Yuri - Bay Area
Yuri gasped! His eyes opened quickly and he sat up in his sleeping bag. He panted as though he were running for his life. His head darted from left to right deliriously as he tried to make sense of where he was. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the cool ocean breeze caressing his face was like mother nature soothing him with tender love and care, reminding him that he had a bad dream. He slapped his palms over his face and rubbed his eyes before patting his face.
His friends were sleeping all around him. Tyson was snoring by the still crackling fire. Nick and Patty were in their tent. And Crystal was in hers. Nikki was fast asleep on a hammock she brought from home, snoring loudly as she clutched a pink teddy bear. He was still on the island. He was still safe.
He slowed his breathing until it became steady. When he felt better, he got out of his sleeping bag and went into the woods. Max whined, trailing after him. He couldn't go any further because his collar was tethered to Patty's tent.
"I'll be back, boy," Yuri whispered. He continued into the woods until he was all alone. He unzipped his pants and pissed into the bushes.
Bad Dream?
"Yeah," Yuri said, zipping his pants back up. Ser Norman was standing behind him, facing the other way to give him privacy.
What did you see?
"A bright light. And…there was all this screaming. There were people. I think they were dying."
Those are the visions you see of home. Your real home. Termnnia.
"Are they suffering?"
Every day.
"If I go back…will I put an end to it?"
I cannot answer that. But you will bring the people hope. This is an evil that only you can combat as the High King.
"It really is unquestionable, isn't it? This is place…this Termnnia. It's an actual place of existence?"
Yes. I am happy that you are beginning to see. But will you truly accept it? There's still a lot of fear and doubt in you.
"But I thought you got rid of all the bad stuff Bakura put in me."
I can get rid of monsters taking control of you and forcing you to make terrible choices, Yuri. I can dispel curses and hexes and things of that nature. But fear and doubt. That is not Bakura's doing. It is yours. You are too in love with this world and the people around it to want to actually believe the things I've been trying to tell you. I sense that deep down, you hope this is some kind of joke your father is playing on you. Or that this is all some kind of dream so that you can remain here in this world, on that island, and with your friends.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Deep down I do have a feeling like that in my gut." He placed his hand on his belly. "At the same time, I'm quite curious to see this world you talk about. It's so filled with incredible stories, heroes, magic, and other cool stuff. It makes me want to leave my own imprint in this world, even though you already said that I have. I killed some dark lord by summoning monsters that only answer to the king? If that's true, talk about power."
Yuri leaned back and looked at the stars. "For a long time, everyone's called me a weak little flower, even when I was a wannabe crime lord in my younger days. Imagine the look on their faces when they find out I'm some all-powerful king."
A voice spoke to him from the darkness of the woods next to the beach. "You won't have to wait long to see that reaction."
Yuri stood up straight and Ser Norman raised his fists, anticipating an enemy. A figure hooded in tattered heavy brown robs walked out of the woods until he was just barely lit by the fire.
"Who are you?" Yuri asked.
"Shh!" said the hooded figure. "You'll wake the others. I only need to speak to you, man?"
"I'm not going anywhere without my friends."
"But am I your friend, man. We've Dueled before. Remember?"
Yuri didn't move or answer him. However, his voice did sound familiar. Eerily familiar. "It can't be," he whispered.
Do you know him?
"I think I do. I pray it's someone else, though."
Yuri got up, but he did so slowly. He kept his hand behind his back, clutching a stone he could use to defend himself with. The hooded figure glided into the forest towards a camp of his own by a pond that reflected the light of the full moon so brightly, it lit up the darkness around it.
"Is that you, Andre?"
"Andre?" the hooded figure laughed. He removed his hood to reveal the boy Yuri had seen in his dreams many months ago.
"Jaden!" Yuri cried out, falling down on his butt. "I can't be! No! No way!"
"I'm glad you remember my name," said the boy. "That was one intense Duel we had, even though it was a dream."
"What are you doing here?"
I want to know the answer to that as well! Ser Norman barked. What is a Termnnian doing here?
"Sweet!" said Jaden. "So you're the famous Ser Norman. I've read all the legends about you since I was a kid. I'm Jaden Yuki. Top of my class at Duel Academia." He laughed. "Well, when it came to Dueling anyway. My grades almost held me back, heh, heh. Anyway, it's a real honor, sir."
"He can see you?" Yuri croaked. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no! You guys...you are real. I can't…I can't believe it. I just can't!"
Why are you here, Jaden Yuki? Ser Norman placed his massive hand over Yuri's shoulder and squeezed it to calm him down.
"I'm here because one of my friends has a gift for him. A card that's been calling out to him since the day of his birth. A card that belonged to his father. His…his real father."
"Ugh," Yuri uttered hoarsely. His real father. That meant Brett was right! Brett was right! He wasn't truly born from Jacob and Paula Montgomery. "No…it's true. It's all true."
I thought you were going to accept your destiny, Yuri?
"I know, I know. But I had doubts about this world when I said that. Now that I know for a solid fact that you guys are from another world, I can't make any sense of anything."
"You're scared of losing all you hold dear in this world, aren't you, man?" Jaden said.
Yuri gulped hard and bobbed his head weakly. "Jaden. If I do leave. Will I see my friends again?"
"I don't know, Yuri. I can't answer that. If I had to take a guess, I'd say you won't see them again for a long, long time. I know it must be hard for you to accept, but we really need you in our world. People are dying every day. War has broken out and it won't stop no matter how hard we try. Please, Yuri, we need you."
"I've never stopped a war before."
"You don't have to. They will. The monsters that answered your call when Anubis killed your real family."
"Slifer, Obelisk, and Ra?"
"Yeah. You know about them?"
"They've made themselves known to me in my dreams, too. They've been trying to knock some sense into me all these years."
"Aw, man. Even they're desperate to have you back."
Things in Termnnia must be graver than I thought if the Divine Beasts are even invading Yuri's dreams to get his attention. Yuri, do you now understand what you must do?
"Then let's go and get this over with!" Yuri shouted in a fit of rage. "Come on! Let's go! You're here! I'm here! Let's go!"
"Not just yet," said Jaden. "I know this sounds stupid, but you've got to win this tournament in order to come home. Our government has been influenced by this really corrupted family doing everything in their power to keep you here. They act like they're doing it for your own good, but I know evil when I see it. I've fought against it all my life. I can sense evil! But the government doesn't want to believe me or my friends because they say we're just kids having weird dreams."
"So they're forcing me to stay here unless I can win this tournament."
I've told you this before, Yuri. You had many tasks set before you by this evil House in Termnnia. You were supposed to be a man with a good heart. That was almost ruined when Bakura corrupted your soul by breaking the light in your heart apart and keeping its pieces guarded by the monsters I destroyed. Second. You had to clear the corruption in your city to prove you were a good leader. And you did, with my help, of course. You stood up to the crime family running their terrible deeds in the shadows. And then you found me and unlocked our power to finally silence them. The third task is to sharpen your skills as a Duelist, which you have done with flying colors since I first met you. And the final task was putting your skills to the test by winning the world championship and becoming the number one Duelist in this world.
"And that's all I have to do?" Yuri asked. "So I guess there would be no point in wishing for my father's company to be safe from Leon anymore."
"What do you mean?" Jaden asked.
"Family business I hoped to take care of. It seems hopeless now."
"Hey, when there's a will, there's a way," Jaden said happily. "I know for a fact that your dad's company will be in good hands when you're gone."
"That's a topic for another time," Yuri said at once. "You said you had a friend who wants to give me a card belonging to my dad?"
Jaden concurred with a smile. "Yeah. He's been looking forward to meeting you, Yuri. But in order to meet him, you're going to have to sleep."
"What?"
I'll take care of that. Ser Norman touched Yuri's forehead with the tip of his dagger-sized finger. The next thing Yuri knew, he was swallowed by darkness.
"Sleep, Yuri," Jaden said, his voice echoed and sounded distant. "Leave the rest to me."
A freezing cold raindrop fell on Yuri's cheek, waking him from the deep slumber that Ser Norman put him in. Yuri's eyes blinked rapidly to free themselves from the burden of sleep. He flinched from the sharp pain in his lower back. He soon realized he was asleep in the middle of a city street.
(Picture by me, TheSingingSword)
Yuri, fearing he was about to get run over any second, ran for the sidewalk as fast as his tired legs could carry him. He waited for cars to pass. But nothing came. There were no cars driving by. The city was still and empty. Not even the faint hum of cars in the distance could be heard. All Yuri's ear could pick up was the light drizzle of the rain, a rumble of thunder in the sky, and the wind howling through the rows of tall buildings surrounding him. Despite the fact that there were lights on inside some of the windows, Yuri felt as though each and every building was devoid of life.
"Where am I?" he asked. "Ser Norman? Jaden?"
They didn't answer him. He was all alone. Yuri saw the tallest building in the empty city reaching out into the sky. It was a tri-towered building, much like the Phobos Towers back home, except these were octagonal shaped and colored green. Red lights at the top of their antennas eerily flashed against the dark sky. For some reason, Yuri felt like those towers were the way to go.
Trust your instincts.
Yuri jumped and screamed. "Ser Norman! Damn it, why didn't you answer me when I called you?"
Ser Norman said nothing and just stood where he was examining the city. This place. It does not exist.
"If it doesn't exist, what the hell am I looking at?"
It is not a physical world. It is one created from dreams and strong spirits. This is a place where they come to test each other's strengths. That is the purpose of this empty, cold, and dark world.
"Test each other's strengths? You mean to tell me this city is nothing more than some training ground?"
That is exactly what it is. And the ones who created it are here. No doubt they come to watch you challenge this friend of Jaden Yuki's. Be careful, Yuri. The youths who created this place are strong and have most likely filled the streets with enemies to challenge their strengths. They have fought many foes in the name of the High King. Now they wish to see if the High King they were tasked in serving was worth the trouble.
"Seriously?"
YURI! WATCH OUT!
Not even a few minutes in this strange world and already Yuri was ambushed by creatures that came out of the ground like shadows. They were Duel Monsters. Cloaked phantoms called Invitation to a Dark Sleep. Sword-wielding shadow knights called Dark Eye Nightmare, and gremlins called Doomsday Horror surrounded him.
"Get away!" Yuri shouted.
No! Do not fear them! You are the High King! You fear no one! Now STAND AND FIGHT!
Yuri's jacket and shirt ripped away, leaving him naked from the waist up. All of a sudden, he was clothed with a hooded shoulder cape colored black damasked with silver designs. Then his right arm was reinforced by a giant pauldron made of platinum embedded with egg-sized diamonds. It was Ser Norman's arm. And his massive sword, the weapon he used to murder Brett's private army appeared in his grip.
"Whoa! What's with the new duds and the arm?" Yuri wondered.
Our souls were meant to intertwine, Yuri. It was destiny that brought you and me together. After hundreds of thousands of years, I have finally found my host. As one, you and I will purge the world of the evil created by the Goddess of Perfection! We are the instruments of justice and light! Finally, after all this time, WE WILL FIGHT TOGETHER!
"I trust you, Ser Norman."
Yuri began to attack the monsters. The Dark Eye Nightmares and the Doomsday Horrors swarmed him at once. Yuri wielded the giant sword as though it weighed nothing. He slashed two of the Doomsday Horrors away with one swipe of his sword. A Dark Eye Nightmare tried to get him from behind. He spun out of the way and sliced its head off. Each time Yuri struck down the monsters, they disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The Invitation to a Dark Sleep began to mutter a spell that powered up the monsters attacking Yuri.
They battled with a newfound ferocity. Even with his new power, Yuri was getting nervous. The monsters kept on coming out of the ground as if born from shadows. There was no end to them. Ser Norman filled Yuri with incredible magic to combat their foes. Yuri stuck his sword into the ground and created the most intricate arcane circle he had ever seen.
The monsters were then washed by a radiant white light and they were all gone, leaving behind a cloud of dark dust.
But there was no time to celebrate. Something else came out of the ground. It was a dark armored warrior named Orgoth the Relentless. He let out a terrible scream as he finally materialized into the realm. He stuck his sword into the ground and summoned hundreds of Doomsday Horrors.
"What is this place?"
"It matters not what they throw at us!" shouted Ser Norman. "We will fight them all! Nothing will stand in our way! Murder! Kill! Murder! Kill!"
And that's what they did. Yuri dodged monsters. He flipped through the air and even performed dazzling displays of swordplay while climbing higher and higher into the air until he was seventeen feet above the streets. A new feeling overcame Yuri. He wasn't scared anymore. In fact, he was rather enjoying this. He, everyone's delicate little flower, was fighting hordes of monsters alone, performing moves at ridiculous speeds the way powerful video characters from Square Enix would move.
After he was done fighting off the Doomsday Horrors, he sped for Orgoth the Relentless and battled him fiercely for fifteen minutes before he eventually struck him down and smote his ruin on the ground. Again, there was little cause for celebration as hundreds of Doomsday Horrors materialized out of thin air to attack Yuri and take the Pendant of the Kings from him.
They landed a few hits on him, but it did very little damage to him. He fought the creatures all the way downtown. They kept on materializing but Yuri and Ser Norman kept on fighting. There seemed to be no end to his strength. No limit to his ferocity. He showed no signs of tiredness. He just kept on fighting and fighting. His power seemed infinite.
He was being watched from the skyscrapers above by the youths who created the city from their dreams.
Bastion Misawa of White Harbor stood with Jaden Yuki and his best friend, a blue-haired boy with small round spectacles named Syrus. Above then, sitting on the S of the tower's neon sign (Which read Salazar) was the ebony-haired Ellerian princess, Evelyn Alteria.
They stood on the top of a shopping building, watching Yuri fight his way across the city square to get to the tritowers. The youngsters were cloaked in black to keep to the shadows so Yuri and Ser Norman couldn't see them. The streets below flashed with explosions and the magic swordcraft Yuri performed to combat the enemy. Hundreds more of the Doomsday Horrors appeared, but Yuri laughed and engaged them.
"Look at him go," Bastion said. He was mesmerized by the combat data he was receiving on his small laptop, which could fit on the palm of his hand. The graphs were rising higher and higher above the charts. There was no end to the combat data. His small laptop had 3 TB of memory and it was losing space by the second. "And this is just a taste of his power. By the Goddesses, Master Yugi isn't going to believe this! He truly is born of the Song from the Divines."
"Haw, haw, man!" exclaimed Jaden. "If this is the way he can fight, I can't wait to see how he Duels!"
"You're telling me," said Syrus. "I'm just glad he's on our side."
"Incredible," Evelyn breathed in wonder, lacing her fingers together and placing her rose-red lips on them. "It's no wonder Antilles is doing everything he can politically to keep the prince locked in that world. If he and the Ghost of the Conqueror can do this, there will be nothing that can stop our Alliance."
A portal of flames opened behind them. Avi came out of it and approached them. "Has he arrived?"
Syrus went red in the face and he gulped. "Oh man!" he thought. "It's the Summoner of Dragons. Oooooh, she's pretty."
"Easy, Sye," Jaden said chuckling. "You're going to make the Dark Magician Girl jealous."
"AVI!" Evelyn cried out. She got up and dashed for the Summoner of Dragons, giving her a long and loving hug. "I can't believe it's you!"
"Urk! Yes, yes," Avi croaked. "So good to see you, too, Princess. It's been a while."
Bastion bowed. "Ah, Lady Summoner! Good, good! I see Jaden gave you the link to our custom world, too."
"Actually, Della did that," said Jaden. "Still, it's great to finally see you."
"Della," said Avi. She tapped her bottom lip. "Is she the last Celtra I've been told about?"
"The one and only," said Jaden. "I'd introduce you to her, but she's busy casting the spell linking Yuri to this place. I can't visit him in real life since I don't have access to the Gates. So I had to visit him in a dream. And in that dream, I had the Spirit of the Conqueror put him to sleep so he could dream again and link up with us here and…Aw man, I've gone cross-eyed."
He was so confused with the plan that even he didn't understand how he accomplished this.
"A dream within a dream?" said Avi. "How peculiar."
"Yeah," Jaden said. "And now we got this sweet city all to ourselves to meet up and train. There's no shortage of monsters around here, so you've got to be on your guard."
"I'm aware," said Avi. "I was attacked the moment I got here. Thank goodness I have my abilities. I don't know where I'd be if I didn't have my dragons."
"Same here," said Evelyn. "My Buster Blader and I had to fight through dozens of those horrible creatures before we found Bastion."
Bastion laughed. "Apologies, girls. Chazz, Zane, Prince Michael, and I were the ones who decided to add monsters that lurked around every corner here. This world is ours but it's filled with dangers, each threat stronger than the last. We come here to train and keep our skills sharpened constantly. Even though we are sleeping, we get stronger. The dream world has worked with maximum efficiency. I have kept tabs on our abilities by gathering combat data since the foundation of this place months ago. We each show great progress."
"Really?" said Avi. "And this won't affect sleep in any way?"
"Not at all. We get the rest we need and we strengthen ourselves by combating the monsters we placed here in the dream world."
"We took on a Dark Titan of Terror lurking in the warehouse the other day!" boasted Jaden. "Aw, man, it was awesome! It's like a video game, you know what I mean."
"Wow," Avi gasped. "Can I use this world to train, too? Will I see any results?"
"It will take some time, but your brain will eventually process all that it has learned while spending time here," said Bastion. "It's worked wonders for me. I took on an entire cavern infested with goblins single-handedly the other day. This place heightens your senses, bolsters your abilities, and so much more. I reckon they will also have an effect on how you use your dragons in the real world."
Avi looked around at the empty city. She stared into the purple stormy sky and breathed in the air. Even though this world was nothing but a dream dimension, it felt so real. The sights, the smells.
"I was told about the supernatural abilities the GX Warriors and their allies possess but this is something truly extraordinary. You can link our minds together so we can meet in our dreams and you can create worlds such as this at a whim. Your powers show no sign of limitation. "
Jaden chuckled. "Yeah, I hope it makes sense. Anyway, I hope you can Duel, too, Summoner. Do you have the Galaxy-Eyes Dragons used by the Star Queen? Can I see 'em?"
"I'm afraid not," Avi replied sadly. "A boy named Kaito Tenjo had to take them from me. Apparently, they were meant for another. So I cannot Duel you with them." She noticed the explosions flashing below. "Is that him? Has he arrived?"
"He's arrived all right," said Bastion. He had to stop gathering any more combat data, for her laptop was getting full.
"Why have you stopped scanning?" Evelyn asked.
"If my computer soaks up any more data, it's going to explode," Bastion said with a chuckle. She tapped on her earpiece. "Nel-E. You there?"
"At your service, My Lord," said the female AI.
"I know it's a heavy load, but can you transfer the combat data I've gathered from Yuri's fight back to the Kaiba Corp mainframe? Nobody is going to believe this. They have to see it now. If the Senators see this, Antilles is done for. There's going to be nothing he can do to further halt Yuri's arrival back home. They'll see at once that he is the key to peace on the continent."
"At once, Lord Bastion. However, this is going to take a lot of time. There is just so much transfer."
"I understand. Take your time. I think we're going to be here for a while."
"So there's our High King," Avi said.
"That's right," said Bastion. "He's taken on 1200 enemies within the last hour and he's still going."
He opened a scanner on his gauntlet to see the data on his body. "Wow. He shows no sign of fatigue. All his limbs are reading 100%. I swear, it's got to be Ser Norman."
"Is it truly him?" Avi asked. "The Conqueror of Termnnia? The Supreme King of the First Age? The one who tamed both the Divine Beasts, Exodia, and the forgotten titans from the Dawn of Time?"
"Seems so," said Jaden.
Suddenly Chazz Princeton, the Black Thunder King, walked out from the entrance to the stairway leading to the rooftop. He was joined by a boy who choose to remain hidden and cloaked.
"Sorry I'm late," Chazz said. "You guys better take it easy with the monsters. There was a hell of a lot of them on my way here."
"You just need to get stronger," said the boy. "I guess it was a good thing you happened upon me and my monster. Otherwise, I don't think you ever would have made it here."
"Whatever," said Chazz. He approached the edge of the building to see Yuri. "That's him? That's supposed to be our High King? He looks like a total wimp if you ask me."
"Say that to his face right now, Chazz," said Avi. "I'm sure he'd love to hear your comments up close."
"I would. But our bucket-headed friend beat me to him first."
"Huh?"
When the last Doomsday Horror was slain, the city remained quiet. No more came out to challenge him. Or so he thought.
"Your power truly knows no bounds," said Zane Truesdale. He walked from behind a statue of a swan on the top of a stairway that doubled as a fountain leading to the tri towers that dominated the city.
"Who the hell are you?" Yuri shouted. He held his massive sword up at him. "I warn you! Stay back!"
"I'm not here to hurt you, your highness."
"No one is," a girl said, joining him at the top of the stairs. She was tall and blonde, wearing a short white chiffon dress and diamond jewelry. She was Zane's dearest friend, Alexis Rhodes.
Yuri set the sword down. Maybe it was because she was a girl or something, but there was a feeling in his chest that told him they were telling the truth. He glared at Zane and Alexis for a long time. The wind whipped their hair and cloaks around. Their zippers and jewelry clinked wildly. Alexis's long tassel of golden hair undulated behind her like a cape.
"Are you the guy Jaden told me about?" Yuri asked.
"Yes. I am." Zane bowed respectfully. "Your Grace. I am Zane Truesdale. Top of my class at Duel Academia and Steward of the House of Dalton in the Kingdom of Eredas. It's finally good to meet you, Prince Daveed Delgado Luthenion Wallcroft of the House of Plantegrast. Or do they call you Yuri nowadays?"
Alexis placed her hand on her chest, sticking her right arm out and bowing as well. "Your Grace," she said. "I am Alexis Rhodes. Princess of Lorin and heir to the Fountain Throne of Aquarius. This is truly an honor. We've heard your story so many times. My mother has told me stories about you since I was a little girl. Now here you are standing before me. Well…not in the flesh but this is close enough."
"Wow," said Yuri. His face went as red as a beet upon seeing the princess. The lights of the water fountain behind her formed a sort of halo around her. "You're…beautiful, Alexis."
Alexis rolled her eyes. "Even Prince Yuri is making the moves on me? Wow."
Zane chuckled. "Your beauty shows no bounds, Alexis." He removed his trenchcoat revealing the belted sleeveless vest and black combat pants underneath.
"Yuri," he said. "I have something for you. A card that once belonged to your father. The REAL creator of the game, Maximillion Pegasus, made a few alterations to it. However, if you want it, you're going to have to impress me."
He held up his arm and activated a long, silver, blade-shaped Duel Disk. "In a game of Duel Monsters."
"You want me to Duel you?"
"Yes. Show me what you can do and maybe I'll give your father's card to you. Are you ready?"
"What choice do I have?" Yuri bemoaned. "Something tells me I can't leave this place until we Duel."
His gauntlet glowed and out from it morphed a Duel Disk. His Dueling Deck was already placed inside. It flew out of the slot, shuffled itself in midair, and put itself back in the slot.
"Cool," said Yuri. "Mind if I start first?"
"Uh oh," Alexis said, backing away. "Go easy on him, Zane."
LP 4000
T1
"So you're the top of your class at a school for Dueling? Do those really exist in your world?"
"Yes, indeed they do," Zane replied. He drew five cards for his starting hand. "Dueling is far more important to our world than it is to yours. Sometimes Duelists are used to protect kingdoms because we use a law called the Dueling Pact. It was meant to keep us from destroying our nations with useless wars by deciding disputes through Dueling. So obviously Kings and Queens and lesser lords of all titles will send promising players to these Dueling Schools to sharpen their skills so as to keep their lands and interests safe."
"Wow, that's interesting."
"But it's a dying tradition," said Alexis. "Without a High King on the throne, our old traditions are dying because people have started making up their own laws to have power. Confederacies are popping up all over the place, Yuri. War is breaking out like the plague. That's why we need you to come back. We heard you still have your doubts. Well, Zane is about to knock them out of you. So for your sake, I hope you open your eyes in this Duel."
"I'll try. You know, Dueling Schools are a concept that's on the table back at Phobos Corp. Which for your information is the company my dad owns."
"And the company you'll one day inherit," Zane added.
"How did…"
"We know all about you, Yuri. We have eyes and ears in your world watching your every move. And we've seen your Dueling skills improve over time. Show us how much you've improved."
"All right, I'll show you. I summon Giant Rex in attack mode!" Yuri conjured his orange spinosaurus with 2000 ATK. The dinosaur roared so loud Zane could feel the steps shaking underneath his feet.
"Next, I'll set two cards face-down and end my turn. Show me what you've got, Zane."
T2
"Gladly!" Zane said. He drew his card swiftly and elegantly. "I play Pot of Greed, adding two cards to my hand. Now, I summon Cyber Dragon in attack mode!"
He set his card down on his Duel Disk. Suddenly, one of the doors at the top of the tri towers opened. A metallic serpentine dragon with a shiny chromed body flew out and landed in front of Zane.
The sight of the dragon's 2100 ATK caused Yuri to flinch and take a step back. "Hey, wait a minute! How did you summon a Level 5 monster on your first turn?"
"I can summon my Cyber Dragon because it's my first turn, Yuri. Since you have a monster on the field and I don't, I can special summon it from my hand."
"Ha! Too bad for you, Zane! I activate my Trap Card, Hunting Instincts! If you special summon a monster, then I can special summon a Dinosaur from my hand. Say hello to Black Tyranno!"
"Zane!" Alexis gasped. "It's him!"
"Hmm," Zane responded with a nod.
They both watched as Yuri's Black Tyranno stomped out of an alleyway and joined Giant Rex on his side of the field.
ATK/2600
On the top of the shopping building, Bastion, Jaden and the others cautiously stood all the way on the edge of the building to watch Yuri's ace make its appearance.
"That's Black Tyranno?" scoffed Chazz. "That overgrown lizard is what everybody's been hyping all these years. Man, it doesn't look so tough. I've got monsters with less attack points that are more useful than him."
Bastion rubbed his chin. "It's effect may not be all that impressive by our standards. But that's not what makes it special. That card is the legendary artifact of House Delgado where Yuri is truly from."
"Oh man!" jeered Jaden. "Zane is so lucky! I hope I get to take him on next."
Avi crossed her arms and smiled. "I can't believe I'm finally seeing them with my own eyes. Our future High King and his ace standing together before me." A tear went down her cheek. "And to think I was nothing more than a lowly tavern wench getting abused and made fun of many months ago. Now I stand here with all these heroes and legends. Safaani bless you for choosing me."
At the top of the stairs, Zane had a staredown with Black Tyranno. Black Tyranno looked back at Zane, snarling and snapping its jaws, his glowing green eyes flashed as did Yuri's.
"So that's the legendary Black Tyranno of House Delgado. Too bad I'm going to have to destroy it upon making itself known to me."
"I'd like to see you try, Zane."
"Very well then, Prince Daveed. I summon Cyber Dragon Drei!" A Cyber Dragon with long fins and yellow neon came down from the tower, screeching as it made its way next to Cyber Dragon. "I activate Cyber Dragon Drei's special ability!" Zane declared. "I can make the Level of my Cyber Dragons I control become Level 5. And it's just what I need to perform an Xyz Summon!"
"Xyz Summon! Just like when Yugi and I dueled!"
"You've done this before?" Zane asked. "You've Xyz Summoned before?"
Yuri said: "Yeah, when I Dueled Yugi in my dreams. I used a few Xyz Monsters against him. And he's Xyz Summoned monsters against me. For the longest time, I thought those cards were fake and didn't exist. But seeing you use them, I'm starting to think there's more to them than I know."
"You've Dueled Yugi?" asked Alexis. "Interesting. So he has been training you in his own dream world. That explains how you've gotten stronger, Yuri."
"But is he strong enough to contend with this?" said Zane. The Overlay Network opened in front of him. "I Overlay Cyber Dragon and Cyber Dragon Drei to create the mighty Cyber Dragon Nova!"
Zane summoned a black Cyber Dragon with red glowing accents. The creature was as tall as a skyscraper. It raised its massive wings and let out a metallic screech.
ATK/2100
"And why stop there?" said Zane. "I'll use my Cyber Dragon Nova to Xyz Summon again."
"How? You don't have enough materials for another Xyz Summon!" Yuri was starting to get nervous.
"I see you know the mechanics of our world," said Zane. "But there's more than one way to Xyz Summon a monster. In this case, I can use Cyber Dragon Nova as the Xyz Material to summon…Cyber Dragon Infinity!"
Cyber Dragon Nova was taken by a flash of orange light. Its body underwent a massive transformation, becoming much bigger and taller than it was before. Cyber Dragon Infinity, a jet-black Cyber Dragon with red glowing accents and gold edging, showed itself.
ATK/2100
"I know," said Zane. "He has fewer attack points than your Black Tyranno. But, Cyber Dragon Nova and all the Xyz Materials it had get transferred to Cyber Dragon Infinity. Also, it gains 200 ATK for each material attached to it. So Cyber Dragon Infinity's attack increases to 2700!"
"That's not good at all!" Yuri cried.
The boy is truly skilled, Ser Norman said. Use caution, Yuri.
"Cyber Dragon Infinity, attack Yuri's Black Tyranno! Cosmic Strident Blast!"
Cyber Dragon Infinity blasted Black Tyranno into dust and reduced Yuri's Life Points to 3900. The explosion rocked the town square, shattering all the windows over every building within a mile of Cyber Dragon Infinity's attack. Street lamps moaned as they collapsed to the ground, sending a rain of sparks into the air. When the smoke cleared, a smoldering crater was all that was left of Black Tyranno. The trees in the garden around the fountain caught fire.
"He's gone!" Syrus cried out. "Zane's Cyber Dragon totally annihilated him!"
"Ha!" laughed Chazz. "What did I tell you? That overgrown lizard was all hype."
"So much for your legendary ace," said Zane. His gigantic dragon hovered menacingly above him. "Remember, you have to impress me to get this card your father once owned. So far, I'm not impressed. You're supposed to be the world champion in order to come home. If this is how you Duel, I can tell we're all going to be disappointed. I end my turn."
Alexis said nothing as she stood in the shadow of Zane's Cyber Dragon Infinity. Even she had to admit Yuri's lack of protection for his ace was very disappointing to watch.
"Yuri…" she whispered.
T3
"My turn!" Yuri declared. "Don't think you've got the advantage just because you destroyed Black Tyranno, Zane. I've got plenty of monsters to wipe you out with. First, I activate Raigeki. This will destroy all monsters you have on the field!"
Zane just narrowed his eyes in response. "Sorry, Yuri, but I won't allow that to happen. Once per turn; if you activate a card effect, I can remove an Xyz Material from my Cyber Dragon Infinity and negate it. Sorry, but Cyber Dragon Infinity isn't going anywhere."
Cyber Dragon Infinity's eyes flashed bright red as it let out a metallic howl that sounded like laughter.
"I figured that was too easy. Oh well. I activate Pot of Greed and draw two cards. Next, I activate Monster Reborn and bring Black Tyranno back from the Graveyard!"
"Hmm," said Zane.
Black Tyranno rose out of the ground and roared with a vengeance.
"And now I'm going to activate the spell, Escutcheon of the Golden Kings! This will transform Black Tyranno into Kaiser Black Tyranno!"
Black Tyranno lifted up its head and roared as a chestplate morphed over his chest, wrapping around his torso with a golden chain. The ruby on the center of the chesplate flashed and then Black Tyranno's body was reinforced with dark brown armor with leafy gold ornamentation and beautiful scrollwork that covered its body from head to the end of its tail, tipped with a giant claymore. Long silvery hair emerged from the back of its armored head.
Kaiser Black Tyranno stared at Cyber Dragon Infinity with a deadly glare. He snarled, waiting for Yuri to activate his effect.
"Look at that!" said Jaden. "Awesome! He gave Black Tyranno a new form."
"Nice makeover," said Chazz. "Hopefully it'll actually make him useful."
"I think it's more than just a makeover," said Avi. "I think Yuri's new monster has everything it needs to exact its revenge against that monstrosity Zane summoned."
ATK/3200 DEF/3000
"When Kaiser Black Tyranno is special summoned," said Yuri, "I can activate one of two of its effects. I can either destroy all spell and trap cards on the field or I can destroy all attack position monsters you control. And guess what I'm choosing! Rid the field of Cyber Dragon Infinity, Kaiser Black Tyranno!"
Kaiser Black Tyranno roared in response and stomped its way to Cyber Dragon Infinity. He raised his tail and sliced Cyber Dragon Infinity across the belly with the claymore at the end of his tail. The wound was deep and destructive, revealing all the parts inside the Cyber Dragon's body. Cables cut in half stuck out of the gash, sparking wildly. The glowing accents on Cyber Dragon Infinity's body flashed on and off. Cyber Dragon Infinity screamed into the sky before it exploded.
"Now you're wide open, Zane! Kaiser Black Tyranno! Attack him directly!"
Kaiser Black Tyranno stomped forward until he stood in front of Zane. He raised his head and opened his mouth, shooting a red laser at Zane's feet, creating massive explosions. Zane just stood there and took it. He stared at Yuri as his hair flapped around. His Life Points went down to 800 but he thought nothing of it.
"He didn't even flinch," Yuri said to himself. "He's done this lots of times, I can tell."
Indeed he has. He's a worthy opponent for you.
"Worthy? No way, man. He's not worthy. He's more than that. He's better than me. Way better than me. Something tells me he's already got something planned to counter my attack. All right, Zane. That's enough punishment for you. I set a card face-down and end my turn."
T4
"Not bad, kid. Of course, with my field now open, I can just summon another Cyber Dragon."
"Oh no," Yuri grumbled as a fresh new Cyber Dragon appeared on the field. "There's no end to them."
"Or better yet, two! I play, Cyber Revsystem. This allows me to special summon the first Cyber Dragon I summoned from the Graveyard."
Just when Yuri thought his troubles were over, another one came to play.
"But they won't stick around," said Zane. He then flipped over the Polymerization he had in his hand. "In present form. I use Polymerization to fuse my two Cyber Dragons into Cyber Twin Dragon!"
The two Cyber Dragons merged and became a two-headed Cyber Dragon with 2800 ATK points.
"What?" said Zane. "Not going to boast that my dragon is weaker than your Kaiser Black Tyranno?"
"No. I know better than that. I can already tell you've got something planned to deal with him."
Zane smiled coquettishly at Yuri's words. "I honor your humility, Yuri. It means you Duel with honor and respect. That's a trait many Duelists don't have these days. It's never a wise choice to get too cocky. It can blind you of the truth. And the truth is that I do have a plan to use my Cyber Twin Dragon to destroy that Kaiser you created. First, I summon Cyber Dragon Core."
He summoned an incomplete Cyber Dragon to the field.
"When he's summoned, I can add a Cyber trap or spell to my hand from my deck. And his summoning triggers the effect of my Cyber Dragon Vier! When a Cyber Dragon is summoned, I can special summon him from my hand in defense mode."
Zane summoned a skinny, sleek, Cyber Dragon with purple lights.
"Now, I know you've been acquainted with Xyz Summoning but do you know anything about Link Summoning?"
"No, but I have a feeling I'm about to find out."
"Indeed you are!" Zane yelled. "The conditions are set!" A digital portal with arrows pointing down and the left appeared over Zane's field. "I offer Cyber Dragon Core and Cyber Dragon Vier to Link Summon, Cyber Dragon Sieger!"
A larger Cyber Dragon came out of the portal. Its body was decorated with blue orbs and blue neon accents. A holographic ring orbited the top of its head.
ATK/2100
"I'll set one card face-down and begin the battle phase. And when the battle phase begins, Cyber Dragon Sieger's special ability activates. If one of the arrows displayed on its card points to a machine monster, I can increase its attack by 2100 points. Now, Cyber Twin Dragon's attack increases to 4900! Far and away surpassing the might of your Kaiser Black Tyranno!"
Alexis's eyes widened and she gasped.
Cyber Twin Dragon charged up its Double Strident Blast attack. When it reached full power, it fired and destroyed Kaiser Black Tyranno. Trees were blown right out of the ground from the explosion. A nearby guardhouse was ripped from its foundation and flew away. Yuri yelled, using both his arms to shield his face from the gust created by the blast. He was lifted off his feet and fell on his back. His Life Points went down to 2200.
"This is the end for you, Yuri. Cyber Twin Dragon can make a second attack! And with no monsters defending you, I'll strike your Life Points."
"It's not going to be that simple, Zane. When Kaiser Black Tyranno is destroyed, I can special summon the original Black Tyranno, but it's attack points are doubled."
"What?"
Black Tyranno came back with 5200 ATK points. It stomped its foot on the ground and roared, ceasing Cyber Twin Dragon's attack.
"Sorry, Zane. But like your Cyber Dragons, Black Tyranno is a fellow who just hates saying goodbye. Also, when Kaiser Black Tyranno is destroyed, all of your monsters flip to face-down defense position."
Cyber Twin Dragon and Cyber Dragon Zwei flipped face-down and were gone.
Avi placed her hand on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow. He saved himself."
"Not just that!" Bastion added, "but Zane's monsters are now in defense mode and he's got no cards in his back row. Black Tyranno's ability allows him to attack directly if Zane has nothing but defensive position monsters. Zane has lost this Duel."
"Those Black Tyranno cards are so amazing!" jeered Evelyn. "He seems to come out just when Yuri needs him most. They're like brothers."
"Zane sure has his work cut out for him," said AvI. "But something tells me he knows what to do to battle against Yuri and his ace."
Chazz agreed with that statement with a nod. "Yeah, check out the look in Zane's eyes. Prince Yuri's Black Tyranno came back stronger but Zane doesn't look phased by it at all."
"I must say Yuri," said Zane, "my opinion about you has changed. You really do know how to handle yourself. I set one card face-down and end my turn."
T5
"Damn," Yuri said. "Looks like I can't attack you directly with Black Tyranno. But I can still rid the field of your Cyber Twin Dragon! Black Tyranno, attack!"
"Can you get rid of him?" Zane said. "I activate the trap card, Zero Gazer. This card will decrease your monster's attack to 0 and I can draw a card."
Zane drew. When he saw what he got, he narrowed his eyes and grinned.
"Arrgh!" Yuri growled. Cyber Twin Dragon fired its double Strident Blast, knocking Black Tyranno back to his side of the field. His Life Points trickled down to the last 100.
He had a feeling this was the end. He had no cards that could help him in his hand and he was out of options. All he had to do was hope Zane couldn't power up that Cyber Twin Dragon any further.
T6
"I draw!" said Zane.
"You're good, Zane," Yuri said.
Zane smiled. "You, too, Yuri. Good luck in the tournament. Win, damn you! We need you to come home."
"I'll do my best, Zane."
"Good. Your Black Tyranno is strong but let's see how he contends with my ace! First, I activate Cyber Emergency! This lets me add my last Cyber Dragon to my hand. Next, I activate De-Fusion, which will revert Cyber Twin Dragon back to two Cyber Dragons. Now, I use Power Bond!"
Syrus, who was all too familiar with that card, cried out hoarsely.
"With this spell card," Zane said, "I'm allowed to summon a Machine-Type Fusion monster! And with the Cyber Dragon in my hand and the two I have on the field, I can fuse all three of them together and create…the Cyber End Dragon!"
Yuri could only watch in horror as the dragons formed to become a three-headed mechanical monstrosity. The city lights flashed against its metallic body. Orbs glowing green, red, and blue shined on its body.
Cyber End Dragon was born. It greeted the world with a vicious roar that sent shivers down Yuri's spine. There was so much power in its call.
ATK/4000
"Plus, its attack doubles because of Power Bond's effect!" Zane yelled.
Cyber End Dragon roared even louder as electricity surged through its body.
Eight Thousand ATK points! Ser Norman yelled.
"This is it," said Yuri.
"You played well, Yuri," said Zane. "But not well enough. Cyber End Dragon. Destroy Black Tyranno! Super Strident Blaze!"
Yuri stood his ground and accepted the attack. Black Tyranno was incinerated just like that. Then, the excess blast reached Yuri. Jaden and the others cried out in shock as Yuri's body broke to pieces and he was gone.