Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. I only own the characters and cards I created.
Italic means thinking and stuff.
And I forgot to put this in the Prologue. This story was inspired by Celtic Guardian 7's 'Teknisk Wereld'. Check it out.
Special thanks to those who reviewed.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
14 year old Lyn Feiniel groaned as she sluggishly reached out and slammed the off button on her alarm. Pulling the clock so that it faced her, she noted that the time was seven o'clock in the morning.
Seven o'clock in the morning? Why did I set my alarm so early?
She glanced at the calendar beside her bed.
12th of August 2108. Nope. Nothing important as far as I can remember.
She threw the covers aside, sat up right and frowned. Usually when she set her alarm early and could not remember what for, it meant two things. Either she forgot to set her alarm correctly or there was a really important issue that needed to be settled soon. The latter was usually the case. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for clues.
Let's see. Unfinished story book on the chair. Clothes decorating the floor. She made a mental note to clean that up later. Duel Monster cards scattered on the desk. Big red bal- wait a minute. Duel Monster cards scattered on the desk? She mentally slapped herself. Of course. Today was the day she was going to get her Soul Monster. But wait, that would mean-
"Lyn Feiniel! If you don't come down in exactly 3 minutes you can wait another year to get your Soul Monster!" A piercing voice came from below.
With a loud 'Yipes' she quickly dashed into the bathroom, picking random clothes on the way and quickly got out of her pajamas and into whatever clothing she picked up. After quickly splashing her face and running her hand through her raven hair, she ran down the stairs and arrived at the kitchen where her mother had shouted from moments before. "I'm here," she huffed.
Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Uh… dear, I know you're excited to get your Soul Monster, but are you sure you want to appear in public wearing that?" she asked gently.
Checking herself over, Lyn blushed as she realized she just changed into her other pajamas. "I'll be right back," she breathed as she raced up the stairs again.
"Don't worry dear, I was only joking. Take your time and don't forget your deck." Her mother said and shook her head.
After spending some time changing into a white tank top and blue jeans, shoving her deck into her pocket and properly combing her hair back, she walked down the stairs in a more calm and carefree. Getting a nod of approval from her mother, she sat down and helped herself to a toast. "So mom, where are we going to get my Soul Monster?" she asked as she chewed her toast.
"The Isthal Institution (I.I.) branch at Serk. That's the closest one, only about 15 minutes of walk," she replied.
"What monster do you think I'll get?"
"One that matches what you are inside."
"That's what you always say," she grumbled. Then a thought came to her. "What if he doesn't get along with me?" she asked worriedly.
Giving her daughter a peculiar look, she answered, "That is unlikely to happen unless you are a person who denies your inner feelings. What makes you think it'll be a he anyway?"
She shrugged as she helped herself to another toast. "I don't know. Probably because most monsters that are of distinguishable gender are males."
"True." She glanced at the clock. "Well, we better get going if we want to avoid the traffic." They both got up and left.
After 15 minutes of traveling, they arrived at the I.I. building of Serk. With the exception of the initials I.I. at the front, the building didn't really stand out. They went in and were greeted by the receptionist.
"Greetings, can I help you?" she asked.
"Yes, my daughter is here to get her Soul Monster." Before the receptionist could say another word, she produced a filled form and handed it to her. "I've already filled the form as required."
The receptionist checked the form and nodded. "This seems to be in order. Go through that door," she gestured towards the door on the right, "and enter the third red door room on the right." She began keying in the information. "Oh, and only the person who is going to get the Soul Monster is allowed." She added.
Lyn looked at her mother, who gave her a reassuring smile. "Off you go dear." She entered.
Taking an immediate right turn, she walked down a long hallway before she arrived at the door. She took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing," she muttered as she entered.
The room was not very big. A man stood behind a counter in the centre of the room. To his right was a large chair with a helmet placed on it. The helmet was wired to the counter, which was wired to a machine on its left. The machine had a transparent sphere on top of it. There seemed to be a card placed inside the sphere. The man did not say anything but merely gestured at the seat. Lyn sat herself down and fastened the helmet. The man quickly pushed a few buttons and the helmet turned on. Lyn stiffened but forced herself to relax.
"Correct me if I am wrong," the man said mechanically. "Name: Lyn Feiniel. Age: 14 years old. Blood Type: O. Date of birth: 2nd of September 2093. Gender: Female." He paused and looked at her for confirmation. She nodded. "Father: Theore Feiniel-deceased. Mother: Rosa Feiniel. Relatives: None. Survival Basics: Incomplete. Teacher: Rosa Feiniel. Duel Record: None." Once again she nodded. He pushed a button on the counter. "Please allow a few minutes for the process to take place. Kindly do NOT remove the helmet while the process is taking place."
What followed was the strangest experience Lyn ever felt. It was as if there was a ghostly hand on her head gently stroking her head while removing something from her. Normally she would have panicked and tore the helmet off but the feeling on her head felt soothing and reassuring. Minutes passed until the sphere beeped and opened.
The man removed the card in the sphere and plunged it into a slot at the counter. After several button-mashing he began to speak again, "This," he held the card, "is your Soul Monster's card. It contains general information about your Soul Monster." Two items appeared on his right. One can be easily identified as a Duel Disk. The other seemed to be a slotted wrist-guard of sorts. "This is your Duel Disk. And this is your Duel Band. This is the place where your Soul Monster 'sleeps'. By inserting the Soul Monster's card while he is in it, he will be able to recuperate. There are also various other features that you will have to discover yourself. Any questions?" he asked as he handed her the three items.
"What happens if my Soul Monster's card is torn?" she asked as she strapped on her Duel Disk and Duel Band. Bringing out her deck, she slid it into her Duel Disk, amazed at how easily it went in.
"Your Soul Monster will be kicked out of the card. He can still recuperate like normal humans, though the process is faster when you use the Duel Band. And no, you can't repair the torn card." He answered automatically, as if he had been asked the question so many times it became a habit.
Pocketing her Soul Monster's card, she thanked him. Then she went outside to her waiting mom.
The journey home had been quiet. Lyn was surprised that her mother had not spoken a single word on the way back. She seemed to be preoccupied with something, not even noticing when they had reached home.
"Mom, we're home now," Lyn told her.
Her mother only sighed. "I guess it couldn't be avoided," she said. "Go to my room. You'll find a packed bag and a Duel Disk on the table. Bring them."
Lyn looked at her mom oddly but she did as she was told. She found the bag lying on the floor, a dark blue traveling bag with two front pockets. Swinging the bag over her shoulder, she almost fell back due to the extra weight. After spending a minute or two adjusting herself, she grabbed the Duel Disk and headed outside.
Rosa Feiniel took the Duel Disk from her daughter. When she tried to give her the bag, she just shook her head and motioned to her to put it down.
"Where are we going mother?" Lyn asked.
"Not 'we' dear. You. You're going to leave home and travel for a while. And if I guessed correctly, it'll be a long while." She answered sadly.
Lyn only looked at her mother a while, as if she had expected that. "Why?" she merely asked.
"Because of a favor I owe. And because it will help you, in more ways than one." She looked at Lyn. "You don't seem very surprised." She noted.
"I'm not. Well, not really. It just that I somehow knew that I would be leaving home soon, for reasons I don't know."
"It's just like she said," her mother said with a sigh. "Well, I wouldn't be much of a mother if I let you go unprepared. In that bag you will find all your clothes packed. At the front pockets I have given you a few cards and a map. Make good use of them. And finally, I'm going to finish teaching you the basics of survival. I'm going to explain to you how to duel." And she did, starting with the basics to the more advanced plays. She also told her that their Soul Monsters would also be their Deck Masters and began elaborating about them.
"Any questions?" she asked after she finished explaining. Lyn shook her head. "Good. Now to cap it all up," she looked at her daughter, "we're going to duel."
Lyn did not say a word. She merely took her place opposite her mother and activated her Duel Disk. As she made to use her Soul Monster's card, her mother told her no. "We'll play without the use of our Deck Masters. Having their ability is nice, but it's not good for you to depend on them. You can get acquainted with your Soul Monster later." She replaced the card in her pocket and drew five cards.
Rosa mimicked her daughter's actions. "You start."
Lyn: 8000
Rosa: 8000
Lyn drew her card. "I'll set one monster in defense and one card facedown. End turn."
"I'll do the same and end my turn." Rosa said as she set one monster card and one card face-down.
Lyn raised her eyebrows at her mother's actions but kept quiet. "I'll set another monster in defense and end my turn."
Rosa could only smirk at her daughter's reaction. "I'll set another monster in defense too. End turn."
"Mom, stop copying me. One card in defense and end turn."
Rosa grinned. "One card in defense and end turn." She mimicked.
That did it. Lyn wasn't sure what made her snap; the fact that her mother kept mimicking her actions or the fact that she wasn't even taking this duel very seriously. "I'll flip summon all my monsters. Meet Vampire Lady (1550/1550), Needle Worm (750/600) and Sangan (1000/600). Because I flipped summon Needle Worm you have to discard 5 cards from the top of your deck to the graveyard." She watched as her mother calmly deposited five cards into her graveyard and that seemed to frustrate her even more. "And now all my monsters attack."
"An important lesson for you, daughter: Never let your opponent get to you. It can spell doom for you. You triggered my trap card. Go Mirror Force!"
Lyn could only watch as her monsters ran into the barrier. She felt her temper rising again from being toyed so easily and forced it down. Keep calm, she told herself. "Because Sangan was sent to the graveyard I get to choose one monster card from my deck with an attack of 1500 or lower and add it to my hand. My deck is then shuffled. End turn."
"Good. You managed to control your anger," her mother congratulated her. "I'll lay one card down and flip summon my Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) and Skilled White Magician (1700/1900). I play Jar of Greed and draw two cards." She drew her cards. "Not bad. By the way, both of my magicians gain magic counters when magic cards are played until they have three."
"What do those counters do?"
Rosa grinned. "You'll see. Both of my magicians attack directly."
"I activate Magic Cylinder and reflect you Skilled Dark Magician's attack back to you."
"Not bad. I'll end my turn."
Lyn: 6300
Rosa: 6100
Lyn drew. "I set one monster in defense mode and lay two cards. I'll end my turn here."
After drawing her card, Rosa said, "I already won. A word of advice: Don't lay too many cards down without protection. I play Heavy Storm. This destroys all magic and trap cards on the field."
"Your card is destroyed too." Lyn pointed out.
"Sometimes sacrifices must be made. My magicians gain another counter. I play Nobleman of Crossout to destroy your facedown card and remove it from play. If it has a flip effect we must both remove all monsters of the same name from our decks and remove them from play. Our decks are then reshuffled."
"That was my Cyber Jar."
"And another counter is added to both of my magicians. Now I will use their effect. If they have three magic counters, I can tribute Skilled Dark Magician to special summon Dark Magician (2500/2100) from my hand, deck or graveyard and Skilled White Magician to special summon Buster Blader (2600/2300). I'll summon them both from my deck in attack mode and flip my facedown Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200). All of them attack directly. I lay two cards down and end my turn."
Lyn: 100
Rosa: 6100
Lyn examined the card she just drew. "This might work. I summon The Fiend Megacyber (2200/1200) in attack mode." A yellow monster appeared on the field. Two lightning symbols decorated his chest while spikes shot out of his shoulders. A blue aura surrounded him. "Then I'll equip him with Axe of Despair, raising his attack by 1000 (3200/1200)." An axe appeared in front of the monster and he grasped it tightly.
Rosa frowned at this. "That raises two questions. How did you summon him without tribute? He's a level six monster."
"I can special summon him without tribute when you have two more monsters than me."
"And what theme is your deck running?"
"Theme? What's that?"
Rosa sighed. "I told you about it last month Lyn. Long story cut short, your deck's theme is what your deck concentrates on. Some examples are beatdown, burner and attributes. And you choose cards that support your theme. That way, you'll know what your deck is doing. If you don't have a theme, you'll just be playing randomly without a proper plan, which, most of the time, will mess your game up. You can even choose a single monster card as your theme. Then you concentrate on cards which support him, whether on bringing him out or helping him in battle." She paused. "It'll be easier for you to duel if you make a deck that can take advantage of your Deck Master's ability."
Lyn nodded as she digested the information. "I see. I'll modify my deck later. Back on the duel, my monster attacks your witch."
Lyn: 100
Rosa: 4000
"You should have attacked my Buster Blader or Dark Magician. Too bad. I can pick one monster with a defense of 1500 or lower form my deck due to my witch's effect." The deck was then reshuffled. "And I draw one card, not that it matters. I play the magic card Polymerization and fuse my Dark Magician and Buster Blade to form Dark Paladin (2900/2400)."
"His attack isn't strong enough to beat my monster."
"You didn't let me finish. I activate my facedown card: DNA Surgery and choose dragons. Now all face up monster cards are of Dragon Sub-Type."
"How does that help you?"
"Why don't you look at my monster's stats again dear?" Rosa suggested with a grin.
Lyn looked at the Dark Paladin and was shocked to see that its stats had risen to (3900/2400). "What? How?"
"Dark Paladin gains 500 attack points for each face up Dragon Sub-Type monsters on the field and in the graveyard. And since I changed both our monster's Sub-Type to dragons my monster gains 1000 attack points. Dark Paladin attacks The Fiend Megacyber for the win."
The armored monster held its sword high above its head and brought it down in a smooth arc, slashing both monster and axe in half.
Lyn: 0
Rosa: 4000
The Duel Disks were immediately deactivated. "Good job. You did well for a first timer, cutting my Life Points in half. Now off you go then."
Lyn did not move for a moment. Then she tightly embraced her mother. "Will I be welcome here again?" she asked.
"Silly girl, of course you will be. This is your home after all." Rosa's voice was getting shakier by the minute as she felt the tears well up in her eyes.
"Thanks mom." After saying good byes, she picked up her bag and left.
Rosa stared at her daughter's fading figure for a moment before collapsing in tears. "Be safe Lyn. Be safe."
