Things between Cody, Bridgette, and myself have been getting weird. The way they spoke of the events that transpired at Half-Priced Hobbies seemed conflicting in the smallest of negatives. Not that their independence outside of my walls alter me mind you. It is easy to note how tired Cody seems though with no differences in sight. Bridgette isn't as talkative either, missing on cues during her turns or not paying attention during their conversations. It isn't as if I am one hundred percent bothered by their aligned differences, yet the mysterious links has me interested more than I would care to admit.

Are they dating? Is there a secret they share? Did something happen at Half-Priced Hobbies that would bother me? I sighed as I watched Bridgette shuffle her newest deck, an Izzet, sorry, Prismari aligned Commander known as Veyran, Voice of Duality and drew her opening hand. I used one of my weaker decks, mostly so she could gather better data on a standard opponent rather than my more optimized decks, and kept thinking of different factors. Did Cody say something so offensive that it threw Bridgette for a loop? Everything about her was so off. So unusual. Like an extra step to make sure she was normal instead of it being natural. I eventually grew tired of the awkward, stale atmosphere between us and decided to, despite how the game was going, talk to her.

"So are you going to tell me what happened between you and Cody yet?" My question made Bridgette straighten in her seat. Her eyes widened in a silly manner. I was straightforward with my question. No need to act so comical.

"What are you talking about Noah?" Bridgette let out a chuckle as she parted a few strands of her hair. A common tactic to make one's self feel normal in their skin. "Things are fine between me and Cody."

"Let me lay out the facts. One," I raised a finger on my right hand. "Ever since you two went card shopping weeks ago he has been tired and not hanging out here as much." I brought up a second finger. "Two, you haven't been as focused or happy here with or without Cody being here. Need I go on about the timing of events, you being worse when he isn't here rather than being here, or any other of details I could bring up?" She slumped in her chair with her cards pressed up to her forehead. A sigh escaped her.

"Look Noah." Bridgette shook her head and looked at the table they sat at. Their fields were, at this point, rather cluttered. She had multiple creatures whose effects were duplicated by her Commander, though my field was being held together by a string of Enchantments. If I truly cared about the state of the game, I would be paying better attention. "It's like this. Me and Cody met a...rival." She spoke the word with a pop of her lips.

"A rival huh?" I couldn't help but to ask. It isn't uncommon to find someone who you would want to face again and again in a game. Heck, that was a core foundation between me and Cody's friendship. A constant rivalry that challenged and pushed me to become even better in a variety of ways.

"Yeah, and they've taken so much of his time that I felt a little silly about it I guess. He has been spending so much time getting them up to speed about Commander, helping them learn about their deck, and just-"

"So he is helping this person like we helped you in the beginning?" Bridgette stopped talking and pondered my question. Her pause led to her letting out a chuckle.

"Yeah I guess he is just being the normal, helpful Cody that we both know him to be huh?" Bridgette looked at her hand, tapped a few lands, and brought out a chain of Instants that allowed her Commander to become unblockable and big enough to deal me the lethal twenty-one Commander damage win. Despite losing, I felt that I won through gaining a bit more knowledge about what happened between her and Cody. It made me feel certain about the world and pool of knowledge.

A rattle of the doorknob caught my attention as I began to shuffle the played cards back to a randomized shuffle into my deck. I glanced at the door and saw Cody smiling wide as a very familiar, yet unlikely person walked in with a nervous look on her face. Tall, Asian lineage of features graced her. Her sharp eyes looked over my home and, within seconds, a gear I had not known I was missing fell into place. I had looked back at Bridgette, who looked over at me with our eyes meeting. She looked stern yet friendly. Like she wanted to stop me from saying anything. All I could do was smile as I felt something dip its way into me.

"Rival huh?" I said with a pop of my lips. Bridgette's glare was totally worth it.

-Chapter 3: My Uncertainty-

"Friends of our Gathering, may I introduce to you the newest player of the game!"

"Shut it dweeb!" Heather's snarky remark made Cody smile even bigger than before. He had a blast teaching her all there was about the potential of her Commander. It was amazing helping her learn all he could about the devastating Commander she had in her possession. He had spent quite the bit of time teaching her at his house, various card shops she wanted to check out, and at her house.

Between helping her learn, hanging out with Bridgette to help her out, chilling with Noah per their norm, or having a few games between all three, Cody felt a little drained. But seeing Heather brought into the fold would completely make all of his effort worth it!

"Well look what Chef's buzzer brought in. Is that the latest wig from the island's bear population, or is it a prop from Chris' newest game show?" Heather closed the door behind her, took her shoes off, and Cody realized quickly that Heather was about to erupt into a string of insults that would make everything very awkward for everyone. Knowing he had a few precious seconds to defuse the situation, Cody took off his backpack and raised his hands in a dramatic manner.

"Noah, you are NOT gonna believe who Heather is packing as her Commander today!" Cody saw the dull expression on Noah's face and grinned. The deadpanned expression was the start of a standard back and forth between them.

"Hmm, based on how she acted on the show, I'd guess something backstab intensive with group slug? So, what, Mogis, God of Slaughter?"

"Wrong. Try again."

"Hmm," Noah scratched his chin with a roll of his eyes. "Sugar and spice with some Jekyll and Hyde in the mix? Newest sets in mind. New player. With those factors in consideration, I'm guessing she is playing Tovolar, Dire Overlord."

"Nope!"

"Okay then I give up Cody. What kind of deck is she using. Mono colored Elves? Something super easy to pilot that she couldn't lose even if she tried on purpose? Burn? Stax? Tokens go wide?" Cody realized that Heather placed herself next to Bridgette and brought out from her purse a dark black deck box covered in metallic purple dragon scales. It certainly looked like it cost quite the bit of money to get. She opened the deck box, turned the card over to herself and smiled the sincere smile he had gotten to know before flipping the card in her fingers.

"Oh, just the most powerful Dragon among the worlds." Noah's widened eyes made Cody chuckle. The fact that he whipped out his phone and grabbed Heather's wrist to bring the card closer to him to take a picture of the card made him laugh. "Hey, watch the wrist dork lord. I'm just as precious as my Buddy thank you!" Heather yanked her wrist away from Noah. "I'd say I'm surprised at your barbaric way with how you handled me, but then again you didn't seem like the ladies man on the island."

"I'm not even going to justify the way I conduct myself to you. Instead, I'm going to focus on two things. First, how in the hell did you get this card. These things are super hard to get. Like practically reserve list hard!" Noah looked over at Bridgette, who giggled as she put a deck away into its box. Had they finished a game right before he and Heather came? "Of course. Half-Priced Hobbies. Probably the 'big winner' Cody mentioned the day you two came back. Considering how hard this Commander is to find, it would also explain why Cody was gone for so long, let alone how tired he ways considering just how much-"

"You talk WAY too much." Heather stated. "Like, jeez, you might even be able to give Izzy a run for her motor mouth. Or Owen when he burbs the ABCs."

"Much as I hate to agree with Heather Noah, she has a point." Bridgette added with a grin. "I think that was the most I heard you talk in a while. Probably since the time you and Cody had that argument with Harold about UC versus IBO."

"Don't you dare bring up anime at the moment. Harold is still wrong and that is the end of that." The glare that made itself known on Noah's face was one Cody would enjoy for a while. The glare quickly shifted back into a look of dull confusion though. "Which, segue into the next focus of my thoughts, what is with you using weird terminology in association with your deck. World? Buddy? What is the deal." Heather brought her Commander up to her forehead with her head tilted back.

"Oh it's a tragic tale. Truly a sad loss of a fantastic game much better than this one! A one of a kind gem, underappreciated and before its time!" Cody realized that Bridgette gestured her hand towards herself and leaned out to him. He leaned into her and kept himself from reacting as he felt Bridgette's hand curl around his ear.

"Was she this dramatic when you were teaching her?" She asked in a subtle whisper.

"A bit." He whispered back. "She kept on using so much terminology I had no clue to associate with that we ended up binge watching her anime card game tie-in so I could get a better understanding. Would have made teaching her much more difficult without it." The sound of a hand smacking the surface of the table made both friends look back to the others. Heather and Noah were glaring at each other.

"I don't care about some second rate game that hardly gathered an audience outside of Japan. You need to stop associating your favorite game with this superior one. You know, the one that is still printing and played all across the globe!"

"Bet you wouldn't like it if I said something similar to any of the UC protagonists you support. Let me guess, you like Amuro Ray for being the first pilot of the RX-78-2, but don't care much for the insignificance of Shiro Amada from The 08th MS Team?" The look of sheer shock and fear on Noah's face was one mirrored by him. Cody had a decent understanding about what kind of stuff she was into. Mostly soap operas, reality shows, and the very minimal splash of anime of the small niche type. Card game focused or super slice of life. But to hear how quickly she threw down a mecha reference on the drop of a dime? Boy was he impressed.

"I-I mean that anime was only enjoyed as a spin-off for its interpretation of a serious Earth-focused setting of the war with Zeon. Not to mention the anime had very little purpose other than to cater to the lore of the Gundam franchise."

"Well my franchise catered to its own game, going on for four seasons, one sequel series, and three generations of manga. Maybe not as big of an impact as Magic the Gathering, sure, but when compared to your precious Gundam franchise? How many manga series are actually complete and in English that isn't just a quick buck rehash of the series?"

"Okay people. We are here to chill and play cards. Not to argue about preferences in anime or judging over why people talk or play the way they do here." Bridgette, being the voice of reason, stepped in and wiggled a bag of dice in her hands. She turned to Noah and flashed a smile. "Now I'm betting that you are just wanting to face off against her Commander. Practically a one of a kind opportunity for you isn't it? Probably want to use that deck there to face her huh?"

"Oh no not this one." Noah stood up, walking past his primary bookshelf filled with books Cody knew he was proud of owning, and went straight for the glass display in the middle of the wall. He pressed his hand against the keypad, allowing it to scan his hand before he put in the code to unlock the display. Within this display was a thick, orange deck box with a Commander Cody knew very well poking behind the transparent box. It was one of the decks that were on the Rarely Used Due to Salt list, and Noah's pride and joy. "That deck was more mid-tier so you could figure out if your new deck was working to your liking Bridgette. No, this one is much more potent as an opponent."

"Not exactly sure you understand this Noah, but your word vomit is making it hard to understand you." Heather remarked with a raised eyebrow. "But I get the feeling that you will only make yourself clear through a round with me huh?" Heather, Cody noticed, seemed more chill than agitated. She pulled out her deck, which were covered in sleeves depicting a character from her favorite show, and began to shuffle her deck. Noah must have noticed the sleeves, for he glanced at them and chuckled.

"I didn't realize that Bushiroad would make sleeves depicting kids playing with their monster best friends."

"I don't want to hear that from you. Bet you have a full size waifu body pillow somewhere in this place. Maybe a stash of hentai flicks or something just as perverted."

"Et tu, Brute?" Noah replied with a grin Cody chuckled, though quickly realized that he was the only person doing so. Noah caught on and rolled his eyes. "I see that only Cody, like myself, understands their history. Anyway, lets make a bet Heather. If I win, you have to come over and learn the true value of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise." Heather let out a laugh. A snarky, lighthearted laugh that caught Cody by surprise.

"So you want me to watch anime with you? Did I hurt your feelings? Is this your way of asking me out on a date?" Heather asked with a flutter of her eyelashes. Noah shook his head before pinching the bridge of his nose.

"No, more like you annoyed me with just how little you know about the best sci-fi soap opera there is. A legacy series with so many twists and turns. Its one of the greatest pieces of visual literature to ever exist."

"If you says so." Heather replied with a roll of her eyes. She drew her seven cards, glanced them over, and placed them straight down on the table. Though Cody knew that, technically, her and Noah should have rolled first to determine who goes first before drawing their hands, he knew Heather's play style a bit. She preferred to draw her hand and roll with her play without a care in the world. She had what he called the Anime Protagonist dilemma. Heart of the Cards and all that it entailed. "But if I win, then you have to watch a series of my choice. Got a deal?" Noah opened his deck box and began to shuffle his deck. The sleeves depicting a dragon in Santa garb with a wrapped present in its hands an ironic depiction of what was to come for Heather.

"Welcome to Nekuzar's Brazzar!" Noah said in a monotone, dull voice. As he drew he seven cards, he glanced at his hand before placing it down at the table. "Where we have everything you will ever need! But will you be able to pay for your greed before I make you bleed?" Cody let out a laugh as Bridgette looked over at him.

"What the heck was that. A chant for your deck?" Cody grinned and looked over to the blonde.

"There was a time before me and Noah worked on the beach that we tried to work as cashiers for a big chain store. I stocked shelves most of the time and Noah was a greeter. As you can see, he totally landed the part of greeter and made everyone feel welcomed coming in. So welcomed in fact, that most of them turned right around and left!"

"Need I remind you," Noah began with a small smirk, "who exactly was Mr. Strong Man who thought he could lift bags of cement and fertilizer without the cart from the shipping dock all the way to the gardening section. A section that was all the way across the store?" Noah, much to Cody's embarrassment, raised his left arm like a body builder and began to grunt as he bent his arm to flex his muscle. Right when the arm began to bulge, he dropped his arm straight down to the table. "I'm pretty sure there is still a dent there from all the bags and shelving you knocked down that day." The girls began laughing as Cody shook his head in shame. He thought that grabbing such heavy bags would be a good way to bulk up. Probably would have done well had he only grabbed one at a time instead of.

Well, some things were best not to be remembered.

"Can I get the name of that store? I want to see the infamous Cody Anderson Landmark."

"Can't, part of a legal agreement to not get sued for damages. So you guys gotta find it on your own." Noah grabbed a D20 from the dice tower on the table and, after making sure it was a randomized one rather than the D20 life counter given in Prerelease products, rolled a ten. "Not that high a number."

"Probably a sign of what is to come." Heather rolled the die, getting a fifteen. "I'll be going first then. For the sake of my noble ideals, I will guide the old world to its end. Dark Luminize. World of Demise!" Cody could not stop himself from smacking his forehead. Of all the habits for her to keep, he was hoping that the introduction part would not be the thing.

"What was that? A Sailor Moon introduction? In the name of the moon, I'll punish you." Noah mimicked, twirling a finger in a circle. Heather, Cody noticed, had the decency to look a tiny bit embarrassed despite the smile on her face.

"You did an introduction for your deck. Nekuzar's Bazaar and all that. So I figured I should do an intro for my superior deck."

"Throw down the smack talk when you're not just starting the game."

"I'm going to show you the powerful dragons I've enlisted under my draconic regime. I'll start by playing a Forest and ending my turn."

"Oh no, not the dreaded turn one Forest. Whatever shall I do?" Noah drew his card and raised an eyebrow. "Let me show you a true pro turn one play. I'll play a Mountain, tap it for a mana, and play a Sol Ring.

Sol Ring

Mana:1

Artifact

Tap: Add 2 Colorless Mana to your mana pool.

"Charging up early for a bigger impact hm?" Heather drew her card and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll play a Mountain, and tap both lands to play my Swiftfoot Boots before ending my turn."

Swiftfoot Boots

Mana:2

Artifact-Equipment

Equipped creature has hexproof and haste. Equip: 1

"Those boots totally, like, do not seem to match the scales on your dragons. Well, I'd say that if you had any creatures in play." Noah drew his card and glanced at his hand. "Well lets start some early pressure. The early bird normally gets the best deals at any market after all. I'll play a Swamp, tap it, my Mountain, and my Sol Ring for four mana and play Fate Unraveler. That's it for me."

Fate Unraveler

Mana:4

Enchantment Creature: Hag

Whenever an opponent draws a card, Fate Unraveler deals 1 damage to that player.

3/4

Of all the early plays for Noah to do, Fate Unraveler was particularly nasty for the early game. It punished players for wanting to draw cards early when most people want to accelerate their game plan. It didn't help that Noah's deck was completely based around cards that punished players for playing the game. It wasn't as if Heather played Magic before coming here. Sure, he played a few games with her, but he never used one of his serious decks. Nekuzar was Noah's best. His Noble Phantasm. The Bankai to his Zanpakutō. Insert deus ex machina reference here type of deck!

"Heh," Heather looked at the creature and smirked. "We start off with forty life. That minimal burn effect will not be enough to stop me from beating you. I'll untap my lands and draw, taking one damage."

Heather: 39 Noah: 40

"Since I control two basic lands, I can play the non-basic land known as Cinder Glade untapped!"

Cinder Glade

Land- Mountain Forest

Tap: Red or Green Mana

Cinder Glade enters the battlefield tapped unless you control two or more basic lands.

"I'll tap all three of my lands and play the spell Kodama's Reach! I'll add a Swamp to my hand and put an Island on to my battlefield tapped."

Kodama's Reach

Mana:3

Sorcery-Arcane

Search your library for up to two basic land cards, reveal those cards and put one onto the battlefield tapped and the other into your hand. Then shuffle your library.

"Nice. With just one card Heather matched Noah's current mana availability. That was a good move." Bridgette said. Noah looked at the blonde with a shake of his head.

"Its just a turn 3 standard. Then again, you would know what ramping would feel like if you stopped playing decks without green in its mana colors." Bridgette pointed at his Commander.

"Says the person playing a Black, Red, Blue Commander." Bridgette said with emphasis of each color. Cody saw Noah roll his eyes and couldn't help but to grin at how his friend was acting.

"Oh ye of little faith." Noah untapped his lands and drew his card for turn. "With this deck I don't need the excessive mana ramp Green. I'll play and immediately sac the Evolving Wilds to get an Island."

Evolving Wilds

Land

Tap: Sacrifice Evolving Wilds: Search your library for a basic land card and put it onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

"Then I'll follow that with a Preordain, letting me Scry two then draw a card."

"Scry?"

"It means to look at the top x amount of cards of your library and either put the cards back on top in any order, or to the bottom." Bridgette's words made Heather nod.

"Look at you Surfer Girl, explaining blue basics. I would hope you would know how your favorite color would play like."

Preordain

Mana:1

Sorcery

Scry 2 then draw a card.

"I'm going to put one on the bottom of my library, draw this card, then tap my remaining mana sources to play Lavaborn Muse before passing it over."

Lavaborn Muse

Mana:4

Creature: Spirit

At the beginning of each opponent's upkeep, if that player has two or fewer cards in hand, Lavaborn Muse deals 3 damage to him or her.

3/3

"I'll untap and draw, taking one from your Fate Unraveler."

Heather: 38 Noah: 40

"Next I'll play a Swamp, tap my Mountain, Cinder Glade, and a Forest to play my Dragonspeaker Shaman. Then I'll tap my swamp to equip my Swiftfoot Boots to my creature before ending the turn."

Dragonspeaker Shaman

Mana:3

Creature: Human Barbarian Shaman

Dragon spells you cast cost 2 colorless mana to cast.

2/2

"Well it looks like you are missing a ranger to complete your little Power Ranger squad of colors." Noah untapped his lands and drew his card for turn. The quickness of his eyes glancing at his hand told Cody that the cards in Noah's hands weren't optimal for him at that moment. Was he trying to find something specific? "I'm going to play a Dismal Backwater, which enters tapped but I gain a life."

Dismal Backwater

Land

Dismal Backwater enters the battlefield tapped.

When Dismal Backwater enters the battlefield, you gain 1 life.

Tap: Add Blue or Black mana to your mana pool.

Heather: 38 Noah: 41

"Next I'll tap out and bring out the master of the bazaar, Nekuzar, the Mindrazer!"

Nekuzar, the Mindrazer

Mana:5

Legendary Creature: Zombie Wizard

At the beginning of each player's draw step, that player draws an additional card.

Whenever an opponent draws a card, Nekuzar the Mindrazer deals 1 damage to that player.

"You're letting me draw more cards? Why thank you so much!" Heather untapped her field and drew two cards from her library.

"Now, with Nekuzar and Fate Unraveler on the field, you are taking two damage per card. That will bring you to four damage for those two cards."

Heather: 34 Noah: 41

Ouch, Cody knew that Noah's deck was brutal. He faced it so often that he had an idea as to what to expect and how to keep Noah under control. But Heather did not have that knowledge at her disposal. She was going in blind and entering dangerous waters. He knew she had removal in her deck. But would she able to draw into it before dying by life loss?

"I'm going to play a Nomad's Outpost, tap my Island and Swamp, and bring out Necromaster Dragon."

Nomad Outpost

Land Nomad Outpose enters the battlefield tapped.

Tap: Add Red, White, or Black mana to your mana pool.

Necromaster Dragon

Mana:5

Creature: Dragon

Flying

Whenever Necromaster Dragon deals combat damage to a player, you may pay 2 mana. If you do, put a 2/2 black Zombie creature token onto the battlefield and each opponzent puts the two two cards of his or her library into his or her graveyard.

4/4

"Wait, that thing costs five mana. Even with the mana reduction from her Dragonspeaker Shaman, she still needs a third land to bring out her dragon." Cody pointed at Heather's Commander, causing her to lean over and read the card. Eminence, the powerful ability found on exclusive cards that Wizards of the Coast gave to their most powerful creatures for a limited set. The Ur-Dragon, specifically, allowed to reduce mana costs for dragons whether he was on the battlefield or in the Command zone. An extremely powerful ability that meant it never had to hit the dangerous battlefield to make itself useful.

"Well there is the final Ranger. But did it arrive too late?" Noah untapped his lands and drew two cards. "Lets make things fun. I'm going to play a Temple of the False God and follow it up with a Dictate of Kruphix."

Temple of the False God

Land

Tap: Add 2 Colorless mana to your mana pool. Activate this ability only if you control five for more lands.

Dictate of Kruphix

Mana:3

Enchantment

Flash

At the beginning of each player's draw step, that player draws an additional card.

"Three cards a turn!" Bridgette gasped while glancing over at the cards on Noah's board. "But that means Heather will be taking six damage next turn!" Noah placed his hand of cards on the table and leaned back in his chair. The smile on his face was more sarcastic than genuine.

"Lets see what you do from here. However will you make me understand your, what did you say, noble ideals?"

"Oh I'll show you Noah!"

Heather: 28 Noah: 41

The look on Heather's face was not anger or upset. The grin on her face made Cody hopeful and Noah annoyed. Well, more annoyed than normal when it comes to him playing. She shuffled her cards in hand a bit before looking at Noah.

"I'll start things off by playing a Plains as my land for turn. I'll tap it and my Nomad Outpost for a Sunscorch Regent!"

Sunscorch Regent

Mana:5

Creature: Dragon

Flying

Whenever an opponent casts a spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Sunscorch Regent and you gain 1 life.

4/3

"Nice, some life gain!" Cody nodded at Bridgette's words. Noah seemed to play anywhere between one to three spells a turn. While two or three life a turn didn't seem like much considering how much she was losing, the life gain mitigated some of the loss.

"Next I'll tap a Forest and Mountain for a Naturalize, targeting your Dictate of Kruphix." A sigh was all Noah did to show that the Naturalize resolved. Destroying the Enchantment meant that was one less source of card draw to worry about.

Naturalize

Mana:2

Instant

Destroy target artifact or enchantment.

"I'll end things off by tapping my Cinder Glade for a Green and my Swamp for a Rampant Growth, searching for a basic Island to enter my battlefield tapped. How does it feel for your formation to slowly crumble Noah?"

Rampant Growth

Mana:2

Sorcery

Search your library for a basic land card and put that card onto the battlefield tapped. Then shuffle your library.

"Actually, I'm sure that my field is looking pretty good at the moment." Noah untapped his lands and drew his two cards for the turn. "Hey Heather?" Heather looked at Noah with an unsure, confused expression.

"What do you want?"

"That is a pretty good looking hand of, what, three cards you go there. Would be a shame if you lost it right?"

"I'm fine with whatever happens Noah. Stop trying to throw me off my righteous path to victory."

"Funny you mention righteous Heather..." Noah flipped one of the two cards he just drew for turn. Cody couldn't help but to gasp while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Because I just drew a Miracle straight from the deck. This means that I can play this revealed card for its Miracle cost this turn. But first." Noah tapped his Swamp, Temple of the False God, and Dismal Backwater. "I'm going to play some cards to make your experience worse. I'm playing Gnat Miser and Cunning Lethemancer. Next I'll play a Smoldering Crater, and finally, the card I revealed, Reforge the Soul!"

Gnat Miser

Mana:1

Creature: Rat Shaman

Each opponent's maximum hand size is reduced by one.
1/1

Cunning Lethemancer

Mana:3

Creature: Human Wizard

At the beginning of your upkeep, each player discards a card.
2/2

Smoldering Crater

Land

Smoldering Crater enters the battlefield tapped.

Tap: Add Red mana to your mana pool.

Cycling 2 (2 mana, Discard this card: Draw a card.)

Reforge the Soul

Mana:5

Sorcery

Each player discards his or her hand and draws seven cards.

Miracle: 2 (You may cast this card for its miracle cost when you draw it if it's the first card you drew this turn.)

"Don't forget Noah, by casting those three spells, my Sunscorch Regent gets three +1/+1 counters on it, and I gain three life in the process!"

Sunscorch Regent: 7/6

Heather: 31 Noah: 41

"This game is getting intense." Cody turned to Bridgette and nodded.

"Yeah, but Heather just drew a new grip of cards. Meaning she just took fourteen points of damage. She is down to less than half of her life."

Heather: 17 Noah: 41

"Meanwhile Noah has not even lost a single point. In fact, he gained one!" Heather drew her next two cards, bringing her down to fifteen life. Despite the circumstances, the grin on her face grew more malicious. Said look made Noah look even more uncertain of the situation.

"I gotta say, for someone who is very close to death, you are looking rather sure of yourself."

"If only Gao could see me now."

'Oh stop with the anime references.' Cody thought to himself as Heather began to separate her lands. She had one of each basic land spread apart, leaving the remaining lands off to the side.

"I've built this deck with the strongest dragons your game could provide for me. Let me introduce you to one of them! By having one of each basic land type and by having Dragonspeaker Shaman on my battlefield, I can play Scion of Draco for free!"

Scion of Draco

Mana:12

Artifact Creature: Dragon

Domain- This spell costs 2 less to cast for each basic land type among lands you control.

Flying

Each creature you control has vigilance if it's white, hexproof if it's blue, lifelink if it's black, first strike if it's red, and trample if it's green.
4/4

"I'll play my Godless Shrine from hand untapped, which will cost me two life to do."

Godless Shrine

Land - Plains Swamp

Tap: Add White or Black mana to your mana pool.

As Godless Shrine enters the battlefield, you may pay 2 life. If you don't, it enters the battlefield tapped.

Heather: 13 Noah: 41

"You've had your Buddy out for quite the while Noah. It's time for me to introduce you to mine. I'll tap everything except an Island and the Godless Shrine to play The Ur-Dragon!"

The Ur-Dragon

Mana:9

Legendary Creature- Dragon Avatar

Eminence: As long as The Ur-Dragon is in the command zone or on the battlefield, other Dragon spells you cast cost 1 less to cast.

Flying

Whenever one or more Dragons you control attack, draw that many cards, then you may put a permanent card from your hand onto the battlefield.
10/10

There it was. One of the most dangerous Commanders to ever exist. The sheer effect it has on the table would be difficult for any person to handle. So how would Noah handle it?

"I'm going to tap my Island and equip the Swiftfoot Boots to The Ur-Dragon. Now it's time for battle!" Cody watched as she tapped her Necromaster Dragon, but pointed two fingers at her Commander and Sunscorch Regent. "Due to the Scion of Draco's effect, my Commander and Sunscorch have Vigilance. By attacking with all three of these dragons, I get to draw three cards and put a permanent card from my entire hand onto my battlefield. I'm going to put this Mountain down. Can you do anything to stop my mighty dragons!"

Heather: 7 Noah: 41

"With my whole two colorless mana? No, your attacks are going through."

"Don't forget, thanks to Scion of Draco, both my Commander and Necromaster Dragon have the Lifelink ability! Meaning I'm gaining fourteen of my life total back!"

Heather: 21 Noah: 20

"Main phase two, I'll tap my Mountain and Godless Shrine to play Pillar of Origins, naming dragons as my creature type."

Pillar of Origins

Mana:2

Artifact

As Pillar of Origins enters the battlefield, choose a creature type.

Tap: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Spend this mana only to cast a creature spell of the chosen type.

"Don't forget about your reduced hand size." Noah pointed out with a stern face. Despite the early lead and pressure he put on Heather, Cody could tell that his friend was spinning gears in his head. Would he be able to get rid of some of her dragons? As Heather discarded two cards, Noah untapped his lands. "Now, my Cunning Lethemancer triggers. Now we discard a card from our hands."

"I don't know who I want to win more. Heather or Noah at this point are really close to each other." Cody wanted to agree with Bridgette. Really, he did. But he knew Noah's deck. He was annoyed, but rather calm at the moment.

"I'm going to tap my Dismal Backwater, Island, and my Temple of the False God to cast Curse of the Swine. My targets will be your Sunscorch Regent and Scion of Draco. But don't worry, my refund policy will be a pair of 2/2 Boars."

Curse of the Swine

Mana: X+2

Sorcery

Exile X target creatures. For each creature exiled this way, its controller puts a 2/2 green Boar creature token onto the battlefield.

"I'm still gaining the life from Sunscorch Regent seeing that you cast a spell before it gets exiled."

Heather: 22 Noah: 20

"Next I'll tap a Mountain, Swamp, and my Sol Ring to bring out Spiteful Visions."

Spiteful Visions

Mana:4

Enchantment

At the beginning of each player's draw step, that player draws an additional card.

Whenever a player draws a card, Spiteful Visions deals 1 damage to that player.

There it was. One of the final nails in Heather's coffin if she didn't figure out a way to close the game next turn. Three damage a card, plus being forced to draw three cards per upkeep, made it a devastating amount of life loss. Cody and Bridgette shared a glance with each other. A gulp between them made each other really feel the pressure at the moment.

"I gotta say, this is quite like the Noah I remember from the island. Not really putting effort to participating in anything." Heather said as she untapped her lands and Necromaster Dragon. As she drew her three cards and knocked her life down, she looked at Noah.

Heather: 13 Noah: 20

"You do realize that you hardly saw me during the show right?" Noah questioned with a shrug. "Not to mention I am not exactly the attacking kind of player. More like manipulating circumstances to hinder my opponents. A good play style for myself."

"More like a play style for people who are uncertain of themselves. Can you really say that you enjoy playing with no effort. No real risk of fighting alongside your monsters? Why stay so closed up that no one can get close-"

"This isn't some anime Heather!" Noah snapped. Cody jumped a bit in his chair. Where did that come from. "The way I play is respectable and common, especially for people who also play Nekuzar. Keep your opinion to yourself about what I could be so uncertain about."

"But you are uncertain of something." Heather tapped one of her Mountains and her Pillar of Origins. "I'm tapping the Pillar of Origins for a Blue mana and a Mountain to cast Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy."

Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy

Mana:5

Legendary Creature- Dragon Shaman

Flying

Whenever you cast an Adventure spell or Dragon spell, Lozhan, Dragons' Legacy deals damage equal to that spell's converted mana value to any target that isn't a commander.
4/2

"I'll play a Plains for turn, then tap my Island, Godless Shrine for a Black, and the Plains to bring out Silumgar, the Drifting Death. Upon casting him Lozhan will trigger and deal six damage straight to your life."

Silumgar, the Drifting Death

Mana:6

Legendary Creature- Dragon

Flying, Hexproof

Whenever a Dragon you control attacks, creatures defending player controls gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
3/7

Heather: 13 Noah: 14

Noah looked at his hand and at his field. With five total mana at his disposal, Cody knew it was possible for Noah to have some type of kill spell in hand. After a few moments passed Heather looked at Noah and shook her head.

"You started off strong Noah. Manipulating the state of the battlefield to drain my life before I could truly play. Yet not even you could stop me from achieving victory. I'll enter combat and swing with my commander and Necromaster Dragon, drawing me two cards, putting my life to seven, and I'll put down a Plains as my permanent. Got any last tricks." Noah sighed as he placed his hands on the table. He took a breath, glancing at his board, before he brought his right hand up.

"I have to admit defeat."

"No no no!" Heather pointed at him. "Be more dramatic about your defeat! Aren't you a bookworm? You should be able to channel your inner theater kid and channel your feelings of loss and uncertainty into a final phrase!" Cody watched as Noah closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He held this pose for a few seconds before suddenly pointing back at Heather with hate filled eyes.

"I almost had you! I almost defeated your noble ideals! Curse you and your Dark Luminize Dragons Heather!" Suddenly Noah's face looked normal save for the small smile on his face. "Something like that?" The laughter that came from not just Heather, but Bridgette as well made Noah's face go red and for him to quickly pack his deck into his deck box.

"That was a nerve wrecking match guys!" Cody brought up as he walked over to Noah. He watched as Noah looked down with a fallen expression. "Dude, you okay?" His friend sighed and shook his head.

"I had a flying creature I could have used as a blocker had I not gotten so tunnel focused on the forced card draw function of my deck. I was so focused on hindering her field that I never advanced my own board."

"So you got a bit of tunnel vision. So what?" Cody patted Noah's back and brought an arm around his friend's shoulders. "It just means that you need to update that deck of yours a bit. When was the last time you tinkered with that deck anyway, two years?"

"Hey, you're not trying to find more friends because you're tired of me right?" The personal, emotional tone Noah whispered to him threw Cody off for a moment. Out of everyone on the island, Noah was his best friend. There was no way he would ever get tired of him or his sarcasm.

"Never dude." Cody whispered back. "Who else would keep me in line when I overcommit in four player pods? Who else will argue with me when it comes to anime versus manga details?" Cody stretched his remaining arm out and slowly moved it across their eyes. "Who else will I convince that he needs to stop hating on Green so much and give it a shot."

"Green is too easy to play." Noah remarked with a grin. Noah brought an arm around Cody's shoulder and chuckled. This began a small laugh between the two friends. A laugh fest that got interrupted by snapping fingers.

"Earth to the dweebs. As much as I hate to interrupt your little anime bromance moment, I believe I won our little bet. So lets set up your TV for a little marathon." Noah rolled his eyes and walked over to his TV and the remote to turn the device on. Heather snatched the remote out of his hands and began flicking through apps until she found Youtube and clicked it.

"Let me guess. You're putting on FutureCard Buddyfight to grace us with its wonder and your childhood joy?"

"Be glad that I have plans tomorrow. Otherwise I'd be spending all my time with educating you three about this wonder show. Thankfully you gave me a different idea to watch as commemoration of this day."

"Bridgette do you want to help me order pizza or some Chinese takeout?" Cody asked the blonde. Said blonde was sitting on her chair just watching with a faraway expression on her face. Was she alright? He lowered his face towards hers to make sure she hadn't passed out while sitting up when he suddenly found himself being shoved away.

"Woah Cody, too close!"

"Sorry!" Cody replied with his arms raised in self defense. "I asked if you wanted to help me order some food but you didn't reply. You okay?"

"Yeah," Bridgette looked back at the table. Heather's cards were still left out, her hand laid out for anyone to see. "I never saw anything so powerful even at local tables. Are exclusive cards so much powerful than what we can generally get?" Cody chuckled, mostly to himself than at Bridgette's question.

"When Heather started grabbing cards for her deck, she had so many creatures and little else it was as if she was pulling a season one Joey Wheeler. All muscle but no finesse." Bridgette held a pair of hands up to her lips.

"No way." She whispered through her fingers. "I barely recall Yu-Gi-Oh as a show, but Joey was such a bad duelist in the beginning. All monsters and no spells or traps right?" When Cody nodded, Bridgette giggled for a moment. She took a breath and exhaled, moving her fingers away. "So how long did it take for her to settle on the deck?"

"I'd say about a week." Cody raised four fingers. There were many times during that week where she went between wanting fifty dragons in the deck, wanting tutors to directly bring out her favorites, or wanting nothing but ramp to play everything. It took many, many arguments and examples to let him just SHOW HER viable cards. It took even longer to get her to actually put them into the deck. "Plus you know how first deck drafts go for any card game. The first time is the worst time. As you play the game your deck grows with you."

"Like a garden." Bridgette brought out a deck, probably the one she packed up when Cody and Heather arrived, and began plucking out a few cards out of her deck. When he leaned over her right shoulder to see what she was placing down, she leaned slightly away so he could get a better look. Her body radiated such a nice heat that, for a moment, all Cody wanted to do was to lay in her and do nothing else. "Figured you would want a better view of the cards instead of sitting next to me at an angle."

"Y-Yeah. This helps." Cody said with a smile. He was sure that he was blushing right now, but between her body heat and his own warmth it was hard to tell.

"OH GOD NO! NO, NO, NO!" Cody and Bridgette turned away from her cards and saw that Noah had pressed himself into his couch like a cat clinging to a wall. His eyes wide at the title of the show on the TV. Cody couldn't help but to grin at the triumphant smirk on Heather's face as she wagged the remote in her hand.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Heather practically purred in glee as she sat down next to Noah. The act suddenly made him drop his arms straight to his lap and eyes straight to the TV. "You don't like the small, one season Gundam entries to the franchise huh? Well lets try out out Gundam Build Divers!"

"Well before we start focusing on anime lets start talking about food! Pizza or Chinese?"

"I'm down for Chinese." Bridgette said with a raised hand.

"Chinese. What about you Noah. Gonna be the one to start a tie breaker?"

"Nope." Noah looked over at Cody with dread in his eyes. "Maybe the MSG will kill me before I start to retain any quotes or memories about the Build franchise."

"Dude, I've been telling you to give the spin-offs a chance. Its what me and Harold have been telling you for how long now? They are enjoyable even without being connected to some grand timeline like the phenominal UC."

"Wait a minute. Harold, as in Total Drama Harold?" Heather asked as she brought up her phone and began typing something. "We doing Beijing or Gardens?"

"Gardens." All three of them said. This made Heather raise a brow at them before she flicked through her screen.

"Okay, so you three talk to Harold on the regular and he likes Gundam too?"

"Oh he is a BIG fan of Gundam Seed and G Gundam. Why?" Heather looked up from her phone and shrugged her shoulders.

"I was contemplating about whether to have you guys extend an invite for him and Leshawna to hang at my place. Chill for a few hours, or spend the night depending on how everyone feels about that sort of thing. I have just about every Gundam entry on blu-ray. Figured we could do a marathon on Unicorn or something." Cody felt like he was looking at a cold day in the Earth's core. He had been to Heather's place, not that he told anyone that little detail, but for her to have a big group hangout there? What kind of Heather were they dealing with here? If Cody was to be honest with himself, he thought that type of open friendship would take a year considering her whole popularity thing.

"I think that's very nice of you to offer your family's house to hang out at. But don't you-"

"No, I meant my place. I own a home." Cody looked at his friends and saw Noah rubbed his hands into his cheeks. Bridgette had a shocked expression on her face. Rather tame in comparison to what Noah did.

"Here I am living in an apartment while you own, what a one bedroom house? I feel so inadequate to you. Oh master of finances! Teach this poor peasant your ways of money!"

"Oh ha, ha, ha Noah. So is that a yes or a no to hanging out?"

"Oh no I gotta see the kind of place you live in. You've seen mine. Now it's my time to see yours right?"

"Oh Noah how bold of you to flirt with me like that. And in front of another couple too?" It took a few seconds for Heather's words to click into place. Cody felt himself blush bright red. Bridgette and Noah looked to be wearing a similar color across their cheeks as Heather seemed to nod to herself and clicked on something on her screen. When she realized that no one was saying anything, she looked directly to him.

"So how are we splitting the bill on this?"

-Author Notes-

Hello readers, reviewers, and followers! Thanks for reading to the end of the chapter! As I've been stating in other projects, I'm working on multiple projects to either bring life to older stories or posting new projects in tribute of one thing or another. I've had the match between Noah and Heather written for quite some time. All I had to do was add in the actual plot and dialogue to get things rolling. I will say that, unlike the first two chapters where the time skips have been roughly a month apart, the next chapter will be much shorter than that. Sometimes rushing a hang out will lead to some unusual circumstances.

As for the Guest that reviewed chapter 2, To Try Something On My Own is coming up soon for a new chapter. I hope that the next chapter will be to your liking for that story!

Until next time everyone, stay golden!

Kazikamikaze24