Think back to when you were a child. You, without realizing the intent behind them, heard stories from your parents that had subtle morals at the end. Like how the tale of Peter Rabbit was a way to say, "always listen to your parents" and how Little Red Riding Hood was a way of saying "never talk to strangers". Rilmani tell their own children similar stories to explain their place in the universe, but the message is less subtle. What follows is a summary of one.
Before the birth of mortals, terms like Good and Evil were not defined. Beings who that would one day be called angels and celestials stood for Order, warring against the demons of the Abyss who championed Chaos. And few defended their cause more than the celestial general Lucifer the Light Bringer.
Now, if the name brings a different meaning to your mind, that of the Prince of Darkness, Ruler of Hell, Tempter of Mankind, those titles had not yet been given to him. His millennia of struggles against Chaos took its toll on him, twisting his perception, and corrupting his motives. While he still fought Chaos in all its forms under the banner of Law, his motives had changed, as did his… methods.
This led to young mortal races being "infected" by Chaos and changed for the worse. Lucifer fell, but not before convincing the powers of Law to draft the notorious Pact Primordial, giving him the responsibilities of a divine jailer for damned mortals. To this day, he exploits the document's loopholes to tempt and corrupt humanity.
This caused the Powers that Be to realize the universe was not as Black and White as they had previously believed. Law and Chaos was too broad, and each concept could be given added meaning by Good and Evil.
Why does this pertain to our story? More on that later.
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Chapter 57
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True Colors
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"Penelope? Wake up!" Eden shouted to the fallen Shadowchaser, holding her head upright and trying to rouse her. "Please, wake up! What's happening?"
"Let me give you a comparison," started Emily. "Say you meet this magical leprechaun in the park in a large city. He offers to fix up your house and add an extra room for dirt cheap, and against your better judgment, you agree. Halfway through this cheap job, he goes crazy, eats the entire house, and then shits out ten more leprechauns. Which then murder you. Then he and these ten new leprechauns branch out to find new 'customers'."
She stopped for a minute, looked at the pendant she had taken from her rival, and crushed in in her first.
"Now replace the 'city' with the human circulatory system and the 'house' with cells, and you've got a basic idea of what the nanos are doing to her."
Eden stared at her with a mixture of anger and genuine bafflement. "...I probably should have asked this a lot sooner, but what the fuck is wrong with you?"
"You want the short answer to that or the long answer?" Emily snickered waving a hand. "Oh don't worry, I have special plans for Penelope given all we've through, once I finish up here." She looked at Red Feather again. "Now, where were we? Oh right."
Ancient Gear Howitzer opened fire, again striking Red Feather, who fell on one knee.
'
(Red Feather: 5,400) - - - - - (Emily: 4,000)
"Your move, Red, make and then we can all have some fun."
"This duel isn't over yet," said Red, as she drew a card. She looked at her cards, then at Emily's three monsters, Ancient Gear Howitzer in Defense Mode (1,900 DEF), Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (1,000 ATK), and the towering metal behemoth Megaton Ancient Gear Golem, a robot the size of a house. (3,300 ATK) She had Splendid Rose (2,200 ATK), and Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves (1,800 ATK) two of her best monsters, but still outmatched by the metal beast towering over them.
Rose is strong enough to defeat the Howitzer, she thought, but Emily would just use its effect to summon something stronger. I must get creative.
"I'll summon Copy Plant." She placed the card on her Disk, causing more vines and foliage to sprout from below, into a large bush. (0 ATK) "This monster assumes the Level of another Plant monster on the field, and I choose Chirubimé, Princess of Autumn Leaves."
The bush grew with startling speed, changing shape until it resembled a topiary sculpture of Chirubimé. "So I will Overlay these two Level 8 monsters -" The two Plants shattered into pixels that were absorbed by the Network overhead, and thicker, thorny vines grew out of the ground. "- to Xyz Summon Alsei, the Sylvan High Protector,"
The vines twisted and spun around each other, taking on a giant, cat-like shape. However, unlike most great cats, who were lean and graceful, this one seemed hulking and bulky. (3,200 DEF)
"Defending with that?" asked Emily. "Close, but no good."
"Alsei's effect activates," answered Red, "I use one Overlay Unit, and name a Spell Card, then I flip the top card on my deck. If it matches, I get to keep it, if not, it goes to the Graveyard. I name Mark of the Rose."
She could tell that Emily was a little freaked out as she went to draw a card. The corner of Red's face curled up in a faint smile and then picked up the card.
"Hmm," she said. Then she turned it around. It was Lekunga.
"Sorry, kid," chuckled Emily. "Nice try, but that was kind of a long shot. I mean, with 31 cards left in your deck, the chances were - HEY!"
Huge vines the thickness of tree trunks shot out of the ground and wrapped and entwine around Ancient Gear Megaton Golem.
"What gives?"
"Alsei's other effect activates when a card is sent from my deck to the Graveyard and sends one of your cards to your deck."
The vines squeezed, and Ancient Megaton Gear Golem disappeared. Emily closed her eyes, chuckling.
"Let me guess," she asked, "your deck has no Mark of the Rose, you said it to use its other effect on purpose?" She waited for a reply, but got none. "No matter, because that monster has another surprise."
"Eh?" replied Red. Then she noticed the machinery behind Emily was at work again.
"Since you booted that monster off the field, I get to upgrade it into something even better." The whole factory shook with as a mighty footstep accompanied an even larger monstrosity rising behind Emily. Even Ancient Gear Hunting Hound whimpered as it crawled out of the way.
"The epitome of the Ancient Artificer's craft, the mightiest Golem of them all, I summon the Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem!"
This one looked almost too big to be real. While the design looked solid - a humanoid body on a four-legged base, suggesting a centaur - but still unwieldy and unbalanced, with far too many sharp edges scattered around. Its left arm was covered with a giant gauntlet with sharp spikes on the end the size of ballista spears that glinted in the dim light. (4,400 ATK)
That thing, thought Eden, looking up in awe, it's even stronger than Obelisk!
Red Feather didn't say anything for a minute. "Well?" asked Emily.
"I'm not done!" she screamed. She pointed to the Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, and Splendid Rose lashed her vines with a loud crack.
"Go on, whip it!" dared Emily. "Whip it good! Whip it real good!"
"As you wish," replied Red, as the vine lashed at the hound, smashing it to little pieces.
(Red Feather: 5,400) - - - - - (Emily: 2,800)
She fit two more cards into her Disk, causing them to appear set in her Spell Zone. "I end," she said softly.
"The Golem has the ability to attack all your monsters in one turn." Emily made a draw, then held her hand over her head as she made the command: "Attack -" She stopped. "Wait, wait, hold that thought."
Eden saw where she was looking, up on the metal catwalk above, the entrance portal was opening. Four of her allies - Karl, Jennifer, Sofia, and Prospero - spilled out.
"Every time I throw a party I get gatecrashers," said Emily.
"Chief, do you copy?" said Karl into his Disk. "We need you to -"
Then a gate darted up around the catwalk, blocking them off from the rest of the arena. Blue, eerie magic covered the metal fence with barbed edges.
"Uh, on second thought, take your time there," he added.
"We'll get to you guys later," said Emily. "Now then, ahem, attack Splendid Rose! Ultimate Titanic Blow!"
Eden grit her teeth, holding onto Penelope, only able to watch as the giant lifted its right arm, slamming down hard, knocking poor Red Feather over on her face.
Unfortunately, it only followed through with its other hand, smashing the Sylvan High Protector.
(Red Feather: 2,500) - - - - - (Emily: 2,800)
The guns on Howitzer started to aim at Red Feather, who covered her head as she fell to her knees. Eden could not take it any longer.
"STOP!" she screamed. "Have some compassion, will you? She was... She was dead,a few hours ago!"
Of all the ways she'd ever thought she could plead with a foe, that was one she'd never considered. To her shock, Emily's expression wasn't what she'd expected. She did stop. She looked at Eden, not with a look that showed doubt at such a statement, but with an expression that seemed to express sanity for the first time.
"So was I," she answered, her voice having lost the gloating, mocking tone.
Before Eden could question this further, Emily turned her back to them and started hiking her up her shirt. Karl was about to speak up and object, but then all of them were rendered speechless by the six bullet wounds. They were bleeding, still fresh from Tormento's assault rifle.
"No idea how I survived it. Maybe I didn't. Maybe the new emordenung potion I used came with some fast-healing powers. Or maybe the nanos are what's holding me up. Or both. Maybe the nanos just analyzed the potion's recipe and upgraded it in my system."
"Dear God," gasped Sofia.
"Antisthenes is," started Emily, straining to find the right word, "Single minded. Platonics are like that. They're brilliant to a degree, but see things too much in black and white. They mastered technology ages ago, able to build miraculous devices and automatons. Their constructs were almost flawless." She looked up at Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem. "And if 'almost' didn't cut it, and their creations were flawed, what of it? They learn from each flaw and each failure and correct them with each upgrade.
"But people, well, people are different. Harder to manipulate, harder to upgrade, much harder to program. Antisthenes sees itself as a visionary. Trying to make all of Reality perfectly synchronized, into cold, logical order."
"There's a word for people like that," said Eden, "control freaks. Or anal-retentive."
"Times a billion," said Emily, with a nod. "Meh…" She signaled to the Howitzer again, and it fired. Red Feather screamed…
(Red Feather: 1,500) - - - - - (Emily: 2,800)
"Let me take over for her!" pleaded Eden.
"Huh?"
"This is my fault anyway," begged the gautiere. "I avoided asking anyone else for help for centuries, and it seems just what I was afraid would happen has happened." She lifted her own Duel Disk. "I'll take her Life Points and spot you a 2,000 Points bonus and two draws."
Emily looked at her, and then at Red Feather. Then she turned and looked over her shoulder where more portals were opening around the catwalk.
"Well hell, how can I say no to that? After all the trouble the boss went to get me these cards I might as well get some mileage out of them. Okay Eden, you're on."
Eden gave a hand to Red, helping her up as they switched.
"I've seen some hard matchup before," said Jennifer, "but this one takes the cake. What is Eden thinking?"
"Not to sound pessimistic," said SAL, "but Eden may be the same idea that Alcestis did. I mean, look at this! Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem tramples monsters in Defense Mode and prevents Traps from activating. Worst of all, if it IS destroyed, Emily can summon a regular Ancient Gear Golem. The odds are clearly against Eden here."
But you forget, SAL, thought Eden with a sly grin, Bad odds are a problem I'm a pro at dealing with.
(Eden: 1,500) - - - - - (Emily: 4,800)
She looked up, with one of the portals opening fully, and Jalal and Wells stepping out of it. She nodded subtly to Wells, then drew her first hand.
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The Slaughtered Lamb was one of those seedy pubs in the bad part of town that most respectable folks avoided. Still, even the riff-raff who frequented such places, especially those who knew the history behind it. As the name implied, two-hundred years ago, it was owned by the leader of a cabal of warlocks who used it as a front for dark rituals. Lambs were indeed offered as blood sacrifices in the place's basement, but only for the casual rituals, and more than that need not be said. As often happens to warlocks, they eventually summoned something they shouldn't have, leading to the cult disbanding (mostly by default, seeing as the fiend they summoned ate half the members and rendered most of the ones who escaped insane) but the tavern was eventually repaired and reopened. Still, while the current owners had a rule forbidding guests from doing such magic within (at least on paper) but it was still a popular place for those who used such dark magic.
Even those folk had limits.
Lee Harvey Oswald was there now, and was clearly past his tolerance level. The other patrons were cowering from him in fear, one of them trying to comfort a woman who had been given horns and tentacled arms as a result his magic. Another victim with a donkey's head was sprawled on the ground from the kidney punch Oswald had given him.
Oswald himself was gulping down beer while loudly describing in gory detail everything he had been involved with the past few days, most of his descriptions "embellished" with exaggerations and outright lies, stopping only for fits of laughing and sudden coughing. He was holding a young woman on his knee who was clearly terrified of him. The only patron who didn't seem scared was the bartender (who was always sure to wear a ring that protected him from such curses) but he was reaching the point where he was wondering whether Oswald's unpaid bar tab was worth it.
"What the fuck is this?" he remarked, indicating the stuff he was drinking. He spit on the ground, then threw the mug away. "You tryin' to poison me Vito?"
"The thought did come to mind, Lee," said Vito, sternly.
"Fine, give us two for the road then," he said, giving the girl a rather rough squeeze.
Vito actually stopped to consider this. He really wanted Lee to leave before he attracted the attention of the police or the Shadowchasers, and could probably think up an excuse for how this all happened if they showed up later. Still, he wasn't too keen on being an accomplice to what he likely had in mind for the poor girl.
"Put the girl down," demanded another voice.
The bar fell quiet as he turned around.
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As he watched, Jalal's Google-Glass beeped to indicate an incoming message. "Go ahead, Tony," he said, softly. "You still monitoring everyone?"
"Unfortunately, I am," came the reply. "What Emily said about Penelope's condition isn't far off."
"Can we do anything?" asked Jalal, his voice slipping a little.
After a brief silence, Tony said, "Make sure everyone else doesn't lose theirs."
What he was implying was very clear, and it was indeed all he could do right now. His eyes fell on Eden, who made her first summon.
"I'll summon Steamroid!" As she used the card, a funny-looking toy train locomotive with a face on the front chugged from the card. (1,800 ATK)
Emily's expression changed again, though it was far less dramatic. This time her eyes turned dull and flat with disbelief. "You're...you're serious? You went from Tortured cards to...Vehicroids?"
"Maybe I was tired of being reminded of all the mistakes I've made using those cards. Now let's see if your Howitzer is more powerful than a locomotive. Attack! Full Steam Ahead!"
Steamroid's wheels started to spin, and it made a darting beeline for the Ancient Gear, its Attack Score rising to 2,300. It rammed into the weapon, running it over and crushing it.
"What an idiot," chuckled Emily. "I've still got one Golem left in my deck, and Howitzer's destruction means it's coming now!"
The chamber behind her opened with a scary creek as yet another giant Machine started to emerge…
"Not this time," said Eden, "I'll use this Trap Card."
A Counter Trap Card activated, and the Black Horn of Heaven sounded its droning celestial tune, causing a thunderous cacophony to bellow across the area. Lightning flashed, striking the chamber and smiting it.
"Wait, wait, timeout!" screamed Emily. "You can't activate Counter Traps from your hand!"
"I didn't, it was already set on the field." Eden turned to Red Feather, who nodded back to her with a smile. "Thanks for leaving this for me Red," she called, giving the Shadowchaser a thumbs up.
"Wait just a…" started Emily.
"The duel didn't restart, I took over for her," interrupted Eden. "Thus, anything she left on the field or in the Graveyard is fair game. So it's your move."
Emily snarled, as she swiped the top card off her deck. "I was trying to be civil about this, Eden, but your Steamroid only gains points when it attacks, and loses points when its being attacked."
C'mon, thought Eden. She watched the huge Machine lift its right hand. Come get me you oversized son of a bitch.
Then she grabbed a card from her hand and stuffed it into her Disk's Graveyard slot. A bullet-shaped missile with eyes and gritting teeth shot forward and upward hitting the giant Golem in the chest.
"What?" gasped Emily. Then she stumbled and fell on her rear as the Golem's legs buckled, and it crashed backwards onto its haunches. (3,400 DEF)
"That was Torpedoroid, a card I can use if a monster with at least twice the Attack Score as mine attacks. It moved your big lug to Defense Mode."
"Of course, you realize, this means war," replied Emily. "It's your move, kid."
"KID?" laughed Eden. She drew a card, chortling at the comment, knowing she was older than the combined age of everyone in this room, Jalal included. "You're asking for it. I'll summon Drillroid!"
"Uh… oh…" said Emily.
"Guessing you know what this guy can do to a monster in Defense Mode, huh?" The Machine's tank treads propelled it towards the much larger foe, drill still spinning. Cheers came from the rafters above, as the drill plunged into Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem, sparks cascading from the point of impact, until with a loud clatter, the giant Golem fell apart into a pile of broken gears, scrap metal, junk, and dust.
"Don't celebrate yet!" yelled Emily, "Try to stop it this time, I summon from my Graveyard, the regular Ancient Gear Golem!"
A thunderous rumble caused the pile to shift, and the more familiar - yet still intimidating - Golem stepped out of the pile. (3,000 ATK)
"Let's see your Steamroid beat that."
"You think you can intimidate me with giant monsters," replied Eden, "but all it takes to overcome an obstacle is a little determination and focus. Well, that and a Limiter Removal Spell Card." As she played the Quickplay Spell, Steamroid's wheels started to turn furiously as its face turned red-hot. (3,600 ATK)
"How'd that old story go? The one where the locomotive had to pull a heavy load up a mountain? Right, she kept telling herself 'I think I can, I think I can..."
Steamroid made a charge towards Ancient Gear Golem, ramming it in the "gut" head-first. More cheers came from above as it was blown into little pieces of scrap metal.
(Eden: 1,500) - - - - - (Emily: 4,200)
"Now, Limiter Removal would normally cause my Machines to fall apart when I ended this turn, so to prevent that -" Another Spell appeared, causing the Polymerization spiral to appear. A third monster appeared as Eden flipped the card around, and the consumed all three. "I'll fuse them and my Submarineroid into Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill!"
There was an even louder rumble, giving way to a much larger, thicker, nastier version of Drillroid burrowing up through the surface. (3,000 ATK)
"How cute," said Emily.
"It's your move."
"So, what's the scoop now?" asked Jennifer, indicating SAL.
"Eden made a good play, but I'm still doubtful," answered the AI. "This is very much the Machine version of David versus Goliath."
"You know, it's actually a good thing you wrecked those monsters," added Emily, looking at her new draw. "Cause now I don't need a sacrifice to summon Ancient Gear Backhoe."
This new "monster" was hard to identify as such, as it looked more like a steam shovel, and given the sound it made as it's clockwork parts moved, it was, indeed, a steam-powered excavator, a crude, shoddily built one. It had two diggers, but both were proportionately larger than the one on a typical backhoe. (1,400 ATK)
"By summoning it, I can summon a Machine Type Monster from my Extra Deck, like Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound."
Again, the low tremor heralded the arrival of new monster, one that resembled the regular Hound, but with two heads. Strangely, it seemed a little pacified, sitting with its heads drooped. (1,000 DEF)
"I'm afraid this monster is one I'm unfamiliar with," noted SAL.
"S'okay, I'm only gonna sacrifice it," replied Emily, "it and Backhoe, to summon yet another Fusion Monster, the Ancient Gear Trebuchet!"
The two Machines were blown into miniscule shards, and a creaking, heaving noise permeated the arena as the gears in the giant factory started turning again. The floor opened in front of Emily, and the winch system lifted another ugly, haphazard construct. I looked like a vaguely pyramidal scaffold with two huge gears inside and a demonic gargoyle's head on the front, the jaws closed. (3,000 DEF)
"Let me explain how this works. This device has a winch that tightens every time I end my turn, but because I summoned it using a Fusion Monster, it gets one right away, meaning it can do 1,000 points of damage during my Standby Phase." The twin wheels turned clockwise, and the gargoyle's mouth opened.
"I tighten it a second time, and it gains the ability to deal 3,000 points total. Three times, and it's 5,000. Four times, and…"
"I get the idea, anything else?" said Eden, butting in.
"Okay, okay, I doubt we'll need to go that far. I'm ending my turn now, so here's the second time."
The winch tightened again, and the gargoyle's eyes lit up with smoldering flames, focused on Eden.
"No fair!" shouted Greg.
"I believe THIS card I know more about," replied SAL. "It has an additional condition, letting Eden draw twice during her Draw Phases. Still, given her score, she'll only have one turn to take advantage of that."
Eden made two draws, and for a brief instant, everyone saw a wicked, sneaky gleam in her eye.
"Ahem," she said, the smile going away, "One Day of Peace." The card shimmered, and a purple, translucent curtain fell between her monster and Emily's. "We both get one draw."
"And my Trebuchet can't hurt you nxt turn," added Emily. "You're trying to stall for some reason."
"Well, DUH," replied Eden. "I'll set one card, and it is your move."
Crap,, thought Emily. So long as she has that Fusion Monster, with its trampling effect, summoning anything else is risky.
Her eyes lit up a little as she drew. She set three cards of her own, then nodded, causing her turn to end and the curtain to lift. Trebuchet's gears tightened again, and flames started to appear in the gargoyle's jowls.
"Let's see here," said Eden. She drew two cards again and looked over what she had.
"Better pay attention to this! Compulsory Evacuation Device!" Emily raised her hand, and one of her Traps opened. Chains shot from it grabbing Jumbo Drill, who's eyes bugged out before squinting as it tried to struggle.
"I activate Emergeroid Call!" shouted Emily, waving her hand to activate the Counter Trap. There was a blaring alarm, and Patroid, Rescueroid, and Ambulenceroid sped from the card with sirens flashing, The latter two sped over the chains, snapping them, while Patroid crashed through the actual Trap, smashing it.
"This Trap not only Counters your Compulsory Evacuation Device, it sends all copies of that Trap from your deck to the Graveyard. And that's not all. By banishing the card itself, I get one of my Vehicroids back." She pocketed the Trap Card, then took Steamroid from her Graveyard.
"Now I'll use the Equip Spell, Gravity Blaster. This piece of work boosts my Machine by 400 points every turn!"
(3,400 ATK)
"Looks like the big play is cancelled," said Sofia.
"Oh, I can do better," answered Eden. "I summon Oilman!:
This new one was a funny-looking robot that seemed to have been made by welding pipe-cleaner-thin arms and legs to a can of motor oil. It wore a mask and superhero cape, with the words "Heros Oil" printed on its chest. (400 ATK) Then it hopped onto the Fusion Monster, unfolding its left arm into a spout.
"Union equipping this guy to my monster gives its engine a better boost than Pennzoil. Destroy Ancient Gear Trebuchet! Driving Drill Pressure!"
There was a loud, rusty-sounding buzz as Jumbo Drills' weapon was shrouded in fire, and it bored into Ancient Gear Golem. Sparks flew again until the giant burst apart.
(Eden: 1,500) - - - - - (Emily: 3,800)
"ALL RIGHT, EDEN!" cheered Greg.
Persephone grunted a little and tried to sit up. "Hush, hush," urged Red Feather. "Don't try to talk, please."
Still, Eden wasn't done. "I draw one card due to Oilman, and then activate the Field Spell, Megaroid City!"
Activation of Field Spells tended to be dramatic, and this one practically turned the dark, grimy factory into a bright, sunny day over a city. Not a normal city, of course. Emily found herself in a courtyard surrounded by what seemed to be an enormous robot serving as a fortress-metropolis; splayed legs to each side of the two duelists formed covered roads below an armored chest. The roads extended into bridges spanning a harbor. And this city was clearly inhabited; Vehicroids abounded, either traversing the streets or patrolling the bay, while those resembling airplanes and helicopters circled overhead.
Eden appeared again, swinging down a flagpole with a spinning motion. "This Field Spell lets me, once per turn, destroy one of my cards to gain a Vehicroid from my deck, so I'll get rid of Oilman." The Union Monster burst, and another monster appeared with her other cards.
"I end my turn. You're up."
"I'm up," said Emily. She drew. "And YOU are going DOWN! I just drew a Spell Card like none other. Chaos Ancient Gear Fusion!"
"Okay, I definitely have no info on this one," said SAL.
"Then turn the volume on your voice chip down and take notes," interrupted Emily. "First thing I have to do to use this special version of Polymerization, is discard a regular Polymerization."
She discarded one of her two remaining cards, and the sky above them turned dark as the sun seemed to cower behind a cloud that had come out of nowhere. The familiar Polymerization vortex appeared… but then got strange. First, the two dragons turned into three skeletal robots (if robots could even have skeletons) which turned green, orange, and purple. Four monsters - Ancient Gear Howitzer, Ancient Gear Trebuchet, Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, and Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem all appeared in card form behind her.
"In order to summon my ultimate creature, I have to banish one Extra Deck Monster from my Graveyard for each Fusion Material I need. So you four, get lost!" She stabbed her thumb down, and the four Fusions dissolved into eerie, dark vapor. "Then, I can use additional monsters from my Deck, Extra Deck, OR Graveyard as materials.
First, the regular Ancient Gear Hunting Hound appeared, leaping from below. (1,000 ATK) There was another roar, and a far more lively version of the Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound stepped in front of Emily. (1,400 ATK) Then a third robotic hound appeared, with three heads. (1,800 ATK)
"Don't tell me she's going to," started Greg.
She did. A fourth one appeared, with four heads, one of them larger than the other three, on its torso. (2,800 ATK)
Then the strange Fusion vortex spun like some mystical whirlpool, greedily sucking the three robotic hounds into the card afterlife.
"Four monsters?" asked Jennifer. "What is she summoning?"
"I'm afraid I have no idea," answered SAL. "I can't think of ANY Fusion monster in mainstream circulation that is summoned with those components."
"Well, this one ain't mainstream," said Emily. "I wasn't lying when I said Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem was the epitome of the Ancient Artificer's craft, but he didn't build this one." Megaroid City started to tremble as the sky grew darker. "This monster, well, suffice to say, it's something else entirely."
The bay below them burst into a waterspout, capsizing several unlucky maritime Vehicroids and causing the ones on the roads to flee with wakes of burning rubber behind them. A kaiju-sized robot slowly stood up, emerging from the bay. The same general shape as Ancient Gear Golem, it seemed to be of much more modern design, with ten gaping wolf-like heads; only one, however, was where an actual head should be. A second served as its chest, and two apiece were its feet, knees, shoulders, and hands. All of these "heads" except the actual head were proportionately oversized. The main body had a gear vertically bisecting its torso, two where the arms met each shoulder, and another vertical one on its back. Unlike other Ancient Gears, the armor was dull purple, and the gears were bronze; clearly whoever built it was more concerned with aesthetic now.
All ten heads of Chaos Ancient Gear Giant roared with unbridled fury… (4,500 ATK)
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"Let the girl go, Oswald."
The demand had come from a very irate Terra Ironhoof. As she stepped into the bar, the other patrons quickly backing away from her.
"I'm not scared of you," said Oswald, despite holding the screaming girl even closer as he stood up.
"Yeah, that's called dutch courage, I should know. Put her down now."
Oswald started to mumble something while making a gesture with his free hand, but then he belched and coughed again.
"Kind of hard to cast your fey hexes with one hand and beer-slurred speech, is it?" asked Terra.
"I'll kill her I swear!" he threatened. He started to back up.
"Sure, what would protect you then?" she asked. "You do it, and I won't kill you." She cracked her knuckles loudly. "You see, I'm not a cop, I'm not a Shadowchaser, I don't care about rules. If you hurt her at all, I'm going to break your neck right here."
She pointed to a spot on the nape of her own neck. "I do that, you'll never be able to move any part of your body below it for the rest of your miserable life." Oswald started to sweat, as he backed into a wall he had forgotten was there.
"You'll spend it hooked up to a machine that feeds you and shits for you. You'll want to kill yourself and won't even be able to do that."
"You think you'll get away with it you…." he threatened.
"Who's going to press charges?" she asked. "Your sister who hates you? Your parents who mortgaged their house to pay your bail only for you to jump it?
"Maybe you're counting on that girl you knew from high school, the one those two guys promised would be your eternal slave if you entered that blood ritual. How'd that go? Guess the Slenderman was as honest to you as he was to them, huh?
"Let her GO or you'll end up worse than they are,"
Then Oswald screamed, as his hostage, who had gained a sudden burst of courage, slammed her elbow into his groin.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"I'll be brief here," said Emily, making a brief nod to the skyscraper-sized mecha. "Chaos Ancient Gear Giant is completely immune to Spell and Trap Cards, and it negates the effects of your monsters when it attacks. So long story short, you're screwed.
"But just to be safe, I'll summon Ancient Gear Soldier too."
She used her last card, and a Machine far closer to her size landed next to her. Of course, while Soldier was the same basic shape, it was little more than the size of an action figure next to the gigantic Fusion Monster. (1,300 ATK)
The Giant lifted its enormous fist, but Eden defiantly lifted her hand, "I use another effect of Megaroid City!" Truckroid slipped from her deck, and she quickly moved it to the Graveyard pile. "I send a Vehicroid from my deck to the Graveyard, and Super Vehicroid swaps its Attack Score with his Defense Score!"
"What?" exclaimed Sofia. She wasn't the only one who was shocked. This strange action on Eden's part actually lowered Jumbo Drill's score. (2,400 ATK) The only one who didn't seem worried, other than Eden herself, was Wells, who watched with a smug smile.
"You must be hallucinating, kid," said Emily with a chuckle. "Your funeral! Attack with Crushing Chaos Strike!"
She - nor anyone else - barely even noticed the two Trap Cards activating as the Chaos Golem's mighty fist struck Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill, the impact from her monster being flattened knocking her across the grilled floor and skidding into the opposite wall…
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Terra held the poor, sobbing girl close. "Calm down," she said, gently, "he's gone."
She looked up after Oswald, who had turned tail and made a run for it out the entrance.
"Where's he going?" asked Vito.
"He won't get far," said Terra.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"That's… impossible…"
Eden wasn't in the best shape. Her clothes were a torn mess, she had a black eye, and blood was trickling down her chin. And she felt worse, the blow likely having cracked a rib or ten.
But the important thing was, she was still standing.
(Eden: 4,000) - - - - - (Emily: 3,800)
"That's right," she said, weakly, "I'm still ticking thanks to my - excuse me, Red Feather's Nutrient Z card. And thanks to my Supercharge, I get two draws."
Still, she barely had time to even assess them before Ancient Gear Soldier opened fire, striking Eden directly.
"That all you got?" she dared.
(Eden: 2,700) - - - - - (Emily: 3,800)
"No," replied Emily. Her Trap Card activated. "This one is called Cross-Dimensional Duel, a rather appropriate name for a Trap when used here, wouldn't you say?" She nodded towards Ancient Gear Soldier, and it disappeared into a pulsating wormhole. "It will be gone until my next turn, when it will come back with double its Attack Score. And I end my turn."
Then I'd best beat her this turn, thought Eden. "Draw!" She drew and flipped the card. Finally, she thought.
"What?" asked Emily.
"I'll tell you 'what'," said Eden. "But first I'll use Fusion Recovery, so my big surprise is even bigger."
With the Spell Card's activation, Polymerization and Submarineroid appeared with her other cards. She added those to her hand, then hit a switch on the underside of her Disk, causing two additional slots to snap out, one on each side of the Monster Zone.
"What the?" said Karl. He and the other Shadowchasers present quickly checked their own Disks.
"That's a new feature," said SAL. "I think itwas included for an upcoming release."
"Fortunately, there are benefits to signing up as an I2 beta tester," said Wells. "But I'll let Eden give the details."
"My pleasure," continued Eden. "These two cards I have are the progenitors of a new line of Duel Monsters, one which, pardon the metaphor, has the power to truly Balance it Out!"
"What's she selling down there?" asked Prospero.
"You'll see," said Wells.
Using two cards, two monsters appeared to either side of Eden, the first a clockwork automaton that seemed even more shoddily built than the Ancient Gears, with a cannon-like weapon replacing its right hand and a blue crystal instead of legs. The second was a knight with armor and a cape that seemed sculpted out of light, literally, and a sword that was just as brilliant.
"Those don't look too impressive," said Emily.
"But I'm not summoning them," said Eden. She fit the two monsters' cards in the new slots, the first one in the left, the second in the right. "I'm using them to Set the Scale!"
Two columns of light ascended to either side of Eden, reaching up to the heavens. The first monster appeared levitating in the left one, its arms crossed, and a runic numeral "2" appearing beneath. The Warrior appeared in the right column, his sword pointed down, with a "7" underneath in the same font.
Most remarkably, a giant bronze pendulum appeared behind Eden, slowly swinging back and forth from one of them to the other.
"Okay, I have NO idea what's happening," said Jennifer, "but it's awesome!"
"Here's the short version," said Eden. "Pendulum Monsters have Levels, Types, and Attributes like other monsters, but they also have Scale designations. With Foucault's Cannon there and Flash Knight there, the Pendulum Scale sets from 2 to 7, meaning I can Special Summon as many monsters as I can, from Levels 3 to 6."
Alarms started to sound again, and a whole fleet of Vehicroids sped from the tunnels below, through the covered bridges and towards the two duelists. The first to appear was a green cement mixer with eyes, and the Polymerization symbol on its side. (0 ATK). Then Steamroid and Patroid skidded from behind Eden, pulling to stops on either side. (1,800 ATK, 1,200 ATK) Then, in the bay below them, Carrieroid emerged from the bay doors as Submarineroid surfaced. (1,000 ATK, 800 ATK)
"Summon every monster in your deck, for all I care!" dared Emily. "MY monster is off the scale!"
"Want to put money on that, old friend?"
To everyone's shock, the comment had come from Penelope.
She was conscious and was NOT happy.
"Penelope, wait, you can't," started Red Feather.
"Don't tell me... what I can't do," replied Penelope.
Red tried to keep her from getting up, but Penelope was too strong, standing up with only a few tired grunts. As he himself tried to make sense of this, Jalal's Google Glass started to beep again.
"Tony?" he said, with his loudest whisper. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" exclaimed Tony. "This is a miracle, but Eden just put together the cure! The nanos in Penelope's system are, well, dying!"
TTTTTTTTTT
In his office, Tony was viewing a screen, showing the duel as it might look in old-fashioned tabletop format. On the screen next to it, was an amplified view of part of Penelope's aorta. The nanomachines - who a minute ago, were trying to rupture it - were now breaking apart, droves of leukocytes devouring the nanos that weren't crumbling on their own.
"So Eden managed a Perfect Balance?" asked Jalal.
"Not quite," replied Tony. "This is something I hadn't considered, a regular Balance amplified by Dark and Light forces.
"Here's a way to put it; say the Balance is a seesaw with two children, with the up and down motions generating power for an engine. Each child would apply Effort against Resistance to lift the child on the other end. Now say an adult is behind each child, aiding in each Effort."
"And the Pendulum Monsters are the 'parents' providing the extra Effort,"added Jalal.
"Exactly! This Enhanced Balance is purging the nanos from her system like some enchanted antibiotic. If this works for all of -"
"Hold that thought, Tony, this just got much more interesting…"
TTTTTTTTTT
In her head, Emily heard the platonic's voice, demanding and upset, its words hurting worse than a migraine headache.
"This is no longer amusing," said Antisthenes, "crush her this instant."
"Just give me one more turn," Emily insisted.
"Assuming you get one," answered Eden, "The two Pendulums have done their job, now it's time for the Vehicroids to do theirs."
"What are they going to do, bite my Giant on the toe?"
"This is their city, and they have a few extra tricks while defending it. First, I'll use the Field Spell's effect to destroy one of my cards."
At the apex, a huge robot's head unfolded, looking down at them. Blazing bolts of lightning shot from them, hitting Carrieroid and swamping it.
"Heh, seems to me it's more a danger to them than it is to me!" laughed Emily.
Eden gave a quick look to Penelope, just to make sure. She still seemed okay, so Eden went on. A new card came from her deck.
"Well, I get another Vehicroid from my deck as a result, like Jetroid here. But before I use him, I'll use Mixeroid's effect, and sacrifice him to summon Rescueroid."
The cement mixer roid disappeared, and there were more sirens as a fire truck roid with a chrome frame rushed up in its place. (1,600 ATK)
"Now that Mixeroid is in my Graveyard, I can its over effect, by paying half my Life Points."
She turned around to see Mixeroid appear again, along with four odd fellows, featureless humanoids that seemed made of plastic, colored red, yellow, green, and blue. All four were wearing hardhats and tool belts, and the red one carried a shovel.
"That's the A-Team: Trap Disposal Unit!" exclaimed Jennifer.
"Koitsu, Soitsu, Aitsu, and Doitsu," said Karl with a nod. "This is getting weirder and weirder."
Koitsu whistled, pulling a lever and causing Mixeroid's tank to start turning. Aitsu dug into the ground, unearthing a Duel Monsters card depicting Drillroid that as big as he was. Soitsu and Doitsu caught the huge card, then chucked it into Mixeroid's tank. They repeated this with four more cards, Carrieroid, Torpedoroid, Truckroid, and Super Vehicroid Jumbo Drill, tossing them one by one into the mixer. Then Koitsu yanked the lever back, and they all covered their heads as Mixeroid glowed bright red, then exploded into colored stars.
"Banishing those five Vehicroids and Mixeroid itself lets me summon a Level 6 Fusion monster, and because this fire is clearly more than one engine can handle, I summon Ambulance Rescueroid."
There were still more sirens, and a larger, more complex fire truck Vehicroid sped up next to Rescueroid. This one was the traditional fire-engine red with multiple hook and ladder accessories. (2,300 ATK)
"Then can summon this," she threw another card on her Disk, causing Jetroid to lower, hovering behind her (1,600 ATK), "and then use Polymerization, fusing together Submarineroid and Ambulance Rescueroid!"
The two monsters disappeared. There was dead calm. Nothing seemed to happen…
"Well?" asked Emily. "Where's this big Fusion Monster?"
"Heh… He's been here all along, Emily, in case you didn't notice…"
Emily looked upward. To her horror, it seemed Megaroid City itself was starting to stand up!
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Crazy bitch! thought Oswald.
As he half-ran, half stumbled through the brushy area outside the city, he realized something. He was lost.
Dammit, he cursed to himself.
"Did you think I'd never find you?"
"What?" he said. The question was written there, or rather, carved, on a tree.
"Uh," he said. He looked around, and noticed the shadows were starting to get darker as he walked. Darker, and longer. Much, much longer. Much chillier too. He clutched his head, and felt dizzy. Then he belched again.
"Did you think you were truly my servant?"
The new message was on the tree. Not a different tree, but the same tree. Somehow the carving had changed.
Dammit, Oswald, he thought, one of these days you're gonna have to get on the wagon and stay on it. You can't just…
"You're all alone now. It's just you.'
He nearly bumped into this one. The tree was there in a place it hadn't been before.
"WHO?" he shouted.
He turned around. He fell over on his behind at the sight of a new message on a tree in the spot he had just moved from.
"And me."
Lee Harvey Oswald looked up.
"You?" he said. "Look, seriously, this was all was no big deal, I don't -"
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The grim clouds had parted once again, and the brilliant sun shone on Megaroid City's true titanic form, a robot just as large as Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. But there the similarities to Ancient Gears ended. Unlike the ugly and haphazard construction of the Ancient Gears, utmost care had been devoted to the appearance of Super Megaroid Mobile Base, while still creating a symbol of strength, power, and majesty.
It lifted its fists threateningly as it eyed the invading Chaos Giant now threatening its citizens. (0 ATK)
"In case you forgot, the Field Spell has the ability to switch a Vehicroid's Attack Score with its Defense Score as it battles, and this time it won't end so well for that oversized eyesore..."
(5,000 ATK)
"Crush that big lug with Metrorail Railgun!"
Super Megaroid Mobile Base lunged at the golem with a left hook, Expressroid appearing on its wrist and launching forward as it connected, the roid express train darting into the huge automaton's chin. It didn't stop, following with a right hook with Drillroid launched from that one, its drill crashing through the chestplate. The Chaos machine tumbled backwards and Emily screamed, covering herself as debris rained from above.
(Eden: 2,700) - - - - - (Emily: 3,300)
"I'm not done," continued Eden. "Steamroid is still steamed, and my Rescueroid is rainin' pain!"
On cue, two water cannons sprouted from Rescueroid's "shoulders", aiming at Emily and sending two crashing streams of water, hitting her directly. Steamroid went next, vapor shooting from the vents in its angry face as it charged.
(Eden: 2,700) - - - - - (Emily: 0)
Emily sobbed. She almost fell over, but Eden's last monster, Patroid, caught her before she did. Unfortunately for her, the police car roid produced a pair of handcuffs, fastening her arms behind her.
The other Vehicroids started to disappear, and the barrier keeping everyone else at bay lowered. Eden felt like she was about to collapse, not to mention throw up, the duel having taken a lot out of her. Fortunately, Penelope got to her first.
"You did it, Eden!" cheered the Shadowchaser. She embraced the gautiere with a hug. "How did you know that set-up would work?"
"Uh..." said Eden. "Would you believe, dumb luck?"
They turned back to Emily, who was now being supported by both Red Feather and Jennifer. She was still sobbing a little.
"Where's Antisthenes, Emily?" demanded Jalal. "You're going to have a lot more to cry about if we don't find him before he uses that thing again."
The portals above them started to open again. Francis and Viola emerged, the latter mumbling something about getting too old for this as Francis helped her up. Emily looked up and her tears went away. "Ganging up on me now?" she asked. "Up yours. I've heard all the threats before."
"Threats?" asked Wells. "Eden, let me see those cards."
Eden nodded and gave him the deck. Wells activated his own Disk, switching it to demo mode.
"What are you…" asked Emily.
"Giving you some incentive. Consider this therapy.""
Wells used the two Pendulum monsters, much like Eden had, then summoned five monsters the same way, this time placing Jetroid, Rescueroid, Carrieroid, Ambulance Rescueroid, and Gyroid, in that order, left to right.
Suddenly, Emily felt better, the healing power of a different Enhanced Balance flowing through her system.
"Where's Antisthenes?" asked Wells.
"He's, uh," started Emily.
"Emily..." added Penelope. She tapped her foot.
Emily made a long sigh. "He used the portal archway down the hall, through there." She nodded to a very large set of doors at the far end of the large chamber. "He may have left already, but Diogenes is probably still there."
"Oh, I'm really looking forward to having a word with him," added Wells.
"I'm certain you are, Mr. Wells," said the lesser platonic's voice.
The large doors opened. "But I plan on such a meeting on my own terms."
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Oswald had no idea that Terra was still following him, but even she was spooked when he heard a loud, shrill scream from up ahead.
"Oswald?" she exclaimed.
She moved faster, finding him lying on his back in the brush in front of her… Then she gasped.
In truth, he - or rather, his body - was lying on its stomach, but his head had been twisted 180 degrees. And his eyes were missing. His gaping mouth indicated he had been killed in the middle of that scream.
Terra shivered a little as she looked around. Whatever had killed him was no longer there. She started to input a number on her mobile phone.
"Yeah, it's me. No, someone got to him first. He's dead. No, no idea, just call the police and make sure they send someone with a strong stomach."
Of course, she thought, as she hung up, whatever happened here, if he was the only witness, I don't think anyone will know...
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
"Ugh, that was unpleasant," said Wells.
The first thing he saw when he lifted his head was Karl, Jennifer, and Francis, the first one slowly sitting up. Clearly whatever had hit him had hit them too, and possibly the others.
Then he noticed where they were. It was like the docking bay of the Death Star, a wide-open area with an array of consoles and control panels.
"Whoa, Lucas would be proud," said Francis. He slowly got up.
"Only thing missing is a spaceship," added Karl.
SAL came to life with a series of blips and beeps, her system rebooting. "Over there," she said. "Seems space travel isn't quite their intent."
The Pan Dimensional Homing Device was there, but now it seemed to have been installed into the larger system Antisthenes had intended. The device was now inside a vertical, glass tube, surrounded by a circular console system with a variety of monitors and keyboards for multiple stations.
One of them was occupied. Dunstan was sitting at one of them, typing. Next to him was the same stack of books, DVDs, video games, and magazines that had been used to select targets for the cursed Device.
"Hi," he said with a wave,
"What did…" started Wells, unable to finish the statement.
Dunstan was even worse off than Emily. His clothes were soaked with blood and torn, the dozens of gunshot wounds he had taken unbound and clearly visible. How he could be so cheerful as he worked the keyboard was a mystery to the four Shadowchasers.
"Dunstan, seriously," said Wells, "step away from there, we have to get you to a hospital."
"Removing him from here would only cause him to die faster," said Diogenes voice. "He lives because I allow it."
One of the screens came on, showing the platonic's "face".
"Oh look, it's the big man's second-banana," said Jennifer.
"You would be wise to refrain from the insults," replied Diogenes. "The Pan Dimensional Homing Device is now at full power, and we have not only harnessed its full power, we have improved our means of doing so. Note the device I am transmitting from. Design specifications courtesy of Professor Thelonious Viper."
"Wait, that name rings a bell," said Karl.
"He invented the Disclosure Duel system," explained SAL, "which was, in reality, a way to siphon energy from duelists and convert it into useful energy. The downside was, victims would be exhausted quickly, and in extreme cases, brought to near death."
"True," added Diogenes, "but via our own augmentation applied to nanotechnology, such a problem was distributed more evenly, and has provided an energy source sufficient to access the Pan Dimensional Homing Device far more efficiently than before. We've even been able to tap its broader potential."
"Terrific," Francis. "This from something we thought had infinite potential."
"Infinity is a big number," said Jennifer.
"Indeed, and YOU humans will help us reach its FULL potential."
"Uh, suppose we refuse?" asked Karl.
"As I said, we have already unlocked a great deal of its new abilities already."
"Who are you going to sic on us now?" asked Francis. "Not like any of the guys you've gotten from it have been big threats here."
"True," said Dunstan, "Those guys you fought are dead weight here because they're nothing special when they cross the boundary. But how would it work the other way?"
"I don't follow," said Wells.
He swung his chair to face them, the wounds on his face making it even less pleasant. "You all know how typical horror movies go, I assume. They don't always end happy, seeing as the victims are all horny teenagers who don't know dick. They make stupid mistakes Jason Voorhees and Michael Meyers would have had faired just as well as Freddy did if their prey were experienced in hunting and combating the supernatural." He flipped the CD he was looking at around. The movie, The Cabin in the Woods.
"Okay, that one was not a 'typical horror movie'," said Karl.
"Mmm, yes, it did break the mold," replied Dunstan. "The villains in this one were pretty stupid too, and the victims were only slightly smarter, and it ended even worse. But… If I were to use this device to bring those five kids here and replace them with five of those experienced hunters of the supernatural I previously alluded to..."
"No way," said Jessica.
"Uh, I wouldn't want to try it either," added Karl. "Assuming it's even possible."
"Oh, it is," said Diogenes. "As we've recently discovered, the door the Device opens is two-way. And your approval is not required for such a transaction."
"Oh, I see, blackmail, right?" asked Karl. "Fine, I'll duel you."
"I have other plans than a simple duel."
His voice echoed through their heads as their vision started to blur again.
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Anime Cards:
Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (Effect Fusion Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl5/1,400ATK/1,000DEF
"Ancient Gear Hunting Hound" + "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound"
If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step. Once per turn, during either player's turn, if a monster(s) is Normal or Special Summoned to your opponent's side of the field: You can place 1 Gear Counteron that monster(s) (max. 1). At the start of the Damage Step, if a monster with a Gear Counter battles: You can destroy that monster.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (Effect Fusion Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl7/1,400ATK/1,000DEF
"Ancient Gear Hunting Hound" + "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound" + "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound", OR "Ancient Gear Hunting Hound" + "Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound"
If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step. This card can make up to 3 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound (Effect Fusion Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl9/1,400ATK/1,000DEF
"Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound" + 1 "Ancient Gear" monster
When this card is Fusion Summoned, your opponent's Life Points are halved. If this card attacks, your opponent cannot activate Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step. This card can make up to 3 attacks on monsters during each Battle Phase.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Chaos Ancient Gear Fusion (Normal Spell Card)
Image: Similar to "Polymerization", but with three humanoid robots with gears emblazoned on their chests in place of the dragons. The background is a surreal, purple void.
Effect: Send 1 "Polymerization" from your hand to the Graveyard, then choose 1 "Ancient Gear" Fusion Monster in your Extra Deck; banish a number of monsters from your Graveyard that were Special Summoned from the Extra Deck equal to its required number of Fusion Materials, and if you do, Special Summon its Fusion Materials from your Deck, Extra Deck or Graveyard, ignoring their Summoning conditions (the effects of these monsters are negated). Then, Fusion Summon the chosen Fusion Monster, using the Summoned monsters as the Fusion Materials.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Torpedoroid (Effect Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl3/800ATK/1,000DEF
Effect: You can activate this card's effect by discarding it from your hand when a face-up Machine-Type "roid" monster you control is the target of an attack, and the attacking monster has at least twice the ATK of your monster. Switch the attacking monster to face-up Defense Position and end the Battle Phase.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ancient Gear Backhoe (Effect Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl5/1,400/2,000
Effect: If you control no monsters, you may Normal Summon this card without a Tribute. When you Normal Summon this card, you may select a Level 5 or lower Machine-Type Fusion Monster in your Extra Deck and Special Summon it, disregarding its summoning requirements. If you do, you may not Summon any other monsters this turn except "Ancient Gear" monsters.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Ancient Gear Trebuchet (Effect Fusion Monster)
Machine/Earth/Lvl8/1,200DEF/3,000DEF
1 "Ancient Gear" monster + 1 Machine-Type Fusion monster
Effect: This card is summoned by Tributing the above-named monsters you control (you do not use "Polymerization"); if the Fusion Monster used is an "Ancient Gear" monster, place 1 "Ancient Gear Counter" on this card when it is summoned. During each of your End Phases, place 1 "Ancient Gear Counter" on this card. (Max: 4) You may destroy this card during your Standby Phase to inflict damage to your opponent of an amount depending on the number of "Ancient Gear Counters" it has: 1: 1,000, 2: 3,000, 3: 5,000, 4: 8,000. If you control this card, your opponent may draw 2 cards during each Draw Phase instead of 1; you may only control 1 "Ancient Gear Trebuchet".
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Jemorille: The relevance my story had to our current one is, unlike the other points of the axis, Chaos is both addictive and corrupting. Ironically, it corrupts far faster and far broader than any of Antisthenes' technology. It corrupts whole lands, societies, and even ideals and concepts. The reason Wild Magic is so much more common than Axiomatic magic is, the thrill and freedom such a craft promises is more appealing than simple promises of power, which is the only thing the long, boring, and strict process of learning Axiomatic magic guarantees.
And the full scope of this corruption was slowly starting to come to light.
For now, however, it was Diogenes versus Karl, Francis, in Jennifer in a brutal ride down a highway that, as far as they knew led to the dark, fiery depths of Hell itself.
Regardless… It was full speed ahead. Riding Duel, Acceleration!