Xero Freeze Turn 1: Holo Force

[ShadowBlade]

All righty; probably not the best thing, but this pilot episode was written while I was sick last week, haha. Though, I did go over it again in the middle of doing homework. Not a lot of surface philosophy because of character introductions and such.

Just a couple notes before we start. First, "Jericko" is not a misspelling of "Jericho." Second, I'm going to play around with this a little. We'll have OPs and EPs. Also, I'll be using "eyecatchers" like some animes. However, since I don't have fancy graphics to show off, the rough "middle" of each episode will have "eyecatchers" in the forms of Card of the Day and Noun of the Day (character, location, etc).

I will update later on with my personal site for CAC. Enjoy this pilot! Remember disclaimers; only Pojo and UDFHQ.

OP - Blow Me Away

Yu-Gi-Oh! Xero Freeze
Turn 1: Holo Force

The tolling of a mechanical bell sounded throughout the high school, waking a classroom of students from their daze. Silence turned to chatter as most of the students stood and began exiting the long, rectangular room. The traditional, wooden desks were soon abandoned.

“Be sure to turn in your exams,” instructed the gruff-bearded and monotone male teacher. He pressed his glasses up against his eyes, waving to some of his favorite students as they left. Papers were thrown on the center table in front of him. He grumbled, pushing them together into a neat pile. “See you all next week. Remember to do your vocabulary problems for the next chapter.”

The white-walled and beige-tiled hallway was soon filled with flocks of students who were eager to reach their lockers and meet up with friends. The high school’s white and violet colors were displayed on a poster hanging from the ceiling. “H-Block Vintage!” it read, featuring two masked students throwing Duel Monsters cards at each other. A cartoonish, light effect was spread in the background to give the portrait a feeling of action.

A girl glanced up at the poster, smiling and brushing back her long and pinkish hair. Like all the other female students in the hall, she wore a white dress shirt with short sleeves, as well as a medium, pink skirt. The skirt was tinted compared to her hair. She donned long, white socks and matched them with her sneakers. Her innocent, almost fuchsia eyes centered on the combination lock as she fumbled with her books. One of them finally fell from her grip, thudding on the floor. She recoiled and shivered at the sound, before bending down to pick it up. She was of medium height, having a thin and somewhat tanned figure. She collected her book, sighing with relief as she turned the lock thrice. The locker opened.

“Hey, Crystal,” the girl greeted with enthusiasm as she saw someone approaching the locker to her left.

“Hello, Alyssa!” the passive-voiced Crystal sang. She wore the same uniform as Alyssa. However, she had short and blue hair, worn down to her sides. Her eyes were a faded brown. She had a pale, but perky expression. Her height matched Alyssa’s. “How was your class?”

“Ugh, boring,” Alyssa replied with a huff. “We did nothing but ‘Book Chat’ today. Sandra just kept going on and on about her Duel Olympian book. I know they were all inspirational stories and all, but how many words can you turn one picture into?”

“A thousand,” answered a quick-witted and masculine voice. A taller and athletic teenager started walking towards the ladies. He had dark hair that reached to his neck, worn down and parted to the left in a spiking pattern. His calm, brown eyes centered on Alyssa as his arms extended. He was wearing a white dress shirt tucked into his long, blue jeans. A black and reflective belt was around his waist. His tan matched Alyssa’s.

“Slade!” chimed Alyssa as she hugged him. “How did your test go?”

“Eh, it was all right,” the laidback Slade responded. “I probably should’ve studied more, but it was just over the creation of the three Skylands after the destruction of the old civilization. It wasn’t too hard. We pretty much just had to memorize what the Undergods did. The next chapter we’re going over is the specific events that led to our new world. I guess this one was just like the general overview or something.” He lowered his face towards hers, whispering, “I’m about ready to get out of here, though. I’m definitely checked out after that; no reason to care until Monday.”

She giggled and agreed, “Yeah, it’s been a long week. And we have big matches this weekend!”

“If you guys win,” Crystal broke in, “then H-Block’s ranking will probably go through the roof!”

“That’s the idea,” laughed Slade with a confident tone as he took Alyssa’s hand. “It’s about time H-Block got back on top of the Holozone Duel League. I mean, Holozone starts with ‘H,’ right? So, it’s only fitting that we’re on top.”

Alyssa snickered, nudging Slade. “I don’t have any homework for the weekend either, so yay!”

Slade groaned, “Well, you’re lucky. I have vocabulary terms to fill out for Mr. Kant. And then Mrs. Hobbes is having us present our object speeches next week. So, I’ll have to actually prepare for that.”

“Are you sure about that?” questioned Crystal with an inquisitive tone. “You seem to do just fine in front of an audience to me.”

“Eh, we’ll see what happens.” He pushed Alyssa’s locker shut, insisting, “Now, let’s get out of here and do something useful with our time.”

“No kissing in a public hallway!” an old, grey-haired instructor in a long, green dress snapped, tapping Slade on the shoulder. “Save that for outside school property, Mr. Silver and Ms. Foxx!”

Slade and Alyssa turned towards the woman, whining in unison, “We weren’t kissing, Mrs. Hobbes.”

“Maybe not this time,” the quirky teacher admitted, glaring at the two with wide eyes. She tipped her glasses and leaned closer to the two. “But, there will be a time and I’ll catch you! Oh, yes, I will! I have eyes in the back of my head, you know. So no fooling around on my watch, you hear?”

“Yes, Mrs. Hobbes,” the two sarcastically exhaled.

“Good, then.” She fixed her glasses once more and began waddling away from the trio.

Slade grinned, grabbing Alyssa, spinning her around and dipping her. He leaned in, planting his lips onto hers. The two passionately winced and quickly stood upright as Mrs. Hobbes turned to face them. The two shrugged, smiling innocently. The teacher hummed with suspicion before starting her leave once more. Slade and Alyssa chuckled amongst themselves, taking each other’s hand and walking towards the large, double doors with Crystal.

“You two are going to get in trouble one of these times,” the blue-haired girl warned.

“Probably,” Slade sighed as he pulled Alyssa closer to him. “Not like we care that much. It’s all in good fun.”

“Where do you want to go to eat?” asked Alyssa as she clenched her stomach with her other hand. “I barely had anything to eat during lunch. I don’t like Friday Surprise.” She almost gagged as she pondered the traditional and cliché mystery meat.

“This is why I bring my own sandwiches,” Slade let out. “I just don’t feel like eating anything at school. But, I’m in the mood for a burger. Anybody up for some Southwest Lair?”

“Sure,” the two ladies nodded.

“We can’t stay too long, though,” Alyssa reminded them. “We have to drive all the way to the Main Sunset Stadium, remember.”

“I hope that crowd is ready to see the new face of a Vintage Dueling Champion,” Slade smugly commented as he jokingly posed.

They burst through the open doors, welcomed to the outside by the bulky, fluffy and white clouds overhead. The peaceful, sunny and blue sky covered the metropolis. Enormous skyscrapers and endless rows of business offices seemed to engulf the streets in a maze of structures. The three teenagers walked away from the two-story school, crossing over a street in a glass tunnel bridge. Swarms of commuters and vehicles joined them in the hectic and populated streets. Swift summer breezes from the North fluttered by the group. Slade extended his arms, overreacting to the fresh air. His thoughts were soon disrupted by the blaring horns of two arguing motorists on the street below them.

“Always something to ruin the peaceful backdrop,” the teenager grumbled.

---------------
A single lamp lit a large, square chamber. Numerous empty desks in isolated cubicles were littered throughout the room. A man with a cigarette in his mouth grunted out loud, flipping the page of the book he was reading. He had dark skin and flat, shaved hair of the same shade. He had a tall and bulky figure. His hazel eyes jolted from the left to right as he absorbed the words in the hardcover novel. The cigarette was unlit, dangling from his mouth without purpose. His hand flicked to the next page, twitching as the banging sound of a slamming door shook the area.

The man looked up to see another gentleman standing in front of him. This one was light-skinned and wearing a thick, beige jacket. He wore a large hat of the same color. He had a medium-sized, round figure. He murmured to himself, snatching the cigarette from the darker man’s mouth and throwing it in the nearest garbage can.

“You know smoking in here is forbidden, Officer Dante,” hissed the lighter man in a croaking and grouchy voice.

“It wasn’t lit,” the officer of the law interjected, calmly closing the book. “What can I do for you, Chief?”

“We’re looking at a pretty big homicide here, Dante,” the Chief answered. He walked behind Dante’s desk, whipping open the shudders and blinds to bring sunlight into the vast room. “Harvey Nielsen, Grand Ambassador of H-Block, was shot last night. They’re only discovering his body at his home now. Apparently he never made it to a meeting he had today. They went looking and found him at home, gunshot wound through the back of the head.”

“A Grand Ambassador was shot?” queried Dante as he stood and leaned on the paper-covered desk, revealing the traditional police uniform he wore. “How can that be possible? Wouldn’t his guards have noticed?”

“I don’t know. Take Jericko and get over there to help them investigate. We haven’t gotten too far into the case. Maybe you’ll be able to find something.” He punched the desk in frustration, mumbling, “Things like this make the public untrusting of our government. If we don’t catch the perpetrator, the Sunset Council will demote us all and send in those snobs from the Royal Guard. We’re better than that, Dante. We don’t need the higher-ups coming in here and controlling our jobs.”

The officer saluted, removing his brown jacket from a nearby coat hanger and beginning to depart from the area. “We’ll get to the bottom of it, Chief; there’s no way that some punk will get away with something like this.” He shivered to himself. “If they’re murdering a Grand Ambassador, where will they stop?”

---------------
Time passed, leaving the sky in an orange and pink gloss. The hovering clouds had darkened as the sun started to hang over the horizon, slowly drifting towards the celestial equator. Crowds of people gathered at the front of an immense and towering stadium. Large, floating machines produced graphics of top duelists and booked matches for the weekend. Among them, Slade and Alyssa’s portraits were displayed next to each other. Small children pointed up at the rotating signs as they recognized the faces of their favorite duels. Giddy schoolgirls hollered the names of tall, slender, and handsome gentlemen at the top of their lungs. Cheerleaders called out famous ace monsters.

“Wow,” gasped Crystal in awe as she exited a large, blue bus. “There’s a lot of people here tonight.” She was now wearing blue jeans with a bright, sleeveless and green shirt.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” Slade commented, leaving the bus with Alyssa soon after. He still wore his school uniform. But, he now had a black backpack. “I want everybody to get a load of my new build tonight.” He clenched his fist, declaring, “Tonight, I’m going to give H-Block a performance to be proud of.”

“I know you’ll do well,” added Alyssa as she squeezed his hand, delivering a hopeful smile. She was wearing a gray tank top with dark-blue jeans.

“Slade Silver, this way, sir,” instructed a suit with dark glasses. “Your locker room for tonight has been prepared.”

“Excellent,” noted Slade as he followed the suit. “I’ll see you two after the big win!” He waved at them as he started walking away.

Alyssa ran up to him, jumping up to give him one last kiss on the cheek. “Good luck,” she rambled with excitement.

He winked to her, returning the gesture before catching up to the suit. Several fans recognized him, shouting to him and asking for autographs. He supplied as many as possible before having to run to reach the suit and follow him in a side entrance of the colossal arena.

Big night, he breathed, thinking about his upcoming duel. This one is for a lot of league points. If I get this win, H-Block will make it to the top contender list. He snickered with glee as he thought, Maybe I could finally challenge for the Vintage Duel Championship. And ‘Lis can go for the Riding Duel Championship. He envisioned the two of them standing on a pedestal with both championship trophies high over their heads. They took each other’s hands and celebrated for endless waves of fans, cheering their names and hoisting them into the air. He danced around to his fantasy, getting the attention of several backstage workers and the old, white-haired man in a suit standing in front of him. He had a small, gray mustache.

“Slade,” greeted the old man with a cough.

“Huh?” asked the teenager, opening his eyes and turning around. “Oh, hey, Kai.”

“The double championship fantasy again?” chuckled the old-timer.

“They’re becoming less frequent, but I can’t stop thinking of the possibilities,” admitted Slade. “It’s just that no other couple in Duel Monsters history has ever held two Singles Division Championships at the same time. ‘Lis and I want to be the first.”

“An admirable dream indeed.” He put his hands behind his back, leading Slade to a large door. “Here is your room for the night, sir.”

“So, can I finally know who I’m up against tonight or what? You guys need to start advertising everything, not just the main event.”

“That’s what I told the committee, but they never listen.” Kai brought out a piece of paper from his suit pocket, handing it to the teenager. “Tonight you are booked against Vixa Pojman of C-Block.”

“C-Block,” gritted Slade as he shook his fist. “So, they’re the other block that managed to make it here.”

“Right you are, sir. Vixa, however, employs a strategy of which I believe you are not too familiar.”

Slade glossed through the paper, muttering, “Black Bots, eh? I haven’t dueled against too many of those.”

“And for good reason; not many people outside of C-Block use them. There are a lot of individuals that will be pulling for him tonight. He is generally known for his attempt to bring the archetype back to its days of championship glory.”

“Mmm, yeah, Damien Mant was the last guy to win the Grand Championship with those cards, wasn’t he?”

The assistant tilted his head, correcting, “He was the only individual to ever win the Grand Championship with them. Since he was from C-Block, that part of Sunset became enamored with the Black Bots. Vixa is their rising star back to the championship circle.” The old-timer glanced over his shoulder, slowly closing the door to the brick-walled locker room.

Slade perked up, rubbing his hands and anxiously speaking, “Oh, good. Inside scoop time, huh?”

“Here is tonight’s insider information for you, Slade.” The butler brought out an envelope, handing it to the teenager. “I do believe you’ll find this week’s tidbits to be rather exciting.”

Slade quickly opened the envelope, pulling out the paper and reading it. He went wide-eyed, almost collapsing on the velvet couch behind him as he blurted, “Is this really true!?”

Kai hushed, signaling for him to keep quiet. He cupped his hands over his mouth, whispering, “It’s come from my news source that the league is considering your match with Vixa to be one of the higher-ranked matches of the night. It is quite possible that the winner of your bout shall be named the number one contender to the Vintage Duel Championship.”

Slade mulled over the possibility for a moment, finally reclining on the couch and taking a deep breath. “So, Vixa is their hometown hero,” he backtracked, glancing at the information flyer. “Well, unfortunately for them, Slade Silver is here to win.” He crumpled up the paper, leaping up and bringing out a yellow deck box from his pants pocket. “Thanks for the info, Kai.”

“Anytime,” replied the old-timer as he waved and left.

Slade opened his backpack, unraveling a new attire for himself. He slowly closed and locked the door, preparing for his duel.

---------------
Officer Dante arrived at the gates of a large estate surrounded by towering trees. An army of white and black police vehicles were already stationed outside the mansion, their lives blazing and flashing. Dante hopped out of the squad car, followed by a tall and pale man in a similar officer uniform. His balding hair was a darkened grey. Although he had an athletic build, Dante’s posture outmatched his. The two scurried to the front gate, flipping their police hats over their heads. As they walked to the gate, they found a third officer waiting for them.

“Officers Dante and Jericko reporting,” the balding man declared, nodding at the third officer.

“Welcome, you two,” greeted the third officer.

“What do we have so far?” wondered Dante as the three ventured into the lush front yard of the late Grand Ambassador.

“Not too much, sir,” the third man reported. “All we know is that a single gunshot wound to the back of the head did him in. There’s no murder weapon yet. We’re interviewing his estate staff at the moment. So far, they all seem to have alibis that check out. We have confirmation that his wife wasn’t home last night, so she couldn’t have done it. There’s security cameras all over the place where she was at.”

“Security cameras,” repeated Dante as he rubbed his chin. He glanced above the front doorway to the mansion, noticing the metallic camera facing them. “Have you checked the tapes of the estate’s security cameras yet?”

“We have not.”

Dante nodded, figuring, “If the murderer was from outside the house, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to catch an image of him on one of these cameras. Let’s get those tapes and start reviewing them.” He looked out to the street, muttering, “If someone out there is crafty enough to murder a Grand Ambassador, we can’t let them run wild without consequence for too long.”

---------------
“Achilles’s trump Trap Card has been activated!” shouted an overzealous announcer throughout the speakers of the packed arena.

Audience members cheered, chanted, and booed as a large sandstorm engulfed the grassy dueling field below, choking a large flying monster. It collapsed on the ground, exploding into dust. A well-dressed duelist fell to his knees, cursing under his breath. A rotating cube above him flashed from the number 1000 to 0. Then, the 0 transformed into the word “LOSE.” The cube hovering above the other man displayed “WIN.”

“And it’s over!” bellowed the announcer with a powerful voice. “Nerva Aurelius takes the win over Marcus Trajan! That’s quite a bit of points for B-Block tonight!”

The two duelists walked to each other, shaking hands and waving to the fans.

“Hey, Crystal! Alyssa!” called a high and feminine voice.

“Lilith!” both girls yelled with beams on their face.

Lilith, standing just a bit taller than the two girls, had short and blonde hair. She had a near-perfect tan to go with her golden eyes. She wore a sleeveless, white t-shirt and orange shorts to show off her thin and impressive figure.

“Where’s Victor?” asked Alyssa as she hugged her friend for a greeting.

“He’s still backstage,” sighed the girl, rolling her eyes. “I swear, boys can be so dumb sometimes. He would rather play video games with his friends than go to dinner with me and celebrate his win from tonight.” She leaned on a nearby pillar, whining, “You’re so lucky, Alyssa. I wish Victor was as good to me as Slade is to you.”

Alyssa and Crystal glanced at each other, gulping. Crystal turned to Lilith, insisting, “No-no, Victor isn’t that bad of a guy.” She almost bit her tongue as she spoke. She nervously scrambled for words, continuing, “He just...probably doesn’t realize you want a serious relationship.”

Lilith scoffed, countering, “The only sign I haven’t given him is a runway with flashing spotlights all over the place. I wish he wasn’t so oblivious to everything around him. If he concentrated on me as much as he did Duel Monsters he would know what I want for us.”

“He’ll come around,” Alyssa assured her, hearing the crowd pipe up. “Oh! Slade’s match is almost starting! Hurry!”

“I’ll come with you guys. I might as well anyway, since Victor will probably be here all night.” Lilith began following the two.

The three rushed into the stands, searching desperately for a trio of empty seats. They were lucky enough to spot a set halfway to the top. Amidst the raving and chanting fans, they slid into the chairs and prepared for the entertainment. Rotating spotlights above the massive, circular arena passed through the empty grass. The Riding Duel track surrounding the field erupted with shining lights and fireworks.



“And now, ladies and gentlemen!” called the bold announcer. “We are ready for our next contest! This bout is a Vintage Rankings Match, pitting C-Block against H-Block! Take it away, Troy!”

“Sure thing, Pete!” boomed a second voice. “We also have for you tonight a special guest ring announcer for this contest!”

A massive spotlight covered the center skybox, revealing another teenage girl. She had long, violet hair to match her deep eyes. She wore the red blazer of a private high school with a golden, snake-shaped insignia sown on the upper-left chest area. She donned a dark miniskirt with similarly colored, long stockings reaching up to the bottoms of her thighs. She had small, thin and black high heels on her feet. Her figure and appearance were perfect down to the slightest detail of poise and facial features. Her petit body shifted forward as she approached a rising microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” introduced Troy, “she hopes to one day challenge for the Grand Championship! But, she is the current Vintage Duel Champion. Eve Steelheart!”

The crowd roared for the girl as she curtsied for them. She waited for them to quiet down before leaning into the microphone. Her soft and heavenly voice began, “Hello, everybody. I would like to announce that the winner of this upcoming duel is to be named the number one contender for the Vintage Duel Championship. I will defend the title against that individual in just a few weeks.”

A wave of discussion emerged from the crowd, releasing their positive reactions for the exchange of information. Eve waved once more with a collected smile.

“There you have it, folks!” boasted Pete. “That means we will see Eve Steelheart defend her title against one of these two men! First…!”

A large, red door on the far-left end of the arena started rolling open. Several fan-made signs went into the air as waves of individuals chanted the name “Vixa” over and over. Soon, a tall and muscular individual walked out of the door and onto the duel track. He proceeded across the track, entering into the grassy field. He was a dark-skinned bodybuilder, flaunting his muscles as he returned the audience’s cheers. He had light navy pants on, contrasting with his skin and the vest he wore. A red, striped t-shirt was under the shaded vest. His right eye was hazel; a large bandage covered his left. His wild, black hair flailed in the sharp wind that brushed through him.

He wore a small, circular and red disk on his left arm that contained his Duel Monsters deck. The disk’s two display screens were currently blank. The disk was only a couple inches thick, making the device easy to carry and wear.

“Introducing first,” started Pete, “he is 33 years old and from C-Block! He has a current season record in Vintage Dueling of 19-4. He is a former Vintage Tag-Team Champion. I give to you, Vixaaaaa Pojman!”

The crowd roared with anticipation as Vixa positioned himself over a large, white-painted box. He cackled loudly as he pushed a button on the disk arm. His deck shuffled multiple times in its slot. The spotlight around him shifted, moving to the blue door on the other end of the arena.

The blue door raced open, revealing Slade. He was now wearing long, black pants with his yellow deck box held on the side of his waist by a belt. He wore a dark jacket with blue zigzag patterns running around the chest, neck, and arms. The back of the jacket had a large, circular insignia with the image of a blue gem in the center. Slade also wore a disk arm; however, his was blue and silver. He proceeded across the stadium, meeting Vixa in the center.

“Next,” Troy spoke in a suspenseful manner, “he hails from H-Block at seventeen years old. This season, his Vintage Duel record is 14-4, his Riding Duel record is 3-0, and his Mind Shuffle Duel record is 1-1. He is…Slaaaade Siiiiilver!” He stressed the teenager’s name to rile the audience.



“Go, Slade!” Alyssa called as loudly as possible in the audience stands.

“He’s done Mind Shuffle this season?” asked Lilith. “I thought he didn’t like those.”

“He doesn’t,” sighed Alyssa with a small chuckle. “He’s been shooting for more Vintage Duels this time, because we’re beginning to focus on those championships.”

“You guys are really going after those, huh?” the inquisitive Lilith analyzed. “Well, I would be happy for you if you guys could manage to win both titles together! That would be so cute.”



“There’s a bit of a problem here, kid,” the cunning Vixa pointed out as he extended his duel arm.

“What’s that, exactly?” Slade wondered as he inserted his deck into the disk arm, shuffling it.

The older man egotistically laughed for a bit before pointing out, “We both have four losses in Vintage.”

Slade tilted his head. “That’s true. I guess one of us will just have to lose for that fifth time.”

Both men raised their disks, calling, “Holo Force, activate!”

The crowd’s spirits lifted once more as the disks glowed. A small beam from the bottom of each disk shot out in front of their respective owner, producing the Holo Mat card field. The yellow and light-created power field divided into Monster Zones, Spell / Trap Zones, Field Zone, and Graveyard Zone. The two Holo Mats moved in unison with each gentleman, retaining a constant distance in front of them. Large, cerulean cubes materialized, one above each man. “4000” displayed on each head of both cubes.

The adversaries nodded to each other as they simultaneously proclaimed, “Duel Gate, open!”

A rock-textured ring towering to the height of the full arena started rotating. It began moving from its stationary location on the far-right of the arena. As its spin picked up speed, a violet and liquid-like substance filled the opening of the gate. It shifted across the stadium, as though scanning every person and object within its path.

“Once more,” narrated Pete, “we shall all use the power of Holozone’s special Duel Gate to enter the artificially created ‘Duel Realm!’ We will now be immersed with Holozone’s unbeatable dueling technology! Let us see who will challenge Eve Steelheart for the Vintage Duel Championship! Slade Silver! Vixa Pojman!”

Five cards shot out of each man’s disk arm, hovering in front of the Holo Mat. Slade and Vixa surveyed their cards, fiercely glaring at each other and absorbing the cries of the audience. The Duel Gate completed its scan, stopping at the other end of the arena. The sky and environment shifted to a swirling and dark-blue night sky. The peaceful and holographic heavens were littered with stars. The Duel Gate released a loud beep, signaling the completion of its scan.

“Duel!” both men asserted.

**==**
Card of the Day:

XFZ-001
Solar Sprinter Dash
WIND / Warrior / Arms / Effect / Level 7 / Atk 1100 / Def 700
You can Tribute any number of monsters for the Tribute Summon of this monster.
(ART: http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...rinterDash.jpg)

[ShadowBlade]

**==**
Character of the Day:

Vixa Pojman
(Bye-Zha Poy-Man)
Age: 33
Height: 188 cm
Weight: 88.6 kg
Build: Muscular
Style: Trickster Beatdown
Career Highlights: Former Vintage Tag-Team Champion (with Jericko Steelheart)
Favorite Card: Black Bot Gongji
Ace Card: Black Bot Pohuai
Trivia: Vixa lost his left eye in a sky fishing accident.

**==**
---------------
(Vixa: 4000) (Slade: 4000)

“Jan-ken-pon!” the two duelists called out as three large holographic cards flashed in front of them. A card resembling a human hand in “scissors” appeared in front of Slade. Vixa’s materialized and revealed itself as the hand for “rock.”

“I draw first!” decided Vixa as the Jan-ken-pon cards dissipated. The top display on his disk arm showed his Life Point count. The bottom read ‘Draw Phase.’ “Let’s get started!” The sixth card flew out of his deck, joining the other cards floating in front of the Holo Mat as his hand. The bottom display flashed to ‘Standby Phase’ and ‘Main Phase 1.’ “A-ha-har! I summon Black Bot Fangzhu (0 ATK/0)!” He held his hand out to one of the cards, poking it with his middle finger. The Holo Mat beeped, lifting the card into the air and placing it on the center Monster Zone.

Rotating blades of light collided together, slashing open a square hole in the ground. A black and metallic, spherical core rose above the field. The blades attached to the side of the core, equipping as arms. The top of the core popped open, revealing a flat and disc-shaped head. Two dome-shaped eyes with white pupils were on the top of the free-floating face.

“It begins!” called Pete with an enthusiastic voice. “Vixa has decided to start this one with Fangzhu. He’ll want those Black Bot monsters to be sent to his graveyard! Eve, if you had to pick one of these gentlemen to face, who would it be?”

“Well,” responded Eve on the far microphone, “Vixa did team with my father to have a successful six month title reign as Tag-Team Champion. He might be a favorite for this duel. I don’t think Slade is a pushover, though.”

“The Prodigy of Silent Combos, they call him,” Troy acknowledged.

Vixa tapped another card, concluding, “I’ll be ending my turn with a set card.” His Black Bot Fangzhu was soon backed by a concealed reverse card. “It’s your move.” His disk arm’s bottom display flashed ‘End Phase.’

“Great,” piped up the teenager as he reached to his deck, manually drawing a card. The Effect Monster stared him in the face as he pondered, Big deal with the 0 attack point Kaizo Trap. I hope he isn’t expecting me to hesitate. He flicked the monster from his hand, landing it on the field. “I’ll play my drawn card, Summoner Tara (600 ATK/1600)!”

A rush of wind covered Slade’s field, prompting the appearance of a pale and traditionally dressed girl. She had a long and faded, beige coat with belt straps at the ends of her wrists. She wore an unbuttoned red shirt beneath the open coat. Her reflective, black pants contrasted with the visible streaks of wind that circled her. Her long and silvery hair was worn up with a scrunchie that matched her pants in shade. The winds spiraled once more, creating a thick and white sword in front of her. It had a slightly curved blade, with a golden and ebony handle.



“Well, it definitely has more than 0 attack points!” Alyssa commented with delight.



“Battle!” Slade’s disk arm read ‘Battle Phase’ as he commanded, “Summoner Tara, attack Black Bot Fangzhu! Whirlwind Crescent!”

The white-haired girl took her sword, leaping into the sky and aiming down at the helpless Fangzhu. Tara blinked twice, swinging her weapon at a high velocity, as though attempting to split the air. The reaction caused wind cutters to form and zip at Fangzhu, cutting through it in multiple places. The robots blades and head detached as the core exploded, brushing debris across Vixa and his field. The one-eyed man grunted as he put his arms up to defend. The Life Point meter on his disk arm and the count on the cube above him started ticking down.

(Vixa: 4000 ---> 3400) (Slade: 4000)



“I’m surprised he got the first hit,” commentated Lilith as she crossed her arms. “I was almost certain Vixa would have a good Trap Card to counter that attack.”

“Maybe his cards don’t work that way,” Crystal considered.



“That was a bit too easy for me, don’t you think?” Slade taunted as Tara lowered back to his field.

“It was meant to be easy,” snapped Vixa as the Fangzhu card glowed from the Graveyard Zone on his Holo Mat. “See, by defeating Fangzhu while it was in Attack Position, you triggered its effect! Now, I can send two ‘Black Bot’ monsters from my deck to the graveyard.” He shuffled through his cards, selecting the two and throwing them on the Graveyard Zone. He’s playing right into my hands. I almost feel sorry for this guy.

Well, that wasn’t obvious enough, Slade joked silently. He lifted two cards out of the floating set, inserting them into two back row slots. “I’ll put these two cards face-down. That’ll be a turn end for me.”

“Yes, yes, good. Then, I shall draw!” Vixa’s Holo Mat pulled the next card from his deck. He centered his gaze on it, starting to chuckle loudly. “This is going so well. Everything just keeps falling right in line.”

Slade shrugged, “We’ll just have to see about that.”

Taking the challenge, the one-eyed man deemed, “Activate Spell Card, Black Gear!” A singular darkened gear piece fell onto his field. “From the graveyard, I revive a Level 2 or lower ‘Black Bot’ monster! I call on Black Bot Baohuzhe (0/0 DEF)!” Another spherical black core took to his field. However, this one had no blades. Instead, two more bulbs stuck out of its sides, producing a sky-blue energy field.

“Bringing back more toys for me to break, are we?” Slade poised himself as he played mind games with his one-eyed opponent.

“These are no toys, boy! I activate a monster ability from my hand.” The card spun around, showing itself to Slade. “Black Bot Zhuchang can be Special Summoned from my hand if I’m willing to discard a card.” One of the remaining cards in his hand fell to the graveyard, allowing the monster to be placed on his field. Another black core materialized on the field. A large and pink brain pulsated from a containment module attached to the hovering head of the Black Bot. Several cables ran from the bottom of the container. However, they were not equipped to anything. “Come now, Black Bot Zhuchang (0/0 DEF)!”

“All right, now that one’s a Tuner,” figured the teenager.

“Too true,” admitted the coy Vixa. He extended his arms, decreeing, “I tune my Level 2 Black Bot Baohuzhe with my Level 4 Black Bot Zhuchang!” The Tuner Monster Zhuchang soared to the air, breaking apart into four bright, star-like specs. The stars spun around the now-levitated Baohuzhe, suddenly expanding into long, green ellipses. The ellipses surrounded Baohuzhe as the machine began lifting to the skies. “The struggle between man and machine ends with cold-hearted unity. Build new from old in order to construct unstoppable forces!”

Baohuzhe broke apart, turning into two of the bright stars. The ellipses engulfed the stars as they expanded into a stream of azure light. As the light faded, a cylindrical core revealed itself, painted the same shade as all Black Bots. Attached to the cylinder were three of the smaller, spherical core bodies. Chains exhumed from the tops of the bodies, reaching up to the top of the cylinder. They dove into the cylinder’s open top, dragging out a helmet-like object. A singular, goldenrod eye lit up in the center of the helmet’s glass visor. Five mechanical, centipede-like arms deployed from the bottom of the cylinder, looming around the helmet.

“Conduct Synchro Summon and rise!” ordered Vixa with the flick of his wrist. “Black Bot Gongji (? ATK/0)!”

“There it is!” sang Pete with an anxious tone. “Vixa has called forth one of his favorite monsters! Black Bot Gongji! Let us see how Slade contends with us!”

“No determined attack power,” noted Slade with suspicion.

The one-eyed man snapped his fingers, proceeding, “Baohuzhe’s effect activates. When it’s used in a Synchro Summon for a ‘Black Bot’ monster, I can send it to my Spell and Trap Card Zones instead of placing it in the graveyard.” He held his arm up to the impressive-looking Synchro machine. “Plus, when Gongji is summoned, it’ll pull two more ‘Black Bots’ from the graveyard and put them in my zones. So, Baohuzhe will be joined by Fangzhu and Zhuchang!” The centipede-like arms of Gongji reached for Vixa’s Holo Mat, taking each of the three fallen Black Bots. The monsters reappeared in their full form, descending to Vixa’s Spell / Trap Zones behind the larger Gongji.

“Pretty good stuff,” nodded Slade with a hum.

“The fun is not over! See, for each ‘Black Bot’ monster in my Spell and Trap Card Zones, Gongji will be supercharged by 600 points (Gongji= ? ATK/0 ---> 1800 ATK/0)!” Electric currents flowed from the three lesser Black Bots, surging through the arms of Gongji that held them. The main cylinder body of Gongji brightened and its center began to part open. Revealed was another cylinder. However, this one was the barrel of a thick cannon. “Gongji! Attack Summoner Tara! Ionic Burst!” The electricity formed at the edge of the barrel, molding into an oval shape. It fired as a laser, traversing the field and assimilating Summoner Tara. The girl held out her sword to defend. However, she was quickly overwhelmed and vaporized.

(Vixa: 3400) (Slade: 4000 ---> 2800)

Slade faltered in stance, shaking his head at the blast. He coughed, chortling, “Well, that was a rough one.”

“Vixa takes the lead!” Troy commentated as some crowd members shifted to cheers while others chose to boo and jeer the one-eyed man.



“That was a pretty big loss,” Crystal worried, clamping her hands together.

“Slade’ll be fine,” Alyssa assured her. “It’s only 1200 Life Points. He’s been in worse situations.”



“What say you now, boy?” Vixa taunted, clapping his hands together.

“That was pretty good,” Slade confessed. “But, you activated Summoner Tara’s effect! When she’s destroyed by battle while in attack mode, I can Special Summon up to three White Wolf Tokens to my field, one for every 500 points of damage I received.” He reached out as another windstorm kicked up on his field. Two ghostly, red-eyed and thick-furred wolves rose to his Monster Zones, circling him impatiently. They finally ceased, howling to the bright moon in the artificial sky (600 ATK/600 x2).

Vixa’s eye squinted as he mumbled, “Arms fodder.” He glanced at his two remaining cards before deciding, “I end my turn.”

“You catch on fast. Now the fun’s really going to begin!” Slade reached down to his deck, drawing a card “It’s my turn! Let’s see what we’ve got!” He ominously rotated the card, grinning at the sight of the Normal Spell Card. “I’ll discard this card from my hand to activate its effect; Solar Sign Earth!” He threw the card into his graveyard, causing his deck to light up. “When I discard this card, I can add a specific monster to my hand from the deck.” He found the monster.

“Slade is known for searching his deck to get reinforcements!” Pete spoke over the speakers. “But, will his searched monster be enough to handle the powerful Synchro Monster of Vixa?”

Slade shuffled his deck, holding the monster to his right eye. “White Wolf Tokens are only allowed to be tributed for the Tribute Summon of an Arms Monster,” he explained. “But, luckily, the monster I just added to my hand is an Arms Monster.” He tapped one of the White Wolf Token cards on his field, claiming, “I’m going to sacrifice one token for this summon.”

“Here we go!” Troy boomed. “An Arms Monster is being summoned!”

One of the wolves dove into a swirling, blue and green portal. The portal erupted, giving rise to a tan man with long, spiked and violet hair. His upper-body was covered only in a brown vest, showing off his thin figure and muscular abs. He had long, matching pants with two belts hanging off his waist. Each of the belts contained a sword sheath; however, neither sheath held a weapon. The warrior performed a back flip and extended his gloved hands in a battle pose.

“I summon Solar Sprinter Dash (1100 ATK/700)!” Slade introduced, waving his arm to the newly summoned monster.



“Slade already summoned Dash?” Lilith asked with a surprised tone. “Isn’t that usually his finisher?”

“It’s his favorite monster,” Alyssa answered. “He’ll summon it whenever he thinks he can get the advantage or win.”

“Well, hopefully he’ll be able to make a successful attack with it,” urged the quiet Crystal.



“Go ahead and attach your Arms Force then,” hissed Vixa with impatience.

“Now that an Arms Monster has been Tribute Summoned,” relayed Pete loudly, “a proper Arms Force Card can be equipped from the Extra Deck! Since Slade has offered one monster for the Tribute Summon, he can now equip an appropriate Arms Force Card that requires one tribute for ‘Solar Sprinter Dash!’”

“Level 1 Arms Force equipment!” Slade yelled. He spun his disk arm around, opening a hidden compartment. A small pile of cards was hidden within the compartment. He took one out, declaring, “I’ll equip Solar Talisman to Dash!” A golden and arched pendant on a string fell across the neck of Dash. A large, spherical and ruby-like jewel was embedded in the center of the arch, held by three miniature chains. The handle of the artifact had a sapphire gem almost too small to be seen by the naked eye.

“What’s it do?” demanded Vixa.

“With Solar Talisman equipped, Dash gets a small attack bonus of 500 (1100 ATK/700 ---> 1600 ATK/700). Plus, when Dash attacks a monster, that monster’s attack power will be treated as its original attack power during damage calculation.” Slade brushed his arm to the side, prompting Dash to sprint across the field. “In other words, that’s a lot of damage that you’ll be taking.”

“You little…” started the one-eyed man.

“Go, Dash! Attack his Black Bot Gongji!” Dash leapt, aiming a down-facing kick at the face of the multi-pronged robot.

“Trap, activate!” Vixa croaked as his face-down card raced open. “Burst Bomb!”

Slade gritted his teeth as a suit of armor covered Dash’s body. Slots in the armor were filled with red sticks of dynamite. “Agh, what’s this?”

“Burst Bomb equips to the opponent’s monster after activation, placing two Bomb Counters on itself. Each time the equipped monster declares an attack, it loses a Bomb Counter. Since you declared your attack, that’s minus one counter.” The sticks of dynamite on the pack lit. The flames slowly burned through the string leading to the explosives. “Be careful there, Slade, because of you run out of Bomb Counters, your monster explodes into bits!”

The teenager grimaced, reminding the jeering pirate, “That may be, but you’re still about to take 1600 damage and lose your monster.”

“I don’t think so.” He turned his attention to his Spell and Trap Card Zones. “Black Bot Baohuzhe’s effect activates! While it’s in my back row, I can send it to the graveyard and negate one of your attacks! Your Dash’s time is ticking away and your assault was wasted!” The core of the robot erupted, shooting Dash backwards and back to Slade’s field. “But, since a Black Bot has left my back row, Gongji drops in attack power (1800 ATK/0 ---> 1200 ATK/0).”

Slade shook his fist, continuing, “I’ll switch my remaining White Wolf Token to defense mode, then.” The wolf curled into a ball (600/600 DEF). “That’ll be a turn end.”

“Not yet! On your End Phase, Burst Bomb removes another Bomb Counter from your monster.” The fuse ran out, causing the armor to destroy Dash in a fiery explosion.

“Oh!” gasped Pete. “And just like that, Vixa Pojman has taken out the chosen ace monster of Slade Silver! This isn’t beginning to look good for the H-Block favorite!”



“Just like that?” Alyssa whimpered. “I can’t believe Vixa saved that Trap Card for that.”

“That was a smart move, though,” Lilith granted the one-eyed man.



“Darn it,” cursed the flustered Slade. “Not Dash!”

“Take this!” hollered Vixa as his Holo Mat drew a new card. “I activate Black Tuning! This Spell Card resurrects a ‘Black Bot’ Tuner Monster from my graveyard, reducing its Level by 2!” Black Bot Zhuchang (0/0 DEF; Level 4 ---> 2) took to the field once more, beginning to swirl around almost instantly. “I’m tuning the Level 6 Black Bot Gongji with Level 2 Zhuchang!” This time, Zhuchang became only two rotating ellipses. The large body of Gongji transformed into six stars, circling the ellipses and shooting open another streak of light. “Only when man throws away his mental limitations can he build the perfect weapon! Let man’s mind live on in machines!”

This time, two cylindrical bodies in the shape of a cross dropped to the field. The five centipede arms remained consistent in the new machine’s design. However, there were no bulbs on the vertical body. Instead, four bulbs, two on each side, were present on the horizontal cylinder. Chains from each held up the larger, more professional-looking helmet head of the new machine. It had a type of antenna on its top, channeling energy to the lit visor and scanner eye. A second eye, Gongji’s goldenrod peeper, ignited on the left of the visor. The scanner shifted from red to green in a pattern.

“Conduct Synchro Summon!” yammered the one-eyed man. “Appear now, Black Bot Pohuai (? ATK/0)!” He clenched his left fist. “Plus, Pohuai has a similar effect as Gongji. It will return two ‘Black Bot’ monsters to my back row; Baohuzhe and Gongji!” The two Black Bots were recreated in the man’s back field. The arms of Pohuai latched onto the three monsters, beginning to absorb their strength (? ATK/0 ---> 1800 ATK/0).

“1800 attack power again,” muttered Slade. “You didn’t really get that much from that.”

“I disagree. I activate another Spell Card, Spare Dump!” The card glistened on his field. “This card sends the top three cards of my deck to the graveyard. If any of them happen to be ‘Black Bot’ monsters, I can place them in my back row instead!” The three cards of his deck were pulled out by the Holo Mat’s force. Two of them separated from the small pile, hovering in front of him. “Looks like Lady Luck is with me today, a-ha-har! I have two Black Bots to place! Xisheng and Guzhang!”

Xisheng matched the round core of the lesser Black Bots. However, it had a singular bulb on its front-center, which surged with a small electrical field. Guzhang next appeared. Three large, spinning saws were attached to its front by free cables.

“3000 attack points,” huffed Slade with a concerned look (Pohuai= 1800 ATK/0 ---> 3000 ATK/0).

“Vixa doesn’t seem to be playing around anymore, folks!” Pete assumed. “We’re about to see the full power of his Black Bot cards!”

“He’s definitely going to push for damage here,” Eve insisted with a quick comment.

“It’s time for Guzhang’s effect,” Vixa determined as the robot started dissipating from his field. “By sending this card to the graveyard from my back row, one ‘Black Bot’ monster I control will inflict Piercing Damage as long as it remains face-up on the field!” The saws were now equipped to the front-center of Pohuai’s horizontal body (3000 ATK/0 ---> 2400 ATK/0).

“Piercing Damage?” Slade gasped.



“That means he’ll still take damage even if his monster is in defense mode!” wailed Alyssa with a nervous chatter.

“That’s quite a bit considering his White Wolf Token only has 600 defense,” mumbled Crystal as she bit her lip.



“Battle!” Vixa crazily boasted. “Black Bot Pohuai, put down his beast! Depth’s Incineration!” The arms absorbed energies from the four downed Black Bots, inserting them into the bulbs on the horizontal body of Pohuai. An entire layer of metal on the front of the body slid open, revealing a type of widespread firing device. The electricity packed the rectangular opening, releasing as a wall of lightning. The wall blasted through White Wolf, splitting it in half. The remainder of the force impacted Slade, knocking him off his feet.

(Vixa: 3400) (Slade: 2800 ---> 1000)

The teenager grumbled loudly, standing and holding the back of his head. Darn, he snapped to himself. That was a pretty good combo. I didn’t think he’d be able to hit that hard so quickly.

“You’re a bit quiet when you’re not winning, kid.” Vixa chortled loudly, bragging, “I have the confidence and the skill, kid. You won’t get anywhere with just mind games! That contendership is as good as mine. Now go ahead and take your turn.”

Slade reached to his deck, thinking, All right, if he wants to play rough, then we can do that. He released the top card, staring at it with a frown. Well, shoot. This card won’t let me play rough at all.

“What will Slade’s retaliation be!?” Pete clamored in anticipation.

“I summon Solar Guardian Yuna (900/1600 DEF).” The teenager dropped his drawn card onto the Holo Mat.

A flurry of spiraling white coronas impacted the field. A young, pale woman in a blue dress emerged from the lights, throwing a long and blue-white striped staff in front of her. Its top had a crescent shape, containing a blue gemstone in its center. The girl had worn down and blonde hair reaching to her chest. Worn around her neck was a silver religious cross. The cross matched the woman’s reflective eyes, as well as her boots. The lights around her were drawn into the gem of the staff, causing it to glow a bright cerulean. Several archaic symbols and letters were tattooed onto her upper-left arm with azure paint.

Vixa wiped his chin and scoffed, “Backing out on the defense? That’s disappointing.”

“Next, I’ll activate Solar Sign Venus. I can choose to use this card as a Continuous Spell Card.” The card rose to the field, gaining the small infinity emblem on the top-right of its border. A miniature model of the planet Venus displayed over the battlefield. One of the remaining two cards in his hand flipped into one of his remaining back row slots. “I’ll also set one card face-down. That ends my turn.”



“Slade must not’ve drawn a card that can help,” Lilith observed.

“Well,” Alyssa noticed, “Yuna’s defense power is pretty high. Even if Pohuai’s attack gets through her, Slade will still have 200 Life Points left!”

“He has three face-down cards as well,” Crystal reminded her. “I’m sure he’s set something that he can use by now.”



“Watch this!” Vixa challenged as his next card was drawn. He laughed at the card, insisting, “It’s my win, Slade. It looks like you’ll be the one taking that fifth loss after all!”

Slade held his head down, wondering, Is he going to make his move?

“I activate an Equip Spell Card, Pulse Arm!” A metallic power glove emerged from the card, wrapping around the horizontal body of Pohuai with a cable. The end of the cable was inserted into the helmet of Pohaui, which suddenly ignited in a fiery glow. “With this card equipped to a Machine-Type monster, the opponent cannot activate face-down cards when the equipped monster attacks!”

He’s going in for the kill.

“Then, one more Spell Card, Parts Charge!” A new coat of paint covered the attachments on Pohuai. A new layer of cold steel was placed on the centipede arms. “This card raises the attack power of my ‘Black Bots’ by 300 for each one in my back row until the End Phase (Pohuai= 2400 ATK/0 ---> 3600 ATK/0)!” Additional currents filled Pohuai’s structure.

“3600 attack points with Piercing Damage!” Troy wheezed.

“The effect of Pulse Arm will also prevent Slade from striking back,” remembered the Vintage Duel Champion. She put her finger on her lip, predicting, “It could end shortly.”

“Battle!” Vixa ordered, opening his right palm. “It seems you’ve run out of time, Slade! A-ha-har! Now you are unable to activate your face-down cards! Go, Pohuai! Destroy Solar Guardian Yuna!” The strange machine ascended to the air, opening the hatch on its front horizontal body. The collection of lightning and energy gathered in the slot, forming the sheet-like laser. “Maybe next time, Slade. But, that championship gold is calling my name! Depth’s Incineration!”

“Well, you’ll have to postpone those plans then,” Slade suddenly asserted.

The one-eyed man blinked, bellowing, “What did you say!?”

Slade nodded before reviewing, “Your Pulse Arm is pretty powerful. But, it doesn’t prevent me from using cards that are already face-up!” He aimed his hand at the Solar Sign Venus card, revealing, “Venus has one effect I can use while it’s a Continuous Spell Card! By sending it to the graveyard while I control my Yuna, I can negate one attack.” The laser launched towards his field. A transparent barrier blocked the laser’s path to Yuna, detracting the beam harmlessly around both Yuna and the teenager.

Vixa gritted his teeth, unable to believe the turn of events. “My attack was blocked!?” he screamed incessantly.

“Ooh, tough break for Vixa,” Troy chortled.

Eve hummed in agreement, adding, “That was just a case of Vixa not studying up on Slade’s card effects.”

“Well, it is hard to keep track of the tens of thousands of cards’ effects,” allowed the analytical Pete. “But, Vixa should have known a bit better.”

“T-turn end,” Vixa grumbled, beginning to lose the support of several roaring crowd members (Pohuai= 3600 ATK/0 ---> 2400 ATK/0).



“I should’ve remembered Venus’s effect,” puffed Alyssa as she clenched her chest. “I nearly had a heart attack during that.”

Crystal nervously laughed, “Try not to stress too much, Alyssa. This isn’t even your duel.” She tapped her fingers together. “Try to enjoy the game.”



Slade glanced down to his disk arm, pondering, All right, now’s a good of a time as any. Give me something, deck. I gave you 40 cards. The least you can do is give me one I need. He grappled the top card of the deck. “Here we go. It’s my turn!” He ripped the card from its resting place, holding it above his head.

“Show me what you got!” Vixa urged with an egotistic voice.

Slade lowered the card towards his eyes, widening the peepers as they settled on the Spell Card. Through processing the deafening cheers of the audience, his mind flashed with the images of a Trap Card, a monster paired with Yuna, two more Trap Cards, Dash, and two Spell Cards. “That’ll do it,” he figured in an innocent tone.

The one-eyed man grunted uneasily, tilting his head and awaiting Slade’s play.

“We’ll start with a Trap Card, Cosmic Jump!” One of his face-down cards showed itself. “This card will return one ‘Solar’ monster to my hand and let me Special Summon another one from my deck!” Solar Guardian Yuna withered away from the field. The card on his Holo Mat was swept up, joining the two hand cards. Slade opened his deck, selecting one more card and whipping it onto the mat.

A large whip-like chain crashed into the surface, and then began dancing around to the movements of its female wielder. The pale-complexioned girl had long, flowing and light-violet hair. A similarly colored strap was worn around her neck. The same colors outlined her skin-tight black dress. Her eyes were large pools, matching the multitude of violet on her. The dress’s sleeves reached only to her upper-arms. She had faded, almost transparent stockings worn up to her thighs. The chain she spun around was latched onto the end of a light-blue, chrome stake. Its top resembled half of a traditionally drawn star. She held the stake at her side, allowing the chain to land around her in a circular pattern.

“Solar Splitter Tanya (900 ATK/900)!” Slade introduced with a proud voice. He spun the Yuna card around. “Plus, with Yuna’s effect, when I control another ‘Solar’ monster, I can Special Summon her right back to the field (900/1600 DEF)!” Yuna elegantly danced back onto the field, shoving her staff in the air. “Now, Tanya’s effect! Once per turn, I can reduce the attack power of your monster by 400.”

Tanya hurled her chain at Pohuai, wrapping it around the head of the machine. The chain clashed with the metal, causing it to dent (Pohuai= 2400 ATK/0 ---> 2000 ATK/0).

“Slade is starting his attack!” announced the charismatic Pete.

“Trap Card, open!” A Continuous Trap Card turned up to Slade’s right. “Dream Shooter! By sending this card to the graveyard, I can draw one card for each ‘Solar’ monster that I control!”

“Two new cards,” Vixa immediately realized.

“Not two new cards,” disagreed the teenager as he peered at his remaining set card. “I activate my final Trap Card, Wish Comet! This card will return one ‘Solar’ monster from my graveyard to the top of my deck!”



“Dash!” applauded Alyssa, jumping up and nearly smacking Crystal as she waved her arms.

Crystal huddled in her seat, giggling timidly once more as she backed away from her overly excited friend.



Slade flicked the card onto the top of his deck before continuing, “Now, Dream Shooter resolves, letting me draw twice more.” He yanked the two cards from his deck, instantly pointing to the two monsters on his field. “Then, I will use my Normal Summon by tributing Yuna and Tanya!” His two Solar females joined hands, soaring into a familiar and swirling gate. In exchange for their offering, Solar Sprinter Dash (1100 ATK/700) returned to the field, landing in a kneeling stance from the portal. “Tribute Summon Dash once more!”

“And this time he has tributed two monsters!” Troy noted. “That means he can pick a higher Arms Force Card this time!”

“Level 2 Arms Force Card, activate!” Slade triumphantly hollered as he placed the card from his Extra Deck. “I equip Aura Blade to Dash.” A thick and gloomy, blue sword dropped into the left sheath of Dash. It had a heavenly glow surrounding it. Dash drew it from the sheath, holding it and its sharp, straight blade over his head. “The equipped monster’s attack power goes up by 800. But, that’s not all. Since Tanya was tributed for a ‘Solar’ monster, the summoned monster gains an additional 400 points (Dash= 1100 ATK/700 ---> 2300 ATK/700).”

“Attack power of 2300,” Vixa mulled over. “But, Slade, even though your monster has now become stronger than Pohuai, there’s still no possible way for you to defeat it!” He extended his arm to the numerous Black Bots sitting in his back field, lecturing, “In case you forgot, I can just send my Baohuzhe to the graveyard and negate your attack when it’s declared!”

“Disable!” the teenager interrupted, letting a Quick-Play Spell Card drop on his field. “This card destroys any card in your back row, whether it’s a Spell, Trap, or Arms Force Card! That means your Baohuzhe, treated as a Continuous Spell Card, is returning to your graveyard earlier than planned.” A flash of lightning impacted the monster, breaking it apart (Pohuai= 2000 ATK/0 ---> 1400 ATK/0).

“Oh!” breathed Troy. “Now Slade has a wide-open shot at Vixa’s ace monster!”

Slade recalled the combo he envisioned in his mind, notifying, “But, I’m not quite done yet.” He looked at the Spell Card in his hand.

“There’s more?” gulped Vixa.

“One more thing.” The Normal Spell Card rose next to him. “Synchronized Orbit; when this card is played, I select a ‘Solar Sign’ card in my graveyard. If that card’s text has the name of a face-up monster I control, I can add it to my hand.” Solar Sign Earth moved to the top of his graveyard pile, igniting in a bright green aura. “Now, I’ll replay Solar Sign Earth, choosing to use it as a Continuous Spell Card!” A model of the planet circled above. “By sending this card to the graveyard, I’ll let Solar Sprinter Dash attack twice this Battle Phase!”

“Two attacks!?” Troy spat.

“I suppose he is retaining his ‘Prodigy’ title here tonight, folks,” Pete laughed.

“Take it out, Dash!” decreed the confident teenager. “Attack his Pohuai!”

The Sprinter took his new weapon, slashing at the body of Pohuai. His blade cut through the armor of the horizontal cylinder, breaking it in half. The Black Bot attempted to strike back with its centipede arms. However, Dash rolled under their attack, delivering an uppercut to the helmet of the machine. The robot began short-circuiting, soon colliding with the ground and letting loose a blinding burst.

(Vixa: 3400 ---> 2500) (Slade: 1000)

“Slade has destroyed Pohuai!” Pete and Troy simultaneously trumpeted.

“Pohuai’s not beat yet,” Vixa disagreed, looking at the wreckage of his once prominent monster. “At least not alone anyway; when it’s destroyed, it’ll join its Black Bot buddies in my back row. But, that’s not all, a-ha-har! It also wipes out your Dash!” The remaining bits of the helmet glanced up at Dash, using the visor eye to fire a small stream of thunder at Slade’s monster. To the chagrin of the one-eyed man, Dash batted it away with his Aura Blade. “What!? Why wasn’t your monster destroyed!?”

“You forgot about Solar Guardian Yuna,” Slade told him. A holographic image of the tributed monster soon materialized behind him. “When Yuna is tributed for a ‘Solar’ monster, that monster gets one Guardian Counter. I can remove that Guardian Counter to prevent its destruction by a card effect.”

Vixa’s mouth began twitching as he murmured, “What is this!? Did you trick me into thinking your deck was weak!?” His words were almost masked by the eccentric audience.

“Nah,” responded the teenager as his Dash prepared for his second attack. “I just took my time setting up.” The glow of Aura Blade strengthened. “Each time the monster equipped with Aura Blade successfully performs a battle, its attack power further increases by 200 (Dash= 2300 ATK/700 ---> 2500 ATK/700). Now, for that second attack…”

Dash gazed at Vixa’s reflection through his blade before lunging at the man. He stopped right in front of the one-eyed man, dropping to his knees and launching an up-facing jab into him. Vixa faltered backwards, hissing as his Life Point meter dropped rapidly.

(Vixa: 2500 ---> 0) (Slade: 1000)

Slade’s Life Point cube now read “WIN,” while Vixa’s displayed “LOSE.” The crowd erupted in a wave of reactions, both positive and negative. Alyssa, Crystal, and Lilith all leapt from their seats, flailing their arms and jumping up and down. Most of the crowd clapped while Slade took a deep breath, bowing to the audience before walking over to his opponent. Solar Sprinter Dash and the rest of the card images fizzled away as the Duel Gate rescanned the arena, causing it to leave the “Duel Realm.”

“Victory and the number one contender slot to the Vintage Duel Championship go to Slade Silver!” Pete shouted at the top of his lungs. “Slade has achieved a slim victory over Vixa Pojman. However, nobody can take anything away from either of these gentlemen! What is your reaction, Eve?”

Eve remained silent for a moment, before leaning into the microphone and agreeing, “It was a good duel. I look forward to facing Slade in the future.”

“Good game, man,” Slade chuckled as he reached his distraught adversary.

Vixa grunted, glancing up to see the outreached hand of the teenager. Vixa put his hands on his hips, straightening his stance and matching Slade’s laughter.

“I guess you wanted it more,” soughed the one-eyed man. “Well, we’ll have to be sure to rematch sometime. If you win that Vintage title, you better believe that I’ll be coming back for another game.” He scratched his chin, challenging, “You won’t set up a sleeper combo on me next time.”

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The two shook hands, turning to the crowd and bowing once more before taking their separate leaves from the battlefield. Eve Steelheart stared at Slade as he exited through the blue door. She blinked twice, backing away from the microphone and departing through a sliding, metallic door.

---------------
The moon began to cross the meridian, slipping into the western half of the sky. Dante stared at the illuminated half of the glowing object with droopy and crusted eyes, rubbing them in an attempt to remain awake. He turned away from the open window of his office, sliding another security disc into the player. He gazed at the recordings blankly, as though entranced by their images. “Don’t stay up too late,” the words of his partner Jericko rang through his head once more. He held the back of his head with his left hand, groaning loudly.

“How could they even sleep at a time like this?” he wondered aloud about his fellow officers. He popped open the pack of cigarettes stashed in his pocket. The lighter was lifted to the object as the drowsy Dante placed it in his mouth, soon glimpsing at the open flame in a disappointed fashion. He exhaled sharply, shaking his head and tossing the cigarette into the trash container. The lighter was soon slammed against the wall of the room as the symbol of justice sighed angrily.

Amidst his anguishes, he caught a glimpse of a figure running on the large, thin screen of his computer monitor. He turned to the machine, pressing the “rewind” button to replay the scene. To his surprise, the camera outside the Grand Ambassador’s estate captured a high-quality image of an individual bursting through the front door and fleeing.

Dante leaned into the video almost in disbelief, whispering, “Gotcha…”

The cloaked man kneeling in a meditative state outside the first story window shook his head in disagreement. He took a deep, yet silent breath as he peered through the thick brush in front of him, piercing the soul of the heavens’ beacon. He turned his silver-dyed eyes to the loaded gun sitting harmlessly on the nearby grass.

Just how do you intend to “get” me while shrouded in your darkness? It is a game that requires only one shot to finish.

* *
EP - Away
* *
RANDOM XERO FREEZE TRIVIA

Well, I know most of my traditional readers aren’t used to chapters this long. Hopefully it wasn’t too bad, haha. They will for the most part be this long. But, as I mentioned in the prologue, they will be coming less frequently and in a lower number. It will all even out in terms of being able to read in a timely manner.

Kaiba Corporation no longer exists. The “Disk Arm” worn by the duelists is reminiscent of the original Duelist Kingdom duel disk. However, instead of the “Beyblade-esque” throwing disk, there is Holozone’s Holo Mat, which serves as a power field for cards to be manually or automatically drawn / placed. Holozone is the company in charge of all dueling aspects, from card creation to holographic and realistic imaging / effects.

This episode’s new duel / card concept(s):

Arms Force Cards:
* Definition: Arms Force Cards are NOT treated as Equip Spell Cards, but are an entirely new brand of cards. They are placed in the Extra Deck. When activated, they are placed in the (traditionally called) Spell / Trap Card Zones, which can also be called the MTA Zones or simply “back row.”
- Arms Force Cards can only be activated by Tribute Summoning an Arms Monster, or by the specific effect of a card. Then, the proper Arms Force Card can be equipped from the Extra Deck.
- Arms Force Cards can only be equipped to monsters specifically or generally mentioned in their card text.
* Remark: I cannot equip a card which requires only 1 Tribute if I Tributed 2 monsters. The Arms Force Card must list the required monster, and will state the EXACT number of Tributes needed to activate it.

[Gladiator King]

Wow, that was fantastic. I like the new sig, Shadow. Remindes me to hurry up and get photoshop. . Great duel, and great new cards. I'll look forward to turn 2.

[Twisted Fate]

*suddenly appears*great turn, i like the solar cards, this i have a feeling will be a wonderful series, well until turn 2, i bid you all adieu*jumps, spins, and dissapears*......................*creepy laugh* ha ha ha ha ha

[Cyber Phoenix]

Hmm, very interesting beginning, sir! For some reason, I find this somewhat reminiscent of the first chapter of Battle Zone, but I know I shouldn't be comparing the two right now.

I certainly like the mystery side that you've added as the B Story of this chapter. On one hand we have the Yu-Gi-Oh! aspect while on the other we have a more novel-ish feeling. I look forward to seeing what Dante and Jericko uncover.

Hmm, what else... I must say that the Arms Force cards are a very intriguing concept that seem like they could be blended into the actual game. I can't wait to see what you have in store for us with this new theme.

Character-wise, I seem to have taken a liking to Vixa, so I hope we'll be seeing more of him considering the background you provided on not only him, but his cards and their past history as well. I think I'll have to read some more before passing judgment on any of the other characters, although I feel that Eve Steelheart is certainly as suspicious one. I don't know why, but it's just that weird gut feeling.

Good work my fellow writer! I shall await your next chapter!

[SebastiaanZ]

A very interesting start, a very very interesting start. Suspense on one side with the murder of some `hotemetoot´ (okay that`s Dutch, but do not know the English word for it) and a damn good duel on the other side. Both the Black Bot deck and the Solar deck are interesting. Also the way the duel is played with the Holomat instead of the good old dueldisk - or arena, makes me wonder how the Duel-Runners will look.

Arms Force Cards are an interesting concept indeed. Like to see the CAC on them. Got a little confused when you started about Level-1 equipment and stuff.

You are doing a good job on Synchro Summoning Speeches by the way.

[magicbullet]

The arms force was a little confusing, but otherwise it was great

[Zagar]

I'll have to get used to reading such long chapters, especially with all the dueling. My mind just doesn't let me stay involved in technical reading for that long... I couldn't focus very well, so I apologize for not having much insight. Always cool to see big monsters that stick around for a long time though. Makes the game feel more like the Dragonball Z trading card game or something.

I liked this moment.

The Duel Gate completed its scan, stopping at the other end of the arena. The sky and environment shifted to a swirling and dark-blue night sky. The peaceful and holographic heavens were littered with stars. The Duel Gate released a loud beep, signaling the completion of its scan.

Hmmm, that's right. You've continued to talk a fair bit about the sky, haven't you...

[Kovel]

Subbing for a latter read, but so far, even just reading the first part, your writing is amazing! Your writing is of the class of a pro author. Very good work and I look forward into reading this

[Twisted Fate]

of course he is an awesome writer kovel, he is ShadowBlade, writer of the 9 season long(i believe it was 9) reaching 200 episodes, finishing on its anniversary, Battle Zone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kovel]

Sadly I never read that, though I've heard of it a lot lol. I am going to try to follow this though ;D

[GuardianBlaK]

Off and running, very good start. Gasp, Kaiba Corp is no more!? NOOOO!! haha.

Vixa is a cool character, Slade is cool too. Eve intrigues me, and I wonder what kind of deck she will use when these two clash soon. This murder is troubling, and I suspect one of these two detectives lives will be in danger. That's just me thinking out loud,

Anyways, good stuff.

[ShinyPuffy]

The awesomeness of this series makes my eyes bleed. Literally. Excellent job as always, ShadowBlade... I truly admire your style of writing.

[ShadowBlade]

Yay for freetime. I'll be able to set up my CAC site this weekend, so stay tuned for all the created cards seen in this episode. I'll link everybody and add it to my sig when it's ready.

A small note for everybody: Feel free to ask questions about certain concepts or language used. As is shown in this episode, I'm incorporating time-specific phrases like "Kaizo Trap" and such to suggest that street language has changed over the years. I'll gladly define anything that seems puzzling.

GK: Thanks. Though, with a little Paint magic, you can easily make sigs similar to mine. You just have to know how to shrink images and make use of the printscreen key.

DeckMaster: Glad you like the Solar cards. They're my second attempt for Slade's deck, since I could never finish the first set. I decided to make them this way after starting my recent astronomy course.

Cyber: Eve is suspicious, eh? That's a pretty interesting prediction on your part. Vixa was a little fun to write, so I may bring him back in the future. I didn't think he would be interesting at first, but I found a persona for him and just went with it. I'm also glad you took notice of the Dante / Jericko scenario. I was hoping I didn't bury that too much under the stadium life of the other characters.

Sep: Rich person? Higher-up? I'm not sure what your Dutch word means, haha. Anyway, when Slade talked about "Level 1 equipment," he was referring to how many tributes the monster took to equip the card. This will be a little more easily illustrated once I have the CAC site going, but the Arms Force Card's text will tell you what monster is required and how many tributes are needed to activate it. So, Slade pretty much meant "Level 1" as "1 tribute." Similar for Level 2 and 2 tributes. I hope that clears that up a bit for you. Thanks for the comment on my Synchro speeches. I wasn't sure how those would come across.

Magic: I left some further explanation in Sep's section and the Random Trivia about Arms Force. Again, the CAC site will hopefully clear things up a bit, but feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Zagar: Dragon, dragon! Rock the dragon! Dragon Ball Z! All right, enough of that. I have a fascination with the sky in real life, actually. So, whenever possible, I try to describe it in the magnificent ways I've seen it while driving home or peering through my window, etc. Staring at it long enough somehow makes me feel more alive.

Kovel: Thank you; I am glad you're beginning to enjoy my work. Always good to have another reader join our little family here!

BlaK: Your precious Kaiba Corporation is gone! Bwahahaha. Vixa seems to be a popular person already. Hopefully Slade and the others will start getting up there as well. You would be a smart man to bet on Dante and/or Jericko putting themselves on the line here. I'm going to try and have fun with that storyline because I really enjoy shows like Forensic Files and similar series.

Shiny: You might want to check those eyes! Nah, I kid. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks to everybody for all the replies and reviews, as always. Xero Freeze seems to be getting a pretty good start, so let's keep rolling with it. You can expect that CAC site, as well as a preview for Turn 2, over the course of the next few days. The preview definitely won't be any later than Saturday-Sunday.

[GuardianBlaK]

I think Vixa is gaining popularity with the presence he has about him. I dare say Singer esque in the way he wields his Black Bot deck. My opinion at least.

As for Slade, I hope their is more to him than just winning championship titles. He's got a problem with day dreaming i see, referring to his dancing around before his duel, lol.

Anyways, onwards!!

[Metatron]

Sorry for the late response Mr Blade.

Interesting new concepts of cards. And the holozone duelings seems nice. I've always had this imagination of people putting on helmets and dueling, with the monsters popping up only on the screen in the helmet. So I like this style of dueling.

I can't wait till the next chapter, about this week sunday I presume?

-MvM-

[ShadowBlade]

BlaK: Yeah, there will be more to Slade. There wasn't much to show off this episode because of it being the pilot, but eh, haha. We'll get to some better stuff. Despite how I presented the whole professional league and stuff here, I don't intend to make it the focal point of Xero Freeze.

Metatron: Eh, two days after airing isn't that late. No worries about that. Your helmet idea seems really interesting. Have you written that in the form of a fan fiction or something? As for the next chapter, it will probably be posted on either Monday or Tuesday. The preview, though, will obviously be earlier. Thanks for the review.

[Humpie]

Nice start of Xero Freeze, Shadow. Very well started. The new card concept is pretty good too. Keep up the good work.

[starjake]

Normally, I'm not a fan of anything involving the word 'Freeze', but I think I'll make an exception here, especially since the (one of the?) protagonist uses 'Solar' cards.

It's only the first Turn, and you've already started on a couple different plotlines. Though I was more interested in the duel than in the murder-mystery (figures I'd care more about the game than about the more serious aspects), so I'll have to go back and reread that section. This was a much longer episode than I'm used to - from any writer, not just you - so my ADD brain couldn't really foc...oh, look, a butterfly!

Ahem...anyways, you've provided two brand-new themes for me to investigate. You certainly seem to enjoy bending / stretching / breaking the rules, which is one of the reasons I enjoy your work so much.

As always, keep up the good work.

[ShadowBlade]

All righty; UDFHQ is now open for business. I will be storing all Recon CAC data there; it can be found here. I will also keep this link in my sig. Do not bother registering as it is not an actual discussion forum; rather, it is more of a record house for me.

*EDIT: Episode Guides and such will also be posted there, in the respective section for that story.

Basically, for XFZ cards, head to the "Xero Freeze" section inside Recon. I will give each character their own thread, and reply with a new post for each episode they use new cards. This will be ridiculously organized compared to my BTZ CAC threads here on Pojo.

"Common" or recurring cards between characters (and even old BTZ cards!) will appear in the Recon section under a new thread I'll eventually make called "Common / Recurring Cards." It will be towards the top as an Announcement.

But, for those that were particularly interested in the Arms Force mechanic, here they are right off the bat:

Solar Sprinter Dash

Solar Talisman

Aura Blade

The first line of the Arms Force Cards tells you which monster is required, and how many tributes are required to equip it. All of these cards will pretty much be in the same format. Feel free to ask any additional questions.


Humpie: Thanks! I'm pleased to see that you have returned to read this series as well.

Starjake: Eh, 'Freeze' in the title won't really refer to your common definition of it. It will make sense in a couple episodes or so, but it's not really a signal for some evil ice villain or anything. The only time I really use forced symbolism is when people read too much into something and think I used it (30-year old Zatch Bell fanboys amuse me greatly), or if it's used for the purpose of a character's personality. Another 'Solar' fan, I see. Goody!

Thanks for the replies as always, you two. As promised, it's time for a preview.

Next time, on Xero Freeze...

Dante investigates further into the death of Harvey Nielsen, pointing out one rare and distinct detail in the murderer. The theory of X-V.eX causing the death is thrown on the table. But, what does it mean? Dante and Jericko revisit the story of the Old Era.

Meanwhile, Lilith and Crystal head to a traditional Friday night party where they encounter Lilith's boyfriend Victor Spade. The titled "King of Chaos" finds himself in an upcoming duel against Alyssa. Alyssa finds herself stuck in the middle of the reignited feud of Slade and Victor. But, will she be able to concentrate and defeat Victor and his formidable Chaosriders?

Stay tuned for Turn 2: Rival

Riding Duel, acceleration!