FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

***

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.

***

The next day word got around quickly about Warmech's defeat. Thanks to technology it was really easy for Ryan's reputation to spread through town, and even beyond it a little. It's not easy being able to defeat an opponent with the caliber of Warmech, but it was even more impressive to complete an Exodia summoning, a feat that only very few have managed to do.

Ryan woke up to the sound of his alarm clock, and after getting up and getting dressed, he walked over to his deck, laid carefully on the top of a dresser in his room. He examined each card from his last duel. The five cards on the bottom were the ones that had brought him victory last night. Ryan realized that these are rare cards that could easily be stolen if he wasn't careful. He took the five cards out of his deck and placed the remainder inside the deck case on his belt. He then hurried downstairs for breakfast. His aunt and uncle were already there, eating.

"Well look who finally got downstairs," Uncle James said, "the Mrs. was wondering if you were doing any naughty teenager things upstairs." The younger human rolled his eyes as he sat down.

"Whatever," the human said as he started eating, thanking his Aunt in the process, "hey Uncle James, can I ask a quick favor?"

"What do ya need?" he replied.

"Well, I was wondering if I could keep the Exodia cards in your safe with your Meteor Black Dragon," Ryan explained, "I don't want them to get lost or stolen at school."

"Well if you insist," James replied, "but are you sure you can handle weakening your deck like this?"

"I can deal with it," Ryan replied, "I won't be able to rely on Exodia forever, nor should I. I need to win on my own skills. Besides, I still need to arrange the deck in a way to make it my own."

"Fair enough," James replied with a chuckle as he took the Exodia cards from Ryan's hand, "now hurry up so you aren't late. Be sure to bring your friends back now you hear?"

"I will thanks," Ryan smiled as he finished breakfast, before grabbing his backpack and hurrying out to head for school.

***

While on the way to school, Ryan's thoughts drifted a lot between his duel from the night before and his now new deck. He pulled out the cards from his belt and started examining each and every card in new detail. A fair amount of the cards were impressive, but for some reason he still didn't feel right taking his uncle's cards.

'I know I've taken cards from Uncle James before,' Ryan thought, 'but it doesn't seem right to take his old deck away from him.' As Ryan thought and examined the cards a gentle hand touched his shoulder, He turned to see who it was. It was Adair, the ferrox wearing a happy smile on his face.

"Hi Ryan," Adair said, "Sleep well?"

"Yes I did," the human replied, "you?"

"More or less the same," he said, "I was still a bit excited about the duel last night. You really cleaned his clock."

"Adair I won by complete chance," Ryan explained, "if it wasn't for Exodia I would have been a goner, the chances of pulling that kind of move off again are slim to none."

"Well I guess you're right, only one other person in history managed a summon like that," Adair said.

"Who was that?" Ryan asked.

"Um..." Adair hummed a bit, "I can't remember, I read it in a DM Weekly once; I think his name was Yugi or something."

"Interesting," Ryan said dismissively.

"So," Adair said, "can I see the Exodia cards? You're certainly looking at your deck closely."

"I left them at the safe at home," the human replied, flipping through cards with the ferrox looking over his shoulder, "and I've been examining the deck more closely. It's a great deck but something seems off."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, in hindsight it served my uncle well, but that's just it. It feels like it isn't my own deck you know?"

"Well, why don't you just add your own touch to it, or just use a few of these cards and slowly build your own deck, it's like getting a starter pack," Adair suggested and the human nodded for a moment.

"Yeah that's a great idea," Ryan smiled, "thanks Adair."

"No problem," Adair said and with a tiny blush, "and you can call me Adi."

The two continued walking after Ryan put the deck away until they reached school. Once they were there however, things went way different than expected. Within the entrance hall a whole bunch of students were gathered around, and cheered when the human arrived. This was rightly met with tons of confusion.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked.

"You've become quite the celebrity here Ryan," Loboron said, the wolftaur trotting over to the others, "they've been waiting all morning to see you."

"Why?"

"Because you defeated the State Champion bud," Lucian said smiling, joining the rest of the crew, "word gets around fast you know." The other three then pushed the human to the crowd, where Ryan scratched his head uncomfortably.

"Uh, hi," he said quietly, not sure what to do next. Fortunately the first bell rang much to his relief.

"Alright then back to class," Lucian chided, "nothing to see here, let's leave the poor human alone." The calico cat managed to drive most of the crowd away in just a couple minutes.

"Never thought I'd see you so sensitive to Ryan's situation," Adair teased.

"What? It's not my fault; Ry looked like he was going to piss himself there."

"Like you wouldn't if you were in my position," Ryan said with a slight blush.

"Nah, I live for fame, I just wish I could win some," Lucian said now scratching the back of his head.

"That's assuming you can win first," Loboron said with a chuckle.

"That's right, and I'll start with you Ryan," Lucian said chuckling and taking a boastful stance. He didn't realize he was standing in another student's way.

"Excuse me," a female voice spoke out politely. Lucian opened his eyes and turned to face a pink cat, holding her school books between her arms. He was speechless for a second before jumping toward the wall to make room. "Thanks," she said and walked off, giving him a nice smile.

"Wow, he's quiet for once," Adair smiled, noticing Lucian was still watching her as she walked off.

"Ok kitty time to go," Ryan said tugging his arm, "or we'll be late for class again."

***

Class went by smoothly until lunchtime, when the gang had their mats set up again for another friendly game. This time however, it was Adair who decided to take Ryan's place against Lucian.

"I was hoping to try out my cards this time around," Adair told Ryan, who nodded and sat next to Loboron as the two watched the match unfold.

The group was rather humble about their games. No one was an expert, not even Ryan to a point, but they always played their best, and had been playing for a little while. Ryan hadn't seen Adair in much action before, so he only knew a few of his cards. The match started like usual, and Lucian got the aggression first, but Adair played calmly and strategically, and soon had him on the edge. Adair had two weak monsters and a Face down card on the field, while Lucian had nothing on the field.

Adair LP: 5200 Lucian LP: 2450

"Alright," Lucian said drawing a card, "watch out because here I come with Marauding Captain." Lucian gave a victorious smirk, his card having higher attack points then both of Adair's cards. But the ferrox was prepared.

"Sorry Lucian," Adair commented and flipped up his face down card, "you walked right into my Trap Hole."

"What?!" Lucian meowed in surprise, "can he do that?"

"Yep," Ryan commented, "if you normal summon a monster with 1000 or more attack points, Trap Hole can instantly kill your monster."

"No fair," Lucian said discarding the monster, leaving him defenseless. Adair drew a card and smiled.

"Alright my turn," Adair smiled and discarded his two monsters to the grave, "and I'll tribute my two monsters in order to summon the Dark Magician."

Dark Magician: Level: 7 Attack: 2500 Defense: 2100

"Very nice," Ryan commented, "that's quite a card you got."

"And one direct attack will win Adair the duel," Loboron commented, and Adair did just that.

Adair LP: 5200 Lucian LP: 0

"I can't believe this," Lucian slumped, "why do I keep losing?"

"It could be that you spend most of your time trying to summon and attack, while Adair combined his cards to work together," Ryan said, "maybe later we can take a look at your deck and see what we can do to help."

"For real?" Lucian said his ears perking up, "you'll help me?"

"Why not?" Loboron said, "What are friends for?" The rest of the group agreed, but before anything else could be done, another student approached the human and wolftaur.

"Excuse me are you Ryan?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ryan replied, "what's up?"

"I just wanted to say great job at beating a state champion, that's quite a feat to accomplish," he said shaking the human's hand.

"Um, thanks, but it was nothing special," Ryan said.

"Nothing special," the student scoffed laughingly, "you pulled off two rare feats in one duel, that's hardly nothing special. Heh heh, but anyway, that's not why I'm here. I wanted to come here to invite you to join the school's dueling club; we'd be honored to have you."

"Really? We have a dueling club here?" Loboron asked.

"You bet," the student replied, "not to blow our own horn or anything but we're pretty good, but we recognize talent when we see it. Our leader really wants to meet you after school, in room 302 if you can."

"I guess so, sure," Ryan said, "but can I bring my friends along?"

"Sure I don't think it'll be a problem if they come look around. See you later then." The student then walked off just as the lunch bell rang to end the lunch period.

"I wonder what it'll be like," Adair commented.

"Who cares, it's a dueling club, I say let's go join them up." Lucian smirked confidently as the group packed up their cards.

***

After school the group stopped by room 302, the place in question, and found that indeed there was a small dueling club gathered there. There were roughly 12 students there, with a few mats and duels going on.

"Nice setup," Ryan commented.

"Why thank you Ryan, I'm glad you see it that way," A green parrot said as he walked up to the group and shook the human's hand, "I'm Joe Byrd, president of the dueling club, and the best duelist here."

"The best until we came around that is," Lucian said with a smirk and a fist pump in the air.

"Wow Ryan your popularity has grown pretty quickly," Byrd commented and smiled, "I wasn't aware you already had a group of cheerleaders." This comment understandably pissed Lucian off. Ryan was sure the other two weren't happy either. "Let me show you around and introduce you to the gang." The parrot walked the group around, introducing each player to the group, who greeted Ryan back unless they were busy with their own duels. Most of them kind of ignored the other three, which got Ryan a bit concerned.

"So that's the group," Byrd stated, "and now I'd like to officially extend an invitation to you Ryan, we'd love to have you as our 13th member." Ryan looked back at the three friends, Lucian looking obviously miffed, and turned back to the parrot.

"What about my friends?" the human asked. The parrot looked over at them and spoke tactfully.

"Now Ryan, I can appreciate that you want your friends involved, but this isn't an open club, and we're looking for duelists at a, particular caliber."

"Oh what so we ain't good enough for ya?" Lucian said.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Byrd, "especially you no offense, most of us have seen you duel before and it's pretty obvious you're the weakest link of the group."

"Oh yeah?" Lucian growled, "Last I heard cats were higher up on the food chain."

"Easy there Lucian, he's just pressing your buttons," Loboron held onto Lucian's shoulder tightly.

"You can't make any exceptions?" Ryan asked.

"I'm sorry but I can't," Byrd said, "but we could always use cheerleaders."

"You don't see any girls here do you?" Adair stated.

"I'm sorry," Ryan said, "but I won't join if it means leaving my friends out."

"Now don't be like that Ryan," said Byrd, "think of the opportunity you have here. We can hook you up with discounts at card shops and tournaments. A club membership can help you get more notoriety."

"I understand that," Ryan said, "but still-"

"Ok, what if we can prove ourselves then?" Lucian said with a look of conviction on his face.

"Lucian?" Ryan asked but the cat continued.

"I won't just stand here and watch us get insulted, especially me. If you think I ain't good enough for ya, why don't you test me? If I'm really the weakest link you shouldn't have any problems dueling me, and if I win you have to let all of us in the club. So why do you say birdie?" The parrot thought for a minute before speaking.

"Very well," Byrd said, "I can admire the fire in your eyes, so I accept."

"Great then let's duel right now, get a mat," said Lucian.

"Hold on now," Byrd smirked, "when you get tested by Byrd you test big. I want to see if you really have what it takes to play with the big boys."

"You don't mean...?" Ryan asked.

"I do," Byrd nodded as if reading Ryan's mind, "Meet us downtown at the dueling park at 4 PM tomorrow. We'll see who can survive in a real duel."

"Very well I accept your challenge," Lucian said, "I ain't afraid." He then turned and walked out first, the rest of the group following. Lucian was practically storming down the hall.

"Hold on Lucian," Loboron stated, "are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Lucian said, "Besides, that Byrd character needs to learn some manners."

"Maybe," Adair said, "but as president of the club, you have to assume that he's got some skill. You and your deck might not be ready for the challenge."

"Gee thanks for the confidence guys," Lucian said sarcastically and then sighed, "ok, so maybe I'm in over my head, but I at least have to try."

"I believe in you Lucian," Ryan smiled at the cat.

"You do Ryan?" Lucian asked.

"Of course," the human replied with a nod, "I believe that not only can you duel, but I think you can win too." The cat smiled and gave the human a quick bro hug.

"Thank pal," he said, "I'm glad someone believes in me."

"You're welcome," Ryan said, "it's a good thing you didn't duel today either, or you would be late for your Samurai training." Lucian's ears perked up in surprise, as if remembering something important.

"Oh crap you're right," he said, "If I'm late again Sensei will give me a whooping! What time is it?"

"About 3:30," Adair replied checking his watch.

"Oh crap I better go," Lucian said hurrying out of the school, "see you later guys." Once the cat was gone, the other three conversed among themselves as they decide to head to Uncle James's club again.

"Kind of hard to believe a hot head like Lucian can be a Samurai," Loboron chuckled.

"Maybe but he's good at it, and it's a good stress reliever," Ryan commented, "plus it'll teach him discipline one day."

"Until then, were you serious about Lucian winning the duel tomorrow?" Adair asked.

"I'm surprised you don't believe in him Adi," Ryan said, "he's our friend, and we should believe in him to the bitter end. Besides, he's not a terrible duelist; he just needs a little help that's all."

"You're right, but how are we going to help him?" Loboron asked.

"I think it's time to consult the old expert again," Ryan said.

***

Lucian arrived at his Samurai dojo just in time, although he had to catch his breath for a couple minutes. After a few stumbles in the warm ups, the cat went by his usual training, under the guidance of his sensei. His sensei was an elderly owl, with the appearance of strength and great wisdom, and a heart of gold to match. He is usually tough but has also taken quite a liking to the cat over the years as his sensei and would regularly train him 1 on 1. After a few hours his sensei spoke up.

"That will be enough for today," he said with a calm smile, "you did well, but you still need a little work on your attitude. You'll need control if you want to win the tournament coming up soon."

"I understand Sensei," the cat said with a bow, completely wiped from the intense training, "thank you."

"Very well," Sensei replied, "go on home now and get your rest. I'll see you again Friday." The cat nodded changing back into his normal clothes and grabbing his things before walking out. The Sensei turned toward the back room with his thoughts trained on his pupil. Lucian wasn't his only student, but he always sensed that Lucian was a special student among the usual brass, despite his demeanor.

"Perhaps he will be able to inherit the legacy," he spoke to himself.

***

The sun was getting close to setting as Lucian walked home tiredly, his thoughts were drifting to a lot of things, but most of it centered on the duel tomorrow. He wanted to win, but his recent losing streak has hurt his confidence. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of everyone, but felt that might be unavoidable tomorrow. In the back of his head, he almost thought of staying home, but didn't want people thinking he's a chicken.

'What if I called in sick tomorrow?' he thought, 'people will buy that right?' Before he could explore the thought further he received a text message on his phone. He picked it up and read it curiously.

"Come to Uncle James's club, we've got a surprise for you- Ryan."

Lucian, a bit confused but wondering if it had something to do with tomorrow, and decided to head to the club. It was dark by the time he arrived, and stepped into the empty establishment. He flipped the lights on and found the other three of his friends and Ryan's uncle waiting for them.

"Surprise!!!" They all shouted. Lucian was a bit confused. He looked at the table they were gathered around; some stacks of cards and a dueling mat where there.

"What's going on?" Lucian asked.

"What do you think?" Uncle James said smiling, "we're going to help you prepare for the duel tomorrow."

"You serious?" Lucian said, "All of this for me?"

"Yeah it was Ryan's idea," Loboron said, "and we'll take all night to help you if that's what it takes, just like we promised we would." Lucian smiled, happy to have such good friends behind his back.

"Thanks so much guys," he said.

"Good, now call your folks and let them know you'll be staying here tonight, with the rest of us. We've got work to do." The older human ordered, and Lucian did just that.

The group then spent the night working on Lucian's game. They did everything they can think of, from practice duels to discussing strategies, and even more importantly, reconfiguring Lucian's deck for him. Part of Lucian's problem in his duels came from an unbalanced deck, and was reconfigured with cards not to necessarily make it stronger, but also to help the cards work together better. When they finished late in the night, they were confident that Lucian was ready for the duel, with a new starter deck to boot.

***

The next day, after class got out, the gang headed straight for the park mentioned before. The duel park was a lot like any dueling park, it wasn't that long ago when it had opened up, but was gaining tons more popularity day by day, as holographic dueling swept the world by storm.

"This is quite the place," Adair said, "I hope we don't get lost."

"They said they'll meet us at the entrance," Loboron said.

"That's them over there," Ryan pointed, seeing the entire school club waiting for them, Joe Byrd at the forefront.

"Time to settle this," Lucian said confidently albeit a bit nervously under his breath.

"It's alright," Ryan assured them, "you're ready, just remember our advice, play calm and take your time to think each move." The cat nodded as the groups met.

"Glad you could make it," Byrd said, "didn't think you were man enough to show up."

"Just get ready to lose," Lucian said.

"Likewise," Byrd said unfazed, "now follow me please." He led the group inside one of the many small stadiums. Like Ryan's duel before, a similar looking duel arena stood tall inside. There were some students sitting amongst the ranks, not a lot, but enough to cover a few seats here and there. The other club members sat on some of the front row seats as Lucian's three friends simply stood by on the sidelines. "Alright, now step on the other side and let's begin." Byrd stepped on the blue console and his stand rose upward until it was level with the playing field. Lucian did the same for the red side, looking around curiously as his stand rose up. He saw some of the audience, including the pink cat from the other day, conversing with a couple friends. He was really hoping he wouldn't embarrass himself now. He fumbled for his cards and set the deck on the deck zone, and the machine took both players' decks down to automatically shuffle before arriving back up perfectly square.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Byrd chuckled at his ironic musing.

"Let's just shut up and play," Lucian retorted as both players drew five cards.

"LET'S DUEL!" Both of them shouted, and the duel began.

Lucian LP: 8000 Byrd LP: 8000

"Beginner's first kitty," Byrd teased, "make it count will ya?" Lucian snarled and drew his first card, looking over his hand carefully. He smiled, as if satisfied with the hand he drew.

"Well in that case let's see how impressive you are when you face my D. Human in attack mode," He set the card down, the monster in the card appearing on the field, taking a fighting stance as its stats popped on view.

D. Human: Level: 4 Attack: 1300 Defense: 1100

"That's all for now," Lucian said, looking around noticing the silence, "what?"

"Why did it get quieter all of a sudden?" Loboron asked.

"Let's just say his impressive opening move fell short," Ryan replied nervously.

"Uh oh he moved without thinking again," Adair commented.

"If that's all this will be easier than I thought," Byrd commented as he drew his next card, "I summon Harpie's Brother in attack mode." The monster in question appeared, garbed in red and wielding a threatening looking whip, it too took a stance.

Harpie's Brother: Level: 4 Attack: 1800 Defense: 600

"Go Harpie's Brother, attack D. Human with your Avian Whip," Byrd's command rang out and the monster replied, whipping D. Human into holographic pieces.

"Gah," Lucian shouted in surprise gripping the railing next to him hard to brace himself. Then watched his life points drop on the monitor.

Lucian LP: 7500 Byrd LP: 8000

"How's that for avian power?" Byrd smirked triumphantly, "The predator has become the prey, look at him cowering up there, does he want his milk already?" Lucian growled and stood normally again.

"We'll see who's laughing when this is over," he drew his card.

"Wait!" Ryan interjected, "remember what we worked on last night, think slowly and carefully about your moves. Don't let him get to your head; he just wants you to get angry so you'll make a foolish move. Take a deep breath and keep calm." The cat looked at the human carefully, along with some of the students, who whispered more amongst each other.

'He's right,' Lucian said, 'This is all just a psychological game he's playing with me, I need to be calm. That opening move was bad, so I need to keep calm. I don't have anything just yet that can beat his monster, so I better keep on the defensive.'

"I summon Battle Warrior in defense mode and end my turn," he said, laying the card sideways to signify it. The purple clad warrior kneeled down and held his arms at a cross to keep in the defense.

Battle Warrior: Level: 3 Attack: 700 Defense: 1000

"I knew you didn't have any real skill to back you up," Byrd said as he drew his card, "how sad, I can only wonder what Ryan sees in you as a friend. I play the magic card Stop Defense, which will force your puny warrior into attack mode."

"What?" Lucian said in surprise.

"That's quite the card, he's forcing Lucian's hand," Ryan commented.

"Hang tough Lucian," Loboron shouted in support.

"Let's see you hang tough to this," Byrd retorted, "Avian Whip!" Harpie's Brother than repeated the same attack as the previous turn, breaking the warrior to pieces and knocking more of Lucian's life points down, much to the cheers of Byrd's club members.

Lucian LP: 6400 Byrd LP: 8000

"That's all for now, let's see what you have this time," Byrd ended his turn, which led to a confused face on Ryan.

"Strange," he said.

"Strange?" Adair asked.

"Why didn't Byrd summon another monster, he could have very easily chipped plenty more life points away or summoned a stronger monster."

"Maybe he doesn't have any other monsters in his hand?"

"It's possible but that doesn't mean it isn't strange." The human watched as Lucian drew another card. The cat took a second to observe his hand, and seeing what he drew, he smiled. Ryan in turn smiled, sensing confidence emanating from the cat. "I think he sees something."

"Alright then," Lucian began, "time to step it up a notch; I summon Celtic Guardian in attack mode." He placed the monster down, bringing up a cape clad elf onto the field, wielding a shining sword.

Celtic Guardian: Level: 4 Attack: 1400 Defense: 1200

"Is that all you got?" Byrd smirks, Loboron getting a bit nervous, seeing the weaker monster in attack mode.

"Of course not," Lucian said, "and if you slowed down a bit you'd know I'm not done, it's time for a nice little combo. Like this magic card, Rush Recklessly." He set the card down and the console traced a light path to the Celtic Guardian card, and the monster's attack rose on the console.

Celtic Guardian: Attack: 2100

"What the?" Byrd drew back a bit, his expression taking a 180.

"Rush Recklessly boosts monster on my side of the field by 700 points until the turn ends. So now my monster is stronger than yours. Go Celtic Guardian, turn that Harpie into fried chicken for me will ya?" The elf monster raised his sword and leaped into the air, striking the opposing monster vertically, causing the monster hologram to burst into pieces. Byrd growled lightly at the display.

Lucian LP: 6400 Byrd LP: 7700

"That's more like it Lucian," Adair cheered.

"That's it for now," Lucian said. Ryan watched seriously as Byrd drew his next card.

"He did great," Ryan commented, "but it's far from over, he's still behind and his boosting card is in the graveyard now, resetting Celtic Guardian's attack."

"Think it would be over that easy huh?" Byrd asked rhetorically, "I'll show you, I play Monster Reborn to bring back Harpie's brother in attack mode. Then I shall equip it with the Black Pendant magic card to boost his attack points by 500."

Harpie's Brother: Level: 4 Attack: 2300 Defense: 600

"Aw crap," Lucian said under his breath, bracing himself for when the Harpie attacked again and destroyed the elf, dealing another heavy blow to his LP.

Lucian LP: 5500 Byrd LP: 7700

"Let's you squeeze out of this one," Byrd said. Ryan again looked at Byrd mysteriously.

"He still hasn't played another monster? I figured he would have had something else by now."

"What does this mean Ryan?" Adair asked curiously.

"I'm not sure but I'm beginning to have suspicions on Byrd's weakness," Ryan spoke amongst the three.

"A weakness?" Loboron asked, the wolftaur seeming restless. Lucian drew a card.

"I set one monster face down in defense mode and end my turn." Byrd chuckled at this.

"Knock that card right out of the field!" Byrd ordered, and the Harpie did so, knocking the inferior monster clean off the field. "That's all for now but before I end my turn, let's tighten that noose around your neck with this card, Ax of Despair. This will boost my Harpie's Brother another 1000 Attack points."

Harpie's Brother: Attack: 3300

"3300 Attack points? That's insane." Loboron commented.

"Relax, Lucian will be fine," Ryan said.

"Why do you say that Ryan?" Adair asked, "Is it about his weakness you were talking about earlier?"

"What could it be?" Loboron said.

"I can't say it out loud, I want Lucian to figure it out on his own, but I can give him a hint," Ryan said and cupped his hands to speak louder, "Lucian, you're doing good, now keep calm and think. There is one thing about this duel that's different from all the others you've done before. Figure out what that is and you can win this."

"You really think he can?" Loboron said.

"Of course, just watch, believe in him," Ryan said and the wolftaur nodded, taking his turn to shout.

"You can do it Lucian!"

"Don't give up," Adair said. Lucian looked, seeing his friends give him support and nodded, contemplating Ryan's advice as he drew his next card, recognizing it immediately.

'So what was Ryan talking about?' he asked himself in thought, 'It's playing like any other duel. But now that I think about it, there is something strange. A couple of times I've been left vulnerable to direct attack if only he had another monster on the field. Could that be it? Does this club president only have one monster with him? Every card he's played so far has only benefitted his one monster so it's possible. If it's true, and I can destroy his monster, I might have this one in the bag.' He looked carefully in his hand, wondering if by chance he'd have something. He then noticed a magic card in his hand, which if used in conjunction with the monster next to it will do the trick. He smiled.

"Alright get ready to weep," Lucian said, "I summon Big Shield Gardna in attack mode." The long-haired monster showed up, wielding a large shield, but held it to his side as he stood up in attack mode.

Big Shield Gardna: Level: 4 Attack: 100 Defense: 2600

The parrot went wide eyed a split second before bursting out in laughter. His club mates followed along with a few other students. Ryan looked up at Lucian and saw that he had a confident smile, giving the three down below a thumbs up.

"You've got to be kidding me," he said, "100 measly attack points? Are you trying to lose faster? You may as well resign right now." He then froze, and gave a slightly worried face, "Unless, you did it on purpose?"

"Now you're catching on," Lucian said, "I've got another card up my sleeve. I play the magic card Shield and Sword."

"Shield and Sword? What's that?" Byrd pressed, hunching a bit worried.

"It's a bit of a twist so listen up," Lucian said, "this card for the rest of the turn switches every monsters' attack points with their own defense points. So defense becomes attack, and attack becomes defense. Do the math and it looks a little like this." The display showed the new stats to the crowd.

Big Shield Gardna: Attack: 2600 Defense: 100 Harpie's Brother: Attack: 600 Defense: 3300

Big Shield Gardna's shield also transformed into a similar style sword, representing the switch.

"WHAT?!" Byrd squawked in surprise.

"Looks like you underestimated Lucian," Loboron commented.

"Go Big Shield Gardna, attack," Lucian shouted, and the monster charged, knocking the avian back with a hard strike, shattering it a second time, and dealing heavy damage to Byrd's life points.

"I won't go down easily," Byrd said, "I activate the second effect of Black Pendant. When it's discarded from the field to the graveyard I can deal an extra 500 points to you. Didn't think your shot would be free would ya?"

Lucian LP: 5000 Byrd LP: 5700

"Do something captain he's catching up to you," one of the member's said.

"Do you think I don't know that?" Byrd shouted angrily, facing his fans, "this cat just got lucky that's all."

'Looks like his fan club is losing some support,' Lucian thought to himself, 'he's not even paying attention to the board, maybe I can take advantage of his anger.' He quietly took the card he drew this turn and set it face down in the Magic/Trap zone.

"That's it for now," Lucian said, his Shield and Sword discarded to the graveyard to reset Big Shield Gardna's weapon and attack points.

"That's wonderful," Ryan said, "maybe now he'll have the upper hand."

"Hah," Byrd said, "That's a good joke Ryan. But that's not all I have up my sleeve." He said drawing his next card, then sets it on the field. "I summon another Harpie's Brother to the field. How do you like that?" The Harpie's brother appeared on the field, much like the one before it. Only this time, once it landed its feet on the field, it suddenly fell through the floor, into a small hole that appeared under it.

"What the?!" Byrd shouted in confusion, "What happened?"

"Sorry Joe Byrd," Lucian said holding up the trap card he had just flipped and activated, "but it looks like you walked right into my Trap Hole."

"Hey that's my line," Adair teased, "but that's quite the move he pulled."

"No way, that's cheating," Byrd said, "I never saw or heard you play that card."

"On the contrary my green friend," Ryan smiled and explained, "As long as he doesn't announce the end of his turn, he's still on the second main phase of his turn, and he can place any card he wants. There is no rule that he has to announce his move if his opponent isn't paying attention." Byrd growled, but knew the human was right. Little did everyone know that in a nearby hidden corner, a mysterious figure was watching the match, but more importantly observing the human that had been the subject of recent rumors.

"So what else ya got Mr. President?" Lucian smiled, and Byrd growled lightly.

"I end my turn," he replied.

"Good then it's my turn," Lucian said drawing his next card and smiled, "Now to bump up the advantage even further by sacrificing Big Shield Gardna, in order to summon Cyber-Tech Alligator in attack mode."

Cyber Alligator: Level: 5 Attack: 2500 Defense: 1600

"Now go, and zap his life points directly," Lucian shouted, and the armor clad reptile zipped passed Byrd's empty field and hit his console, draining enough life points to put Lucian in the lead.

Lucian LP: 5000 Byrd LP: 3200

"That's all I got for now," Lucian said, "Let's see what other monsters you have for me." Byrd now hesitantly drew a card. Lucian and the others figured out what was wrong with Byrd's deck, the only monsters he had were Harpie's Brother cards, and having lost two of them already will prove problematic for the avian.

"I play Goblin's Secret Remedy, and Red Medicine to give my life points an extra boost. Then I'll end my turn."

Lucian LP: 5000 Byrd LP: 4300

"Awe, is that all you got?" Lucian asked as he drew a card, "well time to bring the claws then. I summon Alligator Sword in attack mode." An Alligator similar to Cyber-Tech Alligator appeared next to his brethren, wielding a nicely curved sword.

Alligator Sword: Level: 4 Attack: 1500 Defense: 1200

"Now show Byrd how cards really work together," Lucian shouted, and the two Alligators complied, attacking with their respective weapons in unison on the console. The Byrd shouted and braces his console in tension and displeasure.

Lucian LP: 5000 Byrd LP: 300

"That's all for now," Lucian said, and is met with cheers from his friends, and even a few in the audience.

"One more attack like that and he'll win," Loboron cited happily.

"That's right," Ryan said, "but it's not over until the last card is played." He looked up as Byrd drew his next card and started laughing.

"Oh this is rich," Byrd claimed, "time to make you wish you weren't born kitty. I play the Dark Hole magic card." He threw a different card out of his hand down, and a large vortex appeared in the middle of the field, pulling both of Lucian's monsters in.

"What's happening?" Lucian asked.

"Dark Hole destroys all monsters unfortunate enough to be on the field, and since you're the only one with monsters, look who suffers. But that's not all; I also summon the monster I just drew, a third Harpie's Brother."

Harpie's Brother: Level: 4 Attack: 1800 Defense: 600

"But that's not all, now I'll equip him with Megamorph to give him a boost. I saved it just in case we got to this point."

"It looks like things got a lot worse," Ryan pointed out nervously, "just like in my duel with Warmech, that card will double Harpie's Brother's attack because Byrd has fewer life points."

Harpie's Brother: Attack: 3600

"Now attack his life points directly with Avian Whip Harpie's brother. And add this Ookazi spell into your offense to deal an extra 800 points to him too." He slammed his last card down as Harpie's brother attacked, a trail of fire following the whip right at Lucian. The force hit the console hard, and Lucian fell back on his ass a bit. He stood up slowly once he stabilized to check out the damage.

Lucian LP: 600 Byrd LP: 300

"Try to climb out of this one kitty cat, because next turn the rest of your points are gone."

"This isn't good," Loboron said, "he's even stronger than before."

"That's right," Ryan said, "but he still has a chance."

"I think I get what you're saying," Adair said, "Byrd has no more cards in his hands and no face downs, and only one monster. Lucian might still have a chance to turn this around with the right card.

"Let's just hope he can draw it," Ryan said looking up at the cat, who looks like he's sweating a bit.

'Ok man calm down,' Lucian said, 'I'm so close I can feel it. I just need to believe that I can draw the card that can turn it around for me.' He looked at his hand, seeing nothing that can stand up to Harpie's brother and looked to his deck. He reached slowly and drew his next card, begging inside to be the right card. When he saw it, he smiled widely.

"It looks like two can play at this game," The cat claimed.

"What do you mean?" Byrd said.

"I think he drew it," Loboron said jumping excitedly.

"I mean exactly what I mean," Lucian replied, "I play the magic card Fissure."

"What?" Byrd shouted in surprise again.

"Fissure automatically destroys the monster on the opponent's field with the lowest attack points," Ryan pointed out, "and because Byrd only has one monster, guess what that means." The field opened up yet another hole, and a hand reached up, grabbing the avian monster in question and yanking him into the depths below, before the hole closed again like usual, leaving the field empty.

"Noooo," Byrd yelled, "my last monster."

"And your last turn too," Lucian said, "you may be out, but I've got plenty. I summon the Swordsman of Landstar." He set the card down on the field and the pink puffball appeared, wielding a tiny sword and shield.

Swordsman of Landstar: Level: 3 Attack: 500 Defense: 1200

"It's just barely enough," Adair said.

"Now go, take out the rest of his life points," Lucian shouted, and the monster charged, stabbing the console one more time, before Byrd slumped in defeat.

Lucian LP: 600 Byrd LP: 0

Lucian looked on, as if in shock at what he had just achieved, his first ever victory. The arena powered off as the audience and Lucian's friends cheered his name, including the pink cat watching the match from the stands.

"I can't believe it," Lucian said, "I won... I WON!! Yay!" The cat jumped in celebration, grabbing his cards before the stands lowered the competitors to the ground, and his friends ran up to him.

"Great job Lucian," Ryan said happily, "I knew you could do it. Didn't I tell you?"

"Thanks Ryan," Lucian said joining in a group hug with the rest of them. The mysterious figure watching the match in hiding then left without as much as a trace. When the group broke away Byrd and his club mates walked up to them, Lucian tensing up again.

"I don't get it," Byrd said, "how could I lose to amateur like you?"

"I'll tell you how," Ryan said and began explaining, "You underestimated a person before you even had the chance to play them, and didn't properly prepare for the duel. You thought you could hold out just because of your presumption and didn't pay attention to the weaknesses haunting your deck. Now, I expect proper sportsmanship; shake each other's hands please." The two looked at the human curiously, before humbly shaking each other's hands.

"I'm sorry Lucian," Byrd said, "I hope you can forgive me."

"Hey no harm no foul right?" Lucian said, "Buddies from now on right?"

"Right," Byrd replied and everyone around us cheered. Then Byrd turned to Ryan. "It's clear that Lucian is good as a duelist, but I also know that you helped him get here, and that shows the talent you have as a duelist. Which is why I want you all in the club, but I want Ryan to take over as club president." Ryan's friends made noises of surprise at the notion.

"Really?" the human asked. "That's really nice, but I'll decline. I just want everyone to be able to play unrestricted. Everyone deserves a chance to play." Everyone agreed and voted unanimously, but one student did have a question.

"That's great, but there is a bit of a problem now," he said, "with our club the size it is now, we might have problem crowding the room we were given. We need a bigger venue." Ryan smiled at this notion.

"I have an idea of where we could go." Ryan's friends smiled, as if knowing exactly where he was talking about. Ryan led the way to Uncle James's club and the group looked around.

"Nice place," Byrd commented, "I think this will work fairly nicely." Uncle James walked in with a pleasant surprise on his face. It had been a while since he'd seen so many attendees. After working his marketing charm on him, and collected their entry fees, his club now had a decent beginning size members list. With all that had happened, things were already starting to look up for both Ryan and Lucian.

***

In another unknown place, at an unknown time, the mysterious figure from earlier approached the inside of a dark room, and began addressing someone hidden in the shadows.

"It appears the rumors are true," he stated, "we found the young man in question. What shall we do boss?"