Welcome, one and all, to the first real story that I've ever written. As such, it's going to be a bit rough, but my two betas (who deserve a lot of thanks for doing this for me) should help me keep quality high.
First up, the disclaimers! The plots and characters in this story are mine, unless indicated otherwise. Everything isn't mine in the slightest. The Yu-Gi-Oh franchise belongs to Konami and all the other people who have a piece of the metaphorical pie. The Shadowchasers universe is the brainchild of Cyber Commander, and thus credit goes to him. Shadowchasers as a setting heavily borrows from D&D and the Urban Arcana and Shadow Chasers settings of d20 Modern, so credit to Hasbro there.
Cards that I have made up or borrowed from others will be listed at the bottom of each chapter, with the creator of the card listed if it was borrowed from someone else. Cards I borrow from the anime will be listed there as well. If I don't list a card used at the bottom, then it's a real-life card, and you can look it up on a wiki somewhere. Turbo Duels will use the Speed World 2 field spell from the second season of 5Ds.
Duels are written using the TCG rules, so 8000 life points is the order of the day. I will be using whatever banlist is currently in effect for the TCG as of the first chapter of each episode.
Episode, you ask? Why, let me explain. This story is partially derived from the idea of a police procedural Shadowchasers story, as well as from the idea of a Shadowchasers television show. As a result, the story will be structured into episodes of generally three to five chapters each, each episode having its own self contained plot. Sure, episodes might set up other ones down the line, or introduce Chekhov's Guns that will trigger in later episodes, but you should be able to read each episode without knowledge of the others and still understand what's going on. Or that's the idea, anyway.
This story doesn't take place at any particular point in the Shadowchasers timeline. It's post-Tournament of Shadows, but past that point its place in the timeline is both undefined, and is going to move forward as episodes are posted and time passes in-universe.
But enough talk, you're here for the story! Onward!
OOOOO
As an organization, the Shadowchasers are responsible for many accomplishments over the centuries. The most obvious of these is establishing a relatively peaceful status quo among the various Shadowkind that live on Earth, via the writing and enforcement of the Great Treaty. There are Shadowkind who would disagree with this being a positive accomplishment, but everything political has its detractors. KaibaCorp and Industrial Illusions, however, would consider Duel Monsters becoming a widespread and downright necessary part of life in the Shadows a wonderful accomplishment. Generally speaking, all those cards have to come from somewhere, and the vast majority of Shadowkind and Awares do not have the ability to create their own decks. To Seto Kaiba at least, profit is profit. Maximillion Pegasus would have been more likely to appreciate his game reaching a wider audience that could enjoy it.
Another, less well-known accomplishment of the Shadowchasers was the halting of countless nefarious plans by villains too numerous to list. Preventing an apocalyptic rainstorm from flooding the planet, ending an attempt to turn a vast number of Mundanes into Shadowkind, the Pleasureland incident, preventing the rise of Ivan Palethorn, and many more were all halted as a direct result of the actions of Shadowchasers. This isn't something they generally advertise, as the sheer number of these plots is, perhaps, a bit disconcerting to the average person. Needless to say, it's likely that any given Shadowchaser will be involved in at least one major incident with possibly global repercussions in their time as an active member. It would be folly to assume that such events are the only things that Shadowchasers are involved in, however. Most Shadowchasers spend their days dealing with much lower-key problems, with small-time crooks and easily-fixed issues.
And so, we turn to the Shadowchasers team who work in and around the town of Fenderson, Iowa, a place known almost exclusively by its nickname - "Duel Town". In the early 2000s, after the success of the first five Duel Academies, Kaibacorp expanded the program by founding many more across the globe, making the sport of dueling more accessible to those who could not afford to stay at a boarding school. This small town was chosen as the location of the Mid-West Duel Academy, and from there it quickly turned into a boom town focused around the sport of dueling. There are no nefarious schemes with global consequences here, but as in any town where Shadowkind, Awares, Sensitives, and Mundane rub shoulders, crime happens, and there is need for Shadowchasers.
These are their stories.
OOOOO
Magic is many things.
Long hours of preparation, the skill to properly channel the energies, the will to enforce your desires on the world, the wonder when you see the changes happen. This list is written with a mind toward true magic of the arcane variety, wielded by mages Shadowkind and Aware, but there is another form of magic to which much of it applies. Stage magic, while nothing more than trickery and misdirection, nevertheless requires preparation and skill in similar amounts, a will to master it, and can provoke equal amounts of wonder even when compared to its more fantastical counterpart.
Why then, do Shadowkind and Aware to whom the fantastic is normal have as much interest and attraction in this mundane art? For some it is the skill to change the mundane into the fantastic that attracts them, for others it could just be the entertainment any successful stage magician provides. Whatever the reason, there is little wonder that any gathering of stage magicians would attract Shadowkind and Awares as much it would attract Mundanes. And just such a convention is where we meet the first of the Duel Town Shadowchasers...
OOOOO
Society of American Magicians Convention, Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis
The line outside the convention hall was moving at a speed that could be described as somewhere between a trickling stream and a coursing creek, if one were to dive into watery metaphors. One particular member of the line, a woman with dark hair wrapped in a ponytail wearing a loosely-fitted jacket and pants, would be more likely to use descriptions such as "decently fast" and "quickly enough", as well as "slower than I'd like." Fortunately, she'd gotten here early enough that she was already at the front of the line, so her wait wasn't very long compared to some others who had shown up an hour later. The guard finished checking the pass for the young couple ahead of her in line and waved her forward.
"Pass?" He sounded a bit on the bored side. There was only so long you could do this and not have it get excruciatingly repetitive.
The woman grinned. "You already have it."
The guard tilted his head to the side, looking a bit confused. "What do you mean?"
"Only that it's right…" she reach out and snatched at the air next to his ear, hand returning with a piece of paper in it. "...here." She offered it to him with a smile.
The guard relaxed, taking the paper from her and looking it over. "A practitioner I see! Professional or amateur?"
"Professional, but only part-time. I started learning when I was a kid." He nodded to the response.
"Always nice to hear about young people getting into it." He glanced at the Duel Disk that was hanging off of her belt. "Duel much?"
The woman nodded confidently. "I live in Fenderson, Iowa. Pretty much everyone there does."
The guard blinked as recognition spread across his features. "Ah, Duel Town huh?" He received a nod in response. "Well, everything seems to be in order, so welcome to the convention Mrs. Hadrax!" He handed her pass back. "You can pick up your nametag right inside, and that will let you get in without having to wait in line every time you leave."
Nodding, the woman entered the building as the guard called the next person forward, a nervous-looking elf with black hair.
OOOOO
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the next act in the evening's exhibition, the illustrious illusionist from Iowa, the lovely Lucy!"
As the announcer stepped back behind the curtains on the right side of the stage, the spotlights moved from him to focus on the figure stepping out from the curtains on the left side of the stage. As they did so, the dark-haired woman stepped into the light with a bow. She was now wearing an outfit traditionally reminiscent of a stage magician, dark pants with a white shirt, dark red waistcoat, and a black tailcoat extending down to her knees. Completing the look was a ruby red bowtie, a silk tophat perched on of her head, and a pair of red silk gloves on her hands. Her hair had been let down, falling just below her shoulders. She smiled at the audience, taking another bow. Her grey eyes seemed to sparkle with excitement, although a few particular members of the audience might say that they flickered more than anything else. Those same members would also be the only ones who would notice the dark mark that ran across her right cheek, hardly noticeable unless you were looking for it.
Lucy straightened and smiled at the audience, who quickly quieted their applause. "Thank you for your applause. I am honored to be performing here today. Of course, you haven't come to here me talk about me being here, so let's get started."
She snapped her fingers, summoning a small flame that seemed to hover over the open palm of her other hand. "But every magician needs a wand to do magic, so if you'll let me take a moment to retrieve it…" She swiped her hand through the flame, seeming to pull it into a stream about a foot long, before grabbing it and waving back. As she did so, the flames seemed to disappear into a red and black rod. "Ah, here it is." A twirl of the rod left a quick swirl of flame that quickly disappeared.
Amidst a slight patter of applause, she bowed and swept the top-hat off her head. "Let's start with something simple first. Maybe an old classic?" A tap of the hat with her wand sent a burst of flame out of its mouth, into which she reached and pulled a stuffed black rabbit, the flames extinguishing as she did so. She reacted with exaggerated surprise, looking it over. "Well, it was white when I put it in there...I guess it got a little singed." The audience laughed a little, and she tossed the bunny to a small girl she saw in the second row. "Take care of him, would you?" The little girl squealed a little with excitement, hugging the bunny tightly.
She moved on to the next trick in her routine, her smile genuine this time.
OOOOO
A little more than half an hour later, Lucy pushed open the door to the backstage, exiting out to the convention floor proper. She was wearing her regular clothing again, her performance clothes and tools having been packed to be sent back to Fenderson. They wouldn't actually be sent back until the convention ended, since she might end up needing them again, but she didn't think that she'd have to. Taking part in the Half-Hour Magic Marathon was a tradition of hers since she'd started doing professional shows, and the chance to perform before a wider audience than the traditional Academy crowd she entertained was always nice.
The inevitable announcer introduction was the only real downside to it. It was part of the show, and she could deal with it, but inevitably a female stage magician was a touch of an oddity - most stage magicians were male, with females often in the role of assistant and eye candy. She didn't precisely have an issue with that, she knew she was considered pretty, but she did wish that "Lovely" wasn't used so often to alliterate with her name and draw attention to her looks first, rather than her skills.
She draped the name tag proclaiming her to be "Lucy Hadrax" around her neck and and looked around. The convention was in full swing, a full crowd moving amidst the various stalls peddling wares, small shows, and the occasional fortune-teller who had managed to get in. She slipped into the flow of the crowd, pulling out a schedule as she did and looking it over, muttering to herself as she did.
"...that doesn't end until three, so I'll have to leave during the Q-and-A session at the end…" She looked over to the next day's schedule and winced at what she saw. "They're at the same time. Damn."
She had neglected to get a convention schedule ahead of time, and now one of the sets of tickets she'd gotten was going to go wasted. Issues like that weren't uncommon on the convention scene, though they seemed to crop up more in the ones Carter went to than this one, though that was probably due to how popular they were compared to this one. Speaking of which, she wanted to pick up some trick puzzles for him, and she didn't have anything that she needed to go to for another couple of hours, so now was as good a time as any to deal with picking things up for the rest of the team.
Reaching a corner of the convention hall alleys one of the blocks that the convention hall was set up into, she turned left, heading toward the half of the hall that was dominated by the sales booths. Or, she would have if she hadn't slammed into someone moving at a half-run the instant she turned the corner.
Her reflexes kicked in, and she took a half-step back, steadying herself by grabbing the nearest table. Unfortunately, the other person didn't appear to have the luxury, as the impact knocked them off balance, tripping over their feet and sprawling onto the floor next to her. Ignoring the dirty look the proprietor of the table she had grabbed gave her for jostling his booth, she bent down to check on the other person.
"Are you OK?"
With a groan, he (for he was male) began clambering to his feet, taking her offered hand to pull himself up. When he made vertical, he began to frantically dust himself off and check his outfit, muttering to himself as he did so. This gave Lucy her first good look at him.
As she had previously noted, he was young man with very light, almost white blonde hair. He was wearing a stereotypical magician's outfit similar to the one she had been wearing not that long ago, with a couple differences. Whereas her outfit was white and black accented with red, his was pure black and white, looking a bit like a penguin suit. It was also visibly lower quality, looking almost like it was something he had rented for the day than something that was actually fitted to him (as hers was). The most impressive thing that she noticed was the fact that his tophat was still somehow perched on top of his head, even after the fall.
Apparently satisfied that he had neither dirtied the outfit particularly or ripped it, he nervously looked up at her. "Sorry, sorry, sorry! I was trying to get to the hall so I can find out when my slot in the Amateur contest is, and I was hurrying because I want as much time as possible before I find out and I wasn't looking where I was going and I'm sorry for running into you…" he trailed off, looking apologetic and awkward.
Lucy gave an internal sigh. An obviously rented or borrowed suit, signing up for the Amateur Magician contest, and being incredibly high-strung all made it extremely clear that he was both very new at this and very nervous. She offered a hand to him. "It wasn't your fault, I wasn't looking when I was going around the corner."
He shook her hand awkwardly. "Nonono, I was moving way too fast and wasn't paying attention to anyone else and I probably shoved a bunch of people out of my way and probably made them mad at me with how clumsy I can be and aaaaggghh!" He glanced nervously at a watch on his hand.
"If you don't calm down and take things easy, it's only going to get worse."
He shook his head at her offered advice. "I need to get there and I need to prepare otherwise I'm going to mess up and and then everybody will laugh at me and I'll never be able to show my face in here again and when my friends hear that I wasn't even able to complete a routine properly they'll laugh at me-" He was interrupted by Lucy grabbing his shoulders and glaring right into his eyes with the full force of her gaze. Admittedly, it wasn't all that much more forceful for her than an ordinary human could accomplish, but sometimes the tiny suggestion of hellfire flickering in her eyes helped.
"Calm down. Stop panicking, you'll only make things worse" she ordered in the best impression she could do of Mira's teacher-voice. He jerked a little, derailed slightly.
"No, I need to get there, I need to get stuff worked out-"
"Calm. Down." She gave him a shake, glare sharpening. He opened his mouth, and then wordlessly closed in a moment later, looking down awkwardly, cheeks a bit flushed.
"Sorry. I have really bad nerves."
Lucy let go and took a step back, leaning against the nearest booth. "Clearly true."
He nodded in response. A moment passed, before he seemed to remember something with a jerk and cautiously offered her his hand, which she took and shook. "Oh, uh, right. I'm Mark."
"Lucy."
Another silence fell with all the subtlety of a collapsing felt curtain.
Mark broke the silence a minute later. "So, uh...you...do magic?"
She nodded, and with a flick of her hand produced a small business card,. "I'm only a part-time performer."
He read the card, and looked back up at her, eyes wide. "Really? That's so cool! I want to be a professional too." His features drooped as he went from excited to sad. "But I'm still only learning, and not very well at that…"
"Well, if you're panicking and visibly being unsure of yourself, then you'll definitely do worse."
He nodded. "Yeah….but how do you do it? Every time I see someone putting on a show they always seem so confident, and I'm not sure if I could ever be that confident in my ability…"
Lucy shrugged. "To some degree they're faking it. Magic is as much an act as anything else. Act confident, and people will think you are."
Mark tilted his head to the side, looking a bit confused. "Is it..really that simple? Just fake it?"
She nodded. "To some degree. It's as much about perception as anything else. And if you fake it long enough, eventually it translates into real confidence."
He pursed his lips. "Oh. I'll see what I can do about that, I suppose. I might be able to fake it, but often I'm just too nervous and wound up…" He chuckled nervously. "As you've seen."
"Which is where relaxing comes into play. I always make sure I do something fun and relaxing before I do a show."
"So you can work out the nerves and forget about being worried and wound up?" She nodded. "I...I think I know what you mean, yeah."
"So, what do you like to do to relax?" She enquired.
"Well, uh...dueling." He vaguely gestured at the disk at her side. "I guess you duel as well?"
She nodded and after a moment's gestured toward the doors to the outside of the convention hall. "How about we have a match? You have almost three hours until the contest starts, and this will help you relax and do better."
He considered this for a moment, and then nodded vigorously. "Sure! I'd be happy to!"
Lucy grinned at him, a grin that was half happy to be doing something she liked and half happy to have an opponent. "Let's find the space then." She stood up to leave, once again ignoring the angry glare of the stall's proprietor.
OOOOO
A short time later, both of them were standing in a small garden outside the convention hall, about ten meters apart. Lucy's dark red disk was strapped to her arm, while Mark had produced a plain grey one from his costume. With synchronized motions, they both slipped their Duel Gazers on and activated their disks, the trays folding out in a shimmer of Momentum-powered energy as they each drew five cards.
"Duel!" (Lucy LP: 8000 - Mark LP: 8000)
Mark grinned. "I was the challenged, so I guess I'll take the first turn?" Receiving a nod from his opponent, he looked at the cards in his hand, before smiling. "Let's start the show, then! I summon Performapal Friendonkey!" He slapped a card onto his disk, and in a burst of energy appeared a donkey wearing a very small top-hat and bowtie with a large box emblazoned with a star strapped to its side. (Performapal Friendonkey ATK: 1600)
"But this act's not ready yet, because his effect activates! When he's Normal Summoned, he brings out another Performapal to join in on the action!" The box at the monster's side opened and out of it sprang a very strange looking monster that landed on Friendonkey's back, posing. It was a bit like a grasshopper with a very pointy nose, except that was wearing a jacket and bowtie, and had a bow attached to its head. To complete the odd image, a much smaller grasshopper-like creature, also wearing a jacket and bowtie with a tophat similar to the one on Friendonkey hopped up to pose on its nose.
"And Performapal Bowhopper will do the job!" (Performapal Bowhopper ATK: 1500)
Lucy looked at the rather showy monsters curiously. "Not the strongest monster out there."
Mark smiled. "Bowhopper has an effect as well. I activate Bowhopper's first effect, which lets me Tribute a Performapal monster I control to inflict one hundred points of damage to you for each level it had!"
Friendonkey collapsed into a shower of sparkles, which coalesced into an arrow nocked in Bowhopper's bow. The little monster strained to pull the bow all the way back, before sending it flying. The arrow struck Lucy, who ignored the tiny damage. (Lucy LP: 8000 - 7700).
"And the its second effect lets me Tribute another Performapal monster, like itself, to return one from the Graveyard to my hand." The strange grasshopper dissolved into energy, and turned into a card which flew into Mark's hand. "And Friendonkey is the only target I have."
He placed two cards onto his Disk, and two Set cards shimmered into view in front of him. "Turn end."
Lucy nodded, and drew. "My turn."
He'd left his field wide-open, which likely meant that one of those two face-downs was meant to deal with direct attacks, and the other was a bluff, or at least for something else. She considered, and then selected two cards from her hand.
"First I'll summon Dawn Knight from my hand…" As she played the card, a red-haired warrior with a red cloak worn over its armor appeared in a glimmer of light. "...and then use Lightray Grepher's effect to Special Summon it from my hand by discarding a level 5 or higher Light-attribute monster." Another warrior appeared in a much brighter glimmer of light, this one musclebound in blue and silver armor, with a much larger sword in its hand compared to the first one's fairly small blade. (Dawn Knight ATK: 1400)(Lightray Grepher ATK: 1700)
"Dawn Knight attacks you directly." The first warrior unsheathed his sword and stepped forward, swinging it at Mark, who shook his head with a small grin.
"Continuous Trap activate! Performapal Pinch Helper, as its name suggests, activates when I'm in the pinch of being attacked directly, and lets me get out of it by negating the attack and summoning a Performapal monster from my deck!" Dawn Knight stepped back as light spilled out of the card, forming a rhinoceros with a tophat and bowtie, with five circles, each emblazoned with what appeared to be three commas in a circle attached to a ring that projected up from its back. (Performapal Thunderhino DEF: 1800)
Lucy looked the monster over, then turned a questioning gaze to Mark. "Do all your monsters have a tophat and bowtie?"
He nodded with a grin. "They do! Nothing but the most fashionable for performers, after all." The irony of his rented or borrowed attire as contrasted with that statement went either ignored or unnoticed by him.
"And that?" She asked, pointing at the large contraption that had appeared behind him. It was mostly empty, but she could see what appeared to be several fireworks slotted into it.
"My other Continuous Trap, Grand Entrance. I chained it to the activation of Pinch Helper, and as long as it's on the field, it gains an Entrance Counter whenever I summon a Performapal monster!"
Lucy nodded thoughtfully, looking from the field to her hand. "Turn end."
Mark pulled a card from the top of his deck, adding it to his hand. "Once again, I summon Friendonkey from my hand." The oddly-attired donkey appeared again with a bray. "Only this time he's coming with a friend named Performapal Sword Fish!"
From out of the box flew a….blue-colored fish in the shape of a sword, inexplicable bow-tie and tophat included. (Performapal Friendonkey ATK: 1600)(Performapal Sword Fish ATK: 600)
"And when it's summoned, Sword Fish reduces the Attack and Defense of all monsters you control by 600!" With a cry, the fish summoned a dozen copies of itself, all of which were sent flying Lucy's monsters, scratching them and inflicting small wounds to them despite their best attempts to parry the barrage of swords. (Dawn Knight ATK: 1400 - 800)(Lightray Grepher ATK: 1700 - 1100) Behind him, the contraption summoned by Grand Entrance shuddered as more fireworks appeared on it.
"And then I'll activate the Continuous Spell Circus Arena!" As he placed the card on his disk, the immediate surroundings around the two duelists changed, flattening out a slightly sandy ring surrounded by a multi-colored fence. "And while in this arena, Performapal monsters gain 100 attack points for each level of the monster they battle!"
Lucy looked around at the change in surroundings. "Interesting. Weak monsters who survive by manipulating attack points."
Mark nodded. "And now they'll be strong enough to take out your monsters! Sword Fish, destroy Dawn Knight!" The blue blade-fish shook for a moment, its Attack rising to 1000 as more copies of it appeared and fired at the weaker warrior, impaling it before they shattered. (Lucy LP: 7700 - 7500)
Lucy slipped it into the Graveyard impassively, along with another card that popped out of her deck. "When Dawn Knight is sent from the field to the Grave, I can send a Light-attribute monster from my deck to the Grave."
Mark nodded. "And unless it's something that can negate attacks, your other monster is going down as well!" Friendonkey brayed and trotted over to Grepher, growing as its Attack grew to 2000. The Warrior looked nervously at it, only to be taken off-guard by a quick buck from its hind legs, sending him flying backwards to hit the ground and shatter. (Lucy LP: 7500 - 6600) As it did so, the shattered fragments suddenly coalesced into two small bundles of light, who resolved themselves into a gold and silver frog with blue eyes and a silver-furred Kuriboh with gold wings and blue eyes.
"I can summon both Lightray Kuriboh and Lightray Amphibian from my hand when a Lightray I control is destroyed" she elaborated before Mark could ask. "Lightray Kuriboh's effect also lets me send a Lightray from my deck to the Grave." She caught a card as it flew out of her deck and slotted it into her Graveyard. (Lightray Kuriboh DEF: 200)(Lightray Amphibian DEF: 100)
Mark glanced at the two new monsters and back down to his hand. "I'll end my turn there."
Lucy drew, and smiled at what she had drawn. "I sacrifice my two monsters to summon Lightray Manticore."
The two small monsters turned into brilliant blobs of light and merged, shattering to reveal a golden lion's body covered with white armor, silver and blue wings stretching to either side of it, a blue scorpion's tail curled over its body. (Lightray Manticore ATK: 2800)
Not giving Mark time to comment, Lucy continued. "Two things happen now. Because I summoned it with its effect, Lightray Kuriboh is banished instead of being sent to the Graveyard. And because I used Light-attribute monsters as Tribute for it, Lightray Manticore lets me banish Light-attribute monsters equal to the number that were used as Tribute, and then destroy an equal number of cards on the field. I banish Lightray Grepher and Dawn Knight from my Graveyard."
As she slipped three cards into a small deck holder on her waist, her monster roared and lept forward, shattering Thunderhino with a sting from its tail, before another roar shattered the ring around them, returning their surroundings to the garden.
Mark grinned as he glanced around. "Nice play!" Acknowledging the compliment, Lucy played the last card in her hand.
"By banishing two Light-attribute monsters from my grave, I can summon Soul of Purity and Light. I banish Lightray Madoor and Guardian of Order." This monster appeared quietly as two more cards were ejected from Lucy's disk, a faintly shimmering curtain of light forming the upper half of an angelic figure, with the bottom trailing away. It floated next to the Manticore, giving off an aura of peace that contrasted with the wildness its partner demonstrated. (Soul of Purity and Light ATK: 2000)
Mark blinked, captivated by the monster. "Wow...I guess Guardian of Order and Madoor were put in the grave by Dawn Knight and Grepher, right?"
Lucy, having seen it many times before, simply ignored it. "Correct. Soul of Purity and Light attacks Performapal Friendonkey."
The monster floated over to Friendonkey, embracing it as it glowed brighter. A moment later, the opposing monster faded into twinkling light, and the being returned to Lucy's side of the field. (Mark LP: 8000 - 7600)
Mark blinked at his monster's destruction. "That was...surprisingly peaceful. I guess there's not many ways a monster like that could attack? Overpowering with purity I gu-"
Lucy interrupted his thoughts. "Lightray Manticore, attack his Performapal Sword Fish." Heedless of Mark's surprised yelp, the beast pounced forward, grabbing the blue fish-blade in its mouth and biting down, the shockwave from its pounce forcing Mark back a few steps. However, instead of shattering, the monster suddenly crackled with electricity, forcing the Manticore to drop it. (Mark LP: 7600 - 5400)
Lucy glanced at Mark in confusion. "Is it immune to battle destruction?"
He shook his head, holding up a card that had popped out of the Graveyard slot on his disk a moment earlier. "Nope, it's as vulnerable as a Skull Servant. But I can banish Thunderhino from my graveyard to prevent the destruction of a Performapal monster I control, and this is as good a time as any, I think."
Lucy nodded and waved her empty hand. "I have nothing more to play."
"Then I will draw!" Doing so, Mark glanced at the card he had drawn, and frowned. "I set a monster and another card, and move Sword Fish to defense position." He placed the two cards in his hand onto his disk, their Set images appearing on the field. The visible monster seemed to lean forward, setting itself into as defensive a stances as it could. He nodded to Lucy. "That'll be it."
She nodded and drew, before gesturing to her two monsters. "Lightray Manticore attacks the face-down monster while Soul of Light and Purity attacks Performapal Sword Fish." The two monsters moved at the same time, moving at their designated targets. Sword Fish was dissolved into sparkles of light while the Set monster was ripped to shreds, momentarily revealing it to be a purple snake of some sort. After her monsters had returned, Lucy nodded at Mark. "My turn is over."
He nodded, and drew again, adding a card to his empty hand. "Hmm...I'll pass."
Lucy drew again, increasing her hand size to two, and glanced at his field. Empty of monsters was tempting, certainly, but Performapal Pinch Helper was still face-up, so if she attacked, he could negate the attack and summon a monster...but her monsters were strong regardless.
"Lightray Manticore attacks you directly." The monster roared and charged, right into a wall of force that sent it rolling backward with a surprised yelp.
Mark smiled, two face-up Trap cards in front of him glowing. "My face-down Performapal Call, like Pinch Helper, activates when I'm attacked directly, and it'll negate the attack and lets me add two Performapal monsters from my deck to my hand, as long as their combined Defense is less than your monster's Attack. Your Manticore has 2800 Attack points, so I can add just about any two monsters I want to my hand…" He added the two cards that slipped out of his deck to his hand. "...and since Pinch Helper activated as well as Call, I get another Performapal from my deck, like Krazy Kanga!" The light from Pinch Helper formed into the shape of a monster that looked like a tie-and-hat-wearing kangaroo beating on a large drum. (Performapal Krazy Kanga DEF: 2100)
Lucy frowned. This was what she had hoped wasn't the case. All of his monster so far had seemed have fairly weak stats, and she'd gambled that none of them would have more defense than Soul of Light and Purity, but clearly that had backfired on her. "I'll set one card and end my turn."
Mark drew. "My turn, then!" He drew a card and glanced at it, before placing another card from his hand onto his disk. "When I have two Performapal cards on the field, I can summon this monster without a Tribute necessary. Pinch Helper is one, and Krazy Kanga is two, so I welcome Performapal Hammer Mammoth!"
A blue trumpeting elephant appeared, wearing a yellow vest with the obligatory tophat and bowtie, a very large and colorful hammer attached to the end of its trunk. It stamped excitedly, sending dust flurrying across the field. (Performapal Hammer Mammoth ATK: 2600)
Lucy pursed her lips at the new monster's power. Lightray Manticore was stronger, but Mark looked like he was kicking out stronger and stronger monsters now, and his Grand Entrance trap card had continued to accumulate Counters without anything happening to it. Clearly it was building up to summon something, but what?
Unaware of her thoughts, Mark pointed at the translucent monster across the field from him. "Hammer Mammoth smashes your Soul!" His monster responded with a trumpet and stomped forward, swinging the hammer on its trunk. "And its effect blows your Spell and Traps off the field when it attacks!" A swing of the hammer send a shockwave across the field, ripping up Lucy's set card and blowing it back to her hand.
Lucy caught the card, and then gestured at the attacked monster.. "Soul of Purity and Light's effect reduces your monster's Attack by 300 points during your Battle Phase." As she did, the monster gave a low cry, spreading waves of soft light across the field. Hammer Mammoth seemed to hesitate as the light played over it, its Attack falling to 2300, but it steeled itself and smashed its hammer into the glowing monster, dispersing its light. (Lucy LP: 6600 - 6300).
As it returned to his side of the field, Mark slipped two more cards onto his Disk, their Set forms appearing on the field. "That's it for now."
Lucy drew, looking at the field. Yes, his deck relied on tricky effects, at least when compared to her more straightforward one, and his two set cards were almost certainly either to power up his monster, or to replace it when she destroyed it. There was no way that he'd leave a weaker monster on the field without support. Still, she couldn't just leave it on the field. "Lightray Manticore attacks Performapal Hammer Mammoth!"
The monster roared and charged, its wings carrying it into the air. Hammer Mammoth gave a cry, trying to ward off the attacker with its trunk, but Manticore's wings carried it higher than the pachyderm could reach, and it dropped onto the elephant's back, claws sinking into the monster's skin, then stabbing viciously with its tail. The unfortunate creature shattered, causing the Manticore to roughly fall to the ground. (Mark LP: 5400 - 5200)
Mark didn't look concerned by the loss of his creature, however. "I activate Performapal Revival! When a Performapal is destroyed, I can replace it with another one from my hand or Graveyard. Thus, let's bring Sword Fish back to the field!" The trap turned to light, before shattering to reveal the familiar blue fish-blade.
"And his effect activates, reducing your monster's Attack and Defense by 600 points!" The Manticore roared, trying to knock away the barrage of blades that were projected at it, but it was unable to prevent itself from taking a few wounds. (Lightray Manticore ATK: 2800 - 2200)
Lucy frowned, and placed two cards on her disk. "Two Set cards will end my turn."
"And I activate my other card during your End Phase, Illusion Balloons!" The face-down card flipped up, and five large balloons emerged from it, floating in an arch over Mark's head. "Because a monster I controlled was destroyed this turn, I can excavate the top five cards of my deck, and if there's a Performapal monster among them, I can summon it to the field!"
Lucy winced as he pulled the cards off the top of his deck and looked at them. Odds were good there was at least one monster among that many cards.
Her suspicions were confirmed a moment later when a grin spread across Mark's face, and he selected one of the cards. The other four were put on top of his deck, which auto shuffled, while he placed the selected one on his Disk. "And so, let's welcome another Friendonkey to the field!"
All five balloons popped simultaneously, four of them merely producing a shower of confetti. The second from the left, however, released a donkey who, judging by its expression as it fell, clearly did not expect to appear on the field that way. (Performapal Friendonkey ATK: 1600)
As it landed, Lightray Manticore found itself under assault by more projected blades, leaving it with more scratches and wounds. He glanced at his monster. "Oh, Sword Fish's effect also activates activates when another Performapal is Special Summoned. I forgot to mention that, I guess." He looked at her with a bit of a sheepish expression on his face. (Lightray Manticore ATK: 2200 - 1600)
"But anyway, since you already ended your turn, I'll draw!" He did so, but didn't seem to look at the card, instead glancing up at Lucy. She could see him change a little, stand up a bit straighter. He'd been much more confident through the entire duel, although he probably didn't know, but now he looked downright cocky. Something was coming.
"First I'll summon Performapal Spikeagle from my hand!" His monster was a shades-wearing eagle whose feathers were arranged almost like a mohawk, giving it a ridge across the top of its head. Surprisingly, it didn't have a tophat on its head, although a bowtie was indeed present. (Performapal Spikeagle ATK: 900).
"And now the show begins! Grand Entrance now has 8 Entrance Counters on it, which means I can banish it to activate its effect! I can summon a Fusion monster by banishing Performapal monsters from my field or graveyard, so long as the Fusion monster's level is equal to or less than the number of Entrance Counters that were on Grand Entrance! And the monster I want to summon is level 8, so I have just enough!"
On his field, Sword Fish dissolved into energy, joined by two other trails that emerged from the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk. "I fuse Performapals Sword Fish, Whip Snake, and the Friendonkey in my Grave!" The energies began to swirl around the machine behind him, which Lucy realized was now completely full of fireworks.
"Forged duelist of the seas, combine with the mesmerizing serpent and the ever-patient packmule to create the greatest show on earth! The fun's just getting started!" As he chanted, the fireworks began to send off sparks, clearly moments away from being ignited.
"Fusion Summon!"
And with those words, they exploded into the sky, lighting up the nearby sky with flashes of light. Hearing several ooohs and aaahs from nearby, Lucy looked around. Their duel seemed to have attracted a few visitors, all of whom seemed entranced by the firework display.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Performapal Ring Master!" Mark hadn't noticed yet, it seemed, and as he finished his chant, a small shockwave blew the smoke away from where the machine had been, revealing the monster standing there. It looked like a young man with red eyes, wearing a brilliant red suit, with the area on his chest forming what looked like an orange hexagon, and a flared collar revealing that the inside of the coat was blue. The coat flared out at the monster's waist to reveal that his red pants. Black shoes, and black gloves completed the ensemble, while a pair of large goggles rested on red and green hair. It was twirling a performers staff with a blue sphere on the end as it walked forward to stand before Mark. (Performapal Ring Master ATK: 0)
Lucy's eyes narrowed as she observed the monster. "Where's the trick?" Level 8 monsters that required 3 materials and came with no Attack points had to have a powerful effect.
Mark grinned at her. "I'm glad you asked! While he may not have any Attack right now, he adds the Attack and Defense of all other Performapal Monsters on the field to his scores!" Friendonkey, Krazy Kanga, and Spikeagle all seemed to glow with energy, which flowed into Ring Master's staff. (Performapal Ring Master ATK: 0 - 3000)
"And his second effect allows me to Special Summon a Performapal monster from my hand or Graveyard once per turn, so let's welcome back Hammer Mammoth!" Once again, the air was filled with a trumpeting noise as the blue elephant reappeared with a flash from Ring Master's staff. "And his Attack rises once again!" (Performapal Ring Master ATK: 3000 - 5600)
"And now, my monster, attack!" Ring Master pointed its staff at her and fired a multicolored blast of energy at her, inexplicably exploding Lightray Manticore into confetti. (Lucy LP: 6300 - 2300)
Lucy's hand moved for her Duel Disk, almost without conscious thought, jabbing two buttons in quick succession. "I activate Hyper Refresh, doubling my Life Points since your monsters have more Attack points than I do Life Points while I have no monsters, chaining Numinous Healer to it to increase my life points by 1000 before that." As the two cards flipped up, she was surrounded with soothing white light for a moment, fading as the Life Point counter shot up. (Lucy LP: 2300 - 3300 - 6600)
Mark clapped, grinning. "You've padded your points to survive this turn, at least, but you're still going to lose quite a bit." He pointed dramatically at her. "Attack, the rest of my monsters!"
Hammer Mammoth, Spikeagle, and Friendonkey all attacked at about the same time, diving into the cloud of dust her defeated monster's explosion had created. When the cloud cleared a few moments later, she had been forced to her knees, feeling very thankful that this wasn't a duel where damage was real. (Lucy LP: 6600 - 4000 - 2400 - 1500)
Mark looked very impressed. "Well, I've never seen anyone stay on their feet after that much damage."
Lucy stood up, feeling very thankful that Solid Vision was mostly mental in terms of its effects. It could make you feel like you were getting the crap beaten out of you, but no damage was actually done. After being through more than one Shadow Game, this kind of pretend damage could be ignored. That wasn't to say that it didn't hurt, but it was definitely manageable. "I'm tougher than I look."
"I'll say." He glanced at his hand, and then at the field. "Well, my turn's over."
Lucy nodded, and stretched her arms before drawing. When she saw what it was, her expression morphing into a vicious grin. Adding it to her hand, she activated another card. "I play Reinvigorating Light, banishing Soul of Purity and Light, Lightray Manticore, and Lightray Jar from my Graveyard!" The three cards popped out of her Disk, and another one popped out of her Deck. "Then I can add a Lightray from my deck to my hand as long as its level is less than or equal than half the level of the banished monsters!"
Mark blinked. "Wait, when did that last one get into the Grave?"
"Lightray Kuriboh's effect put it there." she explained. "And speaking of it, since I banished Lightray Jar, I can banish another Lightray from my Graveyard, like Lightray Amphibian, to draw a card." Another two cards popped out of her Disk, one to go into the pouch on her waist, the other into her hand.
"And now, since I have at least five Lightray monsters with different names in my Banished Zone, I can summon Lightray Megarock!"
The ground behind her trembled and split , an avalanche of gold moving in the exact opposite direction most avalanches flowed. Both duelists did their best to stay balanced as from out of the ground emerged a massive four-legged creature of golden stone, with silver cracks running through it and solid blue eyes. (Lightray Megarock ATK: 0)
"Like its normal counterpart, Lightray Megarock gains 700 attack for each banished monster of a certain kind in the Grave. In its case, it's fueled by Light-Attribute monsters, and there are currently nine of them." The golden monster roared, silver veins flashing. (Lightray Megarock ATK: 0 - 6300)
Mark flinched a little at the roar, but held his ground. "It can beat Ring Master, but you won't finish me off!"
Lucy shook her head. "I'm attacking your Performapal Spikeagle, not Performapal Ring Master." Mark's head whipped around to stare at his small monster, calculating fast, and not liking the number he came up with.
She raised her hand, and pointed. "Lightray Megarock, attack Performapal Spikeagle." The creature roared again, the earth rippling as a wave of stone tore through the ground, impacting Spikeagle and covering the dueling area with a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared, Lucy started reaching for her Duel Gazer, only to be stopped short when the dust pulled back to reveal that not only was Spikeagle still around, but that Mark was seemingly untouched by the damage, his Life Points still at 5200.
"How did you survive? How is your monster around?" she questioned, a touch of incredulity creeping into her voice.
Mark grinned. "Ring Master has one more special ability. When he's out, all other Performapal monsters I control cannot be destroyed once per turn. As for my life points, Pinch Helper lived up to its name once again. By sending it to the grave, I can reduce the damage I take from a battle to zero."
Lucy nodded slowly, and glanced at her hand. "I activate the field spell Luminous Spark." Slotting it into her disk, their surroundings suddenly seemed to grow brighter and more rich in color. As it did so, Megarock roared as it powered up slightly. (Lightray Megarock ATK: 6300 - 6800)
"I'll set one card and end my turn." The set card appeared next to her as she nodded to Mark, who drew. Seeing what card he had drawn, he laughed.
"Oh, if only I drew this one turn earlier, then you'd have been in trouble. I equip Performapal Ring Master with United We Stand!" The monster seemed to stand taller and more confidently, even more energy streaming from the rest of the monsters to it. (Performapal Ring Master ATK: 5600 - 9600)
"And then I tribute Krazy Kanga for another Hammer Mammoth!" The water strider disappeared, and was replaced by a second blue elephant, trumpeting in chorus with the first one. As it did so, Ring Master's power increased yet again. (Performapal Hammer Mammoth ATK: 2600)(Performapal Ring Master ATK: 9600 - 11700)
Mark pointed dramatically at Lucy, Ring Master mirroring his stance. "And now for the finale! Ring Master attacks!" The monster raised its staff into the air, charging a sphere of multicolored energy that quickly grew bigger than the monster itself, humming with power. A flick of the monster's wrist, and the sphere rocketed at the giant monster of golden stone, impacting with a blast that drove Lucy to her knee again, and sent Mark stumbling backwards.
Finding his footing again, he looked up with a grin. "That's more like i-what!?"
The blast hadn't destroyed the monster - in fact, it seemed to have turned into golden energy, which was seeping into Megarock, erasing the silver cracks in its body as the monster's entire body began to glow with a brilliance that was almost too much to look at. "What happened!?"
"My trap card, Lumenize." Lucy responded as she got up. "It negates your attack and then adds the Attack of your monster to mine." And indeed, the golden creature was now pure gold in color, its blue-eyes having disappeared into the radiant gleaming of the rest of its body. (Lightray Megarock ATK: 6800 - 18500)
Mark gaped at the monster, before laughing. "And that's the final trick right there, without a card in my hand to stop it!" He laughed again. "I end my turn."
Lucy drew for a last time, not even bothering to glance at the card as she pointed towards Mark, an almost predatory grin on her face. "Lightray Megarock attacks with Luminous Cascade!"
Her monster moved. The next few moments were a confusion of brilliant gold and the roaring of both the monster and the flying earth. The Solid Vision cut off after a few moments, disappearing to reveal that Mark had been knocked back almost ten feet into a fortuitously placed hedge. (Mark LP: 5200 - 0)(Lucy WIN)
She hurried over to check on him. Solid Vision was tuned to avoid any real damage, but accidents did happen on occasion. He was pulling himself out of the hedge when she reached him, apparently unharmed. Her offered hand was accepted, and she helped pull him to his feet. "Are you OK?"
He nodded.
"Yeah, yeah...I'm good, thanks." He chuckled breathlessly. "I wasn't expecting to get hit with that, let me tell you."
"Are you feeling more relaxed now?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah, I am." He paused, and a grin spread across his face. "I am a lot more relaxed now. Just like you said!"
Mission success. "You were more relaxed and confident while dueling. If you can put yourself in the same mindset when performing as when you are dueling, you won't have as many issues with being nervous."
He sighed, bending down to brush some twigs and leaves off of his suit. "Yeah...I get what you mean. I don't know if I can exactly do it, but…" he looked up at her. "...thanks for helping me out, you know?"
She smiled. "I was very young when I first started learning magic. Someone helped me out and gave me advice then. I am doing for you what he did for me." Her smile took on a slight edge for a moment, which vanished as quickly as it had shown up.
Mark grinned, and then took a breath. "Thank you for your lesson. I hope I can make it worth your time to teach me." He glanced at a watch on his wrist, and blinked in surprise. "I still need to go and find out when exactly my performance slot is, though…"
She waved him off. "Go find out, then."
He gave her one last grin, and ran off towards the building. She watch him go, before making her own way back into the building, at a leisurely walk.
OOOOO
"A-and now, if you'll all observe that there is nothing on the table…"
His technical skills weren't actually all that bad, Lucy decided. After she had gone and picked up all her little gifts for the team back at Duel Town, she'd decided to see when he was performing. It turned out he'd been one of the first ones in line - his last name was Anderson.
"...an ordinary cloth, as you can see…"
He was definitely nervous, and it was affecting his overall show. Still, he wasn't panicking, and she could see him trying to not fumble around and get caught in his mistakes. And none of them were really technical mistakes either. A bit slow on some things, or not smooth enough on others, but he knew what he was doing well enough to not fail there. She couldn't tell if it was a talent for sleight of hand, or just being very well-practiced, but it was a firm foundation at the least.
"...a-and that's where my hat went!"
His patter and distraction skills were his weak points, but he was using what he had well enough. His tricks were a bit on the generic side, but if he was new, then it was to be expected. Developing your own repertoire took experience with what you were comfortable with, and where your skills went. She hadn't gone into her fiery collection of tricks until she'd found a book on fire eating and similar things, and realized that the slight resistance to fire she possessed could help that immensely.
"T-thank you for your time!"
He was rather rough around the edges, but so was everyone when they started out. What was important was that he definitely had the potential to get better, and he definitely had the determination to try and explore that to the utmost. And it wasn't as though he'd been unenjoyable, either. She joined in the polite clapping as he walked off the stage, standing up to leave as she did. The next item on her agenda here was starting soon, and there was no particular reason to stick around any more.
She left the hall, and disappeared into the crowds again, smiling to herself as she did.
OOOOO
Anime Cards:
Hyper Refresh / Spell, Continuous
Effect: Activate only if the combined ATK of your opponent's face-up monsters is higher than your Life Points, while you control no monsters. Double your Life Points.
Image: A completely darkened figure holding out a bottle labeled "REFRESH".
Custom Cards:
Circus Arena / Spell, Continuous
Effect: When a "Performapal" monster you control battles another monster, increase its Attack by 100 times the Level of the other monster.
Image: Performapal Silver Fang on top of a large circus ball with Performapal Spikeagle balancing on its head. They are in the spotlight of a circus ring.
Grand Entrance / Trap, Continuous
Effect: When you Normal or Special Summon a "Performapal" monster, place 1 Entrance Counter on this card. When your opponent activates a card effect in response to the Normal or Special Summon of a "Performapal" monster you control, place 1 Entrance Counter on this card. You can banish this card; Fusion Summon 1 "Performapal" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck whose level is equal to or less than the number of Entrance Counters on this card by banishing the Fusion Materials listed on it from your Graveyard or field. You can only control 1 face-up "Grand Entrance".
Image: The shadowed form of Performapal Ring Master as it prepares to walk through a doorway into a lit arena.
Performapal Krazy Kanga / Level 5 / FIRE / Beast/Effect / 500 ATK/2100 DEF
Effect: Once per turn, when this card changes Battle Position, increase the ATK and DEF of all "Performapal" monsters you control by 500 until the second End Phase after this effect's activation.
Image: A kangaroo with a bowtie and tophat, beating enthusiastically on a drum.
Performapal Ring Master / Level 8 / DARK / Spellcaster/Fusion/Effect / 3 "Performapal" monsters / 0 ATK/0 DEF
Effect: This card can only be Special Summoned by Fusion Summoning, and cannot be Special Summoned by other means. This card gains ATK and DEF equal to the ATK and DEF of all "Performapal" monsters you control. Other "Performapal" monsters you control cannot be destroyed in battle or by card effects once per turn.
Image: A young man with red and green hair in a multi-colored circus master's outfit.
Reinvigorating Light / Spell, Normal
Effect: Banish two or more LIGHT monsters from your Graveyard; Add 1 "Lightray" monster from your Deck to your hand whose level is equal to or less than half the combined levels of the banished monsters.
Image: Lightray Grepher and Lightray Gearfried holding their hands over a fallen Lightray Sorcerer. White light is flowing from their hands into Sorcerer's body.
Lightray Kuriboh / Level 1 / LIGHT / Fiend/Effect / 300 ATK/200 DEF
Effect: When a "Lightray" monster you control is destroyed, you can Special Summon this card from your hand and send 1 LIGHT monster from your Deck to the Graveyard. If this card was Special Summoned this way, banish it when it leaves the field.
Image: A Kuriboh with silver fur and gentle blue eyes - gold wings made of light seem to spread from either side of it.
Lightray Amphibian / Level 1 / LIGHT / Aqua/Effect / 100 ATK/100 DEF
Effect: When a "Lightray" monster you control is destroyed, you can Special Summon this card from your hand or Graveyard. If you Special Summoned this card from the Graveyard by this effect, banish it when it leaves the field.
Image: A golden frog with several silver markings on its body. It seems to be falling down from the sun.
Lightray Manticore / Level 8 / LIGHT / Beast/Effect / 2800 ATK/2500 DEF
Effect: If you Tribute Summon this card by Tributing LIGHT Monster(s) you can banish a number of LIGHT monsters from your Graveyard equal to the number of LIGHT monsters used to Tribute Summon this monster and destroy a number of cards on the field equal to the number of monsters banished.
Image: A manticore with a golden body covered in white armor. its tail is a blue scorpion's tail, and it has two bat wings that turn from silver along the arm to blue at the ends.
Lightray Megarock / Level 7 / LIGHT / Rock/Effect / 0 ATK/0 DEF
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned/Set. This card can only be Special Summoned if you have 5 or more "Lightray" monsters with different names in your Banished Zone. This card gains 700 ATK and DEF for each LIGHT monster in your Banished Zone.
Image: A giant dragon-like creature made of rocks that look almost like liquid gold, with glowing blue eyes. Silver lines seem to mark where the golden rocks are joined.
Lightray Jar / Level 2 / LIGHT / Rock/Effect / 700 ATK/600 DEF
Effect: When this card is banished you can banish 1 "Lightray" monster from your graveyard to draw 1 card.
Image: A white jar with blue and gold decorations and a pair of glowing eyes.
OOOOO
Next Time, on Shadowchasers: Normality:
Arcane Apprentice