Chapter 24: 99%
(Bastion Misawa POV)
"No way, is the power of friendship really capable of overcoming my calculations?" Bastion despaired.
"Great work, team!" The Dark Scorpions good-naturedly high-fived each other. The spirit of camaraderie they exuded was undeniable.
He stared down the group of villains, still in shock they managed to draw an optimal starting hand like they did. "These people are villains – they're trying to kill me and take my key. With my key, their master is going to unleash three Sacred Beasts with immense destructive power just to achieve the selfish wish of immortality. There's just no way they could be capable of harnessing the power of friendship!"
Bastion has seen Jaden, and to a lesser extent Syrus and Alexis, claim that the source of their strength was their bonds. But this is just a card game – how can merely having friends improve one's skill at a card game? Furthermore, Bastion noted that neither Zane or Jamie explicitly relied on friendship to win the day – Zane held to principles of honor and self-reliance, while Jamie cynically followed the meta. If anything, those ideas ran counter to the concept of idealistic faith in one's friends! Bastion just couldn't wrap his head around it.
"I need to try something." Bastion thought his next words slowly and carefully. "I believe in my friends. With the trust and support of my friends, I will draw the card I need."
"I draw." Bastion's next card was decent – enough to work with, but nothing miraculous. "Is there a factor I'm missing?" He wondered.
"Something the matter there, lad?" Zaloog called from across the pitch.
"Erm, no!" The Ra Yellow stammered. "I'll have to go with this. I activate the spell card Soul Exchange. If I tribute summon this turn, I can use one of your monsters as a sacrifice! Now, I'll sacrifice Gorg the Strong along with my Gozuki!"
"Uh, mister Zaloog, I don't feel so good…" Gorg muttered with worry as his monster form disintegrated.
"It's alright Gorg, you'll be fine. Once I find I way to get you out of the graveyard, you'll be right as rain." Zaloog reassured, somewhat exasperated with his teammates' melodrama.
"With those two sacrifices, I'll summon Red Ogre (2800/2100)!" As the name would suggest, Bastion summed a huge red ogre to his side of the field. It held a spiked club in its hand, its face adorned with two sharp black horns and a maw of sharp teeth.
"When this monster is summoned, I can send any number of cards from hand to grave, then send that same amount of cards back to your hand. I send one, so I'll bounce Don Zaloog back to the hand." The roar of the Red Ogre caused Zaloog to scamper off the duel field for the time being.
"There…now that one is in the graveyard and another is in the hand, he has less field presence and no way of getting over my monster. Sadly, Soul Exchange's effect prevents me from attacking…" Bastion thought, aware of Jasmine watching from behind him. "I end my turn."
"Shoot, that ogre is strong. But I know if we believe in each other, we can accomplish anything!" Zaloog went into another cheesy friendship speech as the remaning Dark Scorpions struck Sentai poses once again.
"He'll have to draw something really good to get out of the position he's in…now we'll see how much weight this "power of friendship" business carries." Bastion mused.
"I draw!" Zaloog declared. "And I activate Card of Sanctity!"
"Oh, come on!" Bastion held his hands on his head.
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"Umm, are you sure that's the end of your turn?" Alexis asked in genuine confusion. Abidos' guards glared at her for daring to question their leader. Abidos looked just as bewildered as she was for his part.
"What are you talking about? Of course, that is the end of my turn. Actually wait, let me set a card first. Anyways, my Pharaoh's Servant is more than enough for you to handle at the moment."
"What's his game?" Alexis wondered. The weak vanilla monster was no threat on its own, but…did he have a trap of some kind? If so, why waste it on protecting a paltry monster like this? The fact that she was hungover only added to the situation's surreal vibe.
"Um, ok…" She drew her first card. "I need to tend this quickly, so I can go back to sleep."
"I summon Cyber Petit Angel (300/200)!" The mechanical fairy fluttered to the field. "When this card is summoned, I can add a Cyber Angel or a Machine Angel Ritual from deck to hand." She added the ritual spell, now having the necessary pieces for a ritual summon.
"I chain my trap card, The First Sarcophagus!" Abidos interrupted.
"The first…does that mean there's more than one sarcophagus?" Alexis deduced.
"Yes. When all three sarcophagi are together, the cursed door will open, engulfing you with despair and darkness!" He said spookily, the palace guards stamping their staffs and spears on the ground for good measure.
"Yeah sure whatever. Anyways, I'll cast the Machine Angel Ritual, using Cyber Petit Angel and the Etoile Cyber in my hand as sacrifices! Come forth, Cyber Angel Benten (1800/1500)!" The fan-wielding warrior leapt unto the field from a pillar of light, cold mechanical eyes trained on the enemy.
"Woah woah woah! What's all this? These cards have to be fake!" Abidos protested, causing Alexis to pause in the middle of her play.
"What are you on about? I know they're relatively new, but these Cyber Angels have been out for three months!" Alexis protested rightfully.
"Well, that too, but I was really questioning is the color of your card – why is it blue?" Abidos' countenance was distinctly unlike a master's.
"Wha…you mean a ritual monster? Are you for real right now?"
"Ah, so that's what a ritual monster looks like these days. You know, back in my day we had to at least sacrifice a goat or something to bring a ritual monster out. Your generation has it too easy!" Abidos chose to bring up.
Alexis felt a headache beginning to occur near her right temple – it was always in the same spot whenever she was dealing with stupidity, although the hangover might have had something to do with this one.
"Yeah well, this is a card game, so it makes sense that we would only use actual cards for a sacrifice. Umm…" She momentarily lost her train of thought. "Benten attacks the Pharaoh's Servant."
"Oh no!" Abidos wailed as though this had never happened to him before. Alexis found this melodrama curious, as the attack wouldn't even be close to enough damage to finish him. Benten's effect wouldn't even do anything since the Pharaoh's Servant's defense points were zero. Cyber Angel Benten slashed through the mummy like it was made of wet toilet paper. (Alexis 4000/Abidos 3100)
"I'm being pushed – how is this possible!?" The almighty pharaoh seemed shocked that he took any damage. Alexis noticed that he did not seem to be suffering any physical pain, signaling that this wasn't a shadow game – yet.
"Heh, for a so-called god, I'm managing to hold my own pretty well." Alexis took a brief moment to congratulate herself, careful not to rest on her laurels. "I end my turn."
"My trap card's effect activates, allowing me to play The Second Sarcophagus from my deck. Only one more, and your fate is sealed!" Abidos said, another layer added to the ornate sarcophagus behind him.
"Uh-huh." Alexis yawned.
"But enough about that! I activate Pot of Greed, allowing me to draw two cards!" Abidos said, clearly coming from a time before any banlists were created.
"First, I'll set a card face-down. Then, I'll play Tribute to the Doomed, discarding one card to destroy your monster!" Abidos declared. A purple poison mist shot out from his palm at Alexis' monster, a plague of certain death.
"From the graveyard, my Machine Angel Ritual's secondary effect activates! By banishing it from the grave, I can protect my Cyber Angel form being destroyed." Alexis countered. A blue energy barrier materialized around Cyber Angel Benten, effortlessly dissipating the poison cloud and keeping Benten unharmed.
"No way! Spells have effects in the graveyard now! This is stupid, we didn't have overpowered crap like this back in my day." Abidos complained.
This guy was starting to remind Alexis of a genwunner. She didn't even dignify the remark with a response, just rolling her eyes.
"Erm…anyways, I shall set a monster and end my turn." Abidos hastily finished, finding Alexis' complete lack of fear disturbing.
"My turn. I'll start by summoning Manju of the Ten Thousand Hands (1400/1000). When this card is summoned, I can add a ritual spell or a ritual monster from deck to hand. I choose to add another Machine Angel Ritual." Alexis had been polishing her deck constantly since her duel with Atticus, not liking how close she came to defeat that day. Now, she was sure that her Cyber Angel deck had as much consistency as it possibly could have while still retaining her own personal style. She was somewhat in the middle when it came to deck building style – she wasn't over-analytical like Jamie or Bastion, but also wasn't reckless like Jaden or Erin.
"Now, I'll attack your face-down monster with Cyber Angel Benten! Go, fan slash!" The angelic automaton let loose sharp strike with her hand fans, ripping apart Abidos' face-down Pharaonic Protector (900/0). Again, Cyber Angel Benten couldn't use its burn effect due to the destroyed monster not having any defense points. Not fearing his backrow, Alexis commanded Manju to launch a direct attack. The attack went through unimpeded. With a seemingly endless barrage of fists, her golem brought Abidos to his knees. (Alexis 4000/Abidos 1700)
"My lord!" The palace guards cried out in worry.
"Grr…this shouldn't be happening! I am the greatest pharaoh of all time!" Abidos said to himself, rising to his feet.
"Enough of this pointless boasting! Is this some kind of joke? The history books say that you were great enough to rival the pharaoh Atem, but judging from this performance, I'm starting to wonder just how desperate Kagemaru was for Shadow Riders!" Alexis snapped, growing tired of his ego.
Abidos was completely shocked by her words – no one had ever dared to speak to him in such a manner before. "Wait…no one has ever gone against my wishes, or challenged me in the court…could that have applied to the dueling field as well?" He muttered to himself. In fact, the resurrected pharaoh seemed to be going into a flashback. However, as Alexis was not privy to the contents of Abidos' mind (thank Ra for that), she could not determine what he was remembering. However, his stammered words gave her some idea of what was happening.
"This has to be a joke…are you telling me that all of his opponents were losing on purpose?" She chuckled to herself. It was all so absurd – just her luck that this ridiculous fool was her opponent. She seriously doubted that Abidos knew anything about her brother and his condition. But still, despite herself, she felt a grain of sympathy for her foe…it must be difficult to look back on one's life and realize that it was a lie. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more Alexis pitied this man.
"Yes, with perspective, I can see it now…for my entire life, my servants have been letting me win, just to appease my ego. My entire reputation was built on a deception!" Abidos was having an existential crisis – Alexis really wasn't sure how to handle this.
"He jumped to this conclusion rather quickly…I bet he's always known, on some level." She thought. "Do you need a moment?" She asked with consideration.
Abidos sniffed. "Yes, please."
"Ok, just let me know when you're ready." Alexis said gently, like a babysitter would to a pouty child.
"Thanks."
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(Zane Truesdale POV)
Zane stared down Titan, the enemy's expression inscrutable behind his mask. The two foes moved outside of the hospital partially due to the continual shrieking of the alarms, but also due ot the limited space indoors.
"Well now…I understand you were the one who destroyed Tania. Your reputation seems to be at least partly justified, Kaiser." Titan placed sarcastic emphasis on the title. "But I have yet to be impressed."
"I didn't destroy Tania. Unlike you, she was not a murderous thug, and simply left to live her own life after our fight. And I allowed that. She was a respectable opponent.' Zane clarified, feeling the need to defend the amazon's honor.
"Bah! So she is a traitor then! It is no matter – after my master achieves his goal, we will hunt her down and punish her for her cowardice." Titan raved, veins pulsating in his temples.
Zane found himself in a quandary; how could he respect an opponent so vile and cruel? The Kaiser was used to facing arrogant people – he was an Obelisk Blue, after all. But a person like this…Zane found his ideals put to the test in a big way.
"Take your turn." Zane tried to play on his opponent's arrogance, hoping that Titan would go first and not ask questions. Luckily, the ploy succeeded, and Titan drew his first card.
"I set a monster and two face-down cards." However, the villain's opening move was understated, his deck's style still in the shadows.
Zane furrowed his brow. This man knew about him, he made that much clear with his boasting earlier. "And if he knows anything about me, then he should know about my deck, so why would he summon a monster?"
The Kaiser had to wonder if summoning the Cyber Dragon would play into his opponent's hand. But he had no other choice – his style of dueling revolved around swift, overwhelming power, not misdirection and guile.
"I call forth Cyber Dragon (2100/1600)!" He said, not even bothering to explain Cyber Dragon's effect. The chrome serpent slithered by Zane's side. A tense moment passed in which Titan seemed to consider a counter. "Any response?" Zane grunted.
"Hmm, no." Titan said after a time.
"Ok. I'll continue by summoning Cyber Larva (400/600)." A weak silver snake appeared, a baby Cyber Dragon. "It may look weak, but-"Zane was cut off.
"It has special abilities, yes." Titan finished mockingly. "Don't patronize me, boy. I'm sure you're used to dueling wet-behind-the-ears schoolboys, but that's not me."
Zane bristled, but continued his turn. "I attack with Cyber Dragon." The Kaiser's characteristic monster let out an equally characteristic blast of blue photons. The energy wave washed over Titan's monster, which was revealed to be Doomdog Octhros (800/800), a red and black demonic doggo.
"When Doomdog is destroyed, I can add a level 8 fiend type monster from deck to hand." Titan thumbed through his deck before settling on a target.
"Strange…Doomdog whatsits? I don't remember ever seeing that card before." Zane thought in confusion. He thought he was familiar with damn-near every card released, but clearly this was not the case. Titan smirked, as if knowing what Zane was thinking.
The Kaiser soon shook it off though. "I attack directly with Cyber Larva!" The larva let loose a weak yellow blast that struck Titan directly. The masked man took a step back to brace himself but needed little more than that. (Zane 4000/Titan 3600)
Titan's lack of a reaction reminded Zane of the first time he dueled Jaden, back at the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago now. "Only this time, the attacks are real, and this guy still shrugged it off like nothing." He grimaced but remained mostly calm.
"I set a card and end my turn." Zane finished.
Titan lazily snapped the next card off the top of his deck. "I'll begin my activating my continuous trap card, Sinister Yorishiro. Each turn, I can now normal summon a level five or higher fiend monster without tributing for it." The undertaker explained.
"What is going on here? I haven't heard of that card either." Zane's bewilderment was rising by the moment.
"And I think I'll start by summoning the monster I added to my hand last turn. A monster truly worthy of its title. Behold, Archfiend Emperor, the First Lord of Horror (3000/2000)!"
From behind Titan, a gigantic pillar of pure blackness erupted from the earth itself, reaching high into the air and splitting clouds. Seemingly from the depths of hell, an enormous purple skinned demon clawed out. It was so large that it towered over the Central Duel Academy main building, which was four stories in height discounting the duel arenas at the top. It made the Cyber End Dragon look like a yapping dog. Red eyes glared balefully at Zane, caring little if he lived or died.
Zane's eyes widened. "What on Earth…how is this possible? Where did you get these cards?" He muttered.
"Master Kagemaru is truly a man above all others…his ability to convene with duel spirits has granted me new and powerful cards! My campatriots decided to stick with their own decks for reasons I cannot fathom…but I will never tire of growing stronger!"
"It's like fighting in the dark!" Zane said, shocked.
"An apt comparison." Titan smirked. "Now, I shall use Archfiend Emperor's effect. By banishing an archfiend from my hand or graveyard, I can destroy a card on the field. And I think I will choose your irksome Cyber Larva!" The gigantic demon disintegrated Zane's monster with one swing of its blood-red sword, faster than the Kaiser could react.
"That's right, I know all about that blasted thing's effect! It prevents you from taking battle damage when it attacks, and it replaces itself when it's destroyed by battle! I am not so foolish as to be misled by its weak battle power. Next, I'll flip over my other trap card – Escape From The Dark Dimension! This allows me to special summon a banished dark monster, like the one I just banished for the Emperor's effect. Come forth, Archfiend Cavalry (1900/0)!"
A skeleton knight riding a ghoulish horse galloped onto the field, clad in red armor. "Attack the Cyber Dragon, Archfiend Emperor!" Titan thrust his hand forth to signal the beginning of his assault. The demon patriarch sliced apart Zane's dragon effortlessly, sending shards of chrome shrapnel every which way. (Zane 3100/Titan 3600)
"Archfiend Cavalry, charge!" Zane felt the pain of a spear impaling his midsection – it was so intense and real that his mind went blank for a few moments. A strangled gurgle escaped his lips as he tumbled to the ground, clutching his chest in agony. (Zane 1200/Titan 3600)
Zane's mind was a flurry now – not even Jamie Lancaster, his would-be rival, could overwhelm him this quickly in their practice duels. This was so far beyond what he could have imagined when he took on the responsibility of being a key keeper. In truth, the possibility of losing scarcely crossed his mind. He had strong principles, and by holding to those principles, he had stayed at the top for all of his time at Duel Academy. Honor, a respect for one's opponent, trust in one's deck, and a passion for the game – these were the components that made a true duelist in Zane's mind. Time and time again, they steered him true.
And yet, Titan's very existence flew in the face of those principles. He had risen from the depths of hell, given an undeserved second chance at life by an evil madman. His cards were strong, far stronger than any he had ever seen. And it was all secondhand – they were just given to him by Kagemaru! He didn't have to build that deck – he didn't care a bit about respecting his opponent or trusting his deck. And yet, Titan was winning handily and Zane was on the back foot.
"Why? Why did you do to deserve this power?" Zane was thinking aloud, and Titan heard him.
"You think power has something to do with morality? A child's correlation. I am powerful because I do as I please and impose my will on those who stand in my way. Before master Kagemaru resurrected me, I was a contractor who took any number of unsavory jobs. Let's put it this way – kidnapping that blonde bitch back in October was the tamest job I had in quite a while." Titan explained gratuitously.
"Watch your tongue! That's my friend you're talking about!" Zane rose to defend Alexis' honor, even as his body was still wracked with residual pain from the last wave of attacks.
Titan merely laughed. "The real world is gonna chew you up and spit you out, Truesdale. Before you go to your grave, I will impart this eternal lesson to you. Strength is the only thing that matters in this world – everything else is just a delusion for the weak."
Zane's cobalt eyes widened. Titan's words spoke to the very worst parts of him – the parts he had hidden away ever since he was a boy. To be ruthless, cold, and power-hungry came easy to him. The calm, collected visage he normally presented wasn't a façade per se, but he always felt like he was…holding back. He didn't want the wrods to make sense, but they did…god damn it, they resonated so much. But it would take more than that to unhinge him.
"That's not true – a real duelist wins with honor and respect!" Zane shot back. Surely the lessons he learned as a boy were right, they had to be.
"Then why am I winning?" Titan responded in kind.
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(Jamie Lancaster (My) POV)
The rules were established as follows; Kagemaru begun with 8000 life points to his name, while Jaden and I each got 4000. If one of our life point counters hit zero, the other duelist could continue and from that point on things would proceed as a normal one-on-one duel, with the caveat that the surviving duelist could use any cards that the teammate still had on the field when they lost. So if I lost somehow and I still had a face-down card left on the field, Jaden could use it and vice-versa.
The turn order would proceed as Jaden-Kagemaru-Me-Kagemaru-Jaden, meaning our enemy would get two turns for each of ours singularly. Theoretically, our teamwork would make up for this. Jaden and I did not share any zones – we both got five monster zones, spell/trap zones, etc. Our extra decks (or fusion deck in his case) were also our own. No one was allowed to attack on their first turn.
"The longer this duel goes on, the more duel energy he's going to absorb with that new power of his. And considering you and Jaden already have high levels of duel energy…who knows how destructive Kagemaru could become if he absorbed both of your energies?" Sonata speculated. I glanced at Erin, who was moved to a safe distance behind us, and grit my teeth.
"Show em what you got, Jaden." Winged Kuriboh said confidently, and to my surprise, his voice was an extremely deep, Morgan Freeman-esque tone, rather than the cutesy high pitch I had been expecting. I nearly laughed, but in light of the situation at hand, I didn't.
"Alright, here we go! Your ambitions will be stopped here, Kagemaru! I activate Polymerization, fusing together the heroes Avian and Burstinatrix in my hand to summon my Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200) in attack mode!" Jaden's most ubiquitous fusion monster arrived in a fiery pillar, a green humanoid with a red dragon's maw for an arm.
"Next, I'll set a card and end my turn." Jaden finished succinctly. It appeared that he had taken my words to heart and wasn't playing around this time.
"Heroes…an interesting deck. Today will prove who is the true master of fusion summoning. Behold." Kagemaru drew for his first turn. "I shall begin by summoning Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio (1200/800)."
Oh, shit.
From the sands rose a strange sight – the monster appeared to a hybrid of plant and animal, a scorpion composed of branches, thorns, and leaves.
"There's no way! This can't be happening! How did you get this kind of power?!" I panicked. Jaden looked alarmed, having obviously never seen this monster before.
"It is as I said – my desires aligned with those of a duel spirit." Kagemaru repeated. Behind him, in a haze of purple aura flecked with red, I started to make out the form of what his duel spirit might be, but it was still too unclear to make a definitive judgment. The range of options were certainly limited now, though. "And in these cards I can feel the power of a truly supreme being."
Kagemaru clenched his fists. "And within these monsters is a yearning, a searching to be whole. You see, even the enormous power I now possess is still incomplete. And once I become immortal, I will find the remaining pieces of the puzzle and attain true strength."
"Uhh…what is he talking about? That thing's only got 1200 attack, my wingman can torch that little weed." Jaden said in confusion.
"Just watch…" I grumbled, knowing what was coming next.
"When my scorpion is summoned, I can send one monster from hand to grave in order to special summon one Predaplant monster from my deck. And the card I choose to summon is Predaplant Darling Cobra (1000/1500)." A serpent made of vine slithered out of the sea, its tail a budding violet flower. "And when this monster is summoned, I can add Polymerization from deck to hand!" The muscled foe thumbed through his deck and retrieved the card, now having all the necessary materials for a fusion summon.
"Are you kidding me? That's busted!" Jaden complained. This was actually a very basic combo for the archetype, but from Jaden's perspective these cards seemed way too good.
"Now, bear witness to a real fusion summon! I fuse together Predaplants Ophrys Scorpio and Darling Cobra to form the ultimate fusion dragon! The seed born and cultivated in darkness has finally risen to see the first rays of dawn – a new day with a sun that shall never set! Arise, Starving Venom Fusion Dragon (2800/2000)!"
The area was flooded with dark energy, sheets of purple upon black that blotted out the sky and rendered the ocean a sickly red color. The dragon's power was such that it changed the very landscape itself in the immediate area. The oak and palm trees to the west were covered in a rain of poison, burning away their leaves and rotting the wood to its core.
Jaden's eyes widened, and I heard a sharp intake of breath. For a brief moment, I questioned why this was, until it hit me. The dragon exerted a sudden chill and pressure that stole the very air from my lungs.
"This duel energy is insane! I can barely hold my ground!" Sonata hold onto me, the wind threatening to blow her away.
"Haven't felt power like this since the old days…" Winged Kuriboh muttered.
A dragon with a serpentine green body slithered out of a poison mist cloud, purple and red wings blending into the background surreally. The sight was familiar to me in a way, as I had seen and used this card back in my old life. But to see it bared against me in such a visceral, real way…the fear was bone deep.
But Jaden was different. As I glanced over at him, his grin was wild and his eyes expectant. He met my eyes, giving me a challenging look as if to say, "Doesn't this power excite you, Lancaster?"
Despite the inherently poisonous and corrosive nature of Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, Kagemaru looked more alive than ever. "When this monster is summoned, it can gain attack equal to one special summoned monster until the end of this turn." Kagemaru explained the dragon's first effect, the target being obvious.
A horde of vines emerged from the ground and binded the Flame Wingman. With effort, the hero was able to burn away the foliage with its dragon flames, but the vines were able to get the measure of its power nonetheless. The dragon's attack power was raised to 4900.
"Of course, it is meaningless since I cannot attack this turn…I set a card and pass." Kagemaru said in languid fashion.
I took a moment to clear my head. I can do this, I have a powerful deck as well! I took my first draw, not believing my luck.
"So, you're all about fusion summons now, huh? Well get a load of this one. I activate the spell card Ostinato!"
"You play what?" Jaden sputtered in shock. Kagemaru merely scoffed.
"When I control no monsters, this card lets me fusion summon a Melodious monster using materials from my deck. By sending Mozarta the Melodious Maestra and Sonata the Melodious Diva to the graveyard, I can summon Bloom Diva the Melodious Choir (1000/2000)! Feast your eyes upon the card that will bring about your end, a perfect instrument of death and destruction!"
A cute little girl wrapped in light lavender silks appeared in a soft ball of light, humming a little tune to herself. She took a glance at the monster we were fighting and seemed to recognize it.
"Ooh, I know just the song for something like this, Jamie-kun!"
"Something badass, right?" I dared to venture, even though I really should know better at this point.
Grinning, she started to blare Britney Spears "Toxic".
"Oh, give me a fucking break!" I facepalmed. Jaden was laughing his ass off in the background, while Kagemaru merely stared down my monster with contempt.
"Uh, Jim, are you really sure that this is gonna be good enough to beat down that badass dragon?" Jaden asked facetiously between peals of laughter. Growling, I walked over to him and showed him the card.
"Just read it, it's a good card, I swear!" I stammered.
"~WITH THE TASTE OF YOUR LIPS I'M ON A RIDE~"
"Woah, ok, that might actually put in some work." Jaden admitted, although a wry smirk was still on his face. "I'm just surprised that these are your favorite cards."
"I never said-"I started, but was suddenly aware of Sonata standing right behind me. "I mean, of course they're my favorites. What else could be?" I heard a hum of satisfaction from a few meters away. Jaden's started laughing again.
"If you're quite finished with your little lover's spat, continue your turn. I still have islands to destroy today." Kagemaru tapped his wrist impatiently, despite the fact that he wasn't wearing a watch. "I'm not getting any older over here."
"Don't you mean that you're not getting any younger over there?" Jaden corrected.
"I know what I said." Kagemaru rebuked.
"Erm, right. Now, what was I doing again?" I took a moment to consider my strategy. "Uh, I'll set two and end my turn."
"~YOU'RE TOXIC, I'M SLIPPIN' UNDER~"
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(Bastion Misawa POV)
Bastion suddenly felt a horrible, creeping chill. Instinctively, he looked towards the Southeast beach, where he saw purple and black clouds forming over the shoreline.
"What on earth was that? What is this sudden feeling of…dread?" Bastion looked at his hands, and noted they were shaking uncontrollably.
In contrast, none of the Dark Scorpions looked particularly ruffled. Well, except for Chick, but he was always nervous about something. "Heh, looks like the boss is starting to cut loose…" Zaloog idly commented.
"Cut loose? What do you mean?" Jasmine asked, holding her arms at her sides with a shiver.
"Must be dueling that Lancaster bloke he keeps yammering on about." Cliff theorized.
"Jamie?" Bastion questioned.
"Yeah, that was the guy's first name." Meanae confirmed.
"My word…I hope you know what you're doing, Jamie." Bastion thought, sparing a moment to hope for his old roommates' success. "That doesn't look like much fun."
"Let's hurry up and crush this guy so we can get paid!" Zaloog's rallying cry served to sufficiently motivate the Scorpions, and they continued their turn.
"I'll start by summoning myself, Don Zaloog, back to the field." The commander stepped forward once more, joining his three remaining comrades.
"Meanae, in order to destroy that Ogre, we're going to have to use…that technique." Zaloog warned, giving the brunette a meaningful look.
"Do whatever is necessary. I am yours to command." She said demurely.
He smirked. "Duly noted. I activate Dark Scorpion – Tragedy of Love! If Don Zaloog and Meanae the Thorn are on the field, I can send Meanae the Thorn to the graveyard to destroy all of your monsters!"
The beautiful pickpocket slowly began to disintegrate, taking a place on the sidelines next to the burly Gorg. Then, spiked vines rose up from the ground and entrapped Bastion's Red Ogre, taking it down in the process. Jasmine gasped, seeing that Bastion was wide open for attack.
"Heh, and just like that, another key is ours! Take him down, fellas!" Zaloog rushed forward with a dagger brandished, Chick and Cliff trailing closely behind him. This attack would be more than enough to deplete Bastion's remaining life points.
If it went through, that is. Bastion's resolve did not waver – he knew that now was the time to use his face-down. "Reverse card, open – Call of the Haunted! You haven't seen the last of my Red Ogre!"
Like the devil itself, Bastion's Ogre ripped open the ground it was recently buried in and rose again. Its eyes flashed with the promise of vengeance.
"Almost had him! Oh well, I set a card and end my turn." Zaloog finished, not seeming very perturbed despite the Ogre's power advantage.
Bastion took note of this. "He must feel confident that his face-down will be able to save him. If I draw the right card here, I can win." Now was the time for Bastion to put his theory to its greatest test.
"They aren't the only ones who can use the power of friendship to win a card game. If they can, I can, and in doing so, I can understand the phenomenon logically." Bastion thought. He wasn't sure if the power would work with romantic bonds like the one he and Jasmine had. It might have to involve a purely platonic friendship. "If only one of my friends would show up right now!"
At that moment, Adam Sugihara casually walked on by the duel with his headphones in. He was seemingly completely unaware of the duel going on around him, making towards the Ra Yellow dorm. He wore a purple hoodie with dark jeans, and he was noshing on what was clearly and obviously a rice ball.
"These donuts are great! Jelly filled are my favorite! Nothing beats a jelly-filled donut!" Adam mused to himself.
"Um, Adam?" Jasmine waved her hands in front of his face, managing to get his attention. Starting in shock, Adam quickly took his earbuds out to speak to her.
"Woah, didn't see you there, Jasmine! How are you?" The gambling duelist said jovially.
"Um, I'm alright, thanks. I've just got to ask you a favor. Also, those things you're eating are called Onigiri." She corrected.
"Huh?" Adam looked down at the food in his hand. "Oh, shoot! I was in a hurry, and I grabbed the wrong food from the cafeteria. I meant to grab a donut, but didn't look to make sure. Anyways, what can I do for ya?"
It took Jasmine a moment to process such idiocy, but she managed to somehow. "Right. Anyways, just take a look around."
Adam did so, and noticed Bastion and the Dark Scorpions for the first time. The duel spirits were dumbfounded, but Bastion had an easy smile on his face. "Perfect, this should work."
"What's going on here? You dueling some cosplayers, Misawa?" Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Everybody's already made that joke." Meanae sharply interjected.
"Well, excuse me princess, some of us here actually have jobs and don't have time to make the pithy one-liners first. So what's the deal here?" Adam shot back, eating the rest of his recently discovered rice ball.
"Don't worry about the specifics of it, Sugihara. These are shadow riders, that's all." Bastion succinctly put it.
"That so? Do you think you can win?" Adam asked casually. The Scorpions were beginning to look rather put out.
"Well, if this little experiment of mine works out, then yes. You're a big part of it. But first, I must ask you a question; we're friends, right?" Bastion cut right to the chase.
Adam shrugged. "Uh, yeah, I suppose."
"Good enough." Bastion thought grimly. "Then I shall need you to believe in me as hard as you possibly can so that I draw the right card for the situation at hand. I have reason to believe that the trust of a friend is an instrumental factor in playing this game well."
"Don't be stupid, what I think has nothing to do with what card you draw. You guys did shuffle your decks, right? It should be pretty much random chance what you draw." Adam replied. Bastion nodded, but the Scorpions were now starting to sweat.
"Wait a minute, you guys didn't shuffle your decks before starting? That's against the rules! These dirtbags probably stacked their cards, Misawa!" Adam yelled. He hated cheating of any kind – it always spoils the fun of a gamble, or a game in this case.
"Umm, well, you see…what happened is…" Zaloog started to formulate excuses, but none got very far.
"Why didn't you shuffle their cards, Bastion?" Adam questioned fiercely.
"I could have sworn I did!" Bastion said, but as he recalled the beginning of the duel, he found an inconsistency. "Oh goodness me, I was so excited to finally have some time in the spotlight that I forgot to make sure the decks were fairly cut!"
Jasmine and Adam facepalmed. "He's a smart guy, but sometimes he lacks common sense…" Jasmine said half-ruefully.
"Never assume the other guy is playing fair…I learned that lesson at a young age." Adam said sagely.
The Dark Scorpions, for their part, did not deny the allegations. "So what if we did stack our deck? Victory is all that matters! There's nothing you can do now! The only way you can back out of this duel is if you surrender, and if you do, that key is gonna be ours by the ancient laws!" Zaloog pointed out. The other scorpions smirked viciously, seemingly glad to drop the façade.
"Darn! Doesn't the key have something against cheating? Jamie mentioned that it has some level of self-preservation instinct!" Bastion scowled.
"He said that it defended him when his life was in danger. Maybe it doesn't have some kind of way to act against cheating, though." Adam hypothesized.
"Bah!" Bastion said in frustration. "Then there is no choice but to continue the fight! It may be an uphill battle, but I shall not give up."
"You taught me that…my friends…" Bastion thought of Jamie's daring, reckless crusade to battle Zane at the beginning of the year. He thought of Jaden defeating him despite his best-laid plans. He thought of Adam's devil-may-care reliance on luck that always seemed to pay off when it counted. In that moment, Bastion wished to fight like that, carefree and full of wonder.
He drew his next card, and he saw the solution to the equation in his mind.
"I activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card!" It was a common card, a basic tool for any dueling deck. But in that moment, Bastion would have taken over the most expensive secret rare.
"Oh, shit!" Zaloog swore ungracefully as his Mirror Force was blown away. The Scorpions were unprotected now.
"Now, I summon Zombie Master (1800/0) in attack mode!" A ghastly, white-haired ghost girl rose from the earth. "And this card has a powerful ability. If I send a monster from my hand to the grave, then I can special summon a level four or lower zombie to the field."
"Welcome back, Gozuki!" The bull demon joined the Zombie Master and the Red Ogre. Bastion's field was beginning to look formidable, but he wasn't done yet. "And now, I'll use Gozuki's effect to send another zombie from my deck to the graveyard."
"Just like we planned!" Jasmine said in excitement.
"Finally, I'll use the effect of the Mezuki (1700/800) I sent to the graveyard earlier with Foolish Burial." The image of a horse demon briefly appeared by Bastion's side. "If I banish this card from the graveyard, I can special summon another Zombie from my graveyard."
Indulging in a spot of duelist pageantry, Bastion raised his free hand skyward. "Like the one I just put there!" Suddenly, he slammed his palm on the ground, baffling the onlookers. A glyph written in black kanji was painted on the dirt.
"I summon the Nine-Tailed Fox (2200/2000)!" Smoke billowed from the seal, but after a moment, an enormous fox with, you guessed it, nine tails emerged. Its fur was mostly white, with the ends of the tails a more reddish hue. It's said that if you strained your ears in that moment, you could hear a pan flute playing faintly in the background.
"Geez…we're definitely gonna get a copyright strike this time." Although the Kyuubi no Kitsune was an old figure in Japanese folklore, Adam decided to draw attention to the obvious reference.
"N-no way, how could things have gotten out of control so quickly?!' The scorpions cowered before the full might of Bastion's Yokai deck – in spite of their underhanded ways, they still failed in the end.
"My four monsters will attack now!" First, Gozuki smacked Cliff the Trap Remover with its massive hammer. (Bastion 2000/Zaloog 3500) Then, Zombie Master destroyed Chick the Yellow with bolts of unearthly purple lightning. (Bastion 2000/Zaloog 2700)
Then, the Nine-Tailed Fox charged a ball of black energy in its fanged mouth, firing a fierce orange laser at Don Zaloog. The blast knocked him over and sent him skidding along the green grass. (Bastion 2000/Zaloog 1900)
Finally, the Red Ogre loomed over the Dark Scorpions, a fearsome sight indeed. Unceremoniously, it swung its club one last time, leaving the bandits bamboozled. (Bastion 2000/Zaloog 0)
"Woohoo!" Jasmine cheered. "Nice job, Bas!"
Adam smirked. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good."
Bastion breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems our experimental deck worked out, Jasmine. And against a stacked deck, no less!" He smiled briefly at his girlfriend, pleasantly surprised at her deck building skill. Then, he looked upon his fallen foes and his gaze hardened.
"It's over. You lied, you cheated, and you lost." Bastion said with finality.
The Scorpions struggled to pick themselves up after the onslaught of attacks from Bastion's Yokai monsters. "Heh," Zaloog spat out a gob of blood. "Looks like you win this round, egghead."
"This wasn't a shadow game – we'll be just fine after a little rest. Then it's on to the next job. So save your moralizing." Cliff explained, his glasses cracked.
"I would advise you not to act against this island again. There are other students at this academy still who are stronger than me, and some of them do not share my disposition for mercy." Bastion thought of how Jamie had supposedly vanquished the duel spirit of Jinzo without remorse. Now that he knew that Duel Spirits were real, Bastion found the act somewhat chilling, although he did not know the depth of Jinzo's evil.
"Yeah, yeah." Meanae said dismissively, causing Bastion to bristle. "I don't think any of us want to come back this way any time soon. We can always think of something to tell Kagemaru if he find us. For now, we'll stay out of your way."
"Aw, but that reward was big…" Gorg murmured.
"There's other jobs, Gorg." Zaloog repeated. "For now, let's go lick our wounds someplace." Chick nodded quickly, eager to escape.
"I'm serious! You would do well to give up your dishonorable ways!" Bastion raised his voice, startling Adam and Jasmine somewhat.
"Honor doesn't fill the belly or pay the bills – it is of little use for us." Zaloog shot back. "But we agree to stay away from this island."
Bastion frowned – he felt certain that the Dark Scorpions would renege on their word as soon as it proved profitable. He would have to be ready to face these thieves again one day, this Bastion knew.
"Get out then." The Ra Yellow said with disgust. "and do not return."
"Hehe, see ya around, egghead! Watch your back!" The Scorpions cackled viciously, their physical forms slowly fading from Bastion's vision as they returned to the Duel Monsters Spirit Realm. Their mocking laughter hung in the air for a while. Bastion watched the spot where they disappeared with determination, feeling confident he could win again the next time their swords crossed.
"Disrespectful even in defeat…man, there's nothing I hate more than a sore loser." Adam commented, approaching Bastion. "Good job there, man." The two Ra boys briefly shared a fist bump before Bastion was engulfed in a hug.
"That was awesome, Bastion! You know, I've got a few more deck ideas you should try out sometime." Jasmine said happily.
"Indeed." Bastion smiled back. "I can't wait."
The couple looked fondly at each other for a long moment, Adam standing back to give them some space. But then, the moment passed, and Bastion gave further thought to the ominous chill he felt earlier.
"I fear that there are still many battles ahead of us…" Bastion mused as they each looked upon the heavy purple and black mist that covered the southern beach.
A/N
Hope you all enjoyed. I realize that I normally don't post around this time, but the chapter was done and I thought why wait?
I posted a character mix for Kagemaru in my profile, as I felt his character was sufficiently fleshed out to merit one, so check that out if you'd like.
I really like Bastion's deck in the manga, will definitely use it again in the future. Otherwise, tell me how you think these duels are shaping up, they should be finished next chapter. Excited to wrap this arc up - after this we move to stuff like the Graduation Duel, the Kaibacorp summer internship, and Jamie and Chazz's Excellent Adventure to the United States. The summer between first and second years is going to also be huge with regards to Jamie's relationship with his "family". Very tired rn so no long author's note. Peace!