Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Chronicles: Matt Valant
By Aniperve
Summary: Even a guitarist in training has yearnings to go to a place of legend. That place for Matt Valant was Duel Academy. Join him, his friends and his enemies in the wild Rock and Roll lifestyles of these crazy duelists! An OC story
Disclaimer: I do not own a lot in this story. Some places as well as some characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi.
A/N: You read the summary right? Well, that will be in another chapter later on.
Chapter 1: The First Gig! A Force to be Reckoned With!
The sound of chattering, potential students emanated from the courtyard of the prestigious Duel Academy Test Center. The dome-shaped, stadium-like building stood in front of their young eyes, inviting them in within the next hour. All sorts of things could be heard.
"I hope I get in!"
"Man, I don't stand a chance!"
"This week's deck is especially awesome!"
But, if you listened closely enough, you could hear the faint sounds of an acoustic guitar, playing a delicate melody. The person playing was none other than Matt Valant.
Matt stood at about five-foot-eleven and one-hundred and ninety pounds. His dark, black hair went down to the top of his neck and out in front enough to create a hair flip, coming down his face. His nose, ears and eyes were adorned with a pair of bold, black-framed, tinted glasses. Look close enough, and you'd even be able to notice the remnants of a goatee starting to grow.
He sighed as he put the guitar down. "Well, that seems like enough practicing for today…" He looked out into the crowd of people. "Now, I sit back and people watch!" He snickered and set his eyes to the crowd.
He watched every person who walked by and made critical assumptions as to how they dueled just by how they held themselves. "Let's see… He looks like one of those 'analytical' types…" He stroked his chin. "Probably a deck centered around direct damage… And that guy, pretty confident. Most likely a beat down deck…"
He sat there, doing this for about twenty minutes, until he heard a voice coming from the nearby registration table.
"Sorry I'm late." Came the beautiful, dulcet voice.
Matt raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?" He turned his head and looked to see who and where the voice was coming from.
She stood there, five-foot-nine, blonde and beautiful. Matt grinned. "Well well… Looks like this just got interesting!" he said to himself
"You're lucky, miss! We were just about to close registration for the day!" Said the woman behind the desk in a cheery voice.
The girl chuckled. "Sorry again! Traffic here was horrible…"
The other woman nodded. "Alright…" She started to write in her ledger. "There, you are registered for the entrance exam!"
"Thank you." The younger woman replied with a bow.
The registration lady nodded, picked up the ledger and walked off into the large, dome-shaped building.
Matt chuckled and got up, his guitar strapped to his back. He walked over to her with a smile. "That was a close call!" He said.
Standing closer like this, he actually realized how tall she was, even if he was one or two inches taller, she was still very tall.
"Yeah, I guess…" She said not even glancing at him.
"Hmm?" Matt raised an eyebrow. "Heh…" He chuckled. "I see…" He turned around and started to walk away.
"See what?" replied the blonde girl. Now the girl looked at him. And with a bit of an angry glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing really…" He shrugged. "Just forget I said anything, kay?" He smiled "My name is Matt!"
By this point she had already turned around and walked away. "Hmm… Maybe I came on a bit strong…"
Suddenly, a man with a megaphone came out. "Ahem…" He started, turning on the megaphone. "All registrants for the Duel Academy entrance exam, please make your way to the front door! The written portion will start in ten minutes, make your way quickly to the testing room."
"Well… I guess that's that…" Matt got up and dusted off his legs. "Let's get crackin'!"
Just then, the blonde girl reappeared. "And just so you know, you have no right to judge me from one response… Or lack there of, I guess…"
"What are you talking about?" Matt replied, remaining forgetful as ever.
"You never said it, but you think I think I'm too good for anyone else!" She exclaimed.
"Why would you think I thought that?" He said with a smile, this conversation taking a confusing turn for the worst.
"Because of that stupid smirky look on your face!" She gritted her teeth. "So what? I'm too good, or what?"
"Sounds like a compliment, if you ask me." He said, playing dumb. "I don't remember nothing…"
"Come on!" She said, raising her voice. "It was five minutes ago! How could you forget?!"
Matt blinked, but then chuckled. "Oh! Right! Now I remember! Girl, chill! I didn't mean what I said back there! Test anxiety and all…"
"What?!" She asked, gritting her teeth.
"Don't act dumb." He smiled. "Listen to how you're speaking, I'm not the only victim of test anxiety, it looks like!"
She gasped and blushed, looking away. "Oh… Sorry…"
He smirked. "Nah, I should be the one apologizing!" He headed towards the main doors of the testing facility.
"My name is Erin… Erin Beaumont…" Came the girls voice from behind him.
Matt stopped and looked over his shoulder with a smile. "It's a pleasure Erin!" He gave her a thumbs up. "Good luck, alright?"
She nodded and gave a confident smile
--
"Alright potential scholars… Pick up your pens!" Commanded a female professor. "Your test begins… Now!"
The sound of every student's pens clicking at the exact same moment flooded the room, quickly followed by the sound of pens scribbling answers onto their paper.
Matt sighed and looked down at his paper. He was telling the truth before, the reality of this test was causing a blank out.
"Damn… My brother was right…" He muttered under his breath.
The letters and numbers on the page started to melt as the memory of the previous months ran back through his head.
--
"Duel Monsters?" Matt chuckled, looking at the colored cardboard his brother had shown him. "What is that? Some sort of game?" "How could you NOT hear of it?!" asked Matt's younger brother Simon. Simon was a year younger than Matt, but stood about five inches shorter, five-foot-six. His hair was chesnut brown that reached halfway down his back, even in the ponytail he set it in. Dyed blonde streaks ran through the ends of his hair, receding into the ponytail's tip. "I can't believe it! My brother, so out of the loop!" Simon complained. "What?" Matt asked. "Just 'cause I'm busy with the guitar and… Oh, I don't know, having a life, that means I'm somehow lame?" "Of course!" his brother replied. "It's the best game in the world! It's fun and challenging!" "So is the guitar…" Matt replied. "Yeah right!" Simon snickered. "You can't knock this game before you've even played it!" Matt started to pout. "Yeah… I guess that's right…" Simon handed his brother a deck. "Here, play with me, I'll teach you all there is to know!" -- "And with that, you lose the rest of your Life Points!" Simon exclaimed happily. "I lost?" Matt asked in a tone that said 'I don't know what's going on…'. "You bet! Don't feel bad though…" Simon started to laugh. "After all, I am a seasoned duelist after all! There's no shame in losing to me!" "Plus, it was my first time…" Matt said looking away. "Yeah, that too I guess!" Simon said with a shrug. "… Let's play again…" Matt said with a smile. -- "What's this one called?" Matt asked showing a card to his brother. "That? It's called a 'Fusion Monster Card'!" Simon replied. "It's like regular monster, but you have to use a card called 'Polymerization' to summon it, along with the two monsters in the card description." "Huh…" Matt looked back at the card. "That's interesting…" He cycled through the cards in his brothers trunk and stopped at one. "Dude! This Fusion card has a guitar! That's awesome!" Simon chuckled. "Oh, him? You can have him if you want. I never saw any need for that card!" Matt stared at the card with a smile on his face. "Thanks man…" Suddenly, the sound of a blazing guitar riff played and Matt's head cocked up quickly. "What was that?!" "What was what?" Simon asked. Matt looked around the room and sighed. "No… Nothing… I must've been hearing things…" -- "And, I win again!" Simon said with a smirk. "That makes it fifty-three to zero. Why don't you give it up Matt? You're never gonna beat me!" Matt looked at the cards in his hand and the remaining cards in his deck. "Yeah… I guess you're right…" He smiled. "But that doesn't mean I should give up!" Simon gave him a 'pft' and shook his head. "If it's impossible to win, what point is there to even try?" Matt chuckled. "Don't you know Simon? Nothing is impossible!" Simon laughed as well. "Well, it looks like you're a loser and an optimist!" -- "Mom, you wanted to see me?" Matt asked as he walked into his kitchen. His mother, a woman of about forty nodded and motioned for him to sit down. "Matt, I've noticed that you've taking quite a shine to this Duel Monsters game…" Matt nodded. "You bet! You can thank Simon for that!" She chuckled. "And indeed I will! I haven't seen you this happy since you first started playing music!" She took in a deep breath and handed him a piece of paper. "That's why I'm showing you this…" Matt looked at the paper. It was a flier for Duel Academy. "Why are you showing me this, mom?" "The entrance exams are in a month…" She nodded. "And even though I wouldn't see you for years at a time… I want you to be happy…" Matt blinked at the paper and looked back to his mom. "Thanks…" -- "Duel Academy?! You?!" Simon laughed and shook his head at the notion of the idea. "You haven't won a single duel in your life! I should know, I'm the only one you've ever played!" "What's that go to do with anything?" Matt asked, sitting on the couch lackadaisically. "You'd get stomped on and trampled over at that school!" Simon said with a confident smirk. "That is, if you ever got in!" Matt sat there silently. Then he chuckled and reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a deck and handed it to his brother. "If that's the way you feel… Then here…" "What… What are these?" Simon asked. "The cards you lent me. If you don't think I can do it, than I might as well give these back…" He pulled out a second deck from his coat and showed his brother. "It'll be all me from here on out…" He picked up his suitcase. "The exams are tomorrow, but I think I'll head out early, make sure I get there early…" He grabbed his guitar case and headed out the door. "Tell mom goodbye for me…" Simon gritted his teeth. "You think you're so cool! Well guess what Matt, you can't duel! By going to that exam, you'd just be wasting Duel Academy's time!" Matt walked out the door, listening to every word. He walked and walked, all in silence. "Matt!" Simon started, yelling. "You'll never amount to anything!" --
Matt chuckled. "Well… I'm here… Might as well get started…"
Matt picked up his pen and started to write.
Just then, there was a loud whistling sound. "Times up!" said the professor at the front of the class. "Leave your test on your desk and head to the Duel Arena to begin your Practical Exam!"
Students started to clear out of the testing room, leaving Matt, sitting there looking at his exam. "Wait… What?"
The professor looked up from her desk. "Number twenty-seven, please exit the written test area."
Matt was about to raise a word of objection just when a tall, gangly adult walked into the room, clad in a long, flowing, blue blazer. "I'm here to pick up those exams." He explained to the female professor. "I figure I can mark them all just before the practical exams begin."
Matt gulped and figured it'd be best before this person could put a face to his exam.
"Exit, stage left!"
--
Matt managed to find his way to the Duel Arena to see that the practical exam hadn't started yet.
"Oh good, I'm not late…" Matt muttered under his breath.
"Well, the dude finally shows up!" came a familiar, female voice from behind.
"Ah…" Matt turned around to see a smiling Erin. "Erin, so nice to see you again!" He smiled back to her. "D'you miss me?"
She chuckled. "Not really! But you're probably better company than these other degenerates…" she said looking out into the sea of students.
"They can't be that bad." he replied.
"Try being called 'Amazon' twenty times in the walk over here…" she explained with a sigh.
"Oh…" Matt said as two students approached.
"Hey, check it out! There's that Amazon girl!" said one.
"Yeah! And the dude she's with is even taller than her!" replied the other.
"Wow! They must be a fun couple!"
"Yeah! The Amazon and the sasquatch!"
Then they walked away, leaving Erin in a fit of anger…
And Matt in a fit of laughter.
"How can you laugh at that?!" she asked angrily. "They insulted both me and you!"
"I can laugh because I don't let those things bother me!" Matt explained. "In my head, I know I'm cool, handsome and totally awesome at the guitar! Whatever they say can't bother me!"
Erin looked at him and shook her head with a sigh. "Well, I don't know about the handsome part, hotshot! " She reached up and ruffled his hair as she started to walk away. "Come on, it's almost one o' clock! The practical exam will start soon!"
Just then, as if on cue, the man in the blue coat from before appeared before the group of students with a megaphone. "It's time for the practical exam!" he shouted into the megaphone with a bit of an angry tone in his voice. "We will be calling students down individually and proctors will judge your performance with a one-on-one duel which the proctor will stop as soon as they feel the test is finished!"
"Is it just me…" Erin whispered. "Or does this guy sound angry?"
Matt nodded. "I agree… You know… I saw him in the other test room. He was the one marking the exams, maybe he didn't finish on time…"
"Now then, there's fifty of you, so let's get this started…" the man said. "First student to duel will be…" he reached into a nearby bowl and pulled out a slip of paper. "Duelist number 36... Cameron Chahk… I hope I'm pronouncing that right…"
"Um, actually…" came a small voice from the crowd. "It's Shoq… It sounds like shock?… Like when you lick an electrical socket?"
The crowd parted to reveal a boy, no more than five feet, six inches, whose most predominant feature was the bright, red toque her wore to hide his light brown hair.
"Hmm… Yes… I suppose it is…" replied the professor. He pointed to the duel field. "Well, without further ado, let's get this testing underway!"
--
"Okay! Next question!" exclaimed the proctor dueling Cameron.
As it stood, Cameron had 1200 Life Points and the proctor had an immaculate 4000. On the field, there were three monsters. On the proctor's side of the field, there was a Goblin Elite Attack Force (2200/1500) in attack mode and Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) in defense mode, and on Cameron's side of the field he only had one monster; Batteryman C (0/0) in defense mode. The proctor had one face down on his field. Thanks to the latest advances in duel disk technology, holograms were created so outsiders could watch the duel easier.
"It's the start of your turn…" continued the proctor. "And you have two powerful monsters staring you in the face! Do you; A: Turn around and run away or B: Surrender, ashamed of your failure?"
Cameron drew his card. "Uh…" He looked at his hand. "I… Uh…" He shook his head. "I can't doubt myself! This will work!" He looked at the proctor. "I'm saying that's a trick question!" he said, trying to sound tough. "Cause I'll do neither! I sacrifice Batteryman C…" the chubby, orb headed battery exploded, and when the smoke cleared, there was a large, mechanical-looking dragon in its place. "And I summon Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon in attack mode (2400/1000)!"
Matt whistled from the stands. "Wow! That is some monster!"
"Yeah, and it'll get even better!" Erin replied.
"How so?" Matt asked.
"Because I used Batteryman C as my tribute, my dragon gains a special ability!" Cameron explained. "Now, whenever Super-Electromagnetic Voltech Dragon destroys a monster in defense mode, you lose the difference between their points!"
"… Impressive…" stated the proctor.
"Now, my dragon attacks your… Goblin Attack Force? Yeah!… Right?" Cameron sort-of commanded.
Matt chuckled. "He seems pretty confused. You'd think this was his first duel!"
"Yeah! Go my dragon!" Cameron swung his arm out. "EMP Surge!" The dragon charged at the goblin in defense mode.
"Not so fast!" the proctor shouted. "You triggered my trap!" he said as his face down card flipped up. "It's a little gem called Magic Cylinder!" the proctor chuckled. "First, it negates your attack. Next, you take damage equal to your monsters attack!"
Cameron gasped as his last Life Points dwindled down to zero. "What?! Oh… Man! That means.. I lost… Right?" He sighed and walked away.
Back in the stands Matt shook his head. "Poor guy… I'd make the same mistake if I was him…" He waved his arm. "Hey! Cameron!"
Erin looked at him. "What are you doing?"
"I'm inviting him to sit with us!" he replied, waving Cameron over to their seats.
"Fine, but you'd better not do this with every duelist that loses!" Erin said with a sigh.
Cameron made his way up to their seats. "You called me? Right?"
Matt smiled and nodded. "Sure did! I'm Matt!" He pointed to Erin. "And this is Erin! Come on, sit with us!"
Erin nodded, smiling. "Yeah, please!"
Cameron blinked for a while, his face gradually getting more blushed. "Ah… Um.. Ok? Sure, right?" he cleared his throat and sat down near, but not beside the other two.
Meanwhile, the professor got back on his megaphone. "Alright… time for the next duel…"
--
About an hour went by and Erin had just finished her duel. A victory for her. A flawless one at that, she finished with all 4000 Life Points.
Matt whistled. "Way to go Erin!"
"Yeah!" Cameron agreed. "That was great… Uh… Right?" He looked to Matt.
"Damn right it was great!" he said chuckling.
Erin waved to the crowd and everyone cheered.
"We love you Erin!"
"Marry me Erin!"
"I love you!"
Matt started to laugh. "First an Amazon, now an enchantress…" he shook his head. "She's good, I'll give her that!"
Erin quickly made her way to her seat. "Wow! That felt great!"
"That… Was really something?" Cameron stroked his chin. "Yeah! Right?"
"I've always said that half of dueling was performance." Matt nodded sagaciously. "You have to please the crowd!"
"Exactly!" Erin said with a wink.
--
"And now…" said the professor into the megaphone. "We move on to our last duel of the day."
Matt pumped his fist in the air. "Alright!"
Erin looked up at him. "What are you so happy about?"
"I'm happy because I'm the last one! I'm the only one here who hasn't dueled yet!" Matt replied.
"The last duelist will have a real treat!" the professor continued, smirking. "Instead of dueling a nasty, old proctor…" He put his hand to his chest. "Duelist number 27 will be dueling me! Matt Valant versus Professor Austin!"
Matt blinked. "And then, I'm not so happy anymore…"
"Did he say Professor Austin?" Erin asked rhetorically. "He's supposed to be the best of the best at Duel Academy!"
"You got your work cut out for you Matt!" Cameron stated.
Matt shrugged as he made his way down to the duel field. "Hey, if I lose, I lose, right?" He smiled and turned to his friends in the stands. "No biggie right? Just one less student to crowd the hallways."
"Indeed…" He tossed Matt a duel disk, which he caught effortlessly. "That is exactly what you will become!"
Matt slid his deck into the disk and turned it on. "Listen, I'd love to sit here a gab with you all day Matilda, but I'm here to duel!" Matt replied, looking away from Professor Austin.
The crowd in the stands started to laugh. Everyone except for Erin. "What does he think he's doing…" she muttered under her breath. "All he's doing is sealing his fate…"
Professor Austin just smirked. "Ah, it's all fun and games…" He turned his duel disk on. "That is, until someone loses an eye… Or in this case, a duel!"
Both their Life Points set at 4000 as they both drew their opening hand.
"Oh man…" Cameron stuttered from the stands. "This… Is going to be intense? Yeah… Not good!"
"I know what you mean." Erin said looking down at the field. "What's worse is I hear that Professor Austin has some sort of super rare card…"
"Powerful?" Cameron asked.
"You'd better believe it…" Erin said with a gulp.
--
Austin drew a card. "Age before beauty, and lucky for me, I have both!" He eyed his new card with a smile. "Well, before we get on with it, would you like to know why you're facing me instead of a normal duel proctor?" he asked.
Matt shrugged. "Anything to get this duel along!"
Austin gritted his teeth. "Insolent… I was marking the exams when I came upon Exam Number 27!"
"Uh oh…" Matt gulped. "I'm not liking where this is headed…"
"Indeed… You see, not only was I miffed to see that you had not written down any answers, I mean, there I could only assume you were planning to ace the practical exam, which is still worth a passing grade…" he explained. "But when I saw that there was no name, no date, no sign that the paper was even used… Well, that's when I snapped. Because then I had to find out who it was sitting in that seat! An ordeal which I don not enjoy to partake in!"
Matt blinked. "Is that all?" he asked. "So, I spaced out during the written thing, no biggie, right?"
"Gah! Yes biggie!" Austin exclaimed. "You think you're so good! I'll put you in your place and show you just how big it is!" Austin slid a card into the Spell and Trap Card Zone. "First, let's start off with a dandy called Card Destruction! With this, both our hands are sent to the graveyard and then draw the same number of cards we discarded!"
"What?!" Matt looked at his hand. "Damn, right off the get go, too!"
Both duelist surrendered their hands to the graveyard and drew five new cards each.
"Perfect!" interjected Austin. "Now, I summon Machiner's Soldier (1600/1500) in attack mode!" A hologram of a mechanized knight appeared, wielding a blade. "And that's not all, because when Machiner's Soldier is summoned to an empty field, I get to summon another one of his friends to the field from my hand!"
"Another one?" Matt asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Not quite… One that's similar, though!" Another hologram popped up, one of a white robot with a large gun. "I Special Summon Machiner's Sniper (1800/800) in attack mode!" Austin then slid a card into his Spell and Trap Card Zone. "I'm not through yet! Next, I activate the Spell Card! The Shallow Grave!"
"No, not that!" Erin exclaimed from the stands.
"Um… I'm confused…" stated Cameron. "What exactly does that do?"
"It let's both players summon a monster from their graveyard into face down position!" Erin explained. "And if it's the card I'm thinking of, Matt's in for a surprise!"
A hologram of a face down Duel Monsters card appeared on both sides of the field. "I think I'll play one last spell card before I end my turn! It's called Book of Taiyou, which allows me to flip any face down monster into face up attack position!" He pointed to his own monster. "And I flip up Machiner's Defender (1200/1800)!"
"Big deal, it's another robot! What's it gonna do?" Matt asked.
"It's going to seal your fate, Mr. Valant!" Austin snickered. "Because, when Machiner's Defender is flipped face up, I get to add a certain card from my deck to my hand!" Austin rooted through his deck and pulled out the card. "A card called Commander Covington! And I'll leave it at that, for now!" (LP: M4000 A4000)
"What a move… Three monsters in one turn!" Matt smiled. "You must have something tricky up your sleeve!" He drew his card. "This'll be fun! I think… Hmmm… First, I'll flip up my face down monster into attack mode! It's the Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200)! Next, I'll play my spell, Black Pendant! Every good artist needs some bling!" A necklace wrapped itself around the witch's neck. "This pendant gives my witch an extra 500 attack points (1600/1200)!"
"Little good it's going to do you." Austin stated.
"Whatever you say!" Matt pointed at the Defender. "Witch of the Black Forest, attack Machiner's Defender!" The witch ran at the small robot when suddenly, a blast of energy shot straight through the witch, destroying her and sending her to the graveyard. "Wait… What just happened?"
"Did I forget to mention my Machiner's Sniper's special ability?" Austin asked with a smile. The white robot held its weapon out, smoke still steaming out of the barrel. "My Sniper will take the hit for any of his Machiner comrades!"
"What?" Matt exclaimed. (LP: M3800 A4000) "Great… Well, no matter, because this is where good things start to happen!"
Austin raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"First, since my Black Pendant was destroyed, you take a heaping helping of 500 points of damage!"
Austin shrieked as his Life Points started to decrease (LP: M3800 A3500).
"Awesome!" exclaimed Erin. "Now Matt has the lead!"
Matt smirked. "Secondly, since my witch was sent to the graveyard, I get to add a monster with 1500 or less defense points from my deck to my hand." He rooted through his deck and smiled. "Here we are!" he showed it to Austin. "It's called Lady of Faith, and it has only 800 defense points." He put the monster in his hand with a smile. "Now, for a spell! Monster Reincarnation! By sending a card in my hand to the graveyard, I can add one monster from my graveyard to my hand! And I choose Witch of the Black Forest!"
"You're going to have to step up your game!" Austin said with a sneer. "At this rate, you'll never even come close!"
"Then what if I activate this!" He slid a card into his duel disk. "It's called Polymerization! And an old friend of mine told me to summon a Fusion Monster, I need this and the two monsters in the Fusion Monster's card description! So, by send Lady of Faith and Witch of the Black Forest to the graveyard, I can summon Musician King (1750/1500)!"
Austin snorted. "Not bad. Impressive, really. Unfortunately, it's all for naught!"
"He's right…" Erin said from the stands. She looked to Cameron. "Summoning that thing took a lot of work, but it's too weak to take anything down!"
"Unfortunately for you, my monster's about to get stronger!" Matt's graveyard started to glow. "Do you remember my Monster Reincarnation Card? Well, I had to send a card from my hand to the graveyard to activate it, and it's a card that can only activate in the graveyard!"
"What?!" Austin exclaimed.
"That's right! It's a spell, known as Posthumous Album Release! When it's in the graveyard, I can send other cards from my graveyard out of play to increase one of my monster's attack by 100 for every card I send out of play!"
"Wow… Great move!" Cameron said with a smile! "He's got a lot of cards in the graveyard… Right?"
Erin nodded. "Thanks to Professor Austin's Card Destruction card he does! Four cards from this turn and five cards from Card Destruction, that makes a total of…"
"900 extra points!" Matt finished. Musician King's attack started to increase (2650/1500). "Unfortunately, I have to end my turn!" He looked to his monster. "Don't worry, we'll get him next turn! Right, buddy?"
The Musician King turned his head and looked at Matt, giving him a silent smile and a thumbs up.
"Pah! Say what you will…" Austin drew his card. "You'll still lose! I summon Commander Covington (1000/600) in attack mode. And I'll activate his ability!"
"His ability?" Matt asked.
"Yes! You see, when Machiner's Soldier, Sniper and Defender are all on the field, Commander Covington can sacrifice them all to summon the greatest of all Machiner cards!"
The newly summoned, red robot blew a whistle. The Machiner cards the propelled themselves high into the air, changing shape and locking in with each other. Soon, they formed an even greater monster than Matt could have imagined.
"It's the Machiner's Force (4600/4100) in attack mode!" The large robot stood behind Professor Austin as the duel field was too miniscule for its massive size.
"That thing is huge!" Cameron said, looking up at it!
"So are it's attack points…" Erin gritted her teeth. "Is there any way to take that thing down?
"That's a big monster…" Matt said, looking up at it.
"Consider yourself lucky… Hardly anyone gets to see my rarest, most powerful card!" Austin pointed at Musician King. "Now, take out his so called 'king' Machiner's Force!" The large robot charged up its energy and shot a blast right at Musician King, taking it out.
"Musician King! No!" Matt exclaimed.
"He's not the only thing going down!" Austin exclaimed. "Say goodbye to your Life Points!" (LP: M1850 A3500) Austin shrugged, "But, I too must lose some Life Points. Every time Machiner's Force attacks, I lose 1000 Life Points. But, with great power comes great responsibility!" (LP: M1850 A2500) He then pointed straight at Matt. "No matter! Commander Covington, attack him directly!"
The small red robot charged at Matt, taking out a large chunk of his Life Points (LP: M850 A2500). "I'll end my turn there."
"End it where? Matt is basically done for!" Erin sighed.
"No! He can still turn this around!" Cameron exclaimed. "Uh… Yeah! Right! He can!"
Matt stared at his duel disk.
He forgot about the duel, he forgot about his Life Points, and he forgot about his opponent.
The only thing in his head was the memory of what his brother had told him.
Simon gritted his teeth. "You think you're so cool! Well guess what Matt, you can't duel! By going to that exam, you'd just be wasting Duel Academy's time!"
He blinked and stayed silent.
"You shouldn't have come here today! It's obvious you have no sense of what you're doing!" Austin taunted. "You can surrender if you want! Go ahead, say those two words! Saw them!"
Matt gritted his teeth. "You want two words… I'll give you two words…" He drew his card and glared right at Austin. "Let's duel."
"W-What?!" Austin exclaimed.
"I may not be the best duelist in the world, but I'm not going to give up! I've only had one turn, and to quit now would be ludicrous!" He pointed at Austin with ferocity. "And no one is going to change my mind! Not my brother and definitely not you!"
"That… Was almost poetic. You should be a musician, not a duelist!" Austin teased.
"I am a musician." Matt explained.
"Well, that explains your odd card choice…" Austin started. "… Fine, now make your move!" Austin said, with a stern look on his face.
"Gladly! First, I activate Pot of Greed! A simple card, it lets me draw two cards!" He drew his cards. "Ah! Sweet!" He smiled. "It's the beginning of the end! First, I play two face down cards and then activate my spell! Comeback Tour! This card lets me summon any monster from my graveyard, at the cost of half my Life Points!" (LP: M425 A2500) "I'm gonna choose Musician King!" The shirtless rocker returned to the field with a blaring guitar solo. "Rock on! I end my turn!"
"Hmm… Not bad, almost noteworthy." Austin drew his card. " Too bad for you, it'll be the last move you make! Machiner's Force attack Musician King again!" The robot charged another laser and shot it.
"Not this time! Go Trap Card!" One of Matt's face down cards flipped up. "Playing a Sold-Out Concert! This card doubles the attack of my monster, so turn up the volume Musician King (3500/1500)!"
"Ha! You must have not done your homework! My monster is still powerful enough to take down your 'king'!" Austin snickered.
The attack went through and Musician King was destroyed! "And there go your Life Points!"
When the smoke cleared, Matt could clearly be seen standing up with a triumphant smile. "I don't think so! You triggered my second trap! Soundproof Room!"
"Soundproof Room?" Erin asked.
"Even you don't know?" Cameron asked surprised.
"This trap, at the cost of half my Life Points, makes sure that I'm not affected by Battle Damage to my Life Points this turn!" Matt explained. (LP: M212.5 A2500). "Unfortunately, you still take damage thanks to your Robot's effect!"
"I don't think so!" Austin interjected. "My Quick-Play Spell says something different! Gift of the Kirin! All I have to do is sacrifice a Machine-type monster and all Effect Damage done to me is null and void!" Commander Covington was sent to the graveyard
"Hmm… Didn't think it'd be that easy." Matt said with a smirk.
Erin sighed. "Well, looks like that was pointless… He raised his monster's attack, even when he knew he wouldn't lose any Life Points… Why?"
"I guess I end my turn…" Austin said.
Suddenly, Matt's deck began to glow. "Perfect! Now the second effect of Playing a Sold-Out Concert can activate! You see, at the End Phase of a turn where Musician King is destroyed as a result of battle after activating this trap, I can Special Summon an even greater musician!" A large, long-haired, muscle-toned rocker made his way to the field. "Everyone welcome Legendary Musician Hero (3500/1500)!"
"What?! What is the meaning of this?!" Austin asked, yelling.
"Don't you know, or don't you go to that many concerts?" Matt asked jokingly. "Every sold-out show needs an encore! It's like a rule!" He smiled and pointed to the air. "And here it comes, because when Legendary Musician Hero is Special Summoned, I can add one card from my graveyard or out of play straight to my hand!" He snickered. "Think of it as, bonus pay for playing an extra song!" One card from out of play materialized into Matt's hand.
"Bah, there's nothing there that can save you now!" Austin said with a smile.
"Oh really?" Matt drew his card. "Cause I think they will! Here it is! Black Pendant! As you know, this card increases my monsters attack by 500 points! (4000/1500) Now, attack Machiner's Force, Legendary Musician Hero! Legendary Rockin' Riff!" Matt's monster started to play the guitar and the sound waves started to rock the arena.
"Are you dense? My monster is still stronger than yours!" Austin exclaimed.
"You think that! But don't count your victories until the last note is played!" Matt slid a card into his duel disk. "I activate my Quick-Play Spell, Final Solo! And with the way this will turn out, it's definitely the final solo! This card increases my monster's attack by 1000 points (5000/1500)!"
"One… One thousand?!" Austin screeched.
The sound waves coming from Legendary Musician Hero's guitar started to shake the Duel Field and eventually, Machiner's Force was reduced to scrap metal, forcing Professor Austin to take a hit to his Life Points (LP: M212.5 A2100).
"He… He did it… He took down Machiner's Force!" Erin said, softly and surprised.
"Yeah! Go Matt! Beat that guy!" Cameron yelled, getting caught up in the passion of the duel.
"My Machiner! My beautiful, beautiful Machiner!" Austin looked back at the pile of metal behind him.
"It's not over yet!" Matt exclaimed. "You see, when Legendary Musician Hero destroys a monster in battle, the owner of that monster loses 300 Life Points times that monsters level. So, say it destroyed a level 10 monster, like Machiner's Force…"
"I… I'd lose 3000?! Impossible! Unthinkable! This can't be happening!" Austin screamed.
"Possible! Thinkable! And yes, it is happening! Legendary Musician Hero, do your thing!" The large rocker approached the professor. "Solo of Destruction!"
The monster played a loud riff on his guitar and the professor flew back. His Life Points dropping down to zero! (LP: M212.5 A0)
Matt smiled and powered down his duel disk. "Rock on, professor! That was fun!"
--
Matt started to make his way off the duel field. The whole arena was in silence.
Matt stopped and looked around. Everyone's eyes on him.
He smiled coyly and pumped his fist in the air. "Rock on!"
The whole crowd stood up and cheered.
Meanwhile, Erin looked on at him from the crowd and smiled. "So, he beat the best of the best, huh?" She giggled. "I'm just glad that I'm on his good side!"
--
Next Time… Welcome to Duel Academy Island, your home for the year to come! But is everything at orientation all hunky dory when a second year challenges Matt to a duel? And who is this mysterious roommate of Matt's and Cameron's? Find out Next Chapter! Chapter 2: Welcome To Duel Academy! Nappers and Trappers! --
A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed that, review please, it makes me feel so good!
Meanwhile, I'll just post my original cards here (in order of appearance)
Posthumous Album Release Normal Spell Card
You can only use the effect of this card when it is in the graveyard. Send cards other than this card from your graveyard out of play to increase the attack of one monster on your side of the field that has "Music" or "Musician" in its card name by 100 x the number of cards sent out of play by this card's effect
Comeback Tour Normal Spell Card
At the cost of half of your Life Points, Special Summon one monster from your graveyard that has "Music" or "Musician" in its card name.
Playing a Sold-Out Concert Normal Trap Card
You can only activate this card when there is a face-up "Musician King" on your side of the field. Double the ATK of one face-up "Musician King" until the End Phase of this turn. If "Musician King" is destroyed in battle this turn, you can Special Summon 1 "Legendary Musician Hero" from your deck, hand or graveyard at the End Phase of this turn. Otherwise, destroy "Musician King" at the End Phase of this turn.
Soundproof Room Normal Trap Card
At the cost of half your Life Points, negate all Battle Damage done to you this turn.
Gift of the Kirin Quick-Play Spell
Offer one Machine-type monster on your side of the field as a Tribute. Negate all Effect Damage done to you this turn.
Legendary Musician Hero
Spellcaster/Effect
LV8/3500ATK/1500DEF
This card can only be Normal Summoned or Set by offering three monsters on your side of the field as a Tribute. This card can only be Special Summoned by the effect of "Playing a Sold-Out Concert". If this monster is Special Summoned this way, you can add one card from your graveyard or one card that has been removed from play to your hand. When this card destroys a monster in battle, the owner of that monster loses 300 Life Points x The destroyed monster's level.
Final Solo Quick-Play Spell
Select one monster on your side of the field that has "Music" or "Musician" in its card name. Increase the ATK of the selected monster by 1000. At the end of this turn's Battle Phase, destroy the selected monster.