Hyper Runners: Duel Legacy

All Character © Respective creators

Chapter Five: Natural Selection, Part 1

Marcus as more confused than he ever was – and that's saying something. For one moment, he was enjoying his time with his mentor and Akiza, awaiting Yusei's news. And then the next moment, he finds his mutual enemy, Akira "Rev" Seta, challenging him to a Turbo Duel. And to add on the delirium, Marcus now knew that Rev could see Duel Spirit's just as well as he did. His brain was starting to hurt.

"Did you not hear me?" Rev said coolly. "I said I challenge you to a Turbo Duel."

"Oh, I would so love the chance to wipe the street with you." Marcus glared. "But we're in the middle of something here, so buzz off."

"Whatever you're doing can be put on hold." Rev proclaimed coldly.

"And just who do you think you are, telling us what to do?" Akiza scowled.

"You will remain silent, witch." Rev commanded.

"Hey!" Marcus snapped spitefully.

"Wait a minute." Yusei said calmly, placing a hand on Marcus' shoulder. "I've heard about you. You're Akira Seta, Jack's leading student. Well, whatever Jack is teaching you, it's not manners. I am going to have to ask you to leave at this moment or I'll be forced to call Sector Security for trespassing."

"If that's the way it's going to be..." Rev said lowly, pressing a button on his Runner.

"Autopilot standing by...overriding suspects Duel Runner..."

Shortly following the announcement, a loud booming sound was heard coming from the garage. Following the sound of exploding engines, Marcus' Duel Runner – Chaos Control – shot the garage door of its hinges and skidded out into the street. The black Runner skidded to a halt next to Rev, making it clear that he was in control.

"What are you doing with my Duel Runner?" Marcus questioned.

"If you refuse to accept my duel, then I will take this runner for my own." Rev explained, earning a glare from the redhead. "And don't think Sector Security is going to help you. I have great influence over Security and I could bend the laws to my own will. That leaves you with two options: duel me or lose your runner."

The spiky, redhead sighed in defeat, knowing he had no other choice. Marcus gave an apologetic look to Yusei and Akiza, who only nodded in response – they didn't blame him. After running back to his room to retrieve his deck, Marcus raced back outside and placed himself on Chaos Control. Both Duelists placed their decks securely in their holsters and activated another button on their separate runners.

"Speed World activated...Autopilot standing by..."

With a great roar from their Runners, both duelists took off down the street.

"Let's ride!" They shouted together.

Marcus (4000) – Rev (4000)

"My draw!" Marcus proclaimed, drawing a card from his deck. "And now I summon Tails in defense mode."

A yellow, humanoid fox with two tails appeared on the field, curling its namesakes around its body (1000/1200)

"And now I throw down a face-down and call it a turn." Marcus finished, placing the card on the field.

"My turn." Rev said calmly, drawing a card from his deck. And as he did, the effects of Speed World took effect for both players. (1-1). "And now I summon Hidan in attack mode."

A human male with silky, silver hair appeared on the field. He wore the black cloak with red clouds like the other cards in the deck and carried a crimson-red scythe with three blades. (1700/1400)

"And now I attack you Tails with crimson slash!" Rev declared.

Hidan jumped forward with his triple-scythe ready for attack until Marcus cut in.

"You've activated my trap card: Friendly Exchange." Marcus announced, revealing a card with two monsters jumping past one another. "With this card, I can return one monster on my field to my deck and exchange it for a monster whose level is equal or lower than the monster before. And now I special summon Cream the Rabbit!"

The fox monster devolved into a sphere of light and shot into Marcus' deck, sticking out one card in its place. Marcus quickly snatched the card and swiped it onto his Runner. The monster that appeared was a small, creamy rabbit with orange spots and long ears. She was wearing an orange dress with a blue ribbon and held her hands out defensively (600/600).

"Why would you summon a weaker monster?" Rev questioned.

"Because when Cream is summoned, I gain one Chao Token." Marcus informed – a tiny blue blob with pink wings appeared on the field. "And here's the best part: when a monster attacks, the Chao Token takes the attack and receives zero damage."

As Hidan slashed downwards over the rabbit, the Chao Token suddenly jumped in front and took the hit, exploding on contact. With a slight scowl on his expression, Hidan jumped back and stood next to its master.

"Very well, I end my turn." Rev finished.

"My move!" Marcus exclaimed. (2-2). "And with two Speed Counters, I can activate a new brand of Speed Spell: Extreme Gear!"

"Extreme Gear?" Rev repeated.

"Extreme Gear spell allow me to transform my monsters to Riders." Marcus explained. "And next I play Extreme Gear – Smiley to transform Cream into Cream the Rider!"

A thin, orange air board appeared on the field, which Cream natural placed herself upon. When coming in contact with the Gear, the young rabbit's appearance instantly transformed. She wears an orange sports shirt with a golden star, orange shorts, and clear sun visor (600/600).

"And what is that meant to do?" Rev questioned.

"I am so glad you asked." Marcus grinned. "Riders have a very special ability. In exchange for ending my battle phase early, they can attack you directly!"

Rev's eyes shot wide in shock. Cream the Rider took off on her Extreme Gear, bypassing Hidan until she reached the rivaling duelist. The young rabbit placed herself on her hands and struck the dark duelist with her heels. As Rev absorbed the impact of the attack, Cream returned to her master's side.

Marcus (4000) – Rev (3400)

"Then I throw down a face down and call it a turn." Marcus finished.

"I always knew you were different." Rev chuckled lightly, drawing his card (3-3). "You're the first person outside the Pro League who has ever managed to touch my life points. I realize I can't take you lightly. That is why I sacrifice Hidan to summon Konan!"

Hidan evaporated and made way for the next monster. It was another human, but was a female with sapphire-blue hair and a small paper flower in her hair. Like all those before her, she wore the black cloak with red clouds (2200/1800).

"And now I activate Konan's special ability." Rev announced. "By offering up one card from my hand, I can destroy one magic or trap card on your side of the field." As he said this, he placed a card in the graveyard slot. "Konan, eliminate his face down!"

The blue-haired female nodded in understanding and, surprisingly, summoned a pair of wings made of paper. Konan flapped her angelic wings forward and sent down a barrage of paper knives, which stabbed at the face-down card. Marcus watched disappointingly as his face-down was destroyed.

"Now, Konan, attack Cream the Rider!" Rev commanded. "Dance of Shikigami!"

The blue-haired warrior once again flapped her wings forward and this time speared the young rabbit, who dissolved on contact.

"I place one card and end my turn." Rev finished, placing his card.

"Man, this guy is good." Marcus whispered as he drew his card (4-4). He gave a slight lurch as his Runner turned down the harbor. "I may have been able to attack directly, but his cards are off the charts. I can see why he's called the best."

"Ah, we can beat him." Sonic grinned, appearing next to his partner. "Let's show this fool the power of our cards."

"You got it." Marcus nodded. "I now summon Sonic the Hedgehog in attack mode!"

The cobalt hedgehog appeared on the field (1500/900).

"And then I place a face-down and end my turn." Marcus finished.

"Pathetic." Rev scoffed, drawing his card (5-5). "Konan, attack Sonic with Dance of Shikigami!"

The blue-haired human summoned her angel wings once more and called forth a barrage of paper knives. But instead of feel the sting of the weapons, Sonic curled into his ball form and reflected the paper knives away. Rev appeared to be caught off guard, which Marcus quickly noticed.

"You like you?" Marcus laughed. "That's Sonic's special ability. But offering one Speed Counter, Sonic can't be destroyed, but I still take the damage."

The paper knives rebounded off the hedgehog and stabbed at Marcus as his Runner's screen showed the loss of one Speed Counter (4-5).

Marcus (3300) – Rev (3400)

"And now you've activated my trap card: Painful Memories!" Marcus said, revealing a card with black hedgehog and a blond woman standing in the background. "When I take damage, you also take damage equal to the amount I lost.

A red beam of light radiated from the card and struck down Rev.

Marcus (3300) – Rev (2700)

"And now you've activated my trap card: Dead Resurrection." Rev announced, revealing a card with the Deva Path on an examination table. "Using the card, I can summon a monster whose attack points is less or equal to the number of life points I lost. And I summon Possessed Panda in defense mode."

The rocky panda appeared on the field (300/1900).

"Now I place one face-down and end my turn." Rev finished.

"My move!" Marcus declared, drawing his card (5-6). "Ok, I need to think this one through. He's got two powerful monsters on the field and Sonic can't attack either of them. And I can't summon Perfect Chaos Dragon because I don't have Chao Zero in my hand."

"There is another alternative." A new voice stated. "You just need the right cards."

"I get what you're saying." Marcus nodded, selecting a card in his hand. "Time to shift this duel into overdrive."

"Are you going to make a move?" Rev questioned impatiently. "Or have you finally surrendered?"

"Hah! I don't know the meaning of the word surrender!" Marcus laughed. "In fact, I play a Speed Spell: Welcoming Meeting." He plays a card showing Sonic, Tails, Cream, and Amy sitting on a hill, laughing. "This card allows us to draw three cards and if any of them are level four or below monsters, we can summon them to the field."

Both players drew their respective cards. Marcus summoned Amy Rose (1000/1000) to the field in attack mode along with Tails (1000/12000) in defense mode. Rev summoned only summoned Path of Pein – Naraka in attack mode (1600/1000).

"And now I sacrifice Amy Rose and Tails to summon Shadow the Hedgehog!!" Marcus declared.

Amy and Tails both dissolved into the ground, forming a hole of darkness. Emerging from the dark void was a black hedgehog with the same body structure as Sonic. But unlike the blue wonder, his quills were jagged with red highlights and didn't present the same friendly attitude (2500/2400).

"Now I attack your Naraka Path with Chaos Spear!" Marcus declared.

"And now you've activated my trap: Negate Attack!" Rev announced, revealing the card. "Now your battle Phase ends and my monsters remain safe for another turn."

The Black Hedgehog waved his arm and summoned a storm of yellow arrows, which were unfortunately absorbed by an invisible barrier surrounding the Naraka Path.

"You just got lucky." Marcus glared. "I end my turn."

"And now the next step to victory has arrived." Rev proclaimed, drawing his next card (6-7). "Now I sacrifice Possessed Panda and Naraka Path to summon Path of Pein – Deva!"

The two monsters evaporated and reformed into Rev's signature card (2500/2100).

"And now I end my turn." Rev announced.

"Why didn't he attack me?" Marcus thought "His monsters are strong enough to take out Sonic."

"He probably thought it was a waste of time since I can't be destroyed." Sonic suggested.

"I don't know." Marcus shook. "But whatever the case, I better keep on my toes." He drew his next card (7-8). "Now I activate another Speed Spell: Extreme Gear – Shooting Star! Now I transform Sonic the Hedgehog to Sonic the Rider!"

A modified air board appeared on the field and the blue hedgehog jumped onboard, changing on contact. Not much was different about Sonic except he wore red boots and silver sunglasses (1500/900).

"And you know what happens with Extreme Gear monsters." Marcus grinned. "They can bypass your monsters and attack directly."

The blue hedgehog screeched across the field, flashing past Konan and the Deva Path – the cloaks flapped in the wind. As Sonic approached his target, he curled into his ball form and struck Rev before landing back on his Gear.

Marcus (3300) – Rev (1200)

"And because I used the Rider ability, I am forced to end my turn early." Marcus informed. "But don't worry; there will be more next time."

"Unfortunately for you, there won't be a next time." Rev smirked, drawing his card (8-9). "Because now I plan to synchro summon with Konan."

"Konan's a Tuner Monster?" Marcus questioned in surprise.

"She is indeed." Rev nodded. "You wanted to see my strongest cad, now you'll get the chance. Because I synchro summon Konan and the Deva Path!"

The blue-haired human became pale-white until her entire body was entirely blank. Then bit of her being scattered across the wind, which Marcus quickly realized was paper. The white sheets formed a massive sphere around the Deva Path, which slowly expanded with each passing moment. A feint heartbeat was heard and the paper dome gave a soft shudder.

"Born from the depths of lost souls, the master of death shatters his binds!" Rev chanted darkly. "Rise forth, Gedo Mazo!"

A massive stone fist rips through paper barrier, following by a second hand to shred the remains of the paper. Marcus had never seen anything like it in his life. A stone statue shaped with a human structure towered over them by thirty feet – even people from the Tops could see it from a distance. Large crags formed from its spine and a blindfold covered the unseen eyes just above its row of serrated teeth. The stone giant roared hungrily, literally shaking the Earth (4000/0)

"4000?!" Marcus exclaimed. "There is no way a monster can have that kind of attack power!"

"There are a few set back to having the Gedo Mazo." Rev proclaimed. "As long as this card is on the field, I cannot summon any monsters, magic, or trap cards. And in addition to this, the Gedo Mazo can never attack."

"So that just leaves you with a giant wall." Marcus summarized.

"Exactly." Rev nodded. "But in exchange, I can instantly remove one card from the game. And I choose you Sonic thee Rider."

The Gedo Mazo ripped open its jaws, releasing a serpent of pure energy from its throat. The serpent engulfed the cobalt hedgehog, ripping his soul from the body. Marcus felt fortunate that the real Sonic was still at his side as the serpent tongue returned to the Gedo Mazo's mouth.

"That's some card." Marcus said nervously. "I've definitely got to remember that for the next duel."

"After this match, you won't be able to duel again." Rev proclaimed coldly.

"Why not?" Marcus questioned.

"Because anyone that loses in the presence of the Gedo Mazo..." Rev said slowly. "Loses their soul."


A new road of challenges emerges for our hero. Will Marcus pull out a winning card to defeat the Gedo Mazo? Or will the soulless statue take the life of the redhead? Find out on the next Hyper Runners.

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Duel Report:

Name: Konan

Attribute: Wind

Type: Warrior/Tuner/Effect

Level: 6

ATK/DEF: 2200/1800

Effect: By offering one card from your hand, you may destroy one magic or trap card on your opponents side of the field.