Jaden: Professor Banner, you're behind all this?
Banner: Indeed Jaden. But before I defeat you, I may as well tell you the whole story.
Jaden: Hey, I'm all ears.
Banner: You see, many years ago, I was an alchemist traveling around the world seeking the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
Jaden: What's that?
Banner: It is a legendary artifact fabled to have the power to turn any metal into gold and to be able to grant eternal youth. My travels lead to an ancient tomb, and inside laid three tablets depicting the Sacred Beasts. Unfortunately, my travels had exhausted my body, and I became deathly ill. In a desperate attempt to save my life, I created a homunculus, an artificial life form, and placed my soul inside.
Jaden: Wait, are you saying you're a clone?
Banner: Yes, but unfortunately, this body is only temporary. It has already begun to crumble. The only way I can survive is to claim the three Sacred Beast cards.
Jaden: Even if you end up destroying the world in the process? Sorry Banner, but I can't let you do that.
Banner: Too late Jaden. Once you lose, the cards will be mine.
Jaden: Then I won't duel.
Banner: You forget that I still hold your friends prisoner. If you want to save them, you will duel me. Just think of it as your final exam.
Jaden: Fine then. Make your move Banner.
Banner: Very well then, I draw. And I play the spell Chaos Greed! Since I have no cards in my graveyard and four or more of my cards are banished, I may draw 2 cards from my deck. I shall place them both face-down and end my turn.
Jaden: He's got no monsters on his field, but his Elemental Absorber can cancel attacks from any of my monsters that aren't light or dark attribute. I need to draw the right cards. My move. And I play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards. Next I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in attack mode!
Level 4/Earth/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 2000
Jaden: Now I equip him with the Clay Wrap spell card. With that done, I play Polymerization to fuse Burstinatrix and Clayman to summon Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster in attack mode!
Level 6/Earth/Warrior
ATK 2000/DEF 2500
Syrus: But wait, doing that destroys Clay Wrap, so why play it in the first place?
Jaden: You see Sy, when Clayman goes to the grave when he's equipped with Clay Wrap, I can send one of Professor Clone Dome's spells or traps to the graveyard, which means Elemental Absorber is gone!
Chumley: Alright, with that card gone, Jaden can attack now!
Banner: Impressive, but I'm afraid it will take much more than that to save your friends.
Jaden: You want more? Rampart Blaster, take it to him with Rampart Barrage!
Banner: I activate the continuous trap Macro Cosmos! I can activate it by banishing Chaos Distill, and it shall help me banish you from this world!
Chaos Distill began to glow before it exploded, momentarily blinding everyone. When they opened their eyes, it looked like they were floating in outer space.
Banner: Since I activated Macro Cosmos all my cards will be banished instead of going to the graveyard. Additionally I can summon Helios the Primordial Sun from my deck.
Level 4/Light/Pyro
ATK & DEF ?
Banner: This card's attack and defense are equal to the number of monsters that have been banished times 100, so since eleven monsters are currently banished, she has 1100 attack and defense points.
Jaden looked to the side and saw everyone trapped within planets. He shouted to them, but they didn't respond.
Banner: They can't hear you Jaden. They are still my prisoners. And now, to stop your Rampart Blaster from attacking Helios, I play the spell Planet Alignment! When Helios is on my field, this card destroys all your monsters and deals you 300 points of damage.
Jaden: 700 LP
Jaden: I place one card face-down and end my turn.
Banner: Very well, I draw. And I play the spell Yellow Process – Kitolenics. By sacrificing Helios, I can summon Helios Duo Megistus from my hand or deck.
Level 6/Light/Pyro
ATK & DEF ?
Banner: This monster's attack and defense are equal to the number of banished monsters times 200, and there are currently 12 monsters banished.
Helios: ?-2400 ATK
Banner: Now attack with Vulcan Flame!
Jaden: Not so fast, I play the trap A Hero Emerges! Now you have to pick a card from my hand at random, and if you pick a monster card, I get to summon it.
Banner: Very well. I choose the center card.
Jaden: Thanks, you chose Elemental Hero Bladedge!
Level 7/Earth/Warrior
ATK 2600/DEF 1800
Banner: I continue my attack.
Jaden: What?
Bladedge intercepted Helios' attack and slashed through her.
Banner: 2600 LP
Jaden: Why would you do that to your monster?
Banner: Because Jaden, now Helios' special ability activates. When this monster is destroyed, I can immediately summon it back with an extra 300 attack points.
Helios: 2400-2700 ATK
Banner: Now my monster, destroy Bladedge!
Jaden: 600 LP
Banner: I end my turn.
Jaden: I draw. And I summon Bubbleman in attack mode.
Level 4/Water/Warrior
ATK 800/DEF 1200
Jaden: And due to his special ability, I can draw 2 cards. Next I play Fusion Recovery to add Clayman and Polymerization to my hand. Now I play Polymerization and fuse Bubbleman and Avian to summon Elemental Hero Mariner in attack mode!
Level 5/Water/Warrior
ATK 1400/DEF 1000
Jaden: Next I place two cards face-down, which lets me use Mariner's special ability. When I have face-down cards in my spell and trap zone, Mariner can attack you directly. Go Mariner, and attack with Anchor Knuckle!
Mariner swung one of his anchors at Banner, striking him in the chest.
Banner: 1200 LP
Banner: Impressive. But you will need to do better than that to win.
Jaden: I end my turn.
Banner: I draw. Now Helios, attack Mariner with Vulcan Flame!
Jaden: Don't think so Banner. I play the trap Mirror Gate! This card causes our monsters to switch sides before battling, which means I win.
Banner: I think not Jaden, for I play the spell Grand Convergence! This card will destroy all monsters on the field and deal you 300 points of damage.
Jaden: 300 LP
Banner: And now my monster will return even more powerful than before.
Helios: 2700-3000 ATK
Banner: Now, attack Jaden directly!
Jaden: Don't think so. I play The Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! This card lets me summon Winged Kuriboh from my deck!
Level 1/Light/Fairy
ATK 300/DEF 200
Banner: In that case, destroy Winged Kuriboh!
Helios fired a jet of flames at Kuriboh, destroying him.
Jaden: Thanks for the save pal.
Banner: I end my turn.
Jaden: I draw. And I summon Clayman in defense mode. Next, I place one card face-down and end my turn.
Banner: My turn. And I play the spell Red Process – Rubedo! With it, by sacrificing my Duo Megistus, I can summon my most powerful monster, Helios Trice Megistus!
Level 8/Light/Pyro
ATK & DEF ?
Banner: Trice Megistus' attack and defense are equal to the number of my banished monsters times 300, and I have 13 banished.
Helios: ?-3900 ATK/DEF
Jaden: 3900 attack points?
Banner: It's a shame you don't duel as well as you add. Now Trice Megistus, attack with Phoenix Flare!
His monster created a mass of flames in the shape of a phoenix that dove into Clayman, destroying him.
Jaden: I play the trap Hero Signal! Since one of my monsters was destroyed in battle, I can summon a level 4 or lower Elemental Hero from my deck, so I summon Sparkman in defense mode!
Level 4/Light/Warrior
ATK 1600/DEF 1400
Banner: He won't be of much use to you. You see, due to the special ability of Trice Megistus, it can attack twice so long as you control a monster, so destroy Sparkman with Phoenix Flare!
Chumley: Now Jaden has nothing to protect him.
Jaden: Chumley's right. I've got no cards in my hand or on my field, and Banner's monster has almost 4000 attack points. For the first time in my life, I don't see any way out of this.
Syrus: You can do it Jaden!
Jaden: Syrus.
Syrus: No matter how bad things look, you always pull it off at the end. You never gave up before, so why start now?
Jaden: Thanks Sy. This duel's not over yet Banner.
Banner: Good Jaden. You will need that resolve soon. Now make your move, and make me proud.
Jaden: I draw! And it's just the draw I needed. I play the spell Miracle Fusion!
Banner: Impossible!
Jaden: Believe it Banner. With Miracle Fusion, I can summon an Elemental Hero fusion monster by banishing the monsters I need to fuse from my field or graveyard, so I banish Burstinatrix, Clayman, Avian, and Bubbleman from my graveyard to summon Elemental Hero Electrum in attack mode!
Level 10/Light/Warrior
ATK 2900/DEF 2600
Jaden: And due to his special ability, when he's summoned, all of our banished cards are returned to our decks.
Banner: But without those cards, Helios will have no attack points!
Helios: 3900-0 ATK/DEF
Jaden: Now attack with Elemental Radiant Burst!
Electrum unleashed a bright light that incinerated Helios.
Banner: 0 LP
Winner: Jaden
The island rumbled for a moment and the pillars of light disappeared as the spirit gates closed and everyone was released from Banner's book.
Jaden: That's game Banner.
Banner: Jaden, listen carefully to me. The reason I became a Shadow Rider wasn't to take over the world, but to prepare you to face the one who truly wishes to do so. I did it to push you to become a better duelist. Take the Emerald Tablet. May it serve you well when the time comes.
Jaden reached for the book, but just as he touched it, Banner's body crumbled into dust.
Jaden: He's really gone.
While they weren't looking, a glowing orb came out of the remnants of Banner's body before being swallowed by Pharaoh.
Syrus: So what do we do now?
Chumley: I guess we start preparing for this great evil Banner was talking about.
Jaden: Yeah, but I get the feeling that whatever this evil is, it'll be unlike anything we've ever faced, and I just hope we'll be ready when the time comes.