"We are going in circles," Duke said to Serenity and Tristan. They were in a sparse meadow that had a few scraggily pine trees growing in it. But it was a beautiful day in the virtual with a clear by sky, warm weather, and a gentle breeze.
"Don't be so negative," said Tristan. "This place has some good points." He stretched, enjoying the sunlight.
"Five old, creepy, guys want to steal our bodies! How can you talk about its good points?" Duke demanded.
Tristan gritted his teeth, talking low so only Duke would hear him, "I'm trying to make Serenity feel better."
"We need to be realistic!" Duke snapped back.
"And you aren't helping anything dice-boy!" retorted Tristan.
"Take that back cone-head!"
"Guys, please stop fighting," said Serenity. "I'm sure we'll all be fine."
"Don't forget there's five of them," Duke reminded them. "That means Yu- Gi, Joe, Drake, and Kaiba won't be there only targets. They might come after us."
"Well, there's more than five of us here, so we might get lucky," countered Tristan.
"I'm not worried, I feel safe when I'm with you," chimed Serenity.
"You do?!" gasped Tristan, hope flickering in his brown eyes.
Serenity nodded, "Yes, both of you are such good friends." Tristan face- faulted.
"I still think we need to be careful," said Duke.
"We don't have anything to worry about," Serenity said. "After all, with an expert duelist like Tristan around, the Big 5 will never win."
"Expert duelist?! What else have you been telling this poor girl?" asked Duke. Tristan covered his mouth.
"That's right Serenity!" exclaimed Tristan to hide Duke's protests.
"Don't you know Tristan taught Joe all he knows about dueling?" asked Serenity.
Duke rolled his eyes and glared at Tristan, unable to say more.
"Uh-Oh!" gasped Tristan. A door had materialized behind Serenity. The three stopped their bantering and turned and stared at it, unsure what to make of it. It was a thick oak door, hovering three inches off of the ground. It seemed completely out of place, and given the situation, they weren't sure what they should do about it.
"I don't like this," said Duke at length. "This has to be a trap."
"But what if it leads out of here?" asked Serenity.
"And what if it doesn't?" asked Duke, crossing his arms and glaring at the door.
"I agree with Duke on this one, it's too risky," said Tristan.
"Oh, come on guys," said Serenity. With that she opened the door.
"Serenity, no!" gasped Duke but it was too late. A blinding light flooded the area around them. The meadow dissolved.
"I can't see!" exclaimed Tristan. The light was so intense they were all shielding their eyes. The virtual world around them changed completely.
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"So much for getting out of here," sighed Lara as she looked around the newest area she and Drake found themselves in. MC Esher was clearly the muse behind this place. The couple was in a staircase room. Stairs lead everywhere, even sideways and upside down. Doors were in the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. Nothing seemed to lead to anywhere logical. It was one of the hardest visual mazes ever constructed.
"You have got to be kidding me," agreed Drake, looking around.
"Where do we go now?" asked Lara.
"Whatever way gets us out of here the fastest," answered Drake.
"And that way is...?"
"No idea."
Lara sighed, "I guess we can try to get to a door, any door..."
"Let's go then," said Drake, taking her hand. They started walking. "I do know this, Noah is going to regret this." He gritted his teeth.
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Joe was running through the cave that the door that he, Yu-Gi, Téa, and Kevin had taken took them. The other three were trying to keep up. Joe's speed was fueled by his concern for his sister. Every few moments he would yell her name.
"We're worried too!" Téa yelled up to him. "But do you think you can slow down a bit?"
"I have to find her!"
"This cave could go on forever," added Yu-Gi.
"It does," confirmed Kevin. "We only get out of here when Noah wants us out."
"No one asked for your opinion!" countered Joe, who would not normally be so waspish if it wasn't for his anxiety.
"Well you got it!" Kevin yelled back.
"Boys, please, we have enough people running around who want to fight us without us fighting each other," Téa scolded.
"You're right," admitted Kevin. Joe did not seem to hear her.
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The light faded. Serenity, Duke, and Tristan looked around. The walls were cold steel. There was a catwalk above them. The room was large and bare otherwise. It looked familiar. It was the very place they had stepped off of the blimp. There was only one problem. The blimp was gone.
"Looks like we're back where we started before the Big5 sent us to virtual land but there's no sign of the blimp in here at all." Duke said.
"Do you think they left without us?" asked Serenity, nervously.
"No, I know Joe wouldn't let them leave us behind," said Tristan.
"I agree, most likely this is another part of Noah's fortress, made to look like the dock," said Duke.
As if to confirm what he said, a large robot appeared high in the ceiling and hovered down to the ground, via jetpacks built into the boots. The robot was mostly red, but it had blue and yellow and black sections on its plating as well. Its eyes glowed green and stared at the three people.
"It's some kind of giant robot or something!" Tristan gasped. Duke and Serenity were too stunned to say anything.
"Greetings Humans," said the robot. "My name is Nesbit, one of the Big 5. I was the former Vice President of Technology at Kaiba Corp. But now, I am Robotic Knight. I am the tech expert of the Big 5, and I will prove to you pathetic humans that machines are superior to humans in every way. I will crush you and claim your bodies!" He held out a robotic arm and a duel disk former on it. "And I will start by taking out the female."
Serenity gasped. "But...I don't...dueling....."
"Leave her alone!" exclaimed Tristan. "She doesn't know how to duel! If you want to duel someone you'll duel me you scrap heap!"
Duke looked at Tristan out of the corner of his eyes. He knew Tristan didn't stand any better chance at winning than Serenity. "You're a coward!" Duke taunted. "If you want to prove anything, you'll duel me!"
"Negative, I have challenge the female," countered Nesbit. Serenity gulped.
"And I challenge you!" Tristan yelled.
"I have an idea," said Duke, glowering. "You will duel me and Tristan, two for the price of one!"
"Negative, but that gives me an idea," said Nesbit. "You will all duel me in a three on one duel. Then, the Big 5 will have three bodies to use to escape to the real world."
"What?! No way! Leave Serenity out of this!" yelled Tristan and Duke.
"It's okay guys," said Serenity. "I will duel with you. I'll just follow your lead and I'll be okay."
"The stakes are too high!" argued Duke.
"It's way too dangerous," agreed Tristan.
Nesbit gave a command and duel disks appeared on all their arms. "Everyone wearing a duel disk will be part of this duel."
"Cool," murmured Serenity, examining the duel disk on her arm.
"Not cool," muttered Tristan and Duke.
"Machines are more powerful than people," Nesbit said. "And I intend to pull the plug on all three of you. Now, choose your pathetic decks from the database."
"But how will I know what cards to pick?" asked Serenity, looking at the cards that scrolled up in front of her eyes completely confused.
"Just trust your instincts," urged Tristan. "You need magic, trap, and monster cards in your deck." Serenity nodded and began to pick cards. Tristan turned and did the same. Duke's green eyes were intensely scanning the database, trying to pick the best cards he was used to using.
"Now you must choose your Deck Masters," ordered Nesbit.
"Strike Ninja," said Duke, without hesitation.
Serenity flipped through her cards, "I choose Goddess with the 3rd Eye,
"Super Robo Yarou for me," finished Tristan. Their Deck Masters appeared behind their right shoulders.
The Strike Ninja wore a red and black outfit that is often associated with ninjas. It was very mysterious, and a decent card even without being a Deck Master. The Goddess with the 3rd Eye wore a pale green robe and white feathers in her brown hair. Her eyes were closed, save her namesake red eye in the middle of her forehead. The Super Robo Yarou was a fusion monster had it been in the duel normally. But Deck Masters didn't have to follow rules like that. It wore a tight blue jumpsuit that covered most of its body. A white helmet covered the face.
"Since I have taken the form of a Duel Monster, I will be my own Deck Master," said Nesbit. "And now to make this duel more interesting." Plates fell away from the floor, opening it to reveal a lake of something glowing molten red. "Beneath you is radioactive waste. If you break any rules the floor will collapse under you and you will fall into it."
"I don't like this one bit," said Duke, taking a step back from the edge.
"There is one rule I will particularly be enforcing. Under no condition are you to discuss you strategy with one another," Nesbit continued. "If you do you will fall into the waste."
"But, how will I know what to do if you can't help me?" Serenity asked desperately to Tristan and Duke.
"You're going to have to trust yourself," said Tristan.
"Like you said before, just follow our lead," added Duke.
The counters on their duel disks rose to 4000. The duel had begun, whether they were ready or not. Serenity looked incredibly nervous. Tristan kept glancing at her, more worried about her than himself. Duke was biting his lip. He knew they needed strategy to win, and he could tell he wouldn't be getting a lot of it from his teammates.
"The female will go first," ordered Nesbit.
"Um...." stammered Serenity, looking at the cards in her hand. She selected a monster card. "I summon Shadow Tamer in attack mode." Shadow Tamer wore a white dress with a reddish brown bodice. Her hair was long and turquoise. But her stats were incredibly weak at 800 and 700.
"Oh no," groaned Tristan. "That most is too weak to play in attack mode."
"Did I do something wrong already?" asked Serenity.
"No, no, no!" exclaimed Tristan, sweat-dropping. He didn't have the heart to tell her. "You did fine."
"Okay, then I end my turn," said Serenity.
"This is not good," thought Duke. "We need to play smart to win."
Tristan drew his first card, "I summon Cyber Commando to the field in attack mode. Come and get me punk!" His monster was also humanoid. It had tan skin and wore no shirt. His pants were army fatigues. He wore an ammunition belt across his chest. He also carried a large missile launcher. Despite the muscular façade, it was an even weaker monster with an attack and defense of 750 and 700.
Duke looked at Tristan in disbelief.
"Come on Duke," thought Tristan. He wanted to speak, but he knew the consequences if he did. "Play a weak monster so Metal Head will go after you and not Serenity!"
Duke took his time thinking out his first move, "I summon the 13th Grave in defense mode." His monster was a skeleton, half buried under ground. It had clothing, but those were no more than shreds, not that it needed it. The 13th Grave had an attack of 1200 and a defense of 900. Now it was Tristan's turn to look at him in disbelief. Duke was aiming for strategy while Tristan's sole concern was for Serenity.
"Its time for me to accelerate into high gear," Nesbit said as he started his first turn. "I summon Gigatech Wolf to the field in attack mode." His monster was a robot shaped like a wolf. It was completely formed by grey steel, save some blue trim. Electricity cracked from its eyes. It was the strongest monster on the field with stats of 1200 and 1400. "Now, Gigatech Wolf, attack the female."
"No, Serenity!" exclaimed the guys.
"No!" yelled Serenity. The Gigatech Wolf charged through her monster and continued until it collided with her. Serenity fell backwards hard and her life points dropped to 3600.
"Serenity! Are you okay?!" yelled Tristan.
"I...I'm fine," she stammered, although she still sounded a bit stunned.
"My turn is not over yet," said Nesbit. "I play one card face down. I will now discard one machine monster from my hand to activate my special ability as Deck Master."
"And that would be?" asked Duke, skeptically.
"Final Arsenal! I can do 500 points of direct damage to all of you," laughed Nesbit. Missile opened up on his own shoulder and targeted his three opponents. The missiles sailed right over the monsters on the field, hitting everyone directly in the chest. They all cried out in pain.
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"Did you hear that?!" demanded Joe to the others. "That was Serenity screaming right now!"
"We're going to find her Joe," encouraged Téa.
"Yeah! The Big 5 have no right to treat a lady like that!" added Kevin.
"Hello? Serenity?!!!" Joe yelled, still running.
"Joe! Wait up!" called Yu-Gi.
"He's worried," said Kevin.
"I know, but we stand the best chance if we all stick together," reminded Téa.
"SERENITY!" Serenity was the last to stand as the duel picked up again. She seemed shaken as she drew her next card.
"Even the three of you combined can't take me down," Nesbit laughed.
"I should summon a monster in defense mode," said Serenity.
"That's the spirit, you're getting the hang of this," encouraged Tristan.
"Okay, then I summon the Forgiving Maiden in defense mode," said Serenity, placing the card on her duel disk. Her monster wore a black robe. Her head was covered by a heavily embroided shroud. A silk white scarf was around her neck, as well as a rosary. She was a good monster to put in defense mode, because her defense was 2000. There was only one problem. Serenity did not know the difference in card positions for attack and defense mode.
"Serenity! You played your monster in attack mode!" exclaimed Duke. "You have to turn the card sideways on your duel disk to summon it in defense mode!"
"Oh no!" gasped Serenity. "I keep screwing up...."
"Let her take that turn over dude!" Tristan demanded.
"Sorry, no second chances," Nesbit replied.
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"What a low life," muttered Shayla who hung suspended above Noah's control terminal. She looked half irked, half scared, but was still trying to put on a front despite it. "Although I am going to have to compliment Serenity on her monster selection. She has good taste."
"He's not breaking any rules," Noah replied, simply.
"He's still hardly playing fair," Shayla said, irked winning for a moment.
"Not my problem," Noah shrugged.
"You're a coward, bribing them to do your dirty work," snapped Shayla. She probably wouldn't be so nasty if she wasn't feeling trapped, which she literally was.
"It's all part of my plan," Noah countered.
"And I want to know how that concerns me," Shayla said.
"You'll see," Noah said. Then laughed, "Then again, you won't see anything." He laughed some more.
"That was funny...about the first thousand times I heard it," Shayla said, dryly.
The entire time they talked the voices of the others filtered through thanks to Noah's surveillance system. At this moment, one voice came through exceptionally loud.
"You can't lead me around like a puppet forever, Noah!" Kaiba yelled. He was mad, bottom line. Seto Kaiba and Mokuba had been wondering in the same place since they arrived. But that was because Noah was merely biding his time with them.
"In my world, I can do whatever I want, and besides I'm having too much fun toying with your head to stop now," Noah said to the screen, even though Kaiba couldn't hear him. "If you think this is bad just wait to see what I have in store for you next!"
"That is absolutely sick!" exclaimed Shayla, knowing full well how far mind games could go. They were costing her closest friend everything.
"Shut-up! Unless you want me to test them on you again!" Noah yelled. Shayla was bothering him simply because she was not under his thumb.
"You risk yourself that way, my Millennial Scales work the same as before," Shayla reminded him. "They will equalize anything you do to me."
"You are talking non-sense!"
"It's magic," she replied.
"There's no such thing!"
"Oh yes there is. You're starting to sound like Kaiba, denying what you experience first hand."
"I'm not like him!"
Shayla felt a slight tug on the scales. There was something about what he just said that triggered them. "What are you hiding?"
"Nothing! Now shut up!" Noah practically screamed, typing with renewed vigor. "Of all times why does she choose now to start talking?"
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"It's my turn now," said Tristan. He drew his next card. "I need to do something that will help Serenity...A Block Attack magic card! Perfect!"
"I activate Block Attack to move the Forgiving Maiden to defense mode!" announced Tristan, sliding the card into his duel disk.
"Negative, my trap card destroys any magic card that specifically targets one monster," said Nesbit.
"Apparently..." muttered Tristan, his Block Attack vanishing.
"My move, and I summon Yaranzo to the field in defense mode," said Duke. His newest monster was humanoid too, like most monsters they had played. It had pink flesh and wore no clothing. That's because it was half embedded in a treasure chest. Its stats were 1300 and 1200. "Then I set one magic card and end my turn." Tristan was glaring at Duke.
"I now tribute my Gigatech Wolf to summon Machine King to the field," announced Nesbit. Machine King was a very square monster with round arms and legs. Its plating was red and blue, and the arms black. It had concealed weapons in a circular projection in the middle of its chest. It only had 2200 attack points, but its special ability made it a must for any machine-based deck.
"This is going to be trouble," muttered Duke.
"And Machine King gets 100 more attack points for every machine type monster on the field," said Nesbit. "That includes your Cyber Commando." This brought the attack of Machine King up to 2300. "Now, Machine King, attack the female."
"No, Serenity!" yelled Duke.
"Leave her alone!" demanded Tristan, but the attack was already launched. The concealed weapons opened and aimed for the Forgiving Maiden. "There has to be something I can do!"
"Oh no!" gasped Serenity.
"Cyber Commando, block the attack!" ordered Tristan. His monster did as ordered, and was broken to bits. This knocked Tristan all the way down to 1850 life points. Duke had 3500, and Serenity 3100. Nesbit had all of his.
"What are you thinking?!" demanded Duke.
"I had to do something to protect her!" Tristan shot back. "Because you're definitely not!"
"We have to play smart here to win! We need a strategy and you are just digging your own grave!"
"Please stop it!" yelled Serenity, who was distressed to see her friends fighting. Tristan and Duke both fell silent.
"I will continue my turn by activating Card of Sanctity," said Nesbit. "That means we all must draw until we have six cards in our hand. Think of it as recharging your battery." The four duelists drew. "Soon you'll all be obsolete," Nesbit continued. "Because I activate my Deck Master's special ability again, by discarding another machine type monster from my hand!"
"Oh no!" gasped his three opponents.
"Activate Final Artillery!" said Nesbit as he pushed the card into his graveyard.
Once again rockets pelted Duke, Tristan, and Serenity. They all gasped in pain as their life points plummeted. Duke was standing the best at 3000. Serenity had 2600. Tristan was not in a good position at 1350.
"It's my turn," said Serenity. She looked her hand over. "I summon Lady Panther to the field in defense mode." Her monster appeared next to her Forgiving Maiden. The Lady Panther was a panther dressed in armor. She had a tiny breastplate and skirt made of chain mail. She also had steel gauntlets trimmed in gold and a gold belt. Across her back was a long white cape. In one paw was an ornate shield, in the other was a staff topped with several curved arches. Her stats were 1400 and 1300, and this time Serenity positioned her card right on the duel disk.
"You go girl!" cheered Tristan.
"I think you're starting to get the hang of this," added Duke.
"Okay, then I move my Forgiving Maiden to defense mode," said Serenity, smiling. She turned her monster card on her duel disk.
"And I summon my Command Angel to the field, also in defense mode," added Tristan.
"I will also summon a defensive monster," added Duke. "Meet my Dark Assailant!" His monster had skin like a cadaver. It wore a blue and green jumpsuit and had wicked claws. Its attack equaled its defense at 1200.
"This is more like it!" cheered Tristan
"You'll never get our army of defensive monsters," Duke said.
"Your monsters will be your own undoing," said Nesbit. "Because now I activate my trap card, Back-Up Soldier. I can only activate this card if there is more than five monsters in my graveyard, which there is. Back-Up Soldier allows me to select three of them and return them to my hand."
"You know what this means guys," said Duke with wide-eyes.
"I then discard them again to activate my Deck Master's special ability, Final Artillery!" exclaimed Nesbit. Once again there was the hum of missiles flying through the air as the trio was hit directly. They fell to the ground and struggled to their feet with 500 less life points.
"This next card will blow your circuits," gloated Nesbit. "It is called Clockwork Knight. It turns every monster on the field into a machine type monster, giving more strength to Machine King."
"Oh great!" groaned Duke as all their monsters were turned into robotic versions of themselves. Machine King was up to 2900 attack points.
"That's not all, Clockwork Knight causes all of your monsters to lose 500 attack points," added Nesbit. "Machine King gains another 500 attack points as well." This brought his monster all the way up to 3400 attack points.
"Look how strong Machine King is!" gasped Tristan.
"We're in trouble..." moaned Serenity.
"Don't worry Serenity, we'll take this bucket of bolts down," replied Tristan.
"We shall see, because now I activate Short Circuit," announced Nesbit.
"Short Circuit?" echoed Tristan.
"This forces all machine type monsters into attack mode," explained Nesbit. All of their defensive monsters stood up, ready to attack, even though the duelists were not. "Unlike humans, machines follow commands."
"He never lost control of this match for a second!" Duke exclaimed.
"Now, Machine King, attack the female!" ordered Nesbit.
"Oh no!" cried Serenity.
"She'll lose the duel!" gasped Duke.
"There has to be something...Super Robo Yaruo! Take the hit!" ordered Tristan.
"Tristan! No!" yelled Duke.
"I activate my Deck Master's special ability!" exclaimed Tristan. "First, I set this magic card, then I can double my Deck Master's attack points!"
"It's still not enough!" Duke yelled.
But it was too late. Super Robo Yaruo took the hit for Serenity and broke into data.
"With your Deck Master gone you lose to duel!" Duke yelled.
"No, Tristan!" gasped Serenity.
"You have lost, and your body is now ours!" exclaimed Nesbit.
"I'm aware of that you oversized trash can!" Tristan snapped. "Listen Serenity, there's something I need to tell you. I'm not an expert duelist. I barely even know the basics. I'm sorry I lied to you." He then turned to Duke. "You'd better take care of her!" With that the floor gave out beneath him and he fell, screaming, into the toxic waste. But Tristan disappeared the moment before he hit it.
"You said we'd only fall if we cheated," Serenity cried.
"His mind has been digitized and his body is in a holding area waiting to be taken over," Nesbit laughed. "And soon you two will join him!" "No, Tristan!" yelled Serenity. Duke was stunned silent.
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"That sounded like serenity!" Tea gasped.
"We'll make sure she's okay," Yu-Gi said as concern flickered across Joe's face.
"Serenity! Hang in there! I'm coming!" yelled Joe as he started sprinting.
"I had no idea I'd be running so much when I found you guys," said Kevin, breathing hard. "I would have worn better shoes."
"Do you think Serenity is okay?" asked Yu-Gi.
"My guess is she's dueling right now," answered Kevin.
"What?! But she doesn't know how!" exclaimed Joe.
"Well, on the plus side, we can still hear her, so she hasn't lost yet," said Kevin.
"SERENITY!" yelled Joe, hurrying even faster.
"We got to stick together!" Tea yelled up to him.
"He isn't going to listen to us," sighed Kevin.
"Wait up!" yelled Yu-Gi, who was falling behind.
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"Not Tristan!" Duke gasped, looking at the place where his friend once stood.
"This is all my fault. He lost trying to protect me," Serenity cried, falling to her knees and sobbing.
"You got to remain strong," Duke told her. "This duel isn't over yet." Duke started to walk over to her to help comfort her.
"Halt! This duel is still in progress. You must remain where you are!" ordered Nesbit.
Duke glared at him venomously.
"This is all my fault, I'm no good, I keep screwing up," moaned Serenity.
"She's blown a fuse," Nesbit laughed.
"I can't do anything right," Serenity thought. "It's all my fault Tristan is gone. I messed everything up."
"Serenity is gone," thought Duke. "And I don't know how to reach her. And bucket face still wants this duel to continue...this is not good."
"Take your next turn!" ordered Nesbit.
"We may be able to bring Tristan back, but we have to duel our best," Duke called to Serenity. "So get up and dust yourself off. We need to win this for his sake!" Serenity didn't even move, she was too lost in her own thoughts. Duke gritted her teeth, "All right we'll skip her turn!"
"Agreed," replied Nesbit. "It does not matter what you do, you human will not beat the might of us machines."
"I activate Dimension Hole, which allows me to remove one of my monsters from play this turn, and I choose my Dark Assailant," announced Duke. "That weakens your Machine King by 100 points!"
"Play whatever you like there's nothing that can save you now," Nesbit said, sounding a bit bored.
"Even this card?" asked Duke, holding up one card.
"A Dice Dungeon magic card?" Nesbit asked.
"Right," smirked Duke. "The dice have always been friendly to me, so I am going to turn this duel into a dice game! Dice Dungeon turns to field into a dice board, much like my own Dungeon Dice Monsters game. Then, I activate Demented Dice, to kick off our dice game. Now for a monster...I tribute my turn remaining monsters, Yaranzo and the 13th Grave to summon Orgoth the Relentless!"
Duke's powerhouse appeared on the field. It wore blue, violet, and golden armor which completely hid its body from view. The horned helmet had a narrow visor where two yellow eyes glared out. Nothing else was distinguishable about the face. It had massive arms and legs and looked ready to crush whatever got close. Its stats were 2500 and 2400. Machine King was down to 3100 points thanks to Duke's tributes. But it was still more than strong enough to beat Orgoth.
"I'm afraid you're going to need a lot more than a few dice to dismantle a superhuman machine like myself," Nesbit said, coldly.
"Just watch!" exclaimed Duke. "Let's begin this dice game!"
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"This place is hurting my eyes," groaned Lara as she continued to roam the MC Esher landscape with Drake. "Weren't we just over on that staircase, but upside down?"
"I thought we were over there," pointed Drake. "That doorway looks familiar."
"That Noah has a sick sense of humor to send us here," muttered Lara.
"Well, it's better than that swamp."
"Anything is better than that."
"Although what I really want is a ticket out of here," sighed Lara. "How can Noah justify holding us in this...place? We won our duel!"
"That brat is a dirty little cheat," muttered Drake. "It looks like we're going to be on our own finding an exit out of here."
"Hey, that door doesn't seem to belong," commented Lara, pointing down. Unlike all the plain wooden doors in this labyrinth, the door she had indicated was darker and more ornate.
"It looks like the doors we took before," said Drake.
"Let's take it then," suggested Lara.
"I like that idea, anything that will take us to a place where the laws of physics aren't ignored," agreed the redhead. "Looks like we're going to have to jump to get to it."
"Doesn't bother me," shrugged Lara.
"Let's go then!" exclaimed Drake, taking her hand.
They both jumped at the same moment, aiming to land right on top of the door. But as they got close the door opened, engulfing them both in bright light.
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"Now where are we?" asked Lara as she straightened up.
"This looks like the hanger," commented Drake, looking around. "But the blimp is gone."
"Do you think we made it out and they left without us?" asked Lara.
Drake didn't answer. He walked over to the end of the catwalk. Down below the duel was going in full swing. "I don't think we're back in reality yet.
"Serenity and Duke are dueling that rusted piece of junk?" asked Lara.
"Duke! Serenity!" called Drake.
"Drake! Lara!" Duke exclaimed, turning around. "Nice to see some normal people!"
"What happened? Is Serenity okay?" asked Lara.
"Well..." started Duke.
"Enough communication! On with the duel!" ordered Nesbit.
"Shove it bolt brains!" snapped Drake.
"We beat you already!" Lara yelled. "You don't have any right to duel these two!"
"The intruders will remain quiet!" bellowed Nesbit.
"Guys, I can handle this," said Duke.
Drake looked at the grid that had formed on the field thanks the Duke's two magic cards. "Oh! So those cards I had made for you work?"
"You bet!" exclaimed Duke. "That's two I owe you."
"Enough distractions!" yelled Nesbit.
"Keep your bolts tight, I'm going," said Duke. "To begin, we both have to select one monster and bring it to the dice field. I select Orgoth."
"And Machine King for me," said Nesbit. Both monsters stepped forward.
"Now, we both roll a die, to determine our monsters' attack points," continued Duke. "I'll go first, I've always had good luck with dice."
"Maybe we should go to Vegas together then," said Drake. Duke chuckled, feeling more relaxed then he had the whole game.
Duke picked up a die that had appeared in front of him and rolled it. It stopped on six. "Yes!" cheered Duke. "That doubles my monster's attack!" Orgoth now had 5000 attack points.
"My turn then," said Nesbit. He rolled and the die stopped on a one.
"That's not good," smirked Duke. "That means Machine King loses 1000 attack points."
"Are you making these regulations up as you go?" Nesbit grumbled as his monster dropped to 2100 attack points.
"Check the rulebook," replied Duke, coolly. "Now Orgoth, attack Machine King with Diamond Blade Strike!" Orgoth charged forward, drew its sword, and sliced Machine King right down the middle. Machine King broke into bits and disappeared from the field. This brought Nesbit all the way down to 1100 life points. "This one's for Tristan. Good-bye Machine King, hello scrap pile."
"That was luck, your good fortune is about to run out," Nesbit said as he drew his next card. "I move myself to the field." Now Robotic Knight was on the field. His stats were 1600 and 1800.
"This is good!" encouraged the violet haired girl. "All you have to do is destroy him to win!"
"And I intend on doing that," agreed Duke.
"You will never be able to stop us machines, because I activate Recycling Plant," announced Nesbit. "This allows me to bring Machine King back from my graveyard."
"Oh no, he's set himself up for a powerful fusion!" gasped Drake.
"Affirmative," replied Nesbit. "Recycling Plant allows me to fuse Machine King to myself, creating the Perfect Machine King!" His newest monster was a bulky white and red mecha. It seemed squat because of all the plating on its chest. It was clear that under all that plating was a number of concealed weapons. Its attack was 2700.
"It doesn't look so tough," commented Duke.
"Yes, but between its special abilities and Nesbit's magic cards, it has an attack of 5200!" warned Drake. "Perfect Machine King gains 500 attack points for every machine type monster on the field, and there's five!"
"Oh dang..." muttered Duke. There was Perfect Machine King itself, Serenity's Forgiving Maiden and Lady Panther, Tristan's lingering Command Angel, and Duke's Dark Assailant, which had returned.
"You can still win this," encouraged Lara. "Turn him into junk yard fodder!"
"We're still playing this dice game," reminded Duke. "So roll if you want to attack me."
"I will!" snapped Nesbit from within his fusion monster. He picked up the die and rolled a five. "Ha! A five! That has to be good!"
"No, it's not," smirked Duke. "Rolling a five cuts your attack points in half."
"That can't be right!" exclaimed Nesbit has his attack points dropped to 3850.
"Yes it is," affirmed Drake. "I should know after all."
"My roll," said Duke. "Go dice roll!" His die came to a stop on one. "No! Orgoth loses 1000 attack points!" His powerhouse dropped to 1500.
"So long Orgoth!" exclaimed Nesbit as he blasted Orgoth straight to the graveyard. Duke's life points stopped at a slim 150.
"This isn't good," thought Serenity. "Duke is in trouble. But if I try anything, I'll just mess it up again. I'm useless. I can't do anything right."
"This is not good," agreed Duke, voicing his thoughts quietly. "Even my best monster couldn't beat him. Tristan's gone, Serenity's frozen, and I'm all out of ideas."
"He hasn't won yet, so you can't give up!" yelled Drake.
"What do you mean Tristan is gone?" asked Lara. Her eyes darted to Tristan's cards, which lingered on the field and it all fell into place. "Oh no!"
"You don't mean..." gaped Drake.
"You cannot stand up to a high tech machine like me," Nesbit said to Duke.
Stupid FF.N Deleting my scene dividers
"You're a fool Nesbit you know you're not a real robot. It's sad, you know deep down your nothing but a scared little man," Noah said to the screen.
"Why are you doing this?" Shayla asked. "Why are you helping them?"
"I want revenge on Seto Kaiba!"
"What did he ever do to you?"
"He stole my life!"
"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"
"You'll find out when I want you to!"
Shayla was getting more irritated by the moment. She knew she was relatively safe in the cage, so her fear was dissipating. But it was still a cage.
"If you have a problem with Kaiba you should confront him yourself instead of conning the Big 5 to do your dirty work," Shayla said. "What's in it for you by helping them leave here?" She couldn't bring herself to say 'in our bodies.'
"It's all part of my plan."
"That answer is beginning to tire me."
"Your questions have already tired me! So do as your told and shut-up!"
"You don't even seem to like the Big 5, why are you helping them?" asked Shayla. "You know they are nothing but a group of traitors. They turned on Kaiba, they turned on Pegasus, what makes you think they won't turn on you?"
"They turned on Gozaburo before that," added Noah.
"Who?"
"None of your business! Now shut up!"
Stupid FF.N Deleting my scene dividers
"Serenity! It's your turn!" called Lara. Serenity wasn't responding.
"This guy only gets to keep Tristan's body if he wins the duel," Duke said to Serenity.
"Pull yourself together!" added Drake.
"I'm such a screw-up," she moaned. "Tristan is gone...all because of me."
"It's not your fault Serenity!" Duke told her.
"She's given up, victory will be mine," Nesbit said.
Serenity! Get up and fight this guy. If you don't, you lose!" Duke yelled.
She has two minutes to comply. If she doesn't, I'll consider it a forfeit and she will join her friend," Nesbit said, smugly.
"You can't just add to the rules like that!" snapped Drake. "There's no time limit on a person's turn!"
"Silence human!" ordered Nesbit. "Your presence is unwelcome in this duel."
"Can it tinhead!" Lara snapped back.
"I know what may help...." Duke muttered. The louder he said, "Serenity, Tristan and I need you, like Joe needs you when he duels!"
"Huh?" asked Serenity. Then she remembered how many times she had been there for Joe, especially when he was dueling against Odion.
"My brother and I never give up on each other, so why should I give up when my friends need me?" Serenity thought. She took a deep breath and stood up.
"Yes! Way to go Serenity!" cheered her three friends.
"Its my move metal mouth," Serenity snapped as she drew her card.
Stupid FF.N Deleting my scene dividers
"Does Joe even have the slightest idea where he's going Yu-Gi?" Tea asked
"I doubt it but at this point his guess is as good as mine," Yu-Gi replied.
"I know how Noah loves these long corridor sections," said Kevin. "They all go nowhere until he wants you to leave them."
"How long have you been stuck in here, Kevin?" asked Téa.
"A few days...I think," the spiky haired blond answered. "It's a bit hard to tell, because Noah doesn't let time flow normally around here."
"SERENITY!" yelled Joe.
The end of the tunnel began to glow brightly.
"Here comes the exit!" exclaimed Kevin
FLASH! The cave opened into the hanger.
"Now where are we?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Guys! Look!" exclaimed Téa, pointing below them. There, Serenity was about to take her turn against Nesbit.
"SERENITY! UP HERE!" Joe bellowed.
"Joe! You're here!" exclaimed Serenity, turning around.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine....but Tristan...."
"What happened to Tristan? Isn't he with you?!" asked Yu-Gi.
"Tristan....lost the duel," said Duke.
"And now his body is ours!" added Nesbit.
"You don't deserve it!" snapped Lara. "You lost to us!"
"You're nothing but a cheat! You lost your chance!" added Drake.
The four that arrived looked up to see the couple on the catwalk above them.
"Drake! Lara!" exclaimed Téa.
"Hi guys, good to see those goons didn't get any of you," replied Drake.
"Who's the new kid?" asked Lara.
"Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion, but I have a duel to win and a virtual world to escape," Nesbit said. "And I have a body to do that!"
"He did his best, he was only trying to protect me," Serenity muttered, looking down sadly.
"You should see if you could enter the duel and take Tristan's place to help them." Yu-Gi suggested to Joe.
"Right, good thinking, Yug," replied Joe. "Hey metal brains! I'm entering this thing to take Tristan's place!"
"Negative, intruders are forbidden to enter," Nesbit replied.
"Grrr! You punk!" growled Joe.
"He sort of sounds like a dog when he growls," commented Kevin.
"Take that back this instant!!!" demanded Joe.
"Don't make any canine comments," Téa whispered to Kevin.
"I can see that," muttered Kevin.
Joe turned back to his sister, "Listen Serenity, I'm going to be your guardian angel, way up here. So do your best and trust your instincts!"
"Okay Joe," agreed Serenity.
"You know, she is kind of cute," commented Kevin, but no one was listening to him.
"Never mess with the Wheelers, tinman!" Joe exclaimed.
"This one is for Tristan!" Serenity said as she looked at her hand.
"Come on Serenity, I know you can do this," encouraged Duke.
"As Joe and Yu-Gi would say I need to trust my cards." Serenity thought.
"You already know all you need to know to beat this guy," Duke told her.
Serenity's eyes went wide as she remembered talking about the game of Duel Monsters on her way to Battle City with Tristan. He had told her about tribute summons and fusion. She looked at her hand, realizing both were and option.
"I want to summon one monster, but first I have to tribute my Lady Panther," said Serenity. "Now I can play Marie the Fallen One!" Serenity was doing Shayla proud. Her newest female monster appeared. Marie had coal black skin and raven wings. However, her hair was blonde and cut short around the ears. She wore a pink dress with a big white collar and lacy trim. She also had sandals that laced halfway up her calves. Her attack was 1700 and her defense was 1200.
"A tribute summon, not bad for a first duel," commented Lara.
"Now, all I need is Polymerization," muttered Serenity.
The Goddess with the 3rd Eye placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can help you. As your Desk Master, I have the special ability of fusion. I can fuse your monsters together without the magic card Polymerization. You just need to discard one magic card to do so."
"Okay!" agreed Serenity as she selected one card from her hand. "I discard this one card to activate my Deck Master's special ability!"
"Fusion Vision activate!" exclaimed the goddess, her normal eyes opening to show their true color, deep red. The Forgiving Maiden and Marie the Fallen one melted together to create...
"St. Joan!" exclaimed Drake.
St. Joan had the same hairstyle as Marie, but not the unusual skin color. She wore glimmering steel armor with elegant gold trim. A long sword was in her hands. She looked beautiful and deadly. Her stats were 2800 and 2000.
"Impressive," said Lara. "A fusion monster is no beginner's move."
"She might even be better than her brother with some practice," agreed Drake.
"I heard that!" Joe yelled up to them.
Just then, Tristan's robot turned Command Angel began to glow, sending energy to St. Joan.
"What's going on?" asked Serenity.
"Command Angel's special ability finally kicked in!" exclaimed Yu-Gi. "It raises the attack of all fairy type monsters likes St. Joan." Serenity's fusion monster now had an attack of 3200.
"Thanks Tristan," said Serenity.
"Her monster still isn't strong enough to beat that mechanical menace," Kevin reminded them.
"Hey guys, listen! I think I know how you can do this!" Yu-Gi said, scanning the field. "But you need Tristan's help! Trust me on this!"
Duke looked at him like he had lost his mind for a moment. Then he glanced over to where Tristan had stood. The last card Tristan had played was still face down on the field.
"That has to be it!" thought Duke. "I am putting all my faith into the one card!"
"Now, I will activate my Deck Master's special ability," Duke announced. "First I have to discard two cards from my hand. Now, Strike Ninja, reveal Tristan's face down card!"
Strike Ninja put its hands together and various symbols appeared. Tristan's face up card rose, revealing itself.
"Rare Metal Soul! Yes!" exclaimed Duke.
"That's a good card," commented Kevin.
"That card raises St. Joan's attack points by 1000!" exclaimed Drake. "That means it equals Perfect Machine King!" Perfect Machine King had lost 1000 attack points from Serenity's tribute and fusion.
"NO!" yelled Nesbit.
"Do the honors, Serenity, and get rid of this rusty old pile of junk once and for all," Duke said.
"Go, St. Joan, attack, Sword of the Just!" ordered Serenity.
St. Joan jumped forward, dove wings appearing on her back. She charged Perfect Machine King. In a bright flash of light both fusion Duel Monsters started to disappear.
"And since Machine King was his Deck Master, Nesbit loses!" exclaimed Yu- Gi.
"You fools, I may be going off line, but I won Tristan's body," Nesbit said as he broke into data. The holograms of the duel vanished. Joe jumped off of the platform and ran to Serenity. The other three hurried after him, which was becoming a pattern for the day.
"But...But we won!" she stammered.
"That rotten cheater!" exclaimed Kevin.
"Tristan...." said Duke.
"You did an excellent job, sis," said Joe.
"But I couldn't help Tristan."
"Don't worry, we'll find him and get him back," said Téa.
"Are you sure?" asked Serenity.
"Of course! He's our friend," added Yu-Gi.
"So how are we going to get down there?" Lara asked Drake.
"The gauntlet," he answered. The pseudo-Millennial Gauntlet on his hand glittered, and he and Lara appeared on the ground floor with the group.
"I guess we better get started trying to find Tristan," Duke was saying.
"Where should we start?" asked Téa.
"Anywhere is better than standing here," said Joe. "And the Big 5 will regret everything they've done!"
"I believe I've said the same thing," said Lara.
"Hello," said Kevin, approaching Lara and Serenity. "My name is Kevin Hunter. And what are the names of you two lovely ladies?"
Serenity blushed a bit, and Lara looked at him in disbelief.
"I'm Serenity," replied Serenity.
"Pleased to meet you," said Kevin. "It's a very lovely name. In fact, Serenity was my mom's name."
"Really?"
"Yes," nodded Kevin. He turned to Lara. "And you are?"
"Lara Justina," she answered.
"Another very pretty name, which fits because you are a very pretty girl," said Kevin.
"Listen, if you two need any help..." Kevin trailed off as he looked passed Serenity and Lara. Drake, Duke, and Joe were standing behind the girls, glaring daggers at him and flexing knuckles. "...if you need any help...I'll be over here!" With that he hurried away.
"He's weird," commented Serenity.
"Very," agreed Lara. "So who is he and how did you find him?"
"He says the Big 5 were using him as a guinea pig to test out this whole virtual world before we got brought here," answered Téa.
"I don't believe that for one moment!" exclaimed Joe. "I bet he's a spy for them!"
"Are we going to hang around here all day or are we going to go find Tristan?" asked Yu-Gi.
"Let's go," agreed Drake. "It looked like the Big 5 are looking for rematches, so we need to find everyone as soon as we can and get out of here."
"Reality is sounding very good about now," added Duke.
AN/ Thanks Phantom 1 for noticing that FF.N was once more making my life miserable by deleting my scene dividers.