Yu-Gi-Oh ! : Into the Nexus
In today's society, everybody duels without exception. By now, knowing how to duel is as important as knowing how to talk. Dueling is fun, brings people together and is even a non-violent way to settle things.
Michael is fifteen, he is a medium-sized, slim teenager with short wavy brown hair and deep, dark green eyes. He lives with his uncle Carter since his parents divorced when he was ten. His father left the country while his mother refused to keep him. Carter kindly took Michael in and they have been living happily ever since. Just like any boy his age, Michael goes to school. Even though he's a very intelligent individual, Michael hates to study. Just like everybody in his school, he prefers dueling : he'd never turn down on a challenge or an opportunity to duel. He loved to get caught in the wild flow of the game, It was his favorite thing to do. At breaktime, he'd get involved in as much matches as he could before the bell rang and every student had to go back to boring old class.
Michael had two very good friends that he'd known forever. Their names were Isaac and Zoe. Isaac looked a lot like Michael, except he had stunning blue eyes and spiky dark hair. Zoe was medium sized with long grey hair and deep blue eyes. Just like their friend, they were both crazy about dueling. On Friday evenings, after school, they would all go to the duel dome and take part in wild duels, sometimes until their parents would call, screaming on the phone, terribly panicked about not having their kid back home at midnight. But that wasn't going to stop them from brawling out all night until eventually the duel dome would empty out leaving the alone and forcing the trio to rush back home, sneaking past their parents and jumping into bed.
One Friday evening, as the three were arriving at the dome, they were surprised to see that everybody was crowded around a duel station, making noise as a duel was going on.
« Hey, What's happening here ? » Asked Michael to a man standing in the crowd trying to peek over the crowd to watch the duel.
« This guy here is about to break the local record by winning twenty consecutive duels ! » Responded the man in excitement.
« And now for the final blow ! » Cried the duelist on the station. To Michael's surprise, he didn't look much like a duelist about to break a local record. In fact, he didn't look like a duelist at all : He looked more like a working, middle aged man. He was wearing a suit and tie and he looked like he was coming back from the office. On the other hand, the other duelist seemed more menacing : he was a massive mountain of muscles, wearing sunglasses, a black leather jacket with green stripes all over it and a headband preventing his long dark hair from falling over his eyes. His attire made it clear that he was a biker or a trucker. The biker man's field was empty while the other duelist's side was full of powerful monsters. He'd successfully summoned Mobius the frost Monarch (2400 ATK / 1000 DEF / Level 6 ), a White humanoid with a blue cape, a white mask covering his face and a white armor protecting his body and another powerful monster known as Granmarg the Mega-Monarch (2800 ATK / 1000 DEF / Level 8) who was a massive earth-colored humanoid with a blue cape, gigantic open hands at the edge of immense arms linked to his impressive armored body with a huge ring floating behind it. While the biker man was struggling with 900 LP, the other duelist remained untouched with 8000 LP.
« Granmarg ! Attack and show this man he is no match for our power ! » Continued the duelist as the terrible titan made his hand into a fist, swiftly jumped forward making the ground shake because of his enormous body and smashing the other duelist with it's fist.
« Arrrrgh ! » Cried the man setting a knee to the floor as the illusions on the field slowly started to fade away
« End of Game. Winner : Shunpei Hamada » Said a robotic voice from the station, which was barely audible because of how loud the crowd was cheering. Michael turned to his friends with stars in his eyes :
« Wow ! That guy must be really good at dueling ! I've only seen the end of his match and I know he'd be a worthy opponent. I'm going to challenge him. »
« You'd get grinded to pieces. I bet you won't stand two turns against him. » responded Zoe as she got her duel disk out of her school bag.
« Well I bet he won't stand two turns against me »
Michael grinned as he ran to the victor in excitement, his duel disk on his arm. He circled the crowd and found himself face-to-face with the duelist.
« Hey ! You might look good against amateurs, but do you think you can beat me ?! » He cried pointing Shunpei Hamada
« Who do you think you are ?! He'll smash you to smithereens before you even draw your first card ! » shouted a girl out of the crowd
« Yeah Kid ! Besides, you gotta wait your turn ! It's my turn to take him on » Added another man from the crowd
« Hey, hey, hey, no need to get annoyed ! » calmly said the man « this boy challenged me, and you'd be daft to think I'd turn down a challenge ! Let's see what you're made of ! »
« Alright ! I'm feeling pumped ! Let's duel ! » cried Michael in excitement
The two duelists took place on the battle station as the robotic voice could be heard again :
« Commencing Duel. Michael Ikeda vs. Shunpei Hamada. Shunpei will go first. DUEL ! » That last part surprised Michael as he flinched because of the sudden scream.
« Ha ha ! That guy is a joke ! » Laughed a man in the crowd, mocking Michael
« Hey shut up ! I never got used to that ! » Responded Michael to the man
He'd indeed never been able to predict when the voice would shout the words "DUEL''as loud as possible.
« Concentrate Michael ! » Cried Isaac as both duelists drew their first five cards.
« Alright, I'll start off by summoning Eidos the underworld squire ! » Started Shunpei as he put down a card on his duel disk. A dark, humanoid creature appeared on the field. It had spiky, black armor and a helmet the same color covering his face where a ponytail of black hair stuck out from the top. His red eyes glowed making them stick out from the dark mass that he was. He set foot on the field as his ripped up cape flew behind him. (800 ATK/1000 DEF/ Level 2/ Fiend)
« Eidos' effect activates ! If he is successfully normal summoned, I get to perform an additional sacrifice summon ! I sacrifice Eidos the Underworld squire to summon Thestalos the Flame Monarch ! » He continued as the dark humanoid disappeared leaving place to a bigger humanoid, this time with spiky red armor marked in the middle of his chest plate by a gold line going downwards. He wore a blindfold , covering his eyes. His blue cape flew behind him as he made flames appear in his hand. (2400 ATK/1000 DEF/ Level 6/ Pyro)
« Wow, that guy really likes caped monsters. » Michael whispered to himself
« If Thestalos is successfully summoned, I can discard a random card in your hand, and if it turns out to be a monster, I can inflict damage to your LP equal to that monster's level x100 ! » He said pointing the card in the middle of Michael's hand : Arkbrave Dragon (2400 ATK/2000 DEF/Level 7/ Dragon). This meant Michael's Lifepoints would go down by 700, but instead of frowning or grating his teeth, he smiled. Michael almost looked like he was happy to take damage so early in the game.
« What's making you grin boy ? You might not realize that it's time to say bye-bye to those life points ? » Said Shunpei with a grin as the firestorm Monarch threw a fireball right at the boy, making him blink. (Michael LP : 7300)
« So what ? I haven't lost yet ! and I'm not planning on losing at all ! » Answered Michael
« Oh well, at least you have some backbone. Next I will activate my spell card march of the monarchs. With this on the field, my tribute summoned monsters cannot be targeted by card effects. Soon, my monarchs will be indestructible ! With that, I end my turn. » Concluded Shunpei as he put a card on his duel disk. The spikes on Thestalos' armor started glowing as they grew twice the size they were before.
« Time to turn this duel around ! I draw ! » He said, determinately picking a card from his deck, smiling to what he just drew. « I activate my spell card return of the dragon lords ! This card allows me to summon a level 7 or 8 dragon-type monster from my graveyard ! I only have one and I'm going to make you regret using your monarch's effect ! I summon Arkbrave dragon in attack position ! »
Michael's graveyard glowed as the Arkbrave dragon card pushed out of the slot. He pulls it out and slams it on his duel disk. Immediately, a huge, four-winged dragon flies out of the field roaring mightily. It was an orange and white dragon with spikes coming out of his legs and long neck. Two blue locks of hair flapped behind his head. The creature opened his mouth revealing pointy teeth as Shunpei's facial expression changed from confident to worried (2400 ATK/2000 DEF/ Level 7 / Dragon)
« Arkbrave dragon's effect activates ! If he is successfully special summoned from the graveyard, he can destroy as much face-up spell cards as I want and gains 200 ATK/DEF for every card destroyed. Say goodbye to March of the Monarchs ! » Michael said as the dragon flapped his spiky wings creating a whirlwind destroying the card, making Thestalos' spike go back to normal in consequence as the dragon's stats boosted (2600 ATK/2200 DEF). « But we're not done ! I summon Dragon Knight of Creation ! » Continued Michael, smiling like never before as his monster arises from the ground : This monster was a humanoid wearing a golden chest plate that didn't cover the whole of his upper body, leaving only his stomach area discovered and revealing a very developed six-pack. He had gold shoulder pads linked to his chest plate accompanied with golden gloves he wore on his hands. His shining gold boots covered the whole of his legs and a cape was tied around his waist. A huge sword materialized as the knight fiercely grabbed it, making it look easy to handle. He let out a huge roar out of his gold helmet as his long brown hair flung backwards. (1800 ATK/600 DEF/Level 4/ Dragon)
« I activate dragon knight of creation's effect ! Once per turn, I can discard a card from my hand, then sacrifice the dragon knight and summon a level 7 or 8 dragon from my graveyard ! I discard Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand and sacrifice Dragon Knight of Creation to summon… » but he didn't have time to finish his sentence. Shunpei abruptly interrupts Michael, confused :
« Wait a second ! You don't have any monsters in your graveyard ! »
« Not for now ! But by discarding Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand, I sent it to the graveyard making me able to summon it ! I also activate return of the dragon lords' effect from my graveyard ! Once per turn, if a Dragon-type monster must be destroyed, I can banish Return of the dragon lords from my graveyard instead ! So I don't have to send my Dragon Knight to the grave and I get to summon Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand ! Show yourself ! »
The dragon knight lifts his sword causing a glowing statue of a dragon to appear in the background, exploding two seconds later, giving place to an Immense golden dragon. The dragon deploys it's huge gold-black wings letting out a tremendous roar causing the crowd to cheer in amazement. (2800 ATK/2800 DEF / Level 8 / Dragon)
« Hey that kid is actually good at dueling ! » Said a man in the crowd
« What did you expect ?! » Snapped Michael « But we're only getting started ! Divine Dragon Lord Felgrand's effect activates ! If he is successfully special summoned from the graveyard, I can banish one of your monsters and he'll obtain ATK/DEF points equal to your monster's level x 100 ! Which means That's 600 ATK/DEF points coming my way ! » Continued Michael as his dragon let out a burst of energy from its gaped mouth, causing the Firestorm monarch to disintegrate, leaving Shunpei's field empty and making Felgrand's ATK points bigger (ATK 3400 / DEF 3400). The three dragons took a menacing stance as they looked towards the terrified Shunpei while Michael gave them the order to attack. The knight lept forward striking him with his sword (Shunpei LP: 6200). Arkbrave Dragon flew into the air, looping then opening his mouth and letting a whirl of blue fire blast out of it and hitting the duelist (LP: 3800).
« Phew … Felgrand doesn't have enough ATK points to finish me off … That was a close one. » Sighed shun in relief
« Not happening ! I activate the last card in my hand : Rush Recklessly ! This quick-play spell card gives my monster 700 additional ATK points until the end of this turn ! Now go Felgrand ! Terminate this duel ! » Felgrand roared loudly, took off and flew towards shunpei (4100 ATK), the dragon runs into him, making him fly backwards. (LP : 0)
« End of Game. Winner : Michael Ikeda. » Resounded the robotic voice.
« Awesome ! Told you I was the best ! » Cried Michael over the commotion caused by the overexcited crowd.
« Way to go Michael ! » Simultaneously cried Zoe and Isaac, running to join him as he came down from the station. Shunpei came down too, feeling a bit dizzy from Felgrand's attack. Slowly, the crowd started to dismantle, still vibrating from the duel they had just witnessed.
« Great Going out there Champ ! » Cheered Isaac as he put his arm around his friend's neck « I've never seen one of your duels end that fast ! »
« It was a very quick victory. But a win is a win. Congratulations. » Continued Zoe.
So the night went on. Everybody was having fun dueling, Michael, Zoe and Isaac's phones were ringing every two seconds because of their parents looking for them, but everything was going great.
The next day was a Saturday.
« See you later uncle Carter ! » Shouted Michael as he slammed the front door putting on his coat and running to the duel dome
« Oh man, I'm late ! » He said to himself avoiding people on the sidewalk. He ran past Isaac's house : Isaac's mother was gardening on the front lawn. Michael stopped and greeted her.
« Hello ! Has Isaac left yet ? » He asked
« I'm afraid he has, Michael. Don't leave him waiting too long. » She answered with a smile.
« Alright, thank you, have a nice day. » He said waving, then continuing his mad run to the dome. He arrived a few minutes later and stopped to catch his breath. Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice from behind him :
« Hey, you're that guy from yesterday. »
Michael turned around, a tall girl with long black hair and green eyes was looking at him. She was wearing a blue sweatshirt and black pants.
« I saw you win against Shunpei Hamada in less than three turns. It was pretty Impressive I gotta say. » She said as Michael stood up.
« Thank you, I appreciate the compliment. » He looked down to see a duel disk attached to her arm. « Hey, are you a duelist ? »
The girl grinned as she activated her duel disk :
« No. I thought I'd carry this deck and duel disk just because they make me look like one. I'm Emma by the way. » She answered sarcastically
« If it's a duel you want, get ready ! » He said
« Commencing Duel. Michael Ikeda vs. Emma Ohno. Emma will go first. DUEL ! »
As usual, that last part made the boy shake for a milisecond, but Emma didn't seem to notice and he quickly shrugged it off.
« My turn ! I summon Aromage Jasmine ! » She confidently said as she put down her card
A white flower bulb appeared on the field, opening and letting a little girl emerge from it. She had white hair with a white jasmine flower decorating it. Her blue eyes blinked a few times before she started smiling. The bulb disappeared causing a gust of wind to make the girl's white trenchcoat fly behind her. She had a wooden staff with a bunch of white flowers on the edge of it. (100 ATK / 1900 DEF / Level 2 / Plant)
« Next, I activate my field spell : Aroma Garden ! »
Suddenly, plants started growing around Michael and Emma until they were completely surrounded by it. A few shrines appeared around them and a little shack appeared behind Emma.
« Relaxing atmosphere isn't it ? I bet you won't think the same in a few turns ! I activate Aroma Garden's effect ! Once per turn, If I control a face up 'Aroma' monster, I get to win 500 LP ! Also all my plant type monsters gain 500 ATK/DEF » She said as a gust of wind caused petals to group around the girl then leaving along with the wind (LP : 8500) « Next, Aromage Jasmine's effect activates. If I gain LP, I get to draw a card. » She continued picking a card from her deck. « Aromage Jasmine's effect activates once again. I get to summon a plant monster if my LP is higher than yours. Make way for Twilight rose knight ! » Another flower emerged from the ground, this time a black rose. It opened revealing a little boy with black and red armor on. His blue hair matched his azure cape. He pulled a sword out of the ground and pointed it towards Michael. (1000 ATK / 1000 DEF / Level 3 / Tuner / Warrior)
«Twilight rose knight's effect activates ! I can summon a level 4 Plant-type monster from my hand. I summon Aromage Rosemary ! » Said Emma as a blue flower bulb emerged from the ground releasing, this time a girl with blue hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a blue trenchcoat. She also had a wooden staff with rosemary flowers on the edge of it. (1800 ATK / 700 DEF / Level 4 / Plant)
« All of these monsters don't seem too strong by themselves but have a look at what's coming next ! I tune my level 3 Twilight Rose knight with my level 2 Aromage Jasmine to perform a synchro summon ! » The two plants jump in the air as the Twilight Rose Knight turns into a green ring and the Jasmine transforming into a tiny blue sphere. They align and form a blue stream of energy who gives place to a green and red flower bulb which immediatly bursts releasing an odd woman with carnivorous plants for hands, a rose for hair and two glowing brown eyes. She was wearing a dress made of plants. « I synchro summon Queen of Thorns ! » she said as the plant lady gently lands on the floor of the aroma garden (2200 ATK / 1800 DEF / Level 5 / Synchro / Plant). « All roses have their thorns, particularly Queen Of Thorns. Now, we both have to pay 1000 LP each time we summon a monster which is not plant type ! That'll stop you from summoning dragons from the graveyard ! I set a card face down and end my turn ! » She concluded as she inserted a card in her disk.
« Great move ! That was an awesome first turn ! » He complimented.
« Thank you. » She said keeping a stern, serious expression
« Alright, I draw ! I'll start off by activating my continuous spell card Ruins of the divine dragon lords ! » a stone statue of a dragon appears amongst the flowers. « This card will be helpful later on. I'll keep up by activating my spell card Trade-In ! this allows me to discard a level 8 monster and draw two cards. I discard White-Night dragon. » Michael inserts the card in the graveyard slot then draws two cards : « Next, i'm going to activate Schwarzchild limit dragon's effect from my hand ! I can special summon it if you control a face-up monster with 2000 ATK or more. Queen of Thorns has 2200 ATK points meaning I can summon it. » Says Michael as his red snake-like dragon emerges from the ground, destroying a bed of roses which immediately grows back. It's body is entirely orange apart from it's head covered with red rocks who descend all the way down the edge of it's tail. Four glowing red eyes stick out of it's head (2000 ATK / 0 DEF / Level 8 / Dragon). But this does not seem to affect Emma at all :
« So what ? First of all, you lose 1000 LP because he's not a plant type monster, second of all, it's still weaker than Queen of thorns ! » But Michael smirks as his Lifepoint count does not budge « Hey ! You're supposed to lose 1000 lifep… What's happening to that statue ? »
The dragon statue was glowing and it had become jade green.
« Let me explain. » Started Michael « If I special summon a level 8 Dragon type monster except from my graveyard, all monster effects are negated for the rest of this turn ! Which means Queen of Thorn's effect doesn't activate and in consequence, not making me lose any LP for my special summon ! So I'm going to make the most of this turn ! I activate my spell card return of the dragon lords from my graveyard ! You probably know this, but it allows me to special summon a level 7 or 8 Dragon-type monster from my Graveyard ! Here comes my White-Night Dragon ! »
A resounding roar came from the sky as an immense creature violently landed on the flowers of the aroma garden : it was a huge, animated ice block in the shape of a dragon with no eyes. It had enormous claws and razor sharp teeth. It spread its wings blue wings as he roared once again.
« Now I activate my monster's effect from my hand ! Red-Eyes Darkness metal dragon ! I can banish a face up dragon-type monster I control so I can special summon it on my field ! I choose to banish my Schwarzchild limit dragon.
The orange, rocky dragon explodes in a cloud of smoke from which emerges a metallic black and red dragon spreading his wings wide and stomping the floor furiously while roaring. It had glowing red eyes and extremely shiny, sharp teeth. Two red gems were incrusted in his wings making them even shinier. Michael's two dragons let out a simultaneous, monumental shout as they stood strong on the field together (2800 ATK / 2400 DEF / Level 10 / Dragon).
The two duelists both had two monsters on their field : Emma had summoned Aromage Rosemary (1800 ATK / 600 DEF / Level 4 / Plant) and Queen of thorns (2200 ATK / 1800 DEF / Synchro / Level 5 / Plant) while Michael's field presented two powerful dragons : White-Night Dragon (3000 ATK / 2500 DEF / Level 8 / Dragon) and Red-Eyes Drakness metal dragon (2800 ATK / 2400 DEF / Level 10 / Dragon).