Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Legacy of Tarot
Chapter 1
Our story now takes us to an arena on the bustling island metropolis of Tare City, where the final round of the annual Tare Invitational, a world-famous Duel Monsters tournament, is about to take place. The second finalist is in the process of being chosen, and the match is between a beautiful teenage girl with blonde hair and a shorter, heavier boy with spiky brown hair and glasses. The names "Rebecca" and "Adam" are written in lights on their podiums. From what can be seen, Rebecca has a Flame Champion (1900/1300), Deepsea Warrior (1600/1800), and an Island Turtle (1100/2000) on her side of the field, all in attack mode. She also has a face-down card in play. Adam is clearly doing much worse, with only a Psychic Kappa (400/1000) and a Red Archer Girl (1400/1500) on his field in attack mode. Rebecca is doing quite well with 6700 Life points, and Adam only has 2300.
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"Alright, folks," a voice from the loudspeaker boomed overhead. "This battle is coming to an end, and it's Adam's turn. Let's see if he can turn around Rebecca's overwhelming stranglehold on him."
Adam drew his card and a grin came over his face. He slapped it down on his playing field face-down. "This was a good battle, Rebecca, but I'm afraid this is where it ends. I'll place a card face-down on the field, and place Psychic Kappa in defense mode!" he said, turning the Psychic Kappa card to the side. The creature on the larger field vanished for a moment, then reappeared inside its shell. "Red Archer Girl, attack Rebecca's Island Turtle! That's the end of her, Rebecc-"
"Not so fast, Adam. I played a card face-down, remember?" Rebecca taunted, picking the card up and showing it to him. He gasped as he read the word "Reinforcements" on the card's label, and he groaned. "A trap card; Reinforcements. This card allows me to add 500 attack points to whichever card I wish for one turn, and I choose to add them to Island Turtle!"
For a moment, Island Turtle's attack and defense of 1100/2000 were shown on screen. The attack portion increased rapidly to 1600, and the battle continued. Red Archer Girl peeked out of her shell with a bow in hand, an arrow nocked to the string. In a fluid motion, she launched the arrow at Island Turtle, who simply deflected the attack completely. Raising its foot as high as it could, the tortoise slammed down on the ground of the arena, sending a shockwave forth that destroyed Red Archer girl where she stood. Adam's Life points dropped by 200, to 2100.
"I believe it's my turn!" Rebecca said with a playful grin. Her slender hand reached over to her deck and she drew a card. Immediately she chuckled and looked over in Adam's direction. "This was fun, darling, but I'm afraid it ends here. Sorry! I play a Magic card: Raigeki!"
There's no need for an explanation here – just about every Duelist knows what Raigeki can do to an opponent's field, and their game. Bolts of lightning flashed overhead, and in a swift, brilliant moment, Psychic Kappa was removed from the field. Rebecca laughed and continued her victory speech.
"I'm not finished yet! Flame Champion, Deepsea Warrior, attack Adam!"
On her command, the flaming warrior and the aquatic defender leapt forward in a synchronized manner, flame and water combining to slash away at Adam's remaining Life points. His total soon dropped to 0 and his podium began to lower along with Rebecca's. The field emptied and the players picked up their cards, moving towards each other to shake hands. While they exchanged their congratulations, the loudspeaker boomed louder than ever.
"Rebecca has won! Rebecca goes on to the Tare Invitational's Final round to face Nick Maximus for the grand prize!"
Overhead in the finalist's box seats, Nick sat watching the battle. He was a tall, well-built teenager, though not overly muscular, with deep brown eyes and hair that is usually spiked. He was dressed unusually fancily that day – customary for the Tare finalists, being that the city is known for its parties and balls – with a classy tuxedo and a Christmas tie that is all too corny and yet classy at the same time. He wasn't particularly fond of himself, but in the Tare invitational, the finalists don't get to choose their own wardrobe for the final match.
"Wow… she's good. I'm going to have a tough time beating her, guys!"
He was, of course, talking to his two friends, labeled by the Tare Duel Council as VIPs for the time being. One was a boy with black hair and tanned skin, just a bit shorter than Nick himself. The other was about the same height, a girl with beautiful auburn hair and striking brown eyes.
"Oh come on, Nick. You'll cream her." Mark, the black-haired boy, exclaimed.
"Mark's right – she's a pushover compared to you!" Alyssa, the girl, reassured him with a smile. Nick smiled right back, though still a bit unsure of himself. He held his deck tightly in his hand, flipping through it absentmindedly, not really looking at it all that closely. "Maybe if we go over your deck again it'll make you feel better. You know, to make sure that it's perfect."
"Yeah, Alyssa's right! We've still got about an hour before the match."
"Alright… alright, yeah! That sounds like a good idea." Nick said, moving over to a couch by the coffee table. He began laying his cards down as his friends joined him.
"You've still got those Harpie Ladies and Harpie Lady Sisters, right?" Alyssa asked, watching as he laid down the cards. One of the cards she had mentioned, a Harpie Lady, was placed on the table and Nick nodded.
"Yeah, and the Elegant Egotists to go with them."
"Good… if it weren't for them, I might have beaten you in our last match!" She laughed, sifting through the visible cards.
"What about that Millenium Shield your mom bought for your birthday?" Mark wondered, not seeing the card on the table.
"Of course! That card is an invaluable defense tool. I wouldn't leave it behind." Nick exclaimed, beginning to sort his cards into groups to remind himself which could be used in unison, which should be used in unison, and so on.
"Don't forget your Castle of Dark Magic and Pumpkin the King of Ghosts combination." Alyssia reminded him, which prompted a nod from the finalist.
"I've also got that Change of Heart combo in here, which should help."
"Yeah…" Mark began, soon interrupted by the voice on the loudspeaker. "Woah! You're on, Nick! Don't keep the fans waiting!"
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Just a few minutes later, Nick was standing on his podium opposite Rebecca, who was dressed in a glittering blue dress, and she looked as though she was ready to go straight to a ball. After finishing the usual "Rock, Paper, Scissors"-like method of choosing turn order, it was decided that Rebecca would draw first while Nick would have the first attack. Both players drew their cards, and Rebecca seemed rather pleased with her hand.
"Alright, hun… I'll play this card in defense mode, as well as this card face down." She told him, placing the cards down in their respective positions. Nothing spectacular happens, as her side of the field is completely face down. "Your turn."
"Hmmm… not a perfect hand, but I do have a Harpie Lady. All I need is an Elegant Egotist and I can summon the Harpie Lady Sisters!" Nick thought to himself, picking out a couple of cards from his hand. "I place Neo the Magic Swordsman in Attack mode, as well as another card, face down!" As he spoke, he placed the cards down on his field. Neo the Magic Swordsman apparated onto the larger field, facing Rebecca's as-of-yet empty field. "Neo the Magic Swordsman, attack Rebecca's defense card!"
The blade-wielding sorcerer ran forward as quickly as he could, and a blast of energy surrounded his sword. Rising upwards and readying himself for a vertical slash to whatever the monster might be, Neo was greeted by a small arachnid made completely of metal. The sword came down and sliced the hapless foe clean in two, which immediately prompted a thoughtful look from Nick as Neo returned to its post.
"Is that all you've got, Rebecca? It's a wonder you got this far." The finalist taunted, knowing that she boasted more talent than she was showing at the time. He had seen her in action, and he knew very well that she was an accomplished, learned Duelist.
"You forget, my darling opponent, that Steel Scorpion carries with it a very special effect!" Rebecca grinned, pulling the card out of the Graveyard for a second. "When a non-machine type monster attacks Steel Scorpion, it has 3 turns left to live. Then, on my 3rd endphase, that monster… goes bye bye!" She returned the card to the Graveyard pile and placed her elbows on the mini playing field before her, resting her head in her hands. "I think that makes it my turn, doesn't it?"
Slipping her hand over her deck and sliding a card into her hand, Rebecca looked over the cards available to her for a brief moment. It seemed like only seconds before she was grinning again, apparently having formulated the master plan that would win her the battle.
"Ohh, this is a good one. I think you'll like this move, Nick. I play Polymerization to combine Queen's Double and Hibikime!" The second finalist announced, placing those cards in their respective positions on the field. Queen's Double and Hibikime apparated where Steel Scorpion once stood, still as statues. When the spinning vortex of Polymorph appeared, however, the two creatures were sucked inside without a sound. For what seemed like minutes the two did their magical dance within the portal before, finally, a new monster erupted from within. "Meet Empress Judge. I could attack and destroy your pitiful Neo the Magic Swordsman right now, but since Steel Scorpion's poison is doing a good enough job of that, I'll leave Empress Judge in attack mode. Your turn, my love. Neo the Magic Swordsman has 2 End phases left."
Reluctantly, Nick drew a card. He knew that Rebecca would never attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman as long as the face-down card, which as far as she knew could have been a trap card, was there, and as long as Steel Scorpion's venom was working away at him. He needed something to either destroy Empress Judge completely, or something that would at least stall any further attacks. What he saw made him light up – it wouldn't ruin her completely, but it would give him time to think up something else.
"I'll place Harpie Lady on the field. As well, I'll play a Magic Card, Elegant Egotist." Nick smirked, placing the two cards in their positions on the mini-field before him. The Harpie Lady, wings and all, appeared right beside the coughing Neo the Magic Swordsman, staring only straight forward. "As you know, Elegant Egotist allows me to Special Summon a Harpie Lady Sisters card from my Hand or my Deck – I shall do so now, and play the Harpie Lady Sisters in defense mode." Reaching into his deck, he shuffled through until he found the card he wanted. Placing the trio of Harpies on the field right beside their sister, Nick shuffled the deck just as the card specified. "Your turn, Rebecca."
A bit curious as to what her opponent was so calm about, Rebecca drew a card. Judging by the look on her face, it wasn't anything particularly special, or something that she needed at the time. However, she still had two other cards in her hand, and judging by her past efficiency with her cards, Nick knew that she might still have some lethal combination waiting for him.
"I'll play a card face-down in defense mode, and I'll play this card as well." Rebecca noted, putting one card in the monster section and the other in the Magic and Traps section of the field. All Nick could see was still that Empress Judge, and he had know idea whether her two face down cards in the Magic/Trap area were traps that would seriously rupture his game. He did know this: one wrong move could lose him the match. "Empress Judge, use your Judgement attack on Harpie Lady!"
Without moving, a ray of light shined down upon Harpie Lady. In a brief, fluid motion, Empress Judge snapped her fingers and caused the beam of light to vanish – when it disappeared, so had Harpie Lady. Nick's Life Total flashed on his podium, and the 8000 dropped to 7200. He was still far from out, however.
"That makes it my turn, Reb—"
Just then, before Nick even had the chance to draw a card, a great rumbling shook through the arena. Panic arose, and spectators found themselves frantically dashing for whatever exit was closest. Figuring that the island was suffering the effects of an earthquake, Nick and Rebecca prepared to pick up their cards and continue the fight later. It was then that an explosion was heard and a huge chunk of debris fell not 10 feet from Nick's podium. Looking up, both contestants saw a strange robed man floating down through a hole in the roof, eyes fixated on the both of them.
"You… are the finalistssss…" The figure hissed, yellow eyes staring down at them.
"Yeah, and who are you?" Nick asked demandingly. He wasn't afraid anymore – just angry that this show off had decided to ruin their battle. He wasn't even that aware that the man was actually floating in the air, a rather abnormal feat.
"My name isss not important… We will duel…"
"What? Why should I duel you?" Nick asked, getting even angirer that he seemed to have been ORDERED to duel, not asked.
"They… are sssseeking… a masssster…"
"They? Who are 'they?'"
"Duel… we will duel!" The robed man hissed. He was wearing flowing green clothes and looked like he was taken straight from the desert. There was barely an inch of his skin that wasn't covered by the silky green material, save for his eyes and hands. His voice got more and more impatient as he continued speaking. Reluctant to say anything too hasty that would upset this maniac, Nick finally got up the courage to speak.
"Rebecca, leave while you can. Leave this show off to me!"
"What?" She began, seemingly perplexed. "And let you have all the fun?" A wink followed, and she pressed a few buttons on her console. Her Empress Judge vanished from her side of the board and reappeared on Nick's, as did the two face-down cards she had placed. Nick smiled as he realized what she was doing, and he moved aside as she started running over to his podium, cards in hand.
"Alright! If you wish to duel, you'll duel both of us! You'll pay for interrupting our match." Nick and Rebecca taunted in unison. Their monsters were just as brave, staring motionless towards their new enemy.
"We… shall ssssee…" The green figure barked. Waving his hand once, a multitude of cards began to fly out of his robes at blinding speeds, ripping through the air and placing themselves in a neat pile where a contestant's deck would be. "They… will have a new masssster… before the day issss done… We duel!!"
