Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Vanguard Generations

Chapter 3: Eyes that Enchant; Duel of the Seer

Shinsei yawned and rubbed out his eyes, looking up at the night sky calmly. ("We flew all this distance and it's still night?") Apparently he had never heard of Time Zones. ("Hmmm…I must have slept longer on the plane than I had originally thought.")

As he walked through the airplane terminal, it was easy to notice that everyone in the whole place was either a duelist or an employee of Crystal Dreams. Apparently the owner of the company had actually succeeded in buying out the entire city for the week, just as promised in the brochure.

"Sir!" A man standing by a booth called out to Shinsei, waving his hand frantically. "You look like someone who appreciates fine merchandise!"

Shinsei stopped and pointed at himself stupidly. "Fine merchandise?"

"Yes indeed." The man pointed to his little booth, which had numerous cards in glass cases on display. "Step right up and have a look to see if any of the cards you have here might be worth your interest."

Shinsei walked up to the cases and eyed all of the cards. "Huh?" He pointed at one that he didn't understand. "What the heck is that?"

"Oh, that card?" The man chuckled and patted the boy on the back. "That card is very rare and very powerful. It's something that only a few people in the world own."

Shinsei spoke evenly, though he looked annoyed. "That's great and all, but how about you tell me what it is." His hand swept over the completely black card. The whole face of the card was black, indicating no card type or rarity. "It doesn't even have a name!"

"It's called a Soul Template Card." The man leaned in and whispered right into Shinsei's ear. "It's a new kind of card type made specifically for use by strong dueling individuals. You see, when you put the card into your deck a computer in Industrial Illusions scans your deck type and…" He went silent and glanced at the card. "…never mind, it's too complicated for me to explain to you."

Shinsei shrugged and started to walk away. "You're a strange man, asking me to come over and then telling me that you won't let me use the card. Oh well, I have to find the exit to this stupid airport terminal."

The man just stood there, glancing at the empty card case again. ("So, it has chosen him then? Very well…then he must be tested to see if he has the necessary potential to use it properly.") The man rubbed his chin gently and closed his eyes. ("Alright…he's all yours.")

A black form materialized next to him and nodded slowly. "As you wish." Then it disappeared.

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Shinsei sighed and wondered just how far it was to the exit. He had followed sign after sign after sign, only to find out ten minutes later that he was back where he had started. ("They're playing head games with us, most likely to root out the least determined duelists.") Rolling his eyes at these stupid child games, he went forward down the hallway in front of him. ("One direction is as good as any other, I'd say.")

"Hold a moment, strong sir." A voice off to his side brought him to a halt immediately. Turning his head, he saw a bundled form sitting off to the side with a table in front of them. On that table rested a deck of cards, Tarot cards, and a crystal ball. "Would you like to have your fortune read? Free of charge, of course."

"That's alright, save it for someone who cares." Shinsei kept walking…and then a tingle ran up his spine. ("Something strong is nearby…") He turned around and looked right at the bundled figure. "You know what; I'll accept your offer." Walking up to the figure, he placed his hands at his sides and smiled calmly. "Well, predict away…"

The figure moved the crystal ball to in front of them and ran their hands along it slowly, a quiet chanting coming from their lips. "I see…I see a time of strife for you. A powerful force waits in the wings, and it will not wait much longer. You must discover a power that will let you defeat this force."

"A power huh?" Shinsei punched his fist into his open hand a couple of times. "Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"In this battle though, fists will not be able to determine the victor." The form moved the crystal ball aside and picked up the Tarot Cards, laying them out across the table. "I feel the deck merging with your spirit…it wishes to know more about you. As such, I will have to ask you to draw the top card of this deck to determine your own fate." They extended the deck out to him.

"Psh, fine." Shinsei pulled the top card off of the deck and held it up. For a moment the card shimmered and changed shape into a blank Duel Monsters card. "Huh? What kind of trick is that?"

"Prepare yourself, Shinsei Zeru." There was an explosion of light and when it cleared the boy was gone.

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Shinsei opened his eyes and tried to clear the spots from his vision. "What kind of fortune teller…" His voice died down as his vision returned and he realized he was standing in a circular room surrounded by huge murals on the walls. "Now where am I?"

"You are in the Hall of Memories, a place where the chosen come to reflect." The bundled form appeared in front of him, across the room. It threw aside its coverings to reveal a purple-haired woman wearing some kind of ceremonial dress and a duel disk covering her right arm. "As I said before, prepare yourself Shinsei Zeru." Her violet eyes burned into his. "This duel will determine whether your soul shall be sealed away, or your hidden strength shall be unlocked! Place the blank card into your deck, and let the game begin!"

Shinsei grimaced and pulled out his duel disk. ("I'm not sure what's going on, but I won't turn down a challenge.") Sliding his deck into place, he ran his fingers through the stack of cards, stopped halfway through it, and inserted the blank card he was still holding into it. Then he shuffled the whole thing and smiled slightly. "Let's go then, mysterious woman."

Megumi- 4000

Shinsei- 4000

"My name is Megumi, now let the battle of judgment begin!" The woman's duel disk activated. "And I'll start!" She drew and slammed a card down onto her disk. "I bring out Manju God (1400/1000) in defense mode!" A gray-skinned monster with thousands of arms all over its body appeared on the field in a crouching position. "When this monster is summoned, I can add one ritual magic card or ritual monster card from my deck to my hand." She drew the top card of her deck and added it to her hand. "Also, I set one card face-down on the field and my turn will end."

Shinsei narrowed his eyes. ("A ritual deck? Hmmm…interesting.") Then he drew. Because of how calm this woman was, he had no idea what kind of face-down card she may have set. A normal duelist would have assumed it would be a trap to defend her monster, but he knew better. Such a creature would definitely be expendable, since it had already used its only effect.

"Well, are you going to make your move or are you simply too scared to duel?" Megumi narrowed her eyes when Shinsei smiled in response to her little jabs. ("He's very calm…like he is enjoying this. It's fine, by the time I am done he'll realize this is not a game.")

Shinsei fanned out his hand and smirked. "Let's get started with this!" A superhero holding a pair of metal revolvers appeared on the field. "Elemental Hero Gunman (1700/1200) in attack mode! Now, attack Manju God with your Double Revolver Shot!" The warrior held up both weapons and unloaded blasts of energy that slammed into the creature and blew it apart instantly. "After that I'll end my turn."

Megumi drew and looked at the card. With a slight smile on her face, she opened her field magic card slot and inserted it. "Field magic card…Church of Blessing!" All around them, the field changed shape and turned into what seemed like the interior of a church. "By discarding one card from my hand, I can search my deck for one Ritual magic card and add it to my hand!" She did so and then grinned at Shinsei. "Prepare yourself for the end. This duel has now become mine!"

"Is that so? A ritual deck doesn't frighten me." Shinsei smiled along with Gunman. "We'll defeat you."

"No, you won't." Megumi held up a card. "I activate the magic card Ritual Substitute. During this turn, I do not have to sacrifice cards to activate my ritual magic cards!" A calm smile crossed her face. "That means that this duel will soon be over for you. With the cards I have in my hand, you will find that no normal cards will be able to hurt me at all."

"All I hear from you is talk." Shinsei tapped his foot on the ground a couple of times. "How about you stop talking and do something already?"

"Very well!" Megumi held up two cards. "Stars of Heaven and Fires of Hell! Both of these ritual cards will let me summon Holy Gatekeeper and Dark Torturer!" Two giant gates, one made of gold and the other made of iron, appeared on the field at once and opened to reveal a glittering angel wearing golden robes and a demon wearing pitch black armor and holding a spear. (1900/1800) (1800/1600) "Now, attack!" The Dark Torturer leapt forward and slashed right through Gunman, blowing it apart.

Megumi- 4000

Shinsei- 3900

Megumi held up a finger and snickered. "When my Dark Torturer deals you life point damage, you must discard the top five cards of your deck to the graveyard."

Shinsei gritted his teeth and slid the top five cards off of his deck into the graveyard slot of his disk. "Is that all?"

"Of course not! Go Gatekeeper!" The angel floated over to Shinsei and sang loudly, the sound bringing him to his knees. "My other monster's ability is that when it deals you life point damage I can draw cards equal to the amount of damage you took divided by 1000, rounded down." She drew a single card and inserted it into her disk. "I set this card face-down and then my turn ends. Take your best shot, overconfident child."

Megumi- 4000

Shinsei- 2000

Shinsei closed his eyes and laughed. "Alright, I got a little too cocky…" Then he drew. "However, don't take that for weakness!" As his eyes went over his hand to revaluate his strategy, they bulged out of his head for a moment before he regained his composure. ("I drew that blank card? What the heck?")

Sighing, he took a different card from his hand and threw it down onto his disk. "I can't let myself get distracted now, so come on out Elemental Hero Bubbleman!" (800/1200) A blue-armored superhero appeared on his field and struck a pose. "When this monster is summoned, I can draw two cards from my deck if I have no other cards in play!" Sliding two cards off of his deck, he prayed that he could still duel at full power when one of the cards in his hand was literally a dead draw.

Megumi had obviously noticed the boy's reaction, and assumed he had drawn the card she had given him. ("Interesting…")

Shinsei looked at the two drawn cards, and then he inserted the blank card into his shirt pocket. ("I might as well get this thing out of the way.") Holding up another card, he smiled calmly. "I'm not one for chapels, so let's the scenery to somewhere better suited for a fight! Skyscraper!" All around them the field changed as the church was replaced by huge buildings surrounding them on all sides. "In this place, if an Elemental Hero battles with a monster that is stronger than they are, they gain 1000 attack points for the damage step!"

"So what?" Megumi pointed right at him. "Nothing you have could make your monster strong enough to stand up to mine! The best you can do is suicide Bubbleman into my Dark Torturer!"

"Is that so?" Shinsei held a card with the picture of a big blue H on it. "Heat Heart raises the attack of one monster in play by 500 and during this turn they can deal damage through defense!" (1300/1200) "Go Bubbleman, attack the Gatekeeper!" (2300/1200) The superhero aimed its little wrist weapon at the angel. "Bubble Shooter!"

"Reveal face-down card! Heaven and Hell in Peril!" One of Megumi's two face-down cards flipped up and the field froze. "This trap card will activate only if I have one dark ritual monster and one light ritual monster in play and one of them is attacked. All monsters in attack mode on your field will now be destroyed!" Bubbleman shuddered in pain and started to dissolve.

"Not so fast!" Shinsei slammed a card into his disk. "Go Bubble Illusion! This quickplay magic card can only be activated if Elemental Hero Bubbleman is in play! It allows me to play a trap card from my hand right now! So my choice is Invincible Hero!" A golden aura exploded to life around Bubbleman and he stopped dissolving. "During this turn, Bubbleman can't be destroyed. And that means battle continues!" A stream of water came from Bubbleman's blaster and it blew the Gatekeeper apart.

Megumi- 3600

Shinsei- 2000

Megumi pointed at her face-down card. "Reveal Sacrificial Living! This card can return one ritual monster that was destroyed as a result of battle to the field!" There was a flash of light and the Gatekeeper reappeared in play.

Shinsei grimaced and slid a card into his disk. "I place one card face-down on the field and then I end my turn."

Megumi drew. "This is where the duel starts to get interesting! I play the magic card Heaven-Hell! This continuous magic card forces both duelists to remove all monsters from their deck, and all monsters in play will be destroyed!" Bubbleman, Dark Torturer, and the Gatekeeper all screamed in pain as they exploded into dust.

Shinsei just stood there, eyes wide. "You'd destroy all of our monsters when you have no cards in your hand? You're crazy…"

"I'm far from crazy." Megumi pointed at the Heaven-Hell card, which still remained in play. "This card is a continuous magic card, which means that both of us can special summon one monster from our graveyard during our turn. Are you ready?" The Dark Torturer returned to the field and lifted its spear. "Now take this! Spear Strike!" It yelled out and stabbed its spear right into Shinsei's gut, dropping him to his knees. "End turn."

Megumi- 3600

Shinsei- 200

Megumi noticed that Shinsei was having trouble standing up. "Discard the top five cards of your deck please."

Shinsei, with shaking hands, somehow managed to do that and also stand up. "It's my turn!" He drew and looked at the drawn card hopefully. ("She has destroyed our chances of any kind of monster Topdeck…") His lips curled up slightly. "Interesting situation! First I play Pot of Greed!" He drew the top two cards of his deck.

"Then I activate the power of my Hero Phoenix magic card. By using it, I can add one fire attribute Elemental Hero from my graveyard to my hand." He held up Elemental Hero Gunman, and then pointed at his field. "Revive yourself, Bubbleman!" There was a flash of light as the superhero formed in play. "Now I summon Elemental Hero Gunman back to the field!" The double gun-holding superhero appeared next to its ally.

Megumi paled in fear. ("That means…")

"Elemental Hero Bubbleman, attack the Dark Torturer! Bubble Shooter!" The superhero released a spray of water that hit the demon at the same time the demon tackled the superhero. (1800/1200) Both of them exploded into dust, and then Gunman aimed right at Megumi's chest and fired, striking her with bullets of energy.

Megumi- 1900

Shinsei- 200

Shinsei slid a card into his disk and then inserted another in next to it. "Now I set two cards face-down. End turn."

Megumi smiled coldly. She drew and held up Pot of Greed, drawing two more cards. "This duel is nearing the end for you."

"How do you figure that?" Shinsei smiled back. "I'm far from done, and with my Skyscraper in play Gunman will become a 2700 if attacked by either of your ritual monsters."

Megumi tittered and slid a card into her disk. "I set one card face-down on the field and then I'll activate my Giant Trunade magic card, sending all magic and trap cards on the field back to their owner's hands!" All around them the field morphed and warped as Skyscraper left play.

Shinsei's eyes widened as he realized why she had done that. "Oh no…"

"Firstly, my Map of Buried Treasure trap card activates when it is sent face-down on the field and back to my hand. I can discard it to draw two cards." Megumi discarded the trap and added two more cards to her hand.

Shinsei looked down at the four cards in his hand and then felt some sweat drip down his face. ("This might be the end…")

"I activate the magic card Heaven-Hell!" Megumi laughed loudly as Gunman exploded into dust. "This is the end, for now my Dark Torturer returns to play!" The demon appeared out of the ground and hefted its spear up, howling for blood. "Your duel ends here…as does your life! Without any monsters or cards in play, you lose! Go Dark Torturer!" The demon charged at Shinsei and roared again, spear held up high.

To be continued…

To Darksoulkai: It's a shame you don't like the Elemental Heroes.

To Seeker of the Soul: Shinsei isn't one to freak out under pressure, at least not the pressure of dueling someone normal…err, kinda normal.

To john: Hence why they are all the same type.

To Justin: I guess so…couldn't you have made one out of something other than MSG stuff?

To Dais: Of course I have bigger things planned.

To Disciple of Bob: I'll be accepting custom characters, but whether I will use them or not I'm not totally sure. As for my fanbase….there isn't any secret to it. I don't influence or know why people read my stories. Where am I holding the RPG? Huh? Why, do you intend to show up and do it with me and my friends?