And I don't mean Reloaded!"
Alice blinked. "Is... that bad, or something?"
"Are you kidding? Of course it is!" Konami shouted. "Starter Deck: Kaiba was like, one of the first Yu-Gi-o... I mean Duel Monsters' decks there is! It's filled with all kinds of old and outdated cards!"
"Oh wow, so in other words, it's like... really, really, really bad, huh?" She asked with a giggle. "Sucks for you! But at least this means I'll have an easy win!"
"Don't be so sure," Konami replied. "This just makes things more interesting! After all, if I can beat your deck with something like this, then Chazz'll have to take back what he said about me sucking in the Pro Leagues!"
"Who?"
"I'm starting! And unlike you, I think I'll do so by actually summoning something!" Konami said, ignoring Alice's question. "I call the Level Four Beast-Warrior, Battle Ox to the field in Attack Position!"
A beastly howl echoed through the flame circle as Konami placed the card on his Duel Disk. Seconds passed, and suddenly a dark beast with the shape of a man rose from the ground, wielding a large, sharpened axe filled with chinks and scars.
Battle Ox - (EARTH/Beast-Warrior) - LV4 - (1700/1000)
"Battle Ox?" Alice asked, trying its name on her lips. "You really weren't kidding! That's a super old card!"
"It might be old, but it's still got some bite left in it!" Konami replied. "And what better way to show you that... than with a direct attack?!"
The Beast-Warrior howled in agreement as it leapt forward, but unlike Konami, it hadn't been expecting to be stopped before its blow could land. Halfway into its assault, Battle Ox found itself staring down a strange, zombie-like dragon, complete with glowing red eyes.
"Surprised?" Alice asked, "One of my face-down cards was Zoma the Spirit! When I activate it, it summons itself to the field in Defense Position! It only has five-hundred Defense Points, but it'll still stop you from getting at my Life Points directly."
Zoma the Spirit - (DARK/Zombie) - LV4 - (1800/500)
The undead monster hissed, no doubt intending to collaborate Alice's story. Still, its lack of stats did little to worry Konami, who was more than happy to let Battle Ox attack again. Unfortunately, it seemed his opponent had other ideas.
"Of course, don't think that I brought out Zoma without planning to make up the difference between its stats and your Battle Ox's!" Alice continued. "Because I didn't! I also have this - Fairy Box!"
Her second face-down swiveled upward to reveal itself, and Konami watched as a large, Whac-a-mole shaped box materialized overhead. Numerous green digletts bounced up and down from the box's many holes, leaving Konami to wonder just what kind of vile effect it had.
Alice explained soon enough.
"With this Fairy Box on the field, our Duel's about to get a lot better!" she said, grinning gleefully even as Konami began to frown. "See, thanks to its effect, every time you declare an attack, I get to flip a coin! That's where things really get interesting, because if I flip and call it right... your monster's Attack Points reduce to zero until the end of the Battle Phase!"
"So in other words, attacking itself becomes a game of chance." Konami mused. "Interesting. It's been a while since I've done any gambling! What do you think, Ox? You game?"
The man-beast growled angrily in reply, making it clear that it wanted a fight. Konami was more than happy to give him one.
"Alright then," he shouted, throwing his hand forward in a bountiful yet dramatic arc, "let's find out how lucky we are! Attack!"
Battle Ox lunged, but before it could dig its axe into the sinister Zoma, time slowed. A large, floating coin materialized as it did, and before anyone could opject, it spun itself high into the air. Both Alice and Konami watched its path, and just as it reached its peak and began its descent back to land, Alice made her choice.
"I call... Heads!"
The coin landed a moment later, and its result was broadcasted so that both could see.
It was, as Alice had guessed, Heads.
Time resumed, and the changes were made clear to all. Battle Ox's howl, once loud and fierce, became fragile and weak. Its angry charge fizzled into a slow crawl, and - taking advantage of that weakness - Zoma struck. With a single bat of its wings it blew the beast back across the field, sending it crashing into the dirt by Konami's side. Konami winced at the scene, knowing that the damage his monster had taken would come straight out of his Life Points.
The only consolation was that since Zoma was in Defense Position, Battle Ox wouldn't be sent to the Grave.
"Good guess," Konami said after a moment, deciding to humor the cocky smirk Alice was shooting him. "But don't forget, the Attack Point decrease doesn't last forever."
It was true. With the Battle Phase over, Battle Ox's power had already returned. If it and the deceitful Zoma were to compete once more, it was clear who would win.
"Hah," Alice rebuked. "You think I care about your monster's Attack Points? I just wanted to show off a few of my Trap Cards before I sent them to the Graveyard!"
"To the Graveyard?" Konami inquired, his Déjà vu returning full force. "Let me guess. Youhave a Sacred Beast sitting in that deck of yours, don't you?!"
Alice's eyes widened in surprise. "You know about it?" she asked with a frown, not having expected that. "How?"
"Let's just say that the Heart of the Cards runs strong in my character," Konami replied. "But we'll get to that later. How did you get your hands on one of the Sacred Beasts? Last I checked they were overseas, locked away in the ruins of Duel Academy!"
"Does it really matter?" Alice replied. "No matter how it got here, it doesn't change the fact that soon you'll be facing it!"
Despite the girl's cruel words, Konami chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "I suppose you're right. The explanation can wait until later. That being said... I think you and I have differing opinions on just how far away "Soon" is. You still have only two face-up Trap Cards after all, and if what I recall about Uria is correct... you need three to call it forth from your hand."
"You're right," agreed Alice. "I do need three face-up Trap cards to summon Uria. But, you've forgotten something! And that's that while I may only have two Traps face-up right now... I do have a third on the field! Rise up, Embodiment of Apophis!"
Responding to the girl's cry, the third and final face-down rose upward, allowing a tall naga-looking warrior to take to the field. Armed with both shield and sword, it slithered from the card's hologram, even as the snake rising from its back hissed angrily.
Battle Ox growled back in response.
Embodiment of Apophis - (EARTH/Reptile) - LV4 - (1600/1800)
"Aw man," Konami grunted. "Looks like I should have kept my mouth shut."
"It wouldn't have changed anything," assured Alice, "and even if I didn't have Apophis, you'd still be stuck thanks to my Fairy Box!"
Konami sighed softly, "You may have a point there. With that Box on the field I'll be shut down if I try to attack. At this point it seems that there's nothing I can do... but set a face-down of my own, that is!"
He slid a single card into the back slot of his Duel Disk, prompting its large, hologram form to appear behind Vorse Raider. Alice scowled at the sight of it. "You think it'll will help you?" she asked critically, "You can try to defend yourself all you like. That card won't protect you from Uria's wrath! My Turn... Draw!"
TURN THREE - ALICE - FOUR CARDS IN HAND - 4000 LP
"Fairy Box's effect activates!" Alice declared after taking her next card. "During each Standby Phase it's active, I have to pay five hundred Life Points or send it to the Graveyard. Obviously I don't want to do that, so..." She trailed off, feeling that futher explanation was unnecessary. The recurring beeps indicating a drop in her Life Points was more than enough, and after a few seconds, her Life Points had been reduced to thirty five hundred, tying the game up once more.
"Don't be so sure!" Konami told the plot. "I'm activating my face-down, Just Desserts! This card inflicts five-hundred points of damage for each monster you control Alice, and thanks to your Trap cards, right now you own two." He grinned at the sight of the scowl growing on the younger girl's face. "What's wrong, not having fun anymore? You sure were looking happy earlier, back when you activated that Apophis of yours!"
The Just Desserts Trap card gleamed in delight, and a large red hand burst from its hologram to grab Alice. The girl cried out as the hand's fingers curled around her body, and she let out a pained breath as it crushed her to pieces. Before it could do any lasting damage however, Konami ended the effect, letting Alice fall to all fours and catch her breath.
"Haa...! Haa...!" She wheezed, raising her head to glare at him only once she was sure she wasn't dying. "That... was pretty mean!"
"Coming from a child who said she'd punish me for being blasphemous, forgive me if I don't really care." Konami replied. "Now, are you going to stand up and continue your turn, or should I take this opportunity to make a comeback?"
"I'm still going!" Alice shouted quickly, snapping back to her feet faster than thought humanly possible. "And I'm going to make you pay for messing with me like that! And you wanna know why? Go on, ask me!"
Konami sighed. He had a feeling what she was going to say, but it didn't seem as though the Duel would progress otherwise. So, he bit the bullet. "Alright," he said slowly. "Why?"
"Because I'm summoning Uria right now, you wretched little nincompoop!"
"Oh wow," Konami blinked, astonished. "I thought you just might've been a midget but, you really are just eight years old, aren't you?"
"Rah!" Alice howled, slamming the great Sacred Beast down upon her Duel Disk. Her three Trap cards burned to ash, and the circle of fire swirled into a searing hot pillar of destruction that heralded the arrival of their lord.
With a fierce howl, Uria knocked the flames aside, clearing the area of any and all heat. It alone was hot enough for the Duel, and it liked having an audience.
Uria, Lord of Searing Flames - (FIRE/Pyro) - LV10 - (3000/0)
"As you can see, Uria gains a thousand Attack Points for each Continuous Trap card in my Graveyard!" Alice explained, gleeful at having successfully summoned her Sacred Beast. "With three thousand, anything you summon, even a Syncro Monster, will pale in comparison! Face it weakling, this Duel is over!"
"Hah! You serious? The Sacred Beasts might've been cool back in the day," Konami replied, "but faced against modern strategy they're nothing to be worried about. The only problem is that I'm using this old Starter Deck, but in hindsight, this just makes things a little more challenging!"
"Challenging...?" asked Alice. "You're right about that, at least. Because this is one challenge you can't win! Go, Uria! Destroy his Battle Ox with your searing flames!"
The great red serpent howled as flames leapt from every scale it possessed. Once again, the world had been turned into a raging inferno. There was just one difference. Where before the flames were passive, and unmoving... this time they had a clear and present target.
Battle Ox.
With a pained howl, the man-beast was consumed by the flames. Konami knew it must have been painful, but deep down, he couldn't help but feel happy that it was his monster taking the damage instead of him.
Either way, his Life Points were feeling the burn.
"I'll set one card and end my Turn." Alice said, and Konami nodded in reply.
"My move then," he said, reaching for a card from his deck. "Draw!"
TURN FOUR - KONAMI - FIVE CARDS IN HAND - 2200 LP
'And so, the Starter Deck shows its flaws,' Konami thought while looking at his hand. 'Nothing I can do with these. Well, there are a few things... Gyakutenno Megami is pretty hot after all. Wait, bad Konami bad! Those are M-rated thoughts, and this is E for Everyone! Or was it T for Teen?'
"I'll set a monster in Defense Position, set another card face-down, and end my Turn." Konami said finally, earning a smile from the diabolical Alice.
"Aww, are you feeling the heat?" she asked with a pout. "Don't worry, you won't be feeling much of anything soon enough! Draw!"
Ripping a card from the top of her deck, Alice began her next move.
TURN FIVE - ALICE - THREE CARDS IN HAND - 2500 LP
"Uria's special effect activates!" she shouted first, prompting Konami to curse in distaste. "Once per Turn, I can have it burn away a single Spell or Trap card you control! But that's not even the best part, because when I use this effect, you can't even activate any cards to try and stop it!"
"I'd forgotten about that...!" Konami admitted with a wince. "Still, at least I'm being reminded when I placed something useless... like De-Spell!"
The Spell-removing Spell card shone as Uria burnt a path right through it, prompting Alice to glare at Konami angrily. "What was that?! You should have known by now that I wouldn't even have any Spell cards for you to deal with!"
"I did," Konami said. "And that's exactly why I placed it. Since I knew it wouldn't do me any good in my hand, I figured I could at least try and bluff you. Of course, I hadn't accounted for Uria's special ability..."
"And you didn't account for my rage, either!" Alice shouted. "Go, Uria! Destroy his face-down monster!"
Konami's eyes gleamed. "Now that's what I was waiting for!" he howled as Uria unleashed its attack. "After all, the best thing about the old Starter Decks... is that their monsters have pretty powerful Flip Effects!"
"What?!" Alice gasped, watching as the face-down card Uria attacked leaned upward to reveal...
Hane-Hane.
"You've activated my monster's ability," Konami explained. "When Hane-Hane is flipped upward, I can select one monster on the field and return it to its owner's hand! That means that your almighty Uria... is going back to square one!"
"Not so fast!" Alice countered. "I have a Trap! Divine Wrath! It'll negate the effect of your Hane-Hane's ability, and send it packing to the Graveyard!"
"Tsk." Konami grunted. "Figures you wouldn't let Uria get beat so easily. But don't think I've given up yet."
"You should," Alice muttered nastily. "It's not like you have any chance of winning. I'll set one card face-down... and end my Turn."
"My move again then," Konami noted. "Draw!"
TURN SIX - KONAMI - FOUR CARDS IN HAND - 2200 LP
"I'll begin by showing you that merely controlling the Lord of Searing Flames doesn't make you the Lord of Burns. I'll do this by activating the Spell... Ookazi!" Konami shouted. "It lets me inflict eight hundred points of damage to my opponent, and this time, I have a feeling that your face-downs won't help you!"
He was right. Alice did nothing as a bursting explosion rocked her world. Well, that wasn't quite true. She did let out a howl of pain, especially when she realized that crossing her arms and trying to shield herself wouldn't work. She was blown onto her back seconds later, and though she wouldn't admit it, briefly knocked unconscious.
"Guh... Wuh...?"
"You alright?" Konami asked, smirking even as Uria growled dangerously. "Do I need to call mommy and daddy and have them come pick you up?"
"Yes..." Alice whined softly, only to snap her eyes open upon realizing what she'd said. "Wait. No!"
"Looks like playtime's dragging on a bit," Konami said. "So I'll just set another monster face-down and end my Turn."
"Then it's about time I end you!" Alice shouted, leaping back to her feet after Konami entered his End Phase. She tore another card from the top of her deck and scowled. "Draw!"
TURN SEVEN - ALICE - THREE CARDS IN HAND - 1700 LP
"I activate my face-down, Final Attack Orders!" Alice declared. "Now, any and all face-up monsters on the field will have to be in Attack Position, including those who are flipped face-up during the Battle Phase!"
For the first time, Konami's face grew worried. "Say what?" he asked. "You had a card like that?!"
"It took me a while to draw it, but yeah!" Alice shouted. "Now we'll find out if you can really take the heat... or not! Uria, light up his monster!"
With another great howl, the Sacred Beast sent flames searing across the landscape. At that same moment, the magic of Final Attack Orders made itself known. Traversing across the field into Konami's face-down monster, it forced the creature to stand tall, despite the clear and present danger Uria's flames possessed.
"Ryu Kishin, no!" Konami shouted.
It was too late. The flames smashed into the one thousand Attack Point monster, burning it to ash and taking a majority of Konami's remaining Life Points with it. Alice laughed at the scene, taking extreme and perverse pleasure in the sudden smoke smoldering off Konami's form. It had come as a surprise to him, but not to her. It was only natural that a Duel with the Lord of Searing Flames would end with one being reduced to cinders. It hadn't been so obvious earlier on, but then, neither of them had carried only two hundred Life Points, had they?
"Feeling the burn?" she asked coyly, smiling at the stern frown Konami replied with. "Soon, you'll be nothing but a pile of ash to scatter in the wind! And with my Final Attack Orders on the field, 'Soon' is closer than ever before!"
"Not bad. You've painted me into a corner here." Konami mused finally. "If I leave things be, I'll wind up losing the Duel. On the other hand, destroying your Trap will only increase Uria's power even more! Either way, I'll be in for a beating!"
"So, does this mean that you've finally decided to quit? To give up, and accept the truth of Uria's reign?" Alice asked.
Konami laughed. "Are you kidding? If there's one thing Slackin' Slifer's taught me, it's that you never give up, not even when your Life Points hit zero itself! As long as there's a bone in my body and a card to be drawn, I'll keep on fighting! Just like the real heroes would! Besides, I said it before, didn't I?" he asked, inching his hand toward the top of his deck. "The Heart of the Cards... is strong in my character! Draw!"
He ripped his next card from his deck, ignoring the shining trail of light that came with it.
TURN EIGHT - KONAMI - THREE CARDS IN HAND - 200 LP
'Seventeen Hundred Life Points between me and victory. More than that, I face great obstacles. A three thousand Attack Point beatstick with the power to destroy one card in my backrow each turn, and a Trap that stops me from defending myself. There's no choice,' Konami thought. 'If I am to win, I'll have to do it with the cards I have in my hand now!'
He glanced to them. Ordinarily, they would be nothing. Useless cards of the past that were vastly out-of-date. At that moment however, they were his lifeline.
He would use them to the best of his ability, and hope for the best.
"I summon La Jinn, the Mystical Genie of the Lamp!" Konami roared finally, slamming his chosen monster down upon his Duel Disk with all the force he could muster. A golden smoke leapt from the field at his behest, and from it, a large green genie with numerous bulging muscles materialzed.
La Jinn - (DARK/Fiend) - LV4 - (1800/1000)
"I'll set two cards face-down... and end my Turn." Konami said.
That was it. He'd done all he could. Everything was up to Alice now. He just hoped she made the right (wrong) decision.
"That's it?" Alice asked. "That's all your deck can muster? An old and easily overpowered genie, and a pair of useless decoys to make me think you have a chance?"
"It'll be enough to beat you... Alice." Konami replied.
"We'll see." She said, and she drew the final card of the Duel.
TURN NINE - ALICE - THREE CARDS IN HAND - 1700 LP
"Uria... let's show him just how outclassed he is." Alice muttered. "Burn one of his face-down cards to ash!"
Konami grimaced. The crucial moment was at hand. He tried - and failed - to clear his mind. No matter what happened, he couldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing despair on his face!
The chosen card burned, and the winner was decided.
...
"Uria!" Alice howled. "Attack La Jinn, and claim your victim!"
The Sacred Beast roared, and the world transformed into a volcano. Smoldering heat wafted through the air, and fire had spread anywhere and everywhere, ready to consume any living thing that moved. Uria alone stood tall amongst the flames, clearly displaying his power as 'Lord of Searing Flames.'
Even Carly, forgotten as she was, was left in awe.
Uria gaped its jaws wide, and then, when its mouth could spread no further...
It lunged.
Ash and cinder spilled from its lips as its head rushed down toward Konami and his monster. It was fully prepared to take both in one powerful bite, all for the sake of furthering its own agenda.
Unfortunately, Alice chose wrong.
"You fell for it!" Konami howled with a grin, and in true dramatic fashion he flung his hand upward at the last moment, activating his face-down and slowing time. "I activate... REVERSE TRAP!"
The world was stunned.
You... were not.
"Reverse Trap?!" Alice gasped. "What is that?! I've never even - what?!"
"Reverse Trap is simple." Konami explained, clenching his fist eagerly even as Uria continued to fall. "When it's activated, it reverses all increases and decreases to Attack and Defense Points until the End Phase! Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but Uria's original Attack Points aren't three thousand, are they?"
At this, Alice's eyes grew wide. She understood, and Konami grinned.
"That's right!" he shouted. "Uria's very own effect increases its Attack Points by a thousand for each Continuous Trap in your Graveyard! With Reverse Trap however, its effect will instead decrease its Attack Points, and you know what that means!"
"No... It can't be!" Alice exclaimed, horrified.
"It is. Your Uria's Attack Points have now fallen... to ZERO!"
Time sped up, but Uria's attack had already begun. It could not stop, would not stop, until it or La Jinn had been defeated. Konami watched it close in, and at the final moment, he turned away.
"I'd say something dramatic... but you'll have heard it before."
La Jinn poked the Sacred Beast, and every flame in the world was snuffed out.
KONAMI - 200 LP
ALICE - 0 LP
"No..." Alice repeated, her body trembling as a pillar of flame began to surround her. "It can't be... Uria was... Noooo!"
With one final cry, the pillar erupted and left, piercing the dark clouds of the night sky but curiously leaving the girl unscathed. She fell to the floor a moment later, leaving her cards to scatter across the scorched earth. Konami approached swiftly, eager to claim his prize from his defeated opponent.
Naturally, however...
"It's gone."
"K-Konami!" Carly shouted, moving to join the boy after realizing it was safe. "You won!"
"Of course I did," he replied, kneeling down as he spoke to check on the unconscious Alice. "A player avatar doesn't lose. They just reset until they get things right."
"You're pretty confident." Carly noted before turning her head to the girl. "Will she be alright?"
"Yeah," Konami confirmed. "She's still breathing, and her eyes aren't dull or anything. She'll sleep for a while, but her soul is safe."
"Soul?! Y-You mean that Sacred Beast could've taken it?!"
Konami nearly rolled his eyes at Carly's naivety. He'd forgotten that Shadow Games had yet to plague the city of New Domino.
At least... not publicly.
"Anyway," she continued, ignoring Konami's sudden silence. "That was amazing! Winning with age-old cards like that! So amazing, in fact, that I think I've found my scoop!"
"Wait, what?"
"You heard me." Carly grinned. "Sacred Beasts, Starter Deck: Kaiba... there's no way any decent journalist would pass this up! You need to give me an interview, no, wait! I was here the entire time! I already heard all the dialogue! I just need a title..."
Konami sighed at Carly's enthusiasm.
'Well,' he thought still, leaving Alice to Carly as he walked away, 'whatever she calls it, I'm sure it'll grab someone's attention.'
He had no idea how right he was.
Well, not until the article hit five hours later.
FANNING THE FLAMES - GENIE DEFEATS URIA IN DUEL OF EPIC PROPORTIONS
Deep within the halls of the Arcadia Movement, Sayer slapped the newspaper down onto his desk.
"Well now," he said slowly, intertwining his fingers as he gazed at Carly's work. "It seems our little 'project' was a bust. These new Sacred Beasts lack the power and scope of the original. Still, their strength is something to fear. Defeating one should be well beyond the abilities of any average duelist, wouldn't you say?"
There was no reply, but Sayer still smiled.
"Yes. This... 'Konami' fellow is stronger than he appears. I desire to meet with him. Who knows what two likeminded individuals can do when we come together? Certainly, at the very least I should be able to do to him what I did to you, yes?
Once again, there was silence, but there was something new. From the corner of the room, a young woman stepped forward. She was dressed in victorian-era attire, and long, flowing hair reached down to her waist, free of the psychic restraints she once wore. A porcelain mask was kept taut around her face.
She walked to the foot of Sayer's throne (chair), and then dropped to one knee, as if servicing a king. Sayer smiled at her obedience. He caressed the mask with a soft touch, relishing in the power it had over her; in the power it gave him over her.
"Go to this boy," he whispered, "bring him to me. I will take him, remake him, as I remade you. I will do this, and then... we shall lead the Arcadia Movement, and make this world ours."
He removed the mask, and raised the young woman's lips to meet his.
"Yes Divine," breathed Akiza. "I... will not fail."