Hello, folks. I just want to get this chapter uploaded ASAP because it is short, but this is where the new third story arc begins; the Cup of Scorch Arc! I hope all of you will enjoy and if you have any ideas for OC, you may sent it through PM please. It is a lot easier for me. Anyway, please enjoy.
UPDATE(7/10/15): Change the actual number of participant to make the Math works.
Chapter 24-Cup of Scorch Begins!-
Two weeks have passed. The time has finally arrived. Muiko now wore slightly new clothes, but strike similarity with her old ones. She wore a golden yellow jacket with white shirt underneath, trouser with gold-black checkerboard pattern, and white-black gloves with her fingers out. The robot butler knocked her door and entered her room.
"Madam. Are you fully prepared?" The robot asked.
"Yes. I am ready." She replied.
Mr. Griffon was waiting for her outside in front of the limousine. The robot opened the backseats for them. They got on, and robot butler started the engine, driving them to the constructed stadium that was completed recently, all for this tournament. "So, are you exciting?" He asked in his usual serious tone.
"At least, it is something fun to do before school start again in next month." Muiko answered back.
They arrived at the stadium shortly. There were a lot of people here, both audiences who just came to see for entertainment, and duelists who were here for the participations. Two security guards noticed them, and escorted them into the stadium.
"I think you will be fine from here. I will be going to take my seat." Mr. Hector said as he escorted by the security guard.
The other one escorted Muiko to the private ballroom where all other participating duelists were located for the opening ceremony. Shortly, Muiko noticed Mike and Ace. "Muiko. Over here!" Mike yelled.
She walked up to them, and noticed few new things. Mike was now wearing a dark blue shirt with black trouser while Ace wore purple coat with black shirt underneath, and black pants with chains dangling on his left side (Looks similar to Klavier Gavin from Ace Attorney series). He also wore a necklace with a shape of a bird spreading its wings.
"What's up." She said.
"Glad to meet you again, Muiko." Ace said kindly. "It wouldn't be fun without you."
Muiko looked around the room, noticing a lot of new faces. "Are these all the people who will participate in the tournament?" She asked.
"Yeap, but these are not all the people. We are in the ballroom B. There are more in the other one, ballroom A and ballroom C." Mike answered.
"I see." She said.
"So, Miss Cupcakes! What do you think of the tournament so far?" A news reporter asked.
"Well!" A girl with pink dress said. "I think it is really cool to be here! In fact, it makes me want to think of new ingredient for some cupcakes!" She posed with her tongue sticking, one arm on her right hip, and a wink at the cameras.
"Woooooooooo!" The group of news reporter awed.
"Who is she?" Muiko asked.
"That girl there is Sherry Cupcakes. She is a famous bakery chef from New York City. I heard that she has a very popular show on Metube." Ace explained.
"Oh tar nation! I think I forgot my trusty old cantee!" A male voice complained loudly.
They turned around to see a tall man with tan skin and wearing like a cowboy being upset about something. "I guess I have to buy the ye citefolk's water bottle." He said.
"I can tell that guy is from outside the city." Mike sighed.
"That man is Tino 'Dino' Salvador. Young paleontologist, but also a top duelist from where he came from." Ace summarized.
"Speaking about water bottle, hey Muiko." Mike said.
"Yeah?" She replied.
"Do you want some punch? They are serving it while we waits for the opening ceremony to start." Mike suggested.
"Sure. Why not." Muiko agreed.
Mike happily went to get punch for her. When he arrived at the table where the punch was, Mike accidentally bumped someone. "Oh! I am sorry..."
He looked up to see a masked man. He had a long red hair and white mask, only revealing brown eyes. He gave Mike a hand. "Um, thank you." Mike accepted his hand. Without a word, he walked away.
"That was kind of weird." Mike said until he remembered to get the punch. He got the punch and gave it to Muiko. Meanwhile, a teenage boy with a young girl watched them from the sidelines. The teen boy was around their age, probably 15 or 16 years old. He had dirty blond hair, dark blue eyes, white skin, and wore dark gray jacket and pants with the matching color. He also have his ear pierced with red crystal on each. The girl wore a gothic Lolita-style dress, stockings, and shoes. She also wore a small top black hat on her head, cricked with a white bowtie to make her look cuter.
"Do you sense that, Dian?" The boy asked with a smirking smile, pointing to Muiko.
"Yes, I do, Vlad." She replied emotionlessly.
"It looks like this year's Cup of Scorch will be more interesting this time around. Great challenge for me, but all of these Duelists shall fall to my power in the end. Keheheh!" He chuckled evilly.
"Attention all participating duelists. Please come to the entrance of the stadium and begin lining up. The opening ceremony will begin very soon!" The speaker announced. Everyone, including Muiko and her two friends go to the line.
"Hello folks! People of Metro Sand City, and the world! Welcome to the annual Cup of Scorch!" The announcer said excitedly on his microphone.
The crowds cheered loudly to him. "This year's Cup of Scorch is mad exciting, possibly even more exciting and bigger than last year! Many duelists in our fair city and around the world have gathered here to win for the title of Champion! Now, presenting all of our participants!"
Confetti floated everywhere as the three groups of participants came into the central arena of the stadium. They all lined up at the center area of the stadium as the crowds cheered for them. Some were cheering for certain duelists while others were cheering in general. "Now, to begin this tournament officially, I want to explain the rules for the tournament! First off, we start with the preliminary round! This is the round that will determine all of you participants' skills. Each participant must collect 7 pieces of crystal to create a single crystal medallion. However, you must collect all seven pieces within one week, and only the lucky 50 duelists of 350 participants can move on to the next round. Each participant will start one piece of their own incomplete medallion. When you win a duel, you earn one new piece for your medallion, but if you lose, you lose one piece. Also, if you lost all of your pieces, then you are automatically out of the tournament, but if you do lose all of your pieces, you still have a chance to make comeback! When you do lose all of your pieces, there are 5 golden crystal medallions somewhere hidden in this city! If you find one, then you win an invincibility! Don't worry although, because they are not very easy to find. I assure you with that! Well, that is enough explanation of the rules for the preliminary round! I wish you all good luck in exploring through the city to find your pieces, and see you after a week!"
The crowds cheered loudly again. After that, Mike, Muiko, Ace, and Hannah gathered together to discuss. Three of them hold their own first piece of the crystal and the incomplete medallion. "So, you guys have to collect six more pieces." Hannah said.
"That's right. Once we do, we can move on to the next round." Ace said.
"I heard that it is good idea to stick with someone else, like your friend during this round. The rule permits us to do so if we want to." Mike stated.
"Alright! I will stick with Ace then!" Hannah said hesitantly.
"That's kind of you, Hannah, but I prefer to do this alone if you don't mind." Ace said.
"Oh...ok." She said softly.
"You can stick with me, Hannah." Mike suggested.
"I guess so." She sighed.
"What about you, Muiko?" Mike asked.
"Actually, there is someone who will be my partner for this round. That old man made a 'date' for me with him." Muiko admitted.
Both boys jumped in surprise. "What!?" Mike gasped.
"The old man said he should be coming right now." Muiko said, crossing her arms and tapping her finger. Suddenly, they heard a creepy laugh not too far away. When they noticed, they realized a very familiar (or very forgotten) person.
"Hello, folks! It is I, Cody Hackin!" Cody greeted.
"Cody Hackin!" Mike and Hannah said simultaneously.
"Long time no see, everyone." Cody said smirking. "You must be Ace Wings."
"Nice to meet you, Cody. I am Ace." Ace greeted back.
"Yes, it is nice to meet you, too." Cody replied.
"Wait!? So, Mr. Griffon hooked up your partner with this guy!?" Hannah questioned to Muiko.
"Apparently. He said that his knowledge and database of the duelists will be useful for me, so he chose him to be my partner to help me to find the crystal pieces." Muiko explained.
"Indeed! It is what Mr. Griffon said to me prior to the first day of the tournament. I humbly accept the offer, and took on the job right at the spot!" Cody said. "So, Miss Muiko, shall we go and begin our hunt for subje...I mean, crystal pieces!? Yes, crystal pieces from other duelists?"
"Let's go." Muiko said.
"Hey Muiko!" Mike shouted.
Muiko and Cody turned back around. "What is it?" She asked.
"Um, I just want to say good luck to you." Mike admitted shyly.
"...Yeah. You too." She replied.
All of them went on the separate paths. Muiko goes along with Cody Hackin while Mike and Hannah stay together. Meanwhile, Ace goes on his own path alone. The Cup of Scorch has begun, and what will be awaiting for our heroes!