-1AJ: Welcome back to my pride and joy, part two of my story!

Bil: You seem more energetic than normal…

AJ: Eleven and a half hours of sleep will do that.

Bil: Apparently.

AJ: By the way, thanks for all the reviews and mail and…whatever else has been sent! Keep 'em coming! Oh, and I'd like to select the new Opening song for this 'season'. It is the Dragonball Z Budokai 3 Opening (I wanted to use Naruto's 4th Opening, but that will be used for the next Arc).

Bil: Get to stepping, loser.

AJ: On it, Master!

(URGENT: I know, I just randomly changed CDD's effect from before, to gaining points from all cards in the grave to only gaining points from monster's, but I thought, 'Hey, if the real Anime could do it, why can't I?')

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Chapter 8: Wrath of the Kaiser! The Terrible Immolating Darkness Dragon

"Double Dude, attack Cyber Dark Horn!" The hero deftly jumped into the air. It swiftly transformed into a new being, looking much closer to a monster, then dove towards Kaiser's creature. The two crashed into each other, causing a chain reaction, and destroying the Cyber Dark parasite. Kaiser shielded himself from the blast as he lost another 200 Life Points.

"And Double Dude has an effect," Edo explained, "he can attack twice in the same Battle Phase! Double dude! Attack his Masked Dragon!" The being leapt out of the cloud of smoke and flipped and twisted to face his new opponent. The monstrosity once again transformed, this time back into his original persona. The hero glided down towards the dragon, slamming his cane upon the dragons skull in the process, shattering its hologram.

Kaiser grunted as his Life Points took another hit, dropping him well below Edo's 3500. The Academia alumnus dropped down to one knee from the gust of wind the rushed past him, taking 600 LP away from him. Edo began to chuckle under his breath. "Kaiser," he began, "I really expected more from you, yet you have hardly put up a fight. You've barely grazed my Life Points at all, this duel."

Kaiser began to cackle while he looked down. Edo cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Edo Phoenix," he began, "I'm rather impressed that your D-Heroes are as good as you say. However, I haven't even begun to fight, yet. Prepare, Edo, because you shall be the first to fall to my newest and most awesome creation! One that surpasses the power of Cyber Dark Dragon!"

"You've surpassed the Cyber Dark Dragon?" Edo repeated. His eyes narrowed into a disbelieving glare. "I don't believe it."

Kaiser stood up from the damage he took with the last attack. "You guys may think I'm a lot of things, right now," he told his opponent, "and most are probably well warranted, but one thing I am not, nor will ever be, is a liar." He raised his head and wiped some sweat off his forehead. "But that's fine if you don't. I'm not asking you to. I just have to prove it to you, is all. By the end of this duel, you'll see and believe. And once I do, this duel is mine."

Edo scoffed at the elder duelist. "You shouldn't be so ready to claim victory yet," the boy snapped. "You forget who has the advantage right now is me, not you." He brushed a stray hair to the side that was blocking his face. "I plan to finish you off shortly."

"You won't get the chance," Kaiser retorted, "I can promise you that." He chuckled lightly for a moment, knowing that Edo had no idea what he was soon going to experience.

(Hell Kaiser Ryo's Life Points 1500, Edo Phoenix's Life Points 3500)

Edo stood there waiting for Kaiser to announce his almost predetermined move. But it never came. "Hey," he called, as Kaiser widened his eyes in surprise, "aren't you going to Special Summon another Dragon with Masked Dragon's effect?"

Kaiser smirked. "So, is that what you're waiting for?" he questioned. "But, no, I don't think I will. I already have a way to get back at you on my next turn."

Edo growled in annoyance. "I'm getting fed up with your bluffs," Edo grumbled. "You should know by now that it's too late for that."

Kaiser began laughing in response to the last. "If I'm the one bluffing, why is it that you are the one stalling by continuing the conversation?" he mockingly inquired. "I'm only stating facts. There's no need to believe them. As I said, you will find out soon enough."

"Turn End," Edo muttered, feeling the hairs on the back of his head begin to stand on end. He furrowed his brow again. 'What's wrong with me?' he wondered. 'He's gotta be bluffing. There's no way he can turn around this big of a lead, Hell Kaiser or not.' He took a deep breath and exhaled as Kaiser placed his hand upon his deck slot.

"My Turn, Draw!" he roared as he ripped another card from his deck. "First, I'll activate the Spell, Re-Stabilization! I can only activate this card when there are no monsters on my field. With it, I can discard one Dragon-Type monster from my hand to the Graveyard. Then, I can Special Summon as many Cyber Dark creatures as possible to my field! This Tri-Horned Dragon will do the trick." As soon as the card slid into the Graveyard, three other cards ejected from it. Kaiser took the three and placed each of them on the field in attack mode.

Instantly, the three parasitic monsters all appeared in a flash of light on the field. "The drawback with this card? I cannot equip monsters to any of my creatures," Kaiser explained. "However, I have another card that can fix that! I activate the Magic Card, Data Transfer! This card can only be activated when at least two Cyber Dark monsters are on my field! I select one of them and then the selected monster gains 800 attack points for each other Cyber Dark monster on my field! No other Cyber Dark monsters can attack besides the equipped creature, but you can only attack the equipped monster. I'll equip it to Cyber Dark Keel."

Electrical cords ejected themselves from the other two Cyber Dark creatures and connected to Cyber Dark Keel. The cords flashed every so often to notify onlookers that something was indeed being transported through the cords. The eyes of the middle creature flashed brightly and soon the entire creature began to pulse with a bright blue light. The creature's attack increased to 2400.

"Cyber Dark Keel, attack Destiny Hero Double Dude!" Ryo barked. The serpent reared back and prepared a blast within its mouth. Kaiser jabbed an index finger at the opponent., shouting, "Serpent Wave!"

A blue beam unleashed from the creature's mouth and flew towards Jekyll-like hero. The blast consumed Edo's monster and disintegrated it. As if to emphasize its destruction, an explosion occurred when the blast struck the ground. Edo grunted as he lost 1400 Life Points from one attack, shielding himself from the tremendous impact with his arms.

Edo peered through his forearms once the rumblings of the force halted. He noticed Kaiser was smirking at the boy, causing him to cock an eyebrow. "Apparently, you have forgotten about Keel's effect," the man stated, gesturing with his hand to his creature. "When it destroys a monster in battle, you take 300 points of damage." At this, the creature lifted its tail and aimed at Edo. Some of the plating upon it pulled back, revealing a laser. A blue streak sped across the duel field and struck Edo in the chest, docking him another 300 points. The younger pro dropped to one knee at the last blast from the robotic parasite.

"Turn end," Kaiser sneered. Edo struggled to his feet, but was able to stand up and straighten. "Quite the resolve there. But this duel is almost even again, sempai. I suggest that you find something to counter me shortly or this duel won't last much longer."

Edo snorted and glared back at his opponent. "We'll see about that," he muttered. "My turn, Draw!" Edo called, tearing a card from his deck. "Now, my Double Dude's effect activates! When he is destroyed, on my next Standby Phase, I can Special Summon two Double Tokens to my field! I'll put them on the defensive!" The two Double Dude replicas appeared on the field, both bent down on one knee.

Edo peered at his drawn card before revealing it. "Next, I activate the Spell Card, D-Soul!" he announced. "I can only activate this card when my field has no Destiny Heroes on it. With it, I can Special Summon one D-Hero with 1000 or less attack points from my Graveyard. I'll Special Summon Destiny Hero Disk Guy!" The blue-and-silver armored being leapt into the air out of the holographic stream of light and landed lightly on the ground in defense mode, joining Edo's two tokens.

"And Disk Guy also has an effect!" Edo exclaimed. "When he is Special Summoned from the Grave, I am allowed to draw two cards!" Edo placed his hand on his deck, removing it twice, along with a card each time. He looked at both new card and grinned deviously.

"Now, I'll sacrifice all three of my monsters," Edo declared, "In order to summon D-Hero Dogma!" A pink light erupted from each of the monsters in front of Edo. The beams of light rose high into the Dark City Field Spell's sky. They soon converged into one giant pillar of pink light. Two limbs outstretched from the light, which then began to spread out to make room for a gigantic winged shadow. As the shadow came more into focus, the light faded, allowing for the body of the giant demon to be revealed to the awed stadium crowd.

Kaiser, however, remained unfazed. Edo frowned slightly. "Apparently this kind of thing doesn't surprise you," the youngster stated.

Kaiser shook his head, smirking back at the lad. "You are Edo Phoenix, the only one to use the Destiny Heroes," the older man stated. "What kind of opponent, let alone champion, would you be if you wouldn't at least make this a bit challenging. Also," he narrowed his eyes at the boy before continuing, "what kind of opponent would I be if I couldn't go face-to-face with any obstacle that crossed my path on the way to victory?"

Edo stared at the man across from him, surprised at the last statement. 'But wait…' the youngster thought. 'Doesn't he want to win by any means necessary? First he says he's always been honest and now he's trying to be honorable?' The look in Kaiser's eyes told Edo that the former was being serious. Confused, Edo continued to frown at the man across the field. "I don't understand…" the young man finally murmured.

Kaiser closed his eyes and chuckled lightly. "You don't have to understand," he replied. "The only one who has to understand my motives is myself. Anyone else can shower me with all the colorful titles, names, and insults they want, but one fact will always remain constant."

Edo cocked an eyebrow at the man. "Well?" he inquired. "Would you like to finish that statement?"

He opened his eyes to look back at the boy. Edo was surprised to find a new emotion within the pupils of the man across from him. Enthusiasm. The eagerness to continue the duel. The anxiety of not knowing how the match would conclude. The adrenaline that every other duelist that Edo had faced contained when they were pushed to their limits. Edo thought it was a ruse for a moment, a trick of the holographic lights. However, upon closer inspection, the emotion remained.

"There is nothing like accomplishing something that most think you cannot do," Kaiser finally answered. "Returning to the Pro Leagues after my debilitating exit. Rising to the top of the Pros again after said exit. Running rampant through the Genex Tournament. And tonight, defeating the Champion of the Pro Leagues will be added to that list."

Edo was stunned. He had thought that all this time, his victory over Kaiser had changed the man entirely. But, although the appearance, attitude, relationships with his friends, dueling strategy, and even deck had drastically changed, his resolve, his determination, his spirit had never faltered. If anything, it had been strengthened.

"Would you like to continue with your turn?" Kaiser scoffed. "Or should we just assume that you forfeit?"

Edo snapped himself out of his train of thought at the 'return' of Hell Kaiser. 'No,' the boy thought, 'Hell or not, he is still the same Kaiser. Only now, he is fighting to win, not just expecting to do so.' He smiled, feeling his fighting spirit returning in full. "Heh. Maybe," he breathed, "we aren't so different as I thought."

The boy glanced at the creature in front of him, then to his duel disk. 'I'm sorry, my heroes,' he thought. 'From now on, I will never lose my fighting spirit!' He glared at his opponent, smirking. "Alright, Dogma!" he ordered. "Attack his Cyber Dark Keel! Death Chronic!" The demon floated into the air and pressed his palms together. When he slowly spread them apart again, a transparent pink ball of energy pulsated within his hands. He reared it to the side, before forcing it forward to its target. The ball struck true, causing a massive dome of energy to envelop the machine.

The two Cyber Dark creatures dispersed to either side once their cords were flashed through with the blasts energy. Edo confidently grinned at the glowing mass where Cyber Dark Keel had once stood. He looked over at Kaiser. His reaction was less than acceptable, in Edo's eyes at least. "Hey," he called to grasp Kaiser's attention, "what's with the smirk?"

Kaiser laughed lightly for a moment. "Wait a moment for the explosion to subside," he answered. "Just don't take yours eyes off that spot." Edo turned and stared at the mass of energy.

After a few moments, the light died down, revealing that Cyber Dark Keel was unharmed. "What…that…?" Edo gasped. "Why is it still alive?"

"Because of Data Transfer's effect," Kaiser explained, matter-of-factly. "When it is equipped to a Cyber Dark creature that would be destroyed in battle, it is destroyed instead, exactly as if a Dragon-type monster were equipped to it."

Edo looked up at the Life Point meter on the screen and noticed that his opponent had still lost 1000 Life Points. 'Well,' he thought, 'at least he didn't totally block that attack.' He looked at the last card in his hand. "I'll set one card facedown and end my turn," he simply stated, sliding the card into its appropriate slot. A hologram of the card facing the ground appeared behind Edo's hero.

"My turn, Draw!" Kaiser declared, ripping a card from his deck slot.

"I activate Dogma's effect!" Edo instantly declared after. A transparent pink aura surrounded Edo's creature. In turn, a similar looking energy spouted upwards from underneath Kaiser. Ryo grunted with pain as the aura stripped him of 250 Life Points. "When he is on the field, at your Standby Phase, your Life Points are divided in two," the younger pro explained.

(Kaiser's LP 250, Edo's LP 1800)

Kaiser dropped to his knee while holding his chest, the remains of the aura blast crackling every so often around his body. Edo thought that the man had finally had enough, but the challenger began to chuckle with delight. Kaiser picked his head up to face Edo. "Impressive," he croaked, "only Yuki Judai has ever pushed me so hard in a duel before." He slowly stood up to his full height. "Though I suppose I should expect this from the Pro Leagues Champion."

"I suppose I should take that as a compliment," Edo scoffed, "but we're in the middle of a duel, so it'd behoove us to finish this quickly."

Kaiser nodded, looking at his drawn card. "I'll activate Polymerization!" Kaiser declared. "I'll send Cyber Dark Keel, Edge, and Horn on my field to the Graveyard and Fusion Summon Cyber Dark Dragon!" A black vortex vacuumed the three beasts into itself. An electrical storm crackled over Kaiser's side of the field. The vortex flashed with red lightening a few times, before something began to descend from the vortex. The giant menacing creature raised its head, flashing its blue eyes, and howled a ear-shattering screech. A powerful gust emanated from the machine's power, blowing at everyone in the presence of the notorious creature.

Edo gazed at the creature. He felt something rush through his body. 'What's this feeling?' he questioned. 'It's not fear. It's not rage. It's…adrenaline! It's like…I just have to see what Kaiser's got.' He felt the hairs on his back stand on end in excitement. He grinned eagerly as he could feel his body pulse wildly with his energy rush.

"Cyber Dark Dragon is allowed to equip one Dragon-type monster from my Graveyard when it is summoned to the field," Kaiser explained. "Then it gains attack points equal to the monster's attack strength. Finally, it gains 100 attack points for each monster in the Graveyard. So I'll begin by equipping the Tri-Horned Dragon in my Grave to my Cyber Dark Dragon, increasing its attack to 3850." The blue and yellow dragon roared as it appeared on the field. Appendages immediately wrapped themselves around the giant creature. Cords, hoses, and every kind of wire imaginable plugged and connected themselves to the squirming and roaring creature. It quivered slightly as its energy was drawn from it, before it's eyes dimmed and it finally fell limp.

"Plus, because there are 6 monsters in my graveyard," Kaiser told his opponent, "it gains 600 more points!" The beast flashed again, showing that it had gained more strength.

"4450 attack points!" Edo gasped. "Unbelievable!"

"Now, Cyber Dark Dragon, attack Destiny Hero Dogma!" Kaiser demanded. The creature opened its mouth and began charging a massive black ball of power just in front of the monster's mouth. An electric current crackled and danced about the ball of energy. Kaiser then directed its target with a motion of his hand. "Full Darkness Burst!" he cried. The black ball of energy streamed across the field and incinerated the hologram, not even leaving a trace of it.

Edo grunted as the blast tore at him, taking away 1050 Life Points. The prodigy growled in frustration at the trouble he was having trying to keep his lead over Kaiser. He brought his hand to his duel disk. "Trap Open! Destiny Signal!" he roared. A light rose from the Trap and appeared in the sky, with a 'D' shaded within it. "When a monster on my field is destroyed by battle, I can special summon one Level Four or lower Destiny Hero from my deck! I'll summon Destiny Hero Defender!" The red armored hero appeared on the field in a flash of light.

The older duelist grinned with anticipation, before selecting his final card in hand. "I'll set this facedown," he announced. "Turn End."

"My turn, Draw!" Edo declared. He looked at the card in his hand "I'll activate the Spell, Doctor-D! By removing a D-Hero in my Graveyard from the game, I can Special Summon another D-Hero from my Graveyard! I'll remove Destiny Hero Double Dude and Special Summon Destiny Hero Disk Guy!" The blue and silver hero flipped and landed on the field, bent down on one knee.

"And, because Disk Guy was Special Summoned from my Graveyard, I again get to draw two more cards," he explained as he took two more cards from his deck. He smiled at the two cards, or rather, one card specifically. "This is the end, Hell Kaiser Ryo!" Edo declared excitedly.

Kaiser just bore his gaze into the being of his opponent, smirking. 'Give me what you got, Edo Phoenix,' he thought.

"First, I'll summon Destiny Hero Captain Tenacious, in defense mode," Edo stated. "And then, I'll sacrifice Disk Guy, Defender, and Tenacious in order to Special Summon Destiny Hero Bloo-D!" A swirling of cosmic energies from another dimension consumed the three heroes, causing a giant red smokescreen to appear upon the field. A pair of eyes flashed from the middle of the cloud. The monster dispersed the smoke with a flap of its massive wings, causing a tempest within the stadium.

The creature landed in front of Edo. Both Bloo-D's red aura and Cyber Dark Dragon's black ambience danced and crackled against each other in a dazzling display or S-Class monsters the crowd had never seen before. The two duelists underneath them glared at each other. Their mouths, however, were perked up in smirks, both eager to see which one would have the edge.

"Edo," Kaiser called, "this is the kind of thing I've dreamt of facing. And now," he grasped his fist, "now I can show my true strength!"

Edo continued to be amazed by the man's great intensity, but remained steadfast. "Right now, I have the advantage, Hell Kaiser," he stated. "First, Bloo-D has an effect. Once per turn, he can absorb a monster on my opponent's field. Then, he gains attack points equal to half the monster's original attack value. Finally, if the equipped creature has any effects, this card gains them." The creature reopened its humongous wing-like structures. The two each became a swirling vortex, which began to absorb the enormous machine.

"Not yet, Edo!" Ryo responded. "Trap Open, Dragon's Barrier!" The parasitic machine flashed once, before draining the equipped monster of its remaining strength, leaving nothing but bones, which immediately dissipated upon touching the ground. Then, a shield began to surround the machine. It stopped approaching Edo's hero, and remained still.

Edo noticed what was happening. "Enough, Bloo-D!" Edo shouted to it. He returned his gaze to his opponent. "What did you do?" he inquired savagely, angered by the fact he nearly had Kaiser beat.

"My Trap Card, Dragon's Barrier," Ryo stated. "When a Cyber Dark monster equipped with a monster is targeted by an effect, I can sacrifice the monster and negate the effect. And, it gains another 100 points."

"But, it also loses its advantage from Tri-Horned Dragon!" Edo exclaimed. "Meaning now, it's just a big target. Bloo-D! Destroy Cyber Dark Dragon with Blood Rain!" The creature opened its wings for a third time. This time, millions of pines showered Kaiser's side of the field, annihilating Kaiser's Cyber Dark Dragon.

Kaiser grunted as he took another hit to his LP, leaving him with only fifty. "Turn End," Edo declared. "The end is near, Hell Kaiser Ryo!"

"My turn, Draw!" Kaiser called. He looked at his newest card, before revealing it. "I activate Pot of Greed, so I draw twice more!" He looked at his new cards, before chuckling. Edo narrowed his gaze, nervous that Kaiser, despite the fact he was down by 700 Life Points, was still confident he could pull out a victory.

"Edo, it has been one of the greatest duels I have ever been a part of," Kaiser told his opponent, "but all good things must come to an end!"

"Give me what you've got!" Edo hollered back. "I'll take it head-on, as a real Champion!"

"Just remember!" Kaiser called. "You asked for it! I activate the Spell, Darkness Immolation! By removing a Cyber Dark Dragon on my field or in my Graveyard from play, I can summon Immolating Darkness Dragon (4000/3500)!" The Cyber Dark Dragon machine appeared on the field. It looked different, though, even more lifeless than those it preyed upon for its strength. The lights on it were dim and its eyes were dead.

Suddenly, the plating on it began to crack in several places. Out from the cracks came a spray of dark energy, as if someone had hit a gas line. More and more rifts appeared on the creature's armor, before a black light burst from the breaches. An explosion occurred from the inside of the creature, decimating the parasitic machine. The crowd watched in horror and awe as a pair of demonic red eyes blazed from within the debris created from the destruction of what was thought to be Kaiser's greatest monster.

The debris scattered and would have showered the surrounding area, had it not been an image. It as too real for some, who ducked as the fake shrapnel went through them, as it would've riddled many a body with metal. The beast that floated where the mechanical menace had once been was more like a fiery silhouette of a serpent, than anything. It was, however, enormous, easily taller than the stadium, had it been allowed to stand at its full height.

Edo gaped at the new enemy. "Im…possible…he actually…surpassed…" Edo breathed.

Kaiser cackled lightly. "You better be careful," Kaiser noted. "Now that I've summoned this monstrosity, even I have no control of it. You see, this card cannot attack you directly and unless I have a specific Magic Card in play, unless it has a monster card to slaughter, it self-destructs, taking me down the attack points this card has. But," Kaiser continued with a hungry gleam in his eye, "the power it gains from its effect more than makes up for it. You see, when this card is summoned, it gains three hundred attack points for every monster in my Graveyard." On cue, the fiery shadow grew slightly larger, gaining 900 more attack points.

"Now, I can equip to it, one monster from my deck, hand, Graveyard, or Fusion Deck," he explained. "And I have just the one." He took his Fusion monsters out and searched through them, before holding up a specific one. "My Cyber End Dragon!" The giant three-headed dragon roared as it appeared on the field. However, the much, much larger serpent lowered its mouth and swallowed the tinier creature whole. "Now, it gains attack points equal to the monster's attack points. It also gains any effects the card may have!" The monster grew even larger than it did before, surrounding the duel field and sealing both Edo and Kaiser within, making it so no one from the outside could see the two combatants.

"I think you know what's coming next, Edo Phoenix!" Kaiser called. "Immolating Darkness Dragon! Chaos Wave!" The serpent opened its mouth and gathered strength, powering up a gigantic blazing black ball of energy larger than Bloo-D. Edo calmly, yet helplessly, watched as the sphere flew towards his monster, consuming it and obliterating any evidence of the creatures existence. The remains of the blast flew towards Edo and enveloped him, tearing away from him his last 750 Life Points.

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AJ: I think I'd have to say, one of my greatest chapters ever!

Bil: It took you four days, it better be good. And what's with Kaiser?

AJ: I tried to make him more complex, like in the anime.

Bil: Well…it's rather…weird.

AJ: Yeah, I know. Come back next time for the aftermath of this stupendous duel!