"Wha….WHAT, THIS CAN'T BE RIGHT! My dad may have been a lying abandoning scumbag but he was never a lunatic" Lance stammered as his mind processed the information, not only was his long lost father standing in front of him but he was the leader of the organization that had been antagonizing the students throughout the tournament.
"Well, now that you mention it I do see the resemblance." Marcus commented as he scratched his head in thought…only to get punched in the back of the head by Lance.
"Good to see that you are being as helpful as ever Marcus!" Lance said sarcastically as Marcus groaned. "Though that also explains how you got my cell phone number I guess."
"Come now my boy, are you really that surprised?" Lance's father said with a shit eating grin. "To the rest of you, you may know me as Philip Alvers, the one who fathered this pathetic excuse for a son." Philip said as he looked at Lance with contempt, Lance merely glared at him. "Your mother was a weakling, if I was to succeed in my plan I had to distance myself from her."
"What did you say?" Lance demanded as his anger slowly rose up, without a second thought he activated his duel disk. "That does it you son of a bitch, you, me, outside and bring your duel disk whilst you're at it!"
"I'd love too but you have an advantage over me." Philip said as he outstretched his arms revealing, to the surprise of everyone else, a complete lack of duel disks on either arm. "I have a deck but I lack a duel disk." Philip said before resting his arms by his side. "But if you truly wish to challenge me than follow me, if you dare."
"I don't like this." Brandon whispered to Theresa as the students followed Phillip. "Who knows what kind of dirty tricks he has in store for Lance."
"I'm sure Lance can handle himself." Theresa said before pausing. "But, if he does fail, I'll step in and duel in his place, at least then I'll have a good idea of what deck his dad uses." Theresa added as she looked towards her duel disk.
"Lance won't fail." Chloe said determinedly as she turned to the older students. "Remember his duel with that Russian creep that used Exodia? You insult his family to his face and you're in for a world of hurt from him."
"I know Chloe, it's just that we don't know what deck he's using or even what his strategy is." Brandon commented as he folded his arms. "The only thing we DO know for sure is that he has the Seal of the Orichalcos in his deck."
"Yeah…and personally I'd rather not lose any more friends to that damn card." Chloe thought as she remembered Andreas's duel with Otto during the Semi-Finals.
"I couldn't agree more Chloe." Theresa agreed before glaring at Philip. "But one way or another we'll make that bastard pay and free our friends, making sure his hired thugs get brought to justice as soon as they wake up is an added bonus off course." Theresa said before seeing Chloe tense up, she winced once she remembered that Chloe's biological dad was in the Orichalcos as a result of the student's (plus Axel) last Battle City duel. "Hey relax, once he's out of the Orchalcos the cops will throw his ass in jail for the crimes he committed as part of this organization and for what he did to you and your mother."
"Thanks Theresa." Chloe said with a small smile that showed that she was happy for the reassurance.
"You are comforting your friend with the wrong thing my dear." Phillip said as he turned his attention to the two girls earning himself a confused look from everyone else. "For all the evil deeds he did leading up to his employment I ordered Robert Graham's soul destroyed, you will never see him again."
"And we're supposed to take your word for it?" Brandon asked as he folded he folded his arms; Phillip chuckled as they reached a door at the end of the seemingly endless hallway.
"I can understand your suspicion." Phillip reassured her as he opened the door taking him and the students to the front of the ship. "I guess I'll just have to prove myself, in the meantime we have arrived."
"Arrived? Where exactly have we arrived?" Marcus asked as he scratched his head. "Unless this is the part where you make us walk the plank…" Marcus started only to get punched in the back of the head by everyone else.
"Please, don't give him ideas!" Lance spoke up as Marcus groaned. "I'm waiting."
"Yes off course." Phillip said before reaching into his pocket and producing a switch. "I'd stand back if I where you." Phillip said as he pressed the button and alarms started blaring over the ship. "Things are about to get…..interesting."
"What did you just do?" Marcus demanded as he got back to his feet, the floor behind Phillip opened up in a way similar to a double automatic door and the mechanical whirring sound of a lift could be heard bellow it. "Can anyone get close enough to see what that is?"
"I'd love too but I suddenly remembered that I'm deathly afraid of falling down dark holes!" Chloe laughed nervously and Marcus sweat-dropped, however any further questions where cut off by their astonishment at the site before them. "Is that…"
"Is that a Duel Arena?" Everyone asked simultaneously as the outdated piece of tech that hadn't been seen or used since the Duelist Kingdom Tournament many years ago made its self-known to them, however the Duel Arena was far more advanced than anything used in Duelist Kingdom and you didn't need to be tech savvy to be able to tell that, the podiums where slightly larger and the field closely resembled a traditional duel matt, once the Duel Field was in full view the alarms stopped blaring and Phillip smirked.
"Impressive isn't it?" Phillip asked as he looked over the duel field. "You see I have always been a bit old fashioned and whilst Duel Disks may be technologically superior to this it still has its charm."
"Kaibacorp stopped making those things years ago, how did you get your hands on one?" Brandon asked as he looked over the field.
"I had it custom built to fit my needs." Phillip answered as he grinned. "Before today it was used by my employees for training in the tournament but now that I'm the only employee left this will be its final duel." Phillip said before folding his arms. "Now before we enter this arena I believe you want to put a wager on this match."
"That's right!" Lance said as he glanced at the Duel Field suspiciously. "I don't like this, if it's custom built than he could have all kinds of nasty surprises waiting for me once I reach the top of that podium." Lance thought before continuing. "I win you let everyone who's trapped in the Orichalcos go, you win…I'm not even going to finish that because I know I will win!"
"Well if you're so sure of yourself…" Phillip said as he stepped onto the podium. "Then by all means join me in the last duel of your life!" Phillip added and Lance wasted no time in hopping onto his podium, the two podiums lifted up simultaneously and the two duelists placed their decks onto the deck place. "I know you're not familiar with the technology so I'll throw you a bone, you can still use your duel disk if you plug it into the USB Slot."
"Gee, how kind of you." Lance said sarcastically as he retrieved the cable from the duel disk and plugged it in, the duel disk activated almost immediately and Lance grinned as he looked at his opening hand. "This will be a piece of cake."
"Well, if you're that confident than why don't you go first?" Phillip offered and Lance wasted little time in drawing another card. "Oh yes, there's one other thing." Phillip pressed a button on his side of the podium and too Lance's surprise two shackles emerged from a hidden panel at the bottom of the podium and attached themselves to Lance's legs. "They will only come off once the duel's over, regardless of the result."
"Okay but I don't see the point of it." Lance said before looking at his drawn card. "All right pops get ready to feel the burn because I summon Fire Princess in attack mode!" Lance played the card and a blonde woman in a red dress appeared on the field ready for battle (4/1300/1500) however what caught everyone by surprise was how realistic the hologram looked, it wasn't as if the holograms produced by duel disks where bad or anything but the quality of this hologram was much better. "What the hell? The technology in duel fields was never this good."
"That's true, for the versions used in Duelist Kingdom at least." Phillip said as he folded his arms. "When I said that this Duel Field is custom built I meant it in every possible sense of the word." Phillip added and Lance frowned.
"I'd ask how you got the technology for this in the first place but to be frank I don't give a shit." Lance said bluntly before picking up and setting two cards. "I set two cards facedown and end my turn." Lance announced and Phillip drew his card, as soon as he did however Lance activated one of his traps. "I activate Solemn Wishes."
"I see your still using that classic burn tactic." Phillip chuckled before adding his drawn card to his hand. "As long as Solemn Wishes remains on the field you'll gain 500 life-points each time you draw and as long as Fire Princess is on the field I'll lose 500 life-points each time you gain life-points." Phillip said before grinning. "A good tactic….if we were competing in the original Battle City tournament."
"Excuse me?" Lance demanded as he heard the insult, Phillip merely chuckled as he held up a card in his hand.
"Don't take my word for it young man, merely observe." Phillip instructed him and Lance growled.
"Sorry but last time I heard that was from my teachers and they aren't nearly as ugly as you." Lance said….only to sweat-drop when he heard the teachers clear their throats. "I just netted myself a year's worth of detention, didn't I?"
"That's the least of your worries; I summon Card Trooper in attack mode!" Phillip played the card and the small, red tank like machine appeared on the field (3/400/400). "I am well aware that you were present for the match between Edward and Theresa so I trust you remember what this monster's effect is?"
"Yeah, I do, basically you declare a number between one and three and send the same number of cards to the graveyard from the top of your deck as the number you declared, in return Card Trooper's attack increases by 500 for each card." Lance nodded and Phillip held up three fingers to show that that was the number of cards he was sending from the deck to the graveyard and did so.
"Curses, I'll need to rethink my strategy." Phillip cursed under his breath and Lance raised an eyebrow, he simply held up the third discarded card revealing it to be the Seal of the Orichalcos, despite Lance's initial surprise he grinned broadly.
"Perfect, all I need to do is draw one of my copies of Soul Release and I won't have to worry about that card." Lance said with a grin and Phillip frowned.
"Don't fool yourself; you and I both know that there are several ways to retrieve cards from the Removed from Play slot." Philip scolded him before pointing to Fire Princess. "Card Trooper, attack Fire Princess now!" Phillip commanded and the machine charged towards the princess.
"Think again, I activate my trap card Draining Shield!" Lance activated the trap and grinned. "Your attack is negated and Card Trooper's attack points get added to my life-points!" Lance said confidently as Card Trooper's charge was blocked by an invisible force field, Lance's life-points increased to 9900 and Fire Princess prepared her spell.
"Maybe but your princess won't be using her effect just yet." Phillip said as he played a card from his hand. "I chain Fire Princess's effect with the Quick Play Spell Card Forbidden Chalice, this increases her attack points by 400." Phillip explained as a small green chalice appeared in front of Fire Princess, she stopped casting her spell for a moment in order to drink from it, she casted the chalice aside as her attack points increased to 1700.
"Maybe, but that doesn't do a thing to prevent her effect!" Lance said cockily…..but the cockiness disappeared when Fire Princess clutched her sides in pain as she tried to cast her spell again.
"Weren't you listening? Forbidden Chalice has a second effect, the targeted monster loses his/her effects until the end of the turn." Philip explained as he sent his card to the graveyard, Lance frowned knowing that he could do nothing to stop it. "As for Solemn Wishes, the card I'm about to Special Summon will take care of that for me." Phillip played the card and too Lance's surprise Solemn Wish's hologram had a holographic tongue wrapped around it before it was pulled into the mouth of a strange grinning fiend which swallowed it whole (4/1900/1600).
"What the hell is that?" Lance demanded as he stared down the strange fiend which grinned at him hungrily.
"This is Trap Eater, as the name suggests he can only be Special Summoned by destroying one face-up Trap Card my opponent controls, in this case Solemn Wishes." Phillip explained before picking up the remaining three cards in his hand. "I set these three cards facedown and end my turn." Phillip announced and once Card Trooper's attack dropped down to 400 Lance drew his card.
"You may have destroyed Solemn Wishes but there's more than one way to gain life-points!" Lance said defiantly as he played the card he drew. "I activate Poison of the Old Man, this Spell Card may be old but it has its uses because with it I can either take away 800 life-points from your score or add 1200 life-points to my score, I think I'll go with the add life-points option!" Lance said as an old man in a brown robe who was carrying two jars, both of which contained potions, appeared on the field, one potion was a light purple color and the other was a sickly green color.
"You might want to rethink your choice; I chain Poison of the Old Man with my Trap Card Bad Reaction to Simochi!" Phillip activated the trap and Lance's eyes widened when he heard that name. "Now as long as this trap is on the field….."
"I'll lose life-points when I would otherwise gain them." Lance interrupted as the old man threw the jar with the purple potion in it at Lance, he grimaced as his life-points dropped to 8700….only to scream in pain as an electrical surge surged through his body and whilst it stopped before any permanent damage could be caused the pain was obvious.
"Lance, are you okay?" Marcus called out from the sidelines and Lance glared at him.
"Ah it's nothing; I just got an Electric Shock that's all!" Lance snapped at him before turning his attention to Phillip. "I knew something was up the moment you mentioned that this arena is custom built!" Lance growled and Phillip laughed evilly.
"Do you like it? It's a little feature I included when I built this thing! How it works is simple, each time we take damage we get an electric shock and the more damage that's dealt the stronger the shock is." Phillip asked and Lance growled. "Now don't be so judgmental young man, this is how I determined who would join my organization, and anyone who survived was welcomed into the organization with open arms!" Phillip said as he stretched his arms out to illustrate the point. "Anyone who didn't survive, well, they are still listed as missing persons but they will never be found as they are at the bottom of the ocean somewhere." Phillip said sadistically and Lance growled as he sent his Spell to the graveyard.
"Great, he just rendered Fire Princess's effect useless and I have nothing in my hand that I can use to get rid of her." Lance thought before setting a monster and switching Fire Princess to defense mode. "I end my turn at that." Lance announced as Fire Princess knelt down and the facedown card appeared next to her. "Card Trooper may be back to its original attack strength but I don't trust his remaining trap cards." Lance thought as Phillip drew his card and activated one of his other traps.
"Now to complete my combination, I activate my Dark Cure Trap Card!" Phillip announced and Lance's eyes narrowed. "How it works is simple, each time you summon a monster from now on you'll gain life-points equal to half that monster's attack strength."
"But with Bad Reaction on the field I'll instead lose life-points equal to half a monster's attack strength." Lance grumbled under his breath. "I'm really wishing I had my copy of Heavy Storm right now!" Lance thought as Phillip activated his last trap. "Give and Take, what's that?"
"Give and Take is a very useful trap card; in exchange for Special Summoning one monster from my graveyard to your side of the field I can increase Card Trooper's level by one." Phillip explained as he picked up one of the cards he sent to the graveyard with Card Trooper's effect and placed it on a panel, the panel flipped over and the card reappeared on Lance's podium, Lance groaned when he saw the monster in question.
"Well, since I have no choice in the matter, I summon Vorse Raider in attack mode!" Lance played the card and the halberd wielding Beast Warrior appeared on the field crouching down (4/1900/1200) and as Lance's life points dropped to 7550 Lance grimaced in pain as another shock went through his body. "Why don't you turn off that Electric Shock bullshit and face me like a man?"
"Why? It's because I'm testing your strength young man." Phillip answered earning himself a confused look from Lance as Card Trooper's level increased by one. "Too see if you are strong enough to rule by my side in the new order that I will soon create!"
"Yeah, sorry but I'd sooner have sex with a blender set to puree." Lance said plainly as he glared at his dad.
"That's fine; I have already judged you to be even weaker than your mother." Phillip said plainly and Lance growled. "Now I activate the Spell Card I just drew, it's called Scroll of Bewitchment!" Phillip played the card and Card Trooper glowed briefly. "With this Spell Card I can change the attribute of the monster it's equipped too to any attribute I wish, as you can see I am using it on my Card Trooper and I am changing it to a Dark Type monster."
"Okay but I don't see the point of increasing its level and changing its attribute." Lance pointed out…..before it hit him like a ton of bricks. "Trap Eater's a Tuner Monster, isn't he?"
"Exactly right, now Trap Eater, I command you to give Card Trooper a tune up!" Phillip commanded and the two monsters leapt into the air, Trap Eater dissolved into four green glowing rings that quickly surrounded Card Trooper. "I tune Trap Eater with Card Trooper to Synchro Summon the dreaded Dark End Dragon!" Phillip announced as a bright flash enveloped the field, once it faded Lance looked up and saw a massive jet back dragon that was scary to look at (8/2600/2100).
"You did all that to summon that thing? I've seen stronger Level 8 monsters than that!" Lance said once he regained his composure, Phillip chuckled as he sent his three cards to the graveyard.
"Whilst it's true that Dark End Dragon is hardly the strongest Level 8 monster around he has an effect that more than makes up for it!" Phillip said as the dragon's attack dropped to 2100. "By reducing my dragon's attack strength by five hundred points I can send one monster you control to the graveyard, my card of choice is Fire Princess!" Phillip announced and the dragon breathed fire at the princess incinerating her.
"Yeah, well, that dragon's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness, all I'll need to do is draw something stronger than him and he's toast!" Lance said confidently and Phillip chuckled.
"We'll see about that, now Dark End Dragon I command you to attack his facedown monster!" Phillip commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the monster, revealed to be Morphing Jar (2/700/600) which was quickly destroyed and Phillip gladly refreshed his hand whilst Lance discarded his current hand and drew a new one from scratch. "You have no idea how much you just helped me boy, I enter my second main phase and equip my dragon with the power of Silver Wing!"
"I get the feeling that I'm not going to like its effect." Lance grumbled as the dragon started glowing.
"You certainly won't, you see any Level 8 Dragon Type Synchro Monster equipped with this card can survive up to two attempts on its life." Phillip explained before looking over the rest of his hand and picking up a card. "I shall set a card facedown and call it a turn at that." Phillip announced as the facedown card appeared on the field and Lance drew his card.
"You can take Vorse Raider back because I'm sacrificing him." Lance said as Vorse Raider disappeared from the field, Lance put the card on the transfer panel and it quickly transferred to Phillip's podium where Phillip sent it to the graveyard. "So I can summon Thestalos, the Firestorm Monarch!" Lance played the card and in Vorse Raider's place stood the mighty monarch of fire (6/2400/1000).
"I am well aware of the Monarch's effect." Phillip said as his two trap cards glowed. "But since you summoned a monster my combination kicks in!" Phillip announced as Lance winced as his life-points dropped to 6350…..and subsequently screamed in pain as the electricity surged through him.
"Yeah, yeah, just hold out your hand already so I can use Thestalos's effect!" Lance snapped at him once the pain subsided a bit, Phillip complied and Lance pointed to the card on the far right, Thestalos threw a fireball at the card and Phillip didn't even flinch.
"Fortunately for me the card you chose wasn't a Monster card." Phillip said before turning the card around revealing it to be a Trap Card called Assault Spirits which was sent to the graveyard.
"Maybe but Thestalos can still attack Dark End Dragon!" Lance announced and the Monarch threw a fireball at the dragon, the Dragon survived the attack but Phillip's life-points took a hit.
L: 6350
P: 7700
Lance waited patiently for the electricity to shock Phillip but too his surprise nothing happened. "What the….."
"Did you honestly think I'd be dumb enough to leave that function on for my side of the field?" Phillip interrupted him with a smirk. "This whole time I was at no risk of being shocked."
"You lying son of a bitch!" Lance snapped at him before picking up three cards. "I set three cards facedown and end my turn." Lance announced and Phillip drew his card.
"Ah, perfect, I activate a Spell Card called Upstart Goblin and chain it with my Trap Card Spell Reclamation!" Phillip played the card he drew and drew another card. "I gain an extra card but in exchange you gain one thousand life-points!" Phillip said as Lance screamed in pain from the electricity as his life-points dropped to 5350. "Or you would if not for Bad Reaction to Simochi."
"Just make your move already!" Lance snapped at him and Phillip grinned.
"Now onto Spell Reclamation's effect, to activate it I must first discard one card from my hand." Phillip said as he tossed a card from his hand. "And in exchange I can return Upstart Goblin to my hand!" Phillip said as he placed his Spell Card back in his hand and sent his trap to the grave. "You know what? I think I'll activate it again!" Phillip played the card and drew another card, Lance screamed in pain again as his life-points dropped to 4350 and Phillip sent his Spell to the graveyard. "Are you ready to give up yet?"
"Not by a long shot, and to prevent you from using Dark End's effect again I activate…" Lance went to activate his trap but Phillip shook his head.
"I don't intend to use my monster's effect this turn; instead I activate the Spell Card Recycle." Phillip played the card and picked up his graveyard. "This lets me take one Spell Card from my graveyard and place it at the bottom of my deck, all at the mere cost of 500 life-points!" Phillip said wincing as his life-points dropped to 7200, he took the card he was looking for and added it to the bottom of his deck. "Now I set two cards facedown and a monster in defense mode." Phillip set the cards he drew facedown and a monster. "That ends my turn." Phillip announced and Lance drew his card.
"Five bucks says the card he returned to his deck is the Seal of the Orichalcos." Lance thought as he looked it his card. "If I summon any of these monsters I'll take quite a hit from his combo and even though one of the cards I set last turn will reflect the damage too him I don't know what those facedown cards are, I'd better play it safe by leaving the attacking to Thestalos." Lance thought before pointing at Dark End Dragon. "Thestalos, attack….."
"I'll choose what you attack with my trap card Shift!" Phillip interrupted him as his trap flipped up. "And your target is my facedown monster!" Phillip added and Thestalos through the fireball at the facedown monster, revealed to be Familiar Knight (3/1200/1400) which was incinerated by the attack. "And now Familiar Knight's effect activates…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know what it does; it means that we can Special Summon one Level 4 monster from our hands." Lance interrupted him and Phillip smirked before playing a card, moments later Luster Dragon Number 2 appeared on the field (4/1900/1600). "I can't risk him getting a free shot at my life-points next turn, and thanks to that damn combo I've lose nearly half of my life-points already, well, now is as good a time as any to put my combo into action." Lance thought as he played a card. "Using the effect of Familiar Knight I summon Element Valkyrie in attack mode!" Lance played the card and a red haired woman in a skin tight set off armor appeared on the field wielding a staff (4/1500/1000). "She may not be a Fire Type monster but as long as there is a Fire Type monster fighting alongside her she gains 500 attack points." Lance explained as Valkyrie's attack increased to 2000.
"Maybe so but you've triggered two effects, first my combination." Phillip said pointing to his two trap cards, the two traps started glowing….
"And I chain those traps with a facedown card of my own, go Spell of Pain!" Lance flipped the card over and Phillip's eyes widened.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Phillip yelled as a beam of light emitted from the two cards and struck him in the chest bringing his life-points down to 6200. "And I'll chain Spell of Pain with my own Quick Play Spell Card Demise of the Land!"
"Oh crap, that means you can activate a Field Spell from your deck!" Lance shouted as it dawned on him, Phillip smirked evilly as he retrieved the card from the bottom of his deck and played it, soon enough the Seal completely surrounded the duel field and the pentagram appeared on the heads of Phillip and his dragons increasing their attack power to 2400 and 2600 respectively.
"Indeed it does," Phillip chuckled evilly before looking directly at Element Valkyrie. "Your Valkyrie may be strong but she is no match for either of my monsters, do you still wish to attack?" Phillip asked and Lance looked at his monster before turning his attention back to Phillip.
"Actually, yes I still plan on attacking Luster Dragon with Element Valkyrie!" Lance announced and the Valkyrie twirled her staff around above her head before pointing it at Luster Dragon.
"If you're that eager to lose your soul then so be it, Luster Dragon, counterattack!" Phillip commanded and the Sapphire Dragon prepared to launch its attack…
"Guess again, I activate my facedown card Rush Recklessly!" Lance's facedown card flipped up and Phillip's eyes widened as Valkyrie's attack increased to 2700, Valkyrie was able to launch her attack first incinerating the dragon.
L: 4350
P: 5900
"Nice playing Lance, keep that up and you'll win this in no time!" Brandon shouted from the sidelines and Lance grinned before giving his friend the thumbs up, however Phillip's evil laughter caught the attention of both boys and Lance turned his attention to him.
"What are you so happy about? You just lost a monster and some life-points!" Lance pointed out and Phillip continued his laughter.
"Truth is Luster Dragon's destruction was a part of my plan all along." Phillip said as he picked up a card from his hand. "Why? Because my strongest monster can only be summoned if a Normal Type monster such as Luster Dragon is destroyed!" Phillip played the card and a portal opened up on the Seal's floor, Lance did a double take when he heard the name.
"What the hell are you summoning that gets its own summon in the Orichalcos?" Lance wondered out loud as he waited for the monster to come out of the portal, the monster that emerged was massive in size and looked like a twisted porcelain doll, it was green in color and had a bright ring around its waist (10/?/0). "Actually I think a better question is this; what the hell is that?"
"That is Orichalcos Shunoros, my most powerful monster!" Phillip said proudly as the Orichalcos symbol appeared on the…..thing's…head. "It gains 1000 attack points for each monster on your side of the field and I count two monsters so….." Phillip said as the monster's attack increased to 2500, it gained two thousand attack points from its own effect and an extra 500 from the Seal.
"This looks bad!" Chloe gulped as she watched the duel; unbeknownst to everyone else Silent Magician's Spectral Form appeared next to Chloe with a frown on her face.
"You don't know the half of it Chloe." Silent Magician informed her and Chloe turned to her Duel Spirit. "That isn't Orichalcos Shunoros."
"You've lost me." Chloe responded with a look of confusion on her face, Silent Magician turned to her with a look of concern on her face.
"Okay, you know that Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba originally destroyed the Orichalcos correct?" Silent Magician asked and Chloe nodded. "Orichalcos Shunoros was used in that duel but its effects were vastly different."
"Different? How exactly was its effect different from this version of Shunoros?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician said nothing before she started to vanish. "Wait, where are you going?" Chloe asked and Silent Magician sighed.
"Sorry Chloe but I need some time to mull over this." Silent Magician said as she started to fade from Chloe's eyesight. "I won't be able to help you for about a week so in the meantime you'll have to duel without my guidance." Silent Magician added and Chloe bit her lip before turning her attention back to the duel now even more worried than before.
"Hang in there Lance, please!" Chloe thought desperately as Lance looked over his hand.
"Theresa, Theresa, we need to talk!" Armed Dragon's voice rang out from within Theresa's head and she blinked in surprise.
"Can't it wait? I'm watching a duel?" Theresa asked and Armed Dragon sighed.
"That's just it, something is very wrong here." Armed Dragon's voice responded and Theresa turned her attention to him. "I can sense that Silent Magician feels the same way, I need to consult with her, I'm sorry but I won't be able to give you advice for a few days."
"I understand." Theresa responded before turning her attention to the duel. "Wonder if Chloe knows any more than I do?"
"I set a card facedown and end my turn." Lance grumbled and Phillip chuckled evilly before drawing his card. "I hope my plan works." Lance thought as he waited for Phillip to make his move.
"This is the perfect strategy! First I'll use Dark End Dragon's effect to send his Monarch to the graveyard and once that's done I'll destroy Valkyrie and put a dent in his life-points." Phillip thought before pointing at Thestalos."Dark End Dragon, use your effect to rid the field of Thestalos this instant!" Phillip commanded and the dragon breathed fire at the monarch…
"I'm afraid your dragon's done for, I chain his effect with my Trap Card Silver Spirit Redirection!" Lance activated the trap and Phillip blinked. "Not only does this negate the effect of a monster that targets a monster such as Thestalos but it also removes the monster from play." Lance explained and Phillip's eyes widened once it dawned on him.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Phillip demanded as Thestalos threw a fireball at Dark End Dragon, the dragon roared in pain before vanishing from the field and Phillip reluctantly pocketed the monster before sending Silver Wing to the graveyard. "It doesn't matter! Shunoros is still strong enough to rid the field of Valkyrie and Thestalos! Shunoros attack now!" Phillip commanded clearly enraged by this turn of events and Shunoros prepared to launch its ring at the woman.
"Nuh uh pops, or did you forget about my trap card?" Lance asked as it flipped up, "GO MIRROR FORCE!"
"WHAT? NO!" Phillip yelled as the ring bounced off of a force field, it cut Orichalcos Shunoros in half and the resulting explosion was felt all over the ship. "My best monster…gone just like that….." Phillip clenched his fists in anger as he glared at his son. "I am not done! And to prove it I….." Phillip went to set down the card he drew…..only to find that his hand was frozen. "What's going on, why can't I move my hand?"
"You have misused my power for the last time Phillip." A demonic voice rang out and Phillip's eyes widened. "You have outlived your usefulness; your own selfish desires have conflicted with my own."
"What are you talking about? I gathered up dozens of souls just by having my men participate in the tournament!" Phillip demanded and the Demonic voice chuckled.
"You gathered up the souls of weaklings, souls that I will personally free once the duel is over." The demonic voice responded and Phillip took a step back in shock.
"You can't! I've dedicated years of my life to gathering up those souls!" Philip yelled and the demonic voice chuckled.
"Goodbye Phillip." The voice said simply and Phillip found that, too his horror, he still couldn't move his hand.
"Take your turn already!" Phillip snapped at Lance and he drew a card. "It doesn't matter what he summons, my combination will still take effect!"
"I activate the Spell Card called Reinforcement of the Army; this lets me add one Warrior Type Monster from my deck to my hand!" Lance said as he picked up his deck, searched through it, and added the monster to his hand before shuffling his deck. "And to be quite frank I'm pretty fucking sick of that combo of yours so I activate the Spell Card I just drew, go Heavy Storm!" Phillip's eyes widened as a storm washed over the field destroying his two traps.
"My perfect Burn Combo…gone in an instant!" Phillip stammered as he used his unfrozen hand to send the traps to the grave.
"Now to end this duel, I summon Ultimate Baseball Kid!" Lance played the card and the young boy in the red baseball uniform appeared on the field (3/500/1000). "Remember this dad? You brought me this card for my seventh birthday, before you decided to abandon my family!" Lance spat to the side as he glared at Phillip. "And as you may remember my kid gains 1000 attack points for each Fire Type monster on the field, there are two, the kid himself and Thestalos, giving him a grand total of 2500 attack points!" Lance explained as Ultimate Baseball Kid's attack increased to 2500.
"NO! NO!" Phillip shouted knowing what was going to happen next.
"This is for the pain you caused me and my siblings, Valkyrie attack his life-points!" Lance commanded and the woman pointed her staff at Phillip before it emitted heat bringing his life-points down to 3900. "This is for your actions leading my mom to rehab and me and my siblings to almost spending the rest of our lives in the foster care system! Thestalos, get him!" Lance commanded and Thestalos threw a fireball at Phillip that struck him in the chest bringing his life-points down to 1500.
"Please, I beg you!" Phillip pleaded and Lance's eyes narrowed.
"This…this is for almost killing me." Lance said bluntly and Phillip and the others did double takes. "You may not realize it but all the stuff I just mentioned? I turned to drugs to escape them!" Lance snapped at him and the others gasped in surprise before they turned to Chloe.
"Chloe did you….." Theresa trailed off and Chloe shook her head.
"I'm just as surprised as you are." Chloe admitted as they watched the final moments of the duel.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Lance said as he turned to his friends. "I stopped using drugs years ago, after I nearly died from an overdose." Lance added before he turned to Ultimate Baseball Kid. "I don't know who you are, because you're no father of mine! Ultimate Baseball Kid, finish him off now!" Lance commanded and the kid launched a baseball at Phillip striking him in the chest.
L: 4350
P: 0000
The holograms disappeared as the seal started to close in on Phillip, as it did the shackles around Lance's legs broke off and the podium lowered Lance to ground level allowing Lance to get off of the podium as soon as he could. "Lance, about what….." Brandon started but Lance cut him off.
"That stuff's behind me okay." Lance said plainly as he sat on the podium. "I don't want to talk about it and I'd appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut about it when we get back to Duel Academy."
"Don't worry, your secret's safe with us." Brandon reassured him and Lance grinned. "So how are you feeling after that?"
"Like I need a fucking drink despite the fact that I'm underage," Lance grumbled as he got to his feet, once he was up a blood curdling scream came from Phillip's podium before the seal disappeared. "At least that's over."
"For now that is, yes." Brandon agreed before walking over to the podium…and his eyes widened. "Err, guys, he's gone."
"Well duh, his soul was taken by the Orichalcos!" Chloe pointed out as she put a hand on her hip, Brandon shook his head before turning to them.
"No, I mean, his whole body's gone!" Brandon responded and the other students exchanged confused looks before approaching the podium, sure enough the only thing that remained of Phillip where his cards, minus the Seal of the Orichalcos.
"This is weird." Theresa commented as she scratched her head. "You think that voice we heard has something to do with it?"
"Maybe, but how do we know whether or not that voice actually released the souls that Phillip captured?" Lance wondered out loud.
*meanwhile at the hospital*
"Andreas, please just wake up!" Nicola pleaded with Andreas's unconscious form, she was keeling besides his bed practically praying for him to get better, and with her was her dad and Andreas's parents.
"You have to be strong for him Nic, you know that." Her father reassured her and she smiled at the reassurance, whilst her back was turned Andreas's body glowed briefly as his soul returned to his body and he slowly opened his eyes with a groan that caught everyone's attention.
"Is…is the tournament over?" Andreas wondered out loud before looking around and seeing the astonished, and in Nicola's case overjoyed, looks on the other's faces. "Mom, dad, you…..you came to see me compete?" Andreas asked the surprise evident in his voice.
"Off course, we wouldn't miss our son's first tournament for the world." Andreas's father reassured him and he smiled before sighing.
"I'm sorry for letting you down; I thought I could beat Otto!" Andreas sighed and his father put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"Son, the fact that you made it as far as you did is enough for us, we couldn't be more proud of you." His father said with a genuine smile and Andreas returned it. "As for Otto, after all he's done he's no son of mine." His father added and Andreas looked at him oddly. "I think we'd better explain the events following his duel."
"Yeah, I agree." Andreas agreed…..only to be pulled into a tight hug by Nicola. "Nicola, I'm sorry if I scared you back there."
"Me scared? Since when have I been scared?" Nicola asked half joking y and the others laughed at that, whilst that was going on the Orichalcos duelists where waking up.
"What the….." Damien muttered as he realized that he was handcuffed to the bed. "Oh great, can this get any worse."
"Yar quit your blubbering landlubber!" Captain Leviathan called out to him from the bed opposite him and Damien groaned.
"Oh brilliant, why did I have to go and open my big mouth, what next, am I about to be arrested?" Damien muttered…only to grimace when he saw the cop in front of him. "Forget I said anything, I want a bloody lawyer!"
"Miranda, you came." Karen greeted her sister as she woke up; she frowned when she saw the handcuffs. "I should've seen this coming."
"Karen, why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" Miranda asked honestly and Karen looked at her with surprise. "Your pregnancy was discovered after your trip to the Orichalcos."
"Why? It's because the father of my baby is a lecherous pig who'll be joining me in prison!" Karen said as she pointed to Felix who was waking up. "Some mother I'll be, I'll be in prison in a matter of months and she'll be in foster care when I give birth."
"You know her gender?" Miranda asked and Karen nodded.
"Yeah, it was confirmed during one of my pregnancy tests." Karen grumbled. "Not that it matters but I'm considering naming her after mom."
"She won't go into foster care; I'll talk to the judge and see if he's willing to put her into my care once she's birthed." Miranda said earning her a surprised look from Karen. "It's the least I can do for my sister and my niece."
"Thanks Miranda." Karen said with a sincere smile.
*meanwhile at Duel Academy*
Every day various students came by to check on Nathan's condition and every day they got the same answer, no change, some of the older students were starting to doubt that he would ever wake up but it didn't stop most of them from visiting.
The school nurse was looking over her notes when the door opened and two first year Obelisk Blue Students entered, both where male and one had short brown hair and blue eyes whilst the other had neck length black hair, brown eyes and a pair of glasses on his face, they were Daniel Troy and Chase Donavan, friends of Tyler's who were among the most civil Obelisk Blue students at the Academy.
"Sorry boys, no change." The nurse, an old pudgy woman with short grey hair and blue eyes, said with a sigh as she looked up at the two. "Unless you two hurt yourselves I suggest you leave."
"Sorry doc but this thing's been bugging us ever since it happened." Daniel sighed as he leaned against the wall. "And we're not the only ones."
"I know and I completely understand." The nurse started not noticing Nathan's body glow briefly whilst her back was turned, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Nathan groan. "Hey guys, what did I miss?" Nathan greeted the two students whose jaws practically hit the floor once it dawned on them.
*back at New York*
The students, by the time Nathan had woken up, where on their way back to the hospital to pick up Andreas, Nicola and Kimberly, after that they'd head to the hotel with the teachers to wash up and after that they'd go to a local bar to chill out with Alex and Miranda as they felt that they had earned it after everything that had happened.
The car pulled up at the hospital where they saw Andreas standing there with his parents, after several dozen double takes they got out of the car and greeted him happily. "Man, it's so great to see you!" Marcus greeted him with a broad
"And I can say same to you my friends." Andreas said happily before frowning. "Nicola told me what happened after my soul was taken, sorry to hear that we didn't win."
"Yeah but I didn't exactly go down without a fight." Theresa said happily as they led him to the car. "Just wait until we tell you how we got your soul back."
"I can't wait to hear it." Andreas said before hopping in the car with Kimberly and Nicola.