I'm not really discouraged by a lack of reviews, I just worry whether it means I'm doing a good job or not. Plus, well... I've gotten a total of three OCs so far submitted. On the openings, I think I'll do them every few chapters. Now, let's get to it. Disclaimer, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, if I did, it'd probably be a lot worse but there'd also be way more dragon monsters.
The next day I was already back in the card shop, looking over a few packs I'd bought with Mark next to me. "I still can't believe you have one Link Monster you can use."
"I get it, I'm an idiot... No need to rub it in." I blinked at a new Blank Card, then sighed. I always get rare cards, but not the ones I'm looking for. That or it's not as rare as I thought. Behind it was a Link I could use though, nice. I kept on looking at the cards I'd gotten from the packs before I saw my Disk light up with a message. "Huh. Wonder what's up?" It wasn't from the school this time, but Nick.
"Hey Aadyn, problem. Remember how Kyle was talking about going to the girl's dorms a few times? Uh... He's gone, and let's just say I don't think he's exploring the campus."
I groaned. "Oh jeez, he'll get himself expelled before the year even officially starts... Excuse me, I need to stop my friend from committing a crime against human decency." Mark read the message over my shoulder.
"Seriously? You're kidding." I packed up my cards.
"I wish. Look, I know they freak you out, but try and make sure he's not at the Slifer Girl's Dorm. If you get spotted, just tell them why you're there, I'll back you up. Let's hope he doesn't get us booted out with him."
He paled. "I'm not doing that!"
I sighed. "Fine." OK, think. Obelisk Girl Dorm would probably be closest to him... Oughta check the map. Then again, who's he been drooling at this whole time? "Well, pretty sure I know which dorm he's going for... Wish me luck." I left the shop, checking the map on my Disk. Luckily it's closer to me than to the Blue Dorm, but he's got a head start. When I catch you Kyle, you're buzzard bait!
I ducked into a bush, glad it was roses until I got dozens of painful reminders that roses have thorns. Still, roses are red like my uniform I forgot to ditch and you can't be picky when you're trying to not be caught. A couple of girls walked by, me staying stock still, hoping they didn't notice my shoe sticking out and resisting the urge to pull my foot in or bolt. I let out a huge whoosh of breath I'd been holding when they were out of sight. Forget buzzard bait, I'll tear him apart on a molecular level!
(Kyle's POV)
I stiffened as a chill ran down my spine. "Why am I so terrified all of a sudden?" I shrugged and got back to making my way towards the Ra Girl dorm, dismissing it as nerves.
(Aadyn's POV)
Why do people do this kind of thing? I mean seriously! I'm working my tail off just trying to not get caught stopping someone from doing it! I pause in the shadow of a tree with boards nailed into the trunk. "Handy." I climb up a few, keeping myself close to the trunk as I looked around. Even just a couple feet makes a difference in surveying the area. Now, if I wanted to look around without getting seen, where would I be? I saw several windows, some with open curtains, on one side of the dorm, with plenty of cover thanks to bushes and a couple statues of iconic monsters such as Ra and Dark Magician Girl, and characters from the anime, like Mai Valentine or Akiza. Seems like a good spot for me to catch Kyle. I looked at my bright red blazer and took it off, placing it higher up, on a small, dusty wooden platform hidden in the branches facing away from the building.
I found him looking into a window with steam on it and groaned. Why put windows in a bathroom?! I put my hand over his mouth to stop him from being heard if he yelled and shoved his head into the bush he'd hidden behind. "You bloody idiot! Are you trying to get expelled?! You're lucky Nick guessed what you were up to and told me! Now, we are leaving and if you saw anything, you will forget it immediately understood?" The words came out in a whisper before he squirmed out of my grip.
"Oh come on, we're both guys here. Like you're not tempted." I growled quietly.
"You're right, I'm not tempted. Unlike you, I don't see girls as something to leer at, now move or I'll crack your skull open."
"Ugh, way too much steam. Better open the window." I blanched as I heard a familiar accented voice and ducked under the bush, pulling Kyle with me when his head shot up. I heard hinges squeak and pinned Kyle down as he kept trying to get loose and look. "Better. Nothing beats a shower and fresh air in the morning!" Skye began humming, and it got quiet, I assume because she moved away from the window. God I hope that's why, cause we gotta get out of here!
"Move your tail or we're both dead!" I dragged him along, making sure to keep him from looking back as I bolted, eventually putting him in front of me and shoving.
"Come on, just one peek! Then if we are dead I can die happy!"
Ugh, this is one card I never thought I'd be playing. "Think, if you live you'll probably get to see things without sneaking around now move or I'll ditch you and make sure you're caught by the girls here before the faculty can collect your remains!" Apparently the thought of being caught by the same girls he'd hoped to peep at was enough to scare him. I grabbed him when he went the wrong way. "I need to get my blazer, I stashed it in a tree. If someone finds it, I get the blame. C'mon!" I ran towards the tree, not climbing this time but hopping up and grabbing a sleeve hanging over the edge. "Hoof it!"
(3rd Person POV)
As the two boys ran, Skye leaned out the window slightly, fully dressed with wet hair and noticed imprints in the grass shaped like feet, just outside her window, and laughed. "Wow, guess somebody likes me. Hope they liked what they saw too."
At the same moment, Aadyn was again huddled in a rose bush, glad he was built larger than Kyle, who was hidden behind him, muttering about how they hadn't even seen anything except a glimpse of her hair, Aadyn trying to shush him as a pair of girls walked by, one asking her friend what she'd said as the other replied they hadn't said a thing. Once they were out of sight (and earshot) a loud yelp of pain was heard before Kyle stumbled out the bush, rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Aadyn.
(Aadyn's POV)
I groaned and yanked a thorny stem out of my hair as we made our way to my dorm room, scratched and exhausted. Beside me Kyle had a slight limp from tripping on a rock. All in all we were a pretty pathetic sight. Still, we were in the clear, and I'd already sent messages to Nick and Mark telling them to meet us there, with Nick bringing one of the extra blazers the faculty had provided for Kyle from their room.
"All that, and what do I have to show for it? A few glimpses of a steamed up window and blue hair! Ow!" That last bit came from me stomping on his foot.
"Least you only hid in the roses once, and I wasn't even the one breaking the rules. I was trying to make sure you weren't caught and expelled. You're welcome by the way. Be glad we're friends or I'd have turned you in. Oy..." I looked at my blazer, which was full of holes and scratches. Ugh, best learn how to sew sometime soon, cause this just screams I was up to something when I wore this. Glad the school doesn't give us just one of these... I can wear another until I get this one patched up. I sighed. I'll be doing a lot of laundry, won't I?
"You guys look awful." Nick said that the moment we walked in, and I glared at him before sitting on my bed.
"We should... That was awful!" I noticed he was reading one of my books and grinned. "Ya know, you could loan me a book for once instead of always reading mine."
He quickly shut it, fingers between the pages to mark his spot. Mark laughed, and Kyle cracked a small smile, likely too tired and irritated for any more of a reaction. Nick tossed Kyle the blazer I'd asked him to bring, and I sighed. That is an adventure I'm not keen to repeat.
As Kyle swapped blazers, Mark chuckled. "So, I guess you didn't have much fun?" Matching groans from Kyle and I gave him all the answer he needed. "So Nick, you say Aadyn's way better than you right?"
"I'm pretty bad playing anything but Noble Knights, and they're cards he gave me anyway. He taught me the rules and everything." He pulled out his Disk, which resembled Kite's from ARC V. "Hey speaking of, look at these." He pulled out a pair of Blank Cards, surprising us. "Have you heard of anything like these Aadyn?"
In response I pulled out the one I'd gotten earlier and Chaotic Force Dragon. "Yep. If you use them in a duel, they turn into cards reflecting how you feel at the moment. Like this Synchro monster. You can place them in your normal deck or your Extra Deck. I say put one in each since you have two."
He looked at his cards in surprise and did as I suggested. "I also got some new cards for my deck. Can't wait to test them out." I caught the hint.
"Not right now... I need to relax. Maybe we can just look around the island, get the lay of the land." Nick shrugged and got up. "I was kidding about the book you know, you can borrow it." He grabbed it and we went out, though I paused. "You two coming?" Mark and Kyle shook their heads. "OK, Mark, mind sticking close to him so he doesn't get himself in more trouble?" He sighed but nodded, Kyle shooting me an insulted look. "Like you haven't earned some doubt?" I went out before he could respond.
A while later Nick and I sat next to each other near the main building, him looking at my Chaotic Force. "So you created this card in the middle of a duel?" I nodded.
"Really? That's pretty cool." I yelped and spun around, hearing the last voice I wanted to hear today. "Sorry Aadyn. How are you?" Skye smiled and offered me a hand up, which I nervously took as Nick stood up as well.
"I'm alright..." Nick looked at me, clearly wondering why I was nervous before it seemed to cross his mind, because he winced. "Had a rough morning."
"Yeah, I can tell. Your uniform is shredded." I took my dragon back from Nick. "Can I see that?" I shrugged and handed it to her. "Whoa. So, how'd you make a card?"
I pulled out my other Blank Card. "If you use one of these in a duel, it creates a card. You can get them in the shop if you're lucky." She handed me back my card.
"Then how about we duel and you see if you can show me just how they work?" She pulled out her Disk, and I stepped back.
"Sorry, I'm kinda worn out. Maybe if you wanna wait a bit?" Then I remembered Nick next to me. "Actually, how about you play Nick? He's got a couple of his own he hasn't used yet. And I'd like to see how he's doing with m- with his Noble Knights."
"If you're up for it, Skye?" He pulled out his own Disk, dark blue crescent blade at the ready.
"Alright. I prefer going second, so you take the first turn." The Solid Vision portion of Skye's Disk was bright yellow. Yeep, really bright. Makes me think of how I pictured Magnus' ship in Ship of the Dead.
"I start by summoning Noble Knight Medraut and equipping him with Noble Arms- Caliburn, which boosts his attack by 500 and lets me gain that much LP once per turn." A blonde knight appeared on Nick's field with his sword being replaced by Caliburn.
Noble Knight Medraut (LVL: 4 ATK: 2200/DEF: 1000)
Nick (LP: 8500)
"Now I use his effect, summoning Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn and destroying Caliburn, which I then equip to Laundsallyn with its effect before using his effect, tributing Medraut to add Noble Arms of Destiny to my hand and equip it to him." Medraut raised Caliburn in the air, the blade shattering as the black knight appeared and reforming in Laundsallyn's hands. Then, somewhat to my horror, he smirked and used it to run Medraut through, the additional sword and shield appearing on his back.
Ignoble Knight of Black Laundsallyn (LVL: 5 ATK: 2500/DEF: 800)
Skye seemed pretty excited. "Looking good! Draw! Okay, while you control a monster and I don't I can summon Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit!" A white and gold scaled dragon appeared on her field, then cried out. "But he won't stick around, 'cuz I'mma Tribute him for my Hieratic Dragon of Su! But get this, when Tefnuit is Tributed he can summon Wattaildragon from my deck for the price of all his points!" Tefnuit vanished as another dragon, this one with blue and gold scales appeared, Tefnuit's spirit momentarily appearing to summon a dragon with lightning crackling in its tail.
Hieratic Dragon of Su (LVL: 6 ATK: 2200/DEF: 1000)
Wattaildragon (LVL: 6 ATK: 0/DEF: 0)
"But that doesn't matter! I'll overlay my level 6 Su and Wattail! Take the throne in the golden skies! Xyz Summon, Rank 6! Be crowned as the King of all Dragons! Descend, Hieratic Dragon King of Atum!" The two dragons sank into the black and gold vortex, a larger dragon with deep purple and gold scales appearing from it with two Overlay Units circling it.
Hieratic Dragon King of Atum (RNK: 6 ATK: 2400/DEF: 2100)
"And now for Atum's effect; by using an Overlay Unit and forgoing his attack this turn, I can pull my ace out of my deck!" Oh boy. What is it? "Coming out swinging, it's Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! With no ATK at all!" The anti-Xyz dragon appeared with a roar and I paled. He can counter a lot more than Nick's Xyz monsters... "But that doesn't matter. Galaxy-Eyes attacks Laundsallyn." Nick looked surprised. "And I use his effect to banish them both from the field until the end of the Battle Phase!" Both monsters vanished, Laundsallyn's weapons shattering. When the monsters returned, Laundsallyn was grimacing. "Now I set one and end my turn, which means Galaxy-Eyes is back and he's at full strength!"
Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon (LVL: 8 ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)
"Normally my Noble Arms can be equipped back to my monsters when they're destroyed, but Photon Dragon ruins that." Nick seemed pretty nervous now.
"It's a bad match for you Nick. Besides that effect, Galaxy-Eyes has an effect to counter Xyz monsters, and your best cards to take him out are, unfortunately, some of your Xyz monsters. Unless you can get out a Blank Card that can turn this around, but no guarantees." And it gets worse. Skye's strong... Really strong. If she can get out the Cipher form of her ace... "Nick, that ability activates whenever Galaxy-Eyes battles, so don't just try to boost your power and take it out!"
He nodded. "Draw. Heh. I summon Merlin and tribute him to summon Eachtar through his effect. I overlay these monsters! Champion of the king, both his sword and his shield, cut down those who dare oppose your lord! I Xyz Summon Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus and use his effect to equip him with both the Noble Arms from my grave. I gain 500 from Caliburn and activate Artorigus' effect, detaching an Overlay Unit and destroying Noble Arms of Destiny to destroy Galaxy-Eyes, then Destiny is equipped to him again by its own effect. Now he takes out Atum and I end." The stronger form of Artorigus emerged from the vortex, shield strapped to his back and both swords in his hand as one Unit vanished instantly and the plainer sword and the shield shattering, the pieces impaling Galaxy-Eyes before reforming in their old places. Artorigus rushed at Atum, carving him apart.
Sacred Noble Knight of King Artorigus (RNK: 5 ATK: 2700/DEF: 2200)
Nick (LP: 9000)
Skye (LP: 7700)
I whooped. "That's the way Nick! Don't let up!" Hopefully she won't get out another Galaxy-Eyes of any kind.
"That's it! Give me your best!" Skye seemed just as ecstatic over him beating her monsters. I shot her a questioning look and she smiled. "I wanna see this guy's best and counter it with my own! Draw! Alright. I play two spells; first Monster Reborn, letting me bring back my Tefnuit! And second, Photon Sanctuary, which lets me summon a pair of Photon Tokens! It's time to show you my real power! Appear, the circuit that empowers the sun! I set my two Tokens into the Link Markers! Appear now from the galaxy of pure light! Descend, Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon!" What looked like a golden form of Galaxy-Eyes appeared on her side. No way... What's this do?
Galaxy-Eyes Sol Flare Dragon (LNK: 2 ATK: 2000)
Hieratic Dragon of Tefnuit (LVL: 6 ATK: 2100/DEF: 1400)
"Sol Flare lets me return my other Galaxy-Eyes from my grave to my hand! And now, again, I Tribute Tefnuit to Tribute summon Hieratic Dragon of Eset! And Tefnuit's effect goes off again! This time he'll fetch my Hieratic Seal of the Sun Dragon Overlord! Now I'll activate Eset's effect; I can target my Seal and change her level to 8!" Oh man... But with Nick's LP, he should barely survive, even with Cipher Dragon's effect. "Alright, it's time! I Overlay my two level 8 Dragons! Galaxy shining in the darkness! Pass through the space filled with endless light and be born anew amidst eternal power! Xyz Summon! Appear, Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon!" The two dragons turned into golden lights, vanishing into a black and gold vortex. From within came the dragon with multicolored eyes and wings. I gulped and did quick math. Thanks to the boosts from Caliburn, he'll make it.
Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon (RNK: 8 ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500)
"And now I'll activate my Galactic Cipher's effect!" Huh? Why not just say Cipher's effect? Oh never mind. "I can use an Overlay Unit and take control of your Noble Knight! But his attack becomes 3000 and his name becomes Galaxy-Eyes Cipher Dragon! Alright! I Overlay the Artorigus turned Galaxy-Eyes unto himself, and build the Overlay Network! From the depths of darkness, be recreated and emerge from the void with the power to consume all! Rise, Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon!" Hold on what? I've never heard of that card. Crap! The former knight turned to a dragon was absorbed by the vortex, and out came something horrifying. It looked more like some sort of cursed ghost of a dragon than a Galaxy-Eyes. Those malicious yellow eyes settled on me for a moment then looked away, focusing on a nervous looking Nick.
Number 95: Galaxy-Eyes Dark Matter Dragon (RNK: 9 ATK: 4000/DEF: 0)
"Now, my three Galaxy-Eyeses attack!" ...I oughta tell her she can just say Galaxy-Eyes, already got a plural there. "Solar Stream of Destruction, Cipher Stream of Destruction, Empty Stream of Destruction!" All three dragons fired a blast of energy at Nick, knocking him over.
Nick (LP: 0)
Skye wins!
I gulped. A 9000 point OTK... I looked at the blue-haired Australian. Looks like you're one of the ones to beat. I chuckled. "Bring it on." We'll see who has the stronger dragons someday.
"It's over already? Boo!" Skye sighed in disappointment and walked over to Nick, helping him up.
"You're incredible, Skye. That OTK was amazing." She looked at me and smiled.
"I like giving it my all. It's just more fun that way, win or lose." True.
"And I thought Aadyn's dragons were tough..." The two paused as they got their points. "Maybe I should look into more packs. And get those Blank Cards made into something."
I sighed. "Blank cards are powerful but they don't guarantee a win. The duel where I used mine? I won it with my Armed Dragon LV5. You just need to get stronger, the Blank Cards will help but if you don't improve they won't do you a lick of good." Nick nodded.
"Besides, there's way more powerful duelists here. You should see my cousin Zena, she can kick my butt any day." Nick paled, though I grinned. More powerful duelists mean I'll have more exciting duels. "Well I'd better go. Nice seeing you guys!" She left and I thought about the Number she used.
"That card gave me the creeps... I'll have to be careful about those Galaxy-Eyes monsters of hers. It seems like everyone here is a borderline nightmare of an opponent. It's epic, yeah?" Nick looked at me as if I'd sprouted wings and a tail. I get so sick of that look. "Oh never mind... I'm gonna head back to the dorm. You can take Kyle back to the Obelisk Dorm. If he sneaks out again before lunchtime tomorrow, let him get caught. I'm not in the mood to hunt him down again..."
Well, here's number four. I'm finding this story easier to write than most oddly. I may be able to set up and update schedule if I'm lucky, though my plans to post today were washed away by a huge rainstorm. Any attempts to go up or down the hill I live on would likely result in getting trapped in the mud, so yeah. I'll try to update tomorrow. Oh what'm I saying, you guys can't tell I'm updating later than intended cause you see this when I post. Oy... OK, enough rambling. I'll write up another opening and use it next chapter.
I know Skye's behavior about getting peeped at was odd but I asked her creator how she'd act, since my original plan had been for Skye to catch Kyle and duel him in anger, and apparently she's more likely to join in on the peeping and would be flattered somebody looked at her. Weird, I know, but that's how she is it turns out.
Remember, I'd like ideas for OC cards, duelists, staff, all the good stuff. Not all OC cards will be blank cards though. Next chapter, as the school year's about to officially start and the students who aren't in their first year at DA will be showing up soon, those who want to enroll in the special courses (Action, Speed and Turbo Duels) will get to sign up. Wonder who's taking what, if any? See ya then!