Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. I don't own YuGiOh. Otherwise I'd laugh. I also don't own Live-A-Live, the basis for Densk's deck. I do, however, lay claim to the cards Josiah uses. Well, most of them.
Stairway to Victory
Chapter 2: Concluded and Assessed
By: The Mystic Wanderer
Josiah: 3101
Densk: 400
The Professor drew a card into his hand, and gestured to his side of the field as a large purple portal appeared. "Now that it's my turn, my Shinsanken Master returns to the field!" he shouted as the same monster as before came through the portal and returned to her original fighting position. Densk then slid a card into his Duel Disk, and a card slid out of his graveyard.
"I activate Monster Reborn! I choose to revive my Aged Master - Ro in attack mode!"
Densk set the monster card on his disk, and the old man in the black dojo garb from his first turn appeared next to his Shinsanken Master, both of them sparring for a second before striking poses side by side. The Professor grinned, then slid a card into his disk with a small laugh.
"I play Polymerization to fuse my Shinsanken Master and Aged Master together to summon…" Both martial artists on Densk's side of the field went back to sparring for a moment, then hit their fists together with a burst of bright light as they were fused. What remained was the girl, only her garb had changed to bright golden, and a pair of silver Nunchaku hung from the sash around her hips. "My True Master - Lei Kuugo!" (3800/3000)
"And her special effect is a doozy, my young fellow. She immediately destroys all cards on the field when summoned, and grants one thousand life points forthe card to the player on the opposite side of the field. Which means your Destiny Guardian will be gone, and I'll gain some life points… True Master - Lei Kuugo! Use Dragon God Flame!"
Densk's monster clapped her hands together and held them, her body adopting a golden glow. Within seconds, the aura was blindingly bright and the monster's eyes shot open, now a pure gold in color. The monster then moved it's hands outward, and several waves of energy were released into the ground, which upon contact burst into the flame, the sheet of fire flowing over Josiah's monster and obliterating it.
Josiah: 3101
Densk: 1400
"At least my Guardian's effect activates! It allows me to summon Legendary Hero - Josiah from my graveyard when it's destroyed! So return, my monster!" yelled Josiah, pulling the card from his graveyard and setting it on the field. The black haired, gray robe wearing boy returned, tapping his staff against the ground a few times. (1600/1900)
"Heh. It doesn't matter. My True Master's second ability allows her to attack your life points directly if you don't have a monster with more than two thousand attack or defense points on the field. True Master! Attack with Sengazanken!"
Densk's monster rose up on one foot and crossed her arms, pulling them close to it's body, a wave of ki energy racing across the ground. Suddenly, wave of bright white energy began racing over the True Master's body, her ponytail lifting upwards from to power. Then, she suddenly disappeared, reappearing near Josiah. Her body split multiple times until the boy was surrounded by eight of her, then they raced wildly back and forth, pummeling the teen with kicks and punches.
Josiah: 1
Densk: 1400
Josiah was struggling to rise up to a standing position, gritting his teeth and gathering the cards he had dropped when he was hit, now certain Densk had seen them. "Ugh… I've still got a chance, though… if it's luck, or skill, I don't care. I just want to win this!" he grumbled, finally rising up and brushing himself off. The Professor smiled, only this time, it was a kind, wizened smile, nothing like those grinning ones beforehand.
"Yes, I know. You'll need both to win now, since you've got until the end of your turn to either increase your life points, or beat me. Your move."
Josiah managed a kind of half smile as he drew his next card, which he immediately slid into his Duel Disk. "I'll activate the magic card Portal of Origin! As you obviously know, this card forces an automatic dice roll for each monster on the field. Let's see what effect I get for my monster!"
A large die appeared above Josiah's monster, then fell forward onto the ground, rolling towards the middle of the arena. It gave a simple spin when it reached the center, then fell over, landing on a five, with Josiah giving a shout of joy. "That's great! Five means that my monster can attack you directly this turn, which means you'll lose no matter what you roll!"
Densk smiled as the die appeared over his True Master, then rolled forward just as Josiah's did, stopping just before the center and landing on a Two. Densk smiled warmly, and Josiah merely frowned. "Two means that my monster is randomly shuffled out with a random monster from my deck, which CAN save me, mind you." said the Professor, taking the card that had slid out of his deck and putting his True Master where it was.
"This summons Traveling Mariachi #2 - Delos!"
There was a unique sound, like uncooked rice being shaken back and forth in a bag, then a rather large man faded in, holding a pair of maracas. He wore a bright red sombrero with an orange stripe around the rim, and his poncho was done in the same fashion. Underneath that was simply a pair of pants and a shirt, as well as a pair of sandals on his feet. (750/800)
"This is simply unlucky for you, dear boy. While Delos is face-up on the field, all direct damage to my life points is negated. Even if you attack him, it won't be enough damage to take me out. It looks like you lose."
Josiah grit his teeth and hung his head down, signaling with his hand that his turn was over. Immediately, all the monsters disappeared from the field as the boy's life points fell down into the negatives. The Professor made his way over to the boy, offering a hand for him to shake.
"That was a good duel. With some luck, you just may be a top student." said Densk, smiling softly. Josiah looked up, anger and disappointed fading from his face, and took the older man's hand in his, giving it a firm shake. "Yeah. I guess I'll stay here after all. I need to study up on my cards a lot more if I'm going to beat you someday." said the boy, pulling his hand back and returning his discard pile to his deck.
Professor Densk grinned and shook his head. "The head of a dorm dueling one of his students? Unheard of. Now, get going to the helicopters. You're going to be in Ra Yellow, so you can get there early and get settled in before the other non-students get placed in their dorms." he whispered to Josiah quietly, slipping him what looked like a duel monsters card. "That'll get you into the male dormitories. If any student asks you questions, just show them that card."
Josiah blinked, then pocketed the card with a nod, extending his hand for another shake. Densk took his hand and shook it firmly, then nodded and turned around, heading off. Josiah also turned around, the sliding door opening automatically for him. He stepped out of the arena and turned left, but came face to hair with a small child. He looked down and took a step back, squatting down a bit to get face to face with the little girl. Her hair was a bright, almond brown, and it was extremely curly, bouncing around her pale face and brown eyes.
The girl was also wearing a golden blazer, like the Professor's, only smaller and lacking in silver lining, which was instead white. Also, she wore a bright yellow skirt, which went all they way down to her ankles, instead of just above the knees like the other girl students. Josiah found the silence quite unnerving, and was about to speak up when the girl opened her mouth.
"You're going to be in Ra Yellow?"
Josiah smiled and nodded, pulling the card Professor Densk had given him from his pocket. He hadn't looked at the picture when he had taken it, and now he studied it carefully. It was a very well done picture of The Winged Dragon of Ra, the sleek and golden god, with a barcode where text would usually be. He flipped the card over to show to the little girl, who smiled brightly.
"That's great. Not many new students with Ra Yellow potential. My name is Maris. Maris Angrevo. Pleased to meet you, Josiah Agan." she said, extending a tiny hand. Josiah took it and shook softly, then the girl turned around, motioning for Josiah to follow her. "I'll lead you to the helicopters, then when we get there, to your room. You'll get to meet your roommate there, and you get some really nice perks for being in Ra Yellow… even if they aren't as good as Obelisk's."
Maris began to walk, so Josiah followed her, weaving in and out through students, some of which gave Josiah that strangest looks, or even the occasional thumbs-up. They left the main school area opposite the entrance, and Josiah almost gasped. Helicopters. So many of them, leaving, landing, picking up the new and old students. Maris gestured to a helicopter that stood out, sheer golden in color instead of black like the other helicopters. One the side was a picture of Ra, and a few students wearing golden blazers were stepping onto the helicopter.
"C'mon, Josiah! I'll introduce you." shouted Maris over the roar of the helicopters, running towards the large golden aircraft. Josiah followed, stepping on and looking around. It was indeed a spacious craft, with a total of twelve seats. About five of them were occupied, and just two of the five were wearing normal clothing, signaling they too had been chosen for Ra Yellow.
A nearby student wearing a golden blazer stood up, and held out his hand. Josiah blinked, not sure what the kid wanted, so he extending his own hand and shook the other boy's. He was just a little taller than Josiah, and apparently of African descent. His head was completely bald, and his eyes were brown, just like Maris'. A pair of golden-rimmed glasses also sat upon the bridge of his nose; they looked rather expensive.
"What's up, new kid? My name is Tidus Gresser. I'm ranked thirty-third in the school, nothing compared little Maria here, since she's twelfth. What's your name?" asked the boy, taking a seat again. Maris and Josiah took the seats on the opposite side of the aisle, Josiah stretching out and undoing the clasp on his Duel Disk. "Josiah. Josiah Agan. Just found out I'm in Ra Yellow."
Tidus smiled, re-doing the buckle on his seat. "That's cool. Who was your dueling proctor? What exam deck did they use? Was it hard?" queried the older boy. Josiah took quite a bit of time to absorb the questions, while Maris spoke for him: "It was strange. Apparently, the headmaster of Duelist Academy had Professor Densk duel him with his own deck. Josiah did good, but Densk is the best Professor in the school, and beat him."
Josiah frowned and poked Maris once in the shoulder. "I did better than good. I did excellent, if I had to say so myself." Maris giggled and poked him right back, then began to dig through her pockets for something. However, Josiah's attention shifted back to Tidus as he was pushed lightly on the shoulder. "Is Maris telling the truth? Did you really get to duel Professor Densk? You must have seen all his rare cards! What was his strongest monster?"
It was easy to remember the monster that nearly killed him. "It was… True Master - Lei Kuugo. Of the… Ancient Warriors set, right? Three thousand, eight hundred attack points, and three thousand defense points. It's first effect.." Josiah trailed off as Tidus spoke again, "Man, True Master? That card is rare as all hell. It's effects are badass, too. I knew the Prof ran an Ancient Warriors deck, but I never would have though he'd have one of those."
Maris' voice perked up in response, "Tidus, are you stupid? Of course he'd have it! He's a Professor, isn't he? It's also more than likely that Professor Runi and Professor Telorus have the strongest monsters of their sets, which are Adori Gurunai for Telorus' Oriental Scribe deck and Moon and Sun - Horus for Professor Runi's Egyptian Colossus deck."
There was silence for a second, then Josiah perked up and turned to Maris, who was now holding what looked like a small book, her eyes fixated on it. "Hey, Maris. How old are you anyways? Twelve or something?" The girl looked up and shook her head, closing her small black book. "I'm eleven, Tidus is seventeen.. I'm a younger member of Duelist Academy, but the youngest ever was an Eight year old. How? I don't know. They must have been phenomenal to get in so young."
Tidus nodded, watching a few other students in uniform pass them by to take a seat, then prodded Josiah, who was busy arguing about his duel earlier. "Hey man, it's time to go. Buckle your seatbelts, we're in for a looooong ride; especially because Maris is going to tell you about the school, and the colors." Josiah and Maris buckled their own seatbelts, then looked over as the door to the copter shut. There was another period of silence as the copter went airborne, then as they got over the clear blue sea, Maris poked Josiah in the ribs.
"Listen. There are three colors at Duelist Academy: Slifer Red, Ra Yellow, and Obelisk Blue. Slifer Red is the bottom rung of duelists, mainly those that barely pass their exams and written tests. Ra Yellow is the middle, for duelists who show quite a bit of promise and do average on their written tests and duel exam. Obelisk Blue is the top dorm, with the nicest stuff, best arenas, and strongest duelists who've proven themselves worthy, or have 'connections'."
Josiah grinned, then took his deck out of his duel disk and began looking through it, shifting his gaze to Maris after a few seconds. "If you're ranked twelfth in the school, why aren't you in Blue Obelisk?" he inquired. The girl smiled, then turned her head to look out at the horizon. "Simple. As qualified as I am for Obelisk, I have friends in Ra. Also, I hate the color blue… yellow is much better." Josiah nodded, then poked her shoulder.
"What deck do you use? What's your rarest card? Would you like to see my cards?" asked Josiah, offering his deck to Maris. She took it with a nod, and began shuffling through the cards, occasionally stopping on interesting cards. Then, Josiah heard a little gasp, and looked over; Maris had stopped on one of his best cards, Emperor - True Form. "TIDUS. Look at this." said Maris, pulling the card from the deck and holding it out to Tidus.
He took the card and looked at it, his eyes widening, He turned to Josiah and held up the card as if it's owner hadn't seen it before. "This card is the rarest card in the Legendary Heroes and Evils set! Double holographic, five thousand attack points, an awesome effect… it's like a dream come true. Do you have the four cards required to summon it?"
Josiah nodded. "I have Emperor - First Form, Emperor - Second Form, Forsaken Paladin - Peter, and The Emperor Arises. If they're so rare, I'm glad my father got them for me!" Tidus shook his head, handing the card back to Josiah, who took his deck back from Maris. "Now that you've properly shocked Tidus, I suppose you want to know about my deck… I use an Oriental Scribe deck, just like Professor Telorus. My strongest monster is Ginjen Gaigen. Tidus uses a Norse Mythology deck. I believe his strongest monster is Fenris Wolf, Son of Loki… are you sleeping?"
Sure enough, Josiah's head was tilted awkwardly to the side, and his eyes were shut, breathing quietly. It seemed he had fallen asleep after all.
"Hmph. I'll give him a talking to after we get there." mumbled Maris quietly.
End of Chapter 2. Is it still interesting? I hope so.
Uh, yeah. I'll write Chapter 3 soon, hopefully. Thanks for your reviews, people.