"What the hell is going on here, and who the hell are you?" A boy, around seventeen, stood panting. His hair was black with red streaks and ran down in large spikes to his shoulders, jutting out diagonally downwards. This hair covered a single violet eye, the visible one a portal of determination.

"Who I am is of no importance, and as for what's going on, I was merely… extracting information." The speaker's voice was female, and she was garbed in a pure black cloak, loosely hugging her figure. A single blonde spike could be seen underneath the baggy hood, as well as a small smirk, as if she was enjoying what she was doing.

"Sorry, but to me, holding a guy over the edge of a tall building doesn't count as 'merely extracting information'!" He pointed to the terrified man currently held in the woman's loose grip, dangling precariously on the brink of becoming a bloodstain on the street.

"Well, I asked nicely, but he wouldn't tell me anything," she said.

"And that justifies this crap?"

She smirked. "Yes."

The boy pulled out a futuristic device with a touchpad seeming to almost cover its entirety, strapping it on his wrist. "Alright, I suppose it was rude of me to ask who you are without introducing myself first!" He pushed a button on its underside, and the device sparked into life, a protrusion erupting from it to be parallel to his arm, which he held out almost in challenge. "I'm Matsuda Yukaro, and I challenge you to a duel!"

HEROs awaken! Wrath of the terrifying light!

A few hours earlier…

"And now, Masked HERO Dark Law (Lv. 6, ATK: 2400) will finish you off!" A bipedal humanoid wearing all black with a pointed mask ran at a girl who stood at around five and a half feet tall, with long, dark blue hair and thin-rimmed, square glasses covering magenta eyes.

She was skinny, lacking prominent curves, and wore a dusted blouse with a straight, knee-length, sky blue skirt. Oddly enough, she wore a headband matching the colour of her hair with a pair of white cat ears protruding from it, which was enough to garner plenty of odd looks. Almost as if she wasn't being attacked, she wore a calm demeanour and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before pressing a button on her duel disk.

"I'm afraid he won't, Daitaro," she said. "I activate my face down Spellbook of Fate. By banishing my Spellbooks of Secrets, the Master and Power from my graveyard I can banish your Masked HERO Dark Law." A portal to the Different Dimension opened and intercepted the speeding Dark Law, engulfing the monster before closing.

"Aw, come on!" groaned Daitaro. "I was so damn close! Alright, I end my turn. Your go, Kaneko."

"Then I draw!" Kaneko dramatically pulled a card from the top of her deck, a white light seeming to trail the path of the card. "And first, I'll activate the effect of my Grand Spellbook Tower, returning Spellbook of Fate from my graveyard to my deck and drawing again!" She took the card from her graveyard, placing it at the bottom of her deck before drawing once more, increasing the number of cards in her hand to four.

"Perfect. I now reveal three Spellbook spells in my hand to special summon this monster." She showed Daitaro Spellbook of Eternity, Spellbook of Life and Spellbook of Secrets before continuing. "Wizard of eternity, show thy face. Studying ancient tomes to increase your vast knowledge, change the world! Rise, level eight! High Priestess of Prophecy (Lv.8, ATK: 2700)!" A buxom young woman wearing tight, short white robes appeared, her pink hair flowing down wildly. "Now finish him! Wisdom Caster!" Blue electricity sparked at the end of her staff, subsequently being fired at Daitaro.

He tried to dodge, but to no avail. The lightning struck him and exploded, sending him flying backwards, landing heavily on his back (Daitaro LP: 1600 – 0).

The two duelists heard a slow clapping coming from off to the side as the holograms faded away, leaving a city plaza in the place of the Grand Spellbook Tower. They turned to see none other than Matsuda Yukaro approaching, wearing a black t-shirt with a pattern of three large silver circles intersecting the points of a triangle with three smaller circles having the sides as tangents and a single circle in the middle, all the circles touching, emblazoned on the front. He also wore a pair of midnight blue shorts and white training shoes.

"Wow, good show guys." He smiled. "But Daitaro, you suck."

Daitaro, still grounded, instantly sprang to his feet and paced over to Matsuda menacingly. He towered over Matsuda, who was already tall, at a staggering six feet and two inches. He was by no means skinny, but wasn't really built either. He had the same dark blue hair and magenta eyes as Kaneko, but his hair was worn short, spiking up wildly. He had tanned skin and wore a red tank top, white long shorts and straw sandals.

He stood looking down on Matsuda, glaring. "What the hell was that?! I nearly had her!"

"Whatever, dude." He looked over to Kaneko, covering his mouth from Daitaro's view before speaking at normal volume. "Your brother sucks."

Suddenly, Daitaro collapsed dramatically to his knees, depression lines seeming to emanate from him and a river of tears falling from his eyes. "You're right!" he moaned, "I even get schooled by my little sister! I suck!"

A drop of sweat formed on the back of Matsuda's head as he looked at Matsuda with a mixture of worry and confusion. "Uh… you don't suck that hard…"

Kaneko sighed, walking over to the two as she pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I'm only ten minutes younger than you."

"And she is like, a genius. So it isn't that bad," said Matsuda.

Without warning, Daitaro sprung back to his feet, now beaming. "Hey, thanks! So, when'd you get here?"

"I think a better question is why are the two of you duelling in the middle of the plaza?"

"Loser carries all the crap." Daitaro pointed at a stack of boxes and bags almost as tall as he was sat by a white fountain. The plaza was surrounded by shops, and it looked as if they had emptied all of them.

"Could you not have just carried your own stuff?" said Matsuda.

"Two of those bags are mine."

Matsuda's eyes almost bugged out of his head. "SERIOUSLY?!" He turned to Kaneko. "Who the hell needs that much stuff?! We go back to school tomorrow, not shelter from a nuclear holocaust!"

"I saw some things I liked," she said, shrugging.

"That's not some things," said Matsuda, "that's just everything! Where did you even get the money for this crap? You have a part-time job, you're not a millionaire!"

"That's enough of the hyperbole, I get it. I bought a lot of things." She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Well, good luck bro." Matsuda gave Daitaro a pat on the back before strolling over to the leaning tower of shopping and placing his single bag on it. He then turned away and began walking with Kaneko.

Streams of tears again started flowing from Daitaro's eyes. "Oh, come on! You're not even gonna help?"

"Sorry, you lost. Rules are rules. Now, you wanna go get something to eat? You're paying!" He held a brown wallet in the air, the wallet being emblazoned with a symbol that had a head, a body, three spikes indicating wings and a long, thin tail.

Daitaro furiously patted his pockets before a vein threatened to burst from his forehead. He picked up the comically large pile of purchases before running after his friend and sister. "Get your ass back here, Yukaro!"

Kaneko giggled as Daitaro chased the roaring Matsuda.

"Damn, that was a stupid day…" Matsuda sighed as he relaxed back against a white wall. Soft sand was his seat, the gentle lapping of the ocean his view. The dazzling blue shone in the light of the setting sun, as if the entire surface of the water was coated in diamonds. It was truly a beautiful sight; something that Matsuda enjoyed greatly.

"Nishihama, you are damn beautiful…" Nishihama, a port city of Japan, indeed looked beautiful as the sun set, the flawless beach stretching as far as the eye could see. The city itself was an urban sprawl, covered in high-rise buildings and digital billboards, vast plazas flanked by sleek skyscrapers. The city was clean, and crisp, the advanced technology giving it a futuristic feel and an appeal to tourists and long-time residents alike. Indeed, Nishihama was a marvel to behold for people far and wide. During the day, holographic monsters would battle to the death throughout the city's parks and plazas, and at night the city lights would twinkle in the darkness like stars.

Matsuda gave a relaxed sigh as he leaned back, his head resting on his hands. This was the last day of summer break, the last time he could enjoy a day like this for a while. Ten minutes surely couldn't hurt…

The midnight hour fast approached, darkness having overtaken Nishihama. As distant stars shone in the night sky, a shadowy figure raced across the high rooftops of the city, pursued by another. The chase was fervent, both hunter and hunted running as if their lives depended on it. Who knows, maybe they did. The one being chased hopped over a small gap, leaving only dust in his wake as he landed, rolled out and continued his desperate attempt at escape.

His pursuer wasn't far behind, also leaping over the gap from roof to roof, landing and continuing her run with a renewed vigour. The cloak she wore loosely hugged her figure, enough to show that she was indeed female, the single blonde spike of hair protruding from her hood swaying wildly in the gentle breeze as she continued to sprint. And she was beginning to gain on him.

The pursued was running out of breath. He had just about pushed his stamina to the limits, and being on a roof, he didn't really have anywhere else to run. As he reached the end of another rooftop, he was offered a respite, but his relief was bittersweet. This was the end of the line. Looking down, he saw a road, and the gap to the next rooftop was far too large for any normal human being to come even close to jumping across. The woman chasing him seemed superhuman, so maybe she could manage it, but he definitely couldn't. So he turned to face his hunter.

She gave an unseen smirk upon seeing her prey stood still. There was nowhere else for him to run. She finally had him. Of course, she wasn't expecting what he did next. Because there was nowhere for him to run, except towards her. At least he was smart enough not to stay at the edge where she could just throw him off, but attacking her was a stupid move too. Not that he'd ever witnessed proof of that, so maybe he could be forgiven. Maybe.

He rushed towards the demon he could not escape. If flight wasn't an option, then he'd have to fight. With the two both sprinting at each other, the momentum of the clash would be phenomenal, and if he could land a hit, he could probably stun her long enough to run back the way he came. He was confident in his ability to at least sucker punch the woman, since this would be the last thing she'd expect. He could only hope she wasn't made of iron.

The hunter smirked as her prey rushed straight at her. This had just gotten a lot easier. As their paths were about to cross, he cocked back his fist and launched a thunderous right. Had it hit, it probably would have done some serious damage. But it didn't. She ducked under the strike, grabbing the man's arm and pulling him along as she ran, albeit slowing down. She shifted her grip to his collar before hefting him above her and slamming him down into the hard rooftop.

He gasped as all the wind was knocked out of him. Maybe she had seen it coming after all. Or maybe she was really a monster. It didn't matter, though; she had him. He coughed up a glob of blood as she stamped a heavy boot into his stomach. He let out a strangled cry as she grabbed his collar and dragged him over to the edge of the building, but nothing came of it. She stood, her arm extended, him held loosely over a five storey drop.

She glared down at her prisoner coldly, before adopting a psychotic grin and dropping him. He tried to scream, but he was too shocked. He was going to die. He shut his eyes and waited for the end, but it never came. He slowly opened them to see his captor still glaring down at him, her hand wrapped around his collar.

"That was just so we're clear," she said. "Now, I think it's about time you gave me some answers, don't you?"

"Goddammit, who the hell oversleeps on a beach? Mom's gonna kill me…" Matsuda was running, and given the time, he couldn't really be blamed. He did have a home to get to, after all, and school in the morning. It was his last year, he couldn't really be running around at near enough midnight. He continued bolting through the deserted, darkened streets, desperate to get back to his home, not least to avoid the worst of his mother's ire. That woman could be damn scary. However, Matsuda Yukaro wasn't the kind of guy who could ignore it when he saw someone in trouble.

So when he saw a man being suspended precariously over the edge of a building, he couldn't, in all good conscience, just run past and put it out of his mind. So he stopped. He surveyed the building, making sure he wasn't seen, and found a fire escape inside a narrow alley. So what else was he to do but climb up it to the rooftop and confront the cloaked woman torturing a helpless man.

He stood with his duel disk active and ready, prompting a smirk from the woman. She picked the man up and threw him to the roof's surface. "We'll finish this later." Even as he opened his mouth to speak, she planted a boot across his cheek, evicting him from the world of the waking.

Matsuda growled. "What the hell was that for?"

The woman gave him a cold glare. "You have absolutely no idea what's going on here, do you?"

"I know that you're tormenting that poor guy!"

"'Poor guy'? You really are naïve."

"Just shut the hell up and duel me."

"Fine." She pulled a duel disk from inside her cloak, strapping it on and activating it. "For now, you may call me Lady Light. I hope you're prepared to get crushed, Yukaro."

"Lady Light?" He snorted. "That's a stupid name."

"The reasons will become apparent soon enough."

Both duelists slid their decks into their designated slots. "DUEL!"

Matsuda: 4000
Lady Light: 4000

"I'll start," said Lady Light, drawing her five card hand and examining the contents. "I set one monster facedown and end my turn." A set card appeared horizontally before her.

"Nice move," said Matsuda, sarcasm lacing his tone. "My turn. Draw!" He practically ripped the top card from his deck, adding an oh-so dramatic flourish as he did so. "All right! I'll start by summoning Cosmic HERO Motivator (Lv. 4, ATK: 1500) from my hand!" A shirtless man with tattoos along his arms appeared, blue hair sticking up and a pair of pointed sunglasses on his face. He wore a huge grin and gave Matsuda's opponent a thumbs-up as he appeared.

"And that's not all!" Matsuda continued. "I'm gonna equip him with the spell card Giga-Mech from my hand!" A huge, red robot appeared, with a face where its chest should be and no head. Motivator jumped into the open mouth of the mecha, with the mouth closing behind him and the giant robot bursting into life.

Lady Light sighed. "Clearly some card designers watch too much anime…"

"Giga-Mech gives Kam- I mean, Motivator an extra five hundred attack points! So now he's gonna attack your facedown monster! Super Manly Kick!" The robot ran seamlessly at the set monster, but Lady Light gave no indication of concern. In fact, she smirked.

A mechanical foot was brought down on the set monster, revealing a small white puppy (Lv. 1, DEF: 100) which wasn't destroyed.

"You flipped my Ryko, Lightsworn Hunter," said Lady Light. "And when he's flipped up, I can target a card on the field and destroy it as long as I mill three cards from my deck." She took three cards from the top of her deck and sent them to her graveyard. "So I think I'll make like Gainax and kill off your Motivator!"

The mecha which housed Cosmic HERO Motivator shattered into pieces as Ryko sunk its fangs into its foot whilst it died, causing tears to stream from Matsuda's eyes. "It's like episode eight all over again!" He quickly perked back up, however. "But it's not all bad, because when Motivator is sent to the graveyard, I can draw a card!" He drew an extra card. "Wonderful. I'll set two cards and end my turn." Two reverse cards appeared at his feet before quickly disappearing.

"Very well. Draw." Lady Light drew her card with no dramatics at all, merely adding it to her hand before selecting another card. "I summon Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner (Lv. 3, ATK: 1000)!

"See, now the name's starting to make more sense," said Matsuda as a woman with short, fair hair wearing a white robe appeared on the field before him.

"And now I'll activate Lumina's monster effect! By discarding one card from my hand, I can resurrect one Lightsworn monster from graveyard that's level four or lower! And I choose Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn!" Lumina held up her hands and a green glow seemed to envelop the field. Before long, a large, shirtless man with very well defined abs, black hair, a large blue scarf and black pants holding onto a golden, cleaver-like blade materialised next to her (Lv. 4, ATK: 1700).

"Crap," said Matsuda.

"Now for Raiden's effect," she said. "I yard two cards, and if a Lightsworn monster happens to be among them then he gains two hundred attack points until the end of the turn!" She picked two cards from her deck and looked at them, smirking as she placed them in the graveyard. "One of the cards I milled just so happened to be Minerva, Lightsworn Maiden! Now, not only does Raiden get his attack gain (ATK: 1700 – 1900), but Minerva lets me mill an extra card!" The spirit of a pure white dove appeared and took the top card of Lady Light's deck back to the graveyard with it.

"Now, I think I'll attack you directly. First up, Lumina, attack with Luminous Life Force!" The same green energy that had revived Raiden suddenly enveloped Matsuda as he felt his strength begin to drain from him (Matsuda: 4000 – 3000).

"And now, Raiden, Assassin's Raid!" The Lightsworn assassin disappeared in a blur, appearing behind Matsuda, his blade at the ready.

"Hell no!" shouted Matsuda. "I activate my trap, Satellite Shield! This negates a direct attack from my opponent's monster!" A satellite appeared in Raiden's path, producing a shield of crackling blue energy that Raiden's blade just couldn't penetrate.

"In that case, I end my turn. And during my end phase, Lumina mills three cards, and Raiden mills two, so the top five cards of my deck go to the graveyard. It's now your move."

"Alright, my turn. Draw!" He drew his card, adding it to his hand and thinking hard. Why is she milling herself out? That's a risky strategy, so she's gotta be setting up for something, but she's gone through almost half her deck by now. Why would she do that? I guess I gotta figure that out as I go, huh?

"Alright, it's time to kick this into warp drive! I normal summon Cosmic HERO Planetes (Lv. 4, ATK: 1400)!" A man with rock-like skin appeared, his skin glinting like stars. He wore a black toga and had waist-length, blonde hair. "And his effect allows me to special summon another Cosmic HERO monster of a different level from my hand when I normal summon him! So say hello to Cosmic HERO Infernus (Lv.3, ATK: 1300)!"

A man made entirely of fire appeared next to Planetes, the flames emanating wildly from him. "And he burns with the heat of the sun, so when I special summon him from my hand, I can tribute him to destroy one monster you control!" Matsuda grinned. "And I'll choose Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn!" Infernus literally exploded, the flames converging upon Raiden and engulfing him, the monster screaming as he shattered into pieces. Lady Light merely looked on, emotionless.

"Battle phase! Cosmic HERO Planetes attacks Lumina, Lightsworn Summoner! Go! Wandering Star!" The glint of Planetes' skin got brighter until he was a shining beacon of light, rushing at Lumina. As he reached her, however, his path was blocked.

"I banish Necro Gardna from my grave to negate your attack." Lady Light held up the card before slipping it into her pocket.

Matsuda growled. "Fine. I'll end my turn there, then."

"And I'll draw!" She added another card to her hand. "And I'll discard the card I just drew to revive Raiden!" Raiden reappeared on the battlefield. "And the card I discarded was another Minerva, so I can mill again." She sent another card to her graveyard.

There she goes again…

"And I'll use Raiden's effect." She milled twice. "No Lightsworns this time, but it doesn't matter. I'm about to show you one of the true heroes of the Lightsworn!"

Matsuda looked at her quizzically. "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm going to tune the level four Raiden with the level three Lumina!"

Matsuda gasped. A synchro summon?

Raiden turned into four green rings, surrounding Lumina, who flew into the rings. Lumina then dispersed and became three white, star-like spheres. A light erupted from them and enveloped the rings and the stars.

"Bringer of light, as darkness falls, may your purging luminescence bring back the realm of that evanescent glow! Become the light that purges shadow! Synchro summon! Level seven! Shine, Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn (Lv. 7, ATK: 2600)!"

What came from the light was a paladin wearing golden armour, a helmet completely covering his head. The armour had golden wings, and the paladin held a huge sword with a blade of blue energy. The most wondrous thing about this monster, however, was the fact that it was riding on a pure white, oriental dragon. Matsuda struggled against the wingbeat of the huge creature, but Lady Light seemed to be undisturbed.

"Holy crap that's a big-ass dragon," said Matsuda, amazed.

"That's just his steed. And there's more, since I haven't normal summoned yet. I'll summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk (Lv. 4, ATK: 1600)!" A dark-skinned woman with black hair in twin braids appeared on the field.

"And now I activate Michael's monster effect! I pay a thousand lifepoints (Lady Light: 4000 – 3000) to banish one card on the field. I choose your facedown! Dimensional Radiance!" Michael pointed his blade at Matsuda's facedown, a stream of blue energy melting the card into the different dimension. "Now there's nothing stopping me. Ehren, attack Planetes!" The dark-skinned woman rushed towards Planetes and hit him with a palm thrust, shattering him to pieces (Matsuda: 3000 – 2800).

"And now Michael attacks you directly! Go, Luminous Purge!" Michael pointed his sword at Matsuda, blue energy gathering at the tip. In an instant, it was shot off and exploded on contact with Matsuda, sending him flying away, landing hard on his backside (Matsuda: 2800 – 200).

"Ow…" Matsuda groaned. That had hurt. A lot. He wasn't letting her get away with that.

"I'll end my turn there, and both Michael and Ehren mill three cards." She sent six cards from her deck to her graveyard.

"Alright, my turn!" He looked at his deck. Come on, don't fail me now… "Draw!" He ripped off the top card and let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He flipped the card around to look, and smirked. "Look at that, I got it! I summon Cosmic HERO Space Pilot (Lv.3, ATK: 1500)!" A middle-aged woman wearing a red flight suit appeared, her black hair pulled back into a tight bun, her face a mask of determination. "And her effect allows me to special summon a level four HERO monster from my graveyard, so let's all welcome back Planetes!" Planetes reappeared next to Space Pilot, looking none the worse for wear.

"Now, let's go into warp drive! I'm gonna tune my level three tuner monster Space Pilot with the level four Planetes!" Space Pilot faded into three green rings as Planetes became four shining stars. Light erupted as the rings surrounded the stars.

"As the spiral turns, see the light of a billion suns! With your heart a supermassive black hole, show the dazzling brilliance of the stars! Synchro summon! Level seven! Shine, Cosmic HERO Andromeda!" As the synchro light erupted and cleared, what could now be seen was beyond words. It was an ethereal woman, her body seemingly made of the arms of spiral galaxies, tiny pinpricks of light shining through. Her face, although ghostly, was still beautiful, and her hair flowed through the light of a trillion stars (Lv. 7, ATK: 2500).

Lady Light gave a small smirk. "I've been waiting to see something like that."

"Well, sorry to keep you waiting!" Matsuda grinned. "And your defeat starts now! Because Andromeda has an effect that activates on her successful summon: she can destroy one card on the field! And I'll choose Michael, the Arch-Lightsworn!" Andromeda pointed a ghostly hand at Michael. "Neutron Star Collision!" Without any warning, Michael began screaming and shattered into pixels.

"Impressive," said Lady Light, "but when Michael is destroyed, I can select any number of other Lightsworn monsters in my graveyard and return them to my deck! I'll add one Minerva back!" She added the card back to her deck. "And I gain three hundred lifepoints for each I add (Lady Light: 3000 – 3300)!"

"Doesn't matter to me, since I'm activating a quick-play spell card! Radiation Blast! When I destroy a monster of yours with a card effect, this baby hits you with damage equal to half of that monster's attack points!" An invisible blast hit Lady Light, causing her to choke (Lady Light: 3300 – 2000).

"And Andromeda still has her attack! Destroy Ehren, Black Hole Sun!" Andromeda's chest opened up, revealing a huge black hole. A blast of pure darkness was shot from it, drawing Ehren towards it through sheer gravity. The monk fell in and was instantly crushed, at which point Andromeda's chest closed once more (Lady Light: 2000 – 1100). "I end my turn with a facedown!" A reverse card appeared at his feet.

"That was a good move. Draw." She drew her card, and smirked. "A good move, but it's all over now. It's time you witnessed the strongest among the Lightsworn." She picked the card and held it up high.

"The hell?" Matsuda just looked at her quizzically.

"Since there are four Lightsworn monsters with different names in my graveyard, I can summon forth this beast." Silhouettes of Raiden, Michael, Minerva and Lumina appeared. "Wherever evil may lurk, destroy it! Wherever darkness may overtake light, smite it! Rain your heavenly judgment down on all sin! Become the light that purges darkness! Level eight! Shine, king of heavenly beasts, Judgment Dragon!"

From a blinding light flew a majestic dragon with an oriental face, its hulking stature able to dwarf even the largest of buildings. Its scales were grey, but they still shone brilliantly, beyond all comprehension (Lv. 8, ATK: 3000).

It's alright, I still have my Cosmic Ray trap, I can halve its attack in the damage step and win the duel!

"I activate my dragon's effect!" Her words broke through Matsuda's thoughts. "By paying a thousand lifepoints (Lady Light: 1100 – 100) I can eradicate every other card on the field! Go, Purging Light!"

"What?!"

Matsuda's answer came in the form of a deafening roar, light shining from the dragon's every orifice. The light increased in intensity until he had to shut his eyes to avoid being blinded, and when it faded, both Andromeda and his trap card had disappeared. He was now wide open.

"Now Judgment Dragon, finish this! Heaven's Judgment!" Judgment Dragon roared once more, but this time light began gathering in its open maw. Matsuda stared in shock as a huge beam of light barrelled straight at him, unable to move as he was overtaken by the burning light. He screamed. He couldn't help it, it was far too intense for him to take. The force of the blast sent him flying backwards, and, as if lady luck was taunting him, over the edge of the building and down the narrow gap between it and the next one (Matsuda: 200 – 0, Winner: Lady Light).

He felt himself falling, but he was in too much pain to register it. If he didn't do anything, he would die, but he simply couldn't understand that concept at that moment. He barely registered the sound of heavy boots sprinting across the rooftop, and a hand gripping his arm. He looked up blearily to see his hooded saviour, the very woman whose attack had sent him flying over the edge. She pulled him up, sending him a couple of feet into the air before he landed with a thud.

"Why," he gasped. "Why save me?"

She looked down at him and sighed. "You see me as the bad guy in this whole situation, but I'm really not. I don't exactly want your blood on my hands, you know."

"Oh, but that other guy's is fine?"

She leaned in close to him, giving a steely glare. Through his blurred vision, he could actually see her face, but he couldn't make anything out. Just three blonde spikes of hair hanging off towards the left. "Like I said, you're a naïve kid who doesn't understand the situation. Now, where do you live?"

He coughed weakly. "Why the hell… would I tell you something like that?"

"Would you rather sleep on the street?"

Seeing no flaws in her logic, he told her, and promptly lost consciousness.

AN: So that's chapter 1. What did you think, guys? Feedback is always good. Anyway, got some general comments to make. First off, this chapter ran away from me a bit, it wasn't meant to be so long, and I didn't want to split it into two on the first duel, because then I'd have to make the second half of it an entire chapter and I'm not doing that. Yet. Also, this is set in the Arc-V universe, and the plot of Arc-V does happen, just in a different place. Hell, the Arc-V characters might even show up at some point if it works with the plot. Anyway, if anyone reading this follows Angel's Breath, don't worry, I haven't abandoned it, I just had this idea and it kept nagging at me so I decided to run with it. And finally make a Yu-Gi-Oh! story work. If you can catch all the references in this, you earn every brownie point there is to have, because there are quite a few. Some obvious, some not. And in case you're wondering where the title comes from, I ripped it from the second Arc-V opening, Burn by Bullettrain. Anyway, to sign off, here is a long-ass list of all the original cards that appeared in this chapter. Until next time, folks.

Cosmic HERO Motivator
LIGHT/Warrior/Effect
Level 4
ATK: 1500 DEF:1500
When this card is sent to the graveyard: draw 1 card.

Cosmic HERO Planetes
DARK/Warrior/Effect
Level 4
ATK: 1400 DEF: 1300
When this card is normal summoned: you can special summon 1 'Cosmic HERO' monster from your hand with a different level to this card.

Cosmic HERO Infernus
FIRE/Warrior/Effect
Level 3
ATK: 1300 DEF: 200
If this card is special summoned by the effect of a 'Cosmic HERO' monster; you can tribute this card: destroy 1 monster your opponent controls.

Cosmic HERO Space Pilot
DARK/Warrior/Tuner
Level 3
ATK: 1500 DEF: 1300
When this card is normal summoned: you can special summon 1 level 4 HERO monster from your graveyard.

Cosmic HERO Andromeda
LIGHT/Warrior/Synchro/Effect
Level 7
ATK: 2500 DEF:2000
1 tuner monster + 1 or more non-tuner monsters. When this card is Synchro Summoned: Destroy 1 card on your opponent's side of the field for each non-tuner monster you used to summon this monster. Once per turn, during your main phase: you can tribute one Cosmic HERO monster on the field, other than this card; destroy one card your opponent controls.

Giga-Mech
Equip Spell
This card can only be equipped to a 'Cosmic HERO' monster. That monster gains 500 ATK.

Radiation Blast
Quick-Play Spell
When you destroy an opponent's monster with a card effect: inflict your opponent damage equal to half that monster's attack.

Satellite Shield
Normal Trap
When your oppenent declares a direct attack: target the attacking monster; negate that attack.

Cosmic Ray
Normal Trap
During the damage step: target the opponent's monster; that monster's ATK is halved.