Yu-Gi-Oh: The Dark Ascension
Making an Entrance:
"Sir," a rough voice came from behind Talo, "Are you sure you want to do this? You know you already have a place at the Academy."
"For the last time, Baron, yes," Talo hissed, "I do not take handouts. I will prove that I belong there just as much as anyone else."
"Your name carries you in, you don't need to compete."
"Once again, you prove to me exactly why I must compete," Talo looked out the window of his hotel room and to the street, "I can't go on letting the past dictate my future. That is the end of it, Baron. You can go now, take care of Mother. I will take the bus to the Academy."
"As you wish, sir."
The bus ride to the Academy was boring, but mercifully quick, the hotel only a few blocks away. Talo was bustled about getting off and for a moment, missed his limousines and chauffeurs. Quickly, he reminded himself that this is how it all began, with only a few dollars in the pocket and something to prove. He adjusted his pack on his shoulder and walked through the front gate.
The other students around him as he made for the door seemed downhearted. These must be the rejects, the kids who didn't make the cut. Talo's heart dropped momentarily as he realised that within thirty minutes, he could be out here with them. He swallowed and blocked out his surroundings.
"What's your name?" A pretty girl at the check-in deck asked, a smile on her face.
"Uuh," Talo faltered, he knew that the automatic response fighting to get out of his mouth would get him straight through.
"Wait… Do I know you? You look familiar," She said, vague recognition crossing her face.
"I can't say you do, miss, my name is Johnathan. Johnathan West."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Johnathan," She said, "Just go ahead, your name will be called momentarily. We're nearly done for the day."
"Thank you, miss," Talo returned her smile. He headed into the arena.
The large duel arena was sparsely populated. A part of him said that it was a shame, there would be no great audience to see him prove himself. However, another part of him thanked the empty space for accepting his loss without publication. He would pass along with the other rejects, unknown.
He heard his false name over the loudspeaker and jumped, It was his turn to prove his mettle in the arena. Like the ancient gladiators themselves. He reported to his designated field, arena 3, and stood waiting for his opponent.
A young man in a blue jacket came up the other side of the platform and looked across.
"This is your entrance examination. We will be testing your adaptability and skills to be sure they meet our standards. If you fail, you can always try again next year," A forced smile broke the monotone voice of the obviously bored student, "We both start at 4000 life points and you may make the first move."
"Alright, I'll draw," Talo took a moment to check his hand. Immediately, he saw his Luster Dragon, "I'll summon Luster Dragon in attack position," The sapphire dragon burst through the ground, scattering digital dirt everywhere.
"I'll also play one card face-down," Talo finished, "Your move."
"I'll summon Tour Guide from the Underworld," The student sighed, "She special summons a level 3 Fiend from my deck. Come out, Tour Bus from the Underworld. Next, I'll exceed summon Wind-Up Zenmaines in defense position and set one card face-down."
"You know," Talo said as he drew his card, "Your lack of enthusiasm is annoying."
"You'd be less than enthusiastic when you've been dueling circles around kids all day." The student returned, "What makes you worth any more effort than I gave them?"
"This," Talo said, "There is nothing worse than a duelist who doesn't give it his all in every single duel he's in. It's disrespectful. Go, Compulsory Evacuation Device! Send that Wind-Up back to the deck."
The look on the student's face was priceless.
"That's not it, either, I'll summon Alexandrite Dragon in attack position."
"You know, kid, I was almost fooled when you evacuated my Zenmaines, but two vanillas in a row? Come on."
"We'll see," Talo growled, "Luster Dragon, attack."
"Once again, you prove that you're not worth the effort. Just another dragon duelist who thinks power is everything. You talk of respect but you practise ignorance. You forgot about my face-down and for that, it'll cost you. Go, Mirror Force. Say goodbye to your dragons."
"Damn," Talo muttered.
"My turn, now," The student said, drawing his card, "And your field is empty. So, by discarding a card I'll special summon The Tricky and play Monster Reborn, bringing the card I discarded back to the field in attack position, my Goblin Attack Force. As I thought, you bring nothing new to the table. Go, Goblins, hit him directly." Talo involuntarily winced as the swords cut through him, his life points dropping to 1700, "My Goblins now switch to defense position. The Tricky, finish him."
"I activate the effect of Battle Fader in my hand. By special summoning it, I end your battle phase." Talo said, a grin spreading across his face.
"That would've been a good move, but it cost you 2300 points needlessly. You can't misplay like that and get into the Academy, kid."
"It's my move," Talo said, drawing his final card, "Remember what I said about respecting your opponent? Giving it all you've got? Well, I took that damage because I needed to. When you played that Goblin Attack Force, you signed your death warrant. I let you attack me so that I could do this. I sacrifice Battle Fader to summon Wattaildragon in attack position and by discarding one card, I equip it with Big Bang Shot. It increases my monster's attack points by 400 and gives it the ability to inflict piercing damage."
"Not bad. But it won't be the end of me, I'm afraid," the student said, widening his stance.
"Oh, but that's not all. I'll activate my spell card Mind Control and take your Tricky for the turn."
"To what end, I wonder. You can't attack with it and it returns to my side of the field during the end phase."
"I guess you'll just have to wait to see my last card then, won't you?" Talo said through gritted teeth. The constant jabs at his confidence were beginning to grind his patience, "But don't worry. When I said I'd hold nothing back, I meant it. Go, United We Stand. It's a spell card that increases the attack of my Wattaildragon by 800 points for each monster on my side of the field. I count two. That's 1600 points and it brings my Wattaildragon to 4500 points. One last memory call, what is it that Big Bang Shot gives my monster?"
"Oh no," the student stepped back.
"Wattail, teach him what it means to underestimate me!" The dragon coated itself in electricity and slammed into the goblins. The lightning then jumped from the shattered monster to the student's body and his life points drained to zero.
"Congratulations," The student said, his voice one of true surprise, "I owe you an apology. I should not have said I was holding back. It was disrespectful and not a good way to represent my school. I would also like to extend to you an invitation to join the Duel Academy, New York campus. What's your name, kid?"
"Johnathan West."
"Then I'll see you upstate on Monday for your orientation. The name is Michael, by the way, Michael Reid," and with that, the student turned and left through a door opposite the entrance marked 'STAFF ONLY'
Talo looked at his deck, pride swelling in his chest. He'd made it in. But that feeling was short lived as slow clapping slowly made its way into his head. He turned immediately to see a figure emerging from the shadows, hands clapping slower each time they met.
"Well done… Johnathan, was it?"
"Yeah… thanks," Talo replied, uneasiness creeping into his stomach.
"How does it feel?" the shadow of a man asked. Talo could almost feel the sinister smile coming from the shrouded face.
"Pretty good, I mean, I won, right?"
"No, I mean lying to that young man who now respects you. Respect earned, in no small part, due to your banter about duelists giving eachother the respect that your shared talent deserves you."
"What do you mean?" Talo's voice dropped and his head spun around, looking for anyone who might be hearing this. Luckily, the room was empty.
"You know what I mean, boy. We both know you go by a different name. A name it would be advantageous for your new school to never discover. They would be legally obligated to charge you with fraud and even your name won't get you away from that scandal."
"What do you want with me?" Talo spat through gritted teeth.
"Nothing, yet. I'll contact you when I see fit while you're off learning the fine art of the Duel and you will do as I say when I do call, or you will find yourself in a particularly nasty position. Am I clear?"
"If you know who I am, then you know you can't threaten me," Talo said, his eyes burning holes in the figure's head.
"Oh, but I can, mr. West, I can," and the man melted back into the shadows. The meeting put a bitter taste on victory and Talo immediately headed toward his hotel room. On his way, he dialled a number on his phone.
"Yes, Baron?" Talo began, considering informing his servant of the events that had transpired, but decided against it, "I got in. Yes, yes, thank you Baron. Let's go card shopping, shall we?"
With the promise of his mother's credit card and a weekend of deckbuilding ahead of him, Talo found himself comforted. One victory behind, he could only go up from here.