Yugioh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Ghost: 4000
Magic: 4000
"I hope you're ready, Ghost, because this is where your little joyride ends!" Magic retorted and drew her first card, "I'll go first! And to start, I summon Defender, the Magical Knight in DEF mode!" the heavily-armored spellcaster appeared, raising his shield in front of him (DEF: 2000/CTR: 1), "And I'm placing one card-down!" Magic concluded with a reverse-card, "Let's see what you're made of!"
"It is my turn," The Ghost started his turn, "I summon (1) Wave Core Trine(3/ATK: 0/DEF: 0) in DEF mode," a bright blue portal released a large egg-like capsule, made of a trio of teardrop-shaped shields, constantly rotating around a glowing sphere of liquid (DEF: 0), "And to end my turn, I place two cards face-down." Two reverse-cards appeared.
'I don't like the look of this. I don't have to be a genius to figure out he's using that monster as bait,' Magic thought, 'But that's not gonna be enough to stop me.' "It's my turn!" she drew her next card, "And I summon Magical Exemplar to the field!" the teal-robed magician appeared (ATK: 1700), "Next, I activate the spell card, Magical Blast! This deals you 200 points of damage for each spellcaster on my field!" Defender and Exemplar both raised an arm between then and formed a swirling ball of magic between their hands, which the tossed right at the Ghost. It made a direct hit, but the armored stranger seemed unfazed.
Ghost: 3600
Magic: 4000
"And that's not the best part! Whenever a spell card's activated, Magical Exemplar gains 2 spell-counters!"
Magical Exemplar: (CTR: 2)
"But she won't be keeping them around for long, because now I can activate Exemplar's special-ability: by removing any number of her spell-counters, I can call out a spellcaster with a level equal to those counters from my hand or graveyard!"
Magical Exemplar: (CTR: 0)
"So from my hand I summon the tuner-monster Night's End Sorcerer!" the rabbit-eared spellcaster appeared (ATK: 1300), "I'm sure you know what happens next, right? I tune my level-4 Magical Exemplar with my level-2 Night's End Sorcerer!" the two spellcasters then rose to the sky. The sorcerer separated into two bright-green synchro-gates which then made their way around Magical Exemplar, who's physical frame was replaced by four stars, "Watch and be amazed as this sorceress and her assistant combine, her magic strikes like dark lightning! I synchro-summon, Tempest Magician!" the stars burst into a large column of light, and there came out Magical Exemplar, who now wears a similar, darker robe, with Night's End Sorcerer's scythe in hand (ATK: 2200), "And when Tempest Magician's summoned, she gets her own spell-counter (CTR: 1)! But that's not all; by sending cards from my hand to the graveyard, I can add that many spell-counters onto Tempest Magican!" Magic discarded two cards from her hand.
Tempest Magician: (CTR: 3)
"Not to put all these counters to use! For every counter that leaves the field, guess who's gonna take 500 points of damage!" Tempest gripped her scythe as it fueled with magic. Then, in one swift motion, she swipes away, launching four arcs of dark energy which hit dead-center into the Ghost. But even that didn't faze him.
Ghost: 1600
Magic: 4000
Magic kept wondering how the Ghost could withstand that many attacks, "Hey, that was 2000 points worth of damage you took! Didn't you feel that?" she got no reply from her opponent, "Ugh, typical. I had to get the strong, silent type. Well, let's see how you react when my Tempest Magician attacks your monster!" Tempest Magician reeled back her scythe as she dashed in for an attack, "And while I'm at it, I activate the trap, Magician's Circle! This card let's both of us summon a spellcaster-type monster from our decks in ATK mode! And from my deck I summon Crusader of Endymion!" Magic's reverse-trap summoned the cobalt-armored magician (ATK: 1900).
"I have no spellcasters." The Ghost simply replied.
"Really? Well then, that means more damage for you!" Tempest Magician sliced the Wave Core in half, destroying it. "Just one more to go! Any last words?"
"No. Your actions triggered my monster's effect."
"Huh?!"
Five blue portals opened where the previous monster used to be, "When Wave Core Trine is destroyed, its effect allows me to summon 1 Meklord Empress, Top, Attack, Guard, and Carrier monster from my deck or hand, so long as each of their levels are lower that the destroyed monster, as well as share its attribute. I summon (2) Meklord Empress Piscel Infinity(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)," out of the first portal came a shaped mass or brightly-lit energy, in the form of a pair of fishes. Metal casings covered their faces as they're joined by a large shield with an infinity symbol engraved in silver (ATK: 0), "(3) Piscel Top(1/ATK: 500/DEF: 500)," from the second came light in the shape of a much smaller fish, in mechanical on its upper half (DEF: 500), "(4) Piscel Attack(1/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0)," another light formed the shape of a shark (ATK: 1000), "(5) Piscel Guard(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 1000)," another light formed a stingray-shaped machine (DEF: 1000), "and (6) Piscel Carrier(1/300/300)." The final light took the form of a manta ray (DEF: 800).
"I don't believe what I'm looking at!" Magic gasped, "Five monsters summoned in one turn?!" the Ghost's armored form began to outline with light as he raised his right arm in front of him, where he showed an h-shaped mark glowing over the armor. Two large circles of light then flashed below their feet, one on Magic's side and the other on the Ghost's, both circles touching. Magic began to notice her mark glowing as well, as it practically burned on her arm, causing her to wince. "What's going on…?!"
"Now I activate the effect of Meklord Empress Piscel Infinity," the Ghost's armor finally burst open, shooting its pieces all around. Magic's Tempest protected her from the oncoming few projectile. Looking over her monster, Magic saw the Ghost's monsters flying around, their light forms receding before gathering around their master. First Infinity's shield hovered over upright, the fish heads folded out against it. The shark's head attached itself over his right arm while the stingray attached itself ontop of his duel-disk. The manta's head snapped onto his back, and the top formed a blue-finned helmet that landed ontop of his head. The green-tinted visor lowered as long, teal hair spilled over his shoulders. The Ghost stood in a dark-blue, silver-armored spandex under her new armored form.
"By the power above the skies, guarded by Pisces, I am Meklord Empress Piscel(ATK: 1800/DEF: 1800)!"
Meanwhile…
As the sun continued to rise in the 5 A.M. sky, Luna and Leo run through the plaza outside, and burst through the front doors into the garage. They looked around until they spotted Akiza standing further in near a table.
"What're you doing here?" Leo asked, "Where're the guys?"
"I don't know, but I had this bad feeling." Akiza replied.
"Oh, no. And I thought it was just me." Luna muttered, lowering her eyes to her right arm.
"I'm afraid not. My Mark has been signaling me as well, something's wrong," Akiza looked down to her own Mark, "After all, the bond we share as Signers is a strong one. If one of us is in danger, we all can feel it. Take heart; Yusei has a strong spirit. He can take care of himself," the twins shared a dubious look as Akiza stared out the window. 'I hope…'
And they weren't the only ones. Jason received a rude awakening thanks to his own mark. Determined to find the cause of it, he traced the signals of his fellow Signers' duel-runners scattered over the edge of the city. As three of them were still moving, one of them is still in one place; so he decided to go for the border in front of the city. Hopefully they can tell him what's going on…
The duel between Yusei and the Ghost raged on as Jack and Crow chased them on the parallel roads between them.
"What is that thing?! I've never seen a duel monster like it!"
"Seems the Ghost has a few tricks up his sleeve."
"C'mon, let's get a closer look!" Crow and Jack meet at the junction point where Yusei is. Crow managed to gather the opponent's information and saw his field, "What in the world? That one monster is made up of five different duel-cards? How can that be? Or better yet, how can Yusei take it down?"
"I dunno, but he better figure out a way fast! For all we know, that's the creature that put Trudge in the hospital, and maybe the others, too!"
"Yeah; if Yusei can't crash that creature, then he could end up crashing."
"I place two cards facedown to end my turn!" two reverse-cards appeared on Yusei's side before vanishing.
"To me, then," Ghost drew his next card, "...And to my Machine Emperor Wisel. Attack Max Warrior with Stainless Steel Slash!"
"I activate the trap Shock Reborn! Now, all battle damage dealt to me is cut in half! Sure, this is still gonna hurt; but it's not gonna hurt as much!" Wisel scored Max Warrior across the front. Yusei's monster explodes in a huge cloud of black smoke that Yusei had to ride through, "Thanks, Shock Reborn."
Yusei: 3150 (4)
Ghost: 4000 (4)
"And thanks for the monster I can now summon! Because due to my trap, I can bring back a monster with less attack points than the damage I just took! That means, you're up, Turbo Booster!" the yellow rocket launcher returned (DEF: 0).
"You'll need a bigger boost than that to stand a chance against me! I place one card face-down and end my turn!" Ghost chuckled and set a reverse-card.
"Then I'm up!" Yusei drew his next card, 'And up for some serious damage if I can't find a way to get back in this duel! It's now, or never.'
"So under that fearsome suit of armor is a girl," Magic tried to disguise her shock with boredom, "How original."
"What you see before you is unlike anything you have ever faced," the Ghost replied, the mark on her arm flashing, "Before this duel is over, you will regret your words."
"I think you better look closer. I still have a monster on my field with 1900 ATK points! Go for it, Crusader! Attack Picel Infinity!" Crusader of Endymion jumped over to destroy the floating shield. But the Ghost shot up by the boosters on Picel Carrier to block Crusader's ascent. The Crusader's attack was blocked by the stingray shield, pushing each other back before the two dropped back to the ground. "Hey, what gives?!"
"When one of the Piscel pieces become a target for an attack, I can redirect that attack to another piece, which as you can see is Piscel Guard."
"Which has 1000 DEF points! It should've been destroyed!"
"Which is why I activated my trap card, Trine G3," the Ghost revealed her reverse-card, "This prevents Piscel Guard from being destroyed in battle this turn. It also allows me to add a Guard monster that has two levels higher that the one on my field, as well as the same attribute," she moved a card from her deck to her hand and showed it, "So I'm adding Cancel Guard 3."
Magic groaned, "Fine! Then I'm placing another card face-down!"
"And during the end-phase, another effect of Wave Core Trine activates," the Ghost said, "When it was destroyed by a synchro-monster, you take 500 points of damage." Without warning, the Piscel Core shot a beam of energy from its infinity symbol.
Magic shielded her eyes as it barely missed her. She lowered her arm and gasped at the sight of a long, vertical groove freshly dug out where the laser fired. "Did… did I miss something or…"
"Now you see what these cards can do," the Ghost said, "And when I unleash it in full force, I can guarantee you would make it out of this duel unscathed."
'Alright, time to turn things around before the Ghost turns me into his latest victim. The only question is, how?' Yusei glanced over the cards on his field: Turbo Booster and his face-down card, and the cards in his hand, 'Wait a sec...' suddenly a combo visualized in his mind, connecting to each card in the right order, his Cross Game coming into effect, 'That's it!' "I activate the speed-spell Angel Baton! With this, if I have 2-or-more speed-counters, I get to draw 2 cards from my deck! Then I have to discard one card in my hand to the graveyard," he drew 2 cards, then discarded one, "But it's all worth it, because now I can summon the dreaded Debris Dragon!" the smaller version of Stardust Dragon appeared (ATK: 1000), "And he's 'dreaded' because when this beast is summoned, I'm allowed to bring back a monster from my grave with less than 500 ATK points, so come forth, (11) Gauntlet Warrior(3/ATK: 400/DEF: 1600)!" a short, black-haired warrior appeared with a large, red gauntlet on his right hand (ATK: 400), "And now I'll tune 'im with my 2 other monsters, Turbo Booster and Debris Dragon, in order to synchro-summon, Stardust Dragon!" Debris Dragon formed the four gates, through which Gauntlet Warrior's 3 and Turbo Booster's 1 stars aligned,.
"Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Stardust Dragon!"
"Let's rev it up!" Yusei's sparkling white dragon appeared (ATK: 2500).
Crow: "All right, what a move! That puts Yusei right on top!"
"Next I activate the trap, Meteor Wave! Now, for this one turn, my synchro-monster's attack points are increased by 300!" Yusei's reverse-card opened and Stardust's power increased (ATK: 2500-2800).
Jack: "Then you'd better make the most of it! Yusei, let 'im have it!"
"With pleasure! Stardust Dragon, attack that Machine Emperor Wisel!" Stardust Dragon unleashed a giant breath of fire full of stars.
"I activate Wisel Guard's special-ability!" Ghost announced, "Now he takes your attack, and Machine Emperor is left unharmed!" Yusei's attack hits and destroyed Wisel's arm.
"Clever move, but it doesn't stop the effect of my Meteor Wave! Now since my monster attacked your monster in DEF mode, and had higher ATK points than your DEF points, You take damage equal to the difference!"
Yusei: 3150 (5)
Ghost: 2400 (5)
Crow: "Way to go, Yusei; I wish Trudge coulda been here to see that!"
'I can't believe that Wisel Guard was able to block my attack!' Yusei thought, 'Oh, well; at least it's outta the way now.' "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Ghost drew his next card, "And first I'll summon (9) Wisel Guard 3(3/ATK: 0/DEF: 2000)!" a white, snail-like machine appeared (DEF: 2000), "And just like Wisel Guard, it can block any attack headed its way! Nothing like having a few spare parts handy." The monster folded out into an arm and attached itself onto Wisel's right side, giving it a new shield.
Machine Emperor Wisel: (ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000)
Crow: "Whoa, did you just see that? He repaired his monster!"
Jack: "A combo monster! Yusei can chip away at that thing all he wants, but the Ghost can just keep fixing it!"
"Not good..." Yusei muttered.
" Oh, Yusei...," Ghost chuclked, "don't you see, it's no use! My Machine Emperor will never break down."
'As much as I hate to admit it, he's right. If the Ghost has enough cards in his deck to keep rebuilding that thing, he can just keep blocking all my attacks! Talk about a 'well-oiled machine'...!'
"You'll soon be going down like all the rest, Yusei! The moment you lose is the moment you crash!"
"So is that what this is all about for you? Bullying random duelists you find on the road?!"
"Bullying?" Ghost scoffed, "Of course not, that's just an added bonus; dessert for after I achieve what I've really set out to accomplish."
"Whadda you talking about?"
"I'm talking about useless little things called synchro-monsters! That's why I cruise the roads at night, Yusei: so that I can find them and rid the world of the wretched things! And now it's time to rid the world of yours!"
"It is my turn," the Ghost drew her next card, "I activate the effect of Meklord Empress Piscel." The infinity symbol on the floating shield opened and there's a sudden intake of air towards it, creating a vacuum ready to suck anything inside.
"What's going on?!" Magic asked, then saw her Tempest Magician being dragged towards the pull…
"Now, watch the Synchro Slayer at work! Wisel Infinity, demonstrate! I activate your special-ability!" Machine Emperor Wisel's chest glowed in an infinity symbol, from where beams shot out of it and wrap around Stardust's limbs, neck, waist, and torso like glowing ropes, dragging Yusei's monster toward it.
"Stardust Dragon!" Yusei gasped.
"It's too late, Yusei, there's nothin' you can do! Your dragon is about to become just another gear in my machine!" Stardust Dragon shrieked one final time, and turns into light, getting sucked into Machine Emperor Wisel's chest.
Jack: "Did you see that?! His monster has been—"
Crow: "Has been trapped!"
"Stardust Dragon, no!" Yusei stared on in disbelief, when he recalled what Trudge told him back at the hospital, "Trudge tried to warn me...! This is what he meant: 'Synchros are useless' because the Ghost can capture them!"
"Oh, they're not useless; at least not to me! Because now that your Stardust Dragon is mine, his ATK points are mine, too!" Ghost said, "That's right, Yusei; thanks to your synchro monster, my Machine Emperor now gains 2500 more ATK points to do damage to you with!" Wisel's left arm, its attack arm, glowed with Stardust's iridescent shimmer, on vestiges of the shape of the dragon's distinctive head (ATK: 2500-5000).
"Oh no! It absorbed all of Stardust Dragon's strength?!"
Jack: "This is not good!"
"What do you think you're doing to my monster!" Tempest tried to fight back the vortex, but soon unable to cope with its increasing strength as she was pulled off the ground, and absorbed through the gaping void behind the shield before it closed. Magic stared with her mouth agape.
"Wrong. It's my synchro-monster now." The Ghost said.
"What did you do to her?!"
"Piscel Infinity has an effect that allows me to capture any synchro-monster. And once it's absorbed, I can make it's power my own."
"Does that mean…" Suddenly, Magic's duel-runner beeped behind her.
"Magic! Are you there?!" Crow called from the com, "Listen, don't try to summon any synchro-monsters! The Ghost can absorb them and use their power for themselves!"
"I think it's a bit late for that." Magic muttered.
"Next I summon the monster (6) Cancel Guard 3(3/ATK: 0/DEF: 1200) from my hand." A crab of energy appeared with a mechanical triangle-shaped shell. The crab disappeared and the triangle became a shield for the Ghost's duel-disk.
Meklord Empress Piscel Infinity: (DEF: 2000)
"Next, I activate the effect of Piscel Infinity, which absorbs the effect of your Tempest Magician. And last I remembered, it can accumulate spell-counters by removing cards from your hand. So, I will do just that," the Ghost discarded her entire hand (CTR: 4), "And then, I can remove those counters, and inflict 500 points of damage for each one. That adds up to 2000 points of damage." The infinity symbol reopened and unleashed a beam of energy headed straight towards Magic, but Defender stepped in the last second and blocked the damage with his shield.
Ghost: 1600
Magic: 2000
'Oh, man! I don't care if it hit me or not, I actually felt that!' Magic thought, trying to steady her heartbeat, "This girl isn't playing around!"
"Next, I will activate my second trap, Trine A3," the Ghost's sole reverse-card opened, "By paying life-points that match the gap in ATK between an Attack monster and an opponent's monster, then the Infinity monster on my field will always be 100 ATK points stronger during their next battle."
Ghost: 900
Magic: 2000
The Ghost raised her Attack arm outward, there its top hatch open and a small rocket erected(ATK: 1800-2000), "And now, I will use this opportunity to wage an attack on my intended target: Crusader of Endymion." The rocket then went blasting out and speeding towards the Crusader.
"Defender, activate your ability!" by Magic's order, Defender sidestepped into Crusader's direction, with the shield held in front the both of them. The rocket ran straight into the shield, collapsing into a small explosion but unable to make a scratch on the shield. "With Defender's special-ability I can remove a spell-counter on my field to protect one of my spellcasters from being destroyed! All you managed to do is waste life-points!"
Ghost: 900
Magic: 1900
"You managed to fend off one of my attacks. But there will be another opportunity. And to end my turn, I will activate the second effect of Trine A3: when I waged a successful attack on the targeted monster, I can add an Attack monster from my deck." The Ghost added a card to her hand.
"All right then, Machine Emperor; attack his life-points directly!" Wisel quickly floated from Ghost's side ready to cleave Yusei with its blade, "Tell me how it feels, Yusei, to have your own monster play a part in your demise!"
"I activate my trap card, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Yusei announced and his reverse-card opened, "Thanks to this trap card, when your monster attacks, I can negate that attack, and then I'm allowed to place it right back down on the field to use again!" the makeshift scarecrow absorbed the strike, then retreated back into its card and replaces itself facdown on the field.
"Fine! You survive this round. I place two cards face-down and end my turn."
"Then it's my move!" Yusei drew his next card, "First I'll summon (12) Bicular(2/ATK: 200/DEF: 200) in DEF mode!" a small yellow robot appeared, racing beside Yusei on two wheels (DEF: 200), "And then I'll end my turn with a face-down card!"
Ghost scoffed, "You call that a move?"
'I don't have anything in my hand that can beat that Emperor!' Yusei thought, 'For now, I just have to try and hold on.'
"My turn!" Ghost drew his next card, "And I'll start it off by playing the trap Wise A-3!" his reverse-card opened, "With this card, by sending the Wisel Attack I have on the field to the graveyard, I can summon (10) Wisel Attack 3(3/ATK: 1600/DEF: 0) from my hand! Why would I do such a thing? You guessed it! Because Wisel Attack 3 raises my Emperor's ATK points even more!" Wisel's left arm disappeared or outfitted with a new, nastier-looking one that has a long sword blade built into it.
Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity: (ATK: 5000-5400)
"And now I'll have 'im use those ATK points, to lay waste to you!"
"I re-activate Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Wisel's blade was knocked back by the scarecrow.
Crow: "I dunno how long Yusei can hold on like this."
Jack: "But what else can he do? His best monster has been effectively turned against him! Playing that trap's his only chance to survive."
Crow: "Actually, I gotta *bad feeling* that trap might not be enough, Jack. Ghost sounds like he's up to something."
Ghost laughed, "Tell me you didn't think I'd fall for the same trap twice! I activate the trap Battle Return," his face-down card opened, "thanks to this card, by cutting the ATK points of the monster I just targeted in half, I'm allowed to attack with 'im once again!"
"What?!"
Machine Emperor Wisel: (ATK: 5400-2700)
"Machine Emperor Wisel, go!" Wisel's blade smashed through Bicular. The impact causes Yusei's runner to swerve and sway as he fought for control. "And don't forget Wisel 3's special-ability! Since its ATK points are greater than your monster's DEF points, the difference is dealt to you as damage!"
Yusei: 650 (8)
Ghost: 4000 (8)
"Now, I play a special-ability! The ability of Bicular!" Yusei announced after regaining control, "You see, when he's destroyed in battle, I'm then allowed to summon *his guy: Unicycular(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)!" a small red robot appeared riding on a single wheel (DEF: 100).
"Whatever; on to my next move! I activate my face-down, Trap Recycle!" Ghost's last reverse-card opened, "True, I must get rid of a card in my hand to use this trap, but then I get to return to my hand a trap in my graveyard! And the trap I want back is Battle Return!" Ghost then returned the card to his hand, "But it can't wage battle just yet. I'm not allowed to place this card back on the field until my next turn."
Crow: "Then that means Yusei has this one turn to turn things around, or he's done for, for sure!"
Jack: "You're absolutely right, Crow; because once that Battle Return card is laid down, Yusei's life-points will be going down the tubes!"
"It's my move!" Magic started her next turn, "But instead of drawing a card I'll use the effect of Magical Blast from my graveyard and bring it right back to my hand! That gives me another chance to activate it; and like last time, you take 200 points of damage for each spellcaster on my field!" Magic activated the spell as promised, but as soon as it appeared on the field it crackled with red energy, somehow stalling its effect, "Wha? What's going on?!"
"That is the hidden ability of Piscel Infinity," the Ghost said, "When there are four other monsters on my field that shares its attribute, I can choose between monster, spell, or trap cards. Then, as long as they remain face-up, my opponent is prohibited from using those cards."
"So Piscel blocked out all my spells?" Magic guessed, "And you didn't think to tell me that before?!"
"It doesn't matter now. For as long as Piscel is purely water-attribute, you cannot activate your spells."
Magic growled in frustration, 'That makes it harder to gather up spell-counters! It'll be harder to summon Endymion or power up my Silent Magician! But if I could remove one of those Piscel parts…' "I activate the ability of Crusader of Endymion! They say there's two sides to every story! And he's about to show you both of his! Because Crusader's a Gemini monster! And that means I get activate his ability in place of summoning a monster!" the amber gems on Crusader's armor flashed, "So now he can add a spell-counter onto any applicable card on the field, a card like Defender the Magical Knight (CTR: 1)! And then Crusader gets 600 extra ATK points for this turn (ATK: 1900-2500)! And now I'll have Crusader attack Piscel Infinity!" Crusader raised his armed shields and advanced for an attack.
"I activate the ability of Cancel Guard 3," the Ghost raised her Guard arm and a large triangle-shaped barrier rose up, fending off Crusader's attack before fading, "By redirecting your attack towards Cancel Guard 3, it's effect prevents it from being destroyed in battle once a turn."
"Grr… Then I'll end my turn!"
"It's my turn," the Ghost drew her next card, "I release Piscel Attack to special-summon (8) Piscel Attack 3(3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 0) from my hand," a swordfish-looking mass of energy appeared (ATK: 1200). Once it disappeared all that's left was its mechanical head which fitted into the Ghost's right hand, creating a fencer-like spear.
Machine Emperor Piscel Infinity: (ATK: 1800-2000)
"Next, I activate the field-spell Umiruka. This card raises the ATK of all water-attribute monsters by 500, but lowers their DEF points by 400." As the Ghost activated the field-spell, the current of the sea they're dueling next to somehow became stronger, to the point it crashed against the shore.
Piscel Top: (ATK: 500-1000/DEF: 500-100)
Piscel Attack: (ATK: 1200-1700)
Cancel Guard: (ATK: 0-500/DEF: 1200-800)
Piscel Carrier: (ATK: 300-800/DEF: 300-0)
Meklord Emperor Piscel Infinity: (ATK: 2000-4500/DEF: 900)
"And now Piscel Infinity will attack Crusader of Endymion," the Ghost parted her feet and crouched slightly in a stance with her Attack arm up. The sea then suddenly came to life as water parted from it in the form of a serpent, coiling around her area, "And when Piscel attacks, I can now inflict piercing damage." She thrust her sword outward and the serpent shot itself towards enemy lines. Defender brought his shield up and fought to stay upright as the water crashed against it. But there was so much force that it pushed against both monsters and Magic, flooding the field and knocking down her duel-runner.
Ghost: 900
Magic: 1300
Magic coughed out the excess water as she stood back up, "At least my monsters are safe… It's my turn!" she drew her next card and looked at it, 'This might help! Let's hope she doesn't have anything to counter it or anything.' "I activate Crusader's ability and add another spell-counter onto Defender! Next, I place this one card face-down and end my turn!"
"It's my turn," the Ghost drew her next card, "I attack once again with Piscel Infinity!" she summoned another water serpent and sent it flying towards Magic's field.
"I activate the trap card Defense Draw!" Magic revealed her reverse-card, "this card cancels all the damage I'd take and lets me draw another card!" a barrier formed to protect Magic while Defender stood on the front lines for added defense. Afterwards, she drew one card.
"In that case, I activate the effect of the synchro-monster Infinity absorbed. I send my card from the hand to the graveyard to accumulate one spell-counter, which I will use to inflict 500 points of damage." The Infinity shield fired another laser at Magic, but Defender raised his shield and blocked it.
Ghost: 900
Magic: 800
"Thanks, Defender." Magic sighed.
"With that, I end my turn."
"Then it's my turn!" Magic drew her next card and looked at it, 'This is just what I need!' "I summon (13) Gora Turtle(3/ATK: 1100/DEF: 1100) in DEF mode!" a golden-scaled reptile appeared under its turtle shell (DEF: 1100), "And while he's out, no one attacks with 1900-or-more ATK points! Finally I place one card face-down!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn," the Ghost drew her next card, "I activate your synchro's ability. By discarding one card, it gains one spell-counter. Then by removing that counter, you take 500 points of damage." The monster fired another beam, but once again Defender came in and guarded her, deflecting the blast away.
Ghost: 900
Magic: 300
'This is bad! Even if I can't attack she can still chip away at my life-points!' Magic thought, 'I'm still waiting for that one card I need but until then my face-down card's useless!'
"I end my turn," the Ghost concluded, "Draw you card."
'And if it's not the card that can break her combo, then I could be the one who'll break; in more ways than one!'
"I'm right ontop of the signal!" Jason braked at the right roadside and looked over the railing, "Looks like someone's dueling. I need a better look at it…" he drove down through the next exit and dismounted as soon as he stopped next to the boarder, "Margret!"
"Huh?" Margaret drew towards Jason's voice, "Jason? What are you doing here?"
"My mark's been giving me this weird feeling. So followed one of your duel-runners, and now I see you dueling. Just what's going on here?"
"Know about that Ghost guy everyone's been talking about?" Magic stared straight back at her opponent, "She's the one causing all those crashes, and now she's standing right over there!"
"That's what all the fuss is about?" Jason asked, "But what about Yusei, Jack and Crow?"
"I don't know, but I don't think the Ghost is working alone! They must be in the same boat as me!"
The Ghost had no interest in their conversation, but was curious as to who this newcomer is. So under her helmet she managed to pull up his profile. And what she saw… 'Jason Issac Hutchins; Subject Name: D-5 Epsilon… Epsilon? This is the experiment I have been searching for, whom my master has been wanting…' "Machine Empress Piscel Infinity, capture him!"
"Huh?!" Jason and Margaret drew back to the Ghost's command just in time to see Piscel's symbol open and shoot several ropes of light out, forming a net and snaring Jason inside. "Whoa! What's going on?!"
"Jason! You let my friend go!" Magic shot at the Ghost.
"I have already gotten what I came for," the Ghost replied, "So there is no more reason to duel when I can simply leave," the armored duelist sat back on her duel-runner as Piscel moved to her side, "This is where we part." Without looking back, she started her runner and sped past Margaret.
"You're not getting away!" Margaret jumped on her own runner and dashed off after the Ghost. She kept chasing her on the highway while not keeping her eyes off Jason, who's still struggling against the net, 'I don't know what's more confusing, that the Ghost inflicts real damage or that she's running off with my friend! I gotta end this now!'
"Here goes…!" Yusei drew his next card, but groaned when it was a weak monster card.
"It seems that someone didn't get the card that they were hoping for," Ghost chuckled, "What will you do now, Yusei? After all, there are no second chances in a duel!"
"Wait a second, there are! I activate the effect of Speed World 2! Thanks to the field-spell, by removing 7 speed-counters I can draw one more card from my deck!"
Yusei: 650 (7)
Ghost: 4000 (8)
'And there's only one card that can help me; but I'll need all the help I can get to draw it!' Just then, his Mark glowed.
So are Crow and Jack's…
"Whoa…"
"Why're our marks glowing?!"
And Akiza and Luna's…
"How strange..."
"What's happening, you guys?" Leo asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's Yusei; I think he needs our help!"
And also Magic's.
"Looks like Yusei's done playing around! Good; so am I! It's my turn!" Magic drew her next card and looked at it, "Yes! I summon Geomancer of the Ice Barrier!" the ice-enchanting tuner appeared (ATK: 800), "And now I tune level-4 Defender with level-3 Geomancer!" Magic drove alongside the four stars through the three synchro-gates, ""Enchanted stars shall bring upon a new generation of ever-lost magic! Help me break the chains of my heart and open its floodgates, so that pure magic may once again be born! Synchro-Summon! Arcanite Magician!" she came riding out of the let of light in her Arcanite attire (ATK: 400-2400/CTR: 4), "And here's the part I enjoyed most about Arcanite Magician! By removing a spell-counter from my field, I can destroy a card on yours!"
'What kind of person is she…?' the Ghost pulled up Margaret's profile behind her visor, 'Margaret Spires… Former tenant in the Arcadia Movement…' she suddenly became wary as she continued skimming down, 'Connection to duel-monster spirits…' she skipped down to Margaret's deck listing, straight to her extra deck, 'Explosive Magician, Tempest Magician, Arcanite Magician… White Glacier Dragon…? Majestic Glacier Dragon! That's it: she's the one who destroyed Roman Goodwin; and one of the individuals who defeated the former Director! This explains it…!' the Ghost stared back at her opponent with new wisdom that she's facing one of the Signers, 'I don't have time for this! I must break myself out of this duel and deliver the subject as soon as possible!' the Ghost thought, then shot back to her opponent, "Then you wasted your turn! Thanks to Piscel Carrier's ability, all my other pieces sharing its attribute are unaffected by targeting effects!"
"Thanks for the tip! That's why I'm aiming for the next-best thing! By removing both counters, I'm destroying your Umiruka field-spell, and the Tempest Magician you stole from me! I'm sure she'd prefer that over being some extra gear in your machine!" Magic aimed her staff and fired both bolts of magic, somehow causing Piscel Infinity to short out for the moment before stabilizing itself.
Machine Emperor Piscel Infinity: (4500-2000)
Soon all six Marks formed into the full symbol onto Yusei's back, and his top card of his deck began to glow, 'The Mark of the Crimson Dragon...! It's lending me its power for this one last draw!' "Ghost! You're about to see that the power of synchro monsters can never be contained! And right here is the proof!" Yusei drew his card and raised it high, "Now, watch! I summon the Majestic Dragon!" the crystalline baby dragon (ATK: 0), "And next I activate Synchro Material," the Signer revealed his trap card, "Thanks to this trap, I can now synchro-summon with monsters that are on your side of the field! Monsters like the Stardust Dragon!"
"What?!" Ghost gasped.
That's right. Return, Stardust!" Stardust Dragon escaped Wisel's capture and took to the sky once again (ATK: 2500).
"No! This isn't fair, I captured him! He's mine!"
"Not anymore, he's not! Now, Stardust Dragon, tune with Unicycular and Majestic Dragon!" the three monsters aligned in the sky and began to merge, "Ghost, you called synchro monsters wretched little things that the world should be rid of; well now it's their turn to respond, and they'll respond with all their might! Show 'im what I mean, Majestic Star Dragon!" Yusei's wheels pulled up off the road as he continued to rude in mid-air in Stardust's Majestic Dragon form (ATK: 3800). "And don't forget, since Machine Emperor lost Stardust, he also lost that ATK point bonus!"
Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity: (ATK: 5400-2900)
"Don't you forget, I still have Wisel Guard 3," Ghost said, "and thanks to his special-ability, any attack you try to wage will just be blocked!"
"That's where you're wrong; because Majestic Star Dragon negates the special ability of your Wisel Guard!"
"So what! Your attack's still not strong enough to defeat all the parts of my Emperor!"
"It doesn't have to be; after all he's a combo-monster, not a synchro! I'm afraid your Machine Emperor's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness."
"No! You're wrong!"
"Attack 'im and you'll only destroy one part. But if it's the right part, all the others will go with it! Majestic Star Dragon, attack!" Like a blue star flying straight out of the daylight, Majestic Star swoops in, aiming for Machine Emperor Wisel Top, the combo's head. It strikes right through, faster than the eye can see, leaving an explosion and cloud of smoke in its wake and soaring back up to glide above. The headless Machine Emperor started to spark and crackle with unnatural purple electricity, then explodes.
Yusei: 650 (2)
Ghost: 0 (9)
The Ghost kept riding in a straight line and went over the edge of the track, hitting the ground below in a big explosion of smoke and flame.
"Ghost!" Yusei cried as he saw the explosion.
Crow and Jack brake at the edge where a column of smoke is wafting up from the somewhere in the dense forest below, and ran to the edge of the track to look through the translucent plastic side of the track. "Oh, no...!"
"Quick! We gotta get down there!"
"All you did was weaken your own monster in the process! You gained nothing from that effect!"
"That's why I'm activating this: the trap card Assault Mode Activate!" Magic opened her reverse-card, "This upgrades Arcanite Magician into Arcanite Magician/Assault Mode!" in one swift motion she pulled off her white robes, revealing her armored form (ATK: 900-2900/CTR: 2)!"
"Magic, if you're gonna do something, you better do it quick!" Jason called.
"I'm on it! Just hang tight and duck your head!" Magic aimed her staff again, this time creating two large daggers to send straight towards Piscel Infinity. Both hit bullseye into its infinity symbol and caused it to shot down and explode, releasing Jason and dumping him on the road. The Ghost halted in the middle of the road ready to recapture her target, but Magic stood between her and him with her staff aimed right at her, ready to fire, "Give me a reason! I dare you!"
The Ghost see no other option in completing her mission. Without her Meklord Empress she knew she stands no chance against the Signer and her magic. The only sensible thing to do is retreat for the time being, "I will be back." She called before she rode off.
After Margaret made sure the Ghost is no longer visible, she discarded her armor and dismounted her runner, running over to Jason. "Hey Jason, are you alright?"
"I've been better," the fellow Signer grunted and got up, "I guess I owe you that one. You think the others are having trouble?"
"There's only one way to find out. Let's go!"
Down under the trees, the robed man with the sword approached the fried wreck, which is sparking with electricity. He picked up the wide plate of the duel runner, which has the Machine Emperor Wisel cards on it, then looked up at the track, Majestic Star Dragon can be seen gliding serenely above the trees. "Yusei Fudo. It has to be," he chuckled, "Well, well. This should certainly make things interesting." Soon after he left, Yusei, Jack and Crow ran up to the crash site.
"Ghost! Are you okay?!" Yusei asked.
"C'mon, let's help 'im up and get 'im to a hospital," Crow reached for one of the Ghost's shoulders. But as soon as he touched it, the static shocked him and the arm fell off at the shoulder, sparking on its own on the ground, causing all three to gasped. "Or maybe a mechanic...?!"
"What's going on here?! Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Jack stared at the socket that held the arm that was a metallic fixture. The Ghost's eyes were open, but lifeless.
"So Ghost... was a robot?!" Yusei gasped.
"This makes no sense!"
"We need some answers." Crow insisted.
A few days later, Yusei and the rest of the Signers in the basement with Mina and the recovered Trudge. Several photos from that day littered the surrounded table.
"Good to see you're feeling better, Trudge." Yusei said.
"Hey, I'm just glad you guys finally caught up with the Ghost," Trudge looked over some of the pictures, "Well, from the looks of these pictures you took, I'd say what we have here is a Duel-Bot."
"Sector Security has been experimenting with robotics," Mina said, "Duel-Bots are at the very cutting edge of those experiments."
"So that other Ghost Magic went after, you think maybe that's a Duel-Bot, too?" Crow asked.
"If she is, it's a pretty lively Duel-Bot," Margaret said, "Besides, she got away before I got a chance to question her."
"So how come this one got loose?" Jack asked.
"Don't know," Trudge said, "But my hunch is someone stole a prototype from headquarters, and then they must've somehow reprogrammed it. Now the question is why? I only wish we could check the bot's memory chip."
"Already did that, Trudge. Only problem is it had nothing on it," Yusei tossed the computer chip to Trudge, "My guess? The Ghost's memory systems were set to automatically erase if it lost a duel."
Trudge examined the chip for a moment before cursing at Yusei, "You know, it's a crime to tamper with evidence!"
"Oh, give it a rest, wouldja?" Crow smirked, "If not for us Sector Security would still be tryin' to catch the Ghost!"
"That's right, no one tries harder!" Trudge replied, Mina sighing at sudden change of tune.
"Wow, a dueling robot!" Leo said looking at the picture, "So awesome!"
"Leo, that thing did a lot of damage!" Luna scolded.
"Oh, yeah."
"What bugs me is how that other Ghost went and caught me like that," Jason remembered, "It's like she caused all this just to fish me out. And I got a feeling in my gut that she's gonna be coming back."
"What I don't understand is all that weird stuff the Ghost was saying about synchro monsters," Crow pointed out, "What's it mean?"
"I don't know, but the one thing that is certain is that there's somebody out there who's up to no good." Jack said.
"I agree, Jack. And if that means that our city is in danger, we have to be ready to defend it!" Yusei concurred, with Jack, Crow and Margaret nodding. 'And be ready at all times, because I have a bad feeling that this Duel-Bot was just the beginning, and from here on out, things are only going to get worse!'
DUEL-MON DATABASE:
(1) Wave Core Trine
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 4 (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When this card is destroyed and sent to the graveyard, destroy all monsters you control. Then, Special Summon 1 "Machine Empress () Infinity", "Top", "Attack", "Guard", and "Carrier" from your hand, Deck, or Graveyard with the same level as the destroyed monster. During the End Phase this effect resolves, if this monster is destroyed by a Synchro Monster your opponent controls, inflict 500 points of damage to your opponent.
(2) Machine Emperor Piscel Infinity
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 1 (ATK: 0/DEF: 0)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: Other monsters you control cannot attack. This card gains ATK equal to the combined ATK of all Synchro Monsters equipped to it and all other face-up "Top", "Attack", "Guard", and "Carrier" monsters you control. When this card is destroyed, destroy all monsters you control. Once per turn, you can select and equip 1 face-up Synchro Monster your opponent controls to this card, and then you can either gain that monster's ATK and DEF OR apply its effect to this card. When each face-up "Top", "Attack", "Guard", and "Carrier" monsters you control share the same Attribute as this card, it gains the following effect: select Spell or Trap cards; your opponent cannot activate cards of the selected type.
(3) Piscel Top
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 1 (ATK: 500/DEF: 500)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card.
(4) Piscel Attack
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 1 (ATK: 1000/DEF: 0)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card.
(5) Piscel Guard
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 1 (ATK: 0/DEF: 1000)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card. When another monster you control is selected as an attack target, you can switch the target to this card instead.
(6) Piscel Carrier
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 1 (ATK: 800/DEF: 600)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: Destroy this card if you do not control a "∞" monster. All face-up "Machine Empress () Infinity", "Top", "Attack", "Guard", and "Carrier" monsters you control are unaffected by card-effects that target a card you control.
(7) Cancel Guard 3
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 0/DEF: 1200)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card. When another monster you control is selected as an attack target, you can switch the target to this card instead. Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed in battle.
(8) Piscel Attack 3
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 1000/DEF: 0)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card. When a "Machine Empress () Infinity" monster you control attacks, it inflicts piercing damage.
(9) Wisel Guard 3
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 0/DEF: 2000)
Attribute: DARK
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card. When another monster you control is selected as an attack target, you can switch the target to this card instead. Once per turn, this card cannot be destroyed in battle.
(10) Wisel Attack 3
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 1600/DEF: 0)
Attribute: DARK
Effect: If you do not control a face-up "∞" monster, destroy this card. When an "Infinity" monster you control attacks, it inflicts piercing damage.
(11) Gauntlet Warrior
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 400/DEF: 1600)
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: During either player's turn: You can Tribute this card; each Warrior-Type monster you currently control gains 500 ATK and DEF, until the end of the next Damage Step that monster attacks or is attacked.
(12) Bicular
Stats: [Machine/Effect] LV: 2 (ATK: 200/DEF: 200)
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can Special Summon 1 "Unicycular" from your hand or Deck.
(13) Gora Turtle
Stats: [Aqua/Effect] LV: 3 (ATK: 1100/DEF: 1100)
Attribute: WATER
Effect: As long as this card remains face-up on the field, monsters with an ATK equal to 1900 or more cannot declare an attack.
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