Book One: Someone New (Reginald Kastle)

Chapter Eighteen: Ride Of Our Lives!

Rose POV:
I awake the next day feeling extremely excited about the day ahead of me. It's the first day of the Duel Carnival Finals! I roll out of bed, heading straight to the bathroom, ignoring the fact that the door is quite squeaky. It's 6AM, pretty early, but I want to be on time for the first day of the finals. Floorboards creak next door as my big brother gets himself out of bed.
"Rosie, why'd ya have to make so much noise? It's 6AM!" He groans, and runs a hand through his hair, making it even more disheveled than it already was.
"It's the Duel Carnival Finals today! Tell me you're going to be there?" I ask, and for a moment, I panic that he won't be.
"I'll be there, absolutely. I'll even take you. That is, if Shark isn't?" He smirks at me, and I throw a towel in his direction.
"Stop messing around, there's nothing going on!" I laugh at my big brother as he makes kissy faces at me, before I close the door in his face. I grab my toothbrush, and scrub my teeth. I grab the hairbrush, and brush through my cocoa coloured hair. The ginger tip of my fringe becomes more noticeable in the sunrise. I smile at myself in the mirror, and a rush of confidence comes over me. I can do this. No, I did not enter the carnival to win, but the prospect of being in the Finals is amazing. I rummage through the dark blue make up bag on my side, and my mind drifts to Rio as I apply the make up to my face. Rio would have already been here right now, she was like that. She would always be early for something like this, to help me. Ever since I first met her on that fateful night, we had become like sisters. We were always together, and if one of us tried something new, we both had to. I guess that was the way she was with Reginald as well. 'Reginald.' I shake my head at the thought of my aloof best friend, even though a little smile appears on my face. In the past few months, myself and him have grown closer than I could have ever thought. Everyone else is in wonder because of his talent and good looks, however, I am in wonder because I see the person beneath his cold exterior. Someone who is actually quite humble and someone who genuinely does care, but you have to earn that right. Rio is his sister, so he naturally cares for her, like any other good big brother. I think he cares for me now too. After all, he corrected me last night when I called him just a friend. I don't know what that means but everyday, my feelings for him grow, even though I know that they shouldn't especially since he is my Best Friend's Brother. Maybe one day, I will be able to tell him about how I really feel. Maybe one day, I'll be able to tell Rio how I feel too.

I arrive at the finals with time to spare, so I have a quick look around before heading to where I'm meant to be, which would be, the Duel Coaster. It is a roller coaster of which you can duel on, which is an incredible idea! There are multi-coloured fireworks already in the sky despite the fact that it's only daytime. As I arrive, I see Tori and the others.
"Tori! Hey!" I shout and she spins to see me. We hug quickly.
"Rosie, you look amazing!" She says, looking at my curled hair, and my white top, pink bomber jacket, black jeans and chequered top tied around my waist.
"Awe thanks Tor!" We exchange smiles and walk through the crowds before we spot a familiar face, lying on the floor, snoring away.
"Is that-" I began.
"Yup, it's Yuma." Bronk puts a "hand against his hand. Tori approaches him, and starts pulling on his cheek. Yuma twitches and then screams as soon as he wakes up.
"What the huh?!" He exclaims.
"Don't tell me you camped out here all night Yuma!" Tori says, clearly frustrated.
"Of course he has Tor, this is Yuma we're talking about." I laugh to myself.
"Sorry, Mrs Clunky! Did I doze through class again?" Yuma asks. #
"Oh for goodness' sake." I facepalm.
"Yuma's only half awake, guys." Flip notes.
"You may be right Flip, but I can't tell which half's awake." Caswell says, and I snort with laughter.
"He was cat-napping!"
"Shake those cobwebs outta your head! You're right outside Heartland! The World Duel Carnival Finals are about to get underway any minute!" Bronk yells.
"...Duel Carnival Finals...?" And then, he's up. "Awwww yeah! I'm duelling with the big dogs!"
"Let's just hope that you don't bite more than you can chew." Tori says.

As we walk, we see all the finalists faces displayed around the city, and every time Shark's pops up, I cant help but look. Yuma tells us how he thought that if he slept outside the gates, we would find him.
"If your duel strategy is that lame, you'll be the first one eliminated!" Tori scolds.
"Don't even come after me unless your strategy improves, Yuma." I laugh. Bronk once again warns us that the finals are about to begin. We run towards the entrance to the Duel Coaster Stadium. As we get in, everyone is amazed, but as I look around, I spot Striker, who in turn spots me and waves.
"I'll catch up with you later, Yuma. I have to go see someone." The others look at me and smile.
"Good luck, Rosie!!" They all say.
I run through the seats in the stadium to see Striker, who gets up as I arrive. He fist bumps me.
"Congratulations on being in the Finals. We're all rooting for you." He smiles at me and winks.
"Well, thank you, Striker. I'll catch up with you when I can. Bye guys!" I wave at the three brothers as I run down the stairs to the coasters. As I approach, I spot some familiar faces from the party, and then some that are personally familiar faces such as Quattro, Kite and of course Shark. The coaster next to him is free, luckily for me, so I go straight over to him. His frown changes when I approach. Heartland has started speaking. but I drown him out.
"Good morning!" I greet.
"You're looking confident." He remarks and I beam back.
"This is big! I'm so excited!" Shark smirks at that.
"Yes, I can tell." I smile at that. I turn to look around and see Quattro waving and smiling innocently. I go to run at him, but Shark catches my wrist.
"Woah, what are you doing? We'll make him pay when we duel him, alright?"
"We're duelling him together?"
"Well, I say that, but I wouldn't wanna put you in any danger." Shark admits, looking a little sheepish.
"Your kindness is noted." I giggle at him. Unfortunately, at that moment, Quattro stands directly next to the other coaster free on the other side of Shark. We both give angry looks his way. He notices and turns to talk to me.
"Such a pretty face shouldn't portray that much anger."
"And a jerk such as yourself should not be in the Finals." I fire back, causing Shark to smirk at me.

Within a few minutes, it's time to start and I hop into my coaster with such excitement I think I could rival Yuma.
"Rose?" Shark asks as I get in. I look up to face him.
"Good luck." He says before getting in his own coaster. His words fill me with new hope. I place my heart piece into a slot and wait: in a moment, it will officially be happening. 'Once on the coasters, you face the other finalists.' Adrenaline rushes through me, but at the same time nervousness. What if I end up facing Quattro or Kite? There is something about Kite...
In front of me there is a map, of the course which it seems goes through the entire city! There are letter marks on the map; Spell and Trap markers.
"Noooooo!!" I hear and look around until I spot Yuma looking particularly panicked. he is searching through his pockets and I suddenly realise: he has lost his heart piece. He continues to panic, to the point where he is tears, and I am not the only one who has noticed. I holocom Kari, who is already fully aware.
"Thanks for tellin' me, Rose, but I'm already on my way there. I'll be there in no time. Good luck in the Finals!" With that, she hangs up. I breathe a sigh of relief and look around. I nod at Shark, who nods in return. I spot Kite, who also spots me, and his eyes narrow at me. I don't even bother to look in Quattro's direction.
"It's showtime everyone! The greatest duel of all time will now get underway! Begin on my mark!" I spin my head to Yuma's direction. He is panicking more than ever now. The countdown begins and before I know it, we're all off. All of us, with the exception of Yuma. My hair flies in my face as I look back at him, sitting there all alone, losing hope.
"Owh oh folks! Yuma Tsukumo's coaster car is a no go! What's wrong? Did his coaster conk out?" Heartland says in a teasing tone over the speakers. 'Poor Yuma' I think. But, Kari will come through for him, so as I go upside down on the coaster, I think off all the duels ahead, even though hanging upside down in the air is one of my worst fears.
"The Duel Carnival Finals have begun with a huge surprise! Yuma Tsukumo's coaster got left in the dust, but now he's back in action, and he has a co-pilot! That may be stretching the rules a bit, but because I'm running this competition, I'm going to make an exception and allow Yuma's friend to tag along!" Heartland's voice projects and I can't help but laugh. Of course Tori is with him! That puts a smile on my face as I speed along the tracks. I'm currently alongside Shark on the tracks, and he offers me a quick wave, before he engages in his first duel of the Finals. It's not long before Jawsman is on the field and Shark is set to win. The fanged creature attacks with Shark Stream, and his opponent- clearly foreign- yells in defeat, before his seat ejects from the coaster. That's what happens if we lose?! I shiver in fear, before Shark lloks down, but not at me: a lane below me is Quattro. He speeds ahead, engaged in another duel.
"I'll crush you, Quattro! You're not gunna escape from me! Not without a fight!" Shark yells. I frown, but speed ahead. I need to find an opponent, so that I actually stand a chance of getting somewhere. My hair is flying around me, the curls already losing their effect. As I speed along my tracks, I see another duellist up ahead. 'This is it. My first duel in the Finals.' The Duellist is clearly foreign and unfamiliar with the city, which is an advantage for me. They turn and see me, and that is that. His brown eyes focus on me and narrow. My first duel officially begins. "Bahamut Shark, attack her directly!" My monster sweeps in for the attack, and I win the duel. A smile spreads across my face at this. My opponent's chair goes flying up in the air, and even though they were a fantastic duellist, I'm glad that it wasn't me. Looking around me, many finalists have been defeated.
Up ahead, is a tunnel. It seems that the Finals are about to get a little more complicated. The tunnel is known as The Dragon's Den. We have to find our way to the four duelling fields in The Dragon's Den: magma, space, jungle and desert. We have to find the one that we think will help us best, but both mine and Shark's decks are water attributes. What field are we supposed to use? Looking at my map, I see that he is following Quattro, which can only lead to trouble.
Before I follow him, I am called out by yet another unfamiliar duellist.
"Rose! I challenge you right here and now!" They call out. I turn to see a girl, a little older than me with blond hair and sharp blue eyes. Her information says that her name is Minika. I smirk I reply, and this starts the duel. I take my turn first.
"I draw!" I smile at the cards in my hand. 'Reginald, I'm taking this move from your book.'
"I summon Hammer Shark from my hand! I know it's 1700 attack points may not threaten you right now, but now I activate it's special ability! I can reduce it's level, and now that I've done this, I can summon another monster from my hand which is Level 3! I summon Shock Troops of the Ice Barrier! But these two won't be sticking around as I build the overlay network! Come on out, Tri-Edge Levia!" (ATK 1800 DEF 1500)
"That's pathetic." My opponent scoffs.
"Oh yeah? We'll see about that. I place two cards face down and end my turn."
"I draw! I summon Phoenix Archer from my hand! It may be Level 6, but I can summon this when there is no other monster on my field. I activate the spell card, Burning Chain! This means that I can summon another monster with the same level from my deck by paying 200 life points! So I summon another Phoenix Archer!" (ATK 1700 DEF 1100)
Minika: 3800LP
Rose: 4000LP
"Now, with these two monsters, I Xyz Summon: Phoenix Blader!" (ATK 2100 DEF 1700)
"If you think your puny monster stands a chance against mine, you are highly mistaken." Minika seems confident in herself. Too bad I'm about to bring her down.
"You're the mistaken one! I activate a Trap! Void Trap Hole! This Trap means that I can negate your monster's abilities and I can destroy it!" The girl's face contorts into a frown as her monster disappears. However, it seems she had a back-up plan.
"You might think you've outsmarted me, but you're wrong! When Phoenix Blader is destroyed, the monsters used to summon it return to my field with 200 more attack points! That's enough to defeat your pathetic Levia!"
"Not so fast! I activate Levia's ability! Now, by using one overlay unit, one of your monsters loses 800 attack points! Now, I activate a face down spell! Burden of the Mighty! Your monsters lose 100 attack points for each level! They're both losing 600 attack points!" I smirk triumphantly as Minika realises what a mess she has got herself into.
Phoenix Archer #1: 300ATK
Phoenix Archer #2: 1100ATK
"I-I place a card face down and end my turn."
"I draw! I summon Double Shark!" (ATK 1200 DEF 1600)
"Let's get this over and done with! Tri-Edge Levia! Attack the weaker Phoenix Archer!"
"Idiot! I activate a trap! Breakage! This stops your attack!" Minika looks smug just for this one move.
"You fell right into my trap, Minika! Or technically spell! I activate Double Or Nothing from my hand, meaning I can attack again, but my monster has double the attack points! Now, go again Levia!"
Tri-Edge Levia: 3600ATK

Minika: 500LP
Rose: 4000LP

"Double Shark, finish this!" My monster attacks and just like that, Minika is defeated. I smirk in triumph, but speed ahead. Soon, I spot Shark, who has just won a duel. Changing lanes, I get behind him. He notices.
"Well done!" I shout to him. He doesn't respond verbally, but he looks back and flashes a small smile and then turns back around. Something- or I should say someone- has taken his focus: Quattro.
I holocom Tori, who answers quite annoyed.
"How is everything Tori?" She sighs.
"Yuma's on 200 Life Points! He keeps running into traps!"
"Oh for heaven's sake Yuma! Get your head in the game!" I say.
"Easy for you to say!" He responds.
"Yeah, that's because I've just won a duel and still have all 4000 Life Points. Now go and show this Carnival what you've got!" With that I hang up, laughing. Yuma is a real dork, but he has the talent to be here, that's why he is here.
I'm right on Shark's tail, but I refuse to challenge him. If I notice a course, I'll have to change routes otherwise I'll end up facing him. Something about all this situation however doesn't seem right. All of a sudden, my coaster starts shaking on the course.
"What's happening?!" I yell. Shark looks back at me, whilst my coaster car now has smoke coming out of the back.
"It looks like Rose's coaster car is failing. I hadn't planned for this!" For once, Heartland sounds serious.
"Rose!" Shark comes alongside me.
"You need to remove your Heart Piece and jump for my car, alright?" Shark asks.
"Are you crazy?!"
"You're going to get injured if you stay in it, now come on!" I gulp and grab the shining ruby piece. Swallowing my fear I jump out of my cart, and catch the edge of Shark's coaster- which is still moving!
"REGINALD!!" I start to panic and he looks down at me and pulls me into the car.
"Well, it looks like Shark has saved Rose from danger! Unfortunately, as they both now share a car, they will now have to be a duo since they are both finallists!" Myself and Shark exchange looks.
"We make a good team, I think." I smile shly at him.
"We do. Maybe you will get to see me face Quattro after all."
"I know. So, where are we headed partner?" I grin at him.
"To victory against that jerk, that's where. And then, I don't know where."
"Well it'll all be okay since you're here." I say, and then cover my mouth.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks, glancing at me.
"I-uh...umm...I mean since you're such a good duellist."
"Sure you do." He chuckles, but focuses back on the track. My cheeks are flaming, but I'm excited. This is it: myself and Reginald are finally about to get the revenge we've wanted for over a year, in the biggest Duel competition around. Everything is riding on this. It really is the ride of our lives.