Cipher (1)49: Adams Legacy
"I do not think this plan is as cracked up as everyone keeps saying. You all still look the same to me." Said Ruby after she volunteered for the 'infiltration' plan. "You will appear as the duelists you defeated to others. Only we can see our true selves." Dakar had more faith in his Numbers ability than her, even if he had never used it in this way. The others had defeated two more of Cains 'soldiers'. Now He, Ruby, Theo and Xander held the Numbers of those people and 'masqueraded' as them. The Raider, Azar and Subito would stay behind so they could rescue them if things were getting too dicey.
"If you have something on your mind, you should let us hear it, Ruby." Theo knew they did not have much time to lose. The remaining forces were already clearing the town. In the end this place had already been deserted. "I never said anything about backing off. Don't wait on my part.." Ruby said and grabbed Theo's shoulder. "But I am sticking to you like glue.. Theo." She did not let go. "That's what I thought." Theo smirked. "I suggest you follow my lead. I know how to behave like them." Having been in the actual army helps... Not that this is the standard kind of army."
The four walked off and snuck into the larger squadron with relative ease, while the others stayed back and observed. "Raider. Are you holding up well?" Subito noticed that as the Raider kept watching, his expression became pained. "I am still myself. That is not the concern." The maskless Fifth gazed at the four people behind him; the comatose Godfrey, Dodge and two others. These people were basically innocents drafted into a war they did not understand. "I had hoped for us to fight the enemy directly." The person he was, did not enjoy their current plan. "I see. But too try and take on that entire army is too much, even for you. I assume if you were to use your powers, Cain would detect you." Subito did not know Cain enough to predict his reaction to that, but he did not want another catalyst to flee from them.
"There is something you can help me with, right now." Azar activated his D-pad and handed it to the Raider. "What are these?" The fifth was shown images and documents. "The Numbers the agency had archived. The record has gaps; some Numbers do not have known human partners. Those are the catalysts two-digit Numbers." Like Pandora with Number 33, most catalysts must have needed a human host which already carried a number before. There were thousands of men and women who had gone missing, going by Kapha's list. He needed to narrow it down. "To create Numeron Dragon, the catalysts had to give 'extension' of their own Numbers to Necara. I am asking you, if the Catalyst inside you can find which humans received those Numbers."
...
Even if the men and women who composed Cains army retained free will, their words and actions were supressed by the mentality of the soldier. Thousands marched in silence as they returned to the main company. It was an eerie sight. Military crafts drove alongside children and elderly. None dared to even hold a small chat here and there, their purpose went above all else. Yet Theo and the others did not need to talk with each other to realize where they were headed. Every small town had been taken care of, their occupants had taken refuge inside the nearest major city. That was what they were preparing to attack now. Cains methods were slow but precise. He never missed a single soul... And there he was. "!" The Second stood in the air, ahead of the frontlines. Cain had not noticed them, but then they were many miles apart.
"What now? How do we get close to him?" Dakar whispered to the others. The crowd around him did not hear him so far. "Capture him in a barrier?" Ruby suggested and looked at Xander. "Cant. If I put one up around him and us, I will have to include everyone in between." Number 106 could not twist his forcefields into complex shapes if they were stretched across a wide range. "We need to get closer then, without being noticed.. We need a distraction." Theo already had a different plan in mind. "If you want to use one of us, you can forget it." Ruby hissed softly but clearly. "No, that was not what I wanted to say." Theo turned towards Dakar. "Tell me. Can you 'mask' others as well?"
Suddenly a panic broke out in the ranks. "!?" Disorder of any kind was unacceptable in Cains domain. "Why is there a commotion?" The commanding catalyst spun around and peered into his army; pinpointing the source of the disturbance. "What?" He saw several of the soldiers abandon the line to grapple with one of their own. "Sir Cain! We've found an intruder!" Others explained themselves while saluting the Second. "He did not have a Number on him, he was trying to sneak passed us!" By now the individual had been detained and his appearance caught Cain off guard. "You fools! Let me go, I serve Cain as well!" He looked exactly like Theo Jager, his former sibling. Yet he did not sound like him. "This is.." Cain stepped down and traced his hand across the air in front of the captive. "A trick!" He pulled his hand back, to tear off the illusion and reveal an ordinary citizen he himself had added to his troops. "What?" The other soldiers were flabbergasted, how could they have been fooled? "This power..is not one of ours!?"
The scheme was figured it out... too late. "Cain! I challenge you!" The Second heard the loud declaration of his real brother, as he appeared behind him. Theo had been disguised as well? "An overhundred Number!" With Theo were three others. All of them were carrying Overhundred Numbers. "You.." One of those cards had cast a glamour-like spell on the intruders and on one of his men, just to deceive him. Another had put up an energy cage that kept him trapped inside and isolated from all his subjects. "Lord Cain!" They pushed against the walls, which would not do them or their master any good. "Theo.." Cain growled.
"Hello Arend." Theo activated his D-pad and hooked up his Visor. "Hey, who said you would do it!?" Ruby cursed Theo out. That part of the plan had not been discussed at all. "He is my brother, I deserve this fight." Theo started drawing his cards. Cain was still frozen in rage. "But you have no Overhundred Number, or any Number? This is not the time to put family pride ahead of everything else!" Even Xander was exasperated. "I have something better.. insight. I know how my brother thinks."
Cains LP: 8000 Theo's LP: 8000
"I take the first turn!" Theo placed one other on the field; normal summoning a blue aerobatic airjet(3/1400/1100). "Mecha Phantom Beast Blue Impala! This is a tuner monster for synchro machine monsters, and it can use a Mecha Phantom Beast in my hand as a synchro material!" Theo tuned Blue Impala with a level 4 Mecha Phantom Beast Coltwing in his hand; resulting in the creation of a level 7 synchro monster. "I synchro summon Mecha Phantom Beast Concoruda in defense mode!" The golden concorde beast(7/2400/1200) flew out of the extra deck and landed on the ground in between the barrier.
"Are you through?" Cain in the mean time had crafted his own deck and drawn his own cards. His were made from pure metal it seemed, and as large as his own body. "Only with this turn.. I place two cards down, and pass things over to you, Arend." Theo said with a coy yet determined look on his face. "You are enjoying this? I can tell. You think this confrontation will awaken something in me. You are wrong, Theo Jager." Cain drew his card. "Your field has monsters, so my field which has none can now hold my Cyber Dragon!" The metallic cyber serpent(5/2100/1600) was special summoned. "You have never stopped using machines, your downfall is your own doing! I use your monster alongside my Cyber dragon, to fusion summon.." The Second was about to clear every monster zone. "Cloak and Dagger!" Until Theo activated one of his traps. "I name Chimeratech Fortress Dragon! Any monster with that name can will be banished!" A sniper rifle turret appeared besides Theo and took aim at Cains extra deck.
"Chimeratech Fortress Dragon?" Ruby raised an eyebrow. Why was Theo aiming for that card? "Cain runs a Cyber style deck. And Chimeratech Fortress Dragon is one of its greatest weapons." Xander was a bit quicker on the uptake. "It is a fusion of Cyber Dragon and any other machine on the field, including Theo's. Had he not played that trap, he would have lost Concoruda." Now Cain would not be able to use that approach without losing his own monster as well. "Not everything changed, eh Arend?" Theo had dueled his brother many times before they joined the army. Back then Arend also preferred the Cyber style. "You did not change enough, Theo." Cain retorted and normal summoned his next monster; a sleek metallic serpent(4/1800/800), one with a head on its body and tail as well. "Cyber Dragon Drei. Your power is required." Cyber Dragon Drei used its effect which altered the levels of all Cyber Dragons on the field. As it(5/1800/800) was a Cyber Dragon in name due to its second effect, its level was raised to the fifth stage. "Xyz-summon: Cyber Dragon Nova!"
The three-headed and single-headed cybernetic serpents used the more advanced summoning process to combine into a winged metallic dragon(5/2100/1600) with red and gold scales. "Nova.." That monster was new to Theo, and the game in general. "Nova, become the Cyber Dragon in name, by taking this equipment: Cyber Coat" Cain attached an equip spell to the Nova Dragon, making its steel exterior shine brightly. "Now..with your own power, revive one Cyber Dragon!" Cain detached the Cyber Dragon material from his Xyz monster, only to resummon that monster to the field, after it was sent to the graveyard. "And you will banish one Cyber Dragon I control, to double your own attackpoints this turn!" Cyber Dragon Nova(5/4200/1600) held Cyber Dragon down with its claws, and sank its teeth into the lesser dragon. Nova consumed the threeheaded machine in its entirety. "Your monster is dead, Theo." Cains battle phase began after that, and the Nova dragon blew Mecha Phantom Beast Concoruda to pieces.
Cyber Coat, Equip Spell
Equip only to a "Cyber" monster. It cannot be targeted by your opponents spell and trap card effects. The equipped monster's name becomes "Cyber Dragon".
"Aerial Recharge!" Before the concorde had gone up in flames, Theo activated his second trap card; a continuous card which special summoned a Mecha Phantom beast token(3/0/0) to his field every turn. "You know what this leads to. Because you destroyed Concoruda, it can sacrifice all tokens to special summon one Mecha Phantom Beast from my graveyard! I special summon Coltwing!" The discarded machine was what Theo chose to revive. A tiltwinged osprey plane(4/1600/1500) flew upwards out of the smoke and fire. "Coltwing special summons two more tokens when it is special summoned!" Coltwing emitted two light beams from its wings, and created holographic tiltwing tokens(3/0/0). And like other Mecha Phantom Beasts; Coltwing(10/1600/1500)'s level increased by the level of the tokens. "...You think you are ready to fight back." Cain placed one trap card and ended his turn. "Prove it." During that endphase Aerial Recharge sacrificed one token to keep itself on the field.
"I am not affraid of you, Arend! I never was!" Theo drew his card and summoned his next Mechanic beast. "Mecha Phantom Megaraptor! It can use a token to send a Mecha Beast to my hand!" The final token was swiftly tributed, after a blue raptor-themed jet(4/1900/1000) joined the skies alongside Coltwing. "I take Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion out of my deck." And with that accomplished, Theo set out towards his plans next phase. He first reactivated Aerial Recharge and created a new token(3/0/0). "Once a turn, Megaraptor can make one more token when another card creates a token!" The created token split into two virtual jets, as the Raptor Jet used its own holo-beam to fragment the beam released by Aerial Recharge. "And then! By using 2 Mecha Phantom I can special summon Kalgriffin from my hand!" Two tokens disappeared in the skies, and a massive multi-propellor plane(7/1000/2500) parked its heavy landing gear on the ground where they used to stand. Unlike other regular Mecha Phantom Beasts, this card did not alter its level in the presence of tokens. "Kalgriffin can discard a Mecha Phantom Beast, to create a token." Theo tossed the Beast O-lion out of his hand. "Not only that, but O-lion itself can create a token, when it is sent to the graveyard!" The last two free monster zones on Theo's side were filled with tokens(3/0/0).
"You are not showing me anything new, Theo." Cain so far did not give off any sign of worry. "Nothing new? How about this then!?" Theo activated a spell card. "Token Treasure! I tribute all tokens on my field, and draw 2 cards!" Once again he cleared his field of fake machines, just to replenish his hand. "Now this! By banishing O-Lion from my graveyard, I can normal summon a Mecha Phantom Beast again this turn!" The spirit of the lion satellite re-appeared for one final effect; and Theo utilized it to normal summon a rigid cargo plane(3/1600/400), shaped and colored like a penguin. "Mecha Phantom Beast Aerosguin! It banished one Mecha Phantom from the graveyard, to create a new token!" The Aeros Penguin(6/1600/400) put a tinier colorless penguin craft(3/0/0) down. That in turn raised the levels of Megaraptor(7/1900/1000) and Coltwing(7/1600/1500) again. "Xyz-summon!" Theo overlayed the Coltwing with Kalgriffin. "Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack!" And finally Theo created the greatest Mecha Phantom aircraft, the airliner dragon Dracossack(7/2600/2200). "It can sacrifice the final token to destroy Cyber Dragon Nova!"
Token Treasure, Normal Spell
If you control 2 or more tokens: destroy all tokens you control and draw 2 cards.
"You misunderstand once again. That is a habit you never abandoned." When Dracossack devoured the last token to fuel its destructive cannons, Cain turned his trap card face-up. "Cyber Network! I control Cyber Dragon, I may banish one machine of the Light from my deck." His trap was permanent as well, and this turn it banished another Cyber Dragon Drei. "When Cyber Dragon Drei is banished, it targets a Cyber Dragon to make it indestructible!" Through the network, a flash of energy was conveyed. It paralyzed Dracossack as it tried to direct its cannons towards Cyber Dragon Nova. "What? Rgh!" Theo had missed his chance that time. "Dracossack can detach a material to create two tokens!" Theo did so, and once again filled out his front row. While these tokens(3/0/0) existed, none of his Mecha Phantom Beasts could be destroyed in battle. "I set a spell.. and end my turn!"
"No card created by man will catch me off guard. I am prepared for any Mecha Phantom Beast, Theo." Cain drew his card. "Your deck can not match up, your existence can not compare." Cyber Dragon Nova(2100/1600) detached the first Cyber Dragon Drei from itself this turn, and special summoned that threeheaded dragon back to the field. Of course it was quickly banished to double Nova(4200/1600)'s attackpoints. "Your machines will not suffer for this, but you will!" Nova released a shot towards Dracossack. "Theo! Are you just gonna let this guy waltz all over you!?" Theo just listened in silence as Cain kept saying things his own brother would never have said. It took Ruby's yelling to snap Theo out of his stupor. "Ergh, of course!" Theo unveiled his set card, a quickplay spell. "Limiter Removal! I double the attackpoints of my machine monster!" The already massive Dracossack stood upright and increased in size until it(5200/2200) was twice as large. "As I expected." But in the same damage step, Cain activated his own quickplay spell from his hand; Limiter Removal. "Him too!?" Dakar gasped as the spell made Cyber Dragon Nova(8400/1600) catch up to Dracossack in the growing race, and ended up even more powerful. Dracossack was overwhelmed by the energy fire from the Nova dragon. "Gwaaahhh!" So was Theo. He was thrown away by the blast.
Theo's LP: 4800
"He was baiting him! Had he attacked any of his weaker machines, Theo would not have tried to counter with Limiter Removal and he could have used it on his own turn to overpower Nova!" Theo had claimed he would play mindgames with Cain, but Xander saw that Cain was winning that game so far. "Theo! If you know how he used to think, he obviously knows that about you as well!" Ruby angrily said to Theo as he pulled himself up. "...I know that." He refused to stay down for even a second. "And this confirms that he has not forgotten me. He remembers how I used to think and act." Dracossack survived this assault as it could not be destroyed while Theo controlled tokens. It would survive Limiter Removals endphase destruction effect as well. But so would Nova, as the banished Drei shielded it even from a spells selfdestructive costs.
"You still do not see. Arend is gone.. Theo. I have his memories, and I know how to use them against you." Cain proceeded with his turn, and used Cyber Network to banish a Cyber Ouroboros from his deck. The effect of Cyber Ouroboros then triggered itself upon banishment; Cain could discard a card from his hand to draw a new one. "You always wanted what Arend had, what I had. But that is all you are to me, a pawn. Your envy made you the perfect assistant for both my catalysis and the spread of Chaos."
"I refuse to believe that. There has to be something left of your human self." Dakar spoke up. Prometheus had shown signs of his humanity, Cain had to be the same. "No. Nothing. You all reason from an error of perception." Cain grabbed his desert cloak with his cybernetic hand and took it off. With his other hand he unmasked himself. "!?" Everyone saw what 'Arend' had become. The Second catalyst was not just wearing cybernetic armor, his entire body was enfused with mechanics, even his head. His limbs were not of flesh, his heart was artificial and his eyes glowed red.
"Arend died. I am what survived, I am Cain."
(To be Continued in Cipher (1)50: Dehumanized)
New Cards used by Theo Jager
Mecha Phantom Beast Kalgriffin
Mecha Phantom Beast O-Lion
Mecha Phantom Beast Tracer
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Token Treasure
Limiter Removal
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Cloak and Dagger
Cards used by Cain
Cyber Dragon
Cyber Dragon Drei
Cyber Dragon Nova
Cyber Ouroboros
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Cyber Coat
Limiter Removal
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Cyber Network
