Chapter 28: Shay's Rebellion

The next evening, Shay was in the locker room underneath the stadium, looking over his deck for his next duel.

"Declan wants me to scope out prospects for the Lancers. These duelists had better not disappoint. We'll need the best we can get to take on Duel Academy."

Shay Obsidian to Court 4, please. Shay Obsidian to Court 4.

"Showtime."

With that he headed to the elevators, prepared for battle.

A few minutes later, he stood at the duel court, waiting for his opponent. He didn't have to wait long, for soon a teenage duelist wearing golden knight armor appeared.

"Nice costume. Don't you know Halloween isn't for another 3 months?"

"Funny. As a member of the Knights of Duel Disks, I must always be ready for battle. As such, I always wear my armor in case of a strong opponent."

"Whatever. Just get ready to duel."

Nico Smiley approached the commenters booth, clearing his throat before beginning his introductions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, It has been a very intense 3 days. Today will mark the end of the first round for all divisions. So, let's hear it for the last competitors in the first round of the Junior Youth Division. In the red corner we have Shay Obsidian from Mist Valley Duel School. In the green corner, we have Chalac Reynolds of the Knights of Duel Disks. Let's kick this duel off with the field spell Neo Heartland City!"

"What?"

To Shay's amazement the field changed to a futuristic city, with tall buildings spanning as far as the eye could see. Hearts seemed to be a prevalent theme, with a large heart shaped tower in the center.

(In the VIP booth)

Declan and Claude glanced down at the duel field.

"You have taken care of all matters relating to Shay's background, correct?"

"Yes, Mr. President. But is it really a wise choice to use his homeland as the action field?"

"I want Shay to be at his top performance, and this seemed to be the best method to get him in the right mindset. Consider it my present to him."

(Back on the duel court)

"Hmm, an interesting choice of location for our battle, but it shall suffice. Let's begin, shall we? Duelists locked in battle…"

Chalac extended his arm to Shay, expecting him to say the next line. Shay, however, just looked at him in confusion.

"AHEM. Duelists locked in battle…"

"What on Earth are you doing?"

"The Action Duel Oath. You know, the one we do at the beginning of every Action Duel?"

"That's ridiculous. Let's just start."

"Well, I don't know if…"

"JUST GO ALREADY!"

"Alright, fine."

DUEL!

Shay: 4000

Chalac: 4000

"I'll begin. First, I normal summon Raidraptor Vanishing Lanius. And when he's normal or special summoned, I can special summon another Raidraptor, so I'll summon another Vanishing Lanius. And if I control a Raidraptor other than itself, I can special summon Raidraptor Fuzzy Lanius (500/1500) from my hand."

Shay's signature armored main deck birds flew onto the field, as well as a smaller, more streamlined bird descended as well.

"I overlay my three level 4 monsters to Xyz summon Raidraptor Rise Falcon in defense mode!"

Shay's signature monster appeared with a screech.

"I lay one card face down and end my turn."

"Hmph, hardly impressive. I draw! Since you have more monsters than I do, I can normal summon Arisen Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) tributing. Next, I activate the spell card known as Ancient Rules, allowing me to special summon Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) in attack mode."

Chalac's two monsters galloped onto the field. One was a knight wearing blue and gold armor with two lances in his hands. The other looked similar, but wore darker armor.

"You're not the only one who can Xyz summon. With these two monsters I build the overlay network to Xyz Summon! Rise forth, Rank 7, Gaia Knight The Thunder Charger (2600/2100)!"

The same knight appeared, this time wearing red armor and riding a dragon clad in the same outfit.

"And when my Gaia Knight attacks a defense position monster, you still take damage! Take him out, Gaia Knight!"

The Dragon rider rode at the armored falcon, lances at the ready, but Shay just scoffed.

"Pathetic. By banishing Raidraptor Booster Strix from my hand, I can destroy your monster."

"What?"

A tiny bird with jet like wings appeared before taking off, charring the dragon rider to ash. Chalac just groaned.

"I set two cards face down and end my turn."

"Hmph. I draw! To begin, I activate Rank Up Magic Raid Force! With this, I can give my Rise Falcon an upgrade, allowing me to Xyz summon Raidraptor Blaze Falcon using him and his overlay units as materials!"

"Rank Up Magic? What sorcery is this?"

"The kind that will lead to your defeat. Come forth, Raidraptor Blaze Falcon!"

The overlay network appeared, sucking in Rise Falcon before spitting out Blaze Falcon.

"I attack you directly!"

"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Call of the Haunted, letting me bring back Gaia The Fierce Knight from the graveyard."

"It makes no difference. My Blaze Falcon can attack you directly as long as it has at least one overlay unit."

"What?"

Blaze Falcon released several small bombs, hitting Chalac and sending him to the ground.

Chalac: 3000

"And when my Blaze Falcon deals you damage, I can destroy one monster you control, so say goodbye to your knight!"

Several small lasers were released from the falcon's wings, blasting at Gaia the Fierce Knight and destroying it.

"I end my turn."

Chalac grinded his teeth in frustration.

"I won't fall here. My turn, I draw! I activate the spell card known as Card of Sanctity, allowing us to draw until we hold six cards. Perfect. To begin, I activate the spell card Polymerization, sending Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight and Curse of Dragon from my hand to fusion summon Sky Galloping Gaia the Dragon Champion (2600/2100)!"

Descending from the fusion vortex was Gaia decked out in golden armor riding a streamlined red dragon.

"Next, I normal summon Marauding Captain (1200/400), and using his effect I special summon Tune Warrior from my hand."

A blonde warrior in armor wielding dual swords appeared on the field, as well as a warrior whose armor appeared to be made out of scrap metal.

"Now I tune my level 3 Marauding Captain with my level 3 Tune Warrior to Synchro summon. Descend, Gaia Knight The Force of Earth (2600/800) in attack mode!"

A mechanical version of Gaia galloped out of the synchro portal. Another unusual thing about it was that the top part of the knight was attached to the horse.

"Finally, I play Monster Reborn, allowing me to special summon Gaia Knight The Thunder Charger from my graveyard.

With a roar, Chalac's Xyz monster descended, completing the extra deck trio.

"Incredible! Chalac has managed to summon every type of card belonging to the extra deck in a single turn!"

"That's right, and they're about to help me win this duel."

"We'll see about that."

With that, Shay hopped onto the back of Blaze Falcon, which then took off.

"I've got to find some action cards. Otherwise, my goose is cooked."

"After him, my servants!"

With that, Chalac's trio of knights took to the skies, with Thunder Charger giving Force of Earth a lift.

Shay scoured the area for action cards, scanning from the tops of buildings to the lowest area he could find, but to no avail.

"Sky Galloping Gaia, take out his falcon with burning sky strike!"

The fusion dragon charged up flames in its mouth before unleashing them on Shay. Shay, seeing no other option, activated his trap card.

"I activate Half Unbreak! Now my monster isn't destroyed this turn and any battle damage I take is halved."

The flames hit Shay and his Falcon, burning them but keeping them in the duel.

Shay: 3200

"You may survive this turn, but I can still deal some serious damage. Gaia Knight Force of The Earth, you're next."

Thunder Charger got above Shay before dropping Force of The Earth, who sideswiped the two, sending them spiraling out of control as it landed on a nearby rooftop.

Shay: 2400

"And last but not least, Thunder Charger strike those two out of the sky!"

The Xyz dragon built up lightning in its mouth before releasing it, hitting Blaze Falcon and sending it tumbling to the ground, Shay barely having enough time to brace for impact.

Shay: 1600

"I end my turn there. Face it, Shay, you don't stand a chance against my mighty knights."

Shay just smirked.

"That's where you're wrong, but why tell you that when I can show you? I draw! And to start, I activate the spell card Rank Up Magic Skip Force, allowing me to use Blaze Falcon to Xyz summon a Raidraptor Xyz monster that is 2 ranks higher."

"What? Two ranks higher?"

"Using the Rank 5 Raidraptor Blaze Falcon, I rebuild the overlay network and Xyz Summon! Descend, Rank 7 Raidraptor Arsenal Falcon (2500/2000)!"

A falcon dressed in all black armor with weapons systems all along it descended onto the duel field.

"An impressive attempt, but all of my monsters are still stronger."

"Then it's a good thing that I have the equip spell Raidraptor Iron Heart. This gives my Arsenal Falcon 500 attack points. And one last thing. The number of times Arsenal Falcon can attack is based on how many overlay units it has. Care to do the math."

Chalac paused for a moment, remembering each of Shay's plays.

"Hmm, his Rise Falcon had 3 overlay units, which he then overlaid to summon Blaze Falcon, giving it 4 overlay units. After that last play, his Arsenal Falcon has…5 overlay units! But that means he can attack 5 times!"

"Correct, but he only needs 4 to finish you off. Arsenal Falcon, tear his monsters to shreds, starting with Thunder Charger!"

The jet-black falcon shot off, shooting its weaponry at the Xyz Knight, blowing it to bits.

Chalac: 2600

"Now attack his Force of Earth."

The falcon then turned to the synchro knight, unleashing a rain of missiles on the building it had landed on, blowing it up and sending the synchro monster falling to its death.

Chalac: 2200

"Next up, his Dragon Champion."

The falcon set its guns on the Dragon Champion, releasing a hail of bullets that overwhelmed it and forced it to the ground.

Chalac: 1800

"And for the grand finale, finish him off."

Chalac barely had enough time to look up as the massive falcon released all of its bullets, missiles, and assorted weapons on him, defeating him in a giant explosion

Chalac: 0000

Shay wins the duel

The field around the two disappeared and Chalac grunted as he pulled himself off the floor. Shay simply walked away. He had bigger concerns.

"And Shay wins the duel, making him the final duelist in the Junior Youth Division to make it to round 2! Congratulations to all participants who made it this far. Tomorrow will be a day off, but after that comes the ferocious round 2! Participants plug your ID cards into your duel disks to find out who you'll be dueling!"

Yuya and his friends did so, their results popping up instantly.

"I dueling someone named Aura Sentia."

"Gong's got Kit Blade. Looks like Gong and Kit are going to have a rematch."

"Same with me. I'm dueling Sylvio."

"I duel first thing Thursday."

"What about you, Frederick?"

Frederick looked up, slightly scared.

"I'm dueling Riley."

Everyone gasped.

"No way! That little punk who beat me?"

"He's your opponent?"

"Jaa, and I'm scared. He was good. I don't know if I stand a chance."

Yuya gave a kind smile and stooped down to Frederick, making eye contact with him.

"Well, you'll just have to be better. I believe in you, Frederick."

Frederick smiled.

"Thanks, Yuya, and you're right. I can do this. I must believe in myself."

With that the group departed.

(In the VIP booth)

Declan was exiting the VIP room when Shay walked up to him

"Congratulations on your win."

"Yeah, yeah. What was the big idea with the field spell?"

"I merely thought it might help you get in the fighting spirit. Excuse me for trying to look out for my operative."

"Well, you wasted it. That guy is all talk and no game. He wouldn't last a second against Duel Academy."

"I see. Nonetheless, there were several duelists in the Junior Youth Division who I believe may become valuable assets. We shall have to see how things play out."

With that the two went their separate ways, each making preparations for round 2.