ARC I
"The Crimson Dragon"
Our story begins in the populous and prosperous city of New Domino — the rebuilt birthplace to thousands of legendary duelists as well as the birthplace of the world's most beloved game: Duel Monsters.
Our heroine Maya Kozuki works in the slums of the city known as the Daimon Area as a bartender at Crick's Pub. Meanwhile, our hero Yusei Fudo has just stolen back his D-Wheel from Sector Security with the help of Blister whom he forms an unlikely friendship with and takes the fall for Yusei to escape from the clutches of the persistent officer Tetsu Trudge.
However, Yusei's escape is not so peaceful when Yusei takes a nasty crash into a card shop with Maya as a witness to the event.
Enter the first arc of 'Rise of the Crimson Dragon' where mysterious occurrences, threats and an ancient dragon emerges, bestowing its power onto five teenagers who become the bearers of its immense power known as:
The Signers.
Chapter 1 - When Worlds Collide
It was supposed to be another normal Friday night for Maya.
After working a long and fairly easy double shift at Crick's Pub (for the fourth night in a row), Maya had expected to go home, take a relaxing hot shower (if there was any hot water running by the time she made it there), snuggle under the fancy cotton sheets she'd found during a walk home a month prior and hand-washed to perfection, and dream of the day when she wouldn't have to hide her parentage from the prying eyes of New Domino City dwellers, go to school and live in a fancy penthouse apartment like the lucky and spoiled rotten Topsiders who really didn't know how good life had (and still was) treating them.
At the sound of the doors closing behind the last customer, Maya breathed a sigh of relief and immediately began to wipe down the tables with a swiftness that was unmatched. Her boss Chubbs, chuckled at her eagerness.
"Got somewhere to be tonight, kid?"
"As a matter of fact, yes I do. I need to be in my bed right now, sleeping my ass off until tomorrow afternoon right before you call me repeatedly about someone stealing your special beers or robbing you in plain sight (which never happens might I add) like the paranoid schizophrenic you are." She smirked.
"Screw you, Anaïs." Chubbs grumbled through a hidden smile. Their daily jeers and banters never got old for neither of them. She moved past him and slid over the bar counter, heading for the back room where her satchel lay hung up against the wall waiting for her promised return. Instinctively, she reached for the one thing that tugged at her heartstrings in both a loving and yet disdainful way.
She hesitated mid-way before grasping hold of her suddenly itchy arm instead and then closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of stale beer surrounding her. A small chirp echoed in the recesses of her mind and caused Maya to smile slightly just before she heard Chubb's footsteps enter the room. She opened her eyes and snapped her bag shut.
"Thought you were on your way home to get that beauty rest," he said gruffly.
"Don't worry, I'm leaving now so you can go drink yourself into a quiet stupor again tonight."
"Screw you, Anaïs. Have I told you that before?"
"Multiple times," she responded, leaping over the bar counter again, then sprinting for the half-broken door. "Night, Chubbs." She didn't wait to hear his reply. He never gave one anyways.
The moon painted the night sky a dark blue with a shimmery gleam that captivated her eyes briefly. It wasn't often that a view like this would appear in the streets of the city, especially when there were so many buildings blocking this incredible view. And for a short moment in time, Maya was brought back to her old memories of the home she once knew. Watching the moon flaunt its gloriousness and beauty in the sky was normal back then. There were no skyscrapers that could interrupt such a wonderful moment from nature. Only crisp winds and open skies to satisfy any wandering eyes.
She then frowned. It wasn't unusual for someone to miss their home, but for her it almost felt like a betrayal. That wretched town was the reason why Maya had to leave before its' violence swallowed her the same it did to her parents. That same night, she had taken oath to swear that she would not become like her parents or even return to that desolate, unredeemable town. There was no ounce of goodness that had ever come from there.
At the corner street of Bruckner, a few blocks down from the Daimon Area (the birthplace of street and underground dueling and a populous area where many branded criminal lurked around and resided nearby), Maya stopped in front of an old out of business store when she heard the sound of an engine approaching, followed by an ear-piercing screech as a D-Wheel came into view.
Instinctively, she jumped back and fell against the cool ground as the D-Wheel drove past, its wheel tripping against the rim of the sidewalk and launching the bike and its driver slightly into the air and through the glass windows of the store with a loud CRASH! Maya turned onto her back with a breathless gasp.
Fear, exhilaration and shock coursed through her veins and fastened her heart rate simultaneously. Her eyes scanned the scene before. Shattered glass sprayed all over the concrete and dangling from the sharp, jagged ends of the broken window, busted window frames, steam emanating from the crashed D-Wheel inside and the sight of red specks against the concrete that glistened against the moonlight which (at the moment) she could only perceive as blood.
Her legs trembled slightly as she rose to her feet, but stilled when she pushed them to run towards the busted windows. She tiptoed carefully over the glass and peered into the store where a body lay beside the scratched and bruised red D-Wheel, unmoving with red liquid forming underneath it.
The smarter thing to do would've been to call the police or even Sector Security for help, but Maya didn't … because something told her not to. Something inside of her mind was warning her to avoid calling the authorities … and pushing her towards this person. It wasn't a voice per se. It was more like a deep hidden feeling in her gut … a feeling she couldn't explain that was telling her this person was not someone to be afraid of. And Maya always trusted her gut.
She approached the body carefully pushing away the rubble that laid on top of the person before flipping them onto their back. She gasped at the sight. It was a man, a branded criminal from the yellow markings on his face whose shirt was slashed right across his abdomen where blood seeped through slowly.
She quickly removed the red and black plaid shirt she wore as a bandana around her waist and slipped it expertly under his back, wrapping it into a tight tourniquet. The man groaned in pain and moved his head slightly but did not open his eyes. She tightened the wrappings and silently hoped he wasn't too heavy to carry.
Maya came behind his head and picked him up by his armpits, dragging him away from the glass and debris against the wall where she rested him upright. She crouched down and removed his red helmet to examine his face, tapping his right cheek once, then twice. No response.
"God, please don't die on me." She whispered and tried to tap his cheek again.
"Whoa," said a voice from the front door. She turned to face the person who eyed the mess with wide eyes. "What the fuck happened here?" He said slowly before his eyes landed upon the injured driver and Maya stationed off to the right side of the room, hidden under the shadow of the moon. He immediately came to their aide.
"Are you guys okay?" He asked concerned.
"I just got here a second ago. He's bleeding out. I made a tourniquet to ease his wound, but I don't know how long that will stop the bleeding. He needs to go to a hospital right away." She explained. The unknown man nodded in agreement and immediately pulled out his phone to dial 911.
"I'll call an ambulance right away. Hopefully the night shift isn't on their lunch break and they can get over here fast."
"Thank you," said Maya. "Thank you so much."
"Of course. We New Domino city dwellers gotta stick together, right?" He grinned charmingly. He placed his phone against his ear as it began to ring. "I'm Téo, by the way."
Maya smiled politely. "Anaïs."
'Don't trust anyone. Not even with your own name.' Her godfather's words rang loud and clear in her mind briefly before she returned her attention to the wounded man. She held his face in her hand and gently wiped the sweat from his brow and upper lip as his breaths became trembling pants through his parted lips.
"Hello, my name is Tèo Stratham. I'm in downtown New Domino City at a store on Bruckner and Croft. I have a guy here who's—" he paused when his eyes landed upon the yellow marking under the left eye that caused an entire mood shift in the atmosphere.
"Sir, what's wrong with the—" Téo hung up immediately before the operator finished her sentence. Maya looked up at him with confusion.
"What's wrong? Did you lose connection?"
Tèo stood up. "He's a criminal."
"What?"
"That marking under his eye. That's for people who've been to the Facility. He's a criminal."
"Who cares? He's injured and he needs a doctor," said Maya, impatiently.
Téo scoffed at her. " 'Who cares?' I fucking care! I'm not going to waste my time helping some Satellite trash, who most likely murdered someone in order to get that D-Wheel," he stabbed a finger in the bike's direction while maintaining fierce eye contact with Maya. " 'Aiding and abetting a criminal' is not what I want on my personal record."
Maya stood up and stared at Téo with narrowed eyes. "Are you serious right now?"
"Of course I'm serious! A person like him belongs in a prison cell, not a nice hospital bed that was made for the good people of New Domino who abide by the law! Scum like him deserve to rot."
Anger boiled down into Maya's tight fists that itched to strike him across the face with one punch. She smiled sardonically. "Typical Topsider. One minute ago, you were all concerned about his well-being and willing to lend a helping hand to an injured civilian, but now that you see he's got a mark on his face, you want to change your entire tune. Must be nice to grow up with that much privilege dwelling inside of you."
"This city is my home and I'll be damned before I let a fucking Satellite ruin our city's glory."
"You don't even know him!" barked Maya. "You have no idea what he's done! People get framed for crimes they didn't commit every damn day, but of course you don't see it that way! Anyone who isn't born in the city is considered a menace to you Topsiders, right?"
" 'You Topsiders?' So you're not from the city either?" He scowled.
"And what if I'm not?" She fired back with a glare.
"Then I don't have any moral obligation to explain myself to you or care about your well-being either." He said, moving towards the direction of the fallen bike.
"Don't even think about taking that D-Wheel." She warned.
"Or what?" He shot back with a smirk. "He's gonna stop me? Or worse, you? Don't make me laugh." He approached the bike further with a raised hand to touch the sleek paintwork but froze at the sound of a duel disk activating.
He turned around to see Maya wielding a pistol at her side.
Téo chuckled. "Am I supposed to be scared of a toy gun?"
Maya didn't say anything. Instead, she placed the pistol onto her arm and the two watched as the barrel extended outwards and then opened up to reveal a duel disk platform, then turned clockwise and became a deck compartment holder. She then inserted her deck into the holding compartment and allowed it to be shuffled before pulling out the card she wanted and then planted it onto her Monster Card Zone.
Right before Téo's eyes, a tall and buff tiger with a large humpback, razor sharp teeth, and a long black scar extending across its right eye and gold bands on its limbs and neck, encrusted with emeralds and rubies, approached him with a calculating eye that pierced through his smug exterior and haunted Téo's limbs. He played it off with a prideful smirk.
"You think you can scare me with a hologram?"
Maya glared again and pointed two fingers in his direction to which her monster obeyed and jumped forward before emitting a ferocious roar that shook the entire building and had Téo falling to the floor in panic and immense fear..
"Does this look like a hologram to you?" She said slowly.
He pushed himself away from the angry tiger, his body quaking at the sight of this life-like monster before staring at Maya with bewildered eyes. He whispered quietly, "What … what the hell are you?"
"A terrible nightmare. Now, leave!" She barked, just as the ferocious one-eyed tiger roared again as it jumped forward, extending its caws that dug deep into the concrete wall and carved a long, visible mark beside Téo's head. He scrambled to his feet with a small shriek and then rushed out the store through the broken windows, swiftly.
When he was out of sight, Maya relaxed her grip on her psychic powers and panted softly, trying to regain her strength. She rushed to the injured man's side once more to check his pulse. He still breathed, to her relief. The fearsome tiger came up behind her and growled softly, nudging her shoulder gently. She reached behind to rub his furry nose before turning to face it.
"Help me take him home," she said. The tiger moved his acute eyes to the body beside her and bent down, allowing Maya to push his body onto its back whilst allowing her to mount him as well. The battle-scarred tiger rose up when they were well situated and then leapt through the windows and headed down the streets with the light of the moon guiding their way.
The unconscious man finally blinked his eyes open when an artificial light was turned on and illuminated the room he was placed in. With blurry vision, he took a huge breath of air and coughed immediately afterwards, alerting the young woman who rescued him last night. She came to his side as he tried to lift himself up, but the action only resulted in a sharp jab to his stomach. He gasped at the pain and clutched at his wound.
"Easy there," said Maya soothingly, "you need to keep still if I'm going to patch you up."
"Who … who are you?" The man rasped. "W-Where am I?"
"Relax, you're safe here. You had a nasty crash and earned yourself a deep cut that needs to be stitched up." She explained, whilst moving around the room searching for the materials she would need to close the wound.
"Unfortunately for you, that mark on your face is like a permanent I.D. card. No city worker will look twice in your direction to help, let alone a doctor. So I'm your best bet right about now." Sweat dripped from the side of the man's head and ran all the way down to his chin where it dropped onto the cold floor. Maya bent down again to check his temperature which seemed to have skyrocketed since the last time. She looped one of his arms over her shoulder with a hand on his waist.
"I can't carry your weight on my own. You have to help me." The man coughed dryly again, but heeded her words and when she gave a quick nod of her head, he moved in time with her movements that lifted them both upright and forced his weak legs to walk in tune with her. He stumbled a bit over to the open mattress that awaited him and allowed her to lay him back against the edge. Then, Maya dropped down and hoisted his legs up and over to a suitable position on the bed with the little strength that her 'patient' provided.
She then grabbed a tall bottle of liquid off the table next to the mattress.
"Here. Drink some of this," She advised, handing it to him.
"What is it?" He asked hoarsely.
"Brown liquor. It'll help dull the pain when I start stitching since we've got no anesthesia."
"Do … do you know … what you're doing?" He gasped before taking a large gulp of the alcohol.
"I know how to sew." Maya replied and then glided over to the table where her thread, needle, last roll of gauze, and ointment were. She grabbed the small lighter off to the side, igniting it before she held up her needle a small distance above it, sterilizing her tool. When she felt it was ready, she waved it quickly in the air and approached the man again who had more sweat dripping from his face. A bowl of cool ice water with a rag in it was displayed on the small bedside table as well to help keep his growing fever down.
Maya wrung out the damp cloth and applied it to his forehead which seemed to ease his shuddering. Then, she looped her thread through the hole, tied a knot and sat on the edge of the mattress with her needle ready.
She grabbed the bottle of brown liquor and shot the man an apologetic look first. "Sorry about this part." She said, pushed his ruined shirt high above the wound, used her tweezers to grab any leftover piece of glass lingering in the open flesh and then poured the liquor onto the cut. The man clutched at the man clutched at the mattress underneath him and cried out with a loud hiss at the intense burning.
After the residual blood had cleared, Maya went to work and worked at a meticulously slow rate, sewing up every inch of opened flesh to its original position, lightly dabbing away any new blood flow with a small cloth stained with liquor. She paused every now and then to remove, wrench, and then re-dip the cool cloth from his forehead to keep the fever down every ten minutes. At the end of her last few stitches, Maya cut the thread, wiped away the blood with more liquor then applied some ointment before applying a large adhesive bandage to the wound which was then covered by a large gauze wrapping to protect and conceal it tighter.
The man was asleep by the time she brought the gauze out so it was pure strength that Maya had to muster in order to wrap the gauze around his frame, but she managed it well. By sunrise, Maya had cleaned her work station, removed his ripped and bloodied shirt, washed it thoroughly, sewed up the ripped portion, washed her bloodied checkered shirt, hung it to dry and managed to get a little bit of nap herself before the morning sun shone through her room windows.
She woke up again around nine to make some breakfast for herself and her guest visitor who was finally awakening from his long peaceful slumber. His vision was still a little blurry, but after a couple more blinks of the eye, his sight returned and was able to see his surroundings. It was a small one room area that held a kitchenette off to the side, a worn-down sofa near the end of the room, the mattress that he laid against, and a door close by that he could only guess was probably a washroom.
He turned his head towards the noise and delicious smell of eggs frying, emanating from the small kitchenette where his savior stood. She was a fairly average height girl, with long and curly plum-colored hair with pink and brown tones blended in that matched her smooth, tan skin.
At the moment, she was wearing a pale pink tank top that stopped at her mid-waist and matched with a short maroon skirt with white jewels encrusted on the two black belts slung around her hips in an 'X' formation. Sheer black thigh leggings with white rings hooked at the base of her leg captured the depth and curve of her limbs and sunk deep into her brown heeled boots. A green pendant dangled around her neck and a black fingerless gloves with white rings at the base of her upper arm were the only items of jewelry and accessories that she wore.
"Are you just gonna keep staring at me or do you want some breakfast too?" said Maya, her back still turned to the young man who could now lift himself upright with minimal pain. He let his hand hover over his injury.
Maya grabbed two plates and emptied the contents of the scrambled eggs and the last pieces of turkey bacon onto them. She expertly carried them over to the uncovered mattress, handed him his plate and then sat at the edge with her plate.
"Thank you," said the young man softly.
"Eat," said Maya with an encouraging nod, whilst she began to devour her plate. The young man gazed down at his food and smirked hearing his stomach grumble in anticipation. The first bite he took was savoury and peaceful.
"I haven't had eggs in a long time. My friends used to say they made me fat."
Maya looked up to peek at his chiseled abs and toned muscles. "You don't look fat to me."
The young man smirked, but didn't meet her gaze. He knew what she was staring at. "That's all from spending a lot of nights fixing any broken thing I could find. No real exercise there."
Maya shrugged and finished her plate quickly. They ate in silence, enjoying Maya's expertise cooking when suddenly-the young man was plagued with a memory. His body tensed instantly and Maya noticed.
"My D-Wheel," his eyes moved around frantically searching the room, but there was no sign of his precious bike. He started to stand up, but Maya placed a comforting arm on his shoulder and eased him back onto the mattress.
"Relax, it's in my landlord's garage; safe and tucked away. After I got you here, I went back to get it though i have to admit-lugging that thing through the Daimon Area was pretty risky. A nice-looking bike like yours is bound to get stolen out in these streets if left in the open." The young man unclenched his anxious muscles and became soothed by her subconsciously rubbing his shoulder. He nodded before resuming his meal.
A few moments later, the young man finished his plate off with no stain left in sight and handed it off to Maya with an appreciative gaze.
"Thank you for breakfast … and everything else, too. I'm not sure I would've survived my crash or this cut had not been for you, Miss."
"Anaïs," Maya lied with a small smile.
The young man nodded. "I'm Yusei."
"A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Yusei. Now, in regards to that crash last night," she paused and dumped their dishes into her sink. "What were you doing before you crashed into that store? If I hadn't jumped out of the way sooner, we both wouldn't be here right now."
The young man looked away and out her window where the morning sun was beginning to gain depth in it's shine and shimmer. He stared at the light intently. "I was running from Sector Security. They took my bike so I got it back, got into a duel with a sore loser of an officer who doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer, beat him in a duel, then got chased by thousands of guards, electrocuted probably fifty times and couldn't see a thing after that. I pretty much blacked out after I crashed." He then turned to face Maya. "I didn't see you, but I'm glad I didn't hurt you. I don't think I could live with that on my conscience."
"Damn," Maya breathed, leaning against the counter. "You really went through some shit."
The young man smirked again lightly. "You could say that."
Maya shook her head. "Well in any case, Mr. Daredevil … I'm glad that you live to see another day, but I would definitely not recommend any dangerous stunts like that anytime soon. Just a suggestion." She shrugged.
"I'll keep that in mind." He responded and then hissed when another sharp pain engulfed him, suddenly. Maya immediately came to him and saw the bandages slowly becoming soaked with fresh blood.
"Dammit," she swore and raced to the end of the room where her now dried checkered shirt lay on the open window sill, warmed by the sunshine and beside the front door. She grabbed the article of clothing and wrapped it around her waist. "I'll be back in a few. We need new gauzes and better ointment if that wound is going to heal properly. Just lie down to keep the blood flow still and I'll be back soon." She instructed before departing.
Yusei just obeyed and closed his eyes, thinking of the life he left behind in the Satellite … all to pursue a man he knew as his former best friend who had betrayed him, jailed him and still had his most precious card. He tightened his right hand into fist.
"The score still hasn't been settled yet, Jack." He said to himself. "But I won't be like you anymore. I wanted revenge. Now, I just want my best friend back … but I can't have that, can I Jack?"
Yusei sighed deeply. "Right. Because nobody listens to the words or the cries of a Satellite here. Nobody."
Maya hated going uptown.
In that area, there was a huge shift in energy in terms of community, its food, its environment, its people—everything. Tèo was a pure example of the difference between uptown and downtown civilians. Downtown residents were part of the urban class of individuals who either migrated from some war-torn, oppressed or poor country to be part of the flourishing world of New Domino.
Basic utilities such as food, water and electricity were not in the best condition, but many downtown residents didn't care. Some of them had lived with worse conditions than the ones provided, so to them it was a step-up. Still, Maya always resented the Topsiders because for a city that can provide some of the most expensive technologies and host the craziest events, a basic utility need should not be a debatable cost.
Maya pushed her legs faster up the hill that opened into the Waverly District where many Topsiders and middle-class citizens hustled and bustled up and down the city streets to their workplaces, schools and usual hangouts. The air was fresher in this part of the city compared to the gas fumes infested Daimon Area. Quickly, Maya made her way to the closest department store she could find and maneuvered her way past the waiting customers and aisle browsers to the correct section.
She grabbed as many packs of gauzes, polysporin ointment, tissues, and bandages as she could carry and brought them all to the cashier counter. The young man overlooking this station eyed her with a raised eyebrow. Maya ignored his stare as he rang up her items while she tapped her foot impatiently against the tile floors.
"What are you doing in here?" a voice said from behind her. Maya inclined her head and internally groaned seeing Téo shooting a grim face, rallied behind with five unfamiliar faces that she wasn't interested in getting to know.
"I asked you a question," he demanded and Maya scoffed.
"Last time I checked, I don't owe you a damn thing, especially an explanation for anything I do." She rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket to pay for the supplies. Téo, annoyed by her attitude, then forcefully grabbed her arm and Maya reacted to his touch, by striking him across the face that completely knocked him off his feet. Maya yanked free from his grasp before she could fall with him to the floor. The boys who stood behind him jumped back in shock.
"Don't you ever put your hands on me," She snarled behind gritted teeth and a slightly upturned upper lip. Tèo held his throbbing right cheek delicately with fiery rage in his eyes.
"I could have your ass thrown in the Facility for assaulting me the way you did!" He barked. "My father would have no problem throwing away some trashy, Satellite bitch like you!"
"That's hilarious," said Maya as she grabbed her bagged up items from the wary cashier. "I honestly don't know what is more embarrassing. The fact that you need your daddy to fight your battles for you or that you got your ass knocked out by a girl. And just for the record, I'm not from the Satellite." She then bent down slightly to smirk in his angered face. "I'm from a place that's far more violent."
She walked over his form and pushed past the boys towards the front door but was stopped when those boys appeared again swiftly, blocking her exit with grim faces. Maya sighed boredly. She was nowhere near in the mood for this machismo nonsense.
"You think you can just slap me like that and then leave like it was nothing?" asked Téo.
Maya stared at him blankly. "Yeah."
At her words, Téo revealed his attached duel disk to her view and activated it with an intimidating glare. "That's not how it works here in the city. You pick a fight with us, you're asking to get burnt."
"I didn't pick a fight with you. You grabbed me against my will. I defended myself. Now, all of you, get the hell out of my way."
"Why? So you can go save that Satellite trash?" Maya froze and Téo smirked.
"Wow, I honestly thought he'd be dead by now. Serves him right anyways. One less waste of flesh in the city."
"You're the waste of flesh, you self-righteous bastard! It's people like you who make me sick to my fucking stomach!" Maya snapped.
"Now, everyone let's just calm down." said the observing cashier, unable to think of any other words to diffuse the tense atmosphere.
Téo grinned at her angered expression. "Duel me."
"What?"
"You heard me loud and clear. I said, 'Duel me'."
"Why the hell would I do that? You're not worth my time."
"Maybe not, but my friend Hendrix over here," he jabbed his thumb at a tall, skinny blonde male behind him, "he's already called his dad, who happens to be the chief police officer of the New Domino City Police Department, to alert them of a woman aiding and abetting an escaped criminal with an illegal D-Wheel and who also just caught stealing from a New Domino City department store." He smirked pridefully. "And according to his calculations, they'll be here in ten minutes."
"I didn't steal anything! The receipt is right here!" She held up in the air. Téo only shrugged.
"So what? They won't care … you know why? Because New Domino City doesn't give a shit about you Satellite rejects and any other outsider who isn't one of us. But—" he paused for dramatic effect, "If you beat me in a duel, I'll let you run free."
"You just said the police are on their way. How are we supposed to duel in ten minutes?"
He shrugged. "Figure out, but I'd hurry it up if I were you. The clock's a-tickin'."
Maya's brows furrowed dangerously at Téo's smug expression. She looked at her surroundings and sighed in defeat. She knew she could probably outrun Téo, but with five other guys on her tail may have proved to be not an easy feat. And even if she refused and tried to plead her case to the officers, Téo's bitter words held truth in them. The police wouldn't care to look at her receipt. She had no I.D., no real connections, and no real right to be in a city like this. The only thing she had that kept her out of trouble was her deck.
And now, it would have to prove useful if she was going to continue to live her life under the radar.
Maya put down her shopping bag and dug into her trusty satchel, finding her plum/pink deactivated hybrid duel disk that she quickly attached to her arm and transformed into the duel disk that Téo remembered from the night before. His smug smile vanished and became full of seriousness.
"I should warn you that me and buddies here are the top duelists at the East Side Duel Academy. We've been trained by some of the best duelists in the world who were taught and trained by the legends like Dr. Vellian Crowler, Zane Truesdale, Seto Kaiba—you name it. The tricks that I've learned from them can beat anyone in a duel."
"Just shut up and get ready to duel. Unlike you and your lackeys, I'm on a time budget."
Téo grinned smugly as their duel disks activated and shuffled their decks. They each collected their five starting hand cards and glared at each other across the short distance.
DUEL!
Maya: 4000 LP
Téo: 4000 LP
"As they say … ladies' first!" said Maya as she drew her first card. A Monster Card that proved useful to her current need. She placed it directly on a card zone to her right. "I summon Amazoness Fighter!"
To her right, a yellow portal opened and emerged from it was a tall, muscular woman with long spiky black hair and wearing a blue brasserie and loincloth with black strappings and white cloth wrapped around her large knuckles. She gave a low grunt and stood proudly before her opponent.
Amazoness Fighter: LVL 4 | 1500 ATK | 1300 DEF
"That's what you have to offer? Some hulk-bitch in a tarzan outfit?" Téo snickered. "I'm shaking in my boots."
"Good." She replied and inserted two trap cards into the Spell/Trap Card Zones, which then materialized behind her warrior. "It's your turn, Téo."
"Watch this, boys! I draw!" He began with his sixth card draw and then paused to look through his hand. All his cards were aligned in his favor, but Téo was a greedy person. He liked to take his time toying with his opponents before getting to the main event and that was exactly his gameplay for this duel. Instead of the Monster Card that he drew, Téo went for the single spell card in his hand and placed it immediately into its respective zone.
"I'm activating the Spell Card—Reinforcement of the Army. Now I get to add a new 'Warrior' monster to my hand from my deck. How fortunate for me." He said, taking his deck out to select the Monster Card he wanted, but Maya knew that he was stalling and it was pissing her off more and more each second.
"Hmm … which one should I choose?" He dragged on. "Hmm … oh I think this one would be good. Yep, that's the one I want."
She rolled her eyes.
"I summon Arnis, the Empowered Warrior in attack mode!" He declared, placing the card to the middle Monster Card Zone. Maya and the other boys watched carefully as a summon portal opened on his field, levitating a female armored warrior dressed in a red and gold sparrow suit that floated in front of him and chirped at the battlefield before her.
Arnis, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 4 | 1700 ATK | 1200 DEF
"That Amazon is toast! Arnis, direct attack on that she-hulk creature!" Téo barked, with his monster charging forward at super fast speed. Maya remained still as their warriors collided and created a gust of smoke that blew past the two opponents. When the smoke dissipated, only the Empowered Warrior remained to which Téo smiled at, but the frowned when he looked at the Life Points value that showed Maya's points were still at 4000.
"What the hell … my warrior wrecked your monster! You should be at 3800 LP now! What gives?"
"You didn't read the fine print," said a calm Maya. "My Amazoness's special ability makes it so that I don't take any battle damage involving any attack launched on her. I would've thought a pro-Duelist like you would've know about that little piece of information."
"Whatever," said Téo, whilst taking a Trap Card from his hand and pushed his card into the Spell/Trap Zone. "I place a card facedown to end my turn."
"Then it's my move now," said Maya, as she drew her new card. Another Monster Card. She looked down at her duel disk where both of her facedowns lay before pressing a button to activate the one to her left.
"I use my facedown Trap Card—Amazoness Willpower." The previously facedown card revealed itself upright as Maya explained its effect. "Thanks to its effect, I can choose an 'Amazoness' monster in my Graveyard that was destroyed or sent there by a card effect and revive it to battle." The card then suddenly glowed a hazy white transparent color briefly before a sword plunged out of the Earth, dragging with it the fallen Amazoness, who resumed her firm stance.
Amazoness Fighter : LVL 4 | 1500 ATK | 1300 DEF
"And to keep her company, I'm summoning my Amazoness Sage to the field in attack mode as well!" Maya placed the card two spaces down from her current Monster Card. A new woman with beautiful blue hair, a cream-colored cape and wielding a single staff appeared from the new portal and stared down at her opponent's warrior.
Amazoness Sage: LVL 4 | 1400 ATK | 700 DEF
Maya peeked at the windows of the store quickly, just to make sure the police weren't closeby or pulling up to the curb. Téo noticed her worried glance and smirked.
"Scared?" He taunted. "You should be."
Maya ignored him and resisted the powerful urge to flip her middle finger at him too. "I think you should be scared of this next move!" She said and then held up a green card in her free hand to view. "I play the Amazoness Spellcaster Spell Card! And I'd advise you to look closely at your monster's ATK and DEF power because they're about to change right before your eyes!"
Téo raised an eyebrow and shot her a suspicious look, but peered down regardless and was surprised to see the Empowered Warrior's attack and defense had drastically switched places along with Maya's Amazoness.
Arnis, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 4 | 1200 ATK | 1700 DEF
Amazoness Fighter: LVL 4 | 1300 ATK | 1500 DEF
"No way! That's not fair! You can't do that!" He argued.
"I can and I just did, now get ready for a direct attack by my Amazoness Fighter!" The bulkier warrior woman jumped into the air and eyed her target like a wolf hunting a stray lamb.
"Tribal Fists!" Maya proclaimed. The Amazon grunted and slowly absorbed power into her large fists that burned at glow a bright orange. Then, she swooped down, twisting her body in a spiral descent until she crashed upon the red warrior with a powerful impact that blew some of the table displays across the room.
The cashier shrieked at the sudden event and hid behind the counter while the boys backed away slightly from Téo, who was just as shocked as they were, that he didn't notice the difference in his Life Points.
Téo: (-100) = 3900 LP
"Your turn, Amazoness Sage!" She pointed two fingers in Téo's direction and the magical Amazon twirled her staff expertly in her hands and then slammed it against the ground. Then, a huge bolt of lightning surged and broke through the floor and came underneath Téo, sending a sharp jolt of lightning that crackled and sizzled his entire body, electrifying his limbs and making his teeth chatter at the pain.
"Holy shit!" One of the boys shouted.
Téo gasped wildly and held himself as the waves of electricity finally started to wear off, but the shock and fear he had at this girl's power had returned from the previous night.
Téo: (-1400) = 2500 LP
Téo's voice trembled as he tried to find the words to speak. "How … how did you … how the fuck did you do that to me?! That shit felt real!"
Maya looked out the windows again. No sign of the police … yet.
"Answer me, god dammit! How did you do that?" He barked, with wild eyes.
"I think you should be more concerned as to what your next move is going to be at this point because my strategy is falling right into place. Like right now, for example," she nodded her head towards the magician warrior who twirled her staff in her hands again but this time in a different rhythm and style.
"Due to Amazoness Sage's special ability, if she attacks and still manages to stay on the field—I get to destroy 1 Spell or Trap Card on your field and since there's only one, I'm afraid you won't get the chance to use it because her staff is going to put your card out of commission!"
The shorter and mystical Amazoness chirped and then aimed her staff at the only facedown on Téo's field and similar to before, a bolt of lightning came crashing down from above and obliterating the card on site.
Téo glared. "You want to see strategy? Well, then—watch this! Since Arnis, the Empowered Warrior was destroyed by your monster—her special ability kicks in too and allows me to Special Summon a 'Warrior' Monster from my deck that has 1500 or less attack points!" Téo then pulled out his deck and scoured through his cards until he stumbled upon a suitable match. He quickly placed it onto a new Monster Card Zone.
"Come forward, Hydrotortoise, the Empowered Warrior!"
A new portal to his left appeared and jumping out from it was a green armor-clad warrior who's attire resembled a turtle's face, with a golden wing armor clasped to one of its arms and a snake-like counterpart that slithered around its body.
Hydrotortoise, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 3 | 1400 ATK | 900 DEF
"You finished with your turn?" He asked begrudgingly. When Maya nodded, he immediately went to draw his card. "You're not going to get away with that little stunt you pulled and you're sure as hell not getting out of this duel before the police arrive! I'll make sure of it!"
Maya: 4000 LP
Téo: 2500 LP
"And to make true of my words—I'm going to sacrifice my current warrior to the Graveyard," he began, removing the card from his field which then became a rainbow energy of light to Maya's eyes.
"In order to summon: Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior in attack mode!" Téo slammed his card onto his duel disk impatiently and watched as the Monster Card materialized with a blue dragon appearance and the same gold wing armor on the arm that it held proudly. This Monster Card was a little bit larger than its comrades and had more of a menacing appearance to its face.
Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 5 | 2000 ATK | 800 DEF
"Next from my hand, I activate the Spell Card—Monster Reborn, to re-summon Arnis, the Empowered Warrior!" Téo moved his cards expertly to their appropriate destinations and then finally placed the red sparrow warrior side by side with the blue dragon warrior.
Arnis, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 4 | 1700 ATK | 1200 DEF
Téo continued to glare at Maya as he spoke. "And now that we have more of a level playing field, it's time for some sweet revenge and Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior will be the first to deliver your first set of blows. This might hurt a bit."
Maya remained stoic as the Monster Card gathered all of its ethereal strength from the cosmos and set its aim upon the shorter Amazon. The Monster Card then raised its hands and held them close apart, creating a bright orange and yellow orb of light that grew bigger with each passing second and it was launched at fire rate speed towards the mystical Amazon.
"Not so fast! I activate the Trap Card—Dimension Wall!" said Maya, as the Empowered Warrior descended upon her Monster Card and shattered it into millions of floating pieces. A huge gust of wind erupted and everyone in the store did their best to withstand the impact with crossed arms. The merchandise, on the other hand, were not so fortunate and were flung everywhere across the room, splayed in different directions.
"I might've lost Amazoness Sage, but thanks to Dimension Wall's effect—all the damage I would've taken from that attack gets transferred to you instead!" She announced and through the smoke and beam of yellow light shot outwards and pierced through Téo's chest. He groaned at the sizzling pain and fell onto one knee, panting quickly.
Téo: (-600) = 1900 LP
"Shit! Téo, are you good, man?" One of the boys asked while the others moved to help him stand.
"Don't fucking touch me!" He hissed at them and glared menacingly at Maya through disoriented eyes. "I can handle myself just fine." He then stood up and shrugged off the after effects of her Trap Card with a hardened stare.
"I don't know how the fuck you keep making this duel feel more real each time, but it won't matter soon because once the NDPD walk through those doors, you'll be gone for good! Do you hear me?" He snarled.
"In that case, I guess I ought to hurry up and finish you off soon."
"A cheap street magic trick and some stupid cards doesn't mean you'll win!"
"And being an asshole doesn't mean you'll win either," Maya replied.
The vein in Téo's forehead was beginning to throb painfully and his blood boiled at her aggravating insults and smugness. He had to finish her and make sure that no outsider would ever doubt his potential or his power again.
"I'm done going easy on you! You're finished! Arnis, attack her monster directly!" Téo commanded fiercely. The red sparrow warrior held her hands together at equal distance and forming in between was a red energy that she released upon the bulkier Amazon that sliced through her form and shattered her instantly. The impact of wind that occurred afterwards blew past Maya briefly. She looked on with the same stoic face.
Maya: (-200) = 3800 LP
"Yeah! That's showing her! Kick her ass, Téo!" The boys cheered. Maya rolled her eyes.
"I'll end my turn, but trust me when I tell you that I'm not finished with you just yet. This duel ain't over until the fat lady sings."
"Don't bring your mother into this, Téo." said Maya as she drew a new card.
Maya: 3800 LP
Téo: 1900 LP
"And contrary to what you want to believe, this duel is close to being over," she took a look at the windows again. No police cars, but in the very distant background—thanks to hear God-given exceptional hearing, a siren wailed. There wasn't much time left.
"But for now, I'll set a Monster Card in facedown defense position and end my turn."
"Wow, that's all you've got? I'm shocked, really." said Téo, drawing his new card. A Spell Card. Useful, but not needed as of yet.
"Well, just because you want to play it safe doesn't mean that I have to! And to prove it—I'll use Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior's special ability that allows him to attack you directly, completely bypassing that set Monster Card. Brace yourself!" He warned. The blue dragon warrior built up its energy in the same fashion previously and created an fiery orb of energy that it launched onto Maya's defenseless form. The collision impact sent overflowing waves of fire that skidded against her arms and legs with slight burns. Thankfully, they didn't leave a mark.
Maya: (-2000) = 1800 LP
Téo smirked at his successful attack. "Hope that didn't burn you too much, but even if it did—I wouldn't care. I mean, why should I? I'm Téo Stratham—heir to my father Genbu Stratham, a business tycoon with a multi-million dollar company on his back that I'll have complete control of one day."
At this, Maya scoffed. "God, you're pathetic. You literally believe that the world revolves around little ole you and that with just the snap of your fingers, you can control people however you like. It definitely shows in your dueling style. You like to express power over people, but unfortunately Téo—little shits like you with big egos are the reason why this city is stagnant and unprogressive. You're just a bunch of money-grubbing, no talent, self-righteous idiots."
"Shut up!" Téo snapped. "Just shut the fuck up! You don't know anything about me! And if you're so desperate to see power? I'll show you power! Arnis, attack her facedown Monster Card with Imminent Slash!"
The red sparrow warrior readied her attack to deliver onto the facedown brown Monster Card with a quick chuck which exploded in the aftermath. In the midst of the smoke, a faint hologram of her facedown Monster Card Warrior Lady of the Wasteland appeared with her hat tipped up and a smirk toying on her lips.
"Congratulations. You've just activated Warrior Lady of the Wasteland's effect! When she's destroyed by battle, I can Special Summon an Earth attribute 'Warrior' type monster from my deck to the field in attack mode, but it has to have 1500 or less ATK points." Maya explained before pulling out her deck, searching swiftly for the card she needed. When she found it, she raised it up for Téo and the other boys to see.
"I select Amazoness Swords Woman!" She announced and then placed the card to her far left on her duel disk. The boys watched as a bulky and fearsome woman with fiery red spiky hair wielding an intensely sharp sword appeared and held it in an offensive position, posed to kill for Maya.
Amazoness Swords Woman: LVL 4 | 1500 ATK | 1600 DEF
Téo narrowed his eyes. "Well, lucky for you the Battle Phase is over so I can't attack you anymore, but don't worry there's more coming next round."
"Assuming you even have one at this point," Maya retorted. "It's my turn! Draw!" She announced and was relieved to see a new Monster Card that could aid her in this duel, but then became stressed with that faint distant siren wail began to stem closer.
'I've got to finish this!' she thought and then replaced her internal worrying with a confident stare.
"I equip Amazoness Swords Woman with the Spell Card—Magnum Shield, which amplifies her ATK points by the total of her DEF points, putting her at 3100 and trumping your Empowered Warrior easily!"
Amazoness Swords Woman: (+1600) = 3100 ATK
"And now that she's got her power boost—Amazoness Swords Woman, attack Ventdra, the Empowered Warrior directly!" Maya commanded. The Amazon grunted and swung her sword expertly and delivered an overhead blow that sliced the blue dragon warrior in half, shattering it instantly. Téo grunted and used his arm to block the shattered pieces from his eyes.
Téo: (-1100) = 800 LP
"I'll end with a facedown." said Maya.
"My move!" Téo drew his card quickly from his deck. "I summon Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior!"
A yellow portal opened on Téo's right and emerged was the blue dragon warrior who was then colored a pure white and gray color and the gold armor on his arm had transitioned into an onyx black.
Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior: LVL 4 | 1500 ATK | 1500 DEF
"And while I'm on a roll, I'm activating the Axe of Despair Equip Spell which adds on an extra 1000 ATK points to Dragodies."
Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior: (+1000) = 2500 ATK
"Now attack her monster! Go, Cursed Strike!" He declared, the Monster Card charging forward wielding the large wooden axe that glowed a red aura.
"Hold on, I think that last attack left you a little dazed. Dragodies still doesn't have enough power to beat Amazoness Swords Woman."
Téo smirked. "That's where you're wrong because thanks to one of Dragodies' special abilities, I can send a card to my Graveyard and halve your monster's ATK and DEF points!" Maya's eyes widened slightly.
Amazoness Swords Woman: (-1550) 1550 ATK | (-800) 800 DEF
The white warrior raised its weapon and swung it across the Amazon's abdomen which caused her to self-destruct easily. The explosive attack caused the aftermath of smoke to burst through the glass windows, pieces of shattered glass flying in the air mixing with the dust and debris from the newly chipped walls and wood.
"Stop it!" The cashier yelled. "You'll blow up the whole fucking store!"
"We're not done yet so why don't you shut and go do something useful, like crawling back under the rock you've been hiding under. Like the little coward you are." Téo snapped harshly before turning back to the destructive duel.
Maya: (-950) = 850 LP
The sound of sirens closing in on their location struck up a devious smile on Téo's face while fear and anxiety rose up Maya's throat.
"Sounds like you're running out of time. I'd say you should quit now, but I want to finish you off and then see your ass get dragged out by the NDPD. I can almost picture it now." He taunted.
"Well, keep on dreamin' loser! Because thanks to you destroying Amazoness Swords Woman, you triggered my facedown—the Pride of Tribe Trap Card!" The facedown purple card suddenly flipped face-up as Maya explained its effect.
"Now that an A'Amazoness' Monster was destroyed by battle, the Pride of Tribe Trap Card grants me the power to Special Summon a new Amazon to take her place!" Her deck then ejected a card facedown from view, but Maya didn't need to look at it to know which card it was. She automatically placed it horizontally onto the Monster Card Zone.
"I present to you, Amazoness Blowpiper!" From the face-up Trap Card, a woman reached a hand out and then jumped forward playing a flute-like melodious sound before she landed in the same zone that her comrade was destroyed on and took a defensive stance.
Amazoness Blowpiper: LVL 3 | 800 ATK | 1500 DEF
"And now for my draw!" Maya froze momentarily she heard the sounds of the sirens getting louder and the wheels of a car approaching the corner. Her heart thudded in her chest, but she continued on with a brave face.
Maya: 850 LP
Téo: 800 LP
"And before I start my turn, I should let you know that Amazoness Blowpiper's special ability now activates during the Standby Phase and reduces Dragodies' ATK points by 500."
Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior: (-500) = 2000 ATK
"Now that that's done, I summon to the field: Rose, Warrior of Revenge!" She said, placing the card vertically alongside her Amazoness, who jumped from the summon portal and appeared in a ninja-like outfit with fiery red hair, a samurai sword and rose petals falling around her stance.
Rose, Warrior of Revenge: LVL 4 | 1600 ATK | 600 DEF
"Neither of them are strong enough to take down Dragodies. I think the fear of losing is starting to get to you. Or maybe it's the fear of being arrested in less than a minute."
"Despite what you want to believe, I'm not afraid of you Téo." Maya said firmly.
The young man froze in place.
"Maybe everyone else is afraid of you because of your big corporate daddy, but I can't even take you seriously for even a minute. You have no backbone. You use fear and intimidation to control and I can't be controlled … and maybe just maybe," Maya smirked impishly. "Maybe that's what freaks you out the most. Knowing that someone won't bow down to your will and if that's the case, nothing would make my day better than to mop the floor with your entitled ass … and I'll start by tuning Rose, Warrior of Revenge with Amazoness Blowpiper!" She declared as the two warrior women floated into the air, the flower ninja becoming four green rings and the latter became three orbs of white light. The two came together and created a beam of pure white light and emerging from it was the eyes of a dragon.
"Take to the field, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Maya declared as her dragon emerged from the light and sparkled with blue and green neon colors on its body and tail. A loud shrill cry echoed from its mouth, baring its jaws to its opponent.
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon: LVL 7 | Synchro | 2500 ATK | 2000 DEF
"Holy shit," said an awe-struck Téo as he gazed upon the dragon's mighty form. The dragon gave a low warning rumble in its chest and fixed its eyes directly upon the young Topsider and his terrified friends who cowered behind the fallen display stands and rubble.
"That's … one hell of a dragon. He's huge." Téo swallowed thickly.
" 'She' knows that … and she's about to demolish your Empowered Warrior with Shining Whirlwind! Attack!" Maya commanded, just as everyone heard the sound of a car pulling to the curb and footsteps approaching the door.
"Ha! You're finished! I'll still have 500 Life Points to spare and the cops are already here, ready to take out the trash that you are. Your life is over, outsider." He threatened with a deviant grin.
"That's what you think," said Maya as she took her last card in her hand and inserted it into her Spell/Trap Card Zone. "I activate the Spell Card—Shrink!" She said as the green card appeared on the field, flipping face forward.
"No way! You can't play that card during the Battle Phase! That's cheating!"
Maya scoffed. "Wrong, oh mighty pro-Duelist. Shrink is a Quick-Play Spell Card, which means that I can play its effect at any given moment no matter the phase in a duel," she smirked at his astonished expression. "And that also means Dragodies' is toast … and that this duel is over."
Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior: (-1000) = 1000 LP
The dragon roared ferociously as it's body glowed in neon colors and then from its mouth, an orb of light appeared gathering energy inside to unleash a onslaught of white light that overwhelmed the Empowered Warrior, Téo, his friends and caught the police entering the store, completely off-guard as the entire structure became covered in a thick white smog that made it almost impossible to see through. Téo fell to floor, unbeknownst to everyone blinded by the white smog and panted heavily with his shirt ruined, his deck singed from the burning attack and his ego severely wounded.
Téo: (-1500) = O LP
When the white smog began to dissipate and the police officers caught their breath, they were stunned to see Téo lying on the floor and that the dragon was gone … along with Maya.
Yusei held his abdomen with a pained expression, as he forced himself to sit upright just as the door opened up with Maya rushing inside breathlessly and then locked the door.
Yusei locked eyes with the breathless girl. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she panted with a small smile. "Sorry I took a while. The line was crazy at the department store, but in any case—let's take care of that wound." She said and then knelt down in front of Yusei with her new supplies in hand as she began to unwrap his bloodied gauzes and tend to the young man who would soon become her closest friend.
Hello, my readers!
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Rise of the Synchros! If you did, please give it a nice review. Really appreciate it :)
Also, I'm sure some of you noticed that I used a Pendulum Monster in this duel: if you noticed, good for you. If you didn't, don't feel bad. As this story is centered around Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's and Synchro Summoning, I understand that many of our favorite decks in the past have been updated with new cards in the forms of Xyz, Pendulum, and Link Summoning. I don't want to limit myself and not write about those cards because some of them are very useful and fun to us in a duel, however this is a story dedicated to Synchro Summoning and older styles of dueling (i.e. Rituals and Fusions)
For this reason, I am going to use certain cards that are not of this timeline, but preface them as either Synchro monsters or Fusions.
For the purpose of Dragodies, the Empowered Warrior, this card is just a regular effect monster in my story and not a Pendulum Monster.
Regular Fusions and Synchros won't be changed obviously, but newer additions to deck archetypes that I feel could benefit a duel will have a change in Monster type. You will see as the story goes along :)
I am also going to come out and say that if changing a monster card's type is something that turns off, please do not read any further. This is my story and I will write it as I please. If something bothers you, then don't read and leave negative comments just because you think MY story should go in a different direction. I can take constructive criticism, but what I will not take is insults and subtle bullying which I have received multiple times in my PM and reviews. You will be blocked immediately.
Besides that, I hope you guys continue to support this story and stick around for more. I know some of you have seen me rewrite this story countless times (shout out to my OG fans), but I think I've finally found and written the storyline I truly approve of and I'm excited to see this through.
Catch you all in the next chapter!
Peace & Love
xGhostreaderx