【03 - Releasing the Fire Phoenix: Supernova Mars Disaster!】


The six travelers paid for accommodation in a town a few stops over. It was on a busy street with flashing neon lights, a vacancy sign. A two-and-a-half-star hotel with a balcony and separate rooms facing the road. Red painted doors with eyeholes beside spiky potted plants. It was late, the other disciples were so droopy-eyed it made Heidi think they must have compulsory bedtimes. Narciel was less tired but still wiping his lined face. He slept on a couch while Heidi shared the double-bed with the other girl, them both facing away from each other. The other three boys shared the next room over.

"Wow we slept in so late, the sun's already up." The girl's voice caused Heidi to blink open her bleary eyes. Narciel was up and pacing around the room, gathering his things.

"We better get washed up and go, Engyo is sending a ship to pick us up in Hunters State park this afternoon." There was silence as Heidi blinked tiredly at the wall. "…wake her up."

"I'm up, I'm up." Heidi groaned and stretched.

"You better get moving."

Heidi was not a morning person. She showered while slow-blinking, squinting at the tiled wall. Not even able to appreciate the cute tiny hotel shampoo bottles and pebble-sized packetted soaps. Not even awake enough to pilfer any. She narrowed her eyes at her reflection while brushing her teeth, as if mad at herself for having to be awake now. Then she dressed in her alternate change of clothes: black jeans and singlet beneath her striped sports jacket, turning the sleeve she examined the tear it got from her Kaijudo duel against Timothy, exposing the mesh fabric underneath.

She came out and the others were waiting for her, standing together while Narciel pulled back the sleeve of his robe to squint at his wristwatch. Even their mannerisms were weird.

"Ah good, let's get going."

"Can we get something to eat?" Timothy asked.

"You can eat on the ship."

They walked the balcony together in the late morning, down the railed concrete steps and away. Passing street shops and dollar stores, food vendors that made her stomach rumble. She'd brought money for herself but would feel guilty eating in front of the others, she didn't want to buy food for all of them. Eventually they reached Hunter's State Park which was an oval of flat grass, goal posts on either end. A bordering line of trees partially obscured the busy road.

Narciel checked his watch again "They'll be here in fifteen minutes."

The disciples all faced away from each other and waited. Heidi wandered over to the nearby fence and leaned against it. She stared at her entourage for a minute before a thought occurred to her.

"Should we have a duel while we wait?" a burst of eagerness.

"Kaijudo dueling is sacred and dangerous." Narciel scolded "It should not be done without purpose."

Heidi deflated. The main reason she'd hated school and her old life was because it was so boring. Whenever she got into trouble for misbehaving it was usually because she was bored. She had a low tolerance for monotony, even this short wait was making her antsy and twitchy. When she was a kid her grandpa had known it was a worse punishment to make the girls sit in their room and do nothing as opposed to making them do chores. Heidi was so competitive that she liked to turn everything into a game.

When the ship arrived her mouth dropped open in wonder. A gold-colored saucer flew down from the clouds, arcing toward them with an accompanying jet sound. It got louder as it got closer, slowing itself as the roaring blue exhausts lowered the craft in the center of the oval, air blowing past and shaking the tops of the trees. Heidi blinked at it. White it was a saucer in shape it wasn't smooth or exempt from detail up close. It was composed of parts, tubes and plating. A ramp extended and the entry opened.

"Let's go," Narciel said to them, louder to be heard over the jet-engines.

They strolled over to the ship, Heidi still amazed by the sight of it. The ramp was the same gold-colored metal. They walked up and were greeted by a man in black pilot uniform, nodding as they all passed him. The inside of the ship was utilitarian, a narrow space of steel, opening up to the centre of the ship, a lower area centred around a projector pillar. There was a round couch around it, other seats and control panels on the other side. More uniformed men, one of them a teenage boy in white uniform. He had gold-colored hair, a flip of which partially covered sky-blue eyes. His jaw, his features were of model-level beauty. He sprang agile from where he was standing, down the dip in the room and up over to them. He stopped in front of her, perfect hair swishing.

"Ahhhh… the chosen fire duelist." He reached out and took her hand, astounding Heidi further. Gently kissing her knuckles, she felt her pale cheeks turn red. "A true beauty to behold."

"Knock it off, Tsukumo!" an angry man with a buzz-cut scolded. Due to the badges on his chest he was probably the captain. He pushed the boy aside and Tsukumo had to steady himself. "My apologies miss. Welcome aboard the Starbolt Cruiser. I'm the captain, thank you for letting us accommodate you."

"Uh…" she was still thrown off by the overture. "No problem."

"We better lift off now and contact Principal Engyo." Narciel stepped forward to say.

"Right," the captain turned and stepped toward the control panel workers "Lift off!"

Buttons were pressed and screens flashed. Heidi could feel the ship taking off beneath her feet, she barely wobbled and then suddenly they were zipping up and through the clouds again. A small window-band showed the open sky. A computerized orb in the centre pillar glowed blue and beeped before generating a holographic screen. The captain strolled around in his military stance, facing the image of a snowy-haired man with twinkling eyes.

"We have the chosen fire duelist, Sir."

"Excellent work." The old man replied, he seemed to be sitting on a leather chair in his office. "May I see her?"

Narciel indicated for Heidi to step forward with a head-twist. She walked uncertainly closer until she was standing before the big blue screen.

"Hello… I'm Heidi Hirazumi."

"It's wonderful to meet you, Heidi." He spoke with warmth. "Do you know who I am?"

"Are you the principal of Duel Masters Academy?"

"Yes, I am. I am Principal Engyo. Our main priority at the moment is to keep you safe. Not to worry. The captain of your ship is a master of flying and military technique. The leader of the Dawn of the Phoenix himself, Narciel is with you along with four members he hand-picked for this job. I've also sent my best and brightest student, school prefect Tsukumo to escort you."

Again Heidi regarded the beautiful boy as he stood aside with a confident smirk. That good-looking guy? Also the smartest in the whole DM Academy? Heidi supposed life really wasn't fair. She faced forward again.

"Mr Engyo… what is it you guys actually want to protect me from?"

The giant head on the screen regarded her for a moment.

"Heidi… take a look at this. I trust you already know what this is."

Above the blue orb, data playing across its smooth surface, projected a hologram of Aurellia. She stepped closer and examined their world. The planet was almost entirely covered in water with only three land areas. Her continent was the shape of Greenland only smaller, the second continent was the larger main one and resembled Antarctica in shape, ten thousand kilometers away. The only other land was the collection of little islands to the north and the small icy caps.

"The world…" Engyo continued "our world Aurellia is in danger."

"From what?"

"We have reason to believe a threat from another dimension."

"The creature world?"

"Not that dimension, but one of the other planes that the creature world links together. These guys… are further. Beyond the borders of most universes and timelines. Out there in the empty, dark, beyond."

"The gatekeepers of the outer path…" Heidi murmured.

"Where did you hear that?"

Narciel stepped forward "she came into contact with one of their known lieutenants, Kaido Felgrass."

"He didn't try to abduct you?" the man on the screen faced back to her.

"He didn't know I was one of the chosen… I don't think. We dueled and I won."

"You beat him? Is he dead?"

"No… I finished him with Cocco Lupia. I still didn't know what he was talking about at the time."

"Even their lowly lieutenants are hard to beat because of their future cards. The only such cards we've been able to acquire are the Supernova Phoenixes that appeared to us, so we're at a huge disadvantage. Each of the phoenixes have chosen a prophesied duelist to represent their civilization, duelists rumored to achieve great power and be the defenders of this world."

"Our organization Dawn of the Phoenix had the cards manifested to us by the creatures due to our connection to their world." Narciel began sagely. "We lacked the technology and funding of the DMA but they were willing to partner with us."

"This is the bulk of what we know. Anything else should be discussed in person." Engyo finished.

"Well, alright."

"Again it's nice to finally meet you, fire duelist. Relax for a while and I'll see you when you arrive in the country." The older man smiled in farewell before the screen deactivated.

"Alright," the captain turned with his arms behind his back "…let's find you a room."

The bedrooms and bathrooms surrounding the open space of the command-room were small. Heidi had a little room to herself and after stretching to toss her bag under her little bed she sat up and noticed that boy Tsukumo leaning against her doorway.

"Hello again…" he spoke in a low voice, obviously flirty.

"Uh… hi…" Heidi felt her cheeks going red again.

He sauntered in "I've seen all four of the other chosens and I must admit, none of them are as beautiful as you." He leaned down, almost turning her mind to mush but what he'd said distracted her.

"You've met the other chosens? What are they like?"

His lip twitched "Let's not talk about them… let's just talk about you and me…" he reached and his finger tilted her chin up. She felt like a frozen animal, Tsukumo's handsome face now getting closer to hers.

"The chosen fire duelist needs to relax." Someone snipped from the doorway. It was Timothy, arms crossed, now out of his white cloak and wearing casual clothes. "Move along Casanova."

He straightened and looked between them, Heidi was still too stunned to form words.

"I don't think it's your business who does what and with who on this ship." The golden-blonde replied from the doorway, swiping his finger across the bridge of Timothy's nose. The brunette boy wiped at his face while Tsukumo strode away. The light humming of the spaceship filled the silence for a while.

"Uh… thanks." Heidi spoke up.

"No problem." The tall boy replied. He leaned into her room "Um, just so you know, I've seen how Tsukumo acts around people a few times now. He tries to charm anyone important that can benefit him. He acts on self-interest, he's only paying attention to you cause you're the chosen fire duelist."

"Yeah, right." She blinked. "Makes sense. Thanks Timothy."

He nodded and turned away. Heidi was left with her thoughts. She'd never actually… dated a boy before. Or even kissed one. It wasn't just that she was outgoing, restless and independent. She'd also been a very weird kid, what with her running around in a cape and her obsession with being a hero. She'd been too busy playing and having fun to spend much time thinking about boys. Even though she made friends she suspected she was still too unashamedly weird and boyish for any guys to like her.

She wasn't used to attention, nor the over-the-top flirty attention she got from Tsukumo. A boy her age who was objectively good-looking. Beautiful in the technical sense, enough to be a model. It was nice of Timothy to look out for her though.

They flew all day to reach the other country. Heidi spent a lot of time balancing her deck around her newest card, Supernova Mars Disaster. She admired the shine of the powerful card. When her deck was finished and she felt satisfied she got up and was offered a microwave packet-meal by one of the black-uniformed staff members who'd been told she hadn't eaten. A meat-and-gravy meal in a plastic container. She went to lie back in bed afterwards and thought about everything principal Engyo had told her.

It was night when they landed on an island stop-over facility, off the coast of the main continent. They slept in plain, unfurnished rooms and while Narciel busied himself with other duties after breakfast, Heidi found herself in the company of the four disciples again. Tsukumo had left her alone since yesterday. Heidi was antsy in her seat before she stood up to go pace outside.

"I'm going for a walk." she said suddenly. The relaxed people at her table looked at each other. Timothy and the dark-haired girl, Soroban stood up with her. "What?"

"Narciel doesn't want you to be out anywhere alone, in case something happens to you." Timothy calmly explained.

"Whatever…" Heidi whipped away and the two of them followed her.

"You're walking very fast." Timothy pointed out as they left the eating areas on the lower level of the facility, walking out the double doors and into the carpark.

"I'm just…" she kept walking away and around the cement building.

"Just?"

Heidi stopped by the pillars on their path and grabbed her head with both hands "Ah! I'm just so bored! I haven't been able to do anything fun the past two days! It's been nothing but walking and waiting, train rides and being in a spaceship for several hours. I'm seriously fricken bored!"

She turned around in a huff to face the two disciples, wearing their white robes again since they were out in public. They were as calm and controlled as ever, eying each other.

Heidi rounded on them "I swear if something interesting doesn't happen soon I'm gonna jump off a cliff!"

Soroban sighed "Fine… let's duel. Kettou da."

Heidi and Timothy were both surprised.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I thought Kaijudo dueling for fun wasn't allowed?" Heidi blinked.

"This is dueling for a purpose," Soroban held out her deck, her hand glowing wispy green. "We need to keep the chosen duelist under control before we reach the DMA."

"Well alright!" Heidi was suddenly bursting with excitement. "Yoshi, let's do this!"

Timothy stared out at the lot before pointing "Let's go over there. No cars."

Away from the facility there were landing strips in view, other important block-shaped buildings and the little island's edge. Heidi was almost skipping with excitement, her hand glowing red as she pulled her deck from her pocket. She'd been keeping her newest card close to her. The two girls stood apart while Timothy stood off to the sidelines. Two tables appeared, responding to the Kaijudo energy emitted by the girls.

"I may not be as skilled as Timothy but I hope I can still give you a good match, chosen fire duelist. Ikuzo."

"Bring it on! Koi!" Heidi responded with eagerness, slamming her deck onto the table. Ten blue shields formed between the two girls and their battle was underway.

Soroban swept one side of her straight, even-length hair over her shoulder. Extracting a card from her hand and slapping it to the table "I tap light mana to summon Vess, the Oracle!" yellow light illuminated her tabletop as a glowing bubble of energy spiraled up and transformed into a black cell creature with a glowing orange nucleus. A being of the light bringer race.

Heidi drew then studied her options "I charge fire mana and end."

Soroban drew "I charge nature mana and summon Poisonous Mushroom." The balloon mushroom drifted upward, a red fungus with many roots attached to shining balls of gas. "It allows me to add an extra card to my mana zone." She added additional light mana.

"A blocker and a creature that gives her extra mana… she's at a good start." Heidi could feel her excitement mounting as she drew another card and began her turn "I charge more fire mana and tap them to summon Pippie Kuppie!" Her chicklet with green-blue tips to its fire-feathers burst to life with a chirp.

Soroban drew and added light mana again. "Poisonous Mushroom ike! Break Heidi's shield!" The hovering fungus flew forward and the fire duelist raised her arms, an explosion of glass to her left, pieces bouncing off the flat concrete. Timothy looked back to the building but no one seemed to have noticed their duel. He didn't want to worry civilians or get caught by their strict master. Heidi added the shield to her hand and drew, starting her turn.

"Alright, I know you got a blocker but check this out!" she slapped mana down and the cards turned in preparation "I cast Energy Charger!" Pippie Kuppie chirped louder and was sheathed in red energy, the flames of its body burning hotter and brighter.

"It has 3000 power for the turn and that spell becomes mana after it's used," Timothy nodded "nice."

"Ike! Take out Poisonous Mushroom!"

"I choose not to block." Soroban answered and the fire bird scorched her balloon mushroom, withering it away in the resultant inferno. She drew a card as Heidi's spell flicked off the battlefield and landed in her mana zone, the fire bird returning and shrinking to normal. "I add nature mana and next I'll summon" all five of her cards tapped "Toel, Vizier of Hope!"

A floating spiral object of gold manifested, electricity crackling at its centre.

"Toel… what's the deal with that thing?"

"Now at the end of my turns I can untap all my creatures!" she announced and Heidi's confidence slipped. That really doesn't sound good. "Vess, the Oracle ike! Destroy her fire bird!" yellow light rippled outwards and her dark, glowing orb swished in an arc, absorbing the poor bird into its body. "I end my turn and Vess untaps." The oracle began hovering at the same height as the initiate beside it.

"Crap…" Heidi added a card to her hand "Now her blocker can attack and still block on my turn. And none of her creatures can be attacked either… but this might help. I charge mana and summon Choya, the Unheeding!" An orange-armored humanoid with spring-shoes appeared, taking bouncing steps in place.

"Interesting move…" Timothy commented.

No battle happens when Choya gets blocked, so it doesn't matter if she can untap her blockers, Heidi thought.

Soroban had no cards in her hand, she drew from her deck and put the light card straight into her mana zone "Toel ike, break a shield!" The electric 2000-point creature charged up before firing a bolt of electricity that tore through a centre shield, vaporizing the shards. Steam raised off the charred concrete and Heidi saw the creature untap at the end of its controller's turn.

"Dammit!" she added a card to her hand "I can't stop her monsters from attacking me! The fire civilization doesn't have blockers and if she can untap all her monsters at the end of her turn and still attack mine… I'm in a lot of trouble."

"I sure hope you beating Timothy wasn't a fluke?"

"Of course not!" Heidi angrily whipped out a card "Check this out! Now I summon Brawler Zyler!" A soldier wrapped in bandages with a cannon for an arm hopped up into play with a roar. "And now I'm going to evolve him!" another three cards turned "Into Armored Cannon Balbaro!" As quickly as the humanoid appeared it was replaced, consumed by a scarlet glow and morphing into a red cannon-tank manned by another armored humanoid.

"That's one way to get past summoning sickness…" Timothy commented from the sidelines.

"Choya, the Unheeding ike! Break a shield!"

"Vess block!" The black cell-monster moved to consume Choya and he lifted his foot, springing off its surface and separating the two.

"No battle happens! Armored Cannon Balbaro ike! Break her shield!"

The cannon charged up and this time the attack wasn't stopped. A burning beam of light broke Soroban's shield into tiny pieces, fading off out to sea.

"Woah…" she faced forward again and added the shield to her hand. Resolving herself "Alright now I add this as mana and summon Psyshroom!" A floating purple mushroom covered in warts joined the two light creatures. "Vess, the Oracle ike, consume Choya! Toel, Vizier of Hope ike, break another shield!"

Heidi gulped as she watched the two light creatures burst into action. Vess went low and fast, swallowing her crouching humanoid. The orange-armored spring-jumper was gone. Toel hovered to the side and fired another bolt through Heidi's far right shield. Glass sprinkling onto the concrete. When Soroban's turn finished her three creatures untapped themselves.

"I only have two shields left…" Heidi reached for another card. And one monster while Soroban still has four shields… but this will help! "I charge then tap all seven cards in my mana zone to summon Garkago Dragon!" The red shogun-armored dragon landed, baring its bladed arms and roaring. "A double-breaker than can attack untapped creatures, I'm not out yet! Armored Cannon Balbaro ike, break a shield!"

"Vess, the Oracle block!"

They both turned their cards sideways, red and yellow ripples of energy collided. Vess flew forward and took the brunt of Balbaro's laser-fire, collaspsing into the hole that burned through it.

"You're not getting to me that easily!" Soroban brushed her hair aside, drawing a card and dropping it straight into her mana zone. "Okay! Psyshroom ike! Break her shield! Whenever it attacks I can add a nature card from my graveyard to my mana zone!" the purple fungus wheezed through the air toward Heidi, throwing itself through a shield, a big piece of glass bouncing dangerously close to her foot. "Toel, Vizier of Hope ike! Break another shield!" Another bolt of lightning shooting overhead, making the hairs on her arms stand on end. None of those cards were shield triggers. Heidi looked up to see the creatures floating back into place and untapping.

"That Toel card has a strong effect… but I'm getting rid of it now!"

Heidi drew and charged mana "Thanks for that, Soroban. You helped me get a card that was a big help in my last duel. Look familiar?" she turned it over with a smug smile. "Fists of Forever!"

"Oh no!"

"Garkago Dragon!" Heidi pointed across the field while her armored dragon clenched white-hot burning fists. "Ike, destroy Toel!" The massive creature lunged and power-punched the gold object, warping its shape before it sparked and exploded. "Ike, attack Psyshroom!" It went for another round, jumping back and punching apart the purple fungus with its other fist, popping the air out before it sagged and burnt up. "Ike! Double break her shields!" Two of the glass panels shattered and Soroban cried out.

"No triggers…? Then let's keep going! Armored Cannon Balbaro ike! Break another shield! We're even now with one apiece!" Another beam shooting out into the open air, blazing through a shield and severing the branch of a far-off tree. "Your move now, Soroban!"

"Alright, alright…" she lowered her arms, looking down. "It wasn't a coincidence you beat Timothy… but that doesn't mean I'm out just yet…" she looked at her new hand full of cards and drew from the deck. "I add mana so now I have ten… I tap six and cast Natural Snare! Sending Garkago Dragon to your mana zone!"

Beneath her dragon a tree exploded upwards, vines wrapping around her struggling creature. Heidi gasped. Watching an armored dragon, the strongest race of the fire civilization being consumed by pure nature was a saddening sight for her. Another three cards in Soroban's mana zone tapped "and I also summon a blocker, Senatine Jade Tree!" A glowing sphere of light containing a plant that looked akin in shape to an apple-core spun out onto the battlefield.

"A blocker with 4000 power huh? Too strong for Balbaro to contend with…"

"I have more cards in my mana zone and hand, let's see what you can do."

Heidi's hand flashed red and she whipped a card from her deck. She stared at it in shock. Disbelief. She looked at the other two cards in her hand, both creatures she needed. Then she looked at her only humanoid in play. She quickly counted her mana – she had just enough. It was destiny this card was now hers.

"Alright let's end this!" Her passion consumed her, the red energy spreading to envelope her entire body. "I tap two to summon Mini Titan Gett! I tap another two to summon Brawler Zyler!" The kid on rollerskates blasted to one side of the manned cannon-tank while the gun-armed zombie stalked to its other side. "I hope you're ready for this!" Heidi lifted her arm "I tap my remaining five mana to evolve Mini Titan Gett, Brawler Zyler and Armored Cannon Balbaro into Supernova Mars Disaster!"

The card in her hand glowed brighter red than any of her cards had ever before. Soroban sweated with nerves. Timothy eyed the building, certain this intense red glow would be noticed. The scarlet light converged as fire surrounded Heidi in a swirling pillar, coalescing above into shape and finally the red-orange phoenix was bearing down on the battlefield. It was bigger than Astrocomet Dragon, it was bigger than any of her dragons. Heidi's entire side of the battlefield was rippling with red energy, like the inside of an oven. Waves of invisible heat and power.

"…the power of the chosen fire duelist." Soroban uttered.

"Supernova Mars Disaster ike! Destroy her last shield! Also, meteorburn! I discard one card underneath to destroy all creatures in play with power 4000 or less, meaning Senatine Jade Tree is gone before you even get to block with it!"

An unearthly bird shriek. Red energy pulsed away as it reared its neck, the meteorburn arcing a rolling wave of fire that decimated the floating tree. With burning white eyes, burning red spheres beneath its wings the phoenix lunged down and breathed celestial fire that vanquished Soroban's last shield. She winced backward then opened her eyes again to stare down the hellish god before her.

"Amazing… A 13,000 power triple-evolution triple-breaker." She lowered her arms. "I surrender."

"You surrender?"

"I can't fight off a chosen phoenix… also I don't really want to be burnt to death… I surrender, that is if you're willing to spare me?"

"Of course." Heidi gathered her cards from the tabletop and removed them. The mighty phoenix faded from view, the thick red energy leaving the space. Heidi's skin was still glowing from the heat and power. Soroban was relieved to see the threatening creature go, she also gathered up her cards and the tables faded from existence.

"Great work, Heidi." Timothy stepped over with a smile.

"Hey you dawn disciples are pretty skilled too." She replied, glancing between them. "You did really well, Soroban."

"Thanks." She gave her contained smile.

"I'm starting to think the only people who'll be able to beat you in a duel will be the other chosens." Timothy mused "Or the bad guys."


AN: So far it is just acumashindorballomu at this review party. Don't be afraid to give reviews yall. On the topic of Duel Masters fanfiction, I'd be happy to do other-character cameos and whatever else, seeing as I only have ideas at this point and nothing's really set in stone. I meant to show off a bit more of the villains but maybe that will be reserved for next chapter. Who knows ~ Man I am updating these fast. Something about writing Duel Masters just really gets you going, it's easy and fun. What do you guys think of my characters? I know I introduced two organisations quickly but like, one of them is dimension-travelling supervillains and the other one is religious weirdos in capes. Arigatou ~