Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh. I do own Team Topdeck, as well as all of the character's you'll be seeing up to this point.
Demon Duelist Legacy-Elemental Champions Arc
Chapter 1: Rumble in Reno; Mysterious Enemy vs. Daniel
"Cyber-Stein is cheap crap and you know it!" Everyone sitting in the rows near the four sources of the howling argument quickly relocated, trying to get out of range of the yelling voices. Unfortunately, that was impossible.
"You're just jealous because you don't own any, that's all!" Janeam Hawkins, dressed in a fine black button-up shirt and pants in an attempt to look classy, leaned in a little to point at the chest of his friend. "Just admit it, D."
Opposite him from the rows of the airport benches, Deondre Anderson was dressed in similar finery but also wearing the lucky cap he had worn during the Shadow Tournament too. Plus his hair was a mess since it was so early in the morning, so he was killing two birds with one stone. "You don't know what you're talking about! Cyber-Stein is such a cheap and broken piece of junk with the 8000 life point rules. And in a 4000 life point duel you can't even initially use his effect, so that alone should speak of its quality!"
"You're both wrong!" CJ Anderson (no relation to Deondre) snapped his large hands out and locked them both in headlocks simultaneously. "Cyber-Stein ain't where it's at and Deondre's just wrong because I say he is! The real power in this group is going to be my ultimate beast-warrior deck!" He was wearing a nice black t-shirt and a cap too, the bill of it turned around so it wasn't protecting his eyes.
"Yeah right CJ, don't you know that the real power of this group is me?" Allon Saadya, his normally scruffy face clean-shaven for the time being to match his nice green t-shirt. "My deck is going to be the one to bring Team Topdeck to the finals of this tournament!"
This started another whole round of arguing among the four of them. And this made the security that had gathered near the boarding gate even more nervous.
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"I'll be waiting for you when you get home, Daniel!" The cheerful voice of Rebecca Pilkington could be heard on the other end of the cell phone. "I still don't get why you had to go to that Nationals in Reno though. I thought you'd have wanted to stay home with your lovey-dovey Jennie, huh?" The sound of false kissing noises could be heard on the other end of the phone until it was suddenly turned off.
Smiling sadly and shoving the cell phone into his pocket, Daniel Pilkington tugged on the black and silver coat of his duelist costume gently to get some wrinkles out of it. ("I'd be extremely happy to go spend my free time with Jennie, but Amy is greed incarnate. As such, now we come back to Las Vegas and almost immediately are getting pulled into some insane dueling tournament.")
For reasons he wasn't going to go into just a week after one of the biggest changes in his life he was being blackmailed into flying to somewhere remote like Reno just to duel a bunch of professional duelists, followed by which he would be coming back to some new "greatest dueling tournament the world has ever seen" type deal. So instead of spending his free time outside of school with the girl he was mated to, he got to go duel people. Constantly.
Shouldering his backpack and ignoring the strange looks some people were giving his full silver and black leather ensemble, the reddish-brown-haired half demon (currently disguised so that he appeared fully human) ran a nail along the flight terminal map on the wall in front of him slowly.
("Rikuo and I are separate entities now. It's a strange feeling not having that familiar jackass in my head now.") He wished he could say it was nice, but to be honest every time he thought of Rikuo he thought of all the things the two of them shared and had suffered through together as friends and as metaphorical brothers.
Letting out a deep sigh he turned and headed towards the boarding gate. ("I'm betting the guys are already there too.")
Someone came rushing by, crashing into him at full force.
"Huh, what was that all about?" Currently lying on his back, the boy watched the offender run off quizzically. What was really odd was that the person had aquamarine-colored hair, definitely not a natural color. ("Some punk poser must…") He blinked and looked down at his hand, unfolding his fingers to get a better look at what had apparently appeared in his grasp.
It was a glittering emerald-colored jewel attached to a silver chain. ("Wow, this looks really expensive.") Standing up and brushing himself off, Daniel dangled the glittering pendant in a way so it caught some sunlight from the windows not too far away. "This must have cost a bundle."
"Indeed it does, far more than you'd think." A cold voice breathed out from off to the side before the air around them grew icy, and the lights became dimmer. "I see that you must have been her accomplice in this then? Very well, prepare to defend yourself."
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Janeam glanced at his watch and then at the plane ticket in his hand. "Shouldn't we go look for Daniel? I mean he was just calling his sister to make sure everything was going to be alright at home, right?"
Deondre crossed his legs and yawned loudly. "Forget that man; it's too early to even try getting up."
"Agreed." Allon and CJ chorused, lounging against their benches with an audible creak.
"You all need to go jogging more often." Standing up and leaving his backpack to mark his seat, the lanky teen shoved his hands into his pockets and walked off in the direction he had remembered Daniel going.
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"And you are?" Daniel asked casually as the air around him warped to the tainted touch of a Darkness Game being instigated.
"My name is Lon'tao, and you will give that pendant to me or else you will die." The man, his Asian features and black pony-tail giving him the appearance of someone that had seen many horrible things in his life, lifted up one arm to indicate the Duel Disk already attached. "Otherwise you had best defend yourself."
"I'm still not sure what exactly is going on, but if you're looking for a duel that's fine!" Daniel's Duel Disk, having been removed almost instantly from his backpack, swung out as it clicked into dueling mode. "Duel!"
Lon'tao activated his Duel Disk as well. "This isn't a game. This is a Darkness Game, and if you lose then your life is forfeit."
Lon'tao- 8000
Daniel- 8000
"Challenger gets to decide who goes first." Daniel crossed his arms across his chest quietly, waiting to see what was going to come out. Though he was paying attention to this challenge, there was also a bit of irritation in his voice concerning the fact his opponent was trying to scare him with the threat of a Darkness Game.
This brought the dark-haired man to a pause before he straightened up and drew. "I'll go first, draw!" ("This boy is either insane or he understands the threat of a Darkness Game.") After looking at the cards in his hand he smirked slightly and slid two cards into his disk slots, holographic representations of them appearing face-down on the field. "I place two cards face-down and end my turn."
"It's my turn then, draw!" Daniel pulled a card from his hand and glanced behind him worriedly, wishing he was near something that would tell him whether his flight was on time or not. ("I can't play around here for too long. Therefore I'd better end this quick.") He brought his attention to the duel and held up a magic card. "I activate Pot of Greed." A grinning green jar appeared on his field. "This magic card lets me draw two cards."
"Already using your Pot of Greed?" Lon'tao smirked and shook his head sadly. "Are you already so desperate to pad your resources?"
"If just playing Pot got you chatty I can't imagine what this will do." Daniel held up another magic card and Pot of Greed appeared on his field again, a series of metallic arms running along it with various tools attached to them. "Research on the Pot of Greed allows me to draw two cards from my deck during the same turn that Pot of Greed has been activated." Two more cards were added to his hand.
"Even more cards?" Lantao sighed helplessly and shrugged. "Do you intend to use all of those cards all at once or something?"
The red-haired Duelist held up another magic card, and a disposable container of what looked to be ramen appeared on his field. "I activate Instant Fusion. At the cost of 1000 life points I special summon one level five or lower fusion monster from my fusion deck to the field! Come out now Cybersaurus!" The ramen container popped open and spat out a giant cybernetic dinosaur that landed on his field and roared ferociously.
Lon'tao- 8000
Daniel- 7000
"The monster summoned by Instant Fusion can't attack and is destroyed at the end of the turn." Lon'tao glanced at his set cards. ("Besides, even if you could attack my deck and its power will defeat your raw force easily.") He could not lose to some boy.
Daniel noticed that glance and grinned mischievously. "Sorry but those won't help you." He grabbed a card from his hand and snapped it up powerfully, a blast of dark energy erupting from around his Cybersaurus. "I sacrifice Cybersaurus to summon Jinzo!"
"What!?" Lon'tao's eyes widened as the useless fusion fodder was replaced by a chuckling green-armored cyborg. (2400/1500)
"The real trap master is here!" Daniel snapped a hand up and Jinzo mimicked the move, copying its master's wagging finger. "As long as this guy is face-up in play all trap cards might as well be blank, because they can't be activated and their effects are negated anyway! Direct attack, Cyber Energy Shock!" A pulsing vortex of darkness appeared in Jinzo's hands and it threw the attack across the field, slamming it into Lon'tao's chest and leaving him reeling.
Lon'tao- 5600
Daniel- 7000
"Plus I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn." A pair of cards shimmered into existence on Daniel's field behind the now-silent Jinzo.
Shaking off the vertigo he felt as the Darkness Game raked at his body and soul, the dark-haired man grabbed the top card of his deck angrily. "Don't get cocky. Jinzo's special ability might have helped you get one attack in one me but now that ends!" A card slid into his disk and Jinzo stumbled slightly, its body becoming partially translucent.
Daniel was surprised by that, having expected his monster to have been destroyed. "You equipped it with an equipment magic card to weaken it?"
"That's right, it was called Memory Wiper." Lon'tao motioned to the face-up card on his field that had a phantasmal chain going from itself to the cyborg. "The monster equipped with this card has its effect negated, and if it is removed from the game I draw one card." Another card was slammed into his disk alongside the equip card. "And now for my key card, the continuous magic card Degenerate Circuit!"
"Degenerate Circuit?" Daniel narrowed his eyes cautiously as another card appeared, but since his Jinzo didn't disappear he calmed down. "What does it do?"
"Reverse card open!" One of Lon'tao's set cards flipped up and Jinzo was replaced by a large metal cylinder. "Compulsory Evacuation Device sends one monster on the field back to its owner's hand!" When Daniel paled he sneered and the cylinder's top released a spray of smoke, launching Jinzo into the ceiling where it shattered.
"Jinzo!" Daniel looked down at his hand and after seeing that his monster's card wasn't there, snapped his head up and glared at the other Duelist. "Where did he go!?"
"Degenerate Circuit…" Lon'tao motioned to his key card. "…is where he went. As long as it is in play all monsters that go from the field to their owner's hand are instead removed from the game. As such my Memory Wiper goes to the graveyard and I draw one card."
He did so while holding a confident smirk on his face. After all, he had just defeated his opponent's apparent best monster with general ease. "How about that, boy? Bounce effects are much more plentiful in this game than draw effects. As such with this deck's power I will destroy everything you bring out!"
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From her hiding place around a nearby corner of the terminal the aquamarine-haired girl from before peeked out at the duel and pursed her lips worriedly. ("They weren't supposed to go after that guy. I just needed to hide the jewel on him for a little while.") This was bad. A normal duelist wasn't going to be able to defeat the men chasing her.
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"Will you?" Daniel's glare had faded by the end of Degenerate Circuit's explanation. "Actually I've got news for you, buddy! Reverse card open! Dimensional Inversion!" One of his set cards flipped up and a pulsing pillar of light appeared on his field. "When a monster on my field is removed by an opponent's card effect, it returns to play! Revive yourself, Jinzo!" The pillar grew brighter and brighter before exploding with enough force to blind them both. When it cleared the chuckling form of Jinzo was in play again. (2400/1500)
Lon'tao growled loudly and slammed another card into his disk. "You think I can't stop you!? I activate the magic card Bounceback, which can only be activated when Degenerate Circuit is in play, returning one face-up monster on the field to its owner's hand!" Jinzo shuddered and dissolved into dust. "Now what will you do, Jinzo boy?"
"Jinzo boy, huh?" Daniel shrugged innocently. "I had Dimensional Inversion in my deck to counter someone else besides you, so it's not like I have multiple methods of stopping removal. I don't chain anything."
"Then I'll summon Abyss Soldier!" A humanoid blue whale appeared on Lon'tao's field. (1800/1500) "Direct attack!" The monster flew across the field and slashed Daniel across the chest with its trident.
Lon'tao- 5600
Daniel- 5200
"And with that…" Lon'tao nodded his head to Daniel, who was stumbling and gasping for air. "I'll end my turn. Good luck, boy. You'll need it."
"Thanks, but it isn't needed!" Daniel drew and slid a card into his disk, a magic card appearing on his field. "I activate the magic card Scrap Treasure. By discarding one level seven or higher machine monster from my hand to the graveyard I draw two cards. My discard is Barrel Dragon, a level seven." Sliding the monster card into his graveyard, he pulled two cards free from his deck and smirked at them. "There's nothing but a bunch of useless traps in my hand."
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The girl paled at that declaration. ("Why would he tell his opponent that?")
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Lon'tao's eyes widened slightly as it dawned on him. "You would only tell me if you intend to discard them all."
"That's right!" Daniel held up a magic card with a picture of Jinzo's hand rising up out of the ground and crushing a bear-trap. "I activate the magic card Psychosis Revenge!" The card released a vibrating pulse that reached across his field and hand, the four in his grasp and single card on his field shattering. "All traps in my hand and on my field are destroyed."
Grabbing his deck out of its slot, Daniel fanned the cards out in front of him and quickly selected a card. "Come out now, Necro Jinzo!" A black and skull-adorned version of his monster appeared on his field and chuckled darkly, its blood-red eye lenses shimmering. (2500/2100)
"You restored your Jinzo?" Lon'tao clenched his free fist and glanced down at his set card. "Still, it won't beat me!"
"Necro Jinzo can only be summoned if Psychosis Revenge destroys at least three traps with its effect." Daniel, hands hanging at his side as he spoke clearly and slowly, lifted up a finger to point at the morbid version of his earlier monster. "Also Jinzo has to be in my graveyard or removed from play pile. That's not the only effect of Psychosis Revenge though."
Lon'tao clenched his teeth now. "Psychosis Revenge wouldn't make you discard so many cards for just that monster."
"You're right, but for now its effect has ended and I'm not holding any cards." Daniel snapped a hand up to point at Abyss Soldier. "Dead Energy Shock!" His monster charged up a pulsing ball of blackness that hurtled across the field, crashed into the whale humanoid, and blew it apart violently.
Lon'tao- 5000
Daniel- 5200
"The effect of Necro Jinzo activates when it destroys a monster as a result of battle. Trap Psychosis!" The machine monster made a strange purring noise, its body rattling.
"What is it…" Lon'tao's eyes widened in terror as the trap card in his hand exploded, as did the set trap card on his field. The same happened to Necro Jinzo though, leaving only Degenerate Circuit in play. "It destroys all traps in my hand and on my field…"
"That's right." Daniel slid the monster into his graveyard. "At the end phase of my turn the effect of Psychosis Revenge activates. Because it destroyed at least four trap cards I draw two cards." Pulling a pair of cards off his deck, he nodded to the man. "End turn."
"Then the turn is mine!" Lon'tao drew from his deck angrily. "The cost of Degenerate Circuit is 500 life points once per standby phase."
Lon'tao- 4500
Daniel- 5200
"And now I set one monster face-down on my field and end my turn." A monster appeared face-down on the man's field and he sneered at Daniel. "Come and get me, machine boy."
"Draw." Daniel added the card to his hand and slid a card into his disk. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."
"Draw. During my standby phase I pay 500 life points for Degenerate Circuit." Lon'tao placed another monster face-down on his disk. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
Lon'tao- 4000
Daniel- 5200
Daniel pulled a card from his deck and immediately threw it down, a green robot appearing on his field. "I summon Green Gadget in attack mode!" (1400/700) "When this monster is summoned I add one Red Gadget from my deck to my hand." He quickly pulled a card from his deck and added it to his hand before pointing at one of the set monsters. "Attack!"
Lon'tao smirked as the machine punched one of his set monsters and immediately disappeared along with it. "The reverse effect of Penguin Soldier sends up to two monsters on the field back to their owner's hands, so your Green Gadget gets to feel the effect of Degenerate Circuit."
"End turn." Daniel wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead before glancing at his set card once more. ("My last guard if all else fails.")
"Draw." Lon'tao was surrounded by a soft red glow as Degenerate Circuit took some of his life points for its cost. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."
Lon'tao- 3500
Daniel- 5200
"Then it's my turn." Daniel drew and glanced around at the Darkness Sphere that had formed around them. "So tell me something, just what exactly is so important about this gem? Care to tell me?"
"I won't be falling for your act, fool. Do you really think that I'm going to believe you have no idea just how important that item is?" Lon'tao frowned in displeasure, motioning across the darkness to Daniel's field. "You must think I'm truly stupid if you believe I'll fall for such a pathetic argument."
"I didn't think you were going to figure out the obvious fact I have no idea what this was about." The half demon grabbed a card from his hand and slapped it onto his disk, a red robot appearing on his field in a crouching position. "I summon Red Gadget in attack mode." (1300/1500) "When Red Gadget is summoned I can search my deck for a Yellow Gadget and add it to my hand." With his hand still well-stocked, he had no worries about this attack. "Red Gadget, attack the set monster!"
"Reverse card open!" Lon'tao braced himself as the robot punched his set card into little pixels. "I activate the trap card Return Crowning! One monster on your field is returned to your hand!" Red Gadget faded away. "This card lets me summon a new monster during my next turn. Also, I may declare one monster name other than the monster that was returned to your hand. If I name it correctly then you must discard two random cards from your hand! I will obviously declare Yellow Gadget!"
Daniel frowned as his Red Gadget shattered, along with one of his other hand cards. ("So he's setting me up for some kind of attack next turn?")
"Also," Lon'tao held up his disk to reveal that his graveyard slot was releasing a bright yellow glow. "The effect of my reverse Magical Slaver Trader lets me send cards from the top of my deck to my graveyard until I come to a monster. At that point the revealed monster enters my hand." A series of cards appeared in the air above him. (Major Riot, Degenerate Circuit, Bounceback, Ejection Seat, Return King) "There, the Return King is a monster and therefore it enters my hand." The other cards shattered. "Now, please continue."
"Unfortunately the trap I had planned to set was just taken down. End turn." Daniel glanced at the pocket he had stuffed the emerald into. ("What is so important about this thing?")
"And now it ends for you." Lon'tao drew. (LLP: 3000) "Return Crowning activates now! This card allows me to normal summon one Return named monster from my hand without sacrifice during my next turn! Return King, emerge now!" A giant green machine with huge fans coming out of its back appeared on his field. (2700/2600)
"It seems I'm not the only one that has a love of machines, huh?" When the attempt at small talk failed Daniel realized that he was about to get attacked. ("Come on then, I've got the power of my Mirror Force trap card in play.")
"From my hand," Lon'tao held up a magic card and a blast of wind crashed across Daniel's field, his set cards hurled high into the sky before disappearing. "I activate the magic card Fan Hurricane. If there is an air attribute machine on my field then I can select up to two cards on your field and send them back to your hand." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Disappear from my sight, your weak defenses."
"That's fine," Daniel held up one of his two traps. "In chain I activate the trap card Gadget Protector. When this card is activated I can select a Gadget from my removed from play pile and summon it to my field in defense mode. Return now, Red Gadget!" (1300/1500) The red robot flashed into play on his field, its metal arms in front of it defensively.
"It is useless to resist." Lon'tao slid a card into his disk. "I set one card face-down and attack with Return King! Wind Wiper!" His monster's fans started spinning rapidly, creating a tornado that rolled across the field and blew the Red Gadget high into the sky. "The effect of Return King activates now! By sending one card on my field back to my deck I can return one monster on your field to your hand when I attack! Take this! Return King, Bounce Tornado!"
Daniel gasped as his Red Gadget came apart in the tornado like it was made of mist. "Degenerate Circuit again!?"
"That's right, once again your defenses are coming apart easily!" Lon'tao snapped his hand up to point at the half demon. "Wind Wiper!" Then he sneered while Daniel screamed in pain. "Such a delightful cry you have, like someone that has never experienced true pain before…"
Lon'tao- 3000
Daniel- 2500
"End turn." Lon'tao paced back and forth slowly, his hands behind his back. "I'm willing to let you live if you give up the pendant without a fight. It's up to you though whether you accept such a deal or not, since as I'm sure you know I cannot just take it from you. So, what do you say, weakling?"
"I say…" Daniel, his sunglasses having been blown away and his messy red hair no longer hiding the red-furred wolf ears on his head, slowly smiled enough to show off a fang. "That if you think knocking me down by just that much damage is enough to end this duel then you aren't really a duelist. You're just a trained thug that is playing around, and against a duelist that truly duels with their all you cannot win!"
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The girl's eyes widened slightly as it sunk in just how much she had lucked out. ("This guy is a professional duelist? That means there's still a chance he can win…") Clasping her hands together, she extended her prayers that no matter what happened he would defeat Lon'tao.
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"It's my turn, draw!" Daniel glanced at the drawn card before grasping a different one from his hand and throwing it down, a yellow robot appearing on his field in a crouching position. "I summon Yellow Gadget to the field in defense mode. Also I place one card face-down and end my turn." (1200/1200)
The card that appeared behind his machine was obviously his real defense, as he wasn't going to allow himself to be caught off-guard by Return King's effect again. "As long as you have to send a card from your field to your deck to activate the effect of your monster, you'll have to give up whatever you draw instead of using it unless you don't mind pounding on my defenses for awhile."
"That would be true…" Lon'tao suddenly sneered and drew, holding up the card to show that it was a trap and it had been face-up on top of his deck. "Except this card says otherwise. The trap card Return Insurance says that when this card is sent from my field to my deck it becomes the face-up top card of my deck. If this face-up card is drawn from my deck I discard it and draw two cards."
Already having done so, he snickered at the growl that emitted from his opponent. "What's the matter, afraid?"
"Afraid?" Daniel shook his head and motioned to his face-down card, revealing a trap. "Just finding this a little frustrating. Reveal Cyber Shadow Gardna!" A black cloud of smoke appeared on his field. (?) "This card becomes a monster on my field, and if attacked its attack and defense equals the attack and defense of the monster that attacks it."
"So it does." Lon'tao shuddered slightly as his life points dropped by Degenerate Circuit's effect. "However I wonder for how long you can last. I activate the magic card Bounceback, which if you remember allows me to return a face-up monster in play to its owner's hand! My choice should be obvious!" The cloud of smoke on Daniel's field dissolved.
Lon'tao- 2500
Daniel- 2500
"And then I set one card face-down and attack with Return King! Effect Activate!" The face-down card that appeared on his field immediately disappeared and a tornado was formed by the machine's spinning fans, tearing across the field and swallowing up the Yellow Gadget as it removed it. "Wind Wiper!" The tornado kept going, pushing over Daniel's body brutally. "With that this duel ends!"
"Unfortunately," The attack of the Return King suddenly stopped with the wind blowing away as a magic card appeared in the center of it. "I'm not so easily beaten. The effect of the magic card Guardian Angel allows me to either discard it from my hand to negate one instance of effect damage or discard a card from my hand along with it to negate one instance of battle damage. My choice is obviously the second."
As the magic card disappeared he placed his hand on top of his deck. "The card I discarded was Repayment of Losses, which when sent to my graveyard lets me draw a card." Adding one card to his hand, he gave a toothy smile. "Fool me once, shame on you…fool me twice, shame on me."
Despite his displeasure at having his attack stopped, Lon'tao held up the card he had returned to show it was another Return Insurance. Placing it on top of his deck he nodded to his opponent. "I end my turn."
Daniel looked down at his deck. ("This guy's got me backed into a corner, and the cards in my hand can't do anything special besides get blown away.") He drew and smiled at what it was. "I activate Dimensional Hangar, removing three union monsters from my deck. When a monster they can union with comes into play they are summoned!" A swirling portal appeared in the sky above him.
A blue and yellow robot appeared on his field, its cannons sliding into position to aim at the Return King. "Come out now, X-Head Cannon!" (1800/1500)
The Dimensional Hangar belched out three machines; a red machine dragon, a yellow ground tank, and a framework jet. "The effect of Dimensional Hangar brings out Y-Dragon Head, Z-Metal Tank, and Heavy Mech Support Platform in attack mode!" (1500/1600) (1500/1300) (500/500)
"Combination Fusion!" X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head, and Z-Metal Tank all launched straight into the sky. A few moments later a heavy hovertank made up of all three of the monsters lowered onto his field. "XYZ Dragon Cannon!" (2800/2600)
Daniel motioned to his Heavy Mech Support Platform, which lowered down and connected to the upper body of the Dragon Cannon. "Support Platform can union to any machine monster, increasing its attack and defense by 500 points!" (3300/3100) "XYZ attacks with Hyper Destruction!" All of the cannons across XYZ's body opened fire, blasting the Return King into pieces. "End turn."
Lon'tao- 1900
Daniel- 2500
"An impressive retaliation, but in the end futile." Lon'tao drew and held up Return Insurance, sliding the card into his graveyard before removing the top two cards of his deck. "At this time the cost of Degenerate Circuit is paid."
Lon'tao- 1400
Daniel- 2500
Then he brought his attention onto the XYZ Dragon Cannon. ("With Heavy Mech Support Platform his Dragon Cannon is now a powerful monster with a shield that protects it from destruction.") Flipping one of his two hand cards up, he smiled savagely. "Your power is useless against me! Come out now, Abyss Soldier!" A new whale humanoid appeared on his field. (1800/1500)
Daniel's eyes widened in terror. "Oh no…"
"That's right." Lon'tao held up his other card to reveal another Penguin Soldier. "By discarding a water attribute monster from my hand I can send one card in play back to its owner's hand! Therefore that XYZ Dragon Cannon disappears!" The fusion machine shattered violently. "Abyss Soldier, direct attack!"
Daniel felt the water monster's spear stab into him, the pain dulled by the throbbing in his body as he was sent skidding backwards with enough speed to create skid-marks in the ground his feet was touching. ("This is bad. Another turn like this one and I'm done.")
Lon'tao- 1400
Daniel- 700
"This is the end." Lon'tao crossed his arms across his chest and sneered at the stumbling half demon. "I see that the supposed dueling skills and endurance of the demon race were greatly exaggerated. If this is your best then you should just surrender. I cannot be defeated by the likes of you."
"This is the end." Daniel mimicked Lon'tao's tone of voice before he cracked his neck loudly and rolled one shoulder to get the kinks out of it. "That's the only thing you've said that was worth commenting on. It's my turn, draw!" He snapped the top card off of his deck and flipped it up. "I activate the magic card Erosion Vein. One face-up magic or trap card in play is destroyed, followed by which I draw two cards. My choice should be obvious." Dimension Hangar shattered and he drew two cards.
Those two cards were good, but Daniel knew that his deck had better for him. "From my hand I activate the magic card Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and then discarding two." Flipping the four cards in his hand over, he selected two and held them up for his opponent to see. "I discard Blowback Dragon and Roll Out!"
Lon'tao smirked and wiped a thumb across his nose. "So what do you have that can beat me?"
"This." A magic card appeared on Daniel's field. "I activate Overload Fusion, removing fusion material monsters from my graveyard to special summon a dark attribute machine type fusion monster! I remove Barrel Dragon and Blowback Dragon to summon Gatling Dragon!" A giant wheeled triple gun-barreled machine dragon appeared on his field. (2600/1400)
"Ho, a powerful fusion monster has come out…but the real question is how long it will stay." Lon'tao tapped the top of his deck with a finger. "With this deck I can remove it from the game in one shot."
"True, but I won't give you that chance." Daniel motioned to his monster and the three gun barrels on its body started to spin. "The effect of Gatling Dragon activates now! By flipping three coins I will destroy one monster in play per heads these coins land on!" A trio of golden coins appeared in the air above him, revealing two heads and a tails. "Damn…"
"Such a shame." Lon'tao lamented while both the Abyss Soldier and Gatling Dragon exploded. "Is that all? Then it's my turn!" (LLP: 900) He drew and held up Pot of Greed. "Tell me, did you really expect to be that lucky?"
Daniel was stone-faced now, not showing the slightest of any emotions.
"And now to lock you down for the rest of this duel." Lon'tao motioned to a card that appeared on his field. "I activate Rubber Room." The ground around them both became bright red and bouncy. "While this continuous magic card remains in play I declare one monster type. When a monster of that type is summoned it is returned to its owner's hand and for every level star of that monster I discard one card from my deck. I will obviously be declaring the type of card you run so well, machine. Also I set one card face-down and end my turn." A card shimmered into place next to his Degenerate Circuit card.
Daniel's stone mask of a face suddenly cracked, revealing that he was smiling. "Thanks for doing what I thought you would do. From my hand, during your end phase, I discard the magic card Secret Identity!" The card that appeared on his field had a picture of a man in a phone booth tearing open his business suit to reveal a bright yellow H. "During the turn after a monster on my field is destroyed I may discard this card at any time to special summon an Elemental Hero monster from my deck that has a level equal to or less than that of the monster that was destroyed!"
A pillar of light appeared on his field, forming into a golden hero with a sharp-edged body. "Elemental Hero Edgeman comes out to help finish this!" (2600/1800)
"Elemental…Hero?" Lon'tao stared at the monster, obviously confused. "What kind of card is that?"
Chest swelling with pride, Daniel grabbed the top card of his deck. "They're the Elemental Heroes, monsters born from the recesses of my soul along with my machines! It's my turn, draw!" Drawing, he pointed at Lon'tao. "Edgeman, direct attack!" The hero bellowed out a battle cry and roared across the field with its edged forearms ready to cut.
"Reverse card open, Truce of Opposing Forces!" Lon'tao's face-down card flipped up and Edgeman disappeared. "When a monster on your field attacks I may choose to activate this card and send all monsters in play back to their owner's hands! Therefore…"
"Degenerate Circuit removes Edgeman from play…" Daniel glanced at the card he had drawn. It was good, but…
"Five cards left." Lon'tao licked his lips at this. "There are only five cards in your deck, and without a method to return cards to your deck you will lose. So, what will you do now that your so-called heroes have been defeated? After all, what does being a hero get you except a painful death?"
"A painful death…" Daniel's fist clenched tightly and he narrowed his eyes. "What would you know about heroes?"
"Nothing beyond the fact they are the easiest prey to crush in my line of work." Flicking his ponytail over his shoulder, he tapped the side of his cheek with a finger. "Tell me, boy, just what exactly can you expect to accomplish by opposing us? Don't you know that your enemy is someone you cannot defeat?"
"End turn." Daniel had nothing more to say to this guy. "I suggest you finish me now. If you drag this out past the next turn your precious Degenerate Circuit is going to break itself."
"Draw!" (LLP: 400) Lon'tao snapped up a monster card. "I summon Return Knight!" (1900/1400) A green robotic knight appeared on his field and hefted its sword to strike. "When this monster battles with a monster, if that monster is stronger, then damage calculation ends and the opposing monster is returned to its owner's hand. After that, Return Knight is destroyed."
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"Did he lose…" The girl's nails dug a little deeper against her hiding place. "Please…don't lose…"
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"Return Knight," Lon'tao lifted his hand up and pointed at Daniel. "End this fool's life! Direct attack!" The machine hurtled forwards and slashed through Daniel's body before returning to its master's side of the field. "With that, the duel is over."
"I beg to differ." Daniel held up the card in his hand. "I discard the monster card Kuriboh. When this card is discarded from my hand I can negate one instance of battle damage to my life points." Sliding the card into his graveyard slot, he drew. "And now I play Turnabout Treasure! This card can only be activated if I have no other cards in my hand and no cards on my field. For every card on your field I draw one card! You've got three cards, so I draw three times!"
"So what?" Lon'tao motioned to his knight. "Or have you not realized that if you beat this monster with a stronger monster then it will just be returned and you'll lose anyway!"
"I activate the magic card Essence Gathering." Daniel slid the card into his graveyard and held up his removed from play Jinzo. "One removed from play monster can be added to my hand at the cost of half my current life points."
Lon'tao- 400
Daniel- 350
"I play the magic card Draw Dummy!" Daniel drew the remaining card of his deck. "I draw one card and replace it with Draw Dummy, which appears face-up on my deck and forces me to skip a draw phase to discard it to the graveyard."
"So what? Now you won't deck out?" Lon'tao laughed derisively. "You've still lost this duel!"
"Says you, the guy that's about to lose." Another magic card appeared on Daniel's field, revealing a picture of a man wearing a turban and standing before an audience with a deck of playing cards in his hand. "Stage Trick lets me declare the name of one card. I then look at the top card of my deck, and if I'm correct then I discard that card to the graveyard and special summon one monster from my hand to the field! Draw Dummy!" Flipping the top card of his deck up to reveal that is what it was, he discarded it and grasped one of the two remaining cards in his hand. "It's time to finish this Jinzo!" The green cyborg appeared in play, chuckling coldly. (2400/1500)
"You fool; you must have forgotten the effect of Rubber Room! Disappear, Jinzo!" Lon'tao sneered as the machine monster started to sink into the ground, preparing to be launched out of existence.
"Quickplay magic card activate!" Daniel held up the remaining card in his hand and Jinzo only bounced a foot into the air, landing on its feet and continuing to chuckle coldly. "Lightning Evolution activates by letting me sacrifice a monster on my field to special summon an advanced version of that monster from my deck or fusion deck! Jinzo is my sacrifice!"
The cyborg exploded, and then reformed into a lithe and shiny version of itself, its green frame changed to silver. "Quicksilver Jinzo is summoned!" (2000/1700)
"The result will still be the same! Rubber Room!" Lon'tao motioned to his continuous card, but nothing happened. "What!?"
"Quicksilver Jinzo's special ability is that he is unaffected by the effects of magic cards." The monster's face-mask started to glow with silver light.
"The effect of Return Knight sends your precious fusion back to your hand, or in this case out of the game!" Lon'tao's Knight responded to this command by launching forwards to collide with Daniel's monster. "It's game over!"
"Quicksilver Jinzo," Daniel's monster responded to this attack by casually sidestepping the knight. "Can cut its attack in half to directly attack the opponent's life points."
Lon'tao's breath caught in his throat as he realized that Quicksilver Jinzo was standing in front of him. "Now wait just a second…I…"
"Quick Strike!" Daniel leaned to the side to avoid the charge of the Return Knight while his monster punched Lon'tao directly in the crook of his neck, dropping him to his knees.
Lon'tao's only possible response in his condition was to gasp for air, while the darkness around them engulfed the black-suited man in one gulp.
Lon'tao- 0
Daniel- 350
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The darkness sphere faded away to reveal Janeam, Deondre, Allon and CJ all standing at the edge of it.
Daniel waved to them and put his duel disk away. "Hey guys, sorry I'm late. Next time don't leave me behind just because I slept in though."
"What was that all about?" Deondre checked around them to see that no one had noticed the pulsing ball of darkness. "And why is it that no one seemed to notice it?"
"I have no clue." Yawning loudly, Daniel slung his backpack over his shoulder and stumbled off towards the flight gate. "I just want to go home and curl up in my bed right now, so how about we worry about it another time."
The rest of Team Topdeck shrugged their shoulders at this and followed behind him. Daniel was normally the first one to overreact to stuff like this, so if he didn't panic then there was no reason they should.
Meanwhile, the aquamarine-haired girl followed them as quietly as she could. ("I think it would be a good idea to leave the gem in his possession for now. Yeah…definitely a good idea.")
To be continued…