Author's Note: A few days ago, I read a guest review for this story asking why I haven't done a lemon of Yuma and Kotori in this story. There's a very good reason why I haven't, but I'm not going to share what it is at this time. I will say at this time is that the reason has to do with the next story in this trilogy, but that is all I will say. That said, on with the story.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 9: Mizael's Crisis
"Um, I'll be going first." Lucy shyly announced as she drew her first card. "I summon Skilled White Magician in Attack Mode."
Appearing on Lucy's side of the field was a man in white hooded robes carrying a silver staff with a blue orb mounted on top. His chest and shoulders were covered in large pieces of silver armor with gold trim. Mounted in the pieces of armor were three round blue gems similar to the one atop the wizard's staff.
"Next I activate the Spell, Reload." Lucy announced. "This card lets me shuffle my current hand into my deck to draw a new hand. And because I played a Spell card, one Spell Counter is placed on Skilled White Magician." At this, one of the gems in the wizard's armor lit up. "Next I play another Spell, Magical Mallet. I shuffle one card back into my deck and draw a new one." A second of the magician's gems let up. "I set two cards on the field. That ends my turn."
"Looks like she's playing some kind of Buster Blader or Dark Paladin deck." Kaito observed from the sidelines. "Mizael! You need to be careful! This girl's deck might be pure poison to yours!"
"I don't need your concern, Tenjo! This girl is no threat to me!" Mizael declared as he drew his first card. He scowled as he looked at his hand. "I play the Spell, Reload and shuffle my hand back into my hand to draw a new one!" The third gem on the White Magician's armor lit up.
"That move of yours just gave the White Magician another Spell Counter!" Kaito told Mizael.
"Be silent, Tenjo!" Mizael ordered. "Her magician may have three counters now, but she can only activate his effect on her turn. And I'm not going to give her that chance! I summon Sunspot Dragon in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on Mizael's side of the battlefield was a winged bipedal dragon that looked to be made almost completely of fire. It had a single white horn on the back of its head, and on its body flared several dark spots that seemed to shrink and disappear every now and then.
"Your magician only has 1700 ATK, which is a hundred ATK points weaker than my dragon!" Mizael pointed out to Lucy. "Sunspot Dragon, attack the White Magician! Solar Flare-Up!"
"I activate my Trap, Emergency Mage Summon!" Lucy announced. "This card lets me send a Skilled Dark Magician or Skilled White Magician with three counters on it to the Graveyard to bring out the monster it summons from my hand or deck. So I send Skilled White Magician to the Graveyard to summon Buster Blader!"
Just as Mizael's dragon opened its mouth to attack, the magician raised his staff in the air and was enveloped in a pillar of white light. The light faded to reveal an imposing warrior covered head to toe in purple and silver armor. On his head, which was completely covered in armor, were two long lightning bolt-shaped horns. His right hand carried a massive sword with a curved blade that rested over his shoulder.
"Dammit, I was afraid something like this might happen!" Kaito spoke. "Those two cards that girl set out on the field were obviously put there to protect the White Magician or speed the power of his effect. You should've thought of that, Mizael!"
"Shut up, Tenjo!" Mizael snapped. "I don't need any of your backseat dueling!"
"I'm only trying to help, you hardheaded fool!" Kaito told him.
"Um, Buster Blader gains 500 ATK for each dragon on my opponent's field and in their Graveyard." Lucy spoke, getting their attention. "So right now, his ATK goes up to 3100. Now I activate my other facedown card, Dragon Bait. This card forces all my opponent's monsters to attack Buster Blader this turn."
Suddenly Sunspot Dragon opened its mouth and fired a stream of orange flames at Buster Blader. The dragon slayer swung his massive sword and cut the blast down the middle. He then charged forward and sliced Mizael's dragon in two. The two pieces shattered and Mizael's life points dropped to 2700.
Mizael gritted his teeth in frustration. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"
"That's all?" Lucy sadly asked as she drew her next card. "I was hoping this duel would go on a lot longer. But I guess… I have no choice. First though… I'll equip Buster Blader with the Spell, Dragon Scale Shield."
A small shield-like piece of armor appeared on Buster Blader's left forearm, attached by two brown leather straps. The armor was covered in silver scales.
"And now… Buster Blader, attack Mr. Mizael directly." Lucy commanded, as tears seemed to come to her eyes. "Destructive Sword Flash!"
Buster Blader charged in to deliver what looked like would be the finishing blow. But before he could land an attack, a large silver-blue stone suddenly dropped down from above and struck the ground, creating a small fiery explosion. Lucy's life points suddenly dropped down to 2400. As the smoke cleared, the stone that hit the ground suddenly broke open. The two halves of the stone became wings for an orange-red crocodile-like dragon that was inside.
"What… what happened?" a surprised Lucy asked.
"Because I was being attacked directly, I was able to summon Asteroid Dragon from my hand in Defense Mode." Mizael explained. "And when Asteroid Dragon is summoned using this effect, my opponent takes 400 points of damage for each card in my hand."
"You're…" Lucy began as a huge smile, "you're amazing! You're just as strong as I hoped you'd be! Just as strong as my darling Lance!"
"Lance?" Mizael repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Uh-huh. Lance Jackson. Surely you've heard of him." Lucy replied. "He's only the best duelist there ever was."
"Wait a minute… I think I've read about that guy." Kaito recalled. "He was a champion duelist who was widely known as the gold dragon tamer. He swept several major tournaments until one day he just disappeared."
"T-that's right." Orbital 7 replied. "According to the data I've just found, he simply vanished on his way back from a major tournament while traveling with his girlfriend. Neither of them was ever found."
"Lance was so kind to me when we first met." Lucy dreamily went on. "He found me on the street after my parents had beaten me again and took me in for a while. He even taught me how to duel. I loved him so much. No one was could ever have loved him as much as I did."
"What happened to Lance?" Kaito asked.
At this, Lucy's expression darkened. "He… he only pretended to care about me. The only one he seemed to have time for was that tramp he was with. She could never have loved Lance the way I did. So I got rid of her! It was the only way Lance and I could be together! But he only got mad at me, so I had no choice but to get rid of him too. But… but I always carry his best dragon card with me, so he and I are always together still."
"S-s-she's insane!" a horrified Orbital 7 declared.
"Since my darling Lance, I've looked all over the world for dragon users as strong as he was. But none of them so far have ever measured up." Lucy continued. "But I think it'll be different for you and me, Mizael darling."
"So that album we found before was of all of this girl's previous victims." Kaito realized. "Mizael's really up against a dangerous opponent here."
"Now then, I believe it's still my turn." Lucy continued. "Your Asteroid Dragon may have 2700 DEF, but it's no match for the 3600 ATK my Buster Blader now has. Buster Blader, attack Asteroid Dragon with Destructive Sword Flash!"
"I activate my Trap, Mirror Force!" Mizael quickly announced as the dragon slayer charged in for another attack.
Buster Blader's massive sword struck a barrier of light that suddenly appeared in front of Mizael's dragon, causing a massive explosion. But when the smoke cleared, the dragon slayer was still on the field. The only thing that had changed was that the shield strapped to his left arm had vanished.
"What… what's the meaning of this?" a shocked Mizael demanded to know.
"When a monster equipped with Dragon Scale Shield would be destroyed, I'm able to destroy Dragon Scale Shield to protect that monster." Lucy explained. "Now then Buster Blader, finish my darling Mizael's dragon off."
Buster Blader swung his massive sword again and cut the dragon in two. In an instant, both halves of the slain Asteroid Dragon shattered into particles of light.
"I end my turn." Lucy happily announced. "It's your move, Mizael darling."
Mizael drew his next card. "I activate Sunspot Dragon's effect from the Graveyard! By banishing Sunspot Dragon, I can summon two level eight dragons from my deck! I summon two Schwarzschild Limit Dragons!"
A pillar of orange flames shot up from the ground in front of Mizael. In moments the flames subsided to reveal two slender brown serpentine dragons, each one with a set of three red eyes.
"Oh wow! Are you going to summon that Number dragon I've hard so much about?" Lucy asked.
"You're not worthy of facing Tachyon!" Mizael told her. "I overlay my two level eight dragons to Xyz Summon Galaxy Kaiser Dragon!"
A swirling purple vortex appeared in the center of the field and pulled in Mizael's two dragons as balls of purple-blue energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was a mostly black bipedal dragon with sparkling scales. Its chest and stomach along with the front of its neck were white, and in the center of its chest it had a swirling vortex resembling a small galaxy. On its back was a pair of large red bat-like wings, and on the top of its head was a single blade-like horn that pointed forward. Orbiting around the dragon were two balls of purple light.
"I activate Galaxy Kaiser Dragon's effect!" Mizael announced. "By detaching one overlay unit, I can negate the effects of one monster my opponent controls and reduce its ATK by 2000 until the end of the turn!"
One of the balls of light orbiting the dragon entered the miniature galaxy in the center of its chest. A white beam then shot out of the same galaxy and struck Buster Blader, causing his armor to turn grey.
"Galaxy Kaiser Dragon, attack Buster Blader!" Mizael commanded. "Supreme Cosmic Flare!"
The sparkling dragon opened its jaws and blasted Buster Blader with a powerful stream of purple-blue light. The dragon slayer was hit and exploded in a mass of fire and smoke. Lucy's life points took a steep drop to 200. When the smoke cleared, however, a new monster had appeared on Lucy's side of the field. It was another dragon, slender with sickly grey scales and a beak-like snout. In place of arms it has two large black-feathered wings, and its legs ended with a pair of large talons.
"And just what is this" Mizael asked.
"Since I took battle damage, I was able to summon Vulture Dragon from my hand in Defense Mode." Lucy explained. "Just so you know, my Vulture Dragon's ATK and DEF are equal to the damage I just took."
"Then I end my turn." Mizael announced.
Lucy drew her next card. "I activate another one of Vulture Dragon's effects. By banishing two cards from my Graveyard, I can summon a monster from my Graveyard in Defense Mode with its effects negated. So I banish Emergency Mage Summon and Dragon Bait to bring back Buster Blader!"
The Vulture Dragon let out an unpleasant and very high-pitched screech that forced Mizael and Kaito to cover their ears. The sound also caused a few sparks to shoot from Orbital 7's head. In moments a dark circular portal appeared on the ground and Buster Blader rose from it in a kneeling position.
"I overlay my level seven Buster Blader and Vulture Dragon to Xyz Summon Cosmic Dragon Slayer!" Lucy announced.
A black vortex appeared in the middle of the field and pulled in Lucy's two monsters as balls of grey energy. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was another warrior that greatly resembled Buster Blader, though there were some major differences. This new warrior's armor was pitch-black instead of purple, and instead of the horns Buster Blader possessed he had a head of long light-blue hair. On the front of the silver chain-like belt around his waist was the yellowed skull of a small dragon. The armor of his arms and legs seemed to have some sort of fishnet-like covering, and in his right hand was a very large jeweled sword similar to Buster Blader's, but the blade was more jagged and there was a small dragon skull on the end of the white handle. Orbiting around the warrior were two balls of blue light.
"Next I activate the Spell, Xyz Treasure and draw a card for each Xyz Monster on the field." Lucy announced. "And now… Cosmic Dragon Slayer, attack Galaxy Kaiser Dragon! Dragon Death Blade!"
"But my Kaiser Dragon has 2800 ATK!" Mizael reminded her. "That dragon slayer of yours is 200 points weaker!"
"Uh-huh, but when my Cosmic Dragon Slayer attacks a dragon, he negates whatever effects that dragon might have and gains 1000 ATK during the battle." Lucy told him.
The dragon slayer charged forward and cut Kaiser Dragon down the middle. The two pieces shattered to bits and Mizael's life points dropped to 1900.
"Now I activate Cosmic Dragon Slayer's effect." Lucy announced. "By detaching one of his overlay units, Cosmic Dragon Slayer can take the dragon he just killed as a trophy and equip himself with it as armor."
One of the balls of light orbiting around the dragon slayer entered the black jewel on the crossguard of his sword. The warrior began to glow with a blue light and his armor suddenly began to change. His back gained the same red wings that Galaxy Kaiser Dragon had, and his chest became covered in the same black and white scales. The center of his chest also gained the same miniature galaxy that Mizael's dragon hid in its chest. The white skull of Galaxy Kaiser Dragon also appeared on Cosmic Dragon Slayer's right forearm as a piece of armor.
"Cosmic Dragon Hunter gains half the ATK of each Dragon monster he wares as armor." Lucy continued. "Meaning that right now, he has an ATK of 4000."
"Are you done yet?" Mizael asked.
"Yep! I'll just set one card on the field and end my turn." Lucy cheerfully announced. "Your move, Mizael darling."
"Let's make one thing clear, you demented girl. I will never love you." Mizael told Lucy. "The only woman I love is the one you have chained to that bomb of yours. I don't know what you think there is between you and I, but I could never bring myself to care about a twisted creature like you."
A hurt expression appeared on Lucy's face. "You… you don't mean that!"
"As far as I'm concerned, you can just die!" Mizael told her.
"Oh boy. I-I'm not sure if what Mizael just did was such a good idea." Orbital told Kaito.
Lucy's right hand clenched into a fist at her side. "…So, you say you could never love me? Well we'll see about that! I'm going to make you love me with this duel! Once I beat you, I'll kill that little kitty cat tramp of yours! Then you'll have no one else to love but me!"
"I'll break your neck before I let you harm Cathy!" Mizael declared.
"Make your move, darling." Lucy told him with a mad smile.
"Indeed I shall!" Mizael replied as he drew his next card. The card he drew glowed with a brilliant red light. "I play Rank-Up-Magic The Seventh One!"
"Mizael, wait!" Kaito called.
"Using the power of The Seventh One, I bring forth Tachyon Dragon to Xyz Summon Number C107: Neo Galaxy-Eyes Tachyon Dragon!" Mizael announced.
A swirling vortex in the form of a galaxy appeared in the center of the field. Rising out of the middle was a large slender golden object that somewhat resembled a top. The object unfolded and expanded to become a massive gold mechanical dragon with gigantic wings and three heads. On its body glowed the number 107 in alien writing. On the ground near the dragon was a single red diamond-shaped crystal with gold plates.
"I activate my face-down card, Demise of the Land!" Lucy suddenly announced. "With this card, I activate 10X Disruption Zone from my deck!"
Suddenly the surrounding area inside the building turned completely grey. Neo Tachyon's body turned completely grey as well and the crystal on the ground near it lost all of its color.
"No!" Mizael exclaimed.
"Please try not to struggle, darling." Lucy requested. "You and I will be together soon, even if I have to kill you."
Author's Note: One of the reasons the duel between Mizael and Lucy was so hard to write was because I wound up creating more than a few cards for both of them. I made new monsters for Mizael that would fit with his deck's whole space dragon theme, and in the early stages I decided to make up an ace card for Lucy that fit her whole tendency to hunt down dragon deck users and take their cards. The result being Cosmic Dragon Slayer, which I also ended up making into sort of an anti-Galaxy-Eyes card. Appearance wise, Cosmic Dragon Slayer ended up being a cross between Buster Blader and the Predator alien from the well-known Predator films.
Please review and let me know what you think.