Chapter Two – The Director's Decree
"You know, now that I think about it, I do know you," Raphael said, his mind feeding him images from his memory. "You're always with Goodwin when he has his press conferences, aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged," the short man said with a bow.
"So what do you want from me then, Lazar?" Raphael asked him, wiping his greased hands on a towel. "What's this offer?"
"Director Goodwin was quite impressed with your duel today," Lazar said. "He noted your ability to push him to duel harder than most others have in the past. It's not often that Mister Atlas has to bring out more than his dragon in order to defeat his opponents."
"He had me figured out from the start," Raphael countered. "That wasn't a duel for him. That was entertainment, probably more for him than the crowd."
"You would be surprised when it comes to Mister Atlas," Lazar commented, Raphael filing that titbit of information away for later. "But I didn't come here to discuss the outcome of your duel, Raphael. I came here to present you with an opportunity."
"Go on then," Raphael beckoned.
"You've heard of the Fortune Cup, correct?" Lazar asked him, although it was more of a statement than a question. "Director Goodwin would like to invite you to participate in the tournament, personally."
"What, me?" Raphael said, dumbstruck. "I'm flattered, but isn't the point of the Fortune Cup to win the right to challenge Jack? I've already done that, and I lost."
"And you get another chance in a month, should you accept this invitation," Lazar pointed out. "However, Director Goodwin would like to speak to you before you make a decision. Bear in mind though, if you do agree to meet with him, he will take that to mean that you have agreed to his proposal."
"So if I agree to meet with Goodwin, when and where would I have to go to meet him?" Raphael asked.
"He has an estate here in the city," Lazar explained. "I'm sure that, being a Top yourself, that you are aware of where that is."
"I am," Raphael nodded, recalling his uncle talking about a party he had been invited to at the estate a while back.
"Go there the day after next, in the morning," Lazar instructed. "Preferably before 11, as the Director has a meeting at 1 that he simply cannot afford to miss."
"Of course, I understand," Raphael said.
"Good, good," Lazar said with a smile. "I shall leave you to your Duel Runner now. But remember, if you choose to show up, Director Goodwin will be under the assumption that you have agreed to the offer to duel in the Fortune Cup."
"I'll bear that in mind," Raphael replied. "Tell him that I'm considering it."
"Have a good evening, Raphael," Lazar said, disappearing backs into the shadows.
After watching the short man walk away, Raphael turned back to his Duel Runner, his mind a whirl as he tried to figure out what had just happened. Another chance at Jack Atlas, he thought to himself. Maybe father will go easy on me if he learns that I might get another chance to face the King. His eyes fell upon his deck. Yes. I'll go see Goodwin. I'll enter the Fortune Cup, win, and then get my redemption against Jack Atlas. I have to. I must.
His phone went off. Mum. "Hey, Mum," Raphael said, hoping that his newfound happiness wasn't coming through too badly over the phone.
"Raph, honey, you did so well tonight!" his mum said. "I can't believe you got so close to beating Jack!"
"Thank you, Mum," Raphael replied. "How did… how did father take it?"
"Oh, he… he's sleeping now," his mum replied in a much more serious and melancholy tone. "He didn't seem very pleased with that turn when you summoned Scrap Archfiend though. I'm sure he will have something to say about that tomorrow."
"Of course he will," Raphael muttered, already picturing his father spitting across his face as he ranted. "He has work tomorrow, right?"
"Yes, he will be gone by 6 in the morning," his mum answered.
"Okay," Raphael sighed with relief. Hopefully he will be easier to talk to after a day to cool off. "Are you going to stay up, or…?"
"No, I called because I'm about to get to bed myself," she said. "The key will be in the usual spot, and remember to park the Duel Runner besides my car and not your father's."
"Of course, Mum," Raphael answered.
"Okay, good. You did do well tonight, no matter what your father might say when he next sees you," his mum repeated.
"I did what I could."
"I know. I love you, Raph."
"I love you too Mum. Sleep well," Raphael said wishfully.
"You too. Drive safe!" she replied, before hanging up the call.
Raphael held the phone in one hand for a moment, smiling as he felt even more cheerful than before thanks to the call. How can she be so supportive and yet still be with that man? I just don't understand it. He shrugged his shoulders and shoved the phone into his pocket. It seemed that there were some things that simply couldn't be explained.
After finishing his packing and slinging his bag across his shoulders, Raphael started up his Duel Runner once more. Switching it back to manual mode for the drive home, he slid his helmet back on and made his way slowly out of the Duel Arena and out onto the main highway. Traffic had reduced considerably since the end of the duel, as it had now been almost an hour since he had lost. High above the road he could see the penthouses of the wealthiest Tops in New Domino City, of which he knew few, but of those few, there were a couple that had been friendly with him from the very beginning. I wonder how those two are going up there without their parents around, Raphael thought to himself as he rode. Maybe I'll visit them tomorrow. After all, the meeting with Goodwin isn't until the day after next, and I'm sure they'd like to see me. Making up his mind, he slipped past a car and onto an up-ramp, and began to make his way home.
The following day, Raphael was awoken by the sun forcing its rays through his curtains and onto his pillow, as if a beam of light had been shot down from above with the sole intention of waking him. After checking that he had no messages on his phone, he had a quick shower before slipping into a red singlet and running shorts. Making his way out into the dining area, he found his Mum preparing a breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns, a glass of orange juice already waiting for him on the counter.
"Mum, you didn't have to do this," Raphael said in surprise.
"I'll be damned if my son isn't rewarded for earning a shot at the title and nearly winning it," his Mum said, shaking a fried egg out of the pan and onto his plate. "Goodness knows no one else will."
"I didn't get that close to beating him," Raphael said, taking a sip of the juice. "He still had 1450 Life Points left at the end, and I let him re-summon Red Dragon Archfiend twice. I feel like I could've done better."
"You did far better than a lot of the recent challengers," she countered, slipping the bacon onto his plate. "I don't think Jack was even damaged in the three title defences before this one. That's definitely the hardest anyone has pushed him in quite some time."
"I guess…"
"You're impossible sometimes," his Mum said with a huff, putting the plate of food in front of him.
"I try," Raphael replied with a cheeky smile. "Thanks for the food though Mum."
"Any time," she answered, rolling her eyes.
"Anything happen with the job interview?" Raphael asked with a mouthful of hash brown.
"I should find out in the next week or so," his Mum said. "Sector Security is always in need of secretaries and maintenance crew, so hopefully I get one of them at least."
"Here's to hoping," Raphael said.
"Oh, I almost forgot," she said after a few minutes whilst preparing her own breakfast. "Leo and Luna sent a message through last night. Apparently they, or more to the point, Leo, want to see you."
"Let me guess, because I got to duel Jack?" Raphael asked her.
His Mum simply giggled. "What else would it be about with that boy?"
"I was considering heading up there anyway, so that works out well," Raphael said, chewing down on the last bit of bacon on the plate. "Thanks for breakfast. It was delicious."
"Well if you are going to head up there, make sure to take your Duel Disk," his Mum reminded him. "You know how Leo gets."
"I know, I know," Raphael said with a laugh. "I'll be sure to take my deck as well. That's usually pretty useful."
His Mum rolled her eyes again. "Get going you."
After completing the rest of his morning routine, Raphael retrieved his Duel Disk from his Duel Runner and began the walk to the high-rise building where Leo and Luna's penthouse was. Although it wasn't an overly long walk, he did have to pause on a couple of occasions to remember the route through the maze of tall buildings that soared high above. After successfully navigating his way through the concrete canyons of the Tops, he made his way into the lobby of the twin's apartment complex, where he was greeted by the receptionist.
"Good morning, how can I help you today?" the black-haired woman asked.
"I'm here to see Leo and Luna," he answered. "The name's Raphael Essidil."
"Let's see here, Raphael…" the receptionist said as she scanned her computer. "Ah, yes, it seems you've been here before! Go right on in. They're on the top floor, in case you've forgotten."
"Thank you," Raphael said, nodding his head slightly even though the reminder was unnecessary. The view from their apartment wasn't one easily forgotten.
Stepping into the third elevator across, Raphael hit the button for the top floor and waited patiently for the lift to take him upwards. I wonder if anything's changed with these two, he wondered as they ascended. I mean, I know they're getting proper schooling and all, but their parents are barely home and they basically take care of themselves. Surely that would impact upon their growth. Raphael threw aside the concerns as the lift beeped at him to indicate that he had arrived. They were good kids, and he doubted that that had changed since he'd last seen them.
"Can you get that Leo?" he heard Luna call as he knocked at the door.
"But I'm watching the replay of last night's duel!" he heard the boy call back.
"Leo, just do it!"
After hearing the overly exaggerated sigh from Leo, Raphael was happy to then hear the boy jumping off the couch and walking towards the door to answer it. These two never change, do they?
"Who is i – Raph!" Leo shouted with excitement as he opened the door. "Luna, Raph is here!"
"Hi Raphael! I'll be out in a minute!" he heard Luna call from what must have been the bathroom.
"It's good to see you too, Leo," Raphael said with a smile as he entered the penthouse. "I see your watching my duel."
"I am. I can't believe you got to duel Jack Atlas!" Leo said. "What was it like? Please you have to tell me everything!"
"There isn't much to say beyond what you can see on the replay," Raphael admitted, sitting down with Leo in front of the overly large television screen. On it, he could see Jack in the process of using Rage Resynchro. "It was intense though, even more so than a normal Turbo Duel. Although that was more because of the fact that it was a title match rather than because of Jack I feel."
"I honestly didn't know who to cheer for last night," Leo admitted. "I wanted both of you to win."
"The better duelist won on the day, I think," Raphael said.
"You're still a super strong duelist though!" Leo said. "You beat all of those guys from the Tops to get the chance to fight Jack."
"That's true," Raphael said, before noting the unusually outgoing attire that Leo was wearing. "Planning on going somewhere, are you?"
"Leo promised me we would go to the amusement park today," Luna cut in, appearing from the bathroom as Raphael had predicted.
"And we will," Leo reassured her. "But there's something I want to do first, now that Raph is here."
Here we go. "And what would that be, Leo?" Raphael asked, as if he didn't already know the answer.
"We're gonna have a duel, right here and now!" Leo announced. "Since you held your own against Jack Atlas, that means if I beat you, I have what it takes to challenge him!"
"Leo…" Luna sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"It's okay, Luna, we won't be long," Raphael assured her. "Go and grab your Duel Disk, Leo."
As Leo giddily went to retrieve his Duel Disk and deck from his room, Raphael and Luna made their way outside to the pool, next to which the duel would take place. Breathing in the fresh air and taking in the sights from the top of the skyscraper, it wasn't long before he was joined by Leo, with Luna taking a seat nearby.
"I see you still haven't had a mechanic customise that for you yet," Raphael commented, pointing to the overly large Duel Disk on Leo's arm.
"It's fine!" Leo protested, although it clearly was not. "Let's just duel!"
"Alright, Leo," Raphael said, reading his Duel Disk. "Bring it on."
Leo (4000 LP/Hand – 5)
Raphael (4000 LP/Hand – 5)
"My turn," Leo said, drawing a card and placed it in his hand. "I summon the Tuner monster Morphtronic Scopen! (Lvl:3/ATK:800/DEF:1400)."
"Leo, why would you summon him in ATK mode?" Luna asked as the black microscope with silver limbs appeared on Leo's field. "He's only got 800 ATK!"
"I know!" Leo protested. "I have a plan okay? Yeesh."
"Is everything alright?" Raphael asked, secretly amused by the twins' bickering.
"Of course it is!" Leo said defensively. "I set three cards face-down. Your move, Raph!"
Leo (4000 LP/Hand – 2/Morphtronic Scopen, three face-downs)
Raphael (4000 LP/Hand – 5)
He didn't use Scopen's special summon effect, and the fact that it's in ATK mode tells me he's planning to keep it around until his next turn, Raphael thought to himself as he analysed his starting hand. Not a bad strategy, Leo, if you have the face-downs that I think you do. But I wonder if you've learned to adapt your strategies yet…
"My turn then," Raphael said, drawing a card.
"Not so fast! I reveal the trap card Morphtronic Bind!" Leo said, revealing one of his traps. "Now since I control a 'Morphtronic' monster, all Level 4 or higher monsters on your field cannot attack nor change their battle positions!"
It's a start. "Well in that case, I summon out Scrap Hunter! (Lvl:3/ATK:1600/DEF:400)," Raphael said. On his field appeared a pudgy, metal, humanoid monster that had tank tracks for legs and a chainsaw and drill for arms.
"Level 3? But that means Morphtronic Bind is useless!" Leo complained.
"It does," Raphael nodded. "Battle! Scrap Hunter, attack his Morphtronic Scopen! Scrap Pierce!"
"Not so fast, Raphael!" Leo said. "I activate another trap card, Morphtransition! This switches Scopen to DEF mode and negates your attack!"
There it is. "Since I can't attack anymore, I'll set two cards face down and end my turn at that," Raphael said, putting the two cards into his disk.
Leo (4000 LP/Hand – 2/Morphtronic Scopen, Morphtronic Bind, one face-down)
Raphael (4000 LP/Hand – 3/Scrap Hunter, two face-downs)
"Okay, my turn then," Leo said, drawing a card. "Yes! I got it!"
The lock again? "Draw the card you wanted, did you?" Raphael asked him.
Leo nodded enthusiastically. "I switch Scopen to ATK mode in order to activate its effect! Once per turn while he is in ATK mode, I can special summon one Level 4 or lower 'Morphtronic' monster from my hand! I special summon Morphtronic Celfon! (Lvl:1/ATK:100/DEF:100)."
"Looking to special summon from the deck are we?" Raphael noted as the cell phone converted itself into a more humanoid shape, eyes and all. So he's relying on the luck of the draw to get the lock going.
"I activate Celfon's ATK mode effect!" Leo continued after nodding. "It randomly selects a number between 1 and 6, and then I reveal that many cards from the top of my deck. If there's a 'Morphtronic' monster amongst them, I can special summon one of those monsters!"
"Hopefully you get what you're aiming for," Raphael said supportively as the numbers on Celfon's chest bleeped randomly, before landing on the 4.
"Alright, here goes!" Leo said, closing one eye as he drew the top 4 cards of his deck and looked at them. "Awesome! Using Celfon's effect, I special summon Morphtronic Magnen! (Lvl:3/ATK:800/DEF:800)."
In DEF mode, of course. "That the card you were looking for, was it?" Raphael asked him, as a U-shaped magnet appear on Leo's field.
"Of course, because now I can do this!" Leo said happily. "I activate the trap card Morphtronic Monitron, so now, whenever I summon a 'Morphtronic' monster, I can change its battle position. And so I summon out a second copy of Morphtronic Magnen (Lvl:3/ATK:800/DEF:800) and use Monitron to switch it to DEF mode!"
"And because both Magnen's have an effect which states that no other monster can be attacked besides itself, I can now no longer attack you," Raphael finished.
"That's right!" Leo said. "I just need to draw one more card, and if I do that I'll be able to start really dealing you some damage."
"Guess we will find out, won't we?" Raphael asked.
"Of course we will!" Leo exclaimed. "And then I'll beat you, and then I'll get to have a shot at taking on Jack Atlas!"
"Leo, I don't think that's quite how it works…" Luna said quietly.
"What? Of course it does! Tell her Raph!"
"She's right, Leo," he replied apologetically.
"Oh well, once people find out I beat you they'll be begging me to take part in their tournaments and stuff, and then I'll win those and then I'll take on Jack."
"You have to beat me first, though," Raphael pointed out.
"And I will!" Leo reaffirmed. "I end my turn with that, however since Celfon was summoned with Scopen's effect, it now gets destroyed. Your turn, Raph!"
Leo (4000 LP/Hand – 0/Morphtronic Scopen, Morphtronic Magnen x2, Morphtronic Bind, Morphtronic Monitron)
Raphael (4000 LP/Hand – 4/Scrap Hunter, two face-downs)
"My turn," Raphael said, drawing a card. "You know, you really should've destroyed my Scrap Hunter last turn."
"Why?" Leo demanded.
"Since I control a 'Scrap' monster, I can special summon Scrap Orthos from my hand via its effect. Come forth, the Tuner monster, Scrap Orthos! (Lvl:4/ATK:1700/DEF:1100)," Raphael announced, as a rustic mechanical hound appeared by his side. "But since he was special summoned by this effect, I have to destroy one 'Scrap' monster on my field, and I choose Scrap Hunter!"
"What? You're destroying your own monster?" Leo gasped.
"Leo, you've played against Raphael dozens of times by now," Luna reminded him. "Don't you remember that this is what his deck does?"
"Oh yeah," Leo recalled, before scratching the back of his head. "I may have forgotten that a bit."
"May I continue?" Raphael asked, and Leo nodded. "Anyway, I chain one of my face-downs to Scrap Orthos' effect, Scrapstorm! This Quick-Play spell allows me to send one 'Scrap' monster from my deck to the graveyard, draw one card, and then destroy one monster on my field. I therefore send Scrap Golem to my graveyard and draw one card before destroying Scrap Hunter!"
"Wait, but doesn't that mean you now have to destroy Orthos with his own effect?" Leo asked him.
"No, he gets to stay on my side of the field," Raphael answered. "However, I'm far from done. I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted, and use its effect to revive Scrap Golem from my graveyard! (Lvl:5/ATK:2300/DEF:1400). I then activate Golem's effect! One per turn, I can target one Level 4 or lower 'Scrap' monster in my graveyard and special summon it. Return to my side once more, Scrap Hunter! (Lvl:3/ATK:1600)."
"Three monster without using the normal summon…" Leo whispered in awe. "But so long as I have both Morphtronic Magnen's on my field, you can't attack me!"
"I know how your combo works, Leo, and I know how to beat it."
"What did you say?"
"I set one card, then activate the spell card Double Summon, allowing me to normal summon twice during this turn only!" Raphael continued. "From my hand, I summon forth the Tuner monster Scrap Worm (Lvl:2/ATK:500/DEF:100) and Scrap Recycler (Lvl:3/ATK:900/DEF:1200)."
"No way, five monsters at once," Leo muttered in disbelief.
"I tune my Level 3 Scrap Recycler and my Level 3 Scrap Hunter to my Level 2 Scrap Worm!" Raphael said. "Living metal, combine your strength to call forth an even stronger power! Beat your iron wings and wipe away all in your path! Synchro Summon! Level 8! Scrap Dragon! (ATK:2800)."
"Even if you use its effect on either or my Magnens or on Bind, you still won't be able to attack!" Leo pointed out.
Raphael simply smiled. "I tune my Level 5 Scrap Golem to my Level 4 Scrap Orthos!" he chanted. "Spirit of the dragon, embody metal to grow closer to your true form and become even stronger! Evolve once more to continue on your path! Synchro Summon! Level 9! Scrap Twin Dragon! (ATK:3000/DEF:2400)."
Leo watched on in awe as a second dragon descended onto the field, this one similar to Scrap Dragon except for a couple of details. Its aura was green instead of purple, and its eyes glowed blue instead of the red of Scrap Dragon's eyes. However, the most notable difference was that it had two heads in comparison to the one that the original dragon had.
"Two dragons?!" Leo gasped.
"With two very powerful effects," Raphael said, nodding. "I activate the effect of Scrap Dragon first, and with it, I destroy Call of the Haunted in order to destroy one card on your side of the field, and I choose Morphtronic Bind!"
"This isn't good…" Leo murmured to himself as he sent the card to the graveyard.
"And then, I activate Scrap Twin Dragon's effect!" Raphael announced. "I destroy my face-down card in order to send two cards on your side of the field back to the hand, and the two I choose are your two Morphtronic Magnens!"
"Wait, both of them?" Leo asked sceptically.
"Both of them, leaving your Morphtronic Scopen wide open," Raphael pointed out. "Battle! Scrap Dragon, attack his monster! Roar of the Iron Dragon!"
Leo braced as the swirling iron breath erupted from Scrap Dragon's mouth, blasting away Scopen and half of his Life Points. When he recovered, Leo now had to face the prospect of an open field and a gigantic dragon with two heads preparing to attack him directly.
"Scrap Twin Dragon, end this!" Raphael said. "Twin Steel Burst!"
"At least you tried, Leo," Luna said supportively once the attack, and the duel, were over.
"I didn't even touch your Life Points," Leo muttered.
"And I didn't get to where I am now without years of practise and training," Raphael pointed out, placing one hand on Leo's shoulder. "Keep working at improving your deck. You can only get better if you keep at it, and who knows? Maybe one day you will get to take on Jack Atlas, or perhaps by that point someone even stronger will have come along, and you will be able to challenge them instead."
"Yeah… yeah, you're right Raph!" Leo said, his usual enthusiasm returning. "I'll keep working on improving my deck. I can only get stronger."
"That's very true, Leo," Raphael said supportively with a smile. "Now, don't you and Luna have an amusement park to visit?"
"Of course!" Leo said. "Did you want to head out with us?"
"I'll head down to the lobby with you, yeah," Raphael said in agreement.
After Leo had put his Duel Disk and deck away in his room, they headed down to the lobby of the apartment complex. However, before they could leave, the lady at the reception deck grabbed their attention.
"Miss Luna, a letter came in for you about fifteen minutes ago," the lady said, handing her the envelope.
"A letter?" Luna asked, taking the envelope from the lady. "Who would've sent me a letter?"
"It wouldn't have been Mum or Dad, they always send emails," Leo pointed out.
"Open it Luna," Raphael said.
"Okay," Luna said, tearing the envelope open. "Congratulations. You have been invited to participate in… the Fortune Cup?!"
"What? Lemme see that!" Leo demanded, snatching the letter from Luna.
"But I thought the participants weren't going to be announced for another couple of weeks?" Luna asked, confused.
"It makes sense that they'd send out the letters earlier than that, though," Raphael said. "It gives them time to organise everything, given that the invitations are supposedly given out at random from a select group of chose duelists."
"By why would I be on the list?" Luna asked.
"I'm not sure," Raphael admitted. "Maybe because you're attending Duel Academy?"
"I attend the Duel Academy, not Luna," Leo pointed out. "It has to be a typo. They were meant to invite me, right?"
"I don't know, Leo, it had my name on it multiple times," Luna pointed out.
"If I were you two, I'd just wait and see what happens," Raphael suggested. "The organisers will probably come and help you get organised for the tournament when the time comes, Luna."
"Yeah, I guess," the girl said as she took the letter back from Leo and shoved it into her jacket. "Anyway, we shouldn't loiter too long here."
"Of course, Luna," Raphael said. "Shall we get going then?"
After saying their goodbyes, Raphael and the twins parted ways, and Raphael finally allowed himself to consider the repercussions of Luna appearing in the Fortune Cup as he began to make his way back home. She's just a child, and a frail one at that. I doubt there will be others like her in the tournament, he thought as he walked through the various high-rise apartment complexes. I mean, I am meeting with Goodwin tomorrow… maybe I can speak to him about excluding her from the Cup. She didn't look all that interested in participating anyway, and it may have simply been a glitch in the system or something, or even a typo.
As his mind continued to think of other consequences of the letter appearing, his body carried him forward, and it wasn't long before Raphael continued on with the rest of his day, content with the fact that he would sort the issue the next day when he spoke with the Director himself.