I am so sorry that I'm late. I was supposed to get this up yesterday (Tuesday) but I ended up getting home a bit later than I thought I would and, by the time I finished editing this chapter, it was already after midnight. Ah well, it's a late update but at least I got it up within two weeks.
Thank you to DarkZorua100, bobmanv2.0, dragonrider90, DisneyOUATgirl1437, Sorcerer of the Stories, StrawHatLuffy94, decode9, EndlessNight025, Team5dsforever, iloveyugiohGX93, Kamen Rider Dragon Knight, a1993 and Lightclaw's Shadow for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are the greatest!
And, as usual (though I think I forgot to put this in the last chapter), a huge thank you to EndlessNight025 for being an awesome beta-reader (and credit for both duels in this chapter go to her).
We've gotten back to the canon events, though updates from here on out are going to be extremely slow, even though I have prewritten chapters because I kinda have to rethink the plot a bit for both this story and Season 3. I'll try to update again before the end of September though. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
7
Turning the Tides
The gang, once again, gathered in the duel arena where another duel was to take place. A week had gone by since the duel between Celina and Kira and everyone had gotten adjusted to being back in school. Celina was still struggling but she knew that it would take some time for her to get used to living in Japan. Jaden also still had those days when he didn't want to be around anyone but, thankfully, his sessions with Dr. Nakamura were still helping a lot.
Now it was time for yet another duel to be showcased in front of the entire school. This one was a one-on-one duel between Kasumi and Bastion, the latter of who had wanted to duel the former since the Battle Royal the year before. The two of them were standing on the duel platform, shuffling each other's decks, while Crowler and Bonaparte were talking in the stands.
"So why these two?" Bonaparte asked.
"Well, they were two of the top four who would have represented Duel Academy in the School Duel last year," Crowler said. "And Kasumi Yuki is one of the top female duelists of her year, second only to Alexis Rhodes. Now if only I can convince her to accept the idea of becoming a pop idol team with Raiden then we would definitely garner fame and fortune for the school!" He said the last sentence almost to himself.
"And Bastion Misawa?"
Crowler shrugged. "They've been wanting to duel each other since last year anyway," he said.
Bonaparte nodded and turned to the duel arena. "Well, I suppose it's better than watching those slackers duel," he said with a scoff.
Conway, whom was seated behind the Temporary Chancellor and Vice-Chancellor, sighed and shook his head, wondering what, exactly, Bonaparte had against the Slifers whom were there to just get better at dueling. Besides, from what Conway heard around the school, the current top duelist of the entire school was a Slifer himself, proving that some Slifers really were good duelists.
"You know this is the first time in years since I've seen Kas duel," Hikari commented. "Wonder how she'll do."
"This is the first time we've seen her and Bastion go at it one on one," Alexis commented. "They've been wanting to since last year, same with Jaden."
Jaden huffed and pouted. "The only reason I'm not in this duel is because Kas won the coin toss," he muttered, looking put-out.
Raiden chuckled at his brother. "You'll get your chance, Judai," he said, patting his brother's arm.
Down in the arena, Kasumi handed Bastion's deck back to him as she took her own deck. "So which deck are you using this time?" she asked curiously.
Bastion smiled at her. "You will just have to wait and see," he said, inserting his deck into his duel disk and walking back to his side of the platform. Kasumi went to hers and the two of them faced each other, their duel disks whirring to life on their arms.
"Let's duel," they declared as they drew their opening hands.
Kasumi: 8000
Bastion: 8000
"I will go first," Bastion said, drawing his sixth card and glancing at it. "I set one monster and then place two cards facedown and that's it." A vertical facedown and two horizontal facedowns appeared on the field.
Kasumi studied the three cards as she drew her own sixth card. Bastion wasn't quite a predictable opponent. There was no telling what those cards could be, especially since Kasumi didn't know which deck he was using.
"I activate my facedown," Bastion said as his facedown flipped up. "Wattcannon. Now, once per turn, when a Level 4 or lower Thunder-type monster is Normal or Special Summoned to the field, this card inflicts 600 points of damage to you."
Kasumi pressed her lips together. So he's using Thunder-type monsters, she realized before she picked a card from her hand and placed it on her duel disk. "All right, I summon Ehren, Lightsworn Monk in Attack Mode," she said and her dark-skinned warrior with the brown pigtails wielding the golden staff appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1000).
"And, next, I discard my Level 5 Celestia, Lightsworn Angel to Special Summon Lightray Grepher in Attack Mode," Kasumi added, discarding a card and placing another card on her disk. The warrior with the blue facepaint appeared on the field, sword held aloft (A: 1700/D: 1600).
"Lightsworn monsters? Interesting," Hikari said. "I'm not that surprised she's not using her first deck anymore but self-milling decks are rather hard to master."
"She's good though," Alexis said. She turned to Hikari and added, "Out of curiosity, what was her first deck?"
"I don't remember if she had an actual archetype or not but I know it was primarily Fire monsters," Hikari said.
"Oh." Odd that she used to use Fire monsters even though she's afraid of fire, Alexis thought and wondered if the fact that she was no longer using those monsters was due, in part at least, to her odd ability. She decided that now wasn't the time to think about it and returned her attention to the duel.
"Now, Ehren, attack Bastion's facedown monster," Kasumi ordered and the dark-skinned warrior jumped forward and landed a kick on the facedown card, causing it to flip up, revealing a pale-purple creature surrounded by electricity (A: 100/D: 100). "And when Ehren attacks a monster in defense mode, it gets shuffled back into your deck without applying damage calculation."
"Yes but Micro-Cell's Flip effect allows me to Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Batteryman from my deck and I choose Batteryman AA," Bastion said, retrieving said card from his deck after Micro-Cell was shuffled back into it and placing it on his duel disk. A double-A battery with an orange head, arms and legs appeared on the field (A: 0-1000/D: 0). "And if all Batteryman AAs that I control are in Attack Mode, they gain 1000 Attack for each. Also, since a Level 4 or lower Thunder-type monster was Special Summoned to the field, Wattcannon activates, dealing you 600 points of damage. I also chain that effect with my other facedown, Inferno Reckless Summon." A moment later, two more Batteryman AA appeared on the field alongside the first one, causing all three of their Attacks to increase (A: 3000/D: 0) x3.
Kasumi grimaced. Since she didn't have any more Ehrens in her Deck, she couldn't Special Summon them as well and now all of Bastion's monsters were too powerful for either of her monsters to take on.
Wattcannon then sent a blast of electricity at Kasumi.
Kasumi: 7400
Bastion: 8000
"All right, I end my turn with one facedown," Kasumi said, inserting the card into her duel disk. "And that means I gotta mill three cards from my Deck." She did so, milling Glorious Illusion, Wulf and Charge of the Light Brigade before retrieving Wulf and adding, "And since I sent my Wulf, Lightsworn Beast from my Deck to my graveyard, I can Special Summon him to the field." In a burst of light, the large white-furred beast appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2100/D: 300).
"She has three monsters on her field," Hasselberry noted.
"But none of 'em are strong enough to take out any of Bastion's Batteryman," Raiden pointed out.
"My turn, I draw," Bastion said calmly, drawing a card and glancing at it before he pointed toward the monsters. "I will have my first Batteryman AA take out your Lightray Grepher." The first Batteryman AA charged up a blast of electricity and shot it at Grepher, causing him to cry out as it blast the warrior off the field.
Kasumi: 6100
Bastion: 8000
"Now, my second Batteryman will attack Ehren," Bastion said.
"I activate my facedown, Lightsworn Barrier, and mill two cards to negate the attack," Kasumi said quickly, revealing her facedown and then milling two cards as a hexagonal shield appeared around Ehren, protecting her from the electrical attack.
"Very well. My third Batteryman AA attacks Ehren as well," Bastion said and another blast of electricity shot across the field from the third Batteryman AA.
"I activate Lightsworn Barrier's effect again," Kasumi said, milling two cards and the shield appeared again to stop the Thunder monsters attack.
Bastion inclined his head and then picked up another card and placed it on his duel disk. "I summon Batteryman D in Defense Mode. As long as this card is on the field, you cannot select any other Thunder-type monsters I control for an Attack." A large yellow-and-black batteryman with green limbs and a green head appeared with its arms crossed in front of it (A: 0/D: 1900).
Since a Level 4 or lower Thunder-type monster was summoned, Wattcannon activated, sending another blast of electricity at Kasumi.
Kasumi: 5500
Bastion: 8000
"Not bad, Bastion," Kasumi said, drawing a card from her deck as Bastion placed a card facedown and signaled the end of his turn. "I activate Monster Reincarnation and discard one card to add Celestia, Lightsworn Angel back into my hand." She did so before adding, "And then I tribute Ehren to summon Celestia to the field." Ehren vanished and was replaced by Kasumi's blue-haired angel (A: 2300/D: 200).
"Now, since Celestia was Tribute Summoned by tributing a Lightsworn monster, I can mill four cards and destroy two cards on your field. I'll go with two of your Batteryman AA," the Lightsworn duelist added as she milled four cards and two of Bastion's Batteryman AAs exploded (Batteryman AA A: 3000-1000).
"Now, Wulf, take out Batteryman D," Kasumi ordered.
The great white beast roared and bounded across the field, tearing into the yellow-and-black Batteryman monster.
"Celestia, attack Batteryman AA," Kasumi added.
Celestia held up her scepter, ready to attack.
"That is not going to happen, Kasumi," Bastion said. "Reveal, Trap, Portable Battery Pack. This allows me to Special Summon my two Batteryman AAs in Attack Mode." The two Batteryman AAs reappeared on the field, boosting all of their stats (A: 1000-3000) x3.
Wattcannon activated again, striking Kasumi with a blast of electricity.
Kasumi: 4900
Bastion: 8000
"Bastion's got a pretty strong lead so far," Kyle commented.
"Little Mist is still in this, judging by that smile on her face," Raiden noted.
Kasumi was smiling as she held up another card once the replay occurred. "Celestia, attack one of those Batteryman AAs," she ordered.
Bastion frowned for a moment before he understood. "Nicely played, Kasumi," he said with a nod.
Kasumi grinned. "I discard Honest from my hand to increase the Attack of Celestia by the Attack of Batteryman AA until the end of my turn," she said, inserting the card into her Graveyard slot and Celestia was surrounded by an aura of power as her scepter gathered energy (A: 2300-5300).
"Attack with Celestial Strike," Kasumi ordered and Celestia unleashed the blast of energy that crashed into the Batteryman, causing it to shatter into golden pixels (Batteryman AA A: 3000-2000).
Kasumi: 4900
Bastion: 5700
"She closed the gap a bit," Celina noted. "And weakened those other monsters."
"I end my turn," Kasumi said and Honest's effect wore off (Celestia A: 5300-2300).
Bastion drew a card and nodded in his head. "It looks as though my calculations were correct and I will win within the next few turns," he said. "I tribute one of my Batteryman AA to summon Batteryman Charger in Attack Mode." A large blue and black battery with a pink and yellow head and pink arms and legs surrounded by electricity materialized on the field in place of one of the Batteryman AAs (A: 1800/D: 1200).
"Also, due to my Charger's effect, since it was Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Batteryman monster from my hand or Deck and I choose Batteryman Fuel Cell," Bastion added and a large pink batteryman monster appeared on the field (A: 2100/D: 0). "Also, Charger's other effect allows it to gain 300 Attack and Defense for every Thunder-type monster that I control." Since there were three on the field, Charger's attack rose by 900 (A: 1800-2700/D: 1200-2100).
"Those are pretty strong monsters," Kasumi said. But I have my Lightsworn Barrier so that should stop any attacks coming my way, she thought.
"And I activate my Fuel Cell's effect," Bastion said. "By tributing my Batteryman AA, I can return one card on your field to your hand and I choose Lightsworn Barrier." (Charger A: 2700-2400/D: 2100-1800).
Drat! Kasumi retrieved said card from her hand.
"And I also activate Solidarity," Bastion added, inserting another card into his duel disk. "Since I only have Thunder-type monsters on the field, all of my Thunder-type monsters gain 800 Attack." (Charger A: 2400-3200) (Fuel Cell A: 2100-2900).
"Now, Charger, attack Celestia," Bastion ordered and his Charger launched a blast of electricity that struck Celestia. The angel cried out as she shattered and Kasumi shielded herself from the onslaught of golden pixels with her duel disk.
Kasumi: 4000
Bastion: 5700
"Fuel Cell, destroy Wulf," Bastion ordered and another blast of electricity, this time from Fuel Cell, enveloped the white-furred beast, destroying him.
Kasumi: 3200
Bastion: 5700
"And, with that, I will end my turn," Bastion said.
Kasumi drew her card and then activated it. "I play Pot of Greed and draw two cards," she said and did so. When she saw what she drew, she grinned, knowing she could turn the duel around now. "And, since I have at least four Lightsworn monsters with different names in my Graveyard, I can Special Summon my Judgement Dragon to my field in Attack Mode."
In a burst of light, the beautiful white dragon with the red claws and glowing red eyes appeared on the field, wings outspread (A: 3000/D: 2600).
"And I activate Judgement Dragon's effect, paying 1000 Life Point to destroy all other cards on the field," Kasumi added.
Kasumi: 2200
Bastion: 5700
Judgement Dragon roared and conjured up a great blast of energy that caused every other card on the field to shatter.
"Not bad but I will still have Life Points left if you attack," Bastion pointed out.
"Yeah, I know," Kasumi said. "That's why I play Monster Reborn to bring back Gragonith, Lightsworn Dragon in Attack Mode." The beautiful Pegasus-like dragon appeared on the field with a growl (A: 2000/D: 1600).
Bastion frowned. "Your Gragonith gains 300 Attack and Defesne for each Lightsworn monster with a different name in your Graveyard," he realized.
"Yup and I currently have seven," Kasumi said and her Pegasus-like dragon was surrounded by a white aura as his power increased (A: 2000-4100/D: 1600-3700).
"Good job, Kasumi," Bastion said, acknowledging that he was going to lose the duel. She is a good duelist. I will need to recalibrate my deck once again before I go against her again, he thought.
"Thanks. Judgement Dragon, attack Bastion directly," Kasumi ordered and her great dragon unleashed a blast of energy that slammed into Bastion.
Kasumi: 2200
Bastion: 2700
"Gragonith, end this duel and attack," Kasumi called and the Pegasus-like dragon attack as well, taking out the last of Bastion's Life Points.
Kasumi: 2200 WINNER
Bastion: 0
"And the winner is Kasumi Yuki," Crowler called from the stands.
Kasumi shut down her duel disk as Bastion got to his feet. "Good duel, Bastion," she said.
"Thank you," Bastion said, walking over to join him. "I suppose I will need to return to the drawing board, so to speak, to come up with another way to combat your deck."
"In other words, rematch someday," Kasumi said.
Bastion smiled. "Indeed."
. . .
In Domino City, Zane and his new manager were walking toward the car that had just driven up. The manager turned toward Zane and said, "On that note, Kaiser, we are expecting greater efforts from you than those so far. With your great efforts, the image of our company, your sponsor, will skyrocket."
He held out a hand and Zane took it and shook it, saying, "I won't betray your expectations. I will do my best."
"Shall I give you a ride?"
"No, thank you. There's a nice moon out. I think I will walk home from this."
"All right." The manager entered the car and then rolled down the window, holding out a newspaper toward Zane. "This wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
Zane took the paper and looked at it, frowning at the picture. "How could it be?"
The manager nodded. "Goodbye, Kaiser," he said and rolled up the window as the car drove away.
Zane started walking down the streets of Domino City, his thoughts drifting to his upcoming duel against Aster Phoenix. What kind of deck will he use against me? he wondered silently.
Then a shout sounded.
Startled, Zane turned toward it and headed in its direction, running down an alley just as a man collapsed. A figure in the shadows, murmuring "you can't hide from destiny" just loud enough for Zane to hear, dropped a bunch of cards on the figure and then disappeared.
Zane dashed for. "Hey, are you all right?" he asked, kneeling down beside the man and turning him over.
"That...That guy...he's a monster," the man said.
Zane frowned and looked up, just in time to see a shadowy figure of an odd monster disappear behind a building.
"Kaiser, are you all right?" a security officer asked as he and another one ran over to join them.
"Yes," Zane said, his gaze still fixed on the spot that monster had been on.
"This guy's a wanted card burglar," the other officer said, startled.
Zane didn't react to those words, focused on what had happened beforehand. What was that? he wondered silently.
. . .
Aster stepped into a white room where his manager—Sartorius—was looking through his tarot cards. "How careless," Sartorius said. "Why don't you give up on these foolish games?"
"These aren't foolish games to me," Aster said calmly.
"I wouldn't expect the man you seek to be among the scoundrels loitering around that area. Well, I suppose it would be different if this is a ritual that you need to settle your overflowing anger."
He picked up a tarot card. "I have seen your future. Your duel with the Kaiser..." he began.
"...will end in my victory," Aster said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "The card that has appeared is the Chariot, a perfect victory."
"Oh? So the ability to predict the future was endowed to you just as it was to me?"
"No, Sartorius, that is the only card that has appeared when you tell my fortune. Even when I dueled Jaden, that card appeared, declaring I would be victorious. However, you ordered me to lose."
"Your connection with Jaden Yuki will bring about a new growth within you," Sartorius said, closing his eyes.
"A duelist of his caliber? It's true your predictions have always pointed me to the shortest path towards becoming the strongest duelist. However, it's a waste of my time to go to that Academy. My goal is to dominate the Pro League and to stand at the top of the world. And to make sure I find him!"
"Aster, in the futures that I predict, there are no mistakes," Sartorius said calmly, glancing at Aster.
"Fine then. After my match against the Kaiser," Aster said, "which will be a matter I settle soon enough."
. . .
In the evening, the gang, along with the rest of the school, gathered in the auditorium where the match between Zane Truesdale and Aster Phoenix was to be broadcasted to everyone. Jaden was looking forward to it, but then he was always looking forward to duels, unless he was in one of his moods. Thankfully, thanks to the help he was receiving from his therapist, those days were starting to become fewer than beforehand.
"Hey, Jaden, how are you feeling?" Kasumi asked as Jaden took a seat beside her in the auditorium.
"I'm fine, Kas," Jaden said. "You know, I think I should start charging money every time someone asks me that." It really was starting to get rather annoying, since it seemed to happen a lot since the incident with Kaage over the summer.
Raiden plopped down into a seat on Kasumi's other side. "I guess we do ask that a lot," he said.
I should be asking you guys that, Jaden thought, his thoughts drifting back to what happened over the summer, especially what happened to Raiden and Kasumi. They had nearly died because of that monster who was trying to get revenge on him. Jaden gritted his teeth. I should have killed him while I had the chance, he thought.
'There is no telling if we would have been able to get all the souls he stole back if you had killed him,' Yubel reminded him.
I know, Jaden thought and pushed the thoughts away, focusing on the upcoming duel.
"This sounds like it's going to be a good duel, though," Arina admitted from where she sat beside Chazz, her hand clasped in his.
Chazz nodded in agreement.
. . .
At the Kaiba Dome, everyone was getting ready for the upcoming match. The commentators for the duel were talking about how everyone was split down the middle on whom to cheer for; those who supported Zane Trusedale, otherwise known as Kaiser, and Aster Phoenix.
"Introducing first, he's our rising rookie of the Pro Leagues, the Cyber Duelist, the Kaiser, Zane Truesdale," the commentator announced as Zane rose up from an elevated platform and was met with the roar of the crowd.
"And his opponent, our youngest undefeated Pro, the child of Destiny, Aster Phoenix," the commentator added as Aster rose up from his platform across from Zane, met with a roar from the crowd, including several ladies in the audience.
Aster and Zane faced each other calmly as they prepared their duel disks.
"I've heard a lot about you," Zane said calmly. "Thirty professional duels and not one loss. Impressive, for a little kid."
Aster inserted his deck into his duel disk. "You're too kind," he said.
"Let's do this."
"Duel!" They declared as they drew their opening hands.
Zane: 8000
Aster: 8000
"I will start this duel if you don't mind," Aster said, drawing his sixth card.
Time to see what Aster's real deck is like, Jaden thought.
"And I start with Elemental Hero Sparkman in Attack Mode," Aster added and a blue-and-gold armored warrior appeared on the field (A: 1600/D: 1400).
"Wait, so he uses Elemental Heroes?" Syrus said.
Hikari frowned. Why aren't you using your real deck, Aster? She wondered to herself.
"That's a surprise," Raiden admitted.
"A deck of heroes?" Zane said with a raised eyebrow on the screen.
"That's right, like your academy pal, Jaden," Aster said with a smirk. "Like the surprise? Next, I will place two cards facedown and end my turn. Your move." Two vertical facedowns appeared at his feet.
"An interesting opening move by Aster Phoenix," one commentator said. "As well as a sneak peek into his mystery deck."
Zane shook off his surprise and then smiled.
"He's smiling?" Syrus said.
"And for good reason," Bastion said. "Zane's dueled against Jaden, knows all about the Elemental Heroes and has beaten them."
"Which means Zane's got a clear advantage," Alexis added.
"I wouldn't count Aster out yet," Hikari said.
Kasumi glanced at her sister. "What do you mean?"
"Aster may not be using his actual real deck but that doesn't mean he's suddenly a predictable duelist, even if he is using a deck that Zane has dueled against before," Hikari said simply.
"How do you know that?" Hassleberry asked with a frown.
"And why do you say that's not his actual deck?" Kira added curiously.
"Aster and I have been friends for a couple of years. I'm probably one of the few out there who's seen his real deck," Hikari replied.
The gang blinked, a bit surprised by that.
Back with the two duelists, Zane was drawing a card. "I summon Cyber Dragon Core in Attack Mode," he said calmly and a slender serpentine machine with a red core and red veins attaching its head to its body appeared on the field (A: 400/D: 1500). "And when he's summoned, I can add one Cyber Spell or Trap from my deck to my hand. Plus, Phoenix, Cyber Dragon Core is on the field, its name is treated as Cyber Dragon." He retrieved Cyber Repair Plant from his Deck.
"I also activate Machine Duplication and target Cyber Dragon Core to Special Summon up to two monsters from my deck with the same name as the targeted monster. So, check it out, Phoenix, as I bring out two of my Cyber Dragons!" In a burst of light, two of Zane's infamous machine dragons appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2100/D: 1600) x2.
"Amazing!" Bastion said. "Since Cyber Dragon Core has less than 500 Attack, Zane could use it with Machine Duplication but, since its name is treated as Cyber Dragon, that means he can Special Summon up to two original Cyber Dragons without any costs. That was rather clever of him."
"A very good move," Raiden agreed.
"Zane's still the best," Syrus boasted.
"That is a sweet combo," Jaden said with a small smile.
"Next,"—Zane held up another card—"I activate Power Bond to fuse Cyber Dragon Core with one of my Cyber Dragons in order to Fusion Summon Cyber Twin Dragon in Attack Mode." Both of his monsters fused together and the familiar two-headed machine dragon appeared on the field with a roar (A: 2800/D: 2100).
"Very nice move by Truesdale," one of the commentators said. "And, due to Power Bond's effect, Cyber Twin Dragon's attack is doubled."
Cyber Twin Dragon roared as its power increased (A: 2800-5600).
"Not only that, but my Cyber Twin Dragon can attack twice during each Battle Phase," Zane added. "Go, Cyber Twin Dragon, attack Sparkman. Double Strident Blast!" With a roar, his Cyber Twin Dragon unleashed a powerful blast of blue energy that slammed into Sparkman, destroying him.
Zane: 8000
Aster: 4000
"Wow. Took out Aster's only Defense and half his Life Points in one move," Kira said.
"And if this next attack goes through, Zane will win. It'll be a One-Turn-Kill," Celina added.
"Go, Cyber Twin Dragon, attack Phoenix directly. Double Strident Blast," Zane ordered and Cyber Twin Dragon unleashed another blast of blue energy at Aster.
"I activate my Draining Shield Trap to negate the attack and increase my Life Points by the Attack of your monster," Aster said, revealing his facedown.
"And I activate my Trap Booster card," Zane said. "I discard one card in my hand to activate a Trap card in my hand like my Trap Jammer, which allows me to negate Draining Shield and destroy it."
"I activate my own Trap Jammer to negate yours and destroy it," Aster said, revealing his other facedown.
Zane's face remained expressionless as his trap was destroyed and his dragon's attack was negated.
Zane: 8000
Aster: 9600
"Amazing counter by Aster Phoenix," a commentator said.
"He counter Zane's OTK and gained back the Life Points he lost and then some. Not bad," Kyle commented.
Zane simply said, "I still have one more monster, Phoenix. Cyber Dragon, attack Aster directly. Strident Blast," he said and his other machine dragon unleashed a blast of blue energy that slammed into Aster's duel disk.
Zane: 8000
Aster: 7500
"And with that, I end my turn," Zane said.
"And now you take your Cyber Twin Dragon's original attack as damage," Aster pointed out.
Zane didn't even flinch as a red aura surrounded him, taking out a chunk of his Life Points.
Zane: 5200
Aster: 7500
"Your move, Phoenix," Zane said calmly.
Aster drew a card. "I play Pot of Greed," he said and drew two more cards. "And then I play O-Oversoul to Special Summon Elemental Hero Sparkman back to my field." The blue-and-gold armored warrior returned to the field (A: 1600/D: 1500).
"Next, I equip him with Spark Blaster." Sparkman was now wielding a blaster.
"Plus, I activate Guard Penalty. Now, for this turn only, I can draw a card each time a monster is switched to Defense Mode. Now, I use the effect of Spark Blaster on Cyber Twin Dragon," Aster said and Sparkman blasted Cyber Twin Dragon, causing him to switch to Defense Mode and Aster drew a card due to Guard Penalty's effect. He then used Spark Blaster's effect two more times, switching Cyber Dragon into Attack and back into Defense mode. It almost seemed as though the Cyber Twin Dragon was dancing. When it moved into Defense Mode the second time due to Spark Blaster's last use, Aster drew another card.
Zane remained stoic throughout it all.
"Next, I activate Polymerization and fuse Sparkman with Elemental Hero Burstinatrix and Elemental Hero Avian in my hand in order to Fusion Summon this monster," Aster said and, a moment later as Burstinatrix, Avian and Sparkman were drawing into a vortex, a large red-armored warrior with spikes coming out of his gauntlets appeared on the field (A: 2500/D: 2000). "Vision Hero Trinity!"
"Vision Hero?" Syrus repeated. "But I thought those three could only be used to form an Elemental Hero Fusion monster."
"Someone tell him," Chazz said with a sigh.
"Some Fusion Monsters have the same or similar Fusion Materials. It just depends on which Fusion monsters you have in your Extra Deck," Jaden explained.
Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
I'm surprised you're using your old deck, Aster, Hikari thought. It had been quite a few years since Aster had last used that particular deck.
"Surprised?" Aster asked with a smirk.
Zane's face remained impassive. Inwardly, though, he was a little surprised.
"I will take your silence as a yes. Also, on the turn that Trinity is Fusion Summoned, not only is its original Attack doubled but it can also attack three times during each Battle Phase, though it can't attack you directly so you should count yourself lucky on that," Aster said with a smug smirk as Trinity's attack jumped up (A: 2500-5000).
"Check out Trinity's attack on your Cyber Dragon," Aster added, pointing at the machine dragon. "Go, Trinity." Trinity attacked, slamming a fist into the Cyber Dragon and destroying it.
Zane: 2300
Aster: 7500
"Trinity, take out Cyber Twin Dragon," Aster ordered and, with another solid punch, the Vision Hero took out the twin-headed machine dragon.
"And I end my turn with that," Aster said as Trinity's attack went back to normal.
"Aster Phoenix has cleared out Kaiser's field. How will he retaliate?" the commentator asked.
"I draw," Zane said, drawing a card. "And I activate Pot of Greed." He drew two cards. "Since I have a Cyber Dragon in my Graveyard, I can activate Cyber Repair Plant and I will apply its first effect to add one Light Machine-type monster from my deck to my hand, like my Cyber Eltanin." He retrieved said card before adding, "Next, I remove from play the five Light Machine-type monsters from my Graveyard in order to Special Summon Cyber Eltanin in Attack Mode." He pocketed the five cards and then placed the other card on his duel disk. A large machine dragon's head with seven dragon head and necks sticking out of it appeared on the field with a roar (A: ?/D: ?).
"Undetermined?" Aster raised an eyebrow.
"Cyber Eltanin's Attack and Defense becomes the number of monsters banished for its Special Summon times 500. Plus, when it's Special Summoned, all other face-up monsters are sent to the Graveyard." Cyber Eltanin was surrounded by an aura of light (A: ?-2500/D: ?-2500).
A power blast of energy rippled across the field, taking out Trinity and leaving Aster's field empty.
"Wow. Nice comeback by Truesdale," the commentator said. "Now Aster is the one with a bare field."
"Nice job, Zane," Syrus said with a grin. "He's pulling out the big guns now."
"Cyber Eltanin, attack Phoenix directly," Zane ordered and, with a roar, seven blasts of energy from the large machine monster shot out and slammed into Aster, sending him skidding backwards.
Zane: 2300
Aster: 5000
"And I will place two cards facedown and end my turn," Zane added as two vertical facedowns appeared at his feet.
"Not bad, Kaiser," Aster said, drawing a card. "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot." They each drew three cards. "Next, I summon Elemental Hero Stratos in Attack Mode." The blue-armored warrior with the fans in its wings appeared on the field (A: 1800/D: 300). "And when Stratos is summoned, I can add one Hero monster from my Deck to my hand." Aster retrieved said card before adding, "I also activate King of the Swamp's effect and discard it to add Polymerization form my Deck to my hand." He retrieved that card as well.
"Next, I activate Polymerization," Aster said, holding up the card. "And I fuse Elemental Hero Clayman and Elemental Hero Necroshade in my hand in order to Fusion Summon Vision Hero Adoration in Attack Mode." Clayman and Necroshade appeared momentarily before they were sucked into a vortex. They were replaced by a warrior in dark armor with glossy black ribbons coiling around its legs with its arms crossed across his chest (A: 2800/D: 2100).
"I activate Adoration's effect and select your Cyber Eltanin and Elemental Hero Stratos. Now, until the End Phase, Eltanin loses Attack and Defense equal to Stratos's Attack," Aster added and Cyber Eltanin weakened considerably (A: 2500-700/D: 2500-700).
"Now, Stratos, attack Eltanin," Aster ordered and Stratos unleashed a powerful gust of wind that slammed into the large machine monster and destroyed it.
Zane narrowed his eyes as his Life Points fell.
Zane: 1200
Aster: 5000
"Adoration, attack Zane directly," Aster ordered.
"Go, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow," Zane said calmly, revealing his card and a scarecrow made of scrap flipped into view, taking the attack from Adoration. "This negates your attack and then the card is reset onto my field." The scarecrow disappeared and its card reappeared on the field.
Syrus beamed. "I gave that card to him. Glad it helped him stay in this duel," he said.
"I suppose you survive this turn, Kaiser," Aster said, the last word was spoking with a mocking tone as he placed a card facedown and ended his turn. It would appear Sartorius's prediction is coming true at the moment. Now let's see what else the Kaiser has up his sleeve. I'm ready for it. "What do you plan on doing now? If I were you, I'd summon that Cyber End Dragon that's been helping you win. Then you may have a chance of actually winning."
"Laugh it up, but the joke will be on you," Zane said shortly.
The almost forgotten audience was watching the duel intently, cheering for Aster or calling encouragements to Zane, depending on who they were rooting for.
"Aster Phoenix is still in the lead. Will Kaiser be able to come back from this?" the commentator asked.
"The gap between their Life Points is pretty big now," Syrus said a bit worried.
"Zane's still in this though. He's still got Life Points left and cards in his hand," Arina pointed out.
"I draw," Zane said, drawing a card. "And I activate my facedown Return from the Different Dimension and pay half my Life Points to Special Summon all the monsters that were removed from play." His Cyber Dragon Core (A: 400/D: 1500), two Cyber Dragons (A: 2100/D: 1600) x2, and his Cyber Twin Dragon (A: 2800/D: 2100) returned to the field.
Zane: 600
Aster: 5000
"Next, I activate Polymerization to fuse Cyber Dragon Core with my two Cyber Dragons to Fusion Summon Cyber End Dragon!" Zane declared, inserting the card into his duel disk. The three aforementioned monsters vanished into a vortex and his three-headed machine ace appeared on the field with a roar (A: 4000/D: 2800).
"Sweet, he's brought out his ace," Jaden said.
"He's got this duel won," Chazz said.
"Ten four," Hassleberry agreed.
"Let's go Zane," Syrus cheered.
It's not over yet, Hikari thought, looking at the facedown that Aster still had on the field.
"Cyber End Dragon, attack Vision Hero Adoration," Zane ordered. "Super Strident Blast!" With a roar, the four-headed machine dragon unleashed a powerful blast of blue energy that slammed into Adoration and destroyed him.
Zane: 600
Aster: 3800
"Cyber Twin Dragon, attack Stratos! Double Strident Blast!" Zane ordered.
Aster chuckled. "Zaney, Zaney, Zane, you really should have paid attention to what I have on the field. I play my facedown, Elemental Recharge, which grants me 1000 Life Points for each Elemental Hero I have on the field," he said and his Life Points jumped up.
Zane: 600
Aster: 4800
Just then, the blast from Cyber Twin Dragon crashed into Stratos and destroyed him.
Zane: 600
Aster: 3800
"Damn troll," Chazz growled under his breath.
"Nice comeback by Aster Phoenix. By playing that card, he has earned himself another turn and another chance to win," the commentator stated.
Zane's teeth gritted. "Cyber Twin Dragon, use your second attack to attack Phoenix directly, Double Strident Blast," he said and another blast of energy from Cyber Twin Dragon crashed into Aster, sending him skidding back a few feet.
Zane: 600
Aster: 1000
"I place one card facedown and end my turn, which means Cyber Twin Dragon is removed from play due to Return from the Different Dimension's effect," Zane said, pocketing the card as it vanished from the field.
Aster drew a card. "I activate Card of Sanctity," he said and they each drew until they were holding six cards. Aster smirked smugly. "Looks like this duel's over, Zaney," he said mockingly. "I activate the effect of Elemental Hero Necroshade in my Graveyard to Normal Summon Elemental Hero Bladedge to my field in Attack Mode without a tribute." The golden-armored warrior appeared on the field (A: 2600/D: 1800).
"Next, I activate Miracle Fusion and remove King of the Swamp, which acts as a substitute for any one Fusion Material Monster, and Elemental Hero Sparkman from my Graveyard in order to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero Shining Phoenix Enforcer in Attack Mode." From the vortex that had formed, a warrior in green with shining silver wings and shining silver gauntlets appeared on the field (A: 2500/D: 2100).
"It's still not strong enough to beat my Cyber End Dragon," Zane said.
"But it has an effect, Zaney," Aster said with a smug smirk. "It gains 300 Attack for each Elemental Hero in my Graveyard and there are currently five." Shining Phoenix Enforcer began to glow brighter (A: 2400-4000).
"Next, I activate R-Righteous Justice and, since I have two Elemental Heroes on the field, I can destroy your Scrap-Iron Scarecrow and your other facedown." Zane's two facedown cards shattered.
"Now, Shining Phoenix Enforcer, attack Cyber End Dragon," Aster ordered.
"But they have the same attack," Kira said in confusion.
"It must have an effect," Kyle guessed.
There was a boom as the two monsters collided with each other but, when the smoke that had engulfed the area cleared, Shining Phoenix Enforcer was still on the field.
"Shining Phoenix Enforcer cannot be destroyed by battle," Aster said in response to the confused murmurs that echoed around them. "And this is the end. Bladedge, attack Zane directly!" Bladedge shot forward and slammed its blade into Zane, knocking out the last of his Life Points.
Zane: 0
Aster: 1000 WINNER
"Unbelievable," the commentator exclaimed. "Zane Truesdale, the Kaiser, has finally lost. And history has been made at the Kaiba Dome."
Back at Duel Academy, everyone was in shock.
Zane fell down to one knee, surprised by what just happened to him.
"How can this be?" he said.
"Simple," Aster replied. "You can't hide from destiny."
Zane's eyes widened as he recalled what happened the day before. "The Demon! It's you," he said.
Aster didn't respond. Instead, he simply turned around and walked away.
Back at Duel Academy, Syrus was the one who finally broke the shocked silence. "I can't believe Zane lost," he said.
"He can't be beat," Bastion said softly.
"We'll see," Jaden said, narrowing his eyes.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, that was chapter 7
Bakura: no, it was chapter 33
Blaze: (hands Bakura a bazooka) go blow up things
Bakura: (takes bazooka and runs off to go blow up things)
Marik: (sweatdrops and shakes head)
Jaden: so...are you really having trouble on Season 3?
Blaze: yeah, I have an idea that I wanna use that I really like but I have to rework the plot a bit (for both that story and this one) in order to make it work
Jaden: ah okay
Jesse: what's gonna happen next?
Blaze: go watch the season. I have decided not to tell anyone what happens in the coming chapter to keep up the suspense.
Jesse: oh
Blaze: well, as I already said at the beginning of this chapter, since there are some things I gotta rework, plot holes to fill in, character arcs to work on and so on, plus school, updates are going to be rather slow. I will try to update before September ends though. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
