Fader stared at the young man sitting at the table. "Noa," he said calmly.
"Oh you know me," the boy said with surprise. "I'm impressed."
"I'm not," replied Fader stoically. He remained unmoving, near Serena who had bent down, trying to wake up Beezy. "Why hasn't the simulation ended? We beat the Big Five. The game should have ended, freeing us to leave."
"You did beat the Big Five, but they weren't the only thing holding you here. Or did you forget the virus?"
"The virus that infected and killed all those people," Serena added. "Was it you?"
"Just like my grand-neice to think of me as a virus. No, I am not the virus, but I did program it."
"Remove it from my program!" she demanded.
"I will, on one condition. I want a chance to duel him," Noa said pointing at Fader, who didn't flinch. "I know that you aren't Yugi Moto, but I find it odd that your brainwaves share many similarities with his.
"I'm not going to duel you," Fader said, unwavering. "Not until you release everyone trapped in this game. After their minds are freed then you and I can duel."
"I'm afraid that isn't how this is going to work. I am making the rules. Everyone will remain where they are, dying or not and they will stay trapped here in this world until I choose to release them, and I promise you that I will not do that until you defeat me."
Fader gritted his teeth. Noa wasn't going to give up his advantage. Fader had hoped that if he could release everyone else's minds that it wouldn't matter if he won or lost. "Looks like you have an opponent then." Fader walked up to the table and sat down.
"One more thing," Noa continued. He snapped his fingers and in a split second a clear glass tube shot up out of the ground and surrounded Serena where she stood. "There's going to be an extra little penalty for this game. When I win I plan on taking over her body so that I can assume my rightful place as Kaiba corps president elect."
"Let her go!" Fader said, jumping to his feet and rushing to the case, banging against it with his hands in a vain attempt to shatter it. "Now!"
"I've already told you that you are not in a position to make demands," came the calm reply. "Now sit back down so that I can finish." Fader did and glared across the table at Noa. "The match will have a time limit on it. Over the course of the game that tube will fill with water. Virtual water of course, but I assure you that Serena will die all the same. Twenty- five minutes. That's about how long it should take for the tube to fill completely. After that all depends on her. How long do you think she can hold her breath for."
"If she's dead then you can't take over her body."
"On the contrary, at the exact moment her mind ceases to function I will replace her mind with my own and her body will not even notice that her mind is gone. So don't hope that you can hold out long enough to think of a way to break her free. Her only hope rests in you, and whether or not you can defeat me."
"One problem Noa," Fader pointed out. "I have no deck."
As if on cue, rows upon rows of virtual cards appeared in front of Fader, floating in the air and scrolling down. "You can make your deck out of these," Noa replied. "Just touch the card and it will be added to your deck."
Fader hesitated for a second as his hand rested in front of one of the cards he was going to select. He looked over his shoulder at Serena, then back at the cards. He needed her heart to help him win. Determined he selected his cards. When he was finished the rows of cards disappeared and his deck appeared on the table to his left. "Let's dance." A small display counter appeared in front of each duelist set to that standard amount of Life Points as well as a small clock.
Fader: 4000, Noa: 4000, Time Remaining: 25:00
"You may may make the first move," Noa said.
Fader drew his cards and one more for the start of his turn. It felt wierd to play at a tabletop, Fader was used to standind across from his opponents and using Duel Disks. He placed his cards on the white tabletop as he played them. "I'll lay this monster face down, and these two cards with it. Your move Noa."
"Thank you," Noa said politely as he drew his card. "I'll set two cards of my own face down, and then summon Aegir, Ruler of Waves (1800/400)." When he played the card onto the table, a small figure of Aegir appeared on the table, over the card that it represented. "Aegir attack his monster!"
"Sorry Noa, but you just attacked the Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) so you take 100 points of damage." As Fader flipped over his monster, the small image of his Magician appeared just as Noa's had and skillfully deflected Noa's monster's attack. Noa's Life Points however, didn't change.
"Thanks to my monster's ability I take no damge from it being in battle."
"That's not all I'm going to do though," Fader said, unphased by Nao's monster's ability. "I'll use the oppotunity to activate my trap card, Solemn Wishes to let me gain 500 Life Points each time I draw a card."
"Whatever," Noa dismissed with a wave of his hand, and he leaned back in the chair. "Make your move."
"Alright. I'll start by drawing my card and gaining 500 Life Points."
Fader: 4500, Noa: 4000, Time Remaining: 23:56
"Next I'll play the Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode. Now I'll activate the magic card Pot of Greed to draw two more cards and add a counter to each of my magician's. Now any time you or I play a magic card, I add a magic counter to my magicians, when they get three, well let's just say it won't be pleasant for you. But for now I'll just attack, first with the Dark Mage and then the white will attack your Life Points directly.
Fader: 5000, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 21:22
"Alright, I'll make my move now. I'll place one monster in defense mode and then end my turn."
Fader looked at the counter and to Serena, who was looking at him with focused eyes. He could see in her eyes that she had faith in his abilities and his determination. There was nothing he wanted to do other than make sure that he didn't let her down."I'll play no cards and just attack your face down monster with Skilled Dark Magician."
"You attacked Freya, Maiden of Dusk (200/1900). No Life Points lost, and no monster destroyed either I'm afraid."
Fader tried not to let it get to him, and glanced at the clock. Noa wasn't worrying about time, all Noa had to do was stall and fend off Fader's attacks and when the time ran out he would win his freedom from his virtual prison, in Serena's body. "I'll activate Card Destruction!" he announced. "I'll discard the four cards from my hand and draw four new ones, increasing my Life Points by 500 and adding a counter to each of my monsters. I end my turn Noa."
Fader: 6000, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 19:36
"I'll and my turn without doing anything," Noa answered.
"You won't be able to stall your way out of this Noa," Fader told him. "I'll draw my next card, increasing my Life Points even more and then I'll activate the magic card Change of Heart to take over your monster until the end of the turn. Not only that but now that there are three counters on both of my Skilled Mages I'll sacrifice them both to special summon from my deck the Buster Blader (2600/2300) and Dark Magician (2500/2100). Then I'll attack with all three monster to eliminate the rest of your Life Points."
"I'm afraid not, I'll activate my face down card, Trojan Horse!"
"What does that do?"
"It allows me to search my deck for up to three monsters and place them underneath this card, then whenever you attack I can special summon the monsters to my field in either attack or defense mode. And since you're attacking with three mosnters I can special summon all three of the monster's I just summoned to the field. I summon Thor, Warrior of Thunder (2000/1000), Gaea, Breath of Earth (1500/1500) and Njord, Spirit of Wind (1200/1300) to the field to block the attacks of your Buster Blader and Dark Magician and I'll block the attack of my own Freya with Njord, dealing you 1100 points of damage. you destroy two of my monsters but I still end your turn with two remaining as my other monster returns to my control at the end of your turn."
Fader: 5400, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 16:05
"Take your turn Noa." Fader looked at the clock, and at the rising water in Serena's tank with anxiousness. The water level had risen to just below her waist and was continuing to rise higher and higher as the seconds ticked by.
"I'll start by activating the magic card Heavy Storm to destroy your Solemn Wishes, and your face down card."
"You destroyed my Mirror Force, but you're destroying your own face down card as well."
"Not at all," corrected Noa, "I'll activate my trap card in response to my Heavy Storm. I activate the trap card Gungnir, Odin's Lance. When this card is activated you are forced to search your deck and put into the graveyard a number of monsters equal to the number of my standby phases that this card was face down."
"Three."
"Right." Fader looked through his deck and selected three monsters without showing them to Noa and tossed them face down into his graveyard. Noa then continued. "I'll now throw a card face down and end my turn."
Fader drew his card. He looked at it and at the score, and at the time as it slipped away from him. He had a move that would potentially end the duel right now, but without knowing what Noa's face down card was he didn't want to risk it. He needed a little more insurance. "I'll lay this card face down he said, setting a hidden card below his Buster Blader. Then I'll attack your two remaining monsters on the field with my Dark Magician and Buster Blader!"
Noa merely closed his eyes and nodded his head as he took both of his monsters and placed them in the graveyard. He didn't show any emotion in his face or gestures, it was like he had ceased being the boy whose mind he possessed and had fully become a machine. No heart, no soul, no humanity left. "Are you finished?" he asked. Fader nodded. "I have no move to make other than setting this monster in defense mode, and ending my turn."
Fader drew his card. The duel was too one sided. Noa was barely offering a struggle, constantly just throwing up defense after defense. Fader knew that Noa was hoping to run out the clock, but he had to realize that as soon as Fader's monsters attacked the match would be over. And there was still just under ten minutes remaining. I'll attack with the Dark Magician," Fader declared and his robed monster fired a powerful wave of energy from its staff.
"You destroyed my Freyr, Peace of the Sun (1300/2000)."
"I'll also attack with my Buster Blader to strike your Life Points directly!"
"Activate trap card, Song of Sirens!"
"What does that do?"
"It changes the modes of all monster you have on the field to defense mode and forces them to stay that way until your next turn. Not only that but it drains their defensive power by 500 points, making them easier to defeat."
"A good idea Noa, but what happens when those monsters aren't on hte field next turn for you to attack?"
"I don't understand," Noa said.
"Watch, as I combine the powers of the Dark Magician and Buster Blader together to form the Dark Paladin, using the magic card Polymerization!" On the field the two monsters on Fader's field disappeared and in a few seconds the distortion wave disappeared revealing the Dark Paladin, its massive sword at the ready. "You may have weakened the Dark Magician and Buster Blader seperately but now they're a whole new monster, one that is unaffected by your Siren's song. My turn is over.."
"You are very skilled, you seem to have the same heart as Yugi Moto as well as his brainwaves."
"Just get on with it," Fader barked. "You're wasting time. unless you think the only way you can win is to stall until time runs out?"
"I don't need to stall. I can end this match right now."
"Then just try it."
"i'll do more than try. You've been playing into my hands for this entire match, and now the fruits of my labur are about to come to fruition. I place out of play from my graveyard Gaea, Njord, Freya, Thor, Aegir and Freyr to summon the most powerful monster my deck can create, Odin on the Throne of Midgard (4100/2600). It has enough power to eliminate every monster that you could hope to send against it."
"If you think you're mosnter is so strong then why not attack and finish me off?"
"I'm no fool Fader. I can already see that your Dark Paladin has gained attack strength. I know that it gets powered by the number of dragons in either of our graveyards. When I uses Gungnir you must have discarded three dragons in order to power up your paladin. if I attack now, both of our monster will be destroyed." Noa paused. "No I think I'll just play one card face down and wait, and let you make what ever move that you think will save you."
Fader focused and drew his card. He had what he needed to end this match but it was going to cost him a great deal. "I don't plan on losing this match Noa. I will win. I promise you that."
"Now you're the one stalling, and I don't really think your dear friend has the time."
Fader looked at hte water level which was now just above Serena's next line. Only a few minutes were left for Fader to pull off this last move. "I'm only going to need a few more seconds. I summon the Cyber-Stien (750/500) in attack mode! And I'll activate it's special ability to pay 5000 Life Points and special summon any Fusion monster to the field. And I'll use it's ability to summon hte Powerfully dominating Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!" the Blue eyes Ultimate appeared with a roar that echoed through the small white room, not representing its small stature on the table at all. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attack with Neutron Blast!" The Blue Eyes Did not move. "What happened?" Fader asked, confused.
Noa held up his single trap card he had set at the end of his turn. "I activated this. The Temporal Stasis trap card. Until the end of your next turn one of your monster can attack change position or use any special abilities. And you've left a very weak mosnter all out in the open for me to attack, and only a single card left in your hand."
"My turn isn't over yet Noa. I still have this card," Fader replied, holding out a magic card. "I play the magic card, Last Hope. I can offer a monster on my field as a tribute to draw a number of cards equal to that monsters level. In return for this I skip my draw phase for the rest of the duel, and I offer my Cyber Stein to draw three cards." It all came down to this. There was one final plan that Fader had. His monsters were trapped in temporal flux and unable to do anything, at the mercy of Noa's Odin. he closed he eyes as his hand rested on his deck. Memories flodded to his mind of monents like this, where time stood still, waiting on the next draw. They weren't his memores but he could feel them as though they were yesterday. He drew his three cards. "I'll lay these two cards face down, Noa, and then end my turn."
Fader: 400, Evo: 2300, Time Remaining: 4:49
"You've offered a valiant struggle, this was easily one of my more difficult engagements. But i'm afraid this match is all over. I activate Mosnter Reborn to bring back from hte graveyard your Buster Blader. Then I'll offer it as a tribute to activate Odin's special ability and increase its attack power by 2600 points to an indomitable 5800. Now Odin can attack the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Not going to happen Noa!" Fader declared. "I activate the trap card Blood Embrace. It stops your attack but also has another bonus. I can discard any number of cards off the top of my deck to decrease the attack power of your monster by 100 points for every card I discard, and since I won't be drawing anymore card for the rest of the duel i can discard all of them, all 29, to decrease your monster's attack power by 2900 points, to a sparse 3900, not enough to destory either of my monsters. Not only that but at the end of your turn the bonus granted to odin by sacrificing my own Buster Blader dissappears and Odin's attack will fall even lower to only 1200."
"I'll just lay this card face down then. Your struggles are futile. You can't beat me. None of your mosnters can attack until the end of your turn and you can't draw any more monsters to take their place. And I can continue to summon and tribute my monsters to increase Odin's attack again and again."
"You're overlooking one problem Noa. Your Temporal Flux doesn't affect mosnters that enter play after it's been activated. I may not have any monsters to draw, but I don't need them. I activate the face down cards I set last turn, De-Fusion! You were right, I did discard three dragons to my graveyard to power up my Dark Paladin, and all three of them were Blue Eyes White Dragons, which allows my De-Fusion card to split the specially summoned Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon into the three still powerful composite monsters. Not only that but I'll activate the other card I had face down, Fork Spell to copy my De-Fusion and allow me to use it a second time this turn to split my Dark Paladin back into the Dark Magician and Buster Blader. Now I have five monsters on the field that are all unaffected by your Temporal Flux trap card."
"You forgot about my final face down card. I activate Shackles of Vulcan reducing the attack power off all your monsters by 1000 and preventing them from attacking as long as this card remains in play."
"Sorry to dissappoint you once again Noa, but I never said that I would be attacking with those monsters. I have one final card in my hand and I'm going to use it now! I summon One to Stand Alone (4000/2000) by offering my three Blue Eyes White Dragon, Buster Blader and Dark Magician. One to Stand Alone attack Odin with Apocalyse attack!" Fader's monster dashed across the table and tore the weakened Odin in two with a swoop of its great broadsword. Noa's Life Points dropped to nothing, and the water in the tank stopped filling.
Fader: 400, Noa: 0, Time Remaining: 0:57
As Fader and Noa stood up, the table and chairs dissappeared and so did the tube that had contianed Serena for the duration of the match, water and all. "You've defeated me completely. The simulation is over I will return you to your bodies now."There was a huge surge of white light that overwhelmed Fader as he looked at Noa.
When the light cleared he found himself staring up from a sitting position, as the DMO interface unit pulled away from him. Straing down at him was Evo, and Jaina was helping Serena out of her own unit as Kaiba Corp's medical teams took Beezy and Vega away.
"You and I need to talk," Evo said as he hoisted Fader up and out of the chair. "About The End."
"Oh you know me," the boy said with surprise. "I'm impressed."
"I'm not," replied Fader stoically. He remained unmoving, near Serena who had bent down, trying to wake up Beezy. "Why hasn't the simulation ended? We beat the Big Five. The game should have ended, freeing us to leave."
"You did beat the Big Five, but they weren't the only thing holding you here. Or did you forget the virus?"
"The virus that infected and killed all those people," Serena added. "Was it you?"
"Just like my grand-neice to think of me as a virus. No, I am not the virus, but I did program it."
"Remove it from my program!" she demanded.
"I will, on one condition. I want a chance to duel him," Noa said pointing at Fader, who didn't flinch. "I know that you aren't Yugi Moto, but I find it odd that your brainwaves share many similarities with his.
"I'm not going to duel you," Fader said, unwavering. "Not until you release everyone trapped in this game. After their minds are freed then you and I can duel."
"I'm afraid that isn't how this is going to work. I am making the rules. Everyone will remain where they are, dying or not and they will stay trapped here in this world until I choose to release them, and I promise you that I will not do that until you defeat me."
Fader gritted his teeth. Noa wasn't going to give up his advantage. Fader had hoped that if he could release everyone else's minds that it wouldn't matter if he won or lost. "Looks like you have an opponent then." Fader walked up to the table and sat down.
"One more thing," Noa continued. He snapped his fingers and in a split second a clear glass tube shot up out of the ground and surrounded Serena where she stood. "There's going to be an extra little penalty for this game. When I win I plan on taking over her body so that I can assume my rightful place as Kaiba corps president elect."
"Let her go!" Fader said, jumping to his feet and rushing to the case, banging against it with his hands in a vain attempt to shatter it. "Now!"
"I've already told you that you are not in a position to make demands," came the calm reply. "Now sit back down so that I can finish." Fader did and glared across the table at Noa. "The match will have a time limit on it. Over the course of the game that tube will fill with water. Virtual water of course, but I assure you that Serena will die all the same. Twenty- five minutes. That's about how long it should take for the tube to fill completely. After that all depends on her. How long do you think she can hold her breath for."
"If she's dead then you can't take over her body."
"On the contrary, at the exact moment her mind ceases to function I will replace her mind with my own and her body will not even notice that her mind is gone. So don't hope that you can hold out long enough to think of a way to break her free. Her only hope rests in you, and whether or not you can defeat me."
"One problem Noa," Fader pointed out. "I have no deck."
As if on cue, rows upon rows of virtual cards appeared in front of Fader, floating in the air and scrolling down. "You can make your deck out of these," Noa replied. "Just touch the card and it will be added to your deck."
Fader hesitated for a second as his hand rested in front of one of the cards he was going to select. He looked over his shoulder at Serena, then back at the cards. He needed her heart to help him win. Determined he selected his cards. When he was finished the rows of cards disappeared and his deck appeared on the table to his left. "Let's dance." A small display counter appeared in front of each duelist set to that standard amount of Life Points as well as a small clock.
Fader: 4000, Noa: 4000, Time Remaining: 25:00
"You may may make the first move," Noa said.
Fader drew his cards and one more for the start of his turn. It felt wierd to play at a tabletop, Fader was used to standind across from his opponents and using Duel Disks. He placed his cards on the white tabletop as he played them. "I'll lay this monster face down, and these two cards with it. Your move Noa."
"Thank you," Noa said politely as he drew his card. "I'll set two cards of my own face down, and then summon Aegir, Ruler of Waves (1800/400)." When he played the card onto the table, a small figure of Aegir appeared on the table, over the card that it represented. "Aegir attack his monster!"
"Sorry Noa, but you just attacked the Skilled White Magician (1700/1900) so you take 100 points of damage." As Fader flipped over his monster, the small image of his Magician appeared just as Noa's had and skillfully deflected Noa's monster's attack. Noa's Life Points however, didn't change.
"Thanks to my monster's ability I take no damge from it being in battle."
"That's not all I'm going to do though," Fader said, unphased by Nao's monster's ability. "I'll use the oppotunity to activate my trap card, Solemn Wishes to let me gain 500 Life Points each time I draw a card."
"Whatever," Noa dismissed with a wave of his hand, and he leaned back in the chair. "Make your move."
"Alright. I'll start by drawing my card and gaining 500 Life Points."
Fader: 4500, Noa: 4000, Time Remaining: 23:56
"Next I'll play the Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700) in attack mode. Now I'll activate the magic card Pot of Greed to draw two more cards and add a counter to each of my magician's. Now any time you or I play a magic card, I add a magic counter to my magicians, when they get three, well let's just say it won't be pleasant for you. But for now I'll just attack, first with the Dark Mage and then the white will attack your Life Points directly.
Fader: 5000, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 21:22
"Alright, I'll make my move now. I'll place one monster in defense mode and then end my turn."
Fader looked at the counter and to Serena, who was looking at him with focused eyes. He could see in her eyes that she had faith in his abilities and his determination. There was nothing he wanted to do other than make sure that he didn't let her down."I'll play no cards and just attack your face down monster with Skilled Dark Magician."
"You attacked Freya, Maiden of Dusk (200/1900). No Life Points lost, and no monster destroyed either I'm afraid."
Fader tried not to let it get to him, and glanced at the clock. Noa wasn't worrying about time, all Noa had to do was stall and fend off Fader's attacks and when the time ran out he would win his freedom from his virtual prison, in Serena's body. "I'll activate Card Destruction!" he announced. "I'll discard the four cards from my hand and draw four new ones, increasing my Life Points by 500 and adding a counter to each of my monsters. I end my turn Noa."
Fader: 6000, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 19:36
"I'll and my turn without doing anything," Noa answered.
"You won't be able to stall your way out of this Noa," Fader told him. "I'll draw my next card, increasing my Life Points even more and then I'll activate the magic card Change of Heart to take over your monster until the end of the turn. Not only that but now that there are three counters on both of my Skilled Mages I'll sacrifice them both to special summon from my deck the Buster Blader (2600/2300) and Dark Magician (2500/2100). Then I'll attack with all three monster to eliminate the rest of your Life Points."
"I'm afraid not, I'll activate my face down card, Trojan Horse!"
"What does that do?"
"It allows me to search my deck for up to three monsters and place them underneath this card, then whenever you attack I can special summon the monsters to my field in either attack or defense mode. And since you're attacking with three mosnters I can special summon all three of the monster's I just summoned to the field. I summon Thor, Warrior of Thunder (2000/1000), Gaea, Breath of Earth (1500/1500) and Njord, Spirit of Wind (1200/1300) to the field to block the attacks of your Buster Blader and Dark Magician and I'll block the attack of my own Freya with Njord, dealing you 1100 points of damage. you destroy two of my monsters but I still end your turn with two remaining as my other monster returns to my control at the end of your turn."
Fader: 5400, Noa: 2300, Time Remaining: 16:05
"Take your turn Noa." Fader looked at the clock, and at the rising water in Serena's tank with anxiousness. The water level had risen to just below her waist and was continuing to rise higher and higher as the seconds ticked by.
"I'll start by activating the magic card Heavy Storm to destroy your Solemn Wishes, and your face down card."
"You destroyed my Mirror Force, but you're destroying your own face down card as well."
"Not at all," corrected Noa, "I'll activate my trap card in response to my Heavy Storm. I activate the trap card Gungnir, Odin's Lance. When this card is activated you are forced to search your deck and put into the graveyard a number of monsters equal to the number of my standby phases that this card was face down."
"Three."
"Right." Fader looked through his deck and selected three monsters without showing them to Noa and tossed them face down into his graveyard. Noa then continued. "I'll now throw a card face down and end my turn."
Fader drew his card. He looked at it and at the score, and at the time as it slipped away from him. He had a move that would potentially end the duel right now, but without knowing what Noa's face down card was he didn't want to risk it. He needed a little more insurance. "I'll lay this card face down he said, setting a hidden card below his Buster Blader. Then I'll attack your two remaining monsters on the field with my Dark Magician and Buster Blader!"
Noa merely closed his eyes and nodded his head as he took both of his monsters and placed them in the graveyard. He didn't show any emotion in his face or gestures, it was like he had ceased being the boy whose mind he possessed and had fully become a machine. No heart, no soul, no humanity left. "Are you finished?" he asked. Fader nodded. "I have no move to make other than setting this monster in defense mode, and ending my turn."
Fader drew his card. The duel was too one sided. Noa was barely offering a struggle, constantly just throwing up defense after defense. Fader knew that Noa was hoping to run out the clock, but he had to realize that as soon as Fader's monsters attacked the match would be over. And there was still just under ten minutes remaining. I'll attack with the Dark Magician," Fader declared and his robed monster fired a powerful wave of energy from its staff.
"You destroyed my Freyr, Peace of the Sun (1300/2000)."
"I'll also attack with my Buster Blader to strike your Life Points directly!"
"Activate trap card, Song of Sirens!"
"What does that do?"
"It changes the modes of all monster you have on the field to defense mode and forces them to stay that way until your next turn. Not only that but it drains their defensive power by 500 points, making them easier to defeat."
"A good idea Noa, but what happens when those monsters aren't on hte field next turn for you to attack?"
"I don't understand," Noa said.
"Watch, as I combine the powers of the Dark Magician and Buster Blader together to form the Dark Paladin, using the magic card Polymerization!" On the field the two monsters on Fader's field disappeared and in a few seconds the distortion wave disappeared revealing the Dark Paladin, its massive sword at the ready. "You may have weakened the Dark Magician and Buster Blader seperately but now they're a whole new monster, one that is unaffected by your Siren's song. My turn is over.."
"You are very skilled, you seem to have the same heart as Yugi Moto as well as his brainwaves."
"Just get on with it," Fader barked. "You're wasting time. unless you think the only way you can win is to stall until time runs out?"
"I don't need to stall. I can end this match right now."
"Then just try it."
"i'll do more than try. You've been playing into my hands for this entire match, and now the fruits of my labur are about to come to fruition. I place out of play from my graveyard Gaea, Njord, Freya, Thor, Aegir and Freyr to summon the most powerful monster my deck can create, Odin on the Throne of Midgard (4100/2600). It has enough power to eliminate every monster that you could hope to send against it."
"If you think you're mosnter is so strong then why not attack and finish me off?"
"I'm no fool Fader. I can already see that your Dark Paladin has gained attack strength. I know that it gets powered by the number of dragons in either of our graveyards. When I uses Gungnir you must have discarded three dragons in order to power up your paladin. if I attack now, both of our monster will be destroyed." Noa paused. "No I think I'll just play one card face down and wait, and let you make what ever move that you think will save you."
Fader focused and drew his card. He had what he needed to end this match but it was going to cost him a great deal. "I don't plan on losing this match Noa. I will win. I promise you that."
"Now you're the one stalling, and I don't really think your dear friend has the time."
Fader looked at hte water level which was now just above Serena's next line. Only a few minutes were left for Fader to pull off this last move. "I'm only going to need a few more seconds. I summon the Cyber-Stien (750/500) in attack mode! And I'll activate it's special ability to pay 5000 Life Points and special summon any Fusion monster to the field. And I'll use it's ability to summon hte Powerfully dominating Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!" the Blue eyes Ultimate appeared with a roar that echoed through the small white room, not representing its small stature on the table at all. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon attack with Neutron Blast!" The Blue Eyes Did not move. "What happened?" Fader asked, confused.
Noa held up his single trap card he had set at the end of his turn. "I activated this. The Temporal Stasis trap card. Until the end of your next turn one of your monster can attack change position or use any special abilities. And you've left a very weak mosnter all out in the open for me to attack, and only a single card left in your hand."
"My turn isn't over yet Noa. I still have this card," Fader replied, holding out a magic card. "I play the magic card, Last Hope. I can offer a monster on my field as a tribute to draw a number of cards equal to that monsters level. In return for this I skip my draw phase for the rest of the duel, and I offer my Cyber Stein to draw three cards." It all came down to this. There was one final plan that Fader had. His monsters were trapped in temporal flux and unable to do anything, at the mercy of Noa's Odin. he closed he eyes as his hand rested on his deck. Memories flodded to his mind of monents like this, where time stood still, waiting on the next draw. They weren't his memores but he could feel them as though they were yesterday. He drew his three cards. "I'll lay these two cards face down, Noa, and then end my turn."
Fader: 400, Evo: 2300, Time Remaining: 4:49
"You've offered a valiant struggle, this was easily one of my more difficult engagements. But i'm afraid this match is all over. I activate Mosnter Reborn to bring back from hte graveyard your Buster Blader. Then I'll offer it as a tribute to activate Odin's special ability and increase its attack power by 2600 points to an indomitable 5800. Now Odin can attack the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!"
"Not going to happen Noa!" Fader declared. "I activate the trap card Blood Embrace. It stops your attack but also has another bonus. I can discard any number of cards off the top of my deck to decrease the attack power of your monster by 100 points for every card I discard, and since I won't be drawing anymore card for the rest of the duel i can discard all of them, all 29, to decrease your monster's attack power by 2900 points, to a sparse 3900, not enough to destory either of my monsters. Not only that but at the end of your turn the bonus granted to odin by sacrificing my own Buster Blader dissappears and Odin's attack will fall even lower to only 1200."
"I'll just lay this card face down then. Your struggles are futile. You can't beat me. None of your mosnters can attack until the end of your turn and you can't draw any more monsters to take their place. And I can continue to summon and tribute my monsters to increase Odin's attack again and again."
"You're overlooking one problem Noa. Your Temporal Flux doesn't affect mosnters that enter play after it's been activated. I may not have any monsters to draw, but I don't need them. I activate the face down cards I set last turn, De-Fusion! You were right, I did discard three dragons to my graveyard to power up my Dark Paladin, and all three of them were Blue Eyes White Dragons, which allows my De-Fusion card to split the specially summoned Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon into the three still powerful composite monsters. Not only that but I'll activate the other card I had face down, Fork Spell to copy my De-Fusion and allow me to use it a second time this turn to split my Dark Paladin back into the Dark Magician and Buster Blader. Now I have five monsters on the field that are all unaffected by your Temporal Flux trap card."
"You forgot about my final face down card. I activate Shackles of Vulcan reducing the attack power off all your monsters by 1000 and preventing them from attacking as long as this card remains in play."
"Sorry to dissappoint you once again Noa, but I never said that I would be attacking with those monsters. I have one final card in my hand and I'm going to use it now! I summon One to Stand Alone (4000/2000) by offering my three Blue Eyes White Dragon, Buster Blader and Dark Magician. One to Stand Alone attack Odin with Apocalyse attack!" Fader's monster dashed across the table and tore the weakened Odin in two with a swoop of its great broadsword. Noa's Life Points dropped to nothing, and the water in the tank stopped filling.
Fader: 400, Noa: 0, Time Remaining: 0:57
As Fader and Noa stood up, the table and chairs dissappeared and so did the tube that had contianed Serena for the duration of the match, water and all. "You've defeated me completely. The simulation is over I will return you to your bodies now."There was a huge surge of white light that overwhelmed Fader as he looked at Noa.
When the light cleared he found himself staring up from a sitting position, as the DMO interface unit pulled away from him. Straing down at him was Evo, and Jaina was helping Serena out of her own unit as Kaiba Corp's medical teams took Beezy and Vega away.
"You and I need to talk," Evo said as he hoisted Fader up and out of the chair. "About The End."