What's up everybody? Welcome back!
Sorry for the late update, I got a bit of a problem with my life and some writer's block blocking my stream of imagination but I'm fine now, don't worry.
To Guest 01: I actually based my duel writing style on Dark Side of Dimensions in which they do not describe the effects that much to make duels dramatic, and yes, fun stuff during infiltration coming!
To FPM: That's the harsh truth but yes, they screwed up the Lancers over and over, at least they are not dead set on killing them for vengeance.
To Sesshomaru: A treat for those two right here!
Without further ado, enjoy reading!
Spiral 8: Prison Break
"Even if we can draw out their force at the ports and charge in, hopefully without any resistance, what are we going to do next?" Sora asks.
"What else Sora?" Yuya says to him. "We rescue Yuzu and Rin and get them out of Academia."
"Then we need to know where they are being held." Ruri speaks up. "After Rin and I broke out of the two towers, they obviously won't keep Yuzu and the Synchro girl in there anymore."
"Probably the basement." Yuri answers.
"You sure?" Reiji wonders, zooming in the hologram to check.
"Selena told me. They probably re-innovated some of the rooms in there as a prison cell." At the same time, the 3D image of the basement floor comes up. "Could be any one of those rooms, or several. I'm not sure if Barrett kept this map up-to-date but this is as far as I am one hundred percent sure."
Jack speaks as he looks at the map. "Any guards in there? And how many?"
"Two guards named Apollo and Diana are always guarding them, plus several Academia personnel I think."
"Those two again?" Asuka scoffs. "I thought Professor carded them after their failure last time."
"Low on number I assume." Tsukikage speculates.
"But even then, we still need a way in." Ryoga points out. "The main force will break in the front door; we need a back door to break the two girls out."
Yusho steps forward. "Selena said she used the sewer system below Academia to escape. That will be our way in."
"Hold up." Gongenzaka tells Yusho. "Don't you think they reinforced that area after her escape? You know, stronger doors or more guards?"
"The attack from the main force will draw them out, that's our chance to break in. And if they are still there, these chips I showed you will do the work."
"Okay." Yugo speaks up, looking at the truck behind him. "We got the how down, we need to know the who."
The eager tone in the Synchro boy's voice is enough for Reiji to know what he has to say next. The second after every Lancers turns to look at the leader, Reiji steps one step forward.
"Yuya, Yugo, I trust you two on rescuing Hiragi Yuzu and Rin."
"Roger that."
"Me too." A female voice catches everyone by surprise.
"Masumi…?!" Ruri looks at her, incredulous. "You serious?"
"C'mon." Masumi slightly tilts her head and raises her eyebrows. "All of you forgot why I came here in first place?"
…
…
…
The neon lights hanging above shine bright down to the small rectangular ground amongst the other thirty-five similar ones all around the big dome field, sparkling up the light blue energy barrier surrounding the edges of the training field lines. Several sparkling light blue steps hovering close above the ground, each containing a card laying down close at the edge of each. Standing at each end of the field on the ground are two participants of this training Action Duel: a young girl wearing a brown sleeveless shirt and black sports shorts and a holographic recreation of a duelist wearing the Obelisk Blue battle uniform.
Panting hard from all of the consecutive duels ever since she got here again to forget the burning memories in her head, she musters all of her remaining strength and slams down the card with purple outline down to the blade of her Duel Disk.
"Appear now…! Level 10…!"
A large female humanoid monster cladding in bright white armor with several sparkling diamonds at its two buttocks, chest plate and head armor appears. Increasing its powerful yet graceful Jeanne d'Arc image are the long sword on it right hand and a red cape on its back.
"Gem-Knight Lady…" The girl grasps for breath, struggling to fight over the tired muscle and the visible wounds on her body. "Brilliant Dia!"
Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia EARTH/Rock/Fusion/LV10/3400/2000
"Battle…!" The girl slowly raises her hand at the soulless opponent. Nothing in the field, nothing in the hand, all available comebacks in the graveyard were gone during the last turn, another victory is near her reach.
And she falls down hard to the ground.
Brilliant Dia disintegrates into nothing, the blue energy barrier around the field also fades out along with the recreation of the enemy from the Fusion dimension, leaving the exhausted girl breathing heavily behind the cold ground.
Patient yet hurried footsteps come close to the girl, a slightly wrinkled and tanned big hand of a man helps her up.
"Told you this ain't working forever… Masumi…" A defeated yet fatherly voice that the girl both fells hated and relieved to hear for so familiar and peaceful it always is to her. The man gently helps her stand up and walks her to the chair he has been silently sitting on watching her daughter painfully destroying herself for the grief others have forced on her.
Taking the bottle of water that he handed her, she stares absent-mindedly into the empty space ahead. "Neither is therapy… and that took quite a fortune of your and Mom's pocket…"
"We're your parents Masumi, and you're our only daughter. We will do anything for you."
"Including closing your jewelry shop early?" Masumi grumbles, taking another drink of water. Slowly regaining normal breaths, she lies back and rests her head on the edge of the orange chair. "You and mom… did so much to me already… I haven't done anything for myself yet…"
"You did. Skipping school lessons, burying yourself in Duel Monster at LDS." The father lists out. "Genuinely surprised they let you stay here in first place, reminds me of my rebellious days…"
"You're not angry? Frustrated?" A question she has asked him so many times ever since.
"Masumi…" The jeweler sighs, not having the mood to send both of them into a bitter argument again. "You know that I am not, and we are not, angry at you. That son of a bitch Kurosaki Shun, those other two assholes Selena and Yuri, they are the people we're angry at for breaking our daughter like this. And if there's someone else we are frustrated, then it's us for failing you…"
"You can say the same thing to the CEO of this goddamn place dad. That bastard took an excuse of being the leader of the what? Lancers? All to run away from the messes that he made here, and as usual, his mother did the damage control part…" Masumi shakes her head.
"And don't blame yourselves, please… you and mom…" Barely above a whisper, or otherwise she will break.
The father and daughter do not say anything else, the former retains the usual stoic and understanding face, yet the soul inside him can only be compared to a raging volcano lashing out at the unfairness of life and his own failure at protecting and helping his beloved daughter if some kind of new age artist can visualize what the hell is going on right now; the daughter silently cries her own spirit out inside her frame, trying her best to drown the first reality crush to the sunset outside the frame of the car window in the backseat of the grey family four-door-sedan.
And hopefully, the delicious dinner filled with so many of her favorite foods that her mother has prepared for her after a quick bath too.
"Mmm… delicious!"
"Eat as much as you can Masumi, you need it after a long day." Wearing a warm smile at her only daughter as usual, and hiding so many worries under those upward curved lips as usual.
"Same thing to you, mom. Eat."
All three of the family gulp on their own food-stuffed bowl, occasionally sharing words during the dinner, mainly about the trivia stuffs. Until…
"Hey Masumi."
"Yes Mom?"
"You up for a trip tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow?" Masumi wonders.
"Uh-huh. We already booked, we're going in early morning."
"But… why? It's Friday tomorrow, not Saturday, why a trip?"
"You know… it's just…" The mother slightly stutters, trying to find a calm mood to speak. "It's been a long time since we last… went somewhere away from Maiami together… how long has it hon?" She quickly turns to her husband.
"Three years give or take." The father tries a cheerful tone.
"Right." She faces Masumi again. "It will help all of us a lot I'm certain…"
Masumi stares at her parents before eyeing down at the table, a sad frown visible on her face.
"Yeah… it would be nice too… it would help a lot too…" The girl bites her lips. "If I could bring my friends with us like last time…"
"Huh…" The woman sighs. "C'mon Masumi…"
"My… friends in class… or in LDS, you know… Hokuto, Yaiba…"
"Or even those in You Show… Yuya and… Yuzu…" Her eyes get heavy before she knows it.
"Masumi…"
"I mean!" Masumi cuts her dad off, albeit still keeping the gentle and respectful tone. "How can I enjoy life when those I am close with are gone like that?!"
"Well…" The father tries to say something. "You have us, me and your mom…!"
"I know…" Masumi nods. "And I'm forever grateful for that but…" She tearfully shakes her head. "This is different! I'm close with them, you two aren't!"
"Masumi, whatever happened, happened, and there is nothing we can-"
"Im'ma go back to my room." She quickly gets up from her chair and dashes back to her room, leaving her sad and bewildered parents behind the kitchen. Ignoring the door banging and pleading from her mom, Masumi buries her head under the pillow and sobs her crushed soul out.
…
…
…
"Okay, everyone up there is busy with Dennis, Gloria and Isao." Yugo looks at the feed shown on the helmet of the diving suit he and the others are wearing right now.
"Shit… can't believe they got Isao in their fighting force now." Yuya remarks.
"With the way you beat him last time." Masumi says. "I think Academia hired him to exclusively target you."
"Lucky that I don't have to fight him right now. I don't want to fight him at all. Let's go." Yuya accelerates the Resistance-issued DPV that Ryoga brought along and quietly dives past the battlefield about thirty meters above them.
"What a view…" Masumi mutters to herself as she looks up to the four boats and the monsters floating above the surface, the lack of sunlight from the depth the three youngsters are staying in does not do enough of a job to keep the warzone above hidden. "Duel Monsters… corrupted for war…"
Yugo says through the radio system. "War is one thing, but back in my home dimension they use it to divine us apart, in peace. Took hundreds of both Tops and Commons turned into cards for them to realize how wrong it was…"
"How do people always find a way to use inventions for good to destroy each other?" Yuya wonders as he forces himself back to the lightless void of water ahead. "They always do that, creating a big and painful mess, then retreating and blaming something else and forcing young people like us to clean it all up. The world of smiles and harmony I always dreamed to make a reality of… turned out it never existed at all… only a world where the old and bitter pits us, the young and naïve, to kill each other for their own profit…"
"The best thing we can do Yuya." Masumi says to the Entertainment Duelist, gently touching the shoulder plate of his suit. "Is to make the most of it, and never lose what makes you you in this cruel life."
"Sounds a lot like you now Masumi." Yuya chuckles. "Impressive I admit. After what you went through."
"Same thing to you too." Masumi says. "Yuto and Ruri helped me catch up about what happened to everyone and you. Poor Yuzu…"
"We all suffered one way or another Masumi, Yuya." Yugo reminds. "No one's got it worse than others here. And if we cannot change how the world works, at least we can keep people we are close with."
"Right." Masumi nods. "My friend Hiragi Yuzu is in there."
"And so is Rin, the person matters the most in my life."
"Okay." Yuya says. "We're near the sewers now. Get ready."
…
…
…
Another night, another struggle to sleep.
The usual routine of finishing homework, no more.
Chatting with school friends about rumors and gossip, no more.
Online calling her LDS buddies about the lessons and duels, no more.
Only the dreadful and unwilling all-nighter remains for Kotsu Masumi ahead this night, just like every night since last month.
And during each eight hour of sleeplessness in her daily clock cycle, she curses herself for failing to sleep, for failing to find inner piece for herself, for not accepting the fact that nobody in this world cares about the pain she is having right now.
Only her parents are the ones who really knows what she is going through at this moment, or at least most of it. They spent so much money on therapy and while it actually worked for her initially, she would always get nightmares about those dark days. Masumi still vividly remembers the first night she lost her sleep after she tried to treat her issues: alone in the endless darkness, a demonic entity taking the form of Kurosaki Shun brutally beat her both by Dueling and ferocious physical contact, then two smaller dark specters taking the form of Selena and Yuri pinning her down on the ground for some unsavory intentions, and worst of all, the silent stare from a lookalike of Abaka Reiji. Listing the horrible experience in detail with two heavy lines of teardrop from her eyes, she still could not forget her own mother quietly crying while embracing her and her therapist becoming momentarily speechless.
And then, one more long night rolling around.
Another night sweating heavily.
Another night…
Another…
Alternating between short sleeps and no sleep.
If putting her education on hold and channeling all of her attention on Duel Monsters do not work.
Then there is only one way:
Her own hands.
Gently caressing her left wrist with her right thumb (on which she imagines some cuts), Masumi takes out her Duel Disk placed in her bag, then she checks her parents' room to make sure they are one hundred percent sleeping tightly. Quietly closing the door, she goes up to the rooftop and makes a call.
"Who is this?" A female voice on the other end of the phone call speaks up.
"Chairwoman and interim CEO of LDS Akaba Himika?"
"Oh…!" Himika immediately recognizes the voice. "Masumi? Why are you calling me? And this late?"
"I'm sorry for calling you this late, but this is important to me. I know you are a busy woman so let's cut to the chase shall we?"
A brief silence, probably wondering the intention behind the young girl's words, before Himika answers. "Okay."
"Thank you. First off, I am really grateful of you for giving me permission to use the training field as I wish in the last few weeks. Second, if you're about to ask how I am doing, then I'm not doing great at all. And finally, I find a way that I think I can heal from what happened."
Masumi eyes up at the bright moon up the sky, the white light sparkles in her eyes like those white topazes she always makes sure to have at least one look at from her father's jewelry shop.
"And… I'm gonna need your help for that."
"I'm not a therapist Masumi." Himika says. "But if you called me for that, then it must be serious. What else can I do besides not charging for your burnout sessions?"
The young girl takes a deep breath and announces.
"I want you to make me a Lancer."
"What…?" Of course, the expected reaction, like they always do. "You… what did you just say?!"
"Like I said, I want you to make me a Lancer. I heard a thing or two during my recent practices, enough to guarantee my inclusion now isn't it?"
"You serious?!" Himika says in a whisper. "I don't… I don't get what you mean by that."
"Then you don't get how gaining back painful memories from your company's brainwashing is." Masumi whispers back in a dangerous tone. "I can use that to sue LDS for violating human rights you know? Not to mention herding teenagers like us in mercy of Academia just to find suitable recruits for your Lancers team. The only reason the Japanese government did not do anything to LDS right now is because how dangerous Academia is, but imagine what happens if I release the brainwashing information on the Internet now?"
"You can't be doing that Masumi!" Himika warns. "You won't win!"
"Maybe I'll win, maybe I'll lose, I don't care, but even for a big corporation like LDS, it's not okay to abuse young people like me and then cast us aside when we are no longer useful to you. And think about what will happen if I join the Lancers CEO-san: you have one more member in your elite team, if I come back alive and winning then you can use it to improve LDS' reputation across the world and the other three dimensions, if I lose and get myself carded like Hokuto and Yaiba, then… well… you won't have to worry about what your son did to us three after the asshole Kurosaki Shun brutalized us getting public. So, how is it gonna be Himika-san?"
A long ass minutes passes.
"Let's say…" Himika eventually answers, tensely. "I can make you a Lancer, too easy for a problem, then what? How are you gonna explain it to your parents?"
"I'll find a way."
"How can I be sure you won't leak the info?"
"Then how can I be sure you won't try doing anything to my parents?"
"You're getting too reckless and naïve Masumi-chan."
"And you're always actually scared shitless on the inside. Do I need to tell you what you and Reiji did to that poor kid Reira? Maybe some other things too if you want?"
"You…!" Himika grasps in shock, Masumi smirks at the reaction. "You…!"
"I what? I propose being a pawn in your Lancers team, I'm already at a disadvantage CEO-san. Why that scared voice?"
Himika does not answer anything else for a while, but the way the line is still intact indicates how serious the woman is taking the offer.
"Even if you send bodyguards or Tsukikage in to keep my mouth shut, it still won't do anything good, don't forget about it." Masumi reminds the woman.
A small sigh of defeat from the other end of the conversation, followed by the clear and strong commanding voice.
"Tomorrow morning in my office, don't be late."
Beep beep beep…
Peeking through the holes of the door, Diana turns to her big fellow associate Apollo.
"Man I hate this job…" She grumbles, ticking her tongue in boredom. "How long are we gonna guard these two girls? I'd rather drink myself thinking about my time at Pro League than this…"
"Not until we got those remaining two girls I think." Apollo says. "I'd love to be done with this too and return to my mom you know, but work is work. The salary's nice though."
"It's funny don't you think?" Diana chuckles. "After all of the shit happened, Academia always only ended up only having two girls captured, never all four."
"Don't forget what happened last time Diana, we were lucky Leo showed mercy, otherwise we would be gone in cards now." Apollo reminds her. "But still, things were pretty confusing last week."
"Yeah… Selena for some reason betrayed the Lancers and revealed the position of the other three girls, Academia was confident that they finally achieved the plan, then Ruri escaped again and Selena deflected again. All we got now is a foul-mouthed girl from the slums and a traumatized one in both ways."
"And now Academia is desperate for them again, but to be honest, I don't know why Leo wants all of those four girls with the same faces. What does he want from them? And why was there an old frail man in Academia's circle going in here this morning?"
"Don't know, don't care." Diana shakes her head. "As long as we are done and get out of this stinky island."
"Yeah, I think that's the best for us two…"
Their Duel Disks beep up repeatedly as they resume guarding.
"What's this?"
"Emergency signal?" Both of them turn their disks on. A holographic video feed manifests.
"Professor?"
"To everyone getting this." Leo says. "The Lancers have infiltrated the island. They want to stop our ARC Area Project and get the two girls out of here. Stop them." Then the feed disappears.
"You hear that?" Apollo tells the woman.
"Yeah, get ready." The two guards check their decks and disks again and stood in their position, waiting for any attacks to come in.
Footsteps from two directions can be heard echoing down the basement, along with several small explosions, screaming and fighting sounds.
"Apollo, take the right side, I'll cover the left." Diana signals.
"Got it."
Hurried footsteps coming down the basement.
Several shadows printed on the wall of the stairs, getting closer and closer.
The human-sized frames finally appear clearly enough from their eye sights.
"Now!" Apollo and Diana activate a card, sending trap nets towards the two stairs. Suddenly, two energy barriers manifest, blocking the nets from reaching and rebounding them to Apollo and Diana's direction.
"Watch out!" The two guards quickly roll away.
"Charge in!" A young male voice commands, the attackers quickly run in. Diana nods to Apollo and both hit the two red buttons, metal fences quickly slide down from above the roof. The guards then activate another card, smoke suddenly manifest from below the ground, stopping the attackers from sliding through underneath.
The smoke clears out, revealing three individuals trapped in three different fence cages.
"Dammit…" One of them curses, coughing from the smoke. "We're trapped."
"Yuya! You're okay?" Another male from the cage behind the front one on the right.
"I'm fine Masumi! Yugo?"
"I'm good!" The other boy trapped opposite of the other two's direction yells. "But our Duel Disk are deactivated, we cannot use it anymore!"
"What?!" Yugo grasps. "Some kind of… electrical interference?!"
"It is." Apollo comes out of the hiding spot along with Diana, the three Lancers tense up at the sight of the people blocking them from getting the two girls. "Hello Lancers, trapped in cages. We cannot let you rescue the girls, your infiltration to this place is finished."
"Is it really so?" Yugo suddenly smirks, and before Apollo and Diana can even think of why he is acting like that all three trapped Lancers suddenly touch the bars, zapping the fences with electricity.
"What the…?" Apollo wonders. The three Lancers disappear and the fences slowly rises up.
"The fences are no longer working!" Diana tries to touch the buttons again but it was in vain as the fences are completely retracted up to the roof again. At the same time, the three same Lancers come up from the second basement floor and face the two from both directions.
"Can't be...! How?"
"Look at the ground." Masumi points at the small devices.
"Is that…?"
"A small gift from my dad, the famed Entertainment Duelist in Standard Sakaki Yusho." Yuya smiles, arming his Duel Disk.
"Based on the position you two are standing, it is certain that Yuzu and Rin are in the center room next to you." Yugo says and activates his Duel Disk.
"You two won't win this." Masumi warns. "Let Yuzu and Rin go and we won't have to settle this the hard way!"
"We will see about that." A voice from behind Masumi and Yuya comes up, shocking the young Lancers. By instinct, Yuya quickly pushes Masumi away before he gets pinned down the ground.
"Yuya!" Yugo yells and tries to run to him but Apollo quickly kicks him backwards.
Struggling to let go of the knee holding him down, Yuya finally faces the person.
"Kachi… Kachidoki Isao…!"
"Remember me?" Isao says in a monotone. "Ever since I lost the duel against you, my life has been in an eternal darkness. Today is my chance to finally get back what I was lost."
"Let him go Isao!" Masumi grabs his neck and tries to pry him of Yuya but he quickly grabs her hair and throws her away to near Diana's location.
"Masumi!" Yuya yells. "Dammit Isao, I don't have time for this! Let me-"
Isao presses his knee further into Yuya's stomach, causing the boy to grunt in pain.
"Bastard!" Yugo growls. "Let Yuya go!"
"You won't be getting close to him." Apollo stands in his way and arms his Duel Disk up.
Masumi also has no other choice but to face Diana alone, the Duel Disk blades manifest.
"Don't think about helping them right now Yuya." Isao says. "If you want to, duel me first!"
Staring at him and the two other Lancers who nod at him, Yuya relents.
"Okay…" He faces Isao. "I'll duel you…"
"Good…" Isao lets go of Yuya and stands near the stairs.
"Be careful Yuya!" Masumi tells him.
"I will, you two too!"
All six duelists fiercely yell. "DUEL!"
Kachidoki Isao LP 4000 [ ] x5
Sakaki Yuya LP 4000 [ ] x5
###
Yugo LP 4000 [ ] x5
Apollo LP 4000 [ ] x5
###
Kotsu Masumi LP 4000 [ ] x5
Diana LP 4000 [ ] x5
…
…
…
"I take the first turn." Diana says to her opponent. "From my hand, magic card, Fusion, activate!" The hologram of the signature card of Academia spins around, forming a spiral above.
"From my hand, I use Guardian Tryce and Warrior Lady of the Moon for fusion!" Diana sends the two cards in her hand to the graveyard slot, the monsters manifest and get sucked in the spiral.
"When the shining moonlight hits the Flamberge, the two warriors become one! Yūgō Shōkan!" Light comes out of the portal, a monster descends.
"Appear now Level 7! Moon Protector!"
Moon Protector DARK/Warrior/Fusion/LV7/2100/2400
"Moon Protector?" Masumi comments. "So ironic… the moon is Selena, and protect…? Bullshit…"
"Moon Protector's monster effect activates!" The protector raises its lance up, the crescent moon tip lights up. "It special summons a Protector's Shield Token." A small brown tablet with unintelligible words manifests to the monster's right side.
Protector's Shield Token LIGHT/Warrior/Token/LV1/0/0
"As long as I control this token, Moon Protector cannot be attacked. Then I set down one card, turn end."
"Okay!" Masumi touches the top card of her Deck. "Watashi no turn, draw!"
"No Gem-Knight Fusion on my hand right now… or even enough monsters for a Fusion Summon… such a not-so-good hand…"
"However…" After checking her starting hand thoroughly, Masumi reaches for another card. "From my hand, Gem-Knight Quartz's monster effect activates! By sending it to the graveyard." Masumi does so and the screen on her Duel Disk shows up several cards. She swipes until she gets the desired one, the card pops out a bit from the bottom of the Deck after she clicks on its image on the screen. "I can set a Continuous Magic Card right from my Deck."
Masumi inserts the card to the slot and immediately clicks the image of it on the screen. "And then activate! Brilliant Fusion!"
"Oh…" Diana comments. "A Fusion user…"
"With this card, I can use monsters from my Deck for a Fusion Summon."
"What?!" Three cards pop out of Masumi's deck as Diana gets surprised by the powerful effect.
Masumi reveals the cards before sending it to the graveyard. "I use Gem-Knight Alexand, Emeral and Obsidia for fusion!" The fusion spiral appears again.
"Gem with facets of day and night! Brilliant emerald of good fortune! Sharp jet-black darkness! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Yūgō Shōkan!"
"Appear now! Level 9! Gem-Knight Master Dia!"
Gem-Knight Master Dia EARTH/Rock/Fusion/LV9/2900/2500
"Hmm… summoning your ace monster right out of the bat?" Diana notes. "However, don't forget that due to Brilliant Fusion's effect, Master Dia will lose all of its attack and defense power."
Gem-Knight Master Dia 2900/2500 - 0/0
Masumi glances at the other two battlefields and sees Yugo has got out Clear Wing while Yuya is still not doing too good against Isao.
"Don't worry about us!" Yugo notices. "Focus on your own duel!"
"I know!" Masumi says back to him.
"You are all separated and stuck in a lonely duel each, and yet you still think all of you can bounce back?" Diana mocks.
"As long as we believe in each other and each of us believes in ourselves, we can do anything." Masumi answers. "Including beating you into a pulp right now and bringing my friends back!"
"You really want to finish this duel quickly huh? However, let's enjoy for a bit!" Diana swings her hand to the screen. "Continuous Trap, Protector Adoration activate!" Blue light shots up from the ground of Master Dia, yellow energy flies out of its body, at the same time two more brown tablets manifest on Diana's field.
"This card negates Master Dia's effect and special summons two more Protector's Shield Tokens in defense position. The targeted monster can attack all of these tokens but if you don't do it all, your monster is destroyed." Masumi grits her teeth in annoyance, she glances to the front and just like her Yugo's Clear Wing has lost its color from the same trap but fortunately Yuya seems to be gaining his advantage back.
"Since Master Dia now has 0 ATK." Diana says, snapping Masumi back to the duel. "It won't be able to destroy any of these three tokens and it will be destroyed at the end of this Battle Phase, but I don't think that continuous magic stays here for show only right?"
"Of course." Brilliant Fusion lights up as Masumi sends a card from her hand to the grave slot.
Gem-Knight Master Dia 0/0 - 2900/2500
"By sending a Magic Card from my hand to the graveyard, Master Dia will gain its lost ATK and DEF back. Battle!" Masumi's monster lunges forward and swings its big sword at one token, destroying it.
Covering herself from the impact, Diana smiles. "At this moment, Moon Protector's monster effect activates!" The protector raises its lance up again, blue light showers both Master Dia and Diana herself. "Master Dia loses 800 ATK for destroying a token and I gain 800 LP."
Gem-Knight Master Dia ATK 2900 - 2100
Diana LP 4000 - 4800 [ ] x1
"With Moon Protector and my tokens, your monster will lose its attack power and I will slowly gain LP over and over."
"So that's your plan huh? Increasing LP to delay the duel while draining my monster's attack power in the process?"
"That's right. And with it you won't be able to rescue these two girls like you wanted to. If you don't want it to happen then be smart and stop attacking."
"Such trivial shit…!" Masumi grunts. "I'd rather keep Master Dia on the field than losing it to your trick! Battle again!" The weakened monster charges forward again and strikes another token to oblivion.
"If so, Moon Protector's monster effect activates again!"
Gem-Knight Master Dia ATK 2100 - 1300
Diana LP 4800 - 5600 [ ] x1
"Third battle now, Master Dia!"
Gem-Knight Master Dia ATK 1300 - 500
Diana LP 5600 - 6400 [ ] x1
"Tsk tsk tsk…" Diana laughs in a mocking tone. "Idiotic bitch, don't you realize all of what you did is weakening your ace monster and healing me three times? Keeping your monster on the field is one thing, but it only has 500 ATK now and when your turn ends, Brilliant Fusion's power-up will be gone."
"No need to educate me." Masumi tells the woman. "I come here to rescue my friend and I will do it no matter what!"
"Then watch me destroy your ace monster during my next turn."
"Sorry." Masumi smirks. "It ain't gonna happen."
"What?"
"With Brilliant Fusion's effect, I have sent the Quick-Play Magic Gem-Knight Clarity to the graveyard, which is where it will show its true power!" The card manifests as a hologram as she takes it out along with Brilliant Fusion from her Duel Disk to her pocket. "By banishing it from the graveyard and Brilliant Fusion from the field, I can return my Gem-Knight monster from the graveyard to the Deck for a Fusion Summon!"
"What?!" Diana grasps in shock. "Fusion Summon from the graveyard?!"
"Gem with facets of day and night! Brilliant emerald of good fortune! Sharp jet-black darkness! In a whirlpool of light, combine to bring forth a new dazzling radiance! Yūgō Shōkan!"
"Appear now my true ace! Level 10! Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia!"
Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia EARTH/Rock/Fusion/LV10/3400/2000
At the same time, Apollo gets flown into the wall and loses consciousness.
"Apollo!" Diana yells his name in distress.
"Well… that was not too hard…" Yugo wipes the dust of his white shirt. "Need a hand Masumi?"
"No thanks, I can finish this bitch on my own, go help Yuya!"
"Okay, but I don't really think he needs my help anyway." Yugo looks behind him as Yuya declares the Battle Phase.
"Go now! Nirvana High Paladin, attack Conqueror Star Shura! Truth Sukhavati!" Finishing the Level 12 Fusion monster Excalibur-style which somehow does not destroy the roof of the basement floor, Yuya quickly ties up Isao to avoid any bullshit he might do.
"Alright, Isao's done. Only that woman remains."
"Dammit!" Diana curses.
"Don't forget this duel is still going on bitch!" Masumi reminds the panicked woman. "Since Protector Adoration has lost its target, it is destroyed." The trap combusts.
"You might have brought out your real ace." Diana tries to keep calm. "But even if you destroy Moon Protector, I will still have LP left!"
"Not with this! Gem-Knight Clarity's other effect! Brilliant Dia can gain ATK equal to the ATK of 1 Gem-Knight monster in the graveyard!"
"What?!"
"And the target of course is the Master Dia which was destroyed when Brilliant Fusion got banished!" Brilliant Dia glows up in blue and boasts its powers my flexing its arms.
Gem-Knight Lady Brilliant Dia ATK 3400 - 6300
"ATK 6300?!"
"Battle! Brilliant Dia, attack Moon Protector now!" The female monster readies its sword with two hands.
"I'm not losing that easily!" Diana suddenly sends her last card to the grave slot, its hologram shows up. "By sending Protector Rebounder from my hand to the graveyard, the attack is negated and you take damage equal to Brilliant Dia's attack power!"
"Shit!" Yugo growls as the card absorbs the energy from the blade of Masumi's monster and gets ready to fire a beam back at her.
"Masumi!" Yuya yells.
"It still won't do anything loser!" Masumi shows one card from her hand. "Gem-Knight Cullinan's monster effect activates! By sending this card from my hand to the graveyard and returning Master Dia to my Extra Deck, I can negate the activation of a card and destroy it!"
"Shit!" Diana steps back in fear as the energy ball disintegrates.
"Brilliant Dia, finish Moon Protector!" A strong and precise sword slash separate Diana's monster in two.
Diana LP 6400 - 2200 [ ] x0
"Dammit…" Diana grunts. "4200 damage right of the bat… but now your Battle Phase is over Masumi!"
"Is that really so?"
"What?"
"Quick-Play Magic Gem-Knight Half-Life activate! By banishing Gem-Knight Quartz, Brilliant Dia can attack again but this time you only take half of the battle damage!"
"No… no way!" Diana panicked hard, knowing her defeat is imminent.
"3150 damage is still more than enough! Brilliant Dia, direct attack!" Brilliant Dia charges energy to the tip of its blade, then it makes a downward slash, sending a big crescent wave at Diana. The impact sends the woman crashing to the wall screaming painfully, losing consciousness immediately after.
Diana LP 2200 - 0 [ ] x0
"Yes!" Yuya smiles.
"Good job Masumi!" Yugo congratulates.
"Same to you two. Now only this door remains but…" Masumi eyes at the two swipe card door locks. "Where do we get the cards to gain access to this prison cell?"
"Most likely from these two guards." Yuya and Yugo quickly search the tied Apollo and Diana and after a short while, they get what they need.
"Alright we got both of their keycards." Yugo and Yuya both swipe the cards at the same moment, the red light beeps green and Masumi quickly opens the door. The two doors holding Yuzu and Rin hostage also open.
"Yuzu! Rin! Are you there? We're here to bust you out, now!"
The two girls come out after hearing what Masumi says.
"You are…?" Rin wonders (of course she does not know who Masumi is).
"Masumi?!" Yuzu reacts in shock, not expecting the girl to be here right now. She quickly rushes to the LDS girl and hugs her tight.
"Uhm." Masumi smiles, letting the girl hug her as long as she wants. "Long story but I am a Lancer now, and I got a surprise for both of you at the back."
"What?" To answer Masumi's words, Yuya and Yugo come in the cell at the same time.
"Yu… Yuya?!" Yuzu stutters, cannot believing what is happening in front of her eyes right now.
"Hey…" Yuya returns with a whisper. "Sorry for taking too long… again…"
Yuzu runs towards the boy she misses so much and embraces her miracle boy, a teardrop of happiness falls down from her eyes.
"It's… it's…" Yuzu says between quick breathes. "It's okay… I'm glad you're here…" A smile forms on both of her and Yuya's faces, the two close their eyes and lose themselves in the outburst of happiness.
Yugo walks towards Rin and the two quickly close any distance possible with a strong and passionate hug, nearly tackling both down to the cold ground.
"You… are you okay… Rin?" Yugo whispers, keeping his face lowered.
"Umm…" Rin nods, burying her chin to the skin of the back of her childhood friend. "I'm doing alright… you too?"
"Way better…" Yugo lets out a teardrop. "Especially… after I got you back…"
All four girls and boys do not say anything else, just silent hugging and crying out of relief. Smiling at the beautiful display of human attraction, Masumi gives them privacy by silently moving to the wall at the back of the cell.
"Lancers." Masumi contacts her teammates. "This is Masumi. We got Yuzu and Rin secured."
"Good job you three." Reiji says.
"How are things on your end?"
"Not too good but we'll handle it. Just get the girls out of here now and regroup with us if possible."
"Okay." Masumi hesitates for a bit before turning off the connection. "Good luck."
Masumi turns to the side of the door, addressing the lookalikes. "Alright, hugging time's over, we need to get out of here now before Academia sends reinforcements down here."
"How?" Rin asks.
"We used a diver propulsion vehicle to get here from the sewers." Yugo answers.
"Diver propulsion vehicle?!" Rin widens her eyes in surprise.
"Yep, we need to go now before they charge in down here!"
"Let's go!" Yuya says, everyone gets out of the cell and runs down to the stairs.
"Is that…?!" Yuzu notices the tied Isao lying unconscious.
"Yeah… Isao…" Yuya answers for her. "Academia hired him somehow, but he won't be a problem for now."
Getting to the sewer system, Masumi inserts a card into her Duel Disk, a diving suit manifests around her.
"Wow…!" Rin exclaims.
"Yeah yeah, thanks Xyz for that." Yugo says. He and Yuya then gives Rin and Yuzu a diving suit card each. "Come on, wear it."
But the two girls stand still, not doing anything.
"Uh… Rin?" Yugo wonders, already finishing donning the suit.
The two girls just stand behind the door and stare emotionlessly at the boys.
"Yuzu? What's wrong?" Yuya asks through the helmet. "We don't have much time, come on!"
Yuzu and Rin suddenly take out a card each and throw them at the Lancers; when the two cards are between the three Lancers and the DPV, they explode, sending all three youngsters flying.
Destroyed safety rail.
Blackened floor.
Dark smoke lingering the area.
A body floating in the dirty water.
The person wakes up.
Still feeling hurt and badly disoriented from the explosion, the person struggles to grab on something.
Finally, that person manages to grab the concrete ground.
Using all of the strength, the person muscles up to the dirty ground near the door and touches the Duel Disk, the broken suit disintegrates.
"Yuya, Yugo, where are you?"
No reply. Masumi looks around and the hallway behind the door, nobody is here.
Masumi quickly turns on the radio. "Lancers, this is Masumi, do you copy? Does anyone copy?"
Still no reply. Masumi wipes out the blood on her face.
"Lancers, this is Masumi! We got a situation!" Injecting a shot of painkiller, Masumi reaches for bandages and starts applying it to herself.
"Yuya and Yugo are not here, Yuzu and Rin… they…"
"Betrayed you?" A strange voice from the other end freezes up the wounded girl.
"What…? Who…?"
"The name's Akaba Leo." The person answers. "If you wonder who I am."
"You…!" Masumi mutters. "Reiji's father, the madman! How did you hijack the connection? Where are Yuzu and Rin?"
"I told you, you Lancers won't be getting the girls no matter what. And we're about to get the other two girls very soon as we speak."
"Other two girls? What the hell are you talking about?"
"But if there is some comfort all of you Lancers want to hear, then…"
A brief pause.
"Kurosaki Ruri f##ked it all up."
Yay! A cliffhanger! Worst kind (lol)!
Masumi is bold though, I gave her credits for that. Hopefully not too Mary Sue…
But what the hell did Ruri do? Feel free to guess guys!
Just like Performage, Gem-Knight lost its potential due to the unplanned brokenness of Brilliant Fusion, which for me is a shame. The card could have opened a new way for Gem-Knight to play in the competitive scene with the gimmick of sending Spells from the hand to the graveyard for effects. I hope I can show its potential through this story.
I do admit this is not my best chapter at all due to certain factors I have explained above but I did the best I could while keeping my wheel of life going on, but I can say this: next chapter is gonna be fire!
Original Cards:
Gem-Knight Cullinan
EARTH/Rock/Effect/LV3/1200/1600
If your opponent activates a card or effect while you control a Fusion Summoned "Gem-Knight" monster (Quick Effect): You can send this card from your hand to the GY and shuffle 1 other "Gem-Knight" Fusion monster from your GY back to the Deck; negate the activation, and if you do, destroy it. You can only use this effect of "Gem-Knight Cullinan" once per turn. If a "Gem-Knight" monster(s) you control would be destroyed by battle or card effects, you can banish this card from your GY instead.
Protector Rebounder
LIGHT/Warrior/Effect/LV1/0/0
When your opponent declares an attack on a "Protector" Fusion monster you control: You can send this card from your hand to the GY; negate the attack, and if you do, inflict damage to your opponent equal to the attacking monster's ATK on the field. You can only use this effect of "Protector Rebounder" once per turn.
Gem-Knight Clarity
Quick-Play Magic Card
Target 1 "Gem-Knight" monster you control: it cannot be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn. During your Battle Phase, if your opponent controls a monster that was Special Summoned from the Extra Deck: You can banish this card from the GY and 1 "Fusion" Continuous Magic you control; Fusion Summon 1 "Gem-Knight" Fusion Monster from your Extra Deck by shuffling monsters from your GY back to the Deck as Fusion Materials, and if you do, it gains ATK equal to the ATK of 1 "Gem-Knight" Monster in your GY. You can only use each effect of "Gem-Knight Clarity" once per turn.
Gem-Knight Half-Life
Quick-Play Magic Card
Banish 1 "Gem-Knight" monster in your GY, then target 1 "Gem-Knight" monster you control; this turn, it can make a second attack during this Battle Phase, but if it attacks the second time using this effect, your opponent only takes half of the battle damage from battles involving this card. During your Main Phase, except the turn this card was sent to the GY: You can banish this card from your GY, then target 1 of your banished "Gem-Knight" card(s); add it to your hand. You can only use each effect of "Gem-Knight Half-Life" once per turn.
Next chapter preview:
Spiral 9: Breaking Point