Hey everyone! I am really sorry for the long wait, but college kept me busy. I'm out now, but the holidays are also slowing me down a bit. I will try to continue updating, but I probably won't get too much free time until mid January. Anyway, here is the next chapter.
Chapter 2: Hunting a Dragon
Aichi struggled to stay awake during class. He had very little sleep last night thanks in large part to the nightmares surrounding the mysterious Black Moon Dragon that he had to find. He had dealt with many threats in the past. He had overcome the corruption of Psqualia while fighting Ren, battled the darkness of the Void in his fight against Leon, and opposed the invasion of Link Joker. When he traveled to the U.S. to study abroad, he thought that the threats were over. He thought that he had finally caught a break. Ever since he entered the university, everything had gone just fine—until now. It appeared that it was merely the calm before yet another storm.
As soon as the lecture ended, Aichi sat on a bench in the hall. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. He was only trying to rest but sleep started to take hold of him. Suddenly, Aichi felt a poking sensation on his forehead.
"Aichi?" a voice called out, "Hello, wake up sleepy head."
His eyes opened up to see Rati standing in front of him with a large grin on her face.
"You ok, Aichi?" she asked. "You've been dozing off in class a lot lately."
"I'm fine," he replied. "I'm just a little tired. That's all."
"You've been working too hard," she told him. "You need to relax a little."
"I have been having trouble relaxing as of late," he responded.
"I'll tell you what, why don't we get a bite to eat?" she asked.
"Sure," he replied. "That sounds good."
While at the restaurant, the two got caught up on recent events. They talked about things like what they were studying in college, interesting cardfights they had, and whether they have been keeping up with old friends. It was a very pleasant conversation. Aichi felt at ease being with a friend. At some point however, Rati noticed that Aichi had barely even touched his food.
"Are you ok, Aichi?" she asked with a concerned tone of voice.
Aichi paused for a minute before speaking up, "Rati, have you ever heard of anyone named 'Black Moon Dragon?'"
"Hmm," she pondered as she looked up the name on her smartphone. "There is a guy who uploads videos to Youtube and writes fan fictions on FFN, but I don't think that's the guy you are looking for."
"Probably not," Aichi sighed.
"Oh wait," she added. "According to this article, here, there is a cardfighter that goes by that name."
"Really?" Aichi asked.
"It's right here," she replied showing him the article. "He's actually going to make an appearance at a Cardfight event not too far from here. Not much is known about him except that he is a skilled cardfighter. He spent most of his time staying hidden and only surfaced recently after beating Victor Adams last year. Since then he has been participating in national tournaments and has become a living legend. Some even say that he may be the best Royal Paladin player in North America. Why do you want to know about him?"
"I think something horrible is coming," he answered. "And I think that I am supposed to get him to help us stop it."
Rati was shocked at this revelation. She had no idea that this kind of burden was weighing Aichi down.
"Maybe we could meet him at the event," she suggested. "He is just going to have a quick match to kickstart the event. After that, he should be free."
"When is the event?" he asked.
"It's this Sunday," she replied.
Aichi knew what he needed to do. He knew that he had to go to the event if he were to find the Black Moon Dragon. Aichi also knew that the Black Moon Dragon would likely not have any reason to talk to him. This meant he would have to use his Psyqualia to get his attention.
Aichi and Rati arrived at the event early. This just might be their only chance to get the Black Moon Dragon's attention. It was an opportunity that they could not afford to miss. A massive crowd had gathered in the stadium to see the legendary cardfighter. After a while, an emcee stepped onto the stage.
"Thank you all for attending today!" he started. "Welcome to are annual Vancon! For this year's event, we are going to hold a special match between two of the best fighters in the region!"
The crowd erupted in excitement.
"Let's introduce out fighters!" the emcee announced. "First up, we have the American Kagero clan leader, Drake Hunter."
A spotlight illuminated the westward side of the stadium as Drake entered. He had vibrant red hair and sported aviator sun glasses along with a black leather vest, studded pants, and military boots. A cocky grin formed from the corners of his mouth as the audience cheered his arrival.
"Next," the emcee continued. "A rising star in the American Vanguard community! The mysterious Black Moon Dragon."
The spotlights on the other end of the stadium switched on as the cardfighter entered. Aichi's heart sank when he saw him. The Black Moon Dragon was wearing a t-shirt along with jeans and a trench coat. All of his clothing was black. What Aichi found most interesting was the fact that he concealed his face with a black mask. On the right eye socket of the mask was a white crescent moon. It reminded Aichi of the dragon in his dreams.
"Fighters!" the emcee shouted. "Go to your stations!"
Both fighters approached their cardfight tables. They each removed their respective starting vanguards from their decks and placed them face down on their vanguard circles. They then drew their starting hands and played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go first.
"Fighters get ready!" the emcee commanded. "Fight!"
Black Moon Dragon vs Drake Hunter
Black Moon Dragon: "Stand my Vanguard! Stardust Dracokid!"
Drake Hunter: "Stand up! Vanguard! Dragon Knight, Sadig!"
"Since I won at rock-paper-scissors, I'll go first," Drake declared as he drew his card.
Turn 1: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 0; Cards in hand 5 / Drake Hunter; Damage 0; Cards in hand 6
"I ride Dragon Dancer, Kalin," Drake stated as the unit materialized on the imaginary field. "Next, I use the forerunner skill of Sadig to move him to rear guard. And with that, I end my turn."
"Draw," Black Moon Dragon responded.
Turn 2: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 0; Cards in hand 6 / Drake Hunter; Damage 0; Cards in hand 5
"I ride Celestial Mage, Gwenon," Black Moon Dragon stated as a blue-haired woman garbed in royal attire wielding a scepter took her place on the field.
"I use the skill of Stardust Dracokid," he continued. "When Gwenon rides over him, I can search my deck for one copy of Black Moon Knight."
Black Moon Dragon searched through his deck until he found the card he was looking for. He added it to his hand before shuffling his deck.
He addressed his opponent, "Now I attack your Kalin with my Gwenon. And thanks to Gwenon's skill, she gets +2000 power when Stardust Dracokid is in the soul."
Celestial Mage, Gwenon 6000 - 8000 vs Dragon Dancer, Kalin 6000
"No guard," was Drake's simple reply.
Gwenon conjured lightning from her scepter and hurled it at the defenseless dragon dancer. Kalin howled in agony as the electricity coursed through her body.
"Drive check," Black Moon Dragon responded as he checked the top card of his deck. "No trigger."
Drake checked the top card of his deck. "No trigger."
He placed the card in his damage zone before continuing. "My turn. Draw."
Turn 3: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 0; Cards in hand 7 / Drake Hunter; Damage 1; Cards in hand 6
"I ride Wyver Strike, Doha," Drake started as the creature took Kalin's place. "Next, I call Mighty Dragon Mage, Kimnara and Dragon Knight, Royar to rear guard."
Kimnara materialized to the right of Doha as Royar appeared behind Kimnara.
"Time for the fun to begin," Drake declared. With a boost from Royar, Kimnara attacks your vanguard!"
Mighty Dragon Mage, Kimnara 8000 - 14000 vs Celestial Mage, Gwenon 6000
Kimnara fired a streak of crimson flame at Gwenon who screamed in pain upon contact.
Choosing not to guard, Black Moon Dragon conducted his damage check. Seeing that he did not get a trigger, he placed the card in his damage zone.
Drake continued with his turn. "With a boost from Sadig, Wyvern Strike, Doha attacks your vanguard!"
"No guard," Black Moon Dragon replied.
Drake checked the top card of his deck for a trigger but did not get one.
Once again, Gwenon was bathed in fire. Aichi grimaced. He was uneasy ever since the fight began. He could sense a lot of darkness within Black Moon Dragon. But there was something else, pain. His units were unhappy. Both the fighter and his units shared each others pain. Aichi found this unsettling.
Black Moon Dragon's damage check revealed a critical trigger, but it was of no use at that moment. He placed the card in his damage zone.
"Since my vanguard was blazing this turn, I bind my Royar" Drake stated. "I end my turn."
"Stand and draw," Black Moon Dragon replied.
Turn 4: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 2; Cards in hand 8 / Drake Hunter; Damage 1; Cards in hand 4
"I ride Black Moon Knight," he stated. His Gweneon was then replaced by a knightly figure wearing space gray armor and a cape with space and stars on it. It was not what one would expect from a Royal Paladin unit.
"I activate the skill of Black Moon Knight," he continued. "By discarding a grade 3 unit from my hand, I can ad Black Moon Dragon to my hand."
Aichi was surprised by that last declaration. The cardfighter Black Moon Dragon shared a name with a unit? He wondered if his nickname was derived from his ace unit.
"Next, I call Transmigration Knight, Brede and Lunar Crescent Knight, Felax to rear guard," he stated. Brede appeared to the right of Black Moon Knight while Felax appeared behind Brede. It was then that Black Moon Dragon decided to go on the offensive.
"With a boost from Felax, Brede attacks Kimnara," he declared.
Transmigration Knight, Brede 9000 - 17000 vs Mighty Dragon Mage, Kimnara 8000
Brede lunged at Kimnara and with his mighty ax, cleaved the opposing unit in two. Drake placed his slain mage into his drop zone. Aichi thought to himself that it was a clever move on Black Moon Dragon's part. By ridding Kimnara from the field, he saved some of his rear guards from the risk of being retired by his skill. But that was not all. By decreasing the number of rear guards on his opponent's side of the field, he prevented him from using the blaze ability.
"Next," he continued. "Black Moon Knight attacks your Vanguard, and because Gwenon is in the soul, he gets +1000 power."
"No guard," Drake responded.
Black Moon Dragon did the drive check and revealed the stand trigger Encourage Angel.
"All effects to Brede," he declared
Black Moon Knight 9000 - 10000 vs Wyvern Strike, Doha 10000
Black Moon Knight charged at the wyvern and thrusted his sword through its chest as the creature roared in pain.
"Now Brede will attack your vanguard."
Transmigration Knight, Brede 9000 - 14000 vs Wyvern Strike, Doha 10000
Brede swung his ax at the beast and struck him in the chest with great force. Drake checked his deck for a trigger but did not have any luck. He placed the card in his damage zone and started his turn.
"Stand and draw."
Turn 5: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 2; Cards in hand 6 / Drake Hunter; Damage 3; Cards in hand 5
A smile creeped onto Drake's face.
"I ride Heroic Saga Dragon!" he shouted as a sword-wielding dragon with a fiery mane took the place of Wyvern Strike, Doha. "Next, I activate his skill. By counter blasting 1 and soul blasting 1, I can retire your Lunar Crescent Knight, Felax."
A flame erupted from Heroic Saga Dragon's sword that enveloped Felax who let out one last scream before perishing.
"Next, I activate the skill of Sadig," he continued. "By putting him in the soul, I can retire your Transmigration Knight, Brede!"
Before disappearing, Sadig hurled his flaming spear which pierced Brede through the heart.
"I call Dragon Knight, Nadim and Dragon Knight, Javad to rear guard," he declared as both warriors appeared on either side of Heroic Saga Dragon.
"I attack your vanguard with Javad," Drake called out as the dragon knight thrusted his lance into Black Moon Knight's chest.
Black Moon Dragon responded by placing the top card of his deck into the damage zone.
"Now Heroic Saga Dragon attacks your vanguard!" he continued.
"Knight of Flash will guard that attack," Black Moon Dragon responded as said knight appeared to take the blunt of Heroic Saga Dragon's attack.
Heroic Saga Dragon 11000 vs Black Moon Knight 9000 - 19000
"Checking the twin drive," Drake replied.
The first check did not reveal anything, but the second check revealed a critical trigger.
"All effects to Nadim," Drake stated. "Next, Nadim will attack your vanguard."
"No guard," Black Moon Dragon responded.
Nadim charged at Black Moon Knight and stabbed him in the abdomen. Black Moon Dragon placed the top two card of his deck into the damage zone. Neither of them were triggers.
"Stand and draw," Black Moon Dragon stated as he started his turn.
Turn 6: Black Moon Dragon; Damage 5; Cards in hand 6 / Drake Hunter; Damage 3; Cards in hand 4
"Creature of light and darkness, the one with the potential preserve life or cause death and destruction, the embodiment of my soul, I ride, Black Moon Dragon!" he shouted as a black dragon with armor reminiscent of Black Moon Knight appeared on the field. The beast had a white crescent moon-shaped marking on its right eye. It let out an ear deafening roar as it stormed the field.
"Generation stride!" he declared as he discarded a copy of Laurel Knight, Sicilus. "Come forth, Holy Dragon, Life Saver Dragon!"
Black Moon Dragon erupted in light and was replaced by a white quadrupedal dragon with glimmering armor.
"Black Moon Dragon's stride skill!" he declared. "By counter blasting 1, I can call one grade 2 or higher unit from my deck to rear guard and give it +5000 power just so long as its original power is below 11000. The card I choose is Stardrive Dragon!"
Suddenly, Aichi received a vision of Stardriver Dragon killing Heroic Saga Dragon by shooting a brilliant beam through its heart.
A majestic dragon with a halo-shaped crest appeared to the right of Life Saver Dragon as he called his unit.
"Next," he continued. "I activate the skill of Life Saver Dragon. By counter blasting 2, I can call one grade 2 unit from my deck and give it +5000 power. I choose Black Moon Knight."
The knight then appeared behind Life Saver Dragon. Aichi was confused by this move. Since grade 2s could not boost, it would have made more sense to call Black Moon Knight to the remaining rear guard circle in the front row. Aichi's confusion was short lived, however.
"I activate Black Moon Knight's other skill," he started. "When he is called to a back row rear guard, I can call another Black Moon Knight from the soul to rear guard and give it +5000 power at the cost of counter blasting 2. But that's not all, Black Moon Knight gets the boost ability while in the back row."
Drake grimaced at this revelation. His hand consisted of only a single critical trigger, one sentinel, a Lava Flow Dragon and a copy of Heroic Saga Dragon. As it stood, he could guard, but doing so would leave him with just one card in his hand. Of course, that was assuming the triple drive did not reveal any triggers. However, at just three damage, he could afford to take a few hits. Unfortunately, for him, his predicament would only get worse.
"I call Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes and Encourage Angel to rear guard," Black Moon Dragon declared as the two units filled up the remaining rear guard circles. "Next, I shuffle Encourage Angel back into my deck to give +3000 power to Palamedes and Stardrive Dragon. Now, I attack your vanguard with Palamedes!"
Drake thought about the situation for a moment. Palamedes would be the weakest of the units attacking and therefore, the easiest to guard against. After that, he had two power columns to contend with. He could use the sentinel to nullify the attack of Life Saver Dragon to avoid the triple drive but he would have to use up too many resources to guard Stardriver Dragon's attack. However, as long as the triple drive did not reveal two critical triggers, he would survive. With all things considered, he decide dthat if he blocked the attacks of Life Saver Dragon and Palamedes, he could launch a counter attack on the next turn.
"I guard with Dragon Knight, Rasheed," Drake declared. "Then, I intercept with Javad."
Swordsman of the Explosive Flames, Palamedes 15000 - 21000 vs Heroic Saga Dragon 11000 - 26000
Both of the aforementioned units were then sliced apart in place of Heroic Saga Dragon.
"With a boost from Black Moon Knight, I attack with Stardriver Dragon!" Black Moon Dragon exclaimed.
Drake was confused for a moment. Most players would have chosen to attack with their vanguard next. That way, they could give any critical effects to the remaining rear guard in the event that their attack gets blocked. However, Drake was not going to complain. He would simply let this attack hit, nullify the vanguard's attack, and live to see the next turn. Aichi, on the other hand, knew better than that. Being a Psyqualia user, he knew that things were not always what they seemed.
Stardriver Dragon 15000 - 32000 vs Heroic Saga Dragon 11000
Star driver Dragon fired a beam that hit Heroic Saga Dragon square in the chest.
"I attack with Holy Dragon, Life Saver Dragon!" he shouted.
"Not a chance," Drake replied as he discarded his other copy of Heroic Saga Dragon. "Escort Dragon Attendant, Reas will nullify the attack."
A small woman appeared and conjured a magical barrier that protected his vanguard from the incoming onslaught. Drake smiled. The triple drive would not be able to help his opponent. On his next turn, he could stride with Lava Flow Dragon and retake control of the game. Aichi, however, knew that this would be the final turn.
"Triple drive," Black Moon Dragon declared. "First check, critical trigger. All effects to Stardriver Dragon."
Drake smirked knowing that Stardriver Dragon was harmless due to the fact that it had already attacked. None the less, that audience was at their edge of their seats waiting for the next drive check."
"Second check," he announced. "Stand trigger."
Drake's heart sank. With that, his opponent could re-stand one of his rear guards and get another attack in.
"All effects to the Black Moon Knight in my right column," he stated.
Drake raised an eyebrow and the crowd started murmuring. What was he thinking? If he had chosen Star Driver Dragon instead, he might have been able to attack with it and get the final two damage he needed. Aichi knew why, however. Both he and Aichi knew what the third and final card in the triple drive was going to be.
"Third check," he stated calmly.
He checked the last card in the triple drive and stared at it briefly before turning his gaze back to his opponent. The crowd went silent as they waited for the call. Drake started sweating.
Black Moon Dragon held up the card and stated the two words that would decide the outcome of the game, "Stand trigger,"
The crowd gasped in shock at the realization of what just happened.
"All effects to Stardriver Dragon," he stated. "Now, with a boost from Black Moon Knight, Stardriver Dragon attacks your vanguard."
Drake panicked. Since Stardriver Dragon had two criticals, he would take another two damage and lose the game. However, he did not have enough to guard with. His only hope was to pull a heal trigger.
Stardriver Dragon 20000 - 39000 vs Heroic Saga Dragon 11000
Drake checked the top two card of his deck. Neither of them were triggers. Stardriver Dragon fired a golden beam from its maw. The beam penetrated Heroic Saga Dragon's chest and pierced its heart. Heroic Saga Dragon let out one final gasp before dropping to both knees and falling over dead. The units then faded away and the game was over. The crowd erupted and cheered at the conclusion of the game. Black Moon Dragon started to make his leave, but Aichi could not let that happen. He activated his Psyqualia and reached out to Black Moon Dragon telepathically. Suddenly, Black Moon Dragon turned toward Aichi and glared in his direction.
End
Response to readers
Anglelover1827 - It's not Chrono, it's an OC. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. If you decide to drop by again, please let me know what you think. :)
William152 - Thanks for the fav.
