Chapter 33: Blackmailed

(Zane 300/Scott 1300/Banner 4000)

Zane had a facedown card and no cards in his hand. Scott controled two face down cards, the field spell Amorphous Persona, as well as Amorphage Envy and Amorphage Wrath in his Pendulum Zones. He had one card in his hand. Banner controlled Helios - The Primordial Sun (?/?) and had four cards in his hand. With the exception of the waves, and the occasional screeching of a nearby bat, the beach was in utter silence.

Banner decided to break the silence. "Helios gains 100 ATK and DEF for every monster that's removed from play. That includes the monsters of my opponents."

"The only banished monsters were four of Zane's." Scott said. Helios' sun head sparked up a little. (Helios - The Primordial Sun ?-400/?-400)

"Just enough to eliminate Zane's life points." Banner stated.

"Banner...why?" Zane asked.

"You found out that I had knowledge about the missing students. I can't let you live when you have that information Zane. I'm sorry. I truly wish it didn't have to come to this." Banner answered.

Zane clenched his fist. "I can't believe it...why, Banner? Why did you hide the information? Why did you hire him to kill me?" Zane then turned to Scott. "And you. How long did you know this? What's Banner offering you? And how did you find out about Atticus?!"

"Pick a person to ask questions and stick with them. Besides, it's not as if you'll live for long anyway." Scott replied.

"Don't act as if you're safe Scott." Banner said. "You're getting eliminated first. I activate Spell Shattering Arrow! This destroys all face-up Spell cards on the field and inflicts 500 damage to the opponent for each one destroyed!"

Scott gasped. Zane simply looked confused. "But Scott only controls one Spell card. Unless...are cards in the Pendulum Zone considered Spell Cards?"

Scott gritted his teeth. "How'd you know?"

"These Pendulum Monsters are interesting, but they're far from the only monsters in the game that are in a Zone other than the Monster Zone. Union Monsters, the Artifact Monsters, some of the Superheavy Samurai's that Damian used against Adrian. Many monsters can be considered spell and traps, so it was reasonable to assume that Pendulum Monsters were treated that way as well. But the layout of your Pendulum Monsters was a dead giveaway Scott." Banner answered.

"Of course!" Zane realized. He remembered how strange the layout of the Pendulum Cards were whenever Scott would show them. The bottom half of the Pendulum Monsters were colored the same way as Spell cards He was thinking too much about Atticus to put two and two together.

"I can't believe you're going to die here! At this rate, I'll have to find new candidates again!" The Light of Destruction roared inside Scott's head.

Scott looked as several arrows started raining down from the sky. "Damnit..." The arrows fell down, causing several bright flashes, engulfing Scott's field. The temple that surrounded the dueslists started t shake before crumbling apart.

Zane just looked in shock. Even though Scott was an enemy of his, he couldn't believe Banner just murdered a student right in front of him.

"Now, Helios! Attack Zane directly!" From Helios' head, a torrent of flames shot, heading towards Zane.

"I activate Defense Draw!" Zane declared. "Like how Scott explained when he used it against me, I reduce the battle damage done to me to 0 and draw a card." Zane drew a card from his deck."

"Very well. I-" Banner stopped himself as the dust from Scott's side of the field started to subdue.

"Looks like I'm still in the game Banner." Scott said. He controlled Amorphage Ency (0/2050) in defense mode and had two continuous trap cards flipped up.

"How are you still standing?" Banner asked.

"The continuous trap, Pendulum Switch allows me to either move a Pendulum Monster from the field to a Pendulum Zone or in this case, Special Summon a monster that's in a Pendulum Zone to the field. And my other one, Echo Oscillation allows me to destroy a card in my Pendulum Zone and lets me draw a card." Scott drew from his deck. "Since one got destroyed before your Spell Shattering Arrow could reach it, and the other is no longer a Spell Card, I only take 500 damage." (Scott 1300-800)

"Clever. I set two cards face down and end my turn." Banner stated. "I suppose it would be your turn now Zane."

Zane clenched his fist. "Banner, tell me. Why did you hide the disappearance of several students? Did you cause it? And if so, why?"

"I'm not at liberty to give too much information. All I'll tell you is this. Everything I did is for the sake of obtaining immortality."

"Immortality?" Scott asked.

"I'm sure you two have noticed the large hole in my chest. This body of mine isn't my original one. It's an artificial one of my creation."

"A homunculus. I remember you discussed them my sophomore year." Zane stated.

Banner smiled. "Glad to see you remembered that topic. But yes. Long ago, I caught a fatal disease when I was researching mysterious tablets. So, I created an artifical body and transfered my soul into it. However, this body is starting to reach it's limits." Banner started to scratch his face a bit. Eventually, a small bit of it fell off and crumbled as if it was a fragile rock.

"No way..." Scott said in shock.

"So the reason you're still alive with the hole through your body is because it's an artificial body to begin with." Zane stated.

"Indeed. In case you're wondering about WHY I have this hole, I needed to fake my death about half an hour ago in order to get here. Normally, I wouldn't believe it would be time to take action until around May. But now you boys have forced me to get involved in the situation." Banner turned to Zane. "I believe it's your move now."

Scott turned to Zane. "We're at a disadvantage here. Wanna make up and gang up on Banner?"

Zane drew from his deck. "Why should I trust you? You tried to kill me as well."

"Only because Banner told me to. Now that I know he's planning on killing me to, I have no reason to try and kill you." Scott was lying through his teeth. After Zane just saw Scott unmasked, there's no way he could risk Zane telling the other Duel Academy students about him. "Besides, your odds are better against me than Banner. Banner has all his life points after all."

"Hmph. I don't trust you, but you have a point about Banner being the bigger threat right now. I activate Cyber Resystem! This lets me special summon a Cyber Dragon from my hand or graveyard and that Cyber Dragon can't be destroyed by either battle OR card effects!" A shining light occured before Cyber Dragon (2100/1600) rose from the ground. "And with how weak Helios is, Banner's lifepoints will deplete fast."

"I Normal Summon Cyber Dragon Drei!" (1800/800) Another mechanical serpent emerged on Zane's side of the field, this one having glowing yellow light shine in it's eyes and underneath it's armor. "When Drei is Normal Summoned, I can make all Cyber Dragons I control become level 5. And since Cyber Dragon Drei is treated as a Cyber Dragon while on the field, that includies itself."

Scott and Banner both gasped. "You mean..." Scott began to say.

"I overlay my level 5 Cyber Dragon Drei with my Level 5 Cyber Dragon!" A swirling dark vortex appeared on the ground in front of Zane. Both Zane's Cyber Dragons dissolved into light and went inside it. "I Xyz summon my Rank 5 Cyber Dragon Nova!" (2100/1600) Emerging from the vortex was a Cyber Dragon that Zane never used before. Right below it's neck was a black and gold contraption revealing what looked like a glowing red generator. From the sides of said device sprouted two silver wings with a glowing red pattern on them. Two orange orbs of light trailed around it.

Scott clenched his fist. If Zane decided to go after him, he was finished. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you have Xyz monsters." Scott said. "Chazz, Bastion, that one little girl who snuck into Duel Academy...it was about time you jumped on. I know Nova's effect. By detaching a material, you can special summon a Cyber Dragon from the graveyard."

Zane nodded. "Correct. I detach Cyber Dragon so that I can special summon it from the graveyard!." One of the orbs disappeared befoe Cyber Dragon materalized next to the Xyz monster. "It doesn't stop there. There's another Cyber Dragon monster that I can immediately special summon by using Nova as a material." Cyber Dragon Nova began to glow. "Transform! I special summon the Rank 6 Cyber Dragon Infinity!" (2100/1600) The light bursted away before yet another Cyber Dragon was revealed. It's armor was completely black, the contraption seeming to have spread to the rest of it's body. It's wings were now more proprerly attached to it's sides, and spread far more than Nova's.

"Infinty gains 200 ATK for each Xyz material it has. In addition, once per turn, I can target a monster in attack position, and attach it to Infinity as a material!" Zane turned to Banner. "I choose Helios!" The Cyber Dragon fired a beam of energy from it's mouth towards Helios. The monster then started to shift into a ball of light, before being dragged to Infinity. "That's 3 materials. So Infinity gains 600 attack points." (Cyber Dragon Infinity 2100-2700/1600)

"As expected of you Zane. Without even needing to use Cyber End Dragon, you set up a combo that can take out the rest of my life points in one turn." Banner praised. "Unfortunately, I won't give you that opportunity." Banner stated. "I activate Waboku. This traps prevents my monsters from being destroyed, and protects me from taking any battle damage."

Scott gritted his teeth. 'Damnit! That means the only target left is me! Scott can easily take out my Amorphage Envy with one of his monsters, and finish me off with the other!'

"Great. So you're going to lose." The Light said in Scott's head.

Scott tried to calm himself down. "Well, it's Zane taking me out and not Banner, so I'm not gonna die, right?" Scott asked.

"Unfortunately, that's not the case anymore. Banner seems to have made this a Shadow Duel, meaning that everybody's lives are at equal risk. It's not the same when you enact a duel with my powers, where only your opponent is at risk of death."

Scott widened his eyes. Was this it? Was he gonna die here?

The three duelists heard the sound of someone running towards them, and all turned to that noise. Damian arrived on the beach. "Damian. Evidently, Jinzo failed to kill you." Banner stated.

Damian ignored Banner. "No...I'm too late..."

Scott nodded. "Yeah...hey Damian? When I get eliminated, take over for me. We still have a bit of a shot."

Damian took a few breaths. Zane was pretty weakened, so even if he took out Scott, Damian could knock him out. Thank god this wasn't like Arc-V, where anybody who hopped in a duel after it started would lose half their life points. Still, what about Banner? Not to mention how he didn't even have The Light's power like Scott did, so even if he knocked Zane out, Zane would still be more than capable of exposing the group.

Actually...that bit would be easy to solve. It just means Damian would have to agree to let The Light take over. Then all three of them would have his powers. Just like what The Light wanted.

Zane thought for a bit. 'So Damian was in on this too huh?' He knew Damian would be a dangerous opponent. And considering how Zane was at the brink of elimination himself, Damian hopping in the duel would definitely be a hindrance.

Scott clenched his fist in frustration. Zane had two powerful Cyber Dragons, either being able to get rid of his Amorphage Envy before the other depletes his life points. "What are you waiting for Zane? Finish me off."

Zane said nothing. "I want to make a deal."

"Huh?" Scott and Damian reacted.

"I'll spare you on two conditions. First of all, you help me take out Banner."

"You view me as a greater threat than Scott I take it." Banner noted.

Zane turned to Banner. "You're the one who hired him to try and kill me to begin with. Not to mention that you're responsible for the disappearance of Atticus and the other missing students. So yeah, at the moment, you're higher on my hate list." Zane turned back to Scott. "But second of all, I want you to tell me everything. Right here. Right now."

"What do you mean?" Scott asked. Though he had a pretty strong feeling he knew what Zane was talking about.

"How you had Synchro and Xyz monsters before Industrial Illusions even released ANY information about them for starters. And how you knew where and when Alexis and Jaden would be dueling all the way back during the first semester. Not to mention why you want Jaden expelled from the school." Zane then turned to Damian. "And of course, how you knew what Atticus' deck was. I have tons of questions for Banner too, but you're the one who I have leverage on right now Scott."

Banner smiled. "I have to admit, I had many of those questions as well Along with how Ghassan seemed to know about Wheeler. Even I had no info about that."

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice." Scott told The Light in his head. "The 'from the future' lie won't explain the stuff like how we knew about Alexiis and Jaden's duel, or Ghassan knowing about Wheeler. This might be the door we need to take out Zane and Banner assuming Zane keeps his word."

"...Fine. Reveal them the truth if it opens up the possibility of success."

Scott took a breath. "You're probably not gonna believe this, but here goes."

"We're from the fut-" Damian began to say.

"No. The actual truth Damian." Scott said. Damian widened his eyes at this before Scott turned back to Zane. "We're not from this dimension. In our world, you guys are all part of a television series."


(Alexis 3350/Adrian 4000)

Alexis slowly stood up after being blasted towards the wall. She had no cards on the field, and had three in her hand. Adrian controled Cloudian-Cirrostratus (900/0), Natural Disaster, and Spirit Barrier. He had two cards in his hand.

"I end my turn with a facedown." Adrian said, maintaining his Duel Ghoul-facade.

Alexis drew. 'I can't lose here. If damage is real, then it's not just my life POINTS that are at stake here.' "I activate Graceful Charity." Alexis drew three cards from her deck, then discarded two cards." Next, I activate the effect of Cyber Angel Natasha from my graveyard. By removing from play a ritual monster in my graveyard, like the Cyber Angel Benten I discarded, I can special summon her! Revive Cyber Angel Natasha!" (1000/1000) A light shined on the ground in front of Alexis before the four armed centaur rose up from it. "And that's not all. When I special summon Natasha this way, I can target a monste of yours and take control of it!"

Adrian gasped. "That means Spirit Barrier won't have any effect!"

"Bingo!" Natsha's flogger extended before she had it wrap around Cirrostratus, and yanked it to Alexis' side of the field. "And of course, Natasha's other ability allows me to gain life points equal to half the attack points of a monster I control. I choose to gain life points equal to half of Natasha's attack points." A green aura surrouded Natasha before flying into Alexis. (Alexis 3350-3850) "Now, I activate Heavy Storm! This spell card destroys all spells and traps on the field. But since I don't control any, you're the only one who'll suffer from it!

A giant hurricane started to blow it's way towards Adrian. Adrian simply gave a creepy smile. "Sorry, but weather effects are kinda MY thing. I activate Judgment of Anubis. By discarding a card, I can negate that spell and destroy it. Then, I can target a monster you control, destroy it, and deal it's attack points to you as damage! I choose Natasha!"

Alexis gasped before a sinister violet aura surrounded her Cyber Angel, causing it to explode. (Alexis 3850-2850) "And because you destroyed two of my cards, Natural Disaster does 400 damage to me for each one you destroyed."

Adrian nodded before a gust of wind shot out towards Alexis, knocking her to the wall again. (Alexis 2850-2050) "You think you'd see that coming. I used Judgment of Anubis on you back in our first duel, remember?"

Alexis slowly stood up. Adrian had a point. If she was thinking more calmly, she would have at least considered the possibility seeing as she lost to Adrian because of that card before. 'I need to calm down. I'm not doing myself any favors by panicking.' "Ugh...I sacrifice Cirrostratus to Tribute Summon Cyber Prima." (2300/1700) The hula hooping Cyber Girl descended on the field, replacing the bundle of cat clouds. "Now, Cyber Prima, attack Adrian directly!" Cyber Prima spun towards Adrian before delivering a kick to his side. (Adrian 4000-1700) "I set two cards face down and end my turn."

Adrian slowly drew a card. 'Not the best position to be in right now.' "I activate my second Pot of Greed to draw two more cards from my deck." Adrian drew two more cards and took a look at them. 'This on the other hand works pretty well.' "I activate Salvage to add two WATER monsters with 1500 or less attack to my hand. I add my Acid Cloud and my Cirrostratus. Next, I activate the Continuous Spell Summon Cloud, allowing me to special summon a Cloudian frm either my hand or graveyard. I choose to revive my Cloudian-Poison Cloud (0/1000) in attack mode!" A crimson red fog swirled around in front of Adrian before the Cloudian formed from it.

"Now, I normal summon Cloudian-Acid Cloud (500/0) in attack mode!" The green,, mushroom cloud-headed monster formed next to Poison Cloud. "You know it's ability. When normal summoned, Acid Cloud gains a Fog Counter for every Cloudian on the field." Two miniature clouds circled around Acid Cloud.

"And by removing 2 of them, you can destroy a spell or trap on the field." Alexis finished.

Adrian smiled. "How about the one on the left? Go Acid Cloud! Gattling Rain!" From the mushroom head of Acid Cloud, a barrage of acidic rain drops shot towards Alexis' face-down card dissolving it. It was a Mirror Force trap. "And since a card of yours got destroyed, you know what that means."Alexis gritted her teeth before a bolt of lightning shot out of Adrian's Natural Disaster, electrocuting her. "Ahhhhhh!" (Alexis 2050-1650)

"Now, Poison Cloud! Attack Cyber Prima!" The Cloudian charged at Cyber Prima, who sliced cleanly through it. "Thanks to Spirit Barrier, I don't take any damage. And because of Poison Cloud's effect-"

"I know. Prima's destroyed, and I take 800 damage, plus another 400 because of Natural Disaster." Alexis interupted. Right on cue, the remains of Poison Cloud detonated, engulfing Cyber Prima in flames. Soon afterwards, another bolt of lightning shot out from Natural Disaster, electrocuting Alexis once again. "GYAAAHHHHH!" (Alexis 1650-450) When the electrocution stopped, Alexis fell to her knees, panting.

"Now to finish you off. Acid Cloud, attack Alexis directly!" Acid Cloud pointed it's mushroom head cloud at Alexis, ready to fire more acid rain at her.

"I activate...my continuous trap card... Call of the Haunted! This lets me special summon" Alexis took a breath. "Special summon a monster from my graveyard. Revive, Cyber Angel Natasha (1000/1000)!" Once again, the centaur appeared on Alexis' side of the field. "You remember Natasha's other effect... ? It can negate any attack you make on a Ritual Monster. Even if you revive Poison Cloud on your next turn, it won't-." Alexis coughed up blood before she could finish explaining.

Adrian gave out his best impression of a ghoulish chuckle. "Forgetting that I added Cirrostratus to my hand? Next turn I can Normal Summon it and use it's effect to destroy Natasha. Then it's bye-bye life points for you. I end my turn."

Alexis widened her eyes as she drew. If she didn't win this turn, she was a goner. She took a look at her deck and took a deep breath before standing back up. It was do or die time. "DRAW!" Alexis took a look at the card she drew. "I summon Cyber Egg Angel (200/300) in attack mode!" A digital, blue egg that sprouted green wings appeared next to Natasha. It was slightly hatched, revealing a yellow dot. "When Egg Angel is Normal Summoned, I can add a Machine Angel spell to my hand. I add the spell Machine Angel Absolute Ritual, and naturally, activate it."

Adrian raised an eyebrow. "Absolute Ritual? What makes it different from regual Machine Angel Ritual?"

"With Absolute Ritual, so long as the levels are exact and that I only use Warrior and Fairy monsters, I can use tributes by both tributing them from my hand and field as well as shuffling them from my graveyard to my deck. I sacrifice my level 4 Blade Skater from my hand, my level 2 Cyber Egg Angel on my field, and shuffle the level 2 Cyber Petit Angel from my deck to the graveyard." The transparent images of Blade Skater and Cyber Petit Angel appeared next to Cyber Egg Angel. Then, all three of them glowed a shining light before dissolving and merging together.

"I ritual summon the level 8 Cyber Angel Izana (2500/2600)!" A light shined down on the field, before Alexis' newest Cyber Angel descended. She had four arms like Dakini, but was silver-skinned, with blue hands and knees, and long light-blue hair. Two of her arms were holding a yellow trident, while a third arm was carrying a small axe. On her head was a large, butterfly shaped head piece.

'This card didn't exist in my timeline either. Industrial Illusions is pushing out these cards fast.' Adrian thought.

"Izana has an effect when she's Ritual Summoned. You have to send one spell or trap card that you control to the graveyard."

"Hmph. I choose my Natural Disaster." Adrian stated. Izana threw her battle axe at Adrian's continuous trap, shattering it to piece.

"None of your monsters can be destroyed by battle and you don't take any damage thanks to Spirit Barrier, so I end my turn."

"Seriously? All that buildup for that? Heh heh. I'll just have Poison Cloud destroy Izana and win the duel." Adrian said as he drew a card. 'Is there more to Izana's effect?' "During my Standby Phase, I have to discard a card to keep Summon Cloud on the field." Adrian discarded the card he just drew. "Now from my graveyard, I special summon Cloudian-Poison Cloud (0/1000) and normals summon my Cloudian-Cirrostratus. (900/0)" The two Cloudians formed on Adrian's side of the field once again. "Now, Cirrostratus' effect." Three miniature clouds appeared arround Cirrostratus. "I remove the 2 Fog Counters to destroy Cyber Angel Natasha!"

Cirrostratus blew a gale of wind at Natasha. Alexis smirked. "You fell for it. I activate Izana's second effect! When a Cyber Angel Ritual Monster I control is targeted by an opponent's card effect, I can shuffle a Ritual Monster from my graveyard to my deck. Then, I can target any card you control, and destroy it! I choose Spirit Barrier!" Adrian gasped. "Go Izana! Angelic Riposte!" Right as Cirrostratus destroyed Natasha, Izana stabbed the air with her spear. A gale of energy launched towards Adrian's trap card, destroying it. "With Spirit Barrier destroyed, you can take battle damage again, even if you control monsters."

"That means I can't attack Izana with Poison Cloud, or else I'll run out of life points before you do..." Adrian realized.

"That's right. Going to make your move?" Alexis asked. Adrian said nothing. He had no cards left in his hand, and couldn't make an attack. "Then I guess you won't mind me going." Alexis drew from her deck. "Cyber Angel Izana, attack Cloudian Acid-Cloud!" Izana jumped into the air before hurling her trident down at the Cloudian. (Adrian 1700-0) "I...I did it..." Alexis panted out.

'Damn...not how I was intending things to go.' Adrian thought. He fell to his knees and put his right hand on his head, pretending to have a headache. "Ugh...what happened?"

Alexis slowly limped towards Adrian. "Adrian...are you back to normal?"

"Back to...normal...?" Adrian started to sway from side to side before lying down on the floor.

Alexis took a few breaths for falling to her knees once again. She couldn't believe it the night she had. Banner apparently has been hiding information about Atticus, there's this mysterious duelist who makes damage become real, Adrian apparently go possessed, and Alexis barely escaped death from the duel. "I have to...to let security know." Alexis tried to stand up, but fell to the ground. She felt her eyelids close "No...I can't stop now..." Alexis put her arms on the ground and slowly pushed herself up. "Zane's in danger...Duel Academy's in danger." Alexis started to limp towards the exist. I have to let...them..." Alexis collapsed once again.

Several minutes of silence passed before Adrian stood up. 'She looks way more injured than that reporter did when Ghassan defeated him. I think it's fair to say that if I beat Alexis, she would have died.' Adrian turned to the unconscious Fontaine. 'Well, didn't think I'd need to knock out Fontaine and Alexis. Thought I would just pretend to sleep in the infirmary bed, but Fontaine had to try and get security involved. Should I kill Fontaine the old fashioned way now that they're both unconscious?'

Adrian turned back to Alexis. 'No. Too much of a risk of the murder being traced back to me. Maybe if I killed Alexis, I would have no choice but to kill Fontaine since the risk would be there either way, but for now, let's leave well enough alone. What's important is that security won't be interrupting Scott's duel with Zane.' Adrian walked towards the computer in the infirmary. 'There's another good thing about this situation. Now that I'm the only one in the building, let's dig up some info about the missing students. If necessary, it could make for some good blackmail material against Duel Academy'


"-and Banner said he'd free Ghassan if I killed you, though it's evident he's not holding his end of the bargain. There's your answer" Scott finished.

After Scott's explanation, it was total silence for the next few minutes. What Scott said was the last thing Zane and Banner were expecting. It was bizarre enough to find out that he and the Abunura brothers were from another dimension. But that to those three, the entirety of the world Zane and Banner was just a form of entertainment. For Zane, it was especially a shock because he also was told about the existence of Spirit Monsters and how Chairman Kagemaru plans to awaken dangerous creatures for his own gain. "You're insane. That's...that's seriously the truth?" Zane asked.

"It is. Like I said, we were dragged here by something called The Light of Destruction. He's planning on brainwashing the world to worship him."

Damian clenched his fist. This confirmed it. Scott and Ghassan thought that The Light of Destruction was planning on simply brainwashing the world. Not outright wiping out all life in the universe.

Banner was deep in thought. Scott explained pretty much everything to Zane about the Shadow Riders' plans, even stuff Banner himself didn't tell the three. The explanation was unbelievable, but it seemed to be the only answer for why these boys knew so much about what was going on in the school. "So, the previous schools that you three listed in your applications to Duel Academy. Were those schools from your dimension?" Banner asked.

"Yeah. Somehow, the Light set up applications for us to fill out. We decided to use our real schools and hope you'd decide you simply couldn't find them since if we put in schools in this dimension, you could contact them and find out we lied." Scott replied.

"We knew the process wouldn't be too thorough because Blair snuck her way in here, and we figured it would be more likely for you guys to just give up on searching for the schools." Damian added.

"...Duel Academy really needs to work on it's application process." Zane stated.

"Yes, I'll have a word with Sheppard about that after I kill you boys." Banner replied.

Zane took a look at Damian. "Banner mentioned you were dealing with a Spirit Monster, Jinzo. What happened to it?"

"He's dead."

Banner raised an eyebrow. "How? It had no need to duel you."

Zane continued to glare at Damian, waiting for an answer. Damian sighed. He didn't want to reveal any more info than Scott did, but he had no choice if he wanted Scott to survive. "Another Duel Spirit killed it. Giga Gagagigo. He works with us."

Banner was surprised by this. He never knew anything about there being a Duel Spirit that was allied with these boys. He had to let Kagemaru know. This was a loose end that needed to be tied.

Scott took a look at Zane. 'Sucks that I had to tell him the truth...but will Zane keep his end of the deal?'

The bat that was nearby let out a screech, as if telling them to get on with the duel.

"...I end my turn." Zane said. He didn't trust Scott, and had a feeling that Scott would try to kill him to ensure his secret never spreads. But the fact of the matter was, Banner had too much of an advantage. They had to work together for now.

Damian sighed in relief, while Scott smiled. "Thanks. But before I start my turn, I use Pendulum Switch to move Amorphage Envy to my Pendulum Zone, and then use Echo Oscillation to destroy it and draw a card." Scott drew a card from his deck after the sequence. "Now for my regular draw phase." Scott drew and took a look at his hand. "Sweet! I activate Pendulum Scale, allowing me to add two Pendulum Monsters with the same scale but different names from my Extra Deck to my hand. I add the Scale 3 Amorphage Greed and Amorphage Goliath to my hand. Next, I place both of them in the Pendulum Zone." The two Amorphages rose up in the pillars of light that were on Scott's sides.

Banner knew what was coming. "Before you summon Amorphage Goliath with Pendulum Switch, I activate my trap card, Threatening Roar. This prevents you from declaring an attack."

Scott sighed. Since Banner activated it before any Amorphage monsters were on the field, Greed couldn't negate the trap. "Well, time for plan B. I use Pendulum Switch to special summon Goliath to my field." The dragon left the pillar of light and flew down next to Scott. "Next, I activate the effect of Amorphous Persona from my graveyard. By removing it from play, I can sacrifice Pendulum Monsters in my hand or monster zones whose combined levels equals 8 exactly." Amorphous Goliath became engulfed in blue fire, screaming in pain.

"The field spell doubles as a ritual spell?" Banner asked in shock.

Goliath started to morph as it screamed. It's blue skin became black, and it's flesh started to melt. The sword stuck in it's back started to change as well. Metal became flesh, as the sword morphed into a man with grey armor and wild blue hair. "Fierceness of nature, wickedness of man. Combine together and unleash an unstoppable force. I ritual summon the level 8 Amorphactor Pain, the Imagination Dracoverlord! (2950/2500)"

The flames died down before a decaying dragon with a man sticking out of it's back let out a roar. "I use Echo Oschillation to destroy the Amorphage Greed in my Pendulum Scale and draw a card." Scott drew a card, looked at it, and immediately set it. "I end my turn."

Banner drew a card. 'All that build up, but nothing happened? Maybe it's effect occurs during the opponent's turn.' "I activate Double Spell, allowing me to discard a card to activate a spell card in one of your graveyards. Scott, I choose your Card of Demise, allowing me to draw until l have 5 cards in my hand so long as I send my entire hand to the graveyard during the 5th standby phase acter activation." Banner drew 5 more cards. "Now, I activate Soul Release to remove from play 5 cards from my graveyard. I choose Helios, Planet Alignment, Spell Shattering Arrow, Waboku, and Threatening Roar." Banner moved the cards from his graveyard to his pocket.

"Next, I discard D.D Scout Plane to special summon Deep-Space Cruister IX (900/900) in defense mode!" A large space shuttle appeared in front of Banner. "I can special summon this card by discarding a machine monster. Now, I play the quickplay spell Inferno Reckless Summon! When I special summon a monster with 1500 or less attack points while my opponent controls a monster, I can special summon two more copies!" Two duplicates of the space shuttle appeared. "Normally, my opponent would be able to summon two copies of a selected monster from their hand, deck, or graveyard, but seeing as how the other copies of Infinity would be in the Extra Deck, and Scott's only monster is a Ritual Monster, and the other copies would need to be ritual summoned first, you can see why I'm not worried about the drawback."

"Impressive move Banner." Zane noted. "But I still have a spare Cyber Dragon in my graveyard, even if my third one is banished." Zane special summoned another Cyber Dragon from his graveyard.

'That Deep-Space Cruiser monster is WAY too new for Banner to have used it in the anime.' Scott thought. "I take it you made a new deck just for us?"

Banner nodded. "I have some cards from it, but my primary deck isn't quite suited for ambushing duels that already started. Anyway, I activate Pot of Desires. This allows me to remove from play the top 10 cards of my deck facedown in exchange for drawing 2 cards."

Scott was confused. In his world, it wasn't too rare to see that card used due to Pot of Greed being on the banlist. But in this dimension, Pot of Greed should still be fair game. What was he planning?

"Despite how low their attack power is, Deep-Space Cruiser is a level 9 monster." Banner stated.

Zane clenched his fist. "A Rank 9 XYZ monster...that'll be dangerous to deal with."

A swirling dark vortex appeared in front of Banner, the three Deep-Space Cruisers going into it. "Transcending all life forms, and becoming one beyond. Reveal yourself and lay waste to all who stand in our way!" From the vortex flew out a titanic purple dragon. Red spikes trailed down it's wings, legs, and enormous tail. "I XYZ summon the Rank 9 Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon!" (0/0) The massive dragon let out a fierce roar. The nearby bat let out several startled screeches.

"0 attack points? It must have a powerful effect." Scott stated.

"Correct. Not only is Heart-eartH unable to be destroyed by battle, but any battle damage that would be inflicted to me is instead dealt to the opponent!" Zane and Damian gasped. "I'd rather not risk Infinity taking Heart-eartH as a material, so let's finish you off first Zane."

The dragon built up energy in it's mouth. Zane clenched his fist. "Syrus...I'm sorry."

"Heart-eartH, attack Zane's Cyber Dragon Infinity!"

The monster aimed at Zane's monster, and unleashed...nothing. The energy it was building disippiated into nothingness. "Wh-what?!" Banner reacted.

Zane looked just as confused as Banner. Scott however, was chuckling. "Man, that's one advantage of the anime world I'm VERY grateful for! The cards are too far away for you guys to read the abilities beforehand!"

Banner turned to Scott. "What's Amorphactor's ability then?"

"When he's Ritual Summoned, my opponent skips their next Main Phase 1. Meaning all the cards you activated for this summon of yours were all during your Main Phase 2. AFTER the Battle Phase!" Scott turned to Zane. "But as a heads up, you won't be able to use Infinity to attach Heart-eartH to it. Amorphactor also negates the effect of Fuson, Synchro, and Xyz monsters."

Zane smiled. "Then that means we can destroy Heart-eartH and deal damage to Banner's life points like regular."

"Don't think it'll be that simple. I activate Dark Hole to destroy all cards on the field!" Banner stated. A black hole opened up in the air, and sucked up all monsters on the field, destroying them.

THAT made Scott gasp. "Now he can use Heart-eartH's other effect..."

"You have quite a knowledge of these cards Scott. But yes, now that Amorphactor's gone, I can activate Heart-eartH's effect. When it's destroyed while it has at least one XYZ material, I can special summon it from the graveyard. And then, it gains 1000 attack points for every card of ours that's removed from play!" A purple vortex opened up where Dark Hole was, before Heart-eartH flew out of it. "With the 15 of my cards that are removed from play, and the 4 of Zane's, that makes a total of 19 cards." (Number 92: Heart-eartH Dragon 0-19000/0)

"Nineteen thousand?!" Damian yelled.

Scott gritted his teeth. "I use Amorphactor's effect to add a Dracoverlord to my hand when it's sent to the graveyard. I add Lector Pendulum, the Dracoverlord."

"I set a card facedown and end my turn." Banner stated.

Zane drew a card. "I-"

"I activate my continuous trap Number Wall!" Banner yelled. "This prevents any Number monsters from being destroyed by card effects. They also would be unable to be destroyed by battle except by other Number monsters, but Heart-eartH is already unable to be destroyed by battle."

Scott gritted his teeth. 'Damnit. My facedown Mirror Force would have at least been able to stop him from attacking me.'

Damian started to run towards the three. 'If I join in and use my F.A deck and get out Blackrose Moonlight Dragon, then I can get rid of that Heart-eartH card-'

Banner held out his tablet. "Take a step further Damian, and your brother's soul will be destroyed right here!"

Damian stopped running. "What?!"

"You're bluffing. Why would you need Jinzo to eat Ghassan's soul if you could dsestroy it?" Scott said.

"I didn't. Jinzo consuming your brother's soul was an award for him. I needed Jinzo as someone to kill you boys directly. And of course, to help me fake my death and distract whoever comes to my office." Banner turned through the pages before putting his hand on one of the pages. "Seeing as how the reason you boys are even at this beach is to save Ghassan's life, I doubt you'd want this to happen."

Damian said nothing before falling to his knees. He couldn't believe how powerless he felt.

"Banner." Zane stated. "Answer me this. Both Kagemaru and Scott clearly intend to do harm to the world, so tell me. What does unleashing these Sacred Beast cards do for you?"

"I won't lie to you. Like I said, I intend to pursure immortality. This artificial body of mine is crumbling. If I want to survive, I need Kagemaru's help to create the Philosopher's Stone. With it, I'll be able to achieve eternal life."

"Why can't you just keep creating more bodies to transfer your soul into then?" Scott asked.

"Creating my first body drained me of most of the resources I had for alchemy. With the amount of time it would take simply gathering the materials, it's highly unlikely I'll be able to complete another one before my body crumbles." Banner took a look at Zane. "I know I said this before, but I truly apologize that this had to happen Zane. You were a model student, duelist, and person."

"...I activate Pot of Greed. " Zane drew two cards and took a look at them. 'Damnit...I have a way to take out Banner, but that just leaves me wide open for Scott and that Dracoverlord monster he added to his hand. Both of these guys are threats to the world...' "Banner, tell me one thing. Causing Atticus' disappearance, trying to unleash these world threatening cards...is imoortality worth all of that to you?"

Banner sighed. "If there was any other way for me to obtain the philosopher's stone, I'd take it instead. It does cause me sorrow to take this option. However, I won't lie to you. I do find it worh it."

Zane closed his eyes. "I activate Burial from a Different Dimension to return my Proto Cyber Dragon, Cyber Dragon, and Cyber Dragon Zwei to my graveyard." Zane put the three cards back into the graveyard slot. "Banner, I pray that I won't need to tell the other students about your true nature. So many of them respect you the most out of all teachers at Duel Academy. I don't want them to feel the disappointment that I did."

Banner seemed surprised. "It seems that you found a way to defeat me Zane."

"I activate Overload Fusion! This card allows me to Special Summon a Machine Fusion Monster my removing from play Fusion Material Monsters in my graveyard! I remove from play Proto Cyber Dragon, Cyber Dragon Vier, Cyber Dragon Zwei, Cyber Dragon Drei, Cyber Dragon Nova, Cyber Dragon Infinity, Cyber Twin Dragon, and my three Cyber Dragons!" Transparent images of all the monsters appeared behind Zane before they swirled together. Flashes of lightning occured as an enormous blue and orange vortex formed in the sky.

Scott did the math in his head. "10 materials?"

Damian looked up at the vortex. "He's summoning one of his Chimeratechs!"

A flash of light occured before an enormous serpent-like machine with a tail divided in 9 segments descended behind Zane. "I special summon Chimeratech Fortress Dragon! (0/0)"

Scott looked at Zane in confusion. "You have some kind of plan, right?! 10,000 attack points is way weaker than Heart-eartH! And even if it wasn't, Heart-eartH would reflect the battle damage to you!"

Zane chuckled. "I guess Chimeratech has a different effect in your world." Zane pointed at Heart-eartH Dragon. "Chimeratech Fortress Dragon, attack! Evolution Result Artillery-First Shot!"

The serpent fired a soundwave at Heart-eartH, blasting it backwards slightly. Banner felt a piercing pain in his ear. (Banner 4000-3600)

"Huh?!" Scott reacted.

"That's right. Fortress Dragon's effect was way different in the anime. When it attacks, damage calculation isn't applied, and the opponent takes 400 points of damage." Damian remembered.

"And that's not all. Chimeratech Fortress Dragon can attack my opponent's monsters for every Fusion Material that was used to summon it." Zane said.

Banner gasped. "That means..."

"It's over Banner! Evolution Result Artillery-Second Shot!" A hole opened up from one of the tail segments, causing another head to pop out of it. "FIRE!" The second head unleashed another soundwave at Banner, who was resisting the force. (Banner 3600-3200)

"Thank goodness for stupidity! He left you a 0 ATK point monster for you to attack on your next turn!" The Light said in Scott's head.

"He knows that." Scott replied. "It was either be killed by Banner or be killed by me. And like he said, Banner was higher on his hate list."

Another head poppoed out from one of the tail segments. "THIRD SHOT!" Zane yelled. A third soundwave was fired at Banner. (Banner 3200-2800) "FOURTH SHOT!" (Banner 2800-2400)

After the fourth soundwave, Banner noticed something fall off. It was a chunk of his left ear. "It's unfortunate that it had to end this way."

"FIFTH SHOT!" Another head fired a soundwave, blasting Banner to the ground. (Banner 2400-2000)

"Well, at least there's one good thing about this situation." Banner turned to Scott. "It guarantees the Shadow Riders' control over you."

"What are you talking about?" Scott asked.

"SIXTH SHOT!" Zane yelled. He wasn't even acknowledging the conversation. (Banner 2000-1600)

"Ugh...you see that bat over there?" Banner pointed to a bat that was on a palm tree. "It arrived the same time I did. Have you ever thought about that?"

"SEVENTH SHOT!" (Banner 1600-1200)

Scott was confused, but Damian knew what Banner was talking about. "That's not an ordinary bat. It belongs to taht Vampire woman who's part of the Shadow Riders."

Banner smiled. "Correct. I may die here, but Camula has been recording everything that happened since I arrived at the beach. That includes your story Scott."

"EIGHTH SHOT!" Zane yelled. (Banner 1200-800)

"Scott, Damian. You two will do what you're commanded to by Kagemaru. That includes who you'll duel, when you'll duel, and you'll even throw games if you're ordered to. Otherwise, Sheppard will find out about how you two tried to kill Zane."

"Why are you helping the Shadow Riders? I thought you said you were only working for immortality?" Scott asked.

"NINTH SHOT!" (Banner 800-400)

"This isn't to help the Shadow Riders. With you boys in check under Kagemaru, you won't be able to make any moves to kill Jaden Yuki. HE wants to be the one to duel Jaden for his power. And he doesn't want to make his move until more Duel Energy is released, and he believes Jaden defeating several other of the Shadow Riders will gather up the energy."

"He's telling the truth..." Damian said.

"I'm confident that in time, Jaden will be able to defeat you boys AND Kagemaru." Banner turned to Camula's bat. "Of course Camula, you and Kagemaru can choose to not let them into the Shadow Riders and inform Duel Academy about these boys. But then, there'll be nothing stopping these boys from telling Sheppard the truth about how the Sacred Beasts are awakened. Duel Energy, not the Spirit Keys. And that'll leave Sheppard perfectly comfortable with simply destroying the Sacred Beasts like any other cards."

Damian could only imagine the shock that Camula must have been feeling right now. Banner just announced that he's going against the Shadow Riders. Something told him that there'd be a LOT of different matchups coming up. Hell, there might not even BE a Shadow Riders group anymore now that Camula knew that Kagemaru intended for them to be defeated by Jaden. Banner drove a massive wedge between Kagemaru and the other Shadow Riders.

"Hmph. So now you choose to care about your students?" Zane asked.

Banner chuckled a bit. "I suppose that now I have no reason to help Kagemaru, I might as well spend my last moments fixing a LITTLE bit of the trouble I helped start."

Zane gritted his teeth. It would be one thing if Banner was an outright scumbag merely pretending to be respectable. But why did Banner have to make Zane feel bad about killing him? "It's time to end this. Evolution Result Artillery-TENTH SHOT!" One last head fired a soundwave at Banner and his monster. Heart-eartH started to dissolve into nothingness, while Banner started to crumble.

'It's a shame that I could never truly stop being selfish. Maybe in a next life, I can be a better person.' Banner thought. The soundwave blasted away the rest of his body, causing it to blow into the wind. (Banner 400-0)

Damian took a look at where Banner's body used to be, and started to look around. Nowhere did he see a glowing orb that represented Banner's soul like what happened in the anime. 'This time, his soul didn't survive.' Damian noticed.

Zane panted in exhaustion before turning to Scott. Zane only had a single monster with 0 attack points on the field for protection, with no cards left in his hand. "Go ahead. Finish me. I know that you can't let me live with the knowledge I have about you guys."

'Damnit...Zane can't die here! It's thanks to him that Banner was defeated to begin with! And with Banner gone, we don't need to kill Zane anymore!' Damian wanted to run into the field and help Zane fight off Scott. To tell Scott that the Light of Destruction wanted to destroy the world, not take it over. To convince Scott that it would be more of a benefit if they brainwash Zane after all.

But he didn't. His desire to get home stopped him from doing what he believed was right.

Scott put his hand on his deck. "Thanks for taking out Banner for me." A glowing white energy started to surround Scott, as his eyes began to glow red. "I'll repay you by making your death slightly less painful."


Ghassan woke up. He felt himself lying on the sand, and staring at the night sky.

"Thank god, you're safe!" Damian exclaimed. Ghassan saw Scott and Damian's face pop up, smiling in relief.

"We opened up Banner's tablet, and it shot you out." Scott said.

"Ugh..." Ghassan slowly stood up, with the help of Scott and Damian. "Thanks guys. I have to admit...I was terrified." Ghassan took a look around, and saw a body lying motionless. Zane's. "Which one of you beat him?"

"Tell you the truth...it's Zane's own decisions that let me beat him." Scott answered.

"The hell's that supposed to mean?"

Damian gave out a half hearted chuckle. "You've only been gone for half a day or so, but we have a LOT to talk about.


I say that I'll try to get chapters out sooner because Spring Break started. Don't get a chapter out until Summer Break. Sorry for the huge delay guys. This is also the new longest chapter, so yeah, it's a huge relief to get it done.

There were a LOT of ideas I went through for how duel against Zane would play out. These range from Banner never hopping in the duel, to Zane using Overdragon to defeat Banner but losing to Scott because of Amorphactor, to Zane beating Banner and about to beat Scott, but Damian hops in to defeat a weakened Zane. I also thought went through several ideas for Pendulum Decks that Scott would use (D/D's, Igknights, Yosenju's) and even thought about having Zane faint from exhaustion when he's about to finish of Scott, ala Joey against Yami Marik.

Alexis' duel against Adrian I had some trouble with. Not because of different ideas to decide. But simply trying to find a reasonable way to make Alexis win. I like the character, but man is her deck garbage. And with Adrian not being an Extra Deck user, even several of the new support cards for Cyber Angels couldn't really help.

Zane's had his soul absorbed by The Light of Destruction. Scott using a deck that shuts down Extra Deck summons, and Zane never getting a good opportunity to use Cyber End Dragon due to Scott frequently shutting down opportunities to Extra Deck summon probably didn't help. And due to Banner's actions, who knows how different the Shadow Riders will act now that they know they were disposable to Kagemaru? In time, we'll see just how far off course this timeline will go. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and have a great day!