#therad

3:00pm

Therad sat silently as he flicked through his deck. He studied each card for a brief second, coming up with various strategies and card combinations in this head. As he shuffled his cards back together, his hand slipped, and he dropped two cards. Therad cursed as he placed this deck on the table in front of him and reached for the cards. They were lying face down as he picked them up and turned them over. He stared at the cards. One was RED-EYES FUSION, a card he had used against Zedd White, the previous World Tournament Champion. The other was PLAGUESPREADER ZOMBIE, a tuner monster which he had used against Cassidy Walters. In both duels he had felt a surge of rage and power he had never felt before. He had wanted to win at all costs, no matter who got in this way. Thinking back to the duels made him clench his fist tightly.

He stood for a few moments, before sighing, then he placed the two cards on top of this deck and reshuffle. He then placed this deck in the pouch on this belt. He looked up at the clock on the wall in front of him. 3:15pm it read. Therad picked up his jacket which was on the chair next to where he had sat and put it on. He then turned and walked out the room and headed down towards the stadium.

3:30pm

Blaze walked quietly alongside Flair as they headed towards the stadium.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening” Flair said, “I’ve never made it to the semi-finals of a tournament before, this is so exciting” Flair squealed with happiness, Blaze smiling awkwardly as she did so.

Flair turned to him. “How about you? Ever gotten to the finals of a tournament before?” she asked.

“A few times” Blaze replied, “I’ve even won a couple actually”

“No way, really!” Flair said enthusiastically.

“Yeah, but only small tournaments, nothing like this” Blaze said, smiling. Flair jumped up and down as she was filled with anticipation. Blaze continued, “What about Therad? Has he been in many tournam- Flair?”

Blaze stopped and turned around. Flair had stopped in the middle of the hallway, the fringe of her long black hair covering her eyes. “Flair?” Blazed asked again.

“Therad’s…never been in a tournament” Flair said. Blaze stared at her quizzically. She continued “In fact Therad has never duelled competitively”

Flair looked up at Blaze, a serious look on her face. “I’ve only known Therad for like, 5 years at most, and in that time he’s never…acted the way he has”

“What do you mean?” Blaze asked.

“I mean” Flair stuttered, “In that duel with Cassidy and the one with Zedd, he seemed… he seemed so different, like someone else” Blazed stared at Flair as she spoke, a stern look on his face.

They stood in silence for moment, the roar of the crowd could be heard in the distance.

Blaze spoke. “You’re worried about him, aren’t you?”

Flair nodded. “Therad’s my best friend. I don’t want anything to happen to him”

Blaze smiled at Flair, “You don’t need to worry about it Flair. I’ll talk to him when I next duel him” A faint smile appeared on Flairs face. She took a breath and walked up to Blaze.

“Thanks Blaze” she said, “Now let’s go. I’ve got a tournament to win and I don’t want to be late” She turned and ran off towards the sound of the crowd. Blaze watched as she ran for a moment, before running after her.

3:45pm

Bursting with cheers, the stadium was filled with excited fans and duelling enthusiasts. Confetti rained down from the sky as stunt pilots performed various aero acrobatics in the sky above. Cheerleaders lined the side of the stadium, chanting various words and rhymes. In the centre of the stadium was a large platform, on top of which stood Vusouski the announcer. He wore a bright yellow jacket which fell behind his knees. He had smart brown trousers and shoes, with a white shirt and a red tie.

With a huge smile, Vusouski spoke. “Welcome Duellists one and all, to the 250th World Tournament Semi-Finals!” The crowd cheered louder as he spoke. “Our 4 remaining duellists will compete for a place in this evenings Final, and claim the title of World Duelling Champion!” Vusouski continued, “So without further ado let’s introduce our Finalists!”

The crowd cheered again as 4 holes opened up on the top of the platform. From them rose the 4 duellists, donning their duel disks. “Our first Finalist is Therad Takeo!” Vusouski explained, “Therad is a fast paced duellist whose Red-Eyes Deck has proved to be a formidable challenge!” Therad looked up at the audience with a slight smile on his face. He rose his hand in a brief wave and Vusouski moved on.

“Our second Finalist duels with a red hot passion; it’s Blaze Waters!” Blaze rose his arm above his head, his hand in a fist and his eyes closed. “Blaze’s Fire King Deck has left many a duellist with serve burns, can anyone quench his fiery spirit?” Blaze lowered his arm, opening his eyes. He quickly glanced at Therad, who stood with his arms crossed, staring at the afternoon sun.

“Our third duellist is an angel to behold; Flair Summers!” Flair waved enthusiastically at the crowd, a large smile on her face. “This feisty duellist has shone brightly throughout the tournament; will her skills take her to victory?” Flair continued to wave as he spoke, and the crowd cheered loudly as she did.

Vusouski moved on, “Finally, last but not by any means least; Luxia Raeburn!” The blonde girl looked up as she heard her name, and stared around at the crowd. “Miss Raeburn has proved to be a very challenging duellist, all her duels have remained completely unique and has even won a few in the first turn! Will her techniques and strategies prove powerful enough to take her all the way to victory?!” The crowd cheered once more, as Luxia glanced across them, a vacant expression on her face.

“Now let’s take a look at that tournament ladder once again to see who will be facing who?” Vusouski said. On either side of the stadium, the large television screens flickered to life and displayed the tournament ladder. 

“So our Semi-Final match ups are Therad Takeo against Blaze Waters, and Luxia Raeburn and Flair Summers!” The crowd roared loudly as pair profiles of the duellists appeared on the screen. “Therad and Blaze will be duelling over in stadium 2, and at the same time Luxia and Flair will be duelling in stadium 3. This way, none of the duellists will know who they will be facing in the Final!” Vusouski explained. “So please my fellow duellists, make your way to your allocated stadiums”

Alongside either side of the platform, four transport vehicles parked up. The four duellists made their way off the platform and hopped onto a vehicle each. Therad looked up at the crowd as he travelled through the stadium entrance towards stadium 2.

-

4:00pm

Blaze stared at the crowd that filled the stadium. He watched as various facts and figures about himself and Therad appeared on the screen. Across from him stood Therad, his arms folded and his head bowed low. He had his eyes closed. Blaze sighed to himself. “You know; you could be a bit more relaxed” he taunted.

Therad looked up at Blaze, a frown on his face. Blaze shrugged. “You seem way too serious for someone about to lose in the Semi-Final rounds” Blaze smiled cheekily at Therad as he spoke.

Therad raised an eyebrow in question at Blaze. “If I recall” he said, “Last time we duelled I defeated you easily” Blaze glared at Therad

“Humph, well this time, things will be different” Blaze said, raising his arm, his duel disk activating, “Let’s see if you can defeat me this time” Therad stared at Blaze. He unfolded his arms and raised his own duel disk which activated.

Blaze took a card from his hand. “I’ll start” he said, “I set one monster in face down defence mode and one card face down and end my turn” Two cards appeared on the field in front of him as he spoke.

Therad stood silent as he drew a card from his deck. Without looking at it he said “I summon to the field, RED-EYES BLACK CHICK” With the card he had just drawn he placed it onto his disk. In front of him shone a light and a small black dragon appeared in front of him [800ATK/500DEF]. He then took a card from his hand and said “I now tribute CHICK to activate it’s effect to special summon RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON” The small dragon roared before it was encased in a bright light. It’s form began to change, increase in size. The light faded and there stood a large black dragon with shining red eyes [2400ATK/2000DEF].

Blaze stared at the black dragon. It growled lowly as it stared back at him. Blaze frowned. “Quite a powerful dragon you have there” he commented, “It’s been your go-to this entire tournament”. Therad said nothing as Blaze spoke. Blaze smiled, “But I think it’s about time someone slayed that dragon of yours once and for all”

Therad ignored Blaze and pointed at his face-down monster “RED-EYES attack!” he commanded. The black dragon roared loudly and fired a burning fireball from its maw at the card, destroying it instantly.

Blaze covered his face as the impact of the destruction hit him, then said “I activate MASKED DRAGON’s effect: I special summon DECOY DRAGON from my deck in attack mode!” [300ATK/200DEF]. A light shone, and in place of the now destroyed card a small green and pink dragon appeared, squeaking as it appeared on the field.

“No Fire Kings huh?” Therad commented, taunting Blaze.

Blaze frowned. “My Fire Kings were not strong enough to beat you last time” he said, “Besides, you’re not the only one with powerful dragons you know”

Therad stared at him. He took two cards from his hand. “I set two cards face down and end my turn” The two cards appeared on the field, behind the black dragon.

Blaze nodded and drew a card from his deck. “I activate the spell FOOLISH BURIAL” He said, as a green spell card appeared on the field. “This card lets me send one monster from my deck to the graveyard” he explained. He picked the card from his deck and his duel disk automatically shuffled it. Blaze then placed the card in his graveyard zone. He looked back up at Therad. “I end my turn” he said.

In the background, through the cheering crowd, Vusouski’s voice could be heard saying “Only one card? Blaze must be in quite the predicament if he can only play one card. How will he ever hope to win?”

Therad drew a card from his deck. Smiling he said, “I know your plan Blaze” Blaze stared back, eyebrow raised, questioning Therad. Therad continued, “I know DECOY DRAGON’s effect: when attacked, it lets you special summon a Level 7 or higher dragon from your grave” He paused. “It’s just a question as to what you sent” Therad took a card from his hand. “I summon to the field, MIRAGE DRAGON!”

A light shone next to the large black dragon, and from it appeared a long yellow dragon with a large snarl on its face [1600ATK/600DEF]. Therad then pointed at the small green dragon on Blaze’s field, “MIRAGE DRAGON, attack DECOY DRAGON!” The yellow dragon growl, as its body slowly vanished from sight. The green dragon panicked and glanced around looking for the yellow creature. Suddenly above the small dragon’s head, the yellow dragon reappeared, glaring its large teeth through its vicious snarl.

“Not so fast!” Blaze shouted, “I activate DECOY DRAGON’s effect: Then this monster is targeted for an attack, I can special summon a Level 7 or higher dragon from my grave!” The small green dragon glowed brightly, and next to it a large pit of fire opened up. From pit rose a large black and orange dragon, the flames licking its scales. “I summon DARKBLAZE DRAGON!” Blaze explained [1200ATK/1000DEF].

“I see” Therad said.

Blaze grinned as he continued “Now DECOY DRAGON forces your monster to attack DARKBLAZE!” The yellow dragon growled as it flew around to face the new dragon. “I now activate DARKBLAZE’s effect: when this monster is summoned from the graveyard it’s attack and defence at doubled!” Blaze explained. The black and orange dragon roared as it grew in strength [2400ATK/2000DEF], it then turned to the yellow dragon and with a single swipe of its powerful claws destroyed the yellow dragon.

Therad stood still as a rush of wind hit him and his life points fell.

3200LP/4000LP

“I end my turn” Therad said. Blaze smiled slyly as he drew a card from his deck.

“This is not like you, Therad, attacking without any sort of support” Blaze said, “Have you lost your touch or something?” Therad said nothing. Blaze shrugged, “Oh well it won’t matter, like I said after our last match, I will beat you this time” he pointed at Therad’s RED-EYES, “DARKBLAZE, attack!”

The black and orange dragon roared, and took off into the air. As it flew across the field, a surge of fire began to form in its mouth. Vusouski’s voice rang through the stadium, “Blaze has declared an attack on RED-EYES with DARKBLAZE, but both monsters have the same attack: It’s gonna be a stalemate!”

The red eyed dragon roared and a burning ball of red energy formed at its maw. Both dragons unleashed beams of high energy at each. The beams collided and an explosion rocked the stadium, smoke filling the field. As the smoke cleared, both dragons had disappeared, and Therad’s life points had dropped.

800LP/4000LP

“What happened?” Vusouski declared, “Both dragons were destroyed and had the same attack points, so why did Therad take damage?”

Blaze smirked, “When DARKBLAZE destroys a monster in battle, it inflicts damage equal to the destroyed monsters attack points”

The crowd roared loudly as he explained, cheering him on. Blaze grinned. “Now with RED-EYES out the way, I attack with DECOY DRAGON!” The small green dragon cried cheerfully, quickly flying over to Therad. With a quick slash of its claws, Therad fell to one knee, and his life points dropped once more.

500LP/4000LP

“So how’s that, hey Therad?” Blaze said cockily as the green dragon returned to its place, “In one turn, I almost reduced your life points to zero! Just one more turn and I’ll win. I end my turn!”

The crowd cheered as Vusouski said “What an amazing turn by Blaze Waters! How will Therad recover from this?”

Therad slowly stood up, head lowered and his hair covering his eyes. Suddenly, he began to laugh, slowly at first, but it quickly grew louder and faster.

Blaze stared at him and took a step back. “Hey, what’s so funny?” he said concerned, “Are you gonna make a move or wh-“ His voice trailed off. He gasped at Therad.

The crowds cheering slowly as all eyes turned to Therad. Therad had stopped laughing and out of nowhere a dark cloud began to form around him. “You’re quite a powerful duelist Blaze” A voice said. Blaze stared in shock at Therad. The voice wasn’t Therad’s, but it had come from his mouth.

“Therad!” Blaze shouted “What is going on?”

The voice began to laugh again, as the black cloud began to fill the stadium. The crowd and the announcer’s voices were drowned out, consuming the two duellists. Blaze glanced around, unable to see anything. A drop of sweat ran down his face, which he quickly wiped away. Blaze stared at where Therad was, but all he could see were two, blood red eyes.

“AND LET THE DUEL BEGIN!” Vusouski declared. The crowd roared as Blaze raised his arm, his duel disk activating. Across from him a girl in a slim blue jacket also raised her arm. Blaze smirked as he took a card from his hand.

-

Therad sat watching the duel on the locker room television. He watched studying both Blaze and Susokie as they dueled. Breaking his gaze, he turned and raised his left arm and removed his deck from his duel disk. He shuffled through, reading each card carefully as he went through. Suddenly he stopped when he reached the 2 RED-EYES B. DRAGONs he used in this last duel. After a brief second he sighed, and returned his cards back to his deck and placed his deck back into the duel disk. The duel disk automatically shuffled his deck as he placed it in.

He looked up around the room. The blonde haired girl still stood staring out the window onto the duel field where Blaze was dueling. To his left the guy in the dinosaur shirt still lay on the sofa, this eyes closed, assumedly asleep. In front of him was a drink vending machine. Therad reached into his pockets and pulled out a few coins. Counting them, he stood up and walked over to the machine. With a clunk, a bottle of lemonade fell. Therad reached in and grabbed it.

Taking his seat, he took a drink and looked around the room again. The blonde girl had taken a seat facing the window and was staring at her duel disk. Therad noticed she wore a second generation duel disk, just like himself and Blaze. It was silver, however it had light blue highlights around the edges. The second generation duel disk were becoming redundant with the fourth and fifth generation duel disks being created. Therad wondered how she got hold of it.

He shrugged and turned back to the television monitor. Blaze was currently losing with 400LP and Susokie with 2900LP. He continued to watch the duel play through. Behind him, the blonde girl turned and glanced at Therad and the monitor. She frowned and turned back to the window.

-

“My turn!” Blaze said as he drew a card from his deck, “And now during my Standby Phase, FIRE KING HIGH AVATAR GARUNIX returns to the field once more!” A purple void appeared in front of him, and a large red phoenix slow rose out of it. It cawed and spread its wing magnificently [2700ATK]. “Next GARUNIX’s effect actives” Blaze explained, “And destroys all your face down monsters!” The red bird cawed and burning red fire appeared out of thin air. The fire consumed all 3 of Susokie’s face down monsters. Susokie grimaced as her monsters were destroyed.

Blaze smiled and pointed at Susokie. “Now, GARUNIX, attack Susokie directly!” The phoenix cawed once more and unleashed another burst of fire, this time consuming Susokie. The girl screamed as she took the attack and her life points fell dramatically.

400LP/200LP

Taking a card from his hand, Blaze said “I now activate the spell MYSTIK WOK” The green card appeared on the field in front of him next to his face up purple card. Continuing, Blaze explained “MYSTIK WOK lets me tribute 1 monster I control and gain life points equal to Attack Points. So I tribute GARUNIX and gain 2700 Life Points!”

A golden light surrounded the bird as it cawed once more. The bird was consumed by the light and disappeared, meanwhile Blaze’s life points increased.

3100LP/200LP

“Finally my trap BACKFIRE activates once more” Blaze said, “It deals another 500 points of damage to you” The purple card glowed brightly, and Susokie fell to her knees as her life points fell to 0.

3100LP/0LP

“IT IS OVER! Blaze Waters has won and moves onto the Semi-Final rounds!” Vusouski explained. Blaze lowered his arm and his duel disk deactivated. Blaze looked up at the crowd as they roared with excitement. He smiled as he briefly waved to them before turning and walking back to the locker room.

-

“And so Blaze Waters has moved onto the Semi-Final rounds of the World Tournament, where he will be facing off against Therad Takeo…”

Therad glanced up at the monitor as he heard his name. He smiled to himself, “It’s about time Blaze and I had a rematch” he said quietly, continuing to watch the monitor.

“…Next to duel for a place in the Semi Finals are Dwain Lloyd against Luxia Raeburn. Both duellists are brand new to the pro leagues, so this duel will be an interesting duel to see how far they will go…”

Behind him the blonde girl stood up and walked over to the exit. Therad turned and caught a glimpse of her as she left the locker room. Therad frowned and turned back to the monitor, which had cut to the duel field.

“Thank you Venessa. Both duellists have arrived on the field and a raring to get the duel going. This duel will start with Luxia taking the first move. Here she goes taking a card and summoning BZZT”

Therad gasped as monitor turned to static. “What the…” he said, staring at the monitor. He jumped to his feet and ran to the window. The froze as he glanced down at the stadium. Black smoke filled the arena, completely covering the duelling field. Therad tried to see through the smoke as it started to clear. One the far side he could see the outline of a person laying on the ground. Therad squinted to focus on the person, but they were too far for him to make out any details.

The monitor flickered back to life. Therad ran back to where he had sat, knocking over his bottle of lemonade, spilling it all over the floor. One of the Tournament staff ran over with paper towels and began to clean it up and muttered something to Therad. Ignoring the staff member, Therad focused on the monitor.

“Luxia Raeburn has moved onto the Semi Final rounds of the World Tournament with an amazing duel against Dwain Lloyd. Our final Quarter Final match between Flair Summers and Drake Star will begin shortly…”

The guy with the dinosaur shirt opened his eyes and sat up. After briefly stretching he walked over to the locker room exit and headed to the field. Therad continued to stare at the monitor. “Why won’t you give me any information on how Luxia won that duel?” He said out loud. The staff member who was cleaning up the lemonade shook their head as they got up and left the room to dispose of the paper towels.

Behind Therad, the door to the field opened with a creak. He turned to see the blonde girl walk back into the room and take her seat back by the window. Therad stared at the girl. She seemed completely unfazed from the duel as she stared out of the window. Therad frowned and sighed, sitting back down. He took a deep breath and looked up at the monitor as he watched Flair walk out onto the field.

“Zedd White, the current World Tournament Champion, is aiming for his fourth consecutive Tournament win this year. Virtually an unknown prodigy four years ago in his first World Tournament, Zedd has stepped up the game in the Duel Monsters world as a powerful fusion summoner. His flawless victories, overwhelming strength and cunning strategies make Zedd one of the greatest duellists in Duel Monsters history. Today Zedd will be duelling in his quarter-final match for a place in the semi-finals against Therad Takeo-“

Therad turned away from the television monitor in the duellist waiting room and walked across to the entrance to the stadium. He stopped and stood by the door, waiting for his name to be called. He glanced around the room. The 8 remaining duellists had been split in half in two separate locker rooms away from their quarter-final opponents. He looked over at the 3 other duellists in the room.

On the far side of the room a girl with light brown skin and long black hair sat rummaging through her duel deck. She wore a slim light blue jacket with slim grey jeans and shirt, a blue duel disk on her arm.

In the centre of the room a tall man lay on a sofa. Dark skinned he wore a brown t-shirt with a dinosaur skull printed on it, white shorts and white sport shoes. He wore a brown duel disk on his left arm.

Finally staring out the window stood a girl with long blonde hair, wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt, white slim jeans and a pale blue belt. On her right hair she had two pale blue wrist bands and around her neck she had a simple chain necklace with a single blue gem. She wore a white duel disk on her left arm.

“Therad Takeo to duel arena 1. Therad Takeo to duel arena 1” A voice declared. The black hair girl and man on the sofa looked up at Therad as he turned and made his way out of the locker room. As he closed the door behind him, the blonde haired girl turned and stared at where Therad had once stood.

-

The stadium crowd roared louder than ever. Confetti floated through the air as cheer leaders danced around the stadium. Therad walked out on the stadium, covering his eyes from the harsh sunlight. Vusouski’s voice rang through the stadium.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, our first quarter-finalist, Therad Takeo” he said, as the crowd cheered and Therad walked up to the duel arena. “And let’s not forget his opponent, looking for his fourth World Tournament win and avid fusion summoner, Zedd White!”

Therad looked across the duel arena as a tall man walked up to the other side. He had long dark blue hair and wore a long blue coat. Underneath he wore a simple black shirt with slim black jeans and shoes. He waved to the crowd as Vusouski shouted his name before turning to Therad.

“Ah, so you are this Therad I’ve been hearing all about” he said, “Nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard some interesting rumours about you”

“Rumours?” Therad questioned. Zedd smiled back at him.

“Yes. There are rumours that you are very relentless when it comes to duelling. I’ve watched a few of your previous duels and I must say there is certainly some truth to it” Zedd said.

“I do what I must to win” Therad said, “If I’m relentless, then so be it”

“Indeed” Zedd replied, “Though I must say your relentless style won’t be enough to defeat me however” Zedd laughed, “Why, you’re nothing but an over aggressive amateur compared to me”

Therad frowned at Zedd’s words. Zedd laughed again, “Anyway, how about we get this duel started, I’ve got a Tournament to win” Zedd raised his left arm which sat a white duel disk. Therad hesitated, then raised his left arm similarly.

“My my, it appears both duellists are eager to duel” Vusouski declared, “Well without further ado: It’s time to…”

As both duel disks activated, Zedd said, “To give you a fighting chance, I’ll let you take the first move”

Therad nodded and took a card from his hand. “Firstly I activate the spell ONE FOR ONE” The green spell card appeared on the field in front of him. “By discarding a monster from my hand, I can special summon a Level 1 monster from my deck” Therad explained, “I discard THE BLACK STONE OF LEGEND from my hand to special summon RED-EYES B. CHICK [800ATK/500DEF] from my deck”

He took a second card from his hand and placed it in his graveyard. Then he drew a card from his deck and placed it on his duel disk. As he did so, a red light glowed in front of him, and a red egg appeared, emerging from it a small black dragon. It cawed quietly as it appeared on the field.

“Next I activate CHICK’s effect” Therad continued, “By tributing CHICK, I can special summon RED-EYES B. DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF] from my hand!” Another red light glowed around the small dragon. The small dragon disappeared, and in its place stood a larger, fiercer dragon in its place. The dragon roared loudly as it appeared on the field, the crowd roaring in response. “With that I end my turn” Therad said. The dragon growled as the turn changed.

“Very well” Zedd said, drawing a card from his deck, “I think it’s time I showed you why I’m the current World Tournament Champion; As I have no monsters and you do, I can special summon CYBER DRAGON [2100ATK/1600DEF] from my hand!”

A white light shone in front of him, and a large metallic silver serpent appeared, it roared as it stood to face Therad’s black dragon. “Next I play the spell, EVOLUTION BURST” Zedd said, “As I control a CYBER DRAGON I can destroy 1 card on the field, so say good bye to your precious RED-EYES” The metal dragon roared and from its mouth it fired green electricity, engulfing the black dragon and destroying it instantly.

Therad covered his face from the explosion, before saying “By destroying RED-EYES B. DRAGON, I can play the effect of RED-EYES RETRO DRAGON [1700ATK/1600DEF] in my hand and special summon it in defence mode” As he spoke a smaller, blue-ish black dragon appeared in place of the previous one. “Furthermore” Therad said, “I can also special summon the RED-EYES monster that was destroyed back into its original position” A red glow shone, and the large black dragon reappeared on the field next to the smaller one.

“Impressive” Zedd said, “But not quite good enough, for I now summon PROTO-CYBER DRAGON [1100ATK/600DEF]” A white light shone, and a smaller metallic grey serpent appeared on Zedd’s side of the field. “Now while PROTO-CYBER DRAGON is on the field” Zedd explained, “Its name can be treated as just ‘Cyber Dragon’, which means I can play the spell card POLYMERIZATION”

Therad sneered as the green spell card appeared on the field. Zedd smiled as the two dragon glowed purple and became one large purple glowing orb.

“I now take my 2 CYBER DRAGON’s and fuse them together” Zedd declared.

“CYBER TWIN DRAGON [2800ATK/2100DEF]! From the orb appeared a giant 2 headed metallic silver dragon. Both its heads roared as they stared Therad down.

“And there it is!” Vusouski roared through a cheering crowd, “Zedd’s first fusion summon of the duel! Will Therad be able to withstand such power, or will Zedd’s strength be too much for him?”

“Now, CYBER TWIN DRAGON, destroy his RED-EYES B. DRAGON!” Zedd commanded. The twin headed mechanical dragon roar, and from its left head it fired green lightning at the black dragon. An explosion filled the stadium as the dragon was destroyed instantly from the attack. As the smoke cleared, Therad glanced at the score board and watched his life points fell.

3600LP/4000LP

Zedd laughed as he continued, “Now I should probably mention my TWIN DRAGON’s effect; it can attack twice per turn!” The dragon roared again as green lightning shot out of its mouth, destroying the smaller black dragon.

The mechanical dragon roared again as Zedd said, “I think now you should understand why I’m the current World Tournament Champion” He folded his arms, “Against skills like mine, there is no way you can defeat me, you might as well give up now!” Zedd laughed once more as the crowd around him roared with excitement.

“Fighting words from Zedd White” Vusouski said, “How will Therad counter his move?”

Therad took a breath and drew a card from his deck. Adding the card to his hand he said, “I activate the effect of THE BLACK STONE OF LEGEND [0ATK/0ATK] previously sent to my graveyard – by returning RED-EYES B. DRAGON to my deck I can special summon it” He took the cards from his graveyard, placed on in his deck and the other on his duel disk. A red light shone and a Black stone appeared, surrounded by a glowing red aura.

“Now with the STONE on my field I activate its second effect” Therad continued, “I can tribute it to special summon RED-EYES B. DRAGON from my deck” Zedd frowned as he watched the stone glow bright red and shattering into a ball of red light. Then from the light appeared the familiar black dragon, roaring loudly. His own mechanical dragons roared in response.

“So you brought your dragon back, big deal” Zedd mocked, “I’ll just destroy once more with TWIN DRAGON”

“Doubt that” Therad replied, “I activate the effect of BLACK METAL DRAGON in my hand and equip it to RED-EYES” Taking a card from his hand, he placed it in an empty spell and trap card zone. Then in front of him appear a small black dragon whose scales then split into multiple pieces. The pieces then flew around the large black dragon and covered various parts of its body, as if it were armour. The large dragon roared loudly.

“BLACK METAL DRAGON gives my RED-EYES a 600 point bonus when equipped [3000ATK]” Therad explained. He pointed at Zedd’s mechanical dragon, “RED-EYES attack CYBER TWIN DRAGON!” The armoured dragon roared, and charged at the metal dragon. With a single slash of its giant claw, the black dragon beheaded both heads of the metal dragon. The heads fell to the ground and the body collapsed, and in doing so they exploded in light. Zedd frowned and remained unmoved as the attack hit and his life points fell.

3600LP/3800LP

“I end my turn” Therad said, as he black dragon returned to his side of the field.

“Very well” said Zedd drawing a card from his deck. Placing it in his hand and taking a second card he said, “Once more as you control a monster and I do not, I can special summon a CYBER DRAGON from my hand” A white light shone and a metallic silver dragon appeared once more on the field.

Taking the first card again, Zedd said, “I now activate the spell MONSTER REBORN, and bring back my first CYBER DRAGON” The green spell card appeared on the field, and was quickly followed by a white light. From the light the first metallic silver dragon reappeared next to the second. Both dragons roared loudly. Therad stared at the two metal dragons, his RED-EYEs growling.

Zedd smirked, “I think it is about time I take the next step in duelling” He outstretched his arms at his two dragons. “As you can see, I have two CYBER DRAGONs on my field, both of which, are Level 5!”

“Two Level 5 monsters?” Vusouski said, “Could it be…?” His voice trailed off as Zedd continued.

“With my two CYBER DRAGONs I form the Overlay Network!” Zedd declared. A black vortex appeared, and his two dragons roared and morphed into two spheres of silver light before flying into the vortex.

“Rank 5 CYBER DRAGON NOVA [2100ATK/1600SDEF]!” Zedd said. From the vortex a large winged metal dragon flew out. It circled the stadium, spewing fire from its maw, before landing in front of Zedd where the vortex once was. The dragon had a large central body connecting its tail, wings and head. It was made of a black metal with a glowing orange core in the centre. It’s large wings spread across the field, and its tail was slightly coiled on the gound. The dragon had a metallic black helm with orange power lines running across it. It tilted its head back as it roared loudly. Two orange orbs orbitted it.

“OUTSTANDING!” Vusouski shouted, “Our Champion has once again passed expectations and has successfully pulled off an XYZ summon. What more surprises does Zedd have in store for us?”

Zedd bowed. “I now play NOVA’s effect; by detatching one overlay unit, I can special summon a CYBER DRAGON from my graveyard” he said. One of the orange orbs exploded in an orange light, and from it a CYBER DRAGON reappeared onto the field.

“Now with CYBER DRAGON back on my field, I can banish it from the duel and give NOVA 2100ATK until the end of this turn” Zedd sneared. The silver dragon roared as it faded away. The winged dragon roared louder as it gained its power up [4200ATK].

Therad gritted his teeth and raised his arms in preparation for the attack. Zedd smirk and pointed at RED-EYES. “NOVA, destroy RED-EYES!” he commanded. The metallic dragon roared and fired from its mouth a giant fire ball directly at the black armoured dragon. An explosion filled the stadium as the fireball hit.

2400LP/3800LP

As Therad’s life points fell and the smoke cleared, he said, “I activate BLACK METAL DRAGON’s effect; when it is destroyed I can added a “Red-Eyes” card to my hand” he drew a card from his deck and added to his hand.

“Very well” Zedd said, “No matter what you draw it cannot help you. I end my turn. At this moment NOVA’s attack returns to normal [2100ATK].”

Therad nodded and drew a card from his deck. “You might want to reconsider that statement” he said slyly, taking a card from his hand, “I activate the spell RED-EYES FUSION!” The crowd gasped as Therad placed the card onto his duel disk and it appeared on this field.

“What’s this?” Vusouski said, “Therad Takeo is going to fusion summon? This duel is full of twists and turns!”

Therad smiled. “This card let’s me fusion a monster using cards from my hand, field and deck” he said, “Providing, of course, that the fusion monster requires a RED-EYES” He paused as he took two cards from his deck.

“I fuse my RED-EYES B. DRAGON and RED-EYES ARCHFIEND OF LIGHTNING [2500ATK/1200DEF]” Therad declared, placing the two cards in his graveyard.

“ARCHFIEND BLACK SKULL DRAGON [3200ATK/2500DEF]!” A bright purple light shone on the field, and from it rose a large black and red scaled dragon. It had large red wings and plated black scales covered its body. Upon its head the scales resembled a dragon skull, and fire spewed from openings in its shoulders. The giant roared ferociously, causing Zedd’s dragon to recoil.

Therad looked sternly at Zedd and smiled. “BLACK SKULL DRAGON, attack Zedd’s CYBER DRAGON NOVA” he command. The black dragon roared again and charged at the metal dragon. The smaller creature used its wings to cover its head, but the black dragon’s giant claw slashed through it with ease. The metal dragon was destroyed instantly in a large explosion, and Zedd covered this face as his life points fell.

2400LP/2700LP

“I now activate BLACK SKULL DRAGON’s effect” Therad continued, “As BLACK SKULL inflicted battle damage, I can return a RED-EYES normal monster from my grave to my deck, and inflict damage equal to that monsters attack points. I return RED-EYES ARCHFIEND OF LIGHTNING to my deck, dealing you 2500 points of damage”

“Uh oh” Zedd said as dark clouds formed about him. Suddenly a red lightning bolt struck. Zedd screamed as the bolt hit him and his life points fell dramatically.

2400LP/200LP

The black clouds faded away above him as Zedd looked up. Therad stared emotionless at him. “I set a card face down and end my turn” he said as the card appeared on the field.

Zedd stood up straight, breathing heavily. “My turn” he said harshly as he drew a card from his deck, “I activate POT OF GREED and drew two cards” The green spell card briefly appeared on the field as Zedd drew the cards from his deck.

Zedd stared across at Therad. “I’m going to make you pay for making a mockery of me” he threatened. Therad frowned and lowered his stance, ready for Zedd’s move. Zedd took one of the cards from his hand, “I summon CYBER DRAGON CORE [400ATk/1500DEF]” he said.

A flash of white light shone, and a thin, metallic grey serpent appeared, red wires trailing from its body. “I activate CORE’s effect” Zedd stated, “I can add a “Cyber” Spell or Trap to my hand” He drew a card from his deck and continued, “I will now activate the Spell, CYBERNETIC FUSION SUPPORT!”

The green spell appeared on the field. “I pay half my life points” Zedd explained, “And for the rest of this turn I can fusion summon Machine-Type monsters by banishing materials from my hand, graveyard or side of the field”

2400LP/100LP

Therad grimaced causing Zedd to smile. “I now activate POLYMERIZATION!” Therad stared intently as the card appeared on the field.

Zedd revelled the card in his hand, “I banish CYBER DRAGON in my hand, and the CYBER DRAGON in my grave” He said, then pointed at CYBER DRAGON CORE, “I also banish CORE, for it too counts as a CYBER DRAGON!” The grey metallic dragon roar as black clouds formed. The wind in the stadium began to pick up. The grey dragon roared as it dissolved into the cloud. Green lightning struck the field.

“CYBER END DRAGON [4000ATK/2800DEF]!” A second bolt of green lightning struck and from it emerged a giant 3 headed mechanical dragon. It roared loudly as it stood over the black and red dragon.

“AND THERE IT IS!” Vusouski shouted, “Zedd’s most powerful monster has made its appearance on the field. Therad stands no chance to overcome such a powerful creature”

Zedd laugh manically, “With CYBER END DRAGON, you shall meet you end! Attack BLACK SKULL DRAGON!” he commanded. The three heads of the dragon each roared, and sent three bolts of lightning at the black dragon, destroying it in a cloud of black smoke.

1600LP/100LP

The smoke slowly cleared as Zedd’s dragon roared loudly. Zedd stared at Therad. “I end my turn” he said, “You might as well give up now. I know you don’t have anything in your deck strong enough to defeat CYBER END. Give up!” The giant metal dragon roared again.

Therad, his head lowered, drew a card from his deck. “Never” he said. Zedd flinched and grimaced at Therad.

Therad looked up. “I activate THE BLACK STONE OF LEGEND’s effect once more” he said, “Returning RED-EYES B. DRAGON to my deck and special summon it from my grave!” He returned a card from his grave to his deck as the small black stone reappeared onto the field. It then vanished as Therad said, “I send THE BLACK STONE to the graveyard and special summon RED-EYES B. DRAGON from my deck!” The stone was quickly replaced by the familiar black dragon.

“Next I play my face down card; RED-EYES SPIRIT!” Therad said, the purple card flipping face up as he spoke, “I special summon the second RED-EYES B. DRAGON in my graveyard to the field!” A purple light shone from the card, and a second RED-EYES B. DRAGON appeared on the field next to the first. Both dragons roared simultaneously.

“2 Red-Eyes monsters?” Vusouski questioned, “What does Therad have planned? An XYZ summon perhaps?” The crowd cheered excitedly. Therad’s eyes flickered up briefly.

Taking a breath, Therad said, “I activate the spell, THE CLAW OF HERMOS!”

Zedd gasped as the spell appeared on the field. “What?!” he said, struggling to bring the words to his mouth.

Therad smiled. “THE CLAW OF HERMOS lets me tribute a monster in my hand or on the field and special summon a fusion monster from my Extra Deck. I tribute RED-EYES B. DRAGON and special summon RED-EYES BLACK DRAGON SWORD [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” The left RED-EYES roared and sunk into a pit below it. A red light shone from the pit, and a large sword rose out of it. It had a long curved blade, and its hilt resembled the head of the RED-EYES B. DRAGON.

Therad pointed at the black dragon on the right and said, “I activate SWORD’s effect, and equip it to RED-EYES B. DRAGON” The sword floated in front of the black dragon, which grabbed the sword by its hilt. The dragon roared loudly as it swung the sword.

“The SWORD gives RED-EYES a bonus 1000 attack points” Therad explained, “And, as well as that, RED-EYES gains 500 extra attack points for every Dragon-Type monster on the field and in either players graveyard – I have a total of 8 dragons on my field and in my graveyard, giving RED-EYES 4000 attack points!”

Zedd stared as the RED-EYES roared as it gained its attack point bonus [RED-EYES 7400ATK]. The crowd fell silent at the black dragon’s power.

Therad pointed at Zedd’s tri-headed dragon. “RED-EYES B. DRAGON attack CYBER END DRAGON!” Therad command. The black dragon roared and charged at the metal dragon. With a single slash of its sword, the black dragon beheaded all three heads of the metal dragon. The body of the metal dragon exploded, knocking Zedd off his feet and his life points fell.

1600LP/0LP

As the smoke cleared, the black dragon faded as Therad’s duel disk powered down. In a silent stadium, Therad turned away and walked off the stadium and through the exit.

After a moment Vusouski said, “The winner of the first quarter final match is Therad Takeo…”

-

Therad sat in the centre of the locker room, his eyes closed. Above him the television flickered.

“…And in a turn of events, Zedd White was knocked out of the World Tournament in his quarter final match against Therad Takeo. This is Zedd’s first official loss in four years. All eyes now turn to Therad for the title of this year’s World Tournament. Up next is the second quarter final match between Blaze Waters and Susokie Tsuji…”

The girl with the slim light blue jacket stood up from her seat and walked out of the locker room. The man with the dinosaur t-shirt still lay on the sofa, his eyes closed. On the far side off the locker room, the blonde girl stared intently at Therad.

“Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen to day two of the 250th World Tournament!” Vusouski, the announcer, declared. The crowd in the stadium roared, the atmosphere buzzing with excitement. “Today we have the first round matches of the final 16 duellists” Vusouski continued “Please turn your attention to the big screen!” As he spoke, the large central screen flickered to life and displayed on it was the tournament ladder. 

“As you can see, all our finalists have been randomly paired in matches for the finals” Vusouski said “So let’s introduce our duellists for the first round; Therad Takeo and Tigro Young!” The crowd roared once more. Then at either end of the stadium two duellists walked out. On the left side Tigro walked up. Bare foot, he wore a karate Gi and on his back he had a wooden training samurai sword. On his left arm he wore a metallic grey duel disk.

On the opposite side of the stadium, Therad walked out and onto the battlefield, his black coat flailing in the wind. He took his place on the battlefield and crossed his arms as he watched Tigro enter the stadium, a stern look on his face. Both duellists stood facing each other as Vusouski’s voice rang through the stadium once more.

“And now without further ado, it’s time to…” Vusouski started. Therad and Tigro raised their left arms up and their duel disks activated. Simultaneously the two duellists shouted:

Tigro lowered his arm to his side and bowed towards Therad. “It is with utmost respect to allow my opponent to make the first move” he said. He looked up at Therad while he remained bowed, as if to taunt him.

Therad frowned and took a card from his hand. “I set a monster in face down defence position and another card face down” The two cards appeared on the field, the front one angled sideways “I end my turn” Therad crossed his arms as his turn ended.

Tigro, having stood back up, drew a card from his deck “A simple man of simple moves” he said mockingly “Looks like this will be an easy victory” Tigro placed the card in his hand and drew a second one. “I activate the field spell TEMPLE OF THE SIX!” he declared.

Suddenly a low rumble filled the stadium, and around them a large square structure began to form. The sky darkened to night and a full moon could be seen over head through large dark clouds. The two duellists now stood in a Japanese styled courtyard. Behind Tigro a large central building rose, with a large circular door bearing 6 circular symbols.

“Welcome to the TEMPLE OF THE SIX, the battleground where I shall defeat you” Tigro taunted, “For you see every time a Six Samurai monster is summoned, the temple gains a Bushido Counter, and for each counter it has, your monsters lose 100 attack points!” Therad sneered as Tigro laughed, taking another card from his hand “Next I add to this honourable field by activating the spell GATEWAY OF THE SIX!”

More rumbling filled the stadium and in front of the temple doorway another wall rose, another door with the same circular design in the centre of it. “This gateway also gains Bushido Counters, two per Six Samurai summoned” Tigro explained “But more on that later, for I now activate one more spell, SIX SAMURAI UNITED!” The green card appeared on the field “Like before, this card gains a Bushido Counter every time a Six Samurai is summoned. Then by destroying it, I can draw a card for each counter on it. So, let’s start counting counters shall we?” He took a card from his hand “I summon THE SIX SAMURAI – IROU [1700ATK/1200DEF]!”

A glow of purple light appeared in front of Tigro and from it a Katana wielding swordsman appeared, a purple aura glowing around him [COUNTERS: TOTS – 1; GOTS – 2; SSU – 1]. “Now because I control a Six Samurai monster, I can play the spell ASCETICISM OF THE SIX SAMURAI!” The card appeared on the field as Tigro explained “This lets special summon a Six Samurai from my deck as long as it has the same attack points as IROU” He took the card from his deck “I special summon LEGENDARY SIX SAMURAI – ENISHI [1700ATK/700DEF]!” An orange light glowed next to the purple warrior, and from it a second warrior appeared, wielding another Katana and was shrouded in an orange aura. The two warrior glowed brightly in the dark [COUNTERS: TOTS – 2; GOTS – 4; SSU -2].

Therad stood expressionless at the two warriors. Tigro smirked “Strong silent type eh? Much like a ninja stalking his prey” Tigro laughed “I guess I will have to force your tongue, I activate the effect of SIX SAMURAI UNITED; by sending it to the grave with 2 counters, I draw 2 cards” The card exploded in green particles and Tigro drew the cards from his deck. Then he turned and pointed at the two samurais on his field. “Now with my two Level 4 monsters IROU and ENISHI I form the Overlay Network!” The two warriors jumped into the air and formed into two glowing orbs. Below them a vortex opened up, and the orbs flew into it.

“Rank 4 SHADOW OF THE SIX SAMURAI – SHIEN [2500ATK/400DEF]!” From the vortex appeared another samurai, wearing a large purple coat over red armour, a Katana in his right hand, glowing with a silver aura. He jumped from the vortex, which dissipated, and stood tall, pointing its sword at Therad. Therad remained unmoved [COUNTERS: TOTS – 3; GOTS – 6].

Tigro stared awkwardly “Well I was hoping to get some reaction from you” he said “Oh well” He took a card from his hand “I now equip SHADOW with the LEGENDARY EBON STEED!” The sound of hooves rung through the stadium. Therad turned around to see a large black armoured horse galloping towards him. He quickly moved out the way as it ran past. Then the samurai, sheathed its Katana and jumped into the air. It spun in the air and landed on the back of the black steed. The horse reared, whinnying as the swordsman took the reins and steered the horse around. The horse snorted loudly.

“This legendary steed gives SHADOW a 200 power boost [2700ATK]” Tigro explained “So, SHADOW, go in for the attack!” The black steed reared and whinnied again, before charging at Therad’s defence monster card. The samurai drew his Katana once more, and with a quick slash cut the card in half. The card flipped momentarily, revealing to be NECRO GARDNA [600ATK/1300DEF]. The samurai steered the horse back to its original position once the attack concluded. “Well that was easy” Tigro said “I guess I will have to let you have a turn now” He bowed towards Therad “Your move”

Therad, expressionless, drew a card from his deck and added to his hand. Then he took a second card from his hand “I activate the spell FOOLISH BURIAL” he said, placing the card on his duel disk “I can send a monster from my deck to the grave” he drew a card from his deck “I send ECLIPSE WYVERN to the grave”

As Therad placed the card in his graveyard, he continued “When ECLIPSE WYVERN is sent to the grave, I can banish a Level 7 or higher Light or Dark Attribute dragon from my deck” His deck auto shuffled and he drew a card from his deck “I banish RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON” he said, revealing the card and placing it in his deck pouch. “Finally I place 2 cards face down and end my turn” Two new cards appeared on the field, next the first one he set from last turn.

Tigro frowned “You know, I watched your last match Therad and I gotta say, this is not what I was expecting” he drew a card from his deck “I activate the spell REINFORCEMENT OF THE ARMY and add a Level 4 or lower warrior monster from my deck to my hand” The card appeared on the field, then as Tigro drew a card from his deck it quickly vanished “I add SPIRIT OF THE SIX SAMURAI [500ATk/500DEF] who I will now summon!” As he spoke, a blue light shone, and from it rose a ghost-like blue figure, wearing enchanted purple samurai armour [COUNTERS: TOTS – 4; GOTS – 8].

Suddenly the ghost figure faded, and the enchanted armour flew towards the samurai. The samurai jumped into the air, and the armour equipped itself on the samurai. The samurai landed back on the black steed, which reared once more. Tigro laughed “The SPIRIT OF THE SIX SAMURAI is a union monster and can equip to a Six Samurai monster, giving it an extra 500 attack points! [SHADOW – 3200ATK]”

“Now SHADOW!” Tigro commanded “Attack Therad directly!” The samurai pulled on its steed’s reins, causing it to rear, then jabbing his heels into the side of the horse he charged towards Therad.

“I activate a continuous trap” Therad declared “ORDEAL OF A TRAVELER!” The central face down card flipped up and glowed. The behind Therad appeared a large sandstone Sphinx. The samurai came to a halt before Therad. Therad continued “This trap activates when you declare and attack” Therad raised his hand which he held a single card “You must now guess the card type in my hand” he explained “Guess right and your attack continues; guess wrong and your monster returns to the hand”

Tigro sneared “I guess the card in your hand is…a spell card!” he said, pointing at Therad. Therad closed his eyes, and revealed the card; BACK-UP RIDER, a spell card. “Alright!” Tigro said “SHADOW finish your attack!” The samurai charged once more and slashed with its Katana at Therad. Therad cringed as his life points fell.

T:800/T:4000

The samurai returned to its place as Tigro said “You’ve got one more turn, but from the way you’ve been playing there seems to be no point in continuing. I end my turn”

Therad stood up straight as he recovered from the attack, drawing a card from his deck. He placed the card in his hand and said “I activate my face down card ESCAPE FROM THE DARK DIMENSION” The left face down card flipped up and stood straight like the previous one. A black cloud opened up above Therad’s head as he explained “This card lets me special summon a banished Dark-Attribute monster – so I call forth RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON [2800ATK/2400DEF]!”

A loud cry filled the stadium and from the cloud a large metal scaled dragon descended. Its eyes glowed red and a red energy could be seen pulsating through the course of its body and wings. The dragon cried once more as it landed.

Tigro smirked “Nice dragon, however” he said “The effect of TEMPLE OF THE SIX activates; because it has 4 Bushido counters on it, your dragon loses 400 attack points!”

The metal dragon roared again as its attack power decreased [DARKNESS METAL – 2400ATK]. Therad then said “I activate DARKNESS METAL’s effect; I can special summon a Dragon-Type monster from my hand – I summon RED-EYES B. DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” A black light shone, and next to the metal dragon appeared a smaller black scaled dragon, with bright red eyes. It roared as it appeared on the field.

“And once more it loses 400 attack points due to the TEMPLE” Tigro explained. The smaller black dragon roared as it lost attack points [B. DRAGON – 2000ATK]. Therad remained unfazed at Tigro’s words.

Therad then pushed a button on his duel disk and pointed at his last face down card. “I now activate the Continuous trap CASTLE OF DRAGON SOULS!” he said. The courtyard began to shake and behind Therad rose a giant stone tower, destroying part of the courtyards outer wall. Decorating the tower were a variety of dragon statues. A top the tower there was a 4 spired castle, also decorated with dragon statues. Therad continued “The CASTLE OF DRAGON SOULS lets me banish a dragon in my graveyard and increases the strength of a monster on the field by 700 until the end of the turn” he paused for a second “I banish ECLIPSE WYVERN from my graveyard and give RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON 700 attack points [DARKNESS METAL – 3100ATK]!” A light shone in one of the castle windows and a ghost of the wyvern appeared, flew down to the battlefield and covered the metal dragon in a white light, which slowly faded as the dragon gained its attack points.

“Normally at this point ECLIPSE WYVERN’s effect would activate, allowing me to add the monster banished by his effect to my hand” Therad explained “However as DARKNESS METAL DRAGON is already on the field his effect is nullified” He took a the last card in his hand “Next I activate the previously revealed spell BACK-UP RIDER!”

The spell card appeared on the field “This card gives RED-EYES B. DRAGON an extra 1500 attack points until the end of the turn” Therad explained, smiling to himself. The smaller black scaled dragon roared as it gained attack points [B. DRAGON 3500ATK]. Tigro sneered as the dragon grew stronger.

Therad smiled slyly and pointed at the samurai “Now RED-EYES B. DRAGON attack SHADOW!” The smaller dragon roared and from its mouth fired a red ball of energy. As the energy ball hurtled through the air, the samurai drew its sword and slashed at it. An explosion ricocheted through the stadium and Tigro’s life points fell. Smoke filled the courtyard.

T:800/T:3700

“I activate the effect of LEGENDARY EBON STEED” Tigro declared “By sending it to the graveyard SHADOW is not destroyed in this battle!” As the smoke cleared, the purple armour clad samurai stood alone, the black steed gone.

Therad continued “I thought as much” he said “Now RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON, attack SHADOW!” The metal dragon roared and fired a red energy beam from its mouth. “With the loss of your steed your samurai’s attack has decreased by 200, meaning my dragon is now stronger [SHADOW – 3000ATK]!” The samurai jumped into the air and once more slashed down at the red energy beam. A second explosion occurred, filling the stadium with more smoke as Tigro’s life points fell again.

T:800/T:3600

Tigro cringed then said “I now activate the effect of SPIRIT; like my steed my sending SPIRIT to the graveyard SHADOW is not destroyed in battle!” The smoke cleared and the samurai stood once more, this time the purple armour had been destroyed.

Therad frowned “And like before your samurai loses attack points” [SHADOW – 2500ATK]. Therad crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “I end my turn” he said “At this moment the effects of CASTLE OF DRAGON SOULS and BACK-UP RIDER end and my dragons attack points return to normal [DARKNESS METAL - 2400ATK; B. DRAGON – 2000ATK].

Tigro sneered and drew a card from his deck. He smiled as he placed the card in his hand, then taking a second he said “This is the end my friend; I summon ELDER OF THE SIX SAMURAI [400ATK/0DEF]” A light shone on the field and a robotic charity appeared, carrying another samurai who wore white robes and hat, a black veil over his face through which glowing red eyes could be seen. “As I have summoned a new Six Samurai monster to the field, both GATEWAY OF THE SIX and TEMPLE OF THE SIX gain counters [COUNTERS: TOTS –5; GOTS – 10] and as a result your dragons lose 100 more attack points [DARKNESS METAL – 2300ATK; B. DRAGON 1900ATK]!” Tigro explained. Both dragons growled lowly as they lost more attack points.

“Now I play the spell SIX SCROLLS OF THE SAMURAI!” Tigro said. The green card appeared on the field, and from it 6 scrolls flew out, each a different colour, wrapping around the two monsters on Tigro’s field. “By sacrificing two Six Samurai monsters, I can special summon from deck – The GREAT SHOGUN SHIEN [2500ATK/2400DEF]!” Tigro exclaimed. Suddenly the two samurai’s glowed brightly in a shining light and merged together. The light then remoulded and faded, and there stood a new warrior, clad in dark red samurai armour, wielding a white Katana.

“Next I activate the effect of GATEWAY OF THE SIX; by removing 2 Bushido counters, the GREAT SHOGUN gains 500 attack points” Tigro explained “So by removing all 10 of them as pairs, he gains 2500 attack points!” The shogun stood in a battle stance as he began to glow red from his power boost [GREAT SHOGUN – 5000ATK] [COUNTERS: TOTS – 5; GOTS – 0]. Tigro laughed “Now with my ultimate monster I attack RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON!” In a flash the shogun began to run at the metal dragon, which readied itself for the attack. “And don’t think your ORDEAL OF A TRAVELER card will stop it, with no cards in your hand it can’t be played” Tigro explained. The shogun jumped into the air, raising its Katana above its head before slashing at the dragon.

Suddenly an explosion rang through the stadium once more, erupting from the attack. Smoke filled the air. “That’s it!” Tigro shouted “I’ve won! Ha Ha!” Tigro began to dance on the spot, waving at the crowd, a large smile on his face.

“I don’t think so” a voice said. Tigro turned. Slowly the smoke began to fade and Therad stood, his eyes still closed and his arms crossed. “You might want to have a look at the scoreboard” he said.

“Wha…” Tigro stated and turned to face the central screen. He gasped. The screen displayed the current life points of each duellist, and Tigro hoping to see Therad’s life points at 0 instead saw them unchanged at 800. He turned back “You should have lost!” he said angrily “My SHOGUN had more attack points than your dragon!”

“You’re right he did” Therad said, opening his eyes. “However I activated the effect of a monster in my graveyard; NECRO GARDNA!” The smoke surrounding the samurai and dragon faded, and floating mid-air was a red armoured man, with a red mask and long white hair, its arms spread apart to protect the dragon. The samurai’s Katana rested on the shoulder of the armoured man. Tigro stood staring at the scene, his mouth wide open in shock. Therad smiled “NECRO GARDNA can be banished from my graveyard” he explained, holding up the card to Tigro “And in doing so can negate one attack this turn” he placed the card in his deck pouch. The red armoured man smiled and faded as the samurai jumped backwards and returned to its position.

Tigro grimaced angrily. “I end my turn” he mumbled. As he spoke, the samurai’s power increase ended and it returned to its original attack points. “I’ll just defeat you next turn”

“Right” Therad said, drawing a card. “I activate the spell POT OF GREED and draw two more cards!” A smiling green pot appeared on the field for a brief moment, then quickly vanished as Therad drew the cards. He glanced at the two cards and smiled.

“It’s over” he said “I play the spell A WINGBEAT OF GIANT DRAGON!” The green spell card appeared on the field “I return RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON to my hand and destroy all spell and trap cards on the field!” Therad explained. The smaller black dragon roared loudly, and with a single flap of its wings, it jumped into the air, sending a powerful gust of wind across the stadium. All 3 of Therad’s trap cards exploded in light. Meanwhile on Tigro’s side of the field, the GATEWAY and TEMPLE began to crumble from the blast. The building came crashing down in a storm of dust and debris. As the dust cleared, the courtyard had completely been destroy.

Tigro sneered “You destroyed my TEMPLE and GATEWAY” he said however Tigro began to laugh. “Wow” he said “So my playing that one card you managed to destroy my cards but with only your B. DRAGON you’re still not strong enough to defeat my SHOGUN. You were right this is over – you’re practically defenceless!” Tigro threw this head back in laughter.

“Look again” Therad said calmly. Tigro wiped away a tear and looked at Therad’s field. Suddenly a light began to shine on Therad’s side of the field. Tigro covered his eyes from the light, but as it vanished he gasped. Stood on the other side of the field was a black, white and red wyvern next to the black dragon.

“How?!” Tigro questioned “How do you have a second monster?”

“The CASTLE OF DRAGON SOULS” Therad replied “When it’s destroyed I can special summon a banished dragon – ECLIPSE WYVERN [1600ATK/1000DEF]!” The wyvern cawed loudly as Therad spoke.

Tigro frowned “It matters not, your wyvern is not strong enough to defeat my SHOGUN” he explained “Give up already, you can’t win!”

Therad smiled “I now activate the effect of RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON in my hand – I banish a dragon I control and special summon this card!” he explained “I banish ECLIPSE WYVERN once more”

“No…” Tigro started as a light shone on Therad’s side of the field. The light consumed the wyvern and then the large black dragon reappeared, covered in metallic plated scales, with glowing red eyes and red energy coursing through its body.

“I now play RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON’s effect” Therad declared “And as a result I can special summon a dragon from my hand – RED-EYES WYVERN [1800ATK/1600DEF]!” The metal dragon roared as a purple vortex opened and from it loomed the small brown scale wyvern with bright red eyes. Therad continued “And without your TEMPLE field spell, my monsters don’t lose any attack points” [DARKNESS METAL – 2800ATK; B. DRAGON 2400ATK].

Therad pointed at Tigro’s samurai “RED-EYES DARKNESS METAL DRAGON attack the GREAT SHOGUN SHIEN!” The metal dragon roared, and from its mouth it fired a powerful red energy beam at the red samurai. The samurai raised its Katana to protect itself, but to no avail. The samurai was completely obliterated from the attack. Tigro fell to one knee as his life points fell too.

T:800/T:3300

“RED-EYES B. DRAGON” Therad announced “Attack Tigro directly!” The smaller black dragon roared, as a red energy began to form in its jaw. Then in a single blast it shot a fire energy ball at Tigro. An explosion occurred as the energy ball hit, causing Tigro to fly through the air. He landed with a crash and once more his life points fell.

T:800/T:900

“Finally RED-EYES WYVERN” Therad said, turning away from the duel “Finish this” The wyvern cawed as Therad began to walk away and towards the exit. The wyvern quickly flew through the air and floated above Tigro. Tigro gasped as he saw the wyvern. It cawed once more and slashed at Tigro.

T:800/T:0

As Tigro’s life points fell Therad left the stadium and his 3 dragons faded from existence. The crowd sat silently as tournament officials ran to help Tigro.

-

Flair stood watching the television monitor from backstage, her hands covering her mouth. She hadn’t seen Therad duel since she lost her match and was shocked at his sudden duelling attitude. “Therad…” she said under her breath, unable to move. As the monitor flicked to adverts, she sat back down on her bed. She sat in one of the duellist hotel rooms, provided by the tournament officials. She stared blankly at the floor. The room was silent, except for the sound of the monitor. An announcer appeared on the screen and Flair looked up.

“And after the eventful duel of the first match, our second match is about to begin between duellists Zedd White and Soph Lee to determine Therad Takeo’s next opponent for the second rounds” the announcer said. “Let’s head to the stadium now!” The monitor cut to a wide shot of the stadium. Flair stood up and looked out the window. She resided on the second floor and could see the stadium entrance. She looked at the people walking around, fans excited for the tournament. In the distance she could see the Inertia Corporation tower in the centre of the city, the sponsors for the tournament. She stared at the large black building for a few moments, before turning her attention back to the crowd.

She saw excited children running around with cotton candy, chased by their parents. On either side of the grounds stood stands, selling merchandise and food to the masses. Within the crowd she saw a couple of duellists, as she noticed their duel disks on their arms. She glanced around, then her eye picked out a flash of white light. She squinted as she looked for the source, however all she saw was a blonde haired duellist with a white and pale blue duel disk walking towards the stadium. “That girls duel disk must have caught the light” she said to herself, shaking her head and turning back towards the monitor.

She sat back on the bed and watch the screen. “It is over!” the announcer said “In a series of twists and turns we have a winner for the second match; Zedd White!” An on-screen crowd cheered as a shot of a man filled the screen. He had long blue hair which reached his shoulders and wore a waist length blue coat. He had a white duel disk on his arm. “Zedd will move on to the second round to face Therad Takeo in the Quarter Finals!” the announcer continued “Now for our third match of the first rounds; Pat Carr VS Blaze Waters!”

Therad entered the stadium as the crowd roared, staring at the ground. He was worried about Flair, and where she had run off to. He looked across the stadium. On the other side a tall girl with long black hair walked into the stadium, waving and smiling at the crowd. She wore a plain green knee length dress, long white shin knee length socks and blue shoes. On her left arm she wore a pale green duel disk. Suddenly, the announcer’s voice rang in Therad’s ears causing him to flinch.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first match of the last rounds!” Vusouski said “And starting off this final match are two of our strongest duellists: Therad Takeo and Kathryn Walters!” Therad reached his side of the stadium and glanced at where sat in the stands with Flair. He saw that they were both empty. He sighed and turned to his opponent. Kathryn had reached her side and stood smiling at Therad.

“Nice to meet you Therad” she said in a kind voice. Therad froze and smiled awkwardly at her. Kathryn smile back. Vusouski’s voice filled the stadium once more.

“Alright duellists” he said “Ready yourselves!” Both Therad and Kathryn simultaneously rose their left arms and their duel disks activated. Then in sync they declared:

“If you don’t mind” Kathryn said “I’d like to go first”

Therad smiled awkwardly “By all means” he said, gesturing Kathryn should take the first move.

Kathryn smiled and took a card from her hand “Okay then. I summon ARMED DRAGON LV3 [1200ATK/900DEF]!” she said. There was a glow of light, and a small, muscular orange dragon appeared. It raised its arms in a fighting stance.

“LV…” Therad to himself as the monster appear “The last person I faced with a deck like that was… Cassidy Walters” He turned to Kathryn “Hey, by any chance is Cassidy your sister?” he asked.

Kathryn smiled “Why of course, she’s my younger sister” she said. “However…” she continued, her voice changing to a harsher tone “Your duel with her left her in quite a traumatic state” she drew a card from her hand “I cannot forgive you for what you did to her!”

Therad took a step back. “Wa-wait a minute” he stuttered “I don’t even remember what happened”

“Enough” Kathryn said angrily “I play the spell DRAGON’S GUNFIRE which deals 800 points of damage because I control a dragon” The orange dragon opened its mouth and shot a fireball, which exploded in front of Therad.

T:3200/K:4000

Therad covered his face with his arms as the fireball hit. Looking up he saw Kathryn standing with a smirk on her face. “Dude” he said “What’s with this sudden hostility?”

Kathryn’s smirk turned into a frown “You know what you did” she said “You scarred Cassidy for life. You unrelentlessly attacked her, and I’m going to do the same to you” She drew a card from her hand “I set one card facedown and end my turn”

Therad frowned and drew a card from his deck “I summon the RED-EYES B. CHICK [800ATK/500DEF]!” A light shone on the battlefield and from it appear a red dragon’s egg. The top of the egg burst open and a small black dragon with shining red eyes rose, screeching weakly. “I now activate CHICK’s effect” Therad continued “I can tribute CHICK to special summon RED-EYES B. DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” Suddenly the baby dragon glowed a black light and began to increase in size. The red egg shell shattered to pieces as the dragon continued to grow. Finally it reached a size 3 times bigger than Kathryn’s orange dragon and black light faded. There stood a large black scale-plated dragon with glowing red eyes. A low growl rumbled from it as it saw the smaller orange dragon.

Therad pointed at Kathryn’s dragon. “Now RED-EYES, attack ARMED DRAGON LV3!” The dragon roared, and from its mouth it fired an orb of red pulsating energy. The orange dragon raised its arms to protect itself.

“I don’t think so!” Kathryn shouted “I activate the trap, NEGATE ATTACK!” A blue barrier appeared in front of the orange dragon. The red orb collided with it in a large explosion, smoke filled the field. As the smoke cleared, Kathryn said “NEGATE ATTACK stops your monsters attack and forces the end of your Battle Phase”

Therad said sternly “Alright then, I end my turn”

Kathryn smiled as she heard the annoyance in Therad’s voice. She drew a card from her deck and said “Now during my Standby Phase I can activate ARMED DRAGON LV3’s effect; I send LV3 to the graveyard and special summon ARMED DRAGON LV5 [2400ATK/1700DEF] from my hand” The orange dragon roared and disappeared in an orb of light. Then from this orb appeared a bigger dragon. It was black and red, with spikes running along its body, head and arms. It growled as it stepped onto the battlefield. Therad’s dragon growled in response.

“Next I activate POT OF GREED, drawing two more cards” Kathryn said as she drew the cards “Then I play the spell LEVEL UP!” The card appeared on the field as she spoke. “This card lets me tribute one LV monster to special summon a LV monster that is listed in that cards text” she explained “So I tribute ARMED DRAGON LV5 to special summon ARMED DRAGON LV7 [2800ATK/1000DEF]!” Therad gasped as the spike dragon began to increase in size. Its wings became fully armoured and scale-plates appeared on its body. Its tail then swelled up and formed a large spike ball. The dragon slowly stopped growing as was now a head taller than Therad’s black dragon. Kathryn laughed.

“This isn’t even the best bit!” she said through her manic laughter “See now I tribute LV7 to special summon ARMED DRAGON LV10 [3000ATK/2000DEF] by its own effect!” Her laughter rang through the stadium.

“You can what?!” Therad said, shocked. A drop of sweat ran down his face as the metal plated dragon grew once more. The scales on its head formed into a spike helmet, and the metal plates shaped into armour.  Spikes now ran across its entire body, which then formed into razor sharp blades. It now stood on two legs, making it twice the height of RED-EYES and its giant metal wings provided balance. The powerful dragon loomed over RED-EYES, steam trailing out of its nose.

Kathryn laughed again “I now activate LV10’s special ability – by discarding 1 card I can destroy all monsters you control” she said, discarding a card from her hand “Say goodbye to your RED-EYES!” Kathryn’s dragon roared and raised its fist up. Then it quickly swung it around, colliding with the smaller black dragon. RED-EYES cried out and exploded into particles. Kathryn the pointed directly at Therad. “NOW ARMED DRAGON LV10, ATTACK THERAD AND TAKE REVENGE FOR MY SISTER!”

The black and red dragon roared and raised its arm again. Suddenly, just as quickly as before, it swung its arm around and collided with Therad. Therad raised this arms to protect himself, but the impact knocked Therad off his feet and he flew back a couple of feet. Kathryn laughed as she watched her dragon attack. Therad winced as he stood back up, holding his left arm.

T:200/K:4000

“SUCH POWER!” Vusouski cried, filling the stadium “Kathryn’s dragon has completely devastated Therad’s life points! How will he recover?”

Therad slowly walked back to his position. As he walked he could hear a ringing in his ears, the noise of the crowd seemed faint and distant. He looked up across at Kathryn. His vision had blurred and he could barely make out her facial features. He closed his eyes.

Suddenly a sharp pain erupted from his chest. Cringing he fell to his hands and knees, his eyes tightly shut. In the distance he could hear Vusouski’s voice. “Oh my” he seemed to whisper “It appears Therad has fallen to his knees. Is he okay?”

Therad opened his eyes and stared at the ground. He felt cold, like all the heat of the world had gone. Then, from deep within him, a dark energy began to form. This energy slowly began to expand and it engulfed his entire body. He cried out, but no sound came from his mouth. Then as quickly as it started, the sharp pain stopped. Breathing heavily Therad stood up and turned to face Kathryn. He saw Kathryn had an expression of shock on her face. He turned to look up at the live feed of the duel.

In the screen he saw himself. He appeared to be as usual, but slowly he began to notice new details. This clothes and hair and all appeared to have darkened in colour, however his jacket had changed from green to black. This duel disk had also changed from standard white to deep black. Finally he noticed his eyes and gasped. His deep green eyes and also changed to a deep dark red.

He turned away and as he did so, he felt a new power inside him. He felt more confident and relaxed, and a sinister smile came to his face. He looked up at Kathryn. “My turn” he said drawing a card from his deck “I activate the spell card DRAGON SHRINE!” A low rumble filled the stadium and behind Therad several large pillars rose from the ground, standing several feet high.

“This lets me send two dragon monsters to the grave, provided the first is a normal monster” Therad explained “I send HUNTER DRAGON and ECLIPSE WYVERN!” He drew the cards from his deck and placed them into his graveyard. At the same time the ruins crumbled out of existence behind him. Therad smiled. “Now I activate ECLIPSE WYVERN’s effect; I can banish a Level 7 or higher Light or Dark Attribute Dragon from my deck” he continued explaining “So I banish the RED-EYES DARKNESS DRAGON” Therad drew the card from his deck, revealed it, and placed it in his deck pouch on his belt.

“What are you up to?” Kathryn asked “There’s no way you can win!” Sweat dropped her face and Therad frowned at her, taking two cards from his hand.

“I now banish the Dark Attribute HUNTER DRAGON in my graveyard to special summon WHITE DRAGON WYVERBURSTER [1700ATK/1800DEF]!” Therad declared. As Therad removed the card from his graveyard and placed it in his deck pouch, a white light shone on the field and a blue and white wyvern appeared. It cawed as it appeared on the field. “Next I banish the Light Attribute ECLIPSE WYVERN from my grave and special summon BLACK DRAGON COLLAPSERPENT [1800ATK/1700DEF]!” Therad removed the second card as a black light shone on the battlefield and a black and orange winged serpent appeared on the field. It emitted a low hiss as it appeared.

Then, before Therad placed the card he took from his grave in his deck pouch, he explained “When ECLIPSE WYVERN is banished from the graveyard, the monster banished by its effect returns to my hand!” Therad placed the first card in his deck pouch and drew a second from it, revealing it to Kathryn “I return RED-EYES DARKNESS DRAGON to my hand!” He placed the card in his hand as he spoke.

Suddenly a black swirling vortex opened up in front of Therad “Now with my Level 4 WYVERBURSTER and COLLAPSERPENT I form the Overlay Network!” Therad declared. The two dragons roared and formed into two balls of light, one white the other black. Then the balls flew straight into the vortex.

“Rank 4 QUEEN DRAGUN DJINN [2200ATK/1200DEF]!” Therad shouted. A large flame erupted from the vortex and from it rose a centaur of pure fire. The lower body consisted of blazing orange flames while the upper body was of a human woman. She had long blonde hair and wore black armour. In her hand she held a dragon skull staff. Orbiting her were two golden orbs.

Kathryn took a step back. She could feel the heat emitting from the creatures body. “How can I feel this heat?” she shouted “It’s a hologram, it isn’t real!”

Therad stared blankly at her. He then pointed at the blazing creature “Now by using one overlay unit, QUEEN DRAGUN DJINN can resurrect one dragon in my graveyard in defence position” He explained. The blazing creature raised her staff and one of golden orbs exploded. Then a hole opened in the ground next to the creature. “I bring back RED-EYES B. DRAGON!” Therad declared, as from the ground the black dragon reappeared. It roared loudly at the larger dragon in front of it.

Taking another card from his hand, Therad said “I can now tribute RED-EYES B. DRAGON in order to special summon RED-EYES DARKNESS DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” Another light appeared, engulfing the black dragon. Then sinister dark clouds began to form on the battle field and emerging from the light a larger dragon appear. Its scales were darker than the night and the red energy veins coursing along its body seemed to glow with an evil energy. The dragon growled as it stared across the battlefield.

“Finally I play the spell MONSTER REBORN, bringing back RED-EYES B. DRAGON once more” Therad said. A green light shone and the first black dragon reappeared on the field.

Kathryn laughed “So you’ve managed to summon 3 dragons, so what?!” She said “None of them are strong enough to destroy my ARMED DRAGON, you might as well give up now” The giant black dragon roared as Kathryn laughed once more.

Sternly Therad said “Not quite Kathryn. I activate DARKNESS DRAGON’s effect; he gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard” Shocked Kathryn took a step back and Therad smiled “I currently have 2 dragons in my graveyard; RED-EYES B. CHICK and COLLAPSERPENT whom I detached from QUEEN DRAGUN DJINN. This means DARKNESS DRAGON is 600 points stronger” The larger of Therad’s dragons roared as it gained its power boost [DARKNESS DRAGON 3000ATK]. Therad pointed at Kathryn’s dragon “DARKNESS DRAGON attack ARMED DRAGON LV10!” The dark dragon roared and from its red energy crystals in its wings it sent two energy balls at the large dragon. The first of these balls collided with the giant dragon, however the giant dragon managed to swing its arm and deflect the second, sending back at the dark dragon. Two explosions filled the stadium and smoke rose from either side of the battlefield.

“You fool!” Kathryn said “You’ve destroyed both our monsters!”

Therad smiled sinisterly “Look again” The smoke cleared and Kathryn gasped. DARKNESS DRAGON still stood were it was before the attack.

“But how..?” Kathryn started.

“QUEEN DRAGUN DJINN prevents dragon type monsters I control from being destroyed in battle except herself” Therad explained “But it doesn’t matter” His eyes focused on Kathryn “For now both QUEEN DRAGUN DJINN and RED-EYES B. DRAGON are free to attack you directly!” The blazing centaur raised its staff and aimed it at Kathryn, firing a red fire ball at her. At the same time the smaller black dragon raised its head and fired a red energy ball from its mouth.

A large explosion filled the stadium and smoke rose from Kathryn’s side of the field. The large screen displayed Kathryn’s life points falling to 0.

T:200/K:0

Slowly all of the monsters on Therad’s side of the field faded and he turned around, walking out of the stadium. Silence filled the stadium as the crowd watched him leave. Smoke still rose as he left.

-

Flair sat crouched under a tree, looking in the direction of the stadium, wiping away a tear. She could see the smoke rising from the top. “That must have been an intense duel” she said to herself. She turned back to look at her hands. She held her duelling cards and had be sorting through them. She picked out FAIRY CHEER GIRL and stared at the smiling blue haired cheer leader. “I shouldn’t be a duellist, I’m terrible at it” she said, tears forming in her eyes again. She buried her head in her knees, dropping her cards.

A few moments past, then out of nowhere she heard a voice. “You shouldn’t leave your cards laying around like that” She looked up and glanced around of the voice. “Up here” it said. Flair looked up.

Up in the tree sat a young man, with reddish brown hair, wearing a brown leather jacket. “Who are you?” she asked. The young man turned to her and jumped down from the tree. As he did so Flair noticed he wore a brown duel disk on his arm.

“My name’s Blaze. Blaze Waters” he said. Flairs stared at him.

“I remember you” she said “You’ve entered the World Tournament haven’t you?”

“Yeah. I’ve just finished the qualifying rounds” Blaze explained. He noticed Flair’s duel disk “I guess you’re in the Tournament too?”

“Was” Flair stated burying her head in her knees again “I lost my second match so I’m out”

Puzzled Blaze said “Out? You’ve got one more duel you know? If you win that you’re bound to make it in”

Flair sniffed “What’s the point?” she said “There’s no way I can win after I just lost”

Blaze sighed and sat down next to Flair “If you keep thinking like that, of course you’re going to lose” he said, picking up Flair’s cards. Shuffling them, he said “Everyone faces defeat at some point in their life, that’s just the way it is” Flair looked at Blaze “But you know, rather than letting it put you down, you should use it as a way to improve your skills” Blaze handed back Flair’s cards “That way, you can get stronger and smarter, meaning you can face any new challenge head on knowing that, regardless if you win or lose, you’re bound to improve”

Flair stared at her cards as Blaze spoke. “Yeah…yeah you’re right” she said “I shouldn’t let my defeat get to me. I should use it to my advantage” she stood up and inserted her deck into her duel disk “Thanks Blaze, you’ve inspired me to keep going”

“It’s nothing” he said closing his eyes and resting against the tree.

The bus doors closed with a hiss and the bus quickly rolled away from the stop. Therad stood facing the Blackwright Stadiums, a large complex of four small stadiums and on large central stadium. Next to him stood Flair who was observing the crowds around the stadium. They both wore their duel disks on their arms which glistened in the sunlight.

“Wow, this is busier than I thought it would be” she said nervously, overwhelmed by the amount of people there were. Therad turned to her with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, you can feel the excitement in the air” he laughed “Say, whereabouts do we have to go check in?”

“Over there” replied Flair, pointing at a large white building. Together they walked over and entered the building. Inside the main hall was a large plain white room, in which sat a single desk with a small computer on it. Sat at the desk was a young woman, dressed in a white uniform. Therad walked towards the desk.

“Greetings, how may I help you?” the woman said with a gentle voice.

“Hi” Therad said politely “We’ve come to check in for the tournament” Flair walked up next to him as he spoke.

“Ah duellists I see” the woman said, turning to her computer “Can I get both of your names?”

“Sure, this is Flair Summers” Therad said gesturing at Flair “And I’m Therad Takeo” he pointed to himself and smiled. Flair sighed and gently shook her head at Therad’s enthusiasm. The woman typed in their names and above her two large holo-screens appeared, displaying a picture of Therad and Flair with their duellist’s details. To the right of the desk, a whirring sound started, and from the floor a machine rose. It had a small screen and a dispenser underneath. It rose to about chest height before coming to a stop.

The woman finished typing and hit another button on her computer. The screen on the machine came to life and displayed a picture of Therad. With a buzz the machine dispensed a card. Therad walked over and took it from the dispenser, turning it over. On one side it had all the details that had previously appeared on the holo-screens and the other had chip. Upon taking the card, the machine buzzed again, this time Flair’s details appeared on the screen and dispensed a second card. Therad picked it up and handed it to Flair.

“And that is all done for you” the woman said “If you would like to insert card into your duel disk’s deck zone, it will display who your first match is against and where it will take place” she explained.

Both duellists raised their left arm and placed their cards into the deck zone. The duel disk then lit up, each projecting a small holo-screen. The screens each displayed a duellist’s profile.

“Huh, I’m up against Lilianna Drew” Flair said, reading the holo-screen “I’m duelling her this afternoon, in Stadium C” She removed the card from the duel disk and the screen disappeared. “What about you Therad?” she asked.

“Michael Smith” he said “Also Stadium C, I think right before yours” He also removed his card and then placed it in his pocket. “I guess we’d better get going” he said. He turned towards the woman behind the desk “Thank you Miss” Therad said before he and Flair turned and exited the building.

Together the pair walked over to Stadium C. Upon arrival they stopped at a large screen. The screen displayed the next match line up for the day. Two large pictures were displayed, profiles of the two upcoming duellists, one of Therad and the other of Michael. Michael was a young teen with short spiked brown hair wearing a slim white shirt with a blue collar and cuffs. Therad stared at the profile.

“He seems a bit young to enter a tournament” Flair said as she stared at the image, crossing her arms “He doesn’t look very strong if you ask me”

“Maybe” replied Therad “But there may be more than meets the eye” Therad turned away and looked towards the stadium entrance. “Well” he said “I’d best be off, wish me luck!”

“Good luck!” Flair shouted as Therad ran off towards the entrance of the stadium.

-

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” a voice shouted, filling the stadium. The stadium was filled with excited spectators and duelling fans and they cheered as the announcer spoke. “My name is Stanley Vusouski and I will be this year’s commentator for the 250th World Tournament!” The crowd roared again. Confetti rained from the sky as fireworks went off over the stadium. “Now let me introduce you to our challengers for the match. First up on the field is Michael Smith!”

The crowd cheered as an opening expanded from the ground and from it an elevator rose and sealed against the ground. On it stood a young preteen boy with short brown hair, wearing a white shirt with a blue collar and cuffs, with grey shorts and bright white sports trainers. On his left arm he wore a yellow 4th generation duel disk. He waved at the crowd as they cheered.

“And his opponent for this match; Therad Takeo!” Vusouski continued. The crowd roared again as a second opening appeared on the opposite end of the stadium from which a second elevator rose. Therad stood on the elevator, his arms folded. The looked around the crowd as his name was announced. He saw a large screen on the left side which displayed the life point bars of the two duellists.

In the midst of the crowd sat Flair, who was staring intently at Therad and Michael. “Good luck Therad” she whispered to herself.

“Now duellists!” shouted Vusouski “Ready your duel disks” Both Therad and Michael raised their arms and simultaneously their duel disks activated. The crowd cheered once more as Vusouski spoke “And here we go!” he yelled.

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“I’ll take the first move” Therad said. Michael nodded his agreement as Therad took a card from his hand. “I summon ECLIPSE WYVERN [1600ATK/1000DEF]” A light shone brightly in front of Therad and from it a red, white and black wyvern emerged. It cried loudly as it appeared.

Vusouski’s voice rang through the stadium “And it’s a strong start from Therad, quite a taunting move” The crowd cheered with excitement.

Therad smiled at the crowd’s reaction. “Next I set two cards face down and end my turn” He placed the two cards into his duel disk and they both appeared face down on the field behind the wyvern. “You’re up dude” Therad said to Michael.

Michael nodded. “Very well then” he drew a card from his deck “You’ve had a good start, but I’m going to show you an even better one!” Therad frowned at Michael words, preparing himself. Michael smiled “First off I normal summon GEARGIANO MK-II [1000ATK/500DEF] to the field!” A ball of light shone in front of him and from it emerged a small machine consisting of 2 large yellow gears with arms sprouting from the centre of each. It had 2 small eyes in the centre of its body. “Next I play MK-II’s ability – he lets me special summon a second “Geargia” monster – so I special summon GEARGIANO MK-III [1000ATK/1000DEF]!” A second ball of light appeared, this time another machine emerged with blue gears instead of yellow. Therad frowned again, confused as to what Michael was planning.

“Thirdly” Michael continued “Because MK-III was special summoned by Mk-II’s effect, I can special summon a third “Geargia” monster – so I special summon GEARGIANO [500ATK/1000DEF]!” A third ball of light shone as the third machine appeared, this time with white gears. The three machines all whirred with excitement. Michael laughed “So I bet you’re wondering why I summoned 3 weak monsters?”

“It’s not their strength that concerns me” Therad said “It’s what you plan on doing with them” Michael laughed again.

“Yes, I guess I should explain” he said “You see, all three of my monsters have one key trait – they are all level 3!”

Therad gasped “Then that means…” he started.

“Yes” Michael laughed “With my 3 level 3 monsters I form the Overlay Network!” As he spoke the 3 monsters all suddenly turned into a ball of light, one yellow, one blue and one white. A vortex then opened in the ground in front of Michael and the 3 balls of light flew into it.

“Rank 3 GEARGIAGEAR GIGANT XG [2500ATK/1300DEF]!” shouted Michael. From the vortex a large mechanical robot rose brandishing a large cannon and shield. 3 orbs of light circled the giant robot.

“AMAZING!” Vusouski shouted over the cheer of the crowd “Michael has successfully managed to perform an XYZ summon on his first turn!” The crowd cheered again. Therad gritted his teeth and took a step back, bracing himself.

Michael laughed and pointed at Therad “Now, GIGANT, attack ECLIPSE WYVERN!” The robot sprang to life, directing its cannon at the wyvern. From it a red beam fired, heading straight for the wyvern.

“Not so fast” Therad declared “I activate my Trap; WIDESPREAD RUIN!” He hit a button on his duel disk and one of his face down cards flipped face up. “This card destroys the highest ATK monster you control!” Explosions suddenly erupted around the feet of the robot as the trap took effect.

“I don’t think so” Michael shouted “I activate GIGANT’s effect; by detaching one overlay unit I can negate the effects of all face up cards you control!” He pointed at WIDESPREAD RUIN. “This means your trap is negated” One of the balls of light suddenly exploded and the explosions around the robots feet quickly stopped. The trap card itself exploded into shards of light. Suddenly the red energy beam engulfed Therad’s wyvern, destroying it. Therad covered his face at the blast of the impact and his life points dropped.

T:3100/M:4000

Therad grimaced as he recovered “By destroying ECLIPSE WYVERN you’ve activated its special ability; I can banish 1 Level 7 or higher Light or Dark attribute Dragon-type monster from my deck” he explained “So I banish RED-EYES B. DRAGON!” He drew a card from his deck, revealing it to be RED-EYES and placed it in his deck pouch.

“Hmph” Michael said “It doesn’t matter, I’ll have defeated you before you get to summon your dragon” He laughed as his robot returned to its standby position. “I’ll end my turn there, let’s see what you can do shall we?” Michael said mockingly.

“What a turn of events!” Vusouski shouted “Michael has managed to summon a powerful monster and has already deal some serious damage to Therad’s life points. How will Therad counter this?” The crowd roared again as the turn changed.

Therad smiled “Gotta say, that was a nice move there Mikey” he drew a card from his deck “I guess I’ll just have to pull off a better one”

“Mikey?” Michael said “Are you trying to mock me? I may be young but I know how to duel and it’s obvious I can duel better than you”

“Let’s see about that” Therad said, taking a card from his hand “I set a monster in face down defence position and end my turn” A sideways face down card appeared in front of Therad.

Michael stood staring blankly at Therad. “That’s it? HA!” he laughed “What sort of move was that? I was right I am a better duellist than you are” Michael doubled over with laughter. Therad stood across from him, his arms folded and stared at Michael. Michael slowly stopped laughing, wiping away a tear from his eye. “Man you make me laugh” he said, straightening himself “Anyway, my turn” He drew a card from his deck.

“I summon GEARGIARSONAL [1500ATK/500DEF] from my hand” Michael declared. Another light shone on the battlefield, from which a large tank with 3 large cannons and caterpillar tyre trends rumbled out. In the centre of the tank sat another “Geargia” monster, working the controls. “This monster gains 200 Attack points for every “Geargia” monster I control, so that’s a 400 point power boost” Michael explained [GEARGIARSONAL 1900ATK]. “Now, ARSONAL, attack Therad’s puny defence!” The tank turned and directed its cannons at the face down card. It fired 3 shots, all of which collided with the card, destroying it.

“Now, GIGANT XG!” Michael shouted, pointing directly at Therad “Attack Therad directly!” The giant robot came to life again, and aimed its cannon at Therad. It fired a red energy beam and it engulfed him. Therad’s life point meter dramatically decreased as the energy beam hit.

T:600/M:4000

“Such power! Michael has severely wounded Therad’s life points” Michael laughed again as the announcer spoke “How will Therad recover from such as hit?!”

Amongst the crowd, Flair sat with her fists clenched. “Come on Therad, don’t fall at the first hurdle” she said under her breath.

Therad closed his eyes and smiled. “Well” he said “That was certainly a powerful attack” Michael frowned at Therad’s compliment, slightly taken aback. Therad opened his eyes “But now it’s time I end this” he drew a card from his deck and added to his hand “I activate the spell GRACEFUL CHARITY!” The card appeared on the field, it had the design of an angel holding a glowing card in her hands. “This card lets me draw 3 new cards, then discard 2” Therad explained, drawing the 3 cards. He placed them in his hand and took about to evaluated his cards. He then took 2 of them and placed them in his graveyard zone.

“Next I activate my face down card; ESCAPE FROM THE DARK DIMENSION!” Therad declared, as the face down card flipped right side up. “I can special summon 1 banished dark monster, so I bring back the previously banished RED-EYES B. DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” A vortex appeared above Therad’s side of the field and a large black dragon with glowing red eyes appeared, emitting a low rumble. Michael gritted his teeth as he saw the new monster.

Therad smiled “Now I can Tribute my RED-EYES B. DRAGON to special summon a more powerful dragon - RED-EYES DARKNESS DRAGON [2400ATK/2000DEF]!” The first dragon roared as a black aura enveloped it. The aura then formed the silhouette of a larger dragon and slowly faded to reveal the new dragon. It was slightly larger than the first and it had red energy lines coursing through its body, with two large crystals in its wings and thighs.

“More powerful?” Michael questioned “How is that more powerful, it has the same strength as the first dragon! That was a pointless move” Michael laughed “I guess you really know nothing of duelling!”

“DARKNESS DRAGON is more powerful” Therad explained “See, DARKNESS DRAGON gains 300 attack points for every dragon in my graveyard”

“WHAT?!” said Michael “How many dragon do you have?” Therad smiled at the slight panic in his voice.

“Well, firstly there are the two monster you destroyed; ECLIPSE WYVERN and HUNTER DRAGON, my defence monster” Therad continued “Plus the two cards I discarded by GRACEFUL CHARITY; ANCIENT DRAGON and INFERNAL DRAGON. So that makes four” Therad took a breath “And finally there is the previously Tributed RED-EYES B. DRAGON too, totalling five dragons. This means DARKNESS DRAGON gains 1500 attack points” The dragon roared as Therad finished speaking and its attack points increased [DARKNESS DRAGON 3900ATK].

“No way…” said Michael stunned at the dragon’s new strength. Therad took another card from his hand.

“However I’m not quite done” Therad said “By banishing a Light and Dark attribute monster in my grave – ECLIPSE WYVERN and HUNTER DRAGON – I special summon LIGHTPULSAR DRAGON [2500ATK/1500DEF]!” A light shone on the battlefield and a large white dragon appeared, with a blue orb in its chest. “However this does mean DARKNESS DRAGON’s attack will decrease by 600” [DARKNESS DRAGON 3300ATK].

Therad then turned and pointed at Michael’s robot. “LIGHTPULSAR DRAGON, attack GIGANT XG!” The dragon roared and charged at the robot. However as the two monster made contact, a huge explosion erupted, covering the field in smoke. As the smoke slowly faded, it revealed that a black dragon had taken the place of LIGHTPULSAR.

“What happened?” said Michael “Where are our monsters?” He glanced around looking for an answer and saw the black dragon. He pointed at it “Why is RED-EYES B. DRAGON back on the field?”

Therad smiled “Both monsters had the same amount of attack points, resulting in a draw” he explained “As a result, both monsters are thus destroyed. Michael stood shocked at Therad’s words, clearly upset. “However” Therad continued “When LIGHTPULSAR is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can special summon a Level 5 or higher Dark attribute dragon from my grave, hence RED-EYES B. DRAGON”

“So…” Therad said “With only 1 “Geargia” monster, ARSONAL loses 200 attack points [ARSONAL 1700ATK]. So now RED-EYES B. DRAGON attack ARSONAL!” The smaller black dragon roared and fired a red energy beam from its mouth. It instantly destroyed Michael’s tank and his life points dropped.

T:600/M:3300

“And now” Therad pointed directly at Michael “DARKNESS DRAGON attack Michael directly!” The larger black dragon roared and it fired a second red energy beam from its mouth. The impact caused an explosion around Michael and his life points dropped again.

T:600/M:0

“IT IS OVER!” Vusouski shouted, his voice filling the stadium. The crowd cheered loudly. “The winner is Therad Takeo!” The duel disks slowly deactivated and both of Therad’s dragons faded from existence as the holographic projects powered down. Therad smiled and walked over to Michael. Michael stood with his head bowed, staring at his feet.

“Hey” Therad said, holding out his hand “You’re a pretty good duellist Michael” Michael looked up and stared at Therad. Therad’s smile widened “I’d love to face you again one day” Michael smiled, taking Therad’s hand and shaking it.

“Yeah, sorry about what I said” Michael laughed “I guess I got a little over my head”

“No worries” Therad said “Come on, the crowd are expecting a response from us” Together they turned to wave at the crowd. The crowd cheered loudly as they did.

-

“Congratulations Therad!” shouted Flair as Therad sat down next to her in the stands.

“Thanks” he replied “I gotta say that was a tough duel”

“I’ll say, you had me on the edge of my seat” Flair said “Besides, I would have been disappointed if you were defeated in the first match”

Therad smiled “Yeah that wouldn’t have been good” He turned and looked up at the large screen “I guess your duel is up next”

Flair looked at the screen too “Yeah, I’d best get going” She stood up “Wish me luck”

“Good luck” Therad said “I know you will do well!”