Nexus 002: Masters of Our Fate

Templar Z's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000 Gary's LP: 1900

"ZOODIAC COMBO. ATTACH ONE ZOODIAC TO A ZOODIAC XYZ-MONSTER." Templar Z was not one to waste time. Even before Uno could end his turn, it activated a trap. "ATTACH ZOODIAC BUNNYBLAST." The final zodiac member, the rabbit, attached herself to Zoodiac Tigermortar(3600/1600). Bunnyblast's 800 attack and defense points added to the whole, to Tiger(4400/2400)'s arsenal. "ACTIVATE SECOND EFFECT OF ZOODIAC COMBO." Then the turn passed over, and Templar Z banished the trap from the graveyard to utilize its second effect. "RETURN FIVE ZOODIACS TO DECK, DRAW ONE CARD." The deck welcomed Zoodiac Broadbull, Drident, Chakanine, Boarbow and Ratpier, while it released one of its other cards. "XYZ-SUMMON." Using Tigermortar as the sole material, Templar Z XYZ-summoned Zoodiac Chakanine the dog(4400/2400) from the extra deck once again. "GALAXY WAVE'S EFFECT" One successful XYZ-summon meant 500 points of damage from the continuous spell, for Uno. "... Here we go." The duelist grimaced.

Uno's LP: 7500

The machine's moves were predictable and yet not. It started by normal summoning a Zoodiac Kataroost(1100/1500). "ACTIVATE THE SPELL, ZODIAC SIGN. ALL ZOODIAC GAIN 300 ATTACK AND DEFENSE POINTS." A continuous spell empowered all of its monsters like Chakanine(4700/2700). "ACTIVATE THE EFFECT." Subsequently, Chakanine detached Hammerkong from its material pool, to special summon Ramram(4/700/2300) from the graveyard. "ACTIVATE THE SPELL." The other spell, Zoodiac Barrage, targeted itself. By destroying itself, Zoodiac Barrage special summoned a second Zoodiac Ramram(4/700/2300) from the deck. "ATTACH TO CHAKANINE." Additionally, Zoodiac Barrage could attach to a Zoodiac XYZ-monster, once it was destroyed. "XYZ-SUMMON." Now, three monsters overlayed; the two sheep and the rooster. "ZOODIAC HAMMERKONG." They piled into one monster, the wise warrior ape. Hammerkong(4/1900/5500) absorbed their original attack and defense points, and appeared in a defensive position. Naturally, Galaxy Wave fired another damaging wave. "No. Not again." Gary winced, even though the blast was not meant for him anymore.

Uno's LP: 7000

'I can handle it." Uno was in the way and he held his ground. But more XYZ-summons followed. "What is it up to?" Zoodiac Drident(4/4700/2700) was placed on top of Chakanine. Yet its destruction effect was not used. Instead it xyz-summoned a second Hammerkong(4/4700/2700) right aftterwards. And after that Kong and all its materials attached themselves to another Broadbull(4700/2700). "ZOODIAC GATHERING." Templar Z revealed its third trap card now. "ZOODIAC XYZ-MONSTERS CAN DETACH EACH OTHERS MATERIALS TO ACTIVATE THEIR EFFECTS." Broadbull borrowed a Ramram from the other Hammerkong. Weakening the ape(1500/3500) to activate its Zoodiac searching effect. "ADD WHIPTAIL." Broadbull took the snake zodiac from the deck. As expected, Whiptail attached itself to Broadbull(5900/3100) with its effect. Finally, Broadbull was used the material for a new Tigermortar(4/5900/3100), who then detached the old Tigermortar from her materials to attach the Ramram zodiac in the graveyard to herself(6300/5100). Four more XYZ-summons, four more galactic waves.

Uno's LP: 5000

All this time, Uno could not figure what Templar Z was after. "XYZ-SUMMON." But the game revealed itself with the final Zodiac. "BOARBOW." The answer; the boar zodiac archer (4/6300/5100). "ZOODIAC BOARBOW CAN ATTACK DIRECTLY. AND WHEN IT CAUSES DAMAGE, WHILE CONTAINING TWELVE XYZ-MATERIALS, ALL CARDS ON THE FIELD WILL BE REMOVED." That was why it did not use Drident's effect, to store up 12 materials (Ramram, Tigermortar, Broadbull, Hammerkong, Drident, Zoodiac Barrage, Chakanine, Bunnyblast, Kataroost, two Whiptails, Thoroughblade) Boarbow was going to shoot around Uno's two monsters and hit him directly. After that neither he nor his cards would stand in Templar Z's way. "It's over." Gary realized, he would fall soon after. "DIRECT ATTACK" One the last Galaxy Wave struck, Boarbow loaded its bow. The battle phase began. "Trap card!" That was when, as all things looked most dire, Uno unveiled his trick. "TRAP CARDS CANNOT TARGET THE MONSTER THAT ZOODIAC RAMRAM IS ATTACHED TO." The Templar protested. "Oh I am not targeting your monster! This about mine! I activate Trick Barrier!"

Uno's LP: 4500

Trick Barrier, Normal Trap
When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Select 1 monster you control, change the attack target to it, and perform damage calculation.
If the selected monster is destroyed, draw one card.

"Instead of me, why not take it up with.. Handsome Liger?" Boarbow changed his aim and let his arrow loose on the tiger samurai(4/1800/400). "Oh but Performapal Barracuda is still around! So.." The spell effect of the black rose performer(scale 5) removed the gained powers of any monster that fought a Performapal. All but Boarbow(0/5100)'s original attackpoints were wiped away. "Pop goes the Boar!" Handsome Liger slapped the arrow with his sword and retaliated. It rushed in, blade forward, and stabbed the pig warrior in the chest. "You.. survived?" Gary could not believe it. "Nobody ends my show in one turn." Uno proclaimed as he opened his deck. "Now it's my turn." Hammerkong could not attack, and Templar Z was out of cards. On the flipside, Uno could add a highlevel Performapal to his hand, now that the Handsome Liger had destroyed one monster on the field. "I..." There were several choices. Uno's eyes fell on just one. "I..." It was a dragon card, called Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. "What is this?"

Templar Z's LP: 6200

This was not a card from Dreamworld, or even something Dom made specifically for him. Where did it come from? He knew he could make his own cards, but he was usually aware of it. "Did I.. make this subconsciously? When? During my dreams?" The dragon looked like one from his nightmare, a different version of Odd-Eyes. "Wh-what are you waiting for?" Gary stammered. The duel was stalling. "It looks like.." He added the dragon to his hand. "It looks like I can use this. My turn!" Uno normal summoned one card, Performapal Fireflux(4/1200/1600) the lighbulb firefly. "Go! Pendulum summon!" And between the scales of Performapal Ballad and Odd-Eyes Unicorn(scale 8), the phantom took solid form. Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon(7/2500/2000); its power was as great as that of Odd-Eyes, its felt the same too. "Another one?" Gary gasped. "ALERT. UNREGISTERED CARD." The machine flipped its lid. "You'll get it soon enough, Templar!" Everyone was ready for the fight.

"Battle!" Uno declared his attacks. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum attacks Hammerkong!" The original pendulum dragon would destroy the last shield of Templar Z. Performapal Odd-Eyes Unicorn added the attackpoints of Handsome Liger to the Pendulum Dragon(4300/2000), so that it could overpower the ape's defense points. Hammerkong vanished in fire and thunder, leaving a clean path behind. "Fireflux, Handsome Liger, Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon. Attack directly!" The firebug, the red swordsman and the new ghostly dragon bombarded the drone with kicks, slashes and fireblasts. "It's not enough!" Gary whined. The attacks did not take away all of Templar Z's lifepoints. "Not yet! When Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon does damage, he'll add an extra twelve thousand for each Odd-Eyes card in my pendulum zone!" Odd-Eyes Unicorn aimed its horn at the Phantom, aiding it in the attack. 1200 effect damage and 5500 battle damage. It was just enough to tip the scales. "Looks like I win!"

Templar Z's LP: 0

"So! Anyone else?!" Uno figured whoever sent out that templar would find him soon enough. "?" A faint cry came from behind. From the corner of his eye he could see her, the girl. "Lavender? When did she get so close?" She was hiding behind the corner of a street now. It was a miracle the templar did not notice her. She was shaking her head, clearly disagreeing. "... Anyone?!" He repeated himself regardless. He was not afraid of these machines. "Ah.." In fact it seemed to exhibit fear of him. Templar Z switched to passive mode and backed off. "Ah!" Gary and Uno soon heard a stronger noise. "Oh good." It was a helicopter, it landed on a flate part of the hill. "..They heard me." Now he realized why Lavender wanted him to run. "Ah!" Gary saw this as his chance, the Templar wasn't in the way anymore. He got up and raced off like his feet were on fire. "Whoa, wait!" Uno could not blame him. Though he did not think it was very safe for him out there. Then again what part of this country was safe?

"Not even a thank you." A chuckle came from the helicopter once its blades stopped spinning. "People, right?" A man walked out, decked out in a fancy suit with golden buttons. "You. Are these templars yours? Are you from the guilds?" He was not here by coincidence, that much was obvious. "It's just the guild now. And we're much more than that. But yes, I am with them." The man straightened his tie and dusted off his sleeves. "The name is Justin. Once a Fusion guildsman, now the man responsible for cleaning up this district. And you are Fortuno, Numero Uno on our most wanted hitlist." Justin flashed a happy grin. "Uno, will do. I suppose your new toys told you about me." Though he did not expect company this soon. "Of course. Once I knew it was you, I had to come see you myself. Templars aren't enough. You can give them the best new decks in town, and it wont make a lick of difference to someone like you." The fusion duelist pulled out his dueldisk. "Capture?" Uno surmised that this guy was not going to let him get away without a fight. "Tch. From the frying pan into the fire." At least Uno's lifepoints and cards were reset for this duel.

Justin's LP: 8000 Uno's LP: 8000

"Yes. I knew you wouldn't run. Oh and it looks like the first turn is mine!" Justin trailed his fingers across his cards. "Here I go! Destiny Draw!" He took a spell from his hand and placed it on the disk. "Destiny Heroes?" Destiny Draw discarded a Destiny HERO, Destiny HERO Dynatag and drew cards from the deck. "Yes, one monster for two new cards. But you don't need me to explain the effects, do you? We know all we can already. Unlike that scrappy loser from before." Justin slammed two cards on his dueldisk. "I summon Destiny HERO Drilldark! So I can special summon another Destiny Hero from my hand!" Drilldark, a black shelled warrior(4/1600/1200) with drills on his legs, arms and fingers, possessed the ability of second summon. "Destiny HERO Decider!" Decider, an amphibian warrior(4/1600/1000) in a red and purple suit, emerged on Drilldark's left. "I set a trap, and end my turn. So.." During the end of a turn in which Decider was summoned, a Destiny Hero monster would be taken from the graveyard. "I take back Dynatag!" Decider's effect targeted the earlier discarded dynamite warrior. "Was that showy enough for you, Uno?"

"I am not dueling to put on a show, Justin. I do not have the time for that." Uno could not duel underlings forever, mechanical or not. He needed to get to the source, fast. "Set the scales." Uno activated Performapal Lizardraw (scale 6) in one pendulum zone and Performapal Drumerilla (scale 2) in the other. "I use Lizardraw's effect!" Lizardraw selfdestroyed and sent to the extra deck, to draw one card for Uno. Immediately the tributed pendulum was replaced. "Performapal Whim Witch!" Said replacement was a pink kitten witch (scale 4). She did not look like much to Justin. "Oh? So you can only pendulum summon level three monsters?" He sighed. "I only need level three." The days of people being impressed by pendulum summons were long gone. "Pendulum summon! Performapal Lizardraw and Ballad!" Uno summoned the dapper lizard(3/1200/600), from the extra deck. And he special summoned a new performer from his hand. Ballad(3/500/1100) was Barracuda's counterpart, a fencer with pink colors and a bright rose on his head.

"And, summon Whip Snake!" A normal summon was still in reserve, which Uno spent it on his purple cobra(4/1700/900). Once each turn it could swap a monsters defense and attackpoints. "Your target is Destiny HERO Decider!" The Snake mesmerized the masked Decider with its swaying tail, twisting his(1000/1600) powers. "Snake, Attack!" Whip Snake bounced upwards and crushed Decider with one jump. "Now I activate Ballad's effect and target Drilldark! When my Performapals attack, one of your monsters will lose attackpoints equal to the performers power!" The rose swordsman tossed a stream of petals towards the drill warrior(0/1200). "Oh nice, nice." Subtract 1700 from 1600, and you could only end up with zero. "Now. Drumerilla, activate! And Ballad, Attack!" Performapal Ballad thrusted his two rapiers forward and impaled Drilldark's body with them. During its charge, Performapal Drumerilla used its spell effect to add 600 attackpoints to the Performapal(1100/1100) for one attack.

Justin's LP: 6200

Both Destiny heroes were destroyed. "Lizardraw, Direct attack!" Justin remained. "Ah! Hold on just a second" With a smile he activated an effect. "Did you not notice? I can discard Destiny HERO Dynatag from my hand to block an attack and inflict a thousand points of damage to us both!" The dynamite warrior exploded in Justin's hand, scaring Performapal Lizardraw away. "Buuut!" The blast was about to consume the duelists when Justin used yet another card's effect. "One time only, when I move Destiny HERO Decider from my graveyard to my hand, all of my damage will be extinguished!" Decider returned to and forged a barrier around his master. "Blast." However that barrier only shielded the duelist making it, Uno still took the effect damage. "Exactly?" Justin smirked as he witnessed Uno weather the blast. Uno did not respond. "I can tell you're in a rush, but you cant win with an act like that. Heck, I didn't even feel a thing! I thought you could turn visions into reality?" Justin took his turn, seeing as how his opponent was silently ending theirs. "I am not some enemy of the week! Uno!"

Uno's LP: 7000

"Decider!" Justin normal summoned the diving Destiny HERO(4/1600/1000) from his hand, restoring it to normal power. "And then, I activate Polymerization! I fuse two Destiny Heroes, to fusion summon.." Decider merged with a Destiny HERO Dreamer in Justin's hand, forming one body(8/2800/2400) hidden behind a suit of dark armor, silver spikes and a gold mask. "Destiny HERO Dystopia! Here's my fusion! Exciting isn't it?" Naturally someone from his guild would have this as his ace. "Just do what you want to." Still, this duel was not going fast enough for Uno. "If you insist. But Dystopia starts off with a bang!" A mouth on Dystopia's chest opened, sucking in the card of Destiny HERO Decider from the graveyard. "Dystopia puts out damage equal to the attackpoints of the level 4 HERO I just banished." The teethy maw opened after it finished the meal, spewing out a dark smoke that carried a foul smell with it. "Oof." 1600 lifepoints were drained by the black mist.

Uno's LP: 5400

"Yeah. That's the power of fusion. And wer're not done yet! I will give you a show. You've earned it! Dystopia Guy attacks Performapal Lizardraw!" The dystiopic warrior now launched a full frontal assault, flinging its fist towards the orange lizard. "Stop talking." Uno reacted with his own monsters effect, letting Whip Snake switch the attack and defense of Dystopia(2400/2800). "I wouldn't have done that!" Alas, Dystopia immediately broke free from the snake's trance, recharging himself(2800/2400) back to full. "..." The very next second, Lizardraw was destroyed. And not by an attack either. "Whenever Dystopia's attack gets messed with. he can reset himself to 2800 attackpoints. Plus one of your cards is destroyed!" Dystopia's effect destroyed his first target. Now it was free to pick another. "Attack Whip Snake." That poor fate befell the tophatted snake. "Urgh. Drummerilla!" Despite it getting a quick attackboost from the drumming gorilla, a cruel quick jab and Whipsnake(2300/900) broke to holographic pieces. "Maybe you havent seen every card after all, Uno!" Justin moved to his endphase. At that time Destiny HERO Decider's lingering effect paid off and and shifted Destiny Hero Dynatag back in Justin's hand.

Uno's LP: 4900

"I knew what Dystopia could do." Uno claimed as he drew his next card. "Oh? Were you hoping I would destroy something other than Lizardraw?" If Lizardraw was not the first Performapal to die, Uno could use its monster effect to draw new cards for every still living Performapal. "No. I wanted to clear some space. I activate Whim Witch's effect." If Whim Witch was looking at an opposing extra deck monster, she could special summon herself from the pendulum zone. The kitten(3/800/800) dropped down on the left side of the front row. "Set the scale." To replace her, Uno activated Performapal Changeraffe(scale 5). "PENDULUM SUMMON!" The summon range extended to include level 4. Uno resummoned Lizardraw from the extra deck and Performapal Corn, the entertainment girl(3/800/800) with the blue hair and blue tail, from his hand. He activated her effect quietly, switching her and Perfomapal Ballad to defense mode to add an Odd-Eyes card to his hand. "..." Uno chose Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon.

"Justin. You want a show? You will get one! My field spell, Performapal Dramatic Theater!" Soon the backdrop of the ruinous town was no more. A circus tent consumed the horizon. Yet the duelists were not here for fun. "Dramatic Theater? Oof." Now all of Uno's Performapals would gain 200 attackpoints for each monstertype under his control. Lizardraw the reptile(2000/600), Whimwitch the spellcaster(1600/800), Corn the beastwarrior(1600/800) and Ballad the plant(1300/1100). That was the theater's first effect. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Come!" The second let Uno special summon any Odd-eyes monster from his deck, if he controlled four unique performapal types. Thanks to them a dragon joined the cast, the fifth type. Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon(7/3500/2000) tore through the curtains and roared right at Destiny HERO Dystopia. "I will give them both to you! Come Odd-Eyes Phantom!" Whimwitch was tributed, her monster effect let her be used as two tributes for highlevel pendulum monsters. Thus the phantomic dragon(7/3100/2000) was released for the second time this hour. That sacrifice did lead to less power distribution among the remaining performers (Oddeyes: 3300 atk, Lizardraw: 2000 atk, Corn: 1600 atk). But it would hurt plenty. "Odd-Eyes Pendulum, attack!"

"In that case, I'll activate Destiny HERO Dreamer!" Suddenly the dreaming jester brought himself back to the field in defense mode. "You know what happens now!" Dreamer's effect triggered when a Destiny HERO was attacked. It summoned itself to negate the damage done to that Hero and to its owner. The Dreamer dispersed fire of the Pendulum dragon's attack with a strong forcefield. "You can't repeat that trick!" Growing increasingly frustrated, Uno ordered a second attack. "Phantom Dragon!" The second Odd-eyes breathed out its transparent flames. "Don't need to!" Justin flipped his trap card. "D-Fusion! I fuse two Destiny heroes on my field!" Dreamer and Dystopia fused into a single monster. "No!" Dystopia could evolve even further. It abandoned its darkness for an angelic golden armor. He had become Dusktopia(10/3000/3000) the ultimate fused hero. "My turn.. is over." Dusktopia could negate a monsters destruction for a whole turn. It was pointless to attack it. Another wasted turn.

"Don't be mad. This is all for you you know!" Justin drew another card and his smile widened. "I meant what I said, everything. Heck, you can call me a fan. Because of you, we got all of this." His hands reached upwards, gesturing at the sedated templar. "You don't know what you are talking about." Uno cursed. "I do actually. I am pretty high in the ranks.. enough to be told where these machines came from, and who made them. You did, or rather.. the you you forgot." The way he spoke, Uno could tell he was serious. "The current me is all you're gonna get." Uno liked this guy even less for it. "I know. But that's spectacular enough. That Phantom dragon is new, isn't it? Or is it something older than time itself? Who knows." Justin shrugged. "But you are not the only one who can summon such monsters anymore, Uno. We've opened the vaults, and it is time to test its treasures on you!" Justin played his drawn card. "I activate.. The Claw of Hermos!"

(To be Continued in Nexus 003: Ignorance is Bliss)

New Cards used by Templar Z
Zoodiac Bunnyblast

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Zodiac Sign

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Zoodiac Combo
Zoodiac Gathering

New Cards used by Uno Nisell
Odd-Eyes Phantom Dragon
Performapal Whim Witch
Performapal Ballad

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Trick Barrier (+)

(+ Based on the trap used by Yuya in the YGO ARC-V Manga)

New Cards used by Justin
Destiny HERO Drilldark
Destiny HERO Decider
Destiny HERO Dynatag
Destiny HERO Dreamer

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Destiny HERO Dystopia
Destiny HERO Dusktopia

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Destiny Draw
Polymerization

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D-Fusion