Chapter 10: Signs of the Future
Things were not looking good for John and Renji. On their side was Rose, Warrior of Revenge (ATK: 1600), Blackwing Armor Master (ATK: 2500) and Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame on the field. (ATK: 1800)
John & Renji (LP: 6800)
On the side of Renji and the Duel Devil was Dewloren, Tiger King of the Ice Barrier (ATK: 2000) and the giant monster of a man known as Thor, Lord of Aesir. (ATK: 3500)
Kiba & The Duel Devil (LP: 6200)
"Time to bring on the ass-kicking!" Kiba exclaimed. "Thor, attack Shura the Blue Flame! Thunder Pile!"
Thor lifted his hammer above his head. It glowed with lightning before he brought it down of the Tengu monster, completely obliterating it and zapping Renji with energy.
Renji (LP: 6800 - 5100)
"That was a stupid move Kiba." The Devil said annoyed.
"Whatever. I end my turn."
"My move." John drew.
"John." Renji said. "Remember. In a Tag Duel, my monsters are yours." He motion toward Armor Master.
"Got it." John said. "I summon Absolute Crusader." A knight in silver armor with gold trimmings arrived. "Now I tune Crusader with Rose." Rose turned into four gates and Crusader turned into four gates.
A warrior's will is to never surrender. He is a giant who will keep fighting until the end of time. Synchro Summon! Colossal Fighter!
The light faded and the giant green-vizored warrior arrived with a grunt. (ATK: 2800 - 3400) "And before you ask, I sent two warriors to the graveyard when Kayuka used Hand Destruction."
"It's 100 points weaker than my Nordic God." Kiba snarled.
"We'll see." He looked at Renji and he nodded. Renji pointed to Thor.
"Armor Master, attack!"
The one-eyed monster flew up and palmed Thor in the chest. Kiba expected the monster to be destroyed, but he just flew back to Renji's side. A black spike was lodged in Thor's chest.
"That's bullshit! Your monster's supposed be destroyed!" Kiba yelled.
"Armor Master has an effect that makes him indestructible in battle and makes it so I take zero damage. It also placed a Wedge Counter on your monster."
"So?"
"So I can remove that Wedge Counter to make your monsters ATK & DEF 0 until the End Phase." The spike disappeared from Thor's chest and he groaned. (ATK: 3500 - 0)
"What the #$%*!"
"Get 'em John!" Renji exclaimed.
"With pleasure." John said. "GO COLOSSAL KICK!"
Colossal Fighter jumped into the air with the full moon behind him. He descended like a comet and impacted with Thor's chest. In a flash of light, he burst through the Nordic God's chest. His enemy exploded behind him.
Kiba (LP: 6200 - 2400)
Renji & John zoomed past their opponents.
"You dumb-ass!" The Devil screamed. "If used Thor's effect, You could have destroyed Armor Master and this wouldn't have happened."
"Shut up. How was I suppose to know he could do that shit?" Kiba growled
"If you two are arguing, I set a card and end my turn." John finished. "So what about your monster being a Nordic God? Last I checked, being a God meant being invincible."
Sparks surrounded Kiba's runner. "Just wait."
Meanwhile...
Zeke opened his eyes. He saw a bright blue sky with clouds above him. He sat up and saw that he was in a grassy field.
"So you're awake?" He turned around and saw Cassandra in her Silent Magician robe.
"Hey your the little girl Shadow was trying to hurt." He looked at her with confusion. "What's with the getup? Are you a cos-player or something?" An anger vein appeared on her head.
SMACK!
Zeke was writhing on the ground clutching his groin. "What .. the.. hell?"
"These are robes given to me by the officials of the Magician's Guild you jackass!"
Zeke back on his feet. "Why you little..."
"This is no time to be fighting." A new voice said. The arguing duo turned around and saw a beautiful woman. She had brown hair that touched the ground. A green dress that flowed like water and eyes as blue as the sky. She had this calmed aura about her. (Voice: Kim Sevier)
"Who are you?" Cassandra asked.
"I am the place you live your lives." The woman said.
"Brooklyn?" Zeke asked. This response was followed by Cassandra glaring at him and muttering, "Idiot." underneath her breath. The woman chuckled.
"Not the city you live, but the base it is built upon."
Cassandra eyes widened. "You mean..."
"I go by many names. Gaia, Geb, Earth. Gaia is by far my favorite and I would like for you to call me that."
Zeke was pinching himself. "Wake up! Wake Up!"
Gaia tilted her head in confusing. "Why are you doing that child?"
"Because I've been knocked out by someone and now I'm having a hallucination about the Spirit of Earth."
"He actually figured out the spirit thing?" Cassandra thought.
"I assure you I am no hallucination."
"OK. Than what is all this?" Zeke asked.
"I need to talk to both of you about the future." Gaia said with a serious face.
Back at the duel...
A massive grave summon gate appeared over the water and Thor appeared again. Renji & John gasped and Kiba laughed.
"You're wounding what's going on? Well when Thor is destroyed, I can banish a Nordic Beast tuner in my grave to bring him back." He pocked Guldfaxe from his grave. "And he's summon this way, you guys get hit with 800 damage!"
Thor pointed at John & Renji and shot a lightning bolt that stunned them for a few seconds.
John & Renji (LP: 5100 - 4300)
"My move." The Devil drew. "I activate Magic Triangle of the Ice Barrier!" The spell appeared with icy winds flowing around it. "First I have to reveal 3 Ice Barrier monsters with different names in my hand." The cards appeared revealing Blizzed, Defender of the Ice Barrier, Geomancer of the Ice Barrier & Pilgrim of the Ice Barrier. "Then I can destroy one of my opponents monsters and special summon an Ice Barrier monster from my hand."
Ice appeared over Colossal Fighter. As it started to crack, John's face-down lifted. "Reverse Card Open! Assault Mode Activate!"
(Que Music: Legend of Kaiser - Mazinkaiser SKL)
Out of the sky came a large blue jet with futuristic designs. "With this card, I can send a monster to the grave to summon its Assault Mode version from my deck."
Colossal Fighter jumped into the air with the jet behind him. The jet turned into two gauntlets, a belt, armored legs, and a powerful jet pack with wings. In a flash of light, the warrior was reborn with new armor.
"Stand & Fight! My Ultimate Warrior! Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode!" (ATK: 3300)
"And when he's summoned, I can send two warriors from my deck to the grave." He did just that. "And for every warrior in my graveyard, all of my opponents monsters lose 100 ATK." The armored monster grunted and released a wave of green energy that weaken all of the opposing monsters.
(Thor ATK: 3500 - 2700) (Dewloren ATK: 2000 - 1200)
The Devil was unfazed by this. "I can still special cause of my spell." She summoned Pilgram of the Ice Barrier. (ATK: 1500 - 700) "Then I normal summon Geomancer of the Ice Barrier." (ATK: 800 - 0) "Kiba."
"Right." The feral boy replied. "I'll use Thor's other effect. During my turn, I can negate the effect of all face-up monster in my opponents control." Thor raised his hand and the green wave John's monster gave off disappeared. And all ATK stats returned to normal.
"Then I use Dewloren's effect." The Devil said. Pilgrim and Geomancer returned to her hand as Dewloren powered up. (ATK; 2000 - 3000) "Slay Blackwing Armor Master."
Dewloren pounced on the dark armored synchro and ripped it's head off with it's mouth.
John & Renji (LP: 4300 - 3800)
(End Music)
"Damn it!" Renji thought.
"Your monster might be ultimate, but it's no match for my God. Thunder Pile!" Thor brought his hammer down on the smaller monster.
"I use the power of A/D Changer from my grave." A blue guy in a black Gi appeared. "By banishing him, I can change the battle position of one monster." Changer waved a blue flag and Thor knelled into defense position (DEF: 2800)
"Turn End." The Devil said as Dewloren powered down. (ATK: 3000 - 1300)
"My turn." Renji drew. "I summon Blackwing - Fane the Steel Chain." What appeared was a humanoid bird with ninja garb. (ATK: 400) "And since I have a Blackwing out, I can special summon Blackwing - Bora the Spear." Another humanoid bird soared to the field, this one held a staff with a large drill at the end. "First I'll use Fane's effect to attack directly." The ninja bird vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared in front of Kiba's runner. It pulled out a kunai and slashed the feral boy's dashboard.
Kiba & The Duel Devil (LP: 2400 - 2000)
"And when Fane does damage, I can which an enemy monster from attack to defense position." Dewloren crouched. (DEF: 1400) "But that shouldn't be a problem since Bora does piercing damage." The Blackwing swirled creating a drill made of wind that pierced through the Tiger King and crashed into the Devil.
Kiba & The Duel Devil (LP: 2000 - 1700)
"I set a card face-down and end my turn." Renji concluded.
"Why didn't he attack with my monster?" John pondered.
Kiba was furious. They damage him without even trying to kill his monster. "That's it!" He drew with anger. "I switch Thor to Attack position and negate all of your monster effects." Thor stood up ready to fight as his strengh returned to him. (ATK: 2800 - 3500) "Smash Fane the Steel Chain to a bloody pulp! Go Thunder Pile!"
Thor lifted his hammer and brought it down on Fane. The resulting shockwave slowed down John and Renji's runner noticively."
John & Renji (LP: 3800 - 700)
"AHAHAHA! I set a card. Turn End." (ATK: 3500 - 2800) "Even if they destroy Thor, they wont survive his ressurection. I win either wave!"
Back to Zeke & Cassandra...
"The Future?" Cassandra asked.
"Yes." Gaia replied.
"Wait. If you know the future, why are you going to tell us?" Zeke asked. "I mean I'm not exactly Hercules."
Gaia lifted her hand and a giant mirror appeared. It showed Zeke defending Cassandra & Sarah from Shadow's dark fire.
"I'd say that makes you a hero." Gaia said. "But this was the first of many challenges that await you."
"But what about me?" Cassandra asked.
"You have an important role to play as well. That is why you were brought to me."
Cassandra gasped. "You brought me to Earth?"
"Not me personally. I have a herald who has been preparing a group of heroes that will stand against the evil that awaits. You two are part of that group." Gaia said.
"Alright then. I'll do it!" Zeke exclaimed.
Cassandra face-vaulted.
Gaia giggled. "Don't you want to here what you'll be fighting first?"
"It doesn't matter what comes my way. I'll take them on if means protecting the innocent!" Zeke said with a smile. "Besides, I've always wanted to be a hero."
"Very well then." Gaia raised her hands. They glowed with green energy. She walked toward Zeke & Cassandra and placed her hands on their foreheads. Their eyes glowed green. They were flooded with visions.
"Time is a living organism. It changes constantly. But sometimes, their are people who which to alter for selfish reasons."
They saw a man Zeke's age. He had green hair and wore a yellow turbo duelist suit. (Voice: Vic Mignogna) He was lying on the ground. 3 silhouettes stood were holding trophies as people cheered for them, their faces blocked by the sun. He got up and yelled, "So what if you beat me? I still have my friends. Right guys?" He looked behind him and saw his friends walking away from him. (Voice: Travis Willingham) "You cost us the match. A friend of ours would never be defeated so easily. So long loser." The man reached out to them. "Wait! Don't leave me! I won't lose next time! I swear it!" They still walked away. "Please. Come back." He said quietly as tears rolled down his face.
"This man believed that there was no future for him."
We see the same man surrounded by futuristic looking police. They pointed their guns at him but he used a device and disappeared in a flash of light. When he reappeared in an alley, he grabbed a newspaper with the date being 1939.
"At first, his goal was to kill the ancestors of the team that defeated him."
We see various scenes of people lying dead in blood, The man holding a gun as he shoots a child being of his life.
"But doing so destroyed an sense of humanity he had left. He spent years in the shadows, making contact with various organizations and gaining dark powers. Creating experiments destroyed lives."
Images of a the young man shaking hands with Al Capone. Being part of an excavation team and finding a stone with a wisdom knot on it. We see a glass tube filled with dark energy. It smashes into pieces and we see Shadow the Dark lying on the floor twitching in pain.
"His name is..."
They see an old man in white and gold robes. He has red eyes and an insane look on his face.
"Abelard. And if he is not stopped, he will destroy everything."
We see Earth exploding.
Gaia took her hands off their heads and the glowing stopped. "Only you two and your friends have the power, skill and knowledge to defeat him. Do you accept the challenge brought before you?"
Zeke and Cassandra looked at each other. They nodded and turned toward Gaia.
Zeke/Cassandra: "We accept!"
Gaia smiled and raised her hand. "Then go and fight!" Everything faded to light...
"Mr. Hudson?"
….
"Are you still with us?"
"Huh...?"
Zeke opened his eyes. He saw a man in a doctor's jacket and a nurse looking down at him.
"What happened?" Zeke said in a tired voice.
"It's alright son. You've only suffered some minor bruising. And as for why you're here, your friends called us. They were really worried about you." He turned to the Nurse. "Send them in." She left. "But don't worry, a good night's sleep and taking it easy for a flew days and you'll good as new."
"Thanks." Zeke said. The nurse returned and Sarah, Cassandra & Angel walked.
"Are you okay Zeke?" Sarah asked. Zeke replied with a thumbs up.
Back at the Duel...
John looked at the field. The trap Kiba had set was probably something that could stop any attacks. And if they didn't finish the enemy off this turn, then it's game over. He looked at Renji and saw his calm face. He smiled at him and suddenly he understood. He touched the top of his deck.
(Que Music: Juggernaut - Mazinkaiser SKL ending theme)
"Final Turn!" He drew. "First I'll attack Thor with Bora the Spear!"
"I'll use the power of Blackwing - Kalut the Moon Shadow from my hand!" Renji exclaimed. "When a Blackwing battles, I can discard him to raise the ATK of said Blackwing by 1400."
Bora glowed with a yellow aura. (ATK: 1700 - 3100) He flew strait at Thor.
"Reverse Card Open!" Kiba yelled. "Draining Shield!" A green barrier surrounded Thor and stopped Bora. "I can use this card to negate your attack and then I gain Life Points equal to its ATK."
Kiba & The Devil (LP: 2000 - 5100)
"Then I'll use my trap. Blackwing - Bombardment! I can tribute a Blackwing on the field and another monsters gains his ATK. So I'll power up Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode!"
Bora turned into a large ball of energy that Colossal Fighter caught in his hands.
"And I'll use my Quick-Play spell Shrink to half Thor's original ATK." John said.
Thor powered down and shrunk down to Colossal Fighter's size. (ATK: 2800 - 1050)
"No way!" Kiba yelled.
John/Renji: "Yes Way! GO COLOSSAL BOMBARDMENT!"
Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode lifted the large energy ball over his head before he tossed it at Thor. It completely disinagrated him and consumed Kiba and The Devil in a massive explosion.
Kiba & The Devil (LP: 5100 - 0)
(Music End)
The Augmented Reality faded away and the enemy runner stopped. John and Renji stopped in front of them. As John started walking toward them, Kiba charge at him. "You son of a.." Only to be shut up by John punching him in the jaw. He continued to walk toward the Devil. Renji walked toward Kiba's runner and picked up Thor's card. As soon as he did that, got zapped by it and dropped.
"What the hell?"
The Devil got off her runner and back away from John. Icy dragon wings appeared on her back.
"Don't come any closer!" She warned him.
John's face became full of grief. "How can you say that? How can look at me not recognize an old friend?"
"I've never had any friends!"
"Yes you have! Come on. Don't you remember me, Rei?"
The Devil stopped.
"How... How do you..."
Emergency Teleportation system activated.
Kiba & Rei's runner started glowing. As they started to disappear along with their riders, John tried to run toward her.
"REI!" And in a flash they disappeared. John flew to his knees with a defeated look. Renji looked around and saw that the Thor card was gone as. The sun rose as a new day started.
Sarah: With the Intro Arc over and the villain revealed, We hear the story of John's history with the Duel Devil. Next Time: The Story of the Devil and her Guardian. See ya, later.