Virtual Spirit

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

After watching Christina win her duel against Lady Kotako of the Game Marshals, Kairi was practically bouncing off the walls in the real world. She was ecstatic about her friend's victory, especially since the last time her friends went up against a Game Marshal, Chazz lost and disappeared. Speaking of Chazz, there was no sign of him yet...then again, the virtual world was probably very large inside the computer, so it probably took a while longer to look for a single person.

"Two fights down, six to go, baby!" Kairi bounced around gleefully, "BOOYA, CHRISSY!"

"Uh, kid?"

Still bouncing, Kairi turned to the technicians, all of whom had annoyed looks on their faces.

"Yeah?"

"How about you go find Mr. Tong and tell him the good news of her victory?"

"He'd probably like to know,"

"Yeah, I'm sure he would,"

Kairi stopped bouncing and ran towards the door, "I'm on it!"

After she left, the technicians went back to work.

"Never thought that hyper-active kid would leave,"

"Same here,"

"Mhm,"

"Ditto...,"

In the hacker's dark room, said hacker was typing away furiously at the keyboard, looking up at the computer monitor every few moments to see if anything had changed yet. After a bit, the hacker's fingers hovered over the keyboard, eyes focused on the monitor ahead.

"I'm so glad we found you guys!"

"Chrissy won? Against a Game Marshal?! What is this, Armageddon?"

"Shaddup, Siho! See if I root for you when you go up against one of the Game Marshals,"

"You suck,"

"No, you suck!"

The hacker's neckbones cracked loudly around the room as it waited for the conversations to die down. All it needed was the right moment, then it'd show these brats some real fun.

"Almost ready...,"

"So...," Christina pointed to Noah, "You're a-?"

"An example of hybrid technology of computers and human thought," Bastion murmured, circling around Noah, "Fascinating! I've heard theories...,"

"And I've read a lot of sci-fi books," Christina scratched her head, "Wow,"

Alexis glanced at her friend, "When you say read, do you mean seen a lot sci-fi movies?"

Before she had a chance to answer, Noah let out a loud whistle, getting everyone's attention. The virtual duelist looked at the group, "Guys, I hate to break up the little reunion, but the sooner we leave this place, the sooner we can get to the next Marshal, and the sooner you can beat them, then the sooner you guys can get outta here,"

"With Chazz," Christina reminded him.

Noah shrugged, "Yeah, if you want him, I guess...,"

"Alright, so who's the next Game Marshal?" Jaden asked to no one, "We've already dealt with two of them...,"

"I think it's Lady Midori," Noah rubbed his chin, "If we want to hurry this along, we'll have to use my door shortcuts,"

"Midori?" Khamille crossed her arms, "Who wants to duel her?"

Before anyone could say anything, Christina grabbed Bastion's arm and shot it upward, "Bastion does!" she half-shouted.

"Chrissy!"

"Aw, c'mon!"

Noah grinned, "Bastion?"

The nerdy duelist pulled his back away and looked at Christina, who had a pleading look in her eyes. He sighed and hung his head, "I'm next to duel, I suppose,"

"If that's true, then you are in big trouble," Khamille walked in front of him, "Listen to me, and listen, buddy. I know Midori's deckstyle and with your deck, you're gonna need some help,"

Bastion smiled, "I appreciate your concern, Khamille, but I believe my deck will suffice. I've constructed it to fit my strategies,"

"Trust me, Bastion, you're gonna need help!" Khamille scratched her head, "Guess we'll have to look for a town with card shops...then we'd be able to use up some of the small fortune we earned,"

Noah bit his fingernail, "I'm not sure if that's a good plan. Remember that whoever's altering this world could do anything to screw you all over. If you ask me, we have to find another way to prepare your decks,"

"How the hell are we gonna do that?"

The virtual duelist grinned as a large array of Duel Monsters cards appeared next to him, "Duel Monsters database. Every card ever created in the history of Duel Monsters has been recorded in this virtual world, so whoever wants to make some last minute changes to their decks, they are at your disposal,"

Everyone gawked at the selection.

"Wow," Christina gave a long whistle, "Hot damn! This is good stuff,"

Siho nodded and turned to her, "Wait a minute. You won the duel against Kotako, didn't you get a prize?"

"Oh, that's right!" Christina snapped her fingers and pulled out a card from her deck, "She gave me a copy of Great Shogun Shien! Sure, it's special ability is related to the Six Samurai, but I don't really need it's effect, it's already a good monster to use,"

The hacker frowned, "So, you think you can help those brats out, you piece of crap? We'll see about that!".

Once again, the sound of keys being pressed echoed around the dark room as the hacker inserted code after code into the computer. After awhile, the hacker leaned back in the chair and smirked.

"You've dealt with my altered sprites before...let's see how you deal with this!"

As the others went through the card database, Noah felt something and snapped his head around, scanning the area.

I remember this sensation...I feel it every damn time something in this world goes corrupt. What happened this time?

"Hey, guys, it's Celeste!"

Noah turned his head to see the woman from Kotako's castle walk up to them, her hair blowing in the wind. Christina walked over to her, "Celeste, what's up? You coming with us?"

Celeste shook her head, "No, I'm not,"

"Then what's up?"

A dark giggle escaped Celeste's lips, "Duel...,"

"Chrissy, get away from her!"

Christina turned only to see Noah's hand just before he shoved her to the ground.

"HEY! NOAH, WHAT THE HELL?!"

Noah glared at Celeste, who began to undergo a strange transformation. Her hair grew considerably, her skin paled, and her pupils shrank a little to a level that could only be described as freaky.

Jaden stared, "What happened to her?"

"She's been corrupted," Noah held up the arm with his duel disk, "I'll handle this, so just stay back guys,"

Celeste cackled, "You've been against our kind for long enough, Noah. I'm different than your other opponents in this world, so don't think it'll be an easy task!"

She knows about the other corrupted sprites... Noah narrowed his eyes at her, This is definitely the work of the jerk who's messing with this place, but not even the other corrupted programs knew that this was a virtual world! Something's wrong here...very wrong!

"What's the matter, Noah? Scared?"

"Not in the least. I don't know what it is that you abominations want with my home, but I'll be damned to the hellfire if I let you have your way,"

Celeste smiled wickedly and activated her duel disk, "Duel me,"

Saw that coming! the group of young duelists thought together from the sidelines.

"Challenge accepted!" Noah snapped, activating his disk, "Let's go!"

N: 4000
C: 4000

"Ladies first!" Celeste drew her card, "I summon Chaosrider Gustaph (1500/1600) in attack mode!"

A large, green-skinned humanoid on a demonic motorcycle appeared on the field, his giant blade glinting as his bike roared to life.

"Next, I play Allure of Darkness! This Spell allows me to draw two more cards," she drew her new cards, "But, there's a price. I need to remove one Dark-Attribute monster from my hand. If I can't, then my hand goes to the Graveyard,"

"I get the feeling you have a Dark monster in there, don't you?" Noah asked.

"Good instincts," Celeste slipped a card into her graveyard, "I end my turn,"

Noah drew his card, "First, I play the Spell card, Spring of Rebirth," he slipped the card into it's slot, "Next, I summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500) in attack mode!"

A small white rabbit, along with a strange mechanical device in a black top hat appeared on the field.

"Go, Inaba White Rabbit!"

Jaden frowned, "Wait, why's he attacking? His monster's weaker than hers,"

Alexis tapped her arm, "It must have a special ability,"

"You're correct, Alexis!" Noah smiled, "Inaba White Rabbit can attack my opponent directly!"

The rabbit hopped around the field a few times before plowing into Celeste with it's strange weapon.

N: 4000
C: 3300

Celeste grinned, "Hardly felt that,"

"I'll make sure you feel something next round then," Noah slipped a card into a slot, "I place one card facedown and I end my turn," he declared as Inaba left the field.

N: 4500
C: 3300

"Why'd the monster leave the field?" Christina blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, why did he gain Life Points, too?" Siho added, also confused.

Khamille pointed to his Spell card, "Spring of Rebirth. Everytime a monster card returns to it's owner's hand from the field, the duelist gains 500 Life Points,"

"Okay, but why did the monster leave?"

Noah glanced at them, They've obviously never seen Spirit monsters before...

"My draw!" Celeste drew her card.

"Hold on, I activate my facedown card, Solemn Wishes!" Noah's facedown card revealed itself to show a maiden covered in beautiful light, "Now, everytime I draw a card, I gain 500 Life Points,"

Jordan turned to his cousin, "He sure does like to use cards to increase his Life Points, don't he?"

Alexis nodded, "Yeah,"

"I place two cards facedown, and now I activate my Chaosrider Gustaph's special ability. I can remove up to two Spell cards from my Graveyard from play, and for each one removed, he gains 300 points," Celeste reached into her Graveyard and pulled out Allure of Darkness, "Since I only have one, I'll remove that and let him go up 300 more attack points,"

Chaosrider Gustaph (1700/1500)

"Gustaph, mow him down!"

The demonic biker monster revved his motorbike and launched himself at Noah. The others watched as the biker circled Noah a few times before cleaving into him with his wicked-looking sword.

N: 2800
C: 3300

"I'll place two cards facedown and I end my turn," Celeste finished up her turn, still smiling, "The weakness of your Spirit monsters is that the monsters you summon must return to your hand at the end of your turn, leaving you completely defenseless,"

Noah kept a calm look, "I know what weaknesses a Spirit deck holds, but I've spent enough time dueling to work out the kinks of my deck," he held up his duel disk, "You have no idea what power I hold in this deck, so don't get cocky!"

Christina turned to Bastion, "Spirit deck?"

Bastion folded his arms, "I've heard of Duel Monster cards that was created by Pegasus after he explored some of the ancient ruins of the world. Supposedly, he modeled them after the spirits and deities from each region he visited, but I never thought I'd get to see them,"

"It's my go!" Noah drew his card, "Since I just drew, I gain 500 Life Points thanks to Solemn Wishes,"

N: 3300
C: 3300

"Next, I play Card Destruction! This Spell card forces us to send all the cards in our hands to the Graveyard, then we both draw the same amount of cards that we discarded," he held up his hand, "I have four cards,"

"Same here,"

The two duelists slipped both of their hands into their respective Graveyards, then they both drew four new cards.

"Since that happened, I gain 500 Life Points for each card I drew thanks to Card Destruction and Solemn Wishes," Noah reminded her.

N: 5300
C: 3300

"Next, I summon the monster known as Flame Ruler (1500/1600),"

A whirlwind of fire erupted from the ground and from it, a dark-skinned man with blue hair, dressed in red robes stepped out, smoke rising from his body.

"Flame Ruler, light up that Gustaph!"

"Not so fast!" Celeste shouted as one of her facedown's revealed itself to show the rest a large game controller, "Activate Spell card, Enemy Controller! Now, I can use this Spell card's effect to change the battle position of one of your monsters, so Flame Ruler's attack has failed!"

Flame Ruler quickly knelt to one knee, his smoking arms across his chest

"Since Flame Ruler isn't a Spirit monster, he doesn't return to my hand, so at least I have some defense, especially since you just put him in defense mode," Noah looked at his hand, "I end my turn,"

Celeste drew her card, "I play the Spell card known as Brain Control! By giving up 800 of my Life Points, I can gain control of your Flame Ruler!"

N: 5300
C: 2500

"Next, I summon Dark Crusader (1600/200) in attack mode, and I switch Flame Ruler into attack mode as well,"

The fiery monster rose to his feet as a skull-faced warrior in black armor, wielding a large sword appeared on the field.

"I activate Dark Crusader's special ability," Celeste plucked a card from her hand and slipped it into her Graveyard, "By sending one Dark-attribute monster to the Graveyard from my hand, I can increase Dark Crusader's attack points by 400 points!"

Flamer Ruler (1500/1600)
Dark Crusader (2000/200)

"Attack him directly, you two! Show him our power!"

Noah braced himself as both his Flame Ruler and the Dark Crusader attacked him head on, taking a large chunk of his Life points with them.

N: 1800
C: 2500

"Your move, boy,"

Noah drew his card and looked at his hand as his Life Points went up.

N: 2300
C: 2500

"I sacrifice my Flame Ruler in order to summon my Spirit monster, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (2800/2900) in attack mode!"

Once again, Noah's field was covered in a blaze as a large, shirtless, muscular man with flaming hair appeared on the field, his hair dancing in the wind.

"Wait, doesn't that monster require two sacrifices?" Jaden asked, "Noah, how were you able to do that?"

Noah grinned, "Flame Ruler's special ability. When I sacrifice him for a Fire-attribute monster Summoning, he counts as two sacrifices instead of one!"

Bastion clicked his tongue, "Interesting monster strategy,"

"Next, I equip him with the Spell known as Flaming Fist, which boosts his power by 200 points," Noah's monster held up his hand and almost instantly, a fireball engulfed the appendage, "Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, burn Dark Crusader to a crisp!"

Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (3000/2900)

Dark Crusader cried in pain as Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi's fist connected with his abdomen, obliterating him.

"Everytime Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi deals battle damage to you, during your next Draw Phase, you must discard your entire hand before you draw, and with Flaming Fist on him, everytime I deal battle damage, I gain 500 Life Points!"

N: 2800
C: 1100

"I end my turn, and since that happens, Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi comes back and I gain another 500 Life Points,"

N: 3300
C: 1100

"YEAH! GO NOAH! KICK HER ASS!"

Noah stared at Celeste, This girl's been altered and corrupted like the others, but she doesn't duel very differently, so what's the problem here besides her knowing about this world being virtual? If this jerk has the power to alter this world, why doesn't he give her stronger cards?

Celeste threw her remaining cards into her Graveyard, then drew for her turn.

"I play Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two more cards!" Celeste drew her new cards, "I play my facedown Spell card known as Soul Release! This card removes up to five cards from my Graveyard, so I remove from play my Rapid-Fire Magician (1600/1200), my Chaosrider Gustaph, my D.D. Assailant (1700/1600), my D.D. Warrior (1200/1000), and my D.D. Survivor (1800/200). Next, I summon Gren Maju Da Eiza (?/?) in attack mode!"

A wicked-looking demonic being appeared on the field with large, red wings and giant claws twitching madly.

"Now, for every card that I've removed from play, he gains 400 attack and defense points!"

Gren Maju Da Eiza (2400/2400)

"Next, I'll equip him with my Spell card, Big Bang Shot, to further increase his power by 400 attack points!"

Gren Maju Da Eiza (2800/2400)

"Attack him directly, Gren Maju!"

The demon roared and flew at Noah, raking it's claws deeply across his torso. Noah screamed and fell to his knees, holding his chest as his Life Points dropped dramatically.

N: 500
C: 1100

"I end my turn, hehe,"

"Noah!"

"Crap, he's not looking too good!"

"C'mon, Noah, you can do it! Kick her corrupted ass!"

Wincing, Noah looked at his new friends out of the corner of his eyes, If I lose her, who knows what'll happen to me? I can't let anything happen to these kids. If my home wasn't in danger like it is now, I wouldn't worry for them, but since it is...

"Hurry up and take your turn, or else I'll count this as your forfeit, Noah!" Celeste barked at him, "I don't have all day!"

Still feeling the pain from Gren Maju Da Eiza, Noah picked himself up and drew his card.

N: 1000
C: 1100

"Unless he has a strong monster card on him, he won't be able to beat her," Alexis breathed, "Come on, Noah,"

"The only strong monster he has is Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, but he can't bring that unless he has a sacrifice!" Christina protested.

Not exactly, Chrissy... Noah looked at his hand, I have all that I need here to win now.

"I play the Ritual Spell, Shinato's Ark!"

A huge, wooden boat appeared in the sky above Noah's head, the large white banner fluttering in the sky.

"By sacrificing monsters who is Level 8 or higher, I can summon the most powerful monster in my entire deck!" Noah held up his Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi, "I offer this monster as a sacrifice to Shinato's Ark so that I may summon my supreme monster...Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000)!!"

Noah's card became an orb of light and was soon swallowed by the large ark in the sky, then the ark itself exploded in a blinding flash of white light that covered the entire area. Everyone save for Noah shielded their eyes and watched as a beautiful being with bluish skin and six gold wings descended from the sky.

"Shinato, attack!"

The beautiful monster held up it's arms and soon, a ring of pulsating energy appeared between it's hands. Shinato looked down at Gren Maju Da Eiza and fired the spinning ring right at it, cutting into it and Celeste's Life Points effortlessly.

N: 1000
C: 600

"I end my turn with that,"

"Yeah!" Siho pumped his arm, "Right on, Noah!"

Jaden looked up at Shinato, "Cool monster. It's got more attack points than the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

Heh, yeah... Noah looked at his Ritual monster, Shinato really takes me back. I remember one time when I wasn't the person I am now. I put those guys through so much trouble, all because of that bastard! I'm just glad I was able to help them then. Well, I'm gonna use this guy to help these kids now. Don't let me down, Shinato!

Celeste, still pissed at the loss of both her monster and Life Points, drew her card and smiled.

His monster may be powerful, but that little victory of his will be short-lived, especially after I place this on the field! she looked up at him, "I place one monster facedown in defense mode and I end my turn!"

Noah drew his card, That facedown of hers probably has an effect, but with my monsters effect, it won't matter...

N: 1500
C: 600

"Shinato, attack again and end this duel!"

Celeste laughed as Shinato launched another ring, "You're an idiot, boy! I have a monster in defense mode, a monster with an ability that'll send your monster packing! Reveal yourself, D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600)!"

Her monster flipped over to reveal an attractive woman in shining body armor just before Shinato's ring collided.

"Fool! When a monster does battle with my D.D. Warrior Lady, I can remove both my monster and the monster that attacked it from the game! You lose your all-powerful monster, Noah!"

Noah grinned, "And you lose this duel,"

"Eh?"

"Look at your duel disk," Noah instructed as both monsters disappeared from the field.

Celeste looked down and gasped.

N: 1500
C: 0

"What the-?!"

Noah chuckled and wagged his finger, "Whenever Shinato destroys a defensive monster, I can deal my opponent damage that is equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. Simply put, you lost 1500 Life Points!"

Celeste fell to her knees, but as she did so, something strange began to happen. Her body began to crack and twitch, making her look like some kind of twisted clay puppet from a horror movie or something. The twitching got worse and worse, bits and pieces of herself falling to the ground. Everyone watched as she slowly, but disturbingly, reverted back to her normal self before falling facefirst onto the ground.

Noah deactivated his duel disk and looked up at the sky.

"Is she okay?"

"I dunno...go look,"

"I'm not gonna look, you go look!"

"Hell no!"

"Don't curse, Jordy!"

Noah looked at the virtual clouds above, That's never happened before either. The corrupted files are usually destroyed, so what is going on here?

"DAMMIT!" the hacker pounded on the keyboard, furious at Noah's victory, "It's bad enough that piece of crap makes my early work garbage, but it's even worse when he destroys one of my advanced creations!"

Taking a drag, the hacker glared at Noah, "You have got to go, you frickin' brat!"

Kilnorc: Yeah, Noah dueled! I made his deck the Spirit deck from the VR arc of the original show, but with the Shinato cards with it because I thought he would like to use that card in his duels. I think I did this right...later ya'll!