Epilogue: Two Duelists, One Destination
"A duel of this caliber is truly rare Drake. So I'm going to make this one worth everything I've got and more! Jinzo, attack and destroy his Blood Magician! Howling Shock!" Jinzo raised the Howling Sword and then swung with it, sending a stream of blue energy out at the magician. The energy attack was so big that it covered everything else on the field.
"I'll counter your attack with one hundred and fifty percent! Blood Magician, counterattack with Inferno of Blood!" The crimson robed magician swept his scythe horizontally, sending a wave of red energy right back at Jinzo. The two energies collided and struggled against each other, creating a huge light show that looked like it was going to break the holo-projectors. It was that impressive.
The two attacks countered each other in every way, and in the end neither could win out. The attacks exploded, covering the field with a dome of light that shielded everything within from sight. Eventually it faded, and nothing was left of the two infinitely powerful monsters. And Rikuo's two cards went to the cemetery. Unfortunately for Drake his hadn't been equipped, so his field was still full of cards.
"Gold Wind-Up Knight will try for a direct attack!" The toy knight jumped across the field and slashed Drake across the shoulder with its blade. He grunted, but otherwise he didn't admit to any pain. He was a tough person and wouldn't willingly show any weakness. Not that it mattered to Rikuo, as the damage was done all the same. (DLP: 725)
"All I've got left in my hand is one card, so I'll set it for later. Now it's your turn Drake." His card appeared next to his original face down card, each to one side of Gold Wind-Up Knight. Then he picked up two of the last three cards in his deck, leaving him with only one draw in the entire game. Meanwhile Drake had to remove two of his own cards from the top of his deck, thereby reducing it in size as well.
"I've really enjoyed the entire duel Rikuo. Although its about to end I feel that this has truly been the ultimate duel that I've desired for so long. Regardless of the outcome I feel happy about it. Thanks for the duel, now let's see if I can end it!"
"I've drawn a card that can change the nature of this duel. It won't end it, but who knows what it will accomplish. I summon Magician of the Storm(1600/1400)! The moment he hits the field all of my magic and trap cards are blown away!" Drake's new monster appeared, revealing a monster in a yellow robe with blue lightning bolts on it. There was a crystal at the top of its staff which seemed to contain an electric storm within it.
Lightning arced across Drake's field, blasting his face down cards and his three face-up cards into oblivion. Now he had nothing left on his field except his monster, while Rikuo had two face down cards and a slightly weaker monster. "As long as Magician of the Storm is face-up I must destroy all magic and traps on my field at the beginning of the turn. However it prevents you from activating traps during my turn. I guess it's an even trade."
"Now Magician of the Storm will destroy Gold Wind-Up Knight and your last hope at defeating me!" The magician leveled his staff at the wind-up knight and then launched a bolt of lightning at he other monster. Gold Wind-Up Knight was a perfect conductor for the lightning and it was blown into tiny little pieces. With it Rikuo lost his monster and his chance at victory, because it would require a monster with twenty-four hundred attack points to beat Magician of the Storm and defeat Drake all in one move. (RLP: 750)
"Looks like we're down to the very last turn of the duel doesn't it? If you can't beat me in your next turn you lose, so I don't really have to worry about beating you. It isn't exactly my preferred method of victory, but whatever works. Don't think I won't defend myself though. I set four cards face down and end my turn." His four cards appeared behind the magician, each one giving Rikuo more to worry about. Drake had no hand, but that was remedied as he drew two more cards and then removed two cards from the game.
Rikuo stared at his last card for a moment, and noticed that Drake was also in trouble. About half his deck had been removed from the game already, and he had gone through most of the other half. He had four or five cards left, maybe one or two more than that. But that was all. If Rikuo had possessed just a few more cards in his deck then he could have won by deck out. Drake would have lost in his deck turn because of the removal effect of Supreme Sage of Balance.
'Can't live on might have beens Rikuo. I have to live in the present, and this is my last turn. If I don't win then he does. So there's no point in waiting around. I've got a duel to win!' He drew his final card and added it to his hand, barely looking at it. He already knew what he could do, the two cards he had drawn in his last end phase had given him the method to achieve victory. All he had to do was use it.
"Ready for the last turn Drake? We'll see who the stronger duelist is right now, because I summon Mechanical Engineer-Creative Division(500/500) to the field. I can sacrifice him and discard a card from my hand in order to special summon machines from my cemetery that are alike. I've got only one set to target, and I have to thank you for that. I lost two of these the first time you used Destiny's Way, and now they come back to haunt you. I offer my monster to activate his effect!" He dumped a card from his hand, leaving him with just the card he drew this turn. Meanwhile Mechanical Engineer was fading away to be replaced by Rikuo's newer monsters.
"I've special summoned Bronze Wind-Up Knight(500/500), Silver Wind-Up Knight(1000/1000), and Gold Wind-Up Knight(1500/1500). Now I combine them together in order to form a supreme monster known as Super Toy Knight(3000/3000)!" The three monsters broke into pieces and then merged together to form a towering toy knight with a huge sword in one hand. Its attack was enough to finish off Magician of the Storm and end the duel.
"Super Toy Knight, destroy his magician!" The massive knight stomped across the field and slashed downwards with its blade. However it passed right through Magician of the Storm and nothing happened much to Rikuo's consternation. Drake grinned and showed that he had activated face down cards, and that was the reason.
"I'm sure you remember the beginning of this duel when I locked you out of attacking. Well Soul Barrier and Astral Barrier are back, and they just won me this duel! Magician of the Storm would destroy them in my next turn, but since you'll lose in your end phase, it doesn't matter! The duel is completely over!" Rikuo's shoulders slumped as he saw how his monster's attack had failed and how no attack could win this duel for him. It truly seemed hopeless.
"Sorry Drake, I didn't want it to end this way. But it seems the duel comes down to a single card. The last card of my deck, the one I drew this turn. I didn't want to use it, but now I'm going to have to. I'm not going to lose this duel just because of one card, and I know you're strong enough to last. So here it goes, my ultimate card!" Drake grinned, waiting eagerly for Rikuo to use his card and show him what was in store for him.
"I'm going to end this duel in a bang! Go Hell Meteor! This magic card will end the duel by inflicting a total of four thousand damage to your life points!" Drake's eyes widened in horror as a massive burning ball of flame appeared above them. He couldn't believe the fact that Rikuo had a card that could deal four thousand damage in one strike. It seemed impossible, yet it was coming right for him.
"Don't think it will be that easy! I activate Chaos Mirror! This card will automatically activate one card from my out of play pile at random. Let's see what happens shall we?" He pulled his out of play pile from his pocket and fanned it out. A black mirror appeared in front of him and sat there for a second before the image of a duel monsters card in appeared in it, only its back was facing them.
"Chaos Mirror, reveal the card you've selected!" The card in the mirror flipped around to reveal a quick-play magic card. The image on the card was that of a person holding up a mirror to deflect an attack that was being redirected by a Magic Cylinder. Rikuo didn't know that card at all, so there was no telling what it did.
"My card is Trap Reflector, which will allow me to use the effect of a trap in your cemetery. Since I don't know every trap in your cemetery I guess you'll just have to show it to me won't you?" The wolf demon walked over while Drake walked out to meet him He handed Drake his cemetery pile and watched as the other duelist looked through it, trying to find something useful. Meanwhile Hell Meteor was hovering in mid-air, waiting to strike.
"This is perfect! I choose to activate your Spirit Mirror, thereby reflecting Hell Meteor to you!" The little fairy holding a mirror took shape and blocked the massive meteor. Then it was sent straight towards Rikuo, ready to deal its four thousand damage to the wolf and eliminate him from the game.
Rikuo walked back to his side of the field and then whirled around, already springing into action. "Remember Drake, you aren't the only one with face down cards. I've got two of my own. Here's the first one, Deadly Reversal! This card has an effect sort of like Spirit Mirror, only it reverses the effect of a trap card onto my opponent. So now your own Spirit Mirror that you stole from me will send Hell Meteor at you!"
The little fairy shot across the field and caught Hell Meteor once again, and pushed it towards Drake. Now both duelists had one face down card and Hell Meteor was on the destruction path towards the magician duelist. It would all come down to whoever played their last card best. "I'm not dead yet Rikuo. Activate Take One Chance! This will randomly select one card from my cemetery and play it on the field. I've only got eight cards in there, and you don't know what two are. However at least five of them won't save me. So let's find out what happens!"
A card ejected itself from his cemetery and he picked it up. He extended his arm out, showing the card to Rikuo. The demon duelist looked at it quizzically, also not recognizing it. "The card that's been selected is gonna make this duel even more random. It's Justice of Thought! Now I get to draw cards from my deck till I reach a magic card and then I can instantly activate that card!"
Drake picked up one card and then tossed it aside, seeing it was only Magician's Circle. He picked up another and tossed out Ghost Sorcerer. The third was also White Magic Summoner, meaning it wasn't what he wanted either. He drew the fourth card and showed it to Rikuo, grinning all the while. "The card that has been selected is Mirage Magic! And its effect will absorb the damage from Hell Meteor and add it to my life points! The win is mine!"
Rikuo depressed the button to activate his last card, and knew just as he did so exactly what the outcome would be. He smiled just a little bit, and then declared his move. "My final card is called Hate For One's Self! This trap can only be played if more than two cards have been used in a chain, and it automatically severs the chain! Everything we've done is dead and gone, and Hell Meteor is on its way back to you!"
Drake gasped as the barrier of Mirage Magic vanished and the massive meteor was coming straight towards him. He could feel its horrible energies, and knew that he was about to lose the duel. The threw up his arms and formed a barrier of golden energy. The meteor collided with it and detonated, filling half of the warehouse in hellish flames.
It took a few minutes, but the smoke cleared, and Drake was revealed kneeling on the ground, panting from the exertion of blocking the effect from seriously injuring him. All his cards, all his plays, and it all came down to one overpowered magic card. "It ended. Despite my best efforts and being in the lead most of the duel I lost anyways." (DLP: 0)
A clawed hand dropped to in front of him, and he glanced at it. It was Rikuo, offering him a hand up. He accepted and the demon pulled him to his feet, putting them eye to eye. Or at least as eye to eye as they could get considering about three inches of height difference. "That was a really awesome duel Rikuo. Thanks for giving me the duel I wanted. I may have lost, but at least it was to a fantastic duelist like yourself."
Drake extended his hand. Rikuo smiled and took his hand, shaking it in his firm grip. It had certainly been a magnificent duel. That was for sure. It had been long and deadly, and in the end the outcome had been determined by just one card. Impressive indeed. "You did great as well. There were so many times during this duel that I thought I was going to lose, but I kept on chugging away. I turned the tide in the end, but I can't say that everything was determined by the one card you think it was."
Drake raised an eyebrow and then Rikuo grinned, taking a card out of his duel disk and showing it to Drake. The punk duelist took it from Rikuo and saw exactly what it was. The last card that Rikuo had played, Hate For One's Self. "You may activate this card only if a card chain of two or more cards has been played. End the chain immediately and halt the resolution of every card in that chain. This card cannot be negated in any manner. You must pay one thousand life points to activate this effect."
His jaw dropped as he read the last part of the effect. He read it a second time to make sure he had seen right, and there it was. You must pay one thousand life points to activate this effect. "But that would mean..." The demon general raised his duel disk to display the life point counter, and sure enough it was as the card said. The outcome was not like Drake had thought at all. (RLP: 0)
"Thanks for showing me such a great duel Drake. In the end it looked like neither of us could win. We were even, and I have to respect anybody who can duel me to a tie. Especially someone who kicked my ass most of the duel." They both shared a grin, happy at the outcome. Neither had won, neither had lost. Both kept their duelist pride, and both were satisfied by the amazing duel they had experienced.
"You've spent far too long enjoying the sights. You got the duel you came for, even though you shouldn't have, now lets go home before you do anymore damage." Rikuo and Drake both turned and saw another person walking towards them. It was the blonde haired Dalin, the big guy that Rikuo had met weeks previous. Drake rolled his eyes at the sight of the familiar looking duelist that he'd known for a while now.
"You're a total buzz-kill Dalin. You could at least let me savor this great duel for a while longer by going to the World Tournament and kicking everyone's butt there." Dalin only offered Drake a steadfast glare, his eyes unwavering and determined. Drake didn't have to be a genius to know that Dalin had no intention of changing his mind and bending the rules.
"Fine fine. Hey Rikuo, take this okay. Since I can't go to the World Tournament there's no reason for me to have it. And if I'm ever around again I'll look you up and we can duel again." Rikuo took the piece of paper he had been given by Drake and saw that it was an invitation to the World Tournament, the one that Drake had won in the tournament he challenged Rikuo at. He was just handing Rikuo an opportunity to duel for the title of World Champion.
"If you do ever come around again, you can count on that duel." Having exchanged their goodbyes the two duelist turned away. Dalin and Drake were walking in the direction that Drake's motorcycle was, and Rikuo was heading towards the exit that would lead him on his way home. They were two duelists with two different directions, but they had a lot in common.
Rikuo realized there was something he wanted to say so he whirled around, saying it as he spun. "Where exactly are you going back to anyways?" But there was nobody there to answer his question. Both Drake and Dalin were gone. And when Rikuo ran outside he found no trace of the motorcycle and no sign of them driving away. They had simply...vanished.
"Were they phantoms or something? Did they really exist at all? I guess I'll never know now...but it was fun while it lasted. If I ever do see Drake again I'll make sure to ask him. And then I'll kick his ass in a duel." Smirking the former general bounded up onto the top of the warehouse and started running home, leaping across buildings on his way. His mind was reviewing the duel and possible ways to defeat Drake in the future, and also one what he was going to tell Jasmine when he got home. She'd want to know what had happened and boy did he have a story to tell her.
Then both were gone, and the only sign left that the two had ever met as a large burn mark in an abandoned warehouse. They had both gone their separate ways, two duelists in two different directions. Yet in the end their destination had been the same.
The Ultimate Duel.
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Author's Notes: And that's all folks. I'd like to thank WolfGeneral for making a cool character and cool story with which I could create a kick ass duel. Rikuo and Jasmine are property of WolfGeneral, while Drake and Dalin are my property.
Gryphmwrm7: As WolfGeneral told me, Hell Meteor is a card that is composed of hellish energy from Sestros, so it shouldn't be played regularly. That's why I had him use it as a last ditch, not as just something to throw around.
WolfGeneral: I hope you were satisfied by the conclusion. That's all I can say.
Original Cards(again)
Drake: Magician of the Storm, Chaos Mirror, Trap Reflector, Justice For All, Ghost Sorcerer, White Magic Summoner
Rikuo: Mechanical Engineer-Creative Division, Bronze Wind-Up Knight, Silver Wind-Up Knight, Gold Wind-Up Knight, Super Toy Knight, Hell Meteor, Deadly Reversal(mine), Hate For One's Self(mine)
Anime Original Cards
Drake: Mirage Magic, Magician's Circle