Antilles Dragonheart - Somewhere in the Great White Mountains/Termnnia
Tel. XII - Year 18 4AOS
Antilles's gilded white Cloudship reduced its speed over the beautiful mountain range that was once home to thousands and thousands of Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Every now and then, he flew over a giant ancient skeleton with its Kaiberium Crystal already harvested by Seto Kaiba and his expeditionary team, who were the only ones foolish enough to come here. Even though the Blue-Eyes White Dragons were long gone, the mountains were still a very dangerous place; for monsters of all shapes and sizes moved into the mountains in droves after the white dragon went extinct. The Cloudship's navigation system in the cockpit started to beep, informing Antilles that their destination was just a minute away. Such amazing technology, he thought. So much better than riding on horseback or in a carriage. Nine Hells, it was a lot smoother than riding a dragon, for his niece, Alexandra, owned the last Des Volstgalph in the family. He remembered riding his own Des Volstgalph long ago before it was killed by Yugi and his Dark Magician of Chaos when his father, King Julius Dragonheart, foolishly usurped the throne from the last of the Pendragon High Kings in the Dragonheart Rebellion more than thirty years ago.
Antilles poured some more wine into his golden up to drown out the memories of his dearly departed dragon. And as he did, the Cloudship entered a tunnel built into one of the highest mountains in the Great White Mountain Range. Thella Hostar, it was called, meaning Misty Ghost in the Vollanti language, for the tall mountain reached up into the sky, touching the clouds and its base was surrounded on all sides by a thick white mist housing who knew what manner of monster. The Cloudship landed in a docking bay deep inside the mountain where a man in a dark cloak was awaiting him. The gold-tinted canopy opened and a ladder materialized by the side so Antilles could climb down.
The cloaked man bowed. "Antilles," he said. "We've been expecting you?"
"How was the turnout?" Antilles asked.
"You will be pleased, My Liege. The hooded man looked up and grinned. "Hundreds of promising warriors have shown up. More than we had anticipated."
"Good," said Antilles. He walked by the cloaked man and into a dark tunnel lit with red lights. "How strong are they?"
"Very strong, My Liege. Some of them could wipe out an army of knights singlehandedly. Another one took on a squad of Black Luster Soldiers and emerged victorious. He wears their armor as proof of his victory against them. Another boy claims to hunt wyverns. He uses their bones to make his weapons and armor."
"Very good," Antilles said as he approached a balcony seat. Down below the 'promising' warriors were doing battle against one another. Each one of them was highly skilled and showed no signs of letting up. Many were hurt but none went down, for they were too strong. Antilles sat down on a golden throne to watch the battle below so he could choose who would be the right person to send against the Princes that Yugi had called to battle for his Alliance. "Impressive," he said to the cloaked man. He was dazzled by their abilities with swords and magic, which created amazing-looking glyphs. There was a pyromancer down there who could manipulate his flames into the form of a dragon that towered high to the top of the hundred-foot domed ceiling of the arena. But even with such a creature on the field, the other warriors paid it no mind and dodged its fire attacks before going after the pyromancer.
A servant girl approached from the shadows and poured more wine into Antilles's cup. He waved her off with his hand without so much as looking at her before bringing the cup to his lips.
"How long have they been fighting?" Antilles asked.
"About an hour," said the cloaked man. "Two of the candidates surrendered before the match even began. They were," he chuckled, "too intimidated to fight the others. Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood, they were called. Pathetic! I had them thrown out into the mists for their wanton cowardice."
"Any trouble from the others?"
"None."
"Excellent. I need every able-bodied champion in my ranks. Those princes that Master Yugi assembled have grown to be a thorn in my side. I knew they were powerful but I did not anticipate them to be THIS strong. Every time Forrest gains territory, the Princes just take it back. Even with his army of endless automaton knights, they can hold their own. No one is winning this war."
"A stalemate, eh?" said the cloaked man.
"Indeed. Back and forth and back and forth — it's been going on for years! This cannot go on forever. This war has taken too much time and is costing me far too much money. Even with the new kingdom my nephew and I are forming in the Hellgari Estates, I fear it will not be enough to keep the war going. And the princes have inspired other youthful nobles to fight. And they are equally as strong. Princess Kira of the Orange Island Kingdom has put Forrest's Navy at a halt. The son of Count Velyon of Kellerwood has formed an army of mercenary warriors and mages to protect Gardenrealm, and just yesterday, I heard a band of boys who are the sons of powerful Emboldorian Barons has formed their own alliance to aid Yugi's." He slammed his fist on the arm of his throne. "Damnation! This cannot happen. I will not allow more heroes on my battlefield!"
"Have no fear, My Liege. We have heroes of our own who have the potential to beat them into submission."
"They had better."
Yuri - Ruby Dragon Gaming Shop, Aquarius
Tel. XII - Year 18 4AOS
Aquarius had sailed into a heavy storm right after school ended. The storm was much too strong for the group to walk over and get Sam, so Consuelo ordered a taxi to pick him up and take him home, much to Nick's glee. That meant he could hang out at the Ruby Dragon with just his friends. That's all he wanted after all. Just an afternoon with his friends. The storm showed no signs of letting up but they were warm and safe inside the big building. There was air conditioning, food, and drinks. What better place to be caught in a rainstorm? For the longest time, they talked about the politics of Aquarius, dueling, school, and then...Andre.
Yuri still felt awfully bad for how he yelled at him. And the fact that he wasn't at school today made him feel even worse.
"So nobody knows where he comes from, huh?" Yuri asked.
"Not at all," Patty said. She was filing her nails at a Duel Table. "Come to think of it, nobody even knows where he originally came from. All we know is that he transferred from somewhere."
"Yeah, remember how secretive he was about his past?" said Tyson. "It's awfully suspicious if you ask me."
"Suspicious my ass," said Nick. "He's just trying to act like some cheese ball anime edge lord with a mysterious past." He wiggled his fingers around. "Ooooh, I'm so edgy. Look at me!"
"From what little information everyone has, he seems to have transferred from out of thin air," Yuri said. He scratched his head in befuddlement. "What are you doing, Patty?"
Patty shrugged, wondering the same thing. She was waiting for Carter to come out of the bathroom so they could have thei Duel. Tyson was going to team with Carter against Patty to see if the upgrades she made to her deck were sufficient for the Duel Festival that was going to take place in winter. "I wonder what he's doing all the way out here?"
"Who knows?" Nick said, leaning on a chair by a free Duel Table. He was set to have a match against Natalya after she helped Segei load some new merchandise into the warehouse. "I think we're better off without him. The guy is full of himself, know what I mean."
"You're one to talk," Carter said, walking to the Duel Table and adjusting his fedora. "Sorry, Pats. Didn't mean to keep you waiting." He sat down on the chair, breathing a sigh of relief when the comfort of the expensive gaming chairs soothed his body. "These are so nice," he said, rubbing the arms of the chair. "Man, I've got to get me one of these." He took his deck out of his pocket and set it on the table.
"Hey, how come we ain't going to the Duel Dome and making use of that cool Solid Vision Tech?" Nick asked.
"So long as you're the one paying for our field," said Yuri. "It's like five grand for an arena all to ourselves."
"We don't need those oversized arenas," said Carter. "We got the Ruby Dragon. Ready, Pats?"
"I sure am. Where's Tyson?"
"Right here!" he said, running to their spot. He was holding a basket of nachos and a large soda. He set down the food, pulled up an extra chair, and sat down next to Carter. "Patty, this is gonna hurt, babe. I sure hope you know what you've gotten yourself into."
"Don't worry about me, Tyson," Patty commented with a giggle. "I just hope you and Carter can work on the same page. I'm no pushover."
"Neither are we!" Tyson said, putting his sleeved cards on the table. The sleeves protecting his cards had a Super Saiyan Blue Goku burning in neon blue.
"Damn, Tyson," Patty laughed. "Ever since you saw the re-release of Super Hero, with Yuri and Nick, all you've done was flood yourself with Dragon Ball memorabilia."
"Hey, in that movie, the bad guys were getting their asses kicked when our heroes' potential was unleashed. And just like the heroes in that film, my deck's potential has definitely been unleashed with the new cards I got. You're about to get mauled by my Beast King deck, Patty."
"Oh, am I?"
"Hell, yeah. Seeing Yuri evolve as a Duelist reminded me of how much my favorite heroes like Goku and Vegeta evolve to get stronger. When I saw Yuri summon Black Tyranno, it was as though I watched Goku evolve into a Super Saiyan or something, forgive me for being dramatic. Well, that inspired me too. I wanna evolve my game as well, so I've been working really hard to earn the money I needed to get the cards to build this deck. And I'm going to make sure my work has paid off."
Yuri laughed. "So is this Tyson turning into Beast Gohan or Orange Piccollo or something?"
"Hell, yeah, Yuri! I'm the Orange Picollo of the group!" He flexed his muscles.
"Nah," said Carter. "You and Yuri are both pretty strong. So that would make you the Vegeta to his Goku."
"Hey," Tyson said, bobbing his head up and down. "I like the sound of that."
"I like that comparison," said Patty. "Makes you guys look kinda epic."
"What character am I?" Nick asked.
"Meh, you can Hercule," said Carter, to which everyone laughed.
"EY!" Nick shouted. The laughing continued. "Screw you guys!" They still laughed. "Go to hell!"
Patty shook her head and waited for the laughing to die down. "Hang on, Tyson. Your dad is the owner of a very successful food chain and you don't have cash for cards?" Patty wondered.
Tyson sat up, heavily shaking his head from side to side as he slid his hand down his face, lightly bumping the headphones around his neck. "You got me there, baby. My dad's the equivalent of Yuri's dad. He's a Nazi when it comes to money. If I want it, I have to earn it. You know my pain huh, Yuri?"
Yuri responded with just a few nods and a heavy grin. "Yup."
Tyson laughed and then rubbed his hands together. "All right, let's get this show on the road."
LP 2000
T1
"I'll go first," Patty said. "You cool with that, guys?" Carter shrugged uncaringly while Tyson just nodded his head. "Okay, then. I set two cards face-down and summon Gil-Garth in attack mode!" She summoned a metal homunculus in spiked armor and armed with a curved sword. It let out an eerie moan and then swung its sword around.
ATK/1800
T2
"Let's get this show on the road," Carter said. "If none of y'all mind, I'd like to kick things off for our team." He slid his fingers across the brim of his fedora before he pondered what to do. "Hmm. Let's see now. I play Moray of Greed, beeyotch. I shuffle two water cards from my hand to my deck. Then I draw three cards. You love rituals, right Patty? Well, get a load of this. I play Fortress Whale's Oath. I sacrifice two monsters from my hand and summon Fortress Whale!"
"Ooo!" Patty hotted with awe. She heard the sound of a whale calling from the speakers on the headrest of her chair. She turned her head to look at the Duel Screen. A blue arcane circle formed over the ruins of a temple in the middle of the sea. Then a colossal monster slowly glided out of it. A dark-gray whale with a white and black underbelly and piercing green eyes. A fortress with giant turrets was perched on its back.
ATK/2350 DEF/2150
T3
"Aight, it's my turn," Tyson proudly declared. He slipped his card off the top of his deck. "Now this is a beast hand." He chuckled. "No pun intended. All right, I activate Double Summon. Thanks to this card, I get an extra normal summon this turn. First, I'm summoning Firewing Pegasus (ATK/2250), and now here comes my man, Garvas (ATK/2000)!"
"And that ends my turn, Patty. Lucky for you none of us can attack until we've had our first turn."
T4
Patty sucked on her teeth, examining the monsters on the field. "Yeah, you two have got me bent over a barrel, alright. You already conjured yourselves a pretty offensive lineup. So, I'm just going to activate this spell to keep you guys from touching my Life Points. Nightmare's Steel Cage. This will prevent both of you from attacking me for two turns. Next, I summon Reaper of the Cards in attack mode."
"Taunting us, huh?" said Tyson. "You holding out on us, Patty?"
Patty wrinkled her nose, clearly taking offense to that. "Hold out? Me? No. If I'm going to win, I'm going to win. What do you think I am, some kind of a jerk? I end my turn."
T5
"Not at all," said Carter. "I'll activate the field spell, Umiruka. My water monsters are going to gain a 500-point boost."
Yuri grew excited seeing the new cards his friends added to their decks. He was paid this morning and though he thought about saving his money to get a car, he thought a couple of booster packs couldn't hurt the budget too much. After Patty emerged victorious, he dashed for the counter and bought himself ten packs, hoping that could boost his chances of getting something good. Sadly, due to his rotten luck, that would not be the case.
"Come on, give me something good," Yuri said, opening his new pack.
Killer Needle, Tongyo, Bottom Dweller, Deepsea Shark ("Hey, I got a complete Fusion," said Yuri), Corroding Shark, Skull Stalker, The Drdek. Finally. It was time for the rare card.
"SHIT!" Yuri shouted.
Nekogal #2
"So much for that," he grumbled.
Sergei let out a loud laugh from behind the counter. "What's the matter, Yuri. Didn't get anything good?"
"Nope. I think Black Tyranno is going to be my only rarest card."
"Oh, that's too bad," Sergei said, washing the glass counter. "You know, since you did a good job on your test last week, I think I can give you something for free."
"Really? Wow, Sergei, thanks."
Yuri got up from the table. He hurried toward Sergei to see what the new card was going to be.
"Ta-da!" Sergei said, holding it up. Actually, he had four. "Behold, the Field Spell, Gaia Power. Since you run a deck with lizards and a few dinosaurs, I figured this would come in handy. It will increase the power of all your Earth monsters by five hundred points. But there is a big drawback. It will increase the power of your opponent's Earth monsters, too. And it will decrease Earth monsters' defense by four hundred. So use it wisely. And here's a good card to go along with it."
He slid three dinosaur monsters called Gilasaurus. They had a rarity to them he had never seen before called Mosaic Rare, giving them a shiny pattern of squares all over the card.
"Wow, Sergei, these are amazing!"
"Indeed they are. What they lack in power, they make up for in speed. You can special summon them any time you want, meaning you can also conduct a normal summon if you haven't already. He'll go along well with your Gaia Power spell. Imagine if you had all three of these babies in your hand. You could swarm the field for a powerful offensive or hold out defensively until you get the cards you need. And if you had all these out with Gaia Power, you'll have three big beaters out." He rubbed his hands together. "And think if you had these babies out with your Black Tyranno in play. You can completely overwhelm your opponent, which is what dinosaur monsters are built to do. But use him carefully, Yuri. Gilasaurus speed also comes with a drawback. He allows your opponent to special summon a monster from their Graveyard. So don't summon it with its ability if there is a high-powered monster in the opponent's grave."
"I'll remember that," Yuri said, taking the cards. "Thanks, Sergei."
"Wanna try them out?" Patty asked, watching Yuri from behind a shelf with a cherry soda in her hand. "Nick's looking for an opponent over at Table Two."
Sergei grinned. "Ah, you see. A perfect opponent for you to play against. And an easy one." He let out a loud laugh.
Patty went back to her table to sit with Tyson and Carter, who had just bought two display boxes full of packs to open. As happy was he was to see that, he grew concerned. Patty walked with a limp...again.
"You okay, Patty?" he asked.
Patty turned her head to look at him and smiled. "Yeah, I just hit my shin on the dining room table today. Come on, the table is right over here."
She pointed it out to Yuri. Tyson and Carter were opening a big pile of packs they just bought, handing Nick their commons and repeats.
"Yuri!" Nick called out loudly. "Glad you could join us. I just got some new cards for my deck. Want to go against them?"
Yuri was more than happy to oblige. After all, he wanted to see what his new Gilasaurus and his field spell could do. He took out his deck, sat down, and placed it in the drive recognizer on the table. The giant screen beside their table lit up. A holographic playmat was displayed from the projector above their table. The screen then showed the default colosseum where the monsters were to do battle.
Their Life Point meters displayed 2000 and they were ready to go.
"I'll start off first," Yuri said after he and Nick rolled dice to see who would start the game. He drew six cards and smiled. "Okay, Nick. I'll start things off a little heavy. I summon Grappler in attack mode."
He placed the card on the mat. The screen beside them showed a tall, two-legged, purple lizard with a red cape. His yellow eyes glowed like two headlights. His forked tongue slithered from his yellow sharp teeth.
ATK/1300
"Not bad, Yuri. But let's see how it handles this. I summon the Mystical Elf in defense mode."
He summoned a beautiful elf with silky blue skin. She was draped in a green dress and had long, flowing, blonde hair. Her hands were locked in prayer as she muttered divine words.
"With a defense of two-thousand, you sure are going to have a hard time getting through that," said Nick. "And I think I'll play these two cards face-down. It's your turn, buddy."
"Way to go, Nick," Patty cheered. She sipped her cherry soda. "You've learned how to defend."
Nick enjoyed Patty's compliment a little too much. He bobbed his head up and down confidently. "Ah, see how much I've improved, Yuri? Even Patty's starting to dig me? So, where do you want to go for lunch after our Duel, babe?"
Patty rolled her eyes and walked away from him. She stood over Yuri and patted his shoulder. "I think I'll keep my mouth shut from now on. Yuri, teach him a lesson."
"Will do," said Yuri. "I draw. Perfect! I play the Field Spell, Gaia Power!"
The field turned into a dense forest. The monsters were in a clearing where a gigantic magical tree stood dominating the other trees. A sound of bells rang from its branches as the wind blew through the leaves.
"With this card, all our Earth monsters will gain a 500 point boost," said Yuri. "But they lose four-hundred defense points."
"You sure you want to do that, Yuri?" Nick said with an ear-to-ear grin. "That means my Earth monsters will get the field power bonus, too."
"I'm sure my monsters will be able to defeat anything you've got," said Yuri. "I summon Mammoth Graveyard!"
The forest trembled with the great call of an ancient mammoth. From the trees walked the giant skeleton of the beast, still protecting the grave of its herd from those foolish enough to steal from it. It towered over Grappler and waved its head around, flashing its great tusks to intimidate Nick.
Tyson clapped. "Nice, Yuri! With the field spell, your Mammoth Graveyard's attack points climb to 1700."
Nick laughed. "It's still not enough to get through my Mystical Elf's defense."
"Until I give my Mammoth Graveyard this," said Yuri. "Invigoration!"
Mammoth Graveyard's bones were outlined with a beautiful multi-colored aura. It bellowed triumphantly, feeling its power growing.
"With this card, Mammoth Graveyard's attack will increase by 400 and decrease its defense by another 300. But, thankfully, I'm not going to be using him to defend. Now, with my Mammoth's attack at twenty-one-hundred, your Mystical Elf goes bye-bye. Attack!"
Mammoth Graveyard reared on its hind legs. It then lowered its head and charged toward the elf. Nick chuckled.
"Not so fast, Yuri. I activate the trap, Castle Walls! This will increase Mystical Elf's defense by 500 points."
Mystical Elf prayed to the gods for help. Her prayer was answered, for a beautiful arcane circle appeared in front of her, acting as a shield. Mammoth Graveyard slammed against it. He could not break the barrier. The impact caused him to tumble to the ground.
Yuri bit his lip in embarrassment as he watched his Life Points dwindle to 1600.
"Wow," Carter said, his eyes glued to the screen. "Nick outsmarted Yuri."
"I guess there's a first time for everything," said Patty.
Nick's move made him rather cocky. "See, what did I tell ya? You guys are looking at the new and improved Nick Rogers."
"It's amazing what a few commons and repeats can do for an amateur's deck," laughed Carter.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Nick waved his hand pretentiously to show he did not care what Carter had to say. "It doesn't change the fact that I have the lead in the match. And it's my turn, too. Oh yeah, watch this. I use Polymerization, fusing together Mystical Elf and Curtain of the Dark Ones to become Kamionwizard!"
He summoned a sorcerer in red and black armor wielding a large scythe. Long blonde hair came out from the back of his head. His face was concealed behind a vile black and red mask.
ATK/1300 DEF/1100
Patty slurped the last of her cherry soda while making a confused expression on her face. "Uh...Earth to Nick. Have you not seen Yuri's Mammoth Graveyard? Plus, your Kamionwizard is a Dark monster. He won't get the field power bonus."
"Gee, thanks, Lady Obvious. But with this card, I won't have to worry about it anymore. I activate Mystical Space Typhoon. Your Field Spell goes adios!"
"Ah, crap," said Yuri.
Nick nodded. "That's right. And your Invigoration card still makes your Mammoth much more powerful, but I've got a little spell of my own. I equip my Kamionwizard with the magic power of the Malevolent Nuzzler. The magical charms from this sexy enchantress will increase the power of my Kamionwizard by seven hundred points for a grand total of 2000!"
Patty slowly clapped her hands. "Congratulations. You can add."
"What's the matter, Pats? Mad that Yuri's not as strong as you say he is. Go, Kamionwizard! Slice and dice his Mammoth Graveyard!"
Kamionwizard let out a horrible laugh as he ran toward his opponent. He jumped into the air with a mighty bound and lifted his scythe. He then slashed it across Mammoth Graveyard's skull. The great beast bellowed in defeat and exploded, dealing another 400 points to Yuri's Life Points. Now, he was at 1100 and Nick was standing tall with 2000.
"See, I've taken no damage this entire Duel," Nick boasted. "Got anything to say about that?"
"Don't get cocky," said Patty, taking a stick of very sweet bubblegum out of her baggy cargo pants. "You have the lead, so find a way to maintain it."
"I draw," said Yuri. "I summon Emperor of the Land and Sea in defense mode and switch Grappler to defense as well."
Nick snapped his fingers, he felt he had all he needed to prove his point to Patty. "Running scared, Yuri? I summon Bean Soldier in attack mode!"
He summoned a bean with a small sword, skinny arms, and legs with small curved, brown boots.
ATK/1400
I'll attack your Grappler with him! Go, Bean Soldier!"
Bean Soldier jumped and then scurried towards Yuri's Grappler. He sliced his head off with a mighty blow. Then, Kamionwizard made short work of Emperor of the Land and Sea. The big, blue, reptile roared in pain and exploded.
"And down they go!" Nick said pumping up his fist. "Wait till everyone hears I beat the Prince of Aquarius without a sweat. Your move, Yuri."
"I draw," he said. Patty smiled at the card he got and patted his shoulder. Yuri looked up at her and winked. "Well, I think it's time to shut you up, Nick. I used Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards."
"Seriously, why does everyone have to explain what it does?" Nick wondered.
"Now, I activate the spell, Magical Stone Excavation. I discard two cards to add a spell card to my hand."
"Uh oh," said Nick. "Does that mean...?"
"Yeah, Gaia Power comes back." He played the spell at once, returning them to the enchanted forest with the great tree. "Now I summon my old pal, Black Dragon Jungle King."
"Yes!" Patty clenched her fist in excitement. She looked at the screen and saw the wingless dragon stomp out of the forest. With the field spell, his 2100 ATK became 2600.
Black Dragon Jungle King roared and breathed purple fire at Kamionwizard, completely obliterating him. Nick's Life Points fell to 1400.
"Oh no! I hate that fucking dragon! If it's not Black Tyranno, it's this guy! He always ruins everything! I'm switching Bean Soldier to defense mode."
"Is that all you have for a turn?" Yuri asked, drawing his card. "That's not going to work, Nick. I Special Summon Gilasaurus to the field in attack mode."
"Sweet!" said Nick. "Thanks to him, I can bring a monster back from the Graveyard. My Mystical Elf Returns to the field in defense. Now, you can't strike my Life Points, Yuri."
"Oh, I think he can," Patty retorted with a wink.
"See this?" Yuri said, showing Nick the card.
"Stop Defense!" Nick cried.
"That's right. Now your Mystical Elf is switched from attack to defense mode. Black Dragon Jungle King attacks and that's game."
"Aw, crud," Nick said. The Duel Screen showed Black Dragon Jungle King destroying the poor Mystical Elf with his purple flames. "Nice moves, Yuri. I think I still got a' ways before I can beat you. But mark my words, that day is gonna come soon. Like Tyson said, I'm going to get stronger like those guys in Dragon Ball."
"You'd better," said Carter. "Watching Yuri beat your ass is getting so old."
"Hardy, har, har," Nick replied. "Say, Patty, you game?"
Patty shook her head. "At the moment, no. I gotta use it, man."
"Just a quick game?"
"No, bro. It's urgent. Last night I had a one-pound beef burrito and a plate of nachos the size of a monster truck tire. And if I don't find the bathroom soon, this place is going to be called Brown Dragon Gaming, you dig?"
Yuri held up his hands. "Just...use it," he said.
Patty's eyes widened. She held her stomach. "Oh, God!" she squealed and ran away.
"Sheesh," said Tyson. "If she keeps eating out like that, she's gonna lose them curves, know what I'm saying?"
"I sure as hell don't want her to lose 'em," Nick said, picking up his cards. "She has to look good for our first date."
Carter pinched the bridge of his nose. "Dipshit. You can't still be thinking Patty is going to want to go out with you, do you, Nick?"
"She digs me. She just doesn't know it yet."
"What the hell do you have to offer a girl like Patty?" said Yuri. "Sure, she's foul-mouthed, lacks decent manners, and may dress like a skimpy punk, but she comes from a very wealthy family. Her dad is the Commander of RAPTOR. She's a millionaire. And you..."
Nick paused. He stared angrily at Yuri. "What? Say it. Go on. Say it!"
"You're a Stowaway," said Yuri. "The kind of people her father is paid to hunt down and deport from the island. Do you really think Troy McKnight is going to want his daughter to go out with a Stowaway?"
"But your dad and I are really tight," said Nick. "That's got to count for something."
Tyson sighed. "Nick. You saved Yuri's life, and for that, you've made Mr. Montgomery forever grateful. But I've seen firsthand how Troy deals with stowaways. He shows no mercy. He doesn't care who is on your side. In the end, you're just another gold coin on his paycheck. And if something happens, God forbid, Mr. Montgomery ain't gonna do nothing. Troy McKnight is one best he's got for the security of Aquarius. He's ex-military, quelled the great Pirate Raid of '97, and stopped the robbery of the Aquarian Bank. Come on, Nick, I don't mean any offense, you're cool, bro." He locked hands with him. "But if things got heavy, Mr. Montgomery would choose him over you. 'Cause he's worth more than you."
"Ex-military," Nick scoffed. "A drunk like him? He probably cleaned the shitters or something."
"Troy McKnight?" Yuri retorted loudly. "No. He didn't. He was in Somalia."
"Huh?"
"Mogadishu. Black Hawk Down? Does that ring the bell?"
"You mean like the movie? He was there?"
"He was," Tyson said nodding his head. "He was about as young as we were. He's seen shit. Really bad stuff. Of course, he drinks it away. Aside from being a vet and a hero here in the city, he also saved Yuri's life, too."
"He did?"
"Remember when I was kidnapped by those terrorists?" Yuri crossed his arms and leaned back on his chair. "Maybe not. We were little kids at the time. But Commander McKnight led the team that saved me from them." He looked at the ceiling. "At least, I think it was him who saved me."
The memories of a man with grayish-pink hair flashed in his eyes. His maniacal sneer. His demonic eyes. "Bakura," he whispered.
"Huh?" said Carter.
"Nothing. The point is, Patty is way out of your league, Nick. You've got to stop chasing her. Otherwise, you might get hurt."
"I appreciate your concern, guys, but RAPTOR's Commander doesn't scare me. He may do a good job of tossing out people he deems unequal to himself, but he ain't a good father. Patty came into class with another bruise on her arm."
Yuri, Tyson, and Carter sighed at once. They did notice that. And it possibly explained the limp she had right now.
"I talked to my father about it," said Yuri. "Patty denies anything happened."
Nick slammed his fist on the table. "Oh, gee, I wonder who made her say that."
"She does a good job of hiding it," said Carter. "I once watched as she applied makeup to one of the bruises on her shoulder. When I asked what happened, she told me to shut up and mind my own business. I was hurt. She never talked to me that way."
"More likely she doesn't want to lose that fortune of hers," said Tyson. "If Commander Troy goes down, Patty's going down with him. She'll lose everything."
They heard the toilet flush in the bathroom. Patty walked out and stretched. "Phew," she said in relief. "I wouldn't go in there for a couple of days...Or weeks."
"You nasty, ho," Carter said, covering his nose, for Patty drowned her clothes in perfume.
Patty laughed and smacked his back. "So, what are you guys up for right now? I don't feel like spending the whole day here playing?"
"I'd rather stay and work on my deck," said Yuri.
"Same," said Nick. "I was this close to beating Yuri. I want to try again."
"Well, let's see," Patty said, taking out her deck. "You wanted to play against me, right?"
"Yes, I did!" Nick said, shuffling his deck. "Beware, Patty. I am gonna be unstoppable with these new cards in my deck."
Patty yawned. "You sure about that? You said the same thing when you played against Yuri, and you got your butt kicked seven times."
"I was going easy on him. Let's do this."
Many turns later, Nick was about ready to end the match.
"Okay, Patty," Nick said choosing his next card. "I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode. And he'll clear the field of That Which Feeds on Life. That brings your Life Points down to 300, babe, one more deadly attack from my elf guy and you lose. Give it up!"
"I draw," Patty said calmly. "I summon Baron of the Fiend Sword." She summoned a demon resembling a bulldog, dressed in a fine black tuxedo and top hat. He carried an exquisite sword made of shadowy steel that looked like darkness made solid and outlined with a dark red aura. "At 1550 attack points, he won't do too much damage. But once I give him this card, he'll end the game. I equip him with the Axe of Despair."
"Where did you get that?"
"It's ultra-rare," Yuri answered as he held a basket of fries. "You're going to have a hard time finding it. And for good reason. That card boosts the power of her monsters by one-thousand points."
"Wha-wha-what!?" Nick babbled.
Patty smirked and puckered her lips, making a kissy-face expression. "That brings your Life Points down to zero, Nick. Once again, I win and you suck."
"Aw, lame!" Nick groaned, smashing his face on the table. "You really do know how to bring a guy down, Patty. How did you get such luck getting that powerful card?"
Patty chuckled, shuffled her deck, then fixed her bow. "I didn't get it through luck. My grandma gave it to me yesterday. She's more of a collector than a Duelist. She's got like seven copies of this card in her Spell Card binder."
"Yeah?" Nick said, launching himself out of his chair.
"Don't even think about it," Patty warned him. "My grandma is no charitable woman. I had to help her paint a mural on the tool shed in the backyard all weekend to earn this, and a hundred extra bucks."
"Man, you guys just rake in money, huh?" Nick sighed sadly. "I never get anything."
"Because you don't work for it, man," Carter said. "You just expect all good things to fall onto your lap. Life doesn't function that way."
Nick wasn't satisfied. "Easy for you to say. You guys were all born here and have rich parents to live off of."
"The Prince of Aquarius living off his father's fortune?" laughed Tyson. "Come on, man. If that were true, Yuri would be driving Ferraris and spending money like crazy. Not to mention he wouldn't be working here to earn his keep."
"He's still got more than I've got," Nick countered.
Patty flicked him off, telling him to shut up. "Don't waste your breaths anymore. There is just no satisfying this guy."
Just as Yuri was about to speak, his head stung as though someone shot an arrow into it. He saw an image of the man from his dream. Yami. He was smiling at Yuri. Yuri gasped and leaned over the table, holding his head in agony.
"Yuri!" Nick cried. He handed his friend a bottle of water. "You okay, man?"
Patty ran for him and held onto his shoulders, rubbing them gently to calm him down. "Yuri! Oh, my God! Are you all right? Talk to me, baby, come on."
Yuri gasped for air. "I'm fine," he finally said. "It's okay. I just...I just got a headache. Tyson...my pills."
"You sure, bro?" Tyson said, handing Yuri his medicine. "We should get you to the doctor."
"I'm fine," Yuri said, taking them and then gulping down water. "I think we've been in here for too long. Oh, wait! Guys, aren't we forgetting something?"
Patty smiled. "Hah. In all the excitement, I totally forgot we were supposed to hang in Club Infernoid." She gasped and checked her watch. "SHIT! Our reservation is in two hours! I need to go home and get ready!"
"We all do," said Yuri.
"You sure you can hang out at the club, Yuri?" Tyson asked. "You didn't look so good a few minutes ago."
"Really, guys, I'm fine. I'll just go home, rest and then I'll meet you guys there. Everything's going to be all right. You'll see."
Antilles - The Great White Mountains
The battles below were growing more and more intense. Still, none of the so-called warriors showed any signs of letting down. They were hell-bent on destroying each other right in front of Antilles and the other shadowy onlookers who were watching the fights from observation rooms surrounding the arena. Antilles felt the cloaked man tug on his sleeve. Antilles looked at him and smiled.
"Yes, I know." Antilles looked to his right and saw that there was another hooded figure standing next to him. "Impressive," he said. "Your skills in the arts of infiltration are masterful indeed. Your timing, your movements, even your very presentation are within your control."
"Am I late?" the hooded figure asked.
"Not at all. By all means, jump right in. The more the merrier as they always say."
The hooded warrior took the words 'jump in' quite literally. He vaulted out of the balcony and fell elegantly to the arena to do battle with the other warriors. A blue sword appeared in his hand and two red blades hovered on either side of them. Then, three decorated fiery artifacts of some sort formed a circle around him.
His presence certainly garnered the attention of the other warriors. The pyromancer, who had long lost his patience in this quarrel, formed another fire dragon with his flames and commanded them to strike the new candidate. The floating artifacts noticed the attack coming for their master. They formed into a ring and spun around halting the flaming dragon's advance and dispersing the flames. The hooded warrior ran to the pyromancer. Two other candidates, an archer and a wildman with fur armor headed straight for him but were immediately cut down by the red blades that floated around the hooded warrior. When they were dealt with, he jumped and sliced the pyromancer in half. Antilles raised his eyebrow, amazed at what he just witnessed. The hooded warrior then sprinted further into the arena to do battle with more of the candidates, but they each fell to his overwhelming power easily. His three flaming artifacts conjured flames of blue and red fire, burning anyone who dared tried to sneak a surprise attack on him. He moved with great speed, transforming into a fiery red and blue streak as he moved across the battlefield smashing heads, slicing off limbs, and disemboweling others for the fun of it. The warriors had all sorts of dangerous weapons in their arsenal. Swords, hammers, battle axes, spears, magic, and some even had Eidolons to aid them in battle. But those proved to be of no factor to the hooded warrior. He and his bladed fiery artifacts beat all foes regardless of what weapon or skill they possessed.
When half the fighters were eliminated by him, it was only then that they realized what a threat he was. So they all surrounded him, planning attacks together to take him out. Fifty-five against one. There would certainly be no way the hodded fool down there was going to survive this. The mysterious warrior then did something unexpected. He threw his blue sword into the air and the two red blades followed it. The three swords then easily found their places in the fiery artifacts that surrounded him. The flames in the artifacts grew more intense and they formed into a ring.
"Interesting," said Antilles. "Most interesting indeed. It seems his swords double as keys as well. And those totems that fly around him are the locks. But to what I wonder."
Antilles didn't have to wait long to find out. The flaming artifacts spun fast until they took the form of a gate. And that gate released the hooded warrior's Eidolon into the world.
Ignis Phoenix, the Dracoslayer.
A warrior that had the appearance of a dragon with cybernetic wings and a long metallic tail. He wielded a giant sword that doubled as a revolver. They charged right in, ready to slay their foes. Again, the hooded figure used his great speed to overwhelm his foes, slicing them and dicing them with the greatest of ease while Ignis Phoenix went straight to work on the Summoners and mages, whose spells had no effect on his anti-magic armor. Ignis Phoenix cut the head off a Garnecia Elefantis and then the hooded warrior leaped from behind its dead body and killed its Summoner. After two minutes, the arena lay empty and quiet, save for the engines roaring in the wings of Ignis Phoenix. The silence was broken at last by a lone person clapping. Antilles was the one applauding the amazing work of the young Summoner down there.
"I think we've just found the thorn I've been looking for," said Antilles.
Yuri - Club Infernoid- Aquarius/ Standard Dimension
Tel. XII - Year 18 4AOS
September the 12th. That meant only one thing in the calendars of Yuri and his band of misfits. A double birthday. Carter and Nick were born on the same day of the same year that cold September night in 2022. Both were now 18 years old and for that, Patty spared no expense to buy all her friends, yes, even Nick, the VIP treatment at one of the hottest, most exclusive clubs on Aquarius. Club Infernoid. The sons and daughters of the most powerful families in the world crowded the place. They stood next to glowing holographic trees with drinks in hand as they talked with their friends. The entire club looked like a fancy Victorian opera house refurbished into a nightclub with red neon as the theme. Yuri had only gone to the Infernoid once and that was when Patty forced him to put on a disguise and gave him a fake ID a year ago to check the place out when it was first built. Now, they were legit members, and since Yuri was the guest of honor at the big birthday celebration next month, the bouncers were only too happy to let him through, at the expense of a few selfies and group pictures with them.
The music pulsed across the club and rowdy teenagers and twenty-somethings jumped and raised their arms up into the air as the DJ played powerful music from his booth. Couples danced provocatively in front of a black glass fountain with cleverly placed lights that made the water look blood red. Yuri had only set foot into the club and already Patty bent over and started grinding her backside against his leg.
"Uh...excuse me," said Yuri. "That's my leg your rubbing your bumping your ass on. Patty...Patty...come on."
"Oooh, you all sorts of nasty!" said Carter.
"Hey, how 'bout some action of the birthday boy!" Nick shouted over the music.
Patty stopped dancing and scoffed. "Ha! In your dreams, Nicky."
"Where do we sit?" Tyson shouted, covering his ears.
"Hang on, Sabrina said she'd be here with Natalya."
"Hey, that's them over there!" yelled Yuri.
Patty turned and saw her two friends coming down the stairs in party dresses fashioned to look like Victorian ball gowns. "HEEEEY!" she shouted gleefully and hugged her two friends.
"I told you!" said Natalya. "As soon as I spotted someone twerking I knew that it would be Patty."
Sabrina laughed, a glowing blue drink was in her hand. "Hey, Yuri, hey guys. Oh, Nick, Carter! Happy Birthday."
"Thanks," they both said.
"Aw, Carter," said Sabrina. "You seriously can't go anywhere without that fedora of yours?"
"Hey, it's a part of me," Carter said, suavely sliding his fingers across the brim over his face.
"Yeeaaah!" Tyson jeered, loving the gesture. "All right, looks like the gang's all here. Patty, where do we sit and what is there to eat? I'm starving."
"I got us a booth in the balcony seats up there on the third floor." Patty pointed to the balconies above the dance floor. "Come on."
They followed Patty up a dark stairwell lit with only red neon and a few white lights along the steps. They stopped at a booth with orange and red seating with a black metal table trimmed with red neon. They sat down and Patty began to take orders with a tablet on the table.
Once their drinks came, they toasted to the birthday boys. "Happy birthday, guys!" Patty declared.
"Woooo!" Sabrina and Natalya hooted.
"Thanks for the nice booth, Patty," Carter said. "These are great seats. And the view is awesome."
"Anything for my boys —" she snapped and pointed at Nick. "Don't get any ideas, bud."
"So, Yuri, word on the street is you beat one of the Sensational Dragon Sisters in a Duel the other day."
"I sure did," said Yuri. "Layla Lovecraft."
"You're on a roll, Yuri!" said Sabrina. "Randall Lawson, Layla Lovecraft. I wonder who's going to be Black Tyranno's newest victim."
Tyson rubbed his hands together. "My man Yuri's gonna be conquering some big game now. You've beaten two champions this month."
"Yeah," said Patty with a lovely grin. "Two Duelists who so-happened to have been trained and had cards given to them by Brett Martinetti."
"HA-HA! I know!" hollered Tyson. "Trust me, Yuri, all eyes are on you now. Players from the big leagues are going to be coming to get a piece of you!"
Yuri rolled his eyes and chuckled to show some modesty. Bragging was never something he would do but after each dream and each victory with his Black Tyranno, some form of overconfidence began to bloom inside of him. "Nah," he said. "Nobody wants a piece of me."
"Oh stop being so modest," said Patty.
"You are it, Yuri!" said Natalya. "I don't know what's been happening to you lately but I like it."
"He's a new man!" said Carter. "Yuri, you're on your way, man."
"He's been on his way," Patty said. "Nevermind being the future CEO and President of Phobos Corp, but possibly a champion Duelist? Now THAT'S something I wanna see."
"So do I," Nick said, putting his arm over Yuri's shoulder. "But, if he's looking to be a champion, he's gonna have to get through me." Everyone started laughing. "What? What did I say?"
"Nick, Yuri's going to have a breeze taking you down," said Natalya.
"YURI!" someone screeched. "YURI! YURI! OH, YURI!"
"Oh no," Patty grumbled. "Just what we needed. Darla Deets."
The daughter of the President of the United States dodged and weaved past other people to reach their table. "I knew it was you!" she said happily, clasping her hands together in excitement. "I said to myself, I know that's him! How are you?"
"Hi, Darla, I'm doing well," Yuri replied politely. "Uh...what are you doing here? Don't tell me you dodged the Secret Service again."
"Pfft, naw. Mom got me a place in Paradiso Prima until the birthday celebration is over." She winked. "She also thinks I'm here getting extra credits for the university I'm going to but how can I pass up the elite Aquarian nightlife? I mean look at this club! It's so fucking gorgeous!"
"Whoa, now, pardon me for wagging my finger but you're the President's daughter," said Tyson. "It's not ladylike of you to be cursing, Darla."
Darla danced around as she laughed. "Oh, pish-posh, Tyson, I'm eighteen years old. I'm an independent woman now, I can curse however much I want...Damn it."
"You've clearly made your point," said Patty, wishing Darla would just go away.
Darla looked at her and smiled mischievously. "Hello, Pammy. Haven't seen you since we bumped into each other in Greece. How've you been?"
"I've been better, can't complain. Uh...don't you have friends who are waiting for you somewhere?"
"Nah, I came here alone. But who's to say we can't all hang out together, huh? I mean...if you can squeeze me in."
"Nonsense, there's plenty of room," Natalya said, scooting down as far as she could, much to Patty's chagrin.
"Thank you. Uh, I haven't had the pleasure. I'm Darla Deets."
"Natalya Darkova."
They shook hands. "And you?" Darla asked.
"Sabrina Albrecht."
They shook hands as well and then Darla took her seat. "Yuri, I hear you've been making waves in the Dueling world. They say you got some new prize card or something. Black Tyranno."
"You bet your ass he's been making waves!" Tyson boasted. "Yuri's beaten two champions this month. And something tells me he's just getting started."
"Really?" Darla said with a squeak in her voice. "Can I see it, Yuri?"
"Uh, sure." Yuri reached into his pocket to search for his deck. He flipped through the cards until he found the Black Tyranno and handed it to Darla.
"Ooooh!" she exclaimed with a high squeaky hoot, examining the card's brilliant royal finish, which made it shine like a rainbow. "He's so pretty, Yuri!"
"Ain't he something?" said Sabrina.
Darla turned the card left and right a few more times with her wrist to admire the prismatic foil and then gave the card back to Yuri. "He sure is," she replied. "So, you guys are all cleaned up. What's the occasion?"
"It's a double birthday," Yuri replied, putting his deck back into his pocket. "Nick and Carter here were born September 12th."
"Aww, how cute!" Darla jeered. "Happy birthday, you guys."
"Thanks," said Carter.
"Well, thanks, Darla," said Nick. "You know...I'm something of an up-and-coming Duelist myself."
"Really?" said Patty. "Because when last I checked, you can't get a win if your miserable life depended on it."
"Oh, I've heard plenty about you, Nick," said Darla. "Hee, hee. Keep it up. I know you'll be on the same level as Crystal Anderson or Randall Lawson one day."
"Hey, really? Thanks for the vote of confidence, Darla. I appreciate it."
Darla was done playing nice and made her move. "So, uh, none of you guys mind if I borrow the birthday boy for a second on the dance floor?"
"Wait a minute," Patty began.
"Sure!" said Tyson. "Come on, Yuri! Show the First Daughter what you've got."
"Yeah, go Yuri!" cheered Natalya.
Patty slammed her fist on the table. "Ugh! Fine! But don't you dare take him anywhere alone! I want him back here in twenty minutes!"
"Oooo!" Darla hooted again, happy to be pushing Patty's buttons. "What's the matter, Pammy?"
Yuri darted out of the table at once before the situation escalated any further. "I won't be gone long. I'll be back in time for the cake."
"Twenty minutes!" Patty commanded, tapping her wristwatch.
"Yuri," said Darla, "kindly let your mom know that you're a grown man and that you don't need babysitting." She grabbed Yuri by the arm and dragged him away.
Patty ground her teeth in her mouth. "Damn, I hate that bitch!"
The twenty minutes went by. Patty gave them another ten minutes to come back. Darla and Yuri still had not returned. Patty lost her patience and went to go look for them at once, pushing Carter and Tyson out of the way with all her might. She searched all over the club but there was no sign of Yuri or Darla. The longer she went on her search, the more furious she got. Where could that girl have taken Yuri? What could they be doing right now? If she made any sort of advancement on her, she swore she would unleash her rage against them. Both of them. She didn't care if the Secret Service took her in the custody or if McRaven from the Montgomery's private security force burst in and showered her with hot lead. She felt a deep rage inside of her and it grew and grew like a fire in a dry forest.
Yes! A voice in her head continued to agitate her with horrible thoughts. Yes, the voice continued. Find them! Unleash your fury against them. How dare Yuri make off with some brat and abandon you and your friends the way he did. Make sure you hurt him. Hurt them both. I command you to!
"No!" Patty shouted, shaking her head. "No, no! Yuri would never...YURI!" she shouted at the top of her lungs over the music.
She continued to shout his name until a young man who heard her cries approached her. "You looking for Yuri?" he asked. "He was with some girl with curly red hair."
"Where did they go?"
"I don't know where Yuri is perse, but the girl he was hanging out with just passed by a second ago."
"Yeah, she went into the bathroom," said the party-goer's girlfriend. "Go down the hall and turn left."
"Thank you!" Patty shouted over the music, now pulsing louder than ever.
She rushed through the red-lit halls until she found the bathroom. She didn't mean to, but she kicked the door open with all her might and stormed in. Darla was standing in front of the mirror applying her makeup under a dark red light in the bathroom with black stalls, black tiled walls, and a black sink. Darla merely giggled as Patty walked towards her.
"Patty," she said. "Damn, sounds like you really have to go."
"Enough with the jokes. Where the fuck is Yuri! Tell me right now or so help me we'll have a party of our own in this bathroom."
Darla mushed her lips together and let them pop. "You care for him a lot huh?"
"I'm not playing around, Darla! Fucking tell me where he is right now!"
Darla rolled her eyes, giggling obnoxiously. "Don't get your panties in a bunch, Pammy. Yuri's fine. He went to the roof to book us our own VIP box. It's for all of you. Nick, Tyson, and the others. It's got a sweet view of the city and ocean. And we get all the drinks we want. And get this. He ordered everyone steaks for dinner. Ain't he a sweetie?"
"He's not for you."
Darla's expression and attitude change fluidly and she turned her head slowly to look at Patty. "What do you mean not for me? Girl, do you know who I am? My mother is the President of the United States. I am one of the best Duelists in the United States as well. My father manufactures state-of-the-art weapons for the army in collaboration with Yuri's father. I think have more right than any girl on this island to have Yuri."
"Stay away from him."
"Or you'll do what? You lay a finger on me, and you'll most likely never see Yuri again. I doubt the Montgomerys are going to want their precious baby boy to want to hang around a jealous hard-boiled bitch who harms the President's daughter. You're already in enough trouble with them as it is."
Patty balled her fists. "Please, Darla. Stay away from Yuri. Please..."
"Oh, now you're saying please. How cute. Sorry, but that's not going to stop me, Pammy. Yuri's mine. And there's nothing you can do to stop me from getting him." She put her things back into her purse and walked past Patty, her heels clip-clapping loudly. She suddenly stopped and snickered. "What made you think you had a chance with him? Is that why you dress the way you do and act the way you do? Do you really think Yuri's going to fall for that? Yuri's a guy who needs a girl with class not a girl with ass."
"I do what I do because I like it!" Patty yelled looking over her shoulder, not wanting to stare Darla in the face. "I'm not trying to woo Yuri into liking me. I've already accepted that he and I can never be. I've made too many mistakes. Heh! But you know something, Darla? The unfortunate truth is neither of us deserves him. Yuri's not a bad boy."
Darla giggled. "He will be when I'm done with him." She pushed the door open and stopped. "Come on. We're celebrating two birthdays tonight. Let's not ruin this amazing night with a pointless rivalry."
"This is no rivalry," Patty said through her teeth as Darla walked out. "This is war." She stormed out of the bathroom and the first thing she saw was Darla giving Yuri a hug in the hallway, Natalya and Sabrina were with him too laughing at the way Darla hugged him. "Yuri!?" she said.
"Patty!" Natalya said. "There you are."
"Hey, we've been looking everywhere for you!" said Sabrina. "You okay? You're sweating."
"I'm fine," said Patty. "I just needed to get away from all this music."
"Well, you're in luck!" Yuri exclaimed. "Guess what. I just booked us a booth on the roof."
Patty swallowed in sorrow. "But...what about the place I booked for us?"
"I'll compensate you, don't worry," said Yuri.
"Come on, you're going to love it!" said Sabrina. "It's got a great view. Tyson, Nick, and the others are already up there. Come on."
Patty would have happily obliged to go, but seeing Yuri accepting Darla wrapping her arms around his torso in such a provocative way bothered her so much. The voice in her head whispered, telling her to jump on the girl and toss her off the balcony. She could not control her rage. She was going to do it. She was fully convinced that she wanted to murder that girl right here, right now.
"Yuri!" Brett Martinetti came strolling towards them arm in arm with Crystal. Behind him, his gang stood, following him like lifeless robots in fancy suits and sunglasses. Why anyone would want to wear sunglasses in this dark nightclub was beyond Yuri. Brett laughed and got closer. "YURI! Seriously? You? And Darla Deets, the President's daughter? Oh, you devil. I didn't think you had it in you." He saw Patty and whispered. "Well, well, well, it's the cheerleader from your Duel with Randall. And what's this? Two more babes at your side! HO-HO! Man! Wow, Yuri, looks like Black Tyranno awakened more than just your inner Duelist. Going on a date with four hot girls into one of the hottest nightclubs in the city? Well done, Yuri, well done. You're finally acting like a man. I'm proud of you, I really am."
Yuri looked around at his friends and then shook his head wildly. "Uh...it's not what it looks like. Hi, Crystal."
"Hey, Yuri."
"You know her?" Darla asked. "Crystal Anderson! How?"
"We grew up together," Crystal said.
"No shit?" said Patty. "So Crystal Anderson was the girl who dragged you to the Duel Dome."
"So you really do know the Queen of Dragons!" said Natalya.
"And Ren Kakihara, too," said Patty. "We ran into him the same night Yuri Dueled that Randall creep."
Darla wasted no time in showing off and slid her arm around Yuri's waist. "So, have you heard Brett? It looks like Yuri beat two of your best students. Yuri's climbing his way to the top now and has a shot of entering that Millennium Tournament. "
Brett scoffed. "We'll see about that. Just because Yuri managed to defeat two has-beens from my little academy, it doesn't mean he's got a shot at the world championship. Even if Yuri did have the skills to enter the games, he still wouldn't go. The little pussy is too scared to fight in front of a large crowd. Ain't that right, Yuri?"
Yuri didn't answer.
"His silence speaks a thousand words, eh boss?" said Santiago.
"That it does," Brett responded with a leer. "Stop acting like you're all big and bad, Yuri. Everyone knows you're too spineless to want to enter the big leagues. Can't say I blame you because I'm aiming to take on Leon for the world championship title. You're afraid of me. Heh, you've always been afraid of me. And you should be. Do yourself a favor and stick to playing with those rejects at the Ruby Dragon. Because that's all you're ever going to get."
"You're wrong!" Crystal snapped. She then bit her lip, realizing she just stuck her nose where it didn't belong.
"Oh, what was that?" Brett asked. "You got something to say, Crystal? No? Then keep your mouth shut!"
"Yes, Brett," Crystal replied, hanging her head in shame.
Brett straightened his tie admiring the power he had over everyone here. "Now that's more like it. All right, boys, let's bounce! Yuri, take care now. Smell ya later, runt."
They passed by. Crystal looked over her shoulder sadly at Yuri, wishing she could stay with him.
"What a creep!" said Darla. "I can't believe you two used to be friends."
"Forget about him!" said Patty. "Yuri. He's wrong, you know. He's wrong about everything."
"No..." Yuri said sadly. "He's right. What was I thinking? Even with victories over Randall and Layla Lovecraft under my belt, I'm nothing like him." He was about to dash away until Patty gripped him by the arm.
"No!" she said. "Not this time! I'm sick and tired of watching you run away! Are you going to prove Brett wrong or are you still going to run away like a little bitch, Yuri!"
"Don't talk to him like that!" snapped Darla.
"You shut up!" Patty yelled back. "Well, Yuri! What's it going to be? Are you finally going to man up? Or are you going to be Aquarius's little flower forever?"
Yuri glared at her. It felt like an eternity before he finally nodded his head. The doubt. The fear. It was there but...it wasn't as strong as it once was. Something inside of him had the urge to prove Brett wrong. "All right. All right. I think it's high time I made some changes."
"That's more like it," said Natalya.
Darla fixed her hair, looked around, and slapped her hands on her side. "All right. I want to help, too. I hate Brett Martinetti as much as the next guy, so count me in."
Yuri smiled. "Thanks, guys."
Down the hall, Brett and his friends sat down in a booth that was enclosed by a red glass cocoon that drowned out the noise from outside. Even though he knew Yuri was filled with much fear, he could sense that it was dying away. Something about him seemed different tonight. Hell, Brett though, his glowing eye seemed to have been shining much brighter than usual.
"I have a feeling Yuri and that new monster of his are going to cause some trouble."
Santiago grimaced at the way Brett said those words. He had a quake in his voice and he was fumbling around with the cork of the wine bottle he tried to open. "Yo, Brett, you okay, man?"
"I'm fine. But I don't want to see Yuri qualifying for the Millennium Tournament. Send the word out Santiago. Send the word out to every low-life, every Duel Gang in the city. Well...any that are left."
"Yeah, I heard some guy with a flaming monster has beaten those guys silly. And then he leaves them for the security forces to arrest," said one of Brett's friends.
"Who do you think it could be?" asked Santiago.
"I don't give a shit who is beating the Duel Gangs," said Brett. "I want Yuri out of the game. Fifty grand. Fifty grand to the one who beats him and takes him out. I want the Black Tyranno and a tooth from his pretty mouth as proof of the victory, got that? A million if they have the balls to get me that glowing eye of his, too."
"No! Leave him alone!" shouted Crystal.
Brett pointed at her. "Say another word, and you'll be losing a tooth, too, precious. Got anything else to say?"
Crystal pursed her lips and shook her head.
"That's a good girl." He squeezed her cheeks and smacked one of them playfully. "Yuri crossed with me once. I made him sorry for it. If he dares try to cross with me again, I'm going to make him wish he was never born."