FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Yugioh Dark Duel Anthology: Chapter 1: Forbidden Memories Reawakened

Chapter 1

***

Before we begin with this new tale, I have a few words of clarification to get off my chest first, to make sure there are no questions later.

Some cards will have descriptions or uses that are different in the anime than the actual game. Being a primary fan of the anime/video games as opposed to the TCG, anime descriptions will take precedence. Plus any cards that may have had definitions changed throughout the case of the series, the description used most often will take precedence.

Anime only cards and cards on the TCG ban-list are all fair game here. This helps give creative freedom for the duels and makes the game more interesting to read.

Unless it's for important plot reasons, I will not be making up cards on the fly. If it hasn't been made it isn't going to get used. Also, as part of the plot and my tribute to cards of the old, newer card concepts won't be used until later in the story. This means Synchro Summons and XYZ Summons take a back seat for now.

Next, I claim absolutely no ownership of Yugioh. Creation gets credited to Kazuki Takahashi and Konami for the Manga/Anime and the Games respectively. This is merely fan fiction.

Also, like my other stories, all 3rd party characters belong to their respective owners. Please don't use them without mine and their permission.

Finally, this story will contain adult material of both a heterosexual and homosexual nature. If you're not a fan of that (which is weird since come on most of you like it), then this isn't the story to read.

Ok that's enough of that please enjoy.

***

It has been millennia ago since the rise and fall of the ancient shadow games. It was a great and terrible power that led to a war so great that the world nearly crumbled before its power. It wasn't until the legendary brave and nameless pharaoh took that power and sealed it away, along with 7 mystical items. It is there within the darkest crevice of ancient Egypt where the power slept, safely away from civilization for nearly 5000 years. But like every seal, it never lasts an eternity.

5000 years later, a brave archeologist by the name of Solomon Muto discovered the location of the Pharaoh's tomb and one of the 7 Millennium items, the Millennium Puzzle. Intrigued by its mysteries, he took the relic home, and challenged his grandson to solve the puzzle. The boy, named Yugi took up the mantle. After a long time of working with it, Yugi finally managed to solve the puzzle, and with it unlocked both great and terrible things. Solving the puzzle broke the seal on the dark Shadow Games, and will once again threaten to consume the world. The boy Yugi will continue to become a legend, as he builds a bond with the ancient Pharaoh and a group of friends that will support him along the way.

But that is another story.

During the events that transpired around Yugi and his friends, the dark powers of the shadow games directly involved another group of teenagers. This is where our story takes place. This group of teenagers will also fight a battle against the shadows, and is directly related to another young boy.

It starts in the middle of early afternoon in Dice City, located within the southwest United States. School had just let out its students, but a small group of students decided to stay and do their usual routine. In the middle of a computer classroom, two students had mats in front of them and were holding cards in their hands. They were in the middle of a game that would grow in importance with the world.

"Uh Lucian?" The first boy said, "It's your move you know. You've been staring at your hand for the last five minutes." This boy was a human, roughly 5 ft. 7 in height, and dawned brown eyes, and brown hair that went down to the neck a ways. His opponent, a male cat with fur patterned like a calico cat was pondering his move closely.

"Hm..." began the cat, "Sorry Ryan. I wanted to slow down a bit against you since you beat me the last three times in a row."

"You mean four times if you include last night," Said one of the observers, a ferret fox with clear white fur complimented by a light blue along the tips and a pair of bright yellow eyes. He was very intrigued at the game in progress.

"Yeah thanks for the support Adair," Lucian said somewhat sarcastically. One of the other observers important in this tale had never seen the game. He had just recently trotted inside, carefully maneuvering his bulk as he sat next to the human. The young man in question was a wolftaur, with an upper body like an anthropomorphic wolf, and a lower body of a quadroped wolf. His fur was black, complimented by a white coat on his chest, underbelly, lower limbs and inner thighs. He leaned in and asked the human a question.

"Hey Ryan, what are you guys playing?" He was obviously curious, "I've seen the game a few times but I don't know what it is."

"It's alright Loboron," Ryan replied, "It's called Duel Monsters. I'll explain how it works. See, both players start with a life point count, usually at 8000. The goal is to summon monsters and engage in battle against the opponent's monsters, and the first person to bring the opponent's life points to 0 is the winner."

"Alright Ryan," The calico said drawing a card from the top of his deck, "It's time to duel. I summon Yamatano Dragon Scroll, in Attack Mode." He placed the card down on the upper row of his mat, in the face up vertical position to signify the mode it's in.

"See this?" Ryan began, "each monster that's summoned has Attack Points and Defense Points. The points used in calculation are determined by the mode it's in. Yamatano Dragon Scroll has 900 Attack Points and 300 Defense Points. Since he's in Attack Mode, his Attack Points become the primary number for calculation."

"Yeah and now I'm attacking your Petit Dragon," Lucian said pointing at the card Ryan had laid down. The card was laying horizontally on the side.

"See my card is laying horizontally, which means it's in Defense Mode. So Petit Dragon's Defense Points come into play, but it only has 700 points, less than Yamatano Dragon Scroll. So as a result, my monster gets destroyed and sent to the graveyard pile." Ryan explained as he picked up the card and dropped it face up in a small pile above the deck. "However because my monster was in defense mode when it was destroyed, I don't lose any life points as a result of the battle."

"Not a bad move huh Ryan?" Lucian asked smiling, waving his hand a little.

"Uh huh," The human replied, drawing a card signaling his turn. "But not good enough to defeat my 7 Colored Fish."

7 Colored Fish: Level: 4 Attack: 1800 Defense: 800

"What?!" Lucian shouted in surprise, almost slamming his hands on the table, "Thanks a lot."

"So now by attacking and destroying Lucian's attack mode dragon scroll, the difference between Attack Points come out of his Life Points." Ryan explained and wrote down the math on a nearby notepad.

Ryan LP: 3600

Lucian LP: 0

"I lost again," Lucian said with a sigh, "I can't win."

"Wow you stink at this game Lucian," Loboron teased playfully with a finger.

"Like you can do any better hotshot," The calico answered a bit hot headed.

"Nah," Ryan replied shaking his head, "he played fine. I just had better cards. It's easier for me to get access to cards because of my uncle. See he runs his own dueling club, and I get all my best cards from him." Most of the other observers had left the classroom already, but the remaining three were instantly intrigued.

"A dueling club?" Adair asked curiously, "How come you never told us about it before?"

"Who cares" Lucian stood up smiling, quickly putting his cards away and folding his mat, "point it there's a club with our names on it. Let's go." Ryan only chuckled lightly and stood up as he gathered his own cards and mat together.

"Well there's a reason I didn't mention it before," he began, "although it may be easier to just show you as opposed to explaining it, since Lucian isn't stopping anytime soon." The other three hurried to catch up with the calico, who retorted back at them.

"Come on guys, why are you running so slow?"

"Because you're going the wrong way again Lucian, it's this way," Ryan said and led them down the right path out the school.

***

About a fifteen minute walk later, they arrived at the front of the club, which was smaller than the three furs expected to see. It was a small duplex building that had two floors to it. It was coated in a light tan color and had a sign near the welcome mat with the Duel Monster's logo on it, signifying that it was a dueling club.

"That doesn't seem as glamorous as I expected," Lucian pointed out as Ryan walked and opened up the door.

"It gets worse," the human explained as he let the group in, giving some space for Loboron to walk in first. They saw what was wrong about it the instant they walked in.

"Wow," Adair began, "it's.... completely empty."

"I know people have lives outside of the game," Loboron began, "but there should be at least a few diehards at a club at any given time. It does look nice though, kind of simple and homey, like someone's house."

"That's because it is," Ryan explained, "my house is the other half of the building, located on the opposite side, although most of the house is on the second floor of the plex." He hung his jacket on a nearby rack and set his backpack down before calling out up the floor.

"Uncle James, I'm back from school! And I brought a few friends too."

"Huh? Friends you say," a voice said as the man entered the room. He looked similar to Ryan, besides being much taller and grayer hair. He saw his friends and smiled. "Well welcome, this is a nice surprise. Have you come to join the club." The three greeted him and smiled. Ryan walked next to them to introduce them to his uncle.

"Uncle James, this is Adair Zephyr, Lucian Canad, and Loboron Wolfmage."

"Well it's wonderful to meet you guys," Uncle James replied, "please please take off your coats and get comfortable. The Mrs. has cookies in the oven. As you can see we obviously have plenty of room." He hurried into the nearby kitchen and spoke with his wife. Contrary to his own belief, the group could hear what was going on in the kitchen.

"Finally some prospective members," he said, "make those cookies extra delicious, we don't want to lose these guys." He came back into the club area in a sec, as the others all got comfortable around a table near the bar area. "So can I get you guys anything to drink? First timers get a free one."

"Alright, one Coke please," Lucian said, but the elder human froze a bit and sighed.

"Sorry, I don't have coke products at the moment. Too expensive."

"Aw man," the cat said, "what do you have."

"I have milk," James replied and the cat sighed.

"That'll be just fine Uncle," Ryan stated and looked at his friends, before standing up to help, "right guys?"

"No problem, milk is good," Loboron stated smiling, shifting a little to get comfortable. Adair was in his own little world though, observing Uncle James carefully. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but he had recognized him before from somewhere. He thought hard for a couple minutes, but when he observed the extra-large poster hanging above him it all came together.

"Wait a minute," Adair said standing up, everyone else looked at him curiously as Ryan set glasses of milk on the table.

"What's wrong short stuff?" Lucian asked, and the ferret fox looked at the elderly human.

"You said James right? As in James Lewis?"

"Yeah that's right," James replied, "do you know me from somewhere?"

"Know you?" Adair said and smiled, "I'm a big fan of yours. I read about you in my DM Weekly one time." He then pulled out a small pocket booklet and a pen and walked up the James. "Can I get an autograph please?" James looked puzzled a bit then smiled before signing where Adair asked him too.

"Fan?" Lucian was confused, "Ry who is he?"

"Uncle James was once the United States Champion about a decade ago," The human explained, "he was a legend. The only person who could defeat him in his prime was the creator himself, Maximillion Pegasus."

"That's true," Uncle James chimed in happily, "but I got tired of professional dueling and settled down. I got married, and decided to setup the world's most prestigious dueling club. I was hoping to rival the clubs of Japan one day, but who knows."

"So uh Mr. Lewis," Adair started.

"Please call me James," he replied.

"Ok James," he nodded, "can I possible catch a glimpse of the super rare card you used back then? You know, your legendary monster?"

"Legendary monster?" Loboron asked.

"It's the one on the poster above Uncle James's head," Ryan pointed out, "go ahead uncle they won't bite."

"Well..." He pondered, before getting a group please from the group, Loboron and Lucian now really curious to see the card. "Awe shucks, when you put it that way Ryan, how can I refuse?" He then reached into a secret safe, fiddling with it as the group got closer, until he pulled his card out.

"Ok gather close," he began and held it up, "Here it is, the Meteor Black Dragon."

Meteor B. Dragon: Level: 8 Attack: 3500 Defense: 2000

"Wow, look at its stats," Lucian said wide eyed, "Can they get that strong?"

"You bet," James replied.

"Why is the card purple instead of yellow Ryan?" Loboron asked curiously.

"The purple means it's a fusion monster," The younger human explained, as the Mrs. brought in cookies and set them down with the milk, "Fusions are very powerful monsters, but are so powerful that they require the combination of two monsters to create. To fuse them you need the two monsters needed on the field or your hand, and play a magic card called Polymerization. In MBD's case, he requires a Meteor Dragon and a Red Eyes Black Dragon to summon, which are both rare monsters in their own right."

"I taught you well Ryan," Uncle James said proudly before putting the card away. The telephone rang in the next room and he stood up, "I need to take this, talk amongst yourselves." He hurried out the room and left the teenagers to talk, who started dipping into the plate of cookies.

"Well that was nice," Loboron said smiling at Ryan, "you guys have a nice place here."

"Yeah we should hang out here more often," Adair stated, "even if it is emptier than it should be this is a great hang out. I have more questions for James too."

"I'm glad you like it guys," Ryan replied, "this would be a great place to hang out, if it wasn't closing soon."

"What?!" The other three collectively said as they looked at their friend in surprise.

"I didn't talk about this place before because it's being foreclosed soon," the human started explaining, "see the reason why the club is empty is because it lacks notoriety, it hasn't been sponsored or recommended by either Kaiba Corp. or Industrial Illusions. Duelists nowadays won't go to or join a club if it hasn't had treatment from at least one of the two companies. As a result my Uncle's club, and his dream, have obviously suffered. He's brought in little income lately, and his loaner's made their final call this month. If he doesn't get the money by next week we'll lose the club and the house."

"Lame," Lucian said, "is there anything we can do?"

"There is one thing that can save the shop," Ryan continued, "That Meteor Black Dragon card. That legendary card is so rare very few exist in the world. Auctions can reach up the millions on that card. With that kind of money he can not only pay off the entire loan, he can get land and property rights for the club, and even afford very decent advertising. That card could very well accomplish everything for Uncle James."

"So why doesn't he auction it?" Lucian asked again.

"Well think about it," Loboron stated, "It's his most prized possession. Think about how hard it would be to get rid of something so close and sentimental to someone."

"Exactly," Ryan said, "He said he would be willing to lose everything he had, as long as he had that dragon card. He has a bond with it that I have never seen with anyone else I've met. It's almost inspiring." Adair looked toward the hallway where James walked to pick up his call.

"He really is an amazing man," Adair said, "I hope things work out for you guys."

"Thank you for the support guys," Ryan said, "really, I couldn't ask for a better motley crew of friends."

"Hey no biggie," Lucian said, "If you do lose the house, you can always chill at my place."

"But your house is crawling with relatives," Adair replied bluntly, "he'd have more space over at my place." Ryan and Loboron couldn't help but chuckle while the other two argued about the current subject. Just as Uncle James walked back into the room and to his post, the door opened up, chiming the bell that was posted just above the door. Everyone went silent quickly and both humans put on a serious face. The door shut after two tall men walked in. They were both Dobermans, one older and one younger. One was garbed in a standard business suit; the other was wearing a dark long coat over some tight fitting shirt and jeans as if to emphasize the build of his muscles.

"Well look at this pops," The younger one snarked, "there are actually people here this time."

"That's true Cy," the older one said, "but it's not much of an improvement over the last several times. Now let's mind our manners and get on with business."

"Nice to see you come early gentlemen," Uncle James began, "I expected to see a representative next week, but it seems I'm once again blessed by the top brass of the Berkona Group."

"Who?" Lucian whispered in Ryan's ear.

"The Berkona Group was the company that lended Uncle James the money for this place," Ryan replied, "The elder man is the company owner, and the youngest one is his son, Cy Berkona."

"It looks like my reputation is spreading. Let me guess, a fan who wants an autograph? I could for the right price." The young Doberman replied.

"Autograph? So he's a duelist too?" Loboron asked.

"Oh yeah," Ryan replied, "and a top notch duelist too. His ruthless tactics have earned him the nickname Warmech."

"Which is what I prefer to be called from now on." He interjected rather rudely.

"A duelist huh?" Lucian said smiling and stood up, holding out a hand to shake, "maybe we can play together sometime."

"Hmph..." Warmech said before patting the hand aside, "no thanks, I have better things to do than play with wannabe dweebs."

"Huh?" Lucian said surprised.

"I'm the number one duelist in the state and the favorite to win the upcoming national championships," he chuckled, "you wouldn't last four seconds in a duel against me."

"Ooo I'm shaking," Lucian taunted back, "maybe we should just settle this with fists instead of cards." Ryan put a hand on the cat's shoulder.

"Lucian it's not worth fighting about it here," He stated.

"But he's asking for it," Lucian said with a growl, tail twitching.

"I don't much of anything of worth here," The elder Berkona began, "now back to business. I've come to discuss the deal we spoke of earlier."

"I thought it was already made clear," Uncle James stated, "500,000 dollars by next week or you foreclose the place. But I've already told you, I'm trying to come up with the money as fast as I can."

"I'm sure you are," the Doberman continued, "but you see I'm speaking of the other deal. You know exactly what I want, if you trade it over everything you could get with the card about this tiny joint would be yours."

"I told you again," James said, "the card is not up for debate. I treasure that card more than anything, and no amount of money will change that."

"How about I sweeten the deal then?" The elder snapped his fingers and Warmech held up a briefcase he carried in before setting it on the counter. He opened it up and spun it around, to show the human the contents. James was instantly mesmerized, as well as the teenagers were when they saw that inside the case was nothing but rare and powerful cards. "Give us your Meteor Black Dragon and we'll trade you all of these cards as well as your deed."

"Well well quite a collection you have there," James smiled, then closed the case and pushed it back an inch, "but no thanks."

"I'll trade for them," Lucian shouted.

"With what, bottlecaps?" Warmech said bluntly, scoring another growl from Lucian.

"Honestly I'm baffled why you would refuse such a wonderful offer," the elder doberman said, "I'm never this nice anywhere else."

"I'm aware of that," said James, "but my heart and soul are tied to that card. It's my most prized possession and a piece of who I am. I'll never give up this card, and nothing you do will ever convince me otherwise."

"Then I've seen enough here," Mr. Berkona sighed, "let's go, and remember, you have until Monday to pay the money." Both of them walked out, Warmech shoving some chairs aside after grabbing his briefcase in his haste. Uncle James sighed and Ryan looked worried.

"Uncle James, isn't it unlawful for them to push you around like that?" he asked.

"It's quite alright, I just wish you didn't have to be here to see that. Now it's getting late, perhaps your friends should head home now."

"Probably a good idea," Ryan agreed, "curfew is in a few hours and we're not quite old enough to be out passed that time yet." The others agreed and Ryan walked them out the door.

"Don't forget you owe me a rematch tomorrow," Lucian said before walking off. Loboron followed, thanking Ryan for the wonderful time that afternoon. Adair was the last to leave, but he turned to Ryan before doing so.

"Uh, Ryan?" He began.

"Yes Adair?" The human asked, and the ferret fox hesitated a bit, a slight blush was hidden underneath his fur.

"I... hope things work out for you."

"Thanks," he replied, "have a safe walk home." Adair nodded before slowly hurrying off down the sidewalk. Ryan shut the door and locked it up for the night.

***

Later that evening, after Dinner, Ryan and his uncle were lounging around the living room. James had called his nephew for a private talk.

"You wanted to see me Uncle?" Ryan asked as he sat on the couch.

"Yes," he began, "see Ryan, I watch you grow from a young boy into a fine young duelist over the years. Now I know you still have a lot to learn, but I think you are ready now."

"Ready? For what?" Ryan asked.

"For this," James replied and reached in his pocket. He pulled out a full deck of Duel Monster cards and handed it to Ryan face down. "This is the deck that I used when I won the national championship. There are some key cards missing, but most of it is there. It's yours, as a rite of passage from one generation to the next." The younger human gasped in surprise and held the deck closely, he was about to turn it over to see what they are but he was stopped.

"Not just yet," he said, "wait to see what they do until you start your next duel. Let the surprise teach you."

"Uncle," Ryan replied, "are you sure you want to give me this?" He nodded in reply.

"Think of it like an early birthday gift," he said, "after your first duel with it, feel free to change it up or even mix in cards you already have with it to make it even stronger. The sky is the limit." Ryan smiled and gave his uncle a hug.

"Thank you uncle, I'll treasure it deeply." Uncle James let go and pulled out something else too.

"Also, as a test of your trustworthiness. Inside this envelope holds a secret relic. I want you to hold on to it until I ask for it back. Until then, I want you to promise that you'll always keep it on you, that you won't look at it, and that you don't tell a soul." He pulled out a small thin envelope and handed it to the younger human. Ryan looked at it a bit confused as he held it up.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'll reveal it in good time," he said, "until then I need you to watch over it. Can I count on you?" Ryan looked up at him and nodded, slipping the envelop in his back pocket.

"You can count on me Uncle." He said smiling.

***

The next day the group was walking to Ryan's place after to school, to hang out and play more Duel Monsters at the club. Ryan had told them about the new deck his Uncle gave to him, and they were just as excited as he was to give it a welcome test run. Ryan made no mention of the envelope hidden carefully in his back pocket, even to his friends. He was curious of what it was, but he trusted his Uncle would tell him soon enough.

"Man a whole new deck," Lucian jumped around giddily, "I can't wait to see a former champion's deck in action."

"You mean so you can lose twice as fast now?" Adair teased and Lucian scoffed.

"No," he retorted, "It's just not every day one of us gets most of a former champion's cards. I just want to see what it's capable of that's all." Ryan and Loboron were walking on a little bit behind, and the wolftaur turned towards the human.

"Still it's a bit surprising he'd just give you a deck like that, especially since he was so adamant about keeping that dragon yesterday."

"Well to be honest it doesn't entirely make sense," the human replied, "he said it was more of a rite of passage between generations. That and I'm sure he didn't give me Meteor Black Dragon."

"You're sure?" Loboron asked confused, "you mean you haven't checked your deck yet?"

"He said I shouldn't look at the cards until my first duel with them, he said the surprise was a good thing." The wolftaur nodded and the group stopped just shy of the duel club.

"Hey Ryan?" Adair began.

"What is it?" The human asked.

"Does your Uncle air the club out by leaving the door open?"

"Huh? No he would have no reason to do that. It's air conditioned and the door has a bell hung over it to chime whenever it opens, to alert to customers." The human saw that Adair was right about the question, the door was wide open. He hurried and looked inside and gasped at the sight.

"The place has been trashed," The group hurried inside and observed the damage. A table and a few chair were broken, and everything else was either open or toppled over. It left quite a mess in the club. Ryan hurried further in to check on the house, while the others looked around.

"This is awful?" Adair said, "who would do this?"

"I have an idea who," Lucian said.

"You don't really think they would go this far do you?" Loboron asked.

"Maybe not but the coincidence is there," Lucian stated seriously, "they come in the day before trying to get their slimy paws on a card. Then the next day the same empty club gets smashed. It smells too fishy to ignore, and I'm not talking about my tuna breath from lunch earlier."

"Is there any other way to be sure though, we can't jump to conclusions yet," Adair said.

"Actually, Lucian's theory doesn't necessarily miss the mark," stated Ryan as he walked back into the club room, "Nowhere else in the house has been affected or missing. Only the club is damaged. If it was anyone else they would've trashed the whole place." The human then walked behind the counter and gave a look of surprise as he saw the wide open safe. "Even more so, it looks like they found what they were looking for."

"You don't mean," Adair began shocked.

"Yeah, Meteor Black Dragon is gone. That card is the only thing in the safe and it's completely empty now." Ryan was then interrupted by the ringing of the telephone down the hall. He hurried down to pick it up, with the others following and the human picked up the receiver, holding it to his right ear.

"Hello? Black Dragon Dueling Club," He answered.

"Good to hear you speaking Mr. Lewis," said the voice on the line.

"Warmech!" Ryan answered.

"I'm glad you remember me," Warmech said, "see, I'm calling because your Uncle was summoned for a quick visit here. But you see, he's not exactly faring well at the moment. Why don't you drop by our office and pick him up." He then let out a laugh and hung up on Ryan.

"Wait!" Ryan shouted, "What have you done with him?" He heard nothing on the line but the hanging tone and he hung up.

"So it was him wasn't it?" Lucian asked angrily. The human nodded.

"Come on," Ryan began, "we need to head to Berkona Tower." The group nodded and they hurried out the store, with Ryan closing the door and locking it with a spare key before hurrying down the street.

"You know if we were old enough we could drive there in like 10 minutes instead of having to run for an hour," Lucian huffed.

"Less yapping and more running," Loboron said, his quadroped half in full pace as he ran, going faster than the rest. After an hour or so they arrived at their destination, a large office building about 20 stories high. Ryan observed the building's height before running in. There was no one around in the lobby, but it was pretty obvious the big guns were on the top floor. They hurried to the elevator and squeezed in, Loboron stationing himself in the corner to make room. When they exited the elevator at the top floor they saw the two Doberman from before, with Uncle James lying on the floor, grimacing in pain. The group gasped in surprise.

"Uncle James," Ryan shouted as the group hurried toward his aid. Ryan looked down at his uncle and then frowned at the other two. "What did you do to him?"

"We had a duel that's all," Warmech chuckled holding up the Meteor Black Dragon card, "with each of us offering our most precious possession as the prize. It's amazing what can be done with a card like this. I could auction it for millions, make even more in the black market, I could even add it to my deck and use it to win the championships for myself. It's quite amazing really."

"Ok fine, you have your card now," The human replied, "so can you do us a favor and forgive the loan you had on my uncle?"

"That was the deal made before the duel," The elder Doberman spoke, "when he refused then the rules changed. Now not only does he not have his card, but by thinking he could beat my son, he now still owes the 500,000 by next week."

"You cheating bastard," Lucian said, "you weren't planning on the forgiving the loan anyway."

"You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Adair shouted and pointed as Lucian and Loboron helped James up.

"That's pretty mean words about a deal that wasn't committed to writing," Warmech said, "maybe you should bring a lawyer next time."

"That's it," Loboron growled, but Ryan held his arm up in front of him to block his advance.

"Sharp mouths your friends have Mr. Lewis," The elder man stood up from his desk and looked out the window to the setting sun, "but I don't want to be the guy who doesn't give clients a sporting chance. So I offer you a deal, a chance to win your precious card back."

"I'm listening," Ryan said.

"See we know that your Uncle gave you his professional deck, and that you currently carry it in your card case," Warmech explained, "I want to see if it's worth any more than the pathetic excuse for a deck brought in before. If you somehow manage the miracle of the ages and defeat me I'll return the card to you."

"And if I lose?"

"Then your house gets turned into a parking lot, and you must fork over the entire deck."

"No way, those aren't fair terms," Adair said, "Ryan you don't have to prove yourself to them."

"He's right you know," Loboron stated, "you have recourse to the law here, plus your uncle needs help."

"I..." Ryan thought for a moment, not sure what to do.

"I say take him Ryan," Lucian shouted and the group turned to face him.

"But Lucian," Ryan began.

"No buts Ryan," he said, "you're one of the best duelists I know, and you have your Uncle's deck on you, I know you can beat them."

"Ryan," Uncle James began, "you're free to make the choice, I'll support you either way. But remember this, if you do face him remember to trust in your deck and in your cards. That was the first lesson I taught you, believe in every card and their possibilities and you can't lose." He groaned and kneeled a bit before standing up. To Ryan, the speech somehow made sense, and he wasn't sure if the house could be saved if he had just walked away.

"How endearing," the elder dog stated, "I'll even make it more interesting. If you win I'll also extend the deadline of the loan by a whole year, with no growth to interest." Ryan thought another second then held his head up.

"Alright then," The younger human said, "you're on." Warmech chuckled and opened the nearby door.

"Then follow me," he walked inside and all of us followed. Inside the room was a small duel arena in the middle of the room, with several seats around it. It was nothing like Ryan or the other had ever seen before. Warmech stood at the station at the far end, pulled out his deck and shuffled it before placing it in his deck zone.

"What is all this?" Lucian asked as the group sat down in some front row chairs on the left side. The elder Doberman sat on the right side behind Warmech, and Ryan walked up to the opposite end of the arena console, observing the dock closely.

'Weird,' Ryan thought, 'why do we need a setup this big for a simple card game. Shouldn't we just use a desk or something?'

"This is the latest in holographic simulation technology," Warmech explained, "it's one of the first prototypes that Kaiba Corp. developed. I managed to win this little beauty in my last championship tournament. You'll find the game runs just the same but with a small twist. Both players start with 8000 Life Points, and whoever loses them all first loses. Simple as that, so shuffle your deck and place it on the deck zone." Ryan did that, pulling the deck from the container on his belt, shuffling the deck and placing it on the lower right zone. Then both players drew five cards and the arena lit up. Ryan was in for a bit of a shock in a second.

"Let's Duel," both players shouted, and the life point counter was displayed above the middle of the arena.

Warmech LP: 8000 Ryan LP: 8000

"I'll make the first move to show you how it works," said Warmech as he drew his first card, "I summon Holograh in attack mode." He placed the card down and a light flashed on the side of the Doberman's arena, and the monster illustrated on the card materialized into existence. It made a shout before its stats were displayed.

Holograh: Level: 3 Attack: 1100 Defense: 700

"No way," Ryan said who wasn't the only who didn't believe, "The machine brought the monster on the card to life?"

"Real monsters?" Lucian shouted, "am I going crazy?"

"It's the new frontier of dueling that has recently caught on the spotlight," Warmech stated, "its testament to power will bring duelists to it like bees to a honeysuckle. It'll make waves on the world. Although it may not be for everyone, as your Uncle managed to demonstrate. Now, are you going to move or stare at my impressive monster all day?" He laughed at the human's stare at the monster, but that served to snap Ryan back into reality.

"Your monster is impressive, but technology is no excuse for an opening move that weak," Ryan said and drew a card from the top of his deck. He glanced at his hand, picked a monster, and laid it down on the field. "I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman in attack mode." A light flashed and a swordsman with long hair appeared on Ryan's side of the field, its stats displaying.

Neo the Magic Swordsman: Level: 4 Attack: 1700 Defense: 1000

"Attack now Neo," Ryan shouted, "Spellblade Strike." Neo let out a battle cry and charged his sword with magic before striking Holograh. Holograh curled up before the hologram shattered like glass and disappeared. Then on the upper screen, Warmech's Life Points went down as a result.

Warmech LP: 7400 Ryan LP: 8000

"That's all for now," Ryan said with a smile and his friends and uncle cheered for him.

"Yeah way to be Ryan," Lucian shouted, "ahead of the game like always."

"Don't underestimate Warmech just yet," stated James, "it's his turn now."

"Not a bad move," Warmech said laughing, "for a beginner. But let's see you go up against my Ancient Gear Soldier now, in attack mode."

Ancient Gear Soldier: Level: 4 Attack: 1300 Defense: 1300

"Ancient Gear Soldier?" Ryan asked questioningly, "but that monster has fewer attack points."

"True my soldier only has 1300 attack points, while your Neo has 1700," he said before placing a card in the lower zone, "but when I add this card to the mix this will change." Ryan gasped a bit.

"A Magic Card."

"Exactly," he said revealing the card with a green border on it, "this one is called Megamorph, and it doubles my Soldier's attack points to 2600. Now go, and show this outdated fighter how machines rule the duels." The soldier jumped into the air, slashing down at Neo and destroying him instantly before jumping back to his side of the field. Ryan grimaced and flinched a bit as the shattering effect came close to his face.

Warmech LP: 7400 Ryan LP: 7100

"That's enough suffering for now." He said with a toothy grin, and his father smiled at the progress of the duel. Loboron growled a bit and clenched his fist.

"Come on Ryan," he shouted in support, "you can do it just a minor setback."

"Yeah," Lucian shouted, "don't let the fact his monster has 2600 attack points get you down."

'Thanks Lucian,' Ryan thought in his mind as he drew his card, 'but you missed an important piece of detail. Megamorph has a negative effect too. It's true it doubles the attack of the equipped monster, but only when his life points were lower than mine. Now that they're higher, his monster's attack gets cut in half instead of doubling, bringing it to 650, so now I can destroy it with any monster. And I have just the card to do it.'

"I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered in attack mode," Ryan announced as the fiend appeared on Ryan's field.

Ryu-Kishin Powered: Level: 4 Attack: 1600 Defense: 1200

"Go Ryu-Kishin, destroy his gear soldier," Ryan's monster charged in quickly, and with a slash destroyed Warmech's monster like before. Warmech didn't flinch however, and merely smiled as his life points went down.

Warmech LP: 6450 Ryan LP: 7100

"Why is he smiling?" Adair asked curiously, "didn't his life points go down again."

"He's toying with Ryan," James stated, "it was similar when I dueled with him. It was now when he took off the training wheels and proceeded to demolish me."

"Well well you put up a more entertaining fight than I thought," Warmech chuckled, "but if you thought those moves put you neck and neck against me you're absolutely wrong. See I always toy with my food before I kill it, and you'll see now once I take it up to the next level." Warmech drew a card and gave a toothy grin. "I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode." Suddenly, a large shiny metal dragon appeared and roared on the Doberman's side of the field.

Cyber Dragon: Level: 5 Attack: 2100 Defense: 1600

"I've never even seen that card before," Ryan commented. Lucian stood up angrily.

"Hey wait a minute," Lucian began, "how do you have a level 5 monster on the field? A level 5 or higher monster can only be summoned by sacrificing a certain number of monsters on your side of the field."

"Very observant but you should get your eyes checked and read the fine print," Warmech smiled, "I'm sure you can see why this monster card is outlined in orange instead of yellow, unless you're a complete beginner."

"The monster has a special ability," Ryan pointed out.

"Exactly," Warmech replied, "see since Ryan was the only one with a monster on the field, I can summon the beast without a sacrifice. Now that that's out of the way, it only gets worse. Like before I'm augmenting its power with a magic card, Machine Conversion Factory. Now my monster's attack and defense points go up by 300."

Cyber Dragon: Level: 5 Attack: 2400 Defense: 1900

"Now attack and destroy his Ryu-Kishin Powered with Cyber Energy Shock," he shouted and the monster charged a bright light at its maw before sending it right on Ryan's monster, shattering it.

"Ahhh..." Ryan shouted shielding his face, "At least that's over."

"Oh I don't think so," Warmech said, much to the human's surprise. "When you play with sparks, you tend to get burned by fire. And this card will do the trick literally for me. It's the Ookazi magic card, and it burns you for another 800 points of damage." Ryan covered his face again as his side is consumed in an intense yet holographic flame. When it dispenses, Ryan's life points drained down to the appropriate value.

Warmech LP: 6450 Ryan LP: 5500

"And to finish my turn," he began again by setting a card face down in the lower zone, "I'll set one card face down, and that's all for now." Loboron looked confused.

"What was with his last move?" Loboron asked James, who crossed his arms as he watched.

"Chances are he's set a trap for Ryan," he replied.

"Trap?" Lucian asked, "he can do that?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "trap cards are unique cards coated in pink. They must be set face down in the Spell/Trap zone. And they can only be activated when it's triggered by meeting a certain condition. They usually come with dangerous results for their opponents, so Ryan will need to be extra careful." The human dueling thought hard on his next move.

'Ok wow, he wasn't kidding when he said he stepped up his game,' Ryan thought, 'I only have one monster in my hand strong enough to beat it, but I have to sacrifice a monster on my field to summon it out. I need a strategy to help keep a monster on the field long enough to summon it out.' The human then drew a card and frowned. 'This card is useless, it only has 200 Attack points and 300 Defense points. Why would Uncle put it in his deck if it had those stats? He must have some reason though so I'll keep it with the other ones in my hand. I should play a monster face down, in defense mode. The monster will take a hit but my Life Points will be safe.' Ryan set the monster face down in defense mode and ended his turn.

"I suppose that's all they can do once I step it up," Warmech said drawing a card, "Now I play the spell card Pot of Greed. Now I can draw 2 more cards to my hand." He drew the two cards and continued. "Then I summon Gradius in attack mode." The next monster looked more like a fighter ship than anything, but looked like a good compliment to his strong Cyber Dragon.

Gradius: Level: 4 Attack: 1200 Defense: 800

"Think it's bad now, Now I'll equip Gradius with the magic card Fairy Meteor Crush. This card allows Gradius to deal damage to your life points when it destroys monsters in Defense Mode as well as attack mode."

"What?" Ryan shouted in surprise.

"Now Ryan has no protection from his opponent," Adair commented.

"Gradius, destroy his face down." The monster flew right through the displayed card, destroying the monster face down, and revealing the defense points to be 800, causing 400 points of damage.

Warmech LP: 6450 Ryan LP: 5100

"It gets even worse," He commented, "Now that your field is clear of monsters, my Cyber Dragon can attack your life points directly. Cyber Energy Shock!" The monster let out another attack, this time hitting Ryan's console directly and Ryan braced himself as it shook a bit from the simulation of realism. When it stopped, the human looked up and watched his Life Points fall hard.

Warmech LP: 6450 Ryan LP: 2700

"That's enough pain and punishment for now. Good luck fighting this," said Warmech as he ended his turn. "Next turn the rest of your Life Points will take a hit."

"Oh man," Loboron said, tense as he watched the transpiring duel, "one more attack like that and it's all over."

'He's right,' Ryan thought with a worrying look, 'I'm running out of options, if I could just get enough time to get my stronger monsters out, I could then fight on equal terms, but then there's also this face down. There's little I can do but I can hope to delay his attack for a little while.' Ryan then drew his next card.

"You know there's no shame in surrendering and walking away now if you wish," said Warmech's dad, "it's not your fault you can't stand up to him."

"I play the magic card Nightmare's Steelcage," Ryan replied setting the card down. In an instant a metal cage wall covered in spikes arose in between the two sides, like a barricade of sorts. "Now for the next two turns no player can engage in battle, so my Life Points are safe for now. I play a monster face down in defense mode and end my turn."

'Excellent,' Ryan thought carefully, 'Now I can last long enough to get a stronger monster out. I may not be able to attack because of my own card, but neither can he.' This led to the cheer of Ryan's friends from their seats. Warmech only laugh.

"Nice decoration but you're only delaying the inevitable," he replied as he drew a card. "Now I think it's time for me to activate my face down, the Trap Card Jar of Greed. This lets me draw yet one more card to my hand." He drew the card and among studying it laughed. "This is priceless, you think one Cyber Dragon is a tough fight? Then why don't you try your luck against two of them."

"What?" Ryan asked out loud in surprise.

"I sacrifice my Gradius from the field in order to summon Cyber Dragon."

Cyber Dragon (2nd): Level: 5 Attack: 2100 Defense: 1600

"I lose Fairy Meteor Crush but it doesn't really matter in this case. Since I can't attack I suppose I'll have to end my turn. Let's see what move you'll struggle with now." He smirked and the human looked down at his deck.

'Is it really hopeless?' He asked himself in his thoughts, 'I don't have many other moves to play besides this one monster. And these other cards in my hand don't seem to be that useful.' Ryan then drew his next card and had a small look of surprise. 'Huh, it looks exactly the same as the other one.' He then looked at the other cards in question. 'No, not exactly the same, but very similar to each other, almost like they go together somehow, where have I seen these before? Wait, what did my Uncle show me in a magazine one time? Oh yeah, as an avid card collector he really likes to show me rare cards that are hard to find. I remember seeing this picture somehow, but I can't remember the monster accompanying it. What I do remember however is that I need all 5 pieces to use it, and it looks like I have 4 already. Hopefully that combo can help me because after this it's all I got.'

"Make a move or forfeit the duel," Warmech said, "I'm getting impatient."

"Very well," Ryan said, "It's my move, and I sacrifice the Wicked Mirror I have face down in order to summon from my hand the Summoned Skull." The face down monster disappeared in a flash, and in its place, a tall skeletal fiend appeared, an electric current flowing around its arms and horns, and it let out a growl. He was an impressive monster indeed.

Summoned Skull: Level: 6 Attack: 2500 Defense: 1200

"Alright," Lucian cheered, "now he can defeat his Cyber Dragons."

"True but he still has to wait for Nightmare's Steelcage to expire before he can," James pointed out.

"Oh right, but hey awesome looking monster," Lucian replied. James then thought a bit.

'Ryan's putting up an impressive struggle, even better than I did, despite the deck differences. The only thing that can defeat Warmech however is to draw the secret weapon I hid carefully in his deck. I can only hope Ryan remembers how to use it."

"Not a bad move, you finally got a high level monster on the field," Warmech snarked, "but my next turn shall take all your hopes and crush it. I play the magic card Graceful Charity. Now I can draw 3 more cards, but only if I discard 2 to the graveyard afterwards." He drew his cards and sent two cards from his hand to the graveyard pile above his deck. Then he smiled, "now for your nightmare to grow more. I play the magic card Monster Reborn. Now I can revive a monster from the graveyard of my choice. And the monster of my choice, is the one I just discarded. Say hello to my 3rd Cyber Dragon." Ryan shouted in surprise as he summoned yet another Cyber Dragon onto his field.

Cyber Dragon (3rd): Level: 5 Attack: 2100 Defense: 1600

"No way," Loboron looked on surprised, "3 of them? This is crazy." The elder Berkona then laughed loudly in response and applauded his son.

"Not bad huh?" Warmech chuckled, "on my next turn all three of them shall breath down your neck, and feast on your life points. But just as a teaser, I'll take out some more life points right now. I play the magic card Tremendous Fire." When he laid that card down, some strange red fairies appeared, and quickly lit the arena aflame in simulated fire again. Ryan covered his eyes to shield from the damage. "I may lose 500 life points as a cost, but it's worth it to see another 1000 points of yours go down."

Warmech LP: 5950 Ryan LP: 1700

When the flames dispersed, Ryan opened his eyes to look upon the field, but had to immediately shield them again when another intense light shone around the field.

"What is this light?" The human asked.

"Simple," The Doberman answered, "I gave the field a little extra shine, by playing a field spell from my hand."

"Field spell?" Loboron asked.

"Field spells go to the field card zone on the upper left corner," answered James, "they add extra rules to the game while it stays there depending on the card. Only one field spell can be active at a time."

"The card I set on my Field Zone is called Luminous Spark," explained Warmech, "as long as this card is active, all Light element monsters gain 500 attack points in exchange for 400 defense points. So now my Cyber Dragons get a stat change, making them all stronger than your Summoned Skull."

Cyber Dragon 1: Attack: 2900 Defense: 1500 Cyber Dragon 2 and 3: Attack: 2600 Defense: 1200

"Oh no," commented Adair, "all that work Ryan put to summoning that thing worked for nothing. I can't watch."

"I end my turn," Warmech said, "and now that two turns have passed, your Steelcage goes bye bye. And next turn you're all finished." Ryan seemed crushed, all that hard work he put into Summoning his Skull really was for nothing. He looked at his deck, uncertain at what to do next. The deck seemed so far away now, as if it could sense Ryan's doubt. Uncle James noticed this and stood up.

"Forge ahead Ryan," he said.

"But his monsters," Ryan said hopelessly but Uncle James shook his head.

"Ryan, it doesn't matter what happens to you. The important thing is that you give it your best and believe in your deck." Loboron was the next to stand up.

"He's right Ryan," he said, "even if you don't win, we're all proud of you for trying." Adair stood up next.

"No matter what happens you've always got us, best friends who will always have your back." Lucian smiled and stood up next, giving a thumbs up.

"Let us be your pillar of support," he said, "you're always a winner in our eyes, but only if you believe in yourself and in your deck, like we believe in you. No go out there and give it your all." Ryan listened to all of their words of encouragement and smiled. Those words filled him with warmth, and could see the truth behind those words. He felt his deck draw closer to the heat and he reached down.

"Thank you guys," Ryan said and gave a thumbs up before reaching down to draw slowly, "only one card can save me now." He drew the card in an instant that passed as slow as an hour, before he looked at it, and his eyes shot wide open.

"Play your last pathetic card so I can end this duel," Warmech interjected.

"My uncle's deck has no pathetic cards Warmech," Ryan said smiling, holding up the card as he drew it and spun it around to show his opponent what he drew. "What it does contain is the most powerful monster in the entire game, the almighty Exodia, the Forbidden One!" Everyone suddenly gasped in surprise, only James was the one not taken aback.

"WHAT?!" Shouted Warmech, "T-that's not possible, are you telling me you pulled off a fucking miracle!?!" Ryan smiled and removed Summoned Skull from his field, laying down all five pieces of the legendary monster.

"I have assembled all 5 pieces of the puzzle," he explained, "in order to summon the most powerful of monsters." Ryan's side of the field opened a dark portal, to contrast the bright light that Warmech's field had. A pentagram then drew as two large hands reached out and grasped the rim, as the humongous beast pulled himself out of the vortex. Everyone gazed upon it with amazement, even James at this point, who was happy to see his nephew about to win.

"It's really him!" Warmech looked on, struck with fear, "the monster that can beat anything."

"Exactly so you know it's power," Ryan said, "when Exodia is summoned, the one who completes it automatically wins the duel. Now Exodia..." Exodia reached his hands together and charged a powerful aura.

"Wait please," Warmech begged.

"OBLITERATE!" Ryan shouted at the top of his lungs. Exodia reach back and shot his arm forward, a sudden massive burst of energy erupted and collided with his Cyber Dragons, ripping them apart like tissue paper, as Warmech gave a loud cry, devastated as his strategy is completely destroyed in front of him. The force was so loud and so bright, that everyone nearly went blind and deaf as a result, forcing ears and eyes to close. When the attack finally ended, nothing but Exodia remained on the field, and Warmechs life points steadily dropped until it couldn't anymore.

Warmech LP: 0 Ryan LP: 1700

"Alright Ryan won," Everyone shouted, and ran over to give Ryan a massive group hug, as the machine turned itself off. Ryan smiled and nearly fell over from exhaustion from hugging each and every one of his friends, James smiling and clapping at Ryan while they did. Adair hugged Ryan a bit longer than usual, and when they both realized that they both let go. Ryan gave a chuckle while Adair hid a slight blush. When it all settled Ryan grasped his new deck, reshuffled and put it all away before approaching Warmech, who had collapsed in a heap over his own console.

"How could I lose?" he asked himself repeatedly, "I had you right where I wanted you."

"It's simple," Ryan explained, "you underestimated your opponent. If you had focused more on defeating me, you may have won before I could pull it off. But I managed to win because I have amazing support from the ones I care about. Now, I believe a deal is a deal, so give us back my Uncle's Meteor Black Dragon."

"You want your card back?" he growled and stood up, pulling out the card so the group could see it. "Then take it." He frowned and tore the card clean in half, before tossing it to the floor right in front of Uncle James's feet. Everyone gasped in surprise. Uncle James looked especially devastated, and why not, his most treasured card was now destroyed, and with a look of despair he slowly picked up his card pieces and held them close.

"You asshole," Lucian said, "what the hell is wrong with you, you sore loser?"

"Hey, I kept up my end of the deal," he snarked, "You have your card back. I never said it would be in mint condition. Have fun making a coaster out of that thing." He threw the flap of his longcoat aside as he turned to leave. "And this isn't over Ryan, I'll get you back for this someday." He left and his father got up quickly to follow him, but not before turning to face them.

"Fortune smiles upon you this time," he said, "as promised, you have a whole extra year to come up with the money, plus any interest added from the specified amount in your document. But it won't matter, With the way your club attracts no business we'll turn it into a parking lot one day. And I'll personally oversee the demolition. Until then, please feel free to show yourselves out the door." He turned to leave, heading out the office to follow his son. The others gave a small sigh of relief before facing each other in a circle.

"I don't know about you guys," Loboron began, "but I'd rather not stick around for their return."

"Agreed," Uncle James said, "why don't I take you kids out for some ice cream tonight to celebrate Ryan's victory. Since you're with me, you can stay out past curfew tonight."

"Ok," everyone nodded and agreed before heading outside. Once the group was outside to the dark lit sidewalk Ryan gave an audible sigh.

"What's the matter Ryan?" Adair asked, "aren't you glad you won?"

"I am," Ryan said nodding but looked down, "I'm glad the club is open for another year, but at the same time, I couldn't get Uncle James's treasured card back. It got destroyed, and we might never get it replaced. I'm sorry Uncle James, I let you down." The elder human smiled and patted the younger one on the head.

"Hey no worries," he said, "it's not the end of the world. Besides, you aren't the only one who can play a subtle move."

"What do you mean?" Ryan looked up at his uncle confused.

"Ryan, do you still have the envelope I gave you last night?" Ryan thought for a second and reached in his back pocket, carefully pulling it out.

"This one?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "open it up, go ahead." Ryan looked confused but slowly did so. Everyone surrounded him to look, letting the streetlight shine down on the envelope. The human opened it up and let the contents fall out onto his hands. The group showed immediate surprise, much to Uncle James's amusement.

"This card is-" Ryan began.

"Yep," James nodded at his nephew, "It's the real Meteor Black Dragon. I knew they'd come back for it, so I pulled a switcheroo the night before. I gave it to you hidden in an envelope, and put a convincing duplicate into the safe, knowing that's where'd they look. Pretty cleaver huh?" Ryan smiled, and the other gave looks of amazement to each other as if to say wow. Ryan realized how a former champion really pulls a smart move on the competition. With another suggestion, the group followed Uncle James to a nearby ice cream parlor to celebrate the victory.