1 The Tournament

"Ugh," Daniel moaned, opening his eyes. "The fuck am I?"

He sat up and looked around. He appeared to be in another universe or something. The skies shifted between various shades of orange, and violet clouds floated above him. He was sitting on the ground, next to a large building shaped like a bishop. The ground was divided into countless black and white squares, like a chess board.

"This is weird," he thought to himself, getting to his feet.
"Welcome!" said a booming voice next to him. Daniel turned sharply and found himself face to face with a bat, fluttering at head height above the ground.
"The hell?" Daniel said.
"Welcome to the Game Master's Tournament," it said. "You have been selected to participate, but first you must win a preliminary duel."
"What?" Daniel asked, dumbfounded. Talking bats? A tournament? Game Master? Duel? Just what the hell was going on?

Without warning, the bat disappeared. In its place was a tall man with blond hair, and a duel disk strapped to his wrist.

"So, you're my opponent for the prelim?" the man asked.
"Um, I guess so," Daniel said. He couldn't take his eyes off the duel disk. Where the hell did he get one of those?
"Well, what are you waiting for?" the man asked. "Put yours on!"
"Mine?" Daniel asked, still not sure what was going on.
"Oh for the love of... over there!" the man said, pointing.

Daniel looked to see a duel disk and a back pack lying by the building. Daniel approached it awkwardly and picked up the duel disk. It was silver with red trim, and had a small screen on it which allowed him to view his life points and the cards he had in play. He strapped it to his wrist and examined the back pack. Inside of it were his decks. Some of them, anyway. Daniel had more decks than he cared to keep track of, and he was pretty sure they couldn't all fit in one back pack. He began digging through it, and noticed that there were decks there that weren't his. Why did he have them?

He kept digging around until he found his main deck. That's the one he planned to use. It was flawed, yes, but it was adaptable. He placed it into his duel disk and turned to the man.

"What's your name?" Daniel asked.
"Micheal," he replied.
"Alright," Daniel said. "What happens if one of us loses?"
"Loser is banished from the tournament, and returned to the human world," Micheal said. "Although, that might not be such a bad thing. The bat didn't tell me much about the tournament."
"Me neither," Daniel said. "So I'm guessing the tournament could be bad?"
"Likely," Micheal said. "Winning might submit one of us to being trapped in a life threatening situation."
"So what's to stop one of us from just surrendering to the other?" Daniel said.
"Pride," Micheal said. "I don't know about you, but I don't like to lose."
"Not a big fan of that either," Daniel said.
"Then let's go," Micheal said.
"Fine," Daniel replied.
"You first," Micheal said.

"I draw!" Daniel said. "I activate Polymerization! With it, I fuse Marie The Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden from my hand!"
Daniel sent his two monsters from his hand to the graveyard, and took a new monster from his extra deck.
"I fusion summon Saint Joan!" Daniel said.
A woman with short blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. She was clad in silver armor and carried a long sword. She was level 7 with 2800 attack points.
"Next, I set one monster face down," Daniel said. "Then I end my turn."

"My move!" Micheal said. "I set one trap card face down!"
Weird, Daniel thought. Normally, someone would wait til main phase 2 to set spell or trap cards. And normally, they wouldn't say whether it was a spell or trap card.
"Next, I play the continuous spell card Charybdis Vein!" Micheal said.
A large mass of swirling water appeared on Micheal's field.
"After activation, I can turn this card into a level 4 monster!" Micheal said.
His spell card moved into his monster card zone. IT was level 4, with 0 attack and defense.
"A spell monster," Daniel said. "Don't see those much."
"You haven't seen anything," Micheal said. "You see, since you have a level 7 monster out, I can target one set trap card on my field, and activate it, even if it was set this turn! I activate Embodiment Of Apophis!"
The trap card on Micheal's field morphed into a sinister creature, half man and half snake. It was level 4 with 1600 attack points.
"A trap monster," Daniel said. "Shit."
"I build the overlay network with these two level 4 monsters!" Micheal said. "With them, I xyz summon Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A creature made out of a weird gray liquid appeared. It shifted into a demonic form with large, razor edged wings and huge talons. It was rank 4 with 1800 attack and 2200 defense.
"That's weird looking," Daniel pointed out.
"Thank you, captain obvious," Micheal said. "I activate it's effect! Since It's the only monster I control, I can detach an xyz material to cut your monster's attack power in half!"
Micheal's monster shifted its form, expanding rapidly and engulfing Saint Joan. Her power dropped to 1400. Morphius split in two, with part of it remaining around Saint Joan, and the rest of it returned to its normal form, and expanded to its normal size.
"Damn," Daniel said. "Not good!"
"Oh, I'm not finished yet," Micheal said. "Since the overlay I detached was a spell or trap card, I can dish out damage equal to the attack power your monster lost!"
Morphius stretched out one of its liquid arms, striking Daniel so hard he hit the ground.
"Ouch!" Daniel exclaimed. "The damage is freaking real!"
Not good. If he entered the tournament, he'd be subjecting himself to even more of that pain. Maybe forfeiting would be a better option.
"Are you calling it quits?" Micheal asked.
Daniel got back to his feet. He was determined to keep going.
"Like hell!" Daniel said. "I don't back down from a fight, even if I know I'll get hurt."
"Heh, that's the spirit!" Micheal said.
"Give me everything you've got!" Daniel said.
"You asked for it!" Micheal said. "Morphius, attack his Saint Joan!"
Micheal's monster charged, striking Saint Joan. She vanished from Daniel's field, and he lost another 400 life points. He was down to 6200.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said. "You're up."

Daniel hesitated for a moment before drawing. Liquid Soul Morphius was a Water attribute monster. The monster Daniel had set face down could only effect dark monsters. He'd need to draw something good to beat it.
"I draw!" Daniel exclaimed.
He glanced quickly at his new card and grinned. Exactly what he needed.
"First, I activate the effect of Marie The Fallen One from my graveyard!" Daniel said. "During each of my standby phases, I gain 200 life points!"
Daniel's life rose to 6400.
"Then I equip your monster with the spell card Scroll Of Bewitchment!" Daniel said. "With this card, I can change your monster's attribute to Dark!"
"Wha- why?" Micheal said.
"So that I can do this!" Daniel said. "I flip summon Dharc, The Dark Charmer!"
A woman in brown robes with a staff appeared. She was level 3 with 500 attack points.
"Thanks to her flip effect, I can gain control of one of your Dark monsters!" Daniel said. "So I'll be taking your Liquid Soul!"
Morphius moved to Daniel's field, under Dharc's control.
"Next, by tributing Dharc The Dark Charmer and another Dark monster, I can special summon Familiar possessed Dharc from my deck!"
Dharc and Morphius disappeared, and an advanced version of Dharc appeared on Daniel's field, with 1850 attack points.
"Damn it!" Micheal said. "Should've known you were planning to use a Charmer card."
"She's not the only card I'm using!" Daniel said. "Since I summoned Dharc in this way, I can add a level 4 Light spellcaster from my deck to my hand. I chose Neo The Magic Swordsman, and then I'll summon him to the field!"
A swordsman with shoulder length blond hair appeared on Daniel's field. He had 1700 attack points.
"Battle time!" Daniel said. "I'll have Neo attack you directly!"
Neo rushed forward, slicing Micheal with his sword. Micheal dropped down to his knees as his life points dropped to 6300.
"You okay?" Daniel asked.
"I'm fine," Micheal said, getting back to his feet. "Keep going."
"Okay," Daniel said. "I attack you directly with Familiar Possessed Dharc!"
"I activate the trap card Athens Pillar!" Micheal said. "This card card be activated if my opponent attacks while their life points are lower than mine!"
Shit. If Daniel hadn't used Marie's effect earlier, that card wouldn't be able to work.
"Now, I can summon Athens Pillar in defense position!" Micheal said.
A large pillar ppeared on his field, with 800 defense points.
"I continue my attack!" Daniel said. "Dharc can deal piercing damage, so you'll still lose life points!"
"I know," Micheal said. "But Athens Pillar can't be destroyed this turn!"
Micheal took 1050 points of damage, bringing him down to 5250.
"Now I'll move to main phase 2!" Daniel said. "I build the overlay network with these 2 level 4 monsters to xyz summon Number 39 Utopia!"
A large golden soldier with 2500 attack points appeared on Daniel's field.
"Now I end my turn," Daniel said.

"You're good," Micheal said, drawing. "Now let's find out how good. I activate the effect of Scylla Screech!"
A ghostly dragon with six heads appeared, screeching oudly.
"Since I control a trap card treated as a monster, I can special summon this card as a monster!" Micheal said. "However, I can't activate any more spell or trap cards this turn."
Scylla Screech was level 4 with 1000 attack and 0 defense.
"Now, I overlay my level 4 Athens Pillar and level 4 Scylla Screech to xyz summon another Liquid Soul Morphius!"
A familiar sight unfolded as a second copy of Morphius appeared on Micheal's field.
"Now, I use my monster's effect!" Micheal said. "By using an overlay unit, your monster's attack points are cut in half!"
Utopia's power dropped to 1250 as it was engulfed in a piece of Morphius.
"And next, you receive the same amount of damage!" Micheal exclaimed.
Morphius struck out, reducing Daniel's life points to 5150.
"Now, I attack with Morphius!" Micheal said.
"I use Utopia's effect!" Daniel said. "By detaching an overlay unit, your attack is negated!"
"Yes, it is," Micheal said. "But now Utopia only has one overlay unit left. That won't last you very long."
"I'm aware of that," Daniel said.
"I set a card and end my turn," Micheal said.

"I draw!" Daniel said. "And then I'll use Marie's effect to gain 200 life points."
Daniel's life rose to 5350.
"Next, I activate the spell card Hand Destruction!" Daniel said. "Now we both discard 2 cards and draw 2 cards!"
Daniel and Micheal both discarded 2 cards from their hands and drew two more cards.
"Got it!" Daniel said, looking at the cards he had drawn. "I activate Rank-Up Magic Barian's Force!"
"Shit!" Micheal said. "Now, I can rank up Utopia to summon Chaos Number 39 Utopia Ray V!"
Utopi transformed, developing a black and red color scheme. Its attack power increased to 2600.
"Now, I get to take one of your monster's overlay units and attach it to Utopia Ray V!" Daniel said.
The last overlay unit attached to Morphius was absorbed by Utopia Ray V.
"Now, I detach an overlay unit from Utopia Ray V to destroy your monster and deal you damage equal to its attack power!" Daniel said.
There was a flash of red light as Utopia swung its sword, and Morphius was consumed in a raging inferno. Micheal's monster was destroyed, and his life points dropped to 3450.
"I activate the trap card Ammit Flare!" Micheal said. "When I take effect damage, I can special summon this card as a monster with attack power equal to the damage I took!"
A flaming creature with the head of an alligator, the frontside of a lion, and the backside of a hippo appeared. It was level 4 with 1800 attack points.
"In that case, I'll have Utopia attack him!" Daniel said.
Utopia charged at Ammit Flare, dealing 800 damage to Micheal, reducing him to 2650.
"Ammit Flare can't be destroyed in battle this turn," Micheal said.
"In that case, I set a card and end my turn," Daniel said.

"My move," Micheal said. "I activate the spell card Continuous Double! Since I control a trap monster, this card lets me add a continuous trap card from my graveyard to my hand. Not only that, but I get to activate it this turn without having to set it."
"OH crap," Daniel said. "I already know where this is going."
"I chose Embodiment Of Apophis!" Micheal said. "And then I summon it to the field!"
The snake man reappeared on Micheal's field. He now had out 2 level 4 trap monsters.
"Now, I activate the spell card Ultimate Overlay!" Micheal said. "Now, if I xyz summon with these 2 monsters this turn, I can attach this card to my new monster as an xyz material and increase its attack points by 200 times its rank. Now, I build the overlay network with Apophis and Ammit in order to xyz summon my thrd and final Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Morphius appeared yet again, only this time, Ultimate Overlay attached to it as a third overlay unit. Not only that, but as a rank 4 monster, Morphius gained 800 attack points, bringing it up to 2600.
"Now, I use Morphius's special ability!" Micheal said. "By detaching an overlay unit, Utopia Ray V loses half of his attack power, and you take the same amount as damage!"
Utopia Ray V's attack power was reduced to 1300, and Daniel's life points dropped to 4050.
"Now, attack his monster and destroy it!" Micheal said.
Morphius destroyed Utopia, dealing Daniel another 1300 damage. Daniel's life points were now at 2750.
"I use Utopia Ray V's effect," Daniel said. "Now, I can return Utopia to my extra deck."
"I have to say, you're holding up pretty well," Micheal said. "I have to respect a man who takes a beating as well as you do."
"Thanks," Daniel said. "I respect you too."
"Is that so?" Micheal said.
"Yeah," Daniel replied. "And that's exactly why I have to beat you."
"Excuse me?" Micheal asked.
"You've noticed it, right?" Daniel asked. "The damage is real here. If I let you win, you'll have to go through these painful duels over and over again. I'm not gonna let that be on my conscious."
"So, you wanna win so that you can suffer in my place without having to feel guilty, huh?" Micheal said. "Funny. That's the same reason I wanna beat you."
"Is that so?" Daniel said.
"Yeah," Micheal said. "Now, if you're really serious about that, then make your next turn count! Because if you don't, I'll crush you on mine!"
"Sure thing!" Daniel said.
"I end my turn!" Micheal said.

"I draw!" Daniel said. "Then Marie's effect kicks in, increasing my life points by 200!"
Daniel's life rose to 2950.
"Now, I use my face down card, Pot Of Avarice!" Daniel said. "Now, I return Neo The Magic Swordsman, The Forgiving Maiden, Dharc The Dark Charmer, Familiar Possessed Dharc, and Saint Joan to my deck and extra deck. Then, I can draw 2 cards!"
Everything was ready. He had all the cards he needed.
"I play the spell card Dark Magic Curtain!" Daniel said. "At the cost of half my life points, I can special summon Dark Magician straight from my deck!"
Daniel's life points dropped to 1475, and a spellcaster appeared before him. It was level 7 with 2500 attack and 2100 defense.
"Next, I activate the spell card Malevolent Nuzzler!" Daniel said. "This equip spell increases Dark Magician's attack power by 700!"
"I see," Micheal said. "Your monster has 3200 attack points now. Strong enough to take Morphius down."
"I know," Daniel said. "But I still have one more card to play. I use Riryoku!"
A smile spread across Micheal's face.
"So that's it, huh?" he asked. "You really are gonna beat me."
"Due to Riryoku's effect, Liquid Soul Morphius will lose half of its attack points, and Dark Magician will gain the same amount!"
Liquid Soul Morphius had its attack points reduced to 1300, while Dark Magician rose to 4500.
"Now this is what I call a duel!" Micheal said excitedly. "Bring it on!"
"Dark Magician!" Daniel ordered. "Attack Liquid Soul Morphius!"
Dark Magician raised his scepter, and dark purple light shot through Morphius, destroying it and reducing Micheal's life points to zero.

"Not half bad," Micheal said. "Hey, if you live through ths tournament, we should do this again."
"Sure thing," Daniel said.
"Good luck," Micheal said, just before fading away.
"Looks like I'm finished with the prelims," Daniel said. "Now, what's next?"
"The rest of the tournament, of course," said the bat, flying down in front of Daniel.
"Oh great, you're back," Daniel said. "The fuck do you want?"
"I won't take too much of your time," the bat said. "I just need to explain a few quick rules."