[Fanfiction] Yu-Gi-Oh! Union Cross DPR

Nekomata · April 26, 2018

[spoiler=Disclaimer]
- This fanfiction could be considered a spin-off of the unfinished fanfiction "Yu-Gi-Oh! Union", because it keeps the 3 main protagonists + a few minor characters. However, completely new characters are introduced as the story goes on. Due to the fact I'm continuing something that hasn't ended yet, there might be a few spoilers, but I've tried my best not to make them too evident. Here's a link to the original in case you're interested. https://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/366997-fanfiction-yu-gi-oh-union-pg-13-at-most/
- I'm not a native English speaker. In fact, I don't think I've written it well enough to be considered a good story, but I've had fun writing it. I apologize for any kind of mistakes.
- Reviews are welcome.
- There will be some summaries at the beginning of each chapter, showing the plot and the names of the characters that are part of the chapter itself.
- There will be links to the threads inside the YCMaker in case you want to know more about which cards the characters are using.
- ~~I'll be honest, it's basically a big fancy promotion of the DPR. We're always looking forward to meet new people. If you're interested, just ask.~~

[spoiler=Chapter 1: The Arrival of a New Army]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 1]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Ryuta O’Hara

New: unknown kid

Plot

Hokuro wakes up, but no one’s around. When he finally meet Maya, they go looking for hints. However, they end up seeing the last fatal turn for one of their friends, Ryuta.

As Hokuro woke up, sun rays lighting his face up, he realized he was alone in his room.

“Mh.. Ryuta?”

He got up, and not seeing him, he thought he was late for classes, but if so Ryuta would’ve probably woken him up as always. Something suspicious was going on, for sure. He got dressed as quickly as possible, and half asleep left the room. Wandering through the corridors of the dorm, as he didn’t see anyone on his way, he began being quite worried. What had happened? He walked faster and faster, then found himself rushing to the Academy building. When he reached it, he finally saw a person, and it was his friend Maya.

“Maya, do you know what’s going on?” He asked.

“No, I don’t, I’ve just woken up, and I haven’t talked to anyone else yet.”

“I haven’t either. The school looks… empty?”

“I’ve had that feeling too. It’s a weird situation, I can feel it.”

They entered the building together and looked for other people, so they could ask what was happening. Unfortunately, it looked like no one else was at school. While they were approaching the testing room, they heard a person screaming, and Hokuro recognized that voice.

“This sounds like Ryuta! What’s he doing?”

They run to the room, and as they entered it, they noticed he was actually dueling against a little kid with a black hoodie covering his face. Even though he had no monsters on the field, Ryuta seemed scared.

Turn ??

???

LP: 4000

Hand: 0

Graveyard: ?

Banished: ?

Ryuto

LP: 2900

Hand: 3

Graveyard: ?

Banished: ?

The kid spoke, with a mysterious dark voice that looked like came from hell itself, not belonging to a child at all.

“My turn. Draw.”

“Ryuta? What’s going on here?” Hokuro screamed.

“Hokuro!”

“This will be your last turn.” The kid proclaimed.

“It looks like everyone in the school except us has magically disappeared,” Ryuta tried to explain. “This kid says it’s the perpetrator of all of this! I was gonna go back and tell you, but I’ve been forced to Duel…!”

“Now. I use the effect of ‘Mystic Clairvoyant’ in my Graveyard. By shuffling the 3 Divination Art cards I used last turn, he can return to my hand. Then I Normal Summon it (Level 3/DARK/Spellcaster/0/1200).”

As the monster was Summoned, the whole room felt darker, as if it was frightened by the power of the kid’s cards.

“With his effect, I can add 1 Continuous Spell, ‘Aura of Spirituality’ from my Deck. Are you feeling the occult Arts corrupting your heart yet?”

“Maya, this is really scary, I’m worried for Ryuta! He has no monsters on the field!” Hokuro said.

“Now I activate it. Get ready to experience my predictions... again.”

As soon as the card was activated, the room got instantly foggy and even darker. A few lampposts appeared at the corners of the dueling field, allowing them to see the cards being played, but under a very gloomy light.

“I activate Mystic’s other effect. By tributing him, you have to Special Summon a monster from your GY under my control. So, pick a monster and choose your destiny. Not that it will matter much. Fate’s already been decided.”

“I choose ‘Crownstar Broacloath’.”

“Nice move. Broacloath has only 100 ATK, meaning it won’t be a threat to Ryuta’s Life Points.” Maya commented.

“Ahah.” The kid laughed creepily. “I told you I’m the one controlling the future right now. Your decisions are worthless. I activate the effect of ‘Aura of Spirituality’, which requires an opponent’s card as a cost. I’ll destroy your pathetic monster to declare a card type, reveal the first 2 cards from my Deck, and if I guessed right, they’ll get added to my hand.”

“No, ‘Broacloath’!”

“I see it. I can feel it. They’re gonna be Spells.” The kid said with his eyes fully opened. He was right. The revealed cards were both Spells.

“How did he…?” Hokuro was surprised by his move. Maybe he actually had occult powers?

“I knew it. My predictions were correct; this is indeed gonna be the last turn. I activate the Spell card, ‘Divination Art of Cartomancy’.”

“Not… again…”

“What does the card do, Ryuta?” Hokuro saw he was sweating.

“That Spell steals my cards…!”

“What!?”

“Precisely,” The kid said. “But it requires skill to be used. My spiritual vibrations told me this was the right time to use it and we’ll see soon if I was right, or wrong.”

“He’s never been wrong so far, though…!” Ryuta sighed worried.

“Let’s reveal twice the top card from our Decks. If the cards revealed are of the same card type, they’ll be Summoned or Set to my field. Otherwise, they’ll just get sent to the Graveyard. Let’s do this.”

“I excavated ‘Crownstar Flannel’ and “Crownstar Damaskian’.”

“Excellent. I’ve got 2 monsters as well. That means the 4 of them will be Summoned to my field!”

“No way!” Maya shouted.

“Let’s see. Even though my monsters don’t have Attack Points, ‘Flannel’ has 1500, and ‘Damaskian’ has 1700. Excellent. As predicted, this is gonna be the last turn. ‘Flannel’, ‘Damaskian’, attack directly.”

The 2 monsters obeyed immediately, and proceeded to attack their owner. However, their moves looked forced, the colour of their faces was pretty grey, and they acted like puppets controlled by the kid, not showing any kind of emotion.

“Nooo…!” Ryuta screamed while falling, as his Life Points reached 0.

Then the kid slowly walked towards him, emanating a dark aura of negative energy.

“What... do you want… from us…” The fainted Ryuta’s tried to ask.

Without answering, the kid reached his lying body, then lifted up his left arm, showing a dark bracelet. The purple stone on it filled with violet light, and in a flash of light, both the kid and Ryuta completely disappeared.

The kid’s words were still echoing in the now back-to-normal room: “Another step to the accomplishment of our mission has been done. You’re gonna meet your fate… soon.”

[spoiler=Chapter 2: Never Ruin Nature]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 2]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Professor Portman

New: Sokyoku Kosumo

Plot

Still shocked by Ryuta’s disappearance, Hokuro and Maya bump into Professor Portman, who reveals what he knows about what’s going on. Then another mysterious guy comes and challenges them to a Duel. Portman accepts, but little he knows under the chilled attitude of his opponent lies another personality.

“What exactly is happening here?” Hokuro and Maya were alone again, walking down a corridor.

“I don’t know, but this stranger has showed us incredible powers. We must be careful.”

Then they heard footsteps approaching from behind them, so they turned around and saw Professor Portman.

“I’ve finally found students. I have to tell you something.”

“What is it, Professor?”

“Inside the Academy, there are seeped people patrolling the corridors and the rooms, and if they find anyone, they duel against them. After they win, they take the victim away in a beam of light.”

“We’ve just seen it happen…!” Hokuro was even more terrified, knowing what happened to the poor Ryuta.

“So you have an idea of how they operate. I’m sure there are more students somewhere, probably dueling for their own life. I suggest we should stay together.”

“This is terrible… where could Itou be?” Maya wandered.

“Fine. We’ll look for other students and try to save them, together.”

“Look! I’ve found 3 people! This must be my lucky day!” A mysterious yet cheerful voice came from behind the corner. It was a medium-height guy, with blonde wavy hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a green and light-blue t-shirt and red shining shoes. He had a pendant with a lightning, and the same bracelet as the other kid, but this one was red, and had a light-blue stone on it.

“Hi! My name’s Sokyoku. What’s yours?”

“You’re not going to take other students! I can’t let you do it!” the Professor looked really determined.

“Woah, man. I was just trying to be kind. You guys need to be more chilled.”

“How dare you? You’re eliminating people here!”

“If only we couldn’t do it, I’d be happier, actually.” Sokyoku shrugged and smiled.

“…what?” Maya said confused.

“I guess it’s time to duel. Who’s gonna be my opponent?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you duel, guys”, Portman accepted the request, and speaking directly to Sokyoku, said: “I’ll accept. Get ready to lose.”

“Man, you’re nuts. Duels should be fun.”

“What an hypocrite.”

“Looks like he won’t listen… I’ll go first then. My turn!”

Turn 1

Sokyoku

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

Portman

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“I’m gonna start by playing a Field Spell! Welcome to my world, it’s called ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!”

The floor became soft ground, and the hall was now a green place with trees and rivers.

“Isn’t nature beautiful?”

“Why are you wasting my time?” Portman seemed anxious, since he probably wanted to end the duel - and win - as soon as possible in order to save more students.

“It’s just that you haven’t seen any kind of beauty yet! Let me show you some. I activate the effect of ‘Planet’: by discarding one card, I can Special Summon a monster directly from my Side Deck!”

“Maya, what’s a Side Deck?” Hokuro asked.

“Itou told me it’s a collection of cards that you can use only during a Match. Basically, after a Duel has ended, before starting another one, you can switch cards from your Deck or Extra Deck to your Side Deck. But I’ve never seen someone actually using it during a Duel.”

“Nature can really do stuff never seen before. It’s so complicated and yet so perfect! I Special Summon ‘Forecast Stream’ in Defense Mode (Level 2/WATER/Aqua/200/500)! Then, with the effect of ‘Stream’, I can Summon another monster from my Side Deck, but it’ll have its effects negated. Come, ‘Forecast Light Breeze’ (Level 2/WIND/Psychic/400/800), in Defense Mode!”

“Your monsters are just pathetic.”

“What? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Anyway, I’ll Set a card and end my turn!” Sokyoku was really enjoying the duel.

“Fine. Then it’s my turn. I draw.”

Turn 2

Sokyoku

LP: 4000

Hand: 3

Field: Stream, Light Breeze, a Set card

Graveyard: 1

Banished: 0

Portman

LP: 4000

Hand: 6

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“I activate my Spell, ‘Trickster Pass’. I’ll discard a ‘Trickster’ card, then draw 2 cards. The card sent to my Graveyard was ‘Trickster Shigami-no-Kami’, and that monster is able to go to your Graveyard. While it’s in there, you won’t be able to target cards I control with effects.”

“Man, that was a cool move.”

“Thanks. Now I activate my ‘Trickster Parade Fusion’ by using 4 ‘Trickster’ monsters from my hand as materials!”

“A Fusion Summon already on the first turn!” Hokuro thought the Professor might had a chance.

“Sage mage of the trickiest deceits, come and show us your magic! Fusion Summon! Shine, ‘Trickster Reverence of Trickery’ (Level 9/DARK/Spellcaster/2900/2900)!”

Sokyoku was genuinely impressed by the opponent’s Summon.

“Now I activate its effect! When it’s Summoned, it gains ATK equal to the number of monsters used for the Summon x200!”

(ATK of Reverence: 2900 -> 3700)

“The materials used for the Summon will go to your Graveyard instead, preventing you from banishing cards, and you can’t activate cards and effects in response to my card effects either. Now, ‘Reverence of Trickery’, attack ‘Light Breeze’!”

“Do you really think I’m gonna let you do this? I activate the Trap Card ‘Forecast Orogenesis’! While this card is on the field, monsters you control cannot declare an attack!”

“I activate the effect of my monster! I can shuffle 2 ‘Trickster’ monsters from your Graveyard to my Deck and negate one of your cards! I’ll always be one step ahead of you!”

“Oh no, ‘Light Breeze’!”

Portman’s monster destroyed his, and due to the impact, a part of the beautiful land created by the Field Spell became lifeless moor.

“What… have you done…” Sokyoku bent down his head, speechless. “NO ONE should treat Nature like this!”

“I hope I’m giving you a lesson. After all, that’s what a good teacher does.”

Sokyoku stayed still, unmoved, while Portman was laughing for his move.

“I have a big monster on my field, and you only have that pathetic piece of water left. I Set one card and end my turn.”

Some time passed from Portman’s last word. Everyone was standing quiet, waiting for Sokyoku to do something.

“Are you… still there? Do you surrender?” Portman broke the silence. “I guess I’m the winner then…”

Sokyoku was shaking, feeling anger in all of his body. “Now it’s my turn! Prepare for the most catastrophic Duel you’ve ever played! I draw!”

[spoiler=Chapter 3: A Mysterious Voice]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 3]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Professor Portman

Sokyoku Kosumo

Itou Kisaragi

New: Riko Hikouki

Plot

The Duel ends and Portman suffers the same fate as Ryuta. Wandering through the corridors, Hokuro and Maya hear the sound of their friend Itou dueling against a girl, who’ll reveal a bit of information regarding her team. Itou, about to lose, gets saved by a mysterious call.

Turn 3

Sokyoku

LP: 4000

Hand: 4

Field: Stream

Graveyard: 4

Banished: 0

Portman

LP: 4000

Hand: 0

Field: Reverence, a Set card

Graveyard: 2

Banished: 0

Sokyoku’s voice felt deeper than before; in fact, it looked like a different person, even physically: during the last few minutes, his muscles had grown in size, his hair had got red shades and his eyes’ color more intense, blue like a stormy ocean about to make a ship sink.

“I use a Spell, ‘Cataclysmic Forecasts’, allowing me to add 2 ‘Forecast’ cards from my Deck by shuffling 1 ‘Forecast’ card from my hand. This will set the strategy that will cause your defeat!”

“Do you really think so? I use the effects of my monster to negate that by shuffling 2 ‘Trickster’ monsters from your Graveyard”

“…thanks. This was exactly what I wanted.”

“I activate my Continuous Spell, ‘Forecast Night of Calamities’! This is going to be your longest and most terrific night you’ve ever had. With its effect, I can add 1 ‘Forecast’ monster from my Deck to my hand, and by giving up my Normal Summon, I can Special Summon a ‘Forecast’ monster from my Side Deck with the same Attribute as a ‘Forecast’ monster in my hand. I added to my hand ‘Forecast Volcano’, and since it’s a FIRE monster, I can Special Summon ‘Forecast Lapillus’ from my Side Deck!”

“Maya, have you noticed? His dueling has changed from his last turn!” Hokuro said.

“Yes, I have. It used to be way more relaxed; now it’s really concentrated in the duel. Who knows what he is going to do now?”

“I activate the effect of ‘Lapillus’! When it’s Summoned, it can destroy a card on the field, and I choose your Set card!”

“Oh no, it was ‘Tricksterlusion’, which only works if a ‘Trickster’ monster is destroyed. How did you know which was the best target for the effect…?”

“Now by returning ‘Lapillus’ to my Side Deck, I can Special Summon my ‘Forecast Volcano’ from my hand in Attack Mode! (Level 7/FIRE/Pyro/800/2800). This is how nature works: damage it, and a natural disaster will come soon!”

On the peaceful field, a huge volcano appeared in the middle, overlooking Portman’s monster.

“I’m not scared at all. My monster has still more than 3000 ATK points compared to yours.”

“You see, natural forces never come alone, and only ashes will remain after their rage. I activate the effects of my Field Spell, ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’! By discarding a card, I can Special Summon a monster from my Side Deck. I’ll Special Summon ‘Light Breeze’, which lets me add 1 ‘Forecast’ monster from my Deck to my hand.” Sokyoku now had 3 monsters on the field, but they didn’t have enough ATK to destroy the opponent’s one. “I don’t care if I can’t activate effects in response to yours, or if I can’t banish your cards. You shuffled ‘Trickster Shigami-no-Kami’, and that’s been your worst mistake.”

“He’s right…” Hokuro said. “If he hadn’t shuffled it, Sokyoku wouldn’t have been able to destroy Portman’s Set card.”

“With the other effect of ‘Catastrophic Planet’, I shuffle 3 ‘Forecast’ cards from my Graveyard to my Deck, ‘Catacylismic Forecasts’ and the 2 cards I’ve discarded, to draw 1 card. Feel the power of Nature! I return ‘Stream’ and ‘Light Breeze’ to Summon from my hand their respective evolutions, ‘Forecast Tsunami’ (Level 7/WATER/Aqua/3000/100) and ‘Forecast Cyclone’ (Level 7/WIND/Psychic/2400/2800) in Attack Position!”

“Tsk, maybe I’ve underestimated you…” Portman was now worrying a bit.

“This Summon triggers the effect of ‘Volcano’, allowing me to destroy a card on the field: I’ll destroy your monster!”

“No way!”

“Yes, this is the destiny of anyone who ruins the peace of the nature! You don’t have any more cards in your hand or field! ‘Tsunami’, ‘Volcano’, ‘Cyclone’, direct attack!”

Portman was hurled by the attacks, fell and hurt his arm.

Portman’s LP: 4000 -> 1000 -> 200 -> 0

Result: Sokyoku wins

Breathing hard to calm down, Sokyoku left for a moment the opponent lying on the corridor. His hair, eyes, and body returned to normal after a few minutes, in which both Hokuro and Maya stared at their professor, shocked by the overturning of the duel. Slowly walking, Sokyoku reached the Professor, and his bracelet began to emit blue light.

“No… please… I beg you…” The Professor cried.

Sokyoku sighted, but continued with no hesitation what he was doing.

In a flash of blue light, they both disappeared, but Sokyoku’s last words still echoed in the air: “I’m sorry. There’s no need to worry, though.”

“Maya… we lost Professor Portman…” Hokuro didn’t know what else to say.

“I know. But he said there’s still someone to save in here. Maybe we should search people that need our help, before they disappear. Do you have your Deck ready?”

“I do, but…”

“No excuses. Let’s go.”

“…maybe Itou might still be here…” Maya thought to herself.

They didn’t know Maya’s intuition was right, yet. Itou was indeed having a duel in another room, and was about to be saved by a mysterious call.

(after some time, wandering through corridors)

“…Itou! Is that you!?” Maya shouted as she started running towards him. “Hokuro, I’ve found him! He’s dueling!”

Hokuro rushed to reach her, and saw Itou Dueling against a thin girl, with a green and white sweatshirt. She had green eyes and black hair, gathered in a braid. She also weared the same bracelet as the others, but her was white, and the stone green.

“Oh… there are more students… I’d be rude if I didn’t introduce myself… my name’s Riko Hikouki…” She said as she noticed Maya and Hokuro.

“Stay away… this is my Duel…” Itou replied determined, speaking to them.

“Itou, you’re hurt!” Maya screamed.

“Don’t… worry, I can make it…”

Turn ??

Riko

LP: 4000

Hand: 4

Graveyard: ?

Banished: ?

Itou

LP: 1000

Hand: 1

Graveyard: ?

Banished: ?

“It was my turn, right?” Riko said. “I draw. Mh… what can I do… I have to make the best strategy, or else he will be angry…”

“What did you say, Riko? He?” Hokuro asked.

“I… shouldn’t talk about this… but the fact is that we have a leader, and he can get really scary if we fail…”

“Could you please explain who exactly are you?” Maya wanted to know more about these guys, who randomly appeared to the Academy, making students and teachers disappear.

“I guess I can say it… we’re duelists from all over the world. We live in a ship, and our team is called “Duelist Port Royal”, DPR in short.”

“Why do you make people disappear…?”

“I’m not allowed to reveal this. I’ve already said too much. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a Duel to end.” Riko was now ready to play seriously. “First of all, since you’ve been really rude and destroyed my Scales last turn, I have to Set them again. I use ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Minnow’ as Scale 3 and ‘Paperplane Fighter Jet - Gazelle” as Scale 5. Never dying Paper, swing between my creations, and let me call out my Planes! Pendulum Summon! Here they come again, from my hand ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Pike’ and from my Extra Deck ‘Paperplane Bomber - Falcon’!”

“Not again…”

“Now I activate the effect of ‘Minnow’ from the Pendulum Zone! If I have Pendulum Summoned this turn, it can be Special Summoned! Now, I overlay my 3 Level 4 monsters to build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear, ‘Paperplane Air Fighter - Wildebeest’!”

The 3 monsters unfolded themselves up, and after becoming plain sheets, they overlaid and folded again to form a new Plane, ‘Wildebeest’ (Rank 4/WIND/Psychic/2700/100).

“I activate its effect: I detach 1 Overlay unit, then target your ‘Reality Rupture Prophetiream’, and banish it!”

“Oh no, my last monster has gone…”

“Also ‘Wildebeest’ gains 300 ATK this turn, and if it attacks, you can’t activate cards or effects!”

“I’m screwed…” Itou realized.

“No! Please!” Maya screamed.

“I’ll…”

Riko’s bracelet was now vibrating.

“Oh no! This must be… him!” Her face got instantly white.

Then a deep mechanical voice said from the stone: “Riko. Stop whatever you’re doing right now. That’s enough for today.”

“But sir… I was about to…” She replied.

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Yes, sir…!”

Riko activated her bracelet, and said to Itou: “Excuse me, I have to go…”

Then a green and white light filled the air, almost blinding Hokuro and Maya. After that, a few words echoed, and they were saying: “I’m… quite glad I could quit… at least it’s not my fault…”

[spoiler=Chapter 4: Dueling Together - Part 1]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 4]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Itou Kisaragi

Sokyoku Kosumo

Riko Hikouki

Ibuki Uranai

Plot

The 3 main protagonists are finally together, even though Itou is still thinking that he would’ve lost if it wasn’t for that call. Soon they bump into the 3 DPR members, who challenge them into a 3v3 Duel.

“Oh… what has just happened…” Hokuro said, still a bit dazed after the flash of light.

“At least we’re together.” Maya replied.

“I… was about to disappear like the others…” Itou was shocked from the almost loss against Riko.

“You don’t have to worry about it, Itou. We’re safe now… I guess.”

“Yeah, Maya’s right.” Hokuro tapped Itou’s shoulder.

“I thought I became a good duelist, but I lost again…”

“You haven’t lost. There’s always a second chance.” Maya tried to console him.

“I think we should check the school, if there’s anyone else to help out” Hokuro said.

“We’ve already done it, and it looked like we’re the only ones left.”

They checked one last time and as they thought, no one was around.

Hokuro wanted to do a recap of the situation, since he had only woken up 2 hours before and a lot of things had happened. “Itou, where were you? What had you done before that duel?”

“I had a weird feeling this morning, so I got up and by the time I reached the main building, the Academy was already being slowly eliminated. I’ve watched powerless many duelists lose against these guys. Even professors. I decided to hide, but eventually that girl found me and dueled me. Then you came in, and you know the rest of the story.”

“What was her name again?”

“Riko.” Itou shivered just by pronouncing her name.

“Oh, right. She also told us these guys are from the DPR, but she didn’t explain why they’re doing this.” Maya said.

“She did say they have a leader, though. He must be really powerful and probably a bit of a tyrant. Riko looked quite scared of him.”

“Guess there’s only one way to find out!” Maybe Hokuro didn’t realize they could’ve been in danger.

“How are you planning on meeting him, then?” Itou asked.

“That’s a fair question. Maybe we should just go outside and search for a DPR member.”

They didn’t know yet they were about to meet the 3 of them, all together…

In fact, as they walked out, they saw in the distance three figures staring at them.

“It looks like you’re the only ones left,” Said the figure in the middle. “We’d like to challenge you. You haven’t dueled yet… except for you.”

“I want another chance!” said Itou.

“Since we introduced ourselves at different times, I think we might want to do it again. I’m Sokyoku Kosumo, she’s Riko Hikouki, and he’s Ibuki Uranai.” As Sokyoku presented them, Riko bent her head over respectfully, while Ibuki stood completely still.

Hokuro recognized all of them immediately: Sokyoku dueled against Portman, Riko against Itou, and apparently, the kid who beat Ryuto was called Ibuki.

“I’m ready to Duel!” Maya shouted confident.

“Me too!” Hokuro replied.

“Why don’t we have a Tag Duel, but 3 versus 3? That sounds fun!” Sokyoku said.

“Sharing fields?” Itou asked.

“Yeah, is everyone ok?”

“I’m fine with that.” Hokuro answered, knowing his friends were ready to fight as well.

“Then… let’s Duel!”

Turn 1

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 12000

Hand: 5, 5, 5

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 12000

Hand: 5, 5, 5

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“I’ll go first!” Sokyoku was very excited. “We’re outside, and I like this lovely background, but I can make it better! I activate the Field Spell, ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!”

The landscape became the piece of natural paradise Maya and Hokuro already saw.

“Now I’ll activate its effect! By discarding one card, I can Special Summon a ‘Forecast’ monster from my Side Deck! Come, ‘Forecast Stream’ (Level 2/WATER/Aqua/200/500)! Then, I’ll use the effect of ‘Stream’, I can Summon another monster from my Side Deck, but with its effects negated. I choose ‘Forecast Light Breeze’ (Level 2/WIND/Psychic/400/800)!”

“What? His deck can Summon monsters from the Side Deck!?” Itou said.

“Yeah, we’ve already seen its strategy. He won against Professor Portman” replied Maya.

“I won’t go easy on you. Let me show you my best moves! By returning ‘Stream’ and ‘Cyclone’ to my Side Deck, I can Special Summon from my hand their respective natural disaster counterparts! Here they are: ‘Forecast Tsunami’ (Level 7/WATER/Aqua/3000/100) and ‘Forecast Cyclone’ (Level 7/WIND/Psychic/2400/2800), in Attack Mode!”

“Two beaters on the first turn? Impressive”

“I know right? Then I’ll set one card and end my turn.”

It was Hokuro’s turn now, and he was ready to fight. “I draw!”

Turn 2

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 12000

Hand: 0, 5, 5

Field: ‘Tsunami’, ‘Cyclone’, ‘Planet’ and a set card

Graveyard: 1

Banished: 0

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 12000

Hand: 6, 5, 5

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“I’ll start by using the Spell card, ‘High Drive’! By discarding a ‘Drive’ card, I can draw 2 cards!”

“Then I’ll Normal Summon ‘Sora - The Keyblade Bearer’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1800/1500) and with its effect, I can Special Summon ‘Donald - The Keyblade Master Wizard’ from my hand (Level 4/LIGHT/Spellcaster/1300/1100). Using the effect of ‘Donald’, I send a ‘Drive Revert’ from my Deck to my Graveyard, and by banishing it, I can Set a ‘Drive’ card to my field. I’ll Set the card just discarded, ‘Drive Form’!”

“Nice combo, Hokuro!” Maya said.

“Now I’ll activate ‘Drive Form’! With Sora as the catalyst and Donald as the power, he can reach a new hope that marks the midpoint of the journey! Drive Synchro Summon! Come, ‘Drive Form - Sora the Keyblade of Limits (Level 8/LIGHT/Warrior/3000/2100)!”

“Now I’ll use ‘Drive Recovery’, allowing me to add ‘Drive Form’ and ‘Donald’ from my Graveyard to my hand! I’ll Summon another Drive monster! Using another ‘Sora’ in my hand and ‘Donald’, they can create another form! Drive Fusion Summon! Here it is, ‘Drive Form - Sora the Keyblade of Wisdom’ (Level 6/LIGHT/Warrior/2100/1400)!”

“Two Drive Summons in the first turn? I’m impressed”

“Thanks! Also with the effect of ‘Sora the Keyblade of Limits’ you can’t activate Spells or Traps when a ‘Keyblade’ monster attacks!”

“Oh really?” Sokyoku had a way around it, though. “Then I’ll use my Trap right now, before you can attack! I’ll activate ‘Forecast Orogenesis’, that prevents you from attacking for 3 turns!”

“Not so fast! I’ll chain the effect of ‘Sora the Keyblade of Wisdom’: once per turn, he can negate the effects of a Spell or a Trap!”

“…no way!”

“Yeah! Now I’m ready! ‘Sora the Keyblade of Limits’, attack ‘Forecast Cyclone’! No effects can be activated! Also when he destroys a monster, I gain LP equal to half the ATK of the destroyed monster!”

(ATK 3000 vs ATK 2400 -> 600 damage) (Sokyoku’s LP: 12000 -> 11400)

(2400/2 -> 1200 LP gain) (Hokuro’s LP: 12000 ->13200)

“These guys might be better than we thought…” Ibuki said.

“Indeed. Let’s focus on the duel, and do the best we can.” Sokyoku replied.

“I’ll Set a card and end my turn!” Hokuro announced.

“The effect of Tsunami will now activate! You know, natural disaster don’t last long. After being Summoned, it’ll get shuffled in my Deck at the end of the next turn, but this will trigger its effect: I can Special Summon a ‘Forecast’ from my Side Deck, but it’ll have its effects negated. Riko, I’m sorry, but I can’t leave you a better board. I’ll Summon ‘Forecast Lightning’, (Level 2/LIGHT/Thunder/600/500) in Defense Mode.”

“That’s okay, Sokyoku. Leave it to me. It’s my turn, then… I draw!”

Turn 3

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 11400

Hand: 0, 6, 5

Field: ‘Lightning’, ‘Planet’

Graveyard: 3

Banished: 0

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 13200

Hand: 1, 5, 5

Field: ‘Keyblade of Limits’, ‘Keyblade of Wisdom’ and a Set card

Graveyard: 6

Banished: 1

Riko had to face 2 Drive monsters, but she wasn’t scared at all.

“I can’t disappoint you guys. It’s my turn, and I’ll give my best. Are you ready for my Pendulum Summon?”

[spoiler=Chapter 5: Dueling Together - Part 2]

“Ok, so your monster negates a Spell,” Riko reminded to herself. “I must be careful, then. I’ll start off my turn by Normal Summoning ‘Paperplane Bomber - Falcon’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1600/400)! Then, using its effect, I can Tribute it, and Special Summon a ‘Paperplane’ monster directly from my Deck! I’ll choose ‘Paperplane Fighter Jet - Gazelle’, which can return to my hand once it’s Summoned!”

“Why adding a monster to the hand? You’ve just used an effect to Summon it.” Itou asked.

“That’s because I need it for the Pendulum Scale! Now I’ll place in the Pendulum Zone!”

Hokuro decided it was the time to chain the effect of his Fusion monster. “Now I’ll activate the effects of ‘Sora the Keyblade of Wisdom’, negating the activation and sending it to the Graveyard, so you can’t Pendulum Summon it!”

“Fine, I knew you were going to negate a Scale. That’s why I have a few more: I’ll use ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Pike’ as the Scale 3 and ‘Paperplane Stealth - Puma’ as the Scale 5!

“Oh, she had a backup plan!”

“Never dying Paper, swing between my creations, and let me call out my Planes! Pendulum Summon! Here they come! From my hand, ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Minnow’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1500/500), ‘Paperplane Bomber - Owl’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1800/400) and from my Extra Deck ‘Falcon’! The effects of ‘Minnow’ and ‘Owl’ will now activate! ‘Owl’ lets me add a ‘Paperplane’ from my hand, and I’ll choose ‘Paperplane Stealth - Leopard’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1200/300); also ‘Minnow’ lets me add ‘Gazelle’ from the Graveyard to my hand!”

“Wow, she already has 3 monsters on the field.” Maya noticed.

“I’ll use my monsters to create a stronger Plane! I overlay my 3 Level 4 monsters to build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear, ‘Paperplane Air Fighter - Wildebeest’! (Rank 4/WIND/Psychic/2700/100)”.

“That the monster she used against me…!” Itou said.

“Precisely. You should know its effect: I’ll detach ‘Falcon’ and target your Synchro monster, ‘Sora the Keyblade of Limits!’, it’ll get banished!”

“No, Riko. I feel a dark presence in the air. Something bad’s about to happen.” Ibuki predicted.

Hokuro was impressed by his words, since he was about to chain his card. “Yeah! As he said, I’ll use my Set card, ‘Reflega’! By paying 1000 LP, it negates the effect and banish your monster!”

(Hokuro’s LP: 13200 -> 12200)

“Oh no!” ‘Wildebeest’ got its own attack reflected and turned into little shreds of paper.

“What have I done?”

“React Riko! You still can Summon monsters!” Sokyoku shouted.

“You’re right… Ok, let’s think.” Riko looked at her field, and realized there was something she could’ve done. “You see, some special ‘Paperplanes’ can be Summoned from the Pendulum Zone if I Pendulum Summoned this turn! I use the effect of ‘Pike’ from the Pendulum Zone! Now that it’s Summoned, I can use its effect: I’ll shuffle 3 ‘Paper’ cards from my Graveyard to my Deck and draw 1 card! With the same strategy, I’ll Summon ‘Puma’ and ‘Leopard’ from the Pendulum Zones!”

“Wow, she recovered fast!” Itou was impressed. She was indeed a worthy opponent, after all.

“Good job, Riko!” Sokyoku smiled.

“I’ll use the Continuous Spell, ‘Paperplane Launching Pad’! Now all ‘Paperplanes’ gain 400 ATK the turn they’re Summoned!”

“If a ‘Paperplane’ fails, I can always a create a new one! Paper has unlimited potential! Xyz Summon! Appear again, ‘Paperplane Air Fighter - Wildebeest’ (Rank 4/WIND/Psychic/2700/100)! Now its effect can’t be negated: I’ll detach ‘Leopard’ and banish your Synchro monster!” This time the attack of ‘Wildebeest’ hit a bull’s eye, and striked ‘Sora’. “It also gains 300 ATK, so now it has 3400 ATK!”

(ATK 2700 + 400 (Pad) + 300 (Eff))

“Now ‘Wildebeest’! Attack ‘Sora the Keyblade of Wisdom! ‘Wildebeest’ also negates all the effects if it attacks, just like your Synchro monster!”

(ATK 3400 vs ATK 2100 -> 1300 damage) (Hokuro’s LP: 12200 -> 10900)

“I have no more cards left on the field…!” Hokuro realized.

“…the effect of ‘Wildebeest’ also activates now… it’ll get automatically destroyed.” Riko smiled embarrassed as her monster, after crashing into Hokuro’s one, destroyed itself.

“But if a ‘Paperplane’ Xyz monster is destroyed by a card effect, I get the Xyz Materials back to my hand!”

“What a cool mechanic,” Itou understood what was her tactic. “This way she can recover easily and Pendulum Summon next turn.”

“I end my turn. I got rid of his monsters, but now my board is almost empty…” Riko apologized to her teammates.

“Don’t worry. Ibuki will handle the situation next turn” Sokyoku said.

“…sure…” Ibuki confirmed.

“Then it’s my turn. I draw!” shouted Maya.

Turn 4

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 11400

Hand: 0, 4, 5

Field: ‘Lightning’, ‘Planet’, ‘Pad’

Graveyard: 5

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 13200

Hand: 1, 6, 5

Graveyard: 7

Banished: 2

RECAP

Riko’s hand: Gazelle, Puma, Pike, 1 unused card

Hokuro: 1 unused card

GY DPR: Cyclone, Orogenesis, Earthquake, Wildebeest, Leopard

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High drive, Sora, Sora, Donald, Drive Form, Recovery, Reflega, Fusion Sora

banished Revert, Synchro Sora

“It’s my time to shine! I’ll activate my Spell Card, ‘The Templar’s Temple’! While this card is on the field, my ‘Templar’ monsters will gain 400 ATK, and once per turn, if I banish a ‘Templar’ monster, I can draw 1 card.”

A Temple rose from the earth and stood alone in the natural beauty of Sokyoku’s ‘Planet’. “Now I Normal Summon ‘The Traveling Templar’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1500/1300) and by using its effect, I can banish a monster from my hand, ‘The Traitorous Templar’, to Summon ‘The Trusting Templar’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1700/1300) from my Deck! Also since I banished a ‘Templar’ monster, ‘Temple’ activates, allowing me to draw 1 card!”

“Her Deck has a lot of combos, this is gonna be interesting.” Sokyoku said.

“I use the effect of ‘The Trusting Templar’: I banish Hokuro’s ‘Donald’ from the Graveyard and I Summon ‘The Tuning Templar’ from my hand (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1600/200)! Now I’ll Synchro Summon using my ‘Tuning Templar’ and ‘Traveling Templar’! Arise, ‘The Tuned Templar of Nights’ (Level 8/LIGHT/Warrior/2700/1350)!”

“I should’ve played better on my turn…” Riko thought to herself.

“I activate the effect of my Synchro monster! I’ll banish ‘The Traveling Templar’ from my Deck to destroy 2 cards on the field: I choose ‘Forecast Lightning’ and ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!”

“What have you done…” For the second time in the same day, Sokyoku witnessed his wonderful world falling into pieces.

“Now I use the other effect of ‘The Tuned Templar of Nights’! I’ll banish ‘Terrifying Templar’ from my hand and ‘Tuning Templar’ from my Graveyard: Riko, now you have to discard 2 cards from your hand!”

“Oh.. I’ll send ‘Gazelle’ and ‘Paper Tape’ to my Graveyard, then…”

“I’m ready to battle! Due to ‘Temple’, my monsters gain 400 ATK!”

(ATK of ‘The Tuned Templar of Nights’: 2700 -> 3100)

(ATK of ‘The Trusting Templar’: 1700 -> 2100)

“Let’s fight! ‘Templar of Nights’, direct attack!”

“I can’t let you do that! I’ll use the last effect of ‘Paperplane Launching Pad’: if you attack directly, I can destroy it, and negate that attack!”

“Nice save, but now you don’t have cards left. ‘Trusting Templar’, attack!”

(Riko’s LP: 11400 -> 9300)

“I end my turn.” Maya announced.

“Ibuki… you have the permission of doing anything you want.” Sokyoku said with a serious tone.

“Really? Excellent, then,” He grinned maliciously. “My turn.”

Turn 5

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 9300

Hand: 0, 2, 6

Graveyard: 7

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 13200

Hand: 1, 2, 5

Field: ‘Templar of Nights’, ‘Trusting Templar’, ‘Temple’

Graveyard: 7

Banished: 7

RECAP

Riko’s hand: Puma, Pike

Hokuro: 1 unused card

Maya: 2 unused cards

GY DPR: Cyclone, Orogenesis, Earthquake, Wildebeest, Leopard, Planet, Pad

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High drive, Sora, Sora, Drive Form, Recovery, Reflega, Fusion Sora, Traveling

banished Revert, Synchro Sora, Traitorous, Donald, Trusting, Terrifying, Tuning

“Prepare for a Divination session, Maya. I’m sure you’ll… enjoy it. Let’s start easy, shall we. I’ll use ‘Divination Art of I Ching’: I’ll toss a coin 3 times, and… let’s see what happens.” 3 small, shining coins made of pure silver appeared in Ibuki’s left hand.

“I admit I’m quite scared...” Maya said.

“Let’s do it. Coin toss!” He threw them in the air and waited until they touched the ground. “3 Tails? Fate is helping me.”

“What happens if you get 3 Tails…?”

“You get to draw a card… and if it’s a monster, you’ll Summon it to my field, if it’s a Spell or a Trap, you’ll Set it on my field.”

“Maya, remember what Ryuto said? This guy steals cards!” Hokuro shouted.

“Draw…” Maya looked at her card. “Oh… it’s ‘The Terrifying Templar’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1800/1000), so you’ll gain control of it…”

“Precisely.” Maya’s monster appeared on Ibuki’s side of the field, but it was acting emotionless, as it was a puppet in his hands.

“For my next move, I’ll use ‘Divination Art of Oculomancy’: I declare a card type, and you’re going to show me if you have any cards of the same type in your hand. I want to see… your monsters.”

“I have only one monster, and it’s ‘The Traveling Templar’.”

“After its activation, I can add another ‘Oculomancy’ from my Deck to the hand.” A card flew from his Deck to his hand. “My intuition tells me your other card is a Spell. Let me show you another move. I’ll Set 2 cards on my field…”

“And you end your turn?”

“Oh, no. I’ll now activate from my hand the Spell Card, ‘Divination Art of Chiromancy’. Now we both show each other our hands… and if we have the same number of a specific card type, something will happen.”

“As you know, I have ‘The Traveling Templar’ and the Spell ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ in my hand”

“Excellent, because I have a monster too, ‘Mystic Clairvoyant’, and a Spell, ‘Attunement of Divination Arts’.”

“What!? You predicted that?”

“Never underestimate my abilities.” Ibuki looked serious and determined. “Both monsters will be Summoned on my field, and your Spell will be Set on my field! Also, since I got 2 effects, I can add a ‘Divination Art’ card from my Deck, and I’ll choose ‘Divination Art of I Ching’. Appear on my field, ‘Mystic Clairvoyant’ (Level 3/DARK/Spellcaster/0/1200) and ‘Traveling Templar’! The effect of ‘Mystic’ activates, and I can add 1 ‘Aura of Spirituality’ from my Deck to my hand.”

The air around them got darker. It was as if the world itself was preparing to feel the occult power of his cards.

“Get ready! I activate from my hand the Continuous Spell ‘Aura of Spirituality’!” The atmosphere became foggy and even darker. Just like in the Duel against Ryuta, 4 lampposts appeared at the corners of the field, allowing the players to see it under a creepy gloomy light. “Are you ready to experience the true power of Divination?”

[spoiler=Chapter 6: Dueling Together - Part 3]

“It’s time to activate the effect of ‘Aura of Spirituality’.” Ibuki announced. “I can destroy a card on my field which I don’t originally own to activate one of its 3 effects. I’ll use the first one. By destroying ‘The Traveling Templar’, I target and destroy your Synchro monster, ‘The Tuned Templar of Nights’.”

‘Traveling Templar’ got absorbed in the fog and as a beam of dark energy crashed into Maya’s monster.

“Oh no! My monster!”

“Now I’ll use the effect of ‘Mystic Clairvoyant’. I tribute him, and you must Summon a monster from your Graveyard to my field.”

“Oh… I can choose a ‘Sora’, ‘Traveling Templar’, or a ‘Drive’ monster… I’ll choose ‘Templar’, since it’s the one with the lowest ATK among them!”

“Interesting choice, Maya.” Itou said.

“Your decision is worthless. I’ll use the effect of ‘Aura’ again, using ‘Templar’ as sacrifice one more time! This time I’ll use the second effect: I declare a card type, and excavate my first 2 cards, and if they are of the same type declared, I’ll add them to my hand, otherwise, they go straight to the Graveyard.”

“So that means you’re basing your choice on pure luck?”

“Not at all. See, Ibuki has a powerful sense of intuition that lets him know when it’s the right time to use a card and what to do. He can predict the future… in a way” explained Sokyoku.

“Precisely. I feel I have to declare Spells. Let’s see if I’m right.” 2 cards started whirling in the air, and they were Spells, as he predicted. “Excellent. I’ll add them to my hand.”

“How did he…” Even after witnessing his Divination power again, Hokuro was still shocked.

“Now ‘Terrifying Templar’, destroy her ‘Trusting Templar’!”

(ATK 1800+400 (Temple) vs ATK 1700+400 (Temple) -> 100 damage)

(Maya’s LP: 13200 -> 13100)

“Tch. That was nothing.” Maya said.

“At least we got rid of your monsters.”

“You’re right… but when my turn comes, I’ll turn the tables!” Hokuro shouted.

“Before that… I activate my Spell, ‘Attunement of Divination Arts’. I roll a die, and rearrange the top cards on my Deck depending on the result, also I can place a ‘Divination Art’ card from my Deck among those. Let’s see…” Ibuki rolled a 3. “Fine. Wait a moment… Done. I Set one card and end my turn. Let’s see what you got.”

“I draw!” said Itou.

Turn 6

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 9300

Hand: 0, 2, 0

Field: ‘Terrifying’, ‘Aura’, (Set) MST, 3 Set cards (I Ching, Necro and Oculo)

Graveyard: 12

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 13100

Hand: 1, 0, 6

Field: ‘Temple’

Graveyard: 11

Banished: 7

RECAP

Riko’s hand: Puma, Pike

Hokuro: 1 unused card

Maya, Sokyoku, Ibuki: 0

GY DPR: Cyclone, Orogenesis, Earthquake, Wildebeest, Leopard, Planet, Pad, I Ching, Oculomancy, Chiromancy, Mystic, Attunement

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High Drive, Sora, Sora, Drive Form, Recovery, Reflega, Fusion Sora, Traveling, Of Nights, Traveling, Trusting

banished Revert, Synchro Sora, Traitorous, Donald, Trusting, Terrifying, Tuning

“I Normal Summon ‘Reality Rupture Luciream’ (Level 2/DARK/Psychic/600/1700)! With its effect, I can discard a card, then Special Summon ‘Reality Rupture Dayream’ from my Deck (Level 1/LIGHT/Psychic/100/300)!”

“I activate the effect of ‘Reality Rupture Nighream’ from my hand! I can add 1 ‘Reality Rupture’ monster from my Graveyard to my hand, and I choose the discarded ‘Reality Rupture Recuream’, to Special Summon this monster from my hand (Level 4/DARK/Psychic/1700/400)! Now it’s time to Link Summon! I’ll use ‘Dayream’ and ‘Luciream’ as Link Materials to Summon ‘Reality Rupture Dreahealream’!”

“So you can Link Summon? Cool” Sokyoku said.

“In fact, I haven’t finished Link Summoning yet. I’ll use ‘Dreahealream’ and ‘Nighream’ to Link Summon another monster! Come, ‘Reality Rupture Falsream’! The effect of ‘Falsream’ allows me to Summon a Link monster from my Graveyard, so ‘Dreahealream’ will come back! Now! With my Link-2 monsters, I can Link Summon one more time! Take the dreams and form them into your reality, shatter the hopes of victory of your enemy! Link Summon! Come forth, ‘Reality Rupture Lifeream’ (Link-4/LIGHT/Psychic/2200/Markers: Left, Up-Left, Right, Down)!”

“Also, with the effect of ‘Falsream’, ‘Lifeream’ gains its Link Markers, so ‘Lifeream’ now points Up too!”

“Itou has Summoned his boss monster!” Maya said.

“The effect of ‘Lifeream’ activates: I can discard 2 cards to Summon another Link monster directly from my Extra Deck, ignoring the requirements! I’ll Summon ‘Reality Rupture Prophetiream’ (Link-3/DARK/Psychic/1600). ‘Lifeream’ also gives a nice boost to ‘Prophetiream’, which gains 400 ATK and is unaffected by your monster’s effects! Let’s battle!”

(ATK of ‘Prophetiream’: 1600 -> 2000)

“My… Maya’s monster has the exact same ATK as ‘Lifeream’. Which monster are you going to sacrifice?” Ibuki asked.

“…no one. I use my Spell, ‘Cosmic Cyclone’: I pay 1000 LP, then banish a Spell or a Trap!”

(Itou’s LP: 13100 -> 12100)

“This doesn’t solve anything. My cards have nothing to do with my monster’s ATK.”

“I know! That’s why I target Maya’s Spell on my field, ‘The Templar’s Temple’!”

“Oh…!”

“Well done, Itou!”

(ATK of ‘Terrifying Templar’: 2200 -> 1800)

“Perfect! ‘Prophetiream’, attack ‘Terrifying Templar’!”

(ATK 2000 vs ATK 1800 -> 200 damage)

(Ibuki’s LP: 9300 -> 9100)

“The effect of ‘Prophetiream’ activates: once per turn, if a ‘Reality Rupture’ monster deals damage, I can shuffle a card from your field into the Deck! I’ll target the Set card on my left!”

“That was ‘Divination Art of I Ching’. That’s fine.”

“Now, ‘Lifeream’, direct attack!”

(ATK 2200 -> 2200 damage)

(Ibuki’s LP: 9100 -> 6900)

“Sokyoku… I’ll leave it to you.”

“I’m ready.” he answered.

“I end my turn, then.” Itou announced.

“This means it’s my turn. I draw.”

Turn 7

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 6900

Hand: 1, 2, 0

Field:, ‘Aura’, (Set) MST, 2 Set cards (Necro and Oculo)

Graveyard: 12

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 12100

Hand: 1, 0, 1

Field: ‘Prophetiream’, ‘Lifeream’

Graveyard: 20

Banished: 7

RECAP

Riko’s hand: Puma, Pike

Hokuro: 1 unused card

Itou: Recuream

GY DPR: Cyclone, Orogenesis, Earthquake, Wildebeest, Leopard, Planet, Pad, I Ching, Oculomancy, Chiromancy, Mystic, Attunement

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High Drive, Sora, Sora, Drive Form, Recovery, Reflega, Fusion Sora, Traveling, Of Nights, Traveling, Trusting, Dayream, Luciream, Nighream, Dreahealream, Falsream, 2 discarded cards (Haven and Paradigm), Cyclone, Terrifying

banished Revert, Synchro Sora, Traitorous, Donald, Trusting, Terrifying, Tuning

Sokyoku had just drawn his card, but he knew exactly a precise strategy for his turn, which would have put Hokuro in a disadvantage.

“Time to show you the true power of the DPR team!”

Nekomata · April 29, 2018

Chapter 13-14

Grimseer https://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/373692-grimseers-dark-psychics-with-exact-lp-clauses/

Pinball Slots https://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/368417-dpr-pachinko-counter-trap-with-a-different-effect-based-on-where-it-activates/

XL Accelerator https://forum.yugiohcardmaker.net/topic/373802-speeding-up-accel-synchros-heres-xl-accelerator/

[spoiler=Chapter 7: Dueling Together - Part 4]

“The effect of ‘Attunement of Divination Arts’ activates right now.” Ibuki announced. “Now Sokyoku can draw 1 card.”

“Thanks, dude. And now we’ll combine our strengths, so I can use more of his cards,” Sokyoku glanced at Ibuki in a knowing way. “Use your intuition to let me know which card to activate first!”

“Sure. Use ‘Necromancy’, and declare Spell.”

“I activate Ibuki’s Set card, ‘Divination Art of Necromancy’!,” Sokyoku said as he was told. “With this card, I can roll a die, and I’ll add a card from my Graveyard depending on the result; also if I guess its type, I can add another ‘Divination Art’ card from my Deck to my hand. I trust you completely: this is what being a team is all about! I declare Spells!”

A black six-sided die appeared in Sokyoku’s left hand, and he rolled it in the misty air.

“I got a 6! Now I add the sixth card in my Graveyard, counting from its bottom, and that card… is my ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!

“He got it right!” Itou said.

“If you want to Duel as a team, you have to trust each other, and your combined Decks have to work as one!”

“So far, the only thing I’ve done was get in Itou’s way with my ‘Temple’ card…” Maya said quietly.

“Don’t worry, Maya! You needed that card for your plays!” Itou consoled her.

“’Planet’ will be added to my hand,” Sokyoku continued his plays. “And I get to add to my hand ‘Divination Art of Cartomancy’ from my Deck to my hand.”

“So... you’re running ‘Divination’ cards…?” Hokuro asked.

“Yeah. My Deck, just like Riko’s and Ibuki’s, has some cards which belong to a teammate: this way we can make better plays! Now, Ibuki. Guide me to my next move!”

“…use my Set ‘Oculomancy’.” Ibuki’s divinations were consuming a lot of his energy.

“I see what you want me to do. I use Ibuki’s ‘Divination Art of Oculomancy’. Reveal your hand, even though I already know your card is a monster.”

“It is. It’s ‘Recuream’.” Itou showed his monster.

“Now with the other effect of ‘Oculomancy’, I can add another copy of that card to my hand.”

“He had no cards in his hand before his Draw Phase, and now he has 5…!” Maya covered her mouth with her hands.

“Now I activate my Field Spell, ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!”

Just like his first turn, the landscape around them became a natural paradise, but this time, since ‘Aura of Spirituality’ was on the field, the plants and the river were covered in a thick grey fog.

“Sokyoku. This is the right time to use ‘Cartomancy’.” Ibuki was so concentrated that he almost looked in trance.

“Got it. I activate the Spell card, ‘Divination Art of Cartomancy’! Twice, we’re going to excavate the first card in our Decks, and if they’re of the same card type, they’ll get to my field!”

“Oh no… why do I have a really bad feeling about this…” Itou said. “My cards are… ‘Reality Rupture Dayream’ and ‘Channelream’…”

“I got 2 monsters too. Appear, ‘Forecast Volcano’ (Level 7/FIRE/Pyro/800/2800) and ‘Forecast Cyclone’ (Level 7/WIND/Psychic/2400/2800) in Attack Mode! Also, Itou’s monsters, join them on my field!”

“4 monsters with a single card…!?” Hokuro said.

At that moment, Ibuki, with no energies left after his predictions, fainted and fell.

“Ibuki!” Riko screamed and rushed to him.

“Riko, take care of him. I’ll finish this duel as soon as I can.” Sokyoku was worried about his teammate, but he was in the middle of his turn. “I use the effect of ‘Aura of Spirituality’: I destroy your ‘Dayream’ to destroy ‘Lifeream’.”

Itou’s monster pounced on ‘Lifeream’ in a beam of grey light.

“Now I’ll use ‘Aura’ again, using ‘Channelream’ as sacrifice. This time, I’ll use the second effect: I’ll declare a card type, reveal the top 2 cards of my Deck and if they were of the same type declared, I’ll add them to my hand, otherwise they’ll go straight in my Graveyard. Ibuki, I wish you could tell me which type to declare. Erm… Spells?”

Sokyoku excavated a Monster card, ‘Forecast Tsunami’ and a Spell, ‘Forecast Night of Calamities’.

“Not perfect, but it’s fine. ‘Tsunami’ will go to my Graveyard, but ‘Night of Calamities’ will be added to my hand!” Sokyoku looked at Ibuki for a second, with a sad look in his face. “Our team is missing a piece right now. Guess I’ll just proceed with my strategy. Now, the effect of ‘Planet’ activates! I discard 1 card, the other copy of ‘Oculomancy’, and I can Special Summon a monster from my Side Deck! Come, ‘Forecast Stream’ (Level 2/WATER/Aqua/200/500)! With the effect of ‘Stream’, I can Summon another monster from my Side Deck, my choice is ‘Forecast Lightning’ (Level 2/LIGHT/Thunder/500/600)!”

While he was Summoning his monsters, ‘Volcano’ made a loud noise, as the lava inside of it was boiling.

“I’m about to Summon the strongest ‘Forecast’! This one has to be Summoned from the hand by returning 2 ‘Forecast’ monsters with different names to my Side Deck. Most catastrophic calamity, ruler of all natural disasters, come and show us the hidden force of nature! By using ‘Stream’ and ‘Lightning’, I Special Summon ‘Forecast Storm’ (Level 7/LIGHT/Thunder/2600/1800)!”

The air filled with electricity, thundering among the sky.

“This Summon triggers the effect of ‘Volcano’: I get to destroy a monster on the field, and I choose ‘Prophetiream’!”

“Now our field is empty!” Maya realized.

“Precisely. ‘Storm’ also gains 200 ATK for each face-up Spell or Trap card on the field! ‘Aura’ and ‘Planet’ will grant it 400 ATK!”

(ATK of ‘Storm’: 2600 -> 3000)

“Before attacking, I’ll use the Continuous Spell, ‘Forecast Night of Calamities’!” Now the atmosphere of ‘Planet’, already filled with the fog of ‘Aura of Spirituality’ and the electric power of ‘Storm,’ became even darker, even though ‘Volcano’ kept enlightening the field with its red light, along with the lampposts.

“Its effect allows me to add a ‘Forecast’ from my Deck to my hand, and, by giving up my Normal Summon, Special Summon a ‘Forecast’ monster from my Side Deck with the same attribute! I’ll add a copy of ‘Forecast Tsunami’ and Summon another ‘Forecast Stream’, which lets me Summon ‘Forecast Lapillus’ from my Side Deck (Level 2/FIRE/Pyro/800/100)! Now I’ll evolve ‘Stream’ into ‘Tsunami’ (Level 7/WATER/Aqua/3000/100)!”

“Five monsters and we have nothing!” Hokuro said.

“Also since ‘Night of Calamities’ is a Spell, ‘Storm’ gains 200 ATK!”

(ATK of ‘Storm’: 3000 -> 3200)

“Now, ‘Forecast Cyclone’, unleash your power!” The raging wind made his 3 opponents fly away.

(Itou’s LP: 12100 -> 9700)

“’Volcano’, ‘Storm’, your turn!”

(Itou’s LP: 9700 -> 8900 -> 5700)

“’Tsunami’, ‘Lapillus’, attack directly!”

(Itou’s LP: 5700 -> 2700 -> 1900)

“This wasn’t enough to defeat them. Guess we just have to wait another turn...” Sokyoku ended his turn.

“Hokuro, we believe in you!” Maya cheered him up.

“Yeah! It’s my turn! Draw!”

Turn 8

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 6900

Hand: 0, 2, 0

Field:, ‘Planet’, ‘Night’, ‘Aura’, a Set card, ‘Lapillus’, ‘Storm’, ‘Volcano’, ‘Cyclone’, ‘Tsunami’

Graveyard: 16

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 1900

Hand: 2, 0, 1

Field:

Graveyard: 24

Banished: 7

RECAP

Riko’s hand: Puma, Pike

Hokuro: 2

Itou: Recuream

GY DPR: Cyclone, Orogenesis, Earthquake, Wildebeest, Leopard, Pad, I Ching, Oculomancy, Chiromancy, Mystic, Attunement; Necromancy, Oculomancy, Cartomancy, Tsunami, Oculomancy

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High Drive, Sora, Sora, Drive Form, Recovery, Reflega, Fusion Sora, Traveling, Of Nights, Traveling, Trusting, Dayream, Luciream, Nighream, Dreahealream, Falsream, 2 discarded cards (Haven and Paradigm), Cosmic Cyclone, Terrifying, Dayream, Lifeream, Channelream, Prophetiream

banished Revert, Synchro Sora, Traitorous, Donald, Trusting, Terrifying, Tuning

“First of all, I’ll use the Spell card, ‘Drive Recovery’! With this card, I can add 1 ‘Drive Form’ and ‘Sora - the Keyblade Bearer’ from my Graveyard to my hand!” Hokuro remembered there was one card that could’ve help his team out of that situation. “Then I’ll use another Spell, ‘Monster Reborn’, to revive from my Graveyard a monster! Return alive, ‘Sora the Keyblade of Wisdom’! Now, I’ll Normal Summon ‘Sora’, which lets me Special Summon another ‘Sora’ from my Graveyard in Defense Mode! The effect of this ‘Sora’ allows me to add a ‘Keyblade’ card from my Deck to my hand: I’ll add ‘Roxas, The Keyblade of Destiny’ (Level 6/DARK/Warrior/2500/1600)!”

“Great play, Hokuro! Go on!” Itou and Maya kept supporting him.

“I use the Spell Card, ‘Drive Form’! With Sora as the catalyst and his Fusion form as the power, the ultimate form of the Keyblade appears. Take the arcanas and strength of your heart and become one! Drive Synchro Summon! Come forth, ‘Drive Form - Sora the Final Keyblade Bearer’ (Level 10/LIGHT/Warrior/3100/2000)!”

“That monster has more ATK than any of my monsters… except ‘Storm’.” Sokyoku thought to himself.

“Also the effect of ‘Wisdom’ lets me draw 1 card!” Hokuro needed to be sure his attacks wouldn’t get negated, so Sokyoku’s Set card was a problem. However, if he destroyed a Spell, the ATK of ‘Storm’ would become 3000, thus making it weaker than his Synchro monster. “The effect of ‘Roxas’ in my hand activates: I banish ‘The Traveling Templar’ from my Graveyard, so I can Special Summon it and, by banishing another monster, ‘Sora’, I can shuffle 1 card from the field to the Deck. I target your Set card!”

“Oh no, my ‘Forecast Orogenesis’!” Sokyoku was relying on that card to let Riko finish the Duel, but now, things had changed… “Hold up, you still have no way of beating me.”

“Let’s battle! ‘The Final Keyblade Bearer’ can attack all monsters you control!”

“…no!”

“…yeah! Now, attack ‘Cyclone’!”

(ATK 3100 vs ATK 2400 -> 700 damage)

(Sokyoku’s LP: 6900 -> 6200)

“The effect of ‘Cyclone’ activates! I can Set a ‘Forecast’ card from my Deck: Riko, I’ll leave you a ‘Forecast Earthquake’!”

“Attack ‘Lapillus’!”

(ATK 3100 vs ATK 800 -> 2300 damage)

(Sokyoku’s LP: 6200 -> 3900)

“If I was you, I’d plan my next move carefully…” Sokyoku suggested in an enigmatic tone.

“Why did you say that…?” Hokuro looked at his opponent’s field. ‘Storm’ was still raging in the clouds on his left, ‘Tsunami’ in the water on his right, and ‘Volcano’ was standing imposing between them.

“Hokuro, wait. Let’s reflect.” Itou said. “Maybe he’s challenging us. So far, all high Level ‘Forecast’ monsters have an effect when they’re removed from the field. ‘Cyclone’ lets him Set a card, ‘Tsunami’ Summons a monster from the Side Deck… we don’t know the effect of ‘Storm’, and we don’t know the effect of ‘Volcano’ either.”

“Mh. You’re interesting.” Sokyoku admitted. “Let’s see if you can figure out how not to lose this turn.”

“Also he said we have no way of beating him, before knowing the effect of your monster. At that point, he warned us. That means if you didn’t have the possibility of attacking them all, we would lose. However…” Itou had an idea. “Hokuro, there’s definitely a way out of this, and it depends on the order of your attacks. We have a chance. ‘Storm’ has too much ATK, so the only possible targets are ‘Volcano’ or ‘Tsunami’. If everything I supposed is right, this means the effect of ‘Volcano’ relies on the Summoning ability of ‘Tsunami’. Hokuro, attack ‘Volcano’ first!”

“What a splendid way of thinking!” Sokyoku clapped his hands.

“If being a team means trust each other…” Hokuro didn’t quite understand why the order of the attacks mattered so much, but he listened to Itou anyway. “‘Sora’, attack ‘Volcano’!”

(ATK 3100 vs ATK 800 -> 2300 damage)

(Sokyoku’s LP: 3900 -> 1600)

“As Itou grasped, the effect of ‘Volcano’ now triggers. It deals damage equal to the number of ‘Forecast’ monsters Summoned while it was on the field x300!” Sokyoku explained. “Let me count for you…”

The lava inside ‘Volcano’ was boiling louder each time Sokyoku said the name of a ‘Forecast’.

“I Summoned ‘Stream’, ‘Lightning’, ‘Storm’, another ‘Stream’, ‘Lapillus’ and ‘Tsunami’… that will be precisely 1800 points of damage. And if you had attacked ‘Tsunami’ first, that would’ve been 2100.”

(Hokuro’s LP: 1900 -> 100)

“I can’t believe it, Itou,” Hokuro said. “You did it.”

“The turn hasn’t ended yet!” Itou reminded him to stay focus on the Duel.

“You’re right. Now it’s the turn of ‘Tsunami’! Destroy it!”

(ATK 3100 vs ATK 3000 -> 100 damage)

(Sokyoku’s LP: 1600 -> 1500)

“Now using its effect and Summoning a ‘Forecast’ doesn’t make sense. It would just be a waste of time and Zones.” Sokyoku was really impressed. “Riko, we found them.”

“Do you really think so?” She answered. “I’m not sure… They really have to deserve it…”

“Fine. We’ll give them one more turn.” Sokyoku smiled.

“I Set a card and end my turn.” Hokuro announced.

“The effect of ‘Storm’ activates. It will be shuffled into my Deck.”

Hokuro was still really curious about his last words.

“What are you talking about?”

“We’ll reveal that to you.” Riko said. “But first, it’s my turn. Draw!”

Turn 9

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 1500

Hand: 0, 2, 0

Field:, ‘Planet’, ‘Night’, ‘Aura’, a Set card

Graveyard: 18

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 100

Hand: 0, 0, 1

Field: ‘Final Sora’, ‘Sora’, ‘Roxas’, a Set card

Graveyard: 22

Banished: 7

“Guys… I’m ok now..” Ibuki mumbled while opening his eyes.

“No you’re not. Stay calm. Riko’s gonna continue the duel.” Sokyoku said as he was going to help him. “You’ve done a great job.”

“I just wanted to say… use the Spells in the Graveyard…”

“You’re right!” Riko knew what he was talking about. They had already practiced this strategy, so he didn’t need to say anymore. “Thanks for reminding us! I use the effect of the 3 copies of ‘Divination Art of Oculomancy’ in the Graveyard! If I have them all, I can shuffle them back in my Deck, and draw 1 more card! Not only that, I’m also using the effect of ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’: by shuffling 3 ‘Forecast’ cards in my Deck, I get to draw another card!”

“They know perfectly their Decks! That’s crazy!” Maya said.

“Now, I’ll end the Duel this turn! I use ‘Paperplane Stealth - Puma’ as Scale 5 and ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Pike’ as Scale 3! I’m ready for my Pendulum Summon! Never dying Paper, swing between my creations, and let me call out my Planes! Pendulum Summon!”

[spoiler=Chapter 8: Dueling Together - Part 5]

“Pendulum Summon! Here they come! From my hand, ‘Paperplane Bomber - Falcon’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1600/400) and ‘Paperplane Fighter Jet - Gazelle’ ( Level 4/WIND/Psychic/2000/200)! I haven’t finished yet: I use the Pendulum effects of ‘Pike’ and ‘Puma’, so they can be Special Summoned from the Pendulum Zones if I performed a Pendulum Summon this turn!”

“Is she going for the Xyz monster?” Itou asked frightened.

“Yes, I am! I use ‘Gazelle’, ‘Puma’ and ‘Pike’ to build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear one last time, ‘Paperplane Air Fighter - Wildebeest’ (Rank 4/WIND/Psychic/2700/100)!”

Her monsters became one in just a few quick foldings.

“You should know its effect: I detach ‘Gazelle’ to banish your Synchro monster, ‘Sora the Final Keyblade Bearer’ and to let my monster gain 300 ATK!”

(ATK of ‘Wildebeest’: 2700 -> 3000)

“I know your monster doesn’t allow me to use cards if it attacks, so I’ll use it now,” Hokuro said. “It’s my Spell ‘Once More’: I target ‘Roxas’, so it can’t be destroyed by battle this turn!”

“Well done. The effect of ‘Roxas’ also prevents it from being banished, so with the help of that Spell, it became almost invincible.” Itou reflected.

“Oh… do you think Paper doesn’t have an answer? I said I’ll win this turn!”

“What…? You can’t deal damage, my monsters are in Defense Mode!”

“My Planes can pierce through your monsters without any problems! I use the effect of ‘Falcon’, so I Tribute it, and Summon a ‘Paperplane’ directly from my Deck. I choose my ‘Paperplane Fighter Jet - Antelope’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/2200/200)! You know, this monster is perfect for this situation: if it attacks a monster in Defense Position, not only it gains 300 ATK, but it also deals piercing damage!”

“Oh no! Hokuro, do something!” Maya shouted.

“Time to end this. ‘Antelope’, attack and destroy his ‘Sora’! Sorry to tell you, but you’ve lost.”

“Not so fast! I use the other effect of ‘Once More’ in my Graveyard! If I’m about to lose enough Life Points to lose, I can banish it, and that damage becomes 0!” Hokuro saved his team, allowing Maya to have a second chance.

“Sokyoku, that’s it. I have to agree with you. We’ve really found someone.” Riko nodded.

“Told you!” Sokyoku laughed.

“What are you saying? I want to know!” Hokuro asked impatient.

“The Duel hasn’t ended yet.” Riko turned her head towards him. “Even though my ‘Antelope’ will get destroyed since it battled, I still have my ‘Wildebeest’, and a card in my hand, which I’m Setting right now, and Sokyoku’s card. Your turn, Maya.”

“Hokuro, Itou, I won’t let you down! It’s my turn!”

Turn 10

Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki

LP: 1500

Hand: 0, 0, 0

Field: ‘Planet’, ‘Night’, ‘Aura’, ‘Wildebeest’, 2 Set cards

Graveyard: 13

Banished: 1

Hokuro, Maya and Itou

LP: 100

Hand: 0, 1, 1

Field: ‘Roxas’

Graveyard: 22

Banished: 11

GY DPR: Wildebeest, Leopard, Pad, I Ching, Chiromancy, Mystic, Attunement; Necromancy, Cartomancy, Tsunami, Cyclone, Volcano, Gazelle

banished Wildebeest

GY PROTAGONISTS: High Drive, Recovery, Reflega, Of Nights, Traveling, Trusting, Dayream, Luciream, Nighream, Dreahealream, Falsream, 2 discarded cards (Haven and Paradigm), Cosmic Cyclone, Terrifying, Dayream, Lifeream, Channelream, Prophetiream, Recovery, Monster Reborn, Wisdom Sora

banished Revert, Synchro Sora, Traitorous, Donald, Trusting, Terrifying, Tuning, Traveling, Synchro lv10, Once More, Sora

“This is my last chance. Itou and Hokuro gave it to me, and I won’t waste it!” Maya’s Deck began to shine. “Draw!”

“Maya, we believe in you!” Itou encouraged her.

“You have just one monster and a card in your hand! What are you going to do?” Sokyoku asked.

“I’ll use the Spell card, ‘The Templar’s Trial’!”

“Maya, go for it!” Hokuro said.

“If I have less then 1000 Life Points, I can banish all my monsters from my Graveyard, and if there was at least 1 ‘Drive’ monster among them, I get to clear the field!”

“What…!?” Riko said shocked.

“Teamwork is important, right? Hokuro’s Fusion monster allowed this card to be activated! Now all cards in all players’ hands, fields, and Graveyards are banished!”

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

A huge temple rose up in the middle of the Field as the monsters in Maya’s Graveyard turned into blue flames which enlightened the field, clearing the fog created by ‘Aura’ and ‘Night of Calamities’ up. After they had created a circle around the temple, a dazzling light from the temple itself blinded the opponents and left nothing on the field.

“Ok… how are you planning on end the Duel now…?” Riko asked with her eyes closed.

“The effect of ‘Trials’ hasn’t finished resolving yet!” Maya explained. “After that… I can Special Summon a banished ‘Drive’ monster, ignoring its Summoning conditions! Come back, ‘Drive Form - Sora the Final Keyblade Bearer’ (Level 10/LIGHT/Warrior/3100/2000)!”

“That’s my monster!” Hokuro realized. “Good job, Maya!”

“They were able to create a new, stronger bond in-between the duel…” Ibuki noticed.

“Go, ‘Sora’, end this Duel! Final Strike!”

(ATK 3100 -> 3100 damage)

(Riko’s LP: 1500 -> 0)

The opponents received the hit, but they were smiling.

“Now can you please explain why you’ve been behaving like this since my turn?” Hokuro asked.

“Sure,” Sokyoku replied. “You see, we have a mission, and that’s recruiting strong duelists from all the Schools and Academies. We have a quite direct way to do that…”

“Yeah! You make students disappear!” Itou shouted.

“We can reveal it now,” Riko said. “The truth is, we don’t actually kill nor eliminate anyone. We just transfer them to a safer place… the DPR Academy.”

“Is that your school?” Itou asked.

“Yeah. It’s a ship in the middle of nowhere, safe from the imminent danger that’s about to strike the world…”

“What’s happening…?” Maya said worried.

“We’ll answer every question you might have. But first, we have to return to the Academy.” Sokyoku responded resolute.

“Are you just leaving us here?”

“Oh no…” Ibuki said. “You’re coming with us.”

“What?” They screamed together.

The three DPR members activated their bracelets, and in a beam of light of various colors they all disappeared with Hokuro, Maya and Itou, leaving the Star Dueling Academy untouched, but completely empty.

[spoiler=Chapter 9: Time to Join the Team]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 9]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Itou Kisaragi

Riko Hikouki

New: Daichi Mimasu

Plot

Hokuro, Maya and Itou wake up after teleporting and they found themselves on a ship. Once Riko explains they’ve reached the DPR Academy, she tells them that they’ll meet the headmaster, but before that, they have to overcome 3 challenges, the first one being a question-based Duel against the smart Daichi.

Hokuro was still a bit dizzy after the teleport, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he realized he was lying on a woody floor with Itou and Maya.

“What happened…?” He asked.

“Hokuro, don’t you remember?” Itou stood up on his knees while touching his forehead. “Those guys told us we were about to go with them to the DPR Academy…”

“So this means…”

“We’re on a ship.”

Hokuro, speechless, crawled towards what looked like a fence and he looked into the distance.

“You’re right,” He realized. “We’re on a ship.”

“Maya, please, wake up.” Itou shaked her up.

“Am I dreaming? I was dueling with you and suddenly an intense light hit us…”

“You aren’t dreaming. This is real. We ended up on the DPR school.”

After having fully woken herself up, Maya, along with Itou, reached Hokuro. They were all admiring the blue sea, when some footsteps made them turn around.

“Hi, are you feeling ok?”

“Riko.” Itou recognized her.

“It’s me. I was told to check if you were fine. You know, sometimes our way of movement can… hurt the internal balance of someone, just like what happened with that guy who kept screaming your name, Hokuro.”

Hokuro looked for an answer in Maya’s eyes.

“It was probably Ryuta.” She smiled.

“I thought that too.” He laughed.

“Anyway. I’m sorry, but you must come with me. I’ll show your rooms, then I’ll lead you to Shosi.”

“Our rooms…?” Itou said. “So that means we’re staying here?”

“Yes, you are.” She turned around elegantly and started walking towards their rooms.

“Why do I feel like I’m an hostage…?” Maya grumbled.

“Don’t feel that way. If you prove you’re worth it, you’re going to join our team.”

“But we’re loyal to our school!” Hokuro said.

“Well… now you’re here.” Riko shrugged. “And if it hadn’t been for us, your school probably would’ve probably been destroyed long ago.”

“Why have we never heard about the DPR?” Itou had a lot of questions to ask.

“First of all, we haven’t been an official Academy for a lot. We were just doing our things without anyone knowing. And second, we still like to complete our missions secretly.”

“So you’ve been plotting in the shadows?”

“Not exactly, but, in a way, yes, we have. Anyway, these are your rooms,” Riko showed while they were passing them by. “We’ve already taken your stuff and brought it here.”

“Thanks… I guess.” Maya was still feeling as she had been captured.

They kept walking through the well decorated corridors of the ship until Riko stopped just when she reached a red door.

“I’m not allowed to go any further in your company. Open the door, and you’ll meet our leader. Well, the actual leader is always somewhere here, hidden from everyone, talking with us through the bracelets and giving us orders. You’re going to meet his subordinate, the headmaster.”

“Ok. Thanks, Riko.” Hokuro said as she was going away.

“I’m feeling quite nervous, guys. What’s about to happen?” Maya asked.

“There’s only one way to find out!” Hokuro was pretty excited.

“Let’s do it together, shall we?” Itou suggested.

“Sure. 3, 2, 1…” And then they slammed the door.

They couldn’t believe what they saw. Just before their eyes, empty bleachers towering above them, there was a gigantic dueling field made of soft ground. They were in a Dueling Arena, and on the other side there was a guy with blue spiky hair and round glasses on. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and black jeans.

“Welcome. My name’s Daichi Mimasu. Time for me to test your strength and intelligence before leading you to Shosi. Sokyoku told me you are about to become DPR members. Well, you have to pass a few tests before joining us. I’m the first one. The Duel against me will involve some… questions. Who’s going to be my opponent?”

Hokuro and Maya looked at each other, then at Itou. “You’re the one doing this.” They said in unison.

“Me…? Ok…” Itou sighed, then, speaking to Daichi: “I’m ready. Let’s do it.”

“Perfect. Then… time for a Duel!”

Turn 1

Daichi

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

Itou

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

“Allow me to go first in order to show you the rules of this Duel,” Daichi suggested. “If you want to Special Summon using a Special mechanic, in your case, Link Summon, if I remember correctly, you have to answer a question first, and if you get it wrong, the monster’s Summon is negated and it gets destroyed.”

“What kind of question?”

“General Yu-Gi-Oh knowledge. Something everyone...” He had a glance at Maya. “...should know.”

“Why has he looked at me?” Maya asked a bit annoyed while going with Hokuro up on the bleachers.

“Never mind. I’ll show you right now what kind of questions there’ll be…” Daichi analyzed the cards he had in his hand. “But first of all, let’s make this Duel more interesting. I activate the Field Spell, ‘P-Rewind Clock Tower’. Now all ‘P-Rewind’ monsters gain 500 ATK, even the ones in my hand.”

“Why? You can’t attack with a monster in your hand…” Hokuro said.

“You’re being impatient. Time goes by slowly, and sometimes it’s so slow it can be rewinded.”

“I Normal Summon ‘P-Rewind Retriever’ (Level 4/EARTH/Spellcaster/1800/0), then activate its effect. Now I can Special Summon another ‘P-Rewind’ from my Deck, and I choose ‘P-Rewind Startegist’ (Level 4/EARTH/Spellcaster/1600/0). Now ‘Retriever’ loses ATK equal to the ATK of ‘Strategist’, but that’s not a problem…”

(ATK of ‘Retriever’: 1800 + 500 (Tower) - 1600 (Eff) -> 700)

“... because the effect of ‘Clock Tower’ activates right now. Once per turn, when a ‘P-Rewind’ monster loses ATK, another monster can gain that lost ATK. Time will never be wasted as long as I have my monsters.”

(ATK of ‘Strategist’: 1600 + 500 (Tower) + 1600 (Lost ATK) -> 3700)

“What?” Itou was surprised. “3700 ATK already?”

“I haven’t finished yet. With the effect of ‘Strategist’, I can make it lose 800 ATK, and add a ‘P-Rewind’ from my Deck to my hand. I choose ‘P-Rewind Peacemaker’.”

(ATK of ‘Strategist’: 3700 - 800 (Eff) -> 2900)

“I won’t go easy on you, Itou. I’m about to Summon my ace monster right now. Sorry, my monsters, your time’s up. I activate the Ritual Spell card, ‘Fragmentation of P-Rewinding Time’! This card is very special, because it doesn’t use Levels as cost for the Ritual Summon, but ATK values. By using ‘Retriever’ and ‘Strategist’, the sum of their ATK is higher than the ATK of the monster I want to Summon, so I can use it!”

(2900 + 700 = 3600; 3600 > 3500)

“Rewind with the powers of time, move the hands of the clock and stop all who oppose you. Ritual Summon! It’s your time to shine, ‘P-Rewind Time Idol’! And wait, this should be time for…”

Ding Dong!

A metallic sound came off a speaker above the dueling field.

In order to continue your Ritual Summon, you have to answer a question first. ‘Cosmic Cyclone’, ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’, ‘Twin Twisters’, ‘Dicephoon’, ‘Tornado’. Which one of these cards is a Normal Spell?

“That’s easy. None of them, they’re all Quick-Play Spells.” Daichi settled his glasses.

Correct.

“This means ‘Time Idol’ has been successfully Summoned (Level 8/EARTH/Spellcaster/3000 (+500 from Tower)/0).”

“I get it. Sounds challenging.” Itou sniggered.

“I use the other effect of ‘Fragmentation of P-Rewinding Time’. It can be shuffled in my Deck allowing me to draw one more card. I’ll also Set 1 card and end my turn. Itou, choose carefully your Summons. I don’t want you to waste your time.”

“My turn then. I draw!”

Turn 2

Daichi

LP: 4000

Hand: 2

Field: ‘Time Idol’, ‘Tower’, 1 Set card

Graveyard: 2

Itou

LP: 4000

Hand: 6

Graveyard: 0

“I’ll start by Special Summoning ‘Reality Rupture Dayream’ (Level 1/LIGHT/Psychic/100/300) from my hand with its effect, which also allows me to add 1 ‘Reality Rupture’ monster from my Deck to my hand and send another one to my Graveyard. I add ‘Reality Rupture Nighream’ and send ‘Reality Rupture Recuream’ to the Graveyard. Then I use the effect of ‘Nighream’ in my hand: I add ‘Recuream’ from the Graveyard to my hand to Special Summon it (Level 4/DARK/Psychic/1700/400)!”

“Remember that if you Link Summon, you’ll have to answer a question. Will you be ready?”

“I am. In fact, I use ‘Dayream’ and ‘Nighream’ to Link Summon right now! Appear, ‘Reality Rupture Dreahealream’ (Link-2/LIGHT/Psychic/1000)!”

Ding Dong!

“Oh no…” Maya said annoyed.

In order to continue your Link Summon, you have to answer a question first. Can you name two cards that destroy Spells or Traps…

“It’s listed a lot of them last turn, what’s the point of the question?” Itou asked to himself.

…that are Normal Spells?

“Oh. Crap. That’s the point. Erm… ‘Heavy Storm’?”

…5, 4…

“You need to name 2 cards. And it looks like you’re running out of time…” Daichi smiled.

…3,2…

“This won’t let me concentrate! I need more time!”

…1, 0. Time’s up. Another valid option could have been ‘Galaxy Cyclone’.

“Right. Why haven’t I thought of that?”

“Time flies, doesn’t it? Sometimes you have to be fast, otherwise you’ll lose your chances. Since this counts as a wrong answer, I’m afraid your monster is destroyed…”

“No, ‘Dreahealream’!”

“Can’t you handle the stress, the anxiety, the rhythm of a Duel?”

“Apparently, I can’t. But it’s not over yet. I Normal Summon ‘Reality Rupture Luciream’ (Level 2/DARK/Psychic/600/1700)! With its effect, I can discard one card and Special Summon another ‘Reality Rupture’ from my Deck. I choose another ‘Dayream’!”

“I won’t let you do it. This is the perfect time to strike. I use my Set card, ‘P-Rewind Clock Room’. I Tribute my ‘Peacemaker’ in my hand and destroy both your monsters.”

“What..!?”

“The effect of ‘Peacemaker’ activates.” Daichi said. “If it’s Tributed, I can add 1 ‘P-Rewind’ card from my Graveyard to my hand. I choose ‘Retriever’.”

“Hokuro, he’s already in a huge disadvantage!” Maya screamed.

“I know! Let’s see if he has something else to play…”

“I still have 4 cards in my hand.” Itou stood up and got ready for his next move. “I won’t lose that easily.”

[spoiler=Chapter 10: Dreams, Realities and Time]

“I use the Continuous Spell, ‘Reality Rupture Shattering’. Once per turn, I can Summon a ‘Reality Rupture’ from my Graveyard, but it’ll get destroyed at the end of the turn. Come back, ‘Dreahealream’! Now, if I have a Link monster on the field, I can Special Summon this monster from my hand. Here it is, ‘Reality Rupture Channelream’ (Level 5/DARK/Psychic/2000/1400)”

“Are you going for another Link Summon?” Daichi asked. “Remember there’s a question first.”

“I’m not going to do it yet! ‘Drehealream’ allows ‘Channelream’ to attack directly. With the power of our dreams becoming reality, your field is now open. ‘Channelream’, attack!”

(Daichi’s LP: 4000 -> 2000)

“I didn’t think it was already time to take damage… but I still have my monster.”

“I’m not going to try to Link Summon again. I’ll just end my turn with a Set card.” Itou didn’t want to take any risks.

“The clock is ticking, doesn’t it? Now it’s my turn. Draw.”

Turn 3

Daichi

LP: 4000

Hand: 3

Field: ‘Time Idol’, ‘Tower’

Graveyard: 3 (Strategist, Peacemaker, Clock Room)

Itou

LP: 4000

Hand: 1

Field: ‘Channelream’, ‘Shattering’

Graveyard: 6 (Dayream, Nighream, Haven (discarded), Dayream, Luciream, Dreahealream

“I use the Graveyard effect of ‘Clock Room’. By banishing it, I can add 1 ‘P-Rewind’ card from my Deck to my hand. I choose ‘Fragmentation of P-Rewinding Time’.”

“Does he want to Ritual Summon another monster?” Hokuro said to Maya.

“I think so. Let’s hope Itou survives this turn…”

“Let’s continue. It’s time to perform another Ritual Summon. I Normal Summon ‘P-Rewind Retriever’, and just like last turn, I use its effect, but this time I Summon a ‘Peacemaker’ from my Deck. This means ‘Retriever’ loses the ATK of ‘Peacemaker’, which is 1000.”

(ATK of ‘Retriever’: 1800 + 500 (Tower) - 1000 (eff) -> 1300)

“Then I use the effect of ‘Peacemaker’. By lowering its ATK by 1000 points, I can Special Summon another ‘P-Rewind’ from my hand or Graveyard. Come back, ‘P-Rewind Strategist’.”

(ATK of ‘Peacemaker’: 1000 + 500 (Tower) - 1000 (eff) -> 500)

“But do you know what that means? If a ‘P-Rewind’ monster loses ATK, with the effect of ‘Tower’ another one gains that lost ATK.”

(ATK of ‘Retriever’: 1300 + 1000 -> 2300)

“With the effect of ‘Strategist’, I can make it lose 800 ATK, and add a ‘P-Rewind’ from my Deck to my hand. I add ‘P-Rewind Time Princess’.”

(ATK of ‘Strategist’: 1600 + 500 (Tower) - 800 (eff) -> 1300)

“Let’s go for a Ritual Summon. I use ‘Fragmentation of P-Rewinding Time’! As you know, this card uses ATK as cost. In order to Summon my 3700 ATK monster, I must Tribute my 3 monsters.”

(1300 + 2300 + 500 = 4100; 4100 > 3700)

“Rewind with the powers of time, dominate its course by diverting it as you please, and make your enemies fall. Ritual Summon! Now it’s your time to shine, ‘P-Rewind Time Princess’ (Level 8/EARTH/Spellcaster/3200 (+500 Tower)/0)”

Ding Dong!

In order to continue your Ritual Summon, you have to answer a question first. Can you spell the name of the ‘Earthbound Immortal’ Fiend monster with 3000 ATK?

“I wouldn’t be able to do it…” Hokuro admitted.

“Neither would I.” Maya responded.

“It was C - A - P - A - C and A - P - U, right?”

“There’s no way he got that right!” Itou screamed.

…Wrong.

“What!?” Everyone said in unison.

It was C - C - A - P - A - C and A - P - U.

“My… my…” Daichi stuttered as he witnessed ‘Time Princess’ being destroyed.

“Woah. He failed.” Hokuro said shocked.

Itou didn’t know what to say.

“Didn’t ‘Peacemaker’ have an effect when it was Tributed?” Maya whispered to Hokuro.

“I think it had… Maybe Daichi is so traumatized he forgot…”

“My… knowledge… gone… tricked by… a mere question….”

“Oh my. Guess we arrived at the exact moment,” said a voice behind Itou. “We couldn’t miss this Duel.”

It was Sokyoku, Riko and Ibuki.

“Everyone… has seen me failing…” Daichi turned to stone.

“Daichi, come on! Snap out of it!” Sokyoku shouted.

“…don’t tell me what to do.”

“You still have ‘Time Idol’ on the field, right?” Riko said.

“Mhm. Yes, I do.” ‘Time Idol’ turned her head around and smiled at him. “Right. Time never stops!”

“Wow, he’s really moody.” Maya noticed.

“Now, attack ‘Channelream’! Song of Rewinding Time!”

“Not so fast. I use my Trap card, ‘Ruptured Reality’! Now I can destroy your monster and add 1 ‘Reality Rupture’ card from my Graveyard!”

“I thought that you thought I didn’t think of an answer to that!”

“…what?” Itou asked confused.

“If ‘Time Idol’ would be destroyed, I can lower her ATK by 1000 points to prevent the destruction.”

(ATK of ‘Time Idol’: 3500 -> 2500)

(ATK 2500 vs ATK 2000 -> 500 damage)

(Itou’s LP: 4000 -> 3500)

“I Set one card, and end my turn.” Daichi announced.

“The Duel is getting interesting…” Sokyoku said. “Guys, let’s catch up with Maya and Hokuro on the bleachers.”

“My turn now. I draw.” Itou was a bit more confident after witnessing his opponent fail.

Turn 4

Daichi

LP: 4000

Hand: 1

Field: ‘Time Idol’, ‘Tower’, a Set card

Graveyard: 5 (Strategist, Peacemaker, Retriever, Fragmentation, Time Princess)

Banished: 1 (Clock Room)

Itou

LP: 3500

Hand: 2

Field: ‘Shattering’

Graveyard: 5 (Dayream, Nighream, Haven (discarded), Dayream, Luciream, Ruptured)

“First of all, I Special Summon ‘Reality Rupture Dayream’ (Level 1/LIGHT/Psychic/100/300) from my hand with its effect. As you should know, it lets me add 1 ‘Reality Rupture’ monster from my Deck to my hand and send another one to my Graveyard. I add ‘Reality Rupture Nighream’ and send ‘Reality Rupture Channelream’ to the Graveyard. Then I use the effect of ‘Nighream’ in my hand: I add ‘Luciream’ from the Graveyard to my hand to Special Summon it (Level 4/DARK/Psychic/1700/400)!”

“Are you trying the same strategy from last turn?”

“A similar one. Now, Link Summon! By using ‘Dayream’ and ‘Nighream’, I can Summon my Link 2, ‘Reality Rupture Falsream’ (Link-2/DARK/Psychic/1200)!”

Ding Dong!

“Let’s see. I won’t fail this time.” Itou said determined.

In order to continue your Link Summon, you have to answer a question first. How many ‘Mirror Force’ cards are there?

“Let’s think. There’s the regular one, and one for each Attribute…”

“Tick tock, Itou. Give your answer.” Daichi insisted.

“Give him a break.” Sokyoku said laughing.

“No wait. There’s a ‘Mirror Force’ monster too! That means…”

5… 4… 3…

“There are 8 ‘Mirror Force’ cards. My answer is 8.”

“Did he get it right this time?” Maya wondered.

Correct.

“Yes, I did it!” Itou jumped in joy. “The effect of ‘Falsream’ activates: I can Special Summon ‘Dreahealream’ from my Graveyard. Since I still have to Normal Summon, I Summon ‘Reality Rupture Recuream’ from my hand. Now I use the effect of ‘Shattering’ to bring ‘Channelream’ back from my Graveyard: using its effect, his Level becomes 3, just like ‘Recuream’.”

“But before Xyz Summoning, I have to Link Summon ‘Lifeream’, meaning I have to answer another question. If I answer it wrong, I’m doomed…” Itou thought to himself.

“What are you going to do with all those monsters?”

“I have to take the risk. I use ‘Falsream’ and ‘Dreahealream’ to Link Summon once more! Take the dreams and form them into your reality, shatter the hopes of victory of your enemy! Link Summon! Come forth, ‘Reality Rupture Lifeream’ (Link-4/LIGHT/Psychic/2200/Markers: Left, Up-Left, Right, Down)!”

Ding Dong!

In order to continue your Link Summon, you have to answer a question first.

“I know, just give me the question…!”

Does the Trap card ‘Bottomless Trap Hole’ destroy the monster or banish the monster?

“Mh. I think I know this one.” Itou smiled. “It destroys the monster, and then it banishes it.”

Correct.

“Yay! He did it!” Hokuro and Maya exulted.

“This guy’s smart” Sokyoku said relaxed.

“…I feel this is going to be the last turn…” Ibuki predicted.

“Really? Then we really chose the right guys.”

“I haven’t finished my Summons yet, but now I’m fired up. Let’s continue! I overlay my Level 3 monsters, ‘Channelream’ and ‘Recuream’. Bare the fangs of reality and reel in your path of night, reveal to all the might of your power! Xyz Summon! Arise, ‘Reality Rupture Forgotream’ (Rank 3/DARK/Psychic/2100/1600)!”

Ding Dong!

“Oh no, it works on Xyz Summons too…!” Hokuro said.

In order to continue your Xyz Summon, you have to answer a question first. What card has the highest original ATK in all of Yu-Gi-Oh?

“Mh. I can definitely remember a few cards with 5000 ATK, but there has to be something else that reaches higher than that…”

“Please, Itou, you can do it…” Maya said.

“What’s the highest ATK a monster can have?” Itou thought to himself.

…5…4…

“Armityle reaches 10 000 ATK…”

…3…2…

“Oh wait! I got it!”

…1…

“It’s ‘Divine Serpent Geh’! Its original ATK is infinite, and there’s no number that can reach above infinity!”

Correct.

“Yes! Now ‘Forgotream’ is successfully Summoned!” Maya shouted.

“As you predicted, Ibuki. You were right, as always.” Riko whispered to him.

“I activate its effect! I detach one Xyz material: all ‘Reality Rupture’ monsters gain 1000 ATK and I can banish one of your cards. Say goodbye to ‘Time Idol’!”

(ATK of ‘Lifeream’: 2200 -> 3200)

(ATK of ‘Forgotream’: 2100 -> 3100)

“Oh no, ‘Time Idol’!”

“Now! ‘Lifeream’, ‘Forgotream’, direct attack!”

“So this means this Duel has ended.” Daichi said. “It was about time you won…”

(Daichi’s LP: 4000 -> 800 -> 0)

The DPR members in the bleachers clapped together for Itou.

“Well done. The first challenge is over, but will you be able to surpass the second one?” Sokyoku said in an enigmatic voice.

[spoiler=Chapter 11: Cards of Memory]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 11]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Maya Corlea

Itou Kisaragi

Riko Hikouki

Sokyoku Kosumo

Daichi Mimasu

Plot

After winning the first challenge, Sokyoku reveals the second one will be just a regular Duel but using the Deck of another person. After some words deciding which Deck to use, Maya decides she’ll face Riko using her own Deck.

“What’s this second challenge about?” Hokuro asked.

“I’m sorry I can’t be on this one, I really can’t Duel right now…” Itou reached the others along with Daichi.

“That’s fine. In fact, we have 3 challenges, one for each of you.” Riko revealed.

“I’ll explain, then,” Sokyoku said. “On this challenge, one of you is going to play one of our Decks.”

“What?” They said together.

“Yeah, you got it. You have to show us you can manage the information given to you through our last 3v3 Duel and be versatile depending on the situation. You’re also picking your opponent, since the owner of the Deck you choose will play against you using another DPR Deck.”

“So, let’s see.” Itou began to think about it. “We have 4 DPR Decks we could use. Ibuki’s Divination Art Deck looks really difficult to play.”

“Indeed. If you don’t have enough intuition, you’ll end up failing every time.” Ibuki confirmed.

“Then we have Daichi’s P-Rewinds, but so far we haven’t seen much of that Deck…” Itou continued. “So we have 2 choices left. Sokyoku’s Forecasts, or Riko’s Paperplanes.”

“I want to play your Paperplanes! It looks like a really simple and straight-forward Deck, and those Planes are so cool!” Maya said.

“It’s decided then,” Sokyoku announced. “Maya will play Riko’s Deck, so Riko will be her opponent.”

“A girl fight, huh?” Hokuro sneered. “Maya, show us what you can do!”

“I’ll use Forecasts then. I admit Divination Arts aren’t really something everyone can play,” Riko said. “And you’ve just seen P-Rewinds being played.”

“It’s set, then. Get ready to Duel!” Sokyoku shouted as Riko and Maya entered the Dueling field.

“Maya, have you ever Pendulum Summoned?” Riko asked.

“No, I haven’t.”

“It wouldn’t be a fair fight if I didn’t tell you how to use my Deck. Listen. Paperplanes have an unique playstyle. They are destroyed during the End Phase if they battle. A few of them can be Summoned from the Pendulum Zones, swarming the Field. Always leave at least one monster before ending the turn: the Spells and Traps need a Plane to work and to help you survive. And remember, if you’re facing a strong monster, consider Xyz Summoning. You’ll find monsters that are perfect to destroy big beaters.”

“Thank you, Riko!”

“Just because I gave you some information, that doesn’t mean I’ll go easy on you!” She smiled.

The two of them separated and faced the Dueling field, ready to start the battle.

“Let’s Duel!”

Turn 1

Maya

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

Riko

LP: 4000

Hand: 5

Graveyard: 0

“I’ll go first,” Maya said. “Let’s see what I can do. This looks like an interesting card. Welcome to your world, I activate the Field Spell ‘Paperplanet’!”

The Dueling field, which was a nocturne, modern city with a huge Clock Tower in the middle of it just a few minutes before, became white shining land.

“Woah, it looks like we’re on the moon!” Maya said excited.

“I love this world. It’s the perfect place for my monsters, since they can travel faster due to the low gravity.” Riko explained.

“I activate its effect! I discard ‘Paperplan’ to draw one card!” Maya looked at the cards in her hand. “Now what can I do? Mh… I really don’t know. I Normal Summon ‘Paperplane Fighter Jet - Antelope’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/2200/200), and then I equip it with ‘Paper Tape’! I’ll end my turn now.”

“That wasn’t exactly impressive, I’d say.” Hokuro commented.

“Playing with someone else’s Deck isn’t as easy as you may think, Hokuro!” Maya replied.

“You’re hilarious,” Riko laughed. “But it’s my turn now, I draw.”

Turn 2

Maya

LP: 4000

Hand: 2

Field: ‘Paperplanet’, ‘Antelope’, ‘Tape’

Graveyard: 1 (Plan)

Riko

LP: 4000

Hand: 6

Graveyard: 0

“First of all, I use the Continuous Spell, ‘Forecast Night of Calamities’. This card allows me to add 1 ‘Forecast’ monster from my Deck to the hand. I add ‘Forecast Tsunami’.” Suddenly it became night, even though a bright light was still coming from the land of ‘Paperplanet’.

“With the other effect of ‘Night of Calamities’, I can give up my Normal Summon, and Special Summon a ‘Forecast’ monster from the Side Deck with the same Attribute of a ‘Forecast’ monster in my hand. Since ‘Tsunami’ is a WATER monster, I can Summon ‘Forecast Stream’! (Level 2/WATER/Aqua/200/500)! With the effect of ‘Stream’, I can Summon another monster from my Side Deck. I choose ‘Forecast Lapillus’ (Level 2/FIRE/Pyro/800/100)!”

“Guess a taped airplane won’t save you from natural disasters, Maya” Itou warned her.

“As you know, ‘Forecast’ monsters have to be Summoned by evolving their peaceful, weaker counterpart. Now, I return ‘Lapillus’ to the Side Deck to Summon ‘Forecast Volcano’ (Level 7/FIRE/Pyro/800/2800)!”

“Nice move, Riko. You definitely know my Deck well.” Sokyoku said.

“And I evolve ‘Stream’ too: come forth, ‘Forecast Tsunami’ (Level 7/WATER/Aqua/3000/100)! Now the effect of ‘Volcano’ activates, allowing me to destroy one card on the field. I know ‘Antelope’ is equipped to ‘Paper Tape’, so it can’t be destroyed; that’s why I’m targeting ‘Tape’!” The lava of ‘Volcano’ completely melted the tape around ‘Antelope’.

“I feel quite bad attacking my own monsters, but I’m willing to do it in order to test your strengths. ‘Tsunami’, attack ‘Antelope’!”

(ATK 3000 vs ATK 2200 -> 800 damage)

(Maya’s LP: 4000 -> 3200)

“’Volcano’, attack directly!”

(Maya’s LP: 3200 -> 2400)

“I end my turn with a Set card. Maya, you’ll never be able to defeat me without Pendulum Summoning.” Riko said.

“I’ll try it this turn, then. Draw!”

Maya

LP: 2400

Hand: 3

Field: ‘Paperplanet’

Graveyard: 2 (Plan, Tape)

Riko

LP: 4000

Hand: 3

Field: ‘Volcano’, ‘Tsunami’, ‘Night of Calamities’, a Set card

Graveyard: 0

“I’ll start this turn by Normal Summoning ‘Paperplane Bomber - Falcon’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1600/400). You used this card on our last Duel, so I’ll repeat your same strategy by using its effect! I can Tribute it and Summon another ‘Paperplane’ from my Deck! I choose ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Pike’!”

“If you had chosen ‘Minnow’, you would’ve been able to add the Tributed ‘Falcon’ to your hand…” Riko said.

“Oh, you’re right. I still have a lot to learn about this Deck,” Maya sighed. “But as you showed us on our last duel, Paper is more versatile than it looks. ‘Paperplanet’, activate!”

“Yes, once per turn, it allows you to add a ‘Paperplane’ monster from your Extra Deck to your hand. Good move.” Riko smiled.

“This is how I’ll add ‘Falcon’ to my hand. Now I use ‘Paperplane Delta Wing - Minnow’ as Scale 3 and ‘Paperplane Stealth - Leopard’ as Scale 5!”

“Way to go, Maya!” Hokuro shouted.

“Does she… know how to Pendulum Summon?” Itou asked.

“I promised to teach you how to do it,” Riko said. “Do you remember the chant?”

“Not completely… what was the first part?”

“Maya, just trust the Deck you’re playing, even if it isn’t yours. This is the key to Summon any kind of monster. As for the chant, it’s ‘Never dying Paper...’”

“Now I remember! Let’s try it. Never dying Paper, swing between… her creations, and let me call out Riko’s Planes! Pendulum Summon! Here they are, from my hand ‘Falcon’ and from the Extra Deck ‘Antelope’!”

“It worked…!” Sokyoku was quite impressed.

“I wasn’t able to Pendulum Summon when I tried…” Daichi noticed.

“Maybe I know why you couldn’t do it,” Sokyoku replied to him. “You said the chant just like Riko would’ve said it. But when you said “my Planes” they refused to listen, because they aren’t yours. Maya instead - and I don’t know if it was just pure luck - said “her Planes”, so yeah, her sentence made logical sense.”

“Are her cards… that smart?”

“Maybe. She made them herself, so maybe that’s the reason why they behave this way. They’re completely loyal to their creator!”

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Itou turned his head to speak to Sokyoku. “She’s able to… produce cards?”

“This is something every DPR member can do. We train ourselves really hard to be so in sync with our Decks that we can even make new cards if we want or need to. But they usually disappear after the Duel. Riko, on the other hand, is able to keep the ‘Paperplane’ cards she makes. This is a talent that she discovered in her past. She doesn’t like talking about it, so all I know is that she was actually abandoned from her parents.”

“What?”

“That’s true. That’s why she’s so shy but determined at the same time. In order to stop being attacked and bullied, she needed to learn how to Duel, but since she didn’t have a proper Deck, she took the only thing that her mother taught her: the art of folding paper to make airplanes.”

“I know perfectly how she feels.” Itou said.

“And as time passes she’s able to make better and more complicated Planes! Look at her now.” She was admiring her monsters with a smile on her face, as it was the first time someone else performed a Pendulum Summon using her cards. “You wouldn’t notice a thing that would let you know what she’s gone through.”

“Wow.”

“When Shosi first noticed her, she was fighting against a group of bullies and as soon as she created ‘Wildebeest’ out of a regular sheet of paper and made it a card, he decided to take her to the Academy. In a way the DPR saved her, she felt it was the family she never had. And now she’s one of the strongest members!”

“Maya, you did it!” Riko exclaimed in a cheerful tone. “But will that be enough?”

[spoiler=Chapter 12: Burned Paper]

“I know it won’t,” Maya replied. “Your monsters are way too strong for these monsters, if they’re on their own. That’s why I’m going to take your advice and Xyz Summon!”

“Well done! She’s learning fast, I’d say.” Sokyoku giggled.

“Please, ‘Paperplanes’, show us your abilities! I Overlay the 3 monsters, ‘Falcon’, ‘Antelope’ and ‘Pike’ to build the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon! Appear, ‘Paperplane Air Fighter - Wildebeest’ (Rank 4/WIND/Psychic/2700/100)!”

“It looks way more impressive now that I face it.” Riko sobbed.

“I activate its effect! As you know, I can detach one Xyz Material, ‘Antelope’, to banish a card on the field and make my monster stronger by 300 ATK! I’ll banish your face-down card!”

“Oh no, ‘Forecast Orogenesis’!”

(ATK of Wildebeest: 2700 + 300 (eff) -> 3000)

“Someone must tell me,” Sokyoku exclaimed fed up. “Why the hell does ‘Orogenesis’ always get somehow destroyed before activating?”

“You’re right!” Hokuro laughed. “It never worked so far!”

“Time to attack!” Maya shouted. “‘Wildebeest’, attack ‘Volcano’! The effect of ‘Paperplanet’ activates, giving my monster a boost of 500 ATK!”

(ATK 3000 + 500 vs ATK 800 -> 2700 damage)

(Riko’s LP: 4000 -> 1300)

“The effect of ‘Volcano’ activates right now! You’re about to take 300 damage, since ‘Tsunami’ has been Summoned while ‘Volcano’ was on the field!”

(Maya’s LP: 2400 -> 2100)

“And you should know what happens if a ‘Paperplane’ Xyz monster attacks…” Riko drawled.

“It gets destroyed, and its Xyz Material will return to my hand.”

“Correct. You have no problems using cards you’ve never played before, do you change Deck often?” She asked.

“I do. I’ve played many different Decks so far, the last one being my current one, the ‘Templar’ Deck.”

“You know, changing Deck isn’t the best thing to do,” Sokyoku explained from the bleachers. “How are you supposed to get in synch with your Deck if you keep changing it?”

“You have to admit her way of thinking has helped her, and now it’s the reason why she’s able to play Riko’s Deck.” Ibuki noticed.

“It can prove helpful, yeah, but I would never suggest that. It’s okay to try different strategies, but when you feel you’ve found the right one, stick to it.”

“I think I found it,” Maya replied. “But at this point I’ve learned that every Deck has the potential to be a great one and I’m willing to try different ones.”

“Could you focus on the Duel?” Riko asked politely.

“Yeah, sure. It looks like I have no monsters left, but you showed us some ‘Paperplanes’ can be Summoned from the Pendulum Zones: I’m Summoning ‘Leopard’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1200/300) and ‘Minnow’ (Level 4/WIND/Psychic/1500/500) in Defense Mode. The effect of ‘Minnow’ also allows me to add ‘Antelope’ from the Graveyard to my hand, and with this I end my turn.”

“During your End Phase, as you know, ‘Forecast’ monsters get shuffled back into the Deck, thus triggering their effects. This way, ‘Tsunami’ leaves the field allowing me to Summon a ‘Forecast’ from my Side Deck. Come, ‘Forecast Light Breeze’ (Level 2/WIND/Psychic/400/800)! And now it’s my turn, I draw!”

Turn 4

Maya

LP: 2100

Hand: 3

Field: ‘Paperplanet’, ‘Minnow’, Leopard’

Graveyard: 3 (Plan, Tape, Wildebeest)

Riko

LP: 1300

Hand: 4

Field: ‘Night of Calamities’, a Set card

Graveyard: 1 (Volcano)

Banished: 1 (Orogenesis)

“I need the ‘Forecast’ Field Spell if I want to extend my plays, otherwise I can’t Summon from the Side Deck and the monsters in my hand can’t be Summoned. Luckily, I’ve just drawn a good card,” Riko said. “It’s the Spell called ‘Cataclysmic Forecasts’. I activate it, and by shuffling a ‘Forecast’ card in my hand I can add 2 other ‘Forecast’ cards from my Deck to my hand. I shuffle ‘Volcano’ in my hand to add ‘Forecast Cyclone’ and ‘Forecast Catastrophic Planet’!”

“She got it, at last.” Itou noticed.

“I activate the Field Spell! Watch it, Sokyoku, this is for you!” Now the land of natural paradise covered the plain lunar field of ‘Paperplanet’, but its light kept coming from the soil, thus making the natural elements glow in a spectacular fluorescent light.

“Wow, I’m speechless!” Sokyoku exclaimed. “Together they made Nature even prettier!”

“Let’s fill the place with more creatures! I activate the effect of ‘Night of Calamities’: since I have the WIND Attribute ‘Cyclone’ in my hand, I can Summon the WIND Attribute ‘Light Breeze’ from the Side Deck, and the effect of ‘Breeze’ lets me add another ‘Forecast’ from the Deck to my hand; I choose ‘Forecast Storm’!”

“That was Sokyoku’s boss monster, right?” Hokuro asked Itou.

“It was. I think Maya’s in trouble.”

“Then I activate the effect of ‘Planet’: once per turn, by discarding a card, I can Summon another ‘Forecast’ from the Side Deck. I choose ‘Lapillus’ (Level 2/FIRE/Pyro/800/100). The effect of ‘Lapillus’ activates. I didn’t think I would’ve ever done this, but… ‘Lapillus’, burn ‘Leopard’ and destroy it!”

“Oh no! Now I only have ‘Minnow’!” Maya shouted.

“Sokyoku’s cards, lend me your power! Most catastrophic calamity, ruler of all natural disasters, come and show us the hidden force of nature! By using ‘Stream’ and ‘Light Breeze’, I Special Summon ‘Forecast Storm’ (Level 7/LIGHT/Thunder/2600/1800)!” The sky filled with electricity, thundering above the clouds. The dueling field, dark because of ‘Night of Calamities’, now had light coming from below them and above them.

“Since I used ‘Stream’ to Summon ‘Storm’, it gains 200 ATK for each face-up Spell on the field! Both ‘Planets’ and ‘Night’ will give it 600 ATK in total!”

(ATK of ‘Storm’: 2600 -> 3200)

“Let’s attack!”

“There’s really nothing I can do now…” Maya sighed.

“’Lapillus’, attack ‘Minnow’!”

(ATK 800 vs DEF 500)

“I’m so sorry, ‘Minnow’, but this had to be done. I used the weakest monster I could to not hurt you, I hope you’ll be fine,” Riko said. “And now, ‘Storm’, end the Duel! Direct Attack!”

(Maya’s LP: 2100 -> 0)

“I’m sorry, guys,” Maya said while going back to the bleachers with Riko. “I wasn’t able to defeat her.”

“You did your best, Maya. That’s everything that matters.” Itou consoled her.

“Actually,” Daichi said. “You performed an amazing show. Those monsters, those lights, those emotions… I really had the time of my life.”

“I agree.” Ibuki said quietly, raised something that looked like a smile.

“This was the first time I’ve ever seen anyone Pendulum Summoning a ‘Paperplane’, so congratulations.” Riko said.

“I’d say you’ve passed the challenge, even if you lost!” Sokyoku cheered.

“What?” Maya was confused.

“You had to show us you’re able to use another person’s Deck without problems. That doesn’t imply winning the Duel.” Daichi explained.

“Then we did it!” Hokuro said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Said a mysterious voice from the door. “You still have to pass the third challenge.”

“You’ve finally come. Always on time.” Daichi sneered.

“You’ve proven yourself to be almost ready to join the DPR. I’ve been watching you since the 3v3 Duel, and I’m here to test you one more time.”

“Who is it?” Hokuro asked.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Shosi Heddo, headmaster of the DPR Academy, as well as the one appointed to recruit new members. Everyone else you see in this room was found by me in person.”

“So he’s the one you were talking about, Riko?” Itou asked.

“Yes, he is.”

“You’ve Dueled together, you’ve showed us smart plays, you’ve just demonstrated you can adapt to the new situations. This is what we’re looking for: knowledge, versatility… and courage.”

“So the last challenge will be about courage?” Hokuro asked him.

“It will be a mix of intuition and strength, but most importantly, it will be about the bond between duelists and their cards. It will be a Concentration Duel!”

[spoiler=Chapter 13: The Last Challenge]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 13]

Characters

Hokuro Kasachika

Shosi Heddo

Maya Corlea

Itou Kisaragi

Riko Hikouki

Ibuki Uranai

Sokyoku Kosumo

Daichi Mimasu

Plot

The last challenge before being able to join the DPR is a Concentration Duel against the headmaster, Shosi.

“A Concentration Duel, huh?” Itou mumbled as he saw Hokuro and Shosi going to the Dueling Field. “This will be interesting.”

“Shosi’s challenge is usually a regular Duel,” Daichi explained. “But this time he’s doing things differently.”

“Hokuro, you won’t need your Duel Disk this time.” Shosi said as a gigantic table appeared in the middle of the Field. “Just shuffle all of your cards face-down here.”

“Sure.” Both of them spread their Decks on the table, leaving a space in the middle.

“Do you know the rules of a Concentration Duel, right?”

“I haven’t played a lot of them, but I do.” Hokuro answered confident.

“Something tells me you need to review them…” Shosi decided to go first to show him how it worked.

“Duel!”

Turn 1

Shosi

LP: 4000

Field: 0

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

Hokuro

LP: 4000

Field: 0

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“We have no hands nor Draw Phases in this Duel,” Shosi explained. “But instead we can declare a card type and if we reveal a proper card we can use it.”

“...and I’m never allowed to play Concentration Duels.” Ibuki sighed to himself.

“Let’s start the Duel. I’ll Summon a Monster.” Shosi revealed a card on the table. “It’s ‘Wraith, Grimseer of Vengeance’ (Level 5/DARK/Psychic/1700/2300), which can be Special Summoned by paying 1000 or more Life Points.”

(Shosi’s LP: 4000 -> 3000)

“It should gain ATK equal to half the LP paid until the end of the turn, but since I can’t attack on the first turn, this effect won’t be much important this Duel.”

“Now I activate a Spell.” Shosi revealed a Trap card.

“It can happen. I Set a Trap card,” He revealed the same card, knowing its card type. “In this Duel cards can be Set just like in regular Duels. I now end my turn.”

Turn 2

Shosi

LP: 3000

Field: 2 (Wraith, a Set card)

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

Hokuro

LP: 4000

Field: 0

Graveyard: 0

Banished: 0

“Then, it’s my turn right?” Hokuro nodded as he placed his hand on one of his face-down cards that were spread throughout the table. He took a moment to breath in and think of the possible cards in his Deck. If Sora was by his side at the moment, he may have been able to perfectly guess each of his cards. But he had to do it himself this time around.

“I declare Trap!” Hokuro randomly swiped a card of his into the air, revealing ‘Drive Form’’.

“You’ve declared wrong, Hokuro. So you must place your Spell Card returns face-down where you picked it up.” Shosi reminded him.

“Ah, okay. Now, I declare Monster!” Hokuro swiped another card, revealing ‘‘Sora the Keyblade Bearer’. “Yes! That means I can Summon it. Come, Sora! Now its effect activates, allowing me to Special Summon 1 ‘Keyblade’ monster from my hand!”

“Mh. Will the next card be a monster?” Maya thought to herself.

Hokuro turned to a different card and flipped it, revealing ‘Donald the Keyblade Master Wizard’. “I got it! I Special Summon ‘Donald’, and with its effect, I can send 1 Spell Card from my Deck to my GY. I’ll send this one!” Hokuro placed his hands over a card next to the ‘Drive Form’ he revealed earlier. He flipped it, unveiling ‘Second Chance’.

“‘Second Chance’ is a Quick-Play Spell Card, so you can send it to the GY.” Shosi stated.

“Right,” Hokuro sent ‘Second Chance’ to the GY. “Battle, I attack ‘Wraith’ with ‘Sora’!”

(ATK 1800 vs ATK 1700 -> 100 damage)

(Shosi’s LP: 3000 -> 2900)

“Now, Donald, attack directly!”

(ATK 1300 -> 1300 damage)

(Shosi’s LP: 2900 -> 1600)

“You have declared 3 card types, meaning your turn ends right now.” Shosi said.

“You’re right. I end my turn.”

“The warm-up has ended. The Duel begins right now.”

Turn 3

Shosi

LP: 1600

Field: 1 (Set card)

Graveyard: 1 (Wraith)

Banished: 0

Hokuro

LP: 4000

Field: 2 (Sora and Donald)

Graveyard: 1 (2nd Chance)

Banished: 0

“Now I’ll show you how you play a Concentration Duel. Watch closely.” Shosi said while picking a card. “I know my Deck doesn’t have many Traps. So I’ll declare Trap first.”

He showed Hokuro the card he got, and as predicted it wasn’t a Trap, but the monster ‘Eon, Grimseer of Futures’.

“Interesting. There’s definitely something I can do with this card,” Shosi stretched his arm, picking another card. “Now I declare Spell. Oh, look, I got it right. It’s ‘Library of the Grimoire’, a Field Spell, which I’m going to activate right now.”

Stacks of books and wooden shelves rose from the Dueling field, surrounding the two.

“The effect of ‘Library’ activates. By paying an amount of Life Points, I can search a ‘Grimseer’ monster. Since cards can’t be added to the hand, the revealed monster will just stay face-up on the table. I choose to pay 500 Life Points and to reveal the same ‘Eon, Grimseer of Futures’ from before.”

(Shosi’s LP: 1600 -> 1100)

“So what changed?” Hokuro asked.

“Now I can activate Eon’s effect: it can be Special Summoned if I control no monsters by paying 1000 Life Points.”

“But that means you’ll only have 100 Life Points remaining!”

“Don’t worry,” Shosi exclaimed. “I have a plan. As I said, I use Eon’s effect to Special Summon it (Level 5/2200/1800/DARK/Psychic/Tuner)!”

(Shosi’s LP: 1100 -> 100)

“The effect of Eon reduces its Level by 1 for each 1000 Life Points paid to Summon it. That means it’s a Level 4 monster now,” Shosi approached another card on the table. “Now I only need a monster. I trust my Deck.”

He picked his card, revealing ‘Chronicler of the Grimoire’.

“Awesome,” Shosi showed a sign of a smile. “I now Normal Summon it (Level 1/DARK/Psychic/0/1000).”

“Incredible, you got it at the perfect time!” Hokuro noticed with enthusiasm. “But still, you only have 100 Life Points.”

“Now, since Eon is a Tuner and Chronicler isn’t, I can perform a Synchro Summon!”

“So Shosi is a Synchro user?” Maya asked in the bleachers.

“It looks like he is. But what did you expect from the headmaster?” Itou answered her.

“Here’s something you should learn. Remember that the only Life Point that truly matters is the last one. You can’t even think of victory unless your opponent has reached 0. I’ll tune my Level 4 ‘Eon’ and Level 1 ‘Chronicler’! Synchro Summon! Appear before us, ‘Grimseen Calamity, Tragic Hero’ (Level 5/DARK/Psychic/2200/0)! Now watch as I activate its effect. When it’s Summoned successfully, my Life Points become 4000!”

(Shosi’s LP: 100 -> 4000)

“No way!” Maya exclaimed. “Hokuro was about to win, and he recovered all of his Life Points!”

“You see, Maya,” Riko, who was just behind her, explained. “Shosi is a master at controlling Life Points. His Deck entirely works around that kind of manipulation.”

“Oh, I see…”

“And now, using the effect of ‘Library of the Grimoire’,” Shosi continued his plays. “Once per turn, I can gain Life Points in multiples of 100, but not more than 1000. Of course, I choose to gain 1000.”

Some books on the shelves flied towards Shosi, then opened, revealing a bright light which healed him.

(Shosi’s LP: 4000 -> 5000)

“‘Tragic Hero’, it’s time to battle. Attack his ‘Donald’!”

Hokuro watched powerless as his monster got destroyed.

(ATK 2200 vs ATK 1300 -> 900 damage)

(Hokuro’s LP: 4000 -> 3100)

“Well played,” Hokuro admitted. “But now it’s my turn.”

Turn 4

Shosi

LP: 5000

Field: 3 (Tragic Hero, Library, Set card)

Graveyard: 3 (Wraith, Chronicler, Eon)

Banished: 0

Hokuro

LP: 3100

Field: 1 (Sora)

Graveyard: 2 (2nd Chance, Donald)

Banished: 0

“Thankfully Sora is still on the field,” Hokuro thought to himself. “Maybe Shosi didn’t attack it on purpose to see what I can do?”

“So Hokuro, what’s your next move?” Shosi asked curious to see what he was going to do. After all, he wasn’t in a position of disadvantage: it all depended on his strategy and on how much he believed in his cards.

“Last turn you had a great idea,” Hokuro said. “Declaring a card type you know you don’t have many cards of. I’ll declare Trap this turn as well.”

Following Shosi’s strategy, he revealed “Reaction Command - Auto Drive”, a Spell card.

“Now that I know this is a Spell, I’ll declare Spell and reveal it!” Hokuro was glad his idea worked out.

“Good job,” Shosi interrupted him. “But I’m using my Set Trap card, ‘Pinball Slots’. Depending on where it is on the field, this card can negate all kinds of cards, and I positioned so it could negate Spells.”

“So my card is negated?” Hokuro was a bit disconsolate.

“Yes, but you also gain 1000 Life Points.”

(Hokuro’s LP: 3100 -> 4100)

“There’s no time to give up,” Hokuro picked another card on the table, hoping it was something he could use. “I can only declare Monster at this point! Cards, help me!”

As Hokuro hoped, the card he got was ‘Goofy - The Keyblade Guardian Knight’, a monster he could Normal Summon.

“Yes, I got it! I Normal Summon my ‘Goofy’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/1500/1900)!”

“You now have 2 monsters, but none of them is enough to beat my ‘Tragic Hero’,” Shosi noticed. “And you can’t declare anything else.”

“There is something I can do,” Hokuro realized there was only one strategy that could work. “I can Synchro Summon by discarding a ‘Drive Form’.”

“So you really think you can find the card you want among all of those?”

“I trust my cards. They can’t let me down!” Hokuro looked at his cards, laid face-down on the table, confident he could find the right one. “I’ll begin my Synchro Summon!”

“What?” Sokyoku said. “If he doesn’t find a ‘Drive Form’, he’s screwed!”

“I don’t know if he’s being really brave, or really dumb.” Ibuki grinned.

“Time for the Summon!” Hokuro began looking for the card he wanted. “With Sora as the catalyst and Donald as the power, he can reach a new hope that marks the midpoint of the journey!”

He swiped a card and without even looking at it, he raised his hand and showed the card he got. “Drive Synchro Summon! Come, ‘Drive Form - Sora the Keyblade of Limits (Level 8/LIGHT/Warrior/3000/2100)!”

[spoiler=Chapter 14: Overcoming the Perfect Storm]

“No way!” Sokyoku exclaimed.

“He really is special, after all.” Riko thought to herself.

“Well done, Hokuro!” Shosi clapped for him. “You really share a strong bond with your cards. The Duel is not over, though.”

“You’re right. ‘Sora’, attack his ‘Tragic Hero’!”

“If a monster is attacked while I control ‘Tragic Hero’,” Shosi explained. “I can redirect the attack so it becomes a direct attack.”

“Too bad you can’t use effects if my monster attacks!”

“Oh.” Shosi sighed quietly.

“‘Sora’, continue your attack!”

(ATK 3000 vs ATK 2200 -> 800 damage)

(Shosi’s LP: 5000 -> 4200)

“When my ‘Sora’ destroys a monster by battle, I get to gain a number of Life Points equal to the half of the destroyed monster.”

(LP gain: 2200/2 -> 1100)

(Hokuro’s LP: 4100 -> 5200)

“I end my turn here.” Hokuro announced.

Turn 5

Shosi

LP: 4200

Field: 1 (Library)

Graveyard: 5 (Wraith, Chronicler, Eon, Pinball Slots, Tragic Hero)

Banished: 0

Hokuro

LP: 5200

Field: 1 (Synchro Sora)

Graveyard: 5 (2nd Chance, Donald, Sora, Donald, Drive Form)

Banished: 0

“Then it’s my turn,” Shosi said. “I’ll start off by declaring Trap.”

Just like his last turn, he decided to spend his Trap declaration to know the location of some of his cards. He revealed a monster, ‘Wraith, Grimseer of Vengeance’.

“Mh, that’s interesting…” He said as he proceeded declaring Spells. This time, he got ‘Jinx, Grimseer of Misfortunes’, a Level 3 monster.

“This one will be really helpful. I declare Monsters to Normal Summon ‘Jinx, Grimseer of Misfortunes’ (Level 3/DARK/Psychic/1100/1900).”

“But now he can’t declare anything else!” Maya noticed.

“That doesn’t mean he can’t activate effects on the field or in his Graveyard.” Itou responded.

“The effect of ‘Jinx’ activates. By paying an amount of Life Points I can Special Summon a ‘Grimseer’ from the Graveyard, as long as the sum of its ATK and DEF equals my Life Points. If I pay 200 Life Points…”

(Shosi’s LP: 4200 -> 4000)

“...I can revive ‘Eon’ from my Graveyard, since it has 2200 ATK and 1800 DEF.”

“An accurate combo.” Hokuro said.

“I haven’t finished yet. When a Psychic-Type monster is Summoned, ‘Chronicler’ can be Special Summoned from the Graveyard!”

“So now he has 3 monsters on his field.” Hokuro noticed that he had many ways he could Synchro Summon using his monsters. Was he going for a Level 8 Synchro? Or maybe a Level 6?

“Now, using ‘Jinx’ and ‘Eon’, the Summoning conditions are met!”

“A Level 8 Synchro monster?”

“Not quite,” Shosi said. “My 2 monsters, fill in the Link Markers! Link Summon! Link 2, ‘Grimseen Flashback’ (Link-2/DARK/Psychic/Tuner/1200)!”

“A Link Summon? What else does he have?” Itou asked interested.

“When ‘Flashback’ is Summoned, I can search a monster whose sum of ATK and DEF points equals my Life Points.” Shosi said while revealing the face-down card he revealed before. “This is ‘Wraith, Grimseer of Vengeance’, the one you’ve already seen on the first turn. As you know, it can be Special Summoned by paying Life Points, and in this case, I’ll pay 3000 Life Points.”

(Shosi’s LP: 4000 -> 1000)

“Special Summon! (Level 5/DARK/Psychic/1700/2300)”

“Follow me on my next moves,” Shosi looked at Hokuro just like a teacher would look at his student. “You might learn a thing or two. Using my Link monster, ‘Flashback’, and ‘Wraith’, I can perform another kind of Summon, without using ‘Polymerization’, by banishing a Tuner and a non-Tuner from my field. Contact Fusion Summon! Come, ‘XL Accelerator’ (Level 7/DARK/Machine/Fusion/Tuner/1800/200)!”

“Oh, here’s what else he has,” Itou sighed. “A Fusion monster.”

“The effect of ‘XL Accelerator’ activates now. When it’s Summoned,” Shosi explained. “All monsters on my field are treated as Synchro monsters, and once per turn, it can modify the Level of all Synchro monsters on the field by increasing or reducing their Level by 1."

(Level of ‘XL Accelerator’: 7 -> 6)

(Level of ‘Chronicler’: 1 -> 1)

“I haven't finished yet. Once per turn, my monster can also Special Summon a Synchro monster from my Graveyard, but it has to be used as material for a Summon this turn. Come back, 'Tragic Hero'!"

"And now…” Shosi created a bit of suspense, before he Summoned his ultimate monster. “I’ll tune my Level 6 Tuner ‘XL Accelerator’ with my Level 1 ‘Chronicler’ and my Level 5 ‘Hero’!

“What?” Maya exclaimed a bit frightened.

“An Accel Summon?” Itou thought to himself.

“Controller of Life and Death, foreseeing into the future, come from your reign of shadows and control the Duel! Star align! Accel Synchro Summon! Appear before us, Level 12, ‘Grimseen Calamity, the Perfect Storm’ (Level 12/DARK/Psychic/4000/4000)!”

His boss monster entered the field surrounded by spectacular lightnings, towering above the Dueling Field.

“Behold, my ultimate creature!” Shosi glanced at Hokuro with a defiant look.

“Unleash your power, use your effect! It can banish all monsters on the field except one, until the end of the current Phase: now, clear the field!”

Shosi’s monster emitted a loud roar, making Hokuro’s monster disappear in the dark.

“Now, direct attack!”

(ATK 4000 -> 4000 damage)

(Hokuro’s LP: 5200 -> 1200)

After the attack, ‘Sora’ reappeared on the field.

“You see, the Duel is basically mine,” Shosi explained. “Even during your turn, if my Life Points are 1000 or lower, I can activate the effect of ‘Perfect Storm’ multiple times per turn, effectively dodging every kind of destruction effect and eliminating potential dangerous monsters. I’m intrigued, how are you going to deal with that? Of course, if you even find the right cards in the first place.”

“I still can win. My turn now!” Hokuro announced determined.

Turn 6

Shosi

LP: 1000

Field: 2 (Perfect Storm, Library)

Graveyard: 8 (Wraith, Pinball Slots, Eon, Jinx, Flashback, Tragic Hero, Chronicler, XL Accelerator)

Banished: 2 (Flashback, Wraith)

Hokuro

LP: 1200

Field: 1 (Synchro Sora)

Graveyard: 5 (2nd Chance, Donald, Sora, Donald, Drive Form)

Banished: 0

“First of all, I’ll declare Trap.” He said while swiping a card from the table. Unfortunately, he drew the Field Spell, ‘Mark of Mastery’. However, he was able to activate it by declaring Spell immediately after that. As soon as the Field Spell got activated, a blue sky covered the Dueling Field, and the Library got surrounded by a universe filled with vast worlds, being seen through a portal-like image.

“I’ll use the effect of ‘Mark of Mastery’. By banishing a Spell card from my Graveyard, I can add a ‘Keyblade’ monster to my hand.” He revealed another face-down card, ‘Keyblade’s Partner - Beast’. “Just like you did before with ‘Eon’, it’ll just stay face-up on the table.”

“You only have one declaration left, Hokuro.” Shosi reminded him.

“I know. I declare Monster…” Hokuro grabbed a card, and it was his loyal ‘Sora - The Dreaming Keyblade Bearer’. “Awesome! Found the perfect card! I Normal Summon ‘Sora’ (Level 4/LIGHT/Warrior/Tuner/1800/1500).”

“The effect of ‘Sora’ activates when it’s Summoned, so I banish ‘Mark of Mastery’ to Special Summon 2 monsters from my Gra…”

“Not so fast, young man. I chain the effect of ‘Perfect Storm’, so every monster on the field will be banished, except ‘Sora’, until the end of the Main Phase, breaking your combo.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted you to do.” Hokuro smiled.

“...what?”

“I chain the effect of the face-up ‘Keyblade’s Partner - Beast’ searched before!”

“Oh..!”

“If the opponent activates a monster effect, I can banish this card from my hand, negate that effect… and deal 1000 damage to both players.”

“So does that mean…?” Maya asked incredulous.

“Hokuro won.” Itou nodded.

(Hokuro’s LP: 1200 -> 200)

(Shosi’s LP: 1000 -> 0)

[spoiler=Chapter 15: Welcome to the Academy!]
[spoiler=Summary of Chapter 15]

Plot

The last chapter of the Intro Arc.

Being able to overcome the 3 challenges, Hokuro, Maya and Itou can finally join the DPR. Many questions are still left unanswered, but it’s about time everyone gives the proper explanations.

“Well done, Hokuro. As I imagined, you were indeed worth of my attention.” Shosi said while the others reached them in the Dueling Field. “Being able to trust your cards in that way so they can help you when you need… it’s not as common as it might look.”

“Thanks.” Hokuro replied while reaching his friends up on the bleachers.

“We’ll have your official introduction to the DPR Academy soon, I hope you’re ready.” Shosi announced.

“What?” Maya asked surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“Technically, you’re joining the DPR Academy.”

“We never said we would’ve done that…”

“Maya, I’d like to remember you there’s no one left in your school,” Daichi said. “And you’re gonna have an important role here as a Duelist.”

“Maybe someone needs to give us more information.” Itou snorted.

“It’s time for explanations, you’re right.” Daichi looked at Shosi, asking him to give them what they wanted, but he was already preparing a short speech.

“First of all, I apologize for all the confusion done in your Academy. That was a direct way to solve one of our major issues here, that being recruiting good duelists to face an impending danger.”

“What are you talking about?” Itou asked.

“You see, remember when Gungnir opened the last portal to Z-Arc?”

“How do you know that happened?”

“We had been following him since his very first appearance. We’ve had some of our infiltrates in your school as well, and I’m sure you even got to know them. What you need to know right now is that Z-Arc’s power was too much to handle even for Gungnir: this created a distortion in the time-space continuum, thus allowing a new form of evil to enter this world. Whatever used to only be a dream, it’s now solid reality. However, since this evil needs to get used to its physical form, I can affirm we still have a bit of time.”

“That’s… confusing,” said Hokuro. Maya tilted her head back too, showing she was just as lost as him.

“We’ve been working hard to find a way to close that distortion,” Daichi said enthusiastically. “Daiki and I have found a way to reverse time and eliminate that power from its source.”

“Who’s Daiki? We’ve never met him.” Itou noticed.

“This is an Academy,” Shosi replied. “There’s quite a lot of people here. Unfortunately, not all of them are worth enough to handle this situation directly, but they can be helpful at researching. Daiki, for example, is an expert of time distortion, along with Daichi. But while they’re trying to find a solution for stopping this danger, other teams and organizations are speeding up the process instead. Your job as Duelists is to defeat them and bring them here.”

“But enough with the chatting, you’ve passed all of the tests, so you’re joining us!”

Shosi headed towards the red door with the others, and Hokuro, Itou and Maya followed them, as confused as they were before.

“They haven’t mentioned where our friends and teachers went, though,” Hokuro said quietly. “And after defeating those bad guys, we’re supposed to bring them ‘here’, but where?”

“There are still too many unanswered questions,” Itou said. “Let’s just see what happens.”

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the part of the ship in which they landed, but instead of entering the door in the back, they went to the opposite side, which had another door, this time blue.

“We’re about to enter the DPR hall.” Riko explained.

“I’d say you might want to get prepared…” Ibuki added mysteriously.

“What do you mean by…” Maya tried to say as they entered the hall, but a loud shout coming from inside of it completely cloaked her voice.

“CONGRATULATIONS!”

Many men, women, boys and girls, who were sitting around the woody tables scattered in the hall, cheered together as they spotted the new members, then a thunderous applause made the walls tremble.

Well done!

New Duelists, awesome!

Did they really defeat Shosi?

Welcome!

Itou turned his shocked head towards Maya and Hokuro, realizing all of them were completely speechless.

“Nice to see you, my dear.” A familiar voice came from one of the tables, while someone stood up and started walking slowly and dramatically towards Hokuro.

“Is that… you?” Hokuro wasn’t understanding a single thing.

“Yes, it’s me, your lovely Kishiki,” He revealed. “And along with me is Silas. We were part of the DPR Academy before applying for the Star Duelist Academy, but we kept in touch with Shosi and the others, informing them about what was happening at our school.”

“You used to be part of the DPR…” Ibuki said malicious.

“You little…!”

“You see, Kishiki and Silas got expelled from here because they…”

“Enough!” Kishiki quickly shut his mouth with his hands, then looked up at Hokuro embarrassed. “We lost important Duels and decided to improve our abilities outside this Academy, ok?”

“....fine…” Ibuki kept smiling, but didn’t say anything more.

“Anyway,” Kishiki continued. “So glad you’ve made it this far. From the whole DPR, congratulations.”

Another loud cheer followed his words.

“You must be tired,” Riko said. “After all, you’ve woken up as we were selecting duelists, faced us, then got teleported here, faced us again, and now you’re here as confused as you could look.”

“She’s right,” Sokyoku nodded. “Even though it’s almost lunch time, I’d say you need some rest in your bedrooms.”

“Now that you mention, what happened to all other students and teachers?”

“Don’t worry. You see, the DPR Academy isn’t just limited to this ship,” Shosi explained. “We own two islands in the middle of the ocean. In one of them, the smaller one, we keep prisoners, while in the other one there’s everyone who wasn’t able to pass our tests, just like your friends. They’re comfortable and fine, I can assure you.”

“But if you only need Duelists, can’t you just send everyone else back home?” Hokuro asked.

“You see, we have to act quickly and in the shadows, otherwise we might get caught by the evil organizations, who are trying to stop people like us. That’s why we pretend to be one of them, and that makes everything much easier. But if you really care about them, you need the ability to teleport anytime you want… Daichi, bring 3 teleporting bracelets.”

“Sure.” Daichi disappeared from the hall.

“But I wouldn’t do it now,” Shosi continued. “As you’ve experienced, teleporting can have a few collateral effects for those who are not used to it. So take a rest and come when you feel better.”

Daichi returned with what he was asked to bring, and gave Hokuro an orange bracelet, Maya a yellow one and Itou a green one, and each one of them had a red shining stone on it.

“Wear them and never lose them.” Daichi said as he finished giving them.

“Sokyoku can lead you to your rooms. We’ll see you later.” Shosi said while heading towards another exit of the hall.

An unison “bye” came from everyone else, and after a few minutes the three of them were gathered in their bedroom, feeling quite tired and sleepy.

“So... everything’s fine now?” Hokuro asked while lying on his bed.

“It looks like it is.” Maya replied.

“I think one hour of good rest can’t harm anyone, right?” Itou smiled.

“You’re right,” Hokuro said. “Still, I can’t believe what’s happening. Do you really think there’s an imminent danger?”

“We have no other choice but to trust the DPR.”

“Yeah… This is what we’ll do for now.”

Dr. Cakey · May 6, 2018

I'm using YCM's dark theme, so the story's text is black on dark brown. There's probably something in the BBCode that's forcing the font color to be black.

Nekomata · May 6, 2018

I've already tried removing the formatting but I don't think it worked :(

Sorry for that

Nekomata · May 24, 2018

Bump! I've been quite busy for a few weeks, but now Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 are finally here.

Nekomata · June 12, 2018

Bump! (Chapter 11 and 12 update)

Nekomata · June 22, 2018

Bump, Chapter 13 update

Nekomata · July 3, 2018

Bump, Chapter 14 and 15 update.

The Intro Arc has been concluded, so I'll make a new post when I'll start the Second Arc due to the fact that I've had some problems with the formatting. (It was my first time, sorry).

Thanks for your attention!

Hope everyone who read it enjoyed it, even with the poor language and some mistakes on the way.

And remember, the DPR Academy is looking for new members even irl (aka here), so feel free to contact one of us to join :D

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[Fanfiction] Yu-Gi-Oh! Union Cross DPR

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