Street Dueling and Encounters
A/N: Card Pool does not match OCG release dates.
Unknown Palace
She didn't know how she was here, or why she was here, but Lara stood on a balcony. Staring off into the night sky. She wore a fancy purple dress that reached her ankles with white frills around the neck area, sleeves, and lower tips of the dress. She wore white gloves; heels and she wore what appeared to be a small crown on top of her head.
"I know this is a dream, but it doesn't feel right to be treated like royalty." She muttered to herself. She didn't start having these dreams until recently. Before she would dream of her reuniting with her mamma and papa. Now, she's been having these kinds of dreams. Was this some sort of sign she wasn't understanding?
The door to her room opened up, where she was greeted by a familiar friend of hers. "Enjoying your night, Lara."
Lara turned around and notice it was the king himself. She smiled and gave him a bow. "I'm enjoying my time here, Wight King."
"A feast has been prepared. The others are waiting for your arrival." He stated.
This caught Lara by surprise. "Oh, thank you so much! I'll come by now!" She closes the balcony doors and closes the curtains. "It's rude for the guest of honor to not show up to the feast!"
The King of the Skull Servants exited the room, with Lara following behind him. Lara was soon accompanied by a dog. Despite the dog was clearly all bone, it was able to move just like any ordinary dog. She wondered if the dog belonged to the Wight King. Still, she found the skull dog rather adorable.
After walking the many stairs this palace had to offer. Lara has made her way to the dinning room where she was greeted by many Wights, even Wights that she never seen before. Least to her knowledge.
"Thank you for inviting me for dinner, everyone!" Lara thanked as she took a seat, marveling at all the food she hasn't seen before.
"You're the guest of honor. So, this is your treat for the night." The Wight King replied.
"Thank you merry much." Lara thanked with a slight bow. 'I honestly don't really deserve this kind of treatment.' She thought that last part as she began to dine in.
Despite being just a dream, Lara couldn't help but savior the food. Strange, despite being a dream, it felt like she could actually taste it. She had no idea why, but she wasn't complaining. Whether this was real or not, didn't mattered to her.
By the time she was finished with her dinner. The palace began to shake, much to the alarm of the other wights. Wight King glared at the activity.
"He's here again. Get to safety everyone!" Wight King commanded.
The family of Wights nodded and ran back inside the palace. Lara on the other hand, was confused. What was going on here? Why did they have to hide now? Was there a threat out there? And why would she be dreaming of such a thing? This is a dream, right? She decided to follow the Wight King outside to see what was going on.
When the Wight King exited his palace, he noticed a shadow slowly approaching his domain. Glaring, he conjured a shadow orb and launched it at the shadow, causing an explosion. Once the smoke cleared out, a familiar enemy emerged from the shadow; the Zombie Master.
"Scum like you has no business here!" Wight King called out.
Zombie Master laughed manically at him. "Forgetting who revived you? You should be following my orders like the rest of the undead I have awakened!"
Whight King continued to glare at him. "You revive those of the undead for your own evil purposes! We are not your puppets!" Wight King launched another shadow orb at Zombie Master.
Zombie Master retaliated with a blast of purple lighting, colliding, and caused an explosion. "I may not have the power to take over your lands, or even defeat you for that matter! That doesn't mean I can't use my other puppets I have taken control over!"
Before the Wight King could conjure another attack, Lara came outside to figure out, what was going.
"Eh? Who is that guy?!" Lara wondered, staying put as to not get involved in the battle.
Wight King turned around and glared at her. "I gave you an order, get back inside! It's not safe out here!"
Zombie Master laughed as he took notice of Lara's presence. "Ha ha ha, so you've taken a liking to this girl?! How foolish for even considering trying to protect her!"
"I don't know who you are, but leave my friends alone!" Lara cried out.
"You are in no position to be making demands!" Zombie Master launched another lightning attack, only to be counter by another shadow orb launched by the Wight King. "I may not have the power to stop the King of the Skull Servants, but that doesn't mean I can't revive my personal army of the undead and use other humans as puppets!"
"W-What are you saying?" Lara questioned, unsure at what he meant.
Zombie Master didn't answer and retreated, leaving behind a tail of black smoke before disappearing.
"No matter how many times he keeps coming back here. I won't let him get a foothold onto my property." The Wight King said walking towards Lara.
"Just who was he and what did he mean by that? Mr. Wight King, I know it sounds silly for me to ask such a question, but is this really a dream?" She asked while looking down at her heels, embarrassed.
The Wight King gently rubbed the top of her head gently. "Someday, you'll understand. Now, isn't the time to explain. Head back inside and rest in your room."
Lara smiled and nodded as she hurried back to her room, leaving the Wight King alone outside his palace.
Lara entered her room and closed the door. She removed her white heels and hopped onto the bed and laid down, soon drifting to sleep. As she slept away, her dream would soon come to an end.
Morning in Red Hat's home
Lara suddenly woke up from her dreams, panting as she sat up. She took a look at her surroundings and noticed she was still in Red Hat's room, still wearing her pajamas she had since last night. Sighing in relief, she took a look at the clock that was on his wall and notice it close to the afternoon. Blushing, she stood up and gently shook Red Hat.
"Mr. Red Hat, wake up! Rise and shine!" Lara announced to him.
Red Hat began to stir and sat up. He got out of his bed and stretched, rubbing his eye lids as he woken up. "Good morning, Lara! Did you have a good sleep?"
She smiled and nodded. "I slept very well, Mr. Red Hat! It sounds weird, but I slept better last night then most nights when I was at Martha's orphanage." She left out the detail about a weird part of her so-called dream.
He lightly chuckled and gently ruffled her hair. "Well, I'm glad you slept well." He organized and cleaned up his bed, while Lara picked up her sheets and organized them herself, even though Red Hat offered to clean up for her. "Let's get ready for some breakfast."
Lara had her arms behind her back and looked down at her feet. "Um… can we have something that isn't Instant Ramen for breakfast? It's almost lunchtime anyway, Mr. Red Hat."
Red Hat looked at his clock and noticed she was correct. It was less than half an hour away from being twelve o' clock. While he couldn't care less about waking up late. He couldn't keep up his usual life style. He has Lara to take care of now. He can't raise her with his current life style. Although, this would require more funds. Since, he doesn't have the best funds in the world.
Now that he had a bounty with Sector Security. He couldn't head to the Pro Leagues and he couldn't take some random job in New Domino City. For fear that he and Lara would be caught and get sent back to the Satellite. Getting caught by Sector Security in New Domino City would a death sentence and career ender.
Red Hat edited his new deck for a bit to remove some cards that clearly had no synergy. The deck needed more fine tuning if he wanted to use this deck more often. If he is able to communicate with monster spirits. Then, he would have to use this particular deck more often. He didn't understand why he has to do this, but he wasn't going to question it any further. Not like he was going to get an answer anytime soon.
After the both of them got dressed, the latter in the restroom, they took their deck boxes with them and left their home to get some lunch. Lara wondered why she had to specifically wear her new clothes. While she liked them, she was also too used to her older set of clothes. After Red Hat assured her, it was for her safety and to make her less likely to be known by other people, and especially Sector Security.
"We're not just going out to order lunch, Lara. We'll also going back to the card shop and get our new duel disks. We'll also see if we can score any duels for minimal profit."
"I understand, Mr. Red Hat." Lara replied. "Does that mean we'll also go shopping for food?"
He nodded. "Though, we'll be shopping at a convenience store. With my current income, our resources are limited."
Lara gave him a reassuring smile. "Money doesn't matter to me, Mr. Red Hat. I'm just glad you're doing your best to offer the best that you can. You don't have so much money to be happy."
He had to chuckle at her comment. What she said was very uh true. Money was for the most part meaningless to him besides functioning in lower class society at best. "Thanks for the compliment, Lara."
The two of them would leave their home and walk together in silence for the time being. They hoped today would be good day for them.
Earlier this Morning
A certain white-haired girl school girl was walking along the side walk of New Domino City. This girl was known as Reyna Megumi. Having a blank expression at all times. She made her way to New Domino City's Duel Academy.
'I have a request for you…' A voice soke to her.
Reyna looked around with a stoic look on her face before running towards the nearest alleyway she could find. Once she was deep into the dark alleyway, she finally spoke up.
"Something you need, master?" She asked.
The spirit that communicated with her made his appearance. The spirit was none other than Zombie Master. 'I found something that may be of interest.'
She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "Something of interest?"
'That boy in the Red Hat. He could prove to be very usual.'
"Boy in the red hat… him?" She asked flatly.
'There's more. A little girl that tags along with him is tied to the Skull Servants.'
"This interest me, how?" She asked, keeping a stoic expression.
'I'm well aware you've began to experience unknown emotions because of that boy. He and that little girl will be of great asset.'
This left Reyna skeptical. Sure, she started behaving a bit differently since she dueled him, but she never felt like she actually changed. Did he actually change her in some way? Or was her master just spouting complete nonsense?
'Skeptical, are we? I want you to try and search for him after you're done with your mundane studies.'
"I don't even know where to even find him. How do you suppose where to even look him?" She asked, still finding this ordeal questionable.
'Do remember who you're talking to, 'dear'. Have I ever steered you wrong before?'
Reyna began to look back at everything he's done before. He was the only she could actually talk to fluently, where she refused to talk to anyone else. Despite his questionable antics and very elusive nature, he hasn't done anything bad to her. Although, mundane tasks he gives at time is questionable at times.
"Guess you haven't. I trust that you know what you're doing, master."
'Excellent! Now, head to your school and continue your mundane studies.' He states before disappearing from her sight.
Taking a deep breath, Reyna takes her bag and leaves the alleyway. When she went back out to the sidewalk. She noticed that various school boys watching her with shock and distain.
"Isn't that Megumi-san?"
"Who was she talking to? There was nobody in that alleyway!"
"Doesn't she barely speak? She was talking just fine in there?"
"Is she some necromancer or something?"
"Don't speak such nonsense! She's a freak and nothing else!"
Reyna thought nothing of their comments and continued walking to her current destination. This wasn't the first-time random people would comment on her tendencies. Despite all the rumors and comments that spread around school or the city. She paid them no mind. Knowing full well, their comments meant nothing to her.
New Domino City: Duel Academy
Reyna sat alone at the middle area of a particular classroom. She sat at the furthest left side of the classroom and looked out the window. She rarely cared for anything the school had to teach. She would mostly do the bare minimum to get passing grades. Much to the displeasure of chairwoman Bright.
"Hello Rey Rey!" A particular girl spoke up to her.
Reyna looked to where she was being called, only to see a familiar face. "Kaiho, Rin?"
The girl now named Rin, giggled as she approached her. Much like the rest of the girls, she wore the standard Duel Academy girls uniform. What stood out about her was her pink hair and was tied with two yellow ribbons and formed two circle curls on both sides.
"What have you been up to, Ray Ray? You've been different ever since you duel that one boy the other day."
Reyna gave her a blank stare. "Really?" Was her only response.
Rin nodded and giggled. "Ever since that duel happened a couple weeks back. Many students started to become even more curious about you. It also left chairwoman Bright perplexed."
"How come?" She simply asked.
"Rumor has it, that you have very talented abilities. You either hold back or you purposely hold back for whatever reason you may have."
"Never noticed…" She flatly replied.
Rin giggled at her response. "You're a strange girl, you know that right?"
Reyna did not give her a response and simply looked at her desk. Was she acting differently from before? If so, then she isn't really aware of it. Why do so many people care about her personal affairs anyway? Why did all of this start just because she dueled some random boy in a red hat? These were rhetorical questions that she had no answer to.
After a while of listening and barely answering Rin's questions. Their professor soon made his presence known to the class. Reyna looked out the window and completely ignored most of her professor way saying. Only answering when she was told and barely cared what was being taught. This was going to be a long mundane day.
Late Afternoon at New Domino City
Red Hat and Lara were walking towards the card sharp after having their so-called lunchtime. Earlier, they went to a restaurant and ordered some simple lunch. Lara ordered some curry and rice, while he ordered an omelet and rice. Both of them left with satisfied faces.
"The food was amazing, Mr. Red Hat." Lara said.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Not often I order food from any sort of restaurant. It's all worth it to see you happy, Lara."
Lara smiled at him and laughed. "I'm grateful for all that you're doing Mr. Red Hat. I just hope I'm not a burden to you."
Red Hat stopped dead in his tracks and picked her up. "Never say you're a burden to me, Lara. I'm doing all of this for you, because I care about you. Never think any lower of yourself."
Lara began to shed tears and hugged close, smiling. She doesn't understand why he was helping her or why he was going out of his way to take care of her. He wasn't her father, yet he's doing all of this for her. She always has been told to be polite and kind to people. Yet, other than Martha and a couple of kids. She has always been taken advantage of for her kindness, often leading to misery. Yet, just one random day, she met this one person, who not only deeply cares for her, but was willing to put his life at risk, just to make her happy.
"Thank you, Mr. Red Hat." She wept.
He smiled and patted her on the back. "There there, it's alright." He put her back down and wiped her tears. "Come, we have to pick up our duel disk that I ordered. We can't duel without one."
Lara blushed and rubbed the back of her head, sheepishly. "Oh right. You did that cause we I left mine at Martha's house and you lost yours. Most people don't duel without one these days, huh?"
He nodded. "That's right. While we can practice without a duel disk. Official duels now have to be done this way. Besides…" He lightly chuckled. "I have to make money somehow, right? Most classic jobs aren't really my style, unless I'm desperate."
"So, you say. Then what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" She replied.
The duo would hurry and run to the card shop. Red Hat holding Lara's hand running at a slower pace, so she can keep up with him.
Card Shop
It didn't take long for the duo to reach the card shop deep within the city. Despite it being barely passed midday. The city was nowhere near as crowded as usual. He assumed most of the people were working, or in the case of both teenagers and kids, they were at school. This gave him the perfect opportunity to head to by some new packs for his new deck he constructed from scraps at the Satellite. But first things first…
"Rathie, are you here?" Red Hat asked as he entered the shop
Rathie came out from the back of the shop, holding two packages. "Ah, so you two have arrived."
He nodded. "I came to claim our duel disks. One for me, and one for Lara."
Rathie sighed as he took out the duel disk and handed them to the duo, while throwing away the leftover trash to the trash container. "The packages just came by a while ago. Did you know how troublesome this was? The dealer already found it questionable I had to take in two duel disk specifically as a paid order."
"I do find that questionable, since it's none of the dealer's business in the first place." Red Hat replied as he put on and attached his duel disk. Lara soon following suit.
"It's really light and it fits me just right!" Lara happily said.
He gently rubbed her head, amused by her cheerful manner. "Of course, I added the additional detail where the duel disk had to very specific for you."
"You're a crazy customer, you know that right? I'm only doing this because you gave me the rare figurine and you always come here to purchase card packs from me." Rathie said, sighing as he never met such an insane customer in his life.
'Considering who you are and all the posters you have in your shop. It only made sense and you were quite easy to bribe.' Red Hat thought, before replying. "Anything new came out? Just curious is all."
Rathie scratched his chin and looked around his shop. "Well, this new set just came out. Just letting you know; I'm not supposed give you early releases. However, since you're a frequent customer, I'll make an exception."
Red Hat narrowed his eyes at him. "I know there's a catch. Do you think me as a fool?"
Rathie's right eye gleamed and smiled. "The catch is; if you want me to give you early access to new sets. You'll be given me more rare figurines if possible. Just so long as you're the only that's in here. Otherwise, you'll have to pay me extra crash. That's what you get for bribing me for an order."
'Corrupt shop keeper…' He thought, taking advantage of him was the only way he was going to get anything new. Like it or not, he didn't have much of a choice. He refuses to even consider obtaining cards in other unethical means.
He took a look at the new set. Being called Duel Terminal Chronicle. As soon as he took hold of the set, he some sort of strange sensation. What could this possibly mean? He decided to open up the new set and noticed there were max 20 packs in this set. He decided to open up each pack one by one. Each pack contained five cards, some of which he didn't even know about. A few cards that he was able to pull caught his eye.
Some cards that he obtained belong to completely different play styles. Vylon, Steelswarm and Gishki were one of the many decks he wasn't familiar with. The latter being a ritual deck. More Gusto cards seemed to appear in this set. Many of which, were cards he already owned, but didn't hurt to have more copies of said cards.
One in particular gusto that caught his eye was Pilica, Descendent Gusto. Her effect was far too good to pass up for his new deck. He kept all the new cards he obtained in a separate bag, while placing Pilica in his main deck.
"What did you obtain, Mr. Red Hat?" Lara asked. Curious to see what he bought and obtained. He looked rather excited.
He lightly chuckled. "I got some great stuff. Only a few things are useful for my new deck. The rest I'll keep as reference."
"Oh? Looks like this was a success then?" Lara said.
"I'll give you some more cards later. For now, let's leave and see if we can find a duel to test out our decks."
Lara beamed at him. "You're always amazing when you duel, Mr. Red Hat. I'll cheer you on all the way." She then realized that last part he said. "Um, am I actually going to duel? I don't mind, but I prefer to have a good time."
Red Hat chuckled and picked her up and placed her on his shoulder. "That's the point. The point of duels is to have fun. People like me who play it seriously it's because it's our job. Not like we don't have fun while doing it. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. All that matters is that you have fun."
Lara smiled and giggled. "Really? Then, when it's my turn to duel, I'll try and have fun."
"Alright, now let's get out there and try to find an opponent." Red Hat replied as the duo left the card shop. Rathie was rather amused by this duo, but thought nothing of it. It wasn't any of his business anyway.
Back Alley, New Domino City
Red Hat and Lara have been walking around the city for quite a while. Making sure to stay away from the main roads and major land marks. They took a few breaks from time to time. Mostly to catch their breath and edit a bit of their decks, despite Red Hat doing that earlier this morning. Never hurts to make sure right?
After resuming their long walk, they came across a long alley way. Against their better judgment. Red Hat and Lara went through the alley way and see where it led. Red Hat carried Lara above his shoulders out of fear something may come up. He knew going through these alley ways was foolish, but was still curious to where they led.
The alley way would soon take them to a clearing, where they saw many grown men and women, all gathered around the huge area. Red Hat took a closer a look and notice a duel was coming to a close. Although, it wasn't the kind of duel he was expecting.
The defeated duelist stepped out of the duel field as someone made a pose. The man in question wore a green long-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless brown jacket, wore brown cargo pants and black shoes. "Another amazing duel, won by yours truly, Simon Tanaka!"
The audience cheered him on, especially the women that were scattered around the area. Red Hat couldn't wrap his head around why this guy was so popular. Guess some people have their own popularity regardless of place.
"No way I'm dueling this guy." One man said.
"He's quite the duelist. Wonder how he's gotten that good." Another man said.
"Simon, you were so cool out there!" A woman squealed.
"You're truly amazing out there, go Simon!" Many more women joined in.
"Now now ladies! Sure, I was the victor in this duel, but there's more to it than just cold hard results!" He made a pose and gave his audience a smile. Though, this was more directed to the ladies. "Dueling isn't just about cold hearted results! It's about having mutual respect for not only yourself but your opponent as well. Whether you win or lose, both sides learn something new and we use that knowledge to strive for even more greatness! All the while respecting your true self and your opponent!" He gave them a smile and showed off his shining clean teeth.
The women couldn't help but scream and cheer for him. Many even considering dating him. This situation didn't sit well with Red Hat.
'What's with this guy? I never seen anyone act like this…' He thought as he approached the dueling area. "I challenge you to a duel!"
The crowd turned to where the voice came from. They walked over to two separate sides, revealing Red Hat, carrying Lara on his shoulders.
"Who is this guy?"
"I never seen him in my entire life."
"Why is he carrying a child with him? It's very foolish to even bring a child to this kind of place."
"Is that his daughter?" A woman asked.
"If so, then either has a great deal of responsibility or he had a huge fight his girlfriend." Another woman commented.
"I'm more surprised he didn't just run away after hearing the news." Another woman commented.
Red Hat ignored their comments and walked over to the other side of the duel field. 'Why are people assuming I'm a father? Just because I decided to help Lara out, even though be both brought it upon ourselves.' He thought as he took a stance. "Quite the crowd you have here. You must be quite popular around these parts."
Simon chuckled. "I wouldn't say around areas like this. It just turned out that way." He explained himself. He then took notice of Lara, which Red Hat gently put her back down. 'This guy… can it be him? No, he's much younger than I remember. He has to be someone else.' He thought.
"Aren't you too young to be a father? It's none of my business, but I'm just curious is all." Simon asked.
"You can stay curious, because it really is none of your business. And I'm not going to give you answer." Red Hat replied with a hit of venom.
Simon sweat dropped at his half-hearted threat. "No need to get all angry. It's just rare to see someone your age with a child that young, unless your siblings, which it's obvious that you're not."
Red Hat readied his duel disk and placed his new deck in the empty slot. "Enough talk, it's time we duel!"
"Right back at you! Show me what you can do!" Simon exclaimed as he reactivated his duel disk.
Lara cling to his right leg. "Do your best, Mr. Red Hat! Good luck!" She cheered.
"I will, Lara." He smiled back at her. "Now, stay close to me and don't let go. You never know what could happen."
Lara nodded. "I'll stay close at all times, Mr. Red Hat."
Both duelists took their stance and Red Hat activated his duel disk.
Red Hat: 8000 LP
Simon: 8000 LP
"I'll let you go first. Let's see what you can do!" Simon announced.
"Very well, my turn. I draw!" Re Hat draws.
Hand 6
'This is a good hand. Granted I took out a lot of bricks before the duel.' He thought as he began his turn. "I set a monster and one card facedown. That ends my turn." Red Hat ended his turn.
Hand 4
"Is that all? I'm kind of let down. I was hoping for something more." Simon said.
"You'll find out soon enough. I just need a bit of set up." Red Hat replied.
"Very well, my turn, draw!" Simon draws.
Hand 6
"Since you control a monster, I can special summon this card, Cyber Dragon! (LV5 Atk: 2100 Def: 1600)" A metallic dragon appeared onto the field. "Now that he's out, I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior in attack mode! (LV 4 Atk: 1600 – 1900 Def: 1000)" The magical warrior appeared onto the field with it-s sword glowing bright blue. "His effect activates! When normal summon, he gains one spell counter that boosts its attack points by 300. But that's not going to matter, because I'm going to use that counter to destroy your facedown card!" Breakers swung his sword forward, releasing blue energy destroying Red Hat's facedown, revealing to be Whirlwind of Gusto. (LV 4 Atk: 1900 – 1600 Def: 1000)"
'I need to use better traps. Combo traps don't seem to be helping me in the slightest.' He thought, witnessing his trap get destroyed.
"Time to battle! Breaker, attack his facedown monster!" The magical warrior leaped forward and sliced the facedown card in half, revealing to be Gusto Gulldo. (LV3 Atk: 500 Def: 500)
"Gusto Gulldo effect activates! When it leaves the field, I can special summon a level 2 or lower Gusto monster from my deck! I'll choose, Gusto Egul! (LV1 Atk: 200 Def: 400)" Red Hat explained as another green eagle like bird emerged onto the field.
"Floating huh? Well then, Cyber Dragon attack his Egul with strident blast!" The metallic dragon rose and let out a stream of fire, engulfing the Gusto bird completely.
"Gusto Egul effect activates! When it's destroyed in battle, I can special summon a level 4 non-tuner Gusto monster from my deck. I summon Caam, Serenity of Gusto! (LV4 Atk: 1700 Def: 1000)" A young woman with long green hair tied into a pony tail emerged onto the field. She wore a light brown coat, dark brown shirt with a green robe, wore brown trousers and wore brown boots. She carried with her a staff with a green orb on top of the staff.
"Floating into a bunch of monsters? You'll eventually run out to summon. I'd be careful if I were you! I'll set one card facedown and end my turn!" Simon ends his turn.
Hand 3
"Very well, my turn. I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 5
"I play the quick play spell, Emergency Teleport! I can special summon a level 3 or lower psychic type monster from hand or deck. I'm choosing the deck of course, though it's banished during the end phase. Appear, Pilica, Descendant of Gusto! (LV3 Atk: 1000 Def: 1500)" A young green-haired girl appeared onto the field. Her hair was tied into a pony tail and the tips of her hair was tinted orange. She wore a brown shirt with many green robes wrapped around her shoulders., wore green trousers with a brown belt wrapped around her, wore brown footwear that exposed her feet, wore green fingerless gloves and carried a brown staff with a blue orb on top. Though above the orb had a carving of what appeared to be a Gusto bird.
"Just what do you intend to do with a card like that?" Simon asked, having never seen such a card.
"Her effect activates! When she's summoned, I can special summon a wind tuner from my graveyard in defense position. If I do that, then I'm lock to summoning wind monsters for the turn and I can only use her effect once per turn! I special summon Gusto Gulldo! (LV3 Atk: 500 Def: 500)" Pilica's staff began to glow and as she began to chant, the Gusto bird reappeared onto the field.
"I tune level 3 Gusto Gulldo with level 3 Pilica!" The Gusto bird turned into three stars that circled around Pilica before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 3 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "Synchro summon, level 6 Daigusto Sphreez! (LV6 Atk: 2000 Def: 1300)" The powered Gusto woman emerged onto the field. "Her effect activates! When she's Synchro summoned, I can add back a Gusto monster from graveyard to my hand. I'll add back Pilica to my hand!" Red Hat explained as he added back his card.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you triggered my trap card! Go, Bottomless Trap Hole! Since your monster has over 1500 attack points, it gets banished!" A hole opened up beneath Sphreez and fell into the hole as the hole closed up.
'Dang, there goes that plan.' He thought as he continued. "I'll use Caam's effect, by shuffling two Gusto monsters from my grave back into my deck, I can draw 1 card!" He shuffles back the two Gusto birds back into the deck and drew his card. "Battle, Caam attack his Breaker!" Caam bean to chant, and created a green tornado right from her staff, destroying the magical warrior.
Simon: 8000 – 7900 LP
"First blood may be yours, but you now left yourself wide open!" Simon pointed out.
"Don't remind me. I set a monster and one card facedown and end my turn." Red Hat ends his turn.
Hand 4
"Heh, it's my turn. I draw!" Simon draws.
Hand 4
"I tribute Cyber Dragon to tribute summon Caius the Shadow Monarch! (LV6 Atk: 2400 Def: 1000) A large bulky fiend with a purple cape emerged onto the field. "His effect activates! When he's tribute summoned, he banishes one card on the field! Your facedown monster gets banished!" Caius launched a large shadow orb and blasted Red Hat's facedown monster off the field.
'If he's going to keep banishing my stuff, then I was right to side in my new trap. Though, I hope he doesn't figure out what I'm doing.' Red Hat thought.
"Now, I banish Cyber Dragon and Breaker the Magical Warrior to special summon Chaos Sorcerer! (LV6 Atk: 2300 Def: 2000)" The chaos sorcerer emerged onto the field, reading his flames.
'You're the second person that I know of, that has Chaos Sorcerer. I wonder… how many people now have access to Chaos Sorcerer. Cause there was a time it was too strong for tournaments.' Red Hat thought, surprised to find another person to have a chaos monster.
"I'll use Chaos Sorcerer-s effect to banish your face-up monster, in exchange however, he can't attack this turn! Banish his Gusto monster!" Simon commanded as the chaos monster launched purple flames at Caam, removing her from the game. "Battle, Caius attack him directly! Shadow Volley Assault!" The shadow monarch conjures a large shadow orb and launches it at Red Hat, causing an explosion and pushing him back.
Red Hat: 8000 – 5600 LP
"Red Hat! Are you alright?!" Lara cried out.
"I'll be alright, this duel has only just begun." He assured her.
"We'll see how much longer you can last! I set one card facedown and end my turn!" Simon ends his turn.
Hand 1
"If you have Chaos monsters, then I'll just have to pick up the pace. My turn, I draw!" Red Hat draws.
Hand 5
"First, I play the spell card Upstart Goblin! I draw one card and you get 1000 LP!" Red Hat explained as he drew his card.
"Hope that draw was worth it." Simon commented as his LP rose.
Simon: 7900 – 8900 LP
"LP gain doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things. Anyway, I play the spell card Dark World Dealings! We both draw one card then we discard one card!" Red Hat explained as he drew his card.
Simon raised an eye brow at this move. "Just how does that card help you? Dark World you run or something?" Simon asks as he drew his card and discard Ehren Lightsworn Monk.
"This is why." As soon as Red Hat discarded his card. A green Griffin-like creature emerged behind him.
"What is that thing?" Simon asked curiously, since he never seen such a card before.
"The card is called Gusto Griffin. If it's sent from my hand to the graveyard by any means, I can special summon a Gusto monster from my deck, though I can only use his effect once per turn! Help out of this situation, Reeze Whirlwind of Gusto! (LV5 Atk: 1900 Def: 1400)" Reeze emerged onto the field within a gust of winds. "To make sure no funny business, play the spell card Psychokinesis! Since Reeze is a psychic-type monster, I can destroy one card on the field! In exchange, I lose 1000 LP! Your facedown card gets destroyed!" Reeze launched a green psycho ball at the facedown and destroyed it, revealing to be Torrential Tribute.
Red Hat: 5600 – 4600 LP
"Next up, I summon Gusto Gulldo in attack mode! (LV3 Atk: 500 Def: 500)" The Gusto bird remerged onto the field. "Now I use Reeze effect! By placing one card from my hand at the bottom of the deck, I target a Gusto monster I control and a monster you control, I switch control of those targets!"
"Wait, hold on! You get to pick which cards get to switch!" Simon gasped, realizing what that means.
"That's right, I'll give you Gusto Gulldo while I take control of your Chaos Sorcerer!" Reeze began to chant and soon, the Gusto bird went to the opponent's side, while Chaos Sorcerer came over to his side. All the while, Red Hat placed Pilica at the bottom of his deck. 'Sorry about this Pilica. You'll get to be used more next time.' He thought.
"Even if you banish my Monarch the most you'll be doing is float into a weaker monster!" Simon pointed out.
Red Hat: 4600 – 2300 LP
"Who said that's all I'm planning?" This statement took everyone by surprise. "Reveal trap card, Return from the Different Dimension! By paying half my LP I can special summon as many banished monsters as possible! Come back to the field; Caam, Serenity of Gusto; Daigusto Sphreez, and Gusto Egul!" A wormhole opened up from above and then came landing the monsters that were banished from the other dimension. (LV4 Atk: 1700 Def: 1000) (LV6 Atk: 2000 Def: 1300) (LV1 Atk: 200 Def: 400)
"Tch, you had to have such a card." Simon replied.
"Not done yet! I tune level 1 Gusto Egul with level 4 Caam, Serenity of Guto!" The Gusto bird turned into three stars that circled around Pilica before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 3 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "Synchro summon, level 5 Daigusto Gulldos! (LV 5 Atk: 2200 Def: 800)" As the light faded away, Gusto Gulldo grew in size and Winda rode on its back, ready for battle.
"What is it with you and birds… Well, they do say birds are annoying pests…" Simon commented.
Red Hat ignored his comment and continued. "I'll first use Chaos Sorcerer's effect to banish Caius on your field!" Chaos Sorcerer launched purple flames at the shadow monarch, banishing him from the field. "Now I'll use Daigusto Gulldos effect! Once per turn, by returning two Gusto monsters from my grave back into my deck, I can destroy one face-up monster you control! Gusto Gulldo gets destroyed!" Red Hat shuffles back Gusto Griffen and Caam back into the deck. Once the condition was met, Winda let out a battle cry as she launched a powerful green energy ball at the smaller bird, destroying it. "Since Gusto Gulldo was sent to my graveyard, its effect activates! I can now special summon a level two or lower Gusto tuner from my deck. I special summon the tuner monster Gusto Falco! (LV2 Atk: 600 Def: 1200)" A smaller bird with green armor flew towards the field.
"Hold on! That's what you've been trying to do?!" Simon asked, shocked to see him swarming the field this easily.
"That was the idea. Granted it took a lot more set than I realized, but it was well worth it." Red Hat admitted. "I tune level 2 Gusto Falco with level 6 Chaos Sorcerer!" The smaller Gusto bird turned into two stars that circled around the opponents Chaos Sorcerer before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 6 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "Synchro summon, level 8 Colossal Fighter! (LV8 Atk: 2800 - 2900 Def: 100)" The giant fighter emerged onto the field, making a stance.
The audience around them were in shock at the plays he was making. "This guy summoned that many monsters, synchro summoned twice, and got rid of his field that easily?"
"Just who is this guy?"
"How come we never seen him before?"
"He's intense, I'll give him that."
"Way to go, Mr. Red Hat!" Lara cheered
"Battle, Reeze, attack him directly!" Reeze conjured whirlwinds around her and launched them at Simon.
Simon: 8900 – 7000 LP
"Daigusto Sphreez it's your turn to attack him directly!" Sphreez blasted Simon with powerful winds launched as a tornado from her staff.
Simon: 7000 – 5000 LP
"Daigusto Gulldo, blow him away!" Winda let out a battle cry and launched whirlwinds from her staff with her Gusto bird helping out in the attack.
Simon 5000 – 2800 LP
"Colossal Fighter, end this duel! Pulverizing Smash!" The giant fighter leaped forward and slammed both it's arms on top of Simon, knocking him down to his knees, as his LP was depleted.
Simon: 2800 – 0 LP
"I lost? Dang it, this can't be happening!" Simon yelled, clenching his fist to calm down.
"Mr. Red Hat, that was amazing!" Lara cheered, hugging him from behind.
Red Hat chuckled and picked her up until he placed her on top of his shoulders. "Took a little luck, but I was able to do it."
The rest of the audience mutters between each other. Mumbling various comments and statements.
"He beat Simon."
"I'm curious about his deck."
"Is he really that strong?"
The audience continued to mumble comments. Red Hat, deciding to pay no mind turned around. Before the duo could leave…
"Hold up!" Simon called out, tossing a flier to Red Hat, which he caught. "Since you defeated me. I decided to hand you that flier."
Red Hat took a look at the flier and read its details contained. After reading, he raised an eyebrow. "Tag Duel tournament? Coming this this month. The tag team that is able to win will not only earn prize money, but will be given a chance to duel separately in the upcoming Fortune Cup."
"That's right! Since you manage to defeat me, you should try out for the tournament. Although, you'll have to find a partner to join the tournament. You may want to hurry. The tournament starts in in less then two weeks." Simon explains
"Less then two weeks?" Red Hat said, confused as to whether not he should join. On the one hand, the price money could help him out drastically if it was a large amount. On the other hand, if he were to participate. He would have to use the same disguise, since otherwise, he would compromise his whereabouts to Sector Security. Last thing we wanted was to be sent to the Satellite, with or without Lara. The thought of Lara being arrested made him cringe, not that he would admit that outright.
"Better hurry and find a partner. Even children can attend if you decide to participate with that girl. The main arena is where you'll be registering." Simon pointed out.
"Very well… thanks for the info."
Soon, many of the ladies hollered and ran up to Simon, all wanting to pair up with him. Simon did his best to calm the ladies down. The rest of the spectators left the scene. Red Hat, not wanting to put up with this, left the alleyway with Lara.
Tops Residential Area
By the time Red Hat and Lara made their way to a completely unknown area of the city. The sun was beginning to set. By this point in time, all school kids have just left their schools for the day. Despite that, this part of the city didn't sit well with the duo. Mainly due to the fact, they looked completely out of place in this kind of area.
After a bit of walking, they stopped at a nearby station, sat down inside the building next to the wall, to take a break.
"Just where are we going or what are we doing, Mr. Red Hat?" Lara asked, sitting down next to him.
"I'm trying to search for an opponent to test your deck, Lara." He explained. "Finding an opponent isn't exactly easy. That's assuming you want to participate with me."
Lara thought about it for a moment. While participating with Red Hat would be nice. She had a bad feeling about this. She normally causes others that hanged around her trouble. She feared she'd be putting Red Hat in danger if she joined his side.
"Um… I think I rather sit this out, Mr. Red Hat. I'll just be a burden to you." She answered.
Red Hat frowned, not liking her reply. "You're anything but a burden to me, Lara. Even if you don't want to participate with me, I want you to gain experience dueling other people."
"Can't I just learn with you?" She asked, not really liking the idea of having to duel random strangers. "You know a lot more about dueling then most people."
He lightly head patted her head. "That's not the point. While you can learn a lot from me. However, I want you to test your skills with other duelists. Dueling and testing your ability against other people will allow you to grow and understand more."
She looked at him with a shocked look. "Eh? Well, if you insist…" She took a look at her deck and clung to it. "No one would try to steal it, right?"
He nodded in assurance. "I'm sure of it. If anyone tries, I'll put a stop to them and get it back. Although, I'll make that never happens."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Mr. Red Hat."
As the continued to sit there for a little while, pondering what to do next.
"Hey, the station is about to close. It's not polite to sit next to the wall."
They turned to their left to where they were called from. The notice a small girl, no taller than Lara approached them. She wore yellow sweater with a pink undershirt, wore a pink skirt with black leggings, and wore pink shoes. What was most odd about this girl was her eyes had star-like yellow pupils.
"Sorry, but we're not used to this kind of place." Lara replied.
The girl had a confused looked but clasped her hands together. "Oh, you two are new here? Sorry, I didn't know that. Oh, where are my manners! My name is Daisy Ryugoin! What's yours?"
"My name is Lara, and this here is my care taker Mr. Red Hat!" Lara answered, smiling in the process.
Daisy gave them a slight bow. "It's nice to meet you, Lara-chan, Red Hat-san."
Both of them were chocked at how polite this small girl was. Hoping this wasn't a façade, Red Hat decided to take action. "Wanted to ask, are you a duelist, and are you willing to duel Lara here."
Lara gasped, not believing he would request such a thing to this new girl in an instance. Although, the girl didn't seem to mind, but rather had a confused look on her face.
"A duel with Lara-chan? Well, I accept the offer, but why so soon? Why not you, Red Hat-san?" Daisy asked, not exactly understanding his motives.
"I want Lara to experience dueling with other people. She isn't exactly used to dueling with other people, so this is her chance to practice." Red Hat clarified.
Daisy thought about for a bit and nodded in agreement. "Sure thing, I'll duel her! Follow me first though. I have to get something first. Sorry for the trouble."
The trio would exit the building and follow Daisy to where ever she was taking them. They would soon reach a huge, yet out of place building farther area of the tops residential area. Daisy would hurry and enter the building, with Red Hat and Lara waiting outside the building. It would only take a few minutes until Daisy came back out with her duel disk and deck box.
"Sorry about that, Red Hat-san, but I'm not used to always bringing my deck and duel disk." Daisy explained as she readied her duel disk and placed her deck in the deck slot.
"That's alright, you couldn't have known." Red Hat assured her. "Alright Lara, it's your turn to duel."
Lara nodded and got into position, readying her duel disk and placing her deck in the empty deck slot. "It's a pleasure to meet and duel you." Lara said, giving Daisy a slight bow.
"Thanks, Lara-chan! Let's do our very best!" She replied also giving Lara a slight bow.
Lara: 8000 LP
Daisy: 8000 LP
"Okay, I'll start this duel. My turn, I draw!" Lara draws.
Hand 6
She took a look at her hand and attempted to come up with a plan. 'Okay, I think I can do this. Let's hope I can get him out in time.' She thought.
"Got something good, Lara-chan?" Daisy asked, curious what she was going to do.
Lara nodded in response. "I set a monster facedown and end my turn." Lara ends her turn.
Hand 5
"Okay, it's my turn. I draw!" Daisy draws.
Hand 6
"Okay, I summon Dragunity Pilum-san in attack mode! (LV3 Atk: 1400 Def: 1000)" A small green dragon wearing black armor with a large horn on top of its head flew onto the field. "Its effect activates! I can special summon a winged-beat type monster from my hand when it's normal summoned, then I equip him to that monster. Come out, Dragunity Militum-san! (LV4 Atk: 1700 Def: 1100)" A female soldier emerged onto the field and hopped onto and rode the dragon. She wore white dress with black spats, wore gold armored boots, wore a green helmet and had a white mask to cover her face. She had what appeared to be dragon wings, gold armored wrist bands and held a sword and a dagger.
"Dragunity? Mr. Red Hat, do you know these monsters?" Lara asked, both confused and surprised to see monsters she has never seen before.
Red Hat shook his head. "I haven't seen these cards before. Guess observing the duel should get us an idea on how they work." He explained. 'Although… this girl uses honorifics with all her monsters. She must care for her monsters that much. Or is there another reason for this?'
"Oh? Well then, I'm excited to see how they work!" Lara replied.
"Militum-san effect, I target a Dragunity that's in my spell and trap card zone and special summon it. Pilum-san return back to the field! (LV3 Atk: 1400 Def: 1000)" Militum dismounted from of the dragon as it came forward to the field. "Battle, Militum-san attack her facedown monster!" She leaped forward and slashed the facedown monster, revealing to be Pyramid Turtle. (LV4 Atk: 1200 Def: 1400)
"Pyramid Turtle's effect, if he's destroyed in battle, I can special summon a zombie type monster from my deck that has 2000 or fewer defense points! I special summon Mezuki from my deck! (LV4 Atk: 1700 Def: 1100)" A yokai ox, wielding an axe, emerged in place of Pyramid Turtle.
"Should have thought about that." Daisy admitted. "Want to know more about Pilum-san? He's also a tuner monster. I tune level 4 Dragunity Militum-san with level 3 Dragunity Pilum-san!" The dragon dragunity turned into three stars that circled around Militum before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 4 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "I'm a little embarrassed… I need you! Synchro Summon, Dragunity Knight – Trident-san! (LV7 Atk: 2400 Def: 1700)" A large blue dragon emerged onto the field. It had blue armor and wore blue armor on its head. It had three horns and three spikes coming out of the armor, resembling a trident. The person riding the dragon was a different winged-beast Dragunity member.
"Eh? She can synchro summon?" Lara asked, not believing Daisy could synchro summon.
"Synchro summoning is quite common. Just didn't think her deck is synchro focused." Red Hat clarified. "Though, this makes me more curious about her deck's play style."
"I don't synchro summon very often. Mostly when I get overpowered, Red Hat-san" Daisy replied. "I'll end my turn for now." Daisy ends her turn.
Hand 4
"Okay, my turn, I draw!" Lara draws.
Hand 6
"I switch Mizuki to defense mode. Then, I set a monster and end my turn." Lara ends her turn.
Hand 5
"Okay, my turn, I draw!" Daisy draws.
Hand 5
"I play the spell card Terraforming! With this, I can add a field spell from my deck to my hand. I'll be adding this card, Dragon Ravine and I'll activate it immediately!" The field soon turn into many large valleys with the sub setting in the distance. Many dragons were seen flying about. "I'll use my field spell's effect, one per turn by discarding one card, I can use one of its two effects. I'll use the first effect to add a level 4 or lower Dragunity monster from my deck to my hand. I'm choosing Dragunity Dux!" She discarded Dragunity Phalanx and added her card.
"A field spell that helps with consistency? That's very new to me. All fields I have experienced up until this point, all they did was give mediocre attack boost to monsters of specific type, attribute, or effect that mildly synergized with the deck it's in. The only other exception is Zombie World." Red Hat commented.
"What do you mean by that?" Lara asked, already confused enough.
"Besides the field spell Zombie World. Field spells like Realm of Light and Colosseum – Cage of the Gladiator Beasts only give monsters of its archetype small attack gain if you use the decks specific effects while placing counters on the field spell. Other field spells I've seen such as Otherworld the "A" Zone do absolutely nothing for the deck it's trying to support. Its why I never play field spells, cause they're almost always the worst card in the deck." Red Hat explained.
"Not to be rude, but how do you know so much Red Hat-san?" Daisy asked, surprised that he knew so much about the game.
"I'm a pro duelist, or I was before I had to silently quit because of circumstances that were out of my control." Red Hat replied. Although, he wasn't entirely telling the truth. The reason he quit was to prevent Sector Security from getting a hold of him, since he's already been exposed in the Satellite. He knew better then to stand out in New Domino City.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Red Hat-san." Daisy apologized.
"No need to take pity on me, but thanks. Anyway, it's still your turn and it's getting late." He pointed out.
"Oh right! Uh… Right! I play the spell card, Cards of Consonance! With this card, I discard a dragon type tuner monster with 1000 or less attack points, then I can draw two cards!" She discarded Dragunity Aklys and drew her cards. "I summon Dragunity Dux-san in attack mode! (LV4 Atk: 1500 – 1900 Def: 1000)" Another Dragunity winged-beast, this time a male Dragunity member, emerged onto the field. This one wore similar armor to Militum only wore full long-sleeved shirt, wore a black helmet, wore black shoulder pads and a black bulky belt, wore a white mask covering his face, and wore a golden necklace with a green gem in the center of it.
"Another amazing monster! What wait… it got stronger?" Lara asked, still amazed at the monster.
"Dragunity Dux-san gains 200 attack points for every Dragunity monster on the field, including himself. In addition, when he's normal summon, I can target a level 3 or lower Dragunity monster in my graveyard and equip it to him as an equip card! Help him out, Dragunity Phalanx-san!" Dux hopped onto the smaller dragon that emerged onto the field. The dragon had golden armor and wore a golden helmet with two horns. "Phalanx-san has another effect, once per turn while he's equipped to a monster, I can special summon him. Phalanx-san, move forward and help out your comrads!" Dux hopped of the dragon as Phalanx moved forward onto the field. "Phalanx-san is also a tuner monster."
"A tuner monster that can special summon itself when being equipped to one of their own monsters? Since the deck is also focused around equipping the dragon tuners to gain a variety of effects. A lot of potential for combos and synchro climbing. Also, can make a variety of synchros considering the levels of the winged-beast monsters." Red Hat explained, fascinated for what he was seeing with the deck.
"Thanks for the compliments, Red Hat-san! I tune level 2 Dragunity Phalanix-san and level 4 Dragunity Dux-san!" The dragon dragunity turned into two stars that circled around Dux before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 4 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "I'm a little embarrassed… but I need you! Synchro Summon, level six, Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana-san! (LV6 Atk: 1900 Def: 1200)" A large dragon with red armor and a green emerald on its torso, emerged onto the field. Its rider was Dragunity Militum, this time wearing red armor to match her dragon.
"Wow, another dragon synchro monster! How many do you have?!" Lara asked, still amazed to see this many dragons.
"I don't really summon them too often. I get a little embarrassed when I synchro summon." Daisy replied, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.
'Not sure why though. Could be something personal I guess.' Red Hat thought to himself, not exactly following her reasons.
"Vajrayana-sans effect now activates, when its synchro summoned, I can target a level 3 or lower dragon-type dragunity monster in my graveyard and equip it to this card. Dragunity Aklys-san help your comrade!" The smaller red dragon remerged onto the field and flew next to Vajrayana side. "Varjrayana-sans other effect, once per turn, I can send one equip card equipped to this card to the graveyard, its attack is doubled until the end phase. Aklys-san, time to let go!" The smaller dragon was commanded to leave. As soon as it left the bigger dragon's side, the smaller dragon collided with Mezuki and destroyed the yokai. Meanwhile, Vajrayana gained a red aura, boosting its power. (LV6 Atk: 1900 – 3800 Def: 1200)
"Eh? What just happened?" Lara asked, confused as to why her monster was destroyed.
"That was Aklys-sans effect. When it's sent to the graveyard while equipped to a monster. He destroys one card on the field. So that's why your monster was destroyed." Daisy clarified.
"This is going to hurt." Red Hat commented.
"Battle, Dragunity Knight – Trident-san attack her facedown monster!" The rider commanded the dragon to attack. The blue dragon launched powerful blue flames from its maw and engulfed the facedown, revealing to be The Lady in Wight. (LV3 Atk: 0 Def: 2200)
"Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana-san, attack Lara-chan directly!" This time, the red dragon was commanded to attack and blasted Lara with even more powerful flames, causing her to lose her footing.
Lara: 8000 – 4200 LP
"You okay, Lara?" Red Hat, feeling worried about her.
"I'll be okay…" Lara assured him, getting back on her feet.
"Hope you're okay, Lara-chan. I set one card facedown and end my turn. Vajrayana-san attack points return to normal." Daisy stated as she ends her turn. (LV6 Atk: 3800 – 1900 Def: 1200)
Hand 3
"There has to be a way. My turn, I draw!" Lara draws.
Hand 6
"I play the spell card, Card Destruction! We discard all of our cards, then we redraw the sane number of cards we discarded." Both Lara and Daisy discarded their cards to their graveyard and redrew the same number of cards. Lara drawing five, while Daisy drew three. 'Both of his cards… I can't believe I drew them.' Lara thought, amazed that she drew both of her gift cards easily.
"Did you get good cards Lara-chan?" Daisy asked in curiosity. Noticing Lara's shocked look on her face.
She nodded. "I did actually. First, I play the quick play spell, Hand Destruction! We discard 2 cards then we redraw those cards!" Lara discards her second copy of The Lady in Wight and King of the Skull Servant and redrew two cards. Daisy also discarded two cards and redrew her two cards. "I now play the spell card Foolish Burial! I send one card from my deck to the graveyard." She looks through her deck and sends her last copy of Skull Servant from her deck to the graveyard.
"Hope you know what you're doing." Daisy said.
"I play the spell card, Book of Life! First, I can special summon a zombie-type monster from my graveyard, then I banish a monster from your graveyard. Come to my field, King of the Skull Servants! (LV1 Atk: 0 – 5000 Def: 0)" The King of the Skull Servants emerged onto the field. "Now that he's on the field, I'll banish your Dagunity Aklys!"
Dragunity Aklys was ejected from Daisy's graveyard. "Oof, that was a good play." Daisy complimented.
"Thanks! Now I summon my second King of the Skull Servants! (LV1 Atk: 0 – 5000 Def: 0)" A second King of the Skull Servants appeared onto the field. "Oh, and before you ask. I had to discard two Skull Servants, my third copy had to be sent to the greave by Foolish Burial, you destroyed my first The Lady in Wight and my second Lady in Wight was discarded by Hand Destruction, and my first King of the Skull Servants was also discarded by Hand Destruction, which I just revived. So that makes 5 Skull Servants in my graveyard, since The Lady in Wight is also treated is Skull Servant while in the graveyard."
"Wow, that's an amazing play, Lara-san!" Daisy complimented.
"Thank you, now it's time to battle! My first Wight King attack Dragunity Knight – Trident!" The first Wight King conjured a dark orb and launched it at the first Dragunity dragon, destroying him and the rider in the process.
Daisy: 8000 – 5400 LP
"Now, my second Wight King, attack Dragunity Knight – Vajrayana!" The second Wight King conjured the same attack and launched it at the second Dragunity Knight, destroying it and the rider.
Daisy: 5400 – 2300 LP
"I'm getting close to winning! I set one card facedown and end my turn!" Lara ends her turn.
Hand 1
"Okay! My turn, I draw!" Daisy draws.
Hand 4
"Sorry, Lara-chan but I'm going to destroy both of your monsters." Daisy stated.
"Eh? What do you mean?" Lara asked, confused as to how she's going to pull it off.
"First off, thanks to my field spell, I'll discard Dragunity Aklys-san to add this guy, Dragunity Legionnaire-san to my hand, and summon him right away! (LV3 Atk: 1200 Def: 800)" Another winged-beast warrior emerged onto the field. This one had a blue robe with golden trimmings on the lower ends. He wore golden armor wristbands and golden boots. "His effect, when normal summoned I target a level 3 or lower dragon-type monster in my graveyard and equip it to him. I'll be choosing Dragunity Aklys-san again!" Legionnaire hopped onto the smaller red dragon, who flew towards again.
"Okay, but how will you destroy both of them? Aklys only allows you to destroy one card on the field." Lara pointed out.
"With Legionnaire-sans effect of course! You see, by sending a Dragunity card in my spell & trap card zone to the graveyard, I can target and destroy one face-up monster on your field! Legionnaire-san, Aklys-san, combine your strength and destroy her monsters!" Aklys flew towards one of the Wight Kings and collided with it, destroying him; while Legionnaire leaped forward and slammed his fists onto the second Wight King and destroying it.
"Both of my monsters, destroyed like that?" Lara replied, shocked to see her monsters destroyed this easily.
"Now, I send Legionnaire-san will be sent to the graveyard to special summon Dragunity Arma Mystletainn-san in attack mode! (LV6 Atk: 2100 Def: 1500)" Legionnaire disappeared from the field, and in exchange, a golden dragon, wielding a long sword emerged onto the field. "Arma Mystletainn-san effect, when it's summoned, I can target a dragon-type monster in my graveyard and equip it to him. Dragunity Phalanx-san support your friend!" Phalanx reemerged onto the field next to the golden dragon. "Now, I'll special summon Phalanx-san onto the field! (LV2 Atk: 500 Def: 1100)" Phalanx then moved forward onto the field.
"With this many effects, I'd say this girl has various comeback options. Be careful Lara." Red Hat observed.
"I tune level 2 Dragunity Phalanx-san with level 6 Dragunity Arma Mystleainn-san!" The Phalanx turned into two stars that circled around Arma Mystleainn before turning into circles of green light. Both their bodies turned transparent and revealed 6 starts and lined up before creating a ray of light. "Powerful dragon, reveal yourself and support your allies! Synchro Summon, level eight, Dragunity Knight – Barcha! (LV8 Atk: 2000 Def: 1200)" A larger green dragon emerged onto the field. It's rider this time around was a monster known as Angusticlavii
"A monster with 2000 attack point? I can handle that." Lara assured herself.
"Sorry to say, but you're wrong Lara-chan. Barcha effect activates! When its synchro summoned, I can target any number of dragon-type 'Dragunity' monsters in my graveyard and equip them to him! For each one that's equipped to him, he gains 300 attack points! Support your friend, Dragunity Phalanx-san, Akyls-san, Pilum-san, and Brandistock-san!" Multiple dragons came to Barcha's side as it absorbed the dragons' power and growing in size. (LV8 Atk: 2000 – 3200 Def: 1200)
'Stay calm, I can stop this attack.' Lara thought, observing the field. 'Let's hope her facedown doesn't stop mine or my monster.'
"Battle, Dragunity Knight – Barcha-san attack Lara-chan directly!" The dragon flew towards, Lara and began to unleash a stream of flames.
"I activate my trap card, Limit Reverse! With this card, I target a monster with 1000 or less attack points and special summon it. When that monster is switched to defense position or if the trap leaves the field, the monster is destroyed." Lara explained. "Come back to me, King of the Skull Servants! (LV1 Atk: 0 – 6000 Def: 0)" The Wight King came back onto the field, stronger than before. "Since there are six monsters with Skull Servant in their name and King of the Skull Servants, he gains 6000 attack points."
"I'll have to do a replay! Dragunity Knight – Barcha attack Lara-chan directly!" Daisy commanded as the dragon slipped past Lara's monster.
"Eh? But how can you do that?!" Lara asked, shocked that her attack was continuing.
"Dragunity Pilum-san effect is why. You see, when it's equipped to a dragunity monster, it can attack my opponent directly! Although, the damage it does is halved!" Daisy clarified, as the dragon unleased powered down flames from its maw. (LV8 Atk: 3200 – 1600 Def: 1200)
Lara: 4200 – 2600 LP
"Oh, I'm not done! You see, Barcha-san has also been equipped with Brandistock-san. That mean, Barcha-san can attack again in a row! Hit her again!" The dragon attack once more with weakened flames.
Lara: 2600 – 1000 LP
"I end my turn. Good luck to you, Lara-chan." Daisy said, as she ends her turn.
Hand 2
"I know it's possible, my turn, I draw!" Lara draws.
Hand 2
"Let hope this works! Battle, King of the Skull Servants attack her dragon!" The Wight King conjured a shadow orb and launched it at the Dragunity Knight.
"Sorry Lara-chan, I activate my trap card Burst Breath! I tribute my dragon to destroy all monsters on the field with defense points less than or equal to my dragon's attack points on the field! Goodbye Barcha-san!" The dragon grew in size and released powerful flames, destroying the Wight King, including itself as the board was now wiped clean.
"In that case, then I'll use Mezuki's effect in my graveyard! By banishing him, I can special summon a zombie-type monster in my graveyard! Return t the field, King of the Skull Servants! (LV1 Atk: 0 – 6000 Def: 0)" The yokai ox comes back onto the field, while holding onto the Wight King. Once he landed on the field, the yokai disappeared from the field. "I set one card facedown and end my turn." Lara ends her turn.
Hand 1
"Okay, it's my turn, I draw!" Daisy draws.
Hand 3
"I discard a card to add Dragunity Dux-san to my hand!" Daisy discarded her card and added her second copy of Dux. "I'll summon him right away! (LV4 Atk: 1500 – 1700 Def: 1000)" The winded-beast reappeared onto the field. "Now for his effect, I can equip him with a dragon-type Dragunity monster from my graveyard. I'll choose Phalanx-san!" The dragon reappeared next to Dux, as he hopped on the dragon.
"How do you intend to destroy my monster?" Lara asked. 'I also have a trap to stop you if you try to attack again.' She thought to herself.
"Well, here's the thing, Lara-chan. I have no intention of destroying your monster." Daisy stated.
"Eh? You're planning to attack me directly? Then you chose the wrong dragon to equip to. Even then, it's not enough to end the duel." Lara pointed out.
"Not to worry, that's where I had a backup. I banish Dragunity Dux-san equipped to Phalanx-san to special summon the monster that I discarded. Come to my aid, Dragunity Arma Leyvaten! (LV8 Atk: 2600 Def: 1200)" Dux and Phalanx disappeared from the field. In its place, a large dark orange dragon flew down onto the field. This one, wield a huge bulky sword on its right.
Lara was amazed by this dragon. "Wow! It looks so cool! But what does it do?"
"His effect now activates, when he's summoned, I target a dragon-type monster in my graveyard, except himself, and equip it to him. Assist your ally, Dragunity Pilum-san!" The smaller dragon flew towards its ally and landed on its right.
"Now I see… So, she had no intention of destroying her monster. Rather she was trying to attack over her each time. Since, Lara can just revive King of the Skull Servants every time. For a limited time of course." Red Hat observed.
"Not only that, I play the spell card Stamping Destruction! I destroy your facedown card and you take 500 damage since I control a dragon-type monster!" A drago foot was shown and stomped on Lara's facedown card, revealing to be Magic Cylinder.
Lara: 1000 – 500 LP
"Don't be sad, Dragunity Arma Leyvaten-san attack Lara-chan directly!" The dragon flew towards her, bypassing the Wight King, and slashed her with its sword, knocking off her feet.
Lara: 500 – 0 LP
"Yes… I didn't think that was possible!" Daisy commented, doing a fist pump in the process.
Lara got back on her feet. "I surrender… I'd like to do this again sometime." Lara said, bowing slightly to her opponent.
"I'd say, that was a close match between you two." Red Hat stated, walking up to the two girls. "Never seen these Dragunity cards before. I'm already thinking of many combos to use them with. From what I have been observing. You play your cards well."
"Well, thank you for the compliment Red Hat-san. I don't always win when I'm challenged to a duel, but it's the fun of it that counts." Daisy replied, smiling.
"With how you were playing, I'm surprised you don't win more. You out played me." Lara pointed out.
"Some duelists are just better sometimes. That's just how it is sometimes." Daisy said.
Red Hat took a look at the sky and noticed the sun was about to set. "Lara, we have to get going! It's getting dark out here."
"Oh right! It was nice meeting and dueling you, Diasy!" Lara thanked, giving her a slight bow.
Daisy waved happily at her. "If you want to meet with me again, just come by this area! I have a lot of free time these days!"
"Thanks again. We'll see you again sometime." Red Hat said as the duo waved back at her. They would soon leave the top side area of the city.
Coastal Region – New Domino City
The sun has long set past the horizon as the duo walked around the Costal area of the city. Despite this area being rather unpopular area to walk around this area. The two of them decided to stop by the abandoned docks. The two of them looking at the site of the Satellite. This cause Lara to worry about the others.
Red Hat took notice of this. Even though they were free from the Satellite. He knew better than to ignore Lara's feelings towards that place. Martha still lived there, and she was the one to take care of her for the longest time. Not only that, but he also believed that the kids would be looking for her. From what he understood, Walter acted like a friend to her. The others, even if they didn't like her, still treated her decently well.
"Mr. Red Hat, even though we're now living in a much better place. Do you think Martha and the other kids will be okay?" Lara asked, still starring over the sea.
Red Hat simply smiled at her. "I'm sure they're doing alright. Martha has been taking care of kids for ages, right now is no different. If Walter really meant what he said, then he's sure to handle himself and the other kids. Even if I find his methods questionable."
Lara smiled back. "You're right. I shouldn't worry so much. Even if many of those kids just put up with me. I wish them good luck."
"That's the spirit."
Before they could enjoy their time at the old sea port some more. Their quiet time was short lived as light was shined upon them. Sector Security officers approached them in their motorcycles. Soon, more Sector Security officer approached them. Red Hat took Lara's hand pulled her close, shielding her.
"You are surrounded, Satellite Punk! Surrender now and we'll go easy on you!" A Sector Security officer called out.
"Ignore that load of ballocks. They won't honor their agreement. On three, we run to the Alleyway. We'll try to flank them." Red Hat whispered into her ear.
"I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to be arrested." Lara whispered, trying her best not to cry.
"We won't. I promise."
Sector Security officers were getting impatient. "Turn yourselves in now!" Red Hat and Lara took serval steps back. Red Hat glaring at the officers and turning his cap around. "Very well, I'll give you five seconds before we come over there and have to use force!"
"This is Lara. Get ready." He whispered.
"5!"
Red Hat silently activated his duel disk from within his jacket.
"4!"
The winds began blowing around them. Red Hat realized this was his calling, even if he had no clue what was going on.
"3!"
Lara took hold of Red Hat's left arm and lowered her cap.
"2!"
Sector Security officers readied their stun rods, while a couple pointed their guns at their legs.
"1!"
"Dust Storm of Gusto!" Red Hat called out, as his trap was played. Powerful surge of winds blew around them with sea water splashing around Sector Security. Holding them back, Red Hat took Lara's arm and the duo began to run for their life.
"Argh! Don't let them get away! Capture him and the girl!" The commanding officer called out. Once the winds died down, they got back on their duel chasers and began their chase.
Back Alleyway
Red Hat and Lara have been running through each alleyway throughout the city. Hoping he could flank them. Sadly, he knew this was not meant to be as Sector Security quickly caught up to them. Hoping to flank them further, he entered thin alleyways where they couldn't be chased by Sector Security's duel chasers.
'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. You got carried away.' A woman's voiced called out to Red Hat. Although, he knew it was Winda's voice. Ignoring her call, he kept on running with Lara.
Meanwhile, Sector Security caught up to them. They dismounted their duel chasers, knowing full well they would cause an accident if they tried to chase them in their motorcycles in such a thin alleyway.
"This way! Hurry up and ready your weapons! Those with guns, don't shoot at them, warning shots only! We need them alive and unharmed!" One of them, ordered.
"No Satellite punk gets away from us!"
"Split up! We need to secure these alleyways! They aren't getting away from us!"
The duo continued to run, knowing they were being chased. The further they ran deep into the alleyway, the further they had to choose their pathway carefully.
"What do we do! Which way do we go!" Lara cried out, still trying to keep up with Red Hat.
"Doesn't matter, we have to flank them and try to hide." Red Hat replied, now carrying Lara above his shoulders.
As they we're about exit the alley, they notice multiple Sector Security officers coming at them.
"This way, let's move!" They took the path on their left, then they soon took a turn to the right, still being unable to flank them.
As cruel as fate would have it. The duo ran into a dead end with a wooden fence and a wall was behind it. They tried to go their left side, only for more Sector Security officers to come by.
"Freeze!"
The duo stood against the wall. Red Hat gritted his teeth. 'Am I really done? Can I fight them all?' He thought, knowing full well that was beyond foolish.
"It's over, Satellite punk!"
"That girl is coming with us and you're going to the facility!"
Red Hat readied his duel disk, only for a couple of officers to shoot warning shots at their sides.
"Drop the duel disk! This is your last warning!"
"I won't go down without a fight!" Red Hat challenged.
"Take him in! Get the girl!" The commanding officer ordered.
Four officers ran up to the duo. Two of them grabbed hold of Red Hat's arm, while he flailed around. The other two officers took hold of Lara, with her screaming in fear.
"Give her back!" Red Hat cried out, trying his best to fight back, but to no avail.
Once officer came up and attacked Red Hat with his stun rod, delivering a massive shock to him, and knocking him down to his hands and knees.
"Mr. Red Hat!" Lara cried out.
"End of the line punk! You're coming with us!" The officer aid, grabbing hold of the panting Red Hat.
"I'll never cave in to you…"
Before the officers could retort, a shadowy mist emerged from the left side of the alley. What soon emerged was anything beyond their imagination.
"Ha ha ha ha! How ironic fate can be!" The figure revealed itself to be Zombie Master. Although, Sector Security officers thought it was some punk coming to the rescue.
"Hands in the air! You're under arrest!" The commanding officer ordered.
Zombie Master laughed at their empty threat. "Shoot me and see what happens, you weaklings!"
"Fire!"
Three officers shot multiple bullets at Zombie Master, only for nothing to happen.
"Ha ha ha ha ha! You can't kill something that's already a corpse!" Zombie Master taunted.
"That's it, I'm taking you out!" One of the officers charged in with his stun rod only to be zapped by Zombie Master's lightning attack from his hand, knocking him down.
"Feeble humans, you can't touch me!" With a blast of lightning into the night sky, dark clouds began to form and lightning struck the ground where they stood. Zombie Master began to chant while releasing more lightning. "Mighty dragon of the underworld, heed my call! Awaken from your slumber and feast upon these pitiful souls! Release your mighty power, Underworld Dragon – Dragonecro!"
Dark mist erupted from the field, and soon an unholy being rose from the mist. A purple undead dragon emerged, letting out a mighty roar at all the humans in its sight. Its armor around its torso and upper body was made out of rough bone from dead beings.
Lara's eyes began to glow red, much to the officer's shock. "Zombie Master! I know what you're trying to do! You are scum to the undead!"
"Try as you might, you can't hide from me forever! Remember who revived you! Underworld Dragon feast upon these pitiful souls! Attack!" Zombie Master commanded.
The dragon began to roar and launched a white beam at many Sector Security officers. While some tried to fight back, four of them letting go of their targets. It was all in vain as they got paralyzed by the dragon's attack.
'Master, it's time to leave!' Winda appeared next Red Hat. 'That dragon feeds off souls it battles! Hurry and leave now!'
"Right! Lara, lets run!" Red Hat took hold of Lara's arm and ran off with her. Lara tried to keep up with him, despite her eyes still glowing red.
'What does this human want with this girl?' Wight King thought, still possessing Lara. Eventually Lara's eyes returned to normal.
Back at the alley, Sector Security officers screamed into the night. White orbs left their bodies from their mouths. Their souls would leave their bodies and be absorbed into the dragon. Sector Security officers dropped dead and soon disappear from sight. The dragon roared and disappeared as well. Clearing the area as if nothing happened.
Zombie Master huffed, not pleased with his encounter. "So much energy for a bunch of weak souls. Our targets got away."
A cloaked figure came out of the dark alley and observed the area. "We found him, yet I have no idea where he lives, Master."
"Tch, well get to him eventually. It's a good thing these goons won't chase after him now."
The cloaked figure removed the hood, revealing to be Reyna. "Why must I do this, Master? I don't really care, I'm just curious. How can he help me?"
"Oh, he'll be able to support you. Although he'll be a great asset as well. That girl is also part of my plan, so she is needed too. Just follow my orders without question." He gripped her armed harshly. "Do I make myself clear?!"
Reyna didn't react to his grasp, but it did cause her pain. "Yes Master. If I need him, I'll do what I can and help you out Master."
"Excellent! Now head back to your home. We'll continue the search for him later. Just fair warning. Don't approach them, he has to approach you. You approaching him would give us away." Zombie Master pointed.
"Understood, Master…" Reyna replied flatly.
Reyna walked through the alleyway, heading back to her home. Zombie Master disappeared into the night as if nothing happened. Reyna didn't understand her master's intentions, but she knew better then to disobey him. One thing she didn't understand… was her own closed off feelings.
'Why do I feel this way…'
A/N: This took longer than expected. The last session was more experimental than anything. I don't normally add manga cards outside the time period they were released in, but oh well. Sometimes, I can't be time period accurate if it means coming up with something new (but not new) Netherworld Dragon manga only ability I thought I'd add in for a while. Zombie Master plot line is based off a different route in Arc V special.
Daisy is the only character I left using honorifics. Cause she's one of the only two characters that use them for her monsters. (Lara does to, but too late to change that now.) It may be cringe to some of you, but what can you do.
Wight King is King of the Skull Servant's OCG name. It's only going to be called that in very specific intervals.
That aside, our four Tag Force characters have been met. It's only a matter of time before they all come together. Even for miscellaneous reasons. Which ones are they? You'll find out later. Anyway, see you all next time.