Well I'd say today has been a learning experience but your here to read this chapter and not hear me prattle about my life. Thank you CuddlyChristina
XXX
"Give myself up? What are you talking about? I was punching my steering wheel because I brush and floss the best I can but they say there's plaque in my gums and I'll need fillings, when I blacked out and find myself in a cage with some weird guy talking to a giant firefly cage before I blacked out again."
Honda was bewildered, if slightly confused. "I really need some more insight." he told him.
Just then Anzu walked up, and she was jointed by the girl she dueled below.
"Where is this?" The lady asked. "I was suppose to be watching my little sister in her big volleyball tournament but now I'm here."
"Why are we here?" she turned her head to Anzu. The girl that beat her was just as perplexed as the Irishman was.
"How were you able to...?" Honda asked Anzu, before she replied, "Believe it or not, I think these two were pretty much brainwashed by Aethba all this time."
Honda agreed and now he was able to help this person come back to their senses and maybe help them escape...the question was how when they were in a palace floating in the sky.
XXX
Jounochi, Nuo, and Yugi ran together to reach the top floor. The stairs they were running through was high off the ground with a long drop below.
"Better not look down..." Nuo told the others.
"Other than that, I think we're getting a little closer to Aethba." Yugi added.
Like everything that came out of Yugi's mouth, he jinxed it. At the top of the stairs, three duellists were waiting for them.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? You all must be working for Aethba?" Nuo asked them.
They grinned their malevolent grins before activating their duel disks. Nuo and Yugi prepared to activate their's, but Jounochi butted in.
"You guys go ahead. I'll take these three on by myself."
Nuo raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that? Three on one isn't a wise idea." he asked.
"Just go!" Jounochi told them.
Nuo wouldn't leave, he heard a very big noise coming outside the palace. The next thing he knew, someone was falling from the sky, but had the foresight to strap a jetpack on. That crazy genius was Seto Kaiba, and he had a duel disk latched on his arm.
"Just this once, I'll duel with you, lap dog." Kaiba said.
"What the hell?! How'd you get here?!" an alarmed Nuo asked.
"It's hard to miss a floating kingdom. I'm Seto Kaiba, getting there was as simple as a million dollars—less than half a day of Kaibacorp income."
Nuo should've known that's how Kaiba would appear here of all places. Nuo was tempted to stay behind and help Jounochi out, but Kaiba he was willing to just run away from and do something reckless on his own. Nuo and Yugi finally stopped standing around and ran past the three duelists.
Jonouchi never stood beside Kaiba before.
"You know Seto Kaiba?" he asked Nuo.
"Of course I have; I've been running various errands and got no regrets about it." he replied.
Jounochi had a regret about dueling with Seto Kaiba, but the duel already started.
"I summon Malaysian Goblin Attack Force (2000/200)."
"How on earth did he get those Malaysian creatures?" a bewildered Yugi asked.
"Dueling Camille and seeing her Malasyian monsters, it's clear he gives them these cards."
"I then activate Gaia Power, increasing the ATK of all Earth monsters by 500 (2500). I end my turn."
"My turn." The duelist standing next to him said. "I summon Malasyian Fossil Tusker in Attack Mode (1800+500=2300)."
Nuo and Yugi looked at each other briefly, before starting up their duel disks and joining the battle.
But then their duel disks were deactivated. It seemed like someone didn't want them to try something stupid like join this duel.
"I end my turn."
"My turn." The last duelist announced. "I activate Malasyian Earth Crevice. With this card I can special summon a level 6 or 7 Earth monster from my hand. I special summon Malasyian Raging Earth (2000/0)."
"Hey, what's going on?" Yugi asked Nuo out of confusion.
"Seems like turning non-duelists into dueling slaves does teach them the fundamentals of the game, but makes their skills utter shit. I wouldn't be surprised if the third best duelist and second best duelist in Domino City win in just one turn." Nuo stated.
"I end my turn." The last duelist stated.
Jounochi drew a card and added it to his hand.
"I summon Gearfried the Iron Knight in Attack Mode (1800+500=2300)."
Gearfried, a menacing brute in black and white was summoned, its weapon at the ready.
"I now activate Release Restraint. If I control Gearfried the Iron Knight, I can tribute him to summon Gearfried the Swordmaster (2600)!"
Gearfried's form was now more stronger and a bit different compared to his previous appearance.
"Now I equip Gearfried with my equip spell Lightning Blade. This increases his ATK points by 800 (3400). And since Gearfried was equipped with an equip spell, he can destroy one monster on your field, so I chose to destroy your Goblin Attack Force!"
Gearfried swiftly struck with his newly enhanced weapon, allowing Goblin Attack Force to take enough damage to be disintegrated completely.
Jounochi was proud, until the duelist with the giant earth monster laughed maliciously.
"By destroying an Earth monster, I destroy all non-Earth monsters on the field. Your light Gearfried is gone!"
Jounochi's grin suddenly vanished, as the move was carried out.
"And when a Malasyian monster destroys a monster by battle or card effect, you take 400 points of damage from my Tusk." The other duelist said.
The fossil mammoth charged and rammed right into the poor duelist.
Jounochi: 3600
"Well I'm not finished yet. I set two cards facedown and end my turn."
It was Kaiba's turn now. Jounochi expected him to do something surprising and overpowered, but it wasn't what he did.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn."
"Okay, so..." Jounochi replied bluntly. "What now?"
The player who lost his Goblin Attack Force drew for his turn.
"Like my friend, I activate Malasyian Earth Crevice. I special summon Malasyian Green Baboon Defender of the Forest (2650+500/1800-400=3150/1400)."
Green Baboon Defender of the Forest, was exactly what it said on the tin: a green baboon in dark green rags. He also had a golden bandanna around his head.
"Now, Baboon attack him directly!"
The big baboon raised its club to squash Jounochi.
"I activate Magical Arm Shield!" Jounochi shouted.
The shield was instantly summoned, and it narrowly deflected the creature's attack.
"I can take control of one of your monsters and put it on my field. Then they fight. Since you three are working together, I'll take control of your partners Fossil Tusk."
The three duelists were perplexed by this sudden turn of events on the field. "Oh, try us!" one of them retorted.
Fossil Tusk was destroyed, and Jounochi took damage.
"I end my turn."
The next duelist prepared his attack.
"I summon Malasyian Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode (1400/1200)+/-=(1900/800)
He was an Irish knight in green armor, though it also had bits of gold across it, and he wielded a fairly large sword.
"Celtic Guardian, Attack! Wild Elf Slash!"
The elf jumped and slashed through Jounochi's shoulder blade.
Jounochi: 850
"I end my turn."
Now it came down to the last duelist to play.
"I summon Malaysian Hayabusha Knight (1000=500=1500)."
Hayabusa Knight was also an armored man in grey and gold, though the sword he wielded was a katana.
"Now I equip my knight with Malasyian Epee Construct. A monster equipped with this card gains 600 ATK. So with this monster, I shall defeat first Jonouchi and then Seto Kaiba himself. Hayabusha Knight, attack the third strongest duelist and forge a path for our ruler Aethba."
Jonouchi and Kaiba were in shock as Hayabusa Knight tore through both of them.
However, even though the attack should have finished Jounochi, he was still standing.
Jounochi: 2750
"Good thing I activated Nutrient Z. It increases my life points by 4000 when I would take 2000 or more points of damage. So I owe you a thanks; without your help I would have lost."
"No matter. I'll take down Kaiba first and then you."
The swordsman prepared its katana to slash Kaiba with. However, Kaiba had a surprise counter.
"I activate Negate Attack. This card stops your attack and ends your battle phase."
"What?!" the opposing duelist asked out loud, his turn instantly ending to his surprise.
Jounochi drew his card. Although Kaiba didn't help him earlier, he did save him from losing this duel. And now he drew the card that would help him beat one of these guys.
"I activate Red-Eyes Fusion. I send two fusion materials for a Red Eyes monster and special summon a fusion monster from my extra deck. I send Red Eyes Black Dragon and Red Eyes Meteor Dragon to summon Red Eyes Meteor Black Comet Dragon (3500)."
The monster looked exactly like the original Meteor Black Comet Dragon, except its pupils were a shade of bright red.
"Now I activate Megamorph. This will double my dragons attack since I have fewer life points (7000)."
That would make his dragon, as promised, more powerful.
"Red Eyes Black Comet Dragon, Attack his Raging Earth Spirit!"
True to its word, Red Eyes Black Comet Dragon had clawed at the earth spirit, damaging him immensely.
Opponent: 0
"I end my turn."
Since there were two more opponents with higher life points, Jounochi's Dragon stayed at 7000 attack. The dragon was hardly needed however because Seto Kaiba made his turn.
"I activate Melody of Awakening Dragons. By discarding one card, I can add a Dragon monster with 3000 ATK and 2500 DEF from my deck to my hand. But really I'll add not just one dragon, but two to my hand."
Kaiba added Blue Eyes of course and another Blue Eyes looking monster.
"I now reveal Blue Eyes in my hand to special summon Blue Eyes Alternative Dragon (3000)."
Blue Eyes Alternative would arrive on the field, roaring in anticipation.
"Next I'll activate my Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon's effect: by giving up the ability to attack with it this turn, I can destroy one face-up monster on my opponents field. I chose the Earth monster that destroys a monster every time you can't save the other monsters to save your life."
"How could this be any possible?!" the opposing duelist asked out of befuddlement.
"It gets worse for you three. I activate Polmerization. I fuse my Blue Eyes Alternate Dragon and two Blue Eyes White Dragons in my hand to summon Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500)."
Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon was now far more powerful and more threatening, ready to make its move.
"Attack his Green Baboon Defender of the Forest!"
The dragon clawed right into the baboon creature, giving it just enough damage for it to possibly be disintegrated.
"And since my Neo Blue Eyes attacked while it is the only face-up monster on my field, I can send a Blue Eyes Fusion monster to the graveyard so it can attack again. So I send Blue Eyes Ultimate dragon to attack Celtic Guardian."
Celtic Guardian wasn't safe, either, as he took the same amount of damage as his ally.
Now both duelists had nothing to defend themselves with, but Neo Blue Eyes was done attacking so maybe they would get a lucky draw next turn. Or so they thought.
"Now from my hand I activate the quick spell De-Fusion. This card will return my Neo Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to my extra deck and special summon three Blue Eyes White Dragon's from my graveyard. Rise, Blue Eyes!"
A trio of Blue Eyes White Dragons soon appeared at his command.
"Time to end this. Usually I'd have all three of my Blue Eyes attack, but both of you have so little life points it would only take two-thirds of my dragons to make you collapse from what true power can do. Blue Eyes, attack them both!"
The dragons attacked the remaining duelists head on, greatly damaging them, and leading them to their inevitable defeat.
Jounochi knew Kaiba was a terrifying duelist, but he just mercilessly defeated them.
"You seriously bested these guys?!" he asked.
"That's right; isn't it surprising that I'm on your side?" Kaiba replied with a grin.
"When were you ever on our side, Kaiba?" Jounochi asked.
"When it's convenient to me. Shows I'm the best out of you losers."
XXX
Aethba could feel all his minions had been bested.
"How was all of this possible? My underlings have been defeated?!" he asked himself with an expression of mixed surprise and anger.
All that anger turned into malevolent euphoria by the time Nuo and Yugi barged in.
"It's time to duel, Aethba!" Yugi shouted.
Aethba walked up to the machine charging energy, smiling at it.
"We won't be dueling. This will be a fight between ourselves. Now, time to set the stage."
Aethba touched the machine with a strong palm. One touch was all it took to enshroud the room in the same miasma Yugi felt from his duel against Pegasus.
"What the...?!" Jonouchi asked as he was the only one not present.
"This seems so familiar..." Yugi said to himself.
Aethba smirked at the two duelists. Then he got into a stance where his hands touched the ground and his legs spread wide apart. Slowly...his body morphing in a horrific loud sound...he started to change.
Nuo and Yugi stood in shock as Aethba's transformation commenced.
He became a big and scary monster with big arms and sharp teeth, a block looking lip, sharp claws, red fur, and gray eyes.
" See if you can stop me this time! " He spoke, almost telepathically.
Yugi was not sure how to fight Aethba, until a hand reached out and held him back. That hand belonged to a lavender haired magician in metallic purple robes.
"Dark Magician?!" Yugi exclaimed.
He wasn't alone seeing a familiar monster. Nuo looked behind him and saw the dragonmaid with the glasses and the tiara.
"House Dragonmaid? No offence, but I saw my ace monster would be more masculine."
"We're with you to the very end." she told them with a smile.
Suddenly, she started to morph in the same prolong and agonizing way Aethba did. To make a long transformation short, House Dragonmaid was gone and Dragonmaid Strahal was there. The gimmick of the cards were the level twos and threes were the human forms and the level seven to eights were their true form. Strahal was House Dragonmaid's true form.
Nuo raised his eyebrow as he asked, "So this is the real you, huh?"
The humanoid dragon nodded her head. Then, she made the first move ascending through the dark area to get above Aethba.
Aethba looked above her and growled. "Surely, you're no match for me! Not even that magician fellow!" he boasted.
Dark Magician created a spherical ball of green energy he hurled at Aethba.
The ball nearly hit him, but Aethba was narrowly able to deflect it.
The ball vanished like dust in a storm. Aethba went from calm with a monstrous appearance to completely feral. He dashed and weaved his claws at Dark Magician.
Dark Magician also deflected his claws, but took some damage, anyway.
While they were sparring, Strahal was pulling back her claws to prepare her frontal attack.
She struck towards Aethba, to which she delivered decent damage with several strikes to the torso area. Strahal moves her wings out and tried intimidating the beast.
As she took out her weapon, Dark Magician was able to help out by summoning a spell that could damage Aethba some more.
Despite all the damage they were doing to Aethba, he still had a satisfied look on his face.
Then, he attacked both Strahal and Dark Magician with an inferno of dark energy.
This energy nearly pummeled both creatures, to Yugi and Nuo's surprise and dismay. "If we don't have any backup or something, we're completely screwed!" Yugi said.
XXX
Ruria could feel the wreathing in someone's heart. Although she couldn't be sure what she was feeling could be, it felt like Nuo was struggling up there. Although she was stuck on this stage with a crowd of people looking at the flickering lights in the palace in the sky...she knew she had to help somehow.
"LISTEN UP EVERYONE!" She shouted into her microphone. "I need all of you to cheer for someone fighting up there. His name is Nuo."
The crowd was initially baffled, as did the other girls, but were more than happy to listen in. Before long, they looked up at the sky, and Ruria yelled, "We're with you all the way, Nuo!"
XXX
Aethba pummeled his fists into Strahal with such precision and ruthlessness, her scaly mouth coughed blood.
At the same time, she fought back with her attacks, while Nuo could feel like he had heard Ruria's voice from far below.