Onix

Here's my deck. Since I've only won, what, 4 games out of, say 10, I can't really give advice. Tribute (7)- Labyrinth Wall Dark Magician Invitation to a Dark Sleep Patrician of Darkness Summoned Skull Soul of Purity and Light Wingweaver Ritual (1)- Relinquished Non-Tribute (16) Swarm of Scarabs Giant Soldier of Stone Poison Mummy 7 Colored Fish Yomi Ship Hysteric Fairy x2 Harpie's Brother x2 Amazon Archer Wall of Illusion Maha Vailo Man-Eater Bug Mystical Elf La Jinn Neo the Magic Swordsman Magic (16) Book of Secret Arts x3 Malevolent Nuzzler Change of Heart Black Illusion Ritual Card Destruction Dark Hole Soul Exchange Dian Keto Fissure Dark Snake Syndrome Remove Trap De-Spell Ookazi Monster Reborn Traps (10) Enchanted Javelin Bad Reaction to Simochi Dragon Capture Jar Reinforcements Royal Command Trap Hole Nutrient Z Just Desserts Waboku Trap Dustshoot What do you think?

ULX wandered the 'streets' of the Rorouni Kenshin forum. He stepped in front of one building, labeled 'Kenshin is SOOOOOO HOOOOOOT!!!!!!! :)' Xion felt his eye twitch. "I don't even need to read this thread to know it's..." He whipped out his Ninja-to and slashed a large X on the door. "...closed." Just then, his PM Pager beeped. He dug through his cloak and found it. A cartoon DBD hopped up and squeaked ('Why does it have to be chibi?'), "We have to meet at the Inu-Yasha portal!" Xion sighed. He had been enjoying shutting down Newbie threads. "Ah, well. I must keep up my Mod duties." He spun his cloak and warped out, moving into the Otaku Anime passage. He walked down to the boarded up Inu-Yasha portal. He saw DBD, NGE-King, Inuyasha Fandom, and Leilan. "So, what's up?" asked Xion.

Sorry about my friend Spuffy. To translate, 'Tea's cards are cute and Merik's power hungry.' I think. And I didn't know you were into YGO, Spuffy. What else have you been hiding? 0_o

Name: Unborn Lord Xion Age: 14 Description: Looks like Xion, but in a black coat and with brown hair. He can transform into the Unborn, by the way. Bio: ULX came to the realms in 2002, and became a mod after years of good posting (heh...) He is a vehement defender of the Boards and will stop any Hacker by any means necessary. Forum: Rorouni Kenshin (I really wanted YYH!) Weapons: An enlongated Ninja-to, and a .45 Colt Magnum, for occasional use.

OH! The Suyoi thing is directed at Katana. My bad...:sweat: And I guess it could've happened back in 1903. Maybe time travel, or a super advanced scientist (like Archemedies). Anyway, keep 'em coming!

Two things. One, the robot was made in 1903, Chichiri's girl? And two, her name would be pronounced Suyoi, with the nickname pronounced Su. But still, good entries.

Tao sat on the floor of the training room in the lotus position. He was locked in deep thought, thinking mainly of the new Demon Heart. As he focused deep inside himself, he saw the two demon hearts. One was black, laced with red, his own. The other, lurid yellow, was the Aku-Tari Queen's. If he could learn to use it... He rose to his feet, and prepared to go Devil Trigger. Except this time, he was going to use the Queen's power. His arms were in front of him, his hands inches away from his chest, fingers forming a circle. Between his hands, yellow energy began to grow, flickering and flashing like fire. Circles of energy began to radiate off him, flashing along the floor with his heartbeat. As the energy in his hands grew in size and power, his arms began to shake. His muscles bulged as he tryed to contain the power, focus it, use it. His eyes snapped open, and they flashed a hideous yellow. He began to yell, and his voice changed into that of the Aku-Tari. Sharp, needle-like fur, dark brown and matted, sprung up from his skin. His teeth lengthened and yellowed. His fingernails turned into long claws. Boils, like the ones that hung from the Queen's chest, sprung up on Tao's arm. The change was complete. Tao gazed down at his arms and flexed his clawed fingers. He pointed his palm at the metal cage, and a stream of milky-white liquid shot out at the cage. It began to melt away. Tao let the power fade away and headed off towards his sleeping quarters. As he did so, he thought one thing. 'Let's see Roman beat us now.'

Tao walked through the halls, pushing the girl out of his mind to focus on the task ahead. Oddly enough, though, the entryway was empty, devoid of any life, natural or unnatural, aside from Tao himself. 'What the Hell is going on,' thought Tao, unnerved by the lack of opposition. He pushed open the double doors at the end of the entryway and saw a horrible site. Human corpses littered the ground as a multitude of demons feasted upon the putrid flesh. The monsters completely ignored Tao, focused entirely on the macabre buffete. 'The inferno tactic should work again,' he thought, forming another small fire above two fingers. He flung the fireball into the midst of some zombies, and the one hit instantly burst into flames. The fires quickly spread to the other undead, as well as the still-dead. The room was swept into a great inferno as the flaming beasts crashed into one-another. Suddenly, a massive roar was heard, eachoing in the lobby of the office building. "WHO DARESSSS TO SSSSLAY MY MINIONSSSS!" it bellowed. Tao whiped around, his sword slicing through the head of a demon. A massive demon stepped through the flames. It was at least 10ft. tall and clad in rusty, warped armor. It held a massive sword in its scabby, taloned hands. "CHOO HAFF DARED TO ENTER MY LAIR, CHOO FOOLISH HOOMAN?" is snarled, in its odd accent. "Who are you?" said Tao, backing up a bit. "Are you one of the Primevals?" he asked. 'I'm not ready for this,' he though. "I AM NOT VUN OF ZE GREAT PRIMEVALSS! I AM MERELY A LOWLY CHENERAL TO ZER GREAT POWER!" it said. "FOR CHOUR CRIMESSS, CHOO SHALL PAY VIT CHOUR LIFFE!" It slashed out with the massive sword, but Tao easily dodged the slow swing. The blade crashed into the wall, causing plaster to fall from the rotting ceiling. The flames burned around them, some of it creeping up the remains of the paint on the walls. Then Tao remembered. The demons hadn't gone through the entryway. If he could reach the door... Suddenly, a flaming beam fell in between Tao and the demon. He took the chance and rushed for the doors, the demon snapping out of its stunned state. "SSTOP HIM!" it snarled. Demons rushed at him, but Tao cut them down. He jumped, lunging for the doors, and crashed through them. The demons crashed into the door, and some burst into flames as they hit it. The major demon slashed at the door, but the sword was repelled by a strange force field. As Tao looked at the door more carefully, he noted that the decorative beams running across the glass formed a cross. He looked up at the heavens, amused. 'Nice one, Big Guy.' He would enter the place another day. For now, it was back to his base.

As Tao rushed through the building, he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked over and saw a girl plumeting down. "Great," he muttered. He lunged to the side, crashing through the window, glass glinting in the moon around him. It barely cut him, and he didn't notice the cuts they made. He hit the edge with the side of his foot, pushing off to line up with the girl. 'Kami help me,' he thought. He gripped his duster and pulled it tight around him, speeding up. He realised this wouldn't work, and drifted over to the side of the building. He ran along the face of the building, building up speed. As he passed the girl, who appeared lost in her own thoughts, and leapt out, sheathing his sword. He gripped the girl, and the two landed relatively safely. "It was my time to die," the girl muttered quietly. "Appearently is wasn't, as I was fated to save you. You are not destined to die yet, so don't try," he said, walking towards the double doors of the building, leaving the girl behind to think.

Tao raced through the crumbling hallway, slashing at the demonic entities as they came. He leapt over a few, landing in their midst. He spun wide, cutting a wide circle, killing the surrounding creatures. He held up one hand, two fingers raised, and a small flame appeared. He pointed his fingers at a zombie, and the flare shot at it. The undead monster shrieked in unearthly fury as its paper-like skin quickly burned, reducing it's body to a simple charred skeleton. The flames moved to other creatures, the inferno growing in size and heat as it spread. As the flames kept some at bay, Tao continued to cut through the other demons. Soon he was surrounded by a barrier of flaming flesh and smouldering bones. Still, he fought the demons as they crawled through the sickening fuel, coming at him only to fall at his sword. The thouroughly blood-stained blade flashed in the fire-light that cast horrific shadows through the hall. As Tao plunged his sword into the gut of a particularly fat demon and slashed downward, he thought, 'this grows dull.' Tao stopped his assault, and the demons stopped as well, stunned by their prey's 'surrender'. Tao's eyes flashed in the unholy light as they opened. "SHIISA!" he roared, the energy exploding outward. The walls around him cracked and buckled under the force, and the demons surrounding him fell back from the force. The closest died from the sudden pressure, while the ones at the edge of the explosion fell to the ground, stunned. Tao rushed along again, cutting through the fallen demons. As he rounded the corner, he heard the ceiling collapse behind him. A new group of demons met him at the next bend. It was the top floor, with 5 more to go.

Tao stood atop the dillapidated (sp?), crumbling high-rise. Wind whipped his Duster around his body. His face was calm, eyes closed, his bangs forming a shadow not unlike the claws of a demon, reaching down towards his neck. He was locked in deep meditation, preparing to head down to the bottom level and clear the building of the horrific monstrosities, like he had done in many other places. But no matter how many times he killed the beasts, they kept coming. All he could do was fight until death. He knew it, and he didn't care. Death was all he knew any more. The twisted Demon creapt slowly up behind him, blood-stained claws ready to slash through his gut and rip out the steaming entrails for a nice snack. But Tao was ready. Just as the Demon leapt at him, Tao turned and drew his sword. The finely honed blade cut smoothly through the putrid flesh, dark ichor flying through the moonlit night. The unholy creature writhed on the ground, until it stopped moving at last. Tao cleaned his blade in the [i]shiburi[/i] motion, flicking off the demon's 'blood'. He turned to the door, from where the demon had come. Standing there was what appeared to be a zombie. 'Poor fool,' thought the assassin. Tao sent off a shockwave from his blade, the wave cutting clean through the monsters skull. The top of its head flipped through the night, the rotting remnants of its brain visible in under the moons sickly glow. The creature stood stunned for a moment, before Tao slashed through it again, and it writhed like the demon, until it too stopped. Tao said a silent prayer for its soul, and moved through the shadowy gateway, into yet another Hell-on-Earth. It would be a long night.

Thanks, you three, for entering. Except, Ares? I said that the Assassins were all Modified Humans. If you wish to be a Vampire, please change your status to free-lance person, or Tao team member. Other than that, very good, all.

As they pulled up in front of the Yushi no Yami building, Tao spoke. "Listen. 'E wasn't gonna pay us. Since I killed that big bird in 'er it's my roight to get full payment, eh? He wasn't willin' to comply, so I shot him in the foot. Certainly made 'im more willin', right?" asked Tao, he accent still thick. The girls shook their heads and got out of the car. "What?" yelled a confused Tao. "That man needs to work on his people skills," muttered May. "Amen to that, sister," said Aurora. Tao sighed agitatidly (is that a word?) and got out of the car. He was hoping there would be another assignment soon, and that DMC wouldn't get a call too. And as he walked in, he though an exasperated, 'Women!'

Race: Human Name: Tao-Zhou (though he rarely tells anyone) Age: 25-ish Sex: Male Appearance: Tao is tall and lean. He dresses in baggy black pants and a baggy black shirt. He wears a Duster too. He has dark brown hair and spikey bangs. His eyes are an intense blue-grey. Location: London Weapons: His Ninja-to (the Yami no Yushi) and his wits Skills\Powers\Spells: He can make covering clouds of darkness, can shoot fireballs, transfers shock-waves from his sword, and his a nasty little technique where he creates a an explosion about 20ft in diameter (him being in the center). He has to yell Shiisa before using it, so people often learn to run when they hear it. Short Bio: Tao is Asian by birth (Chinese and Japanese), but has lived in London and the surrounding area most of his life and has picked up the accent. He worked as an assassin and still does, finding it an apt profession in these dark days. He is a master in most martial arts, with his true passion lying in Ninjitsu. Hope this is all right, now that I toned down the explosion.

[i]Tao stood atop the highrise, staring intently out at the city. Night had fallen, and his organization was ready to move out for another night of hunting. However, touble was brewing. Lately, some of their 'targets' had been taken out by other assassins, something Tao did[/i] NOT [i]like. He was determined to take a stand and finish off these rival assassins before they killed his business, as well as his targets.[/i] Okay, there's part of the story. Here's what I need from you Name: Age: Species (explained later): Gender: Appearance: Weapon (max 3): Powers (max 7): Bio: Personality: Organization: I need Tao's allies, Assassins, and maybe some others. When I say species, I mean a few things. If you are on Tao's team, you can be human, demon, or Vampire. If you're an assassin, you are a Modified Human, a person altered by the Head of the Assassins, Armage. You need to say how you've been altered (part animal, mutated, subtle changes, etc.) Also, I need the following people. Armage-The Leader of the Assassins and High Preist of Armageddon. To be Armage, you need to send me a good, long post from another RPG Diablo(Tsukasa Hack)-Armage's brother. Again, a nice long post Omega-One of Armage's Elites Alpha-Tao's evil brother, but he doesn't know it yet (and won't, for a while). The only evil one of the Elites Paladin (Gelgoog Pilot)-Another Elite. Student of Omega Phoenix (erinzyger)-Another Elite. Lover of Omega (Female) I will take 5 on Tao's side and 12 more assassins. This is (probably) starting on Halloween. Spooky, ne?

Name: Tao-Zhou Age: 26 Gender: Male Class: A Ninja assassin demon Appearence: Like Inu-Yasha, Tao is a fairly human demon. He is tall and leanly muscled, perfect for an assassin. He dresses all in black, baggy clothes. He wears a black cloak (think Spike from BTVS's coat). He has long, spikey bang and his hair is black. His eyes are crimson, one of the major physical indicators of his demon heritage. Also showing his lineage are the scars on his body: Cuts over his eyes, disjointed 'T's over the back of his hands, and a dragon tattoo on his back. Bio: Tao was born to a demon family, of a type called the Shadow Stalker. He was meant to be a prince, but his brother dethroned him. He traveled the land, slaying any warrior or demon in his path. He seeks the Shikkon Jewel so that he can become powerful enough to kill his brother and reclaim his throne. He is not against murder against any person, but prefers jobs where he faces warriors and demons, so that he can test his skills. Weapons: His Ninja-to, the Yami no Yushi; Shuriken; a Kuri-Gama (scythe on a chain). Skills/magic/special attack: He is an expert in the art of Ninjitsu, as well as many other martial arts and kendo. Most of his magics are darkness and fire based. His most powerful attacks (2) are the Ancient Energy Blade and the Demon Bomb. I'm not quite clear on the story. Does this take place during the Inu-Yasha time-line, or after/before? Please clarify.

Tao darted down the hallway, gunshots echoing through the ornate mansion. "Come on, ladies! We've got a queen to kill, right?" he said, his British accent becoming thicker, a sign of his battle-lust (don't ask why, it just happens that way). He leapt over a lunging Aku-Tari and severed its spine with a well-timed sword stroke. Two others jumped on him, and then he went Devil Trigger. The beasts flew off as he spun, his scythe messily chopping them up. "Who else want's some?" he said, his voice lower and raspy. He slashed forward, killing three in one stroke, throwing the third, which had stuck on his blade, through the wall. "Huh, guess I don't know me own strength, eh?" He threw the scythe down the hall, causing it to pinwheel, cutting up several demons. He lunged forward, jumping over several demons, grabbed his scythe, and spun with it, slicing up the beasts that had surrounded him. As the spin ended, he reverted back to his human form. "Well, that was a rush. What's next, eh, loves?" he said, jabbing his sword behind him, jabbing the tip into an Aku-Tari's skull. May scowled at him as she blasted two Aku-Tari that had jumped up behind Tao with her shotgun. Tao spun quickly, looking at the corpses, and the on-coming masses. "Good shot. Can ya' do it again?" he said, readying himself for the others.

So, Domon, when is this going to start? I'm just pumped for the RPG, is all.

The Demon doged May's shot and lunged forward again. "Out of the way!" snarled Tao, pushing aside the client. The beast swung at him, but he blocked the cwipe with his sword. The creature landed well, and lashed out again, this time connecting. Tao was sent flying out of the open doorway. "Fast little bastard, ain't he?" groaned Tao as he landed. He rose to see a van. When he saw the logo on the side, he scowled. "Dante..." he murmured. Sure enough, several people got out of the car, yet none of them was Dante. "All right, secure the area!" yelled one. He then noticed Tao getting up. "Oh, you must be Tao, from Yushi no Yami. I'm the new leader of Devil May Cry, Roman," the man held out his hand, yet Tao batted it away with his sword. "I don't want your friendship, Roman, and I don't need your help. So piss off," snarled the dark warrior, before darting back in the building. "Make it snappy, girls! We've got some company!" The creature arced across the roof, and May blasted a hole in the ceiling. It landed and charged at Aurora, who let off three shots, but missed. "Wait a minute!" yelled May, diving away from a potentially lethal blow. "This is one of the things we caught!" she said, trying to reload her shotgun. "Can't be!" yelled Tao. "Unless...wait! This must be an Aku-Tari!" "Say wha?" asked Aurora, taking aim once more. "Aku-Tari are like Bees. They live in colonies! The one you caught must've been a Worker. This is probably a Soldier! In any case, this bugger calls for a little more juice!" Tao darted forward, moving too fast to be seen. He jumped high above the stunned monster and just before he hit it, something crashed into him, sending him crashing to the side. "What the bloody 'ell was that!?" snarled Tao as he got up again. He saw a second beast standing next to the first. Out of the shadows crawled at least 5 others. "I new it! We're dealing with a colony!" "Goody," muttered May. Roman spoke from the sidelines, letting Tao know that he hadn't. in fact, pissed off. "Need help now?" he smirked. Tao darted aside from one of the Aku-Tani. "As I said before..." he started. He swiftly decapitated the beast. "...Piss off."

Name: Tao-Zhou Age: 24 Deck Theme: Pissing off my opponent, with an underlying beatdown theme. Description: Tao is tall and lean. He wears baggy black clothes with a black Duster (kind of a trenchcoat but not really). Hie hair is brown and his bangs are long and spikey. He has smokey green eyes. And he has a concealed Ninja-to, which he threatens people with when they don't give him their rare cards (in the bartering duels only, of course). Rarest card: Relinquished, and Black Illusion Ritual. That or Metalmorph. Personality: Tao is a gentleman to most, a dangerous foe to the rest. He has a strict code of honor that he never violates. He is usually calm and cold, with a thick sarcastic streak. He is quite cynical, and doesn't like people who make stupid jokes. My Deck- Ritual Monsters (1) Relinquished (R/E) Tribute Monsters (6) Soul of Purity and Light (E) Summoned Skull Labyrinth Wall Patrician of Darkness (E) Wingweaver Invitation to a Dark Sleep (E) Non-Tribute Monsters (16) Mystical Elf Harpie's Brother x2 7 Colored Fish Poison Mummy (E) Neo the Magic Swordsman Man-Eater Bug (E) Wall of Illusion (E) Maha Vailo (E) Hysteric Fairy (E) x2 Yomi Ship (E) Cure Mermaid (E) Giant Soldier of Stone Amazon Archer (E) La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp Magic (15) Dark Hole Card Destruction Black Illusion Ritual Dark Snake Syndrome Soul Exchange Monster Reborn De-Spell Ookazi Book of Secret Arts Change of Heart Fissure Malevolent Nuzzler Remove Trap Offerings to the Doomed Trap (12) Curse of Aging Enchanted Javelin Dragon Capture Jar Just Desserts Royal Command Nutrient Z Waboku Deal of Phantom Needle Ceiling Trap Hole Bad Reaction to Simochi Reinforcements And that's it. It may seem like it lacks a theme, but it doesn't! My theme is to crush the opponents deck while running a minor Beatdown. Okay?

Lightning flashed, showing the inside of a darkened room. A desk stood near the back, next to a door. Several Oriental paintings were on the wall, most of them featuring Dragons and [i]Oni[/i]. An umbrella stand next to the desk was filled with weapons. A rack above it held several holsters, as well as a bow and a quivver of arrows. The door next to the desk, a metal door, led into a room where the three inhabitants were. In front on the building was a neon red sign showing the name of the business to be [i]Yushi no Yami[/i]. ~~~~~~~~~~ Tao-Zhou, owner and opperator of [i]Yushi no Yami[/i], stretched, preparing for a potential work-out. The room he stood in, the Training Room, was sparsley furnished. The only real thing in it was a large metal crate, from inside which came horrible howlings and snarlings. A sweaty May stepped around from the back of the cage. "All right, Tao. You ready for us to release him?" "Yeah, let him go May," said Tao in a calm voice, a hint of a British Accent tinting it. "OK," said May. "Open the lock, Aurora!" A hand reached up over the cage making a 'thumbs-up' sign. May darted around the cage as Tao heard a lock open. A horrific, dark furred creature lept against the cage door, causing it to crash open. It lunged at Tao, who reached into his cloak, yet did almost nothing. As the creature nearly attacked him, Tao swiftly drew his sword, slicing the beast in two. Green blood splattered the hard-wood floor. "Weakling," muttered Tao. "Thanks anyways, girls. Although I had been hoping for something a little more challanging." "Hey! We got ambushed by a pack of those! One was all we could catch! Is it my fault that..." May was cut off. "Next time, I'll catch something, okay?" asked Tao. "You can train then. That way, maybe next time you can snag me something interesting." May glared at Tao as he walked off into the main room. "That arrogant...he...I'll..." May sputtered. "BASTARD!" she roared after him. "May, let it go. He can't be argued against, and you can't face him in a verbal match when angry. That's why he does it," said the calming Aurora. May merely snorted and hunched her shoulders. "Fine, but he's on cleanup duty," she said, pointing to the corpse and green blood. Aurora laughed and agreed.

Tao lept across building tops until he reached the Card Shop. 'Ahh, I can upgrade my deck.' He jumped down and walked in. A few minutes later, he stepped out with a satisfied smirk. 'With these new cards, I can easily...' "Hey!" yelled a raspy voice. Tao turned and saw a tall, broad man in a dark blue coat with spikey blue hair stiking out from under a black cap. "I challange you to a duel!" he yelled. A murmur ran through the crowd. "Fine. My strongest card is my Relinquished, and I'll even throw in my Dark Illusion Ritual. I have two Tournament Cards. What about you?" "I offer my Dark Necrofear and my Tournament Card!" "Allright, let's duel!" And duel they did. Tao looked at his hand. It was pretty good, as far as first hands go. "All right," said Tao. "I play one monster in face-down defense mode and three face down magic or trap cards." The four face down cards appeared on the field. "Your move, um, what was your name?" "I'm Panic, which is [i]just[/i] what you're going to do! I play Crass Clown in attack mode. I also equip him with Dark Energy and play Yami, increasing his attack power to 1850!" The hideous clown grew in size as the ground at Tao's feet turned into swirling shadows. "Crass Clown, attack his face down monster!" yelled Panic, pointing to the card. The Clown jumped high into the air before crashing it's staff onto the face down card. It was revealed to be the Giant Soldier of Stone. "Your attack is deflected, causing you to lose 150 LP!" said Tao. Tao: 4000/Panic: 3850 "Your turn," snarled Panic. Tao drew his card...and smiled. "I tribute my Soldier to summon Summoned Skull!" The stone warrior exploded into cyber-dust and was replaced by a huge, difigured beast with huge bat wings. "Thanks to your Yami, my Skull's power is raised to 2700. And to make it more fun, I activate Fissure!" A card on Tao's side raised up revealing Fissure. A crack shot from it's base at the Clown, swallowing it up. "And to end it, I attack with Summoned Skull!" The Skull raised it's hand and fired a bolt of lightning at Panic. Tao: 4000/Panic: 1150 "Your move, Panic." Panic drew his card and his face fell. "I put one monster in defense mode," he muttered. "All right. First up, I summon Cure Mermaid in attack mode." A beautiful blonde mermaid with a red tail and a pink, frilly shirt appeared. "Then, I activate Ookazi, decreasing your LP to 350. [i]Then[/i] I attack your face down monster with my Mermaid." The Mermaid slapped the face down card with her tail. It was revealed to be a Dream Clown, which was destroyed. "And, finally, I attack you with Summoned Skull." Panic stood numbly as his LP dropped to zero. "N...n...n...no! NO! I can't lose!" He sunk to his knees and threw the two cards at Tao. "Thanks, big man," said Tao, as he calmly strode off.

OOC: Since no one said I [i]couldn't[/i] join... IC: Tao stood atop the building, duel disk strapped to his arm. He scanned the crowd for duelists who might be a challange. Then he saw one duel. A guy in black defeated a kid Tao recognized as Esper Ropa. The guy in black defeated him, and claimed some card. 'I'll leave him for the finals. Then I can see how he duels when he's playing for real,' Tao thought. He jumped off the roof and landed in a clearing of people. "Hey! Dude! You wanna duel!" Tao looked over and saw some kid with a duel disk on his arm. "You're serious?" asked Tao, cocking his eyebrow, his trademarked look. "Duh! I asked you if you wanted to duel! So, you gonna, or not!?" Tao smirked and snorted. "Sure. Whatever. What's your top card?" "My best card is the Cosmo Queen!" "How did some punk kid get a good card like that?" "I got McDonalds Promo Packs until I got one. I had more than 20 packs before I got it, and now I have tones of great cards! Let's duel! And my name's Tom, by the way." "Call me Tao." The holographic field appeared. "First, I play Fairy's Gift in attack mode. It may be weak, but it'll destroy you anyway!" A slender green girl with large butterfly wings appeared on the field (1400/1000). "And I play one card face down!" A vertical face down card appeared behind the fairy. "Hm. Pathectic. First, I play Sorceror of the Doomed," said Tao, laying down the card. A skeletal wizard with heads on his cloak appeared (1450/1200). "Then, I play 4 cards face down." Four cards appeared behind the Sorceror. "And then, I have my Sorceror attack!" The Sorceror fired a bolt of energy from his staff. It obliterated the fairy. Tom snarled as his life points dropped to 3950. "So, what's your next move?" Tom snarled at Tao. "I'll show you! I play Destroyer Golem in attack mode!" A huge, stone man in strange clothes appeared on the field (1500/1000). "Destroyer Golem, attack!" The huge stone beast slammed it's massive fist into the sorceror. Tao's LP dropped to 3950. "So what, kid?" "Errr, don't call me kid!" screamed Tom. "Fine. My turn, Tom?" asked Tao, sarcasm readily appearent in his voice. "Yeah." "Fine. First, I activate Monster Reborn," Tao said, flipping up the card on the field. "Then, I bring back my Sorceror." The Sorceror appeared on the field again. "I destroyed it before, and I'll do it again." "And [i]then[/i]," said an obviously annoyed Tao. "I play Book of Secret Arts, raising my Sorceror's attack to 1750. Sorceror, attack!" A book appeared at the Sorceror's feet. Blue light shot up from the open pages and wrapped around the skeletal being. It fired a blue blast of energy at the Golem. Then stone creature crumbled to dust, and Tom's LP dropped to 3600. "Your turn, Tommy boy." "My name is Tom! I play Three Legged Zombie in defense mode and end my turn." "All right. I play a monster face down in defense mode and a magic card face down." Two cards appeared on the field, on horizontal and next to Sorceror of the Doomed, on vertical and behind it. "And then, I attack with my Sorceror, destroying the Zombies." The two Zombies turned into a pile of dust as the energy hit them. "Your turn," said Tao, smirking at the kid. "Fine. I play Rogue Doll in attack mode and one card face down." A legless metal doll appeared on the field with a vertical card behind it. "All, right. I attack with Sorceror of the Doomed. Your Rogue Doll is destroyed," Tao said, his Sorceror firing another energy blast. "Not so fast! I activate Reinforcements and increase my Doll's attack power by 500, raising it to 2100! Your attack is deflected, and my Doll attacks instead." "No it doesn't. I activate Spellbinding Circle, freezing your Doll." "No way!" screamed Tom. "And now that your turn is over, I will activate one of my magic cards, the Axe of Dispair!" On the field, a card flipped up revealing the Axe of Dispair. An axe fell from the sky into the Sorceror's hand. "That raises his attack power to 2750. And when I add my second Book of Secret Arts, it raises his attack even further, to 3050!" Tao placed another card onto the field, and another book fell at the Sorceror's feet. "Now, Sorceror, attack!" The Sorceror fired a huge blast of energy at the doll. The doll exploded into cybernetic dust and Tom's LP dropped to 2150. "All right, now I'll beat you! First, I play Frog Jam in defense mode. Then, I play one card face down, and play Block Attack, meaning your Sorceror can't attack til after my next turn!" Tao grumbled as he drew his card. "I don't play anything this turn. Your move." "Now, you'll lose for sure! I tribute Frog Jam to summon Millenium Shield!" "That's still not strong enough to block my Sorceror's attack! It's time to finish you and take your cards! Sorceror, attack!" The skeletal wizard fired his energy at the shield. "Not so fast!" yelled Tom. "I activate Castle Walls, increasing my Shields defense to 3500!" As the Sorceror's energy hit the Shield, it was reflected back at the skeleton. "That wont hurt me, though. I activate Waboku!" Three nun-looking figures appeared around the Wizard, blocking the attack. "No!" "I could still defeat you! And I will this time. But first, make your last move!" "Fine! I'll summon Rude Kaiser by tributing my Millenium Shield and equip it with Invigoration! That raises it's attack to 2200! Rude Kaiser attack the face down card!" The crocodile creature slashed the face down card with the blades on his arms. The card was revealed to be a Man-Eater Bug. "With my Bug's effect, your Kaiser is destroyed anyway!" Both cards were destroyed. "And now, I attack you directly with my Sorceror!" The skeleton fired his energy at Tom. The kid was knocked back by the blast. His LP dropped to 0. "You lose, Tom. Now I get your blank card and your Cosmo Queen," said Tao, walking over and holding out his hand. "No! You won't get my cards!" Tom ran off, darting through the crowd. Tao scowled as he darted towards the kid. In a matter of moments he caught up to him. "Listen kid," said Tao in a low voice. "I can either take those cards the easy way, or," he said reaching into his cloak. "I can take it the hard way." He drew his concealed sword. "So, what'll it be?" Tom whimpered, wiped his eye, and took his Cosmo Queen out of his deck and handed it to Tao, along with the tournament card. "That's better. You need to focus less on sheer power and work more to power up your cards with magic and traps, as well as some effects. If you only use powerful monsters, you can easily be defeated. It your skill, not your might, that make or break a duel." Tao strode off after telling Tom this. The kid stormed off, hunched over, muttering the closest things to curses he knew. Tao slipped the Cosmo Queen into his deck. A powerful card like that would certainly help him out in the long run. He darted up to the top of another roof and scanned the crowd.

TJ: Hey, works for me. Ki: Why do [i]I[/i] have to go with TJ in the darkness!? TJ smirked at Ki. TJ: Just lucky, I guess. He laughed evily. Ki: Oh, cut it out! No fair! The rest (excluding Hirei) looked at this mini-drama in the classic anime sweatdrop way. Hirei: Can we get on with it!

TJ, upon hearing this plan, knew where he could fall in. TJ: Guys, I got a better idea. With my powers, I can take out all the guards fairly easily. David: How, exactly? TJ: Let's see. Appart from my Shadow Melding, I have my training in the martial arts. The others didn't look to impressed. TJ: [i]Especially[/i] Ninjitsu, the Ninja arts. With those two things going for me, there will be little need for you to waist your time with guards, when you can fight the Master. And if I miss a few, we can have a few of our weaker fighters take them on while our more powerful allies, like Ken/Hirei and Arika, and maybe even David. David scowled at TJ. TJ: So, that a better plan? Or is it the innane ramblings of a stupid [i]child[/i]? TJ sneered at Ken/Hirei. The powerful warrior scowled back.