Disaster strikes as the final card professor comes finds Yumi. With her life on the line, will her skills be enough to save everyone?
[Warnings for stuff related to kidnapping and torture. Read with caution if this may affect you.]
"I'm going out, grandma!" Yumi called into the house, closing the door and jumping off the porch in front of Hideo. "Good morning," she greeted, met with a head nod. "Are we all still going to the park today?" she asked. Another nod. "Onward!" she proclaimed, skipping along the road as they made the walk to the train station.
Ever since learning of Hideo's own encounter with another of the assassins sent to fight Yumi, their group had decided to try sticking together whenever they'd go out. It hadn't exactly been an issue yesterday given they'd all been in the same place, but now that the normal routine had resumed, it was important that at least one person be with her in case another person were to threaten her. Despite the severity of the situation, though, Yumi seemed totally unfazed by it all, simply counting the days until the weekend and ensuing festival.
Given that Hideo couldn't ride a bike, they would both have to walk. It would take a bit more time to make it into the city than it normally would, but it wasn't much of a problem for either of them. Kazuhiko was waiting impatiently by the time they arrived, clearly taking on the burden of being irritated in their place. "About time," he complained. "I've never seen someone try to win a duel by waiting for their opponent to die of old age before."
"You're just an impatient butthead," Yumi said, sticking out her tongue. Her eyes shifted side to side across the park. "Where's Sakuya?" she asked. "Didn't you come here with her?"
"Nah," Kazuhiko replied, scratching the back of his head. "Just checked in and said she'd meet us here. That was a while ago, though. Wonder what's keeping her." He scoffed. "Probably thinks she's too good to walk with me."
"Text her and find out," Yumi suggested, the spark of an idea causing her to jump up and down immediately after. "Take a picture of us! Tell her we're waiting on her to stop being slow!" They assembled in front of Kazuhiko's cell phone, he and Yumi sticking up their fingers in a V shape with Hideo standing awkwardly to the side and trying to make a face that looked like literally anything else besides a surprised cat (it failed).
"Got it," he said, typing onto his phone and sending the picture. "Told her to walk faster or we'll start training without her." They sat on the grass to see if she sent any replies, talking about nothing and showing off new cards they'd bought or traded for recently. The conversation quickly ground to a halt as several minutes passed with no reply.
Kazuhiko angrily tapped his foot, finally shouting, "What the hell is taking so long?" He got up, running a comb through his hair and stomping around. "Can't even tell us you're going to be late? We sent you that great picture and everything! Just expect us to kiss your feet when you finally get here and appreciate you showing up at all?"
"I'm sure it's not like that," Yumi laughed, a pang of fear hitting her in the gut. This definitely wasn't normal behavior. Even if she was running late, she could at least get to her phone, right? She'd at least tell her, right?
"Damn it, I'm going to tell Ishikawa off when she finally decides to show up!" Hideo pumped their fist in the air in mock encouragement before returning to a game on their phone. "And if she thinks just saying sorry is going to get her off the hook, she better think again! I'll make her look into the distraught, tearful eyes of a Miss Yumi and know the pain she's caused! She's going to-" His phone began to vibrate.
"About time!" he shouted, pulling out his phone to open the text. His trademark fury slowly transformed into a look of fear and confusion. "What the hell?" he stammered out.
"What?" Yumi asked, hopping up to go read the message. Hideo joined, too.
"Something's wrong," he said slowly, holding the phone out to the two of them. Yumi clasped a hand to her mouth, eyes going wide. Even Hideo broke their normally stoic expression to furrow their brow. "If you want to see your friend alive, come to the abandoned warehouse by the flour milling plant. You have three hours. No police." Attached was a picture of Sakuya, bound with rope and gagged. It was like the start of a horror movie.
Yumi immediately fell to her knees, her breathing erratic and on the verge of tears. "It's all my fault," she repeated over and over again. They took her friend because of her; she knew it for a fact. Sakuya was going to be hurt because of her. It was all her fault.
"Miss Yumi!" Kazuhiko screamed. He'd been yelling for almost a full minute to try and get her to regain her senses. "It's going to be okay," he told her, hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. It was incredibly uncomfortable for him, but it had to be done just this once. "We're going to save Ishikawa."
"But what do we do?" she said, rocking back and forth. "We don't know what this person wants or what's happening. We can't get help or they'll..." She choked, not wanting to think of any of the myriad of horrible things the kidnapper could be doing to Sakuya.
"We're going to save her," he repeated with unwavering certainty. "Hideo," he said, turning to his rival. "You ready to kick some ass?" They cracked their knuckles, signifying an agreement. "Then for now, let's just head their and see what we can do. Miss Yumi, I need you to call your grandma and tell her where we'll be. Not what we're doing, but just where we'll be. Just in case."
She nodded and wiped at her eyes. This felt like their only option, even if it might be unsafe and scary. The trio started on their journey towards the docks as Yumi steadied her breathing, taking Kazuhiko's phone when she was composed enough to speak. She called, explaining that they were going to be near the docks and checking out a warehouse there for a clubhouse. "I guess," her grandmother answered with a bit of apprehension. "You kids be safe, though. If you see any signs of a gang or someone asking you to leave, you get yourselves out of there immediately."
"Okay, grandma," she said. "I love you." She barely registered the return as the call ended, the words hanging on her tongue like burnt food she couldn't swallow. It felt like she was a soldier walking onto a battlefield, saying goodbye to her loved ones for what might be the last time. Given the circumstances, it might very well be. She couldn't let it bother her right now, though. There would be time for fear later, but they had a mission to accomplish.
Kazuhiko cracked his knuckles as they boarded the monorail. "I'm going to call the police when we get there and tell them what's going on. We'll buy time somehow until they arrive and figure out a way to stop it."
"But the kidnapper said..." Yumi began, trying not to cry again while other people were around them to see.
Kazuhiko put a hand on Yumi's shoulder. "Don't worry," he told her. "They'll know what's going on. They wouldn't just charge in without thinking. They're professionals." Though she wasn't comforted in the least, Yumi's protests stopped, the three of them sitting in silence all the way to their stop. She trusted Kazuhiko's judgment on this, even if she couldn't be sure it was right. Frankly, though, nothing felt like the right choice in this situation, except maybe hiding under a rock and hoping it would go away.
From there, it was only a short walk to the warehouse in question. None of them were entirely sure what it used to hold, just that it was old and rusty and probably used by delinquents at some point. Frankly, it was the last place for them to form an actual clubhouse, the great distance from their homes being one of many factors as to why it was a terrible location.
Kazuhiko made the call while they were still a good distance away, muting the phone after explaining the situation in order to keep their plan a secret. They made their way to the designated location as an operator mobilized the police, assuming the worst as there was no response.
He pulled open one of the doors to the shack with the ugly screech of metal on metal. "Alright, you bastard," he said. "Where's Ishikawa? Who are you?"
"Close the door," a quiet, masculine voice said from the shadows. He did as ordered once all three were inside. A distinctive "Tu he he!" laugh echoed through the building as a few lights turned on, revealing a lanky middle aged man standing upon a metal platform, a bound Sakuya at his feet.
"Sakuya!" Yumi screamed, running towards her.
"I wouldn't do that," the man said, pointing to a layer of metal panels between the two groups. "The floor over here is charged with enough electricity to make that tiny heart of yours explode with only one touch. Watch." He pulled a half-eaten papaya from his pocket, lobbing it onto the floor where it landed with a wet thud, turning a crispy black in seconds.
Yumi skidded to a halt, terror in her eyes as her hands shook. "Now do you understand?" he said with another laugh. It was hard for all of them to reconcile this monster's appearance with his actions. Between the dark, furry mustache, round glasses, and sweater vest, he looked more like someone's math teacher than a kidnapper.
"Bastard!" Kazuhiko shouted, raising a fist. "Come and fight like a man instead of taking a kid hostage!"
He laughed once more at the insult. "I'm glad," he said with a smile. "I thought I would only get to have two victims today, but you brought me two more of your friends. I appreciate it, Takano Yumi."
"How do you know my name?" she said, her voice quivering as she asked.
"My employer hired me to get rid of you once and for all. I'm sure you know how this goes by now."
"If I lose, you'll take my deck and I can never duel again," she replied, reciting the general rules for the previous three engagements with her mysterious adversary's hired assassins.
"Yes, exactly," he said with a wide smile. "But that's not entirely true this time around." He burst out into more laughter, quickly silencing himself with a hand placed over his mouth. "This time is different. I was told to do whatever I want to beat you, and that means I'm going to kill you." He leaned forward, revealing an unsettling toothy grin. "I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Yoshimori Gaku. You may have seen my work in the news from time to time. I've led many people to their deaths in my time, and while that is my greatest joy in life, occasionally I may play a game of Duel Monsters. Imagine my surprise when I was given the opportunity to do both at once, and for a fee! It isn't exactly my style to mix business with pleasure, but I thought I might make this one exception. After all, I do love spending time with little girls."
He continued laughing. "Why don't you fight someone who can defend themselves for a change?" Kazuhiko said, pointing a thumb at his chest. "Let's see you try to kill me, you coward!"
This only made him laugh harder. "Patience, boy. I'll get to all three of you eventually. First is little Yumi, though." He pointed towards the platform standing across from his own. "If you wouldn't mind, step up there so I can explain the rules of our game."
Without a word, Yumi took her duel disk from her bag and placed it on her arm. Kazuhiko grabbed her shoulder as she began to walk towards the steps leading up to her opponent. "Yumi, don't. Hideo and I can handle this. This isn't going to be a normal duel, I can already tell."
Yumi turned back to him, her eyes full of fear and sadness. "I have to," she said quietly. She wanted to turn and run. To go and hide somewhere and let all of this fix itself. To cover her ears and close her eyes and not have to believe any of this was happening. She'd open them back up and see it was all just a dream, having fallen asleep at the park with everyone safe and Sakuya scolding her for slacking off on training again.
But that wasn't the truth and she knew what had to happen. "She's right, my boy," Gaku said mockingly. He snickered as Yumi made it to the top of the platform. "Now, little Yumi, I should tell you there's always the option to leave. You can forget all of this and save yourself and both of your friends over there. It's a number's game, after all. One for three seems like a fair trade to me, and I'm sure Sakuya and I can have plenty of fun without you."
"I won't run away," Yumi said with determination, dropping her goggles over her eyes and activating her duel disk.
"Excellent!" he remarked, tossing Sakuya off his platform and onto the ground behind him. Yumi gasped as she heard her friend smack against the concrete floor. "Now, the rules for this duel are simple. The platforms we're standing on are hooked up to a generator that shocks us as we lose Life Points. When one of us reaches zero, we'll be zapped until we lose consciousness. Or die, whichever. I'm not exactly picky." He found this to be hilarious. "It was a lot of effort to make such a complicated device in such a short amount of time, but I believe it will be worth it."
He continued. "When that happens, the power should short out, given we're running on a rather old generator. When that happens, you spectators can even rush the stage if you'd like. But until that happens, you'll have to watch from the sidelines if you'd rather not end up like the rest of my snack." He activated a magenta disk on his left arm, placing his cards into the holder. "If that's all clear, we should start. I'll even let you go first, since you're the guest."
Of course, he hadn't told her everything about the situation. As one would expect, he'd rigged the game. His platform was deactivated from the very beginning, keeping him safe regardless of the outcome. And, should those two be foolish enough to seek revenge for their fallen comrade, he'd brought a bit of insurance in the form of a smuggled pistol.
Yumi took her hand and began her turn. "I set a monster and one card and end my turn." It was a simple start, but she would only be inviting defeat if she played recklessly. Luring out Gaku's monsters to see what his deck could do would give her a better idea as to what she would need to win.
"My turn, draw!" He seemed quite pleased with what he had in his hand. "Let's start by giving you a taste of what this duel has in store. Magic Card, Sparks, activate!" One of the most basic Magic Cards revealed itself on Gaku's field, glowing as its effect took hold. "This card inflicts 200 damage to your Life Points."
As he said that, Yumi's Life Points fell to 3800. The platform under her feet sprung to life, as well, sending a massive charge of electricity through her body. She shrieked as loud as her voice could manage, falling to her knees once it ended. Her entire body was shaking and she felt like she was about to cry. Nothing in her life had ever hurt that much before. "Not bad, huh?" Gaku said with another laugh. "It's not too intense from just that, is it? I'd hope not. It would be a shame if it let loose entirely right from the beginning. We should work up to your pain."
"Miss Yumi!" Kazuhiko called out in concern, Hideo's mouth opening partway to express their horror. She didn't answer, slowly regaining her footing and standing once more.
"Don't think I'll let you off that easily," he said with a wave of his index finger, playing another card. "Magic Card, Sparks! Let's see it again!" Yumi screamed once more as she was electrocuted, her Life Points now at 3600. The damage was nothing, but the pain was real. It was becoming increasingly clear that this duel would be about survival more than anything, and that Gaku's deck was designed specifically to make that as hard as possible.
"Now, I'll summon Mammoth Fossil in Attack Mode!" A dopey looking creature composed of white bones and fur appeared on Gaku's field with an impressive 1800 ATK. "Mammoth Fossil, attack the face-down card!" The tiny, brown hairball was bulldozed the moment it materialized from its card backing. "When Mammoth Fossil destroys your monster and sends it to the Graveyard," he began, "you'll take 400 points of damage."
Yumi's Life Points fell to 3200, electricity coursing through her body once more. It was longer and more intense this time, leaving her gasping and gripping at her chest. It felt like what she a heart attack would be like. "C-Critter's effect activates," she stammered, trying to suck down as much air as possible after losing her breath.
"I add Rusty Swordsman to my hand." She shuffled her deck slowly, her legs starting to shake as she replaced it into its holder.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" He chuckled to himself. "Don't die just yet, though. I went to a lot of trouble to set everything up, and I have so much else for us to do afterwards. It would be such a shame if we couldn't play until the end."
"Don't let him get to you!" Kazuhiko yelled. "Stay strong and keep playing! You've got this!" He turned to Hideo, concerned. "She's got this, right?" Hideo nodded slightly, the normal aloofness nowhere to be found as they shuffled back and forth and chewed their bottom lip.
"I'll set two cards and end my turn. Let's see what you can do with that cobbled together deck of yours I've heard so much about."
Yumi started her turn by drawing, her hand still shaking from the electrocution. "I summon Rusty Swordsman and equip it with Golden Fiddle." The little knight appeared on the field, its sword replaced with the gilded instrument from the equipment card.
"Now it's time for me to activate my special Trap Card," Gaku said with glee. "Disarmament of the Royal Guards!" One of the two set cards from before opened itself to reveal the image of several men in regal armor, all having their swords, shields, and other weaponry forcibly confiscated from them by an unseen crowd. "By discarding my entire hand when you activate an Equip Card, I can destroy every single Equip Card you have on the field, in your hand, in stored in your deck!"
As Gaku slid his single hand card into the Graveyard, Yumi's mouth fell open. All her Equip Magic Cards were gone now. How could she win without her equipment? Hesitantly, she fished through her deck for the cards in question, dropping all five plus the Golden Fiddle on her field into the Graveyard. "Now, you'll take 200 damage for every card you sent. By my count, that was six."
Yumi braced, still unable to keep herself from screaming as the electricity ran through her body. Once it finally stopped, she fell to her knees with a Life Point count of 2000. Her muscles ached and her stomach churned like it was about to spew all over the ground. Even after the shock passed, she could still feel it running through her, jittery and hot.
"I..." She tried to speak but didn't have the strength. Swallowing hard, she worked herself up to say, "I end my turn." Getting to her feet, her vision began to go hazy. She was hurting all over and just wished it could stop. There was no hope of winning now. All she wanted was that whatever was about to happen to her would distract Gaku long enough for Kazuhiko and Hideo to escape with Sakuya. Sakuya had to be safe.
"Good, good," Gaku said, drawing his card. "Keep your strength. The longer you're still breathing, the more fun we get to have with each other." He pressed a button on his duel disk. "Permanent Trap, Coffin Seller!" Purple fog drifted out from the card's image, a robed figure kneeling among a group of caskets presenting itself. "Whenever a monster gets sent to your Graveyard, you'll take 300 damage from now on." He smiled again, Yumi knowing what was about to happen next.
"Mammoth Fossil, attack!" Rusty Swordsman was destroyed in an instant. "Mammoth Fossil's effect and Coffin Seller's effect activate!" In total, the damage would amount to 1000 points, leaving her with exactly that much to continue the duel. Whether for proper resolution or abject cruelty, each instance of damage resulted in a separate shock, dropping Yumi to the ground once again with smoke rising off burned patches of clothing.
She couldn't move anymore. She was too tired and it just hurt too much. "I'm so sorry, Sakuya," she thought to herself, her eyes glazed over. There was nothing left in her. Not even the muffled cries of Sakuya, tears streaming from her eyes as she desperately attempted to call out her friend's name, could wake her now. It was time to go to sleep. She couldn't fight it any longer.
"Yumi!" she heard, jolting awake. "I told you not to go to sleep," Sakuya scolded. "I just said to rest while Hideo and Kazuhiko were dueling." Her stern expression softened into a smile, patting Yumi's hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Kazuhiko said, strutting over after a decisive loss. "It looked like you were shaking around and stuff over here. Was it a nightmare?"
"I..." Yumi strained herself to think of what she'd been dreaming. "I don't remember," she said truthfully. "It was scary, I think."
Sakuya chuckled, taking Yumi's hand in hers. "You're okay now, though. You don't have to be afraid." Kazuhiko smiled, Hideo giving a thumbs up. For some reason, this only made Yumi more concerned. Sakuya moved closer, bringing her face in close to Yumi's. "Do you want to win?" she asked, her voice taking on almost a sultry tone.
"W-what?" Yumi stuttered, her fear growing.
"Do you want to win?" Sakuya repeated. Yumi blinked. As she opened her eyes, both Hideo and Kazuhiko had vanished. Sakuya had disappeared as well, replaced with a stranger an uncomfortable distance from her face.
With a shriek, Yumi scrambled backwards. Apparently, this was funny to the intruder. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, waving his hands back and forth with a chuckle. "I was just having a bit of fun with your dream. For the record, I was nothing but a spectator until the very end there. The rest was all on you, including where I ended up over here."
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice cracking.
"That's a good question," the man said, pacing in a circle around her with a pale finger to his chin. Flowing locks of black and white hair dragged across the ground as he did. It was only more unnerving to note that all he wore was a pair of black pants and nothing else. "Who am I?" he repeated. "I've gone by plenty of names in the past, so let's see..."
He snapped his fingers. "That's it! You can call me Izar. I like the sound of that one."
"Izar...?" she said slowly, the word unfamiliar to her lips.
He nodded. "Indeed. As you can probably tell, this isn't real." Upon further investigation, only a small section of the park was visible. Extending past its borders was nothing but an endless black void. "You can't take much more of this duel. If you can even get back up, one or two more attacks is going to finish you, either by depleting your Life Points or stopping your heart."
"No!" she shouted. Yumi couldn't accept that. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to leave her friends with a killer. She couldn't give up, no matter how much it hurt.
"That's the right attitude," Izar told her. "But what can you do? You're just a tiny human. Your body is hilariously fragile and your hand is beyond non-existent."
"I'll...I'll find a way!" she protested. "I'll beat him and save everyone!"
"Your life is hanging by a thread. Even if you could find a way to win, you couldn't survive another attack. That's just the way things are, sorry to say." Whether intentional or not, his words had an almost mocking air to them. Yumi was close to certain it was on purpose.
"It can't be!" Yumi screamed. "I can't die now! I can't! I still have to save Sakuya and all my friends! And I have to see grandma and let her know I'm okay! And the tournament is only a few weeks, and the festival is this weekend, and..." She trailed off, finally understanding she was literally unable to duel any longer. She really couldn't win this time.
Izar sighed. "Well, maybe there's one way to win," he said while scratching his chin.
"How?" Yumi said swiftly, her head snapping up to look at him.
"You could let me take the wheel for a bit. Just long enough to win." He smiled a friendly, toothy grin with a small chuckle.
"I don't understand," Yumi told him.
"It's simple. Let me use your body to win this duel. If I'm in control, you won't feel any of the damage. You might even survive. I'm sure I can find a way to beat that man with a deck like yours. You just have to trust me."
Yumi was hesitant, backing away slightly. "But why?" she asked. "What do you get from helping me? How are you in my dreams? I don't...what's happening here?"
He only smiled. "Trust me, Takano Yumi. There's not much time left. All I want is a favor later on – that you promise to duel me when you've gotten stronger."
Yumi shuffled her feet and tried to think. This man was a stranger and abnormal in every way. There were so many unanswered questions, but she didn't even care right now. If all he wanted was a duel in exchange for saving her friends, she'd take it. "Okay," she said slowly.
"Good," Izar said decisively. With a flick of his wrist, a card appeared, the entire front of it replaced with blank white. "For good luck, I'll be giving you one of my cards as a loan. Just remember to return it before we have our duel." The surface of the card began to glow as he held it out to Yumi. "Let's win, partner."
The park was no longer there. They existed in nothing but a void. Yumi began to reach towards the card hesitantly. Izar smiled casually, patiently waiting for her to take it. "I trust you," she said, grasping the edge of the card. The moment she did, everything went black.
Yumi was motionless on the ground. Kazuhiko was screaming. Sakuya was crying. Hideo even managed to verbalize in the form of hyperventilation, overstimulated and in a panic. Gaku just laughed at their misfortune. "I guess she's really not getting back up," he said joyously. "That's just how it is, though. Little girls are always so easy to break."
A finger twitch. The index finger on Yumi's left hand moved. Suddenly, her left hand slammed into the metal plating of her platform. Her body rose up, silencing everyone in the warehouse. Her head rolled back on her shoulders as she inhaled slowly. As she let the breath slip from between her lips, she looked back to Gaku with eyes rolled back into her head.
Even he was shaken by the sight, her mouth slightly open as she stared at him inquisitively. Her lips curled into a smile after a few seconds. "There we are," she said. "I suppose it's time to win, isn't it?" With a chuckle, she began her turn. "Draw."
"I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards." She pressed a button on her duel disk swiftly. "I chain Magic Capture. By discarding one card, in response to activating a Magic Card, I can add it back to my hand when it's sent to the Graveyard." She held up a Normal Monster. "I discard Magnum Lily."
"But that's so foolish!" Gaku yelled. "Coffin Seller inflicts 300 damage, which means you'll take another shock!" Unlike before, the electricity coursing through Yumi's body didn't affect her in the slightest. Her Life Points, however, still fell to 700.
In fact, she laughed at it. "So this is pain? It's been a while since I felt that." With a smile, she continued her turn. "I draw two cards and add Pot of Greed back to my hand. Then, I activate Pot of Greed a second time to draw two more cards." Drawing four cards off the single effect, she'd collected everything she needed to win now. "I activate Resurrection of the Dead to revive Rusty Swordsman in Attack Mode." The previously deceased monster returned to Yumi's field with a cheer, ready for another shot at victory.
"I activate Twister from my hand, paying 500 Life Points to destroy Coffin Seller on your field." Her Life Points were now at 200, the shock not affecting her as Gaku's Trap Card was blown away. "I now summon Hat-Trick Magician from my hand." The tiny wizard appeared beside its companion, both of them jumping for joy at the opportunity to work together.
"I overlay my Level 4 Hat-Trick Magician with my Level 4 Rusty Swordsman." Both monsters disappeared into spheres of light, pulled into a swirling, stormy, black and red vortex opened on the ground. "Envoy of the abyss, appear before us to bring an end to this sinful world! Xyz Summon, Rank 4! Macrocosmus - The WORLD!"
A metallic, humanoid monster appeared from the vortex. Its legs were little more than needles, slightly thicker at the top where they connected to a heart-shaped torso. A featureless head was attached to a stick thin neck, only a glowing, yellow symbol somewhat reminiscent to a half moon on its side containing two slash marks pointed towards each other on its forehead. Its arms were opposite its legs, starting thin where they attached to the body and expanding out after reaching the elbow joints and morphing to large claws. All the while, two purple, glassy orbs floated around its head like a halo.
The same symbol appeared on Yumi's head, as well. What that would signify remained to be seen. "Macrocosmus - The WORLD's ATK and DEF are determined by the points of its Overlay Units when it's summoned, making it 2700 and 2500." The monster began to vibrate wickedly, its 0 stats increasing to their current values.
"Now, I activate The WORLD's effect by detaching one Overlay Unit." One of the orbs began to crack, then shattered, a glowing essence absorbing into the mark on the creature's head. "I can banish any number of Magic Cards in both Graveyards to increase my monster's ATK points by 300 for each one. I choose to banish all of them."
Eleven cards where banished in total, both their Graveyards appearing to steam as white light shot into the sky. From all sides, the monster was bombarded with beams of energy one after the other, knocking it around on the field as its ATK grew for each new sacrifice. It finally settled on 6000.
"This isn't possible!" Gaku shouted, beginning to panic. His field was useless with nothing but Mammoth Fossil to protect him. "Stop! You were supposed to die! This wasn't the plan!"
"Macrocosmus - The WORLD, attack Mammoth Fossil. The End of World!" Slowly, the creature raised its left arm, cracking its wrist forward. It did the same with its right. Two orbs of black energy charged in each hand, a third appearing over the mark on its forehead.
"You won't beat me!" he declared, whipping out his gun and firing straight across towards Yumi. To his horror, the bullets met with the creature on her field, bouncing off it as if it had mass. The creature began its attack, the two spheres in its hand erupting towards each other in beams of charcoal fire. The third passed through the first two, taking their energy with it. Mammoth Fossil wailed as it was blasted to pieces, the attack dropping Gaku's Life Points to 0 in an instant.
Just as he'd tortured Yumi before, his own device turned on him, sending the entire force of the warehouse's electrical system into his body. It seemed impossible, he thought, but the electricity running through his body was proof enough that it was real. His cries for help ceased, replaced with cries of pain as he was shocked continuously. Just as he'd said, the generator was overloading, popping several bulbs in the ceiling and shutting down the rest of the system. Gaku's body fell to the platform, charred and smoking.
"That should be enough for today," she said, her body immediately falling to the ground as if losing all control of her muscles. Slowly, she opened her eyes, still aching from the shocks and with a splitting headache. She couldn't remember any of what just happened, the smell of something burning making her want to vomit.
"Miss Yumi!" Kazuhiko yelled, sprinting up the metal stairs to be beside her. "Hideo, go get Ishikawa!" They were using their duel disks as flashlights to navigate the powerless warehouse. "Miss Yumi, are you okay? Can you stand?"
Suddenly, she regained her senses. "Sakuya!" she screamed, pushing past Kazuhiko to leap off the platform. She stumbled and nearly fell into the ground, recovering at the last moment and running past Hideo. "Sakuya!" she repeated, pulling the gag off her friend's mouth and hugging her as tightly as possible. "Are you okay?" she asked through her tears.
"I'm fine," she told her. "Are you okay? I thought you were dead. I couldn't..." She began to stutter, unable to finish her sentence. She started to weep, just as Yumi did. Hideo caught up to the both of them, taking a pen knife from their pocket and cutting the ropes around Sakuya's wrists. Despite the marks begging to be rubbed out and the obvious discomfort they caused, the first thing she did was reach out and return Yumi's hug.
As Kazuhiko rejoined the group, the door to the warehouse was flung open. "Freeze!" yelled one of the officers rushing into the building with reckless abandon. Predictably, they'd arrived just as everything came to an end. "Everyone on the ground!" Kazuhiko did as he was told, looking to the others as they ignored the order. Hideo had frozen, unable to handle the loud noises and stress. Sakuya and Yumi were simply blocking out the rest of the world.
Hideo was tackled to the floor and began hyperventilating, luckily having locked up in panic rather than react on instinct and try to fight their way out of the building. "Hey, chill! They can't handle being touched!" Kazuhiko was ignored and placed in handcuffs along with Hideo. "Don't touch my hair!" he yelled as they pulled him up from the ground. Regardless of their screaming, kicking, and biting, Yumi and Sakuya were torn apart from each other and escorted to police cars.
"We've got another up here," one of the police announced, checking for any vital signs on Gaku. "Still alive. Just barely. Think this is the guy we got tipped about?" He was carried out on a stretcher to an ambulance.
The four of them were taken down to the station to be questioned independently. Hideo was of absolutely no help, frozen still and unable to respond to anything they asked. Yumi simply repeated, "Where's Sakuya?" to herself, rocking back and forth in the chair and otherwise unresponsive. Sakuya herself broke down in tears after being unable to reach her father, repeatedly calling her house with no results.
Of them all, the only one who delivered any helpful insight into the situation was Kazuhiko. He explained what happened and showed the police his phone with the incriminating text. He called his mother soon after, who asserted herself and demanded that all four of the clearly innocent children be let go before she got lawyers involved. With no reason to hold them and with enough evidence from the warehouse and testimony from Kazuhiko to put together what likely happened, they did so.
She drove the four of them home after that, dropping Hideo off first. They remained silent the entire ride and merely glanced to Kazuhiko and the two girls as they left the car. No one else was very talkative, either. No one spoke the entire length of the ride.
Yumi and Sakuya held hands for the entire ride, neither moving an inch or daring to separate again. They came closer than ever to losing each other today. They wouldn't have been able to handle it if it really happened, and all they could think to do was stay in contact for as long as possible. It kept them calm.
The car pulled up outside of Yumi's home in no time at all. "Yumi," Sakuya said quietly. "Please let me stay tonight." Yumi nodded, still holding her hand as they left the car.
"Miss Yumi," Kazuhiko said from his seat. For a moment, they only looked at each other, unable to find any words to exchange. "Just...take care of yourself. Both of you."
"Yeah. You, too." They heard the car drive off after they were safely inside the house. They were then forced to explain the situation to her grandmother, who was nothing but concerned for the entire group and immediately allowed Sakuya to stay the night. She tried to call the number for Sakuya's home after both girls had gone to Yumi's room, but no one picked up.
Sakuya rested her head in Yumi's lap, both of them backed against the wall of the bedroom. Neither said anything for hours, eventually refusing food when it was ready, as they couldn't eat after everything that had happened. As it got later, Yumi's grandmother placed two bedrolls outside the door for them whenever they were ready to sleep.
Fatigue began to hit them quite fast, Yumi dragging the futons into the room and closed the door back. They barely had the energy to unroll them before collapsing, falling asleep quickly and hoping to put the day behind them by the time they woke up. The house was silent, only crickets and cicadas outside to make any noise.
"Yumi," Sakuya called late into the night. She nudged her friend gently, causing her to groan. "Yumi, please wake up." Slowly, she opened her eyes partway. "Are you awake?" Sakuya whispered.
"What's wrong?" Yumi mumbled.
Ashamed, Sakuya explained, "I don't feel safe. I had a nightmare and... Can I sleep with you for a little bit? Until I don't feel scared?" Yumi reached out, pulling Sakuya close to her under the covers. "Thank you," she said, settling against Yumi. Having her there comforted her beyond belief.
"No one's ever going to hurt you ever again," Yumi told her. "I won't let them." What was nearly a smile spread across Sakuya's lips. There was no way she could really promise that, but hearing her say it made all the difference. She was safe as long as Yumi was here, at least for tonight. She could relax, at least for tonight. She could sleep soundly, at least for tonight.
The next day, news reports told of the serial killer, Yoshimori Gaku, dying from injuries sustained by his own elaborate torture machine. There was no mention of his intended victims. Fukuro breathed a small sigh of relief, put at ease knowing that poor child was safe. While there was no evidence Yumi was actually the one there that day, the presence of Duel Monsters cards led him to assume the worst. He couldn't have predicted this was the kind of man Rio would hire after deciding to take things upon herself. It was shameful and wrong in every sense of the word.
Rather than relieved that her latest assailant didn't literally kill Yumi, Rio was angered. "That worthless garbage couldn't even finish the job!" she screamed, hurling her breakfast at the television.
"Miss Rio, aren't you at least a bit relieved you haven't become an accessory to murder?" he asked, nearly raising his voice.
She only scoffed, flipping over her chair as she stood up. "You act like I planned for him to do all that. My orders were to do whatever he had to do to beat her, and he obviously decided killing her was what he had to do. It's not my fault he turned out to be so uncreative." Fukuro merely stared at her, more disappointed than he thought possible. "Don't judge me! You've been a part of this from the beginning! Point the blame at your useless self if you feel like growing a conscience this late in!" She wasn't wrong, though, and he would have to carry the weight of knowing he was responsible for this for the rest of his life.
Rio stormed out of the room fuming, pushing past other staff as she made her way to her room. She began to mutter to herself as the door slammed behind her. "Should have known he was weak. All of them are weak." She paced around her room, breathing harder as she tried to keep her thoughts straight. "I'm the only one who can do it. I'm the only one who can destroy her. The only one who can make myself stop thinking these things. I'll do it this time, and that will be the end of all of it."
Cards Used in Order of Appearance
Sparks
Normal Spell Card
Inflict 200 damage to your opponent's Life Points.
Mammoth Fossil (Fossil Tusker)
EARTH
Level 4
Rock/Effect
1800 ATK/0 DEF
When this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle and sends it to the Graveyard, inflict 400 damage to your opponent.
Critter (Sangan)
DARK
Level 3
Fiend/Effect
1000 ATK/ 600 DEF
When this card is sent from the field to the Graveyard: Add 1 monster with 1500 or less ATK from your Deck to your hand.
Rusty Swordsman
EARTH
Level 4
Warrior
1500 ATK/1000 DEF
Golden Fiddle
Equip Spell Card
You can only equip this card to a Level 4 or lower Normal Monster with 1500 or less ATK and DEF. The equipped monster gains these effects: This card gains ATK equal to its Level x 200 while in Attack Position and DEF equal to its Level x 300 while in Defense Position. If this card is selected as an attack target while in Attack Position: You can switch this card to Defense Position.
Disarmament of the Royal Guard
Counter Trap Card
When your opponent activates an Equip Spell Card: Discard your entire hand (minimum 1 card); destroy all Equip Spell Cards on their field and in their hand and Deck, and if you do, inflict 200 damage to your opponent for each card sent to the Graveyard by this effect.
Coffin Seller
Continuous Trap Card
Each time a monster(s) is sent to your opponent's Graveyard: Inflict 300 damage to your opponent.
Pot of Greed
Normal Spell Card
Draw 2 cards.
Magic Capture (Spell Reclamation)
Normal Trap Card
Discard 1 card and chain this card to a Spell Card you activated. Whenever that Spell Card is sent to the Graveyard, return it to its owner's hand.
Magnum Lily (Barrel Lily)
EARTH
Level 3
Plant
1100 ATK/600 DEF
Resurrection of the Dead (Monster Reborn)
Normal Spell Card
Target 1 monster in either player's Graveyard; Special Summon it.
Twister
Quick-Play Magic Card
Pay 500 LP, then target 1 face-up Spell/Trap Card on the field; destroy that target.
Hat-Trick Magician
DARK
Level 4
Spellcaster
1200 ATK/1500 DEF
Macrocosmus - The WORLD
DARK
Rank 4
Fiend/Xyz/Effect
? ATK/? DEF
2 or more Level 4 monsters
This card's ATK and DEF become the combined ATK and DEF of the monsters used as Xyz Material when summoned, respectively. Detach 1 Xyz Material from this card and banish any number of Spell Cards in both Graveyards; this card gains 300 ATK for each card banished by this effect, until the End Phase. When this card is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard: You can add 1 of the Spell Cards that was banished by this effect to your hand.
That happened. As you can see, I wasn't just warning people to be warning. Some pretty intense stuff happening this chapter. Decided to post early again because I've been sitting on it for a while.
This is actually one of the chapters I wrote near the beginning, and I've just been updating and fixing it as needed to account for new details. I kind of look at it as the Madoka Magica episode 4 of this story, since it's indicative of when the plot really starts, and also because it makes children suffer. Which isn't to say everything is suddenly going to get depressing and up its own ass even if ultimately enjoyable, just that things will get steadily more intense as time goes on. But unlike most stuff that does this, I don't intend to completely eject all levity and happiness.
I wasn't exactly subtle about something brewing in the background. Izar's been there since chapter one. Waiting.
Honestly, Yumi should probably go to the hospital. Take this as a lesson that if you ever get serious electric shocks, go to the doctor as soon as possible even if things don't seem wrong. Sleeping it off usually won't work if there's major injury. Doesn't have to be like in here, either. Like, if you stick a fork in an outlet by accident trying to pick up something off the floor. That's a thing that happens.
At the end of the day, a man might have died and a bunch of kids might have PTSD, but at least Yumi's got a new card. Thanks for reading. Remember to not talk to strangers, especially if they make cryptic deals and offer you trading cards.