Chapter 2

As we entered the central circular room, I saw a similar procession to ours enter through the door on the far side. The remaining 3 prisoners escorted by another armed guard. The Vice-Warden stood in the center of the room, between the two central rectangles on the ground. Both groups walked towards him and stopped a few feet away. Kei Musho scratched his mustache and yawned before speaking.

"I know most of you understand how this is set up, but I'm going to say it anyway for the new one there." He pointed at me. "There will be three single Duels happening at the same time. Someone from Block A will Duel someone from Block B. When you're done you go back to your cell, where you belong."

I thought it seemed simple enough. I scanned the three inmates from Block B. Two of them looked relatively normal; short hair, neutral expressions, and bodies that can only be described as "barely in shape". The third caught my attention. Like Sieg back in my cell, he had long hair though this guy still had his hair color. Through the strands of light brown hair that fell on his chest, I was able to make out the first digit of his prisoner number; three. He had a downturned expression on his face, one that reeked of despair. If this is what a 3-er is like, I'm not sure this place will be as easy to get out of.

Kei kept going, "Here are your assignments: 6981 vs 7652, 8200 vs 6998, 8352 vs 3098. You begin in five minutes. Get to your arenas."

The black boards on one of the walls sprang to life. On three of them, scoreboards with the prisoner's names, numbers, and faces were displayed. Below this information was the number 8000, representing that prisoner's LP. I looked at each of the scoreboards being used for these Duels. The three matchups are Greg Barth vs Paul Steiner, Galad Pecus vs Isaac Kol, and Alon Erlas vs Hisan Undou.

I walked to where my armed escort pointed to, at the edge of the third rectangle. Across from me stood Hisan, the 3-er and someone who looked like he didn't want to Duel right now. I almost felt bad for him, but he was here for a reason. I briefly wondered what he did and why he's like this, but my thoughts were interrupted by the Vice-Warden's voice. His voice resonated around the circular room due to the microphone that he was handed just a few moments before.

"Prisoners, begin!"

Almost like magic, a flat blade of hard light projects from our Duel Disks less than an inch from the outside of our forearms. I've seen this before on TV, but never would I have expected that I would be Dueling with an actual Duel Disk. Everyone's decks shuffled automatically at the same time by their respective Disks. We all drew 5 cards and turned our attention to our own Duels. On my Disk, I saw words that read "Opponent's Turn". Hisan sighed when he saw his starting hand, closed his eyes for a minute, and chose one out of the five cards.

Silently, he slipped two Spell cards into the Disk's slot, Reinforcement of the Army and Terraforming. Instantly, two cards popped out from random places in his deck and he added them to his hand. I know I could have looked at my Disk's screen to view what he searched, but before I could, he activated the added Field Spell. The hard light hologram system invisibly present throughout the room surrounded the two of us in a futuristic arena. The space between us was morphed from a concrete floor to what appears to be turf with seemingly random shapes drawn into it with chalk. Confused for a second, I was suddenly hit with what card he just played.

U.A. Stadium. I've never personally played with or against the Ultra Athletes. In the group that I played with in the past, UA was synonymous with laughter or ridicule. I know how they play in theory, but fighting against them in this situation is a first.

"So many firsts today…" I muttered.

Without saying anything again, my opponent places a card on the hard light blade emitted from his Disk. Appearing before him in a flash of light appeared a long haired man in futuristic sports equipment that looked at home on a soccer field. U.A. Midfielder looked straight while bouncing up and down, like he was warming up. The Stadium's crowd cheered and a card popped out of Hisan's deck. This time I made sure to look at my own Disk's screen. Displayed was a text box that listed one sentence, "U.A. Perfect Ace added to hand".

Without another thought, Hisan lifted Midfielder's card off of his Disk's blade and replaced it with Perfect Ace. Midfielder's hologram jumped backwards and passed through Hisan's body, slapping Perfect Ace's hand who was jumping forward at the same time. Like the monster who exited, Perfect Ace had the appearance of a futuristic professional athlete, but for baseball instead of soccer. In his hands were a glowing baseball glove and a shining ball. The athlete kneeled, protecting his Duelist with his beefy 2500 DEF. One of the Stadium's spotlights lit up Perfect Ace, showing that its effect was activated to increase its ATK by 500. Before ending his turn, Hisan slid a card reversed into the slot, setting one card face down. My opponent pressed a button on his Disk's touch screen and my own Disk chimed, singling that it was indeed my turn.

Before I was able to start my Draw Phase, I heard a loud voice to my right, beyond the Stadium's stands. Hisan, Perfect Ace, and I looked to the source of the noise.

"ISSAC KOL! TODAY IS THE DAY THAT I BEAT YOU, MY RIVAL, ONCE AGAIN! ONCE YOU'RE DONE, I WILL FINALLY ADVANCE IN THE RANKS!"

Another voice responded from my opponent's left, apparently from Isaac. He strained to match Gal's voice, but yelled, "FOR THE LAST TIME GAL, I'M NOT YOUR DAMN RIVAL! JUST SHUT UP AND PLAY!"

A third voice, coming from further down the line, yelled, "SHUT UP YOU TWO! EVERY DAMN TIME!"

I silently reminded myself to ask Gal about Kol and anyone else when this was all done. Like the man Dueling me right now, I don't think Sieg is a talkative person. Best to learn as much about my fellow inmates as possible. At least that's what Warden Maria implied in her final words.

Regardless, I drew a card and looked at the six cards in my hand. Three monsters, two Spells, and one Trap. A plan formulated in my head. I wanted to distance myself emotionally from the depressing man in front of me, so I projected my speech and voiced what I was doing.

"I Normal Summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker."

Much like Midfielder during the last turn, there was a flash of light in front of me. A man wearing a jester's outfit and top hat, all black and purple, appeared when the light subsided.

I continued, "Using its effect, I add…"

Without warning, Perfect Ace stood up from his kneel and threw his baseball at Skullcrobat Joker, hitting him right between the eyes. Ace's form was flawless and the ball appeared to be moving at the speed of light. As he went back to his kneel, my own monster exploded. The Extra Deck slot on my Disk opened and I put Skullcrobat into it, which then it closed automatically.

From reading the card effect on my Disk when he searched it, I knew that Perfect Ace could negate a monster's activated effect and destroy it at the cost of one card in the owner's hand. I was expecting this. Skullcrobat Joker was now in my Extra Deck waiting to be summoned again, Perfect Ace used his ball for the turn and Hisan now had only one card in his hand. It was probably Midfielder. Now my turn can actually begin.

"I discard Violet Poison Magician to activate Pendulum Call. Using it, I add Oafdragon and Iris Magicians to my hand."

Slipping the discarded card and Pendulum Call into the slot, the hidden microphone on my Disk heard my command and two cards popped out of my deck. I grabbed them at the same time and brought them to my hand.

From glancing through the instruction booklet earlier, I learned that the Disk has a microphone to help with knowing what it had to do. Stuff like which cards to search, what to do with the opponent's monsters, and so on could be commanded by voice and if the rules of the game allowed it. After watching my opponent's turn, I realized that he never said a single word and still was able to legally perform his plays. Not only that, but the deck knew what he wanted to search. I thought that was interesting and made another metal note to ask Gal about it later.

No response from the U.A. Duelist, so I continued, "I set Oafdragon as a Scale." No response. "I set Iris in the other Scale." Still no response.

Oafdragon, a magician sporting a green coat, and Iris Magician, representing a bright red robe and cape, both ascended from below the earth in pillars of light. The numbers 2 and 8 appeared below both of them respectively.

I thought about what his face-down could be. It could be a battle trap, a summon trap, or it could be bait. Well there was only one way to find out. Having scales of 2 and 8 meant I could go further.

I slipped another Spell card into the slot while explaining, "I activate Duelist Alliance, and add Pendulumgraph of Ages to my hand. Then I activate it."

I insert Pendulumgraph of Ages into the slot, and the board on my Disk's screen shows it has been activated.

"Finally, I Pendulum Summon Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon from my hand and Skullcrobat Joker from my Extra Deck."

I placed the Odd-Eyes in my hand in attack mode and Skullcrobat from the Extra Deck slot onto the field in defense mode. Another flash of light and what appeared before me was the jester from before and a dragon colored red and white. I could only see its back since it faces the opponent, but I knew full well that it was a sight to behold; at least to me.

Even with my strongest Main Deck monster out, it still couldn't get over Perfect Ace. Skullcrobat didn't have the ATK to battle over Perfect Ace either. Using Pendulum Call meant I couldn't perform a combo to attack over his Ace.

I declared, "I set one card face-down and end my turn" while inserting the last card in my hand into the slot. I then pressed the End Turn button on my Disk and my opponent's Disk chimed.

A loud laugh came from my right. It was Gal again.

"AHAHAHAHA! DID YOU SEE THAT, ISAAC? YOUR PROTECTORS ARE NO MATCH FOR MY BEASTS!"

Hisan Undou ignored my cellmate's boisterous laugh and drew a card. He looked at the card he just drew. He slapped down the same U.A. Midfielder and it was summoned in the same fashion as before. Another card popped out of his deck and he added it to his hand. Looking at my Disk, he added U.A. Rival Rebounder.

I thought this was a curious choice. I know there are more offensive and better U.A. monsters he could have chosen, but why Rebounder?

Midfielder jumped back to the sidelines and tagging in was Rival Rebounder. Like Perfect Ace and Midfielder, Rival Rebounder had the appearance of a futuristic athlete, but this player's sport of choice was basketball. Another spotlight shined on both athletes, further raising their ATK. Reading its effect, I was astonished to learn that it didn't have an effect when summoned in this situation. He then inserted the last card in his hand into the Disk's slot. Rival Rebounder's hologram was augmented with a futuristic uniform that crackled with electricity.

His last card was U.A. Powered Jersey. It raised Rebounder's ATK even further to 3700, much higher than my Odd-Eyes' 2500 ATK or my Joker's measly 100 DEF. Not only that, but the jersey gave Rebounder a double attacking effect when it wins a battle. I knew I was in for some pain.

Another loud roar from Gal, engrossed in his own Duel, "HOW DARE YOU USE THAT CARD!"

Hisan rotated one card on his field and Perfect Ace stood up. The Duelist pointed at Odd-Eyes and Rebounder threw his basketball at my dragon. The ball exploded on contact, taking Odd-Eyes and 1200 of my LP with it. I felt a brief vibration from my Disk. Someone from the sidelines threw another basketball at Rebounder, rearming the dangerous basketball player. Hisan pointed at my remaining monster, and it too exploded. Both of my monsters entered the Extra Deck.

Finally, Hisan pointed at me, and Perfect Ace wound up his pitch. The pitcher released and a glowing ball hit me in the stomach at full speed. Another 2500 LP gone. A slightly stronger buzz came from my Disk. If that pitch was real, I would have surely been on the floor.

One tap later and it was now my turn. I drew and looked at my fate. With 4300 LP left, I wasn't out of the game yet but I had to make a comeback now. The card I drew is exactly what I needed to win, but Perfect Ace's effect frightened me. How is a Duelist this powerful still in this place? As a 3-er, he's been in here for who knows how long. What happened to him?

I tap my face-down card to activate it and proclaimed, "I activate Pendulumgraph of Spacetime. I target my Oafdragon in the scale and Perfect Ace."

As expected, Ace threw another perfect fastball, negating and destroying my trap. He had no choice after all.

I smirked and continued with my turn. "I Pendulum Summon the two monsters in my Extra Deck and this Tune Magician in my hand."

One flash of light later and three monsters stood on my field in attack position. Skullcrobat and Odd-Eyes looked the same. The newcomer, Tune Magician, looked like a small girl with long pink hair, wearing light blue robes and wielding a staff that sported a tuning fork at the top.

"I activate Tune Magician's effect and Special Summon White Wing Magician from my Deck."

Another card popped out of my deck and I slapped it on the field. White Wing Magician appeared on my field. It looked like a girl with short pink hair cosplaying as the synchro dragon it represents.

"I overlay the level 4 Tune Magician and White Wing Magician! Xyz Summon! Startime Magician!"

On my field, I placed White Wing over Tune Magician and placed Startime Magician's card from my Extra Deck slot on top of those two.

Tune and White Wing Magicians turned into orbs and flew into a vortex of darkness that appeared on the stadium's floor. Coming out of it in an explosion was my key to victory, Startime Magician. A mage cloaked with light and dark blue robes stood in front of me. In his right hand was a silver and black staff that represents the stars, and on his left wrist was a curved golden blade extending past his elbow that represents time. Two gold orbs orbited his body, representing the Xyz materials used for his summon.

One of the golden orbs vanished in a sparkle as I relayed my orders, "I detach one Xyz material and add Black Fang Magician to my hand. Like before, a card popped out of my deck and I added it to my hand. The card I detached to send to the grave was White Wing Magician. The pieces were almost here.

"Next, I activate Iris Magician's Pendulum effect, destroying it and giving Skullcrobat Joker the ability to deal double combat damage against monsters."

Joker's buff didn't matter. He wouldn't be attacking any monsters. The effects coming up is what I was aiming for.

"I activate Pendulum Graph of Ages' effect as well as Iris Magician's monster effect. Ages lets me add Astrograph Sorcerer to my hand and Iris lets me add Pendulumgraph of Spacetime as well."

Two cards popped out of my deck and I collected both of them. Now the stage was set for my comeback.

"Furthermore, I activate Astrograph Sorcerer's effect in my hand! When Iris Magician was destroyed, I can special summon it and add a copy of the destroyed card to my hand!"

I added the newly extended card from my deck to my hand and slapped Astrograph Sorcerer onto the field.

I took a deep breath and announced my coup de grâce, "I tribute Astrograph Sorcerer and banish the four who represent the summons! I banish Iris, the one who represents Pendulum, Black Fang, the one who represents Xyz, White Wing, the one who represents Synchro, and Violet Poison, the one who represents Fusion, from my hand and graveyard!"

There was a rumbling sensation on the field. The walls of the Stadium were crumbling. Ace and Rebounder, who previously had confident looks on their faces, were now starting to shake in fear. Hisan let out a defeated sigh.

I finish my chant, "Integration Summon! Finish this, Supreme King Dragon Zarc!"

I placed my boss monster's card on the field where Astrograph was and a gigantic dragon appeared behind me. Colored with pale gold and light purple, this king of a dragon roared. Instantly, everything on Hisan's field exploded in terror. The Stadium crumbled and I could hear traces of the Stadium's audience scream in terror.

I instantly regretted summoning Zarc because of these negative interactions, but I couldn't think of another way to win. These reactions filled with nothing but terror to my monster's arrival must have been coded in as a sick joke, but I opted to ignore it for the moment. I vowed to limit my Zarc summoning, lest I see this again and get scarred even more. I don't need any reminders of my past right now, however distantly related they are.

With his field gone and only Midfielder in his hand, I felt confident that this duel was finished. The combined ATK of Zarc, Startime, Odd-Eyes, and Joker exceeded his remaining 8000 LP by a good 2700.

I uttered one last word to end the duel, "Attack".

The destruction caused by all four of their attacks can only be described as catastrophic. If any of these attacks were real, there wouldn't be a Building O anymore, let alone the entire prison complex. With the Stadium gone, all four of the Dueling prisoners halted their duels and looked at the destruction that came with Zarc's summoning. As each Disk was only wirelessly connected to their opponent's, there were no reactions from all of their monsters and I was thankful for that.

Gal, who had just finished his Duel moments after mine, clapped and laughed with glee. The remaining prisoners didn't have obvious reactions, but I could feel their uneasiness as the hologram of my monsters disappeared. Hisan looked even more depressed than usual, almost on the verge of tears. I'm not sure if that was from his loss, from Zarc's overwhelming power, or for a more personal reason. Kei nodded and wrote something down in a notepad. The guards just stared forward blankly.

Beyond Gal, I don't think I made a good first impression.