Chapter 2: Duel Monsters
The card game of Duel Monsters, created by world renowned archaeologist Maximillion Pegasus, gained great popularity in its early years. So much popularity that the legendary weapons manufacturer Kaiba Corporation ushered the planet into an era of peace by reinventing itself as a gaming company. Created by them were special devices under an agreement with Pegasus called Duel Disks, which created a hologram of the cards that he released.
Because of these duel disks, many competitions and tournaments were held and it soon became a profession, watched by many on TV. Because of this profitable business, Kaiba Corporation decided that it was in their best interest to start academies meant to train young duelists in the game, and from there its popularity continued to rise. It came to the point where several duel academies began to integrate into actual schools. Classes such as math and science were taught alongside classes that taught deck strategy.
The London Duel Academy was an example of such a school. It wasn't as fancy as some of the private duel academies in England, such as the Boxley Duel Academy for Young Ladies, but it was still rather well known.
One of the strictest teachers at the London Duel Academy was Leo and Luna's homeroom teacher, a fifty-nine year old woman known to the students as Mrs. Kretch. Katherine was a thin, pale women with rich silver-grey hair that was always done up in a bun. Every day she wore the same red horn rimed glasses and long black dress with white polka dots that went out of style after the 1940s. The clear round lenses didn't hide her bright red eyes even with the glare. While this teacher was known to be a skilled duelist, she preferred teaching the academic courses in the school curriculum, only teaching the dueling classes as a substitute for teachers who had to call in absent for a day or two.
That morning, as most of students talked about Luke and Leo's duel, Mrs. Kretch walked into the classroom and, as she did each morning, scratched her long black finger nails across the chalkboard to get the attention of her students. As soon as everyone got into their seats, Mrs. Kretch rubbed her nails with her thumb and began her morning lecture, which consisted of nothing more than announcements. Suddenly, Mrs. Kretch noticed Leo, who had his chin resting in his arms and a dark cloud hanging over him. Mrs. Kretch picked up a ruler, walked briskly over to Leo's desk, and whacked the ruler on it. Leo flinched then immediately sat up straight.
"Am I boring you young man?" Mrs. Kretch asked in her usual stern tone of voice. This was not a question.
"Uh, no ma'am!" Leo quickly responded.
"Then sit up straight and face forward!" Mrs. Kretch commanded in a loud voice. Then Mrs. Kretch returned to her desk and continued the morning announcements.
Leo didn't like Mrs. Kretch. She never smiled, and her thin pale skin along with the way she dressed made her look like a corpse. Plus she was always so strict. She made even the dueling classes she sometimes taught seem like a tedious chore. Always sucking the fun out of the game like a vampire, which was what Leo was half convinced she was. The worst part though was that Mrs. Kretch seemed to have it in for Leo. It didn't show on the surface, but she always seemed to take a perverse pleasure out of punishing him. Leo knew that Mrs. Kretch would be leaning into him extra hard this morning just for his lack of attention.
Sure enough, Mrs. Kretch called on Leo to answer nearly every question she asked in her English class. Many of them, unfortunately, were questions that Leo didn't know the answers too. Or, were answers he couldn't remember under the pressure and his wandering thoughts. Regardless, many answers eluded him that day.
Luna, on the other hand, seemed to be completely ignored by Mrs. Kretch for as long as she could remember. She hadn't been called for an answer since the first day of school. The only sign that she got that Mrs. Kretch knew she existed at all was when her marks came back. As a result, she would often sneak out of class and just read it later at home. The window was always open on clear days.
By second period, she grew bored and stared out the window to the clear blue sky. Then one lonely cloud blew by that seemed to call her name. She shook her head in disbelief, her aqua hair trying to keep up behind it, then looked out the window again. There it was; that one lonely cloud white as rice, blowing in her direction. Once again, it called her name.
She checked on the teacher, who was early into an equation. So she quietly and cautiously stood up, lifting her chair and placing it down so as not to make any noise. Then, she lift her leg through the open window at the back of the classroom.
"Luna." This time the whisper came from behind her, and with a different voice. Both legs through the window, she turned back, and found that Roxanne had seen her. She put her finger to her mouth and slid through the window, just before Mrs. Kretch turned toward the class.
Once out, she stealthily crouched against the wall and listened to Mrs. Kretch call on Roxanne to explain how to convert a certain fraction to a decimal.
Again the voice called her name, but now she noticed it wasn't a usual voice. There's no way a voice like that, under usual circumstances, would reach her. The cloud hovered over a group of trees off in the distance.
And she seemed to know exactly where the voice came from and how to get there. She was suspicious, of course, but also curious. She knew not who called her, but was called by name with a purpose.
So she went to the place where she was called to go, down the road to a park. There were a few people scattered about, but she continued on to Thames Path to a man who sat on a bench. He just sat there and looked quietly out at the river.
A white cloak covered his entire body, but Luna couldn't see what the gold insignia on the back was. It was mostly covered by the bench. He silently patted the bench with his hand, covered in fingerless black gloves adorned with studs on the knuckles. She sat down next to him with barely a sound.
He tossed some stale bread in front of them, and they sat quietly for a moment while birds gathered at their feet.
"You..." she took a deep breath wondering if she was supposed to speak to him or not. He reached into a bag and pulled out some more stale bread. She tried again.
"You wanted to see me?" she gulped nervously, not knowing how to address this stranger.
"Indeed." He said simply, offering her some stale bread from his open palm in front of her. She accepted. "How's school treating you?" He asked.
While she decided whether or not to answer, she tossed some bread to a bird, which ate it eagerly. "It's going great! I'm acing most of my classes, well, except the sciences of course. Ew. Gym is one of my favourites. My boyfriend and I are almost always on the same team. And there's this field trip coming up... wait a moment. What does all this have to do with you?"
"Is there anyone there talking about a... meteor?" He asked, hesitantly.
Luna looked down mulling it over. "The meteor... uh, yeah. We might be heading there later this week."
"That thing that fell from the sky... it's not what they're saying it is. I need you to stay away from it." He sounded stern, but not threatening. Then his tone softened. "Please."
She didn't know what to say. Her mouth just fell open. She stood up and backed away.
He opened his duel disk and stood up, facing her. "I know this is all a bit sudden. Luna, please duel me, so we have a chance to get to know each other. I promise, no harm will come to you in this."
Luna's duel disk opened, and their Life Points each went to 4000. They each drew 5 cards.
Luna still wasn't sure what to make of him. He had a look of genuine concern on his face that caught her off guard. But still she braced herself for the coming battle.
"The first move is yours, milady." said the mysterious man.
"Draw!" She looked at her hand. She had Maxx "C", Humid Winds, Aroma Jar, Terraforming, Solemn Wishes, and Lonefire Blossom. She couldn't do much now, but she had a good set up for next turn. "I set a monster and 2 in the backrow." Three card backs appeared in front of Luna. "From my hand, I activate the spell card Terraforming, which adds the field spell Aroma Garden from my deck to my hand. What should I call you?"
The man chuckled. "I am Supreme King Gecko, soon to be at your service." He said with a slight bow of his head. "In time, you may call me Master Adrian."
"It's your turn, Master Adrian." Said Luna, still slightly confused by all this. Adrian drew a card. "During your Draw Phase, I activate the continuous trap Solemn Wishes, then chain my other continuous trap Humid Winds. Finally, as chain link 3, I activate the effect of Maxx "C" in my hand. By discarding this monster, every time you Special Summon a monster this turn, I draw 1 card! " Two purple cards flipped over on Luna's field, and it suddenly started raining. "I use one of the effects of Humid Winds; by paying 1000 Life Points, I add 1 Aroma monster from my deck to my hand. I choose Aromage Jasmine!" Luna's Life Points dropped to 3000. She added the card to her hand and shuffled her deck. "Now, I use the second effect of Humid Winds; because my Life Points are lower than yours, I gain 500 Life Points." Luna's Life Points went up to 3500. "Come at me then!" She said with a wink.
"I'll start with Spell Absorption." Said Adrian, placing a continuous spell in his backrow. "Every time a spell card is played, I gain 500 Life Points."
"Uh-oh." Said Luna. Her monster effects relied on having more Life Points than her opponent. So going up against another heal deck would cause some problems. Then if that wasn't bad enough, the next card he played was in a zone she'd never even seen before.
"I activate Purple Poison Magician in my left Pendulum Zone." He put the monster on the field, and to Luna's surprise, Adrian's Life Points went up to 4500.
"Uh... what just happened? Isn't that a monster?" Luna was a little confused.
"If you hadn't noticed by now, I'm not from here." Explained Adrian. "This card here is both a monster and a spell. While in a monster zone, it uses its monster effect and level. While in a Pendulum Zone, it's treated as a spell and uses its Pendulum effect and scale." He continued.
Luna was still confused. But she got the general idea. "Okay."
"Because I control a card in a Pendulum Zone, I activate the spell card Duelist Alliance. With this, I add one card with Pendulum in its name from my deck to my hand. I choose Pendulum Call!" Adrian's Life Points went up to 5000. "I activate the spell card Pendulum Call. By discarding one card, I add 2 Magician Pendulum Monsters with different names from my deck to my hand. I choose Wisdom-Eye Magician and Harmonizing Magician." Again his Life Points went up by 500 points. "I activate the effect of my discarded Legendary Exodia Nightmare. When it's sent to the Graveyard, I add 1 Exodi card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I add Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord from my deck to hand."
"In my right pendulum zone, I activate the scale 5 Wisdom-Eye Magician." Adrian now had 6000 Life Points, nearly double of Luna's. But Maxx "C" was about to change that. "With the scale 1 Purple Poison Magician, and scale 5 Wisdom-Eye Magician, once per turn I can Pendulum Summon level 2-4 monsters from my hand and face-up in my Extra Deck. I Pendulum Summon Harmonizing Magician from my hand in Defense Position." A young magician girl in a white costume brandishing a giant tuning fork appeared on the field in front of Adrian. It had 0 DEF.
"By the effect of Maxx "C", I draw one card." Luna added the top card of her deck to her hand. "By the effect of my Solemn Wishes, each time I draw a card, I gain 500 Life Points!" Luna stretched in the healing rain, as her Life Points went up to 4000.
"I activate the effect of Harmonizing Magician. When it's Pendulum Summoned from the hand, I Special Summon 1 Magician Pendulum Monster from my deck in Defense Position with its effect negated. I choose Double Iris Magician." A magician clad in red and black with gold trim appeared beside Harmonizing Magician. It had 1000 DEF. Luna drew and gained 500 Life points. "I overlay the level 4 Harmonizing Magician and the level 4 Double Iris Magician." In a display unlike any Luna had ever seen before, the two monsters swirled toward the sky, dancing around each other, before colliding and exploding into what looked like a galaxy in the rainy sky. "From the peaceful depths of time, gaze upon the night sky. Xyz Summon, Rank 4! Timestar Magician!" From the epicenter descended a Magician brandishing golden weapons that Luna had never seen before. It had a tall hat, and a cloak that ranged from white to blue to even dark purple. Circling around it were two balls of light. It had 2400 ATK.
Almost a decade in school for this and this guy is still way out of her league. Luna drew and gained 500 Life Points.
"I activate the effect of Timestar Magician; by detaching 1 Xyz Material, I can add one Dark Spellcaster-type monster to my hand. I add Black Fang Magician from my deck to my hand." From the stack under Timestar Magician, Harmonizing Magician went to the Graveyard, Timestar Magician flicked its wrist and... Luna didn't even know what that thing was, but it struck one of its balls of light like a whip.
"I activate the continuous spell Broken Chains of Exodia." Adrian gained 500 Life Points from Spell Absorption. "With this, once per turn I can target 1 Exodi monster that's either in my graveyard or banished. I send 1 Forbidden One monster from my hand or deck to the Graveyard and summon that target. I target the Exodia Nightmare in my Graveyard, and send Exodia the Forbidden One to my Graveyard. I Special Summon Exodia Nightmare!" A shadow resembling Exodia appeared on the field next to Timestar Magician.
Luna drew and gained 500 Life Points.
"Question." Interrupted Luna, who had heard of Exodia in school. "Exodia needs to be in your hand to win the duel, doesn't it? So why are you sending it to the Graveyard?" She didn't really need to know the answer. She was testing the waters to see if she could actually talk to this person.
"I gain certain advantages for having Exodia in my Graveyard. For example, when this monster is summoned, I count the number of Exodi and Forbidden One monsters in my Graveyard, and this monster attacks that number of times this turn. Also, its original attack is equal to the combined attack of all forbidden One monsters in the Graveyard at any given time. So currently, it has 1000 attack points, and must attack you directly once this turn."
"Directly?" Asked Luna nervously. That would get right around her Aroma Jar.
"Yes." replied Adrian coolly. "Exodia Nightmare cannot attack monsters. It must attack directly."
"Alright." said Luna, and tried to think of a way through this.
"Now that you know one of my victory conditions, I may as well show you my other. By returning all monsters in my Graveyard to my deck, I Special Summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord." Both Harmonizing Magician and Exodia the Forbidden One returned to Adrian's deck. A tanned spellcaster with giant muscles appeared on the field next to Exodia Nightmare. It resembled Exodia, but it was darker and wore armor. The ATK of both Exodius and Exodia Nightmare were now 0.
Luna drew and gained 500 Life Points.
"This is Exodia's distant cousin. If I get all 5 pieces in the Graveyard by its effect, I'll also win the duel. Right now, there's 0. So we should have some time to play with. Next I normal summon Black Fang Magician." A magician in a blue and green tunic and cape appeared next to Timestar Magician. It held a black pike. It had 1700 ATK.
"Battle. I attack your set monster with Timestar Magician." Adrian declared.
Luna flipped her monster. It had 400 DEF. "Aroma Jar cannot be destroyed by Battle."
"I attack Aroma Jar with Exodius! Forbidden Blast!" Exodius drew back it's fist, and it grew bigger. "I activate the effect of Exodius. When this monster battles, I send 1 Forbidden One monster from my deck to the Graveyard. I choose Left Arm of the Forbidden One. Exodius gets a 1000 point attack boost for each Normal Monster in my Graveyard." Its ATK rose from 0 to 1000, and Exodia Nightmare's ATK rose from 0 to 200.
The colorful aromas from Aroma Jar stopped the attack. "Aroma Jar isn't destroyed by battle." Then came the scary part.
"I attack you directly with Exodia Nightmare. I activate the effect of Purple Poison Magician in my left pendulum zone targeting Exodia Nightmare. It adds its strength to its target then destroys itself." Exodia Nightmare's ATK went up to 1400. "Because I activated Pendulum Call this turn, my Pendulum Spells can’t be destroyed until the end of your turn."
Exodia Nightmare's shadow went right through Aroma Jar and attacked Luna directly. Her life points dropped to 4600. As promised, there was no malicious intent in the attack.
"I activate the effect Broken Chains of Exodia. When an Exodi monster inflicts Battle Damage, I can send 1 Forbidden One monster from my hand or deck to the Graveyard. Any Forbidden One monster this card sends to the Graveyard is treated as if it was sent to the Graveyard by Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord. With this effect, I send Right Arm of the Forbidden One from my deck to the Graveyard." Exodius' ATK became 2000 while Exodia Nightmare's ATK became 1600. "That's 2." Counted off Adrian. “With the end of the Battle Phase, Purple Poison Magician's boost wears off and Exodia Nightmare's attack points return to 400.
"I set 1 card and end my turn." Adrian's hand was empty now, while Luna had 7 cards in her hand. She hoped she could use them against the board he built.
"During your End Phase, I gain 500 Life Points from Aroma Jar. My move." When Luna drew for her Draw Phase, Solemn Wishes increased her Life Points to 5600, while Adrian had 6500 Life Points.
In one turn, her opponent had 2 of the 5 pieces of Exodia in his Graveyard, increased his Life Points higher than hers, and even summoned a powerful level 10 monster. Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord. It was obviously Lord Adrian’s ace card, so the set card in the back was probably something to protect it. Luna would have to be careful.
“I summon Aromage Jasmine in Attack Position!” A young girl in a white five-tailed jacket over a yellow tunic and dark purple pants appeared next to Aroma Jar. She had a yellow purse that matched her tunic. It had 100 ATK. It looked back at Luna and, jumping up and down excitedly. “Hey, Jasmine. It’s good to see you again.” She giggled.
“I activate my set trap card The Spell Absorbing Life.” Said Luna. A trap behind Jasmine flipped over and a ball of purple light rose from it. “With this, I gain 400 Life Points per effect monster currently on the field.” Rivulets of purple light flowed from each of the monsters into the purple ball, which popped. Small shards of purple light floated down on Luna, and she gained 2400 Life Points. Jasmine raised her arms into the air. “Once per turn, when I gain Life Points, I draw a card. So, with Solemn Wishes, I gain another 500 Life Points.” Luna now had 8500 Life Points, finally more than her opponent’s 6500 Life Points. “Let me show you what my little friend can do! With my Life Points higher than yours, Jasmine gives me an extra Normal Summon of a plant-type monster. With this, I summon Lonefire Blossom.” A twisted yellow flower bud with purple leaves appeared next to Aromage Jasmine. It had 500 ATK.
“By tributing 1 plant-type monster I control, I can activate Lonefire Blossom’s effect, summoning a Plant-type monster from my deck. For this, Lonefire Blossom tributes itself to summon another Lonefire Blossom from my deck.” The flower bud sunk into the ground and another one took its place. “I also activate the effect of this Lonefire Blossom, tributing it to summon a third Lonefire Blossom from my deck.” Again, Lonefire Blossom sunk into the ground and another one popped up in its place. “I activate the third Lonefire Blossom, summoning my friend Aromage Rosemary from my deck.” The final Lonefire Blossom sunk into the ground. This time though, it was replaced with a pretty teen girl in a vibrant blue outfit. She had a five-tailed jacket that matched the one Jasmine was wearing, except that it was a bright blue. Under it she wore a darker blue tunic and matching skirt, with lighter blue thigh-high leggings. It had 1800 ATK.
Luna thought to herself: If I activate Aroma Garden, Rosemary’s 2300 attack points will be stronger than Exodius, who only has 2000 attack points. Also, because my Life Points are higher, Rosemary’s effect prevents it from using its effect to send another piece to the Graveyard when it battles. So I can beat his victory condition!
But it seemed Adrian had already figured that out. “I activate my set continuous trap card Obliterate!! targeting Aromage Rosemary. I send a Forbidden One monster from my hand or deck to my Graveyard and return that target to your hand.” Adrian sent Left Leg of the Forbidden One from his deck to his Graveyard. Rosemary turned gray and disintegrated in front of Luna, and she added the card to her hand. Even worse, Exodius’ ATK rose to 3000 points. Exodia Nightmare’s ATK also went up to 600.
But Luna had suspected such a card. “Plan B then. I activate my field spell Aroma Garden.” Luna’s duel disk opened a special compartment for field spells and she played the card in it.
“Because you activated a spell card, I gain 500 Life Points from Spell Absorption.” Countered Adrian. He now had 7000 Life Points.
“I activate the effect of Aroma Garden. Because I control an Aroma monster, once per turn I can gain 500 Life Points, and unlock a lingering effect until the end of your turn. With this effect, all monsters I control get 500 points stronger.” Jasmine lift her staff into the air and the candle on top caught on fire. It now had 600 ATK.
“Battle. Aromage Jasmine attacks Exodia Nightmare!” She swung her staff at the shadow and they both shattered into golden triangles. “When an Aromage monster is destroyed by battle, Aroma Garden gives me 1000 Life Points.”
“I chain the effect of Exodia Nightmare in my Graveyard. When it’s sent to the Graveyard, I add one Exodi card from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. With this effect, I add The Legendary Exodia Incarnate from my deck to my hand.”
She managed to beat one of them. Even though it was just a small level 4 monster with low ATK and no protection, Luna felt quite accomplished. “I set 3 cards. During my End Phase Aroma Jar increases my Life Points by 500.”
* * *
At the end of the day, Leo began to walk home alone. He thought about the light across the sky, and how Luke said his father was bringing him to the meteor. Leo had never seen Luke's father. From what he heard, he lives and works in Greenwich, and doesn't come down to this area much. Luke lives with his childhood friend Simon and his family during school, and his father picks him up on Weekends and Holidays. Smart, strong, and fast, Leo hadn't ever beaten Luke at anything.
"You had a pretty bad day, huh?" A voice from behind asked, just as he left the school yard.
Leo turned to see who it was, and to his surprise he saw Luna. He stopped to let her catch up.
"Aren't you going with Luke and Roxanne to check out that meteor?" Leo inquired. He wasn't about to let on so easily that he was feeling better now that his sister was with him.
"No, silly. The field trip starts tomorrow at 6am at Luke's Lair." Luna said, smiling.
"Oh. I thought it was 6 tonight."
"Besides, I never said I'd go. That was Roxanne. She and a bunch of friends are having a sleep over there. I'm going to Luke's later to bid them farewell. Are you coming?"
"I... I..." Leo blushed, his throat tense. He didn't want to confront Luke so soon, yet there was something inside him telling him he should go see Roxanne. Because the weekend was coming, he wouldn't get to see her again until Monday. He sighed. "I'll think about it."
His sister playfully nudged him. "You'll think about it? I guess it's better than nothing."
"Heh... ya." Now Leo had something else on his mind: Roxanne.
"You know, I've been thinking." Luna began. "Even if you used Morphtronic Cord's effect to destroy 1 of Luke's traps, Luke still had 2 face-down cards."
"I guess." Leo said as he looked down at the ground thoughtfully. "I don't think I had anything in my hand at the time that could get rid of face-down monsters. Still..."
The smile vanished from Leo's face.
"Hey, cheer up!" Luna said as she nudged Leo's shoulder. "You'll get him next time!"
"Yeah!" Leo said as the smile on his face returned and became a grin.
The twins arrived at an intersection. From here, home was left, and Simon's was right. Tomorrow, Luke's father would be arriving there tonight to help over-see the sleepover and the field trip that follows. "I'm going to Simon's at 5. I'll knock on your door before I leave." Luna said quietly.
Leo's thoughts darted around in is head as he tried to decide whether to go with her or not. "Thanks, I guess."
The two siblings turned left and walked home, conversing all the while.
* * *
Nearly an hour and a half had passed by when Luna heard her phone ringing. She checked it and it was a text from Roxanne, saying that she was headed to Simon's and would wait for her there. After replying with confirmation, Luna closed her homework and piled her notes and text books neatly on the corner of her desk. She stood up and tucked in her chair, then made her way to her door. Quietly she opened it, walked out of her room, and closed it behind her. She knocked on the door across the hall.
"Leo?" She knocked again. "Hey, Leo." Then she was quiet for a moment. She couldn't hear anything going on behind the door. She knocked again, then listened quietly for a moment.
Silence.
"I'm going to Simon's. I'll be back before dinner."
She stepped away from the door and went downstairs. "Hey, Mom. I'm going for a walk. I'll be back before dinner." She called to her mother in the kitchen as she walked to the front door.
"Yes. Leo told me the two of you are going to bid a friend farewell. How nice of you."
"Um... Ya. I didn't think he was coming."
"Come on, Luna! We're going to be late!" Leo called from the front door.
That idiot. Luna thought to herself. I TOLD him I'd knock on his door. Doesn't he listen? "Coming." She called, her voice annoyed. That almost stopped a smile from flickering across her face, but she hid it again as soon as he looked back.
And soon they were out the door.
Chapter 3
The mysterious man closed his duel disk and put his deck away. "You didn't lose, but you didn't win either."
"Ya." Luna replied shyly. "I tend to end my duels in ties a lot."
He looked up to the sky. "There's something coming, and you'd best prepare for it."
She looked up at the cloud in the sky. It drifted away. When she turned back to her opponent, he was already leaving. "Wait!" she called.
He turned his head to half, face her. "My name is Adrian. I hope to see you again, Luna."
She waved excitedly, then ran back to school.
