A/N: You know, I actually like the Doktor. He's a fascinating villain, he has a great design, and he's another character that's not afraid to push the envelope. As bad a person as he is, he's a very entertaining character. And I ended up headcanonning a whole life story for him.
Fun Fact: Most people in the Fusion Dimension don't believe in skunk apes. The Xyz Dimension is more divided on the matter. But skunk apes are a somewhat popular figure in the Synchro Dimension, and a lot of the people there are believers.
Description: The Doktor continues to be gross.
Serena turned to Yuri. "You really should have used Clear Wing's effect when you had the chance."
"Hey, look. We all make mistakes," Yuri said. "You never read card effects."
"My mistake isn't risking our chances of winning."
"Yet."
Serena growled, and Yuri pouted defiantly. The two glared at each other for a split second, then turned away from each other.
"Not like it would have mattered, anyway," Yuri said out loud. "Read High Queen's card effect; its effects can't be negated."
"Precisely!" the Doktor chimed in. "The Professor wanted to make sure that I wouldn't lose so easily in a duel, so I was gifted with powerful cards!"
Ignoring the Doktor for a moment, Serena turned to Yuri and said, "Why didn't you just say that before? Then you would't have gotten yelled at!"
"Can you blame me!" Yuri said with an egao. "I like you when you're mad."
Serena blushed. "Damn it, Yuri... Focus on pissing off the Doktor; he's the enemy here."
The Doktor stared down at the field below him. From here, Yuri, Serena and their cards were like ants to him. Inferior creatures, less evolved than him. Ants that could be crushed with a single step.
He pulled up his left arm. A large Duel Disk blade jutted out from the side. And in his right hand, the card he drew slid out from underneath his skin.
"I summon Fusion Parasite's Worker!"
He lifted up his hand and placed a card onto his blade. Appearing before him was a much, much smaller parasite. It was smaller than other Fusion Parasites, and was a pale pink. It seemed underdeveloped, in a way. Like it was born prematurely. (ATK 200)
"When Parasite's Worker is Normal Summoned, I can add a Parasite Spell card from my deck to my hand."
The creature's back started to throb. The thin purple veins rose from its back, pulling up a card from its body. The veins rose up high, towards the Doktor, who grabbed the card between two fingers.
"Continuous Spell, Parasite Infestation, activate!"
He placed the card on his blade, and the card appeared on its field. It depicted what appeared to be an atrophied brain, with worm-like appendages rising from the crevises. A few Fusion Parasites could be seen crawling on the brain.
Serena cringed at the sight of the card. "Why does your deck have to be so disgusting?"
"Infestation's effect!" the Doktor explained. "Once per turn, I can Special Summon a Parasite Token to my side of the field. Then, I can equip it to any monster."
A Fusion Parasite walked out of Infestation's artwork. It floated across the field and landed on Clear Wing's chest. Its tiny legs dug into the dragon's body.
Yuri felt up his forehead. He could feel a tinge of pain. He could feel... Clear Wing's pain? That was his guess, but he wasn't completely sure.
"A Parasite Token created by this effect is treated as Fusion Parasite," the Doktor continued. "And by Parasite High Queen's effect, Parasite monsters gain 500 ATK for each Fusion Parasite on the field, and other monsters lose 500 ATK and DEF for each Fusion Parasite equipped to them!"
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon ATK 2500 → 2000) (Parasite High Queen 3700 → 4200) (Fusion Parasite's Worker 200 → 700)
"Why do all these bad guys have cards like this?" Serena groaned. "They always have a million effects."
"It probably makes it harder for you to read the effects," Yuri agreed.
The Doktor cleared his throat, drawing the attention of his opponents, and Clear Wing. The three of them looked right up to his face.
"Are you two done?" he asked them.
"Sick bants are my thing," Yuri said. "It's what makes me so lovable and appealing."
"If you're done now... Parasite High Que-"
"Hey, question."
The Doktor raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Do you have a question about my work? My cards?"
"Yeah."
"Go on."
"Who do you think is in the right?" Yuri asked. "Me, or Sabrina?"
The Doktor didn't answer.
"It's me, right?"
"I-"
"It's me... Yeah, it's me."
"Battle!" the Doktor declared. "We attack your Clear Win Synchro Dragon!"
The Doktor raised his right arm, then brought it down on the field. Clear Wing rose up to catch the fists in its arms, apparently trying to fight off the attack. But its body began to shake, and it continued to struggle in vain.
"Action Card: Selection of Miracle!"
That was Serena's voice. The Doktor turned his head to her side of the field, only to find her a little closer than expected; she was standing on one of the platforms generated for the Action Duel.
"I can choose to activate one of two effects!" Serena went on. "Either battle damage from this battle is halved, or monsters can't be destroyed by this battle."
The Doktor could feel Clear Wing start to falter under his hand as its hold grew weaker. The monster wouldn't be able to hold on much longer.
His attention was drawn away from the battle by Yuri's cackle. He put less focus on fighting Clear Wing, and put more focus on watching Yuri. "What's so funny?"
"This!" said Serena
From the corner of his eye, the Doktor could see Serena's arm pull back. A card was sent flying down to Yuri, landing by his feet.
Yuri knelt down to the floor, then picked up a card below him. He danged the Action Card in front of his opponent, before placing it on his Duel Disk.
"Action Card: Fortune Sword," he said. "Until the end of this turn, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon gains 400 ATK."
Clear Wing pushed itself away from the Doktor. A sword with a silver-colored blade appeared in its right hand. (Clear Wing Synchro Dragon ATK 2000 → 2400)
"Adults are so easy to manipulate!" Yuri laughed. "So easy to distract with some words and banter."
"Like we'd fight each other in the middle of a duel!" Serena yelled. "We've been playing you this whole time."
"So the fighting was to get me to let my guard down..." the Doktor said. "And the boy talking to me, that was also part of the plan?"
"It was Serena's idea," Yuri replied.
"Now you have to watch both of us at all times," Serena said. "Or you focus on one, and take a risk."
The Doktor smiled and nodded. Though it was annoying to be tricked, he could appreciate their planning and underhanded tactics. Had they, like the Professor, not strayed from Academia's goals, they would have done him proud.
It reminded him of his own children, and how intelligent they were. His parasite children moreso, to be perfectly honest.
"Yuri, decision time!" Serena yelled. "Selection of Miracle: which effect do you want?"
Yuri looked up to his dragon. The monster looked back down at him, meeting his gaze. For a moment, so words were shared between them. But both of them were able to convey thoughts, plans, on how they should carry on.
"Clear Wing cannot be destroyed by battle," Yuri said.
"Right," Serena agreed nodding. "The effect's been chosen, and Clear Wing will be safe."
The Doktor nodded in agreement. Now, the duel could resume.
He brought his fist down on Clear Wing once more. The monster put up less of a resistance, as it put both of its hands around the hilt of the sword. The Doktor could feel the blade digging into the side of his hand, trying to pierce through him.
Ultimately, Clear Wing was shattered. The Doktor pulled back his hand from the scene, letting droplets of green liquid drop to the floor. (Yuri: 4000 → 2200)
"I'll end my turn here," the Doktor said. "Serena, I look forward to seeing what you can do."
The Doktor ended his turn with 2200 Life Points. He had himself/Parasite High Queen on the field, along with a Fusion Parasite's Worker, and Parasite Infestation. He had no cards in his hand.
"At this time, the effect of Fortune Sword ends," Yuri explained. "Clear Wing's ATK returns to normal."
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon ATK 2400 → 2000)
Serena drew a third card for her hand. Unlike the Doktor, she was focused on conserving resources as best as she could. Moving fast was good, but it could also lead to costly mistakes.
"Parasite Grubber's Graveyard effect!" the Doktor announced. "During your Standby Phases, you lose 100 Life Points!"
Serena could feel a small drain to her Life Points. it was like the life was being drained out of her. But at a mere 100 Life Points, the feeling was small, and passed her by quickly. (Serena: 4000 → 3900)
"And my Parasite Lifeslice's effect: I gain 200 Life Points during your Standby Phases." (Doktor: 2200 → 2400)
The Doktor looked down on his Duel Disk arm. A small screen appeared on his arm; looked like his Duel Disk didn't grow alongside him or the blade. He delicately tapped at the screen with his fingers. Serena had to wonder if he was typing out a message to someone. If that was the case, that meant that she had to be a little more proactive.
"I discard Lunalight Black Sheep!" Serena explained. "This lets me add a Polymerization to my hand."
Serena pulled a card from her deck. Immediately after adding it to her hand, she pulled another card out from her hand and placed it on the blade. "Next, I summon Lunalight White Rabbit!"
Lunalight White Rabbit materialized onto the field, to the left of Serena's face-down monster. (ATK 800)
"When it's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Lunalight monster from my Graveyard, in Defense Position."
The white rabbit-girl lifted up her hammer. She slammed its head onto the ground, and a crescent moon appeared where it landed. As she pulled up her hammer, the body of Black Sheep slowly floated up from the moon. (DEF 600)
"So, you've given yourself a lot of Fusion material," the Doktor mused. "But will that be enough to defeat us?"
"I'm not done!" Serena yelled. "Lunalight White Rabbit's effect! Once per turn, I can target Spell and Trap cards my opponent controls, up to the number of other Lunalight cards you control; your cards are returned to your hand!"
White Rabbit spun her hammer over her head. This time, when her hammer hit the ground, a shock wave was felt through the room. The parasite on Clear Wing's body started to whine and shake. Its body started to crack, and it shattered into sparkling dust.
(Clear Wing Synchro Dragon ATK 2000 → 2500) (Fusion Parasite's Worker ATK 700 → 200) (Parasite High Queen ATK 4200 → 3700)
"Finally! My monster is cleansed!" Yuri exclaimed happily. "Satisfactory job as always, Serena!"
Serena held out her Polymerization. "I activate Polymerization! Lighalights White Rabbit and Black Sheep will come together, swarm in a vortex of the moon's gravity and revive with a new power!"
Her monsters rose up, then melded together in the light of the fusion vortex. Their two bodies become one, and their new form leapt onto the field. The monster moved its hips to un unheard rhythm, and she ended her movements with a dramatic pose.
"Come forth! Level 7, Lunalight Cat Dancer!" (ATK 2400)
"And it was at this moment that the Doktor realized how badly he fucked up," Yuri said. "He looked at his field and said, Oh no! I was a total idiot and left a weak monster out on my field, in Attack Position! Now I'm going to get my ass kicked by a little girl!"
"When Black Sheep is used as Fusion Material, I can add a Lunalight monster from my Graveyard, or face-up in my Extra Deck, to my hand. I recall my Lunalight White Rabbit."
"Go get 'em, Celery!" Yuri cheered.
"I'm gonna use Cat Dancer's first effect!" Serena declared. "By Tributing another Lunalight monster, it can attack all of my opponent's monster's, twice each. However, they won't be destroyed the first time."
The facedown monster vanished from the field. Cat Dancer's daggers started to elongate, making them seem much more dangerous.
A frown fell from the Doktor's mouth. Indeed, it was at that moment that the Doktor realized that he did "fuck up," as Yuri had said. He silently cursed himself for carelessly leaving a defenseless parasite out to slaughter.
He turned his head around, scanning the field for any Action Cards. If these little brats could use them, so could he.
As he turned his large body around, he could hear Serena's voice: "Battle! And whenever Lunalight Cat Dancer declares an attack, 100 points of damage are inflicted to your Life Points!" (Doktor: 2400 → 2300)
Finally, the Doktor was able to find a card right atop of a tank. He pulled his body twards it, and he pushed away any floating platforms that blocked his path.
He grabbed hold of the card, slammed it onto his blade, and threw his head towards the others. "Action Card: Defender! My monster is set into Defense Position, and it gains 500 DEF." (Parasite's Worker ATK 200 → DEF 600)
"Action Card: Piercing Lance!" Yuri announced. "Cat Dancer can inflict piercing damage this battle, so your card hardly matters. Sad!"
The Doktor looked down at the field. Lunalight Cat Dancer stabbed one of her daggers into the body of his parasite. The insect let out a small, pained whimper, and its legs collapsed under it. (Doktor 2300 → 600)
The Doktor quickly turned back around. As much as it pained him to leave his monster defenseless, he needed to search for an Action Card. Victory above all else.
He moved down the room. Though his body was big and bulky now, he was able to move around a little faster. He could grab platforms and throw them to the ground, search the top of high shelves and machinery, and get a good view of the lab below.
The Action Cards seemed to be a little scarce now, he thought. With three people constantly going after them, it was no wonder. But he was able to spot one nestled between the keys of his keyboard.
His hand cracked the keyboard when he grabbed hold of the card. His new body's strength was something he was still getting used to. But hopefully, the card would help him.
(Doktor 600 → 500)
He turned back to the field when he heard his Worker's whimper. He had just missed its second attack, destroying it.
"I'll end my turn here," Serena said. "Yuri, it's up to you now."
Serena ended her turn with a card in her hand, two facedown Spell or Trap cards, and Lunalight Cat Dancer on the field. Her Life Points were at 3900, giving her the highest total out of everyone.
(Doktor 500 → 700) (Yuri: 2200 → 2100)
"You can count on me!" Yuri told her.
Yuri looked at the card he drew: Performapal Skullcrobat Joker. Was this Yuya's way of helping him, too? Looking at the other two cards in his hand, he could tell what the cards wanted him to do.
"I summon Performapal Skullcrobat Joker."
A blond, humanoid monster materialized onto the field. The man tipped his top hat to the opponent, giving him an egao as he did so. (ATK 1800)
"When Skullcrobat Joker is Normal Summoned, I can add a Performapal, Odd-Eyes or Magician card to my hand. And I'm adding Purple Poison Magician to my hand."
Yuri's deck spit out a card. He pulled it out with two delicate fingers. Then he shifted a card from his hand beside it, and presented them both to his opponent.
"With my Scale 1 Purple Poison Magician, and my Scale 8 Double Iris Magician, I set the Pendulum Scales."
Two columns of light shone on either side of Yuri. The Magicians appeared in the columns, then rose up to the sky. Once they reached the top, their numbers appeared below them, and a large pendulum circled above them.
"When I control two Magicians in my Pendulum Zones, I can Special Summon Tuning Magician from my hand, and I lose 400 Life Points."
Yuri placed a card on his blade. Rising up from the card was the image of an egao-ing, happy girl. A large, tuning fork-like staff appeared beside her, floating in the air. (DEF 0) (Yuri: 2100 → 1700)
"You're not going to Pendulum Summon?" Serena asked him.
"I only use the power of Fusion," Yuri replied. "Now, I tune my Level 7 Clear Wing Synchro Dragon with my Tuning Magician!"
The young magician floated above Clear Wing. Its body transformed into a green ring, which floated down to embrace the dragon. Clear Wing itself split into seven orbs of light, which lined up inside the ring.
"Shine the wings that store the holy light, and strike down your enemies with its radiance! " Yuya chanted. "Synchro Summon! Level 8, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!"
The rings and orbs joined together, forming a large silhouette of a dragon. The silhouette flew high over the rooftops, before faded away to reveal a beautiful, radiant dragon. (ATK 3000)
Serena immediately took off towards a platform. She leapt onto the platform, pulled herself up, and started running towards another.
"Crystal Wing attacks Parasite High Queen," Yuri declared. "And when it battles a Level 5 or higher monster, it gains ATK equal to your monster's current attack. Tragic!"
From high above, Crystal Wing flew from the sky. A stream of blue light trailed behind it, following the dragon and illuminating the sky. Crystal Wing zoomed towards the battlefield, flying directly towards the Doktor.
"Crystallos Edge of Gale!" Yuri cried out. (Crystal Wing ATK 3000 → 6700)
"Action Card: Draining Barrier!" the Doktor yelled. "Your attack is negated and I gain Life Points equal to your monster's original ATK!"
He threw his Action Card onto his blade. A large, circular shield appeared on his Duel Disk, and a dome of light surrounded him. Crystal Wing's claw struck the shield. Sparks flew, and shock waves of energy shook through the room.
The shield cracked in half, then fell to the ground and shattered. The barrier over the Doktor faded. And he was still standing after all this time, unhurt. (Doktor 700 → 3700)
"Action Card: Camp Raid!" Serena shouted. "Doktor, you lose Life Points equal to the number of monsters your opponents control, multiplied by 300!"
Parcels fell from the sky above the Doktor, floating down on small parachutes. The parcels unraveled, and cannon balls fell over the Doktor. (Doktor 3700 → 3100)
The Doktor pulled his hands away from his face. To his surprise, Yuri was now on a platform. He was now eye-level with the Doktor, albeit still a good distance away. Yuri gave the Doktor a menacing, almost depraved egao. Now the Doktor was starting to understand why Yuri was so scary: he had no fear. The Doktor could tell that, no matter what he threw at the boy to scare him, Yuri would have something scarier planned when given the chance.
Why was Jean taking so long to send soldiers?
"So you survived," Yuri said, waggling his finger. "Good boy. I like when they try and hardest to fight back."
Yuri ended his turn with no cards in his hand, and Crystal Wing and Skullcrobat Joker on his field, along with his two Pendulum Scales. Although his Life Points were the lowest, at 1700, he was confident in his and Serena's skills would make this a nonissue.
The Doktor was careful when drawing a card from his deck. Although he scratched the back of the card, he was able to pull it out without seriously damaging his Duel Disk or cards.
"I use the effect of Parasite Infestation," he explained. "I create a Parasite Token, and equip it to a monster on the field."
Another Parasite appeared from Infestation's card. This time, it floated over to Lunalight Cat Dancer. It spread its legs and grappled onto Cat Dancer's abdomen, wrapping her in a tight hug. Cat Dancer attempted to push the creature with her hands, to stab it in the face. But the hold it had was too tight, and it refused to let go. (Cat Dancer ATK 2400 → 1900) (High Queen ATK 3700 → 4200)
The Doktor pit a finger to his chin. "Let me think... 4200 minus 2400 is 1800, yes? That wouldn't be enough to deplete all of your Life Points."
He placed his drawn card onto his Duel Disk. A Normal Spell, depicting two Fusion Parasites between a dashing pendulum.
"Parasitic Pendulum Pull allows me to add a face-up Parasite Pendulum monster from my Extra Deck to my hand. I pick Parasite Pendulum, and set it in my Pendulum Zone."
A column of blue light appeared to the Doktor's left. His Parasite Pendulum rose into the sky, and its number appeared below it. But no pendulum appeared in the sky.
(High Queen ATK 4200 → 4700)
"But that's still not enough to win, is it?" the Doktor mused. "So I will have to pay the difference here."
The Doktor's body started to tighten and loosen. The skin on his face seemed to tighten, and his eyes bulged out. Though he seemed to be struggling to keep himself from letting more of his body fall into his monster, he kept up a pleasant grin.
Serena could feel Rin and Ruri's presence. She looked to either side of herself, to see them looking just as horrified as she was. Ruri had her hands clutched to her chest, and Rin looked like she was struggling to hold back tears. Struggling and feeling.
Serena had to agree with them. As much as they all hated to admit it, they were worrying for the Doktor's safety.
Tears started to run down the Doktor's face. He gritted his teeth, but tried to cover up his pained whimpers with a laugh.
(Doktor: 3100 → 1500 ) (High Queen ATK 4700 → 6100)
The laughter stopped. The skin on the Doktor's face was still tight ,and still making him look tortured. But he kept on smiling at them, as if he experienced the most pleasant experience in his life.
It wasn't very convincing, though; his cold, shaking eyes betrayed his smile and demeanor.
"B-battle!" he declared. "We attack Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
The Doktor extended his hands out as he moved forward. His body seemed to be a little faster than before, and its strides were greater. He was able to close the gap real quickly.
Yuri wasn't going to let the Doktor have his way, of course. he jumped from his platform and...
Fell into the Doktor's open hand.
"The hell?" Yuri wondered. "You can let me go at any time, queen."
The Doktor looked down on him. "I won't let you interfere here."
The Doktor quickly spun around, turned his hand upside down, and let Yuri fall to the ground. Yuri landed on his feet, but soon fell to his knees. It was a bit of a rough landing.
Unfortunately for Yuri, his enemy was on the move. He scuttled toward Serena, holding his arms forward. Serena jumped from her platform and onto a lower one, and then landed on the ground.
She looked around desperately. So far, she couldn't see anything. She was running out of time, she couldn't...
There! She spotted something near the door!
"Goodbye, my test subject," the Doktor told her.
And then, the sound of a dragon's roar. Both Yuri and the Doktor looked up in the air to see Crystal Wing. The monster was diving through the air, heading right for the Doktor.
"Ah, Crystal Wing!" Yuri gasped. "You got this!"
Crystal Wing desperately slammed itself into the Doktor's side, forcing him to stumble in step. The Doktor quickly threw his body at the monster and swatted it away from him.
Yuri looked over to Serena. She was on her hands and knees, scrounging at the floor. But she soon seemed to find what she needed, because she something up from the floor.
Serena looked back to the field. "Action Card: Attack Force! Lunalight Cat Dancer gains 700 ATK!" (Cat Dancer ATK 1900 → 2600)
The Doktor pushed Crystal Wing away from him. He quickly threw himself forward and dropped a leg down on Cat Dancer.
"Cat Dancer can't be destroyed by battle!" Serena declared. "She's safe!"
The Doktor lifted his foot, looking down at the monster below him. Though she was not destroyed, the monster found herself crumbled under his weight. She struggled to rise up from the ground, and could only manage to stand on her knees.
(Serena: 3900 → 200)
Serena ran towards the field. Yuri ran towards her. They ran right towards each other and stopped before the other.
Yuri looked Serena up and down. From all the running, jumping, and dueling she'd been doing, she was left breathing heavily. But she still had that determined look in her eyes.
Serena looked Yuri up and down. Despite his running, jumping, falling and dueling he'd been engaged in, he seemed rather calm and relaxed. In fact, the usual look of contempt in his eyes was gone.
The two gave each other a nod, then walked away. They each took their proper positions on the field.
While this went on, the Doktor examined the screen of his Duel Disk. So far, no response from Jean. Or anybody. What was holding the man up? Didn't he know how important it was to keep the parasites going?
With a sigh, the Doktor turned his attention back to the duel. "I'll end my turn here, kiddies. But rest assured, I can't let you end my work here. Not without a fight."
The Doktor ended his turn with a powered-up Parasite High Queen, Parasite Infestation in his Spell/Trap Zone, and a Pendulum card in his Pendulum Zone. His Life Points were at 1500.
He was confident in his chances of winning now. He could banish Parasites to prevent Crystal Wing from attacking, thus removing it as a threat, until he could draw a card that could rid of it entirely. He had no worries about Yuri's deck, and Serena would be wiped out soon.
Still, he felt a little uneasy with Yuri. He decided to watch the duel carefully, and see what threat Yuri could muster up.
This was it, Serena told herself. It's only a matter of time before reinforcements come to help the Doktor. Or before I lose. I need to do this. Please, let me draw a good card...
Serena drew a card from her deck. She could feel her heart beating in her chest, pounding. With a bit of hesitation, she turned over the card to see what she drew.
It was blank.
"Son of a-" she snapped. "Damn it! Fuck!"
Yuri turned to look at her. "What? You bricked, didn't you?"
"I- I drew a blank card!" Serena protested? "How? How?"
"Maybe you shouldn't have put a blank card in your deck."
"Bite me, Yuri."
"Love to."
"You know I didn't put the card in there."
The Doktor cleared his throat. "During your Standby Phase, I gain 200 Life Points, and you lose 100."
Serena could feel the pain of Grubber's pull. The card was draining her from beyond the grave. Though she kept herself standing, she was starting to feel faint.
(Doktor: 1500 → 1700 ) (Serena: 200 → 100)
Serena looked at her Duel Disk's screen, seeing her Life Points. She was hanging on by a thread, and the Doktor grew stronger.
Had he given his monster 100 more ATK, she would have been gone that turn. But that was probably the Doktor's plan: ensure that she got this turn, so he could gain Life Points during her Standby Phase, and watch Grubber finish her off.
"Serena!" Yuri projected. "Try playing the card. Maybe something cool will happen!"
Serena nodded. She placed the blank card on the Duel Disk's blade, right beside Cat Dancer's card.
ERROR.
... Well. She wasn't quite sure what she was expecting to happen there. Maybe it needed to be placed in the Spell/Trap Zone?
ERROR.
Pendulum Zone?
ERROR.
Field Spell Zone?
ERROR.
Graveyard? Does it need to be in the Banished Zone?
ERROR. ERROR.
Serena pulled the card off of her Disk, much to her displeasure. What, did she have to ride a bike in order to get it to work? What could she possibly do to make this card work?
Serena sighed. No sense worrying about it now.
"I activate one of my facedown cards!" Serena declared. "Spell Card, Luna Light Perfume!"
The facedown and rose up. The bottle of perfume escaped from the artwork, and it lefted its stopper. A purple mist escaped from the glass and poured over Serena's field.
"Luna Light Perfume allows me to Special Summon a Lunalight monster from my Graveyard."
A hand rose from the ground. Lunalight Blue Cat clawed her way up to the field and grabbed the bottle. It shattered in her hand, and the mist gravitated toward her body. (ATK 1600)
"I summon a Lunalight White Rabbit from my hand," Serena continued. "When it's Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon a Lunalight monster from my Graveyard, in Defense Position."
Lunalight White Rabbit materialized onto the field, right beside Cat Dancer. (ATK 800) She threw up her hammer, and brought it crashing to the ground. From the crescent moon created by the impact, Black Sheep's body rose up to join her fellow Lunalights on the field. (DEF 600)
"Don't forget White Rabbit's other effect!" Serena went on. "Once per turn, she can send your Spells and Traps back to your hand!"
White Rabbit spun her hammer over her head. This time, when her hammer hit the ground, a shock wave was felt through the room. The parasite on Cat Dancer started to crack, and it shattered into sparkling dust. The Pendulum Parasite (or Parasite Pendulum? Serena couldn't tell the difference) vanished from its column. The light around it started to fade, bringing darkness back to the Doktor's field.
(Cat Dancer ATK 1900 → 2400) (High Queen ATK 6100 → 5100)
"And..." Serena said. "And I..."
She looked at the cards in her hand. Though the blank card was useless now, she had one card that could help.
Before they left to fight the Doktor, they came up with strategies to fight him. They agreed to search for Action Cards to help each other, to distract the Doktor whenever they could, to keep the other safe. Because if one fell, the whole mission was put into danger. Everyone would be put into danger.
Yuri let her borrow this card, but only for emergencies. He never wanted her to use it unless she absolutely had to, because he didn't like the idea of someone else commanding his...
"I activate the Spell, Fusion Draft!"
Her new card appeared on her field. The art depicted armored soldiers bursting through a door. A blonde man with a bowl cut was pulled through the door by soldiers, who were dragging by his cape.
"By Tributing monsters on my hand or Field, I can activate this card," she explained. "I can look at my opponent's Extra Deck."
White Rabbit and Black Sheep vanished from the field, and five rows of three cards appeared before Serena.
"I can then choose a Fusion Monster and, if I have the required Fusion Material in my hand or on my Field, I can conduct a Fusion Summon."
She scanned through the cards. Of the fifteen cards listed before her, ten of them were Fusion Monsters. Among those cards, only three of them had requirements that she could fill. But these were good cards, and she was more than happy to have access to them.
She looked up to the Doktor. He had already turned his back and started moving through the room. Most likely, he was desperately searching for an Action Card.
Serena could hear footsteps behind her. She knew that Yuri was likely searching for stray Action Cards, too. He had her back on this one.
"I fuse my Lunalight Blue Cat, and my Lunalight Cat Dancer!"
A fusion vortex opened up above her. Her two monsters danced through the air and into the vortex, and their bodies became one.
"The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight. Blue cat that prowls through the darkness. Become one, and from the path illuminated by moonlight, revive with a new power! Fusion Summon!"
The body took the shape of the dragon, and that dragon reached out of the vortex. It ripped through the vortex and jumped onto the field before Serena. (ATK 2800)
The Doktor frantically scuttled out from behind the glowing tubes. He waved a card in his hand, desperately trying to draw attention to himself.
"A-Action Card!" he yelled. "F-Forced Back allows me to-"
"Action Card: No Action," Yuri stated. "Your Action Card is negated."
Serena's eyes widened. She could feel Yuri's presence behind her. She could feel his gentle voice in her ear. Yuri was just a little too close for comfort, but he was literally backing her up.
The Doktor's card appeared on his side of the field. But just as soon as it appeared, it vanished in a sea of sparkles.
The Doktor gritted his teeth. "Fine. Then I activate Fusion Parasite's Worker's Graveyard Effect: I can send a Parasite monster from my Deck to my Graveyard; then..."
Fusion Parasite's Worker appeared on the back of Starving Venom's neck. The dragon reached back to yank at the creature. But the insect dug its claws into the neck, and its body started to sink in.
"When a monster is Special Summoned: if I control a level 7 or higher Parasite monster, I can negate your monster's effects and send it to the Graveyard!"
Starving Venom's skin started to bubble and swell. It let out a horrifying screech and started to scratch at its neck. With every scratch, more sparkles and pieces of its body started to chip away.
"Starving Venom..." Yuri mumbled.
Serena turned to Yuri. "Yuri, I'm sorry. I didn't know-"
Yuri gently pushed Serena away. He ran straight towards his dragon, waving a hand to grab its attention.
"Starving Venom!" he called out. "At this time, Crystal Wing's effect activates: if another monster's effect is activated, I can negate it!"
"That's not going to work!" the Doktor interrupted. "I sent my Effect Parasite to the Graveyard! When Effect Parasite is in the Graveyard, I can equip it to another monster and negate its effect!"
Serena looked to Crystal Wing. A pale green parasite had climbed onto its neck. Its pincers dug into its body, forcing the dragon to land on the ground.
Serena slammed her blank card onto the blade. ERROR. Again. ERROR. Again. ERROR.
"Please!" Serena begged. "I can't let this happen... !"
Yuri was too focused on Starving Venom. He quickly made his way over to the dragon and reached out to touch it. But the second his hand touched his monster's back, Starving Venom shattered. All that remained were sparkles, which fell over the duelist.
"Yuri..." Serena said softly.
Yuri didn't answer her. Instead, he simply walked right by her. he returned to his spot on the field, right beside his Crystal Wing.
Serena looked to see the fruits of her efforts: a set Spell, no monsters, and a card she couldn't even use. She had Yuri, who gave her his most important monster, and she let it get destroyed. She had the Doktor, now towering above them, as a monster that they couldn't destroy.
Serena's heart sank. Finally, the reality of the situation had set in: she had nothing she could use to defeat the High Queen. If anything, she made it more difficult for Yuri to win.
She felt trapped now. Like the walls were closing in on her. She was once again forced into a situation of helplessness. But this time, it was all because of her own actions.
He looked at the blank card in her hand and thought, Please. Please, please, please! Just... just work!
Nothing.
She looked to Yuri. He was not looking at her, but glaring at the Doktor. She could tell that he was putting all his focus on hating their enemy right now.
"Yuri," she said meekly. "Yuri, I'm sorry!"
"Save it, Serena," he said curtly. "I'll take care of this for us."
Serena clenched her fists. She... she didn't want this. To leave it all to Yuri, to have him save the day alone... To clean up her mess.
She didn't care about how claustrophobic the situation made her feel. She didn't care about winning or losing, herself. She didn't care about how strong the Doktor was.
If she had one wish now, it was to help Yuri. To not let him do this alone.
Serena looked back at her hand once more, begging for something, anything. And she found something that made her heart skip a beat.
The card wasn't blank anymore.
"Continuous Spell, activate!" Serena cried out. "En Cereus!"
Serena placed the card on her blade. The card's image appeared on the field; its art depicted a sigma symbol, nestled in the petals of a pale white flower.
"By Banishing monsters from my field, or in any player's Graveyard, I can Fusion Summon a monster. But when En Cereus is destroyed, the monster is destroyed."
A fusion vortex appeared above her head. The image of Lunalight Cat Dancer, and the image of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon appeared in the center of the vortex. Their bodies melded together, taking the form of one.
"The ravenous dragon of darkness! The beautiful beast dancing in the moonlight!" Serena chanted. "Dancing under the pale moonlight, revive and become a new power!"
A new monster appeared before her. It was an extremely tall, violet-skinned woman. She had a flowing, dark purple cape of dragon scales, and shredded, skimpy clothing. Her strikingly beautiful face and green eyes could be seen inside her helmet, which took the shape of Starving Venom's head. She carried a long whip with a hook on the end, which looked very similar to the dragon's tail.
"Level 11! Lunalight Dragon Dancer!" (ATK 3800)
The Doktor let out a small, stifled groan. Sweat started to drip down from his forehead. From all of his body, really. He took a step backwards. He was no longer smiling.
"W-we can feel it..." he whispered. "So-so much life energy. So much. Too much. Too much."
He put his hands on his head. "It hurts us!"
Serena turned to look at Yuri. She saw him staring at her monster in wonder. His bright face was looking the monster up and down, excitedly taking in what he was seeing.
"Starving Venom..." he said quietly. "I can tell, it's you in there."
He egao'd. "Serena! You have my permission to go and kick the Doktor's ass for me."
Serena looked down at Dragon Dancer's card. "No, Yuri. You're going to kick the Doktor's ass for me. Spell, activate!"
Serena's facedown rose up. Its art depicted a pink envelope with a heart sticker. It was stuffed into a shelf. A lipstick miss was made at the bottom right of the envelope.
"Return Letter!" Serena announced. "This card allows my opponent to choose between two effects: they take control of one of my monsters, or I gain 1000 Life Points."
She looked back to Yuri. "Do you accept my letter, and our monster?"
Yuri looked to her and egao'd. "Eh? How could I refuse?"
"Then the deal is made; Yuri gains control of Lunalight Dragon Dancer."
The monster jumped forward. In a single leap, she crossed onto Yuri's side of the field, right beside Crystal Wind.
"I end my turn here," Serena concluded. "Yuri?"
Yuri nodded. "Serena."
He drew a card. And as much as it pained him, he was betrayed by his own Standby Phase; the Doktor gained his 200 Life Points, and Yuri lost 100. (Yuri: 1700 → 1600) (Doktor: 1700 → 1900)
The Doktor wasn't looking, though. He was throwing machinery aside, throwing chairs and tables. He was turning his lab upside down in a desperate bid to find an Action Card.
"No! No!" he man pleaded. "There has to be one around here!"
Yuri looked at the card he drew. Black Fang Magician. A card he didn't need right then, but carried a certain meaning for him... Took Yuto long enough to come around to him.
"I activate Lunalight Dragon Dancer's effect!" Yuri said happily. "I can Tribute a monster I control; Dragon Dancer gains ATK equal to half of its original ATK."
Dragon Dancer unraveled her whip. She cast it to her side, letting the rope wrap around Crystal Wing's neck. She tugged harder and harder, until the force of her movements caused Crystal Wing to shatter.
(Dragon Dancer ATK 3800 → 5300)
The Doktor threw his desk aside. He was becoming more frantic in his search for cards.
"Battle!" Yuri yelled. "Lunalight Dragon Dancer attacks Parasite High Queen!"
The Doktor turned to look at the monster. He threw his computer, his chair, his papers. Anything he could to try and half the monster's attack.
Dragon Dancer fought it all off. She punched the items away, or struck them with her whip. And once she was within range, she cast her whip around the Doktor's neck.
"I forgot to mention!" Yuri interjected. "When Dragon Dancer destroys a monster in battle: can inflict damage to you, equal equal to your monster's ATK."
Dragon Dancer pulled on her whip, choking the Doktor. And with a few hard tugs, the rope shattered his insect body.
(Doktor: 1900 → 0)
The Doktor found himself sprawled out on the floor. In his proper, human body. His head was pounding, his body ached, and his cards had fell out of his Duel Disk, and onto the floor around him.
On the plus side, he could move his hands. When his hand touched his face, he could feel that it was no longer stretched and pained. It was only a little sore, but it was nothing like the pain he was feeling earlier.
He forced himself up into a sitting position. Now, he could see that Serena and Yuri were in front of him, looking down on him with a smug aura of superiority.
"So, do the Fusion Parasites all stop working now?" Serena asked.
"Or do we have to beat you up to stop them?" Yuri added.
The Doktor dropped his hand. It landed on a Fusion Parasite card, which stuck against his palm.
"I..." he began. "I..."
The Doktor sighed. "When Duelists lose, their Duel Disks go into a power save mode, which locks the duelist out of certain benefits, while recovering from the loss of Life-"
"Keep it short, Dok," Serena advised him.
"Right, right. The short of it is, the Parasites have been turned off, and have lost connection with me. The soldiers should have their wills back. However, the Duel Disk itself is unharmed, so the Parasites can be activated when it's done charging."
"So we just need to destroy your Duel Disk?" Yuri asked.
"Precisely," the Doktor confirmed. "Or you can card me, which has the same effects."
Now it was Serena's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Why are you telling us so much?"
"Because I want to inform you!" the Doktor responded warmly. "Consider an education my final gift to you, as a reward for your efforts."
The Doktor lifted his arm up, then grabbed hold of the Fusion Parasite card with his other hand. He tapped his Duel Disk's screen repeatedly, and a faint blade jutted out from the side.
"Of course, I fitted my Duel Disk with a back-up battery," he continued. "My Disk is nowhere near strong enough to carry on through a duel, or work on anything long-range..."
"You're not getting away!" Serena barked. She aimed her activated Duel Disk at the Doktor.
"But I should have enough power to activate a Fusion Parasite close by."
Yuri looked over to the three students. They remained on the floor, still unconscious from earlier. They weren't getting up any time soon, Yuri thought.
"And where is the Parasite?" Yuri asked. "Oh, don't tell me, it's-"
"In me," the Doktor replied.
Serena's jaw immediately dropped. "But why?"
The Doktor held the card over his Duel Disk's blade. Then he looked back to Serena and smiled.
"I can't let myself fall into enemy hands," he told her. "Consider it my cyanide pill."
"Don't do it!" Serena roared.
The Doktor slammed the card onto his Disk. His blade lit up with a bright, green light.
"Glory on the Academia!"
The Doktor threw his hands over the sides of his head. His fingers massaged his large forehead. Then they pressed against his skin, and pressed harder, and harder, and harder.
He started to grit his teeth. After a moment, a small, but long whine escaped his lips. As time wore on though, his whines started to grow louder and louder.
The Doktor rocked himself back and forth, still holding his head. His movements started to speed up, and his nails started to dig into his forehead. His whines were now becoming full screams.
Serena looked to Yuri. "Yuri, we need to save him!"
Yuri looked back to her, frowning. "You sure?"
"Yuri!"
The Doktor threw himself back. He was now on the floor, rolling back and forth. His fingers started to pull and scratch his face, which was growing more and more red.
"What can we do, though?" Yuri responded. "Maybe we can pull the card off of his Disk?"
Serena quickly turned to the Doktor. Both and and Yuri knelt down and reached their hands out to him, but the man quickly kicked their hands back.
"Rudolpho!" the Doktor screamed.
His body movements became more erratic and violent. He thrashed around wildly, kicking at Serena and Yuri whenever they attempted to get close to him.
And finally, he let out one long, horrible, scratchy shriek. And then he stopped screaming, ceased moving, and let his eyes close.
Serena threw her hands over her mouth. Tears started to trickle down her face. She rose up from her knees and took a step away from the scene.
"No..." she whispered.
Yuri stayed by the body. His cold eyes studied what was now before him.
"He was... He was..."
"He's alive," Yuri stated.
Serena blinked. Tears fluttered off of her eyelashes, and her vision became blurred. Her heart was beating wildly in her chest, like it was deathly afraid to stop and relax its movements.
"He's breathing," Yuri continued.
"Really?" Serena asked. "Yuri, don't lie."
"He's breathing," Yuri said again. "Reiji and the Professor must have succeeded in disrupting Solid Vision."
Serena's hands fell to her sides. "So... it's over?"
Yuri rose up and turned to her. He flashed the girl a big, confident egao.
"We won," he told her.
A/N: Serena or Yuri could have solo'd the Dok and won easily, Action Cards or no. The fact that they can work well as a team made the match even more imbalanced. I didn't realize that until after I wrote the first chapter. Which is why I had to let the Doktor get really lucky with Action Cards, and the others less lucky. But because of how hard it was to balance this duel, this chapter had to go under multiple rewrites.
GX watchers might recognize Return Letter. It's based on an old GX card called Love Letter. I happened to stumble on this card while looking for cards that changed control of a monster, and Love Letter happened to pop up. Talk about serendipity.
I haven't had a chance to use my Twitter for a lot of story-related stuff. Just some polls, and behind-the-scenes details in-between arcs. I think that, after I post chapters, I'll include hints to the next chapter on Twitter. You know, so it feels less like you were scammed into following me on Twitter.
Next time: Gongenzaka faces off against Jean, who's playing with a completely different set of rules. Gongenzaka must decide if he can sacrifice his ideals and honor for the sake of everyone else.