Disclaimer: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.
Chapter 7 – The Two 'Judai's! E-HERO vs. Neo-Spacian?!
"Go, Tempester (ATK: 3600)," the fake Judai yelled to his blue-covered warrior holding its electronic sword. "Attack Sparkman!" Rising up, the hilt produced a glowing yellow-coloured blade as the warrior swung at his smaller navy and gold counterpart, a tall gold bladed monster looking on unable to act.
"No! Judai!" Crow yelled as the red-haired man braced for impact and his doppelganger began to laugh maniacally. Second later, though, his laughing stopped and he grew tense when he saw Judai's stern face and his arm pointing to one of his set cards.
"Permanent Trap: Hero Shield! After activation, I equip this card to an E-HERO monster I control. I select Sparkman! Next, when the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed if I send this card to the Cemetery!" The sword in the hand of the blue winged warrior sliced into the chest of its smaller navy counterpart, leaving a huge glowing scar but not destroying it.
"Your monster may have survived," Judai's double said bitterly, "but you still receive the damage!" After the sword blade of the warrior withdrew from its target, the shockwave from the impact struck Judai and he grunted in pain, his Life Points falling sharply as the blade dissolved and the warrior returned to its place beside the fake Judai.
Judai: LP 800
Enemy: LP 2500
"When Hero Shield uses its effect," Judai stated as he reached for his Deck, "for every 1000 points of Battle Damage I receive, I draw 1 card. Therefore, I pick up 2 cards!" Pulling 2 cards from his Deck and placing them in his hand, Judai looked on tensely while his imposter sneered.
"Draw as many cards as you like," the fake chastised. "It makes no difference. I set 1 card, and I use Tempester's effect: by sending Suffering of the Strong to the Cemetery, Tempester cannot be destroyed by battle." The card beside the fake Judai then disappeared, causing the power of the real Judai's monsters to reverse (ATK: 2600, LV: 7) (ATK: 1600, LV: 4).
"Why would you help Judai?" Yusei asked the fake. "Doing that made it easier for him to strike back."
"It doesn't help him at all," the fake replied arrogantly. "His skills are si far beneath mine that I don't need to further weaken his monsters. He's as pathetic as you Signers."
"Shut the fuck up!" Crow snapped, flipping off the figure with both hands. In response, the fake snapped his fingers, and Crow was suddenly covered by an electrical field that stunned him, knocking him to the floor.
"You bastard!" Judai snapped. "Leave my friends out of this!"
"Then show me what you've got," Judai's fake taunted with a sneer. "Kisama no turn."
"Draw!" Judai declared, pulling a card and spinning it around instantly. "Magic activate: Fusion! I combine Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Edgeman!" Jumping up into the air, the gold and navy warriors reached a point where they spun together, producing a huge bulky warrior complete with vice-like forearms, gold armour and a navy main body with lightning patterns on it.
"Fusion Summon! Elemental Hero Plasma Viceman (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)! And I activate its effect: By discarding 1 card, I destroy 1 Attack Position monster on the field! Vice Crush!" Taking a card from his hand and sliding it into the Cemetery, the warrior jumped forward and positioned its two massive forearms on either side of the other warrior. They then formed a yellow field of electricity around the warrior, causing it to explode.
"Nice job Judai!" Yusei stated. "If you attack goes through, you win this duel!"
"Indeed!" Judai stated. "Go, Plasma Viceman! Destroy this imposter and his Life Points!" Still standing in front of the fake Judai, the warrior expanded the electrical field between its hands and tried to electrocute the fake Judai, but unfortunately the imposter was ready with a sneer and a snap of his fingers.
"It's too easy," the figure stated. "Trap Card: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force!" While other others looked on in awe, the electricity consumed the warrior itself and caused itself to explode, causing Judai to cover his eyes while his fake laughed in psychotic satisfaction.
"This is bad!" Judai realized. "But I'm not down. Trap Activate: Rookie Fight! When an E-HERO monster I control is sent to the Cemetery by a card effect, I Special Summon 1 Level 3 or lower monster from my Deck. Come, Necro Gardna (DEF: 1300, LV: 3)!" Directly in fr4ont of Judai appeared a grey and red-armoured warrior with black pants, an eye mask and long white hair in a loose ponytail, which took up a crouching position and turned blue.
"I end my turn," Judai stated, disdainful.
"Damn it," Yusei cursed under his breath. "There's nothing to do except fend off attacks again."
"That's all?" the fake asked, amused. After receiving only an angry glare in reply he chuckled darkly and said, "I'm not surprised. Allow me to show you a true move. Draw!"
Inside the infamous Bootleg tavern in Neo Domino City, patrons were all sitting around glass tables at their booths and drinking their ales, going on completely unaware of each other or the bartender and waitresses. Just as a brunette passed by the doors, Jack and Kyojo stepped into the establishment from upstairs, still in their riding suits, causing the girl to turn to them and say, "Table for two?"
"No thank you," Jack said politely, not getting his point across the way he wished, for the girl then said,
"I'm sorry, but the bar is full."
"We're not here for drinks sugar," Kyojo corrected, his voice rousing a bald patron with criminal markers under his eyes and a roughly-kept moustache and goatee. "We need to speak to a man named Syd." Suddenly, the patron stood up and began to run for the supply room exit, getting the attention of the two men and causing them to give chase.
"Hey, wait," the bartender yelled, getting no reaction."
Down the hall, Syd opened the door to the box-filled store room where Yusei, Jack, Judai and Johan interrogated the two Dark Signers' pawns months earlier, only to discover it had no windows by which to escape. Turning back to run, he only had enough time to realized that Jack was already there before he flew straight into a pile of boxes.
"Hot damn, you're a good fighter," Kyojo complimented as he and Jack enter the room, cracking their knuckles. Kyojo them slammed and locked the door behind them, and asked, "Should we give him the old Satellite shuffle?"
When Jack nodded with a dark smile, both men walked forward towards Syd, whose instincts told him to start crawling away to safety. Unfortunately, he was too slow, for Jack picked him back up by the back of the head and got shoved into a spare glass table, cutting up his face badly. Jack then picked him up and held him up facing Kyojo, who sneered as he put on brass knuckles and punched Syd in the mouth and stomach. Ignoring Syd's muffled cries of pain, Jack them threw him back into the boxes and asked, "Why did you run?"
Flipping over, Syd looked up at Jack by his bleeding face and said, "Look, I don't want any trouble…"
"Too late for that Hoss," Kyojo said. "Now answer the question before you hurt worse."
"Dark Glass sent you?" When both men nodded, Syd got back up and wiped the blood off his face, his attitude changing entirely to one of seriousness ad toughness. "I'm an undercover Officer probing a D-Wheel smuggling ring. Recently I was approached by a woman in a white cloak, a bit shorter than you two."
"Lucciano?" Jack asked, only to get a definite "no" in the form of a handshake.
"Yusuriha?" Kyojo then asked. This time, Syd nodded, creating shock on the faces of the other two men. "What did she want you to do?"
"She asked us to supply 100 D-Wheels for a Project called "El Diablo", being conducted by the Director of Neo Domino."
"El Diablo?" Jack asked. "Isn't that "The Devil" in Spanish?" Getting a nod from Kyojo, Jack pondered, "Why didn't Yusu-chan mention being sent for that operation?"
"I don't know," Kyojo replied. Turning back to Syd, he asked, "When was the deal made?"
"One week ago. My fellow officers busted the ring's section, but the director's office made the files and charges disappear out of nowhere. That Yusuriha girl was the one who told me that, right before she put me back undercover. She also told me that anything I did to compromise the mission would cost me my life."
"Then she has some explaining to do," Kyojo muttered under his breath. "Thanks for the tip." Right as Kyojo and Jack turned to leave, though, Syd snapped his fingers and got their attention.
"Before you guys leave," Syd stated, "You need to finish the job."
"What?" Jack asked, right before Syd pointed to his wounds.
"I need it to look like you roughed me up good, or you'll blow my cover."
"You sure?" Kyojo asked. When Syd nodded, he and Jack looked at each other for a split second, nodded with a smile, and turned to punch Syd in the face. Receiving both hits, the man gave a thumb's-up before falling to the ground, his eyes closing. Looking over to the broken glass table, Kyojo pulled out a slip of paper from his jacket, write on it, "This should cover the table," and left it and 2 $100 American bills among the broken pieces.
"Let's get going," Jack said. "We need to pick up Yusei and Crow and get back to the group. Yusuriha has some explaining to do."
"Ready Judai?" the imposter asked, sneering, while his counterpart looked on in contempt. "I activate Hero's Legacy; because my hand is empty and I have 2 Elemental Hero Fusion Monsters in my Cemetery, I draw 3 cards." Putting the card into his Cemetery instantly, the man drew 3 cards in a one-by-one fashion, looking at them and sneering while the real Judai snarled.
"Magic activate: Miracle Fusion. I exclude Elemental Hero Flame Wingman and Elemental Hero Sparkman from my Cemetery!" From the slot two cards slid out: a purple-bordered card for the green warrior and a yellow-bordered one for the navy warrior, and both the appeared behind the fake Judai in spirit form before leaping up into the air and spiraling together.
"Fusion Summon: Elemental Hero… Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" From the spiral, a huge beacon of light erupted, from which emerged a silver-armoured warrior with bladed wings, an elongated helmet, and bird-like legs, which floated down to rest behind the fake Judai. "Shining Flare Wingman's ATK rises by 300 for each Elemental Hero monster in my Cemetery. Currently, that number stands at 7, so it gains 2100 Attack Strength (ATK: 4600)!"
"This isn't good," Yusei cringed while Judai looked on in agony. "His monster is too strong to eliminate with anything Judai can summon soon."
"Magic activate," the fake Judai further added. "Hero Heart. Until the End Phase, I halve the ATK of my Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 2300), and during this turn's Battle Phase it may attack twice. Go, Shining Flare Wingman, attack Necro Gardna! Shining Orb Shoot!" Jumping up into the air and extending the blades on its wings, the warrior formed an orb of green energy in its hands that it then threw at the crouching warrior before Judai, causing it to explode.
"Next, due to the effect of Shining Flare Wingman, the Attack Strength of the monster destroyed by battle is dealt to the opponent as damage!" Judai could only gasp before the glowing warrior appeared in front of him, shining brightly to make beams of light pierce Judai's body and damage him. As the warrior withdrew to floating in the air, Judai collapsed on his knees, shaking, while his Life Points all but disappeared.
Judai: LP 200
Enemy: LP 2500
"This is the killing blow!" The fake Judai yelled, pointing at his alter ego. "Go, Shining Flare Wingman! Direct attack the player!"
"From my Cemetery," Judai said defiantly, standing up, "I exclude Necro Gardna and negate your attack!" Directly in front of Judai, the warrior which had just been destroyed returned in spirit form, crossing its arms in front of Judai. The glowing warrior formed and shot another green orb, but it simply struck the warrior spirit, making it disappear.
"Bothersome little gnat!" the fake Judai spat. "During my Main Phase 2, I set 1 card. Next I move to the End Phase, where Shining Flare Wingman's ATK returns to normal (ATK: 4600). I end my turn."
"I managed to survive another round," Judai though, looking at his Deck, "but the cards I have now can't help me. I need to draw a better card."
"You need to firm up your game," Yubel interjected, appearing in spirit form behind him with arms crossed. "Lt's go."
"Right." "It's my turn. Draw!" Pulling a card from his Deck, Judai looked at it and smiled, seeing an opportunity. "Magic Activate: Angel's Gift!" Putting the card into his Cemetery, Judai picked up three cards from his Deck, looking at them and smiling at one he saw. He then proceeded to take one of those cards, as well as the one in his hand, and placed them in the Cemetery.
"I summon Neo-Spacian Glow Moss (ATK: 300, LV: 3)!" Slapping his card on the tray, Judai called forth a humanoid-looking glowing moss creature with no face save for a pair of eye-like holes.
"You're summoning that weak monster in attack position?" Judai's double scoffed. "It can't defeat anything I've done so far!"
"Defeating your monsters isn't the goal!" Judai corrected smugly, slightly confusing his imitator. "Magic Activate: Neo-Spacian Extent! I evolve Glow Moss into the Level 4 Twinkle Moss (ATK: 500, LV: 4)!" The glowing creature in front of Judai slowly shifted into a slightly taller female form of itself with spiky hair and a pair of more stern-looking eyes. "Battle!"
"Your monster still has low ATK," the fake Judai pointed out. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish?"
"I activate Twinkle Moss' effect. When Twinkle Moss battles a monster, I draw 1 card. Then, it gains an effect based on the type of card." Reaching for his Deck, Judai picked up a new card from it and flipped it around, revealing Spacia Gift. "Because I drew a Magic Card, my attack becomes a direct attack!"
The female moss creature then jumped up into the air, creating a glowing green shockwave that struck the fake Judai. The result was that his form became static for a few seconds; when he reformed, his Life Points fell.
Judai: LP 200
Enemy: LP 2000
"That was a good move," Yusei noted. "Judai's found a way to deal damage and keep things steady."
"I set 1 card and end my turn," Judai stated, slapping the card down right before the monster returned to its post.
"That was a good move, Judai" Yubel complemented. "Now you can moil for the card you need."
"Hey, Judai!" Judai's double yelled, getting the man's attention. "Stop chatting with your Spirit and pay attention. Draw! Go, Shining Flare Wingman! Attack Twinkle Moss!" The glowing warrior jumped up into the air, wing blades extended, and it began to form an orb in his hands.
"Twinkle Moss' monster effect!" Reaching for his Deck, Judai quickly spun his card around, revealing N-Ground Mole. "Because I drew a monster, the Battle Phase is ended!" Growling, Judai's double watched while the orb in his monster's hands failed and dissolved, and his monster then returned to its spot beside him.
"You're safe for this turn," he criticized, "but don't feel too secure. I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Draw!" Judai declared, looking at his card for all of a second before slapping it down. "Magic Activate! Spellbooks of the Pot! Both players draw 3 cards!"
"How desperate, letting me draw cards," the fake scoffed as they both picked up 3 new cards.
"Tell me if this is desperate: I summon N-Air Hummingbird (DEF: 600, LV: 3)!" To Judai's left emerged a red bird-like figure with black and yellow hands and feet, white and pink tail and wings feathers, and a long beak, who took up a crouching position and turned blue. "Now, I activate this monster's effect; I recover 500 Life Points for every card in the opponent's hand!"
Nodding, the monster jumped up into the air and made its way over to the fake Judai's side, where the cards in his hand each produced pink flowers one by one. The hummingbird creature then drank nectar from them in quick succession, creating green powder that flowed from them to Judai.
Judai: LP 1700
Enemy: LP 2000
"Instant Magic Activate: Quick Summon!" Judai stated, putting a card from his hand into play. "I Normal Summon one monster from my hand. Come, Ground Mole (ATK: 900, LV: 3)!" A drill broke through the ground, and a mole-like body attacked to it then jumped up beside Judai. Then, the drill opened up and formed a pair of shoulder pads while the mole's head was revealed.
"His Neo-Spacian monsters," Crow managed to say. "His second aces."
"Magic Activate: Spacia Gift!" Judai yelled, slamming down another card. "I Draw 1 card for each Neo-Spacian I control." Once again Judai pulled 3 new cards from his Deck; then he pointed at the glowing warrior in front of his doppelganger and yelled, "Go, Ground Mole! Battle!"
The mole's two drill shoulder pads folded over and reconnected into a drill, and then it dug into the ground at its feet and made its way towards the glowing warrior just below the surface. However, all of a sudden a warp opened up behind the warrior and it ducked into it; as the void closed, the drill mole came out of the ground, with to target. "What?" Judai asked, looking at his alter when he saw the flipped card and heard laughing.
"I had this Trap Card activated: Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device! I exclude Shining Flare Wingman until the End Phase!" With that the mole's drill separated again and it jumped its way back over to Judai, who looked on in anger.
"Kisama!" Judai yelled.
"I know of Ground Mole's effect to return itself and the opponent's monster to their owner's hands and skip damage calculation," the fake Judai sneered. "Therefore, I've gotten it out of the way."
"Yes, but even so," Judai stated pointing, "You've left yourself wide open. Neo-Spacians, attack!" Both the mole figure and the moss woman jumped up and forward straight at Judai's double, ready to strike and deal damage; but they were caught off guard by the flipping of a Trap Card.
"It's too easy," he sneered. "Trap Card: Common Sacrifice!" With that Judai, Yusei and Crow stared on with a gasp on their faces, hardly able to process what had just transpired. "This card can only be activated in the opponent's turn, when my opponent controls 3 or more monsters and I control none. I send 2 monsters my opponent controls to the Cemetery, and I Special Summon 1 Level 7 or higher monster from my hand!"
"You what?" Judai asked, completely freaking out.
"I send Glow Moss and Ground Mole to the Cemetery, and I Special Summon… Edgeman (ATK: 2600, LV: 7)!" Both the mole creature and the plant creature screamed out before they warped off the field in a cloud of particles, and then in front of the fake Judai emerged the bladed golden warrior from earlier in the game.
"This is very bad," Yusei realized. "Judai's lost his entire edge. With Edgeman's penetration damage effect, if Judai receives an attack, he loses."
With a frustrated growl, Judai jammed all but the last of his cards into his rear slots and said, "I set 3 cards. Turn end."
"Not so fast," his other declared. "Return: Shining Flare Wingman (ATK: 4600, LV: 8)!" The large warp returned. Releasing the glowing warrior before it closed again with no contents. "You've lost Judai, accept it."
"Never!" the real Judai bit out, only to receive a humoured laugh. "What's so funny?"
"You're an idiot," was the callous, laughing reply. "You invested your efforts into such weak monsters as the Neo-Spacians, just as you invested trust in the Signers. But it's all a lie. Those people you call friends drag you and the rest of humanity down."
"You're lying!" Yusei yelled. "We want only what's best for this world!"
"You tried this line on me already," Judai recalled. "It won't work. As long as I have my bonds, I will not be defeated."
"Next to true power," the fake stated, "your bonds are as worthless as your Neo-Spacians." When the only reply from Judai was an angry glare, the man asked in a sarcastically hurt tone, "What's wrong? Can't you take a joke?"
"Shut up and take your fucking turn!" Judai snapped, getting nothing more than a sneer in reply.
"Very well. It's my turn. Draw! I equip Edge Power-Blade to Edgeman, and thus he gains 800 ATK (ATK: 3400)!" On the monster's forearm emerged the attachment from Judai's duel two nights ago, producing the same plasma blade and swinging it in a testing fashion. "Go, Edgeman, attack Air Hummingbird!" The gold warrior then extended wings on its back and shot towards Judai, who then flipped a card.
"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification!" The attack of the warrior then hit a barrier and bounced off, making the warrior return o its spot. "Edge Power-Blade cannot negate Counter Traps."
"I'm aware," the fake Judai stated. "I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Draw!" Judai yelled. "Trap Card: Pact of Greed! Both players draw 1 card!" After both players silently pulled a new card, Judai instructed, "Go, Air Hummingbird! Activate your effect!" Jumping up again, a pair of flowers came off the card in the fake's hand and the hummingbird drank from the both, further healing his master.
Judai: LP 2700
Enemy: LP 2000
"I summon Card Gunner (DEF: 400, LV: 3)!" On the opposite side of Judai from the bird figure appeared a small robot with a dome over its headlight-eyed head, a pair of cannon-tipped arms, and a tank tread instead of legs. "I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Draw!" the fake stated, sneering as he pulled the card he had drawn from Judai's card and placed it on the tray. "I summon Elemental Hero Prismer (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)." Between the gold and silver warriors appeared a warrior made of clear, green and blue crystal with a pair of wing-like structures on its back.
"I activate Prismer's monster effect: By revealing a Fusion Monster, I send one of its Materials to the Cemetery from my Deck and have Prismer gain its name. Reflect Change!" From his Extra Deck the card of E-HERO Elixier appeared above his head, and so he looked through his Deck and showed a card. "Because its name is also treated as Burst Lady, I send E-HERO Burst Gunner from my Deck to my Cemetery."
Placing the card there, his crystal warrior turned to light and changed into a red armoured female warrior with a flame rifle attached to her belt. "Next I activate Burst Gunner's effect: BY excluding it when it is sent to the Cemetery, I inflict damage to my opponent equal to 100 times the Levels of my E-HERO monsters."
"What?" Judai asked, right before a burst of flame shot out from the Cemetery slot of his other's Duel Disc and lit him ablaze, making him scream out while almost all of his Life Points were burnt away.
Judai: LP 800
Enemy: LP 2000
"Judai!" Yusei yelled out. "Just hold on!"
"He's out of rope!" the fake yelled. "Go, Edgeman!"
"Before you end your Main Phase," Judai said, snapping his fingers, "Trap Card Open: Desperate Tag! I activate this card by destroying 1 monster I control; then I skip my opponent's Battle Phase and draw 1 card! I destroy Card Gunner!" the small robot exploded in front of Judai as he drew a card, and then he stated, "And since Card Gunner was destroyed, I draw 1 more card!"
"Your stall tactics are only proof of your worthlessness," the fake taunted. "I set 2 cards. During my End Phase, my Prismer returns to normal." The red-armoured warrior lady then changed back into its normal form of the crystal warrior, while Judai had to look on in dismay. "What will you do now? You're all but out of cards which can save you. You can't leach off my hand for more Life Points. It's over."
"It's not over as long as I have faith in myself, my deck and my bonds," Judai stated solemnly.
"What point is there?" his fake asked. "What do you hope to accomplish? Even if you defeat me, the people I work for are far worse, and they'll destroy anything in their path. It's hopeless."
"Nothing is hopeless with the power of bonds," Judai retorted strongly, his eyes glowing as Yubel's orange and green eyes and taking his alter off guard. "It's time I showed you what true power really is. You said that true power trumps bonds, but it is through friendships and bonds that true power takes shape. Let me show you that! Draw!" Pulling his card, he quickly took one of the cards already in his hand and played it.
"Magic Activate: Hope of Fifth! I return 5 Elemental Heroes from my Cemetery to my Deck, shuffle, and draw 2 cards. I return Bubbleman, Plasma Viceman, Clayman, Wildman and Edgeman to the Deck!" As the five cards slid out from his Cemetery slot, Judai took them and placed them in his Deck, giving them a fast and vigorous shuffle before putting the Deck back in his slot. Placing his hand on the Deck, the top cards began to glow as he pulled 2 of them.
"Next, I summon Elemental Hero Prismer (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" Judai placed his monster gently onto the tray, calling forth the same crystalline figure that existed on the fake Judai's field. "And I too activate its effect: I send Ultimate Gen God Rainbow Dragon from my Deck to my Cemetery!" Fanning through his Deck, a windstorm kicked up as he took the card and placed it in the Cemetery, while his figure burst out in a white glow.
"What? Rainbow Dragon?!" his imposter asked, watching as the monster's light gave way to the form of a long serpentine armoured dragon composed of white links with gold trim, a double row of seven different oblong gems with the rainbow colours, feathery wings at its shoulders and other wings at its waist, a spike on its tail, four wing-like gold pieces in front of its shoulder wings, and a blackened face with 4 yellow eyes. "That monster is…"
"This monster is one of the cards that represent the bonds between myself and Johan," Judai stated. "Behold, the Master of Bonds. Magic Activate: Fusion Recovery! I return Sparkman and Fusion from my Cemetery to my hand!" After the cards slid out, Judai took the Magic card and a card from his hand, and flipped them around to see. "I combine Elemental Hero Neos and Rainbow Dragon via Fusion!"
Judai's signature white warrior with shoulder pads, red trim and black hands and feet appeared and jumped up to the chest of the dragon, where the two monsters spiraled together. With that, Judai's imposter looked on in terror as a vertical column of white light formed and the silhouette of a giant monster became visible. At that time, Judai began to chant.
"Master and protector of bonds," he said, "descend upon this earth to illuminate the darkness and bring triumph to the Light of Justice! Fusion Summon! Arise, Rainbow Neos (ATK: 4500, LV: 10)!" The light then began to fade out, revealing a mostly white and grey warrior complete with green eyes, a pair of feathered wings, segmented gold-trimmed armour over most of its body, gems of varying shapes and sizes over many parts of its body, and a knight-like plate over its face which was attached to an elongated helmet.
"That monster," Crow said cheerily. "He did it."
"That's a powerful monster there, with its 4500 attack points," Judai's double declared. "Even so, this will not be your duel. Trap Activate: Power Wave! By sacrificing two monsters I control, I select a monster on the field and add 2000 ATK to it. I select Shining Flare Wingman, and I send Edgeman and Prismer to the Cemetery!" The two monsters beside the silver glowing warrior dissolved into a cloud of particles, while that monster's points rose significantly (ATK: 6600). "Plus," he added, "due to the effect of Shining Flare Wingman, its ATK further increases by 600 points (ATK: 7200)!"
"7200 ATK?" Crow realized. "That's not good for Judai."
"And in addition," Judai's double stated, "Its effect lets me destroy 1 Defence Position monster by opponent controls!" The card then shot a bean of energy into the bird figure, destroying it outright.
"That's one of Jack's cards," Yusei suddenly remembered. "I knew you were behind that!"
"Judai, your plan is shot," the fake stated, ignoring Yusei. "Without Air Hummingbird, you cannot return Shining Flare Wingman to my Deck, so I'm safe."
"Judai!"
"I'm fine, Yusei," Judai said over his shoulder, a confident smile on his face. Turning back to his opponent with a serious face, he added, "I activate Rainbow Neos' third effect: by sending one card from the top of my Deck to the Cemetery, I return all cards in my opponent's Cemetery to their Deck!"
"What? No!" The enemy had to look on in disdain while Judai flipped a card from his Deck and placed it in the Cemetery, and a second later all the cards in the fake's Deck began to shoot back out one by one. When they were al at the mouth of the tray, they warped back into the Deck, leaving nothing within.
"Without those monsters in your Cemetery," Judai pointed out, "Shining Flare Wingman's attack strength is heavily decreased (ATK: 4500)."
"Yes it is," the fake said bitterly, "but our monsters have the same ATK. If you attack now, we'll both be defeated."
"Ah, but I still have a card or two to play," Judai informed. "Instant Magic Open: The Aftereffects of Holy Water!" Flipping up the card, Judai pointed at his opponent's warrior and declared, "I return the ATK of Shining Flare Wingman to its original value (ATK: 2500)!"
"This can't be!" "Oh well; with my set Trap of Darkness, I can reuse Holy Barrier – Mirror Force and destroy Rainbow Neos, ending this game."
"Finally, I activate Neos Quake!" Flexing its muscles, the gigantic white and grey warrior produced a tremor that covered all of the fake Judai's set cards in neon rainbow energy. "This turn, when I attack, you cannot activate any Magic or Trap Cards, or any Monster Effects!"
"Alright! Judai did it!" Yusei yelled, raising a fist as Crow chimed in.
"Fuckin' A!"
"Go, Rainbow Neos," Judai instructed. "Attack Shining Flare Wingman and destroy this imposter. Rainbow Flare Stream!" Growling lightly, the warrior built up a rainbow orb of energy in front of an amber gem on its chest and blasted a stream from it at the glowing warrior. The energy vaporized its target on contact, and the fake Judai screamed out as he too was erased by the blast. A timely explosion followed, which flung the group against the corrugated metal walls of the building.
Judai: LP 800
Enemy: LP 0
"We did it, Rainbow Neos," Judai said, looking up at his gigantic monster. With a nod, the monster changed back into an aura of light and disappeared, Judai's Duel Disc deactivating. "But now we need to get to the bottom of this monster and his masters, Placido and his two minions."
"At least we've gotten rid of him," Yubel said, trying to boost morale. "And we've gotten the group back together."
"Judai! Yusei! Crow!" Jack's voice yelled out. The three people then turned to see him and Kyojo running into the building, and once there they helped Crow and Yusei to their feet. Judai then got himself to his feet, his eyes normal again, and he looked at the two new residents with a triumphant smile.
"I take it you showed that face-snatching bastard who was boss?" Kyojo asked Judai in a proud-sounding voice, prompting Judai to respond smugly,
"Would you expect anything less of me, old friend?" With a bit of a chuckle, Kyojo and Jack got serious and looked over to the group.
"We've got Intel from Ushio," Jack informed. "And you won't believe what we found out.
***
Back at Ushio's office, he was writing up an arrest report when he heard a loud knocking at his door. Looking up, he saw Jack Atlus kick open the door and enter, followed by a man in a black leather riding suit, prompting Ushio to say, "You do realize you have tp pay for that door, right?"
"Send me the bill," a Texan voice issued from the black-clad man. "I've got boys that'll handle it." Upon hearing the voice, Ushio, stood up with a pleased took on his face and stepped over to Kyojo, shaking his hand.
"Ryukishi Kyojo," Ushio stated friendlily. "To what do I owe a visit from Neo Domino's old mob boss?"
"We're here to look at Judai's arrest records," he responded, prompting Ushio to look back at him in confusion.
"Judai's been arrested?" he asked, completely surprised. "That's news to me; he has no criminal record, and his arrest file hasn't even crossed my desk!"
"You performed the arrest yesterday morning," Jack countered. "You said you were as surprised as everyone and that it was an order from the top. You also said you were charging him with terrorism because of the fire in his apartment – that arson in a public place is terrorism."
"Yesterday morning I was at a Drug Bust in the B.A.D. from 6am until 11:30am," Ushio stated. "I never received any such orders from the Directory, nor does that statue exist in Neo Domino City as of yet – it's still up for review by City Council. Where was he taken? He never appeared at the station."
"He said in a phone call that he was taken to a storage building on Godwin's old property," Kyojo informed.
"Godwin's old property isn't city property anymore," Ushio stated, shocking both young men. "It was bought by the new Director after a huge meteorite crashed into the river on its edge. He refused to allow any media onto the residence and he had the military remove the object, under the supervision of a woman named "Yusuriha"."
"What?" Jack asked. "She was in on this?"
"You know her?"
"She's my ex-girlfriend and an undercover operative in Yliaster," Kyojo stated, "but I'm beginning to think she's Placido's personal lap dog after what Officer Syd told us earlier."
"You spoke with Syd?" Jack and Kyojo nodded. "She's the Director's assistant," Ushio clarified. "It's her job to oversee important matters if he cannot."
"Well, after we get back together with the others, I've got a few questions for Yusuriha, and I'm not pulling any punches this time."
"She owes us answers if she knew where Judai was really going and didn't say anything."
"If you two want authorization to investigate, I can help you out," Ushio stated. "As the Chief of D's, I have a lot of leeway, and so I can give you temporary authorization forms to aid in an undercover investigation."
"That would be very helpful, thank you," Jack stated. Seconds later Ushio pulled up a file on his laptop and printed two forms off through his office's printer; then he handed them to the two men. When they looked at them, Jack added, "These have no listed expiry date."
Ushio simply smiled in reply, giving them the knowledge they needed. "As for myself, I'll also be conducting an investigation into the conduct of the new Director."
"Don't do that!" Jack stated. "You'll lose your job!"
"The Chief of D's has more power than you realize," Ushio countered. "The Director can't uproot me without a majority vote by City Council; and since the crime rate has gone way down since I took over, that won't happen."
"Alright, thank you then," Kyojo stated. "We need all the help we can get if we're gonna sort out this mess." Reaching into his pocket, Kyojo then pulled out 10 American $100 bills, slapped them down on the desk and said, "That should cover the door."
"Don't worry about it," Ushio said, handing him back the money. "I had all the doors here beefed up to help protect officers in their quarters. Jack didn't do a thing to it by kicking it open. I was just yanking your chain earlier."
"Very well, and thank you for the forms and your time." With that both men walked out of the office, Jack closing the door behind them, and Ushio went back to filling out his report.
***
"The Ushio that arrested me was an imposter," Judai realized. "And I'll bet it was the same entity that impersonated me."
"If Yusuriha is doing all this, then who is she playing?" Crow asked, getting a headshake.
"We don't know," Jack said. "But we'll find out."
"What exactly is Placido trying to cover up?" Yusei wondered. "Those cards, Wisel... is that what crashed at the Godwin residence?"
Card of the Week – Fake Judai
Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman
Type: LIGHT
Level: 8
Sub-Type(s): [Warrior/Fusion/Effect]
Effect: "Elemental Hero Flame Wingman" + "Elemental Hero Sparkman"
This card cannot be Special Summoned outside of a Fusion Summon. This card's ATK is increased by 300 points for each "Elemental Hero" monster in your Cemetery. When this card destroys a monster by battle and sends it to the Cemetery, the opponent receives damage equal to that monster's ATK.
ATK/ 2500
DEF/ 2100
* From impersonator to investigation. I told you I was a crime drama fan. Review if you wish.*
