Chapter 10: Versus (Pt. 1)

'Pilot Kendai, here's a chance for you to defeat me.'

Tenshi challenged Yuchi as they put on their close-fitting pilot suits in the changing room.

'Yes?' Yuchi half-heartedly replied him.

'We shall compete against each other to see who can defeat his enemies faster. Since you're battling two only and I'm battling one more, I guess there's no unfairness, do you agree?'

Yuchi ignored him and proceeded to zip up his suit.

'Pilot Tenshi, stop being so cocky,' warned Wiles, who had already put on his suit and was ready to take off.

'I accept,' Yuchi murmured, much to Wiles' surprise. 'But, what would I get if I win?'

'I'll forget everything about your previous loss,' replied Tenshi in his usual arrogant tone, as if his victory against Yuchi in the last duel was a very big matter.

'But!' he shouted. 'Should I win…' he let out an irritating smirk, '…you'll recognize me as a far superior duelist, and you shall be humiliated for the rest of your life.'

'Okay,' Yuchi replied softly. He strapped his helmet onto his head and left the room without saying anything more.

'Hey, Yuchi!' Wiles hurriedly ran over to him.

'What is it, Sir?'

'You… You don't want to compete against him actually, don't you?' said Wiles.

'Don't worry,' Yuchi forced himself to smile, making Wiles even more concerned. 'I won't lose, for sure.'

'But… What if you meet a situation like last time again…?'

'It was Pilot Tenshi who saved me last time,' Yuchi replied in a grateful manner. 'Without his words, I wouldn't have won that duel. Although… that injured boy disappeared in the end…'

'However, I've decided now!' He clenched his fist. 'I will not chicken out at such situations again. I must fight. I must save the people around me and the city!'

'Oh…' Wiles let out a sigh of relief. 'Well, let's not waste our time then. The Darkness Units must be waiting for us to initiate Clause Eleven.'

'That's true.' And both people walked together along the corridor and exited through the big glass door at the end.

'Let's see…' Tenshi thought to himself as he looked at his two fellow pilots leave the corridor. '...Have you become a stronger duelist now, Yuchi…?'

'Commander Lupine, I urge you to reconsider,' said a voice. 'Do you really want to bet the peace and harmony of Neo Domino City on a "patient" like him?'

'That's right, Commander Lupine. I heard that he fainted in the U.N.D.E.A.D. Headquarters once before, am I correct?'

The Commander clutched onto his pen tightly. He understood that any persuasions to those old fools would be futile.

'Ladies and gentlemen, please remain silent,' the man named Neo suddenly interrupted. All the people in the dark room followed as he ordered. Commander Lupine dropped his pen on the table.

'Commander Lupine,' all his men listened keenly to him, 'I heard that Pilot Yuchi Kendai is a little sick, am I right?'

'No wrong, Sir,' replied the Commander respectfully.

'But Sir Neo,' Doctor Parvita interrupted, 'I did as Commander Lupine ordered, by injecting him with anti-depressant drug, Pilot Yuchi Kendai has stopped showing signs of his hallucinations now.'

'Excellent, Doctor,' praised Neo.

...

'Sir, as the newly elected Vice President of Sector Security, I have two questions for you.' A young man sitting beside Commander Lupine began to speak.

'What is it?'

'Why does the Darkness Unit only choose to attack Neo Domino City since their first appearance? And why do our people know nothing despite the news being spread to all other parts of the world during every invasion?'

Neo paused for a few seconds and replied, 'regarding your first question, the only reasonable explanation for this is that Neo Domino City is where M.R.D.'s fortress belongs to, and by successfully invading here, Al-Magnum would have no more threats to counter against their attacks.' He was referring to the Units, the prized possessions of the organization.

'What about my second question?' There was a moment of discussion among the members in the room. It seemed that this was a mystery that had yet to be solved.

Neo remained silent.

'Sir, do you perhaps…?' cried one of the voices that were discussing the issue. He seemed to have figured out the answer. Sir Neo grinned satisfyingly.

'Kaworu…' As Yuchi adjusted himself to his seat, he thought of his best friend whom he had abandoned just now. 'Kaworu… I promise I would defend Neo Domino City for you at all costs!'

'Unit Type Four, ready to go!' he declared to the woman in the computer screen.

'Unit Type Four, prepare to launch in five… four… three… two… one…'

His Unit was shot upwards to the ground above. Even though it was the second time Yuchi was sitting on this, he still felt uneasy. He couldn't imagine that he was about to fight the Darkness Units for another time. And, best of all, today he was going to fight two Units at once.

Previously he thought U.N.D.E.A.D. was a military organization set up to just 'prevent' anyone from invading the city 'in case' such events did occur. But now, he was convinced that this was untrue. U.N.D.E.A.D. had been secretly protecting the city from enemies for years. When all the residents were taking shelter in the heavily guarded evacuation centers, believing the armed soldiers' lies that they were all natural disasters, it was in fact a few brave teens who went all out to defend the city from invasion by the international terrorists known as Al-Magnum.

He clutched his fist. 'Today I will be even stronger,' he promised to himself.

'Clause Eleven initiated. Duel Mode on,' announced the woman's voice from the computer.

'He he,' laughed one of the opponents. His Darkness Unit looked no different from the one Yuchi encountered during the last duel, except that its limbs are thinner and it was swifter.

'We are the Hitomi twins,' shouted the other opponent. Both of them looked exactly the same – black, messy hair and a face that clearly looked like it was asking for trouble. Except one of them had a mole on his left cheek while the other did not. 'Your name is Yuchi Kendai, right?'

Yuchi refused to answer his opponent's question.

'Oh? So it looks like our enemy this time round can't talk at all?' Both the twins broke into hysterical laughter.

'Shut up,' Yuchi uttered.

'Well, well, well… So you finally could say something huh, you rude, dirty bastard?' mocked the twin with the mole. 'I don't see why we couldn't beat someone like him so easily, bro,' jeered the other. Both of them laughed insanely.

'Let's teach you a lesson, little Yuchi.'

'Exactly. We are gentlemen, so we'll let you go first.'

'DUEL!' the three duelists declared.

'My turn!' Yuchi announced as he pulled his card.

'Pilot Kendai,' Commander Lupine's face popped out in the screen. 'This duel is a bit special. You are fighting against two duelists, and by the team duel rules, you will have one turn after one of your opponent has played his cards. Nobody can attack until all players have played their turns.'

'I understand,' replied Yuchi. He accelerated his Unit so that he would not have to listen to the twins' irritating voices.

'I Normal Summon Angel Gardna in Defense Position!' A small-winged angel emerged, holding two big metal shields that completely concealed its body. The data on the computer screen revealed that it was Level 4 and had 2000 Defense Points.

'What a coward,' jeered the opponent, 'starting off with a defense monster like that.'

'We can defeat that easily, right bro?'

'I set one card and end my turn,' Yuchi looked at his hand and smiled. He had thought of a strategy that could defeat his opponent in no time. 'I just need one card. That card,' he thought.

'What a disgusting smile,' said the twin with the mole. 'I go next! Draw!'

He paused for a few moments and played his next move. 'I Special Summon Tyrannical Earth Golem!' As its name suggested, the earth below shook and a one hundred-feet tall stone giant stood up from the cracks of the ground. It was Level 5 with 1800 Attack Points.

Yuchi let out a sign of relief. It seemed that the Hitomi twins were not using the Cards of Darkness. As Commander Lupine put it, those cards were just 'purely evil'.

'Yuchi, you have to look out. Most of the Al-Magnum duelists possess the Card of Darkness, which deals real damage to both you and the duelists themselves. Beware, they can injure you quite a lot…' Yuchi recalled Wiles' advice to him before they entered the pilot's cabin.

'Tyrannical Earth Golem can be Special Summoned from my hand when I have no monsters on my field and in my Graveyard,' the twin explained. 'And when it is Special Summoned, I can send an EARTH-Attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard!' He proceeded to choose a card and discard it into the Graveyard slot of his Duel Disk.

'Next, I Normal Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, Earth-Crawling Ant!' A giant termite slowly crept out from a glowing white ring onto the green holographic track.

'So you're playing Synchro Monsters like me, too,' he grinned.

'I tune my Tyrannical Earth Golem and Earth-Crawling Ant together!' the stone giant and the six-legged monster seemed to float on the air all of a sudden, bursting into eight bright stars. The stars clustered together and flew past a large green ring that emerged in the sky.

'Roar, earth! Let me hear your victorious cry! Synchro Summon, Geb the Earth Guardian!'

Yuchi embraced himself as a horrendously huge monster came into his sight. It had the head of a bull, but a body of an ogre. On its hand it carried a big silver axe, ready to split anything into half. It had an Attack Points value of 2800.

'Since I can't attack, I set one card and end my turn.'

'My turn!' Yuchi declared. 'Angel Gardna's effect! During my Standby Phase, its Defense Points increase by 500!' Its shields grew bigger, perhaps alluding at the fact that its Defense Points had rose.

'I set a card and end my turn!' Two facedown cards were now moving alongside Yuchi's Unit.

'It's my turn!' cried the other twin without a mole. His Darkness Unit swerved to avoid hitting a building. 'I Special Summon Cyclone Dragon!' The clouds in the sky suddenly turned dark and a typhoon in the shape of a fierce, long dragon descended. Similar to Tyrannical Earth Golem before it, it was also Level 5 and had 1800 Attack Points as well.

'Cyclone Dragon's effect! When it is Special Summoned, I send a WIND-Attribute monster from my hand to the Graveyard!'

'And then I Normal Summon the Level 3 Tuner Monster, Wind-Riding Butterfly!' The fast-moving insect with iridescent wings appeared.

Yuchi already knew what was going to happen.

'I tune my Cyclone Dragon and Wind-Riding Butterfly together!' Yuchi thought for a moment that he was seeing a déjà vu as the two monsters burst into eight stars and gather together, flying like little fairies past a large green ring.

'Howl, wind! Let me hear your victorious cry! Synchro Summon, Nud the Wind Guardian!'

The new Synchro Monster this time round took the form of a giant phoenix, magnificently descending from the clouds. Yuchi paused his breath. The phoenix spread out its two beautiful wings to reveal its dazzling look. Its bluish-green body sparkled brightly under the afternoon sunlight, like it was completely made of emerald.

It was placed in Defense Position and had 2800 Defense Points.

'You rude little bastard, see? This is the power of the Hitomi twins! We don't need the Card of Darkness to win over you.'

'Yeah, Her Majesty specially designed our decks. Nobody can beat our team power!' And both of them broke into laughter.

'Yuchi, a real duelist does not think about what his next opponent would do and how to counter it. A real duelist thinks of how to utilize his own strategy well in order to face his next opponent…'

'Yes, Tenshi…' Yuchi smiled broadly as he observed his hand. '…I am going to play my own strategy well in this duel!'

'Ride, ride, my Unit, gently through the track…' Amaya sang.

'Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, duel is but a dream!'

'Ride, ride, my Unit…' she repeated.

She held to her cards tightly and stopped singing. The black enemy Units had arrived. 'Onii-chan's gonna be so proud of me when I defeat them both!' she shrieked excitedly.

'DUEL!' declared the three duelists. Their Units started to move along the green digital track.

'I shall go first!' she screamed, pulling out a card and adding it to her hand. 'I Normal Summon Azure Bird of the Night Sky!'

A petite, blue-feathered bird came flying out of nowhere. Its Level was 3 and it had only 500 Attack Points.

'What a useless little monster,' her opponent, Rei commented.

'Exactly,' agreed her other opponent, Rin. As they introduced minutes ago, Rei and Rin were also twin sisters, whom had decks personally modified by their 'Mistress' herself, and so they did not need to rely on the powers of the Cards of Darkness.

Amaya smirked and continued, 'I activate the effect of Azure Bird of the Night Sky! By Tributing this card, I can Special Summon two more Azure Bird of the Night Sky from my Deck!'

'However!' she shouted. 'These monsters cannot be used as Synchro nor Xyz Material Monsters, and will be destroyed during the next End Phase.'

'How foolish,' laughed the pink-haired girl named Rei. 'To waste a monster like this on the first turn.'

'Correct,' agreed the orange-haired girl riding on the Darkness Unit just beside. 'You should have used it to defend yourself from our attacks! Ha-ha!'

'Who said anything about "defending"? We are only at the first turn!' Amaya snapped. 'I activate my Normal Spell Card, Double Summon! With this, I can Normal Summon an extra time this turn!'

She laughed heartily as the twins let out a loud cry of 'What?'

'I Tribute both my monsters to Advance Summon my ace monster, Moonlight Raider!'

The two blue birds disappeared amongst the clouds. Descending from the sky was… a mysterious, large shadow, frightening the twin sisters so much they could only hang their mouths open and do nothing else.

'Hey Midget Dog, what do you think of Yuchi Kendai's duel?' the old scientist asked, sipping a cup of coffee in his comfortable, air-conditioned office.

'I said, I'm not a midget!' complained the tiny animal on his right palm. 'But anyway, that young man is in quite some trouble.'

'Really?' laughed Sir Bowman.

'Hey, it's not funny! Those guys have already summoned their ace monsters!'

'I don't agree, Midget Dog,' he said in a serious manner.

'Like I said, I'm not a –' the dog was interrupted by his master's comments.

'I believe in him, Midget Dog. Back when I first met him a few days ago, I could already sense that he has the powers that could help save mankind.'

'You mean, his prowess in Duel Monsters?' the furry animal was a little confused.

'No,' said Sir Bowman, taking another sip. 'I don't see any problems with his dueling skills at all. But there's one more important thing…'

'What is it, Sir? Woof!'

'He might be an essential key to what those old folks at M.R.D. are planning,' he coughed a little and continued, 'Project CLEAR.'

Preview of Next Chapter

Next chapter, Yuchi continues to fight against the Hitomi twins!

On the other side, Tenshi is racing to defeat his opponents faster!

Wiles' ace monster is destroyed! But he has another secret winning formula!

Find out more in Chapter 11: Versus (Pt. 2).

Card of the Chapter

Azure Bird of the Night Sky

Lv. 3/DARK/Winged Beast-Type/Effect

By Tributing this card you control, you can Special Summon up to two 'Azure Bird of the Night Sky' monsters from your Deck. Those monsters cannot be used as Synchro or Xyz Material Monsters, and are destroyed during your opponent's next End Phase. If you activate this effect, you cannot Special Summon monsters until the End Phase.

ATK 500/DEF 500

...

A Note From the Author

Next week, there will be no new chapter.

My O-Level Exams results will be out on Monday and until Friday, I will have no time to write because it's enrollment time for high school.

I might consider writing a mini chapter or something like that but that depends on my schedule.

So, sorry, my supportive readers! I will upload new chapters on the weekend that follows!

Anyway, please review after reading! Arigatou ne~!

- Project M.G.