Yu-Gi-Oh! Dissidia
Yuma and Astral square off against Vetrix once again.
When last they fought, they were bitter enemies, Vetrix fighting for revenge, and Yuma to save him. Now they simply fight to win, and all the time, and as the sons of Vetrix clash with his friends, Yuma questions their presence.
Destiny Draw 41-IV
"LET'S DUEL!" all eight duelists yelled.
Yuma drew his five cards, staring his opponent down. "What gives, Vetrix?!" he asked. "Why are you helping the bad guys again?"
"All in good time, Yuma!" Vetrix replied happily. "For now, why don't you just duel like you mean it?"
"But, Vetrix…" Yuma tried to protest.
"I believe that Vetrix wishes to duel you Yuma, and you won't be getting out of this one," Astral commented. "However, regardless I suggest that we turn the situation to our advantage, and find answers in this duel."
Yuma nodded. "All right, Astral!" he said.
"Now, it is our turn!" Astral declared, and Yuma nodded in agreement.
"Right! I draw!" Yuma called. He flinched as he looked at his card. Aw, man, I've got a bunch of level four monsters, but I can't get more than one out this turn!, he thought. At least I've got these… He selected two cards from his hand and placed one on his duel disk. "I place a monster face-down in defense mode!" Yuma called. He slotted the other card into his Duel Pad. "Then I play a card face-down and end my turn!"
Gogogo Golem and Half Unbreak oughta buy me some time, Yuma thought.
"Finished so soon?" Vetrix asked. "No xyz summons? You're losing your touch!" Vetrix teased him. He drew a card. "It's my turn! I draw!" he cheered happily. "Well, I guess that was a little harsh on my part, what I said earlier, since I can't xyz summon this turn either!" he admitted. "But I can summon my Heraldic Beast Basilisk!" he commented. A green-furred, purple armoured chicken-like monster with blue bat wings appeared on Vetrix's field. (4/1000/1400)
"Knowing you, you've probably got Gogogo Golem face-down on the field," Vetrix commented. "But I'm afraid that its special ability won't save you this time, since my Basilisk can destroy your monster regardless of its points!" Basilisk charged forwards, and Yuma's Gogogo Golem flipped up, its blue skin having changed to orange. (4/1800/1500) Basilisk bounced off the monster, and Vetrix fell to 3500 life points.
"Of course, now your monster's going to be petrified, Yuma!" Vetrix commented, and Gogogo Golem faded to grey, before it cracked at the point where Basilisk had struck.
"Gogogo Golem!" Yuma cried.
"I think I'll end my turn with a face-down card," Vetrix commented, slotting a card into his strange duel disk.
Yuma groaned. "Aw man!" he protested. "I was counting on being able to keep Gogogo Golem around to bring out Utopia next round!"
"Yuma, calm down and think about the situation," Astral cautioned him. "The special ability of Basilisk would simply destroy Utopia, and then we would have other things to worry about," he explained.
"Oh right," Yuma admitted. He looked at his deck. Guess I'd better draw something that can help me!, he thought. "It's my turn! I draw!" he called. He grinned as he saw the spell card, and he slotted it into his duel disk. "I activate the spell card Gagaga Academy Emergency Network!" he called. "Since I have no monsters and you do, I can bring my Gagaga Magician out from my deck!" Yuma explained. The teal and orange robed spellcaster appeared on the field, armoured in chains and rust-coloured armour. A tuft of white hair protruded from under the peaked wizard's hat and a golden plate with eight connected dots on it, four of which were glowing, was attached to the chains as a belt. (4/1500/1000)
"Now I summon Gagaga Girl!" Yuma continued, placing a card down. A teal and pink-robed spellcaster appeared, with a similar hat to Gagaga Magician's, but this mage was a younger blonde woman, carrying a cellphone. (3/1000/800)
"I activate Gagaga Magician's special ability!" Yuma called. "Once a turn, I can change his level to any number from one to eight, and I'll make him level…" and he stopped and scanned his extra deck. "…five!" he called. Another of the points on Gagaga Magician's belt glowed, making five total.
"And then I activate Gagaga Girl's special ability!" Yuma added. "Once a turn, I can make her level match Gagaga Magician's level!" Gagaga Girl tapped a code into her cellphone, and she increased to level five.
"Two level five monsters?" Vetrix asked. "Now that's a surprise!"
"Betcha can't guess what's coming next!" Yuma called. "Cause I'm about to overlay my level five Gagaga Magician and Gagaga Girl!" Both monsters turned into purple swirls and they spiralled into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network, and I xyz summon, Number 61: Volcasaurus!" The swirls entered a galaxy portal, and it closed with an explosion of light. A yellow number 61 flashed in the air, and a ball of red-hot rock rose into the air, tipped with spikes. Limbs and spikes pushed their way out in fountains of magma as the dinosaur monster emerged, spikes replacing its hands, and instead of a tail it had six horn-covered disks attached to appendages that emerged from its back. (5/2500/1500)
Vetrix sneered to himself. I wonder…
"I activate Volcasaurus's special ability!" Yuma called. "By using an overlay unit, I can destroy a monster on your field and then you take damage equal to its attack points!" Volcasaurus devoured one of the red orbs that surrounded it, and then it blasted gouts of magma from the spikes on its chest, burning Basilisk to ashes.
Vetrix shielded himself from the resultant heat wave as his life points fell to 2500.
"Since we cannot attack you directly during the turn that we use the effect of Volcasaurus, you should count yourself lucky," Astral warned Vetrix.
Vetrix lowered his arms and he began to giggle. "Is that so, Astral?" he asked, before returning to a fit of giggles. "Well then, maybe I should use that excellent effect for myself!" He drew a card with a smile. "I send a Heraldic Beast from my hand to my graveyard, in order to special summon Heraldic Beast Amphisbaena from my hand!" he called. A grey legless dragon appeared on the field with a roar. (4/1700/1100)
"And the monster that I sent to the graveyard was Heraldic Beast Leo," Vetrix continued softly. "Since he went to the graveyard, I can add another Heraldic Beast from my deck to my hand." A card emerged from his deck, and he held it up so that Yuma could see it. "I'll add Heraldic Beast Aberconway to my hand…and then I'll summon it!" he declared, slapping the card down. A scrawny red-skinned dragon with white armour appeared on the field with a screech. (4/1800/900)
"Two level four monsters…" Astral observed. "Be ready, Yuma. It's coming!"
"I overlay my level four Aberconway and Amphisbaena!" Vetrix called. Both monster became green energy swirls and then spiralled into the air. "I use these two Heraldic Beast monsters to build the overlay network!" he cheered as the energy swirls spiralled into a galaxy portal. "I xyz summon Number 8: Heraldic King Genom-Heritage!" he declared as the portal closed with an explosion of light. A purple number 8 glowed in the air as a mask with long blonde hair attached to it rose up in the air. The hair formed into a horse-like body, though four plumes remained. (4/2400/1800)
"I'm sure that you know what's coming now!" Vetrix commented. "I activate Genom-Heritage's special ability!" he called. "Once a turn, it reduces the attack points of your Volcasaurus to zero and negates its special ability! And then it takes them for itself!"
At Vetrix's command, Genom-Heritage snared Volcasaurus with its hair. It slowly changed its form, the hair that made its body up mimicking the form of the now greyed Volcasaurus, save the mask that still remained on its face. It rose to 2500 attack points.
"And don't think that you'll be able to keep your Volcasaurus on the field to win next turn with that Half Unbreak trap that I just know you probably have," Vetrix warned Yuma. "I'll show you what I mean!" he called. "I activate the special ability of Volcasaurus that my Genom-Heritage has acquired!" he declared. "By using an overlay unit, it destroys a monster on the field and inflicts damage equal to that monster's attack points!"
Absorbing one of its overlay units into its mask, Genom-Heritage blasted lava from its chest spikes at Volcasaurus, burning it to ashes and blasting Yuma off his feet. His life points fell to 1500 as he skidded through the dust and bumped into Jaden's legs.
"You okay, man?" Jaden asked as he looked over his shoulder, away from Trey's Number 36: Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk.
"I'm fine!" Yuma said with a grin as he got to his feet. The spectators all turned from the other duels to watch as Yuma moved back to his place.
Jaden looked back up at Chateau Huyuk appreciatively. "Now that's impressive, even if it's in defense mode," he admitted.
"Good, because I'm not done yet!" Trey replied. "I can still summon a monster this turn, so I summon my Chronomaly Golden Jet!"
A golden fighter plane roared onto the field and landed in front of Trey.
"Now I'll use my Golden Jet's special ability," Trey continued. "Once a turn I can increase the level of all Chronomaly monsters on the field by one!"
Golden Jet rose to level five, but there was no change in that of Chateau Huyuk.
"Uh, shouldn't your Chateau Huyuk have gained a level too?" Jaden asked.
Trey sweatdropped. "Uh…you do know that xyz monsters don't have levels, right?" he asked.
"Oh yeah!" Jaden said cheerfully, and everyone else in the arena, even Yuma of all people, facepalmed. "Who knew?"
"Considering that you used one in our duel with Dartz, you should have," Astral reminded Jaden.
"Okay, let's get back on track, shall we?" Trey asked.
"Good idea," Vetrix said. "Like your Volcasaurus, I can't attack you directly, so I'll end my turn, and Genom-Heritage will return to normal," he declared.
"All right!" Yuma cheered as Genom-Heritage reformed into its equine form.
"Yuma, we must destroy Genom-Heritage before our next turn comes," Astral warned.
Yuma nodded. "I gotcha Astral," he said. "It's my turn!" he called. "I draw!" He drew a card and grinned when he saw what it was. Finally, something that I can combo with!, Yuma thought.
"I summon Tasuke Knight!" Yuma called, slapping the card down. A red armoured knight with a sword slung across his back appeared on the field. (4/1700/100)
"And now that I've summoned a level four monster, I can summon Kagetokage!" Yuma called, slapping the card down. A lizard-shaped shadow with glowing red eyes crawled across the ground. (4/1100/1500)
Yuma suddenly heard two people laughing, prompting everyone else to turn from their duels and look at the two like they were madmen. As soon as Yuma saw who was laughing though, he grinned happily. "All right, you go get 'em!" he cheered to Jaden and Trey.
"We have our own problems to handle, Yuma," Astral pointed out.
"Oh, right! Sorry," Yuma said, turning back to Vetrix. "Get ready, Vetrix, cause I bet you know what's coming next!" Yuma cheered. "I am so feeling the flow! I overlay my level four Tasuke Knight and Kagetokage!" Both monsters became energy swirls and they spiralled into the air.
"With these two monsters, I build the overlay network, and xyz summon Number 39: Utopia!" Yuma declared as the energy entered the galaxy portal. The portal closed with an explosion of light, and the red number 39 flashed in the air as the winged pillar emerged from the network. It unfolded, revealing Utopia in all its majesty, the white and gold armoured warrior striking its signature pose and baring its chest. (4/2500/2000)
Vetrix looked critically at Utopia. "Do you have any imagination?" he asked. "Seriously, you could have summoned something else you know," he commented, flicking a speck of dust from his gloves.
"Bet you won't be saying that after Utopia takes out Genom-Heritage!" Yuma retorted. "Go and get him, Utopia!" Yuma called. "Attack Genom-Heritage with Rising Sun Slash!" Utopia drew one of its swords, the sheath shattering and the blade landing in its hand. It brought the blade down, slicing Genom-Heritage in two.
Vetrix barely reacted as his life points fell to 2400.
"All right!" Yuma cheered. "That's the end of my turn!"
"Yes, obviously," Vetrix commented. "It's such a shame, Yuma, I was hoping that you'd be a little more exciting. You were impressive when you summoned Volcasaurus, but then you default to Utopia. Of course, you only have one other Number that you can summon like that, and I suppose that you're opening up the options of Utopia's upgrades, but really Yuma, show some imagination!"
"Now that's more like it!" Chazz declared with a tight smile. Everyone looked at Jaden and Trey's duel, Quattro and Yugi as Quattro's golden monster finished appearing, Yusei and Quinton; Yusei with Stardust Spark Dragon out on the field; even Yuma and Vetrix had been distracted as Jaden's fusion monster descended to the field, one with demonic silver armour over a black bodysuit, monstrous maroon-membrane wings, clawed digits including a massive right hand, and a shock of blue hair streaming out behind his head.
"Not a bad monster at all," Kaiba remarked. "Let's see what it can do."
Jaden began laughing. "Oh man, this is so cool!" he commented. "Seeing everyone eager and waiting to see what Chaos Neos can pull off is just awesome! All right, here goes!" He held up his hand. "I activate my Chaos Neos' special ability! I flip a coin three times, and the effect that gets applied depends on the number of heads that comes up! If I only get one, well, every monster on my field returns to my hand!" Jaden explained, holding up a finger.
"Well, that doesn't sound too good," Joey admitted.
"If I get two heads, then the effects of all the monsters that you control are negated!" Jaden explained, holding up another finger.
"And that means that he'll be able to stop those Number cards right in their tracks!" Shark said in satisfaction.
"And if I get three…well, it skips the middle-man and wipes out every monster on your field!" Jaden finished, holding up the final finger.
"Oh…dear," Trey said. "This could go badly."
"Seems he's taking a page out of Wheeler's book," Kaiba observed snidely.
"An' what's that supposed ta mean, huh Kaiba?" Joey snapped.
"Toss number one!" Jaden called, tossing a coin into the air and letting it fall. It landed on a head, and Jaden grinned. "All right, that's what I'm talking about!" He tossed it again, but this time it came up on tails. "Uh-oh," Jaden said, and Chazz and Jesse held their breaths as Jaden tossed the coin up again…and it landed on another heads.
"All right!" Jaden cheered. "I count two heads! So now the special abilities of all of your monsters are negated!"
Chaos Neos bared his chest and began to exude energy. The glow surrounding Machu Mech shattered as it fell to 2400 attack points, and the energy shield surrounding Chateau Huyuk's core dissipated.
"Hope you're ready for a world of hurt," Jaden commented. "Chaos Neos! Attack his Chronomaly Chateau Huyuk!"
Chaos Neos blasted several streams of bats at Chateau Huyuk, slowly chipping away at the stone that hung in the center until it was destroyed. Chateau Huyuk exploded, and Trey shielded himself from the backlash.
"I'm not done," Jaden reminded Trey. "Elemental HERO Nova Master, show him what I mean! Attack Machu Mech!"
Nova Master brought his hands back, concentrating flames into them, and then he released a plume of fire from his hands that smashed into Machu Mech, slowly blowing it apart brick-by-brick. Finally it exploded above Trey, and he was knocked down to the ground. His life points fell to 2000.
"Ad since Nova destroyed one of your monsters again, I get to draw another card," Jaden reminded Trey as he drew. "So I'll throw down a face-down, and call it a turn." He plucked the Chaos Neos card off his duel disk and returned it to his extra deck, much to Trey's surprise.
Jaden rubbed his head sheepishly. "Yeah…maybe now would have been a good time to mention that during the end of the turn that my Chaos Neos was summoned, he returns to my fusion deck and then sets every monster on the field face-down," he explained. Nova Master vanished, a horizontal backed card appearing in its place.
Vetrix looked back at Yuma. "See, Yuma?" he said. "Now that was something that was actually interesting." He drew a card irritably, and slapped it down. "Like this! I activate the Advanced Heraldry Arts spell card! It brings back two of my Heraldic Beasts and then overlays them!"
Leo, a blonde-furred lion with a monstrous gold mask and armour, and Basilisk appeared from the graveyard, before transforming into orange energy swirls and spiralling into the air.
"With these two monsters, I build the overlay network!" Vetrix called as the network opened beneath him and the energy swirls spiralled into it. "I xyz summon Number 18: Heraldry Patriarch!" he declared. The overlay network closed with an explosion of light, and a strange creature composed of blue shapes appeared on the field. Crescents flanked it and it had a single red eye. (4/2200/2200)
"Wait, you summoned it in defense mode?" Yuma asked in surprise.
"I wouldn't underestimate my Patriarch," Vetrix commented. "I'll leave you to think about that while I place this card face-down!" he called, slotting a card into his duel disk. The card formed with a rush of yellow squares.
"Okay, Vetrix, it's my turn! I draw!" Yuma called, drawing a card. He placed the monster down. "I summon Toy Knight!" Yuma called. A little knight that resembled a LEGO figure appeared on the field. (4/200/1000)
"Now I activate my Toy Knight's special ability!" Yuma called. "Since he was summoned, I can summon another from my hand!" He slapped another card down on the field, and a second Toy Knight appeared.
And Vetrix smiled, causing both Yuma and Astral to realize that they'd made a terrible mistake.
"I activate the special ability of my Heraldry Patriarch!" Vetrix called. "Since you have more than one monster on the field with the same name, I can use one overlay unit to destroy all but one of those monsters!"
Heraldry Patriarch absorbed an overlay unit into its eye, and it blasted a shockwave that ripped through one of the Toy Knights. Yuma ducked behind his arm from the shockwave.
"Oh man, not good!" Yuma cried.
"It is worse than that," Astral replied. "Our remaining Toy Knight is in attack mode, so Vetrix will be able to inflict a large portion of damage during his next turn."
"Not if we take out Heraldry Patriarch first!" Yuma said excitedly. "But first I'll make use of it, and activate my Xyz Treasure spell card!" he called. "Since there are two xyz monsters out on the field, I'm allowed to draw two cards!" He drew, regretting that the number couldn't be three.
"I activate the field spell card Chronomaly City Babylon!" Trey called.
The ground began to shake, and everyone fought to keep their footing as the center of the field transformed. A sunken area appeared in the center of the field, sinking Yuma, Jaden, Yusei, and Yugi down, while the Vetrix family stood on the edges, looking down on their opponents. Each of the Vetrix family stood in a yellowed path rather than the mossy green that covered the rest of the floor.
"Okay, so Trey's got his field spell out," Yuma said quietly. "But it's still all good, we can take them all."
"Keep telling yourself that, Yuma!" Vetrix suggested. "As for me, I'm activating my Heraldic Beast Leo's special ability!" he declared, holding up the card that he'd removed from under Patriarch. "I add a Heraldic Beast to my hand, and I add Heraldic Beast Eale to my hand!"
"Your monster isn't going to be around next turn!" Yuma called. "Utopia attacks with Rising Sun Slash!" Utopia drew its sword and sliced through Patriarch.
Vetrix burst out laughing again. "You're just doing what I want!" he commented. "I activate the Patriarch's second ability!" he called. "When it's sent to my graveyard, I can send two more Heraldic Beasts from my deck to my graveyard!" He slid two cards into his graveyard, Heraldic Beast Unicorn and Heraldic Beast Twin-Headed Eagle.
Yuma frowned, but eventually he shrugged. "I guess I'd better make the most of Toy Knight while I can," he thought. "Toy Knight! Attack Vetrix directly!"
The little knight charged and slashed Vetrix with his sword, reducing Vetrix to 2200 life points.
"I'm gonna place one card face-down, and end my turn," Yuma said, slotting the card into his duel disk.
Vetrix smiled. "Time to force you to make a play, Yuma!" he said condescendingly.
Why is Vetrix trying to make Yuma a better opponent?, Astral asked. It seems that he is from his future after forgiving Doctor Faker, so he has become a better person, but this is still most curious.
"Get ready Yuma, because this turn's gonna be a big one!" Vetrix called, drawing a card. "I summon Heraldic Beast Aberconway!" he called, and another of the scrawny dragons appeared on the field. "Next I play the Heraldry Reborn spell card, and bring back Heraldic Beast Leo from my graveyard!" Vetrix called. The armoured lion appeared on the field with a roar. (4/2000/1000)
"Next I activate the special ability of my Heraldic Beast Unicorn from my graveyard!" Vetrix called. "By banishing it, Unicorn can revive a psychic-type xyz monster from my graveyard, so I'll bring back my Heraldry Patriarch!"
The strange being composed of blue shapes appeared beside Vetrix's two Heraldic Beasts.
"And once again, my Mecha Phantom Beasts increase their levels to level nine!" Quinton declared.
The repeated declarations of levels caught Astral's attention, and he turned to Yusei. "Yusei, watch out! It's coming!" he called.
"I overlay my level nine Stealthray and Aerosguin!" Quinton declared. Both monsters became green swirls of energy, and then they spiralled into the sky.
"I'll use these two monsters to build the overlay network!" Quinton declared as a galaxy portal opened in the ground. The orbs twisted into it, and it closed with an explosion of light.
"Since I control two Heraldic Beasts, I can summon Heraldic Beast Eale from my hand as well!" Vetrix called, placing another card down and attracting everyone's attention again. A blue-furred goat-like beast with a fan on its back and long horns appeared on the field. (4/1000/1800)
"Oh man! Now he's got three level four monsters!" Yuma gasped.
"This does not bode well," Astral observed.
"I overlay my level four Heraldic Beast Leo, Aberconway, and Eale!" Vetrix declared. The monsters all became swirls of different colours; one yellow, one orange and one green, and they spiralled into the air.
"With these three monsters, I build the overlay network!" Vetrix cheered. A galaxy portal opened in the air, and the swirls entered it, before the portal twisted shut and released an explosion of light.
Vetrix's crest glowed on his forehead as he held up an xyz monster card. "I xyz summon Number 69: Heraldry Crest!" he declared.
A giant crest appeared in the sky, but it was being overshadowed by an even larger object that had appeared above them.
"I xyz summon Number 9: Dyson Sphere!" Quinton declared. A purple number 9 flashed in the air as the giant globe finished appearing in the sky. It began to unfold, causing shadows to fall across the field, revealing a smaller, yet still vast globe surrounded by petal-like panels. (9/2800/3000)
"Holy smokes, that thing's huge!" Jesse yelled.
"What the heck is that?!" Chazz gasped, gritting his teeth. He spotted the pink number 9 emblazoned on the panels of the massive satellite, and narrowed his eyes. "A Number card. Just great…" he muttered.
"And I thought that the Earthbound Immortals were massive monsters," Yusei gasped as he looked up. "That thing's humongous!"
"Yes indeed," Quinton said calmly. "It's not a monster that you'll be able to defeat, Yusei, that much is clear."
"No sweat!" Jaden called across from the field to Yusei. "You can take this thing out no problem!"
Yusei smiled. "Same to you, Jaden!" he called.
"That's right, Yusei," Yami Yugi agreed. "I've seen you take down tougher monsters than this before, even if they weren't quite as large," he admitted.
"And back to us!" Vetrix sneered. "I'm afraid that your Utopia can't save you now!" he called. "Not from Heraldry Crest!"
Yuma didn't want to, but reason demanded that he agree; and the giant monster that was hovering in front of him certainly provided good evidence in Vetrix's favour. It was a massive ivory head with ugly, snarling black jaws, and long black spines extended from its sides. (4/2600/1400)
"Now I activate my Heraldry Crest's special ability!" Vetrix called. "It will negate the special abilities of all your xyz monsters!"
Heraldry Crest blasted a snaking hand from its body, digging into Utopia's chest. Heraldry Crest glowed with power, while Utopia's colour faded.
"Now you can't use your Utopia's ability to dodge my attacks! Even if you've got Half Unbreak on your field it's over!" Vetrix called. "First, I'll have my Patriarch attack Toy Knight!"
Patriarch let loose two of the blades that made up its form.
"I activate the trap card, Half Unbreak!" Yuma called. "This trap prevents my monster from being destroyed, and it-"
"Yes, I know, it halves the damage!" Vetrix snapped.
A bubble formed around Toy Knight, and Yuma's life points fell to 500. He was blasted off his feet and he hit the ground. "Oh man, this isn't good!" Yuma cried.
"Calm down, Yuma, we are still in this," Astral replied. "Besides, if you lose, then it will mean a black mark on the streak of the talented duelists on our side."
"Ah, you'll be fine, don't worry about it!" Jaden said cheerfully, giving Yuma the thumbs up. He turned to Trey with a grin."Now, back to me!" Jaden cheered.
Yami Yugi nodded as Jaden turned back to his duel. "That's right. You've made it this far, Yuma, and with Astral's help you'll certainly pull through."
Yuma clapped his hands together and leapt into the air happily. "Did I just get praised by Yugi Muto?!" he cheered. "Aw man, that's so cool!"
Yami Yugi chuckled, much to Quattro's irritation.
"If you're finished with the fanboy, we have a duel to wrap up!" he snapped.
"Heraldry Crest, attack Toy Knight!" Vetrix called. "Go, Dark Matter Demolition!"
Heraldry Crest snarled and released a blast of energy into the sky. It exploded in the clouds, and a meteor began to descend.
"If we take that, then we'll lose the duel!" Yuma cried.
"Yuma!" Astral cried. "The trap, now!"
"You got it Astral!" Yuma called. "I activate the trap card, Shift!" he called. "This trap card switches the target of your attack to Utopia!"
Utopia leapt in the way of the meteor, and the molten projectile struck him in the chest. Glowing liquid energy spread over his form, and Utopia groaned as it shattered.
Yuma groaned as he fell to 400 life points.
"So, you held out did you?" Vetrix commented. "But Utopia is gone now. It's such a shame, isn't it? Your favourite monster all gone!" he cheered.
Yuma gritted his teeth. If I don't draw the right card next turn, I'm a goner!, he thought.
Calm down, Yuma, Astral reassured him. There is a high chance that we will draw a card that can help us. You must not lose faith. After all, look around us, he told Yuma.
Yuma did so, taking a break from his duel. He could see everyone fighting back; Jaden had summoned Winged Kuriboh and faced Trey's Atlandis with a grin on his face. Yugi's Dark Magician faced off against Quattro's Gimmick Puppet of Dark Strings, a matchup that Yugi was certainly at a disadvantage in, and Yusei had summoned a four-armed monster to combat Dyson Sphere.
They have not given up, and we cannot do the same, Astral declared.
Yuma remembered Tori encouraging him when he felt down, on those rare occasions that he lost his will, and his drive to fight.
Even if they're all worried about everyone else, everyone is still here!, Yuma thought. They're all with me in spirit!
Then he saw Shark glance over in worry from his duel with Yugi, and the WATER duelist smiled and nodded.
Yuma grinned, and he looked back at Vetrix. "All right, Vetrix, here I gooooo!" Yuma called. "I draw!" He drew his card, and he sighed in relief. "I summon Gagaga Gardna!" Yuma called, slapping the card down. A warrior in a long trench coat and large clothes appeared, holding a massive shield. (4/1500/2000)
"All right, it's time to deal some damage! Cause now I'm overlaying my level four Gagaga Gardna and Toy Knight!" Yuma called. The monsters transformed into orange swirls of energy, and then they spiralled into the air.
"With these two warrior monsters, I build the overlay network, and xyz summon Heroic Champion - Excalibur!" Yuma cheered as the energy twisted into the overlay network. A warrior in red-and white armour arose from the red spiral portal, holding a sword at its side, and it waved its free arm in a chop. (4/2000/2000)
"He might not be a Number card, but I can dish out some heavy damage this turn!" Yuma called. "I activate Excalibur's special ability!" Excalibur absorbed its overlay units into its chest and drew its sword, holding it in both hands. "By using two overlay units, it can double its attack points until the end of my next turn!" he explained with a grin. "Excalibur increased to 4000 attack points.
"Go, Heroic Champion - Excalibur!" Yuma called. "Attack Heraldry Patriarch with Shock Sword Slash!" he called.
Excalibur charged, bringing its blade up and slashing across Patriarch. The Number wasn't destroyed, but Vetrix's life points took a heavy hit, and he was flung across the field, his life points falling to 400.
"Yeah!" Yuma cheered. "Now our life points are equal! I'll end my turn by placing one card face-down!" he called.
"Excellent," Astral observed. "Our defenses have been fortified, and we have brought Vetrix down a significant number of life points. Our chances bode well, far better than our last bout with Vetrix," he observed.
An explosion of energy lit up the sky. Yuma and Astral both turned and they looked up to see Dyson Sphere transforming into crimson energy, before spiralling into the sky.
"I use the rank nine Dyson Sphere to rebuild the overlay network!" Quinton declared, holding up a copy of Argent Chaos Force. "Go, Chaos Xyz Evolution! Now descend, Chaos Number 9: Chaos Dyson Sphere!"
Another massive object began to unfold above them. Pink energy coursed through the spiked panels of the gigantic monster as its core lit up.
"So your Dyson Sphere can evolve even further?" Yusei asked, gritting his teeth.
"Quite so," Quinton replied.
Yusei scowled and readied himself.
"Yusei…" Jack gasped.
Kaiba was scowling too. "This is unbelievable," he muttered.
"Oh man…" Jaden said as he looked up at the monster.
The Ojamas were hiding behind Chazz with squeals, and Joey looked like he was freaking out.
"Nice work, brother," Trey commented to Quinton.
"Thank you, Trey," Quinton replied. "But you should focus on your match."
"He's got a point, ya know," Jaden agreed. "You'll wanna pay close attention for this one."
"And so will you, Yuma!" Vetrix called, drawing a card. "I'm activating the Augmented Heraldry field spell card!" Vetrix called. A glowing crest appeared under Vetrix's feet, and other crests swirled around his body.
"This card prevents you from targeting my psychic-type xyz monsters with the effects of your spells and traps!" Vetrix explained. "And now, I'll activate the special ability of Heraldry Crest!" he cheered. "Once a turn, it can gain the special ability of one of your xyz monsters!" Heraldry Crest blasted its energy arm out of its forehead, and it dug into the chest of Excalibur. Excalibur groaned as it attempted to maintain its footing.
"I think that whole doubling its own attack points ability will be quite useful, won't it?" Vetrix commented. "So I'll activate Heraldry Crest's new ability right away!" He slid two cards out from under his monster. "By using two overlay units, my Heraldry Crest will double its attack points until the end of this turn!"
Heraldry Crest absorbed the two overlay units, and it roared as it powered up to 5200 attack points.
"I'll also activate the special ability of my Heraldic Beast Leo since it was sent to my graveyard!" Vetrix continued. "Remember, whenever my king of beasts is sent to the graveyard, I can add any other Heraldic Beast monster from my deck to my hand!" A card slid from his deck, and he held it up. "I think that I'll add another Heraldic Beast Amphisbaena to my hand!"
"Trey!" Quattro yelled, turning his attention from Yami Yugi's field.
The flaming meteor struck, slamming into Chaos Atlandis' chest and knocking it down. It slowly descended, flattening Trey beneath it, his screams lost among the sound of the impact. His life points fell to zero.
"Trey!" Yuma, Quinton, Vetrix, and Jaden all yelled.
"Don't you worry, Trey…" Quattro whispered, gritting his teeth as Chronomaly City Babylon faded around them. "I'll avenge you right here and now!" He turned back to Yugi. "You lose, King of Games!"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Yami Yugi replied with a smile.
"Your friend may have taken down one of my sons, but I'll show you an even greater move!" Vetrix screeched. "Heraldry Crest, attack his Heroic Champion - Excalibur! Go, Dark Matter Demolition!"
Heraldry Crest fired a purple beam into the sky, and a purple meteor emerged from it.
"Yuma, activate that trap card now!" Astral called.
"You got it!" Yuma replied, flipping his hand across his duel disk's screen. "I activate my trap card, Xyz Revenge Shuffle!" he called. "By using this card, Excalibur gets returned to my extra deck!" Excalibur dissolved into white particles and flowed back into Yuma's extra deck at his hip.
"And then I get to bring back Utopia from my graveyard!" Yuma continued. "Not only that, but Xyz Revenge Shuffle then becomes Utopia's overlay unit!" he added.
Utopia arose from the graveyard portal, and an overlay unit fell into orbit around it.
Vetrix scowled. "Continue your attack, Heraldry Crest!" he yelled.
"I activate Utopia's special ability!" Yuma called. "I use one overlay unit, and negate your attack! Go, Light Wing Shield!" he called, and Utopia swung its wing around, blocking the meteor.
Vetrix clenched his fist, but he managed to keep himself under control. "You really are a pair of cockroaches, aren't you?" he sighed. "Oh well, better luck next turn. After all, Utopia is out of overlay units, so all it can do is destroy Patriarch and give me even more advantage! And you happen to be out of cards!"
Yuma nodded.
Quattro cursed under his breath, but then he smiled. "You're good, King of Games, you're really good…but can you win? Can you pull off a miracle draw?" He waved his hand angrily. "I end my turn!" he yelled.
Everyone looked at Yami Yugi, expecting him to declare that he would, that he had to pull off a miracle, and that he would believe in his cards, in the heart of the cards, and in the soul of a duelist.
Instead he started laughing. "You still don't get it, do you?" he asked.
Silence filled the arena as Yami Yugi drew a card and smiled. He closed his eyes, and relinquished control to Yugi.
Yugi looked up and took a card out from his pocket. "It's been two turns since I played Gold Sarcophagus," he explained. "Since those two turns have passed, my Monster Reborn spell card comes to my hand!"
Now it was Yugi's turn to close his eyes and relinquish control, and Yami Yugi was back in the game.
"All that I needed to do was draw a monster card this turn, and I have done just that," Yami Yugi explained. "So I'll summon Kuriboh to the field!" he declared, and the little brown-furred fiend appeared on the field.
"And now I activate the spell card Monster Reborn!" Yami Yugi yelled, slotting the card into his duel disk. "I use the magic of this card to bring one monster back from my graveyard!" he explained, removing a card from his graveyard.
Kaiba smiled from the sidelines. "That's it Yugi…bring back the sword that I gave you!"
"Is he?" Yusei asked.
"The descent of this mighty creature shall be heralded by burning winds and twisted land!" Yami Yugi chanted as he held the glowing card up. "And with the coming of this horror, those who draw breath shall know the true meaning of eternal slumber!" He slammed the card into his duel disk, and a beam of light erupted behind him, drawing the attention of everyone in the stadium.
"It's over Quattro!" Yami Yugi declared. "I summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"
With a mighty roar, a blue-skinned giant arose from the field, the space in between the four duelists, Jaden, who cradled Trey's body, Yusei, his field empty as he stared down Chaos Dyson Sphere, and Yuma and Astral, who controlled a mighty warrior in red armour and wielded a large backsword, facing Vetrix's white monster. But even the gigantic Chaos Dyson Sphere, which dwarfed the new arrival, couldn't compare to the mighty giant. Covered in spikes and hard muscle, it rose on a pair of simple wings that lifted it into the air. Its red eyes stared Quattro down, and in that instant, Quattro realized that he'd lost the duel. The blue gem in its forehead sparkled as it settled behind Yami Yugi.
Quattro was scrabbling for an answer, but he could barely choke out, "Even an Egyptian God card can't destroy a Number card in battle! And you can't inflict enough damage with four-thousand attack points!"
Kaiba laughed. "I'm not surprised that this fool is underestimating the fury of Obelisk," he commented. "Of course, I don't think I need to explain why to any of you," he added.
Joey was grinning now. "Man, this guy's toast," he commented.
"I activate Obelisk the Tormentor's special ability!" Yami Yugi declared. Obelisk reached out his hands, clenching them around Dark Magician and Kuriboh. Energy began to surround them, streaming from them into the eyes of Obelisk. The power slowly began to saturate the Egyptian God monster, and when the two monsters had vanished entirely, he straightened up and clenched his fists; energy glowing around them.
"By sacrificing two of my monsters, my Egyptian God monster's attack force becomes infinite until the end of this battle!" Yami Yugi explained. "Now, go, Obelisk the Tormentor! Attack his Gimmick Puppet Disaster Leo with Fist of Fate!"
With a mighty roar, Obelisk drew back its fists, which glowed with energy. It thrust its hands forward and columns of pure power erupted from them. The shockwave slammed into Gimmick Puppet Disaster Leo, and though it didn't destroy the Number, it blasted it into the side of the Kaiba Dome, and Quattro along with it. His life points fell to zero.
Vetrix glared to the side. "Another one bites the dust..." he muttered irritably. "Another one of my sons that I have to avenge..."
"Ha! There's a reason that they call Yugi the King of Games," Yuma commented.
"Apparently so," Vetrix said without amusement.
Yuma drew his card with a grin. "My turn!" he called.
"Yuma, we can win this duel this turn, but in case we do not, we must be ready for anything," Astral cautioned Yuma. "Instead of activating Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force, you must discard it," he explained.
"Discard it?" Yuma asked in surprise. He nodded. "Okay, Astral! I'll trust you no matter what, to the end of it all!" Yuma called. He slotted the card into his graveyard. "I discard my Rank-Up-Magic Astral Force!" he cried.
"Hmm?" Vetrix wondered.
"Now that we have, the conditions are met since we control a Utopia monster," Astral explained. "We can now use the rank four Utopia to rebuild the overlay network!" Utopia transformed into a yellow swirl, and it spiralled into the sky.
"What on earth is he summoning?!" Kite asked.
"Something big if it's not Utopia Beyond!" Shark commented.
"Go, Hyper Xyz Evolution! Witness the pinnacle of prominence!" Astral chanted. "We xyz summon the rank ten Number 99: Utopic Dragon!"
With a titanic roar, a majestic cream-coloured dragon appeared on the field. Ash-white armour encased it, and its body was studded with light blue orbs. Its wings resembled those of Utopia, yet they were fully spread and extended, and its arms and feet were encased in armour. (10/4000/2000)
"What is that?" Jesse gasped. "That big dragon's humungous!"
"No kidding," Crow commented. "Makes my cute little Black-Winged Dragon look small!"
"It is indeed a mighty creature," Yami Yugi admitted.
"Man, and I thought that Malefic Truth Dragon took the cake," Jaden admitted. "This dragon's awesome!"
Vetrix smiled. "So, Astral, it's your ultimate monster. That's very clever. Assuming that I survive this turn - which I will, your Utopic Dragon's special ability will prevent my Heraldry Crest from stealing its abilities once I revive it next turn," he noted. "Not to mention it's far too powerful for me to overcome normally," he added.
"And for that reason, Yuma, we cannot use Utopic Dragon's ability to bring back a Number," Astral explained to Yuma.
Yuma grinned. "Yeah, but we won't need it, right Astral?" he asked.
"Let us hope not," Astral replied warmly, before looking at Vetrix. "Now let us do this, Yuma!" he called.
"Hey, it's your monster, Astral!" Yuma replied. "You call your attack!"
Astral smiled. "Now, Number 99: Utopic Dragon!" he called. "Attack Number 18: Heraldry Patriarch, with Rising Sun Spiral!"
Utopic Dragon breath a column of white-hot flames from its maw, and the blast slammed into the strange monster. It crumbled and disintegrated, and Vetrix reacted quickly.
"I activate the Defense Draw trap card!" Vetrix cried. "This card reduces my damage to zero, and then I get to draw another card!" He drew his card with a smile behind his mask. And not only that, but since you sent my Heraldry Patriarch to my graveyard, I can send another two Heraldic Beasts to my graveyard!" He held up his two cards. "So I'll dispose of another Heraldic Beast Leo and Aberconway!" he called. "And since my Leo was sent to the graveyard, I add Heraldic Beast Unicorn from my deck to my hand!" Vetrix added, the card sliding into his hand.
"I'll have him give my level two Synchron Carrier and Doppelwarrior a tune-up, and synchro summon a new warrior!" Yusei called. "My Jet Warrior!"
Yuma turned around again and he watched as Yusei's new monster zoomed into play; a midnight blue and bronze armoured warrior with a shortened fighter jet body forming his upper torso. He struck a pose, holding his palm out with fingers splayed.
Everyone that was watching clapped to congratulate Yusei's monster.
"That's one sweet monster!" Jaden said happily.
"You said it, Jay!" Jesse agreed.
"Quinton's finished," Jack agreed. "After all that effort to bring it out, it's got to have an excellent special ability!"
"Go get 'em, Yusei!" Yuma cheered, giving Yusei the thumbs up.
"Blow it away, Jet Warrior!" Yusei yelled, and Jet Warrior boosted forwards, blasting into space with its engines. It boosted through the atmosphere, climbing beyond the stratosphere, and it slammed into Chaos Dyson Sphere. The giant machine began tumbling through space, vanishing as a speck of light.
"And while we wait for Jet Warrior to begin re-entry, I'll end this duel here and now with my Junk Destroyer!" Yusei declared. "Attack Quinton directly with Fists of Ferocity!" he yelled, and Junk Berserker leapt into the air and slammed its fists into the ground, dislodging Quinton and reducing his life points to zero.
Yusei sighed, and he slid his cards into his deck. He walked over to Quinton, Yami Yugi joining him.
"Your story isn't finished yet, is it?" Yusei asked. "After you were defeated by the Barian Emperors, did you come here?"
"Did Zorc summon you?" Yami Yugi asked.
"Did Zorc summon us?" Quinton asked in reply. "We were not summoned to this field of battle, we were born here."
"What?" Yusei asked.
"You have seen this before, Yusei, surely you know what you are witnessing," Quinton replied. "After all, we are not the only combatants that are merely androids created from the memories of those that knew us."
The implications of Quinton's words utterly shocked everyone in the arena. Quinton sat before them, both the crest on his forehead and a bracelet on his wrist glowing blue, with a look in his artificial eyes that told them that he was not lying.
Yuma swivelled around in shock, as did Astral.
"Androids?" Yusei asked, but then he remembered what Z-one had told him about Aporia.
He hadn't been the real Aporia, Yusei realized. Instead he was an android copy, and Z-one based his three embodiments on the three despairs in his life.
"This makes sense, then," Astral commented. "So this is how you were able to join this conflict."
Yuma looked at Vetrix with wide eyes. "And that's why you guys can use your crests and your Chaos Numbers!" he gasped. "And it's also why you remember each other fondly, why Vetrix isn't working just for revenge!"
Vetrix remained impassive. "You didn't have to go that far, Chris," he said.
"It's all right...father," Quinton replied. "It was time for them to know."
"So...do we still have to duel?" Yuma asked.
Vetrix laughed, giggling as only he did. "Sorry Yuma! You're not getting out of this one that easily!" he cheered.
"Oh yeah?" Yuma asked with a grin. "Well, you better get ready to eat your words, Vetrix, because I am so feeling the flow right now!"
"You'll have to feel it on your turn, and not mine," Vetrix said dryly, drawing a card. He smiled, and he held out his arm. "Since I have Heraldic Beast Aberconway in my graveyard, I can banish another from my graveyard, in order add Leo from my graveyard to my hand!" he called. He slid a card from his graveyard, and placed it into his hand.
"Next I summon Heraldic Beast Amphisbaena!" Vetrix cheered, placing the card on his duel disk. Another of the grey wyverns appeared on the field with a screech. "I'll discard my Heraldic Beast Unicorn from my hand in order to increase Amphisbaena's attack points by eight-hundred!" Vetrix called, and he slid the card into his graveyard, and Amphisbaena increased to 2500 attack points.
"All those attack points don't matter against Utopic Dragon!" Yuma called. "And you can't target him with your Heraldry Crest either, or we can destroy your Heraldry Crest!"
"That would be a tactical error," Astral cut in. "If we destroy his Heraldry Crest, he can simply use the Unicorn that he just sent to his graveyard to return it to the field and negate Utopic Dragon's special ability," he explained.
Vetrix smiled. "That's quite impressive, Astral," he admitted. "Well then, how about this?!" he shrieked, holding up a spell card. "I activate the spell card Rank-Up-Magic Limited Barian's Force!" he shrieked. "This card ranks up a rank four monster I control into a chaos xyz monster!" he declared.
"What?! Why does he have Limited Barian's Force?!" Yuma asked in horror.
"I use the rank four Heraldry Crest to rebuild the overlay network!" Vetrix declared, and Heraldry Crest transformed into crimson energy and entered the overlay network in the sky. "Go, Chaos xyz evolution!" he yelled. "Appear, Chaos Number 69: Heraldry Crest of Horror!"
A corrupted purple number 69 flashed in the air, and then golden and purple version of Heraldry Crest descended from the sky, with crimson energy coursing through its form. (5/4000/1800)
"You've gotta be kiddin' me!" Joey cried. "Four thousand attack points just from that, that's nuts!"
"Of course, with your dragon still in play, I can't use his effect this turn, but I can still attack!" Vetrix sneered. "Now, Chaos Number 69: Heraldry Crest of Horror!" he screeched. "Attack Number 99: Utopic Dragon!"
The massive monster powered up with a snarl, concentrating purple energy above its head spikes. It let the blast loose in the form of a purple beam.
Not to be outdone, Utopic Dragon roared and fired its own blast, the flames smashing into the purple beam. The two power beams exploded on contact, and the shockwave disintegrated both monsters.
"Oh man, now he's got no monsters on his field!" Jaden called in shock as he protected Trey from the shockwave.
"And Vetrix isn't done yet," Yusei muttered.
"I attack directly with Heraldic Beast Amphisbaena!" Vetrix declared.
"Yuma!" Yami Yugi yelled as the grey wyvern lunged forwards.
"Ready Astral?" Yuma asked.
"Let us do this, Yuma!" Astral replied.
"I activate my Tasuke Knight's special ability from my graveyard!" Yuma called. "When I have no cards in my hand, this monster can revive itself from my graveyard and end the battle instantly!"
"What?!" Vetrix gasped in shock.
The red and white armoured knight appeared on the field, It drew its sword and blocked the strike, throwing Amphisbaena back to Vetrix's side of the side.
Jesse heaved a sigh of relief, and Shark wiped his forehead.
"Well, that was certainly cutting it a bit too close for comfort, wasn't it?" Jack asked.
Vetrix smiled, his hand over his mask.
"Hey, wait, if you guys are androids, then is your face still...all...you know...spacy?" Yuma asked.
Vetrix laughed, but unlike most of his laughs, which were mocking sneers, this was a more gentle and honest laugh. "I think that I'll spare you the sight," he said gently. "But I'm afraid that I can't spare you the duel, though," he commented. He slid a card from his graveyard slot. "By banishing Heraldic Beast Unicorn from play, I can bring back a psychic-type xyz monster from my graveyard, and I'll revive Heraldic Crest of Horror!"
A massive graveyard portal opened beneath Vetrix, and Heraldry Crest of Horror emerged from it.
"Then I'll also activate the special ability of my Heraldic Beast Twin-Headed Eagle!" Vetrix called. "By banishing it from my graveyard, I can attach Leo and Eale to Heraldry Crest of Horror as overlay units!" he explained. Twin yellow spheres rose out of a graveyard portal and they fell into orbit around Heraldry Crest of Horror.
"Finally, I'll play my Burial from a Different Dimension spell card!" Vetrix called. "It returns three of my banished cards to my graveyard, so I'll return two Unicorns and Twin-Headed Eagle to my graveyard!" He slid the cards back into his duel disk with a smile.
"Not bad," Chazz commented.
"Yeah," Yusei agreed. "He's using his graveyard like another resource, and he's keeping it well-stocked too," he observed.
Kaiba was looking quite interested. "Well, a nap in the graveyard can be a short trip to the field..." he mused to himself.
"It's your move, Yuma, Astral!" Vetrix reminded them. "Now come on, don't keep me bored!"
Yuma looked at Vetrix in determination. "Oh, don't you worry, Vetrix," he replied. "We won't let that happen. We're gonna win this!"
Shark and Kite both kept quiet, since they knew that they'd eat their words if they said anything, given Yuma's general trend.
Crow was a bit less optimistic. "Uh, I hate to say it, but facing a four-thousand attack monster with no cards but a warrior monster isn't exactly what you'd call an optimal situation," he commented.
Joey was clenching his fists, hoping against hope. "Come on, man..." he muttered.
Yugi looked at Yuma worriedly. "Is he going to be okay?" he wondered.
"Yes, of course," Yami Yugi reassured him. "He has fate, and the heart of the cards on his side. Yuma and Astral will get through this."
Yuma turned and looked at Astral. "This is it, Astral," he said.
Astral nodded and smiled at Yuma. He reached out and laid his hand on Yuma's deck. "Let us win this duel!" he called.
They drew together, no Shining Draw, no declaration, none was needed, not even ZEXAL. Fate was in operation now, and it controlled them all.
They slotted the spell card into their duel disk. "I activate the Gagagadraw spell card!" Yuma called.
"By banishing three Gagaga monsters from our graveyard, we are allowed to draw three cards!" Astral explained. Three cards slotted out of their graveyard; Gagaga Magician, Gagaga Girl, and Gagaga Gardna. Yuma drew again, and he held the two cards up. "Perfect!" Yuma called. "Now I activate the spell card, Onomatopaira!" he called. "I send the Gogogo Ghost in my hand to the graveyard, and then I add two monsters from my deck to my hand, as long as there's only one of a Zubaba, a Gagaga, a Dododo, or a Gogogo among them!" He selected his cards with the aid of Astral, and they held them up to Vetrix.
"We add Dododo Buster and Gogogo Giant to our hand!" Astral explained.
"And now I summon Gogogo Giant!" Yuma called, slapping the card down. A giant with cylindrical limbs appeared on the field, with the same maroon stone as Gogogo Golem's defense form. (4/2000/0) "When this card is successfully summoned, I can bring back a Gogogo monster from my graveyard and then change this card into defense mode!" Yuma explained. Gogogo Giant crossed its arms, and a graveyard portal opened beneath it.
"I'm bringing back the monster that I just discarded, my Gogogo Ghost!" Yuma called. A spectre that was animating a suit of armour similar to Gogogo Golem appeared, clutching a sword. (4/1900/0)
"He's not done yet," Shark observed with a grin.
"And now I activate my Gogogo Ghost's special ability!" Yuma called. "When this guy is special summoned, I can bring Gogogo Golem back from the graveyard and change him into defense mode!"
Gogogo Ghost knelt down, planting its sword. Another graveyard portal opened beneath it, and Gogogo Golem rose up in its maroon defensive form under Gogogo Ghost.
Joey laughed, and he punched the air. "Four monsters? Now that's more like it!" he commented.
"I overlay my level four Tasuke Knight and Gogogo Ghost!" Yuma called, and the two monsters became orange swirls of energy and they spiralled into the air. "With these two monsters, I build the overlay network, and I xyz summon Gagaga Cowboy in defense mode!" Yuma called as the energy entered a red spiral portal. His blaster-toting cowboy appeared on the field, swinging his weapons around. (4/1500/2400)
"I activate Gagaga Cowboy's special ability!" Yuma called. "By using one overlay unit while he's in defense mode, you take eight-hundred points of damage!"
Gagaga Cowboy absorbed one of its overlay units into its blaster.
"Wait, what?" Vetrix asked.
"With only four hundred life points left, you lose, Vetrix!" Astral called.
Kaiba smirked. "Defeating the duelist instead of the monster. I have to say, at least for a kid, they're not that bad."
"Hold up, did you just praise these guys?" Joey asked, inserting a finger into his ear and rotating it.
"Course he did, they stoked his ego, remember?" Crow said snidely with a grin on his tattooed face.
"I'd keep quiet about that if I were you, birdbrain," Kaiba snapped.
"If you're done having a hissy fit, we have a duel to finish!" Vetrix snapped at the spectators. "I activate the trap card, Energy-Absorbing Monolith!" he called. "Sadly I didn't have it when you summoned Volcasaurus, but now that I do have it, I can convert your effect damage into my life points!" A stone tablet rose up and intercepted Cowboy's blasts, and Vetrix glowed with energy as he rose to 1200 life points.
"Guess it was worth a try!" Yuma said with a confident grin.
"Indeed," Astral admitted. "It is a good thing that this was not our primary plan," he commented.
"It's not?!" Vetrix cried in surprise.
"I overlay my level four Gogogo Giant and Gogogo Golem!" Yuma called, and the two monsters transformed into purple swirls and they spiralled into the sky.
Another red spiral portal opened beneath them, and as the energy twisted inside, Yuma declared, "With these two monsters I build the overlay network and xyz summon Gagaga Samurai!"
A samurai with long black hair tied back and garbed in baggy clothes similar to the duller fatigues that Gagaga Gardna had worn appeared on the field, brandishing twin katana. (4/1900/1100)
"But he's not sticking around for long!" Yuma called. "Because now I'm overlaying my rank four Gagaga Cowboy and Gagaga Samurai!" Both monsters transformed into orange energy swirls and they spiralled into the air.
"He's overlay xyz monsters without treating their ranks as levels?" Shark asked in shock.
"Is that kind of summon even possible?" Kite asked.
"With these two non-Number monsters, I build the overlay network!" Yuma called as the monsters twisted into a galaxy-style portal. The portal slammed shut and released an explosion of blue light.
"Now I xyz summon my ace monster!" Yuma called. "My time to shine, my hope for the future!"
The words stirred something in Jack, and he nodded as he clenched his fist.
"Now appear!" Yuma declared. "Future Number 0: Utopic Future!"
Twin blue number zeros flashed in the air, and a red winged pillar similar to that of Utopia's neutral form arose. It began to unfold, forming into a red armoured figure with four wings and carrying twin swords. The figure's helmet was similar to Yuma's bizarre hairstyle, and it struck a deft pose. (0/0/0)
In the Stone Fortress...
Doctor Faker was reeling in shock, and both Number 96 and Vector couldn't believe their eyes.
"That little...that ingrate!" Vector shrieked.
"A rank zero xyz monster?!" Number 96 asked. "How is such a creation possible? How could a human create something like this?!"
Z-one looked at Number 96 out of the corner of his eye. Hmm, he thought to himself. Strange. He is quite active for the spirit of a simple Number card. This warrants investigation.
He turned away from the screen. "The outcome is decided. It seems that we have succeeded in forcing Yuma Tsukumo to show his hand, in addition to Astral's. These are undoubtedly their most powerful monsters, and now you are as forewarned of them as they are of yours."
"Where are you going?" Faker asked.
"I have something to confirm with our leader," Z-one said.
Faker watched him go in worry. This does not bode well, he thought. Bakura is already suspicious, and even with good intel on those who we have forced to show their hand, it is still likely that Z-one may not escape this unscathed.
Yubel had been watching the screen jealously as she saw Jaden cheer for Yuma while continuing to hold Trey, and this wasn't lost on Faker.
Poor child, he thought sadly. We all have those that are precious to us...
He spared a glance for the seething Vector. Even he has known love..., he thought.
At the Kaiba Dome...
"So how do you get a rank zero xyz monster?" Shark asked.
"An xyz monster's rank comes from the level of its overlay unit monsters," Kite reminded Shark. "But since xyz monsters don't have levels, an xyz monster that can use others as its material thus has no rank, I suppose."
"Or any attack points, it seems," Kaiba muttered.
"Utopic Future, attack Heraldry Crest of Horror!" Yuma called.
Utopic Future drew its swords and it charged forwards, bringing one arm up to slash.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but when you attack Heraldry Crest of Horror, I can destroy all the cards you control," Vetrix said calmly.
Heraldry Crest of Horror released a massive shockwave, and Yuma reacted quickly.
"I activate my Utopic Future's special ability!" he called. "By using an overlay unit, he isn't destroyed!"
Absorbing an overlay unit into its chest jewel, Utopic Future blocked the shockwave with its swords and then continued its attack.
"So you avoid defeat only to charge straight in and welcome it," Vetrix observed.
"Nuh-uh! Cause I activate my Utopic Future's special ability!" Yuma replied. "This guy can't be destroyed in battle, and the damage I take becomes zero!"
"So then what was the point in wasting an overlay unit?" Chazz asked.
"Because now Utopic Future will take control of your monster!" Yuma called.
"What?!" Vetrix gasped.
"And now their origins are proven," Astral commented. "If they were indeed the real duelists, then they would remember Utopic Future, but since they do not, then their claims of being androids are that much more plausible."
Utopic Future slashed down, carving two scars across Heraldry Crest of Horror. The monster's Barian energy faded, and it moved to Yuma's side of the field.
"That's my Number now, Vetrix," Yuma said. "Now, Heraldry Crest of Horror!" he called. "Attack Vetrix directly!"
Heraldry Crest of Horror powered up its beam, and Vetrix smiled. You did it, Yuma Tsukumo. Oh, it's so annoying, he thought.
The power beam struck him directly, and his body could barely take the strain. The crests of Augmented Heraldry protected him, but his life points fell to zero quickly, and Vetrix was blasted backwards.
"Father!" Quattro yelled.
His swiftness surprised everyone; he hadn't talked since Obelisk the Tormentor punched him across the arena. He caught his father's battered body and landed in a crouch as Augmented Heraldry faded.
Utopic Future and Heraldry Crest of Horror exploded into yellow dust, and Yuma heaved a sigh of relief.
"Nicely done, Yuma," Yusei said, holding out his fist.
Yuma grinned, and he fist bumped with Yusei.
"Yeah man, that was pretty sweet!" Jesse commented. "Right, Jaden?" he asked.
"You said it!" Jaden agreed.
Yami Yugi nodded as well, smiling. "That was impressive," he said honestly. "I can see why Horahkty chose you to fight in this conflict.
"Yes...I see indeed," a raspy voice said.
Everyone looked up in shock as Yami Bakura descended from the sky, golden light suffusing his form from the power of the Millennium Ring.
How are we all doing, everybody? I hope you all had a good Christmas! It was pretty hectic here.
sonofthetrigod: Thanks. I do like my exposition. Well, here it is on your Boxing Day. Hopefully the final epicness of the arc has lived up to your expectations and then some.
chenj25: Yep. Thank you.
Jackpot2: It's fine. (Well, I technically broke a previous promise to myself, but I digress). Hopefully this states the end of the arc.
jalen johnson: Excellent, that means that I'm keeping surprises! And thank you.
So, funny story, initially I had Excalibur as is it in the chapter, but then I realized that it couldn't destroy Crest. So I figured, eh, well, maybe I can summon Diamond Crab King instead, that'll destroy it. And then Vetrix reviving Crest turned out to create more problems than it solved, so I went back to Excalibur, and that ended up working out fine.
And that's it! My longest chapter yet, and the conclusion of the Fourth Arc! Fifty blasted chapters! It's crazy! We'll have an intermission chapter in the New Year, and then it'll be onto the Fifth and Final Arc! Ah, it'll be a blast!
Now, reviewers! You've been waiting long enough for this chapter!
