//------------------------------// // ESP Duelist // Story: An Equestrian Element // by Quillion9000 //------------------------------// Domino City Streets: Morning… Joey was officially on the hunt for his first opponent before something caught his eye. “Whoa, there’s a duel going on over there.” There was a crowd; however, Joey managed to push through only to see two duelists going at it. One of them was your average looking duelist while the other had long green hair and beady black eyes. He wore a long-sleeved pink shirt with white pants. (Average Duelist 1200/Green Hair 4000) Average Duelist’s Field 0 cards in hand Skull Knight(LV 7/2650/2250) Green Hair’s Field 3 cards in hand 1 set card “Skull Knight, take a chunk out of his life points!” Skull Knight rushed forward slashing the opposing duelist’s life points down (Average Duelist 1200/Green Hair 1350). “Let’s see you come back from that!” “You speak as though you ever stood a chance; however, you’ve hardly been worth my time, and that holds true as you have nothing to defend yourself.” Green Hair drew. “That especially holds true now as I activate Mind Control taking command of your monster until the End Phase.” “No, my Skull Knight!” “This spell also prevents me from attack with or tributing your monster; however, opening the path to your life points is enough.” Green hair declared. “I summon Cyber Esper(LV 4/1200/1800).” A purple and gray machine with blades appeared. “I wipe your life points!” Esper rushed forward slashing away the last of his opponent’s life points in one, fell swoop (Average Duelist 0/Green Hair 1350). The duelist collapsed to his knees in defeat resulting in his opponent sauntering forward. “I didn’t believe the rumor only to be done in by them being true.” “Now, hand over your rarest card and locator card.” Green hair ordered resulting in Average Duelist passing over both. “You’re Skull Knight is useless in my deck, but nothing you played caught my attention.” The duelist left dejectedly. “Now, who’s next?” A couple of competitors sweated at that. “I-I left my deck at home.” “I can’t because my…my duel disk is on the fritz.” “They all know my psychic rep.” Green hair soon spotted Joey who was oblivious. “Except that guy who looks clueless.” He smiled. “You want to duel?” “You’d be wise not to since he’s psychic.” “Yeah, he’ll just read your mind to learn what cards you have.” “He’s a duelist like Pegasus then.” Joey smiled. “My name is Joey Wheeler, and I accept your challenge!” “Joey Wheeler?” Green hair questioned. “Ah, you made it into Duelist Kingdom’s Top 4. My name is Espa Roba and dueling you would be an honor.” “It’ll be my honor to wipe the floor with ya.” Joey returned. Both duelists moved to stand across from each other. “Let’s get the stakes straight.” Espa declared. “I’m putting up my Jinzo, but since I’ve foresaw your defeat, I’ll be taking your Red-Eyes Black Dragon.” “We’ll see about that!” Joey declared. “Let’s Duel!” (Joey 4000/Espa 4000) Hospital: Serenity’s Room Serenity was currently sitting in her bed when there was a knock at her door. “Who’s there?” “It’s just me, Tea.” Tea answered as she entered the room carrying a laptop. “I brought along a laptop.” She sat on the bed while putting it on a trey. “Kaiba Corp. is streaming Battle City, so I thought I could see if Joey’s dueling. If he is, I’ll give you a play by play.” “Thanks Tea.” Serenity smiled. “That would be awesome, and Joey will be glad to know we were keeping tabs on him.” Tea had pulled it up. “Looks like we’re just in time because Joey’s about to have his first duel, and they’re just starting.” “You can do it Joey.” Serenity thought. Domino City Streets “Alright, I’ll go first.” Joey drew only to stop as his opponent was doing something. Espa had his eyes closed and his fingers were to his forehead. “Celestial force, I call upon you!” The Red-Eyes player was weirded out. “Make me one with the psychic universe. Show Joey’s thoughts to me and every card in his pathetic hand.” “How exactly does this help ya?” Joey asked with a chuckle. “What a foolish question.” Espa retorted. “With my powers, I know every card you have in your hand and any strategy you may ordain to try.” “What’s the big deal?” Joey retorted while thinking back to Yugi and Sunset dueling Pegasus. “To counter any deck, you need the right cards. The problem is, no one deck can fully counter every other deck. Even if you could, you’d need the right cards in hand to shut me down.” Espa scoffed. “If you’re really that confident, get to playing.” “As you wish.” Joey declared. “I’ll summon Red-Eyes Baby Dragon(LV 4/1200/700) in defense mode.” A baby version of the dragon appeared. “I’ll end my turn with one set card.” “All you have is a baby dragon and some set card?” Espa smirked. “Let’s me show you a real move.” He drew. “I know what you’re trying for. You’re waiting on Flute of Summoning Dragon to go with your Lord of D. Then, you could bust out those two Red-Eyes Black Dragons in your hand.” “What?” Joey questioned confused. “One of my dragons is the original Red-Eyes, but the other is my Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon. If he could really see my hand, like Pegasus did to many others, he’d know that. Something isn’t adding up here.” “Since you currently control more spells/traps than I do, I can special summon my Psychic Megacyber(LV 6/2200/1200).” A gold and red bipedal machine monster appeared. “With my normal summon, I call upon Jinzo – Returner(LV 3/600/1400).” A thin, bulbous pink headed monster appeared. “Jinzo – Returner has an ability where he can attack you directly!” Returner lept above Red-Eyes Baby Dragon before hitting Joey with psionic waves (Joey 3400/Espa 4000). “Megacyber will destroy your dragon.” He slammed an electric coated fist into Baby Dragon destroying him. “What did you think of that, Wheeler? Do my monsters have you beat already, or will I need to apply more pressure?” “I’d hardly call this pressure especially since destroying Red-Eyes Baby Dragon by battle and sending him to the grave activates his special ability.” Joey countered. “Thanks to that, I can special summon any Level 7 or lower Red-Eyes from my deck. I’ll choose a Red-Eyes Black Dragon(LV 7/2400/2000).” The black dragon with red eyes appeared roaring. “Er, you’ll need more than that.” Espa declared. “Fortunately, my Baby Dragon’s got a little more.” Joey retorted. “Any monster summoned through his effect gains Baby Dragon as an equip card boosting their ATK by 300.” Red-Eyes Black Dragon(LV 7/2700/2000 effect) Hospital: Serenity’s Room “Joey’s new deck just scored him a huge advantage.” Tea informed. “That Espa Roba dealt a little damage before destroying baby dragon. He didn’t realize that would enable Joey to bring out his Red-Eyes Black Dragon and equip it with Baby Dragon powering him up.” “That’s great.” Serenity declared happily. Domino City: Streets “Having one big dragon hardly matters.” Espa took a card from his hand. “Especially when I can deal more damage through Psychic Wave. Since I control at least 1 Machine-type monster, I can send Jinzo from my deck to the grave dealing you another 600 life points of damage.” Espa deposited Jinzo which sent out psionic energy that washed over Joey (Joey 2800/Espa 4000). “Deal all the chip damage you want.” Joey declared. “I’ll take it head on before clobbering you on my next turn.” He looked at his hand. “Even before I started thinking you were a fraud; I was confident I could pull this off. Now that I know, there’s not a chance you’re winning.” Nearby Rooftop Three younger boys and a baby, all bore an uncanny resemblance to Espa, were watching the duel with a perfect view of Espa’s opponent’s hand. “Warn Espa that the card we saw might not be a second Red-Eyes Black Dragon. The more I look at it, the more I think it might be a newer card; like that Red-Eyes Baby Dragon he played.” “Listen up big brother, we’re thinking there was a mistake. That second Red-Eyes Black Dragon might not be just that. The more we look at it, the more we think it’s something closer to that Red-Eyes Baby Dragon he played.” Domino City Street “We’ll see how you feel about the twelve hundred lost life points when it becomes the deciding factor of your defeat.” Espa declared. “For now, I’ll merely set one card and end my turn.” “We’ll just have to see about that.” Joey drew. “Bingo!” “Big brother, he just drew Monster Reborn!” “Gah!” Espa exclaimed. “You just drew Monster Reborn!” “Where was your whole show of tapping into the cosmic whatever?” Joey smirked. “I knew I smelt a rat the moment you told me I had two Red-Eyes Black Dragons in my hand. Now, you’ve shown full hand realizing you made a huge mistake. In the end, you’ve been receiving some bum information because of how I hold my cards. Your so-called ESP is all just one big con. You can’t see my hand, but I bet your friends somewhere high certainly could.” Nearby Rooftop “Busted.” Mokuba arrived on the roof while blowing a whistle. “Violation!” “Run!” The older of them started to book it, but Mokuba caught his foot as he attempted to slide under a sign. “Got you!” The kid ended up face planting. “Your brother will never duel in this town again.” The other three came over. “We’ve learned our lesson. Please, give him another chance.” “As the Battle City Duel Commissioner, it is my sworn duty to bust cheaters.” Mokuba crossed his arms. “Give me one, good reason why I shouldn’t cancel this duel.” “Show some mercy. Our brother isn’t doing this for the glory; he’s doing this for us.” “We were carnival folk, but it made us miserable. Our brother couldn’t stand for that, so he took us out of that environment. Since then, he’s been doing everything to provide for and protect us.” “Your brother’s been looking out for you…” Mokuba looked down. “That reminds me a lot of Seto.” “Dueling is quickly becoming a way to of life. If he wins, we’re taken care of, and the bullies leave us alone.” “All we’re trying to do is help carry the burden and make winning easier.” “Seto would never stand for this.” Mokuba firmed his resolve a bit. “It’s still cheating. If I let you guys off the hook, what’s to stop you from pulling the same stunt?” “I’m begging. Let my brother finish out the duel without revealing this; otherwise, we’ll lose everything.” Despite wanting to be firm, every word they said now made it harder on Mokuba. “He’ll go legit!” This drew Mokuba’s attention to the youngest brother that wasn’t the baby. “From here on out, Espa will duel cheat free!” “They seem sincere.” Mokuba reasoned. “I bet Yugi and sunset would give them another chance.” “What do you say?” “Please, have a heart.” “This is your last chance.” Mokuba declared. “I am Mokuba Kaiba, so if you’re brother ever cheats at duel monsters again, I will find out. Provided he sticks to the path of a true duelist, then I won’t mention a word of this.” The children celebrated. Domino City: Streets “Are you accusing me of faking my psychic abilities?” Espa declared fully offended. “Well, that’s too bad for you since I’m getting telegraphic vision right now that are guaranteed to come true.” “We’ll see.” Joey declared. “First, I’ll tribute the Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my hand to special summon Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon(LV 7/2400/2000). A new black dragon with red-eyes appeared. “Then, I’ll activate Monster Reborn reviving your Jinzo(LV 6/2400/1500).” A tall, pink bulbous headed individual appeared. “What do you know, your own Jinzo now shuts down all traps on the field.” He smiled. “I think with these three guys, I have more than enough to end this.” Hospital: Serenity’s Room “Whoa, Joey is dueling on a whole other level.” Tea informed impressed. “He’s just brought out an alternative version of his Red-Eyes and used Monster Reborn to take the strongest monster his opponent has shown. If all goes well, Joey wins this turn.” “That’s really amazing.” Serenity declared. Domino Streets “Jinzo, destroy his Returner with Cyber Energy Shock!” “It’s a good thing my face down isn’t a trap.” Espa declared. “It is the quick-play spell Limiter Removal which now doubles the ATK of all Machine-type monsters I control until the end of the turn. In return, they will then be destroyed at that time.” Jinzo – Returner(LV 3/1200/1400 effect) Psychic Megacyber(LV 6/4400/1200 effect) Returner was blasted right off the field (Joey 2800/Espa 2800). Nearby Roof “Alright, he just shut his opponent down from ending this duel!” “Go brother!” “Even without us giving him info, Esper is dueling great.” Streets “You managed to deal a fair bit of damage, but with my Megacyber still on the field, my life points are safe.” Esper declared. “Now, end your turn.” “Not quite.” Joey declared. “Alternative Black Dragon, fire on Megacyber with Red Fire!” “What are you doing?” Esper questioned confused. “Your monster is weaker than my own meaning all you’ll do is lose him and take a massive hit to your life points!” “Taking the life point loss is part of the price I pay to see my monster destroyed.” Joey declared. “You’ll see why I’ve done this is just a moment.” Alternative Black Dragon fired on Megacyber who simply punched through the fire before nailing his opponent and obliterating him (Joey 800/Espa 2800). “What was the point of that?” Esper asked. “The point is that if Red-Eyes Alternative Black Dragon is destroyed by battle or card effect, I can special summon any Red-Eyes I wish from my grave.” Joey explained. “If I happen to choose Red-Eyes Black Dragon(LV 7/4800/2000 effect), then his ATK is permanently doubled, and I’m snatching the one I tributed to summon Alternative Black Dragon.” “4800 ATK.” Esper stepped back. “That means he’s strong enough to destroy my Psychic Megacyber.” “With my second Red-Eyes Black Dragon, I can erase the last of your life points.” Joey continued. “I’ll be doing just that, one after another, with Inferno Fire Blasts!” The 4800 Red-Eyes Black Dragon on the field fired on Psychic Megacyber obliterating him (Joey 800/Esper 2400). Right behind that blast was the one from the 2700 ATK Red-Eyes which hit Esper wiping out his remaining life points (Joey 800/Espa 0). “That’s the end.” Joey declared. “Impossible.” Esper stepped back in shock. “I…you couldn’t beat me.” “What do you think just happened?” Joey questioned. “In fact, I had 300 more ATK than I needed to wrap this all up which means you’re finished.” Serenity’s Room “That’s Joey for you.” Tea commented. “Taking the big risk which inevitably ends up paying off in the end.” She looked at Serenity. “Your brother just won the duel.” “I knew he would.” Serenity voiced joyfully. Nearby Rooftop All the brothers were in tears. “Esper put up one heck of a fight, but that guy beat him.” “It was so close to!” Streets Esper collapsed to his knees. “He beat me.” “Check out the psychic duelist now.” “What happened to his ESP? Couldn’t predict he’d end up a loser?” Esper was frustrated by their words. “It was a tough duel.” Joey approached him. “Now, I’m keeping Jinzo, and you got to fork over a locator card.” “No.” Esper was tearing up now. “I need Jinzo and my locator card.” He clenched his fist. “Please, you don’t understand!” He looked at all the people just smirking at him. “What are you freaking out about?” Joey asked. “Just stand up and face defeat. Besides, you know the Battle City rules. I get to keep your rarest card.” He smiled. “Hey, everyone loses occasionally. Even I blew a few duels before.” “It’s not the simple!” Esper yelled. “People count on me to win!” “We all have our reasons for dueling.” Joey retorted. “Stop!” Esper yelled. “You just don’t get it! Losing isn’t an option! I must win!” He punched the ground. “I must! I’m not dueling for myself! I duel for my brothers!” “Brothers?” Joey questioned. “I’m all my little brothers have.” Esper declared. “I provide for and protect them. If my reputation as a loser spreads, then everything I’ve managed to scrape out for us will start to collapse.” “What do you think acting like this in the face of defeat will do for you?” Joey questioned. “If you really want to retain your dignity, you must show you can take a loss. It’s even more important as a big brother. Trust me, I would know.” “I don’t need your advice!” Esper yelled. He shook his head sending his ear piece flying. “Come on big bro, you didn’t disappoint us. You fought an awesome duel.” Esper’s brother was speaking from the ear piece before all of them were there as they’d gotten down from the roof. “We’re proud of you. If you take Joey’s advice, I think we’ll be fine.” “In our books, you’re a winner.” “Come here you, guys.” Esper stood. “Give your big brother a hug.” They all shared a family hug which did earn approval from the crowd. “You dueled great.” “The best part is you finished it out without cheating.” They celebrated for a bit longer before ultimately approaching Joey with Esper holding out his locator card. “You already have my Jinzo, so here’s the locator card you earned to go with it.” “Thanks.” Joey stated genuinely as he accepted them. “Look, I’m sorry about cheating.” Esper voiced. “Eh, no worries.” Joey assured. Esper smiled. “The next time we duel, I’ll play legit.” “Until then, Roba brothers.” Joey then started walking. “Esper, keep looking after your brothers and uphold this new example.” He looked back with a grin. “After all, it’s up to big brothers like us to set the right examples for our younger siblings.” Esper nodded with a smile prompting Joey to take his leave. This wasn’t what he was expecting from his first Battle City duel, but the way it ended made this one he wouldn’t change for anything.