The Monster Island Tournament was a year ago. I can't remember who won… probably one of those three kids. When you lose a tournament, the winner's identity no longer matters to you.
My own life resumed its usual hyperactive pace, much to my regret. In case you haven't noticed, I prefer a slower-paced life. And I finally got it about eight months ago.
So, here I am, in a place I love, doing a job I love. My life has finally settled down.
This is not going to last, but I can pretend.
Chapter One: His Life as a…
Augusta, Maine is one of the quieter state capitols in the United States of America. Even the city's own website doesn't have a lot to say about it.
This was why Gerald Laxina liked living there. He preferred quiet.
One month after the Monster Island Tournament, his family had packed up and moved once more, as his parents were reassigned to another job. In Augusta, they had settled as lightly as usual… but Gerald had dug in.
On his first week in town, while wandering, he'd found a bookstore named Fruits of Kozaky's Studies. As the name implied, it had a special emphasis on Duel Monsters, but there was plenty of other information to be found. And there was a Help Wanted sign in the window.
Before the day was out, he had a job.
Four months later, his parents were reassigned once more, but this time Gerald stayed behind. He moved into an apartment just down the street from the bookstore, and for eight months afterward he'd held down the job at Fruits of Kozaky's Studies. It was a quiet life, the kind he'd wanted for ages.
Of course, his life wasn't all book sales and sleeping. He still had hobbies.
He was the State Duel Monsters Champion of Maine now, too.
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At 7:00 A.M., the alarm clock in Gerald's bedroom went off. For the seventieth time in as many mornings, he hit the snooze button.
Five minutes later, it went off again. This time, for the first time in ages, he got up instead of hitting the snooze button again. Sighing, he took a pen and checked one column on a piece of paper next to the alarm clock – the column marked "Restless Sleep".
Moving now to his closet, Gerald opened it and looked over the options. All but two of his shirts were gray. "I need better taste," he muttered as he took today's outfit off the hangers.
Breakfast was, as usual, a subdued affair. Between bites out of his bagel, Gerald carefully studied his latest addition to his collection of bonsai trees. He spent nearly a half hour carefully determining which ways to make it grow.
Finally, he lifted the scissors and made two cuts. After another moment, he smiled.
Once that was done, Gerald turned his eyes to the clock. "Time's up," he said to no one in particular (there wasn't anyone there anyway). "Best be off to work."
He didn't rush out the door – Gerald Laxina never did anything fast. It was more of a slide.
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Fruits of Kozaky's Studies was a fairly small store, compared to most of the bookstores Gerald had seen. There was a decent sketch of the demonic researcher on the front window, just under the name of the store.
As usual, Gerald had taken his time getting to the store – he arrived five minutes before opening, which, given that he had the keys, was cutting it a bit close. He unlocked, turned the lights on, and slid behind the counter in short order.
Five minutes later, the store was open and he had dozed off behind the register. As the owner was out for the week at a trade show, nobody was there to complain. In addition to that, he'd put out a bell on the counter next to a sign saying, "If the clerk is asleep, hit the bell".
And yet, somehow, he'd managed to keep the job for eight months now.
Half an hour later, someone hit the bell. As expected, Gerald lifted his head, blinking repeatedly. "How may I help you?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand.
"For starters, you can buy some No-Doz," the bell's ringer replied.
The clerk spun on his chair, eyes narrowed… and then relaxed. "Oh, it's you, Chad…"
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The story of how Gerald Laxina and Chad Montmelier had met was a fairly interesting one.
It began in a park just outside Augusta. While admiring the scenery, the lazy duelist happened across a man selling paintings – landscapes, for the most part. One of them caught Gerald's eye, and he purchased it on the spot for twenty dollars.
Even as he was walking away, Gerald noticed the painter being drawn into a game of Duel Monsters… which he swiftly lost. His opponent snatched the twenty dollars out of the painter's pocket, laughing – apparently, they'd made a bet.
Sidling back over, Gerald set the painting down, put on his Duel Disk, and won his money back in short order. He then returned it to the artist, and the two began to talk. As it happened, the two had more interests in common than Duel Monsters and art.
After that day, the two rapidly became the closest friends either of them had – Chad possessed all the energy that Gerald lacked.
On a side note, the landscape painting Gerald purchased that day was currently hanging over his bed in the apartment.
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"Some days I wonder how you keep that job," Chad said, grinning. He was a tall fellow, taller than Gerald's six feet, with short blonde hair and a nearly insect-thin frame. As usual, Gerald noted, Chad had once again copied the style of a foregone age – today, judging from the leather jacket, beat-up jeans, and white T-shirt, he'd gone with the '50s tough.
Shrugging, Gerald turned to an incoming customer and began to ring up their purchases. "Luck, I guess. Old Hendricks seems not to care what I do as long as I don't rob the till and nobody complains. We have security cameras, so I don't have to watch the crowd..." He stopped and looked to the customer. "That'll be $6.77." Taking the payment, he made change and turned back to Chad. "In short, it's the perfect job for a lazy man. How's your life going?"
Chad let out a sigh, hunching up his jacket. "I can't seem to get my paintings bought anywhere," he answered. "Let me tell you, being a starving artist anywhere is bad enough, but in Maine it's just embarrassing. At least in New York there's a certain vibe…"
"Yes, the vibe of 'Give me all your money and you won't get hurt,'" Gerald answered, his usual drawl picking up a sarcastic edge. "I lived there between the ages of ten and eleven, and trust me - it's not as glamorous as Hollywood likes to say. Granted, I lived in L.A. from age eight to age nine and it's not that nice either…"
With a nod, Chad leaned against the counter, glancing towards the ceiling. "Well, that as it may be, I still pray I make it big. If I have to work in the hardware store another month, I swear to the Muses that I'll go insane."
"Go ahead," Gerald said. "It probably wouldn't hurt your career."
"Har-de-fricking-har, Gerald."
Another customer moved up to the counter, and Gerald proceeded to ring up her purchases. "'Rendezvous with Rama', Arthur C. Clarke – that's a classic… 'The Mote in God's Eye', never read that one myself… 'Foundation', Isaac Asimov, brilliant… 'Beginning Duelist's Manual', where was that when I got into the game…" He smirked at the girl across the counter. "Do I sense a machine deck on the horizon?"
The girl merely blushed.
"Speaking of Duel Monsters," Gerald said, looking to Chad, "how's 'All Creatures Big and Unpleasant' coming along?"
Chad smirked, adjusting his jacket as he answered, "It's finished and tested. I waltzed through some of the guys at the local game shop."
"That's good to hear…" Gerald then sighed and took his deck out from under the counter, spreading its cards out.
"Something wrong?"
After letting out another sigh, Gerald nodded. "I think it's time to retire the Final Countdown deck," he said. "I've dueled with it 176 times. 154 wins, twenty-two losses… That's a pretty good record, and now I'm tired of it. It's time to move on."
Chad shrugged. "Your choice, I guess. Any ideas what you'll play next?"
"Well…"
Before Gerald could finish his thought, the door swung open and trouble walked in. In this case, "trouble" was a young woman in bright red tube-top and black jeans, with a pair of sunglasses balanced on the tip of her oddly long nose. Her hair was short and blonde, and she moved like she had a grudge against the ground she walked on.
Moving up to the counter, the girl shoved Chad aside and leaned forward, staring across at Gerald. "Remember me?"
"Sadly, yes," the clerk answered. "You would be Valerie Pemgast, the 'poor little rich girl' who I caught shoplifting last Tuesday. Refresh my memory…" He yawned. "Didn't I ban you from coming back here for the rest of your life?"
Valerie laughed behind her hand, and then shifted her sunglasses. "Why should I let your word stop me? This is a free country."
"Because I happen to work here and you don't?" Gerald drummed his fingers on the counter, eyes narrowing. "Now be gone before I have to make a few phone calls."
This time Valerie didn't even bother to hide her laugh. She looked around, and then spotted the girl whose purchases Gerald had rung up a few minutes ago. Swiping the top book off the pile, she snorted. "'Beginning Duelist Manual?'" she said derisively. "If you have to learn from a book, why bother?" She set the book back on the pile and then shoved the girl to the ground.
Most of Gerald's patience had evaporated when Valerie walked through the door. The last grain disappeared at the sight of the girl hitting the ground. Reaching under the counter, he took out his Duel Disk.
The rich girl smiled. "Oh, so now you want to duel me?"
"Should you win," Gerald said in answer, "you may stay here. If you lose, however, you must immediately leave and never return. Or I will call the cops."
Taking a cell phone-sized piece of metal from her pocket, Valerie pressed a red button on the side. The metal suddenly expanded and unfolded, revealing a wafer-thin Duel Disk when it was done.
Chad whistled. "A Pocket Disk," he muttered. "Those do not come cheap."
The girl who Valerie had pushed scrambled to her feet and moved aside, inadvertently joining the crowd – as usual, the idea of a duel had attracted publicity.
Meanwhile, Valerie smirked, hissing, "I know your strategy – I was at the State Championships. Your Final Countdown won't even reach ten turns!"
After a moment's thought, Gerald took another deck out from under the counter, sliding it into his Duel Disk. Taking a few cards from his old deck, he slid them into the new one, withdrawing a few as he did so.
With a nervous twinge in his voice, Chad asked, "Is that the challenge deck we were working on?"
Having regained his composure, Gerald answered in his usual drawl: "I might as well. I was already bored with the old deck, remember?" He then shifted on his seat and said to Valerie, "Let's duel."
Both Life Point counters went to 8,000.
That challenge deck isn't finished! Chad thought to himself. It's got 40 cards, but we never settled on a strategy for it! Man, I hope Gerald knows what he's doing…
"I will begin," Gerald said, "by setting one monster face-down in Defense Mode and setting a card facedown. My turn ends." His played cards appeared on the field.
Laughing, Valerie drew. "Let me show you a real opening play! I summon Hydrogeddon in Attack Mode!"
What appeared to be an ankylosaurus made of flowing mud rose into view, burbling as it did so. (1600/1000)
"I see," Gerald said. "You do realize I can predict every move you're going to make from here on out, right?"
Valerie laughed again. "Be that as it may, you can't stop them! Hydrogeddon, attack with Hydrogen Cannon!"
Inhaling, the dinosaur let out a blast of brown water from its mouth. It splashed harmlessly off of the target… which seemed to be an effigy of a man made from burned-out logs.
Shaking his head, Gerald explained, "You just attacked my Charcoal Inpachi, the ultimate barbeque grill. That's 2100 Defense Points, so not only did the attack fail, but you just hurt yourself."
Valerie's Life Points sank to 7,500. She hissed and set a card facedown, waving for Gerald to go.
Drawing his next card, Gerald smiled and said, "I tribute my Charcoal Inpachi for a face-down monster, and set another card facedown. That's it for me." The Charcoal Inpachi vanished, replaced by another face-down monster.
"I won't be tricked!" Valerie declared, drawing again. "Now I use the ability of Gilasaurus – I can Special Summon it from my hand, but it lets you Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard. I'm not afraid of a little hibachi, so I don't care!"
A small, thin dinosaur skittered into view. (1400/400) Meanwhile, on Gerald's field, the Charcoal Inpachi rose back into the game in Defense Mode. (0/2100)
Glancing at her hand, Valerie took two cards. "I set one card facedown, and then I summon Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!"
There was a moment's pause, and then a bloated lizard floated down from above. (400/1900)
"And that's it," Valerie concluded.
As he drew again, Gerald nodded to Chad, and then said, "I summon Inpachi in Attack Mode."
Several logs clattered onto the field, and then pulled themselves together. The end result was a humanoid figure made of cut logs, which made a hollow noise as they thumped together. (1600/1900)
In mock fear, Valerie cried out, "Oh, crap! I summoned Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!"
A low sigh escaped Gerald's lips before he explained, "I'm not an idiot, Valerie. If I attacked Balloon Lizard, you'd activate a trap to defend it so that you could exploit its effect when I did destroy it. However, I'm guessing you're not so concerned about your Gilasaurus. Inpachi, attack Gilasaurus with Wood Clobber."
Marching forward, the wooden man spun its arm twice and then brought it down hard on the Gilasaurus's head, smashing the raptor to the ground. It struck again and again until the monster exploded into triangles.
"I guessed correctly," Gerald said, smirking, as Valerie's Life Points slipped to 7,300. "Your move."
Drawing again, Valerie hissed as she opened the field slot on her Duel Disk. "You'll wipe that smirk off your face soon enough! I play the field magic card Wasteland, granting all dinosaurs an attack bonus!"
All around the two duelists, the ground began to dry out and crack. Slowly, the tile floor transformed into a parched landscape, steam raising from it as though the sun beat mercilessly upon the ground. The Hydrogeddon let out a sound of satisfaction as its power rose. (1800/1200)
"Now, how much punishment can your wooden man take?" Valerie asked. "Hydrogeddon, attack the Inpachi with Hydrogen Cannon!"
Inhaling, the Hydrogeddon fired a blast of water at the log creation. The impact scattered the Inpachi into its component logs, one of which struck Gerald in the stomach. His Life Points slid to 7,800.
"Now that my Hydrogeddon has destroyed a monster in battle," Valerie continued, "its special ability calls out another Hydrogeddon from my deck!"
Indeed, even as she said it, a swirl of fairly unpleasant-looking water dripped from her deck, solidifying as another Hydrogeddon. (1800/1200)
Looking over the twin Hydrogeddons, Chad said, "I've always wondered what those things are made of. I'm probably better off not knowing…"
After a quick overview of her field, Valerie waved for Gerald to move.
With a nod, he drew his next card and weighed his options. "Hmmmm…" He then grinned, and played his next card. "I play Dark Designator. Now I can name one monster, and if you have it in your deck, you have to add it to your hand. And I'll name Oxygeddon."
Everyone turned and stared at Gerald, with the occasional murmur of, "Is he crazy?" passing through the crowd.
Even Valerie was confused at first, but she quickly answered, "That I do have," and took her deck out of her Duel Disk, searching for the named card and setting it into her hand.
"Now I set one monster in Defense Mode," Gerald finished, "and that will be my turn."
Looking at her cards, Valerie groaned. Well, I have the three main pieces to my best move, she thought, but I'm missing the trigger. "Since you gave it to me, I might as well play it," she said aloud. "I summon Oxygeddon in Attack Mode!"
A gust of wind gathered a bunch of clouds together. After a moment, they took the shape of a pterodactyl, which cawed at its opponent. (2000/1000)
"Bad idea," Gerald said at that point, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. "I activate my face-down card, Karma Cut. Now, by discarding one card from my hand, I can remove one monster on your field from the game. I think I'll choose Oxygeddon."
A portal swirled into being behind Oxygeddon. Slowly, it drew the dinosaur into itself… and then a giant heart appeared on Valerie's field. It beat twice, and then the third beat shut the portal down, freeing the gaseous dinosaur.
"You set off my trap, Jurassic Heart!" Valerie yelled. "It negates and destroys traps that try to affect my dinosaurs!"
"Ah." Gerald was now regretting his earlier move.
Cursing to herself, Valerie glanced over Gerald's field and then said, "My turn ends for now."
Gerald drew and said, "I pass."
On her next draw, Valerie glanced at her card, and then broke into laughter. Her laughing continued, until she nearly doubled over where she stood.
"That is never a good thing," Gerald said to himself.
After regaining her self-control, the girl held up the card she'd just drawn… one with a beaker in its picture. She then declared, "I play Bonding H2O, which lets me sacrifice one Oxygeddon and two Hydrogeddons to summon, from my Deck, my all-powerful Water Dragon!"
Everyone in the crowd took two steps back.
On a bizarre impulse, the Hydrogeddons stepped close together. The Oxygeddon descended onto them, and then the three melted into each other. For a moment, there was merely an unidentifiable blob, and then it flashed into one long chain of water. The water rose around Valerie, and suddenly Gerald was looking up at a massive, serpentine dragon made entirely of water. It roared. He shuddered. (2800/2600)
"Water Dragon," Valerie ordered, "destroy his Charcoal Inpachi!"
The rush of water drowned out all other noises as the sea serpent moved to obey her order. It charged forward, and in one tidal surge, the Charcoal Inpachi's frame was obliterated. The resulting pieces of coal were swept away by the water.
"Bad luck for you that was in Defense Mode," Gerald noted.
Valerie smirked as she replied, "Not that it matters. All I have to do is pummel away until you can't defend any more. My turn ends now."
Drawing his next card, Gerald blinked twice. Well… just the card I needed for the situation. "I set a card face-down and end my own turn," he declared.
After drawing, Valerie said, "I set one monster in face-down Defense Mode, and order Water Dragon to take out your left face-down monster!"
Which one is that? Gerald asked himself. After a glance to his Duel Disk, his eyes widened. That's exactly what I needed to happen.
The Water Dragon roared, and then launched itself across the field again. This time, its rampage tore apart a man-shaped set of logs held together with iron plating, throwing pieces of them every which way.
Gerald clucked his tongue. "Bad move, Valerie," he said. "Very bad move."
"How so?" she asked. "I just trashed your Woodborg Inpachi."
"I needed it trashed," he replied, activating one of his face-down cards; it showed a Pendulum Machine exploding and Mega Thunderballs emerging from within it. "Because now I can activate my trap card, Spark Gathering."
That card wasn't in the deck before! Chad thought. He must've added it when I wasn't here. I wonder what strategy he built the deck around…
Gulping, Valerie asked, "What does Spark Gathering do?"
"This trap only works when a Machine-type monster of Level Five or more is destroyed by any means," Gerald explained, searching his deck. As he withdrew three cards, he continued, "Now I may Special Summon up to three Thunder-type monsters of Level Three or less from my Deck in Attack Mode. So it's time to greet the Batterymen AA."
Three sparks bounced around the field, moving too fast for any details to be seen. Finally, however, they slowed to a stop, landing on Gerald's field next to his face-down monster. All three had an AA battery for a body, with a bulbous head and thin limbs that terminated in clunky hands and feet. (0/0 x3)
Valerie stared for a moment, and then giggled. The crowd joined her, and soon there was a round of riotous laughter. Gerald just took it stoically, watching as a wave of electricity passed between the Batterymen.
"I should note," he finally said loud enough to be heard over the laughing, "that if all Batterymen AA on my field are in the same mode, they gain 1000 points to that mode for each Batteryman AA." The laughter came to a halt. "So since I have three Batterymen AA in Attack Mode, all three have 3000 Attack Points."
The electricity hit its maximum level, and the Batterymen were surrounded by blue coronas of power. (3000/0 x3)
Valerie was now unable to laugh. "I… end my turn…"
"As you would have to," Gerald said, drawing. He then declared, as he flipped his face-down monster, "I switch my Dimension Jar into Attack Mode. Its flip effect allows us to both remove up to three monsters in our opponent's Graveyard from play. I'll let you pick first…"
As he did this, a bizarre-looking metal box rose into view. Several panels flipped open, revealing an unearthly light. (200/200)
After first kicking herself, Valerie sighed and said, "I only have three choices. Get rid of your Inpachi, Charcoal Inpachi, and Woodborg Inpachi…"
"As you've probably guessed, I'll remove both of your Hydrogeddons and your Oxygeddon," Gerald replied.
Once the decisions were made, the Dimension Jar flashed, and then began to rumble. The named monsters were drawn from their owner's graveyards and sucked into the machine, which closed up its panels and went silent.
"Next," Gerald said, "I'll summon Blazing Inpachi in Attack Mode."
The monster thus summoned looked like Gerald's previous Inpachi monsters, but it was burning with might… and fire. It took several poses before slamming its wooden "hands" together. (1850/0)
As it came out, however, the Water Dragon spat at it, causing the flames to go out. The still-smoldering creature promptly fell over, as did Chad in the crowd. (0/0)
"Have you forgotten that Water Dragon reduces all Fire attribute and Pyro-type monsters's Attack Points to zero?" Valerie asked, now more confident.
"Have you forgotten that I have my Batterymen AA on the field with 3000 Attack Points each?" Gerald answered.
Valerie's confidence wilted away.
Smiling, Gerald noted, "Judging by your reaction, your facedown card is not something that can save you. Now… my first Batteryman AA, destroy Water Dragon with Thunder Jolt."
The Batteryman in question surged upwards, and then came down as a bolt of lighting through the Water Dragon. The electricity channeled through the dragon, conducted by its watery nature. The serpentine creature roared in pain, the electric waves shattering the bonds that held it together, before finally breaking apart and returning to its original, watery state. The result was a miniature tidal wave that flooded the space between the duelists for a moment.
Valerie's jaw dropped as her most powerful monster evaporated into nothing. She didn't even register that her Life Points were now at 7,100.
With the Water Dragon's death, the Blazing Inpachi shook off the water and slammed its "hands" into its chest. After a few moments of this, it reignited, its power restored. (1850/0)
"Next," Gerald ordered, "I'll have Blazing Inpachi deal with your face-down monster. Attack with Kindling Smash, Blazing Inpachi."
Marching over to the face-down monster, the burning wooden man raised its hands and began to rhythmically pound on it with its arms. After a few hits, the opposing monster was revealed to be a small dinosaur with a long, flat-ended nose. (1500/1200 - 1700/1400)
One more hit from the Blazing Inpachi shattered it into a thousand pieces, but as it died its head was left behind. Confused, the wooden man knelt to examine the head… and then to everyone's shock, the head bounced up and hit it square in the chest. The Blazing Inpachi flew through the air, landing back in its card. At that point, Gerald's Duel Disk beeped.
Once the shock had worn off, Valerie explained, "The monster was Hyper Hammerhead. When it battles an opposing monster and that monster survives, it returns the monster to its owner's hand."
Even as he added Blazing Inpachi to his hand, Gerald ordered, "My second Batteryman AA, attack Balloon Lizard… which she never bothered to switch into Defense Mode…"
"I never had to! Activate Desert Sunlight!" Valerie announced, her facedown card flipping up. "This switches all my monsters to face-up Defense Mode!"
The Balloon Lizard lowered, switching to Defense Mode. It was perfect timing, as the Batteryman shot up into the air and came down as a lightning bolt. And as it hit the Balloon Lizard, the reptile popped loudly, causing everyone's hair to blow back.
As the noise stopped, Valerie smirked and said, "When Balloon Lizard is destroyed, you take 400 points of damage for every Standby Phase that it was in play. That makes 1200 points, all aimed at -"
"You," Gerald interrupted. "Activate Barrel Behind the Door, which switches the damage to my opponent."
The antique golden gun rose into view, absorbing the shock from the Balloon Lizard's death. It then fired, the blast flooring Valerie and sending her Life Points down to 5,900.
That… stings… Valerie thought as she stood up. And the worst part is that the turn's not even over yet. She braced herself.
After a moment's pause, Gerald nodded. "Dimension Jar, attack her directly. Once that's done, my third Batteryman AA, you will also attack directly."
Nothing seemed to happen for a moment, and then the young man sighed. "Chad," he said, "give the Dimension Jar a good kick in Valerie's direction, if you please?"
Stepping out of the crowd, Chad shrugged and kicked at the hologram. To his surprise, it flew across the field and hit Valerie in the gut, lowering her Life Points to 5,700.
"Thank you," Gerald said. "Now run for it."
The artist vacated the field just as the third Batteryman AA surged with power and shot into the sky. A moment later, a bolt of lightning struck Valerie, causing her to scream as her Life Points fell to 2,700.
"That's all I can do," Gerald said.
While drawing her next card, Valerie thought, Time for damage control. If I can't get some very good defenses up, he wins on this next turn. Once the card was in her hand, she played it immediately. "Pot of Greed!"
Even as she drew two more cards, Gerald began to nod off where he was sitting.
"Stay awake, you loser!" the girl yelled, shocking her opponent back to full wakefulness. "Now I summon Armored Lizard in Attack Mode!"
The resulting monster was not a very impressive sight – it looked like a blue, humanoid gecko in armor. (1500/1200)
"What is that going to do, bite my ankles off?" Gerald asked.
"Actually," Valerie replied, "it's the key to my recovery, because now I play Ultra Evolution Pill!" The magic card shimmered into play. "I simply need to give up one Reptile-type monster on my field, and I can Special Summon any Dinosaur-type monster in my hand!"
Taking the pill, the Armored Lizard swallowed it. It then began to convulse, its body swelling and making unnatural popping noises as it began to expand outward. Its skin turned a deep, unholy black…
Chad saw what was coming, and his eyes narrowed. On its own, what Valerie's summoning isn't strong enough to deal with Gerald's forces. But she has so many cards in her hand that she must have a plan to go with it.
The lizard was done evolving, and now it stood over Gerald, growling and dripping saliva down from its maw. It was a massive Tyrannosaurus Rex, its jaws filled with an endless array of razor teeth. Drawing power from the Wasteland it stood on, it roared in satisfaction.
"Meet the Black Tyranno," Valerie said simply. (2800/2000)
Looking up, and up, and up, Gerald looked into the dinosaur's eyes. "So… how is this supposed to deal with my Batterymen?"
Holding up another magic card, Valerie slid it into her Duel Disk and announced, "I play Block Attack on one of your Batterymen AA, switching it to Defense Mode! They all have to be in the same position to gain points, and that means…"
Gerald's eyes went wide. "… that they're all powerless."
One of the Batterymen knelt in Defense Mode, and their electric field died. (0/0 x3)
"Now, Black Tyranno," Valerie ordered, "devour one of the Attack Mode Batterymen AA!"
Stomping up, the Black Tyranno sniffed at a Batteryman AA, and then gulped it down in one bite. Gerald's Life Points dove to 5,000.
"That's it for my turn," the girl announced.
Drawing, Gerald shot Valerie a glare, and then played one card from his hand. "I play Thunder Crash. This magic card allows me to wipe my field clean of monsters, and then hit you with 300 points of damage for each one. That's 900 points, in case your math skills are as bad as I think."
A bolt of lighting coursed through Gerald's monsters, shattering all three, and then shot across the field and into Valerie. She shook with the pain as she was electrocuted, her Life Points hitting 1,800.
"Next," he said, as he played another card, "I play Graceful Charity. So now I'll draw three…" He did so. "And discard two." After doing so, he announced, "I play Monster Reborn, to bring back a monster I just discarded – my second Woodborg Inpachi, in Defense Mode. Remember them?"
The Woodborg Inpachi rose into view, arms crossed. (500/2500)
"Finally," he said, sliding the last card from his hand into his Duel Disk, "I set this facedown and end my turn."
Drawing a card, Valerie laughed in triumph. "Your defenses are worthless! Black Tyranno, eat up that Woodborg Inpachi!"
Charging forward, the dinosaur took a massive bite out of the Woodborg Inpachi, leaving it sparking before it exploded.
"Activate a second Spark Gathering," Gerald said calmly, activating his face-down card.
Blinking, Valerie then protested, "No way! Why would you play two of them? You can only have three Batteryman AA monsters in your deck, so another Spark Gathering is worthless!"
"Now, who said I only played Batteryman AA?" Gerald replied. "I bring out my three Thunder-type monsters for this play… my Batteryman C group."
Three little balls of lightning landed on Gerald's field. They looked a little like the original Batterymen Gerald had played, but these were smaller, and didn't have the same electric field as before. (0/0 x3)
Valerie's jaw dropped. "They have no Attack Points? Sheesh! I end my turn!"
"And you didn't play any other monsters or facedown cards," Gerald noted as he drew. "Overconfidence will now destroy you. I play Pot of Greed…" He drew two cards, and then continued, "And Pot of Avarice. By shuffling five monsters into my deck, I can draw two more cards."
Moving to the edge of the crowd, Chad peeked at Gerald's cards as the clerk drew. What he saw astonished him. He's won.
"Now," Gerald said, "I summon Inpachi in Attack Mode."
Another pile of logs fell on the field, and again gathered into the log-man. (1600/1900)
Valerie snorted, saying, "Waste of time…" But she was cut off as something strange happened.
The Batterymen C huddled together, charging up an energy field around themselves. They then launched the field into the sky. A moment later, two bolts of lighting struck Inpachi, which raised its fists in victory. (3100/1900)
"When all my Batterymen C are in the same mode," Gerald said, waving to his Inpachi, "all Machine-type monsters on the field with them gain 500 points in that mode for every Batteryman C. Inpachi's a very primitive machine, but a machine nonetheless. Next, I play Double Attack and discard a Labyrinth Wall…"
Valerie screamed. "NO! Now Inpachi can attack twice! I'm finished!"
The clerk smiled. "Perceptive. Inpachi, Wood Clobber the Black Tyranno."
The wooden man charged, leapt into the air, and bashed the Black Tyranno over the head. The dinosaur staggered, and then collapsed, shattering into pieces. Valerie wept as her Life Points sank to 1,500.
"And now, Inpachi," Gerald ordered, "attack Valerie for the win."
Marching past the defeated Black Tyranno, the wooden man stood in front of Valerie. She tried to grin sheepishly, only to get a wooden fist to the gut. Her Life Points fell to zero, and the duel ended.
There was a pause, and then the crowd went wild.
Shutting off his Duel Disk, Gerald yawned and then pointed to the door. "The exit is that way, Ms. Pemgast. Now fill your end of the bet and leave the premises."
Valerie's only response was to sulk as she shut off her Pocket Disk and walked out of the bookstore.
By the time she was out of the building, Gerald was asleep again.
0000000
Somewhere in the world, the man in black and the man in green had seen the entire battle on the array of mirrors.
The man in black, on the left, snapped his fingers, and the mirrors went blank. "Entertaining," he said. "I'm beginning to understand why you consider him a threat. To use a deck so original and come out ahead requires more than his share of skill."
"Exactly, Degas," the man in green, on the right, said. "It is for that reason that we will lure him in and dispose of him. I presume everything is in place?"
The man called Degas smiled, pushing his sunglasses back up. "Indeed, Alexander. Our flight is ready, and we've already begun the plan in the city. The Four Pillars are awaiting orders. Soon we will have all the strings in place for the big puppet show."
The man in green, Alexander, adjusted his coat. "And if I know how the Light works," he said, "they should get the ball rolling this night. It's such a glorious feat when you can use your enemy's moves to your advantage."
A tone of concern slid into Degas's next words as he asked, "Are you sure we can trust him to react as you say he will?"
Alexander merely smirked. "If he is the same man I think he is, that will not be a concern."
0000000
The rest of the day was uneventful, and so it went on to the evening. Setting his alarm, Gerald Laxina lay down on his bed, stared at the ceiling, and sighed.
Ever since the Monster Island tournament, for reasons he could not understand, he'd had trouble getting to sleep at night. The rest of the day, he could (and did) drop off to sleep at the blink of an eye (often literally); but once he tried to sleep for the night, it was time to start tossing and turning.
Staring up at the ceiling, he wondered why he, the laziest man alive (he didn't try to fool himself), was suffering insomnia. It didn't make any sense. Aside from dueling, it was the only thing he was good at.
As Gerald pondered these things, his temples began to throb.
Before he could begin to contemplate that, a splitting headache struck him. He grabbed his skull and rolled off the bed, gasping…
And then the vision started, and the world became a kaleidoscope.
JURASSIC HEART
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: A large heart, presumably human.
Effect: Negate and destroy one Trap effect targeting a Dinosaur-type monster you control.
Note: This card was used by Rex Raptor in the original series episode "On the Wrong Track, Pt. 2". All creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
SPARK GATHERING
Type: Normal Trap Card
Image: A destroyed Pendulum Machine spitting out sparks, at the heart of which are Mega Thunderballs.
Effect: You may only activate this card when a Machine-type monster of Level Five or higher that you control is destroyed. Special Summon three Thunder-type monsters of Level Three or less from your Deck in face-up Attack Position.
Coming next chapter: A vision from otherworldly powers has set out what Gerald has to do. Other events are going to cement that path for him. There's no duel next chapter, but there's a great deal of activity just as important. Get ready for Chapter 2, "World Gone Mad"…