Matt heard light footsteps echoing softly against the metal floor beneath him. With a supreme effort, he opened his eyes.
Surrounding him was the same sight that had greeted him the last few times he'd been strong enough to force his eyes open. His friends, comrades, acquaintances... it didn't matter what he called them now. They were all sprawled across the dimensional machine, their eyes shut, totally unmoving. Certainly none of them were conscious. Matt wondered how many of them were dead. Maybe some. Maybe all. He had no way of knowing. Days of hunger and thirst had sapped his energy, and he was far too weak to move, let alone check if any of them were still breathing.
It was surreal, in a way. He knew he should feel horrified and upset, but his body and mind were in their final stages of shutting down. His brain could no longer process things as it once could, and he hadn't the energy to do anything about it if it did. All he could do was stare, uncomprehendingly, at the bodies strewn around him.
There was, however, one figure that was on their feet, stepping calmly towards him and apparently unaffected by the craft's unsteady flight. This was something different, and as such, Matt somehow forced his brain to register it. The hull shuddered and lurched, and still the new arrival paid it no heed.
For it was a new arrival. Of that he had no doubt. Through his blurry, semi-conscious vision, he could see that, although the creature before him was shaped like a human, it in fact bore no resemblance to his species whatsoever. If pushed, he would have said it more closely resembled the beings they'd fought against the day they'd left earth – the Barian Lords. It had soft grey-coloured skin, white spikey hair, and no visible eyes or mouth. What really stood out to Matt were the things protruding from its back.
Wings. Actual, pitch-black wings. And large ones at that.
Was he dead after all? Was this an Angel of Death, come to take him to... heaven? Valhallah? Whichever afterlife was the real one?
"W- who..." he rasped. "Who are...?"
"My name is Vector," the figure spoke, stopping just short of where Matt sat slumped against a pylon, towering over him.
"How..."
"Don't worry, I'll be gone in a minute," Vector said, glancing around at the other bodies. "I just thought I'd pop in and check how my little guinea pigs are doing. And good grief have you lot made a mess."
"Please... h- help them..."
"Help that lot? They're far beyond help, my darling." Vector giggled slightly. Kneeling down, he reached out and cupped Matt's chin with his bony fingers, lifting his head up to get a proper look at him. "But you, Matty-pie... there's plenty I can do for you. Oh yes, I've come here to give you a one-way ticket out of here and to a much better place."
"Are... are you...?"
"Hmm?" Vector cocked a non-existent ear in Matt's direction. "What's that? Speak up, Matty-poo."
"Angel... of d-"
"Angel of Death?!" Vector roared with laughter, releasing Matt and rocking back and forth on his heels. "Haaaa-hahahaha... oh, that's made my day! Sure, let's go with that. Today, I am... ta daa! The Angel of Death: Vector! Hehehehe..."
Matt watched quietly as Vector's mirth subsided. Once it had, the creature picked himself up and turned his back to the boy. Matt blinked, trying to focus. There was something in Vector's right hand. What was it?
"But really, it's no laughing matter, Matty-boy. You see all these bodies lying around us?" He spun in a circle, gesturing to each of his friends in turn. "You see 'em? What do you see? Do you see your friends and comrades, their lives cruelly and painfully cut short? Do you see nasty reminders of the idyllic life you use to lead back home? Well?"
But Matt hadn't the strength to answer, and after a moment's pause, Vector scoffed and continued.
"But me, I don't see any of that. I don't see anything like that at all. I'd love to, but I don't. You know what I see, Matty-kins?" Suddenly, he turned back to Matt, his eyes wild and furious. "I see a mess! I see a huge, bloody mess! Not just here, but what you little cockroaches have left behind! All the Numbers I worked so hard to cultivate, gone in an instant! All my hard work, wasted! You careless, impudent rats wiped out an entire planet of duel soldiers and Numbers in one fell swoop! Just like that! Poof! Boom! GONE!"
The thing in Vector's hand was long, and ever-so-slightly reflective at one end. Matt squinted. If he could just focus on it...
"I don't like getting angry," Vector growled. "It's no fun. My comrades much prefer me when I'm my usual giggly, fun-loving self. Partly because they just adore me. But mostly because when I'm angry, I have an unfortunate habit of 'accidentally' killing things..."
Vector turned around, raising the tool in his hand to his eye height. Now Matt could see what it was.
An axe.
"Yes... it's a bad habit," he continued, running a finger along the blade of his garden tool. "I've been trying to cut down for some time now. Unfortunately, sometimes people just aggravate me so much that I have to do something to calm myself down. I tried taking up an honest hobby doing some landscaping..." He tapped the axe to emphasise the point. "But you see, that doesn't really sate the bloodlust I get whenever someone annoys me just too much... like that pompous windbag Nasch and his entitled sister Merag! Ooh, those two! Just the thought of them makes me so mad!"
Matt said nothing. He was barely listening to what Vector was saying anymore. All his fading focus was centred on the axe held tenderly in Vector's hand.
"And that brings me neatly back to you..." Vector turned back, his eyes boring into Matt's. "You... who, along with your little friends, carefully unravelled and ruined one of the most intricate and best laid plans I've ever made. You, who burnt away years of work in an instant. You deserve to be left here to die, Matthew, you really do. A quick and painful death is far too merciful a punishment for someone like you."
Vector raised his arms. The light from the pylons reflected in the rusted surface of the weapon, which shook slightly in the mad creature's hands. The craft lurched once more – Vector hardly seemed to feel it. Matt watched, helpless.
"But, hey, if it'll help me feel better...!"
The axe fell.
Fun Fact #1: Otherwise entitled "Yu-Gi-Oh! Delta: Vector with an Axe".
Fun Fact #2: We've been looking for an excuse to use the idea of Vector with an axe (originally Superjad's idea) in-universe for some time now. Now that Delta is over, having the last of the main cast finished off by Vector with an axe seems like the most honourable send-off imaginable.
Fun Fact #3: If Vector makes it into our Extra series – that is, if anyone is able to find/think of an unshown duel for him – we're totally going to give him Axe of Despair. It just has to happen.