Yu-Gi-Oh: Tilting the Balance
Reply With QuoteThe Monster Island Tournament was a year ago. I can’t remember who won… probably one of those three kids. When you lose a tournament, the winner’s identity no longer matters to you.
My own life resumed its usual hyperactive pace, much to my regret. In case you haven’t noticed, I prefer a slower-paced life. And I finally got it about eight months ago.
So, here I am, in a place I love, doing a job I love. My life has finally settled down.
This is not going to last, but I can pretend.
Chapter One: His Life as a…
Augusta, Maine is one of the quieter state capitols in the United States of America. Even the city’s own website doesn’t have a lot to say about it.
This was why Gerald Laxina liked living there. He preferred quiet.
One month after the Monster Island Tournament, his family had packed up and moved once more, as his parents were reassigned to another job. In Augusta, they had settled as lightly as usual… but Gerald had dug in.
On his first week in town, while wandering, he’d found a bookstore named Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. As the name implied, it had a special emphasis on Duel Monsters, but there was plenty of other information to be found. And there was a Help Wanted sign in the window.
Before the day was out, he had a job.
Four months later, his parents were reassigned once more, but this time Gerald stayed behind. He moved into an apartment just down the street from the bookstore, and for eight months afterward he’d held down the job at Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies. It was a quiet life, the kind he’d wanted for ages.
Of course, his life wasn’t all book sales and sleeping. He still had hobbies.
He was the State Duel Monsters Champion of Maine now, too.
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At 7:00 A.M., the alarm clock in Gerald’s bedroom went off. For the seventieth time in as many mornings, he hit the snooze button.
Five minutes later, it went off again. This time, for the first time in ages, he got up instead of hitting the snooze button again. Sighing, he took a pen and checked one column on a piece of paper next to the alarm clock – the column marked “Restless Sleep”.
Moving now to his closet, Gerald opened it and looked over the options. All but two of his shirts were gray. “I need better taste,” he muttered as he took today’s outfit off the hangers.
Breakfast was, as usual, a subdued affair. Between bites out of his bagel, Gerald carefully studied his latest addition to his collection of bonsai trees. He spent nearly a half hour carefully determining which ways to make it grow.
Finally, he lifted the scissors and made two cuts. After another moment, he smiled.
Once that was done, Gerald turned his eyes to the clock. “Time’s up,” he said to no one in particular (there wasn’t anyone there anyway). “Best be off to work.”
He didn’t rush out the door – Gerald Laxina never did anything fast. It was more of a slide.
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Fruits of Kozaky’s Studies was a fairly small store, compared to most of the bookstores Gerald had seen. There was a decent sketch of the demonic researcher on the front window, just under the name of the store.
As usual, Gerald had taken his time getting to the store – he arrived five minutes before opening, which, given that he had the keys, was cutting it a bit close. He unlocked, turned the lights on, and slid behind the counter in short order.
Five minutes later, the store was open and he had dozed off behind the register. As the owner was out for the week at a trade show, nobody was there to complain. In addition to that, he’d put out a bell on the counter next to a sign saying, “If the clerk is asleep, hit the bell”.
And yet, somehow, he’d managed to keep the job for eight months now.
Half an hour later, someone hit the bell. As expected, Gerald lifted his head, blinking repeatedly. “How may I help you?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes with one hand.
“For starters, you can buy some No-Doz,” the bell’s ringer replied.
The clerk spun on his chair, eyes narrowed… and then relaxed. “Oh, it’s you, Chad…”
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The story of how Gerald Laxina and Chad Montmelier had met was a fairly interesting one.
It began in a park just outside Augusta. While admiring the scenery, the lazy duelist happened across a man selling paintings – landscapes, for the most part. One of them caught Gerald’s eye, and he purchased it on the spot for twenty dollars.
Even as he was walking away, Gerald noticed the painter being drawn into a game of Duel Monsters… which he swiftly lost. His opponent snatched the twenty dollars out of the painter’s pocket, laughing – apparently, they’d made a bet.
Sidling back over, Gerald set the painting down, put on his Duel Disk, and won his money back in short order. He then returned it to the artist, and the two began to talk. As it happened, the two had more interests in common than Duel Monsters and art.
After that day, the two rapidly became the closest friends either of them had – Chad possessed all the energy that Gerald lacked.
On a side note, the landscape painting Gerald purchased that day was currently hanging over his bed in the apartment.
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“Some days I wonder how you keep that job,” Chad said, grinning. He was a tall fellow, taller than Gerald’s six feet, with short blonde hair and a nearly insect-thin frame. As usual, Gerald noted, Chad had once again copied the style of a foregone age – today, judging from the leather jacket, beat-up jeans, and white T-shirt, he’d gone with the ‘50s tough.
Shrugging, Gerald turned to an incoming customer and began to ring up their purchases. “Luck, I guess. Old Hendricks seems not to care what I do as long as I don’t rob the till and nobody complains. We have security cameras, so I don’t have to watch the crowd...” He stopped and looked to the customer. “That’ll be $6.77.” Taking the payment, he made change and turned back to Chad. “In short, it’s the perfect job for a lazy man. How’s your life going?”
Chad let out a sigh, hunching up his jacket. “I can’t seem to get my paintings bought anywhere,” he answered. “Let me tell you, being a starving artist anywhere is bad enough, but in Maine it’s just embarrassing. At least in New York there’s a certain vibe…”
“Yes, the vibe of ‘Give me all your money and you won’t get hurt,’” Gerald answered, his usual drawl picking up a sarcastic edge. “I lived there between the ages of ten and eleven, and trust me - it’s not as glamorous as Hollywood likes to say. Granted, I lived in L.A. from age eight to age nine and it’s not that nice either…”
With a nod, Chad leaned against the counter, glancing towards the ceiling. “Well, that as it may be, I still pray I make it big. If I have to work in the hardware store another month, I swear to the Muses that I’ll go insane.”
“Go ahead,” Gerald said. “It probably wouldn’t hurt your career.”
“Har-de-fricking-har, Gerald.”
Another customer moved up to the counter, and Gerald proceeded to ring up her purchases. “‘Rendezvous with Rama’, Arthur C. Clarke – that’s a classic… ‘The Mote in God’s Eye’, never read that one myself… ‘Foundation’, Isaac Asimov, brilliant… ‘Beginning Duelist’s Manual’, where was that when I got into the game…” He smirked at the girl across the counter. “Do I sense a machine deck on the horizon?”
The girl merely blushed.
“Speaking of Duel Monsters,” Gerald said, looking to Chad, “how’s ‘All Creatures Big and Unpleasant’ coming along?”
Chad smirked, adjusting his jacket as he answered, “It’s finished and tested. I waltzed through some of the guys at the local game shop.”
“That’s good to hear…” Gerald then sighed and took his deck out from under the counter, spreading its cards out.
“Something wrong?”
After letting out another sigh, Gerald nodded. “I think it’s time to retire the Final Countdown deck,” he said. “I’ve dueled with it 176 times. 154 wins, twenty-two losses… That’s a pretty good record, and now I’m tired of it. It’s time to move on.”
Chad shrugged. “Your choice, I guess. Any ideas what you’ll play next?”
“Well…”
Before Gerald could finish his thought, the door swung open and trouble walked in. In this case, “trouble” was a young woman in bright red tube-top and black jeans, with a pair of sunglasses balanced on the tip of her oddly long nose. Her hair was short and blonde, and she moved like she had a grudge against the ground she walked on.
Moving up to the counter, the girl shoved Chad aside and leaned forward, staring across at Gerald. “Remember me?”
“Sadly, yes,” the clerk answered. “You would be Valerie Pemgast, the ‘poor little rich girl’ who I caught shoplifting last Tuesday. Refresh my memory…” He yawned. “Didn’t I ban you from coming back here for the rest of your life?”
Valerie laughed behind her hand, and then shifted her sunglasses. “Why should I let your word stop me? This is a free country.”
“Because I happen to work here and you don’t?” Gerald drummed his fingers on the counter, eyes narrowing. “Now be gone before I have to make a few phone calls.”
This time Valerie didn’t even bother to hide her laugh. She looked around, and then spotted the girl whose purchases Gerald had rung up a few minutes ago. Swiping the top book off the pile, she snorted. “‘Beginning Duelist Manual?’” she said derisively. “If you have to learn from a book, why bother?” She set the book back on the pile and then shoved the girl to the ground.
Most of Gerald’s patience had evaporated when Valerie walked through the door. The last grain disappeared at the sight of the girl hitting the ground. Reaching under the counter, he took out his Duel Disk.
The rich girl smiled. “Oh, so now you want to duel me?”
“Should you win,” Gerald said in answer, “you may stay here. If you lose, however, you must immediately leave and never return. Or I will call the cops.”
Taking a cell phone-sized piece of metal from her pocket, Valerie pressed a red button on the side. The metal suddenly expanded and unfolded, revealing a wafer-thin Duel Disk when it was done.
Chad whistled. “A Pocket Disk,” he muttered. “Those do not come cheap.”
The girl who Valerie had pushed scrambled to her feet and moved aside, inadvertently joining the crowd – as usual, the idea of a duel had attracted publicity.
Meanwhile, Valerie smirked, hissing, “I know your strategy – I was at the State Championships. Your Final Countdown won’t even reach ten turns!”
After a moment’s thought, Gerald took another deck out from under the counter, sliding it into his Duel Disk. Taking a few cards from his old deck, he slid them into the new one, withdrawing a few as he did so.
With a nervous twinge in his voice, Chad asked, “Is that the challenge deck we were working on?”
Having regained his composure, Gerald answered in his usual drawl: “I might as well. I was already bored with the old deck, remember?” He then shifted on his seat and said to Valerie, “Let’s duel.”
Both Life Point counters went to 8,000.
That challenge deck isn’t finished! Chad thought to himself. It’s got 40 cards, but we never settled on a strategy for it! Man, I hope Gerald knows what he’s doing…
“I will begin,” Gerald said, “by setting one monster face-down in Defense Mode and setting a card facedown. My turn ends.” His played cards appeared on the field.
Laughing, Valerie drew. “Let me show you a real opening play! I summon Hydrogeddon in Attack Mode!”
What appeared to be an ankylosaurus made of flowing mud rose into view, burbling as it did so. (1600/1000)
“I see,” Gerald said. “You do realize I can predict every move you’re going to make from here on out, right?”
Valerie laughed again. “Be that as it may, you can’t stop them! Hydrogeddon, attack with Hydrogen Cannon!”
Inhaling, the dinosaur let out a blast of brown water from its mouth. It splashed harmlessly off of the target… which seemed to be an effigy of a man made from burned-out logs.
Shaking his head, Gerald explained, “You just attacked my Charcoal Inpachi, the ultimate barbeque grill. That’s 2100 Defense Points, so not only did the attack fail, but you just hurt yourself.”
Valerie’s Life Points sank to 7,500. She hissed and set a card facedown, waving for Gerald to go.
Drawing his next card, Gerald smiled and said, “I tribute my Charcoal Inpachi for a face-down monster, and set another card facedown. That’s it for me.” The Charcoal Inpachi vanished, replaced by another face-down monster.
“I won’t be tricked!” Valerie declared, drawing again. “Now I use the ability of Gilasaurus – I can Special Summon it from my hand, but it lets you Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard. I’m not afraid of a little hibachi, so I don’t care!”
A small, thin dinosaur skittered into view. (1400/400) Meanwhile, on Gerald’s field, the Charcoal Inpachi rose back into the game in Defense Mode. (0/2100)
Glancing at her hand, Valerie took two cards. “I set one card facedown, and then I summon Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!”
There was a moment’s pause, and then a bloated lizard floated down from above. (400/1900)
“And that’s it,” Valerie concluded.
As he drew again, Gerald nodded to Chad, and then said, “I summon Inpachi in Attack Mode.”
Several logs clattered onto the field, and then pulled themselves together. The end result was a humanoid figure made of cut logs, which made a hollow noise as they thumped together. (1600/1900)
In mock fear, Valerie cried out, “Oh, crap! I summoned Balloon Lizard in Attack Mode!”
A low sigh escaped Gerald’s lips before he explained, “I’m not an idiot, Valerie. If I attacked Balloon Lizard, you’d activate a trap to defend it so that you could exploit its effect when I did destroy it. However, I’m guessing you’re not so concerned about your Gilasaurus. Inpachi, attack Gilasaurus with Wood Clobber.”
Marching forward, the wooden man spun its arm twice and then brought it down hard on the Gilasaurus’s head, smashing the raptor to the ground. It struck again and again until the monster exploded into triangles.
“I guessed correctly,” Gerald said, smirking, as Valerie’s Life Points slipped to 7,300. “Your move.”
Drawing again, Valerie hissed as she opened the field slot on her Duel Disk. “You’ll wipe that smirk off your face soon enough! I play the field magic card Wasteland, granting all dinosaurs an attack bonus!”
All around the two duelists, the ground began to dry out and crack. Slowly, the tile floor transformed into a parched landscape, steam raising from it as though the sun beat mercilessly upon the ground. The Hydrogeddon let out a sound of satisfaction as its power rose. (1800/1200)
“Now, how much punishment can your wooden man take?” Valerie asked. “Hydrogeddon, attack the Inpachi with Hydrogen Cannon!”
Inhaling, the Hydrogeddon fired a blast of water at the log creation. The impact scattered the Inpachi into its component logs, one of which struck Gerald in the stomach. His Life Points slid to 7,800.
“Now that my Hydrogeddon has destroyed a monster in battle,” Valerie continued, “its special ability calls out another Hydrogeddon from my deck!”
Indeed, even as she said it, a swirl of fairly unpleasant-looking water dripped from her deck, solidifying as another Hydrogeddon. (1800/1200)
Looking over the twin Hydrogeddons, Chad said, “I’ve always wondered what those things are made of. I’m probably better off not knowing…”
After a quick overview of her field, Valerie waved for Gerald to move.
With a nod, he drew his next card and weighed his options. “Hmmmm…” He then grinned, and played his next card. “I play Dark Designator. Now I can name one monster, and if you have it in your deck, you have to add it to your hand. And I’ll name Oxygeddon.”
Everyone turned and stared at Gerald, with the occasional murmur of, “Is he crazy?” passing through the crowd.
Even Valerie was confused at first, but she quickly answered, “That I do have,” and took her deck out of her Duel Disk, searching for the named card and setting it into her hand.
“Now I set one monster in Defense Mode,” Gerald finished, “and that will be my turn.”
Looking at her cards, Valerie groaned. Well, I have the three main pieces to my best move, she thought, but I’m missing the trigger. “Since you gave it to me, I might as well play it,” she said aloud. “I summon Oxygeddon in Attack Mode!”
A gust of wind gathered a bunch of clouds together. After a moment, they took the shape of a pterodactyl, which cawed at its opponent. (2000/1000)
“Bad idea,” Gerald said at that point, pressing a button on his Duel Disk. “I activate my face-down card, Karma Cut. Now, by discarding one card from my hand, I can remove one monster on your field from the game. I think I’ll choose Oxygeddon.”
A portal swirled into being behind Oxygeddon. Slowly, it drew the dinosaur into itself… and then a giant heart appeared on Valerie’s field. It beat twice, and then the third beat shut the portal down, freeing the gaseous dinosaur.
“You set off my trap, Jurassic Heart!” Valerie yelled. “It negates and destroys traps that try to affect my dinosaurs!”
“Ah.” Gerald was now regretting his earlier move.
Cursing to herself, Valerie glanced over Gerald’s field and then said, “My turn ends for now.”
Gerald drew and said, “I pass.”
On her next draw, Valerie glanced at her card, and then broke into laughter. Her laughing continued, until she nearly doubled over where she stood.
“That is never a good thing,” Gerald said to himself.
After regaining her self-control, the girl held up the card she’d just drawn… one with a beaker in its picture. She then declared, “I play Bonding H2O, which lets me sacrifice one Oxygeddon and two Hydrogeddons to summon, from my Deck, my all-powerful Water Dragon!”
Everyone in the crowd took two steps back.
Continued next post...
Originally Posted by Hinoryu
I can't wait to see what Chad's deck is. I know that I wasn't expecting a Toon deck, though.
