Yugioh GX: The Ancient City Tournament
"I hate riddles," Jesse muttered in annoyance as he kicked at the dirt in front of him and continued to stare at the challenge they were faced with. Yugi and Jesse were standing in front of a row of trees that had signs hanging from them with a riddle written on each one. Underneath the signs were brown chests with a small tablet device on the front as a lock. They were supposed to pick one of the Tree Riddles, solve it, and then type the answer into the corresponding chest in order to unlock it and get their Glyph Capsules from inside. However each tree that Jesse looked at only served to frustrate him to no end since none of the riddles written seemed easy to the blunette.
"You just need patience and a calm head in order to solve these riddles," Yugi advised as he tilted his head and stared at the very first tree they had looked at. While Jesse had walked along the rows of trees to try and find an easier one, Yugi had remained rooted in his spot, determined to figure out the riddle.
Jesse walked back over to Yugi and sighed. "That's easy for ya to say. Ya love these kinda things."
Yugi smiled a bit, his eyes never leaving the sign. "That is very true. But maybe if you help me think then we can figure this out faster?"
Jesse pouted a bit before he looked at the sign and read it out loud. "No sooner spoken I am broken. What am I?" Jesse scratched at the back of his head and frowned for a moment before he turned to look at Yugi. "I've got nothin'."
Yugi opened his mouth to retort when loud voices and rustling in the bushes caught their attention. The two men turned to look in the direction of the rustling leaves and loud voices only to see to boys emerge from the bushes in the middle of an argument, oblivious to the fact that the blunette and the Kings of Games were there. The taller boy had black hair and green eyes while the shorter one had platinum blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. "I'm telling you it's this way!"
"We've been walking for hours and we haven't found the challenge yet!"
"It's only been twenty minutes you lazy—"
"Ahem."
The two boys immediately ceased their arguing and turned around to see Jesse and Yugi looking at them in a mixture of confusion and amusement. The blonde immediately beamed while the black-haired boy blinked in shock. "It's Yugi Muto and the Crystal Beast Duelist Jesse Anderson!"
"Hello…?" Yugi and Jesse chorused, sharing a confused look before turning back to the two boys.
The black-haired boy gave an apologetic smile and a shrug. "Sorry about our argument. We were trying to find the mental challenge and we had… differing opinions."
"Well ya'll are in the right place," Jesse commented, gesturing towards the rows of trees. "Good luck."
The two boys walked up to the rows of trees and stood in front of the one next to Yugi and Jesse's. The blonde frowned. "I can run but never walk. I have a mouth but never speak. I have a head but never weep. I have a bed but never sleep." The blonde was silent for a moment before narrowing his eyes. "The hell is this?"
"I got it!"
The exclamation by the King of Games caught the attention of the three other boys as Yugi knelt down beside their chest and started to type in a word. The screen blinked green before the top of the chest popped open and Yugi grabbed the two Glyph Capsules nestled inside, handing one to Jesse and holding the other in his hand. At the blank stares that he was receiving from the two boys and the incredulous look he was getting from Jesse, Yugi smiled. "I started thinking, what is the only thing that is broken when someone speaks?" When no one answered his posed question he continued. "The only thing that is broken when someone speaks is silence."
"Ya mean the answer ta the riddle was jus' silence?" Jesse asked in surprise. Yugi nodded.
The black-haired boy grinned before shaking his head. "Nice job. For a second there I thought you were going to answer our riddle."
"Oh, yours is 'river'."
There was a second of silence before the blonde quickly crouched by their chest and started to put in the answer before Jesse gaped at the King of Games. "Wait, ya knew the answer ta theirs?"
Yugi nodded and gave a shrug. "I knew the answer to all the rest of the riddles too."
"Why didn't we jus' answer one of the other ones then?" Jesse asked, completely baffled.
"Well, I really wanted to figure out this one because I've never heard it before and it seemed tricky."
Jesse facepalmed.
"Hey, you know I've always wanted to see where I stack up against the King of Games…" Jesse and Yugi turned around to see that the blonde was activating his duel disk and slipping his deck in, a large smile on his face while his partner rolled his eyes. "What do you say? How about a duel?" Jesse and Yugi shared a look before grinning and taking a few paces back before activating their own duel disks and slipping their decks in. They waited for the dark-haired boy to activate his duel disk before they all grinned. "DUEL!"
Yugi and Jesse: 8000 LP
Dominic and William: 8000 LP
"So… who exactly are you boys? I don't think we ever caught your names," Yugi pointed out as he drew his hand.
"I'm Dominic Wrenson and this is William Andrews," the dark-haired boy introduced with a grin.
Jesse frowned and scratched the back of his head. "Where have I heard those names before?"
"Dominic Wrenson is an Armor Ninja duelist who has competed in the States before and William Andrews is the son of Jacob Andrews a wealthy business owner. William had the best tutors in the world teach him how to play Duel Monsters," Yugi explained for the southerner, tossing a smile towards the two boys. "Isn't that right?"
"Spot on," William replied with a grin as he held up two Glyph Capsules. "We each wager two Glyph Capsules!"
"Alright! That means we'll get two extra Glyph Capsules when we win, Yug!" Jesse cheered.
Dominic smirked. "Don't get over eager. I'll start things off! I summon my Earth Armor Ninja and I place one card facedown." A ninja with a sword on his back with brown clothes and silver shin, forearm, and shoulder guards appeared on the field and struck a fighting pose.
Earth Armor Ninja: 1600 ATK/1200 DEF
"Alright, so I guess that would make it my move… of course that's if you're okay with this. Any objections, Jesse?" Yugi asked tossing the blunette a smile. Jesse gave the older duelist a thumbs up before Yugi turned back to his hand, selecting a card. "Well alright then. I summon my Silent Magician LV0 in attack mode!" A small female magician with blue hair and eyes peeking out from a large red and black hat and red and black robes appeared on the field, clutching a small staff in her hand. "And something interesting about my Silent Magician is the fact that with every card drawn she gains 500 ATK points and increases one level!"
Silent Magician LV0: 1000 ATK/1000 DEF
William nodded appreciatively and whistled. "She can become a problem if we don't take care of her soon. But for right now I summon my Samurai of the Ice Barrier in attack mode!" A large samurai wearing decorative ice blue armor holding a large sword that seemed to smoke from the icy temperature of the blade appeared on the field.
Samurai of the Ice Barrier: 1800 ATK/1500 DEF
"So my turn, huh?" Jesse asked with an excited grin. "Man, I've been waitin' to get some good duelin' in! I'll summon my good buddy Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle in defense mode and turn it over to you!" The large turtle appeared on the field, its turquoise body shining with the emeralds encrusted on the top of its shell.
Crystal Beast Emerald Turtle: 600 ATK/2000 DEF
Dominic smirked at the field, preparing to have his Armor Ninja attack Yugi's Silent Magician when he froze, realizing that the Silent Magician had grown and was now sporting 1500 extra attack points. He mentally kicked himself as soon as he realized that since they were in a tag duel, Yugi's monster would have more than double the amount of time in order to gain attack points and levels, making the monster more powerful. And there was no way he could attack Jesse's Emerald Turtle. He was too strong defensively. "I summon my Air Armor Ninja in attack mode!" A monster that looked identical to Earth Armor Ninja—with the exception of green clothes instead of brown—appeared on the field.
Air Armor Ninja: 1400 ATK/1400 DEF
Yugi smiled and drew his card. "Well now that my Silent Magician is now at a LV3 and she has an ample amount of attack points, I'll have her attack and destroy your Air Armor Ninja!"
"Not so fast, you triggered my trap card!" Dominic called out with a smile as he activated his facedown card. "It's called Armor Ninjitsu Art of Freezing! It negates your attack and you can't change the position of your monsters as long as I continue to have a face up Ninja on my side of the field!"
"Good move," Yugi complimented with a smile as his monster returned back to his side of the field.
Jesse laughed and scratched the back of his head. "I never thought I'd see the day! Yugi Muto tripped up by a trap card!"
"You and I both know that you've seen me walk into more than one trap card in the eleven years we've known each other."
"Ya got me there!"
William rolled his eyes at the banter and drew his card. "If you two are quite done, I'll activate my Medallion of the Ice Barrier which allows me to take an Ice Barrier monster from my deck and place it in my hand, and I'm going to summon him to the field! Come on out Strategist of the Ice Barrier!" An elder man with long white hair and blue robes with a blue fan and blue hat appeared on the field beside the Samurai.
Strategist of the Ice Barrier: 1600 ATK/1600 DEF
Jesse smiled. "Alright, then it's time for me ta bring out another one of my lil' buddies! And I summon my Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat!" The pink jungle cat appeared on the field with her Amethyst gem glowing bright from her neck and her tail twitching back and forth in excitement.
Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat: 1200 ATK/400 DEF
"And somethin' real special about Amethyst is that she can halve 'er attack points and then she gets ta attack ya'll directly! So go on a have a taste Amethyst!" The pink cat glowed briefly before she bared her teeth and shot across the field, weaving in between Dominic's ninjas before she snapped her jaws around his leg, causing the boy to cry out in pain. She released him and licked her teeth before she trotted back over to stand beside Emerald who was safely tucked inside his shell.
Yugi and Jesse: 8000 LP
Dominic and William: 7400 LP
Dominic glared at the cat before he drew his next card. "I'm going to have my Earth Armor Ninja attack and destroy your overgrown kitty cat and that'll be it for me!" The Earth Armor Ninja shot up into the sky, drawing his sword before driving it through the beast, destroying her. Not long after her destruction, however, a large amethyst gem appeared on the field.
Yugi and Jesse: 7600 LP
Dominic and William: 7400 LP
"Uh… what's your monster doing?" William asked, drawing the attention to the Silent Magician who was glowing, her robes changing from black and red to white and blue as she started to grow taller.
Yugi looked to his monster and gave a half smile. "Oh, you mean that? Well, while we've been taking our turns, quite a few cards have been drawn. Which means my LV3 Silent Magician is now a LV6 Magician! And with that comes an extra 1000 attack points!"
Silent Magician LV6: 2000 ATK/1000 DEF
"Now I'll use my monster in order to attack Air Armor Ninja!" Silent Magician raised her magical staff and fired a blast of green energy at the Air Ninja, destroying the monster. "And I'll finish up by placing one card facedown. It's your move."
Yugi and Jesse: 7600 LP
Dominic and William: 6800 LP
"I summon Prior of the Ice Barrier in attack mode!" A man with white robes and a blue hood holding a wooden staff with spikes of ice at the top appeared on the field beside the other Ice Barrier monsters.
Prior of the Ice Barrier: 1000 ATK/400 DEF
"So now it's my move! And I summon Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus! And because of his special affect I'm gonna put another one of my buddies in the spell and trap card zone," Jesse announced as an amber gem appeared on the field along with the majestic Pegasus with a Sapphire horn and gems on the upper corners of its wings. "Now I'll have my Pegasus attack ya Prior of the Ice Barrier!" The flying beast flew across the field before attacking the Ice Barrier monster, destroying it.
Yugi and Jesse: 7600 LP
Dominic and William: 6000 LP
Dominic frowned seeing that they were down quite a few life points but instead focused on his move. "I summon my Flame Armor Ninja in attack mode!" A ninja identical to Earth and Air Armor Ninja—with red clothes instead of green or brown—appeared on the field and fell in line with Earth Armor Ninja.
Flame Armor Ninja: 1700 ATK/1000 DEF
As soon as it became Yugi's turn, Silent Magician began to glow once more, this time growing taller and more womanly, her attack points and levels increasing. "Now that another round has passed my Silent Magician has leveled up once again so she's Silent Magician LV8!"
Silent Magician LV8: 3500 ATK/1000 DEF
"Now attack Earth Armor Ninja!" Silent Magician aimed her staff at the ninja before blasting a large green ball at the monster, destroying it.
Yugi and Jesse: 7400 LP
Dominic and William: 4100 LP
William growled as he drew his card, well aware of the fact that they were falling behind the two duelists. "I sacrifice my Samurai of the Ice Barrier in order to summon my General Gantala of the Ice Barrier!" A muscled bald man with glowing blue symbols on his forehead, and glowing blue fists appeared on the field, flexing his muscles in an intimidating way.
General Gantala of the Ice Barrier: 2700 ATK/2000 DEF
"Now Gantala, take out his flying pony!" The large man shot across the field and delivered a devastating blow to Pegasus, causing the monster to rear back before he was destroyed, turning into a large sapphire gem on the field beside the amber, and amethyst already on the field.
Yugi and Jesse: 6500 LP
Dominic and William: 4100 LP
Jesse frowned as he saw another of his Crystal Beasts being destroyed. He looked in his hand and saw he still didn't have the monster he needed to complete his plan. So the only thing he could do was keep on defense. "I place one card face down and turn it over ta ya."
"I summon my Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo in attack mode!" A ninja dressed in black clothing with a black mask and red fire designs along his outfit appeared on the field, dropping to a crouch beside Flame Armor Ninja.
Ninja Grandmaster Hanzo: 1800 ATK/1000 DEF
Yugi drew his card and smiled, finally the card he'd been looking for to give Jesse a break. "I summon my Marshmallon and activate the spell card Marshmallon Glasses! This card insures that you can only declare attacks on my Marshmallon!" The puffy pink monster appeared on the field with a large smile on its face, blinking as it looked around the field.
Marshmallon: 300 ATK/500 DEF
"You think that puff ball is going to save you?" William laughed.
Yugi shrugged. "I could say yes, but I'd prefer to let my moves speak for themselves. Now I'll have my Silent Magician attack your Strategist of the Ice Barrier!" Another green energy blast was fired at the Ice Barrier monster, destroying it.
Yugi and Jesse: 6500 LP
Dominic and William: 2200 LP
William glared. "You're going to pay for that one. I attack your Marshmallon with my Gantala, Hanzo and Flame Armor Ninja! That should deal enough damage to even this duel up!"
"Not so fast! I activate my Last Resort trap card! It allows me ta take my Ancient City—Rainbow Ruins spell card from my deck and activate it! And since I have more than two Crystal Beasts in my spell and trap card zone, I can halve the damage we take this turn!" Jesse announced as a coliseum rose up from the ground with large columns, a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds, and a rainbow going overhead. The attacks struck Marshmallon, and instead of dropping them down dramatically, the field spell card cut the damage in half, saving Yugi and Jesse precious life points.
Yugi and Jesse: 3800 LP
Dominic and William: 2200 LP
"You saved yourself this round," William grumbled, before Jesse grew his card and started to laugh.
"Sorry buddy, but there isn't gonna be a next round! I summon my pal Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle!" Jesse announced, summoning his loyal monster. The small purple beast with four ears, ruby red eyes and a ruby attached to the end of her tail appeared on the field beside emerald. Jesse couldn't help but think about how excited Danni would've been if she'd been there to see the small purple monster. After all, she loved her Baby Rubs.
Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle: 300 ATK/300 DEF
Shaking that thought from his head, he continued his move. "And now I'm gonna have 'er use her special ability in order to bring back all my Crystal Beasts that ya'll destroyed!" Ruby's tail glowed red, shattering the gems on the field in order to reveal the Crystal Beasts that had previously been destroyed. "Now if Yugi would be so kind as ta lend me his Magician."
"By all means," Yugi replied with a smile.
Jesse grinned. "Alright, now Silent Magician, take out his Gantala! Pegasus take care of his Hanzo, and everyone else take 'em down!" Silent Magician blasted at the Ice Barrier monster, shattering it while Pegasus attacked the equally powerful Hanzo, both monsters being destroyed. Amber Mammoth stomped towards William, while Amethyst leapt towards Dominic, with Ruby trotting behind the large Mammoth to attack William.
Yugi and Jesse: 3800 LP
Dominic and William: 0 LP
The holograms faded and William and Dominic pushed themselves up from the ground, a frown on William's face while Dominic didn't look all that surprised. "Well, it's not like I didn't expect this," Dominic commented as he dusted off his pants, a small smile pulling on his lips. "But it's nice to know where we stack up. We didn't do too bad."
"Ya'll did pretty good!" Jesse complimented with a genuine smile, shrugging and gesturing towards the King of Games. "If Yug and I hadn' known each other for so long, ya'll probably would've been able ta beat us!"
"Really, you think?" William asked curiously.
Yugi nodded his head. "Of course. You two have great potential, but you mustn't give up after a loss. You must strive to get better." Dominic and William shared a look and smiled before walking forward and depositing two Glyph Capsules into Jesse and Yugi's hands. As soon as they had passed them over, the Ice Barrier and Armor Ninja duelists shifted on their feet a bit, avoiding eye contact. "Is something wrong?"
"No, we were just wondering… can you both sign our duel disks?"
"Finally we got both Danni and Yugi to duel," Derrick commented as he sipped at his coffee and stared up at the massive wall of monitors in the studio. Ever since he'd given his audience address to start off the morning, he'd taken to watching the screens, thrilled with the fact that he essentially got a backstage pass in order to watch all the duels happening around the island and all the interactions between the duelists. He turned to look over at Matt who was taking a coffee break, much like he was. "I was wondering if they were ever going to start dueling."
Unlike Derrick, however, Matt was still doing some sort of work, splitting his attention between watching the screens to entertain himself, or looking down at the tablet in his lap. Matt took a large gulp of his coffee before his lips curved up slightly. "Danni's duel was extremely popular because 1) most of our male viewers had been watching at the time to see her in a bikini and 2) she was dueling in a two on one duel. Quite a few comments came in regarding Danni accidentally catching a glimpse at Atticus's family jewels, however. That little scandal has caused uproar in the comments section, especially among the females."
Derrick brought his cup to his lips to hide his smirk. He had been one of the males that had been particularly interested in Miss Muto's screen when she'd decided to don her bathing suit, he couldn't deny it. And the duel itself was hilarious due to Atticus's comments and the accidental peep show. "It provided good comic relief."
Matt nodded his agreement as he continued to look at the tablet. "And Yugi and Jesses' duel—as expected—was the most viewed duel so far. Everyone is anxious to see Yugi's next duel, and there's already speculation as to who he will run into next."
"I have to admit, I'm excited to see that too," Derrick commented, looking up at the screen for the King of Games to see that he was in the middle of signing a duel disk and a few cards.
"Yes, well we're unaware when…"
Derrick turned his attention front the screen to Matt as the man trailed off suddenly, confusing him. He noticed the frown on Matt's face as he touched the tablet a few times, his eyebrows pulling together with each passing second. "What's wrong?"
"We've just got an update from the weather service," Matt said looking up with concern written across his face. "There's a massive thunder storm moving in. It should hit the island within the next twenty minutes."