Author's Notes: Now it's time for Ryu and Daniel to step up to the plate.
Chapter Twenty: Fusion Galore!
"So, basically what it comes down to is that this ritual can end all that we know? Or is that just a theory?" As the two duelists walked through the now opening doorway, Daniel couldn't help but be curious about the ritual that Ryu had been talking to him about.
"Mostly its just conjecture based on things I've read and heard. Nobody in known history has ever performed the ritual, so it's unknown even if the ritual can be completed at all." Daniel nodded, still not sure how he felt knowing that there existed a ritual rumored to be able to strip all living beings of their free will.
"But what about those keys to it that you mentioned? What exactly are they?" Ryu opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off when lights burst upon them.
Both duelists held their arms up to block out the light, but didn't have to keep it up for long as the lights dimmed, revealing them to be in a large room surrounded by steel with plexiglass at the top. Behind the glass were hundreds of spectators, all of them now cheering.
"Let me guess, it's time to duel?" In response to Daniel's questions another set of spotlights lit up, outlining the forms of two duelists, both women. They wore baggy pants, grungy t-shirts, and leather jackets. Added to the multiple earrings and the nose ring each had, they looked more punk than Drake did.
"You guess right. Ryu Zaytel and Daniel Pilkington, you are two face us in a duel. If you lose we take whatever we want from you. If you win, you advance to the Inner Sanctum. But worry about beating us first. I am Zarya!" She raised her right arm and a duel disk unfolded into position. (ZLP: 4000)
Her companion raised her left arm and activated her own duel disk, getting it fully ready. "And I am Tanya! Get ready to meet your match!" (TLP: 4000)
Daniel frowned and held up his own arm, duel disk already activated. He shuffled his deck and slammed it home. "Sorry girls, I've already met my match, and she's still at home, probably cooking dinner right now." (DLP: 4000)
Ryu simply activated his duel disk and placed his deck into the holder. "Enough of the witty banter portion of this duel. Let's move on to the real meat." (RLP: 4000)
Zarya snickered and took two cards from her six card hand and slid them onto her duel disk. "You aren't much for fun when it comes to dueling I see, but no matter. We'll have our fun by crushing you and taking your demonic powers! I'll start by placing two cards face down."
She looked at the rest of her hand, then slapped another card onto her duel disk. "Now I summon Masaki the Legendary Swordsman(1100/1100) in attack mode! That will be all."
Daniel drew his sixth card, eying the weak warrior in green armor. Masaki was hardly an impressive monster, but there was something about Masaki that he should remember that he wasn't thinking of yet. "I start by setting a monster in defense mode. Then I'll place one card face down behind it. Move it along."
Tanya looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye, and then selected a card from her hand and tossed it into play. "To compliment my partner's monster I'll summon this little number. Flame Manipulator(900/1000)!"
A burning warrior emerged, fire zipping about his body. Despite the somewhat impressive entrance, each duelist knew that this monster had no effect at all. "Then I place two cards face down, just like Zarya. On to you Mr. Serious."
Ryu looked over his hand, and then at his opponent's field in order to gauge their strategy. He smirked and took a card and placed it down carefully. "So, the two of you plan to fuse monsters in order to defeat us? A foolish notion, when I am a master of fusion, and my partner likewise. One monster face down and one card behind it."
Zarya snapped up a card and glared at Ryu. "You seem so cocky, which means you know what happens when Flame Manipulator and Masaki combine their powers together. So I'll do the math for your opponent by activating the field magic card, Fusion Gate!"
A warp of energy appeared above the field at the top of the room, but it didn't seem to be pulling anything in. It served a different purpose. "I now remove Masaki and my partner's manipulator from the game in order to fusion summon Flame Swordsman(1800/1600)!"
The familiar Japanese fire swordsman emerged, holding his sword at the ready. "Now my fusion monster, attack Daniel's set with Flaming Sword of Battle!"
Flame Swordsman's blade lit up with fire, and he charged in and slammed his sword down on the set monster. Flames exploded outwards, but suddenly a massive rocky form stood up and shoved the swordsman backwards. "What was that?" (ZLP: 3800)
"That was Elemental Hero Clayman(800/2000) whose defense score was greater than your swordsman's. That means that your attack failed and you took damage instead of me. Is that all?" Daniel smirked confidently, having come out ahead in the first exchange of the duel.
"Fine, I'll just summon Versago the Destroyer(1100/900) in defense mode to end my turn." Zarya's newest monster was a thin creature with very little body, its arms wrapped around itself protectively.
Daniel drew, and then scanned his hand of five cards. "It looks like you've done yourself in with this one. Fusion Gate helps me quite a bit, because I happen to be able to fuse as well!"
He picked out three of his five cards and held them out, revealing one normal monster and two effect monsters. "I fuse Elemental Hero Burst Lady(1200/800) together with Clayman to form Elemental Hero Rampart Gunner(2000/2500)!"
The two monsters jumped into the warp, and then what came out was a semi-robotic woman in red, with a gun and a shield. Daniel placed the two monsters into his removed from play pile. "Next I fuse Elemental Hero Wildman(1500/1600) with Elemental Hero Edgeman(2600/1400)!"
Both of them also jumped into the warp, and what came out was a burly man who was part gold and all warrior. "Meet Elemental Hero Wild Jaggyman(2600/1400)!"
Zarya snickered and depressed a button on her duel disk. "I've met him, and now I want to wave goodbye. We knew ahead of time that you also ran fusion, which is why we chose to face you. Because any fusion deck can be easily readied to combat another fusion deck! Go, De-Fusion!"
Daniel gasped as his fusion hero shattered into a million pieces. "Normally De-Fusion lets you bring back the fusion components, but because you used Fusion Gate those parts were removed from the game, and now you get nothing!"
Tanya snapped her fingers to gain his attention, and then she pointed to one of her two face down cards. "I also have a placed card ready. Meet my very own De-Fusion card, which breaks down Rampart Gunner into the bare nothing that is left over!"
Daniel's remaining fusion hero also broke apart, leaving him with a single set card on the field and nothing else. "I have no more monsters, so I set my hand onto the field and end my turn."
Tanya drew, and then slid the card into play. "I activate Change of Heart! Now, Ryu's face down monster comes to me!"
The set card slid over to her, but quickly vanished as she replaced it with something else. "I sacrifice your monster for Meteor Dragon(1800/1500)!" A molten creature appeared, and Ryu frowned with recognition. He knew what was going to come next.
He grimaced and slid his Gaius the Earth Dragon(500/2200) into the graveyard. He was certain fusion it wouldn't have gotten him what he needed anyways. "And now you fuse your monsters together since Versago is a fusion substitute."
"Somebody knows his fusions well. That's right, I remove my monster and Versago from the game to fusion summon the mighty Meteor Black Dragon(3500/3000)!" The molten behemoth settled onto her field, spewing flames in a wide arc to impress the spectators.
"Both monsters have been combined from our monsters, so that means each of us can control them. Now, the only one of you worth finishing off is Ryu, since his demon blood is usable. Daniel however...you've already lost, so you have no power worth taking. Meteor Black Dragon attacks Ryu directly!" The dragon moved to attack, but suddenly stopped.
"My Negate Attack trap card ceases your assault just as it begins and prevents you from continuing your battle phase." Tanya growled in irritation, but was forced to simply set one card face down before ending her turn.
"Most likely one of those face down cards you have is Fusion Cancel or something similar, so for the moment a fusion isn't feasible. However, I have another method in mind for defeating you. I summon Masked Dragon(1400/1100)." The long-necked masked dragon screeched at the opposing dragon, but was drowned out by its roar.
"Your pathetic monster is nothing but a snack for our mighty Meteor Black Dragon. This monster is one of the strongest fusions in the entire game, and there's little that you could bring out of your deck that could match it." Ryu merely shrugged, and then pointed at Flame Swordsman.
"Masked Dragon will attack Flame Swordsman." Zarya looked at him like he was crazy, but otherwise said nothing and simply allowed the dragon to be toasted alive by Flame Swordsman's blade. (RLP: 3600)
"Masked Dragon lets me special summon one dragon from my deck to the field when it dies in battle, as long as the chosen monster has fifteen hundred or less attack. I choose to summon Armed Dragon LV3(1200/900)." A tiny little chubby dragon with miniature spikes appeared in the other dragon's place.
"That monster? What could it possibly do against our beasts?" Ryu chose to answer them not in words, but in actions. So he slid two cards from his hand onto his duel disk.
"I activate two of the same magic cards, both of them are Level Ups! First my Armed Dragon LV3 evolves into Armed Dragon LV5(2400/1700) and then that evolves into Armed Dragon LV7(2800/1600)!" Soon a massive red skinned dragon with hundreds of spikes on its body took up most of the field, its roar drowning out even the opposing dragon.
"Even that monster can't defeat our creatures! It's worthless to stop us!" Daniel looked questioningly at Ryu, but his unspoken question was answered the moment that Ryu activated the next card in his hand.
"My next card is called Dragon In The Hand, which lets me remove one fusion dragon from my fusion deck and gives me a chance to normal summon it. If I can't then it returns to my hand and I lose 1000 life points. I choose Wind Dragon Vanguard(4000/1000)." He held up the purple bordered card, and added it to his hand.
"How in the world do you expect to summon that thing? You only have one monster, and there's no way that thing would be counted as a one tribute monster." Ryu smirked and held up the dragon...and then slid it into his cemetery.
"I have no intention of summoning it. Instead I activate Armed Dragon LV7's ability, which allows me to discard a monster from my hand and destroy all other opposing monsters in play with a lower attack power. I discard Wind Dragon Vanguard. Go, Genocide Cutter!"
Armed Dragon roared and fired off dozens of beams of red energy. The beams of energy tore apart Flame Swordsman and Meteor Black Dragon, leaving nothing in their place. "Unfortunately this move has placed me into my second main phase, preventing me from entering battle. So my turn is over."
Zarya drew, then burst out laughing. "You've given me victory, plan and simple! This next card and your previous efforts have given me the card that will grant us victory in a single strike. But first, I activate Smashing Ground, which destroys the highest defense monster on your field, meaning Armed Dragon LV7 dies!"
Ryu frowned as his only card in play was dragged down beneath the earth, leaving him with an empty field. "Now it's time to meet your demise! I play Rebirth of the Fusion! At a cost of one thousand life points I can special summon any fusion monster in the cemetery, no matter what!" (ZLP: 2800)
Daniel and Ryu both realized what was about to happen mere seconds before light shot out of Ryu's duel disk and landed on Zarya's. "Thanks to your efforts last turn I can now summon Wind Dragon Vanguard(4000/1000) to the field!"
Now standing on Zarya's field was a massive humanoid dragon in green armor with huge wings and a spear in its hand. "Wind Dragon Vanguard will attack Ryu directly and finish him off!"
Daniel snapped his arm out, and one of his three set cards lifted up to reveal itself. "Just like my partner before me I use Negate Attack to halt your assault and end your battle phase!"
Zarya snarled and motioned for Daniel to take his turn. The former half demon drew, giving him just one card in his hand and two cards on the field. "I summon Elemental Hero Featherman(1000/1000) in defense mode."
The green suited muscular man struck a pose, and then dropped to a crouched position. "That ends my turn."
Tanya drew, then burst out laughing just as her partner had. "Prepare to meet your end! I play Fusion Cloning, which costs one card from my hand. I part with the last card in my hand, and now I get to select one fusion monster in play and create a clone token of it."
Wind Dragon Vanguard flickered, and a copy of it split apart from the original and floated over to Tanya's field. Ryu watched his former monsters with distaste, irritated by his opponents using them against him. "Since I have no restrictions on attacking, I'll launch an assault on Ryu's life points to finish him off!"
The humanoid dragon raised its spear to attack, but Daniel reached his set card before the attack could be completed. "I trigger my trap card, Hero Barrier! This lets me negate on attack when I have a hero in play."
Wind Dragon Vanguard backed away and settled back down in front of Tanya. The female duelist scowled, but because she had no more cards in her hand there was little else she could do. "Let's see you two get out of this position. End turn!"
Ryu nodded, then picked up the top card of his deck and held it up to his eyes. "The magic card Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards as any duelist should know."
He looked over the two new cards, then took action. "I activate Swords of Revealing Light, sealing your monsters from attacking for a grand total of three turns."
Green swords of light slammed down around the two humanoid dragons, keeping them from moving. But it was only a temporary barrier as Ryu knew quite well. "I summon Haze the Smoke Dragon(0/0) in defense mode and set one card face down."
He nodded his head to Zarya, who drew a card. She glanced down at her single set card, and then at her massive monster. "I fuse Spirit Reaper and Nightmare Horse from my hand together to create Reaper on the Nightmare(800/600)!"
A hideous ghoul on a ghostly horse road out from the warp above them, swinging its weapon back and forth. "Now I activate my set card, Fusion Immunity. This lets one monster that has been fusion summoned to be immune to any effect. You know what that means, Reaper on the Nightmare attacks Ryu!"
Daniel frowned as the horse moved in and the reaper slashed its scythe across Ryu's chest. He held his ground, but his life points took a beating. "Pity you have no cards in your hand, but the direct attack will have to do." (RLP: 2800)
Now it was Daniel's turn again, and he drew with great caution. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman(1600/1400) in defense mode. That's all." The blue and yellow suited hero dropped into a crouch next to his companion, prepared for the worst.
Once again the control of the duel shifted to Tanya, who glanced at her partner. Zarya gave her a brief nod, and then Tanya motioned to one of her face down cards. "Command Fusion lets me control any fusion monster during my turn for one full turn. That means I take control of Reaper on the Nightmare and have it attack Ryu directly!"
The dragon demon grimaced as the scythe drove into his chest, but he backhanded the reaper away. "Your attacks are effective, but they cannot defeat me. You will need more for that." (RLP: 2000)
"You're right, I will. So I activate Surprise Attack From the Darkness! Now Reaper on the Nightmare will attack you directly once again!" Ryu was ready this time, and he used his forearm to block the slash. Then he pushed with his great strength and hurled the reaper backwards. (RLP: 1200)
Ryu drew, then he frowned and placed the card onto his duel disk. "I summon Masked Dragon(1400/1100) in defense mode. That's all."
Zarya snapped up her next card, and then threw it onto her duel disk. "Here comes Crushing Mace, which attacks the strongest opposing monster in play with an effect that is considered an attack of two thousand. Strike now!"
Sparkman grunted as he was hit by a massive mace, and then he shattered into a million pieces. Daniel grimaced, glad that his monster hadn't been destroyed while in attack mode. "You should have used a different effect, because now I can activate Hero Signal and special summon a level four Elemental Hero from my deck!"
A card popped out of his deck and he tossed it down onto the duel disk. A woman in red and black emerged, crouching just next to Featherman. "For the second time in the duel I'd like you to meet Elemental Hero Burst Lady(1200/800), this time she's actually summoned and she's in defense mode!"
Zarya shrugged and then motioned to her single remaining set card. "That doesn't bother me! Activate trap, Pain of New Birth! When you special summon a monster you instantly take its attack points as damage!"
Tanya then pointed to her last set card, which flipped up. "Pain Amplifier doubles damage inflicted by an effect, so now you take twenty-four hundred damage!" (DLP: 1600)
Daniel fell to one knee, surprised at how much the shocks hurt. He had been used to having demonic endurance for so long, and now that he was without it he was relearning how to be human. 'I remember the days when I hated the thought of being half demon. Now I'm eager to become one again. How things have changed...'
"Speaking of damage, Reaper on the Nightmare attacks Ryu directly!" The reaper rode up and slashed wildly at Ryu. The dragon demon dodged casually, getting only a single thin cut across his chest. He grimaced and wiped off his suit. (RLP: 400)
"I like this suit, so I would suggest not damaging it any further. The price will be too great for you to handle." Zarya just snickered and placed her hands on her chest, obviously done with her turn.
Daniel drew, and then casually placed the card face down. "I set one card face down, and that ends my turn."
Tanya drew, and then her trap card instantly seized control of Reaper on the Nightmare. "Let's get ready to end Ryu now why don't we? Reaper on the Nightmare, attack him directly!"
Ryu frowned and motioned to his set card. Immediately it flipped up, revealing two monsters shifting positions. "My trap card is a simple one known as Shift. This alters your target to another appropriate one. In this case I now have you attack Featherman."
The reaper bounded forwards, but Featherman rose out of his crouching position and decked the reaper in the jaw, sending him hurtling backwards. Then Featherman dropped back into his crouch. "Once again one of you two falls victim to attacking a higher defense." (TLP: 3800)
"It doesn't matter, you two are still just moments away from losing. And next turn is the last turn for the Swords of Revealing Light. After that our two Wind Dragon Vanguard's will burn through your defenses and finish you off!" She chuckled darkly, passing the turn to Ryu.
Ryu drew, and then slammed the card down. "Although you are paralyzed against attacking, we are not. I sacrifice Masked Dragon and Haze in order to summon Grand Emperor Dragon(2000/2500) in attack mode!"
The magnificent dragon formed in place of the two weaker dragons. It stretched out its wings and roared in such an impressive manner that even the crowd went silent briefly. "Grand Emperor Dragon attacks Reaper on the Nightmare!"
Flames shot from the dragon's jaws, forcing the undead creature backwards. However, it didn't succumb to the flames and remained standing. "Reaper on the Nightmare cannot be destroyed as a result of battle, but I still lose life points regardless of that." (ZLP: 1600)
"That will end my turn." Daniel was about to speak up about how Ryu was totally defenseless other than his Grand Emperor Dragon, but he noticed a slight smile playing on Ryu's lips, and realized that the dragon demon had a plan.
'What's his game? What could he be up to?' He blinked in surprise when Ryu glanced upwards at the warp of Fusion Gate, drawing Daniel's gaze. His eyes widened, and then he too began to smile.
Zarya noticed the look on Daniel's face, and felt it appropriate to snap him out of it. "You're acting so confident, but it hardly matters. Reaper on the Nightmare will finish off your partner, and then it will come after you! Attack!"
Daniel snapped his fingers, and his lone set card flipped up. A shield appeared in his hand and he jumped in the reaper's path. The scythe connected with his shield, and energy surged around it. "You triggered my trap, Draining Shield! But since I don't need the life points that much, I'll give them to my partner!"
The reaper moved away, and Daniel's shield faded. A single point of energy shot out from that spot and hit Ryu in the chest, charging him up and restoring some much needed life points. "My thanks Daniel, I needed that recharge." (RLP: 1200)
"No problem, the least I could do since you've told me how to win the duel." Zarya frowned as the two exchanged smirks.
"I don't like your attitude! In our next turn you'll fall! Remember, after Tanya's turn is over your pathetic swords are gone, and then it's game over." She smirked and Tanya flashed her a smirk as well. The crowd above them roared in a bloodthirsty manner, desiring to see their end.
Daniel glanced down at his deck, knowing that he needed one card to make this work. He had to hope that Ryu was right, as he usually was. "This is the moment when you see that the only person to fall is you! Draw!"
He held up the card, and then casually slid it into the cemetery. "My magic card Warrior Returning Alive lets me pick up one warrior from my cemetery and add it to my hand."
A card ejected from his grave, and he picked it up. "Now, it's time to show you what I've got! Activate Fusion Gate special ability, join together Elemental Hero Featherman and Elemental Hero Burst Lady to form...Elemental Hero Flame Wingman(2100/1800)!"
The two monsters jumped into the warp, and then descended from it in the form of a green monster with a dragon's arm. "Flame Wingman isn't going to be enough to defeat you...so I activate Fusion Gate again and fuse Flame Wingman with a monster in my hand, Elemental Hero Sparkman!"
The electricity wielding monster joined Flame Wingman in the warp, and what descended was a glowing monster that looked like a mecha, with large spread out wings. "Meet one of the ultimate heroes, Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman(2500/2000)! He gains three hundred attack for every Elemental Hero in my grave, but I have none."
"So in other words your monster is useless. It doesn't have enough attack power to..." She frowned in realization as she did the math, coming to the conclusion that if he attacked with it he could take her life points down to zero.
"So you see it then huh? Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman, attack Reaper on the Nightmare with Shining Shot!" Light sprayed from the hero's fist, engulfing the reaper and driving it backwards. It screamed and shattered, unable to exist as its owner's life points fell to nothing. (ZLP: 0)
Tanya drew immediately, and then slammed the card into her duel disk. "You think you're strong, well your monster is no match for Wind Dragon Vanguard! Especially since I equip it with Axe of Despair, raising its attack power to a grand total of five thousand!"
A demonic axe formed in the dragon's other hand, complimenting the original spear it held. "Although I can't attack now, I can attack quite shortly. So go ahead and take your measly turn, not like it will help!"
Ryu drew, and shook his head in amusment. "Heroes and dragons...many people think that these monsters oppose each other. Yet often they fight on the same side. Prepare to witness such a joining. Activate Fusion Gate special effect!"
Tanya stared at the dragon demon in shock, not quite understanding what she was hearing. "What are you saying? A fusion between a dragon and a hero?"
"That's exactly right! Combine together Shining Flare Wingman and Grand Emperor Dragon into the ultimate joint warrior, Elemental Dragonic Hero Shining Flare Emperor(3000/2500)!" Shining Flare Wingman floated over and settled down on Grand Emperor Dragon's back, and his stats shot up.
"Your creature is still too weak by two thousand points! You can't stop me at all!" Tanya started to laugh, and her defeated partner joined in. But their laughs and the crowd's jeers faltered when the new fusion began to shine brighter than ever.
"Fools, all of you. Shining Flare Emperor gains three hundred attack for each monster with 'hero' in their name in my grave, and three hundred for each dragon. I have seven dragons, so now Shining Flare Emperor(5100) has enough power. Shining Dragon Shot!" A brilliant dragon shaped energy blast erupted from the monsters fist, joined by flames from the dragon.
Wind Dragon Vanguard was consumed in the blaze and shattered into thousands of pieces. "Even if my creature has fallen, that doesn't mean I'm defeated! I still have most of my life points left!" (TLP: 3700)
"Wrong, you have nothing! Any monster that is destroyed by this fusion has its attack deducted from the controller's life points. Now, you take Wind Dragon Vanguard's attack as damage!" Tanya screamed as energy slammed into her body, hurling her and her partner backwards. (TLP: 0)
The duel disks shut down, and the door at the far end of the room opened up. Daniel and Ryu glanced at each other and then as one they marched through it. "On to the next step."
Up in the control room the large form of the dimension's Dalin Imaki Sumatin scowled at the two's defeat. "I thought Tanya and Zarya's fusion strategies could defeat those two's fusions, but it appears that they are stronger than I had guessed. Nevertheless we must proceed based on the rules. Who wishes to face the next challenger?"
One of the people in the back stood, and walked into the light. He was revealed to be none other than Masue, still wearing his yellow Ra Yellow uniform. "After coming all this way and skipping classes I think I deserve a chance to duel. Besides, this next guy I want to crush again just for the fun of it."
He smirked as he looked at the person displayed on the screen, none other than Kai Kaethen. "Get ready Kai Kaethen, because your opponent is Masue Ihachi, and once again you'll fall before my Great Armor Deck!"
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Next Chapter: Birth of the Ultimate Breaker
Author's Notes: Daniel and Ryu reveal that heroes can and will join forces with dragons for the right cause. Now it's time for Kai Kaethen to face off against Masue Ihachi, and see if he can make up for his previous defeat. But the question remains, who exactly is Masue Ihachi?
Review Responses
G.O.T. Nick: You guessed right. Ryu and Daniel were indeed up.
Gryphinwyrm7: Whoops, guess I can go back and change the chapter to make it Pitch Black Warwolf or something. Kensai's set cards couldn't be activated till the battle phase anyways, so it would have worked.
WolfGeneral: Not only was it Ryu, but it was also Daniel.
John: Thanks.
Original Cards:WG(WolfGeneral), TM(Time Mage), G(Gryphinwyrm7)
Ryu: Gaius the Earth Dragon(WG), Dragon In The Hand, Wind Dragon Vanguard(WG), Grand Emperor Dragon, Elemental Dragonic Hero-Shining Flare Emperor
Zarya: Rebirth of the Fusion, Fusion Immunity, Crushing Mace, Pain of New Birth
Tanya: Fusion Cloning, Command Fusion, Pain Amplifier
Anime Cards
Tanya: Surprise Attack From the Darkness
Daniel: Elemental Hero Shining Flare Wingman
