AUTHOR'S NOTE: Months have passed since Transcendthan Awakening. It seemed rather pointless to write a bunch of filler material for things that have happened over the course of three months time.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: THE CARDS THAT BIND
"Hydraulics?"
"Check."
"Power supply?"
"Check."
"Sensory array?"
"Check."
"Looks like all systems are go Your Majesty. That there is one of the strongest cybernetic arms we've ever built," A technician boasted, his gaze on Lynn's new right arm. Despite the fact it was made of metal, it wore a covering of a peach-like rubber that resembled skin, complete with marks on the palms and fingers, giving its owner fingerprints.
"Not to mention very light. It feels like my old arm," Lynn agreed, moving it around, "That sounds weird, feeling with a metal arm."
"That's because of the complex sensor array built into the synthetic skin. It took a lot of work to build it, especially seeing as how we had to copy your fingerprints," The technician pointed out, "Otherwise we would have had to reprogram all of the security devices here in the castle."
"That would certainly be a hassle," Atsuko agreed, stepping into Lynn's room, garbed in her pink shirt and blue jeans, "Then you wouldn't be able to duel in the upcoming tournament at Duel Academy."
"I wouldn't be able to help Jaden and the others get my friends back!" Lynn frowned, dismissing the technician.
"Hey don't forget that your friends are my friends too," Atsuko warned, "I'd have joined you whether Black Hawk had ordered me to or not."
"Oh? Is that why you're here? Because Black Hawk ordered you to?" Lynn queried, a playful grin on her face.
"Despite what you think, I'm here to help," Atsuko replied, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder, "And speaking of help, your mom wanted you downstairs in the ballroom. I think she's got those new model duel disks ready to test out."
"Let's go see." Grabbing her deck off her bedside table, the two girls ran down the halls into the ballroom. Inside, several technicians and the queen were busy working on two duel disks shaped like shields. Round in shape and blue in color, the red bird mark of the royal family was emblazoned.
"Hey! Are those new duel disks done yet?" Lynn asked, coming up to the group.
"A few more seconds… There! By our calculations, they should work," Saria replied, holding up one of the devices, "Girls, I believe these are ready for testing."
"Finally," Lynn sighed, slipping one on, "How about a practice match Atsuko?"
"Sounds good to me," The Sheikah agreeing, slotting in her deck to the other, "But I do have a question first. What makes these different from regular duel disks?"
"Good question. These new models have faster processing capabilities as well as a shock-absorbing system that reduces the holographic impact from your opponent's attacks," Saria explained, "That's why the R and D team calls them Duel Shields."
"Duel Shields huh? Well let's see how well they defend Atsuko from my attacks!" Lynn teased, drawing her opening hand. Atsuko stepped away from Lynn and drew her own hand.
"Yeah but you're the one who's going to be attacks!" Atsuko playfully shot back.
"Game on!"
"I'm the guest so I get to start off," Atsuko declared, drawing a card, "And I'll place one card facedown on the field and summon Shien's Footsoldier (DEF: 300) in defense mode." Lynn watched in wonder as sparks of light came together on her friend's field and took the form of her monkey soldier, its spear glinting in the sun-drenched room.
"Wow! These Duel Shields really bring the monsters to life better than before," Lynn grinned, "But that doesn't mean you'll be getting off easy Atsuko because I summon Transcendthan Solar Gunner (ATK: 1200 + 400) who by the way receives 400 attack points for every monster on my side of the field including itself!" Lynn's jubilation however was cut short because as soon as her monster appeared, the footsoldier pulled the red carpet out from underneath and destroyed it.
"Looks like my monster ended up Pulling the Rug out from underneath your gunner," Atsuko laughed, pointing to her active trap card, "And that's because your monster used an ability as soon as it was summoned!"
"Nice move Atsuko but I'm not done yet! I'm going to use the magic of L-Lunar Call to add a monster from my deck to my hand – A monster known as Transcendthan Amber Acrobat (ATK: 800)!" Lynn continued, her new hero leaping onto the field, "And seeing as how she was added to my hand by the effect of a spell card, she jumps to the field."
"I've never seen that card before," Saria mumbled as the acrobat threw its boomerang at Shien's Footsoldier, destroying it, "Lynn must have new monsters running around in her deck, now that her Four Sword Heroes are gone."
"Excellent move but by destroying my footsoldier, you've activated his special ability, allowing me to special summon Six Samurai Yariza (ATK: 1000) from my deck to the field," Atsuko warned as her spear-wielding samurai appeared.
"Fine, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn," Lynn concluded.
"Very well. I summon Six Samurai Yaichi (ATK: 1300) in attack mode," Atsuko declared, her bow-wielding yellow-clad monster appearing on the field, "And now Yaichi will use his ability, allowing it to destroy one of your facedown cards!" Lynn winced as Yaichi drew back an arrow and pierced Lynn's left facedown.
"And now I'll use the special ability of Yariza! Since I have another Six Samurai on the field, he can attack you directly!" Atsuko continued, her monster's spear glowing with energy. Lynn raised her metal arm in defense as the warrior struck her with her spear (LP: 4000 – 1000).
"Haven't lost your touch Atsuko," Lynn groaned as Atsuko placed a facedown, "But my metal arm reduced the blow!"
"Just like we built it to," Saria grinned, "Keep on going girls."
"Alright Mom," Lynn nodded, a red aura surrounding her acrobat, "I activate my A-Astral Aura spell card! With it, my acrobat's attack points rise equal to that of another monster in my graveyard and since I only have one monster, I had no choice but to choose it! Amber Acrobat (ATK: 800 + 1200)! Use Solar Gunner's energy to attack!" Imbued with solar energy, Lynn's acrobat hurled her boomerang at Yaichi, destroying him (LP: 4000 – 700).
"Wow, these Duel Shields really do reduce the impact. I hardly felt it!" Atsuko grinned as the boomerang returned to Lynn's monster.
"Yeah but now I'll place a facedown and let you go," Lynn concluded, a new card appearing on her field.
"Thought you might say that," Atsuko grinned, "And now I'll activate my facedown card Return of the Six Samurai! Now Yaichi (ATK: 1300) returns from the graveyard! And now that I have two samurai, I can special summon two monsters from my hand!" Lynn gasped in shock as Atsuko reached into her hand.
"Two monsters?"
"Yup! My Grandmaster of the Six Samurai (ATK: 2100) and Great Shogun Shien (ATK: 2500)!" Atsuko replied, her aged warrior appearing on the field alongside a red-eyed warrior in crimson shogun's armor.
"Yaichi only stays on the field for one turn so I better make this move count! First, Yaichi will destroy one of your two facedowns!" Atsuko began, Lynn's card shattering, "Then I'll have my Yariza attack you directly again and have my two remaining monsters take our your acrobat!" Lynn grimaced as the spear-bearing warrior leapt into the air, firing a beam at her duel disk (LP: 3000 – 1000). However, Amber Acrobat had other plans as it leapt between the Grandmaster and Shien. Drawing their blades, they rushed in to attack when Amber Acrobat fired a hook and chain into the ceiling above, yanking herself out of harm's way, causing both monsters to crash into each other.
"Hey! What was that?" Atsuko gasped (LP: 3300 – 400), "My two monsters just attacked each other!"
"It's all thanks to my trap card – Amber Zip Trick!" Lynn smiled, her acrobat touching the floor again, "When there are two monsters on the field, my acrobat can jump around the field until they strike each other, destroying one of your monsters and causing you damage in the process!"
"Nice move but by sending Yaichi to the graveyard, my Grandmaster won't bite the dust and seeing as how he still has an attack left, your acrobat is toast!" Atsuko warned, her monster slicing through Lynn's heroine (LP: 2000 – 100).
"True, but my monster was still empowered by the Astral Aura spell, so the damage was minimized and seeing as how Yaichi destroyed my Spell Calling magic card, I can place two new spells from my deck on the field," Lynn countered, gazing through her cards.
"I send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard to use my facedown Altar of Restoration spell card! Now I can summon my Amber Acrobat (DEF: 500) back from the graveyard and I'll boost my defenses with Transcendthan Sapphire Shield (DEF: 1500) as well!" The princess called, her two heroines jumping to the field.
"You may have two monsters on the field but thanks to my Great Shogun Shien's ability, you can only use one spell or trap card per turn," Atsuko warned.
Good to see Atsuko hasn't lost her touch. Saria smiled, watching the two girls duke it out, they were always competitive when they were kids but now that's reflected as courage and cunning today. They'll beat the Society for sure.
"You may have restricted my spell usage but I'm not out of this duel! That's a promise!" Lynn grinned.
"And seeing as how you never break your promises, I expect that your shield monster has a special ability," Atsuko noticed as a dark-haired samurai wearing purple armor and carrying a katana appeared on her field, "Guess it's a good thing I summoned my Six Samurai Irou (ATK: 1700). Now Yariza, attack Lynn's life points directly again!" Lynn groaned as the spear struck her duel disk again (LP: 1900 – 1000) as Irou destroyed her acrobat.
"One monster to go! Shien, Grandmaster, attack Sapphire Shield!"
"Not so fast! By removing two spells in my grave from play, I can save my monster from both of your attacks!" Lynn countered, placing two of her cards in her back pocket. Her monster's shield began to glow as two swords clanked uselessly against it.
"Smart move. Guess you knew what you were doing," Atsuko admitted, "But I still have four monsters left and you have just 900 life points. One more attack by my samurai and you're finished."
"Don't count on it Atsuko but I still have one facedown left," Lynn replied, drawing a card, "I reveal my Sapphire Bracers spell card! Normally these give one of my monsters 500 attack and defense points but when equipped to Sapphire Shield, they allow her a very unique ability! Transcendthan Transform!" A flash of blue light erupted from Lynn's monster as it changed forms. The black-blue bodysuit became a rich mixture of dark blue and sky blue as armored bracers appeared on the forearms and legs. The heroine inside the armor disappeared and the armor replaced Lynn's clothing.
So this is the Transcendthan Transform technique… Now let's see if Lynn knows how to use it. Saria thought as Atsuko stared at Lynn's new outerwear.
"What's wrong Atsuko? Never seen a duelist in a suit of armor before?" Lynn teased.
"…"
"I'll take that as a yes. As for my new monster, she's called Transcendthan Sapphire Armor (DEF: 2500) and seeing as how her defense is as high as your strongest monster, my life points are safe," Lynn explained (LP: 900).
"I hate to disagree Lynn. My Yariza is still on the field and seeing as how he can attack you directly, your life points are history," Atsuko pointed out, "In fact, he'll attack right now!" Lynn smirked however as the spear struck her duel disk and bounced off.
"What?"
"Guess I forgot to mention my armor's ability. If you attack my life points directly, the damage is zero."
"Nice so what else you got?"
"I got this! Two facedown cards!" Lynn grinned, "And an equip spell for my armor called Shield Attack!"
"Smart move Lynn. Playing Shield Attack will swap the attack and defense of your armor, making it capable of fighting back!" Saria praised as her daughter began to give off blue energy (ATK: 2500 / DEF: 0).
"Time to clear your old man from the field!" Lynn declared, aiming her right fist towards the target. To Atsuko's surprise, Lynn's fist flew from her arm, a cable connecting them, fired forward and buried itself in Six Samurai Irou, who had blocked the blow. Like a hook on a fishing line, it quickly reeled itself back in, the cable glinting in the sunlight.
"Whoa! Time out! When could your arm do that?" Atsuko gasped (LP: 2900 – 400) as the hand reattached to Lynn.
"Every Society goon that I've defeated always escapes. This time, I'm going to make sure they don't get away. This new grappling arm will make sure of that," Lynn explained, gazing at her metallic hand.
"That's just like you, always wanting to be prepared," Atsuko smiled, "Now I'll use the equip spell Fusion Sword Murasame and give it to my Grandmaster (ATK: 2100 + 800)!" A shining sword appeared in the old man's hands and in the blink of an eye, he leapt up and slashed Lynn with his new weapon (LP: 900 – 400). The shards of Lynn's armor began to glow and in a flash of light, they and Great Shogun Shien vanished and Transcendthan Sapphire Shield (ATK: 1000) returned, collapsed in a heap.
"What the? What happen to Shien and more importantly, why is your shield monster back?" Atsuko exclaimed.
"Destroying my armor set off a trap card I had facedown: Michizure! When one of my monsters is sent to the graveyard, I can send one of yours with it!" Lynn explained, pointing to her activated card, "As for Sapphire Shield, whenever a Transcendthan Transformed monster is destroyed in battle, I can revive the monster that was used to create it."
"Wow, that's awesome!" Atsuko complimented.
"Thanks but I think it's time we ended this duel," Lynn said, drawing a card, "And I can do that with a combination of the Graceful Charity I just drew with the Disgraceful Charity I have facedown on the field. This combo lets me draw and keep three cards." Gazing at her deck, Lynn snapped off the cards and grinned.
"Well? Go on!"
"Alright. I first summon Transcendthan Emerald Swordswoman (ATK: 1600) in attack mode and I'll boost her strength with my Emerald Sky Cycle spell card!" Lynn continued, her katana-bearing hero leaping aboard her ride, "Normally, this gives her an additional 700 attack points but today it's going to do something more! Go Transcendthan Transformation!" Green armor formed over the swordswoman's torso as she leapt off her bike and into the air. The handlebars and seat vanished and the side of the bike attached itself to the back of the armor. The hubcaps fell off, revealing spinning turbines inside the wheels.
"Who is that?" Atsuko gasped as the turbines began to spin and the hero took to the air.
"She's called Transcendthan Emerald Airstriker (ATK: 2500) and now that you know her name, you'll get to see her in action! Turbine wind!" Lynn shouted. The spinning wheels sped up and two columns of wind captured Atsuko's monster, forcing it to its knees (DEF: 800).
"Oh no! My monster's in defense mode!" Atsuko exclaimed.
"Which means my Airstriker can finish him off with her lightspeed strike!" Turbines spinning at full power, Lynn's monster raised her katanas and with two deft slashes, cut him into four equal pieces before exploding.
"And don't think your life points are safe because my monster has one more effect – If her attack points are higher than your monster's defense points, the difference comes out of your life points!" Atsuko gasped as a fierce gust of wind nearly blew her off her feet (LP: 2500 – 1700).
"Alright! Alright! I give! With your Sapphire Shield still able to attack, I don't stand a chance," Atsuko conceded, the holograms fading, "You win."
"Thought you might see things my way!" Lynn laughed, her duel disk deactivating.
"That was a great duel you two. I have no doubt now that we're ready to face the Society of Light," Saria declared.
"We?" Lynn asked.
"What? You don't think I wasn't invited too?"
"I'm just a little surprised. You haven't dueled in years."
"Chancellor Shepherd asked me to help him get the brainwashed students back… And we have to get Kai back from them," Saria reminded the girls. Thoughts of the prince immediately put a frown on Lynn's face. Gazing out at the noonday sun, Lynn's metal hand shook.
Hang on little brother. Big sister's coming for you… And Alexis and Bastion too… Whoever brainwashed you is going to get it big time! Lynn vowed, "We can't forget the rest of my friends too."
"We'll get them back I promise," Atsuko grinned, reaching into her pocket. In her hand was a triangular amulet made of silver, set with a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire and a diamond.
"Is that…?" Lynn gasped.
"The gems are from your old amulet but the silver frame is brand new," Atsuko explained, placing the necklace in her friend's hand, "The future hero of an alternate universe shouldn't go into battle without a symbol of her heritage – The heritage of the Hero!" Lynn nodded as she wrapped the chain around her neck.
CHAPTER PREVIEW:
Lynn: The GX Tournament is on!
Jaden: Pros and Duel Academy students are going to duel for the title!
Syrus: Makes you wonder who's going to get win?
Aster: Lynn and I have already run into trouble – A member from the Society has appeared!
Lynn: I recognize her too! It's Missy, the insect duelist!
Aster: And she's packing a Dark Lord too!
Saria: Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh GX Legacy of Lynn: Battle of the Bugs!
Lynn: From here on in, the true battle for the universe begins…
Aster: Arrogant jerks! We'll show them what professionals can do!
