Reverberation

Mateo was driving along a Duel Track alone. He had to be ready for the return of the Azure Signers. They would return, he knew they would. So, alone in the middle of the night, he worked out different combos. But this night felt… Different. It felt familiar, but also completely new. That was when a woman appeared on the track in the middle of the road. Mateo slammed on his breaks, barely managing to stop before he would have smashed into her. He got out of his Duel Runner and took off his helmet. "Are you crazy?"

"So. You do have heart. This is good."

"Who are you?"

"I am Jiala. An emissary of the Dimension of Light."

"An emissary… You mean like Illeya!" Jiala was very visible disgusted when Mateo made that comparison.

"I am nothing like Illeya. She was once an agent of the Darkness. Why the Light would ever forgive her I'll never know." She growled. "I was supposed to be the emissary, but then she appeared ten years ago, and now I'm second best. I'm only emissary now because she was dispersed by that Shiho kid."

"You sound pretty resentful towards my friend."

"Let's not discuss her right now." Jiala replied. "I am here to gauge your use of your mighty dragon."

"I use a lot of dragons."

"You know of which one I speak."

As soon as she said that, Mateo understood. "Ah. The Shining Dragon of Revelations. His Duel Monster counterpart is my Shining Dragon – The Revelation."

"Correct." Jiala answered as a glimmering white Duel Runner appeared.

"I thought you emissaries couldn't duel without a host?"

"Whoever said I didn't have one? Illeya took possession of you because she needed a form, and if she had won, she could have remained inside you if she wished." Jiala's true form glowed through the woman she was in. "I took this form five thousand years ago. Over the course of those thousand years, we have become so tightly bound that even if I were to lose, I would not be banished like Illeya was, although I doubt you would use powers like that against me."

"Well, if you want to duel, let's duel."

"Fine." Jiala sat down in her Duel Runner as her deck appeared in the Wrist Dealer. Mateo put his helmet back on and sat in his. They drove into Dueling position, as the counter appeared. They clicked a Duel Start button, and a light wave of energy flew out of both of their Duel Runners.

"Duel mode, engaged. Autopilot standing by. Activating the Speed World 3 Field Spell." The counter counted down, and as the go light began to glow, both Mateo and Jiala launched down the track. As they reached the first turn, Mateo pulled ahead.

"Let's Duel!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 0

As Mateo rounded the first bend, he drew the top card from his deck. "I'll take the first move!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 0-1
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 0-1

"I summon Hunter Dragon in attack mode!" Mateo slapped the card from his hand as his dragon appeared to the field in a burst of light. "I'll end my turn with two cards facedown."

"My turn." Jiala grinned at the card she drew, as she glanced up at Mateo. "Get ready, because I have no intention of making this duel easy for you!"

"Bring it on!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 1-2
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 1-2

"I summon Consecrated Light in defense mode!" A glowing orb morphed into existence, causing bright light to explode throughout the field. "Next, I'll set this card facedown."

What is she thinking, summoning a weak monster like that? True, my Hunter Dragon can't attack so long as Consecrated Light is on the field due to it being a DARK monster, but there must be more to her plan. Mateo thought to himself. If I summon a monster that can destroy Consecrated Light, I can get an attack in and lower her Life Points!

"My turn!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 2-3
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 2-3

"I summon Bright Star Dragon! And since my Bright Star Dragon is a LIGHT attribute, he is permitted to attack your Consecrated Light!" Mateo shouted as his monster charged forward.

"Not quite! I activate DNA Transplant! With this trap card, I can declare an attribute and have all monsters on the field become that attribute!" Jiala countered. "And by declaring DARK, I can make even your Bright Star Dragon a barricade against attacks!"

In horror, Mateo watched as a cloud of darkness flowed from the DNA Transplant trap card, enveloping his monster and Jiala's with darkness. As the cloud faded, Bright Star Dragon and Consecrated Light were black where they were once white or blue. However, as Bright Star Dragon was in the middle of an attack, a wave of bright light exploded from the Consecrated Light's now black body, halting Bright Star in place. "Oh, no!"

"My turn!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 3-4
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 3-4

"I studied about you and your deck while I was brought up to speed with my duties as the Emissary of Light." Jiala replied. "I know that in your deck you have two cards that could be used to destroy only my spell and trap cards specifically. Mystical Space Typhoon, and Stamping Destruction! But those can only destroy individual targets, so these two trap cards shall be the beginning of sealing your fate. Unless, of course, you find a way to summon Shining Dragon – The Revelation, and soon!"

"I'll find a way around it."

"We'll see. Until then, I summon Angel Guard in defense mode!" As Jiala's monster appeared, it was surrounded by a cloud of darkness from her trap card. As the cloud faded, the Guard's wings had been transformed to a pitch black color.

"My turn! Draw!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 4-5
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 4-5

"While it's true that my monsters cannot attack as a DARK attribute due to your Consecrated Light, that, too, means that you cannot attack!"

"For now, perhaps."

"All I have to do is build up my defenses, and I'll be ready to take on anything you could throw at me!"

"Show me what you are capable of, then, Yurigaya!"

"I summon Delta Flyer!" Mateo called as his monster appeared, immediately being surrounded by shadow and being transformed into a black version of itself. "With its special ability, I can increase the level of one monster I control by one, and I therefore make my Hunter Dragon a level four! I tune level three Delta Flyer to my level four Hunter Dragon!"

A glowing delta symbol appeared on the Hunter Dragon's chest for a brief moment, before fading away with the rest of the creature and becoming one of the four Level stars that aligned themselves in a straight line within the three glowing Synchro rings of the Delta Flyer. Mateo raised his hand as he began his chant. "Ruler of the Spirit Realm, I be of your strength in this ordeal, to bring forward the light! Illuminate the path of destiny! Synchro Summon!"

A glowing white card appeared in Mateo's hand as it took the form of Ancient Fairy Dragon. "Glow, Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

As the green light of Synchro Summons faded away, a blue hue surrounded Mateo's Ancient Fairy Dragon, signifying it being in Defense mode. A wave of shadow enveloped it, transforming its wings and glowing features into shadow versions of themselves. As the shadow evaporated, Ancient Fairy Dragon's wings were like a bat's.

"I'll switch my Bright Star Dragon to defense mode and end my turn."

"My turn. And this turn, unless you can summon the Shining Dragon of Revelations forth, your fate will be sealed!"

Mateo: 4000 LP SPC 5-6
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 5-6

"I'll start off by activating Speed Spell – Angel Baton! At the cost of four Speed Counters, I can draw two cards, but then I must discard one from my hand!"

Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 6-2

"The card I choose to discard is my Harmonic Angel! And when Harmonic Angel is discarded to the graveyard by a card that has "Angel" in its name, I am allowed to special summon it!"

"Harmonic Angel is a level five Tuner monster… That means…"

"That I plan on performing a Synchro Summon!" Jiala smirked. "Tune your instrument, Harmonic Angel! And tune the level four Angel Guard! These two angels coalescing together will allow me to Synchro Summon my ultimate monster! Behold! Archangel Lucifus!"

"Archangel Lucifus?"

"That's right!" As green light faded away, Jiala's monster appeared. The shadow of DNA Transplant started to approach it, but it quickly faded away. One of the Archangel's wings was white, while the other was black. "And Archangel Lucifus is already considered DARK, although it is also a LIGHT monster, meaning it suffers no ill effects of my Consecrated Light! Archangel Lucifus! Archangel Smite attack on Bright Star Dragon!"

"I activate my facedown trap card, Negate Attack!"

"Unfortunately for you, activating a trap card during the Battle Phase during my Archangel's attack automatically triggers his special ability! By discarding an Angel monster from my hand, I can automatically destroy the target monster and inflict damage to my opponent equal to that card's attack, however my attack is negated in the process."

Mateo watched as his dragon exploded, sending a shockwave of energy at him. "Urgh!"

Mateo: 4000 LP-2100 LP

"Thanks for destroying that monster. Yo've given me what I need to win."

"And how do you figure that?"

"Allow me to demonstrate. It's my turn!"

Mateo: 2100 LP SPC 6-7
Jiala: 4000 LP SPC 2-3

"I can special summon Black Dragon Collapserpent from my hand by banishing a LIGHT attribute monster in my Graveyard!"

"Your Graveyard?"

"That's right. Luckily for me, DNA Transplant doesn't apply to monsters in the Graveyard. That sets the stage for this!" Mateo called as his monster appeared to the field from a wormhole. He then pulled another card from his hand and slapped it onto his Duel Disk as another monster appeared. "I summon the Tuner monster Influence Dragon! Now watch as my level 3 Influence Dragon tunes with level 4 Black Dragon Collapserpent!

"Clustering energies smash together and coalesce to become a shimmering new force! Illuminate the path of destiny!" Mateo thrust his hand forwards as the three level stars of Influence Dragon became shimmering Synchro rings around Black Dragon Collapserpent. It faded away, leaving behind its four Level stars in a straight line as a green light pierced through them and expanded to the innermost edge of the Synchro rings. "Synchro Summon! Rise up, my Synchro Tuner, Shooting Riser Dragon!"

"Shooting Riser Dragon?!"

"That's right!" Mateo accelerated, blasting past Jiala's Duel Runner. "And on the turn Shooting Riser Dragon is Synchro Summoned, I can activate its special ability! I can send a monster from my Deck to the Graveyard, and then the level of Shooting Riser Dragon is reduced by the level of the monster I send!"

"What?!"

"So I'll send the level two monster Dread Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard! This makes Shooting Riser Dragon level 5!" A card slid out of Mateo's deck, and he pulled it the rest of the way then deposited it in the Graveyard, causing the level of Shooting Riser Dragon to drop by 2 to make it level 5. Mateo accelerated further as the symbol of the Crimson Dragon appeared around him. "Get ready, Jiala, to contend with my Clear Mind!"

Mateo thrust his hand forward once again. "I tune level 5 Shooting Riser Dragon with level 7 Ancient Fairy Dragon! Light and ideals, clash together, and become the true embodiment of hope! Illuminate the path of destiny! Accel Synchro!"

Mateo held out his blank card and turned it over, causing the image of Shining Dragon – The Revelation to appear as he vanished. Jiala turned to face the track behind her as a green light appeared, and Mateo emerged from within. In a blast of light, his monster followed. "Reverberate! Shining Dragon – The Revelation!"

As the glow faded away, Mateo's mighty monster roared, and glared over to Jiala and her Archangel Lucifus. The cloud of darkness from Jiala's DNA Transplant started spreading towards his dragon, but a piercing white light emerged from within its scales, causing the darkness to evaporate completely. "Your DNA Transplant has no effect on my mighty dragon! And due to his special ability, he'll gain five hundred attack points for every Dragon in my graveyard!"

"But that means…"

"My dragon's attack increases to eight thousand due to the seven dragon-type monsters in my hand!" Mateo smirked. "And your monster only has twenty-eight hundred Attack Points! Shining Dragon – The Revelation! Attack Archangel Lucifus with Shining Lightning Blast!"

Shining Dragon – The Revelation opened its mouth and shook its mighty head as white energy began to form in its mouth. It opened its mouth wider, and blasted white lightning towards Jiala's Archangel Lucifus, completely obliterating it. "Aaaaah!"

Jiala: 4000 LP-0 LP

The glow of Speed World 3 faded away, and so, too, did the Shining Dragon of Revelations, a dull growl echoing through the field one last time before voice silent. Mateo and Jiala were both stopped in the middle of the track. "I trust that you saw what you came to see?"

"You are a powerful duelist. There is no doubt about that. However," Jiala added, "I firmly believe that you are not meant to be our Warrior, the Wielder of the Dragons."

"And why is that?"

"Because mortals are weak and corruptible. Take your friend Shiho, for example."

"It isn't exactly his fault. The Azure Dragon—"

"The Azure Dragon means nothing. If we want to hold back the tide, we can spare no room for weakness." She explained. "And you threw caution to the wind time and time again to save your friend, not destroy him. Personal connections have no place in war."

"And who are you to say that?"

"Luckily for you, someone who is powerful, but not powerful enough to take your power away. Only the Dragons can do that, and you already are vouched for by the Crimson Dragon and the Shining Dragon of Revelations."

"Can't you trust that they know what is best?"

"The Dragons are old! Millennia have passed before their eyes! And you call yourself a Warrior of Light. What have you gained access to? Clear Mind? Yusei beat you to it ten years ago. Burning Soul? Jack beat you to it, too. Even Unwavering Devotion is a universal skill given to all who serve the Light. It has nothing to do with being special. All you have is the power of the Dragons backing you!"

At that moment, the ground began to tremble. A slice of white light appeared in the air next to them, and a mystical whispering emerged from within. "What is that?"

"It isn't fair! He isn't your hero! All he has is the Dragon! Without anything else… How can he save creation?" Jiala screamed at the portal. The whispering grew more intense, and Mateo felt the presence of the Crimson Dragon, as it appeared behind him. It roared at Jiala. And she jumped in fear. "Y-yes, my lord! Right away, sir!"

She vanished into a white cloud, the cloud flowing into the portal and vanishing in a flash. Mateo turned and faced the Crimson Dragon. "What if she's right?"

His question was met only with a stare. "I haven't accessed another Light Power since I dueled Anya, and that led to me gaining the ability to summon the Shining Dragon of Revelations from the Dimension of Light!"

Once again, only a stare. But after a moment, the Crimson Dragon sadly looked up to the sky. Mateo sighed. "Your brother. The Signers will get him back for you."

The Crimson Dragon turned back to Mateo. In his head, he almost imagined the dragon asking why he said the Signers, not them. "I think I need to take a break from this war. But if anyone can save the Azure Dragon, it's Yusei Fudo."

Mateo rolled up his sleeve on his jacket and stared at his Mark of the Dragon. He looked back up at the Crimson Dragon, but it was gone. He looked back down at his arm. The power of the Crimson Dragon, channelled through him with that mark, he could feel its strength coursing through him. He rolled his sleeve back down, and revved his Duel Runner.