Yu-Gi-Oh! New Roads

Episode 01: Changing Lanes

So far, it had been a day like any other for Mason Jenkins. He had finished his work, taken care of his chores, and turned down yet another invitation to go to the local dueling area with his young next-door neighbor, Lucy Mitchell. She was a sweet kid, and her parents argued a lot, so he made time for her when he had it. Sometimes he helped with her dueling strategies, deck building and such, but most of the time he just let her watch his TV while he got his work done.

Mason was a journalist who reviewed the pro-league Duel Monsters matches for the regional news division. He didn't make anywhere near as much money as he had in his glory days, but it was enough to cover the rent for his tiny apartment outside of the city. Just about anyway. Mason wasn't lucky enough to get a ticket to the WRGP in Neo Domini City, but he had managed his reviews just fine with the televised feed and online playbacks.

For a newly formed team, he was surprised at Team 5D's performance. He still wasn't quite sure what to make of all the strange special effects during and after the duel–before the signal was interrupted. That Ark Cradle thing in the sky seemed excessive, he thought to himself.

After typing up his notes, Mason felt like playing a duel himself, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. Playing Duel Links on his computer was a poor substitute for the real thing but it was better than nothing. Dueling had always been an escape, but his heart wasn't really in it anymore. Mason had gained an impressive dueling record in-game but was careful not to play too well and risk being noticed. Sometimes he would even surrender duels when there was a possibility he would qualify for events. Gaining all the basic prizes available was enough.

When Mason turned on the game, he noticed there was a new version ready for download. It piqued his interest, so he began the process. It processed the data rather quickly, which made a nice change considering the unreliability of Mason's computer–it was known to short out during big requests. Once complete, he restarted the game and signed in. The first new option seemed interesting. It was an avatar feature that made a copy of the user based on a real-life scan.

Mason wouldn't usually use this kind of feature for risk of being recognized, but it seemed like it was mandatory, so he continued with the intention of changing the settings later. He clicked "OK" and stood up in preparation for the scan. Beams emitted from his computer's lens and moved over him from top to bottom. When finished, they rendered a realistic 3D version of himself for use in-game. As he sat back down, something strange began to happen.

The computer re-affirmed his login details aloud and matched them to the scan. The screen went static a few times then it began to glow a brilliant white until light filled the room. Mason had to look away from the brightness. Suddenly, it emitted some sort of feedback pulse and Mason's hand was burnt. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the screen returned to normal.

"Stupid thing!" Mason yelled as he pounded his monitor. It went blank for a moment but seemed unharmed. The same couldn't be said for Mason, who was left with a painful burn not to mention very blurry eyes. His vision was obscured to the point that he thought he saw a streak of white light shoot across his room. He dismissed it and closed his eyes for a minute or so to let them readjust.

As his vision returned, Mason located a bandage from his medicine cabinet in the next room, dampened it and awkwardly wrapped the burn with his left hand. His phone started ringing as he was trying to finish. Typical, thought Mason. He balanced the phone under his ear while he tried to tie off the bandage.

"Hello," he answered gruffly.

"Mason, it's Lucy," his next-door neighbor exclaimed. "Please, Mason, I need your help!"

Mason could hear the panic in her voice, "Lucy? What's wrong?"

Lucy replied, "I'm down at the dueling area and these big kids took my favorite card. Hey, give that back! Give me back my phone!"