Veil Of Greed: Hunt For The Numbers!

Chapter 3: The Dawn Of Swiftdrawer

Date: June 6th, 2022.

Previously on Veil Of Greed: Hunt For The Numbers!. Mcleish is finally defeated even after Bray, Dominic, and Willy fail. This is because Dominic fused himself with Bray, Blaze, and Adam. The resulting fusion, Brodmizame was able to hold their own until they ran out of energy. Just when Mcleish was about to win, the Pound Puppies and Willy created an opening to allow Brodmizame to extract the numbers from Mcleish. After that, backup was called to help heal everyone and rebuild. Once the chatter and banter was done, it's off to London to stop number possessed cats from destroying everything and/or from being captured by the United Mining Company. Adam and Blaze recognized that company's logo and later, Adam and Bray both faced Yappa Yappa. Yappa Yappa is a creature who loves to kill and used to love his family. Now, a showdown is going on as the others focus on the army sent by the company.

Yappa Yappa laughs at the showdown: "What are we? Some dumb Wild West settlers in one of most pathetically lame western movies from planets like Earth? Oh well, I will love slaughtering the both of you without mercy! Tormenting Thunder!" His thunder is thunder that doesn't come with lightning but uses clouds and sound waves to actually harm other creatures. "You're not the only one with a new surprise attack! I don't need math to know this attack will hit hard! Using the light from the sun in the sky, I can reflect energy off my sword and do some hurt by combining that with a different move! Take this! Sunrise Slashing Slice!" Using the light from the sun with the blade isn't enough to do much but when I jump into the air and hold out my sword to slash at the villain, it sure as hell does shit! "To add to that, I shall use a good amount of my magic in my own surprise. Glitching Darkeye Tower Of Flame!" All 3 attacks collide. This leads to the 3 of us getting minor wounds that don't hurt that much. Nothing to be concerned about: "So you managed to avoid getting slaughtered again?! I can tell my time to win is approaching. Once I do, I will cut you up as you scream at the top of your dying lungs! I'm so jealous of all your attacks but I'm more disgusted that you refuse to die yet! It's so annoying, playing with you isn't as fun as I thought it would be! This is not fair! I will kill you soon enough! I just have to try to be a little patient! Die you fuckers! Soaring Shadow Strike!"

From the sky comes a giant ball of evil energy at high velocity that picks up due to the acceleration caused by gravity. "I will risk everything again to stop you! Let us hope this is what finishes you off! Dealing with you is fun but also kind of annoying to be honest. Extremely Risky Spin Slash! I will again reach the limits of my physical body even if the lactic acid build up burns up my muscles! I can't count on my adrenaline this time but that won't stop me! Bray, help me! I need your assistance to successfully do damage with this attack! My intent is to not kill but if you die Yappa Yappa, it's kind of on you! You're the one who wanted to kill us in a fight to the death! It's our duty to defend our lives and the lives of others from individuals like you! Haaaaaaaaa!" "I will gladly assist your exploit, Adam! Sage Move: Bastion Of Hope!" As my fiery tornado forms, a pillar of green energy appears from the ground and scatters its light in the sky just as Yappa Yappa's attack comes to hit us. That attack is foiled and we survive: "Noooo why must you continue delaying your deaths? Give up! You won't beat me! I'm far from tiring out! Look at me! You make me so jealous I just want to move away and slaughter everyone I can easily instead! But you're out of energy, Adam so fine! Die! Killing Stream!" "Wait, I still can fight pretty hard! But how? No matter! Extremely- Aaaaaaa my eyes! Why must they hurt again? This sucks! My right eye is watery and shit, I have to close it now! *A few seconds zoom by* Okay, now it's calmed down. Shit, it's getting bad again! Now it's fine, now it hurts! Arg! Shouldn't have spent the whole day at a waterpark yesterday! But how was I supposed to know that my eyes would still hurt after a good night's sleep?"

Bray tries to counter Yappa Yappa's attack on her own but fails miserably. I can't aim while trying to open and close my eyes based on whether they hurt or not. The pain! It burns! Why must this have to happen? I thought I gave them enough rest already! The enemy laughs at my expense: "Now you will die a miserable death! Time to-" That general from before returns: "Sir, the elite forces you requested are losing. You need your help. But no killing them yet." "Silence you damn fool! Fine, I will help you. After all, apparently the best funded national military a company could buy is dumb. Like you. I heard you accidentally say a wrong word! If you're going to work with me to defeat the clowns that are humiliating you then you need to spend less time being dimwitted and more time thinking before you speak! You two over there, I will be back for you! Don't you dare go anywhere! As an insurance policy to make sure you can't, here's another attack! Tormenting Thunder Times 2! That will be enough to stop you from doing anything but use your minds! Goodbye, kill ya later! Have fun riding the road to Struggleville for me! Now get your ass working, general green fuck or what the hell ever you call yourself!" He walks away evily while holding his weapon behind the neck of the general guy. Then, we are hit by his attack and just as he said, we can't move a muscle. Even if we talk, we can't do much with our vocal cords.

I weakly and slowly say: "Holy shit. Quantum Leap won't work for us even with the voice commands now." Before Bray could reply or I could scream out in agony about my hurting eyes again, something strange happened. I hear the sound of a wormhole before a fade to black. When I open my least painful eye to see what's going on a few seconds later, a cross dissolve like effect takes place to reveal a vastly different dimension from any I've ever been to. Some areas look exactly like abstract art, others are full of varying architecture. And yet still, there's digital art, graphic design, ceramics, and much more around too. Suddenly, an individual appears to speak with me. They have a painting for a face, column pillars for limbs, buttons for fingers and toes, brick wall graffiti for shoes, a guitar backpack, stuffing for ears, a sculpture for neck and body, a graphic t-shirt on, and a pottery hat on their painting face: "Hello, young artist. I am the secret protector of the arts, Abstractoa. Yes I know, I must look weird to you. It's not everyday you see a talking combination of artworks, after all." I reply unfazed by their appearance but shocked at everything else: "I've seen a lot of things, even a giant tree monster and cursed naughty artwork. But I can't believe it! I had no idea there was any being who protected the arts! But why did you summon me? Sorry to ask while my eyes keep opening and closing. It's rude to do that but I'm not trying to be! It's not fair!"

"And that's part of why I summoned you. There's also the fact that you just almost died again. The enemy knows a bit about you. But they don't really know that you yourself are a protector of the arts. You insistently carry on the creative spirit by continuing to create new works of art and form ideas, an underrated action in your world. The age of climate disaster is upon us, many worlds are having the same crisis across countless universes. But that's not why you're here. This was just the best time to summon you. I'm willing to both heal and restore your full energy right now to stop Yappa Yappa." I look on in confusion during the moments I can keep at least one of my eyes open: "Is there a catch? Free heals and restores always have a catch. In the Dragon Ball Universe 7, the catch is you have to gather all 7 dragon balls which need a year to recharge after they're used. And could I please get some eye drops around here? It's driving me nuts that my eyes keep hurting!" "I happened to order a shipment of eye drops from the guardian of eyecare last week. Here you go. It's like everyone I summon here lately needs some. Is every artist I bring here secretly going to water parks without my knowledge? But seriously, the catch is you take up the mantle of a superhero like identity you yourself would create here. But that won't give you any cool new powers. Also, we need an accident to happen to get this started in the world I summoned you from. Do you accept?" I gladly take the eye drops and carefully administer them first to my left eye which hurts the most and then my right eye.

After 2 minutes of having my eyes closed to soak in the eyedrops, I open them to answer while simultaneously losing my mind over the relief: "Yes yes! My eyes! MY EYES! They don't hurt anymore! Thank you! Thank you! Yes, I accept! This feeling of no eye pain is so so so nice! Aaaaaa they don't hurt! They don't hurt! I don't have to think make it stop anymore in my mind! I'm free! I'm free! This place is so cool! Let me get lost in it now! Wait. I have a quest to do." Abstractoa restores me and sends me off back to the Pound Puppies world specifically to have some accident happen to me. Okay. I'm calm now. I'm okay. What a strange requirement. Huh, I guess it fits with the vibe of abstract art. I think they teleported me to a random location in London. "Oh what's that? Is that a painter painting a mural in a city under siege like this? I'm an artist too but who in their right mind would create knowing it might be pulverized anyway? The building it's on could be demolished in the fight any minute! I should protect it. So I guess I will just wait until Yappa Yappa comes toward me chasing my friends or the cats as I anticipate some accident." A nearby explosion rocks the foundation of the scaffolding that supports the artist and keeps em from falling. The rocking is just enough to send a paint bucket that was put towards the edge facing me plummeting. Before I can move away, I am too curious about where it's going to notice it heading right for me as it's accelerates through the air at 9.8m/s^2. In fact, it hits me right in the face.

Ow! What's with me and getting hit in the face? First the pizza box 2 years ago, now this among other things?! The hit changes the trajectory of the bucket, causing it to hit the ground right at the perfect distance and angle to send yellow paint right where my face was hit. The painter is about to apologize while blushing but I'm teleported back to the art dimension. Is this what I get for almost dying twice today doing reckless shit that increases the overall chance of survival for the team? I remark: "You have got to be kidding me! I like emojis but this is ridiculous! I'm not some character from the Emoji Movie!" Abstractoa laughs: "Haha, that's a perfect accident! Randomly teleporting you in London was a great idea! Now watch as the paint goes away!" Just like that, all the paint is gone. I wish it were that easy to get rid of eye pain: "Please never make me do that ever again. At least you cleaned it off." "I won't, I promise. Make sure to visit once a month to check in after you leave here. Before you go, you have to create your costume and hero identity. Designing it is quite simple. Just go to that computer over there, there's software already up on it. The designer is exactly like what you would find in one of your video games. But it also includes custom shapes so you can create your own shapes for your character design. Go along then, I can't wait to see what you make! Good luck!" I nod and run off to the computer. Luckily, I already have ideas in mind thanks to pondering on my home world.

Using those as a base, I created an outfit consisting of a body covering black cloak and a large oval full mask(with thin mesh around my mouth, nose, and eyes to breathe, smell, and see) that has an abstract art design of red, blue, green, purple and orange with a background of yellow. This took an hour but the result was totally worth it. After it's done, Abstractoa comes over and looks at it, very impressed: "Well done, I knew you could do it! So you know, you'll have to always fight in battles in public with that costume on. No enemy should know you are a protector of the arts and the numbers. Make sure that they can't find out. I know that's a pain but Im also aware that you hate the spotlight anyway. It's perfect for you. What will you call yourself while fighting the forces of evil?" "I know what I'm going to call myself 100% confidently. Swiftdrawer! It's a very unique name. And it shows enemies I intend to fight them with an artistic style. What's even better is that the weapon of choice, a standard looking giant paintbrush, is a clever and dangerous disguise for my sword that I use for fighting all the time now." "Excellent! Now excuse me for a second. I'm going to get you a parting gift. I will additionally print out the design to save it and do something else. I will be back very soon!" In not even a minute, Abstractoa returns with some stuff folded/put together. They hand it all to me: "Here you go! Your own original Swiftdrawer V1 costume! I have the power to do this, it's kind of my job around here. Now then, let me tell how to- Oh nevermind. You have a device for that invented by your friend Dominic, that instant outfit changer or whatever it's called. It's time for you to go, I wish you luck. Farewell!"

I wave as they send me off: "I'm going to miss you! See ya next month! Thanks a bunch! I will kick Yappa Yappa's butt for ya!" I returned to London and immediately put the outfit on, sword disguise and all. Good thing I put in a voice changer thing as part of the design, my voice will now sound deeper as long as the mask stays on. Now it's time to find Yappa Yappa and take him down so I can take whatever numbers he has on him. I won't allow him to get his greedy and blood lustful hands on them as long as I can still fight. It doesn't take too long to find him as when I return to the battle area, my teammates are losing. With that in mind, I run and jump towards Yappa Yappa to get the surprise on him: "Hello there, Yappa Yappa." Yappa Yappa glares, demanding: "Who are you and why are you ruining the fun I'm still able to have?" "I am Swiftdrawer. For some time, I've been watching you in the shadows just waiting to strike with all the creativity I can muster. You will find defeating me pretty hard." "What are you? Some wannabe fortune teller with that cloak and mask? I don't believe you. And your outfit disgusts me so you are going to die now! My master didn't say I couldn't kill a newcomer to the battle! Your screams will be most delicious once I break through your mask of confidence along with that mask you have concealing your face and true identity!" I chuckle: "Funny, you're acting like one too. I am no fortune teller, I am a driver of peace. Unfortunately, violence is the only way to achieve any stable peace. And sometimes, that peace just hides the truth of other atrocities hidden away by the victors. Behold, my duel disk! I challenge you to a duel even though you have no patience!"

I activate my new duel disk that I use when I become Swiftdrawer. It's paint pallet shaped but with black and purple. Yappa Yappa grins wickedly: "This is going to be so much fun! You are going to lose terribly! I'll start us off when you're ready to suffer!" We say in unison: "Duel!" "It's my turn! Last duel I had I could barely scare my opponent with my cards. Where is that Adam anyway?" "Don't worry, they're safe and sound just not where you think. And Bray is fine too, I saw her on the way here." "How interesting! Now then. I play a most scary field spell called Overcharged Cruel Palace! As long as it's in play, I can summon a Overcharged Cruel monster without having to use tributing or other means like my seal breaking card to summon it once per turn! Come say die to your new friend, Overcharged Cruel Fairy Of Frightening Fate! When my fairy is summoned, I can send a monster from my hand to the graveyard to special summon another monster that would love to slaughter you & everything you love! Join the party where the special guest is the unwilling victim of the story, Overcharged Cruel Jock Of Jealousy! When 2 Overcharged Cruels of different attributes are on the field, my field spell lets me summon another one from my hand or deck. Overcharged Cruel Bot Of Brutality! Each has the same level. I overlay my 3 monsters in order to exploit the overlay network to kill you and your hope! I Xyz summon Number 210: Great Pain Pyramid in defense mode(ATK: 0, DEF: 3000)! You won't be able to break this defense! I use one overlay unit to deal you 500 points of damage and make my monster invincible till the end of my next turn! There are no more cards in my hand. Your pain only begins now! I end my turn knowing you are going to lose very soon!"

"How very cocky of you! I draw a card from my deck. Next, I set the Pendulum scale using scale 3 Musical Artist Neil and scale 13 Horror Artist Panic! Now I will Pendulum summon and not be interrupted by some random things! Level 12 Digital Artist Sandra, level 8 Ice Carving Artist Iceles, and level 4 Pyrotechnic Artist Bris! I use Sandra's effect to make the other 2 level 12 as well! I overlay the 3 in order to create the most creative and frightening overlay network! Xyz summon! Drawing upon horror and creativity comes the embodiment of them and chaos! Number 916: Nightmare Master Horror Artist Lord Regnes! But that's not all! I will open that overlay network again to turn up the chills to the next level!" "What?! No way! What are Pendulum monsters and how do you have a number?" "Please be quiet. Pendulum monsters are legit. Go! Chaos Xyz evolution! Bring the enemy to their knees screaming for this nightmare to end. Chaos Number 916: True Nightmare Master Horror Artist Lord Regnes! It's still not over! I activate the last card in my hand, Super Special Summon! This card allows me to special summon a monster from my extra deck that lists a extra deck monster on my field as a material but that monster must have been summoned using a monster of a similar name. This is treated as a Chaos Xyz summon in this case. Transcend all previous limits to your form and abilities! Witness as the possibilities reach infinity and bring on a new world of terror! Chaos Xyz evolution! A being of great power and a look that can instantly leave you paralyzed in fear now approaches from the depths of the Overlay Network! Come forth Chaos Number 916: Manically Terrifying Nightmare Master Horror Artist Lord Regnes (ATK: 4000, DEF: 2200)!" "Just what other things do you possibly have in store now?"

"Oh, plenty! Too bad you have no cards to stop this. I activate my monster's effect. By using 3 overlay units and sending all Xyz monsters in my extra deck to the graveyard, I'm allowed to automatically banish them all and special summon any monsters among them onto my field. If they're an Xyz monster, they gain one overlay unit. This is a once per duel effect. Regnes would lose all attack points next turn. This is the end of the duel. I take control of Number 210: Great Pain Pyramid while all your other cards namely those overlay units get banished! We aren't dueling a 8000 life point duel so that's game! Go Regnes! Attack Yappa Yappa directly!" And just like that, the duel ends with Yappa Yappa sent flying, he falls head first into the ground as our duel disks deactivated. I pull out my weapon and walk over to him: "Ready for the real battle? The duel was just the warm up." Yappa Yappa gets up and brushes off his skin of dust with a look that would kill me if looks could kill: "I'm going to enjoy making you pay for that humiliating loss! How you're so strong is beyond me but that matters little. Once I'm through with you, I'm going to unmask you and watch as your face shows your pain as your mouth unleashes the sounds of misery! It's going to be beautiful! I don't even need my big attacks to kill you." I gasp in pain as he stabs me hard without me even seeing his movements: "That hurt! But I'm not concerned that much. It's going to take a lot to kill me! After all, I've seen your moves and already know how to handle a lot of your tricks."

In seconds, the 2 of us are clashing with our weapons. Some big attacks are announced and sent through the strikes but none of them are very impactful. In sword fighting, we are equals. He has no idea who I really am and what my weapon really is. *clank* *clank* *clank* *slash* *uppercut* *stab* *dodge* "Had enough yet, Yappa Yappa?" "Grrr! No one survives my sword without a sword of their own! Actually, even with one no one does! Also, why did that armor Adam was wearing earlier look like your number's armor? You make no sense and that fact alone is yucky!" "It so happens that Adam has a similar number, it must be by pure chance. My brush is no ordinary paint brush. It's sharp in the bristles which is why your sword is slowly getting duller but not significantly duller. The others will be able to handle the army easily. Your overconfidence is costing you. A smart fighter should go into battle with knowing that their opponent might be stronger than them. It's better to overestimate than to underestimate." "How dare you assume I care about intellect that much! My confidence is perfect for winning, you damn fool! I will overcome your weapon soon enough!" *clash* *clash* *bang* *slash* *uppercut* "I admit, you've gotten a few hits on me. It hurts a bit but I'm too busy fighting you to care. It is my duty that I see to your defeat because the others are too busy or out of it. You've called out several special moves and yet I haven't called out any. The reason is that you're using the ones I saw earlier. With my paintbrush in hand, I continue to foil your plans and even without it, I can hold my own pretty well!" *strike* *slash* *dodge* *special attack* "This is the worst! Why won't you just go down and let me kill you?"

"Who would ever let someone kill them on the spot without resistance. Intelligent societies are too dangerous to not be cautious when visiting or living in them in any way. Anyone could be killed by a surprise attack at any minute if conditions are favorable for such a common murder tactic." *slash* *clank* *slash* *slash* *slice* *charge* *special attack* *block* *dodge* *critical hit* "I'm tired of this and you! Since my sword won't work and is beginning to deal less pain, the option left is to use my limbs to suffocate and slice you up!" He sends his arms out in the shape of handcuffs to try to bind me to him before sending his legs to choke me. But I put away my sword disguised as a paintbrush and get out my guitar. I play it with intensity while screaming: "I'm sorry but that's not going to work on me. I saw you do this, I know how to stop it! These sound waves inhibit your extreme flexible skin, bones, and muscles. The more you stretch, the more they will hurt. I suggest you give it up and fight me with all you got. Your underhanded tactics are ineffective!" I then put my instrument away and ready my fists. I forgot to mention that I also have a pair of black and silver metal gloves over my hands. I can handle the extra weight and it boosts my attack and defense power. Yappa Yappa snaps at me while getting his sword out again: "Gah! Nothing I do works against you! I can't believe you figured me out just by watching me. But at least killing you will be worth it and ensure my master won't be upset over my actions earlier! Catching a masked renegade will feel great! Oh yes the sweet smell of killing, it's almost like it's in the air already! You are going to perish here and I will delight in it! Tormenting Thunder!" I have to save my breath so I don't speak for a while and start dodging.

Strategically, it's a good plan as it drains the least energy and gives me a sort of break while Yappa Yappa wastes energy. I couldn't pull this off last time because he overpowered me. My artist's eye combined with my reflexes allows me to easily avoid the attacks from above. Yappa Yappa is pissed: "Just hold still and die! How did you get so good at dodging? If I lose, I will be back someday to get you even if I have to die and be born into a new body to do that! I won't lose so never mind! You are going to die today when I finally get you to stop flailing around and start screaming for forgiveness! Soaring Shadow Strike!" And again, I combine my attention to detail with my speed and reflexes to not get hit. This is pretty hard work, talking would just exhaust me more. It's like I'm walking a pretty hard mile right now but far from out of strength. "I'm so disgusted that you won't answer me any longer! Must be to conserve your energy! I know what you're trying to do! I've killed 15 zombies who pulled the same exact stunt! Maybe it's time I pick up my speed so I can get you with an attack much more easily! Dark Doom Asteroid Projectile!" He sends a thing of dark energy that looks like an asteroid after me. He figured out the timing by moving around fast enough to where I couldn't follow his movements any longer. So I stop in place and smirk under my mask: "If you want to play that game, I will just pull out my weapon of choice to block your attacks! I have a counter for nearly anything you throw at me! My mind is currently constantly finding possible solutions as long as I'm able to do 2 things or more at once like thinking and fighting!" I slash away at his attack. He groans before stopping moving around whereas I myself start moving around again. He switches again trying to find an opening but I switch again too.

"I give up! I'm just going to destroy everything including you and your friends! That's not the best way to kill fools but it is a spectacle even if I can't cut you up as you scream! Finale: Hateful Destruction! I don't even care if it takes a while to charge, you have annoyed me so much that I'm not willing to kill you through a big battle anymore!" The villain falls silent as he begins charging up the attack with his own energy. I make things a lot harder for him by punching him a lot. He's unable to dodge because this attack requires his full effort. If he even moves a finger, he'll have to start it all over again. *hit* *smack* *slap* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *power kick* Yappa Yappa literally ignores everything he can to pull off his move even though my interruptions slow him and drain more of his energy. After several minutes, my arms start getting a little sore so I stop attacking. As he finishes charging his attack, I rest to gain enough strength for a last minute addition to our battle that will cause him to be furious. I've been able to keep most of my strength intact so far this battle. I'm almost ready for anything. "Finally! I'm done! Enjoy the end of London and your pathetic lives! You are going to die and I will watch as the frozen expression of fear on your face gets wiped out completely! Then I will be free to take this world myself without nimrods who suck at doing anything as allies!" His frustration turns into an expression of twisted glee as the sky changes color due to all the energy he put in. As he releases the attack, I shock him: "Paint Strokes Of Chaos!"

My attack uses the weight of my sword and the bristles of the paintbrush sheath to cut through it like how you'd paint a mural in terms of the motions. Desperation fuels Yappa Yappa to exert more energy to reform his attack. However, the battle would now end in a contest of stamina. Sadly for him, that means I kept countering his tries with the same attack over and over. He gets cocky to my slight surprise by pushing me away and charging up his attack again: "You may have sapped my energy but now you can't stop me!" I chuckle: "Are you sure about that?" "Why are you trying to deceive me?" "I'm not. Just look at your attack." He does and pales so hard his skin becomes white. Yappa Yappa's final attack is unable to be performed due to a significant lack of energy to finish it without more interference. His fear freezers him in place. I simply slash at his sword and then punch him so many times, he staggers and falls again: "I can't. I lost. I want to kill you! You will regret this!" The foe tries to kill me with his broken sword but I just kick him back: "I have no pity for you. You're a cruel self centered villain with an obsession of killing others. This is where I take your numbers off your hands. This action won't be countered. That army over there is next. Without you, they will fall apart. That is what they're asking for with all the things that they have done." I use the power of Regnes to quickly and forcefully grab and take the numbers within his soul. Yappa Yappa screams in pain and turns even paler in color. I pocket the numbers with the intent to fight individuals just like him with their power.

"This can't be. I can't lose! You'll pay! Just you wait!" "You were stronger than me but strength isn't the deciding factor in all battles. Often, it is the power of the mind that determines it along with the decisions made to counter whoever one fights in a battle. Maybe I should put you out of your misery. Actually no, I have no need to kill you. Not when there's always the chance you will change. I'm unwilling to take lives when I have the choice to." "You seriously think I will change? Aaaaaa! This humiliation! This pain! This misery! Make it stop!" As Yappa Yappa falls further away from confident sanity, a masked man in a business suit appears and easily picks up the screaming Yappa Yappa: "Oh so you've failed me. Someone couldn't get his killings today I see. You've been very naughty, Yappa Yappa. It's time to take you home. The shareholders will not be happy. And oh I see another who hides behind a mask, who might you be?" I reply with a hidden glare due to the dark aura surrounding him and the briefcase of money he's holding: "Call me Swiftdrawer. Who are you and what do you want with the numbers? You're with the United Mining Company, it's easy to see that." "I want power. I want to control the lives of every creature I can. Make them dumb, crush their resistance, blind the media and public, all that. The more money I make, the better. Who needs things like inclusion and understanding when you could have so much money and freedom to use guns you could do anything? You aren't the type to be fooled by corporate lies seeing as how you faced and defeated my right hand man. Lying and making you demand the truth would have been fun but a waste. Money is power and the weak must be crushed and controlled. Survival of the fittest or should I say, richest? I'm going now, you don't stand a chance against me considering the time it took you to win. My indentured scientists will be hard at work figuring out who you are."

As they leave through a dark portal, Yappa Yappa screams at the top of his lungs: "This is far from over! The beginning of your destruction is now! You beat me! You beat me! Aaaaa! I've been defeated! Help me master, help me! Aaaaaa! I want to kill, kill, kill, kill!" Once they are gone, the others turn around for a second and Dominic asks: "Just who are you? You somehow feel familiar. I can't believe you managed to outsmart Yappa Yappa! How did we not see you watch Yappa Yappa earlier?" I reply: "I'm much more familiar than you feel like I am. Sadly, this is not the time for me to reveal my identity. There are too many potential eavesdroppers in a city and battle like this. We'll talk privately in a secluded area where others can't hear us. I exhausted half my strength beating Yappa Yappa. I need to do something that requires less fighting. I already know extensively about all of you just in case you were wondering." That's when Lucky comes up to me exhausted: "If you know about all of us then you shouldn't be shocked about a talking dog." "That is correct. Talking dogs don't shock me." "Okay then. We could use your help to find where the trouble cats locked up the missing Kennel Kittens and Pound Puppies agents. Hundreds have been captured the past few weeks." "Of course, just take me somewhere you haven't checked." "That's the thing, we've checked this entire area on the surface and getting below ground is a huge problem." "Oh I see. Take me to the biggest hole you have being digged. We might have to go through the nasty sewer but I'm sure it will be far more than worth it to do so." He nods and we take a gentle stroll to the location of the hole. I motion the dogs digging at it to step back before pulling out my guitar and giving them earplugs.

I strum as loudly as I can at the hole while singing high pitched: "Weathering, break down of rocks and things over time into smaller particles. Weathering! Time to speed it up with sound waves. That loose dirt doesn't have a chance. It's time to rock it loud and speed up the weathering by a factor of thousands of times. Weathering! Yeah!" After some more singing and playing, I blast away the dirt in the way to make the hole deeper. As a result, we find a small opening into the sewer. I put away my guitar and support the exhausted dogs as we head down there. The place not only smells bad but it looks downright disgusting too: "Ugh. I'd almost rather beat Yappa Yappa again than deal with this. Yuck! There's urine, feces, tissues, wipes, animals, and all kinds of weird and gross things down here. I'm going to have to get this costume washed right away. And I know it's even worse for all of you. At least there's paths around the sewer so we don't have to step in that sewage." Squirt replies: "It's not so bad when you get used to unpleasant odors. It hardly bothers me at all! Anyway, thanks for helping us, getting here would have taken all day without you." I give a gloved thumbs up and Lucky says: "The sewer is huge! It'll take all day to look search. Strudel, have you calculated the most likely places where the captured cats and dogs are? It's too unpleasant down here to smell for them." She nods: "Don't worry, Lucky. I figured it all out from a map of the sewer I grabbed before a building was demolished earlier. There are 4 likely places. There are 6 of us. We should split up to cover more ground. I even brought 2 extra maps and circled our current location on all 3 plus the different spots."

We all agree to that plan of action. I end up getting paired with Nimblet. Not exactly the best partner for serious missions but at least he's pretty funny. On the way to our first destination, Nimblet just keeps getting distracted by odd things he finds lying around: "Nimblet, I hate to interrupt your fun but it doesn't get any less stinky from here. We need to be focused. Please don't try to eat stuff from down here, it's too dangerous for consumption by most animals including dogs. I hate sewers but they're also very important." "But the stinky sock is awesome!" I sigh: "Look, the stuff down here is quite toxic. With our luck, we'll have to face a big scary sewer monster made of trash and excretions. I don't want to have to face that, we need to get moving." At the mention of a monster, Nimblet almost runs away so I comfort him. From then on, moving around becomes much faster because he's too scared of some monster to be distracted by random junk. Thankfully, nothing more eventful happens as I lead us to the location we were given to check out. It's a treatment plant that looks like it was evacuated hours ago. Being down here is so nasty. I resist the urge to speak so I just point at how clean everything except us and the sewage is. Also, a sewer sewageslide sounds like the worst slide since Action Park's looping slide. No thanks. The place has no indication of any remaining life forms besides germs from the sewage. There's nothing there so we get out of there to the last area that needs to be checked. The 6 of us agreed to check it out together when we met back up. There, there's nothing either. We are all disappointed and I complained: "Bleh! We just wasted a lot of time! What if they're inside the Pound Puppies base here in London? It's all high tech and stuff, perfect for holding hundreds of animals against their will." Strudel replies: "I believe so too. Let's get out of here before the sewage becomes part of us! Mr. Nut Nut would not be happy with me if all I smelled like I was sewage despite taking many baths!"

Thank goodness there's a sewer lid and ladder nearby. It takes some effort but we make it outside to fresh air and complete devastation. A huge area has been completely destroyed in the ongoing battle. But we can't worry about that, we have to locate that base. As a result, Lucky tries contacting Pound Puppies headquarters to help us find that base. The contact goes like this: "Headquarters, this is Lucky of Shelter 17. Anyone there?" "Oh thank goodness! Hey Lucky! It's Dolly. It looks like you took care of Mcleish today after all this time. Why is your current location London?" "Long story but with some help, Mcleish was stopped and we got here. We're trying to find the missing agents captured by the rogue cats." "Lucky, you do remember that it's against the rules to act in a high risk mission without authorization, right?" "Yes I know but some humans and a talking wolf have been helping us. We got very distracted." "Humans and a talking wolf? Didn't y'all meet some months back?" "Yes, that's correct Dolly." "Okay. You won't be punished because we know they're trustworthy. I just got footage of what they've done to help. It's very impressive. Now, why did you contact us here in the first place?" "Well, we think the missing Pound Puppies and Kennel Kittens agents are in the Pound Puppies base here in London. Where's the base located again?" "So you want to break them out, even the cats? We're not supposed to work with them! But just this once, I'll allow it. I'll even tell you the directions. Just stay on and listen." After some time, we arrived at the base and Lucky hangs up after thanking her. That was possible through a communication thing Strudel built recently as I've been told. And there they all were. The captured spot us and are in shock. A Pound Puppy from Canada speaks: "Eh everyone, it's Shelter 17! And is that a masked human? Why did you bring a human along to help rescue us?"

Cookie replies: "We can't always automatically be wary of humans to point of mistrust! Come on, they aren't going to hurt us and helped us a lot with finding all of you. If it weren't for them and some others, we'd still be stuck in Shelter 17!" This satisfied the agents, even the cats surprisingly. It doesn't take long to free all of them and start heading out. Meanwhile at the masked man's location, Yappa Yappa is screaming and being slowly healed by the scientists of the United Mining Company. His skin remains as pale as it was earlier. One of the scientists sees him finally starting to calm down a little bit and says: "Yappa Yappa. Now that you're beginning to calm down, we have some questions to ask you. First, how did you get defeated?" "Aaaaaa! Don't remind me! I was first defeated in Duel Monsters by this masked hero calling themselves Swiftdrawer! They decimated my field with ease, summoned a number, did something called Pendulum summoning, and evolved that number 2 times! I lost all our numbers because of that! All 5 of them!" "What else went down?" "The pain! The memories! They're agonizing! Revenge will be mine! Aaaaa! They effortlessly survived me stabbing them, equaled me when we used our weapons, broke through my choke and hold combo, resisted all my attacks, and drained me by dodging and hitting me while I tried to use my strongest attack! And my sword is broken!" "Interesting. Some of your body is beyond repair, you're going to become a partial cyborg. Within 4 days, you'll be feeling much better. But your skin might stay this pale for the rest of your life. We can't do much about it. Now then, what connections does this Swiftdrawer have to the others you fought?" "They showed they knew of Bray and Adam! I beat those two and when they fought me, those 2 were nowhere to be seen!" "That must mean Swiftdrawer is one of those 2!" "Impossible! That can't be right! When I get my revenge, I will expose Swiftdrawer for good! I will rip that mask off and cut their face!"

"That's enough for today, you're about to become more agitated. Mr CEO sir, please come quickly." The masked man shows up in mere moments: "Did you get the info?" "Yes but his body needs some robotic parts as some areas sustained irreversible damage. It will take 4 days to do that and for the pain he's feeling to vanish. But his skin may stay so pale for the rest of his life. And his mind might take months to fully recover if not years." "Great work. At this rate, I will have to start doing things myself! Let's hope my army is doing better. I only went there to get Yappa Yappa, it was urgent to get him out after all. He was so disobedient! I guess the pale skin can't be helped. You better help him recover mentally or I will fire you!" Back to the main adventure. Now that we've freed everyone, it's time to battle! My strength has recovered about 10% so I'm ready to take on the cats to stop their rampage while the others can focus more on that damn army force. It turns out the Pound Puppies and Kennel Kittens agents wished to help us finish the battle so we all go together as a small kind of army force. I beat the others at getting to the battlefield before using Quantum Leap to get in the way of the rampaging cats: "Hello there, cats. You have 2 things that don't belong to you. They happen to be messing with you on the inside. You won't give them up so I will battle both of you to extract them from ya! Put up your paws! It's time to fight!" The 2 cats stop moving and grin, saying in unison: "Sounds like fun. We've always wanted to play with humans but no one ever wanted us! The Kennel Kittens couldn't find homes for us that we liked so now we're getting our revenge on not just them but the Pound Puppies too! With our new power, we will destroy everything in the way of our revenge, including you!" "We'll see what you do or don't do! Let's make this more fun. Do you two know how to duel?" "No."

"Oh well! Guess I must use full force on ya after all! I use Polymerization to fuse myself and Number 916: Nightmare Master Horror Artist Lord Regnes! Witness the power of 2 become one! Watch as we utilize screams and horror to make your fur stand up on edge! Fusion!" My appearance doesn't visibly change but my power level sure as hell does. The cats start scratching at me immediately but it's easy for me to dodge them. In fact, I manage to grab one and try to extract the number inside. However, the cat is stronger than I thought. So strong in fact, the 2 evolve into creatures not unlike what Mcleish turned into before somehow managing to fuse themselves together. The combined cat says while laughing: "Prepare for a cat-strophe! I will claw you into pieces! Mew! Cat Scratch!" "Brush Block! Basic attacks like that just can't work on me anymore! Do something more dangerous and maybe I will have to use my full power to defeat you!" "Gladly! Kitty Krush!" The fused cat leaps into the sky and unleashes all their long sharp claws to pounce on and crush me. I just barely manage to block every claw albeit with some scratches in the mix. I'm just glad that the destruction has been severely limited by my challenge to the cats and that I just destroyed several vehicles from that army with ease without looking. Meanwhile, the cat comes for me again and does some damage. But they don't seem to be very good at strategy so I start dodging and basically defeat them the same way I did Yappa Yappa. I can't wait to return to Miitopia, I've been pushed so far today! Ugh! A nice shower or soak in some natural hot springs would be so amazing! But anyway, with the fused cat defeated, I hold out my right hand to for the 3rd time today, extract number cards. Once that's complete, the fused cat turns back into the 2 trouble cats.

After that happens, a member of the local Kennel Kittens comes over and criticizes the two: "What did we tell you about hurting us because you didn't accept where we've tried to place you both?" They look down in shame: "Sorry, we just got so angry and then we found these human cards on the ground. We touched them and then it's like we blacked out." I join the conversation: "Hate to cut in but I made sure you two returned back to normal. You were possessed by those cards. They are called number cards and this incident wasn't supposed to happen at all." The Kennel Kittens cat looks confused: "Number cards? Incident wasn't supposed to happen? Why are you a human talking to us?" "Number cards are special but dangerous cards. There are over 1000 of them. The original 100 contained memory fragments of a certain individual. More on that another day. Last year, we made hundreds more and after defeating an enemy who was manipulating the past to change the present and future, the numbers scattered throughout all of existence." We spend more time conversing about stuff like getting those two to possibly live with Heartland City's Kathy Katherine before joining the fight to beat the remainder of that army. It has lost 55% of its craft with 20% of its soldiers captured sent to isolated tropical islands there's no escape from. Kaito leads the charge using Neo Galaxy Eyes Photon Dragon. I jump in by jumping high and cutting right through a helicopter. The occupants fall out and I send them away to other islands. A general that still remains shoots bullets with a semi automatic rifle at me and yells: "Scum who resist must die! They're destroying our country the more this goes on! Keep going, men! This is war, our enemies must die! And if you're too wimpy, get over here so I can end you personally!"

I reply: "Ah yes a stereotypical military general with not much but their ego and ethnocentric/bigoted love for their country that's taken way too far. You won't be winning this battle, you're going to start losing at a much faster rate for now on. Remember me in your thoughts of when you picked the wrong side of morality as Swiftdrawer! Try your hand at this, you will not beat me, I can promise you that! Brush Barrage!" Instead of a painting like motion, I use a motion when I attack that's like the intense and painful version of when you dip a brush into a cup of water. I don't plan on going down anytime soon, this enemy is done for at this rate! A few seconds later, I put away my weapon, bend the general's gun, and punch them in the gut: "This is for serving imperialists with the blood of so many on their hands! I don't know much about your boss but I know he's a real jerk that exploits innocent people for labor, resources, and fear based campaigns. A gun like yours is not an honorable weapon to use in my view. The gun makes violence easier and quicker. That's why most people who intentionally kill in my world use guns. To create a lasting peace, great fighting and sacrifice is required. If I die tomorrow, I at least know that I lived long enough to leave a lasting impression. Cut the crap and face me with your fists! I will come at you with my own fists in reply! Hiya!" *punch* *hit* *punch* *slap* *smack* *punch* *punch* *punch* *hit* *whack* *slam* "I hate radicals like you who always insist that rich people who don't pay employees more are greedy and terrible! You're going to die here today so there are less people like you!" *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *punch* *slap* *slap* *slap* *smack* *smack* "You're so irrational. Logic is only in your nature if it means you get to shoot and kill somebody who's different from you, right? That's a conclusion I make considering your talking points are very similar to the ones that call for genocide in the country I'm from in another universe. You won't beat me. I have trained for months under intense conditions with so much weight put on me. You look almost defenseless without your guns or tanks to back you up. Instead, your tanks have been decimated which is such a relief."

Not even a minute goes by before I knock the wind out of him into next Friday. With that done, the chain of command in the enemy force is basically crushed and I send him to yet another isolated island full of sand, grass, jungle trees, and some hidden dangers. We probably will never ever see him again. And then I start shouting out attacks as I quickly go after military vehicle after military vehicle: "Brush Barrage! Try that on for size, oversized war machine!" "Artistic Calamity! This one will bring abstract expression through the element of chaos to you 5 military vehicles over there!" This continues until I see no more vehicles left. In fact, all of the enemies are sent off to more islands so far from each other, their potential comeback is as close to impossible as you can reasonably get in a scenario like this. Dominic beats everyone else at getting to me: "Can you tell us who you are now?" "Still no. Unless you've made a temporary sphere field that makes no sound come in or out of it. I don't know everything you've invented!" Dominic activates such a device and so, the 2 of us are in there alone: "There we go! I just made this a few weeks ago. Now you can tell me." I pull off my mask which reeks of sewer stench to reveal my face: "Adam?! It was you the whole time?! But how? You almost died again! And why do you smell so bad? Were you in a sewer today?" "Hey Dominic. Sorry I couldn't say anything. I was sent to this art dimension by the protector of the arts, Abstractoa. We entered into a deal where they'd heal me and restore my energy in exchange for me taking on a superhero like identity. I got to design this costume, they made it for me. My name is Swiftdrawer in this. That's the gist, I will explain more later. But first, I'm going to take my costume off because I did in fact go into a sewer today! At least the missing dogs and cats were saved and I got the 2 numbers from the crazy ones!"

I take off my costume and hold onto it, Dominic replies: "That explains a lot! Okay, let's get out of here." I nod and he deactivates the sphere field. Everyone saw me take off the costume but no innocent civilian did. That would have sucked a lot. Bray comes to the 2 of us with bad news: "Dominic, Adam! I'm so glad you're okay! I managed to heal myself. Anyway, I can't repair the damage on my own. I'm too worn out and even with the help of others, we still don't have enough magic to do it." I respond: "I'll take care of that. Focus on healing and saving whoever still needs it. I'm going to Twisted Land, we have plenty of magic there, excess actually." I teleport myself to Twisted Land and immediately get the attention of the embodiments of Twisted Land attractions. Thank goodness! I will need their help for the magic: "Everyone! Im so sorry to bother all of you! Thank you for seeing me! Can you perform a magical spell that sends some magic through to London in the Pound Puppies world and then another to make it repair all the damage in that city? It's a very capitalist city but it's our duty to make sure innocent lives aren't hurt as much as we possibly can." Red Rebel comes to me and speaks for them all: "Yes, we'll do it. We just need you to stand back, it'll be a little dangerous. I'm glad you teleported yourself here on top of the Toilet Spiral Coaster. That means no park guests will be harmed." "Okay, thank you so much everyone! I knew I could count on my fellow Twisted Land anarchists, Team Twisted Land, and Minecraftia BRAINS members!" 10 minutes after that, it's done and I say goodbye to all of them. Upon my return to London, I can see everything has been restored.

Dominic widens his eyes after seeing me return: "You did it! But how did you do it?" "Easy. The embodiments of Twisted Land attractions listened to my request to perform 2 spells to pull this off. It was no biggie for them. It helps that Twisted Land ended up being a place more important than I could have ever imagined. The storylines I create for it's attractions apparently are things that have or will happen! It's wild! Magic is so fascinating in Twisted Land." Before more words can be said, Willy barks excitedly at us after urging Blaze to follow them. I ask the husky: "Oh Willy, what do you have for us today? It must be something really good considering you sound like you're communicating in more than just very simple barks. Blaze, you understand Willy better than I do. Can you translate?" The wolf nods: "Willy is suggesting we form a partnership with the Kennel Kittens & Pound Puppies. They don't want to lose contact with the Pound Puppies. Awoo! I feel that too!" The 3 of us agree to that plan too and bring it up to Lucky and the others. Eventually, this leads to a huge argument between the cats and dogs. So much so that the headquarters dogs and cats of both organizations show up. Blaze, myself, Willy, Dominic, and Bray have had enough as the argument only gets worse from there. Blaze lets out a long howl. Dr. Bonesbane meanwhile leads the others on our team to keep eavesdroppers away while Dominic's new giant sphere field slowly forms. It finishes as silence falls. Blaze speaks with an energetic but firm voice: "Cats and dogs aren't always mortal enemies. The world I come from is called Kohnanix. Few conflicts arise between cats and dogs there. I'm a wolf yes but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about! You need to look past your differences."

Dominic adds: "The events that rocked this world the past few weeks weren't supposed to happen. We are effectively in a young new timeline. This timeline is probably going to face more threats both of your organizations cannot face alone. Willy here suggested you all partner up with our BRAINS Collective. You can keep running your organizations separately but we'd love to work with you. I'm Dr. Dominic Duns, a scientist from Miitopia. Things like rivalry don't exist there as much as they used to. Miitopia has been attacked & rocked several times. We value that you use leadership to organize your organizations but we of the BRAINS Collective run leaderless as a collective." And I finish up what the two were saying: "Just because you are 2 different species doesn't mean you have to hate each other or get in each other's way. If you run into each other, you could make compromises and teamwork work when it's needed. Some humans love both cats and dogs. I love dogs but not so much cats so that really speaks for itself that I'm saying that. Love and understanding is more important and powerful than hatred. Please discuss among yourselves and ask why do you hate each other so much." Once lots of chatting begins without argument, I high five Blaze and Dominic. Bray smiles in approval: "If only we were all friends for much longer than we have been! We might have gotten much stronger by the time the SDL attacked us in Fun Land 3 and a half years ago. I shall use this day as a teaching moment for my students like Nathan. Nathan continues to make up for his actions as the Dark Lord, Dark Curse, and Darker Lord such as possessing me and Melvin the banana worker." A little while later, the Pound Puppies and Kennel Kittens accept Willy's proposal. Lucky and his cat counterpart in appearance and personality Ace come to us and speak for their respective organizations.

Lucky says: "We will do our best to coexist peacefully. Some dogs and some cats won't get along but we'll manage." Ace continues it: "We the Kennel Kittens and the Pound Puppies accept the proposal. We look forward to a healthy collaboration for now on." Everyone including us cheer at this and then, we all have lunch inside of Miitopia's largest restaurant after teleporting there, the collectively owned Neksdor Delights & Foods, it's near the pyramid where the Miitopian genie was put on the face of a monster modeled off an ancient pharaoh. After that, we go back to Pound Puppies world and drop them all off, saying goodbye as we do so. And then the rest of us say goodbye to each other before going off our own ways. Blaze and Willy stay with the rest of us Miitopia BRAINS members as I have a promise to keep. Blaze looks at me expectantly: "You promised we'd talk in Twisted Land today?" I reply: "Oh that's right. Bray made sure I'm as good as new after all that fighting. Hey everyone else, care to join us for a little fun in Twisted Land along with some discussion?" They accept, even Dominic who wanted to get a nice nap today. But before we go, I change my clothes and shower while Dominic gets a short nap. After rhat, the rest of the day is spent in Twisted Land. We all have an amazing time talking and going on a lot of rides and attractions. I even let us all go through the haunted houses and scare zones. For dinner, we eat at No Name Needed Cafe before getting dessert at Crave Spiral Parlor.

Somewhere at some point in time in Link VRAINS.. AI a yellow eyed purple and black artificial intelligence finds himself still alive and wonders where someone else is: "Oh glitch! I can't believe I'm alive! Where's Playmaker? He must be crushed without me! But I don't know where I am. I hope he can find me. If I wait here, he will find me. But it'll be so boring! I don't even have Roboppi here with me! Oh glitch!" Several weeks later, Playmaker continues the search for AI, all his friends haven't seen him since what happened to AI: "AI.. Why'd you have to do that? You're my best friend, I want to see you again. I've looked so far and yet you're nowhere to be found. Dueling without you doesn't feel the same." A new player logs into Link VRAINS right where Playmaker is located. A number symbol appears on their neck and they grin as a dark aura surrounds them: "So you're the legendary Playmaker huh? I challenge you to a duel!" Find out what happens to him and more next time.

Outro: Thanks for reading as always! This was a great chapter to write! And I'm glad I gave a preview of the next arc, it'll be focused on Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS. I've been looking forward to it so much especially when I listen to the English dub's theme song! But holy crap, the defeat of Yappa Yappa went awesomely, super happy with how this all turned out! Get ready for more unexpected twists and turns in the next chapter! That's all for now, see ya next time!