After years of improvement...(although, really, it's only been one or two)
It is finally here...(I wonder how long THIS one is gonna live...)
The moment you have been waiting for...(Well...maybe, I'm not sure...)
The epic return of...(Maybe not so epic...)
Rise of a Champion
Episode One: Trial and Error
"And now..." the young teen continued, holding up his face down card, before slamming it face up on the panel, "I activate my Double Attack magic card!" He then grabbed for a card in his hand. "By discarding my Gilford the Lightning from my hand, I can let my Celtic Guardian mount his attack twice in a turn!"
As the boy slid his card into the Graveyard, his elven warrior crossed his broad sword and demonic axe across each other, taking a meditative stance while particles of bright lights seeped into him. It opened its eyes, and stared across the way, smirking menacingly at his foe.
"And that's not the half of it," the boy continued. "Because now, I flip up a monster into attack mode: My Frontier Wiseman!"
Now appearing next to the swordsman was an old sage, wrapped in a long, gray fur robe, and a small, regal cap sat upon his head. He adjusted the monocle around his eye, and held his book tightly to his chest.
"As long as my Wiseman is on the field, none of your cards can harm my Warrior monsters: In this case, my Celtic Guardian," the young teen explained. "Not to mention 1600 attack points ain't half bad. Now, Celtic Guardian, strike down his Soldier of Stone, and then continue on and strike down his life points! Wiseman, assist the guardian once his rock man has crumbled to bits!"
The elven weapons master shifted into a fighting stance, before he charged straight at the opponent's line. With a mighty shout, he cleaved the giant statue before him down the middle with his axe, causing the granite warrior to fall to rubble. Shortly after, the sagely old man opened his book, and began mumbling a spell, before he held his arm forward.
A blue line of energy surrounded both the wiseman and the Celtic Guardian, causing power to further flow through the elf's veins. Bounding over the piles of pebble and rock, the elf took a mighty leap towards his foe, and swung his body so that, at its starting position of his back turned, he ended up facing the opposing duelist head on, his sword imbedded in the field around him. He then swung his axe down, imbedding it above the sword.
The opposing duelist's lower lip twitched, as he dropped his cards, before dropping to his hands and knees. "I...I...I lost..." he groaned, as his life point counter ticked down to 0.
"Game set!" proclaimed the computer over the various speakers, as the holograms faded away. "Winner: Roland Pegasus!"
Roland beamed, and pumped his fist, giving a whoop and a cheer as he bounced from one foot to the other. "I am on a ROLL!" he cheered, before he gathered up his deck, and left the arena floor.
Awaiting him in the lobby was a young teen, with short, silvery hair, and a somewhat cold expression, even with his lips curled in a half-smile. He was garbed in a black over shirt, with not a shirt underneath, revealing his exercised stomach and chest. Around his neck was a rather long scarf, reaching the back of his knees.
"So, you made it through your fifth match, huh?" he observed, looking up at Roland with cold gray eyes, his arms folded over his chest, and his back leaning against the back wall.
Roland smirked, and ran a hand through his brunette hair. "Zell, you say that as though you don't want me to go far in this tournament," he joked, giving a toothy grin.
Zell shrugged his shoulders, and returned his attention to the floor. "I suppose it would be better to face you in the finals than some third-rate boy who just got his first deck." He let out a little chuckle, before he continued. "Not that a second-rate boy who just got his first deck is any better."
Roland sighed, but couldn't help but smile. "Come on, Zell, you know you don't mean that."
"In any case..." Zell sighed, pushing himself off the wall, and approaching Roland, "I'm the next man up. Give me five minutes, and we can return to our little discussion."
"Well, if your match is next, I'll just have to stop by and see that," Roland explained, before he left for the entrance to the stadium seats.
Zell smirked, as he continued to walk towards the arena itself. "He's not bad, I will admit..." he observed to himself. "Although I'm not going to be the one to say it to his face..."
"Roland! Roland! We saved you a spot over here!" came a feminine shout over the various chatter amongst the crowd.
Roland peered around, before he spotted a young woman bouncing on the balls of her feet, her arm held into the air. Her glasses slid as she bounced, and her long, braided, brunette hair bounced in the way of her eyes. As soon as she was certain Roland had spotted her, she brushed the hair out of her face, pushed her glasses back, and smoothed out her white blouse.
"Good thing you spotted us when you did," she explained, when Roland finally made his way towards them. "We had to fight off three guys with sticks, a shoe, and this foot-long Nathan bought." She held up the hot dog as she explained.
"Well, YOU were the one fighting them, Catherine," Nathan pointed out, shaking his head. "And, if you don't mind, I'd like my food back now."
Catherine sat down, and smirked at Nathan. "Only if you promise to be careful with it. That shirt of your's wasn't always yellow."
Nathan huffed, as he snatched the foot long away. "You don't talk about my love for mustard and it's effect on my favorite shirt, and I won't tell Zell about your--"
Catherine suddenly snatched Nathan by the collar, and shook him, causing his normally stationary gelled black hair to fall before his eyes. "You so much as mention ONE thing I had planned for his surprise party, and I will TAKE your stupid hot dog, lace it with glass shards, and RAM IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!"
"If I didn't know you for four years, that threat would take me by surprise," Roland pointed out, as he took a seat. Catherine smiled sweetly, and shifted back on her seat towards the arena below. Nathan's eyes continued to rattle, before he reoriented himself, and munched on his hot dog.
Standing in the center of the holographic arena was the young announcer, who pulled down his microphone as though he were in a boxing ring. "Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted into the mic, "I give you the next match of the tournament! On the blue side of the field, we have the number one duelist from Russia, please welcome Isaac the Ghastly!"
Stepping onto his platform, and raised to peer over the small dueling ring was a fairly battered looking teen. His short, sandy blonde hair was ruffled and tossed every which way, and he was garbed in a large, winter jacket, in spite of the warmth in the arena. The hair on his face showed that he hadn't once shaved ever since he got his whiskers, and there was a fading bruise on his cheek.
"And in the blue side of the field, we have the prodigy of the Canadian dueling host, a man who goes only be the name of...Zell!"
Zell stepped into the arena, smirking the whole way, before he stepped on his platform, and raised to meet his opponent.
"So, how long did Zell say this would take?" Catherine asked, taking out a stop-watch.
"Mm, he said about five minutes..." Roland observed. "I wonder if he's counting the turns of his opponent in his calculations..."
"He probably is," Catherine nodded, hovering his thumb over the start button, staring intently at the battle about to start.
The announcer raised his arm, as he began to walk out of the arena, backwards. "Duelists, on your mark! And...Begi--AH!"
Zell looked over, as the announcer's leg twitched over the side of the arena.
"Third one to walk off the edge today..." he observed. "You'd think they'd learn."
The life point counters were raised to 4000 apiece, the cards were drawn, and the battle was underway.
"Why don't I start things off," Isaac insisted, swiping the next card off the top of his deck, "by playing my Lord of Dragons in attack mode!"
As the Russian wonder slammed his card unto the field, a small sorcerer, garbed in dragon-bone armour, and topped off with a flowing, black cape. The sorcerer tugged on the thick, leather gloves around his hands, and stared coldly at Zell.
"And next, I play the magic card, Flute of Summoning Dragons!" Isaac continued, slamming this card down.
A large, golden horn in the shame of a dragon's neck and head appeared above the Lord of Dragons, as he reached up, and grasped it tightly. He brought the horn to his lips, and blew loudly.
"This magic card allows me to summon two dragons to the field instantly. And I summon my Luster Dragons 1 and 2, in attack mode!"
Appearing to the left of the dragon summoner was a large, emerald dragon, its wings glistening in the artificial light. On the right was a somewhat smaller dragon, this one made of sapphire. While less magnificent and not as glistening, it was no less intimidating than its larger sibling.
"Next I'll play Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards. And then I'll set three cards face down, bringing an end to my turn."
Zell smirked, as he drew his sixth card. "Well then," he observed, "I can already think of several strategies that could fall to your deck. Unfortunately for you, I employ none of them. But for starters, I summon my Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!"
Appearing on Zell's side of the field was a wizard of his own. One garbed in thick, glossy silver robes, with a shawl around his head, hiding his eyes in shadow. He held up a long, silver staff, with a red orb at the end. He turned this staff horizontal, and raised his index and middle finger up.
"As long as my Magician is on the field," Zell explained, "he gains a Spell Counter every time we play a Magic Card." He took a card from his hand, and held it up. "And I happen to have two. First, I play my own Pot of Greed. And since you've been so nice as to explain it to the crowd, I don't have to."
As the card took its effect, a magical ball of white energy, surrounded by a purple haze, began to hover above the magician. After drawing his cards, Zell gave them a quick glance, before he smirked. "And next, I play the magic card Emblem of Dragon Destroyer!"
Appearing next to the Magician, in addition to a energy ball on his left side, was a large, metal dragon's wing, turned so that the tip of the wing was pointing up words. Golden lines streamed across the wing, and a blue sphere was placed at the center.
"This magic card allows me to pull my Buster Blader into my hand straight from my deck," Zell explained, as he carried out this task, and reshuffled the deck. "Then, I equip my magician with The Black Pendant, raising his attack by 500 points!"
The sorcerer spun his staff around several times, before he pointed it towards his foes, as a black jewel on a silver string wrapped around his neck. A third ball of energy appeared to his right.
"Now, with an attack strength of 2400, he's strong enough to blast two of your monsters to bits. So, GO! Obliterate his Luster Dragon number 1!"
The sorcerer aimed his staff towards the sapphire dragon, a black ball of dark energy building at the tip. Isaac responded to this with ease.
"I activate Regulation of the Tribe!" he declared, revealing his face down card. "While this card is in play, I get to prevent one card sub-type from attacking at all. And I choose Spellcaster!"
"Clever..." complimented with a nod. "You're obviously smart enough to not be bested by a simple Beat-Down tactic. But for now, I'll set two cards face down, and that'll do."
"Now it's my turn, and I'll show you how it's done!" Isaac boomed, whipping the top card off of his deck.
"Hold it!" Zell countered, flipping up his down card. "I activate Thunder of Ruler, which prevents you from attacking me this turn!"
A large shout echoed across the field, knocking the two dragons and their human master off balance. Isaac snarled, but continued. "Very well then. I sacrifice my two Luster Dragons, to call upon my strongest beast: The Tyrant Dragon!"
The jeweled dragons let out a roar, as they took off into the air, and dissipated. Instantly materializing in their place was a gargantuan, flying lizard, with a somewhat large belly. But it's dinosaur like head, and its sword like claws, its spear like talons, and its large, orange wings were enough on their own to strike fear in the hearts of most men.
"And just to be safe, I'll switch my Lord of Dragons to defense mode. And since I don't want to sacrifice either of them, I'll discard my Regulation of the Tribe. Not that it'll do you much good."
"Is that what you believe?" Zell asked, as he drew. "Alright, I'll start by playing a monster face down, and then another little trap face down. Next, I activate my Magician's special ability!"
"I don't know if I should like where this is going..." Isaac worried aloud.
"You won't. Now that he has three spell counters, I can sacrifice him, and call forth my Dark Magician in his stead!"
The silver robed magician lifted his staff to the air, as a bolt of purple lightning crashed down on him. He didn't scream, he didn't flinch, he just took it in stride. Soon, there was a powerful explosion with the magician at the center. When the dust quickly settled, the Skilled Magician was gone, but a purple robed wizard, with a long, emerald staff, was in his place.
"And the fun's just starting..." Zell assured with a malice grin. "Because now, I activate my Polymerization Magic card," he declared, before slamming the card on the field.
A spectral visage of a armoured warrior appeared next to the magician. "This allows me to combine the Dark Magician I have on the field, with the Buster Blader in my hand..."
The two images combined in a brilliant flash. When visibility returned to the field, in the two monsters' place stood a warrior mage in long, blue robes, casings of armour placed about. He wielded a long staff, although the end was shaped in the style of a sword. "To create my own champion monster: Dark Paladin!" Zell declared.
"Feh," Isaac coughed. "I'm well aware of your paladin's special ability of gaining 500 Attack points for every dragon I've played so far. But I know exactly how to counter that: Go, De-Fusion!"
A large card revealed itself on Isaac's side of the field, in the image of a ghost dragon and a ghost fiend being torn apart. "Unfortunately for your paladin, this card splits him back into his two original fractions!" Isaac explained with a laugh, as the paladin began to expand and contract, expand and contract.
Finally, with a loud, ripping noise, the paladin was torn into his two separate parts, only this time, the Buster Blader was fully visible.
"Well, you're also too smart for tactical beat down as well," Zell observed. "But what you might forget is that my Buster Blader still has that same ability, which boosts his Attack strength to a grand total of 4100! More than enough to take down your oversized lizard!"
The warrior didn't even have to receive its order. It turned its massive blade horizontal, and charged head on at the dragon.
"You really think it'll be that easy?" Isaac taunted. "I activate my last face down card: Rising Energy! At the sacrifice of one card in my hand..." he explained.
The Tyrant Dragon let out a loud roar, as a field of red energy began to glimmer around him. "My dragon gains 1500 attack points, putting him 300 above your dinky little swordsman! So now, Tyrant Dragon, counter attack!"
The Blader bounded into the air, sword raised high. However, the dragon was too quick, and instantly snapped its head up to meet the warrior, blasting it with a jet of fire, flames hot enough to melt rocks. It easily melted the flesh being inside the metal armour, and it turned to ash, before shattering out of the field in tiny particles resembling glass.
"And if you're quite done making stupid mistakes like that..." Isaac continued, drawing his card. "I'll take my move! And I'll start by having my Tyrant Dragon blow your Magician to bits!"
The great beast began to gather flames in its mouth, aimed and ready to obliterate the defenseless mage.
"I wouldn't think so!" Zell announced. "My primary tactic! Gets 'em every time...Go, Shift!"
Zell's card activated, just as the dragon started to spew its trail of fire. As soon as it reached the magician, it bounced off harmlessly, and continued towards one of Zell's other cards. "When I activated, Shift, it changed the target of your attack from my Magician to my face down card. And oh, what fun we'll have!"
The flames easily decimated the hidden monster: A simple jar with a jovial face on the base. As the jar began to crack, the face quickly spat out two dice: One red, the other one blue. The two dice began to spin in the air, on their respective sides of the field, as the jar finally shattered.
"That doesn't mean anything!" Isaac spat. "My Tyrant Dragon will just attack your mage after this little game of your's is over. ...What IS this, anyway?" Isaac demanded.
Zell grinned. "I'm very glad you asked. When my Dice Pod is destroyed, we each roll one die. The loser of this roll off takes damage based on the winner's dice result multiplied by five hundred. However, if either of the winning roll is a 6, the loser takes 6000 damage."
"So, you're relying on luck to win this duel?" Isaac asked with a mean smirk. "That is very not like you."
"Who said I was actually going to rely on luck for this? I activate my trap card, Dark Control Dice!" Zell declared, revealing his final, face-down card. "As long as this card is active, AND I have a monster of the Dark element on the field as well, I can alter any dice roll I make any way I like!"
Isaac backed up in shock. "You can't be serious!" he demanded, as his blue die dropped to the ground, landing on a four.
"I'm dead serious," Zell assured, as the Dark Magician raised his palm, and covered the still spinning red die in a dark aura. "And I want my dice result to be a 6."
The dice stopped in mid-air. The magician snapped his fingers, and the aura gently placed the dice down, face up on a six. The aura faded, as the die began to glow.
"Game, set..." Zell counted off, lifting his own hand, and snapping his fingers. The flashing die suddenly burst open in a large explosion, rocking the stadium, and engulfing the field. The dragon roared and the Lord of Dragons howled in pain, as they were wiped away from the field.
Isaac himself wailed, as his life points dropped all the way to a flat 0. As Isaac fell to his knees, Zell smirked, and finished his sentence. "Match."
"Game set!" the computer sounded off again. "Winner: Zell!"
There was a cheer from the crowd, including cheers from Catherine, Nathan and Roland. "He always seems to pull through!" Catherine pointed out. "I'm so proud of him!"
"You say that as though he were your student," Nathan pointed out, before taking another bite out of his hot dog. "Mm...he's...he's the one who got you into this whole game in the first place." He swallowed his bite.
Roland leaned back, and looked over at Catherine. "So, what was his final time?" he asked.
Catherine looked at her stopwatch, and beamed. "Four minutes and twenty-eight seconds!" she answered happily. "It's a new record for him!"
"Maybe for him, but the world record was one minute and twelve seconds, set by Siegfried Schroder during the Kaiba Corp Grand Championship a few years ago," a somewhat smarmy voice pointed out.
Roland looked over, towards the owner of the voice. He was a young looking fellow, no older than he or Catherine or Zell. He had medium length brown hair, with spiked bangs, and black pupils. He was dressed in a fancy, black tuxedo, with an almost sharp edged, long red bow-tie. He had a long, golden sash tied around the waist, trailing down his legs, with a wavy red falcon design on it. What really made this person stick out was two cuffs of enormous size, steady and stiff, as though they were starched. He was also wearing black, silk gloves.
"Wha...and just who, sir, are you?" Catherine asked, standing up from her seat.
"Ah, of course, you types are sticklers for manners," the formally attired man observed. He brushed a few stray bangs aside, and looked at the group directly. "The name's Hoshino. Cecil Hold-'em Hoshino. I don't suppose you've heard of me?"
Roland nodded. "Actually, I have. You're supposed to be an expert poker player," he explained.
"The best there is, in every style," Cecil pointed out. "I'm also an expert at Crib, One-Eyed Jack, Blackjack, Bridge, Hearts, Canasta, 500 Rum, Rummy, Draw Cassino, Royal Cassino, Spade Cassino, Chouette, Dealer's Choice, Earl of Converty, Oklahoma, Old Maid, Go Fish, Monte Bank, Pig, Klondike, Oh Pshaw, Cheat, Knock Rummy, Shasta Sam and Solitaire. Or...just about any other card game you could list."
"Whoa..." Roland muttered. "When they said you were a pro, they weren't kidding..."
Cecil looked over Roland head to toe, and gave a little "hmm", before beginning to list off Roland's appearance. "Brown hair, gray eyes, maybe five foot eight inches tall...dull gray over shirt, long white t-shirt underneath with a bit of the sleeves sticking out, a little blue and red circle stitched to the end of the right sleeve...long, dull green jeans...looks the part of the chump..."
He tilted his chin up, and smirked. "If I'm not mistaken, you're Roland Pegasus, aren't you? The nephew or something of Maximilian Pegasus?"
"Got it in one..." Roland pointed out, getting to his feet. "Although I could live with the chump part."
"Hmm. Of course..." Cecil shrugged. "I'm surprised you'd come to dinky little tournaments like this. I thought you rich boys were a rather secluded breed."
"In all fairness, my uncle never loaned us a dime, on his brother's, my father's, request. My dad's too proud to rely on his family to provide for him. So we just settle for being upper-middle-class."
"Should've known. You seemed much more nicer than those houighty-douighty rich types. Chump."
"Although, I should ask you the same thing. If you're some card shark, and constantly calling me a chump, does that make you some fancy rich boy with no reason for being here?"
"I wear this tuxedo to all card tournaments I go to," Cecil explained. "I like to look my best in any competition. And I'm at this one because I want to master EVERY card game there is. Duel Monsters is the only one left."
"Oh really?" Nathan quipped up. "You're an expert at all the other Trading Card games?"
"You bet your sweet bibby," Cecil assured with a nod.
"Magic the Gathering?"
"Winner of the province-wide championships two years ago."
"Lord of the Rings?"
"Same title, last year."
"Duel Masters?"
"Eh, even that one was too random for me..." Cecil pointed out with a shrug.
"So, I take it by the fact that you met with us, personally," Catherine hazarded a guess, "that you're facing one of us in the next round."
"On the nosie," Cecil nodded. "As much as I'd like to face Roland right now, my next match is against some chump named Nathan Tsunami."
"That's me!" Nathan pointed out, shooting out of his seat, and placing a hand to his heart dramatically. "Steel Wall Nathan Tsunami, of the proud Tsunami name, and champion duelist!"
"Well, if that's so, how come I only just saw your name on the dueling board, and addressed you as a chump?" Cecil pointed out sarcastically.
Nathan stamped his feet. "Why you...! I'll show you! Into the dueling ring, now! I'll show you why they call me Steel Wall!" he declared.
"Well, if you do, in effect, beat me," Cecil pointed out, "I will treat you with respect and call you by your title. But, if I win, I'll have proven that you are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, a chump, Chump." With that, the card shark turned away, and began to walk off back to the lobby.
"You just love that word, don't you, Cecil?" Catherine asked, hands on her hips.
Cecil looked over his shoulder, and smirked. "Is it that obvious?" he asked innocently.