In a darkened room, a long-haired fortuneteller sat at a table and hovered over four stacks of tarot cards. Purple eyes gleamed as the man picked up a card that depicted a wheel.
'The Wheel of Fate… It seems that Jaden is more powerful than I imagined… I foretold Aster's victory; however, Jaden's response was quite unexpected. For when I infused Aster's Monsters with my own energy, Jaden's soul should have been wiped clean! Upon his defeat, Jaden was to become my eternal servant, and although his spirit was weakened, he is still in control of his soul… Albeit a lost soul… But I'll tend to the matter of Jaden later. While he searches his heart for answers, I'll set my sights on a new servant. Perhaps one a bit more… predictable.'
Sartorius finally turned over another card.
'The Fool, the pilgrim, the wanderer… It seems there is another duelist who shares a similar gift to Jaden's, only his soul is much weaker!' Sartorius paused as he considered the pursuit of this duelist. He shook his head and turned over another card. '… But why start with a duelist with the ability to see Monster Spirits? While it's true that they possess abundant potential, their Spirits are linked to their very soul. In other words, they would have the potential to turn from me even if they basked in the glory of the Light. I need a strong base to build off of before tending to those special souls… But just like everyone else, they will join my Society – it is only a matter of time.'
Looking down at the third card, Sartorius smirked.
'Now then… The World. This symbolizes the end of a cycle of life. It represents cosmic consciousness, the potential of perfect union with the Light of Truth; this person gives back to the world what he has learned or gained. This person places great emphasis on knowledge, and thus attains accomplishment and happiness. Destiny sometimes works in strange ways; for even if the path forks in different direction, they will all reach the same end. Perhaps it is best to start subjugating this young man – he will most certainly serve me well…'
"Master Sartorius, we're approaching Duel Academy!" The pilot of the plane declared over the intercom. Sartorius pulled back a curtain to look out the window…
Sunset burned a brilliant mixture of yellows, reds, and oranges. The atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful. Students were settling in for their evening meals, though a few selected to stay outside and walk around. But it was blissfully calm.
"Call the Coast Guard! Call the Marines!"
… And then it was broken. Chazz Princeton remained seated, though he looked towards the newcomer. Alexis Rhodes, Tyranno Hassleberry, and Bastion Misawa all stood up from their seats, having been aroused by the urgency in the young Syrus Truesdale's voice. Being students of the illustrious Duel Academy, they were all dressed in various styles, and most of them clearly identified which Dorm they technically belonged to by their uniforms - except for the raven, spikey-haired Chazz, who was ranked a Slifer Red but wore a tattered black jacket, dark blue pants, and a purple shirt. Alexis had long blonde hair and a white top with blue trimmings, and blue skirt, and blue fingerless gloves. Bastion had his black hair neatly flushed to the back and slightly to the left, and wore a yellow jacket with white trimmings with a green shirt underneath and gray pants. Hassleberry had a more wild edge to his appearance, but he wore a sleeveless yellow jacket with white trimmings like Bastion, a green muscle shirt underneath, beige combat pants, white wristbands, a bandanna bearing a dinosaur face, bone earrings, and a dinosaur bone necklace; he was noticeably more muscular than his friends, and his hair was styled in long, black dreadlocks. Lastly, Syrus's hair had a hue of light blue, and he wore a yellow jacket with white trimmings and a red shirt underneath, gray pants, and wire-rimmed glasses.
Syrus was slightly out of breath as he stood in the doorway, but he appeared more or less unharmed.
"Syrus, what's going on?" Bastion asked.
"Jaden's gone missing!" Syrus reported. "He's grabbed all his stuff and just took off!"
Hassleberry couldn't believe it.
"He retreated?"
"Pathetic." Chazz shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. Naturally, his derogatory remark went ignored.
"I'll go check the school!" Syrus volunteered immediately and dashed away, thinking Jaden might at least go and talk to Chancellor Crowler before leaving.
"Let's split up, then," Bastion declared. "We don't know for sure what transport he will take, but we can assume it will be a boat. However, we can't rule out the possibility that he's still here either, so we must search as many places as possible."
With that reasoning said, Bastion, Alexis, and Hassleberry departed in search of the normally upbeat Slifer Red. Chazz left as well, albeit with some grumbling. They all called out concernedly for their friend as they searched, though Chazz was more neutral or outright insulting, and eventually time passed until the sun had long since gone down.
Chazz looked around as he strolled through the thick forest surrounding Duel Academy.
"Take it from someone who knows, loser! You can run, but you can't escape your problems!"
Three Duel Spirits suddenly appeared on Chazz – two on his head, and one on his shoulder. They were the Ojama Brothers.
"Whoa, that is so deep!" The trio chorused in response to Chazz's advice. Chazz growled.
"Who invited you people?!" Chazz shouted.
"We're not exactly people, boss," Ojama Yellow helpfully corrected him.
Chazz rolled his eyes.
"No, you're kidding me! And all this time I thought you were students!" Chazz's voice dripped with sarcasm. "You wanna help? Then stay out of my way!"
"We understand," Ojama Green said from atop Chazz's head.
"Yeah, you're just sad 'cause you miss Jaden," Ojama Yellow added.
"It's natural!" Ojama Black tried to console him.
Chazz shook the three of them off as he screamed.
"Who asked you freaks?!"
The bickering continued for some time, but fortunately for Chazz there wasn't another soul around to hear it…
Bastion Misawa had branched out from his search around the Ra Yellow Dorm and gone off into the thick forests to look for his normally upbeat friend. Naturally, with the present darkness, the Ra Yellow carried a flashlight to better spot anyone through the many trees. A twig snapped several meters in front of him, causing Bastion to take a tentative step back as an approaching figure was spotted by the beam of his flashlight.
"Who goes there?"
Sartorius smiled as he drew closer to Bastion. From what he could tell, this was the malleable pawn he was looking for. All that needed to be done was test his dueling spirit.
"My apologies." Sartorius eventually replied as Bastion grew increasingly tense with their silent standoff. He bowed his head deferentially. "My name is Sartorius, and I manage Professional duelists. I came to this island in search of fresh talent."
Bastion furrowed his brow as this information sank in.
"If memory serves, you're Aster Phoenix's manager. Pardon me if this sounds rude, but why would a man of your status elect to take on a fresh Academy graduate? Even if they were particularly talented, there's no guarantee they would have the same success after their academic career. Wouldn't it be better to wait and see how they perform in the Pro Circuit before offering a sponsorship?"
Sartorius grinned at Bastion's skepticism and logic. He was definitely wise, willing to question anything.
"Not necessarily. Sometimes it's best to take a client on early to gain an understanding of that person. Take Aster for example – we've been friends since childhood, so not only am I aware of his dueling prowess, but I know his personality, his ambitions, his goals, and most importantly, his potential. In turn, Aster knows the kind of person that I am; therefore you might say we are in sync as manager and Pro."
"Even so…" Bastion trailed off, unsure of what to say.
"If you're still unsure about my intentions, why not face me in a duel? Some say the best way to communicate is by dueling one another."
Bastion cautiously took another step back.
"Are there any conditions? What should happen if you win? Or if I win?"
Sartorius closed his eyes as the grin remained plastered on his face.
"There needn't be any, if that is your concern. I wish to see your potential as a duelist, as I'm sure you're equally curious to know if I have any talent in this card game. From what I understand, our dueling strategies are quite different. Polar opposites you might say."
"And what would you know about me?" Bastion asked a little too harshly.
Sartorius shook his head slowly. A slight frown marred his face.
"Well, for one, I know you have a sound scientific mind, Mr. Misawa." At Bastion's stunned expression Sartorius smirked. He went on, "You duel with not one deck but several – it is your belief that Duel Monsters is a game of formulas, and therefore you should be ready for any occasion. The one formula you have yet to crack is the deck of Jaden Yuki, yet you have lingering doubts that you will be the one to defeat him… Am I wrong?"
Bastion reeled at the revelations Sartorius was calmly relaying. Some of that information could be gleaned from Duel Academy records, but Sartorius also revealed some very personal opinions that he kept closely guarded and private.
"How do you know this?!" Bastion blurted out.
Sartorius shook his head once again.
"You won't believe me, but I have been gifted with the power to see into the future." He smirked at the disbelief that was immediately evident in Bastion's eyes. "Next you'll denounce me as a fraud and reject our duel."
Bastion bit his tongue to stop the words from being uttered. That was hardly proof that the man was a psychic; obviously as a man of science, Bastion would reject any such supernatural notion, so Sartorius's 'prediction' was more of an assumption of how he would reply. The manager was apparently trying to force a duel out of him by getting him to give a 'neutral' response. After all, if he outright denied Sartorius's gift, he would 'confirm' the prediction. But if he chose to believe the man, that would fly in the face of science. Therefore, Bastion's most logical choice of action would be to decide what to believe in a duel. Well, Bastion wouldn't disappoint him.
"I know what you're trying to do," Bastion prefaced as his face became neutral. "And frankly, it's a rather roundabout, albeit clever way of challenging me. However, if we duel, there will be some conditions. Firstly, I will be the one shuffling the decks. This includes effects that involve the shuffling of our decks. I don't care if you try to prove your abilities while we duel, but if I suspect cheating of any kind, the duel will be ended immediately and I will report you to the Chancellor. Secondly, if I win, you will leave my friends alone. Despite your insistence that you are harmless, I do not trust you. I may not have the power to make you leave, but I can protect them at least. Are these terms agreeable…?"
Sartorius chuckled and spread out his arms.
"I am here with the permission of your Chancellor, but you do argue modest terms, so I accept."
In the next moment, Bastion activated his duel disk, and a table appeared before Sartorius, upon which he placed his deck. Bastion raised his eyebrow at the seemingly random act.
"Pardon? Aren't you going to…?" He made a slight nod to his duel disk.
Sartorius only shook his head.
"I prefer more… primeval methods of dueling, one could say. Now, why don't you shuffle my deck so we can begin…?"
Bastion nodded and walked over. After thoroughly shuffling Sartorius's cards, he walked back and shuffled his own. Then the two drew five cards each, with Sartorius placing his five cards facedown on the table. Another thing that perplexed Bastion.
"I suppose you're attempting to prove your… abilities? Well, make all the guesses you wish; this duel will be over fairly quickly if you duel like that."
"Not necessarily," Sartorius countered smoothly. He then drew a card and placed it facedown like he did the first five. "Now, why don't I start? First I will summon Arcana Force III – The Empress in attack mode."
Sartorius flipped over the card furthest to the left, revealing it to be the monster in question. A hologram of a gray-skinned woman with blue attire and accessories appeared in front of Sartorius's table; it looked more alien than human. (1300/1300) No sooner did the monster appear than did its card began to rotate above it. At Bastion's questioning glance, Sartorius elaborated.
"Whenever an Arcana Force Monster is summoned, its ability must be determined, as each has two abilities to choose from. In the case of my Empress, if she lands right-side up, I get to special summon another Arcana Force monster whenever you normal summon or set a monster. However, should it land upside down, whenever you normal summon a monster, I have to send one card from my hand to the grave. Fate determines the card's effect, but you are given the illusion of choosing it. So just say the word, and it will stop."
Bastion rolled his eyes at the remark about fate, but kept quiet in favor of observing the rotating card. He never liked games of chance, but since this was his opponent gambling his own cards, Bastion would humor him. When it got past the up-right position, he nodded.
"Stop there!"
The card slowed down, yet it went past the upside down position and came to a stop at the upright position. Sartorius chuckled.
"Since it's right-side up, I will get another monster when you summon one. That will suffice for now, so I will lay a card facedown and end my turn."
Bastion frowned thoughtfully as he briefly considered the rate at which Sartorius's card slowed down. He would need to account for that next time.
"Very well, I draw!" Bastion paused again to glance at his hand. Then, summoning a monster, he declared, "I summon Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus in attack mode!"
An orange-colored robotic warrior with gray legs and arms and a black sword and orange shield appeared before Bastion. Electricity briefly crackled with its appearance. (1800/1500)
"Don't forget, by summoning that card, I get another monster," Sartorius cut in as he brought out his next card. A gray and black robotic creature with wings and no legs then appeared and hovered next to Arcana Force III. "Arcana Force IV – The Emperor comes out in attack mode. (1400/1400) If this card lands right-side up, all my monsters gain 500 attack points; but if this card lands upside down, they lose 500 points. So again, just say the word."
Bastion frowned but obliged the fortuneteller.
"Stop there."
The card came to a stop at the upright position, much to Bastion's chagrin. The Empress and Emperor cards gained 500 points in strength. (1800/1800) (1900/1900) Holding up another card from his hand, Bastion slid it into one of his spell and trap card zones. "Next I play the continuous spell card Kishido Spirit, which will grant my warrior immunity when it does battle with your Empress, even though they have the same attack points. Magnet Warrior Plus, why don't you introduce yourself?!
Bastion's warrior rushed across the battlefield and slammed into Sartorius's Empress card, which generated a big explosion on Sartorius's side of the field. The magnet warrior went back to Bastion's side of the field once its task was complete. Bastion slid two facedown cards into two more spell and trap card zones.
"Finally, I will lay these two facedown and end my turn."
Sartorius grinned as he drew his next card without even looking at it.
"You've done well thus far, but I fear this is where things become difficult for you… I activate the Heavy Storm spell card from my hand. With this, all spell and trap cards on the field are instantly destroyed!"
Bastion furrowed his brow at the waste of a facedown card on Sartorius's field. Shaking his head, Bastion activated his trap card.
"Thanks to Waboku's effect, I take no battle damage this turn, and my monsters cannot be destroyed by battle!" But he scowled all the same when his Magical Cylinder and Kishido Spirit cards were destroyed as well.
Sartorius chuckled mischievously.
"You think that saves you, but that couldn't be further from the truth! Next I activate Suit of Sword Ten." The Spell card began to rotate above Sartorius's head. "If it lands right-side up, one of your monsters is destroyed, and you lose Life Points equal to that monster's attack points! But if it lands upside down, then I lose a monster, and I lose Life Points equal to its attack points! Just say the word!"
Bastion's scowl returned as he was forced to play a game of chance yet again.
'Aside from that Heavy Storm magic card, all of his cards have relied on luck to give him an advantage… I wish I could say without a doubt that he was cheating, but there's no guarantee that he was more than lucky in the previous two times he forced me to play this game… I suppose I have no choice but to indulge him once again.'
"Stop there!"
For the third time, Sartorius's card landed right-side up, which resulted in the destruction of Bastion's monster and the eradication of nearly half of his Life Points.
Bastion: 2200
Sartorius: 4000
"What's wrong, Bastion? Thanks to the effect of Waboku, you don't take any battle damage this turn. Though I wouldn't say you're in the clear yet, because next I play my Vision spell. With this, I pick up the top card from my deck and then reshuffle it back into my deck. If I play the same card later, you take 1000 points of damage."
"Hold it!" Bastion called out as he walked over to the fortuneteller. "You've been absurdly lucky this entire duel, and I don't trust you not to cheat at a time like this. I will draw the card for you, and I will shuffle your deck."
"I see you're still skeptical, but that's understandable. Once you see the Light, it will all become clear… I'll make a believer out of you soon enough."
Drawing the card, Bastion showed it to Sartorius.
"The card is Arcana Force XXI: The World."
Sartorius's grin widened as Bastion began shuffling the card back into the deck.
"Do you want to know the truth, Bastion? That card represents you. Not only is it quite powerful, but it symbolizes the fact that you will make a big impact on the world as one cycle of life ends. You see, you will usher in a new age of Enlightenment!"
Bastion shuffled a few more times before placing the cards back on the table.
"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, Sartorius. I forge my own path." He walked back over to his side of the field and drew as Sartorius signaled it was the end of his turn.
'He may have a monster out on his field, but Sartorius has only one more card in his hand. If I can destroy it, he will have no defense. His combination of cards might have knocked me down, but I will now pick myself up!'
"I activate Pot of Greed! And after picking up two cards, I play the spell Premature Burial! I pay 800 Life Points to resurrect Magnet Warrior Sigma Plus. And then, from my hand, I will play Conduction Warrior Linear Magnum! Of course, I have to sacrifice the warrior on my field and Magnet Warrior Sigma Minus in my hand, but the cost is well worth it!"
As Bastion said this, a very bulky and large yellow robot appeared with purple blasters on its shoulders. (2700/1300) Bastion continued on with his turn.
"But I refuse to end it there, Sartorius. The Megamorph equip spell doubles my warrior's attack points! (5400/1300) Now, Conductor Warrior Linear Magnum, attack The Emperor (1900/1900)!
Sartorius: 500
Bastion: 1400
"Of course, now Megamorph's effect reverses and halves Linear Magnum's attack points, but it was well worth it to lower you to this point! (1350/1300) Your move!"
Sartorius smirked and drew his next card, yet again without looking at it.
"You fought very well, Bastion. But alas, it is time to bring this duel to a close. I, too, will activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards. Then…" Sartorius paused to briefly chuckle darkly. "From my hand I activate Selection of Fate! With this, you must select a card from my hand, and if it is a monster, I get to summon it to the field regardless of its level. You have two cards to choose from, so do so wisely."
Bastion walked back over to Sartorius with a feeling of unease rising up within him. He didn't know what it was, but somehow Sartorius was controlling the fate of this entire duel. No, not fate… There was no such thing as fate. But all the same, Sartorius was controlling this duel, and no matter how confident he had felt dealing 3500 points of damage to the fortuneteller in one blow, somehow he just knew that Sartorius would turn this situation around.
"I… select the card on the right." Bastion swallowed a lump in his throat. This would be the moment of truth, possibly the deciding factor in this duel.
Sartorius lifted the card up and revealed it to Bastion, who was absolutely floored to see the same card he had shuffled into Sartorius's deck.
"But that's… impossible…!"
"You see? It wasn't a card trick after all, Bastion. Fate intended you to choose this card. And fate intended you to pay the price!"
Bastion shielded his face as a gust of wind was kicked up by the summoning of Sartorius's monster, a hovering, bulky creature that had two claw-like pincers and some kind of artifact strapped to its back. When it was brought out, the creature's one eye snapped open and an otherworldly sound rent the air. It easily dwarfed Bastion's Conduction Warrior. (3100/3100) More than that, Bastion took 1000 points of damage because of the Vision spell. Bastion staggered back to his side of the field.
Bastion: 400
Sartorius: 500
"W-Well… Thanks to your card, my Linear Magnum's attack power is doubled once again! (5400/1300) Your monster is quite formidable, but it is not enough to win the duel!"
"I wholeheartedly disagree." Sartorius countered as The World's card began to rotate above it. "But first, decide which direction this card will face! If it lands right-side up, I can tribute two monsters to skip your turn. However, should it land upside down, during your draw phase, you get to add the top card of your graveyard to your hand."
When Bastion told the card to stop, it landed upside down for once.
"Well, well… Perhaps your luck is finally wearing off." Bastion smirked as that uneasy feeling began to fade. "Now, shall we finish this duel?"
"Very well." Sartorius obliged Bastion as he flipped over the last card in his hand: White Veil. As soon as it equipped to Arcana Force XXI, the creature glowed an ominous white, which blinded Bastion and greatly lit up the surrounding area.
"What is that?! How does that benefit your monster!"
"The World now dons the Light of Truth; with White Veil, my victory and your rebirth is assured. For you see, when my monster attacks, all spells and traps on your side of the field are instantly destroyed. And without the effect of Megamorph, the last of your Life Points will be extinguished. It was a valiant effort on your part, but you can go no further as you are now. You are in a state of stagnation; the cards tell me that you secretly feel your skills go unappreciated by your closest friends. You feel as if your contributions pale in comparison to that of your friends. Am I wrong…?"
Bastion stiffened as the fortuneteller transitioned from analyzing the duel to seemingly revealing some of his most personal feelings.
"You're wrong! I do not feel that way…!" Bastion faltered at the end as Sartorius's words sank in. He had never thought about it, but really, how much had he contributed to his group of friends when it really mattered? The most desperate time they faced together last year, the Seven Shadow Riders and the Three Sacred Beasts, he had dueled one Shadow Rider. And how did he perform? Miserably. He lost. Sure, he had defeated his fair share of Obelisk Blue students, and held his own against Jaden, but in their first year alone, his friends had faced more personal challenges than he had, which led to a great deal of growth that he was left out of.
But did that really mean his skills were unappreciated?
"By the look on your face, I'd say you just realized this about yourself. But don't fret." Sartorius amicably declared, his tone becoming less deriding by the second. "Destiny has a plan for you; one that will overshadow the plans in store for your friends. All you need do is embrace the Light, and you will progress at an unbelievably remarkable rate. This self-imposed stagnation will be shattered instantaneously!"
"But… What about my friends…?" Bastion weakly asked, still feeling very conflicted.
"Your loyalty to your friends is admirable," Sartorius complimented him. "But in order to progress and usher in a new age for this world, you must leave them behind temporarily! You must be the first disciple of the Light, Bastion; destiny has dictated that role to you, and it is by that role that you will be reunited with all of your friends once again!"
Bastion clutched his head as it began to pound achingly. He grit his teeth and shook his head.
"I… I don't know…"
"You do know." Sartorius replied soothingly. "Each of us has two sides; one that's dark and one that can see the Light! Embrace the Light within! Come now, you're close!"
As Sartorius declared this, he began shuffling his cards. Truth be told, he didn't need to debate back and forth like this anymore, not when Bastion was one attack away from losing the duel. But making him 'willingly' join the Society of Light would be much sweeter.
At last, Bastion lowered his arms and cried out, the pressure getting to him.
"Fine! Help me! Show me the Light!"
Sartorius cackled in delight. Arcana Force XXI burst with a surge of radiance that shattered Bastion's remaining cards and drained the last of his Life Points.
"Wise choice!"
In the next moment, Bastion was hoisted into the air by something that shot out from the trees surrounding them. The raven-haired young man soon lost consciousness after that, and he knew no more…
The next morning, Syrus, Hassleberry, Alexis, and Chazz gathered in the Slifer cafeteria for breakfast. They were met with quite the sight with Bastion standing in the middle of it.
"Bastion! We were starting to think you disappeared last night, too!" Syrus greeted the Ra Yellow. Upon closer examination, he naively continued, "But… something's different… Did you get a new haircut or something?"
Chazz scoffed.
"Uh… No. He bleached his hair and got some new threads. Are you seriously that dense, twerp?"
Syrus scowled at Chazz, but ignored him in favor of Alexis, who posed the next question.
"Did something happen last night, Bastion?"
Bastion chuckled and smirked at the question.
"You could say that, I suppose. I finally woke up, Alexis. I've seen the Light – specifically the Society of Light. It truly holds all the answers, and fulfills all of our heart's desires."
With that, Bastion gave a full-blown cackle that exuded coldness and delight, which unnerved his friends greatly…
Long time no see, everyone! I know I'm really, really late, and to top it off I'm rehashing this series... again... But I'm going to be more reasonable this time. In the past I've promised a trilogy - a trilogy that's packed with OCs and OC cards. I had the vaguest sense of direction for plot development, and I often let my feelings control how the plot went - for example, for a time I liked Chazz being in the Society of Light, but a few days later I liked Chazz not being in the Society of Light. These feelings would bounce back and forth, were not limited to Chazz, and would often affect the pace of my writing. In a sense, I still have those continuously changing preferences, but they won't be as rampant this time. I began writing SoL:AS (Society of Light: Alternate Series) when I was in high school, and I've seemingly made leaps and bounds as a writer ever since edging away from the use of OCs a couple of years ago.
... But now I'm digressing all over the place. The point is this: I'm back after having lost interest in Yugioh roughly four years ago because of watching the second season of GX over and over and over... Well, really, I just watched GX as a whole over and over, and it just became redundant and not-so-interesting. I still appreciated it, but I couldn't watch it as much anymore because I tuned out; I kind of need to watch the anime to keep characterization and lines accurate. It's just one of my tools for that aspect of fanfiction writing. I'm back now, though... technically. It's been a bit since I tuned out, and the anime, rules, and cards have just kept on changing and evolving while I've been away. Yet I won't really be making use of any of that for this single story. I like to consider myself an 'old-school' Yugioh enthusiast, which means I generally stick to first and second generation stuff; I only just recently developed a slight appreciation for 5D's, but that still pales in comparison to GX and the original series, at least in my opinion. I won't get into Zexal for that generation of fans, but I will say I'm not the biggest fan of it.
Anyway, let's get down to business. These chapters will be in 'episode' format, so they will generally end on a conclusive note each time, bar overarching themes and multi-part episodes. There will be 45 episodes, and this is the first, so there's 44 episodes to go. I can't promise frequent updates, but this time the infrequent updates will purely be due to college and my personal life, and not due to 'how I feel' about certain characters at certain times. I have a tentative outline written up, and much of it will play close to canon. There will be key differences of course, and depending on how you guys feel, I might cut back on the replay of canon episodes, which will reduce the amount of episodes this fic will have. This story will feature some of my old concepts, which includes the recruitment of Syrus, Zane, and the four exchange students into the SoL. But I'm not a one-trick pony; watching 5D's did give me an idea to incorporate into this story, which should be hard to miss. It'll compound the threat, but it'll be the same threat, more or less. The Light of Destruction will have a contingency this time. And there will still be some OC cards, but this time I will generally use canon/anime cards; decks will largely remain the same, but since we don't get to see entire decks of each character, I'll be taking some creative liberties at times, such as Sartorius using Heavy Storm in this chapter.
Enough from me for now. I post this to see if this nets anyone interested; it's an experimental chapter. Future duels will be longer, and descriptions will hopefully improve as we move along. I'm also researching tarot cards, so any reference to those (like I did for The World card here) will at least contain some truth (at least as I see it). Review if it suits you! I will post future review replies in this section, in addition to any OC cards used in the future.