Authors Notes - Thanks to my wonderful illustrator, Onryo Nightshade, I now have images of my characters! Enzeru, at least. Arata is still being worked on. View the pictures at my profile and let me know what you think, and of course, enjoy the fifth episode of Unlimited Boundary!
Arata - Alright! Five episodes and counting!
Enzeru - And the school year hasn't even started yet!
Arata - And I get to duel in this one! Ever since I kicked Enzeru's butt, I've had no action!
Enzeru - I could beat you if I tried!
Arata - Keep telling yourself that.
Enzeru - Grr... Anyway, we hope you keep reading!
Both - Enjoy!
Yugioh - Unlimited Boundary
Episode 5 - Machine vs. Machiner, Duel for Duel Academy! Part 1 of 2.
As I walked through the steel halls that day, I realized that I belonged here... Everyone I saw was here for the very same reason I was. Everyone I saw ranged in both skill level and uniform color, yet I felt as if we all shared common ground. I wondered what school was going to be like here, and as of tomorrow, I would have my answer. My name was already well known, thanks to Arata... What was she trying to do with setting me up with Alek?
As we neared closer to the Chancellor's room, I could feel my heart pounding harder. What if he was mad? Did I do something wrong? I continued to look to Arata for reassurance, and she did it with a smile. She was pulling the strings behind all of this, I then realized.
"You'll see, Enzeru. When we get to Chancellor Bannori, he'll surely upgrade your rank," She flashed me a thumbs up.
"What does it matter what my rank is?" I tilted my head.
"You remember when you dueled Alek, and everyone that wasn't a Slifer didn't cheer?"
I nodded.
"That's because you were a Slifer. The entire school looks down on them, gives them little to no respect what so ever. They are the worst of us, and you, Enzeru, are nothing like them," She said to me. I almost wanted to smile. "Your skills are much too advanced. You beat the school's be-" She froze for a moment. "Second best duelist, let alone an Obelisk! Almost no one has been able to beat Alek, and you'd see why if he used his real deck on you."
I wanted to know his deck even more now... "But what if it was a fluke, maybe I got lucky? If not for you, I wouldn't have won that duel!"
"If not for me?"
"Yes, you! You gave me such a powerful card like Voltanis... and I still haven't payed you back for it! If I didn't have Voltanis, I wouldn't have stood a chance against Alek," I complained, looking at my feet in shyness. I tightened the grip on my bag, feeling on the small assortment of things I kept in it, primarily my disk. Everyone around me wore their disks, aside from Arata and I, but there's were different. They all resembled Alek's, and I didn't want to feel stupid or low-tech for using a Domino City disk... My disk is from ages ago, I refused to allow my thoughts delve deeper into that story. I already felt tears building up.
"How many times am I going to tell you, Voltanis was a gift, you aren't supposed to pay me back for it!" She laughed at me, giving my head a soft tap.
"I'm going to pay you back, I promise," I smiled at her.
Arata just shook her head. She wanted to say I was stubborn, but we were interrupted by the loud sounds of an angered man, echoing his voice through the halls from the Chancellor's room. As Arata and I approached closer, a man passed us, exiting the room furiously. He wore, what looked to me like, a lab coat, with a neatly tucked t-shirt and tan pants beneath. He turned one final time to face the door, yelling. "I will get my money, Bannori. You will hear from my lawyers!"
"Please sir, we can work this out!" Complained a fairly young, professional looking man chasing after the first man. He wore a black suit, golden buttons across his lower torso, left undone from the top of his chest to better comfort the folded collar. He had short, black hair, with serene, sapphire eyes. He looked very young, very cu--
"What's the problem, Chancellor?" Arata asked, putting her hands on her hips and following after the two men, keeping only enough distance to be heard.
--the Chancellor?!
I was almost frozen where I stood, only running after everyone when I realized how far I lagged behind.
"Ugh... Good morning, Arata," The Chancellor sighed, stopping in his tracks as the man turned a corner. "You're here with the new girl? I'm sorry, but it will have to wait..."
"U-Um..." I started, once I caught up with Arata.
She growled. "Do you owe something to that loser?"
Bannori nodded. "His name is Ginkouin... He is one of the main contributors to this establishment... If not for him, we wouldn't have the stadium you were just in... Along with the many renovations needing to be done to the school this year... New staff, classes, everything!" The stressed man complained.
"Slow down, slow down," Arata said, raising her brow in my direction.
"I don't have the money to pay him right now, for his funding and services, and he's had it up to here with me," Bannori leaned against Arata, only for a moment, to regain his breath and balance. "If I lose his money, I might lose the school..."
Arata growled again.
"Is there anything we can do, sir...?" I tried to ask.
"Damn right there's something we can do!" Arata yelled, taking me by the arm and running down the hallway, turning the corner and following in the mans tracks. I struggled to keep up, calling her name several times in an attempt to calm her down, to no avail.
Oh jeez... I could only imagine where this was going to go. My fingers kept my bag in my possession, wrapping around its straps tightly. In no time at all, we caught up with Ginkouin, only the glimpse of his spiked, brown hair in our sights for several moments. He turned to face us, angrily, and Arata struggled to stop her feet. We almost ran into him...
"Hey, jerk off! What's with you yelling at Chancellor Bannori?" Arata demanded. I struggled to catch my breath, having to hide behind Arata and take a moment of rest.
"Such a bad mouth for a young lady. The man owes me money, what else do I need to say?" He defended himself.
"You can't give him an extension? He doesn't have your money right now!" She yelled at him.
"This is his extension, this is the last day of his extension! I've given him more than enough time to pay it off," Ginkouin grumbled, starting to walk off once again.
"I'm not done with you, yet!" She yelled again, grabbing him by the shoulder before he could move. "Duel me."
I stared at her.
He looked like he wanted to laugh. "Duel you? Please, why must you persist on embarrassing yourself?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding? You're funding a Duel Academy, you must know how to play!"
"You would be correct," He started. "But I have no interest in a game with you."
"If I win, you continue to fund Duel Academy and extinguish all debt from the Chancellor," She wagered. I've never seen her so angry.
"And if I win?" He questioned.
"If you win, double the amount Chancellor Bannori owes you, and take Duel Academy for yourself," Arata continued, keeping her fierce glare locked on his eyes.
Ginkouin laughed. "And what would I do with an academy?"
Chancellor Bannori had finally reached Arata and I, overhearing enough to make a run in our direction.
"Whatever you want. I wouldn't think on it too hard," Arata boasted, finally letting go of Ginkouin's shoulder with a quick push.
"Arata, hold your tongue! Do you know who you are challenging?!" Chancellor Bannori demanded, scaring both Arata and I into a double-take.
"I accept," He had managed to smile before the Chancellor could reach us. "And believe me, you will regret it. What do you say, the school entrance? Let the students watch as their famed, respected peer, is brought to her knees by the devastation I can bring..."
"Meet you there," Was all Arata could say. She knew her mouth took it too far. She almost looked scared.
"Do you have any idea who that was...?" Bannori mouthed.
Arata shook her head. "Should I...?"
"He's a professional, Arata... He works in hand with Seto Kaiba himself, he's one of the top duelists in the country... You've never heard of him?" Bannori sighed.
Both of us shook our heads.
"I'm doomed..." Complained the Chancellor.
"You don't know that yet, this guy's a hack," Arata defended.
"Arata can beat him..." I smiled. "I know Arata can beat him, Chancellor."
He stared at us.
"Come on, have some faith! You'd lose the academy if I didn't challenge him anyway, Chancellor!" Arata tried to keep him in high spirits.
"Plus, Arata is your best student. If she doesn't duel him, who will?" I added in. I could see, in the young man's eyes, that he knew I was right. Who was better suited for the job?
"What if we got A-" He started, silenced by the infuriated gaze of Arata.
"If you say Alek... I swear, Chancellor..." She growled, slowly altering her gaze to lock on his own.
"A... A... A cake... for... Arata's victory... heh..." He laughed nervously. I did the same, knowing that she meant well.
We didn't exactly have time to do any kind of altering to Arata's deck. We had the few minutes of time between then, and when we reached the designated area, to simply glance over her deck. I had almost forgotten how strong of a duelist Arata was, being an Obelisk in her first year, and keeping it through her second. I looked down at my blazer at that moment. I never really had any time to enjoy it... For a second, I wrapped my arms around myself to feel the material against me, embracing the jacket with a smile. Leaving the jacket open, as I did, exposed the outfit I wore beneath it. I thought it looked very good, when put together with my black jeans. He would love it, I think...
"Enzeru," Arata called me.
I looked up at her.
"Can I use your disk? Just for this match, I don't have mine and the Chancellor's is back in his office," She asked, as if I would deny her.
"Of course you can!" I smiled, starting to undo my bag as the three of us paced for the exit, the way Arata and I came in. When I finally managed to open the thing, I had to stop and struggle with it to remove my disk. They were already outside by the time I pulled it out, running after them with my closed, much lighter bag swung over my shoulder.
When we arrived, sure enough, we met up with Ginkouin, who stood on the lush green to the left of the concrete walkway, his disk prepped and ready over his wrist, at rest across his waist. "Welcome," He smiled, pushing a pair of glasses up to his green eyes by the rims.
"Here, Arata," I ran to her, holding my disk out to her with a smile. She smiled back at me, carefully taking it in her hands and adjusting it to her size before sliding it on.
"Thank you so much, Enzeru," She whispered, taking her position off to the right of the walkway, opposite of Ginkouin.
"Good luck, Arata!" The Chancellor cheered.
"You can beat him, Arata!" I clapped my hands.
Ginkouin laughed.
"Are you ready or what?" She asked, activating my disk once she slid her deck into place, clocking in the counter at 4000.
"Whatever you say, my dear," Ginkouin nodded his head, clocking in his counter as well.
"Let's get this over with,"
"Certainly won't last long..."
"Duel!"
"I'll let you start us off," Arata exclaimed, pulling her cards from her deck.
"How kind of you. I place two cards face-down, and set one monster in defense position," Ginkouin monotonously played. Three hidden cards were then placed on the field. I hated when monsters were hidden like that. It usually meant that the opponent had something planned, or the monster had an effect... And to start off like that? Maybe he was just trying to psyche Arata out.
"My turn then, I draw!" Arata cried, pulling her top card. I was excited, not only to see a pro duelist in action, but to see more of Arata's deck.
"I summon my Genex Searcher(1600/400, Earth/Machine/Effect, Level 4) in attack position! Upon her command, a very strange creature was called to the field. It appeared humanoid, its arms consisting of power tools, with wires hanging from all over its body. It stood before Arata, prepared to attack when ordered. "I also place two cards face-down, and send my monster to attack your face-down!"
Exactly what the creature was waiting for, it began a heavy sprint towards the opponent, preparing the grip of its hand in an attack. When it reached the face-down card, it was revealed to be machine, just as Arata's monsters. It stood on two legs, with two, menacing cannons strapped to its back. Arata's points dropped by two-hundred. Not a great way to start the duel...
"You attacked my Machiners Defender(1200/1800, Earth/Machine/Flip Effect, Level 4) and it has a very good effect once it is attacked... I can add one Commander Covington to my hand from my deck," Explained Ginkouin, pulling the extended card from his disk.
"That's not good... She's already at a bad start," The Chancellor stared.
"Dammit..." Arata complained.
"Already giving up?" Her opponent laughed quietly.
"Keep dreaming. Go, I end my turn," Arata had such a serious expression over her face. I've never seen her like this... She seemed like this was more than just a game for her. She seemed like she knew this person... Like she had a specific hate for him... It was disturbing, and made it hard to concentrate on the duel. She must have been really stressed...
"My turn, I draw," Ginkouin, as calmly as I've ever heard someone say it, took his turn. "And such a shameful draw it was... I wish this duel could have lasted longer."
"What are you going on about?" Arata demanded, putting her disk at rest.
"I activate Double Summon!" He yelled, activating the first of his face-downs. "Allowing me to summon twice this turn. With this, I summon both my Machiners Sniper(1800/800, Earth/Machine/Effect, Level 4) and my Machiners Soldier(1600/1500, Earth/Machine/Effect, Level 4) in attack position!
Two creatures then arose, one holding in its hand a powerful firearm, the other, a large blade. Machiners, I thought to myself... All three creatures took an offensive stance, despite Defender being in defense mode, it seemed just as threatening as the other creatures. The Chancellor didn't seem surprised at all... His hope was dying down, quickly.
"As long as my Sniper is on the field, he is the only creature you can declare an attack on. Not that it is about to matter... Go, Machiners Sniper! Attack her Genex Searcher!
And on command, the mechanical creature prepped the large firearm over its shoulder, kneeling down to a knee to take aim for Arata's monster. Before a finger could touch the trigger, however, Arata interrupted. "I activate my Negate Attack trap card, stopping your attack and ending your Battle Phase automatically!"
"Pre-K tactics," Ginkouin commented, handing the turn to her without another word.
"Should say something about your skills that you fell for 'Pre-K tactics'," Arata commented back, pulling her top card. I could see her lips trace the word "Dammit."
"I activate my Threatening Roar trap card!" Ginkouin stopped Arata before she could even think of a move. "You are not able to declare an attack this turn, sorry," He smiled.
Ignoring him, Arata continued her turn. "I summon my Genex Blast(1600/1300, Wind/Spellcaster/Effect, Level 4) in defense position, and switch my Genex Searcher to defense position as well. When my Genex Blast is successfully summoned, I can add one Genex monster form my deck to my hand," She summoned her new monster, appearing to be a miniature version of her Wind Farm Genex, the card she beat me with... A small fan on a turbine, with arms and legs to accommodate its size. "With its effect, I add my Genex Controller to my hand. Since I can't attack, I'll end my turn."
"Ginkouin already has field and point advantage..." I whispered to myself. Something was coming, I could feel something abnormally powerful coming...
"Ahhhhhhh... Aarraattaa! You can beat him, come on!" The Chancellor desperately tried to encourage her. It didn't seem to be working, she was much too focused...
Arata - 3800
Ginkouin - 4000
"My turn, I draw, be it one of my final draws of the game," Ginkouin sighed, pulling his next card. "I'll be quick about it then. I summon my Commander Covington(1000/600, Earth/Machine/Effect, Level 4) in attack position!" He yelled as a tall, mechanical creature stood before him, its crimson paint-job glistening in the sunlight as it stood at attention. "I activate his effect..."
"No! Arata, please tell me you can stop it!" The Chancellor yelled for help.
"There is nothing she can do... By releasing my Machiners Sniper, Machiners Defender, and Machiners Soldier, I can Special Summon the strongest monster in my deck... One of the strongest monsters in the game!"
The three of the exclaimed monsters began to fade away, part by part, dancing in the sky above and merging together. A figure began to appear at the side of Covington, a very tall, very large figure... "By combining my three creatures using Covington's effect, I am able to summon the card that will destroy your Life Points in a single strike... Go!" He cried, all parts of all three monsters coming together at one time. The legs of the new creatures body consisted of blades, formed from the body of Machiners Soldier... The torso of the creature, along with its weapon, formed from the body of Machiners Sniper, holding within its powerful grasp the identical firearm. Upon its shoulders rested a pair of massive cannons, four spokes protruding from the sapphire steel, aimed for Arata's field in hand with the firearm. "My Machiners Force!(4600/4100, Earth/Machine/Effect, Level 10)
The Chancellor was now reduced to silence. I've never seen a monster with so many attack points without being altered... On its own, that creature could take down even the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon... I couldn't speak, I could hardly think, and Arata was the same way. I could see it in her eyes, the fear that began to flood from her body, and the heat in her veins that inspired her to move. Without wasting a second, Ginkouin pulled one of the remaining cards from his hand and continued his assault.
"Activate my Aftereffect of Impact spell card. With this, there is no longer a contest, there is only a slaughter to be had. My Machiners Force now can deal damage when he strikes a defense position monster, equal to the difference between your defense and my attack. In order to attack with my beast, I must pay 1000 Life Points, but compared to the mass amount you are about to lose, Miss Arata, it doesn't matter to me. Go, Machiners Force! Attack her Genex Searcher!"
"But if he does that!" The Chancellor started. "Genex Searcher only has 400 defense points! That means..."
"She'll lose..." I found the words escaping my lips... I looked down at my belt, closed my eyes, and prayed for her...