Author's Notes: This isn't the first or second time I've created this particular story with the same premise for a lot of my long time readers, but a major reason why this story was deleted in the past was due to a lot of personal struggles I was going through back then between classes, work, and family. However, things are completely different this time, and what I have planned is gonna be special, and of course the duels themselves. So as they say, It's time to duel, get your game on, rev it up, feel the flow, swing into acton for this incredible fun story.
Chapter 1:
Let The Duel Begin
Today's the big day!
I felt that sensation coursing through my veins at one particular thought. It's been the number one thing I've looked forward to since my final year in elementary school came to an end. People have often said it's the perfect opportunity to cool down and take a breather for the summer. Does this fit my sense of style perfectly? Naah I wouldn't say that was the case for me.
Truth is I've spent a lot of my summer getting prepared for this very moment. I knew what today meant, and there was no way I could've loosened my game here. Even if it meant I had to partake in the less enthusiastic written portion that was made up of seventy-five-questions that had to be completed in under ninety minutes. I got a sneaking suspicion that others wouldn't be too thrilled about it either. But as the common man's always said You gotta do what you do and go full speed to the end. As the timer ran through, I took a quick skim through of all my answer choices before I gave my booklet and scantron to the test monitor and made my way out the door.
From there, I stopped by the restroom and caught my reflection in the mirror as I washed my face from all the sweat along with my light azure eyes. I fixed the bangs from my black hair and loosened the creases on my white shirt and threw on my denim jacket over me after adjusting the belt around my jeans. Before long I walked out the door and saw a girl in a pink sweatshirt and sweatpants standing against the wall who had the same-colored hair, in two pigtail styles, with the same-colored eyes as me. Only difference was that I was taller than her which wasn't a huge surprise. After all, she's my little sister Sabrina.
"So how'd the written exam go?" Sabrina asked.
I scratched the back of my head with a goofy remark, "I clocked in about eight minutes before the timer went out."
She sighed, "Always with a cool head whenever it comes to a test under pressure as usual."
"Of course, the mistake many often make is over analyzing the questions instead of looking at the-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know Shaggy, the whole reading between the lines concept. It's not the first time I've heard you talk about it."
I chuckled, "My bad, sis."
"Don't be, I'm more than happy having an older brother with your IQ after all..." Sabrina puts on a cute innocent look, "You always helped me out the most when it came to my homework from a day-to-day basis."
"The same homework where you didn't feel motivated half the time." I teased.
She pointed out, "Hey it was half the time okay, or... More like ten percent of the time."
"Pretty sure it was half the time, Sabrina."
"No, it was definitely ten percent of the time!" Sabrina handwaved with her hands crossed.
"Keep telling yourself that sissy." I said, jokingly.
Sabrina flared up, "Sissy! I'll let you know I'm eleven, thank you very much."
I answered cheerfully, "So I'm thirteen, that still makes me your older brother."
"Never mind." She sighed with a sad tone.
A voice busted in laughter, "Y'all siblings will never let this go, huh?"
It was a guy, with messy dirty blonde hair and brown eyes, who wore a red shirt and black basketball shorts, sprinted toward us before he sat the breaks. It wasn't long before he began to pant for a small period. This kind of thing usually happens to him. How exactly do I know, you might be asking? Truth be told, he's my best friend.
"Jake!" We both answered simultaneously.
He quickly fell on his knees, "I... I thought I was about to have a hard attack."
"You didn't really get much on studying last night, I take it?" I asked curiously.
"I did, but... I was a little preoccupied." He answered timidly.
Sabrina chortled, "Like what, looking through a magazine gallery of pretty women?"
"Knowing him, that wouldn't be much of a surprise." I echoed her remarks.
"Tell me about it." She patted my shoulder a few times.
Jake whimpered, "I tell you I get no respect at all."
"In all seriousness though..." I gave him a hand, "We still got one portion left."
"You're right."
The three of us made our way down the hall where a bright light illuminated the stands of the Duel stadium. I scoured through the perimeter, so we could've scoured some seats closer to the field. What shouldn't have been a huge surprise were the number of applicants that were already in the stands. Some of them either completed their written portion of their exams, or they waited around to see the competition.
"There's gotta be a spot for us to sit somewhere." Jake looked around.
I said, "Yeah, but with all these people around it's gonna make things a bit tough." until my sister pulled on my sleeve, "What's up, Sabrina?"
She pointed out, "There's some seats over there. I bet we could ask him." to a boy, with silver hair, who wore a green shirt with jeans.
"Doesn't hurt to try." I went down to the lower level of the stands where he sat, "Excuse me, by chance are these seats taken?"
The guy faced his hazel eyes towards us, "Not really, you're more than welcome to sit here."
"Awesome thanks bro, my name is Shaggy Eclipse..." I pointed out to the others, "That's my little sister Sabrina, and the not so chubby guy... He's my best friend, Jake!"
Sabrina waves, "Hi"
"Nice to meet ya." Jake answered calmly for a moment until he pointed to nobody behind him, "Ugh... would you quit doing that?"
Sabrina and I were both in sync, "No one's doing anything to you."
"No, not you guys, it's this..." Jake faced his head down, "Oh never mind."
"Is he going through that weird phase again?" Sabrina whispered.
I whispered back, "I think he is."
Veins popped on Jake's forehead, "You know I can hear what you two are saying..."
Sabrina and I both looked at one another and scratched our heads at the same time, "Whoops, did that come out loud?"
"I tell ya, they think I'm going crazy now." Jake continued.
I looked back at the guy who looked lost, "Sorry this kind of thing happens often..."
"For real?" The silver haired boy asked.
Sabrina nodded, "Since we've practically known the guy."
"Oh, I see..." He laughed timidly, extending his hand to us, "My name's Lucian... Lucian Hayes."
The three of us shook his hand proudly, "It's nice to meet ya!"
Lucian smiled generously, "Likewise, are you all here for the field test too?"
"These two are!" My little sister pointed out, "I'm still a couple years shy from being able to take part in the exams." fumes began to burst from her head, "Stupid requirements!"
"I get what you mean." Lucian said as we took our seats.
I patted her on the shoulder, "You'll get your chance one day, sis."
"I know." Sabrina took a breath.
Jake asked, "What about you, Lucian? Are you still waiting to take yours?"
Lucian says, "I've already taken mine, but they are still in the middle of one."
The three of us looked in confusion, "They?"
"Take a look at the current field test on the duel field." Lucian stated.
We all looked towards the dueling field where a girl, with sea green shoulder length hair and orange eyes, who wore a red top and peach thigh shorts stood. She had four cards in her hands and a monster face down on the field.
Her life points: 1750.
Across from her view was a bald old man with red eyes who wore a black jumpsuit with a purple coat. He has one card in his hand with Cosmos Queen on the field in attack mode and a cad face down on the field.
His life points: 3900
Cosmos Queen ATK: 2900 DEF: 2450
"Cosmos Queen will attack the facedown monster on your field!" The protector stuck his hand out the moment Cosmos generated a cosmic wave through the palm of her hands. The blast revealed a tiny yellow man with a horseshoe magnet on his hand and one on each hand.
ATK: 1700 DEF: 1600
The Proctor confidently stated, "What will you do now, testee? Are you willing to give up?"
"Of course not!" The girl gritted her teeth and drew the next card from her deck then glanced at the card with the other two in hand. "I summon Winged Kuriboh in attack mode!"
A holographic projection of Winged Kuriboh appeared on the field with a playful screech.
LV: 1 ATK: 300 DEF: 200
"Next, I'll play two cards face down." A holographic image of a facedown appeared behind Winged Kuriboh, "With that I end my turn."
The Proctor draws a card, I activate the spell Axe of Despair!" A holographic projection of a wooden axe appeared onto the field for Cosmos Queen, "Thanks to this, Cosmos Queen gains an additional one thousand attack points."
LV: 8 Cosmos Queen ATK: 2900 - 3900
"Next, I will have Cosmos Queen attack Winged Kuriboh!" The Proctor ordered proudly for his monster to charge at the winged furball with the axe in hand.
The girl raised an eyebrow, "That doesn't make any sense? Surely, you'd know Winged Kuriboh's special effect. If it's destroyed by battle, then I take no damage for the turn."
"I'm well aware, which is why I can now use my trap card: Skill Drain!" The Proctor tapped his duel disk to reveal his face down card, "Thanks to this all I have to do is pay one thousand life points and negate the effect of all face monsters on the field."
Proctor's Life Points: 3900 decreases to 2900
In the crowd, Sabrina gasped, "Oh no, that means Winged Kuriboh won't be able to protect her."
Lucian cried, "This is bad!"
"Is there any way that girl can get out of this?" Jake asked nervously.
I glanced at the two facedown cards on her field with a thought, "I wonder..."
She calmly tapped the side of her duel disk, "You just activated my face down, Trap Jammer." as her facedown card turns up on her side, "Thanks to this, Skill Drain will no longer be in effect and go straight to the graveyard."
The Proctor smiled, "Nice counter, I'll give you props for that one!"
"I ain't done just yet..." She tapped her duel disk once more, "Now I activate my second facedown..." The other facedown reveals itself, "Transcended Wings!"
Sabrina looked towards me, "Correct me if I'm wrong Shaggy, but that's the card that allows the player to send Winged Kuriboh to the graveyard in order to summon Winged Kuriboh Level Ten, right?"
I nodded, "It does, but there's more to it than just summoning Level Ten onto the field."
Winged Kuriboh's wings sprouted out as it became wrapped by a tiny dragon-like exoskeleton.
LV: 10 ATK: 300 DEF: 200
"With that monster on the field it means..." The Proctor answered in shock.
She pointed out, "I can sacrifice Winged Kuriboh from my side of the field and destroy Cosmos Queen, but that's not all..." The Proctor began to sweat the moment Winged Kuriboh LV10 and Cosmos Queen left the field, "You take damage equal to Cosmos Queen's original attack points."
"Oh No!" He gasped in shock as his life points dropped from 2900 straight to 0.
The Projector screen on both sides of the field showed a picture of the girl and her name displayed: Rory Liu with a winner tag.
"That was an amazing play Testee, a job well done!" The Proctor clapped as he activated a button on the remote that generates a number increasing on the screen. That caught everyone's attention in the stands.
"Why are those numbers increasing?" Sabrina asked.
I was completely lost, "I was going to ask the same thing..."
Lucian explained, "It's meant to test your dueling skills and to see how well you did on the field test!"
Jake was stunned, "Oh wow, what's the highest score anybody has got?"
"About five thousand plus!" He stated.
Sabrina gulped, "That must mean they're really good!"
"Let's see where she lands on this." Lucian answered as his eyes narrowed in on the score.
The score displayed Rory's name slowly came to a halt after the next thirty seconds.
Applicant: Rory Liu Written: Not Yet Graded Field Test: 707
The Proctor nodded, "Congratulations Rory Liu, and welcome to Duel Island."
"The Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Jones." Rory answered ecstatically, "And thank you so much for an amazing duel." and bowed momentarily.
Rory rushed back to the stairs that led to where we all sat and breezed right towards Lucian. Her eyes were star shaped with excitement, "OH MY GOD! I can't believe we both made it into Duel Island!"
He mimicked her same expressions, "I was almost worried there for a second, but you did wonderful." until he slowly began to sulk, "Even though you scored ten points ahead of me."
Rory patted him on the shoulder, "Hey now, at least we both made it, that's what counts."
I immediately jumped from my seat, "You honestly took the words right out of my mouth, girl!"
The sea-green haired girl blinked, "Umm... Lucian, do you know this guy?"
He laughed for a moment, "Rory, this is Shaggy Eclipse he's also one of the testees that's gonna be partaking in the field test."
"Another testee, that's great! It's always wonderful to run into someone with the same interests."
"You could say that again..." I embarrassingly scratched my head, "In case you felt awkward just now I do apologize... I've got a habit of getting amped from seeing an amazing duel!"
"No worries, it gets the best of us at times admittedly." Rory continued.
I smiled, "Totally." as my hand extended to the side, "That's my little sister Sabrina, and my best friend Jake."
Sabrina answered cheerfully, "Hiya, that was seriously one sick duel Rory, I was totally impressed."
Jake shot his fist in the air, "For real, and with how you turned things around with your deck I think it speaks volumes."
"Aww, you guys are far too kind to say that!" Rory's face lit up in awe.
"It's a totally valid claim, if you ask me." I continued.
Lucian moved his hand around, "Well that's only half the truth because the deck Rory had used wasn't even her own."
The three of us gave each other a glance in total shock, "Say what?"
Rory nodded, "He's absolutely right, I was dueling with a deck that was generated by the deck system all together..."
Jake asked, "That doesn't seem fair! Why on earth would-"
The intercom announced, "Testee Shaggy Eclipse please make your way to the field immediately and please be sure to leave your deck behind for this exam."
"Well, I guess that's my cue." I answered nervously until my best friend held onto my shoulder for a moment, "What's up, Jake?"
The dirty blonde kid felt uneasy, "It's just, this whole thing is gonna be totally out of our comfort zone if it's not with the deck we've built ourselves."
"I don't exactly feel too great about this either, but the only thing that can be done is giving it a shot." I answered with my back turn towards the stairs that led to the field.
Sabrina answered nervously, "Best of luck, Shaggy!'
My shoulders tensed up for a moment, "I'll definitely need it!"
I walked down the steps to the center of the field where a small section of the ground split open as a metallic table rose up. What immediately caught my attention after the table docked were ten capsule orbs lined up together in the same circle, and a duel desk set to the side. On the lower section of the table a digital countdown timer appeared that began from sixty seconds.
"Only a minute to select a capsule..." I was left in thought while my hand sat against my chin momentarily, "Which one to choose?"
The countdown hit thirty-seconds while my eyes glanced through all the number labels on the capsules continuously. Why was this so hard to decide? Standing here isn't gonna do anything Shaggy! Come on just pick any of one them... NOW! My finger tapped against the #7 capsule orb which caused the others to disappear at an instance.
Then, the seventh capsule unveiled a deck wrapped in a cloth that read: SLIDE DECK INTO DUEL DISK. I did exactly just that without an ounce of hesitation and braced the duel disk around my left wrist. What shouldn't have been a surprise was how the table sunk below the ground, and yet it still surprised me. Even so, my focus shifted to the echoed sounds of footprints that grew louder from the entrance across from where I stood.
"Ready for your field test, testee?" said a man, with dark orange hair and dark violet eyes, who wore a blue blazer with white strides and a pair of black jeans.
I pointed towards myself, "The name's Shaggy Eclipse, and I take it..." before it went towards him, "You're my Duel Proctor?"
The Proctor nodded, "Yes! of course my name is Doctor Rowan Nora, and I am one of the elite faculty members of Duel Island."
I grinned proudly, "An elite faculty member... This should make for one interesting duel!"
"I hope it does!" Dr. Nora echoed my remarks.
Our duel disks activated the moment the holographic arena lit up as Dr. Nora and I drew five cards from our hands, "LET THE DUEL BEGIN!"
SHAGGY ECLIPSE: 4000 LP
DR. ROWAN NORA: 4000 LP
"Since you're the test taker here, I'll allow you to make the first move!" Dr. Nora answered confidently.
TURN 1: SHAGGY ECLIPSE
"It would be my pleasure!" I quickly added the top card from my deck to my hand and quickly analyzed them thoroughly.
White Magician Pikeru, Cost Down, The Tricky, Sibling Rivalry, Chaos Command Magician, Trap Jammer.
There's a lot of different variables to choose from with this hand. I should probably go with that approach for now.
"First I'm gonna discard one card from my hand in order to special summon The Tricky." I sent one card from my hand to the graveyard in my duel disk just as The Tricky materialized onto my side of the field.
The Tricky: LV: 5 ATK: 2000 DEF: 1500
I continued, "Then I'll summon White Magician Pikeru ." White Magician Pikeru materialized, onto the field next to Tricky.
White Magician Pikeru: LV: 5 ATK: 1200 DEF: 0
"...And set two cards face down." Two cards were set behind the two monsters on my side of the field, "Now I'll pass it over to you."
Card's left in my hand: 1
Cards in Dr. Nora's hand: 5
TURN 2: DR. ROWAN NORA
"Very well then!" Dr. Nora drew a card and added it to his hand after a quick glance, "First, I'm going to send Thunder Dragon from my hand to the graveyard to activate its special effect." He discarded his monster to the graveyard, "Now, I can add two more Thunder Dragon Dragons from my deck to my hand." His duel disk automatically sets two cards out for him to add, "Next, I'll activate the spell card, Re: Thunder Crash!"
I looked directly at the monsters on my field, "Oh no, but that means-"
"Every monster on your side of the field gets destroyed, and you take three hundred points of damage for each one!" Dr. Nora pointed directly at me as my monsters were destroyed by giant thunder strikes.
LP: 4000 decreases to 3400
Rowan showcases three cards in his hand, "Next I'll use Polymerization and fuse the two Thunder Dragons in my hand!" A holographic version of Thunder Dragon materialized before they swirled into a spiraling vortex, "So that I could fusion summon Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon."
What emerged from the spiral vortex was a red reptilian lizard with a second mouth set behind it. The fusion monster: Twin Headed Thunder Dragon
LV: 7 ATK: 2800 DEF: 2100
"Twenty-eight hundred attack points, that's not good!" I gulped as my foot took a step back.
He sneered, "It's about to get a lot worse because I also activate my spell card." when the holographic image of the spell appeared, "It's called Giant Trunade which sends all the facedown spell and trap cards on both sides of the field to the graveyard. but..." Nora quickly displayed his field, "As you can see I have none, but you on the other hand have 2 right there!"
I felt the immense power of his spell card as my two facedown cards, Sibling Rivalry and Trap Jammer returned back to my hand, "With those cards back in my hand -"
"You're completely open with nothing to protect you." Dr. Nora aimed directly at me, "Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon attack Shaggy's life points directly!"
The fusion monster let out a massive roar into the heavens as a thunder strike phased through me with its incredible attack that lowered my life points. "AHH!"
LP: 3400 decreases to 600
"That ends my turn, Testee Shaggy!" He smirked directly towards me, "Let's see what you could do from here."
Cards left In Dr. Nora's Hand: 2
Cards Left in my hand: 3
I gritted my teeth at the sight of my life point counter. Oh man the duel just started, and I'm already facing the end of the road this soon.
In The Crowd...
Jake belched, "What can he do?"
"Come on Shaggy!" Sabrina chanted with her hands pressed together, "For mom's sake!"
Back At the Field...
SHAGGY ECLIPSE: 600 LP
DR. ROWAN NORA: 4000 LP
TURN 3: SHAGGY ECLIPSE
That realization forced my hand to slowly move towards the deck on my duel disk with closed eyes...You knew this wasn't gonna be a walk in the park Shaggy, but you gotta do this! You know how it always goes, "It's never truly over until the last card is played. I DRAW!" Without an ounce of hesitation, I drew one card from my deck and presented it onto the field, "I activated the spell card Pot of Greed!" a holographic image of the card appeared momentarily, "So now I can draw two more cards from my deck." You got this Shaggy, don't give up just yet!
I drew two cards from my deck and added them to my hand with a huge smile, "Next I activate Spell Absorption." a holographic image of the card appeared on my field, "Thanks to this, I gain 500 life points each time a spell card is activated on the field, and I am just about to do that with this!" I raised a card in the air, "GRACEFUL CHARITY! Now I get to draw 3 additional cards as long as I discard 2 cards from my hand."
Similarly, I added the top three cards from my deck. Finally, I sent Sibling Rivalry, and Trap Jammer from my hand to the card graveyard, "Of course since Graceful Charity was a spell card I am able to gain five hundred life points back!"
LP: 600 increases to 1100
"Hmm." Dr. Nora answered.
"Next, I activate Spell Retrieval!" a holographic image, of a spell card floating above a grave, materialized, "Thanks to this, I can activate one spell card from my graveyard, and the card I choose is… POT OF GREED!" My deck glowed the top two cards, and then added them to my hand.
LP: 1100 increases to 1600 and then increases to 2100
"Not a bad play, Testee!" He continued.
"I'm far from finished because then I'll activate Card Destruction!" The card I revealed in my hand glowed momentarily, "Now we get to discard our entire hand and draw the same number that we each had!" I answered confidently just before we sent our hands to the graveyard.
I drew 4 new cards from my deck.
Dr. Nora drew 2 new cards from his deck.
"Thanks to my last spell, I gained an additional five hundred life points!" I said as a mystic yellow energy shined around me just as my life points increased once more.
LP: 2100 increases to 2600
"Got to say, not everyone is able to get so lucky after an attack like that from my Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon!" Rowan politely stated with his mouth somewhat hanged.
I continued, "Glad to know my impression on you has been great teach, but my turn isn't exactly over yet because..." to reveal a card in my hand, "Next, I activate the spell card Monster Reborn, and I can bring back any monster in either of our graveyards…"
"And just who are you going to pick?" Rowan asked.
"I'll choose... her!" a card dejects from my card graveyard slot as I set it onto the field, "Take the stage, Dark Magician Girl!"
A blonde girl with pink blushed cheeks, a pointed blue hat on her head that was similarly to the wand in her hand. Her outfit consisted of shoulder garments that reached up to her thighs where it ended off as a pink skirt. The trimmings consisted of the colors blue and pink. She also wore blue boots.
LV: 6 ATK: 2000 DEF: 1700
"Thanks to her special effect, Dark Magician Girl gains three-hundred additional attack points for every Dark Magician in the graveyard." I stated as a yellow force began to glow around my monster.
ATK: 2000 increases to 2300
"So that's why you activated Card Destruction, when you did!" Rowan noted with a grin, "But it's still not enough to destroy my monster."
That statement left me chuckled for a good moment, "I'm well aware of that which is why, I'm activating the spell card Dark Burning Attack, and thanks to this card... Twin-Head Thunder Dragon is automatically destroyed."
Rowan was shocked, "With him destroyed that would mean..."
"Dark Magician Girl can attack your life points directly... Go DARK BURNING ATTACK!" I reached my hand out for a second as Dark Magician Girl attacked him with her wand.
DR. ROWAN NORA LP: 4000 decreases to 1700
"Clever move!" Dr. Nora continued,
A cheeky look appeared on my face, "and thanks to Soul Absorption my life point increased once more by a thousand points thanks to my last two spell cards."
I felt that mystic energy around me once more as my life points increased once more.
LP: 2600 increases to 3600
"Last, but not least I will end my turn by setting a card face down on the field." I answered calmly with a deep breath, "Now it's back to you Doctor N!"
Cards left in my hand: 1
Cards left in Dr. Nora's hand: 2
In the crowd...
Lucian was dumbstruck, "Incredible, Shaggy nearly regained all the life points he lost from the previous turn."
Rory nodded, "I know, and with a deck he is using for the first time. Either he's a real genius, or he's really lucky!"
Sabrina answered, "Perhaps it could be a combination of both."
They raised an eyebrow, "Why do you say that?"
"It all depends on how the rest of this goes." Jake answered confidently before he screamed at the air, "UGH STOP DOING THAT!"
Sabrina whacked him upside the head, "Idiot, you're embarrassing yourself!"
"Oww, sorry..." He answered with a worried expression, "Still though it's incredible..."
My younger sister nodded, "I know, but we gotta see what he has in store for my brother!"
Back to the field...
SHAGGY ECLIPSE: 3600 LP
DR. ROWAN NORA: 1700 LP
TURN 4: DR. ROWAN NORA
Dr. Nora drew the top card from his deck, "You may have gotten lucky that last turn, but I will not allow it to continue any further." He quickly showcased the card he drew, "I activate the spell card Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Spell Absorption on your side of the field."
A powerful wind howled from the holographic projection Nora's spell card that completely shattered Spell Absorption from my field. "Not without one final gift!"
LP: 3600 increases to 4100
"That will be the last one you get because now..." Dr. Nora flips a card from his hand, "I activate the spell Thunder Dragon Fusion!" A holographic image of the spell appeared for a brief instance, "Thanks to this I can fusion summon a monster with Thunder Dragon listed as fusion material from my field, graveyard, or banished zone."
I said, "You're bringing back Twin-Head Thunder Dragon!"
He grinned, "Great analysis Testee, but that monster isn't the one who came to mind."
"It wasn't?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Remember when I sent Thunder Dragon to the graveyard on my first turn..." Dr. Nora calmly stated and that's when it finally hit me, "I fusion summon the three Thunder Dragons in my graveyard in order to summon..." Three Thunder Dragons materialized on his side of the field then swirled into one being that caused giant crackles of thunder amongst the dueling field, "THUNDER DRAGON TITAN!" A Thunder Dragon with three heads appeared around his side of the field.
LV: 10 ATK: 3200 DEF: 3200
The Dragon's mighty roar left me shook, "I don't like the sound of what's coming next!"
"Of course, you shouldn't..." Dr. Nora directed his finger towards my field, "Now go, Thunder Dragon Titan destroy his Dark Magician Girl!"
Thunder Dragon Titan charged a thunderous blast from all three heads simultaneously at Dark Magician Girl which created a huge mist steam on my field as I yelled, "AHH!"
LP: 4100 decreases to 3200
"Next I will... What?" The steam of mist slowly faded from my side of the field where Dark Magician Girl remained present on the field, "Your monster should've been destroyed by that attack!"
In the crowd...
Lucian's jaw dropped, "How did he pull that off?"
"You're guess is as good as mine." Rory answered in a baffled tone.
Jake said, "Something tells me we're about to find out..."
My sister nodded, "Yeah!"
Back to the field...
Currently:
SHAGGY ECLIPSE: 3200 LP
DR. ROWAN NORA: 1700 LP
Rowan questioned the sudden smirk on my face, "Care to explain the logistics, Shaggy Eclipse?"
I took a single deep breath, "It's thanks to this trap card I set face down on my last turn..." with my hand pointed out to the trap card of Dark Magician Girl surrounded by a mystic barrier, "It's called Magician's Charm which protects Dark Magician Girl from being destroyed by battle or card effects until the end of this turn."
"Very well, then I'll activate the spell card Semi-Surge..." He showcased the spell card from his hand.
"I've never heard of that one before!" I continued.
"It's a rare spell card that allows me pick one monster from my graveyard, and gain life points equal to half its original attack... Who better to choose than Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon?"
I crossed my hands, "But half of his attack points would be..."
Rowan activated the side of his duel disk, "Fourteen hundred extra life points!"
DR. ROWAN NORA LP: 1700 increases to 3100
"With that, my turn's done" Dr. Nora answered calmly towards my field, "Now let's see if you've got anything else in store…"
TURN 5: SHAGGY ECLIPSE
"Don't mind if I do..." I drew a card from the top of my deck as Magician's Charm disintegrated from the field. A quick glance was all that was needed for me in that moment...
Come on Shaggy, you've got a giant 3 headed lizard breathing down your neck with thirty-two hundred attack and defense. What's more is Dark Magician Girl is only nine hundred points from even matching its speed... There's only one single chance I've got to make this work! It's either now or never!
I showcased the card in my hand, "First, I activate the spell card Dark Magic Union!"" A holographic image that shows the two spellcasters stood back-to-back, briefly appeared, "Thanks to this, Dark Magician Girl gains the original attack of Dark Magician in my graveyard and adds it to her current attack points.!" I sighed for a brief moment, "The only thing it cost me is five hundred life points."
LP: 3200 decreases to 2700
A mystic golden energy enveloped around Dark Magician Girl as her Attack points increased.
"The attack bonus added would…" Dr. Nora fell silent instantly.
I smirked, "It would make Dark Magician Girl more than enough to defeat Thunder Dragon Titan!"
Dark Magician Girl ATK: 2300 ATK - 4800 ATK
"That's impressive, Testee Shaggy!" Dr. Nora stated with a smile with his hands crossed,
"That's not all I'm gonna do because..." I revealed the final card that's in my hand, "Now I will play the last card... Copycat!" within a matter of seconds a holographic image of the card materialized..."
Dr Nora continued, "With that card you're allowed to copy any card that was played from an opponent as long as they weren't a monster."
I nodded, "You've got that right, and I think I'll borrow Re: Thunder Crash!"
Copycat converted to the spell card as a giant crash of Thunder destroyed Rowan's Thunder Dragon Titan from the field.
"Now if memory serves me correctly, Re: Thunder Crash deals 300 points of damage to you for each monster on your side of the field. "
"Ugh..." He grunted disgustedly at that occurrence.
DR. ROWAN NORA LP: 3100 decreases to 2800
I pointed out, "Since triple lizard breath is out of the picture that means you have nothing to protect you!"
Dr. Nora's eyes widened, "Oh No!"
My eyes dimmed with a glow, "Oh yeah, go Dark Magician Girl!" I pointed out to Rowan, "Wipe out the rest of Dr. Nora's life points with Dark Burning Attack!"
Dark Magician Girl charged up all the power she had into her wand before it released a huge burst of dark energy that directly struck my opponent's life points.
DR. ROWAN NORA LP: 2800 decreases all the way to 0
At the stands...
Lucian cackled, "I. He... I mean... woah!"
"When can... I face him?" Rory stated softly.
Jake gulped, "He did it... Shaggy really won!"
Sabrina smiled cheerfully, "He sure did, way to go Big Brother!"
Back At the Field
Once the duel projectors slowly digitized the cards I had on my side of the field. For an instance, I noticed Dark Magician Girl glance back at me with a single wink & waved. Next thing, I knew she disappeared entirely from the field. It took me off so off guard that I felt a burning sensation from my cheeks in the moment.
"Woah!" I answered in awe!
The sounds of applause echoed throughout the field by Dr. Rowan Nora, "That was most impressive Shaggy. Truly, I've fought many testees in the past, but you are different from the others."
"You're far too kind, Dr. Nora!" I scratched my head awkwardly until he placed his hand on my shoulder, "I just got really lucky, If I'm being honest."
"Perhaps that could be the case, but I believe there's something more... We can't know for sure yet, but..." Dr. Nora pointed over to the projector screen with a similar display that appeared for Rory, "What we can determine is where you stand from your field test!"
He activated a button on the remote that generated a number increasing on the screen. Just like before, it caught everyone's attention. The score displayed next to my name slowly came to a halt after thirty seconds.
Applicant: Shaggy Eclipse Written: Not Yet Graded Field Test: 1850
Dr. Nora extended his hand towards me, "Congratulations Shaggy Eclipse, and welcome to Duel Island."
"I feel so honored, and..." I accepted his handshake with a kind smile, "Thank you so much for an awesome duel."
"Of course, my boy!" Dr. Nora nodded.
It wasn't long before I quickly made it back to the stands where the others were, and the sensational energy buried deep within jolted when I saw Sabrina and Jake.
"I MADE IT INTO DUEL ISLAND!" I shouted enthusiastically just before Sabrina tackled me in big hug.
She tightened her embrace, "I'm so proud of you, you had me worried there for a second."
A drop of sweat fell from my face, "I'm sorry, sissy!"
Sabrina quickly shifted to a more cheerful look, "Don't worry, it's not like this was a life-or-death situation."
I laughed silently, "Good point!" until my attention shifted to dumbfounded expressions on Lucian and Rory's face, "You two alright?"
They snapped out of their stance after I waved my hand in their face, "Oh sorry, it's just I..." both paused and looked towards one another, "I mean we-"
"Take a deep breath and one at a time… Say what you want to say..." I said with a clear smile.
Lucian followed my advice as such, "It's just... How did you manage to adapt to an entirely different deck that wasn't even yours so quickly?"
I couldn't help, but chortle at the thought, "It's like I told Dr. Nora... I just got lucky with a little bit of instinct!"
"Instinct!" Lucian continued.
Sabrina explained, "His gut feeling to be more accurate."
He seemed a bit down, "Oh... I guess that makes sense."
I nodded, "You'll understand it the more you get to see me in duel! Who knows maybe one day we can end up dueling each other?"
"Good point..." He noticed Rory's head faced the ground, "Didn't you have something you wanted to tell him, Rory?"
"Well..." Rory gripped against the side of her shorts, "You were really amazing..." and quickly turned the other direction, "And that's about it!"
I raised an eyebrow, "Oh ... well thanks Rory, that's so thoughtful of you..."
Rory gigged quietly, "D…Don't mention it!" until she quickly turned out with a bold look in her eyes, "Would you mind facing me in a duel?"
"I'd love to, but after that field test, I'm honestly feeling really worn out!" I continued with a fake smile, "Maybe whenever we get to Duel Island, I'll accept your challenge!"
"Then it's a date!" She raised her fist in the air with confidence as her face turned red, "It's gonna be so exciting!"
Lucian was a bit perplexed, "Wow, that's something I haven't seen from you."
Seeing their little banter brought me a huge smile.
The intercom announced, "Testee Jake Sunday, please make your way to the field immediately, and remember to leave your deck behind."
I saw the look on my best friend's place as he stood right next to me, "Guess it's my turn now, huh, Shaggy?"
"Of course, bro, go give it your all!" I stuck my hand out in the center.
He slapped his palm against mine with a sheer sense of confidence, "I plan to!"
The concept behind the Testees not using their own decks was something I already knew when crafting out the story for Duel Island. It was something I wanted to make different from Yugioh GX in that it's all about how well a duelist can adapt to a deck they've never played before, and that would be something the duel testers would analyze during the field test portion.
As far as this goes, it was more so to showcase Shaggy's dueling style and how well he adapts to it in the field test. There is more I've got in store for Shaggy as the story of Duel Island progresses. For the time being that is all I'm gonna say when it comes to this new fic, Please feel to share your thoughts and as always thanks for reading!