Prologue
It is the year 2122, and Teknisk Wereld is still as popular as ever. It has undergone mass changes, and despite nearly being deleted, it is currently thriving.
In 2100, Hope Gales, Rue Klaus, Max Driger, Will Brown, Brandi Driger, Miles Salum, Draken Drayfall, Fell Luna, Larka Luna, and Zackary Wright collected the three god cards to banish Satan. They were banished from Teknisk Wereld in the process, and each had to wait until reaching the age of twenty before returning.
In 2107, it became clear why this had happened. The creator of Teknisk Wereld, Sarov Yggdrasill, wished to delete it. All but Fell Luna stood against him, for he had left the world with Sarius Tirran. They found the Guardian of Teknisk Wereld, who called herself Angela, and fought alongside her against a group Sarov had hired, the Judges. When the Judges fell, they confronted Sarov, and were victorious. This came at a high price though, for Angela died defending them.
Seven months later, amongst other happy events, Hope finished writing the first book from a series called Teknisk Wereld. In all, she wrote six to cover their previous adventures, and said at the end that their adventures were not over.
Thus, it is time to tell another story, one where many paths meet.
Chapter One: New Beginning
Max stared out of the window at the stars, his mind in a turmoil. Usually it calmed him to look out at them, but right now, they were not helping.
"Max?"
He did not turn at the voice, knowing who it was. A moment later, she wrapped her arms around him from behind, saying, "Why don't you come back to bed?"
Max shook his head. "I doubt I will get much sleep, Hope. Tomorrow is his thirteenth birthday, after all."
"You worry too much," Hope said lightly. "Nothing will go wrong."
"I hope so," Max said, allowing her to lead him back to their bed. "I hope so."
…
Generally, mornings were expected to be peaceful, quiet times where families would rise and prepare themselves to face a new day. However, there were always exceptions, such as in a certain household in Myrtle Beach.
"Kurtis! Come on Kurtis, wake up!"
The only response from the girl's shouting was a soft groan. Turning over under his covers, the brown-haired boy muttered, "Five more minutes…"
"This happens every time!" the girl said with a frustrated scowl. She was already dressed, with a pink t-shirt, khaki shorts, and brown shoes. Her dark brown hair went to her shoulders, and her brown eyes were narrowed as she glared at the boy.
Her thoughts on how she would give the boy a rude awakening were abruptly put on hold at the sound of a loud knock. She turned and ran for the door at once, knowing already who it would be.
As she did, she passed a woman in her late twenties who was lying on the couch in their living room. Clad in a red bedrobe, her silver-dyed hair went to her shoulders, and her blue eyes opened and fixed on the girl as she ran by.
"Morning Chasity!" she called as she sped to the door.
"Where does she get her energy?" Chasity muttered, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.
The girl halted in front of the door and opened it. "Hi Courtney!"
"Good morning, Leigh!" she answered. She had on a gray tank-top, red shorts, and blue athletic sandals with a white stripe over the foot strap. In her hand was a small brown bag. Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail, leaving her blue eyes unobstructed. "Today's the big day!"
"Yeah, and Kurtis still managed to sleep through it somehow," Leigh said, rolling her eyes.
"That's typical," Courtney said. "But don't worry, I have a great idea for making him jump! See, here's what we'll do…"
After a short conference that was filled with many giggles, the two girls went back towards Kurtis' room, Courtney saying, "Morning Chasity!" as they passed.
"Great, two out of three," Chasity grumbled, now sitting up.
Once they arrived in Kurtis' room, they went next to his bed, Leigh lamenting, "He just won't get up."
Courtney winked at her, saying in a highly fake-sounding voice, "You don't think he's sick, do you?"
"You know, he might have the flu," Leigh replied, winking back.
Grinning, Courtney pulled out a leak from the bag she carried, saying, "I hear a leak enema is a household cure for the flu in some Asian countries. Want to give it a try?"
"Let's!" Leigh answered with a smirk.
Kurtis bolted out of bed at that, his blue eyes pleading for mercy as he said, "I'm up, I'm up, just don't hurt me!"
Courtney spun the leak in hand a few times, saying, "Next time, get up when your sister first asks."
"Yes ma'am!" Kurtis said.
Leigh indicated to his gray pajamas, saying, "Hurry up and get dressed so we can get going."
Eye twitching at the amount of noise the three teenagers were making from the other room, Chasity yelled, "Stop being so loud!" She put a hand to her forehead and sighed, saying, "Kids. I hope I never have any."
Kurtis got his changed into his clothes in record time, which were a green t-shirt, black jeans, and brown shoes. He emerged from his room, saying, "It's finally time!"
"You took too long growing up," Courtney teased. "Made it annoying for the rest of us."
"Hey, it's not my fault you two decided to wait until I was thirteen before signing up," Kurtis pointed out.
"It wouldn't be much fun without having my dear brother along," Leigh said. She looked around the room, saying, "Guess we'll be off once Chasity's ready."
"In other words, now." Chasity stepped into the room, now wearing a black tube-top, light-purple sweatpants, and brown ballet flats. "I have the paperwork, so let's get moving."
As they headed for the door, Chasity called back, "Petra, hold the fort!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know!" they heard Chasity's Soul Monster answer before closing the door.
"I hope my Soul Monster doesn't act like her," Kurtis muttered.
"Just wait until I tell her you said that," Leigh said.
"Please, don't!" Kurtis said, waving his hands frantically. "That's the last thing I need her hearing!"
"You really need to learn to watch what you say," Courtney said with a laugh. "Your mouth's going to get you in trouble one of these days."
"So everyone tells me," Kurtis sighed.
The registration building was not far away. They arrived after a ten minute walk and entered. The room they entered had little worth noting, with white walls, gray tiles, a gray door across the room, and a gray counter. A woman stood behind the counter, wearing a white lab coat.
"That's it? I was hoping for something a bit more… exciting," Kurtis whispered to Leigh and Courtney.
"Well, it's just registration, what did you expect?" Leigh pointed out.
Chasity went straight to the woman with the trio following her. "Hi, we're here to have these three registered."
"Wonderful!" the woman said enthusiastically, and pointed to the door. "Through there, please."
They proceeded through the door, where the room looked almost identical, except a man stood behind the counter. He peered at them, and indicated to Kurtis while saying, "He's signing up?"
"I'm not the only one!" Kurtis said, clearly annoyed to be seen as the youngest at first sight.
"Two of them waited for him to be old enough," Chasity explained, handing him three sets of forms. "Here's the information."
The man scanned the papers briefly before putting them away. "It looks like everything's in order." He reached underneath the counter and began taking out boxes. Three of them were small enough to fit in a hand, and the other three were about the size of a soccer ball. The man gave each of them the two different boxes, saying, "The smaller one is an Envoyant Machine, and the larger is a Duel Disk." He took out a binder and flipped it open, revealing pages that could hold nine cards in the front and nine in the back. Each pocket had a white card, with no picture visible. "And these are Soul Cards. Run your hand over them until you find one that feels right."
"Feels right? What's that supposed to mean?" Kurtis asked.
"Why not try it yourself?" the man suggested.
Kurtis did so, flipping through the pages as he touched each one. He abruptly stopped on one and pulled it out, blinking. "It's warm…"
"Then that's yours. Who's next?" The man offered the binder to Leigh and Courtney.
"I'll go," Leigh answered. She felt the cards until she halted and gingerly removed it. "Here's mine."
"That leaves me." Courtney took a while to find hers, but eventually discovered it. "Okay, done."
"You're all set," the man said, replacing the binder. "Enjoy your time in Teknisk Wereld."
"Thanks, we will!" Leigh said. Kurtis and Courtney nodded in agreement, and the four of them left the building.
The return trip had the teenagers in a higher state of excitement than before, as the items they had received were ones they had heard of many times. Eager to enter the world their family and friends talked of so much, it was no surprise that they made it home far more quickly than when they had set out.
"We're back!" Chasity said when they entered.
"I noticed," Petra answered once they were in the living room. While Chasity had aged noticeably over the past fifteen years, Petra remained the same, as most Soul Monsters did. Her outfit was still a short-sleeved white shirt and a white skirt, leaving most of her tanned skin and her midriff visible. Gold bracelets covered part of her arms, and both of her legs had a matching hoop. Yellow hair fell to her waist, with a white, cloth bonnet and gold circlet keeping it controlled. Her eyes were a fierce purple, which went with the feathers that were attached to the ends of the cloth.
Chasity joined Petra on the couch, leaving the remaining three to sit on the floor. They went to work at opening the boxes, revealing two items. The smaller boxes each contained a black earpiece, and the bigger ones provided a large, white bracelet that covered most of the forearm. By examining them, they were able to discover how to open the Duel Disks and insert their decks into them.
"It's amazing how much technology has improved," Chasity remarked, strapping on her own Duel Disk. "When I first started coming to Teknisk Wereld, the Envoyant Machines were helmets, and the Duel Disks couldn't fold up. These are far more convenient."
"Wow, if you remember those, you really are old!" Kurtis joked.
His words earned him a prompt smack over the head. "I advise you enter before I do more than just that," Chasity growled, lifting her hand threateningly.
"R-right away!" Kurtis said, putting on the earpiece and lying down. The earpiece had a tiny green button on it, which he pressed. His eyes closed, showing that he had entered the virtual world.
"He could have waited for us!" Leigh complained, placing herself next to him and activating her own Envoyant Machine. Courtney promptly did the same.
"Here or there, I'm going to get a headache either way," Chasity said with a sigh.
Petra shrugged. "Surprised you haven't learned it by now, but life sucks."
"Believe me, how I know," Chasity responded. Before she could continue, a voice came from the front.
"We're home!"
"That would be Hope," Chasity muttered. She called back, "You're a few seconds too late! They just left to enter Teknisk Wereld."
The speaker and her husband came in at these words. Hope was currently wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and gray tennis shoes, with her dark-brown shoulder-length hair being kept back in a ponytail by the green and gold clip Max had given her. Her blue eyes gazed at the three lying on the floor, and she smiled. "I'm not surprised. They were anticipating this day for a long time."
"Isn't that the truth," Max said. He wore surprisingly nice clothes, being clad in a long-sleeved gray shirt, black pants, and formal black shoes. Along with his dark brown hair was a visible outline for a beard and a moustache, which he kept shaved at all times. Living with Hope had improved his health to the point of there being no signs of his close encounters with death. Now his brown eyes showed no signs of exhaustion or grimness.
Hope looked around the living room. "Where's Brandi? Did she not come with Courtney?"
Chasity grimaced. "Actually, she's in the hospital."
"What happened?" Max said in alarm.
"She got into an accident a week ago," Chasity said, making a disgusted expression. "I'll let her fill you in on the details. I didn't want to tell you sooner, since you were on vacation and all."
"Thanks," Hope said. "But we'd best go see her."
"Yeah, we'll do that while they enjoy exploring a new world," Max said, smiling slightly. His family had improved his ability to feel and show happiness, making him a more pleasant person to be around… most of the time.
"Would you look after them a little while longer, please?" Hope requested.
"That was what I was planning on," Chasity said.
"Unfortunately," Petra muttered.
Either Hope did not hear her, or she ignored the comment. "Thank you. We'll visit Brandi and be back to prepare for tonight. See you then!"
"Bye." Chasity watched the pair leave, and then attached her own Envoyant Machine. "Guess there's no point in delaying. Let's make sure they haven't gotten mauled by a Flower Wolf or something."
"You almost sound like you care about them," Petra said, smirking.
"In your dreams," Chasity grumbled, hitting the button on her Envoyant Machine.
…
Chasity and Petra found themselves in the forest, a short distance away from the trio. Neither was surprised to see a fourth person there as well, who Chasity greeted as they went over.
"Lance, good to see you," she said.
The boy grinned in response. "Hi Chasity!"
Traits from both his parents were apparent with Lance. He wore a bright red t-shirt with blue jeans, black tennis shoes, and a gold dragon pendant around his neck. His dark silver hair went to his shoulders, and his turquoise eyes shone in exhilaration.
"Why doesn't she ever get mad at you?" Kurtis complained.
"Maybe because I don't irritate her twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week," Lance joked.
"So what do you think of Teknisk Wereld?" Chasity asked.
"It's even more amazing than I thought it'd be!" Leigh said happily. "I know Mom and Dad have talked about how real it is, but there's nothing like actually being in it!"
"Yeah, it's wonderful!" Courtney agreed.
"If this is our reaction to the first location, imagine what we'll be saying when we see the rest of the world," Lance said.
"Should we explore?" Leigh suggested.
"No way! One of the reasons I've been waiting so long to enter Teknisk Wereld is to be able to duel with these!" Kurtis said, tapping his Duel Disk. "So let's do that first!"
Courtney smiled playfully. "All right then, let's duel. Let's see if having holograms will help you in besting your elders."
Kurtis glared at her. "Did you have to mention that?"
"I always do," Courtney said, pressing a button on the Duel Disk. It unfolded, forming a flat playing surface. "Me, then Lance, then Leigh, then you… that's how it is for ages, and nothing you do is going to change it."
"Doesn't mean I can't take you down in a duel!" Kurtis retorted, activating his own Duel Disk.
"What about Soul Monsters?" Leigh asked. "Should we call them out now?"
"I haven't tried mine," Lance said.
"Nah, let's wait on that," Kurtis said. "I want to prove that I can win this without outside help!"
"Your funeral," Courtney responded.
Kurtis: 8000
Courtney: 8000
"I'll let you go first, it being your birthday and all," Courtney said.
"Thanks," Kurtis said. "I lay a monster and end my turn."
"You're not going to get very far like that!" Courtney said. "In fact, I don't even have to mess with your monster. I'll summon Sonic Shooter (1300/600) and use his effect! Since you have no magic or trap cards, he can attack directly!"
While they had seen duels with holograms before, it was different than actually being in one. Kurtis flinched as the Sonic Shooter made contact with him, despite it not hurting.
Kurtis: 6700
Courtney: 8000
"I lay a card down, and that's it," Courtney said.
"You may have gotten the first blow, but this one will be a lot more painful!" Kurtis said. "I summon Magic Freight Car Bokoichi!" (500/500)
Courtney groaned. "I can guess what's coming."
"That's right," Kurtis said, grinning. "I'm going to play Machine Replication Factory! I select one of my Machine Sub-Type monsters with 500 attack or less and special summon up to two more from my deck. I'll choose Bokoichi to get two more! Then I flip over Magic Locomotive Dekoichi! (1400/1000) Normally I'd draw one card, but when I have a Bokoichi on my field, I draw an amount equal to them!" Kurtis drew three cards. "Dekoichi attacks Sonic Shooter!"
"I'll stop you with Itaqua's Gale!" Courtney retorted. "All face-up monsters on your field switch position, so your monsters are now in defense mode!"
"Drat," Kurtis said. "I lay two cards down and end."
"My turn to attack," Courtney said. "I play the field magic card Desert Storm! You should know what that does."
"Raises all Wind Main-Types' attack by 500 and lowers their defense by 400," Kurtis recited as the forest field became a desert area with fierce winds. "In other words, every monster in your deck is affected by it."
"I'll help boost their attack even more by summoning Blade Fly! (600/700) His effect raises Wind Main-Types' attacks by 500 and lowers the attacks of Earth Main-Types by 400," Courtney explained. (2300/200) (1600/300) "Sonic Shooter destroys your Locomotive, and Blade Fly attacks one of your Cars! I lay a card down to finish."
"Your Blade Fly's effect is too annoying to let it stay," Kurtis said as he drew. "I activate Cracking Hatchet on my draw phase!"
"What does that do again?" Courtney asked.
"It's a trap that decreases the targeted monster's attack by 500 for each of my standby phases. (1100/300) That makes him weak enough to fall to my monster, Machine King-Prototype!" (1600/1500) Kurtis declared, summoning it. "Since he's an Earth Main-Type, he loses attack, but his effect means that his attack is increased by 100 for each Machine Main-Type other than him on my field! (1400/1500) Machine King-Prototype attacks Blade Fly!"
"You'll wind up destroying him either way, but I'll activate Spirit Barrier!" Courtney said. "As long as I have a monster on my field, I take no damage in battle."
"As long as your Blade Fly is gone, I don't care," Kurtis said, watching the Machine King-Prototype blow it up. "I'm done."
"This should make you care," Courtney told him. "I sacrifice Sonic Shooter for Monstrous Bird of the Valley of Mists! (2900/1000) He attacks Machine King-Prototype!" (1800/1500)
"Call me a copycat if you want, but I'm activating my own Spirit Barrier!" Kurtis said.
"That's annoying," Courtney said with a frown. "Guess that's all I can do."
"Time to take down your heavy hitter," Kurtis announced. "I play Shrink on Monstrous Bird to cut his base attack in half! (1700/1000) Then I play Early Burial, paying 800 Life Points to bring back Machine King-Prototype! (1800/1500) He attacks your monster!"
Kurtis: 5900
"Hm… I'm going to have to revise my next move," Courtney commented as the Machine King-Prototype destroyed her huge bird. "Done?"
"I am," Kurtis confirmed.
"In that case, I'll summon Newt (2400/0) and attack Nanobreaker!" Courtney said. "Nothing else, though."
Kurtis considered the card he had drawn. "Spirit Barrier has been helping me a lot, but I'm willing to sacrifice it. I play Tempest to destroy all the magic and trap cards on the field! That means both our Spirit Barriers and your Desert Storm is gone! (1900/400) Then I summon Transformable Mechanical Beast Gunner Dragon! (2800/2000) Normally he requires two sacrifices, but I can summon him without any, causing his stats to be cut in half! (1400/1000) That's not enough to take down Newt, so I play an instant magic card, Limiter Removal!"
"Ugh, not that," Courtney groaned. "It doubles all of your Machine Sub-Types' attacks." (2800/1000) (1000/500)
"Yep," Kurtis said. "I switch both my remaining Bokoichis to attack mode. Gunner Dragon attacks Newt, and the Bokoichis attack directly!"
Courtney braced herself, but the charging cars still managed to knock her over on impact.
Kurtis: 5900
Courtney: 5100
"I end my turn, causing my monsters to be destroyed from Limiter Removal," Kurtis stated. His three machines blew up at those words.
"Not bad," Courtney said, rising. "But you left your field open. I summon Stargazing Bird-Laris (800/800) and attack directly!"
The bird's weak attack did little to Kurtis, but what irritated him was how it instantly flew away afterwards, leaving the field.
Kurtis: 5100
Courtney: 5100
"That thing is so annoying!" Kurtis complained. "It's the one that is removed from the game after the damage step, right?"
"Right," Courtney said. "Laris will return at the start of my next battle phase. Anyway, I'm done."
"At least you have nothing to stop this," Kurtis said. "I summon Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) to attack you directly!"
The robotic bird gave a metallic screech, sending a fire stream at Courtney that scorched her.
Kurtis: 5100
Courtney: 3900
"Do your worst," Kurtis said.
"I think I will!" Courtney replied. "I remove Blade Fly to special summon Spirit of Air: Garuda! (1600/1200) Then I summon Hunter Owl! (1000/900) His attack is increased by 500 for every Wind Main-Type on my field! (2500/900) Stargazing Bird-Laris returns to my field, and Laris attacks Cyber Phoenix!"
"What? He's too weak!" Kurtis protested. Despite that, the smaller Laris shot stars out of its wings, destroying the Cyber Phoenix.
"You forgot that on the damage step, his attack increases by 200 times the level of the monster he attacks," Courtney reminded him. (1600/800) "He is removed, which lowers Hunter Owl's attack, (2000/900) and I'll attack with both of my remaining monsters! That's all for now."
Kurtis: 1100
Courtney: 3900
"I need something good to get out of this…" Kurtis said, drawing. "Yes! I summon Card Gunner! (400/400) I'll activate Machine Replication Factory on him to special summon two more from my deck! Then I play Magic Shard Excavation! By discarding two cards from my hand, I can get back a magic card from my Cemetery, so I'll do that to get Limiter Removal! Now I'll use my Card Gunners' effects! I can discard up to three cards from the top of my deck to power each one up by 500 per card. I discard nine to do that to all of them! (1900/400) Now I use Limiter Removal to double their attacks! (3800/400) They attack for the win!"
The three robots brought up their arms and shot a barrage of rounds, tearing through her monsters and hitting Courtney brutally.
Kurtis: 1100
Courtney: 0
"See? I may be younger, but I can still beat you in a duel!" Kurtis said triumphantly.
Courtney seemed about to respond, but instead cleared her Duel Disk of cards and shuffled her deck, dully saying, "Yeah, you won."
Her companions knew that Courtney could lose confidence easily at times, and this was probably one of those occurrences. Lance took the initiative by saying, "Courtney, how about we duel? It'd give you a chance to show Kurtis that you can win."
"All right," Courtney agreed, brightening at that. "Thanks."
"Not a problem. Just know that I'm not about to go easy on you. Dad always taught me that was disrespectful to the opponent," Lance said, activating his Duel Disk.
"I wouldn't have it any other way!" Courtney replied, sliding her shuffled deck into her Duel Disk.
Courtney: 8000
Lance: 8000
"You can go first if you want," Lance offered.
"I will, thanks," Courtney said. "I lay a monster and a card down."
"Let's see if you have a trap down to stop an attack," Lance said. "I summon Hell Dragon (2000/0) and attack!"
"I actually do have one," Courtney confirmed. "It's Itaqua's Gale, and it'll switch your Hell Dragon to defense mode."
"At least that got it out of the way," Lance said. "I lay two cards down, and my Hell Dragon is destroyed on my end phase since he attacked."
"I knew you would be placing some traps down," Courtney said. "That's why I wanted to keep this monster alive. I flip over Kunoichi Yae! (1100/200) She allows me to discard a Wind Main-Type from my hand to send all of the magic and trap cards on your field to your hand, so I'll discard Death Cyclone to do that! I summon Newt (1900/400) and play Early Burial on Death Cyclone!" (2000/1500)
Courtney: 7200
Lance: 8000
"Death Cyclone? Isn't that the monster that has a really low attack for a level seven?" Kurtis said.
"Yes, but his effect makes up for that," Leigh informed him. "When destroyed in battle, all monsters other than Wind Main-Types on the field are destroyed."
Kurtis whistled. "Not bad at all!"
"My three monsters attack you directly!" Courtney declared. A furious onslaught of blows followed that, nearly sending Lance flying. He managed to keep his footing, even though the assault took more than half his Life Points away.
Courtney: 7200
Lance: 3000
"Good one," Lance said, drawing. "If you got another shot like that at me, there's no way I'd survive. Fortunately, I can destroy your monsters now. I summon Lord of Dragons-Dragon Ruler (1200/1100) and play Dragon Calling Horn! It allows me to special summon two Dragon Sub-Types when I have a Lord of Dragons on the field, so I bring out Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) and Tyrant Dragon!" (2900/2500)
"Tyrant Dragon!" Leigh said, gazing at the huge red and black dragon in awe. "It's been a while since Lance got him out."
"But I'm glad I did," Lance said. "Not only because he looks awesome in 3-D either. Tyrant Dragon can attack twice if the opponent has a monster out, which means he'll do a lot of damage before Death Cyclone takes him out. I attack Newt with Sapphire Dragon, killing them both! Then Tyrant Dragon attacks Yae, and Death Cyclone after that!"
The fire-breath attack the Tyrant Dragon used was certainly impressive, although some of its glory was stolen by the Death Cyclone sucking him and the Lord of Dragons into a vortex upon its death, leaving Lance's field empty.
Courtney: 4500
Lance: 3000
"I'll put my two cards back down and end my turn," Lance concluded.
"Guess I'm going to have to deal with them this time," Courtney said. "I summon Eagle Eye (1300/1200) and attack you directly!"
"Sorry, that one's not going through!" Lance countered. "I activate Cry of the Living Dead to special summon Sapphire Dragon!"
"All right, I call off the attack," Courtney said. "I lay a card down to finish."
"I don't like the looks of that card you have down, so I'll summon Mirage Dragon!" (1600/600) Lance said.
Courtney flipped over her card. "I activate
Tidal Wave to destroy all monsters on the field."
Rather than
reacting with frustration or anger, Lance laughed. "Dang, I walked
into that one! Your turn."
"You did," Courtney agreed, grinning. "I summon Sonic Shooter (1300/600) and attack directly!"
The attack itself was not very strong, but in his weakened state, it had a surprising impact.
Courtney: 4500
Lance: 1700
"Your move," Courtney said.
"Okay. I summon Dol Dora (1500/1200) and attack!" Lance said.
Two swift bites tore apart the Sonic Shooter, leaving Courtney's field bare.
Courtney: 4300
Lance: 1700
Lance showed her his empty hand. "Nothing else I can do."
"I lay a monster down, and that's it," Courtney said.
"At least this trap will finally see some use," Lance commented. "I activate Dragon Rage! When my Dragon Sub-Types attack defense monsters, they still deal damage. Dol Dora attacks yours!"
"That was Blade Fly," Courtney said. (600/700)
Courtney: 3500
Lance: 1700
"That turned out better than I hoped. You're up," Lance said.
Courtney looked at the two cards she held thoughtfully. "This should work. I remove Blade Fly to bring out Spirit of Air: Garuda! (1600/1200) Then I summon Tornado Bird! (1100/1100) Garuda attacks Dol Dora, and Tornado Bird attacks directly!"
Courtney: 3500
Lance: 500
The two attacks left Lance at dangerously-low Life Points. He glanced at his counter and said, "I'm just lucky you didn't have a stronger monster!"
"You've got that right," Courtney replied playfully. "Your turn."
"On your end phase, Dol Dora returns to my field with reduced stats," Lance said. (1000/1000) "I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) and attack Garuda! That's all for me."
Courtney: 3200
Lance: 500
"Your Spear Dragon is too dangerous to leave alone," Courtney stated. "I summon Stargazer Bird-Laris (800/800) and attack Spear Dragon! (1600/800) He is removed, and Tornado Bird attacks Dol Dora. I'm done."
Lance considered his options, and then said, "I have no choice but to pass."
"Then it's over," Courtney said. "I summon Hunter Owl, (1000/900) who is powered up by his own Main-Type and Tornado Bird's. (2000/900) I enter the battle phase, causing Laris to return. (2500/900) Hunter Owl delivers the final blow!"
The owl descended on Lance with a screech, talons ripping away his remaining Life Points.
Courtney: 3200
Lance: 0
"Ouch! Looks like you nailed me," Lance said, smiling sheepishly as he cleared his Duel Disk.
"O rly?" Kurtis said.
"Ya rly," Lance replied.
"No wai!" Leigh and Courtney finished.
"I hate kids," Chasity grumbled to Petra, who nodded in agreement.
"So what now?" Courtney asked.
"You three got to duel, so now I want a turn!" Leigh said. "How about it, Lance? Let's see if you can restore your honor by beating me!"
"I'm up for that," Lance said. "Ready?"
"Always!" Leigh answered, activating her Duel Disk.
Lance: 8000
Leigh: 8000
"Since you lost, I'll let you go first," Leigh said.
"Sure thing. I summon Sapphire Dragon (1900/1600) and lay a card down," Lance said.
"Not much I can do now," Leigh confessed. "I lay a monster in defense and a card."
"That card worries me, so I'll play Stomping Crash!" Lance said. "I can only use it with a Dragon Sub-Type on my field, and it lets me destroy a magic or trap card to deal 500 damage to the owner. I'll hit yours."
Lance: 8000
Leigh: 7500
"You destroyed my Holy Barrier-Mirror Force," Leigh said regretfully.
"Whew, glad that's gone," Lance remarked. "I summon Dol Dora (1500/1200) and attack your monster with Sapphire Dragon!"
Leigh smiled at the sound of the Sapphire Dragon thudding against her monster. "You've run into Skull Dog Maron." (1350/2000)
Lance: 7900
Leigh: 7500
"Ah well. Guess that's all," Lance said.
"Time to counter attack," Leigh said. "I switch Skull Dog Maron to attack mode and summon Milus Radiant! (300/250) He increases all Earth Main-Types' attacks by 500, and lowers Wind Main-Types by 400." (1850/2000) (800/250) (1500/1600) (1100/1200)
"I can guess what you're about to do, and I'm not letting it happen!" Lance said. "I activate Menacing Roar so that you can't declare an attack this turn."
"That ruins that idea," Leigh said, frowning. "Your turn."
"No magic or trap cards on your field? That means I can go all out!" Lance announced. "I summon Divine Dragon Ragnarok (1500/1000) and attack Milus Radiant with him! Now that he's gone, our monsters return to their original stats. Dol Dora attacks Skull Dog Maron, and Sapphire Dragon attacks directly!"
Lance: 7900
Leigh: 4750
Leigh recovered swiftly from the slashes the Sapphire Dragon had inflicted. "Done?"
"For now," Lance answered.
"In that case, there's only one thing to do. I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) and attack Ragnarok!" Leigh declared.
The gorilla's furious bombardment of punches easily destroyed the dragon, causing Lance to wince at the damage it had done.
Lance: 7400
Leigh: 4750
"I can't do much about him at the moment," Lance said. "So I switch my two monsters to defense mode and set another."
"I'm glad you did, or this wouldn't work," Leigh stated. "I sacrifice Berserk Gorilla for Twin-Headed Beast! (1700/1900) He can attack twice per battle phase, so I'll have him attack Sapphire Dragon and Dol Dora! I end my turn after that."
"On your end phase, Dol Dora returns to my field in a weakened state," Lance reminded her. (1000/1000) "I sacrifice Dol Dora and my face-down Lord of Dragons-Dragon Ruler for Tyrant Dragon!" (2900/2500)
"Twice in a row," Leigh said.
"Yeah, I'm surprised I managed to pull it off," Lance said. "Tyrant Dragon attacks your Beast!"
"I'll save him by activating Emissary of Harmony!" Leigh retorted. "None of my monsters can be destroyed, and I can't take damage."
"Not much else I can do this turn then," Lance said.
Leigh brightened at the card she drew. "This'll take down your Tyrant Dragon! I play Wild Burst on Twin-Headed Beast, to increase his attack by his defense! (3600/1900) Then I summon Neospacian Black Panther!" (1000/500)
The sight of the black panther with a cape emerging on Leigh's field caused Kurtis to burst out in laughter. Leigh gave him an annoyed look, saying, "What's so funny?"
"THAT!" Kurtis answered, gasping for breath. "I've never seen that card… and it's so… STUPID LOOKING!"
"You've never seen it because it's new in my deck. Just wait until we're done with this duel and I'll waste you with it," Leigh swore. "Twin-Headed Beast attacks Tyrant Dragon, and then directly. My Panther attacks too!"
Lance: 2100
Leigh: 4750
"Thanks a lot, Kurtis," Lance said jokingly. "Now she's taking out her rage on me."
"Don't worry, she'll turn her attention away soon enough," Kurtis promised.
"My Twin-Headed Beast is destroyed at the end of my turn due to Wild Burst," Leigh said, watching it vanish. "Go ahead."
"I'll end this so you can talk things out with your brother," Lance said. "I summon Mirage Dragon (1600/600) and play Early Burial on Tyrant Dragon! He can't be special summoned from the Cemetery unless I sacrifice a Dragon Sub-Type from my field, so I'll sacrifice Mirage Dragon. Tyrant Dragon attacks your Panther, and then he attacks directly to end the duel!"
Leigh covered her head with her arms as the flames came pouring down on her. When she lowered them, she saw that her Life Point counter had hit zero.
Lance: 1300
Leigh: 0
"Good duel," Leigh said. "Now if you will excuse me…"
"Gladly," Lance said, stepping to the sidelines. "You're up, Kurtis."
"I didn't know you were going to take this so personally," Kurtis said, going over to face her.
"For your information, I like my Panther," Leigh said icily. "Ready to lose?"
"No, but that's okay, seeing as I won't!" Kurtis declared.
"Just because it's your birthday doesn't mean I won't destroy you," Leigh told him, drawing.
"She has a point," Courtney said. "Lance and I each won and lost a duel. Kurtis, you have to lose so that the pattern won't be broken."
"I'm not going to let that get in the way of a victory!" Kurtis said, drawing a hand as well.
Leigh: 8000
Kurtis: 8000
"You went first in your last duel, and I didn't, so I'll go first this time," Leigh said. "I lay a monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"Wow, for wanting to kill me, you sure didn't do much," Kurtis commented. "But I know you well, and I bet I know what monster that is. I summon Magic Freight Car Bokoichi (500/500) and attack it!"
"You guessed correctly," Leigh said. "It was my Quick Squirrel. (1000/100) I gain 1000 Life Points and special summon two more in face-down defense mode from my deck."
Leigh: 9000
Kurtis: 8000
"That's really annoying," Kurtis complained. "I'll lay two cards down to finish."
"I hope you have something to stop this," Leigh said. "Or else you're really going to be hurting when I'm done. I summon Dark Zebra (1800/400) and switch my Quick Squirrels to attack mode. Dark Zebra attacks Bokoichi!"
"Luckily, I do have something to stop it," Kurtis said. "I activate Gravity Release, switching the modes of all our monsters."
"So they're all in defense," Leigh said. "Ugh. I lay a card down, and that's it."
"I switch Bokoichi to attack mode and play Machine Replication Factory!" Kurtis said. "That'll allow me to special summon two more from my deck. They destroy your monsters!"
The cars ran over Leigh's monsters, flattening her zebra and two squirrels. It was quite an amusing sight for the spectators.
Leigh: 11000
Kurtis: 8000
Kurtis took the chance to say, "Lance! What does the scouter say about his power level?"
"It's over NINE THOUSAAAND!" Lance replied.
"What! Nine thousand?" Kurtis exclaimed.
"Are you done?" Leigh said, clearly irritated.
Kurtis knew better than to push his luck. "Yep."
"About time. I play Angel's Gift, to draw three cards and discard two," Leigh said. "I discard Milus Radiant and Twin-Headed Beast. Then I activate Cry of the Living Dead to special summon Beast from the Cemetery! (1700/1900) I summon Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) and attack all three of your Bokoichis!"
To say the least, it was a mass slaughter of train cars. Not a scrap of metal remained when her monsters were done with them.
Leigh: 11000
Kurtis: 4200
"Ow, I should have been more careful," Kurtis said with a wince.
"Yeah, you should have," Leigh agreed. "Your turn."
"Good thing I can clear out those monsters," Kurtis said. "I play Lightning Vortex, discarding Transformable Mechanical Beast Gunner Dragon to destroy all the face-up monsters on your field! I'll summon Cyber Phoenix (1200/1600) and attack directly!"
The flames barely burned Leigh, with her Life Points being as high as they were. She was still annoyed by the damage done though.
Leigh: 9800
Kurtis: 4200
"My turn?" Leigh asked.
"It is," Kurtis confirmed.
"I'll summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) and attack Cyber Phoenix!" Leigh said.
Leigh: 9800
Kurtis: 3400
"At least something good came out of that," Kurtis said. "When Cyber Phoenix is face-up and destroyed in battle, I draw a card."
"I'm well aware," Leigh said sourly. "Go."
"On my draw phase, I activate Cracking Hatchet on Berserk Gorilla!" Kurtis said. "His attack lowers by 500 on my standby phase. (1500/1000) I summon Nanobreaker (1600/1800) and attack him with her!"
One swift slice cut through the gorilla, leaving the Nanobreaker as the only monster on the field.
Leigh: 9700
Kurtis: 3400
"I lay a card down and end my turn," Kurtis concluded.
"Your Nanobreaker is too strong for my monsters at the moment," Leigh said. "I'll play Hammer Shoot to destroy her, since she's the monster on the field with the highest attack. After that, I summon Guard Dog!" (1500/500)
"I activate Tidal Wave to destroy him," Kurtis countered.
"There's nothing else I can do," Leigh said.
"I lay one monster. Your turn," Kurtis ended.
"As much as I hate to, I'm going to copy you by laying a monster in defense," Leigh said.
"Hope you're not about to copy this move," Kurtis said. "I reverse summon Magic Locomotive Dekoichi (1400/1000) to draw a card, and lay that card down to end my turn."
"I won't be doing that, but this move will be a lot worse," Leigh warned. "I'll flip over my Skull Dog Maron (1350/2000) and play Wild Burst on him! (3350/2000) He attacks Dekoichi! I'm done after that."
The skeletal creature tore through the Dekoichi, with several ear-shattering screeches resulting from the claws and teeth meeting metal. The Maron blew up immediately afterwards.
Leigh: 9700
Kurtis: 1450
"This sucks," Kurtis said, staring at his Life Point counter. "I guess my only choice is to go suicidal. I activate Cry of the Living Dead for Gunner Dragon (2800/2000) and play Limiter Removal! (5600/2000) He attacks directly!"
Of all the attacks that had occurred that day, this one was clearly the most devastating. Leigh went flying back from the force of it, barely managing to land on her feet.
Leigh: 4100
Kurtis: 1450
"I lay a card down and end, causing my Gunner Dragon to explode," Kurtis said. "Now it's all up to luck."
Leigh looked at her new card and smiled. "And luck is on my side today. I play Cyclone, destroying your magic or trap card!"
"Dang! That was my Gravity Release," Kurtis groaned.
"That means you're finished!" Leigh said. "I summon Neospacian Black Panther (1000/500) and play Wild Burst! (1500/500) He attacks you directly!"
Much to Kurtis' humiliation, the monster he had been earlier ridiculing was now his executioner. It swiped him angrily before vanishing, since the duel was over.
Leigh: 4100
Kurtis: 0
Lance laughed at the expression on Kurtis' face. "That must have been a blow to your pride!"
"Aw shut up," Kurtis grumbled, sliding his deck away.
Courtney clapped her hands together, saying, "That completed the pattern! We each won one and lost one!"
"They're certainly more even in strength when it comes to dueling," Chasity remarked to Petra. "Unlike some other people I know."
"Rue," Petra said, snickering.
"Exactly." Chasity raised her voice, saying, "Okay, that's enough of that. We've spent most of the day doing this, so we should return to the real world."
"What? But we didn't even get to explore!" Kurtis protested.
"We'll have time for that tomorrow. It's nearly time for dinner," Chasity pointed out.
"Yeah, and we're celebrating your birthday tonight," Leigh added, apparently satisfied that she had gotten her revenge in the previous duel. "You don't want to miss that, right?"
"Of course not!" Kurtis responded. "Okay, let's go back, but we should come here tomorrow."
"Definitely," Lance agreed. "I'm sure Mom and Dad are going to want to drive me over to your house soon, so I'll see you then."
"Bye," Courtney answered before Lance vanished.
"Let's follow his lead," Leigh said, logging out. The others did the same.
To be continued…