AJ: Part three of the duel between Manjoume and Judai. Can Judai defeat Manjoume with only half of his deck?
Bil: I'm more interested in Asuka.
AJ: Aww…you're feeling for her?
Bil: Hell, no, I want her gone! I want evil Judai for eternity!!!!
AJ: You're weird…
Chapter 36: Redemption"I can't watch this anymore…" Asuka whispered. "It's too painful…"
White-Asuka finally waved her hand, and the duel disappeared, revealing another duel. "What's this?" Asuka wondered aloud. The screen revealed Judai across the way. It appeared to be the view from a first-person view. The person directed his or her hand at Judai, and a monster went an charged at Judai.
Asuka immediately recognized the monster. "No…That's…"
"Yes, it is Etoile Cyber…This is the duel that gave Judai so much pain, so much misery, so much anguish. This was his duel against, you."
Asuka slid to her knees, tears flowing down her face. She had buried the duel within the depths of her mind, except the last when she saw Judai fall unconscious. But here it was, all so clear, all so real.
"No…I can't believe…it wasn't me…" Asuka quietly insisted to no one.
"It was you, and you know it," White-Asuka sneered. The screen then turned to show Asuka's face. "You can see the joy and satisfaction emanating from your face from seeing Yuki Judai in pain. All of it, is you. Believe it, as it is all very real."
Asuka watched in terror and extremely ashamed from her actions. She lowered her head in pain, holding her heart chest near her heart area. "I'm so…pathetic…" she whispered as tears streamed down her face. "I…don't deserve to have anyone…least of all Judai…"
"I activate Miracle Fusion!" Judai declared. "By removing E-Hero Fusion-Material monsters on my field and in my graveyard from play, I can summon a Fusion E-Hero Monster! I'll remove Sparkman and Clayman to Fusion Summon Elemental Hero, Thunder Giant!"
"I activate the effect of Thunder Giant! When he is summoned, I can destroy one monster on the field whose original attack points were lower than his! And since your Dragon's attack was 2200 before you increased it, it's a viable target! Thunder Giant, Electric Shockwave!" The monster powered up a ball of electricity within his hands, and fired it directly at the heart of the dragon.
(Judai's LP 1200, Manjoume's LP 2000)
"Trap Card, Open!" The ball of electricity hit the dragon and exploded, covering the field with a giant cloud of smoke. When the smog cleared, the dragon remained.
"What the…!?" Judai gasped. "How's he still on the field!?"
"I activated my Trap Card, Impervious Dragon Scales," Manjoume informed him. "By sacrificing one card on my field, I can activate this card, and make all Dragons on my field immune to card effects for the rest of the turn."
"You didn't have any other cards on your field!" Judai insisted.
"Actually, I did. See, despite the fact that X-Head Cannon wasn't on the field, he was never technically destroyed, he was just sacrificed, meaning that Call of the Haunted was still face-up on my field. I sent that card to the graveyard." Judai snarled at his opponent outsmarting him. "Now, if you don't mind, it's about time you end your turn."
Judai looked at his remaining cards. "I'll set two cards. Go ahead."
"Draw! White-Horned Dragon attack Thunder Giant! Destroy it!" Manjoume shouted.
"I activate De-Fusion! Then I chain Burial From Another Dimension! With the second, I can return up to three monsters removed from the game back to the field, then with De-Fusion, I can send my monster to my Fusion Deck, and special summon the monsters that made up the Fusion Monster!" The fused creature glowed white, before dividing into two separate monsters, Clayman and Sparkman, both of which set down on the field in defense position.
"My attack can still destroy one of your defense monsters! Destroy Sparkman!" The dragon incinerated the hero, leaving only ash and smoke behind. Manjoume laughed. "Well, that sure was quite an energetic set of turns, hmm?"
Judai growled in annoyance. 'He's just taunting me,' the boy mused. "Why don't you just finish your turn?"
Manjoume snickered, while looking at his card. "You're so pathetic. Wish for your life to be taken away so easily, just like Tenjoin-kun?"
"Say what?" Judai breathed. "What's wrong with Asuka!" Judai demanded.
"She was in the way, so Saiou-sama decided to remove her. The longer you duel me, the more you are hurting her. Do you know why?" Judai's brow furrowed. "Your expression tells me no. Let's just say, Tenjoin-kun has a guilt problem. And unless she can fight off Saiou-sama's power, which no one besides you and Kenzan has been able to do, she will be consumed by her guilt, and will perish."
"No…" Judai gasped.
"Yes! How wonderful! First you'll lose your woman, then you'll lose this duel! It's the perfect revenge that I have long wished to taste!" Manjoume licked his lips. "I can finally whet my appetite with the sweet flavor of conquest."
"Asuka…why would she feel guilty about me!?" Judai inquired.
"Oh, come on! You don't see it? She thinks she put you into this position! She thinks it is her fault that you were hurt in her duel as well as in your duel against Jaycen! Are you really that dense!? Asuka may be a strong girl, but she's really just a scared child, forced to put on a mask because she represents the entire school! You're her one rock, and yet how fitting it is that you will be her downfall!"
"You're lying!" Judai insisted, annoyed that Manjoume would sink this low. "Asuka's too strong for that
"Am I? You don't realize the power Saiou-sama has within his grasp! He can do anything he desires, including eliminating Tenjoin-kun in order to weaken you with shame and guilt!" The Society duelist began cackling madly.
Judai glowered at the boy. "You're bluffing…you just have to be."
"Believe what you want, the truth will come out in due time. For now, I'll set a card and end my turn."
"My turn, Draw!" He looked at his new card. "I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two more cards! Now, I activate Metamorphosis. I can send Clayman to the graveyard, and in exchange, Special Summon the monster Clayguardman! Now his effect activates. When he is summoned, you receive two hundred points of damage for each card on your field! Giving you a total of 400 points thanks to that facedown and your Dragon!"
Manjoume glowed red for a moment, as some of his Life Points were absorbed. "Is that all you can do? That didn't even tickle, let alone hurt!" Manjoume taunted.
"For now. Go ahead," Judai growled, realizing he was in trouble.
"Tch, fine. Draw! I activate my facedown, the Permanent Trap card, Dragon's Rage! Now, if a dragon monster on my field has an attack higher than your defense points, the difference is dealt to you as damage!" Judai's brow furrowed, as he prepared to brace himself for the damage he was about to receive. "I'm sure you know what's coming next. White-Horned Dragon, attack Clayguardman!" The dragon fired its reddish-yellow blast of energy, destroying the monster.
The explosion inched closer to Judai. "What the…What's happening!?" The reddish-yellow aura soon enveloped his feet, then his legs, and finally his entire body, as the boy disappeared into the blast. He lost consciousness immediately.
Asuka knelt on the ground with her hands on the ground supporting her up. She had just watched the highlights of the duel with Judai, her heart dropping every time Judai howled in pain from the electricity. "How could I have been…so heartless…" she whispered between her sobs.
White-Asuka looked at the girl with the first expression of pity she had ever had since Asuka arrived to…wherever they were. "Asuka," she began, "there is one way to end your pain and the pain of your friends."
Asuka looked up at the girl, tears blinding her vision partly. "What…?" she breathed. White-Asuka's eyes began flaring with an unnatural purple light. Asuka felt herself slip away into the light.
White-Asuka held out her hand towards Asuka. "Take my hand, and I will lead you away from here, away from hurting others, away from the pain," the girl stated.
Asuka stared at the girl, losing the feeling in her limbs and body more and more as she stared at the unearthly light. "No…no…I have to…apologize to Judai…and the others…" she told the other girl.
"For what point and purpose? You know they'll just accept it to make you feel good about yourself, but they'll never really mean it," White-Asuka stated. "You must trust me, trust yourself, your instincts. Trust me."
Asuka finally lost the last grip of her control, and nodded slowly. She began raising her hand and reaching for the other girl's hand.
Saiou stood in front of Asuka, holding his hand out to the girl, smiling evilly. 'Yes. I shall eliminate Asuka. Then, Judai, no, Richter, will never return to being Yuki Judai ever again, always being the vengeful, hatred-filled Richter Davis!'
The man chuckled evilly under his breath. It was ease itself to sneak into Asuka's sub-conscious to corrupt it whilst he dueled her. Then, the coup de grace, he sent an enormous stream of energy, the Light of Ruin, directly at her, effectively putting her unconscious, injecting with an overpowering amount of the Light of Ruin. The girl would eventually lose her life, due to the large amount of energy injected into her poor body.
Saiou licked his lips. He wanted the boy suffer as much pain as possible, before taking full control of him, in order to avenge the loss of the Society. This was the way to do it, strike at his emotions, the one weakness in the boy. And now that he had turned the youth against his own Neo-Spacians and that troublesome Neos, he had the greatest opportunity to do so.
Suddenly, something clicked in Saiou's mind. "What? I sense another presence in here," the man muttered. He turned his head around, searching for the source of the presence.
Then it hit him. "Yuki Judai," Saiou mouthed. "His spirit is here also." Saiou smirked evilly. 'Good, he'll witness the death of this girl he couldn't protect, first-hand,' Saiou mused.
Judai felt the feeling return to his body. He lowered his arms, and opened his eyes. He was floating in a dark abyss. He turned around, not seeing anything. "Where's the duel!?! Where am I!?" the boy stated aloud, annoyed that he had been transported against his will somewhere.
He heard a chirping behind him. He whirled around, and saw a very angry-looking Winged Kuriboh right in his face, squeaking madly at the boy. "What? I've betrayed the Neo-Spacians!?" he shot at the creature. "They're the ones who abandoned me!!"
The creature peeped even more rapidly at the boy, before turning to the side, and pointing behind him. Judai looked past the little creature, and saw all of Asuka's Cyber Girls glaring at him. "What, you're all mad at me, too?"
"We're not angry. Just disappointed that you, the Chosen One, has lowered himself to your current standards," Cyber Blader stated. "You're supposed to be the one who will balance the Light and Darkness, according to the Neo-Spacians, yet you are acting as foolish and cold as you are right now."
Judai narrowed his eyes. "Now, listen here…" Judai began.
"No, you listen," Cyber Tutu cut him off. "We brought you here because the Light is still present within Asuka. Saiou is using it to corrupt Asuka into thinking that it's her fault that you are acting like Richter Davis. We need you to get her out of her depression and back to normal."
"Why don't you guys do it, if you're so tough?" Judai spat. Etoile Cyber walked up to the boy and smacked him across the face. Judai's head twisted to the side, before turning back to face them, with a red handprint on his cheek.
"Do you want Asuka back or do you want to indirectly cause her death!?" the cyber woman shouted.
Judai's eyes widened. "Her…death…?" Judai whispered.
"Saiou is trying to absorb her consciousness into the Light," Cyber Angel Dakini explained. "Unless Asuka is drawn out of her morose state, she will accept Saiou's Light as an easy way out, and will perish. We would help her, but Saiou has a protective field around them, allowing no Duel Spirits in or out. Come! We must hurry!" Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater grabbed Judai's arms, with Winged Kuriboh standing on the boy's shoulder. The group flew to a large space surrounded by a purplish-white light.
"Is that…?" Judai inquired.
The Cyber Girls all nodded. Dakini turned to Judai. "Please, Judai, you're the only one she will listen to at this point," the Duel Spirit said softly.
Judai nodded. The youth walked towards the shielded area, and pressed his hands against the surface. He realized his hand could go through the odd-colored space. He pushed forward with his other hand, and then forced himself into the sealed area.
The boy fell forward, and to his knees in the area. He lifted his head, and looked around. The area was multi-colored. The boy was amazed. "It looks like my Neo Space card," the boy noted. He shook himself out of his daze. "I need to find Asuka!"
He didn't have to look far, as about 100 feet ahead of him, the youth saw Saiou standing in front of something, with his arm out and his palm facing up. Judai realized the something, was actually someone, and that someone was…
"Asuka!" Judai shouted. The girl didn't hear him, but was staring at Saiou. She appeared to have been crying at some point, and she was reaching out to grab the man's hand. He turned his gaze up slightly, and saw Saiou's eyes were glowing the unearthly light they normally did. "Asuka! Don't listen to him!" Judai screamed. "It's not your fault! None of this is your fault!"
Asuka didn't respond, slowly reaching out for Saiou's hand. Judai didn't have a choice. He charged forward towards the man. "SAIOU," Judai commanded. "LEAVE HER ALONE!"
He reached the two and launched a fist directly at the man's face, sending him away from the girl. Asuka blinked and regained her senses. She shook her head, and picked her head up from the ground. Her eyes widened at the sight. "J-Judai!?" she gasped.
Judai looked at the girl with a look of pity, annoyance, and despair. "Asuka, you can't blame yourself for anything that I do!" he shouted, a little more harshly than he wanted to, but he needed to get his point across.
"But…I caused you so much pain…" Asuka stated.
"Get away from her!" Saiou ordered. "She belongs to the Light!"
"Asuka, you're the only one who can defeat this! You have to stop feeling guilty over things you have no control! You must let go!" Judai informed her.
Saiou rushed forward towards Asuka, who looked at the man heading for her. She remembered all of her friends, and realized, 'I can't give up here!' She began to scream at the top her lungs, "I'm not giving up!" The multi-colored shield around the area began to fade.
As swift as lightening, the Cyber Angels sprung into action, sending their attacks onto Saiou's spirit. The man was blasted out of Asuka's consciousness quickly.
Saiou was knocked out of his chair and to the ground. He grunted in anger at his failure. "That boy…Yuki Judai…!" Saiou muttered. The man spat up a little blood onto the floor, before wiping his mouth. The man smirked evilly. "Yuki Judai! You never cease to amaze me. I cannot wait to acquire that power of yours! And once I do, this world…no…the entire universe will fall and be reborn into the Light!" He began howling with glee.
"Asuka, how could you not forgive yourself when your friends and I haven't blamed you for anything?" Judai asked, a little more softly, and with a less dark gaze.
"You…don't blame…?"
"I can't hold someone accountable for their actions, if they didn't do anything of their own free will," Judai told her flatly.
"But…then…why do you duel against Manjoume with so much hatred?" she questioned.
Judai was taken aback by the girl's statement. He replayed parts of the duel in his mind, and realized what his problem was. 'I've…been dueling with a hatred of my opponent, as if defeating them would relieve the pain that Saiou has given me,' the boy's eyes widened. 'No…Saiou isn't to blame for this…it's my own fault, for allowing my emotions to take control of my dueling. My enemy…it isn't Manjoume…it isn't the Society of Light…It isn't even Saiou…It is the Light of Ruin…That's why the Neo-Spacians abandoned…no…that's why I turned my back on them. I couldn't understand.'
"Judai? Are you ok?" Asuka asked.
Judai knelt down in front of the girl, and placed his hands onto her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eyes. "Asuka, thank you," he said quietly.
Asuka blinked and blushed, as their faces were mere inches from each other. "For…for what?" she whispered.
"For making me realize my problem. For always being there for me. For never letting me down…do I need to go on?" Judai smiled, quietly telling her his thanks.
Asuka's heart was racing. She smiled warmly at him, as she nodded. "And thank you, for making me realize how foolish I was…" The two lost each other in one another's eyes. They slowly began moving closer to each other, able to feel each other's breaths as they inched closer to each other.
"Asuka! Hold on!" a voice resounded throughout the area, breaking the silence and the scene.
Asuka blinked, her face flushed. "What was…that?" she gasped.
Judai, who was also red in the face, pulled away. "It sounded like Fubuki," he answered.
"Asuka, don't give up!" another voice reverberated.
"Asuka, we don't want to lose you!" a third said.
"Junko? Momoe?" Asuka breathed.
Judai nodded. "It's about time we go. All your friends are waiting eagerly for your return," he told her. "It's about time you tell them you're alright." He stood up and offered her has hand.
She nodded, and grabbed the boy's warm, gentle, yet firm grip. He lifted her to her feet. She brushed herself off, but then frowned. "But…what about you?"
"Me?" Judai repeated. He smiled warmly at the girl. "I have one more friend I have to bring back to normal."
"But, what about your Neo-Spacians?" she asked.
Judai sighed sadly. "It's my fault they left, so I will have to regain their trust. If I can show them that I'm not dueling out of rage in this duel, then maybe I can do so."
"Can you beat Manjoume without them?"
"It's not a matter of can or can't," Judai said. "It's a matter of do or don't." Asuka looked at the boy nervously. Judai chuckled lightly. "Don't worry, I didn't come all this way to lose now," he assured her. "For now, you must go and tell our friends you're ok now."
She smiled softly at the boy and nodded. "I'll see you soon after I get back!" she told him.
Judai gave her thumbs up, and looked at his Duel Spirit. "C'mon, Aibou. We have a job to do." Judai, Asuka, and his partner were suddenly surrounded by a golden light, and the two lost the feelings in their limbs again.
Asuka slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't see much, as her vision was blurred, and she was staring up into a bright light. She blinked once, and saw the silhouettes of several figures standing above her. She blinked a few more times, and realized that they were Fubuki, Junko, Momoe, and Ayukawa.
"Onii…san…Junko…Momoe…Ayukawa-sensei?" she breathed. "Wh…where am I?" She tried to sit up, but her head throbbed hard, and she grabbed it. Fubuki set her down with a firm hand.
"Easy," the sibling said, "you've been through a lot, I'd wager."
"Asuka-san…you're ok…" the two girls stated. They began sobbing, then tackled her, and began to hug her, crying their eyes out.
Asuka gasped for air at the tight hug, but then began giggling. "I'm fine, guys. Really!" She gave them a reassuring smile.
"Asuka!" a voice squealed. Rushing over from the other side of the room, came Sho, Kenzan, Misawa, and Areka.
"Hello, everyone!" Asuka said in a much chipper voice. She smiled at them, but then saw someone standing behind them looking at something. She followed his gaze, and saw a screen, displaying a very familiar part of the school.
She then remembered. How she almost gave up, how she would've lost, but that boy had made her see reason. "Judai!" Asuka screamed.
A cloud of smoke covered Judai's side of the field. Manjoume sneered in the direction of Judai's field. The smoke soon began to fade, with Judai bracing himself with his arms. He lowered his arms, as his Life Points drooped to 300. "Well, well, Judai, how was that?"
Judai chuckled lightly, and lowered his eyes, before smirking across the field. Manjoume frowned, however, at the boy. 'His eyes, they're different from before.'
"Manjoume," Judai began, "it's about time I make my comeback. Be proud, as you'll be the first to lose to the new and improved, Yuki Judai!"
(Judai's Life Points 300, Manjoume-Sanda's Life Points 1600)
AJ: Well, a very emotional chapter, but I don't think it's one of my best.
Bil: Ehh…wasn't too bad, though it appears Evil Judai is gone.
AJ: We shall see. Anyway, the story is almost winding down (Not really…seeing as I'm going on an average of 2 ½ chapters a duel, but…). I'm thinking of continuing the storyline, but it's up to you, the readers. Send a response on whether you think I should create a part two to this story. (The part two would be Judai on his two-month contract in the PDL.) Y'all come back for Chapter 37: Once More, With Feeling y'hear?