Hyper Runners: Duel Legacy
All Character © Respective creators
Note: A special thanks goes to TheBlackCrow2 for the creation of the following cards.
Chapter Eight: A Deck in Shining Armor
Two days had passed since Yusei's proposal duel, meaning Marcus was finally allowed to leave. At this point, the only thing on his mind was recovering his old deck. But the more he thought about it, the less likely he would be able to find it. He had to look at the facts and know that it was his fault for losing the ones he once called friends. Now he faced a new problem: replacing his deck. The Marked Duelist was testing his newest acquisition against his friends with very limited success. On Marcus' side was a strong, humanoid lizard wearing bands on its arms and legs (1850/1000). On Ruki's side was a small, blue koala-like create with four arms and a row of spines on its back (3000/2000).
"Game over, dude!" Ruki said excitedly. "626, attack Gagagigo and end this duel!"
The blue experiment curled away into a ball and bounced off the ground to crash into the lizard warrior. After eradicating the fallen reptile, 626 bounced his way into Marcus, knocking the redhead off his feet to end the duel.
Duel Victor: Ruki
"Well, looks like a reptile deck is a no-go." Marcus grunted, rubbing the sore on his head.
"Hey, you were very close." Hikari said encouragingly, approaching the duelist with Namura. "I say you had her on the ropes at one point. Isn't that right, Namura?"
"Ruki still had 3000 life points and summoned her best monster." Namura said calculative. "Marcus was only able to summon monsters up to Level 4 and destroy two of Ruki's monsters." Hikari quickly slapped him over the head. "Ow! What'd I say?!"
"Look, I happy I finally beat you and all, but this is getting ridiculous." Ruki sighed disappointingly. "You're a much better duelist than this. I remember a time when you could call out your ace card in a flash."
"That was back when I had my old deck." Marcus said mournfully. "Let's face it, I won't find another one like it."
"Aw, don't be that way." Hikari said. "Listen, why don't you just go down to the Kame Game Shop and look for some more cards."
"I practically bought the whole store!" Marcus exclaimed. "All have left is twenty buck from the money I...um, borrowed from Crow."
"And by burrowed, you mean stole." Namura said dully.
"Hey, old habits die hard." Marcus shrugged
But when it came down to it, Marcus knew he had no choice but to seek out a new deck. With Chaos Control completely destroyed from the duel against Rev, the Marked Duelist was forced to walk across town to reach his destination. It was one of the downsides of living in a city centered on auto mechanics. The redhead troublemaker barely made ten blocks before he was forced to rest against a lamppost. Passing crowds watched interesting as the boy literally dragged himself down to side until he reached Muto Park. There, he was able to find a bench and collapsed upon it.
"Man, there has got to be a better way to do this." Marcus panted.
"I would suggest more exercise." The Marked Duelist looked over his shoulder, finding a chestnut-haired man with a joyful smile on his face. "You look a bit out of shape. Mind if I crash here for a moment."
"Sure, not problem." Marcus nodded, sitting up for the man to be seated. "So, are you new around here? I know almost every duelist that shows up in Muto Park."
"I just got here a few days ago." The man stated. "I'm just here to visit a friend of mine at Duel Academy."
"Lucky..." Marcus muttered.
"Hey, you look a little down." The man noted. "Anything bothering you lately." Marcus said nothing, possibly wondering if he should explain his problems to a stranger. "You can tell me anything. It's sort of my job to help people with their problems."
"Well, I have a lot these past few days." Marcus sighed. "A few days ago, I dueled one of the best in the city: Akira Seta. Now my Duel Runner has been ripped to pieces, my deck is swimming somewhere in the ocean, and I have to therapy every week to deal with my fear of Duel Monsters. In short, my life is going to hell."
"Well, I don't know what I can do about you Runner or fear." The man said thoughtfully, scratching his head. "But I think I might have a solution to your deck problem."
Marcus' interest was peaked. If this man was going to offer him advice for a winning deck, then he wasn't going to pass this chance up. Imagine the boy's surprise when the man reached into his jacket and pulled out a complete deck for him to take. Without Marcus realizing it, the stone of his necklace shimmered slightly and his emerald eyes turned ocean-blue. With this unknown power, the Marked Duelist could sense a strong power emerging from the deck. And when looking back to its owner, he finally took notice of the irregularity of the man. His eyes were heterochromatic – one was orange and the other was jade. Though hesitant, Marcus accepted the deck and began scanning trough the cards.
"Wow, I haven't seen cards like these before." Marcus said in awe. "And you're just giving these to me?"
"Consider it a loan." The man smiled. "I'll take it back when the time is right."
"Thanks." Marcus grinned. "By the way, I never got your..." But when he looked back, the man was gone. "...Name?"
The only thing left was a white feather.
"It was weird, you know." Marcus said. "He just appeared out of nowhere and left just like that."
The redhead troublemaker had returned to his home over an hour later – he had to call Yusei for a ride. While Akiza was preparing lunch and Yusei was working in the garage, Marcus had called his friends to explain the story. The deck in question was placed in the center of the table as the group took turns looking through it.
"So...he just gave you the cards?" Hikari questioned after replacing the deck on the table.
"He said it was only a loan." Marcus said, taking the cards back. "He's going to take it back one day."
"Sounds very suspicious to me." Namura said seriously. "Maybe we should do some research on the guy before doing anything."
"I could my dad about the guy's description." Hikari said helpfully. "Sector Security always has profiles of everyone who enters and leaves New Domino City. I'll go and hurry back as soon as possible."
With that being said, Hikari dashed out of the house, apologizing to Akiza after knocking her back. Immediately following the door slam, Ruki stood up and pulled er Duel Disk from Hammerspace, looking more excited than Marcus had ever seen her.
"While we're waiting, I don't see why we can't take it for a test run." Ruki said eagerly.
"But we don't know what that deck might do." Namura noted.
"And that's the reason we're taking it for a spin!" Ruki exclaimed defiantly. "Come on, Marcus. You can't tell me you're not willing to pass up a chance to test out your new deck."
"All right, you're on." Marcus nodded.
The teenaged duelist decided to take their match out back, despite Namura's cautious warnings. It took a little longer for them to start on account of Akiza catching Marcus trying to "borrow" her Duel Disk. With Akiza and Namura in the audience, the Marked Duelist placed his new deck in to activate the device.
"Duel!!" The players called.
Marcus (4000) – Ruki (4000)
"Ladies first." Ruki smirked, drawing her card.
"Now all we need is a lady." Marcus joked.
"Ooh, you're going to pay for that one!" Ruki screamed furiously. "And now I summon Experiment 254"
A small, pink animal with a big head appeared on the field (600/800).
"And then I place one face-down card and end my turn." Ruki finished, placing the card on the field.
"My draw." Marcus declared, drawing his next card. "And to star off, I summon Elemental Hero Avian!"
A human wearing a green suit with twin angelic wings appeared on the field (1000/1000).
"An Elemental Hero." Akiza said interestingly. "I haven't seen those in a while."
"Just wait." Namura said. "It's about to get even more interesting."
"Now, Avian, attack 254 with Featherbreak!" Marcus commanded.
The winged hero soared into the air of the pink experiment and flapped its wings downwards. A series of razor sharp feathers detached from the wings and struck down the creature, causing it to explode on contact. But upon its destruction, a smog of green gas emerged and wafted past the redhead troublemaker. Once catching a full scent of the gas, Marcus turned a slight shade of green and covered his nose from the noxious smell. Not noticing the change in his life point counter.
Marcus (3600) – Ruki (3600)
"What was that?" Marcus asked nasally.
"That is the effects of Experiment 254." Ruki explained. "When it is destroyed, it deals damage to my opponent equal to the number I lost. And now I activate my trap card: Replacement." She reveals the card of a blue creature being replicated. "Once my monster is destroyed, I can special summon a monster whose attack points are equal or less than my original monster. And now I summon Experiment 625 in defense mode!"
The golden koala appeared on the field (100/2900).
"If that's the case, then I throw down two face-downs and call it." Marcus finished.
"My move." Ruki announced, drawing her next card. "And now I summon Experiment 316!"
A red blob wit a mischievous face appeared on the field (0/0)
"What's that supposed to do." Marcus sniggered. "It doesn't have any attack points."
"Here's the beauty of 316." Ruki said proudly. "It has the power to copy any monster on the field in every way. And I choose to copy your Elemental Hero Avian!"
The red blob suddenly began expanding in shape and size until it looked like a red clone of the winged hero (1000/1000).
"316, attack Elemental Hero Avian!" Ruki demanded.
The two winged warriors glided toward one another with their talons ready for destruction, but were suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier between them. With the wall in the way, both monsters were forced to return to their master's sides.
"You activated my trap card: Hero Barrier." Marcus said, revealing the card. "This card prevents the attack of one monster on your side of the field."
"I expected as much." Ruki proclaimed. "So I activate my trap card: False Memory." She reveals a card with a blue beetle shooting a ray of red from its eyes to a blue koala creature. "This only activates if one of my monsters fails to win a battle. Then I take control of one of your monsters and force it to attack another."
"Oh no." Marcus murmured.
"Avian, attack 625!" Ruki ordered.
Though he seemed hesitant to attack, the winged hero had no choice and glided for the fat koala. The monster in question seemed scared out of his wits and ducked under in arms. But when avian kicked at the experiment's belly, it was rebounded and dropped in it back in front of Marcus.
Marcus (1700) – Ruki (3600)
"I end my turn." Ruki announced.
"She's actually pretty good." Akiza nodded. "She might just win this match yet."
"If Marcus plays his cards right, he might turn the tables." Namura theorized.
"My draw!" Marcus declared, drawing his fourth card. "Time to bring out my first Elemental Knight – Tornado Wing!"
A warrior coated with emerald green armor appeared on the field. He held a pair of metallic wings similar to Avian's and carried a Duo Sword in each hand (1600/1600).
"An Elemental Knight?" Akiza repeated confused. "I've never heard of such a card."
"The fact is that no one has ever heard of it." Namura replied. "Industrial Illusions never manufactured such a card and Kaiba Corporations has no record of its existence. That one of the reasons we feel worried about Marcus using this deck."
"I see." Akiza said quietly.
"Tornado Wing, attack 316 with Flying Clash!" Marcus shouted.
The Elemental Knight crossed his blades into the form of an 'X' and dived for the red clone. In a flash, the red blob was shredded into a hundred pieces, sending the backlash of the attack to Ruki.
Marcus (1700) – Ruki (3000)
"I end my turn." Marcus finished.
"My move." Ruki scowled, drawing her card. "That Elemental Knight seems to give you a slight edge, so I'm going to have to remove that barrier. I sacrifice 625 in order to summon Experiment 624!"
The golden koala faded away in a storm of light particles to make way for its replacement. Ruki summoned a pink creature with a similar shape to the blue koala from earlier with twin antennas and a white "V" on her chest (2100/1900).
"And now I activate 624's special ability." Ruki continued. "On the turn it is summoned, I can control one monster for this turn. 624, serenade Tornado Wing to the winning team."
The pink experiment smiled deviously. She closed her eyes and began to sing a gentle rhythm that seemed to calm the sense of everyone in the area. Marcus nearly dropped from the soothing voice until he realized Tornado Wing had glided over and joined at Ruki's side.
"This is too bad." Ruki smirked. "You were putting up such a good fight. But all good things must come to an end." She thrusted out her fist in victory. "624, attack Avian!"
The pink creature jumped forward and slammed her foot into Avian's face, destroying the monster instantly.
Marcus (600) – Ruki (3000)
"You activated my trap card: Knight's signal!" Marcus interrupted, revealing the face-down card. "When my monster is destroyed, I can special summon one Elemental Knight. Now I summon Elemental Knight – Barrier Boulder in defense mode!"
The a grey statue appeared on their field. It wore pure-black armor and carried round shields on each arm (900/2000).
"Hmm..." Ruki hummed thoughtfully. "That means I can't attack. All right, I end my turn and give back your Tornado Wing."
Tornado Wing, finally coming to its senses, rejoined its original master.
"Ok, I'm in a sticky situation." Marcus thought. "I got two monsters on the field, but neither of them is strong enough to take out that pink monster.. I'm screwed."
"Are you always such a downer?"
"Amy?" Marcus asked surprisingly. "Is that you?"
"Not even close." The feminine voice answered. "I don't think it's your duel skills that are lacking – it's your trust. You can't live off your mistakes. You have everything you need. Just have faith."
"Just believe in my cards." Marcus murmured softly, drawing his next card. "It's my turn!" He turned over the card he drew; an old glint victory returned to his eyes. "Looks like this duel is over! Because I sacrifice my Tornado Wing and Barrier Boulder to summon Yubel – Reincarnate."
Tornado Wing was consumed in a beam of light while Barrier Boulder was consumed in a beam of darkness. The two separate elements crossed over one another to form a portal of twilight, giving the path to the newest warrior. It was a feminine monster with a mostly mix-and-match appearance. She had pale-pink skin with giant bat wings, blue/white hair, and three eyes crossed over her expression (3000/3000). Marcus felt a sense of familiarity when looking into her eyes – one was orange and one was jade.
"Yubel!" Akiza exclaimed shockingly. "But I thought there was only one card!"
"This card is a weaker version of the original." Namura explained. "It doesn't have the original's abilities, but it has a high attack power."
"But where did he get this one in the first place?" Akiza thought swiftly. "The only person in history to have that card was..."
"And now I play the spell card: Double Attack!" Marcus declared, placing the card on the field. "By sacrificing one monster from my hand, Yubel can attack twice in one turn. So I'm sending Elemental Knight – Chill Bane to the graveyard."
As Marcus discarded the monster into the graveyard slot, Yubel suddenly gained a scarlet-red aura around her. Ruki knew what was coming next. Upon the command of her partner, Yubel vanished and suddenly reappeared in from of 624, towering over the pink beast. With a swipe of her claws, the mismatched monster eradicated the experiment on the spot.
Marcus (600) – Ruki (2100)
"No!" Ruki screamed.
"It's not over yet!" Marcus shouted excited. "Don't forget the effect of Double Attack! Yubel, put a wrap on this duel!"
Once again, the mismatched monster vanished and reappeared in front of Ruki. There was a small smirk of victory on her face before slashing her talons across Ruki's Duel Disk, ending the match.
Duel Victor: Marcus
"Aw, I was so close!" Ruki whined.
"Hey, don't feel bad about it." Marcus said encouragingly as Akiza and Namura joined them. "Because of you, I was able to get back on my feet and enjoy a good duel again. Now, I know I can with this deck."
"Though I still have my doubt, I think that deck is a good replacement." Namura agreed; Akiza only nodded.
"And I owe it all to you." Marcus thought, staring down at the Yubel card. "With you are the others by my side, I'll definitely be Rev in the next round."
"That's exactly what I wanted to here." Yubel smiled, appearing at Marcus' side. "From this point forward, you and I are partners." The redhead nodded in agreement. "But if we're going to work together, you need to stay in shape! That means exercising for one hour every day!"
"Aw man..." Marcus moaned.
"Guys! Guys!!"
The group turned their attention back the house as the backdoor burst open. Hikari tripped forward down the stair and fell on her face – Yubel found it very comical. As the group helped her sit up, they noticed that she was sweating and panting as if she had been running for miles.
"What's wrong, Hikari?" Akiza asked.
"I...asked my...dad...about...the records." Hikari panted tiredly. She took a few moments to regain her breath. "Only seventeen people have entered the city recently. And here's the weird thing...no one matches the description Marcus told me."
"Maybe he's a resident?" Ruki suggested.
"I thought that, too." Hikari nodded. "But there are no matches in the city. It's as if he never existed."
Meanwhile, in the desert sands of Egypt. The man who had appeared to Marcus before was trudging through a sandstorm, appearing not to be affected by the harsh winds. But at the moment he finally stopped, the sandstorm has miraculously ended immediately. But once the sands had finally parted, the man was not to be alone as a tall figure suddenly appeared from the depths of the sands. His face was shrouded by a long, tattered brown cloak and was using a walking stick to stand, but a small grey beard seemed to emerge from his chin.
"Yo, old man." younger man greeted casually. "Nice weather we're having."
"You went to New Domino City." The elder said slowly. "Did you deliver the message?"
"Yeah, I met Yusei like you told me to." The man nodded. "I also met his little student, too. He seemed a little down on his luck, I gave him a little help to push him along."
"You gave him the Yubel card." The elder said lowly. "If he ever discovers..."
"Don't worry, I didn't give him the original." The man assured. "Yubel's just helping the kid out until he gets back on his feet. He really needs the support after the loss he suffered."
"You are a kind-hearted person." The elder complimented. "We are going to need all the strength we can get for the upcoming war."
"Yeah." The man nodded. "The Elementals are finally waking up."
The elderly man remained silent and reached into his cloak. A brilliant flash of sunlight reflected off the gold pyramid he unveiled.
A new deck, a new partner, and a new test. Will Marcus and Yubel proved to be a valuable team? Who are the two men that seek the help of Yusei? And what the "Elementals"? Find out on the next Hyper Runners!
Please, read and review.
Duel Report:
Name: Yubel – Reincarnate
Attribute: Darkness
Type: Fiend
Level: 8
Description: A fallen angel granted a second chance at life. She seeks to destroy anyone in her path and protect those she cherishes. She is often known for her slightly case of insanity.
