6I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. The only thing I own are the cards...which I bought in packs from once upon a time ago, or online. Still got them of course, I'd be an idiot to sell them.
Author's Note: Alright before we get started, I want to really thank Kairomaru for helping me with the title of this story and the support of my fellow authors especially GameJunkie999 for the name of this chapter. Secondly this chapter has a crap ton of easter eggs from an old manga series that unfortunately no longer gets updated. It's a shame because it was a favorite of mine, and no the main characters aren't going to appear...well maybe one, but only because every Japanese school apparently has a nurse.
Also, there's going to be some more author's notes at the end to fill in the gaps for some things you're probably going to be confused about.
(Fujimi Academy Class 3-B, Tokonosu City Japan, early morning)
"Another boring day." Serenity sighed as she watched the clock mounted on the wall.
Her green eyes scanning over the students trickling in, the boys wearing the military style gakuran school uniform consisting of a black long-sleeved black jacket with a collared white shirt underneath and a pair of black trousers.
The girls' who were coming in were wearing a sailor outfit school uniform consisting of sailor blouses that were white with green collars and a black bow in front paired with a green pleated mini skirt, some of the girls were either wearing stockings or knee length white socks.
Ignoring the chattering of her classmates, the auburn-haired girl couldn't help but think over what happened in the past four years. At the age of twelve she was prepared to lose her eyesight and sent what she thought would be her final message to her brother, but then when she barely just turned thirteen her mother came to her with shocking news.
Her brother, who she had not physically seen since they were kids, entered Duelist Kingdom and not only became the runner-up but also won the three million US dollars - three-hundred thousand yen in Japan's currency, for an operation that would permanently save her eyesight. Because of Joey she got to experience everything she thought she would never see in her life.
Then while she was recovering Battle City started, and through various eyes in the hospital she learned about her brother getting all six Locator Cards, after being well enough to travel she nearly got kidnapped by thugs from the Rare Hunters, heard her brainwashed brother dueling his best friend and then watched him heroically dive in, risking his own life to save him. It was the first image she saw after taking her bandages off, and the best image she would never forget.
She smiled as the dial of the clock continued to tick away. Of course she returned the favor saving her own big brother and got to watch him duel.
The smile soon vanished from her face. Those duels were not what she expected, from an evil spirit possessing one of their friends, to lightning striking her brother, to Mai suffering a Penalty Game…and then there was that ordeal in the virtual world where she dueled for the first time. From her inexperience Tristain sacrificed himself and became a robot monkey, and even though they won in the end thanks to her of all people, it was not the best first impression of the game her brother loved.
Honestly, after Battle City the experience it really turned her off from dueling. She still supported Joey, Yugi, and Mai but she could never see herself developing a deck of her own. Perhaps that was a good thing, especially in her school that had a strict no dueling policy, and if that was broken, well, the staff had a person to deal with that.
But after Battle City things were pretty boring for her with the exception of Duel Monsters coming to life for a little while, a story her brother told her which was so outlandish that even she could barely believe it. After that though, in total honesty her life was relatively normal. She would visit Joey for summer vacation and live with him until school started back up for her.
She honestly missed the old gang but with them all being older than her, Serenity knew they had their own lives to live. Joey became one of the top duelists in the world, but during the summer he also spent time furthering his education - surprising even her, since even he knew that he couldn't play Duel Monsters forever.
Yugi was still the King of Games but was following in his grandfather's footsteps in becoming an archaeologist, he still dueled but it was not as frequent anymore.
Bakura gave up dueling entirely and focused on his studies. It turned out he was actually joining Yugi in becoming an archaeologist as well.
Tea actually made it in America and became a dancer just like she dreamed about. The last time they talked she was dancing in some Broadway musical called the Nutcracker.
Duke was still the CEO of Dungeon Dice Monsters and still owned his own game shop, last she heard he was close to closing a big deal with a company in Europe.
Mai herself was still a duelist as well, but lately she began investing in a business she was being tight-lipped about.
As for Tristan, he was the President of a motorcycle company he started up, but she had not talked to him in a long while ever since a falling out they had during last summer.
And then there was Kaiba and Mokuba, they were still the President and Vice-President of Kaiba Corp, though Mokuba seemed to have taken over for the entertainment side. Kaiba still dueled, but like Yugi it wasn't as frequent anymore, instead he was focused on future projects and Kaiba Land.
"Time is dragging on, isn't it?" A deep, somewhat creepy voice said next to her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
Turning her head, Serenity gazed upon a very tall, very thin young man in the school's gakuran uniform with a ghastly appearance. His skin was pale, his face and eyes were sunken resembling a skull, his black hair was cut short to prevent him from looking like a complete skeleton. He looked bored, but also had a haunted look in his dark eyes.
"It's Monday morning. Time always drags on Bonz." She said with a smile.
Serenity was not going to deny that her friendship with Bonz Kozuka was odd. She knew he was in Duelist Kingdom and lost to her brother, and he was in Battle City but went missing for nearly a year along with his two former friends Sid and Zygor. Apparently from what he eventually told her he lost a Shadow Game to some creepy guy who had this odd piece of golden jewelry and experienced true hell for losing. All that was left behind were their decks and duel disks.
If Serenity had not seen the Millenium Items herself, she would not have believed it. But after what Marik did to Mai and her brother, she could say she was a believer.
When Bonz and his friends were found in the Domino City graveyard they were catatonic. It required a lengthy hospital stay for Bonz to return home and his family immediately moved away from Domino City to Tokonosu City for a fresh start. Bonz considered himself lucky, he eventually got better through years of therapy and distancing himself from a bad crowd, he changed for the better. But Zygor and Sid, last he heard they were still in an insane asylum, their minds completely broken from what they saw. He once said they were madly ranting and raving about monsters and darkness.
Though the explanation of the where, why, who or how regarding his disappearance was…well, when he explained it, they all thought he suffered a mental breakdown, ran away, joined some sort of cult with his friends. The list went on and Bonz had no choice but to weave a story where he "officially" snapped after losing in Battle City with Sid and Zygor, all three joining a mysterious cult, and escaping back to where he lost his last duel. If he didn't do that he wouldn't see the light of day ever again.
Even after rehabilitation Bonz still enjoyed the spooky stuff like scary movies, haunted houses, and did go to those horror conventions when he got the chance. But after experiencing absolute true hell, he had not picked up his duel disk since Battle City. Every time he tried to, he had massive panic attacks, it was honestly scary to see.
"Hey, Serenity, how's your brother doin'?" A voice that had a Flemish accent echoed in her ears.
Turning her body around she was greeted with a young man of average height wearing the same uniform as Bonz. He had tan skin, purple-blue eyes, and neck length brown hair.
"Honestly, he's doing well after dad died. I honestly don't want to say this but I'm glad he's gone." She quietly whispered the last part.
That was another thing that happened quite recently. Her dad - if he could even be called that, passed away from liver failure. His alcoholism finally got to him, and honestly, he wasn't missed. From what she remembered he was an abusive, drunken, gambling addict who couldn't hold down a job. His passing wasn't really mourned, no grave was made for him, no shrine either. Joey basically gave his body to the funeral home, told him to cremate the man and flush his ashes down a toilet.
He really hated the sperm donor that spawned them.
"Eh, from what you told us he was a real piece of work. God knows what would have happened if I didn't get my act together." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Still sucks that I got held back a grade."
Another unusual friendship that Serenity didn't expect was the one and only Rex Raptor. The runner-up in the Regional Duel Monsters Championships, and former dino duelist. It was strange that she would befriend two of her brother's former opponents, both looking past who her brother was, and just being there for her during and after school.
Unlike Bonz, Rex fell from grace, and he fell hard after Duelist Kingdom. He stuck with Weevil Underwood who was exposed as a dirty, rotten cheater, made a lot of bad decisions from sneaking to America and joining Dartz and his Doma organization to gain revenge on her brother - something she didn't take well to at first; but eventually did forgive him, to sneaking into the Grand Championships by stealing the identity of the duelist Fortune Salim and getting OTK'ed by Sigfried von Schroeder while partnered with Weevil after playing their strongest monsters. If he wasn't at rock bottom before, he was by then.
His parents, both paleontologists, who were honestly very neglectful when it came to their only child, learned of this, things got even more messy for him. Because they weren't available in his life, they sent him to live with his uncle in Tokonosu City. He was heavily monitored, disciplined, and was basically forced to retire from dueling. He was even ankle monitored until recently to keep track of his movements.
It was tough love, perhaps even a little extreme, but Rex did reform. He wasn't the top student in school, but he was well above average, and without Weevil he stopped being stupid and reckless. But he was also a shell of his former self, known as a burnout duelist who tried to cling to his fifteen minutes of fame. It also didn't help due to all his bad decisions that he skipped school for weeks, sometimes months on end to become a professional Duelist at the age of fourteen. It caused him to be held back and so far he was the oldest person in her class. Bonz barely escaped this fate by being smarter than Rex, so he wasn't held back at all.
When Joey came for a visit he nearly had a heart attack. Serenity couldn't exactly blame him given his history with both Bonz and Rex, but she managed to calm him down and there was an uneasy peace between the three of them. The hatchet was partially buried, mostly out of her brother being stubborn to bury it fully. She was determined to make him warm up to them.
Finally, the clock struck eight and the bell rang. Their teacher, a man in his mid-forties with black hair that was graying on the sides. He adjusted his red vest, made sure his white shirt was dirt free, gray slacks weren't wrinkled and sandals were on his feet. After firmly making sure his wedding ring was firmly on his ring finger, he turned his attention towards his class.
"Good morning class." He greeted them with a smile.
Every student rose to their feet and bowed. "Good morning, Wakisaka-sensei!"
"I'm glad to see that you all are on time today. Now before we start our lessons I have some news." Endo Wakisaka said, causing his class to look at him in confusion. "Today we are receiving a new transfer student. He is coming from America so please let me introduce you to Seth Armstrong."
The door to the classroom opened to reveal a young man above average height with a fit physique that was barely hidden by the gakuran uniform. His skin was lightly tanned, his eyes were a dark blue color, and his short spiky hair was black with white highlights. He greeted them with a smile and politely bowed towards the class after setting his black and white backpack by his feet.
"Hello everyone. I guess this is where I give a little introduction about myself?" He said, causing the class to nod, or give some polite chuckles. "Well, my name is Seth. My former home was in California, and I've been to multiple countries throughout my life due to my dad's profession. I'm a fan of music, I do enjoy reading and history."
'Oh great. A nerd.' Rex thought to himself in boredom.
'Lame.' Bonz was not too far behind.
"I am a fan of watching movies. But what I really enjoy for hobbies are games." Serenity could have sworn he saw his eyes twinkle. "Board games, video games, card games, I swear if I'm not at home you'll find me at a hobby store or the arcade."
A student in the back raised his hand. He had fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair that was styled to have his bangs framing his face and covering parts of his eyes.
"Excuse me? When you said card games, does that include Duel Monsters?" He asked. The question was innocent enough, but the entire class looked away, several even shivering from the question.
'Oh no.' Serenity thought with dread.
"Why yes. I am a duelist." Seth replied with a smile on his face. A pit was beginning to form in his gut about this, but he forced himself to continue. "I've played in a few tournaments back in the States but honestly it's nothing to write home about."
"Mister Armstrong, this school has a strict anti-dueling policy." Mr. Wakisaka firmly warned him. "I don't care if you play the game, but please keep your cards in your holster, duel disk at home, and focus on your studies."
"Oh, so am I going to get in trouble for bringing my duel disk today?" Seth innocently asked as he grabbed his backpack.
The teacher just palmed his forehead, muttering under his breath. Seth could have sworn he heard "And another bites the dust."
After regaining composure Wakisaka-sensei cleared his throat. "Just keep it in your bag for the day."
Seth nodded, shouldered his backpack and moved to get to the only open desk in the classroom. He spotted the tanned and ghoulish looking guys, but his attention was mostly focused on the girl wearing the school uniform for girls.
He first noticed her long flowing auburn hair that went to her waist with long bangs that framed the sides of her face. The second was her gentle green eyes and fair skin. Her figure wasn't going to win her the Miss Japan modeling contest, but she definitely had the Girl Next Door look to her.
What he also noticed was how close the guys were to her. Not in a possessive, or even romantic way, they were definitely friends of hers. Well, Seth could never say no to having some more friends in a country where he literally had none at the moment.
Sitting at his seat he greeted the three of them. "Morning guys. I hope to get to know you all in the upcoming weeks."
Rex scoffed and leaned back in his seat.
Bonz frowned and looked away.
Serenity gave him a polite smile, but it didn't exactly reach her eyes. "I hope so too!"
'Something is definitely going on here.' Seth was sure of it now. His new classmates honestly looked tense, and it wasn't because he was some Genjin walking into their school. Something was up. He just hoped it wouldn't wind up with him getting into trouble again, he barely survived his mother's wrath from last time!
(Principal's Office - Later that day)
"Perfect…perfect in every way." A sensual, female voice said as she finished putting on her favorite red lipstick while facing a vanity mirror. She was a remarkably beautiful woman with fair skin, long, curly blonde hair that went to her shoulders and a beauty mark under her left eye. She wore purple mascara and black eyeliner that made her brown eyes pop, and her magnificent body was highlighted by a light purple suit jacket and skirt with dark stockings and black heels.
Principal Chono was honestly having a good day. Last night she dumped some poor idiot who fell for her beauty, leaving him completely heartbroken and wept in the fancy restaurant he took her to.
"I think he was going to propose too. Fufufu what a sucker." She giggled recalling the memory of last night. It almost made her forget her humiliation from seven years ago.
Almost!
Her well-manicured hand turned into a fist and slammed into her desk. She could never forget the humiliation she felt that day! She was about to expel her sixteenth student for that cheesy Confession Puzzle when somehow, some way her thick layer of make-up shattered to expose her true, ugly face. The students who once shivered at the thought of crossing Domino High School's "Wicked Witch of Expulsion" openly laughed at her.
Her! Never had she been so humiliated in her entire life! What was worse was she didn't even find out who wrote that stupid Confession Puzzle and expel him!
After that no one took her seriously anymore. Tsuruoka the guidance counselor openly mocked her, Mr. Karita the gym teacher didn't look at her with open desire anymore. The boys who were afraid but lusted after her didn't even spare her a glance! Her fear of controlling the students was gone and she had to beg for a chance to transfer to another school so she could start over.
Principal Chono threw her vanity mirror to the side, the object shattering when it hit a file cabinet, her bad mood increased as she remembered what she had to do in order to get to Fujimi Academy. How many times she had to get on her hands and knees, bend over a desk and kiss that old…fat…smelly piece of shit of a former principal! She remembered the three years she had to work her fingers to the bone to earn some sort of reputation in this godforsaken school!
When the principal died of a heart attack she jumped at the chance to take his place. She used every single favor owed, every connection she had, every bit of blackmail she built up, and even one night of steamy passion with a member of the committee to get her into the position she was in now. Now she smiled remembering how her iron fist crushed the hopes and dreams of the students attending the academy.
The tears when she told them they were expelled sent a tingle of pleasure up her spine. How their protests died down when she outlawed any fun activities, their miserable expressions just made her day. And the best part was she wasn't technically doing anything illegal! The test scores spoke for themselves, their school was near the top of the nations, that caused those higher up than her to look the other way when her urges kicked in.
A polite knocking interrupted her thoughts. It soured her already terrible mood, if this wasn't important, she would find some poor student and have them expelled!
"Come in~." She said, putting on her sweet voice.
The door opened to reveal the student that asked Seth if he was a duelist. It caused Principal Chono's mood to become much better. After all, he was the head of the Student Disciplinary Committee.
"Damien Suzuki, my eyes and ears of the school." Principal Chono practically purred. If he was here that meant one of three things, for her it didn't matter which one it was, but it gave her the excuse to abuse her authority. "What do you have for me?"
"A new student. Apparently, he fancies himself a duelist and a game enthusiast. And you know how I feel about those types of people." Damien's dark eyes had a tint of anger in them. "I want your permission to take him out."
Principal Chono hummed a bit before accessing her computer. Her manicured nails tapped the keyboard, a few clicks of her mouse to pull up a file and she found the profile she was looking for.
"Here we go, Seth Armstrong. Age: Seventeen. Place of Birth: 97th General Hospital, Frankfurt Germany. Nationality: American. How interesting…" She smiled; it wasn't pleasant either. It reminded Damian of a snake about to devour its prey.
"He has a record. Apparently he was expelled from two schools in America. Both times for fighting, apparently three of his victims had to be hospitalized. He really is a bad egg, and I don't like bad eggs in my prestigious school. Damien, be a dear and do whatever it takes to get me to expel this little cretin."
"I'm not going to go and get my bones broken ma'am." Damien bluntly said. "The same goes with my boys within the Student Disciplinary Committee. But if I can provoke him into doing something naughty then I can work my magic."
"Oh really now?" Principal Chono said, a sinister smile adorning her features. "What is this little plan of yours?"
"It involves someone I've been giving a hard time to lately, but this time I'm going to up the scale. After all…" He gritted his teeth, his eyes alighting raw fury. "Her brother and his friends screwed me over. If I can't get to them, I'll do it through her."
"You sure do hate her brother." Principal Chono remarked.
"More than anything else. Now I know where they are going to be at lunch time. All I need you to do is work your magic and not only will you get your man…" Damien's face became twisted, but a malicious smile also formed on his face. "You might even get three more for the price of one!"
Principal Chono knew that look. Damien the Demon was beginning to surface, if she wasn't such a composed woman she would have been nervous around him. Instead, she had him wrapped around her little finger. His devotion to the rules made him an excellent attack dog that brought the reputation of Fujimi Academy to the highest in the nation.
"Go get them boy."
(Fujimi Academy - Rooftop, Lunch time)
"Am I breaking a rule or is it just me?" Lunch time had finally rolled around, and Seth was honestly starving. He did not expect classes to drag on as long as they did, nor did he expect to be called upon several times. He answered the questions as best as he could, some were right, some were wrong. He didn't make a fool of himself on his first day so far.
When the bell rang for lunch, he saw his class and several other students either get their bentos out and either eat at their desks, or head out to eat outside. Seth honestly couldn't stand staying inside the classroom all day, but he didn't find himself being brazen enough to try and go outside on the stairs or front lawn of the school.
So the roof it was. Was it legal? Well, he could claim ignorance and get off with a warning. All he knew was that he had his bento in one hand and his backpack in another. He wasn't going to trust anyone around his duel disk, or the deck he had in there as well.
Opening the door he immediately realized that he was not the only one up there. It took several seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light before he recognized the three figures.
"Oh, I thought you guys went somewhere else." He greeted them.
Serenity, Rex and Bonz stopped mid-bite of their respective lunches and looked at Seth wide-eyed. Bonz began to cough on the rice that got stuck in this throat.
"What the hell are you doing up here!?" Rex demanded.
"I figured this would be a good place to eat." Seth shrugged in response. He noticed their expressions, Rex was definitely annoyed, but Bonz and Serenity looked absolutely freaked out. Honestly, it was starting to get annoying seeing everyone acting like he was either a dead man walking, and the oppressive feeling in the entire damn school.
Seth, however, bit his tongue. He needed to keep his promise to his mom, he promised to behave, he didn't want to give her any more unnecessary stress. So instead of frowning, he smiled and moved over to join them.
Opening his bento to reveal perfectly packed white rice, sushi, a tamagoyaki and some strawberry flavored juice drink. It was his favorite, he honestly smiled seeing the love and care she put into the meal. He stuck his fork into one of the sushi rolls and began chewing on it.
"So, what are your names?" He asked after swallowing. "We're going to be sitting together for the next year. We might as well be on a first name basis. And you all got me at a disadvantage knowing who I am."
"Um, I'm Bonz Kozuka." Bonz introduced himself first with a shaky wave of his hand. "I don't have much to say except I like horror movies and have a glandular problem resulting in...this." He gestured towards his face.
"You do look ghastly, like a six foot skeleton." Seth remarked. He soon smiled seeing the taller teen look his way in surprise. "I don't mean that as an insult. I'm not a horror movie buff, but I do enjoy them on special occasions. I even tried running a zombie deck when the game first came out, but they didn't exactly suit me."
"They aren't for everyone. You need proper support cards, but those have been lacking in recent years." Bonz said.
"Heh, just like dino cards. They're practically extinct now." Rex grumbled.
"Seems you don't need any introduction Rex Raptor." Seth remarked at the older teen. "You're literally the only duelist I know who played those cards."
"Yeah, that's right." Rex rolled his eyes. He waited for the mocking to commence, he was used to it by now, but it still rightfully made his blood boil.
"It's a shame that more haven't been made. Dinosaurs are cool. I remember going to a museum and seeing the skeleton of a T-Rex and a Triceratops. I was honestly in awe seeing such massive creatures as a kid."
"I know right!?" Rex looked towards Seth in surprise, he unconsciously pumped his fists. "I mean you've seen the teeth on some of those things, right? They could swallow you whole or stomp you flat!"
"Movies and documentaries don't do them justice." Bonz added his input.
Serenity looked at the three boys in surprise, this was extremely unusual. It took Rex months to get used to Bonz, and Bonz himself was incredibly nervous around people. But in less than five minutes Seth was talking to them like he knew them for years.
"I'm not a fan of the hair." Seth pointed at Rex's forehead. "Where are the iconic purple bangs?"
"My uncle made me cut them off." Rex ran his right hand over his forehead with a pout. "He said I was a delinquent and needed a proper haircut. He forced me to get a crew cut! It took me forever to grow my hair back."
Seth chuckled at the mental image before turning his attention over to Serenity. He rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner. "I'm sorry, it seems I got distracted. What is your name, desk neighbor?"
"Oh? Um, well I-"
Before she could answer the door leading to the roof slammed open. Emerging from it was the scowling face of Damien Suzuki with the white armband of the Student Disciplinary Committee on his right sleeve. Flanking him were two large, extremely dumb-looking teenagers who looked like twins with their shaved heads, pale skin, thick lips and wide shoulders with the uniform of the school and sash on their left sleeves.
They were both known as Fu and Rai. The Brute Twins of Fujimi Academy
"Serenity Wheeler…I should have known you and your little band of outcasts would be up here." Damien said, darkly smirking.
'Wheeler?' Seth looked at Serenity in surprise. There weren't that many people in Japan with that last name so it didn't take long to figure out who she could be related to. Huh, it was a small world after all. Who knew he would meet the sister of one of his favorite duelists?
Rex immediately bolted to his feet, he bared his teeth and clenched his fists until his knuckles popped. "What the hell do you want Suzuki? We've done nothing except come up here to eat! We're not causing any trouble!"
"That is where you are wrong, Raptor." Damien pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it and read it out loud. "Due to the concerns of parents and the school committee, all students are prohibited from going onto the roof of Fujimi Academy as of April twentieth. Any trespassers will be disciplined accordingly ranging from suspension to expulsion."
He balled the paper up and threw it at the group, smirking as it smacked Bonz right in the forehead. "This was signed by Principal Chono herself. And guess what? It's the twentieth! You waste of resources have violated the rules!"
"That's bullshit!" Rex thundered. Gnashing his teeth he stomped over to him. "You've been screwing us over for weeks, kicking us out of the classrooms, the front of the school, the gym and when we finally find refuge to keep our noses clean you do this! I'm absolutely sick of it!"
"Careful Raptor, if you don't reign in your temper you might do something you'll regret." Damien's face twisted one more time, a sinister smile forming. "Your uncle is the chief of police isn't he? You've been such a good little dinosaur for now…I would hate for him to…learn you punched another student."
Stopping in his tracks Rex ground his teeth together to the point Seth thought they would shatter like glass.
"And what is wrong with you Kozuka?" Damien turned towards the heavily sweating teen. "Are you starting to have a mental breakdown? You better be taking those meds to keep you stable…hmm perhaps a drug test is needed, because if you aren't it'll be back to the loony bin for you!"
The twins began to laugh when Bonz curled in on himself, his eyes bulging in terror as he tried getting his breathing under control.
"As for you Wheeler…what a pathetic sight. The sister of the great Joey Wheeler unable to stand up for herself or her friends." Damien stomped forward, shoving Rex out of the way so that Rai could grab him. With malicious intent he kicked her bento and not only knocked it on the roof but also covered her in rice and other sauces.
"Hey! Knock it off this is going too far. This isn't anything regarding discipline, this is sheer bullying!" Seth stood to his feet and got between him, Serenity and Bonz.
"This is discipline. Those who break the rules are absolute forms of garbage. This school is firm but fair, no dueling, no bullying, no cheating, no stealing, no drugs or alcohol, no underage dating, no jobs after school, wear the correct uniform every single day, and no being on the fucking roof!" Damien screamed in anger. His hair became disheveled, and his composure briefly breaking to reveal his twisted nature.
Seth narrowed his blue eyes. Something was way off about this guy; he was absolutely consumed by anger and hatred that it twisted his views on the rules. He justified enforcing them with cruelty and sick gratification.
What the hell was up with this school?
Regaining his composure, Damien cleared his throat and fixed his hair. "But I am not an unreasonable man. All of you were ignorant so I'll let you off with a warning…if you eat the food from the ground Wheeler."
"Fuck you, man! Serenity don't you listen to- OOMP!" Rex was punched right in the stomach by Fu. He barely held in his lunch by a hair's breadth, it caused the moron duo to laugh.
"Serenity…don't." Bonz got his breathing under control. He brought his bony hands to hers, stopping her from even kneeling. "Don't do it. It's not worth it."
"Bonz I can't have you and Rex get expelled. You're my best friends, the first people to really see me as myself and not the sister of Joey Wheeler." Serenity freed Bonz's hand from hers and slowly sank to her knees. Her entire body was trembling from the degradation, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.
She had to be strong for them. They were friends who brightened her day with their antics and supported her for two years since starting high school. She would not allow them to suffer because she refused to do one little thing that would be forgotten in a few months anyways.
"Don't do it!" Seth's voice exploded, forcing all activity to stop dead in its tracks. "I won't allow this to happen. Damien Suzuki, you have trespassed on the souls of the innocent long enough! It ends today!" He pointed his left index finger at the bully. "I challenge you to a duel, if I win not only must you forget about this happening today but resign from your post effective immediately!"
Damien did not hide his smile; he was waiting for this to happen. "Oh really now? You're asking me to break the strict no dueling policy. I could get expelled for this regardless if I am the head of the Student Disciplinary Committee. The wager must be high on my end if I win."
"Quit playing around. Name your price." Seth snarled.
"Oh, it's simple really. If you lose, I take you to the principal to get expelled. And I will take your dueling deck as well!"
"Don't do it!" Bonz screamed. "Damien is the best duelist in the entire academy. He's beaten everyone and has taken their decks as trophies! Ask anyone in the school, I can't tell you how many decks have been lost! Because of this everyone has been calling him the Demon for his ruthlessness!"
"If it wasn't for me forcefully being retired he would have been stomped flat by now!" Rex argued. His pride as a duelist would not allow such a defeat, if his uncle didn't lock his deck away, he was sure he would tromp Damien in six turns!
"Please…don't-"
"Fine, I'll do it." Seth interrupted Serenity. Lunch all but forgotten he reached into his backpack and pulled out his duel disk and deck already slotted inside it. He strapped the device onto his right forearm and activated it, the disk coming to life and turning to the standard dueling position with 8000 life points activating on the counter.
"You are such a fool. I honestly have never seen someone so willing to throw their deck away." Snapping his fingers the brother that wasn't holding Rex captive shrugged off his backpack and opened it to reveal a duel disk. Damien took it, strapped it to his left arm and activated it.
"I'm throwing nothing away, now let's duel!"
"Yeah, let us duel."
Seth: 8000
Damien: 8000
"I call heads!" Damien said when the holographic coin appeared on the field and flipped into the air, and it landed on…heads. "Hah, I'm going first. The sooner I show you who is the superior duelist the better!"
"Just make your move." Seth growled.
"Very well." Drawing from his deck to hold six cards he smirked. "I play one monster in defense mode and end my turn."
"That's it? My draw!" Drawing from his deck he glanced at his hand. Seth hated to admit it, but his deck was not one-hundred percent complete with the cards he wanted for the perfect synergy he needed. But it would do in a pinch.
"I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman (ATK/1700, DEF/1000) in attack mode." Seth summoned a blonde-haired warrior in magic armor wielding a longsword. "Go and attack his face down monster!"
Neo the Magic Swordsman let out a yell, lunging towards the face down monster. It flipped to show a jar, and emerging from it was a shadow with one eye and a giant smile. It laughed as it was split in two and destroyed.
"Hah! That was my Morphing Jar (ATK/700, DEF/600). Once it is flipped both players discard their entire hands and draw five new cards." Damien smirked as both him and Seth discarded their entire hands and drew five new cards.
Grimacing from the loss of a decent hand, Seth drew five new cards and entered the second phase after his attack was finished. "I'll set one card face-down and end my turn."
"Then it is mine." Damien drew from his deck and smirked once more. "I play another monster in face-down defensive mode and end my turn."
'Another defensive monster? It can't be another Morphing Jar, but then again it could be something much worse. I'll have to play it safe.' Drawing from his deck Seth began his turn. "I place a monster in face-down defense mode. Then I'll have Neo the Magic Swordsman attack your face-down monster again!"
The magical swordsman raised his free hand and let out a bellowing yell as a burst of blue magic flew from it. It impacted the face down monster revealing it to be a giant purple germ before being blasted into pixels.
"Hah! You destroyed my Giant Germ (ATK/1000, DEF/100). When it's destroyed and sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, five-hundred points of damage is immediately inflicted to your life points! And that's not all, Giant Germ's effect also states I can take another Giant Germ from my deck and special summon it in face-up attack mode! Unlucky for you I have two more of them!"
Damien searched through his deck and brought out the monsters, the gigantic germs wiggling from their positions on the field as Seth's life points dropped to 7500.
"Oh boy, the Boss got the first blood." Rai threw Rex out of his grasp. He figured they would want an unobstructed match that would lead to their expulsion.
"Idiot, the duel has barely started! Five-hundred points doesn't mean a thing." Rex snarled. "Kick his ass Seth!"
"He won't do anything once it's my turn!" Damien drew from his deck and bared his teeth. "Now this is a draw! I sacrifice my two Giant Germs to summon the Invader of Darkness (ATK/2900, DEF/2500) in attack mode!"
The two giant germs disappeared from the field and emerging from a dark abyss from the ground was a large man in a black cloak and wicked golden armor. His dark gaze eyed Seth like he was a fly to be swatted. "Now my monster, attack his Neo the Magic Swordsman!"
"Hold it! I activate my trap card Blast Held by a Tribute!" Seth stopped the attacking monster right in its tracks. "I can only activate this card if a tribute summoned monster attacks me. Unlucky for you it seems your Invader of Darkness is going to crash and burn before it can even do a thing!"
The monster clutched at his chest, grunting in pain before detonating in a brilliant fireball. Then to their shock Damien's life points dropped down to 7000.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that you lose a thousand life points when this card's effect is resolved? Because that's just what happened."
"You son of a bitch…" Damien gnashed his teeth. Who knew his opponent had such a rare card? "I throw two cards face down and end my turn!"
Damien: 7000
Seth: 7500
"Time for a bruising Damien, my draw!" Pulling a card from his deck Seth looked at it with triumph. "Alright, I summon Dark Blade (ATK/1800, DEF/1500) in attack mode!"
Appearing next to Neo the Magic Swordsman a dark figure in malicious spiked black armor, red cape and dual-wielding swords was prime and ready for battle.
"And next I activate the spell card Cold Wave!"
"Oh-ho nice move!" Rex pumped his fists next to Serenity. "That card freezes an opponent's spell and trap cards until his next turn. Damian can't use them at all!"
"And that means he is free to attack his life points." Serenity looked on in awe. "Damien is going to receive some damage that is for sure!"
"But Seth also can't play or set any more spell or trap cards either. He better be careful." Bonz chewed at his fingertips out of nervousness.
"Say goodbye to a chunk of your life points. Neo the Magic Swordsman attack his life points directly!" The magical swordsman let out a roar as he charged at Damien and sliced across his torso, dropping his life points to 5800. "Now Dark Blade follow up and attack him as well with Dark Blade Slash!" Dark Blade let out a hiss before jumping at Damien, he swung his twin swords and cut the teenager from shoulder to hip dropping his life points down to 4000.
"Yeah! He's already down half his life points! Good going!" Rex cheered.
"Boss…" Fu looked over at Rai with worry. Things were not going good for their leader, and they saw veins beginning to rise on his face. Things were about to get dangerous.
Damien: 4000
Seth: 7500
"You're not going to lay another hand on my life points, no more! I summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp (ATK/1800, DEF/1000)!" Damien hollered, summoning a muscular, green-skinned genie with golden bands on his wrists, biceps and neck. Everyone noted the awesome mustache it had. "Now my Genie attack Neo the Magical Swordsman!"
Crossing his arms over his muscular chest, La Jinn opened his mouth and let out a stream of fire that incinerated Neo. Seth winced as his life points took a hit and went down by one-hundred points.
"I end my turn and with that spell card of yours done I can activate my traps again! So, proceed with caution, you piece of trash, because I'm not going to give you another shot like last time!"
"We'll see." Seth drew from his deck to give him four cards in his hands. He frowned looking at the cards but didn't have a real good play. "I'm not going to fall for your tricks Damian. I'm just going to set one card face down and throw a monster into defense mode. I end my turn."
"Fool! You fell right into my trap!" After drawing his card Damien pressed a button on his duel disk to reveal one of his face-down cards. "I activate the spell card Heavy Storm to destroy every spell and trap card on the field!"
"Ahh! You madman, you're going to destroy your own face-down card, you know!?" Bonz covered his eyes as a simulated storm suddenly erupted on the field and took out not only Seth's face-down card but his own.
"Of course I know, that's why I did it! I activate the effect of my trap Statue of the Wicked! When it is destroyed while face-down and sent to the graveyard I can special summon one Wicked Token (ATK/1000, DEF/1000) to my side of the field."
Forming next to La Jinn was a golden statue that had a demonic-looking face. It almost looked as bad as Damien's.
"But it's not going to be here for long because I sacrifice it to summon Puppet Master (ATK/0, DEF/0) in attack mode!"
Vanishing from the field, the statue was replaced by a demonic-looking clown that gave everyone the willies just looking at it. It had hollow black eyes, and an outfit that made it look like an even more demented Pennywise the Clown.
"I don't get it. Why would he sacrifice his token for a monster with zero attack points?" Serenity looked at the creepy clown monster with a grimace. She was not exactly a fan of clowns, after today she was definitely going to be even less of a fan of them.
"No one tribute summons a monster unless they either have high attack points, or a special effect. I'm guessing that it's the latter." Rex used his experience as a duelist to deduct what was going to happen next.
"I'm going to activate his effect! By paying a thousand life points I can special summon three monsters from my graveyard!" Damien declared.
"Told ya so." Rex remarked.
Damien: 3000
Seth: 7400
Ethereal purple threads emerged from Puppet Master's fingers and three monster cards emerged from the graveyard.
One was the Invader of Darkness himself scowling at Seth with unbridled rage in his eyes. (ATK/2900, DEF/2500)
The second was a monster that was a terrible-looking horned fiend that showed nothing but bone and muscles. It was the Summoned Skull (ATK/2500, DEF/1200)
The third and final creature looked to be a ghoul in a red Renaissance era suit holding a rapier in his right hand. This was The Earl of Demise (ATK/2000, DEF/700).
"Oh shit…those are some of his heavy hitters in one turn." Bonz gulped seeing some of the strongest fiend cards in the game on the field. The Earl of Demise wasn't exactly helping with his anxiety either.
"Grr…he must have discarded some of those cards earlier thanks to his Morphing Jar. There is no way he would have gotten them out otherwise." Rex said with a growl. "I hate to admit it, but it's a good strategy."
"I hate to say it, but I think Seth might be done for. There is no way he can beat all those monsters." Serenity said.
"Yeah! Go boss, kick his ass!" Fu cheered.
"Send him crying all the way back to America!" Rai seconded.
"Trust me I will happily do that. But unfortunately, my Puppet Master's effect won't allow me to attack this turn. So, I'll have to set this one card face-down and end it for now." Damien smirked at Seth. "Make your move Yankee."
"Don't mind if I do!" Drawing from his deck Seth barely hid the look on his face. It was not a good draw at all. "I'll have Dark Blade attack your Puppet Master with Dark Blade Slash!"
"I don't think so! When I said that you won't touch my life points again, I meant it! Go Shadow Spell!" Activating his trap card Damian watched as various chains wrapped around his Dark Blade and his attack points went from 1800 to 1100. "This trap card not only stops your monster dead in its tracks, but you also can't change his position and he loses 700 attack points!"
"Damn it." Biting his lower lip Seth looked at the field and knew he was in for a world of hurt. "I end my turn. Do your worst."
"I plan to, and draw!" Drawing from his deck, Damien smirked. "I switch my Puppet Master into defense mode just to be safe than sorry, then I summon my final monster Giant Orc (ATK/2200, DEF/0) in attack mode!"
In the last monster zone, a muscular, gray-skinned orc wearing a pair of brown trousers and wielding a giant bone club emerged. Looking at the field it palmed the bone club like it was a baseball bat.
"Let the carnage begin! La Jinn attack Dark Blade!" The green genie crossed his arms and breathed out a stream of fire from his mouth. It incinerated the monster and dropped Seth's life points down to 6700. "Now Giant Orc attack his first face-down monster with Bone Basher Attack!"
Letting out a bone shaking roar, Giant Orc swung his club overhead and smashed the first monster Seth put into defensive mode. It was revealed to be a blue-skinned elven woman with long blonde hair and a long flowing green dress. She was chanting even as she was blasted into pixels. But as soon as the attack ended Giant Orc went into defense mode.
"As soon as Giant Orc attacks he has to be switched into defense mode, but he already served his purpose. Now, Earl of Demise attack his last face-down monster with Sword of Peril!" Damien directed his ghoulish monster to attack Seth's last line of defense. It turned out to be a fiendish-looking chest with red tentacles flailing out of its mouth.
"That was my Dark Mimic LV3 (ATK/1000, DEF/1000), when he is sent to the graveyard as a result of battle, I can draw one card from my deck." Seth said before drawing one another card from his deck.
"A single card isn't going to do you any good! Summoned Skull attack with Lightning Strike!" The monster growled and unleashed a hellish lightning storm that struck Seth straight on and knocked his life points down to 4200. "And now, Invader of Darkness attack him directly with Fist of the Damned!"
The monster let out a deadly smirk, he attacked Seth and punched him right in the belly. The attack didn't hurt, but it certainly made him flinch, especially when it knocked his life points down to 1400.
Damien: 3000
Seth: 1400
"Ohhh that's gotta hurt." Rex winced.
"That's Damien the Demon for you…once he gets on a roll no one survives." Bonz muttered in dejection.
"Not bad. Not bad at all." Seth stopped Serenity from remarking something dour. She looked at him in surprise when he saw him dusting off his uniform. "You turned this duel around when I had you on the ropes. Using Morphing Jar to toss some powerful cards into the graveyard, and then paying a thousand life points to get them back."
"Flattery is not going to get you anywhere. Once your life points reach zero, you're coming with me to meet your fate!" Damien exploded.
"So angry." Seth looked at his opponent with a frown. "What happened to you? You're a very good duelist, but you're going around getting people expelled, taking decks as trophies, and targeting these guys? Seriously, what the hell man?"
"Yeah, I've been wondering the same exact thing! I fully admit to being a prick years ago-"
"And you can still be one." Bonz added.
"Gah! Anyways, I admit it, but you take it to another level. Especially when you target Serenity like your families have some sort of blood feud going on." Rex said.
"I don't give a shit about Serenity Wheeler!" Damien yelled. Veins began to pulse and show under his skin showing his rising anger. "It's her useless brother and all Duelist Kingdom I have a vendetta against!"
"Don't call my brother useless!" Serenity yelled back. It took a lot to get her angry, but someone insulting her brother was one of the things that ticked her off. "You don't know anything about Joey. He's the best big brother ever! He saved my eyesight and when he makes a promise, he keeps them!"
"He didn't keep his promise to me!" Damien thundered. They could see nothing but anger and malice in his eyes, his entire body was trembling in rage. "I was a participant in Duelist Kingdom and was halfway to getting to Pegasus' castle. But then this masked punk stole all five of my star chips and my deck that I built with my heart and soul. I was caught and wasn't given a chance to explain myself by the security there. Your brother and his friends said they would help me…I was promised by your brother I would get my deck back. They lied!"
Damien gnashed his teeth and if looks could kill everyone on the roof would be dead. "I was sent away with all the other losers. I didn't see them until the news broke out about Yugi Fucking Muto being crowned as the new King of Games and Joey Wheeler being the runner-up. They got their names thrown into the history books along with Mai Valentine and Keith Howard being the top four duelists in the world and I got FUCKED IN THE END!"
"So, this is why I'm like this, because of an empty promise that I foolishly believed destroyed my hope and learned that unless you have power you are above the rules! Not me, I will enforce the rules of not only this school but society until I die! And everyone will know the pain I felt by losing their decks just like I did. Now take your turn so I can keep my promise and get you expelled!" He finally finished.
"So that is what happened. You got cheated and you warped yourself into becoming a so-called enforcer of the rules that it turned you into…this." Seth looked at the teen in front of him, his hair disheveled, body tense and veins of anger popping on his face. He was surprised he didn't burst a blood vessel. "I'm sorry Damien…really I am."
"Shove your apologies and take your turn!"
"Damien, wait!" Serenity said. "My brother-"
"Shut your fucking mouth whore! Draw now!"
"Very well, I draw." Seth drew his card and smirked. "And I play the spell card Card of Sanctity!" He declared playing the card he just drew. "Now we will draw from our decks until we have six cards in our hand!"
"Are you really that desperate for a card to save you?" Damien sneered as he drew until he had six cards in his hand. "Or are you just wanting me to finish you off sooner?"
"No, just like how you used your Morphing Jar, this card is going to lay the groundwork for your defeat!" In front of Damien's eyes, Seth seemed to change. The wind picked up and began to blow through his duel-colored hair and his dark blue eyes turned a golden color.
"What in the world…" Damien muttered.
Raising one card from his hand, Seth spoke once more. "Through the power of light and darkness comes chaos! And through chaos I will strip you of your anger and hatred! I remove from play Dark Blade and Neo the Magic Swordsman to special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon - Envoy of the End (ATK/3000, DEF/2500)!"
"What!" Damien's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"Huh?" Rai and Fu were fully at a loss for words.
"No way…where did he get such a rare card?" Rex said as the images of the two monsters rose from the graveyard and were removed from play.
"Rex what is that card?" Serenity asked.
"It's a very rare, very powerful card that had a very limited release. As far as I know there are only a handful in the world, people have paid millions to have this card locked in a vault for their collection. This is the second time I have ever seen this outside of a magazine." Rex replied as Seth placed the card on his duel disk. "The only person I can ever recall playing it in Duel Monsters was Seto Kaiba against Sigfried von Schroeder."
"Wow…" Bonz said in awe. For the first time in years he wasn't feeling any anxiety or experiencing a panic attack. He was calm, he could breathe again.
Forming on the field was a large dragon that could be compared to the size of the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It was green in color and had its body covered in sections of armor and long flaming orange hair. The creature's red eyes glared at Damien and let out a terrifying roar that shook them to their cores.
"Wow…" Serenity echoed Bonz. She had seen many dragons when she was in Battle City. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Red-Eyes Black Dragon, The Winged Dragon of Ra, and Slifer the Sky Dragon. They were amazing, powerful beasts, but this one was something else. It brought something out that she couldn't explain.
Could it have been hope? Perhaps it was some sort of awakening? She didn't know, but for the first time in a long while she felt empowered.
"He can win…" She said out loud.
"Yeah…he can win." Bonz added.
"Damn right he can win! Kick his ass!" Rex cheered.
"Hah! Ju-just because you have a rare monster doesn't mean you'll win. Thanks to your Card of Sanctity, I got the cards I need to end you!" Damien stammered.
"Wrong. This is the end of the duel for you right here, right now! I activate the effect of my dragon. By paying one thousand life points I can send as many cards in our hands and on our fields to the graveyard!"
"What no…that's impossible!" Damien balked as Seth's life points decreased by one thousand points.
Damien: 3000
Seth: 400
"Oh, it is." Seth discarded his entire hand and Damien himself placed his own hand into the graveyard. "But that is not all, with each card that is sent to your graveyard I can inflict three-hundred points of direct damage to your life points!"
"No! That's going to wipe out my life points completely! You can't do this!" Damien wailed in denial as Chaos Emperor Dragon began to open his mouth to build up energy for his attack.
"I can and will! Now my mighty beast, wipe him out with Cemetery of Fire!" Damian ordered his monster. And Chaos Emperor Dragon released his attack that erupted in a brilliant flash of red and white light that sent every monster Damien had screaming in agony as they were incinerated and sent to the graveyard along with himself.
Falling to his knees Damien watched as 3300 life points were taken away just like that. His full hand and field of monsters doomed him.
Damien: 0
Seth: 400
"I-I don't believe it…I can't…you had to have broken a rule…" He said in denial. His already damaged mind was trying to find anything to overrule this loss. Damien couldn't lose, he never lost!
"I played fair and square. Your soul has been twisted by anger for so many years that you've become blind to everything around you." A golden light began to glow under his uniform jacket, and he thrust his left hand out. "And now I will get rid of it for you. Open your mind!"
Damien looked at Seth in complete shock, he didn't know what the hell happened, but something shattered inside him. His disheveled appearance practically melted away, the veins on his face disappeared, the anger and hatred in his eyes vanished leaving him feeling clean, but also empty.
"Now I hope with this loss your soul can be cleansed and start anew. You're a good duelist Damien, you just need to find yourself again." Seth removed his duel disk and put it back in his backpack. What remained of his lunch in hand he walked past the stunned teen, leaving the brute brothers to back away in fear.
"Hey wait up! Seth what the hell was that about?" Rex picked up whatever was left of his lunch and followed after the new student.
"Hey wait for me!" Bonz cried out after he scrambled to grab his own things.
Serenity was the last to follow them. Her meal ruined, she just picked up her bento and followed after her two friends. But before she passed the door she stopped where Damien was kneeling.
"Damien, I think there is something you should know." She said to the stunned teen. "My brother never forgot about you. He never lied either, he, Yugi and their friends did find your deck and star chips. But you were sent away earlier than promised by corrupt security working for Pegasus."
Slowly he turned to look at her. She actually reeled back seeing the glassy look in his eyes. He was listening, but he wasn't fully there either.
"Whether you believe me or not, it's the truth, and my brother has never forgiven himself for what happened. That is all I got to say. Goodbye." Giving her former tormentor a polite bow, she followed Rex and Bonz. She didn't know where they were going, but it was definitely better than being on the roof.
"Dude! Where did you get such a powerful card?" Rex badgered their new acquaintance as they walked down the stairs. Serenity honestly found it amusing to see her friend act like this. "I'm not asking for a trade 'cause I know you would never do it, unless…"
Seth let out a chuckle. His bad mood from his intense duel was disappearing, Rex was lightening the atmosphere that was for sure. "I'm never trading or selling that card, Rex." He said, watching the teen groan in disappointment. He was definitely amusing. "As for how I got it, I got it in one of the last few Chaos Realm packs before they were discontinued by Industrial Illusions. Trust me when I say I had to fight for the last five packs in the store."
"I believe it, those packs sold like hot cakes." Serenity said. "My brother looked all over and couldn't find any. He was so disappointed."
"Seth what was all that about though?" Bonz asked once they made it down the stairs. "The whole open your mind thing, forcing your hand out. I was kinda weird."
"Yeah! I can't believe I almost forgot about that. Seriously, what was that about?" Rex demanded.
Seth grimaced. He couldn't tell them the truth about what he exactly did, if anything he was going to get an earful from his mom when he got home. She could sense these sorts of things.
"I got a bit carried away." He lamely said. Rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish manner, he decided the best course was to make himself look silly than freak them out. "After seeing Damien being a dick towards you guys, I just had a heroic moment. Hah, I should probably switch to an Elemental Hero deck."
Serenity didn't believe a word of that. She was very sure Bonz and Rex didn't either, but they weren't going to pry. Seth put his neck out for them, and they wouldn't do any digging unless they had no choice in the matter. They would put it in the back of their minds…for now.
"Hell no keep the deck you got. It suits you better than a deck that has a screw you unlimited number of fusion cards!" Rex said.
"Do you think he will keep his promise? I mean I don't want you to get expelled on your first day here." Bonz asked.
"I think he'll keep his promise." Again, Seth knew without a doubt that Damien would. "It's just a shame our lunch was messed up because of this."
"I need to get a new shirt before class starts." Serenity sighed looking at the stains covering her front. "The school nurse should have some spares."
"Speaking of, I never really got a tour of the place. Where is the nurse's office?" Seth asked.
"We'll give you a quick tour while we do the after school clean up. You'll figure the place out pretty fast." Bonz said.
"After school clean up. What the hell is that?"
(Tokonosu City streets - 4PM)
"That sucked!" Seth loudly complained. "Seriously, students have to do this every single day?"
"Welcome to Japan." Rex said.
"It is much different than America." Bonz continued with a creepy laugh.
Seth groaned again. He honestly had no idea that students who didn't have club activities were forced to stay over after school and help clean the place up, he had to dust, mop, sweep and help wipe off desks and chalkboards. When he was done with school back in the States he just went home.
"At least the custodians don't have to do too much. But seriously, that eats up a lot of time." He sighed. Getting over the culture shock would take a bit of time, but he had no right to really complain. "What do you guys do for fun after school?"
"Sometimes we go to the mall or get a bite to eat. But today we can't." Serenity said as she adjusted her backpack. "Our teachers give out a lot of homework every Monday. We try to nip the long assignments in the bud so we can have some free time."
"Bummer."
"Yeah, it's a pain in the ass. But Serenity got us on a good schedule. Get the hard stuff due Friday done fast, do the easy stuff that needs to be done the next day, and we basically get three days off to screw around." Rex said, causing Serenity to blush under his praise. "Without her I would have been screwed for the past two years."
"Same here. That's why she's the leader of the group." Bonz intoned, making steam practically rise off her head.
"Guys I'm not a leader of anything! It just makes common sense!" Serenity protested.
"Haha! If you guys will have me, let's try and do something on Wednesday. I got some cash, so the first meals are on me." Seth laughed before they stopped at one of the crosswalks. "Well, I gotta depart. See you guys tomorrow."
"See you later." Bonz said before taking a right at the light.
"Yeah, let's try for Wednesday." Rex said before following Bonz, they both did live a few blocks away from each other.
"Well, I need to go that way." Serenity pointed straight ahead. "See you tomorrow?"
"Of course. See ya Serenity." Seth took a left at the light after waving goodbye. Honestly, he was feeling good. School kinda sucked, but he had three people he could easily see himself becoming friends with, and he got to duel someone who needed to be knocked down a peg or two.
That good feeling disappeared when he went through the door of his home. It was there he encountered someone who made his blood run cold and his heart stop in terror.
She was a woman of average height with straight black hair that went to her waist, brown eyes, a slender build and tanned skin. She wore a one piece white dress with a bottom that was similar to a sarong.
She was Aisha Armstrong, born in Egypt to a family who had a long history from the time of the first Pharaohs, she has a master's degree in Egyptology, is a historian of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiques, and a highly skilled sorceress, but to Seth she was known as mom.
"Seth Ramses Armstrong!" Crap, he knew he was in trouble now. "I could feel your Ba (Spirit Energy) all the way from here. What in the name of Horus have you done this time?"
Knowing he could do nothing to hide from his mother, Seth told the truth. It would be the less painful option anyways. "Mom, before you get mad let me explain."
"Five minutes." His mother simply said. Her voice was crisp and sharp, he knew that he was on thin ice now.
"Okay, I arrived at school and immediately noticed the oppressive presence. But I kept my head down, I honestly tried to not stand out too much, but when lunch came around and I went to the roof."
"The roof. Really?" Aisha asked.
"I didn't know where else to go." Seth shrugged his shoulders. "Up there I found three other people, I hung around them, laughed and began to befriend them. But then the Head of the Student Disciplinary Committee and two cronies barged up and threw some bullshit rule-"
"Language." His mother admonished him.
"Sorry mom." He apologized. "But anyways, he was acting like a dictator and demanded the only girl to demean herself in order for this new rule -that wasn't there before of no eating on the roof to slip by him. He gave off really bad vibes mom, like his own Ba was corrupted by anger and darkness. I challenged him to a duel and staked my expulsion to help them out."
"Seth…" Aisha rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her anger dimmed, but it was replaced by exasperation for the reckless behavior of her son. "Considering I didn't get a call from the school I assume you won?"
"I did, but my opponent was so consumed with anger and darkness over something that happened in his past. Denial hit him like a brick wall, so I…" Seth reached under his shirt and pulled out a pendant. It was round, thick and made of gold with the Eye of Wdjat shaped in the middle of it held by a thick string. "I used the Shadow Charm that has been handed down by your family for generations, and issued a Penalty Game to open his mind and banished the darkness in him to hell."
His mother was silent for the longest time, and that honestly scared him. The last time he did something like that three people wound up in the hospital. They deserved it, and honestly had it coming, but it opened a can of worms that lead to his expulsion, a wicked tongue lashing from both his mom and dad, and the longest grounding in the history of mankind that he barely just got out of.
"Oh, aben (my son)." Aisha stepped forward and gently hugged him. "You inherited far too much of my family bloodline and inherited far too much of your father's sense of right and wrong. Is that boy going to be okay?"
"He will recover. His soul is no longer tainted by the anger and darkness that has been attached to it for years." Seth replied before hugging his mother in return. "You taught me how to use my Ba and Ka correctly."
"I know, just…just please don't wind up doing something you will regret. The Ishtar Clan did confirm the re-sealing of the Millennium Items after what Seto Kaiba did after the Pharaoh returned to the afterlife, but there are still people out there who will use the Shadow Games for evil." Aisha placed her hand on the pendant and felt the power radiating through it. "Do not become one of those people."
"I promise I won't mom. You and dad taught me well. I won't use it unless it's completely necessary."
"Good…you're still going to get punished though." Seth hung his head; it caused her to smile. He really should have realized he wasn't going to get out of this scot-free. "You have to clean the apartment for a month. I'm talking about a deep clean too."
"Harsh…" Seth broke from the hug and rubbed the back of his head. "But okay. Better than dealing with dad's punishments."
"Oh honey, even I am not that cruel." Aisha giggled.
"Hey mom, I'm home." Bonz greeted his mother upon opening the door. His dad was at work and wouldn't be back for another week, so he knew exactly who would greet him when he got home.
"Welcome back." Emerging from the living room was a pale-skinned beauty with long glossy raven black hair that fell to her back, a figure models would kill for, and wearing only a bit of eyeshadow with red lipstick. Attire-wise she wore a black figure-hugging dress that would tempt anyone with sinful thoughts.
To Bonz, it was only annoying.
Ahmya Kozuka glided over to her only child and gave him a hug. Ever since his disappearance and confinement in a mental ward, she had been more affectionate and made it a priority to look after him more. She knew of Zygor and Sid and let Bonz hang with them because she wanted him to be independent and make choices for himself. She was a firm believer one cannot go through life without falling a few times but getting up and being better for it.
That came back to bite her perfectly shaped ass when he participated in Battle City. Neither she, nor his father could imagine him disappearing for an entire year without a trace. When he was found, he was okay physically, but mentally he was a wreck muttering about demons, monsters and hell itself. The doctors theorized he had some sort of psychotic breakdown along with Sid and Zygor.
Unlike those two who were still screaming at shadows, Bonz did recover. And moving away from Domino City was the best decision the family ever made. He grew taller, his mind cleared up more, he made better friends, and started doing well in school. Though it still bugged her that he had made up a bogus story for where he was for the past year that made her worried sick. It was a mother's instinct to know when her son was lying after all.
At least her cute little zombie boy was home. That was honestly all she wanted.
"How was your day?" She asked after breaking up the hug.
"It was fine. We got a new student that came from America, he's a bit…odd." Bonz replied.
"Odd?" Ahmya crossed her arms over her chest. "Odd as in he's a tad bit strange due to being American, or strange in the supernatural?"
"I think it's supernatural." Bonz said with a slight shrug of his bony shoulders. "I can't explain it. But there is something about him that gives me the willies. Plus, when he dueled Damien-"
"Hold on, he dueled that rotten boy who has been giving you a hard time?" She frowned. Like most parents, Ahmya knew of the no dueling policy in the academy, but also how cruel that Damien boy could be. She lodged numerous complaints, only for them to be ignored or given a wishy-washy response.
"Yeah! He came back from a certain defeat. Damien looked to be out of it afterwards though, like something broke in that messed up brain of his." He said before frowning. That was like the pot calling the kettle black, he should have thought that one through. "Um, anyways he's a nice guy, and I'm sure he'll become a friend once we get to know him better."
"That's good. Now I'm almost finished with my work, I'll start dinner afterwards. Can you wait an hour?" Ahmya asked.
"I'll be fine. I can use this time to work on some homework." Bonz pulled his backpack off and shouldered it. "I'll be fine."
"Just don't get distracted watching one of your horror movies again." His mother teased him.
"Ah! It was one time! Besides, it's for background noise." He whined, causing his mother to chuckle as he retreated to his bedroom.
Ahmya fingered her chin watching her only child head into his bedroom. Bonz got a lot of his habits from both her and his father, they both enjoyed the spooky and paranormal side of things, why they even got married in the Aokigahara forest because it was romantic to them. So when he disappeared the both of them knew something abnormal happened, and the same thing happened when he showed up again. Even after things went back to normal, the lack of real answers still bugged the both of them. But they set it aside in order to take care of their son who needed them more than solving a spooky mystery.
She would keep an eye out for this Seth character though. Her little zombie boy was not going to disappear again under her watch.
Now if one were to expect Bonz's bedroom to be filled with horror memorabilia and other creepy stuff then they would be right. There were posters of Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, and Day of the Dead. He had action figures ranging from Pazuzu from The Exorcist to Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Of course it wasn't just American cinema he was in love with, he also had Godzilla movies, the Ring, the Grudge, and even stuff that wasn't really known outside Japan from countries like Germany or South Korea. He even had a copy of the Italian film Cannibal Holocaust, one of the most fucked up movies ever made and banned in Japan.
Setting his backpack on his bed that had a black comforter with the image of a red Oni on it, Bonz sighed and ran his fingers through his short hair. Today was exhausting and full of twists and turns.
But for the first time in years he felt alive. Looking over at his desk that used to hold his old Duel Monsters figurines, he clenched his bony hands onto his comforter. "He fought with no fear…he was having fun. God, I used to be like that."
Even though he got screwed over by Bandit Keith in Duelist Kingdom when he was first starting out, Bonz still loved the game. He remembered going over his deck for hours thinking up strategies and gazing at the artwork of his zombie monsters. He had not been able to pick up his deck since Battle City, not after that freak sent him and his former friends to hell.
'Seth also did something like that. But his wasn't out of maliciousness. The more I think about it the less I understand.' Slowly getting off his bed, the ghoulish-looking teen made his way to the closet and opened it. Inside were several boxes buried under some clothes, he got to his knees and began shifting through them until he found what he was looking for.
It was his old duel disk with the deck still inside the slot. He breathed through his nose slowly in order to calm himself. Days ago he would have had a panic attack by even thinking of trying to look for it. But now he was calmer than normal, in fact he was completely fine.
"Perhaps it's time I shake the rust off and take this thing for a spin…this weekend." He covered it up again and moved away to do his homework.
His parents did tell him to take baby steps after all.
"Unc, I'm home!" Rex loudly called out as he entered the apartment he was forced to share with his uncle.
"I'm in the office Rex." A muffled voice replied.
"Good, cause today is the day." Rex had always wanted to strap his duel disk to his arm again and summon his dinos. Forced retirement was not the way he wanted to go out, he paid his dues in spades, and his hard ass uncle locked it all away.
No more. He was going to reclaim his deck and come back from extinction!
Rex entered the office of Noah Raptor, the Chief of Police of Tokonosu City. The man was a hardass to end all hardasses. He was once part of the JSDF and took part in various raids against the Yakuza, Triad smugglers and once against Russian arms dealers. After he was released from active duty he went straight to the police academy, going from a Beat Cop to Chief of Police with a clean record of being incorruptible. It was also a reason why he never married; Noah Raptor was married to the job.
The office itself was basic, it had a desk and chair, showed pictures of his time in the JSDF, some trophies for winning shooting competitions, awards for his time in the service. And of course, a gun safe that Rex never knew the combination of. The place smelled like an ashtray from all the times his uncle smoked in here.
Noah Raptor turned on his swivel chair to regard his nephew. He had tanned skin, purple-blue eyes, and short brown hair that had thick streaks of gray at his temples and a thick mustache. He was unusually tall standing at five foot eleven and had compact muscles that could be seen under his white buttoned up long-sleeved shirt and wore black slacks. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows Rex saw several scars crisscrossing his thick arms from all the knife wounds he received over the years, especially the one going on the right side of his face that cut through his eyebrow and ended near the corner of his mouth.
"Uncle. I need to ask you something." Rex looked his uncle right in the eyes. "It's something really important."
"If it's going out Friday with your friends, then you got my approval. Just be back by eleven." Noah said.
"That's not it…er, well it kinda is." Clearing his throat Rex said what was really on his mind. "Uncle, I'm coming to you to ask you man to man for my dueling deck."
Raising his scarred eyebrow, Noah pulled out his pack of cigarettes and popped one of them into his mouth. "Your dueling deck. Why the hell should I even do that? Especially after the other times when you…tried getting them back." He asked before lighting it with his zippo lighter.
"Yeah, I know what I've done! I tried stealing it back multiple times, I've begged for it, tried to blackmail you, I swear I did everything nearly under the sun." Rex said with a great amount of shame spilling from his voice. "I was wrong, and after all these years I've reflected on everything. So again, I'm asking you man to man can I please have my deck back?"
Taking a drag from his cigarette Noah exhaled the smoke from his mouth and set his cigarette on the ashtray. "And what would you do if I did give it back to you?"
"Heh, I'm gonna have fun with my friends."
"Oh? And what if a tournament pops up. Are you going to compete?" Noah demanded.
"I'm not going to lie uncle, I may or may not join a tournament if one pops up." Rex honestly replied. "But I promise to not go overboard like I did four years ago. No running off to other countries, kidnapping and impersonating another duelist, and of course no going crazy with fame."
Noah looked at his nephew without saying a single word. Picking up his cigarette again he started smoking once more. He watched as Rex looked him in the eyes as he continued to smoke until he was finished.
Breathing smoke from his mouth he slowly got out of his chair. "Boy, when you first came to me you were the biggest pain in my ass." He said, approaching his safe and looked at the combination. "You were a rebellious wild child, obsessed with staying famous as a duelist even though you became nothing more than a joke."
"I know." Rex said. He did not deny anything, he couldn't, by the end of his short career he became a joke of a duelist and everyone knew it.
Noah soon brought his right hand to the combination and began turning it to the right. "How long did it take me to reform you because my brother was absolute garbage as a dad?"
"Nearly a year and a half. A near miss when I could have gone to a juvenile prison early on did I begin to shape up. Of course you monitored me the entire time, even putting that stupid ankle monitor on me." He grumbled.
"And after that you've actually become a somewhat respectable person." Noah replied before turning the combination to the left. "Above average in school, a few detentions, zero run-ins with the police. Honestly, you've become an okay kid."
After turning the combination to the right, he unlocked the safe to reveal manilla folders perfectly stacked in the top portion of the safe. For the weapons Rex was honestly astounded by the illegalness his uncle had in there. A Springfield M1A1 Super Match rifle, an Armalite AR-10T rifle, an Ithaca M37 shotgun, and a Barnett Wildcat C5 crossbow were secured there.
Before he could even question why his uncle had those weapons, his eyes wandered to the duel disk that had been in there for a number of years. He watched as his uncle pulled it out and offered it to him.
"I am giving you one chance Rex. Play responsibly, don't go overboard, because if you do something stupid and reckless again, I'm going to take your deck and donate it to some game shop." From the look in his eyes Rex knew his uncle wasn't kidding. "Do we have a deal?"
"Of course. You won't regret this." Rex took the duel disk in his arms and felt complete again. "I have one more request. Uncle, can I dye my bangs again?"
"Don't push your luck kid."
Hearing the door open, Ai Wheeler nee Kawai opened her brown eyes. "Oh, I must have fallen asleep." She yawned before slowly getting off the couch and stretching to get the kinks out of her back. "Serenity, is that you?"
"Yeah, it's me mom. Did you have a long day again?" Serenity removed her shoes and turned the corner to see her mother. She was unmistakable with her fluffy dark brown hair. She was wearing a pair of light green hospital scrubs signaling she was preparing for, or just came back from her shift.
"It was another double, we had a call off and I took up the shift." Ai sighed in exhaustion. Rubbing her tired eyes she got up and stretched.
"Mom, you know you don't need to work that hard anymore. Joey sends plenty of money from his tournament winnings." Serenity chided her mother.
"I don't want to rely on my only son to help support his mother and sister." She said in response. "He's a grown man now and has his own life to live."
"We are also his family mom." Serenity said. "You should know what obstacles he would go through to help his friends and family. I'm living proof after all."
Ai let out a tired sigh. "I know you're right. But it doesn't seem right after what happened between his father and me. He was left with that horrible man, and I never tried to contact him because I thought he ended up just like him."
"It's in the past, mom. If you still feel guilty just talk it over with him." Serenity hugged her mother. "Don't worry about dinner, I'll make something up. I'm thinking curry sounds nice right now."
"Now you're just trying to kill me." Her mother laughed. Serenity knew she didn't handle spicy foods very well, she blamed Joey for corrupting her little girl. "I'll make dinner sweetie. Go and do your homework okay?"
"Of course." Giving her mother a peck on the cheek Serenity went to her room.
Unlike Bonz or Rex's when she visited them, hers was very plain. It had a bed, desk and chair with a computer on top of it, a decent sized closet, and an end table with a lamp and alarm clock. The only thing that stood out were a few pictures she had of Joey and her in Domino City during summer vacation, her mother with the two of them as well, and even a picture of the gang from Battle City. She also had a picture of Rex and Bonz during a Halloween party they once went to; it was such a fun time!
Setting her backpack on her bed she went over to her computer to get her homework started.
"Okay, giant pandas. I need to look up their habitats, eating habits and…oh I got an email." Serenity paused her research and went to her email account. "Oh! It's from Joey."
Her smile was radiant. She always loved getting calls or messages from her big brother. Opening the message she read it out loud.
"Heya Serenity, you would not believe where I'm at. Give up? I'm in Pegasus' castle. It's hard to believe I'm back on the island where I dueled my heart out to get the money for your surgery. Now you know I've been working my butt off not only playing in tournaments, but also furthering my education.
Well, I've been in contact with Mai and we've been talking quite a lot more since you were last in Domino City. We both have business ideas but…well…ah, it'll cost a lot of money, plus we don't have the technology for what we need. Sooooo the two of us contacted Pegasus and long story short Mai and I closed a deal and became business partners with the guy! He's already contracted a bunch of builders, got a good chunk of land and in a few months Domino City is gonna have itself a grand Duel Monsters themed casino! Mai will be in charge of it because of her own experience being employed and around them, I'll be in charge of security and entertainment, Pegasus has his own ideas but that's a secret for now. Nehe I can't wait to bring you there to see all our hard work paying off!"
Serenity leaned back in her chair, stunned from what she just read. Her brother took a huge initiative and was opening up a casino with Mai Valentine and Maximilian Pegasus. It had the potential to be a big hit or a big failure, now she was worried about her brother getting in over his head this time. Sure, Mai had experience and Pegasus was a businessman, but things could still happen and go wrong.
"Oh, there's more." She began to read the rest of the message. "Before I forget Pegasus alluded that he was releasing several new packs in the next few days. Don't ask me what's in them because I don't know. Trust me I tried to weasel them out of him, but he refused. Oh well, I gotta run, I'll talk to you later sis love ya!"
"That sounds…fun I guess." Serenity sighed before exiting from her email and began working on her project. Rex, Bonz and even Seth would get a kick out of hearing that news, but for her it meant nothing. She swore she would never play Duel Monsters again and that wasn't going to change.
Well, maybe.
Armageddon: Alright I bet you guys are wondering "Armageddon, what the fuck are you doing? You can barely keep up with three stories and haven't updated one in four fucking years!"
Well folks, I'm not going to lie I've been thinking of a Yu-Gi-Oh story for well over a decade. For those who have followed me for all these years you might remember me trying once upon a time ago and it bombing terribly to the point that I destroyed it. But with the Yu-Gi-Oh 25th Anniversary and...well losing my dad in July I did something to not only cope but do something that I've honestly wanted to do for a long while now. You only live once after all. But now to clear some things up regarding what the hell is going on in this story.
A combination of the anime and manga: I'm combining parts of the manga where things go from zero to one-hundred real fucking fast to the anime where they watered things down to the point it was aggravating. I am taking both parts and mixing it into this story as best I can, here are the biggest examples I can list at the moment. Waking of the Dragons happened, but we won't have the Seal of Orichalcos, Eye of Timaeus or the other dragons since that arc was closed out without them needing to be brought back. Pegasus is still alive and not murdered by Yami Bakura. Death-T was how Kaiba lost to Yugi and at least showed us how he got his Blue-Eyes in the manga where in the anime we really don't know except possibly he bought them with his trillions of dollars. There will be more like that throughout the story, well, at least early on so things can get on a roll.
Bonz: Alright in this story Bonz is alive, in the manga Yami Bakura killed him, anime he was sent to the Shadow Realm with Sid and Zygor. As we have seen with Yami Marik when they get defeated in a shadow game everything goes back to normal as we saw with Mai and Bakura (and potentially the other Rare Hunters he banished for losing). And since Yami Bakura has more lives than a cat until his final defeat I'm sure that after he was finally defeated along with Zorc Necrophades, Bonz and the others would be brought back; completely damaged but brought back. Many years later I imagined if he moved away from Domino, got under good influences and grew taller he would be the character I'm using in this story. I'm giving him the last name of Kozuka because he was known as "Ghost" Kozuka in the manga, well it's better than him not having a last name.
Rex: Rex was always a character I viewed as an idiot teenager. Stubborn, full of pride, wanting to keep his fifteen minutes of fame and following someone like Weevil because he was a stupid teenager. In this story he admits to making mistakes...like huge ones, but here's the thing, teenagers are still developing their brains and can change for the better. Hell, in high school I knew a guy who was the biggest troublemaker, went to juvie a few times, and was thought to be known as a future twenty-five to life who'll be Bubba's plaything. Several years later I find out he's married with two kids with a nine to five job and no run-ins with the law since he was nineteen. People can change, and Rex is going to be that type of person in this story. Especially with the heavy discipline you just read about.
Serenity: This is a sort of coming-of-age story for her. I bet lots of people tried to either befriend her or compare her due to her brother being a great duelist. Not to mention she doesn't have a good opinion of it after the virtual world and all the other bullshit that happened in Battle City. Now her getting picked on should not come as a surprise, it doesn't matter if you have a famous relative or are a complete nobody it will happen because high school sucks complete ass. It also doesn't help that in happened in the manga a lot with Miss Chono being a good example of an authority figure abusing her position and other bullies who get a Penalty Game up their asses for being abusive and stupid.
The Parents/Guardians: Unlike in the original series they will be more involved in their kids' lives. I'm not saying they will be stifling since we need the plot to advance, but they'll be around to make sure the characters don't do something stupid like run away to America because they think Yugi and company are getting rare cards from Pegasus.
Damien: Now he was known as the Star Chip-theft victim in both the manga and anime. It always did bug me that nothing was resolved when it came to him, but lucky for me fanfiction exists. Since he was nameless, I game him this one that's a combination of American and Japanese...it doesn't help that I watched the Omen while trying to create the guy. I would imagine him being really fucked up and hateful after getting his deck and star chips stolen. It's one thing to be kicked out of a tournament by being beaten by someone better than you, it's another when you were halfway there, stolen and screwed over. He'll change later of course.
The Timeline: The original Yu-Gi-Oh started in 1997, Yugi was a sophomore then and had three more years of high school before graduation. Darkside of Dimensions happened in 2000, four years passed by after that so the timeline should be in 2004. I think, seriously feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. The technology will be sort of around that time, you know flip phones and the like. That could change though with the bullshit Kaiba can employ.
The OG cast: They will make an appearance, cameo's really since they have their own lives to live. They won't exactly be doing anything major since this revolves around the gang in this story...maybe, we'll see how this goes.
Shadow Charms: Yes, I know that they made their appearance in GX, but you can't really think that they didn't exist before then. Right now, Seth's is the only one to be featured until later in the story. Shadow Game and Penalty Game shenanigans will happen, but to those who really deserve it like Damien. It doesn't help that Seth's mom is a scary badass who'll sic Anubis on her son if he starts doing something he shouldn't.
Cards: And now we finally get to the main thing, the cards. I'm keeping the in-universe thing of some cards being unobtainable since they are one of a kind like Relinquished, Thousand Eyes Restrict, the Toon monsters with their support cards, Kaiba having the only three Blue-Eyes White Dragons in existence with the support cards, you know stuff like that. There will be other cards that will be available if not extremely rare like Exodia, the Dark Magician, and Red-Eyes Black Dragon. And since four years have passed there will be cards that have come out like Elemental Heroes, Six Samurai, but no Neo-Spacian monsters or Yubel for obvious reasons. There will not be LINK, XYZ, Syncro, or Pendulum monsters...seriously, no just no. I'm keeping this simple as possible without all that stuff.
Now if you have any more questions feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer without spoiling anything. Read and review folks it's the only way I'll improve.