Riyu was sitting in the room, thinking. He had been in there for an hour, trying to think of a monster idea. "Any luck," Lan asked as she walked back in with lunch. "No...none..." he said, defeated. "Hey, there's an easier way to do this."

"Really? Show me." Lan nodded and pressed a button on the far wall. A projector shot to life and showed 3 empty bars. "This, Riyu, selects a random Attribute, Card Type, and Monster Type."

"So, like, Dark Effect Spellcaster?" "Exactly, like your deck." "Alright, let's see what I can make," Riyu said, as Lan hit the switch. The bars began to flick through options, rolling through them as if they were slots on a slot machine. The first to stop was Attribute, rolling past Various and Water, landing on Wind.

The second was Monster Type, scrolling over Plant, Psychic, Pyro, Reptile, Rock, and almost stopping on Sea Serpent, before landing on Spellcaster. Then, the Card Type scrolled multiple times around, before landing on Effect Pendulum. "So...Wind Spellcaster Pendulum Effect monsters." "Yep, that's it. Any ideas?"

"Well...if they're Wind, maybe they're making things like tornados?" Lan nodded, making a tornado drawing in her sketchbook. "Maybe a...a raccoon? An orange one, and...I don't know, I have the idea, I just can't communicate it." At a loss, he called upon Arthrun, the blue Dark Magician appearing as his card was put in Riyu's Millennium Sleeve.

"Riyu, is something the matter?" "Yes, we're trying to make a new monster, and I have an idea, but I can't explain it well." "Ah, I see. Should I project the image into Lan's mind?" "Umm...Lan?"

"I'm fine with it." Arthrun nodded, projecting Riyu's idea into Lan's head. Lan drew the image she saw, until she finished and showed Riyu. "That good?" "Yes, very," Riyu said with a smile.

"He reminds me of Bunbuku Chagma," Arthrun commented. "Yeah, he does," Riyu said. "That can be his name! Bunbuku!" "Wow, yeah," Lan smiled. "Bunbuku the...Majespecter Racoon!" "Excellent idea, master Riyu."

[1 Week Later]

A package arrived at Lan and Track's home, and Riyu was the first to get to it. He took it to the kitchen table and opened it, greeted by a variety of Spell, Trap, and Monster cards, all of them containing the word "Majespecter" in the title. Lan walked out of her room, rubbing her eyes. "Hey, did the package come in yet," she asked tiredly. Riyu nodded and smiled.

"That's good...you woke me up though..." "Oh, sorry." "It's alright, icy," Lan smiled, ruffling Riyu's hair. He laughed, moving her hand away from his dual colored light blue and white hair. "Don't make me regret getting it cut, Lan," he joked.

"Well, let's put it all together. I have the none Majespecter cards right here. Elfuria, Eccentrick, Reinforcement Of The Army, Sakyo, everything else you need." "Yeah, except for one," Riyu said, looking at his charm. "Right, Arthrun," Lan remembered.

Riyu nodded and began to construct his deck with all the cards he made and received. By the afternoon, he was finished. He stepped out of the house to go show Yuya, but he went down a dead end. "Dang, must be lost." "Is that so," a voice asked.

Riyu turned around to see a boy, visibly older than him, blocking the alley. "Who are you, kid," he asked. "I-I'm R-Riyu..." "Interesting...I'm Sol. Something tells me you come from another place. Show me how those of your kind duel," he ordered, activating his Duel Disk.

Riyu nodded, activating his. "I accept, Sol." "As they say here, 'ladies first.'" Riyu nodded, drawing his hand. "First off, I'll set the field with Terraforming! This allows me to search my signature Field Spell, Majesty's Pegasus!"

A card stuck out of Riyu's Deck, and his took it, immediately activating it. A series of colored spirals of wind appeared around them. "Next, I'll Summon Yata, the Majespecter Crow!" Riyu put a card on his Monster Zone, and a small purple crow with a red cape and shooting wind from its talons. "Now, Yata's effect lets me search a Spell Card from my Deck, so long as that Spell's name includes the word 'Majespecter!' I'll search out 'Majespecter Cyclone,'" Riyu declared, taking said card from his Deck.

Sol looked intrigued. "I see these 'Majespecters' are Pendulum Monsters." "Yeah, and that's not all! Now, I'll activate the effect of Majesty's Pegasus! By tributing my Yata, I can Special Summon another Majespecter from my Deck. Come on out, Bunbuku!"

An orange tornado from the side of the field fell down over Yata, replacing it. As the cyclone wrought its path out, an orange raccoon with a tornado of the same color appeared on Riyu's field, jumping around excitedly before seeing Sol and growling. "Now, through Bunbuku's effect, I can add another 'Majespecter Monster to my hand from my Deck! I'll add Kirin, the Majespecter Unicorn!" Riyu took another card from his Deck, before holding a card up above his head.

"Now, I'll activate the Spell, 'Ties of the Breth...Brethr...'" "Brethren," Sol told Riyu. "Yes, Ties of the Brethren. It allows me, at the cost of 1000 Life Points and a lack of Special Summoning afterwards, to Special Summon up to 2 monsters from my Deck with the same Attribute, Type, and Level as Bunbuku, but different names. I'll Special Summon not only Nekomata, my trusty Majespecter Cat, but also Mystical Fairy Elfuria!"

A teal cat with an aqua-colored tornado coming from the base of its spine appeared, guarding itself, while a blonde-haired fairy lady in a purple dress appeared in the other side of Bunbuku. "How interesting, swarming your field with such monsters." "Now, I activate Elfuria's effect! By revealing a monster in my hand, neither of us can Xyz Summon Monsters with a different Rank then the revealed monster until my next turn! By revealing Kirin, Elfuria now prevents Xyz Summoning any monster that isn't Rank 6!" Elfuria created a gust of wind that encompassed the field.

"I set one card face-down and end my turn, with Nekomata's effect letting me search another monster at this time. Come to my hand, Kyubi, Majespecter Fox," Riyu said as he added said card to his hand. "It's my turn, draw! Let's see how your Majespecters deal with this! First, I activate the Spell Card, Brilliant Fusion! This card lets me fuse from my deck a 'Gem-Knight' monster and a Light Attribute Monster."

"Fuse," Riyu asked, confused. "By sending them to the Graveyard, I can make a new Fusion Monster! Gem-Knight Garnet, and Wulf, Lightsworn Beast! Warrior of jewels and hunter of the gods, form into one and bring ruin upon my foe! I Fusion Summon Gem-Knight Seraphinite, in Defense Mode!"

A warrior made of rock with a glowing light in its chest appeared, its arms in a blocking position. "Unfortunately, due to Brilliant Fusion, Seraphinite's Attack and Defense drop to 0! But, its effect still activates, giving me another Normal Summon once per turn! But first, Wulf effect activates! When he's sent from my Deck to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can Special Summon him from the Graveyard!"

A muscular, white, wolf-like monster in white armor with a golden spear and a claw weapon appeared, growling at Riyu's monsters. "Next, I'll activate Charge of the Light Brigade! By sending the top three cards of my deck to my graveyard, I can add a Level 4 or lower Lightsworn Monster from my Deck to my Hand! I'll add Raiden, the Hand of the Lightsworn! Next, I'll Normal Summon Denko Sekka!"

A samurai woman with a purplish-blue ponytail and powder blue armor appeared, katana raised to attack. "While this Monster is on the field, and I have no set Spell or Trap cards, neither of us can set Spells or Traps, or activate ones already set!" Riyu looked at his set Majespecter Cyclone, now useless in the face of Denko Sekka. "Next, using my additional Normal Summon, I'll Summon my newly added Tuner Monster, Raiden!"

A brown-skinned man with a black ponytail, holding a gold and silver sword appeared. "Tuner Monster?" "Clearly you're new to dueling. A Tuner Monster can create a new form of Summon! But first, I use Raiden's effect, dropping two cards from my deck to increase his attack by 200 Points!"

He moved another Wulf and a Glow-Up Bulb to his graveyard, immediately Special Summoning the Wulf. "Then, I'll tune my Level 4 Wulf to my Level 4 Raiden!" The two monsters jumped into the air, Raiden becoming 4 green rings while Wulf became 4 glowing orbs. "Shocking lord of psychic power, show my foe his end! I Synchro Summon PSY-Framelord Omega!"

A tall monster, dressed in black armor, carrying a short spear, and riding on some gold device appeared. "Now, I'll activate Omega's effect! I banish both Omega, and a card in your hand, until my next Standby Phase!" The monster shot a bolt of green lightning at Riyu's hand, striking his Kyubi. Then, PSY-Framelord Omega disappeared from the field, as him and Kyubi were removed from play by their owners.

"Now, I'll send the top card of my Deck to my graveyard to Special Summon Glow-Up Bulb from my Graveyard!" Sol sent the top card, Performage Trick Clown to his Graveyard, and a flower bulb in the process of blooming appeared on Sol's field. "Now, due to the effect of Performage Trick Clown, I can pay 1000 Life Points, reduce my Performage's Attack and Defense to 0, and Special Summon it when it's sent to the Graveyard!" A clown monster, balancing on a ball the size of its palm appeared, guarding itself. "In the interest of seeing what your monsters entail, I'll end my turn."

Something wasn't sitting right with Riyu. "Before I proceed, tell me, Sol, why are you letting all your cards go to the Graveyard?" "Because most of the time, they fail to matter. The cards in my deck only exist to further the efforts of the ones on my field." "No, you're wrong! Your cards still matter, no matter what! And I'll prove it to you!"

Riyu drew a card, and smiled. "Now, I'll Tribute my Bunbuku! He's worked hard, and he deserves a rest. So, he'll pave the way for my new Monster, my Majespecter Unicorn, Kirin!" The white pillar of wind fell over Bunbuku, before flying upwards to reveal a white unicorn with a blonde mane, his horn shooting a white wind.

"Now, I activate his effect! I can return one monster from each side of the field to our hands!" Kirin's wind blew away Nekomata to Riyu's hand, and Denko Sekka to Sol's. "Now, using my Scale 2 Nekomata and my Scale 10 Sakyo, Swordsman of the Far East, I'll set the Pendulum Scale! The winds of this Duel are blowing my way, now!"

Nekomata and Sakyo were placed on the edges of Riyu's Monster Zone, the world "PENDULUM" being spelt out in varied colors across it. Nekomata and Sakyo became surrounded by a light blue cylinder of light for each of them, as they rose up above the field. A crystal on a string came down from the sky and swung between the two monsters, its angle changing until it made a circle of empty space. "Now, I can Special Summon any monster who has a Level between 3 and 9!

"The winds of victory have arrived at our Duel, and they're about to choose a winner! Storm forth, my friends!" The circle opened in a shining light, and 3 lights flew from it onto the field. "First up, the magician that will lead the charge to my victory! Arthrun, the Dark Magician!" Riyu placed Arthrun on his zone, as the blue Dark Magician appeared, spinning his wand in a circle, before grabbing it and pointing it at Sol.

"Next, the 2 monsters that have returned from the Extra Deck for round 2!" "Extra Deck," Sol asked. "You see, when a Pendulum Monster on the field is destroyed, it's sent to my Extra Deck! I resummon Yata, the Majespecter Crow, and Bunbuku, the Majespecter Racoon!" The purple crow and orange raccoon appeared once again.

"Thanks to Bunbuku's effect, I can add Ogama, the Majespecter Toad to my hand," Riyu said, taking said card. "Battling time! Bunbuku, attack his Seraphinite!" Bunbuku bounded towards the Gem-Knight, headbutting it. The Fusion Monster recoiled in pain, shattering and going to Sol's graveyard.

"Next, Mystical Fairy Elfuria, attack his Trick Clown!" The Spellcaster shot a gust of wind at the clown, destroying it. "Once per turn, I can pay 1000 Life Points and resummon my Trick Clown!" "Then he'll get attacked by Yata!" The crow slashed Performage Trick Clown with its talons, destroying it.

:The Spell...use it...: the voice in Riyu's head told him. "Now, I activate my set Majespecter Cyclone! By tributing Yata, I can destroy a monster you control!" Yata released a gust of wind at Glow-Up Bulb, destroying the Tuner and sending itself crashing into a wall and self-destructing.

"Now, Kirin, attack his Wulf! Majespecter Gust!" The unicorn shot a spiral of wind at the Lightsworn Beast, destroying him and inflicting 200 points of damage to Sol. "Now, Arthrun, attack Sol directly! Dark Magic Attack!"

Arthrun pointed his wand directly at Sol, releasing a wave of magical energy. Sol was thrown backwards, his Life Points hitting 0. The monsters and Field Spell faded, now that Riyu had won. "That was a good Duel, Sol! Maybe we could do it again sometime!"

Sol just laughed evilly. He got to his feet, before putting his hands to his chest. The air around his body became distorted, as if the air was very hot, until a ring, with 5 points and a triangle shape, with an eye resembling the one on Riyu's Millennium Sleeve appeared, hanging around his neck. "You fool, you act as if you've truly won something! But, you, Riyu, have won nothing!"

"Y-you...you have a Millennium Item?" "That's right, Riyu! I possess the most powerful Millennium Item, the Millennium Ring! As for you, you'll never get to tell another soul!" Arthrun appeared once again, standing protectively in front of Riyu.

"I won't let you hurt Riyu," the Dark Magician declared. Sol just grinned, as a blinding flash of light filled the alley. Riyu felt nothing, but saw and heard something odd in the light. A figure, one obscured by light lifted Riyu, curiosity showing in its blue eyes. "Hey kid, are you alright," the figure asked, its voice sounding female.

Riyu could only look at the figure, because in reality, he had passed out. He awoke on the couch in Lan & Track's home. "Ugh...my head," he moaned. Lan came in the room upon hearing Riyu's voice. "Riyu, you're awake," she murmured, hugging him.

"Yeah, I am," Riyu replied, hugging back. "What happened?" "I'm not sure. You were brought back by some girl. She apparently found you in an alley."

"I...I remember I was in a Duel...and after I won...my opponent showed he had a Millennium Item, the Millennium Ring. After that...I've no idea." Riyu tried to sit up, but pain shot through him. Lan pushed him down. "You have to rest, Riyu, or you won't be able to enter the tournament."

"Tournament? What tournament?" "The Maxim Duel Tournament. You just have to win 1 Duel against a good duelist to be accepted." "So you and Track still need one?"

"Yes, we do. We'll start tomorrow, but for now, you need to rest," Track said, coming into the room. He grabbed a remote and turned on the TV. The channel was showing a list of people who had qualified for the Tournament, Riyu being near the middle.

"Now, let's go back to this new duelist, a boy named, Riyu, was it," the male anchor asked his partner. "Yes, this boy, Riyu, who's last name is unknown, got on the roster after a resounding defeat against another duelist, Sol Aril! He seemed to be using a series of cards he made himself!" "Ah, yes, the Majespecters! They seem to be a series of Spellcaster and Wind monsters that can't be targeted or destroyed by card effects, like Raigeki or Shrink!"

"I'm already on the news? Whoa..." Riyu murmured. "Wait, this just came in, another Duel has just been completed! We'll display the winner now." A picture of a girl around Track's age, with pitch-black hair and emerald green eyes.

"Umbra Wheeler...Age 16, 5' 6", the best Fusion Summoner in Paradise City," Track said as the male anchor did, as if he knew it all already. "Her Shaddolls are focused on fusing into her El Shaddoll monsters, which restrict or punish Special Summoning," he continued with the female anchor. "What's up with Track," Riyu asked, whispering to Lan. "He has a crush on Umbra, he has ever since they both were 12."

"She's also the projected winner of the Maxim Duel Tournament, and is sure to give our other competitors a run for their money." "And, that's all the time we have for today-" the female anchor started, before Track changed the channel. "I wonder who I'll Duel tomorrow," Lan thought out loud. "I know you'll win, Lan. You're a great duelist," Riyu said with a smile.

Lan smiled back. "Thanks, Riyu. And maybe we'll Duel each other in the tournament." "Maybe so. And then we'll get to see who's better between us."