Scattered Cards Chapter 2

Looking around a card shop, Jayce looked through the cards they had on offer and, to his disappointment, most of them were laughably bad. A large chunk of them were normal monsters, as though this were the duelist kingdom era, and none of the effect monsters on display would really be a big help in a Branded deck unless he was looking to fill empty spaces in his deck. Which would just be a waste of money he didn't have, and the thought of tainting his deck with such filth made his skin crawl for some reason; especially since his deck was going to be his lifeline in the future.

He also noted that there were synchro, xyz, and fusion monsters on the shops shelves. They weren't very good at all, but the fact they were all here at once meant he had to be in the Standard Dimension. That meant he was in the safest Dimension, but also the one with the most mid duelists possible.

"Anything tickle your fancy, sonny-boy?" Jayce was shocked out of his stupor when an old man who was stood behind the counter spoke, a merry smile on his face.

"I'm afraid not, old timer." He began, not wanting to offend him too badly. "None of these cards really go with my deck, in fact, what I was really looking forward to buying was a duel disk. You wouldn't happen to have any on hand, would you?"

"You have a deck, but you don't have a duel disk?" The old man asked, looking at him as though he'd said something strange.

"Well, where I'm from, we just played using the cards in person. Since I've moved, I wanted to buy one, but I haven't had the chance to. Is there anything you can sell me?"

The old man shook his head, and he felt some disappointment, until he stopped and looked to be in thought. "Well, there is my duel disk that I don't really use anymore. I don't really have use for the thing, dueling is more my grandson's business, and you can take it off my hands if you really want to."

His disappointment melted away, a grin starting to flourish on his face, and he pumped his fist up as he said. "Fork yeah I'll take it."

"Great, that will be 50,000 DP." The old man smiled, making the grin fall right off Jayce's face as he realised one blaring issue he'd failed to take into account. Money, of which he had none.

DP: 0

Trying to wipe the shock off his face, Jayce wondered if there was a way around paying, until eventually he countered. "10,000."

The old man huffed. "Ridiculous."

"I don't think so, sir." Jayce countered, meeting his gaze using his own bloody red orbs; one of the few things he was grateful for in his new body. "With all due respect, you said it yourself, you aren't much of a duelist whilst I am a beginner who will make good use of that device. I can see some signs of ware on that already, not to mention damage to the software, and I've seen deals for duel disks, so I know I could get a used one for cheaper. Be smart and consider your position."

The old man looked away for a few moments, before looking back. "45,000."

Jayce let out a forced laugh, though it lasted for only a second before he went again. "I'm no fool. 13,000 or I take my business elsewhere."

"38,000, then." The old man grounded out, as though the offer physically hurt him, but Jayce decided that he needed to change the offer somehow, and had a very outlandish idea; one which could work get him his duel disk for free.

Jayce ran a hand through his hair, letting out an intentionally large sigh. "Jesus, you are really giving me hell here sir. How about this, I need to have a first duel somehow, so why don't we duel for the disk. If you win, I'll pay you double for the disk. That's an even hundred thousand for you, but if I win, then the duel disk is mine no payment required."

The old man looked tempted, and that told him everything, but after a few moments he hid it and scoffed. "Preposterous."

Seeing that look, Jayce knew he had him on the hook, he just needed to reel it in. "Is it really though, sir. I've been in here for half an hour, and nobody has come through that door. Maybe it's a bad day, maybe there are just better card shops in the area, either way this could be the only big sell you'll make in a while. Sure, I could just buy it off you now, but quite frankly I'm tempted to take my business elsewhere after you tried to rip me off like that."

The man was silent, seeming indecisive, until Jayce decided to seal the deal and held his hand out. "How about this. We're both gentlemen here, and honestly I'm not that good of a duelist, so why don't we just do whoever takes damage first? Whether it's a hundred or a thousand, whoever loses lifepoints first wins. I go first though, I lack experience, so it's just fair that I get the first shot." Jayce tried not to laugh at how easily the man ate that lie, shaking his hand as though he'd won the lottery with the idea he was just a newbie who barely knew the basics. He almost felt bad for him, almost.

"You've got a deal, boy." The man said, turning his back. "I've just gotta head out back and get my deck, I won't be a minute."

Jayce chuckled in amusement. "Take all the time you need old man, it won't be any good to you." Though, as the man left, his system's screen popped into view as he received what appeared to be a quest.

[Mission acquired: Earning your right to duel!]

[Mission: Defeat the old man in a duel and get your duel disk!

[Rewards for completion: 3,000 DP + Fallen of Albaz.]

[Failure or caught without a complete deck: Your reputation is tarnished.]

Jayce felt some excitement at the fact he'd get a second copy of an essential part in his deck, and tried not to linger on what failure meant. Being caught with a deck of thirty cards just meant he was back to square one. That was the nice thing about having nothing, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

After a few minutes, the man returned with his deck in hand and a smug grin on his face. "We'll just do the match here. Oh, and you can go first."

Seeing the man so pompous made Jayce feel less bad, since he was about to humiliate him, but he feigned obliviousness as he set his deck down with an innocent smile on his face. The counter was small, but not so much so that you couldn't play a game of Yugioh on it.

Jayce was thankful that he didn't bother to check his deck, that meant he wasn't questioning why it looked so thin, and within a minute the two of them were sat down on two chairs opposite of each other. He picked up his five cards, trying not to smirk when he saw what they were, and asked the man. "Last chance to go first."

In response, he got a laugh. "No thanks kid, you go right on ahead."

Jayce held the card up, starting his combo as he slipped it into his centre monster zone. "Okay, well as a start I'll normal summon Aluber The Jester of Despia."

Aluber The Jester of Despia (Dark/Fairy/Lv: 4/ Atk: 1800/ Def: 0)

Jayce smirked, knowing he'd probably already won. "When this monster is normal summoned, or special summoned, I can take a 'Branded' spell or trap card and add it to my hand from the deck."

Jayce pulled his deck up, removing the spell he needed, and shuffled his deck before placing it down. He then held up the card he'd just gotten, placing it down as he declared. "I'll activate it right now, the spell card Branded Fusion."

The old man immediately choked on that. "Fusion!"

"Yes, are you losing your hearing with old age? Now, this spell lets me fusion summon a monster that mentions Fallen of Albaz from my extra deck by using two monsters, be they on the field, in my hand, or in my deck."

Ignoring the old man's shock, he opened his deck and removed two cards. "I fuse Fallen of Albaz, and Despian tragedy together to fusion summon Lubellion The Searing Dragon."

He placed them in the graveyard, going to his extra deck and pulling out a monster he remembered quite well, with it's art resembling a red and silver dragon that was surrounded with orange flames.

Lubellion The Searing Dragon (Light/Dragon/Lv: 4/ Atk: 2500/ Def: 3000)

"Despain Tragedy's effect activates, this lets me add a Despia monster from my deck to my hand. I pick Ad Libitum of Despia." He noted, picking out the card he chose from his deck, not like he had many options to choose from, and saw the way the old man glared at him and promptly ignored it.

"But, I don't need it, since Lubellion will use it's effect now. I can fusion summon again by shuffling both it, and Aluber The Jester of Despia into my deck to fusion summon Masquerade The Blazing Dragon."

Declaring that, Jayce picked up Lubellion and put it back in his extra deck along with Aluber and picked out what he considered to be his best card currently. He placed it down, with the dragon's armour being a mix of black, red and even some purple. It had the same attack total as Lubellion, but it had less defense points. Not that it mattered.

Masquerade The Blazing Dragon (Dark/Fiend/Lv:4/ Atk: 2500/ Def: 2000)

Jayce felt satisfied, knowing that his opponent was done, and said. "With that, my turn is concluded."

The old man looked at the fusion monster, then back at him, before speaking lowly. "I thought you were a beginner, boy? Most pro-duelists can't perform two fusion summons in one turn. Also, why didn't you try and attack?"

He scoffed, dropping his act due to it no longer being required. "You think I'm an idiot? Because, you must think very lowly of my intelligence if you thought I'd fall for your acting skills. I know the rules of the game, and if you think what I just did was impressive then the duelists around here must be pathetic."

The old man sneered in understanding. "You tricked me!"

"Yeah, I did, it was easy too. And whilst you were in there, probably trying to stack your deck with semi-decent cards, a few kids walked in here and are currently watching us. So, if you go back on your word, I swear everyone within a miles radius will think the worst of you." Jayce felt a bit bad, since he was being a massive dick, but he needed a duel disk if he wanted to get shit done.

The old man looked over his shoulders, seeing that he was right, and Jayce could see that he wasn't happy that he was essentially being forced to keep up the deal, else he risked having the locals think he was a slime ball.

A glare was what he got in return, and he spoke his next words with surprising venom, especially considering how kind he was looking earlier. "I won't need to, brat. You left yourself open with no facedowns, and once I deal you damage you'll be paying me a hundred grand. See if your still smirking then."

He held up a card, dramatically throwing it down to reveal a familiar looking dragon with shining scales. "I summon Alexandrite Dragon."

Alexandrite Dragon (Light/Dragon/ Lv:4/ Atk: 2000/ Def: 100)

The old man gave a weirdly evil grin, especially considering they were just playing a card game. "Now, I activate the Axe of Despair! This will raise my monster's attack points to three thousand!"

Alexandrite Dragon (Light/Dragon/ Lv:4/ Atk: 3000/ Def: 100)

Jayce showed no reaction as the man began, and he wondered if everyone in the Yugioh world was just a drama queen. "Now, you'll learn your place and give me my money! Alexandrite Dragon will-"

"Aaaand that is game. I'll take that duel disk now." Jayce cut across the needless drama, finding it difficult to keep a straight face as the man went from nearly orgasmic to frozen, then to confused.

"What, but I-"

"It's Maquerade's ability." Jayce began, patting himself on the back for keeping a straight face. "When you activate a card effect you take 600 points of damage, and you just did by playing a spell. Our agreement was that you'd give me that duel disk for free if I won our duel and, due to the set rules of first damage wins, I have."

Jayce quickly grabbed his deck, making sure not to leave a single card behind, and meanwhile the old man looked comically frozen whilst the kids in the back just looked confused.

A screen popped into his face, and he gave a slight smile as it did.

[You have complete the quest: Earning your right to duel!]

[The rewards are the following: 3,000 DP + Fallen of Albaz.]

Jayce felt some satisfaction as the man finally snapped out of it and, though the geezer had his head held low in frustration, he couldn't resist the urge to hold out his fist for a fist pump which he, by all means, would not get.

"GG?" He asked with a smirk of victory, already knowing the man's answer.

----------------------

Jason, having finished building a deck of forty cards, decided to move on and was making his way through a scrap yard whilst minding his step. He didn't doubt there was something sharp and dangerous hidden in so much metal, so it would be best if he tried not to get stabbed before he finds civilisation.

He ended up buying twenty card packs before he got what he wanted, and even then the cards he'd gotten weren't ideal. That was likely due to him being picky, but staining his deck by just putting anything in there just felt wrong.

As for notable cards, he managed to get himself a Negate Attack and Forbidden Lance, which would likely be helpful considering he'd be battling with 4000 life points, and a Marauding Captain that could fit okay in his Junk deck, plus a decent synchro monster. The rest though? It was mostly useless, and the cards were worth so little it was almost pointless to sell them on the system. He still did so anyway, since getting any amount of his money back was well worth it.

DP: 18,500

Seeing a town in the distance, one that looked as though it were falling apart at the hinges, Jason let out a sigh of relief. Even if it wasn't exactly five star accommodation, it was a relief to know he could get a place to sleep in the shithole he'd found himself in.

Eventually, Jason arrived to the town, trying his hardest not to draw attention as he walked through the streets, but that was proving to be difficult when the average citizen looked to be much worst for ware than he was, and he was sticking out like a sore thumb.

He frowned slightly, he noticed how many of the people he saw were dressed in dirty clothes, with some looking thinner than could be considered healthy. They were looking directly at him as he walked through the streets, with some even glaring mildly when they noticed he was wearing a duel disk. He did his best to ignore it, avoiding eye contact as much as he could, though that was becoming increasingly difficult as more people took notice of him.

Jason wasn't an idiot, and the more he walked the more paranoid he began to feel, until it felt like there were a hundred people staring into the back of his head. He wasn't a timid person by any means, but the feeling of being unwelcome was certainly an unpleasant one. At least he had a duel disk, though he doubted that would help him if someone decided to attack him. He'd need to-

"Hey kid, are you new around here?" He could tell he was being addressed, so he quickly turned around and tried not to let his shock show as the tattooed face of Crow came into view. He was holding a bag, which probably contained supplies, and the man- possibly boy since his age was unknown- somehow looked torn between suspicious, like everyone else, and concerned.

"Yeah but... sorry, where exactly is here? Also, why are all these people looking at me like that?" Jason spoke, choosing to play the memory loss card, and if the weird look he received on Crow was any indication he succeeded.

"Your not exactly normal looking, those clothes look like something a Top would wear, and duel disks aren't just given to Commons. Only Tops can buy one of these normally." Crow explained, gesturing to his own arm which had a duel disk of it's own.

He made sure to tilt his head slightly. "What's a Top?" Those words threw Crow for a loop, with him looking a bit taken aback.

"You don't know what a Top is?"

"Should I?" Jason asked, scratching at his duel disk and trying to look clueless. "I just woke up in that junkyard over there, and this all seems pretty weird. Anyway, where exactly is this and why is being a Top bad?"

Crow looked a bit shocked, though he sighed after a moment. "I'm sorry, so you don't know where you are, who you are, or where you're from?"

"I remember my name, but that's it." Jason claimed, trying not to jump the gun and lose his sympathy points, and that proved to be the right call when Crow gained a contemplative look on his face before his face became serious once more.

"Come with me. I'm not promising anything, but I can fill you in on... whatever it is your missing, then you figure the rest out on your own." Crow offered, and Jason felt a twinge of guilt for using his sympathy, only to squash it down with the thought of sorting something out for himself.

Jason didn't need to fake the gratitude on his face. "Thank you so much. My name is Jason Dark, what's yours?"

Crow turned, though responded as he started to walk away. "Crow Hogan, and you make sure to remember it. Now, don't fall behind and tell me everything you can remember."

Jason did as instructed, making sure not to trail behind the man as he began to tell the tale of how he arrived from the scrap yard.

He felt some hope because, though it wasn't much, he wasn't going to have to figure his way around all on his own.

----------------------

"Jesus, these cards are expensive as all fudge." Jacob muttered to himself in the corner of a café, his deck laid out in front of him card by card. The monsters he wanted were far too expensive, and due to his grand total of zero DP he couldn't buy anything worthwhile directly. Booster packs were his best bet to complete his deck, but those still cost 100 DP a piece, so he needed to find a way to get some money.

Picking up Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and holding it up, he stared at it for a moment as his ace monster looked back at him. He couldn't explain how, but the monster in his fingertips somehow felt like it was more than just paper. It felt alive, enough so that he could feel the energy radiating off it's card.

Jacob closed his eyes, holding the card up to his face, and he tried to communicate with his monster. He knew that duel spirits were very real, though the amount of people who could communicate with them was small, so maybe if he-

'Master.'

Jacob jolted away, the voice being surprisingly clear and loud. He found himself transfixed with the card, it suddenly feeling much more precious, and he placed it on his chest as a strange flow built up and rippled in his heart.

He took in a deep breath, before putting the card down and running a hand through his hair. "Either I'm losing my mind, or my ace monster is alive and trying to talk with me. Maybe I need to duel with you a little before we can talk more." He pondered out loud, wondering out loud as he opened the 'Create' option on his system and began to create a card for his Galaxy-Eyes deck.

Jacob allowed himself to be immersed within his own mind as, despite his poor artistic skills, a monster started to take form under his gaze. It was a knight, one clad in bright crystal-blue armour with a red cape draped behind him, and in his arm was a katana nearly as big as he was that he gripped in two hands. He wanted this monster to help him get Photon Dragon onto the field with extreme ease, which he kept in mind when giving it an effect, before letting a sense of pride hit him when he was finished.

Photon Dragon Master - Create: Yes/No

Jacob let out a grin as he mentally pressed yes, the card appearing in his inventory within the system, and he pulled a hand into his jacket to pull the card out of thin air without a person in the room being any the wiser and placing it amongst the other cards in his deck neatly.

In his immersion, he didn't notice someone had come up from behind him. "Um, excuse me." A feminine voice spoke from behind him, causing him to freeze up as he turned around to the source.

The girl who'd called him out was wearing a uniform, which meant she was a waitress, but despite that he could still recognise her quite easily. The long purple hair, the pink eyes, and the earrings in the shape of feathers immediately sounded alarm bells in his head. The bracelet with a gem in the middle was just the final nail in the coffin as he registered he was talking to Ruri Kurosaki. One of the bracelet girls, aka Arc-V's damsels in distress.

He regain his composure quickly, asking. "Is there anything wrong?"

"Well, the manager says that you can't stay here if you're just going to look at your cards. So, would you like to order anything?" She even held out a pen, though Jacob looked past her momentarily to see an overweight man looking at him sternly, and he frowned in response.

"Well, seeing as I'm poor as dirt, I can't order anything. So, you can tell Michael Moore over there I won't take a minute." He commented off-handedly, gathering his deck up and figuring that he'd spent enough time in the café.

Ruri however, looked mildly concerned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean exactly what it sounds like. I don't have one DP to my name at the moment, that's the reason I'm forking around a café like this." He finished gathering his incomplete deck, briefly wondering just what he was going to do in terms of sleep. It was summer, so the night wouldn't be too cold, so if worst came to worst he could just sleep on the streets. It wasn't even lunch-time yet though, so hopefully it wouldn't come down to that.

Ruri recovered quickly. "How can that be, you have a deck don't you? You should be able to duel people for money."

"An incomplete deck." Jacob corrected. "Not even forty cards to my name, so I'll have to try and fill the rest with fodder. See you around." He finished, wondering how he could find nine cards. Maybe he could steal them, he always did have light fingers.

Ruri however, didn't seem to like that idea. "Hold on, you can't be more than a year older than me, you shouldn't have to just fend for yourself like that. My shift is nearly over, I'm going to meet up with my friends, so why don't you just come with me?"

Jacob let his lips quirk up. "Bless your heart, but I wouldn't wanna intrude. I'm used to being by myself anyway, and I've really gotta complete my deck."

"We're all duelists, so if you need some extra cards we could lend you some. They're all nice people, I'm sure you'll be welcome." Ruri assured, showing a surprising amount of compassion for to complete stranger. Afterall, he could have been a weirdo for all she knew. Not that he was, at least in the ways that matter, but it was still concerning.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is everyone around here this welcoming, or is it just you?"

Ruri let out a chuckle, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I take that as a yes."

Jacob shrugged. "Sure, why not. It's not like I have anything better to do other than wander the streets like a hobo... oh, I guess I kind of am one." He muttered that last part to himself, though Ruri seemed to hear it since she laughed a little more.