The Loud Duelists

by Aruko Itsuka

In the 21st century, the card game Duel Monsters has taken the world by storm. The best part? The game finally hit Royal Woods, Michigan... However, that was two months ago. After another loss, Lincoln Loud finds himself searching for a power that can turn his losing streak around. Little did he know that the he'd find himself in a greater destiny. Everyone, get ready to DUEL LOUD!

1. Introducing, Lincoln Loud

… A duel… All it took was a duel to show him that he needed to be better.

"It's my turn. DRAW!!" A shout was declared, a boy taking a card out from some weird machine that occupied his left arm. The boy in turn only smirked at what he drew before placing down the brown card onto a blackboard with some glowing blue light to surround the board while it happened to be attached to something else below it.

"It's time to end this. From my hand, I summon to the field, Assault Wyvern in attack mode! This monster will ensure my victory this turn with no delay." Suddenly, a small shine of light appeared over the grass that occupied the area. For what seemed to be happening, the light began to appear in the form of a portal, staying there for a few seconds before a strange creature flew out of it. The strange creature in question only hovered in the air, releasing a powerful screech from its mouth while flapping its wings.

The so-called monster appeared to be that of a somewhat black dragon, its legs seeming to be clad in blue and silver armor while the chest had been covered in blue armor only, a purple gem being able to be seen on its chest while the dragon's long skinny tail had what could be considered armored blades on the ending tip. The Assault Wyvern's back had a pair of purple wings, another set of white and blue armor accompanying its form while another set of this armor was attached to its arms and the back of its head. Those sharp fangs called teeth added to its menacing look while twin blades attached to its chin added to the danger to be seen from this dragon.

Assault Wyvern - LV4 ATK: 1800/DEF: 1000

"I don't see how his dragon is gonna end the duel. If it inflicts piercing damage, then I'll be safe for this turn. My face downs will take care of this." Came the thought from another boy currently within the area of the other kid across from him. The boy currently staring at the Assault Wyvern opposite of the child who brought it forth seemed to be keeping his cool, however, he was worried; why would he be worried exactly? The answer lies within the outcome of his opponent's deck.

"Well then, it's about time I ended this. And once I do, your useless deck and duel disk are mine! I activate the trap card, Xing Zhen Hu!" The kid controlling the dragon declared, flipping over a card within his device below the blackboard keeping its hold on him. Suddenly, a card bigger than the size of both boys here lifted itself, appearing as if it came out of thin air; on the front cover of that card appeared to be a black jar with a box sitting on top of it. The only thing that helped it stand out more was the fact that the box and jar were sealed with pink rope with a pink and purple fog surrounding it. That background was ominous indeed while carrying the intent of imprisonment behind it.

"I'm not taking a chance with those face-down cards, so I'll simply keep you from using them! Xing Zhen Hu when activated allows me to target two face-down cards in your spell/trap zone. Once I do, I can immediately seal them, stopping their activation as long as this card remains active on my field."

"It can do what?!" Looks like he couldn't stop Assault Wyvern's attack with any of his trap cards. Lucky for him, only one monster sat in attack position on his foe's side of the field. Although, how did he plan on ending the duel with one monster? His monster would still save for another turn as long as he didn't take piercing damage.

Either way, the card began glowing an ominous pink and purple before two pairs of pink rope shot out from within the trap card's confines. Suddenly, it wrapped itself around the two cards the boy had in his spell and trap zones, having purple Mist surround them to show they couldn't be triggered during the battle phase.

Xing Zhen Hu - Trap (continuous): Activate by selecting 2 Set Spell or Trap Cards on the field. The selected Spell or Trap Cards cannot be activated.

"With this, I can attack. Go Assault Wyvern and destroy that loser's monster!" Just like that, the dragon roared before furiously flapping its wing, charging for the face-down card on the field. As it closed in, a small glint of light shined on the twin chin blades before the beast stabbed the card, showing a gray-haired woman that looked like she had gold skin. A green staff could be seen in her hand while a somewhat ripped blue cape surrounded the back of her body mostly. No one there could be sure of what she was wearing, however, they all knew that she was instantly destroyed as the card dispersed into pixels.

Old Vindictive Magician - LV2 ATK: 450/DEF: 600

"You may have kept my cards from being activated, but you can't stop my monster. I activate Old Vindictive Magician's special effect! Whenever it's been flipped, I can target one monster on the field and destroy it!"

Suddenly, from the original position of the destroyed magician, a portal began to open up, a dark circle of pitch blackness having nothing but the darkest of the dark stored inside. Though seconds later, a green light blasted out from the portal, making its way towards the dragon which destroyed the magician. As it neared closer and closer, the summoner of Assault Wyvern only smirked as he expected this, activating another trap card belonging to him.

"You were bound to fail with that move. I activate my trap, Ultimate Providence! By discarding one card of the same type, I'm able to negate any card effect no matter the category." And just like that, the boy discarded a monster, negating Old Vindictive Magician's effect as the green light instantly dispelled itself, not being able to destroy the dragon.

Ultimate Providence - Trap (counter): When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated: Discard the same type of card (Monster, Spell, or Trap); negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it.

"I wasn't able to do anything to stop him! He always has a counter-"

"Now that I negated that stupid magician's effect, I can activate Assault Wyvern's effect! When it destroys a monster in battle, I can tribute it to special summon a dragon-type monster from my hand or graveyard!"

"That's why he stopped the effect of Old Vindictive Magician! He just wanted to be able to special summon during this battle phase! That, or he just wanted to show off." A small growl escaped his lips at the second thought.

"It's been fun I guess, but now it's time to bring out the star of this show. Come forth from my hand, the dragon that strikes fear into those that cross its path…" Suddenly, Assault Wyvern began to glow before exploding into a blinding white light, the light making its way into the sky before it began to expand and grow at an alarming rate.

"Behold the one and only dragon that doesn't fall in strength, Blues Eyes White Dragon!" The enemy declared with the blinding light in front of him, watching as it began to die down before a dragon could be seen flying out of it. The dragon in question began to fly about with its wing taking over the skies, its cry of power and destruction following the spirit that embodied this magnificent monster, the coloring of this beast being a reflection from the light to explain why it didn't look like its true colors. And with that, it slowly descended to the ground before landing gracefully, releasing a yell of strength that forced all to shiver beneath its superior body.

Blue Eyes White Dragon - LV8 ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500

"That's his strongest monster!"

"Yep, there's no way he can't end this duel without using his Blue Eyes."

"The duel is over now. He's won."

"Better chalk up another loss for the guy. And this time, he's losing his duel disk along with his cards."

"I didn't know anything about that monster. If I would've known, I would've destroyed it when I had the chance." The boy declared within his mind before looking down at the ground, realizing there was nothing he could do except wait for the inevitable loss he'd suffer by the ferocious monstrosity before him.

"You should've surrendered when you had the chance. If you did, you'd still have your deck and cards. Now you're gonna lose it all! Blue Eyes White Dragon, attack with white lightning!" Blue Eyes only charged up its attack, forming a white ball of lightning-filled power before blasting it out towards the boy currently having his head down. The kid with his head down never raised it, only getting blasted back by the ball of power which sent him flying, ending the battle with nothing but an epic show of power.

The duel is over. The winner is Chandler McCann. Disconnecting Augmented Reality Link.

"... I lost again..."

"Yeah, for the fifth time Lincoln Lame. If you wanted to lose another deck, you should've just surrendered earlier. However, you decided to continue, and this caused you to lose not just your cards, but your duel disk." The now revealed Chandler McCann stated while walking over to the downed loud child himself, the latter wincing from the damage that was inflicted upon his shape.

The redhead himself supported his usual attire, his black eyes gazing at the white-haired boy before glancing down at the boy's deck and disk. He knew exactly how to break Lincoln for losing this duel. They agreed upon it after all. Even still, he saw the likes of Clyde, Liam, Rusty, and Zach running over to him as they began to lift him slowly. With them being busy pulling their man with a plan back on his feet, Chandler stripped the boy of his cards and disk, waving them before the group as he smirked darkly.

"You lost Lincoln Lame. And my winnings are to make sure that you never duel again!" With that, the redhead brought down the boy's duel disk over his knee, smashing the center screen against his body before destroying it, rendering the item useless while he took his cards out from the deck slot. It was then and there when everyone had to watch in horror (mostly in Lincoln's case) as he ripped each card to shreds, rendering them useless and torn beyond restoration. Then and there, he dropped all the remains of each card and the destroyed duel disk, leaving Lincoln to pick some of the destroyed items up while his sadness rained about. No one deserved this kind of torture. No one.

"Face it lame. Let this be a reminder. If you can't even get a scratch on me, then you're not cut out for dueling." He didn't even give him time to rebuttal, leaving the group behind to the ringing of a bell that had just gone off. And everyone knew what that bell meant. Recess was over.

"... I lost again to Chandler for the fifth time already." Lincoln stated to himself, remembering the earlier events as he thought back on everything that happened. Five turns were all it took for the dragon deck user to blast him down to the ground and destroy the main items for the goal he was striving to achieve. King of Games? As if. He couldn't achieve that without the necessary items to get him into dueling.

"... Safe Haven to Road Tripper. I repeat, coming in Safe Haven to Road Tripper."

"Clyde? I thought he wouldn't be able to talk because he was shopping with his Dads."

Hopping off his bed, the polo-wearing brown-eyed pre-teen hopped off his bed, walking over to the walkie-talkie that sat on the desk next to his computer, picking up the mostly black item with a speaker present at the top. With one click of the red button to the side, he began to speak out "This is Road Tripper to Safe Haven, glad I can talk to you about the current topic on my mind."

"Phew! I'm glad you're there buddy. I know today was tough on you, so I didn't know if you were in a talking mood." Clyde spoke back, just wanting to be there for his best friend.

"Nah, it's cool Clyde. Although, I can't say I'm not feeling down from losing another deck, and this time, my duel disk. I'm already short on my allowance money, so if I get myself a new duel disk, I might not have enough to get some new cards depending on the costs."

"Don't worry Lincoln, I'll- hold on for a second."

"..." The white-haired child raised an eyebrow at that, sitting down on his bed waiting for a reply back; knowing Clyde though, it usually didn't take long to get one. Especially when twelve seconds passed and he heard on the other side "Sorry about that. You know, shopping with my dads so I couldn't leave them hanging."

"Don't worry, I understand. I couldn't leave mom and dad around to do it themselves if they needed my help. Either way, I'm pretty sure I know why you gave me a call while shopping, even though you could've waited until you got home."

"If that's the case, then yes, I wanna help you get some new cards and a cooler duel disk." Lincoln smiled a bit after hearing these words, pondering how they became best friends before always figuring out the answer in mind, knowing he didn't have to think back on it.

"Thanks Clyde. Just like any other day, I can always count on you to help me out."

"No problem. As soon as I'm done here, I'll come to your place, and we'll head from there to Royal Woods Mall. Other than that, I gotta go. My dads are getting some brownies for us, and you know I can't miss that."

"Don't worry, I got you. Take care and tell them I said hey. Road Tripper, over and out."

"You got it. I'll be there as soon as I can. Safe Haven, over and out." The conversation between the duo had ended as Lincoln placed his talkie to the side. He sighed as the smile he had moments ago left his face, wincing due to the pain he felt in his back after hitting the ground too hard.

"Stupid Chandler. He always does this to everyone. He picks on those he deems below his dueling skills and preys on their defeats by destroying the decks they worked hard on. Ever since Duel monsters came to Royal Woods, he's been a lot more annoying than usual when he finally started playing the game." The white-haired boy grimaced at the observation he made some time back, having noted it to be true and factual just by seeing him duel.

After meeting him during the events of what the brown-eyed duelist would call "The Waiting Game," he started seeing Chandler for who he truly was. At the time, Duel Monsters had just hit Royal Woods only six days after him and Chandler met. Lincoln on one hand found himself liking the game, opting to experience it himself and see what it was all cut out to be. Chandler on the other hand only depicted it to be one of those lame nerd games that you would only see in cartoons and anime, deeming too early on that everything he watched was just their imagination being used to create the trailers and all, so he never got the game. However, that all changed when he watched his father play and experience it.

The monsters, the strategies, the will to keep fighting until the last card was drawn, how each card was used now or later with each draw, he could only admit that he didn't get enough of it. Seeing it all for himself, to know that this was reality, and virtual power was this strong to decide the outcome of what happens, he thought that it was too good an opportunity to pass up. If dueling could influence the outcome of what happens in someone's life and give someone the edge and control over their opponent's every day to day lifestyle, then why not take that edge and control to rule above all else… Or in most cases, get whatever he wants without really having to work for it. Especially if everything was mostly given to him through the title "King of Games."

"For all the times he picked on me per the usual, I wanted to show him that I wasn't someone to be messed with. In the end, that failed miserably. And to make matters worse, I challenged him of my own volition after the second time I lost. The last four times ended poorly though, that's for sure." Another grumble escaped his lips as he thought back to his other losses. Losing to Chandler like this sent his reputation at school as a duelist plummeting, meaning that everyone who had a duel disk wouldn't even give him the time of day unless it was against his friends. However, he lost to them as well. So in total, he had zero wins with nine losses. The worst part to top it all off had to be the fact his win-loss ratio would forever be stuck on his Duelist ID. That's gonna suck if others refuse to challenge him because of his losses.

"Well, I'm not giving up. If I'm gonna become the king of games someday, I gotta be able to overcome every obstacle in my dueling career that's going down the drain… And if that means dueling Chandler until I beat him and his Blue Eyes White Dragon, then it's all worth it!" The brown-eyed duelist shouted before jumping off his bed, determination going through his system as a blaze of fire swept through his eyes… Then he sat down in his chair, turning on the computer as he decided to keep himself busy for the time being until Clyde got here. Might as well watch some duels just to pass the waiting.

"Phew! I was supposed to be there at his house fifteen minutes ago, but now I'm late! If classmates from school are challenging you on account of your duel record, sometimes it might be better to say no when you're busy with another problem that needs to be handled." Clyde declared, pushing up his glasses to keep the needed accessory from falling off thanks to his constant running.

Not too long ago, the black-haired kid found himself being challenged by other students just like him at Royal Woods Elementary. Luckily for him, it was only two duels that he ended rather quickly (in a way), but that doesn't mean he wasn't held up for some time. At least the duelists he went up against had some skill per se. Sure, they made some rookie mistakes, but they did their best. Either way, the black pre-teen reached inside of his book bag that rested on his shoulders, pulling out his walkie-talkie before clicking the red button for the transmitter.

"This is Safe Haven to Road Tripper. I repeat this is Safe Haven to Road Tripper letting you know that I'm almost there. It's best if you come out now and meet me on the porch, then we can head out to the mall from there."

"... This is Road Tripper to Safe Haven. Right now I'm getting my money and anything else I'll need before I leave the house. I already let mom and dad know that we're gonna be heading out together, so we're in the clear."

"That's some great news! For where we're going, it's gonna be quite the trip, so I suggest grabbing a bite on the way back from Gus' Games and Grub."

"Sounds like a perfect idea. Although, if I don't have any extra money left over, I might need you to spot me some cash if that's not a problem…"

"Trust me Lincoln, it's never a problem to help my buddy out."

"Thanks Clyde. I'm already at the front door, and I can see you running here. I'll talk to you when you get here. Road Tripper, over and out."

"You got it! Safe Haven, over and out." With this, Clyde looks further down the road at the house, indeed seeing Lincoln standing on the porch. He wasn't sure if the duelist just like himself was staring at him now, but his thought was then confirmed with a wave from the albino child, smiling brightly as he waved back. Moments later, he found himself in front of the house, Lincoln running over to his best friend as they did their usual handshake.

"Alright, I got all the money I need to get some new cards and another duel disk." Lincoln spoke out as he received a nod from his brown-eyed friend, Clyde asking in return "Did you tell them about what happened?" as the eleven-year-old only shook his head.

"If I tell them about what happened, I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna be able to explain how I spent so much money on Duel Monsters. Plus, I know they'll just try to intervene and make the situation better for me, but not if I can't earn the respect I desire through a duel. If I'm gonna become King of Games, then I gotta duel over my current obstacle. Meaning I need to take down Chandler if it'll help me earn that respect I'm looking for."

Both of them started walking down the street, Clyde leading his friend towards the destination he desired as the perfect spot for Lincoln to get some new gear. If he was gonna help Lincoln overcome Chandler, an adversary that either of them had yet to trounce in Duel Monsters, then they would have to start with one of the best cards shops in town. However, that was his opinion.

"While it's great that you wanna earn everyone's respect, they're gonna find out sooner or later, so you should tell them when you get the chance. Just let them know you wanna prove yourself." Clyde stared at Lincoln, the latter frowning a bit as he thought into the negatives.

"I don't know Clyde. When I first told them about doubling my chores so I could get the extra cash, I didn't necessarily go a lot into the details about Duel Monsters. Sure, I made a little extra cash, but I only stated that the game was overseas, global around the world, and I guess mom and dad assumed it was like some console that cost A LOT of money. The duel disk I got didn't help with that assumption, but it did cost as much as the usual price of a Samsung touch screen."

"Yikes. If we guess right on their assumption, I'm pretty sure the conversation you have with them later won't go well. Even still, what do you plan to do Lincoln?"

"At the moment, I got nothing so far right now. However, I'll come up with something whenever I get the chance. For now, my main objective is to beat Chandler once and for all, so I can't sway from my current ambition." Lincoln declared, his determination fueling his desire to be better and overthrow any obstacle in his way. Nothing would stop him from becoming King. However, he would always do right as a duelist. No more or less than that.

Clyde only smiled brightly at Lincoln's determination. When it comes to dueling, Lincoln's always doing his best. Even if it meant losing, at least he could say he never backed down. So with that being said, he had to help the boy find the best deck for him possible. And find the best deck for him he would. So with that, some more time began to pass before the duo found themselves at Royal Woods Mall. The two didn't waste any time entering inside while they looked at the crowd of people that were currently around.

From Adults to kids, couples, and singles, extroverts to introverts, this mall seemed to carry most of those kinds of people and more. However, everyone had a reason for being here, whether it be more the same or less different than the last prior to what they came for. This would mean the same for Lincoln and Clyde since both pre-teens were here because of the black eleven year old and for one reason only… the brown-eyed duelist would be helping his brown-eyed best friend get some new cards and a duel disk from here.

"Ok bud, you brought me to the mall because you get all of your cards and anything else from here right? If that's the case, where do we start?" Lincoln watched as Clyde only closed his eyes, giving the white-haired Loud child a confident smile while only saying "Follow me." Hearing this statement, the brown-eyed albino only kept up with the black-haired McBride, taking the escalator to the second floor before they ended up dashing down the left side of the mall building; It didn't take long for them to get to a card shop with the sign "Play Your Hands Right" being lit up above them as they entered through the double doors. The moment he saw the inside of the card shop, the white-haired pre-teen couldn't help but marvel at the setup. Each Aisle was littered with decks of different kinds while having archetypes of different monsters. The cards were separated and arranged based on the categories no matter if they were monster, spell, or trap cards; Don't even get Lincoln started on the duel disk though. One glance at the beautiful models before resulted in the eleven-year-old instantly running over to check them out.

"Whoa! Clyde this place is awesome!" His excitement was boosted while staring at the duel disks, seeing the normal ones that most people had until he aimed his brown eyes onto the custom-made disks. There was a cool orange one behind the glass casing that he just had to have… Well, if him and Clyde had the money to get it, but he didn't wanna take too much from his best friend. Lincoln would never do him like that.

"Hahaha! I'm glad you have a positive opinion about this place. I didn't know what you'd think, so I'm glad you like the card shop. However, right now is the time to be searching for cards. If you're gonna duel and become one of the greatest, then you need a deck that works for you. Although, you should keep this in mind. Remember, it's not the duelist that chooses his or her deck, but the deck that chooses the duelist."

"Wait what? But we're choosing the decks ourselves, so I don't get that. Where did you hear that from?" The Loud child raised an eyebrow at his best friend, the latter only rubbing his head sheepishly before saying "Some professionals in the duel circuits for pro duelists. Trust me, I believe they were telling the truth when I heard those words."

"Meh. I don't know Clyde. It seems a bit weird don't you think?" Lincoln began following Clyde through the aisles, the black-haired child waving it off for now as he brought his hands over to the card packs that could currently be seen, showing ones that fit different decks and a variety of setups. Then there were some starter boxes or structure packs with some added structure boxes to help out different deck types. All in all, there was much to gain and more. Or you'd probably get stuck with some cards that exactly don't work with what you need.

"No way! These are decks that some of the greatest duelists out there use! Look, there's the Darklord structure box! Oh, the Phantom Knights card packs! No way! They have the cyberse archetype?! This just keeps getting better and better!" Lincoln found himself getting extremely pumped for what they were going to get him today, but all that energy would mostly have to be saved for when they get his new deck.

"Hold on there Lincoln. I know you're ready to get some new cards and all, but we still gotta maintain a low volume here."

"Yeah, my bad. It's just that seeing these awesome cards that some of the best duelists use out there just gets me moving. I wish I could use them, and I can, but I rather have a deck that's less commonly used-"

"And the deck has to choose you Lincoln."

"Right. My deck has to choose me, but how will I know if the deck chose me?" His brown eyes trailed over to Clyde, the other set of brown eyes meeting face to face with him as the better duelist of the two only said "I don't know to be honest with you Linc. However, I do know that by dueling, only then can you truly be sure."

The albino nodded his head, walking around with Clyde for a bit as they began checking over the sets of cards and structures they could get for Lincoln. While there were plenty of interesting cards they could get, Lincoln mostly divagated from anything he considered not up his alley… Or in most cases, anything that could be determined as Lucy's type of creepy to be honest.

"Ok Lincoln, first up on my list for recommendations, there's the Magician archetype. Not gonna lie, it has some amazing support, but it will take some time to find the right cards that you need, and building the deck will be a bit harder."

A nod came from the other duelist. A deck with some of the best support would do him well in a duel against Chandler. However, if building the deck was gonna be harder, then that means learning how to use it properly would be his biggest challenge. Ok, he'd have to wait on that.

"Good to know that. What do we have next on the list?"

"Next, we have the Psychic Synchro deck. Now, there's not an actual perfect physic-type deck. I mean there is, but the cards are scattered so we'd be here for a while trying to find cards."

"Well, we don't have all day in a sense. After all, we can't spend the entire day trying to put my deck together. This place will close soon, and if I'm gonna understand my deck and how to use it, I gotta practice duel. That was the plan from the beginning."

"Alright, follow me into the next aisle then. We'll find something better." Moving over to the next aisle, Clyde brought Lincoln further down before coming to a stop, presenting the next set of cards as Lincoln looked over and stared.

"This here bud is the Nephthys pack. It contains ritual summoning, a few link monsters from what I've heard of, and some special cards that allow for banishing your monster. There are even field spells that allow you to summon a high-level monster, but you have to add these cards to the Metaphys deck to give you some better winning rates in duels because the Nephthys deck doesn't exactly get other support cards that it needs."

"..." Lincoln began to think about it a bit. While he thought ritual summoning was cool, it was gonna take up space in his main deck. Not to mention, he couldn't grasp Link summoning just yet, so he didn't think he was overall ready for it. So with one quick look at the main card pack, he only shook his head.

"I'm not ready for Link Summoning to be honest Clyde. Not to mention, there might not be a guarantee I'll draw what I need if I have to ritual summon as well. I'll be at a disadvantage." "Fair enough Lincoln, fair enough. Let's move on then." They began moving over to the next aisle, seeing the contents of cards get bigger and expand more with each section they move over to. However, the white-haired pre-teen found his attention brought to the structure box with the words "Elemental Sabre" imprinted onto the front cover with various warriors of different attribute powers.

"Welcome to the Elemental Sabres. These fearless warriors work together in supporting each other while getting ahead of the competition thanks to their prowess. From a field spell to increase their power with their fallen comrades from within the graveyard, to their effects of bringing them back together to show why they shouldn't be messed with. These guys and girls pack a punch, so they shouldn't be underestimated."

Lincoln whistled a bit at the information. Knowing they worked together as a team even while in the graveyard meant a lot. However, he wasn't sure about something. What he wasn't sure about would be if these guys could stand on their own in certain points. If that was the case, then he should look into-

"Well well well. If it isn't Lincoln Lame and Clyde McBride. To be honest, I expected four eyes to be here, but not the starter chump that can't even duel to save his life." Both of them instantly turned around to the cocky smirk of Chandler McCann, the redhead making Lincoln scowl a bit before they watched as the black-eyed bully of dueling walked over to them just to start some shit like he always does.

"I thought you losing to me for the tenth time would crush that spirit you have. Maybe I need to squash your dreams in dueling. I think that would be better to say the least."

"Cut it Chandler. You're not stopping me from becoming King of Games someday."

"Hahahaha! As if! You becoming King is the day I think God invented the actual God cards! You're not fooling anyone." His comment forced lightning to spark between them in the figurative sense. You could see Lincoln's anger coming forth as he almost brought his left arm out, nearly snarling as Chandler caught the motion just in time by his own eyes.

"HA!! The fact that you tried to duel me means you're a hopeless case. If your first instinct is to duel with your record, then you seriously need to get professional help. I hear therapy works well." Chandler kept his smirk amongst his face, telling that he was getting inside of Lincoln's mind before the white-haired pre-teen stated "As if! I'm getting some new cards and a new duel disk, so don't count me out for long! If you think you're above everyone else, then why don't you put your cards where your mouth is!" due to his anger getting the best of him. This in turn only made Clyde worry as he placed a hand on Lincoln's shoulder, getting the albino Loud to face him instantly.

"My cards where my mouth is eh? If you're such a big shot now, then how about a deal? Normally, I wouldn't duel you again because there wouldn't be any point. Yet, you still got some fight in you, so why not entertain myself…" Chandler watched as Lincoln looked at him then back at Clyde, the black-haired pre-teen shaking his head while the former sighed before looking at him with a serious expression.

"What do you want Chandler? I'm not gonna waste my time all day on you." Hook line and sinker. Chandler got Lincoln right where he wanted him with his current look and question. This should be fun.

"Heh. I don't have anything better to do over the weekend except non-stop dueling to build up my duel career, so why not earn a few more freebies from you. And while we're at it, let's make a deal."

"Tch, what kind of deal? Because I can tell you from this point on, I don't plan on losing to you again." Lincoln slowly grit his teeth as he stated that.

"It's simple. This Saturday, me and you will duel at Ketcham Park since you don't plan on losing. I'll be waiting for you at three o'clock sharp, so I expect you to show up. The winner gets to decide what happens to the loser after winning the duel, and you only get this one chance Loud."

"Tch, one chance huh? What can the winner decide? After all, there might be some limits-"

"So Lame…" The black-eyed pre-teen extended his hand out towards Lincoln, the latter staring at his palm with his own eyes before hearing "Do we have a deal?"

"... Deal." He shook Chandler's hand, not realizing what the redhead pre-teen had in store for their duel or his future. With that being said and done though, Chandler ended up taking one card from the rows amongst the other packs, structure decks, and boxes as he presented it to Lincoln, laughing soon after before exclaiming "Since you're also looking for a new deck to beat me with, how about adding this little guy to your collection?! He's just as weak and useless as you are!" before placing the card into Lincoln's hand, turning his back towards them as Lincoln looked down at the card, feeling his blood boil.

"Anyways, I've already got what I came for, so I'll leave you to it. Oh, and Lincoln Lame, if you think you can win, then I dare you to try and pull off a win with the deck that card is a part of. I know you won't though since it's above your skill." And just like that, Chandler walked away, having picked up a card from the shelf in the current aisle they were in before he took it to the front counter.

After Chandler walked away, Clyde walked over to see the card that Lincoln held within his fingertips, widening his eyes at the revelation of the monster he gave him. Normally looking at this beast, most would've ignored it because of its three-hundred ATK/DEF that showed the card as a weak monster with a unique effect. However, if someone had to point out the greatest part of this card, it would be how the cover monster looked. The card depicted that of a furless purple carbuncle with a white circle extending from its legs, past the stomach, to its chest. The tail flailed about while the carbuncle was smiling in the cover, oddly enough having four ears present atop their head which wasn't uncommon. However, the most distinct feature about this animal would have to be the fact that the tip of its tail, the center of the forehead, and the animal's eyes appeared to be that of red gems, being an indicator because of the red ruby behind the beast in the photo.

"Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle… He gave you a card from the Crystal Beast deck."

"... The Crystal Beast deck eh?"

Lincoln only stared at the card, being somewhat captivated by the monster that was used earlier to insult him. The albino child wouldn't lie that he was pissed off by the redhead that left him moments ago. Yet he would show him soon enough this Saturday no matter the challenges thrown his way. And, since he decided to insult him with this carbuncle card, it was soon enough gonna be the same card that would soon help defeat the dragon user.

"... Clyde, how many cards are there for the Crystal Beast deck?"

"While I'm not sure on the exact number, I know there's a good amount… Wait, do you wanna get the Crystal Beasts?" The black-haired teen expressed his shock, watching as his white-haired best friend turned towards him with a smirk.

"You bet because this card right here just gave me an idea. If Chandler's gonna insult me with a monster he thinks is weak just like me, then I'm gonna show him how strong both of us truly are. So with that, help me assemble the cards to make this deck."

"... Alright then, you got it buddy! Let's do this!" The two boys then high-fived each other, instantly taking off to grab what they could find that involved the crystal beast cards; little did they know that a pair of eyes were watching them as they ran throughout the place, this very day being the key to unlock Lincoln's destiny.

"... There! Alright Lincoln, we've opened every last card pack and structure box we could get. We didn't have to worry about the cards that much, but the duel disk on the other hand-"

"Costed ninety bucks plus tax. So thanks for being able to give me the extra money to buy it Clyde."

"No problem Lincoln. Anything for my best friend. Other than that, let's get to setting up your deck. Once we do, I'll duel you so that you can learn how to use your cards properly, then I'll test you on your cards' special effects."

"Sounds like a plan." With this, both pre-teens started going through each card to see what they could add, Lincoln trying to set up a balanced deck that at least met the card limit. With every category of the deck separated, both boys took time to sort through everything while examining every card effect for each one they have so far.

"... Alright, so most of the cards I have here go over the three-card limit, while I only have one or two of the same card. Mostly for the spells and traps that is." Lincoln spoke aloud while looking over to Clyde, the latter nodding his head before speaking out "If that's the case, you might just have to add forty cards to your deck until we get the rest of the cards from the crystal beast deck that we're missing." while Lincoln went back to looking through the cards to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"Clyde, how many monsters do I have to work with? I wanna be sure before I start adding cards…"

"Since there are seven Crystal Beasts that are a requirement for your deck to work, you have three of each kind, except for Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger, Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat, and Crystal Emerald Tortoise; you got two each of Topaz Tiger and Amethyst Cat, but only one copy of Emerald Tortoise."

"If I need seven crystal beasts as a requirement for my deck, then I guess I gotta make it work like this for now. After all, you said that to summon this Ultimate Crystal Monster, I need at least one crystal beast of each kind with a different name right?"

"Mhmm. One one of each or you can't summon the Ultimate Crystal Monster."

"The funny part is that I haven't seen this Monster you're talking about. What does it even look like?"

"You'll see soon enough. Either way, I'll work on the monster balance while you go over the spell and trap cards. Remember, since you're only putting forty cards into your deck, you need thirteen spells and traps to make it work." Lincoln nodded in confirmation, getting to work soon afterward as he went over the current spells and traps for his deck.

First up were the spell cards. The one to catch his eye happened to have a green card with the name Rare Value printed at the top, seeing that it was a normal spell card with a cover picture of two cards cutting into two gem rocks of sorts.

"If you control two or more crystal beast cards in your spell and trap zone, your opponent chooses one card in your spell and trap zone. Send it to the graveyard, and if you do, draw two cards… In case if I get into a situation where I need an extra draw, I'll add three of these. If I gotta make room, I'll take one of them out." The brown-eyed Loud child placed the spell card to the side before going to the next one on the list.

The second card to catch his eye happened to be Crystal Bond with the cover art of some random person petting Ruby Carbuncle in their lap, showing that they care for the precious animal. Who exactly was that in the artwork holding Ruby?

"Add one crystal beast monster from your deck to your hand, and place one crystal beast monster with a different name from your deck face-up in your spell and trap card zone as a continuous spell. You can only activate one crystal bond per turn… I got two of these, so I'll add them to my deck just in case, but what's up with placing them into the spell and trap card zone?" The white-haired albino questioned this while placing the two spells to the side.

Repeating this process, it continued for a few more minutes until Lincoln and Clyde sighed as they plopped backward against the bed of Clyde's room. They've been at this for a while now, but Lincoln's crystal beast deck was finally finished. Fourteen monsters, thirteen spells, and thirteen traps; not to mention that the rest of the cards that couldn't be moved into his deck were placed in a structure box. Either way, Lincoln lifted himself back up before deciding to take a good look at his deck. Slowly, he began to shuffle through every card that was in here, a smile coming to the brown-eyed pre-teen's face before he suddenly came to a stop, changing his smile to that of confusion. Under the next card he was about to draw, his brown eyes caught sight of a mostly cut off white wing, the wing having to look like that of Angel's which only made his curiosity grow. And just like that, his interest peaked since the boy tried to pull the card but was stopped by Clyde, the other duelist shaking his head.

"Lincoln, I'm going to be honest with you, and just say not to pull that card. I know the next card you were about to see, and I recommend that it's better if you wait to see it. Otherwise, you might be too focused on trying to obtain and summon it during our practice duels."

Taking his words as some advice, since it sounds like something he'd do, Lincoln only placed his cards together before grabbing his duel disk, watching Clyde walk over to his shelf before grabbing his disk and cards, proceeding to take out 20 cards from his deck while evening it up a bit to make it fair. With that, the black pre-teen only said "We'll duel in the front yard. We got a lot of space there so we don't have to worry about getting in the way of anything." before they instantly rushed out to the front door, getting there in a matter of seconds as they set the field.

"Alright Lincoln, it's Tuesday, meaning we got four days until your duel with Chandler. That means we got a lot of work to do, so give it your all bud!" Clyde strapped his duel disk to his arm, having a dark blue disk with yellow slots and a gray edge holding the mainboard together while sliding his cards inside of the main deck slot before his cards were automatically shuffled.

"Trust me Clyde, I wouldn't want it any other way. So let's get this game on the road!" Lincoln looked down at his duel disk, admiring the orange pad with an electronic screen in the center. With that, he turned it on as the device instantly lit itself up, taking a few seconds to do so before saying "Type in your Duelist ID." as he proceeded to do so.

"... Identity confirmed. Welcome back Lincoln Loud." A woman said from the device, having the blackboard from within his duel disk pop out and form itself as a small scale, a purple light suddenly appearing around the blackboard as it shined immensely to signal that it was on. With that, both boys reached into their pockets, taking out two duel gazers after having their decks and disks ready before tossing them into the air, both accessories for their duel disks falling back down soon afterward.

"Duel Gazer, on!" They both shouted at the same time, hearing the words "Duel Gazers engaged." as the items began to unlock themselves before they fell on their faces with Clyde having a dark blue frame with a white handle while Lincoln's was an orange frame with a black handle. The next few words to come from the female voice were "Augmented Reality Vision Link established." with everything soon enough becoming pixels around them, digitizing their reality as Clyde and Lincoln respectively smirked at each other.

Counting down. Prepare to duel in three…

"Two…"

"One…"

"Let's duel!" The pre-teen's exclaimed at the same time, both of them drawing five cards as they placed them into their respective hands before their life points came up by the system, signaling who was dueling.

Lincoln - 4000LP [ Hand: 5/Deck: 35 ] Graveyard: 0

Clyde - 4000LP [ Hand: 5/Deck: 35 ] Graveyard: 0

"Since you've already helped me out so much bud, I'll go first." Clyde smiled at this, thanking his white-haired friend for appreciating his hard work.

"Alright, let's see what I can do here." Taking a look at the current five cards in his hand, Lincoln examined them closely, making sure not to misread anything before saying "From my hand I summon Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger to the field!" before soon enough slapping a card onto his duel disk, resulting in a white fur and black striped tiger to suddenly appear from a flashing light, the tiger in question having spikes stick out from his legs and head.

Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger - LV4 ATK: 1600/DEF: 1000

"With that, I place two cards face down. Then I end my turn. Your move Clyde." Two brown cards appeared on the field, staying there as the black-haired pre-teen nodded, immediately saying "I draw!" with a small tug on his first card.

"From my hand, I special summon to the field Speedroid Terrortop! This monster can only be special summoned when I control no monsters on my side of the field." Instantly, thirteen spinning red tops suddenly appeared from within the sky, soaring around Clyde's side of the field before they came to a stop, each top carrying deadly blades on the side of them.

Speedroid Terrortop - LV3 ATK: 1200/DEF: 600

"Because Speedroid Terrortop was special summoned, I can add one speedroid monster from my deck to my hand except for Speedroid Terrortop." After Clyde declared these words, he searched through his deck, taking a card out before placing his cards back into the deck slot before it was shuffled soon afterward.

"He must be going for a synchro summon straight off the bat since he didn't normal summon yet. I better keep my eyes open."

"Now, I activate the special effect of Speedroid CarTurbo! Because I control a wind monster, I can special summon this card to the field Lincoln! You better be ready for this one!" From his side of the field, a futuristic car had driven out from behind him, looking more like a high-tech battery since it didn't contain any parts to resemble a car beside the engine that was in front. Although that engine looked more like a phone battery.

Speedroid CarTurbo - LV3 ATK: 800/DEF: 1200 (TUNER)

"The only problem is that when Speedroid CarTurbo has been special summoned this way, I can't activate monster effects that don't contain the wind attribute for the rest of this turn. However, I don't gotta worry about that. With this card being out on the field though, it's about time I reveal its true nature, and Speedroid Terrortop will help me do just that! Now, I use my level three Speedroid CarTurbo to give my Speedroid Terrortop a little tune-up!"

Lincoln's seriousness showed itself as he watched the two monsters take off into the sky, Speedroid CarTurbo turning into three green rings while Speedroid Terrortop went through the rings, turning its "body" into a transparent figure with a yellow line highlighting its original form. Suddenly, a blinding flash of light went through the rings, soaring into the sky before it began to die down with the rings. This synchro summon gave birth to that of a new monster.

"Welcome to the field, my level six Hi-Speedroid Kendama!" Sitting before him, was a blue machine that looked mostly like a spiked-up satellite, having a prism-like spear rest in front of the machine while it only floated off the ground, being able to hear the rotating of the spear if you listened closely. Staring at this weapon of power and destruction only made the twelve-year-old Loud child gulp nervously, having met his first loss to Clyde thanks to this very machine itself. He couldn't let that happen again.

Hi-Speedroid Kendama - LV6 ATK: 2200/DEF: 1600 (SYNCHRO)

"Clyde hasn't normal summoned yet. It's almost as if he's trying to…" Upon his perception, Lincoln could only watch as Clyde's expression turned to that of a smirk, the eleven-year-old machine duelist not having to even ask his best friend anything with the boy saying "I summon from my hand, Speedroid Double Yoyo!" which allowed for another machine type monster to instantly take flight from his side of the field. The new machine had some weird device sitting in the back that oddly enough blasted electricity from two screwed-in light bulbs that rested on its sides, allowing for yellow lightning to have control of not one, but two minacious green yoyos, both weapons having curvy spiked blades inside. To be honest, they looked more like expanded saws than yoyos.

Speedroid Double Yoyo - LV4 ATK: 1400/DEF: 1400

"I activate my monster's special effect! When it's been normal summoned to the field, I can target one level three or lower Speedroid monster in my graveyard, and special summon it to my side of the field. I choose Speedroid CarTurbo!" Clyde declared these words as he removed the selected monster from his graveyard. Meanwhile, the advanced car resurfaced on the field from a portal right under it, revving its engine to show it was back for an encore.

Speedroid CarTurbo - LV3 ATK: 800/DEF: 1200 (TUNER)

"Dang it! I got nothing on my side of the field that can destroy that tuner, so I'm stuck letting him Synchro again!" Lincoln grit his teeth, being forced in a way to give his best friend the upper hand in their duel.

"I'm using CarTurbo to tune my level four Speedroid Double Yoyo! I synchro summon!" And just like that, both monsters took flight, CarTurbo repeating the same routine that was done with Terrortop before a bright light was emitted onto the field, dying down soon afterward to reveal a beast with the combined colors of white, green, teal, and black; it's lower half seemed to have that of a snake-like shape, most of its body seeming to carry that of spikes, but one couldn't be so sure on that. Other than that, the monster's wings flapped furiously as it opened its mouth, spreading out its fingers before a mighty yell of power was released, shaking the ground as Lincoln found himself being blown back by the creature that carried the embodiment of carnage.

"What is that monster?! This is the first time I've seen you summon this card!"

"I'm glad you asked because I got it last weekend. I just never unveiled it since no one has made me go so far in bringing it out. However, for my best friend, this is a special occasion. So with that, meet the one, the only, the wind dragon of faster, Clear Wing Fast Dragon!"

Clear Wing Fast Dragon - LV7 ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000 (SYNCHRO)

"Two synchro summons on his first turn… I'm gonna have a lot of work cut out for me." The white-haired albino readied himself for anything, keeping these words to himself as Clyde took two cards from his hands.

"Finally, I place two cards face down. With this, let's battle! Hi-Speedroid Kendama, attack Topaz Tiger with limit chaser!"

Just like that, the machine charged up a glow from the prism-like blade, filling it up with green energy before blasting out a sniper shot of an energy bullet as Lincoln didn't hesitate in activating one of his face downs, showing off a masked shinobi with black hair slashing their sword through a gem rock, revealing a normal trap card.

"I activate my trap Crystal Slicer! By sending one crystal beast monster from the deck to the graveyard, I can halve your monster's attack permanently! The only downside is that you draw a card after its activation. So with that, I send Crystal Beast Emerald Tortoise to the graveyard so I can cut Hi-Speedroid Kendama down!"

After sending the green tortoise to the graveyard, a scarlet light was emitted from his trap card as it struck the machine synchro monster before him, weakening the Speedroid greatly as its attack points were cut by a good amount while Clyde drew a card.

Hi-Speedroid Kendama - LV6 ATK: 1100/DEF: 1600 (SYNCHRO)

"No matter which monster I would've attacked with, I definitely wouldn't be able to get around Crystal Slicer." Clyde pushed his glasses up a bit, watching as his monster had no choice but to attack.

"You got that right, and because of that, I was able to counter Hi-Speedroid Kendama. Now take out his monster Topaz Tiger! Crystal Hunting Grounds!" Topaz Tiger released a primal roar, dashing forward on all four of its paws before dodging the machine's initial shot, having evaded to the left before the Speedroid monster kept taking shot after shot to hit the tiger. However, its effort were in vain as Topaz Tiger jumped up into the air, dodging one more bullet before slashing its claws into Hi-Speedroid Kendama, causing the machine to explode as the white and black striped animal landed back on Lincoln's side of the field, taking Clyde down in his life points.

"Yes! That's one problem taken care of, now-" His brown eyes were brought towards his tiger, thinking that his vision was playing tricks on him since his monster glanced behind at him, having shown off a slight smirk which in turn made Lincoln blink his eyes, only to see that Topaz Tiger was looking at Clyde and Clear Wing Fast Dragon.

"You may have stopped my first attack bud, but I won't let you stop my next one! Go Clear Wing Fast Dragon! Take flight and destroy Topaz Tiger! Flashing Drift!"

Lincoln watched as the dragon before him released a powerful screech, taking flight into the sky before it did a loop, soaring straight down towards him and his monster before he witnessed something incredible for the first time. Clear Wing had disappeared with the wind, causing the boy to worry and get curious before he started searching for where the dragon vanished off to. Then his attention was brought back to an explosion, the wind blowing against his body as he looked forward to see that Clear Wing Fast Dragon was already back on Clyde's side of the field, his widened eyes displaying his shock before the albino pre-teen shook his head while he lost some life points in the process.

"I activate Topaz Tiger's special ability! Whenever it's been destroyed in a monster zone, I can place it in my spell and trap zone as a continuous spell rather than send it to the graveyard!" Suddenly, Topaz Tiger exploded into white pixels before placing itself in the spell and trap zone face up next to his last remaining face down. However, it wasn't gonna stay for long as Lincoln stated "I activate my trap card Crystal Raigeki!" which caused a face-down normal trap to show itself with the cover of a blue crystal getting struck by lightning.

"By sending Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger from my spell and trap zone to the graveyard, I can target one card you control and destroy it! Say goodbye to Clear Wing Fast Dragon!" Lincoln sent his monster to the graveyard which forced a blue light to shine upon his trap card. With that, the same light immediately struck Clear Wing Fast Dragon, forcing the beast to screech in agony before it exploded, causing some wind to blow back against Clyde, the latter only smirking a bit before he pulled his monster off the monster zone.

"Good luck Clyde. I removed Clear Wing from the field, meaning that you won't be bringing it back any time soon." Lincoln declared toward his friend, the latter only smirking hard as he pushed his glasses up, showing off the brightness in that expression before declaring aloud "I activate Clear Wing Fast Dragon's special ability! Since this card was destroyed in the monster zone, I'm allowed to place it in my pendulum zone!"

"Wait a minute! That dragon is a pendulum monster as well?!"

"Trust me, you'd be surprised at the upgrades I made to my deck and extra deck."

Suddenly, a light shined down on Clyde's side of the screen, his brown eyes being focused on Lincoln as he placed Clear Wing Fast Dragon into his pendulum zone, causing the dragon to rise up and with the number four to appear over it, representing the incomplete pendulum scale that had yet to be formed.

"It's only my first turn and you've already done well so far Lincoln. Keep up to good work bud. With this, I have nothing left that I can do, so I'm ending my turn. You're up."

"Let's do this. I draw!" The pre-teen duelist declared, ready to set his field up for what he had next in store.

Lincoln - 3100LP [ Hand: 3/Deck: 33/Field: 0 ] Graveyard: 4

Clyde - 3500LP [ Hand: 3/Deck: 30/Field: 2 ] Graveyard: 4 [Pendulum: 1]

"First, I'll play the spell card Crystal Tree! This spell allows me to place a crystal counter on it every time a crystal beast monster is placed in my spell and trap card zone." Suddenly, a green continuous spell card with that of an actual crystal tree in rainbow colors appeared on the field, having a small little circle in the top left corner of the picture represent the number counter for each crystal beast that was placed.

"Next, I'll activate the spell card Crystal Bond from my hand! I can now add one crystal beast from my deck to my hand before placing one in my spell and trap zone! I'm adding Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth to my hand, and placing Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle in my spell and trap zone!" With his normal spell, Lincoln took two cards from his deck. Amber Mammoth was added to his hand after placing Ruby in his spell and trap zone, giving his continuous spell a counter. This was only the beginning of his plan.

"Lincoln's making some good plays. He's already got a counter on Crystal Tree so that's doing him a plus. What will he do next is the question?" Clyde started obtaining more of a serious look due to his sight witnessing the current setup before him. Lincoln, what are you planning on doing now?

"Now I summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth to the field!" Suddenly, a dark gray mammoth appeared from within a portal on his side of the field, showing off the powerful beast that had a small amount of white hair sitting atop its cranium with an orange gem resting on the center of its forehead. The monster then released a war cry from its nose, its four tusks showing off the ferocious aspect to it while the tail shook up and down a bit.

Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth - ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600

"I'll place one card face down, and then I'll attack! Go forth Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth and strike Clyde down! Rising tusk showdown!"

Hearing the shout from his controller, another powerful war cry was released as it swiftly dashed off towards Clyde, the black pre-teen only smirking brightly as he flipped up one of his face downs, revealing it to be a normal trap.

"Not so fast Lincoln! I activate my trap card Dice Roll Battle! Since you declared an attack, I can target one speedroid monster in my graveyard! Then I can banish both it and a tuner from my hand to synchro summon!" Suddenly, Amber Mammoth tried to strike Clyde down before the trap card intercepted the assault, a flash of blinding green light blasting the mammoth back to Lincoln's side of the field, forcing the monster to grunt from the failed attack as Clyde followed the conditions for his trap card. With this, he banished Speedroid Double Yoyo from his graveyard before banishing his level one tuner Speedroid Gum Prize. That's when the trap card spiraled out of control to special summon another machine-type monster from its power.

"Behold from my extra deck, Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!" The glasses-wearing pre-teen slapped a card down onto his duel disk, a machine-type monster escaping from within the clutches of Dice Roll Battle. The revealed monster was a combination of a rocket and a curved sword, the weapon having some reddish-pink detail on the top half of the blade, the rocket being the same way with a golden guard to combine the two parts. However, what was more interesting, was the fact that a swordsman sat on the guard of the sword while holding two blades just as deadly. And trust me, the swordsman spinning around those weapons in his hands at the boy wasn't a good sign.

Hi-Speedroid Chanbara - LV5 ATK: 2000/DEF: 1000 (SYNCHRO)

Lincoln only clicked his teeth a bit, knowing that he had nothing at the moment to get past this monster. With a sigh, he only said "I end my turn Clyde. It's your move," which prompted his best friend to say "I draw!" before removing a card from his deck.

"From my hand, I activate the spell card Speed Recovery! This allows me to special summon one speedroid monster from my graveyard! I choose to bring back Hi-Speedroid Kendama!" And just like that, the machine resurfaced from a portal on the ground, bringing itself back to give way to new strategies and more.

Hi-Speedroid Kendama - LV6 ATK: 2200/DEF: 1600 (SYNCHRO)

"My monster won't be staying for long though, because I summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!" A spiral had then started to form green spinning energy before them. Moments later, a golden dice appeared with an eye at the center of it, six marbles orbiting the six-sided cube as if it were the sun itself.

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice - LV1 ATK: 100/DEF: 100 (TUNER)

"So you're going for another Synchro summon eh?"

"Of course. After all, I gotta keep my numbers up to give you a challenge."

"Yeah, but I can tell that since your deck is better in hand when it comes to special summoning, you're trying to do your best and have one monster more than me. If you have higher numbers, that means I have no room to make mistakes." Lincoln smirked a bit, understanding why Clyde had his current set up on the field going the way it is.

"That's right Lincoln. If I'm gonna help prepare you for your duel against Chandler this Saturday, then I have to help you think your strategies out. I figure the more monsters you face, the more you'll think everything through. However, I need to cut the conversation short for now. We still have a duel going on."

"Then give me everything you got!"

"Hahaha! Since you say that, I use my level one Red-Eyed Dice to give Kendama a little tune-up! I synchro summon the one and only Clear Wing Fast Dragon!" And just like that, he brought back another Clear Wing to the field. Now two could be seen present on the field as one was now in his monster zone while the other was being kept in the pendulum scale.

Clear Wing Fast Dragon - LV7 ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000 (SYNCHRO)

"Let's get this show on the road. Clear Wing Fast Dragon, attack Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth! Flashing Drift!" The dragon took off once more, heading into the sky before suddenly vanishing as Amber Mammoth got ready for anything, Lincoln looking off to where the monster went before another explosion was met towards his monster, the albino Loud child barely catching a glimpse of the dragon appearing on Clyde's side of the field. There goes some more life points.

Lincoln waited for the dust to clear up, watching as Amber Mammoth stayed on the field for now as he stated "I send Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth to the graveyard; by doing this, I can activate the trap card Crystal Pair!" revealing his face down with the cover art of Crystal Beast Topaz Tiger and another unidentified crystal beast.

"Since a crystal beast monster was sent to my graveyard, I can place one Crystal beast from my deck into my spell and trap zone as a continuous spell. After I do so, I take no battle damage for the rest of this turn. And the crystal beast that I'll place in my spell and trap zone will be Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat."

Removing one card from his deck, Lincoln placed Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat into the spell and trap zone, preventing any further damage he would've taken while adding another counter to his continuous spell, Clyde smiling a bit at this. Lincoln was doing great so far. Now the question is, how would he carry himself through this duel?

"With that, I end my turn. It's your move Lincoln."

"You got it. Come on luck, help me out here. I draw!"

Lincoln - 2300LP [ Hand: 1/Deck: 29/Field: 2 ] Graveyard: 8

Clyde - 3500LP [ Hand: 2/Deck: 29/Field: 3 ] Graveyard: 3 [Pendulum: 1/Banished: 2]

"Ok Lincoln, you got no monsters or face downs and one card in your hand. This spell could help me get out of it, but it all depends on what my next draw will be. Hopefully, it can turn things in my favor." With this, Lincoln's expression had gotten serious again, showing the spell card in his hand to Clyde as the black-haired duelist looked a bit confused until he realized why he showed him his card.

"I activate the spell card Rave Value! This spell lets you choose what crystal beast monster currently in my spell and trap zone that I have to send to the graveyard; in doing so, I get to draw two cards afterward!" He activated the spell card, watching as Clyde selected Amethyst Cat before the white-haired pre-teen sent the decided monster to his graveyard, drawing two cards afterward before smiling brightly at what he was given. Luck is on his side at the moment.

"Now I'll activate the effect of Crystal Tree! By sending it to the graveyard with the current crystal counters on it, I can take two crystal beasts from my deck, and place them in the spell and trap zone. I'll place Crystal Beast Amethyst Cat and Cobalt Eagle in my spell and trap zone!" Removing the two cards from his deck, Lincoln placed both monsters in his spell and trap zone after sending crystal tree to the graveyard, shuffling his deck to get a better draw for this scenario. This in turn allowed him to once again activate rare value with Clyde choosing to send Cobalt Eagle to the graveyard this time. This left two crystal beasts in his spell and trap zones.

"Alright Lincoln, you got three cards in your hand now. Can you turn the tables in your favor bud?"

"... Heh. I summon to the field, Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus! That's when a unicorn came running down from the sky, its mostly white body being accompanied by four small somewhat faded yellow wings near its gray hooves. As for the wings that were white a bit, the feathers that made the rest of both wings were faded yellow as well with two sapphire gems looking permanently attached to the end stems of the monster's wings on both sides. Sapphire Pegasus also had white hair resting atop its head with small faded yellow wings resting on both sides. However, the one thing to finish off this beast's unique design happened to be the blue horn that sat there permanently on its head. This crystal beast was ready to show what it's made of.

Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus - LV4 ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200

"I won't activate its special ability, but I will do better than just this. I activate the spell card, Crystal Release! By equipping it to Sapphire Pegasus, it gains eight hundred attack points!" Suddenly, a normal spell card with the cover art of seven different colored crystals had then appeared onto the field with Sapphire Pegasus having gained additional attack points, a rainbow aura shining around the crystal beast constantly to show its power-up.

Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus - LV4 ATK: 2600/DEF: 1200

"It's time to battle! Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus, attack Clear Wing Fast Dragon with True Crystal Heroism!" The beautiful beast took off in a running start, Clear Wing Fast Dragon using its speed to instantly appear and try to slash it down in one go. With a slice from its claws, the Dragon found its hand meeting with that of the rainbow aura surrounding the unicorn, Sapphire Pegasus' horn beginning to shine in all colors of the rainbow to retaliate with its own attack. However, that was soon interrupted by Clyde shouting "I activate the trap card, Draining Shield!"

"Simply put, whenever you declare an attack, I can target that attacking monster and gain life points equal to its attack." Suddenly, a trap card with the cover art of a blonde warrior shielding himself from an armored monster shot a teal-colored light towards Sapphire Pegasus, draining a small amount of its rainbow aura as that same multi-colored aura was sent to Clyde, the boy gaining two thousand and six hundred life points.

Clyde - 6100LP [ Hand: 2/Deck: 29/Field: 2] Graveyard: 4 [Pendulum: 1/Banished: 2]

"Well, there goes my original plan to get Clear Wing off the field." Lincoln stated with a grumble before speaking "I place a card face down and end my turn. It's your move Clyde."

"Heh, let's do this. I draw!" Taking his next card, the black-haired duelist added it to his hands, only saying "I activate Speed Recovery in my graveyard! By banishing it, I can retrieve one speedroid monster in my graveyard. And the one monster I'm retrieving is Red-Eyed Dice." He removed the card from his graveyard, immediately summoning it to the field afterward which only gave away what he was planning to do.

Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice - LV1 ATK: 100/DEF: 100 (TUNER)

"I activate Red-Eyed Dice's special ability to change it to level three! With that, it's time to give Hi-Speedroid Chanbara a little tune-up! I synchro summon!" Suddenly, three wings were formed as it allowed the blade to pass through them, creating its transparent body before a blinding flash of light shined into the sky, having wind blow against Lincoln's side of the field with the boy trying to cover himself up a bit from the strong breeze.

"Soar from the skies and defend all that moves with speed in its name! I summon to the field, Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake!" Pulling another synchro monster from his extra deck, Clyde slammed the card down onto his duel disk, erasing the blinding flash of light as a small portal could be seen high up in the sky, making Lincoln look towards it the moment the wind ceased from its cries of power. Suddenly, a dragon soared from within the portal above both pre-teen students, showing off its powerful form while having guided lasers aim out from its hands, feet, shoulders, and even its back.

"That's his go-to Speedroid monster!" The albino child's shock couldn't be contained. Lincoln was astonished by its true form being brought before his very eyes as he got to witness it being summoned for the first time.

Kitedrake was a mechanical snake-like dragon of power, having so many parts screwed in and formed to make its shape. With the neon green wings allowing it to take flight, its mostly gray and blue metal body showed off nothing but power that should be feared before imminent destruction. Its yellow fingers and toes balled up a bit before they opened up some, showing off its glowing blue aura that refused to leave its body. The most surprising revelation about this monster would be the fact that it's not even an actual dragon card, but rather another machine type.

Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake - LV8 ATK: 3000/DEF: 2800 (SYNCHRO)

"..." Thanks to being so surprised by his monster, Lincoln didn't even notice that his face down was glowing green in his duel disk, not being able to look away from the site of such a powerful card.

"Now then, I activate Kitedrake's special effect. Since my monster was just summoned to the field, I can choose between two of its abilities. One, I can destroy all other cards on the field, or two, I can negate all face-up card effects you currently control. I choose the first. Now wipe out our field Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake! Maximum Velocity!"

With this, Lincoln didn't have a chance to properly react as the machine-type dragon screeched out a mighty yell before firing six small missile-like neon green jets onto both sides of their fields, creating two impactful explosions that wiped out everything they currently controlled… Well, everything except one card.

"So this is the power of Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake." Lincoln watched as the dust cleared, showing the machine still present on Clyde's side of the field while its eyes glowed in a bright blazing orange.

"I'm sorry buddy. You put up an amazing duel against me, but this is where it ends. Go and wipe out Lincoln's remaining life points Kitedrake! Finish him with Unwitnessed Celerity!" Suddenly, Kitedrake began spinning into a tornado as the machine dashed up high into the sky, twisting its form before charging down at Lincoln who only widened his eyes. There was nothing he could do anymore. Even still, Hi-Speedroid Kitedrake suddenly opened its mouth up, having a flash of neon green energy shootout towards the Loud child as it struck him head-on, pushing him back off his feet.

"AAAAHHH!!" The blast sent Lincoln flying across the ground, having him skid across it soon afterward as he laid there, losing all of his life points while he grunted and groaned. There's another loss on his record.

Lincoln - 0LP [ Hand: 0/Deck: 25/Field: 0 ] Graveyard: 25

Clyde - 6100LP [ Hand: 3/Deck: 28/Field: 1] Graveyard: 5 [Banished: 3]

The duel is over. The winner is Clyde McBride. Disconnecting Augmented Reality Link.

"Lincoln, are you ok?!" Clyde had run over to his friend, picking him up off the ground as the boy only said "Yeah, I'm good bud. However, I did not see that coming. I gotta say that if I'm gonna beat you someday, I gotta understand what your deck is truly capable of."

"Haha, that's fair, but you'll only understand it through dueling me."

"Well if that's the case, count me in for another one. After all, I gotta be able to take on Chandler this Friday, so I gotta show what I'm capable of." He received a nod from Clyde, watching the black pre-teen run over to the other side of the lawn as they took their cards and shuffled them with their duel disk. And just like that, they drew five cards each before they activated their duel gazers, bringing back their augmented reality.

Augmented Reality Vision Link establishment. Counting down. Prepare to duel in three… Two… One…

"Let's duel!"

Finally, this long chapter is finished. Hey everyone, it's Aruko Itsuka here bringing to you all my next fanfic project with TLH x Yugioh. However, it's only going to use small elements of the Yugioh series, without actually bringing over characters from the series. At least I'll try and work it out like that. Even still, there's gonna be a well-worked-out plot, and there will be more character dialogue from here on out. After all, I bet some of you thought it was weird how there weren't any words from the rest of the cast huh? Also, yes, this is a rewrite of my original TLH x Yugioh fanfic, which was inspired by SunBlast and a good friend of his JTWAS1994. Although, everything in this story is original, and some of the concepts and plot are based around the Crystal Beast and Lightsworn deck which were given to both Lincoln and Leni in the Duel House series.

With that being said, I gotta go everyone. I have some other fanfics to work on, and an original story that I wanna get published someday. So with that being said, I'll see you all in the next chapter. Peace out boys and girls. Have a blessed day/night.