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Chapter 3: The Forest Dwellers
Riding high from Yugi's victory over Weevil, the group was heading north to find more duelists. Okay, more so, they were following Rain who was the only one who knew how to navigate the woods. As they went, she, Yugi, and Joey tried to figure out what monsters would receive a field bonus on what terrain.
"I'm telling you, it makes logical sense." Rain insisted. "Meadows are open terrain, so they'd be perfect for warrior types."
"I'm not buying it." Joey tried to argue. "Meadow ain't exactly what I think of when I see warriors."
"No, she has a point, Joey." Yugi interjected. "Wide open terrain would make maneuverability simple for weapon wielders, so it would make sense they'd get a field bonus."
"Aw, come on, Yugi, can't you back me up?"
Tea rolled her eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't try to match wits with someone like Rain to begin with."
Rain ignored the indirect compliment as she tried to analyze the other possibilities. "It could also be that some monsters wouldn't get a bonus at all. Either way, I think you should really stick to the meadow, Joey. From what you told me, it's where your deck would best fit."
"What about you, Rain?" The blonde asked.
"Well-,"
"Most of Rain's monsters are beasts, so she's better off in the woods." A voice called.
Someone stepped onto the path, blocking their way. However, unlike the obnoxious Weevil, this competitor had a bright smile on his face. Rain lit up at the sight of him.
"Samson!"
The two high fived in greeting.
Tristan gave them a look. "You two know each other?"
"Course we do. Guys, this is Samson. He happens to be a Wayfarer descendant like me. My family spent time at his place in Egypt last year. Sammy, these are Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea, my new friends."
"Nice to meet you." Yugi greeted, holding out a hand.
Samson took it. "Didn't think I'd get to meet the Yugi Muto. It's an honor. Nice to meet you all as well."
Tea smiled back. "Likewise."
"Nice running into a duelist who's friendly." Tristan said, confusing the newcomer.
"Uh..."
"Weevil Underwood." (Y/N) explained.
The dark eyed boy nodded. "Ah."
"So, you and Rain are family, Samson?" Joey asked.
"Kinda. I doubt we have any close blood, but we do descend from the same tribe, so that makes us family."
"Man, if all you magic folk think like that, you guys gotta have some massive family reunions."
Rain chuckled. "If the Wayfarers had a family reunion, it's usually a bad sign."
"How so?" Tea asked.
"Probably means the end of the world." They all looked at Samson with wide eyes. "Don't look spooked. It's just superstition."
"I thought you were finally a believer after that incident last year."
"Don't even."
"What happened last year-?" Tristan tried to ask before being cut off.
"We don't speak of it!"
Rain grinned. "I read a probably cursed inscription out loud, got us trapped in ruins, and I had play an ancient board game in order to save Sammy, my gramps, and our guide from getting eaten by a monster. He's...still in denial."
"I told you, we were hallucinating."
"Yeah, we all hallucinated the same thing. Why don't you just admit that maybe us passing down all those histories and stories about magic was for a reason?"
Samson pouted, causing the others to chuckle nervously. Yugi, ever the friendly type, tried to calm the awkwardness.
"So, Samson, how come you're here?"
The boy stopped his pout. "Well, I did manage to scrape a win in a tournament after Rain kicked my butt all summer, and I guess that I caught Pegasus's eye somehow."
"Don't be like that." Tea argued. "I'm sure you're a great duelist!"
"Nah. I'm a novice compared to Rain here. I think the only reason Pegasus invited me was because I'm a descendant of the Wayfarers."
"What's that got to do with it?" Joey asked as his friends started to get nervous.
"Rumors are going around that Pegasus has been trying to get information out of a few of the branches."
"Oh yeah." Rain said. "Remember when I told you guys I met Pegasus before? Well, he was at our house arguing with my gramps over something. Then I walked in and he was super interested in me because of the Millennium Bracelet."
The others looked at each other uncomfortably. Considering Rain spoke of the event so calmly, it was likely that nothing too sinister had happened, but it was cause for concern.
"Do you know what he wanted?" Yugi asked.
"I think he was interested in the Millennium Items or something. Whatever it was, it really set off Gramps."
Samson rubbed his chin. "That lines up. From what I heard, Pegasus went snooping about their abilities and possible locations. I heard he even tried to find out about the Millennium Tome."
Rain's eyes widened. "But that thing got torched centuries ago, in secret. How did Pegasus know about it?"
"Beats me."
"Whatcha guys on about?" Joey interjected.
Rain blushed bashfully. "Oh, sorry guys. Wayfarer business."
"Mind sharing with the group?" Tristan asked.
Samson shook his head. "Sorry. Wayfarers might be knowledge seekers, but we're forbidden from talking about certain things. The 7 Millennium Items are part of that."
"Wait, Rain, you were willing to tell us about the Millennium Items earlier." Yugi pointed out as Samson spun at her.
"Seriously? You're the superstitious one and YOU told them about that?!"
"I didn't tell them a lot. Besides, the knowledge is forbidden except under specific circumstances, and Yugi just so happens to be those specific circumstances."
"What do you mean?" The boy asked.
Rain pointed at what was around his neck. "You have the Millennium Puzzle, ergo, we're bound to teach you about it so you can use the power without causing untold chaos."
"Of course you somehow manage to run into another person with a Millennium Item!" Samson groaned. "I assume this is only fueling your end of days theory."
"Hey, it's not my fault the pieces are lining up!"
"Um, guys?" Tea jumped in. "This is super interesting to hear about, but there is a time limit for the tournament."
Both Wayfarers were a little bashful at her obvious statement and backed off from each other.
Rain cleared her throat. "So, Sammy, I'm guessing you want a rematch?"
He smiled. "Yeah, I figured if I'm gonna get knocked out, it might as well be by you. I want to see how far I've come."
"All right. I accept your challenge. Don't disappoint me."
Nearby, an arena rose up as the two took their place. Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tea all began to cheer for their new friend.
"Go, Rain!" Yugi yelled.
Joey chimed in. "Show us what you're made of!"
Tea felt a little bad for Samson, who was completely left out. "Do your best, both of you!"
As Rain took her spot and readied her deck, she called to (Y/N) mentally.
"(Y/N), I want you to take over for this duel."
The spirit appeared beside her, perplexed. "Are you certain? You usually are adverse to me battling friendly duelists."
"That's not it. We still don't know anything about the spirit in the puzzle. He definitely could see you in your spirit form though. I'm wondering if we could get a reaction from him by having you duel."
"Hmm...that does seem plausible. I am curious myself. I find myself thinking more and more that he's...familiar."
"Do you think he has something to do with your past?"
"I don't see any other possibilities. Let's do it."
"Hey, Rain, you gonna start or what?" Samson called from across the field.
Rain closed her eyes and nodded. When she reopened them, (Y/N) was now in control.
"Sorry, just thinking to myself. Let's duel!"
Rain 2000 LP/ Samson 2000 LP
Looking at her hand, (Y/N) felt confidence: three monsters, a trap card, and an equip spell. She drew.
"I'll set a monster facedown and set a facedown, and end my turn."
Both cards appeared facedown on the field before turning it over to Samson.
Tristan looked puzzled. "That didn't seem like a stellar first move."
"Actually, it was." Yugi argued.
Joey tilted his head. "How come?"
"Samson knows Rain's deck. By not showing her hand outright, she's forcing him to gamble on which cards she has set out. And judging by the look on his face, he knows there are probably some nasty counters in her deck. She's starting out with mind games."
Rain 2000 LP/Samson 2000 LP
Just as Yugi said, Samson looked quite nervous. He knew from their many duels over the summer, Rain always made sure to mix up her openings to keep on his toes.
(Y/N) smiled kindly. "You okay over there?"
Samson chuckled nervously. "You're pushing me to gamble here. That's cold, Rain."
"Relax. Have confidence in your abilities and analyze your best moves."
"All right. I summon Ancient Elf to the field in attack mode."
A tall elf with black hair and purple and blue armor materialized on the field, wielding a large purple wand.
Ancient Elf
1450 ATK/1200 DEF
"Now, I'll attack your facedown! Go, Ancient Elf!"
The monster sent a magical attack careening at the facedown monster. When it made contact, it was revealed to be The Courageous Mokk. It was a cute and petite little mammal which was very ferret-like. Its long, thin tail with a large tuft of fur at the end was curled around its body in defense position, and it's large yellow eyes were wide with alertness.
The Courageous Mokk
100 ATK/800 DEF—130 ATK/1,040 DEF due to Forest Terrain Bonus
(feel free to call me out since I suck at math; also I didn't do it for Weevil's duel, since we can look up the actual points)
The little monster let out a sad whine as it was destroyed. However, (Y/N) was more than ready for this.
"I activate my trap card: Dwellers of the Forest! Since you destroyed a beast type monster in battle, I can summon a new one from my hand in attack mode to take its place. I summon Kwolok, Guardian of the Marsh!"
A large toad-like monster with an entire garden growing on its back took the place of Mokk, croaking menacingly with glowing blue eyes.
Kwolok, Guardian of the Marsh
1800 ATK/2000 DEF—2,340 ATK/2600 DEF due to Forest Terrain Bonus
Samson paled. "Well should've seen that one coming. I place two facedowns and end my turn."
"That's one nasty looking frog!" Joey yelled. "Way to get that big guy out, Rain!"
"I think it's a toad." Tea corrected.
"Who cares! That thing looks ready to flatten the field!"
"Hey, does Rain seem...different?" Tristan asked. "She seems way more focused now."
Yugi looked closer and agreed with Tristan. Rain seemed way more composed and had a different aura than the usually jovial girl.
"Yeah, she seems completely different."
Tea began laughing. "Wow, she's just like you, Yugi!"
The boy blushed. "Eh!?"
Joey joined in the teasing. "Yeah. Dueling seems to bring out something fierce in both of ya! I'd love to see what happens if you two dueled it out."
"Well, she did promise us both a duel later...I guess we can see then."
Yugi felt a bit embarrassed, especially with how his male friends seemed to be smirking with teasing energy, but some part of him felt happy to have this similarity with Rain. Though, he wondered: did she also have gaps in her memory?
Rain 2000 LP/Samson 2000 LP
As the peanut gallery continued to talk about how similar Yugi and Rain were, (Y/N) drew and began the next turn.
"I draw. Next, I summon Ori the Forest Guardian!"
Another mammalian creature took to the field. This one was about the size of Mokk, but with bright, almost glowing white fur. It looked like a combination of a bunny, a baby goat, and a cat. It had big, expressive, black eyes with white pupils. For a monster, it looked quite cuddly.
Ori the Forest Guardian
2000 ATK/1000 DEF—2600 ATK/1300 DEF due to Forest Terrain Bonus
Samson smirked. "I play my trap card, Shadow Balance! Since you just summoned a monster and have more monsters than me on the field, I can destroy one of your monsters to make it even!"
"If you're hoping to take out Ori, you'll find he's a bit too nimble for your trap!"
"I'll still take out Kwolok and deal you a major blow!"
A monstrous looking scale appeared on the field, sucking in the surrounding area with a fierce gale. Ori jumped away with surprising speed, leaving poor Kwolok to be swallowed up and dealing the first blow of the duel, though not the last one of the turn. (Y/N) looked quite pleased despite the damage she just took.
"Well played, Samson. Though, you are gonna regret not taking out Ori. Ori! Attack Ancient Elf with Light Burst!"
The little creature gathered a ball of flaming energy into his hands (paws?) before lobbing it at the opposing monster. Ancient Elf was immediately destroyed, dropping Samson's life points.
"I set two facedowns and end my turn."
Yugi was quite amazed. "They both did some impressive damage this turn. One wrong move could decide the duel now."
"Yeah, but Rain's monster's a quick little guy, and super tough for his size!" Joey pointed out.
Rain 830 LP/Samson 850 LP
Samson drew, smiling.
"I summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer!"
A monk-like character appeared on the field, half of his face covered in a mask and holding prayer beads at Ori, who flinched back.
Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer
1800 ATK/700 DEF
"Remind me again, Rain, Ori is a beast spirit, correct?"
"Yes, Samson."
"Well, Kycoo here is an expert at handling spirits, meaning Ori can say goodbye to that field bonus!" Kycoo seemed to say a prayer as Ori's attack points dropped back to 2000, but Samson wasn't done. "Next, I reveal the spell card, Spellbook of Power, which will give Kycoo an extra 1000 ATK points! Now Kycoo, attack Ori the Guardian Spirit!"
As the monk came charging in, (Y/N) smirked.
"You've improved greatly Samson, but this is the end. I reveal Mirror Force!"
Kycoo collided with Ori, only to shatter and for half of his attack points to hit Samson, more than enough to take out the remainder of his life points. Samson groaned, but he was smiling as the field faded.
"Well, at least this is the best duel I've had with you."
(Y/N) smiled back. "Indeed. You've really improved since I last saw you. If that attack had connected, I would've been in trouble."
The boy rolled his eyes. "Stop. I don't need pity points. Let me guess, Monster Reborn is in your hand or your other facedown."
(Y/N) chuckled, revealing it was indeed the facedown.
"Knowing you, you had another combo waiting to finish me off next turn."
"Maybe, maybe not." She said, tucking the equip spell, Eye of the Forest, discreetly back in the deck.
"Man, that was a great duel, you two!" Joey congratulated.
Tea nodded. "You both played amazingly."
Samson sighed. "It might've looked close, but Rain here was in complete control the whole time."
"Don't say that, Samson." Yugi encouraged. "You were great."
"He's right." (Y/N), still in control, assured him. "I'd say you have the makings of a champion."
"Thanks guys." He then handed his star chips to (Y/N). "To be honest, I wasn't gonna come. I didn't think I was right for this tournament. But when I heard you were invited, well...I wanted to prove how far I've come to you."
The two shook hands, (Y/N) nodding her head. "You've certainly proven that to me. Let's duel again soon."
"Looking forward to it."
"Hey, I wouldn't mind a duel!" Joey said, Yugi following.
"I would as well."
"Tell you what? You guys come to my place in Egypt, and we'll have a little unofficial tournament, my treat. Tea, Tristian, you guys are invited too!"
Tristian nodded. "Appreciate that."
Tea clapped her hands. "I've never been to Egypt before! It sounds like fun!"
"Don't worry, Rain and I will be sure to give you grand tour. We'll even take you through some ruins, if we can get permission."
Tristan then sweatdropped. "Ugh, those wouldn't be the deadly trap ridden ones, right?"
Joey cut him off. "Who cares!? How awesome would it be to go through a tomb like in the movies!"
Everyone laughed, however, (Y/N) felt a presence beside her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the spirit of the puzzle. He was looking at her intensely, like he wanted to say something, but remained silent. Rather than draw attention, she quickly swapped with Rain while everyone was distracted and returned to her room in their shared mind. It seems Rain was right in her assessment. In addition, the spirit made no effort to switch with Yugi and talk to her while she was in control of Rain's body. If Yugi was aware of his other half, he was definitely hiding it well.
Back in the physical world, Rain and Samson led the group out of the forest towards the meadow. The Wayfarer boy gave farewell handshakes to everyone, giving the last one to Rain.
"We'll talk about the details for the trip after the tournament." Rain suggested.
Samson nodded. "Sounds good, kick plenty of butt for me."
"You know it!"
He then frowned. "Rain...be careful too. Pegasus definitely only invited me because I'm part of the tribe. And you have the Millennium Bracelet. I...I have a bad feeling about him."
She nodded. "I know. But don't worry, I can handle myself."
He sighed and looked over to the group. "Look out for her, will ya? She's a bit too confident at times for her own good."
"Hey!"
Yugi smiled. "We will, promise."
Joey threw an arm over Rain's shoulder. "Like we're gonna let anything happen to our new pal!"
"She's our friend now too." Tea added. "We'll make sure she's safe."
Samson laughed as Rain and Joey got into a friendly fight, messing up the others hair and forcing Tristan to pull them apart.
"I appreciate it. Take care everyone!"
I think I handled the DND style of rules well enough. I'm trying to use cards from that time, but it's kinda limited. If you guys have ideas for the Ori deck, let me know. Also, in case you're curious, this is where I got the rules for Duelists Kingdom from:
https://youtu.be/RNICwp8ZZ9s (TGS Anime)
Give them a watch, they do an amazing job explaining not only tournament rules, but rules for all the unique duels.