Chapter 25
Meanwhile back at Heartland, while Kaito was duelling against Daisuke….
"Sayaka! Sayaka!" Allen cried out as he ran out of the school's back door. He then panted and rested his arms on his knees for a moment to catch his breath before looking around the corridors to see that he had lost sight of his friend, whom he had been chasing around for a while the moment they left the auditorium, only to lose her after coming through a passing crowd. "I take my eyes off you for 1 second and then you disappear completely…..Tch! I might as well keep you on a leash…." he hissed under his breath before continuing his search for Sayasama outside the back entrance. He then narrowed his eyes, "When I find you, I'm going to drag you back to everyone else and make sure you spill the beans on what the heck's going on with y-"
BOOM!
A sudden explosion nearby erupted and was followed by a high pitched scream after, "AAAARRRGGGHH!"
"What the!?" Allen immediately stopped in his tracks and widened his eyes at the sudden plume of smoke rising from behind the school's storage room on the other side of campus, "Sounds like it came over there…..better check it out….." he thought to himself seeing this to be more important than finding Sayaka for the moment. An explosion that loud could only mean a duel, really big one too….whoever was on the receiving end of that blast, he didn't want to think about it.
At the scene of the explosion, an Academia duelist in red lay down on the ground, completely and utterly defeated, "Urgh…." he groaned weakly before passing out face flat on the ground. His attacker hidden within the smoke appeared as a silhouette within as an adolescent female along side a humanoid monster with large wings and a dark pink aura of energy around it before it vanished in sparkles.
As the smoke cleared, she stood above him expressionless, while she was victorious in her duel, there was only one thing left for her to trump completely over her unworthy and helpless foe, "Now to finish this." she said staring down with cold lifeless eyes. Grabbing the defeated fusion duelist by the back of his head, she was about to deliver the finishing blow when a loud voice stopped her at the last second.
"Stop!" she froze in an instant at the sound of the voice, which caught her by surprise, "Hold it right there!" She then let go of the fusion duelist's hair as it fell back on the ground.
Allen stood behind the attacker, he couldn't see properly because he was still some distance behind but he fully readied himself for a duel as he continued forward, "I don't know what your problem is, but attacking an innocent duelist from Fusion is something I'm not about to stand for, even if you are-" As she turned to look straight at him, Allen's heart skipped a beat and he froze instantly in his tracks. He widened his eyes in shock and disbelief, he at first believed his eyes were playing tricks on him, but after a closer look he realised it was all too real. "S….Sayaka!?" he gasped as his friend stood up and turned fully towards him, glaring at him with a cold set of eyes. He knew his closest friend was keeping a secret, but he never imagined it would be something like this, that she could possibly be one of the rogue xyz duelists who may threaten the delicate peace between their people and Academia. Countless thoughts were spiralling out of control within his mind he didn't know what to believe, "Wh…what is this!? T…tell me this is a joke….it has to be….."
Sayaka then closed her eyes and sighed, "Allen….you shouldn't have followed me, now you know too much." she then opened them firmly and raised her duel disk arm, "You leave me know choice, I'll have to eliminate you too."
Hearing her words Allen hissed angrily, "Sayaka, I knew that there were some of us in Heartland who held grudges against Academia, but I never imagined you of all people would go this far." he growled and gashed his teeth furiously, "What are you thinking!? Have you lost it!?"
"On the contrary, my conscience hasn't been this clear in a very long time." she replied solemnly without any emotion, "I'm simply doing what I should have done a long time ago Allen." She then hardened her gaze, "No more have I any doubts about myself or in my capabilities. From now on, I'm going to make Academia and every member of fusion pay for what they did to Heartland! Not a single trace of them will be left! This I swear it!" she then yelled angrily, an emotion she never once shown in her entire life. And this was no momentous occasion to be proud of, Allen knew that very well.
"Sayaka, listen to me, you're not thinking straight. Stop what you're doing right now, and we can-"
"You don't get it Allen!" she cut him off, "You don't know what it's like to be living scarred by regret every waking moment of your life, over something you should've and could've done!" she then screamed, with a small tear shedding underneath her eye.
"Sayaka…." Allen then realised what she meant, her insecurities and worries over Ruri, since the day she was kidnapped by Yuri, they had been gnawing away at her for so long she couldn't bear with them any longer so she eventually gave in to them. It wasn't just that, apart from regret and sadness he could see now that anger had grown within the darkest recesses of her heart.
"But not anymore, I know what I must do." she continued, "I'll deal Academia the preemptive strike they dealt us before! I'll eliminate any threat to our dimension! To Ruri! My best friend of all! I won't let anyone get in my way of protecting her from our home!" she yelled before focusing her sharp gaze on Allen, "That includes you."
Allen then grit his teeth in frustatrion, he didn't want to fight either but now his hand had been forced, "Tch! Clearly you're not thinking straight at all. Guess you leave me no choice." He then armed his duel disk on his other arm, "Time for me to knock some sense back into you with a duel!"
DUEL!
Allen: 4000
Sayaka: 4000
"I'll go first!" declared Sayaka violently seizing the first turn, "I activate the continuos spell Valhalla hall of the fallen!" she said playing the spell, "Once per turn if I control no monsters I am allowed to special summon a fairy type monster from my hand!" She reached out for another card in her hand, "With Valhalla's effect I'll summon Hysteric fairy to the field!" The librarian like fairy appeared on the field as she flicked up her glasses, "Then I normal summon High Cupit!" Appearing next was a green haired fairy with a feathered bow and starred arrow, "High cubit's effect activates! I send up to 3 cards from the top of my deck to raise her level by the same number of cards sent until the turn's end phase!" Sayaka then picked up 3 cards from her deck and discarded them, revealing them as Dancing fairy, fairy dust and pixie gong, "I send 3 cards meaning she now becomes level 4!" High cubit shot an arrow into the sky which showered starry light which raised her level to 4!
Allen narrowed his eyes, "2 level 4 monsters already….."
"Using my 2 level 4 fairy monsters I build the overlay network!" both female monsters changed into yellow spheres of energy as they dived into the xyz portal, "An angel's smile for the heroes who keep fighting! I Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Fairy Cheer Girl!" Leaping out of the portal was Sayaka's signature monster who did a happy cheer upon her appearance.
"She summoned her ace monster already with such skill and ease, without hesitation no less." Allen then noted.
"I set 2 cards facedown and end my turn." she said setting a pair of cards on the field.
Allen then raised an eyebrow, "Hey Sayaka," he said, "You could have used your cheer girl's effect to draw a card, don't tell me you've forgotten that again."
"Don't flatter yourself," she grunted, "I know exactly what I'm doing. In fact, I haven't been sure in my entire life!" she then shouted impatiently, "Now go! Make your turn and be quick about it! I plan on making Academia pay for everything they've done and if you get in my way I'll eliminate you along with them!"
Allen then hissed in annoyance at her new snippy attitude, "Tch! She's definitely not herself that's for sure….No way she's ever been this aggressive, let alone confident in herself…." he thought, "Sayaka….I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're definitely not yourself." he then hardened his gaze, "But I swear no matter you do to me, I will get you back!" he then yelled as he began his turn, "It's my turn! I draw!" He then played his new card immediately, "I activate the spell Double summon in order to normal summon twice this turn!" He then picked another card, "First I'm calling out Dekoichi the battle chanted locomotive!" Appearing from the portal was a purplish demonic like train monster, "Then I play lionhearted locomotive!" Appearing next to the purple train was a green steam train. "Now I overlay both my level 4 locomotives! All aboard you two!" Both monsters turned into orange and purple spheres as they dived into the xyz portal, "Impregnable iron fortress, make the earth tremble violently and charge down the railway crawling with the enemy soldiers! I Xyz Summon! Full speed ahead, Rank 4! Heavy armoured train iron wolf!" Charing straight ahead was a streamlined train with a wolf shaped head which let out an engine howl sounding like a wolf's cry.
Sayaka looked up at the massive train before her, "So you summoned your ace as well…." she said.
"That's right, and I'm going to use its special ability right off that bat!" Allen declared, "By using an overlay unit, iron wolf can attack directly this turn! Maybe this should wake you up Sayaka!" Iron wolf then absorbed 1 unit before revving up its engine, "Go! Charge straight ahead Iron wolf!" he called out unchain his hand straight froward as the train charged straight forward and fairy cheer girl hastily getting out of the way and looking in a panic as Sayaka was straight in tis way!
She however held firmly together without any concern, "You're way too predictable Allen." she said to his surprise, "I activate the trap Sacred Revelation! When I find myself the target of a direct attack, by sending 2 level 4 or lower fairy type monsters from my deck to the graveyard, I can negate the attack!" She declared as 2 cards ejected from her deck, "I send little fairy and fairy archer to the graveyard and cancel out your little toy's attack!" The 2 fairies joined together into an energy shield which repelled the train! "So much for the little engine that couldn't!" she then shouted
"Whoa…..she actually expected me to do that…." Allen blinked his eyes in disbelief before narrowing them, "Something's definitely wrong with this picture here. You're clearly not the Sayaka I know!" he shouted.
"The Sayaka Sayasama you know isn't here today!" Sayaka retorted furiously, "You'll be getting no mercy from me, that I can promise you!"
"Is that so, guess I have no choice but to end my turn now…." Allen grunted in disappointment, "Guess I'm going to have to try harder to knock sense into you then. Hopefully you'll go back to your usual self when this is over."
"That's it? Pathetic." she then scoffed, "I expected much more from you, guess that makes finishing you off all the more easier. Now I trigger the trap solemn wishes. Now whenever I draw a card, this trap card allows me to gain 500 extra life points!" She declared unveiling her second trap.
Allen took a step back, "I definitely did NOT see that coming….." he gasped.
"Now it's my turn!" Sayaka then drew her card, "Since I drew, solemn wishes now grants me 500 life points!" The trap showered her with healing light.
Sayaka: 4000-4500
"Then I activate Fairy cheer girl's effect! Once per turn I detach an overlay unit in order to draw a card!" Her fairy absorbed a unit which charged up her pom poms and allowed her to draw, "Since I drew once more, I gain more life points!"
Sayaka: 4500-5000
"Is that why she with-held her units earlier? So that she could benefit from solemn wishes?" Allen thought curiously, "If that's so, that's actually not half bad…."
Looking at the card she drew, the then narrowed her eyes before facing her friend desperately trying to save her, "You're in trouble now Allen! Because I now activate rank up magic limited barian's force!" she declared activating the spell card!
Allen widened his eyes in disbelief, "What!? A Rank up magic card!? Since when did you get a card like that!?" he gasped.
"Like I said, the Sayaka you knew isn't here today, nor will she be anymore!" she shouted back as her card began to glow dark pink, "With the power of chaos I'll burn Academia and all other fusion duelists into the ground!" she proclaimed, "With this card I rank up Fairy cheer girl into a chaos xyz monster 1 rank higher!" as she said so, fairy cheer girl transformed into a pink stream before diving into the dark portal and creating a dark explosion!
"C…Chaos Xyz monster!? What the heck is that!?" gasped Allen.
"Just wait and see Allen! I now rebuild the overlay network using fairy cheer girl!" Sayaka declared as she prepared to summon forth the very monster that brought her victory against her previous opponent, "Angel fallen from grace, with the power of chaos, be reborn and reap vengeance on those who wronged you! Rank up! Chaos Xyz Evolution! Descend! Cxyz Dark fairy cheer girl!" Appearing from the sphere of chaos came forth a taller dark fairy in more ghastly clothing and now wielding a black wand as a weapon in place of her pom poms!
Allen looked upon the monster and grit his teeth under pressure, "I've never seen this kind of xyz evolution before….." he grunted.
"This is only the beginning," Sayaka continued, "Next I activate card of sanctity! This lets us each draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands!" They both then drew till they held a full hand each.
Allen then widened his eyes, "She drew again, then that means…."
"Correct, I now gain 500 more life points with solemn wishes in effect!" Her trap once again showered her in healing light and raising her life points even higher.
Sayaka: 5000-5500
"5500 life points…." he breathed wondering when did she ever get so good, "If she wasn't so out of her cord I'd be praising her by now." he thought.
Sayaka paid no attention to his remark as she played another card from her hand, "I equip Dark Fairy cheer girl with Cestus of Dalga! Raising her attack points by 500!" A pair of sharp blades then equipped themselves onto Dark Fairy's shoulders.
2500-3000
"Battle! Dark Fairy Cheer Girl! Turn his iron wolf into a pile of iron scrap! Fairy's Fury!" She called out as her fairy spun her wand and fired a deadly beam which pierced through iron wolf and made it explode and blow Allen back several feet away!
"ARGH!" he growled as he scrapped against the ground painfully before coming to a stop.
Allen: 4000-3200
He felt a sharp sting of pain course through him as he struggled to get back to his feet, "I…actually felt that…..Also….her monster…she's as hateful at Academia as Sayaka now…." he thought feeling the immense hatred and anger that was carried within the attack he just received, but it wasn't just the emotion in the attack, there was another power at work but he just couldn't put a finger on it….
"Due to Cestus of Dalga, when my fairy monster inflicts damage I can then gain that many life points!" Dark fairy cheer girl then flew up and the blades from her shoulder then glowed dark, enshrouding Sayaka in light aura as she gained more strength!
Sayaka: 5500-6300
Allen then hissed in frustration, "She's getting stronger already, I've gotta do something to stop her….." he thought out loud tightening his fist.
"You won't!" Sayaka then shouted hatefully, "Especially not after I activate Dark Fairy Cheer girl's special ability! When she destroys a monster in battle, by using 1 chaos overlay unit you take 500 points of damage for every card in my hand!" She declared to her opponent's horror.
"What!?"
She then flashed out her hand, "I now hold 5 cards, so you take 2500 points of damage! Dark Bambi Jumper!" Her monster spun her wand and again let out a savage energy attack from it, severally punishing Allen's life points even more!
"AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" he cried in agony before slumping onto his knees severely weakened!
Allen: 3200-700
"When….iron wolf is destroyed….urgh…I can add a level 4 machine monster from my deck to my hand…" he groaned as a card ejected from his deck, "I choose….express train trolley alley.…"
"I think you've suffered enough for one turn. Now I end mine." said Sayak unfettered, "Now it's your turn, make it quick so I can finish you off and then that Fusion duelist." she said impatiently gesturing to the unconscious student nearby Allen.
Looking up, Allen hardness gaze with both sadness and anger, "Urgh….Sayaka….." he groaned as he forced himself up to his legs, which were wobbling and about to give out at any moment, "You have to stop this….please….this isn't what Sensei would want….."
"Sensei is blind!" Sayaka then shouted in an intact, which shocked Allen in disbelief that she would dare utter such spiteful words of the teacher she looked up to for so long, "He thinks he can easily forgive Academia, but he doesn't even understand a thing about how we felt on the inside!" she continued, "When he wasn't there to fight by our side, I was crushed, devastated….since then I felt nothing but fear and helplessness at the hands of all of fusion dimension's duelists!" she cried placing a hand to her chest, "I felt useless and angry with both myself and for our attackers, all along I tried my best to bottle all that inside me and making myself believe Sensei would come back and save us from oppression." she said softly before tightening her hand into a fist and glaring back at Allen full of anger and hatred, "But he never did, and deep down I began to question everything we did till that point, duelling for fun and to bring smiles…..none of that meant anything to us in our time of need, all that mattered was surviving and nothing more." she said, "Yuya may have ended the war, but my inner hatred towards Academia hasn't changed in the slightest and now I'm doing what I should have done so long ago! Take action and wipe them out of Heartland and the xyz dimension for good!"
It took a moment for Allen to process everything she had said in order to get his thought straightened properly, "I can't believe what she's saying…." he thought. At first he was tempted to give up on her, but then remembered what Yusho and Yuya had taught before to never give up no matter how bleak the situation got. Thinking clearly gains after a breath, he clearly knew that Sayaka wasn't herself now, but under the influence of something else. Gazing to the xyz monster on her field and the rank up card she had used to summon it, he then realised he may have found the answer, "That card…..could it be somehow related to all that negativity she had bottled up in her heart for so long? Could it have been the card to call it all out?" he thought to himself before deciding what to do next, "Guess there's only one way to snap her out of this. I'll have to convey all my emotions and into a single attack and win this, as well as overcome her monster too." he said vowing to win this duel.
"Sayaka…." he then said with a shade under his eyes, "Believe it or not, I was the same like you." He said which caught her attention as she raised an eyebrow, "I too felt betrayed when Sensei wasn't there to fight for us….there were times too when I hated Academia for everything they did to us." He then looked up at her with eyes filled with clarity, "But deep down I always held onto the faith in Sensei's words, that hope will eventually take the place of despair, and Yuya was that very hope which helped us save Heartland's future with another way!" he declared, "And now, on their behalf I'm going to show you just that! Like how they saved us from war and from our despair, I too will do the same! Get ready Sayaka, I'm going to save you this time!" He placed his hand at his duel disk, "Like Sensei would say, a duel swings both ways….it may have gone Sayaka's from the start but if I believe hard enough I am sure it will go my way now!"
"DRAW!" He declared and as he looked at it, a glimmer of hope came over him, "Yes! This is just what I needed! Thank you so much sis, because of you I'll be able to save one of my best friends ever…..I really owe you one for this…." He then began his winning combo, "I summon Express train trolley olley from my hand!" A reddish train appeared on the field with 1800 attack points, "Since I summoned an earth machine monster I am allowed to special summon Heavy freight train Derricane from my hand!" Taking to the field was a massive yellow train carrying construction vehicles, including a crane at the back of it! Making trolley alley look more like a toy in comparison! "When summoned this way however, its' attack and defence points are halved!"
2800-1400
He then reached out for the special card he drew, "Then I activate the spell southern stars! Which changes my level 4 Trolley to a level 10 monster!" The small red train's level rose drastically to 10! Matching Derricane's!
Sayaka widened her eyes in shock, "2 level 10 monsters? That can't be…."
"It is Sayaka!" Allen retorted, "Now using my 2 level 10 monsters I build the overlay network!" Both monsters changed into orange spheres before diving into the xyz portal, "From beyond the railway, arriving here and now, alongside the tremors of the earth. I xyz summon! Appear, Superdreadnought Rail Cannon - Gustav Max!" Rising out onto the field was a massive train monster carrying a gigantic cannon over it as it towered completely over the opposing Dark fairy cheer girl!
"A rank 10 monster…." Sayaka breathed in surprise before narrowing her eyes seriously, "Even so, both our monsters have the same attack points, so if they battle they'll just destroy each other." she stated.
"I have no intention of using a half-hearted strategy Sayaka!" Allen retorted, "In order to get you back I'll duel you with all my might until you return to your senses! As Trolley Olley was used for an xyz summon, Gustave Max gains 800 attack points!"
3000-3800
"Then I'll activate its special ability! By using an overlay unit it can deal 2000 points of damage straight to your life points!" The massive dreadnought absorbed one of its units before charging up its cannon and taking aim at Sayaka! "I'm sorry for this Sayaka, but it's the only way!" Allen cried knowing he would regret this, "Go! Cataclysmic Cannon!" The cannon fired full force blasting Sayaka powerfully!
BOOM!
Sayaka: 6300-4300
As the dust cleared, Sayaka lowered her arm which she used to shield herself best she could though she emerged from the smoke covered in several battle scars, "Urgh…..even if you attack that's still not enough to beat me!" she groaned.
"I'm not finished yet! Like Sensei Yusho would say, the best performance should always be saved till the last moment! Only then will the hearts of the audience be truly captured and captivated the greatest!" Allen proclaimed which seemed to have gotten through to Sayaka as she gasped in realisation.
"Sensei…Yusho…." she breathed recalling everything that Yusho had done, and how he was here doing everything in his power to make things right again to make up for his absence in the past.
"Now for the finisher! I activate the spell limiter removal!" he said playing his final card, "This turn the attack points of all machine type monsters are doubled!" Gustav's attack points then rose to tremendous levels, causing Sayaka to buckle to her knees weakly!
3800-7600
"7-7600 attack points!?" she exclaimed knowing there was nothing she could do to stop it from attacking!
"Here I come Sayaka! This is for you!" Allen cried out as he began his final move, "Super dreadnought Rail Cannon - Gustav Max! Attack Cxyz Dark fairy cheer girl! Free Sayaka from the darkness that surrounds her heart! Gustav Hammer!" He commanded as the great machine monster slammed its massive weapon down upon Dark fairy cheer girl who cried just before she exploded!
BOOM!
"AAAAAAHHHH!" cried Sayaka as she was blown away by the massive impacts of the explosions before coming to a stop several feet away!
Sayaka: 4300-0
Allen: WIN!
As she fainted on the ground, dark energy dispersed from her, though Allen paid no attention to it as he ran straight to his friend's side, "SAYAKA!" he cried as he went to embrace her in his arms, "Sayaka! Are you alright!?" he cried with as she didn't respond at all, except with weak breathing, "Wake up! Please! You just have to!" he cried as a few painful tears fell from his face and he grit his teeth in agony. Moments passed by and still nothing, Allen was about to curse himself for what he did until he heard Sayaka stir.
"Urgh…..Allen?" he looked down the moment he heard her voice and his eyes brightened with relief to see her come to, back to her normal self.
"Sayaka! Oh thank goodness!" He cried as he then hugged her close, "If anything happened to you…I…." he choked unable to imagine what he would do if he ever lost her.
Upon feeling the genuine care in his words and embrace, Sayaka then felt overwhelmed with emotion, "Allen….." realising her selfishness and how she had endangered not only an innocent life but the safety of their dimension she exploded into tears, "I…I'm sorry!" she cried pushing Allen away to his surprise.
"S….Sayaka?"
"I'm sorry….I did a horrible thing….I was so scared and worried about what might happen to Ruri, to you…to everyone….." she sniffled as she began remembering the war and also when her close fired Ruri was taken, "I felt helpless and that I couldn't do anything…and then…that was when…a stranger came….gave me that card saying I'd be able to protect Ruri and everyone else….that was when it took me over….then….sniff….I'm sorry….." she then revealed.
Allen widened his eyes, "Someone….did this to you?" realising he was no doubt the same one who started this in the first place. Who even used his close fired as tool for whatever scheme he was concocting. The thought of it made Allen tighten his fist with rage, "Unforgivable….." he hissed under his breath.
Sayaka continued to weep bitterly, "I made things worse for us all…..now….now Academia and Heartland will-" She was soon cut off as Allen rushed in to embrace her with another warm and comforting hug.
"Huh?"
"It's okay Sayaka….I'm here now." he said gently patting and stroking her, "It's over, you don't need to be afraid anymore. Whatever happens, we'll work through it together. That's what friends are for." he said as he brought her closer to him.
Feeling overwhelmed with emotion and more secure than before, Sayaka then smiled lightly and returned with a hug of her own, "Allen…sniff…..thank you….." she said.
As they had their intimate moment with one another, Allen then narrowed his eyes vowing to make sure the one responsible wouldn't get away with this, "Whoever did this to you….I'm going to make them pay….." he thought to himself.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Earlier when Sayaka insulted iron wolf as 'the little engine that couldn't' I wanted to make that a pun to the children's book the little engine that could. Made sure Allen also used a couple of cards that his big sister Anna sent him too and that Sayaka may develop a little more too.