Katina, Kingdom of Magicians
Hexacruz was the name of the province that unfortunately bordered Naralia. It was a vast wilderness with a few towns dotting the map here and there. The fields were mostly home to wheat and milk farmers and herders of cattle. Watchtowers were built in the mountains, more were erected as the war with Naralia escalated. Hexacruz was Katina's last line of defense and was constantly assaulted by King Forrest's troops.
For as long as she could remember, the little farm girl woke up to armies marching by. Every night before going to sleep, she heard her father and his brothers discussing the war, the Alliance, and the Summoner of Dragons. Hearing stories about her gave the little farm girl hope. Ever since the Summoner's stories started being told in the town nearby, she noticed Naralian troops were getting scarcer and scarcer.
She made a small living selling flowers and jugs of milk to the people of the town and used their gossip to keep herself updated with the news going on around Termnnia. Most days she would find herself quivering with fear because of the rumors and stories about the war. The garrison of Black Luster Soldiers was large, but the little farm girl knew the Naralian army was larger.
As skilled as the Black Luster Soldiers were, she knew they wouldn't stand a chance against an invading force. A few months ago, she heard rumors that a large army of Naralians was gathering near the border. Some people even packed their things into their wagons and fled because of this news.
But these days, she saw the townsfolk laughing and telling jokes about the terrible defeats the Princes and Princesses of the Termnnian Alliance were giving to Forrest. The bards even sang songs about Lady Avi's battle against Forrest in the fields of the Emerald Marches.
This morning, however, proved different. As she was milking the cows, she heard the ground rumbling. The milk in her pail rippled as if quaking in fear. She got up and ran to see what was happening.
The Naralians. They were here.
They crossed unchallenged through the Dorian Pass and could be seen washing the fields with their orange, brown, and gold banners and armor. The little farm girl heard their war horns bellowing in the morning mist. She saw a small blotch of black and gold, which was the small army of Black Luster Soldiers gathering around the mysterious tower that was built months ago by the river.
She had seen armies marching through the fields but never before had a battle been waged in the fields below the hills where her father's farm was perched. She held her breath. No battle would be seen here today. Today, she was going to witness a massacre.
The last remnants of House Keith's mechanical army marched from the army of Naralian troops toward the tower. It stood a hundred feet over the plains with colored glass windows dotting the walls here and there. Embattled banners with all the colors of the rainbow trimmed in gold thread hung from the walls, covering the left and right half of the tower. Two long rows of the same banners waved in the morning breeze on either side of the white-stone path leading to it.
The tower stood majestically in front of the Rainbow Dragon Mountains, so-called for their multi-colored rocks, which painted the range in red, yellow, green, rusty brown, and turquoise.
It was also said to house the legendary Rainbow Dragon, but no one has been able to prove that.
The Robotic Knights, Saber Slashers, and swarms of their new Machina monsters stopped. As soon as they did, the doors burst open.
Their quarry revealed himself out of arrogance and...boredom. A young man in a stylish red high-collar swallowtail trench coat, red slacks, black party shoes tipped with gold heads depicting the great Lynx of his House, and a red and black top hat adorned with a rose sprinkled with gold dust. He wore round, purple-lensed spectacles with gold and silver trim. Underneath his trench coat was a chestplate of platinum steel emblazoned with leafy ornamentation and the head of a roaring Lynx near his neck.
He was Prince Ryon Augustus Balor. Otherwise known as The Prince of Many Colors.
Once more the foolish Naralians thought they could conquer his lands with their strange machinery and large numbers. He had no problem with it. He cracked his knuckles. As soon as he did, the army of robotic Duel Monsters began to attack. Saber Slashers charged in first, raising their sawed crescent twin-blades. As they approached, Ryon took some purple-colored plant out of a silver box in his coat. He rolled it into a paper, licked it shut, then snapped his fingers to light his thumb in blue fire. He lit the plant and smoked it. The prince bobbed his head up and down as the world around him turned bright and the colors were enhanced.
The Saber Slashers were getting close, however, Ryon calculated he had time to get his phone out of his pocket and place the music pods in his ears, covered under long, curly reddish-brown hair. He searched through his library of songs until he found just the right one to prepare him for battle.
Once he was prepped and ready, he stood up straight then held his arms up. The sleeves of his coat dematerialized to exhibit his toned arms. Iridescent runes covered his flesh and then multi-colored flames burst over his palms, creating bright hues. A crown of red, blue, and green flames formed on his brown. His eyes started glowing and he grinned.
The Saber Slashers were within striking distance. Ryon released a wall of rainbow flames that zoomed over a hundred meters across the battlefield, burning the robots in front of him. To the shock of the human soldiers, he was dancing to the music.
The little farm girl gasped. Never before had she seen such power. She was frightened, yet, awestruck. The stunning colors of the fire Ryon conjured, and his elegant aegises and glyphs he conjured to protect himself were like a work of art. He seemed like an artist painting the battlefield in so many bright and beautiful colors. As Ryon decimated the mechanical army, the Black Luster Soldiers stood still on the sidelines and watched. The little farm girl could not believe what she was seeing. Was the sorcerer in front of them so skilled that they didn't even need to lift a finger to help him fight?
Robotic Knights charged him as he spun around, but they were swallowed by four twisters of fire, colored red, blue, purple, and green. When the tornados dispersed, all that remained of the robots were blue embers fluttering in the breeze.
Ryon manipulated the flames in his palms to become fiery twin swords. He hacked and slashed through the army of robots, big, small, it didn't matter their size. Ryon was too strong and too high to even care about them anymore. Destroying a small army to him was like a little exercise.
A Robotic Knight tried to strike him from behind, but he spun around creating a flaming cloak that knocked him away.
Ryon stopped. Even though he could hear nothing but the music blasting in his ears, he knew that something was wrong. He felt the ground trembling beneath him. The pebbles were bouncing up and down as if trying to warn him of the coming danger. Ryon peered over his shoulder to see what was coming. Cavalry. Fifty mercenary horsemen were galloping towards him on armored warhorses, holding up their swords.
"CHARGE!" the leader called.
"Pfft," Ryon scoffed.
Once they got close to him, he got down on one knee. It looked like he was surrendering. The horsemen did not stop. They wanted to ground him into paste underneath the hooves of their steeds. Once they got close BANG! They rammed into an iridescent forcefield and scattered in all directions, the horsemen in the front were killed instantly. Ryon then pushed the aegis towards them, knocking both horse and rider into the air the way a child would if he was playing with toys.
Ryon hurried to a battalion of Saber Slashers so he could have his fun with them. Too easy. Way too easy. And when the robots were destroyed, the Black Luster Soldiers raised their weapons and charged to attack the regular troops.
SMACK! Steel crashed upon steel. The little farm girl heard swords clanging against armor plating or other swords as the soldiers were locked in combat. From the throng of soldiers, she could see rainbow flames bursting from here and there, meaning the Prince of Many Colors was still alive and kicking down below.
Victory was near...until.
The Naralian war horns sounded. The troops for some odd reason cheered and then retreated across the river. Then a shadow covered the battlefield. Something was flying towards them from the mountains. It was a giant ship that looked like a floating monolith. It was colored bright white with the bear of the Ungard family embellished on the sides. Ryon could see the walls lined with blue lights, which were actually windows. The engines at the bottom of the ship were silent. Ryon took off his earbuds. He could hear nothing except the wind blowing and the flapping of the banners around him.
The young commander of the ship draped in a white and gold uniform got up from his chair, went down illuminated steps, then strolled casually toward the window with his arms behind his back.
He tsked mockingly at the army below. "So primitive. They still rely on swords and armor to win. Show them the power of Holy Naralian technology! Fire!"
The ship then let out an ear-piercing bellow like a giant war horn and then dropped a bomb no bigger than a boulder. But when it touched the ground, it let off a massive explosion that tossed Ryon and the Black Luster Soldiers around like toy soldiers. The little farm girl covered her ears and gasped as she saw the army buried under a cloud of brown dust.
The commander snarled. "Good show, gentlemen. We sure showed that Katinian Prince what for. This should make our advance much easier."
"Commander! There are still life signs on the bio-scanner."
"Hmm?" The commander walked back to his chair and sat down. He ordered that a holographic screen be displayed so he could see. "Ah," he said. Ryon was still alive. He was shaken, but still standing strong, as were 1000 of the Black Luster Soldiers who survived the impact.
Below, the Naralian troops surrounded Ryon and ordered him to stand down. Troops with advanced combat rifles stormed forward. They aimed their weapons at Ryon, ordering him to stand down. He did not. He incinerated them with a wave of vermilion and bright-blue flames. He then charged at the knights and punched them a hundred times per second, denting their armor and crushing their organs. He zoomed around the battlefield like a blur of red. The troops with the combat rifles couldn't land a shot on him.
The rifles piqued his interest. After he slaughtered another squad of troopers, he picked one of the rifles up and held it in his hands. It was a huge weapon, chambered with a 7.8x54mm cartridge, this he knew because he was good friends with a young arms dealer named Zane Truesdale.
Such a large weapon, he thought to himself. But it was versatile and agile, and built with all kinds of recoil control mechanisms to keep the kick from overpowering the shooter.
It was new, it was alien, but Ryon liked it nonetheless.
"Ooooh, yeah!" he said. Using a clever charm, he branded the weapon with his family isignia, burning with all the colors of the rainbow. He pulled the bolt back and started to use his new weapon against the troops. Just for fun, he enchanted the rounds with his rainbow flames. Each time the bullet struck a target, they were lit up and turned to ash in seconds.
"So, the little prince thinks he can stand against the might of the Holy Naralian Empire. Unleash the claws of the grizzly once more!"
He snapped his fingers. "And someone please bring me a bottle of our finest champagne. Victory is at hand, gentlemen. And I wish to have a drink to commemorate our triumph."
"But sir, we still have troops down there."
"Then they will die with honor. Yeyu will have a place for them in his wine gardens."
The monolith let out another bellowing cry and dropped another bomb. Again, it knocked Ryon away, devastating the rest of the Black Luster Soldiers and the Naralian troops. Ryon got back on his feet. He used his palms and fired a blast of telekinesis to clear the dust cloud.
They're using their weapons against their own troops? Ryon thought. "Stay back!" he commanded the Black Luster Soldiers. "Guard the tower!"
The Black Luster Soldiers obeyed his orders and retreated over the bridge back to the tower. Ryon rushed toward the Naralian troops to continue his fight.
"FIRE!" the commander shouted.
Again the fields were bombarded by the strange bomb. Ryon braced himself. He was safe behind his ward, while the Naralian troops were killed.
No more. He jumped to the ship with a great leap. He appeared to be flying. Ryon grabbed onto the wall and cut a hole with his flames, which he manipulated to be swords. He charged inside, killing soldiers and engineers. He didn't know how the machine functioned, so he hacked and slashed anything that looked large and important. Alarms sounded off. Computers sparked, tubes exploded.
Ryon smirked. He didn't know what he just did but it sounded like the monolith was growing unstable.
"NO!" shouted the commander. "This ship was supposed to be indestructible! My victory! My beautiful award! NOOOOOO!"
The monolith exploded in the sky.
The little farm girl held her fingers to her mouth, which hung open in horror. Was the prince okay?
Woosh! Something huge flew over her. Ryon handed in front of the girl. She stepped back, her mouth was still open in shock. She marveled at Ryon's arms, glowing with the rainbow runes and his long reddish-brown hair and coat tails blowing victoriously in the wind.
He looked down at the little farm girl and smiled at her. She smiled back and handed him a flask of cold water. Ryon patted her on the head before he took it and drank it until the flask was empty.
The girl glanced over her shoulders as group of warriors rode towards them. She felt her knees wobbling. She knew who they were. The princes from Yugi's Alliance. She bowed her head and stretched her skirt as she performed a curtsey, which made them all chuckle.
"Ryon," said Prince Stas.
"You're late," Ryon said, handing the girl back her flask.
"Sorry about that," said Prince Marcel. "We were ambushed by CUIRASS pilots along the way. We turned three of them into scrap before the rest of the squad fled."
"What did you leave us?" Prince Jon asked.
Ryon shrugged. "Bodies and a large pile of scrap. They attacked us with a weird-looking ship."
"I thought we were at a ceasefire," said Prince Ven.
"When did Forrest care about ceasefires?" Ryon asked. "His lust for the Dragon Summoner is great. We could use that to our advantage."
"Of course, we will," said Prince Michael. "Politics be damned. It's time to stick it up King Forrest's ass. If he's not going to cooperate, neither will we."
Yuri - Aquarius
At last, the day had come. The beginning of the long-awaited Millennium Tournament had dawned on Yuri and his group. They had slept over the night before, going to bed around 8 O'Clock. At six, a choir of different alarms rang throughout the lower levels of the Montgomery palace. Yuri and his friends zoomed this way and that, trying to get to the bathroom to shower and dress. Patty, Natalya, Crystal, and Nikki shared Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery's bathroom upstairs, taking all the time they needed, while Yuri had to rush through his shower because his friends were constantly banging the door, telling him to hurry.
"For God's sake, we've got like eighteen bathrooms in here!" he shouted.
He got out and dressed in some new clothes Crystal prepared for him. Dark torn jeans, a hooded leather jacket with LED lights on the collar and sleeves and a backpack to carry his new cards, and multiple decks. It was custom-made by Mr. Montgomery with compartments that could only be opened by his fingerprints. Last but not least, a beanie from Mrs. Montgomery's clothing line emblazoned with a glow-in-the-dark insignia of their family.
"Looking good," Nick said, examining his new clothes in the mirror in the foyer. He had a short-sleeved hoodie that looked like it should be in a Square Enix game. "Crystal sure outdid herself with that jacket. What, she trying to make you look like a Christmas Tree?"
"You're hilarious," Yuri said, spraying himself with cologne and then putting on his backpack.
"Can't believe where we're going," said Crystal. She ran down the stairs to join them. She was clad in a black hoodie and a white skirt and knee-high boots. "Your brother's private island."
"Not surprised at all," said Tyson. "Most likely Leon's doing that to stroke his own ego. Where better to take Yuri down than his own dueling kingdom."
Nick looked away from the mirror to glare at Tyson. "You say Yuri like he's going to be the one facing him."
"Oh…" Tyson looked around awkwardly. "I...I didn't mean to insinuate anything."
"Take it easy, babe," Patty said, stuffing Nick's wallet into his hoodie. Her hair was bleach blonde and tied into two long pigtails one highlighted in pink and the other in baby blue so she could look like Margot Robbie's version of Harley Quinn from the Suicide Squad.
Patty gave him a kiss on the cheek and patted his pocket. "Tyson knows how important it is to get the money for your family." She patted the pocket she stuffed it in and leaned up to kiss him. "But let's not forget you're the underdog here and Yuri is the favorite to win the tournament."
"Oh, yeah?" said Nick. "Well, won't everyone be surprised when it's me taking home the gold? And I got some cool Treasure Cards of my own, too. No offense, Yuri, but I need to win this one."
"I understand, and so do I. My goal is not as valiant as yours but it's something that needs to be done if I'm to take the family business in the future."
"I wish there was a way you both could win," said Nikki.
"I do, too," said Natalya, sporting an outfit that made her look like a schoolgirl. Her leg-length boots were chunky, almost military-like with zippers and pouches on the side. She carried Max in her arm. He was going, too. He licked her face, tickling her. "Max!" she laughed. "Stop."
"Come on, you, silly goose," Patty said, taking him from her. "Easy now. I said you could come if you behaved." She gently pet his back until he calmed down.
Nick placed his hand on Yuri's shoulder. "Well, Yuri. I guess there's only one way we can decide who the best man is."
"Yeah. It's high time you and I settled the score, huh? But no matter what happens, we're brothers. Nothing is ever going to change that."
"Right."
"Hey!" Mr. Montgomery called from the top of the stairs with Ren by his side. "You brothers are going to get left behind if you don't get moving. The ship leaves in thirty minutes."
"So unless you all want to swim to the island," Ren said coming down the stairs, "I suggest we get this little adventure underway."
"Let's go! Go! Go!" Crystal shouted, getting them all to snap out of their worry. They grabbed their things and headed out the door, saying goodbye to Mr. Montgomery.
"Yuri!" he called. Yuri stopped and looked up at his father. "Kick that bastard's ass! Take the title from him."
"I will! Wait and see. I love you, dad."
"I love you, too, son. Good luck."
"Bye!" his mother called. "Be safe. And don't forget to use condoms, all of you."
"Aaaauuggh!" they all shouted in embarrassment.
But she had a good point. They were now young adults fresh out of high school and going to an island with no supervision, save for the security guards who were likely patrolling the island. They all jumped into their cars and journeyed to the docks to get their invitations checked.
"How many?" asked a guard.
"Me and my friend Nick are Dueling in the tournament," said Yuri. "We're bringing six friends along and one pet."
"Okay, there's going to be a $1000 fee for the dog."
"No problem," Yuri said, handing him his card. The guard scanned it and printed passes for their friends, which cost Yuri another $2000.
"Welcome aboard, kids," said the guard. He pressed a button to lift the gate and let them through to the docks where the giant cruise ship loomed over the participants.
Crystal and Patty immediately got out their phones and started taking pictures of the group to remember this day.
Your friends have great faith in you.
Yuri looked around for Ser Norman. "Oh, there you are," he said. "Yeah. I don't want to let them down. But Nick. He really needs to get that money for his sister. I wish my father wasn't such a hardass. He has enough money to change that family's life and he won't even give Nick a penny. Why? I didn't think my father was such a cold man."
He is a man of business and morals. Sometimes even things like honor, morality, and mercy can turn a man dark. Long has your father lived through the ideology of hard work and discipline. He wishes for you and your friends to lead that life. That is something I must agree with him on.
"You seriously taking his side?"
Did you even tell him about Nick's dilemma?
"There's no point, Ser Norman. Not even a nickel for the subway. If you want money, you have to earn it. Those were always his words. I remember an interview he did for Forbes Magazine. The interviewer said what do your kids think about being the richest kids in the world? He scoffed and said: My kids, are not rich. I'm rich. My wife is rich. We only provide them with the basic needs a parent can give. A home to live in, food, a bed to sleep in. And love. But when it comes to other material goods, they are on their own. What kind of a father would I be if I just gave my kids everything they wanted? What kind of people would they turn out to be? Not good people. Trust me, I know. I've known hundreds of wealthy families in my life and nine times out of ten, their kids were always spoiled little ingrates who take and receive whenever they ask. He then said: Selfishness, greed, narcissism, and laziness should not be rewarded. That is why I encourage my kids to build their own empires so that they can build a better world with the wealth they accumulate. Just as I have. We don't want another swarm of Hiltons running around, do we? If my kids don't want to build their own dynasties, well, they can work retail like everyone else and earn pennies for small rewards…" Yuri sighed heavily before completing the quote . "As my son, Yuri does."
I understand. He is a wise man. Strict, yes, But a very wise man indeed. Look what you have become, Yuri. You had to fight for what you have right now. Prove yourself. Now, you can afford to get the luxuries you want and more.
"Yeah, but I wish he'd stop being a businessman for once and just help Nick. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here right now. I was almost murdered, remember? Nick came to save me."
I know. Nick deserves to be rewarded for being a good friend, son, and brother. But let him find his own way. Just as you did.
The last call to get on the ship sounded off. Everyone rushed to get in. Who knew what lay ahead of them in the tournament. What sort of challenges awaited them? Perhaps even danger? 100 Million was a lot of money, and no doubt there were going to be some Duelists here who were going to do all they could to keep the competition from getting to it.
In fact, a group of dishonorable Duelists was already sneaking around looking to cause trouble. Randall Lawson and two goons he paid to help him get into the island. They peered through the leaves of the tree they hid in and watched the Duelists.
"Look at all these losers!" he said. "It should be me in there! Well, I'm going to prove to them all that I'm the better Duelist."
"Hey, look there!" said one of his henchmen, Calbot, a skinny, toned, lad wearing a green vest with a mesh top underneath and cargo pants with a woodland camouflage bloused into black boots. "That girl. Is that Crystal Anderson?"
"What?" Randall aimed his phone at the crowd and used the camera to zoom into the crowd. There she was. Crystal. And someone had his arm over her shoulder. He panned to the right and growled. His grip tightened, almost crushing his phone. "Yuri!" he growled. "I thought I smelled a rat!"
"He's the guy who lost you your contact with Brett, right?" asked Trey, a red-haired Dueling mercenary from Australia.
"Damn right, it is!" said Randall. "He's the one I'm after. All right, boys, it's game time. Follow the plan and we'll be on that ship in no time."
"But what about the passes?" asked Trey. "We're not going to be able to head to the bathroom without those."
"Don't worry, I paid a guy on the ship to find us a place to lay low until we get to the island. We'll just stay there for the next couple of days and then we'll make our move. Watch out, Yuri. I'm coming for you!"