[ Sea and Sand ]
Story By DJScythe

[ Chapter 1: Trembling ]

“How come Japan gets the best Duel Monsters tournament format?”
Ken sat in front of the TV, watching what was left of the duel between Yugi Moto and Seto Kaiba. Cards were shown and changed into eerily realistic holographic displays of mythological beasts. As usual in these games, the players explained every single move they made, as if their opponent was completely new to the card game.
“Industrial Illusions, a U.S. company, created and still produces the cards. We should be in televised tournaments, if only Kaiba Corp was more involved overseas.”
With a heavy sign, Joel exclaimed, “Sheeesh! The U.S. Duel Disks are due out by the end of the month, and the Kaibaland theme park in Anaheim will be open in six weeks! Can’t you wait for anything?”
“Yeah, Ken, you should be able to keep calm until February,” Luke concurred. The three friends were resting in a dorm room on a lazy Saturday. Posters of video games and martial arts movies covered the walls and a variety of electronic gadgets covered the floor. This was the dorm room of a college geek.
“I know, I know…”
The sounds of the roaring crowd poured out of the television set. The announcer shouted, “This match goes to Yugi Moto!”
“Heh, that’s what Seto deserves for not holding his tourney in L.A. or San Francisco.”
While Ken made that cocky remark, Joel cursed as his favorite duelist lost once again to the kid from Domino. “Now I’m pissed. First, you whine and cry, and then Kaiba gets robbed again!”
Ken smirked as he reached for a small metal box on his bedspread. “We could always settle this over a little duel.”
“Are you stupid? I’ve already beat you three times and it isn’t even lunch yet.”
A deck of cards came out of the metal box. With a sly smile, he said, “I’m due for a change of luck.”

“I’ll attack directly. That’s game. I win.”
Ken’s shaky hand drooped onto the table, still clinging to a few cards.
“What the hell happened? You had the game!” Luke stood behind Ken as he gathered his deck without saying a word.
“What? When?” Joel asked
“Right after you played Jinzo.”
“Damn this stupid shivering hand! I’m always going to suck at this!”
Both Luke and Joel were troubled by Ken’s outburst. Luke cautiously asked, “Why was your hand trembling?”
With shameful, sunken shoulders, Ken whispered, “I was nervous.”
“But…you were winning…”
With red, watery eyes, Ken looked up. “I haven’t told any of my friends about this since sophomore year in high school.” Choking back his tears, he swallowed his pride. “I have some…things.”
Joel tried to cut the tension with some humor. “Some what? News? Homework? Kittens?”
“I have some disorders. Not multiple personality or psychosis. Mostly anxiety.”
“Oh.”
“Well…”
For once, the hectic room was silent.
“My hand shakes and I make stupid mistakes when I get anxious. It’s just… Well I… Excuse me.” Ken walked outside before bolting down the sidewalk. The school shuttle was just leaving, but Ken managed to catch it before it left. He got off at the beach, went to the water’s edge, and sat in the sand. Tears soon fell onto the coast.

As the sun fell below the horizon, Ken sat silently at the beach. No one could be seen up or down the beach.
‘Great. I’ve ruined some more friendships with my melodrama,’ Ken thought to himself. ‘Well, I should go back now.’ As he stood up, he saw someone walking down the beach far away. The mysterious stranger was dressed in linen robes and a turban.
‘Who the hell is that? I might as well get out of hear before he gets here.’
After walking towards the bus stop for several minutes, Ken looked back. The robed man still was walking towards him, but he was much closer now. Ken could now see the man’s dark eyes staring at him.
‘Okay. Now I’m freaked out. That’s it. I’m getting out of here.’
Ken began to run down the beach. He continued looking back. Every time, the man was closer. Finally, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see the strange man.
“I don’t have my wallet or any money on me. Don’t hurt me, please!”
The man spoke, “I don’t want your money. I come here in peace.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Shadi. I come from Egypt and serve as a guardian of the Valley of the Kings.”
‘Great. I’m dealing with someone whose living in a fantasy world.’
“If you don’t want my money, what do you want?”
Without saying a word, Shadi threw a thin golden bracelet onto the sand in front of him. Ken knelt down to pick it up. When he looked up, Shadi was gone. Upon examining the bracelet closely, he discovered that the band was shaped to look like an eye.
‘I have a feeling that this is the beginning of something unusual.’ Ken couldn’t have been closer to the truth.

[ Chapter 2: The Gauntlet is Thrown ]

“Are you right-handed or left-handed?”
“Right-handed.”
Ken was finally getting his Duel Disk at a local electronics store. After waiting in line for two hours, he would soon be wearing the device he had waited and hoped for such a long time. As he had waited, he continued to examine the gold bracelet he obtained from Shadi two weeks ago. He still had no idea what it was or what it meant.
“Name?”
“Ken O’Brien.”
“Have you played in any tournaments before?” the registrar asked. Duelists who had done well in tournaments could receive as much as fifty percent off of the three hundred dollar price tag.
“Yep. I placed…”
“Don’t bother telling me. It should be in the KaibaCorp database.” She typed quickly into the computer terminal she was working at. “Okay. Here you are.”
“So how much of a discount do I get?” Ken expected to get at least twenty five percent off the high price.
“Five percent.” Ken was crushed as he handed over the money and realized he would have to make due with ramen dinners for a while.
“Okay, just go to stall 8 and we’ll have an attendant adjust the Duel Disk to fit.”
As Ken walked to the stall, he saw a familiar face waiting to help him.
“Well, hello Mr. Sanchez.” Gabriel Sanchez was a fellow college student and duelist. Unfortunately, he barely had time to play lately, especially after getting a job and earning the lead in the college’s latest production.
“Ken! How are you? I barely see you anymore!”
“I’m fine, but I probably shouldn’t hold up the line.”
“Oh, right.” He grabbed Ken’s Duel Disk and a special tool to tighten or loosen the device. “We’ve been really busy. I‘ve barely had a second to take a break.”
“That stinks. Are you still using your Dark Magician deck?”
“That depends. Do you still use your Legendary Ocean deck?”
“How about we just find out in a duel this week?”
“That’s great. I have an opening on Thursday at lunch. You available?”
“You bet.”
“Well, it looks like you’re set. Start her up just to make sure she works.” Ken pressed a button near the deck slot and watched as the machine sprung to life and changed shape. “They’re having test duels in the parking lot. I would try it out there.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got to catch the shuttle. See ya Thursday!”
Back at the dorms, Ken was disappointed when no one to greet him when he came into the room he shared with Luke.
“Well, crap.” Ken said this out loud and plopped onto his bed. It had been two weeks since he had the embarrassing moment in front of Luke and Joel. Ever since then, it had been awkward for him to talk to them. He could barely even muster up the strength to greet them. To him, it seemed like it would never be the same.
As he threw his arms over the headboard, his gold bracelet clinked on the wooden bed frame. He looked up at it and continued to think about why Shadi had given it to him. He had carefully examined the golden band many times, but still had no idea what it was. It seemed ancient, but had little tarnish on it. Every nook and cranny on the trinket was examined for any hint of its purpose, but to no avail. Despite all of this, it felt wrong to throw it aside.
‘It looks so old, almost like some kind of artifact…’
Inspiration struck. Ken quickly took out his laptop, turned it on, and went to a search engine. Upon careful consideration of what to enter, he typed in “ancient eye.” Upon examining four unsuccessful searches, he found a site on “The Eye of Horus.”
‘Okay, so it’s the “Eye of Horus.” What is that supposed to mean?’
A window on the computer screen popped up. It was an instant message from Joel.
“meet me at the quad and bring your duel disk.” A challenge had been issued.

A wind howled over the small lawn that was considered the “quad.” The dry grass crackled under Ken’s shoes. The time was approximately two-thirty in the afternoon, a perfect time to hold the duel because most students were at classes or still passed out from last night’s partying. This way, there was a much lower chance of drunken partiers freaking out at the realistic images of strange beasts.
Ken worried that the duel would be awkward. He didn’t even play a single match of Duel Monsters. It seemed that he would have to wait forever to just to test his Duel Disk.
On the distant horizon, Joel began walking towards Ken. Just like Ken, he had a Duel Disk mounted on his left wrist.
“Let’s get this going. You ready?”
“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I want my rematch. Of course I’m ready.”
“Well then…”
In unison, they shouted, “Duel!” Each Duel Disk launched two holographic projectors, moved into dueling formation, and lit up. On top of each Disk, a light-up display displayed each players Life Points, which was set at 8000. Ken and Joel each drew five cards, while the disks automatically decide which of them would take the first turn. In a tinny voice, Ken’s Disk said, “You have the first turn. Begin.” The duel was finally underway.
After drawing a card, Ken dramatically insert a card into his Disk. “I activate Terraforming! This card lets me search my deck for a field magic card and add it to my hand.” After skimming through the deck, he picked one of his favorite cards and shuffled the deck again.
“Get ready to feel the wrath of Atlantis! Activate A Legendary Ocean!” Ancient ruins suddenly appeared behind Ken while the air seemed to become the waters of the oceans depths. “Next I’ll set this monster face-down in defense mode.” A giant card appeared face down in front of Ken. “That’s all for now. Your move.”
“Man, you are so predictable. That has got to be a high defense Water monster like Maiden of Aqua. You just want me to attack so I lose some Life Points and open up for a big attack. I’m not falling for that.” Joel drew and then played three cards facedown: two were either spells or traps while the other was a monster in defense mode. “Do your worst.”
As Ken drew a card, he said, “I can’t believe how good I’ve gotten at bluffing. You did exactly what I wanted.” The monster card in front of Ken began to reveal its true form: a strange looking satellite that seemed to have an eye and a devious grin. “Activate Cyber Jar!” Suddenly, both Cyber Jar and Joel’s hidden monster burst into dust. “As you know, when Cyber Jar is flipped face-up, all monsters on the field are destroyed while each of us draws five cards and summons any monsters whose level is four or less.” He looked down to quickly draw five cards. “Okay, I summon two of my Gagagigo and one Exiled Force, all in attack mode.” Two reptilian creatures appeared alongside a small group of soldiers. “What about you?”
“I’m summoning Spear Dragon, Lord of D, and Luster Dragon #2, all in attack mode.” Soon, a dragon with a nose that was like a lance, a stately lord in armor that made him appear to be a dragon, and a sapphire winged creature that was both menacing and beautiful appeared in front of Joel.
“Well, it’s still my turn, so I’ll attack. Gagagigo! Attack Lord of D!” One of lizards swiftly moved into striking range of the lord before butting him with his spiked forearm. As the reptilian creature returned to Ken’s side, Joel’s Duel Disk beeped rapidly. The number display, which once displayed 8000, now lit up with 6950. “And thanks to A Legendary Ocean, my other Gagagigo is strong enough to defeat your Spear Dragon.” The second lizard sprang into action and utterly devastated the Joel’s remaining dragon. Joel’s display changed to 6850. “Finally, I’ll activate Exiled Force’s effect by sacrificing it, and therefore destroying your Luster Dragon #2.” The group of soldiers charged at the glittering beast while the Dragon prepared to defend itself. Both forces dealt a deadly blow, destroying each other at the same time. “That’s enough for now. Your turn.”
Joel drew a card from his deck to start his turn. His frustration suddenly lifted and he seemed confident that this game would be much like the last time they dueled each other. “Well, once again you had an early lead, but I will once again crush you. Activate…”
One of the two facedown cards revealed itself as a picture of a graveyard with an eerie fog coming from the headstones.
“Call of the Haunted, to bring back my Lord of D!” The lord once again appeared on the field. “And now for my other face-down card, Polymerization!” The other facedown card had a simple image of two monsters swirling together to become one. The vortex pictured on the card began to twist as it drew in the Lord of D. “I will fuse Lord of D. with this card, Divine Dragon Ragnarok.” A bright light shined as a twisting dragon appeared, enveloped with bright light, before flying into the vortex. “Time for you to face my newest trump card!” A strange monstrosity came out of the portal. Its head and front arms were like that of the lord, while its torso and hind legs resembled the shining dragon. “Say hello to the master of dragons, King Dragun!”
Ken looked at the giant creature before him. “Well, I’m screwed. At least it can’t get any worse.”
“Wrong.” King Dragun lifted an odd horn to his lips and let out a haunting call. “When King Dragun is on my side of the field, I can special summon one dragon type from my hand to the field. And I just happen to have this card in my hand. Come forth, Tyrant Dragon!”
A rumble came from the cloudy sky above. Gusts of wind began to blow straight down. Every second, the gusts grew stronger until it finally descended. It made King Dragun look insignificantly small as it stood out among the buildings. Its hide was tough and covered with scratches from past battles. It was the most fearsome creature by a Duel Disk that Ken had ever seen. It was the fearsome beast known as Tyrant Dragon.
“Your fate is already sealed. You will lose.” Joel stopped taunting to insert one more card into his Duel Disk. “First of all, I’ll destroy your only chance of survival with Stamping Destruction. It lets me destroy one spell or trap card on the field and do 500 damage to its controller, as long as I have a dragon on my side of field.” Tyrant Dragon raised his foot and quickly stamped it down. “Say goodbye to A Legendary Ocean!” The ruins that surrounded the field began to crumble, as the air once again seemed like normal air instead of water. Meanwhile, Ken’s display changed from 8000 to 7500.
“Tyrant Dragon! Attack Gagagigo!” The behemoth breathed in deeply before releasing an inferno of fiery breath on Ken’s creature. As the fire stopped and the smoke parted, Ken’s monster was incinerated. Ken’s life points continued to drop to 6450.
Joel stood across the field with a cocky stance and devious expression. “By the way, Tyrant Dragon can attack once more as long as there is another monster on the field. So say goodbye to your second Gagagigo!” Another fiery burst destroyed Ken’s last defense and weaken Ken again, lowering his life points to 5400. “Now for the last blow of the turn. King Dragun, attack!” The long dragon moved in quickly on Ken and dug its rear claws into Ken’s chest. No true wound could be seen, but Ken’s life points were nearly nonexistent, now only at a measly 3000. “Now let’s see your last turn as obliterate you.
As Ken reached to draw a card, his right hand shook in fear. There was no way he would win this duel. He would lose again. In frustration, he screamed. As the scream left his mouth, a light appeared around him. However, the Duel Disk was not the cause. The glow seemed to emanate from the bracelet from Shadi. The light grew brighter and suddenly stopped.
Ken gasped for air as he fell to the ground. He slowly opened his eyes, almost ready to cry. However, a definite change had occurred. The golden bracelet that was once around his right wrist was missing. Instead, his hand was covered with a golden armored gauntlet. It shined with pristine light and seemed to have never tarnished. On the back of the hand, the gauntlet displayed the eye of Horus.
Ken was shocked. ‘Have I gone insane? I’m never seen this thing before in my life!’
“No, you have seen it in its other form.” The disembodied voice echoed nearby. “You have been deemed worthy of the Millennium Gauntlet and are now entrusted with its powers.” When Ken looked up to see who said this, he saw only Joel staring at him with concern. The duel was still going on. Ken now intended to finish it.

[ Chapter 3: The Wrath of the Ocean ]

Luke just got out of his car to see groups of students running toward the quad. Some had just woken up from a midday nap, others were doing laundry, and still others just lying around. They chattered among themselves as they sprinted to an unknown object.
“You have to come see this! It’s just so unbelievable!”
“What the hell is that?”
“I think it’s a dragon.”
“Shut up, geek. Dragons aren’t real!”
“Then what do you think it is?”
“It’s obvious! It’s a … well it could be … it sort of looks like …”
Luke pushed past the talkative crowd to see what was going on. He soon saw the giant serpents looming over the quad. After continuing to push through the crowd, he saw both Joel and Ken. While Joel seemed fine as two giant monstrosities stood next to him, on the other side of the field, Ken didn’t look well as he kneeled on the ground, gasping for air.
Joel called across the field, “Are you okay?”
Ken remained silent.
“Ken?”
He strained to get back on his feet and staggered slightly as he remained staring at his transformed bracelet. It covered both his hand and his wrist with a hard layer of gold. Despite its size, it didn’t seem any heavier than it had been as its smaller form. The fingers and palm remained exposed, while the back of the hand was adorned with the eye of Horus. Upon close examination, Ken noticed that his hand wasn’t shaking like the rest of him. Ken took in a deep breath to build his confidence before finally responding to Joel.
“I’m alright. Let’s continue.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you pass out.”
“Yes. It’s my turn, right?” Ken drew a card from his duel disk with his steady hand. “First, I activate Graceful Charity.” An angel holding a card appeared quickly before flying away into the sky, dropping a beautiful light onto his Duel Disk. “I now must draw 3 cards and then discard 2 cards from my hand.” After drawing his three cards, he took two of them and moved them to the graveyard slot. “I’ll discard Suijin and Giga Gagagigo. Next, I set two cards facedown and end my turn.”
“Just as I thought. This game is over. Tyrant Dragon! Attack!” Joel quickly drew a card while his dragon breathed in to blow fire at Ken. However, a strange net appeared and held both Tyrant Dragon and King Dragun to the ground. “What the…?”
“Apparently, you’ve never heard of this trap card.” One of Ken’s two facedown cards revealed itself. The image of an orb held to the ground by a net like the one that held Joel’s monsters was on the card. “This is Gravity Bind. It’s a continuous trap card that prevents all monsters with a level of 4 or higher from attacking.” Ken spoke with great confidence that was completely different from the shivering state he had just been in moments ago.
Joel gritted his teeth, angered that his victory had been delayed. “I may not be able to attack you, but I can still do damage to your life points. Active Dragon’s Gunfire!” Joel slipped a spell card into his Duel Disk, causing Tyrant Dragon to blow a small ball of fire at Ken. As the fiery ball hit Ken, Joel explained, “Dragon’s Gunfire takes away 800 of your life points if I have a dragon on the field.” Ken’s Disk beeped a few times as his display changed to 2200. “Finally, I’ll play this monster face-down in defense mode.” A card appeared alongside Joel’s creatures, but remained facedown and turned sideways. “Your move, Ken.”
Ken now moved with the same confidence that he had at the beginning of a duel. Drawing a card, he smirked. “This should be of use. I’ll use my Pot of Greed to draw two more cards.” After slipping the card into his Duel Disk, a grotesque pot appeared and quickly disappeared. Ken drew two more cards as a sly grin appeared on his face. “It seems like my ancient city is back. Activate my second A Legendary Ocean!” The familiar ruins and water materialized quickly. “Next I’ll summon Amphibious Bugroth MK-3!” A machine that looked like an unusual submarine emerged as Ken inserted a card into his Duel Disk. “It also has a special ability. Whenever an Umi or A Legendary Ocean card is on the field, it can attack your life points directly. And it gets an extra 200 attack and defense points.”
Joel seemed very frustrated. “Don’t make such a stupid mistake! You know that your own Gravity Bind card will prevent your Bugroth from attacking! If you’re going to play against me, I want to face your full power!”
“You are indeed facing my full power.” Ken looked back to the ancient ruins displayed behind him. “You obviously are not familiar with A Legendary Ocean. It is a view of the ancient ruins of Atlantis, a proud prosperous city that was renowned for its innovations. However, a tragedy struck and sank the island the city stood on. In a matter of moments, the city was submerged…”
“I know about Atlantis, Ken! What are you getting at?”
“The innovation that once belonged to the city’s citizens has carried to its current, water-dwelling inhabitants. As a result, all of the water monsters on the field gain 200 attack and defense points, as well as lowering their level by 1 when on the field or in my hand.”
“You mean?”
“Yes, my Amphibious Bugroth MK-3 can attack even though Gravity Bind is in effect because its level is now 3 instead of its previous 4. Plus I have this spell card called Mage Power.” Another card went into the Duel Disk as a strange glow covered Ken’s aquatic machine. “Mage Power increases one monster’s attack and defense points by 500 for each spell and trap card on my side of the field. If my counting is correct, I have 4 spells and traps, so it’s 2000 extra points, adding up to a grand total of 3700 attack points.” Drops of sweat soon formed on Joel’s as realized that the tides had turned in this game. “MK-3! Attack Joel directly!” The machine soon whirred over Joel’s monsters and punched Joel forcefully with one of its mechanical claws before retreating back to its own side of the field. Rapid beeping came from Joel’s Duel Disk as the display changed from the high score of 6850 to a much lower 3150. Ken gestured with his right hand, his thumb pointed up, while saying, “You still have the lead, but in one turn, you will fall!” At the end of his statement, he turned his thumb down to emphasize his opponent’s defeat.
Joel screamed with rage, “I’m going to crush you! I’m not letting you disgrace either Kaiba or me again!” Joel drew a card. With no emotion, he put the card facedown as a spell or trap. “End turn.”
“You’ve gotten much better at controlling your display of your emotion when you duel. Unfortunately for you, I remember this play from a few of our previous games.” In a swift, steady motion, Ken drew a card. “And I just drew the card that will let me defeat you.” With another swift stroke, he snatched the monster card on his Duel Disk and moved it to the graveyard slot. “I choose to sacrifice Amphibious Bugroth MK-3. With that tribute, I bring out my ultimate creature of destruction. It is the embodiment of the ocean’s extreme force. I bring forth Levia-Dragon, Daedalus!” A large serpentine creature sped through the simulated water from the far off horizon. Its body was covered in scales and fins that glistened in the afternoon sun. Its head looked fierce and jagged, like the head of a vicious, carnivorous dinosaur.
Luke couldn’t believe how realistic the towering creatures looked. While staring aghast at the incredible sight, Gabriel soon appeared behind him.
“Sweet! I’m not too late!” Gabriel was holding a small electronic device. Blinking colored dots were scattered across the device’s screen.
“Hi Gabe. You’ve got great timing; Joel and Ken are in a deadlock.” Luke noticed the small device. “What’s that?”
“Duel tracker. It uses Wi-Fi connections to track…”
“Wait, I think this is it!” Luke and Gabe quickly looked into the battlefield.
Ken paused and took a deep breath before introducing his opponent to his latest beast. “Levia-Dragon Daedalus has a special ability. It can destroy an Umi or A Legendary Ocean on my side of the field and use that ocean’s force to destroying everything else on both sides of the field. That mean’s that Levia-Dragon Daedalus won’t have to deal with either of your monsters and will not be affected by either my Gravity Bind or your…Mirror Force if I’m not mistaken. That’s the card that is facedown on your side of the field, am I right?” Ken paused, waiting for Joel’s response. Joel said nothing. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to see for myself.”
A whirlpool began to form around Daedalus. At first, it barely caused the water to ripple. Within a few seconds, it broke up the ruins behind Ken and drew the ancient stones into its vortex. Tyrant Dragon was slowly pulled into the vortex while the currents threw around King Dragun like a rag doll. Ken’s Gravity Bind was soon swirling in the torrent. Joel’s final facedown card was hauled into the whirlpool. As the current picked it up, it displayed its face. The facedown card was Mirror Force. With a great roar from the sea dragon, the water flew away from Daedalus, taking everything it had picked up within its reach. Only the sea dragon remained on the field.
“And to increase the power of my fatal blow, I’ll activate Axe of Despair!” As the card activated, the sea monster’s claws became razor sharp. “I’m sorry, but this game is over. Levia-Dragon! Finish this! Attack!”
The serpent leapt into action and flew directly at Joel. It flew straight through him before sailing of into the horizon. Joel fell to his knees. His Duel Disk made a few final beeps before making a different tone once the display now read 0. In the same robotic voice that announced who had the first turn, Ken’s Duel Disk said, “Duel over. You are the winner.”

Ken quickly put the cards in his hand into the deck slot on his Duel Disk while he ran to the other side of the field to Joel.
“Joel! Joel! Are you okay?” Ken shook Joel by the shoulders to get him out of his eerily quiet state.
With a grunt, Joel said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just stop shaking me!” Joel stood up as Luke and Gabe ran to their friends after pushing their way through the crowd. “I didn’t expect the force from the fight to be so much.”
“Yeah, we’ve had a few people complain about that at the store.” Gabe looked at Joel’s Duel Disk curiously. “Okay, here’s the problem. You have the force feedback set to high. Let me take it down a notch.”
“No, don’t. I think it’s great. Now I have a bit more encouragement to win my duels.”
“Well, I’ll check Ken’s. I’m just glad I could get here in time to see the end.”
Ken appeared confused. “How did you know we were dueling?”
Gabe handed Ken the device had shown Luke. “It’s a duel tracker. It connects to Wi-Fi networks to detect duels within a certain distance from the tracker. It’s usually only for tournaments, but I got one since I work at the store.” Gabe’s expression soon changed to a confused look similar to the face Ken had when he was shown the duel tracker. “That’s weird. The force feedback was set to low. Why were you fallen when I showed up?”
“Well, I…” Ken raised his free wrist to show the gauntlet, but it had disappeared. The small bracelet was in its place. “I guess it was just anxiety.”
“Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that.” Joel now seemed fine as he spoke up. “I know we acted a little unusual when you told us about it. But now that we’ve all had some time to deal with it, I’m fine with it now.
“Me too,” Luke said.
“Thanks guys. I’m just glad that we’re okay now.
Joel suddenly realized that Gabe must have been wondering what they were talking about. He turned to Ken and said, “I guess we should tell him.”
“You mean the anxiety disorder? I’ve known about that for a while.”
“Yeah, I told him a little while after I told both of you.”

The four guys soon realized that they’re were still other people standing around in awe at the battle they had seen. Hundreds of questions soon came from the crowd.
“What is that thing?”
“How does it work?”
“What are those little cards for?”
“Where can I get one?”
The close friends soon realized that they might have started the next fad at the college. They didn’t know if this was a good thing or bad thing. No one could expect how out of control it would get.

to be continued...]