Chaotic Challenge
Outside of the popular cafe Blue Moon, Elise sat at a table under sunny weather. She had a milkshake she was sipping on while she was waiting for someone. Eyes on her phone, she got a response from that person.
"SORRY! I completely overslept! I don't think I can make it today, maybe another time?"
Elise sighed with disappointment, though she knew herself that this would most likely happen.
"Elaine, we haven't sat down together in months. How could you oversleep?"
"I"M SORRY! I was just sorting through stuff and lost track of time, you know?"
"You mean you were sorting through cards."
"Come on, I'll make it up to you! It'll be my treat next time!"
Elise wanted to type that it was supposed to be her treat today, but decided against it. She wondered if her relationship with Elaine would ever be the same like it once was. Though it had been months since they last had a real conversation, it had really been years since they both spent any kind of real bonding time with each other. Elise rested her head on her arms, facedown on the table, falling into the pit of sadness that came when she really missed her Elaine. The only reason Elise got into dueling was because she wanted to have something in common with Elaine again. Elaine even gave her special treatment, allowing her to make her own kind of cards. But then she ended up abandoning her there. Elise didn't know anybody, and had a hard time approaching anyone. She remembered approaching the two boys there, asking them what place they had in the tournament brackets. They were in a completely different group than her, so she gave up trying to become friends, not that it worked out for her very well. She felt a tinge of embarrassment remembering how awkward and awful the conversation went. They even talked about how she was an outcast because of her strength.
Elise peeked at her phone.
"Are you at least going to be there at the New Beginnings Tournament?"
After a few minutes, Elaine replied, "Of COURSE! I wouldn't miss that for the world! I bet you'll win the whole thing too, and maybe even beat me!"
Elise smiled and called to pay for her drink.
Alex and Dan were lazing around in a waiting room. No one had asked Alex for a duel for a while now and he and Dan were getting along a lot better without getting sidetracked by annoyances. They were chatting about their last tag duel, which Alex apologized for dragging Dan into again.
"You know, I know you said you revamped your deck with Masked HEROs but I didn't expect you to pull out a Vision HERO too." Dan said, remembering the end of the tag duel.
"Yeah, I managed to pull one from a pack. I don't know if we would've won without that spell you put down. What was it? Forbidden Spell of Endymion?" Alex asked, trying to remember.
"Endymion's Forbidden Spell. Though, you might as well call it Forbidden Spell of Endymion. Same thing."
"Yeah, that's a pretty good spell. I can't believe I haven't heard of it before. It sounds pretty useful in a few decks."
"You haven't heard of it because it's a custom card."
"You own a custom card? I didn't realize you had that kind of money…"
Dan sighed, "I don't. It was a gift from someone who likes to use the Endymion archetype. I'd rather not talk about him though, it's a sore topic."
"Ah, my bad. Still, I'm glad it worked out in our favour." Alex said.
"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask, what is it you wanted to ask for with the leaders of the two guilds we beat?"
"Hm? Just wanted to know if-"
Suddenly the room grew loud, with people rushing outside and running.
"The heck? What's happening?" Alex asked out loud.
"Look!" Dan exclaimed.
Alex turned his head to see Dan pointing at one of the large monitors on the wall in the room where "The 4th strongest vs this month's most popular duelist!" was written in bold letters. It showcased the 4th strongest duelist going against…
"Raine?" Dan gasped in an irritated manner, "How did he manage to get a duel with the 4th? And most popular? That's you!"
"Well… he did beat me, so I guess he took that title." Alex answered.
"Yeah but… still! How's he going to be in the tournament and also fight against one of the top 5?"
"You said that the strongest don't really duel all too much, right? Maybe Micheal challenged him?"
"Hmm… probably? Well, either way, we have to check this out. I've never seen or heard much about the 4th's deck, so it's bound to be something amazing!"
Dan ran out of the room followed by Alex, both of them eager to see this duel, despite their grievances against Raine.
Raine walked around, looking for another duelist to fight. After he crushed Alex, the 4th so-called disciple, no one wanted to duel him. He wondered if this is why the strongest didn't have many duels. Raine figured finding another disciple of the strongest would allow him to use the other strong monsters in his deck he hadn't been able to summon out yet. He knew of the most popular one, the 1st's disciple. However, he wasn't able to find her.
Raine wondered if being so strong that no one wanted to duel you meant you were barely around the Dueling Area. He hadn't heard anything about any other disciples. He wondered if the strongest could have multiple disciples until he was stopped by a tall man wearing a very fashionable white coat.
"You. You would be Raine, correct?" he asked, staring down at Raine.
Raine answered, unfazed, "That's me. I already know who you are, Mr. Number 4."
Micheal felt a little uncomfortable being unable to properly introduce himself. He knew it came with the title, but fame was largely annoying to him.
"Just call me Micheal. I heard about your winning streak."
"Winning streak? I'd like to think its a little more than just that. I doubt anyone here, or ever!" Raine laughed.
"You'd be wrong."
"What? Have you ever win 31 in a row?"
"No, not me. I've talked to the top player here. She showed me her dueling history. Much more than a 1000 matches, and not a single loss."
Raine hesitated, but responded with a little anger resonating in his voice, "Yeah right, I'll believe it when I see it."
"You don't have to take my word for it. I'm just here to challenge you." Micheal folded his arms, waiting for Raine's response.
"Ha! Of course I'll accept! I've already demolished your disciple. You're next!"
"Ugh, disciples. That's not a real thing, and even if it was, he isn't mine. I just brought him here."
"But you gave him this card, didn't you?"
Raine flashed "Super Trap", one of Micheal's exclusive cards.
"I did see that you took it from him. I was a little disappointed, but if you beat him, you must be strong. Let's go to the arena and find out."
"Lead the way."
Raine expected to duel Micheal in a smaller, less crowded environment. However, he found himself in a very large dueling stadium, which raised itself from the floor with its mechanisms. Around him, people cheered, wanting the match to start. It made him a little nervous, but he never failed to make himself as entertaining as possible.
Across the field, Micheal spoke, "When one of the top 5 duel underground, this stadium rises up. You'll be here again during the New Beginnings Tournament too, so don't forget this feeling."
Raine jerked upright, not expecting Micheal's voice to come from his duel disk.
"Are we… on a call?" he asked.
"Well yeah, it's hard to hear your opponent with all these people around us. Your voice will be transmitted to me and mine to you. Since it's your first time here, I'll let you choose between going first or second." Micheal offered.
"I'll go second. I want to see your cards as soon as possible."
"Fair enough."
DUEL START
MICHEAL: 4000
RAINE: 4000
Micheal drew his cards and briefly scanned through them.
"Well then, I'll summon Tick-Tock Alarmsetter (ATK: 1300) in attack mode and end my turn." Micheal made his move.
"Wha- are you serious?" Raine asked, "There's more to your turn, right?"
"No. I end my turn."
Raine let out an ominous laugh. The crowd muttered, uncertain about Micheal's action. There were a few people who had seen a few of Micheal's cards in action who still cheered.
"What a pathetic turn! A single monster? I'll finish you off instantly and rid you of the title of the 4th strongest duelist!" Raine laughed menacingly.
"I'd like to see that happen. Bring it on." Micheal smiled.
TURN 2
MICHEAL: 4000
RAINE: 4000
"My turn!" Raine declared, "I draw! First I'll summon Chaotic Commander (ATK: 1800)! When he's summoned, I'm allowed to special summon another monster from my hand! Come out, Chaotic Meister (ATK: 1900)!"
A dark hue of blue emerged from one of Raine's monster zones. From the mist, a monster wearing dark armour emerged. The air hummed as he flicked his cape and swung his sword high in the air, slashing through reality and bringing out Chaotic Meister. A monster wearing a blue coat and mask dropped onto the field. Its skin was wrinkled to the point where it was unable to be sure if its arm was bending or not. It let out a groan as it stood up.
"Now that I have the DARK tuner (LV 4) Chaotic Commander and the LIGHT non-tuner (LV 4) Chaotic Meister, I'll synchro summon! Arrive on the field and demolish your opponents, (LV 8) Chaotic Demolisher Dragon (ATK: 3000)!"
Black light and white light merged, erupting into a pillar bursting with blue light. Coming out from it, a dragon with white scales and dark horns on its head and shoulders flew to the ceiling. It let out a roar as it slammed back to the field. The crowd erupted in cheers for the dragon. Despite his awful nature, Raine was very popular along with his cards.
"An impressive looking monster, I'm starting to like where this is going." Micheal commented as he looked up at the dragon.
"You haven't seen anything yet! Battle! Demolisher Dragon attacks your Alarmsetter!" Raine commanded,"And don't forget when I said I'll finish you off instantly! I activate the quick-play spell, Chaotic Attack! It can only be activated when I have an even number of LIGHT and DARK monsters in my graveyard! All "Chaotic" monsters this turn do double battle damage!"
Chaotic Demolisher Dragon spewed out hot blue flames, which burned into a bright white flame with the spell card's effect.
"That won't be enough." Micheal called out calmly.
"Not after this! I activate Chaotic Meister's effect in my graveyard! Just before battle damage calculation, I can banish it to lower your monster's attack by 100 times their level! Your monster is level 4, so it loses 400 attack, bringing it to 900! With Chaotic attack and Demolisher Dragon, the battle damage will be 4200! You lose!"
The spiraling white flame crashed into the Alarmsetter, who melted away and was destroyed.
MICHEAL: 4000
"What! That attack connected! How?" Raine questioned, astonished.
"Tick-Tock Alarmsetter's effect. Any damage I take is instead dealt to me at the End phase of my next turn, unless I control a non "Tick-Tock" card.. Along with that, when it's destroyed, I can set a "Tick-Tock" trap from the deck. I'll set my Tick-Tock Emergency Alarm. Well, anything else you want to do?"
"Tch! I'll set a card to end my turn!" Raine angrily set a card.
TURN 3
MICHEAL: 4000
RAINE: 4000
"During my draw phase, I can activate my trap card, Tick-Tock Emergency Alarm! When the damage I would take during my end phase via the effect of a "Tik-Tok" card is more than my life points, I can draw an additional card for every 1000 points. You said 4200, right?" Micheal smirked.
"That's insane…" Raine's eyes widened in shock.
Micheal drew 4 cards, along with his usual draw, for a total of 5 cards.
"Your monster was amusing, but if that's all you have to offer, then this duel is a waste of time. I'll activate the field spell, Tick-Tock Big Ben!" Micheal activated a brand new field spell. A large, worn-down clock tower rose near the field, adorned with thorns and plantlife. Rusted hands pointed to 12 o'clock.
"Whenever a Tick-Tock monster is summoned, an "o'clock" counter is added to the field spell. The field spell right now doesn't do anything, but it'll gain a variety of effects when I'm done with this turn. Now, I'll summon Tick-Tock Timeraven (ATK: 1400)! Because a Tick-Tock monster was summoned, I can special summon Tick-Tock Metrognome along with it! Then with Timeraven's effect, I can change Metrognome's level to 3!" Micheal laid out his monsters.
A green raven with a timer on its back flew onto the field, squawking. From its back, a small gnome hopped out and started to dance, wildly swinging from left to right. The crow joined in on the dance, changing the timer on its back to 3 and applying it to Metrognome, changing its level from 5 to 3..
"With (LV 4) Tick-Tock Timeraven and (LV 3) Tick-Tock Metrognome, I'll synchro summon an explosive monster to the field!" Micheal announced, raising his hands.
"You can't! Neither of your monster's are tuners!" Raine complained, pointing at him.
"Tick-Tock Timeraven has an effect that allows itself to be treated as a tuner for any "Tick-Tock'' Synchro monsters. Arm yourself, (LV 7) Tick-Tock Exploder Dragon (ATK: 2700)!" Micheal summoned out a powerful monster, "Since 3 Tick-Tock monsters have been summoned, 3 "o'clock" counters have been placed on BIg Ben, which means all Tick-Tick monsters gain 300 attack. Looks like our dragons are on the same footing."
Timeraven grabbed Metrognome and flew high into the air. The timer on it's back counted down from 3, ending in a large explosion. From it, a dragon crashed down onto the ground. It's arms and legs seemed to made of metal, but its torso and wings were covered in green and silver scales. Its mouth reverberated at it let out a roar that was as loud as you'd expect an explosion to be. A large hourglass sat on its back, filled with stardust. Both dragons roared at each other, Demolisher's sounding more threatening.
"Don't compare your clock to my dragon." Raine spat.
"You've a lot of anger. A loss would do you good." Micheal smirked, "Now I'll activate Tick-Tock Chronoslasher's effect from my hand. I can send a Tick-Tock monster from my hand to the graveyard to summon it! Then my discarded card's effect activates! When it's sent to the graveyard from my hand, I'm allowed to special summon it! To the field, Tick-Tock Countdown Clown!"
A warrior slashed its way onto the field, wielding a blade similar to that of a clock's hand. He wore a blue armour and a small cape. Following up behind it, a large clown with a clock on its belly twirled around the field. The clown got dizzy and fell onto a monster zone, the clock on its belly spinning out of control.
"Countdown Clown's effect, when it's special summoned onto the field by its own effect. I can tribute it to special summon two "Tick-Tock" monster's from my hand! Come out! Tick-Tock Clock-and-Roll (ATK:1000) and Tick-Tock Kid Clock (ATK:1400)!"
A cyborg rooster with clocks instead of eyes flew onto the field. It let out a small cluck before bringing out an electric guitar and slammed its wing on it to let out sound. Following it, a tiny clock spun around next to the Clock-and-Roll before getting up to reveal itself as Kid-Clock, donning a small hat. It crossed its arms and the arms on its face shifted to make a smile.
"What in the world…" Raine was only confused at the monsters that had just been summoned.
"Tick-Tock Kid Clock's effect! When it's summoned, I can target a monster I control and treat it as a tuner. I'll choose Chronoslasher! Now Chronoslasher's second effect! I can reduce its level by 3, turning it into a level 4 monster! Once more, I'll synchro summon another astonishing monster! I tune (LV 4) Tick-Tock Chronoslasher with (LV 2) Tick-Tock Clock-and-Roll and (LV 3) Tick-Tock Kid Clock! Shift through time, Tick-Tock Moment Dragon (ATK:3000)!"
Tick-Tock Chronoslasher threw its sword into the air where it twirled, tuning itself with Tick-Tock Clock-and-Roll and Tick-Tock Kid Clock. A splash of emerald light waved across the field. The crowd cheered as a dragon flew above, circling them. It landed hard on the ground, crushing the monster zone on the arena. Its metallic skin fluttered as it slammed its heavy tail on the ground. On each of its joints, and a series of eight on its back, were blue orbs that glimmered with light. Its wings were adorned the same way. It let out a loud screech that silenced the crowd.
"5 Tick-Tock monsters were summoned, so 5 more counters are added to my field spell, Big Ben. It already has 3 counters, so Moment Dragon gains 300 attack, but because it has at least 6 counters, it gains another effect. While Big Ben is on the field, "Tick-Tock' monster cannot be destroyed."
The hour hand on big ben clunked one by one to 8 o'clock, as it had 8 "o'clock" counters. The 3 and 6 on the giant tower were glowing green.
"On top of that, Tick-Tock Kid Clock's effect activated. When it's used to summon a "Tick-Tock" monster, all special summoned "Tick-Tock" monsters gain 1000 attack. That raises Tick-Tock Exploder Dragon to 4000 attack and Tick-Tock Moment Dragon to 4300. I'm sorry, can you keep up with what I've said?" Micheal gave Raine a sly smile, the crowd laughing along with him.
"Shut up! I heard you just fine." Raine yelled, sweat dripping down his face.
"Just making sure. You don't look too well after all. I'll summon one more monster, then end this duel. I'll activate the spell card, Tick-Tock Death's call."
A sinister energy surrounded the field. Wreaths of darkness erupted around the field, scaring the audience.
Micheal announced the effect of the card, "First, I add "The Reaper" to my hand. Then, I get to special summon monsters from the graveyard whose levels equal "The Reaper"s. I summon Tick-Tock Chronoslasher, Tick-Tock Timeraven and Tick-Tock Clock-and-Roll. They're levels combined equal 12."
The three monsters emerged from the darkness, looking hypnotized.
"Now that they've emerged, I must immediately special summon "The Reaper" using them as material. This summon is also counted as a Tribute summon as The Reaper can only be tribute summoned, using 3 monsters that equal its level. End my opponent's time, The Reaper (ATK:0)!"
The three monsters screamed in agony as they were torn apart, their essence forming into a clocked being, holding a scythe and a stopwatch. Red eyes poked out from the darkness beneath its hood.
"That card… it's not a Tick-Tock monster!" Raine trembled as he spoke.
"No, it doesn't have Tick-Tock in its name. However, if you read its effect… it's always treated as a Tick-Tock monster." Micheal addressed Raine's concern, "The Reaper also gains attack equal to the monster's attack used for its tribute summon. Adding them altogether, The Reaper gains 4800 attack, along with a 300 bonus from Big Ben, making it 5100!"
"Unbelievable… damn it!" Raine cursed, unable to do anything.
"Speaking of Big Ben, since 4 Tick-Tock monsters were summoned, it gains 4 "o'clock" counters. Since it has at least 9, another effect takes place: "Tick-Tock" cards cannot be banished or targetted by my opponent's effect. That means you."
"I know!"
"Do you? You've been a pretty terrible opponent. Big Ben also has 12 "o'clock" counters, achieving its final effect:"Tick-Tock" monster's can attack directly."
As soon as Micheal ended his sentence, the crowd gasped. Big Ben let out 12 loud chimes.
"I'll end it this turn. Goodbye." Micheal sighed, "I attack you directly with The Reaper."
The Reaper raised its scythe and appeared behind Raine, the blade pressed against his neck.
"Don't just go ahead and steal the show like that. I won't let you finish this so easily! I activate my trap card, Chaotic Last Stand! This card can only be activated If there is only one "Chaotic" monster on the field. Until the end phase, I take no battle damage!" Raine saved himself at the last minute.
"Doesn't matter. It's a decent way to keep yourself alive at least. The Reaper will attack your Demolisher Dragon." Micheal didn't seem impressed.
The crowd roared with Raine's last minute survival but were hushed once again when The Reaper sliced off Chaotic Demolisher Dragon's head, shattering the monsters into tiny fragments of light. The Reaper chuckled, and absorbed the fragments that were once Raine's monster into itself.
"What the hell… What is that thing?" Raine yelled.
"The Reaper's effect. When it destroys a monster, it can attack again, not that it can deal any damage. But when it destroys a monster, it gains a "Tick-Tock" counter. When it gains 12 "Tick-Tock" counters, it'll take your life. That is, your life points will be set to 0, and I'll win this duel."
"That's a nasty effect. End your turn, so I can end this duel now!"
"I'll set 3 cards to end my turn." Micheal calmly finished.
TURN 4
MICHEAL: 4000
RAINE: 4000
"Finally, I draw!" Raine drew another card to start his turn, "I'll activate the spell card, Chaotic Interference! I banish two monsters in my graveyard, then I can either or subtract their levels in order to summon a Synchro monster with the same level as the result! I'll add Chaotic Demolisher Dragon and Chaotic Commander's levels, resulting in a level 12 Synchro monster!"
Lightning crackled and the ground shook. Blue fog curled around the stadium as a monster emerged from it.
"Behold the power of the ultimate monster! Make them all disappear, Chaotic Oblivion Empress Lethe!"
The dark blue fog swirled together, then burst outward as a monster appeared fully. Wearing a long royal blue cape, strapped with white and blue royal designed armour, a monster with long and luscious white hair stood alone. She gave a look at the monsters who opposed her, who were stunned, as if they forgot their role.
"When Lethe is synchro summoned, she reduces all other monsters attack to 0!" Raine declared, stunning the crowd.
Micheal's dragons green glow dimmed to a meager light, and The Reaper seemed to have lost the red glow in its eyes. Each of the monsters only had 300 attack that was supplied from Micheal's field spell.
"Now that's an interesting card!" Micheal grew a little excited.
"Now I'll attack! And when Lethe attacks, Spell and Traps can't be activated until the end of the Damage Step and face up Spell or Traps are negated as well! I'll attack you Tick-Tock Moment Dragon!"
Lethe dashed through the air, getting close to the time traveling dragon. Blue mist swirled in her hand, forming a sharp blade. The dragon groaned as Big Ben no longer gave it additional attack.
"I won't allow my monster to be destroyed! I activate Tick-Tock Moment Dragon's effect!" Micheal quickly declared, "By banishing Tick-Tock Exploder Dragon, Moment Dragon gains double its original attack! Exploder Dragon has 2700 attack, so Moment dragon gains 5400!"
Tick-Tock Exploder ascends, disappearing as the cost of Moment Dragon's effect.
"I was waiting for that, you fool! Lethe's other effect activates! When you activate a monster effect, it's negated, then all of your monsters are banished! Raine triumphantly calls out, a large smile on his face.
The Reaper and Tick-Tock Moment dragon washed away, banished. Raine fell to one knee, panting. All of the pressure from the crowd as well as from Micheal was starting to get to him.
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to attack Lethe and win?" Micheal asked, completely calm.
Raine stood back up, "When Lethe activates that effect, she ends the battle phase. Even if she didn't… you had a plan to still make a comeback, didn't you?"
Micheal chuckled, "Is it my turn now?"
"I'll set two cards and end my turn. At this time, Chaotic Interference effect kicks in, banishing Lethe face-down but allows me to special summon two banished monsters. I'll special summon Chaotic Demolisher Dragon (ATK: 3000) and Chaotic Meister (DEF: 1100)."
TURN 5
MICHEAL: 4000
RAINE: 4000
"MY turn, I draw. I told you my previous turn that I would end it, right? Allow me to fulfill that promise." Micheal drew a card to start his turn.
"I already survived that. You can't fulfill that now." Raine argued.
"Can't I? I'll just have to turn back time. I activate my trap, A Moment in Time: Reborn! This card can only be activated if I have at least 12 "o'clock" counters on Big Ben. I remove all those counters, then shuffle all cards on the field into the deck, except this one. Then I place all cards that were face-up on the field at the beginning of the last turn on their respective positions. Big Ben from Deck, Tick-Tock Exploder Dragon (ATK: 2700), Tick-Tock Moment Dragon (ATK: 3000), and The Reaper (ATK: 0) from the banished zone. My traps won't make it unfortunately. Since these cards were "placed" and not summoned, Big Ben doesn't gain any counters."
Chaotic Demolisher Dragon and Chaotic Meister returned to the Extra Deck and the Deck, leaving Raine's field completely open.
"But Lethe…" Raine muttered.
"Lethe's been banished face-down, completely away from the flow of time. Looks like she won't be coming back. We're back to the 3rd turn, so I can keep my promise after all. I'll end it now. Goodbye."
Raine fell to his knees, as the two dragon's attacked him directly, defeating him in an explosion. The crowd cheered so loud, Raine was unable to hear his thoughts. He wondered if he even had any thoughts, then realized that he was having a very dumb thought. Micheal walked up to him. Now that the duel had ended, their voices weren't being transmitted to the crowd, or each other.
RAINE: 0
MICHEAL: 4000
DUEL END
"It was a good duel on your part. You even surprised me near the end. But even you weren't enough to pull out that monster from my deck… until next time, Raine." Micheal walked past him, gesturing for a good match.
Raine stood back up and turned around, seeing Micheal walk down the stairs off the stadium. The loss didn't feel real to Raine. He had never felt so humiliated in his life. However, he also felt elated, because he had genuine fun in that duel. He realized that Micheal wasn't seriously dueling him, he was just testing him. If he was able to pull off what he did just now, then he should've been able to finish him on the third turn. The mixture of emotions inside Raine swelled.
"Hey!" Raine yelled, louder than the crowd, "I swear I'll demolish everyone in the New Beginnings Tournament! I'll challenge you again, Micheal! I'll get stronger, and I'll beat you!"
Micheal turned back around to give him a look of satisfaction before walking away.
The crowd cheered for Raine's declaration. This was the first time Raine truly felt chaos whirling around inside him.
