Brotherhood

by PA James

My name is Rhett. After my older brother, Jesse, passed away and left me his class ring, I swore to become the nation's best duelist in his honor. But, could I even carry on when I made shocking discoveries about his final fate, uncovered an evil plan to devastate the entire world and found myself facing the return of the Egyptian God Cards?

The crowd at the District Finals roared and the overwhelming force of the sound hit me in the chest. I felt sweat on my forehead from the heat of the lights overhead, illuminating both myself and my dueling opponent. Across the arena, at the duelist station opposite me, my opponent, a medium-height boy with a shock of auburn-red hair on top of his head, laid down a card upon the pedestal before him.

"Now," he was saying, his voice loud over the speaker system, carried through them by the headset microphone he wore. "I Tribute my Despair from the Dark (2800/3000) and my Ryu Kokki (2400/2000) to Summon my ultimate monster, Maju Garzett! And due to its effect, its original attack becomes the combined strengths of the two tributes! (5200/0)"

"But," I interjected, hearing the heat rising into my voice thanks to my own microphone. "Your monster is a one-trick pony! His Defense is zero!"

"While that's true, it won't be any concern of yours for very long! Go, Maju Garzett, attack his Dark Paladin!" (2900/2400) The hologram of my opponent's monster, a towering half-skeletal figure, clenched one bony hand into a fist and swung a punch aimed at my pride and joy. Dark Paladin, my very best monster card, seemed to try to withstand the blow, but the numbers didn't lie. There was no way he'd survive this battle.

The results were much as I would have expected. Dark Paladin couldn't remain on the field, and his hologram simply shattered into pieces as I removed his card from the playing field on my own dueling pedestal and laid him atop the stack of cards on the upper right of my station, the discard pile designated as the card graveyard. While I did that, my eyes roved to the giant television screen high on one side of the arena. My own face came into view there, as a life point counter overlaid on the image and ticked down to display 3100.

I saw my own features start to show my despair and I struggled to reel it in. Instead of letting my forest-green eyes stay wide in shock at the destruction of the monster card most dear to my heart, I relaxed my eyelids to give off a neutral, almost bored look. I didn't much care for the way the big screen stretched my stocky frame, making me look chubbier than I really was, but there was nothing much that I could do about that. My shaggy, dark brown hair was soaked from the sweat on my forehead and I slicked it to the side, wiping my brow with the back of my hand as I did.

But I really wasn't all that concerned about my appearance, not as much as I was about how my opponent beat my trump card. Dark Paladin was more to me than that, and it troubled me to think of it in such mercenary terms, but more than I loved that card, I loved to win. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that I hated to lose. I really didn't want to give my opponent, David, the satisfaction of beating me, but without my top monster, I wasn't sure how I would stop him.

I ran over possible options silently, mouthing my thoughts as I did. Call it neurotic, but I couldn't think clearly unless I was just about straight-up talking to myself. I blame the noise of the arena around me.

I could summon a monster in defense, but nothing was stopping him from summoning up backup for Maju Garzett on the next turn and clearing my field with it, leaving his giant to win the duel for him.

It all fell to what I drew next.

I slid the top card off my deck and added it to my sparse hand. I was running low on cards, and thus low on options. I had spent a few cards on my previous turn just fusion summoning my Dark Paladin, exchanging the Dark Magician on my field and the Buster Blader in my hand for Dark Paladin by fusing them together with the spell card Polymerization. That play had been my winning move, as Dark Paladin's strength had exceeded either Ryu Kokki's or Despair from the Dark's. I would have removed Despair from the Dark on my turn, but he had activated Threatening Roar, nullifying my attack and leaving his monster standing.

Now I saw the reason he did so without hesitation. Maju Garzett stood posed to win the duel and there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it, from the looks of the options in my hand. The card I had drawn, Apprentice Magician, was nowhere near the strength I needed to turn the tables on David, either via card effect or raw stats: Attack or Defense.

What it could do was buy me some time. Its card effect would summon a replacement monster in defense mode when it was destroyed in battle with another monster. Clearly, my best option was to set it in facedown defense mode, where it would stop the attack force of David's Maju Garzett from hitting my life points directly. Then, if it was destroyed as I anticipated, I could still be defended by another monster summoned by the power of Apprentice Magician's effect.

The only problem was, it really got under my skin to be forced to such a defensive and passive play style. That wasn't the way Jesse had taught me to duel. But my older brother had passed away years before and all that I had left of him to remember him by was his class ring, a white gold band inscribed with his name and depictions of his favorite extra-curricular activities, Duel Club and Choir. I raised my right hand and stared down at the sapphire stone set at the head of the ring and my brother's face instantly rose to the surface of my mind.

Seeing his smile in my mind's eye, I felt bolstered to do my best, no matter what the play may be. I'd be letting him down if I did less than my best, and if that turned out to not be good enough, at least I could take comfort knowing I hadn't given up in a difficult moment. But, as I mentioned, I really hated to lose, so I was still going to do everything in my power to win this duel. Not for the glory of the title of District Champion, but for the memory of my elder brother. If he could see my duel from wherever his soul resided, I wanted him to see me at my very best.

"I'll set a monster and end my turn!" I said, steadily as I could.

"Is that really your best?" David taunted.

"Hey, I don't remember making fun of you when you had literally nothing to play for several turns earlier," I responded.

"That's true, but I really thought you would bring better than this my way. You're famous in my town, y'know. Rhett Natsume is supposed to be this epic duelist who has an answer for every play."

"No, I didn't know that. Good to know someone appreciates me, even if you don't," I said with a smirk.

David almost laughed. "It isn't that I don't appreciate you. I'm actually enjoying this duel, but I didn't think you'd be left with so little to do by any move that I could make."

"Don't underestimate my deck. The reason I'm so esteemed is because I use only a very lightly modified deck originally built by my brother, Jesse. He's the best duelist I ever met and any deck he put together will be both versatile and formidable."

"Very well," he said, determination overcoming his expression. "I'm going to bring my all to this next move. Get ready, Rhett!"

I was ready. I was ready for David to do his very worst. I only hoped my gamble would pay off.

My move hadn't turned the tide of the duel for me, I knew that much. And now David had a chance to strike decisively and end the duel, and with it, my chances at entrance to the Duel Monsters national tournament. This year's nationals had been given a 'lore-y' kind of name: "The Gambit Tournament". It was supposed to get contenders into the spirit of taking chances and gambling on their favorite strategies.

But I wouldn't have to worry about the name if David did what I was afraid he would. But I wouldn't give in to fear. I was going to face whatever play David had in store without flinching.

As I expected, David had another summon to make this turn. "I summon Immortal Ruler!" (1800/800) From the card which materialized on the holographic field between us, another skeletal figure, this one more human-like in proportion and clothed in deep purple robes and adornments emerged. It's empty skull sockets stared vacantly at me. "And I'll send Immortal Ruler to attack your facedown card!"

As the brown, black-portaled card back on the field flipped over, a human figure also in purple clothes with a shock of blonde hair upon his head and bearing a very elementary-looking staff of green-colored wood crouched in a defensive position with his arms crossing his chest.

Immortal Ruler backhanded Apprentice Magician, shattering it's hologram in one motion. "Apprentice Magician (400/800) may not stand up to an assault from most monsters, but what he can do is just as valuable. His special ability lets me special summon another Spellcaster-type monster of an equal or lower level to the field in facedown-defense position to continue to protect me!" As I spoke, I picked up my deck of cards and leafed through it for a monster fitting the conditions that Apprentice Magician's effect stipulated. And I knew exactly what monster I wanted. I found the monster I desired and set it face down on my terminal. Immediately, another brown-backed card depicting that same black portal appeared horizontally on the field.

"It's sad that the once-great Rhett Natsume is reduced to defending with multiple copies of the same weak monster."

"Hey, what did I tell you about bad sportsmanship? Knock it off," I protested.

"Have it your way," David shrugged. "Maju Garzett, attack his Apprentice Magician again!"

"Ha! You've fallen for my trap!" I cheered.

"What? You haven't set a spell or trap card lately. What gives?" he asked, his tone bewildered.

"Not a trap card, David. A simple ruse. The monster I chose with Apprentice Magician wasn't another copy of the same monster, but rather was another monster of the same level. Let's introduce your Maju Garzett to the monster he attacked! Meet my Old Vindictive Magician! (450/600) This ally of mine has a simple, yet explosive special ability. He chooses one monster you control and destroys it. And as you can probably guess, I'll choose your Maju Garzett!"

"But your monster will still be destroyed!" David reminded me.

"Yes, Old Vindictive Magician's effect is a Flip Effect, so it will resolve only after battle. So go ahead, destroy him. Enjoy it. Because as soon as he goes, so does your monster."

The giant red half-skeletal monster punched my monster again, but this time, my little magician fired off a counterattack that took Maju Garzett in the face. Both monsters' holograms shattered into pieces and only Immortal Ruler was left on the field.

I clenched my fist, hand held high, in a celebration of the small victory. It gave me confidence that I could still win this duel. My simple play of one card at just the right time gave me the monster I really needed to turn this duel around. Alone, Apprentice Magician would never have stood up to Maju Garzett, strong as it was. What it did have was the ability to bring to the field other monsters from my deck, and that had allowed me to bring an admittedly weak monster that had a powerful effect to bear.

As the adrenaline rush began to ebb down to subdued level, I realized that though it had been a solid move, it hadn't reestablished any control over the field. I was far from done in this duel, in a dual sense. It would take more than one ace monster to take me down, but I wasn't swimming in my own ace monsters anymore, either. I needed to play something strong in order to take control of the duel. That was the path to victory.

I needed a strong monster, and the candidate I was looking at in my hand would fit the bill well enough.

"I've got little else to do, so it's your turn again!" David said.

I nodded in response and drew my card. I grabbed my monster and practically threw it down on the duel terminal.

"I summon Crusader of Endymion!" (1900/1200) Another wiry mage sprung onto the field, this one protected by blue armor that seemed to levitate just a few inches from his skin, making him appear large and quite formidable. "Now, Crusader, go attack his Immortal Ruler! Take control of this duel for us!"

The azure-clad wizard-knight raised one hand and a lance of purple magic shot out from it and speared David's Immortal Ruler. I cast a glance up the big screens again, this time to check on David's life points. A blue box appeared on the screen, layered over the image of his displeased face to read a total of 3200. That amount was acceptable to me. It meant that in one more turn, I could have them totally depleted.

"I'll set one card facedown and end my move," I told him.

David continued to frown and drew his card, which only served to make him look more unhappy. He laid down two facedown cards in the back row of his terminal. "I set two spell or trap cards and summon Vampire Sorcerer in attack mode!" (1500/1500)

From the floor of the dueling field, a flat wooden surface rumbled up through the holographic ground. It vibrated audibly as it cleared the earth, revealing itself to be a coffin, shaking dirt clods from it as it rose to hover above the ground. The lid opened and a pale, almost blue, skinned male humanoid climbed out of it. He was dressed in archaic robes and an honest-to-goodness pointed hat. He held in one hand a simple staff, the head of which resembled nothing else so much as a bat.

Vampire Sorcerer faced off against Crusader of Endymion and held his staff pointed directly at him, at the ready. "I end my turn."

I felt myself perk up an eyebrow at David. That was a bold move, leaving his monster vulnerable. I hadn't gotten the impression from him during this duel that he was reckless or short-sighted. He was probably setting a trap with his two facedown cards, and using Vampire Sorcerer as bait. I wouldn't fall for something so obvious, but it was possible that getting him to trigger his trap on my terms would let me keep my advantage.

I drew silently, keeping my eyes on David, studying him. Then I made my move. "I'll equip my Crusader with a weapon worthy of a wizard; I activate Bound Wand!" Directly into Crusader of Endymion's right hand, an elegant wand capped with a large red stone materialized. Crusader raised it to point at Vampire Sorcerer. "It's effect will grant Crusader of Endymion with 100 extra Attack for every level he has. That totals to 400 extra Attack! (2300/1200)

But that's not all that's up my sleeve! Remember the card I set last turn? I activate it now: Pitch-Black Power Stone!" Rearward and to the right of Crusader of Endymion, a smooth, round black stone the size of most boulders appeared, its surface bearing a design of a yellow triangle overlaid with black curves and a black dot in the center. Three much smaller versions of it materialized, clinging to the smooth surface of the stone. "When this card activates, it gains three Spell Counters that I can distribute to any card that can hold them at a rate of one for each of my turns."

"What was the point of that?" David practically sneered. "Crusader can't hold Spell Counters."

"You're right, it can't," I said with a smirk. "But you're thinking in the wrong direction. Pitch-Black Power Stone isn't here to give a Spell Counter to Crusader of Endymion. Now, I activate Crusader of Endymion's effect! As a Gemini monster, once he's on the field, I can activate his effect at the cost of forsaking my Normal Summon, effectively summoning him again. Crusader's effect is that he can generate a spell counter each turn to place on any card that can hold them, like Pitch-Black Power Stone. In so doing, he gains an Attack boost of 600 until my turn is over!" (2900/1200)

As I spoke, the holograms on the field seemed to move and act on their own. Crusader pointed a finger with his free hand at Pitch-Black Power Stone and as he did, another black Spell Counter formed, both his hand and the stone coated with a turquoise aura of magic. Then, it seemed to grow further in size, until it towered over Vampire Sorcerer.

I felt my satisfaction tempt me to be smug, but I resisted the urge. It wasn't sportsmanlike to gloat, and I would be a hypocrite to do that at that point. Still, I couldn't help but feel triumphant. I now had what I needed to neutralize David's advantage and what was more, I was now ready to carry out my plan.

I took a second to consider the two cards in David's back row, contemplating what he might have in store for me there. My instincts told me that it wasn't likely to be anything strong enough to take the advantage away from me. I was fairly certain that no matter what it was he had set there, I could still win this duel even if he activated it.

So I squashed any thought of holding back on him and unleashed my dueling fury.

It was time to finish this.

"Now, Crusader of Endymion, attack his Vampire Sorcerer!" The giant Crusader fired up his wand and shot an encompassing blast at Vampire Sorcerer. It crumpled without a fight and the holographic image fractured into small pieces and disappeared. David's life points fell drastically, all the way down to 1800.

"And now you have fallen for my trap!" David interjected.

"Say what?" I responded, bewildered. Ever the clever conversationalist, I am.

"Now that Vampire Sorcerer has been destroyed, his effect activates! I can add a card with 'Vampire' in its name to my hand! The card I choose is Vampire Genesis!" he declared, as he picked up his deck and milled through it to find the monster he desired.

"That's fine!" I replied, even though I didn't like the way things were starting to sound. I was semi-familiar with Vampire Genesis. I knew it required Vampire Lord to summon it, but Vampire Lord was a level 5 monster, requiring a Tribute before Summoning it. David couldn't summon it without his monster. It would be a turn before he could enact his plan. "I'll end my turn there!"

David smirked. "I draw! Now, I activate the secondary effect of Vampire Sorcerer! By banishing him from my graveyard," he said, pausing for a moment to pick the card up from his graveyard and sliding it into a front pocket on his jeans. "I can make a Tribute Summon this turn without any Tributes, so long as it's in the same family! And wouldn't you know it, I have just the card in my hand."

"Oh, crap," I muttered. I knew where this was heading.

"That's right," he said in a childish sing-songy voice. "Vampire Lord, come and join this duel!" (2000/1500) Another strange-skinned Vampire monster, this one more regal and refined in appearance than Vampire Sorcerer. He had unkempt blue hair and was clad predominantly in an elaborate cloak tipped in large white fang-like bones. "But he won't be staying long. I banish him from my side of the field in order to Special Summon my Vampire Genesis!" (3000/2100) David pocketed his new card as well and without further ado, slapped down his new monster.

Vampire Lord turned to pure light, and the white silhouette grew to gargantuan size. The light slowly faded as what had been a purple cloak became indigo skin and large, webbed wings with the same curved, pointed bones tipping them. Vampire Genesis was built on the same proportions as any Mr. Universe contender and tossed back his positively tiny-by-comparison head and roared, the sound bestial and savage.

The sound, though generated as part of a hologram, made my stomach drop. Because I knew Crusader of Endymion wasn't going to stand up to this behemoth, nor would most of my deck. "Double crap," I muttered again.

"But I'm nowhere near done! I activate my facedown trap, Escape from the Dark Dimension! This card brings back one of my banished DARK-attribute monsters and I choose Vampire Lord!" (2000/1500) David drew the card from his pocket and laid it down on the terminal. Vampire Lord reemerged, ready to rejoin the fight. "Last, I activate my facedown spell, Overpowering Eye and due to its effect, a Zombie-type monster with 2000 or less Attack- like my Vampire Lord, for example- can attack you directly this turn!"

"Triple crap! Things just keep getting better, don't they?" I said, unable to keep the exasperation from my voice.

"That they do!" David gleefully agreed. "Now, Vampire Lord, attack his Life Points directly! And Vampire Genesis, attack his Crusader of Endymion!" (2300/1200) As Vampire Lord cast a shadowy spell aimed at me, Vampire Genesis swung a hulking, indigo fist backhandedly at my armored, but frail spellcaster. I saw my Life Points dwindle from the combined overkill and direct attack by 2700 points, leaving me with a mere 400 points total. "And with that, I end my move, because this duel is over!"

I scowled at his poor sense of tact. I was more angry than intimidated by David's plays. "It's not over until the Life Points hit zero! My draw!" I looked over my cards, and while I did, I activated the effect of a card I had already played. "Now, you may not know this, but Bound Wand has a secondary effect! When the monster equipped with it is destroyed by you, either by battle or an effect, I'm allowed to Special Summon that monster back to my side of the field! So, come back and join us, Crusader of Endymion!" (1900/1200)

Crusader returned in an explosion of translucent energy, looking no worse for wear after the combat. Including my drawn card, I had three cards left, and as luck- or if Jesse had been right about what he believed, perhaps the Heart of the Cards- would have it, they were just the cards I needed.

"First, I activate the spell, Double Summon! This turn, I am allowed two Normal Summons, instead of just one. I'll use the first one to Normal Summon Crusader of Endymion, in order to once again, activate his attack-boosting effect!" Just like before, Crusader granted a Spell Counter to Pitch-Black Power Stone, and grew in size. (2500/1200) "For my second Normal Summon, I bring forth Breaker the Magical Warrior! (1600/1000) By his own effect, he gains a Spell Counter when he is successfully Normal Summoned, and it grants him extra Attack power, 300 points of it to be exact!" (1900/1000)

"Why are you wasting my time with all of this?" David asked, clearly not paying much attention. "Neither of those monsters has the power to destroy either of my monsters."

"Wrong. Breaker can take care of your Vampire Lord, by utilizing his effect! I sacrifice Breaker's Spell Counter to activate his special ability and destroy your Escape from the Dark Dimension card! And I happen to know that when that card leaves the field, your monster returns to his exile!"

David frowned hard at me, but nothing was going to dampen my spirits. I had this duel in the bag. "Fine, but you still can't stand up to my Vampire Genesis!"

"You're wrong there, too, David. I have one last card to play. Say hello to Wonder Wand!" A new magic wand, this one a smooth rod with a green orb at its tip sprung into existence in Crusader of Endymion's fist. "And I equip it to Crusader of Endymion, granting him 500 Attack Points! (3000/1200) Just enough to take out your monster for good. Go, Crusader, destroy his Vampire Genesis!"

This time, when Crusader and Genesis threw down with one another, Crusader was on par with Genesis, in both size and strength. Crusader grappled with Genesis for a moment, both of their strengths matched, until Crusader's hands glowed with green energy that encompassed them both in an explosion that left the field empty, save for my Breaker.

"Now that all that's done, time for the coup de gras! I activate the effect of Pitch-Black Power Stone to grant Breaker his Spell Counter back!" (1900/1000) "Now, Breaker, attack him directly!" Breaker's sword gleamed with potential and he rushed forward to slash at David in the chest. The hologram passed through his torso harmlessly, but the in-game effect was quite real.

David's Life Points hit 0 and the spectators in the arena seats erupted into cheers and screaming. They had eaten up every bit of drama the contrast of David's showmanship and my sportsmanship had provided and they must have pinned me as the underdog. The tumultuous sound drowned out all other input to my ears and I could feel the vibrations of their voices rumble in the cavities of my chest.

Endorphins and adrenaline flew through my veins as I rode the ecstasy of the win. I had done it; even though it had seemed impossible, even though it took every last card in my hand, and could not have happened if I hadn't top-decked the final piece of the puzzle, but it was done. I had won the District Finals and I would now advance to nationals, the Gambit Tournament.

Duel Monsters Nationals, that had been Jesse's lifelong dream, before his time with us had been cut short. I was going to take his ring and his deck there for him, so that a part of him would achieve his dream. My big brother, my hero, deserved nothing less to honor his life.