Mokuba stared at the playing field as he waited for his opponent to make a move. It was one o' clock in the morning, but Mokuba couldn't sleep - he had too much on his mind. The S.S. Aqua was on its way to the island, and Mokuba's real job would start once they arrived. Zero's wish for the most advanced duelBot ever was granted after the Sakura animatron was upgraded. It was Mokuba's job to make sure she got through the tournament in one piece. But now, he was worried about what Zero had planned for her. He could have Sakura the duelBot if he wanted; Mokuba didn't want to lose Sakura the girl.
"*Beep*... Fairy's Rook, to C4." The computer had finally chosen its move. Mokuba was playing Capsule Monster Chess, or "Capumon" as it was named after the second edition release. Capumon was his favorite game, and one that few people knew how to play. It was another monster-based game created by Industrial Illusions, but it was made almost thirty years ago when the company was first started. Since that time, more games were made for the younger, action-minded generation. Mokuba loved quiet games, as opposed to Seto and his love for "extreme games". So naturally, Capumon was a game he enjoyed more than Duel Monsters. Playing the game helped clear his mind of distractions and helped him think clearly.
The fairy-type monster moved as Rooks normally did – in a straight line for as many spaces as the controller desired. The Rook moved three spaces until it was at the C4 square, then stopped. None of Mokuba's pieces were there, so there was no battle. That ended the computer's turn, and it was now Mokuba's turn to make a move. He looked at the holographic pieces and their placement on the board, and tried to figure out the best plan of attack.
"Dragon's Pawn attacks Rook." There was only one enemy Rook on the board, and only one of Mokuba's pawns that could legally make that attack, so the game translated the move immediately despite the lack of coordinates. Mokuba's dragon-shaped piece moved one space diagonally and attacked the Rook. A miniature melee ensued, which resulted in the Rook's destruction. Mokuba had been lucky this time – pawns rarely won battles against Rooks, due to the difference in power level. But since his gamble paid off, Mokuba was only a few moves away from destroying the Fairy's King controlled by the computer. Mokuba's opponent analyzed the situation, and Mokuba waited calmly for the machine's next move.
I wish I knew what Zero was planning, Mokuba thought. Seto agreed to modify Sakura and implant the Mini Cybers into all the Duel Arks, but he never told me why. Zero just shows up out of the blue, and he trusts him enough to make a deal that involves one of our most advanced machines to date? Mokuba hated to think of Sakura as a "machine", but he had to face facts. Sakura was created by one of Kaiba Corps' engineering teams as a way to replace the deceased daughter of a friend in Industrial Illusions, Mr. Kinomoto. It was later decided that Sakura's presence would only cause more harm than good to the man, so she was never revealed to Kinomoto. Sakura's life had been peaceful, until Kaiba suddenly ordered that she be upgraded into a duelBot. She was now the first and only Type III robot designed for dueling, and Zero was apparently the man who prompted her promotion. Mokuba wanted to know why, and he wasn't going to let Zero anywhere near Sakura until he knew the truth.
Mokuba's opponent ordered one of his Fairy's Wizards to move diagonally a few spaces, and then invoked the ability of his Queen to switch places with it. The Queen and Wizard switched positions, which put Mokuba's king in jeopardy and his other pieces at risk. It was now Mokuba's turn again.
I agreed to work on the Duel Ark project, but only because Seto didn't trust anyone else to do it. Mokuba ordered one of his Dragon's Pawns to move one space forward, putting it into the path of the enemy Queen and threatening her. He then activated the ability of his Dragon's Knight to destroy an enemy piece and the Knight itself. One of the computer's Knights was destroyed by the effect, and Mokuba's Knight followed suit. The computer started its turn.
He says the Mini Cybers are for the safety of the participants, but there's no way that can be true. Seto was hurt even more by that other world than he was by Sakura's monsters. Mokuba remembered how close his brother came to dying because of the damage he'd sustained in that other world, physically and mentally. It was a dangerous place for a human. There must be something else going on. My brother and Zero are after something. And both Sakura and that other world are involved. But what could it be? And why hold this tournament using the Duel Arks when Seto is only a few months away from completing his Duel Disk II systems? And why drag all these kid's games into it? There's just so many questions... but only Zero and my brother know the answers. I have to find out what Seto knows. Sakura's life may be at risk. Mokuba didn't notice the error in that statement.
The computer's Queen attacked Mokuba's blocking pawn, and Mokuba activated its ability in response. The Dragon's Pawn was able to sacrifice all his other Pawns and combine their strength with its own for one turn. That gave the Dragon's Pawn more than enough power to destroy the enemy Queen. The computer was forced to end its turn, and Mokuba went in for the kill. He ordered his second Dragon's Knight to move in and attack, putting it into a position that the enemy could not defend against. The computer had no moves it could make to prevent the loss of his King, so it conceded. Mokuba won the match.
The computer congratulated Mokuba on the win, and deactivated. Mokuba didn't feel like playing another game, so he stepped off the pedestal and left the entertainment area for the upper deck. Only a few passengers were still awake. Most of them were testing their strategies by playing computer opponents in the various arenas above and below deck. Others were just too nervous to sleep. Mokuba ignored them, and continued walking until he reached the bow of the ship.
Standing there made Mokuba feel like he was flying, even if the ship was moving slowly. He stood as close to the bow as he could, and closed his eyes. He could feel the ship bobbing up and down, and the wind blowing past him. He extended his arms as if he were a bird, and let his imagination do the rest. He was flying freely, without a care in the world. His spirit was lifted, and his mind was cleared of all doubt. He knew what he would do.
I don't care what they have planned, Mokuba declared. If Zero hurts Sakura, he's dead. And Big Brother... I don't want to have to choose between you two. Don't make me choose.
Mokuba turned around, and was surprised to see Sakura standing there. She was still wearing the pink nightie she'd changed into before going to sleep. She looked quietly at Mokuba, concern on her pretty face.
"What are you doing up?" Mokuba asked. "You should be resting. And you're going to catch a cold that way."
"...I don't catch colds," she said. "And I was worried when you didn't come back." Sakura worried about Mokuba often. He was her only friend in the world. And Sakura seemed to value friendship more than anything else. She was a person of the Ultra Rare variety.
"Don't worry about me." Mokuba stepped towards her and took her hand. "I just have a lot on my mind. Like how I'm going to keep you out of trouble."
"You're going to keep me out of trouble? You're the one who steals people's cards, remember?" Mokuba glowered at being reminded of his Duelist Kingdom activities. He'd stolen a player's cards and star chips in order to face Yugi Muto in a duel, out of desperation. In the end, the chips were thrown into the sea by one of Pegasus' henchmen, and the cards were never returned. In fact, Mokuba had those very cards in his bag in case he needed to duel.
"Sakura, I don't want Zero to take you away."
The girl gently squeezed his hand as they walked. "I don't want him to either. But, it's your brother's decision. Not mine."
"My brother's making a bad decision!" Mokuba growled. "He knows nothing about Zero, and he starts working with him as if they were life-long partners! And this whole thing with Digital Worlds and Ark Fields is something we're not supposed to mess with! Seto is making a big mistake, and innocent people are going to pay for it! It's not fair!!"
Sakura was silent. There wasn't much she could say to ease Mokuba's concerns.
When they reached their room, Sakura and Mokuba sat on the edge of the bed. Both were worried about the future, but there was little they could do to avert it. Zero was the controller of the tournament, and he seemed to be a powerful man despite his lack of publicity. Seto was owner of the richest and most influential entertainment company in the world, and he was a master strategist. He had the edge in the gaming world as well as the economic and political world. There was little that could prevent him from achieving his goals. In fact, there was only one person who could stop him.
"...Maybe there is something we can do," Mokuba realized.
"What do you mean?"
"There might be a way for us to keep Zero from taking you. If someone could beat my brother and Zero at their own game, then maybe we can force them to tell us what's going on."
"But Mokuba, why should we do anything?" Sakura asked. "There's no reason for you to think that Zero and Seto-sama have some sort of evil plan. Maybe they need me to do something that'll help people."
"I doubt it. After everything I've seen, I can't believe that this is all for a good cause. Zero is keeping himself hidden to protect himself. People with good intentions don't need to hide."
"Capu-kun." Mokuba went silent, and looked at her. "Please don't be this way."
"But, I ..."
"I know how you feel. But I don't want you to get into trouble because of me. And I am sure that Seto-sama isn't doing anything bad."
Mokuba remembered the events at Duelist Kingdom, and Kaiba's lifestyle before that. Seto was hellbent on defeating Yugi, no matter what the cost. And he was ruthless in his actions. Even if he had a reason to act the way he did, that didn't change the fact that he hurt a lot of people in his battles. Yugi said once that he had opened Kaiba's mind, freeing him of the lust for power that possessed him. But freeing him from the lust for power seemed only to fuel his lust for revenge. There was no telling what a person like that was capable of.
"I wish I could be as sure as you, Sakura."
"I'm sure," she replied softly. "Because he's your brother. And I'm sure that deep down, he's just like you." Sakura crawled onto the bed and lay down. "So don't worry. Everything will turn out fine, I know it."
Mokuba frowned. Even after the way Seto has treated you, you still believe that he's a good person. The boy looked over his shoulder at the sleeping girl. She must've already gone into her recharge mode. You have a strong heart, Sakura.
Mokuba left the bedside and found a place on the floor to rest. He used his backpack as a pillow, and let his mind drift as he waited for sleep to come. But I'm still going to be prepared in case Seto and Zero are really up to something. There's only one person in the world who can keep Seto under control, and he's going to help me protect you.
--
** Yugi: 1200 LP || Red Player: 500 LP **
** Blue Player 3: 400 LP || Green Player 4: 1700 LP **
It was a close match, that was for sure. Little Yugi and the three computer players each had a high-level monster in play, with no power-ups in effect. Yugi had the Dark Magician [2500/2100, SPD 21]; the red player had Dark Master – Zork, a Duel Monster with deadly abilities [2700/1500, SPD 16]; the blue player had a Mega Digimon called Puppetmon [2900/2300, SPD 8]; the green player commanded a 99th level insect Pokemon called Yanma [2908/2014, SPD 35]. It was currently anyone's game. Yugi just had to be careful, in case the computers decided to gang up on him.
Puppetmon barreled out of the gate by drawing his pistol sidearm and blasting away at Zork, who had the lowest defense of all the monsters on the field. Zork's player countered by activating a trap card called "Shift Change", which switched the position of Zork with a random enemy. Yugi's Dark Magician was thrown into the line of fire, but Yugi fought back with his Dark Magician's dark magic. Dark Magician's cloak was perforated with bullet holes, but he managed to survive the assault. Puppetmon withstood the magician's counterattack, and the free-for-all continued.
Yanma tried to attack Yugi directly with Tackle. His Dark Magician was in a bad position after that Shift Change and could not defend his player from that distance. Yugi slashed the "Monster Replace" magic card, which removed the Dark Magician from play and placed another monster on the field in his stead. Yugi's "Wall of Illusion" appeared just as Yanma was about to tackle him. [1000/1850]
Wall of Illusion was destroyed by the creature's incredibly strong attack, and Yugi's life points were reduced appropriately. [Yugi's LP: 142] However, the Wall of Illusion's magic enchanted Yanma and trapped it inside an illusion. Now confused, Yanma attacked its controller – the Green player – and wiped out its remaining life points with a Sonic Boom attack. Green and his Yanma were eliminated from the match, and the remaining three players continued the battle.
Yugi re-played the Dark Magician as he analyzed the situation. Red and Blue were going at it, with Zork taking a beating at the hands of the digimon's superior attack power. Even though Zork was fast, the gun that Puppetmon attacked with was very difficult to dodge for a creature of his size. Zork's player decided to go for broke, and activated Zork's ultimate attack – the Scarab Swarm. With this attack, the demon summoned a horde of ravenous scarabs that attacked random targets on the field – even Zork. It was all up to luck whether or not Yugi's magician would be attacked. Yugi didn't like the odds, so he slashed his "Magical Hats" card to hide the Dark Magician and boost his chances of surviving the demonic assault.
Zork's bugs crawled towards the Puppetmon. However, his player was prepared to counter the attack. The computer activated an option card called "Crossfire", which reflected the attack at a random target on the field. The scarabs descended on one of the magical hats and devoured it in seconds. Luckily, it turned out to be an empty hat. The scarabs were satisfied with the snack and left the holographic playing field the same way they came – through Zork's body.
Yugi had three hats left. He slashed his Mirror Force and hid it underneath another hat, and kept the Dark Magician in his current hat. If the enemy attacked the hat hiding the Dark Magician, Yugi's life points would drop to zero. If they attacked the empty hat, then Yugi would be spared for a few seconds more. But if they attacked the Mirror Force hat, then the trap would activate and the attack would rip through all the enemy monsters. Yugi drew cards to refill his hand, and hoped that this plan worked in his favor.
Zork's and Puppetmon's players redirected their attacks at Yugi. They had the same thought at the same time, it seemed. Zork chanted his demonic spells, while Puppetmon aimed his gun at one of the hats. It was the hat hiding his Dark Magician! Just as the digimon fired, Yugi slashed his "Magnet Warrior Beta". The monster could not be summoned since Dark Magician was still on the field, but Yugi could use his magnetic powers to draw Puppetmon's bullet away from the field, along with his gun. Puppetmon's weapon was yanked from his grip and slammed into the Magnet Warrior's head with a loud *clang*. Puppetmon's attack was negated.
Zork completed his attack though, and launched his magic at another hat. This time, Yugi let the attack hit its target. The hat was destroyed, but the trap underneath was activated as a result. The Mirror Force collected the energy of Zork's attack and reflected it at both of the computer controlled beasts. Zork's attack incinerated both monsters, and the computer players' life points dropped to 0. Yugi was the last player standing.
** Yugi: 142 LP || Red Player: 0 LP || Blue Player: 0 LP || Green Player: 0 LP **
Yugi breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat off his face as the holographic arena deactivated. "Man, that was close. I can't believe I won that."
"I knew you would," Yami said from his seat in the audience. "I have faith in your abilities." As a spirit, he could move pretty far away from the Puzzle even though he was tied to it, as long as nothing was impairing his magic. It was a lot like the holographic monsters the Duel Arks made, Yugi realized. Technology was starting to catch up to magic.
Yugi took a seat beside the spirit, and yawned loudly. "I guess it's good for me to practice. You're a great player, but there have been times in the past when you couldn't help me in a duel."
"Yes. I don't know what we'll face on Monster Island, but trouble seems to follow us no matter where we are. We must be prepared for anything."
Yugi leaned back, eyes closed but still awake. "Kaiba. I saw him board the boat just as we got to the docking area. He must be competing in this tournament."
"...Perhaps. Kaiba is a strong opponent, but he is not our primary concern. We must find Juri's reincarnation and destroy Exodia, once and for all. Unfortunately, we must wait until the tournament starts. There are too many people in the vicinity for us to make our move."
Yugi felt his hands trembling behind his neck. "We're not going to hurt her, are we?"
"I don't know," Yami said. "All I know is that in order to defeat Exodia, we will have to eliminate its tie to his progenitor somehow."
"'Progenitor'?" Yugi mimed. It was another word for 'creator', but it sounded more like a person carrying a disease. "You make it sound like you're exterminating something instead of helping someone."
Yami was silent for a while. Yugi looked at him – at least, the illusion of him. "Promise me that you won't hurt her. Exodia is dangerous, but we can't kill someone just to stop him."
Yami glared at his other self. "You must have learned by now, Yugi. I'll do what it takes to achieve our goals."
Yugi remembered the duel against Kaiba at Duelist Kingdom, just outside of Pegasus' castle gates. In that duel, Yami was willing to go to any lengths to defeat Kaiba – even send him to his death. Yugi didn't want to hurt Kaiba, even if it meant giving up the chance to save his Grandpa. The battle reached its pique when Celtic Guardian was about to destroy the Ultimate Dragon and Kaiba's remaining life points. Yugi and Yami clashed, and in the end Yugi was forced to stop the spirit from winning the duel. Kaiba won, and Yugi became afraid of his spirit. But in the end, Yami promised that he would help Yugi save his grandfather, and not sacrifice the lives of others.
"So you're saying... that you won't kill her," Yugi repeated.
Yami went silent again. Yugi repeated the statement, and only then did the spirit answer. "We must try to destroy Exodia. We cannot let him escape just because he's hiding inside an innocent girl."
Yugi wasn't sure what to think. Yami sounded like he was intent on completing this mission, no matter what. If there was no other option, would Yami kill Exodia's host? Could Yugi stop the spirit, now that he'd grown stronger since the Duelist Kingdom and his battle with Pegasus?
"Death would not be the answer," Yami said. "Juri and her spiritual descendants have all possessed this tie to Exodia. So killing her would not matter if she were to simply reincarnate again. The only way to really break the tie would be to seal Juri's soul. Then Exodia could be destroyed, and his link to the living would be forever gone."
"You will NOT harm her!!" Yugi's shout echoed through the arena. Yami stared silently at the boy, while Yugi glared back with nothing but anger. "You will not harm Juri in any way! Do you understand!!"
Yami glared defiantly before turning away. "...No promises." Yami faded from sight and returned to the coffin that was the Millennium Puzzle. Yugi was shaken by their conversation.
Yami is not acting like himself, Yugi thought with worry. He's acting more like... like Bakura's other self. Yugi wondered if the puzzle's spirit was somehow changed when he wasn't looking, but he felt that was impossible. He could feel Yami's presence as clearly as he could sense his own existence. It was Yami within the puzzle. He was just darker than usual. Exodia must've frightened him more than he was letting on.
Yugi shook himself from his thoughts. "I can't worry about this. Not now. Exodia's destruction is important, especially if Duel Monster players will be at this tournament. Some of the players are bound to be like me... tied to magic and Ancient Egypt. One of them may be after Juri's reincarnation. And I have to keep them from using her to free Exodia."
Yugi could only hope that the King of Games wouldn't become one of his enemies in this tournament.
--
The boat arrived at the island at 4:03 AM, Sunday. There were several dozen harbors at different corners of the island. Yugi and Joey ended up at different harbors. Yugi's starting place would be the Southwest Point, one of the eight towns where the 400-some competitors would begin the tournament from. Southwest Point was designed like an ancient Mediterranean city, complete with citizens in the form of tanned sailors, bar maids, drunkards, and patrolling knights. For the most part, the population ignored the players as they left the boats. Some of the more immature guests tried to have some fun with the people, whom they thought were actors. They were quite surprised when the "actors" gave them a shove or knocked them down with a solid punch. A couple fights ensued, with the losers always being the guests. Nobody came out to stop the fights. No black-suited security guards in sight.
"I do not sense any souls in these people," Yami mentioned as Yugi walked past a seedy bar, complete with disgusting looking prostitutes. "They must be mechanical, or holographic."
"These people aren't real?" Yugi replied. "Amazing..." The boy casually touched a wooden crate as he passed a blacksmith's shop. It felt solid, yet shimmered at his touch and felt smooth like a marble floor. "I think this entire city is holographic!"
"Watch who you're callin' holo-pathic, you little runt!" growled a drunken old man dressed in rags. "Or I'll tan yer hide!"
Yugi cringed. "S-sorry!" He ran to the other side of the street, where an old friend was talking with a holographic maiden before she walked away in a huff.
"Holographic or not, they act like they're real people. Except they don't know a handsome harpooner when they see one," Mako Tsunami murmured. "Though I must admit, this harbor town is a place I could get used to."
"What kind of weirdo makes an island full of holograms and puts 'em in weird cities?" said a Pokemon trainer, sitting on a nearby box.
"...Zero." Yugi imagined the man's masked face in his mind. "What kind of game are you playing?" Yugi continued through the town, silent and alone, waiting for the sun to rise and for the tournament to officially begin.
--
[North Point || 4:07 A.M.]
Henry walked into a bar called the Deadman's Hand. It was a place filled with card tables where cowboys, gunmen, and villainous townsfolk were gambling away their poker chips and playing the first real card game. Henry felt out of place here, since every man - and some of the women - had beards. If Henry wasn't uncomfortable enough, a lot of them were giving him disturbing stares, as if he were the main course in a lunch buffet. Henry maintained a calm exterior, using the techniques his grandfather taught him through martial arts. He casually walked to the bar and hopped onto an empty stool.
A pretty bar girl with blond curls smiled at him. "Hi there little man. What can I do ya for?"
"I'd like something to drink please," Henry replied casually. "Whatever is free. Preferably water, Miss."
"Belle," she replied. A predictable name, Henry noted. "And are you sure that's all you want? Most men come in here and ask for a strong woman or a strong drink."
"Yes, I'm sure," Henry said. "Thank you, ma'am."
Belle smiled toothily, showing her pearly white teeth. "Aww, ain't you just the sweet little thing? Calling me Ma'am and all!" She gave Henry's cheek a good squeeze before bouncing off to the water barrel to get his drink. Henry rubbed his aching face and quietly waited for his drink to arrive. He was starting to wonder if holographic water would taste like anything, when he got a sturdy tap on the shoulder.
"Hey, buddy," said someone from modern times. Henry looked over his shoulder into the eyes of a man in his twenties, with some of the ugliest facial features he'd ever seen. His only redeeming feature seemed to be that his black hair covered up a lot of his face when it fell the right way. "No babies allowed here. These seats are for Duelists only." He seemed to be referring to himself and the chuckling, grunting men behind him. Henry was outnumbered four to one.
"...I was sitting here first, Sir," Henry said respectfully. "And unless you're older than you act, or suffering some crippling leg cramp, I'm not going to move. Sorry."
The man grabbed Henry's collar, lifting him completely off the stool. "You think you're funny, little brat!? I'll break your damn neck if you'd rather play it that way!"
"Hey!" The man turned around, only to get a face-full of fist from a teenager with blond hair and an outrageous accent. Henry fell to his seat, while the benevolent teen stepped between him and the four men.
The ringleader stood up and wiped a splotch of blood off his lip. "Well... seems we have another kid whose too big for his britches. You wanna try that again now that my back's not turned, Blondie?"
Joey hunched over, ready to rumble. "I'll try it again! And maybe this time I'll hit your face hard enough to knock the Ugly out of ya!" He tackled the man and took him to the ground, and gave him a good solid punch to the face that knocked his head to the side. Joey didn't get to do much more than that, as he was punched in turn by one of the other goons. The remaining two goons kicked him off their boss and brawled for a few seconds before pinning Joey to the ground. The other patrons watched the spectacle with interest.
"Hey you bums!" Belle shouted. "There ain't no fighting in my bar, you hear! Take it outside!"
"Shut up!" the leader yelled. "Zero pays you to act like a waitress, not play security guard." The two goons holding Joey picked him up, and the third one went to help them hold the strong teen still. The leader started punching him in the gut in quick succession. He finished with a hard uppercut to Joey's jaw, causing his head to jerk back. Joey struggled to free himself, but he was no match for the three guys.
That's when Henry acted. "Hyah!" Henry made a quick kick at the back of the leader's knee, causing him to stumble into a kneeling position. Before he could figure out what was happening, Henry gave him a solid chop to the back of the head, knocking him out cold. The man would have a heck of a bruise on his neck later.
The three guys were distracted by the "runt's" surprising display of strength, giving Joey the opening he needed. He jerked his head back and head-butted the guy behind him, hard enough to break his nose. That guy let go, but Joey still wasn't free of the two original guys. They were reacting quicker than their cohorts.
"Hold him! I'll get the runt!" said one of them. The other locked Joey's arms and held him in place, careful to keep his head at an angle so that he couldn't head-butt him. The other guy charged at Henry, intent on overpowering him with his size and pummeling him when he had him pinned.
But Henry had been trained to handle such a basic attack. He rolled off the guy's side as he charged, giving him an opening where he could grab the guy's wrist. Henry then pulled the wrist in the same direction of the charge, causing the guy to fly forward and into the lower half of the bar. His head slammed into the wooden base, and he didn't get up.
Henry simply stared at the remaining guy. "Let him go." He didn't need to repeat himself. The guy quickly dropped the hold he had on Joey and raced for the hills. Joey dusted himself off and muttered a few curses after the guy left.
"Those were some nice moves, kid. You shoulda knocked those punks out the moment they started picking on ya."
"I used to do that," Henry said. "But I got suspended after doing that a few too many times. After a while I learned not to fight unless I had to."
"Guess that works for some people," the teen laughed and extended his hand. "Oh yeah, I'm Joey Wheeler, Duelist Extraordinaire."
Henry hesitated; he was a Duelist too. Could he trust him? He might have been one of the psychos that Rika warned him about. But if those four punks were the Duelist's brand of psychos, he had nothing to be afraid of. He slapped Joey's hand in greeting. "Henry."
"Sorry to jump in on ya like that, but I saw those guys messing with ya and I wanted to do something."
"Thanks for the help." Henry adjusted his collar as he took back his seat. Joey brushed some blood off his lip, but the bleeding wasn't going to stop that easily.
"Here, use this," Belle said, handing the teen a rag. "That was awfully brave of you, Mister. Helping out this nice boy like that against those four cock-toothed sod heads."
"Hey, forgedaboudit." Joey wiped away most of the blood, but he gave up on trying to stop the bleeding with the rag. "Do you think I could get some water? And maybe a band-aid or two?"
Belle grabbed another glass and filled it with water quickly. She seemed anxious to serve Joey. "The water I can do, but I dunno what the heck a band-aid is. All I got's the rag and Doc Mitchell's advice."
Henry frowned. "No band-aids? Wow... when they make a setting, they really make a setting."
"What's that?" Belle asked, apparently missing the last half of his sentence.
"Nothing." Henry drank his water. Joey did the same and leaned his back against the bar. The teen finished the water in one draw and placed the cup on the table upside-down out of habit.
"Well, I guess I'd better get going," Joey said. "Still an hour 'til the tournament starts, and I don't have any idea what I'm supposed to do."
Henry looked up from his drink. "Didn't you get a Rule Book in your room? I thought everyone did."
Joey laughed nervously. "I uh... misplaced mine. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean." Belle giggled at Henry's resulting expression.
"Here, I'll lend you mine." Henry reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded packet. He handed it to Joey, who unfolded it and read the title page.
"Monster Duel EX: Official Rule Book. This copy belongs to Henry Wong." Joey flipped through the next few pages, which discussed the basic rules of conduct. Joey had already broken those, and didn't care about the rest of them. He found the section he was interested in – Tournament Victory and Prizes.
"This tournament's victory conditions and prizes have been kept secret for some time, in order to prevent cheating or leaks to reporters. The winner of Monster Duel EX will be the first player to walk to the end of Star Road inside Zero Muto's..." Joey scratched his head. "Whoa, his last name is the same as Yugi's. Freaky. I met a guy named Wheeler Joe once, and I think he was..."
"Anyway," Henry muttered, before sipping his drink some more.
Joey frowned. "Right. No small conversation, got it." He scanned the page and found where he left off. "...the end of Star Road inside Zero Muto's Crystal Castle at the center of the island. The castle's outer defenses can only be breached by retrieving four Crests from four of the island's Dungeons, and solving the riddle that keeps the castle gates locked."
"Which isn't described in the booklet," Henry added. "And it doesn't mention the castle's inner defenses either. Skip down a paragraph."
Joey did so, and continued reading. "To the winner of the tournament will go this entire island, and... WHAT!! The whole island!!?" Joey's heart raced. "That's gotta be worth a fortune! This place is huge!"
"That's not all. Keep reading."
Joey struggled to keep breathing. "And... the winner also gets... all monetary, property, and business-based assets under the name of Zero Muto, totaling just over 90 billion dollars in US currency." Joey blinked, and tried to count in his head. "Isn't US money like a millionth of ours?"
"...One dollar is about 150 Yen, Joey," Henry said, somewhat surprised at the teen's lack of intelligence. "So everything Zero owns, minus the island, is worth about 13 and a half trillion Yen."
Joey froze. "Tri... tri... trillion? Are you serious!?"
"It's a Willy Wonka prize. If you win the tournament, everything that belongs to Zero becomes yours." Henry finished his water. "Assuming he's telling the truth. Which I doubt. Nobody gives away a fortune just for winning a tournament."
Joey seemed on the verge of a heart attack, and he was drooling like a puppy dog. "13 trillion Yen... I... I think I'm going to die right here. Somebody pinch me."
Belle jumped at the chance. "Come 'ere, dawgy!" Joey saved himself from Belle's pouncing just in time, much to her dismay.
"There's a few catches," Henry said, standing up. "Only the first place winner gets the prize. Everyone else gets nothing – not even a parting gift. And only four people will be able to enter the Castle before it's sealed again. After that, only they will have a chance to win the prize."
"Four people, eh?" Joey re-read the page, again and again. "Wait, this thing says we just have to get to the end. Don't we have to duel Zero to win?"
"No. He's just the tournament liaison. And the source of the prize, if it's for real. The main way to win is to be one of the four people who get into the Castle, then beat the other three before they find the Star Road." Henry reached into his pocket and pulled out a 500-Yen coin. "Is this enough for the water?"
Belle winked. "Oh, it's on me Sugar. Don't worry 'bout it."
Henry bowed politely. "Thank you very much. Bye!" He waved to Belle and walked out. "See you later, Joey. I have to find out who my camera guy is."
"Hey, wait up!" Joey ran after the boy, booklet in hand. "You gotta tell me the rest of the rules~!" Henry sighed. He'd picked up a new friend, whether he wanted to or not.
--
[Sunrise...]
Joey watched the sun peek over the mountains on the eastern side of the island. The sun's rise was the signal for the tournament to begin. And since a major part of this tournament's battle system involved the environment you fought on, Joey had to find a place that would work well with his Warrior monsters. And that meant exploring the places around North Point before he ran into some with a deck at a Level above his own. "Alright! I'm ready! How 'bout you?"
Henry stared uneasily at a flying Tentomon holding a video camera. It was holographic like the rest of the town's inhabitants, but it was surprisingly life-like... and had a bizarre personality to boot. "I don't think I'm going to get used to this."
"Come on, don't be that way!" the digimon insect buzzed. "Now show me some love! The world is watching you!" He zoomed left and right, trying to get the perfect angle with his camera. Henry just stared in utter amazement at the creature.
"I don't think anyone can get used to that." Joey checked his Duel Ark one last time, and activated its mapping function with the touch of a button. An image appeared in front of him, and he studied it carefully. It was a simple, unmarked map of Monster Island in its entirety. The only marked part of the map was North Point, which Joey highlighted by pushing that spot on the holographic map. The map zoomed in, and North Point's locations were displayed and named. A "You Are Here" marker appeared at the edge of the town map.
"Hey, there I am!" Joey snickered. "Man, I love this techno-stuff. Now all I need is for it to make peanut butter sandwiches, and I'm set for life!"
"No offense Joey, but do we have to travel together?" Henry asked. "I'd rather work alone."
Joey sweatdropped. "Listen kid. I promise I'll go my own way once I'm sure I have the rules down pat. I really don't wanna screw this up. There's 13 trillion Yen waiting for me."
"Wonderful, a match made in heaven!" Tentomon cheered, zooming with his wings and his camera lens. "Duelist and Tamer, working as one for the ultimate prize! We can do a human interest story with this!"
A vein bulged on Henry's forehead. "I wonder how many Hit Points you have, Tentomon." He reached for a card in his Duel Ark.
"Sorry, but I'm IN-VIN-CIBLE!" the bug cheered. "I will record your adventures until the very end! MWA-HA-HA-HA!"
Henry gave up. He'd just have to get used to the irritating creature. "I guess we'd better get going. The tournament's starting, and people are going to be looking for the nearest Dungeon."
"Right. Let's get going!" Joey marched down the dirt road leading out of town, with Henry following slowly. Tentomon hovered around the boy, spouting all kinds of dramatic nonsense about "our heroes' journey beginning".
Joey glanced down at his Duel Ark, curious about its abilities. "Hey Henry? You think these things will work even if we're not fighting?"
That was a good question, Henry noted. "I... don't know. Maybe we should test it."
"Good!" Joey pulled a card from the middle of his deck and read its name out loud. "Red Eyes Black Dragon!" He placed the card in the Active Slot, and the Duel Ark did the rest. An image of Red Eyes's card appeared, then from the card appeared the monster itself, in full 3D. The creature walked beside Joey, stomping along as if it did this every day.
Joey was giddy at his Red Eyes' appearance. "This is so awesome! I've got a pet dragon!" His dragon snorted, kicking up dirt on the road.
Henry frowned. "So it does work. Maybe... I can do that too." He pulled his deck from his Duel Ark, and sifted through the cards until he found the one he wanted. He slid Terriermon's card into the appropriate slot, and replaced his deck. Terriermon walked next to his player, and Tentomon recorded the scene eagerly.
"...Terriermon?" Henry whispered. The digimon looked up, but his expression had no spark of life. He was like a robot, awaiting its next order. "Can you speak?" Terriermon shook his head. He growled like a chihuahua, revealing to Henry the only sounds he could make. The player frowned in disappointment.
"Can you think?"
The digimon nodded. Henry's Duel Ark revealed the Battle Strategy menu, where a player could input suggested plan's of action into their monsters for later use. It was a round-a-bout way of saying that Terriermon could think because of his Battle AI. His mind was designed for fighting.
Henry sighed. "Then... you probably don't know who I am, do you." The digimon nodded in agreement.
Joey was staring oddly at the scene. "Dude. You know these cards ain't real, don't ya?"
Henry sighed. "I guess you don't know who I used to be."
"Should I?" Joey's dragon snorted at a passing chipmunk. The animal fainted at the sight of the massive dragon. "Are you famous?"
"I'm one of the Digimon Tamers," Henry explained. "A few months ago, we were just players of the card game like everyone else. Then we became involved with a secret organization called Hypnos and another world filled with real monsters. I became the tamer of a real Terriermon."
"Real monsters?" Joey murmured. He remembered how Yugi became involved with Pegasus. After that, Duel Monsters wasn't just a game anymore. Those monsters could become real too.
"Terriermon was forced to go back home after we faced the D-Reaper. You had to have heard about it. It came this close to destroying the entire human race."
"D-Reaper?" Joey tried to remember. "Oh yeah... I remember that thing. It made all that purple goop go into the streets and screw up all the machines in the city. I was with my sister at the time. We couldn't leave the house for hours."
"My friends and I helped defeat it." Henry looked at the holographic Terriermon. It was ignoring the conversation just like the Red Eyes was. "But we lost our best friends as a result. Access to the Digital World is now controlled and restricted by Hypnos, and the program we installed with the Red Card."
Joey didn't understand what all that meant, but he figured it was something he shouldn't ask about. "I don't watch the news, so I guess I never heard about you or your friends."
Tentomon snickered. "Oh, this is great stuff. Government organizations and other worlds!"
Henry balked; he'd forgotten that he was being recorded. "Hey, can't you edit that out? Those are sort of secret."
"Sort of? Doesn't sound like you're sure."
"They used to be secret," Henry explained. "I'm not sure if they are now."
"Secret or not, the world already saw it! We're live, Henry-boy!"
Henry sighed. "...Great." He waved at the camera. "Hi Suzy. Your big brother's an idiot."
Joey leaped at Henry, giving the boy's neck a bear hug as he flashed a "V for Victory" sign at the camera. "Hiya Sis! Joey's on TV! And I'm going to win 13 trillion Yen! And if any of you ladies out there would like to be my wife, please send your name, age, and phone number to Joey Wheeler by express mail!"
Tentomon frowned as his camera light went off. "Oops. Looks like they transferred to another camera. Pooh."
Henry breathed a sigh of relief. He thought he would be on camera the entire time he was on the island. "I guess you can take a break until the next time the camera comes on."
"I'll be watching you guys," Tentomon said. "In the meantime, good luck! And try to be more dramatic! Go find a girl to swoon over or something!" Tentomon disappeared into Henry's Duel Ark, leaving the two humans and their monsters alone on the dirt road.
Some time passed as Joey and Henry explored the region. They traveled the dirt road for an hour or so, until they came to a vast meadow that their Arks identified as the Sunny Vale. The meadow had no trees or buildings to obstruct the noon sun, while explained its name. It was a bright, beautiful day and the perfect setting to enjoy a picnic in. It also happened to be the best place for Warrior-type monsters to battle in.
"Let's look around here," Henry said. "If we can find another player, we can beat them in a battle and win a copy of their map."
"Or we could find one of them Dungeon places here too." Joey stretched his back and yawned. "Or we could find a good place to nap."
Henry groaned. "You'll never win the prize by napping."
Joey shook his head, getting rid of the sleepiness there. "You're right! I have to hang tough and kick some butt! Otherwise I'll never get into the final area!" Joey pointed towards the center of the Vale. "Red Eyes, fly up high and look for some people or some buildings!"
The dragon leaped into the air and flew higher with some effort. Joey ran into the Vale, keeping an eye on his dragon. Henry wondered how Joey could be so lazy one moment, then so determined the next, and so dumb the rest of the time. He was like an older Takato.
"Just my luck I'd get paired with a teenage goggle boy," Henry mused. "While he's doing that, I think I'll check on Suzy." Henry reached for his cell phone, when he heard what sounded like a girl crying. It was coming from the road nearby. He told Terriermon to follow, and they walked to the road to check it out.
Jeri was sitting on a rock, crying into her hands. She was cradling what appeared to be a Calumon. It looked like the digimon had been through a battle, because his body was covered in cuts and bruises. Henry made no move to approach her.
Jeri looked up, tears still in her eyes. "Henry... oh, I'm so glad you're here. I can't find Takato. And another player attacked me and tried to hurt me. And... and..." She returned to her sobbing.
Henry crossed his arms. "You shouldn't have put a Duel Ark on then."
Jeri stopped crying. She was shocked at his callousness. "But... it looked so real. Calumon... he looks just like my old Calumon." Jeri stared down at the lifeless creature, and held it close to her heart. "I want my Takato. I don't want to be by myself."
Henry slowly drew cards from the top of his deck. "And I'm guessing you want me to take you someplace safe, like some spot you saw in the forest or whatever."
Jeri was petrified by his behavior. "Henry..."
"Don't bother." Henry drew four cards to go with his Terriermon, completing his starting hand. "You goofed on the whole Jeri Katou act. She never treated Calumon as "her" Calumon. But everyone whose seen the news about the Tamers thought that Calumon was her partner. Obviously, you made the same error."
Jeri glowered. "...*@&#. And I went to so much trouble, too. I knew her mannerisms like the back of my hand." Jeri stood up, and the unconscious Calumon opened its eyes with ease. "Oh well. I guess I'll have to do this quickly, before that other kid comes back and ruins my ambush." Jeri tossed the Calumon into the air, and its features melted like jelly just before it splashed to the ground. The puddle of jelly pulled itself together, becoming a small and purple mass of goo, with two black dots for eyes.
"Is that... a Ditto?" Henry said, surprised. "That's a Pokemon!"
'Jeri' greeted Henry's shock with a disturbing grin. "I am a Ditto trainer. I'm a master of disguise, and above all I'm a master of turning my opponent's powers against them. And, I've been practicing at becoming a master of ruining other people's reputations!"
"What?" Henry wasn't sure what she meant, but it was apparent she wanted to battle. She drew four cards to go with Ditto, and the Duel Arks activated their Life Point counters automatically. Only this time, the readout was different.
** Ditto's HP: 3664 || Terriermon's HP: 2000 **
--
[Game Note -- "Partner Battles": Several styles of battling are supported in Monster Duel EX. For Partner Battles, each player starts the match with their "Partner Card" already in play. The battle is fought until one Partner Card's hit points are reduced to 0, or the Partner Card is permanently removed from play. The winner of a Partner Battle has the right to take the loser's Partner Card as a prize.]
[Terriermon: ATK 1750 , DEF 1150 , SPD 42.]
[Duplica Imite's Ditto: ATK 1677 , DEF 1677, SPD 17. Special Effect – Transform.]
--
"Let's get the play under way," the fake Jeri said. On cue, the Tentomon camera-bug appeared and started filming the match. The match would be seen by the entire world. Just as the camera activated, Jeri slashed a card and transformed her Ditto into a cute mouse digimon called Chuumon. [1550 / 950, SPD 40]
"H-Henry, I'll teach you for touching my privates like that!" the fake Jeri shouted, using Jeri's trembling voice. "And I don't care how scary you are! I'll find out what you did to my Takato!"
"What the heck are you talking about!?" Henry snapped. "Quit pretending to be Jeri, you psycho!"
"Oh, this is good!" Tentomon cheered. "Henry Wong and Jeri Katou, going at it in the first official Partner Battle of the tournament! Will Henry lose his prized Terriermon, or will Jeri have to part ways with her rare Chuumon card? We'll just have to wait and see, folks!"
Jeri's registered in the tournament? Henry didn't know that Jeri was going to battle. He thought she was just coming along to watch and promote. Then again, Henry was pretty sure that the Tentomon was just assuming that Jeri was a competitor. He thought Jeri's partner was Chuumon, when this girl's partner was actually Ditto. Tentomon was as fallible as a real person was. But that was bad for Henry – Tentomon's attempts to spice up the battle would only help this girl make him look bad.
"I hope this works," the fake Jeri said without confidence. She clumsily slashed a card. "Digivolution! Chuumon, digivolve to Doggymon!"
Henry couldn't just let her get away with it, but right now he had no choice. If he wanted to stay in the tournament, he'd need Terriermon. He had to fight back, and worry about preserving his reputation once he was in control of the field. "Terriermon, attack!"
Terriermon's mouth opened wide as a globe of focused energy erupted from it. His 'Bunny Blast' attack slammed into the digivolving monster, only to have no effect on the stronger Doggymon. [2300 / 1750, SPD 13]
Doggymon rushed forward and chomped at Terriermon, who nimbly dodged the attack. Terriermon jumped onto the creature's back and used another Bunny Blast at point-blank range, but all it succeeded in doing was knock Terriermon off the creature. Doggymon pounced at the other digimon, but against Terriermon was too fast. The two monsters chased each other around the field, but there was little either of them could do. Terriermon was way too fast, and Doggymon's defense was way too high.
"You're going to be in big trouble when I tell my daddy what you did to me!" the fake Jeri shouted. Obviously, the camera got every word of it. "And Takato is going to be mad too!"
Henry decided it was best not to respond for now. This girl said she'd been practicing for this, so she could probably turn anything he said against him. For now, he just had to fight and find a way to prove that she was a liar. He slashed one of the cards in his hand and prepared for his counterattack. "Accessory Pack Omega!"
A Terriermon-sized armor suit encased the little digimon to protect him, and he was even given a laser gun to power up his attack. [== 2275 / 1495] Henry ordered the digimon to blast Doggymon, but the fake Jeri had a card waiting.
"This one!" she shouted as she slashed. Then, she realized she said it wrong and revealed it to be "Firewall". The laser attack was blocked by an invisible data barrier. Henry knew she was faking it. She was trying to look inexperienced, since you'd expect a girl like Jeri to be inexperienced. Tentomon, of course, was eating it up.
"Aaa-mazing folks! Jeri is giving it her all against Henry and his Terrier of Terror! Its beauty versus the beast in an all-out struggle for victory!"
Henry sweatdropped. Tentomon didn't seem to care about his supposed assault on Jeri's body. He was just programmed to record the battle and try to make it more exciting for the viewers back home. Henry was sure his parents didn't believe the accusations, but Jeri's father was another story. Takato claimed that man had anger problems when it came to boys and his daughter.
But now was not the time to worry about that. Henry had to reveal this girl for the faker she was. And the key to doing that might be in her deck.
Henry briskly slashed an Option card. "Data Search! Bring Leomon to her hand!" The card activated the Auto-Shuffler program in the fake Jeri's Duel Ark, but the deck wasn't manipulated in the slightest. Henry's Ark displayed a simple message, and the card's effect ended.
"...There's no Leomon card in your deck," Henry said. "Surprising, seeing as how that's your favorite card and all."
This caught the fake Jeri off guard. As Henry had pointed out before, Calumon was not Jeri's favorite digimon or her Partner card. What the fake Jeri didn't know was that Leomon was the digimon that Jeri truly loved. Henry had purposefully pointed out to her that Leomon should be in the real Jeri's deck. Now she'd have to bluff her way through explaining why it wasn't.
"I just decided not to bring him with me!" she said quickly. "I've gotten better cards!"
Henry snickered. "Really? And I always thought you loved that Leomon card more than anything. The real Jeri Katou always has Leomon's card with her, even when she's not playing the game."
The fake Jeri was silent. She still couldn't comprehend why the real Jeri would love a Leomon card so much. Henry decided to enlighten her. "Leomon was your Partner before he died. Remember?"
Her eyes widened. "Oh... um... that is... of course I know that! But that's not important right now! The fact that you touched me and took Takato is more important than some silly card!"
"Tell me... how did Leomon die?" Henry asked. "I'm sure you remember. It was a really painful moment for you."
"Quit changing the subject!" the fake Jeri shouted again. She was starting to forget herself and yell in an uncharacteristic manner. Perfect.
"Come on, you can answer it. If you tell me how he died, then I'll give up the battle and go quietly to the authorities, or whatever." Henry smiled lightly. "But if you get it wrong, you have to admit that you're lying. Just because you look and sound like Jeri, doesn't mean you are Jeri. Jeri is my friend and I'd never hurt her! And as much as I hate to say it, the real Jeri would never attack me even if I'd done something horrible to her. She's not a violent person. That's what caused all the trouble with the D-Reaper in the first place."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said. "I know who I am, and I know how I act! You did bad things to me and took Takato too, and I'll do anything to get him back!"
"Just answer the question," Henry pressured her. "Or accept the fact that you're a liar."
The fake Jeri dropped the Firewall and went on the offensive. Her face was filled with rage; she knew she'd been beaten. "Attack you worthless digimon!!" Doggymon pounced on Terriermon, who again dodged the attack and fired away with his laser gun. Doggymon fell back as he was damaged by the attack and had the wind knocked out of him. [Ditto's HP: 3664 == 3139]
Doggymon's image shimmered, becoming a different color for a brief second as Ditto's control over its form wavered. Tentomon caught this on camera, and was shocked by it. "Wowzers! That Digimon must be berry-flavored, because I swear it just turned purple!"
"That's not a Digimon!" Henry shouted. "That's a Ditto! And she's not Jeri Katou!"
The fake Jeri growled. If Henry hadn't mentioned the name Ditto, she could have bluffed her way through the color change. Now it was only a matter of time before the audience realized the truth. She failed to black-mark the boy, but maybe she could still beat him on national television and reveal those Tamers for the fakers they were.
"You Tamers are a farce!" the girl shouted. "And I, Duplica Imite, am going to prove it! Ditto, transform!!" Ditto changed shape, dropping its form of a Doggymon to become a Terriermon like Henry's! The only difference was that her Terriermon had Ditto's beady eyes, as opposed to the real Terriermon's chocolate-shaped ones.
"Ditto, power up!!" Duplica ordered. She slashed a Super Energy card, which dramatically increased the power of her fake Terriermon! [== 2450 / 1610]
Duplica's monster attacked Henry's Terriermon with a Bunny Blast, and scored a direct hit that shattered the Omega armor protecting him! Terriermon's hit points dropped from 2000 to 1045, and Henry was worried for the first time that he might lose this battle. He had to take Terriermon's power to the next level to have any hope of beating Ditto.
Henry slashed a Digivolution card, and Terriermon digivolved into his Champion form. The tiny, big-eared dog became as tall as a man and twice as wide. He acquired two gun-arms for weapons, and a pair of blue jeans for clothes. Along with the physical change, his digimon's power increased as well. Terriermon was now Gargomon. [2150 / 1950, SPD 28]
Gargomon is still weaker than Ditto! Henry realized with a shock. And Ditto is much faster than him too! Duplica grinned from ear-to-ear, as she realized the same thing.
"Ditto, use Bunny Blaster! Rapid fire him to death!!" Her Terriermon clone fired a quick series of green energy blasts from its mouth, each one slamming into Gargomon full force. Henry had to dive out of the way as Gargomon flew backwards from the sheer force of Ditto's attack. The Champion was down, and he wasn't bouncing back up. That attack had really been tough. [T's HP: 1045 == 45]
"I told you!" Duplica shouted to the camera. "Those kids from Shinjuku are nothing but a pack of liars! The D-Reaper was beaten by Pokemon Trainers, NOT by some wannabes! And soon the entire world will give us Trainers the respect we deserve!"
Henry stood up and tried to figure out what to do. Duplica would resume her attack the moment her Ditto regained its energy. He had to act fast. With the press of a button, he dedigivolved his Gargomon into a Terriermon again.
Duplica smiled prettily. That was only because Jeri's smile was pretty, even on the face of a girl like Duplica. "You giving up, hot shot?"
"No. I'm just going to see if you'll flap your mouth when you're fighting a Mega." Henry revealed his Warp Digivolution card, and slashed it with all his might.
Terriermon faded away into his card form, which floated higher into the air as the ground started to rumble. Terriermon's card cracked as something of awesome power awoke within it. In seconds, the holographic card image erupted and released a massive mecha that had too many armaments to count. Mega Gargomon landed firmly on the field, and stared down at the incredibly tiny Terriermon at his feet. Ditto sweatdropped, and ran behind its player. Duplica would have ordered it to stop that, but she was too busy staring at the huge robot dog in front of her. [3300 / 3300, SPD 12]
"...Okay, now where were we." Henry focused his eyes on the Ditto cowering behind Duplica. "Oh yeah, that's right. I was about to offer you a chance to give up."
"No way!" Duplica growled back. "Ditto, transform! Become Mega Gargomon!"
Henry balked as the pokemon expanded at an incredible rate. The Terriermon form stretched and morphed until it ripped away like paper. Ditto became a copy of Mega Gargomon, with black armor instead of green. The transformation forced Ditto to lose his Super Energy, meaning that the two monsters were equal in power and speed.
"Mega Gargomon, attack!!" Henry shouted. Duplica made the same order to Ditto. Ditto pounded away at Mega Gargomon, forcing him back until it kicked him into a tree. The tree bent and shattered under the force of the hologram.
Mega Gargomon counterattacked by revealing several dozen missile ports, and unleashing a storm of missiles that slammed into Ditto and knocked it to the ground. Duplica and Henry barely made it off the road in time to avoid being smooshed. Neither of them knew whether or not the holograms could actually kill them, but they did know that the holograms were snapping trees in half. So it was better to assume that they could. There were no safety systems when it came to Kaiba Corp technologies.
They have equal ATK and DEF ratings, so this'll just keep going on forever unless we start slashing cards, Henry thought. But she's sure to have more tricks up her sleeve. She might be waiting for me to use a card on Mega Gargomon. Henry looked across the field at Duplica, who gave him a snotty glare in return. I'd better risk it.
** Card Slash Sequence **
"Modify!! Aether Wings, activate!!"
Duplica and Tentomon watched in awe as Mega Gargomon underwent a startling transformation. His bulky green armor was replaced by sleek, white, and almost organic armor. His comical dog face was changed into a white-furred greyhound muzzle, designed to look like an ancient animal god. A pair of white wings appeared from the digimon's back. Feathers swirled around Henry and Duplica as the transformation was completed.
"Let's see if your Ditto can copy that," Henry challenged. [Saint Gargomon: 3800 / 3500]
"Ditto, transform!" Duplica ordered quickly. The Ditto tried to copy the new form, but failed to copy the new form. Duplica told it to try again, but again it failed. "I... I don't understand! What did you do to my baby!"
"Nothing. Ditto just can't copy a monster if they didn't change by evolving," Henry informed her. "Mega Gargomon didn't digivolve – his hidden power was simply revealed by the Aether Wings card. And your Ditto's special abilities can't simulate the effects of that card. So you can't copy Saint Gargomon's powers."
Duplica growled. "FINE! Then I'll just wipe out your damn monster with the power of Pokemon! Super Energy, activate!!" Duplica slashed another Super Energy card, powering up her Ditto to epic proportions. [== ATK 4620 / DEF 4620] "ATTACK!!"
Ditto unleashed all his missiles on the enemy monster, burying it under a storm of explosions. When the smoke cleared, Saint Gargomon was still floating there. Duplica couldn't believe it. There wasn't even a scratch on him... even though his Defense was too low to block the attack. "That's impossible..."
"Saint Rune," Henry said calmly. Saint Gargomon held up his hand, and a port opened in his palm. The sound of a weapon activating could be heard, and a beam of white hot light erupted from the digimon's hand. The beam cut through Mega Gargomon's armor like it was butter, and incinerated the massive mecha. Ditto fell to the earth in his normal form, unconscious and defeated. [Ditto's HP: 0]
Duplica couldn't believe what just happened. It all happened so fast. How could he have defeated her so easily? "No..."
"Now, admit it." Henry said. He looked irritated, which scared Duplica. Was he going to punish her? "Admit that you're not Jeri Katou. Just to finalize it."
Duplica sighed, and bowed her head. "I am not Jeri Katou. You didn't attack me. I don't know where Takato Matsuki or the real Jeri are... so they aren't captured."
"...Good." Henry held out his hand. "Now, give me your Ditto card."
"No!" she whimpered, clutching her Duel Ark close to her heart. "I can't! That card is holding my only friend in the whole world! If you take his card, I won't be able to put him back in his pokeball." Duplica looked at Henry with tears in her eyes – they look just like they had before, when she was pretending to be Jeri. "Please..."
Henry motioned with his hand. "Give me the card."
Duplica slowly reached into her Duel Ark, and pulled out Ditto's card. She looked at it, sniffled, and handed the card to Henry. "...There. Take him, you jerk."
Henry read the card's text. "Hmm, so it was a Water monster. I guess that makes sense." He tossed the card at Duplica's feet, and walked towards the edge of the road where the meadow lay. "Thanks."
Duplica looked at Ditto's card, and slowly picked it up. She looked at Henry as he left, shock in her eyes. Saint Gargomon disappeared as Henry slid his partner's card back into his deck.
He... let me keep Ditto, even after what I did. Overcome with joy, Duplica clutched the card to her chest and continued to cry, but out of happiness. And of course, Tentomon got it all on camera.
"A humbling ending to an incredible match," Tentomon whispered as he brought his transmission to a close. The camera's red light turned off, indicating he was off the air. He left Duplica where she was, and rushed after Henry to disappear into his Duel Ark as the mega digimon had moments before.