Darren stood up and stretched his legs. "I must be getting better. I don't remember having to wait this long after any of my other duels'. He looked around. Most of the duels were finished. He noticed the life point counters were close to zero. He yawned and looked up on the wall at a clock. 'There's still a half hour left in the round. I guess I am getting better'. Darren watched as the last monsters were blasted to pieces.
'Ah, it's about time. I was just about to take a nap'.
'Well you might want to shake yourself awake. You'll be dueling again soon', Arcturas reminded. Darren stretched out again. He looked up at the monitor. A digital clock was on the screen counting down five minutes.
'Oh cool. They're giving us intermissions now'. The five minutes counted down and the monitor lit up with names again. Darren didn't find his name in time to see who he was up against.
"Turn and face me Darren". Darren whipped himself around to see his opponent. A tall, very wide man looked over him. His perfectly round head was completely bald. He had greedy eyes and a lustful smile. His neck wasn't visible but unlike most people his size, he didn't have extra chins. He wore a long black overcoat over his clothes. He was dressed in a white T-shirt that exposed his large gut and dark green cargo jeans. Black mountain climbing boots were strapped to his feet. He had black tear tattoos under his left eye. His bare hands looked badly scarred. Tied over his shoulder was a big sword. Darren had a hard time taking his focus from the weapon. The duel disk on the man's arm looked like a mere bracelet.
Darren bent backward to see the man's face. He recognized the man from somewhere and then it hit him like a ton of bricks. 'FUCK!'
"I know you! You're the world champion duelist from last aren't you. Vandal Roscoh, right", Darren said nervously.
"Indeed. And soon I'll be the world champion this year. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get this duel underway". Darren took a few steps back to get the man entirely into view. The man slipped six cards from the top of his deck. "I set one monster face down in defense mode. Then I set one card face down. I end my turn". The cards were tiny among the man's massive fingers. He laid them gently on the duel disk and the brown backs formed on the field.
Darren drew his cards. "I summon Blast Magician (A1400, D1700) in attack mode". Darren's sorcerer in red rushed to the field. It spawned a ball of fire which stretched and hardened into its scythe. "Attack his face down monster with Magic Blast". The wizard pointed its scythe at the face down card and a fireball flew across the field at the card.
"Reveal trap card, Sakuretsu Armor". The fireball vanished as a green, smoking suit of armor formed over the Blast Magician and exploded. "I hope you didn't think you would be able to hit my monsters so easily".
'I wish it were easy', Darren thought. "I set one card face down and end my turn", he said.
Vandal drew his next card. "I flip up my face down Arsenal Summoner (A1600, D1600) and when I do so, its effect activates. I'm allowed to search my deck for a monster with 'guardian' in its name and move it to my hand". He pulled out the deck and spread every card out at once. It only took him a second to see the card he wanted and returning the rest to the deck slot. "I chose my Guardian Baou". He held up the card for Darren to see. "Now to continue with my turn. I equip my Arsenal Summoner with Shooting Starbow- Ceal". The strange bow flashed into existence and was grabbed by the summoner. "And because my Starbow is on the field, I can now summon Guardian Ceal (A1700, D1400)". A brilliant star constructed itself from data bits and when the light faded, a grotesque red beast was glaring at Darren. "And because Arsenal Summoner is equipped with the Starbow, it receives a 1000 point power bonus as well as the ability to attack your life points directly. Not that it needs the effect with your field wide open". Darren looked worriedly at his bare field. "Arsenal Summoner, attack his life points directly with Shooting Starbow". The man in dark blue robes opened its hand and an arrow headed with a star formed. He loaded the bow and pulled the arrow back and fired. The arrow flew directly at Darren, picking up speed as it went until a spiraling rift opened in front of it and absorbed the arrow.
"Reveal face down card, Negate Attack". The purple card flipped up and shattered. "This not only stops your attack".
"It ends my battle phase, I know. I'm not some punk amateur. I'm the world famous Guardian Duelist. I will crush you kid". Vandal's face lightened up. "I end my turn". Darren was watching the man carefully. It looked like he had a hot temper and Darren didn't want to provoke him.
'Maybe if I let him win, he might not break my legs', he thought. 'I especially don't want to face a Guardian deck. I've seen what those things can do',
//Flashback//
Darren looked up a tall dueling arena at his old middle school. The kind that were used in the Duelist Kingdom tournament. On one field was an ugly dinosaur looking monster. It stood on two legs and wielded a wide battle ax. On the other field was dark blue dragon with three golden horns on its head. Behind the dragon stood a determined Blaine. He looked straight across the field at his opponent. And adult with he was short and had short brown hair. He had dark brown eyes. He wore a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
"I thought you would put up more of a fight Bob, after all you are a regional champion. I guess your Guardian deck just isn't what it used to be", Blaine mocked.
"Oh don't worry kid, I'll give you a fight", the man responded.
"We'll see. I end my turn by activating my Final Flame magic card, to burn off 600 of your life points". Bob's life point meter chimed as it counted down.
Blaine- 700LP
Bob- 1100LP
"Don't think I've forgotten about your Megamorph. I know that as long as I have more life points than you, your Tri-Horned Dragon's attack points are doubled. But that equip card isn't going to win this for you when I have the most powerful equip cards in the game. I activate Guardian Arsenal. For the cost of 1000 life points and one of each of my Guardians, I can equip every guardian weapon to my Grarl. Now then, he already has the Gravity Axe, so I arm him with Butterfly Dagger, Shooting Starbow, Wicked Breaking Flamberge, Rod of Silence, Twin Swords of Flashing LIght and Spirit Sword". Blaine looked in disbelief at the monster's attack points. "Now Guardian Grarl, attack his monster". The dinosaur cut through the dragon with its ax. "And because my monster has the Twin Swords, it can attack twice". The dinosaur raised its hand with a bent sword and struck Blaine's life points.
"No! Blaine!", Darren shouted.
"This game belongs to me". Bob said. The lifts let them both down and Bob walked away. Blaine stepped off with his head down.
"Don't worry about it Blaine, it's just one loss", Darren said.
Blaine looked up at him. "Yeah, you're right. Here, I have this", he said holding out a card. Darren gasped when he looked at it.
"The Tri-Horned Dragon, but this is your best card. Why?"
"It doesn't help me anymore. Maybe you can make better use of it", Blaine suggested. He turned and began to walk away.
//End Flashback//
Darren shook himself out of his daydream and looked down at his hand. "That Arsenal Summoner's nothing I can't handle. I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior (A1600, D1000) in attack mode". Breaker swung his sword and landed next to Darren. Its red aura radiated from the sword. "Breaker, destroy the Starbow". Breaker raised its sword and let the stream of red energy crash into the bow and destroyed it. "I set one card face down and end my turn".
Vandal drew his next card. "I discard Maha Vailo from my hand to equip Guardian Ceal with the Wicked Breaking Flamberge- Baou". Ceal roared and held up a long, wide sword. "Now I summon Guardian Baou (A800, D400)". The demonic guardian grinned at Darren, revealing sharp blue teeth. "Arsenal Summoner, attack his Magical Warrior". The cloaked man jammed a sharp, green stone into Breaker. But before the warrior in red was destroyed, it swung its sword down on its attacker. "Now attack his life points directly my Guardians". The two other monsters hit Darren, knocking him to the ground. "I end my turn by activating Reload. This lets me shuffle my hand into my deck and draw cards equal to the ones I put in". He slipped the cards in and quickly shuffled his deck before drawing two cards.
Vandal- 8000LP
Darren- 5000LP
Darren drew a new card. "I set one card face down. Then I summon my Apprentice Magician (A400, D800) in defense mode. I end my turn".
Arcturas stood in the halls of Darren's mind, mentally watching the duel. 'I too have a connection with those Guardians. I remember reading in that book that the original guardians of the Pharaoh all possessed weapons of great power. These monsters are like my ancestors. I succeeded them in my time. The seven of them. Before the Millenium Items came to be, the Pharaoh was protected the ones who wielded the divine weapons. Fearsome Baou, Cunning Ceal, Beautiful Elma, Mighty Grarl, Wise Kay'est, Courageous Tryce, and Virtuous Eyeatos.
They had a shrine built for them in the grand temple where their weapons were on display. Supposedly, no guardian could ever be defeated so long as they were in the shrine. I guess it would have been smart to keep Atem there instead'.
Vandal drew his card and looked at his unequipped Baou. "Don't worry my friend, you'll be safe soon. I activate my Fairy of the Spring magic card to move one equip card to my hand from my graveyard. Next I equip Baou with the Shooting Starbow- Ceal and Gravity Axe- Grarl, increasing him to 2300". Baou shrieked as its nearly tripled in size. "And now because it's the only card in my hand and its weapon is on the field, I summon Guardian Grarl (A2500, D1000). It's time to finish this. Attack his magician, Grarl". Grarl jumped into the air and slammed its mighty fist through the tiny spellcaster. "Now attack his life points directly my other guardians".
"Reveal face down card, Really Eternal Rest". Baou and Ceal dropped their weapons and grasped their throats. They dropped to the ground and tried to breathe, but to no avail. The two monsters shattered into pieces.
"A trap that destroys equip cards, a good move", Vandal said coldly. He raised his right hand and pointed to Darren. "Your move". Darren drew his card.
"I summon Neo the Mystic Swordsman (A1700, D1000) in defense mode. Then I set one card face down". The warrior with long blonde hair knelt down on the field. A face down card materialized next to him. "I end my turn".
Vandal drew his card. "I set one card face down". He looked at Darren, then to the face down card. 'I can't risk it if he has a trap. If I lose Grarl, then I have nothing defending me. I'll have to wait'. "I end my turn".
Darren drew his card. 'Whew, he fell for it'. He quickly looked over his hand. "I sacrifice Neo for my Summoned Skull (A2500, D1200)". The skeleton demon formed in a flash of lightning. "And I'll flip up my face down magic card, Spell Absorption. Now every time one of us activates a magic card, I gain 500 life points. Attack his face down monster with Lightning Strike". The skull lashed a bolt of electricity from its claws and blasted the face down monster.
"That was my Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu. When he's flipped up, I get to bring one equip card from my deck to my hand". He slipped his deck out again and pulled out a card. "I brought the Rod of Silence- Kay'est".
'Great, another one. I wish I knew what these cards did', Darren thought. 'When I get home, I'm gonna research every card in the game. He Vandal straight in the eyes. "I end my turn".
Vandal drew his card. "I equip my Guardian Grarl with the Rod of Silence- Kay'est to increase his attack points to 3000. And now he's immune to magic cards. Plus, as an added bonus I can now summon Guardian Kay'est (A1000, D1800). Guardian Grarl, attack his Summoned Skull". Grarl raised the majestic Rod of Silence over its head and smashed the demon. "And Guardian Kay'est, attack his life points directly". The mermaid Guardian punched Darren in the face. "I end my turn".
Vandal- 8000LP
Darren- 3800LP
Darren drew his card. "I remove Breaker and Neo from my graveyard to special summon my Chaos Sorcerer (A2300, D2000)". Vandal gasped and his eyes widened. "Your Grarl may be safe from magic cards, but not from monster effects. Chaos Sorcerer, activate your special ability". The sorcerer made a ball of dark light and fired it at Guardian Grarl, consuming it and disappearing. "My monster removes yours from the game. But it can't attack, so I end my turn".
Vandal drew his card. "Activate magic card, Hidden Book of Spell. I'm now allowed to move two equip cards from my graveyard to my deck". Two cards flew out of his graveyard slot. "I return the Rod of Silence and Shooting Starbow. Then I switch Kay'est to defense mode and end my turn".
Vandal- 8000LP
Darren- 4300LP
Darren slipped his card off the top of his deck. "I summon my Mythical Beast Cerberus (A1400, D1400). Mythical Beast, attack Kay'est". The two headed dog pounced at the mermaid and when the its mouth was just inches away from taking a bite out of it, the dog stopped and retreated. "Wha…what's going on?" Darren asked. Vandal started laughing.
"It's Kay'est's special effect. It is immune to all magic cards and can't be attacked. Kay'est is the greatest at defense when it comes to the Guardians".
Darren watched his monster bow its head. "Chaos Sorcerer, remove the monster from play". Kay'est was hit with a sphere of darkness. "I end my turn".
Vandal drew his card and a look of relief sat on his bald head. "I activate my Dire Risk magic card. As long as I have no monsters in my hand or on my field, I discard cards from the top of my deck until I draw a monster. I then special summon one monster for each card discarded from the top of my deck". He drew one card and revealed it to Darren. "Gravity Axe- Grarl goes to the Graveyard". He drew another card. "Next to go is Shooting Starbow- Ceal". He drew another card. "I set one monster face down on defense mode". He drew another card. "Because I've drawn a monster, this card goes to my hand". He picked up a fifth card. "And I'll set this card face down. "Now, I activate my Hammer Shot magic card to destroy your Chaos Sorcerer".
The dark clothed man looked up to see a giant mallet come crashing down on it. "So is that it for your Dire Risk card?" Darren asked. Vandal grinned.
"Yes, but I'm not finished my turn. Since they were special summoned", he said, pointing at his face down card, "I can flip them up and activate their special abilities". The two monsters flipped up. "Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu and Arsenal Summoner pull a Guardian and an equip card to my hand. "Now form my summon. I equip Arsenal Summoner with Spirit Sword- Eyatos". A feathery sword rested in the monsters hand and white, feathered wings sprouted from its back. "Now I sacrifice both of my monsters for Guardian Eyatos (A2700, D2200)".
Arcturas' eyes shot wide open and his pupils grew wide as he fell into a trance. Darren's eyes became the same way. They felt like they were falling through a whirlpool, but not getting wet. Wind and sand were rushing past them. They looked in front of them and saw an impending shadow quickly grow. It washed over them and everything was dark.
The two of them looked around. There was no sign of light anywhere. They were in total darkness. Darren held his hand up to his face, but couldn't make it out. "Arcturas, this isn't your average everyday darkness. This is advanced darkness", he said. He spread his hands out and walked straight, feeling for anything in his way. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"No, I'm afraid not", Arcturas responded. Darren felt coarse, flat stones against his hand. He rubbed the stones and they crumbled in his hands.
"I feel something. It feels like a wall of stones, but it keeps wearing away as I touch it". Golden light shot into Darren's eyes from below. He looked down at the shimmering Millenium Medallion. He turned around to see a fully solid Arcturas standing in his purple robes. His wild, long black hair stuck out in each direction. Arcturas looked at the golden object. Flames erupted from torches hanging on the walls. The walls were made of stones forged of sand. The flames revealed seven glass cases running from the ceiling to the floor. In each case was a weapon, as if on display. "These are the weapons that the Guardian monsters use". Arcturas looked at each case. The two of them head footsteps and turned to look down a hallway. In walked six people in white robes and a seventh in dark purple. The seventh was Arcturas, only he had a very mournfully pissed off look on his face. In his right hand was a long golden staff with a cobra head top. On each of their left wrists were ancient duel disks. All of them bore what looked to Darren like Millenium Items. They were talking quietly amongst themselves.
"Well today's your big day Arcturas. Pharaoh Atem is to name you the Seventh Guardian. And rightly so. If hadn't been for that black angel you summoned, the entire kingdom would have been destroyed", said an older man. One of his eyes had been replaced with a golden one. The angry Arcturas nodded his head. He didn't look at any of the others.
"Don't beat yourself up over it, Arcturas", a dark-haired girl with a golden necklace said. "There were no wrong choices. A life was going to be lost either way. If you had saved your parents, Vulcan Flare would be dead. He owes his life to you". Arcturas winced when the woman mentioned his parents.
"You acted bravely. Most people wouldn't have been able to save another's life. You should be proud of yourself. I'm sure your parents are proud of you in the next life". Arcturas clenched a fist. He looked up at the majestic sword in front of him.
"But Eyatos could have, couldn't he?" Arcturas asked. Darren looked over at the Arcturas he knew. He had a mournful look of remembrance on his face. The old man shook his head.
"Don't expect to do everything Eyatos could. He was one of the first guardians. No one was ever able to defeat him. He is to this day the greatest guardian to have ever lived".
"So is that a yes?" Arcturas asked. The other guardians lowered their eyes. One of them holding a scepter like object looked annoyed.
"Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Your lucky to have even known your parents. I had to grow up without anyone", he shouted.
"Seto, control yourself", the woman protested.
"No. Arcturas is a guardian now. Your soul purpose in life now is to protect the Pharaoh". Arcturas looked at Seto and the mournfulness in his eyes disappeared. More footsteps could be heard approaching. In walked a short man with spiky gray hair. Next to him was another younger man who was masked by shadows due to the lack of light. Hanging from his neck was a golden pyramid hanging upside down. The seven guardians bowed as he entered the room.
"Rise my friends. Since you were not able to be at my crowning, I'll tell you. I do not want anyone bowing when I enter the room. We are all people here". Darren looked at his Arcturas and noticed he too was down on one knee. "You all know why I have called you here". He looked at the serious faces of the other seven people.
"Arcturas, what's going on?" Darren asked. Arcturas did not reply. The Pharaoh walked to the other Arcturas.
"Because of the power you wield as well as your loyalty to the kingdom, your bravery, and your nobility, you Arcturas are hereby known as Arcturas the Seventh Guardian". The short old man handed him the Millenium Medallion. The Pharaoh put it around Arcturas's neck. "With this Millenium Medallion, you are gifted with the powers and responsibilities of the Shadow Realm". Arcturas's face lightened.
"Thank you my Pharaoh". He bowed his head.
The Pharaoh laughed. "I told you not to bow to me". Arcturas lifted his head. "Come, there is a feast in the grand chambers". The nine of them all walked out down the hallway. Darren walked over to Arcturas. But before either of them could say anything, the world became very hazy.
Darren blinked a few times and when his vision came back into focus, he was standing opposite of Vandal and Guardian Eyatos. "Now for your demise child", Vandal's voce boomed. "Eyatos, attack his dog". The eagle warrior slashed through the dog with its sword. "I end my turn".
Vandal- 8000LP
Darren- 3000LP
Darren drew his next card. "I reveal my face down Return From Different Dimension trap card. For half of my life points, I get to special summon up to five monsters removed from play". Breaker and Neo reappeared on the field. Next I summon Walker the Magical Warrior (A2600, D2200)". Walker looked like Neo in Breaker's armor without the helmet and the armor was dark blue. He held a sword with a blue aura in one hand and a shield in the other. "Next I activate my Contract with Dark Ruler. I discard the rest of my hand to special summon one Ritual monster from my deck as long as I remove monsters from my graveyard who equal its stars. So I'll remove Breaker and Neo to summon the Magician of Black Chaos (A2800, D2600). Walker, blast Eyatos with your special effect". The blue aura turned red and Walker fired it at the winged Guardian. "Now your monster is 1000 points weaker. Walker, attack". Walker blasted the blue aura through Vandal's monster. "I end my turn with an attack from the Magician of Black Chaos. Chaos Scepter Blast!" The black ball of lightning crashed into Vandal.
Vandal- 4300LP
Darren- 1500LP
Vandal drew his card. "I activate my Guardian Shrine field card". Arcturas mentally gasped. "So long as this cards exists on the field, none of my monsters can be destroyed in battle. And if I have no monsters on my field when it's played, I get one Guardian Token (A400, D400). And the best part about it is that it can attack you directly". The little rat monster with a small sword scurried across the field, passed Darren's monsters and stabbed Darren in the foot. "I end my turn".
Vandal- 4300LP
Darren- 1100LP
Darren rested two fingers on his deck and took a deep breath. 'Darren wait! Let me take this one', Arcturas called out.
'Are you sure', Darren asked.
'Yeah. I remember that one thing that always bothered me was if I was the strongest Guardian and I think this might be the only way I'll ever know'.
'Right!. Darren closed his eyes and the Millenium Medallion lit up. Darren's hair was replaced with long black locks that suck out everywhere. And his gray eyes turned into black pools. Vandal was speechless.
"What is this?" he asked. Arcturas drew his card and points his duel disk arm at Vandal.
"Don't mind that, we have a duel to finish", he said. A small black orb fell into his deck. "Now then, I end my turn".
Vandal drew one card. "I set one monster face down in defense mode. I end my turn". As the brown card emerged from the floor of the shrine, the small rat withered away.
Arcturas drew his card. "I activate my Charity magic card to draw three more cards". He slipped three cards out of his deck. "Now go".
Vandal drew a card and placed his fingers on his face down card. "I flip up my face down Arsenal Jar (A800, D800). When it's flipped up, every monster on my side of the field is destroyed and I get to draw five cards from my deck. I then get to special summon every four star or lower monster". Vandal picked up five cards. "Excellent. I play Guardian Ceal (A1700, D1400), Guardian Elma (A1300, D1200), Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu (A500, D500), Maha Vailo (A1550, D1400), and Guardian Baou (A800, D400)". The monsters rose out of the floor. "Now I have an army of monsters that can't be destroyed. You might as well give up". Arcturas gave him a "dream on" grin. "I'll beat you yet boy. Take your turn".
Arcturas drew his card. "Don't get too excited". He looked down at his card. "I activate my De-Fusion magic card. This will split Walker back into its original parts. Now I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Thanatos the Black Angel (A4500, D4000) in attack mode". The looming reaper filled most of the shrine.
In another part of the world, Cairo stood still. "What is this that I feel? It feels like a deathly, malevolent force. But it also feels as though it is used to destroy darkness. What could this be?"
Somewhere else, Andy Jones prepared for a duel. "Whoa, I just got the strangest feeling of déjà vu. Like Some weird protector that I've seen before has just appeared from nowhere".
And in another corner of the globe, a teenage boy with jagged red hair opened his crimson eyes. "So, it's finally been awoken in the human plane. It's just a matter of time".
Vandal stared at the monster before smirking himself. "Your monster is powerful. In fact, it's the strongest monster I've ever seen. But still, my monsters are safe in the shrine. So to tell you the truth, I'm not worried". Arcturas nodded his head.
"We'll see. I end my turn". Vandal drew his card.
"I activate my Different Dimension Capsule. I pull on card out of my deck and remove it from play. Then in two turns, it comes to my hand". The capsule appeared on the field and opened up. "I'll drop my Brave Attack card in it. What it does is I get to have all of my monsters attack one of yours and if their total attack is greater, than your monster is destroyed. Usually my monsters are destroyed too, but my shrine will prevent that. I end my turn".
Arcturas drew his card. "Darn, sill nothing. I guess you can go", he said.
Vandal drew his card. "Only one more turn and I'll get my Brave Attack card. But I have nothing this turn, so go".
Darren drew his card. "There we go. I activate my Stray Lambs magic card so I can special summon two Lamb Tokens. But they're just here for me to sacrifice for my Dark Magician (A2500, D2100). Next I activate my Dark Magic Attack card. This blasts away all of your magic and traps, including your shrine". Vandal looked around as the stone walls of the shrine dissipated. Everyone else now had a clear view of the arena and could see the giant reaper. "Next I activate my Gift of the Martyr. I sacrifice Thanatos to transfer its attack points to my Dark Magician. Then for my final card, I pay 1000 life points to activate my Diffusion Wave Motion. Now my Dark Magician can blast all of your monsters to pieces at once". The Dark Magician raised its staff and dark magic pulsated from it, eradicating all of Vandal's monsters.
"No, I can't lose. I'm the world champion", Vandal shouted. Darren resumed control of his body.
"Not anymore", he said proudly. Vandal stood up as tall as he could. Darren's pride suddenly turned into fear. Vandal pulled the sword from his back and swung it at Darren, stopping it only inches from his face.
"I see you've bested me. So I surrender my weapon to your", he said. He handed the blade to Darren
"Um, thank you", Darren said feeling relieved. He took the sword and watched as the giant man turned and walked away. 'Aw yeah, I beat the world champ. I'm the fuckin' man'. He swung the sword around once and went to sit down in a chair. 'Thanks for the help Arcturas'.
'No, thank you for letting me prove myself'' Darren sat down and patiently waited for the other duels to finish.
The boy with crimson eyes and red hair closed his eyes once more.
Cairo looked up at the sky. The golden eye on his forehead was gleaming and the tattoos on his body were giving off a golden glow as well. "It's gone. But…what was it?"
Andy sat at a table shuffling his deck. Other duelists were sitting at tables of their own, flipping through books of cards, laying cards out in front of them and looking through decks. 'Hm, must have just been my imagination', he thought. 'Alright, my next opponent is Ness Crowler. Crowler…why does that name sound familiar?' He looked up to see the winner of the previous duel walk into the waiting room. "Well, I guess I'm up next". He sat in his chair for little longer until the announcer called for his name.
"What an exciting duel that was. For our next match, we have Andy Jones and nephew of the head of the Obelisk Blue dorm at the Kaiba Corp Duel Academy, Ness Crowler". The crowd exploded with applause.
"That's where I know that name from". Andy grabbed his duel disk and walked out of the room.
"Good luck Andy", one boy call from the other room.
"Yeah, good luck", called anther.
"You'll beat him for sure", came a girl's voice. A confidant smile spread on Andy's face. He walked up a flight of stairs. He looked around the stadium. There were hundreds of spectators surrounding him. Already on the field was Ness. His pale blonde hair was tied in a short ponytail. Purple makeup had been applied to his pale face.
"I hope you don't think you'll beat me just because your uncle is a good duelist. I'm going all the way to the top", Andy called across the field.
"Let's let our cards do the talking", Ness called back. The two of them gave their decks a quick shuffle and slid them into their duel disks. "I'll go first. I set one card face down. Them I summon Gear Golem the Moving Fortress (A800, D2200). I end my turn". The gold and silver creation floated in front of Ness, spikes protruding from its arms.
Andy drew a sixth card. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian (A1000, D1000)". In a rush of feathers, a man covered in green with two tremendous wings stood heroically next to Andy. "Then I set one card face down and end my turn". Andy watched his opponents movements carefully.
Ness picked up one card. "My second monster is Red Gadget (A1300, D1500)". A small red mechanical monster with a large silver gear on its back assembled itself from machine parts. "Red Gadget, attack his Elemental Hero Avian", Ness commanded. The machine punched Avian with its tiny fist. "Now I'll have my Gear Golem attack your life points directly".
"Oh no you don't. When you destroy Avian, I activate Hero Signal to call out my Elemental Hero Bubbleman (A800, D1200). And when he's called to the field by himself, I get to draw two cards".
"To continue with my turn. Gear Golem, attack his life points directly". The lustrous machine moved its arms to its front, aiming the spikes at Andy.
"But how, I have a monster on the field?"
"For the cost of 800 life points, Gear Golem's special ability activates. I can have it attack from defense mode". Andy gasped and like a train, the golem flew at him, smashing him with the silver spikes. "And by the way, when I summon Red Gadget I can pull a Yellow Gadget from my deck to my hand". Ness searched his deck and pulled his card out. "I end my turn".
Ness- 7200LP
Andy- 6900LP
Andy drew a card. "I set one card face down and summon Sangan (A1000, D600). And I'll switch Bubbleman to defense mode, too. I end my turn".
Ness drew his card. "I summon my Green Gadget (A1400, D600) in attack mode". This gadget was green with a silver gear for its abdomen. "Attack his Bubbleman". The green monster punched Bubbleman, shattering the diver looking monster with a cape. "Now Red Gadget, attack Sangan".
"Reveal trap crard, A Hero Emerges". Ness looked uneasily at the card. "All you have to do is select one card in my hand randomly. If it's a monster than I get to special summon it". Ness looked over the backs of Andy's cards several times.
"Alright, the middle one". Andy grinned.
"And the card you chose was my Elemental Hero Neo Bubbleman (A800, D1200). And now I get to search my deck for a monster with less than 1500 attack from Sangan".
Ness didn't wait around for Andy. "I pay 800 more life points for Gear Golem to attack you again and end my turn". The golem rammed into Andy again.
Ness- 6400LP
Andy- 6100LP
Andy drew his card after shuffling his deck. "Alright, I activate my Premature Burial magic card. For 800 life points, I can bring one of my monsters back from the graveyard". Green and white feathers flew everywhere. And because Neo Bubbleman counts as a regular Bubbleman, I can play this, my Polymerization magic card. I fuse Avian, Bubbleman, and this Sparkman in my hand to summon Elemental Hero Tempest (A2800, D2800)". The fused hero flew from the sky on its falcon-like wings and aimed its bubble gun at the Gear Golem. "Attack". The jet stream of bubbles raced at the machine and destroyed it. "I end my turn".
Ness- 6400LP
Andy- 5300LP
Ness picked up a card. "And now I summon Yellow Gadget (A1200, D1200). I switch all three of my monsters to defense mode and reveal my face down trap card, Stronghold the Moving Fortress (A3000, D0).
"What?! How does a trap card have attack points?" Andy asked.
"It only does if I have all three of my gadgets on the field. But when this bad boy is out there, they can't be attacked. Now Stronghold, attack the Elemental Hero Tempest". The shaky machine slammed a brutal fist into the hero, causing it to burst into pieces. "I end my turn".
Ness- 6400LP
Andy- 5200LP
Andy drew his card. "That's a nice card. But everything has a weakness. And I've already found that thing's. I activate my Dark Factory of Mass Production to bring Avian and Sparkman to my hand. Next I summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (A1500, D1600)". A Tarzan knock off with a boomerang style sword stared the Moving Fortess down. "Wildheart, attack his Red Gadget". The wild man hurled its sword at the red machine.
"It's no use. As long as Stronghold is on the field, you can't attack my gadgets". The boomerang cut through the red machine. "No, that's not possible. You must be cheating".
"Nope, Wildheart isn't affected by trap cards. So he doesn't have to obey the rules of your fortress". Ness bit his bottom lip. "Now I activate Polymerization to fuse it with Avian to summon Elemental Hero Wild Wingman (A1900, D2300). And now to activate its special effect. I discard Sparkman from my hand to destroy your Stronghold the Moving Fortress". Wild Wingman slashed through the rattled machine. "I end my turn".
"What a move folks. Andy Jones has just pulled himself out a nearly impenetrable
lock", the announcer boomed.
Ness drew his card. "it's time to swarm. I summon Ancient Gear (A100, D800) in defense mode. Next I activate my Machine Duplication to special summon two more from my deck". Three small identical machines assembled themselves. "Next I activate Ancient Gear Drill. I discard one card to bring a magic card to my hand and end my turn".
Andy drew a card. "I summon Jerry Beans Man (A1750, D0). Attack!" Both of Andy's monsters slashed through two of the Ancient Gears. "I end my turn".
Ness drew his card and twisted his face into a cruel grin. "I activate my Ancient Gear Castle field card". A stone castle with old cannons rose behind Ness. "Next I sacrifice Green Gadget and Ancient Gear to summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon (A3000, D2000)". The machine dragon wing's looked biological, but the entire thing was made of metal. "Gadjiltron Dragon, attack Wild Wingman". The dragon opened its mouth and a blue light sparked inside. "PROTON CANNON", Ness shouted. Wingman was reduced to nothing in the particle beam. "I end my turn with this, Ancient Gear Explosive. I sacrifice Gadjiltron Dragon to hit you with 1500 points of direct damage".
"WOW folks, what an amazing attack. I think it's safe to say who'll be winning this match".
Ness- 6400LP
Andy- 2500LP
Andy blinked a few times to get his vision back from the attack. He slipped the top card off his deck. "I set one card face down and end my turn by attacking the Yellow Gadget". Jerry Beans Man swung its tiny sword through the machine.
Ness drew his card. "I summon Cannon Soldier (A1400, D1300) in attack mode and end my turn".
Andy drew his card. "I summon Elemental Hero Overgrowth (A1400, D1200) in attack mode. Next I'll attack with Jerry Beans Man and then Overgrowth". The two monsters attacked Ness. "I end my turn".
Ness- 4650LP
Andy- 2500LP
Ness drew his card. "Ha! Tell me, when I destroyed my own Dragon, did you think the Gadjiltron nightmare was over?" Andy looked at Ness with suspicion in his eyes. "Well, I'll tell you it isn't. I use Ancient Gear Castle's special effect. I can sacrifice it as one monster for an Ancient Gear monster. So I rid my field card to summon Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Chimera (A2300, D1300). Gadjiltron Chimera, attack his Overgrowth". A red spark triggered in the chimera's mouth as particles gathered. "ELECTRON CANNON". The blast flew at Overgrowth.
"Reveal face down card, Draining Shield". A light blue shield formed over Andy's monsters and the red light was turned into white and redirected at Andy. "This card stops your attack and gives me life points equal to it".
Ness frowned. "I end my turn".
Ness- 4650LP
Andy- 4800LP
Andy picked up his card. "I activate my magic card, Overgrowth Transformation. When I have Overgrowth on my field, I can return as many monsters on my field to my deck in return to special summon an elemental hero for each. Just so long as I pay 2000 life points for each monster". He shuffled his two monsters in and pulled out two cards. "I summon Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (A1200, D800). "Then I'll use Polymerization to fuse them into Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (A2100, D1200) in attack mode and I'll equip him with Salamandra to pump him by 700 points. Wingman, attack his chimera with Sky Dive Scorcher". The green monster lit itself on fire and crashed itself down on the machine monster. "And let's not forget his special ability. Whenever he destroys a card, he does damage equal to your monster's attack points". Wingman blasted Ness with a river of fire. "I end my turn".
Ness- 1850LP
Andy- 800LP
"This could be it folks. If Ness doesn't draw a monster here, it's all over", echoed the announcer's voice.
Ness drew his card and his face fell. He looked at Andy and sighed. "I end my turn". Andy closed his eyes and smiled.
"Flame Wingman, attack his life points directly". The wingman fired a gust of feathers at Ness, lowering his life points to zero. The two duelists stood, facing each other for a few seconds before turning to leave in opposite directions.
"And Andy Jones is the winner".
So, Thanatos has made an appearance in the Kingda Ka tournament. And Andy has won his next duel. But who was the boy with dark red hair and crimson eyes. All will be revealed on The Seventh Guardian.