A/N: Ye Gods! Whoever thought I would write again! This story was actually based on some real duels I've had with my friends (yes, I'm a loser XD). I always told them it was the kind of duel one would want to remember, so I thought I would record it in story form. I've kept the English card names (since those are the cards I'm most familiar with). The story is set within the Battle City arc, but is obviously aside from the main characters (hence the title).
I need to update more... curses school and work
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, otherwise I would be able to win duels with better cards I can create for myself. --;
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The afternoon sun shone brightly as a young teen peered around for challenges from his patio seat at a local cafe. His face exhumed an aura of nervousness and excitement, as he sipped his cola. He brushed aside the long strands of brown hair away from his face and clutched his Duel Monsters deck tightly within his right hand. Never did he suspect that he would be given the chance to participate in Battle City; it was an honor to be recognized.
He didn't think he was the best duelist - not even a very strong one. No. What Corey wanted was to have fun and improve his ability. He always saw life as an adventure and didn't care too much about winning or losing. Sure winning was enjoyable and was fun to try and achieve, but the real fun for Corey was just playing the game.
Once Corey had finished his drink, he slipped his locator card in his pocket and fastened his Duel Disk firmly to his left wrist. He carefully loaded his cards into the slot and set off to find an opponent.
As he passed down the main roads of the city, Corey noted the many duels already in progress. The city was bursting with activity. Along his way, Corey noticed a large crowd gathered around a shadowy man dressed in a dark purple robe dueling a confident-looking teen with the wackiest hairdo imaginable.
Who in their right mind has tri-coloured hair, he thought to himself. He shrugged it off and kept on going, impatiently searching for a good duel.
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As Corey searched, he found himself in a crowded street where everyone was tightly packed together. He finally found a clearing and decided to walk through it to allow him to get to the next block faster.
"Hey, what are you doing?" A deep voice asked in an annoyed tone. "You're blocking my fans from my demonstration and tutorial." Corey turned around to see a young adult with short, spiky hair that was slightly taller than himself. He looked proud and confident, and the audience seemed captivated with him.
"Excuse me," Corey apologized. "I just wanted to get through." He started to make his way out slowly.
"Get going, kid!" a figure from the crowd admonished. "You're interrupting Andy's lesson!" Corey was insulted.
"Kid, what's your name?" the young man interrogated.
"It's Corey," the teen snappily replied. "And don't call me 'kid'."
"Well whatever," Andy dismissed condescendingly. "I see you have a Duel Disk. Have you been in any duels yet?" Corey shook his head. "Are you being honest, or did you lose and are too ashamed to admit it?" The crowd laughed and murmured. Corey blushed slightly, his embarrassment becoming irritation.
"I've been looking for someone all day to face," Corey noted, holding up his sole locator card. "But I'm not looking for trouble."
"Well perhaps you should be a little more proactive and actually walk up to someone with the balls to challenge them," jeered Andy, displaying his four locator cards as trophies. Again the crowd seemed amused. "Perhaps if you took Duel Monsters more seriously, you'd be farther along in the tournament."
"I just want to have some fun and learn more about the game," declared Corey. "Don't act like you have me figured out as it is. It's a game, and games are about having fun. If I wasn't having fun with Duel Monsters, then I wouldn't play."
"And that is why you will never be a champion," said Andy. "Games are a lot like life - the strong advance and leave the weak behind. Just because the stakes aren't as high, doesn't mean it has lesser significance. Don't act like you do not find pleasure in victory, because all of us do. We play to win, because we seek that pleasure. Loss only sets us farther from our goals."
"You preach quite a lot over a simple card game," Corey mocked. "Maybe you should demonstrate your ideals to me and see if they have any merit." The crowd went silent.
"I assume that you are challenging me?" Andy queried.
"Yeah, I guess I am," Corey responded. "I'd like to see how my ideals match up against yours."
"Very well... Duels always end so quickly with me," Andy stated. "Let's change the rules a bit. How about a best 2 duels out of 3 match with our Life Points set to 8000 instead of the standard 4000. The winner will take the loser's best Duel Monsters card and all his locator cards." He lifted his left arm, ready to go. "Do you accept?"
"Sounds good to me," Corey sneered, as he lifted his left arm. "I'll give it all I've got!"
"DUEL!" they both shouted in unison. Their Duel Disks opened and unfolded while the hologram projectors shot out and placed themselves strategically around the two duelists. Both players set their Life Points to 8000 as agreed, and drew five cards. The crowd cheered Andy on as the duel was underway.
"You can go first," Andy declared nonchalantly. Corey nodded and drew a card. He looked at his hand before him and got an idea right away.
"I play one monster in defense mode," said Corey, an image of a card appeared before him. "End turn."
"That was an uneventful beginning," Andy jeered as he drew. "I summon Gemini Elf (4/1900/900) in attack mode." Two beautiful elves appeared before him. "Go! Attack the facedown monster!"
The twin elves launched their attack and revealed the facedown monster to be Sangan, which was immediately destroyed. Using the effect of his fallen monster, Corey searched his deck for an appropriate monster to put in his hand.
"My move," Corey noted and drew. "Hmm, I use Premature Burial, sacrificing 800 of my Life Points (Corey: 7200) to bring back Sangan (3/1000/600) in attack mode!" Sangan resurrected itself from the graveyard and appeared once again on the field. "End turn."
"Very well," Andy uttered, drawing a card. "I play Heavy Storm to destroy your Premature Burial card, thus destroying the Sangan that's attached to it." A furious gust of wind swept the field, destroying the two cards on Corey's side. Corey searched for another monster using Sangan's effect yet again. "I then play Breaker the Magical Warrior (4/1600/1000) in attack mode." A striking magical soldier in bright orange and purple armor appeared. "Both monsters shall attack your Life Points directly!" Corey braced himself as both monsters attacked (Corey: 3400).
"Hey wait a minute!" Corey whined as he saw his Life Point indicator as he drew a card. "I should be at 3700."
"Breaker has an effect to it," Andy corrected. "When he is normal summoned, a token is placed on him that boosts his attack by 300 points."
"What does the token do?" Corey asked.
"Wait and see," Andy smirked. "Make your move."
"Right!" Corey shouted. "Time to put my plan into action! I summon Sonic Bird (4/1400/1000), the first monster I retrieved with Sangan, in attack mode!" A fat eagle wearing goggles and a jetpack appeared on the field. "This card has a lovely effect that allows me to bring a ritual magic card to my hand from my deck when it is summoned. The card I choose is the Black Illusion Ritual."
"Damn," Andy silently cursed. "This might be troublesome."
"I assume you know what comes next," Corey chuckled. "And I think you know the monster I searched for when I got Sangan's effect the second time. Now, I use the ritual card, sacrificing my Sonic Bird to bring forth Relinquished (1/0/0)!" The Sonic Bird became energy and transferred its essence towards the ritual, creating the hideous, dark monster with a single, gold eye. "Relinquished will now absorb your Gemini Elf!" Corey's monster sucked in the twin elves and stole their power (Relinquished: 1900/900). "I put two cards facedown and I end my turn." Those in the audience whispered concerns to one another.
"All right then," Andy casually uttered and yawned as he drew. "Time to end this. I play Change of Heart to take control of your Relinquished." The effect of the magic card made Relinquished turn to face Corey in an attack stance. "And now I shall use the token on Breaker to remove one of your facedown cards. I wonder which I should remove."
Crap, thought Corey. Pick the wrong one.
"I destroy the last card you put down!" Andy declared. Breaker pointed its sword to the facedown card and released a burst of negative energy. Corey smirked.
"Too slow, bucko!" Corey yelled out loud. "I'll activate this quick-play magic before it is destroyed. Activate Scapegoat!" Instantly, four tokens in the shape of fluffy, little goats appeared on his side of the field, and the negative energy fizzled out.
"Very well," Andy sighed. "Breaker and Relinquished will destroy two of your useless goats." The monsters advanced on the tokens.
"No they won't!" Corey interjected. "Reveal trap - Mirror Force!" Andy's eyes went wide as a transparent barrier raised around the goats. The two attacking monsters were destroyed.
"Okay..." Andy stated, confused. "Why didn't you just take the attack? You would have gotten your Relinquished back at the end of my turn and would have had an advantage. I play one card facedown and end my turn."
"...I knew that," Corey stated, while inwardly cursing himself for being that stupid and impulsive. He drew a card and looked at his hand. "I play Monster Reborn to bring back your Gemini Elf and-"
"This time you're too slow!" Andy called out. "Reveal trap - Call of the Haunted! I bring back the same Gemini Elf from the graveyard before Monster Reborn can get to it. You just wasted a good magic card." Corey growled and motioned for Andy to go. Andy drew and laughed as soon as he saw the card. "This is where you'll see the downside to Scapegoat. I won't need Gemini Elf at all for this turn."
"What do you mean by that?" Corey asked.
"This round is over," stated Andy. "I play Spear Dragon (4/1900/0) in attack mode!" A small dragon with a sharp, elongated snout appeared on the field. "I'll play another card facedown and boost my dragon with Mage Power! There are three cards in my Magic and Trap zone, so my monster's attack and defense are boosted by 1500 points (Spear Dragon: 3400/1500)!"
"So?" the young teen retorted. "I'm still well protected."
"Foolish kid," Andy mocked. "Spear Dragon has a useful effect to me right now. When it attacks a monster, the difference between its attack and your monster's defense will be taken out of your Life Points. Spear Dragon goes into defense mode after attacking, but that drawback is negligible in this specific instance."
"But..." Corey uttered helplessly. "My goat tokens have no defense..."
"Exactly!" shouted Andy. "As I said, this round is over. It's as good as direct damage. Spear Dragon, attack one of his tokens!" The dragon obeyed and impaled its horned nose through a goat and straight to Corey's Life Points (Corey: 0).
The holograms faded and they both stood alone. Corey furrowed his eyebrows and growled softly, staring down his opponent. The crowd gave an uproarious cheer for Andy for another incredible victory.
"This duel isn't over just yet," Corey reminded the young man while gritting his teeth. "We still have to go again."
"But of course," Andy concurred with a smug smirk. "However the outcome will be the same. But you never know...maybe you'll actually touch my Life Points in the next round before you lose."
That was it! Corey wasn't going to take Andy's arrogance anymore. Corey was always one for fun and games, and didn't mind losing once in a while, but now he felt like he had something to prove to the young man before him. The guy needed to be brought down off his high horse, and Corey was determined to be the one to boot him.
They shuffled their decks again and prepared themselves for the next round. Both of them lifted their left arms in unison and glared at each other.
"DUEL!"
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To be continued....