Author's Notes: Now for the rematch of Kai vs Masue!

Chapter Twenty-One: Birth of the Ultimate Breaker

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!"

Kai stumbled forwards and then jerked up just as the spotlight hit him. He was now illuminated for a crowd of hundreds of paying customers to see. "This...this is the place that those two duelists were before."

He had just managed to make it through the series of traps, but he and the rest of the group had been separated. There was no telling how many of them would make it through, but for now it was just him. "So, does this mean I have to duel now?"

"You've got that right. But I think in this case you'll want to duel." A spotlight hit the speaker, revealing him to be a teenager in a yellow uniform. He had dark brown eyes and unruly black hair, and he looked far too much like Drake for it to be a coincidence.

"Masue Ihachi...so it looks like we meet again. You were a powerful opponent, and I admit that your armors caught me off guard before, but now I've learned from the past and know how to defeat them. This time, I intend to win!" His duel disk unfolded and locked into position as the numbers lit up. (KLP: 4000)

"You mean you didn't intend to win last time? I highly doubt that, just like I doubt you can defeat me this time! Let's get this party started!" Masue's duel disk snapped into place, and his life points counted up until they were at the right spot. Then the entire arena lit up, giving the spectators a clear view of them. (MLP: 4000)

Kai paused before looking at the five cards he had drawn. There was just something he had to ask before this duel got stated. "Masue...I've been wondering. Who are your parents?"

"Not like it's any of you business. But I could see by your face that you recognized the name Ihachi when I said it before. Perhaps that means you've met Uncle Daisuke?" Kai narowed his eyes, realizing the truth of the matter.

'So that makes him the son of this dimension's Hikari Ihachi, Drake's sister. I can see that dueling prowess runs in the family.'

"Yes, I know your Uncle, in fact if your mother is Hikari Ihachi then I also know her. Now that I know exactly why you're so familiar looking then we can start the duel." With that said he held up his hand of five cards so he could give them a once over.

Masue had also drawn, only he had drawn six cards instead of five. "You're much cockier this time than you were during our last duel. Perhaps you think you actually have a counter strategy to my Armor Deck? There is no counter to it, so I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Kai slid a card off the top of his deck and added it to his hand. Then he selected another set of cards and placed them face down. "There is always a counter to any strategy and any theme. All you have to do is look for it."

Two brown-backed cards appeared face down in front of him in his magic and trap zone. "I place those two cards face down, and then I'll add a set monster as well. That ends my turn."

The young duelist frowned, but continued anyways, drawing his next card. Since he had used so little of his hand previously he had six cards to work with. "You're so damned confident that I'd like to test that confidence right now. Meet my first armor of the duel, Spikefist Armor(300/0)!"

He slammed the card into position, and a blue armor piece appeared in front of it. It latched onto his right arm, and then he held his fist up. This revealed the spikes that extended from the knuckles of the armored fist. "This monster can destroy any set monster without damage calculation! So, here I come!"

Masue screamed his attack and charged in, his booted feet slamming against the metal. He raised his fist and started to punch down towards Kai's set monster. "Hold it right there, my monster will remain safe! Activate trap card, Magic Circle of Light!"

A glowing circle of light appeared above the monster and Masue's fist slammed into it harmlessly. He growled and jumped backwards. "What the crap was that? How come my attack failed?"

"The trap card Magic Circle of Light protects all spellcasters from being attacked for the duration of this turn. Since my face down monster is a spellcaster that means it's safe from your attack." Masue grimaced, realizing that he couldn't do what he had hoped quite yet.

"Bah, that's fine with me. I place one magic or trap card face down and then end my turn!" A card appeared in front of him, potentially protecting his armors.

Kai drew and then he dropped his hand to his duel disk. "It's time to show you what I was protecting. I flip my face down monster, Mysterious Magister(300/300)!"

A figure in a brown hooded robe appeared in front of Kai, hunched over to reveal nothing of its body besides the robe. "Mysterious Magister is far from powerful, but his effect makes up for it. When he's flipped I can destroy one monster on your field and change the position of the rest of your monsters."

Masue's eyes widened as a beam of light shot out of the magister's hood and slammed into his fist, blowing it into millions of fragments. "Now, the revealing power of light will show me your set monster, now in attack mode!"

The card flickered, and then slowly it flipped up, revealing itself. It was a white metallic small shield, which floated gracelessly in the air. "You've changed my White Armor Buckler(0/2500) into attack mode."

"That's what I figured. Your armors generally have impressive effects, but they all have minimal attack power and usually minimal defense power. Since your White Armor Buckler is in attack mode that makes it easy prey for the monster I'm about to summon!" He picked up his Mysterious Magister and slid it into the graveyard.

"Now that I've made my sacrifice I can summon Guardian of Time(2400/2500) in attack mode!" The spellcaster appeared and flourished its staff, ready for battle at a moment's notice.

Masue eyed his face down card. He still seemed confident, but Kai had every intention of breaking that confidence. "I'm sorry, but don't think that your face down card will break my stride. Activate Mystical Space Typhoon!"

The younger duelist grimaced as his set card was blown apart by Kai's magic card. That left him with no way to protect his weak monster. "And here I thought you were so confident that you didn't need life points, but believe me, even with your deck life points do matter. Guardian of Time attacks!"

The floating armor buckler shattered under the pressure of the Guardian's assault, leaving Masue's field completely empty. On the other hand Kai still had his powerful monster and one set magic or trap card. "Guardian of Time has done his duty, and now you've lost more than half of your life points." (MLP: 1600)

"You seem to have really learned how to deal with an Armor Deck...not! You may have dealt a lot of damage, but that hardly means I'm finished. My Armor Deck can and will crush you, no matter what sort of counter strategy you think you have!" Masue chuckled, still confident despite his opponent's lead.

"Whatever you say Masue. I know I can win this duel, and I will, that I can guarantee. Now, I set one card face down and pass the turn to you." A card appeared to replenish his numbers, leaving him with just one card in his hand.

Masue snickered and held out the card he had just drawn. "I activate the magic card Psychic Gravitation! This lets me special summon one Psychic Armor Head(0/500) to the field, and I summon it in defense mode!"

The blue helmet with its black visor appeared in front of him, not quite latching onto his head yet. "I'll throw in a little face down action and leave it at that."

Kai eyed the face down card carefully as he drew his card, but he didn't seem particularly bothered by it. "I was waiting for you to summon Psychic Armor Head, the monster that refuses to remain dead. However, there is a method to defeat it for good, and you're looking at it!"

He pointed to his Guardian of Time which had its staff raised, revealing two glowing points of light. "For each magic card played my Guardian of Time gains a magic counter, and I can remove two of them to remove one enemy monster from play. So say goodbye to Psychic Armor Head!"

The magician waved his staff, and the blue armor head blinked out of existence, leaving Masue with nothing but his face down card to protect him. Masue sneered at this. "Bastard...you'll pay for removing my monster!"

"Perhaps, but we'll find out now that I attack!" Guardian of Time fired a beam of energy from its staff directly at Masue. If the attack hit then Masue would lose all of his remaining life points and the duel would be over.

"Reveal trap card, Attack Redirecting Armor! This armor equips to your monster and switches the target of your attack to itself!" An evil looking set of armor settled around the Guardian's middle, and the beam of energy changed directions in mid-air. It slammed into the magician and blew it apart.

"Very well. With that my turn is ended."

Masue drew and then he started to laugh. He held out the card for Kai to see, and the other duelist grimaced at the sight of it. "All your efforts are in vain! I summon Psychic Armor Head(0/500) in attack mode!"

The familiar blue armor shimmered out from the card. "Now, a move that you should find familiar. I activate Armored Gravitation, which special summons four level four or lower armors from my deck to start off!"

Four cards ejected from his deck, and one by one he slammed them onto his duel disk. "Meet Burning Knuckle Armor(0/1000), Overboost Armor(0/1000), Active Guard Armor(0/2000), and last but not least is Jet Gauntlet Armor(0/1500)!"

A blue armored right arm appeared, followed by a pair of legs, a chest plate, and a left arm that ended as what looked like missiles. "Now, for the next part of my card all of my armors join with me in order to become the mighty Borgman(0/0)!"

Piece by piece they connected with him until he was fully covered by a space aged suit of armor, every piece of his body covered. "It's time to calculate the chances of my success!"

The Psychic Armor Head scanned his opponent's field, and spoke to him. "Analyzing opponent's set cards. 73 chance that face down cards are traps. Calculated with ability of Overboost Armor to protect armors from traps creates a 94 success rate."

"That sounds perfect to me! Now, as my Psychic Armor Head would likely tell me, the best choice for my attack is Burning Knuckle, which gains two hundred attack for every armor in play. Since I have five that means it has one thousand attack points!" He raised his right arm, displaying its power.

The crowd cheered as the mighty borgman that was Masue Ihachi prepared himself, settling back on his heels and sliding into a runner's pose. "Get ready, because I'm about to unleash real power upon you! Attack time!"

Overboost hurtled him forwards at intense speeds and his right fist slammed into Kai's chin, hurling the other duelist backwards into the metal wall. Kai slid down, but caught himself before he could really fall. "You're strong...but that's not a problem. You see, you fell into my trap." (KLP: 3000)

"Say what? What trap? Traps don't work on me when I have Overboost in play!" Kai chuckled and pointed to one of his two face down cards, which was now lifting up.

"Compensation of Oppression is an interesting trap card that can only activate when I receive damage. For every instance of one thousand damage I can special summon one level four or lower monster from my deck to the field. That means I can choose one, so here is Atom Sorcerer(1000/1000)!" The strange looking spellcaster emerged, staring down Masue.

"That's what you have to face me? It hardly matters at all, considering I can now activate the magic card Armor Repairs! This increases my life points by five hundred for every armor I have in play." His armored body glowed as little nicks in his armors were repaired, making him perfect. (MLP: 4100)

"Since I've done that I end my turn. Sadly all monsters summoned by Armored Gravitation go to the grave at the end of my turn." The four armor pieces faded away, leaving only Psychic Armor Head attached to him.

Kai nodded and drew, then pointed at Psychic Armor Head. "Atom Sorcerer attacks your monster!" The blast caught Masue in the head, blasting him onto his back and dropping his life points. (MLP: 3100)

Masue pulled himself back to his feet, grinning confidently in a manner similar to Drake's grin. Kai bowed his head in recognition of his opponent's strength. "Your turn Masue."

Masue drew and Psychic Armor Head was special summoned back to his field according to its effect. "Here's some more power for you, Busterpile Armor(0/0) in attack mode!"

Another right arm appeared and attached to his arm. "Busterpile can destroy any monster it attacks at a cost of itself, but the opponent also takes five hundred damage. So, Busterpile Strike!"

Prongs shot out from the end of Busterpile and stabbed into the sorcerer. The monster shattered, but Kai remained strong, especially when four beams of light settled onto his field. "When my monster dies I can special summon four tokens, Electron Sorcerer(500/500), Proton Sorcerer(500/500), Quartz Sorcerer(500/500), and Neutron Sorcerer(500/500)!" (KLP: 2500)

"Bah! Those little wimps won't do anything to help you! I set one card face down and end my turn." He placed his last card face down, protecting his still defenseless Psychic Armor Head from an attack.

Kai drew, and then slid one of his cards into his duel disk. "I play Spell Blade Infusion, which destroys all spellcasters in play and grants me three hundred life points for each one. That's four, so it's twelve hundred life points." (KLP: 3700)

The crowd and Masue all looked on in confusion, wondering why Kai had made such an action. He had gotten those monsters only to destroy them. "When Electron Sorcerer is destroyed I draw twice, when Proton goes I destroy one of your magic or trap cards, when Neutron goes I lower the level of one monster in my hand by two, and when Quartz goes I destroy all non-token monsters in play."

Masue watched in horror as energy engulfed his field, burning away his face down card and his Psychic Armor Head, leaving him totally defenseless. Kai held up his five card hand and then slammed a card from his hand onto the disk. "Thanks to Neutron Sorcerer I can now summon Time Mage(2400/2500) without sacrifice!"

Another monster, this one very similar to Guardian of Time appeared, facing down Masue. Even Masue couldn't help but be impressed, as Kai had managed a combo to summon a strong monster and clear the field for an attack. "Time Mage, attack Masue directly!"

The attack threw Masue backwards, but he caught himself with his feet and slid to a stop, shaking off the damage from the strike. "I'm still in this, even without most of my life points!" (MLP: 600)

"Still in, but you have no cards in your hand and none on the field. So let's see if you can face me and my new set card." His newest card replaced previous ones, giving him two cards face down still.

Masue drew, and Psychic Armor Head returned. "Ha! Eat this, Card of Sanctity!" Both duelists drew until they held six. Masue drew six cards and Kai drew three cards.

"You should recognize this card, it's War Path! And it will destroy both of your face down cards!" Kai grimaced as tanks rolled over his face down cards, demolishing his chances of halting any attack easily. (KLP: 3100)

"I summon Big Bang Blow Armor(0/500) whose effect I'm sure you remember. When it dies in battle all other monsters go as well, and the attack of those monsters is dealt to our life points. In order to protect my life points I play Armor Safeties, which keeps me from losing life points in armor battles until the start of my next turn!" The armor fist attached to him, and it glowed with protective energy.

"I attack you with Big Bang Blow!" He charged in, and Kai grimaced as he realized what he would have to do.

"When magic cards are played my Time Mage gains a counter, and I can remove one when he is targeted by an attack or effect to remove him from the game for the turn!" Time Mage vanished, and Masue's fist met nothing but air, effectively negating the attack.

"Damn it all! I'll still get your stupid ass monster with this next card, which I'll set face down. End turn." A card appeared set in front of him.

Kai drew, but before he could take any other action Masue's set card flipped up. "My trap card is Big Bang Confrontation, which forces one opposing monster into battle with Big Bang Blow immediately! So let's dance big boy!"

Time Mage, having returned to the field, immediately charged into battle. Masue rushed to meet it, and decked the monster. Energy engulfed the two, and an explosion cleared the field of every monster, hurling both duelists backwards. "That was fun, don't you think?" (KLP: 600)

Kai groaned, holding his chest which was now burned, his body aching from the blast. Masue was breathing hard, but looked to be in better shape than Kai was. "Fun is in the eye of the beholder...but you have opened up my options. It seems I'll have to do things the hard way by activating this card, Temple of Birth!"

A massive temple of gothic architecture formed behind Kai, and five rays of light shot out of Kai's deck and into the temple. "When activated this card destroys all monsters in play, but neither of us has any. Then I remove five monsters from my deck from play."

He held up five cards, and then slid them into his back pocket. "On my third turn after activation those five monsters will be special summoned to the field. During that time I cannot set or summon in any manner, so it's all up to my magic and trap cards."

Kai fanned out his remaining six cards, and started selecting some of them. "You're sure confident, but you can't defeat my Armors with magic and traps alone, no, I'll crush you before you even summon your monsters!"

"We'll find out if that's true in three turns. Till then, I set two cards face down. Let's see if you can back up your claims Masue, or if you're nothing but hot air!" Now it was monster versus magic and traps, and only one could survive.

Masue drew, allowing Psychic Armor Head to return. Then he held up another of his cards, and fire exploded from his cemetery, emerging as four different armor pieces. "Phoenix Gravitation lets me special summon four armors from my grave for one turn, and now they equip to me!"

He posed dramatically as they connected to him, making him the Borgman once again. "Next up I'll activate another Armor Repairs, restoring my life points again!" Energy floated from his armored body to his duel disk, bringing him back to nearly full. (MLP: 3100)

"Then I activate Armor Refurbishing, which lets me draw one card for every armor I have in play! That's five, so I draw five cards!" He snapped an additional five cards off his deck, giving him more options to work with.

He held up his right fist, which was revealed as the familiar Burning Knuckle. "Burning Knuckle(1000/1000) now has the power to finish you in one strike, so I'll attack you directly!"

Masue jetted across the field, and slammed his fist into Kai's jaw. Kai was hurled backwards, but he caught himself and managed to remain standing for a brief moment. Then he swayed and fell to his knees. "I'm not done...Magic Life Restoration restores my life points by twelve hundred." (KLP: 800)

"You just won't die is that it? I activate Safety Net, preventing my armors from being destroyed during this turn! Now they will remain, keeping me as the borgman." Kai shuddered and rose to his feet, then pointed to his remaining set card.

"Chrono Jump lets me choose one phase, and in your next turn you won't have that phase. I choose battle phase, so in your next turn you can't attack me at all." Masue shrugged and slid one more card onto his duel disk, ending his turn and leaving him with three cards in hand.

Kai drew, then slid two of his cards onto his duel disk. "I...set two cards face down. That's all I can do."

He still had two more turns before he could get the five monsters he had sent out of play, and until then he had to use only his magic and trap cards to defend himself. Masue on the other hand could use any methods. "Bah, you're a nothing to me! Activate field magic card, Armor Battle Zone! In this place there is no limit to the armors our fields can hold, so I summon Command Armor Brain(0/0)!"

A mechanical brain-like armor appeared and settled onto the back of Psychic Armor Head, latching into place. "This monster has its uses, but for the moment all it does is boost Burning Knuckle to twelve hundred attack. Since I have no battle phase I end my turn right there."

Kai glanced down at his drawn card and then shoved it into his duel disk, giving him a grand total of three set cards. "That card face down. Then I end."

'I have to hope that I can make it through...next turn I get what I need, so I must survive this turn!' He breathed in and then out unsteadily, knowing that there would be no coming back if he lost this duel, so there was no choice but to win.

A card ejected from Masue's deck, revealing that he had skipped his draw phase to have Psychic Armor Head add an armor from his deck to his hand. "I summon Explosive Shell Armor(0/500) which can automatically send all monsters or all magic and traps on our fields to the grave, and I choose magic and traps!"

The cracking armor emerged, and then detonated. The explosive consumed the field, burning away Masue's single set card and blowing apart all three of Kai's. Now the path was clear, and Kai had nothing left. "Time to end you!"

The blow caught Kai in the gut, and his breath left him as he fell to his knees, barely able to move. "End? Take...another...look." Kai managed to wheeze out, and pointed to his duel disk. (KLP: 1400)

"What kind of nonsense is that?" In response to the question Kai ejected three cards from his cemetery and held them up.

Finally getting his breath back the older duelist was able to give a spoken response. "You didn't destroy my cards, I did. I triggered Emergency Provisions and sacrificed my two face down cards, boosting my life points by two thousand. So I survived your attack."

"Survived? You survived nothing! I activate Battle Replay, which lets me have another battle phase at a cost of my next turn's battle phase. Take this!" He grabbed Kai with his left arm and pulled him up, then landed a heavy blow to Kai's face, dropping him to his back. (KLP: 200)

Masue spat onto the ground next to Kai and then stalked back to his side of the field. "One measly card face down, and that's all. No matter what you summon it can't save you now."

Kai held out his card and then raised both of his arms above his head. "Temple of Birth, your purpose has been served. Activate your effect and bring me the five monsters I removed!"

Five beams of light shot out and one by one slammed down in front of them. He named them off as they appeared, magical knights in different colored armor. "Introducing Breaker the Magical Warrior(1600/1000), Effect Breaker(1600/1000), Monster Breaker(1600/1000), Spell Breaker(1600/1000), and last but not least is Breaker Blader(1600/1000)!"

The five breakers struck a pose, the tips of their swords meeting. Masue snorted in amusement, not seeming impressed. "This is your answer, this is what you removed to summon? They don't have effects without their counters, and they only gain counters when they are normal summoned, and you special summoned them. That makes them useless!"

"Useless? No monster is useless, and these monsters are only here to give way to the ultimate force, the one creature who was their mentor, a monster of undefinable power. Prepare to meet the ultimate breaker! I sacrifice all five of my monsters to summon it!" The five breakers converted into balls of energy and combined together in the middle of the field.

The crowd watched in amazement as the energy gathered, and finally a brand new breaker was born, this one in armor identical to the others, but it was solid gold. "Meet Breaker the Holy(2500/2500)!"

Masue sneered at the powerful looking monster, obviously not impressed. "What's that thing going to do? Five monsters just for one creature that's only nine hundred points stronger?"

"Nine hundred? Not exactly, you see since I sacrificed five breakers to summon him he starts off with the maximum of five magic counters, and like his pupils he gains three hundred attack points for each counter. That means he has four thousand attack points!" Masue stepped back in shock as Breaker the Holy raised his sword, energy flowing out from it.

"Also, he has the ability of each of the other breakers, which is how they learned them. Which means I have five effect options, and five counters to use for them. To start with I activate Breaker the Magical Warrior's effect and destroy your set card!" Breaker pointed to the card, and it exploded into dozens of pieces, leaving nothing left.

"Next I remove two counters to destroy Jet Gauntlet Armor, Active Guard Armor!" The breaker slashed its blade twice, and Masue's left arm and chest pieces exploded, leaving him with just a few more armors left.

Since it had used up three counters it only had thirty-one hundred attack points left. "It's time to attack. Breaker the Holy will bring you down once and for all!"

Masue grimaced and charged in, smashing his right arm into Breaker the Holy. The fist shattered against the monsters' armor, and it proceeded to backhand Masue away from it. "I can choose your target, so Burning Knuckle's effect kicks in, draining your monster of eight hundred attack points. Not only that, but I remain standing!" (MLP: 800)

Kai snapped his fingers, and Breaker the Holy lifted its blade once again, even thought its armor was slightly cracked and its attack power reduced to twenty-three hundred. "The only person that will remain standing is me! Activate Breaker Blader's effect, sacrificing one more counter to have Breaker the Holy attack you once again!"

Breaker the Holy's attack power dropped to twenty-three hundred as it swooped in and slashed its blade down on Masue's head, shattering Psychic Armor Head and sending him hurling backwards. The young dueling progidy hit the far wall and dropped to his knees, blood running down between his eyes. "Amazing...you actually did it." (MLP: 0)

Kai struggled to step forwards as he shut down his duel disk, causing the monsters to fade away. The duel was over, and he had managed to win. "Yes, I did. Now, tell me where to go from here."

Masue pointed to the door off to his right, which slid open. "In there is the Inner Sanctum, that's where you have to go. You did good...I'm truly impressed that you won. Looks like you are a strong duelist after all. So maybe one day...we can duel again, just for fun."

Kai stopped at the doorway, and then looked back at the fallen duelist with a slight smile. "Maybe."

Then the door closed behind him.

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Next Chapter: Troop Roll-Out

Author's Notes: Kai has successfully defeat Masue and his Great Armor Deck, and now he too advances to the Inner Sanctum. While the contents of this place remain a mystery still, another duelist now steps up to see what the Underworld of Dueling has to offer. It's Kirani's turn to rumble!

Review Responses

John: Armors rock, that's all I can say. One of my favorite sets, even though I had them lose.

WolfGeneral: Oh yeah, after I first saw Shining Flare Wingman I knew I had to write it into this story.

Time Mage: Bahamut only comes out in order to judge people. As it is a living creature it won't attack unless the opponent deserves the attack. Plus its insanely hard to summon and I'm not sure how it works.

Gryphinwyrm7: I would have liked to add in the comments, but it all came down to a space frame. That chapter would have ended up longer than I liked if I added that sort of thing. Besides, the previous duel was meant to be more dramatic.

Original Cards:WG(WolfGeneral), TM(Time Mage), G(Gryphinwyrm7)

Masue: Spikefist Armor, White Armor Buckler, Psychic Gravitation(submitted by David Knott), Armor Repairs, War Path, Armor Safeties, Big Bang Confrontation, Armor Refurbishing, Safety Net, Armor Battle Zone, Command Armor Brain, Explosive Shell Armor

Kai: Magic Circle of Light(TM), Mysterious Magister(TM), Guardian of Time(TM), Compensation of Oppression(TM), Atom Sorcerer(TM), Spell Blade Infusion, Time Mage(TM), Temple of Birth(TM), Chrono Jump, Magic Life Restoration, Effect Breaker, Spell Breaker, Monster Breaker, Breaker Blader, Breaker the Holy

Anime Cards