Remnant: Time to Duel
Chap 1
"Finally." Team Rwby shouted as they, Team Jnpr, and Team Cfvy sat down in the student lounge. Thankfully, their classes ended earlier than others, which meant they had a full three hours before other students might arrive. But they didn't have to worry about that since it was Friday, which also meant that most students would be heading into Vale once they finished their classes.
"Man. This week was brutal." Yatsuhashi said as he sat down.
"Yeah. I think the teachers had it out for us." Blake agreed.
"They must have, considering they decided to place all the midterm tests, projects, and presentations in the same week." Ren said, rubbing his eyes.
"But at least it's Friday, and classes are over, which means our break starts now." Jaune said.
"And we can finally get some rest and sleep." Pyrrha said with a yawn.
"How does everyone think they did?" Coco asked.
"Mostly fine."
"Decent."
"Pretty good."
"Hopefully, not too bad."
"That's good." Coco said.
"So, what now?" Velvet asked.
"Well, it's too late to go into Vale since the last of the bullheads left." Ren began.
"And since we don't have anything else to do for today or the rest of the week, we don't have to worry about anything coming up." Yatsuhashi continued.
"Perhaps we can watch a movie." Blake asked, slightly surprising the others. But they quickly remembered that even Blake had her limits and was probably too exhausted to read her books.
"Sounds good. Maybe we can turn it into a small party with snacks and drinks." Yang suggested.
"Yang." Blake warned.
"Yes?"
"Do you really want to risk invoking Goodwitch's wrath?"
"Especially after we just finished our exams." Ruby added.
"Of course not. I'm not talking about a big party. Just a small celebration for getting through midterms."
"Fine." Everyone relented but still kept an eye on Yang, as they knew she loved to party.
"So, what movie should we watch?" Velvet asked, moving to sit closer to Jaune.
"Perhaps a romance movie?" Pyrrha suggested, doing the same while glaring at Velvet, who returned the glare. All the while, Jaune was unaware of what was happening.
"Nah. How about an action movie?" Yang suggested.
"Come on, Yang. We've seen like ten in the past few months. And each of them used the same repetitive tropes as others did. How about something different?" Weiss said.
"Fine." Yang said, rolling her eyes. "Any ideas?"
"I want to say drama, but we had enough the past week." Weiss began.
"How about horror?" Ren asked.
"Sorry. But I'm not too big on horror movies." Velvet said.
"How about adventure?" Pyrrha asked.
"Depends on the movie." Coco answered.
"Atlantis: The lost empire?" Jaune suggested, catching everyone off guard.
"Wow. I haven't seen or heard about that movie in over a decade." Weiss said.
"But. It would be nice to see it again. It was always my favorite when I was younger. Do you have it, blondie?" Coco asked.
"Yeah. It's the dorm." Jaune answered.
"I guess that settles it. We'll watch Atlantis while having some snacks and drinks." Yatsuhashi said.
"Should we bring some games?" Nora asked.
"Might as well." Weiss said.
"In that case. I'll make everyone some snacks." Jaune said, getting up as he knew everyone would ask him to make them their favorite desserts. After all, they had asked him to do so before. "Ruby. Mind getting the movie and games from my team's dorm?"
"Sure. Where are they?" Ruby asked, getting up.
"Some are in the closet, and the rest are under either my bed or Nora's." Jaune answered.
"On it." Ruby said before dashing out of the room.
"So. What do you guys want me to make?" Jaune asked, turning back to the others.
Half an Hour Later
"Okay. I got the games and movie." Ruby shouted as she dashed into the room.
"Awesome. We can get started." Nora shouted as she ate her snack.
"What took you, sis?" Yang asked as she drank some coffee. But little did Ruby know, it had some Amaretto in it.
"I had to use the bathroom. And I had to look for the movie for a bit since it wasn't in the spot Jaune told me it was." Ruby answered.
"Oh, right. I forgot that Nora and I cleaned the dorm, and I moved some things to another spot. My bad." Jaune apologized.
"It's fine." Ruby said as she placed the board games onto the coffee table, followed by a silver suitcase.
"Uh. What's in the suitcase?" Blake asked, confused.
"I found it under Jaune's bed, along with two other board games. I thought it was another." Ruby answered.
"Wow. I forgot about the case." Jaune said with a chuckle.
"What's inside it, Arc?" Weiss asked, curious.
"Another board game?" Nora asked.
"Or some secret. Like hidden messages from a lover." Yang teased, causing Jaune to roll his eyes as he stood up while Velvet and Pyrrha tensed up.
"No. Nothing like that. It's just some cards that I use to play with some of my friends outside of Beacon." Jaune answered as he opened the suitcase to reveal hundreds of cards inside.
"Wow. That's a lot of cards, blondie. Are you a collector of some kind?" Coco asked, lowering her shades.
"You could say so." Jaune answered as he looked at the cards with fondness as the memories came flooding back.
"Are they part of some game, Jaune?" Blake asked, curious.
"Yes. These cards are part of the card game called Yu-Gi-Oh."
"Yu-Gi-Oh?" Everyone asked, confused.
"I never heard of it before." Velvet said.
"That's understandable. Everyone has their own tastes in what they like." Jaune said.
"Have long have you been playing, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked, curious.
"I have been watching the shows since I was about five and started playing the game when I was about seven."
"Wait. There's a show about the game?" Yatsuhashi asked.
"Yeah. I think there are seven series about the show and about fifty video games. But it's mostly known for the show and card game."
"Wow."
"Fox is saying you must really love the game." Yatsuhashi said.
"You could say so."
"Is it difficult to learn?" Nora asked.
"Yes. Yu-Gi-Oh is extremely difficult to learn as the barrier to entry is ridiculously high." Jaune answered.
"Barrier to entry?" Ruby and Weiss asked, confused.
"What it takes to understand or be able to get into the game without too much trouble. That's a simplified version of it." Blake explained.
"Basically. But the skill floor is much higher if you want to be competitive and join the tournaments." Jaune said.
"Wait. There are tournaments for this game?" Yang asked, surprised.
"Yup. Locals and international. Yu-Gi-Oh is pretty much played throughout the four kingdoms and nearly every village/settlement."
"Is it fun?" Ruby asked, looking over some of the cards and their interesting designs.
"Of course. Especially when you're playing with friends as I normally do."
"You said this game's skill floor is pretty high for someone to be competitive, right?" Pyrrha asked, seeing an opportunity to spend time with her crush and possibly confess.
"Yes." Jaune answered.
"How about for non-competitive play?"
"As in just playing with friends and just for fun, then the skill is floor is a lot lower. Still high, but not as high." Jaune answered. "Why?"
"Maybe you can teach us how to play? It does seem interesting." Velvet said, catching onto Pyrrha's plan. But she also genuinely wanted to learn the mechanics of the game.
"YES! Teach us, Jaune." Ruby and Nora shouted.
"Alright. How about the rest of you?" Jaune said, smiling.
"Sure. Why not." Weiss answered.
"It does seem interesting, after all." Blake added.
"And we do like learning new things." Yatsuhashi said, with Fox nodding.
"And if nothing else, it would be a good way to pass the time." Coco added.
"Looks like we're all in agreement." Yang said as everyone sat on the floor. "So, where do we begin, Vomit Boy?"
"I think we should start with the rules." Ren said.
"Yes. But before we do, how about everyone picks out a deck? And then we can start from there." Jaune said.
"A deck?" Ruby asked.
"A deck is your cards. It can have any amount ranging from forty to sixty cards."
"Can it have more or less?" Coco asked.
"No. It cannot be more or less."
"I feel like that rule was implemented after an incident." Weiss said.
"Yes. And that was a rather funny event. But I'll tell it another time." Jaune answered, chuckling, as he remembered the time when one player brought a deck consisting of over two thousand cards to a tournament.
"Can we pick any deck we want?" Blake asked.
"Yup. Choose any archetype you want."
"Archetype?" Nora asked, confused.
"A little explanation would be nice, blondie." Coco said.
"Right. Archetype basically refers to a group of cards that belong to one family that share a similar naming component." Jaune explained before adding. "But don't think about it too much. Just pick a deck that calls to you."
"Alright." Coco said as everyone looked over the decks in the suitcase. However, after a moment, none of them picked one.
"Having trouble?" Jaune asked, chuckling.
"Yeah. There are just so many here that we don't know which ones to choose." Weiss answered.
"What decks did you have, Jaune?" Ren asked.
"Oh. I use the Knoble Knights and Infernoble Knights archetypes." Jaune answered as he took out two decks from the case. One had a card with the name Artorigus, King of the Noble Knights, and the other had the name Infernoble Knight Emperor Charles.
"Really wanted to drive home the knight theme." Coco said with a smirk.
"Technically, only the Noble Knights are... knights." Jaune began.
"Kind of lost your train of thought on that one." Yang said with a smirk.
"Yeah." Jaune sheepishly said. "Anyway. Infernobles are more closely related to paladins than knights."
"Still. Knights in shining armor." Velvet said, moving closer to Jaune.
"But you don't need to choose something that relates to you like I did." Jaune said.
"Still. Can you help us?" Pyrrha asked, moving closer to Jaune.
"Sure." Jaune said as he adjusted his sitting position. "Let's start with Ruby."
"YAY!" Ruby cheered as she moved to stand next to Jaune. "So, what do you think would fit me?"
"I have just the decks." Jaune said as he pulled out two decks. The top card of the first one had a weird-looking alien with the name Elemental Hero Neos. The second one had a dragon of some kind that had the name Black Rose Dragon. "The deck with the alien is called Elemental Heros. The other is called the Black Rose Synchro deck."
"Is that a plant or a dragon?" Coco asked.
"Both." Jaune answered.
"The first is about heroes, and the second is about plant dragon things?" Ruby asked, curious.
"More or less."
"I think I will go with the Heroes since I always watch shows about them back home on Saturday mornings." Ruby said as she picked up the Heroes deck.
"Alright. Now for Yang." Jaune said as he put back the Black Rose Deck.
"What do you got for me, Jaune?" Yang asked, curious.
"Well, there are three decks that I have in mind. They are called The Brotherhood of the Fire Fist, Tenyi, and Yang Zing." Jaune answered as he pulled out the three decks. "However. I don't recommend the Tenyi or Yang Zing decks. And that's mainly because they are a bit more advanced or need a better understanding of the game's mechanics and rules. The Fire Fist deck is slightly easier."
"And what are the Fire Fists about?"
"Indirectly supporting each other, swarming the field, and hitting hard."
"I'll take it." Yang said as she grabbed the deck and began looking through the cards.
"Now for Blake."
"Do you have anything resembling feline faunus or faunus in general?" Blake asked.
"Yes. There are a few decks like that, but I have only one. And there are the Lunalights." Jaune answered as he pulled out the deck and gave it to Blake.
"Thanks, Jaune."
"Okay. Weiss. Your turn. Any ideas?"
"Do you have anything relating to ice themes or summons?" She asked.
"Really sticking with the ice theme, huh." Coco said.
"Summons. I know what you are getting at, but you might need to use a different word since summons is a mechanic name in Yu-Gi-Oh. There are a few that come to mind, but most are engines and not decks. There might be one or two, but I don't have them. As for ice-themed decks, there are three in the entire game."
"What do you mean by engines, Jaune?" Pyrrha asked.
"An engine is basically a combination of cards that work well together but contains too few cards to make a full deck." Jaune explained.
"In that case, what ice-themed decks do you have?" Weiss asked.
"I have only two. The first is Ice Barriers, and the second is Nekroz."
"Which one do you suggest I start with?"
"Ice Barriers. They might not be so good in the competitive scene, but they are not overly complicated. Nekroz decks aren't that complicated for those familiar with the game, but for new players, they can be overwhelming."
"Do they have any decent cards?"
"Ironically, yes. They might have some of the worst main deck cards, but they have some of the most powerful extra deck monsters. Some were even on the forbidden list in the competitive scene for years."
"What do you by main deck and extra deck?" Ren asked.
"I'll explain those later." Jaune answered before turning back to Weiss. "So, do you want to choose Ice Barriers or another deck?"
"Well. You did say this would be a relatively easy deck to use to better understand the game's mechanics. And if I like the game, I could always purchase another deck at... Where did you get them, Arc?" Weiss asked.
"There are card shops all over Remnant. I can take you one tomorrow if you want." Jaune answered. Weiss nodded before taking the Ice Barriers. "Well. That is Team Rwby done. Now, for my team. First, Ren."
"What do you have for me, Jaune?" Ren asked.
"There are a few decks, but one I think fits you perfectly. And that is the Ancient Warriors deck." Jaune answered as he gave him the deck.
"Thank you, Jaune." Ren said as he took the deck.
"Now for Nora."
"Yes! What do you have, Jaune-Jaune?" Nora excitedly asked.
"Something that fits your electric personality." Jaune said as he pulled out a deck with the top card having an image of a massive dragon with electricity coursing through its body. That card's name was Thunder Dragon Colossus. "This is a Thunder Dragon Deck. It's all about powerful dragons that use electricity as their attacks."
"YES! THANK YOU JAUNE-JAUNE!" Nora shouted as she took the deck before giving Jaune a quick Jaune.
"Now, for Pyrrha." Jaune said.
"Let me guess, a warrior-themed deck?" Yang asked.
"Yes, considering Pyrrha is a four-time champion. And I have the perfect deck in mind that represents her skill and undying will." Jaune answered as he moved a few decks to the side before pulling one out. "Heroic Champions."
"What's this deck about?" Pyrrha asked as she examined the cards.
"Heroic Champion monsters are based on mythological weapons. And according to some lore in the books and shows, Heroic Champions have a crimson Phoenix crest which symbolizes their undying fighting spirit. They are all about increasing their attack power and swarming the field."
"Wow. That fits her to a T." Ruby said, surprised.
"Thank you, Jaune." Pyrrha said, smiling before wrapping her arms around Jaune and giving him a light peck on the cheek, earning a blush from him.
"Anyway. Moving to Team Cfvy. Let's start with Velvet." Jaune said after coughing to clear his throat.
"What deck do you have in mind?" Velvet asked, glaring at Pyrrha, who feigned innocence.
"I have a deck in mind that reminds me of your fighting style. You use your camera to summon hard-light weapons to fight. The deck, Artifacts, is about summoning light-construct people and having them wield the weapons." Jaune answered.
"So, like an inverse of what bun-bun can do." Coco said.
"In a sense. Aesthetically, at least." Jaune answered.
"What are the Artifacts about?" Velvet asked.
"Artifacts are based around artifacts and weapons of ancient history and mythology. They center around destroying themselves and some of the cards being able to act as spell cards."
"Thanks, Jaune." Velvet said before doing the same as Pyrrha and giving Jaune a kiss on the cheek, earning a blush from the knight and a growl from the champion.
"Alright. Now for Yatsuhashi."
"Yeah. What deck will you give our big protective member that doesn't use dust or weapons?" Coco asked, earning a smile from Yatsuhashi.
"I wasn't sure, but you just gave me the perfect deck idea." Jaune said as he pulled out another deck. "Superheavy Samurai. They are all about a strong defense with little to no help from spell and trap cards."
"Strong defense with little help from other things people generally use. That definitely sounds like Yatsuhashi." Coco said.
"Now for Fox and Coco. Honestly, I'm not sure what decks to give you two." Jaune said as he racked his head for ideas.
"Well, Coco has a minigun, and her semblance allows her to use her aura to increase the effects and power of dust. She also loves to make a statement with her fashion sense." Velvet said.
"Fox is asking if you have anything that could even remotely relate to any of that." Yatsuhashi said.
"The closest deck that I could think of is Springans. They are machine-type cards with the fire attribute. And I'll explain what attributes are later. And most of them have a firework appearance which gives them a sort-of flashy look and style to them." Jaune said after thinking back to some decks he recently saw.
"Maybe not an exact match, but I do like the sound of it, so I'll take them." Coco said after thinking it over.
"And like I told Weiss, if you don't like how they play, you can always find more decks and cards at the local card shops." Jaune reminded.
"Now for Fox, which might be tricky." Yatsuhashi said.
"I want to say his weapons, but I doubt there is a deck relating to bladed weapons attached to the owner's arms." Yang said.
"Fox is silent most of the time, and his semblance is telepathy. Maybe-" Ren began but stopped when Ruby interjected.
"I GOT IT! A SPY!" She shouted, surprising everyone.
"Huh. Well, I mean. Maybe in a very lenient definition of spy, I guess a Spy-themed deck might fit Fox." Coco said, not entirely convinced.
"But I can't think of any other decks that might fit him." Jaune said while grabbing the correct deck.
"Wait. I just realized something." Nora said, getting everyone's attention.
"What is it, Nora?" Ren asked.
"Isn't Fox blind?" Hearing this, everyone became surprised and a little guilty for not realizing it earlier.
"Right. So, uh. Is there some way for Fox to play the game?" Weiss asked.
"Surspingly, yes. But the creators only began to do so rather recently. They began making cards with braille." Jaune answered as he put the deck away before grabbing a different one. "Luckily, I have the same deck with braille."
"Wow. Talk about lucky." Blake said, not expecting Jaune to have the deck.
"Fox is asking what the deck's name is." Yatsuhashi said.
"It's called Spyral. And they have a couple of different playstyles." Jaune answered.
"Okay. So now that we have our decks, can we go over the rules?" Weiss asked.
"Some basic ones first. Yu-Gi-Oh is a card dueling game where two or more people face off against each other. Both players begin with eight thousand life points and must try to get the opponent's life points to zero." Jaune began.
"Are there other ways to win the match?" Pyrrha asked.
"There are alternative win conditions in Yu-Gi-Oh. However, none of your decks can do it."
"Why are some cards pink, green, light brown, and yellow?" Coco asked, curious.
"There are three types of cards in the main deck. The pink ones are Trap cards. Green cards are spell cards. Light brown cards are effect monster cards, and yellow are vanilla cards, which means monster cards that have no effects."
"What are these weird symbols?" Ruby asked, pointing to the symbol on a spell card that appeared to be a compass.
"There are different types of spell and trap cards. For spells, there are normal, continuous, quick-play, equip, field, and ritual types. As for traps, there are normal, continuous, and counter cards. And before I forget, I need to tell you a key difference between them. Most spells can be activated from your hand during your turn. However, quick-play cards are the exception to this rule. But you must set them during your turn in order to activate them during your opponent's turn. Traps are similar in that you must set them before you can activate them on your next turn. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules."
"What about monsters?" Velvet asked.
"Monsters are different. But I won't go into too much detail about the ones that have restrictions or conditions because of their effects." Jaune began before grabbing two cards from the case and pointing to the stars above the images. "Each main deck monster card has a level represented by the stars. Level four and lower monsters can be summoned to the field face up or face down. But any monster with a higher level requires a tribute. Five and six-star monsters need a single tribute, while level seven and higher need two. But like the spell and trap cards, there are exceptions."
"What about the extra deck and attributes?" Yang asked.
"The extra deck is a separate deck from the main deck, which consists of a combination of Fusion, Synchro, Xyz, and Link Monsters. Those are special types of monsters that require a specific method to summon them. As for attributes and monster types, those are only important for certain card effects that affect them or requirements."
"How many can we summon in a single turn?" Nora asked.
"That comes to summons. There are normal and tribute summoning which I just explained. Unless there is a card effect in play, you can only normal summon once per turn. However, special summons are different. You can special summon as many times as you want as long as you have the cards to do so or if there isn't a card preventing you. You can also special summon during your opponent's turn. Extra deck monsters follow similar rules, with some you can only summon during your turn while others you can during either player's turn."
"It... it is certainly a lot. And I doubt we would remember all this." Weiss said.
"It really is a lot. This is part of the reason why there is such a massive barrier to entry for the game. But don't worry. After a bit of practice and dueling, you'll start to get the hang of it." Jaune assured.
"Is there a rule book that we can use in case we forget something?" Ruby asked.
"Yes. I have some here." Reaching into the pocket on one side of the case, Jaune pulled out eleven small books and handed them out to everyone. "These are the rulebooks."
"What rules should we go over next?" Coco asked, flipping through the rulebook.
"Actually. I think the best way to go over the next couple of rules would be while two of you duel." Jaune answered, surprising everyone.
"Are you sure about that, Jaune? I'm still struggling to understand what some of the card text means." Blake asked, reading the text on her Lunalight Panther Dancer.
"I'm sure. Don't worry. I'll help you through it and answer any question you might have." Jaune said, smiling as he cleared the table before placing two play mats on it. "Now. Who's willing to go first?"
"I'LL GO!" Nora shouted as she bounced up.
"Guess I'll go. I really want to see some of these cards in action." Ruby said, moving to sit on the opposite side of the table.
"YES! PREPARE TO FEEL THE MIGHT OF MY THUNDER DRAGONS!" Nora declared, causing the others to chuckle.
'As Yugi said to Kaiba in that episode: IT'S TIME TO DUEL.' Jaune thought as he moved to the side so he could guide Ruby and Nora through their duel.