Chapter 32: Derailed Plans
Fontaine put Adrian's body on one of the beds in the infirmary and covered him up, Alexis watching. "Thankfully, none of his wounds are severe. I'll run some tests when he wakes up tomorrow, but I predict he'll be getting out in less than a week."
Alexis nodded. "That's good to hear at least."
Fontaine turned to Alexis. "So, he said that he got these injuries in a duel?"
"Yeah. He said some guy in a mask dueled him where damage deal was real." Alexis sighed. "I guess saying it out loud, it sounds kinda crazy."
"It does." Fontaine turned back to Adrian. "But it's not impossible."
"Huh?"
"Recently there's been talk about a serial killer in America who wears a costume of Giga Gagagigo."
While feigning unconsciousness, Adrian bit his tongue to prevent himself from cursing out loud. 'Damn it...The Light of Destruction had him attack Damian out in the open back in December. That event at Kaiba Land must have caused an investigation.'
"What does that have to do with damage in a duel being real?" Alexis asked.
Fontained turned around back to Alexis. "In December, the killer dueled somebody at Kaiba Land of America. According to eyewitness reports, the damage dealt to the opponent was real. At the time, people thought it was just a scripted event, but Kaiba Land employees stated they didn't plan it at all. Then forensic analysis was done at the scene, and it was discovered that it was real blood." Fontaine said. "Some more investigating was done, and it was deemed likely that this costumed man is responsible for a series of disappearances all across the United States."
"Seriously?! I never heard about this!" Alexis asked in shock.
"That's because the truth behind the event has been kept under wraps for the most part to avoid causing a panic. The only reason I know about it is because my sister, Emi, works in forensics in California. Odds are, only Kaiba Corp, some people who were present, and a few people in law enforcement know about it."
"No way...you mean there's a chance someone like that is on the island?!"
"Emi wanted me to keep this under wraps as well, but if the students are at risk, we have to let security-" Before Fontaine could finish her sentence, she stumbled a bit before collapsing onto the ground. Behind her was the suddenly conscious Adrian, having struck Fontaine on the neck.
"Adrian?!" Alexis asked in shock.
Adrian put his Duel Disk on his arm. "Must...duel..." He said. His voice was much slower and deeper than before, and he had a creepy smile on his face.
"Wh-what?"
Adrian inserted a deck inside his duel disk. "Duel me Alexis...if you want to get to my master...you'll need to duel me..."
'Did...did Adrian get brainwashed?' Alexis asked. "Adrian, snap out of it!
Adrian hunched over a bit while slowly walking towards Alexis. 'If I act like how those Duel Ghouls of Yubel acted, I can delay them informing security without having to blow my cover. "Duel... Duel... I've been craving for one. Duel me Alexis..."
Alexis stepped back. "Fine. Maybe beating you will get you to back to normal." Alexis put on and activated her duel disk.
(Alexis 4000/Adrian 4000)
"I'll go first..." Adrian drew from his deck while showing as little life as possible. "I summon Cloudian-Poison Cloud in defense mode!" (0/1000) A crimson red cloud with a muscular physique revealed itself. "I set three cards face down. That's the end of my turn."
"Then it's my move. Draw!" Alexis took a look at her hand. '"I can tell that attacking Poison Cloud will be a bad move. So in that case...'
"I normal summon Cyber Petit Angel (300/200) in defense mode!" The robotic, round pink fairy appeared in front of Alexis. "With it's ability, I can add a copy of Machine Angel Ritual." Alexis searched through her deck and got out the card. "And I'll activate it right now! I tribute my Cyber Petit Angel from my field and the Cyber Angel Idaten from my hand to summon Cyber Angel Dakini!" (2700/2400) The Petit Angel, along with the transparent image of a pink skinned warrior with a mechanical with mechanical headwear, slowly dissolved. A heavenly light later shined down before the multi-armed Cyber Angel appeared.
"Next, I activate the effect of Cyber Angel Idaten. When it's tributed, all Ritual Monsters I control gain 1000 attack and defense points!" Alexis declared. (Cyber Angel Dakini 2700-3700/2400-3400)
'Weird. That wasn't the effect of Idaten back in my timeline. The actions of those three must have caused Pegasus to update the effects of some cards.' Adrian said in his head while maintaining his zombie-like face.
"Now for Dakini's effect! When she's special summoned, you have to select a monster of yours and send it to the grave." 'Now I can attack him directly instead of dealing with his monster.'
Adrian gave a creepy chuckle. "Heh heh heh...Sorry. I activate my trap card, Fiendish Chain." Adrian's trap flipped over before chains shot out of it, binding Dakini. "Now, your Dakini can't attack OR activate it's effect."
Alexis frowned. "Fine. I set a card face down and end my turn."
Adrian drew. "I switch my Poison Cloud to attack mode. Next, I summon Cloudian-Acid Cloud (500/0) in attack mode!" A cloud in the shape of a green humanoid with a mushroom cloud head formed next to Poison Cloud. "When Acid Cloud is summoned, it gains a fog counter for every Cloudian I control. So that's two fog counters on it." Two miniature clouds circled around the Cloudian. "Now I activate it's effect. By removing two fog counters from it, I can destroy a spell or trap you control. Like that facedown of yours for example..." The two clouds around Acid Cloud disappeared before it sent out a gust of green air towards Alexis' facedown.
"Well I might as well get use out of it before you destroy it. I activate the continuous trap card Renewal of the World! First, I remove from play a Ritual Monster from my deck, like my Cyber Angel Natasha. Then, I can send Renewal of the World to the graveyard!" The flipped trap disappeared before the gust of air destroyed it.
"Why bother then...?" Adrian asked. It kinda hurt to ask questions like these since anybody with a brain would know there would be an explanation seconds afterwards, but he had to look dumb here.
"Because when it's tributed, I can activate one of two effects. And the one I choose is to shuffle a Ritual Monster from my graveyard to my deck, like my level 6 Idaten, so that I can Ritual Summon the monster I just removed from play. I Ritual Summon the level 5 Cyber Angel Natasha!" (1000/1000) Another light shined downwards before a monster galloped down. A centaur with the lower body of a black metallic horse with gold plating, and the upper body of a blue-skinned, four armed woman wearing golden armor and arm braces. In one of it's hands was a flogger.
"Well, looks like you boosted up your defenses a bit. But you remember Poison Cloud's effect right? If it's destroyed, so is your monster. Even when IT'S the attacker! Cloudian-Poison Cloud, attack Cyber Angel Natasha!" Poison Cloud charged at the recently summoned Cyber Angel. Alexis simply smirked.
"Sorry. I activate Natasha's effect! When a Ritual Monster I control is targeted for an attack, I can negate it!" A barrier of light appeared as Poison Cloud was about to charge, repelling it back to Adrian's side of the field.
"Fine...I end my turn..."
Alexis drew. "I activate Natasha's effect! Once per turn I can target a monster I control and gain life points equal to half its current ATK. Dakini has 3700 life points right now, so..." A green aura of energy built around Dakini before flying towards Alexis. (Alexis 4000-5850) "Now, Cyber Angel Natasha, attack Cloudian-Acid Cloud!" The centaur charged at the Cloudian, raising her flogger upwards.
"I activate Spirit Barrier! If I control a Cloudian, I don't take any battle damage." Adrian stated.
Natasha's flogger struck Acid Cloud, causing it to seperate into pieces. The pieces of the Cloudian then started to move towards each other, reforming back into how they were before. "Great. So Acid Cloud is one of the Cloudian's that can't be destroyed by battle?" Alexis asked.
"Heh heh heh. You know it..."
"Fine. Then I end my turn."
Adrian drew a card. "I activate Pot of Greed." Adrian drew two more cards from his deck. "Hm hm hm. Get ready for a storm. First I activate Natural Disaster! Then, I summon Cloudian-Cirrostratus (900/0) in attack mode!" A group of multi-colored clouds in the form of cartoonish cats materalized in front of Adrian. "When Cirrostratus is summoned, it gains a fog counter for every Cloudian on the field." Adrian tilted his head while slowly pointing to each of his Cloudians. "That's ūnus, duo, trēs." Three miniature clouds circled around Cirrostratus.
Alexis clenched her fist. She figured what was coming. "And Cirrostratus can destroy a monster by removing two fog counters, right."
"Ding ding. Cirrostratus, destroy Natasha!" Two of the fog counters disappeared before the cat-clouds inhaled, and blew a gust of wind at Cyber Angel Natasha.
"Sorry, I activate the effect of Machine Angel Ritual from my graveyard! By removing it from play, I can prevent a LIGHT monster from being destroyed by battle or card effect." A barrier of light appeared in front of Natasha, repelling the wind away.
"Then I activate my quickplay spell, Fog Control. By sacrificing a Cloudian, I can put three Fog Counters on 1 face up monster. I sacrifice Acid Cloud to put them on Cirrostratus." Cloudian Acid Cloud changed from green to white, before splitting into three miniature clouds, all circling around Cirrostratus again. "Second verse same as the first."
"You mean-?!"
"I never said Cirrostratus' effect was only once per turn. I remove two fog counters from Cirrostratus to destroy Cloudian Natasha!" Once again, Cirrostratus blew a gust of wind at the Cyber Angel, causing it to shatter into pieces. "And with Natural Disaster, you take 400 damage each time a monster of yours gets destroyed." A gale of snow blew from the trap card and towards Alexis. (Alexis 5850-5450)
"That...that wasn't just shockwaves from the holograms" Alexis noted. "I could actually feel the cold."
"Now that she's gone, I can attack your Ritual Monsters again. Go Poison Cloud!" The Cloudian flew towards Dakini. The binded Cyber Angel mannaged to strike Poison Cloud with her staff, but unfortunately, it caused the Cloudian to explode, engulfing Dakini. "You know the drill. When a monster destroys Poison Cloud, it gets destroyed, and you take 800 points of damage. Normally I'd have taken damage too, but thanks to Spirit Barrier, I don't have to worry about battle damage." (Alexis 5450-4650) "Natural Disaster time again." A stream of hail shot out from the trap card, pelting Alexis with hail.
'This hail...it's real!' (Alexis 4650-4250)
"Now, Cirrostratus attack directly!" The group of cat clouds fired gales of wind at Alexis, blasting her to the wall of the infirmary. (Alexis 4250-3350)
"Ugh...this must be what Fontaine was talking about." Alexis put a hand over her chest and started to take some deep breaths. Her heart was racing like a jackrabbit. 'The cold, the feeling of hail, the force of the wind...I could feel it all. My life...it's really in danger...'
'I don't have The Light's power like Ghassan and Scott do, so I don't know if I can brainwash her for a fact. But the damage seems to be real.' Adrian took a look at his left arm. 'I don't know how...The Light said he simply transffered me consciousness to my past body. But I still have the portion of Yubel's power I put inside my arm.' Adrian took a look at Alexis who was standing back up. 'I know that this duel wasn't planned for. But maybe I can use Alexis to test out if I can turn people into Duel Ghouls.'
(Zane 1000/'Titan' 1950)
"So I was right after all. Banner was the one who hired you." Zane said. He had two facedown cards on his side of the field and two cards in his hand. On his opponent's side of the field was Amorphage Pride (1750-2950/0-1200), Amorphage Wrath (1650-2850/0-1200) Amorphage Lechery and Amorphage Greed in the pendulum zones, and two copies of Amorphage Infection. He had two cards in his hand as well.
The disguised Scott nodded. "I don't know what his reasons were, but it hardly matters."
Zane looked at the card he just drew. "I summon Cyber Valley (0/0) in defense mode." An eye-less mechanical serpent with red orbs on it's body appeared. "I end my turn."
Scott drew a card. 'I know that card. If I attack it, Zane will banish it, draw a card, and end the battle phase.' Scott took a look at his activated Amorphage Infections. 'If I tribute an Amorphage to maintain Amorphage Greed, I can add another copy of Amorphage Gluttony to my hand. Lechery will be destroyed, so I can have Gluttony replace it, and with Gluttony's pendulum effect, Zane won't be able to activate any monster effects, including Valley's. Then I can take him out this turn. So should I replace my Scale 5 Amorphage Lechery with Amorphage Gluttony?'
Scott took a look at Zane's facedowns. 'I know from when he tried to activate them that he has a trap card, and a quickplay spell. If I get rid of Lechery, he'll be able to activate the quickplay spell. Should I take the risk of the quickplay spell if it means I can take him out this turn? Or should I play it safe and allow Zane to draw a card from Valley's effect? God. Decisions like these wouldn't bug me too much if Ghassan's life wasn't on the line.'
"Are you going to make your move or not?" Zane asked. "You have to sacrifice monsters to keep the monsters in your Pendulum Zones, right?"
Scott took a breath. 'Even if Zane draws an extra card, he won't be able to get much use out of it. He can only summon monsters, and not even from the Extra Deck. Better not risk him turning things around with whatever his quickplay spell is.' "I sacrifice my Amorphage Pride and Amorphage Wrath to maintain the monsters in my Pendulum Zones." The two Amorphages dissolved into light. "And thanks to the two Amorphage Infections that I have, I get to add two "Amorphage" cards to my hand since I tributed Amorphages."
Zane smiled. "I don't think so. I activate my quickplay spell, Twin Twisters!"
Scott gasped. 'Shit! Since I tributed both of my Amorphages, Lechery's effect won't prevent him from activating spells!'
"I discard a card to destroy up to two spell or traps on the field. I destroy both of your Amorphage Infections!" From Zane's activated card, two cyclones shot out, destroying both copies of the continuous spell. "You think that your lockdown is absolute, but the standby phase offers that moment of vulnerability. You have to sacrifice Amorphages to maintain the ones in your Pendulum Zones. And if they're all tributed, then you can't stop me from using spells and traps. And since both of your Infections are gone, your monsters aren't getting that enormous power boost anymore."
'Ugh...he found a way to activate spell cards anyway. At least he doesn't seem to know that cards in the Pendulum Zone count as Spell Cards. It would be a problem if he destroyed Greed and Lechery.' Scot breathed a sigh of relief. "Hmph. Not bad. That doesn't stop me from Pendulum Summoning though. With my Scale 3 Amorphage Greed and Scale 5 Amorphage Lechery, I once again special summon Amorphage Pride (1750/0) and Amorphage Wrath! (1650/0)" Two rays of light shot down from the portal before the two monstrosities returned to the field. "Amorphage Wrath, attack Cyber Valley!" The wolf-dragon monstrosity charged at Zane's monster.
"I activate Cyber Valley's effect! By removing it from play when it's targeted for an attack, I draw a card and end the battle phase." Cyber Valley dissolved into light before Amorphage Wrath could attack it, Zane drawing a card afterwards.
"Figures. I set a card facedown and end my turn."
Zane drew from his deck. "Since you control monsters and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) from my hand!"
"Your third and final one." Scott pointed out.
Zane took a look at his opponent's facedown. 'I can't be too reckless. If Titan's facedown does something like destroy my Cyber Dragon if it attacks or makes it weaker than his Amorphages, I'll lose the duel next turn.' "...I set a card facedown and end my turn."
"To afraid of my facedown to make an attack? Well, it wouldn't matter either way. I activate my continuous trap card Amorphage Lysis!"
Zane noticed the metallic skin of Cyber Dragon began to rot. "What did you do Titan?"
"Amorphage Lysis decreases the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field except for Amorphage Monsters by 100 points for every Amorphage Card on the field. With Lysis, the two Amorphages I control on the field, and the two in my Pendulum Zone, that's 500 points your monster will lose." (Cyber Dragon 2100-1600/1600-1100) "Now, it's my move." Scott drew a card. "And now that it's my standby phase, I sacrifice both of my Amorphages to keep the ones in my Pendulum Scale." Both Amorphage Wrath and Amorphage Pride dissolved into light again. "Now I-"
"Perfect. Now that you don't control any Amorphage monster, I can activate my facedown card, Cybernetic Overflow! I can destroy a card on your field for each Cyber Dragon with a different level I remove from play from my hand, field, or graveyard."
Scott gasped. "It can't be!"
"I remove from play one of the Cyber Dragons in my grave, my Cyber Dragon Zwei, and the Proto Cyber Dragon I discarded due to Twin Twisters to destroy three cards you control. I choose Amorphage Lysis and both of those Pendulum Monsters of yours!" The tranparent images of the monsters appeared behind Zane before morphing into bolts of electricity. The bolts headed towards Scott's cards, blowing them up. The rays of light that contained the Pendulum Monsters faded away. "And now that your Amorphage Lysis is gone, my Cyber Dragon's attack points go back to normal." (Cyber Dragon 1600-2100/1100-1600)
'No way! I had him on lockdown not two turns ago. How did he turn things around already?!'
"Let me guess. You're wondering why things are going so poorly for you right?" Zane asked. "I'll admit Titan, it wasn't easy seeing as how I couldn't summon from the Extra Deck, or activate spells and traps. But when I realized how vulnerable you were during the standby phase, that's when I realized how I could break the combination. I have to say, for a dueling assassin, you have a rather immature strategy."
"Im-immature?"
Zane nodded. "Your whole strategy is based around the idea that your opponent can't break through your strategy. So you remain complacent and inflexible with your strategy. These Pendulum Monsters might be advanced, but as a duelist, you're a novice."
Scott clenched his fist. "We'll see which one of us is the true novice here. Don't assume my Greed-Lechery combo is the only way I can defeat you." 'Damnit...I was kinda banking on at least having Lysis so that I could replace one of the Pendulum Monsters if they get destroyed. I can still turn this around though, right? I...I have to.'
"DIE!" Jinzo fired the orb of energy at Damian.
'Well this is it.' Was all Damian had the time to think. Before Damian could even take a step, Giga Gagagigo appeared in front of him, and swatted Jinzo's attack away.
"Don't act like a deer in the headlights. I'M the one that's going to kill you." The cybernetic lizard told Damian.
Jinzo seemed startled at the monster's sudden appearance. "Gagagigo?"
"You couldn't see me in my Spirit Form eh? Looks like that Eyepatch has some downsides."
Damian took a few breaths. He was a fraction of a second away from dying, or at the very least, getting majorly injured. He put his hand over his chest. His heart was racing like a jackrabbit. "Holy shit..." He started to chuckle and smile.
Giga Gagagigo growled before turning to Jinzo. "I have to admit. I wasn't expecting to see a fellow experiment of Kozaky's anytime soon. But you're just the person I was looking for."
"What do you want with me? If it's about the Invader of Darkness, I deserted from his side a long time ago." Jinzo said.
Damian raised an eyebrow at this. Looks like they knew each other.
"I've heard. Invader of Darkness' cowardly former lapdog who ran away after he couldn't stand working for him any longer. Funny. Feels like only yesterday when we were both working for the bastard. And when you helped him betray me."
"I was one of the several Duel Spirits who threw you in the cell. Don't act like I did anything major to you." Jinzo replied.
"Ok, slow down. I don't think this was in the Gagagigo lore." Damian said. "You guys know each other."
"Somewhat. Jinzo was one of Invader of Darkness' higher ranking minions and helped him expand his rule over the Different Dimension." Giga Gagagigo answered. "Usually, he and Invader of Darkness would form a combo when storming the enemy. Jinzo would use Kozaky's science to detect and destroy any traps lying around while Invader of Darkness altered the flow of magic around the area, slowing down the speed that spells could be casted, preventing surprise magic heading our way."
'Reflecting Invader of Darkness' game ability to prevent quickplay spells from being activated by the opponent.' Damian thought.
"I was sent to the Different Dimension by Freed the Brave Wanderer before coming across Invader of Darkness. I was one his best grunts, and what does the bastard do? Have Jinzo and the brainless Goblin Force throw me in a cage to fight in a death match for his own amusement!"
"It was nothing personal. I was just doing what I was told to do. And like I said, I deserted the Invader of Darkness." Jinzo said.
"Yeah, that I only found out about a couple of weeks ago. How come? Was I right about how working for the bastard was too much for you to handle?"
"I started to see that Invader of Darkness had no true motivation behind his cause. He just wanted to rule for the sake of it, and had no idea what he'd do once his army expanded across the Different Dimension and the other worlds. A rule that was doomed for failure. I started making plans with Kozaky, the one who outfitted me and Giga Gagagigo with our cybernetics, to get him to make me an upgrade powerful enough to overthrow the Invader of Darkness."
"Wait, Kozaky?" Damian asked. "But didn't he upgrade Gagagigo when Gagagigo was enemies with Invader of Darkness?"
"I found out too late that Kozaky was a spy within Freed's army." Gagagigo answered. "He worked for Invader of Darkness all along. But he never had true loyalty to anybody. He just wanted to advance his science. And of course, he's on my to-kill list as well."
"Rather late for that. Invader of Darkness caught wind of our treachery and attacked us." Jinzo stated. "Kozaky exploded his own lab when he arrived. Me and Invader of Darkness survived, but Kozaky's body was never found. Already weakened from Kozaky's explosion, I could do nothing but run. Invader of Darkness nearly killed me more times than I cared to count during that chase, but I managed to lose him. But I could tell that I wouldn't be safe with Invader of Darkness scouring the Spirit Worlds and the Different Dimension to find me. I had to find a way to escape to safety."
"And that's why you tricked Duel Academy students into summoning you. So you could stay in the real world and be safe from the Invader of Darkness." Damian realized.
Jinzo nodded. He then turned to Giga Gagagigo. "So, you want to kill me for being tangentially connected to your betrayal?"
The lizard shook his head. "You didn't fight me. You just threw me into a cell with a few goblins. My grudge against you is minor. No. I want to kill you for your cybernetics."
"What?"
"Kozaky used a similar technology for your cybernetics as he did mine. By killing you and adding yours to mine, I can enhance my power even further than before." Giga Gagagigo crouched. "And the best part is, I don't have to duel you for it!" The lizard lunged towards Jinzo to slash him, the psychic moving backwards to dodge it.
"If you think you can get stronger by mashing parts together without properly understanding them, you're sorely mistaken. But it's not like it matters. You won't succeed either way." Jinzo generated an orb of energy. The lizard lept at Jinzo again, his claws colliding with Jinzo's energy sphere. A flash of light emrged before a small explosion occured, a dust cloud being kicked up from the colission.
Damian fell to the ground and backed up towards the wall. In hindsight, he should have probably ran while Jinzo was distracted, or at the very least, got the Emerald Tablet that contrained Ghassan's soul. But he was too overwhelmed with the situation. His role in the plan was to duel Banner. But apparently, Jinzo killed him after Banner gave him a Shadow Charm. Now all he could do was pray that Giga Gagagigo defeated Jinzo. Damian took a look at Banner's corpse next to him. 'Well, at least we won't have to worry about Banner anymore. Weird way for him to go down though I gotta say.'
Jinzo used one hand to grab Giga Gagagigo by the throat, and pinned him to the ground. Jinzo then started to build up energy in his free hand. "I have no grudge towards you, but I'm not letting you endanger my safety."
"N...now...HE'S WIDE OPEN CAPTAIN! DO IT NOW!"
"What-?!" Jinzo turned away from Gagagigo. All he saw was Banner's body by the door and Damian sitting by a wall, looking just as confused as Jinzo.
As Jinzo's grip on Gagagigo's throat loosed, the cybernetic lizard smiled before his right claw shot forward. Before Jinzo could realize his mistake by getting distracted, he ended up with a claw impaled through his head. "Probably too quick a death for him to feel much pain, but it'll have to do for now." Giga Gagagigo stood up and turned to Damian. "Now to free your brother, boy."
Damian was speechless for a while. He wasn't even finished processing how he was watching two monsters fight right in front of him. Now he witnessed somebody die right in front of him. "...Right..." Damian slowly stood up and headed towards Banner's desk. "After this, all we gotta do is take out Zane, right?"
Giga Gagagigo lifted up Jinzo's corpse. Odds are, the Shadow Charm was the reason Jinzo still had a physical form. "According to Adrian anyway, yes. But didn't you need Banner alive to join the Shadow Riders?"
"Yeah, but then Jinzo went and killed him. That ship's sailed." Damian opened up the drawers. Nothing. He checked Banner's bookshelves. Nothing. "Maybe he left it on his body." Damian turned around, only to see Banner's body gone. "Wh-what happened to Banner's body?! It was right by the wall I was sitting at!"
"No it wasn't." Giga Gagagigo said. "It was leaning on the door."
"That makes no sense! How could it have been at the door when we saw it next to Jinzo when we entered?!" Damian suddenly realized something. "I'm an idiot."
"I agree, but what's the reason."
Damian pounded his fist on Banner's desk. "I'm so stupid! How did I forget this?!"
"Are you going to explain or what?"
Damian turned to the monster. "Did you notice how Banner's body wasn't bleeding despite there being a hole through it?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it, you're right. That was weird."
"It's because technically, Banner died long ago. His current body is an artifical one he made when he was dying of an illness, and that he transfered his soul into. I completely forgot about that. And we were too distracted with Jinzo to notice how his 'corpse' was from one place to another."
Giga Gagagigo's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. What you're saying is-"
"Banner used Jinzo to fake his death. He's heading towards Scott and Zane to kill them both right now!" Damian immediately ran towards the doorway. 'I gotta do something. Maybe I can get to Banner before he makes it to the beach.'
Damian opened the door and saw a familiar looking Slifer Red there. "Uggghhhh...what's with all the noise Banner?" Syrus asked, rubbing his eyes. "Huh?" Syrus noticed that not only was Banner out of his room, but that Damian, and a mechanical lizard holding what looked to be Jinzo's body were there instead.
"...Eliminate the witness?" Giga Gagagigo suggested.
"Knock him out. Don't kill him." Damian answered.
"What are you-" Before Syrus could answer, Gagagigo conked Syrus on the head. "I'll take him to his room and have him lie on the ground. He'll probably think he was dreaming and fell out of his bed. You go ahead and deal with Banner."
Damian nodded before running towards the beach. 'Come on Scott. Tell me you've defeated Zane by now.'
"It's your move Titan." Zane said.
"I'm well aware. I activate a second Pot of Greed to draw two cards." Scott drew and took a look at the now four cards in his hand. 'Not 'prevent him from doing anything' levels, but this can still work.' "I activate Pendulum Paradox. This allows me to add two Pendulum Monsters with the same scale but different names from my Extra Deck to my hand. I add Amorphage Greed and Amorphage Pride to my hand." Scott added the two cards to his hand.
"Another Pendulum Summon I take it?"
Scott nodded. "I put my Scale 3 Amorphage Greed and another copy of my Scale 5 Amorphage Envy in the Pendulum Zone." The two blue rays of light returned, an Amorphages rising up through them. "Now, I pendulum summon my level 4 Amorphage Pride!" (1750/0) A portal opened up above before a green strike of light shot out, Amorphage Pride emerging from it. "Next, I activate my field spell Amorphous Persona!" Several columns rose around Zane and Scott before the two found themselves in a ruined temple. On the ceiling was a sword sticking through it. "This field spell raised the ATK and DEF of all my Amorphages by 300. (Amorphage Pride 1750-2050/0-300)
"There has to be something else you're planning. Amorphage Pride is still too weak to destroy Cyber Dragon otherwise." Zane pointed out.
"Correct. But don't think Amorphage Pride will be here for long. Because I sacrifice him to summon Amorphage Sloth!" (2250/0) Amorphage Pride dissolved as soon as it appeared. Taking it's place was a larger yellow dragon with a sword sticking out of it's back. Growing out of it's right side was the upper body of a black bear. "And now the other effect of Amorphous Persona activates. When an Amorphage monster is tributed, I can draw a card." Scott drew a card from his deck. "And of course, Sloth gains the attack boost as well." (Amorphage Sloth (2250-2550/0-300)
"It's strong enough to destroy my Cyber Dragon, but you Normal Summoned it instead of Pendulum Summoning it. That means I'll be able to summon from my Extra Deck again."
Scott chuckled. "That's where you're wrong. Unlike the Amorphages I used against you so far, Amorphage Sloth prevents you from summoning from the Extra Deck simply by being on the field. No matter the summoning method!" Zane gasped. "Go Amorphage Skoth, destroy Cyber Dragon! Infectious Yawn!"
The bear portion of Amorphage Sloth gave out a yawn, causing a bubble of air to slowly fly out of it. The dragon portion promptly heated it up with a breath of fire, causing it to speed up and tear a hole through Cyber Dragon, causing it to explode. A portion of the fire reached Zane, setting his jacket on fire. "Gyaaahhhh!" Zane quickly took his jacket off and threw it to the ground. Now, his upper body just had a blue tanktop with several holes in it that revealed Zane's burnt skin. (Zane 1000-550)
"For an immature strategy, you sure are struggling. I'll end my turn with a facedown."
Zane took a few breaths, but ignored the masked duelist's words. "It's..." Zane took a few more breaths of aire. "...It's my turn." Zane drew a card, looked at it, and got out the other one he had in his hand. "I might be unable to Special Summon from the Extra Deck, but that doesn't shut me out of summoning Extra Deck monsters entirely. I activate Monster Reborn to special summon a monster from either of our graveyards."
Scott widened his eyes. "That means..."
"Correct. I revive my Cyber Twin Dragon (2800/2100) in attack mode!" The twin headed Cyber Dragon rose up from the ground, giving out a large screech. "Seeing as how you know about my Cyber Dragons, I don't have to explain to you what Twin Dragon's effect is, right?"
"No...I know that Twin Dragon can attack twice."
"Cyber Twin Dragon, attack! Evolution Twin Burst!" Both of the heads charged up energy in it's mouth. One of them fired a blast of energy at Amorphage Sloth, destroying it. ('Titan' 1950-1600) "Now for the second attack! Cyber Twin Dragon, attack Titan directly!" The second head fired a blast of energy, spiraling towards Scott.
"Not so fast Zane! Now that I no longer have an Amorphage, my Amorphage Greed no longer prevents me from activating trap cards! I activate Defense Draw! This makes the battle damage zero, and lets me draw a card!" Scott drew a card from his deck. As he did, a barrier appeared around him, deflecting the blast.
"Fine. I set a card facedown and end my turn."
Scott put a hand on his deck. 'I don't have any monsters on my field anymore. That means both the Amorphages in my Pendulum Zone will get destroyed. If I don't draw a card that allows me to turn things, it's game over.' Scott took a breath. He's prayed for good, game-changing draws before. Sometimes it worked out. But barring the time he was tricked by Titan, never before was there a time where a good draw literally decided between life and death. 'I need to save Ghassan...I need to kill Zane.' "I DRAW!" Scott drew from his deck.
"With no monsters to tribute, the monsters in your Pendulum Zone get destroyed during the Standby Phase." Zane pointed out. Sure enough, the cards in the Pendulum Zone shattered on cue.
Scott took a look at the card he drew. 'Thank you anime world.' "I activate Card of Demise. This lets me draw until I have 5 cards in my hand. Then during my 5th Standby Phase after activation, I send my entire hand to the grave."
"Something tells me the duel won't last that long." Zane replied.
Scott drew until he had 5 cards. "Perfect. I put the Scale 3 Amorphage Wrath and the Scale 5 Amorphage Envy in my pendulum zones." The familiar wolf-dragon and squid-dragon monstrositities, appeared in the Pendulum Zones. "Now I can Special Summon level 4 monsters from my hand or Extra Deck. I Pendulum Summon the Level 4 Amorphage Pride (1750-2050/0-300) and Amorphage Wrath (1650-1950/0-300) from my extra deck."
From the portal, green and blue streaks of light shot out before the two Amorphages revealed themselves. "I can assume you're going to sacrifice them, right?"
"Correct. I sacrifice both of my Amorphages to summon Amorphage Goliath (2750-3050/0-300) in attack mode!" A huge gust of wind blew, causing both the Amorphages on the field to shatter to pieces. Soon, a gigantic dark blue dragon with a sword sticking out of it's chest descended. Unlike the other Amorphages, it didn't seem to be a hybrid of anything. "I get to draw a card thanks to Amorphous Persona. Also thanks to my field spell, my monster is superior to yours in attack power! And just like Amorphage Sloth, Amorphage Goliath prevents you from summoning from your Extra Deck no matter how it's summoned."
Zane gave out a low growl. If this was a regular, respectful duel, Zane would probably find this a bit thrilling. But there was nothing to respect about this opponent. He was smarmy, smug, and attacked Zane's fellow students. To think that Professor Banner, a professor he had the utmost esteem for, was truly in affiliation with bastards like him.
"Amorphage Goliath! Destroy Cyber Twin Dragon!" The behemoth flew towards Cyber Twin Dragon and pinned it to the ground. As Cyber Twin Dragon attempted to fight back, Amorphage Goliath bit into the necks of both of the heads before ripping them out. Zane felt a stinging pain in his neck, as if it was being bit into as well. "Ughh..." Zane put a hand on his neck. (Zane 550-300)
"I told you that I had more than just my Greed-Lechery lockdown to duel you boy. Say your prayers. I set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"I hope you two don't mind if I join in." A familiar voice said. A bandaged humanoid with the head of a miniature sun appeared.
"Huh?" Scott and Zane reacted. Soon, a shower of meteors rained down on the field before a fire started. Amorphage Goliath was quickly consumed by the flames.
"WHAT THE-?!" Scott yelled. A bit of the flames reached Scott's mask, causing a small fire to form on them. ('Titan' 1600-1300) "SHIT!" Scott quickly threw his mask onto the ground before the fire spread to anywhere else.
"Scott?!" Zane yelled.
Scott realized what happened. "...God damnit."
"You shouldn't have took of your disguise, fool." The Light of Destruction said in Scott's head.
'What, and let my head get set on fire?' Scott retorted.
"I can only activate Planet Alignment if I control Helios the Primordial Sun. I destroy all my opponent's monsters, and deall 300 points of damage to them. Unfortunately, Scott was the only one controlling monsters, so I couldn't elimnate Zane." Banner walked up to the two. "I'm sure you two have questions about the large hole in my chest, or how I can still walk and talk normally with it."
"Banner..." Scott growled.
Zane took a step back. He thought he mentally prepared himself for this moment by now. From when Ghassan told him Banner knew about Atticus, to him showing proof of it to Zane, to Titan, or rather, Scott, revealing that Banner sent him to kill Zane. But now he had first hand proof.
The Slifer Red professor turned to Zane. "Apologies Zane. Know that it's nothing personal. But I won't let either of you live."
Sorry for the wait guys. College and all that. However, now that I'm on Spring Break (that's extended by a week due to the cornoavirus) I should have more time to work on the next chapter in the future. On the subject of the coronavirus, I hope all of you guys stay safe.
Also, I'd like to point out something about my previous chapter note that's funny in hindsight. Before I said that Link Monsters wouldn't be included in my story on account of how the rules using them makes it impossible to run concurrent with the rules of the story. Turns out on the same day that chapter was published, Master Rules 2020 was announced, where it would allow Fusion, Synchro, and Xyz to be summoned directly to the Main Monster Zone instead of the Extra Monster Zone. Talk about timing, XD. I still wouldn't tell you to expect Link Monsters anytime soon, if at all, but just that it's no longer an impossibility for them to show up if I decide it in the future.
Plans are going wrong fast. Adrian has to duel Alexis to delay her from informing security for as long as he can, while Banner snuck past Damian and Giga Gagagigo by using Jinzo to fake his own death. Now, it's a three-way duel between Scott, Zane, and Banner. Who'll win? Well...I know who'll win, but that's besides the point.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Have a great day!
