This is a story taking place in the manga timeline, set between Yu-Gi-Oh R and Yu-Gi-Oh Millenium World, meaning that any canon characters would be referred to by their original names(English Manga translation); i.e. Yugi Muto = Yugi Mutou, Joey Wheeler = Katsuya Jonouchi, Tea Gardner = Anzu Mazaki; etc.
The following rules are used for Duel Monsters-
Both players start off with 4000 Life Points and five cards in hand. The player that takes the first turn skips their draw phase. You can only play/set a maximum of one Spell Card and one Trap Card per turn. You may not play two or more of either. Fusion Monsters are treated not as actual cards, but as their materials instead, with Polymerization being active the whole time the Fusion is on the field, ergo they would be treated as the number of materials for a tribute summon(referred to as "Sacrifice Summon" {but if you offer any as a tribute, all of the materials must be tributed, this would result in the Fusion ceasing to exist.}) Fusion Monsters may not attack the turn they are created. All Spell Cards except Continous Spell Cards are treated as Quickplay Spell Cards.
If one player's Lp reaches zero or runs out of cards in the Deck, the other player wins.
This is a story about a duelist related to a rather...infamous former champion. Without further ado, let's begin!
In the city of Miami, Florida, the final round of a Duel Monsters Tournament, titled the First Annual Pegasus Memorial Match was underway.
On one side stood a man with blond cornrows with a white tank-top and baggy trousers. He wears the Kaiba Corporation Duel Disk on his left arm. His field held three annoying monsters-Ojama Yellow, Ojama Black, and Ojama Green. (0ATK/1000DEF X 3) Two reversed cards as well as Swords of Revealing Light were in his Spell & Trap Card Zone.
Chase-1200 Lp.
Across from him was a boy of eighteen with a single monster on his field-the Blackland Fire Dragon(1500ATK/800DEF), held at bay by the mystic swords. He had short black hair, with lightly tanned skin, wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt, jeans and boots. He also wore a Duel Disk.
Luke-4000 Lp.
Chase smirked. "You may have been winning up to this point, but now I'll win this game!"
His opponent yawned and covered his mouth. "Whatever."
Chase growled, drawing his card. "I activate Polymerization! This'll combine my three Ojamas into the King of Distrubing Beasts-Ojama King!" The three creatures morphed into a titanic white behemoth wearing a bikini bottom (as well as one over his head) a crown, and a cape. (0ATK/3000DEF)
Luke nearly puked at the sight of the ugly monster. "Disgusting thing."
"Now because Ojama King is on the field, you can only use TWO Monster Zones!" Chase added. "And one of them has that pansy dragon of yours! Your turn!"
"Draw!" Luke announced. He took the card he'd drawn and plucked Blackland Fire Dragon's card from his Disk.
"I offer Blackland Fire Dragon as sacrifice to summon Tiger Dragon!" The green cave dragon was engulfed in a vortex and was replaced by a creature resembling a cross between a Chinese dragon and a bengal tiger. (2400ATK/1800DEF)
"Big deal! My swords'll hold him down until the end of this turn anyway!" Chase boasted.
"Actually they won't. When Tiger Dragon is summoned by sacrificing a Dragon, it can destroy two Spell or Trap Cards."
"Wha-!?"
"Attack! Forbidden Roar!" The tiger/dragon hybrid roared, whipping up a wind that ripped apart the magic swords, and one of Chase's face-downs.
'That Trap was my Widespread Ruin-! Without it-"
"And I have a Spell Card that you'll really like. Stop Defense!" He plugged the card into his Disk, and Ojama King stood up.
"Tiger Dragon! Get that thing outta my sight! Tiger Pounce!" The dragon glided across the field, throwing itself at Ojama King, and rending it apart with it's claws.
Chase fell to his knees as the solid vision monster disappeared. "I lost..."
Luke walked up to him. "You may have lost, but you can do better. Keep trying and you'll win."
His opponent groaned before waving his hand derogitoraly and walked away.
One of the tournament organizers walked up and handed Luke a trophy of Toon Dark Magician Girl and Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon standing next to a bust of Maximillion J. Pegasus.
"Congratulations, Mr. Howard-" He said before Luke took the trophy in one hand before placing a finger firmly against his forhead.
"It's Oren now. Luke Oren."
"Forgive me. I meant no disrespect." The organizer said.
"It's alright. It is a recent change after all."
"In addition to the trophy, you've also won this." He handed him a deck of cards wrapped carefully in plastic.
"What is it?" asked Luke.
"A replica of Mr. Pegasus' personal Dueling Deck. I hope you'll treat it with all the respect and reverence it deserves."
After posing for a photo, Luke got in a taxi that took him to the airport. After a three hour flight, he arrived home- a small single story house in Omaha, Nebraska with a few bushes blocking the windows.
He took note of the muddy pickup truck in his driveway.
"That looks like...no...it couldn't be..." whispered Luke as he walked up, bewildered. He went inside, following the muddy bootprints that lead all the way to his pantry. He was shocked at the sight of the figure sitting in the floor.
An unshaven blond-haired brute with blue-eyes. He wore sunglasses that slooped off his face, an American Flag bandana wrapped around his fist, which was soaked with blood, shards of glass stabbing into his flesh. His clothing was a sleeveless gray shirt with kakhi pants and knee-high lace up boots. The man held a whiskey bottle in his left hand, taking a swig of it before throwing it behind him, causing it to shatter against the wall.
"Well, look who finally showed!" The stranger said. Though he was no stranger to Luke.
"K...Keith!? Why are you here!?"
"Can't a guy visit his little brother?" He asked with a smirk.
"B...but you're dead!"
"Was dead. Ma and Pop were shocked too, when I went to ask them where you were."
"How!? People don't just spring back to life after they blow their brains out!"
"You're not exactly gonna believe it, but let's just say I was brought back to life by some nut named Tenma that wanted revenge for Pegasus's murder."
"That still doesn't explain how!?"
Keith smirked again and pulled a deck of Duel Monsters cards from his pocket. "This. I still don't know how to explain it. He said pieces of my soul were in these cards, but I don't really believe that."
Luke was rather bewildered, but had no time to ponder the thought. Keith rose up and kicked him sharply in the ribs.
"Gak! What'd'ja do that for!?"
"Have I ever really needed a reason to kick you around?" asked Keith, who made his way to the refrigerator and opening it. "Now, what do you have to eat in this place? Let's see..."
"So I see you're still doing the blond hair thing," said Luke as he picked himself up.
"Yeah, but some punk I dueled really makes me wanna dye it back." Keith replied with a frown.
"Was it Katsuya Jonouchi?"
"Don't even say that ****'s name!" His brother shouted, throwing a jar at Luke, who barely managed to dodge it. "He's the reason I lost! He's the reason I'm a nobody! He's the reason I died in the first place!"
"If you were any kind of real duelist, you wouldn't have been dead and you might not have lost."
"What, you think you could've done any better!?"
"Yeah. I could've. You resort to cheating and other dirty tricks, and when things don't go your way, you either beat your opponent up, or-like you tried to do to Pegasus, hold them at gunpoint and threaten to kill 'em!"
Keith shot him a death glare and growled.
"Fine...know what? Let's have a match to see if you can cash those checks your mouth have been writing. And if you lose, I'm taking every single card you've got, trashing your house, AND making you wear some bruises for a while!"
Luke scowled right back at Keith until they were eye to eye. "You want it, you got it! But if I win, you get out of here, and never come back-dead, alive, or whatever the hell you technically are!"
Minutes later, the two of them were outside on the sidewalk, ready for their game. Each of them shuffled their Decks.
"Still going with Dragons?" Keith asked.
"Yeah. Still running those rusty Machines of yours?"
"Go with what works. After all, a weapon is better than any dumb animal, because a weapon exists only to do what you want it to."
"Did we agree to talk or duel!?" Luke growled, lifting his Duel Disk.
"Duel."
The two drew their five cards.
"I've got this in the bag. I summon Oni-Tank T-34!" A tank with a demonic face appeared, rolling onto the battlefield. (1400ATK/1700DEF) "Then I'll toss two cards face-down and end my turn. Your move, little bro!"
"My turn. Draw!" shouted Luke. "I summon Armored Dragon!" A large dragon standing on it's hind legs with armor-like hide appeared. (1900ATK/1400DEF)
Keith smirked, eyeing his set cards.
"I activate Stamping Destruction!" Luke said, plugging a Spell into his Disk. Keith's left face-down shattered, and he was hit by a pressured draft.
Keith-3500 Lp.
"Lemme guess, your Limiter Removal?"
"Shaddap!"
"Fine. Armored Dragon'll do the talking! Attack!" The dragon slugged the tank, causing it to tumble over, and shatter.
Keith-3000 Lp.
"I set one card and end my turn."
"Draw!" Keith announced. "I summon Guardian of the Throne Room!" A large yellow robot with missile launchers appeared. (1650ATK/1600DEF) "Next I'll pile on the Spell Engine Tuner!" Several goblins in repairmen outfit appeared on Guardian of the Throne Room, working on it. "This equips onto a Machine-Type monster, and gives it ATK equal half of it's DEF!" (1650-2450ATK)
"Guardian of the Throne Room, blast that Armored Dragon! Doom Bombardment!" The robot launched a barrage of missiles at Luke's monster, destroying it.
Luke-3450 Lp.
"I activate my face-down." Luke countered. "Bond of Dragons! This lets me Special Summon a Level 4 Dragon-Type Monster from my Deck when one I control is destroyed!
"To me, Dragonic Warrior!" A humanoid dragon wearing knights armor appeared, lifting a heavy sword. (1500ATK/1000DEF)
"Heh! I get your strategy! You were gonna summon that guy and use Dragon Unit Ritual to combine it with Armored Dragon to make Dragonic Knight! Well to hell with that move! Haha!
"Go ahead and take your turn."
Luke drew. "Spell Card! Twin Dragons!" He held up a card showing two dragons hatching from the same egg. "It lets me Special Summon a Dragon from my Hand with Stars equal to the number on a Four-or fewer Star Dragon on my field!
"Come out, Blackland Fire Dragon!" The green cave dragon appeared with a growl. (1500ATK/700DEF)
"I sacrifice Blackland Fire and Dragonic Warrior to summon Burning Dragon!" The two lesser beasts disappeared and were replaced by a large Eastern-style dragon with hide of molten rock. (2500ATK/2100DEF)
"That's...a new one..." noted Keith.
"When this beast is summoned...all Spell and Trap Cards are destroyed as well. Magma Flow!" The creature belched a stream of fiery magma that rushed over Keith's face-down and Engine Tuner. Guardian of the Throne Room's ATK fell back to normal.
"Attack! Eruption Blast!" The dragon belched again, this time shooting fire at the robot before it, melting it into slag.
Keith-2150 Lp.
"Hot enough for ya, bro?" Luke asked.
"I am so breaking your !^%#(*& nose when this is over!" growled Keith.
"You'll have to win first, Keith! I set one card face-down and end my turn!"
"I draw!" Keith shouted. "Now I activate Monster Reborn!" The holy ankh appeared, reviving Guardian of the Throne Room. "I sacrifice this puny monster for Machine King!" The robot vanished and was replaced by a larger rust red robot with horns and rocket fists. (2200-2300ATK/2000)
"I throw one card face-down and end my turn."
Luke drew his card. "Masked Dragon!" A rust red and cream colored dragon with it's face bound in a mask appeared with a growl. (1400ATK/1100DEF)
"Burning Dragon, rip that Machine King apart!" The molten wrym charged at the regal robot, rending him apart.
Keith-1950 Lp.
"That gets rid of-huh!?"
A large metal capsule appeared where Machine King once stood. It opened, and the same Machine stepped out, good as new. (2200-2300ATK)
"You triggered my Time Machine!" Keith said with a snicker. "That dumbass I fought actually gave it back to me after he swiped it from me at Duelist Kingdom. Well now it's back where it belongs!"
Luke scowled, before plugging another card into his Disk. A reversed card appeared before him in a flash. "End of turn."
"Draw!" Keith shouted. He looked to the card and smirked. "I summon Motor Shell!" A strange robot appeared resembling a car's engine block with a pair of spiked hubcaps to defend itself. (1300ATK/1800DEF) Machine King raised his fists at the presence of another Machine. (2300-2400ATK)
"I set one card and attack that &%$$# Masked Dragon with Machine King!" Machine King aimed his fist and shot it out like a missile. It hit Masked Dragon sending it to it's demise with a bellow.
"You know my Masked Dragon's effect full well, Keith," began Luke.
"Yeah, yeah, hurry up and bring on your next stupid Dragon so I can kill it too!"
Luke leafed through his cards before placing another Masked Dragon on his Disk-this time in Defense Mode.
"I think that's enough for one turn. Heh-heh!"
"My turn. Draw!" Luke shouted. "And I attack with Burning Dragon! Send Machine King back to the junkyard with Eruption Blast!" His monster roared, belching another blast of flame at Keith's Machine, but it survived the attack.
"What the-?!"
"Har-Har-Har! I activated another Trap Card." Keith laughed. "It's a doozy called DNA Surgery!"
Luke gasped as his monsters changed, becoming metallized. "What's the meaning of this?!"
"DNA Surgery changes all your Monsters into whatever Type I want them to be! And I picked Machine!"
"But...Machine King gains 100ATK for each Machine on the field-!" (2400-2600ATK)
"That's right! Machine King, counter-attack Burning Dragon! Rocket Punch!" The robot threw it's fist forward, reducing the metallized Burning Dragon to shrapnel.
Luke-3350 Lp.
"Better think of something new, little man!" Keith smirked.
"I...summon Troop Dragon in defense mode and end my turn." A small anthropomorphic green dragon dressed as an ancient Roman legionnaire appeared before turning into a draconian robot. (900ATK/700DEF)
'Keith's Machine King has too many defense points to be destroyed by my face-down Burst Breath now...I need to draw a better Dragon to use it! Still...if I know him, he'll use Motor Shell as a sacrifice to summon Motor Violence or Pendulum Machine...I still have a chance!' Luke thought.
Keith drew his next card. "Get ready, Luke. I sacrifice Motor Shell-" The enigmatic robot disappeared. "And summon Motor Violence!" A larger robot with a more advanced form than Motor Shell appeared. It's arms ended in blasters. (2100ATK/1200DEF)
"Motor Violence! Machine King! Simultaneous Attack!" The two ruinous machines assaulted the two dragons, only to be replaced by another Masked Dragon and Troop Dragon.
"One more Masked Dragon, and two more Troop Dragons," said Keith. "Not much longer and I'll be whaling on your Life Points!"
"That might be, but It's my turn now. Draw!" said Luke. He looked at the card and smirked.
"Tell me something...Jonouchi used nice Dragon-Type Monster too, didn't he. A really rare one I recall..."
"What are you getting at?" Keith asked.
Luke showed him the card. "I'll ditch my Troop Dragon and my last Masked Dragon to summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" The two smaller dragons disappeared, and were replaced by a large Western-Style Dragon with black hide and burning crimson eyes. (2400ATK/2000DEF)
Keith gasped before his hatred boiled to the surface. He remembered his face.
'J...Jonouchi-!' He thought. "That bastard finds me wherever I go-!"
"Bro...where did you get that card?" He asked with a menacing tone, gritting his teeth.
"Won it in an ante tournament, like that Battle City that Kaiba Corporation held a little while ago. I think it suits this Dragon Deck to a 'T' don't you?"
"Smart ass!" Keith shouted. "DNA Surgery turns Red-Eyes Black Dragon into a Machine-Type Monster!"
True to his word, Red-Eyes's body turned mechanical, not unlike it's Metalmorph'ed counterpart.
Luke set one card and waved his hand. "Your move."
"Draw!" Keith shouted. "I activate a Spell called Night Beam!" A laser beam shot from the his Duel Disk, and hit Luke's older face-down.
"Can't run the risk of hitting that nasty Burst Breath! Next I attack with Machine King! Rocket Punch!" The red and silver robot launched it's fist at the black dragon, shattering it.
Luke-3250 Lp.
"Nice move, but doing that triggered my other face-down."
"You gotta be $#!##!(& me!" Keith cursed. "I missed Burst Breath?!"
"No, you hit it. But this other card is more useful." It flipped up showing an image of Red-Eyes Black Dragon exploding. "Red-Eyes Burn!" The card released a dome of red-hot fire, encompassing the field, causing Motor Violence and Machine King to explode.
Keith was thrown back by the force of the blast as his Life Points hit zero.
"You lost." Luke said, walking over and taking Keith's cards. He leafed through them and took a card that he knew was his most valuable. "I'm taking your Barrel Dragon as payback for all the cards you stole from me." He dropped the others a foot away from Keith's hand.
"What do you-"
"I know all about it, so don't play dumb," his brother said. "You took four of my Decks- a total number of one-hundred and sixty cards with you to Duelist Kingdom, not to mention God only knows how many other of your own cards, or 'acquisitions' from other duelists, as well as your own Deck, knowing full well it was against tournament regulations!
"You are a disgrace to all duelists, and to the Howard name, which is the whole reason I changed mine when I left home!
"So get out of here, and get out of my sight!"
"Why you little-!" Keith growled. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun. He struggled with his finger on the trigger, pointed in Luke's face.
"Bah!" He threw the gun down and left in his truck.
A few minutes after watching him leave, Luke walked back to his house.
"Guess I'll have to explain the damages to the landlord. Oh well. I need some shut-eye."
0
As Keith Howard drove away, he focused on Jonouchi and Luke.
"Heh...who needs 'em." He said aloud, as he flew down the empty road at higher than necessary speeds. In the blink of an eye, a dark figure appeared in the middle his lane. "What the-?!"
In order to miss him, he swerved out of the way, only for the truck to tumble over, windows breaking.
A minute later, Keith scrambled out of the downed truck, patting himself down. "I...I'm alive! I'm alive..."
"Not for long..." A haunting voice echoed from behind.
Keith turned to the black robed figure. "Hey! You )%$!" You caused me to wreck my ride! I hope you got ass-whooping insurance!" He slammed his fist into the palm of his hand, as an intimidation effort. The figure was not deterred.
"Your soul is not meant to be among the living...a spirit that echoes life and death...an unnatural thing..." The figure approached him. Keith tried to punch him in the face, but it grabbed his wrist and his mouth.
Keith gasped and grunted, but his gasps and grunts turned to shrieks and whimpers when he saw his attacker's pale...withered face, and soulless black eyes.
0
Things don't look good for Bandit Keith! Will Luke be able to hold this attacker off when it comes for him?
As a note, I have Keith not as a natural blond because it would be odd for his English version self in the anime to refer to Joey/Jonouchi as "Blondy."
Card Index
Motor Shell
Level 4/Attribute Unknown(Presumably DARK)/Machine/Effect/1300ATK/1800DEF
When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Parts Token" in Attack Position(Level 1/DARK/MACHINE/0ATK/0DEF) This Token cannot be placed in Defense Position.
Motor Violence
Level 6/Attribute Unknown(Presumably DARK)/Machine/Effect/2100ATK/1200DEF
When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, Special Summon 2 "Parts Tokens" in attack position(stats listed above) These tokens cannot be placed in defense mode.
Engine Tuner
Equip Spell Card
Equip this card to the Machine-Type Monster on the field with the highest ATK. It gains ATK equal to half it's DEF. This card remains face-up on the field even if the equipped monster is destroyed, and may be used again during either Main Phase.
Note: These cards were used by "Bandit" Keith Howard(obviously) in Yu-Gi-Oh R. Creative credit goes to Akira Ito and others involved in that project.
Dragonic Warrior
Level 4/Attribute Unknown(Possibly EARTH, DARK, or FIRE)/Dragon/1500ATK/1000DEF
Armored Dragon
Level 4/Attribute Unknown(Possibly EARTH, DARK, or FIRE)/Dragon/1900ATK/1400DEF
Bond of Dragons
Trap Card
When a Level 4 or Lower Dragon-Type Monster you control is destroyed: Special Summon a Level 4 or Lower Dragon-Type Monster from your Deck.
Twin Dragons
Normal Spell Card
Select 1 Level 4 or lower Dragon-Type Monster on your Field: Special Summon 1 Dragon-Type Monster from your Hand with the same Level.
Burning Dragon
Level 8/FIRE(Presumably)/Dragon/Effect/2500ATK/2100DEF
When this card is Summoned: destroy all Spell and Trap Cards on the Field.
Note: The preceding five cards were used by Jun Majome/Chazz Princeton in the Yu-Gi-Oh GX manga. Creative Credit goes to the writers.