Since its genesis, Duel Monsters was a beloved game. Played for years and still it lives on. From the 1990s when it was first introduced, to the far future, it had risen to be a cornerstone of the world.
The year? 2123, a future of revolutionary travel and communication technology after the Third World War. The location? Echo Town, California, a town about 250 miles from Balboa Park, settled by Japanese immigrants who had come over in the late 21st century. The time? 8 AM, Pacific time. This was a joyous day, the anniversary of the Duelist Kingdom tournament, the tournament that named the very first King of Games. Duelists all over the world had gathered for the event.
That is, except for one.
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIING! went an alarm clock.
With a shout of surprise, someone tumbled out of bed in his dark room, landing on the floor in a tangle of plushies and blankets. Slowly, a twelve-year-old boy began to get up from the pile, his long blue hair all messed up and uncombed.
"Argh... why the heck did I set my alarm clock?" he muttered in a groggy voice. Then, on simple instinct, he looked at a nearby calendar. Right there, in big red letters, the day said, "Yugi Mutou Festival, win that Duel Disk. -Leon"
The boy groaned. "Shimatta. Darn Leon and his Dueling addiction. It was bad enough when he got that Duel Disk for his birthday, now this... But a bet's a bet. Better get up and get moving."
He got up and stretched, and went over to his dresser, to pick out some clothes.
Haru Taylor wasn't a seasoned Duelist at all. He'd just started two months ago, having been roped in by Leon McCloud, his closest and only friend. His deck was fairly good, but he made mistakes in the heat of battle, and was prone to panicking.
Knock knock knock!
"Haru? You up?" asked an older voice.
Haru jolted. It was the voice of his older brother, Haruka. Nineteen years old, athletic, and overall better than Haru at just about everything, Haruka was Haru's legal guardian while their parents were working in Japan. "Y-yeah," he stammered.
"Relax, little bro, just wanted to make sure. Anyway, Leon and Hunter are out front waiting for you. You dressed yet?"
Haru sighed. "Yeah, I'm ready. Lemme just get my ponytail." He grabbed a hair tie from atop his dresser drawer, and tied his hair back into a ponytail.
Outside, two were waiting-another preteen the same age as Haru, and a dog. The twelve year old, by the name of Leon, had short brown hair, blue eyes, and a blue hoodie over brown slacks and a black t-shirt. On his arm was strapped a Duel Disk, a standard KaibaCorp model in blue. The dog was a golden retriever with a blue bandanna around his neck, which covered his collar.
Soon, Haru opened the door. "Morning," he said. "You do realize that the sun isn't even up yet?"
"I wanna be at the front of the line this year, Haru," Leon said.
"You know how Leon is, always likes to be early instead of late," the dog said.
Haru rolled his eyes. "That doesn't mean he has to be up at the buttcrack of dawn, Hunter. And even after a year, I'm STILL not used to you talking."
"Really? Well, this is definitely an easier way to communicate," Hunter said, wagging his tail.
Hunter was a special dog... very special. He had an ability no one had seen before. You see, he could speak English, as if he were human. No one could explain or figure out how he gained this gift, but he was happy to have it, as it made him far more helpful as Leon's service dog.
See, Leon McCloud was a bit special himself. He was autistic- specifically, he had Asperger's Syndrome. He was naturally intelligent, but he wasn't the best socially. In fact, people tended to ostracize him at school. However, with help from his mother, and with Hunter to help advocate and protect him, his life's been getting better. In fact, he was the only person that befriended Haru.
Haru wasn't so sure he enjoyed the arrangement. Leon may have been a friend, but he was also, in a word, obnoxious. He was enthusiastic almost all the time about Dueling, and it was impossible to get him off the subject. Furthermore, he was hyperactive, to the point where Haru wondered if he even slept at night.
"Sorry Haru, but I didn't wanna get us stuck in a long line. I'm no fan of wasting time in a line. I'm just hoping they have more Agent cards."
Haru raised an eyebrow. The card in question, The Agent of Judgment- Saturn, was a card Leon had been wanting, and was excited when he heard they were giving them out at the entrance to the festival. Leon dueled with Light-Attribute Fairies, but lately, the Agents Archetype had been on his mind. They'd caught his interest, so he'd been collecting them for a new deck.
"Come on inside," said Haru. "We'll eat breakfast first, then go."
"Well, Hunter and I ate, but I'm fine with that." Leon smiled.
"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all!" barked Hunter.
After breakfast and a shower for Haru, Haru's older brother, Haruka, drove them to the site of the event.
"So who else is coming?" Haru asked casually.
"I was hoping the whole crew could come..." Leon twiddled his thumbs as they drove through an intersection on the green light. "Nicky, Zeo, Cyrus, and Lily, you know?"
Cyrus, Nicky, Lily, and Zeo were Leon's other friends. Haru didn't like them, and they didn't like him. It was a comfortable relationship nobody wanted to change.
"Sadly... Nicky's sick, Lily's in Colorado visiting her family, and Zeo's in some place called Mathias, Maryland." The brunette sighed. "I wanted to have a fun day with everyone, but only Cyrus can come..."
Haru patted his friend's shoulder. "It's okay, buddy. You still got me."
"OH! ...Haru..." Leon dug in his pocket, and offered Haru a card pack. "An apology for the early wake up."
Haru was surprised by this, and took the pack slightly clumsily. "Um… thanks, I guess."
"Oh, we're almost to Cyrus's house."
"Hope he has those treats I love!" Hunter said.
Haru rolled his eyes. Cyrus's grandfather would never let him have a pet, so dog treats were out of the question.
So, as they parked by the mentioned house, another boy came out the door. This kid was younger and shorter than either of his fellows. With a short but shaggy mop of blond hair, a green shirt, and a camo jacket and pants, he was ready to go.
"Hi Cy!" Hunter said excitedly.
Cyrus bounded over to the car and jumped right in, giving Hunter a big hug.
"Excited for today?" Leon asked.
Cyrus nodded. "Yeah!"
"Cool!" Hunter smiled.
Leon, leaving Cyrus and Hunter to chat, put in his earbuds and enjoyed Happy by Pharrell Williams.
Haru, leaving the others to their own devices, shuffled through his new cards and sighed.
Before long they arrived at the festival, and they were in luck; the line hadn't started yet. The little crew was quickly entered into the festival area.
"You guys a bit early?" a booth operator said, after the kids arrived.
"Blame Mister Sunshine here," Haru said with a point of the thumb to Leon.
"Hey, what did I do?" Leon retorted. "I don't like long lines."
"Yeah, all he did was get us here early," Cyrus agreed.
"Whatever." Haru huffed and turned away from the others. Haruka, watching this, sighed and put a hand on Haru's shoulder.
"Oh, wanna check out the card store before going to the center stage for the big challenge duels?" Leon asked.
"Sure!" Cyrus nodded emphatically.
"...okay," agreed Haru.
Pretty soon, the group headed to the card store, where Leon immediately went to the cash register.
"Three of the Cosmic Angel pack please?" Leon asked the clerk.
"Sorry, we're all out."
"But... the festival just started and you just opened," Leon argued. "How can you be out?"
"Because that pack's been discontinued due to bad reception."
"But... I needed Master Hyperion."
"Sorry, kid, but you can buy him online or something."
Leon was quiet. Completely silent. But when Haru noticed him clenching his fists, he had himself, Cyrus, and Haruka backing up.
But Leon DIDN'T blow his top. "Leon, don't lose it. You're in public. Not a good place to lose your temper," the lad murmured to himself. Leon took several deep breaths, determined to calm himself down, Hunter looking at him with concern.
"If it's any consolation, we have a brand new pack with all new Light Fairies and support cards."
Leon perked up, looking at the clerk. "Really?"
"Yeah." The clerk nodded. "No Hyperion, but plenty of newbies. As a promotion, the packs are half price today only."
"Um… five please?" Leon asked, as he placed a twenty on the table.
"Sure."
"That was close..." Cyrus sighed, as Leon bought his cards. "Leon's rage is like a Blue Eyes getting rampant."
"More like a time bomb," Haru thought. "It comes all at once and usually ends in big trouble for everyone around him."
"We have a table where you can open your the packs, right there to your left." The clerk said to Leon. He and Hunter headed to the table to open his pack. The clerk then looked at the others. "You guys want any cards?"
Haru stiffened. "I- um.. uh… I'll take a pack…"
"Me too," Cyrus said.
"Got a favorite attribute or strategy?" the clerk asks.
"I like Water…" Haru rubbed his sleeve slightly.
"Wind Dragons for me!" Cyrus smiled.
"I know just the packs." The clerk pulled out two different packs; Mirror of the Ocean and Dragonic Gale. "These have the best in those two categories." He gave them to the boys. "These are on the house."
"Th.. thank you…" Haru held his close.
"Nice, a free card pack," Haruka said happily. "Open it, li'l bro!"
"Okay…"
Cyrus also opened his pack too. The very first card had him uneasy. "What the..."
"What is it?" Haru asked softly.
"This Trap Card... the picture kinda scares me..." Cyrus showed Haru the card- a Trap called Dragon's Moon. The picture was a huge dragon, curled up around the moon with fire raining down on the world below it. The effect wasn't much better- "Select two Dragon-Type Monsters with 2500 ATK or more in your deck and banish them. All cards on the field are banished, and the owners take 500 points of damage for each card banished by this effect."
Haru shuddered. "I have to agree…"
"It reminds me of Fall of Dalamud. In the End of an Era cutscene of Fourteen."
"..." Haru had no idea what on Earth Cyrus was talking about, and didn't want to. Instead, he opened his card pack, and pulled out the nine cards within. "Hmm… hey… this is Gishki Ariel..."
"You get a good card?" Haruka asked, leaning over Haru's shoulder.
"Uh-huh." Haru showed Ariel to his brother. "I could always use one more of her, right?"
"Hey... wait a second." Cyrus looked at the ninth card in his pack in amazement. "This card's... wow."
"Lemme see!" Leon practically bowled Haru over in order to see Cyrus's card.
"Sure." Cyrus showed Leon the card. It was Monster card, a Synchro called Wind Dragon of the Eons. The picture depicted a beautiful dragon with scales of silver. But what was interesting was that in the depiction, this dragon was standing its ground against the Dragon's Moon, roaring back at it, as the wind made by its strong wings protected humans from the rain of fire.
"...wow…"
"I'm willing to bet that in the lore, these two dragons are arch enemies. Their effects do seem to clash in that sense," Cyrus said.
Meanwhile, Haru was looking at the sixth card in his pack, a Normal Monster called Water Dragon of the Endless Mirror. It was a Level 4 monster with 500/500, which in most cases would just be cannon fodder (or maybe Cannon Soldier fodder), but its flavor text caught Haru's eye.
"One of six dragons that maintained the balance of the world. His power is negligible, but he has the potential to become something much more."
"Hey, you got a dragon too?" Leon asked, noticing Haru's card.
"Uh-huh," Haru said. The dragon on the card looked weak and fragile, but beautiful, with scales as blue as the ocean. "Hey... look at the sky in the picture." Leon pointed to the sky.
Haru looked. It was a stormy grey sky, rain pouring down in droves. Come to think of it, the dragon seemed to be hiding, cowering in fear from the rain under an old, broken, dirty mirror.
The chime of the shop bell rang, and someone entered.
"Those are part of a special card set made by Pegasus himself," a voice mentioned. The kids all looked to see who was talking. It was a teenaged boy, around fifteen or so, sporting messy brown hair, a pale blue polo and jeans. He had a cool, calm, and collected demeanor about him.
"By PEGASUS?" Leon perked up.
"You know, Antonio Pegasus. The guy claiming to be a direct descendant to Maximilian himself."
"...Didn't Pegasus die a widower without any kids?" Haru said bluntly.
Everyone in the shop gasped as though Haru had spoken an insane blasphemy.
"Antonio's gone to great lengths to sell that he's really a descendant. Most people actually bought it." Joshua shrugged.
There was an even louder gasp.
"Truth hurts, I know. Anyway, Antonio has recently finished and released a new series of Dragon themed cards called the Dragons of Balance and Strife. Six Monsters, four Spells, two Traps. The Monsters, which I count three of in your possession, are the Balance Dragons. While the Spells and Traps, as you only have one, are the Strife Dragons. They're designed to create a deck that, with the right cards added, is basically invincible."
"Three?" asked Cyrus. "Who has the third?"
"The boy behind you. The one with the dog. He's looking at it right now." The boy casually pointed straight at Leon. Indeed, Leon was holding one- Another Synchro called Light Dragon of the Magic Seal. It depicted a large, beautiful dragon standing tall and proud, with scales of goldenrod and white marks resembling ancient runes all across its body.
"Three down, three to go. One is an Xyz, one is a Tuner, and the last one's an Effect Monster," the boy said.
Haru looked at the dragon in his hand. "...I don't really think this is the kind of card you can use in a deck..."
"Not in its current structure. But with the Agents being out of the question, I can rebuild my deck and include my new dragon." Leon grinned.
The boy smirked. "By the way, any of you planning to try out the Challenge Duels?" he asked.
"The what?"
"The Challenge Duels at the main stage later today?" the boy said.
"Oh yeah... I was," Haru mentioned. More accurately, he had been forced into it by Leon. Haru winced at the memory.
"I got a little challenge for you, then. Add your Dragon to your deck, use it, and win. If you succeed, I'll give you TWO Strife Dragons." The boy pulled out two cards, a Spell and a Trap. The Spell was named "Dragon's Blade", while the Trap was called "Shining Dragon's Ascension".
"I, um…" Haru mumbled. "..." he gulped. "Maybe… I mean, well…"
"C'mon! Just do it!" Leon encouraged. "You can beat him!"
"You've got Gishki cards, Haru. You can beat anybody with those!" Haruka grinned.
"Did you say... Gishki?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, Haru is the best with Gishki. In fact, he's the best Water Duelist period!" Leon said.
"Haru, do you honestly use Gishki?" asked the boy, wanting to hear it from Haru himself.
"Well, I, that is, um…" stammered Haru.
"Shimatta!" he cursed mentally. "Why do you have to say these things, Leon!?"
"Y-yes," he finally managed to blurt out.
"Then you'll be able to beat the champ. He's all brawn and no brains."
"Okay…" Haru shrank back behind Haruka, who made no response.
"No pressure though, okay?" the kid said.
Haru said nothing. He was shaking like a leaf, deeply regretting his decision.
"Why, oh, why am I doing this?" he thought.
The hours rolled by, and eventually it came time for Haru to go up to the stage and Duel the champion.
"You ready, Haru?" Leon asked as the Taylor, Leon, Cyrus, and Hunter traversed the plaza.
"N-nuh-uh…" Haru shook his head fervently. "I don't think I can do this…"
"C'mon bro, you can do this," Haruka said, placing a hand on Haru's shoulder.
"With the weakest Level Four Normal Monster in creation?" Haru snapped. "It doesn't even have 1000 Attack… How am I gonna win with that thing?" He held his head with one hand. "Shimatta… Leon, I'm never gonna do this ever again…."
"Okay, but don't have a panic attack on us," Leon said.
"Calling Haru Taylor to the stage. Haru Taylor?" the MC called out. Haru gave a baleful glare to Leon, before shuddering, gulping, and walking up to the stage, alone. It was practically torture for him- he felt like he was suffocating in the crowds around him.
Waiting for him on the dark grey, brightly lit stage was quite a sight- a teenager clad in bulky, grey-green plate armor themed after some kind of dinosaur, complete with, of all things, a tail.
A tail.
The guy smirked and raised a Duel Disk on his arm, decorated the same way as his armor was- grey-green and bristling with spikes that looked like they could hurt you with one touch. Haru, wearing Leon's blue, standard-model Duel Disk, blanched. "Well, well, well," the armored boy sneered, tongue oily with arrogance and complacency. "A new opponent. A boy with a girl's ponytail? Hah, what a crock."
Haru sputtered and blushed beet red at his opponent insulting his ponytail. "Y-your name?" he stammered.
"Chase Kennedy. Dino Duelist extraordinaire." Chase crossed his arms. "Yours?"
"H-H-Haru Taylor…"
"Haru Taylor? The weirdo who holes up in his room and never talks to anyone?" someone in the audience laughed. Haru recognized it as the voice of a teenage neighbor of his and flinched. "This'll be a cakewalk."
"Well, Haru Taylor," Chase said, "I sure hope you're a better Duelist than a public speaker… but no matter! I'll crush you flat!"
"Why waste your time? Haru's the biggest waste of space in town!" the same person taunted.
Haru clenched his fists, tears welling in his eyes, and raised his Duel Disk. "I-I'm not a waste of space!" he shouted, voice shaking. "Le- Let's duel!"
"Prepare for humiliation." Chase readied his Duel Disk.
-DUEL OPEN-
The floor of the stage lit up with rainbow light. This was the activation of a holofield, a form of technology used to materialize holograms. Both Duel Disks activated, and displayed Life Point counters.
(Haru: 8000) (Chase: 8000)
"You can take the first move, Ponytail," Chase snickered. "You'll need it."
Haru drew five cards with a shaky hand, and right there on the first draw was the Balance Dragon. Haru grimaced at the sight of the pathetic creature.
"I don't know what I was thinking, agreeing to use this…" he grumbled mentally. However, he just regarded the other cards in his hand, before drawing a sixth. The blue-haired boy took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves. It didn't help that everyone was staring at him.
But then, an idea hit him. Maybe… Maybe Haru shouldn't use the Water Dragon for attacking, but for something much better.
He steeled himself, and selected a card from his hand.
"Oooh! Picking me, are we?" Haru thought he heard a voice say, attacking his already frayed nerves. "Smart idea!" Haru tried to ignore the weird voice, and placed the card down on his Duel Disk's Monster Zone, face-down and sideways. "I… I Set a Monster," he said. A sideways card appeared in front of him, its secrets unknown to the crowd at large.
"That all?" Chase asked.
Haru nodded slightly. "Y-yeah."
"Okay! I draw and-" Chase's eyes widened as he looked at his cards. "Wait a moment, these aren't my Dino Cards!"
"Hush up," Chase thought he heard a voice say. "Just use these, and a win is guaranteed, I swear it."
"Um... Okay... I play Newdoria in Attack Position." Chase put a card on his Duel Disk, and Haru recoiled in disgust and horror as he saw a hideous, hunchbacked Fiend emerge upon the field. Its skin was sinewy and gross red, and it was covered all over in creepy, spiked collars. (ATK 1200)
"Eww… that's so gross…" Haru screwed his eyes shut. But they opened wide once more when he realized that the monster was Fiend-Type. "Wait a minute, this isn't a Dinosaur! What's a Dinosaur Duelist doing using a Fiend?"
"I also set five face downs." Chase placed five facedowns. He tried to smirk, but Haru could also see Chase was looking uneasy. "Newdoria! Atta-"
"NO! Don't you dare!" the voice shouted, startling Chase. "Let the boy set up whatever he wants."
"Um…" Chase faltered. "I… end?"
The MC looked puzzled. "Well, folks, it looks like both our champion and our challenger are playing on the defensive!" he said loudly. "Chase seems to be packing Fiends instead of his usual Dinosaurs, but who knows what Haru is up to? Let's find out!"
Haru drew another card. "I… set a face-down card…" Another face-down appeared on Haru's field, behind the one already in play, and Haru consulted the remaining five cards in his hand.
"I have Emilia, Shadow, two Cycles, and that Dragon…" he thought. "What to do?"
"If you ask me," the voice from before said, "You should try using that Shadow! Then you can Flip me to get something cool!"
"Who...Who are you?" Haru said aloud. "Where are you?"
"I'll explain later! Right now, you're Dueling," the voice chirped. Haru now realized that it was a teenage girl's voice, stringy and bouncy. "Now get out there and kick his butt!"
"Alright…. Shadow, huh?" Haru looked over the cards in his hand again, and smiled slightly. "I might be able to make this work."
"Okay… I discard Gishki Shadow from my hand, to activate its effect!" Haru said, a new, stronger color coming into his normally weak and soft voice.
"Got a sudden confidence boost?" Chase asked. "Let's see what you got, blue hair."
Haru's confidence wavered a bit, but he stood his ground. "With p-pleasure. When Gishki Shadow is discarded…" He placed the Gishki Shadow card into a slot in his Duel Disk. "I get to take a Ritual Spell from my Deck and add it to my hand."
"Ritual?" Chase asked.
"What in the world is a Ritual Spell?" someone in the audience asked.
"I'll show you soon." Haru picked his deck out from the slot it was contained in, leafed through it, and plucked out a card. He put the deck back in the Duel Disk, where an auto-shuffler mechanism shuffled it up.
"So now what?" Chase asked.
"I Flip Summon Gishki Ariel."
The card flipped up, and out popped a young looking, female Spellcaster, around Haru's age. She was wearing a blue and brown cloak and hat plated with gold, and carried a staff with a mirror on top, and surprisingly, she had blue hair like Haru. (ATK 1000)
Then, Ariel did something surprising. She turned around to face Haru, smiled, and winked, giving an "OK" sign with her free hand, before pivoting back towards Chase and Newdoria.
Haru stared. "Umm… okay… well… when Ariel is Flipped, I get to add any Gishki monster to my hand." Haru picked another card.
"Setting up for something big?" Chase raised an eyebrow.
"I… guess."
"Good. So am I." Chase grinned a bit sadistically. "Ya done, or are you gonna keep goin'?"
"Should I keep going?" Haru wondered. "I really don't like the look of those face-downs… brr…"
"Set a facedown of your own," the girlish voice said to Haru.
"...I already have one… I think I'll be okay…" Haru gulped. "I… end my turn," he said.
"And during your End Phase, I play my first Trap Card. Solemn Wishes!" Chase flipped his first face down, revealing on the face of the card the visage of a beautiful woman bathing in a waterfall..
"Kuso!" Haru swore. He knew that card all too well- in fact, Leon used it to obnoxious effect, allowing him to increase his Life Points by 500 every time he drew a card. Knowing Leon's deck, that could make for some devastating combos.
Chase drew.
(Chase: 8000 - 8500)
"Here comes Trap number two, Coffin Seller!" Chase flipped the next facedown. "Chained with the third, Seal of the Flames. With these two cards, all Life Point effect gain or damage of 500 or less is doubled."
The crowd cheered, and Haru groaned. This was even worse than Leon's combo.
"Now I summon a Monster face down in Defense Position."
A hidden card appeared, and Chase threw his hand forth. "Newdoria, attack Ariel!"
Newdoria charged right at Ariel, handed curled into fists. She cringed as Newdoria struck her across the face with a powerful blow, and burst into shards. (Haru: 8000 - 7800) Then, Coffin Seller and Seal of the Flames glowed, and Haru groaned in pain as he took a doubled 300 damage from Coffin Seller's effect. (Haru: 7800 - 7200)
"Rats," grumbled a voice in Haru's head. "My first Duel, and I'm already blown to bits by a second-rate Fiend with a cheap effect. You know what I hate? Having low Attack."
Haru froze. "Wait... what? Are you... Ariel?"
"Right on the button, Ponytail. Thanks a lot for letting me get smushed by that Newdoria, by the way. Real fun."
"Sorry. But, um… something is up here. I thought Chase said he was a Dino Duelist."
"Listen, Ponytail," Ariel snapped as Haru put her card in his Graveyard, "the cards that he's playing aren't important right now. What's important is kicking his butt six ways to Sunday! Now make your counterattack!"
Haru winced, and looked to Chase. "You d-done?" he asked.
"Sure," Chase said. "Go ahead, kid."
Haru drew a card, and raised an eyebrow when he saw that he had drawn Double Summon. "Double Summon, huh..?" he wondered to himself. "Maybe... "
The blue-haired boy took a minute to consider his options, and nodded to himself.
"I take it you have a plan?" the voice of Ariel asked in his mind.
"It might work... " Then, Haru paused. "Wait, why am I talking to you? You're just a voice in my head."
"Details, details. I'll explain later. Just make your move, you big dork."
"Gee, thanks for the encouragement…" Nonetheless, Haru started his strategy. "Alright… I play Double Summon. In return for discarding one card, I can Normal Summon two Monsters."
"So basic." Chase fake yawned. Haru frowned and discarded one of the Aquamirror Cycles in his hand. "What was that?"
"Nothing important," Haru said. "Now, I summon Gishki Emilia and…." He gulped. "Water Dragon of the Endless Mirror."
Two new Monsters appeared on Haru's field. One was a Spellcaster- a girl with long, bright red hair, wearing dull blue and brown clothing and a hat like Ariel's. She smiled and twirled a golden staff with a mirror on the end. (ATK 1600)
The other one was a Japanese dragon. While technically an adult, judging by its proportions and long beard, it looked more like a cub. It was very small and had no wings, with scales of a beautiful water blue. It stood tall, looking eager to show some courage… but quaked as it caught sight of Newdoria. (ATK 500)
Chase took one look at Haru's monsters, and burst out laughing. "HAW HAW HAW!" he guffawed. "Barbie in a witch costume and a baby water dragon? What next? Is she gonna pull a bunny out of her hat?"
As if they could sense Chase's mockery, the two Monsters on Haru's field reacted rather negatively. The Water Dragon's ears pointed downward, and Emilia looked insulted by being called Barbie.
"You won't be laughing soon!" snapped Haru.
"Oh? What can two weak, useless monsters do to me?!" Chase cackled.
"This." Haru clasped his hands together and held them to his chest. "I Overlay Emilia and Water Dragon of the Endless Mirror!"
Chase grinned "Trap activate: Xyz Intercept!" He grinned as Haru faltered in his Xyz Summon. "Hah! You trying to Xyz lets me steal one of the would be units, canceling the summon! Gimme that Dragon!"
However, Haru shook his head, regaining his bearings. "I think you're mistaken," he said. The card flipped up as Chase had planned, and a mass of chains lashed forth from the card in an attempt to capture the Water Dragon. It cowered, putting its paws over its eyes…
"Not so fast!" Haru called out, the strength returning to his voice. At the same time, Emilia leapt forth, and batted the chains away with her staff like she was hitting a home run. The crowd gasped as the chains flew back into the card, which shattered like Ariel had.
"What... just happened?" Chase blinked.
"Gishki Emilia is a card that can stun Traps!" Haru said. The ghost of a smirk flickered onto his face. "When she was summoned, you automatically lost the ability to use Trap Cards until the End Phase!"
In the crowds, Leon and Cyrus's jaws dropped, as did Haruka.
"This is HARU?" Cyrus asked. "But he's the soggiest Duelist in town!"
"Hunter, you're seeing this too... right?" Leon asked.
Hunter nodded, not daring to speak in public.
"Hehe…" Haruka chuckled. "You go, little bro."
"As I was saying, I overlay Gishki Emilia and Water Dragon of the Endless Mirror!"
The Water Dragon looked to Emilia, who nodded. She gave him a wink and a thumbs up, before her body dissolved into a blue light that orbited around the Dragon.
"Let's go!" Haru shouted. He took a card out of his deck box, where he kept his Extra Deck, and slammed it onto his Duel Disk with Emilia and Water Dragon stacked under. "I Xyz Summon… ABYSS DWELLER!"
But to Haru's, Chase's, and the audience's shock, it WASN'T a normal Xyz. The blue light surrounded the Water Dragon, forming a sphere around it as a HUGE magic seal appeared beneath it.
"What the?" one kid asked, hiding behind his parents.
"Didn't he say Xyz?" another person asked.
"I'm definitely blogging about this," a girl muttered, snapping a photograph on her phone.
The blue sphere began to revolve, and in Haru's mind, Ariel started to cheer.
"Woohoo!" she whooped. "You've got him now, big boy!"
"Thanks… I guess? But what's going on!?"
"THIS is why Joshua said to use him, hahaha!" Ariel laughed. "He's not just a regular old monster- he has a hidden feature! You might wanna grab some popcorn, cuz here he comes!"
The magic seal flared with blue light, and the sphere grew to gigantic size. The light dissipated…
...and the Water Dragon had transformed. Now, it was easily three times Haru's size, and its scales were midnight blue. Two crystalline horns glowed periwinkle blue on its head, and its body was etched in runes glowing the same color. A long mane of white hair ran down its back, and its eyes shone yellow. Hanging around its neck was a large mirror, the same as the one on Water Dragon's card, but larger and fixed up. It was as if the Water Dragon had somehow fused with the Abyss Dweller Haru had intended to Summon. (ATK 1700 - 2200)
"What the-?!" Chase gaped. "First of all, what is that thing, and second, how did its Attack just go up by five hundred?!"
"This isn't just Abyss Dweller. This is... um..." Haru's voice caught slightly and he stammered as he couldn't think of a name, but an idea popped into the preteen's head soon enough. "Abyssal Mirror Dragon! I dunno what happened, but apparently this is what happens when you Xyz Summon something with that Water Dragon! And because it's being treated as regular old Abyss Dweller, it has all of its stats and effects… especially the one that states that all Water Monsters on the field gain five hundred Attack when it has at least one Water-Attribute Xyz Material, and I count two!"
"Oh boy... But I wouldn't attack it I were you. Newdoria, after all."
Haru chuckled. "You sure about that? I know just what that thing does- when it's destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, it takes down the monster that did it in." To Leon and Cyrus, watching in the crowds, this was unbelievable. Haru never normally acted this confident, not even in tabletop Duels. "But I know a way around that! I detach one Xyz Material from Abyssal Mirror Dragon."
He took Emilia's card out from under Mirror Dragon and placed it in his Graveyard. "We'll get to that later. For now… Dragon, blast that chthonian creep to Kingdom Come! Mirror Deluge!"
The Dragon roared, a roar that could heard all over Echo Town, and with a flap of its wings,shot a geyser of water from its mouth. The mirror around its neck glowed, and spewed forth an identical burst. Both blasts of water swamped Newdoria, which screeched and shattered, taking a thousand of Chase's Life Points with it.
(Chase: 8500 - 7500)
There was an awkward moment of silence. "...Why isn't your Dragon destroyed? Newdoria should've-"
Haru held a hand up and chuckled. "By removing one material, any effects that activate in the Graveyard are rendered null and void."
"You're kidding... right?" Chase asked.
"Nope." Haru beamed. "Make your move."
Chase drew.
(Chase: 7500 - 8500)
Then, he smirked, his eyes relit with determination. "Here's my final face-down, the Strife Dragon Spell Card: Dragon's Prison Seal!" Chase flipped his face down.
The crowd went deathly silent. Haru's breath caught in his throat, and even the Abyssal Mirror Dragon drew back.
"By banishing five monsters from my deck. I can trap your Dragon in a prison of inescapable magic, banishing it for a total of three turns." Chase took out five monsters from his deck. "Dragon of the Prison Seal, imprison Abyssal Mirror Dragon now!" From the spell, a dragon with scales of red and black, with pillars of darkness formed around him.
Haru looked down. "Before you take Abyssal Mirror Dragon… I have a question."
"You're better off saying your prayers. But ask." Chase's mouth curved into a sick grin.
"...This card targets Dragon-Type monsters, right?"
"Well, duh. It's Dragon's Prison Seal, don't you know the lore?" The pillars were shot at Abyssal Mirror Dragon, surrounding it…
They closed in, forming a sphere around it, as another large Magic Seal, red instead of blue, formed…
..and almost instantly it broke, the seal and sphere exploded into a blast of blue light, Abyssal Mirror Dragon seeming to laugh as it did.
"WHAT THE-!?" Chase sputtered, staring with wide eyes at the unharmed dragon. Behind it, Haru was laughing- actually laughing! "How did- but that's-!"
"Joke's on you, Chase!" Haru guffawed.
"Is Haru LAUGHING?!" Leon was standing stock-still, as was Cyrus. Haruka was just smiling warmly at the scene. He hadn't heard his brother's laughter in a long time.
"I don't understand! That was supposed to lock that dragon up for three turns!" Chase growled. "You cheated or something, didn't you!?"
"Not at all. You were just too cocky to remember that Abyssal Mirror Dragon is still Abyss Dweller…" Haru calmed down, and got serious again. "...and that Abyss Dweller isn't a Dragon at all. It's a Sea Serpent."
"You little… You… Youuu…" Chase was practically purple in the face with sheer fury. The crowd began to laugh at him, but he let out a scream that caused silence to resound. "THAT'S IT! I play Pay for Life!" He played the card in his hand. "Now both of us have to pay two thousand Life Points."
Red light erupted around both Haru and Chase, and while Chase stood his ground with a stony face, Haru cried out in pain.
"Oww!" he howled, holding his head. "What was that!?"
"Now, we each have to summon a monster with two thousand or higher Attack Points from our Decks, regardless of summoning requirements. Come forth, Ultimate Obedient Fiend!"
As if it were cursed, the name sent the entire crowd into a panic. People actually began running away, terrified to see what would happen when Chase's new monster emerged.
A seal appeared in front of Chase, red, like the dragon's seal.
"That seal... He's summoning his Parasite?!" Ariel shrieked.
"Parasite! What's that!?" Haru thought.
"No time! I'll explain later!"
From the seal emerged a hand. A hand with skin as red as blood. It grasped the ground. and pushed, bringing something out of the seal.
And that thing was a creature of nightmare. It towered over even Abyssal Mirror Dragon, a monstrosity with deep red skin, hulking muscles, sharp teeth, and what looked like claws on its chest.. It let out a roar that made Abyssal Mirror Dragon cower. (ATK 3500)
"Wait a sec... you can't attack with that thing!" Haru pointed out.
"I don't care!" Chase snapped. "I know full well that I can only use this thing when it's the only card on my Field and when I have no hand. It's here to keep YOU at bay. Now Summon your monster!"
"...Fine." Haru picked through his deck and selected a card. "I Summon Evigishki Levianima."
"You made a good choice," a new voice said. It wasn't Ariel's, but she chimed in with an "Uh-huh!"
"In front of you, in case you're curious, Haru," the voice added. Haru looked, to see Abyssal Mirror Dragon, just as his new monster arrived- an anthropomorphic blue dragon wearing red pants and holding a sword. (ATK 2700 - 3200)
"Is that you, Water Dragon?"
"Indeed...Thank you for letting me show my true power."
"Um... you're welcome."
"Now then, you know what to do here." Abyssal Mirror Dragon seemed to smile. "Let this lunkhead take his turn, and hit him with all you've got when it's yours."
"With no other option, I end." Chase fumed. "Just try and get through my wall, Ponytail."
Haru drew a card, and consulted his hand. "Okay… Still have one Cycle, Aquamirror, and now… Vision." His green eyes flicked from his hand to his field, more specifically to his face-down card. "...Here we go. Time to activate this."
"I activate my face-down," Haru said quietly. He was beginning to feel tired. "Call of the Haunted."
"Reviving Ariel?" Chase assumed.
"Not at all. I Special Summon Gishki Shadow."
His Trap lifted up, and a new Monster materialized on the field- a purple-scaled, fishlike monster in priestly robes of brown lined with gold, holding a creaky, wooden staff. It glared upon Ultimate Obedient Fiend with angry red eyes. (ATK 1000 - 1500)
"Naturally, he gets a five hundred Attack boost from Abyssal Mirror Dragon… And I'm going to use him as Ritual fodder." Haru sighed. "I recall you asking what a Ritual Spell is… You're about to find out. But first, I discard Gishki Vision, to get a Ritual Monster into my hand."
"Come on. Nothing you bring out can overpower my Fiend!" growled Chase.
"...There is one thing." Haru discarded one of his cards, and picked another from his Deck. "Now… I summon it. I activate Gishki Aquamirror."
"A mirror... really?" Chase was unimpressed as a large, golden mirror emerged on the field, identical to the one Emilia and Ariel had wielded on their staffs.
"Not just any mirror," said Haru. "Normally, I'd have to Tribute more than one Monster to summon the one I'm about to, but Gishki Shadow has a second effect besides letting me discard him for a Spell. If I use him to Ritual Summon a Gishki monster, I can use him as the whole Tribute for the Summon. I'll do that now!"
"Ritual Summon?"
Haru nodded. "It's one of the oldest mechanics in the book… I offer Gishki Shadow as Tribute to summon my deck's most powerful Monster. Go… Evigishki Zielgigas."
"Bring it on!" Chase shouted.
The mirror stood still for a moment, until something reached out of it, like something from a nightmare.
Something was pulling itself out of the mirror, clawing at the ground with four huge arms. More and more of the giant being continued to surface from the mirror, clad in golden armor, with dark blue skin and piercing red eyes. It resembled something like a humanoid, demonic stag beetle, an aura of fury surrounding it and the Aquamirror itself emblazoned on its chest. It pounded its chest with all four arms and roared. (ATK 3200 - 3700)
"Alright now… Let's take a gamble, shall we?" Haru said with a chuckle. "Once per turn, while Zielgigas is out… I can pay one thousand Life Points, and draw a card."
"And?" Chase raised an eyebrow.
"And if the card I draw is a Gishki, I get to choose one card on the field and shuffle it back to the owner's deck."
"You're on," Chase said. Haru smirked, and drew a card, his Life Points taking the hit. (Haru: 7200 - 6200) "Well? What did you draw?" Chase asked.
Wordlessly, Haru turned the card in his hand around.
Gishki Ariel.
Chase went pale. "You're… You're kidding. How did you… You couldn't possibly have... "
"Oh, I did." Haru smiled. "Now, I get to pick a card to send back to your deck, and I pick…"
He pointed. "That face-down card you have there."
"What?" Chase was surprised. "But… What about my Fiend?"
"It can't even attack, and Zielgigas can crush it for damage. The face-down is what I'm more worried about at the moment."
Zielgigas pointed with one of its four arms, and the card lifted up, revealing it as Gil Garth. The card was soon incinerated by a burst of energy from a second arm, and Chase cursed as he shuffled it back into his deck.
"And now… Zielgigas, crush the Ultimate Obedient Fiend."
Chase watched as the Fiend was shattered, and clenched his fists. "Enough Fiends. I want my Dinos back NOW!" (Chase: 8500 - 8200)
"No!" the voice he had heard before thundered. "This deck is perfect! You just need one more turn to beat this little brat!"
"Forget it, you. I've had it with you deciding my choices, my moves, and my cards!"
Haru suddenly noticed something on Chase's shoulder. It looked like… no. It couldn't be. Could it? He rubbed his eyes and stared at the thing on the armored boy's shoulder.
Sure enough, it was a miniature version of the Ultimate Obedient Fiend, sitting on Chase's shoulder and whispering in his ear.
"Holy… what IS that thing?" Haru thought, unable to believe his eyes.
But some kind of aura began to cover the Fiend.
"What? What the? You're controlling me?!"
"GIVE ME MY DINOS!" Suddenly, Chase's deck began to glow, and he grinned. "Yes! Yo, Ponytail! Are you done yet?"
"Nope…" Haru gestured. "I attack directly with both Abyssal Mirror Dragon and Levianima!"
Chase quickly did a set of calculations in his head, and gulped when he realized that this meant 5400 damage in one turn.
One second later, he was sprawled on the ground, having been flattened by another Mirror Deluge from Abyssal Mirror Dragon followed up by Levianima attacking him directly with a sword.
(Chase: 8200 - 2800)
"And whenever Levianima declares an attack, I get to draw a card, and if it's a Gishki, I have the option to shuffle a card in your hand back to your deck." Haru drew a card, and shrugged: it was a Mirror Force. "My luck isn't that good this time, I guess. Your turn."
"I draw!"
(Chase: 2800 - 3800)
"Dino Chase is back, and he's gonna play Card of Demise!" Chase drew five cards.
(Chase: 3800 - 4800)
"Haha, sweetness! Next up, my favorite card! Dinos United! This lets me even the playing field by summoning a Dino from my deck for each monster you have! Come on out! Sabersaurus!"
A gate opened, and out came a red ceratopsian with blades for horns. (ATK 1900)
"Uraby!"
Next came a dark brown raptor like Dinosaur. (ATK 1500)
"And Two-Headed King Rex!"
The next Dinosaur was more like a dragon- a large, purple dragon with yellow horns and two heads. (ATK 1600)
"Oh yeah! Dinos in the house!" Chase shouted enthusiastically. "For my next trick, it's my turn for Double Summon, to summon two Oxygeddons!"
Wind began to gather in two spots, taking the form of two pterosaur-like beasts. (ATK 1800 x2)
Haru noticed a much more positive vibe from Chase. The Ultimate Obedient Fiend on his shoulder seemed to be sulking and turned away from Chase, who was ignoring it.
"Wow, this is the first time I've ever seen somethin' like THIS happen," remarked Ariel in Haru's head. "But you better be careful, or else he's gonna pound you flat!"
"Actually, I'm glad now. He can duel me his way," Haru thought.
"Hey... Haru, right?" Chase asked. "What do you see on my field?"
"Five Level Four Dinosaurs," Haru replied. "...You're about to Xyz Summon, aren't you?"
"Yep! But don't worry, this guy will be MUCH more tolerable than that lameo fiend."
"HEY!"
"I Overlay all five Level Four Dinosaur Monsters!"
The five dinosaurs turned into pillars of shining light, each a different color, as they spun into a twister of epic proportion.
Meanwhile, the people that had fled began to notice this from afar.
"Hey! The Fiend's gone! And Chase is bringing out his best monster!" someone shouted.
"It can't be, can it?"
"It is! Oh boy!"
Slowly, people started coming back to the arena.
Leon and Cyrus looked at one another.
"What kind of Xyz Monster needs five Level Four Dinos?" Cyrus asked.
"Only one." Leon said. "And it's big trouble for Haru."
The light show spun to a halt, and from it emerged an entirely new Dinosaur.
"Awaken from your eternal slumber! Omnisaurus!"
The Dinosaur was revealed to be some kind of insane amalgamation of multiple different prehistoric reptiles- it had the body and head of a T. rex, the wings of a Pteranodon, the horns of a Triceratops, the tail of an Ankylosaurus, and the back plates of a Stegosaurus. (ATK 2600)
"It's been a while, Chase."
"No kidding. You ready?"
"Always!" Omnisaurus roared proudly.
"Now for my friend's power!" Chase called out.
"Power?" Haru asked. "What kind?"
"It's a pretty cool one. For each Xyz-Material on him, Omnisaurus gains 200 Attack Points. Also, once a turn, by detaching a Material, he can destroy one card on the field. But I have to give up one card of my own."
Omnisaurus stood tall. (ATK 2600 - 3600)
"Alright… Let's see. I detach one Oxygeddon and destroy Seal of the Flames to destroy Zielgigas. No more shuffling into the deck, eh? Go, Omni-Cannon!"
The trap card shattered into pixels and Omnisaurus gathered energy in its mouth, before blasting Zielgigas into oblivion with a huge laser beam. (ATK 3600 - 3400)
"But with Coffin seller, you still take 300 damage." Chase reminded.
(Haru: 6200 - 5900)
"Omnisaurus! Attack Levianima. Omni-Chomp!"
Omnisaurus roared, as he charged at his prey. Levianima winced as he was quite literally bitten to pieces by the huge Dinosaur, and Haru had to shield himself from the shrapnel and another hit from Coffin Seller.
"I am REALLY getting sick of that card," Haru thought mutinously.
(Haru: 5900 - 5700 - 5400)
"I end with that." Chase smiled. "It's great to have my Partner back!"
Partner? What was a Partner? Haru groaned and drew a card.
"You may have gotten rid of Levianima and Zielgigas, but I still have Abyssal Mirror Dragon… and I'm gonna take you down with just him." Haru eyed his cards, and Set one on the field. "I end my turn. Come and get me."
Chase drew.
(Chase: 4800 - 5300)
"Omnisaurus! Attack Abyssal Mirror Dragon with Omni-Chomp!"
Omnisaurus charged forward….
"Mirror Force!"
"Touche, Haru," Chase said, as Omnisaurus slammed into a solid wall. It shattered into a series of shining shards, but Chase didn't look all that bummed out.
"Well played, boy," Omnisaurus said approvingly.
"I'll say." Chase beamed. "This is the kind of Dueling I live for! C'mon, hit me with all you've got, Haru! Let's end this Duel with a bang!"
Haru did the unthinkable… He actually smiled. "With pleasure! Your turn over?"
"Sure." Chase laughed and gestured for Haru to take his turn. The boy drew a card, and nodded.
"Alright… Here we go. I play Monster Reborn, to revive Zielgigas!"
A magic seal appeared upon the ground, from which emerged the hulking, stag beetle-like Gishki. It pounded its chest and roared. (ATK 3200 - 3700)
"And now… Abyssal Mirror Dragon! Zielgigas! Direct attack!"
Chase smiled as he took the blast, taking the loss with pride.
(Chase: 5300 - 0)
"Ariel, may I seal the Parasite myself?" Omnisaurus's voice requested. At the sound of this, the Ultimate Obedient Fiend on Chase's shoulder blanched.
To Haru's surprise, a miniature Ariel appeared on his own shoulder, balancing on her staff. "Go riiiight ahead. It's a good thing this guy was a weakling, eh? How he even got past you is anyone's guess."
"Even a weak dinosaur can win a battle, with wit. Now then, Ultimate Obedient Fiend! I seal you in the name of the Dinosaurs!" A mini-Omnisaurus materialized on Chase's other shoulder, and the armored Duelist just grinned as it brought the Fiend into a headlock. "Begone!" The Dinosaur roared, and the force and power of the roar itself seemed to tear the Fiend apart.
Haru blinked, then rubbed his eyes. "...What… was that?" he asked. All of a sudden, he was feeling very weak and tired.
"You okay?" Water Dragon asked, popping up on Haru's shoulder.
Haru shook his head, not caring that people were staring as he spoke to (to their eyes) thin air. "N-not really… I'm tired…" He was wobbling and shaking a bit.
"...Haru?" Chase looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"I got him!" Haruka called out, coming over. He took Haru's hand in his own, which Haru squeezed as tight as he could.
"If you say so. Well... thanks for a great duel. And congratulations on winning the Duel Challenge. Be sure to collect your prizes before leaving… Oh, and… I hope we can duel again sometime," said Chase.
"And don't forget my challenge too," Joshua said, coming on stage. Haru stared at him for a second, before remembering the bet he'd made with Joshua.
"Joshua?" Chase seemed to recognize the boy.
"You... know him?" Haru asked, his voice weak once more.
"He's the son of one of this year's festival sponsors. He's Joshua Ramirez."
The name meant nothing to Haru, so he just turned to Joshua. "Did you… know that Water Dragon would do that?"
"Yep, I wanted you to experience it yourself. It's just a little gimmick built into the card's programming, but it looks cool, huh?" Joshua grinned.
"I guess…" Haru fidgeted slightly.
"Anywho, a deal's a deal. You've earned two more of the twelve dragons, and two more steps to collecting them all." Joshua pulled two cards in sleeves out of his pocket, and held them out for Haru to take. The ponytailed preteen accepted them with trembling hands.
"T-t-thank you…" he stammered.
"My pleasure. Hey, Chase," Joshua said, "take that armor off and help me escort our victor here to the prizes, would ya?"
"Sure." Chase popped a few straps and buckles, and the armor came off, revealing a soft face framed by long brown hair, as well as his normal attire- a simplistic T-shirt and jeans. He smiled at Haru. "C'mon, we'll lead ya."
"C-can Haruka come too?" Haru requested, still clinging to Haruka's hand.
"Of course." Joshua smiled.
As Haru was led off, Leon and Cyrus were talking fervently to one another.
"What the heck WAS that?" Cyrus asked. "It was like he was a totally different person up there!"
"Dueling must bring out a whole new side of Haru..." Leon theorized.
"I'll say!" Hunter whispered, making sure to keep his voice down. "He actually spoke above a mumble!"
"I don't get it, though…" Cyrus frowned and tugged on his jacket. "How on Earth did Haru get so good at Dueling all of a sudden? Normally he's pathetic. Even Zeo can beat him, and you know how bad Zeo is."
Leon bit his lip thoughtfully, recalling Haru's previous tabletop Duels. "Well… remember, he was always nervous and made mistakes in those duels. Once he almost spilled a whole cup of coffee on his deck because he was shaking so bad, remember? But here… I dunno how, but he was more confident. I think we just witnessed his REAL skills."
Cyrus shrugged. "Whether that was a fluke or not, that really was impressive…"
"Agreed." Leon nodded.
Joshua and Chase soon showed Haru and Haruka to the prizes, which had been squirrelled away in a tent at the edge of the plaza with a guard positioned to make sure nobody stole them. .
"Whoa." Haruka's jaw dropped when he saw the stash his brother had won. Lying on a table were a fancy, gold and blue Duel Disk, three fresh tins of the newest cards, a deck made in imitation of the one that belonged to the most recent World Championship winner, a Duel Terminal booster box, and a Samsung tablet.
"I won ALL this?" Haru asked.
"Indeed, you earned it." Chase gave him a thumbs-up. "Anyone who can cream me deserves it."
"Thanks... but, um… how do we get all this the car?" Haru wondered. "I can't really carry so much... "
"I'll help." Haruka picked up the tins, tablet, imitation deck, and the booster box, smiling. "The Disk is all yours."
Haru looked at the Duel Disk he had borrowed from Leon, still strapped to his wrist. "I still have to give this back to Leon, though…"
"I can help Haruka with the prizes," Chase said. "You go find your friend."
Haru flinched, nodded, and scurried away.
"Isn't it strange how Chase said he was a Dino Duelist, then he used Fiends?" Leon pointed out.
"But he ended up with Dinos in the end," Cyrus reminded.
"You think someone hijacked his deck?" Leon wondered.
The two fell into an awkward silence as they headed to a cafe to buy lunch. However, before they could enter the building, Cyrus was very nearly knocked over by someone bumping into him from behind.
"Whoa!" Cyrus managed to regain his footing, and whirled around to glare at the person who had done the bumping. "Watch it, you-!"
He stopped as soon as he saw that it was Haru, who was cringing and mumbling apologies.
"Oh! Hi Haru!" Leon said. "You okay?"
"U-um… I guess…" Haru unstrapped the Duel Disk from his arm and took his cards out, placing them in the deck box at his hip. "I came to give you back your Duel Disk."
"Oh, thank you." Leon accepted his disk back, and patted Haru on the shoulder. "You were really great up there!" he said cheerily.
"Thanks, I guess..." Haru blushed a little. "I'm… gonna go home now, I guess..."
"Okay. Me and Cyrus wanna stick around, so we'll take the bus to get back home."
"Alright… see you guys…" Haru turned and left.
At home…
The Taylor brothers arrived back home, where Haruka keeled over on the couch, and Haru went up to his room. Once he was there, he placed his cards on his night table, and laid down on his bed, letting out a heavy sigh. He was tired right down to his bones.
"May we come out?" Water Dragon asked.
"Whatever... " Haru sighed. "That was so scary…"
Ariel and Water Dragon popped out of the deck and alighted on the night table..
"Sorry about scaring you," apologized Water Dragon.
"I'm not!" Ariel laughed. "You had the dumbest look on your face when you figured out it was us."
"Hurk... so, well... what's going on?"
"It's a lot to explain," Water Dragon said. "How about tomorrow?"
"Yeah, you look tuckered out," Ariel said.
"If you say so… But can I ask one thing?"
"Yes?" asked Ariel.
"...What the heck are you?"
"Duel Spirits. Manifestations of the creatures from your world's beloved game," Water Dragon explained.
"...I've had enough," groaned Haru. "I'm going to take a nap."
With that, he turned away, not even bothering to take his shoes off, and fell asleep almost instantly.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"So, Leon's in this town?" a boy asked.
"That's right!" a voice giggled into his ear. "And you can do whatever you want with him once you find him."
"Got that right... I got you the negative energy you asked for. So you promise to help me get Leon's attention, right?"
"Yep! Right again!"
"Leon. I need your help. I can't go back to that drunkard. You're gonna help me, whether it's willingly or not."