0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Deck of the Primordial Scion
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Darkest Before the Dawn
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0
The five duelists approached the great temple, which seemed to get much larger as they approached it. Its great doors loomed before them.
"Uhm… Big, isn't it?" asked Ren.
Anastasia appeared, a tired look on her face.
"Yumi… Children…" she said with a sigh. "I'm afraid I can't help you any more than watch now. My energy is too spent from enacting such a sacred clause."
"That's okay, Anne," said Yumi. "You take it easy."
"Be warned," she said. "There is more evil power inside this temple than I have ever felt before, not in my mortal life or beyond. I believe that it is some shrine devoted to an evil power of some sort… Likely a powerful one with connections to demons.
"May the powers of good walk with you."
The huge doors swung open. They walked inside.
They entered a great hall, where the glass theme was still predominant. The term "Glass Menagerie" was fitting. Along the walls were statues of animals, beasts, and fairy creatures, all made of glass.
"I really hope those are just statues and they weren't once real," muttered Erik.
They walked down the hall, and their footsteps echoed.
"Man, it's quiet…" said Chelsea.
"Yeah…" said Ren. "Three quiet…"
"Three quiet?" asked Yumi.
Ren nodded.
"That's even quieter than too quiet," he said.
Everyone groaned.
Maybe he was better when he was brainwashed… thought Yumi.
At the far end of the hall was a dais, on which was a cushioned chair.
"So now what?" asked Chelsea. "Man, this place looks expensive… It must have cost a fortune…"
"More than you think," said a voice. "But the wealth of its owner is considerable."
They all looked around.
"Up here," said the voice.
They all looked at the dais…
Sitting there was the strange man in the midnight-blue robe and hood. And he was holding the Rod of the Ancients.
"Okay, fellah," said Yumi, "I want some answers! Who the Hell are you!"
The man chuckled. He lowered his hood.
The Pharaoh appeared, his eyes narrowing.
"I know who he is…" he said, ominously.
Yumi was shocked when he said the name.
"People…" she said. "This is Unus the Undying himself…"
The man on the throne grinned. He got up, and started to walk down the dais.
"I see my reputation proceeds me," he said, in a strange accent. "Unus the Undying, the last of the Sorcerer Kings, master of dark magic…"
"Clearly, 'Undying' was more than just a title…" said Sam.
"Heh, I wish it was…" muttered Unus. "No, Sam, as much as I would have liked people to think I was the avatar of some dark god, I'm currently no more immortal than you are."
"I don't understand," said Yumi. "What's been going on? How have you survived? What is the point to all this?"
"So many questions, Yumi…" said Unus, fingering his Rod. "But I'll explain before we have to fight, which seems to be inevitable now… That Rasputin apparently had more of a spine in him than I thought.
"All of the Sorcerer Kings achieved power in different ways… We were actually only related to each other via our common goal, and via the Shadow Charms. I took a rather… dangerous path."
A Duel Disk appeared on his arm, one that seemed to be made entirely of glass. He reached into his robe, and took out a small stack of cards. There weren't nearly enough for a full deck. (There were exactly ten.)
"I'll tell you my story by comparing it to the story of this individual," she said, activating the Disk.
He played a card, and a tall figure appeared in front of him. It was a handsome Warrior in black armor, holding a steel sword.
"Warrior Dai Grepher?" asked Ren. "How are you like Warrior Dai Grepher?"
"In lots of ways," said Unus. "It's a sad story… One that most folks can't piece together, seeing as no-one has all the parts…"
He played a card, and Warrior Dai Grepher vanished as a familiar Spell Card appeared – The A. Forces. Everyone noticed that Grepher was on the artwork, heroically leading a group of fellow Warriors into battle.
"He was once a powerful and brave soldier," said Unus, "who fought for many noble causes…"
He played another card, and Array of Revealing Light appeared on the field, another card with Grepher's picture.
"…and one day, he discovered a force that was strange to him… Magic. A force that could shape the world in more ways than a mere sword could."
He played a third card, and Morale Boost appeared in front of him. The picture depicted Grepher holding the Wicked-Breaking Flamberge.
"The Warrior sought to acquire magic, and obtained a mighty sword. It gave him strength and vigor, and for the first time, he knew what true power was…
"But one day, he met a Warrior who would become his hated rival…"
He played a new card, and Simultaneous Loss appeared in front of him. The picture showed him fighting Warrior Lady of the Wasteland, with both of their swords flying from their hands.
"This female warrior was his greatest challenge to date, and the battle between them ended in a stalemate. As did every battle between them for a while…
"But she became stronger…"
He played a new card, and Dimension Wall appeared. This time, Grepher was fighting D.D. Warrior Lady, and she was using a portal that caused him to strike himself with his own sword.
"She found new power, and became able to control the dimensional boundaries. She faced him again, and he was soundly defeated. To seal her victory, she banished him to the void, hoping he'd be gone forever…
"But he got lucky…"
He played another card, and a Trap called Dimensional Inversion appeared. It showed Grepher appearing out of a portal of light.
"The warrior struggled, and eventually found his way back to the mortal world. He burned for revenge, but his rival was too powerful now. He needed power of his own to defeat her. But what magic would he harness to get it?
"The warrior burned with fury. He became more violent. His honorable fighting ways became brutal and bloody…"
A new card appeared, a Trap called The Paths of Destiny. It showed Grepher facing two paths in a dark wood, one leading to light, and one leading to darkness.
"He was faced with a decision. He was offered power from two sources. One promised light and warmth, one promised might and strength. He took the second path… Into darkness…"
He played another card, and the Spell Card Falling Down appeared. It showed a picture of Grepher slowly changing into a fiendish form.
"With this choice, the warrior had to make sacrifices… He gave up his human body, surrendering it for that of a demon…"
Unus played the final card. It was Sakuretsu Armor.
The duelists watching got the point well. Once Grepher had gotten his power and became a Fiend, the first thing he did was slaughter his former comrades.
"And he finally got the power he once wanted. The magic he sought was now his…"
Unus chuckled as the card faded away.
"An amusing little story, isn't it?"
"Stuff it, Unus!" shouted Yumi. "What does this have to do with you?"
"Virtually the same thing happened to me," said Unus. "I won't tell you who the rival was who defeated me in my youth, but I will say she was a powerful priestess. So I decided to obtain my power from a different source, and eventually steal the power from her source.
"I made a deal with a powerful demon lord. The same one that Claret served after she left Malcanthet. A powerful Scion of Chaos. This lord gave me responsibilities, and so long as I fulfilled them and did a few favors, I'd possess great magical abilities.
"Fortunately for me, unlike Grepher, I got to keep my good looks."
Yumi's eyes opened.
She reached into her side deck and took out the Chaos Necromancer card.
Rasputin was trying to warn me… she thought. In a moment of sanity, he dropped me a clue as to who was truly behind the whole plot… A sorcerer who worshipped Chaos…
A real chaos necromancer…
"Anyway…" continued Unus, "calling myself 'the Undying' was nothing more than a title to intimidate the common folk. After all, any great sorcerer worth his salt can probably make himself live as long as he wants to…
"I soon became one of the most powerful of the Sorcerer Kings. I formed my grand plan. I proposed to the others the plan that involved stealing the power of the gods to make us truly immortal and omnipotent, power enough to rule over all of creation.
"My plan was pretty grandiose… I'll leave it up to the imagination what the specifics were. Suffice to say, it involved an outright attack on the realms of the Egyptian gods.
"All of them seemed ready to agree, but that meddler Machius stepped in and protested. He said there was a fatal flaw in my plan that would result in our doom. He filled their heads with the possibilities of failure and divine punishment. And they all had doubts.
"I told them they all had a choice. They could follow me, or they could give up their goals and dreams that they had worked so hard for. I said I would prepare our assault.
"I was suspicious of Machius. So I started work on a spell, which would make the Sorcerer Kings my slaves should they turn against me. But Machius was wise to me. He enchanted his Crown to protect himself. Then, he visited each of the Sorcerer Kings, one by one, proposing a different plan. One by one, they turned against me, and joined him.
"I prepared to cast my spell to gain them back, but I did so too late. They cast a powerful ritual, drawing on the power of the Earth itself, in which their physical bodies were sacrificed, and their souls ascended to a higher form. Their Charms were hidden for future heroes to find, and they left the world behind, traveling to a paradise realm that they had formed with their fantasies.
"And I was alone… My work was a failure. And cut off from the symbiosis I shared with them, most of the powers I had gained on my own were gone.
"And my demonic patron was not about to keep giving me the ones he provided. He had stood to gain much from my plans, which would now never see fruition. As punishment, he dragged me to the Abyss and tossed my Rod to the same place where the others had stashed theirs.
"For ages, I was his prisoner, sealed in a soulgem. I was helpless, and crushingly bored… My only company besides my captor were the other prisoners.
"But three years ago, he offered me a second chance…
"You see, Yumi, he knew that you needed the Shadow Charms. He also knew that one of his servants, Claret, was manipulating a powerful duelist who desired immortality, and thus could use the Shadow Charms. So he offered me my life back, so long as I delivered you to him.
"I was set free and returned to Earth, not having aged a day due to the preservative powers of the prison gem I was kept in. I was met by Claret. Working with demons was nothing new to me. So we began planning our grand trap, using Rasputin as a patsy. I only needed to make a clean kill or a capture to complete my job; but we didn't dare make an outright attack. Ever since the Mandate was rescued and strengthened, alarms are sounded in Heaven whenever demons try to attack mortals. To avoid retribution by celestial forces, we were forced to work in secrecy. We decided to strike while you were collecting the Charms.
"However, I didn't count on a few things. The other Sorcerer Kings were still watching Earth, and they were determined that my plan would not succeed. They remembered well my plan to enslave them. Since they still had strong ties to their Charms, they helped Machius ensure that his Charm, the Crown of Souls, would reveal itself first. They hoped you would win it, knowing that it would make you safe from my magic even if your enemies won all seven of the other Charms. Since you did, the chances of a successful outright assault went from slim to almost nonexistent.
"We were forced to resort to questionable methods. We came close to succeeding when Rasputin beat you the first time. Having Claret put the Power Wall card on the top of his deck just when he needed it ensured his victory. And I was even able to use a powerful spell to seal that meddling Anastasia in a magical cell that would hold her until I was done. Since I was in charge of that duel, I was able to override Machius's spell for a few brief minutes when you were defeated.
"Unfortunately, when I tried to grab your soul, an energy source that I couldn't identify grabbed it first."
Jaden… thought Yumi. Thank goodness…
"Fortunately," said Unus, "Rasputin never truly won the Charm. Since I was alive and well, it was still mine, even though he believed it was his. Only I was able to tap its secrets at that point…
"But anyway…"
"But why?" asked Yumi. "Why does this… patron of yours want me?"
"Don't you know?" asked Unus. "With you as his prisoner, we won't have that prophesy to worry about."
Yumi just looked at him.
"You mean… Your spiritual guide never told you?" he asked.
"His memory isn't too good…" said Yumi.
"No matter…" said Unus, his eyebrows narrowing.
His Disk activated again.
"Normally, Yumi," he said, "now that you're here, I could simply banish you to my master's realm with one simple spell. But with your Crown still enchanted with that idiot Machius's spell, my magic still can't touch you. So we will duel. I'll wager my Rod against your Crown.
"And should you refuse, I'll banish all four of your friends, who have no protection at all. And maybe I'll crash this whole temple into the center of Duelatopia's hotel district while I'm at it."
Chelsea held onto Ren, her eyes wide with fright.
"Don't worry, guys," said Yumi. "I can beat him."
"No you can't," said Unus. "Know why? Because I've been watching you for three years. I've studied every one of your duels. There's not a single card you could draw that could surprise me. And the same goes for your four lackeys."
He lifted up his cloak slightly, and then tucked the Rod into his belt behind him.
Yumi stared at him.
She took the last deck out of her bandoleer. It was her second deck.
"Wrong, Unus," he said. "Here's one deck that can surprise you."
"Yumi!" said the Pharaoh's voice. "Think this over carefully… We haven't used that one even once…"
"I know…" muttered Yumi, "but it's the only deck here that Unus doesn't know about. It's the only way we stand a chance."
She placed it in her Disk. Both Disks activated.
"Yumi!" shouted Erik.
He ran up to her.
"Erik?" she said.
"Yumi, eat this…" he said.
"Erik, what are you…" she asked.
Before she could say anything else, he quieted her by giving her one of the chocolate truffles.
"Just chew and swallow," he said. "I finally figured out what they were really for."
Yumi slowly chewed. Then she nodded, and turned to Unus.
"You want me, Unus?" she asked. "You're gonna have to beat me first!
"Game on!"
(Yumi: 8,000) -------------------- (Unus: 8,000)
"Bury this guy, Yumi!" shouted Ren.
"Tear him a new one!" shouted Sam.
"Silence," ordered Unus, making his first draw. "This is why I hate teenagers. Whatever your new strategy, mine will crush you.
"I set a card facedown, and then summon 8-Claws Scorpion."
A facedown card appeared in a flash of light, and then a large, ugly Insect appeared. As it name implied, it was a scorpion with eight sharp pincers. (300/200)
"Huh?" said Erik. "That's no stronger than a Kuriboh… I'm guessing it has some sort of effect…"
"Yeah…" said Sam. "When it attacks a Monster that's facedown, its Attack Score becomes 2,400… But Yumi will destroy it before he can…
"Oh no… Weak Dark Monster plus facedown card… Yumi…"
Yumi glared at him. Then she smirked a little.
"I draw one card…" she said, making a draw.
"And my Trap activates!" shouted Unus. "Crush Card Virus!"
His Trap lifted up, and 8-Claws Scorpion exploded into a burst of vile spores. Yumi closed her eyes as the spores splattered on the cards in her hand and deck.
"Now, all cards in your hand, and the ones you draw for three turns that have 1,500 Attack Points or more are destroyed!"
"NO!" screamed Ren.
"Gee, Unus," said Yumi. "I hate to be a party pooper, but…"
She turned her hand of cards forward.
"…as you can plainly see, every Monster I have right now is immune to your Virus."
Everyone looked…
It was true. The Monsters in Yumi's hand consisted of Mystical Elf, Battle Footballer, Sangan, and Giant Soldier of Stone. The other two cards were Heart of the Underdog and a Trap that no-one recognized.
"Uhm…" said Ren. "Well, her grandfather used the Elf and the Soldier, but…"
Unus gave her a strange look.
"It still affects the Monsters for this turn and your next two!" he said.
"Sorry, Unus," said Yumi. "I'll let you in on a secret… Your Virus won't affect a single card in my deck."
"Her whole deck doesn't have one powerhouse?" asked Sam. "What sort of crazy deck is this?"
"Oh, just wait," said Chelsea. "It's gonna bring down the house!"
Unus looked at Chelsea.
Bring down the house? thought Unus. Something's up… Clearly, this isn't the Yumi Mouto I've been studying…
"Anyway…" said Yumi, "I'll set a Monster in Defense Mode, and then play Heart of the Underdog."
A facedown Monster appeared, and then the Continuous Spell Card appeared.
"This card lets me…"
"Yes, yes, I know what it does," said Unus. "I helped design the decks Rasputin gave to your brainwashed friends, including Sam's. And it won't help you."
"It's your move," said Yumi.
Unus drew a card and looked at it.
"I activate… Pot of Greed," he said.
The wicked jar appeared, and he drew two cards.
"Next, I play the Spell Card, Instant Fusion. Since you own a copy of this card, Yumi, I'm sure you know what it does. I simply relinquish 1,000 Life Points, and I get to bring a low-level Fusion Monster to the field.
"And I choose to summon Reaper on the Nightmare."
A ghostly fog crept over the room, and a sinister creature emerged from it. It was a specter dressed in a tattered cloak, holding a scythe, mounted on a mummified horse. (800/600)
"That's a pretty useful Monster," said Yumi. "But there's one problem… Since you used Instant Fusion to summon it, it can't attack, and it will be gone when you end your turn."
"That's exactly why I'm going to sacrifice it," said Unus.
Reaper on the Nightmare vanished into the dark fog again.
"I summon Giant Axe Mummy."
A huge creature loomed over the field. The name was quite fitting. It was clearly a mummy, it was clearly huge, and the weapon it held was a big axe. (1,700/2,000)
"Now for the fun part," said Unus. "Axe Mummy, attack her facedown Monster with undead axe smash."
Giant Axe Mummy roared, and charged at the facedown card. Sangan appeared on the card, and was smashed to pieces by the blow.
"Thanks a bunch," said Yumi, taking her deck. "I'm sure you know what Sangan can do. Like I said, its effect can let me search for any Monster in my deck. Of course, since the card I'm taking doesn't count as drawn, it's not affected by your Virus anyway."
She added the card to her hand and reshuffled.
"I end my turn…" he muttered.
(Y: 8,000) -------------------- (U: 7,000)
Yumi drew a card.
"I have to show this to you because of the Virus," she said, "but it isn't even a Monster."
She showed him the card. It was a Spell Card called Dark Burst.
What does that do? thought Sam.
"I'll set this in Defense Mode, and end my turn," said Yumi.
A facedown Monster appeared.
Unus frowned and drew a card.
"Hmph!" he said, looking at his hand.
"I'll also set a Monster in Defense Mode, and set a facedown card. And since the only Monsters you could have set are ones with high Defense, that will conclude my turn."
Yumi drew a card, and looked at it.
She turned it forward, showing Reckless Greed.
"I set a new Monster in Defense Mode," she said.
A second defensive Monster appeared.
"My turn ends, as does the effect of your Virus."
"And mine begins…" said Unus, making a draw.
"I flip my Des Lacooda into Attack Mode," he said.
His facedown Monster flipped up, revealing a decaying camel swathed in mummy wrappings. (500/600)
"By Flip-Summoning this Monster, I get to draw one card."
He made a draw.
"Giant Axe Mummy, attack the facedown Monster on the left!"
Giant Axe Mummy lumbered towards the facedown card with its axe. It groaned, and raised its weapon…
Then, Mystical Elf appeared on the card, kneeling with her hands folded. (800/2,000) A dome of force appeared around her, and the axe slammed into it. Giant Axe Mummy tumbled back, landing on its behind.
(Y: 8,000) -------------------- (U: 6,700)
8-Claws Scorpion would have come in really handy, he thought. If I hadn't wasted it…
"Humph… So be it," he said. "At least now I can activate my Trap Card…"
His facedown card lifted.
"Bottomless Shifting Sand."
The whole arena floor changed, and each Monster, and both duelists, were now up to their ankles in sand dunes.
"When this Continuous Trap is in effect," said Unus, "every time my opponent ends her turn, the face-up Monster with the highest Attack Score is destroyed."
"Smooth move," said Ren. "I see one thing wrong with that… The strongest Monster on the field is your Giant Axe Mummy, stupid!"
"But my Trap doesn't effect facedown Monsters," said Unus. "And both Giant Axe Mummy and Des Lacooda have the ability to switch into facedown Defense Mode once per turn. I don't think Mystical Elf has the same ability."
Both of Unus's Monsters vanished, and were replaced by facedown cards.
"With that, Yumi, my turn once again concludes."
"Fine," said Yumi. "I draw one card…"
She drew.
"And since the card I drew was Aqua Madoor, I get to draw again, due to my Heart card."
She drew again.
"I drew Charcoal Inpachi, so I draw a third time."
She drew again.
"Okay, this card doesn't fit the bill…"
"What's the point of this deck?" asked Sam. "Are all her Monsters Normal ones with high Defense? How can she attack with them?"
"She has her ways," said Chelsea.
"First, I'll place a facedown," said Yumi, fitting a card into her Disk.
A facedown card appeared in a flash of light.
"Now, I'll shift Mystical Elf into Attack Mode."
"Huh?" said Unus, as Mystical Elf stood up.
"Attack the facedown Monster on the right!" shouted Yumi.
Mystical Elf shot a blast of sparkling energy from her palms, and Des Lacooda appeared on the card before bursting into a cloud of dust.
"Didn't expect that, did you?" asked Yumi. "So much for you making extra draws. I'll set another Monster in Defense Mode, and end my turn."
A facedown Monster appeared. Mystical Elf screamed as she was sucked under the sand and disappeared.
"You fight well…" said Unus, drawing a card. "But it will all be for naught…
"I flip Giant Axe Mummy into Attack Mode."
The card flipped, and Giant Axe Mummy appeared again. (1,700/2,000)
"Man, he's gonna pull the same trick again!" shouted Erik.
"Attack!" shouted Unus.
Giant Axe Mummy rushed at the facedown Monster. Battle Footballer appeared on the card as its axe fell. (1,000/2,100)
"I activate a Trap!" shouted Yumi, as her facedown card lifted. "Cross Counter! Now my Footballer can blitz your Giant Axe Mummy, taking it out and dealing you double the damage!"
Battle Footballer slugged the huge mummy in the stomach. The Zombie dropped its axe and exploded into a burst of dust and wrappings.
"Ergh…" said Unus.
"Just because my deck is a defensive one, doesn't mean I can't trash your Monsters," said Yumi.
(Y: 8,000) -------------------- (U: 5,900)
"Very well, young warrior…" he said.
He placed all of his cards but one in his Disk. Four facedown cards and one facedown Monster appeared on the field.
"Four facedown cards?" said Chelsea. "This guy doesn't fool around."
"My move…" said Yumi.
She made a draw. She made a sinister smirk.
"Well, Unus…" she said. "Seems I have a decision to make…"
"What?" he said.
"Well, the card I drew is certainly a Normal Monster… But if I show it to you to use the effect of Heart of the Underdog, my strategy will no longer be a secret."
Unus just stared at her.
"The silent, type, huh?" asked Yumi. "Very well… I choose to use the effect…"
"Show me!" ordered Unus.
Yumi flipped the card around.
Ren, Sam, and Erik gasped. Chelsea smirked and nodded. Unus just stared at it blankly.
The card was Right Arm of the Forbidden One.
"Exodia?" shouted Sam. "Yumi, how long have you been sitting on this deck?"
Yumi drew another card.
"Hmm, not a Normal Monster," she said, adding it to her hand.
"Well, Sam," she added, "the story behind this deck began after Duelist Kingdom. As you know, Weevil Underwood threw my grandfather's original Exodia cards that were given to him from his grandfather into the ocean. My other grandfather recovered two of them, but as it turned out, even they were ruined.
"When he got home, grandpa secretly started looking for replacements, if only for a symbolic purpose. It was harder than it seemed. The ones belonging to the Rare Hunter he beat in Battle City were bootleg forgeries, and he had too much pride to take them for his use. In the end, he retired before finding all the cards he needed for a proper Exodia Deck.
"But then, my dad worked on it. And doing so took his whole career…
"And I took over after that. The final card for this deck was added two weeks ago…
"See… This deck is the product of three generations of work."
"Which will only make its defeat more tragic," said Unus. "I'm neither scared nor any less confident of my ability to crush you, Yumi. You should know better than anyone, Exodia is far from unbeatable."
"We'll see, won't we, wise guy?" she said, playing a Spell Card. "I play The Shallow Grave."
"Now we must both Special Summon a Monster from our Graveyards in facedown Defense Mode."
Two facedown Monsters appeared, one on Yumi's side of the field, and one on Unus's.
"Next, I'll set a new Monster in Defense Mode…"
Another facedown Monster appeared on her side of the field.
"And my Trap Cards activate!" shouted Unus.
One of his facedown cards lifted.
"First, Ceasefire! All Monsters are revealed!"
Two Monsters appeared on his side of the field in Defense Mode. One was Giant Axe Mummy. (1,700/2,000) The other was a Monster that looked similar to Des Lacooda, but not as decayed. (500/1,500) On Yumi's side, Mystical Elf (800/2,000), Giant Soldier of Stone (1,300/2,000) and Charcoal Inpachi (100/2,100) appeared.
"Also, you lose 500 Life Points for each Effect Monster."
"Fortunately," said Yumi, "all of mine are Normal Monsters."
"But mine aren't," said Unus.
Yumi groaned as a fiery aura surrounded her.
(Y: 7,000) -------------------- (U: 5,900)
"Now, Needle Ceiling!" he shouted, as another facedown card lifted. "Since there are more than four Monsters on the field, all face-up Monsters are wiped out!"
A shower of spikes rained down from the ceiling. Everyone gasped as all five Monsters were impaled and blown to shards.
"You see?" said Unus. "I'm more than prepared…"
Yumi sighed.
"I end my turn…" she said. "Attack me if you want, I don't care."
"You'll care in a minute!" he said, drawing a card.
"You have only two cards in your hand!" shouted Yumi. "That means Bottomless Shifting Sand's weakness comes into play, and it's destroyed."
The Trap Card shattered, and the sandy dunes disappeared.
"So be it…" said Unus. "I activate my last two facedown cards…"
His two facedown cards lifted…
"Two more Traps?" exclaimed Erik, as they lifted. "What could they be?"
Dark smoke flowed from the two Trap Cards…
Two ugly creatures slithered out. From the waist down, they were large serpents. From the waist up, they were human – mostly. They had two heads, one human-like, and one that was a snake. They each clutched a sharp kopesh in one hand and a decorated shield in another. (1,600/1,800 x2)
"Offhand…" said Sam, "I'd say Embodiment of Apophis is a good guess…"
"Nothing to defend you now!" shouted Unus. "Attack her, my warriors!"
The two demons slithered towards Yumi. She staggered back with the first, strike, and with the second, she cried out in pain and fell to her knees.
She gasped for breath… She held her chest, where her heart was pounding. It was actually like she had been struck by two real swords…
(Y: 3,800) -------------------- (U: 5,900)
Unus chuckled.
"While you're picking yourself up," he said. "I'll set another facedown card, and play Mirage of Nightmare."
The Continuous Spell and the facedown card appeared.
"Hey!" shouted Chelsea. "This guy is stealing my act!"
"I should thank you, Chelsea," chuckled Unus. "You're the one who gave me the idea for this combo!"
Yumi got up. Her eyes narrowed.
She frowned as she drew a card.
"Since this is Chelsea's combo, you know I get to make four draws," said Unus, as he quickly drew four cards.
"Then, Emergency Provisions!"
His facedown card lifted up, but what happened next was very unusual. A tentacle with a fanged mouth on it sprouted out of his stomach, and devoured the Mirage card.
"Uhm… I didn't expect that…" muttered Yumi.
"Truthfully, neither did I," said Unus, as the tentacle vanished. "But when you work for the Scion of Chaos, unusual things tend to happen.
"You should have seen my old castle back in Egypt. Once I commissioned a carpenter to build a throne, but when I tried to sit in it for the first time, it walked away. My chef once prepared crown roast, and when he took it out of the oven, it was roast duck.
"And don't even get me started on my art collection. The portraits and statues I had never had the same expression on their faces twice.
"And you know what? I enjoyed it. I'd never have chosen to serve such a being if I didn't."
Yumi glared at him.
She looked at the card she had drawn. It wasn't a Normal Monster, but it was something she could use.
"You know, Unus," she said, "I'm getting sick of this secrecy. Does this demon lord you worship even have a name? Or is that the whole point? Is he so chaotic that he can't decide on a permanent name?"
Unus smirked.
"He has a name," he replied. "He also has a motto that his cultists use. It states, 'Power told is power lost'. In other words, when you discover powerful knowledge, use it for yourself and don't share it, and you'll be more powerful as a result.
"The only reason I was willing to share my plan with the other Sorcerer Kings was because I needed their help."
"And you would have sold them to your master as slaves when you were successful!" shouted Sam. "Am I right?"
Unus chuckled.
"You're all very smart," he said. "Anyway, you'll all find out his name soon enough…"
"Yeah, well…" said Yumi. "I'm gonna use my own knowledge to wipe out your snakes."
"Oh?" said Unus. "How?"
"By exploiting the same weakness that my grandfather Joey exploited when he dueled Odion. Those things are both Monsters and Traps, and are affected by cards that affect both kinds of cards.
"Here goes my Heavy Storm!"
She played the card, and a furious storm blew through the Glass Menagerie. Yumi's supporters cheered as the two Embodiments of Apophis were eroded into sand, and Yumi's Heart of the Underdog blew to pieces.
She played another Spell Card.
"Next, I play Magical Mallet. I think I'll reshuffle four of my cards."
She took four of her six cards and placed them in her deck. She shuffled, and then drew four times.
She looked over her hand.
"I place a Monster in Defense Mode, and that ends my turn…"
(Y: 3,800) -------------------- (U: 6,900)
Unus looked at her as he drew.
She clearly has more than one piece of Exodia in her hand now… he thought.
He grinned as he looked at the cards in his hand.
But I can destroy her whole deck with one swift stroke!
He placed two cards in his Disk, and two facedown cards appeared.
"Your move…" he said.
"No Monsters?" said Ren. "He's nuts."
"Not really," said Chelsea. "He was right. I doubt Yumi's deck has any Monsters that could really hurt him by attacking."
Yumi drew a card.
"I place one card facedown, and bolster my defenses," she said.
A facedown card, and a second facedown Monster appeared.
"That will be all."
"Then it's my move!" shouted Unus.
He drew a card.
"I activate a Trap Card," he said, as a facedown card lifted. "Multiple Destruction. That means we each toss our whole hands and draw five new cards."
Yumi rolled her eyes, and discarded her hand.
"Since I'm discarding three cards, I lose 300 Life Points," said Unus, "but who cares…"
"Look, buddy," said Yumi, "if you think that making me discard the pieces of Exodia is going to stop me from beating you…"
"Yes, I know, I know…" said Unus. "Any Exodia duelist worth his salt has lots of ways to recover Monsters from the Graveyard…"
He looked at his five new cards.
"But let's see you recover once I activate this…"
Another of his facedown cards lifted.
"NO!" screamed Chelsea.
"Book of Life!" exclaimed Unus. "Now, I can remove a Monster in your Graveyard from play to revive a Zombie from mine. So, let's take a look…"
The Monster cards in Yumi's Graveyard appeared in front of him.
"Nice…" he says. "Looks like you had three pieces of Exodia in your hand a minute ago…
"I think I'll banish this one…"
He pointed to one card – the central piece. Exodia the Forbidden One itself.
"No…" said Chelsea.
She slumped to the ground.
"Yumi's doomed…"
"Now…" said Unus, "as per the effect of Book of Life, I raise Reaper on the Nightmare from my Graveyard."
The ghostly reaper appeared again, astride its demonic horse. (800/600)
"By the way, this Monster has the ability to attack directly…"
Reaper on the Nightmare flew at Yumi, and slashed at her with its ghostly scythe.
"And it has another ability… Now one card in your hand is destroyed."
The Reaper's eyes glowed, and a beam of light hit a card in Yumi's hand. It shattered to bits.
"Nice shooting, Tex!" laughed Yumi. "That card you just hit was a little guy called an Electric Snake. Since your card's effect made me discard it, I get to draw two new cards!"
She drew twice.
Unus chuckled.
"As if it mattered," he said. "I end my turn by summoning Wandering Mummy."
He played the card, and not one, but two embalmed corpses appeared. As far as mummies went, these ones seemed rather typical. They moaned softly. (1,500/1,500)
(Y: 3,000) -------------------- (U: 6,600)
"It's your move, Yumi," he said. "You can either continue, or you can yield."
"I choose to continue," said Yumi.
Unus gave her a strange look.
"But why?" he asked. "Are you that stubborn? A piece of Exodia is gone… Your deck is dead."
"Wounded Unus," said Yumi. "My deck is wounded.
"But it's not dead yet."
She made a draw.
"I set two more facedown cards," she said. "And then I end my turn."
Two new facedown cards and a new facedown Monster appeared.
Unus drew a card. He looked at the odd Spell.
Clearly, she has a card that can restore Monsters that have been removed from play, he thought. I must defeat her before she draws it…
I expected Spellcasters, not this… If she defeats me, it's all over… So much planning will be wasted…
He closed his eyes.
Dark Master… he thought. Great Scion of Chaos… I humbly request permission to channel the great power that only you can give. I will use it to win this duel, and deliver to you the prize you have desired for so long.
He paused.
A cold chill went through him.
He opened his eyes and smiled. His request for permission to had been granted…
"Reaper on the Nightmare," he ordered, "attack her directly again!"
"Not so fast!" shouted Yumi. "Go, Spellbinding Circle!"
Her Trap Card flipped up, and a shimmering circle with a pentagram inside it surrounded the Reaper.
"Unfortunately for your Reaper," said Yumi, "when it's targeted by a card effect, it's destroyed."
Reaper on the Nightmare burst.
"Very well…" said Unus. "First, I will summon the Seven-Armed Demon…"
He played a card, and a hideous creature appeared. It was, as the name suggested, a demon with seven arms, except that the odd one was growing out of its skull. It had grey skin, tangled, long hair, and large, leathery wings. (666/666)
"Ugh!" said Chelsea.
"This scares you, Chelsea?" asked Unus. "This is only a Normal Monster. The true terrors of my deck haven't shown up yet…
"I just keep this in my deck for shock value… And maybe as another way to use Crush Card Virus…
"But these demons are the rank and file… the grunts, if you may, of my patron's army. They may be weak individually, but a horde of several thousand of them can often get the job done. And while these armies typically suffer a casualty rate of seventy to ninety percent in most battles, it hardly matters… In the Abyss, where weak demons sprout up like weeds, these troops are quickly replaced."
"And I thought our wars were bad," muttered Erik.
"You haven't seen war until you've seen the Blood War, Erik," said Unus. "Compared to the Blood War, all conflicts on Earth are no more than casual disagreements. A single Blood War battle costs the lives of more fiends than all of World War II cost the lives of humans. In all areas."
Everyone in the room was speechless. They were thinking right now that Unus was crazy.
At least, they hoped he was crazy. Because if he wasn't, what reason did he have to lie?
Yumi shook her head.
If this was well known, she thought, sins wouldn't exist… Who would risk damnation knowing that the punishment for an evil life was so horrible?
"Anyway," said Unus, "I play… Altar of Mist."
The whole arena became shrouded in misty smoke, and a structure of sorts appeared behind Unus. It was a four-pillared, canopied altar on a dais, whose architecture suggested Greco-Roman.
"Yumi," said the Pharaoh's voice, "this card is bad news…"
"The Big Five, right?" asked Yumi.
"Yes," said the Pharaoh. "They used it to summon their F.G.D. quicker. After three of his Standby Phases, Unus will be able to get any Ritual Spell Card he wants from his deck. He's clearly planning something big.
"And I'm afraid we can't stop him. That card is indestructible."
"Well, swell…" said Yumi.
"It's your move, young warrior," said Unus. "Let's see how much progress you can make before my Altar lets me summon my ultimate Monster."
Yumi made a draw.
"I'm going to activate my Trap Card, Unus," said Yumi. "Heck, while I'm at it, I'll activate both of them."
Her two facedown cards flipped up.
"Do you realize you activated two copies of the same Trap?" asked Unus.
"They're called Break the Seal," said Yumi. "When I have one, it does nothing. But when I have two, I can ditch both of them to take a piece of Exodia from my deck, and add it to my hand."
The two Trap Cards vanished into grains of light.
"What's Yumi doing?" asked Chelsea, as Yumi looked through her deck. "How can she win?"
"She's up to something…" said Sam.
"Continuing," said Yumi. "I flip my Avatar of the Pot into Attack Mode."
One of her facedown Monsters flipped up. It was a rocky, muscular statue whose head looked like the Pot of Greed. (1,200/1,300)
"Now, I can activate his effect. By sending my Pot of Greed to the Graveyard from my hand, I can draw three cards instead of two."
She discarded the Spell Card, and then drew three times.
"Now then… Avatar… Get that ugly thing out of my sight! Attack Seven-Armed Demon with money shot!"
Avatar of the Pot laughed. It threw a punch at the Fiend, and it connected with its jaw with a sound that sounded like the ringing of a cash register. Seven-Armed Demon flew backwards and shattered into pieces.
"That's what's called putting your money where your opponent's mouth is," said Yumi. "Next, I sacrifice my Avatar to summon Millennium Shield."
Avatar of the Pot crossed its arms and nodded. It vanished, and a large, steel shield with the Eye of Wdjat on its front appeared, hovering in the air. (0/3,000)
"You summoned Millennium Shield?" shouted Unus. "That was the dumbest move I've ever seen! That means it's in Attack Mode, with zero Attack Points! It's utterly worthless now!"
"Show some respect," said Yumi. "This card is the exact card that was in my grandmother Rebecca's original deck. She was kind enough to give it to me when she heard I was building this deck.
"And as for it being worthless…
"I play Mystik Wok. Now I can sacrifice it, to gain Life Points equal to its Defense Score."
The Spell Card appeared, and Millennium Shield vanished.
"I end my turn. And since my hand now consists of seven cards…"
She discarded a D.D. Trainer.
(Y: 6,000) -------------------- (U: 6,066)
Unus made a draw. He shrugged.
"I summon Royal Keeper," he said.
He played the card, and another mummy appeared. This one was wearing a broken tutan mask made of wood and a leather kilt, and carried a spear and a leather shield. (1,600/1,700)
"This plan of yours to assault the realm of the gods," said Yumi. "Did it perchance involve raising a legion of undead soldiers?"
"None of your business," said Unus. "That's all for my turn…"
"Psst, Sam," whispered Erik. "How is Yumi gonna win?"
"Well, she has to get back the Exodia cards in her Graveyard, and the one that's been removed from play," Sam whispered back. "It depends on how lucky her draws are.
"Getting the ones in her Graveyard back is the easy part. Every Exodia duelist has copies of Backup Soldier, and things like Monster Reincarnation.
"As for the one Unus banished… Well, I'm not sure."
Yumi drew a card and looked at it. It was Gravity Bind.
Let's look at the situation, she thought. Two Exodia pieces are in my hand, two are in my Graveyard, and one has been removed from play…
And in just two rounds, he's going to bring out something big…
But I've got at least one thing in my favor… Most of my recovery cards are still in my deck… And there are only ten cards left in my deck, so my chances of drawing them are better than he may think.
She placed Gravity Bind in her Disk, and a new card appeared facedown.
Then, she placed another card on her Disk, and a second facedown Monster appeared.
"Your move," she said.
Unus drew a new card.
"Humph," he said. "You're trying to stall, and it won't work… I'm pretty sure my deck has more cards left in it than yours. Exodia Decks never have more than the forty-card minimum."
He placed a card in his deck, and a facedown card appeared.
"That's all for now, so let's see what else you can do."
Yumi made a draw.
"I play… Monster Reborn," she said. "Now I can bring back my Millennium Shield in Defense Mode."
The holy ankh appeared, and Millennium Shield appeared again. (0/3,000)
"All right, Unus…" she said, with sweat running down her face. "I'm more than prepared for whatever you intend to summon…
"So who is it? Dark Master Zorc? Reshef the Dark Being?"
"Those two upstarts?" said Unus, with a laugh. "Once my ultimate Monster defeats you, you'll wish you had been facing them!"
He drew a card. The Altar of Mist became shrouded in spooky smoke, and it vanished. A card appeared in Unus's hand.
"But first thing's first. I play my own Monster Reborn. And I'll bring back a Monster that was destroyed when I used Needle Ceiling. My 3-Hump Lacooda."
The ankh appeared again, and an odd creature appeared. It looked like a camel with three humps, covered with mummy wrappings. Unlike Des Lacooda, this one looked alive and healthy, even though it was drooling. (500/1,500)
"Next, I activate a Spell Card," he said, as his facedown card lifted. "Inferno Reckless Summon. I'll summon two more Lacoodas."
Two more of the odd camels appeared in front of him.
"I don't have any more Millennium Shields, Unus…" muttered Yumi.
"Too bad," said Unus. "Now I activate their effect. When three of these Beasts are on my side of the field, I can sacrifice two of them, and then draw three cards."
Two of the 3-Hump Lacoodas vanished, and he drew three times.
""Perfect," he said. "Now… Before my star appears, I'm going to summon the one who will act as the sacrifice.
"Now, in all honesty, I can't take credit for obtaining this card… Rasputin's spies stole it from I2's vaults when they stole that Obelisk copy that Ren used. Rasputin was going to use this card himself, but…"
He chuckled.
"…he was afraid of it. Heck, very few people wouldn't be.
"I, for one, am not…
"I sacrifice my three Monsters…"
Wandering Mummy, Royal Keeper, and 3-Hump Lacooda erupted in black flames. They were quickly consumed…
"Three sacrifices?" shouted Erik. "What in blazes…"
"I summon one of three mighty devil gods, a beast created to destroy other gods…
"I summon a creature known and feared as… the Wicked Eraser!"
With a bellowing roar, an enormous creature burst through the glass floor behind him. Yumi and her friends recoiled from fright, as the huge, serpentine, winged devil that seemed to combine the worst aspects of Dragon and Fiend loomed over the field. It seemed to be made of metal, rather than flesh, and was covered with sharp edges.
"You know how this Monster works?" asked Unus. "Its Attack and Defense is 1,000 for every card on your side of the field. I see four right now…"
(4,000/4,000)
"Go, Gravity Bind!" shouted Yumi.
Her Trap Card flipped up.
"Sorry, Unus," she said. "But now your Monster can't attack."
Unus laughed out loud.
"I wasn't going to attack with it, Yumi," he said. "The Wicked Eraser has another effect. If it's destroyed, every card on the field goes with it."
"If that's the case, then I won't destroy it," said Yumi.
"You misunderstand," said Unus. "It has yet another effect. I can order it to self-destruct with but a single command.
"Wicked Eraser… Destroy…"
The Wicked Eraser started glowing with a dark, fiery energy…
Yumi braced herself as the huge Fiend burst, and her Gravity Bind, as well as her Millennium Shield, Soul Tiger, and Giant Soldier of Stone were incinerated.
Yumi looked in disbelief. Where her three Monsters had been were now only piles of ash.
"So much for that, Yumi," said Unus. "Ready to meet the Scion of Chaos I've been talking about? The Ritual Spell I have summons none other than his avatar."
"You gotta be kidding…" said Yumi.
"Let me tell you some of his history, Yumi," said Unus. "You may think that demons are just demons, but there are actually a couple of different races of them.
"The predominant race, the one which succubi belong to, are called the tanar'ri. They've ruled the Abyss for a long time…
"But that was not always the case.
"Demons are beings that represent Chaos and Evil. Most would say that the tanar'ri are evil first and anything else second. But once, the Abyss was ruled by ancient race of demons that were chaotic first. This race is dwindling today… Some think that in mere centuries from now, it will be extinct.
"Now, they are truly an ancient race. Quite simply, they were around before mortals were created…"
He chuckled.
"Oh, Sam? You might be interested in knowing that the demons whom the Dark World Fiends were based upon were members of this race. Yes… They had a grand army… But they were decimated in a battle with the Wind Dukes of Aaqa, and most of their power was lost… They never truly recovered, and their empire was easy prey when the tanar'ri rose to power…
"They gained back some of their power when the cards were made, and they gained the status of Duel Spirits. Brron attempted to restore them to true power in recent years by awakening their true leader, but that accursed Jaden Yuki defeated him…"
"Their true leader…" said Sam. "Reign-Beaux?"
"Reign-Beaux is an avatar of an even stronger demon," said Unus. "One whose name I won't speak here…"
Sam looked at him in wonder. Certainly, there had been no Monster in that Dark World Deck that was even stronger than Reign-Beaux…
"But I'm not concerned with them," continued Unus. "The most powerful member of this race… He was ancient even when his race was numerous.
"Legends often connect him in some way to another ancient demon called Pale Night, a member of the race known as the Mother of Demons. No one is sure whether the two of them are siblings, lovers, allies, rivals, or enemies. In the chaotic workings of the Abyss, all could be true at one time or another.
"Some folks claim that, through his wives and concubines, he sired the progenitors of many modern races of demons. Still others say that every tanar'ri living today can retrace its bloodline to him.
"Some sages go even further, saying that he mated with many ancient material world female monsters, and the fruits of these unions were evil creatures that troubled many famous heroes. The Gorgons… the Chimera… the Grecian Sphinx…
"You getting all this?"
"Hanging on to every word…" said Yumi, nervously, with sweat pouring down her face.
She was defenseless, and facing an attack from something that sounded like the most horrible demon in existence. She had never been more scared in her life.
"This ancient being can harness the raw power of Chaos in the very core of the Abyss," said Unus. "He's the one who I pledged my devotion to…
"I play the Ritual Spell Card, Awakening of the Primordial Scion."
The Spell Card appeared on the field. It was an odd picture, of an iron helmet inlaid with strange runes, superimposed over a starry field.
"This Ritual doesn't work like most. To pay the cost, I must remove from play from my hand, field, or Graveyard, one Monster who must be Level Ten or higher. And since demons hate devils, I'll use The Wicked Eraser."
The Wicked Eraser appeared behind him, and was consumed by dark flames.
Unus pulled the Rod of the Ancients from his belt. It started to glow with golden fire, as he started to chant:
Whispered secrets from a shattered age,
Power sought by scholar and sage,
Ancient wisdom, lore of old,
Flawless armor, forged from gold,
Law is twisted; Reality tossed…
Come from secrets veiled and lost!
"Now… I summon my dark master…
"Shogarr, the Dread Emperor!"
The whole chamber went dark…
A bright glow formed in the center of the arena. Yumi watched, as the Monster appeared. It suggested a knight-like warrior, broad and tall, clad completely in armor. Nothing showed from under it – even his eyes were not visible inside the helmet's visor. The armor itself was very well-made, seeming made of pure gold, equipped with a purple, velvet cape. Oddly, this knight had no weapon. (2,500/2,000)
"What the…" said Ren.
"He traded in a Monster with 4,000 Attack Points for one with 2,500?" asked Chelsea. "It makes no sense!"
"So, Yumi…" said Unus. "What do you think of Shogarr?"
"Uhm, Unus," said Yumi, "I kinda expected the ancient lord of chaos and the father of the demon race to be stronger… And scarier…"
"No kidding," said Sam. "This certainly isn't Ha Des's father…"
"Wasn't his father the titan Chronos?" asked Erik.
"Oh yeah…" she muttered.
"Silence!" shouted Unus. "I'll teach you to respect him… And you will. Shogarr, attack Yumi directly with chaos gaze."
Shogarr didn't move at first…
Then his eyes appeared from beneath his helmet. Yumi froze in fear…
The Dread Emperor simply stared at her without blinking. Yumi cringed. He wasn't even touching her, but this seemed worse than anything she had experienced up to this point… She wanted to look away, but she couldn't escape those eyes…
Finally, after the longest fifteen seconds of her life, the eyes vanished, and Shogarr's helmet went dark again. Yumi fell to her knees.
(Y: 3,500) -------------------- (U: 6,066)
"What… What's going on?" she said, clutching her chest. "I feel… I feel so cold…"
A realization came to her…
…her heart wasn't beating…
Unus grinned.
"Let me explain what Shogarr has done to you, Yumi," he said. "You're almost dead… Only his will is keeping you alive, and he will only allow you to live long enough to prepare for what you are about to see."
"What do you mean?" asked Yumi. "You mean… You've won and he's toying with me?"
"In a way," said Unus. "You can survive if you manage to win, but the odds are against it now…
"You see, Yumi, as the Scion of Chaos, Shogarr's physical body is Chaos incarnate. You see a humanoid man in armor before you, but that's really a disguise.
"Most of the time, he hides his features behind his armor… He never removes it, unless he wants to execute a living victim personally. His face is so horrific, reality rejects it.
"No living creature can view him without his armor without dying instantly, overwhelmed by the ultimate Chaos. In fact, when the spirits of those who have fallen victim to this power are contacted, they can't describe or remember what they saw. It defies description.
"But… He doesn't need to remove the armor to show a victim his face. He has other ways.
"Since he succeeded in a direct attack, you'll get a view of his face… After you've completed three of your End Phases."
"But that means…" said Yumi.
Unus nodded.
"When that happens, it's all over," he said. "You lose. And you die.
"By the way, Yumi, this Monster has another ability. He may have only 2,500 Attack Points, but he can't be destroyed in battle, and I take no battle damage from any attacks directed towards him. And even if you should destroy him with a card effect, it won't change the situation. You'll still perish after three of your turns. This is only an avatar… Shogarr himself is eternal."
He fit a card into his Disk.
"I set a facedown, and my turn ends. Your three turns start now."
Yumi got up, shivering with fright.
She felt her chest again. Not even a tremble.
Her skin was cold. She looked at her arms… They were pale.
Technically, this was an automatic win condition. On some small level, she knew that. But she also knew the truth…
Shogarr's attack was a curse, and the three rounds she had were meant to frighten her before its full effect was enacted.
"Yumi!" shouted Ren. "Don't give up! I was in a similar situation!"
"You were?" groaned Yumi.
"So long as you can draw, there's still hope!" shouted Ren.
Yumi closed her eyes. She made a draw.
She looked at the card.
"I activate my Trap Card," said Unus.
His facedown card lifted.
"I don't need to do this," he said, "but I like seeing you squirm. I pay 500 Life Points to activate Soul Demolition. Since I have a Fiend-Type Monster on my side of the field, I get to remove a Monster in your Graveyard from play. And I choose Left Leg of the Forbidden One."
The Exodia card appeared above Yumi's head and faded into nothing.
"You forget," said Yumi. "I also get to banish one of your Monsters. And I choose your Reaper on the Nightmare."
The Zombie appeared behind Unus, and dissolved into mist.
"Easy come, easy go," said Unus. "That's the way it is sometimes…"
"And so is this…" muttered Yumi. "I play Burial From a Different Dimension."
She played a Spell Card.
"So, Exodia the Forbidden One and Left Leg of the Forbidden One go back to my Graveyard."
She slowly slipped the two cards into her discard slot as Unus seethed with anger.
"I play Silent Doom," she said. "Then I play a facedown card, and I end my turn."
Millennium Shield appeared in Defense Mode. (0/3,000) Then a facedown card appeared.
"Make your move…"
(Y: 3,500) -------------------- (U: 5,866)
"Draw…" said Unus.
He drew a card.
"Again, this is hardly necessary," he said, "but I might as well. I Equip my Monster with the Demon Hatchet… Better known as the Axe of Despair."
He played the card, and an ugly axe appeared in Shogarr's hands. (3,500/2,000)
"By the way, Yumi," he said, "Shogarr only uses his power as a last resort. Like all demons, he much prefers to fight! Legends state that he has been able to decimate whole armies by himself.
"Shogarr, destroy her Monster!"
The Dread Emperor hurled the axe, and Millennium Shield was blasted to pieces.
"Millennium Items…" said Unus. "Bah. Nothing but toys to folks like him…"
Shogarr gestured, and the axe appeared back in his hand.
"I end my turn…" he growled. "Your move…"
Yumi drew another card. She glanced at it.
She held her head, and wobbled a bit.
She placed it in her Disk, and it appeared facedown next to the other one.
"That's all," she said.
"YUMI!" screamed Sam.
"You can't help her, Sam," said Unus, drawing a card. "Seems I can end this early.
"Attack her directly!"
"I activate my Spell Card," groaned Yumi, as one of her two facedown cards lifted. "Scapegoat…"
The Quickplay Spell lifted, and in a flash of light, the four multicolored Sheep Tokens appeared. (0/0 x4)
"Seems I'm safe from your attack," she said.
"Annoying fuzzballs," growled Unus. "Shogarr, attack…"
He paused.
"Oh… why bother…
"I end my turn, Yumi. Make your move. Remember, once it's over, so is this duel… You lose…"
He chuckled.
Yumi was sweating more than ever now.
She looked at Shogarr, whose eyes were now glowing red, like hot coals…
Seven cards left in my deck… she thought, a mind full of fog. Yumi… this is NOT the time for a bad draw…
She quickly drew a card.
She felt a small surge of energy when she looked at it.
"I play… A Feather of the Phoenix," she said. "Now, I discard Left Arm of the Forbidden One to place Exodia the Forbidden One on the top of my deck."
She tossed the card, and another card slipped out of her discard slot. She placed it on the top of her deck.
"Next, I activate my last facedown card… Backup Soldier. Now, since I have at least five Monsters in my Graveyard, Left Leg of the Forbidden One, Left Arm of the Forbidden One, and Right Arm of the Forbidden One all return to my hand."
The facedown card lifted, and three cards slipped out of her discard slot.
Unus chuckled.
"So now what?" he asked.
"Unus is right…" muttered Chelsea. "The last piece of Exodia is on the top of her deck… And Yumi won't get a next turn to draw it…"
"Don't worry…" said Ren with a smile. "I kinda have a feeling that Yumi won't need a next turn…"
"Ren is right…" said Yumi. "There's one card in my hand that isn't a piece of Exodia…"
She tossed a card on her Disk. Then she fell on her behind.
"I summon Poison Draw Frog…"
A small Monster appeared. It was… Well, it was a frog. That was the best way to describe it. (100/100)
"Huh?" said Unus.
"Attack… Shogarr…" muttered Yumi.
Poison Draw Frog let out a loud ribbit, and hopped towards the Dread Emperor…
Shogarr's eyes glowed in incredible anger. Beams of energy shot from them, and Poison Draw Frog burst into flames. Yumi cringed in pain.
(Y: 100) -------------------- (U: 5,866)
Yumi gasped for breath…
…but then, she felt a thump in her chest. Her heart was beginning to beat.
"You just wiped out almost all your Life Points," chuckled Unus. "What were you trying to prove?"
"I still have enough left…" moaned Yumi. "And Poison Draw Frog has an effect you might want to know about… When it goes from the field to the Graveyard while in a face-up position…"
A look of horror crossed Unus's face.
"…you get to draw one card…" he said.
Yumi slowly made a draw.
Thunder flashed…
An enormous summoning circle, similar to the Spellbinding Circle, appeared in the center of the arena, and a huge, hulking form rose out of it. The form appeared from the shadows… It was none other than the fully assembled form of the mighty god Exodia the Forbidden One, his wrists and ankles bound by chains.
He gave a mighty yank with his right arm, and the chain holding it snapped. He gave a yank with the other arm, and the chain holding that one broke. Then he took one step forward, shattering the chains holding his legs.
"I should thank you, Unus," said Yumi, as she slowly stood up. "It's been almost sixty years since a Mouto has been able to say these words…
"Exodia…
"…OBLITERATE!"
The Forbidden One threw up his arms and then threw a beam of pure, burning energy forward, in a wave towards the other side of the field. The Axe of Despair flew from Shogarr's hand and exploded against the wall. Even so, it seemed like the demon lord was unwilling to give up. He struggled against the burning wave, pushing towards Yumi, trying to reach for her… But before he made it halfway, his legs gave out, he toppled backwards, and the Dread Emperor burst in an explosion of fiery, multicolored energy.
Unus the Undying screamed and was thrown violently against the dais behind him. His Duel Disk fell from his arm and his cards scattered.
(Y: 100) -------------------- (U: 0)
"Guys…" said Ren, "I never get tired of seeing Yumi kick butt!"
The Rod of the Ancients appeared in Yumi's hand. She sighed, and took a deep breath.
"Well…" she said. "Man, that got the blood flowing. Seriously…"
She walked up to Unus, with Exodia looming behind her. The mighty deity cracked his knuckles.
Thunder started to roll.
"You have a lot to answer for, Unus," she said. "You've put us all through Hell, attacking us, forcing us into deadly games, brainwashing my friends, and giving me a splitting headache that's even worse than the one I got at the Yui Maki concert I went to last year… And now that I have all eight of the Shadow Charms, I'm going to see to it that you are punished…"
"What are you going to do?" muttered Unus.
Yumi paused.
She noticed a glow behind him.
"Nothing," she said, with a shrug.
She waved her arm, and the Forbidden One vanished.
"WHAT?" shouted Sam. "Nothing? Yumi, this jerk's partner made me dress like a slut, and you're gonna let him off?"
"Yes," said Yumi. "You see, now he has to go back to the real Shogarr and explain why he failed, and why this whole campaign he planned was a waste.
"I remember how Dispater turned one of his minions into a statue of iron for defying him. Now, if that's how a fiend of Law punishes a failure, I really feel sorry for a minion of a fiend of Chaos that messes up!"
The glow behind him had formed into a portal.
"Actually… I find it hard to feel sorry for you at all… Seems you have some explaining to do, Unus."
Then Unus screamed as a mob of tentacles shot out of the portal and grabbed him, pulling him through.
Yumi let out a big sigh.
"So…" said Ren. "Does this make you the new Exodia Empress?"
"Dark Magician Girl is still my favorite card," she replied. "But who knows… Using this deck would have been fun if my life hadn't been wagered… I won't put it away just…"
Then the portal started to glow again. Yumi looked towards it.
Then another tentacle reached through. It shot towards Yumi…
"Yumi!" screamed Ren.
Yumi instinctively lifted the Rod of the Ancients. It and the other seven Charms on her body glowed.
The tentacle fell, and shriveled into dust. The portal vanished.
Yumi sighed.
"I think Shogarr is about ready to give up for now…" she said.
Then the whole building shifted. Something was happening.
"No he isn't!" said Yumi.
"What the Hell?" shouted Sam.
The Pharaoh appeared next to Yumi.
"Yumi!" he shouted. "I was afraid of this… Shogarr has cancelled the magic maintaining this temple. It's going to lose all its power and crash into the ocean in a few minutes.
"We have to be off of it before it does!"
"People!" shouted Yumi. "This temple is gonna crash! Let's split!"
The Glass Menagerie started to shake. As they fled, the statues shattered into shards.
They approached the doors, only to find that they were closed tight.
"We're trapped!" shouted Erik.
"We'll see about that…" said Sam, drawing a card from her Disk. "Shogarr isn't the only powerful demon lord around here…"
She looked at it, and placed it on her Disk.
Dark Ruler Ha Des appeared in a burst of fire and smoke.
He threw up his arms, and his black flames shot at the doors. Then were reduced to molten glass.
"Thanks," said Sam, as they ran through.
Then they stopped short.
The pathway of light was no longer there.
"Uh…" said Chelsea. "Anyone have a Monster who can fly?"
"My Kiryu and two Pitch-Dark Dragons can," said Ren, "but if Dark Blade is any indication, they probably can only carry three of us…"
"So what do we do?" shouted Sam. "Draw straws to see who lives and who dies?"
She looked down.
"Jumping is out of the question… Hitting the water at this height would be like hitting cement…"
Then there was a loud screech. They looked in front of them.
A huge creature was flying towards them. It looked like a giant, golden, oriental dragon, with huge, feathered wings, and a stern face.
"That's Majestic Mech – Goryu," said Erik.
The giant Fairy hovered in front of them, and nodded its head, motioning for them to mount it.
"I don't know where it came from," said Chelsea, leaping on its back, "but I'm not complaining!"
They all held onto the Mech's back, as it flew towards Duelatopia, as the Glass Menagerie fell into the sea, where it sank like a stone…
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
It was now two AM.
The exhausted duelists were sitting on a curb outside of Clock Tower Prison, surrounded by Centurions. Sam was thankful that one of them had given her a bathrobe.
Ren chuckled.
"You know…" he said. "That story Unus told… I'll never look at Warrior Dai Grepher the same way again. I never knew that D.D. Warrior Lady and Warrior Lady of the Wasteland were the same person…"
"The Trap Card Karma Cut supports that theory," muttered Yumi. "It shows Warrior Lady of the Wasteland being sucked into a portal. Most assume that she gained power in the Different Dimension, and came back as a much different Warrior."
They watched as Louis and Nicholas were led out of the Clock Tower in handcuffs.
"You know…" said Yumi, "I almost feel sorry for Nicholas… He's probably going to rot in juvie until he's eighteen, and then who knows what next."
Nicholas laughed when he heard this.
"Oh please, Yumi!" he said. "I'll never spend time in jail! I know so much dirt about so many gangs in the European underworld… I just have to cut a deal with Scotland Yard, and I'll be given informant status, and get off with probation.
"Of course… They'll have to give me a new identity and relocate me… So…"
"You can make a deal with the Yard when we hand you over to them," said a Centurion. "Now get moving."
"Tell you what, I'll call you," said Nicholas, as he was led away. "You're in the Domino City phone book, right?"
"I still don't know why that Majestic Mech saved us," muttered Chelsea. "You know… It seemed like a Monster that would have come from Olga's deck…"
"Speaking of Olga," said Commander Descartes, who had walked up, "once we have her, we can shut the book on this whole thing. I wonder where she is?"
"I can answer that," said a voice.
They all looked up. It was Maria.
"Maria?" asked Yumi.
The old woman smirked.
She touched her necklace, and it glowed…
Her face started to melt, and run like wax. Then it started to reshape. Her hair started to change.
Everyone gasped…
Where Maria's face had been, Olga's was now.
She sighed. She approached Descartes and lifted her hands.
"I surrender," she said. "I've had enough."
"Wait!" shouted Yumi, getting up. "I want some answers, Olga!"
Olga sighed again...
The last enemy has fallen. Yumi now has all of the Charms. Maybe now Yumi and her friends can sleep easily. But so much remains unanswered. What will Yumi do with the Charms now that she has them? One more duel remains, but preparation must be done… But first, our friends are deserving of the whole story…
0
0
0
BREAK THE SEAL (Trap Card)
Continuous Trap
Image: A hand picking up a mess of scrolls with runes written on them, over a cracked, stone surface, through which a glowing eye is peering out.
Card Description: When you have two copies of this card face-up on your side of the field, you may send both of them to the Graveyard to search your deck for a Monster with the words "Forbidden One" in its name and add it to your hand.
Note: "Break the Seal" was first used by Marcel in the "Yu-Gi-Oh GX" episode "Breaking of the Sacred Seal!". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
ALTAR OF MIST (Spell Card)
Continuous Spell
Image: An outdoor, Grecian-style altar shrouded by mist.
Card Description: On your third Standby Phase after this card is played, destroy this card and add one Ritual Spell Card from your deck to your hand. This card cannot be destroyed by any card effect except its own effect.
Note: "Altar of Mist" was first used by the Big Five in the multi-part original anime episode "Merger of the Big Five". Creative credit goes to the writers of that episode.
0
0
0
AWAKENING OF THE PRIMORDIAL SCION (Spell Card)
Ritual Spell
Image: An iron helmet, superimposed over a starry field.
Card Description: This card is used to Ritual Summon "Shogarr, the Dread Emperor". To activate this card, you must remove from play from your hand, your side of the field, or your Graveyard, one Monster that is Level Ten or higher.
0
0
0
SEVEN-ARMED DEMON (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 1
ATK: 666
DEF: 666
Flavor Text: A demon with seven arms. Its abilities are a mystery.
Note: This card was never used in an actual duel in the anime. In the original anime episode "Evil Spirit of the Ring", it was shown in a flashback where the merchant who sold Bakura's father the Millennium Ring also showed it to him. Also of note, its ATK and DEF were changed to 1,000 apiece in the dub.
0
0
0
SHOGARR, THE DREAD EMPEROR (Monster Card)
Card Specs
Type: Fiend/Ritual/Effect
Attribute: Dark
Level: 10
ATK: 2,500
DEF: 2,000
Card Description: This card can only be Ritual Summoned via the Ritual Spell Card "Awakening of the Primordial Scion". You must also remove from play from your hand, your side of the field, or your Graveyard, one Monster that is Level Ten or higher. This card takes no battle damage and cannot be destroyed as a result of battle. At the end of your opponent's third End Phase after this card has made a successful direct attack, you automatically win the duel. The soul of the loser of a duel in which this card is summoned becomes the property of Shogarr.
0
0
0
Ren: You did it, Yumi! You got all eight of the Shadow Charms!
Sam: Well, I for one want to know what all the trouble we went through to get them was about. I want answers!
Yumi: Don't worry, everyone, we'll get them. Now that we have some time to relax, some explanations can be made.
Coming up next, "Revelations; Secrets from the Past and Present".
Anastasia: The final duel will take place soon… But first, Yumi, you must learn your past, and what your future holds…