As Mike and Silvers duel with Yami was starting, James and Akiza had their own fish to fry.
"Damn it!" James thought. "There's no way through his defenses!"
LP
James/Akiza 2400
Chosen 10000
The guy had two traps on the field, Astral barrier, which allows him to change any attack to a direct attack, and Spirit barrier, which as long as he had a monster made all battle damage to him 0. He also had Jam breeding machine, which summoned a token monster every turn at the cost of not using any other monsters.
This made it impossible to get at his lifepoints, and on top of that he had the Bad reaction to simochi trap, which turned all healing into damage. And he kept playing healing cards.
"To end my turn I play Rain of mercy! This gives us both 1000 lifepoints!"
LP
James/Akiza 1400
Chosen 11000
"My turn!" James yelled, he glanced around, the green circle of Orichalcos had been active for a few turns already. He looked down at his hand and saw he was shaking. There was nothing in his deck left that could take this guy down, and he knew it! He looked over at Akiza. Despite her being only five, she looked at him with a face that said "Don't worry, trust me."
James closed his eyes, ignoring the taunts and put his trust in this child. He looked at his hand and saw a card that wasn't his. He and Mike had lent each other a card for kicks, He had given his Red Dragon Archfiend, while he got this. He hadn't seen much use, but perhaps Akiza could find some use. "I summon Makyura the Destructor!"
In a black spot, a demon wielding long steel claws and the eye of wjdat came forth.
Makyura the Destructor
Dark
Fiend
Lv.4
ATK/1600
DEF/1200
When this card is sent to the graveyard, you can activate traps from your hand.
"I set a facedown and activate my trap! Descending lost star! This lets me revive a synchro monster in defense with no effect and 0 defense! Come back, Stardust!"
The great white dragon appeared amidst a shower of glitter.
Stardust Dragon
Wind
Dragon
Lv.8 (lowered to 7)
ATK/2500
DEF/2000 (lowered to 0)
Effect negated
"I end my turn."
"Ha! This is the end for you, Psychic! I draw!" He looked at his cards and grinned in a way that made James sick. "I activate the spell card Upstart Goblin! I draw a card and due to the effect of Simochi, you take 1000 damage!"
"No!" James yelled, "I activate Synchro barrier! I sacrifice Stardust To protect me from all damage until the end of my next turn!"
As he said this, Stardust dissolved into a billion specks of light, the galaxy moved in from of James as a beam of light shot towards James, it reflected the blast and both disappeared.
"Humph! That won't be enough to save you! I set a card and end my turn!"
"Thanks James, you set up my play perfectly!" Akiza said, Before she could draw, James said "Remember why you lost before though, you need to balance your power plays with combos."
"Whatever!" She said. "Did Jack Atlas balance, or did he go for power?"
James rolled his eyes. "Actually in episode 113…"
"I was being sarcastic." Akiza muttered.
James frowned. "She'll never learn…"
"I draw! And now I summon Twilight Rose Knight!"
Amidst a flurry of black rose petals a short man in black armor rose from the ground.
Twilight rose Knight
Dark
Warrior
Lv.3
ATK/1000
DEF/1000
Your opponent cannot attack plant monsters. When this card is normal summoned, special summon 1 Lv.4 or lower plant monster from your hand.
"I use his effect to summon Bird of Roses!"
Another flurry of red petals and a bird made of rose plants flew out of them.
Bird of Roses
Wind
Plant
Lv.4
ATK/1800
DEF/1500
When this face up attack monster is destroyed in battle, Summon 2 plant tuners from your deck in face up defense.
"Now I tune my level 3 Knight to my level 4 bird!"
Twilight rose knight turned into green rings, which Bird of Roses flew into and turned into four stars. A beam of bloody light shot through.
"Freezing flames engulf the entire world. Pitch black flower, sent into bloom! Synchro summon! Destroy now! Black Rose Dragon!"
A whirlwind of thorns appeared, I was glad the were only holograms or we'd be torn to shreds. Out of the beam of sanguine light flew a huge dragon with a black body and torso/wings completely covered with massive red rose petals. Thick thorny vines sprouted from it's body.
Black Rose Dragon
Fire
Dragon
Lv.7
ATK/2400
DEF/1800
When this card is Synchro summoned, you can choose to destroy all cards on the field. Once per turn, you can remove from play one plant from your graveyard to change 1 monster you opponent controls to attack and reduce it's attack to 0 until the end phase.
"I activate it's effect to wipe the field!"
A wind storm came from black rose dragon, destroying all the guys traps and tokens, along with Makyura and finally, Black Rose itself.
"Now that Makyuras in the graveyard, I can play these two traps from my hand! The first is Wicked Rebirth! By paying 800 life, I can revive any Synchro from my graveyard with its effect negated, but it can't attack right away, so be reborn! Black Rose!"
A flash of light came from her graveyard and Black rose Dragon flew from it to resume it's place on the field.
"The second card I'm playing is Graverobber!"
I turned to Akiza, "Wait, when did you get that?"
She shrugged, "Some weird guy gave me a bunch of cards, said I was meant to have them, then he like, turned to smoke."
I was taken aback. "Wait, what?"
She shrugged again, "Dunno, but I remembered what Silver said back then about balance, I won't change my fighting style, but I figured one extra card wouldn't hurt." She looked up at me with a wicked grin.
"I use graverobber to use any trap in your graveyard at the cost of 2000 damage, which is negated because of Synchro Barrier! The trap I use is… your return from the different dimension!"
"Wait," I said. "He never used that card!"
"No, but when he used Dark core on your Armory arm, I saw that was the card he discarded to use it. So now I use it to revive Armory arm!"
A portal appeared and a metal gauntlet came out.
Armory Arm
Light
Machine
Lv.4
ATK/1800
DEF/1200
Synchro
Once per turn you can equip this to a monster OR unequip it to special summon this card in face up attack. While equipped to a monster by this effect, that monster gains 1000 attack. When the equipped monster destroys a monster in battle, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the destroyed monsters attack.
"I get it!" James said. "You're going to use it to boost Black rose dragon!"
Akiza shook her head, "Nope. I activate Lightwave tuning!"
I was just like O_o
"This turns Armory arm into a tuner! And I attack with Armory arm!"
A booster lit on the back of the gauntlet and it rocketed forward, slamming into the man.
LP
James/Akiza 1400
Chosen 9800
Just then, there was a beam of green light that could be seen from clear across the city. It was unmistakable. "Looks like Mike just summoned Loki." I told Akiza.
The man drew, "Did you really think I was unprepared for this? I activate Monster reborn! I use it to revive Stardust Dragon!"
The dragon appeared… on his field!
Stardust Dragon
Wind
Dragon
Lv.8
ATK/2500
DEF/2000
You can tribute this card to negate the activation of a spell, trap, or monster effect that destroys card(s) and destroy the card. If you negate an effect this way, you can special summon this card from your graveyard during the end phase.
"The seal of Orichalcos boosts Stardust dragons attack to 3000! Then I activate the equip card, Megamorph!"
"But why?" I said. "It'll half Stardust's attack!" then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "You-your gonna half OUR monsters attack?"
He used that evil grin again. "Damn right!"
Just then there was another beam of light, pink this time, followed shortly by a beam of golden light. "What's going on?" I thought. "How may other polar gods are there?"
And then I saw it, the golden orb descend from the clouds, Ra. I chuckled. "Well, At least Silver hasn't lost yet. We all watched in wonder as the orb transformed into a huge mechanical dragon.
"Hey, no distractions from your deaths!" the man said. "I half Armory arms attack to 700 and attack for game!"
I looked at Akiza, she looked like she was in shock or some kind of trance, like she didn't know what was going on. Tears welled up in my eyes. The Orichalcos would only take one soul, and I would make sure it wasn't her. I thought about how I was to meet my demise at the hands of my own dragon, how I would never see Silver again. I stared into the rushing beam of light headed toward me. I said softly "I'm sorry Silver, Mike, I let you down."
Then there was an explosion and I could only see the silhouette of Black rose dragon. Why was it in the way? Then I noticed something different about it, it seemed…tougher?
The blast fizzled out and I could see properly, Black rose dragon had undergone some major changes, its black skin had turned dark green and it's petals black. It had grown an extra set of wings and it glowed with a red aura. Every petal had a black marking on it and it was twice a big as before.
I looked at Akiza. "Wha-" Then I saw her arm. It glowed with the signer mark of the crimson dragon!
"ACCEL SYNCHRO!" she yelled. "Overgrowth Dragon!"
Overgrowth Dragon
Fire
Dragon
Lv.11
ATK/4000
DEF/2400
Accel Synchro
This card can be synchro summoned on your opponents turn, but must use Black rose dragon and a Synchro/Tuner of any level. When this card is Accel Synchro summoned, You can activate the following effects. (These effects cannot be negated)
all cards your opponent controls
either players turn, you can choose 1 monster, that monster is switched to face up attack and it's attack becomes 0
attack of all plants on the field are increased by 1000
this card is sent from the field to the graveyard, you can special summon Black Rose Dragon OR any plant monster from your graveyard.
"Akiza! What the heck? You had this all along?" Akiza paid James no attention, she seemed to notice nothing but the field.
She raised her arm, the head mark glowing crimson. "Effect number one, activate." She said calmly, as if it were the most boring thing in the world.
Overgrowths wings flared and a gust of wind mixed with black dust flew through the air, obliterating Stardust dragon.
"Overgrowth Dragon, attack." She said, again with that disturbing calm. The dragon opened it's wings again and vines shot out, hitting the man, who flew back int the Orichalcos barrier, blood dripping from a wound in his forehead.
"End turn." Akiza said.
"I-I… I wont LOSE!" the man yelled. I activate swords of revealing light and set a card!"
"Destiny board won't save you…" Akiza monotoned, getting a shocked expression from the man.
"No way! How could you possibly know?" I looked at Akiza, wondering the same thing myself.
"Fine, F*** this!" the man said. He drew a pistol and aimed at Akiza. "I'm NOT dying!"
"NO!" I yelled and tore though my cards, looking for anything that I could use my psychic powers on to stop a bullet. Just as I lost hope, I heard a shot. I slammed my eyes shut in horror, but heard the man scream. I opened my eyes to see his gun hand gushing blood, there was another shot, and his head exploded.
The Orichalcos then shrunk on the mans corpse, a green light being torn from the air above the man. I heard the man scream, as I've never heard a scream before as the light was sucked into the Orichalcos, which vanished.
I looked at Akiza, whose arm had stopped glowing; the holograms vanished, along with the Overgrowth dragon card. She passed out and I quickly caught her. As she slept, I looked up to see a woman standing near us, a pistol in her hand. She stared at me with blue eyes flecked with gold, her hair was a light brown and she wore dark blue jeans, a shirt with dark grey and dark blue horizontal stripes and a black hoodie.
She walked over to the corpse and pulled out the deck, sorted through it and pulled out the Orichalcos. She tried to tear it, but of course, she couldn't.
"Hey!" I called, "I know someone who can do that for you if you'd give it here."
She walked over and handed the card to me. "My name's Brigid." She said.
I took the card, then shook her hand. "James. And this is Akiza."
She gave her a curious look. "Akiza? Like…" I nodded.
"So, um… thanks for saving us back there." She nodded. "I couldn't stand by and let him kill you."
"Speaking of which, Why'd you have a gun in the first place?"
"I'm hunting these bastards down. I never was interested in the game, but my brother had something they wanted. So they killed her for it. However, he gave it to me just before he past, and I used his runner to escape."
"Wow. I'm sorry." I said. "Maybe we can help each other, We're looking for the leader of these guys, You hear of Tyler Peterson?"
"I think so, isn't he the world champ or something?"
I nodded. "He'd want you to think that, and he's the leader of these guys."
About then, Akiza was coming to. She groaned and sat up. "Ugh, what happened? I remember Stardust, then… we lost and-" She looked at the mans corpse. "What?"
"Brigid here saved us. Even with that Overgrowth dragon of yours, he decided to cheat."
Akiza looked at me as if I was crazy. "Overgrowth what now?"
"I- never mind." I decided to talk with Mike about this first. "So, Brigid, if you don't mind, what did they try and take?"
"This." She said smiling as she reached into her shirt and pulled out… a millennium ring?"
"Oh, don't worry, I've seen the Orichalcos, this isn't a real millennium item, just jewelry."
I nodded. "Then why'd they want it?"
"I think my brother said it had some kind of data storage in it, and it had something they wanted to keep secret. I haven't been able to figure out what he meant though."
Just then, Mike and Silver pulled up. Silver jumped down and ran to me as Akiza ran to her own father. We embraced and I held Silver at arms length "I saw you summon Ra! Did it work?"
He grinned and nodded. "He had almost 7000 attack! The person got away though."
I frowned. "Didn't they use Orichalcos? How could they escape?"
"She had the same glowing eye as Mike, and one of those Polar things. But I fused Junk dragon with Mikes Loki card and made this super special awesome card!"
I laughed at the reference. Silver acted so differently when he duels. It seems like he grows 20 years older, but step out of the duel arena and he's back to a five year old. I looked at Brigid, she was staring into space, holding her brothers ring.
Silver and I walked over to Mike. "Silver said your opponent had a Polar god?"
"Yeah." Mike said darkly. "She had a rune eye too; it let her escape the Orichalcos."
I nodded. "And what's this about some fusion monster?"
Mike shrugged. "You'd be better off having Silver show you the card; I can hardly believe it myself."
I asked Silver for the card, but try as he might, he couldn't find it. "It can't have just vanished!" he wailed.
"Hmm… maybe it can." I said. "Silver, Akiza, go talk to each other for a minute, ok?" I looked over for Brigid, but she was nowhere to be found, the body was gone too. A moment later, she came walking around a corner, wiping blood off her hands with a rag, which she threw away.
I called her over. "Mike, this is Brigid, that guy decided to pull a gun when he was about to lose, but she pulled one faster. She saved me and Akiza."
Mike got off the runner and took her hand. "Thank you, I'm forever in your debt." Brigid blushed and took her hand back.
"Brigid, this is Akizas father, Mike, the REAL world champ." Mike flinched from her after I said that, but calmed down once he realized he wasn't being glomped.
"Err… Hi." She said, James told me a bit about you. So you're the best of the best huh?"
"Mmhmm." Mike said. "You haven't heard of me before?"
Brigid shook her head. "I don't really follow the card game much."
"Oh." Mike obviously hadn't been expecting THAT.
"So anyways, Mike? Did you know Akiza's a signer?"
He nodded, looking proudly at her. "I knew for quite some time now. She doesn't remember, does she?"
I shook my head. "Good." He said. "She tends to let things get to her head, she'll probably outgrow it, but I don't want her overestimating herself just because she has a mark."
Brigid nodded. "Makes sense."
"Oh, yeah! Before I forget, I invited Brigid to come with us, We're after the same thing."
Mike smiled and offered his hand. "Well then, welcome to the team."
She took his hand, a smile creeping across her face. "Charmed."
Was it just me, or did I see the eye in her ring glow?