Takato put on the Duel Arc, while at the same time covering his nudity with embarassment. Although Jeri was nice enough to turn her head while Takato stood and moved around, it was still embarassing to think that Takato was naked while Jeri was only a few feet away.
"So I'm supposed to think about clothes, and this thing will make clothes for me?" Takato asked again.
Jeri gulped down her excitement. Takato was really alive! She could hardly contain her joy. "Yes, I think so. Rika did it once, and the clothes she made haven't disappeared yet."
"Okay..." Takato had no idea what led to Rika's discovery, but frankly the boy was glad she did. There wasn't a department store for miles, and apparently all of Takato's clothes were in a morgue somewhere. Takato really didn't want to go look at his own dead body. If the body was still there.
Takato closed his eyes and imagined his preferred clothes. He imagined the goggles that his dad gave him when Takato first became obsessed with Digimon. He imagined his favorite blue shirt with the tiny hood dangling from the back of the neck. He imagined his gray shorts that fell all the way to his knees. Finally, he pictured his socks and shoes, complete with the scuffs incurred from months of running and playing.
A soft light enveloped Takato, covering his body like a blue silk blanket. The light flowed over him for a few moments before solidifying into the wardrobe Takato had pictured. Each piece of clothing appeared in turn, as if the process of creation was more methodical than it seemed. Takato's goggles were the last piece of clothing to manifest.
"Wow... that's so cool!" Takato adored his new clothes with pride and fondled his goggles to make sure they were real. "How'd I do that?"
Jeri turned around and smiled. "Magic. The same way Guilmon and you were saved."
Guilmon sat nearby, quietly watching the scene. He was still a little confused about where he was, and how long he'd been gone. As far as the digimon knew, he'd only been separated from Takato for a few moments.
Takato looked at the Duel Arc. The device seemed to sparkle as if it were made of the purest metal ever. He didn't think that these gadgets were magical, but after what just happened he couldn't put the possibility aside.
Jeri walked to where Joey lay and checked the cut on his head. The bleeding had stopped, but not before painting almost half of Joey's face. Jeri looked around for something that she could clean the boy's face with, but there wasn't anything but grassy earth and trees.
"Who's that?" Takato asked, looking at the unconscious teenager.
"His name is Joey Wheeler. He's a Duelist and a friend." Jeri frowned as she stroked a few strands of hair from Joey's face. "He was injured while trying to save you."
"Was he hurt badly?" Takato walked over and sat beside Jeri.
"The cut was deep, but it was in his forehead. So I don't think it's serious. I just feel bad about it. Like it's my fault he was hurt."
Takato put a hand on Jeri's. "It's not. If it's anyone's fault, it's mine. I was the one who was-"
Takato didn't finish the sentence when he saw Jeri's face. She looked like she wanted to cry, but she was holding her tears back.
"What I mean to say is, it's not your fault."
Jeri stared at Joey intently. She remembered her partner, Leomon, who claimed that Jeri had a lion's heart. Then she remembered Joey smiling at her, and saying that she had more strength than she realized. Both messages reverberated in her mind.
"...It's Zero's fault. And he's the one who should pay for what happened to you."
Takato felt Jeri's hand trembling. Was it fear that made her shake like that? Or was it anger?
--
[Crystal Castle || Main Hall]
Sakura opened her eyes and met Mokuba's gaze. The black-haired boy had a concerned look that Sakura felt was for her. The robot felt more eyes on her. She looked to either side of her, and saw a teenager with multicolored hair looking at her as well. There were other children surveying the area and making plans for their next move. Sakura recognized everyone there from memory - though whether it was her own memory, or the memory of her robot body, was difficult to tell.
"Capu-kun... what's going on?" Sakura sat up slowly, with Mokuba's aid.
"You were being controlled by your Dueling AI program. Apparently, the programming was stronger than I had anticipated. I didn't think your combat program would be in communication with Zero's computer system."
Sakura looked away guiltily. "I'm sorry for whatever I've done. Please don't be mad at me."
"Nobody's mad at you," Yugi said from nearby. He was busy resetting his Duel Arc. "From what Mokuba has told us, you sound like a very nice person when you're not in a fight."
Sakura blushed. "Thank you. I've always preferred skating and cheerleading to fighting."
Ash folded up his Pokedex and slid it into his jeans pocket. "There's still static everywhere, so I can't make a map of the area. And it looks like our Arcs don't have a map of the area either."
"Or the map is protected," Henry suggested. "Our best bet is to pick a door and go through it. Splitting up is probably a bad idea. There's no telling what - or who - we'll find next."
"Can you walk?" Mokuba asked Sakura.
Sakura wiggled her knees a bit. "I could do backflips, if you wanted me to." Mokuba smiled and helped the girl to her feet.
Yugi surveyed the main hall once again. There was a double stairway that curled around and met at the second floor, where there were half-a-dozen unmarked doors. Beneath the stairway was a marble hall that led into another section of the castle. Standing at the base of the stairway was a statue of a Pharaoh, made of what looked like solid gold. The walls were decorated with artwork in styles ranging from Egyptian, to European, to purely CGI, and even fusions of all the above. Some of the pictures even moved, like they were TV screens rather than art.
"To continue, or not to continue? That is the question," Yugi murmured. "In any RPG game, you have to figure out how far you can go before you meet that boss that you can't beat."
"I'm not turning back," Ash said evenly.
"We've already beaten Zero once," Henry said. "He couldn't have gained much power in such a short time."
"You're forgetting something," Rika added. "This isn't like one of our bio-emerging Wild Digimon. All Zero has to do is find stronger cards, and he can double his power in minutes."
"He doesn't use cards, but he does rely on tablets to summon monsters," Sakura said from her memory. "I don't understand it completely, but he has a lot of tablets stored somewhere that he summons his powers from. And he has to use his own power to summon them. In the event of a tablet's destruction, the powers associated with that tablet are lost forever."
Yugi's Millennium Puzzle flashed slightly. "...Just like in Egypt. A summoner's power decides what he can summon."
"Which brings us back to square one," Henry finished. "He couldn't have gotten much stronger since our last battle. And if I remember correctly, he lost quite a few tablets while fighting Joey and me. With all of us fighting, there's no way he can win."
Mokuba frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not so sure. Although Sakura is beyond his power now, Zero may still have a contingency plan."
"And Jeri is still vulnerable," Yugi said. "Even with Takato and Joey guarding her."
At that, the other Tamers looked over in surprise.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rika griped. "I'm all for guardian angels and hopeful wishes, but Takato's dead. He can't protect her."
"Takato's alive," Yugi said. "I think. It's hard to explain."
"Try real hard," Rika snapped. "Because all I need is an excuse to hurt you, right now. I don't care how much older you are than me, I don't like you and I don't trust you."
"Rika!" Henry said firmly. Rika ignored the boy.
Yugi replied after a moment of recollection. "Before we left En'Dal, I gave Joey a few cards that would allow him to save Takato, provided certain things happened. I expected Zero would send Takato's Ka after us, because if I wanted to hurt my enemy's morale, I'd do the same thing. If everything went according to plan, Joey should have revived Takato and his partner."
Rika eyed him skeptically. "What makes you think all that happened? You were incapacitated by Sakura like the rest of us. And since we've woken up, you haven't left the room."
Yugi gulped. "Like I said, I don't know for sure. But Sakura's other self led me to believe that was the case."
"Led you to believe? You were unconscious!!" Rika grabbed Yugi's collar and lifted him as high as she could. "You're either an insensitive jerk with a poor sense of humor, or you're hiding something! Which is it!"
"Rika, stop it!" Henry shouted. "We don't have time for this!"
Ash, Mokuba, and Sakura watched quietly with varying levels of concern. The pokemon trainer seemed more concerned about what was up ahead, as well as the images on the walls. Something about them seemed... 'patterned'.
"We already know you're a killer, Yugi Muto!" Rika shouted. She remembered the article concerning Panik, and what Ryo had told her. "Are you a double agent too? Have you and that Kaiba guy been working with Zero all along?"
"Seto is not the bad guy!" Mokuba shouted indignantly. "He's my brother, and I know he wouldn't do anything bad unless there was a really good reason for it!"
"Yeah, sure," Rika snapped. "I've heard boys and their 'good reasons' often enough."
"Why do you hate Duelists so much!?" Mokuba yelled.
"Capu-kun, don't!" Sakura was afraid that this argument would turn into a fight.
Yugi wasn't sure what to do. And as Rika's anger continued to grow, so did his helplessness. How could he tell her the truth without revealing Yami's presense? If the others knew that Yugi had a dark spirit inside him that was similar to Zero, they would trust him even less. And he wanted their trust.
Henry ran up and broke the stranglehold Rika had on the short teenager. Henry held the girl's wrist tightly and forced her into an armlock that hurt the more the victim struggled. "Enough!!"
Rika struggled instinctively, but doing so only enhanced the pain in her arm. Finally, she stopped fighting and started to breathe deeply. Henry waited patiently until he felt the tension in the tamer's body fade to almost nothing. Only then did Henry let Rika go.
"I don't trust him," Rika said flatly.
"I know. After what I just heard, I'm not sure what's going on either. But right now, I'm more concerned about finding Zero and dealing with him before he has time to gather his strength and catch us by surprise." Henry looked around at everyone. "So let's drop this for now."
Mokuba frowned a bit, but nodded in agreement. Yugi gave a similar sign of agreement.
"Rika?" Henry said firmly. "You okay with that?"
"I guess so." Rika turned and walked over towards one of the stairways and sat on the steps. She looked very displeased.
"I think the pictures above these doors are sort of like signs," Ash said from the second floor. "Two pictures are for Digimon, one is for Pokemon, and the other three look like they're from the other games."
Sakura looked up and scanned each picture, one-by-one. "Those particular pictures are of Magna Angemon, Venom Myotismon, the Dark Legendary Pokemon called Lasombra, Blue Eyes White Dragon, Dark Magician, and... my Hope card." Sakura reached into her dress and pulled out a card with a heart on it, labeled HOPE.
"What do the pictures mean?" Henry wondered. "I'd venture a guess and say that the pictured monsters are inside each room."
"That's impossible," Sakura said quickly. "I am the only person on the island with Clow Cards."
"So, there are no other players of the Cardcaptor game on the island?"
"No," Mokuba said. "The game itself is very old, and very outdated. The cards are produced by Kaiba Corp and Industrial Illusions for the older generations who still know about the game. Sakura has a unique set of Clow Cards that were said to belong to the game's creator, a British game developer and mystic named Clow Reed."
"Which means what?" Yugi asked.
Mokuba considered what he was about to say. It seemed like it was difficult for him to say. "During our initial testing of the Duel Arc systems, we discovered that Sakura's cards were the only cards that reacted to the Mini Cyber manifestation system. It was like her cards were special somehow."
Henry was intrigued by this. "So no other Clow Cards would work?"
"No copies of the original set would work," Mokuba replied. "Sakura's set is the original, as far as I know."
Yugi considered that. "If that's the case, then why do our cards work? These can't be the original copies."
Mokuba shook his head. "During the testing, we discovered that certain cards only worked with certain people using the Duel Arc. It's as if the card and the person had to be synchronized. Only people that were destined to use a particular card could make it work with the Duel Arc."
Yugi gasped slightly. He reached for the top of his deck and drew the Dark Magician. Does that mean that... the cards choose who can use them?
Up on the second floor, Ash waited for a response from the others.
"Does anyone have an idea as to what these doors mean?"
Sakura looked down the marble hallway beneath the stairs. "Zero's chambers are down that way. Those six rooms, according to my database, contain extreme challenges that can give you rare cards as rewards. 96% of the possible rewards are already possessed by members of our party."
"Then I guess we should be heading down that hallway," Henry said.
Ash and Rika joined the others, and the party made their way down the marble hall. The walls were lined with more artwork, each picture stranger than the last. Some of the images seemed to be monsters that were literally alive, swaying lightly through the picture and occasionally glancing at the group. It seemed like they would jump out of the picture at any moment.
"This gives me the creeps," Rika said as she eyed the pictures in turn. "There's enough artwork here to summon an army."
Sakura darted glances at each picture with wide eyes. She did her best to hide behind the shorter Mokuba. "You don't think they're gh-ghosts, do you?"
"Your database would be more likely to know than we would," Mokuba said with a light smile. Sakura sweatdropped.
"The pictures haven't done anything yet," Henry said. "They're probably just meant to scare us."
"They're doing a good job," Ash muttered. He kept his hands close to his pokebelt.
The six children stopped in front of a double door at the end of the hallway. The door was labeled with the eye of Ra, surrounded by symbols similar to the four Digimon Sovereigns, and further surrounded by the twelve symbols of the Devas. The absolute outside of the crest was a circle with four spikes at symmetrical points. It was like a glorified compass rose.
"Somehow I feel left out," Ash chortled. Rika smiled at his light-hearted comment.
"This room leads to Zero's base of operations," Sakura said. "The Eye of Ra... the center of the island. The computer my Dueling AI communicated with must be somewhere in here as well."
Henry ran a hand along the symbol, touching the glorified Eye situated in the center of the crest. "It's almost like a map." Henry touched the Sovereigns and Deva symbols in turn. "It reminds me of Azulongmon's description of the Digital World."
Yugi's Millennium Puzzle glowed, and Yami made a quick appearance. "The outer circle is reminiscent of the priests' depiction of the Shadow Realm. An all-encompassing barrier that contained the universe and all the souls born of it. And the Eye of Ra is a classic symbol of Egypt, the center of the universe."
"Egypt? Shadow Realm?" Henry echoed. "Care to explain?"
Yami remembered to keep his identity a secret. He had to pretend that he was still Yugi. It was a lot harder nowadays, as opposed to the very beginning, when Yugi and Yami were almost completely unaware of their true natures. "I learned about it from exhibits in Domino City's museum. The Shadow Realm is supposed to be a place in Egyptian religion where the souls of the dead are gathered, unless their heart is lighter than a feather. In which case they would continue with the Pharaoh into the new world."
Rika frowned. "You're really creepy, you know that Yugi? You act like you're an expert on death and evil."
Yami said nothing. He returned to the Millennium Puzzle and allowed Yugi to resume control.
"I don't care about legends and scary stories," Ash said as he touched the door handle. "I just want to defeat Zero and win this tournament according to the rules. Even if the tournament was a farce, I can't leave empty handed."
"Do what you like. Just make sure you remember what we're here for," Mokuba said. Ash nodded to the boy, and the trainer pushed the door open. The party entered the Eye of Ra, and the door slammed shut behind them.
The Eye of Ra was a sight to behold. The room's main feature was a massive computer terminal that dwarfed the players. The computer was overflowing with monitors, each projecting a different kind of graph, image, or database, but every monitor seemed to be unified in one task. Closer to the group was a glowing circle that illuminated a crest on the marble floor that looked the same as the crest on the door. The glow seemed to eminate from the ceiling a dozen meters above, where a long pathway of light extended into the heavens.
"This must be the computer," Sakura said with awe. She felt like she was in the presense of someone magnificent and divine - like Jesus or Buddha. "So much... power. I can feel the power of this computer's brain."
"You mean its processor," Rika said coldly.
"For Sakura, a processor and a brain are one in the same," Mokuba replied. The young Kaiba approached the computer terminal and examined the data flashing back and forth on the various monitors. "The computer seems to be analyzing battle data. Kaiba Corp used similar databases during Duelist Kingdom to keep track of who was dueling where, and what cards they were using."
Yugi frowned in remembrance. Kaiba must've used a computer system like this to hack into his game with Kaiba's ghost and helped Yami win. But what did this computer do? And why was it operating by itself?
Mokuba opened a command window and began typing commands in what appeared to be a very basic language. He hit the Enter key, but the computer responded with a buzzer noise and a message in red. "The computer is locked by a previous command. But I can't tell if the command was made by a user, or the computer itself."
"The computer itself?" Ash blinked. "You mean this thing can tell itself what to do?"
"It might. The design specs of this system are a lot like our Kaiba Corp database systems. They use semi-sentient AI's to monitor and organize data and act upon the data according to user-set rules. But I don't understand how a machine like this can be on Zero's island. Unless my brother gave him the design specifications for this too."
"Your brother gave me more than you can imagine," said a deep voice.
The party whipped around to see Zero basking in the light of the portal above. Everyone powered up their Duel Arcs and reached for the cards, like gunfighters waiting to draw their weapons. Zero did not react to their preparations.
"Welcome to my private chambers," Zero said. He looked straight at Yugi, who balked slightly. "I've been expecting you."
"Let the people on this island go," Henry ordered. "Trapping them here is illegal, and I'm sure that's not the only illegal thing you're doing."
"On the contrary, I haven't broken any laws," Zero replied confidently. "Every player on this island agreed to stay and play the game until a winner was decided. And that has not occured yet."
"Joey and I crushed you already. That should be enough of a victory."
Zero scowled at the memory of his defeat. "I assure you, that was an impressive feat. But defeating me is not the key to victory on this island. Read your rulebooks."
"We already have," Rika said. "But we doubt your sincerity in terms of the tournament. It's pretty obvious that all you want is our souls."
Zero smiled a bit. "It's not so simple. It's true that I want your Ka, and the Ka of the destructive entity you call Jeri. But I also needed a considerable amount of energy to accomplish my plans. And the only way to do that is by collecting the wasted energies generated by monsters in battle."
Yugi frowned. "So the whole point of this tournament was for us to fill up your batteries by fighting?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Zero slowly stepped forward, but made no move to attack. "Only with a suitable amount of data can I create Exodia. Much like the creation of your Digimon, I must gather the data necessary and infuse that data with the power of a Ka. But rather than use my own Ka like you Tamers did, I will use Jeri's Ka."
"That'll never happen!" Rika shouted. "We'll deal with you, once and for all!"
Zero chuckled. "So you're going to kill me? A law-abiding citizen, and a human to boot?"
"You're not human," Henry said with certainty. "You're data."
"That's all you know about me?" Zero taunted. "You haven't figured out the truth, yet? I'm disappointed. We can't begin the semifinals until you know the truth."
"Semifinals? Are you crazy?" Rika snapped. "You think we're going to listen to you anymore?"
"You will if you want to leave this island," Zero said. "Only be completing this tournament according to its rules can you free everyone trapped here in my corner of the Digital plane."
Yugi grimaced. A Shadow Game! That's what's keeping us here! Only by completing the game can we leave this realm!
"So killing you won't solve anything," Rika said with regret. "Great."
"Only when you know who and what I am will you understand what you must do to win," Zero said. He moved to the edge of the room, where a cushioned seat normally used in a study was placed, and sat down. "I will wait for your answer."
Henry sighed and powered down his arc. "Any bright ideas, guys?"
Ash folded his arms as he thought. "We know he's a bad guy. A good guy wouldn't trap people on an island against their will."
"We know he's after our spirits," Mokuba said. He looked at Sakura, who seemed worried by the whole situation. "Sakura was apparently redesigned by my brother Seto for the purpose of taking our 'Ka'."
Yugi felt a ping of thought at the mention of Seto. Something about Seto...
"We know he's offering a thirteen and a half trillion Yen prize to the winner of the tournament, along with the island and all assets associated with it," Rika chimed in. "So we know he's crazy, or a liar."
"And I'm leaning towards the latter," Henry said. "Nobody has thirteen trillion Yen to waste."
Sakura thought hard about the subject. "I wish I could help, but... I don't seem to have any data concerning Zero's origins. My Dueling AI seemed to only know what the Eye of Ra computer system revealed. Which isn't much."
"What did it reveal?" Mokuba asked. "Every little bit helps."
Sakura remembered what she knew. "Zero came to this island some time ago, and found the AI that fuels the Eye of Ra. This island is located in a flux point that connects to the Digital World, in a way sort of like the Bermuda Triangle. Anyone who comes in here will shift dimensions without realizing it."
"Which explains why we didn't notice the transfer into the Digital World until recently," Rika said. "But how did we get here? All paths to the Digital World were supposed to be blocked by a lethal barrier."
"The 'Red Shift' barrier you speak of has been modified by a power that Zero possesses. Entry into this world can be accomplished because of the power that Zero has."
Yugi looked up. "It's the power of the Shadow Games. All the laws of the universe are put aside, so that two warriors can play a game and decide each other's fate."
"So you think your mythical Shadow Games are what broke the barrier we set up?" Rika said. She was starting to think that Yugi was serious about all that he's said up until now. He might've even been serious about Takato. But that was... impossible. Wasn't it?
"If I'm right, then Zero began a Shadow Game long ago, based on this tournament. The winner of this tournament will be able to decide the fate of all who played in the game. And the winner would gain the power to grant their most desired wish through the use of all that data energy that Zero described."
Henry started to pace. "So Zero intends to win this tournament, claim the Ka of the losers, and use all his winnings to summon Exodia and remake the world in his image."
"Not quite," Yugi said. "Zero doesn't want to remake the world in his image. He might think that's what he wants, but it's not what he is truly after."
Zero, who had been listening to the conversation, looked at Yugi curiously. "And what makes you so sure that is the case, Yugi Mutou?"
Yugi started to step closer to where Zero sat. Midway through his step, he transformed into his darker persona. And Yami's eyes were squarely on Zero. "Because I now understand what you are. I now know how you think."
Zero chuckled in open amusement. "Oh, if you think you've solved the riddle, Yugi, then do tell. Tell us all who you think I really am."
Yami bowed his head slightly. "Long ago, when Yu... when I first solved the Millennium Puzzle, I was not the same as I am now. I was dangerous, and lethal. I sought to kill those who displeased me or dared to hurt my friends. I was truly a dark spirit."
*Flash of Yami playing a game with Ushio, a bully. Ushio is stricken with insanity upon losing a shadow game with Yami.*
"But something forced me to change," Yami continued. "My time with Yugi and his friends made me think about my actions, and forced me to reconsider my views on human life. Human life is precious, even if a human is selfish or cruel."
"How touching," Zero mocked him. "But what does this have to do with me?"
Yami scowled slightly. "As time went on, I was forced to bury those thoughts which I considered commonplace until then. I had to stop acting 'evil' and cruel. But the only way I could truly change was by shedding those thoughts forever, like a snake's skin. And in order to do that, I had to find someone whose thoughts were darker than my own."
Mokuba's eyes widened. "Oh my... God..."
*Flash!
"Draw your last, pathetic card so that I can end this, Yugi."
"My grandpa's deck has no pathetic cards, Kaiba."
*The draw of a card, and the power of the Millennium Puzzle.*
"But it does contain... the unstoppable Exodia!!"
Flash!
"NOW, OPEN YOUR MIND!!"
*Power explodes from Yami's hand. Kaiba gasps as he feels his soul shatter from the strain of Yugi's power.*
Flash!*
Yami's eyes were closed as he remembered that duel with Seto Kaiba. It was a dark time for him. Darker than his Aibou was led to believe.
"I kept the truth from my... friend, for fear that he would hate me for it. The only way I could get rid of my evil ways, was by giving that darkness to someone else. That darkness entered Seto Kaiba, and festered inside him. I knew that in time, it might change into something stronger than just mindless energy. I knew that in time... something like you might come to exist."
Zero's eyes widen. "What!?"
"You are a fusion of Seto Kaiba and my darker tendencies!" Yami said with certainty. "You are the reincarnation of the Pharaoh's shadow, born in Ancient Egypt millennia ago! You are the darkest example of the Power of Unity!"
Zero shot to his feet, and Yami was slammed by an invisible force that sent him sliding across the marble floor. Henry and Mokuba ran over to him, and the others followed.
"THAT CANNOT BE TRUE!!" Zero roared. "I will not believe it!"
Yami sat up weakly. "That is why you wanted us to find out the truth. Because you didn't even know the truth. You cannot understand why you want Exodia so badly. Only now do you understand, that like Kaiba, you must prove yourself to be the strongest. And only with Exodia can you accomplish that."
Zero clenched his fists tightly. "It is a lie! I am not Seto Kaiba. He is my slave. He is a mere mortal. I am a god on earth, like the Pharaohs of the past!"
"You used Seto Kaiba to find this place," Yami growled as he got to his feet with the help of the others. "You used Seto's technological genius and my memories of Ancient Egypt to build the Duel Arcs and begin this Shadow Game. You needed the Duel Arcs to become a separate being. And now, you need Seto Kaiba's technology to bring Exodia to life through the Digital World!"
"ENOUGH!!" Zero roared. The room filled with wind as Zero called upon the dark powers that he possessed. "Even without Juri's Ka, I will kill you all!" A summoning circle flared to life at Zero's feet, and power exploded from the man's feet as a torrential flood of light.
"Get ready, guys!" Ash shouted as he powered up his arc. "This is it!"
Rika activated her arc as well. "Right! Let's take this guy down!"
"For our friends!" Henry shouted.
"For the ones we love," Sakura cheered. She twirled her magical rod and stabbed it into the ground, ready to begin the battle.
Yami's Millennium Puzzle glowed as brightly as the sun, and the golden sennin eye that symbolized his power appeared on his forehead. "IT'S TIME TO DUEL!!"
Monster Duel Ex - Final Battle
Zero, Form 1: The Summoner.
ENERGY: 8000 Life Points
------------------------------------
"Play time is over," Zero roared. "BLUE EYES, WHITE DRAGON, attack!!" A single tablet appeared behind Zero, and from it came a dragon so large that it could barely fit inside the room, even with more than ten meters separating the ground and the ceiling. [3000/2500, LVL 8, HP 4000]
"A Blue Eyes!" Mokuba shouted. "No way! My brother's the only Duelist to have the Blue Eyes in his deck!"
"But Zero's not playing with cards; he has the original tablet!" Yami said. "Which means it's even stronger than a normal Blue Eyes! And since he is made in part by Kaiba, he can command the White Dragon!"
Blue Eyes roared viciously at the players, and used its size to good advantage. The dragon flexed its mighty wings and knocked aside a good portion of the room, revealing a glowing sky that couldn't be real. The sky was now nothing more than a swirling whirlwind of light the size of a football field.
"Set your monsters!" Henry shouted. Everyone followed his lead.
[MUSIC: Hikari no Willpower, "The Will of the Light"]
Henry: "Terriermon!" *Sets one of five cards into the Active Slot. Terriermon appears on the field and flashes a 'V for Victory'.* [HP: 2000]
Ash: "Pikachu!" *Sets one of five cards into the Active Slot. Pikachu appears on the field and sparkles with electric power as he growls 'Chuuuuu...!'* [HP: 2500]
Rika: "Renamon!" *Sets one of five cards into the Active Slot. Renamon teleports into existense and crosses her arms as she appears, ready for battle.* [HP: 2500]
Sakura: "Hope!" *A giant image of the Clow Card appears as Sakura's star glows and spins within the rod. Sakura's clothing changes into a pink, fluffy dress with flowing ribbons, and a picture of a heart on the front.* [Sakura's LP: 5000]
Yami: "Dark Magician!" *Sets one of five cards into the Active Slot. The Dark Magician appears from a shadowy pentagram, and swings his rod around before striking a pose, all the while hovering in mid-air.* [HP: 3500]
"White Lightning Attack!" Zero commanded. The blue-eyed dragon powered up its primary breath weapon and blasted a stream of lightning at the group. The four monsters scattered, as did their players. Sakura leaped back to avoid the blast and ran into the battle, her rod being held like a weapon.
"Sakura!!" Mokuba cried. "Don't, you'll get hurt!"
Sakura's eyes sparkled subtly. "This unit will survive. For you, Capu-kun." Sakura's Duel AI took control of the girl's reactions, but this time the program was not maliscious. The AI was actually working with Sakura's wishes in mind.
Sakura twirled her rod as if it were a cheerleader's baton and thwacked the Blue Eyes White Dragon with all of her might. With the power of the Hope card running through her, the robot's strength was increased to the level of a monster. But the power boost wasn't enough to hurt the mighty dragon. Blue Eyes swung a claw at Sakura, but she deftly avoided the attack with a backflip.
Rika twirled a card in her fingers and slashed it when Renamon began her charge. "Modify!! Flareon, activate!!" Ash smirked nearby as he realized that Rika was actually using the cards he gave her!
Renamon's fur became bright red and her body was enveloped in an aura of flame, all in a split-seconds time. Renamon leapt through the air and called upon Flareon's Quick Attack. Renamon's attack power spiked (as was usually the case with Pokemon techniques) as she unleashed a rapid series of claw slashes and paw kicks. [R's ATK -- 2380]
"Close, but no cigar!" Zero taunted. His Blue Eyes counterattacked with a furious claw slash that connected easily, since Renamon was too busy with her special attack to defend herself. Renamon flew through the air and reverted to her normal colors in midflight. The Dark Magician caught her magically, and the digimon teleported from sight as she caught her breath. [R's HP -- 1530]
"Damn, they make dragons tough in Duel Monsters," Rika said in disbelief.
"Almost as tough as the dragons in Pokemon," Ash quipped. "Pikachu, show this overgrown lightning rod how we deal with dragons back home!!"
Pikachu smiled chibishly as he raced towards the White Dragon. His body crackled with electricity as he prepared for an attack. The Blue Eyes seemed unfazed. In fact, he seemed to find it amusing.
"That rodent won't accomplish anything with his attack," Zero said. "But he'll certainly be easier to hit. White Lightning!" The Blue Eyes charged up his attack and blasted it straight at Pikachu, who was charging head-long into it!
"Now, Pikachu!!" Ash shouted. "Throw it right back at him!!"
Pikachu leapt straight up into the air. The White Lightning attack followed him with equal quickness and ensnared the pokemon in its deadly grip. Pikachu growled as the lightning coursed over his body, crackling with enough power to annihilate just about anything it hit. But Pikachu had dealt with electricity all his life, and he knew how to handle it - even if the electricity wasn't his own.
Zero was aghast. "He absorbed the attack!!"
Ash laughed and pointed straight at the Blue Eyes. "Now, give it back to him! Thunder!!"
"Pikaaaaa-CHUUUUU!!" The electric pokemon used all the electricity he'd stolen from the Blue Eyes' attack and threw it right back at him with even more force. The humans in the room shielded their eyes as Pikachu's attack collided with the White Dragon and created a deafening thunderclap. [P's ATK -- 7535]
"Blue Eyes, DODGE!" Zero cried. But the dragon was simply too large and too surprised to avoid the attack. The dragon was thrown back with enough force to crash into the edge of Zero's summoning circle. The dragon's body smoldered from the intensity of the attack. Even though dragons were resistant to elemental attacks, that attack had obliterated more than half of the dragon's health! [BEWD's HP -- 1482]
"Go on, throw another White Lightning attack!" Ash challenged boldly. "I DARE you!!"
Zero growled angrily. His monster had been manhandled by a puny little rat! "MODIFY!" Zero raised his hands and summoned a second tablet to the field. This tablet had the picture of what looked like a sun shining its light in all directions. "Super Rejuvenation!"
[BEWD's HP -- 3482]
Yami swore as the magic effect returned the Blue Eyes Dragon to almost full health. "Ash, call Pikachu back, now!!"
"Slash that rodent to pieces!" Zero ordered. The white dragon leapt across the field and slashed at Pikachu with all his might. Luckily, Pikachu was able to use its Agility attack to avoid being hit, just in time. The rodent raced around the field and looked for another opening for an attack.
"My turn!" Terriermon cheered. "Bunny Blast!" A green orb appeared in Terriermon's mouth and exploded from it like a rocket. The attack knocked the Blue Eyes in the side, but did little to damage it. However, it did knock the dragon off balance long enough for someone else to finish the job.
Dark Magician and Sakura stood side by side, their magical rods pointed straight at Zero's dragon. Sakura and Yami simultaneously shouted the words that triggered the assault. "Fusion Magic Attack!!" [Combined Attack -- 3000, Dark & Light]
"And I'll also slash my Buster Blader to double the strength of the attack against your dragon!" Yami's card slash doubled the size and ferocity of his and Sakura's attack, making it suitably large enough to obliterate the Blue Eyes. Unfortunately, Zero's grin indicated that he was ready to defend his monster.
"Holy Barrier, Mirror Force!" A third tablet erupted into existence, and manifested as an invisible barrier encircling the Blue Eyes. The dragon's wings shielded its body from the impending attack while the Mirror Force knocked it into a random direction. It was heading straight for Terriermon!
"Alias!!" Rika shouted, just as the attack seemed to hit. Terriermon flew backwards from the force of the blast, as his illusionary copy was incinerated by the attack. Terriermon was alive, and amazed that he was.
"Phew," Terriermon said in thanks. "That's what I call a close shave!"
"Now it's our turn to give that dragon a close shave!" Henry revealed a Musyamon card and used it on Terriermon, which gave the guy access to a samurai sword almost twice as long as he was tall, and also gave him a Terrier-sized suit of armor. Musyamon's strength was deadly enough, but when combined with Terriermon's speed, it made an unstoppable combination!
"Get 'im, Terriermon!" Henry ordered. The pint-sized rookie leapt at the White Dragon and prepared to cleave him in half.
Sakura twirled her rod and held her palm towards the attacking digimon. "Sword!! Give Terriermon the strength to win!!" The spirit of the Sword Card flew through the air like a bullet and fused itself with Terriermon's weapon. In a flash, Terriermon's sword was given a silver sheen and the glow of magical power!
[Terriermon -- ATK 3475]
Zero knew that the Blue Eyes was too slow to dodge that. So he did the only thing he could do - he sprung a trap!
"Negate Attack!" Terriermon landed a few dozen sword strikes, but every single strike collided with a barrier protected the dragon from damage. Blue Eyes counterattacked with White Lightning, knocking Terriermon through the air and taking Henry down with him. Terriermon's blade landed in the ground with a loud shink. [T's HP -- 650]
"He has so many traps that we might end up destroying ourselves," Yami said grimly. "Dark Magician, get ready! We're going to deal with his traps, once and for all!"
The magician nodded and hovered in wait. Yami slowly drew a card from his deck to reload his hand, and got the card he was after.
"Switch!" Yami removed the Dark Magician from the Active Slot and replaced him with a face-down card. An invisible force appeared at Yami's side, then faded into nothingness as it blended with the environment. To all outward appearances, Yami was defenseless.
Zero grinned. "You think that I would be foolish enough to attack you, 'Pharaoh'? I'm not so foolish as to fall for that trick."
Yami frowned across the battlefield, but did nothing. He folded his arms, and waited.
"What's he doing?" Rika gasped. "Without a monster, he's defenseless."
"He's got a plan," Ash said with a smile. "So we've got to do our part, and make Zero do what we want!"
Rika still didn't trust Yugi, but she understood what Ash was saying. If they were going to beat this unstoppable monster, they would have to work together without hesitation. "...Okay! Let's do it!"
** Rika's Card Slash sequence **
"Modify! Vaporeon, activate!!"
Renamon's flur flashed blue, and her tail started to flow like water. Renamon and Pikachu met near the center of the battlefield and prepared for an attack that would end this match. Assuming Zero didn't spring another trap, that is.
"Come on guys, we need all the help we can get!" Rika shouted.
"O~kay!" Sakura cried. The magical robot leapt to Renamon's side and held her staff out, while calling on an attack card that would blend well with Lightning and Water. "Shot Card! Please, grant your power to my friends!"
The figure of a boy with a lot of hair appeared in the midst of the group. The spirit of the Shot Card added its own power to the attack.
Terriermon and Henry watched nearby. They didn't have the ability to add their strength to the attack, but they watched in awe, and prayed that this would work. If Zero played the right card, the resulting counterattack could destroy them all.
Yami watched the attack intensely. Get ready...
[Combined Attack -- 8580, Focused Lightning]
Zero cringed. A focused attack like that could hurt even a monster resistant to elemental attacks, like the Blue Eyes! If that attack hit, Blue Eyes would be annihilated!
Zero's sennin eye appeared on his forehead, giving off red light and an evil hum. "You think you can defeat me!! Well come and get it!!"
"You heard him, guys! Let him have it!" Ash shouted. At that moment, the Shot spirit launched through the air like a bullet, and the special attacks of Renamon and Pikachu combined with spirit's aura, with explosive results.
Sakura, Rika, and Ash: "RAIGEKI SHOTGUN!!"
Yami's eyes remained focused on Zero. Come on, come on...
Zero's right arm shot up as he summoned the power of a tablet. "Energy Drain! Take away all their power and knock them down to zero!!"
Yami smirked. "Now!"
"Activate magic card!" Yami pointed towards the sky. The face-down card in his Active Slot was revealed to be a card depicting an arrow of light. "Living Arrow! Redirect his trap!"
Zero's eyes widened in disbelief. Instinctively, Zero through up his left hand and summoned a Magic Jammer trap to negate the effects of Yami's Living Arrow.
But the trap had absolutely no effect.
"Living Arrow's powers are focused while it's in the Active Slot, Zero!" Yami shouted. "Although I am defenseless, my magic card is unstoppable! Your traps are useless against it!"
"No!" Zero's Energy Drain tablet was forcibly fused with the Living Arrow card, which immediately impaled the Blue Eyes White Dragon and wiped out all the energy in its body. The unstoppable dragon was powerless! [BEWD -- ATK 0, DEF 0]
Yami's sennin eye glowed with the power of his confidence. "This game is OVER!"
Zero screamed as the Raigeki Shotgun incinerated the mighty Blue Eyes, and transfered all of the pain to the dragon's summoner. Zero's summoning circle exploded with fire like a volcano, which swirled around the screaming player as his tablets were shattered. By the time the attack was finished, Zero's entire body was reduced to ashes. All that was left of the villain was the golden mask that covered his face.
** Zero's LP: 0000 **
"Yeah!!" Ash cheered before flashing a victory sign. "We did it!"
His pokemon cheered in agreement. "Pi Pika-chu!" Renamon stood lifelessly at the pokemon's side, unable to celebrate due to a lack of spirit. Renamon was not alive - just a hologram.
"We did it! We really did it!" Sakura said joyously. Ash and the robot hugged each other happily, and both Rika and Henry joined in the celebration. They jumped up and down, doing a victory dance very similar to a football team's post-game celebration.
Yami breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Mokuba. The young boy winked and gave the duelist a thumbs-up. Yami nodded in reply.
"I told you this guy would be easy!" Ash said with a big smile.
"You said nothing of the sort!" Rika taunted. "You were too busy trying to act all tough!"
Ash playfully stuck his tongue at her. "Well excuse me for being a little cocky!"
"I think you did great!" Sakura said enthusiastically. She gave Ash a playful kiss on the cheek. Ash didn't seem to mind, but Mokuba and Rika both went red at seeing the display. Rika hastily broke up the celebration, much to Ash and Sakura's confusion.
Yami felt a breeze of wind, and looked around slowly. The room was starting to stir from a sourceless breeze, which was steadily growing stronger.
Henry felt it too, and adopted an expression of worry. "Uh, guys. I don't think we're out of the woods just yet."
Slowly, the entire party looked up into the swirling sky of light and darkness. Somewhere high in the portal of light, a gigantic figure started to form. Data pixels flew from all directions and coelesced into one giant shape. The shape was incomplete, as shown by the missing patches of data that fizzled at various parts of the monster's head, arms, and body. The figure had a dark sheen, as if it were made of polished ebony. And the entity bore an uncanny resemblance to a statue of the Pharaoh.
Sakura dropped her rod in shock. "Oh my God..."
Form 2: Exodia Zero
ATK: ???, DEF: ????
ENERGY: 9999 LP - ∞
----------------------------
The dark Exodia stared down at the paltry organisms called humans. "Pathetic fools. This battle is not over yet."
A sennin eye appeared on Exodia's forehead, and gave off the awesome light of infinity. "If anything, the battle has just begun."