Yusei and Jaden were sitting together, having a talk about Alex's past.
Yusei: So where did this alternate personality come from?
Jaden: When Alex was 5, his powers manifested, and much like Akiza, he couldn't control his power. When he dueled, his cards came to life. One day, he got into an intense duel with an older student, and almost 2 dozen kids were sent to the hospital, including his best friend. From that day on, everyone looked at him like he was a monster. Alexis and I did everything we could to help him and make him see they were wrong about him, but the insults and rejection continued.
Yusei: That's a horrible thing for a child to have to go through.
Jaden: It gets worse. His inner torment over his powers and being mocked by people who were his friends caused him to develop a split personality. The Alex you know was the dominant personality, but when he dueled or was pushed too far, his other personality took over. Over time, this personality began to call himself Alastor. He was violent, sadistic, and enjoyed hurting others. With Yubel's help, I was able to lock Alastor away along with most of Alex's power, and was able to train Alex to use his power properly.
Yusei: And now Alastor is free again.
Jaden: I'm afraid so. That man he dueled must've been hired to unleash Alastor and test his power.
Yusei: This has Goodwin written all over it.
Jaden: Yusei, you have to make him come to his senses. I believe you can help bring Alex back.
Yusei: I will. He helped me when I had lost myself, and now it's my turn to help him.
Jaden: Thank you Yusei.
Meanwhile, Akiza had just won her duel against Commander Koda. The duels were halted temporarily for a mid-day break. The next matchup had been announced in the meantime, which would be Alastor vs Akiza.
Yusei: This has disaster written all over it.
Alastor and Akiza were walking through the hallway when they bumped into each other.
Alastor: I saw your duel with Commander Koda. Well played. You may actually be a challenge. I certainly can't wait to duel someone with powers like mine.
Akiza: Wait, are you a psychic duelist?
Alastor: No, but I can bring duel spirits to life when I duel.
Akiza: Wait, what happened to your eyes? They were brown before.
Alastor: You saw the eyes of my other self, Alex. I am Alastor. I was born from the torment Alex endured as a young child. Before I took control, he actually said he wanted to help you. The truth is, you and he have quite a lot in common.
Akiza: What do you mean?
Alastor: When Alex's powers first developed, he couldn't control them either. He injured many people, including his best friend. Everyone viewed him as a monster. His emotional pain was so great it spawned me, and I began dueling in his place, and I enjoyed hurting people. That was until his father locked me away inside of Alex's subconscious, but thanks to Alex's last opponent, I'm free once again, and I'm eager to make up for lost time, so I apologize in advance for our upcoming duel. It's nothing personal, it's just that I've been locked up for 7 years, and I can't wait to have some fun.
?: Ah, miss Izinski and mister Yuki, Director Goodwin would like a word with you both.
They both turned around and saw it was Lazar, Goodwin's lackey.
?: Akiza must rest.
Alastor and Akiza turned to the side to see Sayer standing there.
Lazar: And you are?
Sayer: Don't play dumb Lazar, your reputation precedes you. We both know you don't like surprises, so let's not waste time pretending you haven't done your homework like I have. Stay away from Akiza, and tell the director she's not interested in what he has to say.
Alastor: I have more important things to do with my time than fraternize with Goodwin, but you can tell him I said thank you for orchestrating my release.
Lazar: Well, aren't you a clever one. I would think you would show the man who saw to your release a little more respect than this.
Alastor stopped and turned back to Lazar.
Alastor: I could care less about what Goodwin wants. He may have helped me escape, but don't think for a moment I'm going to become his little lapdog and do whatever he says. I only duel for myself, got it? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to rest and prepare for my next duel.
Lazar: Well, the director will not be happy about this.
He walked back to Goodwin to give him the bad news.
Goodwin: As we feared, his other self is unwilling to cooperate.
Lazar: So what shall we do?
Goodwin: For now, we wait and see what happens.
Meanwhile, Akiza was talking with Sayer in one of the Arcadia Movement trucks outside the stadium.
Sayer: So what did the boy say to you?
Akiza: He said that he was Alex's alternate personality. He called himself Alastor, and said he came about from Alex's tortured past. He said that Alex had the same problems with his powers as I did. He said that everyone viewed him as a freak.
Sayer: Interesting, we had seen reports of accidents involving him as a child, but no information of another personality.
Akiza: He said his father locked Alastor away along with most of Alex's power so he could teach the boy how to use his power.
Sayer: Goodwin must've had his last opponent bring Alastor out, but I have no idea why. Maybe if he loses the duel with you, he'll revert to his original self. If that happens, we may be able to help the boy control his full power.
(Timeskip to the duel)
MC: And now for the duel, we have the Black Rose vs the Prince of Darkness! Akiza vs Alex!
Akiza: I will win.
Alastor: We'll see about that.
Both: Let's duel!
Alastor: 4000 LP
Akiza: 4000 LP
Akiza: I'll go first, and I summon Wall of Ivy in defense mode.
Level 2/Earth/Plant
ATK 300/DEF 1200
Akiza: I place 1 card face-down and end my turn.
Alastor: My turn, I draw. I summon Evil HERO Dark General in attack mode.
Level 4/Dark/Fiend
ATK 1600/ DEF 1300
Alastor: And now his special ability activates. When he's summoned, I can add an Evil HERO monster from my deck to my hand, and I choose my Evil HERO Flare Mage. Now General, attack Wall of Ivy.
Akiza: Wall of Ivy's effect activates. When you attack it, an Ivy Token is summoned to your field.
Level 1/Earth/Plant
ATK & DEF 0
General raised his swoord and cut Akiza's monster in two.
Alastor: I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn.
Akiza: I draw. And I play the Cursed Ivy trap card in order to resurrect my Wall of Ivy in defense mode.
Alastor: Hiding behind that pathetic monster won't save you. She's playing exactly as I thought she would. My face-downs will turn every move she's made so far against her.
Akiza: I end my turn.
MC: It's been a mellow duel so far, but could we be witnessing the calm before the storm?
Alastor: I draw. Dark General, attack her Wall of Ivy again.
Akiza: But now Wall of Ivy's effect activates again, summoning another Ivy Token to your field. And now that Cursed Ivy has been destroyed, two more Ivy Tokens sprout on your field.
Alastor: How predictable.
Akiza: What?
Alastor: I reveal my face-down cards, the traps Damage Translation and High Rate Draw. Due to the effect of Damage Translation, all effect damage I would take this turn is halved. Next, using High Rate Draw's effect, I destroy all 4 Ivy Tokens on my field to draw 2 cards.
Alastor: 3400 LP
Akiza: What?!
MC: Unbelievable! Alex has not only drawn 2 cards using Akiza's tokens, but has reduced the damage he took from the tokens as well! He's made Akiza's entire strategy backfire!
Alastor: Next I play Foolish Burial. This will send a monster from my deck to my graveyard, and I choose my Evil HERO Malicious Edge. I place 2 cards face-down, and due to Damage Translation's other effect, at the end of this turn, I gain one Ghost Token for every time I took effect damage this turn. I took effect damage 4 times this turn, so I get 4 ghost tokens.
Level 1/Dark/Fiend
ATK & DEF 0
Alastor: It's your move Akiza.
Akiza: I draw. And I play Seed of Deception, which will allow me to special summon a level 2 or lower plant type monster from my hand, so I play Dark Verger in attack mode.
Level 2/Earth/Plant
ATK 0/DEF 1000
Akiza: And now I sacrifice this monster to play my Rose Tentacles.
Level 6/Earth/Plant
ATK 2200/DEF 1200
Akiza: And now attack his Dark General with Rose Whip!
Her monster swung one of its tentacles at Dark General, destroying him.
Alastor: 2800 LP
Alastor: I activate Dark General's effect, along with the effect of Evil HERO Stone Guardian in my hand. Now I can summon Guardian from my hand, in addition to reclaiming Malicious Edge from my graveyard.
Akiza: I end my turn.
Alastor: My move. And due to Guardian's effect, during my standby phase, I can add Dark Fusion from my deck to my hand. I've realized something Akiza, you and I have something in common.
Akiza: And what would that be?
Alastor: We both enjoy making our opponents suffer. Tell the truth, after everything that's happened to you, it feels good to watch your opponent's writhe in pain doesn't it? You enjoy it just like I do, don't you? Don't bother trying to lie, I can see it in your eyes.
Akiza: I guess you and I really are alike. It's true, I do enjoy it.
The crowd went silent in shock. Alastor used his powers, sending a small tornado through the arena.
Alastor: They call us monsters simply because we were born different. What gives them the right to judge us? Who are the real monsters? The ones who were born special, or the ignorant masses who ridicule innocent children because of things they can't control? And while I love that I've found someone who understands me, I'm afraid I can't let you win this duel Akiza. I play the spell Dark Fusion to combine my Stone Guardian and my Flare Mage in order to summon Evil HERO Infernal Sniper in defense mode.
Level 6/Fire/Fiend
ATK 2000/DEF 2500
Alastor: And now Flare Mage's effect activates, so you take damage equal to 100 times the level of the monster I just summoned, and since Sniper is level 6, you take 600 points of damage.
Akiza: 3400 LP
Alastor: And now I activate Sniper's effect. Every turn, she can inflict 1000 points of damage to you if she's in defense mode. Shadow Bullet!
Infernal Sniper charged a sphere of black energy at the end of her cannon before launching it at Akiza.
Akiza: 2400 LP
Alastor: Now I sacrifice one of my ghost tokens to play my Evil HERO Malicious Edge in attack mode.
Level 7/Earth/Fiend
ATK 2600/DEF 1800
Alastor: Now, attack Rose Tentacles with Needle Burst!
Malicious Edge swung his fists at Rose Tentacles, launching claws from his knuckles, shredding Akiza's monster.
Akiza: 2000 LP
MC: Incredible, Alex has eliminated half of Akiza's life points in a single turn!
Alastor: It's your move Akiza.
Akiza: Thank you, I draw. And I play Witch of the Black Rose.
Level 4/Dark/Spellcaster
ATK 1700/DEF 1200
Akiza: And due to her effect, I can draw 1 card, but if it's not a monster card, both her and the card I drew are destroyed.
Alastor: A risky move. You must be desperate.
Akiza: I draw. And it's the monster card Rose Fairy, and due to its effect, since I got it outside my draw phase, I'm allowed to play it.
Level 3/Wind/Plant
ATK 600/DEF 1200
Alastor: Hmm, lucky draw.
Akiza: And now I tune my level 4 Witch of the Black Rose to level 3 Rose Fairy, in order to synchro summon Black Rose Dragon!
Level 7/Fire/Dragon
ATK 2400/DEF 1800
Akiza: And now I activate Black Rose Dragon's effect, so by banishing Wall of Ivy from my graveyard, your Sniper is changed to attack mode, and her attack points become 0.
Vines shot out from Black Rose Dragon, forcing Sniper into attack mode and taking all her strength away.
Akiza: Now Black Rose Dragon attack!
MC: If this attack connects, Alex will lose all but 400 of his life points!
Alastor: I activate the effect of Evil HERO Reaper in my hand! By sending this card to my graveyard, Sniper gets an additional 1800 attack points during this battle.
Alastor: 2200 LP
Akiza: And now I equip the spell card Thorn of Malice onto my Black Rose Dragon. This will give my monster 600 more attack points, also if Black Rose Dragon attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between its attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to you as damage. I end my turn.
Alastor: I draw. And I play the spell card Token Thanksgiving. By destroying my three remaining ghost tokens, I gain 800 life points for each, for a total of 2400 points.
Alastor: 4600 LP
Alastor: And now I play the field spell Supreme King's Castle. Now, Malicious Edge, attack Black Rose Dragon with Needle Burst!
MC: Has Alex lost it? His monster has less attack than Black Rose Dragon!
Alastor: I activate the effect of Supreme King's Castle. By sending an Evil HERO from my deck or extra deck to the graveyard, Edge gains attack equal to that monster's level times 200 for this battle, so I send the level 5 Evil HERO Sinister Necrom from my deck to the graveyard to give my monster an extra 1000 points.
Malicious Edge: 2600-3600 ATK
Akiza: 1400 LP
Alastor: I end my turn.
Akiza: My turn, I draw. And I play my face-down card, Call of the Haunted. So now I can bring back my Black Rose Dragon. And now that it's been summoned, I can use its special ability. When Black Rose Dragon is special summoned, it can destroy every card on the field.
Alastor: Just great.
Akiza: Black Rose Gale!
A tornado ripped through the arena, destroying all the cards on the field.
Akiza: And now I play the spell Monster Reborn to summon my dragon back. Now attack! Go, Black Rose Flare!
Black Rose Dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a stream of black fire on Alastor.
Alastor: 2200 LP
Akiza: I end my turn.
Alastor: I draw. This is just the card I need. I activate the effect of Evil HERO Sinister Necrom in my graveyard. By banishing him, I can summon an Evil HERO from my hand or deck, so I summon Evil HERO Galactic Ruler.
Level 7/Light/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 2000
Alastor: And now I play the equip spell Vicious Claw, which will give my monster an extra 300 attack points.
Galactic Ruler: 2500-2800 ATK
Alastor: Now, attack Black Rose Dragon with Supernova Strike!
Galactic Ruler created a miniature star in his hand before it exploded into a supernova, the energy surrounding his hand before he charged at Black Rose Dragon, delivering a powerful punch to its neck, destroying it.
Akiza: 1000 LP
Alastor: And now I activate the effect of Evil HERO Reaper in my graveyard. By banishing Reaper, you take damage equal to half your destroyed monster's original attack points.
A ghost of Black Rose Dragon appeared and breathed a stream of fire at Akiza, but didn't hurt her.
Akiza: 0 LP
Winner: Alastor
Akiza: I lost.
Alastor: Find solace in the fact you've done the best against me so far.
He turned around and began to walk off before he stopped and turned to Akiza.
Alastor: And you shouldn't care about what they say about you. They're just ignorant fools. We're better than them, and not just because of our abilities. They don't understand us, and like all inferior beings do, they fear and despise us. I may enjoy making my enemies suffer, but at least I don't do it out of blind hatred spawned from ignorance. She actually put up a good fight. Watch out Yusei, you're next.
MC: And Alex has won. He'll be facing Yusei in the next duel to determine who will face Jack Atlas in the title match!
Yusei: Yeah, and this may be the most difficult and dangerous duel of my life.
Hey everyone. So Akiza lost, and Yusei and Alastor square off in the next round. I had originally planned on having the duel end differently, but to be honest, I wasn't satisfied with the story going the way I had originally planned, so I decided to keep Alastor out a bit longer and let him duel Yusei. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one.