Chapter 15: Duel Together! The Assault of Lord Superior

The coldness of the Shadow Realm swept around Yami Yugi and Lord Superior as they prepared to duel. Superior pulled a duel gauntlet and a deck of cards out of a drawer in his desk. Yami Jason stood by on the sidelines watching the two. He activated his duel gauntlet.

"What are you doing?" Superior asked.

"That's a foolish question. I'm getting ready for a duel. I can't kick your ass without my duel gauntlet on, now can I?"

Yami Yugi smiled as he realized the plan.

"You traitor! This time, you die!"

"I don't think so. I've already sealed us in the shadows and any attempts to interrupt this duel will be stopped."

"We'll see about that," Superior said.

The saws swooped down for Yami Jason's throat, but a mysterious force snapped them in half, much to Superior's surprise.

"See? Now the only way out is to win this duel. I figured that Yugi might need my help, plus I didn't come here to just talk. So let's get this handicap duel over with," Yami Jason said.

"Fine by me. I figured I could use some help, anyway," Yami Yugi said as he activated his duel gauntlet.

(Yugi: 8000/ Jason: 8000) (Lord Superior: 8000)

"I'll take the first move, since I am the challenger," Superior said, holding up his deck. "I'll place a card face down and a monster in defense mode. That ends my turn."

"I guess I can take this next turn," Yami Jason said. "And I'll start with a card face down and Harpies Brother (1800/600) in defense mode."

The large falcon-like being appeared and spread its wings over itself.

"That'll end my turn."

"Perhaps you should take this turn, Superior. It wouldn't be fair for us to have two turns in a row, now would it?" Yugi said.

"You're too kind," Superior said as he drew. "I'll set another card face down and end my turn."

"Then it's my turn. And I'll place a card face down and summon Big Shield Guardna (100/2600) in defense mode, then, end my turn," Yugi said.

A warrior concealed behind a large shield appeared on the field.

"Back to me. And I'll set another monster in defense mode, and end my turn," Superior said.

"It's my turn, now. And I'll switch my Harpies Brother to attack mode, then, summon the Mad Dog of Darkness (1900/1400) in attack mode," Yami Jason said.

The demonic canine appeared and snarled at Superior.

"Now, Harpies Brother will attack your defense monster on the left!"

The creature flapped its wings and blasted a gust of razor-sharp wind at the card hologram. It flipped up, revealing a woman dressed in robes, kneeling and praying. The attack slammed into her, but she didn't budge.

(Yugi: 8000/ Jason: 7800) (Lord Superior: 8000)

"You've attacked The Forgiving Maiden (850/2000), whose defense is clearly higher than your monster's attack. Care to try again?" Superior teased.

"No thanks. I'll just end my turn."

Superior drew, then, laughed.

"I'll sacrifice both of my monsters to summon Guardian Angel Joan (2800/2000) in attack mode!"

The two face down holograms were engulfed in a beam of light. When the flash expired, a tall angel dressed in splendid robes stood on the field.

"My angel has a very special ability. When she destroys a monster in battle, I gain life points equal to that monster's attack power. So now, attack the Mad Dog of Darkness, my angel."

Joan fired a blast of light at the dog, incinerating it on contact.

(Yugi: 8000/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 9900)

"Well, that wasn't very nice. And here's payback! Activate Michizure!" Yami Jason's trap card flipped up. "My trap card destroys one monster on the field when one of my monsters is destroyed. So kiss Joan goodbye."

The angel immediately shattered from the trap card's effect.

"Well played, boy. I guess I underestimated you. I'll end my turn."

"Now, it's my go. I'll summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200)!"

The large beast appeared with a roar.

"Now, attack Superior's life points!" Yami Yugi ordered.

The beast leaped up and delivered a brutal slash to Superior.

(Yugi: 8000/ Jason: 7100) (Lord Superior: 8400)

"I'll place a card face down and end my turn."

"Well, it seems that the two of you are tougher than I first thought. I'll have to take things up a notch. And I'll do that by summoning Freed the Brave Wanderer (1700/1200) in attack mode."

In a flash of sparks, a young, blonde warrior in armor materialized on the field.

"Next, I'll activate Luminous Spark. It is a field magic card that raises all light monsters' attack powers by 500, but drops defense by 400. It's a small price to pay for power. Now Freed (2200/800), destroy Gazelle!"

The young warrior rushed at the beast and sliced it in half with his sword.

(Yugi: 7300/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 8400)

"And I'll place a card face down to end my turn," Superior said.

"My turn. And I'll summon the Berserk Gorilla in attack mode." The large, red gorilla charged onto the field.

Yami Jason was about to pull a magic card from his hand and play it, but Yugi acted faster with one of his traps.

"Activate trap card: Dust Tornado! This card will destroy your Luminous Spark and bring Freed back down," the young pharaoh said.

The holographic field card shattered with a burst of wind. Yami Jason chuckled to himself.

"You are pretty useful. You definitely saved me a magic card. Now, my gorilla (2000/1000), attack Freed the Brave Wanderer (1700/1200) with your Primal Flame!"

The beast opened its mouth and unleashed a devastating column of flame, which completely reduced Freed to smoldering ashes.

(Yugi: 7300/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 8100)

"I guess your pathetic excuse for a monster couldn't stand the heat. But that's not all, because Harpies Brother will attack you directly!" The winged beast blasted Superior with its razor-like wind.

(Yugi: 7300/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 6300)

"I'll place a card face down and end my turn. It's your go," Yami Jason said.

"That was impressive. But I guess now it's time to get serious. No more child's play. Activate trap card: Zero Gravity! I guess you know what this card does, but I'll tell you anyway. My trap forces all face up monsters on the field into the battle position that's opposite of the one their in now. Observe."

Yugi's Big Shield Guardna moved into a standing position and Yami Jason's Berserk Gorilla kneeled down, then, shattered and was sent off to the graveyard.

"Oh, What a shame about your gorilla's effect of being destroyed when it's in defense mode. But life goes on, and it goes on with this: The Beyonder Samurai (2200/1300)!"

A large portal opened up in front of Yugi and Jason. Out of it stepped a tall, pale man, holding a glowing sword.

"My Samurai can only attack if I remove a light monster from play, but, like I said before, that's a small price to pay for power. So goodbye Freed, and hello Beyonder Samurai attacking the Big Shield Guardna!"

The monster charged forward and sliced through Guardna easily.

(Yugi: 5100/Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 6300)

"There goes your last defense. I'll end my turn."

Yugi drew, hoping for some way to get around the samurai.

'This will protect my life points, for now.' "I'll place a monster in defense mode and a card face down." Yugi looked at Jason for a second and ended his turn. 'I wonder if he has a strategy to deal with superior's monster.

"My turn, now. And I'll use it to activate Last Will," Superior said. "You'll see what this special card does when I'm done, so don't look so worried now. Just worry about my Samurai, because I'll remove Hoshiningan from play to attack your defense monster with Beyonder Samurai."

Yugi was about to activate a trap card to stop the attack, but Yami Jason acted first.

"Sorry, but I'll activate my Sakuretsu Armor trap card. It destroys an attacking monster, so no more Samurai for you," Yami Jason teased as the monster shattered.

"You are so predictable, young one. I'm not worried at all, because you've triggered my Last Will magic card's effect, which allows me to summon a monster from my deck with an attack of 1500 or less when you of my monsters is sent to the graveyard. So say hello to D.D. Warrior Lady (1500/1600)."

Yami Jason cursed himself for being so foolish as another portal opened up and a woman clad in futuristic armor stepped out. Her sword glowed like Beyonder Samurai's except it was much shorter.

"My turn is over now."

"Then prepare to lose your girlfriend over there, because I summon Nin-Ken Dog (1800/1000) in attack mode!"

A tall dog-like creature in ninja robes appeared on the field.

"Now, Nin-Ken Dog, attack the D.D. Warrior Lady!"

Yami Jason's monster hurled a spray of shurikens at the female monster, turning her into quite the pincushion before shattering her.

(Yugi: 5100/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 6000)

However, seconds later, the shards of D.D. Warrior Lady and Nin-Ken Dog both disappeared into thin air.

"Hey, what happened to my monster?!" Yami Jason demanded.

"My monster's effect. When she's involved in battle, she can remove both herself and the other monster from play," Superior explained.

"Well, that was unexpected. I'll just switch Harpies Brother to defense mode and place a card face down, then, end my turn."

"Then I'll draw."

Superior drew the card, then, laughed. Yami Jason felt a slight twinge in his heart as he realized what the card that Superior had drawn was.

"Well, kids. I've got something real nice planned for you, but for now it will have to wait. I'll just activate Monster Reborn to revive my fallen Guardian Angel Joan."

The beam of light shot up from the floor, and the angel rose triumphantly from the graveyard.

"Next, I'll activate Shinato's Ark, to summon the most powerful card in my deck. I offer Joan from the field and Hoshiningan from my hand to summon my ultimate creature!"

A large ark appeared on the field. The front of the boat opened and Joan was absorbed into it, along with Hoshiningan. The ark glowed and shattered, revealing a tall, blue creature with six golden wings and a splendid crown atop its head.

'Just great. Now I have to deal with this thing again,' Yugi thought as he remembered the nightmare of the virtual world that Noah pulled him into.

"Say hello to my ultimate creature, Shinato, Ruler of Heaven (3300/3000). You fools have no chance against this power. Observe as Shinato destroys your defense monster," Superior said pointing at Yugi.

The angel fired a blast of light at the defense monster, shattering what was revealed to be Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000)

(Yugi: 3800/Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 6000)

"What happened to my life points?" Yugi asked as they depleted.

"My monster's effect. If it destroys a monster in defense mode, my opponent loses life points equal to that monster's attack power. Now, if you're done asking questions, I'll activate the trap card Ray of Hope. It allows me to take two light monsters from my graveyard and add them to my deck, so I'll choose Guardian Angel Joan and Hoshiningan to add back to my deck. Now I'll end my turn."

"Shinato will fall, I swear it," Yami Yugi said as he drew. "I'll place a card face down and a monster in defense mode, then, end my turn."

"Now, It's time to really heat things up. I'll set a monster face down and have Shinato attack Jason's monster!"

"Not this time. You've triggered my trap card: Spellbinding Circle! It stops your attack and prevents your creature from attacking any more," Yami Yugi declared.

"Thanks, Yugi. I owe you one for that," Yami Jason said.

"It doesn't matter, I'll just end my turn by activating Remove Trap, to destroy your circle."

"It's my turn, and I'll activate the magic card Creature Swap. This card allows me to switch control of one of my monsters with one of your monsters. Since Harpies Brother is the only monster I've got on the field and Shinato is the only monster you've got on the field, it's pretty obvious what's going to happen."

The two monsters disappeared, then, reappeared on opposite sides of the field.

"Great move, Jason," Yami Yugi encouraged.

"Thank you. I do what I can. I'll also summon Gemini Elf (1900/900) in attack mode." Twin elves appeared next to Shinato. "Now, let's get a look at this effect. Shinato, attack Harpies Brother!"

The angel charged up and blasted Harpies Brother to ashes with a glowing sphere of light.

(Yugi: 3800/ Jason 6900) (Lord Superior: 4200)

"And now, Gemini Elf will attack you directly!"

The twins hurled two energy balls at Superior and struck him directly.

(Yugi: 3800/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 2100)

"That'll do it for me," Yami Jason said.

"You've actually done me a favor. Thanks to your attack I can activate this magic card. So I will. Activate Mystical Restoration. If my life points are at least 2000 lower than my opponent's life points, I gain the difference. And since my points are a little under 4000 lower than yours, Jason, I gain 4800 life points."

(Yugi: 3800/ Jason: 6900) (Lord Superior: 6900)

"You're like a roach. You won't die no matter how many times we step on you!" Yami Jason yelled.

"Don't flatter me, boy. Just watch as I set one card in defense mode and a card face down. That will end my turn."

Yugi drew, hoping to turn things around.

'Jason got our comeback started, so I've got to finish it.' "I'll sacrifice my face down monster to summon Beast of Gilfer (2200/2500) in attack mode!"

The hologram dissolved and in its place appeared a large red and black horned demon with wings.

"Now, Gilfer, attack Superior's face down monster on the left!"

The Beast of Gilfer unleashed a devastating blast of fire at the monster, instantly destroying it.

"Good job, fool. You've destroyed my Suicide Spider (200/400) which can destroy one monster on the field when it's destroyed in battle, and I choose Shinato to be destroyed," Superior said triumphantly.

The angelic fairy disintegrated as Suicide Spider went to the graveyard. Yami Jason growled as Superior chuckled.

"Don't worry about that, Yugi. It was just a minor setback. Nothing more," Yami Jason reassured.

"Then I'll end my turn."

Superior drew, then, laughed maniacally.

"You two have been a thorn in my side for long enough. This time, I will finish you both in this duel once and for all!"