"Time, time for what?"
"For you to admit that technology is vastly superior to your pitiful ideas of friendship. For you see, technology will be your downfall and your emotions are nothing but weights holding you down, keeping you from doing the job. I'm going to bring out the most powerful machine in my deck! But first... I must special summon six machine monsters of different attributes from my graveyard."
"Is that why you made your Duel Disk to take seven monsters instead of the usual five?"
"That's correct, Yugi Moto. My Earth machine will be Roboyarou." His monster appeared in the center. "Next shall be my fire machine, Robotic Knight. My wind machine is Cyber Falcon. My water machine is Amphibious Bugroth. My dark machine is my Cyber Grenade and my light machine is Guardian of the Throne Room." The monsters appeared in a straight line, all waiting for orders. Edric held his arms out. "Monsters, I now remove you from the game!"
"What?" The monsters already turned into orbs of light.
"Sacrifice your power to me, so I can activate this ritual card: Rise of the Machines!"
"Yami, I never heard of that ritual card."
"Neither have I."
A dark shadow covered the field. Five obelisk-like spires could be seen in the back. Each of the sacrificed monsters went into one of the spires with the sixth settling in the body. The monster began to take substance. It was a large gray mono-optic robot that looked much like his Steel Ogre Grotto #2, but much larger and much meaner. There were five spires on the back in a fan formation.
"Six months ago, Industrial Illusions held a contest. The winner would receive a Duel Monster card of their own design. Naturally, I won it. The result is this: Machina, the Machine God!"
Name: Machina, the Machine God
Level: 10
Type: Machine/Ritual/Effect
Attribute: Light
ATK: 0
DEF: 0
"Some all-powerful monster, it doesn't even have any power."
"Oh, but it does. Machina gains the attack power of all the monsters that I sacrificed to summon it."
Joey was busy counting attack points on his fingers.
"Don't burn yourself out," Kaiba said. "Computer, calculate Machina's attack power based on the sacrificed monsters."
"Jumping Jehosophat," the computer gasped. "It's over 8000!"
"8000! Not even Obelisk the Tormentor has that much attack power."
(M,tMG: 0---8050)
"In addition, it gains an additional 500 attack points for every machine monster that's in the graveyard. In case you lost count, that's an additional 2500 attack points!"
(M,tMG: 8050---10550)
"By the way, Yugi Moto, in case you're wondering, Machina's attack power is now over 10,000. Fortunately for you, summoning it means I can't attack this turn so I must end it."
I must get my defenses ready. Yami-Yugi drew a card.
"Face it, Yugi, your lousy emotions are your weakness. You can't believe that you can win playing like you do. You need to be cold, hard, strong, like a machine."
"That may work in your twisted little world, Masters, but if you think that it's a universal truth, you're sadly mistaken. I believe in my friends and in my heart. I have faith in them, and that faith, that emotion has helped me get through a great deal of trials in the past, just as they now help me through this duel."
"No! You're wrong, you're wrong, you're wrong!" Edric was throwing a tantrum. "Emotions are weak, they're pitiful! They do nothing but get in the way of true power! Machines are the only perfection in the universe! There's no such thing as friendship, it's all A BIG LIE!"
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"Whoa, Masters seem really bent on this whole anti-friendship crusade," Joey commented.
"Seto, do you believe that emotions are a weakness?" Mokuba asked.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to agree with Yugi on this. His belief in the heart of the cards has pulled him from the jaws of defeat through duel after duel. He's just had too many victories for it to be coincidence or luck. But my problem isn't with Masters' beliefs; it's his methods that he uses to achieve them that tick me off."
"Now that's the pot calling the kettle black," Tristan muttered.
"What was that?" Kaiba asked.
"Uh... nothing, nothing at all."
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"Friendship is not a lie, Masters," Yami-Yugi said calmly. "And I'll prove it." He looked at the cards in his hand. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode!" The monster was dressed in blue robes and held a simple staff with an orb at the end.
Name: Skilled Dark Magician
Level: 4
Type: Spellcaster/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1900
DEF: 1700
"I set one card face-down and activate Mage Power, increasing its attack power by 500!"
(SDM: 1900---2400)
A small blue orb of light appeared next to the Skilled Dark Magician.
"What's that?" Edric asked.
"It's called a spell token," Yami-Yugi answered.
"Yes, but what does it do?"
"You'll find out soon enough. In the mean time, I switch Harpie Lady and Vorse Raider to defense mode! There, now I'm ready to face your Machine God."
"Very well then, Yugi Moto, I'll let you face the Machine God." Edric drew a card. "I just drew another Machine Conversion Factory and this time, I'll use it to power up my Machina."
(M,tMG: 10550---10850)
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"Like that thing needs to get any more powerful," Joey said sarcastically.
Hmmm... I can really destroy any of Yugi's monsters. But the problem is Yugi's hand. He placed his Skilled Dark Magician in attack mode so he must want me to attack. I bet he's going to activate that trap card which is probably designed to destroy my Machine God. Boy, will he be in for a surprise. "Machina, attack Yugi's Harpie Lady!"
"You activate my trap card: Raigeki Break! Now by discarding one card from my hand..."
"Not so fast, Yugi Moto. I know that you plan on destroying Machina with that trap card so I activate Machina's special ability!"
"What!" As a lightning bolt headed straight for Machina, it set up a forcefield blocking it. "What did you do?"
"Simple, I activated one of Machina's special functions. It can block all trap cards that target it."
"One, how many special abilities does Machina have?"
"Five overall, represented by the spires you see on its back. Allow me to explain. The blue spire on my bottom right protects it from all trap cards that target it. The green spire opposite it does the same for all spell cards. The orange spire protects it from all effect monster cards. The purple spire gives it the ability to absorb machine monsters. And the red spire... the red spire is very special. But why spoil the surprise. The fact of the matter is your Harpie Lady's destroyed."
"Not yet, the card I was going to discard to activate Raigeki Break was Kuriboh. Now my life points are protected."
"I thought I told you that Machina is impervious to all effect monsters."
"Maybe effect monsters that target it, but Kuriboh's special effect targets my life points." Hundreds of little Kuribohs appeared to block Machina's attack and they were all destroyed.
"Well, looks like I have to end my turn."
Yami-Yugi drew a card and looked at it. It was Lava Battleguard. He also had Waboku and Card of Sanctity. "I sacrifice Vorse Raider so I can summon Lava Battleguard in defense mode." The Lava Battleguard looked like a red ogre carrying a club.
Name: Lava Battleguard
Level: 5
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1550
DEF: 1800
"I'll have my Skilled Dark Magician attack your face-down card." The face-down card was revealed to be Cyber Commander, an android carrying a large gun.
Name: Cyber Commander
Level: 3
Type: Machine
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 900
DEF: 900
"Thank you. Now that Cyber Commander is in the graveyard, Machina gains an extra 500 attack points.
(M,tMG: 10850---11350)
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"I hate it when my favorite card is used against my best bud," Tristan said furiously.
"Join the club," Kaiba said.
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"I'll place one card face-down and end my turn."
Edric drew his card and laughed maniacally. "This is it, Yugi Moto, this will be your downfall. I activate Enemy Controller!"
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"Now he's using one of my cards! I'm going to butcher that brat if I ever come across him."
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"Using this, I can change the battle position of one monster card on my opponent's side of the field and I choose your Lava Battleguard!" A wire shot out of the controller that looked like an old SNES controller and connected to Lava Battleguard. The Lava Battleguard tried to resist it but it was pulled in front of Harpie Lady and Skilled Dark Magician.
"You just activated a spell card which means I can now activate Skilled Dark Magician's special ability!"
"What special ability?"
"These three spell tokens that you see aren't just here for show, Masters. They appear each time we activate a spell card. Now that there are three of them, I can sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician and my three spell tokens so I can special summon my Dark Magician!" The Dark Magician appeared ready for combat. It swung his staff and pointed it at Edric as if challenging him personally. "You should be careful, Edric, the Dark Magician is upset that you ruthlessly turned Dark Magician Girl against her friends."
"Again, with that personifying card business? How can a hologram have feelings? Besides, your Dark Magician can't attack just yet, it's still my turn. And I'm going to have my Machina attack your Lava Battleguard."
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"Suped up as it is, there's no way Yugi can survive the onslaught," Joey said.
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"Machina, attack Lava Battleguard! Cyber Force!" A large shaft of energy shot out from Machina's hands.
"I activate my trap card: Waboku!" Yami-Yugi commanded. Three robed priests appeared and blocked Machina's attack.
"What, my research said that you don't have Waboku in your deck! How can you have Waboku?"
"Simple, a friend gave it to me." Yami-Yugi winked at Tea.
Oh yeah, I forgot, I used that card to stop Mai's attack when we dueled at Duelist Kingdom. "Go, Yugi! I know you can do it!"
"Oh shut up!" Edric snapped as he pressed a button on a remote strapped to his belt. Three walls, one with a glass window, and one with a metal door, rose up around her.
"Leave her alone!" Yami-Yugi demanded.
"Oh, did I do something wrong?" Edric asked in fake innocence. "Face it, Yugi Moto, this only proves that your emotions are a weakness, not a strength. You didn't win all those duels by caring; you just won them because fate pities misguided fools like you! Do you still not understand what I'm saying? Here, let me spell it out. You are a heartless, erroneous, vane, and overly-sentimental fool. Corrupted people like you don't deserve friends, you don't even deserve life!"
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"I can't believe Yugi's just letting Edric pummel him verbally," Bakura said.
"He has to," Kaiba informed the others.
"But why, Seto?"
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Yami-Yugi was thinking Seto's answer. He's trying to goad me, force me into making a mistake. I can't let him rattle me.
"Look, Yugi, look at your precious Tea." Yami-Yugi looked at her. She was looking around at her prison. "What do you think Tea is thinking right now, Yugi? Any ideas, hmmm? No idea, well, allow me to shed some light. She's probably thinking 'how could Yugi let me get captured like this? What did I do to deserve such treatment?' You can hardly blame her for asking such questions, I would ask them if I was in her situation. But my point is this: if you were really Tea's friend, you wouldn't have let her fall into this predicament. Face it, Yugi, you failed her as a friend! And the only true punishment for failure in this world is death!"
Yami-Yugi turned to face Masters. "Are you done yet, Masters, because it's my move." He drew a card. "I'll sacrifice Harpie Lady so I can summon Swamp Battleguard!" The Swamp Battleguard was a green version to the red Lava Battleguard.
Name: Swamp Battleguard
Level: 5
Type: Warrior/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 1800
DEF: 1500
"With Swamp and Lava Battleguards on the field at the same time, their attack power is raised!"
(SB: 1800---2300)
(LB: 1550---2050)
"You see, Masters, having someone to aid you can be a benefit. It definitely helps my Battleguards. I also switch my Dark Magician into defense mode and I end my turn."
Edric drew a card. "Yugi Moto, so far you have proven to be a mediocre duelist with some skill. But I'm about to show you up with Machina's final special ability!"
"I don't like the sound of that."
"If you don't like the sound of it, then you'll dislike the way it works even more. For you see, Machina's fifth special ability is something I call Organic Genocide. To be blunt, by giving up one half of my total life points, I can destroy all non-Machine monsters on the field."
(Y: 3500)
(E: 550)
A large shaft of energy came out of Machina's eye. The Battleguards cried out in pain as they were destroyed. The Dark Magician tried to resist it but eventually, he too, was destroyed.
After shielding his eyes from the explosion, Yami-Yugi asked, "How is that any different from Raigeki?"
"Because by using that ability, it gains 200 extra attack points for each monster destroyed. That means it gains an extra 600 attack points."
(M,tMG: 11350---11950)
"However, using Organic Genocide means I can't attack so I end my turn."
With almost 12,000 attack points, Edric can wipe me out before I can even blink. I could use Card of Sanctity, but what good will it be if I can't draw the right cards. What good is anything I do now? I can't use trap, spell, or effect monster cards on it. Even if I had an Egyptian God Card, I don't think it would work. My deck's getting low. I probably only have about twenty cards left. Plus he still has enough life points to use Organic Genocide again. Edric covered all the bases when he made Machina. Yami-Yugi drew a card. It was Bakura's Enchanted Javelin. This trap card raised the controller's life points by the attacking monster's attack points. If he used it, he would survive this turn, but most likely not next turn. In addition to Card of Sanctity, he had Trap Hole and Buster Blader but it didn't look like Edric was going to summon any more monsters.and Yami-Yugi had no monsters with which to sacrifice for Buster Blader. Perhaps the time has come to throw in the towel. Yami-Yugi looked at Tea and cast an apologetic glance at her.
Tea saw it. What's Yugi doing? Is he... no! "Yugi, please, don't give up! I know you can do it. Yugi! Yugi..." a tear ran down her cheek.
Unfortunately, Yami-Yugi couldn't hear her call out. "I place one card face-down and end my turn."
Yugi temporarily separated himself from Yami. Tea, I hope you forgive me. I tried my best to save you, I gave it my very all. I just hope that you realize how much I care about you... how much I love you.
It was at that moment that Tea felt something come from Yugi. Something she always knew but was afraid to admit. He loved her.
And she... she loved him.
Edric started his turn. "Yugi, not even your trap card will be able to save you from this next attack. I'm about to kill you right now!" Edric pressed a button near the life point counter on his Duel Disk. An outline formed on Machina. "I just switched on Machina's photonic charge. Now My Duel Disk is feeding Machina energy made from photons. They solidify his shape and mass. Now, even a holographic punch from him can be deadly. First, I play Meteor of Destruction!" A comet appeared and dove towards Yami-Yugi. Yami-Yugi summoned the protective powers of his Millennium Puzzle. But even using its magic, Yami-Yugi was forced back.
(Y: 2500)
(E: 550)
"Now, for the death blow! Machina, attack with Cyber Force!" Machina's fist became energized and he launched towards Yami-Yugi.
"Reveal trap card!" Yami-Yugi commanded as he activated Enchanted Javelin. A javelin formed in his hands and Yami-Yugi tried using it to block the power. But it was overwhelming. Eventually, the javelin broke and the blast struck Yami-Yugi head on. There was a huge flash of light and the ground trembled, like the very Earth was afraid of Machina's power. If Tea hadn't been protected in that side room, she probably would've been seriously hurt at least. The glass window shattered and the metal door got knocked off its hinges.
When the dust settled, Tea risked looking. And she wished she hadn't. Because what she saw devastated her almost as much as Machina's attack. Yugi (the original Yugi) was up against the wall, not even moving.
"YUGI!"