Chapter 41 – I Cry When Angels Deserve To Duel
(why'dyouleavethecardsuponthetable)
(Aster Phoenix POV)
Aster would never forget the day he first met Sartorius. It was shortly after his mother and father had been murdered, when he was just turning eight years old. Each day had blurred into the next back then. Aster had barely slept, barely ate, barely did anything as his entire world closed in on itself. His mind ran in circles as he gazed at the ceiling, or the wall, or the floor, or nothing. The future seemed so limited and small. For a long while he wanted to die as well, to join his parents wherever they ended up. But he never had the will to do it, and that hurt even more.
His legal guardian was Kyle Jables, a cousin of his father. While his guardian concerned himself with the legal work of assuming custody of Aster, as well as the accumulated fortune that was left to him in his father's trust, Aster himself was often left to his own devices. In hindsight, it was remarkably negligent of Jables and the numerous people responsible for his well being to leave him unattended so often. But Aster was glad for it – it was that same negligence that let him meet Sartorius.
One night, while Jables was deep in meetings with the estate lawyers, Aster visited the local church on a whim, his mind aimless and blank. The doors were open to the public during all hours of the day, but as it was seven in the evening on a Monday, there was no service in session.
Apart from some custodians, there was only one person in the hall of worship. It was another boy, one clearly taller and older than Aster, with unusually long blue hair and wide blue eyes. He was almost perfectly still, sitting the pew with his hands folded.
What immediately caught Aster's attention about him was his intense, unwavering devotion to prayer. This was no fair weather believer, this was someone with true conviction. With faith. The word curdled on Aster's tongue. A sudden, incomprehensible rage took over him.
"May the light bring forth good fortune to mother, and father, and sister…I pray for justice, and peace to all of the light's children." The blue-haired boy said lowly, not even noticing Aster's presence. Aster didn't give much thought to the words, thinking them some sort of generic Christian prayer.
"You think God can hear you! You think those silly words change anything! There's no purpose!" Aster suddenly screamed as he advanced on the older boy, a gut-wrenching invective of emotions that had no outlet before. The blue-haired youth was jerked out of his reverie, staring at Aster.
"There's no justice! Do you hear me!? None! Life is chaos! Misery and death! No one can help us!" Aster bellowed in anguish at this boy who had done nothing to him, nothing but show faith.
All at once, the strength left Aster and he placed his hands on the back of the pew, weeping inconsolably. Free flowing tears stained the finely crafted woodwork, his arms wobbling and chest heaving.
The other boy stood up and hugged Aster. His expression remained calm, sympathetic and patient throughout the entirety of Aster's tirade.
Aster's crying redoubled as he hugged the boy back with all of his strength.
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"You can hear God?" Aster rubbed his red eyes, his nose stuffy as he sat on the pew, watching the evening sunlight filter in through the elaborate stained glass on the walls.
"No one individual on this earth can truly know the Light or hear its voice…but with effort, it is possible to piece together echoes and whispers…" The boy, Sartorius, mused softly. "It brings me peace, and lets me know I'm on the right path."
Aster shuddered. "Peace…" He whispered.
"Yes, peace. It's like warm sunlight casting out the shadows in my mind, if only for a moment." Sartorius added.
Aster looked at him with desperate, lost eyes. "Can you teach me how?"
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Every day after that, Aster and Sartorius met at that church, except on Wednesdays, for there was an evening worship session then. On Wednesdays, they chose to meet in the local park, during the morning when it was least busy.
The two boys sat underneath a blooming cherry blossom tree. Both of their eyes were closed, but neither was asleep. Rather, they were deep in meditation. Aster tried his best to focus on his breathing, simultaneously perfectly at rest and desperately straining to hear any trace of the Light's voice. The light's presence was so soothing, but he could only hold onto the feeling for a few seconds before it passed.
"That was the longest yet." He said quietly to Sartorius, his friend.
"It isn't easy. Our worldly minds are constantly clouded with petty concerns and sinful impulses. You must truly want to listen. Your progress is astounding, Aster." Sartorius praised with a small smile.
"Thank you, Sartorius." Aster had somewhat regained his composure since the meltdown in the church. Sartorius wordlessly handed him a water bottle, and Aster gratefully took a drink.
"How…" Aster suddenly said, his silver bangs obscuring his eyes. "How can you…you know…deal with stuff…when…." He couldn't quite put the emotional maelstrom inside him into words.
"How do you keep living on when it isn't worth it," Sartorius could make it so simple, so clear. Although he himself was only twelve, Sartorius was amazed that Aster felt this way at only eight. He shuddered to imagine what would have become of the boy if they had not met – truly, the Light's plan is good!
All he could do was speak truthfully from his heart, and hope it was enough. "It is hard. Life is full of suffering, but there is a purpose in it. The Light has a grand plan for us all. Your pain will eventually become strength, and with that you will know the profound joy of healing. Should you hone that strength….there will no longer be any need to wait on justice." Sartorius said with quiet, yet powerful emphasis.
Aster's stare no longer looked so blank – gradually, a purpose was forming. "I see…"
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"I'm ready! Let's do this!" Jaden readied. Aster refocused to reality.
"You face your judgment enthusiastically, at least." Aster voiced dryly. He won the roshambo, so he elected to take the first turn.
"I'll start by summoning Vision Hero Vyon (1000/1200)!" For all Aster's talk of the Destiny Heroes versus the Elemental Heroes, his first monster was neither. It was a slight man in a purple cybernetic suit with a helmet that resembled a laser lens. Jaden squinted, not recognizing the card.
"When this monster is summoned, I can send a hero monster form my deck to the graveyard. I choose to send Destiny Hero Disk Commander." Aster sent another unknown hero to the grave.
"Then, I'll set two cards and end my turn." The silver-haired duelist finished simply.
"Somehow, that disk commander must benefit from being in the grave…" Syrus murmured in his seat, nervous as always.
"Yeah." Erin agreed, somewhat jealous that she wasn't the one in the fight. "We'll see what these new heroes are about soon enough. I'm just gonna go ahead and guess that they do a lot with fusion. Whatever they do, Jaden will adapt. He's good at doing that, wouldn't you say, Crowler?" She turned and addressed the headmaster, who was sitting a few rows above them in the otherwise empty stands.
Crowler was uncharacteristically muted, his posture pensive. He didn't respond to Erin's question or the taunt thinly hidden beneath it. She found that odd – he was usually more easily provoked than this, and the man was rarely the quietest person in the room.
"Oi! Earth to Crowler!" She waved.
"Please pay attention to the match, Miss Reid. You are fortunate to even be allowed entry. It would behoove you to take advantage of that." Crowler said coldly, another behavior most unlike him. Aster only allowed Erin, Syrus, and Miss Dorothy (who only had time to watch for a little bit until she had to get back to the shop) to watch because they saw his first game against Jaden. She still didn't know why Crowler let Aster have his way – just how much was the pro paying him? Did Kaiba sanction this? It was frustrating how so many mysteries seemed to swirl around her, and yet her burning desire for truth was rarely satisfied. It was as if she was only a minor character in some far grander story. The thought haunted her.
"Alright, my draw!" Jaden started. "I'll play Elemental Hero Stratos (1800/300)!" He didn't even realize it, but it was the same opening move Aster employed against Zane. "This lets me search a hero from my deck to my hand." Rifling through his deck, Jaden recruited Sparkman. "Now, I'll take down your Vision Hero!"
The wind hero's turbines revved up with a high-pitched whine before he suddenly blasted off, punching the lesser Vyon into dust and scrap. (Jaden 4000/Aster 3200)
"Alright! Jaden's already done more damage than Zane was able to!" Erin forgot about Crowler to focus on the duel instead.
"Activate reverse card, Destiny Signal. When a monster of mine is destroyed by battle, I can special summon a level four or lower Destiny Hero from my deck to the field." Aster explained as a giant light adorned the ceiling, a stylized letter D printed in shadow.
From the shadow came a bizarre, dark being, dressed in all black with the exception of a bloodred cape flowing from its cowl. Its face was a white mask with red eyes, expressionless and cold. Its hands were all sharp claws.
"I summon Destiny Hero Doom Lord (600/800)." Aster intoned. The sinister being floated down to its master's side. Jaden found it unsettling, but not because of its appearance.
"This is a hero, to be sure." Jaden couldn't deny that it had an undeniable aura of justice and conviction. "But more than that, this is a tool for vengeance. Funny, for a guy who thinks that he knows everything about the way the universe is run, he doesn't seem very content with his life. I wonder what his deal is?" The red-clad boy believed that he could truly understand people through dueling.
"I'll throw down two face-downs and call it a turn." Jaden finished, on tenterhooks as we waited to see what the Destiny Heroes truly were.
Aster drew. Wordlessly, he placed a card in the field spell zone. Quickly, the arena seemed to darken, and the ceiling gave way to a crowded, choked night sky obscured by skyscrapers and building tops. Behind Aster, the largest building of all emerged from nothingness – a dark blue clock tower, enclosed by a spiky fence.
On the uppermost spire of the clock tower, Destiny Hero Doom Lord balanced perilously, glaring judgmentally down at Jaden.
"Time is running out for you, false hero." Aster was deadly serious now. "I activate the field spell, Clock Tower Prison."
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(Jamie Lancaster POV)
As I stood across the sidewalk leading to the school's doors from Reggie Mackenzie, I found myself confronted with a choice. The deck currently placed in my duel disk was my public deck, while the Melodious cards weighed heavy in my back pocket. Mackenzie was surely going to be a difficult and slippery opponent. But with my classmates watching on, any chance I had of keeping the Diva cards secret was gone if I used them here. And if word got back to Kaiba that I was hiding one of a kind cards, I could be put into an…uncomfortable position on that front as well.
The root of my concern was Mackenzie, though. I had no idea what her goal was or why she wanted to duel me. Although I had a vague idea of her father's overall plans, I couldn't be sure if she was working independently from him or not. If she won, there could be terrible consequences, or nothing could happen. At this point, I was fairly used to thinking this way, but she was more inscrutable than anyone I had ever come across, even moreso than Banner since I could at least be relatively certain of his long-term aims.
"Damn it! What should I do?"
"Are you feeling alright, mister Lancaster?" Mackenzie asked gracefully.
"Erm, yes. It's just that I have two decks, and I'm deciding which to use. I'm kinda taking a page out of Bastion's book, I guess." The best lies have certain elements of truth to them. Bastion looked on with increased interest.
"Oh? I don't suppose you've been thinking about how best to counter me, have you?" She led.
"More of a general strategy. It's been time to upgrade for a long while." I replied, using the spare moments to make up my mind. "Chazz lost in the end, but he was able to keep pace with her for a long while. I know how she wants to use her cards while she has never seen me duel, to my knowledge. I'm going to go with my public deck."
"I've decided to use this. Ready when you are." I gulped, hoping that this decision wouldn't cost me.
"Woo! Let's go Mackenzie!" Atticus cheered. It was a cloudy and rather cool day, so there weren't many outside. In the entryway, it was just the seven of us.
Alexis gave her brother an exasperated glance before calling out "You've got this, Jamie!" It was heartwarming for me, and I gave her a quick smile before facing my opponent.
"Well, it appears we both have our admirers." Mackenzie winked suggestively. I couldn't help but glance back at the Rhodes, who were both bickering with suppressed smiles while the others watched on, bemused. A sudden pain clawed at me as I recalled my own family from my past life. After a moment, the feeling passed – they never lasted long, these days.
"Let us begin." The earring on her right side seemed to glow a strong, dark shade of purple for a moment.
She won the roshambo and went first. "I've heard rumors you tend to pick rock most often." She smiled disarmingly while holding up her flat palm, symbolizing paper. These "charming" comments of hers were starting to drive me crazy…crazier, I should say. If it were up to me, I would rather fight an openly declared enemy, rather than this serpent masquerading as an angel. But I'll fight all the same.
"What can I say, I'm an open book."
She chuckled and made to start the duel. "I'll start by activating the field spell Sanctuary in the Sky." Ivory halls, verdant vines, and a vivid blue sky became our battlefield, flower petals whiffing through the air. "As long as this field spell is active, I take no damage from battles involving my own fairy monsters." She explained. Of course, the card's real value was that enabled the effects of her counter fairies.
"Then, I'll set a monster and end my turn."
"Draw." The air already seemed to be crackling with electricity, and again I had to wonder if this was just a normal game or not.
"I'll start by playing Nobleman of Crossout, allowing me to destroy your face-down monster!" A gleaming silver sword sliced through the air before pinning the hidden monster, which was revealed to be Nova Summoner.
"Then, I'll cast the spell Instant Fusion!" This particular card was surely going to go up in value over time – I'm glad I copped three of them while the card was still deemed to be useless in this meta. "By paying a thousand life points, I can summon a level five or lower fusion monster from my deck. I call on Dark Balter the Terrible (2000/1200)!" The creature was a crusty old demon garbed in the green robes of a king. Reggie sneered at it for a moment before smoothing her features once more. (Jamie 3000/Mackenzie 4000)
"What can he do with that?" Jasmine wondered.
"Tribute fodder I guess. I can't imagine it being much useful for anything else." Atticus surmised, unable to predict where the game was going. For now though, he was right.
"I'll now sacrifice Dark Balter to summon Jinzo (2400/1800) to the field!" The shade of my former foe now fought at my side. Looking at the bizarrely proportioned android still filled me with conflicting reactions, but the card was too useful to not use.
"Oh my! It will certainly be difficult to go without using traps." Mackenzie's tone was so ambiguous I couldn't tell if she was mocking me or not.
"Yep, that's the idea." I responded blithely. "Jinzo will attack directly with Cyber Energy Shock!"
Charging an black electric sphere between its hands, Jinzo launched it at Mackenzie, who had no apparent defense. Sure enough, the attack struck true, and she let out a gasp of pain. It was a small reaction, but still enough to make me wonder about the true stakes again. (Jamie 3000/Mackenzie 1600)
Bastion leaned over to Alexis. "That card brings back some memories, eh?"
Alexis shuddered. "Yeah, the nostalgia's really getting to me."
That battle against the duel spirit of Jinzo was really the first drop of what would become a flood of horrors that always seemed to encroach further and further into their lives. Well, that and the whole thing with Titan, though I wasn't there for that. Not to mention that time when Atticus and many other students were subsumed into a demonic shadow world. Actually, now that I thought of it, it seemed like the fabric of normalcy that they all propped up was nothing more than thin curtain hiding endless mysteries, adventures, and horrors.
I felt more alive in this past year than I had ever before.
Mackenzie rose. I must have had a smile on my face, because she commented, "Enjoying this, are we?"
"Well, I wouldn't have gotten this far if I didn't enjoy the game." And it was true. Despite everything, the demons after men and the constant risk of death, I loved to duel. In the heat of the fight, all of my worries and regrets froze, and time itself slept.
"There's something to be said for that." Mackenzie nodded. "But this is more than a game, isn't it?" She said, and my face only just remained neutral.
"What do you mean?"
"We each have our own goals that can only be accomplished through battle, albeit a battle fought with cards. From this beginning, this seemingly silly card game has always meant something more. Ancient kings and queens battled with the monsters now imprinted upon cardboard. There's always been something more to this game, and there has always been something more to most duelists." Mackenzie stared at her cards.
"Chazz Princeton puts forth the persona of a ridiculous fool, but during our battle I could sense glimpses of his true self. He fights not purely for the sake of glory, but to prove that he is more than his name, than the shadow of his brothers." She said with odd certainty.
I blandly looked at her, silently willing her to get to the point.
"But you…I can't really get a solid reading on you. May I ask why you play this game?" The leading question triggered a bad memory in me.
I heard my girlfriend's voice, from back in my old life. "Why do you spend your money on that game? Do people really pay money for these things?" This game had always been a point of contention between her and I. It went beyond just teasing, it really seemed to lower me in her estimation. It's not like I ever chose to play Yu-Gi-Oh over spending time with her, but that didn't change what happened in the end… Hell, most of my friends didn't even know I played.
They're all gone now, remembered by none but me. And although I wore a false name, while playing this game I felt like my real self for a time.
"This is just what I do. Take it or leave it."
Mackenzie looked dissatisfied with that answer, but I honestly didn't care. I'm not sure why she cared to psychoanalyze me anyways, surely I'm going to end up dead if everything goes according to her plans.
"I see. Then let's get back to it. I'll start my next turn by activating Valhalla, Hall of the Fallen!" Red carpet rolled out at her feet, and the sanctuary was adorned in crimson finery.
"Let's see it then. I want to see what's so splendid about this Venus anyways." As always, snarking hid the pain.
"As you wish. But be warned – do not underestimate this angel's power! Using the effect of Valhalla, I special summon Splendid Venus (2800/2400)!"
The golden angel gleamed blindingly in the island sun, looking down on me impassively. It was an impressive creature, to be sure. I looked forward to destroying it.
"Yes, that's it! Fight on!" I bared my teeth.
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"So, what comes with the change of scenery?" Jaden asked, looking around the courtyard curiously.
"You'll find out in four turns." Aster replied mysteriously.
"Uh, I mean if I ask to see the card, you have to let me by the rules of the game." Jaden didn't make a habit of rulesharking – not his style. But that didn't mean he was going to let his opponent deliberately mislead him.
Pressing a button on the underside of the duel disk, Aster projected a holographic image of Clock Tower Prison's card, allowing Jaden to read the image. The silver-haired avenger looked put out that the mystery was spoiled.
"Woah, so each turn it gets a counter. And if it gets four counters, the field prevents Aster from taking battle damage…that's not good! Plus he gets to summon something called Dreadmaster if I destroy it with four or more counters!" Jaden talked to himself, as was his wont.
"Jaden's playing this pretty methodically…how strange." Erin mused.
"He saw where playing aggressively got Zane…Jaden knows he'll have to switch things up for Aster. If Aster didn't anticipate it, this might be enough…but I don't know." Syrus worried.
"If you're finished, I'll continue my turn." Aster intoned. "I'll start by using Destiny Hero Doom Lord's effect." Jaden's Stratos suddenly twisted and contorted, disappearing like water down a drain. "Once per turn, I can send one of your monsters two turns into the future, banishing them until my second standby phase from now. The only catch is that I can't attack this turn."
Jaden looked a bit befuddled at the strange effect, but was far from unbalanced. He was guaranteed no damage this turn, at least.
"Then, I'll normal summon Destiny Hero Diamond Dude (1400/1600)." A slim warrior emerged from the shadow of the clock tower, bizarre crystalline bodies growing from his dark green cape.
"That's really a horrid name for a card." Erin grumbled.
"Could be worse, they could call him Destiny Hero Diamond Guy or something." Syrus commented.
"Ha! I guess."
"Diamond Dude's effect lets me look at the top card of my deck. If it is a normal spell, I can send it to the graveyard." Aster excavated his topmost card. "It is the normal spell Destiny Draw, so I'll send it to the grave to use next round."
"You're all about stuff happening in the future, huh?" Jaden shrugged. Ironic for a guy seemingly haunted by his past.
Aster did not dignify the comment with a response. "I set a card and end my turn."
"Man, he's focused…" Jaden knew this wasn't an opponent to take lightly. A counter was added to the field spell, signified by the clock's hand moving to three o'clock from twelve. "Draw! I'll play E – Emergency Call to add a hero monster to my hand! Then, I'll summon Elemental Hero Wildheart (1500/1600)!" The tattooed tribesman brandished a large, dull blade.
"Now, I'll attack your Doom Lord!" Aster had a trap in place, but since Wildheart was unaffected by traps, he didn't bother activating it. The blade struck true, cleaving the demonic hero in twain. Jaden's advantage appeared to be widening, but Aster showed no sign of concern. (Aster 2300/Jaden 4000)
"That's all for me! Let's see it, Aster!" Jaden wasn't one for insults and trash talk, but he was starting to wonder why Aster wasn't really fighting back.
"As you wish. Since it has been a turn, I can now use the Destiny Draw that I sent with Diamond Dude's effect last turn. Normally, I would have to discard a card in order to use Destiny Draw, but Diamond Dude's effect lets my bypass costs." Essentially, Aster got to draw two cards for free, although it required ample setup to do so.
"Then, I'll activate my face-down Call of the Haunted, allowing me to special summon Destiny Hero Disk Commander (300/300) to the field! And when's he summoned from the graveyard, I get to draw two more cards!" Aster pressed on. Jaden couldn't help but feel as though things were spiraling out of his control very quickly.
"Next, I play another copy of Destiny Draw, discarding a Destiny Hero to draw another two cards!" Aster's hands moved quickly, firing off a rapid-fire combo that Jaden could barely keep up with.
"The hero I discarded was Destiny Hero Malicious (800/800). I'll use his graveyard effect now – by banishing him I can special summon a second copy of himself from the deck!" This next hero was even more demonic than Doom Lord, possessing great dark wings, curved horns on his helm, and bestial fur and claws.
Jaden didn't know what to make of this. Aster drew six cards, but only had three weaker monsters to show for it. Unless he was planning to sacrifice them…
Aster used Diamond Dude's effect again, but the revealed card was a monster, gaining him nothing. "I was hoping for a useful spell, but all is in God's plan." Slowly, a white aura began to glow around Aster's body, and his eyes began to look silver rather than blue. "Prepare to face my full power! I sacrifice Diamond Dude, Disk Commander and Malicious!"
The three smaller heroes vanished into streams of light, coalescing around the top of the clock tower. They sent rays of sheer moonlight upon the courtyard, bathing the ground in dull light.
"Lord of light, grant me the strength to vanquish this pretender! I summon thee, my lord's chosen sword, divine divider of good and evil, Destiny Hero – Dogma (3400/2400)!"
Seemingly from the moon itself, a winged man clad in bulky, fierce brown armor descended. An impossibly sharp steel blade protruded from one of its forearms. Its helm resembled a bull's head, with similarly shaped horns. Its movements were oddly quiet despite its size and bulk.
Jaden was known for his headstrong bravery, rushing into danger with nary a second thought to his own safety. That was how heroes behaved, he thought. And no opponent, not even Chazz or Amnael or Kagemaru had ever inflicted him with true fear.
But at this moment he understood that Aster was truly serious about destroying him, whether that meant as a duelist or literally ending his life, he couldn't be sure. Aster would fight to the bitter end and then some, hunt to the ends of the earth, go without sleep and food if it meant completing his mission, such was his single-minded zealotry.
Jaden was not known for his caution, but this gave him pause.
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(Jamie Lancaster POV)
The Splendid Venus set upon my Jinzo, destroying it with holy light. The android's power was reduced by 500 due to Venus' effect. I threw up my hands to shield my eyes from the explosion, which felt a little too real for what this should have been. (Jamie 2100/Mackenzie 1600)
"I end my turn." The cool beauty wiped away a few stray strands of hair from her eyes.
"That's a pretty neat monster. Looks a lot cooler in person." I said appreciatively.
"Well, Venus is very connected to beauty, both material and spiritual. A gilded angel surely fits as a personification of such ideals, no?" Mackenzie commented idly.
"If you say so. Mind telling me my horoscope while you're at it? My birthday is…November 30." I found that out when my parents sent my birthday cards on that day. It was lucky, because I had no clue when my "birthday" was beforehand.
"You don't sound so sure about that." Mackenzie smiled.
"Well, it's so easy to forget." I gulped.
"I'm starting to wonder if you're capable of speaking straightforwardly, or if the snarking is pathological in nature. I imagine this gets annoying after a while. Or don't you ever get tired of idle chat?
"I'm often told I have a skilled tongue." My friends groaned at that one, and Alexis looked quite embarrassed. "And I do have a fondness for idle chat."
"I figured as much. As for your horoscope…well, consider your next draw your horoscope for the day." She motioned for me to continue.
"It's looking alright then. I'll set a card and end my turn." I said.
Mackenzie considered the face-down carefully. "Very well. I summon Bountiful Artemis (1600/1700) in attack mode." The white, statuesque angel floated to the field, eerily still.
"Now, I'll attack with both of my monsters!" The two fairies fired off bright white laser beams at me.
I hoped she didn't have something to counter this. "Activate reverse card, Scapegoat!" Four sheep tokens blocked the path of the beams. Two of the goats were immediately vaporized by the angelic attacks, while the remaining two peacefully floated on my field.
"Stalling." She said with a note of impatience. "You know, you're rather annoying to play against."
"I get that a lot. But what with this whole thing being your idea, I wouldn't complain too much. But you do you." I was having a lot of fun trying to get under her skin. Any real crack, beyond the odd tick of annoyance, would be greatly rewarding. This kind of reminded me of cold approaching a girl in a bar. By the way, I'm pretty sure Alexis just successfully bored holes in the back of my head with her stare.
"My draw!" The order in which I play my next cards is crucial. "I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Sanctuary in the Sky."
"I activate my counter trap Divine Punishment to negate that effect." She responded, drawing a card off the effect of Bountiful Artemis. This was perfect.
"In that case, I'll cast the spell Metamorphosis." I cannot believe this card is still legal (at three no less!), but I wasn't complaining. "This lets me send a monster on my field to the grave, and in exchange I can summon a fusion monster with the same level. So by sending a sheep token…"
In place of the harmless sheep token emerged an eldritch demon, hundreds of eyes stitched along its horrifying, crusty body. The closest thing to a traditional head it had was a wooden Millennium Eye lodged at the top of a protruding extension that could possibly be called a neck. Its torso was a gaping, infinite maw of blackness and despair.
"I summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict (0/0)!" Mackenzie looked at the scuttling creature in horror. "Prepare to get slurped!"
"Huh?" Mackenzie reacted with confusion and worry.
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(Jaden Yuki POV)
Before he could blink, Jaden saw Destiny Hero Dogma set upon him. Dogma's blade not only cleaved through Wildheart, but indeed it sent the bifurcated hero's limbs spinning through the air before they turned to dust. Jaden dug in his heels to meet the sudden damage. (Jaden 2100/Aster 2300)
"That will be all. Now, face your destiny, false hero." The white aura flared at Aster's fierce proclamation.
"My name's Jaden, buddy…draw!" Jaden rallied.
"During your standby phase, Dogma's effect activates, halving your life points! Go, Divine Dividing!" In an instant, the massive hero was upon Jaden again, this time striking him directly. (Jaden 1050/Aster 2300)
"This got bad, fast!" Erin was amazed and more than a little impressed at not only Aster's power, but the sheer intensity emanating from him.
"Argh…but since it's been two of my turns, that means that Stratos comes back from the banished zone." The blue wind hero did return to Jaden's field. However, due to the wording of Doom Lord's effect, this did not count as a special summon, thereby not activating Stratos' effects. Jaden would have liked to destroy the clock tower, since it now had three counters on it. But his draw was good, and he had a way out of this corner anyways.
"I'll play the field spell Fusion Gate!" The clock tower melted down, and a dark portal replaced it, hovering above the two duelists. This let both of them fusion summon, which was potentially just as beneficial to Aster as it was to Jaden, but it was worth it to get Clock Tower Prison off the field.
"There's no way I'm getting scared by any of this wacky destiny talk! I'll use Fusion Gate's effect to fuse together the Stratos on the field with the Bubbleman in my hand. Blow him away, Elemental Hero Great Tornado (2800/2200)!" Jaden's new champion was a green-armored warrior clad in a baggy, dark cloak, and with his presence came howling winds.
"When this monster is summoned, I can halve the attack and defense of all monsters you currently control!" The slicing winds cut Dogma down to size, bringing the beast's strength to 1700.
"Now, I'll attack!" Jaden only hoped that it would go through. He was wary of Aster's face-down, but felt he had not choice but to keep on the attack. The choice cost him.
"Activate reverse card, D-Counter." Aster said almost drolly. "When a destiny hero is attacked, this counter trap destroys the attacking monster." A sudden burst of light energy shredded the Great Tornado and halted Jaden's attack unceremoniously.
"Gah, no way! He's countering everything I throw at him." Jaden thought with mounting apprehension. "I set a card and end my turn."
Aster's now fully silver eyes glimmered. "I will make sure this ends it. I draw. First, I'll banish the Destiny Hero Malicious in my graveyard to summon my third copy from my deck." The minor demon knelt beside the massive Dogma. "Then, I'll offer it up as a sacrifice to tribute summon Destiny Hero Double Dude (1000/1000)!"
The monster seemingly was only a heavily clothed gentleman, clad in a three-piece suit, thick scarf, and a fedora of all things. However, behind him was the apparition of a muscled, deranged brute with long lilac hair. "This monster can attack twice in a battle phase."
"Man, what's with these Destiny Heroes? Cool cards, but terrible names. What's with all the dudes?" Erin joked weakly while Syrus sat on the edge of his seat. From above, Crowler still observed the battle with an inscrutable expression.
"Now, I'll attack! Dogma, strike directly and end this duel!" Aster bellowed, his quiet demeanor from earlier completely gone.
"Hehe, not quite! I activate Flute of Summoning Kuriboh, letting me play Winged Kuriboh (300/200) from my deck to the field!" Jaden's spirit familiar saved him once again, taking the slash from Dogma and casting its protective spell over Jaden for the turn.
"I should have seen that coming. That Kuriboh always seems to pop up when you don't want it to." Aster frowned. "Now you won't take any more damage for the rest of the turn."
"Yeah, that's kinda the point of the card." Jaden ribbed good-naturedly, but inwardly he was beginning to panic. "I'm out of options. My best way out is to fuse, but I'm not sure I have anything that can outfight that Dogma of his! I need something…"
Without meaning to, Jaden began to draw upon dark powers, powers he tried to ignore while the rest of the world seemed intent on drawing them out. He thought of Banner's cutting words, and Kagemaru's intent that he was some kind of "king of darkness".
"I don't understand what it is they see. I've always associated the darkness with evil, decay, and despair. But if this is a true representation of the light…" He looked at Aster. "Maybe I've had it wrong! Is it possible that these hidden powers could be used for good?"
Slowly, a pitch black aura crept around Jaden's body, a sharp contrast to the blinding white of Aster's. And when Jaden opened his eyes, it was gold they shone.
"What is that around Jaden? Is it some sort of card effect?" Syrus wondered. Crowler narrowed his eyes, while Erin leaned forward in interest.
Aster's eyes widened. "What is this?" This foul stench…it could only be the power of darkness! Of course, Aster had never truly fought anyone who could manifest Duel Energy besides his training with Sartorius, but this was unmistakably the opposite of his Light. This was not only dark energy, it was the darkest of energy. Vast and deep, it was like stepping into the throne room of a king.
"A king…" Aster shuddered. "I see. My assumptions were incorrect. You are no mere schoolboy. This is something only a truly dark being could produce. I need to finish this now!"
"Isn't that what he's been trying to do?" Jaden mused. "My thoughts exactly! Draw!" The bond Jaden had with his cards was the gift that kept on giving.
"I activate Parallel World Fusion, allowing me to fuse using banished hero monsters, putting them back into the grave! I'll fuse together my Stratos and Bubbleman!"
Spikes of ice shot up from the floor, and a hero in white armor rode astride them. "I summon Elemental Hero Absolute Zero (2500/2000)!" The icy warrior stared down Aster's field with crossed arms.
"That's enough to beat Dogma and Double Dude!" Syrus said.
"And if Aster takes it out, his entire board of monsters gets wiped. And it was the only hero Jaden could make with those materials, most importantly." Erin pieced together.
Aster's silver eyes stared down Jaden's gold ones. "Is that all?" The warrior of light mocked.
Suddenly, the frozen knight thrust its arms forward, icicles shooting from its fingertips while a wave of ice followed behind. "Yeah, this'll be all! I attack Double Dude!" Jaden smiled as the offensive made its mark, skewering the Destiny Hero and sending Aster skidding across the arena floor. (Jaden 1050/Aster 800)
Aster cried out in pain, Jaden's lack of control over his dark powers causing the suddenly real damage. Jaden took a deep breath and got himself back on an even keel. "And if he somehow takes out Absolute Zero, I'll still survive…"
Aster hurried to his feet, not wanting to appear weak. Jaden didn't know how things got to this point – he just wanted to have fun dueling. But he wasn't sure if Aster had ever dueled for fun, and things had become deadly serious. "I end with that." Jaden had no choice, having precious little card advantage.
"I won't lose to you! Not here, not ever!" Aster furiously drew. "Heh! How unfortunate for you. It appears that destiny will always have it its way." Dogma leered at Absolute Zero, but Jaden's hero stood his ground evenly.
"Just try me!" Jaden grinned, gold eyes challenging. "I'll never let destiny tell me what to do."
"I admit you are made of far sterner stuff than I realized." Aster gave grudging respect. "That childish façade of yours is very convincing. I didn't think someone with this dark an aura could act so naïve."
"It's no façade. This is who I am, take it or leave it. And I'll never change, especially if you're the one telling me to." Jaden's smile widened, and it wasn't an arrogant grin, but the pure expression of a boy enjoying himself. "I'm just a guy that duels for fun!"
Aster felt a memory rise unbidden.
"It doesn't matter to me if I become wealthy or powerful doing this. That's not what I want out of life. If I can make kids smile and enjoy themselves, that's enough for me." His father would often say when people asked why he stayed in card design. It was common for most people in the dueling industry who started in card design to eventually move up to a middle management position, or to another field which let them use more of their artistic talents. But Aster's dad had been in card design for nearly his entire career. It was his practiced hand that designed the destiny heroes – the same heroes Aster now used to mete out vengeance and despair.
"Dad…is this what you wanted?" Jaden barely made out Aster's whisper. However, the vulnerability only lasted a moment before his expression hardened.
"No…this is the man I am now. I activate the spell card Misfortune. This lets me deal damage to you equal to half of one of your monster's attack points." He said solemnly, a silent, colorless energy shooting through Absolute Zero to Jaden. (Jaden 0/Aster 800)
Jaden barely registered that the duel had ended. It was so sudden. First he was standing. Then, he was falling, falling, as everything turned to white….
XxxXXXxxxxxxxxxX
(Jamie Lancaster POV)
"Alright Thousand-Eyes Restrict, start sucking!" I said with a gratuitous leer.
"Suck! Suck! SUCK!" My friends helpfully chanted. Mackenzie gave a look of vague disgust as the oh-so great legendary planet was assimilated into my monster's being, Borg-style. The angel was crucified, trapped within my beast's midsection.
"Now, I'll attack your Bountiful Artemis!" The thousand eyes each shot piercing beams of dark energy, successfully felling the angel. (Jamie 2100/Mackenzie 400)
I nodded, glad to have finally got some solid hits in on her. She was a tough one, I'll grant her that. But I know I can win, in time. Mackenzie staggered back, but otherwise looked ready to go, as was I.
"Let's keep going! I set a face down and end." I said gamely.
"Indeed. Rest assured, I will see Venus back on my side soon." Mackenzie bantered back. She seemed happy with her next draw. "And I have just the card to do it. Prepare yourself, Lancaster!"
However, before she played the card, she froze. "What…what is this energy?" Her tone made a sudden swerve – she was uncomprehending and possibly even afraid. My friends suddenly looked confused.
"What do you mean-" I started to say before a wave of pure white washed over us all, and we spiraled towards…a new format, you could say, though I didn't know it at the time. The entire world was covered in the purest, cleanest white, everywhere…
XxxxXXXxxxxxxxxxxXXxxXxX
(?)
In his private chambers, Sartorius felt the beginning of the shifting, and then the shattering that followed.
"Good…it is as God wills…" He murmured, purely content as the white washed over him as well.
A/N
Hope you all enjoyed.
Thanks for bearing with me over this semi-hiatus. I'll be going on vacation this week to Puerto Vallarta (I've never spent an entire week drunk but my buddies and I are going to try our best). But the writing will surely continue at a more frequent pace from here on, though as always I'll avoid hard deadlines because this is fanfiction and I've never seen an author on this website keep up with their self-imposed deadlines forever. Lol have you guys ever noticed that? Just me? Idk, make of it what you will.
Anyways, I am very pleased to announce that this story has a TvTropes page! Thanks a lot to kirbystarwarrior for making the page, you're a real one. I encourage readers to contribute to the page if they feel inclined to do so, I think that's awesome. Absolutely awesome! You would not believe how excited I was to hear about that. Thanks so much!
I did have Jaden lose to Aster this time, but I hope the differences during the duel, and more importantly the mindsets of the characters, are different enough to be dramatically satisfying. Also Aster winning here is literally predestined in the story so it is hard to write around that. I don't really like to write Jaden losing a lot, but I still hope to portray him as a formidable duelist in this story. The losses make him stronger and help advance his character, and they also give more credence to his overall mindset about dueling being fun regardless of winning or losing. It's easy to say that if you win all the time. And he still does win a lot, it's just that most of these victories are offscreen since the duels didn't change significantly from canon. So his win ratio is like 90% instead of 98% like canon lol. Still better than most.
I hope you guys liked the insight into Aster's past. I don't think I'm very good at writing tragic/sad material (I prefer humor/snark as you may have noticed lol) so this was good practice.
I'm sure the ending of this chapter is probably coming off a bit strange and confusing, but we'll go into it more next time. Also, sometime soon I plan to write a special chapter about Adam Sugihara's encounter with the duel spirit of Sand Gambler over the summer, so look out for that!
Thank you for your continued readership and we'll see you soon!