Chapter 14

I took one, deep breath as I looked around the big arena. There were tons of people, more than I counted on, and I was in awe. "Duel Monsters must be pretty popular here in New Domino City," I thought to myself. "But why is the arena so big? It has a whole race track on it!" I mentally sighed. Perhaps I should have got here early and attended the opening ceremony. But it was not my fault for being late! I tried to get on a shuttle, but the driver did not believe me when I said that I was a part of the tournament! So, I ran all the way to the building, and that wore me out so much. Luckily, there was a duel or two before me, so I was able to rest a bit. But I did not have the chance to look out into the arena itself. I did not think there was going to be these many people! After glancing around the entire arena, I took a look at my opponent. He was not a person I have seen before or anyone like him. His hair, first of all, was spiked up and had yellow streaks. How does a person manage that? It looked pretty cool, but is that natural or did he go to a salon for that? If he did not go to a salon for that, the way that his hair is looking is pretty amazing. The second thing I noticed was what he was wearing, the blue outfit and red arm and kneepads. Was he a biker? He has the looks of a biker, so I could only assume that is the case. But appearances aside, he had a serious look on his face. By contrast, I do not have that look. In fact, I was still in shock by everything around me. Being in the city for only a day does not help me cope with my surroundings. However, my opponent looked determined, ready to face whatever I had in store for him. I hope I have what it takes to be a good opponent. "Would I reach him?" I thought again. In every duel I have had up to that point, I would try to reach out to my opponents. Whatever troubles they had, I would try to help them out. I would think that dueling, like music, can reach other people. But I did not know how I could describe it. Was it a feeling, or the way I played the cards, or the convincing words I would speak? It was hard to tell, in my opinion.

Oh well, it was time to duel. I wore my favorite black hoodie, for some luck, and had the hood cover a part of my face. I am only a replacement player, filling in for my brother who could not participate in the tournament. I do not want to be too noticeable, or a show-off. I just wanted to duel and to have some fun. The announcer let the crowds know who we were, Yusei Fudo and Lizzy Belle. They forgot the last part of my name though, but I did not care. All that matters now is the battle. The duel began with my opponent going first.

"I summon Quickdraw Synchron in defense mode and end my turn!" he exclaimed, summoning his monster. Synchron, what is that? Is it a new type of Duel Monster that I have not heard of yet? That is fascinating!

"My turn!" I said, drawing a card. It was Jowgen the Spiritualist. I smiled to myself and got that card on my Duel Disk. "I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist in defense mode! Then I set one card and end my turn." I took a breath of relief. That is a good start, a good start for me. Whenever I start a duel, I at least want it to have a good start.

"It is my turn!" Yusei exclaimed. He drew a card and summoned another monster, this time it was Boost Warrior in defense mode. He then ended his turn. My monster seemed to be the most powerful at the moment, in defense mode though. Its attack is small, but I mostly have Jowgen in defense to protect me from direct attack points. Jowgen does not mind that though. He found it to be very honorable to protect me and the other Duel Monsters.

A few turns in and I got Blast Magician and Wonder Wand in my hand. This was going to help me out immensely. "I summon Blast Magician in attack mode!" I announced. I placed the card on my Duel Disk and out on the field came another friend, with red attire and a huge scythe on its left hand. "I then equip it with a spell from my hand, Wonder Wand! My monster gains 500 attack points." The Blast Magician gained a wand, with a green orb at the top, in its right hand. He looked pretty cool with those two wands, in my opinion. But now it was time to attack. "All right, let's battle! I attack Boost Warrior with Blast Magician! Go, my friend!" Blast Magician looked back at me, nodded, and attack Boost Warrior. There was no damage on Yusei, but the only monster on his field was gone. I did not have Jowgen the Spiritualist in attack mode, but I did not need him to be in attack mode. If he attacked, then Yusei would probably get a monster out and attack Jowgen, having me lose a lot of attack points. I did not want to take that risk. I ended my turn, and Yusei was up. He summoned a monster called Doppelwarrior, and I tilted my head a little. "What was he going to do?" I thought.

"Now, I will give Doppelwarrior a tune-up with Quickdraw Synchron!" my opponent announced. One of the monsters formed into a light that shot into the air and the other monster followed. Three rings formed around Doppelwarrior and instantly light shone down in the arena from the sky. "I Synchro Summon Accel Synchron in defense!" A Duel monster formed from the light, a robot being with its body made from a red motorcycle. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." My eyes widened in surprise and shock. Synchro what? Did he just summon a monster in a way that I have never heard of before? I knew what Ritual and Fusion Summoning is, but what is Synchro Summoning? Is that a new thing, or has it been around for a while? I was not prepared for something like that! My thoughts were running on what to do until I was called out on it. "Are you doing okay?" I snapped away from what I was thinking and said,

"Yeah, I am fine!" I replied. "My turn!" I drew, and I got Polymerization. Well, that was not going to help me. I sighed softly and ended my turn without setting a card or bringing out a monster. Liar, I was not fine! I was not okay with this. Does this city specialize in this type of Summoning?! I did my best to keep a calm composure as Yusei does his turn. He summoned a monster in defense mode and ended his turn. I have noticed that he was not attacking me. Every time he summoned a monster, he would always put it in defense. What does that mean? I do not think I have meant a Duelist that would put every monster in defense mode yet. For my opponent's turn, he summoned a Duel Monster called Junk Servant in defense mode. Once again, not a monster in attack position. Is that his strategy? He ended his turn, and it was time for mine. Hopefully, I could get something good! "I draw!" I got the next card and grinned. It was Mythical Beast Cerberus. Just what I was waiting for! "I summon the Mythical Beast Cerberus in attack position." As I placed the card on my duel disk, the creature emerged on the battlefield, its two faces ready to fight. However, it did look back at me once and smiled. I rolled my eyes a little bit at the monster. It knows how to make me smile, but we had the battle to get through. "Behave, Cerberus," I said softly. "I am going to need your help today, so focus." The creature nodded at me and turned back to my opponent and his monsters. "All right, here we go!" I exclaimed with a smile. "I activate a spell from my hand called Magical Blast. Since I control Spellcaster-Type monsters, I can inflict 200 damage to you for each Spellcaster I control. Right now, 4 Spellcaster monsters on my side of the field. So, you take 800 damage!" My four monsters combined their power and hit my opponent directly, making his life points down to 3200. We both started off with 4000 life points, and one of the ways I can win a duel is if my opponent loses all of their life points. That was the goal, and that was what I aimed for. "By the way," I began with a slight wink, "Blast Magician and Mythical Beast Cerberus gain one Spell Counter since I activated a Spell Card. My Cerberus gains 500 attack points for each Spell Counter, so now it has 1900 attack points!" Cerberus growled more as it gained more attack points, and then I ended my turn. Perhaps now I have more of an edge towards him, but it did not change in countenance. He was still pretty calm and serious, and I questioned that greatly. Why was he like that? What was he dueling for? These types of questions still lingered in my mind as Yusei set a card for his turn. "What a strange guy," I thought. "At least put a bit more emotion to what you are doing, dude."

"What brings you here?" my opponent asked out of the blue.

"Huh?" I replied, caught off guard by his question. "What do you mean? I am here to duel! My brother could not attend, so I came in his stead."

"Is that all you came here for?" I pouted at his follow-up question. Was he trying to get into my head? How can I reach someone if they can figure me out on the spot?!

"Yes!" I lied with my hands on my hips, still pouting. "Nothing more and nothing less. Now it is my turn." I drew a card from my deck and found it to be Apprentice Magician. I did not want to bring this guy out yet, and I did not have any other cards to throw down. So, I decided to end my turn, sighing at how lame that turn was to me. Yusei's turn was kind of the same except he set a monster on the field.

"Do you duel with everything you got?" Yusei asked before I drew a card from my deck.

"U-Um, yes I do," I answered, once again startled by his question. No one has asked me that before. I would ask other duelists about their dueling efforts, but I was never asked that myself. "What about you?" He nodded as a reply. Okay...aside from dueling, I have noticed that he was not much of a talker. He was still calm, and he asked me if I duel to the best of my ability. That almost sounds like...I shook my head at the thought. Yusei could not be like him, no way he could be! I did not want to think about it, so I drew a card at the start of my turn. It was Dark Red Enchanter. "This monster will help me out!" I pondered. "Maybe I can destroy that Synchro monster Yusei has on the field." I tribute Jowgen the Spiritualist to summon the monster I drew because Dark Red Enchanter it had six stars. If a monster has more than four stars, then there has to be a tribute monster. "Since this monster was normal summoned," I started, "I can place two Spell Counters on the monster. Every time a Spell Counter is put on the monster, it gains 300 attack points! This monster started off with 1700 attack points, but now it has 2300 attack points!" Dark Red Enchanter glowed brightly as his attack points increased. "Now I-" I stopped mid-sentence because I glanced at my opponent. To what I saw, he was ready, prepared for what came his way. Still calm, which was being to freak me out. There was one other person I knew personally that was this calm, especially when it came to being on stage in front of lots of people. Oliver...have you come to haunt me from your grave? Even Yusei's blue eyes are beginning to remind me of Oliver! My heart rate began to pick up, and I felt my breathing get faster too. Memories of my loved one started to overwhelm my mind, those thoughts of what I could have done to prevent what had happened. Why, why now of all days, that I have to be tormented by these thoughts of a person that was dead?!

Now...now I do not want to be here. My opponent is bringing up memories that I did not want to see, at least not at that moment. That guy...why the heck did he have to have black hair and blue eyes? Is he haunting me in the land of living?! "I-I end my t-turn," I stuttered, my hands beginning to shake uncontrollably. I heard a few gasps of shock in the audience, and Cerberus looked back at me with concern on both of its faces. I guessed that it shows, that I did not want to duel anymore. My heart was not taking any more of this pain. But I had to at least make it through my turn and end it. I had to be strong, I have to try with all of my strength.

"Are you sure that you are okay?" my opponent asked.

"Yes, I am fine!" I yelled abruptly. I saw that he was a bit taken aback from what I exclaimed, but I did not care. I wanted this duel to be over with. I did not want to keep looking at him, reminding me of a past failure. My opponent drew his card and summoned a monster called Tuningware, another strange monster that I have never heard of before. But then he used a card that I was familiar with: Monster Reborn. Although this helps gain Dark Red Enchanter and Mythical Beast Cerberus a Spell Counter, Yusei used it to bring back Boost Warrior from the graveyard. He then Synchro Summoned a mythical dragon that shone brightly in the battlefield: Shooting Quasar Dragon. I gulped. Maybe I should have attacked earlier with Dark Red Enchanter. That way, he could not have summoned it. But I was so focused on Oliver that it made me end my turn. Curse him that is a brutal tactic! "Someone, get me out of here!" I thought in pain. "Do not let me have to go through this pain! Please!"

"Shooting Quasar Dragon, attack her Dark Red Enchanter!" Yusei exclaimed. His monster did as commanded, and I lost 1400 life points. It felt me with a pain in my stomach and with 2600 life points left. I got my answer. Perhaps, this is the only way I could get off the arena as soon as possible. My head was getting dizzy, and the food I ate earlier was rising to my throat. So, I did not activate any of my trap cards. I had to get out of here! "But that's not all!" my opponent proclaimed. "My monster has an effect that allows me to attack more than once. Shooting Quasar Dragon, attack Blast Magician!" That was it. The battle damage was 2600, which caused me to lose the rest of my life points. The impact of the damage made me fall backward, and I hit the ground hard. However, I was not unconscious, and I managed to stand up, panting heavily. The combination of running here, my past memories, and that battle damage were not good for me. I was pretty sure that I would collapse soon, so I bolted away from the arena and into a hallway where most of the duelists would go to after a duel. I started to walk slower and slower, until I tripped and banged my head on the wall, collapsing to the ground. I grunted in pain, trying to sit up. But I felt something warm oozing from my head. I shakily touched it, and red liquid flowed into my hand and to the floor. I was bleeding from the impact. I thought at first to heal myself, but I had no strength left to do it. So, I gave up and let myself fall unconscious.

Wow, what a dream that was. There I was, dueling a person that had techniques that I have never heard of. The next moment, I was unconscious on the ground from fatigue and blood. That definitely took a turn for the worse! Now this Yusei fellow, who was the one that mentioned his name to me again? Oh, that's right, it was Star! It was on one of the days that I had a previous memory dream. Well, now I know who he is, kind of. He was my opponent for the duel, and near the end of it, I was getting angry at him. Or was I just trying to get away from him? I think I was trying to get away because he looked a lot like Oliver. I guess I was never over the fact that Oliver died, even after a few years. Did I also properly mourn for him?

But that is beside the point! I totally freaked out during that duel because of a resemblance to Oliver. That means I hated Yusei, didn't I? Aww, poor guy! He was just dueling until I went completely crazy in the last few turns of the duel. I felt so weak, and yet he remained the stronghold of the entire fight. That was what made him win, though it also had to do with playing the right cards at the right time. I was so curious and kind of annoyed by the fact that he was not attacking me, even when he used that Synchro technique. The first time he did it, he put the monster in defense position. I may have been mad at him before, but now I am intrigued.

Lizzy closed her journal book and left her room, bringing the book with her. "I wonder if I told Jarod or James about this when I was still upset," she thought as she went downstairs. Lizzy turned a corner and found both of them in the living room, scanning a few cards in their hands. "Brothers!" she exclaimed.

"What?" James and Jarod replied, looking at Lizzy.

"I have a question for the both of you! It has to do with the memory-dream that I just had."

"What was it about, Liz?" James asked, putting the cards down on the living room table.

"A duel I was in with a guy."

"Oh boy, you had that one?" Jarod said with a groan. "The one where you got mad at the guy because he resembled Oliver?" Lizzy nodded, and he groaned again. "Please tell me you are not still mad at him, are you?"

"Nope!" Lizzy said bluntly. "In fact, I am curious now."

"Thank goodness!" James exclaimed with a sigh of relief. "You were kind of upset for a while, and I think that is what made you quit dueling in tournaments."

"It did?! But how?"

"I have no idea! Wait, I thought you would know since you just had that memory dream!"

"I am just beginning to process it, James!" Lizzy went over to the couch and sat next to them. "To be honest, I do not know how I am going to process this. The duel did not seem to be too intense, but it had meaning."

"Well, how was the start of the duel?" Jarod questioned.

"It was not too bad," Lizzy replied. "In fact, at first it was getting pretty dull. I did have a few monsters on the field, but my opponent was setting monsters in defense mode.

"All of the monsters?"

"Uh-huh! I was kind of confused about that. Then he did something that I did not expect!"

"Did he start tearing down your ego?" James asked.

"No," the girl replied, opening her journal. "He did a new type of summoning that I have never heard of before. It is called Synchro Summoning!"

"Oh yeah, you did mention that and how it threw you off the rails."

"From what I remembered, it definitely did! But I did manage to get some damage in, thanks to Magical Blast. However, that was all the damage I did for that duel."

"How much was it?"

"It was about...800 attack damage, I think."

"Hey, not bad!" Jarod smiled. "It is better than no damage."

"Yeah," Lizzy agreed. But then she sighed. "Then he started to ask me questions on why I was there. I answered them plainly, with it being I took your place in the tournament, Jarod. He tried to do a follow-up question, but I denied it! I could not let him know of my hidden tactics of dueling!"

"That is to reach people, right?"

"Correct! That was when I drew a card for my turn and got my friend Dark Red Enchanter! When I summoned it, it had enough attack points to beat down that Synchro monster! But, I got distracted. The calmness that Yusei presented to me reminded me of Oliver whenever he would take the stage in the music auditorium. They were not nervous at all, they were brave." Lizzy then sighed and thought, "Something that I greatly admire."

"Well, you are brave too," James noted. "You were called fearless during the Three-Week War."

"That was then!" Lizzy exclaimed. "But when I was dueling, I became afraid. I did not want to be there after I came to that realization. So, I let him beat me down. Then I ran out of the arena and knocked into a wall, causing me to bleed and fall unconscious. So now, I am wondering what I am supposed to do. Should I meet my opponent again?"

"That would probably be the best idea," Jarod said. "You did dash out of the arena, and no one in that city has heard of you since then." Lizzy's eyes widened as she asked her brother,

"What do you mean that they have not heard of me since then?"

"Well, what happened to you was that you passed out from fatigue and the bleeding. People rushed you over to the emergency room, but they had no idea how do heal you because your body works differently than me or James' body. So, they just took you back here to Yuina, and you have not been back there." Lizzy tapped her chin and asked,

"Could it be that the reason I never went back was that I was still upset?"

"Yup," James said bluntly. "By the time you calmed down, your accident happened, and you lost all of your memories. You have not had time to go back, nor did you want to when you still remembered everything. That was very strange.

"It was?"

"Yeah! I have never seen you that mad for a long period. You would usually get over it in a day or so, but not in this instance. It took you a long while." Lizzy found that to be interesting. Why did it take her so long to calm down?

"Hmm," the girl said, thinking. "Now that is something to write about! Thank you, guys! I will ask you of this person's whereabouts later!" Lizzy got up from the couch and ran off, leaving her two brothers puzzled.

"When do you think we should tell her that it is difficult to get to New Domino City nowadays?" James asked Jarod.

"Soon," he replied with a sweatdrop. "Before it becomes our sister's main objective in life." As he said this, Lizzy began to write again in her bedroom.

So, from the information I got from my brothers, it seems like I was distraught over the later events of the duel. It took me forever to get over it, and when I did, well, I lost all of my memories. I wonder if there is a way to get me back to New Domino City to apologize to my opponent for not giving my all-out best in that duel. I said that I was going to give my all, but I grew fearful and ran away. I do not want to run away anymore! I need a chance to get back there again!

Lizzy closed her journal book, determined to find a way to go back to that city someday. "Let me reach him for once," she thought. "I just need one chance!"