Lux-Nero: Hey there everyone! For old and new fans alike of my work, I bring you a very interesting idea for you all to enjoy. There's not much to say about this story only that I hope you all enjoy it like my previous stories. And thus, enjoy. Simply enjoy.

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Clash of The Legends

A fiction by Lux-Nero

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Time: 4:37 p.m.
Location: New York City, Subway Station, Wilson Ave.

New York City was the place where countless people come to attain their dreams and to accomplish whatever they are capable of. It was a city built on the hopes of countless souls who come to America to fulfill anything that their hearts' desires. The city was also filled to the brim with tales of success and failures alike.

However, for one person who was roaming into the underground train-station, he was in a state of pure despair. His shoulders were slumped, his feet dragged on the concrete stairs he descended, and his messy orange hair shook with each step he took – His Lincoln green jacket was a little messed up and had a few scars on it. 'Yeesh, after all the trouble I went through to get this collection, I can't even get enough money by selling it to get what I need. I'm better off keeping these…'

The young man stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs, his eyes trailing towards the duffle bag he had slung over his shoulder. 'After five years of collecting these cards, I was expecting to at least be sitting on a small fortune… But what that guy was offering was just an insult!'

Reaching into duffle bag, the young man pulled out a small binder and held it up in front of his chest before he opened the binder. Inside the pages of the booklet were several duel monster cards that were kept safe in the sleeves, each of them gleamed brightly in the light from the ceiling and reflected back into his face. He turned away from the cards…

But the glare of light wasn't the only reason why he turned away from the cards, rather he couldn't stand the sight of the cards that laid in front of him. 'Duel monsters, a game that countless people have spent millions on and have created a living based on these little cards… A card game for children… It's ridiculous. I can't believe how much I've spent on collecting these things, and I can't even get a decent price for them.

'Way to go Ansel, you dug yourself into an expensive hobby and you can't even get yourself out by selling the cards you took so much care for. I got about a thousand cards in this folder, each of them heavily wanted cards and every card shop tries to stiff me out of a decent deal.'

Ansel sighed under his breath and placed the folder back into his duffle bag. With that, he slowly made his way towards the platform to wait for his ride to arrive, 'I could sell them online, but I don't really care to deal with all that online crap…'

The young man lifted up his left wrist up to look at his watch, only a few minutes before the train would enter the station and he could get back home. 'This was a waste of time and money… At the very least I got some exercise… Not like I needed it.'

Indeed, Ansel was a slim young man, his clothes were barely hanging onto his figure.

"Excuse me, young man…"

Ansel turned his attention away from his watch to follow the voice that called out to him, and blinked a few times as a young woman walked up to him, with shoulder length plantinum hair and a black business suit. Ansel blinked a few times as the woman bowed her head slightly and chuckled sheepishly, "I hate to ask you a question, but could you tell me if this is Bedford Avenue?"

Ansel was born in New York City, and part of him wanted to follow his New Yorker nature and ignore this person… But he wasn't about to turn away a pretty face. "Unfortunately, this is Wilson Avenue, you're way off from where you think you are."

"W-What?" The woman yelped as she jumped back a few inches. "T-That can't be though…"

"Not from New York, I take it?" Ansel asked shuffling his duffle bag over his shoulder. "All you have to do is take the L Line to the Lorimer Street – Metropolitan Avenue intersection, and take the G-Line, you should be able to make it to Bedord in no time."

"Oh, thanks young man," The woman replied with a loud sigh following.

'She doesn't look that older than me…' Ansel thought to himself as he looked the woman over. Ansel himself was in his final year of high school, and this woman looked to be a couple of years older than him. 'A college grad maybe? But that wouldn't explain the nervousness… Must still be from out of the city…'

Ansel shook his head as he noticed that the woman was beginning to walk away from him, not really caring, Ansel shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back to his watch. 'My ride should be here soon…'

It was definitely a disappointing day for Ansel – Lost some money, lost some time, and didn't even make a profit with his cards. Some days were like that, and Ansel knew it, even though he was entering his final year of high school, it didn't change the fact that this was going to be a dull year for him – It was always like that. Even throughout his freshman through junior years, there may have been a few good memories, but it was still a dull time…

Study hard, join a club, prepare yourself for college…

Ansel lost count how many times he heard that line ever since he entered public highschool, and it certainly didn't help that because of his 'hobby' Ansel was the target for a number of bullies (it wasn't for the fact that he was into the card game, quite the opposite really, a number of students in his high school were fans of the game – It was just for the fact that Ansel only collected the cards, and he didn't really duel at all).

Then again, high school was really like that for a number of people – Only the rich and the popular have a good time at high school, and Ansel didn't fit into either of those categories. Sure, he was easy on the eyes, but that didn't really help out in the long-run.

Before Ansel could continue this train of thought, the subway's chime echoed through the air, alerting him that the train was on its way to the station. Adjusting his duffle bag, Ansel looked towards the dark entrance of the subway, waiting for the telltale lights of the front of the subway…

However, a loud screeching sound echoed through the air, followed by the ground shaking violently. Countless people in the subway screamed loudly as the ceiling above began the tracks began to crack. The shaking only intensified and knocked Ansel off his feet when the ceiling began to crumble to the tracks below. "HOLY CRAP!"

Ansel wasn't the only person knocked off by the shaking ground, countless others were knocked to the ground by the might shaking. Ansel's breathing became more forceful as he tried to get to his feet – But that's when he saw something…

The tunnel had two lights speeding towards the falling debris on the tacks. Ansel's eyes widened as he began to spin around to try to get away. 'The train!'

Indeed, as Ansel began to get away from the edge of the station, the screech of the train's brakes blasted throughout the subway station. It was barely a few seconds that the train itself appeared from the tunnel, sparks erupting from the tracks as it desperately tried to stop before it struck the debris. However, it was a failed effort as the front of the train crashed into the debris, forcing the large amount of metal off of the tracks and onto the station.

Ansel didn't particularly care for what was happening around him, all he knew was that he had to get out of there – However, the force that followed from the crashing train shook the ground even fiercer and made him slip face first into the ground. "OOF!"

Pushing himself up quickly, Ansel tried to run away once again, however…

"AAAAAAAH!"

He didn't know why he turned to the source of that scream, but the voice it belonged to sounded familiar, so as Ansel turned his head, he saw that the voice belonged to the woman who he spoke to barely five minutes ago. She was on the ground, but what caught Ansel's sight was the fact that two of the train cars were pinned into the air, but were slowly beginning to fall towards her. 'Why isn't she moving?'

Ansel's eyes fell to the young woman's legs, seeing that one of her legs was being pinned by a large piece of debris that had fallen earlier. It wouldn't be long until the train would fall and crush the woman underneath it… But the shaking ground didn't stop, and Ansel was in as much danger as she was if he'd stay any longer…

But still…

The next thing he knew, Ansel dashed towards the young woman, his duffle bag thrown towards the side. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he got closer and closer to the young woman, with the train cars slowly descending towards her.

Every step he took felt like a mile.

Sound began to fade from Ansel's ears.

And soon, so did Ansel's vision, all he could focus on was on the woman – Someone he didn't know, but someone he had to save.

And then there was nothing but darkness…

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What does it mean to become a legend?

If you look at it at a heroic view, then a hero is a person who's willing to sacrifice himself for others, even for people whom he doesn't know. They have a reason, they have a cause, they just know they have to do what they have to do.

If you look at the villainous view, then a villain is someone who has practically no morals or morals that have been twisted to seem justified to the villain themselves. Even so, they actions they take get them written into the pages of history for their infamy.

Then there are those who make an impact on others, and as long as they are remembered by at least one person, they'll never truly die. Entertainers, people of fiction, or even popular fiction, but are they considered legends? Depends on who you ask, musicians and people who performed for the thrill of performing would fill that qualification in my book since they're bringing smiles to people who watch them.

But you must be wondering… Why am I talking about legends when this story is obviously about the game of Duel Monsters? Shouldn't three familiar heroes be mentioned here? Well… I don't really have much of a reason, save for the fact that this story isn't about them, nor is it really about the heroes that I mentioned earlier.

This is about a new generation for the famous and infamous…

Too bad my story doesn't start out great.

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Chapter 0

The Signs of Greatness

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Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

That sound echoed through the air.

It pained him to no end to hear it again and again and again, he didn't know when it started, all he knew was that he wanted it to stop. With a loud groan, he tried to reach for the source of the beeping, but his arms felt as heavy as lead.

In fact, his entire body felt like it was wearing a lead suit, it was so weird and infuriating.

So, slowly, he began to open his eyes. At first everything was a white blur, but slowly things began to come into focus – He was looking right up at a white tiled ceiling and the smell of disinfectant riddled the air almost to the point that he would be sick from the smell itself. As stated earlier, his entire body felt like lead and it was difficult for him to move, let alone breathe properly.

But still, using whatever strength he had to his name, the young man slowly pushed himself up, in an attempt to prop himself up from where he was laying. It took everything he had to accomplish that goal, but when he did, he was met with the sight of a large hospital room – curtains, different kinds of medical equipment, and a number of flowers with 'Get Well Soon' cards pinned to them.

He realized that he was resting in a bed and slowly propped himself up on the pillow, as he did, he managed to get a look at his hands – They were both covered in thin bandages, but he could still bend and feel his fingers, and other than the heavy feeling he had in his body, there didn't seem to be any difference or pain.

Just what had happened to him?

"Oh my…! DOCTOR! DOCTOR! HE'S AWAKE!"

He quickly turned his head to the source of the new sound, just in time to see a nurse dash out of the doorway and disappear into the hall. Whatever happened to him, it must've been major – so with his eyes closed, he took a deep breath and slowly relaxed to jog his memory…

TTTTT~ One Week Later…~TTTTT

Seven days had passed since he woke up, and from then, it was a steady recovery for him – Ansel – With his family and classmates visiting him and seeing how well he was doing. Even the doctors were surprised with how fast Ansel was recovering, considering that he had only been in the hospital for less than a month.

He remembered the quake, the train, all of the damage that was caused, even the woman he tried to save (but he hadn't heard about her though) – And from what he heard from his family and friends, apparently there was a gas leak that caught fire and caused an explosion above the subway which weakened the support.

'… Like anyone's gonna believe that crap…'

That's what Ansel's thoughts were when he heard that news, but there was nothing else for him to believe with the incident, so he just had to accept it for now.

It was on the eighth day that Ansel was finally well enough to leave his bed, and was currently changing into the clothes that his parents had left him earlier this morning – His favorite Lincoln Green jacket (a few scratches here and there, but otherwise, it was as good as new), a black jersey with the number '13' embroidered on it, and a pair of black slacks that hugged his thin waist. It was sort of a welcome home present that his family had decided to give him.

He wasn't really impressed with the gift, considering that during the incident his entire collection of duel monster cards were lost in the incident – So he was out of cash and didn't even have his collection to his name any more. It was a loss, pure and simple.

But at least he had his life…

Yeah right.

He just lost his cards, a month of his life (not to mention it was his summer break to boot), and there was no way he was ever going to get it back.

But with a sigh, Ansel slipped on his jacket – There was no use complaining about it. Better to lose that stuff than to lose his life. But he didn't have to be happy about it.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Huh?" Ansel questioned as he turned towards the closed door.

"Are you decent?"

Ansel raised an eyebrow when he heard that voice, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. It wasn't any of the nurses that were assigned to his room, he'd gotten used to hearing them when he was recovering this week so this voice was new to him, yet seemed like it was someone he heard before.

But before he could say anything, the door opened up and revealed someone Ansel hadn't seen in over a month – The very same woman that he had tried to save from the falling subway train. His eyes widened at her casually walking in the room, as if she was walking into a café or something of the like. "Ah, you are… That's too bad. I was kind of hoping for some drama…"

'The hell?' Ansel thought to himself as the woman walked up to him.

"Oh well, I guess this will have to do," the woman sighed with a shake of her head. "I hope your injuries weren't too bad for ya. I'd hate to be responsible for anything that happened to you… Reaves, was it?"

"Yeah, that's my surname," Ansel stated under his breath. "Not to be rude, but who are you? And what the heck happened?"

"For what happened," the woman stated with a sigh under her breath. "I can't really answer that cause I'll get into that in a little bit, but I'll get to the introductions Mr. Reaves. I am Clair Artorius, but call me Artorius for now please. I'm what you'd call an entrepreneur of sorts. I'm still a young entrepreneur, but I have been successful so far, and I hope to be able to do so for the rest of my career life…"

The young woman named Clair Artorius just kept on talking about herself and her business ventures, all the while, Ansel just looked at her with a his jaw slightly opened, one of his eyebrows lifted up and his eyes blinked a few times. For about five minutes the woman kept talking about herself, and it wasn't until Ansel lifted his hand up into the air that she finally managed to stop. "Uh, yes? You had a question?"

'This isn't a classroom!' Ansel thought to himself as he lowered his hand. "Was there a point to you coming here?"

"… I was actually about to get to that," Artorius huffed with her arms crossed. "Talk about rude…"

'I'm the rude one?' Ansel thought to himself. 'I didn't waste all that time talking about my daily regiments to a guy who just recovered from a near fatality!'

"But I'll say it right now," Artorius stated as she lifted the brief case up. After holding it in one of her arms, Artorius opened the case. "I believe these are yours, right?"

Ansel's eyes widened when he saw what was inside the case – It was all of the cards that he had on him when the earthquake struck, all of them were carefully placed in the same binder that he had used for them earlier. To make matters better, they were all in the same condition that they were in over a month ago.

Ansel's hands reached into the case and he placed a finger on the cards – Just by the feel of them, he could tell that they were real cards... His cards. "H-How did…"

It was then that Artorius pulled the case back and smiled at Ansel, "As I said, I'm an entrepreneur, I invest in things that are very interesting. And you young man, have piqued my curiosity – You saved my life last month, and I'm not the kind of girl to let a good deed go unrewarded. When you pulled me to safety, I merely grabbed this as you pulled me."

'Is that what happened?' Ansel thought to himself with a confused look. 'I don't really remember much about what happened…'

"Duel monsters is quite the commodity," Artorius stated with her smile growing slightly more mischievous. "So much so that there's still demand for it – Therefore, I and a lot of other associates over the last month have made a very interesting idea…"

"… Uh, can I have my cards now?" Ansel asked innocently.

"… And I'd like to make a small request of you," Artorius continued as she shut the case. "As such an avid collector of this game, you should have quite a bit of skill under your belt with this game…"

'Uh, no… I'm just a collector!' Ansel thought to himself

"I'd like to invite you to a tournament that myself and a number of other high priced executives are hosting," Artorius finished.

"… No," Ansel stated bluntly and dully.

"Huh?" Artorius questioned.

"I'm no duelist," Ansel explained with his hands lifted up to his chin. "I'm just a guy who likes the artwork on the cards. I can get why people would want to play the game, but its not for me. If I did, then the cards themselves would be ruined – Wear and tear ya know. I have no interest in ruining my cards to that effect. Sure, people use card sleeves to fix that problem, but that's only a temporary solution.

"Even if protected, the cards would eventually be ruined by the hands of the duelists – And I have no interest in doing that with my cards!"

"Nice bravado," Artorius admitted as she placed the case on the ground next to her. "However, I must admit something to you… You won't have a choice whether or not you want to join my tournament."

"Hmm?" Ansel questioned as Artorius reached into her pocket and produced a number of documents.

"My kindness wasn't just for the cards that you had," Artorius explained as she tossed the documents to Ansel. "I was indebted to you for helping me in my time of need, I felt it was good to aid you in your time of need… But even with insurance, your medical expenses were quite costly…"

Indeed they were, as Ansel looked over the documents, he couldn't help but break out into a cold sweat at all the zeros that were typed onto the paper. There was no way his family could pay for this sort of stuff and not get out of the red…

"It'd be a shame if my kindness were to suddenly go poof!" Artorius giggled with a warm smile on her face. "Especially since you saved my life, I'd be really sad if something were to happen to you…"

"So you're blackmailing me?" Ansel questioned as he threw the documents to the side.

"That's such a dirty word," Artorius pouted with her lips pursed. "I prefer the term 'negotiation'. You're more than welcomed to not accept my kindness, I'll just take back the money I used to pay for your medical expenses and you can keep your so precious cards… Although, I should point out that if you join the tournament, there are more benefits for you.

"Not only would those problems would be in effect – But if you make it far in the tournament, then you'll be much better off. There are prizes for the winners and for anyone making it in the finals will receive some rather impressive prizes as well…"

Now this was something that caught Ansel's attention, "What's the big prize?"

"Well, in addition to being well known as a great duelist," Artorius smiled brightly, knowing that she just landed herself a bite. "The winner of the tournament will gain a wealthy prize of fifteen thousand dollars, and receive one request granted from all of the businessmen who helped organized the tournament."

Ansel's eyes widened the moment he heard about the amount for the cash prize, and in two seconds flat, he knelt down and lowered his head. "When and where do I go to get this cash?"

For a moment Artorius stepped back, not expecting Ansel to agree so quickly, but then quickly composed herself. "Good to see you so ready for this – Unfortunately, you still need to win to get those prizes… And in order to get into the tournament, you'll need a few things."

Ansel lifted his head up just in time for Artorius to hold up a few items in her hands – The first was a letter in a fancy envelope that had an 'A' watermark on it.

The second item was a gauntlet that had a weird metallic and black wristband on it that had a screen on it.

But the third item is what caught Ansel's eye the most – It was a choker that had some weird symbols stitched into the green fabric as well as having a few sparkling crystals in it as well. Whatever it was, it certainly looked interesting…

"You'll need to wear this glove and choker to the location and date in the letter," Artorius explained as she dumped the items into Ansel's hands. "If you take off the choker while you're on the tournament grounds, you will be disqualified automatically – Just something I'd let you know about. Now then Mr. Reaves, all other information you'll need about the tournament is in the letter.

"Now, have a good day Mr. Reaves…"

Ansel just blinked a few times as he watched Artorius leave the hospital room… It certainly hasn't been a dull day at the very least for the recovered high schooler.

Placing the choker and glove on the bed, Ansel ripped open the envelope and pulled out a single folded piece of paper. Ansel opened the paper and began to read the contents in his head…

Dear Lucky Duelist,

Congratulations, you have just been selected for one of the greatest tournaments in Duel Monsters' history – On comparable with the famous Duelist Kingdom. The Tournament of Legends – where we of the Artorius Group are aspiring to create new legends in the world of Duel Monsters.

The Artorius Group is known for our money in the entertainment business, which includes the amusement park business. Recently, we have completed a brand new amusement park called Cress Paradise – Which is about the size of a small city. It has the functions of a city as well, being a resort as well as being an amusement park.

In order to promote the new amusement park, we of the Artorius Group have decided to host a tournament – If you accept, you will be given a complimentary week long visit at the park where you can compete in the tournament and enjoy the park's facilities. Included with this letter in your package was a duelist gauntlet, its use will be explained on the first day of the tournament, so be sure to bring it with you along with a bag of clothes and essentials for a week.

More rules will be explained on the opening of the tournament. If you wish to attend, then call the number at the end of this letter. If you do not have a duel disk, then be sure to mention it when you call the number below.

The tournament starts on July 15 this year, and will last until the 23rd at the latest. The location of the tournament is on the return address listed on the envelope of this letter. Please try to arrive on the 14th so that we can provide you with a proper accommodation, and be sure to call us by the 13th so we can gather a proper number of contenders.

Thank you and we hope to hear from you soon,

The Artorius Group

Ansel just looked at the letter, then scanned it over again. It seemed as though there would be more information when the tournament begun, but looking at the dates, Ansel realized that the tournament was less than a week away…

Looking at the case of cards that Artorius left, Ansel turned back to the letter and sighed loudly, "… Looks like I'll have to invest in some serious card sleeves…"

TBC

And there you have it, the prologue to a brand new story!

Be sure to check out for the next installment of this story within a week or so.