Even though Sarah took the reigns of the Duel Force back in Book Six, this is the first example of Sarah as the narrator of the series while being in charge. I originally intended that she would get her own book to explore her new role, but it just didn't pan out. In my Yu-Gi-Oh! continuity, Sarah might help fight off a supernatural threat, but if something too intense came along, she'd get help from her brother. Therefor it makes sense to me that if her Duel Force ever came across something that they couldn't knock out in an afternoon, she'd get someone else to deal with it. She'd at least give beating the baddie a try, and if they hurt someone she cared about she'd hulk out, and she's certainly proud enough to not give up against a stronger enemy, but Sarah is also an athlete, and so she knows her limits.
For that reason, a full book focusing on Sarah's Duel Force would either be another tournament book, which would be boring, or it would be a supernatural threat and bring John in and undermine the point of it's own existence. It was for these reasons that I decided that stories based entirely around Sarah's Duel Force would be specials. So far this is the only one, but I do plan to write at least one more. Am I over-thinking this? Yeah, probably, but I don't really care. I like the way this turned out.
Oh, and I want to talk about Wilson for a second. He is a Duelist, something that John speculated about in, like, Book One or something. He also seems to know, or at least know of, Shannon, and implies that he shows favor to her kids because of this. Who is he? What is his relationship to Shannon, and by extension to John and Sarah? I have all of this worked out in my head. I'm just trying to decide if I should write it out or not. What do you guys think?
Chapter One
Just Another Night...If You’re Us
Hey. I’m Sarah. If you’ve been following the adventures of the Duel Force, then you know me already. I’ve never written anything before that was meant to be read by anyone but my teachers, but I know my brother wrote all about his time as leader of this team, so I feel I should write about my time as leader too. And come to think of it, I have helped him write stuff that I saw and he didn’t, so I kinda know what I’m doing.
Anyway...
The Duel Force is different now. Don’t know who we are? Then you probably aren’t a Duelist. I’m pretty sure most serious Duelists at least know of us by now, but they only know us as a larger than average Duel Monsters team from the United States, the members of which participate in tournaments at various levels and usually do well. You probably also either went to or watched on TV the Great Duel Force Tournament. The final duel in the tournament, featuring my brother John no less, was awesome. Not nearly as good as some of Yugi Muto’s duels, but still very cool. That duel is what made my brother famous enough that Seto Kaiba invited him to his new duel school thingy. He figures that my brother being there will attract other American Duelists.
What you might not know about us is that a few years back me, my brother, my cousin Jen, and John’s friend Tucker were discovered my Maxamillion Pegasus. Yes, the Maxamillion Pegasus. But we weren’t discovered the way you might think. See, in Pegasus’ travels, while searching for new, historically based themes for Duel Monsters, he became something of the world’s greatest mythology buff. At some point (I have no clue exactly when) he came across an ancient legend that implied that the four of us would be the ones to free twelve ancient magical artifacts to find their rightful owners (four of which would be us), so that those twelve people could hold onto the artifacts until their original owner could return and destroy his evil side. He also told us that a group called the Duelists of the Order was trying to beat us to these artifacts, these Souls, so that they could harness them for their great power.
Crazy, right? That’s what I thought. Then Karen, Monty and Lawrence showed up with some magic borrowed from their unnamed master. That little bit of power was enough to turn Duel Monsters into a freakin’ powerful weapon. It could lock you into a “Shadow Game” where if you refused to play by the rules, you’d be destroyed, and if you lost, you’d be hurt, killed, or worse, depending on your enemy’s intensions. After that, I was a believer. We fought Karen and her buddies a couple of times. Meanwhile we freed the Souls and expanded our team with other Soul Bearers. Turns out Karen, Monty, Lawrence, and even their master’s pet, Max, were all good guys (though in the case of Max and Lawrence still not too good) and were Soul Bearers too.
John beat the leader of the Order, and soon after The Duelist, the original owner of the Souls, and his dark side Blackheart popped up and renewed their fight. The good Forgotten Duelist won, leaving us alone with the Souls. As long as the Souls exist, they have to be protected. Their powers could be too dangerous in the wrong hands. So we each continue to get stronger. There’s a lot more to it, but you’ll have to read what my brother wrote to get the true scope of it.
Anyway, recently John decided that sitting in limbo is a bad thing. He disbanded the Duel Force and moved on with his life. He and Karen went to Duel Academy, which just opened this year. Kimi went back to Japan to go to some special finishing school or something. Monty and Lawrence are touring the world. Rocky went to find and join the Duelist Elite, who’re like the Luke Skywalker to the Order’s Darth Vader. Tucker went on to college, for all that’ll be worth, Jen joined a Pro Dueling team on a country-wide tour, and Max became kinda a real life Batman. He supposedly goes around wearing a cloak and calling himself the Reaper.
Lame.
Anyway, like I said, the Duel Force is different now. John, Karen, Max and Tucker are all more or less gone. They were our strongest. As much as it wounds me to my core to admit it, I probably couldn’t even beat Tucker anymore. And I only say ‘probably’ because Tucker is still a hot-headed idiot, even if he is very powerful.
I know I can’t beat John or Max, or Karen when she actually tries. I know this. Still, I’m stronger than most. I have a really good deck, and I know how to use it. Plus I have the Soul of Water, which gives me the power to use Shadow Games, and to manipulate water and even ice, even outside of duels. My remaining team-mates are all strong too, and most of them have magical items like mine. My cousins Kris and Amanda have the Souls of Mettle and Wind respectively. The only member of the new and, dare I say improved Duel Force without an item is my brother’s old student-slashapprentice Jenna. She’s never had an item, which is probably why John would never let her on the team while he was in charge. I still don’t get his reasoning, though. Even without any kind of item, Jenna is super strong, to the point that I’m happy to have her watching my back.
When John left, that was it for the old DF. So I took command. I’ve been trying to find people who want to join us, and we’ve had a few tryouts, but I have a little issue with people I don’t like and, you know, being nice to them. So needless to say, our new additions haven’t worked out. That’s what happens when most everyone on Earth is stupid.
But I’m rambling.
The story I want to tell first takes place during a break at Tucker’s college, so he was in town. Much as I hate to admit it, he and I are friends, so we were hangin’ out at my house. It was getting late. “Well,” said Tucker finally, “I gotta go. I wanna stop by old man Wilson’s card shop on the way back to my dad’s hellhole of a place.”
“No way,” I said. “I wanted to head to Wilson’s, and there’s no way I’m walkin’ with you.”
Of course, in the end, I ended up walking with him anyway. As annoying as he is, it’s not worth it to waste energy arguing with him. He’s not smart enough to form an intelligent argument, and the conversation ends up going in circles.
So we walked to Wilson’s cards together. Wilson had been holding a few packs for me. He picks a few packs from every shipment and saves them for me and my friends. Tucker just wanted to browse. It was closing time, but Wilson knew us. He lets us hang out just after closing all the time. He’s kinda like a mentor to all of us I guess. I think Wilson might actually be a Duelist himself. I’ve never seen him duel, but he’s pretty old. Sixties or seventies at least. No doubt he’s easily been around since the game started. As we approached the store I wondered, not for the first time, if Wilson is very strong.
We arrived at Wilson’s shop. All of the lights were still on, which is weird. Wilson usually turns some of the lights off after closing to save on energy. As we walked up to the door I noticed that Wilson was still at his place at the counter, and that there were two figures inside with him. One was a larger guy with short-ish brown hair cut into a Mohawk. The other guy was a little on the short side with rusty brown hair. They were both trolling around the store in a more than slightly suspicious way. I stopped Tucker from entering and pointed the two goons out to him. Like an idiot he hadn’t seen them yet, but once he did he was on his toes, just as I was, and prepared for trouble.
Wilson was watching the two guys too, but he still seemed to notice when we arrived. His expression grew much more relaxed. Tucker and I slowly entered the building-.
-Just in time to be almost mowed over by the larger guy with the Mohawk as he barreled from the building, his arms full of Mr. Wilson’s stuff. The rust-haired guy tried to follow, his own arms full as well, but he was stopped by Tucker. Tucker’s Soul flashed, and his eyes lit up like fire.
“You got this guy?” I asked him. He nodded, and I ran off after the larger guy, determined to recover my friend’s property.
Tucker
Sarah was gone, after the Mohawk guy. She had the Soul of Water, so I know she’d be able to handle herself, at least until I could wrap things up at Wilson’s and catch up. I looked into the eyes of the rust-haired guy who had been with the Mohawk guy and said, “Put back everything you took, or face a Penalty Game.”
It was only then that I actually stopped to think that my foe might not know what a Penalty Game was (not that I really know either), but to my surprise, instead of confusion, I saw understanding on the face of my enemy. Wilson seemed even less confused. Wilson understanding something isn’t too rare. He’s been around the block. But some random shoplifting kid? That was weird, unless he wasn’t a random shoplifting kid.
What is going on here?
That’s when my opponent pulled out a gunmetal-colored rod with a sphere on each end, like a baton. A Shadow Item baton. Its ends lit up with Shadow fire. My Soul of Fire glowed, and a flame began to form in my hand, but I’d been caught off guard and Rusty wasn’t slow. He swung his Shadow Baton right at my head. I braced for the hit, but it never came. Instead Wilson jumped between me and my opponent and caught Rusty’s arm in the iron grip of his deceptively frail-looking hand.
“No active Shadow Items in my shop please,” said Wilson. He looked right at the rust-haired kid, “If you want to fight, we’ll take this outside.”
The ancient-looking man looked back at me through inch-thick glasses and said, “Go and help your friend. I’ll handle things here.”
I blinked away confusion and nodded, turned, and started running after Sarah, somehow sure that the old man would be fine.
Wilson
I let go of the rust-haired young man’s arm and stepped behind the counter of my store. He watched me carefully, trying to size me up. Trying to decide if he should risk turning his back and running away, or if he should stand and fight. Which was more dangerous? I’d seen that look on so many people before.
“I picked this up awhile back,” I told the young man as I lifted a long dust-covered box from behind the counter, “but I haven’t needed it until now.” I blew the dust away from the box, revealing the Kaiba Corporation logo. I placed the box down on the counter and opened it, revealing the Duel Disk inside.
“Back when I wasn’t much older than you,” I told the young man who had tried to steal from me, “there was no Pro Dueling, or Grand Championships, or Duel Disks, or grand Duel Academies on private islands in the middle of the ocean. Duel Monsters was a new game, just recently created by the very young Maxamillion Pegasus. Younger than me, he was. He's really starting to get up there now. Aged well, that one,” I fiddled with the Duel Disk, trying to get it on my wrist. “Of course I’m really no indication. I look a lot older than I am. I didn’t age so well outwardly, but my inner strength is still there.
“See,” I continued, finally fixing the Duel Disk in place and reaching down into the space behind the counter to find my deck, “almost as soon as the game of Duel Monsters came out some of the more intuitive people around saw the connection between the game and magical hooey. Started buildin’ up Shadow Charms or Shadow Items, whatever you choose to call ‘em. There were three of us. Me, my late brother Tom, and young Shannon. Now she was a natural. She beat me a good number of times. You met her daughter a few minutes ago. Her kids are strong, like her.”
I laughed as I reminisced, and finally my hand fell upon the cards that I hadn’t touched in so long, “Her son thinks he taught her how to duel. Guess he’ll never know it was the other way around. You woulda thought that how fast she caught on woulda given it away, but it never did.”
We were far past the point now where any sensible kid would have cut his losses and run. I glanced down at the little black metal ring on my finger. Good, that means that I haven’t lost my stuff. I haven’t lost my ability to mesmerize with the power of my words
“Now,” I told the young man, “why don’t we step outside and fight this out. You win, you get my entire inventory.”
That snapped the kid out of his stupor, “Alright, you’re on!”
We began the duel quickly, as soon as we stepped out into my shop’s parking lot. “My move first,” my opponent asserted.
“I’d rather we decided that the old fashioned way,” I replied. I pulled an old coin out of my pocket, “I prefer tails if you don’t mind.”
I flipped the coin and caught it expertly on the back of my hand. I showed tails to my opponent. He scowled. I rolled the coin off my hand, down my finger, and onto my Duel Disk. I might need it again later.
“I begin,” I said, “with a set monster and a face-down card.”
“Now I go,” my opponent snapped impatiently. Kids these days. No patience. “I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two new cards,” he declared, and he drew, “and then play ‘Mystical Space Typhoon’ to destroy your Trap card.”
A gust of wind ripped my ‘Mirror Force’ in half.
“Next I Special Summon two copies of ‘Gilasaurus’ from my hand, and tribute them both for the ‘Black Tyranno’!”
Two human-sized brown dinosaurs appeared, and were immediately replaced by a massive black tyrannosaurus (ATK: 2600).
“While you only control defensive monsters,” my opponent explained quite unnecessarily, “my ‘Tyranno’ can attack directly! But first I equip him with the Spell cards ‘Axe of Despair’ and ‘United We Stand’!”
The dinosaur was surrounded by a magical aura, and axe-shaped bones sprouted from its powerful tail (ATK: 2600+800+1000=4400).
“My monster attacks,” the young man commanded excitedly, and his dinosaur reached over my hidden monster with his tail and struck me personally. My Life Points plummeted (8000-4400=3600).
“You see old man! You can’t overcome my power, no matter how long you’ve been playing this game!”
I sighed at my foe’s impatience yet again. He seemed not to notice.
“I set a card,” he concluded, “and end. Go!”
“A monster like that is nothing to me, young man,” I began. “Allow me to show you the benefit of wisdom over power. I summon ‘Skilled Dark Magician’.”
A robed sorcerer appeared, with thick padded shoulders and a padded chest. In his chest padding and in each shoulder there was a darkened crystal. He carried a staff tipped with a fourth crystal, alight with magical energy (ATK: 1900).
“I flip-summon my ‘Apprentice Magician’,” I declared. A second, younger sorcerer appeared. “When my ‘Apprentice Magician’ arrives, I can activate a Spell Counter on my ‘Skilled Dark Magician’.”
One of the three crystals attached to my primary monster lit up.
“Next I play ‘Pot of Greed’ to draw two cards, and to light up the second Spell Counter.”
I drew, and the second crystal lit up as well.
“And finally I activate ‘Magical Dimension’,” I announced, “I tribute a monster to summon a magician, and destroy your monster.”
A metallic frame appeared. A coffin-like box hung within the frame, suspended by chains. The coffin opened, and the ‘Apprentice Magician’ fell inside.
“You won’t defeat my dinosaur so easily,” said my young opponent. “Reveal ‘Shield Sphere’, protecting my monster from your Spell effect.”
“My new monster still appears,” I countered as a spherical barrier appeared around the enhanced dinosaur. “Behold my ‘Time Wizard’!”
A cape-wearing, staff-wielding living clock appeared at the ‘Skilled Dark Magician”s side (ATK: 500). He unleashed a blast that broke the dinosaur’s barrier, but did nothing else.
“And don’t forget,” I said, “another Spell means another Counter.”
The third crystal lit, and I continued, “I can now tribute my ‘Skilled Dark Magician’ to summon the greatest of sorcerers,” the dark-robed sorcerer was promptly replaced by the purple-clad, green-staff-wielding ‘Dark Magician’, easily the most iconic card in the game, though not because of me (ATK: 2500).
“I play ‘Second Coin Toss’,” I continued, placing the Continuous Spell into play.
“What are you planning?” my opponent asked. I couldn’t tell if he recognized the effect of Time Wizard but not ‘Second Coin Toss’ or vice versa, but he obviously got one or another, because he was sweating.
“Just watch. Activate the effect of ‘Time Wizard’!” A spinner on the end of my ‘Time Wizard”s staff began spinning, and I explained, “You’ll notice the skulls and castles on my monster’s spinner. If the spinner stops on a skull, I lose my monsters and Life equal to half their total Attack, but if I succeed, well, you’ll see. Plus, if I fail, ‘Second Coin Toss’ lets me replay any chance-based effect with only two outcomes once per turn. I’m sure you know what that means.”
I waited as the spinner slowed, and finally stopped on a castle, “Looks like I don’t need my Spell. Go, Time Magic!”
‘Time Wizard’ raised his staff, and time itself rippled around us. My ‘Dark Magician’ aged, his hair turning silver. He grew a long beard, and his standard garbs evolved into thick, layered robes. His more mobile staff morphed into a thicker, sturdier staff made of twisted wood embedded with jewels (ATK: 2800).
“When ‘Dark Magician’ becomes the ‘Dark Sage’,” I explained, “I can move any Spell from my deck to my hand. A Spell like ‘Megamorph’, which doubles my monster’s power.”
A dark aura flared around the ‘Sage’. His strength was almost palpable (ATK: 5600).
“Next,” I continued, riding my own momentum, “I place a card face-down and play ‘Mage Power’ to empower my Spellcaster further (5600+2000=7600).”
“My monster will take the brunt of your attack and I’ll make a comeback next turn,” my foe insisted. I smiled and pointed at his dinosaur. He looked up at the dinosaur that stood over him, surprised to find his beast aged into fossils. He stared in horror as his monster collapsed, turning to dust.
“You see,” I explained, “my ‘Time Wizard’ didn’t just age my monster.”
My cheerful, competitive smile faded, “I finish it. My monsters attack.”
‘Time Wizard’ and ‘Dark Sage’ unleashed a combination attack (Total: 8100). My opponent fell to his knees, humiliated by his loss, and fearful, as he should have been.
I walked over to stand over the young man. “Now drop your Shadow Item,” I said, “anything that you still have of mine, and leave, before I do that to you in a Shadow Game.”
My opponent dropped his Item, stumbled to his feet, and ran.
Card of the Day:
Dark Sage
Played by: Wilson
Wilson implied in this chapter that maybe he isn't actually as old as he looks. This monster is the same way. Maybe the fact that it seems to be Wilson's ace card is in some way telling. Either way this is a tough monster to use, and yet Wilson makes it look easy.
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