YuGiOh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Beta Reader: Gammatron/Yami Zelgadis
Previously in Chapter 32...
"Kat get out of here! This guy means business!" Rico called back to her, just about recovering from his dazed like state. He hadn't turned to her during this time; he was already eying his attacker. Though trying to stay tough, there was a sense of fear in his eyes.
"But Rico I can't..."
"GO!"
Without another word Kat got and ran, she wanted to help but now she hadn't got much choice. She had to find some help, someone, anyone would be helpful. Though deep down she knew that no one around the area could really help. But Rico had insisted and she didn't want to just sit back and do nothing. Running she didn't know what else to do, all she could do was pray and have faith that he would come back out of this alive.
"Who are you?" Rico asked he could feel the taunting aura of his attacker. It was clear that by now he was a Dark Signer, but why was he suddenly being singled out? It wasn't like he was a Signer or even one of the important ones raging the war against them. He had been left behind, in order to be looked after. Still, he couldn't help but think there was more to it than simply being a target.
"It matters not what my name is to you. But since you asked so nicely I'll tell you before I send you to the Netherworld." Kai smiled coldly, as he pulled back his sleeve revealing his Mark, "My name is Kai Fox; and I bear the Mark of the Wolf. And as to why I'm here, I've come out here to seek out the boy who's connected to the one called the Black Rose." Rico gasped silently at that answer, "She will pay for taking someone precious to me away, and the best way to do that is to break your bones so I can break her heart."
"You can't be serious! My Big Sis didn't do anything to you!" Then it hit him, this all seemed very familiar. "Wait, do you have something to do with someone named Misty?"
Kai simply frowned. "Maybe I do and maybe I don't, you'll just have to see for yourself; or not, as I will send you pummeling straight to the Netherworld. So hurry up and admit your fate, as this shadow game of begins right here!" Kai started his duel-disk, "Now come on, small fry."
"I don't know what you're really after, but I'll show you I'm not a small fry!" the small boy reached into the right pay of his toy and pulled out a different deck, and set it into his disk, "I'm gonna protect Akiza, that much I can tell you!" Rico also activated his disk, he didn't want to duel but he knew there was no way he could get out of it. The stage was set, and the wind blew as the duel began.
"LET'S GO!"
YuGiOh 5D's
Reverse of Arcadia
Ride 33: Hidden Potential
Part 1: Cry Wolf
Rico: 8000
Kai: 8000
"First turn goes to the challenger!" Kai started his first turn, "I activate the field-spell (5D's) Colosseum of the Emperor!" after he placed the card in the field-spell compartment of his duel-disk, the area began to shift and distort space. Both duelists were soon in the middle of a large, empty roman stadium. "And next, I activate the One for One spell card! By sending one card in my hand to the graveyard, I can summon one level-1 monster from my deck, like my (3) Monarch Statue(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 500)!" a marble statue of four armored warriors back-to-back appeared (DEF: 500), "Next, I activate the quick-play Inferno Reckless Summon! Whenever I summon a monster with 1500 or less ATK, I can play this fancy spell, and summon two more copies from anywhere in my hand, deck or graveyard!" two more copies appeared from his deck (DEF: 500x2), "And since the card I sent to the graveyard was a (1) Dandylion(3/ATK: 300/DEF: 300), I can summon two Fluff Tokens to keep it company!" along with a pair of comical dandelion seeds (DEF: 0x2).
'Five monsters summon in a single turn...?' Rico wondered.
"Now I activate the effect of my Monarch Statue! By sending this card to the graveyard, I can add a monster with 'Monarch' in its card name from my deck to my hand!" Kai released all three of his statues, "But since I have three to sacrifice, then I can add three Monarchs to my hand instead of one! So the cards I choose will be Mobius the Frost Monarch, Zaborg the Thunder Monarch and Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" he showed his opponent the three cards before adding them to his hand, "I place one card face-down. Now let's see what that deck of yours can do." a reverse-card appeared before Kai ended his turn.
"You asked for this," Rico stated as he drew his sixth card, "I activate the spell Hand Destruction! So now we send 2 card from our hand to the graveyard to draw 2 new ones!" Rico discarded two cards while Kai reluctantly did the same, then both players drew two new cards, "Next, I summon (5D's)(11) Cosmic Hero Golden Fisherman(3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 500) in ATK mode!" Rico placed the monster on top of his duel-disk and a gold ninja-like warrior appeared. The spandex he wore was similar to a metallic-gold gi with navy-blue sleeves. The fabric on its legs was blue as well and it wore gold gloves and boots with a blue line around near the elbows and knees. The full gold helmet he wore has a black visor styled after the kanji symbol for 'light'. strapped on the side of its belt was a small barracuda-like scabbard, and on its back was a long slender rod, "Now I activate his special-ability!" the warrior removed his scabbard and his rod and snapped the two together. Then he reeled it back and swung the rod and threw its laser-glowing fishing line at the ground, the floor rippling with distorted space at the end of the line, "When Golden Fisherman is summoned, I can search my graveyard for a thunder-type monster and add it to my hand!" when the flexible rod twitched the fisherman yanked his rod back and pulled the line out of the ground, which has a single card at the end of it; and Rico caught that card in his hand.
"Next I activate the continuous-spell Frontline Base. This lets me special-summon a union-monster from my hand once a turn! And now I'll use its effect to summon the same monster I got back from my graveyard: the (5D's)(12) WaveWizard Ika-Spear(2/ATK: 700/DEF: 400)!" a white-and-blue squid connected with violet flame with six metal tendrils appeared and floated next to Golden Fisherman (ATK: 700), "Now I unite Ika-Spear with Golden Fisherman to give him 600 ATK points!" the squid dispersed itself and its flames surrounded the golden warrior. When it died, Golden Fisherman now wore white plates on his wrists and lower legs with a blue line down across them. His torso was now covered under an armored white chest-plate with an insignia on the left side that resembled sort of a paper-art beetle. It came with a long cape made of six strips of silk fabric. His right wrist was engulfed by a similar violet fire connected to a long and bulky version of Ika's squid-like head, its top part extended to act as an actual spear (ATK: 1800), "And when he attack's a monster in DEF mode, he can deal the difference between its DEF points and his attack points! Now go and attack one of Kai's fluff tokens!" the flames roared from under Ika's lance as it propelled Golden Fisherman forward, ready to strike one of the tokens.
"You've played right into my hand! I activate the Ultimate Offering trap card!" Kai triggered his reverse-card, "With this continuous-trap in play, I can summon a monster from my had for a small price of 500 life-points. And what's more, I can activate it's effect during either player's turn. So by releasing my Fluff Token, I summon (4) Zaborg, the Thunder Monarch(5/2400/1000) from my hand! You might wanna cover your ears for this one..." the skies rumbled before a flash of light descended and crashed down over one of the dandelions and created a large explosion. The smoke cleared to reveal a large emperor in imperial silver armor, its back carrying a large golden ornament arching in over its fully plated emerald-domed crown (ATK: 2400).
Rico: 7500
Kai: 8300
"And in case you don't know anything about Monarch's they each have a handy-special ability when they're advance-summoned to the field; for example, Zaborg destroys a monster on the field, like your Golden Fisherman!" Zaborg's right crimson metal claw began to crackle with electricity as the gold hero kept charging towards it. The moment he jumped and charged his spear forward, Zaborg countered as it swiped at him with its electric claw. A deadlock occurred before the emperor's attack prevailed and the Golden Fisherman was knocked back, his armor shattered by the lightning. The hero landed back onto his master's side.
"When a monster equipped with a union-monster is about to be destroyed, that same union monster take's their place!" Rico exclaimed.
"So you monster managed to survive Zaborg's attack. But it won't matter anyway; not while I have my field-spell in play!" Kai said, "You see, when a player activates an monster's effect when it's normally summoned, that player gains 100 life-points for each level that monster has, which would explain those 300 extra points when you summoned Golden Fisherman. So, since Zaborg is a level-5, I get 500 more life-points!"
Rico: 8300
Kai: 8000
'So that must be his strategy,' Rico wondered, 'By combining those weak monsters on his field with his Ultimate Offerings trap. That way he can sacrifice then to play as many higher-leveled monsters he can! But maybe I can limit that strategy somehow...' "I place one card face-down and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"A pretty smart move..." Kai admitted as he drew his next card, "But still utterly useless! I release my last token to summon (5) Mobius the Frost Monarch(6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000)!" the second token was encased in a giant glacier before it shattered to pieced, revealing a monster similar to the emperor next to it, except this monster was suited in full frost-white and blue armor while a blue cape draped behind it (ATK: 2400), "And when this monster is successfully summon, two cards in your spell/trap card zone are instantly destroyed!" the two cards on Rico's field was then encased in a coat of ice before shattering to pieces. The face-down card Rico had happened to be the trap Dummy Marker, allowing him to draw another card, "And because it's an advance-summon, my field-spell's effect activates once again! And since Mobius' level is six, the I gain 600 points!"
Rico: 8300
Kai: 8600
"Zaborg, destroy Rico's monster with Rolling Thunder!" with a rising motion of its iron fist, the Monarch called a bolt of lightning to descend and crash down hon the golden hero, destroying him instantly.
Rico: 7100
Kai: 8600
"And now Mobius! Give the boy the cold shoulder! Raging Blizzard!" the second emperor summoned a sudden and massive snowstorm over the Colosseum. Rico had to brave through it before it vanished just as instantly.
Rico: 4700
Kai: 8600
"I place one card face-down! Let's see you get out of this one, boy!"
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "I activate the spell Pot of Greed I just drew; that lets me draw two more cards from my deck!" the boy then drew two more cards, "Next I summon (5D's)(13) Cosmic Hero Shaman(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 700) in ATK mode!" a boy appearing to be 15 appeared on the field. He wore red robes with black boots and black clawed gloves. He had golden eyes and short silver hair with a pair of red headphones hanging around his neck. The new monster gave a toothy grin showing his pointy canines (ATK: 1500), "And when this guy is summoned, I can select one monster in my graveyard and remove it from play! Then half of that monsters ATK points go to Shaman's ATK points until the end of this turn!" Rico went through his graveyard slot and pulled out a monster; a card named (5D's)(14) D.D. Catapult(6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 0), "And since D.D, Catapult has 2200 ATK points, Cosmic Hero Shaman gains 1100! And that's enough to handle either one of your monarchs!" Shaman drew out a large curved sword with a furred handle. It glowed a bright violet aura that increased his power (ATK: 2600), "And because of your field-spell's effect, I get 400 life-points since he's a level-4!"
Rico: 5100
Kai: 8600
"Shaman! Attack Zaborg with Spirit Slash!" with a swift swing of the hero's sword, an arc or energy shot off which sliced the Thunder Monarch in half.
Rico: 5100
Kai: 8400
"Now I play The Dark Door spell card!" Rico placed the card into his disk, "So now we each have to attack with one monster at a time! Next, I place a card face-down!" a reverse-card appeared, "That's my turn!"
Cosmic Hero Shaman: (ATK: 1500)
"I draw!" Kai started his next turn, "Zaborg, attack that swordsman with Rolling Thunder!" the Thunder Emperor summoned another bolt of lightning and struck Shaman down just like it did the Golden Fisherman.
Rico: 4200
Kai: 8400
"Now I activate the trap, (5D's) Fall of the Prideful Emperor!" Kai revealed his face-down, a trap card showing Zaborg being struck down by lightning. And as if by premonition, the skies began to flash and rumble with thunder.
"Do you know why they are called Monarchs in the first place?" Kai asked with a grin, "That's because they were created after the seven kings of Rome, each one has its own story. For instance, Zaborg was a powerful ruler who was struck down by lightning due to his pride. And that's what this trap will do; when Zaborg destroys a monster in battle, he's instantly destroyed by this card's effect, and then both players take damage equal to his original ATK points!" a massive bolt of lightning raced down and struck through Zaborg before the lightning expanded throughout the arena, shocking both Rico and Kai.
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6000
Kai managed to shake off the voltic attack and huffed, "And lastly, when I have a field-spell in play, my trap allows me to draw one more card. Finally, I place one card face-down," a reverse-card appeared, "Now make your move, boy. And once I'm done with you, the Black Rose is next!"
Rico struggled to stand up from the ground, still shaken by the lightning, "Then I just have to make sure that doesn't happen!" he drew his next card, "I activate the spell card (5D's) Digital Draw!" he played a spell that shows a player's hand cards being digitized by the byte, "With this, I can remove all the cards in my hand from play to draw 2 new cards!" Rico placed the banished cards in the mouth of his tow before drawing two more times, "Next I summon Cosmic Hero Harpe in DEF mode!" the blonde, pink-spandex-wearing appeared standing on her knee (DEF: 1500), "Next I activate the continuous-spell known and (5D's) D.D. Gateway!" as Rico played the spell card, a large open mechanical gate rose from the ground behind him. The gate flashed and revealed a vortex of swirling multicolored light. An image of a yellow, black and silver robot can be seen on the other side.
"What's that supposed to do?" Kai wondered.
"When this card is in play, I can skip my draw-phase for 1 monster I removed from play! But it also comes with a special function when a certain monster named D.D. Catapulter is removed too! He can help out by launching a monster that's on the other side with him, summoning it back to my field! And the card I choose is the one I removed with Digital Draw: I special-summon the (5D's)(15) Beetron Cast-Firefly(2/ATK: 0/DEF: 500)!" the space in the gate rippled as something small came through: a small firefly-like machine glowing a bright yellow light appeared and hovered over Cosmic Hero Harpe (ATK: 0).
"And what's the point of summoning a monster with 0 ATK points?" Kai demanded.
"It's a union-monster like Ika-Spear! And I'll equip it onto Cosmic Hero Harpe, giving her 900 DEF points!" Harpe suddenly stood up and raised her right arm next to her. The small firefly landed itself in her open left hand while a small brace that suddenly appeared around her wrist.
"Henshin!" she shouted before she placed the firefly onto the brace with a click, the firefly responding, "HENSHIN!", and her body was suddenly covered over a bulky metallic gold-and-silver armor (DEF: 2400), "And with that, I end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Kai drew his next card, "I summon (2) Emperor Sem(4/ATK: 1300/DEF: 2200) in DEF mode!" a fiendish winged jackal with a ghastly ghost lower-half appeared (DEF: 2200), "And I will end my turn there!"
"My turn!" Rico drew his next card, "I place one card face-down! I end my turn!"
"I draw!" Kai started his next turn, "I summon Jester Confit in ATK mode!" a short, pudgy clown appeared, balancing on a beach-ball (ATK: 0), "Next I release Jester Confit to summon the ruler of the winds, (6) Granmarg the Rock Monarch(6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000)!" the clown
was pulled into the ground before another massive emperor with sandy bronze rose from the same spot. It supported itself on its giant gauntlets over his arms, (ATK: 2400), "And when this monster is summoned, one face-down card on your field is instantly destroyed!"
"Not if I play it first! I activate Trap Hole!" Rico revealed his face-down, "When a monster is summoned with more than 1000 ATK points, the monster itself is destroyed!" the large emperor then vanished as it fell into a large hole that appeared under him before closing.
"No matter. I can still reap the benefit of Colosseum of the Emperor!" Kai was given 600 points from his field-spell's effect.
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6600
"And what's more, Emperor Sem's effect activates when I advance-summon a monster; an effect that allows both players to add a card from their respective graveyards!" Kai chose one of his monarch cards while Rico retrieved Cosmic Hero Golden Fisherman, " Next I summon another Jester Confit from my hand!" another clown appeared (ATK: 0), "Now activate Ultimate Offering's effect and pay 500 points, so I can sacrifice it to summon (7) Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch(6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000)!" the ladybug was caught in a massive fire before being replaced by a red-armored emperor with a blue cape over its back and around its waist (ATK: 2400).
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6100
"And when he's summoned, one of your cards are removed from your hand; and if it's a monster card, you take 100 points of damage per level! And since the only card you have is that Golden Fisherman, you take 300 points of damage!" the fire emperor created a ball of fire in his hand and tossed it; the boy has to shied himself with his duel-disk to protect himself.
Rico: 1500
Kai: 6100
"And since Thestalos is a level-6 monster, Colosseum of the Emperor gives me 600 life-points!"
Rico: 1500
Kai: 6600
"And with Emperor Sem's ability, I can return another card to my hand!" the Dark Signer retrieved Granmarg while Rico brought back Golden Fisherman, "Now I place a card face-down. It's your move!"
"I draw!" Rico started his next turn, "And since it's been two turn, I can activate Firefly's second effect! By removing it and the equipped monster from play, she can transform into a fusion monster known as (5D's)(17) Masked Hero Brite(5/ATK: 2200/1250)!" Cosmic Hero Harpe moved her left hand over the firefly before announcing "Cast Off!" before flipping the switch at the end of its thorax, making its wings pop out and flash.
"CAST OFF!" the firefly repeated before the armor began to peel away and launch itself off in pieces, most of the armor smashed against the two monarchs, creating small cracks in their armor. Harpe was now suited in a black spandex over sleek silver armor with glowing yellow lines running across them. She wore a gold jetpack on her back resembling a beetle's back shell, with four flat glowing bulbs on it. The full helmet she wore had yellow compounded eyes that glowed just like the other parts of her body; right over the eyes was a small v-shaped antenna on her forehead (ATK: 2200), "CHANGE FIREFLY!"
Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch: (ATK: 2000)
Mobius the Frost Monarch: (ATK: 2000)
"Why did my monsters lose ATK points?" Kai demanded.
"When the Mask Zector passes 2 turns while equipped to a level-4-or-lower Hero monster, then all other monster on the field lose 400 ATK points before changing the equipped monster into its fusion form! Next I summon Masked Hero Golden Fisherman from my hand!" the golden hero appeared (ATK: 1200), "And with his special-ability, I can use his effect to return WaveWizard Ika-Spear from the graveyard! And thanks to Colosseum of the Emperor, I gain 300 life points since Golden Fisherman is a level-3!"
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6600
"Now for the effect of D.D. Gateway! With this card's effect, I summon the tuner-monster (5D's)(16) Enforcer Lantern(3/ATK: 300/DEF: 100)!" a blue metal lantern with a red paper shade appeared through the gate. A pair of arms, legs and head folded out to give it a form of a robot (ATK: 300), "Now I activate his special-ability! So once a turn, I can look at one card you had on the field face-down!" the lantern robot glowed and fired a ray of light at Kai's left face-down card, which was revealed to be the trap card Sakuretsu Armor, "Now I tune Enforcer Lantern and Golden Fisherman for a synchro-summon!" the lantern folded into itself and floated into the sky, with the Golden Fisherman leaping up to follow it. The lantern dispersed into three synchro-gates and surrounded the warrior. A torrent of green energy passed through it as Rico chanted:
"Let the light of justice travel through the depths of darkness and search for the light! Lead us by the sword to become the enforcer of all that's right! Synchro Summon! (5D's)(18) Masked Hero Dai Goyo Guardian(6/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1900), Ikuze!"
The light dispersed as the golden hero landed with a new look: he now wore a silk white overcoat lined with gold, with the Enforcer Lantern strapped on his back. In his right hand he wielded a mechanical blue jute baton (ATK: 2600), "Now Masked Hero Brite, attack Mobius the Frost Monarch!"
"Don't you know that I have a Sakuretsu Armor trap ready and waiting? But be my guest if you want to sacrifice your own monster!" Kai activated his trap card and Mobius' armor was added with many ice spikes on it.
But Harpe/Brite has other ideas. She placed her hand on the firefly's head and pressed it inward, "CLOCK UP!" it echoed. What happened then was that Brite disappeared and reappeared hovering right in front of Mobius' face, and she slugged the emperor with her right fist, causing him to stumble back. Before the emperor's back could reach the ground, Brite appeared under him and slugged him in his back, causing him to be launched in the air, before she disappeared again. When Mobius was a few hundred feet in the air, Brite reappeared over him and landed a hay-maker against his chest before disappearing one more time. She reappeared back on the ground with Mobius falling fast towards her. Then she pressed the three buttons that were shown across the robotic insect, the firefly responding, "ONE! TWO! THREE!" Brite closed its wings with a slap of her palm, before resting her fingers on its switch, "Rider...Punch," she calmly said before flipping the switch one more time, letting the wings pop out once again, "RIDER PUNCH!" the firefly continued to glow brightly as Mobius continued to fall. When he was about to land ontop of her, Bright then shot her fist up and smashed into the emperor's back. She held the ruler of ice over her head before he exploded, "CLOCK OVER!" the firefly said as Harpe/Brite reappeared on her master's field.
"What just happened?" Kai flabbergasted, "I had my trap activated when your monster attacked! It should've been destroyed!"
"I would have, but it didn't!" Rico said, "The Beetron Changer Brite holds comes with a special one-turn-only function that lets the user move 100 times her normal speed! So she's just too fast to fall for a trap like Sakuretsu Armor!" the Dark Signer growled, "Now it's Dai Goyou Guardian's turn to attack! Destroy Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" the golden enforcer charged forward with his baton in hand, "I'll end my turn there!"
"I draw!" Kai started his next turn, "I activate my own Pot of Greed, so I can draw two more cards!" Kai drew twice, "Next I downgrade Thestalos' level to summon Level Eater back from the graveyard!" the ladybug returned (ATK: 600), "Next, I sacrifice him to summon the powerful (8) Raiza the Storm Monarch(6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000)!" the clown was caught in a massive twister before being replaced by an emerald-clad emperor with a forest-green cape (ATK: and when this monster is summoned, one card on the field is returned to the top of the owner's deck; like your Dai Goyou Guardian! But since it's a synchro-monster, it's returned to the extra-deck!" Raiza raised its arms and a massive wind picked up. It soon became a powerful tornado which sucked away the golden hero. Dai Goyou Guardian then returned to Rico's duel-disk in a flash of light, "And what's more, the effect of my Colosseum of the Emperor field-spell activates!" Kai's life-points then increased.
Rico: 1800
Kai: 7200
"And with Emperor Sem's effect, I can return one card in my graveyard back into my hand!" Kai retrieved Monarch Statue while Rico retrieved Trap Hole, "Next, I pay 500 life-points to summon Monarch Statue from my hand!" the marble emperor statue appeared (ATK: 500), "Now I activate its special-ability and release it to add a Monarch from my deck!" Kai removed yet another card and add it to his hand, "Next I downgrade Raiza's level to summon Level Eater from my graveyard!" the ladybug returned (ATK: 600), "Now I pay another 500 life-points and sacrifice Level Eater to summon Granmarg once again from my hand!" the ladybug sunk to the ground and was replaced by the rock emperor (ATK: 2400).
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6200
"And with Granmarg's effect, I can destroy one face-down card on your field! But with this trap card, I won't have to; I activate By Order of The Emperor!" Kai revealed a continuous-trap that shows three Monarchs gathered in a circle, "As long as this card is active, I can negate any monster's effect that activates when summoned to the field. Then its owner draw one more card! So instead on waiting my monster on an effect I don't want, I can add another card from my deck!" Kai drew one more card, "Now I get 600 life-points thanks to my field-spell's effect."
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6800
"Now I add another card to my hand thanks to Emperor Sem's effect!" Kai retrieved Thestalos while Rico retrieved Cosmic Hero Golden Fisherman, "Now I repeat the same strategy and bring back Level Eater by downgrading Raiza again! And pay 500 more life-points and sacrifice Level Eater to summon Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch once again!" the monster was engulfed in flames and was replaced by the fire emperor (ATK: 2400).
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6300
"And thanks to his effect, you have to send one random card fro your hand to the graveyard; and if it's a monster, you take damage equal to its level times 100!" Rico did as instructed and discarded a card randomly from his hand, which happened to be Trap Hole, "Now I gain another 600 life-points!"
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6900
"And the effect of Emperor Sem activates once again!" Kai retrieved a trap card from the graveyard while Rico retrieved Frontline Base, "And now, the real fun begins! I sacrifice my Thestalos and Granmarg to summon a more powerful monster!" the ground rumbled and began to break behind Kai as he held the card over his head, "I summon the powerful (5D's)(9) Titus the Volcanic Monarch(8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 1600)!" as soon as the card was placed on the platform molten lava erupted from the ground and spewed all over the place; the lava subsided to give way for a massive shadow to rise from the hole; the monster summoned was larger than the other monarchs and a head taller. It wore a suit of obsidian-black armor, with bronze metal plating on the thights, chest and wrists that were cracked with red lines as if they were fault-lines. The helmet it wore was silver with a bronze mask-like faceplate, its hot-red eyes peering from it. And aura of searing flames flickered from the new monarch's body (ATK: 3000).
Rico: 1800
Kai: 6400
"This is a monster unlike any you have seen before! And when he's summoned, he destroys every monster on your side of the field, and then you take damage equal to their total level times 100! Go, Pompeii Comet!" Titus raised his hands over his head and created a ball of molten rock, before tossing it toward enemy lines. Harpe/Brite stood helplessly as she was caught in the comet's mercy. Rico was knocked back from the force of the blast.
Rico: 800
Kai: 6400
"You know what happens next, don't you. The effect of Colluseum of the Emperor now activates, giving me 100 life-points per level of the monster summoned. And since it's a level-8, I gain 800 points!"
Rico: 800 (3)
Kai: 7200 (3)
"And with Emperor Sem's effect, I can add a card from my graveyard to my hand!" Both duelists retrieved their respective Pot of Greed cards, "Now, I activate Pot of Greed to draw two more cards!" Kai drew twice more, "Next, I activate Pot of Avarice! By returning five monsters in my graveyard to my deck, I can draw two new cards! And the cards I choose are my three Monarch Statues, Granmarg the Rock Monarch and Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch!" after shuffling the five cards back into his deck, he drew two more times, "Now I end my turn with this face-down card!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn," Rico drew his next card, "I activate the spell Pot of Greed to draw 2 more cards! Next I activate Reload, and add my entire hand to my deck to draw a new one!" the boy then shuffled his five cards into his deck to draw five new ones, "Now I activate the spell card Dark Hole!" a black hole then appeared over the arena and began to pull on the earth, "With this card, every monster on the field are instantly destroyed!"
"I don't think so! I activate the trap Solemn Judgement!" Kai activated his counter-trap card, "I can pay half my life-points to cancel out your little spell!" the vortex then dispersed.
Rico: 800
Kai: 3600
"Got anything else you would like to try?" the Dark Signer sneered.
"I summon Cosmic Hero Gyro in DEF mode!" the pink Cosmic Hero appeared and knelt in DEF position (DEF: 1700), "Next I activate D.D. Gateway's effect and bring Harpe back to the field!" the younger female Cosmic Hero ran through the gate and stood beside Gyro matching her position (DEF: 1500), "Finally I place 1 card face-down and end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn!" Kai drew his next card, "Now I activate my face-down; the trap (5D's) Emperor Montage!" the face-down card flipped and revealed a trap that showed seven Monarchs lined across a mountain ledge, "This card can only be used if my life-points are 4000 or less. By paying half my points, I can summon up to three Monarch monsters from my graveyard! So I revive Mobius the Frost Monarch and Zaborg the Thunder Monarch!" the ice and lightning emperors appeared (ATK: 2400), "And now I sacrifice Raiza, Mobius and Zaborg to summon (5D's)(10) Markas the Tempest Monarch(9/ATK: 3600/2200)!" lightning flashed across the skies as bolts of electricity crashed down on the three monarchs in a large explosion. When the smoke cleared, another monster took their place. It was similar to Titus in appearance and height, except this Monarch carried blue-and-silver armor, with its arms continuously releasing currents of electricity. It wore a silver helmet with a gold face-plate revealing only its glowing electric-blue eyes (ATK: 3600), "I bet you know what happens next, don't you! When Markas is successfully summoned to the field, all the cards in your spell/trap card zone are instantly destroyed! And you take 200 points of damage per card! Attack with Wrath of Moravia!" several thunder bolts flashed and crushed down around Rico, destroying every card in their path, and electrocuting him as well.
Rico: 200
Kai: 1800
The little boy fell down to his knees, barely able to breath after the attack he went through. He tried to look around with his blurred vision, and saw the stuffed animal lying flat on its belly; the the same one he got on his birthday...
Flashback, 7 years ago..
Rico woke up one morning with the sunlight kissing him good morning through his window. He sat up on his bed and yawned, and rubbed his eyes to better adjust them to the morning light. He looked over to his bedroom door where the doorknob fiddled before the door itself opened a bit.
"Is anybody awake?" a female voice said before the door opened all the way. A middle-aged woman with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail, came into the room wearing a pink nightgown, "Morning, sleepyhead."
"Good morning, mama!" Rico greeted to her mother as she came over and sat next to him on his bed, hiding something behind her back.
"Do you know what today is, Rico?" the mother asked.
"Umm... It's Thursday?"
"Yes, but today's very special. Can you tell me what's special about it?"
Rico placed a finger in his mouth as his mind wandered for a moment; what is so special about a day like today? But then he gasped a bit and his bright eyes widened as the answer came to him, "Oh! It's my birthday today!"
"That's right. And now you're another year older!" the mother pulled something from behind her and gave it to Rico. It was the same twin-tailed blue wolf he would always hold on to since that day, "And he has something to give you too."
"What is it?" Rico noticed something sticking out of the wolf's mouth. He pulled it out and saw that it was a Duel Monsters card, but not just any card. This one has a picture of an anthropomorphic hybrid of a fox and a hedgehog, "But...isn't she one of your cards?"
His mother nodded, "This card is very important to me too. And I think I can trust you with her now. That way, I can be right beside you even though I'm not around. Besides, she and I are kind of the same, don't you think?"
Rico took another look at the card. She was right; although no one else could see it. He could see a splitting image of his mother in this card. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her neck, "Thank you, mama!"
She gave a warm smile and patted her son on the back, gladly accepting the smile, "Happy birthday, Rico."
...End Flashback.
Rico scampered over to the doll and scooped it up in his arms, hugging it tightly close to him. Such a tender memory sent his tears rolling down his cheeks. He really missed his mother. Why did she have to go away like she did? He wished she was here right now; he could really use her advice.
"Why are you doing this?" he whimpered, his blurry vision moving towards the Dark Signer, who glared back at him with eyes of a predator, "Why are you after Akiza? Why do you have to be a Dark Signer to do it? I don't get it!"
Kai simply growled. The boy is still persistent for him to explain himself, "If you're so eager to get your answer, then fine, I'll elaborate you. You want to know my reasons for joining this here war...?" Kai pulled out a locket from beneath his shirt and opened it, showing Rico its contents. The bronze-haired boy can not actually see what was the picture inside though, "You see this? This is a picture of me and Coral. She's a little girl about your age. And she was taken from me by the Arcadia Movement!"
"What's the Arcadia Movement have to do with it?"
"As you have well known, being part of the movement yourself, the Arcadia recruits duelist with special psychic powers. And Coral just happened to possess said abilities. So they came to her one day and asked to take her into their order. I never trusted those vultures for a second, so I turned them away." Kai looked at the picture of himself and Coral, "Then one day a certain name came up: the Black Rose!"
Rico gasped.
"Coral heard the rumors of the Black Rose and how she can make her cards come alive. I forbid her to go anywhere near her but Coral was just too curious for her own good. So she snuck off to see for herself of the legends were true. When I found out I went to where that duelist was supposed to be, but all I found was fallen debris. And guess what; that witch was standing around all the destruction!"
"But that doesn't prove anything!" Rico cried, glaring at him, "Akiza didn't hurt her if that's what you're saying!"
"That's enough out of you! It's time to get back to the duel! And you know what that means! The effect of Colosseum of the Emperor activates!"
Rico: 200
Kai: 2700
"And now for the effect of Emperor Sem!" due to the monster's effect, both players retrieved a card from their graveyard, "I end my turn! You had better make this next move count!"
"I draw!" Rico drew his next card, "I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn!" two reverses appeared.
"Pathetic!" Kai roared as he drew his next card, "Let's see you stand up to this! Markus, attack his monster with Divine Tempest!" large arcs of electricity coursed around the titan's gauntlets, lashing against the ground creating small craters.
"I activate my trap card!" one of Rico's reverse-cards flipped face-up. But its action was to no avail when Markus thrust out its electricity across the battlefield and passed judgement on him. The small boy's cries echoed across the Colosseum and beyond as the white-hot lightning lathered against him. The currents finally crashed down on him at once in a giant explosion.
Rico: 0
Kai: 2700
Kai adopted to the small rebounding rumbles as he walked across the the dust, trying to find whatever left remained of his opponent. He stopped when his sights were set on an anatomy a distance away. There he was; Rico's body sprawled face-down on the ground, smoke seeping from his ripped clothing and covered head to toe in small burns and scratches.
Kai looked to his left and saw the card the boy played: Astral Barrier, "Idiot. What would posses him to activate a card that changes a monster's attack-target to the player itself? He would have saved himself if his monsters took his place!" he looked back at the body with his hands flexed out to rip him apart, "...What's it matter anyway? I did what I came to do. So all that's left is to see the look on the Black Rose's face when she seen her 'little brother' lying in a ditch."
Before the Dark Signer, something suddenly smacked him in the face and sent him spiraling halfway across the field in the opposite direction. Kai stumbled back to his feet with a stinging bruise on his cheek, "Okay! Who th...?" Kai began before he saw someone standing before Rico.
The figure was around 3' 3" and covered in a mixture of yellow quills and yellow fur with the muzzle on her face along with the tip of her fox tail a soft ivory. Her figure could be considered lovely to others of her certain species, a thin waist with soft curves. Her long head quills and fur was done up in a ponytail, a large green bow near the start of it. She wore a soft pink sleeveless shirt with a red 'heart' on it, the 'heart' being stretched out a bit from her developed bust. Over her shapely legs and hips were covered by a pair of jeans with three red 'hearts' going up the sides. Going up to just an inch below her shoulders were a pair of pink fingerless gloves with sleeves that went up to the inch below her shoulders. She kept her soft jade eyes on Kai, a frown adorning her lips.
"What in the...? You're the card he played face-down, aren't you?" Kai demanded.
"Keep you filthy claws off Rico-chan, you damn, dirty mutt," the Duel Monster threatened.
TO BE CONTINUED...
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Dandylion
Stats: [Plant/Effect] LV3 ATK/300 DEF/300
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is sent to the Graveyard: Special Summon 2 "Fluff Tokens" (Plant-Type/WIND/Level 1/ATK 0/DEF 0) in Defense Position. These Tokens cannot be Tributed for a Tribute Summon during the turn they are Special Summoned.
(2) Emperor Sem
Stats: [Fiend/Effect] LV4 ATK/1300 DEF/2200
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Each time you Tribute Summon a monster, each player can select 1 card from their Graveyard and return it to the top of their Deck.
(3) Monarch Statue
Stats: [Rock/Effect] LV1 ATK/0 DEF/500
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: You can tribute this face-up card to add one "Monarch" monster from your deck to your hand.
(This card is created by 15-Lives. All rights go to him.)
(4) Zaborg the Thunder Monarch
Stats: [Thunder/Effect] LV6 ATK/2400 DEF/1000
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned, destroy 1 monster on the field.
(5) Mobius the Frost Monarch
Stats: [Aqua/Effect] LV6 ATK/2400 DEF/1000
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned, you can select up to 2 Spell or Trap Cards on the field. Destroy them.
(6) Granmarg the Rock Monarch
Stats: [Rock/Effect] LV6 ATK/2400 DEF/1000
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned: Target 1 Set card on the field; destroy that target.
(7) Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch
Stats: [Pyro/Effect] LV6 ATK/2400 DEF/1000
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned, discard 1 random card from your opponent's hand. If it was a Monster Card, inflict damage to your opponent equal to its Level x 100.
(8) Raiza the Storm Monarch
Stats: [Winged Beast/Effect] LV9 ATK/3500 DEF/2900
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is Tribute Summoned, return 1 card on the field to the top of its owner's Deck.
(9) Titus the Volcanic Monarch
Stats: [Pyro/Effect] LV9 ATK/3000 DEF/1600
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: This card cannot be Special-Summoned. This card can only be Trubute-Summoned by tributing "Thestalos the Firestorm Monarch" and "Granmarg the Rock Monarch". You cannot conduct your Battle-Phase durring the turn this card is summoned. When this card is Tribute-Summoned, activate one of the following effects:
Destroy all monsters your opponent controls and inflict damage equal to the number of monsters x200.
Destroy all face-down cards your opponent controls.
(10) Markus the Tempest Monarch
Stats: [Thunder/Effect] LV9 ATK/3600 DEF/2200
Attribute: WIND
Effect: This card cannot be Special-Summoned. This card can only be Trubute-Summoned by tributing "Raiza the Thunder Monarch", "Mobius the Frost Monarch", and "Raiza the Storm Monarch". You cannot conduct your Battle-Phase during the turn this card is summoned. When this card is Tribute-Summoned, activate one of the following effects:
Destroy all in your opponent's spell/trap card zone and inflict damage equal to the number of monsters x200.
Return all cards your opponent controls to their owner's hand.
(11) Cosmic Hero Golden Fisherman
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV3 ATK/1200 DEF/500
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: When this card is normal-summoned, you can add 1 thunder-type monster from your graveyard to your hand.
(This card is based on ShinkenGold/Samurai Gold Ranger from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Power Rangers Samurai; all rights go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.)
(12) WaveWizard Ika-Spear
Stats: [Thunder/Effect] LV2 ATK/700 DEF/400
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to 'Cosmic Hero Golden Fisherman' you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, that monster gains 600 ATK and DEF. When the equipped monster attacks a DEF-positioned monster whose DEF is lower that the ATK of this monster, inflict the difference as battle-damage to your opponent. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(This card is based on the Ika Origami/Octozord from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Power Rangers Samurai, and altered to match its appearance in Gammatron's Hoshienger. All rights of the mech goes to Tokusatsu.)
(13) Cosmic Hero Shaman
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/700
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: When this card is normal-summoned, you can remove from play 1 monster in your graveyard; this card gains ATK equal to half the ATK of the monster removed from play by this effect.
(This card is based on the character from Hoshienger. Inspiration and copyright goes to Gammatron.)
(14) D.D. Catapulter
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV6 ATK/2200 DEF/0
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, you can remove one other monster you control from play and inflict damage to your opponent equal to its original ATK. You cannot conduct your battle-phase during the turn you activate this card's effect.
(This card is based on Providas/Transwarp Megazord from Mirai Sentai Timeranger/Power Rangers Time Force; all rights go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.)
(15) Beetron Cast-Firefly
Stats: [Machine/Union] LV6 ATK/0 DEF/500
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to level-4-or-lower 'Hero' normal monster you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, that monster gains 1000 DEF. During the main-phase of your second turn that this card is equipped to a monster, you can remove from play this card and the equipped monster to decrease the ATK of every other monster on the field by 400; then special-summon 1 'Masked Hero Brite' from your extra-deck, ignoring summoning conditions. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(This card is inspired by the Zectors of Kamen Rider Kabuto; inspiration goes to Tokusatsu.)
(16) Enforcer Lantern
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV3 ATK/300 DEF/100
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, you can look at one face-down card your opponent controls.
(This card is based on DaiGoyou/Lightzord from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger/Power Rangers Samurai. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.)
(17) Masked Hero Brite
Stats: [Warrior/Fusion/Effect] LV5 ATK/2200 DEF/1250
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Must be Special Summoned with "Mask Change" and cannot be Special Summoned by other ways. During the battle-phase when this card attacks, it is unaffected by card-effects. You can only activate this card's effect once per duel.
(This card is inspired by the other riders of Kamen Rider Kabuto; inspiration goes to Tokusatsu.)
(18) Masked Hero Dai Goyou Guardian
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV6 ATK/2600 DEF/1900
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: 'Enforcer Lantern' + 1 face-up 'Masked Hero' monster.
Once per turn, you can discard from your hand to select one monster your opponent controls; that monster loses 300 ATK for each card discarded by this effect.
Duel Monster: "The battle has gotten more intense due to the state he's in! And all it take now is one delicate topple to end him forever! But he's not going anywhere as long as I'm standing! I won't let that Dark Signer him my Rico-Chan anymore! I swear it on my life! Next time on Reverse of Arcadia: Hidden Potential: Part 2! I made a promise to protect him and I'm gonna keep it!"
DUEL-MON TRIVIA-
Hey duelists! Did you know:
The monster that appeared at the end of this chapter is based on one of Gammatron's famous characters! Go ahead and try to guess who it is!"
Please Read And Review.