Aaron was running as fast as he could down the streets of Chicago, heading for the train station, "I'm almost there. What's going on?"
Just then, something landed in front of him. Aaron skidded to a stop before he crashed into it.
"Hey, what's the deal?" he demanded.
The thing in front of him was a human, a man of about 19. His face was very stern looking but with the impression of mild humor. His hair was a flaming red color and shaped like a raging fire, his eyes were of a feral, lime-green hue. He stood about 5.7, about 173 pounds and wore pair of ragged jeans, and a torn white t-shirt. On his right arm was some sort of blood-red gauntlet, which had many images of Chinese dragons as well as the English variety. On his left arm was a Duel brace, which bore a dragon that Aaron had never seen before.
"Oh great. Listen pal, I've got no time to be dealing with another one of you psychos today!" Aaron said, realizing it was another Daikai.
"Oh really?" the boy said, raising his duel brace, it unfolded.
"What! In broad daylight?" Aaron gasped. Passersby were staring at the scene.
"Location is not of any concern to me Aaron, I'm here to face the one who was strong enough to defeat Viper. You've been showing great promise, so I will test to see if you are worthy of the reputation you're receiving," the kid explained, preparing to draw his opening hand.
"Wait! I'll agree to duel, but not here on the streets," Aaron stated, looking at the people that were walking along the streets around them. A businessman dropped his cup of coffee as a Petit Dragon sniffed it curiously, a sign of the impending havoc.
"Fine, then on that roof top, if you don't show up in five minutes, my pets will have some fresh meat for lunch." He said, as he jumped into the air. Aaron looked up in wonder as he saw the boy fly up 6 stories to reach the top of the building next to him.
"What did that kid have for breakfast? Jet fuel?" he wondered as he ran down the alley towards the fire escape to climb.
Josh meanwhile was heading down into the depths of the city, looking for the underground dueling group. The buildings around him were still intact, but most looked like antique survivors of the Great Chicago Fire.
"Man, this is looking like looking for a needle in haystack," he puzzled to himself, befuddled. Just then he noticed a cellar from the street top, a spider mark on the door. A red hourglass was present on the spider's abdomen.
"Well, this looks promising," he noted with relief, as he descended down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairwell, he knocked on the door three times. A small panel slipped open, showing only the eyes of a man.
"Password?" he asked.
"Nani," Josh said, taking a card from his deck.
"Nani?" The guy on the other side of the door repeated, utterly confused.
"See, you got it," Josh grinned, his right arm transforming into a giant golden version. The guy's eyes bulged as the massive fist came barreling down on him and smashed right through the door. Josh stepped through while the door man was pinned under it.
"Didn't they tell you not to leave the barn door open?" he said, picking it up and put it back in the frame. The door man was KO'ed, but otherwise healthy as a horse. Without further ado, Josh continued down the dimly lit hallways.
He soon found what he was looking for: An arena, with many screaming fans cheering in the stands. The duelists in the ring were going all out as another round finished.
Back in the DM realm, The Wild Cards were soaring there way straight for the incoming insects.
"Everyone stay close. If there is even half as many as were expecting, they'll be on top of us before we know it." Jacob said into the comm.
"Radar is picking up multiple signals dead ahead. It's them!" Dalin reported. Sure enough, it was a swarm of gigantic insects, all of various shapes and sizes. Their variety ranged from a Killer Needle to a Great Moth.
"This is not how I wanted to spend my day Jacob." Nick said, getting a little uneasy at the numbers.
"Hang in there Jack, we have to clear a hole through them, Safeties off, people! We're going in!" Vic commanded, arming Jacobs's primary weapon systems.
Kuro nodded to Amy, and she nodded back. The two let go of the crafts and took off in to the swarms.
"You better not burn any of my feathers, Jacob, or I will get you back!" Kuro warned over the radio.
"Not making any promises! All wings open fire!" Jacob called out.
In between the twin front needles of the crafts, energy began to collect. In quick bursts, they shot straight for the swarm, like a hail of bullets from a gatling gun. The hail of weapons fire began chewing its way through the moving mass; the bugs were either being roasted or exploding into green glop.
Lily and Kuro were dashing through the swarm at top speed. Lily's needle was glowing with a pinkish flame, roasting and cooking the bugs as she made her way out. Kuro, meanwhile, was swiping her talons at the bugs with fervor of untold measure, raining acid from her claws. A few drops hit a Deathstar Ladybug; it shreiked in pain as its exoskeleton began developing gaping, widening holes. Amy cringed as the acid seeped right through the bug's body with a sizzle.
The Gradius burst their way through the swarm continuing their wave of destruction. The bugs were coming in twice as fast as they were being shot down.
"Everybody hit the gas!" Sarah called out as she pulled a lever on her right side. The Queen of Clubs after Burners roared to life as they shot her out of the swarm, with the Jack and Ace following quickly behind. Amy and Kuro emerged as well as the Gradius turned back.
"V, what's the record?" Nick asked.
V looked at the monitor in disbelief, "We've only taken out 3 percent of the swarm!"
"Well, that's not good," Dalin muttered.
"What do we do now?" Amy worried.
"We're going to have to make a bigger dent in those monsters. Ready for another run?" Jacob asked.
"We didn't expect it to be easy, but this might be just a little out of our league, but I'm ready when you are." Nick said.
"Me too." Sarah said.
Kuro winked and Amy gave a grin.
"Let's go!" they called out as they dove back into the fray.
Back on the roof top, Aaron stepped up, the boy was waiting with his opening hand already drawn.
"Ok, then let's get this over with." Aaron said, throwing his deck into the brace and unfolded it.
"Well draw boy, so that I may judge what a foolish duelist you are." He said, drawing a sixth card, signaling he was going to go first.
"Fine, and what is your name? I need to know so that this duel can get going." Aaron said, drawing 5 cards. I hope this is another chump from their ranks, if it is I can take him out and get going, Aaron wished.
"My name is Tobias, I am the Horseman of Strife, and the East Guardian of the Daikai, Prepare to meet your fate!" He said, as the duel was on.
"Oh, give me a break!" Aaron said in disbelief. It took Kuro and Vic to beat Dan, the Horseman of War! Now I've got to face this one on my own? his mind reeled.
"I summon the Troop Dragon." He called out, as he threw the card on it the field. Emerging from it came a small dragon humanoid, green in color. It wore leather garments with metal plating, and carried with it a shining blade. (700/800).
"I set one card facedown and end my turn." He called out. (1/1/4)
"Draw." Aaron said, taking a card. If he wasn't a Horseman I'd wouldn't be worried about that play. Considering how Dan managed to wail on them, though, he's got a plan and I'm probably already walking into it. I need to get going, so this may call for a different strategy.
"I set a monster in defense mode and two cards facedown. That does it for me," Aaron said (1/2/3).
"A defensive stance, eh? I thought so, so I'll take it apart! Draw!" Tobias called out as he drew his next card.
"Flip up my facedown card, Dragon's Rage!" he called out, as the trap flipped over. "Now, I sacrifice my Dragon to summon Emerald Dragon in attack mode!" He called out as the dragon on the field was engulfed in a burst of green fire. When the fire died to embers, Troop Dragon had been replaced by a gigantic, winged dragon. Its body was pale green, with many crystals growing out of its legs. (2400/1400).
"Well, this isn't going to be fun," Aaron noted.
"I attack!" Tobias commanded, as the Luster Dragon opened its mouth. A bright beam of light sprayed forth and struck Aaron's monster.
However ,the bright beam was halted. A man in brown pants, boots, and a purple shirt was blocking the attack with a massive shield (100/2600).
"My Big Shield Guarder. I'm afraid you're attack fails," Aaron said, as Tobias' lifepoints dropped to 7800. However, the Guarder positioned his shield like a spear after the attack, putting Aaron in a very vulnerable position indeed. Unless he switched it back ASAP, his lifepoints would be in certain danger.
"That all?" Aaron asked.
"I'll end my turn, bring it," (2/1/4) Tobias challenged cockily.
"Draw!"
Back above the grounds of the DM World, the Gradii were still flying like bullets through a rainstorm. Their weapons pulsated with the rapid fire, trying to cleave a safe passage.
"Jack on your six!" Dalin called out.
Behind Nick and V's Gradius, a Great Moth was in hot pursuit.
"Oh that's just wonderful! V, can we lose it?" Nick asked.
"We're already red lining the engines, but that thing isn't that good with tight turns!" V stated.
"All right, I got it!" Nick said, as he left the swarm. The biggest can of Raid would not be able to save them, and it wouldn't have hindered the insect's relentless pursuit in the least.
"Hang on V, this might get a little rough," Nick assured V, descending towards a mountain range.
The Gradius dove in to the valley in between the cliffs, but the giant moth was still in pursuit even though its size was clearly against it in the tiny space.
"V, arm the Cyclon Laser! Aim for the roof!" Nick ordered. V reached over to his left and armed the weapon. A large duo of laser cannons descended from underneath the machine.
"And... How am I supposed to hit the roof when it's on the bottom of the ship?" V wondered.
"Get ready! Here we go!" Nick said, pulling hard on the throttle.
The crafts thrust cut back as the craft flipped in the air! V slammed his fist on the trigger, and a powerful blast of energy nailed the valleys narrow edges. The result was large slabs of rock to falling towards the ground. The moth, unable to halt its pursuit if it tried, soon splattered upon the ground as though it by a flyswatter, rocks piled upon its carcass. The Jack of Spades hit the thrust, shooting through the manmade opening like a bullet into the swarm.
Back at the arena, Josh watched as the total of the prize money increased into the millions. A girl with brown hair was the one winning, slaying everyone thick enough to stand in her way.
"And she's won again folks! Antsy Sourbush, our 5 win champion! Is there anyone left who can summon the courage to face her?" the announcer asked the crowd. Most of the crowd grew quiet; Antsy had taken apart everyone so far.
"I will," Josh called out stepping up to the announcer.
"Are you sure kid? Do you have enough to make the entry fee? It's two thousand per duelist," he asked, a stunned look on his face.
Josh took out the check book, and saw Aaron's signature at the bottom of the check. Whoa, he really planned ahead; he thought to himself and wrote out the check.
"Good luck kid, you're going to need it," the announcer well-wished.
"Thanks, but you might want to save it for her." Josh responded, stepping into the ring.
"So another lamb comes willingly to the slaughter," Antsy goaded.
Josh took a moment to look at her. She was a shorty, about 5 feet tall, but she was trouble. She wore a typical schoolgirl outfit, plaid skirt and all, her face a mass of freckles. To complete her nerdy appearance, she wore horn rimmed glasses that magnified her eyes to unusually large state.
"I see you're able to beat these small fries, but now you're up against a real opponent. Prepare yourself!" Josh bade his Duel Brace unfolding.
"Ah, so you might actually be a challenge, eh? Fine then, a perfect duel to end a perfect day!" she said, as she reached into a book bag by the table and took out a duel brace for herself.
"A Daikai, getting rich off others' suffering. I'm going to make you pay for what you have done!" Josh warned. Antsy wasn't miffed in the least.
"So you're Josh, one of the Dark Dragon League duelists, eh? I knew you'd come if I took your friend's get well fund, but I didn't expect you to find me so soon, but either way, you've made a critical mistake," Antsy foretold.
"And what's that?" Josh asked.
" You've entered the spider's parlor, and you're the fly!" she chuckled.
"You got to make it happen first, and I'm not gonna lose! I have too much on the line to let you a snobbish bookworm win," he growled, drawing a 5 card hand.
"Very well, let's see how the famous DDL Member Josh works in my court. I'll start," She called out as she loaded her deck and drew six cards.
"I play my Arsenal Bug in attack mode," she called out. Appearing on the field was a large bug with a brown-yellow exoskeleton. It carried a blade in its right front leg, and a spiked shield in its left. (1000/1000).
"Next I play two cards facedown, and that ends my turn." she declared (1/2/3). Josh wondered for a second, then drew his card.
"I set this monster in defense mode and play the Magic card Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw three cards and discard two," he stated, as he drew 3 cards, and cast two into the graveyard. "I set these two cards, and end my turn," he said, (1/2/3).
"That's not very good for you, Josh," Antsy told him, drawing her card. "I summon 8 Claws Scorpion." She called out as a small green scorpion appeared, its stinger glowing brightly (300/200).
"Am I supposed to be afraid of that cockroach?" Josh asked cynically. Even though its eight pincers were clicking menacingly, the 300 ATK daunted their fierce appearance.
"Well, considering that it gives my Arsenal Bug an additional 1000 attack points, and itself a total of 2400 when attacking your facedown monster, I'd think so," she threatened, as she raised her hand. The two bugs dove forward, but Josh raised his hand.
"Open facedown cards, Jar of Greed!" he called out as dual vases appeared. From them came the two top cards of his deck, which were promptly added to his hand.
The scorpion nonetheless drove its stinger into his facedown card, which appeared momentarily as a woman in a red and blue outfit carrying a strange scepter. (300/400).
Then the Arsenal Bug pulled back its weapon to strike. Josh took a card from his hand and threw it into the graveyard. Appearing in front of him was a dust bunny incarnate; it was brown and fluffy, with green feet and beady eyes (300/200). The Arsenal Bug sliced it in half and Josh's Life points remained safe.
"A Kuriboh, disgusting fur ball." Antsy muttered.
"And now I can take back my Graceful Charity from my Magician of Faith's effect," Josh said, taking the card in to his hand.
"I'll end my turn, your go Josh," she said, ending her turn (2/2/3).
"Draw," he declared.
Back at the rooftop, Aaron looked at his hand and called out, "I'm going to take your pets straight to the endangered species list!" he called out. "I'll start by switching my Guardna back into defense mode."
"I'd like to see you beat me with defensive tactics like that," Tobias muttered.
"I play Foolish Burial, and cast one monster from my deck to my Graveyard," he said, as a ghostly hand snagged a card from his deck and threw it into his graveyard.
"Now I reveal my Change of Heart! I'm taking your Emerald Dragon for a test ride!" He called out as he flipped the card over, and the Dragon floated over to his side of the field.
"Now I play Monster Reborn, and sacrifice your Dragon to call the monster I lost the graveyard to the field," he said. The Dragon on the field roared as it was consumed by flames intolerable to even dragons. The flames reformed into even stronger Tyrant Dragon (2900/2500), who roared with its newfound life.
"Now I summon my Gearfried the Iron Knight to the field!" he called out as his faithful Knight appeared along side the dragon.
"Dragons and Knights are never to work together you fool! Don't you know that they can only hate each other?" Tobias raged.
"That may be your opinion, but my monsters work together to save people, unlike yours! Now I play my Fusion Sword Murasame Blade!" He called out. Gearfried's blade melted, then reformed into a metallic arm carrying a blade of incredible might. (2600/1600)
"Now let's get the show on the road, Tyrant Dragon attack!" He called out as a blast of fire came out of the monster's mouth, aiming for Tobias. Tobias life points plunged down to 4900. Gearfried proceeded to swing his new weapon at Tobias, but instead hit a bottle with bat wings on the cork.
"Open facedown card, Nutrient Z!" Tobias declared, glowing with life force. Aaron looked astonished that Tobias had that trap card. His life points jumped to 8900, but with Gearfried's slice, they dropped down to 6300.
"Disappointed?" Tobias said, noticing Aaron's hand was now empty.
"My turn is done." Aaron growled. (2/2/0).
"Draw." Tobias said, a wicked smile appearing on his face. "Now I play Fusion, fusing Lord of Dragons with King of the Swamps. Prepare yourself for Lord of Dragons-King Dragoon!" Tobias declared.
Green slime, looking vaguely like creamed spinach, swirled around the Lord of Dragons as he breathed his last. The twothen slurred together in a roiling, black mass, indistinct at first. When the fluid body had taken on a form, it appeared as a gigantic dragon that was golden and reminiscent of the Chinese string dragons. Its upper torso was humanoid, a man covered in gold and black armor the chest was in the form of a dragon's head, a white mane around his neck, a pair of black wings on his back, and a Lord of Dragon's head covered in gold bone. (2400/1200)
"Why am I not afraid?" Aaron asked sarcastically. The fusion couldn't destroy this knight, let alone his Dragon.
"Then this will change your mind very soon, for I Special Summon Blue Eyes White Dragon from my hand!" he called out. The Majin blew a few notes on his flute, calling the massive white beast to the field. It let out a roar that made mountains quake and beg for mercy as its scaly foot hit the field, making a clear indentation upon the roof (3000/2500).
"Well, this sucks," Aaron growled.
"Burst Stream!" Tobias commanded. The dragon released a massive burst of electricity at Aaron's Tyrant Dragon. Aaron braced himself as the blast blew his dragon to dust. (7900)
"That will be all for me. So, let's see what you're capable of," he goaded.
Aaron looked at his field and said, "My Knight is still here, so I'm not without hope." He drew his card, putting every ounce of faith he had into the draw.
Back at the arena, Josh was about to declare his next move.
"I play Graceful Charity," he stated, discarding two after drawing three cards.
"Now I play Dark Hole, thus wiping out all the monsters on your field," he stated. A massive black vortex appeared on the playing field and sucked in both of Antsy's monsters.
"Now I play my Shallow Grave, reviving a monster for the both of us," he called out. Two facedown monster cards appeared on the field.
"And now I sacrifice mine to call forth the Summoned Skull!" he declared. His monster went to the graveyard again, showing three beady eyes for but a second. The Skull appeared before him (2500/1200), wings flared menacingly.
"Due to my set Sangan's effect, I can draw a monster in my deck that has 1500 atk points or less. Now, to squash your bug!" he called out. The Skull swung its bony arm and crushed her scorpion.
"I set one card and end my turn. Your move," he stated. At least my Skull will be a decent wall against anything she tries to throw at me, he thought. (1/1/2)
Antsy drew her next card. "I believe it is time for the ultimate destroyer to emerge, for I summon the Petite Moth," Antsy called out as a large green caterpillar appeared on the field (300/200). It squirmed blindly in its Monster slot, as if looking for anything edible.
"This isn't good," Josh said, recognizing what this meant.
"I equip it with the Cocoon of Evolution! The count down begins!" She called out as the bug wove a thickened, hard shell of a cocoon. (0/2000)
"I also play the Magic card Swords of Revealing Light. Then, Card of Sanctity, so we both get a new hand," she said, as the field lit up with neon-yellow swords, locking down Josh's side of the field.
"That ends my turn Josh, and in another 5, you'll be a goner!" Antsy claimed. (1/4/6)
"I'm afraid I can't let you stall me forever, so I'm going to have to break you down!" Josh called out as he drew a 7th card. (1/1/7)
Back at the battlefields, the Gradii as well as Amy and Kuro were running themselves ragged. The Queen of Clubs was flying above the swarm when its bottom opened up.
"Dalin, prep the Options, we're going in!" Sarah called out as she sent the craft down into the sea of buzzing beasts. Falling out of the craft were small devices, similar in shape to missiles with small thrusters and energy cannons on their fronts. They began to fly away fire lasers at anything in their path.
The swarm, despite their best efforts, was still going strong. Roughly 60 percent was still alive, and heading straight for the castle.
"We're running in circles, and they aren't even worried about us any more!" Vic growled.
"We have to do something or the castle will be reduced to rubble!" Nick alerted. Just then, another Gradius flyer came barreling in.
"This is King of Diamonds, Chuck and Paul, calling Wild Card Squadron."
"About time you showed up," Kuro growled.
"Sorry, but we were stalled. Fighting like this is no good, we have to protect the castle and strike back there. Fall back at maximum thrust!" Paul ordered, as their fighter turned around.
"You heard him, let's go!" Sarah called out as the team strafed away from the slow moving mass of insects.
Josh took his next card and looked, "I play the Magic card, Harpie's Feather Duster, so say good bye to your cocoon and your swords!" he said as he threw the card into the brace. A powerful storm of feathers burst forth, shooting towards her M/T zone.
"Activate Trap card, Judgment of Anubis!" She called out as a trap card flipped over, and it was the image of an Anubis idol. "When you played that magic card, I can now cancel it and destroy one monster on your side of the field. Then my little doggie deducts its attack power from your life points!" She explained as she threw a monster card into her graveyard, causing the statue's jeweled eyes to glow as if possessed. A black mist spewed forth from the idol's toothy, gaping mouth. The haze enveloped Josh's Skull and caused it to explode. Josh braced himself against the shockwave as the pulsations from the explosion dropped his life points down to 5500.
"Not a bad play, but my turn isn't done, I set this card in defense mode and one card facedown. Do your worst," he challenged, as two cards appeared to protect him. (1/2/4).
Antsy drew her next card and called out, "I play the Magic card Exchange. We now both get to take a card from each other's hand."
She stepped over to him and held out her cards. Not exactly the best of cards, but this might come in handy, he thought as he took her Man Eater Bug. To complete the exchange, he held out his hand, a Graceful Dice, a Dark Mirror Force, another Magician of Faith, and a Metal Morph card.
"Metal Morph. I think I'll be borrowing it," Antsy stated. She took the card from his hand and pranced her way back to her side of the field.
"I'll set this card, and reveal this facedown card!" she announced, as her facedown opened. "Card Destruction!"
"Then what was the point?" Josh wondered, as he cast his 4 cards into the grave and drew 4 more.
"Now I have you! I summon Pinch Hopper!" She called out, as a large grass hopper appeared on the field. It didn't look all that great of a card (1000/1200), despite the fact that, between its jaws, a dark spitball was forming.
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Josh wondered.
"Now watch as I play Multiplication of Ants, this magic card allows me to sacrifice my Hopper for two Army ant tokens!" She called out, as the grasshopper began to worm from the inside out. Its multifaceted eyes went dead as two Army Ant Tokens burst from the insect's exoskeleton, having eaten everything inside and hungry for more (500/1200).
"Now you get to summon an Insect from your hand," Josh said, and appearing on the field along side her was an Insect Princess (1900/1200). The insectoid lady smiled devillishly at Josh, as if telling him, "You're doomed."
"I'll bide my time for now, so I'll set this card. Go ahead, try and beat me. In another 4 turns it will be all over anyway," Antsy factored.
"We'll see," Josh said as he drew his next card.
To be continued…