Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
A/N: I wrote this duel a while ago, so the structure is a little different. I didn't change anything because I didn't want different turns to break the flow of dialog. Plus, the duel is so integrated with the plot it makes no sense to separate the two.
Best enjoyed with the previous chapter because they're actually supposed to be one chapter *shrugs*
I walked back to Roman Goodwin, who hadn't moved an inch.
"After I duel your brother into a draw," I said, "both of you would work for me, correct?"
"Yes Master," Roman Goodwin kept his back straight but looked only to the ground. I was a little creeped out, he's probably plotting revenge or something. But the money from Neo Domino is well worth the risk.
On a whim, I pulled his hair back, forcing him to face me, though his eyes remained downcast. There was no resentment, no fear nor animosity, only acceptance to the fate he proposed.
I poked his forehead, Roman didn't react at all. Kalin facepalmed. I prodded his cheeks, he's a little skinnier than he looked. Greiger looked like he wanted to say something, before stopping with a sigh. If Roman was pretending, he was doing a very good poker face.
Personally, I was very proud that my hands never strayed anywhere below his neck.
"Perfect, so let's duel first, and we'll take care of your brother," I said reasonably.
Roman Goodwin looked up quickly, then lowered his eyes again, "my powers come from the immortal I possess, if He is defeated, even should I survive, my powers would be lost. I would be of no use to you."
"The alternative," I rolled my eyes, "is to have you, the leader of the Dark Signers, keep his powers while the Ruler of the Netherworld roams the earth and we go defeat the keeper of the head of the Crimson Dragon. You see my dilemma."
"You know about Rex?" His eyes widened in surprised, "how?"
I shrugged, I couldn't exactly tell him about the wonderful world of reality.
"She knows a lot of things," Greiger said in my defense.
"It's what brings you here, isn't it?" I asked instead.
"Yes, Master Yuki," he quickly collected himself.
"So I'll defeat your immortal first, then we can deal with your brother."
"What am I good for without my powers?" I could feel Roman Goodwin's eyes on me, sincerely awaiting the answer to his question.
"City planning," Kalin answered for me, grinning.
The saddest part is, instead of chuckling like Greiger, I find myself seriously considering the possibility.
"I don't think so," I said after some deliberations, "I don't think he has any experience in the field. I'm sure we'll find something though, not recruitment either."
Kalin glared at me with mocking resentment.
If the fiction rule of 'all science are the same' applies here, he could still be a very good architect, or a biologist, god knows we don't have any of those (Our science curriculum had largely been diverted away from the biological sciences, not that it would have made a difference given the limited time we had).
"Come on," I patted Roman on the shoulder, secretly pleased I could finally reach somebody's shoulders, "I want to finish this duel before sunset."
"Yes Master Yuki," he got up obediently, walking twenty paces away, the distance of a duel arena.
"I got just enough cards for a Harpies deck, you wanna take it for a test drive?" Kalin selected one deck from his bag and offered it to me.
"I need a deck I'm familiar with for this duel," I turned down the offer, though frankly Harpies decks could be great if you get the right cards.
"You still think he's hiding something," Greiger noted.
"After all that?" Kalin asked incredulously.
"I don't know, maybe." I shook my head slowly, "Or he can't control his immortal, or he could control his immortal but chooses not to, who knows. He's been under its influence for a very long time."
Though oddly enough, Roman Goodwin didn't seek vengeance, as far as I know.
"Let's duel," I announced, "why don't you go first."
"As you wish," Roman looked a little different, not quite 'taking over the world' crazy, but definitely not the almost submissive man in front of me moments ago, "I end my turn."
He drew and said simply.
I can't tell if he was sincere or has hidden nefarious villain-appropriate plans, and could only proceed with caution. As he had nothing on the field, there's very little I could do.
"I banish Agent of Miracles, Jupiter from my hand to special summon, Master Hyperion (lv8, 2700/1600), in attack mode. Now my monster, attack Goodwin directly." As Roman's life points dropped to 1300, his smile grew wider and I saw the whites of his eyes, already black, expand to occupy most of the iris.
"Why thank you," he laughed, his voice suddenly sounded two notes higher. I still don't understand why magic would mess with your vocal cords. "You see, when I take damage, I can summon Gorz, the Emissary of Darkness directly from my hand, and because I took battle damage, I can summon one token whose attack and defense points is equal to the damage I just took." This was the Roman Goodwin who had fallen to darkness, constructed a giant underground organization, kept Rex Goodwin under his thumb for over a decade, and is trying to destroy the world.
Two monsters each with 2700 atk now stood on his side of the field.
Greiger grunted in annoyance.
"We never should have trusted that two-timing piece of trash," Kalin said.
"I place two cards face-down and end my turn," I decided, leaving myself with only two cards in the hand.
"So now it's my turn!" Roman said loudly, "You can't escape fate Yuki. I was confused before, but it's all clear to me now. It was my fate to gather the armies of the shadows, it was my brother's fate to gather the Signers, it is the fate of all those in the Satellite to serve as fuel for the arrival of the King of the Netherworld. And for you, fate had just taken a turn for the worse. I tribute both of my monsters, to summon, Earthbound Immortal Uru to the field!"
"After we finish this duel," I responded calmly, it's hard to get scared by 'villainous backstories' when you've heard so many, "you really need to learn dueling again, what you just did there, wasn't the smartest move."
I had to focus on our conversation keep myself distracted, because the truth is, the giant spider is terrifying. Roman didn't bother with theatrics this time, nor did he require time to gather energy for his monster's appearance. Uru simply crossed into this world, a testament to Roman's growing powers and our world's fragile barrier against the Shadow Realmm.
"Talk all you want," Roman said," I play the Spider Web field card, if any of our non-insect monsters attack, this field spell changes the monster to defense position until the end of the next turn. Welcome to my lair!"
"Then I guess I should activate this, Threatening Roar, which forces you to skip your battle phase this turn."
"How? My monster if immune to all spells and trap cards." Roman gasped, looking, for a brief second, like the man who begged me to save his brother.
"But you're not," I explained, "and if you can't enter battle phase, your monster, immortal or not, can't attack."
"A while longer then," Roman said, regaining his composure, "until I can finish the hunt. But you should know, spiders are always waiting in the darkness until it pounces on its prey. I lay two cards face-down and end my turn"
We both had two cards left in hand.
"Right." I said dismissively, "you continue with the bug metaphors, I'm gonna get on with the duel. I draw, and discard Zeradius, Herald of Heaven, to bring The Sanctuary in the Sky field spell into my hand, now my half of the field is shrouded in light." I forget, was it new dueling regulations allowed one field spell to remain on the field for each player or was it always like this?
"Now that I have a light-fairy monster in my grave," I continued, "I can banish it to activate my Master Hyperion's special effect, it can destroy any one card on the field, and I choose your Immortal Uru."
I was really glad to see the giant scary spider be destroyed, its limbs scattered, its corpse spewing endless toxic sludge until the holographic system decided the image sequence was complete and the arachnid turned back into pieces of light, finally disappearing back into the darkness.
Roman's expression visibly changed, from dread to resolute urgency, "attack me, end the duel now! I don't have much time!"
"I don't think so," I denied his request, "I'm going to free you from the Immortals. So you'd be under my control instead." I meant it as a joke, I'm not sure he got it.
I studied his face carefully, the markings of the immortals usually disappeared immediately after the immortal itself was destroyed, but Roman was still covered in red and blue geometric designs.
"I've been under the grasp of this darkness for many years," answered Roman gravely, "it's too late for me. I can feel the Immortal's powers recovering even as we speak. Please, end the duel now before it's too late."
"I do find his marks smaller and fainter," Greiger offered encouragingly, "maybe we need to defeat him more than once."
"Lose one duel and we're dead, remember?" Kalin reminded him.
"Defeating the immortal multiple times in one duel might do the trick though. Did any of your tattoo disappear or recede at all?" I asked carefully, "these markings may be a physical sign of the immortal's influence on your body."
"I have long grown accustomed to these blemishes on my corporeal form," Roman answered peacefully, as though I was the unreasonable one, "they have become a part of me, just like the darkness inside, It's too late."
I glanced at my watch impatiently. Patience is quickly becoming one of my strength (I think) but it's really been wearing thin lately given everything that's happened in the Satellite.
"If you still want me to save your goddamned brother, you'll do as I say," I growled, "just tell me when those designs on your body fades!"
Roman laughed in surprise, "As you wish, Master Yuki." He threw off his cloak, revealing a skin-tight black t-shirt with designs in what is supposedly a lost language that only the immortals understood. That's what gets me though, how do they know what it said? It could be a graffiti that said 'testicles' and he's wearing it proudly like a badge of honor.
To my surprise, Roman grabbed the front of the t-shirt and ripped it off, revealing a ripped, magically enhanced torso that would have been the marvel of Greek sculptors. My eyes followed the prominent pair of blue lines past his nipples, diagonally across his eight-pack, to where the markings stopped just before the navel. My eyes strayed further to the deep V-shaped groove between his legs and abdomen, before catching myself and remembering the duel. I've seen (hundreds) more people naked in this world than I have in the other one, mostly because of the lack of clothing secondary to poverty. Roman's body wasn't particularly better than others, but having this man, who calls me 'master', revealing himself for my examination, was a little different than Vincent deciding he couldn't be bothered with a shirt.
"Now you can observe the changes on my body," Roman said casually, "let's see if my fate can truly be untwined from the shadows."
"Waste of a perfectly good shirt," Greiger commented, the new budget is really getting to him.
"Otherwise it would get stuck on the duel disk," Roman explained perfectly reasonably. Good attention to detail, I made a note of that for his future placement.
I still had a Waboku face down on the field, so I resolved to end my turn.
"I activate," Roman announced, "Revival of the Immortal, so I can bring my Immortal Uru back onto the field, though it cannot attack this turn" It's getting a little hard to tell which Roman this was.
"With my immortal on the field, I can now activate my second face-down card Earthbound Whirlwind, which destroys all spell and trap cards on your side of the field."
"I activate, Waboku, which decreases all battle damage I take this turn to zero, and none of my monsters can be destroyed in battle this turn." I countered. That's why I kept Waboku instead of Negate Attack in my deck.
"I had no intentions of mounting an attack this turn," Roman smirked, "but I can do this, I play the magic card, Destiny Activator. First, I send the card from the top of my deck to the graveyard," he sent another Spider's Web field spell to the grave yard, "next, when you draw, if you draw a spell card, your life points would be halved!"
That can't be right, I gulped. That continuous spell card was definitely too powerful to exist in the real world.
"So, Master Yuki," he pronounced the last two words disdainfully, "draw you next card."
I did, Mystical Space Typhoon. It's definitely the card I needed, though I would have preferred Heavy Storm, but my LP dropped from 4000 to 2000.
"And this is only the beginning of my powers!" Roman's 'I'm a villain' laugh is back.
"I think I'll use my spell," I decided, "to destroy your Spider Web field spell. If my memory serves me correctly, your immortal is destroyed at the end of the turn when there's no active field spell."
I'm already at 2000LP, aka one direct attack away from losing. It's not going to be significantly different from 1000LP. It's much more important to get rid of his Immortal before it could attack than Destiny Activator.
Roman grunted but did not respond.
"I lay two cards face down and end my turn." I announced, leaving myself with an empty hand.
The giant spider came tumbling down for the second time, I could see the lines on Roman's body fading, though the ones on his face remained untouched. It'll take a couple more times I guess.
Roman drew again, his face twisted in a fit of rage and unease, it wasn't hard to tell which Roman this was. He had a feral look in his eye when he saw the next card, "This, Yuki Tono, would be your demise!"
Kalin and Greiger looked nervous, I was more like, meh. Talk is cheap, and both of Roman's schizophrenic personalities (let's call them that for now) have been talking a lot.
"Since you have a monster on the field and I don't, I can special summon the dark tuner Spider Cocoon (lv5, 0/0) to the field, next I will use the magic card Level Mirroring, allowing my monster to imitate the level of your Master Hyperion on the field, making my monster lv8 also. Next, I summon Silent Insect (lv2, 200/300, negates all face-up continuous spells & traps) in attack mode. I dark tune my lv 2 Silent Insect with my lv8 Spider Cocoon. When Shadows are swallowed-"
"I'm sorry," I had to ask, in case I didn't get another chance, "did you come up with that cute little chant?"
"What?" Roman's spiel was cut short, but the dark synchro summon continued, proving definitively that their motto is only for show.
The Cocoon extends its web, engulfing the much smaller, but no less disgusting, insect in its clutches.
"Did you come up with that speech or did somebody help you?" I persisted, "did you teach everybody and was like 'say this when you dark synchro to emphasize our evilness' or did it just sort of catch on?"
"Now come forth," Roman eventually decided to ignore my question, "Underground Arachnid (lv -6, 2400/1600)."
I hesitated, but did not activate Solemn Judgement.
"This spider has a special ability," Roman said, "once per turn, I can take control of one of your monsters on the field, and I think I'll take your Master Hyperion."
"I don't think so, I activate, Breakthrough Skill, which negates your monster's effects for this turn."
Roman grunted again, but made no protest as he signaled the end of his turn.
I was relieved I could draw again, it felt so odd having no cards in my hand. I drew Agent of Mystery- Earth (lv2, tuner, 1000/800), a tricky card now that I have only 2000LP, so that any monster with 3000atk can wipe me out in one turn. Also I can't attack with it, seeing as Roman only had 1100LP left, and I didn't want to kill him yet.
"Master Hyperion, squash his bug!" I ordered happily, watching the giant radioactive spider being blown to smithereens. "I think that'll be all for my turn." Roman's LP dropped to 1000, just enough for my Agent monster to kill him if I had summoned it.
Roman drew again, his lips set in a taut line, "I end my turn," he said, eyes downcast.
I frowned, I didn't want to defeat and therefore kill him, but I can't free him if he doesn't summon his immortal soon. I had no idea what card he had, or if he would lose if I attacked. I drew, Herald of Orange Light, I showed the card to Roman, which is the most annoying part of the Destiny Activator spell. Not being able to do anything else, I ended my turn.
"I see you're still imagining you could save Roman Goodwin," Roman laughed darkly, "let me show you that you should really be more concerned with saving yourself. I summon, Phantom of Chaos (lv4, 0/0), in attack mode. This fiend has a special effect, I can banish one monster from my graveyard, and it becomes that monster for one turn. I banish my Immortal Uru from my graveyard."
Even as he said those last words, the markings on his body retreated further, they only extend as low as his neck now. Even his facial tattoos seemed to have faded slightly, though the coloring is hard to determine in the darkness. On the other hand, the shapeless mist gathered on the field shifted until it formed into a replica of the spider.
"Roman," I reprimanded, "you know exactly what cards I have and you still make mistakes like this. I discard my Herald of Orange Light and Agent of Mystery- Earth to the graveyard to negate the effect of your monster."
The spider was dispelled, Roman's tattoos retreated further, only faintly uneven colors remained, like permanent marker after fervent washing.
"I place one card face down and end my turn." Roman said slowly, struggling with each word, "attack me! If you don't want this mortal to live." I could almost read the internal conflict off his face.
I drew Upstart Goblin this time, grimacing as I was dealt another 1000 damage, leaving me with just 1000.
"I activate the effect of my Master Hyperion," I said, "I banish Herald of Orange Light from the graveyard to destroy your Destiny Activator!"
That was the only card that dealt me damage in this duel, to the tune of 3000LP.
"Now I activate, Upstart Goblin, I can draw one card, even though you gain 1000LP."
I drew Dust Tornado, and laid it down.
"Master Hyperion, destroy his Phantom." Phantom of Chaos takes no damage from battle, so Roman stayed alive for a while longer.
"You have fought well," Roman started ominously, "but you must understand, mortals are only the instrument to achieving a much greater cause. You are destined to lose, the King of the Netherworld is destined to rise, and this world is destined to fall."
Okay, that's definitely not the real Roman Goodwin, the real one would be rambling on about the destined battle between good and evil instead.
"Didn't hear you say that when I didn't attack these past couple of turns," I replied sarcastically, "got a lucky draw?"
"It's not this card that would aid me in my victories. I activate my trap, Escape from the Dark Dimension, which allows me to special summon one of my banished dark monsters, come back to the field, Earthbound Immortal Uru!"
As a dark vortex opened on the ground, a giant spider crawled out of the pits of fire and lava onto the field.
"Don't celebrate yet, I activate Dust Tornado," Lucky draw or magical forces at play? I can't tell anymore. "Which destroys your trap card, sending your immortal back into its own dimension."
As soon as the giant beast crawled out of the hole, it fell back in. I found the destruction of oversized insects (okay, insect-types) extremely satisfying.
The marks on his face have entirely disappeared, the inky coloring of the whites of his eyes were slowly fading away, but Roman didn't look like he was coming to his senses yet.
"I set one card face-down," Roman said solemnly, "and end my turn."
As I drew my next card, I heard the now-familiar ominous laughter.
"So this is the end, Yuki. All my life, I have trusted myself to destiny, letting it guide me wherever it may. Now I'm going to leave myself to destiny one last time." Roman Goodwin said at an unnaturally high speed, his right hand reaching for his face-down card even as his left metallic arm moved out of the way. It looked more entertaining than threatening.
"Attack me now," Roman asked, then in a shriller voice, "and all your efforts to save his soul is wasted."
Maybe I should send him to a therapist after this blows over. Did we have therapists?
"Finish the duel before it's too late! I'll see you in hell, don't keep me waiting."
Yep, definitely a therapist.
"Let's see it," I said, "that card you want to use so badly."
Roman looked at me in disbelief as his right hand activated the trap from the last turn, "Fate alone shall decide the outcome of this duel! I activate The Paths of Destiny. When this trap card is activated, we each toss a coin, if it lands on heads, the player gain 2000 life points; if it lands on tails, the player loses 2000 life points. Now you will suffer my fate, to be pushed by circumstances beyond mortal control, to struggle helplessly against the hands of Destiny, and only pray that Humanity escapes the clutches of Fate. What are you going to do now, Yuki Tono, when your life is decided by a coin toss?"
"Negate it," I smirked, "I activate the trap card, Solemn Judgement. By giving up half of my life points, I can negate the activation of one trap or spell card."
The illusion created by the trap shimmered like electrical connection in a Canadian snowstorm and faded. My LP dropped down to 500.
"I summon, Agent of Creation- Venus (1600/0) to the field, and use it to attack directly." Roman endured the attack silently as his LP dropped to 400, looking lost and forlorn.
"I think the last trap was my doing," he said after some time, "the immortal's influences had been eradicated from me when it was destroyed for the last time. No, my last move can't be blamed on the Shadows that once overtook me, it was the darkness entrenched in my very soul that tried to destroy you."
Of course he'd have 'darkness inside his soul', or as I put it, be resentful and angry at the world. He wasted the best years of his life on some long-lost prophecy that doesn't look like it was going to pan out. He played his part like a good little puppet, knowing he'd be cast aside when the time comes, believing it was the right thing to do for humanity. And just now he saw he could've been the puppeteer all this time. He spent his entire life trying to save humanity within the limited bounds he thought fate permitted, and now everything just went down the drains because of his younger brother whom he was still trying to save. I'd be resentful too. He definitely needs medical help though, the whole 'fighting with yourself' things can't be natural.
It took another 5 turns before I drew Fairywind (destroy all face-up continuous spells and traps, deal 300 LP damage to both players for each card) and ended the duel, by then we could already hear the roar of a giant slime-like creature.
Roman Goodwin collapsed, I felt my legs buckle before Greiger held me up.
"Get out of here," I said weakly. Greiger didn't need to be told twice as he held me up with one arm like a UPS package and rushed to the car, shoving me in the back. Kalin jumped into the driver's seat and was about to leave when he saw my disapproving glares. Rolling his eyes, the ex-Dark Signer turned the car around so Greiger had time to pick Roman Goodwin up off the ground and stuffed the half-conscious villain (ex-villain?) into the car
Kalin didn't need to be told twice as he started the car, racing back to the Development.
Roman Goodwin struggled instinctively against Greiger's arm, when the brunet slapped him none-too-gently across the cheek, the leader of the Dark Signers finally came to his senses.
Greiger put him in the backseat also, because Kalin's driving, and if either one of the three of us were to sit up front, it would provide Roman with a better opportunity to take somebody hostage. So I as squished to the side, with Greiger sitting between Roman and I, in the backseat of a sports car that really wasn't built for people their size. I wondered how I could get more room, but since Roman was in no shape the drive, the only possible solution is to have Roman sit in Greiger's lap, and I had to dismiss it as an unlikely idea.
"What are you going to do about Rex Goodwin?" Kalin asked pointedly, metaphorical venom dripping from his fangs, directing the question at no one in particular.
"It's up to Master Yuki to decide," Roman replied softly, I looked at him in surprise. "You negated the destiny I left in Fate's hands," Roman explained still with his eyes downcast, "so now my destiny is your design."
I gulped.
"Hey Yuki, you should decide to kill Rex Goodwin." Kalin muttered darkly.
"It's hard to justify not getting rid of him," Greiger helped, "he did ruin the lives of millions of people in the Satellite." Not quite, I thought to myself, Rex Goodwin was a manipulative asshole, but he was smart enough to not leave enough traces to be condemned.
"Rex never hurt anybody," Roman defended his younger brother, "As the Director of Domino City, he did better than most people at his position, certainly better than his predecessors."
"What?" Kalin turned around and asked incredulously, looking to me for confirmation.
"That's technically true," I smiled, now fully understanding the defense the older Goodwin has chosen to use, "by his inaction, Rex Goodwin has damned many in the Satellite to a life of misery, but it's true that he's only guilty of inaction, which I assume Roman is going to put onto incompetence."
"Goodwin did more for the Satellite than most other Directors in most countries," Greiger explained, "that's why I chose to go to him for help."
"You're joking." Kalin said it as a simple statement.
"Rex Goodwin needed the lives in the Satellite to sacrifice to the Immortals and the Demon of the Netherworld, so the death rate actually plummeted after he took over," I explained, fully aware of the irony of the situation, "and it remained lower than most other slums in this country. Of course, living standards was another story."
"So we have nothing on Goodwin?" Kalin demanded angrily.
"We don't need anything on Goodwin," Greiger replied for me. Kalin was too close to the situation to assess it properly.
I continued for the stoic man, "We will need to defeat Rex Goodwin, after which it'll be much easier to kill him than not. Even if we keep him alive, it doesn't have to be forever."
Kalin stuttered, he was still very unused to the ideas of, well, evilness.
"Thus my brother's fate is in your hands, Master Yuki," Roman repeated, "and I beg of you to spare him."
A/N: Yugioh is a card game, and is designed to make you collect cards. So I can't be the only one who wants to collect the characters too. :D
A/N 2: Life should be interspersed with fun things and responsible things XD