Chapter One – The Synchro Summons
"Wake up, Tanion, you'll be late for work."
"It's only 6.30..."
"It's 8. Get your ass out of bed now!"
Tanion's sheets flew off as his mother ripped them from his grasp. Cold air rushed over him, and he immediately reached for the jacket lying beside his bed to keep him warm. As his mother left to room huffing to herself, Tanion rushed to get dressed in time for work. He'd never once been late, but if he didn't leave soon, he would be.
"I've made you some toast!" his mother called from the kitchen.
"Thanks, mum!" he called back as he frantically dressed himself.
As he began to pack his gear into his bag, Tanion couldn't help but feel like he was forgetting something. Uniform? Check. Water bottle? Check. Phone and wallet? Also, check. So what was that he was missing? He shrugged the thought from his mind. He was making it up, and he didn't have time for distractions. Rushing downstairs, he began filling his mouth with breakfast when his mother started speaking.
"Now remember you've got a chiropractor appointment after work," she said. "You can't afford to miss this one."
"I know," Tanion replied between gulps. "5.15, right?"
His mother nodded. "Your father will be home late tonight as well, just so you know."
"Okay," Tanion said indifferently. Such an occurrence happened more often than not.
"Have you got everything?" his mother asked.
"I think so," Tanion replied. "Can't help but feel as though I'm forgetting something though..."
Tanion's mother chuckled. "You always do," she said. "Just give me a call when you remember it. I'm only 15 minutes away."
"Okay, will do," Tanion said as he left his empty plate behind to clean his teeth.
After doing so and admiring his freshly combed black hair in the mirror, Tanion slipped on his glasses back on before racing to his room to grab his bag. As soon as he stepped through the door, though, he ground to a halt, as the feeling that he was forgetting something returned once more. Scanning the room trying to figure it out, his eyes fell open his all black deck box that lay next to his computer. Walking over to it, Tanion opened the box and pulled out the top card.
"Royal Knight..." he whispered as he held the card. "Are you what I'm forgetting?"
Nonsense, he thought immediately. What possible reason could I have for taking my deck? No one even plays it at work. And yet, the longer he looked at the card, the more he realised that this was indeed what he felt like he had been forgetting. And so, putting the deck box into his bag, Tanion rushed out the door and, after saying goodbye to his mother, drove as quickly as he could to work.
The day dragged, Tanion serving customers as they came and went. Despite this, he had a nagging feeling that something was meant to happen. Although the game wasn't exactly popular in his area, there had to be a reason why he felt the need to bring his deck with him. He had never planned on doing so, so why had he felt the need to today?
That was when the stranger walked in. He wore a hoodie, he face obscured from Tanion's view from behind the counter. He had a backpack on him, which was an immediate red flag in retail. Whoever this guy was, Tanion knew from the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end that he was bad news.
"Are you looking for something sir?" his manager Aaron asked from beside him. He too had picked up on the unusual nature of the man.
"I'm fine," the stranger replied. "Just browsing."
"Get on the floor and follow him," Aaron said once the guy was out of earshot. "Go get some stock from out back to put on the shelves. I'll keep an eye on him from here."
"Okay," Tanion replied.
The store itself was small, and stocked a bit of everything, from party equipment to video games, and it exited out into a wide open communal area between other shops. Having worked there for three years, Tanion had had to deal with many strange people over time, but something about this one seemed different. Off. And so, when he felt his cards calling to him once again, Tanion quickly grabbed them from his bag and put the deck box in his apron before grabbing some stock to put out on the shelves. There was no logic in doing so; anyone would have thought him mad, but for Tanion, having his cards with him seemed to calm him.
Taking a box of cheap dollar flash-lights from the selection of stock, Tanion headed out into the half a dozen aisles in search of the stranger. Fortunately, he was in the aisle that held the cheap flash-lights. Unfortunately, he was looking the remaining lights that were on sale, and Tanion heart began to race. Had the stranger known he was coming? How did he know that he would grab the flash-lights?
"Am I in your way?" the stranger asked.
"Oh, ah, no, sir," Tanion said hastily, the question catching him off guard. "I'm just re-stocking the lights you're looking at is all."
"I see. Tanion, is it?" the stranger asked, eyeing the name badge.
"Yep," Tanion replied, a single drop of sweat rolling from brow. What was with this guy?
The stranger's golden eyes looked directly into him. "Thanks for your help, Tanion," he said, before moving past him and out of the store.
"Uh, no problem?" he said to no one, bewildered.
"You okay?" Aaron asked as Tanion returned to the counter.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "Something about that guy just seemed really off."
Aaron didn't seem convinced. "Take your lunch. I'll be fine here for the time being."
"You're the boss," Tanion said in reply.
Once out back, Tanion took off his apron, the removal of its weight a welcome relief. Rubbing out the creases in his white shirt and black trousers, he went to leave, but once again found himself being drawn to his cards. Confused as ever, Tanion drew the deck box from his bag, and immediately felt much more comfortable with it in hand. Shaking his head and wondering whether he was going mad, he pushed the box into his jacket pocket before putting said jacket on and heading out of the store.
A store nearby sold chicken burgers, and so Tanion scrolled through his phone as he waited for his meal to arrive. However, while waiting, he suddenly felt a wave of uneasiness wash over him. Looking up, he immediately locked eyes with the stranger from before. He was looking at Tanion intently from the middle of the communal area, his gaze unwavering as people passed between them. Somehow, Tanion knew that he wanted to speak.
Getting up from his chair, Tanion made his way over to the stranger. He had been right about the man when he first seen him, there was something off about him that he couldn't quite put a finger on. As he approached, Tanion noticed that the people seemed to be thinning out, and by the time he was close enough to the stranger for them to speak, the shopping centre had fallen deathly quiet.
"What did you do to them?" Tanion demanded, looking around at the empty halls. "Where is everyone?"
"They went nowhere," the stranger said. "I've simply... given us some privacy."
"For what?" Tanion asked gruffly.
"Come now, you've been feeling it all day," the stranger said, reaching into his bag. "A duel."
"Are you crazy?" Tanion said, laughing. "Here? You want to duel here? Now?"
"Catch."
Something flew through the air, and as Tanion caught it, he realised exactly what it was. A duel disk, similar in design to the ones used in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX anime. This can't be real, he thought to himself. There's just no way that this is real. This has to be some sort of trick.
"Want do you want with me?" Tanion demanded.
The stranger readied his disk, deck at the ready. "A duel. Nothing more, nothing less."
Tanion scowled. "I don't like this," he said. "Let's just get this over with."
Placing his deck into the slot, the duel disk whirred to life, and Tanion quickly realised that this was real. This wasn't a game at locals, this wasn't a friendly card game between friends, this was a duel from the anime come to life. What on earth is going on?
DUEL!
"I'll start," the stranger said. "First off, I summon a monster face down in defence mode. Then I place two cards face down. This ends my turn."
"That's it?" Tanion said. "I've seen better first turn plays from eight year olds using starter decks. What's your angle?"
"It's your turn, Tanion," the stranger said, ignoring the question. "I suggest you take it."
Sighing, Tanion looked down at his duel disk. His life points read 4000, once again from the anime. Struggling to believe what he was doing, he decided that the best way to end this was to do so quickly. He'd had enough of this guy and just wanted to get back to work, something he didn't think he'd ever catch himself thinking.
Tanion – 4000 LP
Stranger – 4000 LP
"My turn then," Tanion said, drawing. "First off, when my opponent has a monster on the field and I have none, I can special summon this card from my hand. Come forth, Woodsman Knight! (Lvl:5/ ATK:2100/DEF:1200)."
"Next, I summon Lancer Knight (Lvl:4/ATK:1500/DEF:1500), and I equip him with Divine Blade Runix. This not only raises his attack to 2000, but it also makes him unaffected by other cards effects."
"Battle! Woodsman Knight, attack his face down monster!"
The monster on the stranger's field flipped up, revealing itself to be Shining Angel (Lvl:4/ATK:1400/DEF:800).
"At this moment, Lancer Knight's effect activates! If a monster with 'Knight' in it's name battles, that monster does piercing damage! Take this, you creep!"
Woodsman Knight's sword piercing the chest of the Shining Angel, with the monster disintegrating before Tanion's very eyes. The stranger's life points were reduced from 4000 to 2700 in an instant, and Tanion noticed that the stranger had protected himself from the battle, just like they would do in the anime.
"Shining Angel's effect activates!" the stranger said. "At this moment, I also activate the trap card, Heavenly Call! When a LIGHT monster on my side of the field is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a monster from my deck that is one level lower than the destroyed monster."
"A free monster just like that?" Tanion gasped. "That's a nice trap card..."
"Come to me, Angel of Light! (Lvl:3/ATK:900/DEF:1500). Also, from Shining Angel's effect, I summon another Shining Angel!"
"It doesn't matter how many monsters you summon, I'll take them out one by one," Tanion said, annoyed. "Lancer Knight, attack Angel of Light!"
"I activate my other trap card, Negate Attack!" the stranger said. "This stops your attack and ends the battle phase."
"Wait a second," Tanion said. "You could've used that before my first attack and not taken any damage. Why would you do that?"
The stranger simply smiled. What is his goal? Tanion thought to himself. They are different levels, so he can't use them for an XYZ Summon. Shining Angel isn't a tuner, and neither is Angel of Light, so he isn't going for a Synchro Summon either...Could he really be trying to Tribute Summon? In this day and age, he wants to Tribute Summon and isn't using a Monarch deck?
"Who are you?" Tanion demanded again. "What do you want?"
"All I wanted was a duel," the stranger replied. "Now I have one."
"I know that's not the whole truth," Tanion said in return. "I'll get to the bottom of this. I set one card. Turn over."
Tanion – 4000 LP
Stranger – 2700 LP
"My turn," the stranger said, drawing. "I tribute both Shining Angel and Angel of Light. I Tribute Summon Zerath, Herald of Light! (Lvl:8/ATK:3000/DEF:2800)."
"I activate my continuous trap card, Knight's Shield!" Tanion said, revealing his face-down. "While I have a Knight on my field, I can target one monster on my opponent's field. That monster's effects are negated, and it's attack becomes 0."
"A LIGHT monster summoned by tributing Angel of Light is unaffected by my opponent's spell and trap cards," the stranger said, a wry smile coming over his face. "Next, from my hand I activate the spell card Angelic Glow. By targeting one Tribute Summoned monster on my field, I can have it gain attack equal to the two monsters used for it's summon, until the end of the turn. Thus, Zerath's attack rises to 5300!"
"Okay, that's a lot of attack points..." Tanion said, gulping slightly at the size of the warrior standing beside the stranger.
"Next, I activate Zerath's effect!" the stranger said. "By banishing one LIGHT monster in my graveyard, Zerath can gain attack equal to half that monster's attack, until the End Phase. I banish Shining Angel from my graveyard, raising Zerath's attack to 6000!"
"Holy..."
"It seems I was wrong about you, Tanion," the stranger said, almost sad. "You aren't who I thought you were."
"What does that mean?" Tanion asked.
The stranger's face hardened. "Battle! Zerath, attack Lancer Knight and end this duel!"
Tanion watched as Zerath raised it's mighty sword, moving into attack. It looked absolutely incredible, and was a sight he never thought he'd ever get to see. But now wasn't the time to be awestruck. Now was the time to act.
"Knight's Shield secondary effect activates!" Tanion said. "By sending this card to the graveyard, I can gain life points equal to the amount of 'Knight' monsters either on the field or in my graveyard times 200. Thus, my life points are now 4400!"
Zerath's mighty blade swung down, his blade crushing Lancer Knight in a single blow, taking out 4000 of Tanion's life points with it. Tanion gasped as the blast from the impact actually knocked him off his feet, and turned to face the stranger once again. This is something straight out of the anime, he thought to himself as he picked himself up. This would be so incredible if the guy I was dueling wasn't so weird.
"So you survived," the stranger said, huffing. "I hadn't expected that."
"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Tanion said, smirking. "Divine Blade Runix's effect activates! If this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, I can draw one card."
"Hmph. I place my last card face down and end my turn, thus returning Zerath's attack strength to 3000."
Tanion – 400 LP
Stranger – 2700 LP
"What did you mean when you said I'm not who you were looking for?" Tanion asked. "Who are you?"
The stranger lowered his head. "One such as you doesn't deserve to know. If you can't surpass Zerath, then there's no way your the one I came here to find."
Came here to find? "Maybe, maybe not," Tanion said. "But either way, this duel is over."
The stranger looked up, suddenly interested. "If you think you have a way out of this, then show me."
"Gladly," Tanion said. "My turn. Draw!"
"I activate my trap card, Holy Seal!" the stranger said. "Now you can't summon any monster this turn, unless they are LIGHT."
"Are you sure about that?" Tanion said, a small smile growing on his face. "I activate the card I drew thanks to Divine Blade Runix, Mystical Space Typhoon! Holy Seal is destroyed."
"Next, I summon the Tuner monster, Knight's Squire! (Lvl:3/ATK:1000/DEF:1000). I tune my Level 5 Woodsman Knight to my Level 3 Squire! Synchro Summon! Appear, Level 8! Royal Knight! (Lvl:8/ATK:2500/DEF:2000)."
"Synchro Summon?" the stranger said, almost in awe of the monster.
"You sound like you've never heard of it before," Tanion said.
"I've heard of it, but to see one..."
Now I'm even more confused. "You're crazy," Tanion muttered. "Let me show you the power of Synchros. Royal Knight's monster effect activates! Once per turn, I can destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field, and deal damage to my opponent equal to half that monster's attack. Go, Royal Knight! Destroy Zerath!"
The holographic projection of his Royal Knight obeyed, and Zerath was destroyed with one swipe of his blade, lowering the stranger's life points by 1500 to 1200. The stranger, however, seemed unworried by his ace monster's destruction.
"Zerath's second effect activates," he said. "When it is destroyed by a non-LIGHT monster either in battle or by card effect, that monster's attack becomes zero. And since Royal Knight, like the other three Knight's you've brought out, is an EARTH monster, it's attack falls to zero. Now you can't touch me!"
"You like jumping to conclusions, don't you?" Tanion said. "I'm not finished yet."
"What?"
"From my hand, I activate a spell card, Knight's Bond! By targeting one monster on my side of the field with 'Knight' in it's name, not only can it no longer be destroyed by your card effects but, by banishing one 'Knight' monster in my graveyard, I can increase Royal Knight's attack by the banished monsters attack until the end of my turn."
"No way. There's no way that you could..."
"I banish Woodsman Knight from my graveyard, and thus Royal Knight's attack rises to 2100!" Tanion said, a smile on his face. "Battle! Royal Knight, end this! Sacred Blade!"
The attack connected and the stranger fell to his knees, his life points dropping to zero. The projection of Tanion's Royal Knight disappeared, and suddenly the stranger began to disappear before his eyes.
"What's happening?" Tanion demanded. "Tell me!"
"You won the duel," the stranger said, a slight smile on his face. "We will be in contact, Tanion. Soon."
Tanion's world flashed white, and his eyes flickered. He was back in his seat, phone in hand and staring out through the moving crowds. What just happened? Tanion thought to himself. What on earth was all that?
"Uh, chicken burger?" a waitress said as she walked up to him.
"Oh, yeah, just there thanks," Tanion said, snapping back into reality.
"Enjoy!" the waitress said.
"Thanks," Tanion replied, and began to dig into his meal.
Before he could, however, a slip of paper caught his eye. It certainly didn't look like it fit with the meal, and so Tanion could only assume that it had been put there for him. Pulling it out from between the tray and the paper covering it, he opened the note, which read:
Tanion. Hyden Park. 5.30. E.
"Well that answers nothing," he muttered to nobody. But whoever 'E' was, they not only knew where he was but how to reach him, and he somehow knew that this person was connected to the stranger he had just dueled. He sighed belatedly.
"Hyden Park it is then."