Andre - Regal Squad Hideout, Enron Island
Even though he was being hammered by large raindrops and assaulted by blustering winds, Andre kept his head down and kept on walking toward an abandoned shack on a very remote and hidden side of the docks on Enron Island. He knocked twice and shivered, awaiting a response. A peephole opened and two green eyes peered through.
"Oh, it's you," remarked the owner of the eyes. "Come on in."
Andre heard a dozen locks sliding and clicking before the door finally opened. He walked in and was caressed by the warmth of a fire burning in a barrel in the corner and a few old heaters Saxton and the others found at the dump. Speaking of Saxton, he was the one who opened the door for Andre. He reached for the fridge and handed Andre a cold bottle of soda. "Good to see you," Saxton said, punching Andre's arm playfully. "Nice work on dealing with Team Insect earlier. Those magicians of yours really squashed them."
"Save the cheer for when it's deserved," Andre said sulking to a vacant stool by the bar. "I'm not in the mood."
"What's with you?" Sukari asked, fixing her Snake deck in the corner by the window. A wave smashed against the glass, washing it with cold seawater. "You took on a whole Duel Gang by yourself tonight. That's something to be proud of."
"I don't care about those stupid Duel Gangs." Andre sat down by the bar and crossed his arms over the counter. "It's those Neo Rare Hunters that I'm after. Give me something without any sugar, Clover."
He saw a blonde boy in a white trenchcoat leaning against a wooden post. His arms were crossed over his chest and his head was down.
"Who are you?" Andre asked. "New to the team?"
"Don't worry about it, Martin!" the boy in white said.
"Fine, I won't. I'm done with you silent tough-guy types anyway."
"But you beat a Rare Hunter last night," said Clover. She slid him a sugar-free soda.
"And he got away," Andre remarked. "And according to you, Sukari: Yuri and Crystal were ambushed by some Rare Hunters just before the storm broke out, kidnapping Crystal's cousin Annabelle in the process. Now nobody knows where they are. I should be out looking for them but instead, Axel has me stuck in this place. What good are we just standing around beating weak opponents when we should be going after the real threat."
Axel suddenly stepped out of his room, slamming the door shut behind him. "That's the reason why I've gathered all of us here," he said. He marched to the center of the shack as thunder rumbled outside. "Regal Squad. Form up."
All except the boy in white stood in formation in front of him.
"What's with him?" Andre asked.
"His name is Luke. And he's not from Regal Squad," said Axel. "He's from the Aegis, A group of six of Declan's best Duelists. He's here on his own personal mission."
"Is that so?" said Andre. "What's so important that you can't join us."
"Pamela McKnight," Luke replied. "I'm here to stop her."
"Patty?" Andre said. "What's his beef with Patty?"
"It's none of your business," said Axel.
"Oh, I think it is my business. Patty's my friend. Just as she's yours, Sukari. Why are you going to let this guy get to her."
"Shut up and listen to Axel, Andre!" Sukari snapped. "You said you wanted to help the High King. Well, help him."
"But..."
"Say another word and I'm kicking yours outta here!" said Axel.
"Yes, sir," Andre responded in defeat.
"Good. Now, as I was saying, troops. We got a big problem. As you know, a group calling themselves Neo Rare Hunters are running around the city looking for Yuri. They are a revived outfit of the Rare Hunter group that hunted Yugi and Kaiba in the Battle City Tournament years ago when they had control of the God cards. I don't know how they got here but it's high time we found out and put a stop to it. This is the third time in three days that Yuri and his friends have had encounters with these guys. Thanks to Sukari and Clover, we now know why."
"What's going on?" Andre asked. "I want to know how the Rare Hunters are slipping by our fingers like this. I thought the Lancers were supposed to be the best."
"We're the best but we're not miracle workers," said Saxton. "Sukari, can you care to explain what you and Clover found?"
Sukari nodded. "Clover and I did some recon on that corrupted cop from RAPTOR making deals with Brett and his gang. His name is Chuck Thompson. He's a low-ranked officer in the Aquarius Military Police Brigade. Thanks to the bio Clover hacked from RAPTOR's database, we know why. He's a drunk and a confirmed meth addict. He's using Brett Martinetti and his goons as his chief supplier of money and drugs. In exchange, he gives them locations of RAPTOR patrol routes so Brett and his gang can stay one step ahead of the law."
"I thought the Mafia had some of these guys on their paycheck," said Andre.
"Some," said Sukari. "There are a lot of good men in RAPTOR who would love to put Brett in his place. And Brett is in no position to get caught by them. I imagine his uncle will have a thing or two to say if he saw Brett getting arrested on the news."
"More than likely he'll be getting cement shoes," said Saxton.
"Or worse," said Sukari. "The Aquarian Mafia has done some pretty gruesome things to people who have double-crossed them. I'm sure shaming the family business by getting caught will have serious consequences."
"I'll bet," said Axel. "You were saying about Chuck. What makes him so relevant with the Neo Rare Hunter problem?"
"Because Clover and I believe he's the one who supplied them with the info on Yuri's favorite places to go around the island."
"How do you figure that?" asked Andre.
"Remember when he gave that info to Brett in Cornelius's game shop, Axel? Well, apparently he's been giving the locations of Yuri's favorite places to Duel Gang members. It took some time but I was finally able to shake some info out of one of them when Vennominaga had her way with them." She raised her Duel Disk to her lips and kissed it. "These Solid Vision Holograms can really take their toll on people with weak minds. They were so real, he went mad with fright."
"Where did you corner this poor bastard?" Axel said with a chuckle.
"In the fountain of Heartland Park," Clover replied.
"Yuri likes to go there to have time to himself," said Andre. "Man, those bastards are really low trying to hunt him there. I hope you beat him good, Sukari."
"I told her to take it easy but man she goes on a rampage when she's on a winning streak," said Clover. "Anyway, Sukari eventually got this guy to spill the beans. He said he got the info from a RAPTOR cop. Didn't say the name because he didn't ask for the name. But the description matched Officer Chuck to a T. We just know it's him."
"Then I'm going to personally pay him a visit," said Axel. "Do you know where he lives, girls?"
"I'm one step ahead of you," Sukari said, reaching into her pocket and handing him a note with the officer's address written on it.
"I'm going with you," said Andre.
"No."
"What!? Why not!?"
"You said you wanted to hunt the Neo Rare Hunters so that's what you're going to do. Besides, you still need to finish what you started with that Seeker. Make sure he's not running around out there causing trouble with Exodia. By the way. When you do beat him, I want you to bring his cards to me. I want to see these Exodia cards myself."
Andre nodded confidently, more than eager to begin the hunt of the Seeker. "All right, you got it. I won't let him get away."
"Good. You're riding with Sukari tonight. Declan gave her a new ride so if the Seeker tried to run away again, you guys can easily chase him down."
"All right, thanks," said Andre. "You ready, Sukari?"
"Yup. Let's go. My bike's in the shed out back."
"What can the rest of us do?" Saxton asked.
"Keep scouting the city for any signs of trouble. If you see a Rare Hunter, alert me or Andre at once."
"And what of Pamela?" Luke asked from the shadows. "I much desire to speak with her."
"That's your business," said Axel. "You want her so bad, you're going to have to find her yourself."
"Of course," Luke said and closed his eyes. He got off the beam. "I'll see to that at once." He walked out the back door into the storm and shut it behind him.
Meanwhile, Andre followed Sukari to the shed where she kept her bike. She passed Andre a helmet and got on. "Nice ride," Andre said sitting behind her. He tried to wrap his arms around her waist like one normally would when they rode with someone, but she slapped his hands away. "Cool it, lover boy," she laughed as she put on her helmet. "You got handlebars on the seats next to you."
"Oh...uh...my bad," Andre said. He gripped the bars as he was told. The garage door opened. Sukari powered up her bike, the engines rumbled and the orange glacier lights that ornately patterned the bike's body flickered before they glowed. Sukari revved up the bike and then zoomed out of the shack, around the harbor, and up the highway to Phobos Island.
That Chuck guy better hope those Rare Hunters haven't hurt my friends. If they so much as harm one hair on them, he'll be sorry and then I'll unleash the wrath of my Dark Magician upon the Rare Hunters. Yuri, Crystal, Annabelle: wherever you guys are, be careful.
Yuri and Crystal - Bustamante Towers, Phobos Island
Yuri - 3500 LP
3300 LP - Crystal
Vs
3500 LP - Lumis
Umbra - 4000 LP
Yuri and Crystal were at an utter loss for words. A 3200 ATK-point beast was staring them both down, snarling with a thirst to do battle. And there was nothing they could do.
This is terrible! Crystal thought to herself. My dragon deck has been completely rendered powerless thanks to their traps. That Mask of Restrict card prevents me from summoning high-level monsters. And even if I could bring one out, Umbra's Dragon Capture Jar would force them all into defense mode, preventing me from attacking. And then there's poor Yuri. He's stuck on the field with an Uraby wearing a Mask of the Accursed spell card that prevents it from attacking. On top of that, Yuri loses 500 Life Points every turn. I've got to think of something and fast or we're both goners.
"You two should just admit defeat!" shouted Umbra. "With no way of summoning strong monsters to the field, all you two have to defend yourselves are weak monsters. And my Masked Beast will make short work of them. With 3200 ATK points, he'll destroy you both easily."
"And don't forget," said Lumis, "we're playing with the new Master Rule 2, meaning that if you have no monsters out on the field to defend you, we can attack your Life Points directly."
Umbra pointed dramatically at Yuri and Crystal. "Tremble before the wrath of my Masked Beast, Crystal, as it destroys Yuri before your very eyes!"
"What do you mean?"
"First, I activate another spell card, Anti-Magic Arrows!"
Arrows of light rained down on Yuri's face-down cards. "No!" he shouted. "Now I can't protect myself from their attacks!"
"And it will get worse," Umbr said, holding a card menacingly over his face. He flipped it around to reveal it. "Behold the mighty power of Fissure! This lets me target one monster Yuri controls with the lowest attack points and it's clearly obvious his Black Stego is the one."
BANG! Black Stego shattered and was gone.
"Now all that's left defending him is that Uraby, which I'll destroy with Mask of Shine and Dark!"
Mask of Shine and Dark began to charge a beam of darkness and light and blasted Uraby to pieces. "Aaack!" Yuri cried as the blast knocked him backward. His Life Point meter went down to 2500.
In Termnnia, Yugi and the others watched in disbelief at the hopeless situation.
"No, Yuri!" Mai cried.
"Yuri, come on!" said Joey. "You gotta pull through, bud. You just gotta!"
"There's nothing he can do," Yami said. "It...it can't be!"
Back in the Standard Dimension, Lumis let out an evil celebratory laugh. "Excellent!" Lumis declared. "Now with those two monsters out of the way, Yuri's Life Points are wide open for a direct attack."
"It can't be!" Yuri cried out.
"Masked Beast!" Umbra and Lumis shouted together. "ATTACK YURI'S LIFE POINTS!"
"NOOOOO!" Joey shouted as the others sobbed, covered their eyes, or turned away.
"Rare Metal Dragon, DEFEND!" Crystal shouted.
Rare Metal Dragon came running across the field to Yuri's defense. It opened its mouth and let out a mighty roar that paralyzed the Masked Beast with fright. It slipped on the wet window and tumbled end over end.
"What happened?" said Umbra. "Crystal's dragon stopped my attack."
"I activated my trap card, Dragon's Cry," said Crystal. "When I have a dragon on the field, I can negate your attack this turn. Sorry, but Yuri's not going anywhere."
Joey and the others cheered at the miraculous, incredible rescue. Patty meanwhile, could not take the anxiety beating down her and fell to the ground as her legs gave way to the nervousness.
"I can't do this anymore, man," she said. "Crystal, I owe you some pizza."
"You think that because you stopped one attack you're safe!?" Lumis said. "Don't get too excited, young lady. Our Masked Beast is just getting warmed up!"
"I end my turn," said Umbra. As he did, the arrows piercing Yuri's face-down cards faded. "Your move, Crystal."
T12
Crystal drew.
Damn, this dragon is strong and could turn the tide of this Duel but I need a sacrifice to bring him out. And Seiyaryu and Pandemic Dragon are nothing but useless paperweights in my hand with that Mask of Restrict and Dragon Capture Jar on the field. What am I going to do? Annabelle is counting on me. I guess it all rides on Yuri now. He's had those two face-down cards on his field but hasn't activated them yet. What could he be planning? Does he even have a plan at all? Oh, man, this is way too much pressure.
"What's the matter, my dear?" Lumis teased. "Can't play anything? Then end your turn and stop wasting our time."
"I'll pass it to you then...asshole."
T13
Lumis sniggered, his face appeared ghoulish in the neon orange light bathing their field. "Now, now, my dear. That's no way for a lady to talk. I'm just going to have to show you some discipline. Now that Yuri has no defenses in play, I can attack again with our Masked monsters. Masked Beast, attack Yuri's Life Points directly and end him now!"
"He's gonna attack Yuri directly again!" Joey shouted.
"Isn't there anything Crystal can do?" Serenity sobbed, knowing full well there really was nothing else Crystal could have done to save him.
"I'm sorry, Yuri," Crystal sobbed. "I'm so sorry."
"DESTROY HIM!" Lumis declared.
Masked Beast thumped on its bare chest and galloped towards Yuri. It stopped in front of him and raised its staff, ready to crush his skull to mush, when suddenly a giant cybernetic dinosaur appeared from out of nowhere.
"What?" Lumis shouted. "A Stegocyber!"
"What in the world is that?" Annabelle wondered, marveling at the giant dinosaur's size.
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief and explained the cause of his Special Summon. "When you attack, I can pay 1000 Life Points to Special Summon this monster from the Graveyard. He was sent there a couple of turns ago with my Graceful Charity card. Just in case you guys had any ideas of attacking me directly."
"It matters not!" said Lumis. "My Masked Beast is still stronger than your Stegocyber's DEF."
"That's what you think!" said Yuri. "I activate my trap card. D2 Shield, now Stegocyber's DEF is doubled for the remainder of the turn."
"NO!" Lumis shouted.
Stegocyber's DEF went up to 4800, blocking the Masked Beast's attack and dealing 1600 points of damage to Lumis, reducing his score to 1900 Life Points.
"You idiot!" shouted Umbra. "That's twice that you've fallen for Yuri's defensive monsters. What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"ME?" shouted Lumis. "Why didn't you help me the way I've been helping you? Wait, you're probably letting these things happen!"
"Me?" Umbra shouted.
"Yes, you! You want to take all the credit for beating Yuri!"
"Is that what you think I'm doing!? You said you were going to handle taking Yuri down. Instead, all you've done was smash into his defenses and reduce your Life Points. This kind of arrogance from you cost us dearly last time and I'm not about to let it happen again! From now on, I'm doing this alone!"
"Fine by me! I place two cards face-down and end my turn."
T14
"Doesn't look like you two are getting along well," Yuri said. He drew his card, grinning confidently. Card Destruction. Perfect. With this, I can get rid of this hand and draw a new one. I know I might be putting Crystal at risk since she still has three cards in her hand but what choice do I have? It's not like her dragons can do anything anyway. With that Mask of Restrict Card, she can tribute to bring out her stronger cards. And the jar over there forces her dragons into defense mode anyway. Sorry, Crystal. But I have to do this. "I activate Card Destruction!"
"Oh no!" cried Lumis. "Now we must discard our entire hands!"
"Yeah, and then we draw the same amount of cards we discarded," said Yuri. He looked at Crystal and chuckled. "And judging by that smile, I say I helped you out some, huh?"
"Oh, you've done enough, Yuri." Crystal said winking.
"Glad to hear it. Now let's see if we can't turn things around. First, I activate my face-down card. Fossil Excavation! By discarding one card from my hand, I can target a Dinosaur-Type monster in my Graveyard and bring it back to the field. And I'm choosing the card I used as payment to activate this effect." Yuri flipped the card around to reveal Black Tyranno. As Black Tyranno made its grand appearance, Yuri's friends cheered and whooped, and Umbra and Lumis cried out in shock. They thought they had found a foolproof plan to stop Yuri from bringing out the Black Tyranno. But there he was, ready to fight.
Crystal fell to her knees, feeling absolutely relieved to see Yuri's ace finally make his appearance in the Duel. "Aww, you have no idea how glad I am to see you, big guy."
Umbra retaliated with a laugh. "You fool! You may have brought your Black Tyranno to the field, but it makes little difference. Our — I mean MY Masked Beast is far stronger than him. And your Fossil Excavation negates your Dinosaur's effect, so you can't attack our Life Points directly with him."
"Maybe not. But I warn you not to underestimate my Black Tyranno. I set two cards face-down and then I'll attack Mask of Shine and Dark with Black Tyranno!" Black Tyranno roared and stampeded across the glass. He smashed his diamond-hard skull onto the mask, shattering it to pieces.
"NO! My mask!" Umbra. "And I lose 600 Life Points."
"It's a whole new ball game now!" said Crystal. "Looks like it's your turn, Umbra. Yuri's got two face-down cards and a hungry Black Tyranno. And you only have one card in your hand. Is it enough to risk your precious Masked Beast?"
T15
"Maybe not, but I can at least wipe out one of Yuri's face-down cards with this. Mystical Space Typhoon!" One of Yuri's face-down cards shattered, revealing it to be a Sakurestsu Armor trap card. "Ha! A wise choice! That card could have destroyed my Masked Beast. Now, Yuri, prepare as my creature destroys your ace. Go, Masked Beast, destroy his Black Tyranno!"
Rare Metal Dragon suddenly fired a beam of gold flames at Black Tyranno, then Black Tyranno shot his acid-green fire from his mouth, combining it with Rare Metal Dragon's attack.
The flames and the golden beam then animated into a flaming dragon head that soared across the field before crashing into The Masked Beast, burning it to cinders.
"What happened?" Umbra shouted. "My Masked Beast has been destroyed."
"What was that?" Crystal asked. "How did Rare Metal Dragon do that?"
"I had one more trap card waiting for you, Umbra," said Yuri. "It's called Covering Fire. When a monster you control attacks, Black Tyranno gains the ATK points of a monster I control. And since this is a Double Duel, Crystal's Rare Metal Dragon counts. So Black Tyranno's ATK points increased to 5000, making your Masked Beast the weaker monster in this battle."
"Damn it! Now I lose Life Points." Umbra gazed at his Life Point counter. His score dropped to 1600. "I have less than half my Life Points now!"
"You both have fallen to less than half your Life Points," said Crystal. "Thanks to Yuri, we're in the lead now."
Joey and the others cheered around the Seeing Stone and Natalya, Sabrina, and Patty began to hug one another and dance around. Even though Annabelle was all tied up, she celebrated as well. For once since this whole ordeal began, she felt calm and even happy. Black Tyranno was indeed a bringer of hope to all of them. Crystal began to realize that now more than anything. Just like she looks to Yuri to bring her hope in real life, she always counted on Black Tyranno to shine light in a Duel.
First, you save Yuri. Now you're about to save my cousin. You're something else, big guy.
Umbra couldn't think of any comebacks now. With his Mask of Shine and Dark and his Masked Beast gone, what was there to boast about now? To make matters worse, he had no cards in his hand. All he could do was end his turn and hope that the Mask of Restrict and Dragon Capture Jar would hold Crystal down.
T16
"It's my turn," Crystal said.
"Did your partner force you to discard any useful cards?" Lumis asked.
"On the contrary, Lumis, Yuri helped me by discarding my hand. Now I have a monster in my hand that can turn the tide against you two idiots."
"You can't!" Lumis said. "Not so long as Mask of Restrict is in play."
"You guys are like broken records, I swear!" Crystal said with a roll of her eyes. "I know Mask of Restrict prevents me from tributing monsters. But as Yuri demonstrated, you don't need to sacrifice monsters to summon stronger ones. All I have to do to summon this one is banish light and dark monsters from my Graveyard."
"Ha! It's your Chaos Emperor Dragon!" shouted Umbra. "News flash, Crystal, you can't! Have you forgotten about Lumis's Prohibition spell card? It prevents you from using that card this Duel."
"Oh, I'm about to summon a chaos dragon, but it's not my Chaos Emperor."
"What? What do you mean?" Lumis said.
Crystal held her card up high and she was enveloped in a glacier-blue aura. "I banish Dragon Knight of Creation, Seiyaryu, and Pandemic Dragon to summon Chaos Dragon Levianeer!"
"WHAT'S THAT?" Lumis and Umbra shouted together.
Neon green dragon wings formed over Crystal's back, then took off into the rainy sky and took shape of the newest dragon in Crystal's arsenal. Chaos Dragon Levianeer spread its glowing wings before it reared its head up and roared.
When its entrance was done, Levianeer lowered itself behind Crystal and stood behind her. 3000 ATK points were shown on the ATK point display, making Lumis and Umbra quake.
"As powerful as that dragon is," said Umbra, "my Dragon Capture Jar will force it to defense mode. It can't attack us!"
"Don't count your chickens just yet, Umbra. Chaos Dragon Levianeer comes with a very special ability. See, he gains different effects depending on the attributes of the monsters that were banished. If they were all Light monsters, I get to summon a monster from my Graveyard in defense mode. If they were all dark, I shuffle a card in your hand back to your deck. But, if they were both Light and Dark, which they were, I get to destroy two cards on the field."
"OH NO!" cried Umbra. "She's going to destroy our Mask of Restrict."
"And your Dragon Capture Jar!" said Crystal. "Now my dragons are free from its curse! Chaos Dragon Levianeer, do your stuff, baby!"
The glowing horn on Chaos Dragon Levianeer's head flashed even brighter before the dragon fired a green beam from its mouth, destroying the Mask of Restrict, which in turn destroyed Umbra's Mask of Preservation. Then, it focused on Dragon Capture Jar. The green beam seemed to grow even stronger when dealing with the jar, for it grew wider and much brighter than before. Dragon Capture Jar took the chaos dragon's energy beam to the face and it shattered, followed by a tremendous explosion that shook the building.
"Now you're the one who's wide open," said Yuri.
"That he is," said Crystal. "Chaos Dragon Levianeer, finish Umbra now!"
"NOOO!" Umbra held his hands in front of him in a vain attempt to shield the incoming blast.
"I activate my spell card!" said Lumis. "Mask of Impregnability! This card will prevent Umbra and me from being attacked by your monsters for the duration of the turn!"
Lumis summoned a mask made of metal that blocked out Chaos Dragon Levianeer's green beam of chaos energy. The remnants of the beam scattered in all directions, some striking the nearby towers and creating massive explosions. Even though it was just an illusion from the Holoprojector Drones, the violence taking place around the group of Duelists caused them all to scream and duck for cover. Now the central tower of the Phobos Corp headquarters was caught ablaze with green flames and smoke billowed from a nearby building.
"Almost had him!" Crystal muttered. Even with her dragon in play, she had no time to be confident. Giving these two a moment to breathe would be disastrous. And soon it was going to be Lumis's turn. He seemed to be the one getting his team out of trouble. "I set a card face-down and end my turn." Crystal slid her hidden card into the Duel Disk and prayed Lumis didn't have any cards that could turn things back in their favor.
T17
"I've grown awfully tired of the two of you!" Lumis shouted. "If you thought that Masked Beast was the strongest card we have, then you are sorely mistaken!" He drew his card and looked at Crystal and Yuri with hatred in his beady eyes. "THIS DUEL IS OVER!"
Regal Squad - Downtown Enron
It was no trouble for Axel and his group to spot the residence of the corrupted Officer Chuck Thompson. The portly slob of a human being lived in a rundown apartment in a neighborhood meant for people who couldn't afford to live in the high-end districts of the other islands. Not to say it was all bad. The homes were still cozy and offered many necessities to make life happy. However, Officer Thompson's apartment was a helter-skelter mess. Towers of pizza boxes were stacked on the counter, which was also adorned with a collection of beer bottles and empty bottles of vodka or scotch. Posters of semi-naked women covered the wall of his living room and a bikini calendar was placed on the fridge with a magnet shaped like a woman's buttocks in a red thong with a heart tattoo on the right cheek. Chuck once again raided the fridge for the last of his beer. He opened it and let the cap fall on the floor to join the other countless caps that he was too lazy to pick up.
He was clad in a white tank top stained with pizza grease and white briefs that had seen better days. Over this, he wore a messy gray bathrobe that smelled of cigarettes and piss from when he oftentimes missed when using the bathroom.
"Doesn't have many manners, does he?" Sukari said via her headset. She was watching the feed from Axel's hi-tech scope.
"I wish I could have gone to take him down," said Andre on the radio.
"You've got your own hunt, brother," said Axel. "It's that Seeker guy that I want. And I hate to admit it, but you're one of the best Duelists in the crew so it's obvious I'd send you and Sukari to go after him."
"Heh, that means a lot coming from you, Axel. Think you can put in the good word with me and those guys from Team GX?"
"That remains to be seen. I'm not gonna deny you're good but that doesn't mean you're gonna be cool with the rest of them. You did lose them their friend after all. She must have meant a lot to them if they wanted to hunt you down the way they did."
"That's in the past now," said Andre. "I just want to clear my name, tell those guys I'm sorry, and put it all under the bridge. As much as I'd like to help Yuri here in the Standard Dimension, I'd really like to be back home helping out with the war."
"Let the Princes of the Alliance handle the war," said Saxton. He was in the middle of a Duel with a Duel Gang, taking them on four against one. "Your Dueling skills are needed here against the Rare Hunters. Direct Attack!"
His favorite monster, Meteo the Matchless, a giant with pale green skin covered with red runes, charged through an alleyway and smashed his second opponent directly, removing them from the match.
"As far as I'm concerned, you're helping out with the war," said Sukari. "Anyone who threatens Prince Yuri's life is an enemy that must be dealt with. And with extreme prejudice."
"I hear you sister," said Axel. "And Officer Chuck just made himself an enemy of the crown by giving scumbags the location of the Prince."
"Make him pay, Axel," said Andre. He noticed a bright flash in the distance. He saw what appeared to be an angel with a large sword standing in the middle of the highway directly under them. "Did you see that?" Andre asked.
"Yeah, I saw," said Sukari. "Let's go check it out." She turned her bike to the left exit and took the spiraling ramp to the highway where Andre spotted the angel. As Sukari got close, she spotted two Duelists on the ground, knocked out cold, their motorcycles were lying in heaps on the side of the road. Standing in front of the carnage.
"Hey, that's Luke!" said Andre.
Sukari turned her motorcycle sideways and slid to a stop. She took off her helmet and shook her hair. "Hey, Luke," she said, putting the helmet under her arm. "fancy seeing you out here. What's the story with these two?"
Luke said nothing and put his Duel Disk away.
"I overheard them plotting to go after Pamela at a nearby card shop. Seems our so-called 'Reaper' has gained quite the reputation around here with the Duel Gangs. These two morons right here lead a group called The Geminis. And they were organizing a bounty for Pamela's defeat. However, they wanted a little more than just a win over her and some fancy card. These guys wanted to make her their slave. Can't let that happen on my watch."
"Why do you care so much for Patty?" Sukari asked. "Do you love her or something?"
"No. I'm merely here to cleanse her of the darkness that consumes her heart. She's a lost soul that needs a shepherd to guide her to light."
"You better start making sense," Andre said taking off his helmet. "Listen, Patty's become somewhat of a friend to me. If you do anything to harm her I'll..."
"Some things must be done to protect the well-being of the High King," said Luke, standing as still as a statue. "Even if it means dealing with Yuri's friends. And Pamela McKnight is no exception."
"Why?" Andre asked.
"Yuri is not the only one here with a cursed heart," Luke said. He smiled. "Hmm. So you're Andre Martin, huh? I dreamed of you, you know. Before I even met you. When I saw you come into the hideout earlier today I recognized your face as we had already been friends for many years."
"You dreamt of me?" Andre asked, his voice thickened from all the confusion and irritation he felt swirling in his chest like a bad case of acid reflux. "What sort of dream?"
Luke began to pace back and forth. "Why, I saw you armored in gleaming white from head to heel, with a long pale cape flowing behind you as you hold up a sword that seemed to be forged by dragon fire. You were of the Kingsbrand. The High King's special security force, and the greatest brotherhood of knights in all Termnnia behind the Noble Knights of the Royal Termnnian Table. There you were. You looked like you were serving your High King proudly. I know you've had those dreams too."
Luke's Dream of Andre
"Every boy dreams of joining the Kingsbrand," said Andre. Yes, Luke was right, Andre couldn't deny this. But it was common knowledge. Thousands of young boys dream of becoming one of the elite brotherhood of knights that serve the High King day in and day out. And yet only seven of them could don the white armor and mithril capes of the brotherhood. Andre had trained with swords his whole life and trained with many legendary knights hoping for a chance that he could be looked upon by the royal cleric, Simon McMooran, and chosen to be one of them. However, given how marred his past was, he figured becoming one of them was out of the question. He did cause the downfall of a highly esteemed noble family and ruined the destiny of a girl chosen to wake up the Lord of all Dragons.
"You saw me as a Kingsbrand?" Andre asked again. "So what? I dreamt that I was flying but I haven't grown any wings lately, have I?"
Luke pointed to his temple. "My dreams aren't like yours, Andre Martin. Mine are true. And just as my dreams have led me to you, they will lead me to Pamela McKnight. She must see the light for the safety of the High King. If she is held by the dark spirit of her deck any longer, she could one day prove to be a danger to the future High King. I saw us Dueling. The outcome...well, I cannot say. But if she does not see reason, I'm afraid my blade, Shimmerstrike, must make friends with her belly."
"Don't you touch her!" Sukari demanded. "Patty is my friend."
"I would not get too attached to her," Luke said. "She is not who you think she is." He turned and walked away, vanishing behind a curtain of rain.
"Hey! Hey, come back!" Andre shouted. "I'm not done talking to you. Luke!"
He was gone.
Back on Enron Island, Axel prepared to enter Officer Chuck's apartment. He jumped from balcony to balcony until he reached the level where the corrupted officer lived. He drew a long dagger and a pistol from his holster, both looking like legendary weapons from a Call of Duty game, colored black and decorated with molten ornamentation that shot out embers. Axel turned on the flashlight of his pistol, shining the light this way and that across the room. It smelled of farts that had collected in the air and stale pizza. Axel coughed. Even with the cover over his nose and mouth, the smell was strong. He heard a commotion coming from the kitchen. "Mmm! Mmm!" It sounded like someone struggling. When he reached the kitchen he saw Officer Chuck sitting on a chair with a rope tied around his arms and a gag over his mouth. "Mmmm! Mmmm! Mmmm!" he grunted, shaking around and trying to get free. He saw two figures wearing hooded jackets, gas masks, backpacks and other gear on their person.
"Who the hell are you!" shouted Axel.
Both figures turned around. The one on the right saluted him. "'Ello, Axel. Long time no see, mate."
Axel lowered his gun. He remembered that accent. "It can't be."
Jim 'Crocodile Cook' removed his hood and took off his mask to reveal himself. Then the second figure did the same revealing someone Axel thought was lost forever in the Dark World many years ago. Adrian Gecko.
"What the hell!?" Axel said in shock. "What are you doing here?"
Yuri and Crystal - Bustamante Towers, Phobos Island
Lumis sniggered villainously as he held up a card triumphantly in the air. "If you two thought the Masked Beast was strong, then wait until you see my ultimate monster. First, I summon Melchid the Four-Faced Beast in attack mode. And then I activate my last face-down card, Call of the Haunted and bring back my Grand Tiki Elder to the field. Now, you two, prepare for a force, unlike anything you've ever seen!"
Grand Tiki Elder and Melchid the Four-Faced Beast were consumed by flames, which then formed together into a card.
Lumis held up his hand and shouted: "Behold, the Masked Beast Des Gardius!"
One of the most hideous monsters Yuri had ever seen scratched out of the card and jumped into the field. It towered above Black Tyranno and Chaos Dragon Levianeer. The monster had three heads with faces concealed by blue masks and glowing red eyes and large claws taller than a full-grown man. At 3300 ATK points strong, Yuri and Crystal knew they were in trouble. A second ago they felt they were out of the woods and in control. Now...now they were lost and at the mercy of the masked creatures that Lumis and Umbra enjoyed summoning.
Umbra held up his fist triumphantly. "One of you two fools is about to feel the wrath of this ultimate creature! The question is, which one of you will be first? Either way, one of your pathetic monsters is going to make a meal for Des Gardius."
"Silence, fool!" said Lumis. "This is my monster, so I'll be making the shots. And why settle for one attack when I can just attack them both? I activate the spell card, Forbidden Substance!"
A giant syringe appeared and Des Gardius grabbed it hungrily. It then injected itself with the glowing green liquid inside, which sent it into a berserk fury. It roared like a hundred beasts calling out at once and it swung its claws across the air.
"Hahahahah!" laughed Lumis. "Behold my Masked Beast Des Gardius in all its fury! The Forbidden Substance is a narcotic used to make monsters go into an animalistic rage, allowing them to attack twice this turn."
"Attack twice?" Yuri said in disbelief. "Man, that's one hell of a drug."
"Yes, and with it, my Masked Beast will destroy your Black Tyranno and Crystal's Chaos Dragon Levianeer! Go, Des Gardius, destroy them!"
Des Gardius jumped and raised its claws over its head, then swiped them down on Black Tyranno's shoulders. Black Tyranno roared in pain and exploded. Yuri grunted, shielding himself from the blast with his arms as his Life Points dropped to 2300. Then it sped to Crystal's side of the field and jabbed its claws in Levianeer's guts before ripping them out. Levianeer screamed before it, too, exploded, leaving Crystal with 300 points of damage.
Des Gardius then returned to Lumis's side of the field, its claws dripping with Black Tyranno's and Chaos Dragon Levianeer's blood.
Yuri - 1300 LP
Crystal - 3000 LP
Vs
1900 LP - Lumis
Umbra - 1600 LP
"This is bad," said Sabrina. "Black Tyranno's been destroyed and Yuri's down to his last chunk of Life Points."
"What are they going to do now?" Natalya wondered. "No matter what they do, Lumis and Umbra seem to come back stronger than before."
Annabelle started to cry after seeing how violently Des Gardius destroyed Black Tyranno and Chaos Dragon Levianeer.
They were Yuri and Crystal's only hope. And now they're gone.
Lumis snapped his fingers and laughed. "Ha! Just like that your best monsters have been wiped out. My Mask of Restrict may be gone but that still doesn't change the fact that you must sacrifice monsters to bring out your best dragons. There's no hope for that now because Des Gardius will mow down each and every one of your tributes before you can sacrifice them."
"And don't forget we're playing with Master Rule 2," said Umbra. "Which means that we can make direct attacks on your Life Points."
"Yeah, that doesn't look good for you over there, Umbra," Yuri teased. "You have no face-down cards and no cards in your hand."
"Don't worry, Umbra," said Lumis. "He'll be a fool to attack you once I play this card face-down. Make your move, Yuri."
T18
"I will, you don't have to tell me!" Yuri said and drew. "I summon Crawling Dragon Number 2 in defense mode. That's it for me."
T19
Umbra sniggered as he drew his card, loving the looks of hopelessness on Yuri and Crystal's faces. "Not so confident now, are you, Yuri?" He turned to look at Lumis. "Lumis, we have to clear out Yuri's defensive wall before we can get to his Life Points. Do you think you can handle that?"
"With my Masked Beast Des Gardius on the field, I can handle anything. Yuri's Stegocyber has a pretty strong defense, but it's still no match for Des Gardius. And then there's Crystal's Rare Metal Dragon. It doesn't look like you have any cards in your hand that can defend against it. And with your Dragon Capture Jar out of play, she can switch it to attack mode and strike your Life Points directly. I know how badly you want to defeat the prince, but if I were you, I'd attack Crystal's Rare Metal Dragon instead."
"Got it. Okay, Des Gardius! Attack and destroy Crystal's Rare Metal Dragon now!"
Des Gardius jumped again and smashed its claws on Rare Metal Dragon's head, crushing its steel scales as though they were styrofoam. Rare Metal Dragon grunted in defeat before it blew up.
"There!" said Umbra. "Now you've got no monsters left to defend you, Crystal. And...huh?"
Suddenly a monster called Pandemic Dragon flew out of the sky and roared at the two Rare Hunters.
"What?! A Pandemic Dragon?" Umbra cried out in shock. "But how? I thought you banished it to summon your Chaos Dragon?"
Crystal merely grinned as she revealed her face-down card, holding it up so Lumis and Umbra could see. "I activated my trap card, Immortal Dragon. It lets me bring back a Dragon that's in the Graveyard or that's been Banished."
"That girl is starting to annoy me, Lumis!"
"Don't lose your cool, Lumis. We still have Des Gardius."
T20
"I draw!" Crystal announced. "I summon Feedran, the Winds of Mischief in attack mode."
Crystal summoned a little green dragon with soft fur, paws, and butterfly wings. It made a sweet chirping sound as flower petals and sparkles of light burst around it. Its ATK points were 1700
"Hey, Crystal," said Yuri. "Are my eyes deceiving me or is that card animated or something?"
"Hell, yeah!" Crystal said. "It's called Dream Rare. There are tiny microchips and screens on the card that allow the image to look like it's animated. Isn't he cute?"
"Cute, I guess, but I don't know what good he will do."
"He'll do plenty of good. But first, I have to give you this. First, I play Card Exchange. Now I can choose a player on the field and swap a card with them. And I choose you, Yuri."
"Me?"
"Uh-huh. Now let's see that card of yours." She walked towards him.
"Here," said Yuri. He handed her a Two-Headed King Rex. In exchange, he got a Monster Reborn from Crystal. "What are you doing? You really want to exchange Two-Headed King Rex with this?"
"Rules are rules," Crystal said with a wink. "Trust me," she whispered. "Bring him back. I think I found a way to get rid of Des Gardias."
"I hope you know what you're doing," said Yuri. "It's his turn and I've got nothing that can stop him."
"Trust me." Crystal said. "Look at Des Gardius."
Yuri looked at the monster and saw boils starting to appear on its flesh and it sounded like it was coughing. It looked like it had caught a deadly virus. "Ah," said Yuri. "Now I know why you brought Pandemic Dragon back to the field. All right. This just might work out after all."
Crystal reached around and gave Yuri's butt a squeeze. "See, I told you I got things covered. Oh, by the way, you been working out?"
"Is now really the time to be playing around like that? Damn?" Yuri said. Crystal giggled and walked away. All the while, Patty was eyeing them both with a grim look in her eyes. She better not play with him like that again. Or she'll be sorry!
"Are you two through?" Lumis shouted.
"Yeah, I end my turn," Crystal replied with a roll of her eyes.
T21
"Good. Now it's time that I end this Duel!" Lumis declared. "First, I will get rid of your defenses, Yuri. With this card, Raigeki." Lightning fell from the sky and zapped all of Yuri's monsters. "Now you're wide open for a direct attack by my Des Gardius." Lumis pointed at Yuri and shouted: "Go, my Masked Beast! Assassinate the Prince so we can claim his head!"
"I think not!" said Crystal. Your Des Gardius isn't looking too hot."
"Huh?"
"Lumis, look!" cried Umbra. "Our Masked Beast has grown sick. He's been infected with a virus."
"Oh, no! You're right!" He saw Crystal snickering with her fingers covering her mouth. "YOU! What have you done!"
Crystal placed her hands on her hips. "You're forgetting the monster I summoned was Pandemic Dragon. When he appeared, he let loose a deadly virus that makes your monsters sick. Once per turn, I can pay Life Points in multiples of 100. The higher the Life Points, the deadlier the virus my Pandemic Dragon unleashes. And before I ended my turn, I paid 900 Life Points to weaken Des Gardius. But that's not all I've done. Pandemic Dragon can also kill a monster whose ATK points are weaker than his, and that's what I just did. Oh, I just love how the Solid Vision Battle System trolled you guys into thinking your Des Gardius was alive and well when he's actually slowly succumbing to the virus my Pandemic Dragon unleashed."
Des Gardius let out a painful cry into the heavens, howling to be let out of its misery as the painful virus that had taken over its body grew too much to bear. Finally, it fell to the ground and melted into a messy glob of bone and melted flesh.
Patty and the others once again cheered, congratulating Crystal for taking out their beast. But in Termnnia, Yami silenced the celebration. "Now is not the time to celebrate," he said. He had gone up against Des Gardius before and knew full well, what happened when it was destroyed. He looked at the Seeing Stone and saw the Lumis and Umbra didn't look nervous at all.
"So, you think you've saved yourself, eh?" Lumis said. The fleshy puddle dispersed to reveal the three masks Des Gardius once wore.
"What's going on?" Yuri asked.
"When Masked Beast Des Gardius is destroyed, it leaves behind three masks, which combine to form a new and powerful mask. Behold the Mask of Remnants!"
"What the hell is that?" Crystal shouted.
"This all-powerful mask upon activated lets me take control of one monster you control. And since your Pandemic Dragon is the perfect target!" The red-horned mask flew to the dragon's head and forced itself around it, growing and growing until it fit the entirety of the dragon's head and welded itself shut. "Now, Pandemic Dragon belongs to me!" Lumis declared. Pandemic Dragon slowly flew to Lumis's side of the field. "And since it's still my battle phase, I can continue to make my direct attack on Yuri's Life Points. And what better way to end the life of the prince than with one of your own monsters, Crystal! Hahahahah!" Lumis once again pointed at Yuri. "Pandemic Dragon, attack and destroy Yuri once and for all!"
Since Pandemic Dragon's head was locked inside the Mask of Remnants, a red beam formed over the mask's open mouth.
"I figured it wasn't going to be easy taking down Des Gardius!" said Crystal. "That's why I came prepared. I activate Feedran's special ability! By sending it back to my hand, I can switch the battle position of a monster on your side of the field. Pandemic Dragon switches to defense mode." Feedran disappeared in a burst of colorful butterflies, then Pandemic Dragon crouched down and remained still.
"NO!" Lumis roared, stomping his foot on the ground. "YOU LITTLE BITCH! I WAS SO CLOSE!"
"That'll teach you to mess with Crystal, ya big bully!" Annabelle yelled. "My cousin is always one step ahead."
T22
"I think it's time I ended this," said Yuri. "I've grown awfully tired of the both of you. First, I'll rid the field of your spells and traps with this card. Heavy Storm!"
Lumis and Umbra cried out together in shock. Whatever was left of their back row was annihilated by the fierce gust. And with the Mask of Remnants gone, Pandemic Dragon returned to Crystal's side of the field.
"This can't be!" Umbra yelled. "Do something, Lumis!"
"I c-c-can't!"
Yuri held up the Monster Reborn card Crystal gave him with her Exchange spell card. "Now, I activate Monster Reborn and bring back Black Tyranno!"
Once more, Black Tyranno made his grand appearance. He rose from an arcane circle on the ground and appeared before Lumis and Umbra with a thirst for revenge. "Consider this payback for kidnapping Annabelle!" Yuri shouted. "And the first of you two idiots to go down is going to be you, Umbra!"
"NO!" Umbra held his hands over his head. "STOP! I CAN'T GO BACK TO THE SHADOW REALM!"
Black Tyranno didn't care for Umbra's pleas for mercy. He stomped across the glass surface of the light shaft and burned Umbra with his acidic-green fire breath. Umbra cried out in pain as he was enveloped by the flames as though they were real. The Solid Vision technology proved too much for his weak mind, forcing his senses to believe he was actually being burned. The Life Point counter on the bombs went down to zero and detonated.
"YURI!" Crystal cried. "Do something!"
"Umbra!" Yuri shouted. He knew Umbra was a very foul opponent, but he could not find it within himself to just let him die. But by the time he made his first step, it was too late. The glass shattered and Umbra fell to his death. His cries echoed across the building, growing fainter and fainter until there was total silence.
"Umbra!" Lumis shouted into the empty building. "Umbra, come back! Don't leave me!"
"He's gone..." said Yuri. "Sorry."
Anabelle shivered in her bond. "Yuri? Is he...is he..."
Yuri looked at Lumis, still crouched beside the shattered glass. "Lumis! You've got to stop this! Don't you fall to the same fate, too! Let me help you. It doesn't have to be like this."
"Silence fool!" Lumis shouted. Though by the look in his eyes, it was clear he wasn't Lumis anymore. "Lumis is gone!"
"Denethon!" Yuri said.
"Precisely," the lifeless puppet that was once Lumis replied.
"It's that voice again," Patty said with a shiver. "This is no coincidence. Something weird is going on around here."
"My congratulations on defeating my two Neo Rare Hunters. Even though they failed, they did their job. I now know that your greatest weakness lies in the ones you hold dear, Yuri. So next time, I will be sure to target them. But who? And where?" He chuckled. "That's for me to know and you to find out."
"Leave my friends alone, Denethon!" Yuri shouted. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but it's clear that it's me you want. So just come after me! Leave them out of this!"
"I'm afraid that is not an option. It seems Master Yugi has done too good a job at keeping the darkness in your heart at bay. Now, I must undo what he did. And given that there is still much fear in you, Yuri, I know that task will be an easy one. And don't think my Neo Rare Hunters will be any easier to defeat. I've been carefully studying your deck through their eyes, Yuri. And the decks of your friends as well. So next time, my Neo Rare Hunters will come up with better strategies to defeat them. So enjoy this little victory while you can, Yuri. I assure you, the results will be much different next time. As for this fool. His usefulness has ended so will dispose of him now."
"Huh?" Lumis gasped, when he realized he was back.
"Lumis!" Yuri shouted. "Get out of there now!"
"Yuri?" Lumis asked. He turned and saw the bomb detonating, shattering the glass underneath. Lumis screamed as he fell, his arms reaching out desperately for something to grab onto. Yuri looked down into the shaft in time to see Lumis falling into the darkness of the building. And he was gone.
"Idiot!" Yuri whispered. "Why'd it have to be this way?"
The crane hummed to life and turned so that Annabelle could be lowered to the glass. The coils undid themselves and she was freed. She ran to Yuri and hugged him, burying her face in his chest and sobbing. Crystal slowly walked towards them and took Annabelle into her arms. "I got you, sweet pea," she said, patting the back of her head to comfort her. Crystal looked at Yuri and nodded her head, thanking him for joining her in this Duel.
"You're welcome," Yuri said. He shivered.
"Come on, you guys," said Sabrina. "Let's get out of here and report this to the cops."
"Right," said Yuri.
"My penthouse isn't far from here," said Crystal. "Let's head there and change out of these wet clothes. Once we're warmed up, we can inform RAPTOR about what happened."
"Sounds good to me," said Patty. "Let's go. Give Annabelle to me. I'll carry her down. You two need some rest."
Axel - Officer Chuck Thompson's Residence, Enron Island
Axel must have punched the corrupted officer a hundred times. Even his knuckles started hurting and they were shielded by carbon-fiber knuckle guards on his gloves. Lighting flashed outside, revealing the damage he did to the corrupted officer's face. Blood poured out of Chuck's nose, there was a cut on his cheek, and his left eye was closing shut from the bruise forming around it. But he still wouldn't talk.
"Who are you guys?" he managed to say after coughing. "What is this all about?"
"You know what this is all about!" said Adrian. He removed a knife made of mithril from a sheath on the side of his backpack with a jagged blade over a foot long. He slid it across Chuck's cheekbone, causing him to cry out in pain. "James Vincent Montgomery. But we know him as Yuri. You gave out his favorite places to go to every lowlife in this city. There's one group in particular that we're after. They wear cloaks like this." He held up a torn hood from a Rare Hunter he defeated earlier. "The former owner of this cloak said you supplied him with the information to Yuri and his friends. How did you get that information?"
"You better tell us now," Axel snarled. "Yuri and his friends were almost killed by these guys. Start talking!"
"I don't know anything!"
"Oh no?" Jim said. He smashed the kitchen window with his forearm and picked up as many pieces as he could, crushing them with his glove made of dragon hide. "Let's see if you're still as tough after this. Gecko!"
Adrian slapped his palm over Chuck's mouth, forcing it open so Jim could put the glass pieces inside. He then taped it shut. "Axel," Jim said backing away so he could let Axel do his work.
Axel cracked his knuckles and started punching Chuck over and over and over again until glass started poking out of his cheek. Adrian realized enough damage had been done and held up his hand to arrest Axel's punches. Axel ripped the tape off Chuck's mouth. Chuck gasped and spit blood and pieces of glass on the floor. He coughed and spat to keep the pieces from sliding into his esophagus.
"Come on, mate!" said Jim. "You wanna play rough, we'll play rough. There's plenty of windows for us to use."
"I'm an informant," Chuck coughed. "I have friends in high places all over this fucking place. I can get the scoop on anyone on this island. Then again, as big as Aquarius is, it's still so small. Heh. You can get info on just about anyone around here. Especially, Yuri."
"So you and Brett are using the Rare Hunters to get Yuri now, huh?"
"No! No! That's not true. Brett's pissed off with the attempts on Yuri's life believe it or not. He doesn't want people killing Yuri! He's not with those cloaked guys!"
"What do you mean?" Axel asked, loosening his grip on Chuck's throat.
Chuck gasped twice before answering. "Yuri and Brett have a bad history together. He hates the guy but...but he doesn't want Yuri dead. He knows better than that. He put himself in a rough spot with the family since he beat the kid up. If Brett so much as pulls one hair off of Yuri's head, he's a dead man. It doesn't help that people are pointing their fingers at him. They're all blaming Brett for the earlier encounter with the Rare Hunters. Brett said he would hunt down anyone involved with the Rare Hunters. Anyone. And that includes me! I had no idea these Rare Hunter guys were going to be so violent. I had no idea they would be after his life instead of his Black Tyranno like everyone else around here."
"Well serves you right for working for criminal scum!" said Axel. He laughed and set his foot on Chuck's knee, making him look like a conquering hero. "That's the bitch about the business you're in. You just don't know who you're dealing with or what they're capable of. Now because of you, murderous Dueling thugs are after Yuri. And when you get caught, Chuck, Brett's going to take the fall."
"You think I don't know that? Of course, he'd gone down the shitter with me. That's why I planted the bombs outside the game shop."
"WHAT!?" shouted Jim.
"You mean that was you?" Adrian yelled even louder.
"Yes! I had to do it! I had to find a way to eliminate them."
"You mean clean up the mess you started," said Axel. "But tell me, Chuck. How was blowing Yuri to smithereens going to eliminate the Rare Hunters?"
"I can't say anymore."
"Get me some more glass, Adrian!" Axel said cracking his knuckles.
Adrian walked to another window and smashed it with his fist. Chuck was still playing tough but as soon as he heard the tape being stretched behind him he broke and shouted for them to stop. "Wait! Wait!" he yelled frantically. "Okay, okay. First off, Yuri had to be stopped. The kid's getting good. And I mean really good. He's beating Brett's boys left and right and that scares the hell out of Brett. He's afraid Yuri and that dinosaur of his might be a threat to his shot at the world championship this summer. So I figured I'd help the kid out and get rid of Yuri."
"How in the hell would blowing Yuri up help your boss?" Adrian asked. "You said so yourself. Brett doesn't want Yuri dead and he wants the heat he's getting for the first attempt on Yuri's life off his back. Trying to blow him up will just force everyone around here to suspect it was him considering the bad history he has with Yuri."
"No, not this time. Since the Rare Hunters are being seen as a new threat, they'd take the blame for it. And I was right. It's all over the news, boys. Rare Hunters now have a target on their backs and RAPTOR is holding the trigger. They're going to hunt them down like animals for trying to kill Yuri. And here's the juicy part. Brett was at a concert the night of the bombing so nobody suspects him as the guy who sent those bomber Duelists after Yuri anymore."
"I get it," said Adrian. "Yuri gets taken out and RAPTOR hunts the Rare Hunters instead of Brett, thereby erasing your mistake of helping them find Yuri."
Chuck laughed. "Yeah. Two birds with one stone, you know."
"You really are a dumbass, aren't you?" chuckled Axel. "Unfortunately for you, Yuri survived with just a few scrapes. He's more powerful than you know, Chuckie-boy. And do you think the Rare Hunters are just going to let this slide? Unlike you, they're smart. They're going to know someone else planted the bombs just to put a lot of heat on them. And they will be hell-bent to find out who? You have no idea of the people you've been messing with."
"Got that right," said Jim. "Your first mistake was thinking you could hurt Yuri. Your second -and gravest- was believing you could pull a fast one on the Neo Rare Hunters. I wouldn't be surprised if they were on their way right now."
As if one queue, bullets zipped through the windows, shattering the glass and destroying vases and picture frames. There was a black quad-rotor drone with a glowing red light hovering outside the window. The ones controlling the drone were Neo Rare Hunters wearing leather jackets, jeans, balaclavas, and baseball caps were shooting them with marksman rifles from a building across the street.
"They're here!" Jim yelled as he jumped to the floor.
"They were spying on us! They must have heard everything!" Adrian cried. "Looks like they're here to finish off this piece of shit."
"And the rest of us!" Jim yelled over the sound of whizzing bullets and breaking pottery. "How the hell do we get out of this mess?"
"This way!" said Adrian. He smashed the glass door to the balcony with one punch and jumped off the balcony to the next building.
"Hey! Hey, wait for me!" pleaded Chuck. "Hey! Don't! No! Come back!"
None of them listened to him. They left him for dead so the Rare Hunters could do as they pleased with him. Jim and Axel followed Adrian out. Axel didn't make it far, but he clung onto one of the balconies and climbed up the roof to join Adrian and Jim. Axel then unholstered two red automatic machine pistols from the side of his trousers and fired back at the Rare Hunters across the street. They ducked and started communicating with the others that Axel, Jim, and Adrian were on the move. The three of them knew they needed to get out of the city and back to the harbor to join the others in the safety of the hideout.
But it was a long way away and there seemed to be Rare Hunters shooting them from every building in the area. Bullets rained down on them from all directions, forcing the three heroes to hide behind cover and shoot back with their own weapons. They remained in certain spots until the waves of Rare Hunters were cleared. When no more shots were fired, they continued sprinting from building to building, jumping over steep alleyways, running down fire escapes, and even battling them in hallways, waking the tenants inside their rooms. Through the gunshots, they heard people screaming in fear, hoping the battle raging outside would not reach them. Axel then shot out a window in the hallway and jumped out, to which Adrian and Jim followed. They knew they had to refrain from going into the buildings anymore and just stuck to using the rooftops as a battlefield.
The three men fired until they were out of bullets, to which they had to resort to using throwing knives and daggers. Jim was equipped with a hand crossbow which he fed bolts that were 3D printed in a machine strapped to his thigh. Axel was fighting off the Rare Hunters with his speed and his twin red katanas. Adrian stuck to hiding in the shadows and taking his enemies by surprise, stabbing them in the back with his dagger. He would take out two or three at a time before rejoining Jim and Axel on their run back to the harbor. Just how many were there? Axel wondered. No matter what building they found themselves in, squadrons of Rare Hunters were there to battle them. They did not have time to even guess how many foes they were up against. All they knew was they needed to be stopped. So they spent hours mowing down their foes in each building.
"Man, I'd hate to be the cleaning crew for this mess!" Axel said. He leaped over a rooftop garden and sliced the heads off two Rare Hunters with sniper rifles. He went to another building, kicked one in the jaw, and spun like a helicopter to strike down his companions.
All of a sudden, the doors to the roof burst open. More Rare Hunters came pouring out fielding rifles and shotguns to put a stop to the group. But that was not all they had. Two ran out with Duel Disks of a strange design. They summoned a Hannibal Necromancer and a Pragtical and sicked them on the three Lancers. Adrian held back the Hannibal Necromancer with his dagger, all the while avoiding the bullets from the gunmen. Axel shot two of them with his pistols and another in the leg. The Pragtical monster suddenly jumped up and pinned him to the ground. Axel couldn't believe it. Even Solid Vision Holograms weren't supposed to be doing this. He could feel the monster's claws digging through his leather cuirass.
"GET IT OFF!"
"What?" laughed Jim. "Can't handle a hologram?"
"This ain't no hologram!" Axel shouted, tilting his head to the side to avoid the monster snapping its jaws at him. A figure with a red mask came to the rescue, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, killing Rare Hunters along the way with his red sword. He made it to the roof where Axel and the others were and summoned a wolf monster called Fenrir that tackled Pragtical, knocking him off Axel before it clawed the dinosaur to death. The hero with the red mask ran to the gunmen with great speed and agility, avoiding the bullets with the greatest of ease before he sliced their necks.
He approached his Fenrir and patted the top of its head. "Well done," he said.
"What the hell?" said Jim. "Who are you?"
The masked swordsman slide his red blade across his vambrace to clean off the blood before he placed it in a sheath on his back. "A friend of the High King," he replied. "You can call me the Red Sparrow."
"I've heard all about you," said Axel. "You're supposed to be in Emboldor. What business do you have here in the Standard Dimension?"
"My business is my own. But it looks like we can both use each other's help this night." The Red Sparrow approached one of the fallen Rare Hunters and took off the Duel Disk he carried. "This is no ordinary Duel Disk. And that was no ordinary Solid Vision Hologram. This device is from the Fusion Dimension."
"The Fusion Dimension?" said Jim. "No wonder that thing pinned down Axel the way it did. Their Solid Vision Technology is supposedly so advanced, it can give monsters physical form without magic. That's how they were able to invade the Xyz Dimension years ago."
"And now they've brought them here," said Adrian.
"Which makes this mission of ours direr than I thought," said Jim. "Rare Hunters with that kind of tech can pose a very serious problem."
"Which is why you should hold onto these," the Red Sparrow said. He looted another one off of the second Rare Hunter and tossed it and the other he picked up at Jim and Axel. "We should find one for you." He said to Adrian.
Adrian narrowed his eyes. "No, thanks. These things caused great suffering to the people of the Xyz Dimension. I will not stoop to the level of those filthy dogs from the Fusion Dimension by wielding these things. And if you two had any sense of morality in you, I expect you to do the same and destroy those disks."
"Now's not the time for morality," said Jim. He fastened the Duel Disk over his wrist. "We need these disks. The monsters they conjure may not be as powerful as the Eidolons that Summoners can conjure, but they'll help us with the fight. And don't you find it ironic that you of all people speak of morality? Wasn't it you who tried to use the Exodia from the Dark World Plane to overthrow Yuri's rule as High King?"
"Those days are long gone," said Adrian. "And if you want to use those damned things, so be it. Might as well make use of them now because it looks like more are coming."
"He's right," the Red Sparrow said. "Stick to the rooftops. It will be difficult for them to corner us up there. And use your monsters wisely. Remember, we're in the Standard Dimension. The less the people of this world know about our war with the Rare Hunters, the better."
They followed the Red Sparrow to the streets below but their foes were close at hand with more in their ranks with the powerful Fusion Dimension Duel Disks to summon monsters. Three of them summoned monsters forcing Axel and Jim to do the same. Axel called upon Volcanic Counter and Jim summoned Fossil Machine Skull Buggy to mow them down and run over the black SUVs that seemed to be transporting them. And the Red Sparrow continued to use his faithful companion Fenrir to claw at their necks and break their arms with his powerful bite.
"Not bad," said Jim. "These things are a real game changer!"
The battle was long and arduous, resulting in the heroes getting bruised and scratched along the way, but they thankfully didn't receive any worse damage. But they eventually prevailed this night and made it back to their hideout.
"We appreciate the help, Red Sparrow," said Axel.
"Of course," the Red Sparrow said. "It's good to know I'm not in this fight alone."
"What are you doing here anyway?" Adrian asked.
"The same as you. Safeguarding the future High King. I've watched him for many years now. Heh, I've known him since he was a small boy."
"Who told you about this place?" Jim asked. "I thought the location of the Gate leading to Aquarius was top secret."
"I came here on my own accord. And I have my own ways of entering other Dimensions. It was wise of Yugi to send him here to the Standard Dimension, for it neuters the magical powers and special abilities of his foes. But a lack of magic does not mean he is safe from danger. That is why I entered the Gate and I have watched him since."
"I see," said Axel. "Have you learned anything while you've been here?"
"Not much. But if I do come across anything, I'll be sure to let you know."
"Likewise," said Axel. "You sure do know how to handle yourself with a sword."
"As do you. And if you come across any Duelists with these Fusion Dimension Duel Disks, be sure to destroy them. No telling what they might do with this kind of firepower."
"I'll be in charge of that," said Adrian. "No one should be wielding these so freely. Not with the chaos and destruction they caused in the Interdimensional Wars. I don't want to see that happening here. This world is plain but the people here are happy about that. I intend to make sure nothing ruins their peace."
"As do I," said the Red Sparrow. "Be on your guard. There's no telling how many Rare Hunters are here in the city. We might have slain many of them this night, but something tells me we haven't put a dent in their numbers."
Axel could only nod to that. He knew he was right.
Crystal's Penthouse/Phobos Island
"So what did the police say?" Annabelle asked. She was still frightened from her ordeal, but at least now she was safe and relieving herself from the cold with a warm bath.
"They're going to look into it," said Crystal. A white towel was wrapped over her chest as she prepared to take a hot shower. Her cold, wet clothes were in a pile on the corner of the bathroom with Annabelle's. She added more solution to the water to make more bubbles to Annabelle could play and try to calm herself down. After all, she had just seen two men fall to their deaths this night, a sight that would no doubt haunt her for the rest of her days. And Crystal didn't have the heart to tell Annabelle that the bodies of Lumis and Umbra were nowhere to be found. They just vanished into thin air.
"What's going to be done about those guys?" Annabelle asked again. "They're going to be back, I just know it!"
"Don't think of them anymore," Crystal said. She got up and removed the towel before stepping into the shower. "You'll get anxiety and that's not something a girl your age should have."
"But..."
Crystal stuck her head from the shower door. "No more buts!" she snapped. "Now calm down."
"Okay," Annabelle said sadly. "You and Yuri were amazing tonight though. Thank you for saving me."
"Anytime, sweet pea. But I hope this will keep you from looking for trouble like you did with that bully the other day."
"I can help!" Annabelle protested. "I'm a good Duelist. I can help, really! I want payback for what they did to me tonight. I can help!"
"I said no!" Crystal yelled. "If I so much as even catch you daydreaming about those Rare Hunters again, I'll call Aunt Fauna and have you taken home, do I make myself clear."
Annabelle pouted in the bubbles. "Fine!"
Patty came inside the bathroom holding a pile of pajamas for the two girls to wear when they were done warming up. "Here are your PJs," she said setting them on the white marble counter."
"Thanks, Patty. How's Yuri?"
"He's asleep. Poor guy."
"What's our next move?" Annabelle asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what are you guys going to do about the Rare Hunters?"
"Nothing," Patty replied.
"Nothing?"
"Yeah, that's right. The best thing for us to do is let RAPTOR do its job. We just have to continue living our lives. We can't just search for them, that's just what they'd want us to do."
"Exactly," said Crystal. "You go searching for them, and they could lead you guys into another trap. I suggest you, Yuri, and the rest of the gang stay close together when you're walking to the Ruby Dragon from school or something. You should have a security detail as well. No telling what these guys are going to do next. The stakes in that Duel we were just in were really high and there's no telling how far these guys will go to get what they want. And what they want...is Yuri's head."
"Why would anyone want to kill Yuri?" Annabelle began to sob. "He's so nice. He'd never harm anyone."
"Who knows," said Patty. "But I'm starting to think Yuri's dreams and these Neo Rare Hunters are somehow all connected."
"You really think so?" Crystal asked.
"Yeah. They seem to know a lot about this Yugi character Yuri keeps dreaming about. And the only ones who know about Yugi and those dreams are us. Yuri never posted anything about them online or discussed them with anyone else. I know, trust me. He seems to want to keep them secret."
"Well, whatever happens out there, be careful," said Crystal. "This isn't the last we've seen of those guys. And Lumis did say they were going to go after the rest of you. Keep an eye out on your surroundings, everyone. No telling when they're going to strike next."