I know it's been done by YGO, Duel Masters, and now Cardfight! Vanguard!, but I wanted to try my hand at a TCG-based story. As it says in the title, it's called "Crisis!", and I've been spending a bit of time on this. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it.

Sorry, but my chapters are LONG.
Chapter 1: Shattered Expanse, and a Reset Button?

Spoiler (Click to View)

I was in the midst of a terrible situation. Nearly no life left and no way out, I stared down six creatures with immense power. Though it seemed like all was lost, I smiled. My cloaked opponent noticed, and grimaced at my having fun. “What are you laughing for!? It’s over for you, kid! Make your move!” I nodded, and drew from my pool, awaiting an opening. The ability to determine my fate, right before my fingertips, ready to be tapped into. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment, and plunged in.

The crowd was cheering at levels I had never heard before, but not for me. Hato, my opponent, was crushing me pathetically, obliterating my small units, preparing for that final decisive strike to finish me off. The lights in the recreation office shone on the pieces of shining paper strewed out upon the battlefield, as if a shining sun awaited this very moment. I looked at my card. “Well, then. I guess it’s my turn! I’ll call a Level 2 unit to the BattleField! Techon Knight, go! I also will activate ‘Double Calling’, a Distortion card that allows me to call another Unit to the BattleField, or Level Up one that’s already there! Cannon Knight, level up! I use it to call out the Level 4 card, Infused Techon Obliterator!” Hato flinched, realizing that he had no cards that could defeat such a high-leveled unit. The shining knight on the Infused Techon Obliterator card hoisted a shield and a large laser cannon. “I-impossible! Techon Knight is only Level 2, how can you level him up to 4 that fast?!” “All Techons get to skip one Level while being Promoted to the next Level! I also use the ability, Reverse! All Units below level 4 are returned to the hand, at the cost of 70 Life Power. I now have 30 Life left to your 300. Now, I attack you with Infused Techon Obliterator, who has 250 Offensive Power, and end my turn with three Traps. At the end of my turn, Infused Techon Obliterator makes you drop all cards in your hand to the discard pile at the cost of 20 Life. I have 10 life left to your 50.”

The crowd became hushed. Was it really possible that this kid could win the Shattered Expanse Tournament? Hato looked at my grin, and then at his depleted hand, and contemplated the situation. He had the game in the bag, so why was he suddenly against a wall? I blinked, wondering what he was going to do. In the end, he played the first and bottom card on his deck face down. An illegal move. A surrender. The crowd gasped, and I sat in disbelief. I had seven cards left in my Pool, and I still won? I sprang to my feet, the crowd going insane. “Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! I won!” I bounded from the raised seats, celebrating as I went. The banner on the ceiling said “Crisis!: Shattered Expanse tournament today!” I celebrated, still oblivious.

I had been playing the coolest TCG in the world, “Crisis: Breaking!”. It’s an action card game where you call Units to inflict damage onto your adversary. The game is just so fun, but is often compared to great games of the past, which were also Trading Card Games. The appeal is that you can use custom tables to visualize the “Bouts” as they happen. Icarus Entertainment, the development company behind the game, often held tournaments, testing our resolve. Unfortunately, my Techon-based deck wasn’t very good with saving Distortion Cards, and as a result, I was stuck in the lower 1000 players in the world. This was the first tournament I had ever won, and three of those Bouts were flukes. The rules were relatively simple: A “Deck” was made up of “Units”, creatures that did the fighting usually, and had certain abilities based on Level, going from One to Four, “Distortion” cards, spell-like abilities that gave added affects to boost yourself, or hinder an opponent, “Finisher” cards that were powerful, but risky, and “Traps”, cards that inflicted annoying effects upon your opponent and his Units. The game was played on the “BattleField”, which was comprised of 7 Unit Slots, 4 Trap Slots, and 3 Distortion Slots. The point of the game was to reduce your opponent’s Life Power to 0, while keeping yours above 0. It’s a fast-paced game, and eliminating 1500 Life is easier than it sounds. I love the game, but sometimes you want to WIN. It’s hard to keep interest in something if you have a record of 12-138, right? After that tournament, my eagerness to play was re-sparked, and the prize was worth it. A Record Reset Card. A second chance to be Number 1.

“Node Itoa, please come onto the stage.” I jogged up the steps, panting from happiness, awaiting rebirth, redemption, sweet jubilation! But it was not to be. In front of me stood a table. A BattleField. And a deck already set up. “What’s the meaning of this? I won, didn’t I?” The announcer chuckled. “Why yes, you did, but I wish to face you. You will receive your reset card anyway, but you will also get a special Unit if you win.” I laughed. “That’s all? Well, then, let’s go!” “Ah, but there is a catch. You may not use any Finishers in this Bout, do you understand?” “I never used them anyway.” Let me explain: Finishers were cards that usually had an insane amount of power, and amazing abilities! As a result, they were listed as Level 5 cards, and a limit was put in place. You may only carry one. Even then, a catch was also incorporated. Should a Finisher be successfully removed from the BattleField, you automatically lose the game, so I always found them too risky to use. Of course, this left my deck unable to cope with other decks’ Finisher cards. I’ve come close, but I’ve never been able to destroy a Finisher. “You do not understand, my young friend Node. I may use Finishers all I want, and you must defeat one of the six in my deck!” “Six? Wait a second!” But the table had already been set. My deck sat gleaming in the light, and I knew I had no choice. Or much of a chance, for that matter. I sat down, and shook hands with the announcer. I picked up my six-card hand, and the battle began!

Chapter 2: Losing...Again. (This one's kinda short.)

Spoiler (Click to View)

I whipped out a card off of the top of my deck, waiting for some type of reaction from the crowd. I looked at the card, and my gut dropped about three feet into my legs. “…I play Techon Junk Fighter…” Techon Junk Fighter was my favorite card, but it’s just not very good alone. A Level 1 card won’t get very far after the third turn, when people are allowed to Level up, and can barely hold its own against other Level 1s with only 100 OP. Its effect is what’s so amazing. “Once per turn, you can Call an extra Unit to the BattleField, and it gains +60 Offensive Power. I call Techon Supporter to the BattleField, and activate his ability. For every Techon on the field, all Units gain +20 Offensive Power. I end by laying three Traps.” My near-empty hand held the one key to my failure. Techon Hounder. If I were to play it, I was DONE. It’s such a great card, but I don’t have the luck to use it. The announcer, whose nametag said “Dervin”, chuckled.

“I activate the Distortion card, Roulette Gambit! I pick one card from your hand, and you must play it. If it’s a Trap or Distortion, I lose 200 Life and this turn’s Call Phase. Otherwise, you lose 100 Life, and I get an extra Call this turn. Afterwards, you shuffle your hand into your deck and draw four cards. So… The one on the left.” I breathed a sigh of relief. “Distortion card, Techon Cannon. All Techons gain +40 Offensive Power. Junk Fighter has 180 Offensive Power, and Supporter has 270. Looks like you picked wrong.” “It seems I did. Oh, well. I’ll end my turn.” Dervin’s Life counter dropped to 1300, and I shuffled my hand, and drew four cards. “Hrm…Something tells me you’re holding back. Whatever, I draw.” A bunch of Level Threes and a Level Two. “Not so bad. I Level Junk Fighter up, becoming the Level Two Unit, Techon Vulcan! It’s probably the only offensive-minded card at its level in my deck. With a total of 400 OP, Vulcan attacks!” His Life counter dropped to 900, and then to 630 after attacking with Techon Supporter. “…This is too easy. You have something up your sleeve.” Dervin chuckled. “Indeed, young Node. You are correct. Now, let the true battle begin! I activate a Trap: Vindication!” “What? Not that dumb card, not now!” Okay, I’ll admit, I reached for my deck. In fact, my hand was on top when I decided to continue. “I can still win. Sure, I only have, what 750 Life left, but I’m still winning, right?” Except…Vindication allows Dervin to pick one card from my deck and Call it to my side of the field. That one card was…Techon Hounder. So, my Life was cut in half, and my worst card was on the BattleField. Could this get any worse?

Chapter 3: Fighting Back

Spoiler (Click to View)

“…”

“Are you at a loss for words?” The skinny, black-haired Dervin smirked, reading my silence. Damn. Techon Hounder has 300 Offensive Power, and can intercept attacks, allowing him to use a special stat simply called INT, or Intercept Capability, but in doing so, he inflicted damage to me. The only card I could turn this around with was another card that was tailored specifically to help out Hounder. I grimaced, watching the mechanical beagle sniff at the BattleField, growling feebly at Dervin. I sighed. “Your move.”

“Oh? Well, I end my turn.” All thought processes came to a screeching halt.

“What? Can you even do that?” I was totally bewildered, and took advantage of the situation. “Okay, if you wanna lose, so be it! I play three Traps, and end my turn!” Dervin laughed. “That’s all? Fool, my grandmother is more aggressive than that!” I scoffed. “I’m not stupid. Let’s see what you have!” Dervin snickered. “This is it.” He drew, and laughed, lording over my misfortune. “I play… The Finisher card, Great Abyss!” His card slammed on the table, and a giant, floating, black, impeccably large ball appeared. He laughed. “You REALLY fell for my bluff! Hah, with the amount of Offense Great Abyss has, you have no choice but to pay the 200 Life to Intercept my attack!”

Tch. Nothing left I could do but comply. “Intercept, Techon Hounder!” Hounder’s hologram barked, then slamming against Great Abyss, stopping it in its tracks. My Life Counter dropped, and the amount of OP Great Abyss has, 1230, matched up against Techon Hounder’s INT, 1240. Techon Hounder survived, which I’m sure Dervin wanted, as without it, I stood a chance. Then I recalled Hounder’s second effect, and why I refused to play it. Of course, Dervin recited it as if Hounder was his own card.

“The controller of this Unit cannot Surrender under any circumstances. Instead, one must reach negative 300 Life in order to lose. The controller of this card takes an extra 50 damage from any attack that successfully deals more than 20 damage. Is that correct? Regardless, I end my turn.” I cringed, wondering how I was going to get out of this…wait. No, this wasn’t a mess; this was what I had become used to. I had become so wrapped up in winning and losing, I forgot to have fun. I fingered the silver hair that had been a point of ridicule so often, grinning at the set cards and holograms that accompanied them.

“I’m not going to roll over yet!” It wouldn’t help much, but my confidence returned, full force. “How about this! I draw, and… Well THAT took long enough. I Level up Techon Vulcan to the Level 4 card, Techon Raptor! This negates the Life lost from Intercepting from now on, and instead, it cuts your Finisher’s OP in half! Seeing as Raptor has 680 Offense, and your Abyss has only 615, I guess this means I win! Attack, Techon Raptor!” The crowd, which had been silent for so long, rose to their feet, aroused at the chance that I might win. Again, it was not to be. “Don’t even think of it.” I flinched. “What?”

Dervin shook his head, sending his jet-black bangs flying. “I activate the Trap, Reversal of the Sword!” “Wh-what? So, what does that mean?” “It means, young Node, that I win. It inflicts damage to you equal to two Unit’s combined Offensive Power. I pick…Raptor and Supporter. I guess you lose.” My Life counter passed 0, and winded back upwards. Soon, the dreaded 300 appeared, followed by a minus sign. I had lost. But instead of getting frustrated, I was happy. The crowd murmured, and then began clapping. Not for a loss, as became the norm, the were applauding the effort, the fight itself, not the outcome. The expanse of the card shop was abuzz with life, something that never followed my Bouts, which normally resulted in a quick defeat.

“Looks like I lost, huh? Well, I came close, didn’t I?” Dervin laughed, rubbing my head. “Node, you have nearly defeated me, something I have not experienced in years. You deserve these.” “These? I thought…” “Hah, you DESERVE more than a little Record Card, boy! I’ll have you know, Node, that I am a representative from Icarus Entertainment, and I want YOU to have this.” He handed me a key card of some sort. “I’m confused. What is this?” Dervin cleared his throat.

“That, my friend, is a Wired Unit Card, Techon JetHawk, one of the few Level 4 cards that can stand up to a Finisher. It also is an invitation. I invite you ALL to participate in the ruling change that will shake up EVERYTHING you thought you knew about Crisis: Breaking! From now on, there will be NO Life. Instead, you will discard one card off of the top of your deck into the Life Zone. Once you have eight cards there, you lose. Now, we understand that you like your decks as-is, so we would like to present all of you updated versions of your decks…in three weeks. Node, on the other hand, gets his NOW. Amazing, right? New art, updated Errata, more durable material, and a few surprises added in! Now, let’s all give a round of applause to Node Itoa!” The crowd, genuinely happy for me, obliged without question.

I was at a loss. It seemed like destiny was unfolding before my eyes, when nothing special had happened. I had lost, which was normal practice for me. Instead of being penalized, I got a clean slate, and a revamped version of my deck! This was great! But that’s not all that happened, I could see that in the Icarus Entertainment rep’s eyes. He ushered me away, and outside, he handed me another card. “Don’t lose this. You will receive full fare, food and board on a luxurious island for a tournament to test these new rules. You see, I’m not just some rep. In fact, I’m a head developer at IE. Dervin Mellad; that’s my name. Your helicopter will be here in about three hours, bring nothing but your deck and a few personal belongings, everything else will be provided for you. Good luck, Node Itoa. Good luck…”

Chapter 4: Arrival

Spoiler (Click to View)

A tournament. A new rule change. So many things happened that day, I couldn’t keep up. I made it back home, sifting through my new deck. I was pleased to see that nothing much was changed, but I noticed a few extra words on Techon Junk Fighter. It had a bit more Offensive Power, and its effect was slightly different. I took a look, and blinked. “Intercept Power.” I looked through all of the cards, and sure enough, all of them had the small bar saying “Intercept” on the side. I twiddled with a small circuit board in my pocket, keeping my eyes on the mechanical wonders that were my Units.

“Well? Are you prepared?” A calm, yet excited voice came from my open door.

I swiveled, seeing Dervin standing in my doorway, helicopter in the street. I gulped, grabbed my favorite circuit boards, the ones I never leave for a long trip without, and nodded. “I’m ready. I just reset my record a few minutes ago.” Dervin smiled.

“Well, then. I guess that means we’re cleared for liftoff!” I climbed into the helicopter, looking at the ground as we took off. Dervin looked at my face. “Scared of heights?” I laughed, looking out the window. “Of course not! This is awesome!” Dervin chuckled. “You are one odd boy. Say, what did you put in your bag?” I pulled out my bag, unzipping it. “My treasure.” I pulled out wires, circuit boards, and a few other bits and pieces. “They’re all mechanical pieces, from computers, machines, and one hard-drive part that I always keep with me.” Dervin laughed. “They are a treasure, all right. I can see why you are named Node.” “Heh, thanks. I wonder, why are you so interested in me?” Dervin laughed. “This is going to sound silly, but I think it’s because… I don’t know. In the other boys, I sense a pleasure in winning, not the game itself. With your record, they’d quit. In you? There’s…nothing really special. You know your deck’s weaknesses, and you are not arrogant enough to ignore them. I figured that I could get you boiling about the game again, you’d do much better. Of course, your deck helped.”

“My deck?” I looked at all of the Techon cards I had gotten over the years, wondering what he meant. “Your deck is…special. Techons were a failed archetype, deemed too weak to work. Yet you manage to use them quite well, even though your record says otherwise. I’ve seen your wins, and I must say, few as they were, they were impressive. Ah, it seems like we’ve arrived!” I looked back out the window, ready to see the place I’d be fighting in. “Whoa.”

Green everywhere, except for the beaches surrounding the island. A large marble building sat in the middle of the island, making it that much more remarkable. As we landed, I hopped out of my seat. Upon landing, I took a look around. People were milling about, looking for matches. Dervin tossed me something, a plate of some sort. “Keep this with you. It unfolds into half of a Holo-Table. You can practice there, and exchange Bout Points for new cards, though I doubt you’d use them. They can, though, buy extra snacks, so save up. Well, I’m gone. I’ll be watchin’ ya, kid. Don’t disappoint me!” Dervin hung on to the helicopter as it flew away. “Hey! Kid over there!” I turned, seeing a girl with long blue hair brandishing her deck. “I want to have a Bout against you. Wait…you’re Node Itoa? The Reset kid?” “Yes. Why?” The girl cracked up. “This ought to be easy. Well, then? Let’s go!” “Sure. What’s your name?” “Dana. Just call me D.” She tossed out her plate, which unfolded into half of a high-tech table, and I did the same. I pulled out the book for the new rules, going over them a fourth time. I drew my hand, won the right to go second, (Or lost the right to go first?) and the Bout started.

Chapter 5: Eight steps to Hell!?

Spoiler (Click to View)

Dana smirked, pulling a card from her deck. "Now, let's see... Ah, I'll call Hell Soldier to the BattleField." It had a nice amount of A OP, with 110. Pretty big for a Level 1. "I'll set a Trap and end my turn." I toyed with one of the circuits in my bag, twirling it in my hands. "Hello? I said it's your move?" I blinked, looking at Dana. "I heard you. I'm sorry, I just do this when I'm excited." "...You do realize that the Bout just started, right?" I drew a card. "Yup, but all Bouts are exciting to me! Now, how about we speed this up a bit?" I looked at my hand, amazed at the great cards I pulled. "Okay! I'll call Techon Wolf to the BattleField, and end my turn!" Dana chuckled. "That's it? You can't be this passive, you know. Not against Hell cards, at the very least. I'll call Hell Axe Breaker to the BattleField, and attack!" I blinked, wondering why she was attacking while I had a stronger Unit. Wolf had 70 Offensive Power, while Hell Axe Breaker only had 60. "Hrm... I'll Intercept that one with Techon Wolf." Of course, Axe Breaker was sent to the discard pile, and Dana put one card from the top of her deck into the Life Zone.

The game went on, and nothing changed. I kept piling on damage, and avoiding hits myself. Five turns later, Dana had five cards in the Life Zone, and I only had one. After dropping the fifth card, Dana laughed. "You idiot. Have you ever heard of Hell cards?" I blinked, confused. "Nope. Never seen any, so I'm trying to see what they can do. Of course, I'm also trying to win." Dana laughed. "We'll see. I activate the Trap I laid at the beginning of the game! 'Eight Steps to Hell'! With this card, you have eight turns to win, or else, game over. I'll activate the Distortion card, Time Warp! This card fits perfectly in this situation, as now the game fast-forwards to the beginning of your turn...six moves from now. That means you have one move after this one to win!" I paused for a while. "So? Do you have anything to say? Are you scared?" I went over the cards on the BattleField, noting my imminent loss if something wasn't done.

"..." Dana laughed. "You're speechless, aren't you? I knew that I'd win!" "Whoa, that move was amazing! I mean, I thought I had you on the ropes and BAM, now I'm the one in trouble! Though...you are making one small mistake. May I explain?" Dana looked like she was at a comedy show. "Really? Do tell." "Well, you don't look like you're having fun. That's the issue here. I can't really get into the game unless my opponent is having fun. It makes me feel bad." "...WHAT?!" "Yeah, you're not having any fun, so what's the point of playing?" Dana looked at me like I was stupid. "Winning, duh. Just...play." "No. You're not having any fun." Dana got pissed a bit, I think. "Then just surrender! You know what? I'm having fun, okay? See?" She forced a smile. I took a wary look, then made a proposition. "Okay, if I win, you're gonna have to have fun in your Bouts from now on, okay?" Dana smirked.

"If I win, I want those things in your pocket, just to make things fair." My circuits? I looked concerned for a second, then smiled. "Hm... Why not? It's not like I'm gonna lose, right?" I drew my card, and let out a small whoop. On the card in my hand, a large falcon was perched on a building of steel, shining armor and laser cannon shining under a moon that didn't really exist. Techon JetFalcon. I looked at the Level 2 Units on my side of the table, and decided to wait. I play a Trap, and attack with-" "Not so fast! I activate Hell Breaker, a Trap! All cards on the BattleField are sent to the Discard Pile!" I thought for a second. "Okay. I end my turn. Your move." "Are you insane? Whatever, prepare to lose! I play a Trap, and end my turn. You have one turn left." "That's all I need!" I drew, pulling Reverse Life, a card that allowed me to bring back one Unit from my discard pile. "I activate Reverse Life. I'll bring back Techon Coyote Tank, and Level up to Call Techon JetFalcon! I also activate Double Damage, which makes you drop off two cards instead of one if I successfully attack. I also play Techon Gunfire, which does one damage to the both of us." I smirked. "That should be game. I attack with JetFal-" "Nope, I activate Hell Jumper, which automatically ends your turn! That's eight turns, if I recall correctly. I win, kid." I laughed. "Not really. My Trap is Negation Shockwave, which destroys that Hell Jumper of yours. I'll activate that. Is that all you have?" Shocked, Dana stared at my cards, defeated. "Yeah, that was it. I lost." She placed the sixth, seventh, and eighth card into the Life Zone, and our records showed. She chuckled a bit, which was unexpected, and my jaw just hit the dirt.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU HAVE A 109-3 RECORD!?" I was in awe, while Dana was looking smug. "Because I'm better than you, obviously." I pointed out the 1-0 record I had. "That one came from you, y'know. And remember our bet!" Dana laughed. "I don't remember the last time I actually didn't mind losing! Well, I also don't remember the last time I lost. You might not be so bad, kid. I think I'll stick with you for a while." "Then don't call me 'kid'. My name is Node." "I'll be sure to quit that. Remember, though. Don't drop below 0 Bout Points, they'll kick you off the island." I gulped, and checked Dana's Bout Points. She had little to worry about, she had 4,000. "Well, that's not fair." Dana laughed. "I sent some kid home already. Apparently, you lose a load of points if you do something stupid like challenge someone with the default amount when you've got aver 5,000 Bout points. He lost all of them, but I only got 600. Sucks, don't it?" I laughed weakly, making a note not to get on Dana's bad side. "Well, the tournament starts tomorrow, and the dorms are this way. We'll head this way until night falls." I nodded. "Okay, lead the way!" We saw some guy smirking as he looked at one card.

"I play Forced Copy, which makes you have to repeat any gesture that I use. Of course, Copycat cards restrict me from surrendering, but they say nothing about you, right?" His opponent looked distressed. "Wait...no!" The first player, who looked sneaky and shrewd, smiled and pulled one card from off of the top and bottom of his deck, and his opponent was forced to follow. "I win, seeing as I can't surrender. Too bad these cards are limited to one per deck, or else I'd have four. Ah, well. At least I won." The sneaky player's record appeared, shocking Dana, and utterly confusing me. 412-0. A perfect record. He spotted us, and took a step towards Dana. "How's it goin', beautiful?" "Get lost." The sneaky, slimy looking person smiled. "Okay, how about this? We'll have a Bout, and if I win, you'll drop this loser and go out with me." Dana smirked. "And if I win, you'll go die. Is that fine?" She expected him to say "No deal" and walk away, but he grinned and said "Sure. If you win, I'll leave this island, and forfeit all of my Bout Points. Is that acceptable?" Dana grinned. "When I win, give them to the kid over there, Node." "Why not? Meet me here in twenty minutes, with the kid." I looked at Dana, who sported a confident grin. "Sure." They walked away from each other, preparing for the match. I followed Dana, not trusting the slimy guy, who was wearing a black trench coat. "Are you sure?" Dana looked at me. "Nope. I just want him off this island ASAP, so I took a chance. Don't worry, I won't go out with that creep, I'll just punch his lights out." I looked at Dana, still unsure of the situation. "Okay, just be careful." I looked around, hoping that nothing would go wrong, but knowing that something probably would.

Chapter 6: D stands...short?

Spoiler (Click to View)

"Hrm. Are you ready?" That slime ball wheezed his pathetic line from behind a tree, waiting for Dana to arrive. Dana smirked, tossing her half of the table and pulled out her deck. "Of course. Are you ready to lose?" She sat down, and her opponent did the same. "Your name is Dana, right? I'm Shrewd Cheaten" All I could think was "How fitting..', and Dana simply laughed. "Okay, you're officially a creep. As you know, I'm Dana Tama. Well, let's do this." They both drew their six cards, dead serious.

"You go first." Shrewd was pretending to be a gentleman about the matter. Dana laughed, obviously amused. "Me? Well, sure. Draw... Easy. I'll Call the Unit Hell Assaulter, Offensive Power: 110. I'll play two Traps, and I'll end my turn." Dana looked across the table, watching Shrewd draw his card. "Hrm... I play Copycat Changer. I end my turn." Copycat Changer? What the heck doe that thing do? Dana looked concerned for about...half of a second. "Okay! I'll draw and Call Hell Time Master to the BattleField. I'll end my turn with another Trap." Dana looked serious, but Shrewd didn't seem to notice.

"Well, this is it. I draw. Nice. I'll play one Trap, and then I'll call Copycat Snake. I end my turn." Dana looked at her cards, drew, and ended her turn without doing anything. The game moved on like this for two turns...until Shrewd showed us what he was after. "I Call Copycat Searcher. I then activate Copy Restrain, which renders me unable to surrender as long as I have three Copycats out, and then... Well, you know where this is going. I'll play a Trap and end my turn." Dana had gone pale, knowing what was face down. Shakily, she drew a card, looking at what she got. She pounded the table in frustration, on the verge of giving up. "Dana! Hey, D! What's wrong?" Dana looked back at me, her face dejected. "I-I've got nothing. I don't have the time..." "Hey! No talk like that! You can still win, got it? You can do it!" The rest of my brain, however, was saying: "Oh, she's screwed. Maybe I should grab her and run." Dana looked back at her cards, and ended her turn, bowing her head in defeat.

"So? That's it?" Shrewd laughed, reveling in his supposed win. "This is easy! I activate the Trap, Forced Copy! I guess I win, right?" Dana frantically picked up her cards, looking for some way out. I made a note that she forgot about one Trap in the corner of the BattleField. "...Nothing." I pointed at the BattleField, concerned. "What about that card? I mean, it's been there since your first turn." Dana blinked. "Oh. Okay, let's see what it is." She tentatively picked up the card, slowly looking at the text. "Oh. My. God. Node, I'm so happy, I could kiss you! Well, I could if you weren't so short." I took a bit of offense to that. "Hey! I'm not that short!" Dana laughed, pretending to bop me on the head. "Just kidding. Anyway, let me win right now." Shrewd already had his hand on his deck, laughing at Dana. "How? Unless you can win right now, it's over!" Dana grinned, regaining her confidence. "Who said I can't? I activate the Trap, Eight Steps to Hell! Next, I'll use Time Jumper, which skips six turns. That means you have two left. Now, let me finish this right now. Do you remember when I played Hell Time Master? Well, he has an...odd ability. Your deck is search-based, or you just plain old cheat by keeping good cards at the top. Regardless, your deck moves WAY too slowly. In this case, it has the sub-ability 'Speed'. Speed allows Time Master to activate abilities in response to Traps, making your little card useless. Wanna know what Time Master does?" Dana smirked, and Shrewd looked kinda scared.

"You see...Time Master does...nothing on its own. But as long as I have other Hell cards, mind you, I said cards, not Units, I can skip turns equal to the number of cards minus one. I have three. Three minus one is two, so... I believe that's a total of eight turns. I win." Dana looked up, and I happened to glance at Shrewd. But... "He's gone? That...cheat!" Shrewd Cheaten disappeared while Dana was explaining, taking his deck and table with him. Of course, I knew we'd see him again. Next time, I'd deal with him. I looked at the trail he left, a few scraps of paper from candy. "Coward. We'll see him again, I'm sure of it." I yawned. "It's getting' late. The dorms are this way, and we haven't checked in yet, so let's go!" Dana ran off towards the dorms and I followed, hoping not to get left behind.

We arrived at the counter right before the rain started. "Whew, that was close. My deck would have gotten soaked!" I looked outside, watching the pouring rain, which had started pretty suddenly. The clerk looked outside also. "Oh, that's just a deterrent. The Organizer wants everyone in the dorms by 8 PM, so he arranged for these storms to happen until 6 AM, when people normally wake up. Now, what are your names?" Dana stepped forward. "I'm the beautiful and charming Dana Tama, and this is my henchman, Node Itoa." "Hey! Who said you're charming!? And since when am I a henchman?!" The clerk looked kind of uneasy, but she did comment. "You forgot to mention the 'beautiful' comment. That can be taken a few ways. You can be seen as an idiot, forgetful, childish, or you agree on that part." It took a while for that to sink in, and when it did, it hit HARD. "What? No way, I mean... I... Not to be..." The more I stammered, the more that Dana snickered, and the clerk just looked amused, like when you know something that a child doesn't. "It's not like Dana's ugly, but.... Ah, I'm getting misunderstood here! I did NOT mean it in the way you envision it! I mean that!" The clerk sighed. "Oh well, your rooms are on the third floor, rooms T-125 and T-127. They're right next door to each other, so meeting up shouldn't be a problem. Okay?" Dana nodded, and I gulped. "Erm... Thanks, Ma'am." The clerk giggled a bit. "Okay, have fun, you crazy kids!" I made a note to avoid that overly cheerful lady from now on. Barely keeping my footing on the waxed marble floors, we managed to find our rooms without much serious injury, though I did fall down the stairs twice, and parted for the night. "See you tomorrow, D." "Hm? You called me D. Ah, it's nothing. See you tomorrow!" She entered her room, and I did the same.

Barely awake, I threw myself into bed. Until I got too tired to stay awake, I thought. A lot of cool stuff had happened lately, and I was having the time of my life. Though some people do still snicker, I finally have a winning record for once, and the person I beat was pretty damn good, too. I looked at my deck, placing it and the folded table half under my bed. After a while, I ran out of things to think about. No, that's a lie. I ran out of things that I'd be comfortable thinking about. I effectively avoided any excessive thought about Dana, so instead, I spun and messed around with some of the circuits I had. At around 9, I fell asleep. I always did stink at staying up late.

Chapter 7: Day One (Description/Story Chapter)

Spoiler (Click to View)

I yawned, noting that the rain stopped. As I rolled out of bed, the PA system rumbled to life. “All tournament participants, please report to the front of the dorms for roll call and director assignment. Your breakfast will be served afterwards.” Someone started banging on my door, yelling for me to get out of bed. “Yo, Node! Wake up!” I groaned, still tired. “Hold on, D. I’m up.” I brushed my teeth and took a shower before making my way outside my door, still sleepy. “Hiya, Dana.” “Morning. Now, let’s go eat.” She pushed me ahead, heading in the direction of the commons, where there was a breakfast buffet.

“Whoa. Look at all the people!” Participants were EVERYWHERE. People were having friendly matches, chatting, and plain having fun. “I’m gonna go get a plate. Do you want anything?” Dana thought, then asked for some waffles and a bowl of cereal. I jogged off to fix Dana and I a plate, making sure to note the decks I saw. A few Hell decks, a Disaster deck, and even some weird Dracaena deck. “Hrm… All of these would shut Dana’s Hell deck down. Can’t let her play these people.” What was I thinking? She could more than handle these people. I thrust the thought away, and finished loading the two plates, and headed back to the table Dana and I were sitting.

“I’m back. Here’s your food.” “Thanks, Node.” I sat down and went through my deck, then began eating. Sometime later, I noticed Dana staring at me. “Do I have something on my face?” “Ha, no. I was just…thinking, I guess.” She stared at me for a bit longer. I blinked, something registering. “Hey, you haven’t called me ‘kid’ in a while.” Dana looked uncomfortable. “R-really? Erm… So? What’s that supposed to mean!?” “Nothing. I was just pointing it out, conversation. Why, does it mean something?” Dana’s face turned red. “Well… I guess it means that we’re friends now, right?” I nodded. “Yeah. That’s got to be it.” I yawned, and finished off my food. Dana finished, and we played a friendly game of Crisis. (I lost miserably…) By the time I had lost, it was time to head out to sign in.

Dervin was standing on a podium, microphone in hand. “Hello, Crisis Masters! I invited all of you here for one reason or another. Each of you interested me in some extraordinary way…or I was bored. Hah, now to be more serious, each of you will be placed into two-player teams, based on who you work best with, and personal relationships. This was a…recent development, so you’ll have a specific ‘Director’ of sorts to keep you on the right track and manage your dorms, which will be shared with your partner. I, for one, find this hilarious, but alas, I am not allowed to watch it for comedy. Not saying I won’t however. Please avoid this tournament being a ‘Jersey Shore’ rip-off, please? Anyway, here are the placements.”

Okay, this was never in debate. I ended up with Dan, dubbed Team 19 by Dervin. I was happy about that. So why was I fuming? Because our Director was…that overly cheery lady from the night before. How unfair, Dervin is. I wandered into our personal dorm, which was essentially a very large hotel room. It actually felt more like a small house, though. Of course, arriving was awkward. “Erm… So, Dana. I guess we’ll be…erm…in the same dorm for now?” My face was practically on fire, and Dana’s was pretty red too. That damn Director of ours managed to make matters worse. “Well, this ought to be fun, right? I have a feeling that we’re going to be like a family by the time this tournament is over! Anyway, I’m Koimi Yukai. My name’s pretty odd, so you can call me Ko or Koimi if you feel you need to. I didn’t catch your names last night, however. “ I nodded, and introduced myself. “I’m Node Itoa. Nice to meet you formally.” Not. Dana introduced herself, and I grabbed my bag and went through it to hide my face. Koimi spoke up, still overly cheerful. “Well? Anyone want to have a quick game?” I jumped on the idea.

“Of course! Mind you, I’m no pushover.” Koimi laughed, preparing her deck. “I’m not either. So? How about we get this started?” There was a Holo-Table in the room, so we decided to use that.

“Okay, how about you go first? I think that’s fair, right?” I scoffed. “I think you’re not giving me enough credit here. Okay, let’s get started.”

Chapter 8: Confidence in the face of failure… I don’t have it.

Spoiler (Click to View)

“Okay, I’ll draw. I play two Traps and Call Techon Junk Fighter. I’ll also use its ability to Call another Unit to the game. I’ll play Techon Draco. It’s got 130 OP, and gets an extra 60. It has 190. Okay, I’ll end my turn.” I nodded, satisfied with my move.

“Okay, I draw and play Youkai Arachnia. It allows me to deal one damage automatically, at the cost of its attack this turn. I play the Distortion card, Youkai Overworld. For the rest of the game, Youkai cards have +30 Offensive Power, and can’t be destroyed. I still take damage, however. Oh. I end my turn.” Koimi pointed at my hand. “Hold on to those. Hand advantage is VERY important.” I grunted, drawing another card. How did she know that I was bad with holding a hand advantage? “Tch. I play Techon Vulcan on top of Techon Junk Fighter. I also use the Distortion card, Quickdraw. I draw three cards, and use another Distortion card. Wasted Energy, which allows me to play cards unrestricted until I have two cards in my hand. I’ll Level Vulcan up again, playing Infused Techon Obliterator, and Call Techon Wolf. I Level it up to the Level 3 card, Techon Artillery Master.” Something rang in the back of my head. “Hand Advantage…” Something made me stop short of using Artillery Master’s ability, so I ended my turn.

“You kept only two cards? If you’re gonna do something, do it right, not halfway. I’ll play Hand Breaker. It deals damage equal to the difference of our hands, but maxes out at three. I have 5 cards, you have two. That’s three damage. You should have used those cards. This way, you wouldn’t have taken as much damage for nothing. Oh, well. I’ll use Youkai Arachnia to pile on another card of damage.” I sighed, and placed the top four cards in my Life Zone. Just my luck, one of them was Techon JetFalcon. I so hope that she doesn’t have a Finisher. “I don’t have a Finisher in this deck, mind you. They’re TERRIBLY boring, and I don’t attack that often anyway. It’s safer like this. Ha, I think you only have two turns left, Node.” I drew, but stopped for a second when I was about to play a card.

“…I could get hit for some more damage… This isn’t good. Okay, I’ll attack with all of my Units!” Koimi shrugged. “Four damage. That is all.” “I’ll end my turn.” Koimi looked surprised at my decision. “You won’t play anything? Hah, this will be even easier than I thought!” She drew, laughing. “I play Youkai Succubus. This card restricts all Units on the field from attacking. Hah, this will be too easy!” I gulped, as all of my Units stopped moving one by one. I was actually on the verge of giving up, this deck was so frustrating. Even more, however, I began to doubt myself for the first time ever. My love for the game itself wavered, due to my inability to do anything. I started to resent myself for even attempting to play.

“…” Koimi looked concerned when I didn’t respond in any way. “What’s wrong?” I sighed, bitterly gripping my table. “It’s no use. I give up.” I had just started winning, too. Was I already outmatched? My confidence hit the dirt, and that’s pretty much where it stayed. It would take a near tragedy for it to rise again, and guess what came next? Dana started losing too. One loss spiraled into another, and before we knew it, we were in some serious trouble. And then the wheels REALLY fell off.

Dana had just lost another game, and her Bout Points had hit 400. She began walking away, but I noticed that her normally steady shoulders were shaking. The string of losses were getting to her, quite easily. Unsure of what to do, I simply did what I thought would fix the situation. I placed my hand on her shoulder, saying that we’d be okay. My reward was...being punched in the face.

I hit the ground, landing on my back. Some metallic-tasting liquid was in my mouth, going nowhere fast. I spit, blood spattering the dirt. I reached up to feel my nose and mouth, and my hand came back somewhat sticky, blood tinting my fingertips. I sniffled, unable to cope with being hit. Okay, let me explain. I rarely did anything wrong, so I never experienced physical punishment. I was also largely ignored at school, so being bullied involved being taunted. I’ve been hit a total of three times over a 14-year span, including now. I looked at Dana, my expression questioning. Not getting an answer, I turned away, curling into a ball. Dana ran over to where I had backed away to unwittingly, oddly concerned.

“Oh, geez! Node, I’m so sorry!” She held out a hand, supposedly to help me up, but in the state I was in, I saw it as she was going to hit me again, so I cringed, turning away from her. I didn’t want to cry, so I instead asked a question. “W-why did you hit me? What did I do to you?” I shuddered, wiping another round of blood from my nose, which was pretty busted up. The absolute worst part during all of this was that I couldn’t figure out why. I still saw Dana as a friend, and as far as I knew, friends didn’t hit friends. I could have held it against her later, but in the end, I knew I wouldn’t. I’m not that type of person. Never was. So I waited until I heard Dana walk away, then I left myself. I spent that night under the balcony for the dorms. Though I would be exposed to the nightly storms, the alternative was MUCH worse.

Chapter 9: Weaknesses and helping a friend

Spoiler (Click to View)

I woke up, anticipating some type of reminder from the higher-ups that sleeping outside wasn't allowed, but none came. Yawning, I checked my Bout Points. "700... This isn't good." I stretch, and wander outside, ready to get a few points back. Before that, I stopped to watch a battle that seemed pretty one-sided. Dana had somehow run into one of the favorites to win the tournament. Ian Groun, easily the best technical player here, was totally wiping the floor with Dana's Hell cards. Her discard pile held about thirty cards, rendering her turn-based attack useless, seeing as she didn't have many cards to help her. Not anymore, anyway.

"Dana..." I found myself wandering over to cheer for my friend, though I didn't think I'd want to. I try to will my feet to move in another direction, but the most I can do is restrain myself from openly cheering. Dana, on the other hand, was throwing card after card down in hopes of some way out. One by one, they hit the discard pile.

"I activate-" Ian grinned. "DracoBeast Ryul negates it, and sends three cards from the top of your deck to the discard pile. That's it for my turn. Oh? You don't have many cards left, and things aren't looking good for you. Maybe you should not have accepted my challenge?" Dana's superior tone returned, though it was shaky and thin. "Whatever, kid. You won't get rid of me THIS easily. I'll simply activate my Hell Accelerator's ability. All of my cards now have 'Speed', meaning that you can't negate them like you've been doing. I also activate the Traps Hell Reset and Eight Steps to Hell. This is actually a bad thing for me, since the turn counter is negated next turn, but I get to place all of the cards in my Life Zone and Discard Pile into my deck and draw four cards," She drew her cards, then ended her turn. Ian was not amused.

"Is that all? Eh, I'll call Ultimus Drago to this little quarrel, seeing as I wouldn't want to really humiliate you. It can't attack for two turns, so we'll see what you can do." A large, black, snide-looking lizard stared hungrily at Dana's deck, chains restraining its jaws and arms. Dana stepped back a bit, but drew anyway. The whole time, I'm wondering why won't she just quit, when it finally dawns on me for real. She can't. Due to her high record, there's no way a loss wouldn't take more than 400 points. In other words... If she loses, she'll be sent home. And it looked like she didn't stand much of a chance. Unable to restrain myself any longer, I called out. "Dana!" Dana stopped, turning around. "Node? Why are you here?" I ignored her question. "Don't overdo it! You can still win!" Again, I'm really thinking about how I'm going to get her out of this mess.

"Sure! I'll draw, and call my own Finisher. Hell Volcanica, enter the fray!" She slapped down her trump card, and a giant beast with lava spewing out of various holes appeared. It looked like a chimera of some sort, but instead of a lion's head, it was a bear's, and it's tail was simply a spiked whip coated with hardened magma. Its Offense Power was displayed, which got a gasp from even Ian. Dana, however, didn't look happy. "I have nine turns to win, which should be easy due to Eight Steps to Hell. If manage to worm your way out of that one, I'll lose. So, how about we get the real game started, shall we? Volcanica, attack DracoBeast Ryul!" Ryul's 400 Offensive Power was nothing to Volcanica's 1825. It's an odd number, but it can help at times. Dana allowed herself a tiny smile when Ian placed a card into his Life Zone. "That's it for me. Seven left, Ian." Ian chuckled, then began laughing. The chains restraining Ultimus Drago dissolved, and the large beast roared.

"This is more like it! How about we speed this up a bit, shall we? Ultimus Drago, attack Hell Time Master!" The tiny, clock-like creature was no match for Ian's best card, and Dana was forced to drop a card into the Life Zone. "Your move, girl." "Hmph. Okay, so you want a waiting game, right? I can't let you do that." I'll call and use Hell Scattershot's ability, which allows me to discard three cards from my deck to deal one damage to you. Sounds unfair? Not anymore. I'll drop three more Scattershots, which skips one turn each when they hit my discard pile. It's been a total of five turns, and I'll end mine, which makes it six. You've got two left, Ian." "You've got three. Don't get too cocky. I activate Colosseum of the Ancients, which forces you to attack next turn. With all of your units. I'll end my turn. This will be the deciding match, Dana. Show me what you have!"

A strong breeze had picked up along the area, and fittingly, both contestants' hair was being blown all over the place. Dana drew a card, playing it face-down, alongside two other Traps. "I'll play Hell Trapmaster. This card allows me to trigger Traps the turn I play them. You wanted a fight, you got one, Ian! Hell Volcanica has an ability that allows it to consume one Unit so it gains an extra 300 Offensive Power. How about this one! I attack!" Ian chuckled, but Dana shot back with her own laugh. "That's not all, I'll negate my own attack, which-" Ian flipped over a card of his own. "Negation. Your card's effect is-" "You don't think I have my own? Negation! Looks like I won after all!" "Hm... No. I activate the Trap, Dragonic Pit, which sends all cards that do not have the Dragon sub-type to the discard pile. I win." Ian stepped back, waiting to be rewarded, while Dana sank to her knees.

"Damn. Damn it all! Why? I was just about to win, too!" Her Bout Points dropped to -600. Before I could say anything, something made me to get her table. I set it up, and connected it to mine. Going through the options, I saw a "Trade" button. I clicked it, and it brought up my Bout Points, which were still at 700. I looked back, and a helicopter was landing a small while away. No doubt it was to take Dana back home. "Tch." I worked faster, going through all of the confirmations, finalizing the action just as they arrived to escort Dana back to the copter. I stood. "Yo! You need to check your standings. I'm pretty sure that she's still in this, am I right?" The escort on the left laughed, checking his PDA. "This girl has negative... What? What happened? Gray, look at this!" His partner peeked at his data, then looked at his own. "Yeah, she's got 50 points, all right. Huh, the boy does too." He looked back at me. "You kept her in the game for now, but now you're both in trouble. Watch yourselves, or we'll be back." They climbed into their helicopter and flew off without another word. I let loose a sigh of relief.

"That was close. Well, it seems like you're not going anywhere for now, doesn't it?" Dana's eyes began to water. "Why? After what happened yesterday, why did you still help me?" I laughed, packing my half of the table. "No clue. Regardless, you are my friend, and friends don't ditch each other. Though you DO owe me for that punch. I'll send you the bill later." I wandered off, in search for a match to boost my standings a bit. "Well? Are you coming?" Dana nodded. "Yeah, let's go." I thought to myself, wondering what was going to happen in the future. "Whatever. If it happens, it happens. No point in worrying about tomorrow today, right?" Dana chuckled. "Who are you talking to?" "Myself. Is that an issue?" I spotted another participant, and I pulled out my deck. "Yo! How about we have a small match?" The other guy turned. "Sure, why not?" We started, and ten minutes later, I was rewarded. "Hmph, so I can win sometimes! This tournament isn't so bad." Time to go find someone else. Something told me the next one wouldn't be so easy. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Chapter 10: The beginning

Spoiler (Click to View)

"Nobody's outside." I wandered around the woods looking for a match, Dana not far behind.

"Well, maybe something is being announced. What day is it?" I looked at my table, which I partially unfolded.

"Tuesday. August 9th, why?"

"Oh. Oh! Oh no, we're late! We're late, come on, Node!"

"Late for WHAT!?" Dana doesn't answer. She grabbed my arm and takes off, running toward the main building. "Hey! Slow down!" Dana mumbled to herself, distraught over something.

"Dammit, we're late. We're late and it's my fault. My fault, my fault, my fault. Come on, Node! Run!"

"I'm trying, but I have no idea what's going on!"

"Check-In! Let's go, get the lead out!" I groaned and kept up. Minutes later, we screeched to a stop, Dana yelling at an attendant outside the building.

"We're here! Don't disqualify us!" The attendant looked peeved, but checked her watch and ushered us into the building. Everything looked different now, and there were only about 30 people left.

"Okay, Dana. Spill the beans. What the hell is going on?"

"Check in. It is where the administration checks to see how many people are left, and decides on a twist from there. I wonder what it'll be?"

"Why didn't I know this?" A familiar voice rang out from right behind me, making me jump.

"You were a late entry. So you didn't get all of the rules before you landed. That Dervin, always taking the quick way out." I swiveled around, and Koimi was there, waving and smiling as usual. "Hiya. Looks like I get to participate too! I just got the go-ahead from the higher-ups!" Dana seems surprised and very happy for her.

"Great for you! Now don't KO us until later, got it?" I chuckle a bit

"Speak for yourself. I want a rematch soon, got it? I won't lose this time!" While we were talking, the speakers boomed, and a loud voice echoed across the lobby, sending people scrambling.

"Welcome! I realize that there are 31 contestants left, so we have decided on a twist. Each player will register one Unit per Level, and Six of each other type of card. You are not permitted to have Finishers. Once your cards are selected, your Bout Points will be reset to 5000. This is all spending points. You gain more by winning, but this is enough to last four weeks. Losing is no longer an option. If you lose twice, no matter how many points you have, you shall be removed from the game. The attendants have your equipment ready, and are passing it around." I blinked, not really understanding. Koimi looked confused also.

"This has never happened before. The tournaments have never used this type of technology. It is dangerous to expose these children to such weaponry." I scratched my head, still confused.

"What weapons?"

"Have you ever wondered why the game is called Crisis: Breaking?"

Crisis: Shattered Future-Chapter One

Spoiler (Click to View)

That was all in the past. Two days later, here I am trying to understand what’s going on. I look at the weird gauntlet I was given by IE. Dana, however, has already understood the situation, and has given up on explaining it to me. I have no idea how Dana knows what’s going on. I think about the tournament announcement two days go.
Two Days Ago…

“Have you ever wondered why the game was called ‘Crisis: Breaking’?”

“No.” I shrug.

“Because of IE’s Breaker System, a developmental computer for a revolution in virtual gaming. The system was later scrapped because of mismanagement and an accident that led to six people becoming comatose and the death of Jason Wright, the Inaugural Crisis Champion.” Dana recited. “I’ve done my research.”

Dervin looked at her gravely. “Nobody is supposed to know about that.”

“Well, I do.” I looked confused, I guess. I had no idea that Dana knew all of this. “Because Jason’s last name wasn’t Wright. That was an alias. His actual last name is Tama. That system,” Dana paused when an attendant handed her a gauntlet before doing the same for Ko and I. “Killed my brother.”

“…You can’t be serious!” I demanded. “Why doesn’t the general public know?”

“Because IE would have to close.” Dervin replied. “I wasn’t employed all those years ago. I don’t know the whole story.”

“I’m sorry.” Koimi looked from Dervin to me. “But I’ll have to tell him.” She shook her head rapidly, trying to build the courage to continue. “Dervin picked you because you had the exact same record as Jason, and he used another failed archetype.”

“Axxons.” Dana growled. “DracoBeasts’ predecessor. They were such a weak deck in normal play, but using the Breaker System? They were unstoppable. They also had the only Level 6 card to ever be released by IE. And that corrupted the system and caused a shockwave that induced virtual trauma in every last contestant in the first tournament.”

“This isn’t the first Shattered Expanse tournament. We called this one to see if the improvements on the Breaker System were sufficient.” Dervin admitted. “I think I did a good enough job to prevent the Wright Factor. That’s why we have Wired Unit cards. They stabilize the system. Otherwise, the Wright Factor would be a common occurrence.” Dervin looked at Koimi, expecting her to add more.

“You two are…different. We think you might be able to control the Breaker System. This isn’t about Crisis anymore. This is about getting those kids out of stasis.” Ko looked at Dana and me, unsure about the new development.
“You were with them, weren’t you?” Dana asked.

“I helped plan it, yes.” Ko looked genuinely sorry. “But not the Breaker System. I had no idea about IE planning to use them. And I don’t agree with the decision. I’m a part of the Dev Committee, so you should have asked me!” Koimi glared at Dervin, whose jolly nature had failed him.

“I’m not sure…” I began.

“I’m in.” Dana interrupted. “I want to know what happened to my brother. And I want to help those still affected by the Wright Factor. And I want to find out what’s gone wrong.” Dana looked away. “I don’t want Node or anyone else to go through what I did. Not now, not ever.” I realized that despite Dana being my best friend now, I didn’t know anything about her at all.

“Dana?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if I could help, but I would definitely try. I shuddered and finally gave my answer. I slammed the gauntlet onto my hand and picked out six Units. “I’m in.” Maybe I wouldn’t be able to help. But I wasn’t going to abandon Dana when she needed my help the most.

“Well said, Node.” Dana agreed and slipped on her gauntlet. She set one Unit, Hell Timemaster, onto the PDA-like computer screen, putting her other cards into her pocket. The gauntlet flashed, and a figure appeared from a ball of smoke. Hell Timemaster twirled its stave and stood behind Dana. Despite my confusion, Dana was ready for war against IE and anyone else who wanted to keep her from finding the truth. I’d just have to stay out of her way.

Crisis-Shattered Future Chapter 2

Spoiler (Click to View)

The Present
“Dana!” Koimi calls Dana to her, scanning the yard in front of the main pavilion. I follow the two, still not entirely sure about what’s going on.

“On it!” Dana leaves into the building, and I follow. “What are you doing?” She hisses.

“Following you, of course. I’m not going to let you do this alone, you know.” I may not be the best backup for Dana, but if she wants information, I won’t simply turn away. Not today. The dorms are usually closed, and the attendants have left many of us out to fend for ourselves. Dammit.

“Well, then don’t screw this up.” Despite the severity of the situation, Dana smiles in my direction. “Let’s go.” Dana opens the door and flits up a flight of stairs. She scurries down the hall, and I follow.

“Do you think anyone here knows anything?”

“Doubt it. I still have to try, right?” She kicks open a door and looks around.

“True. Well, just know that I’ve got your back.” Dana smiles again, and I think she stares at me for a second. On the other hand, this is a serious situation. No time to be thinking about a relationship now. “Erm… Dana?”

“What is it?” Dana stops looking around and faces me. Her hair bounces behind her as she swivels, making her look as energetic as when we met back when she kept calling me ‘kid’. I choke, immediately switching my train of thought.

“What are we looking for?” I ask. “Or who, rather.”

“Anything with information on the Wright Factor or the Breaker System.” Dana frowns. “It was hard enough to learn what I know already. I’ll have to find someone who knows what’s going on.” She checks her PDA screen on her gauntlet. “There’s 24 contestants left anyway. The fact that six people are gone in two days means the fighting is mainly based on getting rid of the weak players who hid the whole time.” I’ve never thought that Dana had such great analytical abilities.

“That’s not good. With contestants being hunted, all of the players will be in the same place at once.” I know what IE was thinking, allowing matches to be free-for-alls.

“Giant brawls all over the place. But…why?” Dana paces back and forth. “There’s nothing here. Let’s move on.”

“Ian. He’ll probably know what’s going on here.” The Ian I refer to was the one who defeated Dana before, when we split my Bout Points to keep her in the tournament. I don’t know why I think so, but he grunted and left as soon as he got his gauntlet.

“Maybe, maybe not. First, we’ve got to see what’s keeping people from dropping out. I mean, sometimes these conditions are miserable.” As if to accentuate her point, I hear thunder in the distance. “And what happens to the last two.”

“Why?” I’m confused.

“I don’t know. I just want to know what will happen. And…” Dana trails off. Something pops into my head.

“Will I ever see you again after the tournament?” I ask. I’m hopeful for an affirmative answer, but I know what she will say. I should not have asked.

“I doubt it.” Dana looks away. She turns to look at me for a while. “Do you ever get homesick?”

“Occasionally. I’ll wake up and not know where I am for a while, or expect to see someone I know besides you. It never happens. I wonder what my family is doing every day. But I’m here right now. So I can’t dwell on it. Dammit, I hate that.” I look at the ground. “No more of that. I’m here. I’m here until one of us wins.”

“One of us?” Geez, I can’t believe that she still hasn’t noticed! Or she has, and isn’t mentioning it.

“Dana, you’re my friend. I don’t think I’d mind if you won. Why do you think I asked about seeing you again? Why I was so flustered when Ko implied that I thought you were beautiful?”

“Node, don’t. I’ve got to worry about this now. Let me at least say this. If I were to pay more attention to how I felt right now, I wouldn’t be able to focus at all. I’d be too giddy. I’m sorry, but I can’t think about things like that right now.” Dana sighs. She begins to walk away, but seems to change her mind. She walks back to me and stops.

“Dana?” I’m confused. Not exactly disappointed. I expected the response I got. As a result, I’m quite thoroughly taken aback when she comes back and kisses me on the cheek.

“Thanks for sticking by my side so far, Node. I know it wasn’t easy. That’s a fact. But I think it’ll be okay. One of us will win, and we’ll find a way to meet each other again.” Dana trots off, her hair swinging behind her. Dana’s the most focused person I know when she wants to be. She’s arrogant, rude, snide, and overly emotional. On the other hand, she’s definitely loyal to a fault and admits her failures after a bit of prodding. Not to mention smart and logical. But I’m only realizing just how little I know about Dana as a person.

“One day…” I mumble to nobody. I chase after Dana, unsure about tomorrow, or the day after. All I know is that even though I want to win, I don’t want this tournament to end. Not now. And not until Dana knows whatever she needs to know. What about me? Well, I’m okay with being along for the ride.

Very nice!

I will PM you with something I would like to ask based on the story.

Re-read it and noticed a mistake on end paragraph first line. Was it meant to be "Crushing me Pathetically" rather than "Crushing my Pathetically".
3rd paragraph 3rd line, you wrote ad, did you mean and?

Sorry about all the coreections, I just think that maybe you would like to know and correct them.

Another note- I will be deleting all the lines of my combined posts as it may get annoying.

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My YouTube

I got one of the corrections, but could you point out the second mistake by the sentence?

Hmmm....I could of sworn I saw a mistake on my iPod, maybe not, sorry about that.

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My YouTube

And along came a Megablader...

Really, if there was a throne for the best WBO writer, I think its yours...but still, a suggestion, your highness:

1. You should indent your lines when you have dialogue. Instead of:

"I love you" "I hate you, too!" It should be:

"I love you!"
"I hate you, too!"

Just makes your writing look neater, if anything.

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"Life isn't about how hard you can hit;
it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward"
{[YT]} [|BEYBLOG|] (â—ŠSoG-My Bookâ—Š)/<DA>\

Hah, I write recollection-style, as if someone actually were saying it. Creating new paragraphs would mean I'd have to use "I/He/She/They said etc...", which is kinda annoying. I'll try to do so during shorter conversations, but I'm not so great at that, it makes books seem like a story, not a recollection that the main character is describing and retelling.

I still defer to Night, even if he doesn't get on anymore. Honestly, a lot of my writing is modeled after his story-telling genius.

Okay, Chapter 2 is done, but it's kinda short.

3rd paragraph, 3rd sentance; "In the end, he played the first AD last card..."

I found it! Anyway I shall start reading chapter two.

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3rd para 5th sent; "I sprang to my feet, the CROWN was going insane".

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My YouTube

Well, i read both chapters, and i find this thread funny because just the day before you posted this, i was telling Ultimate about MY TCG idea, and was wondering if i should post the story here. The TCG itself is VASTLY different from this, but now i think people would say "Oh suuure, he saw Megablader9 post a TCG story, so now he wants some of that himself" xD

Well anyways, here's what i have to say about both the story and TCG:
First off, the dialogue is too cluttered with the rest of the story. Like Sparta says, it's best if every dialogue starts on a new line. So instead of

The shining knight on the Infused Techon Obliterator card hoisted a shield and a large laser cannon. “I-impossible! Techon Knight is only Level 2, how can you level him up to 4 that fast?!” “All Techons get to skip one Level while being Promoted to the next Level! I also use the ability, Reverse!

do it like this:

The shining knight on the Infused Techon Obliterator card hoisted a shield and a large laser cannon.
“I-impossible! Techon Knight is only Level 2, how can you level him up to 4 that fast?!”
“All Techons get to skip one Level while being Promoted to the next Level! I also use the ability, Reverse!

See what i mean?! And you say you're writing "book style"?! Not true! In fact i have The Fellowship of the Ring in my hands right now and every dialogue starts on a new line. So make sure you do that from now on. And using "He/She/w/e said" for every new paragraph - not true. Good writers can find 101 ways to describe the way a person speaks. In fact it's ENCOURAGED that you describe it.
-He shouted in anger!
-He cried out, shriveling in deep pain!
-He whistled joyfully, as if he had won the lottery.
-Voraciously, he asked.
-With no doubts whatsoever, he agreed.

See what i mean?! Bottom line, AVOID using JUST "He/She said".

Second - personalities. You HAVE done a good job with having characters with diverse personas, but i think you can do even better! Work hard, think about their motives, backgrounds, habits, likes/dislikes, etc. remember, You need good characters in order to have a good story.

And third and last(as far as the story itself goes) - describe. Describe the UNITS, the CHARACTERS, the ATMOSPHERE, the surrounding environment. Make sure the reader feels as if he is right there, in the middle of the action.

And now for the TCG idea. In as few words as possible, i don't like it. It's not bad, though. In fact, it's well thought off, complex and you seem to have worked hard on it. And for that, thumbs up! So why don't i like it?! Feels too much like other TCGs i've played. But then again, i dont think there is any one TCG that i haven't at least heard of! So my advice, if you want to launch this for real - do some research. But since it's just a story so far, no need to get worked up Carry on as you have done so far, while remembering the advice I and other members have given you

SO yah, that's bout it for me. I dunno if it's harsh or not, but i don't have a habit of sugar coating my opinion. I call it as i see it. And i hope you're not mad at me or anything

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and

http://worldbeyblade.org/Thread-MAGIA-The-Spellcaster-s-TCG <<---Please check out my TCG - MAGIA

I've seen a lot of books avoid that format. (The Kite Runner does it often, just not always.) Besides, would you pause after EVERY sentence spoken if you were actually recalling this yourself? As I've said often, that's the ideal I'm going for. Actually, the cards themselves aren't described for a reason, which you'll see in Chapter 3. I plan on building up on both character background, archetype background, and card background in the next few chapter, after this Bout is done. (Huh? How is this idea "similar" to other TCGs? The closest thing I can see is Calling Units, and playing Distortion and Traps. The Gameplay is different, but it does indeed draw SOME inspiration from YGO in the sense of life. I plan on changing it soon, but the idea now is simply a prototype of the game, causing another road bump later on, as the main character tries to adapt to a new system. (Gah, I didn't want to spoil that, but it's the only way to answer your questions.) Geez, I like the feedback, keep it comin'! No sugarcoating! I won't do it for you, so don't do it for me. Just make sure you know that this is supposed to be more like a DIRECT recollection than a story being written.

I do understand what you're saying, so I edited the last post so I can better get across what I meant.

Chapter two was very good, and I was happy to see that your story is realistic (I.E. The main character can lose).

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"Life isn't about how hard you can hit;
it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward"
{[YT]} [|BEYBLOG|] (â—ŠSoG-My Bookâ—Š)/<DA>\

Hah, yeah, did you see his PATHETIC record? He will NOT be anything like Yugi, and may even lose an important game or two.

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Chapter Three is done, and I think you'll find this one better than Chapter 1 for a pretty good reason... (Let's just say, you won't be used to it if you watch a lot of YGO.)

Chapter 4 is done, and I took some of you guys' advice, as far as it pertained to the story. This chapter was a lead-up into fully explaining the new rules in Chapter 5, and explains a bit of what's going on.

Done with Chapter 5, hope you like it. I explain some of the "new" rules to the game, and introduce a Archetype along with them.

Done with Chapter 6. This one's kinda slow for a reason, so... Regardless, comments? Suggestions? (And yes, I gave an antagonist a surname that's a play on Cheatin'. And then named him Sleaze.) Okay, here's a quick rundown on the specific Archetypes revealed.

Techon: A Support-only Archetype that are garbage alone, but can really stack up. They tend to look like machines, bot some simply have a lot of armor. They have low power, but abilities allow them to beef themselves up, and Techon JetFalcon can take on Finishers. The new rule change did nothing, as you still have to have the stronger Unit to deal any damage. Hard to use, but a fun deck.
Strengths: Have the Intercept Ability sometimes, Powerful Distortion cards, easy to Call
Weaknesses: Can't really beat Finishers, Low OP, bad at holding a hand advantage
Used by: Node Itoa


Hell: Based on skipping turns to avoid major hits, big effects, and sometimes, to win the game! Was garbage before the rule change, as even Dana's stellar record can't bring the overall record of the deck to .500.
Strengths: Very fast-paced, Slaughters search-based decks, many cards with the same effect with slight variations on name and exact ability and usefulness, nice OP advantage, hand advantage rarely an issue; most people must use a lot of Distortion cards to avoid losing immediately.
Weaknesses: Not very adaptive, skipping turns can lead to problems, easily shut down by other Hell decks, bad issues with avoiding damage, allows a lot of ways to lose, eats up cards
Used by: Dana Tama


Copycat: A deck built for the heavy searcher. All cards are based on forcing an opponent ot "follow suit", such as making them draw extra cards and lose, play bad cards, or even surrender. They can also copy abilities and Offensive Power
Strengths: Very adaptive, impossible to fully shut down, annoying from beginning to end, perfect deck for sneaky people who'd rather not win directly
Weaknesses: MUST search for best cards; they tend to be limited, no Intercept cards, bad with Distortion cards, not much negation or field control available
Used by: Sleaze Cheaten


Well, that's a quick rundown of all of the decks used as of now. I was just a bit bored, so I decided that maybe a quick explanation will help you guys piece together what's going on during matches better.

Chapter 7 is done! Please comment, I need some type of feedback so I can improve.

I found a few mistakes and edited them out. The story should be better now.

Fixed other mistakes, and finished chapter 8.

I didn't really like the last few paragraphs of Chapter 8, so I re-wrote them and fixed some of the spelling issues. If you spot anymore, tell me!

It's a really good story cant wait till the next chapter comes out. What is the Youkai decks main point?

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From the Comics page: kai-v is a total hotty!

Kai-V wrote:
Facebolts, hah ? Also, I do not seduce anybody ... Unless it is involuntary, natural.

Kai-V Wrote: I am a genius with powers from out of this world.

I'm working on chapter nine, and will fully explain Youkais and another Chapter 9-specific Archetype afterwards. For now, the main point is to force opponents to wait until they take damage, while they can do nothing about it.

ok if this was a real card game I would buy it.

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From the Comics page: kai-v is a total hotty!

Kai-V wrote:
Facebolts, hah ? Also, I do not seduce anybody ... Unless it is involuntary, natural.

Kai-V Wrote: I am a genius with powers from out of this world.

Is "Youkai" pronounced the same way as "Yōkai"?

Also, a good story once again. A few typos here and there, but nothing major. I also noticed Node's last name, "Iota", is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. I have a slight hunch that it'll be somewhat important later on? However, I'm going to refrain from the poll, since you already know my opinion.

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Otaku Space | Signature by Medz | YouTube

I am a genius with powers from out of this world.

Yes, it is pronounced the same. Occasionally, character's names are a pun on their decks, such as "Node" normally being associated with machines and the sort, and "Yōkai" being associated with fantasy creatures and such. (Succubi, Vampires, other such creatures) "Itoa", Node's last name, is indeed a spin on the Greek letter "Iota". Nice find, Odin. Blah, workin' on typos, seeing as Microsoft Word is an idiot. I am, however, working on Crisis: Breaking as a TCG in real life, though it probably won't be spread outside of the TCG Club at my school. And thanks for the feedback, people. Chapter 9 is coming relatively soon!

how would you be able to play Crisis at your school?

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From the Comics page: kai-v is a total hotty!

Kai-V wrote:
Facebolts, hah ? Also, I do not seduce anybody ... Unless it is involuntary, natural.

Kai-V Wrote: I am a genius with powers from out of this world.