I love this chapter so much! Maybe it's because I love Emma's deck. Anyhoo, not much to say really.

I only own my OCs, YuGiOh! belongs to Konami!

Chapter 2: A Hero Rises!

Title Song: Heroes ((We Could Be) Nightcore) - (Alesso (feat. Tove Lo))

"No way! You have such good cards Emma! Where'd you get them?!" Patty asked.

"Just gathered over time, I've worked really hard to get this deck right," Emma shrugged.

"Really? I've never even seen this guy before," Bob, another of Emma's friends, said, pointing to one of her cards.

"Yeah, where'd you get him? He's such a famous card!" Dexter nodded.

"My dad sent that to me for my birthday last week, I've kept it hidden because of people like Ryo," Emma said.

It was lunch break and Emma and her friends were sat outside on campus, sitting in the shade and showing each other their cards. When Emma showed hers, all her friends appeared jealous at what she had.

Dexter flinched, "Speaking of, act casual!" He hissed.

Emma quickly pulled her cards into a stack, then covered the pile with her textbook, just as a brown-haired boy, looking the same age, walked over.

"What're you losers doing over here?" The boy asked. "Being all mushy friendly I bet. Pathetic"

"Leave us alone Ryo, at least we have friends!" Emma looked up at him.

"Bold words for a cripple," Sly scoffed. "I bet you're faking all that just to get lots of attention from the staff."

"Ryo! You know Emma was caught in that accident!" Patty frowned.

"Where's the proof?" Ryo asked. He grabbed Emma by her shoulder. "Come on, let's see you stand!" He chuckled, pulling her to her feet. As she was pulled up, her foot brushed against her text book, scattering her cards.

Emma gave a yelp of pain as her broken bones were moved wrong, and that her weight was now on them. Bob and Dexter stood up, "Hey! Put her down!" Bob growled.

"Yeah! You're hurting her!" Dexter scowled.

"Excuse me. You mind releasing the girl before I break you?" A voice, carrying a strong british accent, spoke up, coming closer.

Everyone gasped at the voice, and Patty, Dexter and Bob all pointed with shock at the man who was now standing behind Ryo. He had tall spiky blonde hair, wearing a white trench coat lined with purple with spiked shoulders over a white plunging shirt, grey pants and white boots. Around his neck was a large pendant with the letter 'A' on it.

Emma finally got a look at her saviour and squealed with joy. "Oh my god! It's Jack Atlas!" She gasped.

Jack Atlas pushed Ryo away with one hand, before he quickly grabbed Emma and picked her up, bridal style. "Are you alright miss?" He asked.

"A little pain in my legs of course, but I'll recover," Emma admitted, a vibrant red blush upon her face as she was held in the King of Turbo Duels' arms. "Um, Mr Atlas, what are you doing here?" She asked, as Jack returned her to her wheelchair.

"I was coming here under the request of your chancellor, he requested that I come in and teach some classes about power decks. I spotted your problem and saw I was the closest person," Jack said. "As a gentleman, I knew I had to do something to help you out."

He then turned to the shell-shocked Ryo. "You. What were you thinking, taking a maiden out of her comfort zone, man-handling her, and causing her pain?"

"Mr Atlas, let me handle this," Emma said, wheeling around her chair to look at Ryo in the eyes.

"Duel me."

Ryo paused, then laughed, "Seriously?! You are a glutton for punishment!" He said.

"Seriously, you win, you can leave this scenario with no questions asked. I win, you write a formal apology and never come near me and my friends again," Emma said.

Jack seemed intrigued. "That sounds like a splendid idea, settle this with a good old-fashioned duel," he said.

Ryo pulled his duel disk off his backpack, "Sounds like a deal," he smirked.

Emma pressed a button on her wheelchair arm, and a board unfolded from the arms, snapping into place in front of her stomach. She took her deck from a box on her left chair arm, and pulled out a deck, putting it on a square.

Jack was impressed, "Your wheelchair has a built-in duel field?" He asked. "Who made that?"

"My mother did, when she heard of my injury, she came to Neo Domino to build it herself," Emma told him. She turned to Bob, "Could you get that card you saw earlier? I think it's time I showed Ryo my secret weapon."

Bob nodded, sifting through her cards until he found it, and handed it to her.

"Thanks," She smiled. Patty, Bob, Dexter and Jack walked around to where they could see the full field.

"Let's DUEL!"

E: 4000
R: 4000

"Ladies first! Draw!" Emma said, pulling her card from her deck. "I'll start small. I set one monster face-down!" She said, a blank card appeared face down, sideways in front of her. "Then I set two face-downs and end my turn!"

"Pathetic," Ryo sneered, "Draw!" He gave a very faint frown, but it vanished instantly. "I summon Evil HERO Infernal Gainer!" A large, black and red armoured humanoid shaped skeleton appeared before him, on it's head was a helmet with horns, and more came from his shoulders and arms. (Lvl 4 1600/0).

"And then I activate the spell, Gold Sarcophagus! This allows me to remove one card in my deck from play, but it's added to my hand in two turns." A golden coffin with the Millennium Eye appeared next to him. "So see you in two turns, Dark Fusion!" A card disappeared into the coffin, and it vanished.

"Now for battle! Infernal Gainer! Attack her face-down!" Ryo smirked. His fiendish monster threw dark lightning at the face-down, flipping up and revealing it to be Elemental HERO Shadow Mist. A woman wearing black armour and cloth trailing down from her belt in front and behind, and ice blue hair protruded from her helmet. (Lvl 4 1000/1500).

As it shattered, Emma smirked, "You just set the stage for your demise! I activate my two face-downs, HERO Signal!" Her face-downs flipped up, and a beam of light shot up to the sky, leaving a black 'H', "And by sending Shadow Mist to the grave, you triggered her ability as well! First is her effect, when she is sent to the graveyard, I can add one HERO monster to my hand. Next is HERO Signal! When you destroy a monster by battle and send it to the grave, I can summon one level 4 or lower Elemental HERO from my deck!"

"So, I add Elemental HERO Bubbleman to my hand, and come out to play, Elemental HEROs Avian and Sparkman!" Emma called. First, a green coloured man with a pair of white wings appeared, followed by another man in yellow and blue armour. (A: Lvl 3 1000/1000 S: Lvl 4 1600/1400).

Jack couldn't help but see the irony of this duel, it was light against dark, Elemental HEROs against their Evil counterparts. He also found himself smirking at Emma's play. Patty was first to notice. "Mr Atlas? What's so amusing?" She asked.

"Your friend has just set the stage perfectly, now, if she has the card I think she does, then it's over for that punk," Jack explained.

"Tsk. So you expanded your field, so what?" He shrugged, "I end my turn with one face-down."

Emma put her fingers on her deck, I want to make him pay, and I want to make it look spectacular in front of Jack Atlas. If I want that, I need to draw one card from my deck. With that, she drew her card in silence.

Jack's eyes noticed it first, "was that a smile from Emma?" Bob asked.

"It's over!" Emma laughed. "I activate the spell, Polymerisation! Now, I fuse Sparkman, Bubbleman and Avian together!" She called out. Sparkman, Avian, and a third man, wearing blue and white armour all leapt up into a swirling vortex.

"Heroes of Lightning, Wind and Water, combine your powers to create a master of the elements! Fusion Summon! Become the storm! Elemental HERO Tempest!" The creation that emerged from the vortex was a man with Avian's wings, Sparkman's armour and Bubbleman's helmet and a large looking weapon on his right arm. (Lvl 8 2800/2800).

"But I'm not done yet! I summon Elemental HERO Burstinatrix!" A pale skinned woman in a tight red bodysuit and a gold helmet appeared next to Tempest. "Finally, I activate the spell, Miracle Fusion!" Emma smirked, playing the card. "Now, by taking the monsters required for a fusion monster and removing it's materials from my field and/or graveyard from the duel, I can bring the fusion monster out! So, Avian and Burstinatrix, farewell to you both!" Emma called out.

"Another fusion monster?" Jack muttered, having not predicted this far.

"Heroine of Flame, merge your power with the Hero of the Wind and pave the way for a new warrior! Fusion Summon! Rise from the ashes! Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!" This time, a monster with green skin, a white wing of Avian, a large red dragon head on one arm and a long lashing red tail behind him. (Lvl 6 2100/1200).

"Before I move into the battle phase, I set one face-down. Battle! First Flame Wingman will attack your Infernal Gainer with Skydive Scorcher!" Emma said. Her monster leapt into the air, before descending rapidly on Ryo's monster, engulfing it in a fireball from the dragon arm.

"I activate my face-down spell, Rush Recklessly! Infernal Gainer gains 700 attack points! If he's going down, he's taking your monster with him!" Ryo's card flipped up, and red energy poured into his monster.

"Sorry, I kind of like Flame Wingman, so I'll activate Tempest's special ability! By sending one card I control to the grave, I can make one monster I control indestructable by battle!" Emma shook her head. Her face-down vanished, and turned into golden light that showered down on Flame Wingman, which then overpowered Evil HERO Infernal Gainer, destroying it.

"Oh, and when Flame Wingman destroys a monster and sends it to the graveyard, the attack of that monster is dealt to you as damage!" Emma added.

Ryo grit his teeth as Flame Wingman shot a fireball at him.

R: 2400

"And now Elemental HERO Tempest attacks you directly to end the duel!" Emma directed. "Attack with Elemental Cannon!" Tempest aimed his arm cannon, before a blue beam smashed into Ryo, and ending his lifepoints.

R: 0

The holograms faded, and Emma smirked, "That would-be game," She said, pointing at Ryo with two fingers.

Jack closed his eyes, She's good, he thought. Maybe I should try duelling her one day, see how she handles my Red Dragon Archfiend. Out loud, he smiled, "Excellent duelling girl, you were ahead by three steps from the very beginning, that's a good sign of a composed duellist. However, If I may offer a suggestion. Don't summon powerful monsters without thinking of the aftermath. He could have had Tragoedia, or Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness in his hand, waiting for you to strike."

"Hmm… good point, he could have had a face-down, which could be something like Mirror Force or even the basic Negate Attack," Emma nodded. Ryo then approached.

"Young man, I assume you were dealt a bad hand if that was all you could do," Jack said, turning to face the boy. "But that's how life can work sometimes, so you have to face the terms of defeat. I believe you owe her a written apology. Then you will never bother her or her friends ever again."

Ryo nodded, he turned to Emma, "I admit, you played me like a fiddle," He said. "Doesn't help that I had this for my hand." He showed her his hand, revealing he had Evil HERO Malicious Edge, Sparkman and Clayman.

"Ouch, you needed a spell or at least a trap," Emma said.

"A deal's a deal, expect that apology tomorrow morning," He said, holding out his hand.

"Good duel Ryo. Maybe we can have another duel someday," Emma said, accepting the handshake.

My work here is done, I'd better get going before I'm missed, Jack smirked.

"Hey Jack, can I duel you next- huh!?" Emma turned, seeing the tall blonde missing.

"Where'd he go?" Asked Dexter.

"Too right where'd he go!? I never got his autograph!" Emma fumed.

"It's ok, we can cry about it together another time," Patty nodded, it clear and evident that she was experiencing the pain of having missed out on a signature as well.

The end of the day for Marcus was at four thirty, and he walked back to the main entrance, he spotted Emma and Patty waiting by the bus stop.

"Hey kiddo, how was your day?" He asked, putting a hand on her head.

"Oh, not much, duelled Ryo, met Jack Atlas, the usual. You?" Emma looked up at him, a massive grin on her face.

"You did not meet Jack Atlas," Marcus chuckled. "About the duel though… Ryo's that bully from your grade, isn't he?"

Parry nodded, "He was being his usual jerk self, but after Jack intervened, Emma crushed him with a two-turn kill."

"She's got you in on this 'meeting Jack' stuff too, has she?" Marcus raised a brow. "She's been doing this since she first saw him duel."

"But it's true! He really helped me out!" Emma pouted.

Marcus looked at her in the eyes, "Nope, don't believe you," He told her, poking her on the nose. "Whatever, let's head home, see you tomorrow Patty!" He said to the dark-skinned girl.

"Uh… yeah, see ya," Patty nodded. As Marcus pushed Emma towards the bus, she watched them go. Those two are the weirdest family ever, they trust each other so much, but they also know how to have a good time. She smiled. Almost makes me wish I had a big brother like him.

Director Goodwin sat in his office, going over the files he had gathered over the years. Three photographs were on his desk. One of Jack Atlas, another of a man around Jack's age with black and yellow spiky hair and wearing a blue coat. He was Yusei Fudo. Then he glanced at the other photo. It showed a young girl with teal/green hair tied up into two ponytails. She was wearing a light pink short-sleeved jacket over a long sleeved red shirt with gold markings.

"Jack is a signer, that is certain. Yusei's a very high possibility to be another, and little Luna… visited the Duel Monster's Spirit World at the mere age of three. Maybe I should look into that a bit more… as for the fourth signer…" Goodwin glanced out the window of his office, at another skyscraper in the distance.

"Maybe it's time I paid them a visit," He muttered, looking at a photograph of a woman in a cloak wearing a white mask standing in front of a dragon composed of red petals and black vines. "Black Rose Dragon…"

The chime for his office binged, "Come in," Rex said, turning his chair to see a small man dressed in a red coat with a black collar and gold trim, underneath was a white shirt with gold lining, gloves and black and golden boots. His face had red lipstick, two red lines ran vertically down over his eyes, and he had spiky purple hair.

"Director. Jack has just arrived at Memorial Circuit, Hunter Pace is ready to challenge him," the clown man said. "We await your clearance to begin."

Goodwin nodded, locking his computer and putting his files in a drawer in his desk, before locking that with a fingerprint scanner. "Then let's not keep the audience waiting," He said, standing.

"Of course, sir. Shall I bring your limousine around?" Asked the small man.

"Make it happen Lazar," Goodwin nodded, as the two left the office.

"Marcus! Hurry up!" Emma called.

"You can't rush cuisine sister of mine," Marcus pointed out, "Jack's a good duellist, but I swear the duels are rigged, he always wins in two or three turns."

He dished up the pasta meal he had made for them, and walked into the bedroom where they had set up the TV. Jack Atlas and his opponent, Hunter Pace

"And Hunter has played a powerful trap! Can Jack Atlas recover?!" The duellist commentator asked.

"Of course he can, here it comes again," Marcus said, rolling his eyes as Jack plays a card.

"You've had your fun, but it's time for my victory lap!" Jack smirked, as a column of yellow light burst out next to him. "Now I'm sure you remember my Red Dragon Archfiend from our last match Hunter. And since you worked so hard to get back here… You can have the honour of falling to my most powerful beast again!" The dragon he was referring to was a red and black hellish looking dragon with massive claws, wings and three horns coming off the crest of it's head. (Lvl 8 3000/2000).

"Archfiend! Send him back to the junkyard with Scorching Crimson Flare!" Jack commanded, his dragon spitting a large black column of fire that burnt away the last of Hunter Pace's lifepoints.

As Hunter threw off his helmet in a furious huff, Jack takes the victory lap he promised, "And Jack Atlas' unbeaten streak continues!" The commentator said.

"Who's the one Master of Faster? Who Rules the Duels? That's right! ME!" Jack cheered, pointing to the sky with one finger.

Marcus took the empty dishes through to the kitchen, while Emma stared at Jack as he came to a finishing halt. His pit crew and the MC approached him, taking his helmet off as he dismounted.

"Mr Atlas? Can we get a word? Ever since you burst onto the scene with your first Duel Runner, the competition hasn't been able to keep up. Is it the power in your ride that has catapulted you to the number one ranking in the world?" The MC asked.

Jack took the microphone and stared directly at the camera, at the thousands of fans watching him at home. "Let's get one thing straight, it's not the power of the runner. It's the rider! I'll take on anyone on any ride and I'll still be victorious!" He boomed. "Any more questions?"

"One more! Do you have anything to say to those out there who dream of one day challenging you?" The MC asked.

"Yes. Bring. It. On!" Jack said simply.

Marcus turned off the TV after that, yawning slightly. "Right, enough of that egotistical hothead, time for bed I think."

Emma yawned too, "Ok bro… can you take me to the bathroom?" She asked.

Marcus nodded, and gently carried his sister to a stool she sat on in the shower while she got ready for bed.

While she washed, Marcus cleaned up the dishes and got ready for bed, straightening the sheets and fluffing up the pillows. "Marcus, I'm done!" Emma called.

Marcus entered the bathroom, spotting his sister in Winged Kuriboh pyjamas. He lifted her up, and carried her out of the room and laid her down on the bed. "I'll join you in a second," He said, moving to the bathroom to shower himself.

When he came out, dressed in a white vest and black shorts, he laid down next to his sister, and pulled the sheets up. "Good night," He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"Night bro." With that, the two siblings drifted off to sleep.

Emma: What did you think of my deck?

Marcus: I think it's a really good one, after all, my first ever deck was Elemental HEROs.

Jack: You chose a good start, but your friends were all entering the synchro age at that point, weren't they?

Marcus: I didn't mind, I won some, I lost some, but they were always a lot of fun.

Jack: What's next then? My duel with Hunter means that the original series of events has begun, so how long until Yusei makes his debut?

Marcus: All in due time Speed king.

All: Next time: Spirit of the Lowlifes!