"It's over! With this blow, victory will be mine!"
"Gnngh… Dammit…!"
"Now! Susanowo, destroy his final Life Points with Great Warlord Slash!"
"Nooooooooooo!"
"Hahah! Victory is mine!"
…
"Phew… Damn, dude, that was a good duel."
"Yeah, man, thanks for the invite, I had a blast!"
"Alright, see ya around!... Well, okay folks, today's been one hell of a day, lots of strong players showed up, and we even got to 50 viewers! But I gotta head to bed, so I'll be ending things here. Thank you everyone for joining, and I'll see you next time!"
I closed the stream right after saying those words, watching as the chat devolved into a stream of Poggers and card emotes like it always did whenever I finished a duel in style, and it made fighting back the smile all the harder.
I stared at the title screen of the "Yu-Gi-Oh! Legacy of the Duelist: Link Evolution" game for a long time, letting the title theme fade away and leave only the text "Press Start to Begin" pulsing lightly close to the middle. It was a screen I had grown so used to seeing…
For five years I had been streaming me playing games, and Tuesday was the session people most looked forward to. Or, as the viewers knew it, "Duelsday", where I would play LotD the entire day, teaching some Deck recipes and dueling against anyone that joined in.
The over-acting like we were characters from the show certainly made everything that much more fun.
How many decks had I made, how many cards had I collected in this game… A lot, honestly. Probably more than any sane person would. Not to mention all the DLC packs that I had purchased… But all so worth it in the end. I mean, a 65% victory ratio ain't nothing to sneeze at, even if the good old Magical Poker Equation was to thank for some of them.
Though I guess in this case it'd be the Heart of the Cards, I thought happily, remembering all the times I acted like I had eaten ten tons of ham before the stream after drawing "the one card" to bring victory. Well… Better go to bed. Gotta get some rest for the stream tomorrow. I closed the game and moved to turn off the computer…
Ping
That is, until a notification alert sounded, and a new Steam window appeared.
YOU HAVE A FRIEND REQUEST – JUST NOW
USER: -NULL-
"What the hell…?"
I opened the profile, but was greeted by even more unknowns: no profile picture, no bio, country of origin or games played… And the account had been created literally minutes ago? I didn't even have time to consider anything more before a chat window opened, called by the -NULL- user.
-NULL-: Hello there.
-AbsoluteMadMan-gaka-: Umm, hi? Who are you?
-NULL-: Consider me a fan. I've watched you for some time now.
- AbsoluteMadMan-gaka -: Oh, you're one of my viewers?
-NULL-: In a way, yes. I'd like to posit an offer, if you would not mind?
- AbsoluteMadMan-gaka -: … What kind of offer?
-NULL-: I wish to offer you a game.
- AbsoluteMadMan-gaka -: Look man, it's pretty late, I wanna go to bed… If you hit me up tomorrow, I could take a look at it.
-NULL-: I insist. Please. You will not regret the time.
I looked over at the clock on the corner of the screen, and saw that it was half past midnight already. I really needed to sleep, tomorrow was the day I promised a big tournament for the stream, and if there's one thing I knew it was to not duel when almost falling asleep.
… Well, I could just wake up an hour later, no big loss. The most it would happen would be eating lunch on camera.
-AbsoluteMadMan-gaka-: Alright, one game. Then I have to sleep.
-NULL-: Thank you. Accept my friend request, then we'll begin.
I did so, and almost immediately the game invite came through, bringing me back to the title screen of Legacy of the Duelist.
Except it looked different.
Gone were all the different options like the single player, deck edit or card shop. Even the help and options icon itself wasn't there. Instead, only two selections were available:
JOIN
LEAVE
The fuck? Did this guy hack my game or something? Anti-virus didn't trigger at all…
At that point, my reaction would have been to close the game, tell whoever this was off, scrub my computer with every single anti-virus and anti-malware program I could conceive of, and throw myself in bed out of frustration.
… Except I didn't.
Because when I looked at those options, those two simple words, something… Stirred in me. Back when, I didn't exactly realize what it was precisely, but now… I can give a description to that feeling.
-NULL-: Well? What will be your choice?
I looked at the message, and after a moment of hesitation, I moved the cursor to the "JOIN" option and clicked.
The screen quickly changed, replacing the two options with two new ones.
SELECT DECKS
BEGIN
I once more chose the first option, and was greeted with two square windows, one empty and one filled with all the Decks I owned in the game. Curious, I clicked on one deck, my Superheavy Samurai one, but nothing I happened. I then tried clicking and dragging, and indeed, the Deck icon followed the cursor as it moved, and was placed inside the empty window once I let go. So on I went, adding every single Deck I thought important.
Heroic, Bujin, Lunalight, Swordsoul, Rescue-ACE, War Rock, Subterror...
In total, I chose eight different decks, the eight I most treasured and had the fondest memories. Whatever game this… Whoever wanted to play, I'd at least come prepared for it. With my choice made, I returned to the previous screen and saw that the "Select Decks" option was now greyed out. And once more, -Null- messaged me.
-NULL-: I see you've made your choice. Are you ready, then?
-AbsoluteMadMan-gaka-: Yeah, I'm ready.
-NULL-: Good. Then I bid you welcome to this game. Let us begin then.
Taking a deep breath, I clicked on the "BEGIN" option.
I blinked.
… This wasn't my computer.
This wasn't my room.
T-This… Wasn't m-my face…
Rather than sitting in my own chair, inside my room and facing my computer in my desk, I was in a small white room with no windows and only one door leading to… Somewhere… With a strange-looking computer atop a plain table, and a small mirror standing beside the monitor. And I… Someone… Was staring back at me on it.
He… I looked some six or seven years younger, and honestly far better built than I had ever looked. My cheeks were more angular and slimmer, my eyes had gone from brown to grey, and my hair, once short, curly and brown, had become a gravity-defying ponytail, with red highlights at the tip and on my bangs.
And instead of wearing my pajamas, I was dressed in a white tank top with flame decals, a black coat, some cargo pants and blue sneakers.
"What… What the…"
Beep
My head almost flew off my neck with how fast it turned towards the monitor, which only now I realized had an open voice chat.
The chat's name was -NULL-
"I am thankful you've joined my game," spoke an electronic voice in a monotone. "Are you pleased with your appearance?"
"What the hell is this?!" I shouted, my voice coming out in a baritone voice, yet also still more youthful than I remembered my own. "What did you do to me?!"
"I promised you would play a game. And it is what you have been offered."
"What?!"
"A game of fate, if you will. Where you will play to decide the fates of many. Have you not realized where you find yourself yet? Perhaps this will bring clarity you." At those words, another browser window opened, this one showing an… Ad… For…
"… I-Industrial… Illusions…?"
"Birthplace and capital of Duel Monsters, home of one Maximillion Pegasus. I believe you will find him most useful for your endeavors."
"You… Put me in the Yu-Gi-Oh! world…?"
"You are indeed correct. You are, as we speak, inside a LAN house private room. Your stated reason to be here is to verify some private information," continued the voice, as one more browser window opened, revealing some bank I've never seen before and an account that showed a four thousand dollars deposit for tomorrow, as well as the bank and account number… But no name? "More precisely, you are here for me to explain the rules of this game."
It was only my experience as a streamer that allowed me to school my emotions and keep my calm, instead of going into a profanity-laden tirade against -NULL-. Instead, I clenched and unclenched my fists a few times, took a few long breaths, then faced the screen again. "Alright… I'm listening."
"Perfect. The rules are simple: you will have complete freedom upon this world. Whatever you do will be by your choices, and I will do nothing about it. The game will end when you lose. Ergo, when you meet permanent demise in this world. Victory is declared if you finish the story, completion is when you reach the end of your life without completing the main objective. Defeat has already been stated. Whatever may be, your will be returned to your own place, with as many memories as you've collected up to that point… And an extra should you achieve victory."
"And what is the main objective? Are you gonna tell me?"
"That is for you to discover and decide. It would not be a game after all if the solution was given. I will at least indicate the tools available to you. Check behind you."
Putting down the questions of how they could be so aware, I turned, and to my surprise found a few more things in the room with me. Particularly, two metal briefcases, a 5D era Duel Disk, a wallet, a cellphone and a strange rectangular brick attached to a keychain, all of it atop a large piece of paper.
"What the…"
"The key is for your transportation on this world, the wallet contains your documents and bank card. Said bank account will receive two thousand dollars every fifth day of the month, so as to allow you financial stability. One of these briefcases contains all eight decks you have chosen. The other contains a collection of cards from your game inventory that you will find… Useful… Though of course, you will first require to retool them for proper legality."
"Of course…" I muttered, cupping my chin in thought. A few of my decks were technically usable on this time, but the rest… That's when the thought hit me. "… Wait a minute… Proper legality, Pegasus… This is the original timeline?"
"A close assumption, but incorrect. Have a look at the flyer beneath your belongings."
I pulled said flyer from beneath all the things, and what I saw in it… Well, it answered almost everything.
DUEL ACADEMY ENTRANCE EXAM! INSCRIPTIONS OPEN!
"Duel Academy… I'm in GX?"
"Correct. Any other answers to your questions, you will not receive from me. Discover them for yourself… That is, of course, if you seek them. Now, all that is left is to decide your name for this world. A new life requires a new name, after all. So… What is your name?"
"My name… Hmm… How about this…"
-O-
I was out of the LAN house ten minutes later, with all my belongings now organized and safely in my grasp. Thankfully, the staff didn't ask questions, nor did they seem to give signs of hearing me borderline talk to myself.
Didn't even have to pay, apparently I had done so beforehand… Somehow.
At least that was one problem solved.
Now, to the second: legalizing all these cards… Even the ones not meant for me.
Turns out the other briefcase had cards not for my decks. Instead, it was for others. Others I realized quite quickly who they were.
"Make a choice", yeah right… Like I had much of it. Knowing the amount of bullshit and suffering that would go down on that school, how could I not try to enter? Something did bug me about how the pamphlet was worded: it spoke of Duel Academy not as a high school, but instead as an university, with a five-year program. Did that mean the entire cast would be older than in the show…? That would certainly makes things interesting. I also got myself a map of the city, just to make sure I wouldn't look like a bumbling monkey in the middle of what I could conceivably call one of the most important cities in this world. And wouldn't you know, Industrial Illusions was helpfully marked as a point of interest. The question is… How do I get there… Oh right, I got a key for some transport, right?
I pulled the small rectangle from my pocket and looked it over, seeing a few buttons marked on one side, including one for a lock. Was this for a car or something?
I pressed it…
Beep beep.
… Sweet~.
-O-
Sarah Morrigan very much liked her job as executive assistant at Industrial Illusions. It was a mostly calm job, receiving clients and visitors with the professionalism expected of someone working in the second largest entertainment company on the planet, sorting through some preparations for VIPs, making sure the paperwork that came her way was properly sorted, and all the needs of the Pegasus' were met. And when one spent so long at a position, you tend to grow accustomed to a certain pattern of things.
Today, holding her usual cup of coffee and a report on Mr. Pegasus' scheduled meetings, her sense of "normalcy" was sent careening off the window when a massive bird-like tricycle parked outside their building with a deafening roar of its engine, allowing the young man riding it to dismount and walk into their building holding two briefcases in his hands.
As quickly as ever, Sarah strode towards the entrance hall, just in time to see the young man standing at the reception desk, talking with the building's receptionist.
"I'm sorry sir but we can't simply call up Mr. Pegasus," she spoke in an exasperated tone. "Especially since you're… Well, not a priority person, sir. No offense."
"None taken," he replied calmly. "But I do need help from Pegasus, or someone higher in the company. It's for an important matter."
"Sir, as I've said—"
"Can I help you, sir?" called out Sarah as she walked towards the counter. Hearing her voice, both the receptionist and the new arrival turned towards her in relief and curiosity, respectively.
"Oh… Hello there," he replied, taking a few steps toward her before hefting the briefcases into the air. "I wanted to ask these cards to be reviewed and retooled, but it needs to be a special service due to sensitivity."
"Sir, Industrial Illusions does not perform retool of cards," replied Sarah, feeling a budding frustration at the young man. "If you've purchased counterfeit cards, we cannot simply legalize them for you."
"That's not what's happening, ma'am, this is something else entirely."
"Then I ask that you use the proper channels to contact our services, sir. Now please, I must ask that you vacate the premise, before—"
"What seems to be trouble?"
-O-
The surprises keep pilling today, don't they…
And the newest one was the arrival of a young man that for all that was holy I could swear was like a younger Pegasus, only with green hair, dressed in a maroon trench coat, white shirt and pants, and rather than the usual playful look the Toon Master always wore, this one had a more placid, calm expression.
"M-Mr. Pegasus!" babbled the woman, her stance becoming far more stiff as she turned to face the arrival—
… Wait… Did she say Mr. Pegasus?!
"I received word that there was a curious arrival at our company," continued the man, before turning to face me fully. "Would they be speaking of you?"
"Probably so, sir," I replied as calmly as I could, before reaching into my pocket for something I hoped would grasp his attention. "I have a special request to make, if you wouldn't mind." And with that, I withdrew my best hope and offered it to "Mr. Pegasus", who readily took it.
Considering the way his eyes sharpened when staring at the Duel Monsters card I handed over, I was either in luck, or in deep trouble.
"Where did you get this card?" he asked with that same calm tone, though there was an edge to his tone that made clear that my answer should better be good.
"I've owned it for five years now, sir. And I've used it quite a few times now."
"… Come with me."
Thankfully, I managed to keep the smile off my face as I followed after this mysterious Pegasus, even as the two women behind us watched in shock as the "strange arrival" left with the important person I had been looking for. Not a moment later, three guards joined me and the VIP, circling the two of us the entire way to a large elevator deeper inside the building. As soon as we were inside, the green-haired man typed a complex password on a keypad inside, sending us almost rocketing up the building. All the while, he would sneak glances at me, though I noticed they held no hostility, but instead some… Intense curiosity.
Finally, after a few more minutes, the elevator stopped, allowing us to step out into a very spacious study. The walls were lined with antique objects and even stone carvings, chief of which were what I recognized to be inscriptions detailing the Millennium Items and some of the more powerful monsters of the time. Others were just cartoon memorabilia of dozens of different shows that I had never seen before, with two bookcases that went up to the ceiling being the last pieces on the walls.
The only other item of furniture was a large wooden desk with three chairs on each side, and two figures already sat on one side: one was a near-perfect copy of the man accompanying me, bar his choice of clothes, which were a pink coat and black pants, and his face looked a bit younger and more filled with emotion.
The other wore an impeccable red suit, had shining silver hair, and was holding a glass of what I was sure to be grape juice.
Maximillion Pegasus did not look a day over his 20s.
"Brother, is that the one?" asked the young man standing beside Pegasus—
… Wait… Brother…?
"Wait, are… All of you Pegasus?" I asked aloud, earning myself a duo of confused, and one extremely amused one.
"Ohohoh… That is certainly an interesting question," spoke the senior Pegasus in mirth as he swirled the juice in his glass. "So it seems there's one person in the world that doesn't know of the Pegasus family. Well, at least it's an opportunity to introduce yourselves anew. Boys?"
"Very well, father. My name is Sigmund Pegasus," spoke the one standing beside his father.
"And I am Roderick Pegasus," said the one standing beside me as he paced towards his father. "I presume we need not to introduce our father?"
"I'm not that uninformed, thank you very much," I replied with a smile as I slowly moved towards the table, my grip on the two briefcases still very much tight. When Pegasus Sr. motioned to a free seat, I placed the two briefcases on the floor next to the chair before sitting down, while with a wave of his hand the CEO dismissed his guards from the room and back down the elevator they had just arrived on. "Thank you for accepting to see me, sir. It is an honor."
And it really was. Nevermind the fact that I was struggling with my inner fanboy at the fact I was staring and interacting with MAXIMILLION PEGASUS HIMSELF, it was a strange sensation to be sitting in front of a man that, to this world, was absolutely legendary. Maybe it was his defeat to Yugi all those years ago, but the man had a very relaxing air surrounding him. Something that made me want to completely disarm around him and offer nothing but honesty to him.
And that in itself was dangerous. Especially since these two sons of his were complete unknowns to me. I knew Pegasus himself could be trusted with the truth, since he had witnessed the powers and mysteries of the occult and fantastical, maybe even of the dimensional boundaries, provided Yugi or Kaiba had told him of the realm of Duel Spirits… Or the afterlife, in Kaiba's case.
Wonder how that duel turned out…
No, focus. You have business to handle.
"Well, onto matters at hand. Mr. Pegasus, I believe your son Roderick has something of mine to show you," I spoke, motioning to said son calmly. On cue, Roderick offered the card I had given him to his father, while his brother eyed me with renewed curiosity and a hint of mistrust. Daintly, Pegasus took the card, and the moment his eye laid on the card, it widened slightly, moving around slightly as the man read through the card. And after no more than two minutes, Pegasus turned back towards me, flipping the card so it faced me instead.
"Quite a curious card indeed… Unlike any I know."
And really, he did have a point.
Painted navy-blue with a hexagon pattern, the picture surrounded by arrows, was a humanoid figure with wings, a grenade launcher and a bird-like mask. Sitting at a delicious 3000 ATK points, at the cost of 2+ Beast, Beast-Warrior or Winged-Beast Monsters to summon, and with a brutal effect.
The Link-4 Winged Beast Monster, Tri-Brigade Shuraig the Ominous Omen.
Something that wouldn't be invented in Duel Monsters for possible centuries, if not more.
"Would you tell us the tales of how you've come to own such a card, young man?" continued the man, gently placing the card onto the table. "And the many more I assume you possess inside these briefcases?"
Still smiling, I hefted the briefcases onto the table and unlocked both before turning them towards the three Pegasus. While one contained the sealed cases for my eight chosen decks, the other was filled with several cards, ala a money briefcase or those "rare cards" ones the anime kept showing. And while you couldn't really see the contents of my decks, the second case showed its contents proudly: Cyber Eternity Dragon, Super Vehicroid – Mobile Base, Ancient Gear Megaton Golem, Cyber Angel Izana… Possible reinforcements, should the need arise.
But not for me. I had no use for those cards. These were for possible allies… Possible friends.
"Some of these may seem recognizable for you three. And indeed, they are related to existing cards. But they contain no recognition microchips, ergo, they cannot be utilized in duels due to not being made by Industrial Illusions. The same applies to the cards contained in those cases, my personal ones… Alongside the fact some of them are of non-existing Monster types. Synchro, Exceed, Link…"
"But how did you acquire these cards?" asked Sigmund as he approached the briefcase containing my decks, running one hand over the box labeled ST before taking the box in his hands to closely examine it. "No other companies produces Duel Monster cards, and these are too high-quality to be fakes."
"And you've mentioned to me that you've used these cards for five years now," added Roderick, still standing beside his father. "Which means you have been dueling using illegal cards… But with whom, and where?" And under his analytical gaze, all I could do was sigh and shake my head.
"That… I cannot say. Not out of distrust, but rather due to… Sensitive information."
"Oh? Is it perchance the fact that you and your cards are not exactly of this world?"
I nearly choked in my own tongue with how nonchalantly Pegasus Sr. blurted out my biggest secret just like that, and with barely a few minutes of having met me. And judging by the way his smile grew a few inches wider, my reaction (and of his sons) was exactly the one he was expecting. "W-Wha… But h-how—"
"Well, my dear boy," replied the man as he waved his hand back and forth. "When you have spent so many years occupied with supernatural phenomena, one tends to become open-minded to certain situations. Or did you forget that I've created this entire game from magical Egyptian tablets retrieved from the tomb of a long-dead pharaoh? Please, an otherworldly traveler is quite tame in comparison."
"… W-Well… You're not wrong, Mr. Pegasus…" I finally spoke, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as I felt his sons' glares bore onto me. "I… Am an otherworldly traveler… Even if an unwitting one…"
"What do you mean by that?" asked Sigmund.
"I was nothing but a duelist for entertainment in my own world, dueling for fun and for others to watch and enjoy. At the end of my last duel, however, I was contacted by… Something… That invited me to play a game. While at first I took it as only being another duel, once I accepted, I… Found myself here, given my cards and told to 'play the game' to its fullest… Whatever it means with that…" I let out a weary sigh, rubbing my face with both hands before raising my gaze to meet the Pegasus family. "And considering how Duel Monsters is prominent in both our worlds, and I was given my decks… I assume it wishes me to duel others in some way. But my cards would be useless, unless they were modified to become more in line with what exists in this world."
There. Not the complete truth, but quite enough to allow a solid picture to be painted of my situation. They did not need to know their entire universe was nothing but a fictional creation in my world, and their highly popular game was just a children's card game on "normal" Earth.
"So… That is your story," stated Roderick in a still even tone of voice, but I could tell there were some veiled emotions in his words. "And you stand by it?"
"Yes sir. All of it is true."
"That remains to be seen," said Sigmund, placing the ST deck back into the briefcase. "Father? What would your verdict be?"
"Well I've said once, I'll say it again: the things I've seen before in my life certainly make me lean towards believing this young man," replied Pegasus Sr. as he drank the last of his juice before placing his wine glass back onto the table. "And with the passion I can see in his eyes, I am not adverse to assisting a duelist in need… But of course, there is the issue of payment for such services~"
"Yes, I… Understand. I'm prepared to pay, of course—"
"No need to worry about money, my boy. I can assure you, I have enough of that for my lifetime already," he interjected, tapping his finger next to my "Shuraig" card. "No… You'll instead repay me by performing a task."
A task? What could it be? "What sort of task, Mr. Pegasus?"
"Have you any knowledge of Duel Academy?"
Yes, quite a lot of it. "No, sir, none at all."
"Mmm. Then allow me to offer a quick resume: Duel Academy is a teaching institution responsible for educating and shaping all future generations of duelists of our world. One of many, in fact, but this one is the one I'm most fond of." Pegasus then leaned forward in his desk, interlocking his fingers with one another while giving me a knowing smile. "My proposal is this: I shall rework one deck of your choice as a starting offer, and in return, you must pass the entrance exam, enroll yourself into Duel Academy, and prove your passion to Duel Monsters. Do so… And I will personally remake all your cards into a usable format, free of charge. If you fail… Well, at least you'll have something to utilize during your 'game'. Do you accept these terms?"
I looked at each of the three men standing across the table from me, feeling their eyes judging and measuring my every reaction to said proposal.
And honestly, how could I refuse it? It was the best possible scenario for me: a guaranteed spot in their entrance trials, usable decks for the immediate future, and possibly the rest of my cards if I proved myself worthy enough to Pegasus. Finally, with one last theatrical sigh, I nodded, stood up and bowed to the three men. "I accept your proposal, Mr. Pegasus. I promise you, I will not disappoint you."
"I certainly hope so, my boy," replied the CEO before rising himself and offering me his hand, which I promptly and firmly shook. "But where are my manners, I have not even asked for your name! So, what shall we call you?"
And with all my willpower, I fought back the ear-splitting grin threatening to show itself, instead merely offering the owner of Industrial Illusions a soft smile. "Atlas, sir. Drake Atlas."
-O-
New Domino City, 5D timeline…
"Ah… Achoo!"
"Huh? Hey Jack, you alright there?"
"Ngh… Yes, Crow. But I just had this feeling that someone just talked about me… And just stole my surname for themselves."
"Heh, who knows? Maybe they'll be more humble with it than you."
"Very funny, Crow…"
~O~
Well, there we have it. I promised, I delivered. And quite fast too, wow…
I ended up getting this idea stuck in my head after seeing a ton of YGO videos with some friends, plus having just bought Legacy of the Duelist for myself, I decided to throw my hat into the ring of Yu-Gi-Oh! SIs.
Like it wasn't enough that I am doing a One Piece one already… Eh, who cares *dabs*.
Just a quick chapter setting up some of the core things, most importantly of all, of course, being getting some working cards. Never understood stories that just had OCs drop into the Yugiverse and immediately start using their cards, when we know the ones in the series are a whole different story from the KONAMI-made ones. We'll also be seeing quite a few modern cards, specifically of archetypes that I very much enjoy, but again, as expected they will be changed and retooled, like having their card type be changed, or effects reworked into more proper ones. As an example, let us take Decode Talker. His rework would be:
Decode Talker – Level 6 Effect Monster
ATK 2100 – DEF 1600
Gain 500 ATK for every monster next to this card. When your opponent activates a card or effect that targets a card(s) you control (Quick Effect): You can Tribute 1 Monster Card next to this card: negate the activation, and if you do, destroy that card.
Something like this. Link Monsters (what few would appear) would have their "point to" effects changed to something tailored to positioning. Every card would be a per-case thing, but I put faith in changing stuff.
But I digress, it's late as fuck, I should have been in bed a long time ago.
Next thing? A Titanomachy chapter! Enough waiting for it, it is now being worked on!
Until next time, folks~