Before we start the Duel, I want to make another note for you all.
This is the first duel I've ever written, and I've come to realise just how hard they are to do. Massive respect to the anime studios, cause it's actually difficult to do. As such, I had to do a few things to help myself out.
Many of the cards used by both Divine, but Aki specifically, are made up. I tried to create cards that sounded like they'd actually exist as archetypal support for Psychic and Rose Dragon Monsters, and I think I did a pretty good job. None of them are blatantly overpowered, but let me know what you think!
Also, I did my best to keep track of everything, but it was really hard. If anything is out of place, please let me know!
Thank you and Enjoy!
Today was the day. Aki had practically lived in the hospital for the last few days, but Yusei insisted she go home and rest. She'd need it. She appreciated his concern, but she hadn't slept well regardless. Jack and Leo had come with her and slept on the couch, but she had the sneaking suspicion it was actually to prevent her from running off on her own. Staring at herself in the bathroom mirror, Aki raised her hands and slapped her cheeks. She needed to focus. She was going to put an end to this nightmare, for better or for worse. Leaving the bathroom and walking back to her room, she threw on a pair of jeans, a white t-shirt and a red jacket. She then cast an uneasy glance at her Duel Disk, which rested on her bed. As she stared at it, Yusei's words from the night before came back to her.
"Don't let him take you down to his level. He's been there far longer than you." Taking a deep breath, she grabbed her Duel Disk as well.
Leaving her room, she found the two others were waiting for her already.
"Ready to go?" Leo asked. Aki nodded.
"Yeah," she said. "Thanks for coming with me, you guys...I feel better knowing you'll be there."
"Of course!" Jack exclaimed, "as if we let that bastard get you all alone!" Aki let a small laugh escape her lips.
"Thank you, Jack," she said. "I appreciate that. Well, let's go." Together the trio left her apartment and made for the elevator, staying silent as they went down to the garage. Once inside, Aki moved for The Bloody Kiss and put her Duel Disk into it's slot, trying not to notice her hands shaking.
"Aki," Jack said from beside her, resting on his own D-Wheel with Leo sitting behind him. "Where are we going?" Aki sighed at this, running a hand through her hair.
"Just follow me," she said. "It's where this story began."
Yusei stared out the window quietly, watching the sun rise over the horizon. It was a beautiful day out, but he couldn't enjoy it. Not knowing that Aki might be duelling Divine as they spoke. He wanted to be by her side, but the Doctors insisted he was in no shape to move yet. He tended to agree, seeing as he couldn't move his legs yet.
"Yusei?" Luna asked. Yusei turned to see the woman sitting by his beside, eating her breakfast with him. "Are you worried?"
"Yeah," he said as he looked down at his own breakfast, which was eggs, sausage and toast from the hospital cafeteria. "You?"
"Yeah..." Luna said quietly, nibbling on her toast. "I'm really worried about what he might do to Aki." Yusei nodded at this, playing with the eggs on his plate.
"Jack and Leo are with her," he said, "I'm sure that they'll be fine." Luna nodded along with him, frowning at him.
"I know you wanted to go," she said, "it must be hard having to sit here and wait for news."
"It is," he admitted as he smiled over at her. "But I'm glad you decided to stay with me, Luna. It'd be ten times harder having to wait all on my own." Luna flushed at this, smiling gratefully at him.
"It's no problem!" She insisted. "Besides, I couldn't just let you sit here all alone. That'd drive anyone crazy. We should just try and distract ourselves." Grabbing the remote for the TV, Luna began to flip through channels looking for something to watch. They settled on some drama Yusei had never seen a single episode of, but it was better than staring out the window waiting for news. As he watched a man and a woman get into a heated debate about their future together, he couldn't help but let his mind wander.
You'll beat him Aki. You have too.
Aki let Jack and Leo down to the docks of Neo Domino City, silently navigating through the warehouses and workers. Some people cast them confused glances, but no one said anything to them. Aki supposed it was because they radiated energy that told them it wasn't worth asking.
"Why are we at the docks again?" Leo asked, confused. Aki took a deep breath.
"Because this is where it began," she answered. "This whole situation started near here."
"Where it began," Jack mused. "Where Divine and you met." Aki set her jaw and nodded. She really didn't want to talk about it but, even now, memories floated into her head. Memories she wanted so badly to suppress.
"Why don't you come with me?"
"You'll just scorn me. Like all the others. I need to get out of here."
"Why run when you could prove them all wrong?"
She shook her head to clear this thought, forcing it back down. She didn't want to think about that now. Taking a turn, the trio started walking in the alleys behind the the warehouses, making the whole ordeal more shady instantly. Soon enough, Aki ended up in an alley that was either a dead end or a right turn. They were underneath the highway, which had cars roaring above them. She had the misfortune to know this was where Divine meant.
What was she even going to do that day? Was she going to stowaway to another country? Throw her cards in the ocean? She had no idea, she'd never gotten that far. Part of her wished she had.
"This the place?" Jack asked. "He isn't here."
"Sure he is," Aki replied. "Aren't you, Divine?" There was silence at first, and a part of her hoped she was wrong. She wasn't.
A laugh rang out, making Aki's blood run cold. Divine rounded the corner from the other alley, smirking at her. His face was deformed and his body different, but Aki knew it was him. There was no one else it could be. The scar Carly had given him was horrific, but it had healed at least a little bit. His hair was short now and slicked back, and he wore a black trenchcoat and black pants.
But more than anything, she recognised his eyes. Cold, calculating. Like he was sizing her up. There was silence for a moment, before Divine smirked at her.
"Izayoi Aki," he said, "You've turned quite beautiful in the last decade." Before, a compliment like that from Divine would've made her happy. Now it turned her stomach violently.
"You look like shit," she replied steadily, making him frown. "What, do they not feed you in that pit of a prison?"
"Not a lot," he answered casually, as if they were friends meeting up after a few years. "But that's neither here nor there. I see you've brought some friends to our party! How wonderful. They can be the first to go once I beat you in this duel."
"You've got a lot of confidence for a guy who hasn't duelled in a decade," Aki said, trying to sound confident. Even with her practice, it had been a while for her too. Divine just laughed.
"Of course I'm confident," he said, "I'm duelling you, Aki. I know your deck in and out. It's the same one your father gave you all those years ago. Not only that, but I've brought you back to such a place. Did you tell you friends what this place is?"
"They know," Aki answered steadily.
"Do they now? Do they know you ran here after nearly killing someone in an underground duel? Did they know how you planned to flee the country?" Aki gritted her teeth at this. Of course Divine would share some of her secrets in an attempt to zone her out. She couldn't fall for it.
"That so?" Jack asked before she could reply, "Does that mean this is where you started poisoning her mind, you little sewer rat? Tell you what, turn yourself in before Aki kicks your ass in this duel, and maybe I won't take care of you myself." Aki was glad to have Jack at her back, but Divine just laughed again.
"Did you bring them here to talk trash for you, dear Aki?" He asked as he crossed his arms. "Don't have the confidence to do it yourself?"
"Who said that?" Aki asked, "Jack is right. Let's not do this duel. We can avoid watching you get you ass kicked. After all, I know how badly you hate it when your lackluster skill is called into question. It must have felt good, beating up on people like Carly who weren't proficient Duelists. Tell me, Divine, have you ever actually won a serious duel? Last I checked, Carly came back and kicked your ass." Divine glowered at her, all traces of joy gone from his face.
"We'll see how good I am," he said, a briefcase flying into his open hand from the other alley. He opened it and retrieved a standard issue Duel Disk, clearly one he'd stolen. "Are you ready to lose Aki?"
"I was about you ask you the same thing," she replied as she activated her own Duel Disk. She turned to Jack and Leo, saying, "back up you two. It's a Psychic Duel. Things will get serious."
"Be careful Aki," Leo advised with worry in his eyes. Jack placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. Aki nodded at him, and he turned to follow Leo a ways down the alley and out of the immediate line of fire. Aki turned back to Divine, who raised his arm.
"Duel!" They both shouted, their decks shuffling and allowing them to draw.
"I'll give you the first turn Aki dearest," Divine called, "You'll need to setup before I crush you." Aki refused to allow his jeering to get to her. He didn't have a clue what he was getting into.
I draw," she said, examining what she'd just pulled. Her hand was a mix of her old and new deck, and she quickly made up a strategy based on what she saw. It wasn't a perfect first turn, but it would work.
"I summon Bird of Roses to the field!" The small, plant-like bird with a rose bulb on it's head appeared between herself and Divine, giving a cute little cry and wiggle as it appeared.
Bird of Roses
Plant/Effect
Atk:1800/Def:1500
"How adorably disgusting," Divine mused, "Will it cuddle me to death?"
"He'll get his chance," Aki muttered. "Next, I activate this cards effect! By returning a plant-type monster I control to my hand, I can special summon Fallen Angel of Roses from my hand!" Bird of Roses gave a cry and disappeared, giving shape to Aki's next monster. The light gave shape to a dark angel-like woman with a dark purple corset on, with dark purple wings and vine-like swords in each hand.
Fallen Angel of Roses
Plant/Effect
Atk:2400/Def:1300
"Next I set two cards face down,"Aki said, leaving her with two cards in her hand, one Divine knew about. Let's see what he can do.
This was a scope out play from her. Aki didn't know what Divine would go for, so she wanted to play a little safe. Lord knows she needed too. She could assume his deck was the same it had been, but she had no way to tell yet.
"I end my turn," she said, "go, you weasel." Divine snorted.
"A decent play Aki," he mused as he raised a hand and drew a card. "You've got a level seven, twenty-four hundred attack power monster on the field already! Granted, it's a bit of an aggressive strategy for you. You're preferred method before was slow and painful."
"Just go!" Aki yelled.
"Aki," Jack warned from behind her. She knew what he meant. She was already too on edge, letting Divine get to her. Taking a deep breathe, she exhaled slowly and kept her eyes on the man opposite her. He snorted again.
"My move," he said. "I play a monster face-down in defence position. Then, I place a card face-down. That's it for me, Aki. Your move." As the turn ended, Aki watched the back of the Duel Monster card he had set warily. Was he baiting her in, or did he brick his hand and was playing safe? Surely it was the former option. That was Divine, after all. All mind games, no skill.
"I draw," she said, regarding her draw quietly. She examined her hand silently, forming her move. Sighing, she reached for the card she wanted. "I play Bird of Roses in Defence position and end my turn," she said. She just wanted to be safe. Divine was probably waiting to reel her in. She couldn't let him.
"No attack, dearest?" He asked, making her grind her teeth. "That's too bad. I was hoping you would." She didn't know if she believed that now, honestly. "That's fine though. I draw!" Divine examined the four cards in his hand quietly, humming a little tune. "It's okay though. I can work with this."
"First, I reveal my face-down monster, Krebons!" Divine flipped the monster face-up, revealing a jester-esque android with a green emoticon for a face. "It's a shame you didn't attack, Aki. Krebons' effect means I can negate his destruction, at the cost of eight hundred Life Points. Would've put me behind."
"Shut up and play," Aki hissed. Divine shrugged.
"Next, I summon Psychic Snail!" The Blue and Yellow-striped snail burst into existence next to Krebons, making a horrific slimy noise. "Don't grow attached though, dearest Aki. Using these two monsters as material, I Synchro Summon!" Both monsters disappeared in a burst of white light, blinding Aki. "Come to me, Hyper Psychic Riser!"
Standing where the two monsters had been was a sleek, white android. It's feet where replaced with wheels, and it did a little spin as it was summoned to the field.
Hyper Psychic Rider
Atk:2000/Def:600
"Nice monster," Aki said. "It's weaker then mine, though." Fallen Angel Of Roses seemed to appreciate the compliment, cracking her neck.
"Attack points aren't every, dearest." Divine replied, "next, I activate this Spell from my hand, Brain Research Lab!" The area around them morphed to look like a lab, one that gave Aki shivers. "The effect of this spell allows me to Normal Summon a Psychic monster every turn, without using my Normal Summon! And I'll use it to Summon this, Destructotron!"
The summoned monster looked like the robots from old horror movies, with four legs and a bulky upper body. It's head was inside a box, with a screen looking out.
Destructotron
Psychic/Effect
Atk:1600/Def:400
"Destructotron allows me to destroy a face-down at the cost of one thousand Life Points!" Divine declared. "But with Brain Research Lab's effect, I can place a counter on it and negate that loss. Say goodbye to the left one, Aki." Grimacing, Aki discarded her face-down. "Next, I'll destroy that stupid bird! Hyper Psychic Rider, attack Bird of Roses!" The android burst forth on it's wheels, slamming them into Bird of Roses. The avian let out a pained caw and disappeared, Rider skating back to Divine. "Your move, Aki." That was annoying, Bird of Roses had been in Defence position as a safeguard. That meant she didn't get to activate it's effect.
Aki took a moment to examine the field before her. Divine still had a face-down card, which given the fact that he'd left two weaker monsters in attack position, it was most likely meant to save them from an attack. Even with this, Divine only had one card in his hand now. If she could wipe his board with Black Rose Dragon, it might be game.
"I draw!" She examined her hand closely, all three cards looking back at her. Could she do anything with this? Given her field and everything she saw, it was doable...
"I summoned Twilight Rose Knight!" She called. The small knight with turquoise hair and black armour was a signature of hers, and Divine smirked at it.
"Ah, I remember this one," he said, "are we doing it now, then?"
"Absolutely!" Aki replied, "Twilight Rose Knight's ability allows me to special summon a level four or lower plant-type from my hand, and I chose this one! I summon Revival Rose!" A trio of roses sprung to life, eyes in the middle of their bulbs, all trained on Divine.
"Seven levels between them," Divine remarked. "It has been oh so long since I've seen my old friend, Aki. Please, reunite us for me."
"Gladly," she growled. "I tune Twilight Rose Knight with Revival Rose! Synchro Summon! Descend, Black Rose Dragon!"
It had been a few years since Aki had even summoned her ace, and it had easily been a decade since she had truly manifested it. As her monsters dissolved to form Black Rose Dragon, Aki noted that the monster was standing behind her. It's petal-like mane cushioned her from behind, settling her mind like no other. It's vines twirled around her, tenderly caressing her arm as it passed by. She didn't know how much soul was in her cards, but Black Rose was clearly happy to see her.
It's been too long, old friend, she thought, looking up to the dragon's head, which regarded her warmly back. Steeling her expression, Aki turned back to Divine.
Black Rose Dragon
Dragon/Effect
Atk:2400/Def:1800
"I activate Black Rose Dragon's effect!" She said, "when I Synchro Summon this monster, I can send every card on the field to the graveyard! Black Rose Dragon, go! Black Rose Gale!" Aki grinned as Black Rose began to inhale. If Divine had nothing to counter...
"Ah ah ah, Aki," Divine said, "we can't let that happen."
"Huh?" She asked. Divine gestured over to his monster.
"Hyper Psychic Rider's ability is in effect. While he's on the field, no monster with higher attack than him can activate their effects. So sorry about that, but there will be no board wipe today."
"Damn," Leo noted as Divine stopped Aki's play," she could have nuked his field!"
"She could have won," Jack noted angrily.
"What?" Leo asked, "how?"
"Think Leo," the blonde replied, "she's been practising with you too, right? That face down she still has is obviously Black Rose Thorn Wall." Leo looked down at Aki's face-down, the play truly dawning on him.
"Ah damn," he hissed. "That card protects Aki's field from Black Rose Dragon's effect!"
"Indeed," Jack said. "Aki could have activated it and won the duel, but not as long as Hyper Psychic Rider is here."
Aki gritted her teeth as she stared at Divine's Synchro monster. If it prevented monsters with higher attack from activating effects, then she needed to get ride of it asap. Almost all her boss monsters had higher attack than it did.
Well, my face-down is dead now, but I still can't let Destructotron live another turn if I want to have any back-row...
"Fallen Angel of Roses!" Aki said, "attack Destructotron! Fallen Rose Whip!" The angelic monster responded to her, whipping her sword at the android. Her attack hit home and destroyed the monster, causing Divine's Life Points to drop to 3200. The whips flew towards him and struck him as well, causing him to grunt in pain as it sliced open his jacket, blood seeping through.
"Nice one, Aki," he hissed as he clutched his arm. "I remember this feeling so vividly! But now, I'll activate my face-down, Psychic Sacrifice!"
Divine's face-down spell revealed itself.
"When a Psychic monster of mine is destroyed, I can spend a thousand Life Points to add a Psychic monster from my deck to my hand. And I lose no life points thanks to Brain Research Lab. Add another counter!" The screen over Divine's head went up to two. "Anything else, Aki?"
"Obviously!" She shouted, "Black Rose Dragon, attack Hyper Psychic Rider!" The dragon roared in response, a gale of rose petals flying for the monster as it stood by.
"Sorry," Divine called, "but I activate this monsters effect!"
Aki's eyes widened. Divine smirked as he flicked the card in his hand towards her.
"I searched out Psychic Barrier Mage," he told her. "When this card is in my hand, I can discard it to negate my opponents attack on a Psychic monster. Black Rose Dragon's attack is negated, and Brain Research Lab's counters go to three." The dragon's gale was halted, leaving the android Synchro alone. Aki growled irritably.
"Fine," she hissed, "I place a card face-down and end my turn." This was annoying. Divine was keeping his monster alive because he knew her ace monsters were stronger than it was. She had nothing she could do to it effect-wise. It he kept protecting it, she'd run out of plays.
"You look annoyed, Aki," Divine noted. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Shut your mouth," she hissed.
"I mean, I know I've been stressing you out recently, but you're not cute with that scowl on your face."
"Do you think I care about what you think of me?"
"Well, if you didn't, we wouldn't exactly be here would we?" Aki narrowed her eyes at him, trying to control herself as her powers threatened to fly off the handle. She needed to take a deep breath and relax a little. She focused instead on Black Rose Dragon's vines caressing her arm. It wrapped around her forearm and gave it a squeeze, which allowed her to relax. She could do this, she could win.
As it stood, she had to cards in her hand but a decent field. Black Rose Dragon and Fallen Angel of Roses stood as a barrier between Divine and her life points, and she had two face-downs to rely on, even if one was dead in the water. She could only hope Divine wasted resources on it.
"Guess it's my turn," Divine said, drawing his card. He currently had two cards in his hand, and he regarded it quietly. "Well, here we go! I activate Psychic Barrier Mage's effect!" Aki watched as the monster card appeared in hologram form, seeing as it was in the graveyard. "If this card is in my graveyard, I can discard one card and add it back to my hand!" Divine did just this, sending one of his cards away and retrieving the monster. "And then, I'll play Psychic Barrier Mage in defence!" Aki made a face, watching as the tiny chibi mage appeared on the field, creating a tiny barrier around herself. Why had he done that?
"Did I mention Barrier Mage is a tuner, Aki?" He asked cheekily, making her eyes widen. "I tune my level 1 Psychic Barrier Mage to my level six Hyper Psychic Rider! Synchro Summon! PSY-Framelord Zeta!" The two monsters merged in white light, and soon bore Divine's new monster to the field.
PSY-Framelord Zeta was a towering android, sporting spiked black armour that crackled with energy. The monsters helmet sported horns that pointed horizontally outwards, also crackling with energy. It crossed it's arms and awaited instruction, making her gulp.
PSY-Framelord Zeta
Psychic/Effect
ATtk:2500/def:1800
This was bad. Zeta had more attack power than she did. Aki tried not to glance at her face-down.
"Next, I activate my Continuous Spell, Mind Block!" Aki watched as Divine played the spell from his hand. "With this, all face-up Psychic type monsters in play are unaffected by card effects at the cost of 1000 life points during my turns!" Her eyes widened. This was bad. "It's time, Aki! PSY-Framelord Zeta! Attack Fallen Angel of Roses!" Aki watched, unable to do anything, as Zeta raised it's arm and, with a massive blast, fried the Fallen Angel completely, sending it to the Graveyard. The attack's blowback struck Aki, nearly lifting her off her feet as she slid backwards. Debris cut into her cheek, and soon she could feel blood dripping down her face. She grimaced, hoping it wasn't too deep.
"I activate Revival Rose's effect!" She shouted, "when a level 5 or higher monster on my field is destroyed, I can special summon it, and I'll do so in defence position!" The bundle of roses spring to life again, eyes, appearing from their petals.
Revival Rose
Plant/Effect
Atk: 1300/Def:1300
"I end my turn, Aki," Divine said simply, smirking at her. He had the advantage right now, but she could come back from this. She had ways.
"Are you okay, Aki?" Leo called from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and gave him a firm nod, hoping to soothe both the boy and herself. This wasn't feeling as easy as it did before. She turned back to Divine, determined to not look weak in front of him.
"I draw!" She called. Her hand contained only the new card, so it was slim pickings.
"I activate PSY-Framelord Zeta's effect!" Divine said, making her head snap up. "During either players turn, I can target one monster my opponent controls, and banish it until my next Standby Phase alone with Zeta! Zeta, banish Black Rose Dragon!"
The android leapt at Black Rose Dragon, grabbing it by the neck. Aki watched as the dragon fought back, but it was a useless attempt. A black abyss opened up beneath the monsters, and both sunk into it and disappeared. Aki had nothing now. A card in her head, two face-downs, one dead and the other cancelled by Mind Block. What was she going to do? This was his play. Using Zeta, he would keep any monster she needed from her, and then he could do whatever he wanted.
"Your ace is banished," Divine noted. "One card in your hand, face-downs negated, and bouquet of roses to defend yourself with. What will you do, Aki? Do you still think I'm a pathetic duelist?"
Aki had to wonder which of them was pathetic. She looked down at the single card she'd drawn, and smirked.
"This is far from over, Divine," she snarled.
