Yugiohverse (Draken the Black x True Grave

Wayne walked out of his house as Brian pulled up in his car. The two were in the way to a big-time card game tournament based on the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" trading card game. Oddly enough, it was being held at Fairview Park, a big difference from the usual tournaments that were held in buildings of one kind or another. The real draw to this event was that Japanese bigwigs had come-with the blessing of the Yu-Gi-Oh! creator himself-to unveil a whole new way of dueling. He wasn't sure he had really wanted to go, given that he wasn't the best duelist, but Brian had talked him into it. So, here they were, on their way to the biggest Yu-Gi-Oh! event to ever come to Centralia.

The two chatted amicably on the way, laughing at each other's jokes. As Brian pulled into the parking lot, he saw a crowd of duelists congregating throughout the west section of the park near the baseball diamond.
"I don't think I've ever seen so many duelists in one place."
Running his hand over the lump in his pocket where he was keeping his deck in a plastic Ziploc bag, he wondered how many victories he could get. He had restructured his deck and added some killer strategies, but his deck was still defensive, and he was wondering how it would stand up to the variety of dueling strategies he was sure to encounter. The two got out of the vehicle and he proceeded to walk toward the crowd of duelists.

A stage had been built to accommodate the speakers, and on it was a bevy of technological gizmos that he did not recognize. Some resembled computers and others looked like an old time machine, and the whole thing seemed almost alien to him. Wayne turned to Brian, a smile on his face.
"Well, you wanted a UFC of Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, and I think this is the closest you're going to get. How many people do you think showed up for this?"
Wayne turned his head back to the stage, noticing five metal folding chairs that at present remained empty.
 
As I took in the scene ahead, I replied "More duelests than I would have given this town credit for." This was quite the turnout, and I wondered just how many of these duelists would be any kind of match for me. My deck was not perfect, but i had put forth every effort in enhancing its strengths and curing its weaknesses to make it downright powerful if not invincible. I always took pride in my dueling abilities, and this tournament would bring me strait into my element.

I retrieved my deck from my center concel and got out of my vehicle, eager for the tournament to begin.
 
As Brian went to retrieve his deck, Wayne looked around at all of the people that had gathered. All types were here, including more girls than he might have expected. Looking at the people, he could guess what types of decks they might have, offensive or defensive. Some were even cosplaying, wearing the outfit of their favorite character or monster.
"Maybe Brian should have dressed up like Seto Kaiba," he mused to himself.
There were at least one hundred duelists here, and the odds were against him making any sort of dent here even with a restructured deck.
"I'm so going to get my ass kicked," he said while hanging his head.

A murmur moving through the crowd got his attention, and a man had taken the stage.
"If I may have your attention, please. My name is Mark Swain, the liaison to the Japanese guests of honor. These men work for the Yosetsu Company, who funded this tournament and the technology we will be using. Please put your hands together for the three men responsible for this technological breakthrough. I will introduce them in order of importance."

As he spoke, a Japanese man in a black suit and politician haircut approached the steps.
"Our first guest is Tobatsu Miyakagi, President of the Yosetsu Company. He bankrolled the project."
Miyakagi shook hands with Swain and sat down.
"Our second guest is Shinichi Murakami, the head of Yosetsu's Research and Development wing."
A second, shorter Japanese man with a white suit and more normal-looking hair walked up, shook hands with Swain, and sat down.

"Out third and final guest is the man we have the most to thank. His name is Ichiro Takagi, a brilliant engineer and scientist who built and patented this machine."
The third man was about average height, and wore spectacles and a lab coat. He kind of reminded Wayne of Dr. Stein from Soul Eater. He wore gloves and shook hands with Swain, indicating that he was probably a slight germaphobe.
"Let's hear it for our esteemed guests."

The whole crowd cheered and clapped, and Wayne gave a light clap, as well. When the applause died down, Swain sat down and Takagi took the podium.
"Hello, duelists, one and all. If you've ever watched the show and wish that your monsters come come to life on a board like they do on the show, then you are in luck. Today, you will experience all of that and much more. My machine, in your language, is called the Dream Realm."

"When the machine is activated, all of you will be taken to different locations within the park. There will be many different duelist within each bracket, and the top duelist within each bracket will battle with his counterparts. At the end of the journey, one of you will stand out as the greatest duelist in the land, and may be invited to take part in even greater tournaments. Thanks to the beauty of modern technology, fantasy can become reality. So, are you ready to take the ultimate challenge? Because it's time to D-D-D-DUEL!"
 
"Hay Wayne," I said, "You're going to do fine. I doubt there's a respectable duelist here, and after all the conditioning we've been through, they won't see our moves coming."

I listened to the introductions of the men with the names I can't pronounce, and then as I listened to Takagi's speech, I looked at Wayne and said "I hope I don't get paired with you to early, it be a shame if I had to put you down before you get to mop the floor with these wimps." As much as I hate people who brag about themselves, when dueling may be the one thing I'm better at than most people, I enjoy bragging. And it was not like I wanted to put Wayne down or anything, far from it. He was my friend, and the two of us had been dueling together for quite some time. I helped him get to where he is, and in spite of any lack of confidence he had in himself, there was no way that anyone could say he's not a formidable duelist.

That was when Takagi went over to his machine and fired it up. With all of the stuff he had been promising in his speech, I was looking forward to whatever his machine would do. Suddenly, a shrill sound struck my ears, and even as I covered them, it still rang through as though the noise was coming from inside my head. "What's going on!" I cried as I saw the same thing happening to the other duelists. My vision was suddenly clouded with blinding white light, and then faded to black as I felt a strange detachment from myself.
 
Wayne looked at Brian as he said that. It was true that there weren't many duelists in Brian's league, and his deck had been through many changes in his challenges of such stiff competition. No matter how many duelists there were, he was only facing one at a time, and he had a good chance of winning. Getting past his Charcoal Inpachi was a challenge for just about anybody, and even Brian had been stonewalled a couple times. Even if they could, his Hayabusa Knight could be paired with a few magic cards to completely devastate his opponent's life points in a single attack. While maybe not strong in the same way that Brian's was, his deck was powerful nonetheless.

As Brian continued, he couldn't help but smile.
"It may just be wishful thinking, but I would love to face you at the highest levels of this tournament. Neither one of us should be taken lightly, so let's just bulldoze our way to the top and have some fun. I'm definitely interested in trying out my new and improved deck against you, win or lose. You've been a great mentor, and I'm ready to show the fruits of my training."

He was now fired up and motivated, his confidence restored. Maybe his deck would lose against someone here before he could get to Brian, but he'd lose for sure if he went in with a bad attitude. He was gonna go into each duel with confidence and intellect. As long as he avoided silly mistakes, he had been able to hold his own against Brian many times. His friend had faith in him, so he needed to have faith in himself. The tournament was about to start, and he was ready.

Takagi went over to the machine and pressed a few buttons. The part of it that looked like an old time machine began to hum and pulsate with some strange electrical pulses. He had seen blue arcs of electricity, but never green or red. Within seconds, all the energy went to the top and shot a strange laser into the air that penetrated the clouds. The sky turned stormy and a light rain began to fall. It was then that he began to feel strange.

He felt sick to his stomach, and a piercing shriek began to ring in the air. Like most others, he covered his ears, but the sound did not cease in volume or intensity. He barely heard Brian cry out in alarm and he gritted his teeth as the pain increased. A bright light seemed to explode from his eyes, and he fell to the ground as if pushed down. The sound ceased as he passed out. He could feel a strange sensation of flying, and then nothing at all.
 
As my mind began to return to me, I heard feminine voices speaking around me. “Is he awake yet?” the first asked, the second answered “I think he’s coming to.” “Not fast enough.” I heard a third say, then continued much closer with “WAKE UP!” an instant later, I felt a hand strike me across the face. As pain ran through me, I placed a hand on my cheek and said “Ow!” I opened my eyes to see three beautiful women in skimpy animal-skin outfits. There was one with short silver hair and armed with a bow, and there were two swordswomen. One was a red head, the other, who was kneeled down beside me, had curly blonde hair. The blonde said “I apologize for striking you master. I was just worried.” “It’s alright… Wait, why did you just call me master?” “Because you are our master. We live to serve and protect you.”

At that moment I realized that I had to be dreaming. I had three beautiful girls standing over me who were apparently my servants. That is a pleasantry that I could receive only in my wildest fantasies. I told the blonde “You might want to hit me again, because I think I’m still dreaming.” The women looked confused by that, and the one with the bow answered “We do not wish to cause your pain master, only your enemies’.” I figured that as real as this dream was and as nice of circumstances as it was under, I might as well play along with it. I asked “So, can my servants tell me who they are?” “You don’t recognize us?” the red head asked, but the blonde answered “I am Amazoness Paladin.” The one with a bow said “I am Amazon Archer.” Going with the first two, the red head addressed herself “I am Amazoness Swordswoman.”

Those were not real names, however I recognized the titles. I sat up and examined the three women closer, and I realized that they were real live versions of the anime characters depicted on the yu-gi-oh cards they had called themselves by. I went to rub my eyes, thinking that there was something wrong with my vision, and that’s when I realized that I was wearing slick black armor. “What the!?” I stood up with surprising ease despite my wearing of what should have been heavy armor, and tried to get a better look at myself. Seeing a pond nearby, I went over to it and used it as a mirror. Finally able to see myself clearly, I saw that while I still had my face, I bore the armor, weapons, body, and hair of the Black Luster Soldier.

I had no idea what was going on, and I looked toward the Amazons, who were looking at me with concern. I asked “What is going on?” Paladin answered “By some magic you have been brought here before us. It is strange since we have never seen you in the flesh like this, but as good of a master as you are, it is fitting that you should take the form of the Black Luster Soldier. How you came to us we do not know.” I wanted more information than that, “How can you know me? You are all duel monsters.” Swordswoman spoke with offence “Don’t call us monsters. That’s so mean.” Worried that I might have hurt their feelings, since they clearly are real here, I said “I’m sorry, I’m just confused; I have no idea what’s going on or what I am supposed to do.” Archer cocked her head and answered “Uh… smash? That’s what you usually tell us.”

I then got onto that topic. “How can I have told you anything? I’ve never physically met any of you before.” Paladin replied “We haven’t really met you before either, but whenever we find ourselves confronted by some other menacing presence that sends foul beasts to assault us, we can hear your voice in our heads guiding us. You are always so confident in your words that we trust you to lead us to victory.”

A thought occurred to me: these warriors were all monster cards that I had in my deck and often utilized in my battles. Could some simple card game to humans seem like an epic battle between great sorcerers to the cards? I never thought of them as anything more than pieces of colored paper. But clearly their world was real, and now that I was in it, I too was a duel monster. I was at least grateful that I was one of the more powerful ones.
 
Wayne's eyes opened to nothing but sky and some tall trees. Sitting up, he looked around to discover that he was no longer in Fairview Park. He went to rub his eyes and felt the clank of metal on metal. Looking at his hand, he saw it covered in orange and blue armor that looked strangely familiar. Removing the helmet, he saw that it bore a striking resemblance to the helmet of the Flame Swordsman, a card that he had always wanted because of its fame as part of Joey's deck. Looking to the left side of his waist, he saw a sword encased in a sheath.

He stood up, which was far easier than it should have been in full body plate armor. After putting the helmet back on, Wayne took hold of the sheath with his left hand and drew out the medieval broadsword with his right hand. As expected, flames emanated from the steel as if by magic, and he stared at it in wonder.
"Holy shit, that's awesome."
After sheathing the sword, he thought back on what Takagi had said. The "Dream Realm", as he called it, seemed to be portions of the actual series come to life.

It suddenly came to him to check his deck. It was tough trying to fenangle the armor and get to his plain clothes underneath, but he finally got to his deck. It was much lighter than before, and he simmered with anger.
"If some asshole pick pocketed me while I was passed out, they're going to meet the business end of my new weapon."
Sure enough, his magic and trap cards were all gone. However, even the monster cards that remained were completely blank of any pictures, titles, stars, and descriptions or effects.

"Okay, that's weird. Stealing cards is one thing, but who would blank out cards? Why not just take the whole deck?"
Resolving to put that issue aside for now, Wayne found a slot in his right gauntlet that seemed designed to hold his deck. That would make retrieving the cards much easier, for all the good it would do him in his current state. Not knowing what else to do, he began walking through the woods until he made his way to a forest trail.

Despite the scenery, Wayne kept his mind on the purpose for which he was here. It would be impossible to duel anybody with no cards, and he wondered where he was supposed to go to find them. Maybe if he could find a town or some other kind of population center, he could ask somebody. Of course, that was assuming that the world he was in was more than just this forest. His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sounds of hooves clip-clopping along. Ducking behind a tree, he watched as an armored warrior on horseback appeared.

A closer look at this warrior showed that he was Gearfried the Iron Knight, a monster straight out of his deck. Of course, given the fact that he was dressed as the Flame Swordsman, it could simply be another duelist in this bracket who had found a better means of transportation than walking. With no cards, he was not eager to confront this opponent. He began to try and sneak away, but the damnable clanking of his heavy armor made that impossible. Gearfried drew his sword and pointed it at him.
"Don't take another step, Flame Swordsman."

Wayne put up his hands in a gesture of peace and surrender.
"It's cool, man. I'm not looking for trouble."
"That voice," Gearfried said, his sword lowering a bit, "Why do I recognize it? Who are you?"
Wayne removed his helmet and held it at his side.

"I may be dressed as the Flame Swordsman, but my real name is Wayne. I don't really know how I came to be here, and I'm just looking for my missing, perhaps stolen, deck."
Gearfried began to shake and almost dropped his sword. He quickly sheathed it and dismounted his horse, dropping down into a bow.
"My lord, please forgive my insolence. I never dreamed you would come to visit my humble realm."

Wayne was puzzled, not sure what to make of this sudden change in attitude.
"Uh, it's fine. Can you give me directions to the nearest town? I have some inquiries that I need to make."
"The nearest town is a few day's ride from here. My unit has been camping in this area for a few hours."

"Why?"
"That's easy. We've been searching for you, my lord."
"Why have you been searching for me?"
"Have you forgotten, my lord? As a knight of valor, I have faithfully served in your army and taken part in your many battles against the sorcerer known as Brian."

The knight raised his head.
"Even though our army rarely tastes victory, I consider it a great honor to fight on your behalf."
Wayne's mind whirled. This warrior talked and acted just like he imagined Gearfried would if he was real. Was it possible? Was the Dream Realm actually the dimension of the card game's characters, a "Yu-Gi-Oh! verse", so to speak?

Wayne composed himself and formulated a series of questions to test if this really was Gearfried or just an elaborate ruse to make him let his guard down.
"Who is the most formidable pawn of the sorcerer Brian?"
"We face many threats, but perhaps none greater than the legendary Blue-Eyes White Dragon."
"Who are some of those threats?"
"We have faced many lesser dragons and a tribe of Amazons."
"Who are my most powerful offensive and defensive monsters?"

"Your greatest defender is the Charcoal Inpachi, whose considerable defense can ward off blows from just about any monster the sorcerer Brian can send against us. Your champion is Axe Dragonute, and I have always been slightly ashamed that it could not have been me. But, I am happy to serve in any way I can."
Wayne was impressed, as every question had been answered with perfection.
"Please remove your helmet, so that I may gaze upon your face."
Without hesitation, Gearfried removed his helmet, causing his master to draw back.

Instead of a head, there was nothing there. Garfried put his helmet back on and bowed his head.
"Are you satisfied, my lord?"
"Yes...There is no other explanation than that you truly are a member of my fighting force."
A booming voice suddenly came through the trees.
"Gearfried, have you found anything?"

The trees rustled and out stepped two warriors very familiar to both of them. The taller and more muscular one was a tanned giant with one eye and a bright orange horn, Opticlops. The shorter one was encased in black and purple armor while wielding a gold and black trident, Sea Serpent Warrior of Darkness. Both had around the same strength as Gearfried, with slight differences in defensive power. Upon seeing the face of their master, they both dropped into a bow.
"It is an honor to be in your presence, Master Wayne," the two said in unison.

Wayne looked at each of the three in turn and nodded his head.
"You may all rise."
The three did and looked at him. Wayne opened the hatch on his gauntlet and drew a few cards.
"It's time for you to return to me."
He held out a card to each of them, and they were sucked into it like a black hole.

Curious about how it worked here, he held a card above his head.
"Gearfried the Iron Knight!"
The card glowed and Gearfried was back in front of him.
"So, that's how it works."
He returned his knight to the card and put them back in the hatch before closing it. Turning his attention to the horse, which he guessed was just part of the world, he climbed astride it.

"Gearfried said that the nearest town was several days ride from here. I guess I'd better get going."
Taking hold of the reins, he kicked his heels against the horses side and it began to take off. Emerging from the forest at full gallop, he looked ahead and saw rolling hills and flatland everywhere. He let out a cry of exultation as they thundered across the plain. He wondered if Brian had found his cards, and how he was faring in this land.
 
I did not have time to learn anything more about this world before I felt a presence from behind me. I turned to find two large minotaurs standing behind me. One was red and one was green, and I realized that they were battle guards. They snorted at me, and raised their weapons to attack, sending an instant signal that these monsters were no friends of mine. However, I knew that as cards, both of these monsters had less than 2,000 attack, whereas the card that I had taken the form of stood at a strong 3,000.

With that in mind, I charged for the green one and swung my great sword. To my surprise, the battle guard not only blocked it, but was able to force me off. Then its counterpart swung his spiked mace at my leg, and a sharp, terrible pain surged through my body before I fell back-down on the ground. Where by all rights I should have won, the monsters managed to beat me, and as I looked at my bleeding wound I groaned to myself “so that’s what damage to my lifepoints really feels like.” I looked forward then and saw that the green battle guard was coming forward with its mace raised to finish the job.

Suddenly, Paladin stopped the strike with her sword. The battle guard snarled at her, and rose its weapon to attack her, but an arrow sped in and shot the monster through its green, muscular wrist. The battle guard dropped its weapon, and before its companion could come to its aid, Swordswoman rushed past and cut the red one’s head off. The green one did not fare any better, for Paladin thrust her sword through the beast’s heart and killed it.

As I rose, straining on my hurt leg, Paladin asked “What is wrong with you master?” I answered “I don’t understand. My attack is so much more powerful than theirs was, so how did they defeat me?” “So you got cocky?” Archer asked, but I replied “No, whenever I see these battles I know how powerful any monster’s attack and defense is by a system of numbers. My attack number was over a thousand points higher than a battle guard’s so I should have crushed them with my attack. I failed with an attack that is nearly twice that of any of yours so I don’t see how you guys pulled off what I could not.” “It’s never been as simple as a swing and hit master.” Paladin answered, “It’s true that some beasts are less likely to defeat us than others, but they give us one hell of a battle regardless.” Archer then added, “Yah, and those damn Kuribohs are so annoying, always jumping out of nowhere and blowing up in our faces whenever we are charging for the enemy.”

I thought about just how brutal every game of cards could actually be. There was also strategy involved with them. Various monsters had different purposes, and magic and trap cards could have some devastating effects on the field. Remembering these various cards, I asked the Amazons “How many more of you are out here? Don’t you usually fight alongside other warriors and creatures as well?” Swordswoman replied “Yes, they normally come to reinforce us, or we to them. And the three of us don’t even see each other on the battlefield all the time.”

Paladin then asked “Why are you asking us these things master? I thought that you knew what you were doing, unless… you are not our master.” That accusation was well credited after the mistakes and general lostness that I had been showing since I had been in their presence. But I worried that if they turned on me, they may kill me, and after the thrashing that the battle guards had given me, I knew I could really die here. I answered “When I controlled you before, it was never down in the field with you. From where I sat the only things that I perceived were as simple as a game of cards.” While the Amazons were clearly confused, Archer said with enthusiasm “That is some bitching power you must have in your world.” Encouraged by their reactions, I pressed on “In my world, it is nothing but an afterthought because I am accustomed to it. But I can see that the three of you have a hard time grasping that. Well, now I am here, and this unfamiliar way of fighting confuses me. I do not even know why the three of you specifically are with me, or how to call upon the rest of your tribe in my current state.”

The Amazons seemed to be as convinced as I could get them that it was me, and Paladin said “If this is you master, then we shall continue to serve and protect you as we always have.” Swordswoman added “We can even guide you until your memory and true power come back to you.” I nodded and gave my thanks.

I still did not fully understand what had really happened to me. The last thing that I could remember was a blinding light emitting from some machine back in the park. Now I was here, and I wondered if there was some way to return to the real world. For now though, all I could do was wander aimlessly with the Amazons watching my back.
 
Wayne rode through the area, having to slow down as the terrain got tougher. Looking up, he saw that the sky was getting darker. It would be night soon, and he would be unable to see the path, as there were no torches or streetlights out here. He thought about using Opticlops' glowing horn as a flashlight, and though he was sure the giant wouldn't mind, he didn't want to take advantage of him like that. He slowed the horse to a canter and began looking for a spot to make camp. As he neared the woods, he saw a campfire and smoke rising through the treetops.

Wayne was not sure that he should approach the campsite, but he had three of his cards back, and the four of them together would be tough to take on all at once. The horse had no tether, so he just instructed it to stay still and it seemed to understand. As he got closer to the campsite, he heard laughter, chatter, clinking of glasses, and drunken singing. As he peered through the trees, he recognized the armored warriors congregated around the camp as the Exiled Force. Removing his helmet, he casually approached them.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?"
The men fell silent and looked at him with puzzlement crossing their faces. One of them put his mug of alcohol down and stood up.
"Master, how did you come to this realm?"
"I don't really know, but I'm happy to see all of you."

The others smiled and began to express greetings and kind words toward their compassionate master.
"Are you hungry or thirsty, Master? We have enough meat and ale to go around."
"I could definitely eat, but I don't do alcohol."
"One of us could fetch some clean, cold water from the stream."
"That would be awesome, thank you."

A mug was emptied out and cleaned as meat was piled up for him to eat. Digging in, he discovered that it was some of the best meat he had ever tasted.
"Oh, man, this is great. Where did you get this?"
"We bought it in town. The guy who cooked it said he did so on Charcoal Inpachi."

Wayne smiled to himself.
"In that case, I think it's priceless."
For about an hour, he feasted on the exquisite meat and drank many cups of water, which were given to him in short intervals thanks to the entire Exiled Force working in tandem. He had never been treated so well in his entire life, and he began to realize that cards he had placed in his deck loved and admired him like family. When he had consumed all that he could, he was guided to the most comfortable sleeping roll in the camp. As he fell into slumber, he released his other three monsters so that they could partake of the bounty of the Exiled Force and socialize with their fellow army members.
 
It was getting late in the day, and I had spent much of the time simply traveling on foot. Other times, I would be confronted by some sort of other monster. I wanted to fight these creatures, but my Amazons insisted that I stay back and let them handle the creatures, as it was their duty to protect me and not the other way around.

Since these were all cards from my deck, I figured that there may be more around somewhere. I asked Paladin - since I considered her like a command Sergent in my deck - "There are more of you around right? More Amazons and ally creatures?" "Probably somewhere." She answered. "Somewhere?" I pressed. "Our battle sisters could be anywhere. We all come to aid you in battle when you call for us, but some take longer to arrive than others. I'm sure if our battle sisters know of your arrival, they would surely be out trying to find you."

Suddenly, a large green bug that looked like a praying mantis emerged from the trees. Paladin drew her sword and prepared to attack it, but it struck first and bit down hard on her sword-arm. I saw her pain and anguish as the creature sank its mandibles into her flesh, and I simply could no longer hold back from helping her. I stepped forward, then brought my sword up and removed one of the mantis's arms. The creature let Paladin go, and as it turned shreiking at me, I brought my sword down to cleave its head in two.

Though the mantis was dead, Paladin began to look sick, and I had to catch her before she fell forward. "What's wrong!?" I asked with concern for her. She answered "Dark Mantis, damn bugs have bad venom..." She grunted, then continued "I should be alright soon, but I'm afraid I'll be a bit weaker until the venom clears my system." I looked to the darkening sky and said "It's getting late, we should probably rest now anyway." Archer said "We will watch over you." I nodded in appreciation, then stepped over to a tree while supporting Paladin.

I helped her lye down, and then removed my helm and rested against the tree next to her. As soon as I was settled, Paladin wrapped her arm around me and held me close as she said "Master, I will keep you warm." As I looked at her, I noticed the wound on her arm and my concern for her resumed. She must have read it on my face, for she said "Master, you do not need to care for me like some child. I'm tougher than I look." I replied "But you are still mine aren't you? I've never known any of you like this before today, and I want to take care of you as you take care of me. Call it an eye for an eye if you will." Paladin did not answer further, and rested her head against my breastplate.

As I laid on the tree, I began to think about a trend I noticed in the monsters my Amazons were fighting. Though a few broke the pattern, for the most part they were all insect types, and I took note that I was still wandering through forest. I wondered if this environment was actually a field card, since the creatures we had been fighting would all be supported by such an environment. If that that was the case, and there were more Amazons out here as Paladin had said, I concluded that if I was to find anyone else, I would have to find the Amazoness Village.

I asked Paladin, "Where is the village?" "Which village?" she replied. I hadn't thought that I would need to be more specific, but I said "Your villiage: the Amazoness Village." The Amazoness seemed to know what I was talking about now, but she only answered "We... don't know." "How can you not know? don't you live there?" Swordswoman - who was positioned against a tree that Archer had perched in - answered this time "Yes, but our village is always on the move. Where it goes and where we, the warriors, go are separate."

If this was the case, it seemed that I would have to track down everyone the hard way. But then another thought occurred to me. Was I the only one who wound up in this world? or had there been other duelists who were brought here with me? If that machine back in Fareview park sent all of the duelists to this world, where was everyone? and more importantly, "Wayne, where are you?" I thought out loud.
 
When Wayne awoke the next morning, the camp looked like a house party. His monsters were sacked out everywhere, some even sleeping on the giant Opticlops. Taking his cards out, he returned all of them to their respective places in his deck. He hoped this would have a sobering effect on them, and that they would not be hungover if he needed them in battle. After placing the deck back inside the hatch on his gauntlet, he strode over to his horse. He had not even thought about it, but every great hero's horse had a name.

"If I were using the Flame Swordsman in battle, he would be constructed of two fused monsters. In honor of that, I will call you Masaki."
The horse seemed to approve of his name, and Wayne mounted up. He urged him into a full gallop, so that they could cross the terrain faster. It had seemed to even out in this part of the area, so they had little trouble putting some distance between themselves and the campsite. He had to reach the city as soon as possible so that he could form a plan.

While proceeding over the plains, he thought about where he had ended up. If all of the duelists were transported here, then Brian was somewhere here, as well. He remembered what Takagi said about brackets, and wondered if Brian was in a different part of this realm taking on other duelists. The creator of this machine had been correct when he called this the 'ultimate challenge', as you had to find all of your cards before you could even battle. If Brian was here, it would be wise of him to make his way to the city. They could meet up there and look for the cards, or at least leads on where they might be.

Masaki suddenly reared up, and Wayne had to calm him down before he could see what was wrong. Several bugs that he recognized as Basic Insects were flying toward him, and he wondered why there were so many. With no time to really think about it, he drew his sword and charged at them. Those that did not break away were roasted by the flames or cleaved with the blade. His vision was obscured a bit as the cloud of insects darkened, but he soon broke free to continue the ride once more. After sheathing his sword, he slowed his horse so that they could canter through some thick woods, not wanting to risk his steed by recklessly charging into a possibly debris-strewn forest floor.
 
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