Yugioh - Unlimited Boundary
Episode 1 - Arata Muteki, the Furious Genex Controller!
I have never seen so many people in one place before...
People as far as my sight would take me waited behind the docks at the end of the city. Teenagers my age to adults in their twenties seemed to be here, waiting for the boat to take us to the Academy. Worried mothers and proud fathers cried as the thought of their children leaving entered their minds, forcing them to hug their young ones. It almost made me sad, to think no one was going to miss me like that...
I sat at the edge of the wooden dock, legs dangling above the water, with a small backpack to accompany me. I was here for the same reason everyone else was, to attend Duel Academy. I risked being pushed into the water several times by the impatient crowd by sitting over the dock's edge, but I kept a tight grip on the wooden support below me, making sure I was safe. I watched the sun above me without a word, swirling the tip of my bare foot in the water. Before I could get too comfortable, however, the sounds of a roaring horn sent most of the crowd into a frenzy.
A titanic ship sailed towards Domino City, a blue and white color scheme with the emblem DA on its sides. As it neared closer and closer, the crowd did its best to contain itself. Even I had a hard time calming down. My heart was racing and the smile on my face was something I didn't use often. I held my bag tight to my torso and rose up to my feet, sliding back into my black high-heels. For this occasion, I wore a pair of black jeans with a white belt across my waist, my buckle design a sunflower of the same color, My torso was neatly covered in a white tank-top, a swirling crimson, floral design across the face and along the back.
Nervously, I played with the crimson bangs that fell from my short hair, parted along the center, extending straight down to my shoulders. I had a hard time keeping my hair from covering my emerald eyes, so when I'm nervous or scared, I play with the tips of my bangs or brush the front of my hair. The boat only seemed larger as it sailed closer, and as it finally arrived at a halt, the crowd became even more impatient. Everyone tried to fit on the docks at one time, forcing plenty of pushing and shoving.
From the surface of the boat, a large ramp was descended, and everyone in the crowd became silent.
"Good morning, future students!" yelled a man from atop the ramp, dressed in a very professional suit, with the emblem of the school pinned to his chest. "This vassal will take all who come aboard to Duel Academy, any and all disorderly conduct will cause for immediate expulsion from the school and will be sent back to Domino City when the boat ends its voyage!"
That quote stirred up the crowd a little.
"All passengers will be asked their name and duelist I.D before entering the ship to authentication. Now, all to Duel Academy, aboard!" The man finished his short speech, and on command, the crowd struggled to fit on the wooden ramp. Everyone trying to get there at once was very dangerous, and I didn't like to be around such large crowds of people... I stayed behind until the commotion died down, despite how excited I myself was.
It took almost an hour until I was able to board, and as I nervously approached the man in charge, I struggled to remember my I.D number. I had chanted it in my head for the past hour, but when the time came to recite it, I froze.
"Name and I.D, please," He asked me in a monotonous, robotic voice, without even sparing me eye contact.
"E-Enzeru... Ado... Adokenai..." I coughed. "Enzeru Adokenai, I.D...2527867," I told him, smiling with relief that I had remembered it. He typed the number into a small hand-held, and only a second later, he told me I was approved. I stepped on to the boat, embraced my bag tightly, and stared in wonder at the outstanding size of the vassal.
I was the last person on the boat, and with my entrance, several men in sailor's uniform ran over to help the first man with the ramp. I took a long, deep breath and stretched my arms to the heavens. I was so excited! I got to go to Duel Academy!
The surface of the boat consisted of smoke stacks, a large protrusion at the very center, leading up into the captains room, or down into the lower deck. My gaze, and my attention, were soon stolen by the sounds of a loud crash. People cheered as more and more gathered around something towards the back of the boat. Curious, I decided to join the building crowd and run towards the commotion. Within my first few steps, I found myself falling to the ground, tripping over my heels. My body hit the ground face-first, and my shoes went flying off behind me.
"Oww..." I cried, finally mustering the strength to sit up after a few minutes of lying there. I was stupid to run in heels, but without them, I looked so much shorter than everyone else. It was worth the discomfort not to be made fun of.
When I finally pushed myself back to my feet, I kept my heels in my hand and tried running again.
"My turn, I draw!" I heard someone, a woman, yell at the center of the crowd. A duel must have been going on! Instantly, my excitement increased. I had to fight through the crowd for a minute or so to be able to see anything, but once I advanced to the front of the crowd, my arms strangled my bag in an effort to contain myself. I saw a beautiful woman, straight, raven hair cascading down to her waist to the edges of her blue skirt, with eyes to match the color, and a white blouse over her torso, a strip of blue up the chest, with gauntlets and boots over her arms and legs. The woman stood behind a very large hologram of her monster, one I had never seen before. It was robotic, hovering in the air via jets of blue flame on its underside. Both of its arms adorned, what looked like, multiple flame throwers, with a large one at its center.
She seemed to be dueling the man on her opposite, and it was her turn. The man looked very cocky, with a Royal Decree face-up on his side, and a Necro Gardna (600/1300, Dark/Warrior, Level 3) in defense position. I heard someone ask behind me:
"What's going on here?"
"That loser over there thought he could take on Arata Muteki, so the two of them are dueling to prove if he is any good," Someone answered him, distracted by the frozen duel.
"Who is Arata Muteki?" The same man asked. I would have asked if he didn't.
"You don't know? What are you, a novice?"
"Arata Muteki is said to be the best duelist at the academy, this is only her second year as an Obelisk student. She's the closest thing to professional!"
I smiled.
"You were foolish to challenge me, kid," Arata said with a smile on her face, adding the card she drew to her hand. "Thermal Genex! (2400/1200, Machine/Synchro/Effect, Level 8) Attack his Necro Gardna!"
On command, the creature aimed its gigantic arms at the opponent's monster, firing a torrent of sapphire flame towards him. Within seconds, Necro Gardna was no more.
"Because my monster was in defense mode, I take no dam--"
"Thermal Genex's effect activates! When I destroy a monster by battle, you take damage equal to the number of Genex monsters in the Graveyard times two-hundred," Arata interrupted him. No one knew what to say as the duelists life points decreased to zero. All anyone could do was clap while the boy walked back into the crowd, given a "Good Job" by his friends.
The holograms faded away and Arata stood up straight, lowering her duel disk to her side. She looked into the crowd, her black bangs hiding most of the left side of her face. "Is anyone else brave enough to duel me?" She smiled.
I couldn't contain myself. After hearing the crowd's dead silence, I had to speak out. I had to get in on this. "I am, I'll duel you!"
Everyone around me just stared, like I was an idiot with a death wish. Arata even stared at me, confused. I walked out of the crowd and towards the girl with an excited smile on my face. "You, kid? Are you sure?" She looked like she was fighting back laughter. That only inspired me more.
"Yes ma'am, I am very sure. I've always wanted to duel against someone like you," I nodded my head with complete assurance.
"Well, take your position then, I'll go easy on you," She agreed, thank god, and I ran over to the other edge of the crowd. I could hear people talking, but I paid them no mind. I just wanted to have fun, I didn't care if I lost or not.
"I'm sorry kid, but I just have to ask again. You look like a novice, are you sure you want to play against someone like me? There is a good chance you will lose," She asked me as I struggled to open my bag. She prepped her disk, the standard model for Domino City duelists and identical to mine.
Now I wanted to laugh. Why was everyone so worried? "So what if I lose?" I blinked up at her, finally pulling my disk from my bag and sliding it onto my wrist with a quick push. She looked like that was the first time she ever heard that. I pulled open a pouch on my belt, a deck box mounted on my side, acting as a holster for my cards. I removed my deck, gave it a quick shuffle, and kissed the top card for good luck. "And don't go easy on me!"
"If you say so... I like your moxy, kid, but your bravery is making you dense. Are you ready?" She asked.
After sliding my deck in place, I lifted my arm to my chest and angled it down towards my feet, making it easier to hold. "You got it! You ready?"
"Born it. Let's go!"
"Duel!" We both shouted. Our duel disks responded with a quick sound, our counters rising to 4000.
"I'll give you the honors of going first," She said to me, holding a hand out to gesture.
I pulled the five cards to make my hand, then added one more for my turn.
Sanctuary in the Sky, Bountiful Artemis, Majestic Mech - Goryu, Honest, and Drastic Drop-Off... And the card I drew was Negate Attack...
"I summon, Bountiful Artemis(1600/1700, Fairy/Effect, Level 4) in attack mode!" I exclaimed, placing the card in its proper position on my disk. Arising in front of me was a pillar of light, and from that, arose my creature. An odd, angelic, mechanical creature, with white wings protruding from its shoulders, and a purple cape hanging from its neck. "Every time a Counter Trap is activated, Artemis lets me draw a card from my deck."
Arata appeared unphased. Nothing I didn't expect.
"I set two face-down cards, and end my turn!" I slid two cards into tiny slots on my disk, and put my arm at rest while Arata took her turn.
"Fine then, I draw!" She exclaimed back at me, but before she could even look at her card, I reached for my disk.
"I activate the Counter Trap, Drastic Drop-Off! This card makes you discard the card you just drew," The card stood up with its face forward. "And because of my Artemis, I can draw again."
"Wasn't expecting that," Arata laughed, letting her card slide into the graveyard. "But it won't matter, kid. This duel won't last very long."
I picked my card up. Majestic Mech - Senku.
"I summon my Genex Neutron(1800/1200, Machine/Effect, Level 4) in attack mode!"
Arata placed her card down now, and out from the light came a silver, robotic figure, taking a humanoid stance. Its torso appeared hooked to some kind of machine on its back, which also connected to its head from the back. I've never heard of a Genex monster...
"During the end phase of this turn. I can add one Machine-type Tuner monster from my deck to my hand. You better hope your trap card can stop my monster, because I am sending him to attack your Artemis!"
And on command, the creature charged towards mine. Half-way through its run, however, I did indeed stop it.
"I activate my Negate Attack Counter Trap, stopping your monster before he can even touch mine! And I get to draw a second time because of Artemis," I smiled, pulling my second card out. Nova Summoner
Without even responding, Arata continued her turn. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn, allowing me to activate Neutron's effect, adding Genex Controller to my hand from my deck," And with a simple reach of the arm, the card shot out from Arata's disk.
"I wonder what that card does... My turn, I draw!" I pulled my next card. Elf's Light.
I needed to destroy her monster before her turn could start, otherwise she might try to Synchro Summon with it... I'll be in trouble if she pulls something out on only the third turn. I looked at what I had, and it wasn't looking very good. I completely forgot to fix my deck before leaving for the academy, so my deck was very lacking in strength... If I couldn't attack very well, the best I could do was defend. I didn't want to use Goryu, not yet...
"I play Nova Summoner(1400/800, Fairy/Effect, Level 4) in defense position. When my creature is destroyed, I can Special Summon a Fairy in its place," My creature manifested on the field, an orange ring wrapped in green ribbons, with white wings extending from its top. "Then, I switch my Bountiful Artemis in defense position as well! Now I have two monsters defending my points."
"Are you done?" She asked me.
I nodded my head. "That's all I can do for now."
"Then it's my turn, I draw!" Arata yelled, adding the next card to her hand. "You have no face-downs to stop me this turn, so I think you are out of luck, kid."
Judging by the crowd's reaction, I think they agree.
"You never know, I may surprise you, " I just smiled, too into the game to care about the people around me.
"Well if you are going to surprise me, now would be the time to do it. I summon my ace monster, Genex Controller(1400/1200, Machine/Tuner, Level 3) in attack mode!"
Everyone seemed like they were waiting something huge. I saw a cute, square-headed robot, emerge from her card. I had no doubt that he was threatening, every card could be threatening, but it was cute enough to make me want to "Aww".
"You must not know about the power of my Genex monsters, you've been too laid back this entire duel. My Genex Controller here is a tuner, and he gives me access to several, powerful monsters, all of them gigantic threats on their own. My deck is based around summoning these monsters, and supporting their effects," She tried to explain to me. "That, added with my skill and experience, and you have a slim chance of getting at my points, kid. I activate the spell card, Scroll of Bewitchment!"
As she chanted the name, a spiral of thin strips of colorful paper arose from the sky around her Genex Neutron. When the scrolls faded away, the monster was surrounded in a heavy gust of wind. "With this card, I am allowed to change my monsters' type, and I am changing my Neutron from Light to Wind!"
"Now, I tune my Level 3 Genex Controller to my Level 4 Genex Neutron!" As soon as the word "tune" escaped her lips, her Controller had become transparent, and soon, faded away into three stars of light. Neutron rose to the sky, and from the heavens dropped a series of rings that surrounded the monster. The three orbs entered the rings next, aligning themselves with a stream of light that shot through the center.
"Synchro Summon! My Wind Farm Genex(2000/1600, Machine/Synchro/Effect, Level 7)!" Arata yelled. From the stream of light, as his name was called, a very large and hulking robot now stood, taking its place where Genex Controller used to be. At the torso of this hulking beast, a very large fan spun on a turbine. "My Wind Farm gains three-hundred attack points for every face-down on the field. And as long as I have cards to discard from my hand, I can destroy your face-downs, rendering your Counter-Traps useless against my monster."
"She is going to get killed," I heard someone in the crowd whisper. People cheered with every move either of us made that shifted the duel, even if only slightly.
"She doesn't stand a chance..." Someone from behind me sighed.
"I set two more cards face-down, increasing his attack power by the four face-downs I have on the field, increasing his attack points to 3200! And for every face-down you yourself set, you give him an extra 300 points."
With every move she made, I was running out of more options. I looked at my hand, then at my field, my legs trembling as I become nervous. I had to keep my head straight, she was coming for me.
"Wind Farm Genex, go and attack her Bountiful Artemis!" Arata demanded. The turbine on her Genex spun faster and faster, until gale-force winds were the only result. The blast itself was so strong, it sent me into the crowd, flying backwards from the wind. It took me off guard, and I had no time to brace myself, so I deserved to get hurt on that one. Lucky for me, several men standing in the crowds caught me before my body could hit the ground, and were nice enough to help me to my feet. I didn't get to thank them, running back to where I was supposed to be standing. My monster was gone, with only Nova Summoner left.
"I end my turn, kid. Show me what you got," Arata smiled.
"My turn..." I panted, struggling to catch my breath after that last one. "I draw!..."
I looked at my hand, and gave a quick glance to the card I just drew, and smiled.
"I have a theory, Miss Arata," I smiled at her.
"Oh you do? And what would that be, kid?" She smiled back at me, curious as to what I would say.
"I am willing to bet the majority of, if not all of, your face-downs are generally useless right now. There is no reason why you wouldn't set the last two cards before unless you wanted to power up your beast. For all I know, they could be magic cards. As for the first two, you knew I would have destroyed your Neutron if you didn't have something to defend with, and you got me with that bluff. Maybe one of those cards could stop me, but I would love to take my chances."
Without a word to respond to my theory, she simply said. "Go for it."
"I activate, Monster Reborn! Revive my Bountiful Artemis from the grave in attack mode!" Just as I figured, Arata did nothing to stop me. Why would she?
"Why would you waste such a powerful card on a monster like that, kid? Did you hit your head when I attacked you?"
"So I can do this..." I brought Goryu up to my lips, kissing the face of the card and taking a deep breath, before smiling. "I now release my Bountiful Artemis and my Nova Summoner, to advance summon my strongest monster!"
My two monsters began to fade as I placed the cards in the grave, and upon my command, a much larger pillar of light arose from my disk. Everyone around was forced to cover their eyes as the pillar's light increased in brightness. It became stronger and stronger, until finally, the figure took its place. A deity of gold and white, a massive serpent arose from the pillar, its tail coiled around the field multiple times until the creature had become a reasonable size, its tail blocking the view of all spectators around us. The dragon let out a furious roar, it's thick, mechanical wings spreading apart as it flexed. "Majestic Mech - Goryu(2900/1800, Fairy/Effect, Level 8)!"
The crowd began to yell.
"Now we can't see the duel!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
"Impressive, kid. Your monster is good, but doesn't he destroy himself?" Arata asked. She looked like she was having as much fun as I was. It had just occurred to me that neither of us had touched the others Life Points.
"Majestic Mech - Goryu, I am allowed to summon him with only one tribute. However, if I do this, he destroys himself at the end of my turn," I responded, pulling a second card from my hand. "But because I revived my Artemis and used him as a second tribute, my monster is safe."
"A lot of good that does you. Your monster is still much weaker than mine is."
No reason in placing Sanctuary in the Sky... At least, not yet. If what I plan to do works, I shouldn't need it...
"I now end my turn without attacking," I exclaimed, as calm as I could.
"My turn, I draw!" Arata pulled her next card, and without even looking at it, she went straight into the battle phase. "Go, my Wind Farm Genex! Attack her Majestic Mech - Goryu!"
Very soon, I felt the heavy wind come on again. This time, I was ready for it, but I didn't need to be. My monster knelt its head in front of me, blocking off the strong, gale-force winds. When the monster's attack had ended, all was silent. My monster was still standing.
"Why didn't your monster get destroyed?!" She yelled, demanding an answer.
All I could do was smile. As my creature hoisted its head, his maw slowly opened. Inside, Arata could see a building light, getting stronger and stronger, bigger and bigger. I held in my hands, face towards my opponent, Honest.
"I discard Honest from my hand to the graveyard, increasing the attack power of Goryu by the attack power of a monster he is battling!"
"Oh no...Her creature then... has 6100 attack points..."
"Majestic Mech - Goryu, attack her Wind Farm Genex!" And at my demand, my creature let out a second, menacing roar from its maw. The light was unleashed as a long, powerful stream, engulfing both Wind Farm Genex and Arata in its light. When all had been cleared, Arata's monster was no more, and her life points had been reduced to 1100.
Arata was now panting, just as her attack had been too much for me, mine was not something easy to take. She had no monsters she could summon, and just as I had thought, no trap cards that could stop a move like that. She looked speechless. She looked astounded. "I end my turn..." She coughed.
"My turn, I draw!"
Magic Cylinders... With this, I can beat her!
"I activate Threatening Roar! This stops you from declaring an attack this turn," Arata quickly added.
Dammit... "I set one card face-down, and end my turn without attacking."
"My turn, I draw and activate my own Monster Reborn!" She took the card from her hand and instantly slid it into the grave. "Rise, my Wind Farm Genex!" The creature had been summoned once again, after all of the effort I put into taking it out! Without a second Honest, I don't think I'll be able to take that thing out... But with Magic Cylinders down, I should win regardless.
Wind Farm Genex stood before its master once again, with an attack power of 3500 thanks to my face-down. And then it hit me...
"Now, activate Wind Farm Genex's special effect! I discard the remaining card in my hand to destroy your only face-down card, leaving you wide open for my assault!"
"Oh god..."
Genex's turbine began to spin once again, this time, aiming its blast at my face-down. I was defenseless...
"Reveal face-down, Battle Tuned!" Arata continued, not stopping her assault for a single moment. "By removing from play my Genex Controller from my graveyard, my beast gains its attack power until the end of this turn. I lost 300 from your face-down, but now I gain 1400, increasing my creature to 4600 attack points!"
"4600...?"
"And finally, Reveal Second Face-Down! Limiter Removal!" The second card was revealed. "Now, Wind farm Genex loses 600 from losing two face-downs, putting him at 4000 attack points, but with Limiter Removal... His points double to 8000! And with nothing to defend your monster, or your points..."
"My monster..."
"Attack, Wind Farm Genex! End the game right now!" Arata screamed, demanding her beast strike mine. With its increased power, this blast was enough to send both Goryu and I back. Goryu began to fade, exposing me even farther to the blast. The second he was gone from my field, I took the full 5100 points of damage to my Life Points, the damage too much for me to handle at one time, breaking my defenses and throwing me, hard, into the crowd behind me. I was moving too fast and too hard to be caught, and several yards away from the field, my body slammed into the ground, with my cards spread all around me. The game was over with one attack... I couldn't move, the blow was too hard, and the impact was even worse. As my points reached zero, my consciousness faded with them...
Arata herself was panting, mustering the strength to run after me, pushing through the confused and distraught crowd. The entire duel had been hidden from them by my dragon. Arata, after gathering all of my cards together for me, slid my deck back into the case on my belt, then lifted me in her arms in a cradle, supported by my neck and legs. She spoke not a word to a soul, and in return, no one spoke to her. It was obvious she won, but the face she had started to scare the spectators. She was smiling. She was smiling, not because she had hurt another person, but because this other person was fun to play. Some people just didn't understand that.
I woke up hours later, wrapped in warm blankets, my head supported by a soft pillow, my body by an equally soft bed. The first thing I noticed was the cold rag over my forehead, which fell as soon as I turned over in the bed, too comfortable to realize how odd it was... When it finally hit me, my body shot up from the bed, looking around the room covered, in sweat. To my right, I saw Arata sitting in a wooden chair, organizing her deck on the desk in front of her. Then I noticed my bag in the corner, my disk on the floor, and my deck in my case. Everything was safe...
"Ah, good morning, sleepy," She said to me, smiling in my direction.
"U-Um... Tha... Thank you... for taking care of everything for me..." I nervously smiled, trying to bow from the bed, but it didn't work. She just laughed.
"Don't be so tense, I'm the one who messed you up, I owe you for it," Arata leaned back in her chair, balancing on the back two legs. "And I'm really sorry, too."
"Oh no, don't be sorry at all! That was one of the most fun duels I have ever played! You are so good, Miss Arata!" I shook my head, gesturing with my hands that everything was fine.
"Well, thank you for saying so. To be honest, I had a lot of fun playing with you. Something about you is just screaming at me that we have to be friends. So let me ask properly," She sat up straight and spun around in her chair, offering my her hand. "My name is Arata Muteki, second year student, what's your name?"
I couldn't believe it. She wanted to be my friend...?
"Enzeru Adokenai, first year student... Would you like to be friends, Arata?" I offered my hand back at her, my voice emphasizing my anxiety.
"I would love to be friends," And with that, she took me by the hand. We smiled at each other and shook hands... "Enzeru Adokenai."