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Fanfic Chapter 127: Rage Against the Machine Pt 2: To the Power of Three
Episode Basis: Mechanical Mayhem Pt 2
Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Harold, Tristan, and Serenity were forced into a duel by Nesbitt, former head of technology at Kaiba Corporation who had taken the form of the Duel Monster known as Robotic Knight. The three of them all faced off against Nesbitt at the same time but his machine deck and Final Artillery Deck Master Ability were cleaning their clocks. It didn't help that Tristan was throwing his monsters to the slaughter to protect Serenity and arguing with Harold when he didn't do anything. Nesbitt summoned Machine King and sent it to attack Serenity. With no other option remaining, Tristan sacrificed his Deck Master to protect her. Wow, Tristan must really have a crush on Serenity if he literally martyred himself for her. Either that or he's just plain nuts. I'll let you decide which.
Yugi, Tea, and Joey heard a female scream echo through the caverns where they were running.
"Oh no, Serenity's hurt," Joey assumed.
"Don't worry, Joey, we'll make sure she's okay," Yugi assured him. But Joey was already running off. "Come on, Tea."
"I have a bad feeling," Tea said.
Serenity and Harold watched in horror as the hatch that Tristan fell through Serenity collapsed to the floor sobbing, "Tristan… no… he lost… he lost trying to save me."
This is all my fault, Harold thought. Tristan was right, I should've done more to try to protect Serenity, then he wouldn't have to sacrifice so much. I promised I would protect them but I failed. What's the point in having power if you can't use it to protect the people you love? It's my fault Tristan's gone, not Serenity's. Harold started to walk over to her, "Serenity, I…"
"Stay where you are," Nesbitt commanded. "The duel is still in progress."
"Have you no heart?" Harold snapped. "Where's your sense of compassion?"
"I left all those weaknesses behind when Seto Kaiba banished me to cyber-space. Now I am perfect in every way. It is my power that will prevail over your needless emotions."
"You're wrong," Harold said. "It's our emotions who make us who we are, it's our emotions that drive us, it's our emotions that… that make us human. You think you're so perfect, but without you're heart you're nothing but an overblown toaster oven and no different from any other appliance."
"A pretty speech but futile, now it's the female unit's turn."
But Serenity had gone into shock. It didn't even look like she heard Nesbitt.
"You see, her emotions are corrupting her mind, it has disabled her ability to think."
Harold had to bring Serenity back around, "Serenity, listen to me, we can save Tristan but we need to win this duel first. I can't win this without you! Please, Serenity, help me."
But Serenity was oblivious to Harold's pleas.
"Fine, we'll skip her turn," Harold declared.
"Agreed," Nesbitt said nodding.
"While it's true that emotions can sometime be a hindrance, when used in the right context, they can be a source of great strength! And I'm about to show you!" Harold drew a card. Perfect! "I offer two of my monsters on the field as a tribute!" Gyakutenno Megami and Spirit of the Harp transformed into orbs of light. With their removal, Machine King's attack points dropped by 200 points.
(MK: 3200-3000)
"I'm putting all my heart and soul into this card… I summon Wingweaver (1)!" A six-winged woman with purple hair in a golden dress appeared. "Next I choose to activate my Deck Master's special ability, Circle of Light!" Wingweaver was surrounded by light particles.
(W: 2750-3500)
"This is for you, Tristan! Wingweaver, attack his Machine King with Light Spark!" Wingweaver held her hands out in front of her. Strings of light connected them and an orb formed in the middle. The orb was sling-shot at the Machine King and destroyed it.
(H: 2500)
(S: 2600)
(T: X)
(N: 3500)
"Next I reveal my face-down card, Solar Ray which deals 600 points of damage for each light monster on the field!" With Wingweaver, Command Angel and The Forgiving Maiden, that meant that Nesbitt received 1800 points of damage.
(H: 2500)
(S: 2600)
(T: X)
(N: 1700)
"I place one card face-down. That ends my turn!" The best way to honor Tristan's sacrifice is to attack with all my strength and hopefully, once he's gone, Tristan will come back.
"You shall not harm me any further," Nesbitt declared as he drew a card. "Since I'm playing as a Duel Monster, I move myself onto the field." He stepped forward. "Robotic Knight is now in play."
Perfect, now that he's on the field, I can have Wingweaver attack and destroy it.
"Next I play a magic card called Recycling Plant which lets me revive a monster and fuse it with myself." Remnants of Machine King wrapped itself around Nesbitt and he transformed into a giant Gundam-like robot. "Now I am known as Perfect Machine King (2)!"
Serenity gasped.
"I'm not afraid," Harold said defiantly. "It's still not enough to stand up to Wingweaver!"
"You are in error like most humans. Perfect Machine King gets 500 attack points for every machine monster on the field including myself."
(PMK: 2700-4700)
"Next, Clockwork Knight gives me another 500 attack points."
(PMK: 4700-5200)
"Now to destroy your Wingweaver, Mega Missile Attack!" Nesbitt's shoulder panels opened and hundreds of little rockets shot at Wingweaver destroying it. "So much for your heart and soul."
(H: 800)
(S: 2600)
(T: X)
(N: 1700)
The explosion catapulted Harold into the air and he landed next to his Deck Master. He was moaning but he was alive.
Barely.
Oh no, I can't lose Harold too, Serenity thought. She looked at the ground. But... if I try to help, I'll only end up messing things up again.
"I knew that worthless humans couldn't stand up to a superior technological wonder like me."
Noah, watching this fro his control room, shook his head, "It's sad," he told nobody in particular. "You know fully well you're not a machine, Nesbitt. Deep down, you're just a scared little man. But that belief will make you the victor."
"Soon the Big-5 will return to the life they once knew," Nesbitt was saying. "Except this time we won't be slaves to Seto Kaiba," Nesbitt was saying.
Speaking of which, the Kaiba Brothers were walking through the ruins that was once a weapons lab. Destroying that lab was one of the best decisions I ever made, Kaiba thought.
Nesbitt was forced to watch as the last of his precious weapons making laboratories was destroyed. In what was obviously a last ditch attempt to salvage what little pride he had left, he turned to me and said, "Destroying my lab was a big mistake."
"I don't think so. Kaiba Corp. is a gaming company now, not a weapons dealer."
"A game company? Are you trying to tarnish Kaiba Corp.'s reputation?"
"Hardly, I'm simply turning this company around and starting on a new, more prosperous path, one without weapons."
"I spent months designing gaming software for Seto Kaiba and hated every second of it. I was a weapons manufacturer, not a kid. I needed to make bombs, tanks, planes, anything to be used in a war. And after I defeat the two of you, I can resume my work!" He pointed at Serenity. "Now, it's the female unit's turn."
Serenity just stared at the ground.
Yugi, Joey, and Tea were still running through the caverns. "Does Joey have any idea where he's going?" Tea asked Yugi.
"I doubt it," Yugi replied. "But at this point, his guess is as good as mine."
"If she doesn't make a move now, she forfeits," Nesbitt declared.
No, Harold thought as he lied on the floor. I can't let Serenity lose. But how… how can I reach her heart? Wait a minute…
Serenity was torn. On one hand she wanted to move, but she didn't want to screw up. And with less than 1000 life points, even a little screw up would cost Harold the duel and his body.
"Joey." Serenity whipped her head around to face Harold. His head was turned to the side but he was smiling at her. "Think of your brother, Serenity, think of the one person in the world who means the most to you."
Serenity forced herself to remember.
"I just hope you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, sis, you mean the world to me. And no matter what happens, nothing would break the love I have for you. You're more than my little sister, you're my best friend. And if there's one thing I cherish more than life itself, it's my friends."
"Now my beast is stronger than anything you have ever faced before," Odion said as Joey drew a card. From the look on Joey's face, it also wasn't a card he could use. "Mystical Beast, take his Insect Queen!" Just like Jinzo, Insect Queen was swallowed whole. Selket sprouted six legs.
"I can't take this any more," Serenity cried and started to run off.
"Wait!" Joey called out. "Don't leave, Serenity!" Serenity turned and stared at her brother. "I need you! I can't win this duel without you. Just as I gave you strength, you give me strength too. Please, sis, if you're not here, I'll really lose the duel, but if you stay and cheer me on like you've been doing, then I know I can come through in this duel no matter what happens!"
"All right," Serenity agreed and returned to the side of the field.
Joey always had faith in me, I have to have faith in me too. Serenity stood up, dusted herself out and held out her Duel Disk in an almost professional manner. "It's my move," she said.
"Look, I see a light up ahead," Joey announced. The three of them burst onto the upper catwalk of the arena. Down below was Harold and Serenity. "Serenity!"
Serenity looked up and her heart almost soared, "Joey, is it really you?"
"In the flesh," Joey said.
"Are you two all right?" Yugi asked as he and Tea appeared.
"Yugi, Tea, boy are you a sight for sore eyes," Harold said as he struggled to stand.
"Be quiet," Nesbitt snapped. "I have a duel to win!"
Yugi looked around and saw a third set-up. "Hey guys, was there a third person here?"
Harold's and Serenity's heads lowered in somber remorse. "Tristan," Harold said. "He lost the duel."
"No!" Tea dropped to her knees. "Tristan… can't be…"
Joey pounded another railing. "This isn't fair," he cried.
"Tristan lost… trying to save me," Serenity said wiping away tears.
"They need help," Yugi observed. "Joey, you should take over for Tristan."
"Oh yeah," Joey said. "One side, folks, Duelist coming in!"
"Sorry, no substitutes allowed," Nesbitt denied.
"Then in that case, Serenity, you're just going to have to beat this creep for all of us," Joey said. "Don't give up, Sis, I know you can win this! If you're really my sister, then you can put your heart into your cards and you'll succeed!"
"Joey's right, Serenity," Yugi threw in. "Just believe with your heart and you can win this."
"Illogical, her lack of expertise will prove to be her downfall," Nesbitt argued.
"That's what you think, rust bucket," Joey said. "Serenity is a Wheeler and a Wheeler never gives up until the very end. And once we choose not to give up, the duel is ours!"
Joey and Yugi are right, Serenity thought. I have to put my heart into my cards. Let's see… she studied her hand. Tristan may not be the greatest Duelist in the world, but he did teach me a few things, I just have to remember them what he told me on the train…
"Hey Tristan, could you teach me how to play Duel Monsters?"
"Well I guess I could teach you a few basic rules... let's see… you probably already know this but when two monsters battle, the monster with the lowest number of attack points loses. Some monsters are even so powerful that you can't summon them right away. You need to sacrifice a weaker monster first."
"So how can you tell how powerful a monster is?"
"You can tell by how many stars are on the card."
"So the card has stars on it? It must be so pretty."
"Yeah, I guess it is," Tristan said with a chuckle. "Oh yeah, you can even fuse more than one monster together but you need a special magic card."
"A special magic card?"
"Yeah, it's called Polymerization and it totally rocks."
"Do you have that card?"
"Well, honestly, no, but I've seen Yugi use it plenty of times."
"So sacrifice weaker monsters to summon stronger monsters and fuse two monsters with Polymerization. Got it, thanks."
I think I need to fuse two monsters together, but how do I know what monsters are compatible for fusing? Serenity looked at her hand and saw the card on the far right, a monster called Marie the Fallen One (3). Marie the Fallen One, that sounds familiar…
"I play Polymerization, fusing Marie the Fallen One and the Forgiving Maiden together…"
That's right, Harold performed a fusion during his duel with Tea. And he fused the same monsters that I have. That's it, I can use the fusion monster Harold used. "I'll tribute Lady Panther to summon Marie the Fallen One," Serenity said as a blue-skinned woman with angel wings appeared. "Okay, I sacrificed my monsters, now I need that Polymerization card."
"Serenity." Serenity gasped, her Deck Master, Goddess with the Third Eye was talking to her. "Fear not, Serenity, as your Deck Master I carry a very special power: the power of fusion. I can fuse two monsters together without the aid of a Polymerization card. All you have to do is discard one magic card."
"Okay," Serenity said and announced, "I choose to activate my Deck Master's special ability." She discarded one magic card. "Fusion Vision activate! Marie the Fallen One and The Forgiving Maiden combine to form… St. Joan (4)!" The monster that resulted was a woman monster in silver armor. She had short orange hair and carried a sword.
Machine King lost 500 attack points from the removal of The Forgiving Maiden.
(MK: 5200-4700)
Command Angel started to glow.
"I forgot, Command Angel has a special ability," Harold realized. "It can raise all fairy monsters' attack points by 500."
(SJ: 2800-3300)
Tristan, thank you, Serenity thought watching Command Angel glow. You're always watching out for me, even when you're not here.
"It's still not powerful enough to take me on," Nesbitt pointed out.
"That's what you think," Harold said finally standing. His feet wobbled and his vision was blurry. "I may be too weak to even draw a card, but I can still activate cards that I already laid on the field. Reveal face-down card: Reverse of Reverse!"
"I don't recognize that trap card," Nesbitt said.
"Reverse of Reverse can only be activated if my hand is empty and I have no monsters on the field, as is the case now. I can turn open any face-down card belonging to another player."
"But I have no face-down cards!"
"You don't, but Tristan does. Now, face-down card, reveal yourself and activate!" I'm praying to any and all gods out there that it's a card that can help us.
The face-down card that Tristan left was a magic card called Rare Metal Soul, which can increase a monster's attack points by 1000. St. Joan sprouted golden wings.
(SJ: 3300-4300)
"It's not over yet," Harold said. "I also activate my own Deck Master's special ability, Circle of Light!"
(SJ: 4300-5050)
"It's all set, Serenity, take it away," Harold said.
"Right. St. Joan, attack Perfect Machine King with Heaven's Saber!" St. Joan flew forward. Nesbitt fired his weapons but St. Joan flew right through the barrage. Her sword shined with a radiant light as St. Joan swung it and sliced Perfect Machine King right down the middle.
Normally, Nesbitt would just lose 350 life points but because Perfect Machine King, his Deck Master, was destroyed, he automatically lost the duel.
(H: 800)
(S: 2600)
(T: X)
(N: X)
"It doesn't matter," Nesbitt said as flames engulfed his body. "I still have a body to use. I'll be back and soon all of your bodies will belong to the Big-5!" The flames consumed Perfect Machine King's body in an incredible explosion.
The duel was over. Exhausted, Serenity and Harold both collapsed. Joey leapt from the upper catwalk onto a stack of crates then jumped from there to the ground. Yugi and Tea opted for the safer approach.
When Serenity looked up and saw her brother standing before her, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh Joey, I was so scared."
"It's okay, Sis, you're safe now, those Big-5 creeps won't hurt you as long as I'm here."
"But… Tristan… he's still…"
"We'll find Tristan, Serenity," Yugi assured her as he and Tea helped Harold up. "His mind must still be in the virtual world somewhere and we won't rest until we find it."
In a dark room, a computerized face lit up as a monkey squeak could be heard.
Whoa, where am I?
The End
Duel Monster Database
(1)
Name: Wingweaver
Level: 7
Type: Fairy
Attribute: Light
ATK: 2750
DEF: 2400
(2)
Name: Perfect Machine King
Level: 8
Type: Machine/Effect
Attribute: Earth
ATK: 2700
DEF: 1500
(3)
Name: Marie the Fallen One
Level: 5
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
ATK: 1700
DEF: 1200
(4)
Name: St. Joan
Level: 8
Type: Fairy/Fusion
Attribute: Light
ATK: 2800
DEF: 2000