Welcome back everyone! I hope that everyone who went on a little Eclipse Vacation recently had a wonderful time and that this chapter is good. While I won't give massive spoilers for this chapter, I will say this:
Prepare the 5Ds music cause you're about to get a blast from the past!
Oh and credits to Donjusticia for proofreading.
Arc v, not mine.
It was night in the Synchro Dimension. There wasn't a star in the sky, and the moon was absent as well. Despite this, the lighting of office buildings and billboards kept the city well lit. It wasn't a silent night either. The siren from a Security Officer's D-Wheel echoed in the streets, a chase was in pursuit, another person dueling against him.
Security Officer:
1800 LP
Controls Goyo Guardian
No cards in Hand
Goyo Guardian (Attack Position): 2800 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 6/ Warrior/ Synchro/ Effect
Vs.
Mysterious D-Wheeler
850 LP
Controls Two Monsters
No cards in Hand
Monster 1 (Attack Position): 1600 ATK/ 1200 DEF/ DARK/ Level 3/ Beast/ Effect
Monster 2 (Attack Position): 1800 ATK/ 1200 DEF/ DARK/ Level 4/ Fiend/ Effect
The officer noticed something…odd, about the rider's D-Wheel. It was bulkier than most, and had strange orange markings on the side. Not only that, but the rider was, insane, for lack of a better term. Throughout the duel, he had been laughing a madman's gleeful cackles. The officer was disturbed by the sadistic nature his opponent displayed.
"I end my turn," the officer said with concern as the D-Wheel in front of him slowed down so that they were right next to each other. He looked at the face of the pursued and saw an unimpressed gaze staring directly back at him.
"That's the best you can do?" he questioned, scoffing at his opponent. "I'm still not satisfied. It really is amazing how unskilled the people of this dimension are." The mysterious D-Wheeler sped up again, leaving his foe trailing behind.
The Security member could only look on as the mysterious D-Wheeler drew his card and began to laugh psychotically once again. "Well, looks like we're 'bout to get to my favorite part of the duel, and that is, CRUSHING YOU!"
"I tribute my Infernity Beast and Infernity Daemon. With this, I Tribute Summon the monster Infernity Assassin!" Replacing the two monsters on the field was a tall humanoid figure with wild black hair, covered up by orange and black clothing that resembled a poncho. His pale grey skin looked dry and wrinkled, as if the monster had wandered in the sun for too long. He carried a thin curved dagger in one hand, and in the other was a small black pistol. The monster chuckled darkly as he pointed the weapon towards the pursuing officer.
Infernity Assassin: 1000 ATK/ 1000 DEF/ DARK/ Level 10/ Warrior/ Dark Tuner/ Effect
"But why stop there! Infernity Assassin no kouka! When this card is summoned while I have no cards in my hand, I can draw a card! If that card is an Infernity monster, I can Special Summon it. If not then it's sent to the Graveyard," the strange rider explained. He placed his hand on top of his Deck and drew. Looking at his opponent with a smirk, he flipped over the card to reveal it was a monster.
"Well what do you know," he said with a psychotic giggle. "It's a monster, and with Infernity Assassin's effect I Special Summon it! Come, Infernity Dwarf!"
Materializing next to Infernity Assassin was a small man with a black beard and gray skin. In his hand he held a massive double headed axe coated in fire.
Infernity Dwarf (Attack Position): 800 ATK/ 500 DEF/ DARK/ Level 2/ Warrior/ Effect
The officer looked down at his duel disk and saw that the total Levels of the monsters on his opponent's field were a total of twelve. "He could Synchro Summon, but he doesn't have a Tuner," he whispered, turning his attention towards Assassin. "And what does that monster have to do with anything?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" The mysterious D-Wheeler cackled as the sky above them began to darken and the shadows around them began to grow thicker and blacker. "IT'S TIME! IT'S FINALLY TIME! I use Level Two Infernity Dwarf and with Level Ten Dark Tuner Infernity Assassin, perform Dark Tuning!"
….
"Ow!" Startled by the surprise, Yuya jumped up from his sleep and realized what had happened. "Really En, you still like doing that," he said as he picked up the Corgi, who had woken him up by falling on his face.
"This is why I never had pets," Yuto remarked as Yugo and Yuri awoke.
"You're concerned about them falling on your face and waking you up," Yuri asked with a raised brow.
"Well that and all the other things that come with taking care of an animal."
"He means cleaning up the-"
"I know what he meant Yugo."
Yuya quickly got dressed and slid down to the first floor to see both of his parents. Yusho was sitting at the table reading a newspaper while Yoko was cooking breakfast. "Dad you're here," a happily surprised Yuya said.
After the end of the Dimensional War, Akaba Leo had stepped down as the Headmaster of Academia in favor of repairing the family he had left in the Pendulum Dimension. When he did, he had asked Yusho to replace him, stating that if anyone could help the students learn the truth about dueling, it would be Yusho. After a lot of encouragement from friends and family, Yusho accepted the position. It didn't mean he was never around though, he did manage to find time to just be with his family, rare as it might be.
"The students didn't have to attend class today and the staff said they would handle everything, so they let me take the day off," Yusho explained as Yoko placed a plate of pancakes in front of her son and husband.
"Though this does mean breakfast will be smaller today. I guess I've been so used to only cooking for two that I've forgotten how to cook for three," Yuya's mom playfully said, giving her husband a wink.
"Well it doesn't matter darling, if you cooked it then it's bound to be delicious."
"Oh you," Yoko blushed.
Yuri pretended to gag at the display of affection. "Okay I'm going to throw up. Anybody have any doggy bags?"
Fortunately for Yuri, the phone began to ring. "I've got it," Yusho said as he walked up towards the house phone.
"So Yuya, any plans for today," Yoko asked as Yuya began munching down on pancakes.
"Well, I was supposed to help Gongenzaka with an exhibition duel at his family's dojo, then head over to the Xyz Dimension to help Dennis teach, and then I have a picnic date with Yuzu over by the park," Yuya answered, somewhat muffled by the food in his mouth.
"Good, good" His mother replied, a saddened expression stretching across her face.
"Is there something wrong mom?"
"Well, it's just, how would you feel about having a younger sibling?"
Yuya spat out the orange juice he was drinking and looked at his mother with a surprised expression. "What!? Wait, does that mean-"
"Oh no, not yet." Yoko looked over at her husband who was still on the phone. "It's just, you're sixteen and almost ready to leave the nest. And with your father constantly off at Academia, I'm starting to think about how lonely it'll be around the house. Well apart from the pets that'll probably fill up the house with, but I'll miss having regular, human contact."
"That uh, it feels like you should talk to Dad about that," the boy said wiping the orange juice off his lip. Yusho meanwhile put the phone down and went back to his family with a heard to read expression.
"What's wrong honey?"
"That was Akaba Reiji, he said there was an emergency and that Yuya needed to head over to LDS right away."
Yuya was surprised at this, for two reasons. The first was that he and Reiji hadn't spoken in a while, not since after their last duel two years ago, and that something was so bad that the eighteen year old CEO would call upon him for assistance. "Reiji did?"
"Yes. He also said that a helicopter to pick you up should be arriving soon," Yusho added.
"How about right now," Yoko said peeking behind the drapes of a window. Yuya got up and saw that his mother was telling the truth, and that he could also see Yuzu sitting inside the copter.
"Yup that's Reiji for you. I'll be back as soon as I can," Yuya said as he grabbed he shoes, bolted towards to front door and paused before closing it, "Oh and Mom, remember to talk to Dad about that thing."
"Talk to me about what," Yusho asked as he took a sip of coffee.
"About how would you feel about having another kid?" Yusho promptly stopped drinking his coffee and froze up.
….
The helicopter took Yuya and Yuzu straight to LDS, and the pilot escorted them to Reiji's office. The doors opened up and the two saw Reiji sitting behind his desk, the other members of the Lancers standing around the room as well. It was then Yuya realized that, if Reiji had called on all of the Lancers, then the situation must be worse than he thought.
"Welcome Sakaki Yuya, Hiragi Yuzu. I'm glad you came as quickly as you could," Reiji said as he stood up from his seat.
"Well, to be fair, Serena partially had a hand in that," Yuzu replied with a somewhat awkward face.
"What does that mean," asked Gongenzaka.
"Let's just say waking her up before a certain time is like stealing candy from Sora, something you never want to do," the pinkette answered back.
"That bad huh," Sora questioned.
Sawatari flipped his hair. "Can't say I blame her. I know how important it is for a person to get their beauty rest. And by that I'm referring to the fact someone decided to interrupt mine. Cough cough-Reiji-cough cough."
Reiji adjusted his glasses. "Well I'm sorry for that, but this is something important. Yesterday an accident occurred in the Synchro Dimension that burned down an entire building."
"That's the emergency you brought us all in for? Doesn't seem that bad," a displeased Sora said as he licked a lollipop.
"I figured there would be some doubts, which is why I brought in evidence," an unfazed Reiji said. He clapped his hands and the lights in the room went out. Before anyone else could react, an image depicting a quartet of bar graphs labeled Synchro, Fusion, Pendulum and Xyz appeared behind the group. Each bar was colored the color of the respective summoning method, except for one bar on the Synchro Chart which was colored gray.
"What you are seeing now are energy readings that have been detected across all four dimensions." Reiji explained calmly. "Our sensors are designed to pick up the energy that is released upon performing a summoning method. And if you would turn your attention towards the Synchro chart you would notice that there is an additional bar, unlike the rest."
"Yeah, what's up with that," asked Dennis. "And how does it relate to some big fire?"
"That is because around the time of the fire in the Synchro Dimension yesterday, a summoning method was performed which released a surplus amount of negative energy," the silver haired CEO answered, which greatly surprised everyone else.
"Negative energy," a stunned Kurosaki parroted.
"Yes. I had some employees examine the energy released, and they discovered that, when inverted, the energy becomes the same as the energy released when Synchro Summoned."
"The same," Yuya questioned, looking over his shoulder to see his other selves listening in on the conversation. "Yugo, do you know anything about what might have caused that energy?"
"Heck no!" the synchro boy answered. "I didn't even….." he paused, "Well there might be one thing but, nah, there's no way that's actually real. Unless-"
"Quit keeping us in suspense and just tell us," Yuto demanded.
"It was a Dark Synchro Summon." Yugo said, which only confused the other boys.
"Dark Synchro?" said Yuzu, who was having the same conversation with her own counterparts.
"Yes," Rin repeated. "It's just an urban myth but, allegedly, Dark Synchro Summoning was used by a cult that had origins in the ancient Incan lore over five thousand years ago."
"According to the tales, a group of evil spirits bound to the earth would choose certain people and bring them back to life," Yugo explained. "They would fight against another group of people chosen by some kind of giant dragon god and it's servants for the fate of the world."
"That's fine and all, but what does that have to do with Dark Synchro Summoning?" Yuto asked.
"I was getting to that Serena," an irate Rin said, not happy with being interrupted. "The story says that the ones chosen by the evil spirits wielded a perverted form of Synchro Summoning, in which you subtracted the Level of a special type of Tuner from that of the non-Tuners…"
"And that's what a Dark Synchro Summon is." Yugo finished, the others not sure what to believe.
"I assume that the two of you know something," said Reiji, who had noticed Yuya and Yuzu seemingly staring off into space. "Were you having a discussion with your other selves about the cause of the energy?"
"Yes." The two answered, proceeding to explain what their Synchro counterparts had told them about the idea of Dark Synchro Summoning.
"So…" Dennis trailed, unsure what to say. "Just to recap, you guys think that Reiji's scanners detecting some negative energy is because of an old folk tale in the Synchro Dimension about gods and zombies? Whew, that's a sentence I never thought I'd say."
"Yeah," Sawatari jeered. "That sounds absolutely nutcase! You guys think so too, right?"
"Well…." Sora began, not sure what to believe. "After having fought against people from other dimensions and a gigantic omnicidal maniac slash psychopathic man-child dragon god, I'll believe anything."
"I, the man Gongenzaka, believe that a wise next move would be to head into the Synchro Dimension," the steadfast duelist said.
"Yes I was getting to that," Reiji voiced, clearly irritated with how off topic everything was going. "We will head into the Synchro Dimension in order to investigate the cause of this anomaly. Yuya, Yuzu, Sawatari and myself will head to a hospital not far from the scene of the incident."
"Hospital," asked Yuzu. "Why would we be heading to a hospital?"
"So we can interview the person who was seen dueling right before the fire started," Reiji answered. "I have men already at the scene helping to investigate the fire. The rest of you will go around searching for any leads on what might have caused the fire."
Dennis pretended to get teary-eyed, earning the attention of everyone in the room. "Sorry, it just brings back so many memories. Oh those were crazy times, weren't they?"
"Does he have to be so dramatic?" Serena asked, tired of the entertainer's antics.
"Hey, I think it's funny." said Rin.
"Yuri was he always like this?" Yugo asked his Fusion self.
"How should I know?" the violet-haired boy replied somewhat uncomfortably. "The only times I've interacted with him was, you know, when I was trying to kidnap Yuzu and the others."
The others winced at the memory. It was obvious that Yuri never had any time to make friends back in Academia.
"So now that everything is ready," Reiji said, "Let us all head back into the Synchro Dimension."
…..
Within the Synchro Dimension, fire-trucks doused the remaining flames of the burnt building with gallons of water. Security officers as well as investigators from the Leo Corporation were scanning for survivors still trapped inside. The ground was covered in ruble and broken glass, blocked out by a blanket of ash.
From atop a nearby building, the D-Wheeler removed his helmet and looked down at the scene with an amused look. "Well that was messier than anticipated, but that was satisfying. It should definitely get her attention."
"I know it got my attention," came a voice from behind. The man turned around and saw a feminine figure in black robes walk towards him. He rolled his eyes, not in the mood to see her.
"What do you want," he rudely asked. "We both know that tracking her down is my job."
"And yet you choose to basically announce your presence to this entire city," the girl said back, not amused by his actions. "Cronus-sama told you to be quiet about this and how do you do that? By burning down a building. You're almost as bad as the other one."
The man rolled his eyes. So it was one building, big deal the City was large enough as it was without that one building. "Is this going somewhere because if I remember correctly Cronus assigned you a mission as well?"
"Of course, and that's why I'm here. The High Priest has decided to take you off the mission, and has given the job of hunting Mayu down to the Acolytes."
"What!" the man shouted, a flame of anger appearing in his eyes. "Why?"
"You just destroyed a building for fun. That proof enough," the woman sarcastically said. "But besides that, the High Priest has decided to begin his plan within a fortnight. He needs all of us ready for the attack."
"Hmph, does it matter?" The man placed his helmet back on and sat back on his D-Wheel. "The duelist of those pathetic dimensions won't satisfy me." Without saying another word, he revved up his D-Wheel and raced towards the end of the building and down to the streets below, leaving the woman alone.
"Don't bite off more than you can chew. Your fate may be crueler than you think, Kiryu Kyosuke."
…..
"Well look who decided to show their faces," Crow jokingly said, genuinely happy to see the Lancer at his doorstop. He opened the door up, allowing his guests to enter. The Lancer group stepped inside, with Kurosaki given his friend a fist bump.
Over the past two years, Crow's home had been renovated and improved. Now it had separate rooms for Crow, Shinji and the three children who they raised, a roof that now hosted solar panels for power, and an extra bathroom. Due to the divide between Commons and Tops being torn down, many homes in what once were the slums of the metropolis had turned into suburban areas. Money had also been distributed more evenly, allowing for the citizens more clothing and formal education. The once classist, barbaric society had moved on from its 'Duel to survive' ways, and was truly one.
"Mind the stuff on the couch. Tanner's birthday is next Thursday and we're planning a surprise party for him." Taking his word, the group moved over to dinner table, which was large enough for twelve people.
"Oh, if you need entertainment I'm free that day," Dennis said as he sat down.
"And as long as there's sweets, I can always come to a party," Sora added as he took a seat next to his fellow Fusion practitioner.
"I think we are all forgetting why we came here," Gongenzaka pointed out.
The two Fusion duelists chuckled lightly.
"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine," Crow quipped. "So not to sound rude or anything, but why are you guys here."
"Akaba Reiji-dono has requested us to investigate the fire from last night," said Tsukikage, who was still standing.
"Yeah, that was all over the news," the orange haired duelist said grimly. "Word on the street is that it was started when a Riding Duel went out of control and one of the guys got thrown into a building. Though I do wonder how just one D-Wheel was capable of causing that big a fire."
"Because according to Akaba Reiji, it was no ordinary duel." Kurosaki said with a serious look in his eyes, "Around the time of the fire, one of the duelists performed a Synchro Summon that released a large amount of negative energy."
"A negative Synchro…." The Blackwing duelist said in shock.
…..
While the rest of the group spoke to Crow, Reiji's group went over to the Hospital where the witness was being held. Of course it was easier said than done, the entrance was packed with reporters. Correction, the entire building was surrounded by them.
"Yeesh! I knew there would be some reporters, but this is ridiculous!" Sawatari exclaimed, practically dry heaving. "This is a nightmare."
"Sawatari we're already inside." Yuya pointed out, Yuzu and himself sharing unamused looks. Thanks to Reiji's… persuasive talents, they were able to move past the crowd with ease.
"Oh yeah," the blonde said, just realizing this. "So come on, let's do this so I can get back to my beauty rest!" Without knowing which room to go to, Sawatari ran down the hallway to his left a crashing sound coming soon after. "HEY! That was a rental!"
…..
After Sawatari's little incident, the foursome spoke to the person at the main desk, who informed them to go to room 334. Arriving at the room, they opened the door to see Jack Atlas standing next to a bed with a person lying down on it. He was a tall man in his late forties with black hair and tan skin. His eyes were brown and he had a large scar on the left side of his face. A large number of bandages were wrapped around his chest, and his right arm was held in a sling. On a nearby stand was a Security Officer's helmet.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet us Jack." Reiji said as they entered, Yuya and Yuzu carrying Sawatari by his arms.
"I might not be King, but I still have a duty to the people of the City," Jack said before looking at Sawatari. "What happened to him?"
The Abyss Actor duelist attempted to answer, only to flail his arms around and say something incoherently, leaving Jack confused.
Yuzu spoke up. "He ran into a tray carrying needles filled with numbing agents. He won't move for at least three hours."
Sawatari said something else that no one understood, but from his tone it sounded like "I'm fine, I don't need any help."
"Frankly I've seen worse," the Security Officer said, sounding absolutely deadpan.
"Anway," Reiji spoke up, wishing to get back on topic. Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions Officer-"
"Ushio. Tetsu Ushio. I assume you've heard of me. I'm kind of a big deal around the City." Ushio said, sounding quiet smug.
No one had heard of him. "You Security guys all look the same to me." Said Serena, Rin and Yuzu agreeing with her completely.
Before anyone else could say anything, a woman wearing a nurse's outfit entered the room. She wore trifocal glasses that covered her eyes, and her hair was black and pointed down in an arrow. Closing the door behind her she was unaware of the flabbergasted look on Jack's face.
"Alright, I've found my scoop. And before anyone else got in as well," the 'nurse' whispered happily.
"Carly!" Jack suddenly yelled, earning everyone's attention, especially Carly's.
"J-J-Jack!" She stuttered, looking absolutely stunned. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"You know this chick?" Ushio asked.
"This Carly Nagisa." Jack said, gesturing towards the girl in question. "She's a reporter and," he paused, "my girlfriend."
"Girlfriend!" Yuya, Yuzu and a still blabbering Sawatari repeated in shock. "Black cyu jhy bog, khen did poo tace urselv off tha maket?" the blonde asked, everyone giving him absolutely confused looks as a result.
"Guys come on!" Yugo said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He said, 'Jack you sly dog, when did you get yourself off the market?'"
"You understood that?" Asked Yuto.
"I've had an incident with a numbing needle before. Don't ask."
"What are you doing Carly? Do you know how much trouble you'd get in if someone saw you wearing that?" Jack questioned.
"I'm sorry. My boss was all 'Carly you better get an interview with that Security Officer guy before anyone else or you're fired. And someone get me coffee in the next five seconds!'" She replied, briefly doing a male impersonation. "I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to-…wait just a card flipping minute!" Carly stopped, turning towards Yuya.
The next thing Yuya knew, Carly was right in front of his face and asking him a large number of questions. "Sakaki Yuya, why are you here questioning this officer? Are you and the Lancers investigating the fire as well? Why did you decide to be a duelist in the first place?"
"Okay Already!" Reiji suddenly shouted, a rare move from him. Everyone stared at him as if he had grown a second head. The CEO quickly recomposed himself. "My apologies but we do have something important to discuss. Ms. Nagisa-"
"C-Carly." She interjected.
"Carly. You may stay for this conversation. However you cannot tell anyone about what you hear. This is to remain a confidential secret." Reiji told the reporter, who dejectedly sat down on a chair.
Feeling bad for the girl, Ruri gave Yuzu a few eye clues to go make sure she was okay. Taking the hint, the Pendulum girl leaned on the wall next to Carly and asked her a question. "So, how long have you and Jack been together?"
"We've only been dating a few weeks. No one else besides you guys now about it though." She answered, "We're trying to keep our relationship on the down-low. You know try to keep the press from bothering us all the time."
"But you're a reporter." Yuzu pointed out. It felt odd that Jack had decided to keep his relationship with her a secret from the paparazzi, and Carly being a reporter sort of made the situation even more ironic.
"I know, that's the funny part." The black haired girl added, before staring at her boyfriend with a dreamy expression. "You know what it's like to meet someone and just know that they're the one?"
Looking at Yuya with a similar expression, Yuzu replied "Yeah, I do."
"Okay something please happen before I barf from this mushy romance stuff." said Serena.
While the girls had their little chat, the others spoke to Ushio. "So, Ushio-san. What happened last night?" Yuya asked, curious to know the truth about the incident.
"Well," Ushio said, beginning to recall the events of the previous night. "I was doing my weekly ride around the city. You know, seeing if I could find any criminal activity, when all of a sudden, some punk rides right past me on a D-Wheel going over twice the speed limit. I caught up to him and told him to pull over. But when he slowed down, he rammed his D-Wheel right into mine!"
"Sounds like you had a rough night," Jack remarked.
"Oh if you thought that was rough, you won't believe this. So I challenged the guy to a duel, and let me tell you that guy was no push over. SO…I knocked him down to his last thousand or so Life Points, when all of a sudden he summons this insane monster and finishes me off! Next thing I knew, there was a fire, smoke, a lot of voices, and then I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was in here."
"Interesting," Carly noted, secretly writing down the whole story on her arm. "And exactly what monster did he summon?"
"Honestly," Ushio began, sounding as if he didn't fully believe himself, "I don't think you would believe me if I told you what it was."
"Was it," Reiji asked, "A Dark Synchro Monster?"
The three natives of the Synchro Dimension stood in shock at Reiji's guess. "Y-yes! He subtracted the Levels of his Tuner and summoned a monster with a negative Level. That monster, oh that monster," Ushio began to ramble, eyes zig-zagging from side to side, his whole body shaking. "It was like looking into the eyes of Death himself. That duelist, his power, it was insane! He said he could destroy the world if he wanted to, and that's exactly what he would do!"
…..
"So, you guys really think it could be a Dark Synchro?" a skeptical Crow asked. The Lancers had told him of what Yugo and Rin had told Yuya and Yuzu, and he found it hard to believe.
"Well it's the only lead we've got," Sora said while licking his trademark lollipop. "Though does it really seem that unfathomable? I mean after all that madness with Zarc I'll believe anything."
"Indeed," Tsukikage added. "Having seen so much during Academia's war, I don't think a mythical summon is out of the question."
"So please, could you tell us more about the legends behind Dark Synchro Summoning?" Dennis asked.
"Well," Crow began, looking unsure, "even though I think this is crazy, I'll tell you. As you guys already know, the story behind the Dark Synchro comes from ancient folklore in an ancient civilization. Gigantic evil spirits tried to conquer the world, only to be stopped by a powerful god and his servants. Tell me, have you guys ever noticed that when Jack Atlas summons Red Daemon's Dragon Tyrant, he calls out for the Crimson Dragon? Well that's the god."
"So Jack actually invokes a god when summoning Tyrant? That's so cool!" Dennis said in awe.
"Yeah it does sound pretty cool." Crow admitted before continuing his story. "Now, being immortals, these evil spirits couldn't be killed. So instead they were sealed inside what are believed to now be known as the Nazca lines in Peru. These Earthbound Gods would clash with the Crimson Dragon and his servants every five thousand years in a never ending cycle."
"Eventually, humans began to assist the dragons in their fight, and the Crimson Dragon chose them as his vassals. He gave these people a mark that resembled a part of his body, you know like its head or its wings. These people became known as Signers, and they battled alongside the dragon's servants, all of which were Synchro monsters."
"So how do Dark Synchros come into play," Gongenzaka questioned. Though he found the history lesson fascinating, they did have a job to do.
"I was just about to get to that. So the Earthbounds, wanting to even the odds or something, created their own Signers. However, these were different. The Dark Signers, all of which held grudges against the Signers, had died and been brought back to life."
Dennis gulped loudly. "You mean, that they were all undead?" He asked, visibly startled by the revelation.
"Yup. On the brink of death, the Earthbounds promised them life and power in exchange for their service. The Earthbounds gave them the ability to summon unique monsters by subtracting the Levels of a Dark Tuner. This was known as the Dark Synchro summon." Crow finished
"So, that's going to haunt me tonight," Sora said, fear written right across his face. He moved his hand to grab a drink of water, hoping to calm himself.
"Yeah, thatssssss quuuiiitt the stor-" Crow attempted to say, gradually slowing down before he stopped, mouth hanging wide open. One of the Lancers would have tried to help him out…..
But they had mysteriously frozen as well.
…..
"Sir please calm down!" A nurse shouted, struggling to hold the struggling Ushio down. After mentioning Dark Synchro, the injured Officer began to panic, the monitor showing his heart rate skyrocketing.
"Jood bob Meiji." Sawatari slurred, still numb.
"This scoop is a lot more intense then I imagine," Carly voiced, hiding behind Jack. "If something happens, you'll protect me right Jack."
"Of course I would," the former king said. It didn't have much emotion, but it got the job done.
"Alright, calm down," Yuya said as he slowly approached the frightened officer. "Everything will be okay-" he was cut off by Ushio swinging his arm into him, knocking the teen onto the floor.
"Ow. You're a strong person." The Entertainment duelist said, looking up to see, well he wasn't sure what he was seeing. The doctor and a few nurses were struggling to hold Ushio down, except they were all frozen. Ushio's mouth was hanging wide open and his arm was sticking right out in front of him.
"Yuya…." Came Yuzu's voice. He looked up to see the others all staring at him, except no one but Yuzu was moving. "What's going on?"
"Impossible! Everyone is frozen!" A speechless Yuto said.
"Yeah it's like someone hit 'Pause' on a video game." Yugo added.
"Why are we the only ones who aren't frozen?" Yuzu asked.
"I don't know, and I don't like it," Rin said, holding her arms in a defensive position.
The two teens left the room, and saw a few doctors and nurses all standing perfectly still, just like mannequins. They were the only ones who could move.
"What do you suppose?" Ruri said, eyes wandering over the hall.
"I don't know," Yuzu replied. If she and Yuya were the only ones who could move, it was obvious that someone wanted them to. "We should split up," she suggested. "I'll search the rest of the hospital for anyone else, you check outside."
"Alright," Yuya responded. "Be safe," he told her before running down the hall.
"Yugo better not do anything stupid." Rin proclaimed, a combination of worry and annoyance in her voice.
…..
Yuya ran down the hall, looking for anyone or anything that would tell them why time had just stopped. Now back in the lobby, all he saw were people standing around like statues, unmoving and unable to respond. A million questions ran through his head, why it was that he and Yuzu remained free to move, for one.
"Well I don't know about you guys," Yugo began, "but I for one-"
"Shush! I hear something." Yuri suddenly said, cutting off Yugo.
"Hey don't you shush me when I'm talking!" an irritated Yugo said.
"No, he's right, I can hear something too." Yuto said, holding up his hand to his ear.
Suddenly Yuya could hear it to; the sound of footsteps. He turned his head towards the sound, and saw someone walking on the other side of the hospital's glass doors. The person's face was covered up by a hooded black cloak with icy blue trim. Holding his arm out in front of him, Yuya could see the person's eyes glow a deep blue before the doors suddenly shattered.
"Nani?" a shocked Yuya asked, the other three reacting in similar ways.
"Sakaki Yuya," the person spoke in a monotone voice, no emotion or will. "If you wish to know why this is happening, come with me."
"Don't listen to him!" Yuri objected.
"Yeah! You know it's bad if I'm actually agreeing with Yuri!" added Yugo.
"This choice is for Sakaki Yuya only. The three of you can only stand by for this," the mysterious stranger said, much to the shock of the four boys.
"He can see us?" a surprised Yuto said.
Despite not trusting this person, Yuya decided to follow him, if only to get answers. "Alright, I'll come with you."
From under the hood, Yuya could see the person's face perk up in a smile. "Excellent."
…..
Yuzu ran as fast as she could. She had searched for any signs of life within the frozen hospital, when all of a sudden she heard someone's laughter echo across the walls. Turning around a corner, she saw a humanoid figure standing in front of her. Before she could say anything, the person held out her hand towards the roof, and a wall of purple flames surrounded the two of them.
"What the hell!" Serena exclaimed. Stunned by the sudden appearance of the flames, Yuzu turned towards them. To her surprise, they didn't seem to emit any heat. No, instead they felt less like fire and more like energy that had taken the appearance of flames.
"What a disappointment," said the voice of the person who had conjured the flames. Turning her head around, Yuzu and her counterparts saw a better image of who it was. This figure was actually a girl with a tanned complexion, who despite being only around four and a half feet, looked to be about Yuzu's age if her face was any indication. Her long hair was pink and her eyes were orange. On top of her head was a wide brimmed green hat, and her outfit was a black robe with pink trim. She looked at Yuzu with displeased eyes.
"You aren't the one I was assigned to find." Yuzu recognized the sound of her voice, it was the same as the laughter she had heard. "Ah well, guess I can take a hostage."
"Hostage? Who are you? What is going on?" Yuzu demanded to know.
"I am known as the 4th Daughter, and this beautiful event is the work of my master," the girl explained. "He was the one who assigned me to hunt down a traitor, but it appears you've been caught in the spider's web instead. No matter, a victory is a victory."
The girl held up her left arm, revealing a black rectangular duel disk. It was rather small, only going halfway to her elbow. On one end was a deck slot, covered up by small fangs that bent downward, and on the other was what appeared to be a small chainsaw. In the center of the device was a square shaped touch screen, and in front of the body was a Solid Vision projection of a large, inward facing pink crescent shape that went past her shoulder. Yuzu understood what this person was trying to do; defeat her in a duel and use her as a hostage against, whoever it was they were looking for.
"Oh no, I am not playing damsel in distress! Yuzu," Serena shouted, "teach this freak show a lesson."
"Please," Yuzu said, trying to prevent a fight. "I don't know who you are, but we don't have to fight."
"That's where you're wrong," the 4th Daughter scoffed. "So long as the Priests wish it, it is my duty to obey. Now, put up your Duel Disk and fight, or stand down and come quietly!"
Scowling, Yuzu quickly activated her duel disk. She would not be held captive again.
"DUEL!"
Yuzu:
4000 LP
5 cards in Hand
Vs.
The 4th Daughter
4000 LP
5 cards in Hand
"I'll start first." The 4th Daughter declared, taking one card from her hand and placing it on the blade of her duel disk. "I Normal Summon Dark Anchor Effigy – Guiding Light."
Appearing beside her was a disembodied statue hand holding up a glowing lantern. Atop of the lantern was a chain that coiled around the hand.
Dark Anchor Effigy – Guiding Light: 1900 ATK/ 0 DEF/ Level 4/ other stats unavailable
"Dark Anchor," Yuzu wondered. "What do you guys think that monster is?"
"I don't know, but I don't trust it," Rin said, glaring daggers towards the floating hand.
"I see you're concerned about my monster, well don't worry," the 4th Daughter said mockingly, "You won't have too for long."
…
Yuya followed the hooded stranger for a good ten minutes. After agreeing to go with him, the person just ran off in the direction of a Riding Duel track. Eventually Yuya had to stop running, his legs too weak to carry him any further. Suddenly, he heard the sound of a revving engine, and it was growing louder each second. Looking up, he saw a D-Wheel rushing right towards him!
"AHHH!" he yelled as he jumped out of the way. Turning his head around he saw that the stranger, now wearing a white and blue helmet, riding a motorcycle that was larger and a bit bulkier than most other D-Wheels he had seen. It was primarily white, with a few deep blue accents running across the body, and two large wheels at the ends. In front of the rider was a blue light in the shape of a ten pointed star. Attached to that D-Wheel was a standard red one, similar to the one he had used during the Friendship Cup two years back.
"What the heck?! Are you trying to kill us?" Yugo asked furiously.
"Yes." The rider said bluntly.
"Okay…" the Synchro boy said awkwardly. "Did not expect him to say that."
"Tsk. Why are you trying to kill me?" asked Yuya, who already had a lot of problems on his mind.
"Defeat me in a Duel and I won't have too," the Rider explained before pressing a button on his bike's duel disk.
"Field Mahou, Speed World Mach 2, set on." The device spoke in a monotone voice. From the center of the bike, a holographic energy ring shot out, bathing the trackway in fluorescent lighting. The sides of the track ignited and became covered in icy blue flames that spread forward and backwards, not stopping for a second. They moved in straight lines, turns and even cut certain parts of the trackway off. When seen from above, an entire path on the trackway had been outlined by these flames.
"As if this day couldn't get any worse." remarked Yuri. Yuya was about to agree with him when suddenly the stranger took a red D-Wheel helmet and threw it right at him.
"As long as these flames burn, you cannot leave the track. Now," the stranger pointed towards Yuya, "Duel me and face the power of a true duelist!"
Yuya frowned. Though he wished things were going better for him, he reluctantly placed his helmet on and sat down on the other D-Wheel. Upon sitting down, the blade on the built in duel disk activated.
"Field Mahou, Cross-over Accel, activate." The disk spoke. An orb containing multiple cards of light appeared in the sky before bursting and scattering the cards across the track.
"Before we begin, allow me to explain," the stranger said, earning the attention of all four boys. "Speed World Mach 2's effects apply to both of us." He chuckled, "This field has a plethora of effects, but I won't spoil them for now. Just know," he pointed towards the first corner, "Whoever reaches that Checkpoint first will take the first turn."
Without saying anything else, the stranger slammed down on the acceleration. Momentarily stunned, Yuya hit the peddle of his D-Wheel as well, accelerating at top speed. The two motorcycles ran neck and neck, but at the last second the stranger leaned closer to the corner, allowing him to hit the Checkpoint first.
"Duel!"
Yuya:
4000 LP
5 cards in Hand
Vs.
Unknown:
4000 LP
5 cards in Hand
"As I reached Checkpoint One first, I will take the first move." The unknown duelist said after drawing his opening hand. "Due to the effect of Speed World Mach 2, I can have an additional Field Spell in place. I activate the Field Spell, Blizzard Sanctuary!"
Without warning a massive blizzard suddenly appeared, frigid winds swirling at nearly twenty miles an hour. Yuya felt the sheer cold brush against him, his skin nearly turning into ice. Shaking like a wet dog, Yuya looked up and saw a snow capped mountain that wasn't there before.
"Blizzard Sanctuary's effect. Once per turn I can add one Level Four or lower Blizzard monster from my Deck to my hand," the stranger declared. "I add Blizzard Archer!" A card slid out from his deck, which he quickly added to his hand before plucking another one up.
"Next, the Spell card Blizzard Survival! By discarding one Blizzard monster, I may draw two cards," he explained, sending the monster Blizzard Lizard from his hand to his graveyard. Two cards slid out of his deck. Appearing over him as he sped up, a ring with twelve little spots labeled "Speed Counters" appeared with one of them lighting up.
Unknown's Speed Counters: 1
"Speed Counter," Yuya mumbled, unsure of what to make of the mechanic. "Yugo, do you know what Speed Counters are?"
"Nope." the Synchro boy replied.
"I wonder," Yuri pondered, holding his chin. "If Speed World Mach 2 applies to both players, does this mean you can get your own Speed Counters on the card as well?"
"It's highly likely." Yuto replied. "Bring up the effects of that card." he told Yuya, gesturing to the image of the card on the duel disk's touch screen.
"Yeah." Pushing the screen a few times, an image of Speed World Mach 2, which featured shining bikes racing across an infinitely looping blue and green trackway at light speed. The four of them looked at the text of the card… and saw that the writing on the card was very small and hard to read.
"What the heck?! How many effects does this thing have?" a stupefied Yugo exclaimed.
"I don't know," Yuya admitted. "You guys try to find out as much as you can about that card, I'll focus on the duel." The three boys nodded in agreement.
"I suggest you focus on what's happening in this moment," the stranger called out. "Because I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this monster. Come, Blizzard Axeman!"
A reptilian figure appeared on the stranger's field. His scales were a deep blue, and he wore an icy blue breast plate with a snowy white cape whirling on his back. In his right hand he held a massive two headed axe with blades made out of ice.
Blizzard Axeman (Defense Position): 2000 ATK/ 1200 DEF/ WATER/ Level 5/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect
Unknown's Speed Counters: 2
"Okay we've got something!" Yugo said, having managed to identify some of the effects of Mach 2.
"Every time a player draws a card or Special Summons monsters, that person gets one of their own Speed Counters placed on Speed World Mach 2. They can have up to twelve counters at a time." explained Yuto.
"And every time someone takes 1000 damage, they lose one counter." Yuri added.
"Seems powerful." Yuya remarked. What the counters were for, he still wondered about.
"Hold on a second!" Yugo interjected. "It says here because he's going first he can only have up to four counters placed on his card. So that means-"
"Blizzard Sanctuary's other effect!" the opponent shouted, cutting off Yugo. "Each time a Blizzard monster is Special Summoned, you take 300 damage!"
The winds around the two riding duelists howled furiously as they whipped up even more. Yuya felt the area around him drop a couple more degrees as they rushed past him.
Yuya LP: 4000 – 3700
"Now then, Blizzard Axeman's effect. When this card is Special Summoned, I can Special Summon a Level Three or lower Blizzard monster from my hand. I Special Summon Blizzard Archer!"
Appearing next to the reptilian soldier was a spindly lizard man. He wore an icy blue cape with an arrow filled quiver resting on his back. He wielded a bow which appeared to be entirely made of ice.
Blizzard Archer (Defense Position): 1200 ATK/ 1300 DEF/ WATER/ Level 3/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect
Unknown's Speed Counters: 3
Yuya LP: 3700 – 3400
The duel had only begun but Yuya was shivering like there was no tomorrow. The relentless cold caused by his opponent's effects had already given him the lead.
"Oh please." Yugo scoffed. "This is nothing! Have you dueled Rin? Compared to her this is like a warm breeze."
"Yugo, you are the only one of us Rin has ever dueled." Yuto reminded.
"Yeah and if I'm being honest, you're the only person I know she interacted with during the Academia war." Yuri admitted.
"What are you saying?"
"I set one monster and one card. Turn end." the rider said as he finished his turn.
"My turn!" Yuya declared, taking his first draw.
Yuya's Speed Counters: 1
"I have to be careful," Yuya muttered. "He has three monsters, one of which is face down. I'll have to be careful, but strong. I Normal Summon Entermate Skullcrobat Joker!"
Running next to Yuya's D-Wheel was a blonde magician in a purple and black jester outfit, giggling an infectious laugh. On his head was a black hat with a purple skull face embedded in the front.
Entermate Skullcrobat Joker: 1800 ATK/ 100 DEF/ DARK/ Level 4/ P.S 8/ Spellcaster/ Pendulum/ Effect
"Skullcrobat Joker's effect," Yuya said, continuing his momentum. "When this monster is Normal Summoned, I can add an Entermate, Odd-Eyes, or Magician Pendulum Monster from my Deck to my hand! I add Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Skullcrobat Joker removed his top hat and stuck his hand into it. Moving it around as if he was searching for something, he pulled out the card for Odd-Eyes, which he graciously gave to Yuya.
"Excellent," the rider whispered. "The target is preparing to summon the Four Dragons."
"Next, since I control an Entermate monster, I can Special Summon this card! Come, Entermate Card Bird!"
Flapping a set of six card wings, a yellow bird wearing a pair of glasses and a top hat appeared next to Yuya's D-Wheel.
Entermate Card Bird (Attack position): 800 ATK/ 1600 DEF/ WIND/ Level 4/ P.S. 5/ Winged Beast/ Pendulum/ Effect
Yuya's Speed Counters: 2
"Now, I activate the Spell, Pendulum Card Burst! By destroying Skullcrobat Joker and Card Bird, who are both Pendulum Monsters, I draw two cards," the boy said. His two monsters disappeared as he drew two more cards.
Yuya's Speed Counters: 3
The continued addition of Speed Counters had allowed Yuya to catch up with his opponent. The two were now racing at the same speed.
"Summoning two monsters while being able to keep six cards in your hand, I'm impressed." The mystery rider spoke. "I can feel it, the dragons are coming up next. You really are Zarc's successor."
Yuya's foot nearly dropped on the peddle like a rock. "How do you know about that?" Only a few people had known the truth about Zarc, Ray, and the Original Dimension, the general public didn't know.
"My people know many things," the stranger calmly explained. "Our leader is well aware of the truths behind you and Hiragi Yuzu. Unlike you, however, he knows the true strengths the dragons hold."
"True strength," a puzzled Yuya repeated. "What do you mean?"
"That is not important. Now, continue this duel or end your turn!"
Yuya grimaced, disturbed by his foe's words. Did the dragons possess more power beside that of Zarc? Does that power have something to do with this time freeze? More questions kept popping up by the second and he barely had time to get answers.
Reluctantly, Yuya grabbed a pair of cards from his hand and played them. "With the Scale 3 Antithesis Magician and the Scale 8 Synthesis Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale!"
The pair of Spellcasters appeared in two columns of light on Yuya's left and right. On his left was Antithesis over a glowing 3, while on his right was Synthesis over a glowing 8. The image of Yuya's Pendulum appeared between the two and began swinging as Yuya chanted.
"With this, I can Summon monsters whose Levels are between 4 and 7. Swing, Pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Appear now! My monsters!"
A trio of orbs of light, each a different color, exited from the arc created by the Pendulum. "Return from my Extra Deck, Entermate Skullcrobat Joker! And from my hand, Entermate Warrior Tiger as well as Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
Yuya's three monsters appeared around him. Next to his ace dragon and Skullcrobat Joker was an anthropomorphic tiger dressed like he was in a marching band.
Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon (Attack Position): 2500 ATK/ 2000 DEF/ DARK/ Level 7/ P.S. 4/ Dragon/ Pendulum/ Effect
Entermate Warrior Tiger (Attack Position): 1700 ATK/ 500 DEF/ EARTH/ Level 4/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect
Yuya's Speed Counters: 4
"Oh I see what you're doing." Yugo said, predicting Yuya's next move based on his field. "You're gonna pull out Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon and OTK him. Great move."
"No," Yuya replied, much to the three Counterpart's confusion. "I can't defeat him just yet. I want to know what he meant about Odd-Eyes and the others having more power. On top of that, he's the only one who knows why times has stopped," he explained. "I need to know what's going on."
"Alright," Yuto spoke calmly. "But be careful. He still has that Set card and who knows how many effects with Speed World Mach 2."
"I understand," the Pendulum Counterpart replied. "Battle! Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon attacks Blizzard Axeman! Spiral Strike Burst!"
Yuya's dragon fired its powerful attack, engulfing and destroying the axe wielding monster in a burst of flame. Before Yuya could continue, the winds from Blizzard Sanctuary kicked up again, and Odd-Eyes became incased in ice, and then was destroyed.
"What!?" Yuya shouted in confusion.
"Blizzard Axeman's effect. When it is destroyed, I destroy one card my opponent controls," the mysterious duelist explained.
"He wanted you to destroy his monster," Yuri summarized. "Good thing he didn't summon Rebellion Dragon otherwise Yuya would be down his only monster, eh Yugo." He said, playfully elbowing Yugo in the side.
"Yeah, good thing." Yugo said before realizing what Yuri meant. "Oh, I get it. That was an insult, ha ha."
"He may have destroyed Odd-Eyes, but I still have two more monsters! Warrior Tiger, attack Blizzard Archer!" On command, the tiger monster pounced on the reptilian archer and (ironically) bear hugged him into nothingness.
"Warrior Tiger's effect acti-"Yuya said, only to be cut off by his opponent.
"Blizzard Archer's effect! When it is destroyed, this turn's Battle Phase comes to an end."
"Great," Yuri said sarcastically. "His deck focus on burn and destruction. Yay!"
"Knock it off Yuri!" Yuto snapped, not in the mood for any antics.
"Just being honest." the Fusion boy shrugged.
Yuya however did agree with Yuri. His opponent was willing to let his cards be destroyed so that his own plans would be useless. "Because Warrior Tiger destroyed a monster by battle, I can add an Entermate Pendulum Monster from my Deck to my hand. I add Entermate Cheermole to my hand by this effect."
Said monster slid out from Yuya's Deck. "I set one card and end my turn. At this time, Entermate Card Bird's effect activates. During the End Phase of the turn it was destroyed, I draw one card."
Yuya's Speed Counters: 5
"Watashi no turn," the opponent declared, drawing his card.
Unknown's Speed Counters: 4
"First, I Flip Summon the monster that I had set earlier. Appear, Blizzard Lizard."
The facedown card in his Monster Zone flipped face up. In a flash of light, a pale yellow lizard covered in blue and white fur appeared next to its owner.
Blizzard Lizard: 300 ATK/ 1800 DEF/ WATER/ Level 3/ Beast/ Effect
"Next," the duelist continued, "the Continuous Trap, Call of the Haunted, activates!" His other set card revealed itself as a card that many a duelist was familiar with. "With this effect, I Special Summon the Blizzard Lizard that I had discarded earlier! Revive, Blizzard Lizard!"
An exact duplicate of the first lizard appeared next to the original. And of course, a Blizzard monster was Special Summoned, which was bad news for Yuya.
Unknown's Speed Counters: 5
Yuya's LP: 3400 – 3100
"I'm not done yet, this fight is only just beginning!" the opponent said smugly, playing a Spell card in his hand. "I activate Ice Mirror! By this card's effect, I target a Water attribute monster on the field with a Level of '3' or lower I control and Special Summon a monster identical to that monster from my Deck! I summon a final Blizzard Lizard!"
Yuya's LP: 3100 – 2800
Unknown's Speed Counters: 6
"Yugo be honest," said Yuto. "Is dueling Rin worse than this?"
"Yeah, I don't even have a body and I can feel this!"
"Wimps." a smug Yuri mocked.
"Now," the mystery duelist said ominously. "It is time. I release two of my Blizzard Lizards and Tribute Summon the Dark Tuner, Blizzard Executioner!"
"Dark Tuner!?" Yuya and the other three repeated in shock.
Two of the fur-covered lizards disappeared, and in their place came a humanoid lizard that was about six foot nine inches tall. He wore a hooded cloak that covered his face, and on his sides was a belt holding about six knives, a mace and a small war hammer. In one of his hands he wielded a massive battle axe, twice the size of Blizzard Axeman's.
Blizzard Executioner: 1500 ATK/ 0 DEF/ WATER/ Level 8/ Beast-Warrior/ Dark Tuner/ Effect
"Hey Yugo," Yuya asked nervously, afraid to be right. "Exactly what was the name of the monster needed to perform that Dark Synchro again?"
"Dark Tuner," the Synchro boy answered, his voice going up an octave or two.
"It seems you know of what I am about to do," Yuya's opponent said in a mocking tone. "Good, that way you may bear witness to true power! I subtract the Level 8 Blizzard Executioner from the Level 3 Blizzard Lizard and perform Dark Tuning!"
"This is bad!" Shouted Yuto.
Blizzard Executioner glowed before transforming into a series of eight stars. The stars quickly flew towards Blizzard Lizard and embedded themselves into the monster. Turning transparent as it groaned in pain, three new stars revealed themselves inside of the lizard. The two sets of stars collided with each other, before the reptile disappeared, five black stars rotating in a circular motion in its place.
"What, the stars have gone dark?" Yuya questioned.
"That is correct. The Dark Tuner Blizzard Executioner's Level is 8, while Blizzard Lizard is Level 3. A Dark Synchro Summon beckons forth a Dark Synchro Monster with a Level equal to that of a Dark Tuner Subtracted from the Level of a non-Tuner!" explained the mystery duelist.
"But eight from three is five!" Yuya said before realizing what his opponent meant. "That means…"
"Yes," his opponent said coldly. "The Dark Synchro Summon calls forth a monster with a Negative Level!"
"Negative?" Yugo said in shock.
"Then that means that the energy Akaba Reiji had detected before really must have been a Dark Synchro!" Yuto realized.
"Ruler of the frozen underworld, rise up from your slumber! Destroy those who dare worship the light!" he chanted, removing a card from his Extra Deck. In the brief glance Yuya caught, he saw that the card was gray, like that of a Token Monster, but darker. In addition that level stars were on the left side of the card like that of an Xyz Monster's Rank, but they were purple colored and placed in blue circles instead. "Dark Synchro! Show yourself, Level Negative 5, Blizzard King Fitzgerald!"
The five stars exploded into a column of purple light, and from it came a monster made completely out of clear ice. It appeared to be inanimate, and in the shape of a 'T' with pointed ends. The only thing that made the creature seem alive was the pair of glowing red eyes on its 'head'. Around what appeared to be its chest was a chunk of black ice. Sprouting from its back and pointing forward were a set of four tentacles made out of ice. The ominous moan the creature emitted made an already freezing Yuya feel even colder.
Blizzard King Fitzgerald (Attack Position): 2500 ATK/ 2500 DEF/ WATER/ Level -5/ Fiend/ Dark Synchro/ Effect
Unknown's Speed Counters: 7
"This is….. Dark Synchro?" a stunned Yuya said, unable to fully believe it.
"Yes! This is the power that belongs to us of the Dark Dimension!" the duelist shouted. "The power to call forth monsters from the world without light! Submit to your destiny Sakaki Yuya, for now you will face the judgement of a true god's disciple!"
Cards in this Chapter:
**6th Daughter's Card**
Dark Anchor Effigy – Guiding Light
1900 ATK/ 0 DEF/ Level 4/ Other Stats unrevealed.
**Unknown's cards**
Blizzard Axeman
2000 ATK/ 1200 DEF/ WATER/ Level 5/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect
You can Special Summon this card (from your hand) if you control no monsters. You can only Special Summon "Blizzard Axeman" once per turn this way. If this card is Special Summoned: You can Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower "Blizzard" monster from your hand. If this card is destroyed by battle or by card effect: You can target 1 card your opponent controls; destroy it. You can only use each effect of "Blizzard Axeman" once per turn.
Blizzard Archer
1200 ATK/ 1300 DEF/ WATER/ level 3/ Beast-Warrior/ Effect
If this card is Special Summoned: You can target 1 card your Opponent controls; destroy it. If this card is destroyed by battle: End the Battle Phase.
Blizzard Executioner
1500 ATK/ 0 DEF/ WATER/ Level 8/ Beast-Warrior/ Dark Tuner/ Effect
Effects unrevealed
Blizzard King Fitzgerald
2500 ATK/ 2500 DEF/ WATER/ Level -5/ Fiend/ Dark Synchro/ Effect
1 or more non-Tuners – 1 Dark Tuner
Effects unrevealed
Speed World Mach 2
Field Spell
The player who reaches Checkpoint 1 first takes the first turn. You can activate 1 other Field Spell Card in addition to this card. Unaffected by other card effects. Each time a player draws a card(s) or Special Summons a monster(s),(Other than with the effects of this card), that player places one of his/her own Speed Counters on this card (Max. 12). (The player who goes first cannot place more than 4 Speed Counters on this card for their first turn.) During either player's turn, you can remove any number of your own Speed Counters to activate 1 of the following effects based on the number of Speed Counters removed. 1+: Increase the ATK or DEF of 1 monster you control by 100 for each Speed Counter removed for this effect. 2: Increase your LP by 500. 4: Halve the damage you take from 1 battle or card effect. 6: Draw 1 card. 8: Destroy 1 card on the field. 10: Negate the activation of a card or effect, and if you do, destroy it. 12: Special Summon 1 Level 4 or lower monster from your Hand, Deck, Graveyard, or Extra Deck ignoring the summoning conditions. If a player takes damage, that player loses 1 of his/her Speed Counters for every 1000 points of damage he/she took.
(Credits to Donjusticia for this BEAST of a card, as well as the O/C Yuzu is dueling in this and the next chapter.)
Blizzard Sanctuary
Field Spell
Each time you Special Summon a "Blizzard" monster: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent. Once per turn: You can add 1 Level 4 or lower "Blizzard" monster from your Deck to your hand.
Blizzard Survival
Normal Spell
Discard 1 "Blizzard" monster: Draw 2 cards.
**Kyosuke Kiryu's cards** *He's back baby!*
Infernity Assassin
1000 ATK/ 1000 DEF/ DARK/ Level 10/ Warrior/ Dark Tuner/ Effect
If this card is Normal or Special Summoned while you have no cards in your hand: Draw 1 card and reveal it. It that card is an "Infernity" monster: Special Summon it. If not, send it to the GY. Other effects unrevealed.
Whew, that was hard work, but worth it.
So the most obvious thing is that the 5Ds characters that have reappeared in the Arc V universe. It felt nice being able to bring them back. Ushio is probably only here to kick start the main plot, but Kiryu and Carly, I'm especially excited to bring them back. So what you guys think they're going to do in the story, I can't tell you just yet.
Lot of stuff going on in this chapter, between the time freeze and establishing a few things, including the 5Ds references. Some of you may be asking, based on the discussion Crow had with the Lancers, why is there mention of the Dark Signers arc in the story. Well for two reasons, first is to justify why we saw the Crimson Dragon in Arc V (other than because it was an awesome cameo), and second is because the myths of the Crimson Dragon and the lore behind Dark Synchro is going to be important down the line. Other than that, no actual Dark Signers in this story.
One more thing before I get to reviews. And that is to say in a few chapters, I will start accepting any O/C submissions you guys have. Don't start creating them just yet, wait a few chapters when submission officially starts. Also don't expect them to have major roles in the story, at best they would be a Duelist of the Week. But if I really like the O/C, then they might show up more than once.
Now reviews because I did so much that I don't know what else to say.
Elbarto4000: I won't say how that's going to work yet, it'll make things more interesting.
Epsilon Tarantula: I fell as if you are my harshest critic. But that's good, because I have someone to remind me to keep improving. As for your complaint about how similar the Link Dimension is to the start of Vrains, just remember it will divert from the main series. And about Revolver, who is to say this is a legacy version and not just a different character with the same name, huh? Remember, Revolver is who the character is while in Link VRAINS, not who they are in reality. You'll see what I mean in the coming future. Other than that, I'm glad you liked Yuta and Kasumi.
HunterHQ: Well when I'm ready I'll ask you for those cards. Also, and this is just a nitpick but one that really grinds my gears, can you and the other readers refer to Yuri's dragons by Japanese name. I really cannot stand the English names (Freaky fact; I think I actually predicted the name change).
Donjusticia: Well I've already spoke to you about that. I guess when we reach the Link Dimension I'll have Into the VRAINS said phonetically next time. And Tri-Tail not having the Level 5 monster effect, again, YOU DESIGNED THE CARD!
UnknowedZ: Um, yeah I don't know whether or not Zarc (the monster) will be appearing outside of flashbacks.
So I'm probably forgetting a few things, but I'm busy and….
Oh no wait, I've decided to give 'Episode Summaries' for the next two chapters:
Chapter 5: The Corrupted Summons
As Yuya duels against the unknown Riding Duelist, Yuzu faces off against someone who has mistaken her for another. Having grown since the Interdimensional War, Yuzu establishes an early lead with Pendulum Summoning. However, her opponent turns things around with the mysterious Dark Anchor Summon!
Chapter 6: Aftermath of the Frozen Day
Yuya and Yuzu explain to the others about what happened while time stood still. Attempting to solve the mystery they had gotten themselves into, they find themselves unaware of a mysterious pair of eyes watching on, like a serpent waiting to strike.
I did some outlining for a couple chapters so now I can give little previews, yay!
Good bye, sayonara, ciao, adios and for any native New Yorkers get outta here!