Episode 1: Matt's Story
'Oh no, not again,' Matt thought to himself, glaring at his drawn card.
He was facing down an opponent named Hideo, whom he had faced once before… and it hadn't much of a challenge then either. Both players had an empty field, except for his opponent's Level Limit - Area B, which was locking out his monster's attacks. Matt had just begun his turn.
Hideo LP: 1800
Spell & Trap Card Zone: Level Limit - Area B
Matt LP: 2050
"I Normal Summon Dark Blade!" The monster appeared in a flash of purple lights, swinging its blade to clear them.
Dark Blade: Warrior-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500
"Hold up!" Hideo shouted. "Remember, all Level 4 or above monsters you control switch to Defence Position and have to stay there." Sure enough, Dark Blade sank down onto one knee and assumed the guard position.
"I'm aware, you've told me enough times," Matt retorted. "Next I activate the Spell Card Monster Reborn, to revive a monster from the Graveyard. Appear, Dark Blade the Captain of the Evil World!" A monster very similar to Dark Blade, only riding a horse and sporting a slight variation in its armour, appeared on the field in Defence Position.
Dark Blade the Captain of the Evil World: Warrior-Type/DARK/Level 4/ATK 1800/DEF 1500
"No!" cried Hideo, suddenly realising what was about to happen.
"I disagree," said Matt calmly. "Both of my Level 4 monsters, Overlay!" Dark Blade and its counterpart morphed into fully purple likenesses of themselves, before distorting and shooting upwards. Where they had once stood, a bright red portal opened. "I use these two Warrior-Type monsters to construct the Overlay Network..." The two monsters flew into the portal. "Xyz Summon!" The portal exploded outwards, and a warrior garbed in a black cloak began to form within it. "Rise up, Treason Blader!" In one swift movement, the monster slashed aside the residue from the explosion, revealing a tall man in a pitch black cloak, carrying a sword with a blade that split into two parts halfway up, each part stylised to make it look as lethal as possible.
Treason Blader: Warrior-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2100/DEF 1400 – 2 OLU
"Treason Blader, direct attack!" The monster immediately leapt forwards, his cloak flapping around him, and slashed Hideo straight down the centre of his body. Hideo uttered a cry and stumbled backwards.
Hideo LP: 1800 → 0
Matt LP: 2050 [WINNER]
A buzzer sounded to signify the end of the duel, before the remaining cards and monsters on the field dissipated and the augmented reality was removed. Matt took off his D-Gazer and cursed his luck.
From all around him came shouts and screams of delight, and the crowd that had been watching the duel surged inwards from all sides of the city square. They clustered around Matt, offering him their congratulations, praise, and general adoration. Even Hideo had run over to ask him for tips.
Matt truly couldn't stand it.
He knew exactly what people were like. They were just as prepared to hate him as admire him, and if he ever lost a duel, their praise would change to jeers in the blink of an eye. He wouldn't have minded that. In fact, nothing would've made him happier than to finish a duel without a ton of people descending on him, and he especially missed being able to have a quite duel where the whole town wouldn't come to watch. The problem was, he just couldn't stop winning. Whenever a duel started, his instincts would take over, like it did with everyone, and he would duel with all his strength. Which always had the same outcome.
He didn't really have any close friends, so at first he had enjoyed it when people started to see him as the popular kid once he'd won a few duels. It had been nice. Now it grated on him. He couldn't stand the way these people were showering him with praise that seemed genuine at face value, but really wasn't. He wished that he had a close friend that he could share these feelings and experiences with, but he didn't, which left him to deal with them completely alone. A lump rose in his throat, and he felt a sudden urge to get away from this crowd.
It took him over five minutes of pushing, excuses and apologies to excise himself from the crowd, whereupon he began his long walk home as the crowd dispersed. After a few minutes of walking and letting his mind and body wander, he found himself asking the same question he had for a while now.
'Is my life going to be like this forever?'
He dried his eyes and walked on.
*A FEW MINUTES LATER*
Matt was taking a different route home than he usually did, and ended up walking passed an abandoned children's playground. He stared at it for the longest while, for it was here that he'd had his first duel in this city after they'd moved here. It had been against his dad, and he had lost... badly. His dad was a strong duelist, but he now spent most of his time either at work or asleep at home. He didn't have time for Matt anymore. Matt didn't begrudge him for it, because he knew it was necessary, but it still made him feel even more isolated.
The playground was abandoned because a new one had been opened further down the road, but it still remained Matt's spiritual home... a sanctuary where he could sit and contemplate things without the fear of being interrupted.
He walked over to a bench at the edge of the playground and sat down with his back to the road. There, he began to think about all his recent duels, trying to decide if any of the opponent's he'd faced could be the ones to finally defeat him. To his reluctance, he had to admit that none of them came close. All he could do was keep searching.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and spoke into his ear, "Excuse me?".
Startled out of his thoughts, he leapt to his feat. 'Are they following me now? Can I not have one moment of peace in this accursed city?' Furious, he grabbed his bag and yelled "Get away from me!" to the two bemused figures behind him. Then without so much as a backwards glance, he stormed back to the road and headed home.
Author-made cards:
Treason Blader
Warrior-Type/Xyz/DARK/Rank 4/ATK 2100/DEF 1400
2 Level 4 Warrior-Type monsters
If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can detach 1 Overlay Unit from this card; banish the destroyed monster instead of sending it to the Graveyard.