The city of Palumpolum.
"A great place for family living."
At usual times.
Right now, it was a warzone.
Liutenant Colonel Yaag Rosch kept monitoring the l'Cie capture operations, a plot that was supposed to be executed with ease now that the l'Cie have been isolated. But, as he could see, one thing went wrong after another.
Just when they thought they could easily dispose of the first 3, another couple blew in and processed mass panic, forcing Rosch to command a second Operation Purge, thus sacrificing the lives of many. Then, l'Cie interrupted that as well, causing the people of Palumpolum to riot against the l'Cie threat, most notably taking random arms in order to scare away a dragon-like Eidolon one of the l'Cie summoned.
Then there was this enigmatic mech that appeared out of nowhere, scorching friends and foes alike. And a mysterious man that is not a l'Cie, not a Cocoon citizen, and barely even human.
All in all, it was a mess.
But that was only his side of the story. The true situation has turned to the worst.
Rosch sent a scout drone to scann the state of the city: wherever soldiers reported presence of l'Cie, they failed to aprehend them with lethal force, and as a result, mayhem occured anywhere they stepped foot. The city was in a state of chaos.
But that was only the least of his problems.
One drone captured a disturbing footage of an odd conflict between the mech-man and the unidentified cryocaster driving a bike-shaped vehicle. (Brane and Shiro) Somehow, a great number of anomalies and an even bigger number of monster-called creatures were reported appearing in their near, and Rosch wanted to know what was going on.
Rosch: "(watching the monitors) … There they are. Zoom in."
The drone has caught the image of Shiro, driving his D-Wheel, King Blizzard, with Diamond Dust Dragon flying loyaly next to him, and Brane in his oversized mech armor gliding beside him with two unidentified creatures next to him.
Rosch: "… What is that? Zoom in on the 12."
Upon zooming, Rosch got a clear picture of what was it exactly on the vehicle's console. His face… was priceless.
Rosch: "Are those Duel Monsters?"
Meanwhile, for Shiro, things just started to turn from gray weather into black screen. His opponent was just enjoying the moment, laughing maniacally.
Brane: "Hehahahaha, this is the end of the line, Shiro. With Speed Spell- Speed Fusion, I combine my Subjugator Orbital and Ultimate Baseball Kid!"
His two respective monsters flew skywards, carried by an unknown force, colliding and releasing a great amount of energy, presented as a huge hurl of supernova-like flames.
Brane: "With heat born of speed, the very axis of the world shall turn around! Fusion summon!"
The huge amount of flames culminated in the sky like a sun of black flames, forming a perfect orb.
Shiro: "Fusion summon? What's he gonna call out?"
The sphere kept sprouting more appengades, starting to resemble a burning phoenix. But, as soon as the blazes of the monster retreated, a more horrifying image was shown: the monster had wings of black metal, a tail spread out like a burning fan, not to mention the entire essence of the creature was an ecliptic yellow fireblaze. It's head was revealed last, it's backbone made of the same black metal, but it's head was in no means avionic: it resembled a metallic human skull, with nothing but fangs in it's jaws.
Snow and Hope observed the sight…
Lightning and Fang saw the sight…
Everyone in the city saw the creature…
People were starting to panic even more than before:
"What is that!"
"A monster! The l'Cie sent a monster!"
"It's gonna swallow the sky!"
"Run for your lives!"
(on their respective locations)
Snow: "What in a heaven's mercy…?"
Hope: "It's huge!"
Fang: "(gasp)…It's like the sun spawned a devil!"
Lightning: "With flames that intese, not even Diamond Dust Dragon's cold hide will be able to survive."
Rosch: "… What a monstrous Eidolon!... How do we fight something like that?"
It's summoner completed the chant:
Brane: "Hehahahaha… Show no mercy, The Burning Antares!"
The monster roared, a voice that would send shivers down the spine of every living being it it's range. A roar like that, one might say even the gods would fear.
Shiro: "…."
/opening song: Mai Kariyuki: 'HEART&SOUL' („Ikki Tousen: Dragon Destiny", 2007)/
(during the opening instrumental, the card of Diamond Dust Dragon spins slowly, ultimately overlapping with the identical brand mark on Shiro's right wrist)
(Shiro gazing over the world of Pulse from a cliff)
Muteki no jounetsu
Suteki na souzetsu
Ichido kimetara mayowanai
(Lightning posing with her gunblade in a frozen landscape)
Namida afurete mo
Kizu ga itakute mo
Shinjiru koto wo yamenai
(spiritual, Shiro and Lightning stand backs to each other, him in a light red and her in a light blue pallete swap, overlapping and reaching the edge of the screen)
Mune no oku ni aru honoo wa
(between them, the center of the screen displays a motion track of different characters: Snow with Shiva sisters in the background, then Hope, Fang, Vanille, Sazh, Jihl Nabaat, Cid, Rosh, and ultimately a beshadowed figure with mechanical details)
Ikusennen mo mukashi kara
Kienai hatenai sadame dakara
(Shiro on screen, holding a card in a draw motion)
DON'T GIVE IT UP!
(Shiro tosses the card up, and it turns into Shiva Shield, instantly dissolving into Synchro rings, envelping the monsters Frostland Lizard, Ice Battleclaw and Snow Warrior…)
Itsudatte taisetsu na mono
(… and summoning Frostland Knight, Frostland Archfiend and Frostland Lancer respectively)
Mamoru tame BURN! BURN! BURNING!
(Vanille clapping and dancing, then winking as Fang ghosts in behind her)
Kitto umareta n dakara
(Shiro's eyes flash, and he holds a card up, which calls forth Diamond Dust Dragon)
GIVE IT TO ME!
Koko ni iru n da
(a slideshow of Milat with Claymech Maximum, Brane with The Burning Antares, Jihl with a large lightning-knight of sorts and Dysley with a massive, beshadowed giant-like monster next to them)
Mezameta kanjousen wa
(in Dysley's shot, he's struck by lightning and turns into Barthandelus)
Majiwatta unmeisen de
(Shiro driving his King Blizzard, and Lightning ridin Odin in Gestalt Mode next to him on a straight road, Diamond Dust Dragon emerging from the sky, bursting a blue beam from it's mouth, covering the screen)
Donna miraizu wo egaku?
DON'T GIVE IT UP!
Tadoritsukeru hi made HEART & SOUL!
(the cast posing beneath the title, Diamond Dust Dragon enveloping them all with it's wings from above)
Cold Saga
Episode 4: „Hope's Resolve- Guardian of Etro, Alexander!"
This was the state on the highway: Brane was booster-gliding behind Shiro, who was driving his D-Wheel, but despite being in front, Shiro's situation looked grim. For above the city, the horrible Burning Antares kept it's glare.
Brane: LP 3000
Brane: „Hehahahahaha! You really shouldn't have let me live, Shiro, for now you are facing the most powerful monster in my entire arsenal! The Burning Antares! Where he turns his head, flames consume all matter to ashes!"
That was the horrible monster, scouting above the city. In addition, Brane was also in possesion of the Trap card Tip Axis on his side of the field.
The Burning Antares: ATK: 3600
Shiro: „An attack power of thirty-six-hundred. If I don't defent, Diamond Dust Dragon will be burned to a crisp."
Shiro: LP: 3000
On Shiro's side: 2 face-down cards and his loyal Diamond Dust Dragon, not fearing, not turning back even as he was facing the solar colossus called Antares. A bit of an improvement to him was the aftermath of the effect of Bold Hope, which made Diamond Dust a bit more powerful.
Diamond Dust Dragon: ATK: 2700
Shiro: „With Bold Hope, Dimamond Dust gained some strength, but it won't be enough to match this new monster. There's no other choice. I'll have to rely on my two traps: Shock Barricade; if I play this, I can negate one attack and inflict some damage to Brane. The other one is Revival Spring, which I can use when an attack is negated, and bring back a monster from my graveyard. The only strategy so far I can follow is to block his attacks, then, maybe, I can return Frostland Lancer for direct attacks. I just pray Hope doesn't do anything reckless before I come back in his reach."
Brane: „What's the matter, Shiro? You suddenly went mute. Can it be you're afraid to face my ultimate monster? Afraid for your life, perhaps?"
Shiro: „I do not fear wroth monsters, I put them to justice. Your fell-flamed demon will not destroy Diamond Dust that easily!"
Brane: „I can't blame you for being overprotective for your Comandee's safety. After all, a Battle Duelist's life depends on his Comandee's safety. What will happed to you once he gets destroyed?"
Shiro: „… If a Comandee gets wounded severely, then it's duelist… will certainly die."
Brane: „Hmhhhhhh- Hehahahahaha! You spilled it out that easily! Yes, a Comandee's defeat in battle can severely damage the Duelist's body, in 99% of cases this kills them instantly. That's why taunting BaD's to summon their Comandees and then beating them in battle is the easiest way to capture them. That's also why Battle Duel rules state a competitor loses by default if they should be too fatigued to fight. I do wonder, however, are you maybe strong enough to witstand this crushing blow?"
Shiro grunted at Brane.
Brane: „Only one way to find out isn't there? But first… (picks a card) I'll put on a little ensurance. (sets the card down)"
Shiro: „Why is he setting that? He can't activate traps on the turn they're set down."
Brane: „It's time for the main crescendo! Antares, descend!"
The huge monster obeyed, and looked at it's target: while The Burning Antares was flying in the higher spheres of the city, Diamond Dust Dragon kept close to it's master and flew a little bit above roadground. As the massive burning fiend descended, tepmerature just kept rising in the city, and by the time it joined closely behind Brane, taking cover of the entire horizon behind him, it was already hot like in an owen.
Shiro: „Here he comes…"
Snow and hope finally made it to a safe location: a high district, just near Felix Heights, with an observation point over the entire city. After a hard time of running away from soldiers, it looks like they finally managed to take a break. Snow purchased a drink at one of the nearby vendors. Regarding the situation, he certainly seemed jubilant.
Snow: „That burning thing in the sky sure had me frightened. And you?"
Hope seemed less intrigued. He was just sitting, his head hung down, not saying a word. Snow didn't seem to mind silence. He just offered the can of drink he purchased.
Snow: „Here."
Hope: „… I'm not thursty."
Snow: „Huh? Hmmmm, okay? (opens the can) Well, wouldn't like to waste it."
Snow leaned the can and drank it's contents ala ex. He breathed out loudly once he was done.
Snow: „Refreshing. You don't know what you missed."
Hope was still sitting, his head hung down.
Snow: „Worried?"
Hope: „Hm?"
Snow: „Heh, can't blame you. You've had it rough lately. If it's that firegun earlier you're worried about, rest asured Shiro will take care of it. The guy's got style, he won't go down that easily."
To Hope, these words were just the thing… to stir up the flames. He spoke up.
Hope: „Snow… Can you firmly believe Shiro can make it?"
Snow: „He better. If either one of us doesn't come out for countout, Light's gonna have my head, you know what I mean? (laughs)"
Hope: „Do you… Like leaving people like that? Not worrying at all for their safety?"
Snow: „Hey, it's not like I'm not worried about him at all. But sometimes, you gotta have faith."
Hope: „… Faith… and hope?"
Snow: „Already got one of those. (winks at Hope)"
Hope: „… So Snow… What do you make of this whole l'Cie thing? How do you intend to move on?"
Snow: „I thought I told you. I'm gonna follow Serah's words and save Cocoon, I guess."
Hope: „How?"
Snow: „(crosses arms) Hmmmm… That's a really good question. But… I believe that, if we keep on fighting, moving forward, we can find a way to fix this. Gotta be optimistic, that's all. It'll keep you alive."
Hope: „And about others?"
This question, it finally did it: it rendered Snow speechless, his breath stuck in his throat. Hope knew Snow needed some time to think of an answer, but continued launching the forum anyway.
Hope: „What if it gets the people around you involved? What if your actions end up ruining someone's life? What if someone dies? What then, Snow!"
Snow couldn't do anything but grind his teeth, not angry, but remorsing. He made a step backwards, almost loosing ground beneath his feet. To a cheerful man like him, this came in all too sudden.
Hope: „How do you pay for what you've done? How can you make things better?"
Snow: „I dont KNOW!"
Snow, now feeling utter helplessness when trying to reply Hope's words, looked at the empty can in his hands…
Snow: „… Look, Hope, I know I messed up a lot of people's lives. Starting with Serah, then Light, then you and all those Purge deportees…"
… and he crushed the can with his bare hands. Almost unnotably, a tear dropped from his eye.
Snow: „Not a moment goes by that I don't regret my actions, wish I did something otherwise, but… No matter how hard I try… I cannot undo the past."
Hope: „(raising his voice) So that's just it? You say past cannot be undone and think that makes it any better?"
Snow, pushed back by sheer words, leaned over a metal beam of a fence that bordered this large observation point from the rest of the city. He smashed his fist against the beam, almost breaking it in half.
Snow: „I know it's my fault, Hope! I know what burden I have to bear, but I can't go back now! All I can do is move forward and hope to find the answers I seek."
Hope: „There are no answers! You're running away from what you deserve!"
Snow: „Then tell me what I deserve!"
Hope: „The same fate! (charges energy) AAAARRRRHHHHH!"
What occured next, it was remarkable. Even for l'Cie, that kind of power you never expect in a child like Hope. He charged immense amounts of energy within a second, then released it in form of a powerful shockwave on the next. Ground beneath him tore apart, rock shattered, the vendors crashed admist the force… and Snow was blown off his feet, and over the now destroyed fence, his closest ground beneath being hundreds of feet below.
The explosion created by Hope did not only leave trace on Felix heights. It was notable all over the city.
For example, when Lightning and Fang were just passing by, and heading for the rondevouz point, they saw this shining blast, only followed by familiar child's screams.
Both women halted and observed the impact point from afar, noticing debris falling around. They both gasped on sight.
Lightning: „Isn't that Felix Heights?"
Fang: „I believe so. I have a bad feeling about this."
Lightning: „Oh no… Don't tell me… HOPE!"
Without resing for a moment, Light stepped on it and marathoned her way in that direction. Fang barely caught up.
Fang: „Hey, wait up!"
The blast was even visible from Shiro's and Brane's perspective. Shiro took this as a guideline and tryed everything in his power to direct the D-Wheel as close as possible.
Shiro: „What's occuring over there?"
Using the sniper zoom mode of his helmet, Brane managed to get a hawk-eye's vision of the situation. He snickered upon the sight.
Brane: „Well, well, looks like your dream team is slowly falling apart."
Shiro: „What? (to his monster) Diamond Dust, lend me your vision!"
Shiro closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them up, revealing the eyecolor shifted greatly into the blue region, making his eyes literally shining as saphires.
Diamond Dust Dragon observed the scene Shiro wanted to see, and what the beast saw was also transfered into Shiro's head as a vision. The dragon too posessed a hawk's vision of a sniper, allowing it to observe far away objects.
And Shiro really wished it was only an object he was seeing.
He saw Snow hangng from the edge of a blown terrace, and above him stood Hope. But he was not lending a helping hand. In fact, he was smiling.
Shiro: „No… Hope is executing Operation Nora! (speeds up) I can't let that happen! I'm coming!"
Brane: „What's with the sudden rush? (speeds up as well) Why can't you just once let the world go aroud? Big deal, the kid's about to deliver the fatal blow to the icerock. It's not your concern to discuss."
Shiro: „That won't happen! I have a promise to keep!"
Brane: „Promise, shmomise, you're forgeting your situation. It's still a Battle Duel, and you're not going anywhere until you get your turn. (points at the card) So, to compensate, I'll use the effect of Tip Axis, allowing my Burning Antares to inflict 1000 Battle damage this turn. (the card flashes) Battle phase! I attack Diamond Dust Dragon with The Burning Antares! Show him no pardon!"
Burning Antares opened it's mouth, which looked a lot like a volcaninc throat from the inside, and charged up a great amount of flames.
Shiro: „I won't let you! Trap, open! Shock Barricade! (reveals) This card can block one of your attacks, and then you take 600 points of damage for every monster on your side of the field. Your Antares' attack stops here!"
Brane: „(smirks) Nope. Tricks like that won't stop the wrath of Antares. If you think his attack power is overwhelming, wait until you see what else he's capable of. Activate The Burning Antares special ability! (Antares' eyes flash) Once per turn, I can destroy one of my own cards. (his face-down card shatters) Then, antares can cancel the activation of your Trap and destroy it!"
Shiro: „What!"
Just like that, Shiro's card that was supposed to turn the tide shattered and vanished.
Shiro: „A Trap canceling effect? How do I fight something like that?"
Brane: „You can't. That's precicely what makes The Burning Antares so fearsome! There's absolutely nothing capable of blocking his attacks, let alone defeating him in battle!"
Shiro: „No… Diamond Dust Dragon is completely exposed like this!"
And just when it seemed like Burning Antares was about to fire the contents of his throat…
Brane: „(fingersnap) Wait, Antares."
… It closed it's mouth, which kept releasing smoke and yellow ember even when closed.
Shiro: „What is it now? Are you negating your own attack?"
Brane: „Don't you worry about that, the attack will connect, there's no stopping it. However, I just had an interresting thought. If this attack succeeds, and you turn out not to be as strong as I thought, you'll loose the duel by crashing and die, hence your Comandee's death in battle. I wanted your last experience on this world to be your worst."
Shiro: „What do you mean? There's nothing you can do to me worse than killing me."
Brane: „You're a bad liar. We both know that statement is incorrect. So, how's this for a change? (pulls out a cannon-tube out of his right gauntlet)"
Shiro: „That's a…"
Brane: „Hehahahaha! The missle in this tube is a Long-range Lock-on Missle, or LLOM for short. Right now, it's locked on the nano-drone I planter with the tracker to find you."
Shiro: „You mean to blast me before you defeat me?"
Brane: „Not you, Frosty. The nano-drone is planted… on one of your pals."
Shiro: „(eyes width) You mean…!"
Brane: „They were dead hen anyway, but as you won't live long enough to see them die, I'll have to do it myself. Hehahahaha!"
The lock-on nanodrone was beeping silently…
… at the back of Hope's collar.
Hope, after having executed the attack, pulled out a survival knife out of his pocket, then paced towards the edge of the blasted concrete. He saw Snow, holding to his life, hanging of the edge.
There was something about Hope's expression. It was not his usual face. This one was far too silent not at all showing any emotions to be a part of a kid's life. He didn't smile, he didn't frown, he just… observed.
Hope: „I'm glad you managed to get a hold like that. If wouldn't feel right if gravity did the job I set as my own mission. This is my… Operation Nora."
Snow: „Hope… What are you saying?"
Hope: „(opens the knife) Nora Estheim. She was my mother. And she died because of you!"
Snow: „… Nora."
In a flashback, Snow saw the gleam of a woman with the same haircolor as Hope, first smiling, the next moment grabbing a large gun, and finally falling into an abyss out of his reach. Each of these individual flashbacks made Snow wanna grief.
Snow: „I see… She meant you."
Hope: „Ever since, the one thing that kept me going… It was not just my strength, or the l'Cie power. It wasn't even my Focus. (points the knife at Snow) Snow, it was you! The only thought I had in my head was a clear image of seeing you put down!"
Snow: „Hope, wait, you have to know…"
Hope: „I'm done listening to your excuses!"
At that point, Hope's face expression changed for the worst. The one thought in his head twisted his face into what looked almost psychotic. A vile smile, with sinister thoughts, it was like a madman took over Hope's body.
Hope: „And this is it. Everything begins with this! Your end!"
He held the knife with both his hands, and held it up like he was about to slaughter a pig, only the edge only had Snow's reflection in it's surface at this point.
Just then, in a knit of time, Lightning and Fang managed to catch up, and came their way up the stairway towards Felix Heights. They both had their respective weapons at hand.
Only one glance on the situation told Lightning odds turned around for the worst.
Lightning: „Hope! Dont do it!"
Hope simply glanced in Light's direction, not putting the weapon in his hands down one bit.
Hope: „Light. I'm glad you came."
Lightning: „Hope…"
It was obvious: Hope lost his mind. His desire for revenge clouded it.
Hope: „Look, Light. I'm about to execute Operation Nora! Isn't that great? Everything will be better after this!"
The way he said it it sounded like a kid saying „look mom, I drew a horsey". Trust me, it was a horrifying image to see Hope say that.
Fang: „The kid's got a screw loose! I'm gonna…!"
She was about to charge at Hope, maybe even prepared to attack him, but Lightning put her arm in her way, stopping her.
Fang: „Oi, Pinky, what's the matter? The kid's gone nuts, let me punch some sense into him!"
Lightning: „That kind of behavior just lead to this mess! (to Hope) Hope, you don't have to do this! Once done, there's no going back! It won't make anything better, it'll ensure you live in eternal regret!"
Fang: „Better listen to her, kido. Trust me, you don't wanna do this! Killing Snow won't bring anyone back!"
Hope: „You think I don't know that!"
At this point, real tears started dripping down Hope's cheeks, in streams.
Hope: „This is what you told me, Light. I set myself a goal and it kept me alive. Now I have to complete it."
Lightning: „I made a mistake! Revenge is not the answer, you have to back down!"
Hope: „No!... I came to far to quit! He made everyone miserable! Just remember what he did to Serah!"
Lightning: „(grinds teeth)… Serah… Serah set us on this quest, and this is the last thing she wanted!"
Hope: „I won't listen! I'm doing it!"
Hope kneeled down and put the knife even higher to get a good view of Snow and make sure his blow becomes lethal. If her can damage only the hand that was holding Snow on the edge, then the man will certainly fall to his death.
His old personality was starting to come back, as apparent by his hands shaking and his face expressing random rage. However, this happened too late, and no doubt would turn Hope's desire around.
Hope: „HEAAAAA…!"
Brane: „Eat this!"
Brane fired the missle, and it flew in direction Felix Heights.
Shiro: „No! Hope!"
Brane: „Hehahaha, what are you gonna do? The missle is way out of your reach already. It's moments away from detonating!"
Shiro: „I… I made a promise! Diamond Dust Dragon, intercept!"
Diamond Dust Dragon flew away from the duel zone, and at full speed, it attempted to catch up with the fired missle.
Brane: „I had a feeling you'd do that. Antares! Finish him! Don't let him get away!"
Suddenly, the burning monster on Brane's side sprang back to life and flew up, roaring like an engine.
Not even half way to the zenith, it already opened fire, spitting high-velocity fireballs and bombarding Diamond Dust Dragon with it.
The Dragon's maneouverbility in air was equalling an ace flyer, flying in zig-zag in order to dodge the attacks, then continued flying while backs-down in order to intercept the fireballs with it's aown breath attack. Still, his power was in no way match for the mighty Antares, whose ammo seemed infinite, and missle fired by Brane just kept flying.
The first one to see the missle, coming from afar, was Fang.
Lightning: „Hope, don…"
Fang: „Incming!"
By force, Fang threw herself on Lightning and pushed her to the ground.
Hope, on the other hand, didn't notice the threat…
Hope: „Heaaaarrrghh!"
Moments away from delivering the fatal blow…
BOOOOOOMMM!
The missle detonated meters behind Hope's back. Considerng it's small size, the impact was devastating: all of Felix Heights were put ablaze with moments.
For Hope, it was already too late.
The impact threw him off balance, and just like his blast pushed Snow, this one pushed Hope above the tall freefall.
In slow motion, Hope shed one last tear before loosing his conscinece to the pain.
He was falling down.
Snow: „Hope!"
Without hesitating, Snow pushed himself of the wall's edge with his feet, and in mid-jump, he intercepted and grabbed Hope in mid-fall. Falling down himself, Snow embraced Hope as much as he could, putting his own body at the risk.
Snow: „I promised to keep you safe, Hope, and if it means I have to use my own body as a shield, I'll keep that promise!"
He was falling down fast. Even a l'Cie like him would die instantly if they fell from this heights.
Dozens of meters away from ground, Snow's life flashed before him…
And all the sudden…
Diamond Dust Dragon arrived.
Flying in fast, he embraced Snow and Hope together with it's giant palms, and as it couldn't halt the speed, it crash-landed hard on the ground, it's hands kept closed tight while his back was slowly shreaded away by the force of the grinding against the ground.
Even in pain, the monster acomplished it's mission. It sat up slowly, then put Snow on the ground. The man was alive, and so was the kid he was holding. Even after he was moments away from dying, Snow didn't let go of Hope. In amazement, he looked up to the beast that saved his life.
Snow: „You are… (smirks) Thanks for the save."
Diamond Dust Dragon grunted, in a gentle, breezy sort of way, while looking down at them.
And that was the last sight it set.
Behind Diamond Dust, Burning Antares set the skies ablaze, and fired a huge variant of his usual fireballs, right into Diamond Dust Dragon's back.
The blast was huge, Diamond Dust Dragon was hit head on. The beast screamed in pain, suffering dying agony.
Even so, it's size covered Snow and Hope, the first one of which was the only one concious. Snow could only gasp at the sight: the noble beast died right before his eyes. The flames kept devouring the duel monster until it vanished completely, shattering to dust.
It's last scream was agonizing.
So was this:
Shiro: „GAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Shiro felt the exactly same pain as his dragon in it's dying vow. Heat, nothing but heat ran through his body, burning him from the inside. There was no fire, but smoke still came out of his body and cinder stains started to form all over his skin. The most pain focused on his brand, which is where the heat was most intense.
Shiro: LP: 2000
In agony, Shiro let go of the Wheel's controls and held his brand, causing his D-Wheel to tilt dangerously to the right, where it collided with the fence of the road, scratching both him and the D-Wheel. The sparks on impact almost looked like a firework display, yet Shiro couldn't let go of the pain.
Brane: „Hehahahaha, this is entertainment! Crash already, crash and die, you moron!"
Shiro, getting a grip despite the pain, didn't feel like complying to his opponent's request. Quickly, he put his left hand back on the steering handle and regained control of the vehicle. He directed King Blizzard to drive along the central line of the road, in front of Brane and his humongous heatwaves.
Upon finally regaining his senses, Shiro breathed heavily, his body badly burned by an unseen force. The breathes were quite deep, each respiration taking up almost his entire lung capacity. Notably, his breath, usually quite cold, was not visible in this state.
Brane: „A tough one, aren't ya? Can't say I'm disappointed, though. I'll be enjoying to see your last effort to stay alive, right before I blow you to pieces. I'll end my turn like this."
Shiro: „(breathe… breathe)… What should I do?... Diamond Dust Dragon is gone. Fortunately, the essence of Duel monsters is indestructable, and passing into the Graveyard is a natural event in a duel. However, if I take on another such impact from his manadrive-filled Antares, I won't make it. But… Brane won't stop at beating me. If I let him run free, he'll surely attack the others and endanger countless lives here. Revival Spring is still on the field, but I can't use that unless I negate an attack. (looks at his hand) With the Shatter Crystal card in my hand can negate his attack, but Brane will surely negate it with his Antares ability again. Like this, I'm completely exposed. There's only one thing to do (looks at his deck) Hoping… for a miracle."
Meanwhile, at the base of PSICOM:
Rosch disliked the potential of the new attacker. The target called Burning Antares demonstrated overwhelming power,, taking out the enemy's Eidolon with a single shot. However, it was the enemy of the people.
Rosch: „This monster is overwhelming. (to soldiers) Call Sanctum, tell them to mobilize all available forces! We'll attack the thing with everything we've got!"
One soldier came up to Rosch, saluted and spoke:
„Sir, I'm bringing a news report from the Sanctum."
Rosch: „Yes, what's it saying?"
„Our orders are to retreat from our current post. The case has been reassigned."
Rosch: „What? Reassigned to who?"
„Your division is to retreat. Liutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat called in and will arrive on scene shortly to take over."
Rosch: „Nabaat? I thought she was busy in Nautilus!"
„She has succeeded in capturing the two l'Cie. 'I'm heading your way now, so try not to stay in my way'. That's what she said."
Rosch: „Hrrrr… Are you trying to undermine me, Jihl?"
The scene on Felix Heights was as disastrous as you might imagine: flames and ashes covering most of the terrain, the rest of which was blown away. Fang and Lightning ducked to safety, but this was not their concern. When Hope fell over the edge, and Snow jumped after him, they almost died of shock. Fortunately, Shiro's Diamond Dust Dragon came and saved the both of them, but not without consequences.
Lightning kept looking over the edge, trying to locate any of her allies. She only got a glimpse off Diamond Dust and some scenes of Shiro's duel.
Lightning: „Was that Shiro?"
Fang: „Some timing. But your cool-headed friend sure is in a dip now. He's lucky to be alive. (looks over the edge) Look!"
Fang just noticed something of importance: out of the smoke beneath them, she saw Snow climb up the long ladder that was constructed into the wall. He was carrying Hope's unconscious body on his shoulder. And notably, he didn't make the fall without consequences either, even with Diamond Dust's support.
Fang: „It's Snow!"
Lightning: „And Hope!"
Snow came pretty close to the top, within the girl's range.
Snow: „Mind… giving me a hand here?"
Fang helped Snow get Hope to safe ground, while Lightning helped Snow himself in getting up. The man grunted in pain as the pink-haird woman leaned him against the wall, most probably because his ribs were broken (in not only that).
Snow: „Once again… the hero saves the day."
Lightning: „What about him?"
She meant Hope, whom Fang still held in her grasp.
Snow: „He's fine. Just unconscious. If it weren't for that dragon guy, we'd both be goners."
The moment Fang put Hope down, the kid's eyes opened.
Snow: „Oh? Awake so soon?"
Hope: „Wha… What happened?"
Fang: „You got the nerve of asking that? I should slap you silly for what you did!"
In fact, fang raised her hand in an attempt to slap Hope on the head, but Lightning got a grip of her before she executed this action.
Lightning: „Let him go."
Hope: „Light… What did I…?"
Snow: „Here. (he put the closed survival knife up, directed at Hope) You dropped this. My gut tells me it's pretty important to you."
Lightning: „That's…"
Hope: „The knife… Wait! (has a flashback) I… I was going to… And then… (to Snow) Why did you jump after me? Why did you try and save me, after I…"
Hope never finished the sentence. For a brief moment there, while he was waking up, he deeply wished his previous actions were just a bad dream.
Snow: „I told you. I was never going to let you get hurt. It was a promise I made to two people. To you… and your mother."
Hope: „Mom?"
Snow: „That's right. (looks up the sky) Nora. Listen, what happened to her… I know it was my fault. I was the one who talked her into joining the coop, in her honor named Team NORA. No Obligations, Rules or Authority. At least, that's what we told everyone. I knew she had a son, I just never figured out who he was. (flashback) That day, when the Purge happened, I was trying to convince her not to fight. But she insisted. 'Moms are tough', that's what she said. I figured she volunteered to fight… to protect her son. But, when the time came when she needed me most, I… (flashbacks to Nora falling into the abyss) It's not an excuse, I know. Right before she sliped my grasp, she told me… 'Get him home'. I never knew who she meant until now."
Hope listened to Snow's words carefully. He wasn't giving him his usual angry glare, though. His eyes got wider and wider as his heart got filled with remorse.
Snow: „Hope, I'm not asking for forgiveness, nor am I mad at you for what you think of me. You hate me, and you have every right to do so. If I had another chance, if things folded out differently, I swear, I would have jumped into that abyss right after her! But I…"
Hope: „You couldn't."
Snow: „…"
Hope: „You had your own problems to consider. You had to save Serah. You had to save them all."
Snow: „… Even so, that doesn't change the facts. What's past is past. Listen, I really don't know how to make things better. But… until we get to that. I'll take any punishment you mean to dish out. You want my life? I'll give it willingly."
Hope just didn't get it. He simply sat there, stunned, like struck by thunder. Snow… He was being nice, right after Hope tried to kill him. Hesitating, he got up and picked the survival knife from Snow's grasp. He observed it, not opening it.
Snow: „It belongs to Light, no? It was her birthday present. Must have been really nice from her to let you have something that important."
Hope: „Lightning's, you mean…"
Hope then looked at Lightning. Her expression was… indescribable. She was just looking at him. Not frowning, not crying, not smiling, she just glared. Hope noticed his hands started to shake while he was holding the knife.
Hope: „Then I… Was I about to…"
Fang: „Bumber, get it. You have a lot of people to thank, and I don't mean just the present here. Shiro also chiped in, if it weren't for him, none of you two blockheads would have been alive."
Hope: „What? Shiro? Where…"
Hope then looked at the city streets beneath his observation point. In the distance, he saw Shiro's D-Wheel, being pursued by Brane and his overwhelming Antares.
Hope: „Shiro, how did he…?"
Lightning: „He called his Diamond Dust Dragon, and it broke your fall."
Hope: „Diamond Dust… But where is… (realizes) Oh no… No, what have I done!"
Hope lost all strength. The strength to speak, so he went mute… The strength to grip, so he dropped the knife on the ground… And the strength to stand, so he fell on his knees. Tears kept flowing down his cheeks in great amount. His words were almost screaming, but not in an angry way. Remorse's wors way of expressing is by screaming:
Hope: „I'm sorry! (weeps) …Everyone, I'm so sorry! I messed up! (punches the ground) I almost did something horrible, and you… (keeps crying) This is all my fault! I let everyone down!"
Lightning: „Hope…"
Light approached the kid, and he just kept on crying, taining the ground with his tears.
Shiro: „My turn! (draws)"
Shiro: SC: 5
Brane: SC: 5
Shiro: „Please… be something good."
Shiro looked at the card he just drew. Hesitatingly, he revealed it. It was a monster card.
Shiro: „Crystal Kid? Oh no, I can't do anything with this besides guard myself. (looks at the console) But I'm not giving up that easily. I use the effect of Speed World S! This means that I can pay 5 of my Speed counters and then discard 1 card from my hand."
Shiro's counters kept decreasing…
Shiro: SC: 0
… and he discarded the drawn Crystal kid to the Graveyard zone.
Shiro: „With that done, I draw a new card! (draws and looks at it) Better: Frostland Lizard. When I summon this card, I can bring back a Cryonite-type Tuner from my Graveyard, which I can use to Synchro summon. The only tuners I have are: level 1 Shiva Wand, level 3 Shiva Shield, and level 4 Crystal Kid. Along with Frostland Lizard, my options are summong a monster of level 5, 7 and 8. I have no level 8 Synchro monsters, and my only level 7 was Diamond Dust Dragon. That leaves only level 5, but not even that one can defeat his Antares. Still, what other choice do I have? I summon Frostland Lizard!"
He placed the card on it's respective place on the console, allowing the monster to appear: a large, bipedal, ice-covered lizard with icy spikes growing out of it's spine. It's scales were completely blue, but it's tongue was even bluer. ATK: 1500
Brane: „An iguana? That's your best shot?"
Shiro: „I activate the effect of Frostland Lizard. When this monster is Normal summoned, I can Special summon a Cryonite-type Tuner of level 4 or below, and the one I'm choosing to summon is Shiva Wa-"
(pulsewave)
Within a second: it was like the world was halted by an imennsely loud heartbeat. Shiro felt a strange surge flowing through his body. The shock stoped his speech, and almost stopped his heart as well. He couldn't describe the feeling, he wasn't even sure what was happening.
Shiro: „What's happening? Did time stop?"
Bright light shone before him, enveloping his entire world around him like it was liquid.
Just like that, he was no longer driving his D-Wheel on streets of Palumpolum. Just like that, he was moving at great speed, not running, not walking, just moving, like he was falling forward, in a space that was made entirely of light, and strings of energy kept coursing around him as he moved.
Shiro: „What is this place? Am I dead already?"
And then, a silhouette appeared before him. An unknown entity surged in front of him of unclear shape, at the closest resembling a large bell. It spoke, simultaneously with a deep and grunting man's and a gentle, warm woman's voice:
„Departer form elseworld…"
Shiro: „Who's there?"
„You have stained my world with your frost, and lead terrible plight upon it with your pursuers. Yet, your life was almost lost, for the price of one of my own kin. Like that, you chose their salvation and your demise. For that, and nothing else, I will bestow the power of my children upon you."
Shiro: „Your children? Who are you?"
„Here, I am called Death, and Providence, and Salvation. Here and now, the strings of destiny have weaved anew, as altered by your arrival. Here and now, the burden of world's salvation rests on you as well."
Shiro: „What do you mean? Who are you?"
The light was starting to fade away. The voice spoke one last time:
„Evoke their name, and they will yield…"
And Shiro was back on his previous scene, on King Blizzard, driving for his life on the Palumpolum Highway.
He shook his head. It felt like he had a dream, without waking.
Shiro: „What was that just now? (looks at his field) What?"
There were two monsters on his side of the field now, one of which was Frostland Lizard, but to his surprise, the other one was not the one he summoned previously. It was a short Sandman-resembling figure wrapped completely in white robes, with only it's eyes revealed. It's turban was was cone-shaped and made entirely of crystal, and so was the armor it was wearing on it's chest and oddly large sleeves. ATK: 1300
Shiro: „Crystal Kid? Where did he come from?"
Brane: „Did you zone out or something? You just summoned that munchkin with your lizard's effect."
Shiro: „I did what? But I wasn't… Hold on a sec, that voice… Don't tell me I did this unconsciously while I was trapped in that weird hyperspace. Did this Providence-thing do this? Why? What am I supposed to do with a level 4 Tuner?"
On Felix Heights, Hope was still crying his eyes out. The pain everyone went through because of him was too much. Lightning approached him and taped his back gently.
Lightning: „Hope, no one's blaming you."
Hope: „(crying) I do… It was the only thig I could think of to keep myself going, and now... I hurt you all… It hurts, it hurts so much…"
Then, his brand lit up, and it really did start to hurt.
Hope „Ghhhh! (gets up, observing his brand) It hurts! What is this?"
The light shining forth from Hope's brand blinded everyone.
Lightning: „What the…?"
Snow: „Hope, keep it down!"
Hope: „I can't! Ghhh… AAAAAHHH!"
Light erupted from his brand, creating a massive light structure around him that resembled a tall, pyramid shaped tower, made of light and transparent. In addition, a seal of sorts appeared beneath him, with markings written in odd alphabet. Hope was in the middle of it.
Hope: „What's happening?"
Lightning: „This seal, it's just like with Eidolon summoning."
Snow: „An Eidolon?"
Bright light surrounded Hope, and an odd seed of light emerged from the back of his right palm where his brand was located.
This light flew skyward, then, at lightning speed, it flew in direction city highway. More specifically, towards Shiro.
The explosion of light attracted both Brane's and Shiro's attention, even Antares looked pale compared to this.
Brane: „Eh? What the brick is going on there?"
Shiro: „This light, it's the same as just recently."
The light flew in like a lightning orb, zig zagging above the highway, and around Brane, who tried to wipe it away like a firefly.
„Capture me…"
That was what Shiro heard in his head. He pulled his arm up, and caught the light in his hand. Upon closer observation, it turned out to be a lime-gree star-shaped crystal.
Shiro: „What is this?"
The crystal broke in his hands, converting into shining dust, then gathered around again in his hand. This time, in form of a card.
It had a white rim, and 8 stars beneath it's name.
Shiro: „A level 8 Synchro monster. (looks at his field, both of his monsters having LV4) I understand. With this, I will craft my road to victory. Time for a Synchro summon! I tune my level 4 Frostland Lizard with my level 4 Crystal Kid!"
Accordingly, Crystal Kid flew forward and dissolved into 4 Snychro rings, surrounding the grunting Frostland Lizard and his 4 lights.
4* + 4* = 8*
Brane: „Level 8? He never went beyond 7!"
Simultaneous to Shiro's summoning, Hope felt a new surge of power, and a voice whispered to him…
„Alexander shall rise, his bond eternal and unyielding."
Hope was still figthting odd pain, but this pain also meant power, and he was releasing great amounts of it.
Shiro: „It's like I hear… Hope, is this your strength? When a heart that doubts conquers all fears, the courage left inside will become an invincible fortress. With sparkling dust, shatter that dream into wake!"
The light of Synchro flew into the very zenith in the sky, tearing the clouds apart. From the clouds, an odd structure descended down like a falling meteor.
Brane: „What the heck? That's not a Cryonite!"
Shiro: „Synchro summon!"
The structure morphed and transformed in mid flight, eventually crashing into the road ahead, almost in front of Shiro and Brane, both of which narrowly avoided the impact and nearby debris.
The monster summoned, if you call it that way, stood up, and took it's place next to Shiro, nearby dust still hiding it's appearance.
It was a machinized colossus. Enough said.
Shiro: „Stand up, Guardian of Etro… Alexander!"
The mechanical monster, a fortress of a magical robot, put up it's arms and posed in full appearance, releasing what you might call a howl. DEF: 4000
Brane: „F-f-four thousand Defense points! Not even Antares can break through that! Hang Diamond Dust, where the heck did he get that mega-monster?"
Shiro: „(looking at Alexander) Etro? I never heard of this archetype before. This monster… Alexander… Yes, he's perfect."
In his head, Shiro already saw the perfect victory combo: lines ran among cards and he saw them flash when they had to be used: from antares to Alexander, then from him to his face-down cards, Revival Spring and Crystal Break, then to Diamond Dust Dragon and an unnamed spell card. The culmination of that formula, he felt like he couldn't miss.
Shiro: „I stand in the back of this monster's shade, and I feel I can win anything. Diamond Dust, my very soul, is not lost. (picks a card) I set this card face-down and end my turn! (sets)"
The view on the duel-site changed drastically from the Felix Height's point of view: Most because Alexander made an appearance, causing both Lightning and Fang to observe in amazement. Hope was a bit too far away from the edge to see for himself, and Snow was still lying down and recovering from his injuries, unable to stand for himself.
Lightning: „That's an Eidolon."
Hope: „What? (approaches to see, then gasps) What the… Did I do that?"
Fang: „Eidolons appear as rewards to l'Cie that manage to conquer their weaknesses. You sure showed them, Hope. What I don't understand is how in the world did an Eidolon come all the way over there in form of a monster card."
Snow: „What's going on? Can someone gimme a hand here? I wanna see."
Hope took Snow's arm and put it over his back, allowing him to lean on the kid, who didn't mind his weight. The sight on the road beneath left Snow speechless.
Snow: „Wow... Didn't see that one comming. Heh… (to Hope) looks like you got some real potential there, eh shortstuff?"
Hope: „Who, me? But, I didn't…"
Lightning: „Look, I think they're about to battle!"
On the highway:
Brane: „Just like that? Defending yourself? Fine, your new monster might have shocked me, but it's not invincible! And I'll prove it to you. My turn! (draws)"
Shiro: SC: 1
Brane: SC: 6
Brane: „(looks at the drawn card) Fine by me, your defense is about to get roasted! First I play the Speed Spell- Speed Gravity! (activates) When my Speed Counters are 6 or higher, I can pay 1000 Life points to summon 2 monsters from my Graveyard that share the same attribute as my Antares."
Brane: LP: 2000
Brane: „The monsters I summon cannot use their effects or be used as Synchro material, but that's not a problem. As Antares is a Fire monster, I choose to summon back Sunflare Surfer and Subjugator Orbital!"
His respective two monsters returned to the field, in a blue palette swap, taking their defensive positions.
Sunflare Surfer: DEF: 1000
Subjugator Orbital: DEF: 2400
Brane: „But same as you, they won't be around for much longer. Next, I summon Gaia Soul, the Combustable Collective!"
The next monster he called out was, at the very least, bizarre: a giant eyeball surrounded by an even larger abount of volcanic rubble, burning like a meteor. ATK: 2000
Brane: „You think your Alexander is so tough? Wait until you see what my monsters are capable of! By using Gaia Soul's ability, I can tribute Pyro-type monsters to have it gain 1000 points for each monster I offer."
Just like that, both Sunflare Surfer and Subjugator Orbital were set ablaze, and turned into cinder, which eventually united with Gaia Soul's massive amount of burning rocks. This increased it's power tremendously. ATK: 4000
Shiro: „Now it's a monster with 4000 points. That means we have a tie."
Brane: „No we don't. I was intending to use this to damage your Life points now that your Diamond Dust Dragon is gone, but as things formed up, this might work out even better! I use the effect of Speed World S! This means I can consume Speed counters for attack points and give them to Antares. I have 6 counters, but I suppose the minimum 4 is more than enough of a power-up."
Brane: SC: 2
The Burning Antares: ATK: 4400
Brane: „See this? This is the overwhelming power of Antares! Against this, you're nothing but a worm! Battle: go, Antares, scorch that so called guardian into the next century!"
Just when Antares readied it's mouth to fire a brigade of molten hellfire…
Shiro: „Your attack won't come through! Trap, open: (the card flips) Shatter Crystal! This card halts your attack, and negates your monster's effect until the End phase!"
Brane: „Then I'll be faster than that! I use the ability of the Burning Antares! That means I can give up one card I control to negate your trap's activation and destroy it! I guess there's no other choice, I'll destroy Tip Axis! (both Tip Axis and Shatter Crystal shatter) You made the same mistake again. You forgot about Antares' ability to burn his way to destruction. Now feel the consequences!"
Antares proceeded with the attack, sending a huge fireball in Alexander's direction.
Lightning: „If he doesn't defend, Alexander will be destroyed."
Fang: „And who knows what kind of effect it will have on Hope or Shiro with all that duel-voodoo going on."
Snow: „So kid, what's your oppinion."
Hope: „I'm not sure. But as I look at that… That burning fiend… It doesn't frighten me anymore."
Shiro smiled.
Shiro: „Who's the moron now?"
Brane: „Heh?"
Shiro: „Just like I underestimated Antares' ability, you just misjudged Alexander, Guardian of Etro, and same as your monster, mine has a special ability, which I'll now activate!"
Brane: „What are you prattling about?"
Shiro: „Alexander, show him! Use you effect!"
Alexander howled like a robotic Eidolon only can, and then started the show:
Alexander's shoulder armor got down to his chest, becoming a round base with spikes, enveloping his enitre body to become spherical. Then, out of nowhere, both from earth and sky alike, structures came rocketing down, connecting to each other and to Alexander, blooming, forming what appeared to be a fortress!
Shiro: „Gestalt Mode! Big Wall!"
Brane: „What the… When did he get so huge?"
Shiro: „Alexander's effect is, when he's attacked by a monster with 3000 or more Attack points, he can negate the attack once while he's on the field."
Alexander's new body didn't move at all, it just radiated. This radiance grew up and became a powerful aura, against which Antares' attacks didn't even leave a scratch. The flames just… faded away.
Brane: „Impossible! Nothing can stop Antares' assault, nothing!"
Shiro: „I beg to differ, and now that your attack has been called off, it's the perfect moment to use this! I reveal my other Trap!"
Brane: „What, another? Shoot, Antares can only use it's effect once per turn, I can't negate that!"
Shiro: „How right you are. Now I can activate the next key component: Revival Spring! (the card reveals) When a monster's attack is canceled, this card allows me to Special summon a monster from my Graveyard, as long as it has less Attack points than your attacking monster. You attacked me with a force of 4400, more than any of my monsters posess, which means I now have access to every monster in my Graveyard. I'll give you two guesses which monster I'm bringing back."
Brane: „Don't tell me… Impossible!"
Shiro: „With Revival Spring, I'll invoke your name: be reborn, Diamond Dust Dragon!"
The card expelled a great amount of shining dust, which formed a cyclone at whose eye it gathered up. Slowly but efficiently, the monster took it's form, and with a roar, it celebrated it's return: Diamond Dust Dragon has been revived! ATK: 2300
The l'Cie observed the sight: Diamond Dust Dragon setting skies on sparkling glitter once more. It's every heartbeat caused the otherwise burnign sky to be consumed with a blue hue, like a gentle whirl of palette swaps.
Hope: „It's Diamond Dust Dragon!"
Lightning: „Shiro brought him back! The likes of Battle Duelists don't go down as easy as we think."
Fang: „Hmp, he's a lucky one, to have a guardian like that. All us l'Cie have to see back at are vengeful fal'Cie."
Lightning: „Fang?"
Fang: „Come to think of it, the arrival of the Eidolon wasn't that surprising, I think I'm more interrested in Shiro's Diamond Dust dragon now. And you know why? I remember seeing him once before."
Hope: „What?"
Lightning: „You do? Where?"
Fang: „It's not a fixed image, but if I recall correctly, the people of Gran Pulse used that kind of archetype image to tell the tale of the Half Heart Maiden."
Lighting: „The what?"
Fang: „It's a fairy-tale, a good night story, one of many. (faces Lightning directly) Once upon a time, or however you like it, there was a girl whose heart was the purest thing in the world. Only one day, a witch came by and tried stealing that heart while the girl was asleep, but as the dawn came fast, she only managed to steal half the heart, then fled. The witch tried to use the heart in a ritual to fashion a destroyed, modeled after a famous dragon of great power, then ordered the created dragon to destroy the world. But, fashioned out of the purity of the heart, the dragon refused, killing the witch instead, and upon the girl's death, the dragon encased itself in ice, waiting for it's other half to return one day."
Lightning: „And you believe Diamond Dust Dragon is this same dragon from the fairy-tale?"
Fang: „I can't say for sure, the references add up. However, if it really is the same dragon from the tale, I wonder… what does that make Shiro?"
And as it soared in the skies, Diamond Dust Dragon released gentle shining dust, the effects of which were evident on Shiro's skin, removing the burnmarks and restoring his life force.
Shiro: „Nice to have you back, old friend."
In response, Diamond Dust Dragon nodded, just before turning it's glare towards Brane's side, seeking to make things right between them.
Brane: „That fyling lizard is getting annoying! Very well, it's a good thing I powered up Gaia Soul just for such an occasion. Gaia Soul, destroy that Dragon once and for all!"
Gaia Soul, the oversized one-eyed meteor, released a great amount of magmatic rocks from it's shell, and bombarded Shiro's field with them.
Brane: „I wonder, can you survive a second death? (something's happening) What?"
Before anything hit Diamond Dust, Alexander's huge body got between him and the bombarding debris. The debris hit Alexander's body instead, and shambled upon touching him.
Brane: „Hey, I said Diamond Dust, not that hunk of junk, what gives?"
Shiro: „Alexander's other effect has been activated. As long as he remains in Defense position, you can't select an Attack position monster as an attack target."
Brane: „Say what! How do I get rid of that thing? Ah, whatever, good thing Gaia Soul has enough points to tie things up, so my Life points are safe."
Shiro: „I love this turn, you were never more wrong that right now."
Brane: „Eh? Now what's up?"
Shiro: „I use the effect of Crystal Kid! (the cards slids from the Graveyard, and Shiro takes it out) When the monster that used Crystal Kid as material does battle, I can remove this card from play, and inflict 800 damage to my opponent!"
A ghastly version of Crystal Kid spawned, opening it's palms and releasing chunks of sharp ice crystals, bombarding Brane with it. Against his armor, they were no more than snowballs, but he fealt the damage nontheless.
Brane: „OW! Hey! Knock it off, you stupid snowman!"
Brane: LP: 1200
Brane: „Not possible, he bamboozled me for the last time! I enter the End phase, and that means Gaia Soul's effect sends it to the Graveyard while Antares' ATK goes back to normal."
It was as he said. Gaia Soul swelled up and exploded, while Antares' power display kept dropping.
The Burning Antares: ATK: 3600
Brane: „I can't believe you actually got the lead! But it won't last. You might have your Dragon back, but I still control the stronger monster! It'll be a thousand turns before you can even up with Antares, and until then, I'll smolder you, your oversized tea-can and your dragon like popstickles!"
Shiro remained silent. He didn't do as muchas turn to face his enemy. He didn't even glance.
Brane: „Hey, look at me when I'm threatening you! Hey!"
At that point, Shiro got to the part of the highway that was the closest to Felix heights. He looked up, and saw Lightning, Hope, Snow and Fang looking down at him.
Shiro: „Hope!
Hope heard him, only ondered why he called out to him.
Shiro: „I know you can hear me! Your doubt has been vanquished. Behold! (points at Alexander) This monster, it's exactly what you are inside! It's your very own power!"
Hope: „My own… power?"
Lightning: „He's right, Hope."
Hope: „(looks at Lightning) Huh… Light?"
Lightning: „You thought you were a drag? There's the living proof against that. Hope, you're only as strong as you wish to be. And no matter what you think of yourself, remember, you're the one that saved us all."
Hope: „I… (looks down to Shiro) I understand. (out loud) Go for it, Shiro!"
(PS: when Hope put his hands next to his mouth to enhance his shout, he elbowed Snow in the ribs, causing the later to squirm, lol)
Lightning: „Win this, Shiro, then come back to meet us!"
Shiro: „You got it! I won't fail you!"
That's when he got too far away for them to hear, and focused entirely on his duel.
Shiro: „Don't you all worry a thing. Hope, Lightning, with your courage by my side, in form of this Alexander, and my own soul incarnate, Diamond Dust Dragon, I have the perfect formation. Diamond Dust, we still haven't showed them the real power of our dueling. Let's give Brane a defeat he'll never forget. My turn! (draws)"
Shiro: SC: 2
Brane: SC: 3
Shiro flipped the card in his hand, and looked at it. A Spell card…
Shiro: „It's here…"
Same as he did when dusling Brane's brother, Shiro turned around to face his opponent, driving backwards.
Shiro: „Brane, you attacked innocent people, endangered the lives of my friends and spread mayhem altogether. For that, I shall mute your voice for good!"
Brane: „All jibba-jabba. What can you possibly do? Sure, the arrival of that fortress guy sure surprised me, but neither him or your Comandee stand a chance in beating The Burning Antares."
Shiro: „But these two will do exactly what you think is impossible: best your monster. And I now have the final component! (shows the card) I activate the Spell Card End of Cross!"
Shiro placed the card on it's respective place on the console, and his screen kept beeping red and showing a warning symbol.
Brane: „The what? (leans his 'ear') Mind run that one again? You didn't say Speed Spell. Don't you know this is Speed World we're dueling in? Spells that aren't Speed Spells cannot be used!"
After the screen on his D-Wheel displayed the message „Attention! Non-Speed Spell has been played. Do you want to proceed?", Shiro selected: „Yes".
Shiro: „That statement is only half, true, and you know it."
Brane: „Big difference! When you play a non-Speed Spell, Speed World S will inflict 2000 points of dam… Oh, wait a sec."
Shiro: „Finally caught on to it? True, Turbo duelists can't use normal spell cards because of the surrounding Speed Worls, but I, on the other hand am only one half a Turbo Duelist. My real power is that of a Battle Duelist! And Diamond Dust Dragon is my Comandee!"
The sky above Shiro darkened…
Shiro: „When a non-Speed Spell is activated, I take 2000 points of damage."
… And a powerful lightning bolt was heading in his way.
Shiro: „Now I use the ability of Diamond Dust Dragon! Revoke Life!"
Before the bolt reached him, Diamond Dust Dragon howled, summoning a great blizzard that surrounded Shiro and blocked the bolt's descent.
Shiro: „When I take damage, Diamond Dust Dragon gives me 1000 Life points and cuts the damage in half!"
The bolt dispersed into several smaller bolts, which managed to hit Shiro and electrecute him after the blizzard ceased. He grunted slightly, but smiled nontheless.
Shiro: LP: 2000… 3000… 2000
Brane was, for the first time in his life, shocked beyond words.
Brane: „WHAT! He avoided getting damaged completely!"
He couldn't handle the sight. It was like both Shiro and Diamond Dust dragon were posing to mock him.
Brane: „His Comandee… No, he can't… He couldn't have… He placed non-Speed Spells in his deck because he had Diamond Dust as well! Normally, a player playing like that would instantly loose 2000 Life points as soon as they played those Spells…"
The formula in Brane's head looked something like this:
LP – 2000 = KO!
Brane: „But with Diamond Dust dragon's effect, the equasion changes into…"
LP + 1000 – 2000/ 2 = LP + 1000 – 1000 = LP
Brane: „It completely negates this rule! (his hands are shaking) No way… Did I misjudge the situation that much? As a Turbo Duelsit, this gives him an immense advantage in Speed world! (looks at Diamond Dust) This Diamond Dust Dragon… I have underestimated it's potential completely!"
Shiro: „Now that we cleared that up, I'll use the effect of End of Cross! I'll equip Diamond Dust Dragon with it!"
The dragon was surrounded by a radiant aura, a familiar trait that happens when cards are equiped to monsters.
Shiro: „Now I select 2 monsters on the field, such as Alexander on my side, and The Burning Antares on your side of the field, then Diamond Dust Dragon receives Attack points equal to the difference between these two's power. Alexander has 0 Attack points, but Antares has a total of 3600, so the difference is quite great."
Small embers exited the bodies of the selected monsters, a red light from Antares and a blue light from Alexander, combining in the air to form a pale pink light, then uniting with diamond Dust's already shining aura, which gave him an immense surge of power, followed by his howling.
Diamond Dust Dragon. ATK: 5900!
Brane: „(terrified) F-f-fifty-nine-hundred! You've got to be joking, you can't succeed Antares in strength, you just can't!"
Shiro: „Battle phase! I attack your Burning Antares with Diamond Dust Dragon!"
Brane: „(panicking) W-w-wait a sec! You're not seriously going to attack me with that thing, are you? Are you still mad about the lock-on missle? That was a joke! I never wanted to harm the kid! Wait, please, hold on!"
Shiro: „(Diamond Dust dragon charges up…) Sonic… Vortex! (… and fires)"
Brane: „AAAAHHH! Hang this, I'm outta here!"
Brane turned his tail, turned the boosters at full power and fled in the opposite direction, leaving his monster to face Diamond Dust dragon by itself.
Antares' flames now seemed so tiny compared to Diamond Dust's burst. The beam of cold energy hit the monster, and drilled a hole in it's body, starting in it's forehead, and ending on it's tail. The fiend blew up in the process, but the beam continued on, and was now on Brane's tail.
Brane: „NO! WAIT! PLEASE! NOOOOOOO!"
The beam hit him head on as he tried desperately to stop it with his bare hands. It blasted the bounty hunter, who screamed in pain and horror…
Brane: LP: 0/ LOSER
The blast blew up his gear, and knocked the mechanized hunter into the nearest wall, rubble covering his remains.
On an alternate plain, a spherical light shone out of his body, and Shiro saw it.
Shiro: „Once again, I am merciful. Keep the little lifeforce you have left, and let the rest of the world be."
And so, the light remained on it's place. As Shiro halted King Blizzard to finally rest a bit, his clothes vanished in dust and were replaced by his usual attire. Diamond Dust Dragon howled in a duet with Alexander, celebrating the victory, before both monsters vanished from sight.
Shiro: „You were both great… Diamond Dust, Alexander, thank you. (they vanish) I got rid of Brane, time to head back. This city has seen enough destruction."
He turned around and drove away on the highway, heading for Felix Heights.
He actually drove next to the spot where brane crashed, and this was to be it's resting place.
Not.
The rubble moved, and a heavily damaged mech-suit emerged out of it.
Brane: „(breathing heavily) You… are not… going anywhere."
Brane aimed his right arm, which the mech suit turned into a cannon, and he fired.
The missle flew above the highway surface, and the only thing in it's intercept course was King Blizzard.
Shiro glanced temporarily to see what the shooshing sound behind him was. It was already too late.
Shiro: „What?"
BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
The explosion equaled the one on Felix heights, the entire highway was blown to bits, and covered with a dense layer of smoke, flames having engulfed the entire zone.
When the smoke settled, this was the scene:
Shiro, no longer on his vehicle, but lying on the ground half-covered with blood dripping from fresh wounds. It was a miracle he was still in one piece. A few feet next to him, his D-Wheel, King Blizzard, also in one piece, but so damaged you could hardly tell if it was a D-Wheel or a random thing with wheels. It's wheels were still spinning, and the lights in the front kept flashing, like the machine was trying to get up by itself, to no avail.
Shiro: „What… Happened?"
Shiro heard odd noise, noise of metal scratching concrete, in irregular steps. As he looked up (he barely got up for that matter), he saw an unbelivable sight: Brane was humping his way towards him. Despite the damage and wounds, Brane still made bold steps, pulling his right leg along while stepping with his left one. The damage was so severe parts of the armor were falling off and revealing his human features beneath, in the areas of his left arm, right leg and a bit on his torso. Same as Shiro, Brane was breathing heavily, barely keeping his grounds.
Brane: „That's… what they call… a weasel's last fart."
Shiro: „Brane, you…"
Brane: „Hehahaha, thought you had me beat? I must admit, though, you really pushed me to the limits, but it was your mistake not killing me when you had the chance. I came too far to come back empty handed. (points the cannon towards Shiro) You're comming with me, and so is Lightning. With all the trouble you had me go through, I'll settle for half your bounty, then take advantage of Lightning-sweetheart before she turns Cie'th."
Shiro: „(frowning) You… (tries getting up) Keep her.. out of this! (falls down)"
Brane: "Hehahaha, only you can surive an explosion like that, Shiro, but even a Battle Duelist's stamina and regeneration can't save you this time. I, on the other hand, still posess enough firepower to decimate an entire army, despite the damage. So we'll be doing this my way, or highway, get it!"
But there was something happening behind Brane now. He heard a familiar sound: the lock on of guns.
Brane: „Huh? (tunrs around)"
He saw… an entire squadron of PSCIOM soldiers having him at gunpoint. One of the soldiers spoke up:
„Freeze! We've got you surrounded!"
Brane: „You again… care for another round of Burn-a-Mole? Don't make me mad or I'll scorch every last one of you!"
Then, a female voice:
?.?.?: „Guns won't be neccesary at this point."
Brane: „What?"
Soldiers put their guns down and steped aside, letting their commanding officer come through.
It was an atractive young woman, just a little bit above Lightning's age, with long, brownish-blonde hair that was extremely long (reaching all the way to her boots) and wearing thin-framed glasses. Her getups were odd, a cross between a political uniform and a soldier's suit.
?.?.?: „The battle has already been decided, so any further conflict would just be a waste of ammo."
She took her glasses off when she introduced herself:
Jihl: „Liutenant Colonel Jihl Nabaat of the PSICOM division. Pleased to meet you. Your skills here have been quite excuisite. I must say, I'm quite hard to impress, yet your performance on this city alone has left me speechless."
Brane: „Bah, take your words of pity and shove them where your food comes out, I'm not flattered."
Jihl: „I wasn't t talking to you, tin-man."
Brane: „What?"
Not terrified at all, completely calm, Jihl paced her way over to the lying Shiro, ignorring Brane altogether.
Jihl: „It's incredible, the technology to utilize a mere card game to this destructive measure. We could use this ourselves. Hunting down l'Cie would be much easier with this kind of power at our disposal. Would you lend us your aid, mr. Whiterain?"
Shiro just scolfed. He barely had the strength to keep his eyes open, but if glares could kill…
Brane: „Oi, oi, are you just going to ignore me? Do you have any idea who you're dealing with here?"
Jihl was turned backs to Brane, and did not even glance in his direction.
Jihl: „We have no need of flawed hunters."
Brane: „FLAWED? I'm Brane, the Cornerer, and I don't take that kind of grit from a completely arrogant pompous bi…! (points at Jihl)"
Before he finished his sentence with a bad word (the one that sounds like „beach"), Jihl turned around swiftly, took out what appeared to be a baton of sorts, and wacked Brane's hand with it at the back of his palm, just when he was pointing at her.
The effect: Brane completely went still and stiff, twitching to the minimum, but allover petrified.
Brane: „Gah… ghh… I… I can't… move…"
Jihl smirked at the towering mech, and in a second, she jumped up, kicking Brane's chin, lifting the hunter off grounds, then kicked him in the face with the other foot, sending him sideways and crashing him into a wall! She landed graciously, without breaking a sweat, while Brane was completely devastated. He was lying down, motionless.
Shiro: „What… How did she do that?"
Jihl: „Impressed? (looks at Shiro) Like I always say: For every task, there is a perfect tool. You and your skills will come in perfect handy in capturing the fugitive l'Cie, lead by the now rogue captain Farron."
Shiro: „Farron?"
Jihl: „Ah, yes, you call her… Lightning."
The words she spoke fueled Shiro's anger, and with all his might, he tried getting up, only to be forced back down by a soldier holding his head at gunpoint.
Shiro: „This is not good… I barely have the strength to stand, and Diamond Dust lost most of his power in that duel."
Jihl: „I asure you ressistance is futile. You're just damaging yourself more than you need to."
She approached Shiro, who was trying to struggle his way and get up. She came close, and while all the soldiers were having trouble keeping Shiro down, she slapped his face with her baton. And that was it.
Shiro's body stopped moving. He fell down like a ragdoll.
Shiro: „My body won't obey me. What kind of trick is this?"
Shiro's body was slowly loosing energy. Jihl put her glasses back on, and smiled on him.
Jihl: „The next time your eyes open… Will most likely be the last."
Shiro's eyelids felt heavy, he started closing them as soldiers kept doing their errands.
Soldier: „Colonel Nabaat, what do we do about these?"
Jihl: „Take Shiro to the Palamecia, along with his vehicle."
Soldier: „And the other one?"
Jihl: „Release him of his tech, send samples to R&D Depot. As for the body… I hear some Bio Weapon trainers are in need for a new chewing toy. (laughs)"
Shiro's eyes were closing, and his strength finally failed him.
Shiro: „Lightning… I'm sorry… I failed."
And everything went black.
- To be continued
/ending theme: Onnaji Kimochi; Hayami, Inoue, Hanazawa and Endo (Sekirei, 2010)/
(Lightning and Shiro standing at the opposite ends of the screen, turned backs to each other, slowly being laned towards each other)
Unmei nante ne
Zenbu ne
Kimi shidai
(as they get closer…)
Tsuiteku doko made mo
(they make back to back contact…)
Onaji kimochi o
(and glance at each other with an „Oh" face)
Kakaete
(instrumental solo: a roll-up of characters ghosting in and out: Snow giving a thumbs up, Hope waving, Sazh smiling, Vanille winking and Fang showing a peace sign)
(Shiro's monsters screen-dive in the background while the chib versions of the cast dance on screen)
(background: Diamond Dust Dragon; Frostland Archfiend; Frostland Lancer; Frostland Knight; Ice Battleclaw; Snow Warrior; Kuriboh Cube; Fairy Ice-Cone…; front: chibi Vanille and chibi Sazh performing, Hope and Snow observing with O.O faces, while chibi Lightning and Shiro watch sideways with (-_-) faces;)
Mada dare ni mo
Hakken sarete
Inai michi no tairiku ni sou
(chibi Fang watches from the side, eventually pushing chibi Snow and chibi Hope forward to perform)
Ichibansaki ni
Fumidasu you na
Bouken na no kono koi wa
(background: Eidolon slideshow, starting with Nix and Stiria, then Alexander, Brynhildr, Bahamut, Hecatoncheir, a female Odin-like Eidolon, and a large dragon that is covered in light)
Kitto shinjitsu da yo
Kanjiteru koto subete
Sono koe ga
Ima yondeiru kara
(Itsu demo)
(Lightning's profile body in a fetal position…)
Mubou da to wakattete mo
(…spreading out and gaining angellic wings)
Issho ni tameshitai no
(Lightning riding on Odin (Gestalt) followed by Shiro driving the King Blizzard, and Snow on the Shiva bike falling behind)
Nan ni mo iranai
Nee kimi ga
Warau tabi
(then, Sazh picking up while driving Brynhildr-racecar, Fang descending from above on bahamut, Vanille gaining while riding a running Hecatoncheir (Gestalt), and ultimately Hope on a marching Alexander (falling behind))
Ikiteru sono imi wa
Tokiakasarete
(a pizza in the middle, and each character grabs a slice, enjoying it in different ways (either eating, admiring it or talking)…)
Unmei nante ne
Zenbu ne
Kimi shidai
(Shiro and Lightning reach for the last slice simultaneously , accidentally touching each other's hands…)
Tsuiteku doko made mo
(and looking at each other…)
Onaji kimochi o
(… eventually retreating and blushing, as the others laugh)
Tsuyoi kimochi o
(Diamond Dust Dragon is holding this entire world between his palms…)
Kakaete
(then closes it in in his hands)
(next time)
Jihl: „His Eminence will see you now."
Dysley: „The man from another world, your arrival here means peril to us all."
Shiro: „This man… He's inhuman!"
Sazh: „We all have our regrets."
Shiro: „I'll get you both out of here."
Jihl: „We made great use of your technology. How about you show me this power of yours?"
Shiro: „The likes of us, we hold power like you can't imagine it!"
Vanille: „I don't want any more people to get hurt!"
Shiro: „Come, Soldier of Etro! Rise up, Diamond Dust Dragon!"
Shiro: „Next time on Cold Saga: 'Sacred Life Deck- Gauntlet of Palamecia'. With sparkling dust, shatter my dream into wake!"
BONUS
Shiro: "Cold Saga will begin casting a new intro song from the next episode. The next arc is about to begin, and the fal'Cie reveal their true plans. If you have song requests, pray tell. Thank you all for your support. Let's take dreams and shatter them into wake. Riding Duel, Acceleration!"
Card intel:
Shock Barricade (Trap, Normal)- If your opponent's monster attacks, negate the attack, then inflict 600 damage to your opponent for each face-up monster on their side of the field.
Frostland Lizard/ Jackfrost Pet Reptile (DARK/ level 4/ Cryonite-type/ ATK: 1500/ DEF: 1200)- If this card is Normal summoned, you can Special summon 1 level 4 or lower Cryonite-type Tuner monster from your Graveyard. If you Synchro summon a monster by using that Tuner as Synchro Material, destroy this card during the End phase.
Crystal Kid (WATER/ level 4/ Tuner/ Cryonite-type/ ATK: 1300/ DEF: 1200)- When the monster that used this card as Synchro material battles, you can remove this card in your Graveyard from play. If you do, during this turn, deal 800 damage to your opponent every time that monster attacks or is attacked.
Alexander, Guardian of Etro (Synchro/ LIGHT/ level 8/ Machine-type/ ATK: 0/ DEF: 4000)- 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
- As long as this card remains in face-up Defense position, your opponent cannot select Attack position monsters you control as attack targets. Once while this card is face-up, if this Defense position card is selected as an attack target by a monster whose ATK is 3000 or more, you can negate the attack.
Speed Spell- Speed Gravity (Spell, Normal)- If your Speed counters are 6 or higher, pay 1000 Life points to select 1 face-up monster you control and Special summon up to 2 monsters from your Graveyard with the same Attribute as the selected monster in face-up Defense position. Effects of monsters summoned by this effect are negated, and they cannot change their Battle position or be used as Synchro Materials.
Shatter Crystal (Trap, Normal)- Negate 1 attacking monster's attack. Until the end of this turn's End phase, that monster's effect is negated.
Revival Spring (Trap, Continous)- Activate if a monster's attack was negated. Select and Special summon 1 monster from your Graveyard with an ATK lower than the ATK of the monster whose attack was negated. During the turn it is summoned, that monster cannot declare an attack, and it cannot change Battle positions while it's on the field. If this card is removed from the field, destroy the summoned monster. If that monster is destroyed or tributed, destroy this card.
End of Cross (Spell, Equip)- When activating, select 2 face-up monsters on the field other than the equiped monster. The equiped monster gains ATK equal to the difference between the two monster's ATK. If either of the selected monsters is removed from the field, destroy this card.