Chapter 2: Rising Dawn
Lennox could feel that he was sweating bullets at the sight of this new monster. The giant goo swordsman gave off a very evil aura that was extremely unsettling. It didn't help with the fact that his opponent had begun to have a complete freakout.
Current Status of Duel
Lennox: 2400
Hand: 1
VS
Unknown: 3800
Hand: 1
Lennox Field:
Constellar Algiedi: Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/2100 ATK (Originally 1600)/1400 DEF
Constellar Acubens: Level 4/LIGHT/Machine/1300 ATK (Originally 800)/2000 DEF
One set spell or trap
'Unknown' Field:
DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF/ Overlay Units: 2
No active or set spell or traps
"Numbers…collect" 'Unknown' spoke.
"What does it mean by Numbers?" Lennox wondered. Ever since that strange feeling shot through his body, the slime had seemed to have had a mental breakdown. Now it was actually showing emotion unlike before, which made it all the more unnerving.
"Attack Acubens!" The giant slime monster raised its sword high in the air and gave an evil laugh before it came crashing down on Acubens. Acubens only had time to look up in horror before the sword crushed him. Lennox cursed silently as he was hit by the damage.
Lennox: 2400 – 1000 = 1400
"Damn it! I can't take another hit like that!" He thought.
"DB – Hunter's effect activates!" 'Unknown's' voice said, snapping Lennox out of his thoughts.
"Use one overlay unit! Monster makes an additional attack!"
"What?!" Cried Lennox as DB – Hunter absorbed one of its overlay units into its sword, laughing in the process.
DB – Hunter Overlay Unit: 1
"Great! This thing can attack me again!" Lennox yelled frustrated in his own mind.
He then realised something terrible.
"That thing still has one overlay unit left…" He thought grimly. His face then turned into a look of horror. "If it manages to destroy Algiedi…then I'm done for!" He looked at the card in his hand for a desperate solution, as losing against this thing while it was in this sort of state was probably not the best idea. Unfortunately, it was useless at this point in time.
"Damn! I can't do anything to defend myself! This card is useless and the only thing I have on my field is my…" Lennox's thoughts trailed off as he realised what he could do.
"Attack Algiedi!" 'Unknown' ordered. DB – Hunter once again raised its huge sword. Algiedi looked up and began to fear for her life.
"Wait! I never took that card out! If I can get it then I might still have a chance!" Lennox thought, remembering an old card that he had gotten from Yuma and had forgotten to remove it from his deck when rebuilding it. The sword then came down upon Algiedi who braced herself. "All or nothing now! I play Hope For Escape!" Lennox bellowed. The sword froze in mid-air, just inches away from Algiedi's face. Algiedi opened one eye to see that she was unharmed and let out a huge sigh of relief. 'Unknown tilted its head in confusion.
"Explain" it ordered.
"Simple" Lennox started. "I pay 1000 points and then draw cards equal to the difference between us for every 1000 points."
Lennox grunted as lighting crackled across his body.
Lennox: 1400 – 1000 = 400
"Now since the difference is just over 3000 points, I draw three cards" Lennox explained as he placed his hand on top of his deck. If the heart of the cards was real, now would be the time for it to show.
"DRAW!" He screamed, eyes closed, and begging for any chance to turn this around. Algiedi gazed at her master with a worried look on her face that was concealed by her mask. Lennox opened his eyes and looked at the new cards.
"That does not matter. Attack Algiedi!" 'Unknown' ordered once again. DB – Hunter then brought its sword down on Algiedi with the intent to kill.
"I activate the effect of Eclipse Shield in my hand! Now by sending it to the grave, your monster is switched to defence mode!"
Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF
Just before DB – Hunter could touch Algiedi, a blue shield that looked eerily similar to Millennium Shield appeared. The shield had the image of a crescent moon and knocked back the sword. The barrier then let off a blinding light which forced DB – Hunter to kneel down into a defensive stance. 'Unknown' blinked once in surprise before resuming.
"Turn end," it said.
Unknown: 3800
Hand: 1
"Good. With this, I can last a bit longer" Lennox though as he went to begin his turn.
"This kid ain't half bad. Interesting" said the same figure from behind the corner.
"My turn! Draw!" Announced Lennox.
TURN: 5
Lennox: 400
Hand: 4
Lennox scanned his hand and saw two cards in particular. "Now my comeback begins!" He declared. "I summon Constellar Kaus!" Lennox's signature white armoured centaur warrior appeared. He gave a respectful nod at Algiedi which was returned before turning towards his new opponent.
Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF
"I'll then equip him with Fairy Meteor Crush! Now Kaus inflicts piercing damage! Kaus attack!" Kaus wasted no time in putting its bow to good use. The blue light began to cluster together as the string was pulled back. The arrow was then formed and quickly released, piercing straight through DB – Hunter who let out a pained cry, and into 'Unknown'.
Unknown: 3800 – 300 = 3500
"Now Algiedi! Follow up with a direct attack!" Algiedi charged forward and slammed its staff into 'Unknown', disfiguring its shape a bit. 'Unknown' quickly recovered and reformed back into its humanoid shape.
Unknown: 3500 – 2100 = 1400
"Just…A little…more" Lennox panted. He had to admit, this duel was really pushing him towards the edge. He had never fought so hard before. In fact, why was he? This was supposed to be a friendly duel (Even though he was facing off against some slime monster). So why did he feel the need to win at all costs. "I end my turn" he declared. "I just need one more turn. Just one more, and then it will all be over" he thought hopefully.
"Activate DB – Hunter's effect! Revive during end phase!" 'Unknown' announced.
"You're kidding?!" Exclaimed Lennox. 'Unknown' was not however as the monster in question arose out of the graveyard portal. As it did, it gave a smug, troll face grin towards Lennox who just stared in disbelief. Lennox fell to his knees in defeat. "I don't believe it," he said in a hopeless voice. His two monsters looked back in worry. "I can't beat it. I've tried everything I can. It's just too good." Lennox looked at the ground as his hands clenched into fists and his cards scattered across the ground. He began to sob softly. "I'm sorry mum. I can't do it. No matter how hard I try...I can't keep up with you. I'm useless without your help."
Lennox: 400
Hand: 2
"Turn. Draw" 'Unknown began, not showing a single bit of sympathy for its opponent.
TURN: 6
Unknown: 1400
Hand: 2
"Activate Overlay Regen. Card becomes overlay unit for monster." The card in question augmented into life, immediately turning into a purple overlay unit that began to orbit around DB – Hunter.
DB – Hunter Overlay Units: 1
Lennox was still on his knees on the floor, not even caring about his opponent's plays. "Attack Kaus!" 'Unknown ordered its monster. The giant sword was lifted up high in the air. DB – Hunter laughed as the sword was brought down on Kaus.
"What does it matter" Lennox muttered to himself. "I could defend myself with Eclipse Shield, but there's no point. That thing would just counter me again."
"No! you can't give up!"
Lennox looked up towards the source of the voice to see no one there. Something then snapped inside him. The sword slammed into Kaus, sending out a large shockwave as the monster perished. "I activate Eclipse Shield's other effect!" Cried out, Lennox. "By banishing it, I take zero damage this turn!" Before the shockwave could hit him, Eclipse Shield materialised in front of Lennox and this time it had a picture of a sun on it. The shield gave off another ray of blinding light as it protected its master.
"DB – Hunter's effect activates! Use one overlay unit! Monster makes additional attack!" DB – Hunter absorbed its overlay unit into the sword as it prepared to strike again.
DB – Hunter Overlay Unit: 0
"Due to Eclipse Shield's effect, I take no damage!" Lennox protested.
"But your monster is still destroyed" 'Unknown' said. The sword came down on Algiedi who gave a fearful look before being destroyed. Eclipse shield once again formed around Lennox, shielding him from any damage. "Turn end" finished 'Unknown'.
Unknown: 1400
Hand: 1
Lennox placed his hand on top of his deck. Could feel it, a slimmer of hope. After hearing that voice, he felt different. He now felt there was still a chance. The voice lifted his spirits for some reason.
"My turn! Draw!"
Turn: 7
Lennox: 400
Hand: 3
This feeling of hope soon turned to despair once Lennox saw the card he drew. "Consterllar Sombre? It really is over" he thought defeated. "I can't win, Ging was wrong. I never stood a chance. Mum, I'm sorry for being so useless" Lennox said as he fell to his knees and began to cry. He could help it. It was all the feelings of regret and sorrow that had been bottled up over time. Lennox desperately missed his mum and was now crying for her. "Mum…I…miss you. Please…help me" he said in between sobs.
"Now, is this what I taught you? I thought you had learned better from me" a voice said. Lennox looked up. He wasn't in the mall anymore. His duel disk and D-Gazer were gone too. Instead, he was on his knees in a white void.
"I remember when you used to never give up when you were little, how I miss those times" the voice continued. Lennox turned around to see a woman standing above him. She had light green hair that was as long as it could be, and soft blue eyes that sparkled brilliantly. She wore the same white top which went down past her waist she always wore. Around her waist was a black belt that made it look like the top was separated into a T-shirt and white skirt. Peeking out from underneath her top were her signature black Indian shorts.
"M-Mum?" Lennox gasped.
"Hello sweetheart," she said with a smile. Lennox leapt up and wrapped his hands around her.
"Mum! I missed you so much! How? What?" Lennox cried, unable to speak out of sheer joy.
"I missed you too sweetheart, but I can't stay long," she said.
"Wha-?" Lennox began but was soon cut off as his mum and ended the hug and held out her hand. Floating just above her palm was a glowing white card.
"Take this Lennox," she said. "He will protect you, but you must also protect him too."
"He will…protect me?" Lennox said confused. "Wait, who is 'he'?"
His mother let out a small chuckled.
"You will soon see. Now hurry!" Lennox grabbed the card as soon was blinded by a bright white light. "Good luck, my son," his mother said as he faded away.
"Wait! Mum!" Lennox called out and reached for her but to no avail.
Lennox's eyes snapped open and he soon saw that he was on the ground and back at the duel.
"What the heck?" He said confused before a light erupted from his extra deck. Lennox opened his extra deck and felt something in there. He took it out and saw that it was a card. "This is…" he began and soon nodded. "Thanks, mum, I now know what to do."
"Hurry…make move…or…termination" 'Unknown said impatiently. Lennox smiled.
"Don't worry, I got ya" he said. The slime tilted its head in confusion. "I summon Constellar Sombre!" Stars began to cluster together as the new monster was summoned. It was a feminine monster that wore a white and gold armour with a jewel in the centre of its chest. Attached to its back was a pair of wings that had the image of stars on it and yellow lines that went across them. Sombre gave a small giggle as it descended next to Lennox.
Constellar Sombre: Level 4/LIGHT/Fairy/1550 ATK/1600 DEF
"I activate her effect! Now by banishing a Constellar from my graveyard, I get to add another one to my hand!" Explained Lennox as the graveyard portal opened up. "I banish Acubens to add back Kaus!" Acubens appeared in the portal briefly before vanishing into gold particles. A gold light, which was Kaus, shot out the portal and into Lennox's hand. "Now Sombre's effect lets me normal summon again! So I summon back Kaus!" The white armoured centaur warrior reappeared on the battlefield, its bow ready to pierce the heart of Lennox's enemy.
Constellar Kaus: Level 4/LIGHT/Beast-Warrior/1800 ATK/700 DEF
"Now for Kaus' effect! I can increase or decrease the level of a Constellar by one!" Kaus raised its bow and aimed up at the roof. "I'll increase Kaus' level by one!" Kaus let loose an arrow, which sailed up in the air before turning into gold streams of light. The light rained down on Kaus and increased his level.
Kaus Level: 4 – 5
"And guess what?" Lennox said, now full of confidence. "I can use this effect twice per turn! So I'll use the second one on Sombre!" Kaus fired up another arrow which rained gold light on Sombre this time.
Sombre Level: 4 – 5
Lennox looked at the card he held in his hand. "I'm ready mum! I overlay my level 5 Constellar Sombre and Kaus!" Lennox yelled. Both monsters turned yellow before shooting up in the air as streams of yellow energy. A golden galactic portal opened up at Lennox's feet. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" The two monsters swirled into the portal and a burst of golden light shortly followed.
"Xyz summon! Descend! Rank 5! Number 89: Dawn Sword!"
Then number 89 appeared and flashed dark pink. Out of the portal then emerged a giant sword. It had a long silver blade that grew wider as it went down, then forming a diamond at the tip. The handle and hand guard were sapphire blue in colour and had emerald diamond gems on the ends of them. Extending out of each side of the handguard were long red sashes with a yellow star on each side of them, and five tussles on each end. Completing it was the number 89 in dark pink on the right handguard.
Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2
"Numbers!" 'Unknown' exclaimed. Lennox stared at the monster in confusion.
"I don't understand. That's not what it looks like on the card" he said. The sword then began to do something which shocked everybody. It began to transform and change shape. The blade of the sword then split in two and turned 90 degrees so that the sharp part faced forward and the split part faced back, making it look like the sword now had legs. The two parts of the handguard now extended out, increasing the size of the gems whilst the handle opened up and split down into a 'V' shape at the back. This revealed a masked head with emerald eyes. The split blade now looked like actual legs while the handguard now resembled shoulders before finally settling into place. Finally, the tussles on the ends of each sash clenched into fists, showing that they were arms.
"Woah" Lennox gasped at the monster. It was even more impressive to see it in real life. The monster then began to do something strange. It began to stretch its arms and legs, all while letting out a satisfying moan.
"Ah! Much better" Dawn Sword spoke with a male voice. "It feels so good to finally be free of that seal." Dawn Sword then looked up in the air and out at the glass roof. "I sense Utopia is nearby, and someone else too. Heh, it's just like him to find trouble before I do." While this was happening, Lennox stared at Dawn Sword with disbelief.
"Did…my monster just talk?" He thought to himself. He then shook his head. "Bah! Forget it! I've got a duel to win!" Lennox then raised his arm. "I activate Dawn Swords effect!" He yelled.
"Finally! some action!" Dawn Sword thought as he prepared to absorb one of the yellow overlay units orbiting him.
"I use one overlay unit to negate the effects of your DB – Hunter!" Lennox explained. Dawn Sword's legs combined back into a sword and it slashed apart one overlay unit.
Dawn Sword Overlay Units: 1
The light from the overlay unit combined with the sword, and it glowed a bright yellow. "Oh! And there's one other thing I forgot to mention, your monster also loses 1000 attack! Purge Slash!" Dawn Sword slashed the air which sent a yellow energy wave flying towards DB – Hunter. The monster cried out in pain as the colour seemed to drain away from its body.
DB – Hunter ATK: 2300 – 1000 = 1300
If 'Unknown' could show facial expressions, then its face would have been a look of shock. It had lost to of all things, a puny human. It had failed its mission and now had to pay the price.
"Now Dawn Sword! Attack DB – Hunter! Rising Dawn!" Dawn Sword flipped his body upside down as the sword began to glow. A light like the rising sun emanated from Dawn Sword's blade before he slashed at the goo monster, creating a clean slice straight down its body.
"Nice try, but next time bring someone tougher!" Dawn Sword boasted. DB – Hunter then disappeared in an almighty explosion of blinding light. The resulting force and light from the explosion hit 'Unknown' and it dissolved into nothingness.
'Unknown': 1400 – 1400 = 0
'Unknown': LOSE
Lennox panted heavily as a screenshot with his face and the word 'WIN' appeared. He gave one look at Dawn Sword, who looked back at him before fading away.
"Hm?" Lennox saw that there was something on the ground where the slime once was. He walked over to see that DB – Hunter was lying on the floor, the slime nowhere to be seen. Lennox reached down and went to pick up DB – Hunter before it turned into a red goo and oozed away quickly.
"Woah!" Lennox cried as he recoiled from the sudden movement of the slime.
"This day just keeps getting weirder and weirder," he said to himself. He then looked at Number 89: Dawn Sword. "I wonder what it wanted with this? It kept mentioning Numbers in the duel."
"Duel Blood."
"Ah!" Lennox cried surprised at the voice, and jumped around, ready for a fight. His eyes met with a man that Lennox guessed to be 18 or older, with white hair that flared out at the sides and spiked down at the ends, back, and across the forehead. He had black strands of hair that swiped across the sides and atop his head in the shape of lightning bolts. He had piercing red eyes that gazed into one's own soul, and wore a jet-black twin tailed jacket with a pink heart badge on his left chest, a blue shirt underneath with a green tie, black slacks and pointed black shoes that were as dark as the night.
"You scared me" breathed Lennox. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough" he answered simply. His hardened gaze soon turned into a friendly smile. "I didn't think you'd have what it takes to defeat the Duel Blood."
"Duel Blood?" Lennox echoed. "Is that what that thing was called?"
"Yes," he confirmed. "My name is Shino Cubaki, I've been studying the Duel Blood as well as the Number cards."
"You know about these?" Lennox asked, holding up Dawn Sword.
"Yes. Initially, begin blank before contact, Numbers take the form of whatever their host desires. Depending on the desire, Numbers can be used for good and evil" Shino explained. Lennox stared at Dawn Sword with curiosity. "Another thing to note is that the Numbers cannot change after being formed" Shino added.
"Desires huh? I wonder what my desire is then?" Lennox said to himself.
"That's the thing" Shino suddenly answered. Lennox looked up at him confused.
"Numbers appear to feed off negative human emotions. You, however, seem unaffected."
"Wait, why are you telling me all this? And unaffected by what exactly?" Lennox asked. Shino sighed.
"I just told you, Numbers take the form of what their host desires the most and feed off negative human emotions. Whatever you were desiring in the duel fed off your emotions and became the Number you wield now."
"Ok? So why are you telling me all this?" Lennox asked again. Shino sighed once again.
"Because…I need your help" he said hesitating.
"You need my help?" Lennox asked. Shino now let out a small groan.
"Geez, you ask a lot of questions. But yes, I need your help." He turned around and looked at his hand. "You seem like a very capable duelist, so I want you to collect the Numbers for me, and stop them from falling into the wrong hands." He turned back to Lennox. "Your Number doesn't seem to be possessing you, so you must be unaffected by the negative influence. This will allow you to collect Numbers without worry."
"Ok? But why can't you collect them?" Lennox asked.
"I'm not a strong enough duelist. Besides, the Numbers would just feed off my emotions as I have nothing protecting me from their influence" Shino answered.
"Alright then. So, what do I gotta do?" Lennox asked.
"It's simple" Shino began. "Just defeat a Number holder and retrieve their Numbers." Lennox looked back at Dawn Sword. "Collect as many as possible, and defeat the Duel Blood. That is all I can tell you thus far."
"Wait, just who exactly are you?" Lennox said while looking up, but Shino was nowhere to be seen. "Great" he groaned. "This is so cliché."
As the sun was setting in a beautiful display of crimson and orange, Lennox slowly walked home through a park with his shopping. As he walked, his mind began to wonder.
"Numbers. Duel Blood. What does this all mean?" Lennox said to himself. Shino's earlier words played on his mind. "Defeat a Number holder and take the Number. Seems easy enough" Lennox continued. He soon reached a railing which gave him a view of the city in the sunset. He set down his shopping and leant on the railing, thinking about the day's events. He then fished through his pocket to pull out Number 89: Dawn Sword. "Mum…you gave me this card, didn't you? Do you want me to collect the Numbers?" He looked at the orange sun and took in a deep breath. "Ok then! It's settled. I'll collect the Numbers and fight the Duel Blood!" He said confidently, raising his fist. Lennox then turned to leave, not noticing a certain black and red spiky haired duelist walking on a lower pathway below.
"Oh hey! It's Lennox!" Yuma said as he noticed Lennox leaving on the upper pathway.
"Who is this 'Lennox' you speak of? Is he another friend? One that can help me regain my memories?" A strange blue being asked the boy. The being had green markings and blue gems across his body, blue hair that curled up into a Mohawk with pointed ears that were pierced with silver dangling earrings, and heterochromatic eyes with the left being luminous gold and the right being clear white.
"Grr! I told you to shut up and go away already!" Yuma yelled at the strange blue being. The being, however, ignored Yuma and stared at where Lennox had just been moments ago. Yuma was a bit surprised. Throughout the whole day when talking to this stranger, they had always replied to Yuma's angry outbursts and threats with smartassed replies and comments. Now they seemed to be quiet which as a little bit concerning, not that Yuma cared anyway.
"Hey…Astral? You ok?" Yuma finally said.
"Hmm?" 'Astral' said and turned towards Yuma. "Yes, your friend is just interesting. I can sense something in him. Perhaps a Number?"
"Lennox? A Number?" Yuma asked and looked up to where Astral had been staring. "Well, in that case, let's go duel him!" Yuma exclaimed and took off running.
"Wait" Astral began, but it was too late. Yuma had already sped down the pathway. Astral sighed. "Observation Number 3: Brash and impatient humans are the most difficult to reason with."
Cards made by other authors
OPFan37
Number 89: Dawn Sword: Rank 5/LIGHT/Warrior/Xyz/2700 ATK/1800 DEF/Overlay Units: 2
2 level 5 monsters
Effect: Once per turn you can detach one overlay unit from this card and target one monster your opponent controls; while you control this face-up card, its effects are negated and it loses 1000 attack points.
Author made cards
DB – Hunter: Rank 4/DARK/Aqua/Xyz/2300 ATK/1500 DEF
2 level 4 monsters
Effect: After this card destroyed a monster by battle this turn and sent it to the graveyard, you can detach one overlay unit from this card; this card can make an additional attack in a row. During the end phase, if this card was destroyed by battle this turn, you can special summon this card from your graveyard. You can only use this effect of 'DB – Hunter' once per turn.
Eclipse Shield: Level 4/DARK/Fairy/0 ATK/2000 DEF
Effect: when an opponent's monster declares an attack, you can send this card from your hand to the graveyard, switch all face-up attack position monsters your opponent controls to defence mode. Once per turn during the battle phase, except the turn this card was sent to the graveyard, you can banish this card from your graveyard, all battle damage you would take this turn becomes 0.
Ugh! Finally, I got this done. I would have finished this chapter sooner but a few things got in the way that I had to take care of. But now this story is officially underway and I can't wait to continue this. If you guys enjoyed this chapter then leave a review why and I'll see you in the next update.
Bye!