Flight 10 (FINALE): Revelation
"Creature dwelling within a mortal coil, the torturer of the damned! Synchro Summon!"
"Goddammit!" Demetria screamed, as a demonic claw burst out of her stomach.
"Eldricyte – Basos the Flayer!" A mass of spiked tentacles made entirely out of bubbling blood flowed over to Albert's field, still connected to a holographic pool of gore at Demetria's feet. (500 ATK)
"What do you think?" Otto asked Fritz.
"Well," Fritz replied, "Ray and Lilith are doin' pretty well. Gravity Queen, Raging Dragon and a backrow each. That's pretty solid."
"Lilith's used up a lot of cards in her hand, though," Otto muttered.
"Ray still has plenty. But the big concern right now is what they're up against. Three backrows and two Eldricytes." Fritz scratched his head. "What does Basos even do?"
"Eldricyte – Lymphos the Summoner attacks Gravity Queen!" Albert announced. The mouth hovering between disembodied arms opened wide and it began to scream ripples through the air.
"I activate Moonlight Veil!" Lilith said, as a wall of light appeared. The ripples halted on contact with the light. "No damage to me, and our monsters can't be destroyed this turn."
"Very well. I end my turn," said Albert. "However, Basos' effect activates." The tentacles shivered and boiling blood splattered across Gravity Queen and Raging Dragon. "It reduces the ATK and DEF of each of your monsters by 500 during each End Phase."
"Dammit," Ray cursed. (Raging Dragon: 2500 ATK, Gravity Queen: 500 ATK)
"My turn," said Lilith, as she drew a card. "Ray, I wouldn't mind being able to switch Gravity Queen to Defence mode..."
"Gotcha," said Ray. He flipped a switch on his disc. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury! Assault Mode Activate!" His facedown card flipped as he hoisted the real card into the air. Fire burned around Raging Dragon's joints, giving way to blue-and-orange armour. "Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode!" (3500 ATK)
"Even with Basos' effect, you'll be able to take out the Eldricytes during your next turn," said Lilith.
"I know, I know. Raging Dragon's effect!" Ray pointed to Julian's field. "I destroy your two backrows!" Two pillars of fire erupted on either side of Julian, burning away Mirror Force and Dimensional Prison. "Whew, good choice."
"And now for my part of my turn," said Lilith. "I activate Gravity Queen's effect!" She snapped her fingers; Gravity Queen held her hands up to the moon and it came closer once more. (2/7) "With that, I can activate Gift of Moonlight to draw two cards." A couple cards flew from the moon and landed in her hand. "I activate One for One. By discarding Wilting Lotus of Lunanima, I Special Summon another from my deck!" A small plant burst from the ground (0 DEF), but as if she didn't notice, Lilith continued, "I'll also banish Voodoo Princess of Lunanima to Special Summon the Lotus I discarded." A second lotus appeared on the other side of Gravity Queen. "Ray, I'll leave the attacking to you and switch Gravity Queen to Defence Position." (2500 DEF) "End turn!"
"And with that, our defence is secure!" said Ray happily. Basos flailed; boiling blood splattered over all of their monsters.
"Basos the Flayer's effect activates on every End Phase, of course," Albert explained. (Raging Dragon/Assault Mode: 3000 ATK, Gravity Queen: 2000 DEF)
"My turn," Julian said emotionlessly. "I activate Pot of Duality." There appeared a hologram each of another Pot of Duality, Mystical Space Typhoon and an effect monster that depicted a skinless arm holding an eyeball. "I add Dendritic Hemato'Poid to my hand." The two Spells disappeared and the effect monster shrunk into his hand. "I set two cards. End turn." (Raging Dragon/Assault Mode: 2500 ATK, Gravity Queen: 1500 DEF)
"Well then, it's time to take out those Eldricytes!" said Ray. "I summon Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion!" A lion with fur of flames leapt onto the field. (1700 ATK) "With this, Raging Dragon's ATK rises to 3000. Now! Raging Dragon/Assault Mode – attack Lymphos the Summoner!" His dragon exhaled a stream of fire, much smaller than its normal attacks.
"Trap activate," said Julian. "Synchro Deflector. When a Synchro monster is attacked, this card negates the attack and destroys target monster."
"Fine," said Ray. "Blow up my Dragon. I'll get the original back!"
"That's why he won't," said Albert.
"The target is Wilting Lotus of Lunanima," Julian explained, as Raging Dragon's fire curved backwards and incinerated a flower.
"You should've picked my Lion, at least. Blazing-Mane Lion attacks Basos the Flayer!" The lion jumped at and tore through the blood tentacle demon. It exploded into one last fountain of blood before disappearing. (1200 damage - 6800 LP)
"About time," Demetria muttered, looking at her now-whole torso.
"With that," said Ray. "Our monsters return to their normal stats! Well, Raging Dragon's actually 500 ATK more than normal." (Raging Dragon/Assault Mode: 4000 ATK, Gravity Queen: 3000 DEF)
"Indeed," said Albert. "But you've given me another piece of the puzzle. When an Eldricyte is destroyed, I can tribute my Level 1 Goat Token to summon this. Creature dwelling within a mortal mind, the desecrator of sanity!"
"Hoo boy," said Otto, as something began to sprout from his forehead.
"Eldricyte – Neutros the Twister!" Albert announced. The thing became the upper half of a full-sized human, but it spun itself in ways that would be impossible for a real spine. The creature also possessed no holes for its eyes or mouth. (1500 DEF) "This card can be Special Summoned from the Extra Deck when an Eldricyte is destroyed! Now, Julian! ABU! Read and transcribe."
As the robot typed up Julian's elaborate scientific explanations, Otto walked over to the duel and stood in front of Albert. "The hologram was kinda distorting itself from that far away," He said. "Nephele! Come over here too!"
"Fine, fine," Nephele muttered. As she walked beside Otto, the bits of holographic muscle tissue flew back into her holographic wound.
"Very well," said Albert. "I can't assume you've gotten closer in order to attack me with Julian right here."
"Don't act so cocky. We're winning!" said Ray. "End – "
"Not exactly," said Albert, cutting off Ray. Neutros held its hands to its forehead and released a beam of light that shot its way through Ray. "When Neutros is Summoned by its own effect, it inflicts damage equal to the highest ATK among Eldricytes I control. That would be the 2500 ATK of Lymphos." (2500 damage - 5500 LP)
"Dammit. End turn," Ray muttered.
"And it's about to get better!" said Albert gleefully. "I summon a second Dendritic My'Loid!" A mass of fibres identical to the first appeared on the field. "With this and Lymphos' effect, I'll summon the fourth and fifth Eldricytes!" He laughed, but a loud crunch! cut him off.
"Oh well," said Otto, one hand holding the ABU and the other holding its head. He tossed both parts to the ground where they sparked and died. "You'll have to start from scratch on these. I don't suppose you remember everything Julian told you, do you?"
"I..." Albert seethed. "This has nothing to do with memory! What I hear from Julian is understanding the Lymph System."
"So you don't need these," said Nephele, tearing up the partially-written notes of the ABU.
"Let's find out," said Albert. "I tune Dendritic My'Loid with a Goat Token! Creature dwelling within a mortal body, the render of flesh! Synchro Summon!"
"All right," said Fritz, as one of his eyeballs expanded, popped out of his head and hovered in the air. The nerve on the back of it coiled to be a spring and the entire thing caught fire. (2000 ATK)
"Eldricyte – Basos the Burner!" Albert announced. He listened eagerly as Julian explained some more science. "But then... how does... oh, forget it. I activate Lymphos' effect!" The My'Loid reappeared, but instantly disappeared. "I tune it with another Goat Token!"
"Oh geez," said Lilith. "Who's getting Eldricyte'd this time?" She looked around. "Julian?"
"Wrong," said Albert. "Creature dwelling within a mortal body, the consumer of freedom! Lilith. Look down."
"Wha?" Lilith asked. She glanced at her torso. Her stomach burst through her shirt, intestines trailing behind. "Eww."
"Me too?" Ray demanded, as his stomach too left his torso. The two digestive systems folded into a squirming mass that somehow had a mouth and oesophagus. (1000 ATK)
"Eldricyte - Monos the Swallower!" said Albert. Julian translated the thing's movements once more. However, by the end of the explanation, Albert looked no more enlightened. "That can't be! It doesn't make sense!"
"That's never a good sign," said Otto. "Science is perfection. If it doesn't make sense..."
"I'm still missing pieces of the puzzle," said Albert. "Perhaps... aha! Julian!" He snapped. "Keep decoding the Eldricytes' movements. Eosinos attacks Wilting Lotus of Lunanima!" The burning eyeball tossed its iris, which consumed the flower and incinerated it.
"There was no message encoded in its attacking animation," said Julian.
"Dammit!" Albert clenched his fist. "Regardless..." He sighed. "Let's just continue the duel."
"There's something we can all agree on," said Ray.
"Lymphos the Summoner attacks Blazing-Mane Lion!" The mouth between arms screeched; Ray's Lion exploded. (800 damage - 4700 LP) They then watched as Monos the Swallower burrowed its mouth underground. It brought back the Lion and ate it.
"Wait, we had Monos for a while," said Ray. "Its effect..."
"Yes, when an Eldricyte destroys a monster by battle, Monos gains the ATK of that monster." (+1700 ATK - 2700 ATK) "I'll set one card. End turn."
"Let's get serious," said Lilith. "I activate Ice Mirror of Lunanima. Now, I can add a Lunanima from my deck to my hand with the same Level as a Lunanima in my Graveyard. Both of my detached units were Level 4, so I'll take the Level 4... Voodoo Princess of Lunanima!"
"You run three?" Ray asked.
"It's a good card. I summon Voodoo Princess!" A third shaman-like woman appeared. (1000 ATK) "Her effect revives Stargazer." Once more, Voodoo Princess dragged an undead Stargazer from the dirt. (800 ATK) "And now, I overlay Voodoo Princess and Stargazer. Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" Her monsters leapt into a galaxy; a brief snowstorm yielded a pale woman. "Xyz Summon! Ice Priestess of Lunanima!" The woman hovered in a cross-legged position. (2500 DEF)
"I see," said Albert. "I expected the red-haired kid to fight with everything he had, still believing himself to be on the right path. But you – "
"Shut up. You want to talk about right and wrong?" Lilith demanded. "You killed Julian, almost killed us and are trying to kill millions more people! I'd be horrified if our morals were the same! Ice Priestess' effect!" One of the lights surrounding Priestess disappeared. "I freeze that Lymphos the Summoner! Now, it can't attack, activate its effect, or be used as Synchro or Xyz Material!"
Albert crossed his arms. "You honestly think that was the best choice?"
"Yes. Now! Gravity Queen adds a counter to Lunar Impact!" (0 Materials, 3/7 Counters) "And now, I'll join Ray on the offensive. I overlay Ice Priestess of Lunanima and Gravity Queen of Lunanima! Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow." A galaxy appeared on the moonlight-illuminated field, rotating slowly. As the women jumped in, it suddenly expanded to fill as far as anyone could see. "GalaXyz Summon!" The pitch-black goddess emerged from the galaxy, spinning a silver scythe. "Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima!" (2500 ATK, 3 Materials)
"It's in Attack Position?" Ray asked.
"2500 ATK is enough to take out some Eldricytes, and I can still back up the defence with her Materials," said Lilith. "Hecate attacks Eosinos the Burner!" The goddess appeared on the other side of the eyeball. After a second, the two halves of Eosinos exploded. (500 damage - 6300 LP)
"Three more to go," said Ray. "And I can take out any of 'em."
"I'm counting on you," said Lilith. "Also, Hecate adds a fourth counter to Lunar Impact." Hecate snapped her fingers and the moon grew to cover a good half of the sky. "End turn!"
"My turn," said Julian. "I activate Monster Reborn. The monster I target is Eosinos the Burner." Fritz's eyeball, which had just turned back to normal, burst out of his head once more and caught fire. (2000 ATK) "End turn."
That was a really bad move, Lilith noted. Picking Baso made way more sense...
Could the... battery... duelling skills? The tiniest whispers of Ray's voice echoed through her head.
"So... we're getting that back," Lilith said to herself.
"Let's roll!" Ray cried. "Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode attacks Eldricyte – Monos the Swallower!" The enormous, armoured dragon leaned back, charging a burst of flames.
Why is Albert on the offensive? Lilith asked. He had the opportunity to switch any of his Eldricytes to Defence Position as soon as Ray changed to Assault Mode, but he left them all in... Her eyes widened. Oh.
"During the Damage Step," said Albert. "I discard this." A white-robed angel with golden wings appeared around the mass of digestive systems. "Honest increases the ATK of Swallower by the ATK of the your Dragon until the End Phase." The creature devoured Honest, growing to over twice its original size. (6200 ATK) "And it's far too late for Hecate's effect. Monos counter-attacks!" The winding demon opened its gullet, swallowing both fire and dragon indiscriminately. (2700 damage - 2000 LP)
"Damn," Ray cursed, as a shockwave flew over himself and Lilith. "I forgot those were LIGHT."
"By the way, Monos gains ATK equal to any monster destroyed by an Eldricyte," Albert reminded him. "So, until the End Phase, Monos' total ATK is 9700 – it'll be a much more reasonable 6200 next turn."
"Oh ha ha," Ray muttered. "Your Eldricytes don't scare me. I'm going to move forward! Towards the future – the future I decide with my own decisions! And my first decision... you're going to take a lot of damage this turn. When Raging Dragon/Assault Mode is destroyed, the original returns!" He raised his arm; the unarmoured dragon appeared behind him. "Raging Dragon attacks Lymphos the Summoner!" It released a smaller stream of fire, though still large enough to consume the bits of flesh and mouth that had torn their way out of Nephele. "Furthermore, you take damage equal to Lymphos' original ATK!" (3000 damage - 3300 LP)
"And there's... three more to go again," Lilith muttered. "But we're making progress."
"Yup," said Ray. "End turn!"
"Hmm," Albert muttered. "I'll activate Raregold Armour, and equip it to my Monos the Swallower." The fused digestive systems of Ray and Lilith became encased in white-and-gold metal. "With this, you can't attack any other Eldricytes."
Why's he protecting those things so carefully? Ray wondered.
He's... plan... Lilith's voice whispered.
"Next, Monos the Swallower attacks Solanimus Raging Dragon!"
"You can't expect anything but this," said Lilith. She snapped her fingers; the goddess swung her scythe and a wall of light surrounded the dragon. "Hecate's effect." (2 Materials)
"Of course I expected that." said Albert. "It doesn't matter. I activate my set card – Graceful Revival. Be reborn, Basos the Flayer!" Demetria sighed as the bloody monster tore its way through her torso once more and onto the field. (500 ATK) "I end my turn," said Albert. "And now Raging Dragon and Hecate lose 500 ATK/DEF." (2500 ATK / 2000 ATK)
"If you honestly think you can beat us by stalling, you're so wrong," said Lilith, as she began her turn. "Hecate's effect!" The goddess snapped her fingers and, yet again, the moon lurched closer. (5/7) "I set one card. End turn." (Raging Dragon: 2000 ATK / Hecate: 1500 ATK)
"My turn," Julian said mechanically. "I activate Magical Stone Excavation. I discard two cards to add Monster Reborn to my hand." Two holograms appeared; Duality – Cogito and Duality – Calco. Ray and Lilith watched sadly as both cards crumpled. "Now, I activate Monster Reborn to revive Eldricyte – Lymphos the Summoner."
"Dammit," Nephele muttered, as Lymphos' arms ripped her own apart, and the demon reformed itself – a mouth made of bloody tissue between floating arms. (2500 ATK)
"Lymphos the Summoner attacks Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima." The demon screamed a horrendous shockwave at Hecate, who calmly deflected the waves with her scythe. (1 Material) "End turn," said Julian.
"As you can see, we don't intend to out-stall you," said Albert, as Basos again splattered Raging Dragon and Hecate with boiling blood. (Raging Dragon: 1500 ATK / Hecate: 1000 ATK) "We'll simply make your ace cards useless."
While infinitely reviving their Eldricytes... Lilith thought. They've got all five back now.
Leave it to me! Ray's voice cried, finally fully audible. "My turn!" He said in reality. "I summon Solanimus Blinding Blade!" A white-and-gold knight leapt to the field, brandishing its sword proudly. "Blinding Blade's effect reduces the ATK and DEF of a monster you control by the ATK of a FIRE monster I control." He pointed at the enormous mass of intestines. "I reduce Monos' ATK and DEF by Raging Dragon's current 1500." The knight shone a beam of light from its sword. (Monos: 4700 ATK/500 DEF)
Ray, what are you doing? Lilith demanded. I only have one material!
"Calm down," said Ray. "I activate Solanimus Soul Storm! Since Monos now has less DEF than my Blinding Blade's 1700 ATK, I can destroy Monos and you take the difference as damage!" Blinding Blade grabbed a fiery aura from around its heart and tossed it. The swirling intestines devoured the fire greedily and promptly exploded. (1200 damage - 2100 LP) "And now that Raregold Armour is gone, it's time to counter-attack. Blinding Bladeattacks Basos the Flayer!" His knight charged the blood-monster.
"I discard Dendritic Hemato'Poid," said Albert. "This negates all attacks against Synchro monsters this turn."
"Dammit," Ray sighed.
"It also revives a Level 1 monster," Albert continued. "Be reborn! Monos the Swallower!" Once again, Ray and Lilith's intestines flopped out and formed a writing, floating creature. (1000 ATK) "Also, during your End Phase,Basos' effect!" (Blinding Blade: 1200 ATK / Raging Dragon: 1000 ATK / Hecate: 500 ATK)
"It's hopeless," Demetria muttered. "Albert can now run over any of their monsters with the Eldricytes... and Monos will just grow stronger."
And I don't see any sign of Julian's battery running dry... Lilith thought. This is bad. I can't stall for much longer.
We are not stalling! Ray roared. We are winning! For Julian!
"Finally, I've assembled the five Eldricytes," said Albert. "In all honesty, I never expected the five holograms to give me all the information I needed to build the Eldricytes. No... there was simply too much information." He chuckled. "So I made another."
Oh boy. Ray and Lilith thought simultaneously.
"I overlay the five Eldricytes!" Albert cried suddenly. A blood-red galaxy appeared on the ground. One by one, the bodily horrors flew into its dephths. "Creature dwelling within a mortal heart, the final guardian of fate!" An enormous, red blob emerged from the galaxy – a human heart. Its valves ended in draconian heads, and a wicked, razor-toothed mouth opened in its centre. "Eldricyte - Macros the Devourer!" Five lights circled the heart-creature. (0 ATK, 5 Materials)
"Cool," said Ray. "With Basos gone, our monsters' ATKs return to normal."
"And we don't have our entrails hanging out," Nephele said, happily looking at her intact arm. "I'm all right with this."
"Did you guys forget why he wanted to summon it?" Lilith demanded as Julian continued to explain some workings of the Lymph Nodes.
"It's becoming clear to me," said Albert. "But let us continue the duel nonetheless! Macros' effect!" One of the reptilian heads ate a light. The mouth in the middle of the heart opened wide. "By detaching a Material, Macrosdevours one of your monsters – sending it to the Graveyard to gain its ATK."
Not destroying? Lilith thought. So Hecate is... is useless! She and Ray could only watch as Raging Dragon flew into the heart's open mouth. (3000 ATK, 4 Materials)
"You can use Hecate's effect now," said Albert. "Macros attacks Hecate!" Each of the heart's heads breathed streams of fire.
"I will!" said Lilith. The final light around Hecate disappeared; she swung her scythe and sliced the fire in half. (0 Materials)
"End turn," said Albert.
"I'll add another counter to Lunar Impact!" Lilith said hesitantly. Hecate snapped her fingers, but as the moon moved closer, the heart's mouth opened again. "You..."
"I can activate Macros' effect during your turn as well, yes," said Albert, as the heart chewed and swallowed Hecate. (5500 ATK, 4 Materials) "Your effect still activated, though, due to turn priority. But I don't think it matters much now." (6/7 Moon Counters)
"I summon Mist Shaman of Lunanima," Lilith muttered. A blindfolded, talon-limbed woman appeared, covered in a sea of fog. (1200 ATK) "End... end turn."
"I set one card," said Julian; a backrow appeared. "End turn."
"I activate Dragon's Final Gift," Ray announced. "I banish Solanimus Raging Dragon in my Graveyard to draw two cards." Raging Dragon burst out of the Graveyard spot of his disc. He drew two cards as the dragon faded. "Though it's a bit of a misnomer, because I just drew Solanimus Dimensional Tear!" Claws appeared in the air; Solanimus Raging Dragon ripped its way back onto the field. (3000 ATK)
"It's meaningless!" said Albert.
"Is it?" Ray asked. "I activate Solanimus Blinding Blade's effect to reduce Macros' ATK by 3000!"
"Then I chain Macros' effect," said Albert. "To devour Solanimus Raging Dragon – I'll gain as much ATK as I'll lose."
"Let me in on this," said Lilith. "I discard Magic Sealer of Lunanima – now, you can't target monsters we control this turn."
"And you didn't use that on Hecate?" Albert demanded, as a blue-haired girl appeared, standing with her arms wide between the heart-demon and Ray's monsters.
"Hecate wouldn't have beaten Macros," said Lilith simply. "Ray can!" Now, take that ugly thing out.
I owe you one, said Ray, as Blinding Blade threw its beam of light at the heart. (5500 - 2500 ATK) "And now... Solanimus Raging Dragon attacks Macros the Devourer!" Raging Dragon blew an enormous fireball that covered most of Albert's field completely. When it dissipated, the heart-creature was no where to be seen. (500 damage - 1400 LP) "And now, you take damage equal to Macros' ATK! That's game!"
"Ray, Macros' original ATK was 0," said Lilith.
"Right," Ray said. "Okay then... Blinding Blade attacks!" The knight ran across the field at Albert.
"Activate Trap," said Julian. "Descending Lost Star Special Summons a Synchro monster from our Graveyard, but its DEF becomes 0." The spinning mass of intestines Monos appeared one final time before Blinding Bladechopped it to bits.
"Look at yourself, Albert," said Ray. "You killed Julian. You messed around with his brain. You gave a dead, brain-addled man a deck he's never used before... and he's still the one keeping your team in the game. Pull your weight! End turn."
"Is that really how you should talk to the man who will save humanity?" Albert cried. "All I need is a bit more information. One little tiny bit more data and I'll be able to construct the system that will change the world and prevent the apocalypse!" He angrily drew a card. Then he laughed. "And here it is. I put all the data I could fit into this last card." He slapped a card onto his disc. "Creature of mortal sin, the prisoner of fate, doomed to bring destruction upon the Earth!" All six Eldricytes burst out of the soil. Each spun around the others, interlocking into place. Finally, Neutros the Twister's skin opened and enveloped all of the five. It grew at a shocking speed until it towered over all the onlookers. "Eldricyte - Hemocytoblast the Usher!" Hemocytoblast stood on human legs, at least twenty feet tall. It was simply a hairless, one-eyed man, but with a pointy-toothed mouth in a horrifically maniacal grin. (3500 ATK)
"All of these horrors," said Lilith. "And your ace card is just a one-eyed human?"
"What could be more frightening?" asked Albert. "The other Eldricytes? Horrific monsters that know they're evil. But humans... humans drive themselves forward, creating tools of warfare and destruction for no other reason than they believe they're doing the right thing. Humans will bring about the destruction of the world, still thinking they're doing the right thing the whole time! Unless visionaries like myself, George and Julian's fool of a father stop it! I will protect humanity!"
"Have you ever protected anybody?" Ray cried. "Nephele and Demetria, they saved our lives when you tried to kill us. Scrapman and Junkgirl, they protect all of Athens. Otto and Fritz, they saved each other with science. Leo and Lise, they went to ridiculous lengths to protect Athens from their experiments. Julian saved Nephele from falling out of the sky. And Lilith... Lilith saved me from giving up hope. She saved my resolve. Out of all the people I've met since I first stepped on board the Eternal Eclipse, you and George are the only ones who haven't saved anybody!"
"And yet, I will save everybody," said Albert. "Julian! Tell me the last secrets of the Lymph Nodes!"
"Understood," said Julian. He gave a brief lecture about magnetism, some spinning machines and listed ten cities across the world where the Lymph Nodes would be placed.
"Yes, yes..." said Albert. He laughed. "I can do it now! I can construct the Lymph Nodes! Thank you, Julian. Thank you, Ray and Lilith. In gratitude, we shall finish the duel."
"You're bluffing," said Otto.
"Yeah, we've been listening to everything Julian said," Fritz agreed. "The basics of the science was in there, but..."
"None of the specifics!" Otto continued. "Science is about perfection. Even if you understand the idea behind the Lymph Nodes, it'll still probably take decades of research and experimenting before you can build them. And that's assuming you remember everything you've learned."
"Regardless, I still have the blueprints," said Albert. "Now, as promised, to finish the duel. Hemocytoblast gains the effects of all Eldricytes in my Graveyard. However, since it doesn't have any Xyz Materials, I can pay 1000 Life Points instead of paying the cost of Macros. (400 LP) Hemocytoblast devours Raging Dragon!" The enormous human grabbed Ray's dragon and stuffed it in its mouth. (3500 ATK - 6500 ATK) "Now, it's over.Hemocytoblast – "
"I activate Moonlight Veil!" said Lilith, as a wall of light surrounded Mist Shaman and Blinding Blade. "I figure Hemocytoblast would gain Eosinos' Battle-protection, so I have to activate it now."
"Indeed," said Albert. "Well, you've bought yourself another round."
"Damn straight!" said Ray and Lilith together.
"One turn's more than enough," said Ray. "Shall we, Lilith?"
"Sure," said Lilith. They walked over to the middle of the field. Ray stood in between Lilith and her arm and put his hand on her disc. "Draw it with me," She said.
"You got it," said Ray. Together they pulled the top card of Lilith's deck. "Just as I thought."
"Here," said Lilith. "You do this part."
"I'd be honoured," said Ray. "We activate..."
"Miracle Synchro Fusion!" They announced together.
"I fuse Solanimus Raging Dragon in my Graveyard," said Ray.
"With Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima in mine," Lilith continued.
They said together, "The sun's raging fires will become one with the moon's calming seas. Light and darkness, join together into one body – one soul. Fusion Summon!" Raging Dragon flew back to the field. Gold armour appeared and encased it completely. It roared as Hecate descended from the pitch-black sky. Her scythe became an enormous scimitar, her pitch-black robes transformed into silver armour and her hair became half fire and half water. "Eklepia, Dragon Knight of Syzygy!" (3500 ATK)
"Once per turn, Eklepia can negate one of your card's effects until the End Phase!" Lilith said. She snapped her fingers as Eklepia swung her scimitar. An enormous iceberg encased Hemocytoblast. (6500 ATK - 3500 ATK)
"Time to attack!" said Ray. "Eklepia – go!" He ordered. The warrior woman raised her enormous sword. She swung it down, cutting through the air and sending a ripple through the air. It was met with a jet of flame from her dragon mount. Hemocytoblast took the attacks in the torso, but as it fell, grabbed Eklepia and the dragon in its hand.
"They both have the same ATK," Albert said solemnly. "So both are destroyed."
"Normally, Eklepia would inflict Hemocytoblast's ATK as damage to you," said Ray. "But she needs to remain on the field to resolve that effect."
"Then why?" Demetria demanded. "You've banished your ace cards and destroyed Eklepia! For what?"
"Better yet," Albert continued. "During my Standby Phase, I can Banish Hemocytoblast in my Graveyard to Special Summon as many Eldricytes as possible. Once it reaches my Standby Phase, it's over!"
"No, it's over now!" Ray and Lilith said together.
"We can Banish Eklepia from my Graveyard to Special Summon one Banished Solanimus and one Banished Lunanima," said Lilith. A ghostly, transparent Eklepia flew out from nowhere and dissolved, leaving behind Hecate andSolanimus Raging Dragon. Hecate spun her silver scythe threateningly; Raging Dragon roared and flapped its enormous wings.
"And now this is your job," said Ray.
"Of course," said Lilith. She looked up at the moon. "Hecate's effect adds the final Moon Counter. Lunar Impact!" The goddess snapped her fingers. The moon finally fell completely, landing such that a wall of rock stuck out from the ground right in front of Ray and Lilith's toes. Finally, the holograms faded. As the moon disappeared, Ray and Lilith could once again see Albert and Julian. Albert had a frenzied look on his face.
"I'll admit, my plan failed," he said. "Despite everything, I still need the blueprints to construct the Lymph Nodes. But..." He grabbed the five Synchros from his disc. "Do you honestly think I'd give these up on a simple bet? These are still mine! I will construct the Nodes! I will save humanity!"
"Oh really?" Demetria asked, kicking out Albert's legs. As he fell, Nephele snatched the cards out of his hand and passed them to Lilith.
"Julian," Albert snapped, rising to his feet. "Eliminate these brats." There was no reply. "Julian!"
"Whew, just in time," Otto said, walking over to the stationary Julian. He inspected the brass sphere in the back of his head. Then he poked Julian in the forehead, pushing him to the ground. "Yup, no power left."
"Can you fix him?" Ray asked. "We can pay!" He grabbed Julian's deck box off the ground – some of his ante cards were in it as well. Ray grabbed one. "Here's Lorelei, that card you bet against! Please, can you take that thing out of him?"
"Ray, Ray, Ray," said Fritz, patting Ray on the back. "You actually expect us to accept payment for saving the life of the man who died trying to protect all of science?" He snatched the card. "No backsies."
"This isn't over!" Albert cried, struggling against Nephele and Demetria pinning him down.
"Actually," said Lilith, passing the Eldricytes around to Ray, Otto and Fritz.
"It is over," Ray agreed, as the four of them tore the cards into pieces. Ray and Lilith each grabbed a side of the last, Monos the Swallower, and ripped it in half together.
"You idiots!" Albert screamed in fury. "You've doomed humanity! You've allowed humanity – "
"The ability to make a choice!" Ray snapped.
"The freedom of an undetermined tomorrow!" Lilith continued.
"All of the wonders that science will continue to provide," said Otto. Fritz nodded in assent.
"What should we do with him now?" Demetria asked; but as she finished asking, an Eclipse-sized airship descended onto the field.
"Marvellous timing," said Otto. A hatch opened, and out stepped Leo and Lise. "We've been waiting all day. But honestly, I wasn't expecting you two. I was actually – "
"No, they're here too," Lise said, rubbing her forehead. A red blur and blue blur somersaulted out of the hatch.
"When the sun sets and the crimes of night befall Athens," announced Scrapman.
"It is we who punish evildoers! It is we who deliver justice!" Junkgirl continued.
"We are the axle – "
"We're not even in Athens anymore!" Lise cried.
"That's true!" said Scrapman, snapping his fingers. "We need a new motto."
"All of you agree?" Albert demanded, as Nephele and Demetria passed him off to the superheroes. "All of you are willing to let humanity keep advancing technology? The nuclear bomb was just the start! If science keeps creating new ways for humans to kill each other..."
"We'll create just as many ways to save each other," Leo concluded, arms crossed.
"And who are you to talk about inventing something that kills people after trying to build those Lymph Nodes?" Lise asked.
"I am the saviour of humanity!" Albert roared. "What are a few lives compared to the world? Someone has to keep humans on the right course! But now that I can't build the Lymph Nodes, we're all doomed!" He kept screaming even as Scrapman and Junkgirl dragged him deeper into the new airship. "But... perhaps it is not too late! I do understand the inner workings of the Lymph Nodes. Yes... it's not over! I am the man who's going to save humanity!" His voice was drowned out as he descended further into the ship.
"Julian was right, as usual," said Ray.
"Albert really was the crazy one," Lilith agreed.
"All right, got him?" Otto asked, as Fritz grabbed Julian's legs.
"Yeah, got him," Fritz said, as they loaded him onto a trolley. "Leo, Lise... we could use your help for this."
"Of course," said Lise. She and Leo tried to grab a corner of the trolley, but Otto and Fritz had started sprinting with it back to the city at break-neck speed. "Incoming, incoming!" Otto and Fritz cried, rushing Julian's lifeless, partly-mechanical body out of view. Leo and Lise chased after them, screaming unkind words.
-
Ray, Lilith and the Ambrosia sisters waited on the balcony of Otto and Fritz's laboratory, watching the sun set over tea, as the scientists worked on Julian inside.
"I know this goes without saying, but... you were right," said Nephele, after a long pause.
"We're so sorry," said Demetria. "We had no idea he..."
"You chose the path you thought was right," said Ray. "That's nothing to be ashamed of." His voice still sounded pessimistic and dark.
"I'm sure Julian will be all right," said Lilith.
"Y-yeah," Ray muttered, turning back towards the sunset.
"So... what are you guys going to do now?" Nephele asked, subtly trying to change the subject.
"I haven't thought about it. But I think we've earned some relaxation time. All of us." said Lilith, taking a sip of tea.
"We should move in together," Ray said, off-handedly. Lilith spat out her tea.
"What?"
"We should be roommates," Ray reiterated. "You live alone now, right?"
"Yeah, but – "
"Me too. Obviously, being an only child and orphan and whatnot," Ray continued. "I don't know about you, but it's pretty lonely."
"Don't you live in Ireland? I live in Britain. That's kind of a long ways..."
"Exactly! We'd never see each other otherwise. Ah well, just think about it." Ray said. He turned back to the group, to see that the Ambrosia sisters were giggling. "What?"
"Nothing!" They said simultaneously.
"Oi! Kids!" Otto's voice called from inside. "We're all done tinkering around with Julian's brain. Now he wants to talk to ya – Ambrosia sisters first. Get in here!"
-
After finally waiting their turn, Ray and Lilith ran into a workshop that had clearly only been made an operating room by shoving a few experiments off to the side. "Is he really okay?" Ray demanded.
"I've... felt better," said Julian, finally with some emotion. "But all things considered, I'm better than I could be."
"Those micro-robots healed a lot of the damage caused by the crash," said Fritz. "They even fixed his brain cells after we took out the... whatever that thing is called."
"To be honest," said Lise. "He wouldn't be alive if it weren't for Albert."
"Well, don't go sending him any gifts of gratitude," Julian said dully. "After all, I wouldn't have been dead without him either."
"We'll take our leave," said Leo.
"We will?" Otto asked. Leo and Lise dragged him and Fritz out of the room, despite Otto's protests. "I wanted to see what they were going to say..."
"You can't see what people say! It's hear!" Lise argued.
Julian chuckled, then sighed. "I believe this goes without saying, but I am so proud of you two. You saved the world and even got me back to normal."
"We got lucky," said Lilith. "A lot."
"Perhaps," Julian agreed. "And I am proud of your luck. But also your skill, teamwork and resolve. Especially the teamwork. Not everyone could have pulled off what you two did. Anyway, on to business."
"Business?" Ray asked.
"Firstly, your payment for the job," said Julian. "I fear I'll be bed-ridden for a few days or weeks, but I'll have my butler give you your money as soon as possible."
"Don't worry about that now," said Lilith. "We'll wait. Just get better."
"Thank you. Now, I've added in a bit of a bonus. I've commissioned a new airship, which I'd like the two of you to have. Currently, it's called the Eternal Eclipse II, but I understand if you want to change the name considering what happened to its predecessor. Talk to Nephele and Demetria before they finish the nameplate."
"What?" Ray and Lilith demanded.
"Consider this a 'saved-my-life' bonus," Julian said, chuckling. "It's bigger than the old Eclipse – certainly big enough to live comfortably in. You'd be able to fly your house around to tournaments. Let me tell you, tag-team tournaments have better prizes."
"Isn't this a little... sudden?" Lilith asked. "You're basically asking us to live together."
"There are other arrangements," said Julian. "But..."
"It sounds great," Lilith said eagerly.
"Seriously?" Ray asked.
"Yeah. I didn't really want to say it in front of the Ambrosias, but living with you would beat living alone," Lilith said. "Even if you do drive me crazy every once in a while."
"Hey," said Ray, ignoring her last comment. "What do you think of becoming masked tag-team duellists like Scrapman and Junkgirl? I think Sunman and Moongirl has a nice ring to it."
"That is without a doubt the dumbest idea I've ever heard!" Lilith cried. "Besides, I should be called Moonlady or Moonwoman."
"It's an awesome idea! See, we can get white and black capes and..."
Julian laid back in his bed – which was really more of a workbench with a pillow on it – and stared up at the ceiling. Well, father... He thought over the bickers of Ray and Lilith. You may have wanted to keep your genius blueprints around, but we've erased your final mistake from the world. This was for the best. Perhaps now, humanity can move forward without any fear of anyone setting us back. We're finally free. Infinite paths await us. I wonder which path humanity will pick...