A couple of years ago I wrote 5Ds, Emperor Dragons, a story that was fairly duel-heavy and had some fair success. Now I'm returning to write a different story. Let me explain the timeline first: Team 5Ds has just fought Z-One, but they haven't decided to separate yet. Please don't mind the Dub names.
Yusei's Audio Logs, 5 months after ZONE incident.
[static]
It's been a few months since we fought Z-ONE. His future still haunts me. It makes me wonder: why am I here? Do I belong in this timeline? Was it all an illusion? What are the real powers here?
Regardless of what the answer is, we make our own fate. But right now we're judging our fate based on the future. That seems a bit illogical to me.
It's only been a few months that I've had any freedom.
But I've built the best future I can.
Fortune. Ener-D. Accel. All of these are just terminology from a past life.
I don't have any idea where my future is. I don't have any idea what I'm doing with my life after New Domino. I just know that as of late, the world's been safe.
This place is a bit different though.
No action on the streets. No duels. Nothing. They've been slow rebooting the city mainframe following WRGP. Few lanes. Not many challenges.
Some kids still come by during the weekends. They want to duel. It's been tough trying to duel all of them, and frankly, I'm a bit weary of it. But it's tough: the WRGP changed us from private to public citizens.
You'd think Jack would like this and all. He does get a bit of a King's reputation. But it's been the opposite. Jack wants more than a celebrity's reputation, but as image centered as he is, he thinks it's all beneath him. And he's been wasting his time. I can tell he wants to be at the top, alone. But he's wasting his time playing low-level circuits, attaining blowout win after blowout win.
Crow wants to return to pro leagues too. But they've been practicing separately, taking different tournaments, out of respect or some sort of passive-aggressive mind game. When they come back to the garage, they just don't talk about dueling. They haven't been talking much at all lately.
Akiza's been finishing school. She's been talking to me lately. I honestly feel bad for putting her off: she has the time as a graduating student. But I just can't seem to find the time. There's always something small that pops up: a kid wants to duel, a runner needs to be fixed, somebody wants advice, an orphan is lost… something happening. I don't mind it though: I understand that my transition from private to public has forced me into a sort of hero role… I guess I can accept that.
Emotion… Is that something that I have?
What do I tell that girl? Why can't I tell that girl how I feel? What is friendship? What do I even feel? For a man that's known for his clear mind and level-headedness, this is making me question some things.
How long can I keep emotion from preventing me from doing my job?
And what about life?
Is there something more? Maybe there is. The twins talk a lot about other cities. New Domino is only one place in the world… Traveling to the United States, where the twins are from, seems to be a decent idea. English is a global language, and all duelists are fluent…
I still believe I have a duty here.
And here we are again. Just routine life. Fixing runners. Working on mine. Retooling it.
I hope for the best.
[break]
Surveillance Video: New Domino City, 343 Muto Street, 13:50
A man walks out from a truck. He walks into a store, gun drawn. The owner proposes to duel the man for possessions, but the man insists on the possessions. He reveals an emblem, a red circle with a dot in the upper right corner. The owner drops his duel disk and gives into demands. The man smiles, and the owner drops onto the ground, collapsed into a fetal position. The man begins to walk out of the truck when he's engaged by a Ground Duelist who looks like a professional cosplayer in futuristic body armor. The Ground Duelist begins his duel.
Yusei: Muto Street, circa 14:10
"Closed off. Damn we're gonna be late." Yusei flipped on his phone to receive reports.
GROUND DUEL ON MUTO STREET. GANG ACTIVITY CONFIRMED. UNKNOWN INSIGNIA. RIDERS, BEWARE.
He began to inch up Muto Street, noticing that most of the cars had been parked neatly on the sides and that the light was still signaling.
"Street Duel?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, seems like it. Let's get a look. We'll be out here for a while."
Yusei and Leo stepped out of the runner.
"This one seems interesting." Yusei put his phone, but not before noticing a couple messages from Trudge.
"Yusei, this one looks like it's about to end!"
Duel Log:
GRD: Ground Duelist
GNG: Gang Duelist
GNG: 4000 LP GRD: 4000LP
Turn 1: GNG sets 2 S/T Cards, and summons Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 in attack position (LVL 4 1500/1000).
GNG: 4000 LP GRD: 3900LP
Turn 2: GRD summons Masked Dragon in attack position (LVL 4 1400/1000). He attacks Amphibious Bugroth MK-3. GNG's monster destroys Masked Dragon, and GNG chains S/T card 1, Deepsea Wreck, preventing non-Water type monsters from activating effects in the GY for this turn. GRD activates Dragon Ravine, a field spell, and discards Dragunity Phalanx to add one card to his hand, Dragunity Dux. GRD sets 1 S/T Card.
GNG: 4000 LP GRD: 1050LP
Turn 3: GNG activates "A Legendary Ocean", destroying Dragon Ravine. Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 (LVL 3 1700/1200). He summons Giga Gagagigo (LVL 5 - 4, 2650/1700). He enters his battle phase. Giga Gagagigo attacks first. GND chains Call of the Haunted, bringing back Masked Dragon. Giga Gagagigo destroys Masked Dragon. GND activates Masked Dragon's effect, allowing him to Special Summon one Dragon-type with 1500 ATK. He chooses Element Dragon (LVL 4 1500/1200). Bugroth attacks directly since Umi is on the field (A Legendary Ocean).
Muto Street, The Den, circa 14:05
Yusei and Leo pushed up towards a bar called The Den to have a better look.
Yusei handed his phone to Leo. "Hey, check this out. Recognize any of these cards?"
Leo scanned the Duel log.
"Hey, I think I saw that deck at school once. "A Legendary Ocean" was used by a former pro-duelist years ago! I don't remember much else because I fell asleep…"
He scrolled through further.
Yusei peeked over. "Masked Dragon," Yusei said, "special summons Dragon monsters after it's destroyed by battle."
He scrolled further.
"These cards are old. But they're Tier-2 in terms of price. You can tell these aren't ordinary duelists."
"What's Tier-2?"
"Expensive, because of their power. I wish I could pull up his decklist and show you."
Yusei shook his head. "I don't even have many Tier-2 cards."
Yusei observed the first man, about 7 feet tall, face concealed by a mask. He wore black power armor and had an array of military-weapons attached to his belt and one SMG on his chest. He then looked at the other man, who stood at around 5 foot 8 inches. He was dressed in a cloak, with a loaded pistol strapped to his waist. He then remembered that the shop he passed had been boarded up, and a body had been laid on the street.
Holograms displayed an armored lizard and a military vessel floating in a deepsea kingdom. A lone dragon stood across them.
What's going on here?
Main Street, Office of New Domino Security, circa 14:00
A weapon has been fired. It's not just Gangs. SWAT teams, report for duty! I repeat, SWAT Teams report for duty.
"Sir! SWAT Teams at your command! Unknown combatants designated," Misha, a police corporal reported.
"Helicopters ready?" Trudge fired back.
"Negative, Sir! We only have a short supply of resources."
God dammit, He thought.
"Corporal! Send orders to your commander that you need them mobilizing around Muto street! Make sure you close off the entrance and exit for the main city. Allow no new entries!"
These gangs have gotten more and more violent. What's going on here?
Muto Street, The Den, circa 14:30
"You won't be able to track me if I win, Captain! Wouldn't that be a setback?"
The armored man drew one card.
"Right as you do that. I activate Gravity Bind. Now your level 4 or higher monsters can't attack."
So that means that the cloaked dude will be able to win next turn. Yusei thought. Looks like the guy in the armor isn't putting up a fight.
The armored man spoke. "Your programming has improved since the last time we met, but you still haven't robbed enough people to put up a competent resistance."
The armored man played a card. "I summon Dragunity Dux!"
An anthropomorphic bird rose from the card's hologram.
"I activate his effect, allowing me to equip one Dragunity monster to him. I choose Dragunity Phalanx."
That won't do much. His monster is still level 4.
"I activate the effect of Dragunity Phalanx to special summon it from my Spell and Trap Zone! Next, I tune Level 2 Dragunity Phalanx with Level 4 Dragunity Dux to Synchro Summon Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg!"
Dragunity Knight - Gae Bulg (LVL 6 2000/1100) An armored bird and a serpentine dragon emerged from the brief flash of light.
"Big deal! So what. He can't attack. My Bugroth will get you next turn." The cloaked man seemed confident.
"That's alright because I reveal my Tempest - Dragon Ruler of Storms from my hand! Now, by banishing two Dragon-Type monsters in my hand or Graveyard, I can Special Summon him from my hand."
The man removed Masked Dragon and Dragunity Phalanx from play.
Tempest - Dragon Ruler of Storms (LVL 7 2400/2000) A lightning animation played and a large dragon emerged from the skies.
"But he won't be staying here for long! I activate Wingbeat of Giant Dragon, returning Tempest to my hand, and destroying your Spell and Trap cards."
The cloaked man gasped as his Spells and Traps were wiped away. He growled.
"We're gonna close this one out soon buddy. I reveal Blaster - Dragon Ruler of Infernos from my hand! Same effect, bigger dragon. Got nothing in my hand left now buddy."
Blaster - Dragon Ruler of Infernos (LVL 7 2800/2000) A dragon burst from the sky and landed hard on the street.
"Element Dragon's got some nice effects now. A 500 point attack bonus and two attacks during the battle phase! I think you know how this one's going to end."
Wheeler Street, circa 14:40
Body armor? Dammit, I don't have time! Trudge thought. We're going to lose both of them, and we'll be made fools! Where are those Helicopters?
Sector Security vehicles had finished forming a perimeter around the city.
"Good morning, Sir! Lieutenant Anderson, Fifth Brigade. I'm the chopper pilot today!" A voice came in to Trudge through the radio.
"Lieutenant Anderson. I want you to to get an ID on those duelists. And get the city AI to guess what they're doing here."
"Yes, Sir!"
Aliens? Gangs? What the hell are these things?
Muto Street, The Den, circa 14:45
The cloaked man hit the ground as soon as his life-points hit zero.
Just as Yusei and Leo started advancing towards the fallen man, they heard a burst of automatic fire hit him. Yusei threw himself to the ground and called out to Leo:
"Leo, run to my runner and get out of here!"
Leo ran, while Yusei raised himself, put his hands up above his head, and slowly walked to the armored man.
"I don't mean any harm… I just want to ask questions."
"Ask. I might answer." The armored man kept his SMG drawn.
"Who are you?" Yusei demanded. "Why did you do that?"
"Let's start with why. You'd think people play by the rules, but they don't, pal. I've met these boys before. Losing a duel only tells them you'd prefer to eat lead. They're best neutralized." The man's eyes shifted left to the street corner, where Sector Security bikes were filing into position. Yusei recognized one of the bikes as a SWAT variant. "Unless you like the taste of .5 cal. Although, I suppose dying would be better."
"What do you mean?!"
"I'll explain later. I gotta scoot though. I only have enough ammo for one police squad."
"What-" He started.
"Enough. For a guy dressed in space-alien armor, you'd think I would be able to slip out into broad daylight."
"Why haven't you shown up on local news reports?"
The man clipped the SMG onto his chest.
"Do you really think a mini-mecha man would be a good news feature for this town especially for what happened a few months ago, Yusei? A mini-mecha man in Japan?"
"How do you know my name?"
"I guessed. You look like that guy who's on the news all the time. Everyone talks about you."
The man looked around, backed up into the alley, and sighed.
"Tell you what. Mind the body. If you need to slip out, tell the owner of The Den that you know Marius. Also, I know where you live, and I'll swing by later. They're not going to like missing a chance to put a bullet in my brain."
"Marius? And who's shooting trying to you?"
"Yeah, Marius Thomas. I gotta go, and you better be good at talking to poorly trained military wannabes. Also - before I go - search that man's deck. He has something that belongs to me."
The man left into the alleyways.
