It all started prior to August 19, 2005, when a certain user's older sister requested to co-write one of her fan fictions, known to this day as Role Switch. Eventually the two would write more collaborations: Alistiltskin, Night of the Living Furby, and Valon Come Home, all of which received acclaim for each of the stories' downright twisted sense of humor. The user who helped write went by the pseudonym "Buttsy-Boy".
Then, on February 11, 2006, Buttsy-Boy decided to take a crack at writing fan fiction himself. Some of his stories no longer exist due to them either violating website rules he was unaware of at the time, or because he simply didn't like them as he looked back at them. Nevertheless, his own stories received favorable to positive feedback, for the author's own sense of humor. Throughout the years, Buttsy-Boy changed his pseudonym to the following, in order: Master of Destiny, Crazy Little Devil and Pumpkid.
This day—February 11, 2016—this user continues, or at least tries to continue, writing fan fiction, now under the pseudonym "Psychid".
Yes, everyone: Today officially marks my tenth anniversary on this site. Wow. Ten whole years. I know I haven't been as "productive" as I probably should; but still, being on here for ten years is almost unbelievable. Since I don't want to miss an opportunity like this, I hereby commemorate this event with the newest chapter of a story which I hope will one day change the world, Yu-Gi-Oh! EXELIXI.
I'd like to take this time to thank you all—whether you're old users who reviewed my stories but aren't as active here as you once were, or ones who just came across stories like this just now—for your support throughout the ten years I've been on this site. I plan on doing whatever it takes to make you all so damn proud of me.
Enjoy chapter fourteen, everyone!
"Man, that duel was intense!" Those were the exact words of the stunned Kero after witnessing the frightening duel between Homanu and the mysterious Shizuko. He and his friends were still walking through Atlantis City's busy streets. "I've never been so scared in my life!"
As they walked, Mira couldn't help but notice Homanu being unusually thoughtful. "Are you alright?" she asked.
"Kinda," he replied. "But I can't help but think about what she said when we first saw her…"
"Yes, you. I don't know your name, but I don't care right now. What I do care about is the fact you're exactly the kind of person I am: Someone who now holds a portion of great power. But for my master, Daisuke, I must destroy you."
"I don't know what she meant by that," Homanu continued, "but something tells me she wasn't being herself."
"She wasn't?" Kero asked, scratching his head. "Why, what makes you say that?"
"Think about it: The fact she refers to this 'Daisuke' guy as 'Master Daisuke', her almost ruthless behavior, the fact she wouldn't care if lives are harmed… It makes sense, don't you think?"
"Could be…" Mira said, holding her chin.
"Mira? Mira Oshaki? Is that you?" a voice called to her.
CHRONICLE 014
GEM-MERCHANT
The voice that spoke belonged to a man in his mid-twenties. He had neatly combed blond hair and handsome blue eyes. His current attire was a navy blue one-piece riding suit with white glves black pads on the shoulders, knees and chest. Around the heart area was the emblem of a sun outlined in white.
"Akihiko? Is that you?" Mira said to the man. As soon as he nodded, Mira rushed over to hug him.
"You know this guy?" Homanu said.
"Well, yeah! Guys, this is Akihiko Noch, my sister's fiancé," she introduced the man.
"Pleased to meet you," the smiling Akihiko said. "I'm also the official team captain of Team Glory Sun!"
"Well you're looking at Team Olympus, a.k.a. the future champions of the Atlantis City Grand Prix!" Kero beamed, pointing at Akihiko.
"We'll see!"
"So, where are your teammates?" Mira asked. "There're gonna be teams of three, so ya gotta have two teammates, right?"
"You are correct. However, they're at the card shop, looking for cards to upgrade their decks. You know how it is in tournaments like this one…"
"Boy, don't we know it?" Mira said with a sigh.
"Indeed, you do. Mira, I know we've just got acquainted, but would you like to have a duel with me?"
"You mean right now? Okay, but can I ask why?"
"Let's just say it's been a couple of years since I've last dueled you, ever since your sister first introduced me to you. I just want to see how you've improved since then!"
"Sounds good to me!" Mira declared, holding up her team's four Locator Cards. "But according to tournament rules, we have to bet one Locator Card apiece."
"I understand the rules, and will gladly accept your wager," Akihiko said, holding up four of his own Locator Cards. "Now let the duel begin!"
Mira quickly constructed her Duel Disk and placed her Main Deck inside after activating it. Instead of actually constructing it, Akihiko activated his Duel Disk by placing a pearl white wristband with a diamond on it, on his left wrist. After tightly squeezing his fist, a four-pointed Duel Disk blade instantly materialized. It was especially unique in which the blade was transparent like glass.
After placing his Main Deck inside his Disk, he fastened his Duel Gazer—a model with a white microphone and a diamond-shaped lens that was as transparent as his Disk—onto his face. He then pressed his Gazer's button, as did Mira and her friends, causing them to flash for a split second. "Augmented Reality Vision Link established," the female voice announced as the wave of green digital energy flowed around the area. Virtual screens also popped open in various locations.
At KaibaCorp, one of the network station employees received the notification about this duel. After typing on his keyboard, he pressed another button to generate the appropriate Field Spell Card.
"Now generating Field Spell for Atlantis City Grand Prix preliminary duel," the female voice announced. The screen displaying the various virtual Field Spells in the dark green background chose one whose artwork pictured the inside of an ordinary gray brick wall castle, with a thunderstorm occurring outside. "Activating Field Spell, Clash in the Castle."
Back at the duel, the same Field Spell was shown to all duelists, and the entire scenery transformed to resemble the same artwork pictured on that Field Spell. As soon as the entire process was complete, Mira and Akihiko drew five cards apiece.
"Let's duel!" they both shouted.
AKIHIKO: 4000 LP / MIRA: 4000 LP
"According to the rules of this Field Spell," Akihiko directed, reading through the Field Spell's stats through his Gazer, "all of our monsters must attack whenever they can. Plus, when one of our monsters is destroyed in battle, the destroyed monster's controller will lose three hundred Life Points.
"Now then—as challenger, I'll begin!" He drew his card. "I'll place one monster in Defense Mode and a card face-down, ending my turn!" A horizontal card backing materialized in front of him, as did a vertical backing behind the horizontal one.
"My turn!" Mira shouted, drawing. "I summon Destiny Hero Diamond Guy in Attack Mode!" After slapping a card onto one of her Disk's Monster Card Zones, a blue portal appeared on the floor. Floating up from the portal was the crystal-covered hero. [ATK: 1400; LV: 4] "His ability lets me check my deck's top card once each turn!"
"I know what it does," Akihiko said almost uncaringly.
"Well, thanks for saving me the trouble!" The hero's crystals shone as Mira picked up her deck's top card. "Too bad for you, because it's my Beginning of the End Normal Spell! Now it goes to my Graveyard!" She slid the card into her Disk's Graveyard.
"Diamond Guy, attack Akihiko's face-down monster! Diamond Blow!" The crystal-covered hero unleashed a barrage of crystal shards from his fists, flying directly towards the horizontal backing revealed itself to be a turtle with a shell made entirely of emeralds. [DEF: 2000; LV: 4] The shards bounced off of the shell, and struck back at Mira's shins. [LP: 4000 – 3400]
"Looks like my Gem-Turtle was a little too much for your hero to handle," the smirking Akihiko commented. "But there's more to it than just that. Since it was just flipped, I can take 'Gem-Knight Fusion' from my deck and add it to my hand!" A card automatically slid out of his deck and was placed into his hand.
"'Gem-Knight Fusion'?" Kero wondered. "Does that mean he uses a 'Gem-Knight' deck?"
"He does," Mira replied. "That's the kind of deck he used when I first dueled him, so it's likely the same deck he has now."
"And seriously, Kero?" Homanu sighed. "You didn't think a guy with 'Gem-Knight Fusion' would have a 'Gem-Knight' deck?"
Kero thought about that comment for a few seconds, and then realized he indeed stated the obvious. "…Oh… But I'm just saying, is all…"
"I'll just place two cards face-down, and end my turn!" Mira finished, sliding two cards into her Disk's Spell/Trap Card Zone slot. Two vertical backings materialized behind the crystal-covered hero.
"My turn!" Akihiko declared, drawing. "I'll start by activating the Gem-Knight Fusion I've acquired with Gem-Turtle!" A Spell Card picturing two knights of red and blue swirling in a vortex with various jewels flying in the background materialized. "Obviously, this card lets me fuse together monsters to create a 'Gem-Knight' Fusion Monster!
"Therefore, I fuse together Gem-Knight Tourmaline and Gem-Knight Obsidian to form Gem-Knight Topaz!"
A yellow-armored knight with topaz crystals on parts of his armor appeared, as did an onyx-armored one with a chain of obsidian orbs around his shoulder, before they fused together in a vortex. The result was a different yellow-armored knight, this one having two thunderbolt-shaped swords as his weapons. [ATK: 1800; LV: 6]
"Now Gem-Knight Obsidian's effect activates!" he continued as a faded image of the onyx-armored knight appeared behind him. "Since he was just sent from my hand to the Graveyard, I can resurrect a Level Four or lower Normal Monster from my Graveyard! Return to me, Gem-Knight Tourmaline!" A dark purple portal appeared, and the former yellow-armored knight floated up from it. [ATK: 1600; LV: 4]
"Now I summon Gem-Knight Amber in Attack Mode!" A blue portal appeared, and a gold-armored knight with a thunderbolt-shaped sword floated up from it. [ATK: 1600; LV: 4]
"I can't believe this!" Kero cried, shuddering in fear. "Akihiko has four monsters on his field, and three of them are in Attack Mode!"
"And if my memory's correct," Homanu added, "that Topaz guy can attack twice per Battle Phase!"
"Very good observation, you two!" the smiling Akihiko said, applauding them. "And you and your friend are about to see my three-turn, one-turn kill in action! Gem-Knight Topaz, attack Destiny Hero Diamond Guy!" The yellow-armored knight with twin swords rushed towards the crystal-covered hero.
"I activate the Trap Card, D-Counter!" Mira shouted as the Trap Card picturing the invisible force surrounding the demonic-clad hero lifted up. "As soon as you attack one of my Destiny Heroes, this card instantly destroys the attacking monster!" A thunderbolt immediately struck out of the card, heading directly towards the attacking knight.
"I've anticipated such a move! That's why I'm activating my Tyrant's Temper Trap Card!" A Trap Card picturing an enraged elderly king dressed in beige shorts and white undershirt, yelling at a kneeling blond knight, lifted up. "To activate this card, I must first sacrifice a monster on my side of the field!" The emerald-shelled tortoise disappeared into pixels of light. "By doing so, all of the face-up monsters on my field are unaffected by other Trap Cards! That means your D-Counter is null and void!" Without warning, the thunderbolt died down as the attacking knight slashed at the crystal-covered hero, shattering him into pixels. [LP: 3400 – 3000]
"Now you lose three hundred Life Points from this Field Spell's effect!" A bolt of lightning suddenly struck on Mira's shoulder. [LP: 3000 – 2700]
"And now Gem-Knight Topaz's ability activates! Since he destroyed one of your monsters in battle, you lose Life Points equal to his Attack Points! Your Diamond Guy had fourteen hundred Attack Points, meaning you lose fourteen hundred Life Points!" A bolt of lightning shot out of one of the knight's two swords, striking at Mira's shoulder and causing her to wince in pain. [LP: 2700 – 1300]
"Perhaps it was pointless of me to summon this many monsters, seeing that I'd beat you with Topaz, alone. I suppose it was to show you that my dueling skills haven't changed a bit. But it matters not; because once Topaz attacks again, this duel will be over!"
"Not unless my Destiny Signal has anything to say about it!" Mira corrected him. The Trap Card picturing the spotlight with the 'D' in the center lifted up, and the same spotlight emerged overhead. "Since Diamond Guy was destroyed in battle, I can Special Summon Destiny Hero Defend Guy from my deck!" Another blue portal appeared, and the rocky-armored hero floated up from it, kneeling defensively. [DEF: 2700; LV: 4]
"I see your dueling skills haven't changed a bit, either," Akihiko commented. "But don't think you're safe just yet, for I now have three monsters on my side of the field. For now, I'll end my turn."
"My turn!" Mira shouted, drawing. "And I'll activate the effect of The Beginning of the End in my Graveyard!" A faded image of the Spell Card with the pitch-black, indescribable pattern formed beside her. "With its effect, I draw three more cards!" She did just that.
"Next, I sacrifice Defend Guy to summon Destiny Hero Dash Guy in Attack Mode!" The rocky-armored hero transformed into an orb of rainbow energy. Dashing out of the orb was the cybernetic wheeled hero. [ATK: 2100; LV: 6]
"Then I'll activate the Spell Card, Knight of Swords!" A Spell Card picturing an armored knight bravely riding into battle on a white horse materialized. Instead of appearing on the ground like most Spell/Trap Cards would nowadays, this one appeared upright, and instantly began rotating clockwise in forty-five-degree intervals.
"Ah, a card that's the equivalence of the 'Arcana Force' cards, and those relating to them," the grinning Akihiko commented, holding his chin as he watched the card rotate. "So, what are my options for this card?"
"Well, if this card appears upright, then one of my monsters will be able to attack every one of your monsters, and will be unaffected by other cards and effects, including those of the monster I've selected! However, if this card appears downright, the monster I've selected for this card will be destroyed, and I'll take damage equal to its Attack or Defense Points, whichever is higher!"
"That means if that card lands upside down, Mira's gonna lose!" Kero whined. "Is she even aware of this?!"
"Well, she wouldn't activate that card if she wasn't confident enough," Homanu said, placing a hand on his male friend's shoulder as the two continued watching the rotating card. "You know how Joey Wheeler used cards like that?"
Nobody said anything as the rotating card started to slow down until…it stopped…upright!
"Lucky me!" Mira beamed as the cybernetic wheeled hero was shrouded by a white aura. "Alright, Dash Guy, attack every one of his monsters! Lightning Strike!"
The cybernetic wheeled hero tore across the floor as he dashed towards Akihiko's three knights. The hero swung his left foot at each of the knights, shattering each one into pixels in the process. Each time one of the knights was destroyed, Akihiko was struck by lightning. [LP: 4000 – 1800]
"Normally, my Dash Guy would go to Defense Mode after he attacks. But thanks to Knight of Swords, that ain't gonna happen! I'll place two cards face-down, and end my turn!" Two more vertical backings materialized behind the warrior.
"It's my turn, Oshaki!" Akihiko declared, drawing. "I'll start by activating my Fossil Hammer Trap Card!" A Spell Card picturing a clenched fist of solid rock materialized. "This card destroys the one monster on your field that has the highest Level!" The same fist pictured on the card shot out of the card and struck at the cybernetic wheeled hero, shattering him into pixels.
"Then this card forces you to resurrect a monster from your Graveyard in Attack Mode, so long as its Level is less than that of the monster I destroyed!"
"I'll resurrect my Diamond Guy!" Mira declared. Indeed, the dark purple portal appeared on Mira's field, and the crystal-covered hero floated up from it. [ATK: 1400; LV: 4]
"Continuing my turn," Akihiko resumed, "I'll activate my Card of Sanctity Spell!" The Spell Card picturing the peasants gleefully catching gold coins from the sky materialized. "It forces us to draw until we have six cards in our hands!" He drew five cards while Mira drew two.
"Then I'll activate the effect of Gem-Knight Fusion in my Graveyard!" His Disk's Graveyard slot began to shine a bright green. "If I remove a Gem-Knight in my Graveyard from play, I can return Gem-Knight Fusion to my hand!" Gem-Knight Obsidian automatically slid out of his Graveyard, which he took and tossed into a shadowy portal that formed overhead. As soon as the portal closed up, Gem-Knight Fusion slid out of his Graveyard and was placed in his hand.
"I'll now reactivate Gem-Knight Fusion!" The Spell Card returned to his hand materialized for the second time. "This time, I'll fuse together Gem-Knight Emerald and Gem-Knight Sardonyx!"
A white-green-armored knight appeared before Akihiko, as did a red-orange-armored knight whose main weapon was a whip made of rubies. Shortly after, the two knights merged together in a fusion vortex. The result was another red-orange-armored knight, this one donning a navy blue cape and gloves and a sword both made of glowing orange magma.
"Behold…Gem-Knight Citrine!" The newly-appeared knight struck a pose. [ATK: 2200; LV: 7]
"I'll top things off by activating Re-Fusion!" Another Spell Card materialized. This one pictured artwork similar to the famous 'Polymerization', except on the lower left was a yellow dragon, and on the upper right, a purple demon. "By paying eight hundred Life Points, I can resurrect a Fusion Monster from my Graveyard! Return, Gem-Knight Topaz!" [LP: 1800 – 1000] Another dark purple portal appeared, and the yellow-armored knight with twin thunderbolt swords floated up from it. [ATK: 1800; LV: 6]
"Not him again!" Kero complained, slapping his forehead.
"I could end the duel with Topaz, but I'd rather play things safe." Turning to the red-orange-armored knight, he commanded: "Gem-Knight Citrine, attack Destiny Hero Diamond Guy!" The knight raised his sword high in the air as he charged towards the crystal-covered hero.
"I activate-" Mira began.
"Don't bother! When Gem-Knight Citrine attacks, you're not allowed to activate any cards or effects! Now, go!" The knight swung his sword, creating a razor of magma which struck through the hero's chest, destroying him. The razor also struck at Mira's chest. [LP: 1300 – 0500]
"With another monster destroyed, you lose more Life Points!" Indeed, Mira was struck by another bolt of lightning. [LP: 0500 – 0200]
"I must admit, Mira," Akihiko confessed as his yellow-armored knight raised one of his two swords, "this duel was fun while it lasted. But I'm afraid I must defeat you now. And my Gem-Knight Topaz will help!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Mira shouted as the Trap Card picturing the demonic clad hero with the shattered glass shards reflecting his mask surrounding him lifted up. "I activate the Trap Card, Destiny Mirage! Since you've just destroyed one of my Destiny Heroes, I can resurrect all of my Destiny Heroes that were destroyed this turn! Return, Destiny Heroes Dash Guy and Diamond Guy!" Two dark purple portals appeared before Mira. Floating out of the first was the cybernetic wheeled hero, and from the second the crystal-covered hero. [ATK: 2100; LV: 6] [ATK: 1400; LV: 4]
"Mira, what are you thinking?!" Kero whined, jumping up and down and waving his arms like crazy. "You're still gonna lose after summoning all of those monsters! Especially your Diamond Guy!"
"Kero, get a grip!" Homanu barked, grabbing his male friend's arm. "She still has her other face-down card, and I'm positive it's gonna be useful to her!"
"We'll see!" Akihiko beamed. "Gem-Knight Topaz, attack Destiny Hero Diamond Guy!" Indeed, the knight continued his charging, this time with the crystal-covered hero as his new target.
"My other face-down card is gonna be useful, as a matter of fact!" Mira shouted as the Trap Card picturing the same demonic clad hero from the previous Trap Card's artwork, this time shrouded by the barrier of purple rocks, lifted up. "I activate the Trap Card, D-Shield!
"When you attack one of my Destiny Heroes in Attack Mode, this card changes that monster to Defense Mode! What's more, this card becomes an Equip Card that prevents my monster from being destroyed in battle!" The crystal-covered hero knelt defensively as the same barrier of rocks formed around him. [DEF: 1600] The knight swung his sword at the barrier; unsurprisingly, the barrier wasn't damaged, not even slightly.
The amazed Akihiko was nearly left speechless by his opponent's moves. Nevertheless, he got himself to say: "…I end my turn."
"It's time I ended this!" Mira shouted, drawing. "And I'll do that by activating Dash Guy's ability! Once a turn, I can sacrifice a monster on my field so that he gains one thousand Attack Points this turn! Farewell, Diamond Guy!" The crystal-covered hero transformed into another orb of rainbow energy, which was transferred into the wheeled hero's body. [ATK: 2100 – 3100]
"Okay, Dash Guy! Attack Gem-Knight Topaz with Lightning Strike!" The wheeled hero tore across the floor and, while spinning on his right foot, swung his left foot across the yellow-armored knight's chest, causing an explosion on Akihiko's field. The force of the explosion was so great, it caused him to fall backwards. [LP: 1000 – 0000] Afterwards, a virtual screen displaying Mira's face with 'WIN' written in gold popped open as the same wave of green digital energy flowed around the area, returning it to normal.
"Well, Mira," Akihiko announced, getting himself up with minor grunting, "congratulations. You've won the duel. And I must say—you've certainly honed your dueling skills the last time we've seen each other."
"Hey—you weren't so bad yourself," Mira complimented. "Seriously—you've practically wowed me with how you've summoned so many monsters in one turn!"
"That's what all my opponents say." Clearing his throat, he announced: "As per the rules of the preliminaries, I hereby award you with this Locator Card." He handed a Locator Card to Mira, which she took.
"That gives us five now!" Kero squealed with excitement. "So we need one more to qualify!"
"So it does. Mira, I wish you and your companions a lot of luck on getting to the finals."
"Hey, same goes for you," Mira said. Akihiko nodded as he headed off in a different direction.
"C'mon, guys!" Kero beamed. "Let's go find us a duelist that'll get us the last Locator Card!" Without warning, he shot off like a rocket.
"Man, will Kero ever learn to calm down?!" Homanu groaned as he and Mira chased after him.
Meanwhile, with Akihiko, he kept walking when he was stopped by a man around his age and height, but was of slightly more muscular build. He had blond hair and blue eyes, and was dressed in a brown one-piece riding suit with the same emblem of the sun outlined in white.
"There you are!" the man whispered. "Percival and I were looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?"
"I've happened to come across my fiancée's sister and her friends," Akihiko replied softly. "Then I had a duel with her…and lost."
The man fumed through his nose, but then calmly asked, "How many Locator Cards do we have now?"
"Three. But don't worry; I'm positive that with you and Percival's help, we'll qualify for the finals. And once we do, we'll be sure to get back your friends…and the one I love!"
Elsewhere, Mira and the gang were walking towards a different section of the busy city streets, with Kero constantly turning his head back and forth for someone to duel.
"Aw, come on!" Kero whined. "Why is it that every time we're this close to qualifying, there's not one person available to duel us?! Why can't life always be this easy?! I didn't even duel in this tournament yet, for crying out loud!"
"KERO!" Mira barked. "You really need to understand that patience is a virtue! Now will you please stop acting like a baby?!"
"C'mon, I'm just saying!"
"Well, look who it is!" a familiar taunting female voice spoke. "It's Mira O-shitty and her equally shitty friends!"
The three friends turned, and saw three people they never thought they would come across: Hawk and her appalling accomplices, who were all wearing their Gazers. They were also dressed in the same kind of outfit: A sleeveless midriff top, riding skirt, shoulder-length fingerless gloves, thigh-high stockings and high-heeled riding boots. Each top's heart area had the logo of a platinum predatory bird. The main difference between each outfit was the main colors; the yellow-haired girl's was black, the red-brown haired girl's was indigo, and Hawk's was blood red.
"Hawk?!" Mira gasped. "You're in this tournament, too?!"
"Damn right, we are!" Hawk sniggered. "And just wait until you see how many Locator Cards we have!" Within a single move, she revealed five Locator Cards to her foes.
"You have five Locator Cards, too?!" Homanu gasped.
"So you have five Locator Cards, too, huh? That makes things a lot more fun!" Hawk said, cracking her fingers.
"What do you mean?" Mira asked.
"Isn't it obvious?! You have five Locator Cards, and we have five Locator Cards. That means one of us has to duel each other for the last Locator Card!"
"That's right!" the yellow-haired girl squeaked. "And once we get all six, we're gonna qualify for the finals, and kick all of our opponents' butts!"
"Sparrow, will you please be quiet, at let me do all the talking?!" Hawk scolded the yellow-haired girl.
"If you're gonna duel anyone," Kero declared, stepping forward, "then duel me!"
"Kero, are you crazy?!" Mira scolded.
"I already said that I didn't get my chance to duel throughout the preliminaries. But now my chance is right in front of me!"
"But Kero, this is Hawk we're talking about!" Homanu warned him. "You remember how powerful her deck is, don't you?!"
"I do. But I've done some tweaking to my deck before this whole tournament even started. And I'll show you how I've improved—here, and now!"
"If you're gonna duel anyone, then duel me!" Sparrow declared. "Ever since Hawk lost to Mira, she vowed to duel no one besides her!"
"Thanks for the reminder…" Hawk grumbled.
"Well, if that's the way you put it… Okay, Sparrow, let's duel!" Kero said, quickly constructing his Duel Disk.
"Prepare to hand over your Locator Card!" Sparrow taunted, assembling her own Duel Disk. The result was the same as Hawk's except hers was black with purple Monster Card Zones.
I hope you know what you're doing, Kero, Mira worriedly thought as she and the others pressed a button on their Gazers that caused them to flash for a split second. "Augmented Reality Vision Link established," the female voice announced. The wave of green digital energy flowed around the stadium, and the virtual screens popped out in various places.
Back at KaibaCorp, a different network station employee received the notification about the duel. After typing on his keyboard, he pressed another button to generate the appropriate Field Spell Card.
"Now generating Field Spell for Atlantis City Grand Prix preliminary duel," the female voice announced. The screen displaying the various virtual Field Spells in the dark green background chose one whose artwork pictured an old western town that resembled the famous Satisfaction Town at sunset. "Activating Field Spell, Satisfaction Sundown Showdown."
Back at the duel, the entire dueling area transformed to resemble Satisfaction Town at sunset. As soon as everything was all set, both duelists drew five cards apiece.
"Let's duel!" they both shouted.
KERO: 4000 LP / SPARROW: 4000 LP
"According to this Field Spell," Sparrow announced, reading the Field Spell's lore, "we can only attack with one monster per Battle Phase, and the monster we attack with has to be the one with the highest Attack Points!"
"Fine by me! Now I draw!" Kero declared, drawing his card. Looking back at his hand, he grinned a grin so large, it seemed to stretch across the boundaries of his face. Oh, man; this hand is perfect! It'll give me just what I'll need to win this duel! Sure, I may not be able to attack this turn; but who gives a damn? Just think—I'll be getting the last Locator Card we'll need, and then I'll be the team's hero!
"Okay, Sparrow; you're going down! I activate the Spell Card, Polymerization!" The classic Spell Card picturing the orange dragon and demon creatures merging together in a fusion vortex materialized. "With this card, I fuse together Victory Viper X-X-Zero-Three and Lord British Space Fighter to Fusion Summon my true ace, Alpinia, Victory Space Figher!"
The platinum and gold space jet appeared, as did the silvery white and red triangular one. Both jets fused together in the fusion vortex, and the result was the black and red-orange space jet, which flew overhead Kero. [ATK: 2400; LV: 8]
"Next, I summon Gradius in Attack Mode!" A blue portal appeared, and the regular silvery white and red space jet flew out of it. [ATK: 1200; LV: 4]
"Then I select my Gradius to Special Summon Gradius's Option!" Another blue portal appeared, and the red space capsule flew out of it. "When I do, my Option's Attack and Defense Points will always be the same as Gradius's Attack and Defense Points!" Indeed, the space capsule transformed into a clone of the original space jet. [ATK: 1200; LV: 1]
"I'm not done yet! Next, I activate my Lightwave Tuning Spell!" The Spell Card picturing the spherical green fairy in front of the virtual background materialized. "This card lets me take any Level Four, LIGHT-Attribute monster on my field, and transform it into a Tuner monster! And Gradius's the guy for the job!" The original copy of the space jet was shrouded by a green aura for a few moments.
"I tune my Level Four Gradius into my Level One Gradius's Option!"
The original copy of the space jet split apart into four white stars, each one transforming into a green virtual ring. The rings flew through the space jet's clone, which transformed into a single white star. [1+4=5]
"I Synchro Summon…Shooting Star!"
A blinding flash of white-green light flashed before the duel. Emerging out of the light was a red spaceship with two pronged blades sticking out towards the front. [ATK: 2200; LV: 5]
"Shooting Star's ability now activates! When it's Synchro Summoned, it generates two Formation Option Tokens—one for each unused Monster Card Zone adjacent to it!" Two more blue portals appeared, one on each side of the red ship. Flying out of each portal was a smaller version of the ship. "And like Gradius's Option, my Tokens will always have the same Attack and Defense Points as Shooting Star, along with its Type, Attribute and Level!" [ATK: 2200; LV: 5] [ATK: 2200; LV: 5]
"I've got no other cards in my hand, so I'll end my turn on the spot!"
"Wow; Kero's really going all out on this duel, isn't he?" Homanu commented.
"That he is," Mira replied. "But I'm worried that move may have been a bit too reckless on his part…"
"Alright, partner!" Sparrow said in a mock western accent as she drew her card. "I hope y'all said yer prayers, 'cause I'mma callin' you out!"
"Sparrow, will ya cut out with the fake accents and duel, already?!" Hawk screamed.
"Hey—I'm just having a little fun, m'lady!" That comment only made Hawk groan. "But back to the duel at hand!
"I summon Raidraptor Vanishing Lanius in Attack Mode!" Another blue portal appeared. Flying out of the portal was a purple bird clad in mechanical green armor equipped with gun-like weaponry flew out of it. [ATK: 1300; LV: 4]
"Then I Special Summon another Vanishing Lanius from my hand!" To everyone's surprise, another blue portal appeared, and the same bird flew out of it. [ATK: 1300; LV: 4]
"You Special Summon it?!" Kero gasped.
"That's right, partner! If I Normal or Special Summoned Vanishing Lanius this turn, I can Special Summon a Level Four or lower 'Raidraptor' monster from my hand! And guess what? I have a third copy of Vanishing Lanius! Talk about a triple threat!" Indeed, she slapped another card onto one of her Disk's Monster Card Zones, and a third copy of the bird flew out of yet another blue portal. [ATK: 1300; LV: 4]
"Now I'll overlay all three of my birds!" Each of her birds transformed into an orb of purple light. All three orbs spiraled into the air and into a crimson portal that appeared between both duelists. "With these three monsters, I build the Overlay Network! I Xyz Summon…
"RAIDRAPTOR RISE FALCON!"
Soaring up from the portal was an even larger bird, this one covered in navy blue armor with the same kind of weaponry. Upon its emergence, three orbs of purple light were orbiting around it. [ATK: 0100; RANK: 4; ORU: 3]
"A monster with only one hundred Attack Points?!" Kero laughed. "That thing doesn't scare me one bit!"
"Oh, you should be scared," Sparrow growled through gritted teeth. "Especially once I activate Rise Falcon's special ability! By using one Overlay Unit, it gains Attack Points equal to the combined Attack Points of every one of your monsters that was Special Summoned!"
"WHA?!" Kero cried. Without a moment to lose, he began counting his fingers. "Lemme see…if I have four monsters, and one of them had twenty-four hundred Attack Points, and the rest twenty-two hundred…twenty-two hundred times three is sixty-six hundred, plus twenty-four hundre—
"OH, SHIT!"
Indeed, he had realized the terrible mistake he had made. One of the bird's three orbs was absorbed into the giant bird's mouth. [ORU: 3 – 2] Afterwards, a red aura shrouded each of Kero's monsters, and was transferred into the bird's body. [ATK: 0100 – 9100]
"And if that ain't scary enough, my monster also has the power to attack each and every one of your Special Summoned monsters!" Hearing those words made Kero further cower in fear. "Not that it really matters, 'cause this is still the last roundup!
"Raidraptor Rise Falcon, wipe out Kero's monsters and all of his Life Points! Brave Claw Revolution!" A barrage of missiles fired out of the bird's turrets, striking at each and every one of Kero's ships. The bullets also struck at Kero, flinging him to the ground as he screamed in agony. [LP: 4000 – 0000] A virtual screen displaying Sparrow's face with 'WIN' underneath in gold popped open as the wave of digital energy flowed, returning the area to its original state.
"I'll take that!" the red-brown-haired girl declared, ruthlessly snatching one of Mira's five Locator Cards.
"Thanks for getting us into the finals, losers!" Sparrow taunted as she and the red-brown-haired girl laughed.
"Wait!" Hawk shouted, stopping her two cohorts. To Mira, she warned, "Listen to me, Oshaki, and listen good—you and your friends better make it to the finals."
"You mean you want us to qualify?" the perplexed Mira asked. "I thought you hated us! Especially me!"
"I do. But that doesn't mean I don't want you guys to make it. I still want to get my chance to get revenge against you, after what you've done to me!"
"Why can't you just do it now?"
"I would…but then your pipsqueak of a pal butted in. Besides—we already have six Locator Cards, and we can only duel if we have less than six, but not if we have none at all.
"But you'd still better make it, or you're gonna regret it! C'mon, girls!" She motioned to her goons as they walked off.
"Urgh…" Kero groaned, getting himself up from the ground. "I can't believe she beat me…in one turn!"
"Well, it kinda served you right," Mira scolded. "That's what you get for going in headstrong like that!"
"But can you really blame him?" Homanu said reasonably. "I mean, it's not like he knew his opponent would have a deck like that."
"…I guess you're right…"
"Besides," Kero added, "we still have four Locator Cards, so it's not like we're too far behind… Still, what do we do now?"
"We do exactly like Hawk said we should," Mira vowed, clenching her right fist. "We go on and do whatever it takes to qualify for the finals!"
"But Mira!" Homanu protested. "Aren't you worried that you'd have to duel her in the finals?!"
"A bit. But she wouldn't have wanted us to qualify if she didn't. Besides—we've worked so hard to make it this far in the preliminaries; no way are gonna stop now!" In both agreement and approval, the three friends cheered and raised a clenched fist high in the air.
Meanwhile, back on the chunk of rock with the Roman temple, Jupiter appeared to be kneeling to a large rock. It was a black jagged rock with the symbol of a cross with a squiggle in the lower right—the same rock Mira saw in her dream.
"Be patient, Father Saturn," Jupiter solemnly vowed. "If all goes well, you will have enough energy to emerge into existence!"
"I have just about enough energy, my child," a baritone voice spoke. Without warning, the symbol on the jagged rock began to shine a lustrous white, causing Jupiter to jump up and slowly step back in fear. She immediately fell down backwards when the symbol was shining at its brightest.
Afterwards, the most remarkable action occurred—white ectoplasmic energy began flowing out of the symbol and poured onto the floor. It continued doing so until the figure of a human being was complete. It was a muscular naked human being who appeared to have long unruly hair, an equally long and unruly beard, and a pair of glowing silver eyes.
FEATURED CARD – CHRONICLE 014
Gem-Knight Topaz
EARTH/Thunder – Fusion – Effect/6/1800/1800
"Gem-Knight Tourmaline" + 1 "Gem-Knight" monster
This card can only be Fusion Summoned (from the Extra Deck) with the above Fusion Material Monsters. This card can attack twice during each Battle Phase. When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monster's ATK.
EXCLUSIVE CARDS
Clash in the Castle
Spell/Field
All monsters must attack, if able. When a monster is destroyed by battle, the destroyed monster's controller takes 300 damage.
Image: The inside of the throne room of a gray brick wall castle, with a thunderstorm occurring outside a large window
Origination: Psychid
Suit of Sword – Knight
Spell/Normal
You can only activate 1 "Suit of Sword – Knight" per turn. Select 1 face-up monster you control and toss a coin.
●Heads: The selected monster can attack all monsters your opponent controls once each, and it is unaffected by other cards and effects (including its own effects, if any). These changes last until the end of this turn.
●Tails: Destroy the selected monster and take damage equal to its ATK or DEF on the field, whichever is higher.
Image: A silver-armored knight riding into battle on a white horse
Origination: Psychid
Fossil Hammer
Spell/Normal
Destroy the 1 monster your opponent controls with the highest Level (your choice, if tied). Your opponent selects 1 monster from their Graveyard with a lower Level than the destroyed monster's and Special Summons it in Attack Position.
Image: A giant clenched fist made of solid rock
Origination: Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime – Episode 140 – The First and Probably the Last – Super Fusion is Activated!
Satisfaction Sundown Showdown
Spell/Field
At the start of each Battle Phase, the turn player must select the 1 face-up Attack Position monster they control with the highest Attack (that player's choice, if tied). During that Battle Phase, monsters other than the selected monster cannot declare an attack.
Image: Two cowboys facing each other at a sunset showdown at Satisfaction Town
Origination: Psychid
Shooting Star
DARK/Machine – Synchro – Effect/5/2200/1800
1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner Machine-Type monsters
This monster cannot be Special Summoned except by Synchro Summon. When this card is Synchro Summoned, Special Summon 1 "Formation Option Token" for each unoccupied Monster Card Zone adjacent to this card's column. Its Type, Attribute, Level, ATK and DEF are always the same as this card, but it leaves the field if this card is no longer face-up on the field. If (exactly) 1 card you control would be destroyed, you can Tribute 1 "Formation Option Token" Special Summoned by this effect instead.
Image: A spherical red spaceship with two pronged blades on the front
Origination: Psychid
Raidraptor – Rise Falcon
DARK/Winged Beast – Xyz – Effect/Rank 4/100/2000
3 Level 4 Winged Beast-Type monsters
This card can only attack Special Summoned monsters, but it can attack all Special Summoned monsters your opponent controls once each. Once per turn, you can detach 1 Xyz Material from this card to have it gain ATK equal to the combined ATK of all Special Summoned monsters your opponent currently controls, until the end of this turn.
Image: A giant bird equipped with navy blue armor, in turn equipped with silver turrets
Origination: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V anime – Episode 18 – The Two Shadows of Rebellion
(NOTE: This is a card that actually exists in the OCG/TCG; its anime effect is being applied because it's superior to its OCG/TCG effect.)
Next time, on Yu-Gi-Oh! EXELIXI…
Mira and her friends come across a ghastly blast from Homanu's past!
"Karamar Isonek…I almost did wonder when we'd meet again," Homanu said bitterly to the boy who just spoke. "How long has it been, three years?"
"Three years, at least," Karamar replied. He angrily added: "Three years too long, actually, since you've flaked on us, you soft-hearted scumbag!"
And Karamar's looking for revenge against his former friend!
"NO! Ever since Homanu ditched our gang—and especially me—I've sworn that one day I'd get my revenge. And that day is now!" To Homanu, he declared: "Homanu, I challenge you to duel!"
But Homanu doesn't plan on holding back in the duel!
"I summon the monster I've just added with 'Tuning'; though to you, the answer might be obvious. Come on out, Nitro Synchron!" Another blue portal appeared, and the cartoon nitrous oxide tank flew out of it. [ATK: 0300; LV: 2]
"Then I Special Summon Nitro Speeder in Attack Mode!" A third blue portal appeared. This time, a warrior clad in cybernetic red and black armor, with wheels installed in the soles of its feet, leapt out of it. [ATK: 2200; LV: 5] "Since I've activated at least two Spell Cards in separate Chains this turn, I can Special Summon this guy from my hand!
"With that said and done, I tune my Level Two Nitro Synchron into my Level Five Nitro Speeder!"
The cartoon nitrous oxide tank split apart into two white stars, each one transforming into a green virtual ring. The rings flew through the body of the red-and-black-armored wheeled warrior, who transformed into five white stars. [5+2=7]
"I Synchro Summon…NITRO WARRIOR!"
A burst of white-green light flashed before the duel. Emerging out of the light was Homanu's ace green-skinned alien warrior. [ATK: 2800; LV: 7]
But then again, neither does Karamar!
"But I can do this!" he continued as he drew his card. "I sacrifice all the monsters on my field to summon my ultimate weapon: LEGENDARY MAJU GARZETT!"
The troll and the lion-man creature each transformed into a rainbow-colored orb, which then merged into a single orb. Emerging out of the orb was a winged demon with yellow eyes, purple muscles, a magenta skeleton and lavender fur. The demon let out an ear piercing cry upon its emergence. [ATK: 4500; LV: 8]
Will Homanu be able to defeat the power-hungry Karamar? Or will he and his friends be even farther away from qualifying for the finals?
Stay tuned for the next Chronicle: "Memory of an Adversary"!