"Duel!"
[Travis: 8000 / Savanna: 8000]
"I set one monster face-down, and then I'll set three more cards. That's the end of my turn." Savanna said.
"A more conservative player, eh?" Travis noted as he drew one card for his turn. His hand contained four Gemini monsters, a spell card he couldn't use at the moment and Card Destruction. "I don't really like this hand so I'll activate Card Destruction; we discard our hands then draw the same amount of cards we discarded." Travis said as he drew five new cards, a smile crossing his face.
"You have a terrible poker face." Savanna chuckled.
"What can I say? They're decent cards. I summon Dark Valkyria in attack position and set one card face-down." Travis said.
A pale faced fairy with silver hair appeared. The fairy wore purple armor and had black, almost mechanical looking wings. [ATK: 1800]
"Dark Valkyria attacks your face-down monster!" Travis announced as his Fairy monster fired a blast of energy towards the set monster.
"Negate Attack says otherwise." Savanna smirked. A strange vortex appeared in front of the set monster and absorbed the attack. Dark Valkyria snarled, disgruntled over being unable to successfully launch an attack with the vortex protecting the set monster.
"My turn is over." Travis sighed.
"Draw. I summon Ameba in attack position!" Savanna declared.
"Ameba?" Travis asked.
A strange blue gelatinous mass appeared on Savanna's side of the field. [ATK: 300]
"Next, I activate Creature Swap. We each select a monster on our respective sides of the field and switch control of them. I pick Ameba." Savanna smirked.
"Well, I don't have a choice so you can have Dark Valkyria." Travis sighed.
The two monsters teleported to the others position, Travis now in control of the strange jelly like creature and Savanna in control of his Dark Valkyria. Ameba suddenly latched itself onto Travis's duel disk and while the Gemini duelist was trying to shake it off, he lost a significant amount of life points. Ameba finally detached itself and fell down onto the fedora wearer's field after draining a quarter of Travis's life points.
[Travis: 6000 / Savanna: 8000]
"Ameba inflicts 2000 damage to my opponent when control of it is switched. Don't bother trying to give him back however, that effect only works once." Savanna smirked.
"That was very well-played." Travis noted, tipping his hat to the female duelist.
"Why thank you." Savanna laughed. "Dark Valkyria, destroy Ameba!"
The Fairy monster launched another magical blast of energy at the Aqua-type monster. With no vortex to absorb the attack this time, Dark Valkyria smiled as the Ameba creature shattered from the attack.
[Travis: 4500 / Savanna: 8000]
"It's your turn." Savanna finished.
"Draw. I activate my face-down Birthright to bring back the Phoenix Gearfried I discarded at the beginning of the match!" Travis announced.
In a bright flash of light, a soldier clad in white armor with vibrant orange flames on his shoulders appeared. The warrior gave a proud battle cry as he raised his sword, pointing it directly at Dark Valkyria. [ATK: 2800]
"So, this is your ace monster?" Savanna asked, folding her arms over her chest.
"Not exactly, but he's up there. Definitely number two or three." Travis replied.
"Considering he has no effect when he's summoned... I'd say he leaves something to be desired." Savanna said, shaking her head.
"Well, I'll show you another one of my monsters then. I activate the spell card Dragon's Mirror! I remove the Dawnbreak Gardna and Grasschopper from my graveyard to fusion summon Superalloy Beast Raptinus!" Travis declared.
The Frankenstein dragon exploded onto the battlefield, roaring loudly and shooting jets of blue flames into the air. It immediately turned its sights on Phoenix Gearfried and Dark Valkyria, bathing both creatures in blue flames and granting them their effects. [ATK: 2200]
Dark Valkyria's armor glowed as the orbs embedded in various parts of her body began to glow with a mystic energy. Gaining her effect granted her a Spell Counter, which also granted her 300 extra attack points. [ATK: 2100]
"Phoenix Gearfried, attack Dark Valkyria!" Travis commanded.
"I activate my face-down Scrubbed Raid! I send the other set card I have to the graveyard to end the Battle Phase!" Savanna countered.
"You're just forming an impenetrable defense now, aren't you?" Travis laughed.
"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. Are you done yet?" Savanna asked impatiently.
"I s'pose I am." Travis sighed.
"Excellent. I draw. Now, I activate Star Blast! By paying 1500 life points, I can reduce the level of the Brain Crusher in my hand by three!" Savanna announced. Three glowing stars flew down from the sky and smashed into the red-haired duelist.
[Travis: 4500 / Savanna: 6500]
"Now, since its level four, I can summon Brain Crusher!" Savanna grinned.
A hideous multiple-eyed insect with several sets of wings and a giant abdomen appeared. The insect screeched loudly and clawed at the air in front of it. [ATK: 2400]
"What a sight…" Travis murmured.
"Hehe, you should be nervous. Brain Crusher, attack Raptinus!" Savanna commanded.
Brain Crusher grabbed the patchwork dragon and held it tight with its claws, wrapping its arms around the beast's neck and pulling it down so it could latch its jaws onto the beast's skull. The crowd recoiled in horror as the creature did this, Raptinus eventually shattering into holographic shards.
[Travis: 4300 / Savanna: 6500]
Energy seemed to seep out of Phoenix Gearfried, but the drain was more easily seen in Dark Valkyria. The orbs on the body of the Fairy monster ceased to glow as she lost her Spell Counter and the 300 point bonus. Without Raptinus, both she and Gearfried were once again normal monsters.
"But my fun doesn't end there, oh no. During my Main Phase 2, I flip my Dummy Golem face up." Savanna grinned.
"Dummy Golem?" Travis asked, glancing in the direction on the MC for an explanation.
"When Dummy Golem is flipped face-up, the opponent selects one monster they control and switches control of it with Dummy Golem!" The MC announced.
"You can't be serious…" Travis whispered.
"That's right! I'm taking your Gearfried!" Savanna laughed.
A giant grey golem appeared. The golem exhaled and in the blink of an eye, it and Phoenix Gearfried had switched positions. [ATK: 800]
"So you've taken two of my monsters now. This is an interesting play style you have." Travis commented.
"Thank you. But actually, I've taken three of your monsters." Savanna smirked.
"I'm pretty confident in my math; I see Dark Valkyria and Phoenix Gearfried. Where's the third?" Travis asked.
"During my End Phase, Brain Crusher special summons one of the monsters it destroyed to my side of the field." Savanna grinned.
What appeared to be a large clump of slime exited the back of Brain Crusher's abdomen. The audience was revolted, but looked on with morbid curiosity as the lump began to move. Slowly, a long neck rose out of it. Shaking the slime off of it, the beast gave a mighty roar and revealed its form to be that of Raptinus. [ATK: 2200]
"…Oh my." Travis breathed.
"Yep. Plus, since I control Raptinus, all my Gemini monsters gain their effects." Savanna stated. Raptinus bathed Phoenix Gearfried and Dark Valkyria with its blue flames, granting them their effects.
"Draw. I set one card face-down and switch Dummy Golem into defense position. Your move." Travis said, shrugging his shoulders.
Dummy Golem crossed its arms over its chest and dropped down onto one knee. [DEF: 800]
"Draw. I'll use Dark Valkyria's effect, removing her Spell Counter to destroy Dummy Golem!" Savanna shouted. All of the orbs on Valkyria's body glowed as she fired a beam of dark energy at Dummy Golem, destroying the last monster on Travis's field.
"Phoenix Gearfried, attack him directly!" Savanna commanded.
"Go, Draining Shield!" Travis countered.
A shield appeared in front of Travis just as Gearfried brought his sword down. The shield absorbed the damage and healed Travis for the same amount, putting him at a healthy amount of life points.
[Travis: 7100 / Savanna: 6500]
"Resilient, aren't you?" Savanna said, shaking her head.
"I think it's one of my best qualities." Travis smiled.
"Hmph. Dark Valkyria! Brain Crusher! Raptinus! Attack him directly!" Savanna commanded. The three attacks struck Travis in rapid succession, dealing a total of 6400 damage to the Gemini duelist.
[Travis: 700 / Savanna: 6500]
"It's your turn. Not much that you can do though." Savanna chuckled.
"Draw. I summon Evocator Chevalier!" Travis announced.
A soldier in red armor who was brandishing a flaming sword appeared. Evocator slashed the air in front of him, sending sparks into the air. Raptinus bathed the creature in blue flames and granted the monster its effect. [ATK: 1900]
"So this is your last line of dense?" Savanna smirked.
"Not really. I activate Gemini Spark. By tributing Evocator, I can destroy your Scrubbed Raid and draw one card." Travis explained. Evocator Chevalier became cloaked in energy and the Warrior-type monster ran across the field, slamming headfirst into Scrubbed Raid, destroying it.
"What was the point of that? There's nothing you could've used to attack with anyway." Savanna scoffed.
"That's true. But it won't be soon enough. I activate Cup of Ace!" Travis declared as he slid the spell card into his duel disk. A large coin appeared in the center of the battlefield.
"Cup of Ace? You're really going to gamble at a time like this?" Savanna asked.
"Well, if I'm going to lose anyway I can't think of a better time to gamble." Travis chuckled.
The coin rose air into the air and began to flip around. Travis, Savanna, the MC and the crowd all watched as it descended and landed perfectly on its side. No one said anything at first, then after a few seconds the coin tipped to one side and fell over, revealing the result: Heads.
"So now I can draw two cards." Travis grinned as he drew from his deck through Cup of Ace's effect. He rearranged the four cards in his hand and nodded slowly to himself. "I set three cards face-down and end my turn." Travis finished. He smiled at the last card in his hand. As long as he held that card, he still had a sliver of hope.
"Draw!" Savanna announced.
"At this moment, I activate Forbidden Chalice to give Raptinus 400 extra attack points but negate its effect!" Travis announced. Raptinus roared as its strength increased but the other two Gemini monsters on the field seemed to slouch a little as their energy was robbed from them.
"That won't accomplish anything! But just in case your face-down is Magic Cylinder or something, Dark Valkyria attacks you directly!" Savanna commanded.
"I activate Birthright to bring back Darkstorm Dragon, the last of the monsters I discarded at the beginning of the match." Travis said with an oddly calm tone.
A thin black dragon appeared in a gust of dark wing. Screeching loudly, the creature flapped its wings and summoned a cyclone below it. [ATK: 2700]
"Since the field conditions have changed, I'll stop Dark Valkyria's attack. But if you want to play like that, fine. Phoenix Gearfried, attack and destroy Darkstorm Dragon!" Savanna snarled.
Phoenix Gearfried cloaked himself in flames and rose into the air. Flying forward, Phoenix Gearfried sliced through the dark dragon and destroyed it.
[Travis: 600 / Savanna: 6500]
"Now, Raptinus! Finish off your former master!" Savanna commanded.
Back in the stands…
"Well, he put up a good fight." Tasha smiled.
"He really did. I'm sure he had fun though." Kali nodded.
"…Wait a minute, what's he doing down there?" Tasha asked, leaning forward in her seat slightly. Kali gave the green-haired girl a confused expression and turned her attention back to the field.
Back in the stadium…
"Oh, I don't think you want to attack me. Not when I have a monster that's vastly stronger than yours." Travis chuckled as he put the last card in his hand onto his duel disk.
"What are you talking about?" Savanna asked.
Her question was answered mere moments later as a strange three-layered seal appeared on Travis's side of the field. A giant creature that resembled a jade green dogū appeared. The new monster had a seal on its forehead greatly similar to the one that it had just risen out of. [ATK: ? - 4000]
"4000 attack points? How you can play a monster like that during my turn?" Savanna asked, demanding an answer.
"I'll let him field this one." Travis chuckled as he glanced in the direction of the MC.
"Orichalcos Shunoros can be special summoned from the hand when a normal monster is destroyed by battle. Since Gemini monsters are treated as normal monster when they don't have their effects, Savanna fulfilled the requirements by destroying Darkstorm Dragon! Also, Orichalcos Shunoros gains 1000 attack points for every monster on your side the field for a grand total of 4000!" The MC explained.
"So that's why you negated Raptinus's effect…" Savanna growled.
"Exactly. Now, I do believe you have an attack to call off." Travis smiled.
"No, not exactly. I want your monster to be as weak as possible, so I have no problem sacrificing the monsters I won't need anymore. If I destroy Raptinus and Brain Crusher through battling Shunoros, sure I'll lose some life points, but it'll only have 2000 attack points left. Phoenix Gearfried will win me the match next turn." Savanna smirked.
"By all means, go for it." Travis smiled.
"Raptinus! Go!" Savanna commanded, pointing at stronger monster.
Raptinus shot a stream of blue fire towards the Orichalcos monster, who didn't react at all. A glowing ring appeared around its torso, which rose up over its head and then flew towards the Dragon-type monster, slicing it in half. As Raptinus left the field, Shunoros lost some of its strength. [ATK: 4000 - 3000]
[Travis: 600 / Savanna: 4700]
"Brain Crusher, you're up next!" Savanna continued
As Brain Crusher was lumbering towards it, Shunoros formed another glowing ring which sliced t he monster in half before it even reached him. As another hologram faded, Shunoros lost some more strength. [ATK: 3000 - 2000]
[Travis: 600 / Savanna: 4100]
"Your monster isn't so formidable now." Savanna chuckled.
"You're right, I'll have to remedy that. I activate Ojama Trio, giving you three Ojama tokens. Then, with three more monsters..." Travis smirked.
"No!" Savanna shouted.
The three speedo-wearing monsters appeared on Savanna's field, smiling at Travis as they all flopped down into a sitting position. [DEF: 1000] With the three Ojamas on the field, Shunoros was able to reach its maximum power level. [ATK: 2000 - 5000]
"Even attacking my weakest monster, I can still hang on." Savanna growled. She glanced at the two cards in her hand. Book of Taiyou and Soul Reversal. Nothing that could really help her here, since even if she used Soul of Reversal to get back Dummy Golem there was nothing worthwhile she could steal with it. Unless he summoned a another monster, taking control of Shunoros would just leave her with an over-sized paper she figured it was better for her to have it than him. "I activate Soul Reversal to put Dummy Golem on the top of my deck. Then... I end." She finished.
"Draw!" Travis said as he drew from his deck. "Well, it appears this is my lucky day." Travis smiled.
"What did you draw?" A slightly nervous Savanna asked.
"Junk Barrage." Travis said simply as he slid the card into his duel disk. Savanna's jaw dropped as she stared at the dogū monster who now glowed with an orange aura.
"But… that means…" Savanna growled. Her eyes raced across her field and fell on Dark Valkyria and its strength of 1800. "Damn it!"
"Orichalcos Shunoros, attack Dark Valkyria and finish this duel with Photon Ring Blast!" Travis commanded.
A glowing ring appeared around the Orichalcos monster. The ring rose up over the monsters head and then flew forward, slicing Dark Valkyria in half. The Fairy-type monster screamed loudly as it exploded, taking most of Savanna's life points with it.
[Travis: 600 / Savanna: 900]
"Now, since the monster that was equipped with Junk Barrage destroyed a monster and sent it to the graveyard," Travis paused, adjusting his fedora. "You take damage equal to half of that monster's attack points."
Orichalcos Shunoros raised its arms, which detached from its body and flew toward Savanna. They whizzed by Phoenix Gearfried's head and struck the female duelist, who sighed and lowered her head in defeat.
[Travis: 600 / Savanna: 0]
"That's it! Savanna's life points have hit 0, so that means Travis is the victor! Let's hear it for him!" The MC announced. The crowd broke into cheer and Travis bowed before making his way back into the waiting room.
In the stadium office…
"Huh. I thought for sure he was done for." Everest muttered.
"I had a hunch he'd pull through. He has the same tenacity as his father." Reynar chuckled.
"Oh yeah, that guys Dad owns the Martell Hotel. I didn't know you knew him though." Everest said, nodding slowly to himself and scratching his chin.
"Yes, he and I were friends back in the day. He would never back down from a fight that one. He'd always keep going until the last card was played. An interesting tidbit is that Mr. Aker is staying at his hotel." Reynar explained.
"Is that right?" Everest asked.
"Uhmm… sir? A thought just occurred to me in regards to Mr. Aker." Christine interjected.
"Go on." Reynar asked, a look of intrigue spreading across his face.
"That deck that was stolen from your lab all those years ago… wasn't it…." Christine trailed off, waiting for Reynar to come to the same conclusion she had.
"…Genex." Reynar whispered.
"You saw how he sent that boy flying before, plus he uses that deck… sure it could be a coincidence, but it's unlikely." Christine said.
"But he's registered as having been in Satellite all his life." Everest reminded them.
"That's never stopped Rugal before." Reynar muttered.
"So what do you think we should do?" Christine asked.
"Send anyone we have free right now to go… pay him a visit." Reynar said.
"Now? In the middle of the tournament?" Everest asked.
"Yes, right away. I'll see if Julius is free, maybe he can shed some more light on this guy's true character." Christine said. She excused herself from the group and headed off to find Julius.
"An excellent choice. Anyway, Demetri's match is next. So if he really is with Rugal like we suspect, then the less he sees of his deck the better. Besides, if he is using the deck we think he's using than he could be more dangerous than I thought." Reynar explained.
"Why is that?" Everest asked.
"In his extra deck there exists a card that shouldn't be." Reynar murmured. That was all the older man had to say on the matter.
Back in the waiting room…
"The fourth and final match of the first round will now begin! Will Demetri Bure and Winona Weaver please report to the dueling field immediately?" The MC asked.
Glancing around the room, Michael saw that Demetri was nowhere to be seen. Winona exited the room soon after, leaving only Gale, Travis and Michael himself.
"Alright, so what did you do?" Travis asked, fixing his gaze on Michael.
"I told you, I'll tell you somewhere else." Michael sighed.
"You can tell me here. Gale won't hear it if you talk quietly. I'm not even sure if he's awake. But if you're still worried we can go down into the garage." Travis suggested. Sure enough, a glance in Gale's direction revealed that the brown-haired teen was lying down on the couch, hands behind his head and his eyes closed.
Still feeling a little paranoid, Michael stood up and led Travis down into the garage. It was deserted, but camera lined the walls so there could be no tampering with someone else's Duel Runner.
"Well… alright," Michael sighed as he leaned against the wall. "I'm from Satellite."
Travis recoiled slightly but then composed himself, adopting a blank expression. "You're… from Satellite? But… the new security… and you don't have a marker." Travis muttered.
"I do. It's just hidden. I have this small patch of material covering it; you can't even tell it's there." Michael explained, sighing as he rubbed his fingers over the patch on his face.
Travis audibly exhaled and glanced around the empty garage. "So… you got a marker and all that… what'd you do? How did you even get here?" Travis asked.
"I was part of a gang that stole Duel Runners. I got caught once. They gave me a criminal mark; I did a little time in the Facility and got out." Michael explained, lowering his head slightly. "But you don't want to know my life story… well, maybe you do. But I'm not in the mood to tell it right now."
"So you're a thief?" Travis asked bluntly.
"I suppose. I tried to involve myself as little as possible. It's just so that they wouldn't steal my Duel Runner." Michael explained, but Travis was still skeptical.
"So that girl you're with, what did she do?" Travis asked.
"She hasn't done anything!" Michael snapped.
"Whoa, whoa. Calm down. It was just a question." Travis said, raising his hands. "So that just leaves the last few questions. How did you get here and why?"
"I went to the port and asked a man named Rugal to give me a lift on his ship. I won a duel that almost cost me my life and he made good on his promise and brought me here. He's the one who gave me this patch and his invitation to this tournament. As for why I'm here, I'm looking for someone named Jared Valcrist." Michael answered, getting a little fed up with these questions.
"So you came here illegally and registered in the Fortune Cup just to try and find one guy? I say you've gone above and beyond the call of duty. What'd he do, pull you and everyone you cared about out of a burning building?" Travis asked, a smile playing on his lips.
"He gave me my deck." Michael muttered.
"That's your reason? Jesus, remind me to get you to owe me a favor." Travis laughed.
"Well it's not like my life in Satellite was going anywhere …" Michael sighed.
As Travis opened his mouth to say something further, the door at the end of the garage started to open. The two duelists watched with confused expressions as a man entered the garage. The man had crew-cut chestnut-brown hair and donned a plain black t-shirt and blue jeans.
"Who are you?" Travis asked.
"Julius, that's all you need to know." The man replied as he walked towards the duo, activating his duel disk.
"Listen pal, we're in the middle of a tournament. Hey security, what are you doing?" Travis shouted. The two security guards merely looked on with blank expressions.
"This is on the order of the Director." Julius stated.
"How can he order something like this?" Travis growled.
"If both of you duel me, I'll tell you. If not, you might just find some new offenses on your record." Julius smirked. Travis opened his mouth to protest, but the look on the man's face showed he wasn't joking.
"We don't have a choice in this, do we?" Michael asked in a quiet voice.
"No, you don't." Julius chuckled.
"Fine." Travis snarled. The fedora wearing duelist activated his duel disk, Michael doing the same next to him.
"Duel!" The trio shouted in unison.
[Michael & Travis: 8000 / Julius: 8000]
"I will only play with 8000 life points as time is of the essence for you two gentlemen, because of this you two will share 8000 life points. Mr. Aker will go, then myself, then you, then back to me. Rinse and repeat." Julius explained.
"So why did you want duel both of us so badly?" Michael asked as he drew his opening hand. "I set one monster face-down, set one card and end my turn."
"Honestly I was only supposed to duel you, but to make things more interesting I figured I'd include your friend." Julius said as a card shot out of his duel disk and into his waiting hand. "I activate the field spell Zera's Path."
Behind the crew-cut duelist a branching path appeared. The left side slopped down towards a different field spell Michael recognized as Pandemonium, while the other path was inclined upwards, towards the glowing form of yet another field spell he recognized, Sanctuary in the Sky.
"It's two field spells in one…?" Travis mumbled.
"That's mostly correct. Next, I call forth this field's namesake: Warrior of Zera." Julius said with a smirk.
A muscular warrior with a green armor, green gauntlets and a helmet of the same matching color that had red horns appeared. The warrior's sword had a strange hilt that was a strange blue color with what almost looked like a face with yellow eyes on it. [ATK: 1600]
"Now, for the effect of my field spell. While Warrior of Zera is on the field, this cards name can be treated as either Pandemonium or The Sanctuary in the Sky until the end of the turn. I pick Pandemonium." Julius said.
The field seemed to move down the path until they reached the heart of Pandemonium. The sky was orange and lightning struck the field at random intervals. Zera gave a dark smirk and a low chuckle as lightning crashed next to him.
"I tribute the Warrior of Zera on my field to special summon Mazera DeVille from my hand!" Julius announced as he slammed the monster onto his duel disk.
Zera's eyes widened in horror and the warrior dropped his sword and began clutching his head and screaming in pain. Two green demonic wings erupted from the warriors back as Zera's armor began to fuse to his body. His hands became claws and another pair of red horns erupted from the helmet. The warrior threw back his head and howled, lightning striking him moments later and completing his transformation. As the smoke cleared, a demonic version of Zera stood there, drool dripping out of his gaping maw. [ATK: 2800]
"Mazera DeVille's effect activates! Since Pandemonium is on the field, you each discard three random cards from your hand!" Julius announced.
Michael frowned as all but one of his cards slid into the graveyard. He looked at the only one that remained. Genex Gaia. Well, it could be worse.
"This is the path of darkness. Zera lost his sanity and his humanity to gain the power of the Archfiends. He can destroy his enemies before they even enter the battlefield. That is the power the path of darkness has granted him." Julius explained.
"That's wonderful, now can you move it along? As you said, time is of the essence." Travis said impatiently.
"Where are my manners? Of course I can. Mazera DeVille, attack Mr. Aker's face-down monster!" Julius commanded.
"Negate Attack!" Michael countered. Mazera stopped his attack and returned to his master's field.
"I set one card face-down and end my turn." Julius finished. Zera's Path left Pandemonium and returned to area with the branching paths.
"Draw. I summon Tuned Magician, and then I'll activate Double Summon to summon Dark Valkyria from my hand." Travis started.
The Dark Fairy-type monster appeared in front of Travis. [ATK: 1800] Next to him, a magician in a white and light green robe who was wearing a long yellow and green pointed hat appeared. The magician chuckled to itself as it spun its staff around. [ATK: 1800]
"Then, I'll use Unleash your Power to have all my Gemini monsters gain their effects, but any monster affected by this effect will be flipped face-down during my turns End Phase. This means Tuned Magician is now a Tuner and Dark Valkyria gains a Spell Counter and 300 attack points. I'll remove the Spell Counter she just gained to destroy Mazera DeVille." Travis explained. Dark Valkyria gained a Spell Counter, which it promptly turned into energy which it then used to destroy Mazera DeVille.
"I can see where this is going." Julius smiled.
"Heh. I tune my level four Tuned Magician to my level four Dark Valkyria!" Travis began as Tuned Magician became four green Synchro gates and Dark Valkyria became four stars. "Thundering cries will awaken this beast from his slumber! Crush everything in your path! Synchro Summon! The bringer of ruin and renewal, Black Brutdrago!"
A huge black armored dragon appeared in front of Travis. Black Brutdrago arms were large, but its hind legs were small. The dragon bellowed loudly and slammed both of its arms down onto the ground creating a small shockwave. [ATK: 3000]
"Black Brutdrago, attack him directly!" Travis commanded.
The dragon roared and exhaled burning hot flames over the opposing duelist.
[Michael & Travis: 8000 / Julius: 5000]
"That ends my turn." Travis finished.
"Draw." Julius stated as another card shot into his hand. "I activate Soul Resurrection to revive Warrior of Zera."
The muscular warrior re-appeared on the field. [ATK: 1600] With a snap of his fingers, Julius made the field change to the Sanctuary in the Sky.
"By tributing Warrior of Zera while Sanctuary in the Sky is in play, I can special summon Archlord Zerato from my hand." Julius smirked.
A radiant light enveloped Warrior of Zera and two white wings erupted from the monsters back. His skin took on a purple hue. That was the last of the transformation Michael saw before he was momentarily blinded by the light. When it faded, the new Fairy monster was standing in Zera's place. [ATK: 2800]
"Now I'll activate Zerato's effect. By discarding one Light monster from my hand, all of your monsters are destroyed." Julius chuckled as he discarded Zeradias, Herald of Heaven.
Zerato raised his sword and a white light enveloped it. Bringing the sword down, blades of glowing white energy shot out of his sword and sliced through all the monsters on Travis's and Michael's shared field. Black Brutdrago exploded and the image of the R-Genex Accelerator which Michael had set appeared and exploded seconds later.
"When Black Brutdrago is destroyed, I can special summon one Gemini monster from my graveyard and have it gain its effect. I summon Darkstorm Dragon." Travis muttered.
From the remains of Black Brutdrago, a thin black dragon rose up and summoned a small cyclone below itself. [DEF: 2500]
"Zera headed to the Sanctuary in the Sky where he gained the power of the angels, becoming Zeradias, Herald of Heaven. As time passed, he acquired even more power until he became an Archlord. Archlord Zerato. This is the path of light, which gave Zerato the power to destroy all evil that stood before him." Julius explained.
"Why are you telling us all of this?" Michael asked.
"You'll see. Next, I activate Advanced Ritual Art and send Archfiend Soldier and Ryu-Kishin Powered from my deck to the graveyard to ritual summon Zera the Mant!" Julius shouted.
A ghostly image of Warrior of Zera appeared. Two more ghostly images appeared behind the Warrior as he turned his sword upside down. The images of Archfiend Soldier and Ryu-Kishin Powered became orbs of black energy which flew into Zera's sword. The eyes on the hilt of the sword glowed and blue goo erupted forth from the sword and ensnared Zera. The goo covered the warrior and with a deathly scream a pillar of darkness rose up, only to broken by the hideous blue from of Zera the Mant emerging from it. [ATK: 2800]
"This is the path of forbidden power. In his quest to get stronger, Zera sacrificed himself to gain the powers of a dark deity. He's been corrupted even worse than he would have had he walked the path of darkness and became Mazera DeVille." Julius explained.
"Zera the Mant attacks Darkstorm Dragon!" Julius commanded. The blue monstrosity sliced through the last line of defense on the two duelists shared field.
"Go, Zerato! Direct attack!" Julius continued. The angelic warrior slashed its sword and a blade of energy shot towards the two duelists.
[Michael & Travis: 5200 / Julius: 5000]
"My turn is over." Julius finished. The field left the Sanctuary in the Sky and returned to the branching paths.
"Draw." Michael said. He stared at his drawn card in relief. Swing of Memories. He could use this to bring back the Genex Controller he discarded at the start of the match. "I summon Genex Gaia and then I'll activate Swing of Memories to special summon Genex Controller!"
A tall dark brown bipedal robot took the field. The robot wielded a scythe and stood perfectly still on the field. [ATK: 1000] Next to it, Michael's signature Tuner monster appeared. [ATK: 1400]
"I tune my level three Genex Gaia to my level three Genex Controller!" Michael started as both of his monsters rose up into the air. "The controller of the elements calls forth the impenetrable defense of the Earth! Mountains will create an impassable wall which no enemy shall pass! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Geo Genex!"
A huge brown floating robot appeared from the Synchro gates. Crossing its arms over its chest, Geo Genex turned blue due to being in defense position. [DEF: 2800]
"Turn end." Michael finished.
"Draw." Julius said as his duel disk ejected another card into his hand. The man scowled and shook his head. "I end my turn."
"Draw." Travis started. "Well Michael, it looks like you bought us the time we needed."
"What are you going on about?" Julius asked.
"I activate Monster Reborn to revive Black Brutdrago!" Travis grinned as the huge black dragon appeared behind its master. [ATK: 3000]
"Curses." Julius muttered under his breath.
"Black Brutdrago, destroy Archlord Zerato!" Julius commanded.
The dragon exhaled a torrent of flames which reduced the angelic warrior to ashes.
[Michael & Travis: 5200 / Julius: 4800]
"Your move, Jules." Travis chuckled.
"Draw." Julius said as his duel disk deposited another card into his hand. "I set one card face-down and switch Zera the Mant into defense mode. That will be all." Julius said as the blue beast crouched down. [DEF: 2300]
"Draw! I summon Genex Ally Bellflame!" Michael grinned. "Next, I'll switch Geo Genex into attack mode and activate its effect.
The red robot with the blue visor and flamethrowers mounted on both of its shoulders appeared. [ATK: 1700] Geo Genex uncovered its chest and bellowed loudly. [ATK: 1800] The Synchro monster glowed with a brown aura of energy which faded quickly, but the purpose of it became clear as Geo Genex's attack points rose. [ATK: 2800]
"How did you do that?" Julius demanded.
"When I control a level four or lower Genex monster, I can use Geo Genex's effect to switch his attack and defense until the End Phase as long as a level four or lower Genex monster is face-up. Now, Geo Genex! Crush Zera the Mant!" Travis ordered.
Pulling back its colossal fist, Geo Genex punched the hideous blue monster. The ritual monster gave one final, pathetic roar as it shattered into pieces leaving Julius exposed.
"Black Brutdrago, Bellflame! Attack him directly!" Michael continued.
The flames the two creatures shot out merged to create a great tidal wave of fire which washed over the field of their foe.
[Michael & Travis: 5200 / Julius: 100]
"Your move." Michael finished, smiling with satisfaction.
"Draw." Julius said, nodding his head as he stared at his draw. "I activate Faustian Bargain. I send one special summoned monster on either side of the field to the graveyard to special summon one level four or lower normal monster, like Archfiend Soldier, from my hand. Since your Black Brutdrago isn't destroyed, you won't get a replacement monster." Julius smirked.
The purple skinned monster cackled evilly as its hologram appeared on the field. The monsters biege cape fluttered about behind it despite the lack of wind. [ATK: 1900]
"Next, since I have four Dark monsters with different names in my graveyard, I can summon this card with one tribute. I tribute Archfiend Soldier to summon Darklord Zerato!"
An evil version of Archlord Zerato appeared. This version had black skin and red armor, and its wings were red and bat-like. [ATK: 2800]
"I activate Pot of Avarice. I return Warrior of Zera, Ryu-Kishin Powered, Archfiend Soldier, Archfiend Soldier and Mazera DeVille to the deck, shuffle the deck and draw two card…" Julius started, his voice trailing off as he drew two more cards. "I activate Riryoku. I halve the attack of your Geo Genex and add it to Darklord Zerato, bringing his total up to 3700." Julius said.
"Well this isn't good." Michael grumbled.
"I'll discard the Mazera DeVille I just drew to activate Darklord Zerato's effect, destroying all monsters on your side of the field." Slamming his sword into the ground, black energy shot forth from the sword towards the remaining two monsters. The monsters shrieked in terror as their bodies were enveloped dark energy. The energy faded away, taking the monsters with it as it disappeared.
"Damn it all." Travis cursed.
"This is the last path of Zera. The path of betrayal. One by one he felled his allies in the Sanctuary in the Sky, staining his wings red and transforming him into the monster before you. But enough of that, now for his effect, Zerato, direct attack." Julius ordered.
The Darklord flapped his red wings and charged forward, slicing both the Genex and the Gemini duelist across the chest.
[Michael & Travis: 1500 / Julius: 100]
"Michael… I hate to break it to you, but I don't think I have anything left in my deck that can defeat his Darklord." Travis sighed.
"The path of betrayal took its toll on the Darklord, and after using the strength he once used to vanquish evil to vanquish good, he couldn't live with himself." Julius said. As the words were leaving his mouth, Zerato shattered into several holographic pieces.
"He… destroyed himself?" Michael asked.
"After using his effect, Darklord Zerato is destroyed during my End Phase. So if you can draw a monster, Mr. Martell, this is the end of the line for me. But know that if you don't, every monster in my deck has more than 1500 attack points." Julius said.
"Well, every monster in my deck has more than 100 attack points." Travis said coldly.
"Touché. But will you be able to draw one?" Julius asked. Travis went silent and stared at his deck for a moment.
"…Draw!" Travis shouted, drawing the top card from his deck. He didn't look at it for a few seconds, but when he finally turned it over his face lit up. "Yes! I summon Magical Reflect Slime!"
A blueish-purple slime formed on Travis's field, a small smile crossing Julius's face as it formed. [ATK: 700]
"So this is as far as I go." The opposing duelist chuckled. Just to know how close he would've come to victory, he picked up the top card of his deck and smiled. It was Warrior of Zera. Returning it back to the top of the deck he looked up at Travis and waited for the final attack order.
"Magical Reflect Slime, direct attack!" Travis commanded.
The slime flew forward and latched onto Julius's duel disk, draining the last of the Zera duelist's life points.
[Michael & Travis: 1500 / Julius: 0]
"Alright, so what's the big deal? Why did you come here and what's with all this 'path' stuff?" Michael asked, taking a few steps towards the defeated duelist.
"My task was to keep you occupied so you'd miss Demetri's match." The crew-cut duelist admitted.
"That's a dirty trick!" Travis shouted.
"An order is an order," Julius shrugged. Now let me ask you a question, Mr. Aker."
"What?" Michael asked warily.
"I showed you the paths of Zera. The path of light, the path of darkness, the path of forbidden power and the path of betrayal. Which one will you walk?" Julius asked.
"From what I've seen, those paths only lead to darkness or destruction. I'd rather not walk any of them." Michael answered.
"Haha… just as I expected. Looks like you'll remain an enigma until the end." Julius laughed.
"An enigma until…" Michael glared at Julius as he started putting the pieces together. "You're working with Tabitha then! You guys still won't believe me! I keep telling you, I'm not associated with that guy in any way!" Michael shouted, clenching his fist.
"Ah… I trust your words. He might not however. But let me warn you of one thing. I posed Cain the same question I posed to you. He told me would walk all of the paths to obtain a power like no other. A puzzling answer, but he's walked three of them already…" Julius said, his voice trailing off at the end.
"Cain… You mean the King said he'd walk the path of light, darkness, forbidden power and betrayal?" Travis asked. Michael made a mental note that the Kings real name was Cain and he could now put a face to the pictures he'd seen which had labeled him as the King without giving his name.
"Yes…" Julius said. The crowd outside of the garage erupted into deafening cheer and the MC's voice boomed loudly proclaiming that the match was over and Demetri was the victor.
"Damn it. I'm going up against him and I have no idea what to expect." Travis said, cursing under his breath.
"My time is up, I must go." Julius said. He left without another word, the Tabitha and the male security guard who had been watching the duel closing the garage door behind him.
"Will Gale Brenner and Michael Aker please report to the track?" The MC asked.
"Come on, you're up." Travis said, patting Michael on the back. The Genex duelist smiled and mounted his Duel Runner, already exiting out onto the track as Gale was entering the garage. About a minute passed before Gale's Duel Runner pulled up next to him.
Back in the stands…
"Tch. I should be the one down there dueling Gale." Warren growled. The large duelist had headed up into the stands and took a seat in front of Rugal.
"Oh calm down. I want to see how he'll be able to cope against this one's strategy." Rugal chuckled. "Now, Michael Aker, will you continue to surprise me?"
Zera's Path
Field Spell
While you control a face-up "Warrior of Zera" you can have this cards name be treated as "Pandemonium" or "The Sanctuary in the Sky" until the End Phase.
So its been awhile, but life can be like that. Also when I reading through this chapter again I noticed I'd main two pretty large mistakes in both of the duels, so I had to rewrite quite a bit. But hopefully you enjoyed this. That's all from me, so I'll wish you a good day and see you all next time.