Patty - McKnight Family Estate, Aquarius
October 17 - Year 18 4AOS
Night time in Aquarius. There was nothing like it. As soon as the sun went down, Patty would stop what she was doing and looked out the window to admire the city. Their windows flashed as if made of gold and the bright neon that festooned them started to turn on so they could light the night and shine with the pretentiousness of those who owned them or lived in them. RAPTOR helicopters soared over a park, on the alert for a gang of pirates that were spotted getting close to the island. Buildings anywhere near the ocean were kept on lockdown and homeowners were asked by MPs to lock their doors and wait for the all-clear.
But in the midst of all the excitement, Patty McKnight was getting ready for bed. Pirate alerts were nothing new for her. Most likely they were just fishermen with AK-47's thinking they could hop aboard, rob a store, and sail away. Not if her father had anything to do about it. Pirate Hunter was one of his silly nicknames. If there's one thing her father hated more than Stowaways, it was pirates. After what happened to Yuri many years ago, she didn't blame him for his prejudice.
Patty was done changing into her pajamas and was at last ready to retire for the night. She needed it, especially after long, grueling hours of geometry homework. She had her messenger bag stuffed with her folders, textbooks, and her laptop, all set for tomorrow's lessons. She was clad in a long, black t-shirt with a glow-in-the-dark splattered heart design.
The song Bette Davis Eyes was playing on her radio. Old music wasn't her thing, but her stepmother had a love for it, and there were a few songs that tickled Patty's fancy, and this song was no exception. She started dancing around, swinging her hips sensually and rotating her arms. Her fun was cut short when Max started acting weird. He scampered about, barking under the windowsill as though someone was out there. Patty looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He had done that for the past ten minutes. Now she was starting to get rather agitated. He was barking so loud she couldn't hear the music.
"What's gotten into you?" she said, picking up the tiny puppy. She looked out the window and saw nothing but the oak tree's branches, rustling in the tropical evening breeze. Patty looked around. Nothing. She tittered and gave the puppy a kiss. "Come on, baby. I think you need a treat."
She held him up, his head and paws rested over her shoulder. Max started whimpering, for he saw a little boy crawling out of the shadows, grinning at the dog as if taunting him for the fact that his barking failed to get Patty to notice him.
The boy stuck his middle finger at the poor puppy who whined helplessly as his master took him down the hall and out of sight. The boy saw his chance and swung into Patty's room. He looked around. Her room smelled sweet and pungent with the aroma of dirty clothes on the floor and hanging from various places. The back of her gaming chair was concealed by t-shirts and a denim jacket. Denim cut-offs and short gym shorts littered the floor along with socks. The boy wore superhero pajamas as if he came out of bed. He found what he was looking for. A leather binder that resembled a dark, tome. It was thick with plastic pages, which meant only one thing. He found her collection of rare cards.
The boy undid the strap and opened the book.
"Ah!" he said greedily.
Cards! Rare cards indeed. Black Luster Soldier, Exarion Universe, Buster Blader, Beast of Talwar, Blade Knight, Imperial Order, Axe of Despair, Obnoxious Celtic Guard, The Fiend Megacyber, and Cosmo Queen to name a few. He got to work at once. He took out an empty deck case and started pulling out all the best and rarest cards he could find. Then he spotted an even greater prize.
There, sitting on gold stands and surrounded by black candles was Patty's Dueling deck. And somewhere in there was the fabled Zera the Mant card he heard so much about. Not to mention the dark dragon Diabolos, King of the Abyss, who scared the pants off the now-disgraced Regional Champion. The boy walked to the deck and as soon as he touched the top card, the image of a hellish orb flashed before his eyes. He gasped in fright, for he heard something scream in his ear.
What in the hell just happened? His finger...it burned. Like he just touched a hot flame. Something was terribly wrong with this room.
He didn't spend too much time on it; for he was here to retrieve something else. He opened the top drawer of her dresser and had no trouble finding what he was looking for. He triumphantly held up a pair of little black panties with a pink lace waistband. "Nice," he said, stuffing them in his pocket. He searched for more until he heard something whisper in his ear.
He gasped and turned around. There was no one there. Now he was getting scared. He hated to think it, but this mansion was probably haunted by an evil spirit. Suddenly, the tales his friends told about Yuri having some sort of demon as an imaginary friend came to thought, and caused his mind to start to play tricks on him. What if the demon called Bakura didn't just hang around Yuri? The wind blew, Patty's curtains flapped eerily in the wind like two phantoms wailing. And then, the lights in Patty's room started to flicker. Sweat poured down the boy's forehead. Coming here, he realized, was a very, very bad idea.
Then, he heard an even more terrifying sound. The sound of the staircase creaking. Oh, great! Not only was there some sort of...ghost in Patty's room, but she was on her way up, too. To hell with it. He snatched one last pair of her underwear, slammed the drawer closed, and jumped out the window, grabbing onto a branch. He didn't care if he fell at this point, he just wanted to get out of that room. Get away from Patty and whatever evil was lurking in her room. Mercifully, he didn't fall. He was safe. He stopped himself from letting out a triumphant call. He heard Patty call something out to her father and shuffled closer to the darkness on the other side of the tree.
He did so just in time. Patty came into the room a few seconds later. "You're only seeing things you little silly," she said to her dog. "Now, let's get some sleep."
Patty didn't see the boy out her window, but Max sure did. He whimpered from her hands, watching as the boy flicked him off again, and waved his master's underwear victoriously as he slid down the tree trunk. He jumped over the wall of the estate and disappeared into the night.
Sam - Phobos Island, Aquarius
Now that the hour was late Sam and his friends were told to unroll their sleeping bags and get ready to go to sleep. The mother of Sam's friend, Gordon, was making them popcorn so they could watch one more movie and fall asleep. The window to Gordon's room opened and he swung inside. It was the thief who entered Patty's house.
"Ha! I did it!" he said, holding up both the cards and the underwear he swiped from Patty. His friends all gasped in amazement and cheered for him. The boy bowed.
"Hold on, lemme see," Sam said pushing his buddies out of the way. He examined the catch and nodded. "Good job, Kenny. They don't call you The Gleeper for nothing." He paid him the ten dollars he owned him.
"Pleasure doing business with you," Kenny said, resting on the couch. "Alright, Sam. It's your turn. Truth or dare?"
Sam pondered this for a moment. "I dunno." He rubbed his chin and kept on thinking. "I'm a good sport. Dare."
"Dare, huh?" Gordon said, rubbing his hands together. "Okay, Sam. I dare you to challenge Yuri to a Duel tomorrow!"
"WHOA!" the boys cried out all at once.
Sam bobbed his head confidently. "All right. I accept that challenge. But I'll do it only with the cards Kenny swiped from Patty."
"What about the cards?" asked another boy named Gizmo. "What did you get?"
Kenny took the deck case out of his pocket and tossed it at Sam. "She was coming upstairs so I didn't have time to get much. But these will fetch an excellent price."
Sam examined those too. "What!? None of these are from her deck! Where's Zera the Mant? Dark Ruler Ha Des? Diabolos? I wanted those."
Kenny didn't appreciate his tone. "I told you, I couldn't get anywhere near her deck. Something about her room seemed really weird. It feels like she collects souls or something, I dunno. Patty's hot, but she's one eerie girl."
"She sure is," said a boy named AJ, reading a book. He was already in his sleeping bag. "I saw her in the park the other day as she was walking her dog. She was holding up her Zera the Mant card. She was...talking to it. I swear she even kissed it."
"I wish I was that card, man," Sam said, getting into his sleeping bag. "Speaking of cards, these aren't too bad. I think I'll use them tomorrow against Yuri."
"No way!" said Gizmo. "You're going to challenge Yuri to a Duel? What about that Black Tyranno, man? That thing has some serious power."
Sam waved it off like it was nothing. "I got some other cards yesterday. I saved up enough money to buy a booster box. I picked up a lot of rare cards from that set. Now my deck is pimped out with secrets, ultras, and even an ultimate rare. Yuri doesn't stand a chance against me."
"You sure about that?" AJ asked. "That guy is just full of surprises."
Sam scoffed. "So he's got one rare card. Big deal. How hard can Yuri be to beat? It's not like he trains in his sleep, right?"
Maybe not, they concluded. After a few hours of playing video games and watching movies, they fell asleep. But it would be a long night for them. Kenny found himself being tormented by monstrous nightmares the whole night. He screamed, pleading that whatever it was in his head would leave him alone. And before his friends could comfort him, Kenny screamed like a banshee and ran out of Sam's house disappearing into the night with only the sounds of his madness echoing in the darkness.
Yuri - ?
The Prince of Aquarius sighed as he leaned against a guardrail, rusted by the salty ocean air. He heard a bouey rining out in the dark ocean waves, crashing against the walls of the giant floating city. From where he was, he saw the Phobos Towers glimmering at the center of the island. It just stood there Like a middle finger from his destiny. To think that one day he would be up there one day, running both the game of Duel Monsters and this entire city and the company his father so loved.
He took his deck out of his pocket and stared at the Black Tyranno card at the bottom. He tilted his cards back and forth so the moonlight could shimmer on the Black Tyranno's strange rising image. The golden letters above the artwork flashed beautifully.
"Yuri," Crystal cried out from the other end of the boardwalk. She hurried towards him. Yuri watched as she approached. From the white blouse, black tie, and red plaid skirt she wore, he guessed she had just came back from school. Her backpack jingled and the contents inside smashed together dangerously. "What are you doing here?" she asked, bumping her hip against the side of his stomach.
"Oh, just thinking," Yuri replied.
"About what?"
Yuri grinned and shook his head, stuffing his deck back in his pocket. "Don't worry about it. It's no big deal. What are you doing here? Working late again?"
Crystal laughed. "Yeah, I've been hitting the books and doing some afterschool activities. I am class president in the academy, you know. Busy, busy, busy."
"Why so late?"
"Me and the student council have been discussing programs for Stowaways to take advantage of. You know, making it easier and affordable to come to our school. Hopefully, with a chance at an education, they can stay off the streets and avoid those bastards the Atlantic Kings or Los Locos del Mar. I'm surprised RAPTOR hasn't hunted them all down."
"They're slippery bastards," Yuri said. "Shouldn't you be heading home?"
"I'm in no mood to go back there. Brett and his boys are having another party and I don't want to be around for that. But while you're here, why don't we go and do something together?"
"I mean, if you want," Yuri said with a grin. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to get a hot dog. Lots of stuff on it. And then, I want to take off my shoes and walk on the beach with you. Like we used to do when we were younger."
Yuri nodded. "Sure, I'd love to do that. I'll buy. My treat."
They traveled further down the boardwalk until they found a vendor truck with the words Aquarian Footlongs written in red neon above the window. Yuri and Crystal ordered two footlongs and had them drowned in all sorts of things like relish, onions, cheese, chili and such. And a coke to wash them down. The two walked down stone steps to the beach and removed their shoes and socks. It proved a difficult thing to do with one hand, so Yuri had to hold Crystal's hot dog while she freed her legs from the confines of the black, leg-length socks she wore. Yuri gave Crystal his hot dog, while he took off his shoes and rolled his torn jeans up.
"This sure brings back memories," Yuri chuckled as they walked down the beach. They only had the light of the moon and the city across the water to illuminate the dark. Phobos Tower was in his sights again. Yuri tried his best to look away from it. He didn't want to bear such a heavy responsibility. His siblings were allowed to leave and do their own thing. He nervously bit into his hot dog. His teeth dug through a thick, messy, layer of chili that got all over his mouth.
"Aw, shit!"
Crystal laughed. "You little piggy!" she teased.
"I need a napkin!"
"Oh, come on, it's not that much."
"Are you sure?"
Crystal had that glimmer in her eye. She leaned forward and licked the chili off his face. She then licked her lips and wiped her mouth with her tie.
"What did you do that for?" Yuri asked, rooted to the spot where he stood.
Crystal shrugged. "I dunno. You...you look different...from when I last saw you."
"And that means what?"
Crystal bit her lips and hissed through her teeth. "Nothing." Her facial expression changed when she heard someone walking behind them. "Who?" she said, turning.
A figure walked out of a mysterious cloud of fog. And by mysterious, I mean that it wasn't supposed to be there. These conditions were not right for fog. It just came out of nowhere as if commanded by the will of the person coming out of it. He was clad in a tattered brown cloak over red and white clothing. What stood out the most was his red cap. It covered his eyes in shadow. Without a single word, he held out his Duel Disk from underneath his cloak and activated it.
"I think he wants to Duel," said Cyrstal.
"I guess he does."
"Here." Crystal took off her backpack. "I bought myself one last night." She opened her backpack to reveal a Duel Disk.
Yuri leaned forward to get a better view of the machine. "Sweet!"
Crystal slapped the Duel Disk around Yuri's wrist. At once, Yuri took his deck out of his jacket and put it in the drive recognizer. The Duel Disk lit up and extended to make the blade for Yuri to put his cards on.
The Red Duelist nodded his head. "You first," he said.
"So he speaks," Yuri muttered. He drew his card. "I summon Uraby in attack mode! Then set two cards face-down."
"Ooo," hotted Crystal. "Look at the detail on that monster. These new holograms are something else, huh Yuri?"
"They sure are," Yuri replied. "The Duel Disk is even producing the creature's odor. How? I don't know, but color me impressed."
Crystal's face creased in unpleasantness. "I wish it didn't have to be that immersive. That thing smells like a swamp."
"Your turn!" Yuri said to his opponent.
The Red Duelist drew. He didn't a thing, as he activated the effect of his monster. He discarded a dinosaur to special summon a creature from Yuri's worst nightmares.
Two-Headed Kaiser Rex
ATK/2400 DEF/1800
LV 7
Yuri felt as though all the air in him escaped with one powerful gasp. He couldn't believe it! It had to be another nightmare. There was no way!
"Yuri, what's wrong?" Crystal said.
"That...that... monster! It's the monster from my dream."
And just like his dream, Two-Headed Kaiser Rex gained 200 ATK for every dinosaur on the field and in the Graveyard. Himself, Uraby, plus the dinosaur he discarded was 600 points, raising Two-Headed Kaiser Rex's attack to 3000. But it got worse. The effects of its second head activated. The head reared up and opened its mouth, releasing a violet energy beam that decreased Uraby's attack by 1000. Then, thanks to its two heads, it could attack twice.
"Yuri!" Crystal cried out. "That thing is too powerful."
"You don't know the half of it," Yuri whispered. "There's more." He looked nervously at his face-down cards. Hopefully, they could stall Two-Headed Kaiser Rex long enough until he got what he needed to defeat it. Yuri prayed that taking this thing down wouldn't require him using his best cards.
It felt like an eternity before the Red Duelist held out his hand, silently commanding his Two-headed Kaiser Rex to attack Uraby. Yuri activated his Trap Card, Shadow Spell, which could stop his monster and decrease its attack by 700 points. It worked! The chains slithered out of the sand and wrapped themselves around Two-Headed Kaiser Rex. The creature couldn't move, no matter how much it struggled.
Patty breathed a heavy sigh of relief and placed her hand on her chest. "Wow, that was close."
The Red Duelist set a card face-down and ended his turn.
"My turn!" Yuri declared. "I activate the spell, Raigeki! This will destroy your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex!"
The Red Duelist smiled and held up a card. Yuri felt as though someone dropped an anchor in his heart when he saw it. Regaliazowler. The dinosaur, who could negate the effects of cards that effected dinosaurs.
At once, the improved version of Megazowler came charging from behind the Red Duelist. Like his dream, it was white with gold tiger striped down its body. The elongated frill was broad, tall, and adorned with golden spikes and the horns on its head also shined bright gold. Growing out of its shoulders were golden blades resembling crescent swords with scrollwork inlaid with platinum. The white ax-blade on its nose shimmered in the moonlight. It's bright-green eyes flashed. Yuri knew what that meant.
Regaliazowler summoned an arcane aegis of white with animated glyphs and arcane circles spinning around in its design. The Raigeki spell smashed against the barrier and was gone.
"No matter," said Yuri. "My Shadow Spell has weakened your Two-Headed Kaiser Rex. And now I call upon Black Dragon Jungle King!"
Crystal stood back behind Yuri once his monster was rendered. But it was different. It was bigger, meaner, and its spikes were longer and glowing neon green. Its head was crowned with three long spikes and it didn't have the mandibles it had before, but a large mouth filled with sharp teeth.
"Yuri," said Crystal. "That doesn't look like Black Dragon Jungle King."
"No. He is. But this is an alternate card art made by Monster Energy. They offered me a sweet deal and this card if I advertised their products. Isn't he cool?"
"Yeah, he is. Good on you. But even with the Shadow Spell, Two-Headed Kaiser Rex is still stronger than he is."
"Not for long," Yuri said holding up a card. "I use the spell, United We Stand, which increases my Jungle King's attack by eight-hundred for each monster on my field. Together with my Uraby, that's sixteen-hundred extra points."
"Nice!" Crystal said clinging to his shoulder.
Black Dragon Jungle King's attack increased to 3700. He went for the attack. The Monster Energy Black Dragon Jungle King fired a jet of acid-green flames. But Two-Headed Kaiser Rex roared at the moon, calling something to aid him in battle/
"NO!" cried Yuri. He remembered the dream.
BOOM! The ground exploded and out came a dinosaur with sleek, metallic gray skin and glowing blue stripes. The beautiful spikes, the trident tail. It was him. Noble Swords of Dragon. If the monster that attacked it failed to destroy it, then it got destroyed instead. He smiled. Black Dragon Jungle King was far stronger than the dinosaur's 3000 DEF points, so there was no chance of that happening. He was relieved until he saw the face-down card rise to reveal a spell.
Shrink.
No! That card cut an attack monster's ATK points in half!
Noble Swords of Dragon held up its tail and created a beautifully designed glyph that stopped the green flames and sent it back to Black Dragon Jungle King, destroying it. Yuri lost 1150 points of damage, bringing him down to 850 Life Points. All Yuri could do now was watch in horror as the Duelist in red launched an all-out assault on him.
Good Dueling...I'll see you again...
October 18 - Year 18 4AOS
Yuri writhed in bed as though he were a beast caught in a net. He removed his shirt as quickly as he could and examined his chest. He was fine. There was no puncture wound on it, nor was there blood coming out. Just a burning sensation where Two-Headed Kaiser Rex struck him. He breathed heavily.
An hour later, he packed up and headed for school. The day was long and rather droll, but there were extra security guards outside; for the city was still on alert for the sightings of pirates. When the day ended, Yuri headed out and spotted none other than Ren, sitting on the fountain in the school's courtyard. There was a group of girls surrounding him, asking him for his autograph and begging to go out with him. A RAPTOR F-15 Eagle soared over the school.
"Ren," Yuri said. "What are you doing here?"
Ren told the girls he had to go. The awwed sadly and watched him leave, getting up to talk to Yuri. "Your mom and dad asked me to pick you up and take you home. They don't want you out and about with all these pirate sightings going on. It's the real deal this time. RAPTOR just shot a boat of them near Mobius Island a few minutes ago."
"You serious?" Yuri asked. He looked at the sky. "I guess that explains why the Aquarius sent their fighters up. How hard can it be to find a boatload of pirates?"
Ren looked to the sky as well, searching for the plane. "Well, there's a rumor going around that they've already infiltrated the city. You need to come with me, now. I don't need to remind you why your parents want you back home so badly."
"I wonder why they didn't ask Bill or McRaven to come to get me," Yuri wondered.
Ren chuckled. "Would you have listened to them? You have a history of dodging your security detail, Yuri."
Patty came running out of the school when she saw Ren. "Yuri! Ren! Hey guys!" she called out. "Did you hear they killed some pirates off the coast of Mobius Island?"
"I heard," Yuri replied. "Pretty crazy, huh?"
Patty fixed her hair when she saw Ren. "Hey," she said.
"Well, hello there," Ren answered rather suave. "You made quite a name for yourself, little lady. I heard how your monsters scared the shit out of Randall in your Duel."
Patty laughed. "He couldn't even touch my Life Points. How a poser like him became Regional Champion is beside me. I guess anyone could have beaten him in Duel."
Yuri sighed. "Gee, really? Way to undermine my victory, Patty."
She put her arm over Yuri's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, little guy. What you did to him in your Duel was pretty kick-ass. So, where are you guys headed off to?"
"Yuri's place," Ren answered. "His parents requested that I take him home."
Patty's face twitched with disappointment. "Bummer. I was hoping we could head to Sergei's a play a little. But this is a big emergency after all."
Ren rubbed his chin. "Actually, I think going to Sergei's shop would be the best choice of action. He's in the center of Phobos Island. It's deep in the center of town, heavily guarded by RAPTOR, and we can all be together and safe from harm. Plus, we can be stuck there until the emergency is over. Yuri, why don't you give them a call and let them know. If you're under Sergei's watch, Jacob will definitely let you go."
Yuri his phone out and dialed his father's number. "Here goes nothing,' he said. He walked away from his friends as soon as his father answered. Yuri walked back and forth, trying to explain things to him. Moments later, he started smiling and chuckling. "Thanks, Dad. Okay, I will. I love you, too. See ya." He hung up and pocketed his phone. "All right, Ruby Dragon Gaming it is. Patty, didn't you just become one of Sergei's diner girls?"
"Oh..." Patty froze. "You heard about that."
"Uh, duh? You only posted half a dozen photos of yourself in that uniform the other day."
"Really?" Ren said curiously. "You have an Instagram, Patty? Mind if I follow you?"
Patty shrugged. "Not at all. What you see in there is what you get. If you want lewds, you need to go to my off site accounts."
Ren raised an eyebrow, intrigued by what he just heard. "Oh, lewds, huh?"
"Uh-huh. Check it out. I just posted some sets of me in a Dark Magician Girl cosplay. And later this month, my new partner and I are doing shots together as the Gemini Elf."
"What?" Yuri croaked. "You're already posting lewd photos of yourself? Patty you just turned eighteen."
She shrugged again. "Yeah, I know. I ain't wasting no time. Come on, I'm at the legal age to drink around here. If I wanna show my ass off, fucking let me. Besides, I worked hard on this bitch. Do you know all the working out I had to do and the diet I had to endure to get my peach the way it is? I'm not going to do it justice by hiding it all the time. I'm an adult, my dude."
Ren gave her a high five. "I love your way of thinking, Patty. Damn, you're rebellious."
Yuri did no approve. "Yeah, that's how it starts. And the next thing you know, you're selling your bathwater."
Patty and Ren started laughing at him. Yuri felt his insides getting cold. He shook his head and walked off. "Fuck me," Yuri said walking around.
Patty rolled her eyes and laughed. "There he goes, our over-sensitive little flower at it again. Come on, Yuri, let me live a little. And it's good money."
"Fuck you!" he said, his blood boiling. He still kept on walking.
Patty frowned and stepped forward after him. "Don't talk to me that way, Yuri Montgomery! I can't help it if you've always got a dildo up your ass all the time." Yuri ignored her and walked off, leaving them behind. "Come on, Yuri. Lighten up will you?"
Yuri kept on walking. "Whatever. I'm going home. You do whatever you want. Slut."
Patty's eyes widened. She covered her mouth with her hands. Ren saw the tears of hurt in her eyes and chased after him. "Yuri!" he snapped. "That's no way to talk to Patty." Yuri didn't listen and kept on walking. "STOP!" he shouted. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
Yuri stopped and turned to see his friends. Patty had her arms crossed over her chest and her back towards him. She didn't want to see him. Ren felt he had to do something. Patty was right. Yuri was way too sensitive. He wasn't about to let that ruin their friendship.
"Look, can we all just calm down?" he said. "Patty, Yuri didn't mean what he said. He regurgitates a lot of shit when he feels angry or confused."
"Confused?" Patty asked, looking over her shoulder. "Confused about what? What's so confusing about a girl doing some raunchy cosplay? I'm still his friend no matter what. I don't see why that has to change anything?" A tear went down her cheek and she sniffled. "He's been acting this way all year. I can't walk into a nightclub or a bar without him freaking out and getting angry at me. I hate it when he gets angry with me." She sobbed, her shoulders started quivering.
Ren patted her shoulder. "When I say confused, it's because Yuri hasn't fully comprehended that you're an adult now. Some people have different ways of growing up. You sure did, Yuri. Growing up with you was an emotional roller coaster. Or have you forgotten all the shit you did to those people when you were young? You were a monster, man. But Patty never left your side or abandoned you. You two have been together since you were little kids I take it."
"He was my first friend," sniffed Patty. "My only friend."
"You two have done a lot together, huh?"
"Yeah," they both answered.
Ren looked at Yuri. "Yuri," he said, "Apologize to Patty right now."
"I...I'm sorry, Patty."
Patty scoffed. "I love you, Yuri. But call me a slut one more time and I'm never speaking to you again."
"I'm sorry," Yuri said approaching her. "Friends?"
Patty turned and hugged him. "Friends," she said replied. Ren clapped until he heard a loud thud and Yuri groaning in agony. He was bent forward and rubbing his stomach. It didn't take long for Ren to realize that Patty had punched him in the stomach. She left, but not before giving Yuri a kiss on the cheek. "Come on," she said. "The Ruby Dragon awaits."
"Okay," Yuri croaked. "I deserve that."
Ren wasn't the only one in the city who thought taking refuge at the Ruby Dragon was a good idea. All three floors of the shop were filled to capacity, as was the diner downstairs. There was hardly anyone at the register, most people came to hunker down and be with friends and Duel than to shop. Patty removed her blazer, for it was getting awfully hot, and wrapped it around her waist.
Sam saw them from his table. He was about to call them over until his friend yanked his hand down.
"Any word on Kenny?" his friend Gordon asked.
Sam's grin faded as soon as the question popped up, killing all the joy he had as though it were a balloon popped like a needle. "No," he said. "Has anyone heard from him?"
"No," said his friends.
"His parents called the police. They were up all night trying to find him. Kenny just disappeared."
His friend A.J gulped. "Remember what he said about all that creepy stuff in Patty's room? What if all those rumors about her and Yuri are right? What if there is some kind of monster around them? What if that's what made Kenny go crazy last night?"
"You think the monster..." Gordon gasped, placing both hands on his cheeks. "Oh my God! It killed Kenny! That bastard!"
"Look, I'm sure he'll turn up," said Sam. "Ghosts. Ha! The idea."
"Whatever, man," AJ said, leaving the table. "I'm steering clear of that girl. She's all kinds of weird." He picked up his backpack and left, disappearing into the crowd as if wanting to avoid being seen by Patty and the fell presence that lingered over her.
Sam said: "Whatever," and he, too, got up from his table to greet Patty and Yuri. "Yuri, my man. Glad you to see you here." He looked at Patty and winked. "Hey, babe."
Patty rolled her eyes. "Hello, Sam."
"And is this Ren Kakihara?" Sam said, shaking Ren's hand. "My goodness. It's a real pleasure to meet you. Actually, it's kind of cool that you're here, really. Today is the day I become famous."
Ren laughed and ruffled the boy's hair. "Famous? What's going on today, hotshot? Win something big?"
"Not yet," Sam said, looking at Yuri. "Today is the day I beat Yuri and make a name for myself."
Patty burst out laughing. "You? Beat Yuri? Boy, have you got your beanie screwed on a little too tight. Have you not seen what happened to the other guys who decided to take on Yuri? Randall Lawson? Floyd from Phobos Academy? What the hell makes you think you have a chance?"
Sam's friend Gordon walked toward them to defend his friend. "Shut up, you. Sam's one of the toughest Duelists in our school. He might turn into one of our own schools Duel Kings."
Yuri laughed. "Duel Kings. Oh, man, looks like every school in Aquarius has one But, okay, 'Duel King', I'll play against you."
"You think that's funny?" said Sam's friend, Gizmo - what an odd nickname for a boy. "You shouldn't laugh. You may have beaten Randall, but that doesn't change the fact Sam has more victories than you. He's better in every way, shape, and form. You, on the other hand, got lucky."
Patty scoffed. "Yuri, I can't wait for you to prove these little bastards wrong. Beat him, will you?"
They found a vacant table and began the game.
"I'll let you go first," said Sam. "Consider it courtesy of a future Duel King."
Patty sniggered behind her hand. O' the joys of being a child. It was just like watching a Saturday morning cartoon. Ren stood over Yuri and examined the cards in his hands. He nodded, keeping the contents of the hand to himself. They were good cards, many of them were shiny. He's been opening packs it seems. Now, it was time to see if Yuri could use them.
Yuri smiled back at Sam. He was amazed to see him so confident playing the game. Confident enough in his schools to brag about them to Patty. Before, when he first taught Sam the basics of the game, he would lose his cool and cry if he lost even one monster in battle. When Nick played him, he ran away crying because he was so frightened he would lose.
Now, it seems like he surpassed Nick. And even him. Gone was the scared little boy he used to know. Now, sitting in front of him, was a Duelist ready to take him down.
LP 4000
"Okay," said Yuri. "I draw. I summon Two-Headed Kaiser -ahem- King Rex in attack mode!" Yuri turned his head to look at the monster appearing in 3D on the Duel Screen. To think that there was probably a far stronger version of him out there. He remembered the Two-Headed Kaiser Rex from his dreams. The power he had. How easy it was to summon it. For a moment, Yuri wished the normal Two-Headed King Rex he just summoned was the alternative form he used against Yami and Yugi when they Dueled. Sam would be trembling in his boots right now if that were the case.
"Is that the best you got?" said Sam. "A two-headed Barney the Dinosaur? Man, where's the Yuri that fought against Lawson? Is he home? Cuz I wanna face him. No matter. I play the spell, Double Summon. This will let me perform two normal summons this turn."
His friends cheered and crowded around him to see his cards.
"Watch this, you guys. I summon Little Chimera and the Ultimate Baseball Kid! Now don't let their appearance fool you, Yuri. These guys have some very nasty effects. First, Little Chimera looks like a mere cat with wings, but when it's out on the field, all Fire-Attribute monsters gain five hundred attack points. So now my Ultimate Baseball Kid is at fifteen-hundred and Little Chimera is at eleven-hundred. But the fun doesn't stop there, Yuri. Ultimate Baseball Kids gains additional one-thousand attack points for each Fire Attribute monster on the field. So that's two-thousand points, raising Ultimate Baseball Kid to thirty-five hundred."
"Oh my God!" Patty gasped.
"Ha!" laughed Gizmo. "That shut her up for good."
Sam looked around at his friends. "But I'm not done there, you guys. I activate the field spell, Molten Destruction. This card will increase the attack of my Fire monsters by five hundred points. Now, Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack increases to four-thousand!"
Ren whistled. "Impressive."
Sam saw the disgruntled look on Yuri's face and laughed. With this one attack, Yuri's Life Points would be terribly devastated. He then saw Patty, nervously biting her lip as she had her eyes to the field. He admired how cute she looked when she was nervous, especially when Yuri was so close to losing a match. The way her eyes sparkled and her face blushed pink like the highlights in her hair. She was so gorgeous. He peered down her chest, eyebrows bouncing up when he saw the blouse of her school uniform was opened to let some air in her chest. he could make out her lacy black bra and her cleavage exposed for all to see. He went warm on the inside, knowing that he had something of hers that was rather personal back in his room. Patty leaned toward Yuri and placed a hand on his shoulder. This, sam did not tolerate. He stopped staring at his crush and ordered his powered-up Baseball Kid to begin its onslaught.
"Attack his Two-Headed King Rex!" shouted Sam.
Ultimate Baseball Kid summoned a ball of fire which he smacked with his baseball bat. It hit Two-Headed King Rex in the chest, blasting it to pieces. Yuri's Life Points plummeted to 1600.
Sam laughed while his friends cheered around him. Patty grimaced at the sight. The hand she had on Yuri's shoulder tightened into a fist. The glittery stars on her fingernails shimmered under the light of their table. Ren was also quiet. He stunned silence brought much joy to Sam. It made him proud to see players far older than he was trembling at his skills. None more than Patty - not just because he had a crush on her - but because her confidence in Yuri annoyed him. Deep down, Sam held a fear that she loved Yuri. She saw how much she touched him, hugged him, even kissed him on the cheek. Maybe, he thought, just maybe, she would be drawn to him with this victory. Why wouldn't she? Patty loved it when players put down powerful cards and turned the game around. Skill was the key that turned her on.
San grinned. "You might as well quit now, Yuri. Not even your Black Tyranno can stand up to my Ultimate Baseball Kid."
Yuri tapped his finger on the table. He was in quite a predicament. "Hmm," he said. He had to think of something. Compared to what he had to face against last night, that Ultimate Baseball Kid should be easy. But, he supposed it was because of the powers of those otherworldly monsters. If only he had them. Could accepting the fact that he was some king from another world allow him to gain such power?
"Are you gonna move or what?" Sam urged him impatiently.
"He can't," teased Gordon. He's too scared to move. You've got him on the ropes and there's nothing he can do to get out."
Patty looked at Yuri. She was nervously biting her lower lip. She had too much pride in Yuri to see him lose to a younger player. Even worse when that player was Sam. If he beat Yuri and became one of his school's Duel Kings, there was going to be no end of it from them.
Yuri knew this, too, and drew. Heart of the cards. I hope you're right, Yami. "I summon Black Tyranno!"
Patty jumped with excitement and placed grabbed Yuri's arm. "Come on."
The sight of Patty embracing another man infuriated Sam. "You know, Patty, every king needs a queen."
Patty stood up and placed both hands on her hips. "Suggest such a thing, and not only will I pulverize you and toss your cards in the ocean, but I'll stop talking to you. Understand!? Enough is enough!"
Sam held up his hands. "Okay, okay. Whatever. Yuri, it's your move."
Ren placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her. "Being a true Duelist is more than just having the coolest and strongest cards, Sam. You need to play with honor and respect. And, if the time calls, you need to be a gentleman."
Sam gave a wave of his hand, showing that he did not care for what Ren had to say. Yuri grew tired of the boy's effrontery. It had gone on long enough, and he did not survive countless Duels against a master player just to lose to this snot-nosed brat.
Yuri didn't know why he would ever call such a child his friend. Not after everything he did. Everything he said. He gets good and now thinks he can trash talk and belittle him and his friends as though he was already one of those stupid Duel Kings?
No. Patty was right. Enough was enough. Sam needed to be taught a lesson, and, thankfully, he had just the cards he needed to do so. First, he activated a spell known as Riryoku. It cut the attack of Sam's Ultimate Baseball Kid in half. Then, those points were transferred to Black Tyranno. Now his attack was 4600. he attacked Ultimate Baseball Kid, dealing 2600 points of damage to Sam.
His mouth fell agape. His Life Points quickly dropped to 1400. Yuri was in the lead. Patty couldn't help but start laughing at what just happened. It was incredible! Yuri, quite possibly one of the worst Duelists she had ever seen, had defeated a monster that had 4000 ATK points. And he did so with ease. So easily. Sam was still in shock over what happened. He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. His friends were also silent, wondering how in the world Sam's 'unbeatable' Baseball combo could have been taken out like it was nothing?
Yuri set two cards and ended his turn. The effects of Riryouku ended and his ATK returned to 2600.
Sam was not about to let Yuri get away with that. He wanted to be one of the school's Duel Kings and he wasn't about to give up now. He summoned...Nope. Yuri activated Torrential Tribute. It was an ultra-rare Trap Card that wiped the field when a monster was summoned. Then, Yuri activated another trap. Call of the Haunted. Black Tyranno returned to the field, ready to strike. Sam could take it no more. He slammed his fist on the table, gathered his cards, and stormed away.
Gizmo went after him, then stopped to look at Yuri. "Bad draw," he said. "You got lucky this time, Yuri. Next time, your ass is getting kicked." He followed after Sam, who went to play with the other kids his age.
Patty gave Yuri a long kiss on the cheek. "Way to go, baby! I knew you could do it!"
"Okay, okay, okay," Yuri said. "But another kiss like that, and I just might wind up in the hospital."
Ren laughed, giving Yuri a friendly slap on the shoulder. "Good cards, Yuri. I calculated that Sam was going to lose the moment I saw your opening hand."
"Uh, thanks, I guess. Who's up for some grub? Man, I'm starving."
Patty giggled. She was so close to Yuri that it tickled his neck. "Always thinking with your tummy, little prince?" she teased. "Come on, I'm buying you something. My treat."