London – Year 2059.

A true marvel of technological prowess. There was once a time when a small city in Japan (owns by an egotistical rich boy) was considered the height of modern science. But recent developments pushed the capital of Great Britain to the forefront. With automated transports, hard light construction, artificial intelligence, touchless and voice activated technology, and reduction in pollution, London was truly the pinnacle of human ingenuity.

But on the other side of the spectrum, it also made life much easier for those with…less than legal intentions.

Case in point, the man bursting through the fifty-second floor window of the most expensive apartment complex in the city.

The man was flamboyantly dressed in an apple-red three-piece suit, a buttoned-up white shirt with a matching red tie underneath. A lengthy white cape billowed behind him as he flew through the air, keep one hand on the brim of his bright-red top hat with a single Dual Monster card tucked in the checkered ribbon around the brim. The city lights below illuminated him face, revealing a handsome man with slicked back pink hair and a red heart painted over his left eye.

The mysterious man grabbed the edges of his cape and stretched them outward, giving him the ability to glide to the roof of the building across the street. The red-suited man touched down safely on his feet, fixing his collar and correcting his hat with a smug grin.

"Either they're not trying, or I'm just too good at this," said the man with a confident swagger. He reached a gloved hand into his pocket and pulled out a large amethyst diamond the size of his hand. He held it up in the air, watching the glint that reflected off the lights of the neon billboards. "Looks like you're coming with me, beautiful."

"Phantom Thief Crimson Heart!"

The thief, now known as Crimson Heart, blinked owlishly and looked around curiously, searching for the origin of the noise. He didn't see anyone at first, even as he looked over the edge and down to the street, until the rooftop door was kicked open behind him, making the thief jump with a startled yelp. Crimson Heart pivoted on his heel, his cape whipping around him, his fists raised for a fight…but then relaxed when he realized who it was.

Standing at the threshold of the door was a shabby-looking man in his late thirties with scruffy dark hair and a poorly groomed stubble. A police inspector's badge was pinned crookedly on his dirty trench coat and there was apparently a new soup stain down the front of his shirt. The man leaned against his knees, wheezing like he had just ran a marathon, but he still found the strength to point and glare at the thief.

"You're…you're under…arrest…Crimson Heart," the inspector panted exhaustedly.

"Wow, you made record time, Inspector Baldy," said Crimson Heart jokingly.

"It's Baldwin!" Inspector Baldwin snapped, evidently catching his second wind. "And I've finally caught you, Phantom Thief Crimson Heart! I'm finally putting you behind bars!"

"You've been saying that for two years," said Crimson Heart tauntingly. "And you still haven't come close."

"But this time, I have back up," said Inspector Baldwin confidently, whipping out his radio. "Move in!"

Crimson Heart perked up in surprise when a pair of police helicopters suddenly appeared behind him, pinning him down with their spotlights. Two more appeared on the left side of the building and another pair to his right, effectively cutting off his escape routes. And if that wasn't enough, several grapnel hooks sprang out from below, snagging the ledges, and dozens of police officers climbed up one after another.

Crimson Heart blinked. In the span of one minute, he suddenly found himself surrounded by over fifty of London's finest, all of them armed and ready with their dual disks.

"Okay, that was impressive," Crimson Heart admitted.

"We've finally got you surrounded, Crimson Heart," said Inspector Baldwin cockily, shoving his way to the front of the crowd. "There's no way out of this one. Even if you beat one of us in a duel, there are dozens more on standby. And even if you beat all of us here, there are a hundred more in the surrounding buildings. You're trapped."

"This is your most brilliant scheme yet, Inspector," Crimson Heart praised; that wasn't the sort of reaction Baldwin was expecting. "I genuinely applaud you for your persistence and ingenuity."

"Save your speeches for the judge, thief," said Inspector Baldwin heatedly, approaching Crimson Heart with a pair of handcuffs. "You're under arrest – "

But when he reached out for the phantom thief's arm, his arm passed right through it. The Inspector blinked cluelessly and tried again. Yup, his hand went straight through. Inspector Baldwin faced the phantom thief with his smug grin and reached out to grab Crimson Heart by the nose, only for his hand to pass through like a ghost. When the inspector pulled his hand back, Crimson Heart momentarily flickered as if he was glitching out.

A thought suddenly struck the inspector as he turned his eyes skyward. His jaw dropped when he spotted the micro drone hovering almost invisibly against the night sky, a miniature projector installed on the bottom pointing down on Crimson Heart's position. Inspector Baldwin let out a strangled cry, pulling out tufts of his hair when he realized that he had been duped.

"I'd love to stay and play, Inspector," said Crimson Heart, waving taunting at the police, "but it's a school night and I'm way past my curfew. Say 'hi' to the chief for me!"

And with that finally comment, Crimson Heart's hologram faded away, leaving the police staring uselessly at an empty space. Several officers slowly backed away from Inspector Baldwin as the disheveled man balled up his fists, his entire body shivering with repressed anger. Then he punched his fists furiously into the air and screamed:

"DAMN YOU, CRIMSON HEART!"

While the Inspector destroyed his vocal cords, the real Crimson Heart took shelter in a dark alleyway twenty blocks from the site. After checking the area to make sure that no one had followed him, Crimson Heart reached into his pocket and pulled out the amethyst diamond again, flicking it in the air jauntily, and snatched it back again.

"Nice try, Inspector," said Crimson Heart cockily as he grabbed his own face. "But I'll always be – " Suddenly, he pulled his entire face off and he was consumed in a brief flash of light, his voice shifting from an adult man to a young girl, "two steps ahead of you."

Standing where Crimson Heart had been moments ago was a teenage girl with mocha-brown skin and golden-blonde hair tied back in a low ponytail. Her three-piece suit had vanished and was replaced by a formal school uniform consisting of a baby-blue dress with a white checkered pattern on the skirt, a powder-white jacket with a royal-blue trim, and a pair of polished black shoes. On her jacket's left breast pocket was an emblem of a regal crown with the letters "RDA" written in a fancy looped scrawl – the symbol of Her Majesty's Royal Duel Academy.

In the girl's right hand was the amethyst diamond that Crimson heart had stolen and in her left was a white mask marked with a red heart over the left eye. Inside the mask was layer of advanced circuitry that the author was too dumb to explain.

The teenage girl crossed the alley and found a backpack hidden behind a wall of wooden boxes that had stashed away earlier. She stowed the mask inside the bag and retrieved a smartphone, upon which she immediately pressed speed dial on a familiar number as she gathered her things.

When the person on the other end answer, their voice was digitally modified, as was usual for their interactions.

"I just saw the whole thing on the police's body cams," said the person on the other end, amusement apparent in their digitized tone. "You should see the Inpsector now. He might actually live up to that nickname you give him."

"Kinda feel bad for the guy," said Crimson Heart with a mixture of laughter and sympathy. "He's just trying to do his job."

"And speaking of jobs…"

"Got it right here, Dealer," said Crimson Heart, holding up the stolen diamond to no one in particular. "One Eye of Atem generously donated by a corrupt bureaucrat with more money than sense."

"I'll be sure to send him a thank you card," said Dealer jokingly while Crimson Heart stashed the jewel in her bag and hefted it onto her shoulder. "I've already got a few buyers lined up – legitimate buyers, as we agreed. So, now the question is where you want to send the proceeds once the check clears."

"I heard there's a few villages in Uganda in desperate need of clean water," said Crimson Heart, poking her head out the alleyway to check if the coast was clear before walking out.

"Done," said Dealer. "And as usual, I'll be taking my ten percent service free."

"You know we became thieves to help people, right?" Crimson Heart scolded him.

"No, you became a thief to help people," Dealer said pointedly. "I'm just here to make a profit off your exploits."

"One of these days, you're gonna – " Crimson Heart started when her phone beeped. She checked the screen and said, "My dad's calling – gotta go."

"I'll contact you when I have your next heist," said Dealer.

"Okay, later," said Crimson Heart. The connection cut and the teenage girl accepted the other call, raising the pitch in her voice to a happy tone. "Hey, dad, what's up?"

"Hey, Emma," Inspector Baldwin was on the other side, exhaustion apparent in his voice. "Sorry, but I'm gonna be working late in the office today. You can make dinner for yourself – I'll grab something on the way home."

"You all right?" asked Emma Baldwin, already knowing the answer. "Did something happen?"

"It's that damn – I mean, darn Crimson Heart again," said Inspector Baldwin frustrated. "I thought for sure we had him this time. It was foolproof! It's like he was two steps ahead of us? How did he know?"

"It's a real mystery…," said Emma, her lips curling into a smug grin.

There is a surprising lack of SYOCs for YUGIOH despite it being the perfect set up for a SYOC story, so I'm trying my hand at it.

For this story, there will be several positions open for Royal Dual Academy Students and the London Police, but there will only be limited openings for the Phantom Thieves and the Court (Royal Dual Academy top students.) If you want to submit an OC, please follow the following rules.

1. This story takes place in London, and while it is a cultural melting pot, I don't want an overload of Japanese characters.

2. Submitted characters may not have an relationships with established characters, so no Yugi's grandson or Jaden's long lost step brother twice removed.

3. All decks will be limited to forty cards - be sure to label the exact number of each card in your deck if you have more than one.

4. The following Archetypes are already taken: (Madolche. Time Thief, Labyrnth, S-Force, Evil Twin, Dragonmaid)

5. Don't make the backstory unnecessarily complicated. Having a tragic history won't automatically get your picked.

6. All submissions must be done by PM. Any submitted by review will be ignored.

Everyone will be allowed to submit up two characters, so everyone will have twice as many chances to get in. The full form will be posted on my home page. I wish everyone the best of luck.