Episode 1: The Shining Beginning (Eon Tournament Begins!)
A few years ago, after the famed Pharaoh Atem left the world, a second tournament was held by Seto Kaiba to create a team of Duelists, with the sole purpose of protecting the world now that its former guardian had gone. The team would be called The Millenium. The armor duelist, known as Valon to many people, took place in the tournament. After he had lost to the man who had become the leader, he traveled to Domino City, where he found an abandoned child tucked behind a dumpster. He adopted the child and, throughout the years, taught him everything he knew about the game of Duel Monsters. When the child was old enough, Valon made a personal request to Industrial Illusions, asking for a unique set of Armor cards for his adopted son. Now, the boy is 18, and the Millenium have fallen into darkness. Hope seems to have vanished. All that remains is for Valon and his son, Ren Dalton, to watch as their world changes before their eyes.
(Intro with Theme: Wasteland by Living In Fiction)
Ren shuffled through his unique Armor cards, studying each one for about the 57th time. His "father", who was wearing a red and black motorcycle jacket and black jeans, looked over at him with a weird expression on his face.
"Don't overdo yourself, mate. It'll make ya nervous." He spoke in his signature Australian accent.
Ren nodded and put his Deck away, into his long black hoodie, which reached down below his ankles. A hand, which was his, shuffled through his long black and crimson hair. He then turned back to the motorcyclist. "Valon?"
"Yea?"
Ren hesitated, then asked his question. "What do you think will happen?"
Valon was silent for a moment, pondering Ren's question. He then spoke, "To be honest, ol' chum, I have no idea what'll happen at that stadium."
He put his hands on Ren's shoulders. "But whatever happens, mate, promise me you won't quit on me, alright?"
Ren nodded and then spoke softly, "Will you promise the same thing?"
Valon, again, hesitated, then said, "Totally. We'll both do good, how about that?"
Ren nodded, then turned to his left, where the bus to the stadium sat with it's doors open.
Valon stepped forward. "Alright, mate. Let's make this a night to remember."
The enitre stadium was packed full of people, from children to elders. In the center was a slope that led up to a rectangular Duel Field. You could already hear cheering.
Valon and Ren got off the bus, Ren almost tripping over a stray cat. "Sheesh, it's wild here."
Valon shrugged. "Yea, but I guess that's something to expect whenever KaibaCorp is involved." He then turned to his right. "Ren, you've got friends."
Ren also turned to his right, and was delighted to see Will Kazori and Jackson Ingram, jogging towards him.
Will fistbumped Ren. "What up, Dalton? You guys just get here?" Jackson nodded to Ren, who quickly nodded back.
"Yeah, we had to take the bus." Ren exclaimed, while raising an eyebrow. "You guys run here?"
Jackson spoke up. "This moron apparently forgot to brush his teeth. I kept telling him, from the angle the cameras are located, no one will actually notice, but nope, he wanted his pearly whites to be glowing more than a Hyozanryu."
Will elbowed him. "Hush."
"ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!"
Will jumped 4 feet in the air, searching all around him for the source of the sound. Jackson eventually had to position his head towards the center of the arena.
An announcer stood there, basically screaming into the microphone. "IS THIS EXCITING OR WHAT?" The croud cheered with joy.
Ren nudged Valon. "Think he can get any louder?"
Valon nodded. "Bloke's gonna cut off in a second."
The announcer continued. "I HOPE EVERYONE IS READY FOR SOME ACTION PA-"
Valon chuckled. "Told ya."
The announcer stared at the microphone in his hand with a confused look on his face. Ren, Valon, and Jackson teardropped. "Did he even know he was yelling?" Jackson rhetorically asked.
The announcer was rapidly tapping the microhpone to get it to work, when a loud wind could be heard. The croud looked up to see a blue and white helicopter above them, and they started to cheer louder than before.
Ren's eyes went wide. "No way..."
Seto Kaiba, dressed in a long blue coat, was standing on the helicopter's ledge. He then put his own microphone to his mouth.
"If you want to win this tournament, I suggest you listen up. You may remember the Millenium team that turned on us a few years prior. Well now they will be in for a rude awakening!" The crowd cheered again.
"The 6 Top Duelists in this tournament will be chosen for the Eon Team!" The crowd exploded into cheers.
Valon was shocked. "Another team.."
"But remember! Only the best will acquire a spot, and th best are the ones who win! Are you ready? Then... It's Time To Duel!" Quoting the King of Games himself sent the crowd into both applause and cheering.
Ren turned to Valon, and they looked at each other. Finally, Valon spoke. "Well, chum, this is it."
Ren stared at the holographic board and what it said in bold black letters.
First Duel: Ren Dalton vs. Kazaga Kumiru
"Youuuu have got to be kidding me." Ren exclaimed with an annoyed look on his face.
Valon had a sympathetic look on his face. "At least, you won't have to wait through the entire bloody tourney."
Ren looked at Valon, then back at the board. "I guess, yeah." He then, again, turned to Valon. "I guess I better go then."
Valon said nothing for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. "...Here. I've been, well, kinda savin' this for you, chum."
Ren took the card in his hand, and, looking at it, gaining a confused look on his face. "Shining Iron Armor?"
Valon nodded. "It was one of the cards I requested to be made for ya. Reckon that today was a good enough day to actually try it for yourself out there."
Ren stared at the card for another few seconds, then he dove forward and hugged Valon. "Thanks... Dad."
Valon, hearing the word "Dad", smiled. "Don't mention it. Now." He managed to peel Ren off of him, and then put his hands on his shoulders. "Go out there, mate, and blow the crowd away."
Ren nodded, and, while sticking the new armor into his Deck, ran towards his zone on the arena.
Valon walked forward, and leaned on the railing, facing said arena. Crikey, the bloke's learned so much...
Ren stood on the red side of the arena, facing his opponent, Kazaga, who was standing on the blue side. "Well... Good luck."
His opponent nodded. "You as well, bro."
Ren activated his Duel Disk, a jet-black crescent-shaped device, with a red dome in the middle (which showed his Life Points). Kazaga activated a standard KaibaCorp Duel Disk for himself.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Ren - 4000
Kazaga - 4000
"I'll start things off." Kazaga drew. "I Special Summon Gilasaurus from my hand!" A dinosaur, similar to a velociraptor, materialized onto the field.
Gilasaurus - ATK: 1400
"I then Tribute this card for a stronger monster! My Air Eater!" The dinosaur disappeared, and in it's place, materialized a long green monster with 6 arms and big purple wings.
Air Eater - ATK: 2100
"And I'll go ahead and end my turn."
Ren looked at his hand. Never actually played this Deck in a Duel with holograms before, he thought, but I gotta make the most of it...
He drew. "Since I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Matrix Vizor from my hand!" A black and red helmet materialized onto the field, with the vizor having a marron tint to it.
Matrix Vizor - ATK: 0
"Then I'll summon up Zero Barrier, in Attack Mode!" A black and red robotic armpiece materialized onto the field, with a blue shield, made of energy, on the back part of it's wrist.
Zero Barrier - ATK: 0
"You actually going to fight with something worthwhile?" Kazaga taunted.
Ren smiled, as Matrix Vizor locked itself onto his head, and Zero Barrier fit onto his right arm. "You'll soon know what I am capable of. Turn end."
Kazaga drew his card. "I now play Monster Reborn, to bring back Gilasaurus!" The raptor reappeared out of nowhere. "I then Tribute it again, to summon Millenium Golem!" Gilasaurus once again disappeared, and a giant blocky golem rose out of the ground, a Millenium symbol present on its face.
Millenium Golem - ATK: 2000
Will, in the stands with Jackson, started hyperventilating. "That's enough to beat Ren! Oh nonononon-" He soon stopped as Jackson slapped him in the back of the head. Valon, a few feet away, just smirked.
"Air Eater, attack his Vizor!" The green serpent shot a yellow beam out of its mouth, straight at Ren.
Will covered his eyes in a comical way. "I can't watch..."
Jackson turned towards him. "You are so dramatic. He's fine."
Will uncovered his eyes. "Huh?" He then looked towards Ren. "Wha!?"
Ren had Zero Barrier held up in front of his face, the shield now a swirling mix of yellow and blue.
Kazaga's eyes went wide. "What did you just do?"
Ren smirked. "First off, when you attack an Armor Monster on my field, I can switch the attack to another Armor Monster. And second, if Zero Barrier just so happens to be attacked, I can negate the attack, then..." He thrust his arm towards Kazaga, throwing a yellow/blue disc at him, striking him in the chest.
Kazaga - 2950
"...Do that." Air Eater then fell to the ground in a heap.
Air Eater - ATK: 0
Only a shocked expression was present on Kazaga's face. "You have got to be kidding..."
He then shook himself out of his shock and pointed towards Ren. "Golem, your turn! Destroy his Vizor!" The stone golem pulled back with it's fist, then threw it forward at Ren, making contact and throwing Ren back a few feet, his helmet cracking and breaking into shards.
Ren - 2000
"Now I am in the lead!" Kazaga exclaimed.
Ren looked up from the ground, standing up in the process. "Not for long..." He drew his card. His eyes then went wide as he stared at the card he just drew. It's the card Valon gave me...
He looked up to where Valon was. Valon caught his eye and nodded.
Ren nodded and looked back towards Kazaga. "This card will come in handy later. For now, I summon Quantum Armet!" Another black and red helmet appeared and stuck itself on Ren's head, the front looking similar to a knight's vizor.
Quantum Armet - ATK: 0
"Then, due to it's effect, I can Normal Summon another Armor Monster, so meet Durance Halberd!" Another black and red arm appeared, then Zero Barrier switched places, latching onto Ren's left arm. The new arm hooked onto Ren's right arm, an axe-like blade attached to the side area of the wrist.
Durance Halberd - ATK: 0
"Durance Halberd gains 300 ATK for every Armor Monster I control!"
Durance Halberd - ATK: 900
"I then play a Magic Card, Valkyrion Plate!" A golden plate appeared on Ren's chest. "This gives my Armor Monsters another 300 ATK for every Armor piece I control!"
Durance Halberd - ATK: 1800
Quantum Armet - ATK: 900
Zero Barrier - ATK: 900
"Now I attack Air Eater!" Ren jumped into the air, then brought his fist down onto Air Eater, obliterating it.
Kazaga covered his eyes from the destruction.
Kazaga - 1150
Will fistpumped into the air. "Yesyesyes! He's so amazing!"
Jackson rolled his eyes.
Ren pointed at Kazaga. "Now it's your move." A face-down appeared at Ren's feet.
Kazaga was steaming. Just great. If I attack, he'll switch my attack to that stupid barrier thing and knock out almost all my Life Points. Then Millenium Golem will be useless. He then looked at a small computer-like device in his pocket. And according to that Magic Card, I can't destroy his monsters with effects.
Jackson smirked. "He trapped the poor guy where he stands." He then, without looking, grabbed Will's shirt and pulled him down into his seat. "Calm down."
Kazaga drew his card slowly, then started laughing. "Wow! What luck!" He slid a card into a Spell/Trap slot in his Duel Disk, and the card picture of Mystical Space Typhoon appeared.
Will teardropped. "Oh no..."
Ren's Valkyrion Plate shattered into pieces. "I then play the Magic Card Raigeki! This destroys all monsters you control!"
A bolt of lightning shot down from the sky, striking Ren and destroying every piece of armor that was present on him. Ren knelt on the ground, smoking from the hit.
Will put his head down. "It's over. That Golem can knock out Ren in one hit..."
Jackson and Valon were staring at Ren's last card: the face-down card at his feet.
Valon, under his breath, mumbled, "It's not over."
Kazaga threw his fist towards Ren. "Now, Millenium Golem! Attack!" The giant golem reared back.
Ren slowly looked up. "I activate... my face-down card."
The holographic card slowly floated up to show the Trap Card, Defense Draw.
Will raised one eyebrow. "What does that do?"
Jackson spoke up after about three seconds. "It deflects all Battle Damage done to Ren and allows him to draw one card from his Deck."
"Huh... Wonder when he added that to his Deck..."
"Like, a few weeks ago. It was either that or Waboku."
Kazaga groaned. "Will you just give up already?"
Ren smirked again. "Nah. This is too much fun." He drew for Defense Draw, and then drew for his turn. "And now I will end this Duel with this next card."
Kazaga's eyes went wide. "What card are you..."
Ren took a card out of his hand and slapped it onto his Duel Disk. "I call to the field..." A card hologram rose from the ground, showing a silver-colored suit of armor. "Shining..." The card picture glowed white. "Iron..." Out of the glowing white void, a suit of armor shot out and landed on the ground, kneeling. "Armor!" The suit shot towards Ren like a magnet, hooking itself onto him until Ren was wearing the entire suit.
Shining Iron Armor - ATK: 0 DEF: 2500
Valon grinned from ear to ear. Will and Jackson had extremely surprised expressions on their faces. Kazaga was staring daggers at this new monster.
Ren lifted up his hand and stared at it. "This new armor feels amazing..."
Kazaga put up a fist. "It won't help you! It has freaking 0 Attack Points!"
"If you did not learn anything from Zero Barrier, I pity you." A face-down appeared. "Go ahead."
Kazaga drew and smiled. "I'll sacrifice my weaker Millenium Golem for my Frostosaurus!" The golem disappeared, and in it's place rose a brontosaurus completely made of ice. It's eyes glowed yellow as it roared at Ren.
Frostosaurus - ATK: 2600
"I then play the Magic Card, Big Bang Shot! This increases Frostosaurus ATK by 400 points, making it 3000!"
Frostosaurus - ATK: 3000
"And now for the final attack!" Frostosaurus roared and charged at Ren. "Demolish him!"
Ren pressed a button on his Duel Disk, and the card image of Shrink materialized in front of him. "I play Shrink, which reduces your monster's original ATK by half!"
Frostosaurus - ATK: 1700 (The reason for this is because Frosty's ORIGINAL ATK is 2600, so that is halved to 1300, then Big Bang adds 400, making it 1700.)
The giant icy dinosaur slammed into Ren causing a small explosion-like effect, and sending Ren flying onto the ground.
Ren - 300
Kazaga grinned with a bit of an evil smile. "You see? It's over." His... creepy... expression soon transformed into one of pure shock as Ren stood from the ground, slowly, the armor shining brightly in the sun. Ren slowly looked up towards where Kazaga stood.
Will's jaw opened comically until it was almost touching the ground. "W-Wha..."
The rest of the entire stadium was silent. You could easily hear the cars driving on the road outside the giant arena. Then, a low voice was heard, a voice that seemed to echo through everyone's ears.
The voice, deep and haunting, belonged to Ren.
"...My turn."
His fist glowed titanium white, and he jumped into the air and did a sort of meteor-like dive, with his fist outstretched towards Frostosaurus.
Jackson stood, his eyes wide. "What in the world is he doing!?"
Ren's attack impacted, and a huge explosion erupted. The crowd shielded their eyes from the immense light the explosion brought. Then, it faded away, and there was nothing but smoke to be seen by the naked eye.
Jackson and Will almost jumped off his seat into the battlefield. "REN!?"
Valon watched sternly. Behind his back, he secretly was crossing his fingers.
The smoke started to clear, and a sillhouette could be seen, kneeling on the ground. More of the smoke dissipated, and the glare of the sun caught on the sillhouette's shoulders, making it gleam with it's silver glow.
Valon smiled. "That bloke..."
Will started jumping up and down hysterically. "OH MY GOODNESS REN YOU LOVABLE HUNK O' METAL I WANNA HUG YOU TILL YOUR ARMOR DENTS OHMYGODOHMYGOD..."
Jackson, not even bothering to stop Will, stood there, leaning on the railing, completely awestruck. The crowd started to cheer as Ren stood up from his position, and turned to face the other side of the battlefield, where Kazaga was on his rear end, shaking from fear.
Kazaga - 850
Jackson looked confused beyond all hope. "Can anybody tell me what the heck just happened?" he said as he grabbed Will by the back of the hair and sat him down.
"I can, mate." Jackson and Will turned to see Valon standing there, looking happy as can be.
"Valon?" Jackson asked, his mind going crazy.
"I gave that card to him before the duel, so I know all about it. During the opponent's turn, that card cannot be destroyed by battle. After it is attacked while in Attack Position, and damage is dealt, all monsters the opponent controls are destroyed. The opponent then takes 300 points for every bloke destroyed by that effect, then Ren's Armor gains 1000 ATK."
Valon turned towards the field. "I just didn't know what would happen to him after an impact like that, but he made it through without a scratch."
Jackson was awestruck. He turned towards where Ren stood, and Kazaga was doing the opposite. "So... if he now has 1000 ATK, and Kazaga has 850 LP left..."
The crowd turned silent as Ren started to move, walking over to Kazaga, who was still shaking. Kazaga jumped as he saw the giant suit of armor appear next to him.
"...Look at your Life Points."
Kazaga stopped shaking, a confused expression present on his face, and looked down at his Duel Disk. The rectangular screen simply read: 850.
"It's still your turn." Ren's voice echoed through the helmet, causing Kazaga to look at him again. "After that, I'd have to attack you again to win the duel." Kazaga's eyes almost bulged out of his head.
"W-What..."
"Yeah... There is a way to not get attacked again by this card, if you get where I'm coming from."
Kazaga slowly looked down at his Duel Disk once again. He then rested his hand on top of the counter, officially surrendering.
Ren - 300
Kazaga - 0
Ren wins!
The crowd cheered louder than before. Ren held out his hand towards Kazaga as the armor disintegrated, showing Ren in his long black hoodie. Kazaga looked at Ren's hand for a while, before finally taking it and standing up.
Ren let go and started walking away. He then looked back. "Good duel."
Kazaga nodded shakily. "Yeah... Great duel, bro..."
Ren smirked, then, as he turned around, a blur sped towards him and slammed into his chest, which turned out to be Will. "What in the..."
Will was still unbelievably ecstatic. "REN YOU WERE AMAZING THAT WAS AMAZING EVERYTHING WAS SO AMAZING AND-" The high pitched squealing suddenly stopped as Jackson grabbed Will by the back of the shirt and dragged him off Ren. "I said... Calm yourself down."
Ren chuckled at Will's happiness, and then saw Valon walk over to him.
Valon was grinning. "You know, I was worried for a second."
Ren grinned back. "You know me, had to get the hearts pumping."
Both laughed and walked off the arena.
The screen pans to a cloaked figure leaning over the rails, apparently unnoticed by anyone in the crowd. The figure chuckles as the camera gives a full frontal view, with the figures face being covered by darkness. A Millenium Eye, which was strangely rotated 90 degrees, glowed where the forehead would be.
"Just wait, Valon and young Ren..." A male voice could be heard echoing from the figure. "You will be worried... Oh... You WILL..." His chuckle became louder as the screen zooms out from the giant arena, a faint silhouette of a red-eyed archfiend-looking monster appearing over it, and a distorted roar echoed from the sillhouette...
Next Episode: The Banisher, Part 1 (High Charity Arises! Jackson vs. The Red Rider)
Check out this page for the effects for any/all fan-made cards used in this story.
wiki/Neo_Armor
Yu-Gi-Oh!, and all spinoffs, belong to Konami. I do not own anything, besides the fan-made cards and fan-made characters.