Light And Darkness; Language, Violence

Hope you enjoy. Next chapter will be up soon, along with a discussion/details/update page.

But for now, just comment on here if you feel the urge to.

* * *

“Here, take this,” He reached out his hand, toward his young son. The snow fell around them as the two talked. “It will be of great use to you, when the time comes.” The man bent down to his son’s height, and looked him in the eye.
“You’ll be the best duelist this world has ever seen. And he’ll be at your side the entire time.” The father flashed the card to the boy, revealing the card. ‘Celtic Guardian’. A normal monster, with an average attack and no effect, but yet, the gift felt the boy with overwhelming joy.

“Thanks, dad.” He looked up and smiled, “It’s my favorite card.”

His father looked at him a smiled.

“I’m glad son, keep him close to you.”

“I will, promise.” The boy gave his father a smile to reassure him. Then, his father stood back up and turned away.

“The storm’s getting worse. Head back home. I’ll be back soon.” The father turned away from his son, but looked over his shoulder once more.

Take care son.

* * *

“Dammit,” Andel grunted under his breath. The situation wasn’t too good. Down to 1300 life points, and his opponent unscratched at a 4000 life point stand. His field was completely empty, after that last attack from the enemy’s ‘Dark Blade’ standing mightily with an attack of 1800, and two face downs behind him.

The opponent, Tai Masters, watched Andel pick himself up from the ground, and stand back up. Tai’s white and black hair waved in the wing, and his violet shaded eyes glared through Andel.

“You still going to come back for more, eh?” He smirked, “fine, end turn.”
Andel glanced at his hand before drawing, then pulled the card from his deck. A smile lit his face, and his anger vanished.

“I knew it’d be you,” He muttered under his breath. He looked back at his hand. He had the spell card ‘United We Stand’ along with ‘Crimson Ninja’, ‘And the spell ‘Double Summon’. Along with the card he just drew, this duel was over.

“Get ready, Tai!” He shouted and took one card from his hand, “First, I summon ‘Crimson Ninja’ to the field,” he placed the card on his duel disk, and his loyal ninja appeared in front of him. He grabbed his ‘Double Summon’ from his hand and slid it in the spell/trap zone. “Spell card, ‘Double Summon’, to summon this.” He looked at the card in his hand. ‘Celtic Guardian’. His favorite monster. “’Celtic Guardian’, to the field.” He slid the card into play, and, yet again, his monster appeared on the field. After he fully appeared, he turned his head toward Andel, and winked at him.

“Ok, now for the big card, I equipped ‘Celtic Guardian’ with ‘United We Stand’,” He threw the card onto his disk, and its effect took place. ‘Crimson Ninja’ threw one of his swords to ‘Celtic Guardian’, who caught it. His attack boosted to 2200. “Now for the show. ‘Celtic Guardian’, attack ‘Dark Blade’.” ‘Celtic Guardian’ rushed at ‘Dark Blade’, and slashed at him. He tried to parry, but ‘Celtic’s’ attack was too much, and he gave way to the cut. ‘Dark Blade’ burst into pieces, and Tai was knocked back to the ground. His life points fell to 3600. “Now ‘Crimson Ninja’, attack Tai directly,” Andel cheered as he sent his monster in for the attack.

“Trap, ‘Reinforce Truth’! Now I can special summon one level 2 or lower warrior from my deck!” Tai pulled a card from his deck and slammed it on his disk, “I summon you, ‘Keyman The Key Warrior,” Suddenly, ‘Keyman’ appeared before Tai, and blocked ‘Crimson Ninja’s’, attack. ‘Keyman’s’ sword pierced through ‘Crimson Ninja’, and Andel lost 700 life points.

“End turn,” Andel gritted his teeth as Tai drew his next card. He smirked.

“You know, I have a card a lot like that one. Let me show it to you.” He pulled a card from his hand, and put it on his disk. “’Obnoxious Celtic Guard’, Arise!” He said as his Guardian fazed in. “Now, ‘Axe of Despair’, equip to my ‘Guard’!” An axe formed in his hand, and his attack shot up 1000 points. “Taste defeat, you slacker,” ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’ darted for Andel’s Guard, and his axe wasted no time cutting through him. Andel flew back onto the ground, and his life points fell to zero. He put his face in his palm and Tai walked up to him.

“You’re not even worth facing, Strife.” He turned and walked away.

“I’ll show you next time.” Andel muttered.

* * *

"Andel, come on, you can't be down about this forever."

"You don't understand, Kerra. That stuck up rich boy Tai shouldn't just be able to be like that. Or be so damn good."

The two sat on a hill overlooking a river. The sunset made the sky orange, which reflected off the water.

"I know you despise him and want to beat him with a passion," she put her hand on his shoulder, "but he got the upper hand this time."

"And every other time." Andel muttered. Kerra stood up, and threw her hands on her hips.

"Now, dammit, Andel. Stop acting so pitiful, you were one of the best duelist in our class."

"We were Slifer Reds. Your acting as if that makes me a big shot." He looked at the ground. "I'm one of the best losers." He looked up just in time to see Kerra blow her brown hair out of her face. Then she looked at him.

"Stand up, Andel."

He looked at her questioningly. "Why?"

"Just stand up." He grunted, but did as he was told. "Follow me." She said as she turned towards the water.

"Where the hell is she taking me now?" He asked himself and rubbed the back of his head. He looked up to her, and she was by the river, looking over it. He closed his eyes and shook his head, but kept walking. When he reached her, he asked.

"Ok, what's this about?"

"Come here, dammit."

He started walking towards her after he remembered not to make her mad. He walked over to her side, and looked down at the water.

"What do you see?" She asked him. He looked at her for a second, questioning her, but then he looked back at the water.

"Nothing?"

"In the reflection, idiot."

Andel looked down at the water. He saw his black spiky hair, his sunglasses resting on his nose, and his black shirt.

"I see me?"

"No you don't." He looked up at her.

"What do you mean?" He pointed at the water, " that's me."

"No its not. That's some pitiful boy that's gonna pout because he lost one duel against the best duelist in the school. And you only lose by chance." She looked at him. "And I'll prove your a good duelist. Duel me."

"Really? You wanna duel me?" He asked her.

"Yeah. Come on. We've never dueled before, it'll be fun." He thought about it and she was right, they never had dueled, in all the years they had know each other. That changed everything.

"Yeah, right here. Come on."

* * *

The two of them stood about 15 yards from each other. Duel disk on their arms, cards in hand. The water was rushing by, and at the second that the waves crashed up, the both shouted.

"Duel!"

"Ladies first," Kerra said as she drew. “I summon ‘The Fabled Cerburrel’ in attack position, and two cards face down. Your move.”

“Well that wasn’t much of a move, my draw.” Andel drew and looked down at his hand. “Okay, I summon ‘Strike Ninja’ from my hand in attack position.” He looked back at his hand. He had a good one, he had the trap card ‘Changing Destiny’ and the trap ‘Ninjutsu Art Of Decoy’. He also had his strongest monster, ‘Gilford The Lightning’. His last two cards were ‘The Warrior Returning Alive’, and ‘Attack Gainer’, a tuner monster.

“I play two cards face down. Now, ‘Strike Ninja’, attack ‘Cerburrel’.” ‘Strike Ninja’ darted toward ‘Cerburrel’, but all Kerra did was smile.

“I activate my trap, ‘Fiendish Chain’. Now your ‘Strike Ninja’ is just a lifeless monster.” Suddenly, chains extended from the trap card, and wrapped around ‘Strike Ninja’. Andel gritted his teeth.

“End turn.” He said through his teeth.

“My draw. And I summon ‘Fabled Dyf’ in attack position. And now, I tune my ‘Cerburrel’ and my ‘Dyf’ together to form,” The two monsters leaped into the sky, and ‘Cerburrel’ split into two balls of light that circled ‘Dyf’, “Fabled Ragin!” A flash of light blinded Andel for a moment, then, when it cleared, a new monster stood where two had before. It’s attack was 2300, way more than ‘Strike Ninja’. “’Ragin’, attack ‘Strike Ninja’,” She pointed at the chained ‘Ninja’, and ‘Ragin’ charged it. Andel smirked.

“Trap activate! ‘Changing Destiny’!” Two doors appeared in front of ‘Strike Ninja’, one red, one blue. “Here’s how this works. You pick a door, one has me gain life points equal to half of ‘Ragin’s’ attack, the other makes you lose life points equal to that half. But once one of the doors are open, your monster will be forced into a permanent defense position. Choose a door.” She looked between the doors, and pondered the choice for a minute. She looked up and pointed at the red door.

“I’ll lose the points.” Suddenly, the red door flung open, and dark shadows came rushing from it. They surround Kerra, and her life points dropped by 1150. She didn’t flinch at that attack, but stood as calm as a statue to the attack. ‘Ragin’ was knocked to the ground, and he got on one knee, switching to defense. The shadows circled around him, making it impossible to change position.

“End turn.”

“Draw.”

His draw was ‘Silver Ninja’, one of his best monsters. And an opening for an attack.

“I sacrifice ‘Strike Ninja’ to set a monster.” Kerra looked at him strangely, but didn’t say anything. “And that’ll do it. End turn.”

“Okay. . . I draw.” She looked at the card, and looked back up. “My drawing has been excellent this duel. I summon ‘Fabled Kushano’ in attack position, and I tune my ‘Ragin’ to it, creating my mighty ‘Fabled Valkyrus’!” ‘Kushano broke into three shining balls of light, and circled ‘Ragin’, and the same flash happened as last time. Andel looked up, and ‘Valkyrus’ stood next to Kerra, and he could see the connection between the two monsters. He also saw how she was an amazing duelist. It had been three turns and she already had a monster of that magnitude on the field. He’d have to do something, and quick, if he was going to win this one.

“Okay, now ‘Valkyrus’, attack his face down monster!” She shouted. Her fiend didn’t hesitate to her command, and he darted toward Andel’s face down ‘Silver Ninja’. The Ninja card flipped summoned, and gave Andel enough time before the attack to activate his trap.

“Trap card, ‘Ninjutsu Art of Decoy’! Now ‘Silver Ninja’ can’t be destroyed in battle this turn.” Kerra flinched back and ‘Valkyrus’ returned to her side. But Andel wasn’t done.

“Now, ‘Silver Ninja’s’ effect activates. I can special summon any ‘Ninja’ monsters from my graveyard. So ‘Strike Ninja’ comes back.” Suddenly, ‘Strike Ninja’ appeared at ‘Silver Ninja’s’ side, and bowed to him.

“I end my turn.”

Andel drew his card and looked back at his hand. He drew ‘Lightning Blade’ which would give whatever monster he equipped it with 800 attack points. Along with the ‘Gilford the Lightning’ in his hand, he would have the strongest monster, and hopefully it would be enough to win this duel.

“I sacrifice my ‘Ninjas’ to summon ‘Gilford the Lightning’.” The two ‘Ninjas’ disappeared, as was replaced by the might ‘Gilford the Lightning’. He stood tall, and he slammed his sword into the ground.

“So what? He still doesn’t stand a chance against ‘Valkyrus’,” she began to say, but Andel cut her off.

“Now I equipped him with ‘Lightning Blade’!” Andel threw the card on his disk, and the blade appeared before ‘Gilford’. He reached out and grabbed it. Lightning shot around his body, and his attack rose to 3600. “Who’s stronger now?” He boasted. “Now, attack ‘Valkyrus’!” ‘Gilford’ nodded and darted toward ‘Valkyrus’, and slashed through him with no problem at all. Kerra’s life points fell to 2250. Andel smiled at her. “Your turn.”

Kerra gritted her teeth. “My draw. I activate ‘Dark Hole’ from my hand. ‘Gilford’ is destroyed. In the middle of the field, a black hole ripped open, sucking ‘Gilford’ into it, leaving Andel’s field completely empty. “Now I summon ‘Fabled Kokkator’ in attack position. Now, attack Andel directly!” The fiendish bird sped towards Andel, and attacked him. He fell to the ground, and his life points dropped to 2300. He jumped back to his feet and looked at Kerra.

“That all you got?”

“For this turn, yeah.”

“Then I guess it’s my turn then,” Andel said as he drew. His card was ‘Cost Down’, which marked down the level of any monster in his hand by two.

“First I activate ‘The Warrior Returning Alive’ from my hand, to bring ‘Silver Ninja’ back to my hand.” The card shot out from his graveyard, and he caught it. “Next I play ‘Cost Down’, to make all the monsters in my hand lose 2 levels. Now I set one monster. I end my turn.”

He knew she wouldn’t fall for the same trick again. But if she didn’t destroy it, he would be able to flip Summon it next turn anyway. Hopefully, everything would go alright. For one more turn.

Kerra drew her card and studied her hand. “I tribute ‘Kokkator’ to summon ‘Fabled Soulkius’. That’s all for me.” She ended her turn quickly, not looking too happy about the cards she had.

Andel drew his next card, it was ‘Foolish Burial’. And for the first time, he realized why it was in his deck.

“I activate the spell card, ‘Foolish Burial’, to send ‘Crimson Ninja’ to the grave.” He did so, and then he flipped the card he had set. “I flip summon ‘Silver Ninja’, and bring back from the grave both ‘Strike Ninja’, and ‘Crimson Ninja’.” Both of the warriors joined ‘Silver’ on the field. And Andel smiled, because his plan was going great. “Now I summon ‘Attack Gainer’ from my hand.” He threw the card down on the duel disk, and the little warrior joined the other fighters on the field.
“Now, time to tune. I tune My ‘Attack Gainer’ to my ‘Silver Ninja’, and my ‘Crimson Ninja’, to equal a level 8 monster. Come to the field, ‘Stardust Dragon’!” Suddenly, the three monsters became one, and formed the shape of a dragon. It’s body was white, and it’s presence was great.

“Now ‘Attack Gainer’s’ ability activates. When he’s used for a Synchro Summon, I can choose one monster on the field to make it lose 1000 attack. And I choose ‘Soulkius’.” All of the sudden, ‘Attack Gainer’ appeared back on the field, and sprinted at ‘Soulkius’, and attacked him. ‘Soulkius’ fell to his knees, and ‘Gainer’ disappeared.

“Now, ‘Strike Ninja’, attack ‘Soulkius’!” ‘Strike’ nodded and ran at ‘Soulkius’. Before he reached him, he jumped into the air, and launched two kunai at him, piercing his chest. ‘Soulkius’ shattered from the attack.

“’Stardust Dragon’, attack Kerra directly!” The dragon tilted it’s head back, as millions of sparkling fragments formed in its mouth. Then, all at once, it snapped its head forward, launching the blast straight at Kerra. The attack engulf her, and her life points dropped to zero.

“That’s game.”

* * *

“See, Andel?”Kerra asked, “You’re not the worst duelist ever. You beat me.” The two were walking home now, as the sun dropped lower behind the horizon.

“You act as if that makes me the best duelist ever.” Andel muttered.

“What’s that suppose to mean?”Kerra jumped in front of him, giving him a dirty look. Abruptly, she glanced over his shoulder, and her hateful looked disappeared, and was replaced by a shocked one.

“So you managed to win one, did you?” The familiar, stuck up voice rang from behind him. He turned to see him. Tai Masters.

“Don’t act so high and mighty, Masters. I could beat you, too, if I could get the right cards.”

“So now you blamed your deck, huh?” He tilted his head up to looked down onto them. “Isn’t that your Father’s deck? I’m sure he wouldn’t want you bad mouthing it.”

“Shut your mouth, you don’t know anything!” Andel burst into anger, ran up, and grabbed Tai by the shirt.

“But I do see interest in it. Why don’t we duel again, Strife? But this time, with an Ante. We put our ‘Guards’ up for grabs. What do you say?”

Andel lowered his head. He pushed off of Tai, who immediately started straightening his shirt back up.

“You want my ‘Celtic Guardian’?” He questioned, fisting his hands.

“I find it interesting, don’t you? That there are two versions of the one monster. I want to know why. So yes, to answer your question, I do want your ‘Guardian’.” Andel thought for a minute, and then looked up.

“I’ll duel you. But not because I want your card, but because you talked bad about my Dad’s deck.” Tai smirked and turned around. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Tomorrow, up there.” He pointed to a tall building, towering over the city.

“On top of Masters Corp?” Andel questioned.

“Yes, it seems like a fitting place to take your card,” Tai turned around, smiling. “Be there at noon. I want to get this over with quickly.”

“Fine. I’ll meet you there.” Andel glared at Tai, as he smirked and glared back.

* * *

“Ah. So it begins.” A voice comes from a shady character who watches the conflict from atop a building across the street. His hood hides his face, but his long white hair still shows from underneath it. “Should we head back now, or wait to watch tomorrow’s confrontation?” He looks over his shoulder to see his partner, a spikey black haired boy who’s collar came up around his face, blocking his face.

“We’ll watch,” He said, walking over and looking at the group. “It’ll make for a better summary of this target.”

“Very well.” The white haired boy said. “Maybe the reveal won’t take too long. Maybe it’ll make our jobs easier.”

“I just want to watch a good duel.” The black haired boy stated, and walked away.

“Yeah, me too.” The other agreed and followed him. “And now the pinwheel is set into motion.”

* * *

End Chapter one.


Andel Strife

Tai Masters

Kerra Idol

Unknown boy, with black hair.

[ other unknown boy.

Chapter two.

Andel set in the darkness of his room, his cards scattered in front of him. The light from the covered window gave him enough light to see his cards. He glanced over all of them, not studying them, but remembering.

This was, in fact, the same deck his father had used. Andel hadn’t changed one card in it. It was given to him the night his father disappeared. The night he was given ‘Celtic Guardian’. It was as if his father knew he wouldn’t be coming back from that trip out.

His father could beat anyone with this deck. And he seemed to end every duel with ‘Celtic Guardian’. But Andel knew why he did that know.

“What’s bothering you, sir?” The spirit of the elf appeared behind Andel, shocking him a bit.

“It’s nothing,” He put it off as, “I’m just remembering how dad used this deck.”

“Ah. Your father was a great duelist, and a good man.”

“Yeah, a good man. If he were such a good man, he wouldn’t have left all of you in my care. I’m not any good at dueling.” ‘Celtic Guardian’ laid his hand on Andel’s shoulder, and smiled at him.

“You are a good Duelist, sir. But sometimes you must tamper with what’s already given to succeed. I think you will realize this soon.” Then he turned to face the direction of Masters’ Corp, as if he could see it. “You won’t lose today. He’s ‘Celtic Guard’ isn’t as strong as he believes.” His grip on Andel’s shoulder tightened, and then he lifted it.

“I have a question, ‘Celtic’. Is there a connection between the two of you? You and ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’ I mean.” Andel looked at him, and saw the emotions rush through him. Anger, sadness, frustration.

“It will all be revealed in due time, sir.”

Suddenly, Andel’s cell phone rang. He grabbed it and answered it, not even bothering to look at who was calling. Who else ever called him?

‘Hey, Kerra. . . Yeah I know what time it is. . .Okay, I’m heading out now.” He hung up. Even ‘Celtic’ could here her screaming on the other line. He smiled.

“For a young lady, she talks very. . .”

“Obnoxiously?” Andel looked up at ‘Celtic’ and smiled. The warrior laughed.

“Yes, that’s a fitting word.”

* * *

“Dammit Andel, you’re going to be late!” Kerra screamed at him once she saw him come out his front door.

“Can you please not scream for five seconds? I’m sure no one would get too upset.” He rubbed the back of his head, getting ready for the scolding from his joke.

“We have to hurry! Are you not nervous or anything at all?” she looked at him. His face flashed from its usual lazy look to determination and anger.

“No. I won’t lose today.” She gave him a questioning look. “My father could beat anyone with this deck. I’m thinking, hell, if he can, why can’t I?” He winked at her and turned around. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Wait!” She yelled out, “Just wait a second. I have something for you.” She said as she walked up to him and handed him two cards. “I got them awhile back, and I never use them. And I know that you don’t change that deck at all, but I figured, what the hell, ya know?” He looked down at the cards, and the words ‘Celtic’ had said came to mind.

Sometimes you must tamper with what’s given to succeed.

“Thanks, Kerra.” He smiled at her, “I’ll put them in there right now.” And I’ll be sure to beat him, just you watch.” He winked and gave her a thumb’s up. All she did was laugh.

“God, you’re an idiot. But maybe, just maybe, you’re enough on an idiot to beat this guy.” She smiled and joined his side. "Are you ready?" She asked him. He looked over at her for a second, then turned towards Masters Corp. And then he smirked.

"Hell yeah."

* * *

The two of them stood in the elevator as it took them to the top of the tower. Andel flipped through his deck, coming up with strategies to win this thing. When he landed on 'Celtic Guardian', he appeared behind him, his arms crossed.
"It looks like you listened to me," he said from behind. Andel nodded his head slightly, to keep Kerra from thinking he was losing his mind.

"Don't worry," he began to talk again, "I won't let you down this time."

"Ok," Andel said, and Kerra looked at him, slightly confused. Suddenly, the door opened, and they stepped outside.

Instantly, their ears were filled with cheers, and some boo's. They looked around to see stands filled with people. Not only that, but there were camera crews, too.

And Tai Master stood in the middle of it all.

Andel's attention went straight to him. His face hardened. Suddenly, 'Celtic' appeared beside Andel.

"Here he comes," he said, and Andel thought he meant Tai. Suddenly, he saw what he meant. A figure that mirrored "Celtic Guardian' appeared at Tai's side.
"What the hell?" Andel growled. He looked at 'Celtic Guardian', "what is this?"

"That is 'Obnoxious Celtic Guard'. And, my twin." He turned back to face Tai. The two spirits did look a lot alike. The only noticeable difference is the darkness in the 'Obnoxious' appearance. Then he turned his attention back to Tai.

"So this is why you want my card." He glared at him.

"How do you like the spectator's, Strife? I figured it'd make for a better match." Andel looked around, noticing all the people and cameras. "I want everyone to see your downfall."

"You jerk!" Andel growled. "I'll show you, in front of everyone here, I won't lose to you!"

“Then come on and duel me!” Tai shouted, and the crowd roared to his sides. Andel wasted no time pulling his duel disk from his bag, and it was a red flash as it activated and opened. He grabbed his deck from his side, and placed it into the Deck holder on the disk.

“I won’t waste any time beating you, Masters.”

“Good, the harder you’re trying, the easier it will be.” He calmly pulled his disk up, and drew his hand. Andel quickly drew his hand, and looked at it. Then he looked up.

“Who’s first?” He asked.

“I’ll let you go, I don’t expect you to do too much.” Andel gritted his teeth, drew another card, and looked back down. The first card was ‘Marauding Captain’, being followed by ‘Ninjistu Art of Transformation’, ‘White Ninja’, ‘Ninjustu Art of Substitution’, ‘Domino Effect’, and ‘Card Destruction’.

“First, I summon ‘Marauding Captain’, and activate his effect. I can Special Summon one level 4 or lower monster from my hand. So I summon ‘White Ninja’!” ‘Marauding Captain’ appeared in front of Andel, and he whistled. Suddenly, ‘White Ninja’ appeared at his side.

“Two cards face down, I end my turn.”

Tai drew, and looked at his hand for the first time.

“I summon ‘Dark Blade’ from my hand in attack position.” The warrior in black armor formed in front of Tai. “Attack ‘Marauding Captain’, ‘Dark Blade’!” Suddenly, the Knight darted toward the ‘Captain’, and pierced him with his blade. The monster shattered and knocked Andel was knocked down. His life dropped to 600 points, and he picked himself up.

“I end my turn with a face down.” He smiled.

“I draw,” he looked to see ‘Dodger Dragon’. “First I summon ‘Dodger Dragon’, from my hand,” he threw the card down, and the dragon appeared on the field. But before it could completely appear, Tai cut in.

“Trap activate, ‘Trap Hole’. Now your monster is destroyed.”

Andel smiled.

“’Dodger’s’ ability activates, he’s summoning cannot be negated. Your trap was wasted.” Tai’s face filled with anger.

“Now I activate ‘Card Destruction’. We send our hands to the grave, and draw the same amount of cards from our deck.” He sent his ‘Domino Effect’ to his graveyard, and drew ‘Swords of Revealing Light’.

“’Dodger Dragon’, attack ‘Dark Blade’,” The dragon attacked the warrior with flames from it’s nostrils, and it disappeared in the ember. “’White Ninja’, attack!” The ninja jumped into the air, and launched Kunai at Tai, piercing his chest, knocking him to the ground. His life fell to 2400. The crowd grew silent at the attack, but Tai arose and boosted their joy again.

“I end my turn with ‘Swords of Revealing Light’. I’m sure you know the effect.”

“Three turns with no attack, eh? Seems to me like a stalling card.” The crowd laughed at his joke, which made Andel even madder.

“Just take your move.”

“Fine, fine.” Tai drew. “I summon ‘Max Warrior’ to the field. Then, I release him to Special Summon ‘Turret Warrior’.” ‘Max Warrior’ fazed in just long enough for him to disappear, leaving his staff behind. ‘Turret Warrior’ appeared in his place, and picked the staff up. His attack jumped up to 3000.

“I end with two face downs.”

Andel drew. The card was ‘Fuhma Shuriken’, an equip spell for his ‘Ninja’ cards. His ‘White Ninja’ still wouldn’t be strong enough to beat ‘Turret Warrior’, though.

“End turn.”

“Fine, I draw. I summon ‘Axe Raider’ from my hand. I guess that will end my turn as well.”

Andel drew his next card, and to his luck, it was ‘Silver Ninja’.

“I tribute ‘White Ninja’ to summon ‘Silver Ninja’. Then, I equip him with ‘Fuhma Shuriken’ to him, raising his attack to 3000. And that’s just enough to take on your ‘Turret Warrior’. ‘Silver Ninja’, attack ‘Turret Warrior’!” The ninja attack the large monster, and it swung it’s staff at him. Both monsters shattered into pieces. Andel smiled, as the shuriken continued through ‘Turret Warrior’. They hit Tai in the chest, and his points dropped 700.

“When the monster equipped with ‘Fuhma Shuriken’ is destroyed, my opponent takes 700 damage. Now, ‘Dodger’, attack ‘Axe Raider’!” The dragon shot fire at ‘Axe Raider’, and he shattered under the heat. Tai’s life points dropped to 1500. This duel was going great for Andel. He lead with 3400 life points. “I end my turn.”

“I draw. I Special Summon ‘Cyber Dragon’ from my hand. Then I summon ‘Keyman the Key Warrior’ from my hand. Now, I activate my face down, ‘Book of Eclipse’. Now all monsters are flipped face down, and at the end of the turn, they are flipped face up, and you draw a card for each.” All the monsters flipped face down, then Tai began again. “I play a card facedown, end turn.” All three monsters flipped back up, and Andel drew. Then he drew once more, and looked at his hand. He had ‘Celtic Guardian’, ‘Last Turn’, ‘Fighting Spirit’, and ‘Strike Ninja’. ‘Swords of Revealing Light’ faded and Tai’s monsters were released.

“Okay, first I summon ‘Strike Ninja’, and I play a card face down. End turn.”

“Well that wasn’t much of a turn. I’ll liven this duel up a bit. I draw. And I activate ‘Double Summon’, and first I summon ‘Dark Resonator’ from my hand, and then I summon ‘Lesser Dragon’. Now, I tune ‘Dark Resonator’ with ‘Lesser Dragon’ to create my ‘Exploder Dragonwing’!” ‘Dark Resonator’ split into three balls of light, and wrapped around ‘Lesser Dragon’. A light flashed, and when it cleared, ‘Dragonwing’ stood in ‘Lesser’s’ place.

“Now, ‘Cyber Dragon’ attack ‘Dodger Dragon’.” ‘Cyber’ charged toward ‘Dodger’, and opened its mouth. A light shined inside, and a blast shot out, obliterating ‘Dodger’. Andel’s life dropped to 3200.

“’Dragonwing’, attack ‘Strike Ninja’.” ‘Dragonwing’ opened its mouth and blasted ‘Strike Ninja’. Suddenly, ‘Celtic’ appeared behind Andel, and spoke.

“Activate the trap, switch him with me.” Andel looked over his shoulder to question him, but when he saw his face, he agreed.

“Trap activate, ‘Ninjustu, Art of Substitution.’ Now I can switch my ‘Strike Ninja’ with a monster in my hand. I switch him with ‘Celtic Guardian’.” Tai’s face was shocked when he heard that Andel was putting out ‘Celtic’, but it was too late to hold off the attack. ‘Strike’ jumped into the air and disappeared, and ‘Celtic’ replaced him. The blast wrapped around ‘Celtic’ and Andel, and then, everything went black.

* * *
“Andel.” He heard around him. His body felt cold, and the small chills that hit his body woke him up. He raised up, and looked around. Snow fell around him, covering the ground, and his body reacted to the cold. He looked at his arm, and his duel disk was still there. Then he remembered what was happening. He jumped up, and looked around. Everyone was gone.

Suddenly, he knew where he was.

“Andel, I have something for you.”

He turned around, and his father was there.

“Dad?” He started to walk toward him, but his legs felt heavy. He finally reached him. “Dad, where have you been?” He smiled at his son, and lifted his hand. He took his finger and jabbed at his chest.

“You’re still using my deck?” He asked him, and he nodded. “Here,” He handed him a deck of cards, and smiled. “I’ve made this for you. But you have to remember, sometimes you have to tamper with what’s given. . .”

“To succeed.” Andel finished up. His father put his hand on his head and messed his hair up.

“You’ve grown strong, Andel. Don’t worry, you won’t lose this duel.”

“The duel!” He remembered quickly. “Did I lose or something?”

“No, its still happening. I just needed to give you this. I’m sorry for butting in. I’ll see you again soon.” He turned to walk away.

“Dad, wait!” Andel screamed, trying to keep his father from leaving again.

“Don’t worry, son. When I gave you ‘Celtic Guardian’, it was my way of being with you.”

“He’s right, you know.” A voice rang from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see ‘Celtic’ standing there. “The three of us are connected, as long as we’re together, nothing can tear us apart.” The three stood in silence for a few moments, and then Andel spoke up.

“I’m sorry, dad. I’ve got to go. I have a duel to win.” He looked up and gave a reassuring smile. “Thanks for the deck. I’ll be sure to tamper with it.”

“That’s my boy.” His father said as he and the world around them faded.

* * *

Suddenly, Andel was back on top of Masters Corp.

“Now ‘Keyman’, attack Andel directly!” Tai’s demanding voice brought him straight back into the duel. His field was empty, and ‘Keyman’ was about to attack him. He swung his key at Andel, and the attack knocked him down to 1200 life points.

“Now ‘Ninjustu Art of Substitution’ effect activates. ‘Strike Ninja’ returns to the field, and ‘Celtic Guardian’ returns to my hand.” The two cards traded places, and the trap was sent to the grave.

“I end my turn,” Tai smirked.

“This duel isn’t over yet, Masters,” Andel said as he drew. When he looked at the card, it was one he had never seen before. He smiled. “I’ll trust you, dad. Don’t let me down.” He whispered to himself.

“I summon ‘Celtic Archer’ from my hand!” The monster appeared on the field. He was dressed in green, and had a hood over his head. His bow was thrown over his shoulder. He turned around and gave Andel a thumbs up. ‘Celtic Guardian’ appeared behind Andel and smiled at his comrade.

“Activate his effect, and then look in your extra deck.” He said, and disappeared. Andel looked at ‘Archer’s’ effect, which allowed him to special summon one ‘Celtic’ monster from his hand. Then, he noticed ‘Archer’ was a tuner.

“This is about to get interesting. I activate ‘Archer’s’ ability, which allows me to special summon one ‘Celtic’ monster from my hand. I summon ‘Celtic Guardian’ in attack mode!” He threw the card down, and his spirit monster appeared before him. “Now I tune the two together,” He looked at his extra deck. Suddenly, a card formed over his ‘Stardust Dragon’. He smiled. “Arise, ‘Great Celtic Hero’!” ‘Celtic Guardian’ smiled as ‘Archer transformed and circled him. A flash of light blinded everyone from the evolution, but when the light cleared, only one monster remained in the place of two. His hair was shoulder length, and a headband wrapped around his forehead. He had a green cape on, and a shoulder pad on his left shoulder. His arm guards were silver, as was his belt, and his pants were brown. His shield sheathed to his right side, his sword to his left. He stood tall and strong, awaiting orders. Andel knew what to do.

“I activate his effect. I special summon ‘Celtic Guardian’ from the grave.” His friend joined the hero, and they shook hands. “And, because there’s a ‘Celtic’ monster in my grave, his other effect activates, boosting his attack by 500. That makes his attack 3200.” He smirked at the shock on Tai’s face. “Now, ‘Celtic Hero’, attack ‘Dragonwing’!” ‘Hero’ jumped into the air, unsheathing his sword, and sliced through ‘Dragonwing’. Tai’s life points fell to 700.

“End turn.” Andel smiled. He had this duel. He looked at Tai to see the shock in his face, but he was, instead, welcomed with the sound of clapping hands from his opponent.

“Good turn. However, this duel is over. I draw. And I tribute ‘Cyber Dragon’ to summon ‘Freed, the Matchless General. Next I activate the equip spells from my hand, ‘Axe of Despair’, and ‘Assault Armor’, boosting his attack to 3600. Now, destroy the ‘Hero’, ‘Freed’!” ‘Freed’ jumped at ‘Hero’, and stabbed him in the chest. He shattered into pieces, and Andel’s life fell to 800. “Now, by discarding ‘Assault Armor’, ‘Freed’ can attack twice. Kill his ‘Guardian’, ‘Freed’, and end this duel.” ‘Freed’ started towards ‘Celtic’, but suddenly, Andel remembered his trap.

“Trap card, ‘Last Turn’. Now, I select ‘Celtic Guardian’. All other monsters are returned to the hand. Now, you pick one monster from your deck and special summon it, and the two cards do battle. Whoever’s card is left standing wins the duel.” Andel put all his faith into ‘Celtic Guardian’. This was it, the end of this duel.

Abruptly, ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’ appeared behind Tai.

“Pick me, I’ll end this for us.” Tai looked at Andel, and smiled.

“It would be an interesting end, eh? Seeing who’s ‘Guard’ is stronger. Very well. I choose ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’ as my duel monster.” He moved from behind him in spirit form, to in front and as a card.

“Now, ‘Celtic’, Attack!” The two of them screamed together. The two elves launched at each other, clashing blades at the middle of the field. Andel looked down, to see he still had a facedown. It was ‘Fighting Spirit’, which would give him the advantage he needed to win. Then he looked at Tai, who had a card on the field as well. Their eyes met, and they both began to activate their cards.

“I equip ‘Celtic’ with ‘Fighting Spirit’!” they both shouted, and both faces were full of shock when they realized what had just happened. Both monsters received the attack boost, but neither gained the advantage.

“End it, ‘Guard’.”

“Come on, ‘Celtic’.”

Both duelist joined their monsters in spirit, and they both readied for the final attack. Both ‘Celtic’s’ brought their swords above their heads, and slashed at each other. When the two blades met, and explosion sparked, knocking both Andel and Tai to the ground. Smoke covered the Rooftop, and the audience wondered who was victorious.

When the smoke cleared, both duelist were laying on the ground. Each of their life points were at zero, and no monster remained.

“So it was a draw?” Kerra questioned herself.

The two got up, and looked at each other. Tai gritted his teeth, dusted his shirt off, turned around, and exited through his private elevator. Andel glared at him as the door shut, and, for the first time, Andel felt like Tai’s equal.

Out of nowhere, Kerra tackled Andel. “You did it!” She screamed.

“What did I do again?” He asked, “Get the hell off of me.”

“You won. You didn’t use the cards I gave you, but you won!”

“I didn’t win, idiot. It was a Draw.”

“Still, you didn’t lose like you usually do!” She shouted in his ear.

“Way to lift my spirit, Kerra.” He smirked. “Now let’s go home.”

* * *
The two boys sat in the back seats of the stands, watching the complete duel. When it was over, the hooded boy turned to the other.

“Roth, what should we conclude from this battle?” He asked him.

“That the spirits here are not of the ones we are to concern ourselves with, Glock.” He closed his eyes.

“He wouldn’t have sent us here without some reasoning, don’t you think?” He questioned Roth, his face showing no emotion.

“We are to investigate the spirits of the boys, and any other we may come in contact with. So far, the only thing that has stricken my interest is the new arrival to the boy’s deck, during the middle of a duel.”

“Do you think he cheated?” Glock asked. He looked at Roth, who had walked over to the side of the building.

“No. I think his ‘Celtic Guardian’ is what we’re looking for. And this other boy’s, Masters’ ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’. They have a connection, the two cards. Maybe that’s what we’re looking for. But for now, let the boys rest.

“Sounds good to me. I haven’t decided if I want to involve myself or not.”

“It doesn’t matter what you decide,” Roth glared down the building, as Andel exited, “We are just part of the bigger picture. We do what we are told, because we are only pawns.”


* * *

Tai closed the door to his room, and locked it. He unbuttoned his shirt and lay down on his bed. His emotions flooded him. He was tired. With the duel ending as it did, he had no idea if he was still the duelist he had been. Andel had never came close to beating him, and even though he hadn’t beaten him today, Tai still didn’t win.

He suddenly felt a presence in the room, and he looked up. ‘Obnoxious Celtic Guard’ stood by the window, staring over the city.

“Why did it end that way?” He asked him.

“Because,” ‘Guard’ began, “The two of us are equal. That duel was destined to happen the way it did. We were destined to become equals with ‘Celtic Guardian’ and his brat of a partner.” He spit the last words.

“Strife is not my equal.” Tai growled.

“After today, you are the only one who sees him as otherwise. Tell me, Tai, why didn’t you use ‘Synchro Change’ to summon ‘Alton’? His summoning would have assured us the victory.”

“Because, ‘Alton’ isn’t a card I’m willing to just use on some trash duelist.”

“A trash duelist who became your equal.” ‘Guard’ finished.

“He’s not my equal,” Tai snapped, “Just wait. Next time, I’ll show him who’s the better duelist. He’ll never duel again after I’m done with him.” He threw his deck case on his desk, and opened the drawers. All four were stacked high with cards, all ordered by card type, attribute, level, and strength.

“I’ll show them all.”

* * *

Andel walked home after dropping Kerra off. As he walked, he recalled all that had happened that day. He opened his deck case, and pulled it out. The card on top was ‘Great Celtic Hero’, the card that made the duel end possible. He smiled at the card and closed his eyes. He still couldn’t believe everything. Seeing his father years after he disappeared, and this new deck. It was like it was a sign that this new deck would mark the start of him as a new duelist.

He continued home, pondering everything, and ‘Celtic’ appeared in front of him, floating along with his walking pace.

“You seem happy with today’s results.” He stated.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Andel smirked, “I got a new deck with awesome cards, and I got to put Tai in his place. He knows he’s not better than me now.” He smiled, and ‘Celtic’ was glad to see it.

“That was quite the duel today, Strife.” A voice caught Andel’s attention. He looked up to see a boy, around his age, leaning against his front door. His hair was black, and was highlighted in red. His outfit was a black tee shirt with a long sleeve black shirt under it. On the stomach of the tee was an upside down red cross. He was reading a book, not even looking up at Andel.

“Umm. . Thanks, I guess.” He looked at the boy again. “Do I know you?”

“No, you have no idea who I am.” He answered quickly. “But I’d like to duel you.” Andel was shocked by the suddenness of the offer.

“I’m not sure. . .” He thought for a moment.

“Oh? Then let’s ask ‘Celtic Guardian’, and see what he thinks.” Andel’s eyes flew open, and ‘Celtic’s’ face was covered in shock.

“What are you talking about?” He tried to play it off as nothing, “He’s just a card.”

“Don’t try and fool me, Strife. I see him standing there.” He lifted a finger from the hand that wasn’t holding the book and pointed right at ‘Celtic’.

“Who are you?” ‘Celtic’ asked.

“I’m just a guy, who has a spirit of his own. And I just wanted to see how strong other Duelist with Spirit Allies are. So, answer me, Strife. Will you duel me?”

Andel looked at ‘Celtic’, and looked back at the boy.

“Are we dueling here?” He asked.

“Nah, this isn’t where I want to. There’s a park down the road, right?” Andel looked at him questioningly.

“Yes. Why the park?”

“Do they sell ice cream there?” He asked.

“I think so. What does this have to do with our duel?”

“Nothing, I just want some ice cream. Lead the way, Mr.Strife.” Andel glared at him, and then turned around.

“What’s your name anyway?” He asked as he started walking towards the park.

“Kylar Aust.”

“Nice to meet you, Kylar.” Andel said under his breath.

“You, too. Now take me to the ice cream.”

* * *

Custom cards







Introduced Characters

Andel's Father, Razon Strife

Kylar Aust