Unmei Ch. 1
The Magician Princess
A teenaged girl stood atop a pile of ruins, broken pipes and iron rods stuck out all over it, coils of wire and large flats of crushed cement created a natural 'ladder' to the top of the pile. Wind whipped through her black spiky hair, blowing her blond bangs up and out of her face, revealing bright magenta eyes that scanned the area calmly.
There was an air of dignity, of pride, that surrounded her as she stood there, queen of the junk pile, but instead of lavish royal clothing, she wore tattered black jean shorts, cut off at the bottom, leaving frayed strings hanging down her thighs, and an equally frayed black tank-top, a worn out and faded, Obelisk Blue jacket draped over, the sleeves torn up to her elbows.
She closed her eyes as the wind hit her face, cooling her skin, as the sun set before her, over the ruins of Neo Domino City in the distance, a ruined shell of what it used to be. The sun reflected off the shattered glass jewel that once rested in the center of the city like a beacon, drawing people from all over.
They were so close… another day or so and they would be within the city… and then, the real danger sets in. Even though people flocked to Neo Domino City for the chance to meet the Legendary Duellist, known as, The Light, in the hopes that he will take them to the last safe haven, Ante, it also the headquarters of the Dark Army.
There was also rumours that the creator of Ante, The Light's Father, Jordan Yuki had fallen to darkness and joined the Dark Army. If that was the case, Atina wasn't sure that Ante was so safe anymore…
It had been ten years since they're Father's capture. Ten long years of running and hiding, of building up her skills till she was confident enough she could use them to take her twin sister, Miracle, safely through Neo Domino City. She clenched her Father's deck tightly in her hand. This deck had never failed her. It never failed her father, nor her grandfather and great-grandfather. This deck had been through so much, gone through so many transformations, and still survived. And it was this deck that got her this far in these rough times.
All she had to do, was put her whole heart in it. She felt as if she made a deal with the Deck. If it would allow her heart to reside along the rest of her forefathers, she would complete it.
Maybe it was sitting there in Neo Domino City? The Legendary Magician, the Dark Magician card? Second only to getting Miracle to Ante, was her want to obtain this rare card. It was all she could think about. The moment she had the Dark Magician, her Magician Deck would be complete.
"Atina!"
"Sister! Wait up!"
Atina jumped, startled from her thoughts. She turned around and looked down the junk pile as two teenagers her age were stumbling they're way up. Atina smiled and reached down to pull her twin sister to her side. The girl looked identical to Atina, only with a smaller, more fragile frame. Her hair was also shorter then Atina's, and less fly away, her blonde bangs hung down in her face instead of whipping up to the side like Atina's. Her large magenta eyes also had a kinder, more gentle look in them, which contrasted with Atina's battle-hardened features. Miracle's outfit was also nicer then Atina's. She wore a plaid red skirt, a black tank top, and a white, slightly see-through button up blouse over top. The girls wore the same black socks, and same black boots. They're jewellery attire though, was completely different. Atina wore a 2G Duel Disk on her right arm that Kaison had found and fixed up and a worn a leather, studded, lace up bracelet on the left, with a matching choker around her neck. While, Miracle only had the left half of what looked like a semicircle amulet around her neck on a thin chain.
Nevertheless, while Miracle looked like a frail little princess, Atina was as tall and exotic as an Egyptian Queen. A boy had once said called her that in an attempt to seduce her, and instead of working, she thought it was hilarious. From that moment on, she referred to herself as a princess, or more strictly, The Magician Princess.
Miracle frowned as she looked across the plains splitting where they stood, from Neo Domino City. "Its still so far…"
"W-we should stop to rest." Kaison complained, "I-I mean, Miracle is getting tired and all…and its getting dark."
Atina turned to the boy, "Don't tell me your still afraid of the dark?"
Kaison looked taken back, his straight brunette hair whipping down in front of his hazel eyes, "N-no! Its just we've got to think of Miracle. Its too dangerous to travel at night… we've got to find somewhere safe to crash. I-I mean it gets cold at night… we don't want Miracle getting sick do we?"
Atina tried to fight down a smile, but failed horribly, she laughed and placed her arm protectively around Miracle's shoulders. The two standing next to each other like this, it was clear to see the height difference, Atina was nearly a head taller then her sister. "I guess your right. We can worry about getting to Neo Domino tomorrow."
Kaison sighed in relief and turned around to look at the ruins behind him. "There is a bunch of buildings over that way. Looks like the ruins of an industrial building."
Atina shook her head, "Buildings like that only attract Scavenger attention. I saw what looked like an old shop a little bit back. We'll crash there."
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Miracle's hand and started leading the girl down the junk pile. Kaison groaned in protest, but followed wordlessly. He knew from all these years he had travelled with Atina, that she does not take no for an answer, and once her mind is made up, there was no changing it. She is more stubborn then anyone else he had ever met.
It was nearly pitch-black outside by the time they reached what Atina had called, 'an old shop'. The windows were long broken in, and the place was probably looted long before they were even born. The roof sagged quite a bit, but it did not look like it was going to collapse that night. Kaison looked at the building with a frown. "Doesn't look very warm."
"Do you ever stop complaining?" Atina snapped, pushing the rotten door aside. It broke apart from its hinges and fell to the floor of the shop with a loud thud. "Stay here. I'll take a look around."
Atina stepped into the building, and felt her foot sink into a layer of dust and grime. With a frown, she pushed her way in and began to look around. At the back of the shop was a door that probably lead to an office or staff room. Without hesitating, she pressed a button on her Duel Disk to activate it, and prepared to draw a card. She slowly walked over to the door, kicking it in as she drew a card.
A wall of dust was the only thing that met her. Coughing, she deactivated her Duel Disk and looked around. There was nothing there. Only a few tables and chairs. She sighed and turned around, "All clear!"
Miracle and Kaison pushed they're way into the building and followed Atina to the old staff room. Kaison dropped an old backpack on the ground, "Sleeping in the dirt again…"
Atina ignored him and just walked out of the room, letting Kaison and Miracle set up camp. She walked outside with a sigh and sat down in the dirt. Pulling out her deck, she mindlessly flipped through them. She tried to forget about the ruins around her, of all the pain and suffering that happened to everyone she had met in her life.
From what she had learned, the world had been like this since the Second Zero Reversal… though she wasn't sure why they called it that, since it wasn't technically Fortune or the Momentum that caused it all. From what she had gathered, over a hundred years ago, an unknown Scientist tried to open up a portal to the Dimension known as, The Dominion of the Beast, in order to acquire a way to defend his people during the Civil War. From what she was told, the portal exploded, combining both Dimensions and creating a world of Humans, Duel Monsters, the people who were caught in the shockwave of the explosion that had they're DNA altered - the Satellites, and most frightening, the people who survived the explosion and were changed into half Duel Monster, half human, the Ghouls.
The Satellites and Humans have been fighting since then, humans with guns and Duel Monster Cards, and Satellites with they're Duel Monster Spirits and cards. Hence the armies of 'Dark and Light' were born.
Atina shook her head. It just wasn't fair. Her generation did not even know there was a war going on anymore. Each side was too exhausted to strike the other, and instead was concentrating on rebuilding they're forces and decks.
Atina suddenly sensed something coming. She stood up and pressed the button on her 2GDD to activate it. The blue and white system whirled to a start, and snapped into position.
Two D-Wheels came roaring up towards her, carrying two large men covered in thick, yellow tribal markings. They whirled to a stop in front of her, engines sputtering off.
"Hey Guy, look at this! What a rare beauty of a piece of meat." One said, pressing a button on his scanner. Atina watched as the small blue-glass in the scanner flicked on, revealing her stats to the enemy.
"Hey sweetie." Guy said with a sneer, dismounting from his D-Wheel. "Why don't you come with us Doll? We can show you a good time. Cook you up a decent meal, then a warm bed…"
"Pass." Atina snapped.
"What was that girl?" The second man growled, reaching out for Atina.
The girl smacked his hand away, "Been sucking in too many fumes or something? I said I'll pass."
"Do you even know who we are?" Guy growled.
"Your Scavengers. Gangs of Duellists - usually Turbo Duellists, that travel around from place to place scavenging up whatever they can find. And by the looks of those marking all over your brainless bodies, I'll say your both Satellites as well." Atina replied coldly, without taking her eyes off either one of them.
Guy roared, "You've got a big mouth Doll. Big mouths get people killed in these parts."
He reached out to grab Atina, but she jumped back holding out her arm with a grin, "Well Scavengers. How about we settle like Duellists!"
"You want to Duel us?" The Scavenger grinned,
"Two against one?" Guy asked with a coy grin, "Your dead Doll."
"That's two against two!"
The two Scavengers looked up at the sound of a new voice. Kaison stood at the door of shop with a determined frown. He walked up and stood next to Atina, activating his 2GDD. Atina felt a wave of relief pass through her, and hoped it did not show on her face. Tanis Kaison may be a coward, but he always has pulled through for her in the end.
"So be it. The two of you will be food for the Shadows!" Guy snapped, activating his own 2GDD. His friend activated his 1GDD.
"Let's Duel!" Kaison called, drawing six cards,
"Its time to Duel!" Atina said calmly, also drawing six cards.
"Duel!" The two Scavengers called.
Atina looked at her hand as she saw the familiar lettering, 4000 LP, appear on the display of her Duel Disk. She smiled when she saw the first card, Dark Magician Girl. Nice! On the first draw! She arranged the rest of the cards in her hand, Mage Power, Poison of the Old Man, Magical Dimension, Magicians Circle, and Arcane Barrier. She frowned, besides Dark Magician Girl, there was nothing she could use, and without a Tribute, she could not summon the Dark Magician Girl anyway. There was nothing she could do…except…
"I lay two cards face down and end my turn!" Atina declared.
"Awe! Is the little girl too scared to make a move?" Guy spat, "My Draw!"
He grimaced darkly, "I summon Bubonic Vermin in attack mode! But because this is a four way duel, I can't attack until the circle comes around." A large, hamster-like monster appeared on his field.
"That all you got?" Kaison shouted, "My draw!"
Kaison drew from his deck and checked the card, Darkblaze Dragon. "Sweet!" He grinned. He looked at the rest of the cards in his hand, and then over at Atina. She did not look happy about something. She was looking thoughtfully at her hand, her eyes dark in concentration. Why did she not summon a monster? Is her hand that bad? A bad hand could be the difference between life and death… but Atina was an incredible Duellist. He shouldn't worry about her…
"I play, Armoured Dragon Lv. 3! Even though he can't attack till the circle has gone around." He called, laying a card on the Duel Disk. A monster appeared in front of him, and roared loudly. "I lay one card face down and end my turn."
"My turn!" The second Scavenger cried, drawing from his deck, "I summon Rockstone Warrior! And because the circle has been completed, I can attack!" He pointed at Atina, "Your lucky girl! I don't like hitting ladies, so since Rockstone Warrior is stronger then your boyfriend's puny Dragon, I'll get rid of that and let my partner attack you directly!" He swooped his arm over to point at Kaison, the boy clenched his teeth when he saw the look in the older Scavenger's eyes.
"How'd a Scavenger get a card like that?" Kaison hissed,
"I won it of course. Along with every other card in my deck." The Scavenger sneered, "Now enough stalling! Rockstone Warrior! Attack that brat's Armoured Dragon!"
Rockstone Warrier roared triumphantly before jumping into the air and hurling itself towards the little dragon. Kaison jumped out of the way as the Monsters flew back into the building. Atina sucked in a breathe as she thought of Miracle inside, but knew better then to say anything.
The Scavenger laughed as dust and dirt filled the air. Making it impossible to see. Suddenly, the Scavenger doubling over in pain. "W-What the?" He hissed. He looked down at his Duel Disk, his life points had dropped to 3400!
The dust settled down, revealing a pile of rocks crumbled on the ground, and a large Dragon roaring in triumph.
"W-What is that?" Guy gasped.
"Armour Dragon Lv. 5!" Kaison teased, "By tributing Armour Dragon Lv. 3 on my stand-by phase, I can Special Summon him!"
Guy pressed a button on his scanner, "2-2400 attack points?"
"Well? Is that all?" Kaison sneered,
"I…end my turn." The Scavenger growled.
"So typical of you Scavengers. All talk and no game." Atina laughed, "My draw!" Atina looked at her card with a smile. "Finally getting somewhere. I summon Witch of the Black Forest in attack mode! Witch! Attack Bubonic Vermin now!"
Witch of the Black Forest appeared before Atina with a burst of light. The Witch cackled loudly, before sending a bolt of magical energy at the Beast Monster. The Vermin cried out before exploding into particles. Guy clenched his chest with a gasp as is LP dropped to 3800.
"You two aren't no ordinary kids." Guy coughed.
"Who are you calling kids?" Atina snapped, "That's Magician Princess to you!"
"I…I don't have anything as powerful as Armoured Dragon lv. 5 in my entire deck." The Scavenger cried, pulling his deck out of the Duel Disk, "I'm out! I'm not dying today!"
"Coward!" Guy called as his companion took off on his D-Wheel. Guy turned back to Atina and Kaison, "We'll be back! And we'll bring the Boss! He'll show you brats a thing or two!" With that, he turned, jumped on his D-Wheel, and took off.
"Typical!" Atina yelled after them. She placed her hands on her hips with a sigh, "Scavengers always act so tough when they're with they're gang. But corner them and they run like children."
"Which is what we should do." Kaison said wearily, "They'll be back shortly with they're entire gang."
"So? We did not loose a single Life Point in that duel." Atina complained, "I can take they're entire group!"
"And you think you can do that while defending Miracle?" Kaison asked, deactivating his Duel Disk, "You Don't know how many there are in that Gang."
"I'm not running." Atina huffed.
"Atina…"
Atina whirled around at the tiny, pleading voice coming from behind her. Miracle stood in the doorway of the shop holding Kaison's backpack. "I put everything back…please Sister… we have to go."
"But!" Atina complained,
"Please?" Miracle asked, "Isn't it more important to make it to Neo Domino City?"
"Yeah, but a real Duellist never runs from a challenge." She huffed.
"Which we'll find plenty of in Neo Domino City." Kaison argued, "Isn't it more important to preserve our Life Points till then? I mean, They don't instantly recover…"
"Kai's right." Miracle said determinately, "Let's go."
Atina was about to argue when she saw the look on Miracle's face. With a deep sigh of resignation, she deactivated her Duel Disk. Witch of the Black Forest disappeared into particles next to her. Miracle cheered and hugged her sister, "Thank you Ati!" Atina sighed and patted the other girl on the head, "Yeah, but you owe me Miri."
With that, the small group started off again, breaking into a run over the broken ruins. The night was thick around them, and the cloud cover above made the land so dark it was hard to see. D-Wheels are known to go anywhere from 100km/h up to 300 km/h, depending on how they're maintained. Nowadays, it was next to impossible to have a well maintained D-Wheel, but 100 km/h was still a lot faster then any of them could run.
A plane lay half buried in the dirt before them, leaving a deep trench. Out of the corner of her eye, Atina could see some small Duel Monster Spirits hiding in the shell from the more dangerous ones outside. She bit her lip and grabbed Miracle's hand, urging the girl to run faster.
In each of they're minds they knew they wouldn't out run them, so it was no surprise when they heard the D-Wheel motors pounding behind them like ill-tuned choppers. Atina slowed to a stop and whirled around, shoving Miracle behind her as eight D-Wheels came storming up. She could easily tell most of them were stolen from Soldiers by the colour schemes.
"Well, well!" A man in the largest D-Wheel hissed, "Gentlemen… are these the 'duellists' that were giving you a hard time?"
"Yeah Boss!" Guy complained, "You should see they're decks! They aren't ordinary…"
"I didn't even use my best cards." Atina grumbled without thinking, "Bloody Scavengers."
'Boss' laughed and looked at Atina, "Well aren't you a feisty one." He looked from Atina's face to Miracle, to Kaison, "Not bad. A group of children surviving on they're own. What do you say? Want to hit the high road with us."
"I'd rather eat dirt." Atina spat.
Boss's eyes darkened, "That can be arranged little missy."
"Is that a challenge?" Atina smirked.
"What do you think, child?"
A dark smile crossed Atina's lips, she held out her arm eagerly, the 2GDD snapping into place. "Well then, I hope you have your affairs in order, because I never loose."
"Remember that when you're eaten by the Shadows." Boss snarled.
He straightened up, climbing off the D-Wheel and removing his helmet. His blond hair was slicked back, but did little to improve his appearance. A thin blonde beard that looked as if he attempted to groom it with a pair of old scissors lined his serious face, and his riding suit was in need of some major repairs. He looked at Atina with pity.
"I'm going to guess you're aware of how we Scavengers do things?" Boss asked. When Atina remained silent, he continued, "Us Scavengers live in a, you can say, our own Social Societies. We have our own way of life, where every person has a job to do, and the useless are outcast. My role, is the leader, I govern this 'society'."
"Good for you. Must be a nice feather in your cap to control a gang of thieves and punks." Atina snapped.
Boss ignored her, "I'd challenge you to the duel myself, but that is not my position. The two you Duelled earlier are also just Scouters. They're job is to, well, scout the area. Look for things that we can use, where we can sleep. They never should have challenged you." With that, he took a long hard look at Guy and the other Scouter. He looked back at Atina with a sigh, "No. The Duelling should be saved for the best. Would you like to meet him?"
"Just show me who I need to fight." Atina snapped.
With that, the roar of a couple D-Wheels resonated in the distance. Atina looked up to see two more Scavengers arrive. She felt her palms grow sweaty… there was now ten of them, compared to just Kaison and herself.
Her fears however, disappeared when she got a look at the two Duellists. One was probably the most attractive man she had ever seen. He was taller then she, and definitely a few years older, probably in his late teens. His black hair spiked down away from his head, his bangs swooping to the side and down into his face, separated from the rest of his head by a headband-mounted Scanner. The silver device draping across his head and got lost his spiky hair, before reappearing over one ear and stretching across his left eye, the yellow-orange glass of the scanner had words beeping across it, reading her stats. He wore a faded gray-leather vest, the sleeves long gone, over a black t-shirt, the front ripped down the chest, and laced up with what looked like a shoe-lace. What stood out the most, was the strange red and gold symbol that decorated the back of the vest, The words: Team Lightning sown above it. The jacket looked older then he was. It was obviously an old Professional uniform jacket from back when Turbo Duelling was still a sport, and not a crime. The red and gold markings stretched across to the front of the vest. If it wasn't for his cute, yet serious and dark face, it would be the only thing she would have noticed about him.
The young man next to him looked only a year or so older the Atina. He removed an old battered, brown helmet to reveal a head of short jagged blonde hair, bushed back so only one spiky blond bang stuck out over his forehead by a brown bandana. His large green eyes scanned over Atina and her group as if he recognized them. He wore a brown and black riding suit, which matched his warn brown and black D-Wheel.
The blonde haired boy looked at them with curiosity before running over, "Hey wait! You - your those girls from back then! Your Dad saved my life back in the tunnels!"
All eyes turned to Atina, who just looked surprised. She blinked a few times before a sly smile crossed her thin lips, "Your that boy. The one we lost ten years ago."
The boy smiled and held his hand out to Atina, who shook it strongly. He laughed, "If it wasn't for your father, I would be lost to the Darkness or worse!"
"Can't imagine anything worse." Atina replied sarcastically.
"A friend?" Boss asked,
"Yeah!" The boy nodded, "Boss, this is…um…"
"Atina Muto." She replied, releasing the boy's hand. She pointed at Miracle and Kaison, "This is my sister, Miracle Muto, and Tanis Kaison. And you?"
"Rubar Hogan." The boy said with a nod.
"Atina." Kaison whispered, grabbing her shoulder, "Can we trust them? They're Scavengers after all…"
Atina ignored him, "Are you still planning to Duel us?"
Rubar grinned, "Of course! But there is a catch!"
"Catch?" Kaison complained, "You mean an ante right?"
Rubar shook his head. He looked back at the raven-haired boy behind him, "Cain over there is supposed to be our 'attack dog'. Which means he does all our Duels."
"You want me to Duel him then?" Atina grinned, "Unlike you, he actually looks like a challenge."
"I'm going to ignore that." Rubar sighed, "He's supposed to be the one to Duel you, but if its alright with the Boss, I want to." Boss nodded in approval.
"You do realize what happens when you loose right?" Atina said coldly, activating her Duel Disk,
"That's the catch." Rubar grinned, "You see Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Moody back there?" He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, the handsome raven-haired Duellist that arrived with Rubar still stood by his D-Wheel, his black eyes looking over at them calmly. Atina felt an unconscious shiver go up her spin. Rubar laughed, "He'd kill me if we were playing for keeps."
Boss nodded, "You see, Ms. Muto, not all Scavenger Gangs are heartless punks."
"You learn something new everyday." Atina shrugged.
"Aaaanyway." Rubar said, "Instead of Duelling till someone's Life Points hit zero, we play till 1000. So, first person to hit 1000 Life Points is the looser."
"I think I can handle that." Atina smirked, "And your gang?"
"Will stay out of it. It will be Rubar vs. Ms. Muto." Boss ordered. The gang reluctantly backed up.
The raven-haired Duellist stepped away from his D-Wheel and walked over to stand behind Rubar, crossing his arms and watching quietly. Atina ignored him for the time being. Being the Scavenger's 'attack dog', meant he was used to doing most of the Duels for the team. She knew he probably felt odd not doing the Duelling. She frowned…that just did not seem right. Rubar said that this Duellist would be upset if they played till one of them died… but if he really was the attack dog, he should be used to killing others?
She shook her head and tried to forget about the boy, and focus on the duel. Rubar activated his own 2GDD.
"Duel!"
"Its time to Duel!"
Preview:
Chapter 2: Fight Till 1000! Atina Vs. Rubar
Scavengers are known for they're thrown together decks. Most Scavengers either gain they're decks through finding them in the rubble, or winning them off others in a Duel. Therefore, many of the Scavengers decks are random with no rhyme or reason. The only problem with that, is it makes it increasingly difficult to predict they're next move.
Can Atina, with her Magician Deck, beat Rubar? And what's with the questions he keeps asking her? Whatever the cost, she has to keep her Life Points as high as she can, because, even if she beat Rubar, there was still the journey to Neo Domino City, where the real danger begins.
Yu-Gi-Oh and Duel Monsters card game Copywrite to Kazuki Takahashi.
Characters, Atina, and Miracle copywrite to ~Rygel-n. Tanis Kaison, Boss copywrite to YuckAppleTree. Rubar Hogan copywrite to me.
I am in no way making a profit from this. This is entirely fan based. Created by three huge Yu-Gi-Oh fans that refuse to grow up. We have no connection to Kazuki Takahashi or his affiliates.
- Manganimefandom, 2011
