Note: As I am now back in school, and thus have no internet for my personal use, opportunities to upload are scarce. Most of the story is written, but it still may be awhile between chapters, something I hoped to avoid. Enjoy this for the time being. I hope to have another for you soon.

Hello again. This chapter contains many cards used in the Anime and Manga, as well as cards unreleased in the English game, which have not been released. Such is the nature of the deck theme I suppose.

The Phantom Dragon cards used in this chapter once had very credible information that they were going to be released, and their stats were released on several web-sites. They unfortunately proved to be a hoax (which is why they are so vaguely described) but I did not know this when I outlined the chapter.

Some forums still have the information on them if you are curious.

This chapter has some rough content, and a character with a rather tragic back-story. Necessary I’m afraid, and it makes the character more relatable.

On one last note, last chapter I reminded people that rulings on cards may not be followed to the letter. I know most, if not all of the flaws in this chapter, so please don’t rub it in by pointing them out yourself.

I’m sure you all want the plot to get rolling, so here we go

Chapter Two: Frozen with Fear

Isabelle, now seven years old, positioned herself in the most private corner she could find. The little girl had so many conflicting feelings about her brother. At some times, he could be the most caring and understanding person in the world to her, even if he did mostly keep to himself.

When it came to their parents though, it was a different story. In her life, she had never truly seen Peter embracing their affections. Sometimes, like now, it was an active verbal war.

“I told you, I’m not interested!” the Wheeler teen repeated, even though he hadn’t been asked if he was.

Mai bit back a similar shout, and proceeded to take a deep breath. How a casual mention of the conversation at dinner the previous night half-an-hour ago had degenerated to this, she didn’t have the patience to figure out.

Joey, once again calmly repeated to his boy the point he was trying to get across. “And I told you, you don’t have to duel anyone. I only said we’re planning to go to this thing because we don’t see Duke and Serenity very often, and this school project is a big deal to them.”

Peter countered with a venomous glare. “Why is there never anything in your life except Duel Monsters Dad? I’ve grown up with it on every commercial. I see kids get cards for every birthday. Well finally it’s begun to die, and I can put it all behind me. It almost cost you your daughter.”

“It almost took my life and soul on more then one occasion!” Isabelle heard her father shout back. “But for the love of everything, it’s a card game Peter! That sick bastard in the sewer was responsible and you know it!”

“LIAR!” Peter shouted in more of a screech before walking out the door without even bothering to slam it.

Isabelle crept back into the room before hugging her mother in comfort. Looks of worry were quietly exchanged.

“You want me to go after him?” Joey asked exasperated, although he thought he already knew the answer.

“It won’t do any more then the other times,” Mai answered, though she clearly didn’t like the fact. Peter wandering around aimlessly was not a common occurrence, but certainly not a rare one. “I just wish there was a way to get him back doing something for fun. He spent a little time on that electric guitar, but that’s it.”

“Don’t forget the D.D.R. phase,” Joey reminded. “I don’t get it, I mean for a while he still loved the game.”

Mai wanted to continue the conversation, but not within earshot of the little girl, comfortably resting her head on her lap with her eyes closed. Mai knew what had changed. Isabelle had gotten older, and Peter had discovered just how much he would have missed had he failed.

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Peter felt the coins in his pocket, making sure he had enough for two phone calls. Lost in thought, he punched the number into a pay phone that he had long since memorized. The phone rang twice before he heard the voice on the other side.

“Moshi Moshi,” answered the voice on the other side. Peter was relieved that the person he wanted to talk to had answered. He wasn’t sure if he could have asked another person to pass the phone.

“Taishi, it’s Peter. I hate to invite myself over like this, but do you have time to talk?”

“I just saw you last night,” the girl answered, “If it’s important, I can talk to you, but to tell you the truth, I feel like I’m hanging around you too much.”

“It’s important, please,” Peter begged.

The voice on the other side paused, obviously sensing that the meeting would bring her mood down, and her day likely wouldn’t recover.

“All right,” she finally answered. “You sound like you need someone to talk to, but Peter, I can’t take on all of your problems. You’re lucky I’m not busy today.”

“Understood, thank you,” Peter smiled. “I’ll be there, and we can go for a walk ok?” No answer came. Taishi had already hung up the phone.

Sighing, Peter thought of Derik as he fiddled with his other coin. Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialed another familiar number.

“Hello?”

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Taishi Chisaioh was Peter Wheeler’s best friend, and in fact, one of his only. The circumstances of their meeting were unusual.

They had met in a child support group. Peter’s parents had signed his up a few months after Battle City. It was all too obvious that Peter was having difficulty being responsible for the death of that man in the sewer.

Taishi was the last to share at that first meeting. She hadn’t said much, but over the course of the meetings, he managed to piece the story together.

Taishi was the product of a one-night-stand, raised by a mother that was far too young to be responsible for a baby. Her mother’s actions were never exactly inhibited.

Taishi’s mother was rarely in a place to pull things together, and struggled to make ends meet even working two jobs.

Eventually she began selling herself, and later her daughter for money. Taishi was barely able to get the words out through tears as she told the group how her drunk mother watched her being used by a stranger, with two others waiting outside the door.

Desperate to change her situation, Taishi raided the garbage bins of every card shop nearby, making a Duel Monsters deck out of the cheap throwaways, sometimes even selling the thrown out cards back to the shop they had come from, making any money she could.

Eventually, Taishi was put in foster care, and her mother sent to rehabilitation, but not before the decisions had dramatically changed her life. Taishi was HIV positive.

Peter got through his story quickly, and Taishi, trained to listen through the support groups, let him finish his story. In fact, she didn’t say her first word of the conversation until he had finished.

“I think you should go,” her quiet voice rang with a finality that meant she wasn’t going to change her mind. “I’m not asking you to duel, but I want you to be there… to watch me.”

“You?” Peter repeated. It was meant as a question, but it came off more as a, “you’re not important enough for me to pay attention to.” He didn’t look back to her, but Taishi pressed on.

“This is my chance to get out and do something, be somewhere. It’s an opportunity that I’m going to take. Just be there in a few days ok? See if that friend of yours in going to show up. You’ve mentioned him, but I’ve never met him.”

The fact that Derik was now the focus of the conversation threw Peter for a loop. He had been so eager to talk and vent to his old friend, he hadn’t thought of the possibility to meat face to face. He tried his best smile, his eyes scanning Taishi’s hair again before forcing himself to focus on her green eyes for a moment. It was times like this he wondered why he wasn’t dating her.

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The conversation hadn’t lasted long after that. Peter was so focused on getting out his own thoughts; he really didn’t take in much else.

The next few days were pretty much a blur. The day the entrance ceremony arrived, he didn’t even remember what day it was.

Peter made sure he had his personal game system along, as well as the most challenging game he owned. His mind was lost in a maelstrom of thought, and his face was constantly tight, though he did find Taishi and wish her good luck. He even helped her secure her Duel Disk to her arm.

After his family had made it to the upper decks, he found a plastic chair to lose himself in. Peter drowned out most of the conversation, only catching bits and pieces.

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“I have to give it to you Kaiba,” Joey stated impressed, “You certainly know how to pick the spots.”

The windows overlooked a massive room, about the size of two or three gymnasiums. So large in fact, that there were four sets of sliding fire doors to contain any blaze that erupted. Five dueling stations were set up with various staff members. Kaiba couldn’t help but feel disappointed, only about a hundred students even showed up.

“Yes,” the man’s familiar gruff voice rang with obvious disappointment. “My best duelist had a schedule conflict. I actually hired him because he was so close to starting some kind of duel dojo, and I couldn’t have the competition. These are bottom tier of my staff, though they’re still good enough to weed out the dropouts, the Italian in particular.”

“Is that a man?” asked an honestly unsure Mai.

“Excuse me,” rang a voice in clear English, “am I interrupting anything?” Peter looked up from his game in surprise.

Duke took a moment to compose himself. “Guys, this is Maikeru Itai, the most notable dueling name in America.”

At that, Peter took the opportunity to pause his game. To him he didn’t look like an American champion; his face was obviously of Asian ancestry, as was his name. His hair was neatly combed, and he wore quite casual clothes. He seemed almost overwhelmed and nervous to be here.

Mai and Joey both wondered what it was about this guy that made Duke and Kaiba so extremely nervous.

“No,” Kaiba replied amused, you’re just in time. We’ll get your exhibition match under way as soo…”

Kaiba was cut off as water began to rain from the sprinklers overhead. On the floor downstairs, screams of surprise were heard as water poured onto the floor. The fire doors activated immediately, closing the room into five small strips. Security shielding also covered the window in the box, blocking the view within seconds.

“What’s going on?” Duke sputtered.

“I don’t know,” Kaiba replied calmly, but firmly, switching on an intercom installed in a desk. “Find the joker, and get me a report of what’s going on down there. Someone’s just made a mistake.”

“It’s no good,” Mai observed, “the light’s not turning on.”

“Well, at least we have a view of the action,” Maikeru noted, trying to keep calm. “We have a video feed of someone dueling.”

Peter looked up at the video screen for a moment. His mother spoke his thought out loud.

“It’s Taishi.”

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Taishi was just about ready to duel when the sprinklers had been turned on overhead. Her opponent was wearing a stunning blue, complete with elbow length rubber gloves, and a mask covering half her face.

“Attention Duelist,” she smiled sweetly, introducing herself. “I go by the name Skadi. Shame that this happened just now isn’t it? We can continue dueling if you wish, there’s nothing better to do.”

Taishi looked, noting that the retractable walls had completely shut her in with her opponent. Not seeing any reason to be bored, she agreed. This would still be an entrance exam anyway.

“I accept. My name is Taishi Chisaioh, by the way. Do you mind if I go first?” she inquired, drawing her opening hand.

“Not at all,” the woman in blue responded, and the duel was underway.

Taishi began, thankful that the Duel Disks were manufactured with being caught in the rain in mind. The inexperienced duelist prayed that her cards would not be warped beyond repair.

Well, this one is no good in the early game anyway, Taishi observed, planning a combo for later. “I set one monster in defense mode, and set another two cards facedown.” True to her word, the facedown cards appeared in holographic form, regardless of the damp room.

The woman in blue drew her hand up to six, and even behind her mask, she was obviously displeased at what she saw. “I also set a monster in defense mode,” she stated. Unknown to Taishi it was the only one she had.

Lovely, the black haired girl complained, my perfect chance to get an early lead, and she has to set a monster in defense.

“I also set one hidden card,” the opponent finished, “and end my turn.”

“This is going nowhere,” Taishi observed, tense about the fact that the match could take awhile in such uncomfortable conditions. She drew another card into her hand, and her face tightened in frustration. “Go,” she relented. The word was more spat then spoken.

The woman in blue drew her next card, thankful for the new insurance if things didn’t go her way.

“I summon Blizzard Dragon to deal with your defender.”

Taishi squinted with curiosity as well as suspicion. “What the heck is a Blizzard Dragon?”

Apparently Blizzard Dragon was a rather young looking blue dragon with a cream colored belly. Other then the leathery bat-like wings attached to the creature’s forearms, the creature was perfectly smooth, giving it a shiny slick appearance. The monster’s red stony eyes stood out against the creature’s squat face. (1800/1000)

Taishi was tempted to spare the monster, just because she hadn’t seen it before, but strategy won over fascination, and she triggered her facedown trap.

“Well, I hope this works,” Taishi muttered, cautious of the fact that a new monster could easily have an immunity she didn’t know about. “I activate Torrential Tribute. Since you summoned a new monster, both our fields are wiped clean.”

“I know what it does Miss Chisaioh. Remember I am far from a beginner.” The woman watched closely, wishing she had flipped up her Nightmare Penguin face-up first, but how was she to know she would never get the chance? On Taishi’s field, the monster’s identity was not clear. It just seemed to be a mass of large bones in a purple shroud.

Taishi shrugged. “It’s just common courtesy in this game to keep the opponent informed. Remember, you can’t summon another monster this turn, so I’ll…”

“Just because I don’t have a monster doesn’t mean I’m done,” the woman reminded calmly. “I happen to have a pet peeve for impatience.”

Taishi tensed, a bit embarrassed. “I’m sorry, that was my mistake. Most people really can’t do anything else.”

“It’s all right,” the blue clothed opponent reassured with genuine politeness, as she took another card from her hand. “I activate Ice Age Panic.” The card rose, revealing a giant beam of blue light bursting into the sky from a frozen wasteland.

“Another one I don’t know,” Taishi sighed. “Then again, I’ve only dueled the same three people every tournament. Fiends, Zombies, and Amazons I know, but would you mind filling me in?”

“Of course,” returned the woman with a friendly smile. “You mentioned Zombies, so I assume you know about Call of the Mummy?”

“That I do know,” Taishi answered, longing to know more.

Skadi nodded. “This card isn’t continuous, but it’s similar. When I have no monsters on my side of the field, I can Special Summon an EARTH attribute monster from my deck to the field.”

Taishi swallowed a bit as she took in the information. The young woman was slightly surprised by the choice of monster that burst from the floor in a shower of holographic ice.

The monster was obviously feminine, the skintight orchid colored outfit made that perfectly clear. Some unusual characteristics included the complete lack of hair, a mask covering most of the figure’s face, a large gold hoop earring, a section of pleated skirt, and large elegant blades on the monster’s feet and arms. (1400/1500)

Blade Skater Taishi recognized. It was commonplace in the trash she constructed her deck from. She never quite understood if her designer had run out of time to finish her outfit, or if she was supposed to look that way.

“Interesting choice,” Taishi noted, “but why that one? If you could summon any EARTH monster, then why not pick a powerhouse?”

“Truth be told, I don’t play many EARTH monsters,” Skadi confessed. “But when they come from the deck, it doesn’t matter how many I have when Ice Age Panic searches them out for me. Besides, since Blade Skater is a Warrior type monster, I can protect her from another trap by activating Snowfall Sword.”

Taking the place where Ice Age Panic had previously been, a continuous Magic card bearing the picture of a bulky curved blade bearing a kanji symbol settled onto the field.

“As long as I have a Warrior on the field, any targeting Magic and Trap effects against Warrior type monsters are negated. So now that the way is paved, Blade Skater will attack your life points directly with Accel Slicer.”

Taishi braced herself for the attack. The hologram glided over with grace and beauty, leaving a dazzling trail of sparkles in her wake. She then went into a spin that would have made Olympic judges proud. That is, if Taishi would have been far enough away to avoid them making contact.

As Taishi’s life points dropped to 6600, the girl then felt a jolt to her right arm, causing the limb to go numb. Half the wind in her lungs left her, and her eyes widened in surprise, as she caught on to her situation.

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“Oh my God,” Duke whispered, seeing the footage. Kaiba’s skin paled to a shade not unlike concrete.

“What’s the matter?” Maikeru asked confused.

Mai and Joey leaned closer to the screen as Kaiba pointed to the image. A pinch of distaste crossed his face when he realized he couldn’t simply pause and enhance the image. His finger revealed a loose black wire on the underside of Taushi’s Duel Disk.

“It’s the safety,” Duke added grimly. “The physical sensations of taking damage are caused by filtering electrical impulses into the nerves of the wearer’s arm. Obviously we have a computer that reads the type and severity of damage to stimulate the right nerves. The link to that computer’s been cut.”

Peter looked up from his game, losing his first life, causing a tragic bar of music to play.

“Those batteries almost last forever! “Joey exclaimed as Mai let out a small gasp.

“The batteries also power the holograms,” Kaiba added, “and we all know what kind of power is behind those. I can’t contact the staff from here, I only hope that they get that door open in time.”

He turned with a hopelessness that no one in the room had ever seen since Kaiba had lost to Pegasus himself. “I may enjoy pushing people’s limits, but I will not see that girl being reported dead on tonight’s news.”

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Skadi ended her turn with a hand of two, and a sinking feeling started to take hold in Taishi’s heart. She now knew the reason behind Skadi’s rubber gloves and boots. The situation she was in was no accident. It was planned, and Skadi was far more dangerous then she let on. Deciding that calling her out would be the worst thing she could do, Taishi decided to continue the game as if nothing was wrong. It wasn’t as if she could get out of the room anyway. Taishi would just have to keep a closer eye on her opponent.

“Is something wrong?” Skadi inquired in a voice so gentle few would believe it false.

“No, nothing,” Taishi responded, taking a bit too much time to be believable. Skadi didn’t appear to notice.

Well, this will help at least, “I activate Emergency Provisions, sacrificing my facedown card to gain one thousand life points.”

The facedown card in question became a large Saltine cracker, which crumbled into a small wicker basket previously not in play.

As Taishi felt her life points rise to 7600, the top of the wicker basket flew off to reveal something that was definitely not cracker crumbs. That was all Skadi could tell however, as the offensive party vanished before Skadi could get a good look.

“I didn’t quite get that, what just happened?”

“Oh, forgive my friends’ polite intrusion, they always just seem to show up,” Taishi answered, showing a full hand of what was now seven cards. “The card I sacrificed was Ojamagic. When it’s sent to the Graveyard, Ojama Green, Ojama Yellow, and Ojama Black are pulled from my deck to my hand.”

Taishi always seemed to be in a good mood whenever she used the Ojamas. They never failed to make her laugh. Taishi almost forgot the purpose in her move was to restore her life points. While it didn’t do much to stop the throbbing in her arm, her spirits were better off then before.

“Now I set another monster in defense mode,” Taishi confirmed, “and another card facedown to end my turn.”

Skadi drew up to three, a bit shorter then Taishi’s five, but took the circumstances in stride.

“I summon Cyber Valkyrie in attack mode.”

Skadi’s newest monster was again a woman, dressed in slightly futuristic blue clothing, including a pleated skirt. The outfit was arctic blue, and was accentuated with metal wristbands and a visor over her eyes, bringing out her snow white hair. (1300/1500)

Skadi sent back a friendly smile, causing Taishi to try not to look any different then she had been. “She’s a Warrior too, just to let you know.” The woman in blue addressed, making Taishi once again take Snowfall Sword into account.

“Now as an enhancement,” Skadi began, revealing a card with a transparent blade surrounded by a spiral of water. At the top of the column, the water took a form reminiscent of the face of an emperor penguin, “this is a card called Penguin Sword. It’s the WATER version of Salamandra, or Shine Castle, raising the attack power of Cyber Valkyrie by seven hundred points.”

Taishi kept surprisingly calm throughout the whole process, even as the blue warrior gave the clear weapon a few test swings, leaving a clear ring in the air.

“Now I send Cyber Valkyrie to attack your facedown monster,” Skadi explained, causing her newest monster to begin to form an orb of energy in her left hand while keeping the sword at ready in her right.

Taishi responded coolly, activating a face-down card on her Disk. “Well, this combo should prove I can handle being a Duelist Academy student. I activate DNA Surgery.”

The Trap card lifted, and Skadi’s eyes narrowed considerably behind her mask. She didn’t know what the young woman was up to, but she knew she was about to be in trouble.

“Insects or Machines?” Skadi asked, the politeness in her voice taking a hit.

Taishi giggled. “Neither. I always call either Fairies or Fiends. This time it’s the latter.”

Skadi expected the change in her monsters to be a dramatic restructuring until they were barely recognizable. In a moment she wished that it was the case.

Blade Skater doubled over backwards and began crab walking on her pointed blades. Her eyes went white, and the mask that covered her mouth became stained dark red.

Cyber Valkyrie’s neck snapped audibly, and she soon faced Taishi with her chin aligned with her spine. Green slime began to dribble from the monster’s mouth.

Taishi grimaced as she felt her stomach give a slight lurch. This was one of her most effective strategies, but the tabletop duels she was used to were far less graphic.

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Outside the barricaded room, workers were already trying to get through to Taishi’s prison, and having very little luck.

“Damn,” one of them cursed, exasperated. “Some kind of water activated glue. It’s keeping the door shut. We’re going to have to try and get through the darn wall.”

One of the other guests watched carefully, trying to think of a way out of the situation.

He ran his fingers through his dark hair in thought, pushing one of the yellow bangs away from his eyes.

“Excuse me,” he addressed, though not catching anyone’s attention.

“There’s no way in,” one of the worker’s replied. “We don’t have any explosives or blowtorches in here to get through a firewall.”

“Excuse me,” the young man repeated, not having much better luck.

I bet my dad never had this type of problem, he sighed to himself, I bet the people in there are fine. I just wish they’d turn down the air conditioning. It was beyond him why anyone would turn the cooling systems on high when everyone was already wet and cold to begin with.

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