Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait, again. I had to do Grad school stuff. Hopefully, six pages and an actual duel will make up for it.
Regular Speech
Human Thoughts
"Spirit Speech"
Duel Stats
SCENE CHANGE
"I'll summon another Vampire Lady in Attack Mode and switch my first one into Attack Mode as well. Next, I'll use both to attack."
"Drat," Harry said. He took 1750 points of damage, combined with the 250 points he'd taken when his Giant Soldier of Stone had attacked.
"Remember that my Vampires come with a very special effect," his opponent sneered. Every time they deal damage . . ."
"You get to pick a type of card, and I have to discard one of that type from my deck," Harry completed. "Trap cards again?"
"Trap cards again," his opponent replied.
Harry sighed and picked up his deck to remove a pair of cards. This was not going well.
"Don't give up, Harry."
Harry jumped just a little, still not used to hearing voices in his head. He looked down and saw Eria. Not the card, but the three-inch tall, transparent spirit of his water charming friend. Visible—and audible—only to him.
Harry knew that would sound crazy to most people, but magic was kind of crazy at times . . .
Last Night. Or, Earlier That Morning.
Harry woke up on the floor of the Commonroom. His head was pounding, and every muscle felt stiff and sore. I'm never sleeping on the floor again. Funny, you'd think he'd be used to it after living with the Dursleys. Heck, the Commonroom floor at least had a thick carpet, which was more than Harry could say about the floor in the little "cottage" on the island Uncle Vernon had hauled them all to in order to keep Harry from reading his acceptance letter.
"It wasn't the floor. It was your own stubbornness, kid."
"There are better ways to put it, but she's right, Harry."
Harry's eyes shot open. That voice, a girl's voice. It sounded like it came from inside his head. He sat up, the blanket he didn't realize he'd been covered with fell to his lap. Turning around, Harry saw his head had rested on a pillow. Had someone found him on the floor and put them there? But, why was anyone else up and wandering the halls so far past curfew? And, why help him? Why not just wake him and tell him to go back to his room?
"And people call me depressing."
"Harry, you need to start valuing yourself more. This isn't a healthy mindset."
"I'll roast those Dursleys."
Harry's eyes wandered up, and his heart nearly stopped at what he saw. The Charmers. His Charmers. All six of them. Blue-haired Eria smiled softly, her eyes sparkling like the sea on a sunny day, while Hiita the redhead had her arms crossed and scowled. Beside them was the green-haired Wynn (who was floating in a semi-reclining position and wore a goofy grin) and the brunette, bespectacled Aussa. On their other side was a blond haired girl who was also smiling widely and a short, dark-haired girl who looked disinterested. Lyna and Dharc.
"You're . . . you're . . ."
"Here? Alive? Real?" Dharc asked. "Don't be surprised, kid. You did this."
"My spell . . . ." Harry said. "It worked?"
"You bet," Lyna said, smiling.
"It was still horribly irresponsible of you," Aussa said, adjusting her glasses. "The energy requirements were almost beyond what you are capable of utilizing. I would advise against attempting it again."
"Aussa, you don't need to be so negative," Lyna said.
"Harry could have died, Lyna!" Aussa said. "He could have lost his life if he was not so magically gifted."
"Died?" Harry asked.
"This school doesn't teach much useful stuff," Hiita growled.
Beside her, Eria nodded. "Spells require magical energy from the caster," she explained. "If you use all your 'charge,' so to speak, you die."
"But, why haven't they told us this in class?" Harry asked.
"Because your teachers are lazy," Dharc said.
"Dharc!" Lyna admonished.
"Most spells don't require that much Heka, that magical energy we were just discussing," Aussa explained. "So, your teachers probably didn't think it something worth discussing, a decision upon which—although I don't care for their attitudes—I share Hiita and Dharc's views."
"Um, all right," Harry said.
"Hee, hee," Wynn laughed. "I think you broke him, Aussa." The Earth charmer herself blushed and looked downwards.
"I'm sorry, dear," Eria said. "Aussa is the most intellectually-gifted of us, and she sometimes forgets that we aren't as blessed as she. I promise, though, if you give her the chance, you'll come to value her wisdom."
"You're still rather young, love," Lyna said, gently. "I'm sure you'll understand her better when you're older."
"Doubt it," Dharc muttered.
"Heh, we still don't understand her half the time," Hiita said.
"I'm sorry, Harry" Aussa said. "I try, I honestly do but it's hard to keep strait what I know and what everyone else knows—there's so much in my head, you see—and sometimes I forget. Too often, and—"
"Eh, that's OK," Harry said. "I mean, I don't understand a lot of what my books say, but I manage just fine. I understand you better, I think."
"Oh," Aussa said. Blushing again, she adjusted her glasses. "Thank you."
Eria smiled. "Now that that's out of the way, there's much more we need to discuss, but they can wait until tomorrow morning. For now, you should get to bed and rest some more."
"But, I'm not slee—eee—py," Harry yawned.
"Then, why are you yawning, Harry?" Wynn asked. "Are you cursed? Or poisoned? You know, sleeping curses and potions used to be very popular amongst bad witches."
"I, ah, don't think so," Harry said.
"Oh, no," the wind charmer continued. "I promise they were quite common. That's why they show up in so many legends and fairy tales, just ask Aussa; she knows."
"I, um, I'm going to bed now." Harry said. "Good night girls."
"Good night, Harry," the Charmers chorused. All except one.
"I'm a guy, jerk," Dharc growled.
"What?" Harry asked, stopping in midstep.
"I'm a male. I've been wanting to tell you for years. Do I really look like a girl?"
"Well, ah," Harry said, thinking fast.
"Go to bed, dear," Eria said. "We'll discuss this in the morning, too."
Unfortunately, or not, they didn't get the chance to have that discussion. When Harry woke up late that morning (thankfully, it was Saturday) he heard a noise coming from the Commonroom, and went down to investigate.
"Is that . . . a duel?" Harry asked. Below, a small group of students were gathered around a table. An older boy (probably a fourth or fifth year) was playing a game of Duel Monsters with a first year, Dean Thomas. The older student was apparently winning.
"Your move, Firstie," he said. "And you only have three cards left in your deck. Still think you can win?"
"No," the Irish boy said, placing his hand on the remains of his deck. "I give up."
"Haha!" the older boy said. "I told you, no one can beat me! I'll be taking this now." Harry's eyes widened as the older boy took Dean's fountain pen set. The Irish boy had showed it off in the dorm a few nights ago. Ron had scoffed at it, not seeing the use in "the bloody thing" (or how the pens worked), but Harry had thought it was beautiful. A trio of blue, green, and red pens cast in a tortoise-shell-like design with silver accents and all polished until they shown. Dean was pleased he had impressed Harry and had admitted the set had been a gift from his father just before he boarded the train.
"So?" the older boy asked, drawing Harry out of his memories. "Who else wants to lose something? Anyone?"
"I will!" Harry said. The assembled group looked up at him. Harry tried not to wince at how . . . expecting they were. He was The Boy-Who-Lived, everything he did was something to be observed, something that was supposed to be great. It just made harry feel so very small, so fake.
"Don't worry, Harry." Harry jumped as Lyna appeared before him. "We're with you."
"Lyna," he whispered.
"Stop staring; you're the only one who can see us!" Hiita yelled.
"What?" Harry asked, a bit too loud.
"Everyone else," the older student said, standing up. "Has already seen me duel. Only the Boy-Who-Lived is brave enough to take me on. I may not be a dark lord, but I promise you can't win this match."
Harry swallowed. "Well . . . I will win! And, when I do, you have to return Dean's pen set!"
"All right," the upperclassman shrugged. "I suppose I should introduce myself; I am Atticus Princeton, Fourth Year, and I will not lose."
"We'll see," Harry said. Truth is, he wished he was as confident as Atticus was; he loved his deck, but it lost twice as often as it won. It was, after all pieced together from other folks' cast-offs. But, he couldn't just abandon Dean.
"I told you, Harry; we're with you," Lyna reminded him.
"And we won't abandon you," Eria added.
Huh? Harry thought, but thankfully, didn't say out loud.
"We have the ability to communicate telepathically with you," Aussa explained.
"So, as Lyna said, we'll be with you," Eria said.
"I wonder how much a pen set like that costs," Wynn mused.
"Just duel," Dharc muttered.
DUEL START!
TURN 1-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 4000
Cards in Deck: 34
Cards in Hand: 6
"I'll start by playing a monster face-down," Atticus said. "And then, I'll play the spell Gravekeeper's Servant. Now, every time you attack, you must send the top card of your deck to your Graveyard. That's it for me."
That'll be tricky, Harry thought. "All right, I'll draw."
TURN 1-HARRY:
Life Points: 4000
Cards in Deck: 34
Cards in Hand: 6
"Not a lot you can do this turn," Dharc groused. The Dark Charmer was in Harry's hand, although his now tiny spirit was perched on Harry's shoulder. Apparently, Harry's new friends could shrink. Go figure. Other cards in the wizard's opening hand included Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000), Mystical Elf (800/2000), two Spells (The Shallow Grave and Raregold Armor), and Eria.
"No Trap Cards," Eria noted form his other shoulder. "You could try playing your Soldier or Elf in Defense mode; not many Monsters can destroy them."
"Unless he tributes his monster for something stronger," Dharc pointed out.
In that case, I'll just attack, Harry decided. "I'll summon my Giant Soldier of Stone in Attack mode, and then use him to attack your face-down Monster!"
"Don't forget to send the top card of your deck to your Graveyard," Atticus said. "Too bad it won't be the only card you lose this turn. You see, Potter, my face down card was Vampire Lady." He flipped the face down card up to reveal the Zombie-Type Monster. "She has 1550 Attack and Defense Points, and a very nasty special ability. Whenever she inflicts battle damage to my opponent, I get to choose one type of card: Spell, Trap, or Monster, and you have to send one of those cards from your deck to your Graveyard. So, send a Trap card to the Graveyard."
"Uh-oh," Harry said. Because, his monster was weaker, he took 250 points of damage. "I'll end my turn," he said, throwing out a Trap card from the bottom of his deck.
"Well, we're off to a great start," Dharc said. "Ouch!" The male Charmer rubbed the side of his head which Eria had just flicked.
"It's only the start of the match," she said. "This doesn't mean anything, yet."
"So, this is the Boy-Who-Lived's strategy? Good thing I'm not a Dark Lord," Atticus taunted, "Or we'd all be doomed. My turn!"
TURN 2-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 4000
Cards in Deck: 33
Cards in Hand: 5
"I'll summon another Vampire Lady in Attack Mode and switch my first one into Attack Mode as well. Next, I'll use both to attack."
"Drat," Harry said. He took 1750 points of damage, 250 from one Vampire destroying his Soldier and another 1550 from a direct attack. Combined with the 250 points he'd taken when his Giant Soldier of Stone had attacked last turn, he was not doing so well.
"Remember that my Vampires come with a very special effect," his opponent sneered. Every time they deal damage . . ."
"You get to pick a type of card, and I have to discard one of that type from my deck," Harry completed. "Trap cards again?"
"Trap cards again," his opponent replied.
Harry sighed and picked up his deck to remove a pair of cards. This was not going well.
"Don't give up, Harry."
I won't Harry said, but what can I do?
"You can start by actually looking at your deck," Dharc said.
What? Harry asked.
"You can throw out any Trap card from your deck," Dharc explained. "So you can use that to filter out less-useful cards from the top of your deck."
"You can also peek at the cards you'll draw in the next few turns to modify your strategy," Eria added.
All right, Harry said, looking at his deck. The top card was a Trap, 7 Tools of the Bandit. That allow Harry to cancel the effect of one of Atticus' Traps, at the cost of 1,000 Life Points. Not bad, but the two cards below it looked more useful. So, I'll toss that out along with this one, he decided, choosing a card from the middle of his deck.
"Your turn, Potter," Atticus said. "I suggest you do better than last time."
"I will," Harry said.
TURN 2-HARRY:
Life Points: 1950
Cards in Deck: 29
Cards in Hand: 6
"First, I'll play The Shallow Grave. This Spell card lets each of us special summon a Monster from our Graveyards in the face-down defense position, but you don't have any cards in your Graveyard, so I'm the only one who gets a Monster."
"So what?" Harry's opponent asked. "The only Monster in your Graveyard is Giant Soldier of Stone, and I've already beaten it once."
Well, let's see you try again," Harry said, placing his Monster on the field. "Now, I'll play another Monster face down. Your move, Atticus." Now, we've got a duel.
"Indeed we do," Eria agreed.
"Fine," Atticus said, drawing a card.
TURN 3-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 4000
Cards in Deck: 32
Cards in Hand: 5
"I'll tribute one of my Vampire Ladies to summon Vampire Lord in Attack mode." Atticus did so, summoning a Zombie with 2000 Attack Points and 1500 Defense Points. "And guess what? My new Vampire shares my old one's powers. Plus, if you were thinking of using a card effect to destroy him, forget it! He'll just reappear my next Standby Phase. Now, I'll equip him with my Fairy Meteor Crush!"
"Uh-oh," Eria said.
" This will make things tough," Dharc noted.
"What does it do?" Harry asked his friends and his opponent.
"It allows my Vampire Lord to deal damage to your life points even if the Monster is in Defense Mode. I know I can't destroy your Soldier, so I'll just have my Vampire Lord attack your other Monster."
"Good move," Harry admitted. "But not good enough. My Mystical Elf has 2,000 Defense Points, so I don't lose it, Life Points or any more cards."
"Lucky move," his opponent said. "I'll end my turn."
"Then it's my turn," Harry said, drawing.
TURN 3-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 1950
Cards in Deck: 28
Cards in Hand: 5
"And I just drew one of the strongest Monsters in my deck, Hyozanryu!"
"What?" Atticus asked.
"Do it, Harry!" Eria cheered.
"Take out his Vampire Lord," Dharc said, "If he powers it up, Hyozanryu's history."
"Now, I'll tribute both my Monsters to summon Hyozanryu," Harry said, slapping the Monster down on the table (2100/2800). "Now, I'll use it to destroy your Vampire Lord, sacrificing a card from my deck so I can attack. That's all for me."
"I'm not impressed," Atticus growled. "You paid two tributes for that dragon, and all it did was deal 100 points of damage. I've had worse, and, now you'll have worse!"
TURN 4-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 3900
Cards in Deck: 31
Cards in Hand: 4
"I'll switch my Vampire Lady into Defense mode and set another Monster face down. Then, because I've had so much fun with one Gravekeeper's Servant, I'll play a second!"
"You can do that?" Harry asked.
"Yes, I can, and now it'll cost you twice as much to attack me! I end my turn."
TURN 4-HARRY:
Life Points: 1950
Cards in Deck: 26
Cards in Hand: 5
This will be tricky, Harry thought.
"Not really," Dharc said. "You just gotta keep hammering him and try to make him run out of Life Points before you run out of cards."
Can I do that?" Harry asked.
"You have to," Eria said. "You're a duelist, Harry; you can't just give up because you're afraid. Believe in yourself, and in your deck. We're wi—"
" Yeah, yeah, 'we're with him,' already," Dharc interrupted. "You and Lyna spend way too much time together. Now, do it, Harry. Start hammering. Here's hoping that face down isn't another Vampire Lady."
Gladly, the young wizard thought. "I'll summon my Beta the Magnet Warrior!" 1400/1700. "Now, I'll use Hyozanryu to destroy your Vampire Lady, and Beta to attack your face down!"
"Not bad," Atticus admitted. "But not good either, for you anyway."
"Great. Now, what?" Harry asked.
"Now, the effect of my Cyber Jar activates," Atticus said, revealing his card. "Your monsters are both destroyed. Next, we pick up five cards from our decks and show them to each other and we either set or summon any Monsters we can out of those five."
"I'm starting to see why Dean only had three cards left," Harry said, picking up five more cards.
"The good news is, it's still your Battle Phase," Eria explained. "You can attack whatever Monsters he summons."
"Yeah, just watch out for the two cards you have to throw out because of those Spell Cards," Dharc pointed out.
"I picked three Monsters," Harry said. "So, I'll set Wynna the Wind Charmer and Aussa the Earth Charmer face down and play my Gamma the Magnet Warrior in Attack Mode."
"Yay! We get to play!" Wynna cried.
"Unfortunately, I do not expect our abilities will be of much help, given the Monster our opponent has in his hands." Aussa said.
"And I'll set my Morphing Jar #2 and summon my third Vampire Lady," Atticus declared.
What's his new Jar do? Harry asked his Charmers.
"It causes both players to shuffle whatever Monsters they have on the field back into their decks," Aussa explained. "Then both must continue to draw until they each have acquired as many Monsters as they had prior to the Jar being flipped. They set any they can and then discard the rest along with all the Spell and Trap cards they draw."
Ouch. Harry thought. That could be bad.
"Especially since you'd have to discard two more cards to attack it," Dharc said.
"True, but don't forget: the other Monster he drew from Cyber Jar's effect was a second Vampire Lord," Eria warned. "If we leave Morphing Jar #2 alone, he will most likely use it to summon up his strongest Monster and continue to attack Harry's life points and deck. It's your choice, dear," she told Harry. "What will you do?"
Whatever I have to do to win back Dean's treasure, Harry thought.
"Oh, right, the pen set," Wynna exclaimed. "I totally forgot about that."
"Perhaps, you should proceed with your attack, Harry," Aussa said.
"I attack your Morphing Jar #2 with my Gamma the Magnet Warrior," Harry declared.
"Very well," Atticus said. "You know what happens next."
"Shuffle and draw," Harry said.
"Aww, I guess we won't be playing today after all," Wynna said.
I'm sorry, Harry thought. Maybe next time.
"It's all right. Kick his butt, Harry," the Wind Charmer said as she was reshuffled.
"Fight well," Aussa wished.
All right, let's see, Harry thought, drawing until he had the necessary three Monsters. O.K.
"It could have been worse," Eria pointed out. "You only had to draw four cards."
"But only two of the Monsters are keepers," Dharc said. "Magician of Black Chaos and Valkyrion the Magna Warrior can't stay. Harry can only summon one Monster."
At least its Defense Points are pretty high.
"Not high enough to withstand Vampire Lord," the Dark Charmer said.
"Maybe, but that's only a problem as long as he controls that card," Eria said, mischievously.
Of course! Harry thought. "I'll set my Alpha the Magnet Warrior."
"And I'll set my Needle Worm,"Atticus replied. He had also drawn four cards. "And, I guess you'll be ending your turn now."
"Wrong," Harry said. "I'll set this Monster, too, and then I'll play my Silent Doom. Thanks for letting me draw it with your Cyber Jar. It lets me bring my Mystical Elf back to the field in Defense Mode. The trade-off is, it can't attack anymore, but that's all right. I'll equip my Elf with my Raregold armor, which means you can't attack any Monster on my field other than Mystical Elf. Now, I'll end my turn."
"All right," Atticus growled. "My turn."
TURN 5-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 3900
Cards in Deck: 21
Cards in Hand: 6
"First, I'll flip my Needle Worm face up, activating its effect; you have to discard the top five cards of your deck."
"Darn it," Harry muttered.
"Next, I'll sacrifice my Needle Worm to summon my Vampire Lord. Then, I'll play set a card face down. That will end my turn."
"Awesome," Harry said. "Now, it's time for me to start my comeback."
"What comeback?" Atticus asked. "Your deck only has five cards left; you can't win. Just give up already!"
"Never, I'll win this turn! You'll see!" Harry said, drawing.
TURN 5-HARRY:
Life Points: 1950
Cards in Deck: 5
Cards in Hand: 5
"I flip my face down Dharc the Dark Charmer into Attack Mode! Now, his special effect allows me to take control of one Dark Monster on your field, and guess who I chose!
"No! My Vampire Lord!" Atticus cringed.
"And, it's the only Monster you have on the field." Harry said. "So, I'll be able to attack you directly with your own Monster!"
"Never! I activate my face down Interdimensional Matter Transporter card." Atticus revealed the Trap card he'd placed on the field. "It lets me remove my Vampire from play until the End Phase of this turn! Nice try!"
"I can still attack you with my Charmer and my Alpha," Harry said, flipping his Magnet Warrior into Attack Mode (1700/1600).
"So what? You'll lose four of the cards in what's left of your deck, thanks to my Gravekeepers," Atticus grinned. "You've lost, Potter, surrender now!"
I could destroy one of those Gravekeepers with this, Harry thought, examining a card in his hand, but I don't have anything that can destroy his Vampire Lord.
"That may be true, but a card's points can change," Eria said. "Remember, Harry dear, there's a card in your deck that can make your Monsters the strongest on the field."
A card? Oh! Harry thought, recalling the card in question. And I haven't discarded it yet. It's one of the last cards in my deck. I can win this! Harry smiled widely, then frowned. But, if I discard it this turn, or I don't draw it on my next turn—
"Believe in your deck, Harry," Eria said, sternly. That is the key to being a great duelist. You put your heart into this deck; believe in it, and it will give you what you need!"
All right, Harry said. Let's go.
"Finally," Dharc whined. "I've wanted to hit this jerk all match!"
Well, let me help you with that. Harry drew a Spell card from his hand."I play the De-spell. Now, I can destroy one of your Gravekeeper's Servants!"
"What?" Atticus asked.
"Now, I'll attack you directly with both of my Monsters! That's my turn!"
"It doesn't matter," Atticus said, drawing his card with tense fingers. "My Vampire is back on the field now!"
TURN 6-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 1700
Cards in Deck: 20
Cards in Hand: 5
"Now, I'll play the Spell, Fissure, destroying your Charmer!"
"Aw, nuts," Dharc muttered. "At least I got one hit on him."
"Next, I'll play my Black Pendant Spell Card, raising my Vampire's Attack Points by 500 and letting it destroy your Mystic Elf. Also, if you somehow manage to destroy my pendant or the Monster it's attached to, you take 500 points of damage. Your turn, not that it matters. You've only got two cards left in your deck; there's no way you can win this!"
"I will!" Harry said. "I believe it." He drew his card.
TURN 6-HARRY:
Life Points: 1950
Cards in Deck: 2
Cards in Hand: 6
"This is it, the card I needed."
"What?" Atticus screamed. "What is it? What did you draw?"
"The card that changes everything," Harry said, "but first, I play my Premature Burial Spell card. I'll lose 800 Life Points, but I'll get to bring back my Hyozanryu in Attack Mode."
"That won't work again," Atticus said. "My Vampire is stronger now!"
"Not for long, he's not!" Harry declared. "I play the Spell card Shield and Sword! This causes every face up Monster's Attack and Defense Points to switch!"
"But, that means—"
"That means your Vampire's Attack Points become 1500; Black Pendant will make them 2000, but my Hyozanryu's Attack points have become 2800! So, first I'll destroy your Vampire Lord, then I'll attack you directly with my Alpha the Magnet Warrior! Checkmate!"
DUEL-END!
FINAL SCORE-ATTICUS:
Life Points: 0
Cards in Deck: 20
FINAL SCORE-HARRY:
Life Points: 650
Cards in Deck: 0
HARRY WINS!
We won! Harry thought
"Well done, Harry!" Eria said. "You fought with great courage and skill. You should be proud."
"Aaaaaahhh!" Wynn cried, appearing with the others. "I didn't get to play at all!" The Wind Charmer was the last card left in Harry's deck.
"You got discarded along with the rest of us, get over it," Hiita growled.
"There will be other duels we can participate in," Lyna said, hugging her 'sisters.'Hitta didn't look amused.
"Agreed," Aussa said, adjusting her glasses. "For now, however, I recommend we claim the prize for which we fought so hard."
Right, Harry thought. Standing up, he addressed his opponent. "I'd like you to give Dean his pen set back now, please. That was our agreement."
Atticus gave no response. He was staring at his cards, his face blank.
"Um, Atticus?" Harry asked. "Are you all right." One of the students who'd been watching gently nudged the Fourth Year's shoulder.
"I'm fine!" Atticus yelled, slapping the spectator's hand away. "Here's the stupid pens." He threw the case down on the table, then drew his wand. For a moment, Harry was concerned the older boy was planning to hex him. Eria and Lyna instantly moved in front of him, obscuring his vision. Behind him, he heard his other Charmers leveling their own staves at his opponent.
Thankfully, there was no violence. Atticus swished his wand and gathered up his deck. "Don't you dare forget this Potter, because I won't! I promise, I will get even with you." He then stomped out of the main door and into the castle proper.
As he was walking out, Harry saw that the crowd had grown somewhat since the duel started. There were a lot more people he recognized. Including a certain bushy-haired witch he'd met on the train.
Author's Notes: So, how was that? My gosh, keeping track of the number of cards in people's hands and decks is annoying. it was also a challenge ot give all six Charmers enough dialogue. Wynn's the hardest to write; I don't write many goofy characters.
If you're into sound effects, as I was writing this, I was watching (or listening) to several episodes of 5d's, so I kind of imagine the 5d's duel music playing in the background, along with the sound effects you get when Turbo duelists pass turns. Except at the end, when my mental radio started playing the victory music Zexal plays at the end of its duels.
About Atticus Princeton, you might have guessed he's supposed to be named after Atticus Rhodes (well, technically Nightshroud) and Chazz Princeton from GX, whose "bad guy" attitudes this Atticus has a lot in common with. I expect I'll get some flack for that (at least, naming him Atticus) but I'm not changing it.
Also, going forward, while some writers like to make up their own cards, I'm making it a goal to only have characters play with real cards and have said cards have their official effects (example: Card of Sanctity would have its lame real-world effect rather than its much cooler anime effect).