Duel to the Death
Chapter 1: Raiz
Yu-Gi-Oh, the top selling game of all time. Certain decks are far more superior to others, but for many duelists, that won't hold them down. We'll begin the story a few years back, where we meet Raiz Darr.
Duelist Name: Raiz Darr
Gender: Male
Appearance: Short, black hair. Brown eyes. Very tall and somewhat skinny. Often wears a black sweater with red band-like stripes on the sleeves and a red "Z" on the front. Blue jeans.
Current Favorite Card: SDK Blue-Eyes White Dragon
Duelist Name: Taylor Ralmz
Gender: Male
Appearance: Bushy, brown hair. Red eyes. As tall as Raiz and a largely built upper body. Often wears a brown sweater with no fancy details. Torn blue jeans.
Current Favorite: MRD Sanga of the Thunder
Raiz and Taylor are cousins. It was all the fun stories and cards that Taylor had to show and tell that got Raiz interested into the game. His only cards come from the Kaiba Starter Deck, Yugi Starter Deck and the first four sets, mainly Pharaoh's Servant. He hasn't gotten any chances to buy cards from later sets. Raiz just completed his deck, and is about to begin his first duel against the long-dueling Taylor at a card shop. Taylor just finished getting last place in a tournament. Raiz's family agreed to pick him up. However, before they left, the two of them decided to have a duel.
"It's time," Taylor said in his medium-pitched yet powerful voice. "Your first duel, Raiz. Let's see just how powerful your deck is." Her placed his cards down in front of his cousin. "Cut the deck."
"Um… okay," Raiz said nervously in his deep, yet gentle voice. He took off the top half of the deck and set it aside, then placed the bottom half on top of it. He gave his newly shuffled deck to Taylor, who did the same thing. Taylor took out two die, giving one to Raiz.
"This is how we'll decide who goes first," he said. "Whoever rolls higher chooses the order." Raiz nodded and they both rolled. Taylor got a 3, Raiz a 4. "You choose," he said, drawing five cards from his deck.
"I'll start then, I guess…" Raiz said, drawing five slowly and carefully, then a sixth. A young boy stood on the side, the lifepoint amounts written on a pad of paper. He flashed to them the starting points, 8000-8000. A "T" was over the first set of numbers, an "R" over the other. Raiz was ready to begin. He placed a monster facedown and horizontal, then a facedown spell/trap card. "Um… these two cards down, and I'll end." Taylor smiled as he drew his next card.
"My move then! I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered (1600/1200)!" A red, robotic looking monster card was placed onto the field. "Now, attack his defense-mode monster!" Raiz flipped the card over. It was a small, pink worm with orange wings coming out of its head.
"It's Kiseitai (300/800). Now, well… it becomes equipped to your monster. So… I gain lifepoints equal to half your monster's attack points when your turn starts." Raiz reread the card to make sure. "Yeah…"
"I set a card facedown!" Taylor declared, placing a card in the spell/trap zone. "Now it's your turn!"
"Okay…" He drew a card. "I play… Overdrive (1600/1500)." He threw down the green tank monster. "And… yeah, go." Taylor laughed a little to himself.
"Man, you're not half bad for someone who's never played before." He drew. 8000-8800. "Now I'll tribute my Ryu-Kishin Powered!" He placed his monster in his graveyard. Raiz placed Kiseitai in his own. "And Tribute Summon my Beast of Talwar (2400/2150)! Attack Overdrive!"
"I'll use a trap…" Raiz flipped his facedown card over. It was a small yellow ball with angel wings on a long stick. "Enchanted Javelin. So… I get 2400 lifepoints."
"Then Talwar inflicts 800," Taylor pointed out. 8000-10400. "Your turn."
"I'll draw…" And so Raiz drew. "I play Monster Reborn and get back Overdrive." The spell card was placed right into the graveyard and Overdrive was placed from the graveyard onto the field. "Then I'll put him in the graveyard… and play Summoned Skull (2500/1200)." His new monster was a demon's skeleton with some organs seen through the rib cage. It had huge, blue-ish wings. "And I'll attack…"
"I'll activate my facedown trap card!" Taylor declared powerfully. "Go, Reinforcements! This card will give my monster 500 more attack points!" Raiz sighed, placing his Skull in the graveyard. 8000-10000.
"Go…" Taylor, again, gave a laugh, this one mocking.
"Lesson 1, Raiz, the power of a good trap card. Oh well, you'll learn eventually. I draw!" He fiercely drew a card off the top of his deck. "Now I'll summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)! This monster may shift to defense mode after it attacks, but it can still hurt you a lot right now! I'll attack with both of my monsters!" 8000-5300. "Lesson 2: Lifepoints aren't everything. In one move, because I had such amazing field advantage, I was able to gain an amazing lifepoint advantage." He shifted his Goblins to defense mode. "Go ahead then, Raiz. Let's see you survive me now."
"Okay then…" he drew a card. "I'll place this monster in defense mode and end." He felt himself getting more comfortable with his dueling voice, but less confident in the turnout of the duel. Taylor wasted no time in drawing.
"I'll draw and tribute my two monsters!" Talwar and the Goblins all went to the graveyard. "And summon Sanga of the Thunder (2600/2200)! The monster was a huge, black golem with orange plates. Its head was a perfect, black sphere with some yellow Japanese writing on it. It looked powerful, and its stats agreed. "Now I'll attack." Raiz put his Neo the Magic Swordsman (1700/1000) into the graveyard. "Now let's see how you'll do. Go." Raiz cleared his throat and drew.
"I play Change of Heart, a spell card that… that let's me take your monster… for this turn at least." Sanga went to Raiz's field, much to Taylor's displeasure. "Now… I'll use Premature Burial and pay…" He read the card. "800 lifepoints, and bring back Summoned Skull. I'll attack with both..." 2900-4500. "Then I'll tribute them both… and I'll summon my Blue-Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500). And… that'll end my turn." Taylor was in shock. The duel was basically his, and then Raiz pulls off such an amazing turn. It was the kid's first duel, and Taylor wasn't about to lose under those circumstances.
"I draw!" He was pissed now, and ready to fight back at full power. He looked at his new card and smiled. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn." He placed a spell/trap card facedown. Raiz wasn't nervous.
"I'll draw a card, then attack!" He moved his Dragon slightly forward.
"I'll activate my facedown!" Taylor said. "Go, Call of the Haunted! This trap card will return Sanga of the Thunder to the field!" He placed his monster on the field.
"I'll continue my attack!" Taylor smiled.
"You didn't even worry about the fact that my monster has en effect. You should've read the card. Once while it's face-up, I can make the attack points of your attacking monster 0!"
"Ah! What!?" Raiz screamed. He grabbed up Sanga and read. "Damn…" He placed his Blue-Eyes in the graveyard. 2900-1900. He set a defense mode monster. "I'll set this guy and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn!" Taylor said, laughing and drawing his card. "And I'll use Monster Reborn to summon your Blue-Eyes to my side of the field!" Raiz grunted. "Now, Blue-Eyes attack!" Raiz flipped his monster over. It was small, brown, had red feathers and was holding a scythe.
"Hane-Hane (450/500)! This card lets me return Sanga back to your hand!" Taylor twitched, but sighed and returned his monster.
"Your turn then," he said. Raiz drew, smiling after he saw his card.
"Now I play Dark Hole and destroy Blue-Eyes!" Taylor, unhappily, returned his other monster back to his cousin's graveyard. "Ha, now it's time for me to start winning!" Raiz was having the time of his life, and with good reason. "I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (1800/1000)!" The green genie card was placed on the field.
"No!" Taylor yelled, angry that Raiz had gotten out one of the most powerful low-level monsters currently in the game. "You can't!"
"I can!" Raiz said, laughing. "Attack!" Taylor glared at his opponent, finding himself far angrier than he had been before. 1100-1900. "Your turn."
"I DRAW!" Taylor screamed, alerting the entire card shop. One particular duelist's attention was caught.
Duelist Name: Jamie Alexander
Gender: Male
Appearance: Really tall with medium-length brown hair. Super skinny. Usually wears black t-shirts and blue jeans.
Current Favorite Card: Relinquished
"Raiz!" he called in his high-pitched voice, running over from the other side of the shop. "Remember me, your sister's friend?" He was practically bouncing in place with excitement.
"Yeah, I do," Raiz replied. "Just about to win this duel, wanna watch?"
"Oh, yeah yeah, sure!" He pulled up a chair and sat down.
"YOU WILL NOT WIN!" Taylor screamed. He stopped and took a few deep breaths. "I'll activate Soul Exchange. Now I can tribute your La Jinn!" He placed soul Release in the graveyard. Raiz placed his La Jinn in his graveyard. "And I'll use the tribute to set this monster. Your turn."
"Draw." Raiz was happy with his draw. Jamie leaned in and took a look. He decided to stay out of it, even though he knew Raiz would probably make the wrong move. "I play my 7-Colored Fish (1800/800)." The monster was a rainbow fish, big surprise. "Now, I'll attack your monster!"
"Ha!" Taylor mocked. "Labyrinth Wall (0/3000)!" The monster was nothing more than a labyrinth, but the move still hurt. "My monster has more defense points than your monster has attack points, so you take damage, 1200 points of it!"
"Crap…" Raiz said, sighing. 1100-700. "I end my turn."
"Yo, kid," Taylor said to the young scorekeeper. "What're the standings?"
"You have 1100," he said quietly to Taylor. "That guy has 700."
"That's what I thought," Taylor said, drawing. "Now I tribute my Labyrinth Wall to summon a second Beast of Talwar!" The exchange was made, and Raiz knew he was in trouble. "Attack!" Raiz sent La Jinn to the graveyard. 1100-100. "This duel's in the bag," Taylor laughed. "I'll set a card facedown and end my turn."
"I draw!" Raiz declared, picking up the card that may decide the duel. "I'll set a card facedown and end." He placed his card facedown in the s/t zone. "It's been fun, Taylor."
"Whatever, as long as I win," he responded, drawing. "Now, I summon my own La Jinn!" Another genie appeared on the field. "It's time to call your bluff, Raiz. Talwar, attack!"
"I activate a trap card!" Raiz called out, finally finding his full dueling confidence. "Mirror Force! Now all your cards are destroyed!" Taylor laughed.
"Ha ha ha! YES! I win! I'll activate a counter trap card!" Raiz shook. A card that could counter Mirror Force… it couldn't be… Taylor flipped his facedown trap over. "Seven-Tools of the Bandit! Now I can pay 1000 lifepoints, bringing me down to 100, and negate your trap card!" Raiz placed Mirror Force in his graveyard and sighed.
"Final score!" the kid declared. "Taylor, 100 lifepoints. Raiz, 0 lifepoints. Taylor wins!"
"Booyah!" Taylor cheered. "No worries, Raiz. I started playing before you, so I'll always be better than you!"
"Untrue," Jamie intervened, a pissed look on his face. "My bud Bret started long before I did, and him and I are now about equal, and I'm sure I'm on the path to surpassing him. Besides, Raiz almost beat you. He'll surpass you easily, I can guarentee it."
"I'll believe it when I see it," Taylor said, laughing to himself. "Come on, Raiz, your mom's waiting outside for us." Jamie grabbed Raiz's arm.
"He'll be a second," he told Taylor. Not caring, the jerk walked out. Jamie turned to Raiz. "Don't worry, Raiz," he told him. "I'll train you. With my help, you'll surpass that cousin of yours in no time."
"Thanks," Raiz said, nodding.
"Your birthday's next weekend," Jamie reminded him. "Your sister invited me to join her at your party. Bring your deck."
End of Chapter 1.
