Xyz Dimension
/
Arthur was just lying down in the grass next to a river in the afternoon.
The sun would set soon. Heartland was still at peace.
"Maybe it was really just a dream..." he muttered calmly.
Everything calm.
Same old city.
Same old peace.
Same old world.
"Sup', Arthur?" And same old Bryce...
/
"You had a nightmare?" Asked Bryce, now lying down in the grass too.
Arthur nodded.
"It seemed so real... Heartland being destroyed with soldiers laughing around..."
"Dude, it was just a dream".
"Was it, Bryce?"
Bryce looked at the sky. It was dyed orange by the setting sun.
"Yes... you know what? This place remembers me when we first duel".
"Ha" Arthur smiled. "We were really different at that time, huh?"
"Yep" Bryce agreed. "Just two crazy guys. Me leading all the delinquents and you challenging me to stop that".
"Reminds me of that legend of the original Numbers" muttered Arthur.
"Oh" Bryce smiled. "Right what I was thinking..." Bryce looked at the river. "The boy came to stop the delinquent, and in the middle of their duel, he accidentally unlocked the gate of the Numbers. Just like in the myth of Pandora's Box, the Numbers spread around the world and caused great evils."
"Hahaha" Arthur laughed. "Those Numbers amplified the owners desires, right? People were moved by their sins and started doing all sorts of things... except".
"The boy" Bryce nodded. "Only one Number remained with him and together with it, the spirit of hope. Using that number, the boy and the spirit fought all sorts of battles to make the world a better place".
Bryce opened his deck box and took out a card, showing it to Arthur:
"The Number that symbolized hope and a better future, the king of wishes: Number 39: Utopia".
Arthur smiled and took out a number from his box too.
"And the boy he fought first became his friend, and by fate had to fight him, shouldering the souls of his own kingdom in his back. He used a number not among the first 100 ,his very own number, that symbolized his fate. The Number of lost souls and the undying past that strengthened his resolve, the knight of the fallen: Number 101: Silent Honor ARK".
Bryce laughed out loud.
"You with fate and me with hope. Funny how we were in opposite sides back then".
"... yeah..."
Arthur looked at the setting sun once more. If the peace were to end today or tomorrow... if that was their last day with peace...
"Hey Arhur, let's duel" said Bryce, interrupting his thoughts. "Maybe you can cheer up and... we can calm down".
Arthur thought about it.
'If this was my last day of peace... I surely would like to at least have a last friendly duel'.
"Sure. Let's do it".
/
TURN 1 - Bryce - 4000 LP - 5 cards in hand.
Both of the boys readied themselves in front of the river.
"I summon Battlin' Boxer Headgeared and send Battlin' Boxer Switchitter from my to the graveyard. Following that, I play Foolish Burial and send Battlin' Boxer Glassjaw from the deck to the grave too, but once he goes, I can bring a Battlin' Boxer from the grave to my hand".
"Switchitter" said Arthur smiling. "So I only have to worry about them next turn?"
"Hahahahaha... no. I special summon Battlin' Boxer Sparrer from my hand".
'Here comes' Arthur readied himself as the portal appeared on the field.
"I overlay my two level 4 monsters! Arise, undefeated fighter, cowardly opressed by the powers that be! Unleash your power, rank 4 - the bound barbarian, Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!"
Arthur grinned. That duel was going to be fun.
"I also set two cards and end my turn."
/
TURN 2 - Arthur - 4000 LP - 5 cards in hand
"I draw!" Arthur looked at his hand. "If you have monsters and I don't, I can special summon Heroic Challenger Assault Halberd (1800ATK) from my hand. Following that, I summon Heroic Challenger Thousand Blades (1300ATK) ! And I activate his effect, I discard Double Lance and summon a Heroic Challenger from my deck!"
"Trap card!" Shouted Bryce. "Xyz Block! I use one of Lead Yoke's overlay units to negate and destroy that effect".
Thousand Blades exploded, leaving an smoke screen on the field.
"You seem to have learned a few tricks with Hades"
Bruce smiled.
"Who knows? Since Yoke lost an overlay unit, he gains 800 ATK, going all the way up to 3000! Freedom Determination!"
Arthur saw as the barbarian released himself from half of his restraints.
'Okay, not too much of a problem. Yoke is there... Hmm, I can summon the ARK, but he would summon just another Yoke on the next turn...'
"I activate Soul Charge. I can summon monsters from my grave, but I will lose 1000 LP fo each monster. I summon Double Lance and overlay him with Assault Halberd!"
"Oho! Here comes the ARK!"
"Nope! Queen of the cold death that rules over the blizzards, appear over use with your proud ice! Eternally freeze! Number 103: Ragnazero!"
"Not ARK? Really?"
"Ragnazero's effect" Arthur ignored Bryce. "One unit to blow a monster with an attack different from the original".
"Yoke uses one unit to survive and since he lost..."
"More 800..."
Bryce nodded.
"Freedom Determination! Now he has 3800 ATK!"
Arthur looked at his hand and...
"I set 2 cards and end my turn".
/
Turn 3 - Bryce - 4000 LP
"I draw!"
"At that moment, I activate Ragnazero's effect again, this time destroying Yoke for sure".
Bryce watched as his monster died by the cold of the death.
"Also" Arthur drew one card. "I can draw".
"Sure, okay. I summon Switchitter, when this Battlin' Boxer is summoned, I can summon another one from my graveyard. And I summon Sparrer. Now, I overlay them! Warrior from the cosmos, descend here with your powerful fists and bring judgement from the stars! Fall and rise, rank 4 - Number 79: Battlin' Boxer Nova Kaiser!(2300ATK)"
Arthur opened his eyes wide.
"That Number... since when..."
"From Hades" said Bryce. "You got ARK, I got him and a few surprises. Now, Nova Kaiser gains 100 ATK for each overlay unit he has AAAAND, once per turn one Boxer from my grave can be attached to him. I choose Headgeared!"
With three overlay unites, his ATK rose to 2600!
"Go, Nova Kaiser! Attack Ragnazero! Nova Strike!"
"Quick Spell!" Shouted Arthur. "Forbidden Lance! It lowers your monster's attack by 800!"
"Oh yeah? Quick spell too!" Bryce activated his last set card. "ALSO a forbidden lance. It lowers Ragnazero's attack!"
'WHAT?' Arthur was surprised. 'Of course! He was ready to protect his monsters with Lance's second effect!'
Nova Kaiser - 1800ATK
Ragnazero - 1600ATK
In the explosion of his monster, Arthur rose from the ground, his life reduced to 2800
"When I take damage, Thousand Blades revive from the grave!"
Bryce looked at his hand one last time and...
"I end my turn".
/
Turn 4 - Arthur - 2800 LP
"I draw! I activate my last set card, Call of the Haunted! I summon Assault Halberd again! And I overlay him with Thousand Blades! Arise, powerful champion that carries the sword of promised victory! Rank 4! Shoulder the glory and honor of all! Heroic Champion - Excalibur!"
"Oho... not ARK again?"
"I don't even know what Kaiser does! Excalibur's effect! 2 units to rise his attack to 4000 until the end of your turn! Attack Nova Kaiser!"
The sword of victory sliced the warrior in half, but in the resulting explosion...
Bryce - 2600LP
Which changed to...
4000 LP
"By using Battlin' Boxer Veil (1800 DEF), I summon him and regain life equal to the damage. Also, Nova Kaiser's last effect! When it goes down, I can summon Boxers from the grave equal to the number of Overlay Units he had! Star Revival! I summon Glassjaw, Headgeared and Sparrer!"
Arthur opened his eyes wide.
"So many boxers... I set one last card and end my turn".
/
Turn 4 - Bryce - 4000 LP
"I draw!" Bryce grinned. "Arthur, I will show you my true power!"
"Wow, wow! Chill out, man!"
"I activate Rank-Up-Magic - The Seventh One!"
Arthur opened his eyes wide 'Bryce can use Rank-Up?! No, before that...'
"There aren't Xyz on your field!"
"Yes. But The Seventh One summons an Over-Hundred Number from my grave or extra deck and then ranks it up!"
"TRAP CARD!" Shouted Arthur desperately. "Vanity's Emptiness!"
"WHAT?!"
"No one can special summon as long as it's in the field. However, this trap is destroyed if a card from my field or deck goes to the graveyard".
'He blocked my card' thought Bryce. 'He blocked my rank-up...'
"Ugh... I change all my monsters to defense and end my turn".
/
Turn 5 - Arthur - 2800LP
"I attack glassjaw!"
"When he is targeted, he imediately is destroyed. Then, his second effect plays and I add Switchitter again".
"Yes, but a replay occurs. Excalibur attacks Headgeared now!"
"Ugh..."
"I set one card face-down and end my turn".
/
Turn 6 - Bryce - 4000LP
"Draw! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy your face-down. Now..."
"Vanity's Emptiness is destroyed too..."
"I summon Switchitter (1500ATK). With him, I summon Glassjaw(2000ATK) again. And now, I overlay Veil and Sparrer! Arise, undefeated fighter, cowardly opressed by the powers that be! Unleash your power, rank 4 - the bound barbarian, Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke (2200ATK)"
'Great' thought Arthur. 'Talk about power. It feels as if I will lose anytime by now'.
"Yoke, attack Excalibur!"
"Ugh" as his life fell to 2600... "Thousand Blades (1300ATK) revives!"
"Only once per turn! Switchitter, attack him and destroy Thousand Blades!"
2300LP
"Glassjaw, attack directly!"
300LP
"Ugh..."
"Now I overlay Switchitter and Glassjaw! Arise, undefeated fighter, cowardly opressed by the powers that be! Unleash your power, rank 4 - the bound barbarian, Battlin' Boxer Lead Yoke!"
"Aren't you a little too overpowered, Bryce?!"
"Hahaha!" Bryce shouted out loudly. "I guess I got a little better with the cards I got from Hades's booster. Friendship powers us up, you know?"
"What the heck?! I only got ARK from useful cards. You got a Number, learned how to Rank-Up and must have gotten even more things".
"Yeah, but you are forgetting another thing: the cards you got from me. I end my turn".
/
Turn 7 - Arthur - 300 LP
'The cards Bryce gave me? But I don't remember any?'
"Draw!"
His last card was...
'Another Double Lance' he realized. 'I can summon the one in my grave, but they can only be used for the summon of a warrior. My warriors... none can help me...'
Suddenly, he noticed something in his duel disk. A shine from the extra deck.
'The card I got from Bryce... then...'
"That means you?!"
"Yep!" He nodded. "I stuffed them in when you didn't see. Now, let's see if you can still beat me, with the last hope".
"I summon Heroic Challenger Double Lance, which allows me to summon another of him from my grave. Now, I overlay them! Appear, the undying hope for a better future! Rank 4 - Help me, king of wishes - Number 39: Utopia (2500 ATK)"
Bryce clapped his hands upon seeing the shining warrior.
"That's it, Arthur! That's the way! Surpass your very limits! Now, go!"
'Bryce... Got it'.
"Very well! This monster can be summoned by using Utopia as the material! I use Utopia to rebuild the overlay network! Appear before us, the striking hope that shines with the incoming victory! Rank 4 - Help us, chaotic king of wishes - Number C39: Utopia Ray!(2500ATK)"
'That's it, Arthur' thought Bryce. 'Surpass yourself'.
"Utopia Ray uses one unit to gain 500 ATK and make a monster lose 1000! I use the 3 units, making Utopia Ray go all the way to 4000 and one Yoke straight to 0! Go, Utopia Ray! Chaotic Slash of Hope!"
'Yes... That's the way, Arthur. Sorry, my monsters, but I really needed to help my friend on this one'.
From his deck, from his cards, he felt that they didn't regret his decision and he smiled.
With Yoke attacked, but not destroyed, Bryce's LP went from 4000 to 0, losing the duel.
DUEL END
WINNER: Arthur
/
A boy clapped his hands from afar. The sun had already set and the starry night sky stood above the three of them.
"That was quite entertaining. It's funny how weaklings can put quite the show".
"Aaaand there is Hades" said Bryce. "Just in time to ruin the moment".
"Me?! Ha! As if. Well, you did a good work. Both of you. So, I may show my grace... High five".
"High Five accepted".
Hades looked at the river.
"Funny, here owr friendship was formed, right?"
Bryce nodded.
"Arthur stopped me".
Hades smiled.
"And defeated me after I started my rampage to defeat every one in front of me".
Arthur didn't look at them, but instead...
He opened his box and took out a few cards.
"Guys, here.". He extended two cards for Bryce and one for Hades. "You may need these".
Bryce opened his eyes wide. One was Heroic Challenger - Thousand Blades. The other...
"Silent Honor ARK?! Arthur, are you insane?! And don't you need the Thousand Blades?"
"I have another copy" he answered. "And, I think you will need ARK more than me".
"Still..."
"Then, let's make it like this. After some time, I give back your Utopias and you give me the ARK back. Sounds fair, right?"
Hades looked at his own card. Number 47: Nightmare Shark.
"Sure does, but in my case..."
"I already got something from the booster. And Nightmare Shark is a rank 3, better for you than to me. Keep it. You may need it if you have to finish someone fast. 2000 damage is no joke."
Bryce looked at his cards again and took out two cards from his box.
"In this case... here".
Arthur received the first card. Battlin' Boxer Veil.
"This..."
"You can combo it with Thousand Blades. No worries, I have another copy. And for you, Hades..."
"Polymerization? Wait, this card is..."
Bryce smiled.
"Pretty hard to find. It's a fusion card, for fusion summoning. I know you want to learn, so better have a way to start, right?"
Hades smiled haughtly.
"Who would have known? You actually have taste for presents. Well, I'm gonna return it later. When I learn fusion summon, I will have my own fusion card".
"Suuuure".
As soon as they started discussing, Arthur looked at the starry night sky once again.
Heartland was safe.
Heartland was at peace.
But for how long?
"By the way" Hades threw him a card. "Keep it, Arthur. It's useless to me, it's one of the cards that came to me in the booster".
He looked at the card in surprise.
Number 54: Lion Heart
"Well... feels like whatever the destiny has to bring, we will be ready".
Arthur extended Lion Heart to the air and Hades and Bryce did the same.
The numbers 47, 54 and 101 were aligned. All cards they got from another in their friendship. They resonated and shone brightly at that moment, surprising the three boys.
"W-what?!" Hades was scared but didn't back down.
"O-okay" Bryce was also surprised. "Arthur, explain!"
Arthur smiled.
"You were the one that gave me an Utopia that shone out of nowhere! I dunno, the friendship power? Does it seem like I have any idea?!"
Soon, the shine disappeared, but the boys felt different from their cards and from before.
"Let's just go back home" said Arthur. "Today was a very long day".
Hades still looked at his Number, surprised, while Bryce quickly put his in his deck with care. Silently, Arthur looked once more at the many cards he acquired due to his friendship.
'Number 39: Utopia, the card of hope and Number 54: Lion Heart, the card of burning passion... Two cards I got from my friends. Hades got 47 from me and Polymerization from Bryce. And lastly, Bryce has my 101 and his 79 came from Hades. All of our newest cards came from each other'.
"Somehow" he muttered. "I few the cards are more powerful this way..."
/
AN:
47+54=101
It's a reference.
39+62=101, remember?
Nightmare Shark can be used in Burning Abyss, specially dangerous since duels here tend to be 4000LP only. Silent Honor ARK is a rank 4 staple, so no problem of it in Battlin' Boxer (also is valid for the Seventh One) and Lion Heart can be used in a Heroic deck as an alternate strategy, even though Heroic is better as a rank 4 focused deck.
I designed Hades as an arrogant person, but the strange type that can be a good friend. Which is why he acts haughtly but still helps (he mocked his friends, but gave them boosters, praised Bryce and noticed Arthur's odd behavior).
Bryce having rank-up was decided mid-way. He is more of a worried, but insightful person. (He noticed something was up with Arthur and his confidence too, giving him the Utopias to help out even knowing he might lose by that).
Arthur was originally the strongest from the trio, but fell behind due to the peaceful days. Now that he is having those nightmares, he slowly climbing back. He is calm and has good instincts. He is a bit of a pessimist as shown during this chapter. Due to his nightmares of a future war, he worried about his friends well-being before his own (he gave ARK, which is a powerful and rare card in worry of Bryce facing an opponent that battle itself isn't enough and Nightmare Shark to Hades knowing full-well of the necessity Hades may face when having to duel quickly).
Mass-produced Numbers are exclusive to the Xyz Dimension. Also, they have their real life effects, with Utopia blowing up if attacked without materials.
Most players here use good life strategies and their decks are adapted to the meta and forbidden list of real life. Hence Arthur and Bryce using Forbidden Lance, Arthur having Vanity's Emptiness and Bryce using MST (which anime characters never use).
If I were to say, they are pretty well-balanced. I think Hades is arguably the strongest of the trio, Bryce being a close second and Arthur in third. This ranking, however is constantly changed as they get better (Arthur was once in the top and Bryce can actually defeat Hades).
