The next action packed Duel has arrived in this chapter! To all who were confused about last chapter, Luna and E'Rah were characters from the Yugioh Zexal manga. A quick google search will help you learn more. Now, let's get into it!
Yugioh: The Power of Four
Chapter 25: ARC-V — PART 11
Right after she huffed and turned her back to her brother, Rio put a little distance between them. Kaito followed until he was beside her. "You alright, Rio?" He asked. Rio groaned as she fumed.
"I'm fine. It's my brother that's being a huge pain. I knew he wouldn't take it well when he found out about me and Yuma, but he just won't stop staring daggers at me." When she heard his loud statement for her to hear, she became quiet.
"He's your brother. I'm sure he's just being overprotective of you." Kaito said softly. He could understand that. After all, he was a big brother himself. Rio softened up a bit as she looked back at him.
"It's not the same, Kaito. You have a little brother, not a sister." The girl pointed out. Kaito shook his head.
"My point is that it is natural for siblings to be protective of each other, no matter the circumstances. Give him a little time." He suggested. Rio hoped he was right. She did love her brother, but she wanted him to understand he had no say in the matter when it came to her love life… even if that life included Yuma.
Right then and there, dark gold barriers instantly covered the two Xyz pairs. One with Shark and Gauche, the other with Rio and Kaito.
"Ryoga! Gauche!" Rio called, but got nothing.
"Can anyone hear us?!" Kaito shouted with no different results. They looked around, seeing nothing but dark golden light. "I have very bad feeling about this. Stay close, Rio." Kaito ordered as he stepped next to her.
"I don't think that's going to be a problem." Rio replied sarcastically. The trapped pair saw a darkened doorway opening. They stood ready for whatever may come through. However, they were not prepared for the figure that came out of said door… especially Kaito.
"It… It can't be! You can't be alive!" He shouted in total disbelief. The figure laughed at Kaito's shock.
"Oh, but I very much am! Time for us to catch up, young man!" The person said before activating a Duel Disk.
"Is that really him? I thought he was dead!" Rio said, extremely confused shocked and confused.
Kaito wanted to deny what he was seeing, but he couldn't. The green hair. The orange glasses. That pompous, arrogant smile. It was all there. "So did I." He said to himself before addressing his old enemy. "Tell me, how are you alive again Heartland?!" Mr. Heartland snickered.
"You want to know, Kaito? Then face me, boy! And you as well, young lady!" Heartland said as he spotted Rio. "You are Shark's younger sister, am I right?" He asked. Rio steeled herself.
"See the family resemblance?" She asked in return.
"Well, I don't think you will be too much trouble." Heartland said condescendingly.
"Don't underestimate me!" Rio declared as she activated her Duel Disk. "Come on Kaito! Let's beat him to a heart shaped pulp!" Sensing her fighting spirit, Kaito nodded.
"Agreed! We will take you down Heartland! Photon Change!" As Kaito activated his own Duel Disk, his normal black outfit turned white, while his left eye became red and was covered by blue markings. Rio then placed her D-Gazer on her face. Heartland simply pressed a small button on the left side of his glasses.
"AT Vision, Link established." Said a computer voice from all their Duel Disks while creating a new area for them. The trio then began their battle.
"DUEL!"
(Kaito: 4000) (Rio: 4000) (Mr. Heartland: 4000)
"The first turn is mine! My turn! Draw!" Mr. Heartland snickered. "Well well, I've got a promising hand right now. This is going to be quite entertaining." Kaito sneered.
"Shut up and get on with it!" Kaito shouted impatiently. The older man smirked.
"As you wish! First, I play a fun Field Magic card called Land Power! Then I Summon Heart Monster Hearthog!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1400; DEF: 1000) What appeared to be an inflated pig with stars on it floated in front of Heartland.
'Heart Monster? His Deck has changed since the last time I fought him. What is his strategy now?' Kaito wondered wearily.
"Now the Effect of Land Power activates! When I Summon a "Heart" Monster, I can Special Summon another one from my hand! I Special Summon Heart Monster Heartomato!" (EARTH; Level 4; ATK: 1500; DEF: 1000) Now a child with a large tomato on his head appeared next to Hearthog. "Oh, did I mention that Land Power not only prevents you from attacking my "Heart" Monsters, but my creatures can also attack you directly since you have no "Heart" Monsters of your own?" He asked mockingly with a chuckle. This easily made the duo annoyed and frustrated.
"That Field Magic is definitely an issue. Plus, he's got two Level 4 Monsters already." Rio noted, expecting something dangerous to appear. She wasn't wrong.
"Now to show you my newfound heart burning power! I Overlay my Level 4 Hearthog and Heartomato! Heart of Darkness! Appear now and punish those that defy your rule! Xyz Summon! Rank 4! Dark Heart Monster Heartless!" (DARK; Rank 4; ATK: 2800; DEF: 2200) Mr. Heartland's new Xyz Monster was a large, bulky man with a sleeveless black coat and held a blade with a dark red on it's hilt. There was also a heart shaped hole in the chest where it's heart should be. For some reason, it's aura gave Kaito shivers.
'What's the deal with that thing? I'm suddenly feeling… afraid.' Kaito thought to himself. Heartland chuckled.
"Feeling a tiny bit nervous, kiddies?" He taunted. Kaito didn't respond, whereas his partner…
"So it's a big freak while missing a heart? It actually seems like what you should look like: An ugly brute!" Rio jabbed back. Heartland didn't appreciate that as he snarled at the resilient girl.
"How dare you?! Just for that, I'll target you first! Normally, Land Power prevents my "Heart" Monsters from using it's Effects, but as long as Dark Heart Monster Heartless has Overlay Units, it is unaffected! I activate Heartless' Monster Effect! Once per turn, I can inflict 600 Points of damage to my opponent for each of my Monster's Overlay Units! With two Units, that's 1200 Points I'm taking out of your Life Points!" Heartland said as he pointed at Rio, intending to damage her. Black flames came out of the hole in it's chest and streamed towards the girl. Rio smirked this time.
"Not happening! I activate the Effect of Guard Penguin in my hand! When I'm about to receive damage from a card effect, I can negate the damage! Then I can Special Summon it in Attack Mode!" (WATER; Level 4; ATK: 0; DEF: 1200) A penguin wearing a white shield like dress deflected the damage Rio would've taken otherwise as it appeared on the her Field. Mr. Heartland fumed from this.
"Damn girl! You won't be so lucky next time! I Set one card facedown and end my turn!" As Heartland ended his turn, he wondered why Rio wasn't being affected by his Xyz Monster like Kaito was. He could tell he was very unsettled, but the sibling of Shark was a different story. His new Ace was made from the darkness of Hell itself; he was told that himself when it was given to him. So why didn't it shake her up?
"Time to strike back! My turn! Draw!" Rio had just the Monster in mind to deal with Heartland. "First, I Summon Blizzard Thunderbird!" (WATER; Level 4; ATK: 1600; DEF: 1400) A purple armored woman with orange metallic appendages appeared on Rio's Field. It also held a thin purple staff in it's right hand. "Next I activate Cold Level! This Magic card raises the Levels of all my WATER Monsters by one until the end of the turn! Both my Monsters are now Level 5!"
"Now you're bringing out your Ace, huh?" Mr. Heartland mused.
"Now I Overlay my Guard Penguin and Blizzard Thunderbird! Appear, Number 94! Priestess of the Spirit World with a heart of ice, show that clear and bright soul! Xyz Summon! Princess of Polar Ice - Crystal Zero!" (WATER; Rank 5; ATK: 2200; DEF: 1600) Rio's Ace was a light blue and purple armored woman holding a crystal like javelin in it's right hand. It had a turquoise "94" on the left side of the dress it had.
"A Number?! I was under the impression Astral had them all now?" The villain said in surprise.
"He lent a few to me and my brother earlier. But how did you know Astral got all the Numbers? You were dead at the time." Rio questioned. Kaito wondered about that as well. There was no way his old adversary could know that if he had truly been in the afterlife. Mr. Heartland smiled.
"I have my sources. So tell me, Rio Kamishiro… Aren't you afraid that your Number might possess you like its happened to so many others in the past?" Rio smiled back at him.
"Not at all. And neither is Ryoga." When Astral handed out certain Numbers to Shark, Rio, and Gauche, they each had certain protection from the possessing power of those Numbers. Gauche had that Astral World powered chest strap. Shark and Rio, on the other hand, had a different kind of protection. After helping to save the Astral World from the recent crisis, Eliphas had granted the Kamishiro siblings (and the other former Barian Emperors) a portion of the Astral World's power. He told them that they all not only redeemed themselves, but they had earned the right to go to the Astral World when their time came (as they were meant to before Don Thousand interfered with their past lives).
As for the power they were each given, he said it would provide them immunity to the Numbers if the need for them ever came up again. Since they were no longer Barians, they didn't have that immunity anymore. He also said the true extent of their new power would reveal itself when the time was right. Shark and Rio were curious about what Eliphas meant, but they were certain they would know one day. For now, they and the others were content with being safe from the Numbers controlling them.
"I activate Crystal Zero's Monster Effect! During either of our turns, I can detach one Overlay Unit to half the Attack Points of your Monster until the end of the Battle Phase! Crystal Eraser!" Heartland seemed slightly annoyed.
(Dark Heart Monster Heartless' ATK: 2800 / 2 = 1400)
"Battle! Crystal Zero, attack Dark Heart Monster Heartless! Crystal Javelin!" Crystal Zero threw it's weapon at the dark brute. It was almost there when…
"Nice try! Now I activate Heartless' other Effect! By detaching all it's Overlay Units, I can end the Battle Phase!" Rio cursed as her Monster's javelin reappeared on it's hand like nothing happened and Heartless' Attack Power returned to 2800. "You can't get rid of my wonderful Monster so easily!" The man taunted.
"Tch, guess not. I Set two cards facedown and end my turn. Sorry Kaito." Rio apologized.
"Don't worry. I never expected it to be so simple to get rid of." Kaito said in a shaky voice. Rio noticed and looked more concerned.
"Kaito. Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm alright." Kaito replied, trying to calm himself. He had no reason to fear Mr. Heartland or his new Monster. And yet, he couldn't help but tremble at the sight of the beast. Whatever the cause, he knew it wasn't his Photon Change that was hindering him. As a reward for his assistance in stopping the Astral World Crisis, Eliphas enhanced Kaito's Photon Change with Astral World energy so that the transformation will no longer damage his physical body.
Kaito was very grateful for that upgrade. Now he didn't have to worry about his Photon form hurting him. 'Heartland's Xyz Monster. Why is it filling me with fear? And why is it not affecting Rio? Whatever the reason, I need to do something about it now.'
"What's wrong Kaito? Too scared to make a move against me?" The cruel man chuckled. Kaito sneered at him.
"You're the one that should be scared! My turn! Draw!" He saw a way to fight back and deliver some damage. "I play a Magic card, Photon Sanctuary! It allows me to Special Summon two Photon Tokens to my Field in Defense Mode!" (LIGHT; Level 4; ATK: 2000; DEF: 0) The Tokens appeared to be swirling balls of blue light.
"Haha! Neither of those little light bulbs can stand up against my Heartless!" Mr Heartland declared.
"But this can! I Sacrifice both my 2000 Attack Point Photon Tokens to Special Summon my Ace!" At that time, Kaito glowed white and grabbed a large shuriken that appeared and threw it upward. "The galaxy that lurks in the darkness. Become the light of hope and my very servant. The embodiment of light, now descend! Appear now, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!" (LIGHT; Level 8; ATK: 3000; DEF; 2000) A huge red and blue glowing dragon landed in front of it's master and roared at it's enemy.
"Aww, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon. Your pride and joy. Too bad it's light will soon be snuffed out." The older man mocked.
"Don't spew such nonsense! Since I now have a Monster on the Field with more than 2000 Attack Points, I can Special Summon Overlay Booster from my hand!" (LIGHT; Level 5; ATK: 2000; DEF: 0) A Warrior in a red battle suit with wings now stood beside Kaito's dragon. "Battle! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, attack Dark Heart Monster Heartless! Photon Stream of Destruction!" Kaito's Dragon fired a red and blue energy blast aimed right at Heartland's Monster. "At this time, Galaxy-Eyes' Monster Effect activates! When it battles a Monster, both my dragon and the Monster it is attacking are banished until the end of the Battle Phase!" As he said this, both Galaxy-Eyes and Heartless disappeared from sight.
"They're both gone." Rio said.
"Now you are wide open, old man! Overlay Booster, Direct Attack!" With one punch from the flying Warrior, Mr. Heartland grunted as he took quite a bit of damage.
(Mr. Heartland: 4000 - 2000 = 2000)
"Now with the Battle Phase over, Galaxy-Eyes and Heartless both return to the Field!" Kaito declared as the mentioned Monsters reappeared before their controllers. Mr. Heartland smiled again.
"Fortunately for me, my Heartless didn't have any Overlay Units when it was banished. Hence, your dragon's Attack Power doesn't go up one bit!" Kaito ignored him.
"I Set two cards facedown and end my turn." He said. Mr. Heartland smiled more broadly. He waited for this.
"Kaito my boy, you've done exactly what I wanted! Continuous Trap card open, Heart Burning! As long as this card is in play, if I control a "Heart" Monster during the End Phase of the turn in which I took damage from battle or card effect, I can inflict the same amount of damage to all opposing players!"
"What?!" Kaito and Rio exclaimed in shock. Mr. Heartland laughed insanely.
"Yes children! Now you will both feel the burning!" A burst of black fire erupted from Heartland's Trap and proceeded to damage the duo, as well as slightly burning them. They both fell to their knees from the pain.
(Rio: 4000 - 2000 = 2000)
(Kaito: 4000 - 2000 = 2000)
"Dammit!" Kaito swore. He looked over at Rio, concerned. "Rio!"
"I'm a little singed, but it's not… too bad." She replied painfully. Mr. Heartland continued to look down on them with contempt, especially Kaito.
"It hurts, doesn't it? Being burned while feeling nothing but fear and rage at the one responsible for your suffering! That is the pain I've felt! Trust me, you two only experienced a mere taste of the punishment that awaits after your defeat!" Despite his growing fear, Kaito snarled back at the man with hate.
"Bastard, I never sent you to Hell!" Mr. Heartland scowled.
"Oh, I know. Yuma Tsukumo and Astral are to blame for my previous predicament. You and the girl are a mere warm up for my revenge against them. When this is over, all of you will suffer my Hell."
"How did you come back?" Rio demanded, eyes filled with contempt at their opponent. Mr. Heartland continued to be perplexed. Although he could feel the fear inducing power of Heartless continuing to leech into Kaito's heart, Rio Kamishiro remained unchanged. Not one shred of fear had presented itself in the girl. Regardless of the reason, he did owe the two an explanation.
"Well, I think now is the appropriate time to shed some light on my resurrection. Afterward, I will send you both to your doom." The evil man then revealed how he returned for his vengeance…
Flashback
Darkness. Fire. Fear. Pain. These were what Mr. Heartland experienced in his never ending torment. After he lost to Yuma Tsukumo and Astral in that Duel, he was burned alive by the fake Numbers created by Vector. He begged for Vector to save him, but no help came for him. For who knows how long he kept living through the same torture over and over. The burning never stopped, never let up. It just was a nightmare he could never wake up from.
The worst part of the whole thing was that pain wasn't just physical. The black fire constantly consuming him also burned within his very being, his soul. His screaming echoed the horror he kept reliving. He wanted it to end, for the torture to be over. But he knew it would never end… or so he thought.
Quite suddenly, a light had shown itself through the darkness. A darkened yellow light floated before Mr. Heartland. He couldn't understand what was happening. This was never part of his everlasting terror. He was surprised further when the light spoke to him.
"Mr. Heartland… you seem to be having a bad day." The voice said, sounding amused. The tortured man didn't appreciate it.
"That is… quite the understatement!" He snapped, angry as well was fearful while he continued to burn. "Are you here to watch my torment?!" The voice chuckled.
"It is entertaining to watch a human suffer. But no, I have a different reason for being here."
"Like what?!" Heartland demanded. What the voice said something he never expected.
"Would you like your suffering to end?" Mr. Heartland gasped. Surely he misheard the voice.
"End my… suffering? You can… do that? You can save me from this… this… Hell?!" He asked, desperate to believe it could be done.
"I can. However, you didn't answer my question. Would you like me to put an end to your pain and torment?" The voice asked. Mr. Heartland didn't even hesitate.
"Yes! Yes, I want it to end! Please, Mr. Voice, save me! Save me, and I'll do anything you ask of me! Anything, and it shall be done!" The man pleaded. The voice chuckled again.
"Excellent. That was the exact response I expected from you." An arm then sprouted from the light and gathered up all the black flames covering Mr. Heartland into it's palm. The man fell to his knees, gasping and examined himself. He was no longer being burned.
"It's gone. The fire, the pain… it's all gone!" He exclaimed in disbelief, followed by immense joy. It seemed too good to be true, yet it was! "A miracle! It truly is a miracle! Oh, thank you! Thank you! How can I possibly repay you?"
"Observe." Said the voice, prompting Mr. Heartland to look. The flames that previously consumed him were now reduced to a mere ball. He watched as the hand reshaped it into something else…
"A… card?" Mr. Heartland asked softly.
"Astral has now retrieved all the Numbers, meaning he has regained his full powers. To take him and Yuma down, you will need this gift. The fires of fear and pain that once tortured you… are now your weapon." The hand then extended itself toward the man. "Take it, and use it to punish those responsible for your Hell." Mr. Heartland didn't even hesitate as he took the new card from his "savior". He marveled at it with unmistakable malice.
"Oh yes! I can feel it! The power! It's so intoxicating! Yuma Tsukumo and Astral will suffer horrifically for what they've put me through!" He said excitedly.
"Do not get ahead of yourself, Heartland. Before you get your revenge, there are two others I want you to deal with first." The voice told him.
"Who?" The man questioned. A doorway then appeared just behind where the light was floating. Beyond it were two individuals. Mr. Heartland recognized one of them. He would know; he trained the boy himself…. "Kaito!"
"Indeed, it is your former lapdog. The girl with him is Rio Kamishiro, the younger twin sister of Ryoga Kamishiro, aka Shark. I want you to test your newfound power against those two. If you succeed, Yuma and Astral will be the next to fall." The voice told him. Mr. Heartland actually didn't mind this small assignment. After all, he and Kaito never got to "properly" finish their last Duel before Yuma and Astral interfered.
"I'll do it! Anything to quench my thirst for vengeance! But I must know… Who are you and why are you aiding me?" The voice remained quiet for a moment before giving an answer.
"Like you, I am an individual who wishes to even the score with a certain someone. For the time being, though, I am content with just watching the fun of humans bringing one another down. Now… go, and make good use of my gift." The mysterious voice then provided the human with a Duel Disk and a brand new Deck. Mr. Heartland was pleased with the new cards at his disposal, cards that were created from the one the voice in the light gave him.
"Oh believe me… I intend to do just that!" He replied ecstatically as he marched through the portal, smiling deviously along the way…
Flashback End
"And there you have it, kiddies! Thanks to who or whatever spoke to me, I have returned from Hell itself to exact my revenge! How ironic; the very source of my everlasting suffering is now your suffering! The fear of pain I've experienced is now inflicted on to you brats!" He said with an evil laugh.
"You're…truly a sick bastard. You've should've stayed dead." Kaito muttered, sounding shaky. Mr. Heartland shrugged.
"Well, I'm not. But in a bit, you and the girl will be."
"You're wrong." Rio retorted as she got up again. "We will beat you, Heartland! Kaito and I will never let you get near Yuma and Astral!" The man snarled at her.
"Damn girl, why aren't you cowering in fear like you're supposed to?" He asked. Rio smirked back him.
"Because… I've already been through my own kind of Hell. After everything I have experienced in the past, nothing you or your Heartless can do will ever make me tremble!" As she said this, a small blue glow emitted from her eyes. She had meant it. Her time as a Barian Emperor and afterward helped her realize Hell could only frighten you if you let it. Rio was tougher than that. Now she needed Kaito to do the same if they were going to win. "Come on Kaito! Get up! I know you can get past this!"
"Rio…" Kaito looked up at her, astonished. She truly felt no fear like he was feeling. Mr. Heartland had enough of it though.
"That is quite enough! I'm ending you both now! My turn! Draw!" The man was determined to destroy them before they could retaliate. "I activate the Equip Magic card, Heart Attack! The "Heart" Monster Equipped with this has it's Attack Points doubled and can negate the Effects of the Monsters it battles! I Equip it to Heartless!" Kaito and Rio watched as Heartland's unholy brute grew stronger.
(Dark Heart Monster Heartless' ATK: 2800 x 2 = 5600)
'Dammit. This means I can't use Galaxy-Eyes' Effect if he attacks it.' Kaito thought with dread. He was unfortunately right.
"I'll put an end to you first. Kaito! Heartless, attack Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon! Dark Heart Burn!" With a swing of it's wicked sword, Heartless sent a wave of black fire directly at Kaito's dragon. "Your dragon can't save you this time! Enjoy Hell!" Heartland boasted.
"He's not going anywhere, but your Monster is! Trap card open, Mirror Force! This negates your Monster's attack and destroys it!" A shining barrier rebounded the flames meant for Galaxy-Eyes right back at Heartless, destroying it instead. Heartland sneered at Rio's interference.
"Stop butting in on my fun! I activate the other Effect of Heart Attack! If the "Heart" Monster Equipped with Heart Attack was destroyed by battle or card effect, I can bring back that Monster with three Overlay Units!" Rio groaned as Heartless returned to the Field.
"He's relentless alright." Rio commented in frustration.
"I'm not finished with you yet, Kaito! I activate Heartless' Effect to damage you! Since Heartless now has three Overlay Units, you shall take 1800 Points of Damage!" Heartless fired another stream black hellfire from it's chest hole right at him. However, thanks to Rio's words, he too got up and defended himself.
"Trap card open, Prevent Draw! When I'm about to take damage from a card effect, I can halve the damage and draw one card from my Deck!" Thanks to his Trap, Kaito felt less pain than last time. Plus, he was pleased with the card he drew.
(600 x 3 = 1800; 1800 / 2 = 900)
(Kaito: 2000 - 900 = 1100)
"Damn you brats! Stop fighting back! I Set one card facedown and end my turn." Mr. Heartland said, still fumed that defeating the pair was not as easy as he hoped. Rio turned to her dueling partner.
"Nice save Kaito. Just hang in there a bit longer." She reassured him as she began her next turn. "My turn! Draw!" The girl saw a way to beat their foe. At the same time, a blue glow emitted from her Extra Deck. "I play my Pot of Greed, letting me draw two more cards. Next, I Overlay my Crystal Zero for an Xyz Summon!"
"She's Overlaying her Number?!" A surprised Heartland said.
"Number of frozen water, become armored and freeze your adversaries! Xyz Summon! Appear, Full Armored Crystalzero Lancer!" (WATER; Rank 6; ATK: 2200; DEF: 1600) Rio's new version of Crystal Zero was now armed with a lance and a shield. "This Monster can be Xyz Summoned by using a Rank 5 Xyz Monster as Xyz Material, like my Crystal Zero! Now, for each Overly Unit it has, Crystalzero Lancer gains 500 Attack Points! It has 2 Units, so it is now 1000 Attack Points stronger!"
(Full Armored Crystalzero Lancer's ATK: 2200 + 1000 = 3200)
"Heh, I'm not intimidated." Said Heartland.
"How about now? I activate Overlay Capture! This handy Magic card takes an Overlay Unit from your Xyz Monster and adds it to mine!"
"What?! How dare you?!" Heartland said in annoyance as Rio's Monster now had 3700 Attack Points.
"Now I activate Crystalzero Lancer's Monster Effect! Once per turn, by detaching one Overlay Unit, I can negate the Effects of all my opponent's Monsters until the end of the turn! Your Heartless is now powerless!" Rio declared. With one of it's Overlay Units gone, Crystalzero Lancer's Attack Power dropped back to 3200.
'I see. She added an Overlay Unit to her Monster so that it wouldn't be weaker against mine when she used it's Effect. Clever, but not clever enough.' Heartland thought with a small smile forming on his face.
"Battle! Crystalzero Lancer, attack Heartless! Crystal Thrust!" Rio's Monster threw the weapon it held at Heartland's.
"Quick-Play Magic, Dark Heart Break! When Heartless is about to destroyed by battle, I can negate it's destruction by discarding all remaining cards in my hand!" Heartland revealed as he sent the last card he held to his Graveyard.
"Maybe, but you still take the damage!" Rio reminded him right before her opponent's Life Points took another blow.
(3200 - 2800 = 400)
(Mr. Heartland: 2000 - 400 = 1600)
"That did sting a bit." Heartland said to himself.
"Finally, I play Monster Reborn to bring back Number 94: Crystal Zero from my Graveyard and end my turn!" The Monster that was sent to the Graveyard when she used Crystalzero Lancer's Effect came back. Mr. Heartland smiled.
"Remember the Effect of Heart Burning! Now you and your partner take the same damage I have since I still have my Heartless in play!" Kaito and Rio were both expecting it this time and managed to stay on their feet.
(Rio: 2000 - 400 = 1600)
(Kaito: 1100 - 400 = 700)
"Are you alright, Kaito?" Rio asked.
"I'll manage." He grunted. "Thanks by the way… for what you said. I needed to hear that." Rio smiled.
"Anytime. Just do me a favor and remind me to clean the dust off my diamond collection." She said appreciatively with a wink. Kaito at first seemed confused by Rio's request. He then saw her subtly pointing to her facedown card. He then understood her plan and nodded before once again facing his old enemy.
"I'm done drowning in fear, Heartland! From now on, I'm going all out! MY TURN! DRAW!" Kaito widened his eyes. With the cards in his hand, he knew how to enact Rio's strategy to win. "I play Level Wing, which increases the Level of one my Monsters by three! I use it to change Overlay Booster's Level from 5… to 8!"
"Two Level 8 Monsters. What're you up to now, boy?" Mr. Heartland questioned.
'Do it Kaito!' Rio inwardly encouraged.
"I will now Overlay my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon and Overlay Booster! Appear, Number 90! Ruler of the Galaxy, descend now and strike down your enemies with cosmic authority! Xyz Summon! Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord!" (LIGHT; Rank 8; ATK: 2500; DEF: 3000) A glowing blue man dressed in heavy dark blue armor with a golden face appeared in the place both Kaito's previous Monsters. A huge crystalline sword was in the warrior's right hand, while a big shield with a red "90" on it was held up in it's left hand.
"Another freaking Number?!" Heartland exclaimed in shock. He never expected to face two Numbers in this battle! Still, it was not strong enough to defeat his Ace.
"As long as there is a "Photon" card as an Overlay Unit, like Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord can't be destroyed by card effects! Then I play my own Monster Reborn to revive Rio's Blizzard Thunderbird to my Field!" Rio's Monster then resurfaced onto Kaito's side of the Field. This move puzzled the evil man.
"Why bother with that? And what Effects does your Number have?" Heartland asked. Kaito smiled confidently.
"You'll find out very soon. I Set one card facedown and end my turn!" Although confused by Kaito's new move, he wasn't scared in the least. He was going to end him now.
"Time for our grudge match to end, Kaito! My turn! Draw!" This was it! The time had come! "I will finish you with…" He started, but got cut off.
"Hold it! I activate the Effect of my Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord! Once per turn, during my opponent's turn, I can take a "Galaxy" or "Photon" card from my Deck and either add it to my hand or attach it to Photon Lord! I take Galaxy Knight from my Deck and attach it to my new Number as an Overlay Unit!"
"I don't care what you're planning, it's all meaningless before my burning power! I activate Heartless' Effect to inflict 1200 points of damage to you! It's over Kaito!" Mr. Heartland gasped when Kaito's smiled remained.
"Just as I expected! I activate Photon Lord's other Effect! Once per turn, when my opponent's Monster activates it's own Effect, I can detach an Overlay Unit to negate that Effect! And that's not all! Since the Unit I detached was Galaxy Knight, a "Galaxy" card, that Monster is also destroyed!" Mr. Heartland watched a golden beam from Photon Lord's chest blow Heartless to pieces. He was enraged by yet another setback.
"Damn you boy! Just give up and die, will you?! Trap card open, Final Heart Beat! When a "Heart" Xyz Monster is destroyed by a card effect, I can revive that Monster and inflict damage to my opponent equal to that Monster's Attack Power! You still lose! BEGONE!" Mr. Heartland shouted, now looking and sounding deranged.
"I'll never surrender to an underhanded bastard like you! Trap card open, Exchange Power! When I'm about to receive damage from a card effect, I can lower the Attack Points of a Monster on my Field equal to that damage and make it zero! I lower Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord's Attack Power to nullify the damage!" Heartland gritted his teeth, becoming even more pissed.
(Galaxy-Eyes Photon Lord's ATK: 2500 - 1200 = 1300)
"Dammit! But my Final Heart Beat has one more Effect! It becomes an Overlay Unit for the "Heart" Monster it resurrected! Now I'm not totally defenseless, unlike you!" Heartland said.
"I wouldn't say that! Continuous Trap open, Attribute Change - Attribute Chameleon! During your turn, I can change the Attribute of one of your Monsters until that turn ends! Your DARK Monster… is now a WATER Monster!" Mr. Heartland was now as stumped as he was pissed.
"Why do that? Nothing you're doing is making sense now! But here's what does make sense! Weakening your Monster with your own Trap was a huge mistake! Remember, I haven't attacked yet this turn! One attack is all I need to bury you! It was all for nothing!" At that moment, Kaito laughed. "What is so funny, boy?" When Kaito looked back him, Heartland saw a look he knew from him too well… conviction.
"Have you forgotten, you old cat burglar? I'm not fighting you alone." He then turned to his partner. "I'm done on my end. Ready to finish him off, Rio?" Rio nodded with confidence.
"Absolutely! Thanks for helping me set it up. I knew you got the hidden meaning of my message." Kaito nodded back.
"What the hell are you brats blabbering about?!" Mr. Heartland demanded. Rio gave a smirk that showed that she really was the sister of Shark.
"Remember me mentioning to Kaito about dust and diamonds? Well, I was referring to this! Trap card open, Diamond Dust! This destroys every single WATER Monster on the Field, and for each destroyed Monster… you take 500 points of damage!" Mr. Heartland lost his composure completely and started to pale. He finally understood what Rio and Kaito were doing, and it wasn't good news for him.
"Oh no… Please no! It cannot be!" He stammered, fear now returning to his soul.
"You got it! There are four WATER Monsters in play! They are Number 94: Crystal Zero, Full-Armored Crystalzero Lancer, Blizzard Thunderbird, and now your Dark Heart Monster Heartless! When Diamond Dust destroys them, you will take a grand total of 2000 points of damage! That's more than enough to beat you! Thanks to the combined teamwork between me and Kaito, you're going down!"
The evil con man began to tremble with the fear he had just gotten rid of. There was no way out of this one. "No…NO!" He shouted as Rio's Trap obliterated all WATER Monsters, and taking damage for each one. The force of the ensuing blast sent him flying and landing on his back, finally defeated.
(Mr. Heartland: 0)
As he struggled to get up again, Mr. Heartland felt a very familiar and painful sensation. He looked at his hands, which to his great horror were covered in black fire! "Oh no… not again! Please, not again!" He then saw that the source of the returning flames came from the card he had been given. He then stared straight up, appearing most desperate. "Mr. Voice! Please, spare me! I know I failed to defeat the brats, but I can make it up to you! Just give me another chance! Please, I beg you!"
Just then, a pair of green eyes materialized above the begging villain. Their gaze settled on Mr. Heartland.
"Are those… eyes?" Rio gasped.
"What is going on?" Kaito wondered.
"Heartland, it would seem you were all talk and no real action. I gave you power and a chance for vengeance, and you ended up squashed like the useless bug you once were. How very disappointing." Said the voice. Heartland began to tremble.
"Please, please spare me! I promise I won't fail you again! You have my word!" The voice then laughed as the eyes formed like they were smiling.
"You are right. You won't fail me again… seeing as you're going back to where I found you!" Mr. Heartland then screamed as the flames had rapidly spread from his hands to the rest of his body. No matter what he did, he could not shake the flames off. Kaito and Rio watched in complete horror.
"NO! PLEASE, DON'T SEND ME BACK! DON'T! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Heartland continued to scream with painful terror and begging for forgiveness and mercy… none of which he received. The two teens couldn't look away as their enemy at last vanished in the black fires.
"Kaito…" Rio barely whispered.
"I know." He replied just as softly before he turned to the pair of eyes. "You! What are you and what is your game?!"
"Why did you have Mr. Heartland try to destroy us?!" Rio demanded as well. The eyes turned to the duo and chuckled.
"I was testing him to see if he had what I was looking for. Sadly, he was a failure. Fortunately, there are far more promising candidates than him..."
"Candidates for what?!" Kaito questioned.
"I think now is the time for me to take my leave. Enjoy your small victory, humans. Your great fall will come before long." The voice laughed again before it's eyes disappeared, along with the barrier containing the teens.
"I definitely did not like the sound of that Kaito. Could that be someone working for Leo Akaba?" Rio asked. Kaito didn't feel that was the case.
"I'm not sure. Somehow, I feel it is something entirely different… and much more dangerous." He said ominously. Rio shivered from that for a moment before looking around. She gasped when she saw her brother and Gauche nearby. They appeared to be okay and seemed to be kneeling away from where she was.
"Ryoga!" Rio then ran to her surprised brother and hugged him. Shark didn't hesitate to hug her back, who felt great remorse for his recent behavior.
"Rio, I'm sorry for how I've acted earlier. I was being…"
"An ass?" Rio said with a smirk. "Don't worry about it. I forgive you." Shark was relieved to hear her say that. But his relief was immediately replaced with great concern when he actually saw the state she was in.
"Wait! What happened to you? Are those… burns?!" He asked as he properly looked at her, starting to freak out.
"Ryoga, I'm fine. These are nothing." She tried to reassure him, to no avail.
"Hey, I'm fine too you know." Gauche said, trying to get some attention. Rio turned to him and smiled.
"Sorry! I'm glad you're okay too, Gauche!" Her brother refused to be distracted.
"The hell those burns are nothing! Tell me what happened when we got separated!" Shark demanded.
"That scum Heartland returned and tried to kill us. But Rio and I managed to send him packing." Kaito explained as he walked over to join them.
"Heartland?!" Shark exclaimed in shock.
"I thought he was dead?!" Gauche added.
"So did we, but it seems the situation has gotten a lot more complicated." Kaito explained.
"Yeah well, we can definitely agree on that." Shark said as he and Gauche turned to reveal a girl with long dark hair in the back with pink in the front. "This is Luna. Apparently, she has her own story to tell." He said to his confused sister and Kaito. Luna immediately beamed when she saw the latter.
"Kaito. I'm so glad to see you. I was also surprised to hear about Mr. Heartland, but it seems he's gone again now. Hopefully for good this time. Thank heavens you're alright." Kaito was stunned.
"You… How did you know my name? We've never met." He stated firmly. The last time this happened was when he met Yuto and Ruri. They recognized him because they knew a different version of him from their world. Could this be something similar?
"It's not just you, Kaito. From what I've heard before the two of you came back, Luna seems to know me too." Shark said. Rio got really interested now.
"Really?" She then turned to the new girl. "How exactly do you know my brother, Luna?" It was Luna's turn to be surprised.
"Brother?! Ryoga is your… brother?!" She shouted in total disbelief. Rio didn't seem to know what the big deal was.
"Yeah, my older twin brother. I'm his younger sister, Rio. Why are you so surprised by that?" Luna's mind raced from this revelation.
'They're… siblings. I guess that would explain why they seemed to care about each other so much. Something really must've gone wrong when I traveled back. I was shocked enough when Dr. Faker didn't recognize me, but now I'm finding out that Ryoga has a twin sister?! I know for a fact that Ryoga never had any siblings when he grew up in that orphanage! The only explanation I can think of is that…' Luna's thoughts never got to their conclusion when suddenly, lots of soldiers composed of the Obelisk Force and Sector Security showed up. They trapped the Xyz Duelists in a tight circle.
"We have you all now!" One of the Obelisks taunted with an evil chuckle.
"Ryoga, who are they?!" Luna asked in alarm as she and the Xyz team huddled together. Shark snarled when he gave his answer.
"Not the welcoming committee."
To be continued.