CHAPTER 2

"Watch where you're going!" shouted Rebecca.

"Like I care?" said the boy who collided into her.

Tan-skinned, he had brown hair, bangs, sharp eyes, a yellow shirt, and jeans. If her grandfather had not been talking with a colleague in nearby store while showing her around this little town close by the Institute, Rebecca would've started an argument. Was everyone here a jerk? She clenched her fist, envisioning the satisfaction of punching him.

A couple other boys about the same age ran as them ran up from behind him."Evan! Evan! Looks like Angela wanted to challenge you again!"

"Again?" Evan laughed and threw back his hair. "I don't get why all these little losers think they can beat me. I'm the brother of the greatest Duel Monsters player in town!"

Rebecca's ears perked.

"Well, if she wants to fight me again, tell her I'm raising the stakes. No more of this booster pack business; I'm taking her deck if I win this time. I want to shut her up."

One of the other boys grinned and slapped Evan's shoulder. "That's right. You deserve to fight people better than those lame wannabes."

"Then who'll be left to make you look good?" Rebecca folded his arms as they turned to face her. "Being the best card player in the middle of nowhere it's like claiming to be the best swimmer in the desert."

Evan's eyes narrowed as the other boys took a couple steps back. "What do you know?"

She copied his gesture. "Enough to beat you at that game you're so proud of." Knowing the rules and playing a couple games with someone else's deck counts, right?

He took a step forward, but one of the boys laid a hand on his shoulder. "She's just another wannabe, she just doesn't know what she's stepping in." Evan swatted him away while continuing to stare at Rebecca.

"That's right; I haven't seen you around here before, blonde. Who are you?"

"Rebecca Hawkins." Surprise crossed the boys' faces, and for a moment Rebecca wondered if her name was really that scary.

They then broke into laughter.

"Hawkins? Seriously? Don't tell me you're related to that dumb loon prattling about how Egypt and Duel Monsters go together!" said Evan.

Hawkins stomped the ground and shouted, "My grandpa is NOT a dumb loon! Don't even think about insulting my family!"

One of the boys regained enough composure to speak into Evan's ear. "Do you think she's worthy of challenging you if she's related to him?"

"Yeah," he said, "after an encounter like this, there's no way she's getting out of this easy. I'll take care of Angela again, and then make an example of this newbie."

Evan then turned to Rebecca. "You're an arrogant girl who's in over her head. We'll hold a Duel Monsters game tomorrow, when you've had time to go grab your deck."

"I don't have a deck."

"Huh?"

"In fact, I was thinking of just borrowing Angela's deck and dueling in her place."

"Lunacy DOES run in your family. If you sit down and draw her crap cards, I won't let you complain and ask to use another deck."

"I won't need to. They're probably better than anything you or your 'hotshot brother' could possibly build."

Evan scraped the concrete with his shoe and grinned. "I won't let you take that back. But if you want to use Angela's deck, fine. I'll take Angela's deck once you lose, and she'll hate you forever. And then I'll think of more ways to humiliate you."

"What are you talking about?"

"After talking to me like this, you need to learn some manners. So let's make a little wager. If I win, you have to do whatever I say for the rest of today. Maybe I'll shave your hair."

"Then if I win, I'll make YOU do whatever I say for the rest of today. Maybe I'll shave off your mouth."

"Deal." Evan turned to his friends. "Hear that? While I duel, I want you guys to come up with stuff for my slave to do."

"How about cleaning my dog's poop?" asked one boy. The other boy looked as if he received divine revelation.

"Why not make her eat it?"

Evan laughed, and Rebecca started to feel sick in her stomach before scolding herself for her short temper. What kind of genius volunteers herself for a one-sided high-stakes fight?

Rebecca changed her expression to the most belligerent face she could muster. "Thanks for the ideas. I'll make sure you won't go hungry either."

"Then let's not delay, shall we?" said Evan.

She and the two other boys followed him into the game store. Inside, there were a couple rows of shelves and carousel stands peddling everything from board games to role-playing handbooks. Commotion echoed inside the store, which grew louder as they approached the back of the store. At the back, the room was divided into two groups of people, about twenty in total, playing Duel Monsters and the miniature RPG, Monster World on multiple tables. Rebecca noticed a small girl playing Duel Monsters, who hung her head at the sight of Evan.

She must be Angela.

"Hey. HEY!" Evan shouted. The room quieted down and turned their attention on him as Evan stepped aside and pointed at Rebecca. "This new girl, Rebecca, has the confidence to challenge me to a game of freaking Duel Monsters."

The room erupted into whispers as he continued.

"That dumb kid is so confident that she's going to challenge me using the deck of the weakest player in town." Even raised Angela's arm as the latter tried to shrink away.

The sight saddened Rebecca to see such humiliation.

"And to spice things up, Rebecca and I agreed to a little wager: the winner has to do whatever the loser says for the rest of the day. And when I win, whether she accepts humiliation or cowers in a corner, you'll be able to see what a loser she truly is. Look forward to it."

The Duel Monsters players started murmuring and shook their heads as the Monster World players returned to their games.

"You're…Rebecca?" asked Angela. "Will you be alright?"

Rebecca smirked. "Just sit back and watch."

"O-okay!" Angela handed Rebecca a deck as the latter pulled up a seat.

"Uh, yeah, about that?" Rebecca turned to see a brown-haired young man, perhaps in his early twenties. He wore a red sleeveless shirt underneath an unbuttoned sleeveless leather vest, and dark brown pants with belts strapping everywhere. With a laid-back look on his face, he climbed onto the table and then sat pretzel-style as a few others gathered. "I'll vouch that Evan's words aren't for show. He's beaten the snot out of all us many times over. Kid's an unstoppable force."

"You better believe it," said Evan. "The Low brothers lose to nobody."

"The Low brothers lose to me," replied Rebecca. "Let's go, I can't wait to shut you up."

"Then I'll serve as witness for this match," said the spectator. He shook hands with Rebecca. "Name's Braiden. Nice to meet you,"

"The same."

Braiden nodded before turning to Evan. "You ready, hotshot?"

Evan nodded and pointed to Rebecca. "I could say the same to her."

DUEL 1 vs. Evan

"Little Missy over there can go first," said Evan. "Let her figure out a decent move."

"Thanks, loser," muttered Rebecca. Both drew five cards, and Rebecca drew an extra card to start her turn.

Her hand was scarier than a horror movie.

"Yeah," said Evan. "You're in for a world of pain."

"Shut up!" Rebecca took the Petit Dragon from her hand and placed it on the table face-up, horizontal. "Petit Dragon, defense mode. I pass."

Evan gasped as if something cheesy leaped out of the shadows. "Oh no, what will I ever do? Pfft, defense mode."

"What's defense mode?" asked Angela. "Why's that card sideways?"

"You don't know?" said Rebecca.

Angela shrugged.

"Well…defense mode is-"

"Something she'll be doing for a while with that crap deck," said Evan.

"Goddammit," said Rebecca, "Shut up!"

Evan shrugged as Rebecca turned to Angela and smiled.

"Defense mode means the monster gives up its right to attack, but if it's overpowered by something stronger and dies, you don't lose life points."

"So that's what the DEF number is?"

"That's right; Petit Dragon has only has 600ATK. But if I play it in defense mode, he'll need to play a monster that can overcome its 700DEF."

"And, wouldn't you know it, I have just the card!" he said. Rebecca turned to see Evan's confident grin. He had already drawn his card and placed it vertical on the table: Flame Cerberus, a powerful monster! If her own pride was not on the line, she wanted nothing more than to slump back in her chair.

There was nothing in her hand that could stop his monster.

Evan tapped the space in front of Petit Dragon.

"Cerberus attacks the Dragon," said Evan. Rebecca discarded the Petit Dragon by moving it to the Graveyard, the space in front of the deck, and face-up because the opponent had seen the card. Evan took another card from his hand.

"I want to play this card…" He placed the magic card Hinotama on the table and left it there for a couple moments to activate it before discarding it.

"Isn't that…?" started Rebecca. She turned to Braiden. "Do you guys really permit overpowered cards like that?"

Braiden shrugged. "It's not a tournament or anything and you didn't ask to play under a specific regulation."

"Everyone is so desperate to beat the Low brothers," said Angela. "Anything goes. And I've used Hinotama lots of times."

"I'm sorry," said Braiden, "but you'll have to lose 600LP."

Rebecca gritted her teeth; just like that, a chunk of her starting life points, 2000LP, gone. Angela shook her arm.

Are you in trouble?" asked Angela. Rebecca shook her head.

"It's only the first turn. I've never lost at Duel Monsters before, and I've seen some other crazy things happen."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Rebecca pointed at Evan. "Back home, we never even used a card like that. He truly has no skill."

"Loser," said Evan. "YOU never lost? Must've been playing with bozos worse than the ones we have here."

"If you're done," said Braiden, "end your turn."

"Fine, whatever."

Rebecca drew another useless card and also laid it horizontally.

"Beaver Warrior, defense mode. I pass."

"Hmph. Trash monster." Evan drew a card and pointed at Beaver Warrior.

"Cerberus attacks the Beaver," said Evan. There was a tone of absolute boredom.

Rebecca drew another card: still nothing. She held back a sigh, considering herself lucky that Evan did nothing else to increase his advantage.

"Man Eating Plant, defense mode. I pass." Evan drew a card. To her annoyance, he was not even looking at the table; he was looking at the Monster World players.

"And…Cerberus attacks. End my turn."

Rebecca drew a card. "Defense mode, pass."

"What was it? Well, whatever." Evan drew a card, continuing to look at the Monster World players. A few of them were taking a break to come and watch the duel. "Attack."

"It must be nice to be so carefree when you duel."

Evan spun around and his eyes widened when upon seeing the defender. "O-oh, wait, I take that back-"

"No way."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Evan turned to Braiden. "Well? Isn't she supposed to say something when playing a card?"

"It's only a courtesy. And hey, you're supposed to be an up-and-coming prodigy. Who ever heard of a whining pro?"

"Favoritism. You suck," said Evan. Braiden could only shrug.

Rebecca patted Angela's shoulder. "You added a good card, Angela. Braiden, can you explain to Angela what happens next for me, please?"

"Certainly," said Braiden. Evan began grumbling. "Defending card? Is the aquatic magician Aqua Madoor, who has 2000DEF. The turn player, Evan, has the multiplier to his monster during type match-ups. In this case, water trumps fire."

"So…" started Angela. "Like rock-paper-scissors?"

"It's a little more complex," said Rebecca, "but most of that stuff is obvious anyway, or you'll figure it out with experience. In this case, water trumps fire, so his attack points get halved. So even though Madoor has fewer defense points than the 2100ATK of Cerberus, the type advantage mitigates that."

"Moving along," said Braiden. "Weaker monsters attacking a defense monster meant both survived, but the attacker loses life points as a penalty. Cerberus now attacks with 1050ATK against Madoor's 2000DEF, so Evan loses 950LP. He maintains 1050LP against Rebecca's 1400LP."

"Yes!" squealed Angela.

Hmph." Evan plucked out another card. "You're only stalling the inevitable."

"Not if you're that careless."

Evan waved the card in his hand. "Guess I shoulda played this before attacking. Fire deck's gotta deal with watery troublemakers, right?" Evan placed he magic card Raigeki on the table, and Rebecca reacted with the same horror from having seen Hinotama.

"The magic of divine thunder Raigeki annihilates your water mage," he said. Good grief, another overpowered card. "I'll pass."

Rebecca drew a card. "The All-Seeing White Tiger, defense mode. I set one card and pass." She placed the set card face-down in the row behind her monster.

"Interesting," said Evan. "But beast monsters fall to fire. I don't know what you just played, but it can't be anything special if your monster is in defense mode. If you were baiting me with a trap card, you'd keep your monster in attack mode and hope I'd attack. Am I right?"

Rebecca said nothing.

"So an attack here should be safe. But before that...I play the magic of Stop Defense!"

"N-not that card!" shouted Angela.

"Oh, yes!" Evan pointed to "The Tiger must switch to attack mode. And guess what? Multiplier can go in my favor too. When Cerberus attacks a beast monster, it gets the x1.5 multiplier, that is, its score shoots up to 3150ATK! You'll lose all your life points once my attack connects."

"You love listening to yourself a bit much," said Rebecca. She switched her monster into attack mode. "Just go."

"Flame Cerberus attacks! I win! Hahaha!"

"You just said 'attack', right?" Rebecca flipped over her set card, a trap. "I set this card last turn, so now I'm free to activate it when you stampede into its trigger condition."

"Guh!"

"You'll love the trap Angela has: the sand pit trap, Golgotha's Punishment."

"I…never heard of it."

"Well, it starts by stopping your attack and drops Cerberus's by 500ATK. Since the sand puts out fire monsters and any other fire monsters you'll summon, this card also drops Cerberus's points by another 500ATK. Also, if you summon any ground-based monsters in the future when this card is active, it'll lose an additional 500ATK when attacking."

"What in the…" he hesitated for a few moments. "Fine, I pass."

Rebecca drew another card and turned to Angela. "You really built this deck just to take out Evan, didn't you? But I'm not complaining!"

Angela grinned.

"And I'm not stopping. The Giant Turtle Who Feeds on Flames, attack mode. It attacks your Cerberus."

Evan leaned back and covered his forehead. "Did…did I just lose?"

"No," said Braiden, "But you're at death's door. I'll summarize: Cerberus originally had 2100ATK. It lost a total of 1000ATK due to the trap. Rebecca's water monster gains a x1.5 multiplier, so it shoots up from 1400ATK to 2100ATK. You lose 1000LP, and her monster proceeds to feast on the dog's dying flames, absorbing half of its 1100ATK. So not only are you dealing with a 1950ATK water monster, you're down to 50LP."

"F-fifty life points?!"

"I switch my Tiger to defense mode, set a card, and pass. Get ready to lose."

"Oh yeah? I've got plenty of moves left I can make, lots of room for an easy comeback. First, I'll discard Thunder Dragon to get two copies from my deck. Then, I'll activate Heavy Storm to demolish whatever cards you have set. I'll follow that up by summoning Thunder Dragon, attack mode."

"Finally going to deal real damage?"

"Not this time. By giving up my attack this turn, I'll activate Riryoku."

"Riryoku?" asked Rebecca. She turned to Braiden.

"Yet another of those overpowered cards," he said. Rebecca shook her head. "Actually, it's one of the rarest cards in the game. You could say it's a testament to the Low brothers' dedication to the game."

Rebecca's jaw dropped. Why can't the Rare Hunters rob this guy?

"That's right," said Evan. He started pumping his arm. "It halves your life points and makes my monster stronger. Why let your life points go to waste when I can power my monster up at the same time? I'll just kill your Turtle next turn. I pass. You did better than I thought you would, but 50LP will be too much for you to take."

"Rebecca, you're down to 700LP," said Braiden.

"He's catching up!" said Angela.

"He's never going to deal real damage," said Rebecca. Drawing a card, "I switch my Turtle to defense mode and pass."

"That's what I thought," said Evan. After drawing a card, "Thunder Dragon electrocutes the Turtle. That ends my turn."

Rebecca drew Graceful Charity, so she exchanged her hand by drawing three cards from the deck and discarding two cards from the hand.

"Hmph," he said. "Struggling against my Dragon?"

"I'll summon the mage, Invitation to a Dark Sleep, attack mode. I'll hypnotize your Dragon into not attacking. Then, I switch my Tiger to attack mode. I set one card and pass."

"You're switching to attack mode? Against ME?"

"Be careful," said Angela.

"Trying to slow me down, huh?" said Evan. "But it's obvious you're setting me up for something." He drew a card. "I use Goblin's Secret Remedy to restore 600 of my life points."

"You can't do anything without cards that don't directly affect life points, can you? That's not skill at all."

"Shut up! I'll summon Mr. Volcano, and transform the field into a lava bed with the field magic of Molten Destruction. My fire monsters take 500ATK, but lose 400DEF. Well, it's not like I planned on defending…unlike you."

"Goddammit, just go already."

"Mr. Volcano attacks your Tiger for the win."

"Life doesn't hand you free things," said Rebecca. "I'll activate this trap, Two-Pronged Attack. It lets two of my monsters in attack mode cover their weaknesses, dodge your blow, and sacrifice themselves by combining their attack points to counter a target."

"Taking out Mr. Volcano? Well, I've got more fire monsters to replace him. Even my weakest monsters become more than a match for any card in your deck thanks to my power-up."

"I'm not attacking Mr .Volcano. I'm attacking Thunder Dragon."

"It's still not enough to kill me! I'll end my assault this turn, and this game, next turn!"

Braiden cleared his throat. "The counterattack brings you down to 200LP."

"He's almost dead!" exclaimed Angela.

"And he won't even have a next turn." Rebecca drew a card, but she had no need. "Armaill, attack mode."

"Huh? Trying to kill yourself?" asked Evan. "How does a 700ATK monster stand up to 2600ATK? You should have played it in defense mode."

"You can thank your own power-up that makes this next combo possible. Why do you think I played a defense-based monster in attack mode against a monster sacrificing its own defense points as leverage?"

"Wait-is that next card-NO!"

Rebecca slammed a magic card onto the table. "Shield & Sword swaps the statistics of all monsters on the field. Armaill attacks using its 1300DEF statistic. Mr. Volcano uses 1300DEF too, but your own power-up weakens it to 900DEF. You take 400LP damage and lose."

Evan fell back into his chair and stared into the ceiling.

Braiden waved his arms in the air. "Well then, looks like we have a winner."

The spectators began clapping and congratulating her on shutting up Evan. Even the Monster World players took a couple moments to clap, if perhaps to revel in the fact that the local brat lost at last. Angela hugged Rebecca.

Rebecca grinned. This applause and adulation, turning into someone respected and feared, she felt like taking on the world.

An older person emerged from the front of the store, and Rebecca took a look at a tanned, serious-faced newcomer. Rebecca guessed that he was in his late teens, and the older teen was wearing a teal collared shirt and long brown pants. Based on his appearance features, she assumed him to be Evan's big brother. The Duel Monsters players turned to face him as the Monster World players went back to resume their game.

For a moment, Rebecca thought she saw loathing between the newcomer and Braiden.

"What happened here?" asked the newcomer.

"The new kid in town: Rebecca won," said Braiden. He slid off the table. "Carl, your brother finally lost a duel to someone using one of Angela's decks."

Carl studied Rebecca and she took an immediate disliking to him. He walked over to Angela and asked for her deck. Shaking, she complied, and as he sifted through her cards, his face became disgusted.

"Evan," he said, "you can't be serious."

Evan sighed and kept staring at the ceiling.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" No response from Evan. Carl shook his head and returned Angela's deck.

Evan stood up. With his head bowed, he slid his hands into his pockets before slouching away. His deck remained on the table.

"And where do you think you're going?" said Rebecca. Evan froze. "I think you owe me a lot of things right now."

"What's this about?" asked Carl.

"He and I made a bet, in front of all these people, where the loser would obey the winner's demands. Or is your brother a coward?"

"Drop it. Or else, why don't you go double or nothing?"

"Huh?"

Carl took out his own deck. "If I win, we cancel that whole arrangement as you kneel and apologize. If you win…well, you'll have struck a blow to my rep."

"Sounds fair, except I don't have a deck with me."

"Sure you do. How about that pro deck you just fought Evan with?" A grin crept on Carl's face. Rebecca wiped her forehead. "Huh, must've been luck. Want to back down?"

She hesitated.

"Thought so."

"Hey," said Braiden. "Better idea. Why not take it to the Qualifiers?"

"Qualifiers?" asked Rebecca.

"Yeah, you can register online. It'll be a more interesting way to settle this dispute."

"Qualify for what?"

"You don't know? For the American National Duel Monsters Tournament, the ANDMT, in New York. Qualifier's tomorrow, our region takes place at Las Vegas."

"But she has no deck," said Carl. "If she had to play with those junk cards, there's no point in her trying to enter."

"With her spunk, I'm sure she'll figure out something."

"I'll find one," said Rebecca. She walked up to Carl. He seemed tall and imposing, but the bigger they are, the harder they fall. "And I'll definitely beat you."

They both stared at each other. "Like hell you will," he said.