Chapter 11: Versus (Pt. 2)

'My dear Fate...' the adolescent girl called out softly. '...Come here please.'

'Yes, my Mistress. Fate is always ready for you.'

'Fate...' the girl whispered to her servant's ear. 'How's the operation going?'

'My Mistress, don't worry... Your plan to use twin and triplet duelists against the despicable U.N.D.E.A.D. is going just well...'

'I personally designed their decks,' explained the girl. 'You believe they would play their strategies well this time round?'

'Definitely, my Mistress,' assured Fate. 'After years of fruitless attempts, Al-Magnum will reign eventually.'

'Father King told me...' the girl recollected her most beloved parent's advice. ' "Neo Domino City must be conquered before any other city. It is the only utopia in this world." So I want to fulfill his wishes as soon as possible.'

'I vow I would help you to reach that target at all costs. Fate exists because of you, My Mistress.'

'I love you, Fate… You are the only man I can trust in this world.'

She gave her servant a kiss on his cheek and turned her head away to enjoy the duels from her wide computer screen, leaving the poor young man to wonder what happened to his mistress in a corner.

'I set one card and end my turn,' declared the Hitomi twin as he inserted his card into the leftmost slot of his Duel Disk.

'My turn!' Yuchi pulled out his card. 'Angel Gardna's Defense Points rise by 500 again! Now it has 3000 Defense Points!'

'These two monsters must have some kind of effect that helps each other,' analyzed Yuchi as he scrutinized the two giant monsters facing him. He was not intimidated by this scene at all. He had already witnessed it many times during his days in school, especially during his duels with the mad Professor Bonaparte.

'I just need that one card. Before that, I need to set up a formidable defense against these two beasts. I don't know what effects they have, but it won't be a good thing for me.'

'I set a monster and end my turn!' shouted Yuchi.

'It's my turn!' cried the twin with the mole. His name seemed to be Honda Hitomi and he was the elder of the twins, according to Commander Lupine.

'I activate my Trap Card!' he announced, pushing a button on his duelist gadget. 'Rage of Earth!'

'When there is a WIND-Attribute monster on the field, in this case, Nud the Wind Guardian, I select one EARTH-Attribute monster and it gains 1000 Attack Points! Of course, I select Geb the Earth Guardian!' the bull-ogre let out a deafening roar as its Attack went up from 2800 to 3800.

'What a monster,' commented Yuchi in a mocking tone. He was not nervous at all since he already had everything planned out before that.

'How, you little worm?' jeered the younger brother named Toyota Hitomi. He did not realize that Yuchi was secretly laughing at this scene.

'The Hitomi brothers shall never lose to the powers of authority!' agreed Honda. He proceeded to shout out his next move. 'Geb the Earth Guardian, attack that Angel Gardna! By the way, Geb has a Piercing effect, so you will take 800 damage!'

'Really?' mocked Yuchi. 'I activate my Threatening Roar! Your attack is nullified!'

'As expected of a player who plays a defensive strategy,' laughed Honda, as Geb retreated away from Yuchi's monster. 'I activate my Normal Spell Card, Powerful Quake!'

The riding track suddenly shook vigorously. Luckily, Yuchi's Unit was put in autopilot or he would not have known what to do under such situations. It swerved left to right and back to left to avoid hitting all the buildings along the way.

'When the attack of a EARTH-Attribute monster is negated by a card effect this turn, I inflict 1000 damage to the opponent,' explained Honda. Geb let out another loud roar and directed his fist towards Yuchi's Unit.

Yuchi took the damage. His Life Points were reduced to 3000.

'By the way, just in case you didn't know,' the older brother said, 'we Hitomi twins share a pool of 4000 Life Points. So nobody can call unfair when the duel is settled.'

'Exactly. But anyway, we would defeat you before you even touch a bit of our Life Points,' mocked Toyota.

'I set one card and end my turn!' stated Honda.

Yuchi smirked. Everything was going as he predicted. He accelerated his Unit further away from those disgusting-looking Darkness Units.

'Miss Suzuki is winning, yee – yah – yee – yah – yo!' sang Amaya to the tune of a certain popular nursery rhyme.

'Can you stop singing, bitch?' barked the annoyed sisters. The reason they were so irritated was not because of Amaya's horrible singing voice that sounded like the crocking of a toad, but because they had been forced into a corner, unable to do anything against their opponent's strategy.

Both Amaya and her opponents had a pool of 4000 Life Points each. A turn had already passed and while Amaya had sent her ace monster, Moonlight Raider ready for combat, her foes did not seem to go as well.

'Onii-chan's gonna be so proud! It's my turn and I draw!' the red-suited girl announced. She laughed her heart out at the sight of the card she had just pulled. 'You sisters are going to regret dueling me! I equip Moonlight Raider with the Spell Card Magic Staff of Shadows!'

The sisters, Rin and Rei, turned white.

'Magic Staff of Shadows increases the Attack of a Level 8 or higher DARK-Attribute Spellcaster-Type monster by 300 for every monster the opponent controls.' She paused to count for a few moments and continued, 'you each have one monster on your field. That means Moonlight Raider gains 600!'

On the computer screen, the meter for Moonlight Raider's Attack Points rose to 3300.

'Moonlight Raider, pulverize that nasty little Rin's monster! Lunar Burst!'

From the holographic emerald tiles out emerged a shadowy figure. Wielding a long magician staff that emitted a dark aura, the ten feet tall shadow sped along the track in lightning speed and slashed through the hairy bear-looking monster. The latter split into half and shattered into nothing. Thankfully for Rin, she placed her monster in Defense Position.

'I won't forgive you for destroying my sister's monster!' shouted Rei aggressively. 'I activate my Trap Card, Revenge of the Beast! When a Beast-Type monster is destroyed, that monster is Special Summoned back to the field!' The hairy bear nestled itself comfortably on Rin's field, having gone through a trip to the cemetery.

'Let me show you the true power of the decks our Mistress designed! I activate my Continuous Trap Card, Frenzy of the Beast! Each time a Beast-Type monster is Special Summoned, you get 500 points of damage!' intimidated Rin.

Amaya looked a little disappointed with herself as her Life Points dropped to 3500. 'But then…' she looked at her hand and let out a satisfying smile. '…Next turn I will definitely do my Onii-chan proud!'

Commander Lupine seemed a bit uneasy.

'What happened, Sir?' queried Doctor Parvita. 'The kids are having the upper hand, aren't they? You don't look happy about this, do you?'

'Yes. I'm worried for them,' replied the Commander. 'Worried because they have the upper hand.'

'Why?' Doctor Parvita looked confused.

'Just look at the opponents,' pointed Commander Lupine. 'Do you think they're playing seriously against our pilots?'

'Now that you mention it…' Doctor Parvita scrutinized the Al-Magnum members piloting their Darkness Units. '…Something did seem not really right.'

'They said something about their decks being designed by their Mistress themselves, right?'

'Yes, Sir,' confirmed Doctor Parvita. 'May I know the reason you require this information, Sir?'

'Think about it, Doctor. Have you seen a Darkness Unit pilot not summoning his Card of Darkness before?'

'Yeah, I was thinking about that too…' the woman thought for a while. '…Indeed this duel is a bit weird. No Card of Darkness has been used yet… Sir, do you perhaps mean…?'

'Exactly,' agreed Commander Lupine. 'Their "Mistress" intend to use the Cards of Darkness at the very end.'

'But why? Why use the aces last when you can do it at the very start?'

'I don't know,' said a worried Commander Lupine. 'But I've got a feeling that the Cards this time round has an effect that can only be used at that time.'

'W… What is that Project CLEAR you are talking about, Sir?' mumbled the midget dog.

Sir Bowman cleared his throat and replied, 'it's the reason why M.R.D. developed the Units in the very first place.'

'You mean… the Project has been initiated since two decades ago?'

'Not bad for a Midget Dog,' laughed Sir Bowman. 'Correct.'

'B… But how did you know all this? Are you one of those people behind the Project?' asked the dog.

'Nope,' denied Sir Bowman. 'I'm hired under U.N.D.E.A.D. The people behind the Project CLEAR works for M.R.D. Understand the difference between these two.'

He sipped some coffee from his cup. 'Back to the duel, Midget Dog.' He pressed a button on his remote control. The screen buzzed and it showed Tenshi's duel.

'Woof!' barked the Midget Dog excitedly, looking at the projection. 'Don't you think it's a bit pointless for the Al-Magnum to carry out this operation? I mean, sure, those twin duelists did have some kind of cooperation between them, but…'

'I know what you mean, Midget Dog,' interrupted Sir Bowman. He sighed. 'It's a requirement.'

'W… What?' the furry animal did not understand what its master was trying to mean. 'R… Requirement? For… what?'

Sir Bowman took a sip and did not say anything. He could sense that somebody was watching him from behind. Somebody with a lot of power, playing with people like his own pawns. Somebody who could murder him anytime without being known by the public. The moment he mentioned a word about the 'secrets' he knew, his name would immediately disappear from this world.

He opened the chest of drawers under his desk and took out something. An old photograph. Sir Bowman dusted it and gazed at it with his two aging eyes. On the photo was a big satellite about to be launched to space and orbit the Earth. Sir Bowman turned over the photo. The word 'Soteria' was clearly written in ink on the white back. Sir Bowman let out a sigh and placed his photo back to his drawer.

'My turn!' cried Tenshi. 'I tribute my Hellish Breaker to Advance Summon the Level 5 monster, Improvised Saber K-55!' Called to the field was a tall, mechanical warrior wielding a sword on each of its hands. It had 2200 Attack Points.

'Improvised Saber K-55's effect activates. When I Advance Summon it by tributing a Level 4 or higher Machine-Type monster, I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Machine-Type monster from my hand! I summon Berserk Engine No. 4!'

Tenshi grinned. 'You should know the effect of Berserk Engine No. 4 right, Gentlemen?'

'No way!' exclaimed the trio piloting their Darkness Units behind him.

'Berserk Engine No.4 is now Level 5 thanks to its own effect! And so…' Tenshi laughed. '…I shall now overlay both of my monsters on my Field!'

'With two of my monsters, I construct the Overlay Network! Xyz Summon, appear now, Berserk Dragon!'

'I detach an Xyz material from my Berserk Dragon. Berserk Buster!' Tenshi's prized possession went berserk and dashed with full energy towards the opponent's monster, pulverizing it with its giant claws.

'And then, Remorseful Flames!' The trio was suddenly swallowed into an inferno. Although they cried for help, nobody could hear them.

Tenshi watched his opponent suffering with glee as they struggled to get themselves out of the fire. Their Life Points dropped from 4000 to 3200.

'Finally, Berserk Dragon, teach them a lesson with Ultimate Fire!' The black dragon opened its mouth, shooting balls of fire out of it, engulfing the poor enemies in hell once more. As it was a direct attack, their Life Points dropped immediately to merely 200.

'No Trap Cards to protect yourself? Man, what weak duelists you three are!' jeered Tenshi.

'Hgn!' smirked one of the trio. 'You think we would lose like that?'

Tenshi smiled. 'Oh? You mean you still have a way to defeat me?' he asked in a cocky tone.

'Counter Trap Card activate! Astral Offering!' shouted the only bespectacled teenager of the three. 'When we take damage from a direct attack, we regain the amount of Life Points we lost and then pay 1000 Life Points as a cost!' Sparkles surrounded the three enemies and their Life Points counter shot back to 3200 before down again to 2200.

On the other side, the Mistress seemed a bit concerned by this situation.

'Don't worry, My Mistress,' consoled Fate, smiling evilly. 'They still have 2200 Life Points left. It's still a long way before you have to prepare the Sacred Talisman, my Mistress. After all, you prepared their decks specifically to fight against Tenshi's brutal, power-focused strategy.'

The little girl held her beloved crystal tightly in her white, tiny hand. 'Should their decks fail, I shall fight. For my Father King,' she said softly.

'For His Majesty,' agreed Fate.

She looked at her screen keenly. She smiled at the fact that her warriors managed to overcome Tenshi's attacks with the decks she had constructed for them. 'Tenshi has one of the strongest Ace Monsters among all the U.N.D.E.A.D. pilots, so let me see how you will fight against it…' she whispered.

Tenshi was laughing heartily. 'Now that's a real duel, Gentlemen!'

'But still, you guys won't hinder my way to defeat that Yuchi Kendai! I set two cards and end my turn!' he inserted the two cards into his Duel Disk.

Tenshi pressed a button on his panel. The computer screen showed Yuchi's duel against the two Hitomi thugs. 'Now…' he thought. '…How will you defeat your opponent, Yuchi?'

Wiles wiped away the perspiration from his forehead and took a deep breath.

He looked at the cards in his hand. Aside from two trap cards, there was also a monster that he could not summon and a spell card with no use in the situation he had got into.

His ace monster, Superior Astronomic Fighter was destroyed by the three sisters minutes ago and it was now his turn to play.

'Hey, just give up,' mocked his opponent.

'Yeah, you can't defeat the deck our Mistress designed for us.'

'Exactly.'

But he knew he could not just give up yet. There must be some way to defeat the opponents. 'Think, Wiles Euclid. Use your wisdom of Duel Monsters as the reigning champion of Canada! Think!'

He was exceptionally calm and patient. Wiles gazed at his field, then peeked at the opponent's field, then back to his field. He grinned satisfyingly.

'What? How can you…?' the red-haired girl in the Darkness Unit behind was surprised.

'Hey! Your ace has been defeated! How in the world…?'

'No way you can smile like that!'

'Sorry, ladies,' Wiles laughed. 'But I think you will be losing this duel.'

'What?' all three girls exclaimed in unison. 'We will… lose? What kind of shitty comment is that? Mind you, we have our ace monster on the field!'

Wiles looked at the azure sky above him. That large, vulture-looking bird that had just defeated his monster was soaring freely. The sound it made while flapping its two big wings reminded one of the vigorous tornados that would destroy everything in its path.

But yet, Wiles was not trembling with fear at all. He put his palm on his chest, staying calm so that he would be able to face against that giant beast without any nervousness. 'My brothers and sisters…' he thought. '…I'll definitely protect you all from Soteria!'

Preview of Next Chapter

It seems that the U.N.D.E.A.D. has an advantage over Al-Magnum!

But who knows? The latter has something up in its sleeves!

Witness the supernatural forces behind that terrorist organization!

All in Chapter 12: Darkness (Pt. 1)!

Card of the Chapter

Magic Staff of Shadows

(Equip Spell Card)
Equip only to a Level 8 or higher DARK Spellcaster-Type monster. The equipped monster gains Attack equal to 300 * the number of monsters on your opponent's side of the field. When the equipped monster is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, return this card to your hand.

...

A Note from the Author

I apologize for the one-week hiatus. As I've mentioned earlier, it has something to do with my exams.

Now, let's get back to the chapter.

This Unit Duel is rather long. Because it's a total of four people against ten enemies, I have to split everything over four chapters.

For Chapter 10 to 11, our heroes obviously have the upper hand.

But for the next two... I better not spoil too much.

This will be the second last duel before Part One of the story ends.

As you may have seen from my profile, Part One consists of a total of 14 chapters, plus two extras. It will end around this month.

There will be a one-month break for February.

Part Two (Chapter 15 onwards) will begin on 12th March, and will run until June.

Please continue to support my work by giving reviews and criticisms! Arigatou ne~!

- Project M.G.