Good day everyone, how are you doing today? Yes, I am well aware of how long it's been. There have been a lot of factors that have delayed me putting out this chapter, including but not limited to:
Work, depression, writer's block, laziness, streaming (both on twitch and in discord), exhaustion, and even just not being able to write anything at times.
So yeah, I know it's been over a year, a part of it is me holding my self to a higher standard to ensure you get a better product, a part of it is just I couldn't get rolling the way I wanted to, but regardless, I'm back! Now enough about me and my existence, let's get back to what you all came here for!
The Master: The following is a non-profit fan-based fanfiction. Yugioh, Yugioh GX, Yugioh 5Ds, Yugioh Zexal, Yugioh Arc-V, and Yugioh VRAINS are all owned by Konami, 4Kids Entertainment, Toei Animation and Kazuki Takahashi, please support the official release! Nyehhehehehehehehe
Chapter 43: The Tides of Chaos
New Domino City, Tops Area
Vice Director Lazar didn't often find himself running for his life. More often than not, he used a getaway balloon to elude the capture of some Satellite punk who didn't know who he was messing with, but that wasn't an option for the henchman. He leaped across the gap of one of the many skyscrapers that lined New Domino City's skyline, a fireball from his transformed secretary blowing a hole where he had been seconds prior. Lazar shouldn't have been surprised that his secretary had been apparently holding a grudge against him, he knew he was a rather snippy boss at times. It was either that or she was just driven mad by the transformation that seemed to have stricken half the city. Regardless of the inner secrets of his secretary's mind, he liked it better when Goodwin was handling the paperwork and he could run around doing the dirty errands that Iliaster required.
"You know," he called back cheekily to the Fire Dragon that had once been his secretary. "Trying to incinerate your boss doesn't exactly look good on the resume." That only served to infuriate her more as the serpentine Dragon wove its way forward, flames pouring from her maw. Lazar used the grappling hook he had up his sleeve to swing down from the rooftop, crashing through a window and more importantly getting out of sight of the angry transformed Duel Monster. He activated his communicator wristwatch, keying into the Sector Security frequencies.
"Oh God he won't stop advancing!" the shouts of one frantic officer came from the speaker.
"How do we stop this thing?" another shouted.
Lazar knew he had to intervene, to at least bring some semblance of decency back to the city. He couldn't do his job for Iliaster if he didn't have a city to operate in. "All units, disengage from any monsters on the streets and prioritize evacuating the citizens." He turned and glanced out the window, noticing the fiery eye of a Fire Dragon glaring at him. Lazar gulped as he began running again. "And send a squad to the Crawford building with a Fire Dragon outside. I need some assistance." He leaped down the stairwell just as the blast destroyed the office that had made up that floor. Lazar hadn't expected to rely on his former circus experience to survive the day, but then again nobody could have predicted the madness that was currently going on. "I hate it when Trudge is right." He wouldn't admit it to the man personally, but Trudge did have some good instincts for when things went wrong.
Duel Room C
Akiza LP: 4000
White Rose Knight: Atk 2800, Def 1200, LV 8
Alex LP: 2400
Kuno LP: 3500
Amazoness Queen: Atk 2400, Def 1800, LV 6
The tension in the spartan training room was palpable. Kuno had just given everyone a fresh hand, and with Akiza only having one monster and one facedown on the field, that meant trouble for the Foot Signer.
'You better not screw this up,' Akiza's dark side hissed at her from the confines of her mind. Akiza did her best to ignore it, as she wasn't saying anything that the Foot Signer wasn't already aware of. She was going to have to play her cards perfectly to get through the turn.
"I activate the Spell Card Amazoness Spellcaster!" Kuno began, playing the card in her slim black Duel Disk. An older woman appeared on the field, chanting in an unknown language. "Now I can swap the Attack point values of an Amazoness Monster on the field and any Monster on my opponent's field!" The elderly Amazoness waved her hands at White Rose Knight, several symbols of the Amazoness tribe floating towards the warrior in front of Akiza.
"I activate my White Rose Knight's special ability," the Foot Signer countered. "By banishing a Plant type monster from my Graveyard, she becomes immune to the effects of my opponent's Spell and Trap cards for the turn. I remove my Mariña, Princess of Sunflowers from my Graveyard and negate the effects of your Amazoness Spellcaster." White Rose Knight held up her shield, several ancient runes appeared as she deflected the spell harmlessly into the air. The Amazoness Spellcaster looked miffed as she faded from sight, a face that would have amused Akiza had it not been for the dire straits she was in.
"Well then," Kuno said as she placed the Spell in the Graveyard. "I Summon Amazoness Swords Woman in Attack mode!" A well-muscled, if scantily clad woman appeared, a large falchion in her hands. She knelt towards the Amazoness Queen in respect before facing Akiza.
Amazoness Swords Woman: Atk 1500, Def 1600, LV 4
"Then I activate the Continuous Spell of Amazoness Fighting Spirit," Kuno continued. A golden aura surrounded the two Amazoness Monsters, giving Akiza an ominous feeling despite their stats not changing.
'That card's effect probably powers them up during the Battle Phase,' Maid Akiza stated.
"Now I activate the Field Spell Amazoness Village," the kunoichi said, not missing a beat as she placed a second card into her Field Spell slot on her Duel Disk. Tribal huts and a large wooden palisade rose up from the ground, a grassy field completing the image of a jungle village as several Amazon warriors surrounded the trio, spears held at the side for the time being. "This powers up my Amazoness Monsters by two hundred points!"
Amazoness Swords Woman Atk: 1700
Amazoness Queen Atk: 2600
"That's not enough for my White Rose Knight," Akiza challenged, watching Kuno to see if she would tip her hand.
Kuno merely raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Battle!"
Alex watched, keeping an eye on his hand as he formulated a strategy should his Tag partner fail to win this turn, which looked increasingly likely. She'd do damage, but not enough to finish it. That'd be up to him.
"Amazoness Queen, attack White Rose Knight!" Kuno commanded. "Amazoness Slash!" With a battle cry of the Amazons ripping from her throat, the royal Amazoness charged, meeting the sword of White Rose Knight with a clang. The golden aura surrounding her flared brightly, infusing the Queen with energy.
"What's going on?" Akiza asked as the two warrior women dueled, Amazoness Queen gaining the upper hand.
Kuno indicated her Continuous Spell with a nod of her head. "When an Amazoness battles and has fewer Attack points than the opponent's monster, she gains one thousand Attack for the duration of that battle!"
Amazoness Queen Atk: 3600
The Foot Signer could only watch as the Amazoness Queen ended the duel with a thrust through the heart of White Rose Knight. "No!" White Rose Knight collapsed into two pools of light, the feedback buffeting Akiza with damage.
Akiza LP: 3200
"Wait, what's happening?" Alex asked, speaking for the first time in a while as the twin pools of light rose into the air, beginning to take form.
Akiza carefully held up the two cards her Duel Disk had ejected from the Graveyard. "When White Rose Knight is destroyed, either by battle or by effect, I can Special Summon the Synchro Materials used to make White Rose Knight to the field, but I can't use them for another Synchro Summon for the remainder of the turn. Revive, Blue Rose Dragon and Witch of the Black Rose!" A chibi Black Rose Dragon with blue petals appeared, as did a little witch with large green eyes, purple jeweled staff held at the ready.
Blue Rose Dragon: Atk 1600, Def 1200, LV 4
Witch of the Black Rose: Atk 1700, Def 1200, LV 4
Kuno scowled. She had defenses that would at least hold until Alex's turn came around. No matter, if Alex could make use of his full hand, then this Duel was all but decided. "Amazoness Swords Woman, attack Witch of the Black Rose now!" She watched as her Swords Woman charged, cutting right through the hasty magical defenses and cutting down the Witch of the Black Rose with ease. "I'll end my turn with two facedown cards." Kuno wasn't happy with how the turn had gone, but one low level monster and one facedown card on the field against a full hand of Six Samurai was going to be tough to survive against.
"Then it's my move!" Alex began. "I draw!" He looked at the seven cards in his hand, remembering what had happened in the Duel so far. Destroying Blue Rose Dragon would bring either Black Rose Dragon or a Plant-type monster from the Grave, and that powerful Marina had been removed from the Graveyard to keep White Rose Knight from being affected by Kuno's Spells. So, provided Akiza didn't have another Plant-type monster with more Attack points than Black Rose, he felt confident he would be able to finish her off, so long as that facedown card wasn't a Mirror Force. Akiza wasn't the type of Duelist who would use Mirror Force, but it was a possibility that couldn't be denied this late into the game, as they had seen the Signers adapt to the perilous situations the Master had put them in time and time again. "I'll start by Summoning the Secret Six Samurai – Kizaru from my hand!" A man in black samurai robes appeared, katana at the ready. A Shien's Squire and Shien's Footsoldier stood close behind in a supportive position.
Secret Six Samurai – Kizaru: Atk 1900, Def 1000, LV 4
"This activates the ability of the Legendary Secret of the Six Samurai in my hand!" the Bushido heir continued. "Since I Summoned a Secret Six Samurai, this card now Special Summons itself from my Hand!" A purple gaseous spirit appeared, red samurai armor covering the exterior of the spirit.
Legendary Spirit of the Six Samurai: Atk 500, Def 2000, LV 4
Alex played a third card on his Duel Disk. "Since I now control two Six Samurai monsters on the field, I can now Special Summon my Great Shogun Shien!" A pillar of flame arose between the two Six Samurai on the field and both warrior and spirit bowed as a third samurai emerged, this one clad in large red armor and standing twice as tall over his underlings. Great Shogun Shien motioned to his subjects to rise as he drew his sword, standing at the ready.
Great Shogun Shien: Atk 2500, Def 2400, LV 7
"Now since I control three Six Samurai monsters," Alex began, "I can now activate Six Strike – Triple Impact from my hand! I can now either destroy every Monster on my opponent's field, or either face-up or face-down Spell and Trap cards my opponent controls. I choose to destroy that Set card of yours Black Rose!"
'Well, you better activate that Trap or we're toast,' Dark Akiza warned as the three Samurai on Alex's field drew their blades and held them together, a bolt of lightning sent rocketing towards her facedown card.
"I know," Akiza growled, wishing that the alternate personalities would shut up for five minutes even. "I activate my Trap, Blooming of the Darkest Rose!" Her card flipped upright, taking the lightning bolt head on and exploding into millions of rose petals. "I now Special Summon Rose Tokens to either side of the field equal to the number of Field Spells either on the Field currently or in the Graveyard! Since there's Amazoness Village on the Field and Black Garden in my Graveyard, I can now bring out two Rose Tokens to my side of the Field in Defense mode!" Two large roses bloomed on both sides of her Blue Rose Dragon to punctuate her statement.
Rose Tokens x2: Atk 800, Def 800, LV 2
Alex scowled as her defenses tripled. No matter, he still had a couple of cards to play with. "I activate Cunning of the Six Samurai and Tribute my Legendary Spirit of the Six Samurai to bring back the Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien from the Graveyard!" With a sudden puff of smoke the spirit was gone, replaced by a red and purple armored samurai. He held his sword to the Great Shogun, who tapped it in response.
Shadow of the Six Samurai – Shien: Atk 2500, Def 400, Rank 4
"I'll place my last card facedown," Alex said, inserting the card in his Disk. "Now Black Rose, let's battle!"
"Bring it," Akiza challenged, her yellow draconic eyes glaring at the young warrior.
Alex hesitated for a half second, a little unnerved by the Signer's gaze, but steeled himself quickly. It was very likely that this battle wasn't going to end with the conclusion of the Duel. Still, the Master had chosen him and Kuno for this job, so he must have known that they were the best ones to do it. "Alright then, Secret Six Samurai – Kizaru, attack the first Rose Token now! Lightning Blade!" His warrior nodded, sprinting forward and slicing the plant in half, the petals falling harmlessly to the ground before disappearing.
"That's one," Akiza counted quietly.
Alex had no choice but to press the attack. "Shadow of the Six Samurai, your turn! Attack Blue Rose Dragon now! Crossroad Killing!" Shadow of the Six Samurai also sprinted forward, decapitating Akiza's monster effortlessly before returning to Alex's side of the field. Blue rose petals began to swirl around the field.
"When you destroyed Blue Rose Dragon, you activated her special ability," Akiza explained darkly. While she couldn't go into her Black Rose Dragon she did have another option open. "Now I can revive either Black Rose Dragon or a Plant type Monster from my Graveyard!"
"You don't have Mariña anymore, you can't bring out anything that can beat my two Shien!" Alex said.
"Are you sure about that?" Akiza asked, a deceptive smile sending a chill down Alex's spine. "I now revive Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms from my Graveyard!" The blue rose petals came together, turning bright pink as a large flower bloomed in the center. The upper torso of a woman stretched out from the flower, wearing a kimono as best as a half-human half-plant hybrid could. Talaya held two fans in her hands, peering over them at her opponents demurely.
Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms: Atk 2800, Def 1200, LV 8
Alex could feel the angry glare of Kuno at him as he tried to figure out where that Monster had came from. Then he realized, it was one of the cards she'd sent to the Grave due to Graceful Charity. "So you thought even this far ahead."
"Talaya's ability lets her gain a hundred Attack points for each Plant type Monster on the field," Akiza announced, ignoring Alex's statement. Of course she'd thought ahead, she had to be prepared for anything in a two on one Duel. "So Talaya gains two hundred Attack points!"
Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms Atk: 3000
"Time to take her Attack down a little," Alex said, trying not to miss a beat. "Great Shogun Shien! Attack the other Rose Token now! Sword of the Shogunate Slash!" His Great Shogun Shien held his blade up and moved as fast as lightning, cutting down the other Rose Token Akiza had Summoned easily.
Talaya, Princess of Cherry Blossoms Atk: 2900
'Well done, we've survived to make use of our new hand,' Maid Akiza said calmly. 'I suggest you put it to good use.'
"I know, now shut up," Akiza snapped.
"I'll end my turn there," Alex said, almost forlornly. He'd gotten rid of the Trap that could've given Akiza sacrifices for another high-Level Plant Monster, something she was proving to be a master at Summoning, but he hadn't even managed to touch her Life Points. His Trap card was his key for getting through her turn, but the timing was going to have to be perfect.
"It's my turn then," Akiza said, gently picking up the top two cards of her Deck as per the Tag Duel arrangements she'd agreed to at the start. "I draw!" The Foot Signer looked at the eight cards that composed her current hand, and allowed herself a small smile. She may have been dealing with chaotic energies trying to transform her body into a dragon, but she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She just had to hold on long enough for Yusei to put a stop to the primary source of this madness. She could feel it through her Mark of the Crimson Dragon. Yusei was fighting the Master now. All Akiza could do was hope that Yusei could end it quickly.
Duel Room D
Leo LP: 2100
Power Tool Dragon: Atk 3100, Def 2500, LV 7
Morphtronic Boarden: Atk 800, Def 1800, LV 3
Morphtronic Celphon: Atk 400, Def 400, LV 1
Luna LP: 400
Draco LP: 3500
Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack: Atk 2600, Def 2200, Rank 7
Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens x2: Atk 0, Def 0, LV 3
Allana LP: 3050
Jain, Twilightsworn General: Atk 1800, Def 1200, LV 4
Ryko, Twilightsworn Fighter: Atk 200, Def 100, LV 2
Kirion, Twilightsworn Warlord: Atk 1700, Def 1400, LV 4
Lumina, Twilightsworn Shaman: Atk 1000, Def 1000, LV 3
Leo gulped nervously as he watched Allana draw a card and add it to her now hand of five cards. She was studying her hand, giggling to herself. He'd thought he'd seen everything during the Dark Signers rampage across Satellite, from Akiza going all Black Rose to Devack disintegrating in front of his eyes, but there was something about this insanity that was different to Leo. He saw the corruption that was going on with this woman, which made the boy wonder if perhaps she was simply turning into another Dark Signer. That was easy enough to rationalize, but Leo's gut told him that this was something more than a simple Dark Signer. The energy that had rushed through the room at the Duel's start was an indicator of that. Leo glanced at Luna's Mark of the Crimson Dragon, which was pulsing in time with the red barrier that was shielding him from this energy. He hoped it wasn't too much of a drain on her, she was frail enough as it was to have to worry about protecting him.
"Regulus," Luna began quietly as she sensed the Duel Spirit manifest itself next to her. "Do you feel that?"
"Yes Luna, I do," Regulus confirmed, sounding grimmer than usual. The failure of Luna's Gift Card combo had certainly turned the tide for the worse, but Luna had come out of worse scrapes. The Claw Signer just had to hope her last two facedown cards would help both her and her brother make it through the turn, then she could go on the counterattack; all Luna had to do was survive the turn. With five cards in her hand thanks to Draco's Spell card the previous turn, she was set up to dish out some damage.
"Do you think I should activate it now then?" Luna asked. She was nearly certain that she should, she just liked to ask her Spirits if they agreed. They always did, but she liked to work with her Deck.
"Naturally," Regulus agreed, fading from her view. "You must stay strong, for you and Leo both need to survive to get through this ordeal." With that, he disappeared from her senses, but Luna knew he was always nearby, ready to serve and protect.
The Claw Signer nodded in appreciation. She could feel Leo's concern, probably because it was her Mark of the Dragon that was protecting him from the Chaos that had permeated throughout all of Satellite. It actually wasn't all that draining for her. The Crimson Dragon was busy with all the Signers in this final battle, but a little barrier to protect her brother was nothing, even with her frailer than usual physique. She pressed her Trap button on her Duel Disk. "I activate my Trap card! Waboku will now keep us from taking any battle damage this turn! Also, Leo's Monsters can't be destroyed by battle either!" A golden aura spread out from her Trap card to both her and Leo, giving his Monsters a glow before it faded from sight, signifying the protection she had just gifted them.
Allana growled, annoyed. She was more than ready to end the Claw Signer and dismantle her brother slowly, that Power Tool Dragon wouldn't be in their way forever. The darkness that was now a part of her roiled with her irritation. Ohhhh it felt good to tap into, how had she ever denied it for so long? "They aren't immune to card effects though!" The five cards in her hand were more than enough to set them up for victory. First things first, she had to get rid of a few cards before her dragons of light and darkness could terrorize the field. "I now use the effect of my Judgment Dragon to Special Summon it to the field!" She held her hand up, light and darkness streaming from her hand to coalesce into an unidentifiable form in the air behind her. "Minerva! Raiden! Jenis! Garoth! By the dying sparks of their sacrifice, I call upon you! Open the sky and reveal yourself to those who'll be damned by your might!" The massive light began to form into a much more familiar dragon shape, the light fading and revealing the Judgment Dragon in all its glory.
Judgment Dragon: Atk 3000, Def 2600, LV 8
Draco watched the dragon descend warily. It was powerful, but the synergy it brought to tag Duels such as this was less than ideal. "Allana, you best be careful what you're doing. I still need those tokens."
"Like hell you do," the Lady of Twilight snapped, causing Draco to recoil in disbelief. She never would have said that before her…transformation. She was being reckless. "I activate Judgment Dragon's ability to destroy all other cards on the field except itself at the cost of one thousand Life Points!" Light and darkness flowed from her body into her Judgment Dragon, which began glowing dangerously.
Allana LP: 2050
"I'm not going to allow that," Draco said quickly. "I activate my Trap, Breakthrough Skill to negate that effect!"
Leo blinked in surprise. "Why would he do that?"
"I think he really wants to protect the tokens he has to protect his Xyz monster" Luna said quietly to her brother. Leo glanced at her, prompting her to continue. "Sure, she'd be getting rid of my last facedown card, as well as your other Morphtronics and facedown cards, but she'd be removing his protection on his Xyz monster, which would allow you to destroy it next turn. I don't think Allana here is all that stable."
"You can say that again," Leo snorted, casting a wary eye at the enraged Allana, who was berating her partner for his idiocy and how the chaos was needed to bring about the change the Master desired.
Luna nodded. "Draco's just trying to keep himself in a strong position over us with his Dragon Rulers, and getting his field blown up by that Judgment Dragon is the last thing he needs."
"Well we're lucky he decided to waste his Trap on her monster then," Leo noted. "Because that could've been used to destroy Power Tool Dragon."
The Claw Signer touched Leo's arm reassuringly. "Indeed Leo, just stay on your toes because I don't think Allana's done with her turn yet."
"Since you won't let me get rid of my monsters by my Judgment Dragon's effect," Allana snarled, sending a venomous glare at Draco. "I'll do it the old-fashioned way! I activate Lightsworn Martyrdom! Now by sacrificing my other four pathetic Lightsworn Monsters, I'll deal five hundred points of damage for each monster! So my Twilightsworn monsters! End that Signer's miserable Life!" Luna shielded herself instinctively as each of the Twilightsworns around the Judgment Dragon transformed into swirling orbs of gold and purple, flinging themselves at the Claw Signer.
Leo reacted quickly, seeing his sister in danger and being ready for the threat. "No you don't! I activate my Trap Damage Reactor! Now I'll absorb the damage you're sending my way and instead turn it into eight hundred Attack points for my Power Tool Dragon!" Power Tool Dragon flew over and got in the path of the incoming attacks, absorbing all four blasts in front of Luna with no problem whatsoever.
Power Tool Dragon Atk: 4500
"Yeah! That'll teach you to mess with my sister!" Leo taunted, getting ahead of himself.
Allana began to cackle. "Heh, heheh, ha ha ha ha! Really boy? You fell for it!"
Leo flinched, startled by the triumph in her voice. "What do you mean?"
"This!" Allana crowed, waving her hand in victory. "The Continuous Trap Power Gravity! Now it becomes an Equip card for your Power Tool Dragon and because you tried to raise its Attack points, its Attack now becomes zero!" Power Tool Dragon flinched as the Trap suddenly blasted it back to Leo's side of the field with intense gravitational force, causing the metal dragon to kneel to the ground helplessly.
Power Tool Dragon Atk: 0
"What?!" Leo gaped, shocked at this turn of events. He'd thought he'd saved his sister and powered up his ace card, only to have been outwitted by this crazy woman who loved her chaos too much. Now he was wide open for an attack, and his ace had just been rendered useless! Now all he could do was defend with it, but with Draco able to attack before his turn could come and he could switch it into Defense mode, Leo was scared. Luna had one facedown card left, as did he, and while he was ready to give it all for his sister to win, Leo was still terrified of what was to come afterwards. Would he be put into a coma like Akiza and then come out talking to herself all weirdly, or would he get transformed like the Master's minions had been when they'd lost to their group? Leo really didn't want to find out.
"And now that the field is clear, I can now activate the effect of Punishment Dragon in my hand!" Allana continued, a black aura surrounding her frame. "Since I have four Lightsworn monsters with different names currently banished, I can now Special Summon this Monster to the field from my hand!" The darkness began to rise, much like it had with Judgment Dragon, taking a familiar form.
"And if Judgment Dragon had such a powerful effect, I'm not sure I want to find out what this Punishment Dragon can do," Luna said, unable to keep the fear out of her voice.
"Yeah, but since they send cards from the Deck to the grave, and she's down to like her last ten cards, those effects of her dragons are going to make her run out of cards and cause her to lose, right?" Leo asked, trying to keep optimistic for his sister.
"Shire! Rinyan! Aurkus! Raiden!" Allana called out. "By their fall into the darkness, a new power is unbound! With the powers of darkness, a new era shall rise! Appear, Punishment Dragon!" A dark portal appeared on the ground, marked by the four silhouettes of the aforementioned monsters. With a roar, a black-scaled version of Judgment Dragon came crawling up from the pit, red claws glowing ominously. Its light counterpart hissed at the newcomer, clearly not pleased by its presence.
Punishment Dragon: Atk 3000, Def 2600, LV 8
"So if I remember correctly, Judgment Dragon can blow up the entire field with its effect," Leo began, concern giving his tone a bit of a waver. "What does this thing do?"
"Punishment Dragon's effect activates!" Allana declared, dark energy flowing from her body into Punishment Dragon. "By paying one thousand Life Points, I can return all banished cards and every card from the Graveyard back into their proper Decks!"
Luna blinked. Out of all the effects she had thought of, that was not one she had expected. Somehow Punishment Dragon was more of a reset for a Lightsworn Deck, as she now didn't have to worry about running out of cards for several more turns. It also removed any Graveyard effects that they could have taken advantage of, like her Luxianne's effect to add any Equip Spell from her Grave to her hand, but it also gave her access back to her Ancient Fairy Dragon after she'd banished it with the effect of Ancient Sunshine. "What an odd effect."
Allana LP: 1050
"On the plus side, I can now use Morphtronic Bind again if I can draw it," Leo said optimistically as he added his Graveyard back to his Deck, letting his Duel Disk shuffle the cards.
"Leo, I honestly wouldn't count on that Trap again," Luna warned. "We may not take any damage this turn from her thanks to Waboku, but she does have other ways of doing damage, especially since Judgment Dragon would just blow up Morphtronic Bind anyways."
Leo nodded. "I'm sure you'll be able to do something about it since you're up next anyways." He gave the Claw Signer a thumbs up. "You're the Signer here, I believe in you sis!"
"That Waboku card may have saved you now, but my two facedown cards might make you rethink things," Allana snarled. "I end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Luna announced. "I draw!" She drew her card and looked at her hand of five cards. She had a decent play available, though it wouldn't be enough to win the Duel. Still, she had to keep fighting. This last battle was one they couldn't afford to lose!
Satellite Highway
Joey LP: 1700
Sword Hunter: Atk 2650, Def 1700, LV 7
Thomas LP: 3950
Red-Eyes Black Dragon: Atk 4800, Def 2000, LV 7
Keeper of the Shrine: Atk 0, Def 2100, LV 4
Joey looked at the card he'd just drawn and added it to the other five cards in his hand. He was staring down a Red-Eyes that was currently more powerful than a Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon. His Skull Dice, generally great for taking down such big monsters, was currently in the Graveyard, so he was going to have to think of something different here. Jinzo wasn't really an option either. He had a few options to stall out a few turns and hope his Deck could spit out a comeback card or three. "Alright so you got a souped-up Red-Eyes over there. Big whoop. Let's see it get past this! I Summon the Marauding Captain in Attack mode!" A grizzled blonde-haired warrior in full plate armor appeared on Joey's side of the field, two swords of differing lengths in his hands.
Marauding Captain: Atk 1200, Def 400, LV 3
"In Attack mode?" Thomas repeated, his eyes narrowing. That meant Joey either had a Warrior monster in his hand that could somehow affect his Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Was it going to be one of the D.D. Warrior Lady cards that Joey would eventually put into his Deck? That would be an annoying card to overcome, but a temporary measure at best.
"That's right!" Joey affirmed as his new Warrior monster slashed open a portal beside him. "And when Marauding Captain is successfully Normal Summoned, I can bring out another Level four or lower Warrior-Type Monster from my hand! Say hello to another Marauding Captain in Attack mode!" An identical man stepped from the portal, holding his blades up.
"A second one?" Thomas was mildly annoyed. Now his ancestor had a defense against his monster until Thomas could draw a card that would negate the effects of one of the Captains. He hated being forced to sit and wait. "Didn't take you for chicken."
"I ain't no chicken," Joey snapped. "But I know when to attack and when to guard, and sometimes ya gotta do both. I use Sword Hunter to attack your Keeper of the Shrine!" Joey's third Warrior (and largest of the trio) sprinted forward, using both of his swords to slice and dice the dragon man on the Black Dragon's Field. The shards of the defeated Keeper of the Shrine pulled together into another sword, which the Sword Hunter added to his extensive collection on his back.
Sword Hunter Atk: 2850
"As you know, Sword Hunter doesn't send the Monsters he defeats to the Grave, he turns them into weapons that he can use and powers up his Attack Points by two hundred for each Monster he's defeated!" Joey pointed out, smirking at Thomas. "Turns out these new Decks and that weirdo Synchro Summon nonsense ain't nothin' to how we kick it old school, eh?"
Thomas growled at that, his anger growing. How could he save Allana if he couldn't defeat his own great-grandfather? The paradox was infuriating him. He didn't know if he could trust the Signers to save Allana, but he knew the Master would at least be able to undo what he had done. "You haven't seen the full potential of this fully powered Red-Eyes Deck. If you had, I doubt you'd be so cocky. You can cower behind those two warriors for a bit, but sooner or later they're going to go down."
"We'll see if it even gets to that point," Joey countered. "I activate the effect of my Dangerous Machine Type-6! Now let's spin that roulette baby!" The large casino-like machine behind his three Warrior Monsters pulled the lever and began to spin, numbers flashing by too fast to see.
"You're going to get burned by continuing to play these gamble cards," Thomas warned, knowing it had happened rather infamously in the past. "Let's see what you pull!"
"I will!" Joey said cheerfully, watching the numbers slow down. The reel kept spinning through each of the numbers one through six, slowing down and teasing a one! A two! It finally stopped on three, to which Joey let out a small sigh of relief. "Alright! Getting a three means I get to draw one card!" He drew it with a flair, glancing at it before inserting it into his Duel Disk. "I'll place it and one other card facedown and end my turn!"
Thomas eyed the two facedown cards that filled Joey's last two spots in his Spell and Trap card zone. One of the downsides of Sword Hunter was that to keep powering it up, you had to use up more and more of your five available zones. Joey hadn't used his Graverobber Trap yet, and considering some of the cards he was putting in the Graveyard, there was a good chance Joey would try to turn the Duel around with that card. He thought of other key Traps in Joey's Deck that he had used over the years. Kunai with Chain had already been used with that annoying Swordsman of Landstar. Nutrient Z and Trap Hole were possibilities, but they weren't as big an issue for his Deck. "It's my turn then, I draw!" Thomas looked at the card he'd drawn and added it to the other three cards in his hand.
"I'm getting bored over here," Joey yawned. "You can't attack me, just end your turn already!"
Thomas scowled at him. It was true, nothing in his hand could break the Marauding Combo Joey had set up. He could Summon a monster, but that would potentially give Joey another two hundred Attack Points. It would fill up another slot in his Spell and Trap zone though, which would limit his other defensive options. Thomas could work with that, as the fewer of Joey's annoying Traps he had to deal with, the better. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"
"It's better than standin around, doin nothin," Joey shot back. "I want a piece of the Master when I'm done here."
The Black Dragon shook his head. "No, you really don't. The Master, he's…his power is nothing to be trifled with. He's going to change the world. I…I'm not sure what he's going to change it to anymore, but I just want to make the world a better place." He clenched his fist, watching it shake for a moment. Thomas wasn't sure if it was fear, anger, excitement, or some weird combination of the three emotions. "I just want Allana back to normal!" The image of the darkened Allana haunted his vision, begging him to do something about it.
Joey met Thomas' gaze, seeing the fear and desperation in the Black Dragon's eyes. "She means that much to you huh?"
"I would say you have no idea," Thomas began, a wisp of a smile passing by his features, "But Great-Grandma Mai definitely knows how hard you fought for her in Battle City."
Joey took five whole seconds to digest that and sat down hard. "I mean, I know we're going steady right now, but hooo, that's….a lot to take in."
"I don't want to cause any more trouble for the future," Thomas said quickly, realizing his mistake. "That's why I have to win here! First things first though, I activate the Spell Red-Eyes Insight, which lets me add any Spell or Trap with Red-Eyes in its name except for Red-Eyes Insight from my Deck to my Hand after I discard a Red-Eyes card from my Hand or my Deck to the Graveyard!"
"What, ya got another Red-Eyes Fusion? I can deal with Black Skull Dragon," Joey taunted.
Thomas rolled his eyes, not dignifying it with a response. "I add the Trap Red-Eyes Fang with Chain to my hand and send a Red-Eyes Retro Dragon from my Deck to the Graveyard." His Disk shuffled his Deck for him after he fished out the aforementioned Trap, flipping it around for Joey to confirm that it was indeed Red-Eyes Fang with Chain.
"And what will that Trap do?" Joey asked, seeing the purple frame but unable to tell what the text said.
Thomas allowed himself a slight smirk. "It's going to mean a lot of pain for you later once I draw the card that will break your Marauding Captains. I place two cards facedown and end my turn."
'One of those is almost certainly that Red-Eyes Fang with Chain card he showed me,' Joey thought, noting the lone card left in his opponent's hand. 'I dunno what it does, but I'm going to have to be careful.'
"What's the matter, scared of my facedowns?" Thomas taunted.
"Puh-lease, it's gonna take more than facedown cards to scare me," Joey countered. "But since all you can do is hide behind facedown cards like a coward, I'll just have to take care of them the old-fashioned way."
"You call me cowardly when you don't even let me attack your monsters," Thomas retorted, annoyed.
"I ain't hiding behind facedown cards to do it," Joey said, putting two fingers on top of his Deck. "It's my turn, I draw!" He glanced at the card and grinned. 'Baby Dragon! Now if only I could get my Time Wizard out, then I can get rid of that super-charged Red-Eyes on the field and go after his Life Points!'
Thomas watched the grin on his great-grandfather's face and wondered just what it was that had him excited. 'What did he draw?'
"Well now Tommy, just you wait," Joey said knowingly, irritating Thomas with his confidence. "You'll get your butt kicked soon enough."
The Master's Chambers
The Master LP: 8000
The Winged Dragon of Ra: Atk 3700, Def 3700, LV 10
Yugi LP: 8000
Mystical Elf: Atk 800, Def 2000, LV 4
Magician of Black Chaos: Atk 2800, Def 2600, LV 8
Yusei LP: 8000
Stardust Dragon: Atk 2500, Def 2000, LV 8
Junk Gardna: Atk 1400, Def 2600, LV 6
The room was eerily quiet, save for a low hum that seemed to pulsate throughout the chaos. The power of the god card was yet another reminder of just how high the stakes had gotten. Yusei looked from Ra to Stardust, knowing there was one way that he could get over Ra, but would the Crimson Dragon's power come through for him? The Head Signer wasn't certain, but he had to rely on his Deck to get him through. This Duel was one he couldn't afford to lose. Losing to Jack in the Fortune Cup would've been bearable, as he had played the role Goodwin had wanted him to play. Besides the few pickup Duels he'd had with his friends over the past few months, Yusei had constantly been in 'can't lose' Duels and he was frankly getting sick of it.
"So boys, do you have what it takes to defeat the Winged Dragon of Ra?" the Master asked, eyes glimmering with madness and anticipation. "Please Yugi, try that Ragnarök stunt you did back in Battle City, I'd love to see how long you'd last without any Monsters in your Deck."
Yami glared at the Master as he placed two fingers on top of his Deck. "You may have control over Ra, but that doesn't mean you're capable of using the sun god's full capabilities."
The Master cackled madly, clearly amused by Yami's declaration. "Don't insult me Yugi, you know as well as I do that controlling Ra doesn't mean an auto-win. That belongs to Exodia. What I have in store for you will be far slower and more painful than getting obliterated by that wannabe god. Now then Yugi, let's see what you have for me!"
Yami glanced at his Deck. The best way to defeat the Winged Dragon of Ra was to either banish it from the game or defeat it in battle and hope the Master didn't base his Deck around using Monster Reborn over and over again like Marik did. His gut was telling him that Ra was just the first hurdle this Duel, and that he was going to need to save his heavy hitters for later.
'You sense it too, don't you Pharaoh?' Yugi asked, floating next to Yami in spirit form. 'Those Envoys I saw in my dream, we need to be wary.'
"You're right," Yami agreed quietly. "There isn't one card alone in our Deck that can defeat Ra, but knowing Yusei, he has a plan." A quick glance at the Head Signer got him a nod from Yusei.
"We just need to work together and we can do this," Yusei added, glaring at the Master.
"Sure you can," the Master laughed sarcastically, "But go on, I'm intrigued to see what your 'Heart of the Cards' can bring you!"
"It's my turn!" Yami declared. "I draw!" A glance at the card told him everything he needed to know. Time to be the shield this time. "I place one card facedown and end my turn." Negate Attack would buy them some time, as it was one of the few Traps that would actually stop one of Ra's attacks.
The Master's laughter rang out once more. "Really? That's it? The big bad King of Games has to hide behind three facedown cards?" His voice grew low, a dangerous sign. "How disappointing."
"Yugi knows how to handle a god card," Yusei snapped, placing two fingers on top of his Deck. "and I trust him to watch my back while I take Ra down! It's my move! I draw!" He glanced at the card he'd drawn. "I Summon my Stardust Xaiolong in Defense mode!" A small blue and green dragon wearing a mask shaped like Stardust Dragon's head appeared, curling up on the field in a protective manner.
Stardust Xaiolong: Atk 100, Def 100, LV 1
"I'll end my turn there," Yusei growled, frustrated that he couldn't overcome the current strength of Ra. If they could just get through the next turn unscathed, he had the tools set up to take down Ra.
"Really boys, I expected more," the Master cackled. "Does Ra really have you that scared?" He drew a card, the mists of chaos swirling about him as his mismatched eyes glowed. "Well then, who am I to deny you your deaths at my hands!"
"The stage has been set," Yusei countered, "Next turn we're going to take you down!"
"I highly doubt that," the Master said in a dangerously low voice. "Because first I'll activate Pot of Greed, and if you need me to explain what it allows me to do then you're dumber than a salmon touring a sushi restaurant." He picked up two cards and smirked. "Now then, let's activate a little something called That Grass Looks Greener!" Cards began to slip out from his Deck and enter his Graveyard, the Master not needing his hands to shift the cards around.
"What are you doing?" Yami demanded, narrowing his eyes at the new development.
"I didn't need to tell you this at the beginning of the Duel," the Master began, "But this Deck of mine contains sixty cards, twenty more than your standard forty card Decks!"
"Sixty cards?!" Yusei repeated. Not many people in the Satellite even had sixty cards when he was growing up, much less putting them together into a single Deck, as consistency was much more important in a Duel than avoiding any potential Deck out.
The Master grinned maniacally as the cards finally stopped flowing to the Graveyard. "That's right! I just sent twenty-two cards from my Deck to the Graveyard to match the remaining thirty-one cards in your Deck!"
"This is bad," Yami said, holding back a shudder of fear. "Considering how people in this era have been able to take advantage of their Graveyard almost like a second hand, he has just gained some powerful card advantage."
"And now for some more cards boys!" the Master shouted, inserting the second card he picked up with his Pot of Greed into his Disk. "I now activate the wonders of Card of Sanctity!" The mists of chaos swirled around each Duelist, focusing into a glow onto their Decks. "Now draw your cards boys, as with this effect we'll each be drawing six cards!"
"A fresh hand for each of us," Yami noted grimly.
"But right now it's the Master's turn," Yusei said, similarly dismayed. The momentum was currently in the hands of the Master.
"With that out of the way, I'll keep this charade of a Duel going," the Master continued. "For I now activate the Field Spell Chaos Zone!" The mists surrounding everyone began to warp, forming into a long cylinder with swirling wormhole like constructs lining the walls and the floor surrounding everyone.
The Head Signer looked around at the new setting, not entirely sure what was happening. "What even is this?"
The Master played yet another card from his hand, eyes gleaming with anticipation. "You're about to learn what Chaos Zone does when I play Soul Release!"
Yami was surprised. "But why? There's no advantage to be gained from banishing monsters from our Graveyards….unless!"
"I'm not after your pathetic Graveyards," the Master snapped, speaking as though he were an annoyed teacher. "No, I now banish all three of my Chaos Guards and two of my Chaos Clerics from my Graveyard!" Three men in black and white armor wielding pikes appeared, yellow and purple eyes glowing with chaos power, as did two women in similarly colored clerical attire, long golden hair contrasting with their purple eyes.
"There's got to be a reason why he banished those particular monsters," Yusei commented as the monsters faded from sight, off to the banished realm.
"All five of those monsters now activate their effects!" the Master announced. "When a Chaos Guard is banished, I can draw one card from my Deck and when Chaos Cleric is banished I gain one thousand Life Points! Altogether that's three extra cards and two thousand more Life Points!" A purple and gold aura flowed from the mists of chaos into the Master, fueling his energy.
The Master LP: 10,000
"So that's what he was aiming for," Yami growled, unable to do anything to stop the Master from drawing three more cards from his Deck.
"No my poor naïve Pharaoh, this is what I was aiming for!" the Master countered. "Chaos Zone's effect now activates and allows me to place a counter on this Field Spell for each monster banished! The more cards I banished, the more powerful this Spell becomes! With five monsters banished, Chaos Zone gains five Chaos Counters!" Five wormholes of varying colors appeared behind the Master, as large as a man and yet seemingly small in the grand scheme of this Duel.
Chaos Counters: 5
"Now then, let's add to those Chaos Counters!" the Master shouted, eyes glowing brightly with power. "I now banish a Light and a Dark Monster from my Graveyard! Fortunately, my Chaos Barbarian sent there by the effect of That Grass Looks Greener qualifies as both a Light and a Dark monster, therefore I only need to banish the Chaos Barbarian from my Graveyard to Chaos Summon my Chaos Sorcerer from my Hand!" The aforementioned Chaos Barbarian, a mountain of a man wearing only dark pants and wielding a massive white greatsword, appeared briefly before turning into a portal of black and white energy.
"A one for one trade off, banishing a monster from the Graveyard to bring out a monster from the hand," Yusei noted, a bad feeling in his gut. "And with that massive Graveyard, he can keep pumping out monsters so long as he has the hand for it." A man in black and red spellcaster armor appeared, purple and golden lights playing about his hands as the Chaos Sorcerer stepped from the portal, ready for battle.
Chaos Sorcerer: Atk 2300, Def 2000, LV 6
"And since an additional monster was banished to fuel my Chaos Summoning, I add another Chaos Counters to the Field Spell Chaos Zone!" the Master said, an additional colorful wormhole manifesting behind him.
Chaos Counters: 6
"I don't like the look of those Chaos Counters," Yami said, sharing a glance with Yusei.
"Me neither," the Head Signer agreed, observing the wormholes with a keen eye. "I don't know the effects of that Field Spell, but something tells me that the more Chaos Counters he gets on that thing the worse it'll be for us."
The Master cackled as he held up his hand. "Oh Yusei, these Chaos Counters will be the least of your problems with what I have in store for you. First thing first, I use the Scales of Chaos Bai and Chaos Furiko to Pendulum Summon!" A large pendulum appeared between the two floating machines lining the Master's field, swinging across the ceiling of the Duel. "Oh great Pendulum of Chaos! Swing across the stars and bring about the end of Order! Pendulum Summon!" A portal appeared in the sky above the Master, three golden beams of light zipping from the portal onto the field. "Revive from my Extra Deck, the Tuner monster Chaos Paladin and appear from my hand, two Chaos Familiars!"
"Hold up, from the Extra Deck?!" Yami repeated, confusion in his tone as the black and white armored paladin from before appeared next to Ra, flanked by two little devil imps holding daggers and sniggering.
Chaos Paladin: Atk 1900, Def 1300, LV 4
Chaos Familiar x2: Atk 600, Def 800, LV 2
"Behold the power of Pendulum monsters!" the Master declared. "When they would be sent from the field to the Graveyard, instead they go face up into the Extra Deck, from where they can be Pendulum Summoned once more!"
"That's insane!" Yusei gasped, grasping the implications of the Master's information. "How are we supposed to get rid of them then if you can just keep bringing them back?!"
The Master cackled. "Banishment is fine, but you'll have to wait until next patch for any hope of a nerf to come through, time for which you will not have as this is your final Duel! I Tune the Level four Light Attribute Chaos Paladin with both of my Level two Dark Attribute Chaos Familiars!" The feminine figure lurking in the mists beyond the sights of any mortal man faded from sight, preparing to finally be summoned.
"He has Synchro Monsters too?!" Yusei shouted in alarm as the Chaos Paladin leaped into the air, turning into four rings of alternating white and black.
"Throughout the endless cycle of death and rebirth, one thing remains unchanged!" the Master chanted as the Chaos Familiars leaped into the rings, dissolving into two black and two white stars within the rings. "Behold as Chaos announces her arrival! Synchro Summon!" The stars erupted into a brilliant golden light, blinding Yusei and Yami. When they could see again, a new monster has arrived on the field.
"What is that?!" Yami gasped as the woman in a black and white Victorian-style dress appeared, white hair styled elegantly underneath a dark crown. Twin wings of black and white fluttered on her back as she twirled her white skull staff in preparation for battle.
"Appear, Level eight! Chaos Goddess!" the Master declared, quite satisfied with this play. "The Monster may not have the most powerful of effects in the game, but her power with all this chaos will help me remake the world as I see fit! And now that she's here, it's time to take this game up another notch!"
Chaos Goddess: Atk 2500, Def 1800, LV 8
The Master held up another card from his hand of currently three cards. "And with one monster shall come another to aid in Ra's golden flames! I banish the Chaos Wizard from my Graveyard, which has a similar effect to my Chaos Barbarian in that it is both a Light and a Dark Attribute monster while on the Field or in my Graveyard, therefore I need to just banish it from my Graveyard to Chaos Summon the Chaos Creator to the Field in Attack mode!" Another black and white portal appeared next to the Master, twice as big as the previous one. A large purple statue-like figure with bright blue wings stepped through, golden and purple energy coursing through its body.
The Chaos Creator: Atk 2300, Def 3000, LV 8
"And with another Chaos Summon, another Chaos Counter gets placed on Chaos Zone!" the Master pointed out as yet another wormhole appeared behind him.
Chaos Counters: 7
"We're going to have to get rid of that Field Spell," Yami said quietly, watching the madness swirling behind the Master. "Before he can use whatever powers those Chaos Counters hold."
"The powers of Pendulum Summoning into Synchro Summoning," Yusei murmured, watching the assemblage of monsters in front of the Master with a keen eye, trying to find a weakness. There was nothing spectacular about their Attack points, but there were almost certainly special abilities that were going to be a pain. "This is not going to be easy."
"It's going to be impossible dear Yusei," the Master said with a laugh. "I use Chaos Sorcerer's special ability to banish one monster on the field in exchange for not being able to attack this turn!" The spellcaster of Chaos grinned evilly as purple and golden began to swirl about his hands. "Say goodbye to your Stardust Dragon Yusei, as its Victim's Sanctuary can't prevent banishment!" Chaos Sorcerer fired a blast at Yusei's ace monster.
"Stardust isn't going anywhere!" Yusei countered, going to his Duel Disk. "I activate my Trap Card, Skill Twist to change the target of your ability to my Junk Gardna! I'll then chain Junk Gardna's ability to Chaos Sorcerer's, and while I can't target Ra thanks to its ability, I can change your Chaos Goddess from Attack mode to Defense mode!" Yusei's Junk monster clanged his shields together, sending a beam of energy over to Chaos Goddess, forcing her to kneel down and use her staff to create a barrier of swirling colorful energy. The blast from Chaos Sorcerer veered away from Yusei's ace, striking Junk Gardna instead and making the warrior-machine dissolve into atoms.
The Master shrugged, not concerned. "One situational Trap down, probably a million more to go in that Deck of yours. No big deal."
"Since it was banished, Junk Gardna can't use his second ability to switch another monster's battle position," Yusei noted, pocketing the Synchro Monster reluctantly.
"Now then, let's battle shall we?!" the Master asked, eyes radiating an aura of chaos energy. "Winged Dragon of Ra, ignite your Blaze Cannon and prepare to rid us of that pale imitation of a magician of Chaos!"
"Here we go," Yusei said, bracing himself as flames ignited into the ring above the Winged Dragon of Ra's head, gathering into the sun god Dragon's mouth.
"Winged Dragon of Ra!" the Master shouted. "Attack the Magician of Black Chaos now! God Blaze Cannon!" Ra roared, spitting out a massive fireball at Yami's Ritual Monster.
"Ra's attack will have to wait!" Yami countered. "I activate my Trap card, Negate Attack! Now the Battle Phase ends and Ra's attack is cancelled, missing its target!" The Trap card intercepted the massive fireball from Ra's Blaze Cannon, causing the blast to explode safely in the center of the field. "Now it's your Second Main Phase and you're out of attacks for the turn!"
The Master's laugh started low, almost inaudible at the start. His body started shaking as the laughter ramped up until the Master was holding his sides, roaring with laughter. "Hahahahaha, oh Yugi, heh, I haven't had such a great laugh in centuries!"
"What's so funny?" Yusei demanded, trying to ignore the shiver that ran down his spine.
The Master held up the second to last card in his hand, grinning maniacally. "You really think a pathetic card like Negate Attack is going to slow me down?"
"That is the purpose of Negate Attack, yes," Yami said flatly.
"Too bad that card won't do anything to slow me down!" the Master declared. "With seven monsters banished and it being my Main Phase 2, I can now activate my Spell card, Chaos Control!" Time seemed to slow down around everybody, colors inverting under the power of the Master's card.
"What is this?" Yami gasped, sensing the raw magics of this particular Spell.
"Choose a monster, gentlemen!" the Master informed the duo. "Then we'll get to the fun part!"
"I'll choose my Magician of Black Chaos then," Yami said, the aforementioned spellcaster holding his staff up in readiness.
Yusei had a bad feeling in his gut and decided to take the safer route. "I'll choose my Stardust Xiaolong."
The Master frowned at that, then shrugged. "You disappoint me Yusei, but nevertheless, I choose my Winged Dragon of Ra and now part two of Chaos Control; every other monster is banished from the game!" With a snap of his fingers, every single other monster asides from the three designated monsters dissolved into dust.
"My Stardust!" Yusei gasped, wondering if his instincts had led him astray. The way the Master had worded the card, it had sounded like they were about to battle again.
"Now that those monsters are gone, I can conduct a second Battle Phase this turn and my Winged Dragon gets a second attack this turn! So let's try this once again!" the glow in the Master's eyes flared brightly, the look of a dangerous madman. "Winged Dragon of Ra, attack Yugi's Magician of Black Chaos once more! God Blaze Cannon!" Once more the flames ignited in Ra's mouth and once more a massive fireball came hurtling towards Yami's Ritual Monster.
'Spellbinding Circle won't work against Ra and Reduction Barrier isn't going to reduce enough Life Points to matter too much, not with eight thousand Life Points at our disposal,' Yami thought, gritting his teeth. 'Doesn't mean this isn't going to hurt.' His Magician of Black Chaos appeared to have similar thoughts, trying in vain to create a shield to block the attack from the Egyptian god. Ra's attack exploded with the ferocity of a supernova, obliterating the Magician of Black Chaos and knocking Yami off his feet.
Yami LP: 7100
"Are you alright?!" Yusei asked, watching the Pharaoh gingerly get back to his feet.
"I'll be fine," Yami replied, tentatively feeling his shoulder. It had been a while since he'd been hit by an attack by Ra in a Shadow Game. It was just as powerful as he remembered. The Eye of Wdjat glowed more fiercely on his forehead as he renewed his resolve, standing tall despite the loss of his Ritual Monster. "Is that all?"
"For now, yes," the Master cackled. "During the End Phase of the turn in which I activated Chaos Control, all of the monsters banished by Chaos Control return to the field, in whichever mode we choose! So my Chaos Goddess, Chaos Creator, and Chaos Sorcerer return to the field in Attack mode!" The three named monsters slowly reformed in front of the Master, all ready to strike on his command. The time distortion that had begun when the Master activated Chaos Control was beginning to ebb, time flowing at a normal rate once more.
Yami nodded, grateful that his last line of defense was being returned to him. "Then I'll bring back my Mystical Elf in Defense mode!" The blue-skinned elf materialized once more, kneeling in front of the Pharaoh and chanting a defensive spell.
Yusei smiled. His gut instinct hadn't let him down. If he'd kept Stardust Dragon on the field, the Master would've no doubt targeted it with Ra's rage. Stardust was vital to his strategy, as he was going to need every resource possible to take down the Master. His two facedown cards would not have helped prevent Stardust's destruction via battle, so Yugi's Negate Attack was still greatly appreciated. "Come on back Stardust Dragon!" His ace monster appeared once more with a roar, seemingly annoyed at the short-term banishment.
"Now boys, please try to make this somewhat more entertaining. I got a great laugh out of Chaos Control, but right now I'm just flat out bored," the Master yawned. "It's far more fun to watch you struggle against the inevitable before I snuff out your lives, so please, let's see your best so that when I crush you you'll know that you were hopelessly outmatched from the start!" He held out his arms, one card left in his hand as the laughter started again. "Heheheheheh, nyeheheheheHAHA! AHHHHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HAHAAA!"
Yami Yugi met Yusei's glance and the two shared another nod. This was their turn to strike, and the Master had given them just the tools to do so. Yami spoke first. "You'll regret those words, for you've handed us plenty of cards with which to break your field wide open! Prepare yourself Master!"
"The Winged Dragon of Ra is going down, and then you'll be following it!" Yusei declared, pointing at the Master. "Your crazy stops here!"
"Repeating yourself doesn't make it any closer to happening," the Master countered, voice low and dangerous as his eyes narrowed. "You'll have to put your cards where your mouth is boy!"
"I'll be more than happy to!" Yusei snapped. "But Yugi has to take his turn first. You're up pal!"
"With pleasure!" Yami said. "It's my turn! I draw!"
And there you have it! Why yes, I did go see that Sonic movie, why do you ask? I know that few chapters are worth a year long wait, so this chapter may not be as good quality as previous chapters, but I have a plan for this final battle now, so hopefully I'll be able to pump out chapters a little faster now. My plan will be simple:
Chapter 44 will be the conclusion of Jack vs Bario
Chapter 45 will conclude Kaiba vs Matthias
Chapter 46 will finish Akiza vs Kuno & Alex
Chapter 47 will continue Yugi and Yusei vs the Master
Chapter 48 will be the finale of both Leo & Luna vs Allana & Draco AND Thomas vs Joey (The ending of both Duels you will not want to miss)
Chapter 49 will hopefully be the grand finale of the last battle against the Master
Focusing on multiple Duels and keeping track of all the cards that's been played was a grand undertaking, and perhaps I bit off more than I could chew. So I'm going to simplify things a little bit, because rewatching 5D's in the discord with folks has really made me wanna get to the alternate second season as well as Chaos Incarnate. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the madness!
Question for the Chapter: What archetypes are you hoping to see in Chaos Incarnate? Anything is on the table at this point, from Rokkets to Harpies to Adamancipators to Zoodiacs (although I'm not too big on those last two archetypes, but I need minions for the heroes to face so…I dunno). Let me know what you might want to see in Chaos Incarnate.
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Response to guest reviews:
Harrison: I'm tempted to make a Bonds Beyond Time variant for the Chaos Universe, as fun as it sounds, with Jaden being a little confused as to why Yugi and Yusei are already good friends, but overall, I don't think it would really change the Duel all that much, it would just bring about character interactions that I think a lot of people would be interested in seeing. I'm not sure, but I'll keep that option open.
Geralt of Rivia: Ra does indeed have his anime effects, with Trap immunity and all that fun stuff. The only reason why Negate Attack worked initially was because the Battle Phase was forced to end. But regardless, glad you're enjoying the story.
LyokoGhoul14, aka Corina O: Glad to hear from you again, it certainly has been a while. I'm happy to be providing a great story to everyone, considering the lack of Dueling centered stories on this website (or others). Hope to hear from you again sometime!
Rick grimes: I know Leo would struggle with other Decks (its canon since he hates using anything other than his machines), Joey seems to do alright so long as they have a Warrior theme (or dragon, since he uses Red-Eyes well enough), but yeah, there are few people who can pick up any Deck and instantly figure out how to use it well. It's part of why the protagonists are, well, protagonists in Yugioh.
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Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Reviews are always welcome, as is any and all constructive criticism, I'm always looking to improve as an author. Lengthy reviews are especially appreciated, I love hearing your thoughts about my story!
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The server name is the World of Chaos, or you can just message me on Discord and I can invite you to my server personally. My username is Nuttybuddy792#5619, hope to see y'all there!
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Follow me on twitch for various gaming shenanigans, as well as the occasional writing stream so you can see how I do things while writing this story (or other stories)
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Until the next chapter my friends (which I promise won't be as long a wait as it was for this one)
From your Nutty Buddy,
The Eagle Nut