Cameras flashed all around him, and he smiled a fake smile just for them. ("I have to give the public what they want, after all.")
"Mr. Gorgion, many of your competitors in the gaming industry have commented on your 'lack of originality' in creating this tournament. What is your response?"
William Gorgion ran a small black comb through his slicked-back blond hair and smiled winningly at the reporter who had asked the question. "Let me put it like this. If they have a problem with my competition, then they can come and take me on personally. In fact, I'd love a match with a certain Japanese duelist who will remain nameless for now." He chuckled and paced back and forth across the stands while he talked. "Any other questions, or can I finally announce the plans of my company for this world tournament?"
The mass of journalists and reporters went silent.
"Thank you very much." William snapped his fingers and the lights in the conference room dimmed. Behind him a huge projection appeared on the wall of an eagle-eye view of the tournament location. "As you know, my tournament will be held here in America at my amusement park. All entrants will be given a single key, and five are needed to gain entrance to the center amphitheater where the finals will be held. It's quite a tested and true concept, which I hope everyone understands." He felt his cell phone vibrate against his chest and frowned slightly. "My apologies ladies and gentlemen, but I must take a call. If you have any other questions they can be directed to my representatives." Silently, he walked off.
As soon as William had gotten away from the press, he removed his cell phone from his breast pocket and flipped it open. "This had better be important."
The voice on the other end of the line whispered something breathlessly.
The businessman turned pale and grimaced; glancing behind him to make sure no one was watching. After he was completely sure that no one would hear him, he yelled into the phone, "How could you have let it escape!? Do you have even the slightest inkling of what a danger that thing represents!?"
A weak cough came from the other end of the line, and then a reply.
William punched the wall in front of him with his free hand. "I don't care if you tried your hardest or not! And no, I'm not sending you any medical attention. You failed me, and I cannot tolerate failures. Perhaps it is time for me to get some new help." He flicked his phone closed and smiled calmly. ("All is not lost. If it does what I think it will do, then it should come here in search of me. The best thing I can do is speak to my eliminators and give them strict orders not to try stopping it from doing what it does best…taking souls.")
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Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.
Demon Duelist Legacy-Reunion Arc
Chapter 1: Coincidences
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"…attack now Dark Jeroid, end this!"
Not much farther away, "Gilford the Lightning attacks your Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!"
"Wow…" Ichigo Pilkington, eyes wide, watched as a towering dragon released a blast of fire that wiped out the life points of its master's opponent. "Can I please duel mommy!?"
Jennie Crabtree Pilkington sighed and picked up her five-year-old son. "Sorry Ichigo, but daddy said that he would only be gone a minute. Besides, you're too young to use a duel disk anyway." With her free hand she straightened her short brown hair and then straightened out the wrinkles in her t-shirt.
"That's not true!!!" The little half-demon crossed his arms across his chest and pouted. "I'm the greatest!"
"Of course you are," Jennie giggled and set her son back on the ground. "But even the greatest duelists can't compete in this tournament. Your dad got an invitation because of some of his past dueling records which showed that he was a great duelist." Under her breath the Kitsune muttered, "And he'd better win. That prize money would pay for you to go through college."
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Daniel Pilkington sneezed for the fourth time since he'd gone to find the registration booth. ("Now where is that thing? It shouldn't be that hard to find.") He sighed angrily and sniffed the air, though he knew that really wouldn't help him find the booth. ("But it does make me feel better…because at least I know exactly where my son and wife are.")
"I know you!" Someone yelled from right behind him. It was so loud that he had to cover his sensitive wolf ears for a few seconds while the ringing in them stopped.
Daniel looked back at the loud person and stared blankly at him. "I'm supposed to know you?"
The man growled angrily and readjusted his camouflage jacket. His brown crew-cut seemed familiar to Daniel, but he still didn't remember this person very well. "Let me remind you with a much more effective method! How about a duel?" He smirked and held up a silver key about the size of his finger. "This is one of the five keys you'll need to make it to the finals of this tournament. So how about we bet our respective keys and the winner will walk away with both of them, while the loser gets to lament his loss elsewhere?"
("Now I remember where we met.") Daniel smiled slightly and tapped a button on his duel disk, the device snapping into an 'active' position. "Robert Mulcher…it's been a long while since we've met. Last time we ran into each other was about ten years ago, wasn't it? I hope your skill has improved since then, because I know mine has."
Robert threw back his head and laughed. "You're about to find out just how much my skill has improved! By the time I'm done with you they'll need a dust-pan just to pick up your remains."
Daniel- 8000
Robert- 8000
Daniel ran his hand through his deck, feeling its energies mix with his own. ("My Soul Deck…let's have a grand old time.") He snickered at what a strange turn of events this was. ("To think I'd run into this guy again…it's nearly impossible. But I guess when it comes to being a half-demon; the impossible is more likely to happen than the possible. But then wouldn't that make the possible the impossible and the impossible possible?")
Robert growled at the confused look that crossed Daniel's face while he drew his five cards. "Since you seem so pre-occupied with other matters, I'll go first." He drew. ("Good, but not good enough. It's time to see what else my deck has in store for me.") "I play the magic card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards!" Two more cards were snapped off of his deck. ("This is much better.")
("He had to explain Pot of Greed's effect?") Daniel rolled his eyes and tapped his foot on the tile below him impatiently. ("Well let's see if he really has improved at all.")
"I set two cards face-down and summon Stone Soldier (1000/1500) in defense mode. End turn." A rock-skinned warrior appeared on the field in a crouching position. Robert's smirk said that he had something planned.
Daniel drew six cards from his deck. "Let's see what you'll be facing today!" He smirked at the drawn cards. ("So be it!") "I summon Drillago (1600/1100) in attack mode!" A machine monster with many drills all over its body appeared on the field. "Attack the Stone Soldier now! Drill Spin!"
"Foolish choice." Robert tapped a button on his duel disk and one of his set cards flipped up. "I discard one card from my hand to activate Raigeki Break! This trap card will destroy one card on the field, and that means the end of your Drillago." A blast of lightning flew out of nowhere and shattered Daniel's machine.
("That was about what I expected.") Daniel slid a card into his duel disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn." A sharp burst of wind launched across the field and shattered his set card.
"You triggered my other trap card, Dust Tornado. I activate it during your end phase and destroy your set card before it ever has a chance to activate." Robert inserted his trap card into his graveyard slot and snickered calmly. "So, are you willing to take me a bit more seriously now?" He left the question unanswered while he drew. "I summon Twin-Headed Behemoth (1500/1200) in attack mode and switch Stone Soldier into attack mode." A twin-headed dragon appeared on the field next to the now standing warrior. "Both of my monsters attack you directly!" The Stone Soldier ran across the field and slammed its sword down on Daniel's shoulder, bringing him to one knee.
Daniel- 7000
Robert- 8000
The Twin-Headed Behemoth released a spray of fire from both of its mouths that consumed Daniel momentarily.
Daniel- 5500
Robert- 8000
Robert slid a card into his duel disk. "I finish my turn by setting one card face-down on the field."
Brushing a bit of dirt off of his shoulder, Daniel drew casually. "That was nice. Now it's my turn to do some damage." He slapped down his monster onto his disk. "Go X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) in attack mode!" A blue and yellow robot appeared on the field. "Attack Stone Soldier now!" A pair of missiles flew out of the gun turrets on its back and blew Robert's monster apart. "I set one card face-down on the field and end my turn."
Daniel- 5500
Robert- 7200
Robert drew. "I switch Twin-Headed Behemoth into defense mode and set one monster face-down on the field. End turn." He didn't seem very worried by the fact that his opponent had more monsters on the field than he did.
Daniel drew. ("What monster did he set face-down?") "I activate the magic card Brain Control! With this card's effect I seize control of one monster on the field and bring it to me. Come to me, Twin-Headed Behemoth!" A huge purple brain appeared on the field and reached out with phantom hands to grab the dragon pull it over to Daniel. In a flash of light the Twin-Headed Behemoth and the X-Head Cannon disappeared, replaced by a huge tank-treaded dragon machine. "I sacrifice both of these creatures to summon Fusilier Dragon!" (2800/2000) "Attack the defense monster now!" A pair of cannon barrels on the dragon tank's back aimed down at the set monster and bombarded it with explosive projectiles.
Robert threw back his head and laughed wildly. "You did exactly what I wanted you to do! If I've heard correctly about your reputation, you're the master of machines…well then I'm sure you'll love my Iron Demon Viser Death (500/1200) in defense mode!" A horrible torture machine appeared on the field and latched onto the Fusilier. "As long as this monster is attached to yours, it cannot be destroyed in battle and your monster cannot be sacrificed. In three turns your creature will be destroyed and the fun can start all over again!" He continued to laugh, until he noticed Daniel's face-down card had disappeared and was replaced by a strange futuristic-looking engine.
"Now it's my turn to trigger a trap card." Daniel motioned to the machine, and then to his Fusilier Dragon which was rapidly disappearing. "My Matter Transporter trap card will remove my monster from the field for one turn, meaning that your Iron Demon Viser Death can't attach to it."
"Wrong." Robert tapped a button on his disk. "I thought you might have something like that, so I set my Trap Jammer counter trap card face-down on the field. When activated, I can negate your trap card's activation." The Transporter device shuddered and exploded, followed up by the Iron Demon Viser Death flying across the field and latching onto the head of the Fusilier Dragon. "Anything else you'd like to try? I'd be more than happy to counter it and make you look more like a fool."
Daniel gritted his teeth and slammed a card into his disk. "Don't get so cocky! Activate the magic card Swords of Revealing Light!" Green glowing swords made up of light slammed down all across the field. "With this card in play you will be unable to attack me for three turns. End turn."
Robert shook his head and drew. "Do you have any other hobbies besides dueling? Because so far your skill is about the same as when I first dueled you. As you can obviously see so far, I have improved beyond your pitiful level of power. I set one monster face-down on the field and end my turn."
"Get him dad!"
Daniel face-fell, though he quickly recovered and looked behind him to see his wife and son sitting at a nearby table. "Oh…hey there guys!" He threw his hand up across his face to hide his blushing cheeks. ("Why'd they have to find me?")
Jennie snickered quietly at her husband. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you were losing this duel at the moment." Her expression turned ice cold. "Do I need to remind you that our son's education rests on you getting that prize money?"
Doing his best to ignore the cold shivers of fear that ran down his back, Daniel drew. "No dear…of course not. I know that Ichigo's education rests on my skills."
"Go dad!" The only thing Ichigo was focused on at the moment was that his dad was dueling. He loved watching all of his dad's cool machines, though personally he liked his dad's other deck more.
("Yeah, no pressure at all.") Daniel wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and placed the card he had drawn onto his disk. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
Robert drew. "Wow, so you have a family? It's a damned shame they are about to see you lose. Then again, I don't really care!" A card was slammed into his disk. "I set one card face-down and then I reveal the monster I set face-down last turn." A blue-clothed ninja appeared on the field, its battle stance casual. "Armed Ninja (300/200) has a special flip effect that triggers right now. It may destroy one magic card on the field. So say good-bye to Swords of Revealing Light!" The glowing swords all around his field shuddered and exploded into little particles of green light. "End turn."
"Yep…great job…" Jennie dead-panned calmly.
Ichigo was mesmerized by the pretty green lights that now filled the blue sky.
Daniel took a deep breath, ignoring the thoughts that were flashing through his head. ("Ichigo's future depends on me winning this tournament, and that's exactly what I plan to do!") He drew. "I reveal my face-down monster Cyber Jar!" (900/900) A smiling metal sphere appeared on the field. "This monster has a flip effect too, but it's much more lethal than Armed Ninja's paltry little trick. I now destroy all monsters on the field!" The metal jar exploded and left both players with a nearly empty playing field. "Now the real fun begins though. Cyber Jar forces us both to draw five cards and special summon any level four or lower monsters amongst them to the field in face-up attack mode or face-down defense mode!"
The half wolf-demon snapped five cards off of his deck in one move. "I special summon Mechanical Chaser (1850/800) in attack mode, Clockwork Priest (1500/1300) in attack mode, and Clockwork Magician (500/400) in attack mode!" A strange-looking robot with numerous arms appeared on the field, followed by a regal clockwork humanoid robot, and then next to them on the field a short little google-eyed clockwork humanoid appeared with a staff in its hand.
Robert drew five and slapped three of the cards face-down onto his disk. "I set three monsters face-down in defense mode."
("That's true; he doesn't have to tell me what he got with Cyber Jar's effect.") Daniel didn't care though, because he had a plan. "First I play the quickplay magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying one magic or trap card on the field. My target is your set card!" A sharp wind blew across the field and shattered Robert's set card.
"I don't care whether you want to destroy my bluffs all duel or not, just play!" Robert snickered as he looked at the four cards now held in his hand. ("In just a short moment I'll be able to summon my ultimate monster.")
Daniel caught a card that was spat out of his deck and added it to his hand. "Don't be so hasty. The effect of Clockwork Magician and Clockwork Priest activates when they are summoned to the field. I draw one card thanks to Clockwork Magician, and create one Clockwork Gear Token (500/500) thanks to Clockwork Priest." A little steel cog appeared on the field.
"Should I care about whether you have some little pieces of junk on your field?" Robert tapped his foot on the ground a couple of times to indicate that he was getting bored.
"You should care, because I activate Clockwork Magician's second effect! By sacrificing one machine monster on my field I can draw one card! So I sacrifice my Clockwork Gear Token to draw one card!" The little cog disappeared as Daniel slid a card off of his deck. "Then I trigger the effect of Clockwork Priest. By discarding one card from my hand I can create another Clockwork Gear Token, which I will then sacrifice to my Clockwork Magician so I can draw another card."
Though the number of cards in his hand didn't change, Daniel now had more options to work with. "Then I discard a card to create another Clockwork Gear Token, which I sacrifice to summon Machine King (2200/2000) to the field in attack mode!" A towering steel humanoid appeared on the field. "And because of its special ability the Machine King gains 100 attack points for every machine monster on the field!" (2600/2000)
("This might interfere with my plans…") Robert braced himself.
"Machine King, attack the center defense mode monster now! Rocket Punch!" The robot monarch lifted its arms and launched them across the field towards the center card. There was a moment of resistance and then the set monster was destroyed. "One down, two to go!"
"Maybe so, but you triggered the effect of my set Crystal Lizard!" (1000/1800) Robert snapped three cards off of his deck. "When it is destroyed in battle then I draw one card from my deck for every two levels of the monster that destroyed it!"
"Mechanical Chaser, attack the monster on my left!" The spindly-armed robot pulled a scythe from out of nowhere and flew across the field to chop the set monster in half.
Robert slid a card from his hand into his graveyard, only to reach back in and pull the card out. "I activate the effect of the monster you destroyed! When you destroy Stone Gnome (1000/800) then I may discard one card from my hand to gain 1000 life points. Since I discarded Stone Magician (1800/1500) then I may pick it back up from my graveyard immediately!" A green light shimmered around him as his life points were increased.
Daniel- 5500
Robert- 8200
"Clockwork Priest, attack the last defender now!" The clockwork humanoid opened its mouth and unleashed a wave of green energy that blew right through the defender.
Robert discarded a card and then picked it up again. "I discard Stone Magician to activate the effect of my Stone Turtle!" (1100/1200) "When it is destroyed in battle I can discard one card from my hand to gain 1000 life points. Also, I trigger its second special effect. When it is sent to the graveyard, I discard Stone Magician again to special summon another Stone Turtle from my deck to the field in face-up defense mode!" Green light continued to flow around him while a squat little boulder appeared on the field.
Daniel- 5500
Robert- 9200
Daniel narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I set one card face-down on my field and end turn." ("I can't believe that the three monsters he got from my Cyber Jar effect all have the necessary power to defend him against me.")
Robert drew. ("Now it's time to tear apart this fool's defenses!") "I start my turn with the quickplay magic card Mystical Space Typhoon, allowing me to destroy your set trap card!" A sharp wind shattered Daniel's face-down card. "Then I play the magic card Earthquake!" The ground around them shook, sending all of Daniel's monsters to one knee. "This magic card switches all monsters on the field into defense mode. Then I switch Stone Turtle back into attack mode and order it to attack Mechanical Chaser!" The squat little boulder shook and a large hunk of stone exploded from it, shattering Daniel's machine monster. "Not only does this eliminate an otherwise threatening monster, but it also reduces Machine King's attack power." (2500/2000)
A rusty old-fashioned cannon appeared on the field. "Then I play the continuous magic card Primitive Cannon. By discarding one monster card from my hand I can destroy one monster on the field once per turn!" Robert discarded the Stone Magician and picked it up again. Letting out a weak whining noise, the cannon spat out a cannonball that tore across the field and blew the Machine King apart.
"Then I play the magic card Tribute to the Doomed. By discarding one card from my hand I can destroy one monster on the field." A storm of mummy wrapping exploded out of the ground and mummified the Clockwork Priest. Then a huge claw exploded out of the earth and pulled the doomed monster out of sight. "And since I discarded Stone Magician there is no hand loss to me."
("He's picking apart all of my monsters!") Daniel growled deep in his throat, feeling the beginnings of rage start to build up from within his chest.
"Next is the magic card Emerald Rain!" Small jewels started to rain from the sky, hitting the ground and letting out a symphony of tinkling noises as they connected with the earth. "By discarding Stone Magician I can special summon one rock sub-type monster from my graveyard to the field." A purple crystalline lizard appeared on the field in a cowering position. "Crystal Lizard comes back in defense mode. End turn."
Ichigo rubbed his eyes a couple of times to make sure he was seeing right. All of the pretty jewels that had fallen from the sky had disappeared. "Cool…"
Jennie frowned at Daniel. "Is this it? Does he have you beat?"
Daniel, while he loved his wife with all of his heart, didn't like that tone in her voice. "My turn…" He placed his hand on his deck and felt something run through his arm. The feeling continued on through his chest and then to his brain. ("I feel your spirit.") "…draw!" He snapped the card off of his deck and with the free fingers of that same hand took a card from his two and slid it into his disk. "Activate Snatch Steal! This equipment magic card forces one face-up monster on your field to come to me!" The Crystal Lizard hissed in confusion as it appeared on the field next to the Clockwork Magician.
"I sacrifice Crystal Lizard to summon out my greatest monster. Come to me Jinzo!" (2400/1500) The green armored form of Daniel's favorite monster appeared on the field and chuckled coldly. "Then I activate the effect of Clockwork Magician and sacrifice it to let me draw one card!" He snapped a card off of his deck, glanced at it, and then slid it into his disk. "I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards!" Now he had three cards in his hand. "Jinzo, attack Stone Turtle now!" The humanoid monster charged a ball of black energy within its hands and threw it across the field, blowing the stone creature apart.
Robert slid the Stone Magician into his graveyard and then took it back. "I use Stone Turtle's effect to gain 1000 life points, and then I'll lose 1300."
Daniel- 5500
Robert- 8900
Daniel grimaced and closed his eyes in silent apology to Jinzo. ("Don't worry, I'll bring you back.") "End turn."
Robert snapped a card off of his deck and discarded Stone Magician, picking it back up immediately. "I use Primitive Cannon to crush your Jinzo!" The rusty old weapon spat out another cannonball that blew Jinzo apart. "Then I play Crystal Reflector (1200/1600) in defense mode!" A statue of a soldier made of crystal appeared on the field in a crouching position. "End turn!"
"You can do it, dad!" Ichigo had moved back over to near his mother, since the loud noises from the duel hurt his ears. "You're the best!"
Daniel opened his eyes and drew. "I play the magic card Premature Burial!" He grabbed a card that was spat out of his graveyard and slapped it down. "By paying 800 life points I can revive one monster from the graveyard! Come out Jinzo!" The metal humanoid reappeared on the field and chuckled coldly. "Attack Crystal Reflector now!" Charging up a ball of energy within its hands, Jinzo hurled it across the field and blew it apart. "And by destroying Crystal Reflector, I lose life points equal to the attack of whatever monster destroyed it! End turn!"
Daniel- 2300
Robert- 8900
"What are you doing!?" Jennie couldn't believe this…was her husband throwing the match?
Robert drew and discarded Stone Magician, picking it right back up. "Primitive Cannon blows your Jinzo away." Another cannonball hurled across the field and shattered Jinzo for the second time this match. "Now I summon Stone Magician in attack mode and attack your life points directly!" A humanoid in stone robes appeared and spoke a few words. From the ground at its feet a large spike made of rock appeared and flew across the field to slam into Daniel's chest. "End turn."
Daniel- 500
Robert- 8900
Ichigo stared in horror at what shouldn't have been happening. "Dad…why?"
Daniel drew. "I play the magic card Replay! By paying half of my life points I can activate one magic card from my graveyard! Go Pot of Greed!" He glanced at the two new cards he had drawn and smiled slightly. "The duel ends right here. Monster Reborn on Clockwork Priest! Be revived!" The metal humanoid reappeared on the field. "Now his effect creates a Clockwork Gear Token!" A little cog appeared next to its creator. "I sacrifice that Token to summon the instrument of your defeat! Come out now Big Core!" (2300/1100)
From the sky above them a huge spaceship descended, weapons bristling all along its body. "Big Core will finish this now." Daniel glanced back at Ichigo and Jennie, and then he looked at Robert. "I was waiting for you to summon a monster in attack mode. Now that you have, I've won."
Robert held up his disk and pointed at the life point counter. "I have 8900 life points. You can't win this turn."
"Tell that to these three!" Daniel slid the last three cards in his hand into his disk. "Go Limiter Removal times three!" Clockwork Priest and Big Core both started to spray smoke out of openings in their armor. "This quickplay magic card doubles the attack of all machine monsters on my field, and then the increased monsters die at the end of the turn. Since I'm playing three of them though…"
Big Core (18400/1100)
Clockwork Priest (12000/1300)
("This is impossible!") Robert stumbled backwards, eyes wide as energy started to gather within the guns of Big Core. "You can't…"
"I just did." Daniel pointed at the Stone Magician. "Big Core, attack his Stone Magician now! Planet Destroyer Cannon!" The front gun of Big Core released a wave of energy that shattered the ground around Robert's field. By the time the wave of energy had cleared Robert had already lost consciousness.
Daniel- 250
Robert- 0
"YAY DAD!" Ichigo launched into Daniel's arms and hugged as hard as he could. "I knew you would do it!"
Jennie winked at Daniel and walked past him, snatching the silver key from the now unconscious Robert's belt. "It looks like we're one step closer, eh?"
"Yep." Daniel hoisted Ichigo on one shoulder and joined his wife while they walked off to find another challenge.
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Not too far away, a pair of pitch black eyes watched their departure. ("He is good. Perhaps good enough to finally give me rest.")
To be continued…