Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Location: Unknown
A small gathering of people surrounded a round table. Two crossed swords laid atop The table. Four candles illuminated the altar-like setting. The four people wore dark colored armored underneath black robes.
"Ah, the time is near." A sweet, sultry voice began.
"The Kaila Corp. Championship is coming up. It would make a good sift for candidates." Another said. A rough voice. Likely male.
"We cannot wait anymore. We should begin the ceremony right away." The third had a booking voice that echoed through the chamber.
"Patience." The fourth, the voice of an old man. "The ceremony is swift. We must take our time in finding the perfect vessel."
"But-"
"Marcus!"
"Why must we delay any longer?"
"Because if we pick the wrong vessel, we would have wasted the ceremony and it's elements! We cannot afford to waste these precious artifacts for a half-baked plan."
The old man and Marcus stared heatedly at each other through their veils.
"Marcus," the female put her hand on Marcus's shoulder. "Why must we fight amongst ourselves? We are the only illuminated ones in this world. Humanity must be made anew."
The knight called Marcus sighed and surrendered.
"Ok, fine. We'll wait. But I'd rather do something than just sit around here."
"Then why not scout potential candidates? After all, we have connections within Kaiba Corp."
Location: Covex Town
"Merry Christmas, May!"
The Helenst household was a modest house. Stone floors, wooden roof. The entire house was only one room, and the family usually slept together on the floor, which was covered by a small sheet that kept the cold off of their backs.
Today, however, the majority of the floor was occupied by a tree that didn't nearly look like a Christmas tree, but it served such purpose. Under the tree was one, lone present.
The young lady was 11 years of age. Her short black hair was in a mess, but a quick shake settled it down. She woke up with her parents in rare occasion clothes while she was still in her dirty white dress. She smiled at them, and her parents smiled back, the brightness of the inside of this house rivaled the brightness of the sun that shone outside.
"Merry Christmas, Mom and Dad!"
"Here you go, your Christmas present!" Her mom said as she was handed the decorated box.
She held it in her hand and felt the weight of it. She knew it wasn't easy getting her a present. She looked at it for a long while.
"Well? Open it." Her father said.
She slowly tore the wrapping, revealing a wooden box. When she lifted the lid, her face was overtaken by a large smile.
"Cards!"
The first card she picked up was Mystical Elf. She noticed that the card had small smudges on the top right, but she didn't mind. She was way too happy to care. She rummaged through the deck, finding Monster Cards, then Spell Cards, then Trap Cards, she had a complete and playable deck. She put it back in the box. She embraced both of her parents in glee.
"Thank you!"
"You are very welcome."
"We owe you this much considering we skipped out on your birthday this year."
Her mother then looked her in the eyes.
"Oh, that Deck is from Dad. Here's mine."
She reached under her sheet and pulled a moderately rusted Duel Disk.
"Now go out there and play."
May took the Duel Disk and nodded. She stood up and almost tripped running towards the door.
Lots of children were playing outside in this discrete part of town. They were a good distance away from any major city, and the closest, Domino City, was over 70 miles away. That said, even this remote town, the new card game Duel Monsters was a big hit. Most of the children had their own decks and their own duel disks, and those who didn't were the outcasts of the playground, but even the most unfortunate kid had at least one card they pulled out of the junkyard.
May met with her friend Drake Hamil, who had his duel disk strapped on his left arm. The young man was the same age as her, black hair, and a bit of a goofball as they called him. He was wearing a generic shirt with a Blue Eyes White Dragon print. He was a bit taller than May's 4'6", so he mostly looked down when talking to her.
He took one look at the contraption his friend was holding. It was quite a sad sight to see, comparing it to his slightly used but still in good condition, to her rusted one.
"Where'd you get the new cards?"
She showed him the whole deck. "My Christmas present."
He decided to let it go, and instead, he lifted his duel disk and set his own deck in. It wasn't nice to insult something that came from her parents. They were poorer than him, but he knew that doesn't make him better.
"Well, then. Wanna duel, May?"
May mimicked the motion and set her deck in.
"Of course. I'm glad my first duel is with you."
The duel disks' hologram generators set themselves to form the stage of the girl's first duel. The decks were shuffled and the battle was set.
"Duel"
Life Point Count:
May: 4000
Drake: 4000
Turn 1 and 2
"My turn!" Drake announced. "Draw!"
"I summon Ancient Brain in attack mode!"
The old, wise sage appeared in the field. The duel started to attract a number of other kids from the playground. Drake grinned at May.
"I set a card face-down. Turn end!"
May drew from her deck. "Draw!"
"I set a monster face down and set two cards. I end my turn!"
Turn 3 and 4
"Not attacking?" Drake asked.
"Not yet. I've seen enough T.V. duels to know attacking isn't always the best move."
"Ok then. My turn, draw!"
"I summon Tainted Wisdom in attack mode!"
The brain monster showed itself on the field.
"Tainted Wisdom, attack her set monster! Forbidden Knowledge!"
The monster attacked the set monster, making May smile.
"Haha! Defend, Mystical Elf!"
"What?!" Drake's eyes widened. "A high defense monster?"
"Yep, and and I activate my Trap card, Solemn Wishes! When I draw a card, I gain life points. Now take your recoil."
Mystical Elf generates a strong barrier of light that repels Tainted Wisdom away.
"Ugh! Wow, the first damage goes to you. I end my turn." Drake laughed. His heart pounding for some reason.
May could feel her heart pounding as well, but she very well knew that the pounding is from excitement. The children outside also cheer.
"My turn, draw! Solemn Wishes gives me 500 life points."
Water lightly sprays towards her.
"I summon Maha Vailo in attack position!"
The strange sorceress appears on May's field.
"I equip Horn of Light to Maha Vailo. Her Defense increases by four hundred. Not only that but she also gains five hundred attack for each card equipped to her."
Maha Vailo emanates a blue aura as her stats increase.
"Two-thousand fifty attack?! Wait, how are you so good at this?'
"I'm not. I just read the card text. I'm going off a limb here."
"It just means you're bad!" A child from outside shouts, making everyone except Drake laugh.
"Maha Vailo attack Tainted Wisdom!"
The blue spellcaster launches a beam of light that pierces through Tainted Wisdom and hits Drake as well.
"Ugh!"
Life Point Count:
May: 4500
Drake: 2450
Turn 5 and 6
"Draw!" The young man smirked. "I will win!"
"I activate Tribute to the Doomed. I send on card from my hand to destroy one on your field!"
He sent The Unhappy Maiden from his hand to the graveyard.
"I destroy Maha Vailo!"
"Trap activate! Magic Jammer! I negate a Spell Card by discarding one card from my hand. I cancel your Tribute to the Doomed!"
She sent Lady of Faith to the graveyard.
"Trap activate!"
"What?!" Drake laughed at May's shocked face.
"The rare card Seven Tools of the Bandit! By paying one-thousand life points, I can negate my opponent's Trap card! Maha Vailo is destroyed!"
Maha Vailo is sucked into a sarcophagus and is destroyed.
"Next, I Tribute Ancient Wisdom to summon Curse of Dragon in Attack mode."
The yellow-ish dragon roared as it is summoned.
"My Mystic Elf still has equal defense to that!"
"I equip Dragon Treasure to Curse of Dragon!"
May could almost hear herself curse as she saw her opponent's monster rise to 2300 attack.
"Attack Mystical Elf! Cursed Flame!"
Curse of Dragon spews a violet torrent of fire that destroys Mystical Elf.
"Mystical Elf!"
"Turn end!"
May grit her teeth in frustration. She had to draw a good card or else.
"This is the world of dueling you stepped into. Even if you are my friend, I won't hold back."
"It wouldn't be this fun if you did. Draw! Solemn Wishes activates."
She looked at the card and her small smile fell.
"I set a monster and place a card face down. I end my turn."
Life Point Count:
May: 5000
Drake: 2450
Turn 7 and 8
"My turn, draw! I summon Giant Soldier of Stone in attack position."
The stone statue materialized onto the field.
"Giant Soldier of Stone attacks your set monster."
The set monster turned out to be a copy of Nemuriko.
"Curse of Dragon attacks directly!"
The violet flames surrounded May as she was engulfed by it.
"Turn end!"
May shook off the flames and stood straight again. The children watching them were now quiet. The duel also attracted some of the members of a gang that ran most of town.
"Draw! Solemn Wishes!"
She looked at her hand and finally she found victory in her hand. She smiled at Drake, who became confused.
"I summon my own Giant Soldier of Stone and set one card face down. I end my turn!"
"That's it?"
May smiled smugly and put her hands on her hips. Drake shrugged his shoulders and just thought of it as a bluff.
"O~kay."
Life Point Count:
May: 2700
Drake: 2450
Turn 9 and 10
"Draw! I summon Three-Headed Geedo in attack mode."
He stared down the Giant Soldier of Stone at May's field and the set card she had. He realized he was taking a risk by attacking, but not attacking would allow her to Tribute summon. He just needed to do it.
"Curse of Dragon attacks Giant Soldier of Stone!"
The violet flames approached May's monster, but it never reached it. May's smile widened at her assured victory.
"Trap activate!"
When the card showed itself on the field, everyone in the vicinity knew the name of the card. With a strange unity, they all said the card's name in unison.
"HOLY BARRIER-MIRROR FORCE!"
"What?!"
"I know, right? I didn't think this card was in this deck at all. I was hoping for a Hane-Hane or Man-Eater Bug."
The violet flames hit an invisible forcefield and reflected it towards it's own field, destroying all the monsters that Drake had.
"I… end my turn."
"Draw! Solemn Wishes activated! I summon Destroyer Golem!"
Two Golems stood side by side on May's field.
"Attack directly!"
Drake covered his face as both Golems reached their giant fists at him. He heard his life points counter count down until it sounded the indicator for zero.
Life Point Count:
May: 3200
Drake: 0
Winner: May
May deactivated her duel disk and walked to Drake who had his eyes cast down. She reached out her hand, fully expecting it to get slapped away, but to her surprise, the boy held it and used it to pull himself up.
"Man," he said while scratching the back of his head. "Losing to someone who just got her deck today is quite humiliating."
"That's ok, right? Are you mad?" She asked.
"What? No, just disappointed. Losing in a duel is an honorable way to lose. Since I lost, I'll buy you some cards."
May suddenly embraced Drake, which made the latter blush very hard, to his disdain. He felt like the embrace was a bit too long, however. That's when May whispered in his ear.
"The Megacyber gang is looking at us."
He let go and when he turned around, a large thug was walking towards them. He looked at both the children menacingly, and both felt a chilling fear ran through their spines. They held their decks tightly in their hands.
"Nice duel kids." He said in a raspy voice as if he had been screaming. "Now I want that Mirror Force. You see, it's pretty rare, and powerful too." He held out his hand and waited.
May enclosed her hand around the deck even tighter.
"No."
"Oh? You defyin' me, Missy?'
"I'm not giving you one card from this deck."
The thug laughed. "Kid, when I want something, I get it. Any means necessary. Better give it now before things get ugly."
The Megacyber gang was a large gang that was present even in Domino City, but their main branch was within this town. Their leader, known only as The Boss, was a terrifying man. He hassled many establishments to accept his protection and asked for a large sum every month. The only territory he didn't cover was a small part, the poorer part, of the town. However, his underlings bullied this part as well. They took cards and possessions from the residents, often as roughly as possible. They mainly used Fiend-centered decks that was to strike fear into the hearts of anyone who dared to defy them.
"Someone has to stand up to you bullies!" She shouted.
"I agree."
The voice came from behind them. They all turned around to see a tall man in a three-piece suit. His hair was dark but had streaks of grey. His eyes were blue, and on his right arm was a light-weight duel disk, a model never seen before.
"Stealing cards from children. How distasteful can you be?"
"Who are you?"
"Just a guy passing by."
"Then mind your own business, suits!" The other thugs laughed at this.
"I intend to make these children my business. Uh, that didn't come out right. What I mean is that I'll protect these children."
He activated his duel disk. The sides simply slid out of the disk and the deck was shuffled.
"The name's Tyr, by the way. Kaiba Corp. Representative. I will see if you are a strong duelist as well. You might be able to stand in the same stage as Legendary Duelists, who knows? Sir Kaiba told me not to rule out any possibility."
The thug activated his duel disk and shoved his deck in.
"You won't be so smugly after this."
"Let's see."
The children, May and Drake included, sat at the sidelines and watched as the duel began. This was no longer a kid's duel. This is between grown-ups, loose professionals. They wanted to see how this would play out.
Duel!
