Hey there everyone, welcome to yet another chapter of Dual Guardians. A couple of things Lee and I want to announce: After talking it over, we decided to add the mainstream decks into the story. Obviously there will be changes, one being that we won't have it where there's just one copy of one card like Blue Eyes White Dragon or the God Cards. We'd also like to once again thank our beta, Eneko95, for helping us with the editing.
If you have a suggestion for a deck that might work well in the series, PM either me or my cowriter and we'll decide on it. Enjoy the chapter :)
Chapter 9
Initial Order Arc: Flaming Blade of War
Although now with the end of that month, the Annual Duel Promotion Exams would begin, with the select people participating in order to advance to the next dorm.
On the day itself, almost all classes were canceled; the Exams could last an entire day depending on how many people qualified, and had not ended until after sundown one year. Those who had their duels later in the day spent their time fixing their decks.
Nick and Barclay's group of friends were all in the cafeteria, waiting for Takashi's duel in about twenty minutes. Most wore their normal student uniforms for this occasion, though under orders from Kanoa, the boys wore matching white headbands. Takashi had one, too, but his said "victory" in kanji.
Meanwhile, Laura was shoveling food into her mouth with fierce determination. Nick, Barclay, and Sera were equally annoyed and fascinated by this behavior.
"It's not fair!" she complained through a large bite of her burger. "I spent three hours yesterday preparing my new deck, getting all those awesome cards, and I didn't even get chosen?!"
"Do you honestly think you're the only one who's bummed they didn't get picked, al'abalah?" Sera retorted as she turned away from her friend. "The whole school wanted a chance at the Promotional Exams, don't act like you were singled out."
Barclay shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I'm not too surprised I wasn't picked. Haven't exactly ingratiated myself with the staff."
Nick laughed. "Yeah, no kidding. I honestly can't think of any teacher on campus who's actually on good terms with your attitude."
"Not to mention how hard it is for us to tell when you're being sarcastic and when you mean it," Laura added, taking a drink of juice. She seemed to have calmed down slightly.
"I seriously doubt a teacher would believe you if you complimented them," Takashi added, not looking up from his cards.
"Oh, I'm hurt!" Barclay said with mock pain, placing his hands on his chest. "Your words have wounded me, my friends!"
A few seconds later, the group started laughing together as the mood lightened up. Despite their unusual ways, the five of them were starting to gain a reputation for being the weirdest group in Duel Academy.
After they calmed down, Nick saw his large friend put the last of his cards together before putting his Deck away. "Everything good to go?"
"Yes, my deck's at its peak right now," Takashi replied. He rubbed his nose. "Now all I need to do is see if it's enough."
"Don't get so tense about it; you did the best you could," Sera reminded him.
"I know, it's just just pre-duel nerves." Takashi sighed.
They'd all felt like that, even in the regular classroom duels.
The PA crackled to life. "Takashi Matsumoto, please report to your designated arena. Repeat: Takashi Matsumoto, please report to your designated arena."
"See you guys afterwards," said Takashi, standing up. The other four followed him to the arena, both to provide moral support and try to get a good view.
Test Area
The auditorium was, of course, packed with students. Most of the sections were a mix of yellow and blue, but there was one solid red block next to a marked-off exam area. It was hardly a coincidence that Takashi happened to be at the end in front of the entire Slifer Dorm.
"You guys really go all out for this, don't ya?" Laura laughed, sitting down next to Nick.
"Kano likes to say our dorm is as good as a family," Nick explained.
"That's right! Even if we move up to a new Dorm, we're all still ohana!" Kanoa added.
The rest of the dorm cheered in agreement, mixing in some encouragement for Takashi.
"Bloody hell… Now I definitely hope I'm not selected," Barclay remarked.
Sera made an annoyed huff. "Can you at least try to support your friends?"
Before Barclay could reply, Takashi's opponent walked onto the field. Some of the yellow students nearby murmured to each other uncertainly.
"Hello, Slifer Scum," Jessie declared sadistically. "Ready to learn your place?"
"Why's he here?" Nick asked irritably, hoping Kanoa had an explanation. "Shouldn't he be banned or something from this?"
"He's been allowed to participate, but he's not going to get promoted even if he wins," Laura explained.
Now the Slifers starting grumbling amongst themselves. Not everyone in the dorm knew Jessie, but they all knew what had gone down between him and Nick.
"It doesn't matter anyway! We're here to cheer for our friend and ohana!" the Dorm Head shouted. This lightened the dorm's mood instantly, and they all punched the air.
The large student looked back to his fellow Slifers and nodded, turning back to his opponent who still had a sinister smile on his face as the two put on their duel disks. Jessie's disk looked the same as it did when he dueled Nick in the forest.
Takashi's black-and-red duel disk looked more like a brick than the standard model. The digi-construct had an even simpler design-a basic black cylinder.
"It's about time," Barclay muttered.
"What do you mean?" asked Sera curiously.
"We finally get to see the big guy duel," Nick answered. "I wonder what style he uses?"
The girls looked at each other briefly. "Oh, right," said Laura. "His first duel of the semester was the same day as our mall trip, duh."
"Aye…" Barclay and Nick sighed with identical tired expressions.
Let's duel!" Takashi and Jessie shouted as the arena's sides opened to reveal the hologram projectors. Everyone cheered and put on their visors in anticipation.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the entryway, a mysterious figure watched the fight begin. The person smiled and moved their hand in a slow, deliberate circle. A thin cloud of smoke appeared around the duelists, though neither of them seemed to notice.
"Now, let us see if he holds one of them…" the person said ominously.
Takashi - 8000 LP
Jessie - 8000 LP
The two students drew their first five cards before turning back to each other, looking to the screen where they flipped a coin to determine which would go first. The coin flipped, landing with Takashi's face appearing on the screen.
"Very well, it looks like I have the first turn, here goes!" Takashi yelled out as he drew his first card, taking a look before adding it to his hand.
"I'll start by placing one card face down on the field," Takashi remarked as the card soon manifested right in front of him. "And then I'll summon to the field Volcanic Slicer(4/1800/1200) in attack mode!"
On the field appeared a reptilian looking, bipedal creature that looked like it was made of beige armor with silver decorations. It had no obvious eyes, but it had a large, sharp looking mouth where heat radiated out from.
"Next up, I'll activate his effect; once per turn, he can deal 500 points of direct damage!"
Volcanic Slicer screeched and launched a fiery molten rock at Jessie. On impact, sparks flew through the air and flames covered him for a few seconds.
"Ahhh!" Jessie yelled, trying and failing to defend himself with his arms.
Takashi - 8000 LP
Jessie - (8000 - 7500 LP)
"Ah… all right, this could actually be fun," Jessie remarked with a chilling smile. Nick and Barclay especially got the sense that something was wrong, as their marks glowed softly.
"I… don't know how to respond to that…" Takashi muttered, unsure how to articulate his own sense of wrongness. "I'll end my turn."
"Now it's my turn, I draw!" Jessie yelled out, taking the card from his deck before adding it to his hand. "Since you control a Level 4 monster, I can activate the effect of my Doggy Diver(4/1000/1000) and special summon him in attack mode!"
A pug in a yellow wetsuit, blue flippers, and red goggles appeared on the field. The audience laughed; even by Duel Monsters standards, Doggy Diver looked patently silly.
"Next up, I'll normal summon my Attack Gainer(1/0/0) to the field in attack mode!"
Next to the scuba dog appeared a more humanoid looking creature. It had long red hair and dark green armor on its head, arms and feet. The helmet it wore had a red orb on it, giving it the appearance of having a single eye, though below that orb was a blue visor. On its arms were large gauntlets with yellow "knuckles" and only its thumbs revealed. On its chest was a lavender colored chest piece, it wore a belt with a square, yellow belt buckle with a red Y shape on it.
"But of course, these two minions aren't going to stick around once the duel really gets started!" said Jessie. "I tune them in order to Synchro Summon Scarred Warrior(5/2100/1000) in attack mode!"
The monsters jumped into the air, and Attack Gainer turned into three rings of light that surrounded Doggy Diver. One cinematic flash of light later, a large, dark-skinned man covered in scars and bandages appeared and landed with a loud thud. He had a robotic right leg, and his right arm had a blade strapped to all the bandages.
"This might be a problem…" he muttered uneasily. He knew the monster wasn't real, but its height was still intimidating.
His friends were much more obviously surprised at this than he was, though for a different reason.
"Hold on, wasn't that goon supposed to have a Heroic Deck? Why the hell is he playing Synchros?" Barclay practically demanded.
Nick shook his head. "No idea… I just hope Takashi has a strategy for this..."
"That's not all. Thanks to the effect of my Attack Gainer, your worthless Volcanic Slicer now loses 1000 Attack Points," Jessie remarked. Scarred Warrior started glowing blue, and then the light flew directly at Volcanic Slicer. Its mechanical body started wearing away bit by bit until it was covered in rust.
Volcanic Slicer (1800 - 800)
Takashi's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."
"Now, Scarred Warrior, teach this fool about true power, with Death Slice!"
The massive warrior raced forward, seemingly getting to Volcanic Slicer and attacking with its bladed arm in less than a second. A shockwave from the attack hit Takashi in the chest, and he staggered backward a few steps in pain.
Takashi - (8000 - 6700) LP
Jessie - 7500 LP
"I'm not done yet. From my hand I activate the Spell Warrior Returning Alive!" Jessie declared. "In case you couldn't tell from the name, this allows me to add a warrior from my graveyard back into my hand. I choose Attack Gainer this time."
A wounded swordsman appeared on the field, took a card from the Disk's graveyard slot, and showed it to Takashi. Jessie then took the card and added it to his hand.
"I'll set two cards facedown. Let's see how tough you are, tubby!"
"Yes, let's," Takashi remarked in a pained voice. His legs felt like they'd fallen asleep, and he still hurt from the earlier attack, but he kept his head up as he drew.
In the stands, Kanoa abruptly stood up. He knew the Academy's advanced holograms affected the duelists to an extent, but there were failsafes and limiters specifically to avoid causing the reaction he'd just seen in Takashi.
"Keep cheering for him, everyone, I need to talk with the technicians about something. Erhard, come sit here," he said before walking past his students and out of the area.
Erhard moved two spots down to the empty seat, keeping his eyes on the duel the entire time.
"I activate my facedown Trap, Blaze Accelerator Reload!" Takashi declared.
His face down card rose up and turned into a large, shiny object best described as a triple-barreled cannon. "Now by sending it to my Graveyard, I can special summon my ace, Volcanic Doomfire (8/3000/1800) in attack mode!"
The cannon burst into a massive column of flames, sending waves of hot air into the stands. Two red arms with vicious claws emerged from the column; then several obsidian spikes like a Stegosaurus' plates; then a molten tail; then legs the color of cooled lava; and finally the monster's large triangular head, which was still on fire even as the column vanished. It roared, showing off its mouthful of ferocious teeth. All Duel Monsters had names that fit their appearance, and Volcanic Doomfire was no different.
Jessie grinned like a madman. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this duel a lot more now!"
"Then I'll set another card face down," Takashi continued, calmly wiping some sweat from his forehead. " Volcanic Doomfire, attack his Scarred Warrior with Volcanic Cannon!"
The beast roared again, then released a massive ball of molten rock that exploded as soon as it hit Jessie's warrior. Jessie himself was sent flying from the sheer force of it, and fire and rocks rained down on his side from a cloud of black smoke. "Graaaaa!"
Takashi - 6700 LP
Jessie - (7500 - 6400) LP
When the smoke cleared and the flames petered out, to everyone's surprise, Scarred Warrior still stood. His bandages and prosthetic leg were covered in soot, and there was a noticeable dent in his armor, but he was otherwise the same.
"What? Why is your monster still here?" Takashi asked in shock.
Jessie got back up and gave Takashi a crazed stare. "Hahaha! Don't you know why he's called Scarred Warrior, you fool? While I may have taken damage from your monster's attack, his special ability allows him to remain on the field after a battle once per turn."
"I see…" the large Slifer student remarked, slightly growling at the statement. "Well… I'll end my turn then."
"Good, now let's see what more sweet chaos I can stir up! I draw!" Jessie declared as he drew his next card. The sadistic look came back to his face. "Just who I was expecting…"
That can't be a good sign… Takashi thought to himself.
"I summon X-Saber Pashuul(2/100/0) in attack mode!"
A dark-skinned man with long black hair appeared on the field. He had an X scar on his face and wore bulky purple armor that covered his entire body. The monster's right eye and arm were prosthetic and it wielded a massive sword. Stylized X's appeared on the sword and parts of the monster's armor.
"Another worthless card, but he'll do the job I need of him," Jessie added before giving another sadistic smile. "Now, I'm going to tune him with Scarred Warrior to summon up something that'll really make things more fun!"
Both monsters jumped up into the air, and Pashuul transformed into rings of light that surrounded Scarred Warrior. The orbs spun around him until they aligned, at which point there was an explosion of white light.
"Now, let's welcome my newest minion, X-Saber Urbellum(7/2200/1300) in attack mode!"
A large, muscular pale man wearing multiple belts and bandages appeared. The bull's horns on the helmet only added to his height. For some reason he wasn't wearing a proper shirt; instead, he had on a modified breastplate with American football-style shoulder pads attached to a tattered red cape, which covered two large swords.
"What the hell is up with this?!" Laura cried, clenching her fists in frustration and anger.
"Um… Am I missing something?" Erhard asked.
"The guy is such a hypocrite! He always talks crap about combination decks, but he's used cards from at least three different sets so far," Laura remarked with an annoyed tone.
Meanwhile, words had completely failed Nick, who was staring at the battlefield in shock.
What does his have up his sleeve? Takashi wondered.
"I'll end my turn with a card face down, let's see what the gentle giant has in store for me," Jessie mocked as the next card manifested on the field.
"I draw," Takashi declared, doing his best to remain calm. "I'll activate the spell Dark Room of Nightmare. Thanks to this card, each time one of my monsters deals any kind of effect damage to you, it'll add an additional 300 points of damage. Then I'll activate my facedown trap, Call of the Haunted, and bring back my Volcanic Slicer!"
A dark stone room materialized in front of Takashi. Shadows on the walls suggested someone chained up and in obvious pain, as well as another holding a whip.
At the same time, the ground next to Volcanic Doomfire began cracking and emitting steam. Then Volcanic Slicer burst back onto the field in a shower of molten rock, though it looked much less imposing next to Doomfire.
"All right, now I activate Slicer's effect to deal 500 points of direct damage. That in turn triggers Dark Room of Nightmare's effect for a 300-point damage bonus." Takashi looked somewhat pleased with himself.
Volcanic Slicer shot another fiery rock from its mouth that whizzed past Jessie's monster. The spell card glowed and made the rock grow a little bigger just before it struck Jessie himself.
Takashi - 6700 LP
Jessie - (6400 - 5600) LP
Jessie snarled as he got hit once again, only this time he didn't get knocked down and even looked enraged by the attack. "Is that the best you got!?"
"Not even close. Doomfire, attack with Volcanic Cannon again!" Takashi declared as the beast roared and sent its attack once again. "Just like a fool…" Jessie muttered before he grinned confidently. "You just triggered my facedown card, Depth Amulet!"
A necklace on a chain of silver bones appeared slightly above the field. Two arm decorations flanked a small skull charm, which in turn rested over a pendant made of six rainbow-colored gems and a peculiar piece of some volcanic material or other.
"Thanks to this, I can discard one card to negate your attack." Jessie put a card in the graveyard slot, the trap card glowed, and Volcanic Doomfire's attack vanished with a hiss.
"I see. I end my turn, then," Takashi replied.
Jessie drew. "Good. I have the perfect card to continue your destruction.
" I summon Goblindbergh(4/1400/0) in attack mode!"
There was the sound of a plane gunning its engine, and a bright red WWI biplane zoomed up from behind Jessie. It did a loop around the stadium, giving the audience a brief view of the pilot's horned cap and oversized red goggles. The goblin returned to Jessie's side of the field and hovered in front of him.
"And his effect triggers, allowing me to special summon Gagaga Gardna(4/1500/2000) in attack mode!"
A young looking man appeared on the field. At least, Takashi assumed he looked young, as the monster was practically covered from head to toe. Blue eyes and pink hair could be seen from under a helmet and goggles, and it had an orange bandana over its mouth. It wore a long, black leather overcoat, light green chest armor, black gloves, black pants, large black shoes with protective yellow hexagons, and held in one hand a large shield.
"Now it's time to take this to the next level! I hope you're paying attention, Nick!"
Most of the Slifer students looked over to their friend as Nick glared right at his rival, remembering exactly what he was about to do right now.
Oh no… Takashi thought to himself, who also remembered this plan.
"I am gonna bring out the same warrior that you destroyed so easily to defeat your worthless friend's most treasured card!" the Ra student declared. The monsters flew up and began merging in a similar way they had the first time. "I use them to build the Overlay Network for an XYZ Summon! Come forth, Heroic Champion - Excalibur(R4/2000/2000) in attack mode!"
Both monsters, now covered in red and yellow light, flew upward into a miniature galaxy that opened above their heads. This caused another flash of light, blinding everyone for a few seconds.
A massive knight in red and white armor and yellow horn-like features on its helmet appeared on the field. His sword had a phoenix design on the hilt, and two orbs of light—the overlay units—orbited him.
"Obviously, Excalibur isn't quite strong enough to handle your Doomfire on his own. But! Thanks to his special ability, I can get rid of his overlay units and max out his Attack and Defense!" The orbs went into Excalibur's body, and he drew his light sword.
Heroic Champion Excalibur - (2000 - 4000)
"Excalibur! Wipe out that Doomfire with Double Shock Sword Slash!"
Excalibur leapt into the air towards Doomfire and raised its sword above its head. Its powerful downward slash easily bisected Takashi's monster, and just as with Scarred Warrior, the damage difference became a shockwave that knocked the large student off his feet. Takashi bellowed in pain, and was visibly panting as he got back on his feet.
Takashi - (6700 - 5700) LP
Jessie - 5600 LP
"Oh, and don't think I forgot about that worthless lizard you brought back! Urbellum, annihilate it with Twin Saber Strike! " Jessie's voice was, by this point, a little hoarse from all that yelling.
Urbellum was in front of Volcanic Slicer before anyone had noticed it moving. The Warrior grabbed the hilts of his swords, and then an X-shaped flash of light covered the volcano monster. A few seconds later Slicer fell apart, and the crack in the ground put itself back together. Takashi gasped in pain and sweat was pouring down his face.
Takashi - (5700 - 5300) LP
Jessie - 5600 LP
"Luckily for you, you only have two cards in your hand so Urbellum's ability doesn't trigger," Jessie remarked as his two monsters returnedcame back to his side. "I'll end my turn and enjoy watching how humiliated you must feel."
I'm in a real bind right now… Takashi thought. It almost felt like he'd gotten actual wounds, though nothing exactly life-threatening. If this is what the test was meant for, then I can't back down…I must press forward…
His friends all looked on in anguish as the Slifer struggled to stay on his feet, panting heavily while drawing his next card.
"Okay, I'm definitely starting to think that this is not part of the exam. We need to do something!" Laura remarked worriedly as Sera hugged her.
"Even if we wanted to, the doors are locked to keep students from interfering with exams in progress… There's nothing we can do," Barclay remarked, clenching his fist in frustration until his knuckles went white.
"We can believe in him," Nick said quietly. "Takashi's the strongest guy I know. He won't lose to whatever's happening, I'm sure of it…"
The rest of the group nodded and looked back at Takashi. When he turned his head to see them, each one shouted encouraging words. Takashi smiled fiercely and turned back to the duel.
"On my honor, Jessie, I won't back down! Now I summon from my hand, Volcanic Shell (1/100/0) in attack mode!"
A tiny creature, almost like a smaller version of Slicer, appeared in front of Takashi. Jessie didn't even try to contain his malicious, near-hysterical laughter.
Takashi only smirked. "Then I'll activate my spell card, Circle of the Fire Kings, which allows me to sacrifice one Fire monster on my field and special summon another one from my graveyard! Two guesses who I'm bringing back."
Volcanic Shell started to glow like molten metal. Then it grew rapidly, emitting steadily more intense heat until finally, Volcanic Doomfire burst from the shell.
"So the honest man sacrifices a pawn for the sake of the king," Jessie noted mockingly. "What was that you said about honor earlier?"
"All right, Takashi! That was cool!" Nick shouted.
"True, but Excalibur still has 1000 more Attack Points than Doomfire," Sera said quietly.
"For the rest of this turn," Laura added. "Urbellum's weaker, plus there's Doomfire's effect."
"And the Depth Amulet," Barclay reminded the group.
"But that won't last too much longer, either, ja?" Erhard said, startling the others a bit. "So, at the very least, Takashi should be able to remove whatever that Ra guy's got in his hand."
"Aye," the group replied.
"Next, by paying 500 Life Points I can add a Volcanic Shell from my deck to my hand, which lets me shuffle it again," Takashi said.
A small fire came from his graveyard slot, and he winced slightly from its heat. The fire turned into a card, which he added to his hand as his deck shuffled itself automatically.
Takashi - (5300 - 4800) LP
Jessie - 5600 LP
"Now, Doomfire, attack his Urbellum with Meteor Flare!"
"Sorry, fool, but my Depth Amulet is still in effect!" Jessie laughed as he discarded the one card he had in his hand. The flames died down and vanished completely. "Congratulations, you accomplished nothing this turn!"
Or maybe I was just trying to get rid of whatever was in your hand… Takashi thought with a small smirk.
"I'll end my turn, which means that your Heroic Champion - Excalibur's attack points go back to 2000," Takashi reminded his opponent as the beast's aura soon died down.
Heroic Champion Excalibur (4000 - 2000)
"Like it'll matter!" Jessie retorted in an irritated tone. "I draw!"
He looked at the card and grinned widely. "Excellent. I activate the spell Mystical Space Typhoon and target Dark Room of Nightmare!"
A twister roared across the field and shredded the room.
"Then I'll activate my facedown! Reinforce Truth!" he roared out, causing a pillar of light to erupt from the ground with a portal producing it. "Thanks to this, I can special summon a level 2 or lower monster to the field. I choose my Heroic Challenger: Ambush Soldier (1/0/0) in defense mode."
A monster wearing a flowing green cape, camouflage, and a special-ops face mask appeared from the portal. It carried a jagged sword in one hand, and its other arm had a wrist-mounted blade.
"Lastly, I'll switch my other two monsters into defense mode to avoid my trap's second effect…" The monsters turned blue as they took defensive positions.
"You may have gotten lucky, but it won't last, you worthless pile…"
"I'll set a card," Takashi said after drawing, completely ignoring Jessie's comments. "Next, I'll attack your Ambush Soldier with Doomfire."
There was nothing in Doomfire's way this time, and the fiery molten rock consumed Ambush Soldier. It didn't fade away immediately afterward, however.
"And since Doomfire destroyed a monster by battle, his effect activates," Takashi added, his voice calm, though not quite level. "When he sends a monster to the Graveyard, all monsters you control are also destroyed and you take 500 damage for each one!"
The fire quickly spread and swallowed up Heroic Champion - Excalibur and X-Saber Urbellum, even reaching Jessie's feet.
"Ahhh!" Jessie screamed in frustration (and some pain) as he watched his monsters burn.
Takashi - 4800 LP
Jessie - (5600 - 4600) LP
"That's my turn," Takashi said, his face set in determination.
"…I set one card face down and end my turn…" Jessie panted.
Is he giving up? After all that bravado? Takashi thought as he drew. "I summon Flame Spirit Ignis(4/1500/1200) in attack mode."
A small flame appeared next to Doomfire, which quickly grew into a humanoid figure with large, clawed hands and a wolf-like head. It was still tiny in comparison, but most monsters would be.
"Now, both of you, attack!" Takashi commanded.
Both monsters breathed fire at Jessie, who could do nothing to stop them. The fire surrounded him, and he screamed like a wounded animal. His faceplant when the fire died down was almost anti-climactic, but no one minded too much.
Takashi - 4800 LP
Jessie - (4600 - 0) LP
The life point counter dropped to zero, and Takashi's face appeared onscreen over the word "Victor." All of Slifer Dorm (plus Laura and Sera) rose as one and cheered for Takashi.
However, their cheers turned to shouts of horror when Takashi fell to his knees, and were cut off entirely when he, too, slammed into the arena floor face-first.
Oh no! Shadow Games! Did a Shadow Game really just happen? Who was responsible? Does Kanoa know something that our heroes don't? Plus, Takashi and Jessie have passed out! Are they going to be okay? (All right, so we care more about Takashi, but still, empathy, people! Empathy!) The plot will thicken again next chapter, and we hope you enjoy the resulting plot stew.
