At the dawn of the Friendship Tag Cup's second day, eight of the sixteen teams had been eliminated.
I'd been out for the whole night in the cold. I had a lot on my mind and just needed some space, away from Tim, away from Fizdis, away from the whole Friendship Tag Cup thing.
I'd made sure not to stray too far from the hotel, but I knew that even if I had, I would have been perfectly safe, thanks to all the KC Guards walking around the place.
I thought about my opponents from the last round, Gong and Vokah. Gong had been an escapee of The Facility and, due to the terms and conditions of the tournament, had been more than likely sent back there after losing to Tim and me. Vokah I had no idea about, no idea who he was or where he came from, or where he'd gone or would go now that he'd been eliminated.
I made my way back inside the hotel with a sigh, my right eye feeling heavier than my left and twitching almost constantly. I cupped my right hand over it and went to say 'Good morning' to the receptionist as I walked in, but I could already feel the stutter there in my chest so I opted to not say anything, instead moving past them and over to the elevator where a porter, a young girl named Hazel, waited to help guests.
"Good morning, Mr. Nochi." The nine-year-old greeted me with a smile.
I twinged, knowing I'd at least have to say something. "M…morn…" I struggled, cupping my right hand over my mouth to hide my trembling lips "ing…" I was just so tired, and my body was obviously strained which made it even more difficult for me to speak fluently.
"Going up to your room?" she asked, pressing a button on the elevator to open the doors.
"Y… ye…" I crumbled inside bit by bit. I couldn't even get one simple fucking word out!
I nodded.
The doors to the elevator opened and I dragged my feet in, Hazel following as the doors closed.
The High Council obviously didn't trust me or the others enough to be left to our own devices, which was probably why all of the KC Guard were patrolling outside and every Friendship Tag Cup participant inside pretty much had a porter on their tail.
I sighed, looking up at the shaft's ceiling as we started to move. One word. I couldn't even say one fucking word.
I wondered if it would be forever, my stutter. I hoped not, but I had no way of knowing. Tim had made it seem as though it was something that I would just lose at some point, but that wasn't looking to be the case. How the Hell would I be able to face my friends and tell them how sorry I was if I couldn't even say one simple word?
The doors opened and I sighed once more, dragging my feet out, Hazel walking with me over to my room. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Nochi?" she asked as we arrived at my door.
I tensed my body as I tried to push myself through another block. "N-n… no th-thanks…" I sighed, feeling the need to apologize. "S-s-sorry, I have a st-stutter…"
"I can tell. Your face goes weird when you talk." She told me.
"Mm…" I sounded grimly. I honestly didn't know what to say, but it was good to know she thought I was a freak.
Nevertheless, Hazel opened the door for me and moved aside, allowing me to enter.
I didn't. Not with what I saw going on in my room.
Tim was completely naked, on his hands and knees, his entire body covered in charcoal. Melissa Trail was riding atop Tim, the MC also completely naked, except for her hat, and whipping Tim's backside with a riding crop.
"Is something wrong, Mr. Nochi?" Hazel asked, obstructed by the door and thankfully unable to see what was going on inside my room.
"You're my little pony, aren't you~?!" Melissa moaned.
"Woof! Woof!" Tim barked.
"What the fuck?!" I snapped.
"Quack!" Tim croaked. Melissa turned to me and gasped, quickly getting off of Tim, using her hat to cover her privates and covering her chest with her free hand as she dashed around the room to collect her (I assumed) previously discarded clothes. Tim got to his feet, brushed himself down and quickly but casually asked "Hey, what's goin' on, buddy?"
I probably shouldn't have even said anything. I should have just closed the door and not done anything. "I-I-I-I don't even know… I don't even… know what the f-f-f-fuck to say…"
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? Or rather horse got your tongue?" Tim winked.
"Wh-what the fuck are you d-d-d-d-doing? Why are you black?" I asked, taking care to not so much as look in Melissa's general direction. That being said, at that moment I didn't even want to be in the same room as Tim. Seriously, I left him for one night and he became a racist!
"What? Have you got a problem with me being black?"
"You're not black!" I retorted, my strained voice becoming even more so.
"Well sorry if I don't see race!" Tim said, gesturing with his head as he spoke.
I brought my hands up, holding them at both sides of my head. "You know what? I'm just going to go." I said, turning and heading back out the door of my room.
"Is everything okay in there, Mr. Nochi?" Hazel asked, the young porter unfortunately having remained outside.
"You d-d-don't kn-know wh-what…" I stammered, eyes wide and virtually gawking at my own ineptitude, "they're d-doing in there, d-d-d-do you?"
Hazel looked at me quizzically, and I'd hoped that meant she didn't, but she mightn't have even understood my question thanks to how disjointed and broken my speech was.
Hazel went to move past me as though to take a peek into the room, but I gently eased her away from the door even though it was closed. "N-no… don't l…ook…" I mumbled semi-coherently.
"Why? What's-"
"N…othing…" I forced out, staying by the door.
I just couldn't figure Tim out. One moment he was calling himself a God and prattling on about freedom and magical powers, the next he was doing God knows what with Melissa, with the door unlocked so anybody could walk in.
"What's it like?" Hazel suddenly asked.
I turned to her. "S-sorry?"
"Your stutter. What's it like?"
I took an uneasy step back, unsure of what to say. Even though the girl was young, and I assumed it to be an innocent question on her part, I didn't want her judging me. Not that I should have even cared about what a child thought. Still, I figured it best that I give her a simple yet legitimate answer. "It's like…" and I could feel it in my chest as I pondered, "My words are trapped."
Hazel continued to look up at me. "Does it hurt to talk? My uncle had a stroke a few years ago, and sometimes it hurts when he talks."
Some of the tension in my chest gave way, the expression on my face and opinion of the young girl softening. "I-I'm sorry to hear that… but n-no, i-it doesn't hurt. Well, it probably does for the people listening to me."
The door to my room quickly opened and Melissa rushed out, thankfully fully clothed.
"I'm sorry. Please excuse me…" she breathed, her face flushed with color as she moved past us.
"Miss Trail!" Hazel gawked.
"I'm sorry, I… I have to go…!" she called back, quickly rushing off down the hall.
Hazel looked between me and the disappearing Melissa, before quickly excusing herself and running after the MC.
I sighed, heading back into my room and almost physically flinching at the sight of Tim sitting naked on his bed, his body still painted in black charcoal, the redhead basically exposing himself to me without a care.
I'd wrongly assumed that since Melissa had left our room fully clothed, Tim would've taken the time to put his clothes back on too. Or at least go and run himself a bath or something so he could start washing that crap off his body!
"Oh, God! C-c-can you-"
"What?"
"Can you cross your legs at least?!"
"Fine." Tim rolled his eyes, finally crossing his legs. "Shame ya had to come when you did. I was really gettin' into it. Ya know, for bein' a part of a society where the one percent controls the ninety-nine percent, Lissy's actually pretty progressive. Very into smashing boundaries and breaking taboos."
"I-I didn't need to kn-know that…!"
Tim raised his eyebrows. "Well I think ya might wanna know this: ya know how there's a thing in our contracts that say if we lose in the tournament we go back to The Facility?"
I sighed. "Listen, can you please just go and wash that shit off? W-w-w-we can talk after." I said, feeling more and more uncomfortable as Tim seemingly felt more and more comfortable.
"Well, apparently," Tim continued, ignoring my request, "it's pretty much the same deal for the other participants in the Friendship Tag Cup too. Ya know, the ones who didn't come from The Facility. Except they get sent to a recycling plant in the Slums of the Commons area and get forced into labor for the rest of their lives. At least that's what Lissy says."
"Shit…" I muttered, lumping myself down on my bed. Suddenly my disgust with what Tim had been doing didn't seem so… important, I guess. It probably wasn't the same thing, but I remembered after Kalin was arrested by Sector Security in my Dimension, me, Yusei, Jack and Crow were all sentenced to eighty hours of community service at the recycling plant in the Satellite Slums. To be fair, we'd all done something to warrant having to do that forced labor, what with all we'd done as Team Satisfaction, but no one in the Friendship Tag Cup, I thought, deserved to be life sentenced to service at the recycling plant for simply losing a tournament.
Now that I thought about it, I don't think I ever completed my service, what with Sayer getting a hold of me.
"So, where'd you run off to anyway?" Tim asked.
"I just went for a walk." I said, rubbing my eyes.
"Really? All night-"
"Yes, all night!" I snapped at Tim without even meaning to. "Sorry, I… I almost did something stupid last night…"
"Yeah?"
I sighed. "Wh-when you went to sleep, I k-kept watching the Duels on TV, and…" my eyes veered from Tim's, "two of the competitors…" I swallowed audibly, "two of the competitors were alternate versions of Leo and Luna… and… just… with everything that had g-gone on, you know, with… with seeing Slade, and just… this whole thing… I called up room service… I was going to down a bottle of champagne… but when the guy gave it to me, I remembered Kobi, and the things he used t-to do, and I got scared…" my voice broke and I paused for a moment, "I-I don't want to be like him… so I put the bottle away, and… just went for a walk, 'cause I just had to… just had to get out, and think about what's been happening…" I scrunched my eyes shut and wiped at my face with my sleeve.
"So that's why there was a bottle of champers in the fridge…" Tim muttered.
"I'm done feeling sorry for myself." I told him. "I can… I can worry about what's going on with my friends in my Dimension, b-but it won't make a difference…! I can't do anything about it! But I can focus on the tour…nament, a-and that's what I need to do. I-if we don't win, then…" I trailed off, noticing Tim was staring at me, a wide smile on his darkened face. "Wh-what?"
"It's so good to hear you finally saying this." Tim said, beaming at me. "I've wanted to hear you say that for a while. And hey, don't worry about the whole recycling plant thing either. Just… you know, just try to put that all out of your mind for now. As long as we stick together, we'll be fine. I promise."
It was a little hard to pay attention to Tim's words with that charcoal on his face.
"Yeah, I just…" I yawned, "I'd l-like to get some sleep before our Duel today, if that's okay."
"Yeah, go for it. I gotta wash this stuff off me anyway. Don't want people to get the wrong idea."
I pushed a bit of air out as I found myself smiling. "Wouldn't want that…" I muttered. Tim got up off his bed and went to head into the bathroom, but I called back to him. "Tim?"
"Yeah?"
I once again averted my eyes from the naked charcoal-covered man. "I-i-if you want to invite a girl, o-or guy back to our room to fool around with, that's fine with me, but… c-can you let me know beforehand? Just so I know what I might be walking into?"
"Deal." Tim continued to smile at me, before giving me a thumbs up and heading into the bathroom. I fell back onto my bed, not even bothering to pull the sheets back.
"Tyler…" I could hear the words of Apple Magician Girl echoing in my head, "I'll let you get some rest, but I just wanted to let you know I'm glad you're back… And I don't think you're anything like Kobi…"
"Thanks, Fizdis…" I mumbled, and before I knew it, I'd drifted off to sleep, hoping that Tim would wake me when it was time for our Duel.
The crowd at the Seto Kaiba Memorial Circuit had thinned just a little from the day before, probably because half the competitors, and supposedly several audience favorites, had been eliminated. Compared to the day before, I was feeling much more relaxed, but that really wasn't saying much, though I was thankful for the modicum of sleep I'd gotten.
Melissa's cheerful voice cut through the crowds' cheers. "Neo Domino City, united as one! Here we are – day two of the Friendship Tag Cup, and the start of the quarter-finals!"
"Isn't she great?" Tim smiled at me.
"Yeah…" I muttered, the thought of Melissa and Tim being naked in our hotel room only briefly crossing my mind.
My eyes locked with Slade's for a brief moment, the blond standing across from Tim and me with his partner. I pushed the feelings of unease away and reminded myself that the Slade who stood in front of me was not the same one I'd encountered last year. Killing him or trying to enact some sort of inane revenge plan would have done nothing to help me. I had to get that through my thick fucking head. He was my opponent, nothing more.
Still… if he did happen to wind up at the recycling plant, I wasn't going to be upset about it.
"And now! The first match of the quarter-finals! Tyler 'the Terror' Nochi, and the absolutely strapping Tim Ihansha, coming from their technical victory over Gongenzaka and Vokah, versus Thomas 'Dinosaur' Hakozaki and Slade Burodi, the pro-newcomer team that utterly annihilated their opponents Gureka and Horitsu in the first round! I wonder what kind of Duel they have in store for us!"
"Remember our agreement, Hakozaki." Slade eyed his partner wearily. "We win this, and you get to take down Pace, but you still have to get me to the finals, capisce?"
"Whatever," Hakozaki shrugged, "but I will be taking down Pace and reclaiming my title." Hakozaki then turned to us, focusing more so on Tim than me. "I'm sorry, but I have to win. And I won't give up until I've reclaimed my title. Not even if you turn my cards into Shapesnatch or Fake Trap."
"Trust me; you won't have to worry about that." Tim smiled.
Slade and Hakozaki activated their Duel Disks, and Tim and I followed suit.
"Let's go!" Melissa hyped.
"Duel!"
[Tim & Tyler: 8000 LP]
[Hakozaki & Slade: 8000 LP]
"I'm sorry," Hakozaki drew, "but I have to finish this quickly. I activate the Spell Card Fossil Dig, allowing me to add a Level Six or lower Dinosaur to my hand from the Deck." Hakozaki's Deck shuffled a card to the top which he then drew, showing to us a Petiteranodon. "I Set a Monster and two more cards. I end my turn."
"Alright then," Tim drew. "You want things to end quickly? No problem! I activate the Spell Card Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards from my Deck." Just as they did during our Duel with Gong and Vokah, the audience booed as Tim drew. "Next, I activate another Pot of Greed, once again letting me draw two cards." Tim drew again. "Finally, I Set two cards face-down and Normal Summon Sangan in Attack Position!" the furry three-eyed critter appeared on Tim's field [ATK: 1000]. "I end my turn."
Slade drew, eyeing me for a moment before looking at his hand. "I Summon Crystal Beast Amber Mammoth in Attack Position!" a gray mammoth with amber embedded in the Monster's forehead appeared on Slade's field [ATK: 1700].
"Hold it! I activate Jar of Greed!" Tim shouted, revealing his face-down. "This Trap Card lets me draw a card from my Deck." Tim drew.
"Fine. I Flip Summon Hakozaki's Set Monster!" the Dinosaur card I'd caught a glimpse of before appeared on the field [Petiteranodon: ATK: 500]. "And, now I enter my Battle Phase! Amber Mammoth attacks Sangan!"
With a trumpeting of its trunk, Amber Mammoth charged toward Sangan, impaling it with one of its tusks.
[Tim & Tyler: 7300 LP]
"With Sangan destroyed, I can activate his effect, and add a Monster with fifteen hundred or less Attack Points from my Deck to my hand." Tim retrieved the head of Exodia the Forbidden One from his Deck, showing it to myself, Hakozaki and Slade.
While Hakozaki seemed to react similar to how Vokah did in our last Duel, Slade didn't seem fazed at all. "No one in this Dimension has ever Summoned Exodia." Slade boasted. "And you won't be the first! Petiteranodon, attack!"
I had no time to dwell on Slade's words as Tim was 'attacked' by Petiteranodon, the tiny pterodactyl launching itself at Tim.
"Stop! He's too cute!" Tim weakly slapped the baby dinosaur away.
[Tim & Tyler: 6800 LP]
"I'll Set a card and end my turn." Slade said, obviously not amused by how lightly Tim seemed to take the attack.
I exhaled shakily, drawing a card from my Deck as I urged myself to try and keep my stutter under control. "I play M-M-M-Monster Reincarnation, discarding a Monster to get a M-Monster back from the Graveyard." I discarded Moisture Creature from my hand and retrieved Sangan from Tim's Graveyard, adding the card to my hand. "Next, I Summon Sangan in Attack Position!" Tim's critter reappeared on my field [ATK: 1000]. "Now I enter my… Battle Phase! Sangan, attack Petiteranodon!"
Three beams of light shot out of Sangan's eyes, incinerating Petiteranodon.
[Hakozaki & Slade: 7500 LP]
"Is that all?" Slade asked.
"Not quite. I activate the Spell Card Prohibition, and I select Ultimate Conductor Tyranno as my target." A sign erected itself on my side of the field, reading 'Ultimate Conductor Tyranno' across it. "Now, as long as Prohibition remains on the field, Ultimate Conductor Tyranno c-c-can't be played."
Hakozaki's eyes widened. "Damn it."
I was pretty pleased to have been able to, at least for now, stop the Summon of what seemed to be Hakozaki's ace Monster. Of course, there was always a chance that one or both of them had something to remove my Prohibition, but I told myself that I'd worry about that when and if that happened. "I end my t-turn."
Hakozaki drew. "I Summon Sabersaurus in Attack Position!" a terrifying bright red triceratops appeared on Hakozaki's field [ATK: 1900]. "Next I reveal my face-down card, Extinction on Schedule! I pay two thousand Life Points, and three turns from now in the Battle Phase, we all send every card we control to the Graveyard!"
[Hakozaki & Slade: 5500 LP]
"You guys won't make it to then." Tim told them.
"We'll see…!" Hakozaki smirked. "I enter my Battle Phase! Amber Mammoth attacks Sangan!"
Once again, Sangan was impaled by one of Amber Mammoth's tusks, only this time I was forced to take a step back from the resulting shockwave.
[Tim & Tyler: 6100 LP]
"I activate Sangan's effect and add Royal Magical Library from my Deck to my hand." I said, retrieving the card from my Deck and then showing it to Tim, Slade and Hakozaki.
"That won't save you!" Hakozaki shouted. "Sabersaurus, attack directly!"
I gasped as I watched Sabersaurus charge right at me, myself paralyzed with fear. Tim jumped in front of me, taking the hit before literally batting the dinosaur away, much like he'd done with Petiteranodon.
[Tim & Tyler: 4200 LP]
"Are you alright?" I asked.
"Yeah," Tim nodded, "don't worry. It won't be like last time."
"I end my turn." Hakozaki muttered.
Tim drew. "I Set two cards face-down and Summon Witch of the Black Forest in Attack Position!" the violet-haired witch appeared on Tim's field [ATK: 1100]. "Now, I enter my Battle Phase and attack Amber Mammoth with Witch of the Black Forest!"
Slade's eyes widened in confusion as his Monster was seized by Witch of the Black Forest's power, before breaking free and then running her down.
[Tim & Tyler: 3600 LP]
"Why did you-"
"Since my witch has been sent from the field to the Graveyard, I'm allowed to add a Monster with fifteen hundred or less Defense Points from my Deck to my hand." Tim tapped the screen of his Duel Disk's tablet, his Deck automatically shuffling before Tim drew, revealing to us the Left Arm of the Forbidden One, and adding the card to his hand. "I end my turn."
"Then I draw-" Slade began, only for Tim to throw his hand out.
"I reveal my face-down Jar of Greed, which allows me to draw a card from my Deck."
My eyes widened as Tim smiled at the card he drew, and then revealed to us that all five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One were now in his hand. "Unbelievable!" Hakozaki shouted.
Tim placed the five pieces of Exodia the Forbidden One onto his Duel Disk, Exodia's body and limbs appearing above Tim. Each limb jerked and pulsed before floating up and merging with the main body in the sky. In a flash of light, the powerful Monster – the Legendary Exodia Incarnate – appeared. "What were you saying?" Tim asked. "That I'd never be able to Summon Exodia?" Tim laughed heartily. Exodia brought both his hands together, a ball of energy forming in his hands. With one hand, Exodia pulled the ball back and then forward, Tim mimicking his Monster's movements with a jeer. "Exodia! Obliterate!"
The ball of energy was thrown forward, disintegrating both Hakozaki's and Slade's Monsters to dust and depleting their Life Points.
[Hakozaki & Slade: 0 LP]
Hakozaki dropped to his knees in defeat, cards falling from his Duel Disk. "No…" he muttered breathlessly, "no, no, no…"
"Worthless…" Slade twitched, throwing his arm down in disgust. "I thought you were supposed to be one of the best here, Hakozaki…"
"I can't believe you were able to Summon Exodia…" Hakozaki muttered, focusing entirely on Tim.
"That. Was. Incredible!" Melissa shouted, even though it really wasn't. All Tim did was draw cards, and all I did was help him stall for time. Nevertheless, the crowd seemed to agree with the MC, their cheering for us much louder than it had been in our previous Duel. Probably because this time the Duel actually made sense. "History has been made today, ladies and gentlemen! Not only have Tyler 'the Terror' and Tim Ihansha won their Duel against Thomas Hakozaki and Slade, but the gorgeous redhead also managed to Summon Exodia! For the first time ever! Right here at the Friendship Tag Cup! How cool is that?!"
"Yugi did it first." I said, covering it with a cough before and after. The crowd continued to cheer however, and Tim beckoned to them, enjoying every second of it. Hakozaki rushed to pick up his cards and our opponents moved away from the Duel Field as Tim continued to soak up the applause. I turned to him. "Hey, Tim?"
It took him a few moments to respond, still focused on the audience. "Yeah?"
"Th-th…" I sighed, "Thanks for taking that hit for me before…"
"No worries." Tim grinned.
"How great was that, everyone?! Talk about making the impossible possible!" Melissa continued. "But now! It's time for the next Duel! 'Hunter' Pace Mukuro and Gokei Steele, versus Tony Zomboni and Sesu Lomakkia!"
"Nah, come on! Cheer a bit more for me, hey?!" Tim called.
"I'm sorry, darling-" Melissa cleared her throat, "Tim, but we must move on! Teams, to the Duel Field!"
Tim sighed as the two of us moved away from the Duel Field.
Tony and Sesu.
I'd watched them in their previous Duel, and I remembered reading those names in my counterpart's suicide note. His family, he called them. And Crow had mentioned Sesu too. So, I had to assume that they were the same Tony and Sesu that my counterpart knew, what with them also being tag partners.
I could see Tony and Sesu approaching the Duel Field, moving past Hakozaki and Slade, which meant that Hunter Pace and Gokei Steele were probably on their way to take our spots on the Duel Field as well. I furrowed my brows as I saw that, waiting where Hakozaki and Slade had entered from was Dennis McField, the guy who'd rescued Celina from her cell at The Facility. I found that strange however, as he had been Yuya and Zuzu's opponent in the last round, along with Sylvio Sawatari, and should have been sent back to The Facility when he lost. Not that I agreed with it, I just found it odd that he still seemed to be around.
What was even more odd however, was when Slade stopped to speak with Dennis, and I swore I saw his eyes shift back to me for a moment.
"You alright, Tyler?" Tim asked.
"Yeah…" I said slowly. "You go back to the… hotel… I'll be… there in a bit…"
"Suit yourself." Tim shrugged. "I'll order some room service or something for us. Don't take too long."
I nodded, but I wasn't really listening, instead focused on Dennis's and Slade's conversation. I skirted around the Duel Field once Slade looked back at me one more time. He was obviously talking about me, but I couldn't think of a reason why that would be. I assumed that Dennis was one of Yuya's friends, as he was with him when they escaped The Facility and arrived at the Kaiba Corporation, and had acted very jovial and gracious during his Duel against him and Zuzu, and I figured that if Slade was talking to him that maybe Slade was one of Dennis's friends.
I watched them head off down the hall, but there was just something about the way that Slade had looked at me that made me follow him. Of course, both ends of the hall leading into the stadium eventually looped around and came together anyway. And it wasn't like I'd get accosted by any KC Guards. After all, I'd won, and as long as I kept winning, I'd be free.
I came around a bend and pulled myself back as Slade and Dennis continued to converse.
"Who else is here?" Slade asked.
"As far as I know, it's just the two of us for the moment." Dennis said. "If we take too long, he might send the others here, so we probably should try and wrap this up as quickly as we can."
Slade nodded. "Well we'll need to find another way, now that both of us have lost."
Dennis smiled. "Speaking of which, I'll leave you to deal with him… and make sure you do…" he muttered, turning and walking off. Slade stood still for a few moments, and just when I thought it was safe to leave, Slade spoke again.
"Come on. Out you come." He beckoned to where I'd thought I was hidden, my heart leaping into my throat. "No one ever teach you not to eavesdrop, emo boy?" Slade asked softly.
Hey, you! Emo boy! This isn't over! You haven't heard the last of this!
My eyes widened as I moved out from behind the wall. "What did you say?"
"Slow. I knew it was you the moment I saw you." Slade turned to face me, a wicked smile on his face. "Ya know, I never woulda imagined you'd be here in Dimension S-534…"
"W-what?"
"You really have no idea, do you?" He chided, the space between us getting smaller and smaller.
"I-I th-I think you've got the wr-wrong person…" I told him.
"No, no. You're the one. I remember." He said calmly, but I could hear a tinge of anger in his voice becoming all the more prominent as he spoke. "What? You don't?" he asked. "Akiza? Jack Atlas breakin' my arm?"
Looks like you fail, Witch!
Not so tough now, are ya?!
I started to feel sick. "Wait, so you're… y-you're the Slade from my Dimension?"
"Dimension D-521?" Slade scoffed. "Fuck that. That Dimension's trash. I was only there 'cause-" Slade suddenly stopped, shook his head and laughed. "Why am I telling you this…?" he asked himself.
"But how…? Y-you look-"
"Ah, screw it. Might as well." He told himself. "Cosmetic surgery. Helpful when moving across Dimensions, especially on the off chance that someone might recognise you otherwise." Slade touched his cleft lip, running his fingers across his face.
"I don't… I don't understand…" I muttered.
"No, of course you don't. I heard you came here by accident. Which is good, 'cause now I can get my revenge. I mean, I was always planning on coming back, and bringing some pals along to help." Slade flexed his fingers. I took a step back to get some distance which Slade quickly closed before looking down at his Duel Disk. "But, you know, if you're here, it means it's possible to travel between Dimensions without an FLD. And… having you as a card should put me in better standing with The Chancellor."
"W-w-what are you t-talking about?" I stammered, Slade loading a card into his Duel Disk.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" a voice echoed through the hall. Slade and I turned to see Mokuba and Declan approaching us, a throng of KC Guards coming from both sides.
"You…" Slade twitched, eyeing Declan before being grabbed and restrained by one of the guards. "I knew you'd have someone else come and bail you out…!" he spat. "Just like last time-"
"That's enough." Mokuba said, a KC Guard forcing a mask onto the blond's face. "Are you alright?" Mokuba asked, turning to me.
"I th… I think so…" I muttered.
Slade struggled in vain, attempting to take the mask off before screaming in pain and collapsing.
"Mr. Akaba," Mokuba looked over at Declan, whose eyes stayed on Slade's unmoving body, the young man walking over and removing Slade's Duel Disk from his arm.
"Just as I thought…" Declan muttered, holding the shield-shaped Duel Disk in his hands. "He's one of them, Mr. Kaiba."
"O-o-o-one of what?" I asked softly.
Mokuba turned to me. "I think it's best you came with us."
Declan nodded, walking over to me. "We have some questions to ask you…"
A metallic décor and the continuous buzzing of electronics did little to ease my nerves as I sat across from Mokuba and Declan in a small room inside the Kaiba Corporation. It was just the three of us. No KC Guards, no High Council.
"We should be free to talk in here." Mokuba said, glancing at the door at the back of the room. "Anyway, before we begin, congratulations on your last Duel."
"O-oh… Th-thank you, Mr. K…aiba…" I gasped, feeling myself caught on my words. "S-sorry, I've got a speech impediment."
"That's alright. You can't help it." Mokuba assured me.
I sighed, Declan adjusting his glasses. "Okay," he spoke softly, "we'll take this slow. That person you were talking to before, Slade Burodi, how do you know him?"
"Look: I don't know anything. Really. I know just as m…" I shook my head, "probably less than you do. All I know is I thought Slade was this Dimension's counterpart to the one in my Dimension, but apparently, he's the same Slade that was in my Dimension. Originally, I had barely any connection with him. He was applying for his Duel Runner Licence along with one of my friends, and Slade failed the test, but he came to watch my friend try and get her licence. During her l-l-licence test, he and a couple of his friends tried to get her to c-crash and fled the scene. I went after them, 'cause, you know, my friend could have been killed. Slade tried to come at me with a kn…ife, but he was taken into custody and arrested. I had no idea what happened to him after that. How he ended up here or anything."
"Well, I have confirmation that Slade was sent here as a spy for the Fusion Dimension." Declan continued to speak calmly. "And due to the fact that the two of you have prior history, would I be right to assume then that you are also from the Fusion Dimension?" Declan asked.
"I-I don't know. I don't know what my Dimension is. Slade said it was D-five-something, I-I don't know what that means…" I told him. "Listen, I know I come from a different Dimension, and I know that you yourself come from a different Dimension, because Yuya said so. Where my Dimension is, and what my Dimension is in relation to how you perceive it, I don't know. The re... the reas…" I was starting to get flustered. "The reason that I'm here, in this tournament right now, is so I can get home. I just want the boat so I can go."
Declan sat back in his seat. "I suppose. I've seen the boat myself, and I cannot recall the Fusion Dimension ever owning or using any sort of trans-dimensional bamboo boat."
I turned to Mokuba, "M-M-Mr. Kaiba, I was under the impression before, you know, when we were all here, that… Tim and I would get the boat back if we participated in the tournament, but… you know, I read through the terms and conditions and… I mean, it says if we lose, we go back to The Facility."
"Ah…" Mokuba nodded knowingly. "The High Council worked with Sector Security to come up with those terms and conditions. I actually had no idea that this was something that they'd agreed on until after the fact." Mokuba cleared his throat. "But I'm fully prepared to give you and your friend the boat back. After all, even if you lose, there's nothing stopping me from giving you guys the boat anyway. The Council, however, believes that winners should be rewarded and losers should be punished, which is why they've pushed for what they have."
"Listen, I get it. Rogét said something similar. Talking about upholding the peace, and, you know, I get it, but-"
"You've spoken with Rogét?" Mokuba asked.
I nodded. "When we were arrested, um… Celina, Crow, Tim and myself were isolated from the rest of the prisoners, and eventually we were questioned by Rogét, and I broke under him. He knew that I was from another Dimension, he had photos of Tim and I arriving on the boat." I fidgeted. "I was actually going to… I was actually going to show them to the High Council as proof, you know? When… when Rogét said that us coming from another Dimension was absurd, but… the photos were damaged when we escaped, so I got rid of them."
"That's okay." Mokuba smiled. "With any luck, the digital copies will still be on the server. I'll sort that out after this." He turned to Declan. "Mr. Akaba?"
Declan just continued to stare at me, or at least I think he did. I wasn't able to see his eyes behind his glasses.
In spite of, or perhaps because of Declan's silence, I pressed on. "Look, honestly, if I could help you, I would, but I don't know what you want from me. Talk to Tim. He knows way more about this stuff than I do. In fact, Yuya told him about what the Fusion Dimension is doing, and he told me he wants to help." I explained. "Or better yet, go talk to Slade. If anyone knows anything about what's going on, it's probably him."
"Slade's dead." Declan said calmly.
My heart skipped a beat. "What?"
"He struggled too much, and the Deprivation Mask ended up killing him." Mokuba spoke up.
"Is that what those are…?" I whispered, recalling Rogét also getting fitted with a mask before he too was dragged off.
"Standard Elevation Masks usually just reduce the flow of oxygen into the body, but our Deprivation Masks can also permanently blind the wearer, reduce brain and muscle function, and shock the body into shutting down should they attempt to remove it of their own volition." Mokuba explained.
"Oh my God…" I muttered.
"The Deprivation Masks are a last resort, used to deal with particularly troublesome individuals… or Rogét, but Rogét knows the protocol. With others, we rarely ever have to use them, but Mr. Akaba explained to me the situation with Slade."
"Slade's Duel Disk is equipped with Human Sealing Technology. He was going to seal you into a card." Declan furthered.
My eyes widened. I remembered Tim saying something about that. How people from the Fusion Dimension would seal others into cards and then use their energy for something. "What? So, I could have… been turned into a card…?"
"Not just you, but anyone else he felt like too. We had to take him out while we could." Declan explained.
I exhaled shakily, unsure of what to feel or what to say. "W-w-well… th-thank you for s-saving me…"
Declan placed Slade's Duel Disk onto the table. "Do you recognize this Duel Disk?" he asked.
"No, I've never seen it." I shook my head. "In fact, I've never seen any of the Duel Disks that I've, you know, seen in this Dimension. Even this one." I detached my Duel Disk from my arm and placed it on the table as well. "I know that… this one belonged to my counterpart from here…"
"Your counterpart?" Declan asked.
I nodded. "The Dimension I come from has a City just like this one, and people just like this one. There was a version of me living here in the Commons, and he… took his own life…" I exhaled. "I didn't know where I was or what was happening, but… I decided I'd… assume the role of my counterpart. No one knew he'd killed himself, you see, and so I took his Deck and Duel Disk to… I don't know, I guess create a ruse, and… pretend I was someone I wasn't."
I exhaled once more. Saying it out loud made me realize how much of an asshole I was. I basically stole a person's life, I pretended to be someone I wasn't, all because I wasn't strong enough to tell them the truth. If Rogét hadn't have told Crow, I'm not sure I ever would have. He had every right to be pissed with me. I was pissed with myself.
"Mr. Akaba?" Mokuba asked.
"If there exists a world, a Twin Dimension to this one, then…" Declan muttered, "this might change everything…" Declan shook his head. "I was under the impression there were only four Dimensions, but if what you're saying is true, then…"
"Look. I don't know, okay? You probably should talk to Tim. I've only been to four Dimensions myself: my home, this place, one that I didn't really get a good look at 'cause I was unconscious for most of it, and one where a multi-dimensional corporate entity fed babies to other babies, and that one was really weird." I shivered. Even just thinking about the Kmart Dimension made me want to throw up.
"How is your world different from this one?" Mokuba asked.
"Well… we don't have a High Council in our City, and our version of the Commons is called the Satellite. But really the big difference between Neo Domino City and my New Domino City is that we don't have that cultural divide or class difference that you guys have. I mean, don't get me wrong, we did, but for the most part, that's gone now. We had a thing called Zero Reverse, that split the Satellite off from New Domino City – I don't know if that's what happened here – but, uh… the divide between the Satellite and the rest of New Domino City was pretty much fixed when a friend of mine… um…" I trailed off, unsure of whether or not to continue.
"When what?" Mokuba sounded honestly interested in what I had to say.
"Well, it sounds a bit… farfetched…" I mumbled.
Mokuba's face broke a smile. "Trust me. There were some things that happened to me when I was a kid that would sound farfetched if I told you. And that's why I believe what Mr. Akaba's been saying about Duel Academy and the Interdimensional War, because honestly, after the stuff I've seen, it's not. So, go on, tell me."
"Well, it was just… um… my friends and I… we defeated these people called the Dark Signers, and this group called Yliaster."
"Yliaster…?" Mokuba asked softly, his eyes widening before looking away.
"Yeah… Why? What is it?"
Mokuba leaned a little bit closer to me. "You know who they are, right?"
"Not really. I know the word, and I know that I've had some dealings with it or them in the past, but I couldn't tell you what Yliaster actually is."
"I'm not entirely sure myself, to be honest. What I do know is that they're apparently a group that has existed since the dawn of time, and their members leak into all aspects of the world – military, economy, technology, society, and religion. Whether or not that's true, I don't know, but there have been rumors going around that Rogét is associated with them, and I've dealt with others like Yliaster in the past myself." Mokuba sat back in his chair.
"Oh… well I didn't know anything like that." I admitted.
Declan had been silent while I spoke, his hands together in thought. "What about the Extra Deck Summon methods in your Dimension?" he asked softly.
"U-um… we have both Fusion and Synchro Monsters, but no Xyz or Pendulum Monsters."
"I see…" Declan pondered, once again looking over at Slade's Duel Disk.
"I-I'm sorry, I don't really know what you guys want from me…" I muttered. "I-I've told you everything I can about… about Slade and my Dimension. If… if you don't have any more questions for me, I'd v…ery much like to get back to my room at the hotel. Tim's probably waiting for me."
"One last thing, Mr. Nochi." Mokuba spoke softly. "You said before that your world is similar to this one?" he asked. I nodded. "Well… in your world… Seto… Is he alive…?"
"Seto Kaiba?" I said softly. "Yeah, I mean, I don't know him personally, but yeah, he's alive. Still the CEO of KaibaCorp, uh… he set up the M.I.D.S. and he helped establish the first of many Duel Academies." I noticed that as I said 'Duel Academy', Declan had looked up from Slade's Duel Disk and over at me, as though the young man was unable to not be drawn to the conversation.
"What?" he asked.
"Yeah, uh… listen. I know before, I heard you speak to the Council, and you told them that you were… trying to protect this place from a Duel Academy's invasion, but…" I sighed, burying my head in my hands. "I don't know, okay? In the last twenty-four hours I've had two hours of sleep. I don't know what the fuck I'm saying anymore… I just… I…" I slowly felt myself start to lose my grip on where I was and what I was saying, like I was having a mental breakdown or a bout of sensory overload. People were asking me things that I had no answers to and no real knowledge of, like I was some sort of Goddamn ambassador for my Dimension or some shit, but I was probably the least qualified to say anything about anything! And just from Declan's one little 'what', it was just so… I didn't even know how to respond to that.
I felt my breathing begin to quicken, and I tried my best to steady myself, and when I was sure I'd gotten myself under control, I spoke again. "I don't like being kept in the dark on things, okay? Less than a year ago, I found out that what I thought my whole life had been was a complete load of crap, and the one person who could have… told me, or shed some light on it, kept me in the dark. Now that termagant Celina apparently thinks I'm not strong enough to be a Lancer or whatever – that's fine. There are plenty of other Duelists in my Dimension who are way stronger than me. And I'm sure that if I explain the situation to them that most, if not all, will be happy to help you. But I don't know, okay? I don't know who you're fighting against, I don't know why you want to fight against them, and frankly, I don't know if I can trust you. I never knew this place existed, and I don't know what you guys consider normal or… not. It would be a lot more helpful if you told me what you're thinking and what you're feeling instead of just asking me questions. If that's what you want, you just want to ask me questions, that's fine, but don't ask why, okay? Because I don't know why." I exhaled loudly, louder than I'd actually wanted to.
"Okay… you want to know what's going on?" Declan asked softly. "I'll tell you: there is an institution that exists in the Fusion Dimension known as Duel Academy. Duel Academy trains soldiers in Duel Monsters, equipping them with Duel Disks fitted with Real Solid Vision, Human Sealing Technology, and a Fixed Location Device. They use this to wage war on other Dimensions and have destroyed countless cities and countries in the Xyz Dimension, as well as take the lives of innocent civilians and children. I created my own group, the Lancers, and our goal is to put a stop to Duel Academy, because these people… they're not just a threat to us… they're a threat to everyone, no matter where you come from… and if you've met this Slade person before in your Dimension… then it means that they've been aware of a wider multiverse, something that I didn't know existed, and that Duel Academy's been sending spies to perform reconnaissance on your Dimension as well. There may be more in your Dimension, and as you saw today, at least one spy has been found here. I'm not asking you to trust me, or us, but you do have to know that if we fail here to gather support, then your Dimension will most likely fall to them just like the Xyz Dimension did."
I sighed. "But why are they doing this? What's their endgame?"
"I don't know." Declan said surprisingly. "What I do know is that it goes by the name Aquaria Project."
"Aquaria? Y-you mean like a utopia?"
"Possibly, though I'm not entirely sure. But, regardless of what it is, invading other Dimensions and carding innocent people is unacceptable. That's the bottom line."
"We thought your connection to Slade might have shed some light on what Duel Academy is planning to do. If there is any other information that you have, we'd greatly appreciate you letting us know." Mokuba added.
"Well there is one other thing…" I mumbled, thinking back to my confrontation with Slade. "Slade said that by turning me into a card, he'd be put in 'better standing' with someone called The Chancellor. I don't know who that is, but… it seemed like they might be someone important. That's all I know."
Mokuba and Declan turned to each other, before Mokuba looked back at me with a smile. "Well, you've given us a lot to think about, and I'll be getting into contact with Mr. Ihansha soon regarding the status of the boat. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Nochi." Mokuba said as he and Declan stood up, myself doing the same after grabbing my Duel Disk. Mokuba motioned for me to leave through the door, which I did, a member of the KC Guard arriving soon after to escort me from the Kaiba Corporation and back to my hotel room.
The KC Guard opened the door to my hotel room for me, and I silently prayed that Tim wasn't naked on the other side like he'd been in the morning.
Thankfully he wasn't. I mean, he didn't have a shirt on, but that was better than him being naked. Tim sat on his bed with a pizza box in his lap, watching (surprisingly) the Duels from the Friendship Tag Cup, but his attention was immediately drawn to me as the door opened. "There you are!" he shouted. I hadn't even taken a step inside and Tim was already on me. "Where'd you run off to?"
The KC Guard bowed, stepping back as he left the room, closing the door in front of him.
I sighed. "I, um… I almost got sealed into a card by Slade-"
"What?! Where is he?! That motherfu-"
"Tim, it's okay! He didn't get the chance to card me. M-M-M-Mokuba and Declan intervened. That's actually why I took so long. They… wanted to talk to me. The Slade that we Dueled today, the one who I thought was a Dimensional counterpart, he wasn't…! He was my Slade. No, not even my Slade. He was a spy for the Fusion Dimension, and the person I saw in my Dimension wasn't from my Dimension, but it was him."
"I don't know what you mean…"
I sighed, trying to think of a better way to word what I understood to have been the case with Slade. "Okay, so… the Slade that we Dueled was the Slade that I met in my Dimension, but Slade's not from my Dimension. He's actually a spy from the Fusion Dimension."
"Well that's not good." Tim told me, scratching his scar. "But as long as you're alright. I regret letting you go off on your own like that though."
Before I even realized it, I had a smile on my face. "Were you worried about me?"
"Of course I was worried, dummy!" Tim said, his cheeks a little red. "For one thing, your pizza's been getting cold. Two, I was gonna get burgers, but then I thought 'who doesn't like pizza?'," Tim sidetracked himself, "and three, if you got turned into a card, there wouldn't be anything I could do to help you!"
"Tim-"
"No," Tim grabbed my shoulders suddenly, pulling me closer to him and looking deep into my eyes. "Listen, Tyler, this is serious. I can't bring you back to life if you're a card, and the fact that these people are here means that this Dimension isn't safe. We're not safe. We need to stick together from now on."
"I-I mean, isn't that kind of what we've been doing-"
"No talking when I'm talking." Tim said firmly. "Until I get you back to your Dimension, I want you near me at all times. That means no going off on your own at night anymore. From now on we stay here in the hotel room and then we go to the stadium to Duel. That's it."
"Tim-"
"No arguments. If you want to go anywhere else, we go together, and we leave together. That's final." Tim stated. "Now, what did Declan and Mokubro want to talk to you about? Was it the boat?"
"No, it was my connection with Slade. But Mokuba did say he'd be getting into contact with you at some point to talk about the boat. No… mostly they just wanted to know where I came from and if I had any information on the Fusion Dimension, sort of like what happened with Rogét. I told them what you said, that we need to do something about it-"
"'We'? No. No way." Tim said firmly. "I'm happy to get involved, but not you, okay?"
"What do you mean?"
"If there's some sort of Interdimensional War going on, you're not going to be a part of it. Once we've won and got the boat back, I'll take you home, and then I'll deal with the Fusion Dimension myself."
"There are plenty of Duelists in my Dimension who I'm sure would be happy to help. Yusei and the others-"
"This isn't a game, Tyler, alright?! It might seem like it, because 'Ooh! Trading cards!' but I've seen what war does to people! What can happen! You see all these TV shows and movies that glamorize it or make it into a joke, but it's not! I know you've been through that stuff with the Dark Signers, but trust me, a day in the dark is nothing compared to a lifetime of torture and chaos…!" Tim's face twitched and he turned away from me, walking over to the window. "It doesn't go away. It doesn't get better." he said softly.
"Tim…"
"The stuff I've had to go through… I'd rather not subject you to that…" He whispered.
I looked at the redhead in sadness and amazement, having witnessed probably the most human moment I'd ever seen or would see from Tim, and I really had no idea what to say.
"Tim, I'm… I'm sorry that you had to go through what you did…"
"If I had the choice to go back and never be a part of it… maybe I would…" Tim sighed, wiping his eyes as he turned back to me. "You never know what the future's gonna hold, Tyler. And your future's waiting for you back home. That's where you belong." He smiled.
"A-ma-zing!" Melissa's voice came through the TV. "This round's winners are Celina Belfri and 'The Commons Comet' Yugo Furei!"
I turned to face the TV, seeing that Celina and Yugo, the latter being the spitting image of a younger Yusei, had defeated Crow and Shinji. From observing their previous Duel against Tatsuya and Maizuru, I knew that Celina ran an archetype known as Lunalight, and Yugo ran Speedroids. They looked to be pretty tough to beat.
"Hey…" I looked over at Tim as he spoke, handing me a box of pizza. "You gonna eat or what?"
"Yeah…" I smiled, taking my Duel Disk off as I sat down on my bed. "This hasn't got mushrooms on it, does it?"
"Nah, I just got you a meatlovers. Is that alright?"
"That's perfect. Thank you." I continued to smile, opening up the box and helping myself to a slice of lukewarm pizza. "Oh…!" I said, my voice muffled by the pizza in my mouth. "Who won the Duel before?"
"Lomakkia and Zamboni. So, we'll be Dueling them tomorrow." Tim told me.
"Now, for the final Duel of the second round! Twins Leo and Luna Larunde versus Yuya Sakaki and Zuzu Boyle!"
"Are they the two kids? Leo and Luna?" Tim asked as the twins appeared on the screen.
"That's them…" I muttered, as hard as it was to believe.
"You'd better be good…" Luna told Yuya and Zuzu. "Anything else would be boring…"
"Duel!"
[Yuya & Zuzu: 8000 LP]
[Leo & Luna: 8000 LP]
"I'll begin!" Zuzu shouted, "I Normal Summon Opera the Melodious Diva in Attack Position!" a petit pink-haired girl appeared on Zuzu's field, twirling around and greeting the twins with a smile [ATK: 2300]. "Then I'll Set two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Fine. If you're gonna start for your team, then Luna can start for us!" Leo boasted.
Luna turned to her twin. "Whatever… I draw…" she muttered. I leaned closer to the TV, curious to see what kind of Deck this Luna used. "I activate the Field Spell – Fairy Tale Prologue: Journey's Dawn…" a cartoon sun appeared in the sky with a wide smile and rosy cheeks. "Then I'll Set one Monster in Defense Position, and one more card face-down. I end my turn."
"Nice work, Luna!" Leo smiled.
"Leo, shut up." She said crudely. I almost couldn't believe Luna was talking to her brother like that.
"How old is she?" Tim asked.
I choked down another slice of pizza. "W-w-well, if they're the same age as the twins in my Dimension, and their birthday is on the same day, twelve."
"Well she's acting like she's got a massive chip on her shoulder. She's not like that in your Dimension, is she?"
"N-n-not until I went and fucked things up…" I muttered.
"Alright!" Yuya shouted, drawing, before revealing two cards in his hand to the twins. "With these two Monsters, I'll set the Pendulum Scale – Scale One Performapal Gumgumouton, and Scale Eight Xiangsheng Magician!"
"Pendulum Scale?" Leo asked.
"Now, with this, I can Special Summon Monsters from my hand whose Levels range from Two to Seven simultaneously!" Yuya explained.
"Simultaneously…" Luna muttered, Yuya's Monsters appearing on the field, rising up as they were cloaked in light. A large blue crystal appeared in the center, held on a string and swinging back and forth.
"Swing, pendulum of souls! Draw an arc of light across the sky and carve the arc of victory in the ether! Pendulum Summon!" a portal opened up on Yuya's field, four streams of colored light flying out and hitting the field. "Come forth, my Monsters! Xiangke Magician! Performapal Bubblebowwow! Performapal Whip Snake! And Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon!"
"What the Hell?!" I shouted, a myriad of Monsters staring the twins down.
"Oh, come on! There's no way that's legal!" Tim protested, and in spite of him stacking his Deck with multiple Pot of Greed cards and the like, I was inclined to agree. According to the information on the screen, Xiangke Magician, Performapal Bubblebowwow, and Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon were all High-Level Monsters and being able to Summon all of them at the same time did seem quite overpowered.
"Wa~ah! No way! All those Monsters!" Leo shouted, obviously feeling the same way as Tim and me.
Luna simply flipped a card over. "I activate Bottomless Trap Hole. This card Banishes any Monsters Summoned with fifteen-hundred Attack Points or more, and since you Summoned all those Monsters at the same time, they all get Banished."
"What?!" Yuya shouted, a pitfall opening up underneath his Monsters as they all fell in. "N-no way! My Pendulum Summon…" Yuya muttered, his arms shaking. I watched him reach up and pull on his goggles so that they covered his eyes.
Zuzu turned to Yuya, letting out a little gasp. "Yuya…!"
For Yuya's move to have been brought to a halt by a single Trap Card, maybe Pendulum Summoning wasn't as broken as I first thought.
Yuya's empty hand shook just a little before he pulled his goggles up. "I've still got Zuzu's Opera the Melodious Diva on the field! So, I'll enter my Battle Phase and attack your Set Monster!" Zuzu's Monster put its hands together and sang a single note, Luna's Set Monster [The Little Swordsman of Aile: DEF: 1300] getting flipped up and then easily destroyed. "Now I end my turn."
Leo drew quickly. "I Normal Summon Morphtronic Videon!" he shouted as I recalled my Duel with the twins against Lester, the transformative video camera appearing on Leo's field as it posed [ATK: 1000]. "Then I'll equip my Videon with two Spell Cards – Morphtronic Master Arm and Pile Arm!" Both of Videon's arms changed, becoming sleeker and shinier. Its left looked as though it had a spear attached to it, while its right had been fitted with a clawed gauntlet. "These cards give my Morphtronic Videon a combined eight hundred extra Attack Points, and then, thanks to Videon's effect, he gains sixteen-hundred more Attack Points – eight hundred for each card equipped to it!" [Morphtronic Videon: ATK: 3400].
"Hey, that's pretty good…!" Tim muttered.
"Now it's time… for my Battle Phase! Videon, attack!" Leo shouted, his Monster charging forward and impaling Zuzu's Monster with its Pile Arm.
[Yuya & Zuzu: 7450 LP]
"Huh? Shouldn't it do more?" Leo asked. I had the same question.
Luna sighed. "My Field Spell cuts all battle damage in half."
"Aw man!" Leo stamped one of his feet on the ground. "Luna, you totally screwed that up for me!"
"Excuse me…?" Luna asked softly, her cold, sharp tone cutting through the air as Zuzu drew.
"Okay, I activate the Spell Card Slow Tempo! As long as this card is in play, none of our Monsters will be able to attack on the turn they're Summoned. Next, I activate the effect of Solo the Melodious Songstress from my hand: if we don't control any Monsters on our field, I can Special Summon her from my hand!" a pink-skinned woman in a red tutu jumped down onto the field, twirling around as she hummed to herself [DEF: 1000]. "And now that I have a Melodious Monster out, I can activate the effect of Canon the Melodious Diva, and Special Summon her to the field as well!" a similar-looking Monster appeared beside Solo, this one blue-skinned and wearing a purple outfit [DEF: 2000]. "Lastly, I reveal my Trap Card, Musical Mayhem! This card inflicts eight hundred damage for each face-up Melodious Monster I control, and since I control two, you lose sixteen hundred Life Points!"
A bolt of green light shot out from Zuzu's Trap, hitting Leo in the chest.
[Leo & Luna: 6400 LP]
"Wait a second! Shouldn't our damage be halved?!" Leo shouted.
"Battle damage, Leo! Fairy Tale Prologue: Journey's Dawn halves all battle damage! The card she used inflicts effect damage!" Luna stated.
"Oh…" Leo muttered sheepishly.
"Jeez, Leo…" Luna sighed, sounding more and more exasperated.
"I end my turn."
Luna drew. "At my Standby Phase, the second effect of my Field Spell activates! By sending it to the Graveyard, the page turns to a new chapter, and I can activate Fairy Tale Chapter 2: Seething Sun from my Deck!" the second sun sitting high in the sky above the twins quickly changed its expression, its eyes becoming wider and a vein appearing on its head. "Next I activate the Spell Card Double Summon. This turn, I'm allowed an additional Normal Summon or Set, so first, I'll Tribute Morphtronic Videon to Summon Ancient One of the Deep Forest!" Leo's Monster disappeared, and in its place stood a considerably weaker demonic-looking white goat [ATK: 1800].
"Lu~na! What are you doing?!" Leo protested.
"Winning. Next, I'll use my additional Normal Summon, and Summon Angel Trumpeter as well!" a beautiful-looking flower appeared in front of Luna, spraying a dark mist across the Duel Field [ATK: 1900]. "And now… I tune my Level four Angel Trumpeter to my Level six Ancient One!" Luna's Monsters floated into the sky, the light from the Seething Sun breaking through the dark mist as the two Monsters came together. "Remnants of darkness breathe life into the weak and tattered form of a protector! Let your spirit be renewed and stain the forest in their blood! Synchro Summon! Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree!" a massive beast clad in lswarm armor dropped down onto Luna's field with a blood-curdling roar [ATK: 3100]. "See, Leo? He's just like you! Not only has he got the same name as you, but he's also braindead and ignorant!"
"I'm ignorant! What about you?! Your Monster can't attack on the turn its Summoned, and mine could!"
Luna sighed once more, revealing a Mystical Space Typhoon in her hand, a cyclone sweeping away Zuzu's Slow Tempo. "Honestly, Leo, just shut up and leave things to me. Now, I'll enter my Battle Phase and attack your Canon!" Zuzu's Canon didn't stand a chance as Luna's Monster leaped at the poor girl, ripping her to shreds, Luna smiling almost gleefully. "I end my turn."
Yuya drew. "I activate the powers of my Performapal Gumgumouton and Xiangsheng Magician, and Pendulum Summon once more!" Another portal opened up on Yuya's field, this one much smaller than the last, and only a single stream of light came through. "Come forth, my Monster! Timebreaker Magician!" a young cape-wearing swordsman broke out from the light, clutching his sword feverishly and staring down Luna's Monster [ATK: 1400].
"Really?" Luna asked.
"You'd better believe it! My Timebreaker Magician has an effect that allows me to Banish him and one other Monster on the field, and both Monsters will remain Banished until Zuzu's turn!"
"You know, I think you and Leo would get along well. You're both egg-headed. My Monster can't be targeted by card effects outside of Main Phase 2." Luna sounded rather unimpressed with Yuya.
Yuya smiled. "Zuzu, can I…?"
The pink-haired girl nodded. "Go for it, Yuya!"
"Alright, I activate Zuzu's face-down, Broken Spotlight!" Zuzu's Trap Card opened out, a flickering spotlight appearing underneath Luna's Monster. "This card negates the effects of all Monsters you control until the End Phase of the turn, which means your Keeper of the Sacred Tree is free to be Banished along with my Timebreaker Magician!"
Timebreaker Magician raised his sword into the air as a blinding light came forth, himself and Luna's Monster vanishing from the field. "N-no…" Luna muttered.
"Next, I switch Solo the Melodious Songstress to Attack Position, enter my Battle Phase, and attack your Life Points directly!" Luna's eyes widened as Solo quickly changed her Battle Position [ATK: 1600], brought her hands together and sang a single note like Opera had done, Luna getting knocked off her feet from the shockwave.
[Leo & Luna: 3200 LP]
"Easy…" Tim cautioned, glancing over at me. "Don't get worked up. That's not your Luna."
"I-I-I know…" I muttered.
"…You'll pay for that!" Luna screeched, turning to her brother with a twisted expression. "Le~eo… how could you let them hurt your dear sister like that?"
"I-I-I'm sorry, Luna." Leo apologized.
"You know what to do now, don't you?" she asked softly. "Wash the stadium in their blood. That's a fair trade for them raising their hand to me, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, Luna…" Leo stammered.
"Then… do it!"
"Right!" Leo drew, "I Normal Summon Morphtronic Boomboxen!" Leo threw his arm forward, a stereo appearing on his field, the device quickly shifting and unhinging, become biped [ATK: 1200]. "Then I'll equip it with the Equip Spell, Megamorph, doubling its Attack Points!" Leo's Boomboxen doubled in size [ATK: 2400]. "Now I enter my Battle Phase and attack your Solo with my Boomboxen!"
Leo's Monster rushed forward, crushing Zuzu's beneath its feet.
[Yuya & Zuzu: 5850 LP]
"My Morphtronic Boomboxen lets me attack a second time each Battle Phase! Go, Morphtronic Boomboxen!" Leo shouted, his Monster charging at Zuzu.
"N-no way!" Zuzu gasped, Yuya pushing Zuzu out of the way and taking the hit in exchange, the poor boy getting knocked around like a ragdoll.
[Yuya & Zuzu: 1050 LP]
"Yuya!" Zuzu shouted, rushing to her partner's side.
"Oh, my goodness!" Melissa shouted in horror, having been uncharacteristically quiet for almost the whole Duel.
"If you haven't figured it out by now, Fairy Tale Chapter 2: Seething Sun doubles all battle damage." Luna smiled a slasher smile before turning to her twin. "That was… well-done of you, Leo. I mean, I would have preferred it if you had have beaten them this turn, but considering how pathetic you've been, I suppose that was probably asking too much."
"Uh… thank you?"
"No problem, Leo." Luna smiled. "Don't forget though, now we have more Life Points than them, so your Monster's Attack Points get cut in half from their Original Attack." Luna explained, Leo's Morphtronic Boomboxen shrinking in size [ATK: 600].
"O-oh, right… I-I end my turn…!" Leo said sheepishly.
"Yuya…" Zuzu breathed, helping him to his feet.
"Zuzu… you're alright, aren't you…?" Yuya winced.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She smiled. "Can you stand?"
Yuya nodded and Zuzu exhaled, drawing.
"Uh-uh~, before you do anything, don't forget that my Monster returns to the field along with yours!" Luna jeered, both hers and Yuya's Monsters reappearing on the field [Leo, the Keeper of the Sacred Tree: ATK: 3100] [Timebreaker Magician: ATK: 1400].
"That's okay," Zuzu said softly, taking one of Yuya's hands in hers. "You can have as many Monsters on the field as you like – it doesn't matter, 'cause when Yuya and I team up, we're unstoppable! Because… the fun is just getting started!"
"Zuzu…" Yuya muttered.
"I call on the powers of Yuya's Performapal Gumgumouton and Xiangsheng Magician, and Pendulum Summon a Monster of my own to the field!"
"Wait, so you can Pendulum Summon using your partner's Monsters?" Tim asked.
"Come forth! Shopina the Melodious Maestra!" Zuzu shouted, purple light finding its way through a portal and onto Zuzu's field, another of Zuzu's fancy-looking fairies standing across from the twins [ATK: 2300].
"She's not strong enough to take down Luna's Keeper of the Sacred Tree!" Leo huffed, poking his tongue out at Zuzu.
"Leo, you idiot! She's not going to attack my Monster! She's going to attack yours!"
"That's right! Now it's battle time!" Zuzu shouted. "Shopina, attack Morphtronic Boomboxen!"
"Leo, do something! Quick!" Luna snapped, but there was nothing her twin brother could do except brace himself as Shopina played out a brief little melody on her illusory piano, Leo's Monster shattering like glass.
[Leo & Luna: 0 LP]
"I-it's… it's over!" Melissa hyped. "The winners are Yuya Sakaki and Zuzu Boyle!" the MC shouted, the crowd erupting with applause.
"That was pretty close, hey? You know, for a moment there, I thought the twins might win." Tim told me.
"Y-yeah… me too…" I muttered. In a way, I was relieved that this Leo and Luna lost, because it meant that I didn't have to – or wouldn't – worry about having to face them in the tournament. Of course, them losing meant that they'd be shipped off to the Commons area and made to work at the recycling plant, and I wasn't sure what to think of that.
What I was sure of though, were my feelings for Luna. Seeing Leo and Luna in that Duel made me realize how lucky I was to have known the Luna in my Dimension. And while I may have pushed her away, I wasn't going to give her up without a fight.
"Hey," Tim spoke softly. I turned to him and he met me with a smile. "Two down, two to go…"