Yu-Gi-Oh! Zeo Academy - Duel 1: Daily Dueldrums

[The Warden]

Welcome all Duelists, to one of the nation’s many premier Duel Academies: Zeo Academy (no affiliation with that other Zeo Academy). Here our young Duelists are molded and trained in the arts of many Duel styles, including Standard, Tag, Riding and the latest innovation: Action Duels.

Huh? What’s that? Card design and rulings? You’re in the wrong place for that kid; for these Academies are not for the dispirited or the weak, like you card designers. Here, we prove the strength of Dueling Spirit to surpass all limits. So come now Students, draw your next card and begin your new life towards Dueling Stardom!

[spoiler=What the fic is about]
Didn't you read the opening? It's about a Duel Academy. Derp.[/spoiler]


[spoiler=Duel 1]
Duel 1: Weekly Dueldrums

The many halls of Zeo Academy were vacant; it was well past nine and the students were either in class, or were busy with P.E. training or in a Duel. A lone student’s feet beat against the tiles as he haggardly dashed through the halls towards his classroom, which was held behind a simple wooden door.

Panting and covered with sweat, he tried to subtly open it. Inside, the classroom was an inverse-tier, with each row of bench-like blue decks being lower than the ones behind them. Students had their books and writing utensils splayed out on their desks as they paid attention (mostly) to the teacher who was standing in front of a pedestal with a projector displaying a slide of a Xyz monster (Kachi Kochi Dragon).

The teacher, Mister Collins, was at that special time between still being rather young, and heading towards middle aged. He obviously looked like he took very good care of his body, with his bishonen chocolate brown hair always catching the light just right. However, he always had that one wrinkle on his brow that ran all the way across it. And you just, you just, had to stare at it. It was fascinating, really.

And sadly, for our latecomer, the eagle-eyed Mister Collins caught him out immediately. “So, you decided to join us have you Mister Kesinbe?” he inquired sharply.

The student body all turned as one to stare at the latecomer, their eyes burning like searchlights on his face. Kesinbe shone even more crimson as he mouth tried to hobble together an excuse. “Sorry sir, my alarm clock ran out of power during the night” he explained as he stepped down two tiers to the third row of desks.

Many of the students whispered amongst themselves as Mister Collins impatiently tapped his foot. “Then do be sure to maintain an apropos collection of batteries for such an occasion, Mister Kesinbe” he remarked as he returned to his presentation.

At the row second from the front, a rather vexed student rolled his eyes at Kesinbe. I take special interest in this student of course, as he is our Protagonist. Every story has one, and he is this one’s. His name is Samuel Valentine, who has absolutely no relation to Mai Valentine for those few who feel they need to make that connection. He is a second year student at Zeo Academy, and is currently aged 16.

Unlike Collins, Samuel’s hair was kept short and always felt a fair bit like straw. He would shampoo and shampoo, but he could never erase that feeling dryness. His brown eyes, having wrenched away from the spectacle of the slacker, peered back to watch Collins lecture again.

“As you students are naturally aware, Xyz monsters have become very prominent in Dueling, and have almost effectively removed Synchros from the spotlight. So, with all you little clever clogs out there, what Xyz monster cannot be affected by Fiendish Chain?” Collins inquired.

The class was silent, with a few students idly looking up Faceduel on their phones. A few other scratched their heads, until one student raised their hand. Collins nodded to them to proceed. “Gem-Knight Pearl?” the student hazarded.

Collins smiled. “Very good; yes. I would have also accepted Gagagigo the Risen, as he and Gem-Knight Pearl are the only non-Effect Xyz monsters in the game” he explained as the slide changed to an image of those monsters.

“Many players usually don’t use them due to their lack of effect; Gagagigo especially as many players don't find the point is devoting three materials to a monster that doesn't have an effect. However, Pearl still makes for an effective offensive monster for those operating on budget decks and for helping new Duelists to understand the Xyz mechanic as he's easier to summon. But these points don’t make them useless as cards, it just makes them outclassed. And sadly as many of the card companies continue to compete with each other, cards tend to become outclassed with obscene speed nowadays. Could anyone perhaps tell me when Power Creep really began?” Collins inquired.

The entire body this time looked ponderous at this question. Really, when did Power Creep become a thing? A female student raised her hand, and Collins acknowledged her. “Ummm, what is when, err, that Structure Deck where Machina Fortress came out?” she guessed.

“Close, but that was when the companies heralded the start of boss cards from Structure Decks being obscenely ridiculous. As many of you know who have face down Grapha or Hyperion during the heated competition between Clockwork Games and Sorcerers of the Aztecs. Anyone else?” Collins prompted.

Samuel raised his hand sturdy and strong, and like the other, he was acknowledged. “There are two points of time when that could be” he began. “The most likely root of Power Creep surfaced during the era of Chaos, when Black Luster Soldier and Chaos Emperor Dragon appeared in Invasion of Chaos, alongside Chaos Sorc. One could say however, that it became truly prominent when the Cyber Dragon cards appeared during the era of GX, as things continued to one-up each other after their release; especially during the era of Light and Darkness when DAD and the Lightsworns came out” he finished.

Collins smiled with satisfaction, though several students discreetly turned their noses up; either at Samuel being a complete twat, or maybe disdain at the mention of Lightsworn. Things could go either way around those. “Very good Samuel” Collins remarked.

Samuel didn’t feel like he did very well, rather, he felt like a dog that just did an amusing trick. Collins continued through his lecture on Power Creep with Samuel in his perpetual state of half-annoyance.

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The bell rang loudly at eleven am, though the students had packed up five minutes before then anyways. Collins packed up his papers as he gave out last reminders. “Remember students, the details of the assignment that is due in two weeks’ time is already available on Dueling Network, so do read it closely and spend your time wisely, as I won’t be allowing any extensions on this one” he warned as the students filed out.

Samuel was among the last to leave, and now that he’s no longer behind a desk, we can get a better look at him. As those privy to his medical files would know, he is 169 cm tall, with a weight of around 78 kg. He is also far-sighted, but deals with that with contact lenses.

Zeo Academy has a variety of uniform colourations to go with, though the basis is a plain white polo shirt for males; the deviation is the colour of the trim along the neckline and the end of the sleeves. Female students were required to wear a plain white button up shirt, though seniors had trim sewn onto the sleeves at their leisure. The symbol of Zeo Academy (an uppercase Zeta (Z)) is emblazoned upon the right breast of the shirt. Males get their choice of coloured knee-length shorts, and females get a plaid skirt of a modest length.

Samuel’s choice was a black trim polo with navy blue shorts, a much fitting colour though terrible during a heat wave, like when the air conditioning went bust for a week. The student body are also required to wear functional black leather laced shoes. Which reminded Samuel that his needed a polish sometime soon.

Shrugging the thought off, he slung his backpack over his back as he made his way to the library for his free period, or rather, he would have, had his friend Marco not caught up with him.

Marco was of Hispanic origins, though you wouldn’t notice aside from his caramel coloured skin. Its texture was so smooth, you’d be tempted to dunk an apple into it. Recently, he was going through a sort of phase, so his darkish hair had grown out a bit, with very misplaced splotches of blonde highlights, which came out because he decided to do it himself since it was kinda embarrassing to ask the school hairdresser to do it. Samuel didn’t see why, but he just concluded it as a hang-up. With the freakish growth rate of his fringe he would have to occasionally wipe away a bang from his hazel eyes.

Being the nosy people that you are, you also probably glimpsed at his medical records to know that Marco is 165cm tall, but only weighed 62 kg. His choice of shirt trim was sunny yellow, though he also followed the suit of navy blue shorts. Marco also had a slight moustache problem, something that has been very prominent since he was twelve.

“Hey there Sam, you off to the duel?” Marco inquired.

Samuel glanced at him confused. “What duel?” he inquired.

Now it was Marco’s turn to be confused, his thick dark brows pressing down as he looked around, as if asking for help. “Your duel” he replied.

Samuel felt taken aback, had he not remembered: “My duel is on Thursday” he explained.

Marco shook his head. “No man, that’s not you, that’s Samuel Ballantyne. You’re due to duel at twelve today against Quinn Thorndyke” he explained.

Samuel blinked sullenly for a few moments, the data processing as his mouth opened slowly. His brow raised in question, he excavated his Academy Tablet from his bag and quickly tapped through it. His finger slide down carefully as his eyes crossed over all duels requisitioned on Monday. They bounced left and right until they finally stopped on the one name he was looking for: His own. “Oh God damn it. Seriously? Why don’t they just…? Ugh, I’ll have to go back to my dorm then to get my stuff” he groaned as he pivoted on his heel towards where one assumed were the dorms, the tablet held firmly under his arm.

Marco scurried to walk along with him, doing well to keep up with Samuel’s hastened pace. “I thought you brought your stuff with you” Marco remarked. “You always do.”

“I just didn’t feel like dueling today” Samuel huffed through red cheeks.

“Still sore about losing to that Bujin player on the weekend?” Marco said cheekily.

Samuel flushed red as his pace increased more. Marco only had to smirk, having hit the nail on the head.

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Some five minutes later, Samuel had strapped his Academy requisitioned Dueldisk, which was standard Duel Academy gear. As per their pre-duel traditions, they adjourned in the Library to discuss strategy. The Library was a stark white area that was slowly entering the technology age, what with holo-screens gaining popularity. However, against all suspicions the Library still indeed had books, and had every copy of all Dueling Magazine subscriptions from the past twenty years. Though, for some reason the Promo Cards normally associated with those magazines were never found.

Samuel and Marco hid themselves at a table off in one of the Library’s many corners. Samuel sighed as he arranged his deck on the table, checking each card. His hand was getting fidgety, and he flipped and set a Destiny HERO - Malicious repeatedly.

Marco noticed that, though the cards were all scattered, three cards were left face down and rather neatly stacked. Sliding them over, he checked them out. His brow raised in surprise, and a smug looking Samuel caught his eye. “When did you get these?” Marco inquired.

Samuel chuckled as he grabbed the cards from Samuel, and flipped them own again. “A little while ago. My cousin traded me them for a Star Eater of all things. Lord knows why he wanted it so badly, but he was willing to trade me such rare numbers for it, so I can’t complain” he explained.

He went back to idly sorting his cards, though, something was on the back of his mind. “So, now that I think about it, who am I facing?” Samuel inquired, having grasped the thought.

Marco rubbed his whiskered chin. “Ah, as I said, Quinn Thorndyke” he replied.

Samuel nodded his head thoughtfully. “Oh yeah, you did say that. Isn’t he that Empty Jar guy? Oh wait, the April Banlist... bet he was pissed” Samuel remarked as he united his cards and shuffled them.

“Oh, like you wouldn’t believe. I heard he was working on a new deck, but I have absolutely no idea what. Kept it a secret” Marco explained.

Samuel nodded as he placed his deck on the table, before grabbing his Extra Deck and looking through the cards. A new strategy would require a surprise element, and, he was certain he knew just the one. “Can I borrow your Dark End for this?” Samuel inquired.

Marco looked very unimpressed, but he still grabbed his Extra Deck box and searched through it. Producing the card, he slid it over to Samuel, who placed it in his Extra Deck. “You really should get one yourself, I’m getting tired of lending it to you” Marco huffed as he silently bid his card farewell.

“Well” Samuel said as he inspected his Dueldisk for faults; “if you want to fork out the ten thousand points to let me dig through boosters, then please do. Otherwise, don’t complain because I just don’t have the luck to pull ultra-rare swag like you do. I’ll give it back after, so it won’t be like last time.”

Marco glared at his friend, a bitter memory on his tongue. He stared to the clock, and found twenty-five minutes still remaining. “Yes, because I really don’t want a repeat of trying to summon a Synchro I don’t have. Everyone found it really funny. It cost me the game you know?” he grumbled.

Samuel rolled his eyes and shook his head; this was a lecture he’d heard many times before. “Yes, you made me very much aware for two weeks after, but I guess a reminder if very helpful every now and then” he said, doing his absolute best not to hide his sarcasm in potential sincerity.

“Besides, why do you even need it when you have such rare numbers now?” Marco demanded.

Samuel gave a coy little wink. “For the unknown, you need all the help you can get; and not to blindly MST” he replied.

With his Disk inspected, and satisfactorily considered working, Samuel reattached it to his arm. His deck was slotted into the device, and it was complete. “Well, this’ll be fun, won’t it? I was hoping to know what he had so I could dip into the side, but I guess I’ll have to be careful. You sure you didn’t catch anything from him?”

Marco thought again. “Not really, as I said, hush hush. Though, I did hear a student mention that he spent a good deal of points on some boosters yesterday. The deck might not even be complete if he was willing to splurge like that” he recalled.

Samuel sucked through his teeth as he minced this over. “Well, he might be trying to get Artifacts. The deck has been pretty hot recently, especially Moralltach and Theosophy. I’ve heard bout this Pro Duelist who was using a Chronomaly-Artifact deck. I think it might be the next big thing, like using Upstart Goblin” he remarked.

His finger began to irritably tap on the table, provoking Samuel to check the clock: Twenty minutes remained. “Oh screw this” he declared, rising from his seat. “The wait is going to kill me. Let’s head to the Arena.”

He walked off, and Marco followed at his heels towards the Dueling Complex.

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The Dueling Complex was a large, domed building that pretty much existed as the Eastern Wing of the Academy. It housed fifteen different duel zones, and was currently undergoing an extension in order to house an Action Duel arena, which was very exciting.

The major use of the Dueling Complex was to house Academy Requisitioned Duels. At the start of the Study Week, a list of duels was posted across Dueling Network, the official school servers. Once a week, all students were required to engage in a Duel with an officially selected opponent. The decisions were not inherently baseless, and they were usually between students within a similar ranking range. Though, there were a few hiccups every now and then. The Complex could also be used for non-Requisitioned Duels as well, in order to settle disputes in the most practical way possible.

Whether or not a Duel was won, Virtual Currency used by the Academy (Duel Points) was awarded. It was usually 250 to the winner, and 100 for the loser; though bonus DP could be earned if a win was particularly spectacular. The record for bonus points went to Marceline Jennings, who won through actually using Exodius’ Alt Win effect. The second went to an unrecorded student who won through Vennominaga’s Alt Win effect.

Though alternate bets could be made in non-Requisitioned Duels; the entire purpose of Academy Requisitioned Duels was to ensure the students were keeping up with their studies, and to aid them in learning to duel with onlookers watching. But what these Duels usually did was showcase the money Duelists; and also had a hand in generating un/friendly rivalries. The system worked though, apparently.

There was a waiting room for those waiting to Duel. Sadly, Marco had to leave Samuel there, as viewers weren’t allowed in the waiting room; nor were cheerleaders, if the four foot tall sign was any indication. They exchanged a few words of encouragement as Marco ran off, leaving Samuel to wait in the room. Several other Duelists were there, though Samuel chose to isolate himself at the corner seats.

Leg crossed like a T, he gave his deck another quick look over. Marco’s Dark End Dragon would be very useful in this Duel, but because Quinn was probably using an entirely new deck that may or may not be Artifacts, he had zero ideas as to what he should expect.

His eyes hazarded a glance at the clock: He still had ten minutes. Thinking things over, he accessed Quinn. “Okay, he used to play Empty Jar. Cards like those are really easy to find, so I would say he’s not a full on Money Player. I would expect him to be a bit of a Johnny though, so I won’t expect anything too conventional. So, he would either try something around second tier at best, but he would probably be a bit innovative. Possible ideas? None come to mind, maybe Monster Mash? Though it hasn’t been doing well since Birdman got knocked down to one. Hmm, oh god I was never good at this innovative stuff. Wait, he might have gone to Full on Attacks… oh wait, no, MJar Two was banned as well. So nothing to with Jars, though, he might still be a staller. I have cards that could help, like Trap Stun. And Dark End and Scrap D will help me bust open Marshmallons. But he might’ve gotten lucky. Well, whatever he has, I should be good for this.”

He looked to the clock again: Eight minutes. He groaned a little. The wait was always the worst.

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Not for us though, as with a handy time skip, it was time to D-D-D-D-DUEL!

Taking a deep breath, Samuel pushed himself from his seat and walked through the other door. Following a set of pathways, he followed the hall to Duel Arena J.

Having long since been used to the lights that flood the stage, he didn’t even avert his eyes as he was greeted by the cheering of at least thirty people. His opponent, Quinn, was likewise being greeted with some under whelmed claps as they stood, face to face in the Duel Arena.

They both addressed the Judge for the Duel who was sitting in the Judge’s Box. By the looks of it, he was one of the Teacher’s Aides. Why they needed aides was a mystery, but apparently they were very necessary. “I want this to be a fair Duel, and keep trash talk to a minimum” he declared.

They both nodded in agreement, before staring the other down. Samuel felt that Quinn was one of those people you meet that you just have to wonder if they had no fashion sense, or if they were a fashion savant.

The guy’s hair was such a silky blonde that it shone like gold, well, the bits you could see, as he kept it in a tightly braided ponytail. He had sharp eyes, though they tended to be offset by his slightly hooked nose. Now that Samuel thought about it, Quinn always reminded him of a bird, like an eagle… or, a vulture. “So you’re Quinn, heard your deck got gimped by the recent banlist” Samuel remarked.

Quinn was quiet, though his eye twitched. Empty Jar meant a lot to him as a deck, despite it being a cheap and dirty Solitaire Tactic (that’s an insult in this universe). “Yes, whatever. We gonna duel, or what?” Quinn grumbled as his Dueldisk activated.

Samuel smirked a little as he activated his own Disk.

“DUEL!”

-Samuel (8000)- -Quinn (8000)-

-Turn 1 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 6)

“My turn first” Quinn declared as he drew a card.

He stared at his hand for a moment, his face a perfect poker face. Samuel likewise looked at his hand, and he glowered a little. “Two Malicious? Come on deck!”

Quinn meanwhile had grabbed a card, and slapped it face down on his field. “I’ll go with a set monster, and two face down cards. I end” Quinn declared as the backs of two cards appeared on the field.

“So, it’s not chain burn. What could he be up to?” Samuel thought.


-Turn 2 Samuel (8000)-
(Hand: 6)

Samuel grabbed at his next card, and his eyes lit up as he looked at it. “Thank you deck” he thought as he played the summoned monster. “I’m summoning Dark Grepher to the field” Samuel declared.

From a summoning portal came the fallen Warrior Dai Grepher. Dark smoke seeped from his eyes as his purple great sword was hefted onto his shoulder. The monster smiled darkly at Quinn. “And now I use his effect, by sending one DARK monster from my hand I-”

“Stop that” Quinn demanded.

Samuel put on an innocent look; a look which Dark Grepher mimicked expertly. “Stop what?” he inquired.

Quinn stomped his foot in annoyance as he bore his teeth. “Stop explaining cards. You ALWAYS do that. I’ve watched you duel and you ALWAYS explain it like a know it all. We know what the cards do, you DON’T need to condescend to us” Quinn cried in frustration.

Samuel almost looked affronted by this egregious declaration, but he shrugged. “Fine, so I activate Dark Grepher’s effect, whichlet’smesendoneDARKmonsterfrommyhand-” he said quickly as Quinn jabbed his fingers into his ears and repeatedly demanded Samuel to shut up.

There was a loud buzzer from the Judge’s Box. “Duelist Samuel, I am warning you: Don’t deliberately antagonize your opponent” the Judge warned.

Samuel nodded sheepishly. “So I send Destiny HERO - Malicious from my hand, to send Plaguespreader Zombie from my deck to the grave” the he finished, trying to hide some of his smugness.

The two cards spiraled into the graveyard slot, as Samuel was ready to make his move. “First, I’ll place one card from hand on top of my deck, so I can Special Summon Plaguespreader” Samuel declared, placing his second Malicious on top of his deck.

The card retracted itself from the grave, allowing him to place it on the field. The ground in front of him rippled and burst as the squat zombie exploded forth from the ground. It stared gormlessly at Quinn. “That’s not all Quinn” Samuel declared as the Malicious in his grave ejected itself. “By banishing Malicious, I’ll summon another from the deck” he added, grabbing his top card and slapping it to the disk.

Marco, who was sitting in the stands, cheered loudly, though, no one else was. He stopped because he felt rather silly cheering alone.

From Samuel’s field came the demonic Malicious. His wings stretched wide as he landed by his compatriot Plaguespreader. They nodded mutually to each other. Quinn seemed unimpressed really, well, more bored to be more precise. Frowning at the disrespect, Plaguespreader leapt into the air, turning into two green rings. Malicious whipped his tails as he flew through the two rings, his body becoming a green wireframe as his six stars appeared. “I’ll tune Plaguespreader with Malicious, in order to summon, uuuh, hmm” Samuel muttered as he looked into his Extra Deck.

There were very many good choices to go with, Scrap Dragon would be good. But it might be risky to lose it to one of those two face downs, if a Divine Wrath was sneaking around. There also could be a Mirror Force or D Prison, as those are very cheap now. Malicious looked down at him from the Tuning Rings, and he seemed very impatient. “Oh bollocks to this. The blade of victory leads to the end of tyranny. Your strong hand holds it close as you strike into the hearts of wickedness. Synchro Summon. Knight of Red. Crimson Blader” Samuel said in dull monotone as the summoning was complete, and the Crimson Blader landed gracefully on the field.

“Your ace” Quinn remarked darkly.

“Yeah, that’s right. I don’t like your backrow, but whatever. Crimson Blader, attack his face down with Crimson Blade” Samuel commanded.

The Crimson Blader dashed forth, his red armour shimmering in the arena light as he leapt upwards. The face down card revealed itself to be a red tomato, with a very wicked grin. Blader sliced through the Mystic Tomato like a hot knife through butter. It exploded magnificently. “A Tomato? Ugh” Samuel groaned.

Quinn finally cracked a smile as he grabbed a card from his deck and summoned it. It was yet another Mystic Tomato. “Yes, they’re a part of a new deck I’m running. If you care to see it, by all means attack this one” he goaded, the Tomato cackling loudly.

A crease formed on Samuel’s brow. Obviously he was being goaded, obviously. But could it be a bluff? “Attack it!” a student called from the stands.

“Yeah, attack it!” another student joined in.

The students joined together to chant, a bead of worried sweat dripped from Samuel’s brow.

“Please keep interactions with the Duelists to a minimum!” the Judge shouted.

“I… set a card and end my turn” Samuel declared, a card appearing face down.


-Turn 3 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 4)

Quinn looked disappointed as his bluff went unanswered. His hand grasped the top of his deck, and he drew a new card. His brow raised inquisitively as he glanced at it. “I activate Supply Unit!” he declared.

The continuous spell appeared on the field, and it did nothing beyond elicit shock from Samuel. “NO WAY! I thought those weren’t released yet!” he declared in surprise.

Marco face palmed from the stand. “Samuel!” he cried from the stands, “The booster with Supply Unit was released two days ago!”

“Were they?!” Samuel called back.

“Yeah, they were! I thought you were up-to-date on card releases!” Marco cried.

Samuel shook his head. “Nah! I was busy with an assignment last week!” he cried, before realizing something. “Hey! That must’ve been why he bought so many boosters! In order to get a play set of Supply Unit!” he added.

“EXCUSE ME!” Quinn screeched.

Samuel looked at Quinn. “I hope you don’t mind me interrupting your conversation, but we’re currently having a duel!” Quinn shrieked.

“Duelist Samuel: First warning. Care to grab a second one?” the Judge warned.

“All right, jeez. So, you played Supply Unit, now what?” Samuel demanded.

Quinn snorted loudly as he snatched a card from his hand. “I’ll Summon Tour Guide From the Underworld” he hissed.

A rather humanoid and very Lolita-esque monster appeared on the field. She gave a polite wave to Mystic Tomato, before grabbing a compact from her purse and started doing her make-up. “And since you’re so fond of explaining things, Tour Guide can summon a Level three Fiend from my hand or deck. So I’ll summon another one of her” Quinn added.

A large demonic bus moved into view from nowhere, and it stopped right behind TGU. The door opened, and another TGU hopped off the boss. The first TGU ran up and greeted her friend with a big hug. They began talking animatedly together as the bus drove off. However, the TGU that had just been summoned vanished in a sphere of light, leaving the first one very unhappy. “I’ll return the second TGU to my hand, so I can Special Summon Genex Ally Birdman!”

From where the TGU left, a mechanical bird exploded onto the scene. The TGU was less than impressed by the thing that bumped off her friend. “And finally, I’ll overlay Tour Guide and Birdman together, in order to Xyz Summon this!” Quinn cried as both monsters became streams of darkness that flew into a twisting red vortex.

It exploded violently, releasing blue mechanoid from its nether. “Mechquipped Angineer!” Quinn declared.

Samuel whistled in appreciation, but he was unimpressed. “Cool beans Quinn, but there’s not much you can do with that thing beyond stall” he remarked.

Quinn smiled smugly. “Nothing, except this. Angineer, attack Dark Grepher with Shining Barrage!” he commanded.

The mechanoid flew into the air, generating a glowing light bomb between its… legs? Going in for the kill, it detached the orb and dropped it onto Dark Grepher, exploding it to moondust. Samuel looked annoyed as his Life Points went down (Samuel 7900). “Cute, anything else?” he demanded.

Quinn shook his head as he swapped Tomato to defense mode. “Nothing else, I end” he conceded.


-Turn 4 Samuel (7900)-
(Hand: 3)

Samuel drew. His eyes widened as he stared. His secret weapon had been drawn too soon. Without Dark Grepher, he couldn’t discard it, unless… “I will now activate my face down” he declared, hitting a button on his Disk.

As it flipped up, the trap card revealed itself to be Call of the Haunted. “With Call, I’ll bring back my Dark Grepher” he declared.

A grave appeared on the field. There was a loud pounding, which only grew louder and louder as a purple hand burst forth from the dirt. Dark Grepher wrenched himself from the grave as he gave a mean look at Quinn, who didn’t look happy to see it back. “And I’m using his effect, which as you know lets me discard-” Samuel began

“I DON’T CARE!” Quinn screamed.

“Duelist Samuel: SECOND warning. Do you wish to be disqualified?” the Judge declared, failing to notice what card had been discarded.

“Right, so I’ll just go do that thing, so I can mill another Plaguespreader, since the first one banished itself” Samuel explained.

The PSZ and his secret ace spiraled into the grave as Samuel grabbed another card. “I’ll summon Armageddon Knight, who will send my last Plaguespreader to the grave” he added.

The bandaged dark knight rose up, his enormous blade rested at his side as another card sent itself to Samuel’s graveyard. “Next, I’ll overlay Grepher and Knight in order to Xyz Summon this monster!”

Like Quinn’s cards, Dark Grepher and Armageddon Knight spiraled into a swirling red vortex. It exploded to reveal: “Come forth Lavalval Chain!” Samuel declared.

The red serpent roared loudly, its presence known on the field. “I’ll use his effect to mill a Mezuki” Samuel decided.

One of Chain’s glowing red overlay units was snapped up by the greedy beast, its body flaring with heat as another monster flew into the grave. “You’re going to deck out if you keep milling like that” Quinn warned.

Samuel smirked as his Battle Phase began. “Then I’ll beat you before that. Now then, Crimson Blader will attack, Mechquipped Angineer with Crimson Blade!” he decided.

The crimson warrior dashed forth like before, going in for a skyward slash. However, the blue mech had its own plans, as an overlay unit expanded over it, creating a glowing barrier. “What was the point? Angineer can defend an attack position monster from destruction with Defense Matrix” Quinn pointed out as the barrier blocked Blader.

“Simple: To get rid of its material. Angineer is only useful when it has material, otherwise, it’s just an eighteen-hundred vanilla you spent way to much effort on summoning. That’s the same with most Rank threes. They’re just stallers and support, with literally no beatsticks. Heck, even Rank one beats Rank three in terms of power by having Ghostrick Dullahan. Face it, until the companies release a decent Rank three there’s not much point in trying to use them for offence” Samuel declared, waving a knowing finger at Quinn.

The duelist glowered as he considered activating his face down, but, it wasn’t worth it. “I’ll show you” he muttered as Samuel ended his turn.


-Turn 5 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 3)

Quinn stared at his hand, a bit of distaste forming on his lips as he had clearly drawn something unfavourable. “I’ll show you what this deck can do!” he declared as he played his spell. “I activate Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force!” he screamed.

The crowd gasped in surprise as the emblem of the Emperor’s Key appeared above Mechquipped Angineer. Samuel recoiled in genuine surprise.

The mech and the Key turned into streams of yellow light that lunched skywards. The Key’s light formed a portal that Angineer entered, causing it to again, explode. Descending from the vortex came a glowing angel, armed with shield and sword as well as two overlay units. “Say hello to Tiras, Keeper of Genesis” Quinn declared madly.

The crowd cheered wildly, except Marco, which made him feel very silly yet again.

A bead of sweat ran down Samuel’s brow as he hadn’t anticipated a Rank five to enter the field. “Not so wordy now huh? I’d like you to meet my secret weapon: Astral Force Rank Threes. Tiras, attack his Lavalval Chain with Judgment of the Divine!” Quinn demanded.

The angel sailed forth, his great sword at the ready as he sliced through the serpent. It roared in agony as it exploded from the slash, the smoke engulfing Samuel as his LP was knocked down to 7100. He growled a little in frustration; this wasn’t expected.

Quinn however, just kept smirking as Tiras’ shield shone brightly. “With his effect, Tiras will destroy your Crimson Blader with Shield Crash. So say bye bye to your ace!” Quinn declared.

Tiras hurled his shield like a boomerang, its bladed edge flying right through Crimson Blader and eviscerating him in another explosion. Samuel frowned; he was losing control fast, and he needed it back quickly.

Quinn was growing cocky as Tiras absorbed an Overlay Unit into his shield. “Tiras will absorb a material, and I end. Beat that bucko” he dared.

Samuel glared. He shall, oh yes, he shall.


-Turn 6 Samuel (7100)-
(Hand: 2)

He drew wildly, and his graveyard glew. “I’ll banish Mezuki from my grave to bring back a Plaguespreader” he declared.

A horse-like creature appeared from nowhere, a large chain in his hand that was connected to a dark purple. The creature heaved and heaved as the chubby zombie returned to the field once again. “Then, I’ll banish my second Malicious so I can bring out my third from my deck!” Samuel roared.

Another Malicious hit the field, and he shared his owner’s glare at his opponent. PSZ leapt into the air yet again, with Malicious following through the rings. “I’ll tune Plague and Malicious again, in order to summon my next little surprise. Thank you Marco. The fel dragon roars its unearthly cry. Your pitch black nightmare crushes all dreams! Synchro Summon! Endless Black! Dark End Dragon!”

Descending from the Synchro system came a mighty black dragon. Its dark scales stole all light as the face on its chest looked like it was cackling. Dark End roared furiously as it landed. Quinn looked nervous; and for what little he chose to let show, so did Tiras. Samuel raised a hand in preparation to say something, but: “HEY! Make up your own damn chants!” Marco roared.

Samuel gave his friend an annoyed ‘not now sweetie’ look, before addressing Quinn. “Ignore him. Now, I’m sure you know what this little beauty does. Dark End, wipe out Tiras with Dark Gaze!” Samuel commanded.

Dark End’s ATK was cut by five-hundred (ATK: 2100) as its chest face glowed with dark energy. Dark energy surged forth from the gem on its forehead, striking Tiras who cried out in pain. The angel was erased in an instant, and Quinn was furious. Samuel had to laugh his fury. “Turned around again huh? Too bad bout Tiras, since Dark End sends; so you don’t even get the draw with Supply either” Samuel sad smugly.

Quinn’s cheeks turned cherry red as he stared down at his face downs. “Well, gonna attack, or will you continue bragging?” he demanded.

Samuel looked down at the Tomato that was still on the field, and the two face downs. Whatever Quinn wanted, it was all about destroying that Tomato in battle. But, Samuel could wait a turn in order to deal with such a nuisance. “I’ll activate Burial from a Different Dimension” Samuel declared, revealing a spell card depicting a coffin.

“Since you’re a big boy, I won’t tell you that this card lets me return up to three banished cards to my grave” Samuel explained; and this time, Quinn didn’t even bother. “So, I’ll return two Malicious and Mezuki back to my grave” he decided.

The cards flew (or more realistically, were placed) back into Samuel’s grave. “I’ll set a card, and end.”


-Turn 7 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 4)

Quinn looked to his graveyard, questioning if he should grab Astral Force back. With only Tomato, he would need all the help he could muster. “I’ll skip my draw, and instead return Astral Force to my hand” Quinn decided, the card sliding out of his graveyard slot.

He tapped a button on his Disk, revealing one of his set cards to be a Spell, which depicted a smug looking goblin dropping coins for a beggar. “Upstart Goblin lets me draw at the cost of giving you a thousand Life Points. It’s a temporary transaction, as I will soon be taking them back anyways” Quinn explained as he drew a card (Samuel 8100).

“Thank you” Samuel replied sarcastically.

Quinn stared at his newest card, and he set it immediately. “I end” he declared.

“You aren’t very engaging, you know that right?” Samuel remarked as the crowd jeered loudly.


-Turn 8 Samuel (8100)-
(Hand: 1)

Samuel drew, and he smiled a little at it as he activated it. “I activate Pot of Dichotomy, which will allow me to return a Malicious, Plaguespreader and Lavalval Chain to their respective decks, then I draw two at the cost of my Battle Phase. But that doesn’t matter really, I can wait” Samuel said as he drew two fresh cards.

“But the returned Malicious won’t, as I banish a Malicious from grave to summon it from my deck, and I banish Mezuki as well to summon Plaguespreader!”

For the third time, the duo appeared on the field. And for a third time, they formed the Synchro Circuit. “Rust and gears combine to create the terrible machine! Its clockwork night engulfs the future in a rustic haze! Synchro Summon! Lord of the Junk Heap! Scrap Dragon!” Samuel chanted with passion.

The mechanical Scrap Dragon roared loudly as it descended, dust escaping its joints. “I’ll first use Dark End to send your stupid Tomato to the grave at the cost of another five-hundred! Dark Gaze!”

Dark End (ATK: 1600) roared once more as the dark energy charged, and like before the victim of its dark gaze was annihilated. “Next, I’ll activate the Mystical Space Typhoon I just drew to hit your face down card!” Samuel continued with malice.

A swirling storm of wind burst forth from its card, sailing over Quinn’s set monster to destroy his face down, which was Mirror Force. Samuel sighed with relief, he dodged a bullet there. Though, he had to wonder why Quinn didn’t use it when Blader attacked.

Quinn was completely passive to all of this, his face unreadable save for his constant staring at his face down monster. It could be a trap, plus, if he used Scrap D on it he would get a draw, and more advantage was the last thing he wanted Quinn to have. “I’ll use Scrap Dragon to destroy my now useless Call and your Supply Unit. Go Scrap D, destroy them with Cog Crush!” Samuel ordered.

Scrap Dragon complied, its roar summoning two large gears that plummeted and destroyed Samuel’s Call, and Quinn’s Supply Unit. “That was stupid” Quinn hissed.

Samuel looked into Quinn’s irritated eyes, and all he could see was a raging duelist. “Maybe, we’ll see. I end” he declared.


-Turn 9 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 4)

Quinn drew his card, and stared venom at Samuel. “I’ll Flip Summon my Crashbug X” he declared.

Appearing from beneath its cover came the small Crashbug X. It poked its long fuse-like tongue out at Samuel, who could only laugh. “Crashbugs were your coup de grace? Now I feel bad about not attacking that Tomato when I had a chance” he remarked jovially.

Quinn smiled as he played his next card. “Well, you didn’t, nor did you destroy X before I had the chance to summon Crashbug Z. And when he gets Normal Summoned while I have X, I get to Special Summon Crashbug Y from my deck for a Crashbug Hoedown” he explained as the lanky Z appeared on his field.

He spied his brother, and they gave a big high-five, which summoned the chunky Crashbug Y from nowhere. Getting in position, they assumed a Charlie’s Angels-esque pose, though without any background explosion. “So, you going to summon Shark Caesar, or something like that?” Samuel inquired.

Quinn smiled deviously. “No, I overlay all three of my Crashbugs in order to Xyz Summon a new friend my friend let me borrow. So come on out my friend of a friend” Quinn declared.

The Crashbugs leapt into the air, their forms converting to purple mass that spiraled high before crashing down into the swirling red vortex. It exploded, releasing a gleaming mechanical warrior. It flexed broadly, gear-shaped shield glinting in the light as the barrel of its blaster was aimed squarely on Samuel. “Meet Geargiagear XG, but keep your helloes short, as he won’t be here for long. For I use Astral Force on him!”

The Key appeared above XG, and its light illuminated the mecha. So much so that it turned into a glowing orange light that surged into the red vortex high above. “Watch now, as Geargiagear XG becomes Digvorzhak, King of Heavy Industry!” Quinn said eloquently, since saying Digvorzhak is kinda hard.

From the exploding red vortex came the colossal machine. Its massive treads slammed hard into the ground, and if there was proper VR Solid Vision it would have cracked the ground. Dark End and Scrap Dragon shrieked in surprise as the treads surged past them, breaching the length of the field. Samuel stared wide-eyed at it, and Quinn was just drinking it in. “XG certainly wasn’t going to take out both of your monsters, and its effect would have recovered Dark End Dragon’s attack had I negated it, so I much prefer this option. I’ll use Digvorzhak’s effect. So, discard away, and if there are any monsters, well…” Quinn cut off, giving Samuel the smuggest of smuggiest smiles ever as his monster absorbed a Xyz Material into its cabin.

Samuel’s hand shook as he gripped the top three cards, and larger holographic projections of them appeared. Dark Hole, Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude, and a Mezuki. Samuel cursed as he sent them to his grave. “Two monsters huh? Okay then, Digvorzhak, destroy Dark End Dragon and Scrap Dragon with Rototiller!” Quinn ordered.

Digvorzhak’s horns blared as thick black smoke erupted from its exhaust ports. Barbed wire formed around the two dragons, and they were wrenched to opposite sides of Samuel’s field. The face on Dark End’s chest shook in fear as Digvorzhak’s treads reared above it. With a tremendous smash the dragons were crushed beneath the machine.

The crowd went wild with cheering, not out of respect for Quinn, but rather because something was finally happening.

Samuel didn’t flinch as he stared down the triumphant Quinn. “And with that, let’s begin the pain shall we? Digvorzhak, attack him directly with Gears of War!”

The terrifying machine raised its treads for an attack, but Samuel tapped his Disk, revealing another trap. “Limit Reverse!” he cried, a metal pod forming on his field.

Quinn smirked broadly. “Gonna bring back a Plaguespreader or Malicious in order to absorb so damage, like that would matter!” he laughed

Samuel hid a smirk as he grabbed his hidden ace, and played it. “I summon Yubel from my grave!” he declared.

The crowd was stunned the female demon emerged from the pod, cables were attached to her back that lead back into the pod. Yubel stared up at the treads that were coming down for it. Quinn too was stunned for a moment, until his brain caught up. “DIGVORZHAK! STOP!” he screamed.

The tread stopped an inch from Yubel’s face, and it retreated to the field; its master sighing with relief as it did. “You almost got me there, the last thing I was expecting was Yubel. When did that even get into your grave?” Quinn demanded.

“Yes Duelist Samuel. When DID that enter your graveyard?” the Judge inquired.

“Simple; when I used Dark Grepher for the second time. I had drawn her that turn and had Limit Reverse all ready and waiting. I was going to explain I was discarding her, but you didn’t want any of it. Not my fault you’re impatient. So, without an attack to make, you end?” Samuel explained.

Quinn looked pleadingly to the Judge. “I’m afraid, technically, he is right. Whilst he did make a very underhanded play there, you DID in fact cut him off. As far as I am concerned, it’s legitimate. However, I want no more of it in this Duel” the Judge declared.

“I’ll activate another Supply Unit, then, end my turn” Quinn declared, leaving the crowd to whisper amongst itself as Quinn simmered in his own frustration.


-Turn 10 Samuel (8100)-
(Hand: 2)

Samuel drew his card, and then grabbed his Yubel card. “I swap Yubel to defence mode, which then blows her up!” Samuel said casually.

The pod released emergency warning sounds as the warning gauge went into the red. It exploded in a burst of smoke, taking Yubel with it. Samuel laughed demonically as a card ejected it from his deck, which he then played on his Disk. “Das. Abscheulich. Ritter” Samuel chanted as the smoke cleared, revealing the draconic Terror Incarnate (even though the German naming was much better.)

The twin heads roared in fury. “That’s not all, you gave me a good gift in retrospect. I’ll Normal Summon Armageddon Knight, and I’ll use him to mill that Plaguespreader I returned with Dichotomy” he declared, but stared at his other card. “I won’t need Kage for this” he thought, “better to save it”.

“And with your little gift, the newly discarded Mezuki will revive Plaguespreader” Samuel roared, to the cheer of the crowd.

Armageddon Knight swung his blade with great finesse, as Mezuki dragged the Plaguespreader from his grave. Plaguespreader created the Synchro Circuit again, with Armageddon making his way into it. “The heat of your forge will forge the path to innovation. The bang of the smith’s hammer heralds the revolution. Synchro Summon! Master of the Forge! Vulcan the Divine!”

Landing down on a knee, the tiger smith banged his hammer on the ground. Heat radiated from his body as he stood small alongside the enormous sad dragon. “When Vulcan is summoned, I can bounce a card from both our fields, Quinn. So I will return Terror Incarnate to my hand, and Supply Unit back to your hand” Samuel explained.

Vulcan roared loudly and pounded his hammer on the ground. Terror Incarnate and Supply Unit returned to their owner’s hand in a flash of light, though Terror left behind a little surprise. It was a beating purple heart, that lubbed, and dubbed to its rhythm. “When Terror leaves the field-” Samuel began.

“Its effect won’t activate” Quinn interjected.

Samuel looked down from the beating heart, which vanished in an instant. “Huh?”

“When Vulcan returns a card to the hand, his owner can’t activate the effects of cards with the same name as what was returned. You can’t activate Terror Incarnate’s summon effect” the Judge explained.

Samuel’s mouth hung open, and both Marco and Vulcan had to facepalm. There was a resounding slap sound, which was a result of the rest of the audience facepalming. “I end my turn” Samuel conceded.


-Turn 11 Quinn (8000)-
(Hand: 3)

Quinn shook his head in pity as Astral Force returned to his hand. “I’ll use Digvorzhak’s effect to send the next top three cards of your deck to the grave; and sadly, I won’t even feel good about it at this point” Quinn said as a Xyz Material was absorbed into the cabin of Digvorzhak.

Samuel sadly gripped his cards, and revealed them via holo-projection: Mezuki, Upstart Goblin and Mystical Space Typhoon. “Okay, Digvorzhak will destroy Vulcan. Rototiller” Quinn said half-heartedly.

The monstrous machine started up again, and wires bound Vulcan tight. His best hammer thudded to the ground as he was brought in range of the treads. Vulcan squirmed against his binds, but was helpless before the treads that annihilated him. “Digvorzhak, direct attack. Strike with Gears of War!”

The great machine whirred into action, its treads moving forward and they slammed Samuel hard, sending him flying across the stage. He grunted as he landed, and the loss of Life Points felt a little sore (Samuel 4900).

“I’ll reactivate my Supply Unit, and end” Quinn declared.


-Turn 12 Samuel (4900)-
(Hand: 3)

Samuel groggily got to his feet, and he drew his card. “I activate Allure of Darkness, banishing Terror Incarnate to draw two cards” he declared, doing so by drawing two cards; Reinforcements of the Army, and another Kagetokage.

Samuel stared at them carefully, with the stabbing feeling that his deck was telling him off for not making the smart move last turn; and he really wish he could tell his deck to shove it. “Now I’ll activate Reinforcements of the Army, which I’ll use to grab… umm. Destiny HERO - Diamond Dude I guess, and I’ll then summon him” he declared.

From his summoning portal, and striking a HEROic pose, Destiny HERO Diamond Dude appeared. But, his shadow seemed very strange, almost… moving. A pair of beady read eyes blinked out from them. “And with him I’ll Special Summon Kagetokage, which I really should’ve used a turn ago. And now, I’ll overlay these two in order to Xyz Summon Daigusto Emeral!”

The Diamond Dude and his Shadow leapt into the Xyz Vortex; it exploded to reveal the glimmering emerald knight. “And with him, comes my second chance! Emeral, restore my deck using Emerald Array!”

Emeral absorbed a Xyz Material into the gem on his chest, and it shone brightly. Flexing his arms and wings wide, his light shining upon Samuel’s graveyard. “I’ll return Scrap Dragon, a Dark Grepher, and best of all, one of my two Malicious to my deck” Samuel smiled.

The cards were taken and shuffled back into Samuel’s deck, and he drew another card. “Now, let’s play. I may have lost Yubel, but that doesn’t matter. I’ll banish the Mezuki you kindly milled, and Malicious. So come on out Malicious number two and Plaguespreader, for your encore” Samuel commanded.

You know what happens, so let’s skip to the Synchro Circuit. “Rust and gears combine to create the terrible machine! Its clockwork night engulfs the future in a rustic haze! Synchro Summon! Lord of the Junk Heap! Scrap Dragon!”

From the circuit, yet another Scrap D descended, and it looked angrily at Digvorzhak. “Sadly, I don’t have another set card to sacrifice, so, sorry Emeral, you’ll have to do. Scrap Dragon, destroy Emeral and Digrorschach! Cog Crush!”

Emeral quietly prayed to himself as a gear formed above his head, and a similar sized one formed above Digrorschach… uh, Digvorzhak. The gear crushed him in an instant, but the other just pinged harmlessly off Digvorzhak. It exploded magnificently because it was made from very poor materials and impractical blueprints.

Quinn drew a card from Supply Unit as Samuel pointed at him. “Time for a reversal. Scrap Dragon, attack Quinn with Scrap Shock!”

Scrap Dragon roared as it rose high into the air, and then performed a sweet somersault as it dive bombed at Quinn. It released a tiny gear from its body that harmlessly pinged off Quinn’s head, sending him flying across the field this time (Quinn 5200).

He coughed loudly as he picked himself up, not noticing Samuel had set a card. “Your move” Samuel declared.


-Turn 13 Quinn (5200)-
(Hand: 3)

Quinn drew his card furiously. “I summon Tour Guide, which will summon Crashbug X from my deck” he cried.

Tour Guide appeared in from her summon portal and did something Japanese as the dark tour bus drove by. Crashbug X got off it and immediately ran to her. With horrified disgust she held her hand out and blocked any attempts to get closer by forcing it on his head. She was even threatening to mace the little sod. “I’ll overlay these two in order to Xyz Summon Ghostrick Alucard!”

In what is considered a particularly horrific metaphor, they spiralled into the nexus, and it exploded, releasing the very styling Ghostrick Alucard. He snapped his hands, right before a big hole formed underneath him and he fell through. “Bottomless Trap Hole, never duel without one. Got anything else Quinn, besides Supply Unit letting you draw?” Samuel inquired.

Quinn looked with horror at his extra; that was his last Astral Force target. “I set a card, and end.”


-Turn 14 Samuel (4900)-
(Hand: 2)

Samuel drew a card, and set it. “You know, normally I’d be scared of your face down, but at this point, the duel bounces back and forth so much that you might draw Dark Hole next turn. So, whatever. Scrap Dragon, strike again with Scrap Shock.”

Scrap Dragon soared into the sky, and dive bombed Quinn with a much bigger gear this time. Its diagonal trajectory struck Quinn head on (Quinn 2400). This time however, he stood resolute, and silent. Samuel slapped a card into his Disk. “I set a card, and end” he said, his chest starting to heave a bit from exertion.


-Turn 15 Quinn (2400)-
(Hand: 3)

Quinn drew calmly, and played his next monster: A bigger version of the drinking birds. “With Crane Crane, I can summon a Level three from the grave, so, I’ll bring back Birdman. Then, I’ll overlay them to summon Wind-Up Zenmaines in defence mode” Quinn sighed, a lot of his energy sapped at this point.

Crane Krane bent over and dipped its beak into a dark portal. It nosed around for a moment, before rising with Genex Ally Birdman clamped tightly in its beak. With its friend raised, they sored into the Nexus again, and it exploded, again, revealing Zenmaines. Its wind-up key whirred with vigour, as its head kept moving fitfully. Both his arms meshed forward, creating a sturdy X-shaped barrier. “I end” Quinn sighed.


-Turn 16 Samuel (4900)-
(Hand: 2)

Samuel drew less vigorously, as he had been in this duel for half an hour now, because dueling is apparently very tiring; like that one case where there was a Duel that went for thirty turns and one of the Duelists almost went into a cardiac arrest. “I activate my last MST to destroy your face down” he panted.

The cyclone spawned from the card and drilled through the air to the face down card, which turned out to be Bottomless Trap Hole. “I guess you took my advice to heart huh? Heh, heh. Oh god. Whatever, I play Call of the Haunted to revive Dark End Dragon” he wheezed.

Pounding resounded from the very large grave situated on Samuel’s field. The pounding continued until Dark End’s head popped up from the grave. Scrap Dragon looked overjoyed to see his friend return to the field. With some help from Scrap D, Dark End heaved himself up from the grave.

Though by now the audience were getting quite bored themselves, one of the girls in the audience daw’ed from the camaraderie. “Dark End, eviscerate Zenmaines with Dark Gaze so I can end this” Samuel groaned.

Dark End nodded. The energy convalesced on his face chest again, firing the dark energy right through Zenmaines arms and wiping it clean from the duel. Quinn actually looked relieved as Scrap Dragon lunged for him. “Scrap Dragon. Scrap Shock” Samuel declared thankfully.

A gear struck Quinn dead on, and the duel was over. (0)

The Judge’s buzzer blared loudly. “Duelist Samuel is the winner” the Judge declared.

Samuel sighed in relief as he walked over to Quinn, who seemed just as happy that it was over. “Good game Quinn, your Astral Force Crashbug theme was pretty cool” Samuel admitted.

Quinn smiled happily. “And your deck was alright; for Malicious Synchro. Yubel was a weird twist I won’t lie. Gee gee Samuel” Quinn said as he held out his hand.

Samuel took the hand and shook it slowly. “Gee gee Quinn” he replied.[/spoiler]

[Toffee.]

I like how Quinn has some hidden agenda going on, due to Empty Jar being dead.

That aside, I found it amusing how both player's cards were all over the place, so it's nice that it keeps things interesting.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

XD

 

Quinn's take on Samuel's explanations to be were the highlight of the chapter. That and the careless forgetting of his card's effect. Never see the protagonists (save Jaden on a few occasions) ever have that problem!

 

I'm looking forward to the next chapter definitely!!

[The Warden]

@Arm: What is it with you and hidden agendas? Quinn needed a new deck, and a friend of his helped him build a new one. And their cards weren't completely all over the place per say. I'm trying to keep to a level of realistic play. This is essentially real life Yugioh with a few anime elements.

 

@Sonic: I thought it would be funny really, since we all remember Jaden having to explain what Pot of Greed. As you would have guessed it was all played for laughs. Also, the misplay with Vulcan was more from Samuel trying to be conservative rather then careless. Honestly when I looked over the duel after writing it did I realize that I that Call of the Haunted still on the field, which means Sam wouldn't have to sacrifice a card for Scrap D's first activation since he was +1 a card. Honestly he could have stolen the duel back in that turn alone by using Arm Knight and Kage to make Emeral, who would have returned Scrap D and a Malicious, which he then would have used the Mezuki and Malicious in the grave to get out PSZ and Malicious and summoned Scrap D again, which would have destroyed Supply Unit and Terror, therefore bringing out Nightmare and wrecking face. But since I had the whole duel written out already, I really didn't want to snip off about 5 turns worth of duel. And to be honest, the misplay felt like a very human error, which is what I'm trying to maintain in this fic.

[Toffee.]

@Arm: What is it with you and hidden agendas?

Oh, right, I'm one to talk...

I don't know, I just found it a little odd how, of all decks, it was Empty Jar Quin had a thing for.

[The Warden]

People have passions for certain decks; like Black when he used to get a massive hardon for Fableds which has now moved on to Hunders. And your passion for Scraps. Plus that idiot who thought Self-Destruct Button was the best thing in the universe. Empty Jar isn't exactly the best, but it seemed like it to Quinn.

[AGATHODAIMON BANGTAIL COW]

Two errors: Pearl isn't the only non-effect Xyz in the game. There's the Gagagigo Xyz, but then again, it sadly sucks too much for anyone to really care about it. The first time I saw it, I thought the story was taking place between Pearl and Awakened Gagagigo's release, but there's mention of Bujins and the banlist that came into effect not two weeks from now. Then, the first time Digvorzhak activates, you milled only one monster, and acted as if two were milled.

 

Anyways, I find it a little weird that Quinn plays Supply Unit, then follows up with monsters that can't be destroyed. Even though most of the fault that he only draws one card out of the two Supply Units he played is Samuel's, he probably could have at least bluffed with that Supply Unit like he did with Upstart (IIRC). Oh well, you said the characters were supposed to have a human feel to them. As for the duel, changing the initial Life Point start to 8k like in the actual game is a nice change of pace from the normal 4k start, especially since it allows for duelists to make more effective plays without cutting the duel to disappointingly short lengths. All in all, the pretty-great quality of this means I should really consider poking my head in more topics from this section than I've been doing.

[The Warden]

Oh yeah, Awakened Gagagigo exists, doesn't he? But you're right about him. Also, Supply Unit is handy in general y'see? It's just a ridiculously good plus machine card. And yeah, now I see. I made that edit in haste and forgot what it affected. I think I'll need to make a couple revisions.

I never liked the use of 4000 LP in fic duels, because I too feel it cripples potentially big plays by cutting them short. Granted it might also make duels unbearably long, but I guess that's the risk I take with it. It also means I can't rely on Burn Decks, but I don't consider that as a bad thing.

[Super Chaos Sonic]

So I've been wondering this ever since I read the chapter, so I may as well ask now.

 

Are the characters mentioned in the chapter in anyway shape or form based on members of YCM or the DN community? Just one of those random question I though I ask ^^;

[The Warden]

I'll keep that my little secret.