Team 5D's watched the duel still unfolding on their monitors. Akiza looked like she had the advantage with Black Rose Dragon, Blue Rose Dragon, and Smoke Raven. But Jin had Key Mace, Eye Armor, Kurama, and Spirit of the Books keeping it company. It was still, technically, anyone's match.
Jin: 1200
Akiza: 3200
/
"We might lose this duel?" Lise blinked up at him.
Jack narrowed his violet eyes, crossing his arms. "You better start explaining and fast."
Yusei pointed to their screens. His finger indicated Key Mace. "Team Taiyo's real goal was to keep this monster on the field for ten of their turns."
"A level one monster on the field for ten turns?" Luna frowned at the monster. "That's almost unheard of."
"So after twenty turns, right?" Bruno asked.
"Right," Yusei nodded. "With that condition met, they can call forth a really strong monster!"
Leo gasped, flailing around as his brain went on overdrive. "There is! He's right!" He pointed erratically. "What is it? I have one of that too!"
"Do you mean Zushin the Sleeping Giant?" Jack said.
"YES!" Leo gasped, pointing at Jack now.
"Their main strategy wasn't Hand Holding Genie…" Lise breathed. She clasped her fists to her lips. This is bad. This is REALLY bad.
"We have to tell Akiza!" Luna realized. She quickly scribbled down the monster's name.
Akiza and Jin drove through past the pit station. Her brown eyes caught the sign the twins had made for her. Zushin? What?
"Shit," Jin murmured. Did Team 5D's realize what our plan is?
"Oh wow, what's this?" The MC and plenty of the crowd had seen the 5D's pit board as well. "It turns out Team Taiyo's plan all along was to summon this powerful monster! Zushin the Sleeping Giant!"
The stadium's holo spheres lit up with the card's image. Crowd members were already muttering. Was it possible? The summoning conditions were so difficult. Normally no one would have bothered. But Team Taiyo…
"No wonder I got such a bad feeling earlier," Lise frowned at the screen. "I never thought someone would be crazy enough to try to summon it."
"I have tons of this card," Leo was saying, agreeing with her. "I thought it wouldn't help out my Morphtronics, so I took it out of my deck."
Jack scratched at his chin. "So they used this strategy, protection and high speed, to win up until now."
"And now they're ready to strike with their true strategy," Lise spoke gravely.
The MC wasn't finished. "According to our records, Zushin has never been summoned before in an official tournament! If this works, it'll be a new record!"
The crowd suddenly burst into cheers. All for Team Taiyo. Everyone wanted to see them succeed in summoning such a complicated monster.
/
"So that's what they meant," Akiza took one last look at her field. At Key Mace. No doubt Jin has something to protect that card. They can't afford to let it get destroyed, but I've got to do something on THIS turn!
"It's my…turn!" Akiza drew her next card. Her and Jin's speed counters increased to two. "I set two cards facedown. Next, I summon another Blue Rose Dragon in attack mode! I'll be using the speed spell Cross Attack! When I have two or more speed counters, I can choose two level four or below monsters. One of them can attack directly. The other can't attack this tun!"
Jin gasped. His fists tightened on the controls. She's bypassing Key Mace entirely?
"One Blue Rose can't attack, but the other can! Now go, Blue Rose Dragon, attack Jin directly!"
Jin: 0
Akiza: 3200
"Oh! And Akiza was able to fend Jin off! Now it's up to Taro to keep up the effort for Team Taiyo!"
/
"I'm sorry, guys," Jin kept his head down in the pit. After all their efforts. He couldn't look at Taro. His friend would be under so much pressure, even if their plan succeeded, and they won.
"Jin," Taro rested a hand on his teammate's shoulder. Their joined hands held their team emblem. Taro still had to put it on to get out there. "We're here. We made it. You guys did the hardest parts, and endured all the crowds' ridicule along the way. The least I can do is take us fighting to the finish line."
The three of them hugged.
"Go get em, Taro," Yoshi sniffled.
Jin nodded, watching Taro climb aboard their duel runner.
"I'll make you proud. With Zushin, we can do it!" Taro grinned at his friends and tore out of the pit station.
"And Team Taiyo is down to their last rider!" The MC reminded everyone. "But he's got the advantage! When Akiza defeated Jin, that meant her turn automatically ended! Get ready, folks, here it comes!"
"Our moment of glory is here!" Taro cried, clenching his fist.
Taro: 4000
Akiza: 3200
/
"Show them our fight!" Yoshi cheered.
Jin grinned at their screens. "Crush them with the impossible!"
/
"I draw!"
The entire stadium waited with baited breath.
"This card cannot be normal summoned, but by keeping a level one normal monster on my field for ten turns, this card can be summoned! Come forth, Zushin the Sleeping Giant!"
The giant monster shook the stadium with the force of an earthquake. From a fissure of its own creation, the dark Zushin emerged! He was big, bigger even than Akiza's Black Rose Dragon. His fists could easily level any of the city's skyscrapers. He wore a cloth, jewelry, and carried a wooden want too.
"Oh…fuck…" Akiza half whimpered, half whispered.
Taro drove beneath him. "You've finally appeared, Zushin! Now lend us your power!"
"It's here! Everyone watching this duel and witnessing this moment… Team Taiyo made history! Can you believe it? We're witnessing a miracle!" Even the MC was overcome. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "A miracle achieved by team Taiyo!"
"Taiyo! Taiyo! Taiyo!" The crowd had taken up the chant with renewed vigor.
/
"We did it!"
"We did it!"
Jin and Yoshi were hugging each other and crying.
"So…what do we do now?" Bruno spoke into the silence of their pit station.
"I'm not sure," Lise admitted. "No one has fought against Zushin before."
"Yeah," Yusei swallowed. "This duel is completely unexplored territory!"
/
"I set one card facedown. The attack power of Zushin the Sleeping Giant is the same as the opponent's monster in attack mode, plus a thousand points!"
"Oh, that is so not good," Akiza watched Zushin's attack climb up to thirty-four-hundred. A thousand attack points more than her Black Rose Dragon.
"Go, Zushin, attack!"
Zushin punched Black Rose in its beaked face. The monster went down in golden chips and smoke.
Taro: 4000
Akiza: 2200
"Black Rose…"
"I'm not done yet! I activate the trap Power Slow. By releasing a monster whose original attack is less than a thousand, I can inflict damage to the opponent by two times the monster's attack power!"
"What?!"
"I release Kurama with an attack power of eight hundred! You take sixteen hundred points of damage!"
Akiza fought the controls. It's okay! I still have lifepoints! I also have a couple traps… For Jack if I can't…If I can't do anything else…
Taro: 4000
Akiza: 600
"I end my turn! Miss Akiza, you only have one turn left! Make it count!"
/
"He's right," Lise turned to their last rider. Her arm crossed her body, holding onto her other arm. "Jack, it's time to get ready."
He nodded. "You got it."
"But if you start grandstanding-"
"I won't," Jack had an unusual gleam in his eye. "This is serious." He grabbed his gloves and ran off to get Phoenix Whirlwind ready.
Is this the right choice? Sending Jack out as our last rider? Lise's hand tightened on her arm. I just don't know. I wish I could help Akiza more, but Jack…
Yusei put his arm around her. It'll be okay. We have to trust them.
/
"My turn!" Akiza declared. She took a breath. All right, Jack, it's up to you. I'll leave you with these. "I set two cards face down, and switch my two Blue Rose Dragons and Smoke Raven to defense mode. I…"
Taro raised an eyebrow. "Is that all?"
"I end my turn."
"It's my move!" Taro declared. "Now that I have four speed counters, I activate the effect of Speed World 2! I remove my four speed counters to deal you eight hundred points of damage!"
Taro: 4000
Akiza: 0
"Oh! Taro of Team Taiyo has taken out Miss Akiza! Both teams have been reduced to their final member! Same ride, same amount of lifepoints, but only Team Taiyo has Zushin the Sleeping Giant!"
Akiza kept her head down as low as she could. She'd been beaten fair and square. No one could argue differently. Still, the cheers of the crowd for Team Taiyo stung just a tad.
/
Jack was waiting for Akiza in the pit. So was everyone else. The twins immediately switched over the cards from Akiza to Jack.
"I'm sorry, Jack. I couldn't stop Zushin from being summoned…" Akiza handed him the team's active rider tag. "I'm not sure there's a way to beat him…"
"There is," Jack offered her a rare smile. "I'll find it with the help you and Lise left me."
"Everyone look!" The MC and crowd were a lot more preoccupied with team Taiyo. "Now we're witnessing Zushin the Sleeping Giant right in front of us, in this very stadium!"
Zushin's shadow passed over everyone. Like an eclipse.
Akiza swallowed. "You really think you can win?"
Jack lowered his vizor. "The great Jack Atlas can conquer any challenge!" He left in a rush.
"That bastard," Crow shook his head. "Permission to kill him if he loses?"
"Oh, definitely," Akiza giggled.
Crow beamed. It worked. She smiled!
/
"So you've arrived, Jack Atlas," Taro frowned at his new opponent. He hadn't connected much with Jack, but Taro knew his skills were no joke.
"You've pulled off quite the stunt," Jack admitted, a rare occurrence for him. "But I will not hold back! I will throw everything in my power at you!"
Taro grinned. "That's quite the compliment, coming from you. Then, come Jack, let's settle this!" He accelerated ahead.
Jack didn't try to catch up to him. Something stirring in his chest. This team…reminds me of scrounging in the Satellite. It was hard, but I remember before I betrayed them. My friends got me through it. Crow with his kids, Yusei always fixing his new bike, Lise sketching and reading, and even Kalin's drive and leadership. Their spirits are the same as we were back then. They can make the impossible possible, and they're strong! Just like us! Like me!
"It wouldn't be any fun to crush a weak team!" Jack pointed at Zushin. "I'll defeat your monster!"
"Let's duel!"
Taro: 4000
Jack: 4000
"It's my turn!" Jack drew a card. His speed counters jumped up to five. Taro's at one. "I play the speed spell Angel Baton! When I have two speed counters, I can draw two cards from my deck, then discard one from my hand to the graveyard! I send Mirror Resonator to the graveyard! I summon Red Resonator! When Red Resonator is summoned, I can special summon a level four or below monster from my hand! I special summon Medium Piece Golem in Defense mode!"
(Red Resonator: Atk: 600 Def: 200)
(Medium Piece Golem: Atk: 1600 Def: 0)
"Now, using one of the Blue Rose Dragons, Red Resonator, and Smoke Raven, I'm going to tune them all together! Synchro summon, my burning soul; Red Dragon Archfiend! I set two cards facedown to end my turn."
"You didn't waste any time getting your ace on the field, Jack Atlas. But it won't be enough to stop my Zushin," Taro was grinning though. His eyes ablaze. "Which is why I can't wait to see what else you have!"
(All right! Chapter 93 is out! Sorry for the wait!
I just wanted to take this time and space to thank a few people. Kyle S, on AO3, for leaving such a sweet comment despite admitting they're not into Yugioh as much as they used to be. Quetzalcoatl_is_my_Momma especially for their in depth, thoughtful, and kind words. I never thought anyone would notice the nervous tick I gave Yusei, so I'm SO glad you did!
Thank you to 2kirschcherry for checking in, and still following the story. I don't make it easy, but I'm so glad you're still with me.
And Lyra! Lyra has been such a good friend these past months. I'm so lucky to have her, and her 5D's Month ideas were the absolute best! I can't express how much your support means. Typing out words just doesn't feel like enough, but I'm happy to have met you.)