With Blackheart defeated, and the Order on the ropes, what is there left for the DF to do? Participate in a tournament of course! No, seriously, I say all the time that these characters are tournament Duelists, and yet I hardly ever show it. I wanted to show this, have some fun, and ultimately create a connection with the greater Yu-Gi-Oh! canon. This book also establishes some themes and elements which will be important going forward, and sets up for Special #2, which follows it. Anyway, it's different from my previous stuff. Enjoy!
Invitation From Kaiba Corporation
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!I woke up out of a sound sleep, or as sound a sleep as you get when you’re me, to the sound of my alarm. It was what I thought was a normal Friday morning. I should have known by then that nothing in my life is normal. I sat up, hanging my feet over the side of the bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I looked groggily out over my messy room, and looked over at the still-beeping alarm. I slapped the off button, and the beeping stopped.
It was midsummer, and I was currently between employers, so I had nothing to do. I was only awake because I like waking up early enough to spend time with my friends, who also have no lives. Our secret lives were to blame. When you spend your time fighting dark magic, everything else becomes less than exciting. My mom was at work and my sister Sarah was out, so I had some time to myself to get showered and dressed.
So I showered, and I dressed, putting on an old t-shirt. It didn’t fit. I kept forgetting about the growth spurt that I’d recently gone through. So I tossed the old t-shirt back onto the floor where I’d found it and grabbed a newer black one from its place at the foot of my bed. It fit like a glove. Then I pulled on a not-too-dirty pair of jeans, grabbed my deck box, and clipped it to one of my belt loops. I pulled the Soul of Darkness, a purple spherical crystal charm on a cord, out from under my shirt, tossed my old black jacket over my shoulders, and put my arms through the arm holes as I walked down the stairs.
I swung open the front door, ready to step outside, and I found a letter waiting for me on the welcome mat. It bore a stamp depicting the insignia of the legendary Kaiba Corporation, the company that created the holographic technology that made modern dueling possible. Kaiba Corp. is headed by the former Duel Monsters champion Seto Kaiba, the Number Two Duelist in the world.
I bent down and picked up the letter. It was addressed to me. I wondered what it could be. Naturally I walked back inside with the letter and sat down on the couch. I tore open the envelope and unfolded the letter. It was typed rather than written, and the text read:
Dear Duelist,
You are invited to participate in the second Kaiba Corporation Invitational Grand Championship. The tournament will take place in one week’s time, and the rules of the tournament will not be revealed until the tournament begins and will be subject to change, ensuring a truly unique experience.
Enclosed with this letter is a flash drive containing instructions to find the tournament sight. If you accept this invitation follow the instructions exactly. If you do not accept, please send word to Kaiba Corporation via contact.kaibacorp@kc.com as soon as possible so that your replacement can be found.
The Duel Force has caught the eye of the Kaiba Corporation. You as their leader have caught the Corporation’s eye most of all. We at Kaiba Corp. look forward to seeing you at the tournament.
-Seto Kaiba, President and C.E.O.
“Well I’ll be damned.”
I stuffed the letter into my pocket and pulled the tiny flash drive from the envelope. I ran to the computer and plugged the drive into the computer, opening the file stored within. It described how I was to make my way next Friday to the airport to catch a Kaiba Corp. jet to New York. The tournament would be held at the soon-to-be-opened Kaibaland New York. It was complete with maps and everything.
“Huh, only a week’s notice?” I said, thinking out loud. “Hope that’s enough. Hope Mom doesn’t mind.”
I read over the instructions again and then left. I walked to my car, a white convertible something or other. I have no idea what it was now. I don’t have it anymore. After stopping for some gas I drove to the mall. There in the mall’s game center I found all of the members of my team, the Duel Force, along with my young apprentice Jenna.
“Well,” I said, pulling up a seat next to the slim and beautiful dark-haired Karen, who was wearing a button up denim skirt and white knee-high socks, and a white long sleeve t under a denim vest, “you guys will never guess what I got.”
“An invitation to the next Kaiba Corp. sponsored tournament?” Max asked mockingly. He pulled a letter of his own out of the pocket of his gray hoody and held it up over his head, adjusting his ball cap so that it held his blond hair out of his blue eyes.
“See,” he said, “I got one too.”
“Yeah,” said my best friend Tucker, “So did I.” He held up his own letter. Sarah and my oldest cousin Jen held up letters as well. So did Karen, waving it around in my face, smiling.
Tucker has spiky red hair and was wearing a black t-shirt with a flame pattern on the right breast sleeve and dark wash blue jeans with a fire pattern up the left leg. Sarah had her frizzy blond hair tied back in a makeshift ponytail. She was wearing a gray and black basketball jersey with a number 9 on it and jean shorts. Her outfit clashed horribly, but that was typical. Jen, who is tall with long hair dyed black, was still totally Gothed out.
I looked from one letter to the next and then leaned back in my seat, pouting, “Well, I felt special for about five seconds.”
Karen elbowed me, “Don’t sulk.”
“Isn’t this great bro?” Sarah asked excitedly. “I’m gonna compete in a big tournament. Gonna get to show off my skillz. With a 'z'.”
“Yeah, it is pretty cool,” I said. “Guess it’s true what the letter said: the Duel Force has caught Kaiba’s eye.”
“But why only some of us?” Monty asked curiously. He was wearing an open flannel jacket, a red t-shirt, and black jeans. His spiky hair stuck out in all directions.
“Easy,” said Rocky, straightening his survival vest over his blue tank top, “There must have only been a limited number of slots, so Kaiba only invited Duelists from the team that he wanted to see duel the most. Either that or he only picked the ones that he considers the greatest threat to his pro rank.”
“That would be cool,” I said, “if Kaiba considers me a threat.”
“Considers us a threat,” said Karen, elbowing me again, more playfully this time.
“Can everyone go?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Max replied, “we already talked it over while you were sleeping in, and we should all be able to make it.”
“Good,” I said. Then I put on my smug face, “Well then, we’ve only got a week to prep. I could use some practice. Anyone want to take me on?”
“I’ll face you,” said Rocky.
“Really?” I asked, still stunned by how open the once introverted Rocky had become around us. “You never want to duel.”
“I want to duel you,” said Rocky. “You’re strong, and I have to fight strong opponents if I ever want to become stronger.”
I nodded, following his reasoning perfectly, and stood up and summoned the blade-like Dark Disk to its place in my left arm, “In that case, you’re on.”
Rocky stood up and activated his KC Standard Duel Disk, taking his deck from his vest pocket and inserting it into the loader. We made our way up to the Game Center’s central arena. We passed by a table where some kids were sitting. I heard one of them say to the other, “Hey, aren’t they from the Duel Force?”
Apparently competing in tournaments between stints saving the world had gone far to bolster the public image of our group.
“I’ll move first,” said Rocky as we reached our places at either end of the raised platform. “I set one monster face-down and set three cards.”
“I’ve seen this move,” I said, completely confident, “remember? I can easily counter it. I summon my ‘Strike Ninja’ in attack mode and then play ‘Painful Choice’, choosing five cards from my deck. You choose one of those cards to add to my hand, and then I discard the rest.”
The black-clad kunai-wielding ‘Strike Ninja’ appeared (ATK: 1700). I fanned out my deck and chose five cards. I opened the Field Card port of my Dark Disk, placing four of the cards in the empty Monster Zones and one in the Field Zone. Holograms of the five cards appeared above my head. They were ‘D.D. Scout Plane’, ‘Sangan’, ‘Giant Orc’, ‘The Fiend Megacyber’, and ‘Great Maju Garzett’.
“Add ‘D.D. Scout Plane’ to your hand,” said Rocky, pointing at the card. I added the chosen card to my hand and placed the other cards into my Graveyard.
“‘Strike Ninja’ attacks,” I commanded. ‘Strike Ninja’ charged forward and slashed with his kunai knife. The target was revealed. It was a pink round-bodied monster with wings and an “S” on its chest. ‘Gamma the Magnet Warrior’ (DEF: 1800).
“Reveal ‘Cross Counter’,” Rocky declared, “giving my monster the chance to counterattack and destroy yours.”
‘Gamma’ struck, but I was ready. “I remove two Dark monsters from play,” I declared, “to remove my ‘Ninja’ from play until the End Phase, dodging the counterattack.”
“No way,” said Rocky. “I discard ‘Destroyer Golem’ to activate ‘Divine Wrath’.” A bolt of lightning struck my ‘Ninja’, and he was destroyed.
So it’s not the same combo after all, I thought. I shouldn’t have underestimated him, especially since I haven’t seen him duel enough to know his deck yet.
“One face-down card,” I said, more apprehensive, “and I end my turn.”
“I draw,” said Rocky, “and I summon my ‘Alpha the Magnet Warrior’.” Another stone-bodied warrior appeared, green in color, carrying a shield and sword (ATK: 1400).
“Now I activate ‘Ultimate Offering’,” Rocky declared, “paying five hundred Life Points (8000-500=7500) to summon ‘Beta the Magnet Warrior’.” A third monster appeared, colored yellow, with horseshoe-shaped magnets for hands (ATK: 1700).
“I change ‘Gamma’ to attack mode (ATK: 1500) and attack with all three monsters.” The three magnets attacked, and my Life Points dropped considerably (8000-1400-1500-1700=3400).
“Now,” Rocky declared, “I activate the special ability of my monsters. When the three Magnet Warriors are together on the field they can combine into a supreme monster.” The three monsters broke down into composite parts which combined into a tall, winged, horned, sword-and-shield-wielding warrior. “They become ‘Valkyrion the Magna Warrior’ (ATK: 3500)!”
“Impressive,” I said, “but too bad for you it’s my turn. I discard the ‘D.D. Scout Plane’ that you put in my hand to activate ‘Monster Reincarnation’, returning ‘Great Maju Garzett’ to my hand in its place. Next I summon ‘Magician of Faith’,” a young woman in a gown and carrying a staff appeared, “using her as a sacrifice to activate ‘Enemy Controller’.” The woman disappeared in a swirl of light and a giant game controller appeared. I pressed the controls in sequence and a cord shot from the controller to the ‘Magna Warrior. The warrior’s eyes glowed and it moved over to my side of the field.
“Now I play ‘Double Summon’,” I said, “letting me sacrifice ‘Valkyrion the Magna Warrior’ for the ‘Great Maju Garzett’.” ‘Valkyrion’ became wisps of smoke that reformed into a massive brown skeletal demon with a red sphere in its forehead and in each shoulder. The spheres flashed (ATK: 7000).
“‘Great Maju Garzett’, attack with Vile Energy!”
‘Great Maju Garzett’ fired a massive blast from his palm. The beam hit Rocky, and smoke and fire poured over him, obscuring his view (7500-7000=500).
“I’m not out of this yet,” Rocky said, just before a figure in yellow armor burst through the smoke and punched him in the gut (500-2200=0).
“How?” Rocky asked, more curious than disappointed.
“I used my face-down ‘Call of the Haunted’ to revive ‘The Field Megacyber’ and attack,” I explained. My monsters disappeared as the duel came to an end.
Rocky smiled, “Well, my friend, I’m glad I’m not competing against you, and I feel bad for anyone who does. Unless Yugi Muto shows up, you might actually win this thing.”
Card of the Day:
Valkyrion the Magna Warrior
Played by: Rocky
This is a challenging card to summon, but it is very powerful and versatile. Rocky's summoning of this card signifies the more offensive shift in Rocky's style as a Duelist which will be important in later stories.
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