Previously, on "Supreme Kings and Tricksters!"
Akira Kurusu, Leader of the Phantom Thieves, has failed in trying to steal the Holy Grail: the Treasure of the masses of Tokyo! Worse, everyone refuses to acknowledge the Phantom Thieves' existence and one by one, his friends are erased. Just as Akira is to meet the same fate, an unknown person saves him and offers him a second chance. Now he finds himself in a new world, one where a card game is the most exciting sport in all the world!
As he investigates his new surroundings, he encounters Yuya Sakaki, a young Duelist. After some circumstances, Yuya offers to teach Akira how to Duel in the best way possible: a hands-on experience! However, as the duel goes on, Akira notices how the world starts to twist and gets a horrible feeling when Yuya summons his ace monster, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Just as it looks he is on the verge of destruction once again, Akira reawakens to his power and begins his counterattack!
Coming up next, the Return of the Phantom Thief! Stay tuned, you awesome Tricksters!
*cue Akira showing up, back facing the camera before turning around and aiming his gun at the screen*
"SHOWTIME!"
BANG!
Opening Theme: "Feel That Jazz" (unofficial title)
[Chorus] The drums start to beat together with the chorus. As it does, distorted images of the Phantom Thieves play on the screen of a duel disk before it suddenly cuts off, showing Akira's reflection and wearing his mask before the camera reveals him in his Metaverse attire. With a swing of his arm, the title card comes into play and the world becomes a distorted version of Maiami City.
[Its showtime! Lets get going!] Akira is found atop a skyscraper, leaning against the railing with his back to the sky before he pushes himself off, tugging at his gloves. He shows a toothy grin.
[Its about taking a chance, or even two! There's no guideline for doing it your way!] Yuya is shown walking through the streets of Maiami before the world twists around him. In his shadow is another Yuya, only smiling sinisterly at him with glowing red eyes and darkness flowing around him. Gritting his teeth, Yuya brandishes his Duel Disk and faces his doppelganger.
[Lets just focus now on what lies ahead!] Yuzu is in You Show Duel School, staring at her bracelet. Her mind races to a warehouse where a young man wearing a dark cloak and mask appears. Behind him is a ferocious dragon with purple orbs dancing around it, bearing its fangs at an unseen opponent.
[Try to get ride of the fear taking over!] Reiji is shown in a dark room, eyes glaring at the camera before it swivels around, showing a new view: a school with people in red, yellow and blue uniforms with a man standing before them, face overshadowed.
[Break it up! Turn the speed on this ride! You've been waiting for us 'till now!] A young man in a trench coat is seen standing over fallen LDS students. Hovering above him is a monster resembling a mechanical bird, glaring down on them. Suddenly, the camera changes to a view of a city engulfed in fire, people scrambling as the uniformed students chase after them with sinister grins.
[Here we are, and things are gonna get freaking hot tonight!] Cards dance across the screen before showing the faces of Akira, Yuya, Yuzu and the man in the trench coat. The cards then scatter to show Akira performing a Persona Call, flames around him forming into his Metaverse attire while Arsene stands above him, a flaming grin on its face before throwing a chain at the camera.
[So can you feel that jazz, of a beautiful ballad? How about tango? Or maybe some rock n roll?] Yuya leaps into an Action Field, riding atop Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with his Entermate monsters trailing behind him. Odd-Eyes jumps off, leaving Yuzu to show up and surrounded by her Mozart monsters. She grins and points at the camera, leading one to charge at the screen. Sawatari shows up as the monster passes him by before his Frozen Monarch appears in a blizzard behind him, swinging its sword down and creating a trail of ice. It goes on until shattered by Hokuto, Masumi and Kiba's own monsters.
[To break it up to you, against what you signed up for! Keep old school jazzy if you only play pretty tunes!] Gongenzaka slams into the ground, raising his head before Heavy Samurai Susano-O appears behind him, slamming its naginata into the ground and releasing a puff of steam. Sora emerges from the steam, accompanied by his Frightfur and Fluffal monsters. Reiji suddenly appears from within purple flames that engulf the screen. Above him are his DDD Hell Armageddons.
[You know you want to be at the show! It's gonna change the world, let's go!] Akira walks into an empty street crossing. For a moment, the screen glitches and shows him and the Phantom Thieves. He smiles before he looks up. The distortion vanishes and shows him together with Yuya, Yuzu, Gongenzaka, Reiji, Sawatari, the masked teen and the young man in the trench coat together in the crossing. Arsene emerges behind him and launches at the screen, causing it to crack and turn to static, ending the song.
A Persona x Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Crossover:
"Of Supreme Kings and Tricksters"
Chapter 2: Persona Call - Joker's Comeback
Play: Persona 5 OST - Rivers in the Desert
"Joker Gentleman - Arsene!"
With this announcement, the red-clad monster emerged with a beautiful flourish, spreading its wings out after Akira had destroyed the chains binding them. Everyone watched, both in nervousness and in awe. Yuya, for his part, was completely and utterly baffled. Something about this Duel was seriously wrong. For one, his attack hurt Akira more that it should have. Given his acrobatic skills, he assumed he had trained himself to handle an Action Duel. Obviously, that was wrong. Then that mask showed up on his face out of nowhere. When he pried it off, it looked like he had ripped flesh open if the blood was any indication. Then he became wreathed in fire.
And now his clothes had changed too! Sure, it looked cool and invoked the image of a magician, but even still, what the hell was going on here?! "O-Oi, Akira! What's-"
"Arigatou, Yuya." The boy was cut off when Akira smiled at him. Gone was the calm and cool teen he was facing earlier who faced him wearily. In his place was truly the image of a phantom thief: a smile that promised mischief and eyes that danced with ill intentions. "Until now, I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Now, however...I can remember." A gloved hand touched his face, obscuring his grin. "This power...yes, that's right. I haven't forgotten my rebellion. Not by a longshot."
He had whispered that last part, so Yuya couldn't hear him. However, as Akira removed is hand from his face, he was reminded that, in spite of everything that happened just now, the Duel was still ongoing. The show must go on.
"I activate my Spell: Trickster Invitation! If I control a "Joker" Persona and have no Monsters on the field, I can draw two cards! In order to activate its Effect, however, I must have less than three cards in my hand! I currently have none!" Two cards from atop the deck popped out for the thief to graciously take. Akira gave them a glance before his smile widened. "Next, I activate the Spell: Pillager of Twilight!"
(With Yuzu)
The day had been too strange for Yuzu's liking. First Akira took a nasty hit, probably Yuya getting too caught up, and then that mask appeared and then...gods, she didn't know what was going on anymore! One moment he had blood on his face after ripping off the mask, and the next he was dressed like some kind of magician at a magic show! Not that it was ill-fitting. Far from it, it looked dashing on him-wait, that wasn't the point!
"What the heck is going on here?" Yuzu questioned, not sure what was happening. "What kind of summoning did Akira do? Was it a Normal Summon?" She looked down at the console, and her eyes widened. Displayed on the console was the information of every card each player had, whether they were on the field or in their hand.
"W-what the..."
[Joker Gentleman - Arsene / Tier 1 / Arcana: Fool / Duration: 2 / Offensive (OFF) Power: 800 / Resistance (RES) Power: 800 / Endurance (END): 1000]
Yuzu's jaw dropped. "What kind of card is that?!"
(With Yuya and Akira)
"Pillager of Twilight can only be activated if I have the Persona "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" on the field!" Akira explained the effects of the Spell, which naturally had Arsene himself, standing before a pair of knights and wreathed in blue fire. Fitting, as the card had depicted Akira's first-ever Persona awakening. "For every "Joker" Monster in my Graveyard, Arsene receives 200 OFF, RES and END points as well as one Duration Marker! In my Graveyard is Joker Jester, Joker Thief, Joker Spy, and Joker Dandy! Therefore, Arsene receives 800 OFF, RES and END along with 4 Duration Markers!"
Arsene's flaming grin grew as a red aura danced around it, sparking with fury.
Joker Gentleman - Arsene
800 + 800 = 1600 OFF/RES
800 + 1000 = 1800 END
Duration: 2 + 4 = 6
Naturally, the terms went straight over Yuya's head. Offensive? Resistance? Endurance? Duration? What in the hell were those? Seriously, where in the heck was this Duel heading? "Um, sorry to butt in here." he held up a hand, question marks dancing around him. "But can you stop and talk normally here?"
"Arsene is a Persona Card." Akira explained. "Try and think of it like this: its OFF is a Persona's equivalent to ATK and RES is DEF. And now, battle! I attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Joker Gentleman - Arsene!"
"E-eh?! Wait, if what you say is true, then Odd-Eyes will destroy Arsene!"
Akira's smirk unnerved him. It reminded him of the smiles the villains in a slasher film often gave when about to make a kill. "Not likely. Arsene's Ability lets me lower the ATK point of a Monster I target by 1000!" Yuya's face fell in horror as Arsene's wicked smirk burned brightly, the aura around it growing fiercer as its body tensed. The glare was powerful enough to intimidate Odd-Eyes as Yuya felt it cowering beneath its infernal gaze.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 - 1000 = 1500 ATK
"Now, go! EIHA!"
Before Yuya could even run for an Action Card, Arsene slammed a hand into the ground. In the next second, a myriad of red spears came tearing into the ground, ripping apart the Action Field before skewering Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, shattering it and sending Yuya flat on his butt.
Yuya Sakaki: 3100 - 100 = 3000 LP
Yuya let out a small yelp, his butt definitely feeling the impact of hitting the floor. Akira merely took the two remaining cards in his hand and set them to the field. "I set two cards face down and end my Turn." he announced. "Additionally, Arsene loses 1 Duration Marker."
Joker Gentleman - Arsene: 6 - 1 = 5 Duration
(With You Show Students)
"What...the heck...?" Tatsuya murmured, unsure whether to feel uneasy or stupefied. "What...what just happened?"
No one could answer with certainty. With everything that had happened earlier, they were unsure how to appropriately respond. In fact, they were sure they had lost their voices. Everyone was silent until Sora spoke up. "It's like Teacher's Pendulum cards." Everyone turned to look at him. For once, no one found anything sweet on his person. Instead, his gaze was solely focused on the duel, eyes locked on to the imposing red winged monster behind Akira. "The differences between ATK and DEF, and that Duration marker thing he mentioned. Just check the Duel System Observation."
Everyone looked at their Duel Disks. Since they were registered as observers, the system showed them the cards that were on the field, or at the very least, the cards that were on the field face-up. "H-hey, Sora's right!" Ayu exclaimed. "Akira's monster's border is all weird! So's the format!"
All cards had different colored borders. Normal monster cards had an orange border design. Traps and Ritual Monsters had purple. Spells had green. Fusion had blue. Synchro had white. Xyz had black. Furthermore, the card always showed the card's description and effect below the artwork.
That was not the case for this "Persona Card." It had the artwork, but it encompassed the entirety of the card. The border that encircled it was bright azure, much like the flames that were shown off earlier. Furthermore, the description and effects of the card were listed over the artwork.
"What is this?" Gongenzaka questioned. "Abilities...Buffs...Debuffs? What sort of card is this?"
"It's like Sora said." Shuzo spoke looking up at the Duel. "It's just like with Yuya. That Akira boy...is it possible? He created a new type of monster card, like Yuya's Pendulum Monsters?!"
(With Yuya and Akira)
Turn 6: Yuya / Hand: 0
"Ow...okay, that hurt." Yuya murmured, rubbing his posterior before beginning his move. "My Turn! Draw!"
"I activate the Continuous Trap: Palace Distortion!"
Yuya balked. "Wha-?! Already dude?!"
Akira smirked, flipping over his face-down to reveal none other than Kamoshida's Palace overlapping with that of Shujin Academy, as depicted on the Trap Card. "During the Draw Phase, if I have a Persona on the field, I can activate one of its effects. I activate its third Effect: during the Battle Phase, if either of us has a Persona Card out on the field, they can't be targeted by a Monster. Furthermore, any Battle Damage dealt will be halved."
Yuya frowned. "I still don't get any of this Persona card business, but if it has ATK or OFF points or whatever, that means it's still just a Monster. In which case, I use the already set Scales of the Pendulum to perform another Pendulum Summon!" Once more, the pillars of light on either side of him began to glow brilliantly. "Pendulum Monsters, when destroyed, are sent to the Extra Deck rather than the Graveyard! And Pendulum Summoning allows me to summon Monsters from both my hand and my Extra Deck! It's time for an encore!" The pendant around his neck glowed in tandem with the swinging Pendulum as it created a beautiful circlet of light. "Swing, Pendulum of my Soul! Draw an arc of light, across the aether! Pendulum Summoning! Come forth, my Monsters!"
Descending from the portal of light were two familiar monsters - one ferocious dragon and a silver wolf with an ax to grind.
[Entermate Silver Claw / DARK / Level 4 / Beast / Pendulum / Effect / ATK 1800 / DEF 700]
[Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon / DARK / Level 7 / Dragon / Pendulum / Effect / ATK 2500 / DEF 2000]
Akira clicked his tongue, noting how the dragon gave him a baneful glare. "And its back again. What a nuisance."
"And now I activate the Spell: Spiral Flame Strike!" Yuya slammed the card he drew unto his Duel Disk, activating its Effect immediately. "If I have an "Odd-Eyes" Monster on the field, I can destroy any card you have on your Field! I'm sending Palace Distortion to the Graveyard!"
"Sorry, but not happening." Akira interrupted with a grin. From behind him, Arsene snapped its fingers. Iron chains wrapped around the two cards face-down on his field, as if protecting them from harm. "One of Arsene's Buffs prevents anyone from targeting any of the set Spells or Traps I have out on the field."
Yuya cursed. "Another weird term. Doesn't he mean effect? Ah, whatever! In that case, I'll send Arsene to your Graveyard instead!" The card shattered and flowed into Odd-Eyes, whose eyes burned like fire before releasing a spiraling blast, heading straight for Arsene. The Joker Gentleman merely grinned at the challenge and raised a claw hand, slamming it straight forward and meeting the blast head-on. The collision created a plume of dust, settling over the area. A second later, however, it was blown away. Yuya's eyes widened when he saw the Persona still standing behind Akira, unfazed. "W-what? Why wasn't it destroyed?"
"If a Persona Card is to leave the field for any reason, such as coming under attack or being removed by an effect, it loses a Duration Marker instead." Akira explained.
Joker Gentleman - Arsene: 5 - 1 = 4 Duration
By now, the weird terms were causing steam to rise through Yuya's head. "So weeeiiird...what's with this Monster?!" he questioned.
[I think I get it now.] The boy looked down, finding Yuzu opening a channel up to him. [This...Persona card's Duration Marker is like the Effects of monsters that can stay on the field for a certain number of turns. Right now, Akira's Arsene has 4 Duration Markers left. If 4 Turns pass, Arsene will leave the field.]
"Okay...I think I get it, kind of." Yuya frowned. He shook his head. "Okay, then! In that case, battle! I attack Joker Gentleman - Arsene with Entermate Silver Claw! I also activate its Effect: when declaring an attack, all Entermate monsters gain 300 ATK points!"
Entermate Silver Claw: 1800 + 300 = 2100 ATK
"Go, Silver Claw! Iron Rending Tear!"
The wolf let out a howl, charging forward. Arsene, in defiance, threw one of the broke chains at it, but it dodged with ease and ran along the chain. Once within range, it swung a claw at it, slashing straight through its chest. Akira winced in pain, backpedaling as he grasped his chest, as if feeling the attack for himself.
Akira Kurusu: 900 - 500 = 400 LP
Joker Gentleman - Arsene
1800 - 500 = 1300 END
Noticing the change in value of the card, Yuya frowned. "Why didn't it lose a Duration Marker?" he questioned. "And how come its END dropped the same amount Akira took damage?"
"Silver Claw's ATK was higher than its RES." Akira explained, suppressing a groan of pain. Even here, it seemed that when a Persona took a hit, he took the brunt of it as well. How annoying. "RES is the same as a Monster's DEF. Personas also can't enter Defense Mode, either. If a Monster's ATK is higher than its RES, I take battle damage and the Persona loses END equal to the damage I take. Once it hits zero, Arsene loses a Duration Marker."
"...you do realize I understood none of that, right?"
[Oh, for the love of-!] Yuzu howled, startling him. [What it means, Yuya, that if you attack with Odd-Eyes, Akira will lose because its ATK is higher than its RES!]
Yuya's mouth formed a perfect "o" of understanding, nodding before he grinned. "Alright, then! Then I continue on! I attack Joker Gentleman - Arsene once again with Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! With your dichromatic eyes, lay waste to all you see! Spiral Strike Burst!"
Odd-Eyes' eyes burned once again, releasing the same ferocious attack it had before that nearly ended Akira last time. However, the phantom thief was not about to let things end here. To Yuya's surprise, he hopped atop Arsene's hand. The Persona then threw him high into the air before throwing a chain at him, which he grabbed. It then proceeded to swing him around the room, holding unto the chain with the same grin on his face before he stretched out his hand and grabbed an Action Card from a nearby Trapeze.
"I activate the Action Magic: Extreme Sword! During the Battle Phase, I can increase 1 Monster's ATK by 1000! I choose Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya's eyes bugged out of his head. Wait, what?! Was he crazy?! He did know that was just going to make it even harder for him to survive this attack, right?! Even with Palace Distortion halving battle damage, bringing Odd-Eyes ATK to 3500 was going to make it impossible to survive! "Since Personas don't have ATK points, Extreme Sword is useless." Akira explained. "So I gave it to you."
Yuya sweat-dropped. "Um...thanks?" Okay, I kinda feel bad now that I'm gonna beat him like this, especially when he showed that thing off. the young Entertainment Duelist thought. Sure, it got pretty weird, but when you get over it...it's actually kind of cool!
As Akira landed atop a platform, with Arsene bouncing off the ground and avoiding the first volley Odd-Eyes shot at it, he grinned. Yuya immediately remembered what kind of cards his opponent had been playing up until now, and suddenly understood why he used Extreme Sword on Odd-Eyes. By the time he realized it, it was too late. "From my Graveyard, I activate the Spell: Survival Trick! While in the Graveyard, it can be treated as a Trap Card! If I would take a 1000 or more damage, I can reduce that battle damage to zero by banishing it!"
Odd-Eyes released another volley of destructive power at Arsene. However, the Spell-turned-Trap's Effect had already kicked in by the time it shot off its second blast. With a swing of its leg, the spiraling stream of power was blown away, creating a powerful gust of wind.
Yuya sighed. "Darn...thought I had him." he said with disappointment. "He really is like a phantom thief."
But that was what was making this duel so exciting.
He grinned. "I end my Turn here then, I guess."
Joker Gentleman - Arsene: 4 - 1 = 3 Duration
Turn 6: Akira / Hand: 0
"My Turn! Draw!" Akira began before activating Palace Distortion again. "I activate the Continuous Trap: Palace Distortion's second Effect: Until the end of this Turn, all Monsters receive 100 ATK points for every Level they possess!"
A black-and-red wave rippled across the Action Field, washing over Odd-Eyes and Silver Claw, both of which began to develop a black hue around their bodies.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 2500 + (100 X 7) = 3200 ATK
Entermate Silver Claw: 1800 + (100 X 4) = 2200 ATK
(With You Show Students)
Futoshi cocked his head. "Why would he do that?" he asked in confusion. "He just said Persona Cards don't have ATK points, right? All he's doing is making Yuya-niichan's monsters stronger."
"Did Akira-niichan make a mistake?" Ayu asked innocently.
Gongenaka shook his head. "No, he did not." he stated, causing the children to look at him. "All of Akira's cards have been using Yuya's own card effects against him, or otherwise using effects to divert any attack he throws at him. He is truly like a phantom thief: a mask so carefully crafted, it's almost impossible to tell what he's thinking."
"Couldn't have put it better myself, Gon." Sora smirked.
(With Yuya and Akira)
I got a bad feeling about this... Yuya thought wearily. What's he up to now?
Akira then showed what he had been building up to. "I then activate my last face-down: Distortion Stun! This forces monster's who's ATK points are changed from their original value to Defense Mode!" At this, another black-and-red ripple washed over the monsters. Replacing the black hue was a red aura that covered the monsters as they took more defensive positions - Silver Fang covering its face with a paw and Odd-Eyes shielding itself with its tale. "Also, battle damage dealt by a Monster or Persona is doubled!"
Yuya's eyes widened, realizing the implications and immediately took off, looking for an Action Card.
"Battle! I attack Entermate Silver Claw with Joker Gentleman - Arsene!" Akira announced. "Now, Dream Needle!"
The Persona took high into the air, crossing its arms and wings over its face and creating a dark haze around it before swinging its arms and wings outward. In an instant, the haze exploded and turned into sharp needles that rained down upon Silver Claw, destroying it with ease.
"Furthermore, Arsene's next Ability lets him start another attack after it destroys a Monster in Defense Mode!" Akira revealed with a smirk. "It's time for the finale! One more time, Arsene! Cleave!"
With a beat, Arsene charged in, going straight for Odd-Eyes with the intent of bringing down its foot upon its skull, thus cutting it in half. Yuya, however, was not about to let that happen. "Not happening!" he shouted, snatching an Action Card from a pole. "I activate the Action Magic: Rise Up! This changes a monster in Defense Mode to Attack Mode and increases its ATK points by 500!"
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 3200 + 500 = 3700 ATK
The blue aura broke apart and Odd-Eyes roared in defiance, slamming its tail against Arsene's foot. Sparks danced around them, each struggling to defeat one another. From there, they exchanged blows, neither willing to give an inch. All it would take is one attack, and the Duel would come to an end.
Yuay would win.
...if his opponent was not Joker, anyway.
The phantom thief grinned like a madman as Arsene, in a single opening, lashed out a chain right above him. In a blur of black and red, Akira leaped up, grabbing hold of the chain for a moment before he bounced off of it, touching a pole and rebounding off of it. His body danced in the air, swaying and twirling through a hoop before landing on a tightrope. As he did, his eyes zeroed in on a card on a trapeze. The attacks between Odd-Eyes and Arsene became more frantic, but Akira was not concerned. He was off in a sprint, not faltering in any way in his stride. Once he was close enough, he jumped and grabbed unto the trapeze, taking the card.
His smirk turned vicious.
"I activate the Action Magic: Zero Penalty! This reduces the ATK points of a monster you control to 0! I use Zero Penalty's Effect to reduce Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's ATK points to 0!"
Odd-Eyes slammed its tail into Arsene, but the legendary figure kicked it away, causing the dragon to stumble back, feeling its power draining away as the light in its eyes faded away.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon: 3200 - 3200 + 0
In a swing, Joker was off of the trapeze, landing behind Arsene. Together, the two painted a terrifying yet beautiful artpiece: two grand thieves stealing the victory of the world's creator of the Pendulum Summoning.
As Arsene's flaming grin grew in size, raising its leg, Akira tugged on his gloves and smirked equally as scary as the Persona that embodied his will of rebellion.
He spoke two simple words,
Show's Over.
Arsene slammed its leg down - sharpened heel slashing straight through Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's skull and reducing it to golden shards. The force of such a kick kicked up a gust of wind that threw Yuya off of his feet and into the air, landing unto a trampoline and then flat on his face almost comically and painfully so before falling flat on his back.
Yuya Sakaki: 3000 - (1600 X 2) = 0
WINNER: Akira Kurusu!
Tipping its hat, the Persona vanished into a blue flaming flourish, flowing towards Akira and centering on his face. The flames solidified into the white mask that donned his face earlier, though this time it seemed to add to the mysterious apparel and image of a phantom thief to the observers. Sadly, the look did not last long. As the Action Field began to dissolve, reverting to the same bland room as before, Akira's outfit disappeared in a flash, returning him to his original attire. He looked down at his hand, casually flexing his fingers and clenching his fist before smiling.
I still have it. This power. I remember you guys. My friends...even now, you're giving me strength.
"Oww..." Yuya groaned, pushing himself up to all fours before getting back on his feet. He rubbed the rather glaring large red nose on his face, which pulsated and throbbed in pain from landing right on the ground. "That effin' hurt." He turned to Akira, still holding his nose before giving him a sheepish grin. "For a newbie, you're not bad."
Akira shrugged. "I guess I'm a fast learner."
"Fast learner nothing!" The two turned to find the students of You Show Duel School, plus who Akira assumed to be the school's principal, approaching. The first to reach them was the three children. Among them was Tatsuya, who looked at him with excitement. "That was amazing! You were a complete natural, Akira-niichan!"
He blinked. Akira-niichan? Where'd they come up with that?
The other member of the group, which in Akira's opinion looked like some kind of burly oyabun, nodded strongly. "Rather hard to believe that was truly your first duel. I, the man Gongenzaka, am truly impressed!"
"And don't forget the new cards, too." the blue-haired boy pointed out with a small grin on his face. "I guess Teacher isn't the only one who has new cards unique to him."
Wait, what? What did that mean? He gave a small glance over to Yuya, who had a small blush on his face as he scratched his cheek. Seeing his confusion, the man in the gym suit, who Yuzu referred to as father earlier, explained it to him. "Yuya is actually the one who created Pendulum Summoning." he informed the phantom thief, much to his surprise. He looked back at Yuya again, his expression still the same. He created a new summoning method? At his age? Impressive. "It's still relatively new, so he's naturally the only one with Pendulum Cards right now."
"Still, what was wrong with that duel?" Yuzu questioned, a troubled look on her face as she looked at him. "Akira, are you okay? When you ripped off that mask, you were bleeding."
"I'm fine." he answered honestly. It hurt like hell when he had ripped the mask off for the first time, but when he had done so here, it hadn't. In fact, it felt incredible. As if he was awakening to his Persona once again for the first time in so long. An incredible rush of power, different yet remaining the same. "It felt weird at first...but I got used to it. Besides, I wanted to see what I could do."
"Even so, that was reckless!" Yuzu admonished him, wagging a finger. "Next time something like this happens, stop the duel! It was weird enough to have you bleeding like that!" Then she whirled on her foot, turning to Yuya who immediately froze. "And as for you, Yuya! You need to learn some restraint!"
"Eh?! Wh-what'd I do?!"
"You and Odd-Eyes really banged Akira up!" For emphasis, she gestured to his somewhat battered form. "There's something called holding back! I know you get caught up in the excitement, but for god's sake, remember how to pull your punches!"
Yuya held up his hands in defense, face paling. "Okay, okay! I promise!" he cried frightfully. The blue-haired boy, Sora, snickered. Akira could already tell why he was so amused since he felt the same way. It was like watching a married couple bicker.
"SHUT UP!"
Ah. He had spoken out loud, didn't he?
TakeYourTime
Leo Duel School.
There was not a single person who did not know that name.
Founded by the Leo Corporation, it is one of the most influential duel schools in the entire country. Offering advanced courses for all types of summonings - Fusion, Synchro, Xyz - any who wish to learn such methods are allowed to participate. Even now, LDS is advancing and progressing, establishing facilities across the globe. There was hardly any doubt that it would soon become the number one duel school in the entire world.
Of course...there was also something lurking backstage in this grand scheme of things.
In one of the many rooms located inside the main building of Leo Corp. HQ, a young man was found sitting before a wide selection of monitors with several individuals in suits rushing about and performing different tasks. He had dark gray hair, which was bizarre given his age, and sharp yet cold purple eyes. He wore a simple blue shirt with pristine white dress slacks with white sneakers. Wrapped around his neck was a long, flowing red scarf. A pair of red-framed spectacles sat atop the bridge of his nose.
From his posture, one could easily tell that he was not someone one wished to trifle with. The looks of respect he received from his subordinates only seemed to reinforce this.
From behind, one of the men came up behind him, handing the young man a set of documents. "As you requested, we gathered information on the energy readings from the duel at You Show Duel School." the man said as his employer gratefully accepted the documents, giving them a thorough lookover. "As you suspected, there was two energy signatures. One was recognized as a Pendulum Summoning, no doubt Yuya Sakaki, but the second was foreign."
The young man, none other than President of Leo Corporation Reiji Akaba, looked at the documents with curiosity. After a minute or so of reading, he looked at one of the nearby attendants. "Please bring up the recording of the duel at You Show Duel School." he asked politely, yet sternly. The attendant nodded and immediately typed away at their console. Soon, the giant screen before him lit up, at first covered with snowy static before clearing up.
The sight was enough to make Reiji's eyes narrow dangerously, scrutinizing over the sight while the rest watched in awe as the young man dueling the creator of Pendulum Summoning, Yuya Sakaki, became wreathed in azure flames before the fire that covered his form removed itself from him, changing his attire and becoming a monster.
However, the system did not classify it as a "Monster Card." It was not considered to be a Trap or Spell, either. No, the System had designated it as something else entirely.
On the right side, information about the card was demonstrated before it. The effects of this card, categorized into three parts: Buffs, Debuffs and Abilities. The statistics of the card. Even the portrait despite its form prevailing so clearly.
"To think that there would be a new type of card." his assistant, Nakajima, whispered in awe. "First the Pendulum Cards, both Monster and Spell, and now this?"
Reiji pushed up his glasses. His voice carried over clearly to his subordinates. "Please investigate everything there is to know about this Akira Kurusu. Furthermore, have one of our agents observe him." he ordered with a tone befitting one of his position. They all nodded and went to work immediately. Meanwhile, the young man himself stared at the screen still.
"It seems the Standard Dimension will be much more active than we thought."
His eyes was focused on what the System had designated this summoning. It was not a Summoning Method, like Fusion or the newly made Pendulum. Nor was it classified as a Special Summoning.
In bright blue words, the System had christened it:
[PERSONA CALL]
TO BE CONTINUED...
And done! Much shorter than the first chapter, as it was meant to wrap up the duel and also provide a sense of foreboding. So many mysteries surrounding this new chapter's reveals. And speaking of reveals, here are the list of fan-made cards that have appeared in this chapter in order of appearance. Most, if not all cards, are made by my duel brain partner Donjusticia.
FAN CARDS:
Joker Jester / DARK / Level 2 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 200 / DEF 800 / Flip: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower "Joker" monster from your hand. You can Tribute 1 Card you control that is owne by your opponent; Special Summon this Card from your GY, Face-down. You can only use each effect of "Joker Jester" once per turn.
Joker Thief / DARK / Level 1 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 600 / DEF 300 / Flip: This Card cannot be destroyed by battle this turn, also, set 1 Card in your opponent's GY to your side of the field (You must control a Persona Card to activate and resolve this effect). Once per turn: If an attack is declared against this Card; You can negate that attack, and if you do, change this card to face-down defense position.
Joker Spy / DARK / Level 2 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 700 / DEF 400 / Once per turn: You can target 1 set Card your opponent controls to declare a card name; Reveal that card, and if you do, and you called it's name right, set that card to your side of the field. Any damage you take from battles involving a Persona Card you control is halved.
Joker Spyglass / Spell / Normal / Activate only if you control a "Joker" monster. Target 1 set card on your opponents side of the field or 1 card in your opponent's hand and reveal it. Afterwards, return the card to its original position. Cards and effects cannot be activated in response to the activation of this card or its effect.
Survival Trick / Normal Spell / Target 1 monster you control; Until the end of this turn, that card cannot be destroyed by battle. This card is treated as a Trap Card while in the GY. Once per turn, during your opponent's Battle Phase, if you would take 1000 or more damage: You can banish this card; Change that battle damage to 0.
Foolish Reversal / Trap / Normal / Activate 1 of the following effects if you control a "Joker" Card.
1. If your opponent attacks a "Joker" Card you control: Change the attack target to a monster they control.
2. If your opponent activates a card effect that would remove a card(s) you control from the field: You can negate that effect, and if you do, replace this effect with that effect, and activate it.
Joker Dandy / DARK / Level 8 / Spellcaster / Effect / ATK 2800 / DEF 2000 / When Tribute Summoning this Card, you can also tribute cards you control that were owned by your opponent. "Joker" Monsters you control Gain 600 ATK. If a "Joker" Monster you control destroys an opponent's monster by battle: You can set that monster to your side of the field.
Pendulum Kick-Back / Spell / Quick-Play / If a Pendulum Monster you control battles an opponent's monster, you can tribute 1 Pendulum Monster you control; Increase the ATK of the battling Pendulum Monster by the ATK of the tribute monster until the end of the Damage Step.
Narrow Dodge / Spell / Action / Activate only during the Battle Phase if your opponent activates a Trap Card: Negate the activation of that card, and if you do, set it face-down.
Trickster Invitation / Spell / Normal / If you control a face-up "Joker" Persona Card, and no monsters: Draw 2 cards. You must have fewer than 3 cards in your hand to activate and resolve this effect.
Pillager of Twilight / Normal Spell / This card can only be activated when the Persona Card: "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" is on the field. For each "Joker" monster in your Gy, "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" gains 200 OFF, RES and END and 1 Duration Marker. Once per turn, during your opponent's battle phase, if this card is in your GY: You can banish this card; discard all "Joker" monsters in your hand, and if you do, change the OFF, RES, and END of "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" to 0. Until the end of the turn this effect is activated, your opponent must target "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" for attacks, if able, also if the Level of a monster attacking "Joker Gentleman - Arsene" is lower than the Level of any of your banished "Joker" monster(s): that card's ATK is changed to 0.
Palace Distortion / Continuous Trap / Durin the Draw Phase of each turn, if you control a Persona Card: You can activate one of the following effects;
1. During the Standby Phase: Both players must reveal their respective hands.
2. Monsters on the field gain ATK equal to their respective Level X 100.
3. During the Battle Phase of this turn: A player who controls a persona card cannot have their monsters be targeted for attacks, also, have any Battle Damage that player takes.
Rise Up / Spell / Action / Change 1 defense position monster to attack position, and if you do, increase its ATK by 500.
PERSONA CARDS:
Joker Gentleman – Arsene / Tier 1 / Arcana: Fool / Duration 2 / Offensive Power (OFF) 800 / Resistance Power (RES) 800 / Endurance (END) 1000 / Calling Conditions /
1. You can Call this Persona if you control no monsters. If you do, you cannot summon monsters this turn.
2. If you successfully destroy an opponent's card with the effect of a "Joker" card, you can Call this Persona to your field.
3. If you or a team player takes 1000 or more damage, you can Call this Persona to your field. /
Buffs /
1. "Joker" monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
2. Your set Spell/Trap Cards cannot be targeted by your opponent's Card Effects. /
De-Buffs /
1. Any damage you take to your LP is doubled. /
Abilities /
1. If this card attacks a monster whose ATK is higher than this monster's OFF, you can decrease that monster's ATK by 1000 at the start of the Damage Step.
2. If this card attacks a defense position monster, you can destroy that monster at the Start of the Damage Step, also, this card can make an additional attack immediately afterwards.
3. If this card successfully attacks a Persona and survives, you can choose one of that Persona's Buffs; Negate the effects of that Buff.
4. If this card is targeted for an attack: You can return 1 "Joker" monster you control to your hand; Negate that attack.
Weird format, huh? Well, this is because this is the surprise created by Don! Ladies and gents, we present to you the all-original and all-natural Persona Cards, the brain child that sparked this fic in the first place! Truth be told, I was debating whether or not I should have included them in the other Persona x YuGiOh crossovers, but decided I would implement them in whichever people wanted to see more.
In order to best explain the cards, here is an essay written by Don to explain the mechanics and rules behind the Persona Cards:
Hello, everybody! Donjusticia here to give you all the complete and unabridged master rule version on the mechanics of Persona cards! If you're a reader that loves doing a deep analysis of the duels, or would like to try your hand at designing your own persona cards, this guide is for you! If your content with figuring things out as you go along and just enjoying the read, feel free to skip this segment. So now, without further ado, I present to you all…
PERSONA CARD MASTER RULES!
VERSION 1.1
So what exactly is a Persona Card?
One of the gimmicks of every new Yu-Gi-Oh Series since 5 D's has been to introduce a new Extra Deck summoning method in order to keep the game fun, fresh, and full of unique mechanics. I also wanted this crossover to be fun, fresh, and full of unique mechanics, but I figured that in order to do this, we needed more than just a rehash of the old "introduce a new Extra Deck Monster." No. We needed something TRULY new! Something that has NEVER seen its like in all of Yu-Gi-Oh!
If you have watched a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh and/or read some fanfics, including my "Signs of Renewal," (INSERT SHAMELESS SELF-SERVING PLUG HERE!) you would be aware of the fact that Yu-Gi-Oh has oftentimes tried to find ways to get the duelists more involved in the duels they have participated in, from fusing with their monsters like Marik and Zarc, to players wearing armor, like Valon or my OC, Lizette LeBlanc. But none of these players have actually physically BEEN on the duel field, fighting AS something like their monster companions, with their own unique powers.
UNTIL NOW!
BEHOLD! I GIVE YOU PERSONA CARDS!
Persona cards are a unique breed of cards which are not Monster Cards, not Spell Cards, and not Trap Cards. Instead, they are the physical manifestation of the duelist themselves, created when the mask hiding their true inner selves is ripped away!
Persona cards, being as unique as they are, start out within their own Persona Deck, which is separate from either the Main Deck or Extra Deck. When a Persona Card is called to the field, the are called to a unique zone on the field, called the Persona Zone, which is located in the center of the duel disk, between the Monster Card Zones and Spell/Trap Zones. Player's only have one Persona Zone, so they can only control one Persona at any given time. However, a player can have up to 15 cards in their Persona Deck. (Subject to change depending on Demons Anarchy of Pride's decision.) In the Persona Card Zone, a persona card is not considered in attack or defense position, but simply "exists" in that zone, meaning that effects that would manipulate the battle position of cards, or otherwise take advantage of a card based on their battle position do not affect Persona Cards. However, just as Akira used his Persona Card in battle, Persona Cards CAN be used for offensive and defensive purposes, much like a Monster Card.
In the next segment, we will be looking at Akira's very own Joker Gentleman – Arsene in order to understand more about how these unique cards work.
Elements/Mechanics of the Persona Card
Let's start by looking at an example:
Joker Gentleman – Arsene / Tier 1 / Arcana: Fool / Duration 2 / Offensive Power (OFF) 800 / Resistance Power (RES) 800 / Endurance (END) 1000 / Calling Conditions /
1. You can Call this Persona if you control no monsters. If you do, you cannot summon monsters this turn.
2. If you successfully destroy an opponent's card with the effect of a "Joker" card, you can Call this Persona to your field.
3. If you or a team player takes 1000 or more damage, you can Call this Persona to your field. /
Buffs /
1. "Joker" monsters you control gain 300 ATK.
2. Your set Spell/Trap Cards cannot be targeted by your opponent's Card Effects. /
De-Buffs /
1. Any damage you take to your LP is doubled. /
Abilities /
1. If this card attacks a monster whose ATK is higher than this monster's OFF, you can decrease that monster's ATK by 1000 at the start of the Damage Step.
2. If this card attacks a defense position monster, you can destroy that monster at the Start of the Damage Step, also, this card can make an additional attack immediately afterwards.
3. If this card successfully attacks a Persona and survives, you can choose one of that Persona's Buffs; Negate the effects of that Buff.
4. If this card is targeted for an attack: You can return 1 "Joker" monster you control to your hand; Negate that attack.
As you can see, these new cards contain a lot of new information and that's because they do a lot more than the typical Monster Card. So let's start at the beginning and work our way through them.
Tier:
This is sort of the Level of the card, though it is neither a level nor a rank. I calculated this by simply looking at the stats of the Persona 5 Persona's and using the value of those Persona's Level as the Tier of the Persona Cards. (Really, I only used "Tier" so as to not confuse it with the Monster Level used in Yu-Gi-Oh.) Naturally, since a Persona Card does not have a Level or a Rank, it is not affected by any effects that would manipulate Levels or Ranks.
Arcana:
Think of this as being the equivalent of a Monster Type for a monster card. Just like in "Persona 5," Persona Cards possess an arcana based on the major arcana used in a 78 card Tarot deck. By itself, an Arcana does nothing. However, much as the Monster Type is an element of the card that can influence gameplay, certain cards seek to influence gameplay using the Arcana a Persona Card possesses.
Duration:
Persona cards do not stay on the field forever after being successfully Called (More on Calling and Calling conditions later). Once a Persona is called by a player, a number of Duration Markers are placed on the card equal to the Persona Card's Duration Number. During each End Phase, a single Duration Marker is removed. In addition, each time a Persona Card would be destroyed, banished, or otherwise removed from the field, a Duration Marker is removed instead. Once all Duration Markers are removed from a Persona Card, the Persona Card returns to the Persona Deck, so you can think of the Duration Counters as the Persona Card's "Lives." (An important note is the fact that Duration Markers are NOT counters, so they cannot be removed from a Persona Card by cards like Counter Cleaner.)
Offensive Power (OFF): This is basically like the card's ATK and functions the exact same way ATK does when the Persona Card battles. I calculate the value of Persona Card's OFF by adding up the stats for their strength and magic in the game and multiplying that total by 200. Although this functions fairly similarly to ATK in the game, a Persona's OFF is not affected by effects that change ATK power, and so they need their own specific effects in order to either increase or decrease their OFF.
Resistance Power (RES): This functions somewhat similarly to DEF, but there are a few important distinctions. For one, Persona cards (somewhat similarly to Link Monsters) can never be in defense position and can never be set. Therefore, RES is a stat that is always in play for the Persona Card. RES acts as a way to for the Persona Card to "resist" damage to its Endurance (END). (More on END next.)
Endurance (END): If a Persona Card's END value drops to 0, a Duration Counter is removed from the card before the Persona Card's END returns to its original value. Basically, the END value is somewhat like the HP a Persona Card has before it loses a life. Persona Cards lose END whenever a player takes damage, and the amount of END they lose is always equal to the amount of damage the player takes, meaning that the player and the Persona are closely connected in terms of health. In order to better explain how OFF, RES, and END interact, let us pause and look at some examples.
Battle Mechanics:
Let's say that Joker Gentleman – Arsene, with his 800 OFF, 800 RES, and 1000 END, were to attack Entermate Silver Claw, with its 1800 ATK.
If Akira were to, for some reason, not to use Arsene's ability to lower Silver Claw's ATK, then here is how the battle would play out.
Arsene's OFF is lower than the ATK, so Silver Claw is not destroyed. During Damage Calculation, Arsene's 800 RES is next subtracted from Silver Claw's 1800 ATK in order to calculate how much Battle damage the player takes. In this case, the damage comes to 1000, meaning that Arsene would lose 1000 END…or at least…that would be the case…were it not for an unfortunate De-Buff Arsene Possesses which doubles any damage Akira takes. (More on De-Buffs later). Thus, because of this De-Buff, Akira would end up taking 2000 damage. After Akira takes this 2000 damage, this damage would be subtracted from Arsene's END. Each time END drops to 0, a Duration Marker is removed, and the END value is reset to its original value, meaning that in the above case, Arsene would lose all his END twice, and subsequently lose 2 Duration Markers. Since Arsene only has 2 duration markers, he is shuffled back into the Persona Deck.
But what if, in the above example, Akira had used Arsene's ability to reduce Silver Claw's ATK by 1000, making the ATK 800. Here's how the battle would play out.
Arsene's OFF is equal to Silver Claw's ATK, meaning that Silver Claw is destroyed in the battle, much like he would be if he were battling another monster with the same ATK. However, as for Arsene, since his RES is 800, all damage the player would take is blocked off by the RES, meaning that neither the player nor Arsene takes any damage. Were things in the above scenario slightly changed, however, so that Arsene had, say, only 400 RES, then while Silver Claw would be destroyed by Arsene, the 800 ATK from Silver Claw would still be pitted against Arsene's 400 RES, meaning that Akira would end up taking 400 X 2 damage to his LP, and Arsene would take 800 damage to his END, leaving him with 200 END.
If Arsene ends up battling a monster whose ATK is lower than his OFF, such as an attack position Kuriboh with 300 ATK, then Kuriboh would be destroyed and the opposing player would take 500 damage. However, just as in the above case, the battle may not be as cut and dry as the opposing monster simply being destroyed. If, say, the opposing player had played a card that had reduced Arsene's RES to 0, then even though Kuriboh is destroyed in the above battle, Akira would still take Kuriboh's 300 ATK damage, which Arsene's De-Buff would multiply by 2.
If a Persona Card battles a defense position monster, then the OFF and RES of the Persona are pitted against that monster's DEF. If the Persona's OFF is higher than the DEF of the monster it is attacking, then the defense position monster is destroyed before the Persona's RES is subtracted from the DEF value and damage calculation is determined based on the result, with results of 0 or less meaning the player controlling the persona takes no damage. If the Persona Card's OFF is equal to or lower than the card's DEF, then the defense position monster is not destroyed and the player proceeds to damage calculation using RES.
Hopefully, by this point, the above examples are illustrating why it is important for a Persona to have not only a strong OFF, but a strong RES and END. This unique interplay between OFF, RES, and END also means that individual Persona Cards can be balanced in all sorts of unique ways by being overwhelmingly strong in some stats, while having certain weak points in other stats. Persona Cards, like monsters, prevent the opposing player from attacking the player who controls the Persona Card directly, but thanks to the unique interplay between OFF, RES, END, and other monster's ATK, this does not mean that a Persona makes a player invulnerable. In fact, in some cases, it can be quite the opposite!
Now I know what some of you sharp readers are thinking. "But Don, what happens if a Persona Card battles a Persona Card?" Well then, that's an interesting question, and the answer is, *static*
Calling a Persona:
In order to a player to use a Persona, the Persona must first be Called to the Player's empty Persona Zone. Just like in the game, a player can only Call their persona once per turn, and a player cannot control two personas on the field at the same time. The Call Conditions segment of a persona outlines what kind of conditions a player can fulfill in order to call that Persona. If a player has managed to fulfill one or more of those conditions, then the Player can choose to Call their Persona. However, a player may only perform one call per turn.
Note that Calling a Persona is not a type of summon. Therefore, a Call cannot be negated by effects like those of Solemn Strike.
When a Persona loses all of its Duration Markers, it returns to the Persona Deck, meaning that it can be Called again at a later time, so long as at least one of its Calling Conditions are fulfilled, the Player does not already control a Persona, and the Player has not already Called a Persona this turn.
Buffs, De-Buffs, and Abilities:
Unlike Monster Cards, who can either have all their effects active or all their effects negated with no in-between, Persona Cards are able to have some of their powers stripped away while others remain unaffected. This is done by dividing their powers up into a numbered list of Buffs, De-Buffs, and Abilities. An important thing to note about these is that none of these are the same as monster effects, so they are NOT affected by cards that would negate monster effects, however, Buff effects, De-Buff effects, and Abilitity effects ARE considered a type of effect, so they CAN be affected by certain cards that negate blanket card effects, such as some card effect that would negate the effects of all cards your opponent controls. Taken together, Buffs, De-Buffs, and Abilities, are yet another way of balancing individual Persona Cards in unique ways so that they have their own individual strengths and weaknesses.
Buffs: These are always active much like a Continuous effect and are generally beneficial, though they do not have to be.
De-Buffs: These are also always active, much like a Continuous effect and are generally detrimental to the controlling player, though they don't have to be.
Abilities: These are a class of powers that generally need to be activated and/or have their conditions met in order to be used/applied. They can beneficial or detrimental to the player.
And this has been the detailed introduction of the mechanics of a Persona Card. If you have any questions, let me know.
And that is it, folks! I can't say when the next chapter will be up, as I am currently helping fellow author Daemon of Wrath with the newest chapter of Crystal Shards! Something you all shall be looking forward to! Also, expect Black Rebellion: Chess Pieces to be posted sometime this month!
On another note, to appease everyone who has been bugging me about it, the next Zarc chapter is coming soon. Don is willing to help me out since m and my YGO bud tried to write out the duel ourselves.
Yeah, we failed. Epically. We cannot write a good duel for shit.
That's it, everybody! Enjoy the chapter and we shall see you in the next duel! PEACE OUT!