"And that's a direct attack, so if my math is right-" I grinned ear to ear. "I win."

Jack grumbled as he picked his cards back up and started shuffling them. "That was at least a closer duel."

"True." I said, glancing at my second deck and debating switching.

Oh, maybe now would be a good time to introduce myself. Don't really mind Jack here- he's more of a supporting character than anything.

He's also one of my best friends, even though he's a couple years younger than me. He's also the guy who first got me back into Yu-Gi-Oh.

I'd watched the first series as a kid- up to maybe the very beginning of battle city, but I didn't remember much beyond duelist kingdom. So when he first convinced me to get my old cards out...well, I tried summoning a level 8 monster without any tributes. Said monster was also a fusion monster.

...I trid to look at that memory and see how far I've come, but normally I just facepalmed. Jack did eventually introduce me to dueling network- or maybe I introduced him, who knows- which meant I could build a much better deck with much better cards than what I had access to and improve vastly.

"You know, that deck would be a lot better if you-"

"Jack, for the last time, I can't use synchro monsters." I shook my head as I shuffled. "Getting the balance of tuners and non tuners right just is beyond me. I prefer XYZ or tribute summoning anyway."

He looked at me, than at my extra deck. "All you have for XYZ monsters are Gem Knight Pearl and Utopia."
"I rarely end up using them anyway- it's more of a last resort. Why would I need them anyway when I've got monsters just as strong I can tribute summon?"

"Fine, fine. You have time for another game?"

I glanced at the time. "Nah, I better get home actually."

He pouted slightly, but nodded. "Think we can get together next weekend to hang out?"

"We'll see."

…"Famous last words" is the phrase that comes to mind at that.

Line Break

"Money well spent." I commented to myself, leaning back in my chair as I closed the Ebay Window.

So, that'll give me two of him now too- so I'll actually be able to have him in both decks instead of having to move him. I picked up the card in question- Reflect Bounder, still my favorite card.

1700 ATK, DEF 1100, level four- none too shabby. His effect was what really earned him a place in my deck though. When he was attacked, he'd reflect damage equal to the attacking monsters ATK back at the opponent before damage calculation- handy to hold off some of Jack's stronger monsters.

And he was one of the few monsters I had in my decks now that I'd had before some purchases on E-Bay or structure decks I'd bought.

Well, it's kinda late, but...eh, screw it, one last Duel on Dueling Network won't kill me.

I opened the quick link I'd set up, and quickly typed in my info.

As I did, something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. I picked up Reflect Bounder- noting to myself that since he was a rare version, I'd be able to tell him apart from the new card when it showed up.

Yeah, cause the gold text glows a little in the light...except the only light is from my computer screen, and RB shouldn't be catching light from that...did I miss something here, or am I just half asleep?

My eyes suddenly seemed to be sliding shut of their own accord, and as I tried to keep them open, the card seemed to be getting closer and closer to me, even as my hand dropped to my side and I fell back in my chair, eyes finally slamming shut.


"Are you going to go or not?"

My eyes snapped open, and I half took a step back as I saw...Okay, that's a goddamn Dragon. With an Axe.

"Look, there's a lot of people waiting to duel to get in, so either go or leave." I suddenly noticed a guy across from me, behind the Dragon. I looked at his arm, then what he was holding in his hand- then I looked down at my own hand and arm. Okay, maybe I've been playing this game too much. I half shook my head.

So, duel disks complete with holograms- yeah, this is a dream. F*** it, I'll go along with it.

"Alright, my draw." I glanced again at the disks as I did so- looked like the standard one from the Battle City arc, while he had one from the GX era.

So, that looks like Axe Dragonute, 2000 ATK- a little holographic indicator suddenly appeared next to it, showing not only it's ATK, but also its effects. I looked at the cards in my hand and saw they were from the real world as well, as opposed to the edited versions from the dubbed shows.

Which means- "Alright, I'll set a monster in defense mode, and set two cards on the backrow. Back to you."

He drew, and smiled. "I activate Heavy Storm, which will destroy both of your facedown cards."

"I know what it does." I grumbled, tossing the two into my grave. So much for Zoma or Magic Cylinder…the former means this is my more defensive deck. So that should hold up without too much trouble.

"Next, I tribute my Axe Dragonute for Luster Dragon Number 2." ATK 2400.

The axe wielding dragon was replaced with a far larger one, that looked as if it was made of pure emerald.

"Now, I'll have him attack your facedown card."

"I don't think so- I play the effect of a monster in my hand- Construction Train Signal Red, which lets me summon it onto the field and change the attack target to it." DEF 1300. "And thanks to the second part of its effect, it can't be destroyed by this battle."

The creature that appeared resembled a train with eyes where its lights would be, and hands like a forklift's lifters.

He looked at the card a moment, as if he didn't recognize it- not that I'd have been surprised if that was true, since it was a newer card from a booster pack I'd only bought a week before.

He shrugged a moment later. "Then I'll put one card facedown and end my turn."

I drew, glancing at my options. Dian Keto- yep, this is definitely my defensive deck...which normally involves waiting until I have enough to summon one of my big three monsters. But would I have those here? This looks like the wrong era for most of my cards...yeah, definitely no XYZ at the moment.

"Alright, I'll activate the spell card Dian Keto the Cure Master, which will boost my life points by 1000." A counter suddenly appeared just to the side of me, and it climbed up to 5000. So, starting low. I can still work with that though- one attack from some of my big guns would take this guy down in one hit...assuming I have them either.

"Then I'll set another monster in defense mode."

He drew his card. "I'll discard Curse of Dragon from my hand to activate Lightning Vortex, which will destroy all faceup monsters you control."

I sent my Train Signal to the grave, surprised by how easily it slid in.

"Next, I'll pay 800 life points to activate premature burial, and bring Curse of Dragon back from my grave to the field." ATK 2000. "So now I'll have my new monster attack the facedown on my right."
I smiled. "That means Night Assailant's flip effect is free to kick in- and it will let me destroy your Luster Dragon Number 2."

As the Dragon lunged forward and my monster was revealed, he threw his sword straight into my opponent's other dragon. My monster was then destroyed by a burst of fire launched from Curse.

"I'll end my turn with that." He said, sounding a little annoyed now.

"Back to me then." I drew, and smiled. "I tribute my facedown Necro Gardna for Heroic Challenger War Hammer!" ATK 2100.

The blue and silver armored monster hefted his hammer, which was large enough to make Thor jealous, and had a nasty spike on the other end. His helmet even had some spikes not terrible different than the horns on Loki's helmet.

"And now, let's see your dragon match this!" I shrugged after a moment. When in the show, you call your attacks...doesn't really translate from the saying about rome so well, but whatever. "Heroic Hammer Smash!"

It rushed forward and the Dragon's head caved in under the blow, dropping my opponent to 3100LP.

"Now, I'll activate War Hammer's effect, which lets me equip your monster to him, and boost his power by that of your Dragon's."

"That gives your monster 4100 ATK." He said, though I couldn't tell if he was surprised, annoyed, impressed or all three.

"Glad to see you can do math." I said smugly. " I'll end my turn with that."

He drew, and smiled. "I activate Pot of Greed, which-"

"I know what Pot of Greed does! Everyone in the world knows what that card does! It lets you Draw 2 cards!" And it's banned...not that Jack or I really ever cared about minor things like that. Something like Envoy of the end or Raigeki, sure, but something like that or Heavy...guess my dream at least has decent taste.

"I activate Monster Reborn to bring back the Necro Gardna in your grave." ATK 600.

The small armored warrior appeared in front of my opponent, warrior's white ponytail swinging behind him.

Hmm, that means I can't use it to negate an attack...but what could he attack with that would be able to beat-

"Then I activate the spell card Creature Swap."

"...Okay, didn't see that one coming."

"Normally we'd be able to pick which monster the other got, but since we each only have one out-" War Hammer went over to his side, and Necro came back to me.

"Now, I'll have War Hammer attack Necro Gardna! Go, Heroic Hammer Smash!"

I'd always wondered how holograms could hurt anyone- I found out when the hammer smashed through my monster and into me, knocking me flat on my ass.

"Oww." I said lamely as I got back up.

"I'll end my turn with that." He said smugly.

Not that he doesn't have a right to be- he just dropped my LP to 2500. And he still has 3100.

I drew again, and had to stop myself from chuckling as I set the monster facedown. "That'll do it for me- back to you."

He drew, and smiled. "I summon Luster Dragon in attack mode!" ATK 1900.

The creature resembled a smaller saphire version of the earlier dragon.

"So now, I'll have it attack your facedown."

"Fine by me-" The card flipped over, revealing what looked like a one-eyed grinning worm thing. "Morphing Jar's flip effect just kicked in! Which means we both discard anything in our hands and draw five new cards."

He grumbled as he did so, while I tossed what useless things I had left and smiled at my new hand. "I take it you're going to attack with War Hammer next?"

"You think?"

"In that case, since Necro Gardna's back in my grave thanks to you- I'll activate its effect to negate that attack."

"Then I'll set one of my new cards in the backrow and end my turn."

I took a breath as I drew, and had to let it out slowly as I saw what I'd managed to get. Yes! This can take down even War Hammer while he's powered up!...But I need three tributes for it…If I can get Double Coston, I've also got double summon and monster reborn, so I can bring him out...meanwhile, this guy should be enough to stop any attacks from him.

"I'll set a card in the back row and end my turn."

He drew without really looking at his card. "I'll activate my face down Dust Tornado to destroy the card you just set."

Didn't think he'd fall for Draining Shield, but it was worth a try.

"Now, I'll have your own monster attack you directly."

"No, I don't think you will." I said calmly as the monster hefted his hammer.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I play the effect of another monster in my hand- Swift Scarecrow! By discarding it, I can negate your direct attack and instantly end the battle phase!"

If he'd been surprised before, this time he was far more so. "Where are you getting all these cards I haven't heard of?!"

"Ebay." I responded. "You doing anything else, or can we just get to the part where you're about to lose?"

He laughed. "Okay, this should be good."
"Indeed." I looked at my deck as I set my hand on the top card. Okay, I can bring back a monster with Monster Reborn, but even with double summon that only gives me 2 monsters. I need something that'd let me play a third, and better yet something to survive another round in case this goes wrong.

I drew, and smiled. Not the card I was hoping for, but nonetheless- "I summon Reflect Bounder in attack mode!" ATK 1700. "And that'll do it for my turn."
He looked at his life points, clearly thinking the same thing I was. If he attacked with Luster Dragon, he'd barely survive RB's effect, which would leave me wide open for an attack.

"Alright, I'll attack your monster with Luster Dragon!"

"RB, do your thing!" As the monster flew forward, my machine projected a hologram from his central mirror, identical to that of the monster flying at him; both struck their targets at the same time, the real deal destroying my monster and knocking me down to 2200, the hologram slamming into him and knocking him down to 1200.

He wiped his mouth as he stood back up. "Alright, time to finish this. I'll attack you directly with your own monster- and I doubt you've got another Scarecrow in your hand."

"I do not." I gave him my best troll smile. "I do have a Kuriboh though, which will let me reduce the damage from War Hammer's attack to zero."

The small brown fluffball floated in front of me to stop the attack, and I put the card in my graveyard.

"You got lucky- but you won't again."

Here's hoping he's wrong. I thought as I looked at my deck. Come on, only one card will- I stopped the thought as I looked at the card. Actually, that'll work too. "I summon Mecha Phantom Beast Tether Wolf to the field!" ATK 1700.

The creature appeared, essentially a wolf-shaped living helicopter. "And because of his effect, I can summon a Mecha Phantom Beast Token!" What looked like a smaller version of the monster joined him on the field. DEF 0.

"Next, I activate Monster Reborn and since he saved me last round, I'll use it to bring back the fluff ball. Kuriboh, come back out!" DEF 200.

"Not a bad way to build a wall, but in the long run it won't do you much good."

I smiled. "One problem with your theory- there's not going to be any running outside the short term. I activate the spell card Double Summon! Which means I can summon one additional time this turn!"

"So you're going to tribute for something to take down Luster- not bad, but still not enough to beat me."

"I'm bringing out a monster that even that powered up War Hammer can't stand up to!...Though for the sake of beating you, I am going to have it wipe out Luster Dragon." I admitted as I switched the card to my right hand as I pointed to my field. "I tribute Tether Wolf, my Token, and Kuriboh!"

"Three monsters?! What card could you-"

"You ever heard of the Egyption God Cards?"

"Of course I-...you couldn't possibly have one of those!"

"Nope." I smiled again. "But Wicked Gods on the other hand…"

"Wicked-?!"

"I call forth Obelisk's Dark Counterpart!" I said, deciding to ham it up because why the heck not. "Rise up- The Wicked Dreadroot!"

A fiery fissure opened in the ground, and a pair of giant hands came out of it, crushing my monsters and pulling them in. Evil laughter echoed from within the pit as the hands came back out, and the creature slowly pushed itself out.

I had to strain my neck as it stood up fully- even with its feet still in the pit, the monster's head brushed the ceiling. It was green skinned, wearing massive bones as armor, including a horned skull that the creature used as a helmet. Massive wings stretched wide as it roared, drowning out any other sound. ATK 4000.

"That's...that's…"

"About to completely destroy you? Indeed. Wicked Dreadroot! Wipe out Luster Dragon!" And since Obelisk's attack was called 'fist of fate'..."Fist of Fatality!"

4000 ATK vs 1900...even if Dreadroot's effect hadn't halved the latter, it was still more than enough to smash clean through the dragon and wipe out the rest of my opponent's life points- the fist hitting him in the chest and sending him flying on his ass, harder than I'd hit earlier.

"So, if I did the math right- oh, what'da know? I win you lose." I quipped as the holograms faded.

I waited a few moments, expecting the dream to end. Instead, I saw the guy get back up, and rub the back of his head. "I'll be honest kid, I'm not quite sure how to call that."

"Call what? The duel? You weren't exactly bad, but the lifepoints make the result pretty clear."

"Yeah, with cards I doubt anyone in this room has ever heard of, and one I doubt anyone will forget any time soon."

Anyone in this room? Who else is- For the first time, I looked up at something other than the ten story monster, and realized we were in a giant domed stadium. And the seats were full of people wearing Red, Yellow, and Blue.

...Did I just duel to get into Duel Academy?

"Hey kid!"

I turned and saw a couple of big guys walking towards me. "Come with us. Doctor Crowler would like a word with you."

I blinked. "Who?" Did I just hear that right?...Damnit, if I was going to end up in Yu-Gi-Oh, why GX and not...then again the original my deck would stand out even more, Zexal I hated, and I can't even ride motorcycles, let along play card games on them.

"Doctor Crowler? You know, the lady in charge of all this?" The guy said impaintly.

Big guy 2 turned to him and said in an undertone. "I'm pretty sure the Doc's a guy."

"What? You're nuts. Have you seen that hair? And those clothes?"

"I didn't say he was a normal guy."

Big guy 1 shook his head and turned back to me. "Either way, the doctor wants a word with you. She's-"

"He's."

"Fine, He's curious about some of those cards."

They flanked me on either side, and I decided to go along with them.

After all, this is just a dream… Right?

As I looked around though, I was starting to wonder if that was really the case. I looked down at my hands, and slowly pressed a finger to the palm of the other one, willing it to go through. It bounced off instead. Something else occurred to me, and I quickly pulled Necro Gardna out of my pocket, looking at it. The text made sense, and it was all there- even if I had the effect memorized, I knew there was no way I'd be able to remember the exact wording like that in a dream.

So if this isn't a dream, and I begin to suspect it somehow isn't… then just what the heck is going on?