Yu-Gi-Oh!: Traitorous Savior
What you see yet cannot see? Vega thought to himself. What does that mean?
Savior turned his attention back to his field. "You think about that, Vega. I'm sure you can multitask. Meanwhile, I'll use this reverse card. Trap Card. Fine."
Vega furrowed his brow. "What the…?"
"From the effect of Fine, I must discard 2 cards to my graveyard." Savior slipped two cards from his hand and placed them into his graveyard. Vega saw the cards. Monster cards called Doom Shaman and Shadow Delver. Now he only had 3 cards in his hand as he gripped another and slipped it into his Spell/Trap Card Zone. He ended his turn at that.
"My turn. Draw." Vega said, observing the situation. Savior only had his Lucky Pied Piper (1500/500) out in attack mode, but now with two reverse cards. Vega only had his Troop Dragon (700/800) in defense mode as well as a reverse card. He looked down at the back of it on the field, his Fires of Doomsday Quick-Play Spell Card. It would help him bring out his Red-Eyes Black Dragon but he hadn't drawn it yet.
Fires of Doomsday allows me to Special Summon 2 Doomsday Tokens to the field that can only be used in a Sacrifice Summon if the monster is a Dark monster. I can use it to gather the sacrifices necessary for Red-Eyes, but it'll work as a barrier against Savior if all else fails. He looked at his drawn Spell Card, Graceful Charity and decided to use it. Vega played it and drew 3 cards. Among those 3 cards, he didn't draw Red-Eyes. Considering his options, he discarded his Level Down Spell Card and The Dark – Hex Sealed Fusion to the graveyard. He would go on the offensive now.
"I'll play this card from my hand. Spell Card! Fissure!"
A sharp crack that sounded more like a report from a handgun split open a large gash in the earth below Lucky Pied Piper. The little monster, despite its wings, was caught completely off guard and fell into the crevice without a sound. Savior didn't voice his displeasure either but his body language betrayed his annoyance with Vega's move.
"With that monster out of my way, I'll sacrifice Troop Dragon (700/800) to summon Kaiser Glider! (2400/2200)" The card version of Kaiser Glider appeared on the field and after a second, the picture section of it began glowing white and shooting light out onto the field. Out of that light, the shape of a winged dragon took shape and the monster materialized onto the field. The monster was without any kind of armor, but the way that its sections of skin were shaped and the placement gave you that sort of impression. It had a golden glow all over its body, even through to the wings.
"Kaiser Glider can't be destroyed in battle with a monster that has the same attack points that it does. Not like it matters, Savior. Without a monster out to defend you, I'll attack you directly!" Kaiser Glider, which had been hovering silently above the field in front of Vega, gave a flap of its wings to attain a slightly higher altitude and opened its mouth wide. What seemed like rays of light started to collect in the monster's maw, expanding more and more as it collected more light. When it had enough to completely fill its mouth, Kaiser Glider dipped its head down and aimed its head at Savior and let loose its energy as a golden colored fireball that left a small tail as it traveled toward him.
"You destroyed my monster…" Savior said as a Trap Card flipped up on his field. When it was standing up fully, the face of the card began glowing white and two bolts of lightning shot out of the card's face. They crossed the field quickly, struck Kaiser Glider, and before the monster could utter anything, it exploded into a mass of golden colored pixels.
"So I return the favor!"
"Grr…A trap?" Vega grunted.
"Yes. When you attacked, Vega, I activated this Trap Card. Justi-Break."
"Justi-Break?" Vega questioned.
"When my opponent attacks one of the Normal Monsters on my side of the field, I can activate this card. I can destroy all monsters on the field except Normal Monsters in attack mode."
Vega silently thought to himself, Another effect of Kaiser Glider is to send one monster on the field to the owner's hand. But there's no monster on the field for Kaiser Glider to use its effect on. So neither of us have monsters on the field.
Savior took his turn and drew his card. "Now you're the one without any monsters out to defend yourself with. I'll play this card, Equipment Spell Card, Premature Burial!" A glowing cylinder of light appeared on the field to Savior's right. At the same time, a red aura surrounded him and Vega saw his Life Points decrease to 3200.
VEGA: 4000
SAVIOR: 3200
"When I use Premature Burial, at a cost of 800 Life Points, I can Special Summon a monster from my graveyard in attack mode and equip it with this card. I'll summon a monster that I put in my graveyard due to my Trap Card, Fine. I'll Special Summon the Gemini Monster, Doom Shaman! (2400/2000)"
The card of the monster that Savior Special Summoned appeared on the field. From the card, a long black staff topped with a purple crystal of some sort appeared in front of it. Otherwise the staff was very inconspicuous. All of a sudden, the staff that had been hovering on the field began to move like it was being held. The staff started to spin much like a windmill does; slowly at first and then with more speed until it just turned into a sort of transparent circle of black and purple on the outside. As it kept spinning, the outline of a monster could be seen slightly through the spinning object. More and more of the monster began to come into focus. The monster itself was barely as tall as the staff that was in front of it. The monster fully came into focus behind the staff and with a steady hand reached out and grabbed the rapidly spinning staff without as much as a jerk from the inertia.
"Since this is a Gemini Monster and I haven't made a Normal Summon this turn yet, I'll use it now on Doom Shaman." On that command, the monster reared back a little bit and a white aura surrounded the outside of the monster. Vega looked at it as the proof that a Gemini Monster had been 'Second Summoned' and now gained its effect.
"So what does this monster do?" Vega asked, tightening the grip on his cards. He saw Savior look briefly at the back of Doom Shaman then back to him. Much as he tried, he could not hold a gaze at Savior for very long. He always found himself looking away to his cards in his hands or the monsters and cards of Savior's field. But when he turned his attention to Doom Shaman, he didn't miss the laugh he let out.
"Doom Shaman's Gemini effect…Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Fiend-Type monster from either graveyard. But when Doom Shaman leaves the field, I must destroy all monsters that I Special Summoned by this effect."
Vega's mood soured instantly. Once a turn, he can put another monster out on the field for absolutely nothing!
"Doom Shaman, return to me my Shadow Delver!"
Doom Shaman, who had been standing stock still since being on the field, just raised its staff off the ground only until it was just above its head. The purple gem on the end of it began to glow and small dark clouds started to gather around both the staff and Doom Shaman. As the gem stopped glowing, so did the movement of these clouds. Eventually, they settled as just hovering masses covering portions of Doom Shaman. Vega didn't see any monster, but saw a counter appear on the field revealing its stats (1500/500).
Where is it...? Vega looked around but didn't see anything but those clouds that were new to the field. He stared harder at those clouds and was greeted by the sight of nearly invisible eyes that were staring at him the whole time. Dark blue with no iris', they just coldly took in Vega's field. And at that monster, Vega smirked as he slipped a card into his graveyard. "I was hoping in a way you'd Special Summon a monster, Savior."
Savior didn't even get to mutter a 'what' before a crack that sounded like thunder crashed. Wind from an unseen source was blowing on Vega's side, whipping his hair around wildly. He pointed ahead of him with an open palm.
"Savior! When you Special Summon a monster to your field, I can Special Summon Dragon Ice (1800/2200) in defense mode from my graveyard to the field! By discarding one card from my hand, I can protect myself from Doom Shaman!"
Savior, unexpectedly, nodded in agreement.
"What?"
"You're partially correct, Lamar Vega. If you pull anything from this duel, I will show you that I don't take things for granted! Spell Card, Double Summon!"
At once the same white aura that surrounded Doom Shaman encircled the small black clouds that were hovering around the same monster. It slowly floated off toward the side into its own space. It didn't form into anything solid and tangible, just a small mass of clouds that had shadowed eyes.
"Double Summon allows me an extra Normal Summon once per turn in the turn I use this Spell Card. Of course, I'll target my Shadow Delver." Savior looked over at the cloud mass to his right now. "Shadow Delver's Gemini effect. Once per turn, I can select one level 4 or lower Dark monster that I control and allow it to attack you directly for that turn. For this turn, I only have my Shadow Delver as the only level 4 Dark monster on the field. I'll use its effect on itself."
Vega sucked his teeth and felt the tension of the duel start to get the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. Every move Savior was making was backing him into a deeper and deeper hole. Doom Shaman, once per turn, could Special Summon a Fiend-Type monster from either graveyard to his field for nothing. This comboed almost seamlessly with the effect of Shadow Delver. A good percentage of Fiend-Type monsters are Dark attribute. With this combination, he could bring out a small monster that his own monsters would not be able to defend against due to Shadow Delver's effect.
What can I do...? Vega wondered to himself.
"Battle! Doom Shaman (2400/2000) attack Dragon Ice! (1800/2200)"
All Doom Shaman did was to slightly raise its staff into the air again, this time aiming it slightly toward Vega's field and his monster. What looked like thin needles began to form around the scepter until a fairly large amount was gathered. Without a command or anything, they propelled themselves toward Dragon Ice, striking it, but not piercing it. Each impact was followed by the sound of cracking glass. Eventually, as the attack ended, the monster had been carved up into millions of shattered bits that wafted away.
"Your field doesn't have any monsters to protect you. Shadow Delver, (1500/500) direct attack! The small swirl of clouds didn't seem to move on Savior's command but Vega could see that the clouds were acting like little storms. Unexpectedly, the clouds blasted Vega with a intense wind interlaced with icy crystals. The instant snowstorm forced him back a few inches from his position and he watched his Life Counter tick down a little.
VEGA: 2500
SAVIOR: 3200
"I'll end my turn." Savior said, crossing his arms and expectantly awaiting Vega's move.
Vega shook off the snowstorm and was poised to draw. Things are not going my way. I need to draw Red-Eyes to turn this duel back to my favor before it gets beyond control. Come on...
"Draw!" Vega turned to look at his drawn card.
Spear Dragon. (1900/0)
"…damn." He muttured.
Savior, intently watching Vega, did not miss the dissatisfaction Vega had with his draw. He seemed to be looking for something now and obviously whatever he had drawn was not what he wanted.
Still, this can help me knock off a few of his Life Points. Vega thought, flipping the card onto his Duel Disk. "I'll summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) in attack mode!"
A large, blue skinned dragon popped out of the card version of itself on Vega's field. Its backside was blue as were the wings but the front hide was a very light tan color. It stood on stubby feet but had a broad wingspan. Its face was reminiscent of a pterodactyl, long and pointed with small eyes and an overall birdlike look.
"Spear Dragon, (1900/0) attack Shadow Delver! (1500/500)"
Vega's dragon opened its mouth and a vortex of swirling air tore through the space between it and Shadow Delver. The speed of the attack caught the little clouds of Shadow Delver up and shot them off into the far distance behind Savior. Savior didn't seem to mind much, however. Vega couldn't get a feeling for him, with Savior's mannerisms.
VEGA: 2500
SAVIOR: 2800
"When the Damage Step ends, Spear Dragon moves to defense mode. I'll set one reverse card and end my turn." Vega said, allowing Savior to make his next move. He silently drew his card and then activated the effect of his Doom Shaman. Vega expected him to call back Shadow Delver and use its effect to take another chunk of his Life Points. He was surprised to see his own graveyard start to glow.
"What the!" Vega exclaimed, holding the Duel Disk away from him.
"You really seem to have forgotten that Doom Shaman lets me Special Summon a Dark attribute monster from either of our graveyards." Vega's mind quickly went and inventoried the cards he had played in this duel. Out of them, there was only one Dark monster that he had summoned and was resting in the graveyard.
"My –" Vega started.
"Snipe Hunter!" Savior finished.
The small mechaniloid monster reappeared on the field, just on the opposite side that he had been at the beginning of this duel. Vega looked down at his reverse card. With Snipe Hunter out, he can destroy one of my monsters plus have an additional attack with the same monster. Once a turn, he can take down potentially three of mine and the only monster I have is my defense position Spear Dragon.
Think this through. Worst case scenario? He wipes out my monster with Snipe Hunter's effect and attacks me with both monsters. I can still use my Fires of Doomsday Quick-Play Spell Card to Special Summon two tokens to defend me. The only problem with that is that without them, I'll have no way to summon Red-Eyes if I lose them.
Another scenario? He misses with the Snipe Hunter's effect. Leaves me with two options from this. He attacks directly with Doom Shaman and I'm left with only 100 Life Points and one draw on my next turn. Or he attacks directly, I chain with Fires of Doomsday, but still lose one of the sacrifices I need.
What should I do?
Already, Snipe Hunter's backpack was beginning to glow with that mixture of colors and it was already traveling through the cord that connected the backpack to the monster's weapon. Savior stated his target as Vega's Spear Dragon. The large white die appeared in the center of the field as well. After stating his target, Savior initiated the dice roll. Both players watched as the die jumped straight into the air, bounced once, bounced twice and then started to slowly turn and settle. It landed on a 1.
"1! Snipe Hunter's effect only activates if you roll a number besides 1 or 6, Savior!"
Savior, annoyed by the outcome, instead turned Snipe Hunter toward Spear Dragon. This attack destroyed Vega's monster, leaving him defenseless. He remembered his Fires of Doomsday card. The question was whether or not he wanted to use it now to preserve his Life Points…or take away his one chance to summon Red-Eyes.
"Your field is wide open, Vega! Doom Shaman, direct attack!"
Instinctively, Vega raised his Duel Disk up to trigger his reverse card, but he hesitated. His right hand hovered right above the trigger, but he didn't use it.
Savior noticed, narrowing his eyes and wondering what was keeping Vega from countering. It seemed obvious that he could use that reverse card on his field to do something against the attack of his Doom Shaman, but he was hesitating. Something was holding him back from doing it. By this point, his monster had shot out another storm of needles toward Vega. Vega had only seconds left to react. The needles were coming closer. Likewise, his finger was getting closer to pressing the trigger. Then the needles came crashing down upon him. Unlike before, these didn't just strike the ground and fall away. Instead, these individually exploded upon contact. The blasts kicked up a cloud of dust that covered Vega's field.
Savior couldn't be certain, but he believed that Vega had activated his reverse card. He didn't hear him announce it though. The smoke was slow to clear and it was hard to see Vega through it but he could definitely make out his silhouette in there. And on the ground next to him was a reverse card, unactivated.
VEGA: 100
SAVIOR: 2800
Savior thought to himself for a moment. Whatever that card is, it has to have some good potential. I don't think it was something that would negate my attack or destroy my monster. A card like that, he wouldn't hesitate to use. No, there's something else to that card that he sees.
Savior lined the last card in his hand up to play in his Spell/Trap Card Zone. "I'll play Gold Sarcophagus." Vega watched as Savior took his deck out of the holder on his Duel Disk and started searching for a card. He took the time to explain to Vega that Gold Sarcophagus allow him to take one card from his deck and remove it from play. On his second Standby Phase after he uses it, he can add the card he selected to his hand.
"I'll choose…Gemini Lancer. (1800/1400)"
Vega wondered to himself what this Gemini Monster was capable of but Savior answered for him. "Just so you know, when this Gemini Monster is Normal Summoned, when this monster attacks a monster whose defense points are lower than the attack points of Gemini Lancer, the difference is inflicted to you as Battle Damage. That ends my turn."
If I can't get to Red-Eyes, then this is it for me. I have to draw Red-Eyes. Vega placed his fingertips on top of his deck. He pulled the card free slightly, exhaled a long breath, then ripped it from the top of his deck. He let the card hang over to the right side. He turned his head to look at it.
A Spell Card called Stray Lambs.
Vega inwardly smiled at his dry luck. Not what he was looking for but not bad though. Looks as if I 'might' get one more chance. But if Savior summons another monster, im finished.
"I'll play Stray Lambs!" Vega said, slamming the card into his Duel Disk. "With this Spell Card, I can Special Summon two Sheep Tokens to my field in defense mode. But by using this card, I can't summon any other monsters for this turn."
With no cards left in his hand to play, Vega ended his turn with the two Sheep Tokens that were reminiscent of Scapegoat Tokens protecting him. But as soon as he saw Savior draw his card, he activated his Fires of Doomsday Quick-Play Spell Card.
"What?" Savior questioned as he saw two silver spheres appear on Vega's field that were roughly the size of the Sheep Tokens he had summoned on his turn. Now there were four tokens on his field that were protecting him.
"Stray Lambs and Fires of Doomsday both have one rule about them in common. In the turn that I use them, I cannot summon any other monsters to my field."
Savior caught Vega's meaning. By using Stray Lambs on his turn, he couldn't summon any other monster. So to keep himself safe, he used his Fires of Doomsday on my turn to increase his defense. But all of them are nothing but delays for time for a man out of time.
Without Savior's needing to say, the numbers appeared before one of Vega's two Sheep Tokens and another white die appeared on the field, due to Snipe Hunter's effect. He rolled the die and watched it roll and spin.
It landed on a 1.
Savior cursed then pointed to his Doom Shaman, "If I can't get your Snipe Hunter to cooperate, then I'll use the effect of my Doom Shaman! Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Fiend-Type monster from either graveyard or my hand."
Vega snapped his hand down to his last remaining reverse card. "I was waiting for that moment! Reverse Card, Open! Disappear!"
Vega's card flipped up onto the field and in an instant, it glowed in a soft red hue that compressed itself into a beam that crossed the field and struck Savior's Duel Disk, forcing a card out of it.
"What!" Savior stammered.
"Disappear is a Trap Card that lets the controller select one card from their opponent's graveyard and remove it from play. Savior, aside from my Snipe Hunter which is on the field and your own Shadow Delver in your graveyard…no other Fiend-Type monsters are in either of our graveyards!"
Savior smiled as he took the card that Vega had targeted with his Trap Card. "Removing my Shadow Delver so that Doom Shaman couldn't revive it?"
"Absolutely." Vega said.
"But did one part of Doom Shamans effect slip by you, Lamar Vega, King of Games? I can Special Summon a monster from my hand as well."
Vega, indeed, hadn't forgotten. But he noticed that Savior had not made a Normal Summon for this turn up to the point he intended to use Doom Shaman to Special Summon Shadow Delver. Shadow Delver's effect to make a level 4 or lower monster able to attack directly would end the duel for him with only 100 Life Points left. With that monster removed from play, the only way he could use Doom Shaman's effect was to pick a monster from his hand. Vega had no play he could make if Savior did that.
Vega watched keenly as Savior seemed to reach for a card out of his hand but instead stated, "It's fortunate for you that I don't have a monster that I can Special Summon with Doom Shaman in my hand. Instead, my monsters will destroy the two Sheep Tokens and then I'll end my turn."
Vega didn't watch as his two Sheep Tokens were destroyed. He had his head lowered and saw bits of them pass by and over his deck. He was focused on the top card of his deck.
"No cards in your hand, no monsters in play, no effects that can save you. Even if you manage to summon a monster to defend yourself with, I can use the Gemini Lancer that I removed from play with Gold Sarcophagus in my next turn."
Again, these words were heard by Vega, but he didn't heed them with a response. His focus was the top card of his deck. Red-Eyes was still resting somewhere in his deck, but Vega was down to his final options.
The situation reminded him of the end of his duel against Terry in the Battle City Semi-Finals. Terry had brought his Fusion Monster, The Omnibus – Epsilon to the field and had managed to crush his Red-Eyes. Before the duel had began, Vega had asked Terry if he thought it was enough to just beat Re'-Sha in a duel to set things right. Right before Epsilon attacked, Terry said to him that he didn't believe that it would be enough. And he was right. In the following duel, both Terry and Re'-Sha managed to tie each other by managing to bring Exodia to their hands at the same time. In the resulting duel that followed, Terry managed to barely defeat her. But not without his share of damage. He even thought at one point through the duel that Re'-Sha had crippled him since he dueled on his butt. But when he emerged the victor, he promptly took the Millennium Ring from her but then returned it. As he understood it, on a spiritual level, Terry mind-wiped Re'-Sha and left her as a confused ghost in a trinket.
But it was what Terry said to him that Vega recalled at this moment. When asked if just defeating him would be enough, Terry said it would not be. He looked at this new adversary in Savior. A full fledged adult that believed what he was doing was the right thing but to do it, he had to destroy Vega's life. An adult that is supposed to lead the next generation to do better than him was destroying his future to preserve…peace as he called it.
Defeating this man here and now will not end things. Its going to take more to end this. It'll take more work and more of everything I have to settle it afterwards. But to even get to that step on my road, I have to get these monsters, this Shadow Delver and Doom Shaman off my road, out of the way of my future!
Vega placed his fingertips softly onto his deck. "Red-Eyes…" he whispered softly. He slipped the top card away from his deck and placed it in front of his eyesight, but he closed his eyes. But he smiled to himself.
"It's in my hand." he said simply.
"Red-Eyes Black Dragon?" Savior said, looking at him and making note of the fact he hadn't looked at the card yet.
"I don't have to. I just know. The feel of this card? It's a natural feeling to my fingers. Like joining two pieces of a puzzle into one."
Vega opened his eyes and indeed glared at his Red-Eyes Black Dragon.
"My turn! I'll sacrifice my two Doomsday Tokens…"
The two tokens on Vega's field started to fizzle and turn into small, tiny bubbles that floated and hovered around Vega's field. They didn't disappear, they just hung in the air like black raindrops.
"To summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon! (2400/2000)"
Vega's card appeared on the field and as soon as it materialized, all of the bubbles were absorbed into the face of the card. As the card absorb took in more of the bubbles, it started glowing whiter and whiter. When there were none left, the card just stopped glowing and returned to its natural state. Then, suddenly, a sharp noise split the still air like the sound of glass being cracked. Looking closely, Savior could see that the entire card had a crack through it like it was now glass. Another noise and the card seemed to splinter more. With one more burst, the card shattered and a dark shade came over Vega's side of the field. Like a black sackcloth, the entire area behind Vega was covered in darkness. From within that darkness, Savior saw movement.
"Red-Eyes! (2400/2000) Attack Snipe Hunter! (1500/600)" Vega yelled.
The movement that Savior saw started to move more hurriedly. Some kind of light was making its way into that darkness that allowed Savior to see just the outline of the demonic dragon. But he could see something different now, a orange mote of light that was growing larger and larger. Only too late did he realize that it was a fireball that was screaming toward him and his monsters. He had little time to react to the impact of it against Snipe Hunter, blowing the monster away instantly but creating a massive shockwave that threatened to knock him down. Along with that, a small halve spherical shell of fire surrounded the area around where Snipe Hunter once stood.
When it all calmed down and Savior could see things clearly again, Snipe Hunter was gone. Along with the dark shroud that had been covering Vega's field. In its place was his monster, a very skinny, almost skeletal looking dragon. Upon every joint stood some kind of sharp looking protrusion. The very nature of the way the dragon was shaped signified its intent to destroy anything that blocked its path.
Very much the same as the duelist controlling it.
VEGA: 100
SAVIOR: 1900
Vega didn't say anything. He stood with his hands to his sides and staring hard at Savior.
Savior, however, was looking up at the dragon. When he looked down to Vega, their eyes met for a brief moment. But then Vega looked away again.
"Your move." He said, letting his eyes rest on Doom Shaman.
Savior smirked slyly.
In the last turn, Savior didn't have a monster he could Special Summon from his hand with Doom Shaman's effect. So if he doesn't draw one now, the only way I can see him destroying Red-Eyes is to attack with Doom Shaman. A suicidal attack. I have no cards in my hand, but he only has one.
The thought occurred to him that the only way for him to currently inflict more damage to Savior might be to do the same thing. The thought sickened him. Not a chance. I will find a way to win and I will do it without sacrificing Red-Eyes.
"Draw." Savior said, pulling the card free from the top of his deck and looking at it immediately. He smirked slightly. Vega felt a shiver go through his neck.
"It's a pity." Savior said, keeping the card concealed almost completely but turning to Vega. Vega could see the green outline of it behind the hand that was covering the name, face and effect of the card he had.
"A Spell Card." Vega said to himself with a small bit of relief. But then he saw Savior's Duel Disk begin to glow softly in a golden hue.
"In this turn, two Standby Phases have passed since I used Gold Sarcophagus. So I can add Gemini Lancer to my hand and I'll summon it now!"
Vega watched the monster appear on the field and knew immediately what Savior was planning. He felt crestfallen upon realizing he was about to lose this duel.
"All I have to do is attack your Red-Eyes with Doom Shaman and then-" Savior began but Vega interrupted.
"Just do it."
Savior looked at him, but didn't issue the attack. "Lamar Vega, King of Games, you seem pretty worthy of that title. But I will ask you directly one last time. You would consider my offer?"
Vega bristled, slightly admiring his nerve and looked Savior directly in his crimson eyes longer than he had up to that point. "Absolutely not."
Savior didn't retreat from Vega's stare. The two didn't say anything for at least half a minute. At that point, Savior closed his eyes.
"After reading about you, I was sure that you would understand my cause."
Vega scoffed. "Whatever books or articles you might've read about me were completely wrong then. Nothing that you offer interests me."
"I suppose not. Of course, I haven't disclosed all the purposes, methods and history of the Shang Dynasty. If you were to hear them, I'm certain you'd change your mind."
"I doubt it." Vega said in a resolute tone. "But I love a good story."
"No, I do believe you would be swayed. But if you're not willing to listen, I won't allow you to walk away with information like that. I have people to look after and decisions to make."
"Let me ask you something, Savior. Despite what it is you're hiding, I want to ask you. Do you have kids?"
Savior closed his eyes for a brief moment, but then opened them again. "Had kids."
"You had kids…so you know what its like to father a child." Vega said quietly, but the quietness in his voice gave way to a shouting rage. "In that case, you're might be the most despicable, vile and irresponsible parent I've ever met in my life!"
Vega clenched a fist and pointed it at Savior threateningly. "Parents are supposed to nurture their kids, bring them up with love, teach them responsibility. I don't see much evidence of that within you."
Savior disregarded the boundries of his duel field and stepped forward past his monster. Slowly, he crossed over past the midway point of the field, speaking as he went.
"Lamar Vega. You are a teenager. In the first stages of your life, deciding what you want to do with the rest of the time you've been granted to live. What would you possibly know about how to raise someone?"
With those words, Vega's memory touched on his time spent in an orphanage. Time he spent alone with no real friends and also no real parents to call his own. Something that he wanted more than anything else. He never knew of his real parents, just that they apparently threw him away. To see someone else do the same to others infuriated him.
"Not much." Vega admitted, "But I do know that the way you go about 'saving the world' is pathetic. You're no hero. You talk about being a leader and some kind of saint. Or 'Savior'. Don't make me laugh! You sacrificed the future of others to save the past!"
Savior exhaled a long, slow, deliberate breath. He looked over to his left, seemingly like he was looking at the scar that made up a good portion of his left eye.
"Lamar Vega, you don't know anything of sacrifice." He growled fiercely. He looked down at his left hand, tightly enclosed in a fist. "You don't know a damned thing of real sacrifice."
"You face is a petty comparison to my future that you're trying to destroy."
"Face?" Savior gave up a series of dry laughs that sounded more like coughs. Vega had noticed that his demeanor and tone had changed significantly. He seemed less like the man that sort of casually introduced himself as the mastermind behind the museum robbery. And more like what he actually was, a complete stranger to Vega. An unknown that he had no idea of what he was capable of. A threat.
"Don't insult me with a remark like that. This scar on my face is a reminder of what kind of father I was. And a reminder of what I went through to become who I am today."
"You're nothing but a fraud and a coward."
"You say I'm destroying your future, Lamar Vega…In order to have a future, it is built upon the foundations of the past. Heh, you have no such foundation, orphan."
Vega cringed internally. He knew about his orphan hood.
"Because I know what your foundation, your past, is all about."
"What?"
From beneath his jacket, Savior produced a manila envelope that he waved in the air. "Data and information I managed to collect about you, Lamar Vega, King of Games. Don't insult me. I am a leader, a general. I don't go to a battle without knowing all that I can know about my enemy, even if I wanted to turn that enemy to an ally. In this folder…is a key to your past, Lamar Vega. Who your parents were. What your parents are. And most importantly, why you were abandoned. It is a truly sad story once you sit and read it and I truly pity you."
Vega scoffed at him, not interested in his pity. "What makes you think I believe you or whatever is in that?"
Out of the folder, Savior produced a long, rectangular piece of paper that Vega recognized immediately. His eyes opened wide.
"T-That's my…"
"A check from an anonymous sender to you, Lamar Vega. Pretty big amount of 6,000.00 US dollars. If I'm not mistaken, this is the very check you used to leave your orphanage and travel here to Japan a few years ago, right?"
Vega responded with a question of his own. "Where did you get that?"
"The question you might want to ask me is 'what else is here?'" Savior said. "I lead a nation of people, Lamar Vega. I am not some petty thief, if that's what you believe. If I make a move, I plan three moves after that move. If you come at me, I will have more than one way to defeat you or sway you. If you run from me, I have resources available to me that will capture you or keep track of you."
Savior put the folder down on the ground. Then oddly, he put his Duel Disk back into its Standby Mode, ending the duel.
VEGA: 100
SAVIOR: 1900
(DUEL TERMINATED)
"What…?" Vega said aloud.
"I'm convinced you'll come to my side, Lamar Vega. I'm so convinced that I will let you go."
Vega, not believing he was 'captured' at all, asked what he meant by that. Savior reached into his pocket for something but Vega didn't see what it was. Off to his left side on the rooftop of a nearby building, he saw three figures step away from a rooftop doorway that had concealed them. They stood in a line, completely clad in black from head to toe and had masks that concealed their faces.
"You will not escape unless I will it, Vega. I plan ahead of time for any type of emergency. I am the general, so you can't outwit me."
Vega heard some movement behind him. Whipping around, he saw two more figures similarly clad in all black like the two on the rooftop to his side. They had made their way up the ladder that led back down to Suzuku's apartment. He was surrounded, but none of them made any kind of move toward him. They just stood there.
Vega turned back to Savior, who by this time, had taken the Duel Disk off his arm and slung it back across his hip. He looked at Vega.
"Don't concern yourself with trying to capture me. Unless you're capable of taking these men out first."
Vega let a grunt of disproval escape his throat, which enticed Savior to smirk at him in a leery kind of way.
"Take the folder. I have no need for it. But I'm sure once you find out just what kind of heritage you truly have, you'll have no real kind of desire to stay in a world where everyone you see is your enemy. Particularly when you shouldn't exist in this world…I'll tell you this. The real reason I chose you and your friends from that tournament was really just a coincidence. The only ones that really could interfere with my people would be Terry Hairston or Kwandao Kawamura. They were the ones that needed to be targeted. That and their Millennium Items."
Savior moved past Vega who himself was staring at the manila folder on the ground. "Good night, Lamar Vega."
Vega didn't bother to turn around. He heard rather than saw Savior and his men retreat down the ladder. He did perk up his ears to hear if a door opened. That sound would alert him of someone entering Suzuku's apartment. No noise came, just the sound of shuffling footsteps that faded away.
He was left alone on the rooftop with himself, that manila folder and the thoughts Savior left for him to ponder. Was he good or evil? And what did he mean by 'what you can see, yet cannot see'?
Savior stepped into the waiting car's rear seats and the driver took him away from the building. Inside the car was Rina.
"He didn't accept the offer." she said, stating the obvious as he was returning alone. Disappointment was reflected in her voice.
"No, but I believe he'll turn to us eventually." Savior said, optimistically.
"How?"
"Well, that information you pulled up on him, actually." Savior said, leaning forward into the seat and resting his chin on his palms. He looked at the passing buildings as he spoke.
"You didn't use it against him?" Rina asked, as she thought Savior would use it as a bargaining chip against Lamar Vega as a means for him to join Savior.
"No, I gave it to him. Leverage would not work against him."
"Gave it to him? Why?" Rina asked, confused.
"To learn something that terrible is where you came from, on a kid as young as he might be, it's something that can cripple you. You lose desire for life, for fun, in his case for dueling as well possibly. I'm certain he's disbelieving of it, but there's no disputing it."
"On the other hand, though." Savior said with a frown crossing his face, "That kind of tale could forge a kid into a monster."
"How do you mean?" Rina asked.
Savior shifted his seat so he was leaning back into the seat, allowing it to relax him. "I relate to him, Rina, I really do. His suffering mirrors mine. After I lost everything, I became lost. But I was fortunate to be able to climb back from that hell. Looking at Vega, I feel he could do the very same. But whether he emerges from that hell as an ally, an enemy or a neutral is hard to tell."
"There will be some shock from realizing his past. He might go from disbelief to depression to acceptance. When the time comes for him to take action again, its not a sure thing what he may do. He may join us. He may continue to seek to oppose the Shang Dynasty."
He opened his eyes and looked out behind him at the shrinking image of the building he was at.
"Or it's entirely possible he'll just crack."
Rina looked at him closely. "So in other words, there's three things he might do. He might join us, he might oppose us, or he might just become so depressed he isn't a threat anymore."
Savior nodded. "Exactly. Two of those three possibilities favor the dynasty and I'm willing to bet that he will take one of those two."
Rina asked what may happen if he chooses to oppose them. Savior cracked his knuckles and slowly smiled at that continually shrinking building.
"We'll see…"
Rina cleared her throat. "So what do you plan to do now?"
Savior let the smirk fade away and his face was more serious. "As far as Lamar Vega goes, I don't believe he will interfere with us. I want to know what these others are up to if anything."
Rina looked over at a folder that she had in her lap. "They haven't been seen since the robbery. Or captured either."
Savior's brow wrinkled up at this news. "It's only been two days. They might've just gone into hiding. I do wonder, however…"
"Savior?" Rina asked.
"These people all knew each other from that tournament in the US that they all participated in, yes?"
"That's right."
"I'm wondering if they all haven't come together and are hiding together somewhere. Safety in numbers and all."
"Well, what's the point of that to us?" Rina asked.
"It could hurt us. Pooling whatever resources they have together to make things difficult for us. Like a second home for them."
Rina expressed skepticism. "It doesn't seem likely. I don't think they all are close friends or anything."
Savior fell silent for a moment. He was pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, his way of telling others he was thinking and to please not disturb him with unnecessary things. He stayed this way for a while, slowing inhaling and exhaling deep breaths.
"No, Rina. I think they may be congregating somewhere. And I want to flush them out. Cause dissention and chaos among them. When you're erratic and irregular, you're prone to make mistakes. Mistakes that can only favor our situation."
"Rina, the man that you dispatched to collect the Dragon Bones in the US? I have a new task for him. I want him to begin searching that city for those kids."
"Is it really necessary, Savior?" she asked. "We have allowed people in similar situations to just wander until they were apprehended. You believe it would not work in this situation?"
Savior shook his head in disagreement. "Those situations were not as laced with the potential for disaster as this one is. No assumptions can or should be made about these kids. If Lamar Vega was searching for a way to clear his name, as he was, then the others may as well. Have him begin to search for them. If he finds them, let me know and then wait for further instructions."
Rina reminded Savior that they were scheduled to depart from the US with the Dragon Bones within 2 days. She asked if she wanted them to possibly send the Dragon Bones back to the dynasty and continue the search until it was completed.
"No." he said firmly. "No delays in returning the Dragon Bones. If they can't find them in two days…have him just return with the Dragon Bones back to the dynasty."