Chapter 73; god of thunder vs warriors of the sky

Sonic woke up after a good night's sleep in peace for the first time in a while. He looked outside his window to the sunrise. The world seemed so perfect. If only there weren't beings like lord Sonic who had no conscience and ruined it without hesitation.

His mind drifted into his duel with the warlord and his darkwing deck. The same deck he had once used to harm innocent people simply because someone had insulted his loved ones. That darkness inside him had now merged with his spirit making the sky god dragon the ultimate being in the universe.

"But why?" he thought looking at the card "how is it possible that he had a version of the sky ruler dragon? That card was forged along with this one every time my mark changed in shape and my power grew. So… unless.." he said remembering what the Sonic he had interrogated back home told him. The warlord had absorbed a lot of dimension 999's lunar dragon's powers when they were spread across the multiverse.

"Was that the reason that version of the sky ruler dragon was created?" Sonic wondered getting ready to head to the cafeteria to have a bit of breakfast.

Once he opened the door he found Amy about to knock on it.

"Oh. Good morning general".

"Good morning. I.. was about to invite you to have breakfast with me. I mean.. if you want".

"Of course. I was actually on my way there."

"Great" she said with a smile.

They went to the elevator and waited to get to the cafeteria floor.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. But I had an epiphany when I woke up. I'll tell you once we're sitting down."

They got off the elevator and got some milk and eggs for breakfast. Once they started eating Sonic began explaining.

"Before I joined this war, I had a Sonic and Amy coming to my dimension. They claimed to have found my dimension".

"You met the couple from dimension 551? They were with us. I had sent them on a secret mission to find your dimension. Where are they?"

"….Dead" Sonic said after a moment of hesitation.

"Oh… I see… how did they die?"

"The Sonic got shot after opening the portal inside the reactor room of the company my daughters work at and a few hours later his partner arrived. She was mourning him when we met her. Before we could find out who she was, a Sonic sent by the warlord arrived as well, shot her and tried to kill me as well. I interrogated him about what I saw and he spilled the beans about the war. He died during the interrogation by a small device placed by the warlord in his heart."

"I have seen it before. Every time we tried to interrogate one of the warlord's assassins they were killed the same way. I guess your dimension's energy delayed this."

"My dimension's energy?"

"Yes. When the lunar dragon of your dimension died, it unleashed an aura across the dimension. The quantonions become unstable and a portal will sometimes not open properly when heading to this dimension for this very reason."

"That explains something. The Sonic I interrogated lost his leg when the portal started becoming unstable and closed when he tried to pass through."

"Exactly. Silver says this the same reason we can't travel to the center of the multiverse. The quantonions are moving in the exact same way."

"I see. It's a good thing I was able to lock my dimension down. If the blueprints I found in that fortress I raided before you found me are for that very reason, to allow access to these unreachable places, then he would first go to my dimension to avenge the death of his son and make me suffer before attaining the ultimate power."

"Yeah… if only we could crack this riddle. Silver is working day and night but can't find the reason why the quantonions won't act as they are supposed or even a way to make them act the way we need."

"I'm sure the answer will show itself general".

"You still didn't tell me what that epiphany you had was."

"Oh right. Got carried away. The Sonic I interrogated said that the warlord's power grew after the sacrifice of the lunar dragon in my dimension to restore my life. I believe that the version of the sky ruler dragon he had was created because of him getting all this energy".

"Yeah makes sense. You powered up twice in a similar way so it is a logical conclusion. Anyway let's go outside. I have to assign the distraction team and you have to meet with Shadow to go to dimension 749."

"You won't come with us?"

"No. I will take a team of soldiers and engage the enemy on another dimension. That way we will keep the warlord's attention away from 749. Though not for a long. 749 is a dimension under siege. When they realize we are there they will come for you. So you will need to stay under the radar as much as possible."

"I see. I agree general".

"Come on. Let's go meet Shadow."

However an unpleasant surprise was waiting for them outside. The new recruits had just almost beaten up mephiles. Shadow was arguing with him when Sonic and Amy arrived.

"Talk about de ja vu" Sonic joked.

"Yeah" Amy said albeit a bit disappointed.

Shadow and Mephiles were arguing so loudly that they didn't even notice Amy and Sonic arrive.

"I knew you are a cowardly worm but today my patience grew thin with you!"

"Why can't you see we're heading towards doom Shadow?! That message 999 sent to the warlord was him signing our death sentence!"

"What did he do again?" Amy asked them both with a tone of anger in her voice to make her presence known.

Shadow and Mephiles both looked at her and then stood at attention.

"General! Mephiles was caught offering a few of our new recruits to leave and hide somewhere to escape the wrath of the warlord!"

"Can't say I'm surprised" Amy said coldly looking at mephiles.

"General you have to believe me. Every victory against the warlord is another nail in our coffin."

"Are you so delusional after all? We just took a piece of his army away from him!"

"And that's not the only part general" Shadow intervened "this morning several rogue enemy soldiers arrived and asked to join us. And before you worry I already verified they are not spies."

"Great. See Mephiles? The multiverse is turning against him" Amy said.

"Not enough in my eyes. As long as he is as powerful as he is we are not safe".

"Can you please relax?! I know every card in the deck he uses! I can beat him anytime!" Sonic said in anger.

"Dream all you want. You are not that strong. He is relentless."

"ENOUGH!" Amy screamed her patience having run out "I order you to gather of our best soldiers and report to me in half an hour. We will lead an assault in dimension 542! End of discussion!"

"Y-yes general" Mephiles said and left.

"As for you Shadow did you choose the squad that is to go to 749?"

"Yes general. All of them are experts in xyz style decks".

"Good. Foxy and King will join you too."

"Yes general. When do you expect us to go?"

"Five minutes ago" Amy said and headed towards Mephiles and his squad.

"All right follow me they are waiting for us" Shadow said.

He and Sonic started walking towards the part of the courtyard where the xyz squad was waiting.

"You sure are hanging out a lot with the general ever since you arrived. Not even Foxy who is from the same dimension as her is that close with her."

"I guess she is just being friendly that's all."

"She wasn't friendly with anyone. A bit strict most of the time and sometimes less strict but not this joyful and lively. Your presence has changed her entirely."

"I don't know. I guess she treats me a bit special because I'm as she put it the greatest weapon against the warlord."

"Perhaps" Shadow said as they approached the soldiers who were waiting for them. Once they saw Shadow approaching they all stood at attention.

"Ready yourselves soldiers. We're about to venture into 749. Remember the dimension is a warzone. Be ready to engage at all times!"

"Yes sir!" they all said loudly.

At that same moment Tails 616 arrived.

"We have news. There is a small resistance in 749. They declared that unless the siege in their dimension ends, they shall destroy the one thing the warlord desperately wants".

"The thing he wants?" Shadow asked him.

"I bet you my deck that it is another clue to the riddle about the center of the multiverse. We need to get it" Sonic said.

"Then it's a good thing we're all going together. 3 leading members of the rebellion should be a good team of negotiators".

"All right. Let's not waste any time. Soldiers open portals!"

The portals opened merging and becoming one and the same. They walked through it and found themselves in a dark room. Sonic noticed moisture on the walls.

"We are in a basement I think".

"Then let's get going" Shadow said breaking a door open which led to a stairway.

The team walked up the stairs, first Shadow then Sonic and Tails and behind them the 5 member team consisting of Wave from the strategic division of the rebellion, a version of Knuckles from dimension 034, a version of Blaze from dimension 426 along with her brother Big the cat and lastly a version of rouge from dimension 891 who was also Silver's assistant at the labs. Once they got to the ground floor Sonic and Shadow looked outside from a big hole in the wall.

"Damn" Sonic said "just like the dimension I first arrived when I first dimension travelled. Only without an all-out battle".

"That's good" Shadow answered "we won't have trouble. Let's move!"

They got out of the building and started walking through the war-torn streets. Sonic looked around seeing only debris and destruction.

"Damn. All this… so much pain… could it have been avoided if I was left for dead and the lunar dragon was left alive?" Sonic thought with guilt.

After several more minutes of walking Shadow approached Sonic casually.

"No sudden movements. We are being watched".

"What?" Sonic whispered horrified "by who?

"Don't know. Set the wristwatch. Just in case."

"Got it" Sonic said raising his hand to set the dimension number for the rebel base's dimension. Once he touched it a dart came out of nowhere and pierced through his hand and sent an electric current through his body.

"AAAh!" Sonic screamed as he got to his knees.

"Sonic!" Shadow said kneeling next to him.

"Damn that hurts" Sonic said removing the dart while his wound was healed thanks to his mark "what the…! The wristwatch! It shut off!"

"What?!" the squad said in shock.

"Battle stations!" Shadow screamed as he activated his duel disc setting the firing system on.

Sonic and the xyz squad members copied him and they all stood in circle looking on as several silhouettes jumped out of hiding using firing grappling hooks from their duel discs enabling themselves to get in front of the team in an instant. An all-out brawl broke out with Sonic's team being outnumber 3 to 1. Shadow's fighting skills were impressive and bought them some time but eventually they were outfought and surrounded.

"We got you now conqueror scums!" one of them said. It looked like a version of Sticks though Sonic couldn't tell as her face was covered with a mask. It was one of the masks the warriors of the warlord used.

"Are you… locals?" Sonic said trying to make out if they were residents of 749 or allies of the warlord.

"You should know! You wrecked our dimension and now you walk through it like you own the place!"

"We are not the warlord's soldiers. We are with the rebellion."

"Yeah sure and I am Sonic 999" she said aiming at Sonic's face.

"It's true. This is the legendary shadow of war. The hero of the rebellion" Sonic said pointing at Shadow.

"Nice costume" the masked Sticks said "you think that with a fake metal arm you can pass off as a hero?!"

"You should believe him" Shadow said "Sonic 999 is a good guy I assure you"

"Who?!" Sticks said as both her and her troops took a step back in shock to what they heard.

Sonic took his chance rolling his right sleeve and showing them the mark of the dragon.

Gasps of shock echoed throughout the streets when everyone of 749 residents witnessed Sonic's mark. Deciding to go the extra mile Sonic also took out the sky ruler dragon card and showed it. When they saw it they immediately dropped their guard speechless.

"We're not your enemies. We have come to this dimension in a mission for the rebellion."

"And what is your mission?" Sticks asked removing her mask.

"That's the thing. We don't know. We came here because this dimension was on a list. In the previous dimension on the list we discovered a riddle. So we hypothesized there is something like that or some other kind of clue here."

"And where was the rebellion when this dimension was attacked?! Countless of us were killed in battle against the warlord's army! You come to our dimension after all this and tell me your so called rebellion is playing treasure hunt?!" Sticks screamed.

"We're looking for those clues for a reason. Whatever they lead to will put an end to the warlord's rule" Sonic said.

Sticks and her troops remained silent.

"Listen I'm sorry for what happened here" Shadow took over speaking for Sonic "the rebellion should have come earlier. But we're here now. Maybe we can help each other. If you help us find out if there is anything here that will help us in the fight against the warlord we can provide you with anything you need to fight back."

"Your… offer… sounds interesting. However the decision is not mine to make."

"Then let me talk to your leader. I'm sure I can convince him."

Sticks remained silent for a few moments.

"Fine. Follow us."

The two groups started walking together through the ruined city in silence while also looking around for signs of enemies.

"How long has this siege been going on?" Sonic asked Sticks.

"It's not a siege. The dimension is already conquered. And we can't call ourselves a resistance movement either. We are simply freedom fighters trying to survive."

"I see".

"We caught your message to the warlord when we were trying to locate anyone who could help us. Bold move to address him specifically".

"The message was proof that we were out there. Why did you never try to contact us or find us?"

"Our leader has lost faith that there can be victory. That's why we never sought you out."

"I am sure we can reignite the flame of hope" Shadow intervened.

After walking a few more blocks they came across an old run-down factory. Entering through a secret tunnel they found themselves in a gargantuan room. Many people where lying on the ground wounded while others helped them with their injuries. All eyes fell on the newcomers, especially Sonic and Shadow. Soon enough they made it to the end of the room where a small chair was facing the wall. On it was sitting what looked to be like a version of Sonic.

"We have returned chief. We have visitors from the rebellion" Sticks reported.

"The rebellion huh?" a female voice came from the chief's direction.

Sonic, Shadow and Tails were left speechless. The chief got up and turned to face them. It was a version of Sonic alright. But a female version.

"Y-You.. you are me?" Sonic said in shock.

"In this dimension yes. My name is Sonia the hedgehog. And you must be the Sonic from 999"

"Yes."

"Some timing you chose to arrive."

"I'm sorry that we weren't here earlier. But now we are here and we can help you."

"Maybe you can. But I don't think I can trust you. Who's to say you won't just take what you came here for and leave and never return?"

"You know what we came here for?"

"The same thing the warlord came for I presume" Sonia said taking out a small stone key.

"He arrived the day he attacked and demanded to have this key. Don't ask me how he knew of its existence. He only said if it wasn't by the end of the day there would be blood in our hands. And there was. A lot!"

Sonic was left speechless.

"So give me one reason why we should trust you with this. This is the sole reason we keep fighting for. To keep the warlord from taking everything we have. He has already conquered our dimension and killed countless of our people. I won't let him have his way with this key."

"We need this key. Whatever it opens it will lead to the warlord's downfall".

"Didn't you hear me? You're not getting it until you prove to me you're trustworthy!"

"How about we duel for it then? What better way to prove I am trustworthy than to show how serious I am about bringing down the warlord?"

Sonia remained silent for a few moments.

"Chief" a version of Knuckles said referring to Sonia "our scouts are confirming a big part of the warlord's army opened portals to dimension 542. Seems like they are engaging enemies there".

"That is us" Sonic intervened "forces of the rebellion under the command of our general. They are causing a distraction so we could talk".

Sonia looked at him stone-faced top to bottom. She then put the key back into her jacket's pocket and took out a deck.

"No talking. Time to duel. But keep in mind that simply beating me won't make you worthy of my trust."

"I figured as much. Let's get this show on the road!"

"DUEL!"

"I'll start! I summon forth tour guide from the underworld. I use her effect! I also activate the effect of kagemucha knight. Since I normal summon a level 3 monster it can be automatically summoned."

"Typical chain block strategy to protect your monster from resolving. I activate infinite impermanence from my hand. It negates tour guide's effect."

"As nice as it would have been to extend my attack further I have everything I need. I set the link markers with tour guide and my knight! Circuit combine! Link summon! Rise from the depths of the underworld! Cherubini fallen anger of the burning abyss!"

"So you play burning abyss. Interesting. Show me what the xyz dimension's power!"

"You will be sorry you asked. I activate the effect of Cherubini. By sending a level 3 monster in my deck to my graveyard it's power is added to Cherubini! I send graff malebranche of the burning abyss! Next graff's effect activates so I summon cirr malebranche of the burning abyss from my deck to my cherubini's link. I then activate foolish burial to send the phantom knights of ancient cloak from my deck to my graveyard".

"Pk burning abyss. Nice hybrid deck".

"What did you call it?!"

"Pk burning abyss. Pk… phantom knights… duh?"

"I'm gonna wipe that grin of your face. I set the link markers with Cherubini and cirr! Circuit combine! Link summon! Emerge from the shadows! Phantom knights of rusty bardiche! Next cirr's ability triggers. Since he hit the graveyard I can summon back Cherubini! But there's a lot more! I activate the effect of rusty bardiche! By sending a phantom knights monster from my deck to my graveyard I can set a phantom knights spell or trap from my deck. I select to set the phantom knight's fog blade. And the monster I send to do it is phantom knights of torn scales!"

"Torn scales? Is that a new phantom knight?" Sonic said caught off guard.

"Yes! At least for you. But first things first. I use the effect of my pks of ancient cloak".

"So you liked the name".

"No joking! I banish it to add pks of silent boots to my hand from my deck. Next torn scales' effect activates. If a pk is removed from the graveyard while torn scales is in the graveyard it comes back!"

"What?!"

"Next its other effect will activate. I discard a pk, more specifically pk of ragged gloves to send a pk card to my graveyard from my deck except torn scales. I send the trap pk's sword. Next I special summon silent boots due to controlling a pk. I now build the overlay network with my 2 pks. I xyz summon leviair the sea dragon! Leviair allows me to use one of his overlay units to summon one banished monster back! I select pks of ancient cloak!"

"So you use the deck in a way to recover your banished resources without adding brick cards into the deck. Amazing" Sonic said truly amazed.

"Don't try to make compliments. I use the effect of silent boots I detached from leviair in the graveyard. By banishing it I add a pk spell or trap to my hand from my deck. I add phantom knight's rank up magic force!"

"A rank up magic?!" Sonic said in shock remembering the last time such a card was used in his dimension "Last time I saw a card like this was over 10 years ago".

"Well I guarantee you won't forget it! But before that my sword's effect activates. By banishing it I can resurrect one pk but it is banished if it leaves the field. I choose ragged gloves".

"But because you are going to overlay it with silent boots as I suspect it won't be banished as overlay units aren't considered leaving the field!"

"Presicely! I once again overlay my 2 pks to xyz summon a second leviair! And just like before I detatch ragged gloves to summon back to the field the banished silent boots! But now I am about to show you an even more powerful monster! I build the overlay network with my 2 leviairs!"

"She is using xyz monsters to build the overlay network!?" Tails said in surprise.

"Impossible" Shadow said "xyz monsters don't have levels!"

"But there is a certain xyz monster that can be summoned this way!" Sonic said knowing full well what was coming.

"I xyz summon number f0; utopic future!" Sonia said as she summoned the powerful xyz monster.

"But why stop there! I'm sure you know of number f0 but it has an even greater form! I rebuild the overlay network with my f0!"

"What?! F0 can rank up?!" Sonic said in utter horror.

"Exactly! Go ultra xyz evolution! I summon number f0; utopic future dragon!"

A powerful dragon appeared in the colors of f0 and roared at Sonic.

"No way. This… this is a combination of number f0 and number 99: utopic dragon, the most powerful monster in the utopia archetype"

"Former most powerful! This one is much stronger. But wait the show is still going on! I activate the effect of ragged gloves in the graveyard! By banishing it I can send pk's fog blade to the graveyard. And fog blade can banish itself to summon back ancient cloak! I now build the overlay network with cloak and boots! I xyz summon the phantom knights of break sword! But why stop there! I use the effect of rusty bardiche. When an pk monster is xyz summoned I can destroy a card on the field!"

"But I don't have any cards on my field! That means you are…!"

"Destroying break sword! And since it was destroyed its xyz materials return as level 4 monsters! I overlay them once again together to xyz summon the dragon of darkness! Appear dark rebellion xyz dragon! But there's even more! Remember my rank up magic? I activate it by banishing cirr from the graveyard! Since cirr's level is 3 and there are 3 banished monsters except cirr the number that comes out of adding these 2 together is 6! Meaning that I can use my dragon to xyz summon a rank 6 xyz monster! And I have just the one! Go rank up xyz evolution! Appear! Dark requiem xyz dragon!"

"Damn. This is one annoying monster to beat".

"I'm done with my turn! Now come at me! I wanna see what the great Sonic 999 has to offer as an opponent."

"As you wish. I have a way to get rid of all your monsters at once. I tribute your pk of rusty bardiche, utopic future dragon and dark requiem xyz dragon!"

"What?!"

"I summon the winged dragon of ra-sphere mode to your side of the field!"

"No way! You use the Egyptian gods? That's impossible. These cards wouldn't respond to me or any variant of myself I've met!"

"What?" Sonic said in surprise "that's a thing?"

"Is that then what makes Sonic 999 the strongest in the multiverse? His ability to wield the god cards?" Tails wondered.

"I now summon blackwing gofu the vague shadow since I control no monsters! Since he was summoned his effect activates summoning 2 tokens! Now I link summon with one of the tokens and gofu! Come on out crystron needlefiber! I use his effect!"

"Hold it right there! I use my trap! The phantom knights' fog blade! It negates the effect of your monster".

"Nice. Got rid of the card. Time to unleash my true plan! I activate the spell card creature swap!"

"Oh no!"

"Now you get my token and I get back the sphere mode!"

"No way!"

"Yes way! I use my sphere's effect! O mighty protector of the sun and sky I beg of thee please heed my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. I beseech thee. Grace our humble game. But first…. I SHALL CALL OUT THY NAME! WINGED DRAGON OF RA!" Sonic screamed as Ra transformed into his battle mode and his stats became 4000 attack and defense.

"I use Ra's effect. I pay 1000 life points 2 times" (Sonic LP 6000) "to destroy the token I gave you along with cherubini! Incinerate them Ra!"

Ra screeched and unleashed a mighty fireball that eliminated the vague token and cherubini.

"And now you will feel its might! Ra attack Sonia directily! God blaze cannon!"

Ra unleashed a mighty beam of golden flames that incinerated Sonia though Sonic made sure Ra didn't go over the line and the damage was purely virtual. (Sonia LP 4000).

"Had enough Sonia? Have I proven I'm worthy of having that key?"

"Not yet. While it is impressive you got rid of all my monsters and proved you are worthy of wielding these divine monsters you have yet to face my full might!"

"What? Utopic future dragon wasn't your strongest monster?"

"That? It needs all those summoning conditions to mimic only a fraction of the power that my real ace has!"

Sonic gulped. A monster as hard to summon as utopic future dragon must have had an extremely powerful effect. And now Sonia was claiming it had only a fraction of her ace's power?"

"I end my turn with a face down card."

"My turn. I draw. I play fire formation tenki. Thanks to it I can add a beast warrior from my deck to my hand. I select zodiac raptier."

"What the…? Zoodiacs too?"

"And now I summon it. I use it to build the overlay netword and xyz summon zodiac hammerkong. But as you know there are 3 more monsters that can be used to stack it up. I xyz change my monster 3 times. First I summon zoodiac tigermortar, next zoodiac chakanine and finally zoodiac boarow. Next I activate a spell known as utopic legacy. By banishing upotic or utopia monsters from my graveyard I can add a utopia monster from my extra deck as an overlay unit to my monster. I banish utopic future and utopic future dragon to attach number 39 utopia and number 99 utopic dragon to my boarow as overlay units."

"What are you setting up? If you're attempting to go for that instant win combo with ghostrick angel of mischief you can forget it. I assure you it won't work."

"Then it's a good thing a monster even stronger than angel of mischief!"

"What is she talking about Foxy?" Shadow asked Tails "ghostrick angel of mischief is considered one of if not the most powerful xyz monster ever."

"I don't know. I only hope Sonic can live up to that."

"I attack with boarow directily!"

"What are you planning? Boarow has 0 attack."

Boarow attacked Sonic directily using its effect.

"I don't know what you are planning but I activate the trap xyz defense. Here's how it works. If you attack me with an xyz monster by tributing another of my monsters for instance my needlefiber, which by the way means the end of your fog blade, I change the attack to 0 and then draw cards equal to the xyz materials on your monster. Boarow has 6 so I draw 6 cards!"

"Draw all your deck if you want. It's over!"

"What?!"

"Since boarow battled he qualifies to build the overlay network for the most powerful xyz monster ever!"

The overlay network was created but instead of the floor it was created in the ceiling of the room. Boarow was absorbed into the network. At that moment lightning bolts started coming out of the network and striking randomly across the room. Shadow and Tails took cover away from the dueling field along with Sonia's troops.

"Behold Sonic! This is my most powerful monster! The ultimate xyz monster! I xyz summon the god of thunder himself! Come forth! Divine arsenal AA-ZEUS – Sky thunder!"

A battle suit emerged from the overlay network. It was a big as the winged dragon of Ra. Both colossal monsters faced each other as Ra roared loudly at zeus.

"Looks like this will a battle of gods" Sonic said dauntlessly yet taken aback at Sonia's monster.

"There is no battle Sonic. Zeus is unrivalled! I activate his effect! By using 2 overlay units all other cards on the field are sent to the graveyard!"

"What?!"

"This is overpowered!" Shadow said in surprise causing Tails and Sonic to both look at him. If Shadow was terrified by zeus' effect then Sonic felt he was gonna get a run for his money himself.

Zeus flew higher than Ra using his mechanical wings and unleashed blast after blast of lightning on the dueling field. The bolts destroyed Ra leaving Sonic defenseless.

"No way" Sonic said in fear himself "Ra… the strongest of the Egyptian gods… destroyed so easily…".

"And that was just the start. Zeus has another effect. if he doesn't battle this turn I can choose to inflict you 100 points of damage for every card in your hand!"

"Oh no!"

"You currently have 10 cards in your hand! So that's 1000 points of damage! Let him have it zeus!"

Zeus threw a lightning bolt at Sonic. However instead of just taking virtual damage Sonic felt the lightning bolt crossing through his body and was launched back towards the wall crushing into it. (Sonic LP 5000)

"Sonic!" Tails ran to his side.

"What was that?!" Shadow screamed at Sonia in anger.

"What do you mean? I merely unleashed my mightiest monster on my so called strongest in the multiverse variant."

"That was real damage! Sonic kept the winged dragon of Ra from damaging you for real!"

"That's his problem. This is war. We don't hold back."

Shadow tightened his fists in anger but eventually rushed to Sonic's side who was getting back up.

"Are you ok? I can take your place if you want."

"Don't worry. My mark has already healed me. I'm ready to continue."

"Watch out. That monster is very strong. If you are not in perfect shape you should let Shadow duel." Tails tried to talk him out of it.

"No. I need to do it. If beating that monster proves to Sonia I'm worthy of that key then I will fight to the end".

Tails and Shadow watched as Sonic went back to his place on the dueling field.

"I end my turn".

"Alright here goes. I draw. I activate black whirlwind and then I use simoon the poison wind's effect. he activates another black whirlwind from my deck and banishes blackwing steam the cloak from my hand. Next simoon is immediately normal summoned. Since it was summoned it triggers the black whirlwinds. I add blackwing bora the spear and gale the whirlwind to my hand."

"Once these effects resolve I discard droll and lock bird so you can't add any more cards from your deck to your hand for the remainder of this turn."

"Damn. In that case I summon blackwing auster the southern wind and his effect allows me to summon blackwing steam the cloak from the banished zone."

"And this is as far as you go. I use zeus' effect!"

Zeus unleashed his power on Sonic's monsters eliminating them and the black whirlwinds".

"Nice try Sonia. But I was just one step ahead. I never performed my normal summon for this turn. Therefore I will do so now. I summon forth blackwing shura the blue flame. Then with their effects I will summon bora the spear and gale the whirlwind. Whirlwind will now half zeus' attack points."

"Not quite. I discard effect veiler to negate gale's effect."

"Nice. Now I can show you my true power myself! I set the link markers with shura and bora! Circuit combine! Link summon! Come forth! Raidraptor wise strix. When wise strix is summoned I can summon a winged beast from my deck in defense mode! I select blackwing zephyros the elite! Next I set once again the link markers with wise strix and zephyros! Circuit combine! Link summon! Soar blackwing shura the eternal flame! Now I use the effect of blackwing zephyros the elite in my graveyard. By returning gale to my hand and take 400 damage" (Sonic LP 4600) "I can summon it to my shura's link. Next shura's effect activates. Since a blackwing was summoned to its link I can summon 2 blackwings one tuner and one non tuner from my deck. I choose blackwing mistral the silver shield as the tuner and sirroco the dawn as the non tuner. Next I re-summon gale thanks to its effect! let's try that again! half zeus' attack points!"

"Too bad for you. I have another veiler!"

"Ok then. I tuner together gale and sirroco! Darkened whirlwind! Reveal hidden wishes on your wings! Synchro summon! Soar to power black winged dragon!"

Black winged appeared and roared.

"Now I tuner together mistral and zephyros. Spread your jet-black wings and unlock the road to power! Synchro summon! Come forth blackwing evolution booster! I unfortunately can't use its effect to draw a card. But thankfully I won't need to. I tune together evolution booster and black winged dragon! Spread your loyal jet black wings and deliver the justice of the sky to our enemies! Black synchro! Soar to power mighty black feather sky ruler dragon!"

Sky ruler dragon emerged roaring loudly at zeus.

"It is over Sonia. Once my dragon destroys zeus you will have nothing left. Your hand is empty."

"Right into my trap."

"What?!"

"When you summon your dragon its effect activates forcing you to choose what its effect will be. Which gives just the window I need to activate zeus' effect!"

"What?! Impossible you used it!"

"What makes you think zeus is hard once per turn?"

"IT'S NOT?!"

"No it isn't! and since your dragon has not chosen its effect it won't get to summon anything back! Strike that dragon down zeus!"

Sky ruler dragon was striken down by zeus leaving Sonic defenseless once again.

"No way… my dragon.."

"And now zeus' 3rd effect activates. If he uses this effect to take down a level 8 or higher extra deck monster and after this effect resolves cannot activate this effect again due to lack of overlay units your entire hand is destroyed!"

"What?!"

"Zeus has only 1 overlay unit! Therefore he can't use that effect again currently! So say goodbye to your hand!"

"Hold it! I discard d.d. crow to use its effect! your fog blade is banished so you can't use it to summon back a pk and finish me off!"

"True. That would have ended you. but let's be real. You have no resources and I have the most powerful xyz monster in the multiverse."

"I … end my turn".

"I draw. Perfect. I summon forth overlay fighter! Now my monsters attack Sonic!"

"AAAAAH!" (Sonic LP 100)

"You got lucky there that my overlay fighter only has 1500 just barely not beating you. But he makes up for it with his effect. if he battles and survives he can be attached to an xyz monster as an overlay unit!"

"No way!" Tails said in shock.

"That means zeus is once again active. I don't see anymore a way for Sonic to win."

"Not yet shadow!" Sonic declared "I promised I would prove I'm worthy and I'm a man of my word!"

"Sonic there is a limit to confidence. There is no one card combo in blackwings that plays through such and effect and wins."

"That may be… but I never rely on one card only. Here goes nothing! I draw! Perfect. I activate pot of desires! I banish 10 cards from my deck to draw 2 new ones! Excellent. I activate the spell card stardust shimmer. By banishing my evolution booster's materials I can synchro summon it from the graveyard. now that is summoned again I can draw a card" Sonic said drawing his card… and his face froze.

"Everything ok? Did you happen to draw a bad card?" Sonia teased him.

"Don't mind me. I summon forth blackwing Jetstream the blue sky. I tune it with evolution booster! Spread your jet-black wings, and storm forth in tandem with the roaring thunder! A slash of lightning! Synchro Summon! Cascade, Assault blackwing! Raikiri the rain shower!"

"Raikiri?! So you had more of a fight left in you than I expected! I activate zeus' effect! I use 2 ovelray units to send your monster to oblivion!"

Zeus once again unleashed his power and vanquished raikiri.

"It's over Sonic. Zeus may no longer have any overlay units but it won't matter. You lose."

"…. Yes Sonia. This duel is over."

Tails and Shadow were looking at him in despair.

"I won!" Sonic declared the next moment boldly.

"What?!" everyone in the room said in surprise.

"What are you talking about?! You only have one card in your hand!"

"Yes. But it happens to be the one card that can win me this duel. I activate blackwing fusion!"

"Blackwing fusion?!" Sonia said in shock "this can't be! We hacked into the warlord's database on decks of duelists from other dimensions. Never before have I seen a blackwing fusion spell!"

"Then you won't the blackwing fusion monster I'm about to summon! But first I have to talk about how I summon it. You see this fusion card is special. It allows me to fuse monsters either from the field, graveyard or banished zone. Then the monster I summon will have boosts or handicaps determined by where the materials used in its summon were before they were used for the summon. My 3 option are sending from the field to the graveyard, banishing from the graveyard or returning them from the banished zone to the extra deck. If either of the materials used were sent from the field to the graveyard the monster summoned gains attack points equal to that material's level multiplied by 200. If either of the material's is banished from the graveyard I have to send as many cards as the material's level from my deck to my graveyard. And finally if either material is returned from my banished zone to my extra deck I take that monster's level multiplied by 300 as damage. Since my dragon requires a blackwing synchro non tuner monster and a blackwing dragon type monster like my black winged dragon who is considered a blackwing monster, I banish raikiri the rain shower and black winged dragon from the graveyard!"

"WHAT?!"

"The assault black-feathered warrior of the sky and the king dragon of blakcwings. Now become one and rule the skies with your iron fist! FUSION SUMMON! Soar with all your might! Sky king, the ultimate blackwing dragon!"

Sonic's new dragon emerged from the fusion of his 2 monsters and roared at Zeus and Sonia.

"Since the materials were banished from the graveyard I have to send cards from my deck to my graveyard equal to their combined level. That makes a total of 15 cards. And amongst them are 7 blackwings."

"I-impressive monster! But too little too late! Even if you destroy zeus with it I still have some resources left in the graveyard. Zeus will return soon enough to end you!"

"Too bad Sonia. That time will never come! My dragon has a special ability of his own. By banishing a blackwing synchro monster from my graveyard it can duplicate its abilities for a turn! I banish my sky ruler dragon! Now I can choose one of the sky ruler's effects for my ultimate dragon to duplicate. I select the effect to gain 300 attack points for every blackwing in the graveyard! And currently I count 19!"

"Oh no!"

"That means my ultimate blackwing dragon gains a 5700 attack! And he has a base stat of 3000! So now he has 8700 attack points! Sky king! Strike down zeus and end this duel!"

Sky king unleashed a powerful beam of dark energy powered by the fallen blackwings. Zeus was blown up and Sonia was knocked back as her life points became 0. When the holograms disappeared Sonic approached Sonia.

"I won. So have I proven I'm worthy of your trust?"

"W-what? What about the key?"

"I expect you won't give me the key just like that. Why would you give it to someone you don't trust? I wanted to earn your trust in this duel before being worthy of the key."

Sonia got up and looked at him head to toe.

"I don't know what is so special about you. But in this duel I saw more power, heart and mastery of the game's mystical forces than I have ever seen in my entire life. So I'm sure now. This key will be safer with you" she said handing him the key.

"Thanks for trusting me. I won't let you down I promise."

Shadow then approached and interrupted them.

"Sorry to interrupt but I think we should discuss how we are gonna bring reinforcements here to help you."

"It's ok. Don't waste your soldiers on us. We'll manage to get by. You are our hope. If things go south though… I hope you could tell us where to find you."

"We can tell you specifically. But you must promise to only come when absolutely necessary. We can't risk our dimension being found."

"I understand. But you should go now. The warlord's army has returned to this dimension and are sending scouts this way so we will evacuate."

"Understood" Sonic said activating his wristwatch and Shadow Tails and the remaining members of the squad copied him. Shadow, Tails and the squad members walked through the portal while Sonic stayed behind for a moment to reveal to Sonia the number of the dimension the rebellion was hiding in. After that his bid his variant goodbye and walked through the portal which closed behind him.

Sonic looked around and saw the familiar now training grounds of the rebellion's headquarters. Just as they left it. Moments later he saw Amy coming to greet them.

"Finally. We couldn't continue the attack any longer and retreated. How did the mission go?"

"An absolute victory general" Shadow said "we met the resistance movement there and earned their trust. They refused our offer to help them fight back but entrusted us with this" he said as Sonic took out the key and gave it to Amy.

"A key? This is what the warlord desperately wanted?"

"Looks like it."

"I see. Well enough for today. Get some rest. Tomorrow we will look into the list and see where we have to go next."

"Yes general" they all said and split. Sonic headed towards his room and took a shower. He needed some moments alone. Meeting a female variant of himself felt really weird.

"And we're just at the beginning. Anything can happen" he said speaking to himself as he gazed on the horizon outside his room finally relaxing for a while.