Hello there! Welcome to my first foray into the world of Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction. This is quite daunting, admittedly. Yu-Gi-Oh is a complex game, way more complex now than it was when I first got into it as an elementary school scrub. I fell off in the middle of GX and never got back into the series until Duel Links came out on my phone!

So, of course, I decided to look back into Yu-Gi-Oh and catch up on what I missed, and… yeesh. Synchro Summons? Tuners? Xyz ranks? Pendulums? Extra Monster Zones? Link circuits…? Oof.

The game's completely different from what I remember, and while that's awesome, it's also scary as hell to try to write about, because I want to get deep and gritty when it comes to dueling in this story you're about to read! So hopefully, I do well enough.

This is a prologue chapter. The main purpose of this prologue, aside from setting things up in a basic sense and whatnot, is to write out part of a duel and hook you, readers, on my ability to do so, so you know what to expect in future chapters and, hopefully, decide to stick with and follow this story to see what else I've got!

So without further ado: Yu-Gi-Oh!: Limit EXceed!

Speed Duel TURN 5

Yuuna Uwari LP: 1150 (Turn Player)

Anata Tsurihito LP: 4000

...

"I-I… I'm not gonna let you do this anymore, Anata! I don't know what the deal is with you and these crazy Synchro monsters of yours… b-but taking cards from little kids is just too far! Don't you care that he's crying?"

…

Kneeling and panting, exhausted from the sheer power and incredible pressure unleashed upon her, eleven-year-old Yuuna turned her hazel eyes up in awe at the massive insectoid dragon her opponent had just summoned and wasted no time in decimating her life points with. Its four wings fluttered and buzzed uncomfortably like a dragonfly's billowing her short brown hair, and its sleek draconic torso and legs were encased by a speckled purple armor-like shell. In place of fangs and claws, the dragon had dire pincers along its maw, and thin, stick-like arms that ended in mantis-like scythes.

(Dracomantis Meganeura, Level 8, ATK 2850 DEF 2500, WIND, Dragon/Synchro/Effect)

Anata stood in the dragon's shadow, just underneath it, her messy russet-red hair billowing just as strongly in the winds whipped up by her monster's wings.

…

"Oho… So I'm the bad guy in your little hero fantasy now, Yuuna? That's rich, coming from someone who still uses a physical deck and disk. I duel whoever I want, whenever I want, and when I win, I get my winnings! It's as simple as that!"

…

"What's wrong, Yuuna? Scared of my Dracomantis? I don't blame you. Someone who duels with such outdated strategies like you couldn't hope to approach even the lowest tier of Synchro decks! Just give it up!"

Yuuna gulped, ignoring the bead of sweat trickling down the bridge of her nose as she glared defiantly at Anata and her dragon. "T-The duel's… not over yet, Anata. I can still win! And you still have a chance to apologize and stop being a jerk!"

"Please… Those are winner's words. You haven't even scratched me," Anata snickered, her toothy smirk widening. "I have nothing to apologize for. Crushing you only proves my point that people like me just can't help but eat people like you for breakfast."

She wasn't wrong. Despite her words, even Yuuna was beginning to doubt herself. What could she do against Anata's dragon. Shakily, she stood and looked at her old duel disk on her wrist, at the antique card case she set down beside her when their duel started. She tried not to look around at the small gathering of people who were watching their duel and had all their eyes on her, but she couldn't help it, and in their eyes, she saw the same thing that both Yuuna and Anata were thinking. She can't win.

Yuuna shook her head, trying to psyche herself up and push away those thoughts. "The turn is mine. I draw!"

…

"W-Why don't you pick on someone your own size and duel me instead, Anata? I'll… even give you my whole deck if you win. B-But if I win, then you have to apologize and promise to stop bullying kids and amateurs...!"

"Ha! Of course you blow it way out of proportion like that! You're betting everything on this? Does me being who I am and dueling how I duel really mean that much to y-"

"Yes! It does! I-It's wrong, Anata, even though you may think it's just survival of the fittest. And I just… I want you to be better than this! Besides… heroes shine brightest when everything's on the line, you know?"

"Just when I think you can't get any dumber… But whatever, I'll beat you down if that's what you want!"

…

Yuuna stared at the card she drew and the two others in her hand for a long few moment, the gears of thought spinning in her head like pinwheels in a stiff breeze. Underneath her shy and undistinguished exterior was a big brain that housed the duel sense of an expert from an outdated age. With the advent of Synchro Monsters and a vast array of many more stiflingly powerful spells and traps, the kind of dueling that Yuuna excelled at was going extinct. But despite that…

"This may be my only chance to turn this around… I have to make it count!" Yuuna clenched her fist and clicked up the Field Spell slot on her duel disk. "First off, I activate a Field Spell: Flying Arcane Academy!"

The jewel on Yuuna's duel disk shined a bright blue light up into the air, and moments later, a large segment of land descended from the clouds, carrying a towering collection of buildings and glowing structures. The flying school loomed over the field, and when Anata had no response to its activation, the field spell slot clicked back into Yuuna's disk, and she proceeded.

"While it's on the field, I don't take battle damage from battles involving Magical HERO monsters. And since I don't have any Magical HERO monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon one low-level one directly from my deck or graveyard. And from my deck, I summon Magical HERO Elastica in DEF Position."

Yuuna took a few quick moments to unslot her deck, fan it out, and pluck her card from it, to which Anata rolled her eyes, before reslotting her deck and summoning the monster she searched for.

From one of the high windows of the flying school above, an arm shot out and stretched itself all the way down to the ground below, before the girl that the arm belonged to followed immediately, squealing with glee as she freefell and went splat against the ground. Immediately, she bounced back and stood upright. The magical girl wore a rather tight-fitting purple and white bodysuit with a skirt attached to the hips, a brimmed witch's hat, and a cape with the letters 'MH' written on the back. Elastica gave her arms a long stretch and her head a good shake before she giggled and stretched her arms again, wrapping them around herself like a coiled spring to protect herself.

(Magical HERO Elastica, Level 3, ATK 1000 DEF 1600, WIND, Spellcaster/Effect)

"So you've given my Dracomantis a rubber chew toy. Hopefully, you've got more than that to throw at me," Anata scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"I-I'm just getting started, Anata," Yuuna murmured, noting her opponent's disinterest. "I activate Elastica's effect. I can change her from DEF Position to ATK Position, then change the position of any other monster on the field, and deal damage to you equal to that monster's level times 200. Take Meganeura for a spin, Elastica! Snapback Cyclone!"

The Magical HERO grinned and squealed out again as she whirled around like a tornado to unwind her arms from herself, sending a gust of magical winds toward Anata's side of the field. Meganeura roared in irritation as it spun around in the air, forced to land and crouch, dazed from its wild ride and changed to DEF Position.

Anata snickered. "Meganeura's effect activates. When an effect that would deal damage to me activates, I can discard a Dragon or Insect-Type monster from my hand to absorb up to 2000 of that effect damage, then deal damage to you equal to the difference, if the damage I would've taken was less than 2000. I discard Dracomantis Necrophore!"

Meganeura roared as it dispersed the Snapback Cyclone with a powerful wingbeat before it could reach Anata, and Yuuna raised her arms as the wind blew away a few more of her Life Points. Anata was left with two cards in her hand.

Yuuna Uwari LP: 1150 - 750

Grinning, Anata continued. "Necrophore like to dig around in the dirt, so it's right at home in the grave. But depending on how it was sent there, I can call it right back to action. And since Necrophore was sent to the graveyard by a card effect and not by battle, I can stick it on your side of the field in ATK Mode and deal 700 damage. A gift from my foot to your butt!"

The ground underneath Yuuna suddenly burst apart and sent her flying backwards. She hit her back with a grunt, groaning weakly as she sat up and watched an unsightly little mix between a baby dragon and a beetle with a long orange shell and a black stripe up its back crawled itself onto Yuuna's field, clicking its pincers and rubbing its scythe arms together fitfully.

(Dracomantis Necrophore, Level 2, ATK 700 DEF 0, EARTH, Dragon/Tuner/Effect)

Yuuna Uwari LP: 750 - 50

"When summoned like that, it can't be used by my opponent Synchro Material, by the way. Not that I expect such an old-school grub like you to even try."

Yuuna refused to stay down. She grit her teeth and stood up again. "…Heh. Thanks, Anata."

The redhead lifted a brow. "Thanking me for pounding you? You must have hit the ground one too many times!"

Yuuna shook her head. "Just now, I was about to bank on a lucky draw... But since you just put another monster on my side of the field, I don't need to! From my hand, I activate the Quick-Play Spell, Dean's List Stamp! I can activate this card when I have both Flying Arcane Academy and at least one Magical HERO monster in my control!"

A stamper poofed into existence out of thin air and mashed a thumbs-up onto Elastica's forehead and on the back of Necrophore's shell with red ink. Elastica giggled and coiled up her legs, bouncing into the air and stretching out one of her arms to wrap around Necrophore and drag it up with her. In the air, the two suddenly disappeared in a bright flash of light that even forced Anata to squint.

"And just what do you think you're doing now?" she growled, her smile momentarily vanishing.

"Summoning my favorite card, the only Magical HERO that can shed some light on this dark and dangerous situation! By tributing the same amount of monsters that would normally be required to Tribute Summon it, I can Special Summon one high-level monster directly from my deck, and gain Life Points equal to the combined ATK of those tributed monsters!"

Yuuna Uwari LP: 50 - 1750

Despite being the underdog, Yuuna could help but smile, as it brought her such joy every time she was able to bring out this monster. Once again, she fanned out her deck, picking her desired Magical HERO out at once.

"Most Magical HEROs are young, still in training. Gifted as they are, they don't have the experience to do much on their own just yet. But that's why students have teachers! The faculty of the Flying Arcane Academy are more than willing to stand up in defense of their students, foster their growth, and promote excellence!"

"Are you done…?" Anata growled, raising a brow.

Yuuna extended a hand. "Not yet. But in just a moment, your Dracomantis will be! Come forth, Magical HERO Lady Lux!"

The bright light in the sky slowly began to descend toward Yuuna's side of the field, and as it did, the light began to dissipate, revealing a very tall woman wearing sleek white robes, a tall witch's hat, and what appeared to be glass-plated armor over her heart and shoulders. A glass gauntlet also decorated her left hand. She opened her glowing eyes and raised her gauntlet readily.

(Magical HERO Lady Lux, Level 7, ATK 2500 DEF 2100, LIGHT, Spellcaster/Effect)

"Class is now in session," Yuuna called out.

Anata lifted a brow. "If that's supposed to be my teacher, I might as well just go to sleep right now. Your lectures certainly won't wake up my Meganeura. Its DEF is equal to Lux's ATK."

"For now," Yuuna shot back. "But I'm still not done. Lux isn't treated like a Magical HERO while she's on the field, so once again I can Special Summon a low-level Magical HERO using Flying Arcane Academy. And from my graveyard, I choose to bring back Magical HERO Elastica in DEF Position!"

Lux conjured a scroll in her empty hand, looking it over, and with her glass gauntlet, shot a beam of light in the Monster Zone beside hers. A portal appeared, and from it, Elastica's arms stretch out to grab the earth before she flung herself back onto the field with a wink and a laugh, coiling her arms around herself.

(Magical HERO Elastica, Level 3, ATK 1000 DEF 1600, WIND, Spellcaster/Effect)

"The last Spell Card in my hand… I equip Elastica with Wonder Wand, which increases her ATK by 500. Because I have everything I need to destroy your Dracomantis already, there's no need to send it to the grave to draw cards."

(Magical HERO Elastica, ATK 1500)

"I activate Elastica's effect a second time! Snapback Cyclone!" Yuuna called out, and once again, Elastica unwound and sent Meganeura flying, whirling it back into ATK Position and causing it to chitter out in annoyance.

"I discard Dracomantis Blatta to activate Meganeura's effect again! You take 400 more damage!" Anata yelled.

Yuuna squinted once again against the winds of Meganeura's violent wingbeats, but stood her ground.

Yuuna Uwari LP: 1750 - 1350

"That's alright with me! When the effect of a Magical HERO on the field is activated, Lady Lux gains that Magical HERO's ATK until my turn ends! So even though you don't take damage from Elastica's effect, the pieces are still in place for my Magical HEROs to squash your Dracomantis!"

(Magical HERO Lady Lux, ATK 4000)

Lady Lux seemed to literally be glowing with pride as she smiled at Elastica, who happily shared energy with her teacher to boost her power. Yuuna, pleased with how things were looking, threw out her arm toward the field. "And now, my Battle Phase begins. Lux, attack! Destroy Meganeura with Glass Gauntlet Blast!"

Both of Yuuna's spellcasters yelled out as they charged up their attacks, but Anata, even in the face of Yuuna's own display of power, simply grinned, turning up her facedown card.

The wings on Meganeura's back began to beat even faster and harder with a deafeningly loud buzzing sound that stunned Lux and Elastica and even caused Yuuna to yell out and crouch down, covering her ears as her skin crawled with discomfort.

"W-What… What's going on?!"

"You surprised me, Yuuna. You're still just a punching bag. But you've got a lot more stuffing in you than I gave you credit for," she said with a condescending tone. "I didn't think I'd have to use this, but now I'm going to bring you to a screeching halt with my Trap Card, Desynch Deaf Buzz. Normally, I'd have to pay 1000 Life Points to activate this, but with Meganeura's effect, I can discard the last card in my hand, Dracomantis Vespule, and hit you for 1000 damage instead. Desynch Deaf Buzz can only be activated when I have an Insect-type Synchro Monster on my side of the field."

Yuuna squinted and grit her teeth in confusion as her life took another big hit.

Yuuna Uwari LP: 1350 - 350

"Wh-… What?! Meganeura's… a Dragon-Type!"

The redhead sneered. "You didn't forget, did you? When Meganeura is on the field, it's Type can also be treated as Insect. Desynch Deaf Buzz negates the effects of all other cards on the field except Synchro Monsters until my next End Phase. Which means you're the one who's gonna get squashed!"

(Magical HERO Elastica, ATK 1000)

(Magical HERO Lady Lux, ATK 2500)

Meganeura squinted at the incoming attack, and with a powerful swing of one of its scythes, deflected the attack right back toward Lady Lux. Pinned down by the agonizing sound of Meganeura's buzzing, Lux couldn't even defend herself, and was obliterated by her own countered attack, exploding into light particles and taking what little remained of Yuuna's Life Points.

Yuuna Uwari LP: 350 - 0

Crushed that her comeback was thwarted and that her chances at victory disintegrated in a mere moment, Yuuna could only stare at the ground as Meganeura roared victoriously before vanishing along with the rest of the field. Slowly, she walked across the school courtyard where they'd been dueling, and with a hard gulp, unslotted her deck, holding it out to Anata.

"You… Y-You win, Anata. So here's my deck. Just like I promised you…"

Anata stared at Yuuna and the offered deck for a long moment, and unlike all the other times the redhead reveled in her victory over an opponent, grinning with glee as she swiped a card from them, Anata frowned, and after that moment passed, she rolled her eyes and pushed Yuuna's deck back toward her.

"Please. I don't even have to look at your cards to know that you've got nothing worth my time, Yuuna. The only people who would find a deck like yours good are either already in the graveyard or on their way there," she huffed critically, turning around. "Keep your deck. Someone has to keep the old dueling coots at the nursing home happy, right?"

Anata laughed as she walked away, with some of the other bystanders chuckling at the comment as well, while most just looked on at Yuuna with pity as the crowd dispersed.

Yuuna sighed, but blinked when she felt a tap on her arm. She looked down to the little boy whose defense she came to when Anata tried to bully him into giving up a good card after she beat him.

"Um… Even though you lost, miss, thanks for what you did. You're a really good duelist, and I'm sure once you get some better and more recent cards, you'll beat anybody, even her!"

The little boy nodded before he turned and took his leave as well. Yuuna couldn't be upset at him. She knew that his words were meant to make her feel better, but they only worsened the pain.

"But I… I don't want more recent cards…"

And there you have it, the prologue chapter of Yu-Gi-Oh!: Limit EXceed!

Tell me how I did. Like I said, this is literally my first foray into Yu-Gi-Oh!, so if there's any way I can improve, or any thoughts you have on the prologue in general, I'd love to hear it! Let me know if you'd like this to continue, and if I can find the time in my busy college life, I'll try to put some effort into getting out an update!