That last one was painful wasn't it? Well, now we get into the story, so it's all good now, I hope. Now that you know the connection from the Nordic World to Duel Monsters here, we can glide smoothly along. Yay.

For future reference:

/Words withslashes Luther thought/-communicating with Domar

/Italicized words withslashes/ Domar doing the same

((Oops, forgot the disclaimer in the last one, well, transfer this one to last chapter ))

Disclaimer – I do not own any characters/themes from the show Yu-Gi-Oh.

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Chapter One – Introductions and Then Some

- Luther searched through the cards on display in his grandfather's shop. Deciding if anything worthy enough for his deck came in the last shipment. Luther Jacobs, a 13 year old with big brains, big guts, and big hair ((brown, curly, and frizzy)), lives in the upstairs apartment of his grandfather's game shop with said grandfather. For as long as he could remember, he had been playing games galore. From board games, to more importantly, card games. Once Duel Monsters hit the racks, Luther never left his deck out of his sight, carrying it around with him at all times. And after winning his first card tournament with this deck, his grandfather rewarded him with something fascinating that changed Luther's life forever.

- A strange pewter puzzle in the shape of a sphere and displaying a shield much like a family crest in the front. It was connected to a chain like a necklace and hung loosely below his chest when he wore it. But the strange part has yet to come, for once he placed the puzzle around his neck for the first time, he was never the same again. The soul of who Luther later learned to be the soul of the Norse King Domar inhabited the puzzle. He also learned later that the puzzle's name was Hamingja, but that's barely important. What's important is that King Domar became a part of Luther and was most spectacularly able to swap places with Luther when they wanted to swap places. This involved Luther's soul taking Domar's place in the puzzle while Domar took Luther's place in his body. The two are about to embark on a journey for lost memories and to what they will someday find out, the fate of the world as we know it.

- "Hey, Grandpa, how much would this Acrobat Monkey cost me?" Luther pointed to a card that lay beyond the glass display case in the "Machine" section of monster cards.

- In a sort of subtle surprise, Grandpa, who we can call Mr. Jacobs, replied, "That's just one dollar and thirty cents, but I can't imagine why you would want to by such a weak monster card." He walked over to the display case and started to unlock it.

- Luther smiled at him and said, "You never know when you'll need a card like that." Which was very true, in Duel Monsters, anything can happen, and even the weakest of all monsters can make that much of a difference.

- A voice chimed into the conversation from over near the Dragons/Dinosaurs section. "That card won't ever get past my Dinos I can tell ya' that much." This was the voice of Rex Raptor, Luther's best friend, son of Rex Raptor Senior, Mr. Raptor we'll call him to evade confusion, president of RexCorps ((get it? Sorta like LexCorps from Superman? ...n/m)), the developers and makers of Solid Vision Holographs.

- Luther laughed and said, "You'd be surprised Rex, you never know what could happen." He pulled out some coins from his pocket and laid it on the glass counter as he fingered the card, examining it thoroughly, he always did this when he received new cards, so as to get more acquainted with the addition to his deck.

- "Seriously Luth," started Rex. "Luth" was his little nickname for Luther, and he was the only one who called him that. He continued, "You really think that pathetic little robot can withstand the attacks of my awesome reptilian power?" He leaned back over to scrutinize the cards for any useful ones he had missed before.

- Luther rolled his eyes. He knew that in an argument, Rex would never relinquish his opinion. "If you say so," Luther gave in, "But we won't know for sure until we test your hypothesis." He placed Acrobat Monkey in the leather deck pouch at his waist along with the other trust-worthy cards that helped him throughout the many battles he had waged before.

- Mr. Jacobs then locked up the glass cabinet and asked, "Find anything you like Rex?" Rex replied that he saw nothing he didn't have already or afford. He then turned to his grandson and asked, "So, Luther, I presume that you're going to enter the Battle City tournament Mr. Raptor is hosting?"

- Before Luther could answer, Rex stepped forward with his own reply. "Of course he is! How many tournaments has he won? You can beat this one for sure, that is, unless you can get past me!" He grinned and snickered. "And of course I'm entering; this is my father's tournament after all."

- Luther hadn't really had a say in it. Rex had the annoying habit of volunteering him into things, whatever they may be. Luckily though, things have always turned out well in the end, so Luther always trusted Rex. "Yeah, I guess I could, I see no harm in it." He pulled his deck out of his pouch and sifted through it. He did this often, so as to make sure he never put cards in his deck he forgot about; he always wanted to be on top of things in his duels. "Explain to me the rules, and maybe I'll enter." He said to Rex.

- "Heh," came from Rex, "Alright, here's how it is." He started to explain. "You start off by registering and receiving your Duel Disk." After getting incredulous looks, Rex explained, "A Duel Disk is like the card field but strapped to your arm, ergo, it's portable." After receiving looks of acknowledge and approval, Rex continued. "As well as a Duel Disk, you also get a Locator Card; this is the key to your surviving Battle City. The Locator Card is what's on the line when battling someone in a duel. Two duelists, two Locator Cards, winner takes all. And…" He paused for dramatic effect, "And the rarest card in your opponent's deck." He induced a moment of silence for any reaction, and he got some.

- "Well, now, that doesn't seem fair." Mr. Jacobs said with a 'humph' of disapproval.

- Rex smiled and said, "But that only makes it that much more exciting." He paused for someone to ask "Why?" but didn't get it, so he just went on. "Think about it, by the time Quarterfinals arrive, you'll have 8 people with the strongest monsters from all the Battle City contestants, can we say that's gotta be one heckuva crazy battle." This time he didn't acquire any feedback, so he resumed explaining the rules. "The important thing here is, you lose all your Locator Cards, you lose your spot in the tournament. Though, you do get to keep the Duel Disks as consolation, they're pretty cool."

- Luther wavered on his decision for a little bit. "Well, I'd hate to put my rarest cards on the line when I'm dueling, the risk just seems to harsh." he singled out a couple of his rarer cards in his deck that he was leafing through.

- "Ahh, no sweat Luth, I'm sure you'll knock 'em dead." Rex reassured. Here he was again, volunteering Luther into things he didn't want to get into, but how could he resist his good buddy's hunch?

- "Alright, fine, I'll look into it, if it'll make you happy." Luther said with a grin. He glanced over at his grandfather, who shook his head, amused.

- "Sweet! Let's get going then! Today's the last day we can register." Rex grabbed Luther's arm and headed out the door dragging him along. "Bye grandpa, see you later!" Luther shouted. "Come back to the shop if you need anything!" Was the old man's reply.

- Minutes later, Rex was leading the way as they traveled through the city streets towards the Battle City sign-up area. This gave Luther some time to consult a really close friend of his, a very close friend considering the friend was part of his own mind. /Did you get all of that Domar/ Luther asked his ancient Norse friend. /I did/ was the reply/are you sure about entering this? What do you plan on gaining from this/ Domar asked. Luther hadn't thought about this too much, actually, not at all until now. /I dunno. I've won plenty of tournaments before, maybe this will be the same./ He said. Domar's silence was a sign of disapproval to Luther. /Oh, come on, what's the worst that could happen? I'll lose a rare card, so what? It's not the end of the world; there are more cards out there./ Luther said trying to convince Domar. /I'm not too sure. I have an ominous feeling about this./ Said the thousand-year-old spirit. Luther rolled his eyes/You always have ominous feelings about everything, lighten up a bit why don'tchya/ He said to Domar. /Alright, if you feel that this will turn out fine/ Said Domar half-reluctantly. /I promise, it'll all be fun and games./ Said Luther when Rex finally announced their arrival.

- "Finally we're here, the Battle City Tournament Registration Desk." He said enthusiastically. He grabbed Luther's arm again and rushed him inside. Walking up to the desk first, he placed his deck on the table and said, I'm Rex Raptor, and I'm here to sign up for the Battle City Dueling Tournament!"

- The receptionist at the desk looked down at the purple and brown hair that poked from under the red hat which was the tell-tale head of Rex. "Oh Master Raptor, we've been expecting you. Please, allow me to register you into the festivities." Said the receptionist oh-so-politely. She placed the deck of cards on what looked to be a scanner. It shone brightly while it registered his deck into the data-base. "Rex Raptor Junior, contestant," The receptionist was saying as she typed the information into the computer by the scanner. "Rarest card…Black Tyranno." Luther smirked and nodded his head up for a better look at the card that was displayed on the screen. He most certainly knew what card the receptionist was talking about, for Rex had beaten even him with said card. He had the sudden urge to watch a battle performed by Rex; they were usually quite a spectacle. "Alright, here you are: A Duel Disk and a Locator Card. We hope to see you make it far in the tournament Master Raptor." Said the receptionist at last. After thanking the kind remark, Rex nudged Luther up to the desk.

- "Uh, Luther Jacobs, I'm here for the same reason." Luther said as he cautiously placed his most prized possession, his deck, on the counter before him. The receptionist merely smiled and took his deck and placed it on the same scanner Rex's deck had occupied before. "Alright then, Luther Jacobs, contestant," She repeated the same things as she had Rex, "Rarest card is…" The computer emitted a harsh beep and shone a red X where the rarest card usually appeared. The receptionist blinked and clicked a few buttons. After a couple seconds she said, "I'm sorry, it seems that you don't have rare enough cards to participate." Luther's jaw dropped. "What?" he said inquiringly. The lady explained, "In order to participate in the tournament, you must have a card in your deck that exceeds the 'Rare' status." Luther then realized what the problem was. He took out a card from his wallet; he always kept it there for safekeeping. He handed it to the receptionist and said, "Here, this might fix the problem." She took the card and placed it on the deck on the scanner. The computer then beeped satisfyingly and the receptionist said, "Oh, alright then, you're all set, here's your Duel Disk and Locator Card, and we at RexCorps hope you get far in the Tournament." She said with a smile. "Ok, thank you." Luther said, placing the Locator Card necklace around his neck and strapping on the Duel Disk.

- He turned to Rex, "Ready to go? Show me how a real Battle City Duelist plays the game." He said hyped up. "Alright!" Rex replied, "The battles should start soon! So let's get out there!" And with that, the two left the registration hall and out into the exciting world that was Battle City.

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Meanwhile…

- "Mr. Raptor, sir, I have just been informed that your son, Rex, and his friend Luther, has just entered the Tournament." Said a voice on the speaker phone. A man sitting in a large executive chair brought his hands together and smiled. "Excellent." He stated very cliché. "Now, we shall get the festivities started." A finger bearing a gold ring pressed the button that was labeled "Off" on the phone, and its owner reclined back into his chair.