Pikatwig: The penultimate chapter of this story. It's the pioneer of the Pendulum Summon versus the bearer of the Elemental Heroes.
KKD: This could be pretty intense to be sure.
Pikatwig: Also… one of our first collabs that is going up this year. Not the first, but one of the firsts overall on this site.
KKD: Yep. At least it's the first chapter of it at this point.
Pikatwig: Not much else to say, so let's get this started.
KKD: Yeah.
Disclaimers: Neither author owns the rights to anything in this story apart from original content. Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, and Yu-Gi-Oh! Vrains are owned by Konami and their respective owners.
Jaden and Yuya both stood at the arena and exchanged nods at each-other. They quickly exchanged decks to shuffle them, giving each other a nod to confirm that they were ready to start. Jaden took a moment to look over Yuya's deck with his ability to sense it had high magical power. With Yuya unable to notice the flash of Jaden's eyes, he continued to shuffle Jaden's deck.
"This deck… it feels unlike anything I've ever seen before…" Yubel commented.
Jaden gave a nod as he started to shuffle Yuya's deck as Yuya finished shuffling Jaden's. The two exchanged their decks and got onto opposite sides of the field.
"Now that I finally get a chance to look at him without distractions… I sense something dark about him. I don't know what it is, but I feel he has something dark buried within him…"
"You ready?" Jaden asked.
"You bet," Yuya nodded.
"Get your game on!"
"Ladies and gentlemen… it's showtime!"
(Jaden: 4000; Yuya: 4000)
Meanwhile, at Yugi's point of time, he was in the middle of getting ready to head out of the apartment, but then noticed a different card at the top of his stack.
"Hmm?" he muttered as he picked up the card, which was a Trap Card called 'Link of Time', and just stared at it with a confused look.
"Hey, Yugi," Tea said as she walked over to him, "Weather's looking pretty bad, so the director of the play said to stay home until it clears up."
"Sorry to hear that."
"It's ok. I'll still be able to perform once we have certainty that the weather will clear up," Tea said with a smile, hugging Yugi as she relaxed a little, "Until then, you and I get to spend some time together. Bet that's more fun than needing to work, huh?"
"Yeah…" Yugi smiled as he let her hug him. He then hugged back and the two simply relaxed together on the couch.
"I'll start this duel by summoning Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab in ATK mode!" Jaden called out, summoning the black humanoid beetle.
(Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab; Lvl 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 500)
"I'll set two cards face down. Turn end."
"It's my move. I draw!" Yuya announced, "First, I'm going to set up my Pendulum Scales."
"Alright…"
"I'll set the Pendulum Scale with the Scale 3 Xiangke Magician and the Scale 8 Xiangsheng Magician!" Yuya declared as he placed the two cards in his Pendulum Zones, "Now, I can summon any monster with Levels 3 through 8!"
"Here we go…" Jaden muttered.
"Yurero, tamashii no pendulum! Tenkuu ni egake hikari no arc! (Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether!)" Yuya declared, "I now Pendulum Summon my monsters!"
Four lights came out of the portal that appeared above Yuya.
"Appear to my side, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Performapal Coin Dragon! Performapal Skeeter Skimmer! And, finally, Stargazer Magician!"
Alongside the two dragons and the magician appeared some kind of bug in a top hat with a boat for a body.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
(Performapal Coin Dragon; Lvl 4; ATK: 1700; DEF: 1000)
(Performapal Skeeter Skimmer; Lvl 4; ATK: 500; DEF: 1600)
(Stargazer Magician; Lvl 5; ATK 1200; DEF: 2400)
"Next, I'll normal Summon my Timegazer Magician!" Yuya announced, summoning up the magician.
(Timegazer Magician; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 600)
"Now, I overlay Performapal Coin Dragon and Performapal Skeeter Skimmer!" Yuya declared as the two monstered entered a portal, "Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose its treacherous fangs! Now, descend! I Xyz Summon Rank 4, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Rank 4; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"Battle! Stargazer Magician, attack Flare Scarab!"
"No you don't! I activate my trap card, Negate Attack, to stop your attack and end your battle phase!"
The card sent a flash of light that forced the Magician about to go back to Yuya's side of the field.
"Now… for my strategy to come into play," Jaden smirked, "But, first, I'll summon Neo-Spacian Dark Panther!"
This summoned up the black panther with a cape.
(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 500)
"Next, I'll play my Spell Card, Hypnotic Control! This lets me get control over one of your monsters for the remainder of the duel unless it is destroyed in battle. I'll take your Timegazer Magician!" Jaden announced as the magician went over his side of the field, "Next, I play Spell Reproduction! I discard two Polymerizations to take a spell card back from my Graveyard and add it to my hand. I'll add Hypnotic Control back to my hand, but it won't be staying for long. I activate Hypnotic Control again to take your Stargazer Magician!"
Yuya gasped as he saw his two Magicians on the opposite side of the field.
"Now, I'll activate another Spell Card. Recall! I can recall all of my monsters from my field to my hand!"
"What are you doing…?"
"Taking a page out of your book!"
"Oh no!" Yuya gasped as he realized what Jaden was doing.
"I'll use Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and Scale 8 Timegazer Magician to set the Pendulum Scales in place! I'm taking control of this Duel starting now!" Jaden declared as he put the two monsters into position, "I'm now able to summon monsters with Level 1 through 8 at the same time!"
"This should be a good duel…" Yuya muttered.
"Swing, pendulum of victory! Carve an arc of light across the sky! I now Pendulum Summon my monsters!"
Both Flare Scarab and Dark Panther returned to the field, but they were now joined by Elemental Hero Neos and a golden armor clad warrior with horns on his head like a bull and blades on his arms and even his back to act as wings.
(Neo-Spacian Flare Scarab; Lvl 3; ATK: 500; DEF: 500)
(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 500)
(Elemental HERO Neos; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
(Elemental HERO BladeEdge; Lvl 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1800)
"Not bad for your first time using a Pendulum Summon," Yuya admitted.
"Now, we battle! BladeEdge, attack Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
The golden warrior took a leap and slashed the dragon with his arm blade. The dragon shattered and vanished from the field.
(Yuya: 4000-3900)
"I set two cards facedown. Your move."
"Now then… with the already set in place Pendulum Scale, I Pendulum Summon again!" Yuya declared, "Revive from the extra deck, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
"Wait… revive from the Extra deck? What do you mean by that?"
"If a Pendulum Monster would leave the field to go the Graveyard, they instead go face up to the Extra Deck. Now then, I activate the effect of Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! By detaching one Overlay Unit, I target one Level 5 or higher monster to half its attack points and then my dragon gets those attack points until the end of the turn! I detach one Overlay Unit and target your BladeEdge! Treason Discharge!"
(Elemental Hero BladeEdge; ATK: 2600-1300)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 2500-3800)
"Battle! Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack BladeEdge!"
The dragon in question blasted a burst of purple energy at the armored monster.
(Jaden: 4000-1500)
"Now, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, attack Dark Panther and end this duel!"
"No you don't! I activate my Trap Card! Compulsory Evacuation Device!" Jaden declared as the card flipped up to show a gizmo launching a monster into the air, "I send your Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon back to your hand!"
The dragon in question was literally launched into the air before fading away, Yuya taking the card back.
"Good move. I place one card facedown and end my turn."
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 3800-2500)
"I draw!" Jaden announced. He took a moment to look at his card, but then tilted his head a little. The monster on the card looked to be based on a phantom thief with a rather large black cloak, along with a top hat, a white domino mask, and yellow eyes peeking out of the mask, 'Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker? I don't remember making this…'
"Yeah, you did. You made him alongside the others. Don't you remember?"
'Wait, what? ...oh, whatever…' Jaden thought, "I tribute Flare Scarab so that I can summon Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker!"
The monster in question took the stage in a blaze of blue fire.
(Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker; Lvl 5; ATK: 2400; DEF: 2000)
"Never seen that before," Yuya admitted.
"I kind of forgot I had this card…" Jaden said before he shrugged, "I now activate the effect of Phantom Joker. You need to hand over two facedown monster cards from your Extra Deck."
Yuya was shocked by this, but did so.
"Now, I'll play Polymerization! I fuse Elemental Hero Neos and Neo-Spacian Phantom Joker!"
In a rather showy fashion, Phantom Joker tossed up his hat before pulling off his mask, handing it to Neos as his body turned into flames. Neos put on the mask and became engulfed in the blue flames, causing the white areas on Neos to turn grey, him to gain Phantom Joker's cloak, top hat, and mask.
"Appear, Elemental Hero Phantom Neos!" Jaden declared.
(Elemental Hero Phantom Neos; Lvl 8: ATK: 3500; DEF: 2800)
"I set one card facedown and end my turn."
Back over with Yugi, he was currently staring at the new card he had found with a confused look.
'What in the world is a Link Monster and an Extra Monster Zone?' he thought.
Yugi gripped his head as he tried to figure this out before the power in the apartment went out.
"Yeesh… the weather is pretty bad…" Tea muttered.
"Um… Tea?"
"Something up?"
"Have you heard about something called 'Link Monsters' or an 'Extra Monster Zone'?"
"...I think I heard Pegasus say those names are something he's beta testing for the future of the virtual duel program Kaiba made before he died. I at least know he mentioned Extra Monster Zone. Link Monsters? I'd have to check."
After a bit of thinking, Yugi ended up putting the card into his Duel Disk to see if anything would happen. A light blue energy portal appeared in front of Yugi and he suddenly saw what looked to be the future.
"What the…?"
"I guess I was given this card for a reason. I'll be back when I can, Tea."
"Good luck," Tea said before she kissed his cheek.
Yugi then headed forward through the portal…
"I draw! I now Pendulum Summon once more! Come forth, my monsters!"
Two monsters spawned from the portal before Yuya. The first looked like a grasshopper with an archer's bow for a nose and the second was a red phoenix with differently colored eyes.
(Performapal Bowhopper; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000)
(Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix; Lvl 5; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)
"And now, from my hand, I summon the Tuner Monster Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron!"
Suddenly, a small monster resembling a top hat with a green and a red eye appeared, wings on the hat and stretchy limbs.
(Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron; Lvl 2; ATK: 200; DEF: 600)
"Next, I'll Tune Performapal Odd-Eyes Synchron with Performapal Odd-Eyes Light Phoenix!" Yuya declared.
The Synchron turned into rings as the Light Phoenix flew through them and turned into lights.
(2+ 5 = 7)
"Spread those wondrous and beautiful wings to whip up a whirlwind of destruction! I Synchro Summon! Appear to my side, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!"
From the light, a white dragon appeared with blue and black armor, looking very futuristic, and having blades of a clear blue.
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"I now use Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's second Overlay Unit to decrease Dark Panther's attack points! Treason Discharge!"
(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; ATK: 1000-500)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 2500-3000)
"Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon, attack Dark Panther and end this duel!"
"No you don't! I play my Trap Card, Negate Attack, to stop your attack and end your Battle Phase!"
Yuya just sighed as he motioned for Jaden to take his turn.
(Neo-Spacian Dark Panther; ATK: 500-1000)
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; ATK: 3000-2500)
"Now then, with the Pendulum Scale I have in place, I now Pendulum Summon!"
Three lights appeared and from it appeared three familiar monsters.
(Neo-Spacian Air Hummingbird; Lvl 3; ATK: 800; DEF: 600)
(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)
(Elemental Hero Necroshade; Lvl 5; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1800)
"I now play Card of Sanctity! We each draw until we have six cards," Jaden announced as the two duelists filled their hands with the needed cards, "And I now activate Air Hummingbird's special ability! With this, I gain 500 Life Points for each card in your hand!"
Yuya looked a bit surprised as lilies appeared from his cards, Hummingbird fluttering over and suckling from each one.
(Jaden: 1500-4500)
"And now I play Polymerization to fuse Sparkman and Necroshade! Through their combined might they become Elemental Hero Darkbright!" Jaden declared.
(Elemental Hero Darkbright; Lvl 6; ATK: 2000; DEF: 1000)
"And now we battle! Darkbright, attack Bowhopper!"
The dark and golden figure rushed in and attacked the grasshopper without much effort.
(Yuya: 4000-3500)
"Drat!" Yuya yelled.
"I now set one card face down. Your move."
Yuya sighed as he drew his next card. He gave it a look and then smiled, "I now have Clear Wing Synchro Dragon attack Darkbright."
"I play my trap card in response! Bottomless Trap Hole will banish your monster from the duel!"
A dark portal opened and the dragon was forced to drop down through it.
"I set two cards facedown and end my turn. Your move."
"Well then… time for my next plan. I activate the effect of Xiangke Magician in my Pendulum Zone. I target one Xyz Monster and change its Rank into a Level!" Yuya announced.
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Rank 4 = Level 4)
"And now I activate the effect of Xiangsheng Magician in my other Pendulum Zone to copy the level of another monster I control! I copy Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's level to Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!"
(Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon; Level 4-7)
"And now, I overlay Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Yuya declared as the two dragons entered a portal, "Dragon of dual colored eyes. Unleash that black scale of wrath, eradicate all opposing enemies, and send my enemies fleeing with dread! I Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank Seven, Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"
The dragon in question emerged, looking like a monstrous black dragon with red, purple, blue, and orange accents all over, looking like a mecha almost, along with a rather odd fusing of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon's and Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's heads.
(Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon; Rank 7; ATK: 3000; DEF: 2500)
"I now activate its special ability. If an Xyz Monster was given a level and used as an Overlay unit, I can destroy monsters on the opposite side of the field with levels lower than seven, and if they are destroyed, you take damage equal to their attack points!"
A large purple wave came flowing off of the wings of the dragon and struck down Air Hummingbird, Dark Panther, and Sparkman.
"I activate my Trap Card, Fusion Fortress! As long as I control a Fusion Monster, I take no damage from opposing card effects!" Jaden yelled out as the trap card appeared and defended him from the attack.
"I'll set one monster facedown and end my turn…" Yuya announced.
Akiza continued to keep an eye on Rio as they waited for the power to come back on.
"Akiza?" Luna spoke up as she walked over.
"Yes?"
"Nobody knows what caused the power to get knocked out… and I haven't been able to contact Yusei at all. ...something's going on…" Luna informed.
"Should we do something?" Carly asked.
"I'm not sure…"
"...I'm sorry…" Rio spoke up, "Sorry for being scared and all. I-"
"Don't worry about it…" Akiza told her calmly, "I'm sure that the power will come back soon enough…"
Luna looked outside the window and gave a small gasp…
"Alright… I now use my Pendulum Scales to Pendulum summon once again!" Jaden declared, "Come to my side, Elemental Hero Avian and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!"
The two iconic monsters popped up on the field, the first being a green birdman and the other a red-clad woman with long hair.
(Elemental Hero Avian; Lvl 3; ATK: 1000; DEF: 1000)
(Elemental Hero Burstinatrix; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)
"And now, I play another Polymerization!"
Avian and Burstinatrix leaped into the air to combine together.
"Pawn of Fusion…" Yuto muttered.
"Quiet," Yuya whispered.
"Pulling this one from my old buddy Aster. I summon Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer!" Jaden declared as he summoned a hero in black with red accents on his suit along with a green helmet of sorts and Avian's wings.
(Elemental HERO Phoenix Enforcer; Lvl 6; ATK: 2100; DEF: 1200)
"Now, I'll play Monster Reborn to bring back Sparkman!"
Sparkman took the field once again.
(Elemental HERO Sparkman; Lvl 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400)
"Now, I'll play Premature Burial to bring back BladeEdge!"
(Jaden: 4500-3700)
(Elemental HERO BladeEdge; Lvl 7; ATK: 2600; DEF: 1800)
"And now, for another Polymerization! I fuse Sparkman and BladeEdge!" Jaden declared, "Appear, Elemental Hero Plasma Vice!"
The two heroes fused, forming a giant of a warrior akin to both, having the blue skin of Spark Man, the armor of BladeEdge, and sparking with electricity at its claws.
(Elemental HERO Plasma Vice; Lvl 8; ATK: 2600; DEF: 2300)
"Battle! Phantom Neos, attack Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"
Phantom Neos dashed forward and pulled out a staff to stab the dragon in the head with a blue fire. The dragon erupted into pixels before Yuya gained a small smile.
(Yuya: 3500-2700)
"What are you smiling about?" Jaden asked.
"If Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon leaves the field, another effect kicks in. I can destroy one card in my Pendulum Zone and place Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon in it. Xiangke Magician, leave the Pendulum Zone and make way for Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon!"
The magician left and Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon took its place.
"Now, I'll have Plasma Vice attack your facedown monster!"
The golden giant created an electrical spark that punched through the card and what looked to be a samurai before it sparked and exploded into pixels.
(Yuya: 2700-1900)
"Thanks to Performapal Handsamuraiger's effect, I can add a Level 5 or higher Pendulum Monster to my hand," Yuya smiled as he drew a card.
"Phoenix Enforcer, finish Yuya off!"
"Nope! I play my own Negate Attack!"
The Enforcer briefly flinched before leaping back to Jaden's side of the field.
"Now, I Pendulum Summon my Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya declared.
(Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"And now I play this Spell Card, Odd-Eyes Advent! With this card, I can ritual summon a monster!" Yuya declared as an altar appeared in the field and his dragon entered it, "Dragon with dual colored eyes! Let this ancient force grant you powers unlike any you've had before! I Ritual Summon! Emerge, Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"
With Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon set on the altar, a pillar of light shot up, and from it emerged a black dragon with orange underbelly scales, a blue gem on its chest, and wrapped in golden bands.
(Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon; Lvl 7; ATK: 2800; DEF: 2500)
"Wait… where did you get this from?" Yuto questioned.
"Yuzu gave it to me."
"When? We still haven't found her."
"I… guess she will give it to me after we find her…" Yuya muttered, "...Yuzu… please be safe."
"So… what now? We just wait for Yuya and then the two of us go home?" Yuzu questioned.
"We'll figure that out once Yuya gets back," Serena told her.
"Yuzu?" a girl's voice called out.
"Oh boy…" Alexis muttered.
Another girl walked over, the others turning to see a tanned girl with red eyes, black hair, and currently wearing a yellow dress under a baby blue shirt, black shorts, blue heels, and a brown gun holster belt.
"Julia?" Yuzu gasped.
"Good to see you, I guess…" Julia shrugged.
"She from your world?" Serena whispered.
"Yeah," Yuzu nodded.
Serena gave a sigh as she looked at her deck, "Something is going on… just… what…?"
"Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon, attack Plasma Vice!" Yuya declared.
The massive dragon roared a huge energy blast to beat the monster.
(Jaden: 3700-3500)
"And I now play this Spell Card, Double Impact. This lets my monster attack again, but it flips facedown after said attack! Attack Phoenix Enforcer"
Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon once again let out a blast, but this one was aimed at the other monster. It then turned back face down as the damage was inflicted.
(Jaden: 3500-3300)
"I set one facedown and now end my turn."
"You're finished. Elemental Hero Phantom Neos, attack Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon!"
Phantom Neos dashed forward towards the face down card, whacked it with his staff to reveal the dragon, and finish it off with a blue fire attack.
"I activate my Trap Card… 100 Soul! Regardless of the damage calculation, I survive with 100 Life Points!"
(Yuya: 1900-100)
"I'm still in this duel…" Yuya smirked.
"No… you're not. I play my Spell Card, Direct Burst! I summon a level four or lower monster to attack you directly and then it returns to my hand. And… for irony… I'm gonna use the card you gave me earlier because of Phantom Neos. I Special Summon Performapal Corn to attack you directly!"
The monster spawned from the Direct Burst card and dashed right at Yuya, the horn piercing Yuya's side as he fell to the ground.
(Yuya: 100-0)
"And THAT'S game! Gotcha there!" Jaden chuckled as he got Yuya's cards he took and handed them back, "Here you are. Good game, man. Good game."
"Thanks," Yuya smiled as Jaden helped him up, "Great use of the Pendulum Zones. You never use them before?"
"Never heard of it before today."
"You used them like a pro."
Jaden chuckled a bit as Yuya put the cards back in his deck.
"Best of luck dealing with that villain," Yuya told him as he extended an arm to shake Jaden's hand.
"Thanks," Jaden nodded as he accepted the hand-shake.
Meanwhile, within the far future, a man in a dark green and black suit with yellow Tron-esque lights, rocking a red, yellow, and pink spiky hairdo was currently dueling a male in a black outfit with green lights, and pure yellow hair. Currently on the other side of the field was a female monster that appeared to resemble a shrine maiden with a glowing naginata.
(Shiranui Splendidsaga; Link 3; ATK: 2300)
Meanwhile, on the side of the male with wildy hair was what appeared to be a metallic orb with feet, an antenna, and a tail with a red arrow along with a green face with blue eyes.
(Linkuriboh; Link 3; ATK: 300)
Below Linkuriboh was a ninja elf-like monster in a blue top with a green scarf, white and gold leg armor, black gloves, and platinum blonde hair.
(Elphase; Link 2; ATK: 2000)
Finally, to the left of Elphase, was a female monster in a white, black, and purple dress with a tablet in one hand, a black and blue visor over her eyes on her purple head of hair, and she had cords hanging out from under her cape.
(Backup Secretary; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)
"This guy does realize the irony in summoning a zombie monster via Monster Reborn, right?" a small being with a humanoid figure with a mostly black body with purple lines all over, and bright yellow eyes, commented.
"Quiet you…" the male responded, trying to focus as he and his foe rode on their hoverboards.
"I end my turn. Your move, Playmaker."
The red, yellow, and pink haired man drew his next card. He gave a confident smile as he looked at the Spell Card he just drew.
"From my hand, I activate the Spell Card, One-Time Passcode!" Playmaker declared, setting down the card he just drew, "I Special Summon a Security Token in Defense mode!"
With that, a drone of sorts appeared to Elphase's right.
(Security Token; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000)
"Elphase's effect activates! It gains 300 ATK for each monster next to its link!"
(Elphase; ATK: 2000-2300)
"Appear! The circuit that connects to the future! The summoning condition is two Cyberse monsters! I set Elphase and Security Token in the Link Markers!" Playmaker shouted as the two monsters turned into lights before powering two arrows on a grid, both down right and straight down, "Link Summon! Appear, Link 2 Cyberse Witch!"
From the grid appeared a woman in silver and black armor, a purple cape, a black hood, and wielding a three-pronged staff with a green orb in it.
(Cyberse Witch; Link: 2; ATK: 800)
"When the Link Summoned Elphase leaves the field, I can summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my Graveyard. Resurrect, Draconnet!" Playmaker declared.
From the card came another monster with a Tron aesthetic, but it was glowing bright blue with dark blue lines to show its wyvern-like form.
(Draconet; Lvl 3; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1200)
"Cyberse Witch's effect!" Playmaker announced, causing the witch to begin to glow with a purple aura around itself, "Once per turn, when a monster is Special Summoned next to its link I banish a Spell Card from my Graveyard to add two cards to my hand! I banish One-Time Passcode! But wait, there's more! When I activate this effect, once during that turn, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Cyberse monster from my graveyard!"
Cyberse Witch raised her staff upwards and generated a portal.
"I Special Summon Cyberse Wizard!" he declared as a figure in white clothes and silver armor over a black bodysuit along with green hair and lines all over appeared with a staff with several blue glowing orbs.
(Cyberse Wizard; Lvl 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 800)
"I now play Cynet Ritual! I'll use monsters who's levels will equal or surpass the level of the Ritual Monster I wish to summon. I use Level 3 Backup Secretary, Level 3 Draconet, and Level 4 Cyberse Wizard!" Playmaker declared, "The contract has been made. The sage who wields dark power inherits these three souls! I Ritual Summon! Rise, Cyberse Magician!"
As the monsters merged, what appeared to be Cyberse Wizard appeared, but it had more glowing lines, a purple suit under his armor instead of black, and a staff reminiscent of Dark Magician's hat.
(Cyberse Magician; Lvl 7; ATK: 2500; DEF: 2000)
"Battle! Cyberse Magician, attack Shiranui Spendidsaga! Cyberse Magician gains an extra 1000 attack points when it fights a Link Monster! Ike!"
(Cyberse Magician; ATK: 2500-3500)
The magician charged forward and struck the female monster down.
(F.O.E.: 4000-3800)
"And now my remaining monsters attack you directly!"
"Not so fast! I play this Trap Card. Dangerous Guardian! This Trap Card will defend me from your Direct Attack, but at the cost of me discarding all of my monster cards to the Graveyard and not being able to do anything with my next turn."
"...why would you do that?!" Playmaker yelled in confusion.
"Because your monsters are all pathetic. Even without anything to defend me, I'll be capable of beating you, Playmaker!"
"...I set one card facedown and end my turn."
"I end my turn."
Playmaker then drew another card and smirked a little, "I activate my Trap Card, Dimensional Recall! This lets me bring back one banished Spell Card, activate it, and then rebanish it. I'll bring back One-Time Passcode and use it to summon another Security Token before the Spell card is banished once more!"
(Security Token; ATK: 2000; DEF: 2000)
"I now send Stack Reviver in my hand to the graveyard to Special Summon Bitrooper!"
The next monster to appear resembled a white and yellow mech with blue eyes, a blue ring for a shield, and a lance, though it was on the small side.
(Bitrooper; Lvl 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 2000)
"I summon Cyberse Gadget!" Playmaker announced.
Another monster appeared, having the appearance of a robot with a tablet for a forearm, a motorcycle helmet-like head, red shoulderpads, but was otherwise gray, teal, and white.
(Cyberse Gadget; Lvl 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 300)
"Due to its effect, I Special Summon Stack Reviver from my Graveyard in Defense Mode!"
A small white, black, and gray robot with green eyes appeared with cord arms and chips coming out the sides.
(Stack Reviver; Lvl 2; ATK: 100; DEF: 600)
"Appear! The circuit that connects the future! The summoning requirement is at least two monsters. I set Security Token, Cyberse Gadget, Bitrooper, and Stack Reviver in the Link Markers!" Playmaker declared as the grid appeared and the four monsters entered the top, bottom, left, and right markers, "I Link Summon! Appear, Link 4, Firewall Dragon!"
Then a dragon with white armor, golden accents, and digital codes appearing all over appeared, spreading its wings as it roared loudly, glowing blue from its ringed head and its red eyes shimmering.
(Firewall Dragon; Link 4; ATK: 2500)
"I now play a Spell Card, Monster Reborn! I bring Backup Secretary back from the Graveyard below Linkuriboh's Link Mark!" Playmaker declared.
(Backup Secretary; Lvl 3; ATK: 1200; DEF: 800)
"And I now play this Field Spell card, Cynet Universe! With this, all my Link Monsters gain 300 ATK points!"
(Linkuriboh: 300-600)
(Cyberse Witch: 800-1100)
(Firewall Dragon; ATK: 2500-2800)
"You're finished. My monsters, attack him directly!" Playmaker ordered.
All the monsters rushed in at the opponent and did away all of his life points.
(F.O.E.: 3800-0)
"Wasn't that a little overkill?" the AI with Playmaker asked.
"As long as I beat a foe… no such thing as overkill…" Playmaker shrugged.
Playmaker eventually reached an area to log out at and was set to log out, but then…
"Playmaker," a woman's voice called out, making Playmaker turn to see a girl with blue hair and cyan highlights, wearing an idol outfit with a white top, blue skirt, pink accents, white angel wings with pink hearts and purple clovers, long navy stockings, and blue shoes.
"Blue Angel? What is it?" Playmaker questioned.
"There's somebody who said they wanted to meet up with you. They said it was vitally important and it would be a matter of life or death," Blue Angel explained, "Said to meet you at the edge of the virtual forest."
The male simply sighed before he walked off, not quite sure how to react.
Playmaker eventually arrived and saw a young boy who had hair nearly as crazy as his.
"Greetings, Playmaker. I am Yugi Moto. I was told that you are one of the strongest duelists in this era," Yugi greeted.
"Yeah right. As if you're the legendary King of Games…" Playmaker dismissively shrugged off while Yugi raised an eyebrow.
"But… I am."
"Nobody has seen the King of Games in nearly forty years. You can't possibly be him."
"I really am him!"
"...prove it. Show me cards that only Yugi Moto had."
He then showed off Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Apple Magician Girl, Swords of Revealing Light, Black Luster Soldier, Black Luster Soldier Envoy of the Beginning, Watapon, Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast, Beta the Magnet Warrior, and finally Kuriboh. Playmaker then looked both amazed and disgusted at the same time.
"...what?"
"You truly are Yugi Moto…"
"And I'm from the past. Something is going on and-"
"Where have you BEEN?! All this time?! If you hadn't gone and vanished, then maybe the Hanoi Project wouldn't have happened and ruined my life and many others!" Playmaker yelled as he put his hands around Yugi's neck, "The world would've been better off without that dumb card game and without guys like you to promote it!"
Yugi managed to shove Playmaker off of him, and ended up angering the latter even more, "Listen! I don't know WHAT was going on with that Hanoi thing. What I do know is that something very bad is going on to reality and we need to do something about it! I promise you that unless we do something, everything will die!"
Within the pocket dimension, the pharaoh looked at his deck of cards and simply gave a smile…
Pikatwig: That's ominous… don't you think?
KKD: A little bit, yea.
Pikatwig: So… what did you think of the duels in this chapter? The duel between Playmaker and the guy we dubbed F.O.E. wasn't shown in its entirety, but I thought we did well enough with the Vrains mechanics of Link Summoning and the Extra Monster Zone. You?
KKD: The main duel was probably one of my favorites so far, and as of now, this story is starting to help me make some sense of the Vrains stuff, but not by much yet.
Pikatwig: Cool to hear.
KKD: Yea. It's a start.
Pikatwig: And, little funny story? So, Playmaker and Blue Angel are kind of allies and are… sort of friends in real life (though the latter is unaware of who Playmaker is). They were shipped… pretty much right out of the gate from what I've read. The funny thing is? People IN-UNIVERSE ship them!
KKD: Wow!
Pikatwig: Yeah. Kind of funny.
KKD: Yea.
Pikatwig: So… let's explain where Jaden got that new card from. Basically, like with Alexis in chapter one, the blending of different timelines gave it to him. He shouldn't actually have it, but a version of him from another timeline did and now, with time folding like a pretzel, he got it.
KKD: "Time folding like a pretzel". That just… I dunno how to react to that.
Pikatwig: It makes sense.
KKD: Ok.
Pikatwig: Anyway… favorite part?
KKD: Like I said, Jaden's duel. That was probably the coolest thing I've seen Jaden do.
Pikatwig: Yeah, that was a cool duel. I also like the one with Playmaker since it was pretty fun to do.
KKD: That was nice, I'll admit.
Pikatwig: Also… I wanna make quick comments about some of Playmaker's monsters. First, Linkuriboh. It's ADORABLE! It looks like a little plushie or a pillow of some kind.
KKD: It looks ok, but I'm not sure I'd call it adorable.
Pikatwig: Next, Firewall Dragon. It is the first ace monster of a protagonist to be banned in tournaments.
KKD: Wow. That's crazy.
Pikatwig: Cyberse Magician. Yusaku is the first protagonist since Yugi himself to use Ritual Summoning.
KKD: Oh yea, we hardly saw that type of summoning much.
Pikatwig: Finally, Cyberse Witch. I think she's cute. You?
KKD: Yea, she kinda is.
Pikatwig: Alright. Anything else you wanna say?
KKD: No. I got nothing this time.
Pikatwig: One thing I want to say about the next chapter, though, it's going to be a long one. Final duel, explanation of the baddie, learning of the baddie, wrapping up the story, and stuff.
KKD: Ok. Crazy, but I'm excited.
Pikatwig: Wrap up time.
KKD: Jaa ne.
Pikatwig: Just Live More.