It's very appropriate that this chapter is posted at this time of year. Kinda funny how things turn out. Anyways, Happy Holidays! And have a wintery time until this December's second chapter!
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
As they reached the room where Rin was, Alexis and Sylvio busted into the cell by pushing their bodies into the door with all their might. Once it opened, they saw that Rin was sitting on the side of her bed, completely surprised by the intrusion.
Alexis raised her hands to prove that she and Sylvio meant no harm. "Take it easy. I'm Alexis and this is Sylvio. We are here to rescue you."
"Are you... Lancers? Yuya's friends?" Rin asked.
"Well, I am. She's just one of our associates." Sylvio confirmed. "Come on! We've got to get you outta here!"
Sylvio offered his hand to her, which Rin nodded and took it. Alexis and Sylvio then escorted Rin out of the tower. Right after they stepped foot outside the tower, Rin stopped and let go of Sylvio's hand.
"Rin?" "Hey, what's the holdup?!"
When the two of them turned to ask Rin what was happening, Alexis and Sylvio were surprised to see that she was attacking Sylvio with a Duel Disk blade that he barely dodged by a hair. They then noticed that the Duel Disk Rin was using was a Duel Academy version with a green-trimmed white body with a violet blade. Sylvio and Alexis stepped back a bit.
"Rin?! What are you doing?! Why're you - "
Rin cut off Alexis. "Stop talking. And let's duel!"
"Rin, what's going on here?!" Sylvio incredulously asked. "Why do you have one of Duel Academy's Duel Disks?!"
Alexis then remembered a horrifying possibility. "It looks like the Doktor got her!" This surprised Sylvio. "Who is this Doktor?"
"I've only heard rumors, but he's supposed to be the Professor's right-hand man, as well as some kind of expert in mind manipulation." Alexis' hypothesis shocked Sylvio. "You mean that someone's controlling her mind?!"
Before anyone could do anything, the sounds of Duel Runners caught their attention. Two Duel Runners then came up to them from the stairway, both white-colored, rode by Yugo and Jack.
"Rin!!" Seeing that Rin was unharmed, Yugo was more than relieved.
Yugo quickly rushed to give his childhood friend (and possible crush) a hug, but Sylvio blocked his path.
"Hey, hold up!"
"What are you doing, Sylvio? Rin's right there!" Yugo demanded.
"She's not the same, Yugo! She's different!" Alexis told the turbo duelist as she approached him while Sylvio kept blocking him from getting to Rin.
"She's being controlled by Duel Academy! She's even using one of their Duel Disks!" Sylvio pointed to the Duel Disk Rin was wearing on her left wrist.
Rin sighed in irritation. "If you're done talking, my new friends and I want to beat you senseless now." Bringing her right hand up, Rin then snapped her fingers. Out of nowhere, a triad of Buster Brigadiers appeared by her side. It consisted of one male and two females. The only male was riding their version of the Duel Runner that Captain Perceptra used in her pursuit of Shay, Kite, Iggy, and Yuya back in Heartland. They all had their Duel Disks activated and ready for battle.
"This may come as a surprise, but you Lancers aren't the only ones able to make people switch sides!" One of the female Buster Brigadiers taunted.
"Rin... it can't be..." Yugo faced Rin in utter disbelief. He looked at his Duel Runner and brought it closer for her to see, in an effort to jog her memory. "Doesn't this mean anything to you? Our Duel Runner?"
"You should forget about that piece of scrap metal. You've got bigger problems!" Rin told him.
"Scrap metal?" Yugo was shocked on how Rin treated their Duel Runner. "RinRin, I can't believe you would say this about our Duel Runner."
Past - New Domino City - Synchro Dimension
Yugo then flashed back to when he made a drawing of it. It was a childish scribble, a vicious one with teeth, red eyes and with cannons, spikes, and rockets. It gave Rin a headache. "Sure, I was the brains behind it, but I never could've built it without your help.
C'mon, think back on how much fun we had over pouring plans and how I was able to find every bargain out there! Yeah, it was a nightmare sometimes, but in the end, we built the ultimate dueling machine that we hoped could take us all the way to the Friendship Cup!"
Yugo remembered how he had stupidly read a book on Duel Runners upside down. They bought all the parts with their joint allowance, but some of them that Yugo picked were out of their price range. An example was that Yugo had chosen a part in the market and was answered with a sighing head shake from Rin as she checked her purse and saw that they couldn't afford it. He also remembered how happy they were when they worked on it and when they had finished building it.
Present - East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"Don't you remember?"
Sadly, to Yugo's dismay, Rin brushed it off, as if she remembered nothing of the sort. "Sounds like a pretty lame dream. But you know what isn't lame?" Rin asked as she narrowed her eyes at Yugo. "Crushing you!"
Seeing that Rin's cold gaze, devoid of gentleness, Yugo let out a childish groan. "You're so mean! I guess some things never change, so let's settle this, the old-fashioned way!"
GENERATING ACTION FIELD: CROSSOVER
"So, it looks like Declan upgraded their Duel Disks to be able to deploy Action Fields too." The male Buster Brigadier observed as Yugo's Duel Disk on his Runner created the Action Field the Lancers used. "Doesn't matter!" The second female Buster Brigadier told her comrades. "We're still taking them out of commission!"
Rin held out an arm to them as she gave them her commands. "Leave Yugo to me! You can have the others." "Right!" The Buster Brigadiers answered as they activated their Duel Disks.
"Same goes for you guys." Yugo told his friends. "I'm gotta knock some sense into Rin!"
Seeing the unwavering conviction in Yugo's eyes, Sylvio, Alexis, and Jack gave their nod of approval. They then activated their Duel Disks and faced off against the Buster Brigadiers.
[Let's duel!]
"I'll make the first move." Rin declared. "I'm activating the spell card Chime of the Windwitch! Call my Windwitch - Ice Bell(ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000/LV: 3) from the Northern Lands!" A powerful torrent of icy cold wind shot out of the spell card before it turned into Ice Bell, who giggled as she sat on her broomstick-like staff in Attack Mode.
"And then, I'll summon a second Ice Bell!" Rin summoned another Ice Bell with lighter blue and turquoise colors on her outfit and hair, as opposed to blue and purple like her first, in Attack Mode.
"My Ice Bell's special ability will put a chill on your life points. With a wave of her Winterwand, she'll send a blast of frigid air that weakens you by 500 points!" The first Ice Bell materialized an icy wand that she pointed at Yugo with, before creating by a blast of icy wind that hit him. Yugo cringed at the damage.
YUGO LP: 4000 = 3500
"And what one can do, so can the other." The second Ice Bell did the same thing as the first and sent another blast of cold wind at Yugo.
YUGO LP: 3500 = 3000
"So cold!" Yugo groaned as he was hit by the wind.
Yugo groaned again as he got his back straightened out. "She's used Ice Bell 1000 times against me since we were kids, and she also beat me 1000 times with them!"
"Then you know that when I have at least to Windwitches is on my field, I can summon my tuner monster, Windwitch - Snow Bell(ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 1)!" Rin special summoned out her bell-like monster out in Attack Mode as well.
Rin held her right hand out as she declared her Synchro Summon. "Level 1 Snow Bell tunes my two level 3 Ice Bells!" Snow Bell rang before it became a ring that encompassed the Ice Bells and turned them into six lights, three each. "I'm summoning a monster that will hit you with all the power of a wicked wintertime blizzard! I Synchro Summon! Windwitch - Winter Bell(ATK: 2400/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!
Unleash your frosty powers, Winter Bell!" Rin ordered her ace monster as she raised her right hand up to it. "I can choose one Windwitch in my graveyard and activate her special ability, and I choose Ice Bell, letting me deal you 500 more points of damage! Resounding Chills!" Ice Bell's spirit then entered the bell on Winter Bell's lower half, which she rang to create another blast of frigid wind that buffeted Yugo.
YUGO LP: 3000 = 2500
"I place one facedown and end my turn. All right. Yugo, it's your turn now. Let's see if you're still as bad a driver as you are a duelist."
Rin then started running before she hopped on Winter Bell's lower half's backward facing blade and rode her. "Catch me if you can!"
"If? There's no doubt about it!" Yugo retorted as he chased after he on his Duel Runner as she descended the stairs.
Seeing that the two Synchro Dimension duelists had left, the Buster Brigadiers looked at each other before deciding to follow them, confirming their united vote with a silent nod. Alexis, Sylvio, and Jack also followed after them.
"I don't know what's gotten into Rin, but whatever it is, I got to set her straight! Sure, she's gotten mad at me before, but working with those Duel Academy losers and dissing our Runner, that's a whole new level of mad. Whatever Duel Academy did to her, I have to undo it!"
"I know being locked up wasn't any fun, but that's no reason for you taking it out on me!" Yugo yelled at her before looking at his Duel Disk. "At least I know she hasn't totally changed. She's still playing her usual cards, and that means the real Rin is still inside her, and there's only one way to get her back and that's to defeat her in this duel and remind her who she once was!"
"I draw! And I'll start by trotting out Speedroid Horse Stilts(ATK: 1100/DEF: 1100/LV: 4)! Go!" Horse Stilts rocketed onto the field. "And my Horse Stilts lets me summon a tuner monster from my stable, so roll on out, Speedroid Tri-Eyed Dice(ATK: 300/DEF: 1500/LV: 3)!" Yugo summoned both of his monsters in Attack Mode.
"Then I'll give my level 3 Tri-Eyed Dice and my level 4 Speedroid Horse Stilts a quick tune up! If this monster won't bring Rin to her senses, I don't know what will! I Synchro Summon! Clear Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)!
Remember, Rin? You loved Clear Wing just as much as me. If it's not good enough to bring it back to your senses, then maybe nothing is."
Yugo flashed back to when he was turbo dueling and Rin ran into the center of the road and waved after them happily after he raced past her. "C'mon, Rin, think back! Back to when you'd cheer for us to win! RinRin!"
"I activate my trap, Lost Wind! It blows away Clear Wing's special abilities and then slashed its attack points in half!" A black torrent of wind blasted out of the trap and engulfed Clear Wing Synchro Dragon and dulled its body.
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 2500 = 1250/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)
"My dragon! Not cool, Rin. Not cool at all!"
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
Watching the duel from the monitor, the Doktor chuckled.
"My Parasite is a greater success than I imagined! Once my Fusion Parasite worms its way to the brain, it attaches and thoroughly dissects every memory of its host. By manipulating this knowledge, it takes complete control of you, both body and mind."
The Doktor then let out a sinister laugh as the three individuals in the room observed stats on a monitor that showed the Fusion Parasite's status.
Inside Rin's brain, the Fusion Parasite's eyes glowed red.
"And the best part of all, I programmed the Parasite so she would pledge her eternal loyalty to you, Professor." The Doktor told Leo Akaba as he looked at him while standing at his right side.
Leo simply closed his eyes as he gave his answer. "I applaud your efforts, but I do have one concern." He then sternly looked at the Doktor. "It's this - those girls must be kept safe for my Arc Area Project to succeed. No harm can come to them."
"I'm aware of their importance, sir. No harm will come to the girls, I promise." The Doktor assured as his gaze returned to the monitor. "My Parasite monsters will see to that! As for the other guests, they may not be as fortunate."
Leo then redirected his attention to the Lancer group led by Declan and Yusho. He then directed his attention to Madame Chaos, who was on his left.
"I hope your plan to keep my son, Yusho, and the Lancers at bay and get me those girls isn't a total waste of time, Madame Chaos."
Folding her fan as she answered, Madame Chaos gave her assurance. "No need to worry. My plan is nigh completely foolproof! Lady Minerva checked it over so many times for every possibility and how to adapt to them. You have her word. By this time tomorrow, your Arc Project will be finished!"
Silently, beneath her mask, Madame Chaos smirked as she silently thought to herself. "And you'll be finished as well and rendered a complete fool, Leo-oaf!" She then gave a sinisterly evil snickering laugh in her mind.
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"If your mind's been boggled, then I'll un-boggle it by winning this duel, and not just by winning, but winning it my way! No matter what it takes, I'll find a way to bring the old Rin back! You will remember, and that's one promise that I'll never forget!" Yugo made his declaration as he placed one card facedown.
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"You can't save her... but watching you fail should be quite amusing." The Doktor mocked Yugo as Rin smiled, obviously enjoying Yugo's struggle.
"Hohoho! It's times like these that make you feel good being this cruel." Madame Chaos added, giving out a small chuckle, showing that she was enjoying the struggle as well.
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"You're going down!" Rin declared as she drew a card. She laughed when she saw that she had drawn Fusion Parasite(ATK: 0/DEF: 0/LV: 1).
"Time to ice that dragon, Winter Bell! Attack!" Winter bell shot a volley of icicle-like missiles at Clear Wing.
Yugo groaned before activating his Tri-Eyed Dice's effect from his graveyard. "By banishing Tri-Eyes Dice from my graveyard, I'll save you, Clear Wing!" Tri-Eyed Dice appeared in front of Clear Wing, its red eye glowing as it produced a yellow triangular energy barrier from its points, intercepting the attack.
Rin smirked, as if she knew that would happen. "You're just delaying the inevitable. I activate the spell card Chime of the Windwitch! It lets me summon a monster from my hand whose level is lower than my Winter Bell!" Rin activated the spell card from her hand. "So I summon Fusion Parasite!" Fusion Parasite landed on the field in Attack Mode.
"Ew, gross! Where'd that come from? That's not one of your cards, Rin!" Yugo was shocked and disgusted by the unfamiliar Insect-Type monster at his friend's side.
Rin closed her eyes as she replied. "You couldn't be more wrong. This is the most precious card I have. It's invaluable. I can use it to Fusion Summon without Polymerization!" Rin revealed the effect, shocking Yugo and Jack, who was behind them. He was chasing the male Buster Brigadier, who had his Buster Blader, the Dragon Destroyer Swordsman out, facing off with Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend.
"You Fusion Summon?!" Yugo asked, incredulous at the act.
"I do now!" Rin replied as she leaped off of Winter Bell and the tower. "Watch as I fuse Windwitch Winter Bell with my Fusion Parasite! These two are gonna merge to form a monster that'll send shivers down your spine!" Rin brought her hands together as she declared the summoning. An ominous black aura surrounded her as she did so. "I Fusion Summon! Windwitch - Crystal Bell(ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400/LV: 8)!" A massive, jagged block of ice erupted out of the ground with Crystal Bell encased in it. Her eyes then glowed red before she emerged from her prison, shattering the ice.
"When did you start using fusion monsters?" Yugo was already beyond shock now.
"Since I started wising up!" Rin replied as she latched on Crystal Bell and rode her.
"When I use my Parasite to Fusion Summon, equips itself onto Crystal Bell." Crystal Bell's left eye glowed as the effect happened.
"What's wrong with you, Rin? You're dueling like you're an honor student at Duel Academy."
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"Ah, you're more right than you realize." The Doktor told Yugo as he watched the duel. "Rin is now fighting on our side, dear boy, so I'm afraid the girl who once knew so well is never to return."
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
Rin then brought her fusion monster to face Clear Wing and Yugo. "Crystal Bell! Attack Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Following the command, Crystal Bell shot three black wind blasts from the three large speaker-like ornaments around her head at Clear Wing. They then combined into one massive torrent.
This time, Yugo had nothing to protect Clear Wing. So Yugo searched for an Action Card on his sides, front, and above him. He then spotted one on a floating board ahead of him and Rin didn't seem to notice it, so Yugo sped up and grabbed it right before the blast connected.
"I activate the Action Spell High Dive! It gives my dragon a 1000 more attack points, lowering the damage I take!"
Clear Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 1250 = 2250/DEF: 2000/LV: 7)
The black windy torrent didn't just destroy Clear Wing, it also sent Yugo over the stairway and crashing to the ground with his Duel Runner.
YUGO LP: 2500 = 1950
"Yugo!" Jack called out in concern as he watched Yugo fall. Luckily, they were pretty close to the bottom, so Yugo wasn't hurt badly.
Jack then angrily turned toward the Buster Brigadier he was facing. "Sorry, but I'm done playing around with you." "Say what?!" The Buster Brigadier asked, insulted by the implication.
"Scarlight Red Dragon Archfiend, turn up the heat!" Scarlight then slammed its clawed fist into Dragon Destroyer and blew it up, depleting the life points of the Buster Brigadier.
As soon as Jack defeated the Buster Brigadier, the explosion threw him into the air, making him fall off his Runner as it went over the cliff as it tried to stop, due to the duelist riding it being defeated.
"Maybe riding a Duel Runner down a stairway like that wasn't such a good idea after all!" The male Buster Brigadier exclaimed in panic as he went off the edge and fell down the rest of the way down the tower, screaming.
He landed out of sight, over the cliff, along with his Runner behind him. Then there was an explosion, followed by the sound of a splash, bellowing smoke, and a voice. "I'm okay! The Runner exploded on a rock away from me and the ocean broke the fall!"
"Then you better dive and make room!" "Incoming!" The female Buster Brigadiers also fell screaming into the sea, obviously defeated by Sylvio and Alexis, with a loud splash.
When Yugo came to, he was laying on the ground, groaning. A small, circular metal piece rolled and stopped in front of him as he did so. Realizing where it came from, Yugo pushed himself up and ran to the source.
"No! Our Duel Runner! You totaled it." Yugo exclaimed in horror as he saw what had happened to it. It had been reduced to a pile of scrap, like Rin had referred to it before the duel began.
"It's not even under warranty!" Yugo had a hard time getting the words out as he kneeled, then slammed his fists into the ground, crouching and crying. He was devastated to see Rin and his precious Duel Runner destroyed.
Jack frowned as he got to Yugo. Seeing Yugo's devastated form, he understood how much it meant to him. "That wasn't just a run-of-the-mill Runner. It was a symbol of the dream that he shared with Rin."
"Really, Yugo? Tears for a broken bicycle?" Rin asked as Crystal Bell floated down to his level. "Who cares about that hunk of junk?"
The apathy in her voice caused Yugo to turn to her, eyes stained with tears, and glare at her, not minding anyone seeing him crying. "Hunk of junk?! We spent weeks, months building this hunk of junk together because this was gonna be our ticket to having a real life!" Yugo gripped his hands into fists as he lashed out everything in his mind, letting all his feelings out.
"Riding this Duel Runner was the only time we felt free! You couldn't have forgotten that! I know you haven't!"
He remembered when he and Rin rode it for fun. They smiled as if nothing could break the moment of happiness. How they had stopped and watched the sunset on a balcony, smiling at it and each other.
"I really don't care, Yugo." Rin's cold words utterly surprised Yugo, who began to twitch in anger as Rin explained her fusion monster's special ability. "Crystal Bell lets me use the special ability of one monster in my graveyard, and I choose Ice Bell to send a blast of biting air directly at you, blasting you for 500 more life points!" Ice Bell's specter entered Crystal Bell as the ability began, causing Crystal Bell to ring before blasting another chill of wind at Yugo, sending him sprawling to the ground.
YUGO LP: 1950 = 1450
Sylvio and Alexis finally caught up to Yugo and Jack. Sylvio was gasping for air as he put his hands on his knees after so much running.
"You sure took your time." Jack told them.
"Sorry, some of us don't have Duel Runners!" Sylvio retorted angrily at Jack's remark. He was about to complain but stopped upon seeing Yugo's condition.
"You're as bashed up as that Duel Runner, while I am in perfect shape. Your life points are running on fumes. And because I have my lovely Parasite, it will guarantee my victory, no matter what." Rin said it all with an arrogant smile, sneering at Yugo's tears he was crying out from his broken helmet visor, which had been cracked over his left eye.
""Lovely" and "parasite" aren't really a good combo." Alexis told her.
"Wait a minute. It must be that Fusion Parasite that doing a whack job on her!" Yugo realized as he looked at Rin, who had a menacing, wicked dark aura around her. "The old Rin would never use that slippery slug! She hates bugs!"
"In fact..." Closing her eyes, Rin then pointed to her head, her brain to be precise, before she opened her eyes with a wicked smile. "I got one right here!"
"No way!" Sylvio exclaimed. The others shared his sense of horror and surprise. "So it's not the Parasite card that's controlling her..." Alexis summarized. "It's an actual parasite living in her brain!" Jack finished the awful summary.
"Why do you seem so shocked? The Doktor freed me to hurt anyone whenever I like. You should be happy." Rin ecstatically said as she let out a cold giggle.
Yugo stared hard at Rin, not knowing what to think anymore. Everything just felt... haywired to make him half-insane. His pulse quickened, anger quickly filling him. He could only feel his blood pounding in his ears and hear the racing of his heart. And then something inside him snapped.
When Rin glanced at Yugo again, she felt something very different from him. Alexis, Sylvio, and Jack also did too. The atmosphere around the turbo duelist began to feel cold, colder than Rin's Windwitch monsters' attacks that were as cold as winter. Before they even knew it, they all shuddered when they felt the murderous intent coming from Yugo. They could've also sworn they saw a pitch black aura around Yugo's entire body.
"Yugo? Are you okay?" Sylvio hesitantly asked with worry.
"Happy? Okay? I'll be happy and okay alright..." After he stood up, Yugo threw away his broken helmet, revealing that his eyes were glowing completely green and glared daggers at Rin that caused her to take a step back. He then picked up his Duel Disk from the ground, which had been disconnected from the Runner when it was destroyed, and slammed it on his metallic bracer where he kept his cards while Turbo Dueling.
"I'll be happy and okay when I crush that stupid parasite along with her!!" Yugo declared hatefully.
Yugo's declaration surprised his three friends. It was a declaration that no one who wanted to save a friend would say. In fact, Alexis, Sylvio, and Jack couldn't sense any desire to save Rin anymore from Yugo. The only thing they were able to sense from him was hatred and rage, nothing mattered more than defeating the opponent.
"He's almost acting like..." Jack's eyes widened as he then remembered Yuya's match with Crow in the semi-finals of the Friendship Cup. "... like how Yuya was acting back then!"
"I... I end my turn." Rin concluded her turn, without her realizing, she had become very of Yugo. For one reason, the childhood friend that she knew had totally changed into a totally different person.
"I draw!" Yugo drew his card and saw it was Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice(ATK: 100/DEF: 100/LV: 1). He narrowed his right eye as he confirmed it. "I'm summoning the tuner monster Speedroid Red-Eyed Dice!
Next, I activate the spell card Shadow Stepper and use your Windwitch - Crystal Bell to my advantage! You see, it lets me bring back a monster from my graveyard whose level is lower than your Crystal Bell! So, Clear Wing Synchro Dragon, you're making a comeback!
I tune Red-Eyed Dice with Clear Wing Synchro Dragon to pave the way for an even mightier dragon! Watch as the essence of that monster take shape. Watch as it is forged by raw power! I Synchro Summon! Take flight, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)!
Now, let's do this! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon, attack! And due to its special ability, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon gains your monster's attack points!" Crystal Wing soared into the sky before coming down at high-speed at Crystal Bell.
Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 3000 = 5800/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)
"Fusion monsters aren't your style, so my dragon's gonna 86 it. So, watch out! Swoop on in, Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!"
"Do you think that's gonna work? Guess you already forgot about Crystal Bell's special ability. I get to use the special ability of any monster in our graveyards, and I choose your very own Clear Wing Synchro Dragon!" Clear Wing Synchro Dragon's spirit went into Crystal Bell. "I'm using your very own monster's ability against you to automatically destroy your Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon!" Another blast of icy wind came from Crystal Bell as the ability kicked in.
"Two can play at that game! Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon's special ability destroys your monster as well!" Crystal Wing pushed against the gust of frigid wind, destroying it. But instead of its usual shining white color, it was a black-colored darkness.
"I'm still one step ahead of you. My Fusion Parasite takes the fall instead of my Crystal Bell!" Fusion Parasite disengaged from Crystal Bell, causing her eyes to glow before bringing her "arms" to a cross before letting them to the sides as a spherical blue barrier protected her and Rin.
"But my attack still gets through!" Yugo declared as he punched the air in front of him. The barrier was breached, and Crystal Wing destroyed the fusion monster. Her destruction sent Rin screaming and tossed to the base of the stairway.
RIN LP: 4000 = 1000
Rin was covered in bruises as a sharp pain attacked her head, as if something had entered and was now stabbing at it. It was so painful that she held her head tight with both hands as she tried to get back up.
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
The Doktor then noticed a change in the monitor that showed the stats of the Fusion Parasite that inhabited Rin's brain. It was now blaring and showing that the Parasite now seemed to have black spots slowly covering it and its signal was getting weak.
"How can this be?! What's going on?!" The Doktor wondered aloud as he saw the stats.
"Looks like your parasite is falling apart, Doktor." Madame Chaos noted as she brought her face closer to the screen to get a better look. Then she turned to the mad scientist. "I'm not sure it can take another massive hit like that."
"Impossible! No one's ever resisted my parasite!"
Madame Chaos simply stared at the Doktor and unfolded her fan as she resumed fanning herself. She raised an eyebrow at him as she bluntly stated the truth. "You do realize you just finished them, right?"
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
Yugo wasn't satisfied with the 3000 points of damage he just dealt to Rin. He jumped to one of the floating boards and picked up an Action Card. "Since you've done nothing but bring the damage in this duel, I'm activating the Action Spell Broken Ruin, to even the score! Now you take 300 points of damage equal to the difference of cards in our hands. But you don't have any while I am holding three, so you'll just take damage for every card in my hand!" A blue beam shot from the card, hitting Rin, who was just standing up, sending her to the ground again. The attack also caused Rin to have a coughing fit as she was hit by the blast.
RIN LP: 1000 = 100
"Aw, man! This is going way too far!" Alexis exclaimed to Sylvio and Jack as they saw Rin's struggling form with bruises covering her body. A drop of cold sweat fell from Jack's face. "Yugo's lost it. He's not acting like himself anymore." Jack stated with dread. "Great. As if we didn't have enough trouble with just one of them losing their mind!" Sylvio said in irritated dismay.
"Get up. Don't tell me you're going to throw in the towel now after all that talk!" Yugo demanded harshly, not minding any attention to Rin's injuries. "If I can't break you out of it, I'll break you until that Parasite is destroyed!"
Rin clicked her tongue as she continued like Yugo wanted, tottering as she got up. "When Crystal Bell is destroyed, I can bring back Winter Bell and Fusion Parasite from my graveyard." Rin brought back Winter Bell and Fusion Parasite, who appeared from twisters at her sides.
"Fusion Parasite allows me to fuse my two monsters and summon Windwitch Crystal Bell once again." Rin brought out another copy of the fusion monster. "Then Fusion Parasite equips itself onto Crystal Bell!"
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"My Fusion Parasite has taken complete control of her now! There isn't anything Yugo can do to free her."
"Don't be so certain, Doktor." Madame Chaos berated. "Just look at the damage it received from that Action Card." The masked woman directed the Doktor's attention to the dilapidation of the Fusion Parasite in Rin's head; the black spots that covered it had grown.
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
Rin tottered again and her eyes widened as she activated Crystal Bell's ability again. "Crystal Bell's special ability activates. I activate Ice Bell's special ability from the graveyard to deal you 500 points of damage which will be payback for the damage you've inflicted on me!"
YUGO LP: 1450 = 950
"I end my turn." Yugo acted as if the damage wasn't affecting him.
Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon(ATK: 5800 = 3000/DEF: 2500/LV: 8)
"I draw! I summon Windwitch - Glass Bell(ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500/LV: 4)! And when she's summoned, I can add another Windwitch from my deck to my hand. And the one I select... is this! Windwitch - Frost Bell(ATK: 1200/DEF: 1500/LV: 3)!" After adding it from her deck, Rin special summoned the new Windwitch monster from her hand in Attack Mode. She was wearing the same outfit Ice Bell and Glass Bell wore, but hers was more pink-colored and had turquoise hair, making her look more like the second Ice Bell she had summoned in her first turn.
"I activate her special ability! By tributing my Glass Bell, Frost Bell can give her attack points to my Crystal Bell!"
Windwitch - Crystal Bell(ATK: 2800 = 4300/DEF: 2400/LV: 8)
"Crystal Bell, attack Crystal Wing Synchro Dragon and end this duel!"
Yugo jumped to one of the floating boards and picked an Action Card. "How about you cool it?! Big Escape will end this battle before you can even get an attack in!"
"Wrong! Frost Bell's special ability allows me to tribute her so I can freeze your spell solid, so Crystal Bell still gets to attack!" Frost Bell flew toward the Action Card and used her Winterwand to dispel it, wrapping it and her in a torrent of cold wind before dispersing, allowing Crystal Bell to continue attacking.
Once again, Yugo jumped across the floating boards and picked up an Action Card. "In that case, I play the Action Spell Damage Banish! Now I won't take any damage from your attack!" The card saved Yugo from receiving the finishing move at the cost of Crystal Wing being destroyed.
"Don't think you're getting out so easily! I'm using Crystal Bell's special ability to activate the special ability of my Ice Bell in my graveyard and blast you for another 500 points of damage!"
YUGO LP: 950 = 450
"Consider it payback for what you did to me." Rin said as she looked at her bruised body. "Face it. You're through. So, I'll accept your surrender now."
"Me, surrender?" Yugo's glare intensified. "I don't think so. If there's one thing you should remember about me, it's the fact that I don't give up, no matter what!"
"That does it! I can't take this anymore! Will you snap out of it!" Sylvio told Yugo in an annoyed tone.
"Quiet! Stay out of my way, or you're next!" Yugo retorted.
"Listen to yourself for a moment! All this time you've been looking for Rin. All of it for what? To blast her to kingdom come? You've told us over and over on how much you want to save her! Remember, you dolt! If she's your most precious person, why are you doing this?!" Sylvio pointed out Rin's current condition, wounded and tired from Yugo's relentless attacks.
Following Sylvio, Jack also finally stepped in, facing the younger turbo duelist. "He's right! Is this really what you wanted? Or were your words of saving Rin no matter what all a lie?"
Jack then pointed at Yugo's destroyed Duel Runner. "Dueling the way you are now, means all those dreams and hopes you had were for naught! Do you really want that?!"
Yugo hesitated when he saw his destroyed Duel Runner and then turned to Rin again. He growled while he held his head with his right hand, seeming to struggle with something inside him. It felt more suffocating and painful than the attacks he was receiving Rin. Yugo shook his head and kept glaring at the four people in front of him, leading to Sylvio and Jack worrying that their voices weren't able to reach him.
"I... draw!" Yugo then looked at the card he drew. When he looked at the card that he drew, his eyes widened. The moment he saw it, the glowing in his eyes dimmed enough for his pupils to become quite visible.
Days Ago - Heartland City - Xyz Dimension
It was just before Yuya and Celina were abducted and sent to Duel Academy. While everyone else had went to go get some much-needed rest, Yuya had approached Yugo with a card in hand.
"Yugo, this is for you." Yuya gave the card to Yugo.
"For me?" Yugo pointed to himself while looking at the card offered to him.
Yuya nodded. "Yeah. You gave me a card to me, now I'm returning the favor."
Yugo raised his hand, kindly declining the offer. "Thanks, but you really don't need to do that."
Yuya shook his head. "I know. But I want to. Besides, I think this card may suit you better than me." Yuya took Yugo's palm and placed the card inside it.
"But - "
Before Yugo could object, Yuya closed his palm tight. "Just take my good will." He let go of Yugo's hand, still holding the card.
Yugo sighed in defeat. "Fine. You win. Thanks, Yuya."
"It's nothing! By the way, do you remember what you said about the Friendship Cup?" Yuya asked about them having a rematch for the Duel King crown.
"Duh, yeah!"
"We're having it in New Domino, right?" "Of course! The Friendship Cup was made for New Domino City, so of course our rematch would be held there!"
"You're certainly fired up about it." Yuya chuckled at the enthusiasm Yugo displayed.
"Um, a thought just came to me. Since you said I have to "pick up the gauntlet when it's thrown down", does that mean I have to do the same thing Jack did during the entire tournament? Sit on a throne and watch everyone duel? You know, until we only get one competitor left?" Yuya imagined himself sitting on the Duel King throne and watching the entire tournament in the Duel Palace.
"Yeah! And the one who will remain will be me! I have a promise to keep with RinRin! So I'll beat everyone until I'm the last one!" Yugo said with a 100% confidence, putting his hands on his waist to emphasize it.
"It's like you're saying that Rin won't be joining us for the fun."
Yugo blinked at that mention, realizing the fact. "Uhh..."
Yuya clapped his hands. "Hey! I know! Once this is all over, let's put together some kind of a tournament! Maybe not the Friendship Cup, but, you know, some kind of tournament where we can all have fun! Me, you, and of course Rin."
Yuya pointed at Yugo while closing his right eye and smiled wide. "We'll save Rin, and we will have a duel together as well, okay?"
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"Yu... ya..." Yugo muttered under his breath as he remembered.
"That's right. I promised. That once we beat Duel Academy and stop the Professor, that I would have a rematch with Yuya just for fun with Rin by my side." Yugo's eyes stopped glowing and the darkness surrounding his body dissipated as well.
"What's wrong? You give up?" Rin said once more to Yugo.
"Sorry. But I'm not gonna give up! I traveled across dimensions just for you, and you think I'm gonna turn back when I'm this close to the finish line? If I did that, the real Rin would call me a loser! And I'm not a loser!"
"But you will be soon enough, Yugo."
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"The poor boy still thinks he can save Rin." The Doktor mused as he closed his eyes. Then he opened them to look at the monitor. "I would admire his persistence if it wasn't so pathetic."
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
Yugo nodded to Sylvio and Jack, indicating that he was back to normal, much to the relief of them and Alexis. He faced Rin again and took half of the four cards in his hand that he was certain that would lead him to victory.
"I'm bringing the real you back, if it's the last thing I do, Rin!"
Before Yugo revealed the cards in his hand, he saw the silhouette of a new monster turning to him. He could hear the new monster calling for him, waiting for him to summon it.
"And to help me do it, I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 1 Speedroid Marble Machine(ATK: 200/DEF: 100/LV: 2/PS: 1) and Scale 6 Speedroid Hexasaucer(ATK: 100/DEF: 1600/LV: 4/PS: 6)!" Yugo then placed them in the Pendulum Zones.
"You've got pendulum monsters?!" Rin was shocked seeing cards that she knew Yugo didn't have before.
"Just got them from Declan before I came here!" Yugo explained with a smile. "Now I can summon monsters between levels 2 and 5, all at the same time! It's time I kick it into high gear! I Pendulum Summon! Speedroid Dominobutterfly(ATK: 100/DEF: 300/LV: 2/PS: 8)! And Acrobatic Magician(ATK: 800/DEF: 2300/LV: 5/PS: 2)!"
"Where'd you get that?!" Rin was even more surprised to see that Yugo also had a monster that wasn't a Speedroid.
"Wait, wasn't that Yuya's?" Sylvio remembered the card from the Friendship Cup's final duel.
Light came from Yugo's Extra Deck, but he didn't pay any attention to it. His focus was completely on the vision and voice of the new monster, the new dragon that was waiting for him to summon it.
"Now my level 2 Speedroid Dominobutterfly tunes my level 5 Acrobatic Magician! Watch as I leave you in the dust with a dragon powerful enough to break the sound barrier! I Synchro Summon! Clear Wing Fast Dragon(ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000/LV: 7/PS: 4)!" Clear Wing Fast Dragon emerged like its other incarnations, but it was done at superfast speed, making it seem like a blur of light before it stopped.
"Now that's what I call a real "shimmer and shine" moment!" Sylvio cheered as he smiled wide. Alexis and Jack were just as amazed as he was. Though, Jack just showed it with a simple smile.
Rin was taken aback for a moment but then grinned as regained her composure. "No, you're wrong if you think you can beat me with that. You don't seem to notice that new dragon of yours is still not strong enough to beat my Crystal Bell."
"Don't be so sure, Rin." Yugo's smile unnerved Rin, making her have a bad feeling about what was coming next.
Yugo raised his arm to Clear Wing Fast Dragon. "Thanks to Clear Wing Fast Dragon's special ability, not only can I negate Crystal Bell's special abilities, but I can also lower her attack points all the way down to zero!" Clear Wing Fast Dragon's wings glowed bright, the light engulfing Crystal Bell and rendering her powerless.
Windwitch - Crystal Bell(ATK: 4300 = 0/DEF: 2400/LV: 8)
"Clear Wing Wing Fast Dragon! Take out Windwitch - Crystal Bell! Lightspeed Decimation Strike!" Similarly, like Clear Wing and Crystal Wing, the synchro-pendulum monster flew high into the sky until it was high enough and then green light accumulated in its wings while its body began to be enveloped in the same bright light. Eyes marked on its target, Crystal Bell, Clear Wing Fast Dragon dashed down like a superfast comet entering orbit at the fusion monster, striking through and quickly reducing her into nothing and blowing Rin away with its attack.
RIN LP: 100 = 0
"Rin, you okay?" Yugo and the others rushed to Rin, who was lying unconscious on the ground. Yugo cradled her gently, brushing the dirt off her face. "Listen, you're gonna be alright! Just open your eyes for me, okay?"
Professor's Chamber - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
At the same time, the Doktor was shocked to see that the signal of his Parasite inside Rin's brain had completely vanished.
"What happened?!" The Doktor exclaimed as he desperately tried everything to get back the signal, but to no avail.
"Looks like we lost Rin, sir." Madame Chaos said to her superior, the Professor, who just sighed in disappointment with her.
"This can't be!!" The Doktor said in utter disbelief with almost panic on his tone.
"Give it a rest. This wouldn't be the first time creations of yours failed to meet your high expectations." Madame Chaos said nonchalantly berated to the despairing Doktor.
"That's enough." Leo told his right-hands, his eyes closed as he addressed the two of them calmly. "Doktor, how is the progress on the preparations to extract Yuya Sakaki's energy?"
"It's almost ready to be implemented at your command, sir. I just need to do some final calibrations and a final checkup."
Opening his eyes to look at them, Leo then calmly said, "Very well. Proceed with them. You two may go now." The two right-hands of the Professor bowed to him before they departed from the room, going on to complete the tasks given to them.
East Tower - Duel Academy - Fusion Dimension
"C'mon! Please, Rin! Wake up!"
"Uhm..." Hearing the familiar voice, even if it hard to hear, Rin opened her eyes. At first, her vision was blurry, due to her headache, but she closed her eyes tight again and then opened them. This time, she could see Yugo clearly looking at her with worry.
"Yu... go." Rin uttered, much to the relief of the boy who held her.
"Thank goodness. You had me worried, like, for real." Yugo had tears brimming his eyes as he smiled at her.
A small smile formed on Rin's face before Yugo cried loudly as he hugged her. The girl returned the hug as she ruffled Yugo's hair. She closed her eyes to feel more of his warmth. She tightened her hug as her own tears flowed. "There's no mistake, you're Yugo alright. You jerk." Rin whispered in Yugo's ear as they hugged each other.
However, her happiness of reuniting with the one who she missed so much didn't last long as memories of what she had done came back to her.
Rin separated herself from Yugo as she looked at her hands in horror. "What... what have I done?! Our Duel Runner... I can't believe that I... I..." She then looked at the wreckage of what used to be the Duel Runner she and Yugo had worked so hard to make from scratch. Yugo also looked at the wreck when Rin did too.
"What have I done...?!" Rin started to cry, horrified at what she had done. "It's not your fault, Rin! You weren't yourself!" "But... but still, I...! After all those years of hard work we did!" Rin covered her face with her hands as she sobbed loudly. "I-I destroyed it! Just like that! As if it meant nothing! I'm the absolute worst!"
"Calm down, Rin. You can just rebuild it." Alexis told her. "Crying about it won't fix it." Jack added, gesturing Rin to stand up. "If you want to make anything right, you must take action. Once this is over, you can begin again, stronger than ever."
Yugo wiped the tears from his beloved childhood friend's eyes. "It won't be easy, but we'll get it working again. And we'll make it better than ever!"
Rin nodded, wiping the rest of the tears herself. "You're right. But right now, we have to rescue Yuya. I think he was taken to the detention level."
"Dennis already told us that. Let's get going." Alexis pointed towards Duel Academy.
"Wait. If you were imprisoned here, how could do you know where he is?" Yugo asked.
"Because I wasn't here until this morning. They had us locked up with Mr. Sheppard, the former principal of Duel Academy."
"You know where Mr. Sheppard is?!" Alexis asked, hopeful to know where and how her instructor was.
"Yes. You must be Alexis, right? Mr. Sheppard told us about you."
"I hate to ruin the moment, but if we want to save the both of them, we better get moving." Sylvio pointed over his shoulder toward Duel Academy. Knowing the truth in his words, the others nodded in agreement and they all started to walk towards the Academy.
As they did, the three Buster Brigadiers who they had defeated and fell over the cliff crawled onto the beach rock as they coughed the seawater out, their helmets still on. The three Buster Brigadiers silently watched the group as they left.
"Hmph. That could've gone better." The male grumbled. One of the girls flicked the back of his head in annoyance. "What's that for?" The Buster Brigadier asked, keeping his voice as low as possible so they wouldn't be noticed. "You were the one who didn't get out of my way when we crashed." "Can you blame me? The warning came too late!"
"It doesn't matter." The second female told her comrades, who looked at her. She then took her helmet off, revealing she had cybernetics on her face, specifically around where her brain and eyes were. "In the end, we're only pawns in a game that is bigger than the Professor's feeble agenda."
Her comrades nodded, taking off their helmets and reveling that they too had cybernetics in the cranial, optical, or/and auditory areas.
"Boy, are they in for a surprise. A big surprise!" The girls sinisterly chuckled at their male comrade's words, who snickered evilly with them.
Frost190's OC Cards I Modified:
Windwitch - Frost Bell(ATK: 1200/DEF: 1500/LV: 3): If you control only one level 3, or all the monsters that you control are Windwitch monsters, you can special someone this card from your hand. You can release one Windwitch you control and select one other Windwitch you control. The selected monster gains the attack points of the Windwitch you chose to release. Once per turn, negate the effect of a spell/trap by tributing this card.