World 041: A Different Expression of Justice
"So after everything you did to get back, and to see Blanche again... you didn't even tell her how you missed her?" Cherry Anise groaned at the end of a long conversation in the cantina. "I don't.. think so? Why does it matter?" Charles mumbled, unsure of how this topic even came up in the first place. "No. I just thought you liked her." The trickstar duelist berated the cyberse duelist. "I do! I just.. It just didn't occur to me... I'm not used to saying stuff like that." He tried to defend himself, forcing Cherry to let out a quick chuckle. "That's obvious. You've probably never fallen in love before either. Otherwise you'd know better.." She shook her head. "Love?" In truth Charles could not recall ever having more than a basic crush on some people when he was very young, but saying that out loud went a little too far for him. "Man you really are dense. Then again maybe you're better off that way." She bitterly concluded. The last love Cherry felt for someone did help her at all in the long run. "Still, you got to do more than I did.. Wonder if Alpha is gonna be as lucky."
"I just hope he doesn't run into trouble.. or screw things up somehow." Charles stated. With Tycho the likelihood of either happening was higher than average..
...
In fact Tycho's first idea, upon realizing that he could float through any part of STHEREA now, was to infiltrate Exeter's virtual offices and uncover more of their secrets. He could care less about solving the whole Static problem. But he had not counted on running into an active duel with a Legacy Item on the betting table, which put his plans back on a less selfish track. From the subconscious void he could see the entire battle between Veyron and Sigment, him and those two ADIs that insisted on coming along and eventually revealed his identity. Unfortunately Veyron got away. "Alpha... You had been banished. How did you come back? Where did you come from?" And he got saddled with Zettai. "None of your business."
"If you are conspiring with these false lives, you have made your business into my business.. Alpha." The ace duelist activated her dueldisk. "If you want a duel, you can have one! But not here." Tycho coughed. The smoke and fire from their surprise attack had left the conference room in a rather unlivable state.
Tycho's LP: 8000 Zettai's LP: 8000
The four duelists relocated to the top of the Exeter tower, battling under the clear virtual sky. "Are you certain you can do this? You have only just now come back." The Fire Princess and Harpy Lady were willing to sub in for Tycho, though he knew Zettai would never allow it. "I did not come back just to let others do the work for me. No, this is my fight." He locked eyes with his opponent and waited for the turn order to be settled. "Tch." Tycho drew the proverbial short straw in this instance and took the first turn.
-TURN 01-
"I normal summon this card!" Much to his opponents surprise, his first monster was Chemicritter Carbo Crab(2/700/1400) [Zone 2]; a gemini monster crab with chemical strands inside its transparent body. "You said that you were Alpha, the Salamangreat duelist." Zettai jeered. "I am what I am. And this is what I had to be to get this far. But I can be more.." Tycho cursed the fact that even here he still seemed tied to his real-life cards. There had to be a way to overcome this mental block. If Cherry and Charles could do it, so could he! "Just like this critter I guess. I activate Supervise and unlock its power!" The spell of supervision put the gemini crab through a pseudo-second summon, so that Tycho could turn it into an effect monster with its effect. "Crabo Crab discards one gemini monster from my deck and adds a different one to my hand!" The dueldisk released the two Evocators: Evocatier Eveque entered his hand while Heavy Knight of the Flame headed for the grave. "And then... And then I link summon my monster! Salamangreat Almiraj!"
"He did it!" Cierze let out a shriek of joy. The Carbonic crab, a normal summoned link material, transformed into a cyberse rabbit(0/LINK 1) {Downright} [Extra Zone 1] with winged ears and a horn of flames. "No, he has not." But the Fire Princess knew a little bit more about Alpha'sdueling style. "He's never summoned Salamangreat Almiraj before. It was never a part of his deck." She had to conclude that it would be easier for him to summon monsters that were not connected to his previous avatar. "You are lying to yourself! You still see them as nothing but instruments, do you?"
"You be quiet! The only reason I would want the Salamangreats back is because they are simply better! That's all!" Tycho had not summoned Almiraj to fool anyone, he just needed a Link 1 monster at this point in time. "When Supervise goes to the graveyard, I can special summon one normal monster from my graveyard!" The flames of magic lit the wheels of the hellfire Heavy Knight of Flame's chariot, bringing him(4/1800/200) [Zone 2] out from the graveyard with his effects still sealed. "Then I link summon Union Carrier! I will use my two link materials with the same element!" The fire-slashing Heavy Knight and fire-wrapped Almiraj burned down together and released a solid cargo train(1000/LINK 2) {Down/Right} [Extra Zone 1] through the link circuit. "And finally I will special summon Sublimation Knight with Necroquip Prism! This spell equips a lowlower monster from my graveyard to a monster in my hand with the same level or lower! And the summoned monster gains half the attack of the equipped monster" The last equip spell of the turn opened a mirror portal into the graveyard. On the side of the dead was the ghost of Evocator Eveque, on the other the living steampowered Sublimation Knight(3/1300/200) [Zone 2]. One possessed the other(2200/200) to unite their forces.
"I see. You are focusing all your enhancements on this one warrior." Zettai observed the rest of the unfolding effects. Sublimation Knight could equip a fire warrior or gemini monster to itself to increase his attackpower by 500. Union Carrier could also give the Knight an equipment monster as long as it had the same attribute or type, and that would add a 1000 attackpoints to the wielder. "What are you going to about it?" Tycho took another Evocator Eveque and the Infernoble Knight Oliver and gave them both to the Knight(3700/200). "A monster equipped with Infernoble Knight Oliver cannot be targeted by card effects! So I'd like to see you get rid of it! I end my turn!" Even if the Knight were to die, it would summon all Gemini monsters equipped to him towards the field as 'unlocked' Gemini monsters.
-TURN 02-
"You would not like it. But you will receive it regardless." Zettai immediately went on the offense, activating the Sky Striker Mecha spell of Vector Blast. "We both send two cards from the deck to the grave! And if there are three spells in my graveyard, your monster in the extra zone will also be forced back!" The ace razed the top of both decks with the railgun larger than her entire body. "Big deal." Tycho had to discard a trap and a spell: Rocket Hand and Cursed Bamboo Sword. The latter at least activated its effect upon entering the grave: adding a new Bamboo Sword-card (Golden Bamboo Sword) to Tycho's hand. On the other hand Zettai discarded two spells (Foolish Burial Belongings, Sky Striker Mecha Hornet Drones), which prolonged the energy output of Vector Blaster and made it sweep the Union Carrier off of the field. "One piece after the other will face death, until your warrior is flayed to the bone. You made a mistake, Alpha." Zettai quickly activated her second spell: Sky Striker Maneuver Jamming Waves. The spell destroying waves targeted Oliver, shattering the equipped Evocator Eveque and weakening Sublimation Knight(3200/200).
"Are you saying his faith in his monster is misplaced?" The Fire Princess snapped. "I was not talking to you. And besides, there is no faith to speak off. This man has no dueling spirit, and neither do his cards. None of them do." To demonstrate, Zettai normal summoned the Sky Striker Ace Raye(4/1500/1500) [Zone 3] as her own hologram with her own lifeless expression. "Do you see yourself as one these, Fire Princess? If so, then you are a fool. The cards are what he said they were: tools of battle. And in the past I have always only needed one. Link summon, Sky Striker Ace Kagari!" The Sky Striker became the link material for the first of the four elemental battle maidens: the Crimson armored Kagari(1500/LINK 1) {Upleft} [Extra Zone 2]. "I take one Sky Striker spell back from my graveyard, Jamming Waves! And since I control no monsters in my main zone anymore, I activate it again, to destroy your other equipment! And then, since there are three spells in my graveyard, Jamming Waves will also destroy your monster without targeting it!" The second salvo of soundwaves broke down the equipped Eveque, which left Sublimation Knight(2300/200) with no more gemini monsters to special summon when its own destruction followed.
"Hmph. If anyone is fooling themselves here, it is you.. Zettai. I've seen your duels at the tournament. You were the one who wanted to be more like a monster, like that Sky Striker! And now you're here trying to tell me that you have no attachment to your cards anymore? What, did you find a new and better religion?" Tycho laughed. He did not fail to notice that, unlike before, Zettai did not alter her own appearance or merge her avatar with the one monsters she usually had on the field. However.. "I have. I have found a new calling.. and it demanded a new form." Her avatar did change after the next couple of summons. "Link Summon! Hayate!" The first came from the extra deck, taking Kagari as a link material for the green-eyed and blonde-haired ace of wind: Hayate(1500/LINK 1) {Downleft} [Extra Zone 2]. "And special summon! Sky Striker Roze!" The second came from her hand, and fused with Zettai. This was the card that formed the base of Zettai's appearance: Roze(4/1500/1500) [Zone 4] with her long twintails, piercing red eyes and militaristic black uniform.
"Roze?" Cierze stammered. "That is our name." Zettai/Roze exclaimed. "Roze can be special summoned from the hand when another Sky Striker Ace appears. The old me and the new me are the same in this regard, we want to be as free as the birds in the sky." Zettai used herself and Roze as the link material for a third element: the blue-armored aqua Sky Striker Shizuku(1500/LINK) {Upright} [Zone 3]. "But doesn't that make you the same as us?" The Harpie Lady asked the woman who had now transformed herself into two cards already. "No. This is different! I am human and you are not! That will not change regardless of what you say! The old Zettai was too weak, too wrapped up in laws written by other men. But I write my own laws!" Zettai turned her firepower against the defenseless Tycho. While Hayate fired a blast from long range with her twin fork cannon, Shizuku/Zettai came in close to punch the fiery duelist with a bladed gauntlet.
Tycho's LP: 5000
"Gah!" Tycho took the latter hit straight on the jaw, and stumbled backwards. "Hayate sends one Sky Striker card to my graveyard after her attack! And Shizuku adds one Sky Striker card to my hand during the endphase! I send Airspace Area Zero, and add Mobilize Engage!" In between both moves, Zettai also placed a card face down on the field. She ended her turn after that. "Gheh... You don't believe that nonsense." Yet Tycho, once he regained his footing, got the last say in this turn.
-TURN 03-
"What was that?" Zettai snarled. "Do I have to spell it out for you? You don't believe the things you are saying. I can spot a liar when I hear one, and you are it. Maybe you started out that way, but somewhere along the line you must have lost your new faith too. Otherwise.. why would you duel me first, if you despise them more?" Maybe it was the punch to the face or the amount of time spent in STHEREA, but Tycho felt a lot more clearheaded this turn around. "I am dueling bigger threat! I am dueling you to cleanse you!" Zettai protested. "So I could become like you? What would that be like? You still follow your own law, just like me. I understand that. But there is no law without a set moral code, and you definitely still have one of those. So what IS different, Zettai? I still do not see it. Maybe it's just that you are in fact.. weaker then before. At least the old you would not be making excuses! Then again, from what I hear.. you arent Zettai at all anyway."
"I summon Evocator Eveque and equip him with the Broken Bamboo Sword!" Tycho's new warrior and weapon combo looked a lot less illustrious, considering that the spiked mace wielding Eveque(4/1500/1000) [Zone 3] gained no attackboost from his tiny bamboo stick at all. Worse, all monsters he controlled would lose 100 attackpoints for each spell in Zettai's graveyard. Sky Striker Shizuku caused this effect and drained Eveque(1000/1000) five times over. "Hmph. I activate the Golden Bamboo Sword, and destroy my Bamboo Sword to draw two cards!" The broken equip spell only got a brief moment to shine as if it were made of gold. After that it exploded and enabled a double draw from the deck. "Yes!" Tycho pulled one of his best spells and his strongest monster. "Immortal Phoenix Gearfried can special summon himself by banishing one equip spell card from the graveyard!" That would be the crimson flame paladin Gearfried(9/2500/2200) [Zone 2], born from the flames of a banished Broken Bamboo Sword.
"And I activate the field spell, Catalyst Field! Now I can normal summon one gemini monster again this turn! I choose Evocator Eveque!" Lightning struck as well, and a single bolt impact would set a whole chain of burning effects in motion. The re-summoned Eveque could special summon one Fire Warrior from the graveyard. The chosen and revived Sublimation Knight(3/1300/200) [Zone 2] would equip one Fire Warrior from the deck to himself. The selected and equipped Squeaknight could special summon itself to the field as the mouse(1/500/500) [Zone 1] in iron armor. "Also, I can activate Infernoble Knight Oliver from my graveyard and equip it to one warrior I control! I will give it to Gearfried, so that I can finally bring the fire to you, Zettai!"
"Yes! Keep pouring in more fire! You're getting it!" The Fire Princess cheered him on. "Getting what? Is this.." Only now did Tycho pause to appreciate the way he felt, the way his body felt. Hot: he experienced a noticeable yet entirely comforting heat that soured through his veins and arteries. "..is this what I used to feel like?" He was beginning to remember what it felt like to duel, to fight for what he believed in. "This is what the others wanted to come back too.. And I guess, I did too." He finally realized what held him back, his own imagination. He insisted too much on being Tycho, on accepting his limits. But here he could be anyone and do anything. He could even send his Knights of the flame through a baptism of fire. "And I also wanted to come back.. to you. I link summon Salamangreat Heat Leo!" Squeaknight, Sublimation Knight and Evocator Eveque burned up inside the blazing red maelstrom. Three FIRE link materials for three link arrows. At long last the fiery cyberse lionking(1800/LINK 3) {Downleft/Up/Downright} [Extra Zone 1] returned.
"You've done it?" Zettai flinched. "The proof is standing right in front of you, Zettai! Salamangreat Heat Leo returns one spell card you control to the deck!" A single swipe from his burning claws managed to incinerate whatever face-down spell or trap Zettai had planned to spring on him. "And I can do a lot more! I activate the spell of Rekindling! It resummons all fire monsters with 200 defense points!" His final card special summoned the Heavy Knight of Flame(2300/700) and Sublimation Knight(1800/700), both of which could ignite their own link summon. "I summon Duelittle Chimera! The materials are two fire monsters!" . The endresult was a rather lazy looking chimera beast(900/LINK 2) {Downleft/Downright} [Extra Zone 1] with the body of a cat, the wings of a bird and the tail of a wolf. "All fire monsters gain 500 points! And all water monsters lose 400 defense points!" Alpha spread his power across the field, giving it to Duelittle itself(1400 atk), to Immortal Phoenix Gearfried(3000/2700) and to Heat Leo(2300 atk). This basically cancelled out the attack decrease caused by the now also weakened Shizuku(1100 atk).
"Now, we can fight!" The Immortal flame paladin started the battle phase and chose Shizuku as his weapon to be. The battle maiden of the blue sea turned into a mechanical glove for his free hand and her effect got dispelled entirely. "Immortal Gearfried turns one monster on the field into his equipment, and gains 500 attack points! And he can still keep attacking!" Now more deadly than ever, Gearfried(4000/2700) picked a second target: Sky Striker Hayate. That one he crushed with a simple attack from his greatsword.
Zettai's LP: 5500
"Then what are you now, Alpha or Tycho? Are you going to abandon your weaker self after all!?" Zettai shouted. Not only did Alpha's ace monster make his comeback, Alpha himself gradually changed his own appearance. The scar came back on his face, his hair burned bright red and his clothes turned into that of a caped adventurer. Meanwhile Zettai had reverted to her standard monochromatic Roze outfit. "No, because I am not like you! I am still Tycho! I will never forget who I am or what I came to STHEREA for!" Tycho caught her trying to activate the effect of Sky Striker Raye in the graveyard. Yet before she could special summon herself, he unequipped Skystriker Ace Shizuku from the Immortal Phoenix paladin(3500/2700). Doing so negated the effect of Raye and kept her buried. "You do not become stronger by abandoning your past, Zettai!" Tycho sent Duelittle Chimera(1900 atk) and Salamangreat Heat Leo(2800 atk) after the wide-open ace duelist. Both catclaws and cybernetic claws left their mark on her digital body, as they directly attacked her. "That ends my turn!"
Zettai's LP: 800
-TURN 04-
"You are strong. But is not enough. The future is coming regardless." Zettai drew another card and activated her field spell, Mystic Mine. "The future can wait a little longer!" Tycho retaliated with a quick negate, unequipping Infernoble Knight Oliver to cancel the Mine field spell's activation. "You are already too late, Tycho. Static has the last item." The ace duelist kept pushing, activating the Sky Striker Mobilize Engage spell to add another Sky Striker card (Sky Striker Maneuver Afterburners) from the deck to her hand. Since there were more than three spells in the graveyard, Mobilize Engage could also draw a card from the deck normally. "All that remains now is to merge the two worlds and burn away the old! For my sake and for Abigail's sake! I activate the Afterburners, and destroy one monster you control!" Without warning the ace duelist blasted herself off the ground with jet flames spewing from her boots. She barreled towards the Immortal Gearfried and cut him in half with a blade of searing heat. The Afterburners spell also shattered the Catalyst Field. "Rgh! Abigail? What the hell are you talking about?"
"Abigail.. is who I used to be. But she was weak, and there will be no place for weakness in the new world. There will be no place impurities in that world!" While still in mid-air, Zettai played the last two cards in her hand. "Sky Striker Maneuver Scissors Cross! Since there are no monsters in the main zone, and three or more spells in the graveyard, I will special summon one level 4 Sky Striker from my graveyard!" The silverhaired ace duelist dove back down to the field and cut the floor twice with a red blade. Through the rift in space and time, the original Sky Striker Raye[Zone 2] emerged. "Magnet Reverse! I will special summon one machine that cannot be normal summoned!" The second spell of resurrection targeted Sky Striker Kagari(2400 atk) [Zone 4], whose effect recycled the field spell Sky Striker Airspace Area Zero. "Now, let me show you my full power, Tycho Rivers! I need at least one Sky Striker!" Kagari and Raye both flew into the linking circuit. "To ink summon the Sky Striker Ace! ZEKE!"
"A link 2 sky striker?" Tycho's opponent went through two stages of transformations. The ace duelist first shed her uniform and cap to wear a full black battle suit with a red visor. Then she inserted herself inside the cockpit of a large gold/black mech(1500/LINK 2) {Up/Down} [Extra Zone 2] with a humanoid upper torso and a jetfighter-like lower half. "This is my new weapon! The Zeke armor can banish one monster until the end of the turn!" The black Sky Striker fired a beam from the red screen on its faceless head and teleported Salamangreat Heat Leo off of the field. "Then, when a monster disappears from the extra zone, Sky Striker Roze is summoned from my graveyard! And she negates the effect of one card on the field!" The now disconnected hologram of Roze[Zone 4] rematerialized outside of Zeke, and created a static power field around the Duelittle Chimera(1400 atk). Tycho's last monster lost even more attackpoints, when Zettai link summoned her second Sky Striker Ace Shizuku(1500/LINK 1) [Zone 4] by using Roze as its link material. Now there were nine spells in the graveyard to decharge the unfortunate Chimera(500 atk).
"So that is your strength? To become more like a monster?" Cierze cried out. From her perspective, Zettai looked the least human out of all of them. "I am not.. Power is power, no matter what the shape! Zeke can destroy one card I control, to gain a 1000 attackpoints!" Zettai would sacrifice her field spell. Airspace Area Zero briefly took over the rooftop, but Zeke(2500 atk) absorbed all of its energy into itself through the spikes on its shoulders and neck. "And when Area Zero is destroyed, I can special summon one Sky Striker from my deck!" At the very end, it would be decided by her. Zettai special summoned another Sky Striker Ace Raye(4/1500/1500) [Zone 5] and moved towards the battle phase. "You were weaker than me, Tycho!" She declared as the Ace Shizuku drowned the Duelittle Chimera(400 atk) with a stream of water blasts.
Tycho's LP: 3900
"Maybe. But I don't think your side is as strong as they say they are either." Tycho started to snicker. "What do you mean?" Zettai cursed as she ley Raye take her own stab at directly attacking Tycho. One slash from her red sword knocked the Salamangreat duelist back, but it did not eliminate his smile.
Tycho's LP: 2400
"Only that I haven't seen anything change yet, and I feel like I would get a good view from up here if both worlds were beginning to merge or whatever. So maybe your boss is not as ready as he thought he was. Maybe he still needs one more piece, the one that we have. After all, I got into this place with the help of that thing." He knew that she knew what he was referring too. "You, you have the World Chalice?" Zettai clenched the fists of her mechanical suit and demanded an answer. "Not anymore. I gave it back to Echo before I showed up here. Why would I bring that thing back here, of all places? I am not gonna be reckless like that." The chalice once belonged to Exeter, and he was not ever going to let them have it again. "You are already reckless with your own life. You should not have come back here!" Sky Striker Zeke drew a large mechanical rapier and plunged it straight into her enemy.
Tycho's LP: 0
"Tycho!" Cierze could not look. The attack looked devastating, it caused the entire tower to shake. "Wait!" Yet the Fire Princess, who never averted her eyes, witnessed the unexpected. "..." At the last second, Zeke adjusted its attack to impale the ground next to Tycho instead. "She missed? Why?" He did lose the duel, but took no damage to his avatar.
"I saw no reason to cause more harm than was necessary. Though you try to ally yourself with them, you are not them." Zettai explained as Zeke disappeared and left her behind in her black battle suit. "So what then? Do you just want me in one piece when you drag me back to your pals?" Tycho himself expected no kinder reason than that. If she damaged him too much, his bracelet would eject him from the system after all. "I wonder." She could not answer. Too many things had happened and too many claims had been made for her to pretend everything was going the way she liked it. Who was she? Who would Tycho become if she brought him in? What would the world with all of its sinners become? There were many questions. Questions for a later time...
"I hope I am not interrupting."
"!?" The four duelists turned towards the corner of the rooftop, where a lone man stood with an active dueldisk. "But if it is not too much to ask. I would like to have a duel." He pointed at the Fire Princess and submitted an official challenge. "You will do. Allow me to introduce myself. I am mister Hikaru."
(To Be Continued in World 042: Humanity is Cheaper)
New Cards used by Alpha/Tycho Rivers
Chemicritter Carbo Crab
Infernoble Knights Oliver
Heavy Knight of the Flame
-
Salamangreat Almiraj
Duelittle Chimera
-
Necroquip Prism
Golden Bamboo Sword
Catalyst Field
Rekindling
New Cards used by Zettai
Sky Striker Ace - Roze
-
Sky Striker Aze - Zeke
-
Sky Strikers Maneuver - Scissors Cross
