Hello all! This is a simple idea I've had in the back of my mind for a few months now (and viewing several other Stardust Accelerator fanfictions on this very site). So, I thought I could give this a shot. I'll probably fail, but we'll see!

In any case, I've decided to make a custom deck for my character (I mean, who doesn't like the idea of custom cards? Anyone? Anyone?). This deck is based off of cards from the "Living Card Game" (LCG) called "Android: Netrunner", published by Fantasy Flight Games in 2012. This game has become IMMENSELY popular since then, and Fantasy Flight have added a lot to the theme of this game.

Each card in this deck is based of an actual "Android: Netrunner" card used by one of the two asymmetric sides in game: I have tried my best to balance out each card for the Duel Monsters format. The deck's main theme is based around manipulating the Battle Damage normally caused in combat in order to activate powerful effects, with a minor theme in Special Summoning during the Battle Phase for more attacks (and more effects!).

Now before any of you go crazy about overpowered cards or ruling errors, let me drop a rules clarification on you. According to "Yu-Gi-Oh!" wikia, Monsters can still be destroyed by Battle even if Battle Damage is prevented. The vice-versa also works: Battle Damage can still be dealt even if monsters aren't destroyed. If you doubt me, look it up (I had to several times myself)!

So! Here are the monsters, spells, traps and Speed spells of my deck! "Not necessarily in that order..." If you have any questions, clarifications or comments about my deck or how to make it better/improved, please let me know!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the card game Yu-Gi-Oh!, the company Konami or the Living card game Android: Netrunner and the company Fantasy Flight Games. I DO own my custom cards (but not their names and design templates) and my OC.

Onward to the Ideas!

MONSTERS-
1: Snitch
Attribute: DARK
Level: 2
Type: Program/Tuner/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1000/800
Effect: If this card is Special Summoned: Until the End Phase: This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and select 1 monster your opponent controls. Take control of the selected monster until the End Phase.

2: Bug
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 3
Type: Program/Tuner/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1300/1000
Effect: If you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this turn: You can Special Summon this card from your hand during the Battle Phase. If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage, reveal your opponent's hand and select 1 card from it; discard the selected card to the Graveyard.

3: Grifter
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 3
Type: Avatar/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1600/800
Effect: If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Gain Life Points equal to the Damage dealt. If this card is destroyed by Battle and sent to the Graveyard: Lose Life Points equal to the original ATK of the opposing monster.

4: Expert Schedule Analyzer
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 4
Type: Program/Tuner/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1600/1000
Effect: If you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this turn: You can Special Summon this card from your hand. If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and reveal Spell or Trap Cards your opponent controls up to the number of other Program or Avatar-Type monsters you control. Any card revealed by this effect is Set at the end of the Battle Phase.

5: Cyber-Cypher
Attribute: WIND
Level: 4
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2000/1200
Effect: When this monster is Summoned: select 1 face-up monster your opponent controls. If you cannot do this: Reduce this card's ATK to half its original ATK. If you successfully select a monster: Reduce that monster's original ATK by half until the selected monster leaves the field or this card is destroyed. This card cannot attack while the selected monster remains on the field. The selected monster cannot attack this card as long as you control another monster. All Battle Damage this card inflicts to your opponent is halved.

6: Pipeline
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 4
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1700/1800
Effect: If you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this turn: You can discard this card from your hand: Increase or decrease the LVL of one monster on your field or in your hand by 1. If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and select one other monster you control. Until the End Phase: The selected monster can attack your opponent's Life Points directly.

7: Rielle "Kit" Peddler
Attribute: DARK
Level: 4
Type: Machine/Cyborg/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1800/1500
Effect: If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and choose 1 of the following Effects:
-Select 1 LVL 4 or lower Machine, Cyborg, Avatar or Human-Type monster in your hand: Special Summon that monster, OR
-Gain Life Points equal to the lowest ATK value among face-up monsters you control.

8: Keyhole
Attribute: WATER
Level: 4
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 0/2100
Effect: All Battle Damage involving this Defense Position card is reduced to 0. This card cannot attack. Once per turn, during your Main Phase 1: You can activate one of the following effects:
-Until the end of this turn's Battle Phase: One face-up monster on your field with the lowest ATK value (other than this card) can attack your opponent's Life Points directly, OR
-Prevent all Battle Damage that would be dealt this turn by monsters you control (This effect overrides all other instances of Battle Damage prevention that would activate this turn). For each instance Battle Damage that is prevented in this way: Reduce the ATK of each monster your opponent controls by 400 until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn.

9: Gordian Blade
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 4
Type: Program/Union/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2000/1000
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase: You can either equip this card to a Program, Avatar, Human or Machine-Type monster you control as an Equip Spell Card OR Special Summon this card to your side of the field. The equipped monster has its original ATK doubled during the Battle Phase only. If the equipped monster or this card inflicts Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and double the original ATK of one other face-up monster you control until the end of the Battle Phase (This effect combines with any other effects that would activate when Battle Damaged would be prevented: This card does not negate them). If you use this effect: only the targeted monster can inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this Battle Phase. A monster can only have one Union monster equipped at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed: Destroy this card instead.

10: Gabriel Santiago
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 5
Type: Machine/Cyborg/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2200/2100
Effect: If this card would inflict the first amount of Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points during either player's Battle Phase: Gain Life Points equal to twice the Damage dealt this way. If this card would otherwise inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Gain Life Points equal to half the Damage dealt this way.

11: Ken "Express" Tenma
Attribute: WIND
Level: 5
Type: Machine/Clone/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2400/1800
Effect: If this card is on your field at the beginning of your turn: This card must attack first during each of your Battle Phases. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Reduce the LVL of one monster in your hand by 1 until the End Phase. You can Normal Summon or Set one additional time this turn if you successfully use this card's effect. This effect can only be used once per turn.

12: Laramy Fisk
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 5
Type: Human/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2100/2000
Effect: Until the End Phase of a turn you deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Reduce the LVL of this card by 1. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and force your opponent to discard 1 card from their hand for each Program or Avatar-Type monster you control, and then draw the same number of cards from their Deck.

13: Shillouette
Attribute: DARK
Level: 5
Type: Human/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2300/2000
Effect: Until the End Phase of a turn you deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Reduce the LVL of this card by 1. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and return a number of cards your opponent controls to their hand up to the number of Program and Avatar-Type monsters you control.

14: Ghost Runner
Attribute: DARK
Level: 5
Type: Avatar/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2100/1700
Effect: If you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this turn: Reduce the LVL of this card by 1 until the End Phase. During the Damage Step of a battle involving this card: Pay intervals of 100 Life Points, to a maximum of 1000: Increase this card's ATK by the spent amount until the end of the Damage Step.

15: Snowball
Attribute: WATER
Level: 5
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2200/1500
Effect: Once per turn; If you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points this turn: You can reveal this card from your hand: Gain Life Points equal to the Damage dealt. If this card would deal Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and select 1 other monster you control: Increase the selected monster's ATK by 400 per LVL it has until the End Phase.

16: Battering Ram
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 6
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2400/1800
Effect: If you Tribute Summoned this card during a turn which you inflicted Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Destroy 1 card your opponent controls. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and destroy 1 card your opponent controls.

17: Sneakdoor Beta
Attribute: DARK
Level: 6
Type: Program/Effect
ATK/DEF: 1900/2100
Effect: This card can attack your opponent's Life Points directly; Any Battle Damage this card inflicts this way is halved. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points in a battle with an opponent's monster: You can prevent the Damage and select 1 monster your opponent controls: The selected monster cannot attack until the start of your next turn.

18: John Massanori
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 6
Type: Human/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2500/2200
Effect: During the turn you inflicted Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can discard this card from your hand: Special Summon 1 Human or Machine-Type monster from your hand. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and lose 800 Life Points: If you do: up to two target Spell or Trap card your opponent controls cannot be activated until the end of the Battle Phase.

SYNCHRO MONSTERS-
1: Eden Shard
Attribute: LIGHT
Level: 8
Type: Avatar/Program/Synchro/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2500/3000
Effect: 1 Program-type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
If this card is Synchro Summoned during a turn you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Gain Life Points equal to the highest amount of Battle Damage dealt. If this card attacks a Defense Position Monster with less DEF than this card's ATK: Inflict Piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and gain Life Points equal to the Damage prevented this way.

2: Hades Shard
Attribute: DARK
Level: 8
Type: Avatar/Program/Synchro/Effect
ATK/DEF: 3000/2500
Effect: 1 Program-type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
If this card is Synchro Summoned during a turn you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Inflict Damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the highest amount of Battle Damage dealt. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster with less DEF than this card's ATK: Inflict Piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. Double all Battle Damage this card deals.

3: Utopia Shard
Attribute: EARTH
Level: 8
Type: Avatar/Program/Synchro/Effect
ATK/DEF: 2800/2800
Effect: 1 Program-type Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
If this card is Synchro Summoned during a turn you dealt Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: Reduce the ATK and DEF of all monsters your opponent controls by the highest amount of Battle Damage until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn. If this card attacks a Defense Position monster with less DEF than this card's ATK: Inflict Piercing Battle Damage to your opponent. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the Damage and increase the ATK of all other face-up monsters you control by an amount equal to the Damage prevented this way.

4: 'Tera-Wing Netrunner Dragon' (SUBMITTED BY READER AS PART OF CONTEST)

Submitter: Doccy Larsson Seraphim
LVL: 8
Attribute: LIGHT
Type: Synchro/Dragon /Effect
ATK/DEF: 2500/2000
Effect: '1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters.
Once per turn; if you would pay or lose Life Points by a card effect, gain Life Points equal to that amount, and if you do, this card gains ATK equal to that amount until the End Phase. If this card would attack a Defense Position monster with lower DEF than this card's ATK; inflict the difference as Piercing Battle Damage. If this card would inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points, you can halve the Damage, and if you do; gain Life Points equal to the Damage dealt.'
Appearance: Mixture of Eastern and Western dragons of mythology with futuristic design. Serpentine white body with black stripes, cyberpunk theme with small green wings of shifting digital plates. Medium-size, bulky head, proportionate to rest of body; single eye on head that glows red. High-pitched, mechanical roar.
Chant: 'Deeta ha me ni mie nai nettowaku no geeto wo toote nagare masu. Soshite ima, karerea ha subete issho ni kono saibanetikku juu no katachiwo keisei suru maaji! Shinkuro Shokan! Jibun jishin wo akiraka, Tera Tsubasaichisan Doragon!'
(Data flows through the gate of the invisible network. And now, they all merge together to form the shape of this cybernetic beast! Synchro Summon! Reveal yourself, Tera-Wing Netrunner Dragon!)
NOTE: This card connects to the typical Synchro Dragon idea and setup, depending on gender and is its own archetype, as is typical in 'Signer' Dragons.

SPELLS
1: Stimhack
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate only during your Main Phase 1. Increase the ATK of all face-up monsters you control by 1000 until the end of the Battle Phase. At the beginning of the End Phase: Lose 1000 Life Points. This loss of Life Points cannot be prevented or reduced in any way.

2: Emergency Shutdown
Type: Quick-Play
Effect: Change the Battle Position of target face-up monster your opponent controls. That monster's Battle Position cannot be changed until the end of the Battle Phase.

3: Blackmail
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate only during your Main Phase 2. Until the End Phase of your opponent's next turn: they must pay Life Points equal to the highest amount of Battle Damage dealt this turn as an additional cost to Summon, Set or activate the effects of each card they play. If this loss of Life Points would reduce your opponent's Life Points to 0: Ignore the cost for that action and the remainder of the current turn.

4: Demolition Run
Type: Normal
Effect: Until the End Phase of the turn this card is activated: Each time you inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the damage and select 1 card on your opponent's field: Destroy the selected card. This effect combines with other card effects that would activate when Battle Damage would be prevented: This card does not negate them.

5: The Maker's Eye
Type: Normal
Effect: Until the End Phase of the turn this card is activated: Each time you inflict Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points: You can prevent the damage and draw 1 card. This effect combines with other card effects that would activate when Battle Damage would be prevented: This card does not negate them.

6: Retrieval Run
Type: Quick-Play
Effect: Activate when Battle Damage would be dealt to your opponent's Life Points. Prevent the damage and add 1 Human, Machine, Avatar or Program from your Graveyard to your hand. This effect combines with other card effects that would activate when Battle Damage would be prevented: This card does not negate them.

7: Desperado
Type: Continuous
Effect: When this card is activated: Destroy all other Continuous Spell Cards you control. Each time you prevent Battle Damage that would be dealt to your opponent's Life Points: Increase the ATK of all face-up monsters you control by 500 until the start of your next turn.

8: Doppelgänger
Type: Continuous
Effect: When this card is activated: Destroy all other Continuous Spell Cards you control. At the end of the Damage Step in which a non-token monster you control was destroyed by Battle and you were dealt Battle Damage: You can pay 400 Life Points X the destroyed monster's LVL: Special Summon a "Doppler" Token to your side of the field (DARK/LVL 1/ATK: ?/DEF: ?) where the ATK and DEF are equal to the ATK and DEF of the destroyed monster.

9: Spinal Modem
Type: Continuous
Effect: When this card is activated: Destroy all other Continuous Spell Cards you control. Whenever a monster you control would be targeted by a card effect: Negate and destroy the card. Each time you use this card's effect: Lose 500 Life Points after resolution. This loss of Life Points cannot be prevented or reduced in any way.

10: Early Bird
Type: Normal
Effect: Play only during your Main Phase 1. If you play this card: You cannot activate the effects of other Spell Cards until the end of the Battle Phase. Treat the first attack of this turn's Battle Phase as a direct attack. The monster that attacks this way can attack twice during the same Battle Phase.

11: Notoriety
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate during the End Phase of a turn in which you inflicted 2000 or more total points of Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. Choose one of the following effects:
-Inflict Damage to your opponent's Life Points equal to the highest single amount of Battle Damage dealt this turn,
-Special Summon a monster from your Graveyard with original ATK and DEF equal to twice its original ATK and DEF, OR
-Force your opponent to discard all cards in their hand.

SPEED SPELLS-
1: Angel Baton X 2 (Normal: Activate if you have 2 or more Speed Counters. Draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card.)

2: Summon Speeder (Normal: Activate if you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Special Summon one LVL 4 or lower monster from your hand. That monster cannot attack this turn.

3: Overboost (Normal: Gain 6 Speed Counters. During your End Phase: Reduce your Speed Counter total to 1)

4: Wheelie Breaker (Normal: Remove 6 Speed Counters: Destroy all face-up monsters your opponent controls)

5: Dash Pilfer (Normal: Activate when you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Take control of one face-up Defense Position monster your opponent controls until the End Phase)

6: Cold Wave (Normal: Remove 2 Speed Counters to activate this card. Until your next turn: You and your opponent cannot Set or activate Spell or Trap Cards)

7: Double Summon X 2 (Normal: Activate when you have 2 or more Speed Counters. You can Normal Summon or Set one additional time this turn. You can only gain this effect once per turn)

8: Speed Force (Normal: Activate when you have 4 or more Speed Counters. Until the Standby Phase of your next turn: cards you control cannot be destroyed by effects of your opponent's Spell and Trap Cards)

TRAPS
1: Feint
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate when one of your face-up monsters would be attacked. Switch the ATK and DEF values of the attacking monster until the end of the Damage Step.

2: Bribery
Type: Counter
Effect: Activate only when your opponent activates, plays, Sets or Summons the first card of their turn. Negate the activation, play, Set or Summon and destroy the targeted card unless your opponent pays half of their Life Points.

3: Three Steps Ahead
Type: Counter
Effect: Activate if a card effect would prevent an attack from target monster you control. Pay 400 Life Points times the LVL of the targeted monster: Negate the activation of the card and destroy it. If this card's effect resolves successfully: Your opponent loses Life Points equal to half the paid amount.

4: Leverage
Type: Continuous
Effect: You can activate this card's effect during the End Phase of a turn you inflicted Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. At the beginning of your opponent's next Battle Phase: They must pay Life Points equal to the highest amount of Battle Damage dealt last turn. If they cannot: Reduce the ATK of all monsters your opponent attacks with by the same amount during the Damage Step of each battle this turn.

5: Quest Completed
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate at the End Phase of a turn you inflicted 2000 or more total points of Battle Damage to your opponent's Life Points. Choose one of the following effects:
-Skip your opponent's next Battle Phase,
-Gain Life Points equal to half the total Battle Damage dealt this turn, OR
-Search your Deck for cards until you would hold 6 cards in hand. Add the selected cards to your hand. Shuffle your Deck afterwards.

6: Inside Job
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate when you would be dealt Battle Damage from a Direct Attack. Reduce the Damage to 0. The next Direct Attack you make deals half Battle Damage.

7: Planned Assault
Type: Normal
Effect: When you activate this card: select 1 monster in your hand. Pay 400 Life Points X the selected monster's LVL: Add the selected monster's ATK value to one other target face-up monster you control until the end of the Battle Phase.

8: Vamp
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate when you would gain Life Points: Reduce the gain to 0 and pay increments of 400 Life Points: Select a card on your opponent's field for each increment paid. Return all selected cards to their owner's hands.

9: Cyber Threat
Type: Counter
Effect: Activate when your opponent Summons a monster. Your opponent must pay 400 Life Points X the Summoned monster's LVL. If they cannot: Negate the Summoning and destroy the monster. If your opponent pays the required amount: You lose Life Points equal to half the paid amount.

10: Running Interference
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate at the beginning of the Damage Step when you would be dealt Battle Damage. Your opponent must pay Life Points equal to twice the Battle Damage that would be dealt. If they cannot: Prevent the Battle Damage you would be dealt. At the end of the Damage Step: If your opponent paid the amount: Lose Life Points equal to half the Battle Damage dealt.

11: Singularity
Type: Normal
Effect: Activate when you would take at least 2000 points of Battle Damage from a Direct Attack. Reduce the Damage to 0: Destroy X cards on your opponent's field, where X is every increment of 500 Life Points you would have lost from the attack. At the end of the Damage Step: Set your field and hand aside into a face-down pile and shuffle that pile. Your opponent randomly selects 3 cards from that pile: Banish all selected cards. After all selected cards have been banished this way; return all cards to their previous positions.

(Rubs frontal paws together in satisfaction) OK, that's a deck of 40 cards plus some Synchro monsters. Once again if you have ANY ideas about improving this deck for the story format I want to write on, please let me know! Oh, and here's a guest for you all to see my work!

I, Jack Atlas, 'Master of Faster' needs no introduction! My fans already know of my Dueling prowess!

Anyway, now for the actual chapter! Onward!

The first thing I feel is someone shaking me, small hands digging into my back. A high-pitched voice reaches my ears, but my current headache blocks out the meaning of whatever is being said. My eyes slowly open as I breathe in deeply, only to hack out the polluted air now in my lungs as it leaves a rancid taste on my tongue. Then again, that taste could be from the concrete I'm lying face down on. I groan as I see an old brick wall extending on one side of what appears to be an alleyway. I see the other wall out of the corner of my vision; It looks pretty much the same as the first.

The lack of lighting does not help out this initial view, forcing me to wonder where the heck I actually am. Broken graffiti on the walls and open trash cans swarming with flies gives me some clues. The outside areas are shrouded in shadows of other buildings or smog, evidence that pollution ran high here. What sunlight managed to pierce the smog left golden rays visible through the dust but offered no warmth; I rationalized that I had probably just woken up in a dusty area of...wherever this place was.

"Hey," the same voice comes in with better clarity. "Come on! Pull yourself together!"

I hiss out as I rise from my former prone position to all fours, my hands and knees pressed into the concrete below me. My throat suddenly feels parched as I wonder how long I had been here. Was it long enough to breathe in all this dust and cause irreversible lung damage? A pair of bright red and white shoes stands to my left, filled by a pair of pale legs with gray jeans. I look up to find the wearer of said shoes, my vision coming fully into focus to see a young boy with curly red hair, a red shirt underneath a blue overcoat and, strangely, a yellow beanie. The boy's gray eyes stare at mine with worry that soon turns to joy when he sees my cleared expression.

"Whew," he exclaims. "I thought you were a goner there!" I look at him strangely, taking in his happy face with the question as to how long I had been unconscious. On that note, I still hadn't answered my own question of where I was.

"So," the boy continues, "Can you tell me how you wound up face-down in an alleyway? I just found you like this and feared you were… Well…" My response is delayed as I filter this question through my mind. I frown as no response immediately comes to mind. Come to think of it, how HAD I gotten here? I didn't know where I was, how I got here…was I kidnapped here or something?

"Oh…" the boy mutters as he notices my silence, "You're not going to say? Well…" The boy looks at the ground with sadness as I stand upright. It's only then I notice my height compared to his; I seem at least a foot and a half taller than him. How old is this boy, anyway?

"Um…" the boy goes on while looking at either side of the alleyway, "This is Satellite. I think it used to be called Domino City, but that was a long time ago. Nowadays there's New Domino City, but that's where all the rich people live. All we have here are the workers. But hey, it's a job, right?" The boy laughs awkwardly at this statement, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I wonder who else would live here. Considering the dust and run-down condition of the neighboring buildings, the possibility of gangs and/or thugs was high.

"So," the boy asks while turning back to face me and looking up, "What's your name?"

I try to get an answer out of my dry throat, only to not have my brain come up with anything to say. I frown at myself and try again only to fail again in the same way. It's then that I realize that I am forgetting an important aspect of my existence.

"I…" I say out loud, my voice a deep baritone, "I can't remember!" As soon as I say that, my eyes widen in surprise and fear, the irony of all this hitting me in the gut and giving me chills of terror.

"What?!" the boy shouts out, "Are you crazy?! How can you not remember your own name?! It's your name, you know!"

"I know that!" I shout back just as loud, "If I knew it, then I would have said it already!" The boy backs up in fear as I realize I probably look pretty intimidating right now.

"Sorry," I say quietly while rubbing my hair with my hands, "Didn't mean to shout there. I'm just as surprised as you are about this. I don't know who I am or how I got here, so I'm trying not to freak out and cause any trouble."

"Maybe you have amnesia." The boy ponders with a finger on his chin and a supposedly-deep thinking expression, "That's a toughie! I wonder how you can get your memories back." The boy stares at me with concern for a moment before locking onto my left arm for some reason.

"Hey," he says with sudden happiness and a pointing finger, "Is that a Duel Disk on your arm? I've never seen a design like that before!"

I look down and notice a device shaped like a circular computer disk attached to my lower left arm by several small metal clamps. The disk has a strong mix of dark red and blue, with splashes of green around the edges making it look like tribal paint. Five panels extend from it in a circular formation covering three quarters of the central disk. Each panel has an indented slot fit for a playing card and a lower slot for other potential cards. A red triangle shines on the blue surface of each panel, lines of green connecting each panel to the center disk like a motherboard to its outer servers. Strangely, no pain comes from the arm despite the fact I have probably worn this thing for hours and in an uncomfortable position. Also strange is the deck of brown cards with light-brown borders inside; considering I had probably scraped this disk or harmed it, the cards were unscathed. The only thing missing to make them seem fresh would be the classic "off-the-press" style smell.

"You even have a Deck! If you've got those," the boy spouts out as his glee grows, "then you must be a Duelist! Maybe a Duel will help you remember who you are! You do know how to play Duel Monsters, right?"

"Yeah, I know the basics. Besides," I mutter with a small grin as I flex the disk-wearing arm to ease tension in the limb, "I guess I don't have much else to lose since I don't remember anything about myself. Sure, I'll have a Duel with you. Best case scenario, it may actually help me with my memories."

The boy pumps a fist in the air and reaches into his pockets with a swift grab…except he pulls out nothing from both pockets. I look on as the boy fumbles around his coat and pants, his expression growing more distraught as he continues searching.

"Oh, darn it!" he finally shouts out in anger, "I don't have my Dueling Deck or Disk with me!" I merely execute a face-palm at the stupidity this boy has…actually, considering the clothing this kid has, is he really a girl and I can't tell the difference or am I over-thinking this?

"Just stay right there," the boy/girl says while quickly racing down the alleyway. "I'll be right back!"

Before I can respond, he/she turns a corner and vanishes into a mild cloud of smog. I huff and rock on my heels for a moment to ease away the awkwardness of the moment, but my eyes notice a reflection on a nearby puddle of water. Looking closer, I see the reflection is actually me looking back; the same Duel Disk on the same arm gives it away. My skin is pale and my eyes are a deep blue, almost like the bottom of the ocean. In contrast, my hair is a dark red similar to dim fire, and with green edges probably dyed on at some unknown time in my past. I seem to be wearing light blue jeans that actually aren't that tight, a gray overcoat with matching hood over a dark blue long-sleeved shirt.

Blue sneakers and matching white socks complete whatever image I was trying to accomplish. A glimmer on my chest brings my attention to a silver dog tag hanging around my neck. I bring said tag to my view to see the front carved with the image of a human skull with slanted fiery eyes inside a ghostly triangle. Flipping the tag over, several words are indented into the metal,

SUBJECT: D5
DESIGNATION: EPSILON
ALIAS: "Runner"

Slipping the tag under my shirt, I then look at the Disk still on my arm and pull the Deck of cards out. Fanning the cards in my hands, I note the strange imagery on the cards; the pictures seem rather futuristic or cyberpunk in style, mixing between digital creations, cyborgs and humans working in secrecy against some sort of mega-powerful company or faction. I also note the gimmick this Deck tries to run, something about manipulating the damage in a fight and creating effect combos in its place.

'Whoever designed this deck,' I think to myself, 'sure had a lot of time on their hands to make such intricate designs.'

I suddenly stop as a trio of white-colored cards slides out from the bottom of the Deck into view. These cards have images of strange digital constructs made up of smaller pieces, and was it my eyes playing tricks or were they glowing with different-colored auras? Whatever the reason, these cards seem quite important to the deck's overall objective. I set them in a jeans pocket for future use as some feeling comes to mind that these cards shouldn't be mixed with the main deck.

I stop further investigation as the sound of rapidly-approaching footsteps echoes down the alleyway. I look up and slip my Deck back into the Disk's Deck holder as the boy emerges back from the smog, this time holding a blue and white Duel Disk without much design on his left arm. The main difference between the two devices is that his Disk has the panels spread out in the front as one singular piece compared to my Disk's separate panels.

"Thanks a lot for waiting," the boy says as he stops a few feet from my current position and raises his disk horizontal while entering some kind of fighting stance. "I thought you had left already."

"Like I have anywhere else to go," I respond with a grin. "But before we begin, I'd like to know your name."

"Oh, right," the boy mutters as he sheepishly rubs the back of his beanie with his right hand. "My name's Rally. Let's get started!"

I adopt a similar stance to Rally's form as both Duel Disks randomly shuffle the allotted cards. Both of us quickly draw the top five cards from our decks and hold them in our right hands. Our Duel Disks suddenly blaze with multicolored light as the triangles on each panel light up with some kind of holographic energy.

"DUEL!" we both yell at once, Rally's shout more confident than mine.

[DUEL BEGINS] [ROUND 1] [RALLY: 4000 LP/?: 4000 LP]

"I'll take the first move," Rally calls out as he draws a sixth card to his current hand, "I summon Cannon Soldier in Attack Mode!"

Holographic energy whirls in front of Rally, forming into a human-sized purple, green and yellow robot with green claws for arms, a yellow stomach area and large yellow shoulder plates with green spikes jutting out. A massive cannon connects to its back by wiring and rests above its head, two glass panels showing the inner circuitry as well as its red viewing optics (DARK, Machine, 1400 ATK, 1300 DEF, LVL 4). The cannon aims itself at me as the robot makes three quick bleeps, but I hold my position against the holographic automaton.

"Next," Rally continues, "I set one card face-down and end my turn!" An enlarged image of a Duel Monsters' card materializes beside Rally as he concludes his move, his smile leading me to suspect the powers of that Set card.

"My turn," I call out as I draw a sixth card. I look at my hand in concentration, trying to figure out how to make this deck work. I can't recall ever using this deck before, so I probably want to start simple.

"I'll start with a Continuous Spell Card," I continue as I slide the chosen card into a lower slot, "known as Spinal Modem!"

A digital silhouette of a human appears to my right, its body clear enough for Rally to easily see a large device of wires, fluids and circuitry attached to the base of its neck and running down the spinal cord.

"What does that do?" Rally calls out in surprise.

"You'll have to wait and see," I respond. "Next, I summon Rielle "Kit" Peddler in Attack Mode!"

Another silhouette appears to my left before bursting apart and revealing a human girl in a polished white lab coat with short purple hair, tanned skin and pink eyes floating in a lotus position slightly above the concrete. A pink circle can be seen on her forehead as her upper body shines with polished silicone plating. Her eyes stare slightly above Rally but are focused on something other than the current situation like in deep meditation (DARK, Machine/Cyborg, 1800 ATK, 1500 DEF, LVL 4).

"Battle," I call out without fully knowing what I was saying. "Rielle attacks your Cannon Soldier! Transcended Termination!" The girl's eyes lock onto the robot across from her as her hands wave in circular motions. Energy gathers in her palms, becoming spheres of digital lightning as the robot's chassis seems to light up in preparation for an attack.

"Not so fast," Rally interrupts as his set card flips up to reveal a magical circle with runic inscriptions. "I activate the Spellbinding Circle Trap Card! This binds your monster in place, so it can't attack or switch its battle position!" The circle starts to appear around the girl and drain her energy, but a sudden burst of orange-colored lightning dissipates the spell.

"Spinal Modem's effect," I explain with a grimace of pain as a similar glow surrounds the silhouette. "By paying 500 Life Points, I can negate any of your card effects that would target a card I control and destroy the targeting card." (?: 4000-3500 LP). Rally gasps in shock as his Trap Card shatters into pixels before vanishing from sight.

"Rielle!" I call out. "Continue your attack! Transcended Termination!" The same energy fills the girl's hands before she thrusts her palms forward and launches two spheres of electricity at the robot. The spheres impact silently with brutal force, tearing the outer chassis apart before detonating the core within.

Rally braces himself for the damage of such an explosion, but is confused to see the pieces of the robot hover in place by Rielle's energy.

"Rielle's effect," I explain as the pieces start to fuse together under her control. "Instead of dealing you Battle Damage, I can activate one of two special powers. One of these powers lets me Special Summon a Machine or Human-Type monster from my hand that's Level 4 or lower. So I Special Summon Grifter in Attack mode!" The fusing pieces come together to form a digital hole that seems to drain the holographic energies around itself (LIGHT, Avatar, 1600 ATK, 800 DEF, LVL 3). "Since this is still the Battle Phase," I conclude with a confident grin, "I can now attack with my new monster! Grifter, attack Rally directly! Vacuum-Force Vortex!"

The hole seems to shift its motions, the air whirling towards it like a vacuum cleaner sucks up dust. Rally groaned in pain as a red aura surrounded his body before being drained into the anomaly (Rally: 4000-2400 LP).

"Now for Grifter's effect," I continue as the hole suddenly glows blue and a similar-colored aura surrounds me, "Whenever it deals Battle Damage to my opponent's Life Points, I gain Life Points equal to the damage!" (?: 3500-5100 LP).

"I set one card face-down and end my turn" I finish as a Set card appears to the left of the modem card.

[ROUND 2] [RALLY: 2400 LP/?: 5100 LP]

"Wow," Rally says in surprise. "I didn't realize your Deck was this good!" I am easily able to hear a tone of disappointment come with this statement; was Rally upset at this sudden change of events from his original plan?

"Well," I reply, "You had a good setup yourself with your Trap; it's just that I had the counter for it set up before your card could apply. Don't criticize yourself, alright?" Rally visibly brightens as he hears this.

"Thanks, man," he says before drawing a card for his turn. Looking at his hand of five cards, his brow furrows in concentration. I smile to myself as I wonder what plan he's got for me.

"I Summon X-Head Cannon in Attack Mode!" Rally slides the card onto his Disk and another machine appears on the field. This one has the bashing end of a large flail for a lower body, its upper body consisting of blue-and-yellow plating, two gray hands clenched into fists, red optics, and a large cannon over each shoulder. It seems to growl with its activation, itching for a battle (LIGHT, Machine, ATK: 1800, DEF: 1500, LVL 4).

"Can't let you do that, Rally," I call out as my Set card flips face-up to reveal a covert-ops soldier looking into a display panel above a large crowd of citizens, "I activate the Cyber Threat Counter Trap card! Since you just Summoned a monster, this card can negate that card's Summoning and destroy it unless you pay 400 Life Points for each Level the monster has."

"That sounds too overpowered," Rally cries out in anger. "I'd lose most of my remaining Life Points! 1600, to be exact!"

"Well," I respond with a shrug, "there is a catch: I lose the same amount of Life Points you do if you successfully pay for your monster's summoning. So, what will it be?"

Rally looks between my trap card and his monster, now being held in place by digital cuffs to the ground. After several seconds, he lowers his head with anger clearly on his face.

"I'll pay the points," he mutters. A red aura glows around the both of us as our Life Points drop, the two of us stumbling slightly in pain as the chains vanish into shatter around X-Head Cannon's body. (Rally: 2400-800 LP) (?: 5100-3500 LP).

"Now that I've got your traps out of the way," he says with renewed energy, "I activate the Continuous Spell Banner of Courage! This will give all my monsters 200 extra ATK during my Battle Phase!"

A large banner appears on Rally's field embedded into the ground, divided into two sections. The bottom half is white and shows a dark blue symbol similar to the Greek word Omega. The upper half is red and shows an orange teardrop breaking through a bright blue flame, a small white moon shining above. The banner flutters in a holographic wind, X-Head Cannon's optics flashing red as it powers up (ATK: 1800-2000)

"Battle! X-Head Cannon," Rally shouts with pointing finger, "Attack Grifter! Double Barrel Blast!" The two cannons start rumbling before firing beams of white plasma energy at my monster. The vortex consumes the energy but flashes black before it blasts into digital particles, making me stumble back slightly (?: 3500-3100 LP).

Before Rally can voice his response, a thrum of energy causes me to clutch my stomach in pain, a trail of coding being drained out of my body (?: 3300-1500 LP).

"Hold on," Rally questions. "Why did you lose more points?"

"Because Grifter has a consequence," I say through clenched teeth. "If it is destroyed in battle, I lose Life Points equal to the original ATK of your monster."

"Wow! Guess I attacked the right monster!" Rally shouts in joy. "Now I'm back in this game!" He looks at his hand again before his smile starts to wilt.

"Unfortunately," he explains, "That's all I can do right now. Your turn." X-Head Cannon's power fades away as he says this (ATK: 2000-1800).

"Then I draw," I begin as I look at my hand of four cards, "And I tribute Rielle to summon Sneakdoor Beta in Attack mode!" The vortex vanishes into digital pixels before turning into another human silhouette and a large white door (DARK, Program, ATK: 1900/DEF: 2100, LVL 6). Rally gulps as he sees my monster is stronger than his.

"Sneakdoor Beta's effect," I confidently shout. "By reducing any Battle Damage it inflicts in half, it can bypass your monsters and attack you directly!" Rally gasps in shock as another white door appears in front of him, both doors now opening like portals to each other.

"Sneakdoor Beta attacks you and ends this Duel," I finish with clenched fist as my emotions ran high with this attack. "Unseen Uppercut!" The digital human leaps into the nearest door, appearing out of the other door a millisecond later and decking Rally with a solid punch to the chin (Rally: 800-0 LP) [DUEL ENDS].

"You alright there?" I ask as my Disk deactivates and I quickly walk over to Rally's prone body with outstretched hand. The boy slowly gets up, and I am surprised to see a smile on his face despite the loss of the Duel.

"Wow," he shouts out. "That was an amazing Duel! Your deck seems really strong, being able to counter almost everything I played out."

"Well," I respond while pulling Rally up, "that was probably the luck of the draw talking. I guess I just had that good an initial hand."

"Anyway," Rally says with expectant eyes, "Do you remember anything about yourself?"

As if on a cue, my head suddenly bursts with pain similar to a migraine, making me cry out as unbidden images flash through my mind…

...Five symbols float in darkness, each one a logo of a greater power. Before I can react, four symbols retreat beyond my sight, the final symbol revealing itself to be like the one on my dog tag. The symbol grows in size to match my height, the skull within suddenly shifting as if it had become a real face. Before I can blink in confusion, the symbol vanishes and is replaced with the form of a man: his white face and gloves mix with his gray hair and suit to create the image of wealth and prestige.

"Netrunner Samuel," he then speaks with an almost-human male voice. "You have begun your destined journey. There will be obstacles in your path to your memories; you must break past them to achieve greatness. Face more opponents, become stronger, whether you win or lose, and learn your purpose."

The man then seems to be sucked away as white fills my vision…

…I gasp as I return to reality. Placing a hand on my chest, I take a few deep breaths to calm myself, noticing sweat running down my face from exertion. The headache is gone as mysteriously as it appeared.

"Hey," Rally says with concern. "You alright? You were out of it for a few seconds."

"Samuel…" I mutter to myself, causing Rally to raise an eyebrow in confusion. "That's my name," I explain with growing happiness. "Samuel."

"Samuel, huh? That's a cool name!" Rally says with a grin. "Hey, do you want to stay with me and my friends? Our home isn't too far from here."

"I don't want to be any more trouble…" I begin.

"My friends won't mind," Rally cuts in whilst grabbing my arm and pulling me down the alleyway, "really! They might even want to Duel against your Deck, and that'll help you remember more about yourself!"

"Alright then," I conclude with a sincere smile. "Thank you for this kindness." Rally just beams as he leads me to his supposed home. A fluttering in my chest told me that the upcoming events wouldn't be easy…

And that's the first chapter! Again, any problems, please let me know. Any improvements to the Deck and/or story are appreciated as well.

Draconos is taking off!