Disclaimer: No I do not own Yugioh.

Vanguard Generations

Chapter 16: Rematch of Soul

The silence of the city was shaken by a loud explosion and a screech of pain.

Victoran- 4000

Airos- 150

Victoran calmly crossed his arms across his chest and sighed. "Boy, you were a fool for actually chasing me down and challenging me to a duel. I was planning on returning to my men, and instead you slow me down. For that you must pay." His mighty guardian, Radiance, stood on his field, its sword drawn. "Surrender and I will let you go."

Airos growled darkly and tried to stand, but the burns to his body were too much for such an action. "This…this is nothing! I won't let you get away with murdering my teammate…do you know how good a duelist he was? He would have helped us win this tournament easily!"

"Foolish boy, you think I care?" Victoran looked at the four cards in his hand, and then looked at Airos' empty field and hand. "You are on the verge of losing. It is your turn now, but I doubt your next draw will be useful."

Andrew just stood back, like Airos had told him to. He didn't understand any of this, but he knew that this man had killed Shinsei…and that someone had to beat him.

From his hiding place nearby, Kuruske felt the blood in his palms as he squeezed tighter and tighter. ("What's the matter with you people? Wasn't losing the beginner Vanguard enough proof…this guy can't be lose!")

Airos drew the top card of his deck, and paled at the sight of his Kaiser Glider card. ("I've lost…I can't even bluff.")

Kuruske saw the card as well, and frowned, tugging on his shirt collar. ("It looks like I'll have to jump in and try my luck. Jeez, I'm such a fool.")

"End turn." Airos lowered his head, waiting for the killer strike.

"No play at all? That's too bad." Victoran drew. "Radiance, attack his life points directly!" The holy knight leapt across the field, sword up and ready to slash the boy apart.

Airos heard a clash of steel right above his head, and he slowly lifted up his head to stare in awe at his savior. "Kenshin? That guy Shinsei summoned…which means…"

The samurai turned on one heel and kicked Radiance in the side of the head, sending the knight stumbling back. "For a holy Guardian, you seem to have some rather unsavory methods. You intended to kill that boy, didn't you?" Sheathing his katana, he grimaced. "It's alright though. You might have won against Airos, but now you try your luck against us."

"Us?" Andrew nearly leapt out of his skin as he felt a hand touch his shoulder.

"Yo Andrew. It's good to see you're alright, and I see that Airos made the stupid mistake of picking a fight with this guy when it wasn't necessary." Shinsei's eyes glittered in the light of the rising sun. "Wow, so it's already morning huh? That's too bad, I was hoping to get some breakfast before I tore this guy down too…"

Kenshin shrugged. "It can't be helped, right partner?" Smiling, the samurai pointed at Radiance. "You will duel us, Radiance of the Silver Heroes."

Victoran frowned in displeasure at this development. "I don't know how you survived, but thank you for coming to find me and saving me the time of having to hunt you down myself." He started to shuffle his deck up. "I'd think someone I beat already would be smart enough to avoid me like the plague."

Shinsei shrugged and finished shuffling his deck, slamming it home and winking to Kenshin right before his Guardian disappeared. "I guess I'm just a damn fool."

Airos slowly stumbled to his feet and looked back at the approaching Shinsei. "You are serious about trying this again?"

"Of course." Shinsei gave his teammate a thumbs-up. "Listen, go take Andrew to his mother's apartment already and make sure she's alright. I'll deal with this guy."

Airos gave a look of pure displeasure, but slowly nodded and walked over to Andrew. "We're leaving, come on!"

"But what about Shinsei…" Andrew's voice grew faint as he was literally dragged away from the alley they had been in, walking right past the hidden Kuruske without even realizing it.

Victoran drew his opening hand. "You truly are a strange human…"

Shinsei just smiled calmly and drew his opening hand. "I think that this time it'll go differently. Not to say I really changed at all, but you won't win because of some silly power you possess."

Victoran- 4000

Shinsei- 4000

Victoran slid the top card off of his deck and placed it onto his disk. "I summon Holy Maiden." (1200/1000) A princess wearing golden jewelry and white clothing appeared in play. "Also, I place one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Shinsei drew. "Interesting…." He could feel the warmth of the sun on his back. ("This time will be different.") "Go Polymerization!" A swirling vortex appeared over his head. "I fuse the Elemental Hero Featherman and Elemental Hero Burst Lady in my hand together!" A woman in red and a man wearing a feather-covered suit appeared on both sides of the vortex and were pulled into it, emerging moments later as a single powerful being with a dragon for one arm. "I fusion summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" (2100/1200) The superhero growled and suddenly launched across the field, a burning fireball of power that plowed through the princess and into Victoran, sending him stumbling backwards in pain. "Huh? I didn't tell him to attack…"

Victoran- 3100

Shinsei- 4000

Victoran caught himself before he moved back too far. ("What was that powerful blast of energy his creature unleashed?")

Shinsei shrugged. "Oh well, that is what I wanted him to do anyway! Flame Wingman's special ability is that when it destroys a monster as a result of battle you take that monster's attack in damage to your life points!" The disappeared Flame Wingman suddenly appeared in front of Victoran, blasting him a burst of fire from the dragon arm before returning to Shinsei's field.

Victoran- 1900

Shinsei- 4000

The boy placed another card horizontally onto his duel disk. "Now I summon Elemental Hero Memoryman (500/500) to my field in defense mode." A superhero wearing a golden top-hat appeared in play. "When this monster is summoned I reveal the top card of my deck to both of us. If and when that card enters my hand, I may at that time draw two cards." Pulling the top card off of his deck, he held it up to Victoran. "The card is Transcendence Fusion." Shuffling it back into his deck, he slid a card into his disk. "I place one card face-down on my field and end my turn."

Victoran growled in anger at the damage he had sustained so soon in the duel. "During the end phase of your turn, I activate the quickplay magic card Light Kindling. This card allows me to special summon one light attribute monster that was destroyed as a result of battle during this turn." His Maiden reappeared, singing brightly. "And now my turn begins." He drew. "During my standby phase, for every light attribute monster in play, my Maiden raises my life points by 500!" Light fell over him as his monster started to sing.

Victoran- 2900

Shinsei- 4000

Shinsei snapped his fingers. "Memoryman is a light…"

"And now my turn begins for real." Victoran opened his field magic card slot. "Castle of Light activates!" All around them the dank surroundings of the alley changed to the interior of a shining crystalline castle. "While this field magic card remains in play, all life point increases are increased by half their total. Also, I play the magic card Holy Song. By discarding one card from my hand…" He inserted a magic card into his graveyard slot. "…one monster in play will be sent to the graveyard and we shall both gain its attack in life points."

Flame Wingman let out a strange relaxed sigh and faded away. (2100+10503150)

Victoran- 6050

Shinsei- 7150

Shinsei frowned at that. He didn't want life points, he wanted his Flame Wingman and its damage effect.

Victoran noticed the look and replied to them. "Don't worry, during this turn I cannot attack you directly. As such, I will equip my Maiden with Holy Amulet." A golden amulet appeared around the neck of the woman. "This raises her attack points by 500, and when she destroys a monster as a result of battle I gain that monster's attack in life points. (1700/1000) Attack Memoryman, Holy Chorus!" The woman let out a shockwave of sound that hit the kneeling hero and blew it apart. (500+250750) "End turn."

Victoran- 6800

Shinsei- 7150

Shinsei snapped the top card off of his deck in frustration. ("Wait…I can use this card in combination with my other one!") "I activate Dark Factory of Mass Production!" Two cards slid out of his graveyard. "This card lets me add two normal type monsters from my graveyard to my hand! I choose Featherman and Burst Lady!"

Victoran coldly watched Shinsei, waiting to see what the boy had in mind next.

And Shinsei didn't disappoint. "Reverse card open!" His face-down card flipped up to reveal a green-glowing treasure chest. "Ghostly Guarded Treasure! By discarding two cards from my hand, I can activate this continuous trap card and special summon a level six or lower monster from my graveyard regardless of summoning requirements! I'm counting on you, Flame Wingman!" The fusion superhero reappeared in play, its body now phantasmal. "If the monster leaves play on my turn, I may draw two cards and the monster card must go to my graveyard. Flame Wingman, Flame Shooter!"

The Maiden screamed in pain as her body was lit aflame and burned to ash. At that moment Shinsei pointed right at Victoran. "Flame Wingman's special ability triggers now!"

Victoran- 5100

Shinsei- 7150

Shinsei slid the last card in his hand into his disk. "I'm not done yet either! Go De-Fusion!" The quickplay magic card he had been holding appeared on the field. "I select one fusion monster in play and send it back to the fusion deck. If that monster's fusion components are in the graveyard, I may special summon them all!" Flame Wingman shimmered and turned into a green cloud that was sucked into his graveyard. "Because of the effect of my Treasure, Flame Wingman must go to my graveyard!"

Two beams of light, one green and the other red, emerged from his graveyard and changed into the forms of Featherman and Burst Lady. (1000/1000) (1200/800) Right at that moment the Treasure chest exploded into dust, and Shinsei drew two cards right before his monsters came down as a pair and landed a ferocious double jump-kick to Victoran's jaw.

Victoran- 2900

Shinsei- 7150

Shinsei smiled and glanced at his two drawn cards before pointing at Victoran. "Alright, it's your turn now."

Victoran rubbed at his bruised chin in disbelief…and the snarled deeply. "Insolent dog…" He drew. "I activate Pot of Greed." Drawing two more cards, he threw one of them down onto his disk. "Come forth, another of my Maidens!" (1200/1000) Another of the glowing princess' appeared on his field. "Now, attack Featherman!" It let out an echoing song that washed over the superhero and blew it apart. (1000+5001500)

Victoran- 4400

Shinsei- 6950

Shinsei inserted two cards into his disk. "I place two cards face-down on the field and end my turn."

Shinsei looked down at his deck, and then at his hand. ("Here goes…") "Draw!" His eyes played over the drawn card, and he nodded calmly. "Alright, this'll work!" An explosion of fire came from his field. "I summon Elemental Legend Blaze Lancer!" (1600/500) An armored warrior holding an ornate red lance appeared on the field, the weapon aimed right at Victoran.

"Elemental…Legend?" Victoran felt something different about these cards. They were empowered with something beyond what he had ever felt before from anything, Guardians included.

Shinsei pointed at the Maiden. "Go Lancer, Flame Ender!" The warrior leapt across the field and slashed the lance's tip right through the princess, blowing her apart in a blast of heat. "When Flame Lancer destroys a monster as a result of battle, you take that monster's defense in damage!"

Victoran bit back his roars of pain as his body was engulfed in flame for a few moments.

Victoran- 3000

Shinsei- 6950

Shinsei pointed at Victoran. "Go Burst Lady! Burst Fire!" The superhero threw a fireball across the field that once again engulfed the Vanguard in flame. "End turn."

Victoran- 1800

Shinsei- 6950

Victoran slowly lowered his arms from his face, and glared at Shinsei's field. "I will make sure you die in a truly painful way this time." He drew. "I activate Emergency Provisions! By sending my two face-down to the graveyard, I will gain 2000 life points!" (2000+10003000) His two face-down cards faded away.

Victoran- 4800

Shinsei- 6950

"Also, both of the cards I sent to the graveyard had effects that trigger now. The first was called Crystal Chandelier. By sending it from my field to the graveyard, I gain 1000 life points." (1000+5001500) "Also, the other card was called Innocent Victim. When my Castle is in play and this magic card is sent to the graveyard, I may special summon Army Knight (1000/1000) from my deck to my field!" Victoran pointed at his field, where a plain-looking knight in simple armor appeared on the field.

Victoran- 6300

Shinsei- 6950

Victoran removed two more cards from his deck. "When my knight is special summoned, if I have no cards in hand, I may special summon two more of it from my deck to the field. After this, I may draw a card." Two more knights appeared in play alongside each other, and he drew. Sliding the drawn card into his disk, he smiled in success. "The Allied Forces increases the attack of all of my warrior monsters in play by 200 for each warrior or spellcaster type monster that I have in play." (1600/1000X3) "Attack Burst Lady!" One of the chagrining knights ran over the superhero, rearing up its horse in triumph.

Victoran- 6300

Shinsei- 6550

The noble pointed at the Flame Lancer. "Attack now!" Another of the knights charged and slammed into the Lancer, both of them exploding. (1400/1000x2) "Direct attack!" The last knight ran its lance into Shinsei's body, sending him stumbling back disoriented but unharmed physically. "It seems you ability to resist damage in a real Vanguard duel is increasing."

Victoran- 6300

Shinsei- 5150

Shinsei smiled slightly and brushed himself off. "Draw."

Victoran frowned once more. "Your arrogance is increasing…"

"Maybe it is. Then again, I don't care what you think!" Shinsei threw the drawn card onto his duel disk. "I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman (800/1200) to my field in attack mode!" A blue-armored superhero appeared on his field. "When Bubbleman is summoned and I have no cards in play I may draw two." Sliding two more cards off of his deck, he continued to smile confidently. "And now it's time to turn this around. First to deal with your annoying life gain boost field magic card!" His field magic card slot opened and he placed a card into it. "I activate Skyscraper!" All around them the crystal castle shattered and left them standing amongst the giant buildings that represented the Elemental Heroes' ultimate battlefield.

Victoran's scowl deepened as he watched a large bazooka-like device appear over Bubbleman's shoulder. "Bubble Shot…"

"Right." Shinsei pointed at one of the knights. "After playing Skyscraper I equip my Bubbleman with Bubble Shot, increasing his attack by 800 points." (1600/1200) "Bubbleman, attack one of the Knights!" The weapon unleashed a powerful blast of water that slammed into the warrior and blew it apart.

Victoran- 6100

Shinsei- 5150

Shinsei clenched his fist in excitement. "I can feel it now. This is going to be a great duel from start to finish! End turn!"

Victoran scowled deeper. "You think this is a game, boy?" He drew. "Then let me show you just how much fun I can have when I play a 'game'! Go Chivalrous Battle! This quickplay magic card allows one Knight monster or Radiance to attack an opponent's monster with all power boost effects and equipment cards negated! That means your Bubble Shot's effect cannot save your monster! Battle!" The knight dove in and speared Bubbleman in the chest, blowing it apart. "End turn!"

Victoran- 6100

Shinsei- 4950

Shinsei smiled even wider. "You're just making it even better!" His eyes widened at the drawn card. "Alright! I activate Memory Search! This magic card can only activate if Elemental Hero Memoryman is on my field or in my graveyard. I select one card that has been revealed to both players during this duel from my deck and add it to my hand!" A card left his deck and he held it up. "There is only choice, and that is Transcendence Fusion! At this time, I draw two more cards thanks to Memoryman's effect."

"It doesn't matter what you draw…your fate is to die, boy!" Victoran clenched his fist tighter, and felt his blood rising.

Shinsei smiled and held up a card. "Fusion Recovery lets me add one Polymerization and one monster that were used in a fusion from my graveyard to my hand. My choice is Elemental Hero Featherman!" He threw a card onto his disk and that green-feathered superhero appeared in play again. "Featherman, attack his Knight!" (2000/1000) The superhero kicked through the warrior easily.

Victoran- 5300

Shinsei- 4950

Shinsei just kept smiling as he slid a card into his duel disk. "I'll set one card face-down. End turn."

Victoran drew, his temper back in check. "I grow weary of playing. It is time!" His body started to glow. "Emerge, Radiance!" Light fell down over the field as the glowing form of his Guardian appeared in play. (3400/2500)

Radiance slowly drew his sword, his shining perfect teeth and blond hair glittering, even in the dim lights of Skyscraper. "Radiance of the Silver Heroes is here, run in fear villains!"

Victoran snapped up his hand card. "I quickplay Mystical Space Typhoon!" A blast of wind slammed into Shinsei's set card and blew it apart. "The Allied Forces powers up Radiance by 200 points! Holy Slash!" (3600/2500) The glittering warrior leapt across the field and slashed through Featherman.

Victoran- 5300

Shinsei- 3350

Victoran sneered darkly. "Your advantage of Skyscraper is useless against such a high attack power monster. End turn."

Shinsei snickered and removed a card from his graveyard. "During your end phase, I'll activate the card I had set face-down. It's called Inadvertent Rescue, and during the turn it is destroyed by an opponent's card effect, I may remove it from the game to set a trap card and a magic card from my deck onto my field." Selecting two cards from his deck, he placed them both face-down and drew. "Now I reveal my first card, Graceful Charity! This card allows me to draw three cards and then discard two from my hand."

Right as he inserted two cards into his graveyard, his face-down card flipped up. "Dark Graceful Charity is a trap card that sends all cards discarded by magic cards from my graveyard back to my hand." The two discarded cards were spat back out and added to his hand. "I'm ready…with these cards, I will not only defeat Radiance this turn and nearly wipe out your life points, but I'll make sure that he never sees play again for the rest of this duel."

To be continued…