Breaker - Pilot [2014]

[ddevans96]

Hi,

This is a story I began writing in late 2014. If you were keeping tabs on ZephyrPhantom's Vain City, I was writing this at the same time - the stories were largely founded in the same conversation. This is not indicative of my current writing style or skill level, has no edits in formatting, proofreading, polishing, or otherwise since the last edit in January 2015 other than separating into spoilers, and was very much unfinished, but it's a work I keep rereading so I wanted to share it. If there's interest in what little setting, worldbuilding, lore, characterization, or format is present, I would consider revisiting it.

Spoiler for Introduction:

Welcome to Breaker. This is a story about Elements, written as a screenplay of Yugioh might be. I’ll be using a considerable amount of creative license during this, in order to make the story enjoyable and sensical. This will be revealed as I write it, in the form of episodes, meant to mimic those of anime or other shows.

First, for the purposes of this story, there are some rule changes. There is only one tier of upgrade. Most cards have any numerical values averaged from the unupped and upped, rounded up to the higher value, but there are several exceptions, which I’ll cover with creative license as they appear. Also, in most environments, maximum copy count is 5 and minimum deck size is 40, to diversify decks. At first, all cards will be from the main EtG, but over time I will expand cards and mechanics in oEtG and potentially the Armory or other sources as well. Additionally, there will be mulligans – although in most cases draws will simply be scripted to be good and/or topdeck-prone.

Moving onto backstory next. Most of this will be revealed over the course of the story, but I feel it best to explain some things now, to avoid confusion.

This is set in Thimerast, a planet containing elemental power, where the Eighth Great War has just ended. The other Elements had grown tired of decades of Aether rule, and so banded together to defeat Aether, ultimately overthrowing the Aether government. For the most part, the two sides agreed on a long-term ceasefire, including universal rule changes make to bring Aether down to the competitive level of other elements.

But, alongside the ceasefire, a select few have seen the opportunity for power, and their actions threaten to break the balance that has been so carefully restored. An extremist group, called the Purists, has begun capturing suspected Aether sympathizers to punish them for their loyalties.

Spoiler for Episode 1: Bathed in Teal – Part 1 (Carina):

I slump against the side of the transport van, lowering my head. How could I let myself get caught like that? I was so careful, and then… I break my thoughts and angrily punch the interior wall, but it’s no use, as this vehicle is comparable to a moving fortress.

You okay there? I look up to see a young girl, even more so than myself, wearing a beautiful teal dress, huddling in the corner of the van and looking up at me. I look away, admittedly bitter because I’m still frustrated at my capture, but the girl stands up, glowing with energy, and I realize I’m not in the company of any ordinary child.

You…you’re an elemental, I say, torn between awe and confusion. How could…

Such a young girl be an elemental? The girl says, with a wink. I’m nothing short of shocked, and simply nod. It’s a long story, I’ll tell you later. For now, my name is Lissana. What got you here?

I stay silent, but I think my answer – sympathizing with the Aether regime. Lissana picks up on it, and nods. Yeah, I’ve run into a few of those. It’d be hard not to, in my situation. She grins subtly. This is the second van I’ve been in. The first one was easy, the entire crew was half drunk, I just messed with them a little and they thought the alcohol drove them insane. They pulled over and let me go. These ones seem more competent, though.

I frown. So, we’re basically stuck in here, right?

Not quite. When I was still out there, I got a few people together and devised an escape plan in case I got caught again. It might not be pretty, though.

What does that mean?

The only thing the people running these thugs hate more than Aether sympathizers are the non-Aethers helping them. Exploding this van is likely to get us out of here, but equally likely to…

EXPLODING THE VAN?! I’m completely dumbfounded, but Lissana just smiles a tiny bit. Yes, exploding. Don’t worry, you’re not in danger until we’re actually free and they’re chasing us again. But they’ll chase the others first. I knew them before I was what I am today, they’re good people. Elemental differences aren’t everything to most people.

I’m skeptical, but I don’t say anything. Instead, I return to thinking about my capture, and close my eyes.

~ ~ ~ ~

Your move first, Carina. Valdor looks at his hand confidently, as usual.

You’ll have that smirk off your face soon enough. My hand is perfect for a strong rush start. I’ll play two Emerald Towers and two Life Pendulums, then I’ll use that quanta to play two Giant Frogs! I place my creatures into the first two slots. My turn ends, and his HP falls to 92. My life quanta becomes 4, and my aether quanta rises to 1 due to my mark.

Not bad, Carina. My turn! My old mentor draws, the purple hue on his [disk] indicating a death Mark, and his smile widens. I play three Fire Pendulums and end my turn. That leaves him with 6 fire quanta and 1 death quanta for next turn.

Is that all you’ve got for me, Valdor? He just continues smiling, and I draw. It’s a Psion, which can’t be played right now, so I place it in my hand. I have nothing else to play, so I end my turn. He takes 8 more damage, lowering his HP to 84. I now have 6 life quanta and 4 aether quanta to work with.

Valdor draws, but nothing else. He ends his turn immediately, and I draw another Tower. I’ll play another Emerald Tower, making 3 total, and end my turn. My aether quanta is increased by 1, now being 5, and my life quanta is raised to 11. His quanta sits at 6 fire and 5 death, and his HP falls to 71.

My draw now. Valdor draws, He shows me 5 cards from his hand – a powerful combo. First, I play a Ray of Light, then I’ll cast Cremation on it! Cremation sacrifices a creature in exchange for an influx of 7 fire quanta, and 1 in every other element, which means he now has 13 in fire and 6 in death. Now I play a Bone Wall, then I play Fire Lance. Your first Frog is now cooked. His Bone Wall can now block nine attacks, due to him killing my Giant Frog. Finally, I play a Phoenix and end my turn. His Phoenix attacks me for 6 damage, lowering me to 94, and he now has a strong defense as well.

Well played, but now it’s my turn! I draw a Lightning, and immediately show it to him, before inserting it into my [disk], along with a second already in my hand. One kills the Phoenix, while another destroys the resulting Ash. His Bone Wall now has 13 counters, but it means I likely won’t be taking damage for a while. My aether quanta falls to 1, and I end my turn, my aether quanta becoming 4 and my life quanta becoming 14, and his Bone Wall dropping to 11 counters. I look at the Psion and Jade Dragon in my hand – I’ll play them both next turn.

Very well. My turn then! Valdor goes to draw, but as he does, I hear sirens. I look to my right and see flashing lights. They appear to be coming straight for us. Valdor motions for me to follow him, and I oblige. We run through the alleys I’ve known my whole life, but the police vehicles continue following us, and as they approach closer I can tell they’re motorbikes, designed for the alleys. Split up. I don’t know why they’re after us, but meet me at the harbor.

Alright. See you soon, Valdor. We take separate forks at the next turn in the alley. To my surprise, all the bikes follow me. I run as long as I can, hiding my [disk] and my cards inside my jacket, but eventually I find my way to an alley clogged with garbage. I attempt to scale it, but the bikes reach me.

Come down and make this easy for us, or we’ll make it hard for you. I look back, and the officers have all dismounted their bikes. I ignore them and continue climbing, but my feet slip and I fall right in front of them. They pick me up and slap handcuffs around my wrist. Miss Montes, you are under arrest for sympathizing with the Aether regime. I have no clue what they mean, and I open my mouth to object, but they wrap my mouth, and load me onto one of their bikes, taking me back through the alleys until they reach a transport van. They throw me in, lock me up, and in a few moments the van is moving.

~ ~ ~ ~

The van hits a couple bumps, and I jolt back to the present. Lissana looks at me – clearly she was reading my mind, but says nothing of it. She merely gives me a curious glance before turning her attention to the cockpit of the van. Through the iron bars of the door leading to it, it seems she can see just enough of the windshield to know our location. They’ll be here soon. Are you ready? I do nothing but nod, realizing my face is likely a little pale.

Lissana braces herself, and I do the same. In a few moments, a loud explosion can be heard outside of the van on my side, then a second. The van goes airborne, flips to the side, causing me to fall next to Lissana, and the van lands right on the hinges of the door, breaking it open. I run out, and she follows me. I don’t look behind me until I hear voices calling to us. Hey, get back here, Aether scum! I continue running, but they activate some kind of force field, blocking me and Lissana from going any further. We turn and face them.

Do you really want to mess with me? Lissana’s imbued with visible power, though the officers barely react to it, and she appears to look into their minds, before turning to me. We have to break the force field’s activator to remove one layer, then defeat them to remove the second. You up for it? I nod. Alright, I’ll get the activator, you distract them until I can battle. Luckily, they didn’t confiscate my [disk] or any of the cards I had on me when they arrested me, presumably since they weren’t in plain sight.