Zai

August Seig WIP

~A Zai Mecha Rp~ ~Logo By: Thar~ ~Theme: Song For...~ Intro Rules and Info Setting Plot Application Templates

What Zai Likes: Mecha, Science fiction, sunrise studios in the 1990s, et al. Honestly, if its good, I'll probably enjoy it, but I lean toward stuff that's a bit more grounded. Cool with long stuff too, so long as its not like, 100+ episodes of serialized action show. Things Zai dislikes: Moe crap (Cute is fine, cute and terrible is not), shit with one season that doesn't have a complete story. MyAnimeList: So out of date its irrelevant. Avoid stuff that aired on cartoon network from like 1999-2010 and you should be ok.

Yushiro looked over the two cards in his hand. It wasn’t much, but there was definitely enough there for him to make a play. “First I’ll banish the Speed Recovery I sent to my GY last turn to return Speedroid Terrortop to my hand, and then I’ll normal summon it! Say hi!” Terrortop returned, spinning triumphantly, if such a thing was possible. Clear Wing looked down at it and let out a gravely huff that could almost be construed as a laugh. “And when terrortop gets summoned, I can add a Speedroid from my deck to my hand, and I choose another Taketomborg! And guess who’s taking the field next?” Yushiro fished the card from his deck and placed it immediately on the field. “I’m sure you can guess what the next part’s gonna be.” “Just get on with it,” Hiraku groaned. “Of course I don’t know in that bargain-bin budget deck of yours.” “One of my ‘bargain bin’ Synchros. One that’s gonna hurt. I tribute Taketomborg to special summon Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice from my deck, and when the Dice comes out, I can select a speedroid I control and change its level. Terrortop becomes level four so I can Synchro summon…” Out of the rings and the beacon of light emerged a massive blade, with a humanoid robot seemingly riding the hilt. “Hi-Speedroid Chanbara!” ATK: 2000 “And this is supposed to hurt how?” Hiraku said, unimpressed. “You can take out my tuner but it won’t be enough to win, and you still have the Fury of Daedalus to contend with. Two thousand attack won’t help you there.” Without saying a word, Yushiro played the second card in his hand. ATK: 4000, Level 4 Hiraku stood there, looking at the card “Hi-Speed Re-Level” on the field. He didn’t have a witty retort, but he stood there stoic as he looked over the cards on the field and the lifepoints. “Alright then,” he said. “On with it.” Clear Wing-no, Zetsuei looked back at Yushiro for a moment. They were both relishing the moment. “Battle Phase! Chanbara, cut Fury down to size!” ATK: 4200 A moment later, the blade was stabbing through the face of Fury of Daedalus’s nearest head, splitting it neatly in two as Chanbara flew through it at high speed. It then repeated the maneuver with the other three before Fury finally shattered. LP: 7200 “I activate Fury’s effect. When he’s sent to the Graveyard I can add one crucible card from my graveyard to my hand, and I choose my fusion spell, Forged in the Crucible,” Hiraku said, plucking the card from his graveyard without looking. “And now the double tap! See, Chanbara can attack twice. Show Kuanos what that means!” Without stopping, Chanbara flew through Kuanos as well. ATK: 4400 LP: 4300 “And lastly, Clear Wing, why don’t we introduce you to Hiraku personally? Dragon Slash Mirage!” On command, the Dragon took off, flying upward and then, seemingly, disappearing in a haze of afterimages. An instant later Clear Wing reappeared behind his target, arm outstretched as if it had thrown a punch, while simultaneously, a shimmering white slash mark cut across Hiraku’s body. It stung a bit too, enough to leave a mark. LP: 1800 Hiraku was left with a set card and nothing else. When the smoke cleared, he could be seen giving Yushiro a scathing glare. “You’re going to regret that,” Hiraku said as the disk indicated it was his turn. He draw a card and looked at it, and in the deathly silent arena he laughed, very loud and very hard. “Did I just break him?” Yushiro thought to himself as Hiraku laughed for what was arguably far too long. At last Yushiro spoke aloud. “What’s so funny?!” “Oh, nothing! But let’s just say luck isn’t on your side as well as you think!” Hiraku said, wiping a tear from his eye. “But first, let’s say hi to a new friend! Remember that fusion spell I added to my hand? Well I’m activating it again.” Hiraku placed Forged in the Crucible back on the field. “If I’m summoning a Daedalus fusion monster with this card, I can banish materials from my Graveyard as well. From my Graveyard I use the Fury of Daedalus and the Will of Daedalus as my materials.” The two past monsters rose from a portal in the field and immediately began to combine in a well of red light in the middle of the field. “Given purpose, an endless rage that will not rest until all before it is laid to ash! Fusion Summon! Level 11!” As the light cleared, a massive, clawed foot slammed down on the field. As it came into view the Wrath of Daedalus stood as a massive, four-legged dragonic beast whose many tails ended in a series of even more heads, each roaring and filling the arena. “The Wrath of Daedalus!” ATK: 3300 Hiraku stood there, looking at the monster proudly. “But I’m not done,” he said, without taking his eyes off the creature. “I activate the card Pre-Preparation of Rights, which lets me add a ritual spell to my hand as well as a monster listed on that card. I choose these two.” Hiraku held up two cards in hand, but quickly put them to use. “I then activate Evolution of the Crucible, which lets me banish monsters from my graveyard as materials. I banish Talos and Kuanos from my Graveyard.” Same as with the fusion spell, both monsters rose from the field, but instead burst into flames, one yellow and the other purple. “Surpass those around you and rise above all others! Stand proud with the world beneath, and display your perfection! Ritual Summon! The Ambition of Daedalus!” Different than the other bosses, Ambition stood on two feet with an armored, and rather humanoid appearance, yet gilded and highly regal. Sheathed through its armor and neck extended two, massive, golden halberds. Its feet touching gently on the field, arms hanging by its sides, the Ambition of Daedalus quietly stared down at Clear Wing, tendrils of smoke floating lazily from its jagged, glowing mouth. “You know it’s not often that an opponent will draw out my ace monster, at least you have that to be proud about!” Hiraku laughed. “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming.” Yushiro didn’t flinch. He wouldn’t. At least not yet. “Do your worst!” “My worst? Okay, don’t say you didn’t ask for it! I activate the effect for Wrath of Daedalus. By returning two of my banished monsters, he gains 1000 attack. I choose Talos and Kuanos to return to my Graveyard.” “Definitely your worst! I activate Clear Wing’s effect, which negate’s Wrath of Daedalus, and then-” “Did you think I was just going to fall for that?” Hiraku interrupted. “I chain the effect of Ambition! By banishing a dark monster from my Graveyard, I get to negate the effects of one of your monsters and it loses 1000 ATK!” A portal opened and the Ambition of Daedalus thrust its arm inside, gripping one of the fiend monsters in its claw. The smaller monster shriveled up as purple lights ran up the monster’s arm and into one of the halberds, that began to glow. The Crucible monster turned to ash and the Ambition of Daedalus drew the glowing halberd, hefting it with both hands and holding it up high. Tongues of purple flame lashed across Clear Wing, and soon Ambition was returning the halberd to its rightful place. ATK: 1500 “Of course it wasn’t gonna be that easy…” “There we go, now the stage is set! Battle! Wrath of Daedalus, cut that third-rate dragon down to size!” Each of the giant monster’s mouths began to glow brightly as it took aim at Yushiro’s ace monster. “By the way, did I forget to mention that the battle damage he deals is doubled? Have fun!” Yushiro winced as Wrath fired. Clear Wing avoided the first blast, but was caught mid dodge by the rest. The force of the impact slammed the dragon into one of the support beams of the building, and the hologram shattered. LP: 1100 “But I don’t think you’ve been punished enough!” Hiraku said. “So, now it’s Ambition’s turn to break your stupid toy. Ambition, attack his Speedroid!” The Ambition of Daedalus spread its arms wide as red lightning crackled in its palms. Even with Chanbara’s attack boost it would be enough as the streams of lightning played across the walls and swept through the synchro monster, leaving nothing but a shower of particles. As Chanbara went to his graveyard, Yushiro banished it. “When Chanbara’s destroyed, I get to add a banished speedroid back to my hand- I’ll take Panchingo-Kart back.” LP: 700 “And now you’re hanging by a thread with not a card on your field, and barely a thing in your hand! Why even bother take another turn? Against these? You should just surrender on the spot! Save yourself the trouble! I end my--” “Effect, activate! I discard the Kuribohrn in my hand to resurrect a monster that was destroyed by battle this turn, and I’m bringing back Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!” As quickly as it had vanished, the dragon returned, the spirit of the white Kuriboh watching over it as it materialized on the field, and it looked none too pleased about being destroyed. “I didn’t come here just to give up at the end! I came here tonight to prove a point. To prove to you, and every other person watching this game that I deserve to be here! I’m done being your punching bag, Hiraku. Now end your turn so we can finish this duel!” “Fine! I end my turn!” Hiraku shouted back. “But that stupid dragon won’t be enough! Draw your last pathetic card!” Zetsuei roared back at him, clearly more insulted than Yushiro was. “Just you watch!” Yushiro closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and drew his card, hoping that it would somehow allow him to pull out a win. He gave it a look. “Alright, here goes nothing. First I’ll play this spell card I just drew. It’s called Shock Surprise. By banishing both the Taketomborgs in my GY, I get to destroy two cards on the field, and I choose both of your Daedalus monsters.” “I activate Ambition’s other effect! By banishing a Light monster from my grave, I protect my fiend monsters from destruction for the rest of the turn!” Ambition once again reached into a portal and pulled out another of the Crucible monsters tightly, though this time a yellow light drained from the monster into the other halberd as it crumbled to dust. The Ambition of Daedalus then drew the halberd and held it up as a golden light washed over it and Wrath. “Alright then. Your pal Ambition have any more surprises for me?” Hiraku only glared. It would be stupid for Yushiro to let himself be baited by any old effect again, but it meant he was in a tough position. “Good. Next up’s a normal summon: remember Panchingo-Kart?” Once again the speedroid was on the field. Clear Wing looked pleased to have a little company. “Anything to say to that?” “Yeah, like ‘don’t forget Ambition’s effect lasts the whole turn’ before you toss a card hoping to get rid of him or anything stupid,” Hiraku growled. “Too bad. That was your last chance to stop me from winning.” Soundtrack- Yu-Gi-Oh! Skies Theme Yushiro couldn’t contain himself anymore, and a wide, confident smirk appeared across his face. “This whole game, all you’ve been focussed on was destroying every card I put on the field. You like sitting back behind those huge monsters of yours. Rubbing it in, trying to make me feel small. So I let you, and each time you did, you put more cards in my graveyard- cards that kept me in this game up until now. And last turn, well… you put a game-winning combo in there. Let me show you!” Yushiro fished Den-den Daiko Duke out of his graveyard. “I can banish Den-Den here to special summon another Speedroid Tuner. I wouldn’t have had anything to do with it before, but since you were kind enough to destroy Chanbara last turn, I got another monster out, which means I have just enough for one last synchro summon. The Tuner I Summon, is Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!” “Just get on with it,” Hiraku said. “When Dice is summoned, I can target a Speedroid and alter its level. Go-Kart goes to level 3, so I can make a level 4 synchro summon. Say hi, Armory Arm!” One more time, through the rings and light, a monster appeared on Yuhsiro’s field. This time a floating, mechanical gauntlet. ATK: 1800 “I’m sure you’ve seen this card in the bargain bin before, but in case you forgot, Armory Arm can equip itself to a monster of mine for a 1000 point ATK boost. Try it on, Clear Wing.” The dragon stuck out its claw, and Armory Arm slid over it, sprouting a sixth finger to accommodate Clear Wing’s own extra digit. ATK: 3500 “Now knock Ambition’s block off! Vigorous Right Fist- Fukuryu!” Instead of afterimages, Clear Wing flew straight for Ambition as a field of golden energy formed around Armory arm. The punch hit with such force that Ambition smashed into the opposite wall, and had it been more solid, would have left quite the dent in it. LP: 1300 “And Armory Arm has an extra effect attached to it, doesn’t it,” Hiraku said, glaring at Yushiro. “You bet. You take damage equal to the destroyed monster’s ATK. And that’s game.” LP: 0 Hiraku had already turned around and was storming off from his platform as his lifepoint counter drained to zero, and the winner was announced in a flashy display, the banquet hall erupting in a deafening chorus of cheers. Yushiro hopped onto Clear Wing’s tail as the dragon looped back around, and flew over toward Hiraku’s end of the arena. “Hey, wait!” he called over, offering his hand. Hiraku paused at the doorway and turned, shooting Yushiro one more glare. “This isn’t over,” he said, opening the door and disappearing through it. “But… It was a good game.….” he said, his hand still outstretched.

NEW ONE IS ACCEPTED KTHNX

"Ollie, watch it, he's-" Trey stopped as he felt a twinge of pain and a tug at his leg. He looked down to see a Shinx angrily biting his ankle. "Hey there pal, something the matter?" Without missing a beat, Trey, pulled his leg back a bit, bent down, and picked the fussy little pokemon up, giving him a friendly scratch behind the ears. The Shinx didn't seem to take kindly to it, though, and kept squirming and nipping at him, trying to break out of Trey's arms. Still, this was nothing compared to some of the shocks and bites he'd gotten from Volkner's pokemon when he was younger, and he ignored it and smiled when he heard what was pretty obviously the Shinx's trainer calling out. "Oh, what should I do, Leopold come back here!" Hey hey hey! We’re in the middle of something here! Robin, stop!” Trey glanced back to the battle and saw his Cyndaquil on the ground. His smile disappeared as he did- looking away for an instant had nearly cost him the battle, but that was how things went sometimes. He started walking toward the girl- no, girls! There were three of them now, and as Leopold struggled in his arms he yelled over to Lennox. "Hey Lenny, we've got some company. Why don't we call it here? You guys pretty much have the win anyways!" Hearing that, Ollie sprung to his feet, and in spite of the bruising darted right back over to his trainer as he put the girl's Shinx back down. "Guess that little rascal's yours, huh? He must be a handful." He looked back down as Ollie came up to him, and then squatted down, fist outstretched. "Great job out there bro. Pound it!" Paw met fist, and Trey fetched an Oran berry out of his bag for his partner before turning back to the assembled group. There was Ran, of course, Leopold's trainer: a pretty girl in a straw hat (score!), and another girl behind her who wasn't too hard on the eyes herself. She seemed to have a Houndour with her, which was sure to catch Ollie's attention once he was finished munching. "I guess Rancoat already introduced herself. My name's Trey, and this here's Ollie." He gestured down to his cyndaquil, then stuck his hand out, offering either one of them a shake if they wanted to take it. "And you guys are?"

“Joy. Another one.” “And he’s just getting started.” Yushiro replied as he stared down the newest monstrosity before him. “And I’m just getting started,” Hiraku said with a sneer. “I activate the effect of The Will of Daedalus. By detaching a material that’s a Level 5 monster, I get to destroy 2 cards on your field. So let’s get rid of those bothersome facedown cards.” “Guess I’ll just have to play these a little earlier than expected! I chain both of my set traps: Graceful Skull Dice and then Re-dyce-cle! The latter lets me bring a Speedroid tuner back from the grave, and as for the former…” As Yushiro spoke, Daiko Duke returned to the field in defense mode. “I roll a die, and the ATK of all your monsters gets decreased by 100 times the result, while the ATK of mine gets raised by an equal amount. Roll it you two!” The cherub and gremlin from graceful skull dice hefted a giant die above their heads and dropped it. It bounced across an invisible floor, spun on a corner for a moment, and landed on 5. “Nice! A delta of 500 for both sides. That means change by the way, just in case you thought you were the only one who was going to do some schooling this game.” “I need to teach you some better lines kid.” Hiraku stood there silently for a moment. His expression remained unchanged but his eyes darted from his hand to the field a few times. “Fine then. I suppose this will just be drawn out a little longer,” he said. “I’ll set one more card and end my turn. You know I was hoping this duel would be more interesting, but I’m afraid that if you can’t liven things up I might just cut it short. We do have a party to attend to, after all!” “He says, as he ends his turn. Would be a little bit more intimidating if you actually managed to do something that round.” Yushiro drew his next card, and looked at the board. For whatever reason, Hiraku had neglected to attack Den-Den Daiko Duke, leaving Yushiro with two monsters on the field this time. Misplay or not, he had to seize the opportunity. “You want action? Fine. I normal Summon Nitro Synchron, and next, I’ll activate panchingo-kart’s effect. I discard a machine-type and destroy one monster on the field. Guess who.” “Sorry, but I’m not so sure about that one,” Hiraku said with a smile. “I activate the trap card Dark Sacrifice. It negates that effect and lets me send a level 3 or lower DARK monster from my Deck to the Graveyard. I’ll be sending another Khalko.” “Great. Guess that one fizzled. Well, go-kart’s still got some usefulness in him! I tune it with Nitro Synchron for a level six synchro summon!” The familiar stars and synchro rings appeared, and out of the flash of light, Yushiro’s old ace appeared. “Place your bets everyone, because here comes Nitro Booster!” ATK: 2300 “And because I used nitro synchron to summon him, I get to draw another card.” Yushiro looked at it, then set it on the field. “And next, I’ll discard Speed Recovery from my hand to increase Nitro Booster’s ATK by 500!” ATK: 2800 “Now punch Will of Daedalus in his ugly face! Nitro Bullet Burst!” Nitro Booster gave Yushiro a thumbs up, then hit the invisible floor at top speed, gliding across the field with the wheels on his feet. The hubcaps on the top of his hands burst loose as a torrent of blue flames shot out from them, and he spun around and jumped for the monster before him, fist outstretched. The Will of Deadalus took the fist directly to the face, clutching it before shattering into a cloud of triangles. But behind him, was Hiraku’s second trap turned face up. “When you destroyed him, you let me activate Reformation of the Crucible, which lets me summon a Crucible monster from my Graveyard and draw one card. I’ll bring back Talos, Giant of the Crucible in defense position.” Hiraku then drew his card as the giant was revived into the centre of the field. “As well, when Will of Deadalus is destroyed, I get to add a Crucible monster to my hand from my Deck. So I add Kabeiriko to my hand.” DEF: 2300 “You just keep on coming, don't you? Well, enjoy Talos while he lasts, because Nitro booster’s second attack is up next! Or did you forget that my buddy here can knock out two monsters per battle phase?” “Why do you think I put him in Defense Position?” “Good call. This would hurt a lot more otherwise. Take him out Nitro Booster!” Not missing a beat, Nitro Booster landed back in front of Yushiro, and leapt up again, though this time he made a lap along the walls of Maiden hall, giving everyone present an up-close view of his polished chrome (And making sure to give Elizabeth Hall a personal thumbs-up from his duelist as he passed her) before kicking off of a support beam and landing a wicked uppercut on Talos, sending the giant flying. Talos shattered as he hit the skylight, raining smoke and virtual debris down on the field. “It may only have been for 1000 damage, but at least I put a dent in him. And it didn’t blow up in my face this time.” Yushiro wiped a bit of sweat from his brow as his synchro monster returned to his side of the field. “That’s it for me this turn. You’re up!” “And that’s your ace?” Hiraku said. “That’s all you got when I give you a chance to turn this around? Pity. Well, I guess playtime’s over.” Yushiro took a glance down at the Nitro Booster card on his duel disk, the scratches from its run-in with the pavement the other week were clearly visible. “Got a problem with my choice of monsters, do ya? You know Nitro Booster’s a heck of a lot less ugly than the freakshows you’ve got over there!” It was kind of lame, sure, but Yushiro felt the need to defend one of his favorite cards. “Oh no, no problem on my end. It’s yourself that you should be worried about. First, I Normal Summon Kabeiriko, Mount of the Crucible and activate his effect. I can send a LIGHT Crucible monster from my Deck to my grave and inflict 800 damage. I choose to send a second Talos from my Deck.” ATK: 1500 The muscle-bound demon that stood on the field with its shoulders hunched took a deep breath through its toothy maw and let out a mouthful of rancid, purple smoke in Yushiro’s direction. He choked and coughed- the stuff wasn’t entirely fake this time. LP: 7200 “Next, because I control a Crucible monster, I can summon Kuanos from my hand.” ATK: 1500 “Finally, I activate Forged in the Crucible, which lets me banish two fiend monsters from my grave for a Fusion Summon. So, let’s welcome back a dear friend who’s just -dying- to see you again! I banish one of my Talos and my Keledones from my Graveyard to fusion summon the Fury of Daedalus!” A portal opened on the ground and one by one not one, not two, but four dragon heads rose from the portal, connected to a central, four-legged eldritch body. Once the creature managed to pull itself from the portal, all four heads let out a deafening roar. ATK: 2800 “Not this thing again!” “You’ve seen it before?” “I almost lost to it last time.” “Now then! Once per turn ol’ Fury here gets to return up to four of my banished fiends and gain 800 attack for each, but while I say there’s no kill like overkill, I’m afraid it will be an underkill either way. I return my banished Khalko to my deck for Fury to gain 800 ATK until the end of your next turn.” ATK: 3600 “Now that’s how you do a stat boost! Now can you see why your Nitro isn’t enough? Actually, why not a demonstration?” It was obvious by this point that Hiraku simply enjoyed listening to himself talk. “Fury? Why don’t you teach that Nitro Booster a lesson.” One of the four heads inhaled as a ball of energy collected in its mouth, while simultaneously the humanoid body on the central mass gathered its own orb of energy. At once, both volleys of energy were unleashed in the direction of Nitro Booster, who turned around and gave Yushiro a reassuring nod before disappearing into the light. LP: 6700 “Now, I’ll let my other two monsters have their way. Kabeiriko? Take care of that stupid tuner, then Kuanos can attack directly.” One by one the monsters leapt at Yushiro, first Kabeiriko taking a flying leap attack at Den-Den Daiko Duke, then Kuanos lunging at Yushiro with a swipe. “Not so fast! Activate trap! Magical arm shield!” When the trap activated, the shield appeared on Yushiro’s left arm. As Kuanos lunged, a spring arm shot out from the shield, grabbing Kaberiko and pulling it to Yushiro’s side of the field. “Kuanos’s attack target now becomes kaberiko!” “Hey, you didn’t… you know, lock your card out, did you?” “What? No, I didn’t, but it's not even your turn, what are going to-” Soundtrack- Yushiro's Theme “Or at least, it would be! I banish Re-dyce-cle from my GY, which lets me synchro summon using a speedroid tuner I control, and a monster on my field, and guess where Kaberiko is!” Before Hiraku could answer, Kaberiko disappeared, becoming four stars surrounded by the synchro rings created by Den-Den Daiko Duke. “A little luck, and a lot of will! Carry these wishes on your shimmering wings, and slash through the skies! Synchro Summon! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!” A massive burst of light shot out from within the rings, and out of it flew the sleek, serpentine form of Yushiro’s new dragon, rivaling Fury of Daedalus in size. “What?!” Hiraku cried out, his facade finally cracking. “Where does a player like YOU get a card that rare?!” “A good friend gave it to me, and I’ve been saving it just for this match!” Clear Wing let out a roar, loud enough to make the building shake. The dragon was ready to fight, and it was then that Yushiro noticed the lack of Zetsuei’s voice in his head. He smiled; his new companion must be out on the field in a body of his own. “Now, because all of that went down while you were declaring an attack, you get yourself a replay. So whaddya say, wanna try your luck?” Hiraku looked at Yushiro stupefied, then laughed. “You really think one disturbed battle is going to be enough? Fine, whatever. I can just end you next turn. You’ve got one card in your hand and a monster too weak to destroy mine. I’ll set one card and end my turn.” "This Duel's far from over, Hiraku! Draw!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Ashley spoke loudly into the microphone, drawing the attention of the entire building. Once the vast majority of eyes were on her, she continued, though she spoke with slightly less energy- her presence (or her looks) were enough to keep the audience interested now. She was in her element. "It is now exactly 7:00 pm, which means that Kickoff, and by extension our school year, has officially begun!" They'd been in school for three weeks already, of course, but symbolically (and as far as the workload in most courses was usually concerned) the fall semester never really started until the week after Kickoff. "As is tradition here at Blue Yonder Academy, every year we begin this event with an exhibition duel- where two of our school's most promising duelists go head to head for glory, bragging rights, and of course, your entertainment! But that's not all!" From underneath the podium, Ashley produced what appeared to be a locator card, though it was very unlike the cheap plastic things most duelists would be familiar with. It appeared to be made from some sort of solid white marbled material, engraved with ornate markings in blue- the academy's colors, and the only part of it that could actually be seen through was the precision cut slot where the card was located. Those who had been to Kickoff before knew what this was, but the freshmen, as well as students like Yushiro who had neglected to go in previous years, were in for a bit of a surprise. "The winner will also receive this: a copy of our school's mascott, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon! A rare and powerful monster from days gone by, here at Blue Yonder Academy they say getting one of these bad boys means there's great things in store for your future. Will it bring fame? Fortune? Good Grades? Well, whatever Blue-Eyes has in store, it'll be coming to one of these two competitors!" With a flourish, Ashley stuck her arm into the air and waved it in the direction of one of the balconies. On cue, a spotlight shined down on Hiraku. "Over here we have Hiraku Tsukino, a second-year student and one of the Aces of our duel team! His Crucible deck features an array of powerful and terrifying fiend-type monsters capable of utterly crushing the opposition! Will he be able to maintain his spot as one of Blue Yonder's top duelists? Or will he be taken down by..." Another flick of her wrist, and the spotlight was now on Yushiro. "Yushiro Midori! Also a second year, he's one of the duel team's newest recruits, but does his Speedroid deck have what it takes? There's only one way to find out. Now, say it with me everyone!" It was a bit corny, sure, but the phrase never failed to get people hyped, especially at a Duel Monsters-obsessed school like Blue Yonder. "IT'S TIME TO DUEL!" And with that, the game began. Hiraku and Yushiro stepped out onto their platforms and activated their duel disks, and the night sky abopve maiden hall took on the familiar magenta tinge of Duel Space. “Well, considering rank I think it’s safe to say that you’re the challenger here,” Hiraku said, shuffling his deck. “So I’m going to be generous and let you decide who goes first.” Yushiro tugged on his tie, fighting to stifle his nerves. Hiraku looked less short (and consequently more intimidating) standing across from him with nothing to compare his stature to. “Relax. Just do your Yushiro thing.” “I thought I told you to shut up.” Yushiro took a deep breath, then pulled his yen coin out of his pocket. “Alright then, we’ll let lady luck decide. Call it!” He flicked the coin into the air with his thumb, then caught it as it fell without taking his eyes off of Hiraku. Yushiro kept his fist clenched, waiting to reveal the face the coin landed on until after Hiraku called it. Hiraku shrugged. “Fine. Heads.” Yushiro opened his fist- the coin was heads. “You’re up. Make it count.” “When wouldn’t I?” Hiraku said with a smirk as he drew his hand. He took one glance at his hand and looked up. “So you’re a synchro player, then? I think I’ll start things off by testing your mettle. First: while I control no monsters, I can special summon Khalko, Beast of the Crucible from my hand.” A ghastly creature with snakes for arms and the legs of a spider spawned in the middle of Hiraku’s field-- a level 3 tuner monster. “Next, I will normal summon Keledones, Siren of the Crucible. When she’s Normal Summoned I can send a Dark monster from my deck to the grave and gain 800 lifepoints. I choose Talos, Guardian of the Crucible. Now, I tune the level 3 Khalko with the Level 4 Keledones.” Khalko transformed into three rings and circled around Keledones, who turned to four stars and vanished in a beam of light. “Synchro Summon! Level 7, the Scrutiny of Daedalus!” DEF: 2900 The great, winged creature hovered over the field, its size so big it vanished into the walls of the building, like a monster peering through. “And I will end my turn by setting one card. Now then, show me how you deal with this.” “Are you sure that was the right call? That thing’s pretty gnarly, kid.” “Yeah. It was the right call. I’m gonna do this my way, win or lose.” Yushiro drew his hand, then took his first draw. “You wanna test me? Fine. First off, I’ll Special summon Speedroid Terrortop. You’ve seen it before so I’ll spare you the explanation, and move right on to activating its effect, which lets me add a Speedroid monster from my deck to my hand.” Yushiro moved his hand to call for a card, then stopped. “Got anything to say about that?” “Just hope it’s worth it,” Hiraku said with a sinister smile. Yushiro shot him a glare. "I’ll add Speedroid Taketomborg to my hand, then. And he’ll be my next special summon!” Taketomborg took its place beside Rerrortop on the field. “And now I’ll activate his effect- tributing him to special summon a Speedroid tuner from my deck.” Taketomborg gave a very theatrical thumbs-up, and then disappeared, to be replaced by… “Speedroid Den-Den Daiko Duke!” A three foot automaton dressed in medieval royal garb appeared on the field. “Know what’s next?” “You’ll summon some bargain-bin common synchro from ten years ago, right?” “Hmph.” Yushiro smiled. “Actually, I’m gonna overlay both of my level 3 monsters! I Xyz summon Number 75: Bamboozling Gossip Shadow!” This time, Duke was the one to give a thumbs-up, and both it and Terrortop faded away, transforming into two green twinkling stars, which began to orbit an inky, black cloud of what appeared to be gas. The number 75 appeared on it and began to glow red as it took on a humanoid shape. DEF: 2600 “If you think this is going to go the way our last game did, you’ve got another thing coming.” As if to punctuate Yushiro’s bravado, Gossip Shadow gave Hiraku a wink and a diabolical smile. “Oh don’t worry, I think this is going to end very differently. Now get on with it!” “Yeah I don’t think you’re gonna be able to psych this guy out, kiddo.” “I don’t care how he takes it. I’m not gonna take his attitude lying down.” Yushiro looked over his hand for a moment. Just like last time, he was going to have to jump through hoops to get around whatever crazy monstrosities Hiraku pulled out of his extra deck. Not exactly the best situation to be in. “Let’s not forget- I still have my normal summon. And I’m gonna use it to play this: Speedroid Pachingo-kart.” ATK: 1800 “I activate its effect. Know what that means?” “I do, but I don’t think it’s going to work out in your favour. I’ll chain Scrutiny’s effect in response. By banishing Khalko from my Graveyard, I can negate your effect and inflict 1000 damage.” The Scrutiny of Daedalus lifted one of its hands, and the portal set in the palm started to glow a deep purple. “No, actually. Scrutiny’s effect makes us both draw a card. Or at least, that’s what its effect becomes when I activate Number 75’s effect!” Hiraku’s expression went unchanged, however. Even as he drew a card and his Synchro monster was shattered before him, he had an unwavering look. “Now, let’s see the consequences. First, Khalko’s effect for being banished: I get to add a LIGHT Crucible monster from my Deck to my hand. I choose Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible.” Hiraku’s duel disk spat out the card and he plucked it gingerly. “Next, I activate the effect of the Scrutiny of Daedalus. When he’s sent to the Graveyard, I get to Special Summon a Fiend monster, and I choose Talos, Giant of the Crucible.” From where Scrutiny was rose a halberd-weilding demon. DEF: 2300 “Now, was that all?” “I’ll set two cards, and end my turn.” Not the best outcome, but at least Yushiro had some field presence now. Still, he grimaced. The disparity between their decks was obvious, and Hiraku was right back in a position to press his advantage when he gained it again. “Sad,” Hiraku said, drawing his card. “First thing’s first, I’ll activate Talos’s effect and target Gossiping Shadow.” As quickly as it had appeared, number 75 disappeared, letting out a cackle as it faded away. “Then, I return Khalko to my Graveyard. But he won’t be there long, as I’ll banish him again to summon Kourai, Guardian of the Crucible from my hand.” ATK: 2300 “You know the drill with Khalko. I use his effect to add Kuanos to my hand. Now, you think that’s Xyz Summoning then I’ll show you another thing or two. I’m going to overlay my two Level 5 Crucible Monsters.” Both fiends vanished into their respective orbs, one yellow and one purple, before spiraling into the same galaxy shape in a flash of light. “Xyz Summon! Rank 5, The Will of Daedalus!” ATK: 2300 "Joy. Another one." "And he's just getting started." Yushiro replied as he stared down the newest monstrosity before him.

"Heh, not too bad!" Trey exclaimed, swiping his index finger underneath his nose as Ollie jumped backwards, kicking up some dust when he landed. "Looks like that Heracross is a little too strong to take on with a direct approach. Whaddya think bro, wanna try some finesse?" Ollie looked back at his trainer, giving Trey a nod in the affirmative before fixing his gaze back on Robin. "'Atta boy. Show 'em a smokescreen!" Ollie complied, charging back in toward his opponent before abruptly changing direction, diving to the left as flame exploded out from his back. As Ollie neared Robin, they fizzled and sputtered, before emitting clouds of thick, black smoke. "Now wrap 'em up!" On cue the cyndaquil leapt into the air and spun, blasting hot gasses and soot down on the much larger bug type as he passed overhead. Oliie landed on his feet and hit the ground running, going for another pass on the opposite side and making sure Robin was completely covered by the thick haze as he jumped back over him. It was such that the Heracross would have to spend several moments vibrating his wings to disperse the heavy cloud- a technique Trey and Ollie had practiced after having their screens blown away one too many times by eager flying types. "And next, lets put some fear in 'em. Leer!" Ollie dove into the cloud, and from where he stood, Lennox would just barely be able to make out the orange, menacing lights Ollie projected toward Robin as he darted around inside the cloud of smoke- the whole display thoroughly masking the Cyndaquil's actual location and hopefully throwing off the Heracross enough that he wouldn't be able to counter what was coming next. "Fury Swipes!" The moment Ollie had been wait for. He jumped through the smoke, digging his claw into Robin's carapace as he passed by him. Ollie turned on a dime when he landed, and jumped right back at the beetle, repeating the strike from another angle again and again, each pass dealing a little more damage and digging into Robin's exoskeleton just a bit deeper.

SPECWAR//Group Seven//CIRCUS Team ONI Preliminary Report - 19/03/2558 - Edward Rio, Colonel, CIRCUS, Commanding Officer Not exactly what I had in mind when I asked for permission to establish a SPARTAN fireteam under group seven. Insubordinate rejects, washed-up failures, ne'er-do-wells, walking wounded, and even an actual pirate. I suppose it makes sense- the SPARTAN branch probably got ahold of all the operatives without disciplinary and medical issues years ago. Nonetheless, very disappointing. I ask for soldiers, and instead, I get a bunch of clowns. At least the name fits. ONI Evaluation Report - 28/03/2558 - Edward Rio, Colonel, CIRCUS, Commanding Officer This lot has piqued my curiosity with their… unorthodox training methods. They have repurposed our prototype wargames simulator and the mothballed [GEN 1] MK. 6 MJOLNIR Armor we requisitioned for them into a form of amusement for themselves and their unaugmented comrades assigned to NCM company. This is unexpected, as many of them are experienced veterans from various campaigns, from the Fall of Reach and New Mombasa to Onyx and Requiem and beyond. I'll admit, like the menagerie of men and women that now hang on their every word, I've laughed at their antics on more than one occasion. I find their incessant taunting and immaturity strangely cathartic, even if I cannot help but question whether or not their protracted service has wreaked irreversible harm and havoc upon these poor souls' sanity. ONI After-Action Report - 10/04/2558 - Edward Rio, Colonel, CIRCUS, Commanding Officer I must admit, I had my doubts about this bunch of misfits at first, but they’ve managed to pull together. Their first Op was a resounding success, even if they diverted from the planned extraction coordinates to, quote, “Play another game of Oddball”. I’m requesting permission to recruit additional operatives from the pool of SPARTAN-IV recruits, preferably candidates that don't fit in with the rest. I’m sure SPARTAN won’t have a problem parting with their worst offerings. In addition, I’ve decided to begin broadcasting the team’s “Training Sessions” to NCM company as a whole- its done wonders for morale. -END OF REPORT- CIRCUS Team is looking for members to join for casual matches and minigames in Halo: Online - the unofficial port of Halo 3 multiplayer to the PC by the Eldewrito team (And eventually the PC Master Chief Collection). You can find information on how to install and play Halo: Online here, and you can contact us on the NCM Discord if you want to enlist. UNSC Personal Evaluations: CIRCUS TEAM Commander SPARTAN [REDACTED] "VOID" - CIRCUS One - Urban Pacification Warrant Officer SPARTAN Yui Yurican - CIRCUS Two - Guerilla Warfare Chief Petty Officer Thar-B164 - CIRCUS Three - Sniper Warrant Officer "Rep" Ronald-203 - CIRCUS Four - Point Man Lieutenant “Zai” Leon-BXXX - CIRCUS Six- Asymmetrical Warfare Master Chief Petty Officer Amelia-A292 - CIRCUS Seven- Target Aquisition

"Wait, wait a minute," Ran interjected, hands out as if the gesture could somehow stop the boys. Nodding around to her surroundings, the girl continued "We're still in a Pokémon Center. Maybe we should go take this outside instead." "Oh...." Trey had stopped mid-motion, leaning forward awkwardly as if he was ready top lunge along with Ollie, who was likewise stopped in place. "Yeah. Guess we should, huh. Good thinking Raincoat." Trey straightened up, then bent down and picked up Ollie. "C'mon Lenny. lets take this outside." --- The trio walked for a few minutes, moving into a vacant lot between a few nearby buildings. It was an excellent place to have a pokemon battle- there were several old trees providing shade, and their roots made the terrain nice and uneven. The brush and small growth that dotted the lot wasn't very intrusive either. Ollie and Robin would have no trouble moving around out here, and there was a lot of room. "This is as good a spot as any, I'd say." Trey called out as he set Ollie down. He waited for a moment so that Lennox and Robin could get themselves ready, and for Ran to find herself a nice place to watch. After they were ready, Trey reflexively tugged on his cap a little, and braced himself as Ollie darted out in front of him. BGM "Now why don't we kick things off? We'll take the first move! Ollie, use tackle!" Ollie obeyed, running straight his opponent, though both he and Trey were ready for whatever response was coming.

tfw Yui puts us on the SDF-1 macross without knowing its the SDF-1 Macross. also i'm here probably

An hour or so later, Yushiro made his way to a specific bench located just outside the fence surrounding one of Blue Yonder’s dueling grounds- the usual spot where he and Akira would meet up between classes or before going out to do whatever it was they had planned on doing. As usual, Yushiro got there first, but he didn’t need to wait long. “Hey man, how’ve you been?” “Well, I, the man Akira, have been very busy recently, trying to get my club in shape in time so that the woman Katsu and I, the man Akira can convince the school not to combine our clubs. Anyways, how have you, the man Yushiro, been?” “I’ve been…. Well it's been a strange couple of weeks.” He paused a moment, thinking about how exactly he would bring this particular subject up. “Strange how? Do you have a teacher that is unusually mean to you, the man Yushiro?” Akira guessed. “Or, does it have something to do with the duel?” “Sort of. It's actually about this girl I’ve been talking to. I... kinda need some advice before I get all up in my own headspace about it.” He braced himself, knowing that he was about to be bombarded with questions at high volume. Surprisingly, the loud volume didn’t come right away. Yushiro could see the gears in Akira’s head turning as the man tried his best to process what Yushiro just said. “Wait, wait, wait, I, the man Akira, am just double checking. You, the man Yushiro, have been talking to a girl? For more than one conversation? In a way that maybe more than friends? And now, you, the man Yushiro, want me, the man Akira, to advise you on this girl?” He paused, thinking to himself. “Is she cute?” That got a laugh out of Yushiro, which was good. It cut the tension. “Yeah, she’s really cute. Her name’s Elizabeth.” “The woman Elizabeth… that is a cute name,” Akira admitted. “So, what seems to be the issue?” “Well….” Yushiro began by recounting how they’d met, then got into the odd set of circumstances that had ultimately resulted in them going out once, and, after swearing Akira to secrecy (and low volume), shared the details of their second date. “...But, I dunno… it was like, like she pulled away from me when I told her how I was feeling. It’s been bugging me. A lot. And I don’t really know what to do about it.” He sighed. “Not that you’re an expert or anything, but I think I need another opinion before I overthink things and do something stupid.” Akira mulled over all the information Yushiro gave him. It certainly was a puzzle, like most women were… He wanted to tell Yushiro not to worry about it, to rush through it all with confidence, but… no, that’s what he, the man Akira, would do, and Yushiro was not him. The girl went out twice with Yushiro and his lovable personality. Still, it was quite strange, the way the girl pulled away… “I, the man Akira, have an important question for you, the man Yushiro,” Akira finally spoke up. “How… how well do you know the woman Elizabeth?” “Decently, I guess. Not sure what you mean by that.” “I, the man Akira, am struggling to put it into words, but…,” He paused once more, trying to arrange his thoughts. “I think it is obvious that she, the woman Elizabeth likes you, but… when you told her how you felt, she pulled away. It makes me, the man Akira, think that perhaps she is… either wanting to take it slowly, or is scared. Maybe something has happened in her past that makes her unwilling to just… rush into it. You know what I, the man Akira mean?” Yushiro nodded. “I think so, yeah… I don’t know what that could be though. Should I maybe ask her what’s bothering her?” Akira paused, thinking to himself again. This was such a hard question with so many answers, and he didn’t want to give his friend the wrong advice. He was sure smoke was coming out from his ears as he thought long and hard, but he finally came across an answer he figured worked. “Hmm… I, the man Akira, don’t know,” He answered. “Maybe it would be best to just… be there for her, you know? Show her you, the man Yushiro, can be her steadfast one she can lean on. Do that, and I, the man Akira, believe she will eventually open up and share what is going on with her, the woman Elizabeth,” It was, admittedly, the same conclusion that Yushiro would have come to himself, but hearing it in that reverential sort of phrasing Akira tended to use made him feel a bit more secure about it. And if that was what Akira- a guy who was both (mostly) unbiased and probably incapable of overthinking, well, anything, thought, then it seemed like as sound a course of action as Yushiro could take. “Thanks man. I think that’s what I’m gonna do.” His stress relieved, at least for the moment, Yushiro relaxed a bit. “So are you going to kickoff later? With Katsu maybe?” “Of course, I, the man Akira, will be going to the kickoff!” Akira replied with a bright smile, his volume returning to its loud self. He then blinked and cocked his head as he processed what Yushiro said. “With the woman Katsu? Well, I figured she’d be there, but why would I, the man Akira, go with her, the woman Katsu?” “Well ‘cuz you’re definitely not going there with me!” Yushiro chuckled. “I’ll be dueling, but I’m sure she’d like someone to hang out with. Can’t imagine a lot of the martial arts people are going to be flying solo tonight, you know?” “Ah, yes, I, the man Akira, see what you mean,” Akira said with a nod, more than likely missing the entire point of what Yushiro was implying. “Then I shall seek out the woman Katsu later and ask if she will go with me, the man Akira!” There was a part of Yushiro that wished he could see that scene unfold. It was sure to be entertaining. But alas, it was definitely for the best that Akiro handle this one himself. Maybe it’d even work out this time. “Sounds like a plan. Hope you guys’ll be there to cheer me on, too. Gonna be a tough game and I think I’ll need all the people in my corner I can get.” “Of course, I the man Akira, will be cheering for you. Between I, the man Akira, and her, the woman Katsu, it’ll be like you, the man Yushiro, have an entire stadium cheering for you!” "That's what I'm counting on, pal." Yushiro said as he gave his best friend a thumbs up. ----- Kickoff time. Kickoff at Blue Yonder was always an exciting time. Whereas most high schools threw a similar event (sometimes referred to as homecoming, if its main focus was on the senior class), either in their gymnasiums or in some other large venue area that had been decorated for the occasion, Blue Yonder had an actual space reserved specifically for formal events on campus: Maiden Hall. Essentially a large estate, Maiden hall had two (three, if you counted the roof deck) floors and could accommodate a large majority of the student body at once. The first floor was the typical venue- a stage, dance floor, tables with seating aplenty, nice carpeting. The second was a quieter space, with several smaller rooms that encircled a balcony looking down onto the first floor. Then there was the terrace on the roof, which surrounded the skylight that acted as a ceiling for the first floor and had yet more places to sit and carouse. There were also the grounds outside, which consisted of a perfectly manicured lawn, as well as a path lined with a few trees that encircled an artificial pond that had a fountain in the center of it. For the occasion, the first floor had been provided with a fully stocked bar (for those students old enough to drink), and platforms that connected to the second floor balcony had been extended so that they hung out above the dance floor. It was on each of these that the two players scheduled to duel in the night's main event would stand, so that everyone in attendance could look up , down, or across from wherever they were and watch the game unfold. It was about 6:00 pm when the doors opened and students and faculty began arriving. The "official" time for everything to get underway was 7:00, but usually how things ended up playing out was that everyone was already in attendance and the event itself got rolling by around half past six. As for Yushiro, he'd gotten there early to make sure that he was mentally prepared for whatever was going to happen tonight, and also to make sure that Ashley Rendleman didn't have to hunt him down when it was time for the game to start. He gulped audibly as he looked himself over in a mirror. It had taken him awhile, but he'd finally managed to tie his tie just right and throw on his jacket. He looked good when he dressed up, or so he'd been told- the jacket helped bulk up his silhouette a little. Judging by the sounds coming up from below, people were starting to arrive. There wasn't all that much time left. He took another look at his phone: there was a message from Liz! From: Liz Of course I'll be there. Can't miss your big duel! Are you at all nervous? Nervous? Well, only a lot. To: Liz A little, yeah. I'm feeling a lot better after all that practicing we did last week though! He hit send. It was a half truth- he wasn't feeling any better, per se, but Yushiro was for sure more confident in his game than he had been, and Liz's tutelage wasn't the only reason. He pulled his secret weapon back out of his deck one more time. He hadn't even shown Clear Wing to Elizabeth when they were practicing- lest word, by some cruel twist of fate, reach Hiraku with enough time for him to side in a counter to it. His opponent had a whole deck full of strong boss monsters, but Yushiro only had this one, and he intended to make it count. His phone buzzed again, interrupting his train of thought. From: Liz Oh, good! Just focus on the fundamentals. Then again, if you win, who knows if I'll even get a chance to see you tonight with all the attention you'll be getting That was a big if. But even so, no matter the outcome, the first person Yushiro intended to see after the game was Elizabeth Hall.

"You're here for MapCo's program too, right? I overheard you talking to your pokemon. They'll probably make us team up, so I thought I'd find at least one other trainer to team up with before they announce anything. If that's alright with you." Trey looked down the bench to see a girl in a raincoat speaking to him. She was pretty average looking, save for her hair, which had long pastel streaks of purple in it. Odd choice. The raincoat was pretty odd too, now that he thought of it. It was sunny out. And kinda hot. "No idea what you're on about. Never heard the suits say anything about pairing people off." Trey got up and walked over to her, and Ollie followed by running down the bench. "Buuuuuut, if you wanna stick with us for awhile, I don't mind at all." He winked and stuck out his fist, though he didn't really care if she took the invitation for a fist bump or not. Then another person showed up, a guy this time. "If we need to team up, maybe we could make it three? The more the merrier right? I’m Lennox, and this here’s Robin, my trusty companion." Trey had no idea what they were both talking about. Teaming up? This whole thing was supposed to be an excuse for a journey, wasn't it. Maybe they had the wrong idea. "You also going to challenge the gyms?” Now someone was speaking his language. "You bet! Me and Ollie here are going all the way to the pokemon league, so you'd better watch out bro. Name's Trey by the way." As he spoke, an idea came to him. "Know what, how 'bout you and me have a battle. You can be our first win in Johto!" The thought of a good battle got Ollie excited, and his flames started to burn- hot enough that Ran could probably feel the heat. Speaking of Raincoat Girl... "You wanna come watch? Should be fun."

The voice of Roger Parsons narrates. Everyone has a dream that fills their heart; a journey they must take, a destiny to fulfill. As close as your imagination exists a magical place, where wondrous creatures with incredible powers help make dreams come true. This is the world of pokemon. Here, pokemon and humans live in harmony. Some keep pokemon as pets, while others, known as pokemon trainers, compete with them in amazing contests of skill and strategy. Whether they battle, perform, race, or compete, all trainers and their pokemon hope to one day be the best, and become pokemon masters. This dream burns brighter than most in the hearts of six young people: Trey Joule, Annelise Faraday, Willow Meyers, Ran Kuroki, Olivia Fournier, and Lennox Doyle, all beginning their journeys as pokemon trainers at the same time. As they each make their way to Cherrygrove city, none of them realize that their destinies are intertwined, or that they're in for the adventure of a lifetime. BGM "Hey bro. You told me to call you when I got here, soooooo...." Trey Joule leaned in toward the vidphone's screen so that Volkner could hear him more clearly. The pokemon center was extra lively this morning, between the usual trainer traffic and all of the TIP participants who had arrived to pick up their GPS spikes from the MapCo representative. The background noise wasn't helping the already shaky reception from Sunnyshore City. "Wow, I'm kinda surprised you actually remembered. The regional ferry ride wasn't too bad was it?" "It was pretty smooth. We even got a good view of Alto Mare when we crossed the lagoon." "You should stop by there when you get a chance. Its a really cool town. Oh, forgot to tell you! I told Jas you were coming and so she put together a little care package for you. Its in your PC box." "What?! Duuuude you told her I was coming to Johto?" Trey groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Its not like I was gonna keep it a secret from her. Besides, she's gonna see you in Olivine eventually anyway." "Ughhh duuude this is so lame. Its bad enough I have to battle your girlfriend for a gym badge in the first place. The least you could do is save me from the big sis act." "Sorry, no can do pipsqueak. I'll tell her you said thanks for the gear though." "Yeah, yeah. You do that." "There's a little something from me in there too, by the way." "That's not like you. Did she rope you in too?" "Nahh, Its just a little present to commemorate your journey. You gotta promise me something though." "What's that?" "You can't open it until you've earned your first badge. Deal? It'll ruin it if you do." "Sure, sure. I'll leave Jasmine's stuff in there with it to keep it some company." "Trey come on get over it- oh crap the Gym's got a challenger. Hey I've gotta go." "Don't sweat it Volk I'll make sure I thank her myself when I get to Olivine. Don't make it easy for 'em ok?" "Not a chance. And hey you better not lose to Jasmine. It'll make us look bad." "Yeah sure whatever. Catch you on the flip side." With that, Trey hung up, and turned back around to face his cyndaquil, who'd been sitting on the bench behind him, listening intently. "Well Ollie, we're officially on our own. You ready to go do Johto?" "Quiiil!" "That's the spirit bro. We've got our stakes, so all we needa do is get everything squared away and hit the road!" Trey paused, craning his neck to follow a cute girl with a skitty for a moment. "Couldn't hurt to get acquainted with the locals a bit first though. Maybe ask about the sights? Whaddya think?" "Qui-Quiiiiil!" Ollie nodded in the affirmative, though really he was just eager to do something other than stand still. If he was lucky, they might even find themselves a battle before they left town.

After some deliberation, the above apps are accepted. IC is on the way.

"I will follow. What shall you have me do?" Before Chang could respond, the (formerly) smallest member of the party interjected. "We were hoping to plant roots to ensure the ground beneath us was safe in the least but to cover such a large area will take some time. We also hoped if a surprise attack occurred you might warn us and protect our vessel until we're finished." "You do that. The big guy and I will sweep the structures." He pointed up at Rin as she flew overhead. "Can't see inside from up high." On the opposite side of the overdrive Scoop also began his sweep, and behind him the man in power armor- Shin, walked up, putting his hand on thee science soldier's shoulder. "I can cover the ground faster than you can. Let me take the lead here." And so the team split up. Those on foot moved from building to building, sweeping through and making sure no ambushes awaited them, while Rin took to the skies. She would have been the first to see it. Not from below, but from above, a swarm of flying insects came out of the clouds. The dried blood on their talons was a clear sign- they'd been waiting for fresh victims to arrive at the checkpoint/ Shin saw them next as he happened to look up, and called out to everyone around him. "Incoming!" Wasting no more time, he deployed his glide wheels and gained speed, while Scoop opened fire with his rifle, slicing into one of the monsters' legs.

Rules & Info Plot & Setting Apps MapCo's Starter Pokemon The Cast

It wasn’t quite what she was expecting, but romance hardly ever was. Elizabeth blindly followed the boy through forests, hills, and all manners of obstacles; there was a slight panic in the back of Beth’s mind as she realized just how far away from campus she was allowing Yushiro to take him while she was on a bum knee, but she suppressed that often intrusive anxiety and pushed forward. Speaking of the bum knee, it felt like it was about to explode off of her body any second now; the pulsing under her brace was fairly unbearable, but Beth simply pushed on, somewhat pointedly ignoring Yushiro’s offers to take a break and allow her to rest. She was already embarrassed enough that she had fallen in the studio in the first place, she was not going to allow it to stop her from being able to see exactly what it was in this bizarre place that Yushiro had taken her to that he wanted to get to. “Heights? Not unless you’re planning to shove me off.” she chuckled, “Assuming this thing is… structurally sound, that is. How did you even find this? ADMIN would have surely gotten here by now, no?” “Yeah it still is. As for why it's still here… I honestly couldn’t tell you. Maybe ADMIN’s sentimental for old water towers or something.” He paused a moment, then continued. “I came up here a lot last year when I was feeling stressed out and needed to get away from campus for awhile. As far as I know I’m the only student who knows about it- I don’t usually see any garbage out here and the stuff I leave up top stays up there, so… yeah.” It took them a few more minutes to climb to the top. Yushiro stopped every flight of steps or so to make sure she was doing alright and warn her about a rusty step or a spot where she might slip. It almost seemed like he had it memorized. When they finally reached the top, which was a balcony that ran all the way around the circumference of the tower itself, he led her past a maintenance ladder and around to the western side, where there was a blanket, a small beach chair, and a wooden box laid out. There was just enough room for a person or two to lay out flat on the blanket, though at the moment said room was taken up by the other two objects on top of it, clearly to weigh it down in case the wind picked up. “Good, it’s all still here.” Yushiro turned back around to Elizabeth. “Well, this is it… though we got here a little earlier than I thought and there isn’t much to see yet.” Elizabeth gingerly stepped into the opening, where Yushiro had his small assortment of things laid out, “Well… certainly beats sitting alone in an apartment. That’s usually what I’m found doing.” she looked around a bit, then forward into the empty area before them, “Oh? Expecting something?” she gestured to the area they were in currently, “This area is rather quaint all by itself...I like it.” she shuffled her feet around a bit, unsure of how welcome she was to make herself comfortable, “But don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I’m a bit surprised you’ve shared something so private with me already.” It wasn’t smooth, or romantic, but it was honest, at least to Elizabeth; had she done something particularly special to deserve his trust? Elizabeth’s heart quickened a bit, panicked slightly by that thought. Elizabeth was not the most trusting of people; she had yet to decide whether or not she felt comfortable sharing any secrets of value with Yushiro just yet. He blushed. “N-no it's just... sitting on this old rusty steel’s pretty uncomfortable, so I brought this stuff up here after I moved in.” Yushiro forced his anxiety away for a moment and continued. “But, uhh, thanks. It's not exactly a secret or anything but if more people found out about this place they might just come and tear it down.” He sat himself down on the blanket, leaving the chair open for Elizabeth to sit in if she so desired, and opened up the box. It was empty, save for a small hand telescope- sort of like the kind one would imagine an old timey pirate using to spot ships while up in the rigging. “Besides, it's nice up here, but the really cool part is this.” He offered her the telescope as he spoke. “Because of the angle we’re at up here, if you look through this telescope at the dome wall, you can make out all the holo plates on the sky. They’re kinda like diamonds.” Beth slowly settled into the chair, being careful to keep her knee in place on the way down, simply nodding and keeping to herself while Yushiro gushed about the place; it was clear to her that it was very important to him, regardless of his insistence that it was just some rusty cage he found once. “Wow, that really is something… Sometimes it becomes easy to forget where we are. We’ve always known things this way. Imagine ADMIN making something that looked like this, even.” her right eye tracked the sparkling of holo plates against the lighting in the dome. It was bizarre, how she could so clearly make out the artificial nature of her entire life. In a way it was astounding, but another part of her felt as if the hole her heart got just a bit larger; as if it was futile to be feeling anything at all, given the nature of where they were and why they were there. “How do you feel about it, Yushiro?” “It makes me feel safe. Like, when I bombed a test or I lost a big game or something, I’d come out here and look at the dome. It's comforting to know that it's not going anywhere, you know?” He turned back to look at Elizabeth. “I guess it makes me feel a little more secure.” Security. What a topic, especially for someone like Beth, who went from being what she would consider incredibly secure and confident to what she is now, "I suppose that kind of stuff is important. It's never much crossed my mind, personally. Bit wrapped up in other stuff I suppose." Beth squirmed a bit; she wasn't sure what to make of the current conversation. She was feeling rather reserved at the idea of sharing her emotions on a date. Most of the time she did that it ended in some sort of catastrophe, given her tragic nature to overshare. She decided on changing the subject: "So the Duel Team? What made you go for that? Generally you come in as a freshman." Elizabeth thought to her time as a dueling freshman, briefly, "I noticed you didn't pay much attention to the card binders, either." Yushiro felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. What was he supposed to tell her? That he did it on a whim to impress her? Definitely not. “Uhhhh welll….. Honestly I just thought it might be a good way to step up my game some. As for the binders though, It just kinda feels weird to rifle through someone else’s collection. I dunno I just kinda felt awkward about it… and then we got going.” He looked back out at the sky. Just a few more minutes until the light would be right. “I guess it's pretty normal when you’re competing on a team though.” That stopped her for just a moment. She thought back to their first date at the coffee shop; hadn't he said something about just dueling for fun? Why all of a sudden would he have cared about stepping up his game? As two and two came together, Elizabeth smiled a bit. "Well, I hope you get to play. Those games… they get pretty tough." She chuckled, "Those captain types always clutch their pearls when you get near championship trophies. And Hitomu, well…" her smile persisted, "Well he was never my captain, I suppose." She looked out towards the sky, "But I suppose we probably didn't come all this way to talk about the duel team, no?" “We can talk about whatever you want.” Yushiro smiled at her, his cheeks getting a little rosy. “I think, hopefully, if I win my game at Kickoff, I’ll get a shot at playing in a meet. If I can handle it, anyway. Crowds make me nervous.” "Me too." she agreed, "At least, now they do. Didn't used to mind it much, but now that I don't fancy myself a competitor any longer I can’t stomach much of a crowd. But…" Elizabeth also blushed a bit, "I always tend to follow the duel team so, you'll have me there to support you, I guess. I could help you practice at my apartment!" Her apartment. She was inviting him over again? Yushiro’s cheeks went from pink to red. “That sounds fun! I-if you don’t mind my losing a lot. You’re really good, you know.” He glanced back up at the sky again. There it was. “Oh, here. The light’s juuuust right.” Yushiro moved himself very close to Elizabeth, and gingerly, hesitantly, put the telescope back up to her eye so that she would take it. “This is why I wanted to come out here tonight. Follow the horizon out until you’re riiight under the sun, then tilt your head back and look up, past the sun and allllmost to the top of the dome.” When she did, Elizabeth would see more holo plates, but this time, with the way the sunlight was reflecting off them, they would glitter and sparkle with a brilliant, beautiful red-orange hue. Almost like rubies floating in a sea of amber, hundreds of them covering the sky in a dazzling display that was only visible thanks to the angle, magnification, and elevation. “Beautiful, aren’t they?” "Oh come on now, I'm not anything special, I don't even care for my deck mu-" Elizabeth was interrupted by the sudden placement of the telescope into her face again, only this time for a much different display, "I've never seen anything like it, truthfully. I understand why you're so fond of it here." Elizabeth looked over to Yushiro as he took in the lights in the sky; it was like she was getting a deeper look into who he was in real time. He was simple, and trusting. It was nice to her. It hadn't mattered much to him, whatever he knew about her. To Elizabeth, it seemed as if Yushiro was more concerned about sharing this thing he liked with her than any events of the day. She only wondered if he felt the same. “You might be the only other person who’s ever seen that. To be honest, I was kinda worried you’d be a little underwhelmed or too tired from the hike up here. But, it's really nice to have company this time. I don’t usually get to do stuff like this.” "Have you ever kissed anyone, Yushiro?" Wait. What? Elizabeth caught herself off guard, even. Why on earth was she asking that on a second date? She even told Ashley she wouldn't! Some habits never die, she supposed. Nevertheless it made Elizabeth's rather pale complexion burn up to more of a pinkish color, embarrassed by her own forwardness. Yushiro’s heart started racing, and he could feel the heat in his face- he was probably beet red. Of course he’d never kissed anyone. Heck, this was only the second date, like, with a girl and everything, that he’d ever been on. A kiss? Holy crap. Did he even know how to go about it? “N-never.” Internally, he weighed his options. He was nervous. Really nervous. Really, really nervous. But, she was asking him, right? “C-can I, u-h-h-h…….” Jesus he was really going to ask her, wasn’t he. His voice was shaking a bit. “Can I kiss you?” His heart felt like it was going to burst right out of his chest. What if she said no? What if he misinterpreted what she was saying?! What if, what if, what if? He was so caught up in the myriad ways that this could go from awkward, but kind of romantic, to just plain awkward, or embarrassing, or worse. Yushiro was so preoccupied that he almost forgot he’d asked her aloud for a moment. Elizabeth felt terrible. In that moment, there was one persistent thought alone that stayed in her mind: You're going to ruin this poor boy. If you kiss him and run like you used to, it'll ruin him. She saw him begin to get rather nervous, intimidated, even. But as he went through his stage of fear, she knew an answer would have to come eventually. Best to be polite and not lead him on with a question she asked. "Of course you can." She was blushing, despite her internal hesitation. Beth leaned forward, brushing her bangs to the side as she became increasingly close to Yushiro's profile. She pursed her lips and closed her eyes slowly; the rest was up to him, and she considered her actions for one last moment, allowed herself to enjoy whatever came next. Yushiro closed his eyes, and slowly leaned in until he felt her lips on his. It only lasted a few moments, but during those few seconds all of his nervousness seemed to evaporate. It wasn’t what he expected, not that he really knew what to expect, but as he pulled back and looked into her eyes, he felt at once at ease and thrilled. They had both lazily reached for each other's lips after they disconnected; Elizabeth found herself surprised: Yushiro's lips were soft, and she had noticed his details a little more clearly after the fact… Beth shot up, stopping herself abruptly, "But, uhm… Yushiro. You should know, before we uhm… before we muck about." She shifted uncomfortably, fixing her bangs and a variety of other common anxious tics she had adopted after her brother's death, "Things have been, I suppose, easy to this point but… I'm far from easy. I won't be so forgiving if you leave me hanging for a week again, right?" What was she doing? Intimidating him? She looked at him, switching her strategy, "But if you wanted to see me between classes...I have privilege between courses on Wednesday, and I think there's a dance this weekend." Yushiro’s face stayed red, though this time it was more from embarrassment. “I’m sorry about that… As lame as it sounds, I kinda got in my head that you uhh, maybe wouldn’t be interested in me.” He covered his eyes with his hand for a moment- Yushiro didn’t want to make eye contact with her while he was saying it. “I dunno, I’ve never been good at this sort of thing, clearly.” He shook his head, obviously to break the string of negative thoughts. “Look, Liz, I like you, and not just because you’re pretty. Most people just sorta… write me off. But, ever since we started talking, its always felt like you’re actually listening; like you care, even if its just me gushing about cards. And I dunno if its just because I’m different from guys you usually hang out with or you think I'm cute or I’m a distraction or what, but, I wanna keep doing this… whatever this is.” He looked away again, taking in the sunset for a moment. It was weird, opening up to someone like this. Even Akira didn’t normally hear Yushiro voice his insecurities like he just did. Part of him was worried that he would scare Elizabeth away, but he continued. “So, I promise I won’t leave you hanging anymore. We can see each other whenever you want.” Elizabeth stopped, if only for a moment: he was venting to her? She couldn't help but snicker out loud, as rude as it probably sounded. He was in for so much more than he thought, but it just reinforced how she had felt about him: he was simple, and for once, she could just focus on what she had with Yushiro, instead of what she had lost… at least until Sunday. But there was a problem: to her, this sounded like him asking her to commit. She had to be honest. "Well, I'm certainly intrigued by your dueling style if nothing else. I might have looked up your SRS after that spat with Hiraku." She looked out to the sky, trying not to embarrass the boy, "But I'm not in a rush to stop...this." she grew tired of the pussyfooting of sorts that usually came about at this time, but did her best to be sensitive. They stared out into the sky for a few moments, mutually silent at the sheer awkwardness of the moment itself. Elizabeth slipped her phone out of her pocket next to her thigh, stealthily texting Ashley a text that simply read: 'foul' A code which they had developed some time ago to indicate that they had initiated the kissing before the man. It was, admittedly, something Elizabeth had received far more often from Ashley, but she was positive her best friend would know the meaning behind the one-word text. Naturally, only a moment later Elizabeth's phone was vibrating to the point of liftoff, causing her to simply silence it and place it aside. Strangely, Ashley's concern emboldened the typically private girl through the silence: "If you're willing though… I would hate to waste the moment on awkward small talk." She slipped off of the chair and at his side, seeking to continue the exercise. “Me too.” And they did, until roughly the point of dusk, wherein the dormitory attendants would begin to inquire about both of their whereabouts, and they had decided to make their way back. --- ED --- OP Episode 5: Kickoff Crunch time. Kickoff was today, and Yushiro had spent the whole morning tearing his deck apart, optimizing as much as possible. At last, it was ready; fine tuned to make the summoning of his new secret weapon as easy as possible. Yushiro just hoped Clear Wing Synchro Dragon would be enough to give him an edge against Hiraku's army of powerful monsters. He took a moment to look over the card one more time, holding it in his hand next to his scratched Nitro Booster. "Why are you so nervous?" Yushiro didn't quite have an answer to that question. He was definitely as ready for this game as he was going to be, and truthfully he felt prepared for it, but he couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had been lingering with him since the other night. Maybe what had happened at the water tower with Elizabeth was still bugging him. He'd told her how he felt, at least as well as Yushiro could articulate at the time, but when he had, it was almost like Liz pulled back a bit. He was worried that he'd come on a little too strong, somehow. It wasn't like he'd asked her to be his girlfriend or anything- Yushiro knew better than to expect to jump headfirst into a committed relationship, but he definitely got the impression that, rather than encourage her, he'd made her worry about something, and he didn't like the implications of that. Yushiro sighed. It was about time he got someone else's perspective. To: THE MAN Hey dude, sorry I've been so busy lately, but can we hang out for a bit today? There's some stuff I wanna talk to you about before the duel. Kinda important. He hit send, hoping that Akira would be open to seeing him. He wasn't worried so much that Akira would be mad at him, after all the guy never held anything against anybody for long, but moreso that his best friend would be busy with something else today. He was gregarious and never had much trouble finding someone to spend time with or something to do. Or, worst case, Katsu had dragged him off somewhere. For once at least, Yushiro didn't feel that slight pang of jealousy at the thought. He flipped through his contacts and went to the next order of business. To: Liz Morning! Hope your knee's in good shape for later. Still planning on being there to cheer me on later? Was thinking maybe after its over we could han No, no. She would probably want her space later. Best leave it for a little while. Besides, if he was lucky, he'd get a chance to dance with her after his duel. Yushiro wondered what she'd be wearing... To: Liz Hey, hope your knee's all better. Still planning on coming to watch me play?" He hit send. It was a better draft: short and simple, with no room for for her to get offended or misinterpret something. Yushiro sat there in silence for a moment, then pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Why am I always so darn scared?!" --- As for the rest of Blue Yonder Academy, campus was notably empty and quiet, even for a saturday. Most students were busy resting or getting ready for the night's festivities. Some of the more romantically inclined were already with their dates, while others were taking the opportunity to catch up on some rest or schoolwork. Whatever they were up to, very few of them seemed to be out meandering on campus. It would be noon soon, and the air was crisp, but warm- one of the last genuinely beautiful days they were likely to have before the fall season really hit its stride. Seven hours to go.

OOC Adventure 01: Bug Hunt BGM Greasy, oily rain began to fall as the Overdrive made its way along the dirty streets of Carousel, stopping only at checkpoints guarded by platoons of science soldiers as it sped its way deeper into the heart of the city. Seated rather uncomfortably in its crew cab, alongside two more of the helmeted stormtroopers, was a motley band of individuals, all of whom looked incredibly out of place inside a drab military vehicle. Three of them appeared to be human, at least, but between the power armor, angel wings, floating robot, and robed gremlin, the sheer absurdity of the anachronism on display was enough to get quizzical looks and stifled laughs from the troopers staffing the checkpoints. "New boots, most of them- never seen anyone from out-of-zone before." One of the two science soldiers in the overdrive spoke up, as if to apologize for any offense. "Most of us vets are either dead or wounded these days." "Must be getting real bad around here these days." One of the humans- the one wearing the power armor that took up far too much of the row of seats for anyone sitting alongside him to be comfortable, replied. "We're losing ground every day now. A few more blocks every week. All we can do is slow them down." the other one chimed in as they passed by the hulked remains of a blood soaked t-34 oni tank. "And yet you guys still have money enough to pay us?" The floating robot beeped with what passed for an agitated tone, though whether this was to punctuate what the guy in power armor was saying, or to yell at him for being rude, the trooper couldn't tell. "There's funding squared away for you, no need to worry." "Sorry. Didn't mean to sound greedy. Truth be told, if expenses didn't come with the territory, I'd be doing this sort of work pro-bono. Though..... my friends here might not feel the same way." He shot a glance in the direction of his compatriots, then looked back out the window. "So your boss, this Victor guy, he's at city hall?" "Yeah. City hall's been our headquarters since the bugs overran the military district. Once we get there he'll have a full briefing for you guys." "Sure you can handle it? You folks are in for a helluva fight." The other one spoke up again. Before anyone could respond, however, the overdrive stopped short, and the driver got on the intercom. "Checkpoint 7-b's empty. I don't like the looks of this." "Alternate routes, Chip?" "None that won't take us through a bug zone. I've got the chaingun revved up, but I think it'd be best if you make sure the block's clear before we keep going. Last thing we need is for a Doom Dozer to unburrow under us while we're transporting the cargo." "Right." The trooper opened the door, then turned back around to his passengers. "We'll be able to get moving again sooner if you five give us a hand. Might as well stretch your legs and help us clear the block." The block- what was once a bustling city street, was now piled high with rubble and discarded trash. There had been combat here before, and the remnants of those fights littered the road all around the vacant checkpoint. Out of view, there were several alleyways where enemies could be hiding, and there was no discounting the possibility that there could be hostiles inside the buildings or even underneath their feet. It wasn't a matter of if the checkpoint had been compromised- that was already apparent. Rather, it was whether or not the bugs were still here, and whether the overdrive could safely move through the area with the current level of activity that the group was trying to ascertain. "If you're feelin' lazy, you can stay and guard the overdrive. That chaingun can't reach the rear or the sides, after all." The other trooper added as he grabbed his rifle. "Scoop, Chang, make sure you get back here in one piece." Chip called over from inside the cab. "We'll be back in a jiff." Chang, the first trooper to speak, replied. "Scoop, you take the left, I'll take the right." "Roger that. Any of you hero types feel like takin' a walk, come with me."

Accepted. Welcome aboard and feel free to post in the IC

Accepted. And with these four, I think that we're in a solid enough place to start. Apps are closed for the time being, but may reopen in the (near) future. IC thread will be up in the next few days.

Highway to the Danger Zone

Was going to wait until after I got my own app done but its taking too long as it is so lets get things rolling. Will edit accepted apps into the OP when I’m not on mobile. First up, first accepted. Inventive concept and bonus points for oldschool goodness. Denied. While I like the character concept as a whole, saying no on the basis of its powers and abilities. Not necessarily overpowered,but the ability to spontaniously reach full maturity on command isn’t adequitely explained and takes away from the appeal of playing a young dragon that’s still learning the ways of the world. As well, the idea that the red-eyes archetype simply polymorphs into their various fusion/equip materials is.... odd, to say the least. Do they change shape and fuse together? Is there a time/energy limit? How do they learn to do this? What causes the divergent evolutionary paths that the dragons take (darkness, flare, metal, alternative, wyvern etc)? What about the other members of the archetype that aren’t dragons? I think this needs to be reigned in some and explained more thoroughly so that I know how and why this works and what the limitations are. Give it some edits and we’ll see. I’d also strongly reccomend joining the discord server if you haven’t already. Its a much easier way to communicate. PM me if you’d like an invite. Accepted. Easy to write for, clear cut motivations, and hotpants. What’s not to like? Accepted. I think she’s more of a lawful good than a lawful neutral (LN becoming her alignment if she ever truely falls), but alignment is a fuzzy thing that gets interpreted many different ways so it isn’t a big deal. Its nice to see an underepresented monster type in the party as well. also reccomending joining the discord server. Just PM me if you’d like an invite. Denied. Needs a little cleanup before I accept it. Like I said above, alignment is very subjective but she seems to be far more of a chaotic good than a chaotic neutral. A CN wouldn’t care one way or another how others see their actions, and aren’t focussed on doing good for others so much as they are their own self interest. As well, is Zera... warrior of zera? Or related in some fashion? As for her talents, you haven’t listed anything in relation to using her laser sword or her blaster. Is she not skilled with these weapons? Does she prefer not to use them? Or did you just forget to include that she has sword and marksmanship skills? As well, I’d like to know if there are any limits on her telekinetic powers. Are heavier objects harder to lift? Is there a limit on it? Are these her only psychic talents? Last thing- does the forerunner require a crew? If so how does she operate it solo? Like I said above, just needs a little cleaning up. You should also join the discord server. If you want an invite send me a PM. working on getting my own app finished in the next few days, aaaaaand after that we should be ready to start.