Yu-Gi-Oh! GX: Virtual Nightmare
Episode 13: Winner Takes All, Part 3
Story by: jodalita
Written by: jodalita
A massive explosion can be seen from a distance at the top of the Kaiba Corp skyscraper in the middle of a virtual Domino City. Taking a closer look, we can see a duel taking place. Gansley, leader and founder of the Big Five, has just launched a direct attack on his opponent, Chazz Princeton. A big cloud of smoke covers the area, preventing Jaden and the others from seeing anything while they fly above the duelists using their respective duel monsters. Among them we can see Elemental Hero Air Neos, Steam Gyroid, White Night Dragon, and Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon.
Chazz = LP 0
Gansley = LP 1100
Gansley stands on his side of the field satisfied with his victory, with his Deckmaster standing behind, Summon Sage, and his only monster, The Wicked Dreadroot (ATK/3000) standing tall in front of him. The creature is currently equipped with the trap card Curse of the Wicked. The smoke caused by the attack covers half of the dueling field, hiding Chazz from view.
Gansley: Well, this was almost a waste of my time. However it was all worth it in the end. Even though my colleagues failed against the four of you I was able to make up for their mistake.
Alexis: Hold on, Gansley… You haven't won yet.
Gansley: That's where you're wrong. Need I remind you of the terms of this duel? As stipulated by established business rules, if Chazz Princeton were to lose all of your bodies would belong to the Big Five.
Jaden: Wait… let me duel you. Winner takes all, just like before.
Gansley: I don't think so, Mr. Yuki. Time for a complete corporate takeover…
Gansley raises both arms in a quick motion. Jaden and his friends immediately begin to hold themselves in pain, noticing that their bodies are beginning to become digitized. They look at each other in fear as their bodies turn into millions of pixels held together by their sheer will alone.
Atticus (sad): I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Alexis. It's all my fault.
Syrus (surprised): Wait… something's happening…
All of a sudden the pixels disappear and their bodies become whole once more. The pain has also disappeared. Gansley seems shocked.
Gansley: What! This is impossible! The conditions have been met. Your bodies should already belong to me!
Jaden: Well, you obviously overlooked something… seeing as how we're still here.
Atticus: But how? According to the rules of the Virtual World, this shouldn't be possible.
Voice: ... Unless the duel is still on.
Surprised by the sudden intrusion, Gansley turns his eyes in the direction where the voice is coming... to his left side almost at the edge of the skyscraper. A young boy with very recognizable green hair and a white suit can be seen. Everyone seems very surprised.
Gansley (upset): NOAH! You little brat! How dare you show up like this?
Noah: Silence! Who do you think you're talking to? Have you forgotten who I am?
Syrus: That's strange… What's Noah doing here?
After hearing this, Noah turns around looking at Jaden and the rest of the gang, flying above him. He recognizes them, but quickly dismisses them and continues his conversation with Gansley.
Noah: Did you really think you could get away with this? This is my world.
Gansley: Nonsense. This Virtual World may be under your command, but it still abides by our rules. You cannot interfere as you please.
Noah: Fortunately for me, my interventions are not required on this particular occasion. Or haven't you noticed?
Gansley: What are you talking about, Noah?
Noah: Take a closer look… This duel isn't over yet.
Gansley directs his gaze in the direction Noah is pointing… straight across from him and inside the cloud of smoke. Once the smoke begins to dissipate, the figure of a still standing Chazz appears. His Deckmaster, X-Head Cannon, also appears behind him. Everyone else seems content.
Syrus (exited): Chazz, you're alright!
Gansley (furious): Mr. Princeton… but how? I defeated you! How can you still be standing?
Chazz: Simple, because you haven't beaten me yet... and it's not going to happen either.
Gansley: It cannot be! Your life points went down to 0 after that attack. What kind of game are you playing here?
Jaden (confused): What are you talking about, Chazz? How are you still in the game?
Chazz: Well, play close attention to my field and you'll find out, dork.
As the smoke dissipates even more, everyone is able to see a monster sitting in defense mode in front of Chazz, more specifically a creature known as Ojama Yellow (DEF/1000). In addition to it, a spell card previously activated by Chazz, Burden of the Mighty, and an unknown trap card also appear.
Gansley: Impossible! You had no monsters left on the field.
Chazz: Let me explain, since it seems you're having trouble catching up, Gansley. Before my life points hit 0 I was able to activate my trap card, Relay Soul. Since I had two Ojamas in my hand, all I had to do was summon one of them to the field to stay in the game.
Gansley: How does that makes a difference? You lost the duel anyway.
Chazz: Maybe under normal conditions, but thanks to the second ability of Relay Soul, so long as Ojama Yellow is standing, so am I. Which means the duel is still on.
Syrus: Awesome! That means we still have a shot at this.
Noah: Interesting… Once again it seems as though you and the Big Five have failed.
Gansley (screaming): THINK AGAIN! During my next turn I will pulverize your Ojama and that will take down my competition for good.
Chazz: Then what are we waiting for? Let's finish this duel once and for all. Winner takes all… like we agreed.
Gansley: Exactly right. Winner takes all. I place one card face down and end my turn! Make your final move.
Chazz: If you insist (draws).
While the others wait impatiently, Chazz looks at the card he has just drawn while holding his other card on his left hand, Ojama Green.
Chazz: I'll start by switching Ojama Yellow to attack mode (ATK/ 0).
Gansley: What are you up to?
Chazz: Patience, you old geezer. I activate a spell card, Graceful Charity, so I get to draw 3 cards (draws) and then discard 2.
Gansley: I'm afraid that won't make a difference. I activate my trap card, Appropriate. And thanks to your little spell, I am now allowed to draw two cards from my deck (draws). I'm guessing you know what that means, don't you?
Atticus (to the others): This isn't good. If Chazz tries to destroy The Wicked Dreadroot with a spell, trap, or monster effect, Gansley can send those two cards to the graveyard and save his monster thanks to the effect of Curse of the Wicked.
Gasley: That is correct. One step closer to business supremacy for me…
As Chazz selects 2 out of the 4 cards in his hand to put into the card graveyard, Gansley appears to be very impatient while looking and the 2 remaining cards in his hand, one of which happens to be Tribute to the Doomed, a spell card that destroys an opponent's monster by discarding one card from his hand. Gansley certainly plans to use it on his next turn.
Syrus (to Atticus): I don't get it then. What is he doing?
Atticus: He's running out of options. He's searching through his deck as much as possible in order to figure out a way out of this one.
Syrus: I don't know. Maybe there's more to it than what it looks like.
Jaden: I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Chazz seems content as he contemplates the last two remaining cards in his hand. He looks at Ojama Yellow on the field, then directly into Gansley's eyes while activating one more spell card.
Chazz: I activate Monster Reborn to bring back a monster from the graveyard. The one I choose is Ojama Black in attack mode (ATK/ 0). It's over.
Gansley: Out of all the monsters you could have brought back… You should know better than to try and trick an outstanding businessman like myself. You have to be bluffing.
Chazz: Let's find out then. Ojama Black… attack the Wicked Dreadroot!
Ojama Black turns around in shock and looks back at Chazz. He seems reluctant to attack. Chazz's friends also appear surprised.
Ojama Black: Are you sure, boss? That monster is pretty big and scary…
Chazz (angry): Come on! Less talk, more action!
After Chazz's loud command, Ojama Black reluctantly begins to run towards Gansley's Wicked Dreadroot, raising its tiny fist.
Alexis (shocked): Are you insane? What are you doing?
Ojama Black willingly jumps towards the Wicked Dreadroot attempting an attack, however the monster stops it in it tracks with its gigantic claw and pulverizes it with a single blow, causing a small explosion that pushes Chazz backwards.
Chazz: I already have 0 life points left, which means I don't receive any damage.
Gansley: You are more demented than I thought.
Chazz: Not yet… Because my Ojama was destroyed I can remove from play the card I just sent to my graveyard, a trap card known as Ojamaking. This lets me bring Ojama Green back from the graveyard in attack mode (ATK/ 0).
Gansley (disappointed): What? Is that supposed to frighten me?
Chazz: Maybe it should… Or did you forget? I still have one card in my hand which I will play right now, Ojama'a Last Stand! When an Ojama is special summoned to the field and by destroying Burden of the Mighty, this spell card lets me activate a Field spell from my deck and play it right away. So now, meet Ojama Country!
As Chazz inserts the Field spell card into his virtual Duel Disk, images of a grass field with many cabins appear all over the dueling field, with Ojama creatures of several different colors jumping from place to place.
Gansley: I see... thank you. Now that Burden of the Mighty is no longer in play, my Wicked Dreadroot's returns to its original strength of 4000 (ATK/4000). You'll never stop it now.
Chazz (sarcastic): Yeah, right... Let's try this again. Ojama Yellow, destroy the Wicked Dreadroot!!
Ojama Yellow nods in approval and rushes towards Gansley's monster. At the same time, some of the different-colored Ojamas begin to jump repeatedly on the Wicked Dreadroot.
Gansley: Destroy? What is happening? What are they doing to my monster?
Chazz: Ojama Country has a special ability. When there is an Ojama on the field, all monsters have their attack and defense points switched. Thanks to that, both of my Ojamas who had 1000 defense points now have an ATK of 1000.
Gansley (mumbling): You lucky...
Chazz: Unfortunately, your Wicked Dreadroot won't be so lucky. See, thanks to that Curse of the Wicked trap card equipped to your overgrown mutant, its defense points are equal to 0… and well… I'm guessing you can do the math…
Much to everyone's surprise, the attack strength of all monsters on the field change dramatically. Ojama Yellow and Green suddenly become stronger (ATK/1000), while the Wicked Dreadroot becomes much weaker (ATK/ 0).
Gansley (surprised): It WHAT? This cannot be possible!
Chazz (smiling): Sorry, Gansley. Of course, since your Wicked Dreadroot is still on the field, Ojama Yellow's attack points are cut in half (ATK/ 500)... fine by me. Ojama Yellow, attack!
With one single motion, Ojama Yellow jumps high in the air and attacks the enormous Wicked Dreadroot with its tiny fist. With a horrified look in his eyes, Gansley contemplates as a puny Ojama Yellow connects and destroys his all powerful monster with a single blow. The monster growls loudly and briefly before disappearing into thin air.
Chazz = LP 0
Gansley = LP 600
Chazz: With the Wicked Dreadroot gone, the attack points of my Ojamas are not cut in half anymore (ATK/1000). And what do you know? That's more than enough to finish you off. Ojama Green, attack Gansley directly!
With another quick motion and before Gansley can react, Ojama Green jumps with his head straight forward, knocking his opponent down with a powerful headbutt.
Chazz = LP 0
Gansley = LP 0
After delivering the last blow of the duel, the holograms of the two Ojamas disappear and the field returns to normal. Gansley lies on the floor after being knocked down while Chazz falls to his knees due to exhaustion. After realizing the outcome of the duel, Jaden and the others command their monsters to land on the Kaiba Corp Skyscraper after which they run towards Chazz, which results on their respective monsters disappearing as well.
Alexis: Nicely done, Chazz. I was starting to worry for a minute there.
Chazz: Please… You didn't really think I was going to lose, did you?
Atticus: I think I speak for everybody when I say the idea crossed our minds a few times.
Chazz: Gee, thanks… is that how you repay me for saving your butts?
Jaden: Relax, Chazz. There's no need to get all worked up about this. We knew things would go smoothly in the end.
Chazz: You geeks worry too much. I had everything under control.
Despite his words of encouragement, Chazz appears to be exhausted after his duel being barely able to stand up. Atticus approaches him and helps him get up on his feet using both hands, while Alexis helps. In the meantime, Jaden and Syrus approach Gansley who is still laying face up on the ground and has begun to disappear into pixels, just like the other Big Five members before him.
Syrus (to Gansley): Do you even care about what you're doing?
Gansley: I beg your pardon?
Syrus: Do you care about putting innocent people like us in danger just so that you can get your revenge against Seto Kaiba?
Gansley: This is so much more than just revenge, kid. It's about survival of the fittest. We will never be able to take control of the business world for as long as we are trapped here. You just happen to be the unfortunate chosen few.
Jaden: It doesn't matter now. You lost, along the rest of the Big Five, which means you failed.
Gansley: I don't think so. My retreat is only temporary. Regardless of our appearance, in this world we are immortal. We will be back and, just like Crump who took over the body of your friend Hassleberry, we will take over yours.
Syrus: Give him back!
Gansley: Never. Just like him, you will all remain trapped here forever.
With a smile on his face Gansley waves his hand in an attempt at a goodbye, and then disintegrates completely. Jaden and Syrus reunite with the others once more to discuss their current situation. Noah is nowhere to be seen.
Jaden: Where did Noah go?
Alexis: We're not sure, he's just gone. Did Gansley say anything important?
Syrus: Not really, I'm afraid we're stuck here.
Jaden: Come on, Sy. Think positive. We followed Noah's instructions and defeated the Big Five. Now all we have to do is find him and tell him the good news.
Alexis: Right… and how are we doing this again?
But before Jaden can come up with an answer a holographic image of Noah appears in the sky. No one other than Jaden and Syrus can recognize him. Regardless, everyone notices his presence and turn their gaze towards him.
Noah: Greetings once again, duelists, and congratulations on your victory!
Jaden: There you are… just the one we were looking for. Guess that means you already know.
Noah: Certainly. I see all your friends have been victorious as well.
Alexis: So how does this work? Do you just open a door for us or something?
Noah (confused): I'm not sure I understand.
Syrus: What do you mean? We did what you told us and defeated the Big Five. Now get us out of here, please.
Noah: I did agree to that; however you were not completely victorious. Crump is still free, roaming around the Real World in your friend Hassleberry's body.
Alexis: What are you trying to say? You ARE letting us go, right?
Noah: Hmm... not quite. Not yet anyway.
Chazz (upset): Enough! Cut the nonsense and tell us what you want from us.
Noah: Please relax, all of you. I will explain… but not here.
With a quick hand motion, Noah causes an already familiar wooden door to materialize in front of everybody. The doors opens up revealing a long and dark passageway extending deep into the unseen. The team approaches the door reluctantly.
Noah: Do you remember the place where Hassleberry lost his duel?
Jaden: You mean that beach where he was dueling against Crump? Sure, what about it?
Noah: Go through this door and it will take you to that place. You will find me there and then we can talk.
Atticus: What's this all about? Why can't we talk here?
Noah: The door to exit this place lies on that location. Besides, I have to make some preparations for what is to come. Things aren't going as I anticipated and we need to be ready. I will be waiting for all of your there.
Jaden: Great, I just hope we don't run into any unexpected encounters while we get there, like another one of the Big Five.
Noah: Sorry, but I can't guarantee that won't happen. Good luck.
Without any delay, Noah makes another hand gesture which causes his body to disintegrate into millions of pixels almost instantly. The team slowly proceeds towards the open door.
Chazz: Would anyone mind explaining to me what's going on here? What's this all about Virtual Worlds and wooden doors?
Jaden: Hmm… it's kind of a really long story.
Atticus: There's no time right now. We'll fill you in on our way there.
Without hesitation and exited about their freedom, the team runs past the wooden door and into the long passageway. Immediately after, the door closes behind them and dematerializes.
DUEL ACADEMY, REAL WORLD
Back in the Real World, Mokuba continues to pursue Tyranno through the long hallways of Duel Academy. Still grasping for air after being choked by Tyranno a few moments earlier, Mokuba tries to shake off the pain as much as possible while he continues to run.
Mokuba (to himself): I don't understand. He is heading toward Duel Academy's Main Computer Server. What could he possibly want in there?
After turning around another corner, Mokuba finds himself unable to proceed further. While breathing heavily, he approaches a fence separating him completely from the Main Computer Server room. Through the fence, he is able to see Tyranno also grasping for air as he slowly approaches the server computer.
Tyranno (to himself): It's been too long. Breathing and even running feels very awkward. Although this is a healthy body, I haven't had time to get used to it.
Mokuba (loud): Stop right there! Where do you think you're going?
Despite Mokuba's loud interruption, Tyranno simply ignores him and approaches the server computer's main terminal. After inputting a few commands, he turns around and addresses Mokuba with an angry look on his face.
Tyranno: What's wrong, little Mokuba? Feeling hopeless without your big brother standing next to you?
Mokuba: Shut up! Leave Seto out of this. I don't know who you are but trust me when I tell you I am not the same kid I was before.
Tyranno: Really? Last time we saw you, you couldn't even tell who your real brother was.
Remembering the events of 10 years ago, when he chose to support his half-brother Noah rather than stand next to his own brother Seto, Mokuba comes to the sudden realization of who the person standing next to him is.
Mokuba (shocked): We? It can't be… the Big Five?
Despite Mokuba being correct on his assumption, Tyranno simply turns his back towards him and continues working on the terminal.
Mokuba: But how? Noah destroyed your data… how is this possible?
Tyranno: I'm disappointed. After all the calculations and estimates I taught you, you still get caught off guard by the unpredictable. Or don't you remember? Rules from your World don't apply within the Virtual World Noah created. Everything is possible.
Mokuba: I see. I'm assuming based on what you just said, you must be Crump, aren't you?
Tyranno: I guess you'll have to figure that out on your own, won't you? Anyway, if you'll excuse me, I have a Virtual World to destroy and a computer system to take over.
Mokuba: Wait… explain yourself. Tell me about the Virtual World and how is it that you were able to escape.
Tyranno: You will hear no such things from me. Now witness as the Big Five's dream of 10 long years finally comes to fruition.
After inputting several other commands, the monitors around the Main Computer Server begin displaying different data from several companies very well known around the globe. The logo of Kaiba Corp appears among them. Frustrated, Mokuba holds onto the fence unable to stop Crump while thinking about the many answers on his head that remain unanswered.
CARD OF THE DAY:
Curse of the Wicked
[Trap/Normal]
After activation, this card is treated as an Equip Card that decreases the original DEF of the equipped monster to 0. This card cannot be destroyed except by removing the equipped monster from the field. While this card is face-up on the field, any monsters on your side of the field other than the equipped monster are destroyed. You can use the following effect:
● Discard 2 cards. Negate the effects of your opponent's Spell Cards, Trap Cards, or Effect Monster's effects that destroys the equipped monster until your next Standby Phase after the turn this effect was activated.