Version E-1.3
By Jinx&Jedi
.:: Chapter IV - Fusion Gate ::.
Sydney, Australia
06:19pm on Thursday, October 31, 2002
The Magnet Valkyrion hurdled forward, engines
screaming. It crossed the field like a missile, mechanical wings slicing
through the air. In a motion too swift for his eyes to capture, it's sword
cleaved through his Blood Vors. The beast-warrior managed to fire
off a brief roar of agony before it disintegrated into a flurry of pixels.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes peevishly as his Life Points
plunged from the original four-thousand points to twenty-four hundred.
That had been painful to watch, but no worse than
when he dueled Yugi. That was a drop in the bucket in those Duels which
often involved far greater disparities between creatures. He was positive
Yugi could find a use for any card he was given, no matter how ridiculous
or useless said card was. He had a near-infinite array of combinations
in his deck and could easily come up with five more combinations for each
of those at the spur-of-the-moment. He was the only Duelist he actually
appreciated Dueling and the only one who could truly challenge him, even
though he wouldn't admit it.
Nevertheless, that last attack had managed to get
his blood boiling and the gears of his mind flying. He could easily counter
it provided Shane didn't dump a third stall card on him. Even so, the truth
was that not even he could dismiss a monster with thirty-five hundred attack
points and thirty-eight hundred fifty defense points. If Shane pulled the
Shield and Sword card - which he knew he probably still in his Side-Deck
- a lone Magnet Valkyrion would be able to go toe-to-toe with a
Gate Guardian or his Ultimate Blue Eyes.
'And he has two.' Seto reflected savagely
as he regarded the cards in his hand. He had to act quickly before Westfield
chose to attack one of his face-down monsters; namely his Blue Eyes
White Dragon. Part of him was uneasy about bringing his Ultimate
Blue Eyes into play now for fear his opponent was baiting him; however,
he had little choice until he found his Dark Hole.
He drew, laid the card face down in the Magic and
Trap card zone as a bit of insurance, and then flipped his Blue Eyes
White Dragon face up along with his Polymerization, "I set one
Card face down in my Magic and Card Zone. I switch my Blue Eyes White
Dragon to attack mode and fuse it with another Blue Eyes White Dragon
and Versago the Destroyer to summon the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
Like before, a thunderous cry of the enormous creature
shook the stadium and the rafters above his head. This cry, however, was
split into a three-note chord as the trio of silvery, lithe necks shot
from the matching rectangles on the field. They continued rising, higher
and higher like a massive fountain of brilliant silver and sapphire. He
could smell ozone on the air once again, but unlike before, there was no
breath of fear nor instinctive step backward that would have telegraphed
a panicked flight had they been on the ground. Shane - unlike the American
he had Dueled before - was calm and looked more like he was scrutinizing
a slightly fearsome artwork instead of a legendary, relentless, juggernaut
of a dragon.
Kaiba realized it was probably doomed.
"Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon! Attack the Magnet
Valkyrions!" Seto barked, pointing fervently at his opponent's monsters.
When the attack was over, the twin androids were predictably absent save
for the swirls of vaporized metal rising from where they had stood moments
before. However, Shane's attitude and body language confirmed his dragon's
fate even before the New Zealander's Life Points had finished their two-thousand-point
descent.
Shane barely managed to wait until it became his
turn once again, he drew, shoved it into his hand without barely a pause
to look at it, and slapped a card into the middle of his Magic and Trap
Card Zone: "I play the Magic Card: Dark Hole!"
A tiny, black grain of sand appeared on the field.
The earth broke beneath its vast weight and its dark surface seeming to
absorb the nearby light, plunging it into shadow. It then exploded into
a massive, black thing and his monsters were suddenly being stretched and
swirled about as though they were a child's toys that had been dropped
into a toilet. Time seemed to slow as they became indistinct, stretched
beyond all recognition. The Dark Hole was slowly turning a brilliant,
glowing silver around its edges before the matter plunged into its core.
It paused like that for a heartbeat - incredibly beautiful and terrible
all at once - and then collapsed inward, still glowing, and returning to
the size of a grain of sand. It rose a couple meters above the Field and
then vanished with a barely audible sigh.
"And so goes the supposed Ultimate Dragon."
Shane commented stoically, "But you know what they say, most things end
in a whimper not a bang." He cleared his throat and began to chuckle, "Well.
Since it's still my turn, I think I'll play my own Blood Vors in
attack mode! And - my, my - you have nothing to protect your Life Points.
What a pity." The tone in his voice was scornful before he raised his voice,
his face contorting into a severe mask of passion as he roared,"Blood
Vors! Attack Kaiba's Life Points!"
The beast warrior leveled its weapon and charged,
its powerfully built legs moving like the pistons in a well-oiled machine.
The distance between it and his platform closed with breathtaking swiftness.
"Activate Trap!" Kaiba cried at the last possible
second, flipping the trap card face up. The attack struck, the force of
it driving a fierce wind up his platform that lashed his face and plastered
his cobalt-colored shirt and leather coat to his chest. Energy arced its
way up the metal and stood the hairs on the back of his neck on end. In
spite of this, his Life Points remained untouched. "Trap Card: Nullify
Attack. Your Blood Vors attack is negated and your turn immediately
ends."
"Now you're obviously the one who's stalling."
Shane commented drolly once again, settling back into the chair that had
been clamped to the lift. He leaned back and crossed his arms over the
soft, black material of his lightweight turtle-neck, a smug grin plastered
across his face.
'I have to start attacking seriously before he
wears me out of my best cards.' He thought, drawing. He was rewarded
with Snatch Steal, which sparked the genesis of a counter-offensive.
Despite the maneuver he was concocting, Kaiba decided then and there that
if he were inclined to make any wagers about the location of certain cards,
he would bet half his fortune that some of his nastiest magic and trap
cards were at the bottom of his deck. On the other hand, if Shane was beginning
to tire, that meant he would probably make a costly mistake sooner or later.
But first-off, he had no cards left in his hand at the moment that could
get rid of that Blood Vors. "I play Angel's Gift, and draw
two more cards." His draw was rewarded with Monster Reborn and La
Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp. He removed Needle Worm,
Vampire Lord, and a Shimmer Shield he had drawn several turns
ago and laid them in his discard pile. "I place the three cards in my Graveyard
as required and use Monster Reborn to bring back one of my Blue
Eyes, White Dragons!"
The dragon screamed furiously as it appeared once
more on the field. It reared high and outspread its wings as wide as they
could go to steady itself. It lowered its head and glared at his opponent,
hissing, roaring, and growling wordless promises of suffering and grief.
He couldn't attack until next turn, and Shane knew
it. He drew, shook his head, and waved him onward, "I can't do a bloody
thing. Go."
"Blue Eyes White Dragon! Attack Blood
Vors!" Kaiba bellowed. After all the stupidity he'd put up with, he
would cherish the Blood Vors' destruction. The dragon tossed its
head, took aim, and spat its jet of white lightning, washing the field
in a blinding radiance. Shane remained seated, his eyes calmly shut as
the three strands of his bangs lashed his face furiously. Through watering
eyes, Seto watched as the Blood Vors melted away like wax under
the ferocity of its attack and Shane's Life Points began dropping.
'Nine-Hundred. That's better.' Seto thought,
grinning in satisfaction. Now that the Duel was well underway and the most
annoying of Westfield's stall cards were exhausted, the Duel had become
far more entertaining. He'd improved greatly since he'd last saw him, that
much was certain.
"Now that was a bit below the belt, Arsewipe." Shane
commented nonchalantly at the sight of his Life Points, except a slight
growl had crept back into his tone.
"Suck it up, Looser!" Kaiba replied with a snarl,
"This is only the beginning!"
Shane's lip curled as he stood, "You're right, but
if you're just starting now you've already lost. You're just too arrogant
to realize it yet." He drew, smiled, and laid a card face-down on the field,
"I set one monster in face down defense mode and play the Trap Card: Time
Seal and end my turn."
It was difficult not to flinch as chains erupted
from his side of the field, raced for the rafters high above his head,
connected, and drew taunt. A massive scroll decorated with the kanji for
"time" appeared briefly before his elevated interface before it faded.
Below, on the other side of the field, a single square glowed with a iridescent
yellow light to indicate the presence of a hidden monster.
Seto rolled his eyes as Westfield sat back down
and regarded the face-down monster through the maze of chains that bound
his side of the field. The trap card forced him to skip his Draw Phase
for a single turn so he went straight to deciding how to handle the Battle
Phase. If he knew anything about his opponent it was probably another effect
monster and would have either a search or recovery effect.
"Blue Eyes, White Dragon! Attack the face-down
card!" Like before, another Critter vanished in a torrent of white
light.
As Shane was drawing and shuffling, he contemplated
his own hand through a steady rain of steel-gray pixels as the chains disintegrated.
He still had Snatch Steal, Gift of the Mystical Elf, and
La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp; his English Blue Eyes,
White Dragon was out on the field and that was it. Seto was waiting
for the right monster to use Snatch Steal on and he wanted more
than the six-hundred Life Points that Gift of the Mystical Elf would
give him if he played it with just two monsters on the field.
As before, Westfield laid another card face-down
on the field, "I set one monster in face down defense mode and end my turn."
'Another card. This time I bet it's a recovery.
Though I could be wrong.' Kaiba deliberated. He drew and was finally
rewarded with one of his more serious Magic Cards. He tucked his copy of
Heavy Storm into his hand and regarded the face-down monster. While
he didn't want to provide Shane with a whole thousand Life Points, he was
in need of a little recovery himself. Seto knew his opponent was holding
out for his trump card now that his Valkyrions were gone and he
wanted to be prepared for when that happened.
"I play the Magic Card, Snatch Steal, on
that face down monster." Kaiba announced, his mouth dry. "I gain control
for one turn and, in exchange, my opponent gets one-thousand Life Points
during his Standby Phase."
The glowing square faded away and reappeared next
to his dragon. Shane's face-down card was scanned and the matching space
on Kaiba's side glowed with the image of the back of a card. He tapped
the upper, right hand edge, which would allow him a quick peek at the card.
It flashed the card for only a split second and wouldn't allow a second
glimpse, but now he knew that it was the Magician of Faith. He moved
his finger to the lower, right hand corner and a helpful label proclaiming
that the particular corner he had his fingertip on would flip the card
face up when tapped. He tapped it, flipping the virtual card.
A shapely young woman holding an ornate staff appeared
in the lee of his dragon. White sparkles swirled and tumbled around her
as an unseen wind stirred her wavy, brown ponytail and the silk of her
magenta leggings and violet tunic. Kaiba dug into his Graveyard, found
his Monster Reborn, and tucked it back into his hand.
He smiled once more in a cruel parody of lightheartedness
and announced, "And I'm going to end my turn right there. I have what I
wanted."
As the Magician of Faith evaporated into
gently rising white sparks and reappeared in a rain of similar sparkles
on the other side of the field, Shane looked genuinely nervous. He drew,
tucked the card into his hand, and then turned the Magician of Faith
back to face down, "I flip the Magician of Faith face down."
Once again, white sparkles rose into the air and a competitor in this competition
was digging into his Graveyard for a card.
Kaiba eyed his Gift of the Mystical Elf.
This was it. Next turn, he'd use it for a nine-hundred point boost. He
had a feeling that Shane had his Summoned Skull now and was using
the Magician of Faith to get one of his Swords of Revealing Light
back. He still hadn't found his Dark Hole or any other cards he
could take it out with, so he'd have to bluff once it was out. At the moment,
Heavy Storm was earmarked for Westfield's Swords of Revealing
Light whenever he played it.
At the moment, Shane was looking apprehensive. Finally
he laid a card in his Field Magic Zone, "I change the field to Yami
and end my turn."
The field immediately darkened and became choked
with deep shadows. Kaiba chuckled, but didn't fight the change that decreased
his dragon's attack and defense by two-hundred points. He drew, tucked
Invitation to a Dark Sleep into his hand with a gleeful smirk, and
laid La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp face down and in defense
mode, "I play one monster card face down and in defense mode as an "Easter
Egg" - and since you're so predictable I play Gift of the Mystical Elf
which will augment my Life Points by nine-hundred points."
The Mystical Elf rose behind his dragon,
her gentle, mesmerizing voice chanting a healing spell. White sparkles
rose up around him in a long spiral before she vanished as his Life Points
began rising. His Life Points now safely back above three-thousand points,
he settled back with crossed arms to watch Shane play his pathetic, little
trump card.
His opponent, however, had evidently bought into
his bluff about an "Easter Egg" on the field for him. Westfield was a programmer
and an accomplished hacker just like he was and would know what he meant.
He was regarding the glowing space with a look that was clearly dread,
though Seto was positive the audience wouldn't catch it unless one of the
cameras zoomed in for a close-up of the blond Duelist. However, now that
he had played Yami, he was - for all intents and purposes - committed.
"I play the Summoned Skull!" Perhaps it was
his accent, but he managed not to sound frightened. His face had changed
back to the determined air he had displayed for most of the Duel, but the
anxiety was showing in his dark eyes. "And with it I play Dark Energy
-" The Fiend on the field swelled as black lightning arced and swirled
over it's body, muscles twitching and veins throbbing visibly. "- and the
Sword of Dark Destruction to boost. . ."
His voice trailed off as the dark blade spun to
the ground and imbedded its tip in the earth at the Demon's feet. He licked
his lips nervously as his gaze shifted once more from his demon to the
glowing, iridescent space. Kaiba smiled irreverently as the evil sword
was drawn and held in a low "guard" position. Impatient, though not showing
it, he uncrossed his arms long enough to beckon him to finish his sentence.
Westfield glared across the field at him; the anger clearly resolving his
uncertainty. The Summoned Skull's attack strength was now at thirty-four
hundred, only one-hundred points less than his Magnet Valkyrion's
thanks to the three cards enhancing it.
"Summoned Skull!" He screamed abruptly and
as loudly as he could, making Kaiba visibly flinch along with most of the
audience. "Attack!"
The Fiend bounded high above the holographic arena,
dim light gleaming off the blade of the sword. With a flash, it sliced
through the Dragon's neck. As it landed and dropped to one knee, the beheaded
dragon's head tumbled to the ground as its corpse limply collapsed.
Kaiba squeezed his eyes shut.
"'One, two! One, two! And through and through
the vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head
he went galumphing back.' " Shane recited dramatically, his intonation
somehow adding to the statement as the Summoned Skull lifted the
enormous head triumphantly aloft a moment before the dragon's corpse disintegrated
with a crash into a flurry of triangular shards.
Kaiba snorted as he drew, but the sound was forced.
He loathed watching that animation; frankly he hated seeing any of his
dragons defeated but that was especially painful to watch. The loss of
four-hundred Life Points wasn't that bad, but the animation left him feeling
vaguely ill. In a way, Dark Hole was far easier to watch, it was
so terrible in its dark beauty that it seemed to transition perfectly between
the majestic radiance of the white dragon. He glanced at the card he had
drawn, Gadget Soldier. He decided it wasn't bad, but it wasn't one
of the cards he really wanted. Then his eyes leveled on the Magician
of Faith. The critical mistake was right there. It had been there for
a couple turns. Shane would get to draw another Magic Card, but she was
only face down, not in Defense Mode. An attack on her would drop Westfield's
Life Points by fifteen-hundred, leaving him at a miserable four-hundred
Life Points.
"I play Gadget Soldier in attack mode!" He
announced, not bothering to truly raise his voice. The boxy, gold and silver
robot appeared on the field and shouldered its long, green rocket launcher.
The giant, golden gear around its left shoulder and the polished metal
of its streamlined helmet gleamed even in the muted light that leaked through
the deep shadows that still covered the field. "Gadget Soldier!
Attack the Magician of Faith!"
It dropped to one knee and took aim. Shane's eyes
grew large. He probably was realizing his error and how few Life Points
that would leave him with. However, it was too late. Fire belched out the
exhaust of the rocket launcher an instant before the fiery bolt shot from
the barrel. It struck the glowing space before his eyes registered that
it had covered the entire length of the field and he caught the briefest
glimpse of the young, female, magic-user recoiling before she vanished
in a swirl of flame and smoke.
"I guess all was not mimsy with the borogoves."
Kaiba mused, staring malevolently at Shane from under his bangs. He crossed
his arms over his chest and waited for his opponent to make his next move.
To his delight, Westfield appeared visibly shaken.
His hand was trembling as he drew, his eyes darting from his Fusion deck
to the glowing, iridescent space that his hidden La Jinn still occupied.
No doubt he wanted to bring out one of his Fusion monsters and get rid
of that diabolical, little "Easter Egg" he'd left for him.
Shane's mouth mashed itself in a firm, straight
line. He dropped his entire hand into the Graveyard. His voice was weary
as he announced, "I discard five cards from my hand and play the Magic
Card: Final Destiny to destroy all monsters on the field."
The field was bathed in a red light and swirls of
smoke wreathed the field. It hung for a moment before the field and their
monsters suddenly vanished beneath the angry, writhing smoke and flames
of a mushroom cloud.
Seto began to laugh as the cloud rose to the rafters
before it faded, he moved Gadget Soldier and La Jinn to his
Graveyard. He knew Westfield could see his interface on the upper display
as though it was only a foot away, he now knew that the "Easter Egg" had
only been La Jinn The Mystical Genie of the Lamp. The blond's eyes
had grown even larger and his mouth had dropped open.
"La Jinn?!" He heard Westfield squeak in
disbelief over the noise of the crowd above them as the giant screen showed
them what Shane had seen in his upper display.
It took him a second to control his laughter before
he could snicker, "An "Easter Egg?" I guess I've been proven wrong: That
play was obviously a goose egg."
"Sod off, Bastard." Shane whispered brusquely, his
voice was shaking with fury. His hands had balled themselves into fists
that he couldn't reopen. His legs, however, had lost the will to support
him. He backed up into his chair and irately yanked it forward on its extension
clamp. "Fucking hell . . ."
He was still laughing as his Draw Phase finally
unearthed his Meteor Strike. Seto smirked and laid Invitation
to a Dark Sleep face down and in defense mode. "I play one card in
face down, defense mode and end my turn."
Westfield was shaking with badly controlled fury,
still fuming that he had destroyed his trump card under the conclusion
that the face-down La Jinn had been something truly devastating.
He drew and slapped it down onto the Field Magic Card zone, "I change the
field to Fusion Gate and end my turn."
The field began to writhe and warp, as though the
air had turned super-hot. The hologram of the rocky terrain that they been
playing on wavered and bucked. With a breathtaking swiftness, the color
and texture of the ground lifted free to float amid dark wisps of churning
fog; leaving only the faint lines of the framework that made up the geometry.
The lines brightened to a brilliant emerald, but the air continued to waver
as though super-heated.
Kaiba's smirk broadened as drew - he ignored the
card, the Duel was almost over anyway. "I choose not to attack." He commented
in a cruelly cheerful pitch, "Your turn!"
Shane drew once more and again slapped it right
down onto the field, "I play the Magic Card: Pot of Greed and draw
two more cards." His shaking hand pulled two more cards off the top of
his deck. "I lay one monster card in face down, defense mode and end my
turn."
Kaiba drew once more, and tucked his Kaizer Seahorse
into his hand. He was relishing Shane's discomfiture. "I still choose not
to attack - your turn!"
Shane drew once more, sighed in a mixture of relief
and exhaustion. "I choose to fuse the Red Eyes Black Dragon with
the Meteor Dragon to summon the Black Meteor Dragon."
There was a scream of a massive reptile as a torrent
of flame coiled and writhed on Westfield's side of the field. Slowly the
flames receded to reveal the dragon. Deep violet scales shimmered in the
half-light of the Fusion Gate and blood-red tracings seemed to pulse
with their own, deep light.
"And play the Magic Card: Last Battle! I
choose to enter my Black Meteor Dragon and discard the rest of my
hand to the Graveyard."
Kaiba smirked and shook his head. Last Battle!
would end the Duel with a final Battle Phase and the last one standing
would win - regardless of Life Points. He laid Monster Reborn on
the field and placed the rest of the cards on his Graveyard pile. "I play
Monster Reborn, returning my Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to
the field and discard my remaining hand. I also move my Face Down monster
to the Graveyard."
As the trio of lithe, muscular necks once more erupted
from the field like ethereal fountains of pure silver, Shane's head had
bowed. His eyes were clenched tightly shut, his face a gray and miserable.
There was a five-hundred point difference between the two monsters. Exactly
one-hundred points than he had to loose even without the Duel-ending card,
Last Battle! His right hand hovered over his deck.
Seto glowered across the field at his opponent.
This whole duel and the idiot was about to forfeit. All that wasted effort
when the coward could have saved him the trouble and let six o'clock come
and go without showing. All that planning, impromptu alterations to established
tactics, all those calculating pauses, and he was going to surrender.
It was decidedly anticlimactic and disappointing
in a way that threatened the change the faint ill-feeling he'd gotten watching
the Summoned Skull behead his dragon into true nausea.
"Go ahead," He growled, his voice sinking to a hushed,
smoldering tone. "Forfeit. Give up and show the world what a spineless
coward you are. I'm disappointed in you, Shan. I was actually beginning
to think you were worth my time."
Westfield's head lifted suddenly to gaze at his
opponent. His hand dropped into his lap and then rose again to rake his
fingers through his hair and rub his eyes, sighing heavily. He unsteadily
got back to his feet. His voice cracked as he raised his voice sharply,
"Black Meteor Dragon . . ."
Kaiba snorted a quick laugh at the sound of his
opponent's cracking voice, feeling slightly better. "Blue Eyes Ultimate
Dragon . . ."
The blond held up his right hand, using his fingers
to count down from three without speaking. Kaiba took a deep breath as
Shane did the same.
"ATTACK!"