Disclaimer: The following piece is in no way a claim to ownership of the depicted characters. Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh R, Yu-Gi-Oh GX and Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's are owned by TV Tokyo, Konami Corporation and Kazuki Takahashi. This story as presented is strictly for entertainment purposes, both for its owner and readers.
Chapter 12 – Ride the Wings of Truth! Take Flight, Black Feather Dragon
At the dueling area Kiryu and Judai had constructed atop the roof of the Poppo Time building, Crow and Kiryu were in the midst of a duel with all the other Signers, Judai, Kyojo and Taiyou watching them. Standing opposite each other, Kiryu crossed his arms and smirked while Crow held his black jagged Duel Disc on one hand.
"I want to see it," Kiryu stated. "Show me your Signer Dragon."
"You got it!" Crow yelled as both players pulled on their Duel Discs and drew 5 cards. They both then yelled,
"DUEL!"
Crow: LP 4000
Kiryu: LP 4000
"I will take this first move," Kiryu stated. "I Draw, and I summon Infernity Guardian (DEF: 1700, LV: 4)." Directly in front of Kiryu emerged a burning shield-like monster with a skull at its centre and bronze sections. The monster then turned blue and laughed demonically. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."
"It's my turn," Crow stated, pulling his card. "Draw! I Special Summon Black Feather – Gust of the Adverse Winds (ATK: 900, LV: 2)!" Slapping his card onto the tray, he called forth a green parrot-like bird figure that squawked loudly, intriguing Kiryu as to how he had called it. "If I control no cards, I may Special Summon Gust from my hand."
"An impressive move," Kiryu stated, "but a far cry from a monster that can defeat my Guardian."
"I'm not done!" Crow then yelled. "I activate the Permanent Magic Black Whirlwind! When I summon a Black Feather monster, I add a Black Feather of less ATK to my hand. Come, Black Feather – Shura of the Azure Flame (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" Beside Crow's existing monster, a new human-like bird figure covered in mostly dark blue feathers and with very long limbs, which shrieked.
"Due to Black Whirlwind, I add Black Feather – Ghibli of the Hot Winds to my hand," Crow mentioned, pulling a card from his Deck before it automatically shuffled. "Battle! Shura, destroy Infernity Guardian!" Jumping forward, the blue-feathered monster swung at the shield with its right claw and cut straight through it, making it explode but not even cdausing Kiryu to flinch.
"It's too easy," Kiryu stated. "Trap Card: Infernity Reflector. When my Infernity is destroyed, I discard my entire hand to Special Summon said monster from the Cemetery and inflict 1000 damage to my opponent." Taking his hand and placing it into his Cemetery slot, Kiryu grabbed the card that slid back out and placed it on the tray, making the shattered monster reintegrate and the ground underneath Crow explode.
Crow: LP 3000
Kiryu: LP 4000
"Myabe, but I activate Shura's effect! When it destroys a monster by battle, I Special Summon a Black Feather from my Deck with less than 1500 ATK and with its effect negated. Come: Black Feather – Vayu of the Big Flag (ATK: 800, LV: 1)!" From a blue vortex then emerged a white sparrow-like figure wearing a black robe and sandals and with red plumage on its head.
"Normally," Crow stated, "Vayu cannot be used for a Synchro Summon; but since I negated its effect, that's no longer the case. Therefore, I Tune my Level 1 Vayu of the Big Flag to my Level 4 Shura of the Azure Flame and my Level 2 Gust of the Adverse Winds!" Rising up into the air, the sparrow-like creature changed into a green ring which the blue monster flew straight through, becoming 4 white orbs while the green monster arose and became 2.
"Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to heavens! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)!" The six white orbs them became a column of light and released a large human-bird hybrid covered in black armour with blue gems and red trim; this included metal wings, a beak-like visor with a red gem for a face, and a metal tail. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Then I draw," Kiryu stated, looking at his card for all of half a second before stating, "I Special Summon Infernity Daemon (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)." Kiryu then called out his demonic creature in a blue robe, and then reached for his Deck. "Wh3en I draw Infernity daemon and my hand is at 0, I Special Summon this card and add 1 Infernity Card to my hand. I select Infernity Gun, and I activate it!"
Kiryu then placed a card into the tray that created his orange cannon with a spiked barrel. "By sending this card to the Cemetery, I Special Summon Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6) and Infernity Beetle (ATK: 1200, LV: 2) from my Cemetery." The cannon then fired a grey-purple orb and a green orb that created his beetle and his tall demon, right before Kiryu again reached for his Deck.
"By Releasing Infernity Beetle, I Special Summon 2 Infernity Beetles from my Deck (ATK: 1200, LV: 2) (ATK: 1200, LV: 2)." The beetle then exploded, causing its pieces to form into two piles and form 2 new beetles.
"Kiryu's Infernity Deck is certainly capable of summoning many monsters quickly," Taiyou observed. "Perhaps the fastest I've ever seen."
"I Tune my Level 2 Beetle to my Level 6 Destroyer," Kiryu stated, one of his beetles changing into 2 green rings to surround the tall demon and change it into 6 white orbs, then a pillar of light. "The living and the dead… when they meet at zero, above the cage of eternity, the demonic dragon comes out! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" From the light the emerged Kiryu's black dragon, which snarled at Crow as Kiryu smiled darkly.
"That dragon," Aki realized. "That creature could mean Crow's end."
"Once per turn," Kiryu stated, "if my hand is at 0, I skip his attack to destroy a monster my opponent controls and inflict to them damage equal to half its ATK!" Roaring, the dragon shot a fireball at the armoured monster, destroying it and forcing Crow to cover his eyes as the shockwave hit.
Crow: LP 1750
Kiryu: LP 4000
"Kiryu knows by now that Armoured Wing cannot be destroyed in battle," Jack stated, "and that Crow takes no damage from its battles. By using that dragon's effect, he's left Crow open for an attack."
"I attack Crow directly with Infernity Daemon!" Kiryu yelled, pointing at Crow while his monster created a glowing purple runic circle and shot it up to the ceiling, making a large red and black hand appear from it.
"I Special Summon Ghibli of the Hot Winds (DEF: 1600, LV: 3)!" Crow yelled, smacking his cad onto the tray and calling forth a black bird with 6 red-feathered wings which turned blue. "When my opponent declares a direct attack, I can Special Summon Ghibli from my hand."
"Its DEF is less than Daemon's attack," Kiryu stated. "My attack will crush it, but you'll survive this round as a result."
"My bird will live to fly another day," Crow countered. "Trap Card: Black Feather – Shield! I prevent my Black Feather being destroyed by battle and I draw 1 card!" Crow then pulled a card while the hand came down and closed around the bird, but then faded out and left it standing.
"Then I must end my turn," Kiryu stated. "This may be your last move, Crow. Make it count."
"He's right," Yusei observed. "Any attack will result in Crow losing at this point.
"Don't count Crow out yet," Judai stated, smiling lightly. "He's ready to come back."
"I sure am!" Crow yelled, smiling. "Draw! I summon Black Feather – Qal'at of the Moonlight (ATK: 1400, LV: 3)!" Crow then summoned forth a mostly brown-feathered bird who also had red and yellow face feathers, long legs and large eyes with no beak. "Due to Black Whirlwind, I add Black Feather – Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my hand!"
AS Crow held up the card, Judai saw what was coming and said, "Prepare for the beginning of the new era of Signer Dragons!"
"When I add Breeze to my hand with an effect," Crow stated, "I may Special Summon it (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)!" Slapping the card down, Crow called out an orange bird-like creature with large wings and a rather elegant body, which let out a graceful call. "And, this is a Tuner monster."
"Then you're summoning it?!" Yusuriha asked.
"The new Signer Dragon," Kyojo sneered, giving a thumbs-up.
"It's here," Taiyou topped up.
"I Tune my Level 3 Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my Level 3 Ghibli of the Hot Winds and my Level 3 Qal'at of the Moonlight!" Letting out a call, the blue bird became 3 white orbs that then became green rings. The two other monsters then flew up through them and became 3 white orbs each, the rings centering over them and forming another, larger column of light.
"Mighty dark winds of truth," Crow chanted, "become a dragon of true power and cast judgment upon the enemies of justice! Synchro Summon! Soar up, Blackfeather Dragon (ATK: 3200, LV: 9)!" Out of the light appeared a black aura surrounding a large monster, which was shattered and turned into idle black feathers when it flexed free.
The new monster was a tall, mostly-black dragon with an eagle-like head wearing an armoured mask, a longer neck, a feathered chest with orange scale underneath and along the stomach and tail's underside. Its arms ended in large claws, its feet were bird-like talons, and its forearms and shins were covered in manes of feathers. Its long wings had armour-like patches on their backs, and from its shoulders sprouted long struts with large metal feather-like blades.
"That… is a beautiful monster," Luca said as all of the Signers' Birthmarks lit up and the Summoners' marks – Taiyou's lightning bolts, Kyojo's flames and Yusuriha's waves – also lit up, reacting to the strongest and final dragon's descent.
"Magnificent," Aki agreed, the men too awestruck to speak.
"Such a powerful and might beast," Kiryu stated, smiling. "Shwo me its power."
"Very well!" Crow yelled. "Blackfeather Dragon, attack Infernity Daemon! Black Feather Flare!" Growling, the monster formed a ball of black flames in its mouth and shot them at the robed demon, destroying it and showering Kiryu in black flames. Silently he stood and lamented in his burning baptism, looking on with pleasure from the duel.
"The final and strongest of the Five Dragons," he thought. "Such an honour to face it."
Crow: LP 1750
Kiryu: LP 2600
"I set 1 card and end my turn," Crow stated, slamming the card down. "Let's see if you've still got the power, Kiryu."
"You know I do," Kiryu sneered. "It's my turn! I activate Infernity Gun!" Putting the card onto the tray, he conjured up another cannon. "Then I activate Infernity Death Dragon's effect…"
"…And I counter with Blackfeather Dragon's effect!" Crow countered, interrupting him while his dragon lit up its left wing in black flames and swung it, bathing the opposing dragon in black flames and destroying it.
"What's this?" Kiryu asked. "Infernity Death Dragon was destroyed, and Blackfeather Dragon lives?"
"When an opponent activates a destruction effect," Crow explained, "Blackfeather may negate and destroy that card by paying half of its own ATK and DEF (ATK: 1600, DEF: 1250)."
"That's certainly an effect worthy of a Signer Dragon, but I'm far from done," Kiryu stated. "I send Gun to the Cemetery to resurrect Infernity Death Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8) and Infernity Destroyer (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!" The cannon then fired a black shot and a purple-grey shot and exploded, creating the dragon and the tall demon once again to face Crow. "I attack Blackfeather Dragon with Infernity Destroyer!"
"I don't think so!" Crow yelled as his dragon formed black flames over its right wing this time and swung it at the demon, creating a white glowing scar across itself. "When Blackfeather Dragon battles, I can halve the ATK and DEF of the opposing monster and skip Damage Calculation (ATK: 1150, DEF: 500)."
"Permanent Trap Activate!" Kiryu declared. "Infernity Lock! Any monster effect can only be activated once per turn. If an effect is activated again, the monster is destroyed and half its ATK is inflicted as damage to its controller. Therefore, you cannot stop my Death Dragon's attack."
"Maybe," Crow stated, pointing down, "but I still have 2 set cards face-down."
"Trap Card: Dust Tornado," Kiryu stated, pointing at a card. The card then produced a greyish-brown tornado that struck one of the set cards, revealing it as Holy Barrier – Mirror Force before shattering it."
"No!" Crow yelled, looking freaked out. "This is bad!"
"I attack with Infernity Death Dragon!" Roaring, the dragon began to build up flames in its mouth as Crow looked on in terror; but then his expression changed to a sneer and he said,
"Now for the real move! Instant Magic: Forbidden Chalice! I negate Blackfeather's effect until the End Phase, and give it 400 extra ATK (ATK: 3600)!" With that the card gave off a blue glow that soon surrounded the dragon, making it roar out while its power increased. "Counterattack, Blackfeather! Black Feather Flare!" Roaring, the dragon shot a blast of black flames at the demon, striking it and making it explode to send Kiryu flying back to the edge of the roof.
"Kiryu!" Crow yelled, terrified at what had just happened. Everyone watched in horror as Kiryu smacked back-first into the concrete and brick ledge of the roof, leaving him slumped against it while the roof section where the monster had been was left to smoulder.
Crow: LP 1750
Kiryu: LP 2500
"Kiryu!" Yusei yelled, he and Jack then running over to where their friend was while Crow simply stared at the card on his tray, horrified at the power and destructive capabilities it had shown. Neither Yusei's Stardust Dragon nor Jack's Red Daemon's Dragon had ever given such a blow to his knowledge, and Aki's Black Rose Dragon was commanded to inflict such damage.
When they got there, Yusei and Jack bent over to grab Kiryu under his arms and help him to his feet, where he leaned against the four-foot-high ledge behind him so his friends wouldn't have to. The look on Kiryu's face was one of disappointment and anger, which was perceived to be directed at Crow. Then, he turned and began to walk away, at which time Yusei and Jack moved over towards Crow.
"What in tarnation just happened?" Kyojo asked rhetorically. "I've never seen one of these dragons act in that way."
"Not under these circumstances I haven't," Taiyou affirmed. "Usually these dragons won't lash out like that unless they're commanded to, and I never saw any indication that Crow gave it that instruction. Even if he had, this dragon likely would have disregarded it."
"Then either the dragon itself is on a vicious rampage, which is highly unlikely…" his partner reciprocated, guessing what the other intended to add.
"Or somebody was interfering with the duel."
"What the hell was that?" Jack forcefully asked Crow, who simply looked back in frustrated awe.
"You honestly think I planned for that to happen?!" The orange-haired man snapped back. "Since when would I ever to that to my friend?"
"I don't think you did it on purpose," Yusei stated, acting far calmer than Jack, "but I do think that something went very wrong just now. Until we figure out what, we need to take measures to prevent such problems."
"I'm not using this card again until we figure it out," Crow decided, taking the card off the tray and causing the Solid Vision to deactivate; he then placed it back in his Extra Deck, and returned all of his cards to his Deck.
"Hey, Crow," Judai yelled over, causing Crow to turn his head while Judai reached for his Duel Disc. "I'm willing to help you test out Blackfeather properly."
"No, Judai!" Aki yelled, her and the other girls gasping at his declaration.
"Please Judai," Johan stated. "You're already injured. Don't get yourself killed before I get to – I mean, until you meet a woman for your companion."
"You underestimate me," Judai replied confidently, his eyes flashing over into Yubel's; but in reply even Taiyou shook hid head.
"You're one of our hard hitters," he stated. "We can't afford for you to be down and out." With that Judai's eyes returned to normal and Crow looked defeated and ashamed, looking down at his feet.
"I guess this creature is simply too wrathful," Crow deduced. "It doesn't want me as a user; it needs someone with more forceful tendencies."
"This will all work itself out, I promise," Yusei stated, putting his hand on Crow's shoulder. "In time the Dragon will temper and it will become usable."
"He's right Crow," Taiyou interjected, teleporting closer. "The dragon just needs time to adjust to its new form; for the soul of that dragon has never seen a duel before, so it doesn't know yet to use less force."
Then, Taiyou quickly flashed his hand over Yusei's Deck and pulled out the Savior Star Dragon card without Yusei having time to react, gaining a strange look from the man in reply. "For a contrast," Taiyou explained, "this is what happens if the dragon truly thought it needed a different host."
"What are you…?" Crow asked just as Taiyou integrated a Duel Disc and slapped the dragon card onto the tray. Within a split second blue electricity flowed from the card in hundreds of arcing streams over Taiyou's entire form, shocking him until his ectoplasmic form turned to mist and the card fell back to the ground. Seconds later, Taiyou's body recollected and reformed, and he added,
"If I wasn't already dead, I would be now."
Standing atop one of the nearby buildings, hidden in the shadow of the trees overhead, the cloaked form of Paradox stared on in amusement through his mask, having just seen the attempt at using the Signer Dragon. Seconds later, he dissolved into a cloud of black pixels, leaving no proof of his presence.
"The test of Skiel was successful," Lucciano informed her cohorts as she returned to the throne room, dressed once again in her Yliaster robes. "It proved far more powerful than the opposing cards."
"Perhaps," Jose stated, "but you did not duel a Signer, so we are still unsure if it can match the Saviors."
"I know already how to gage that," Placido said with a smile, getting the attention of the others. "Since X escaped destruction last time, he's still around for a final duel. His energy will be used up and he will be lost win or lose, but perhaps we can learn the true limits of the Saviors."
"What form would you have it use?" Jose inquired. "It has lost its Judai and Jack impressions."
"I think I'll save the energy used for an impersonation and simply reveal its true form," Placido answered, actually shocking the other two.
"This should be worth seeing," Lucciano then said with a malice grin, giggling darkly after saying it while the other two sneered.
***
At around 10 p.m. later that night, Crow was out on the roof of the building looking at the card of Blackfeather Dragon, lamenting the events of that day. "I wonder if Yusei and Taiyou are right and the Dragon is just aggressive out of inexperience with duels," he thought. "That's what I hope; otherwise, I'm useless as a Signer."
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a D-Wheel engine start up and rev below the back of the roof, and that made him run over to the edge while he put the card back into his Extra Deck slot. Looking down, he saw a Black D-Wheel idling there, with no rider, and that certainly confused him.
"What the hell is going on here?" he asked aloud, getting his answer from the sound of electrical crackling behind him. Spinning around instantly, he saw a field of black and red static electricity appear and condense into a flowing human-like form, with the sound of distorted laughing coming from the entity. The voice was none that he knew, but he did recognize the being.
"You… X!" he yelled, raising a fist as the form of the figure began to take shape. From it formed a black body-suit including all but the head with circuit board patterns over itself; and then the head condensed into a Riding helmet with visor, completely obscuring the face.
"So we meet again, Crow Hogan," the almost alien voice issued. "You and I have yet to be formally acquainted, but I gather you know who I am and why I am here."
"You bet I fucking know!" Crow yelled, pulling his Ground Deck out of the Duel Disc and pulling his Riding Deck from his other Pocket to place in the slot.
"Then we'll make it a Riding Duel," X inferred. "Very well; let us begin." In a haze of electricity X teleported onto the Black D-Wheel below, a Duel Tray built into the console, while Crow pressed a button on his Duel Disc. With that his D-Wheel, Blackbird, appeared out of the garage and he jumped down onto it, fitting his Duel Disc onto the dash to form a Riding Mode.
"Bring it on," Crow issued as both players pressed a button on their dash to pull up Speed World 2. When it activated, the field around them turned purple and an Infinity symbol briefly appeared around their Duel Discs, and then both D-Wheels shot forward as both players drew 5 cards.
"Riding Duel! Acceleration!" The both then yelled.
Crow: LP 4000
X: LP 4000
"I'll take the first turn," X declared, pulling a card. "And I choose to end my turn without playing any cards."
"What?" Crow asked incredulously. "Has your AI malfunctioned or something?"
"My AI is just fine," X replied. "I still end my turn."
"Alright, then it's my turn! Draw (Crow: 1 SPC/X: 1 SPC)." Placing his card in his hand, Crow then took another card from his hand and slapped it down. "I Summon Black Feather – Shura of the Azure Flame (ATK: 1800, LV: 4)!" S blue vortex emerged in front of Crow that produced the tall blue-feathered bird figure from earlier, which screeched at X loudly.
"I attack X directly!" Crow yelled, his blue monster shooting forward at massive speed and slashing X with its right claw, making the D-Wheel spark but not deterring X from his path. Just then, however, X placed a card onto the tray and produced a black, nay and red-clad warrior-like figure with a sword on his back, large amounts of red hair and a visor over its eyes. "What's this?"
Crow: LP 4000
X: LP 2200
"You're too naïve," X stated, its voice changing to Jack's altered voice for the sentence. "Because I received a direct attack with no cards on the field, I Special Summoned Envoy of Darkness – Gorz (ATK: 2700, LV: 7), and because I took Battle Damage I Special Summon a Envoy of Darkness – Kaien Token whose ATK and DEF are the received damage (ATK: 1800, LV: 7)."
"What!?" Crow had time to blurt out before the monster was joined by a similarly-dressed female figure wearing a veil and with long flowing red hair behind herself. Lookig angry at the result of his move, he took 2 cards and jammed them into the tray. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."
As his two cards appeared and disappeared, X laughed and said, "If that is the best you can do, then I am disappointed. It's my turn. Draw (Crow: 2 SPC/X: 2 SPC). Magic Activate: Speed Spell – Angel Baton. Because I have 2 Speed Counters, I draw 2 cards and send 1 card from my hand to the Cemetery."
"I know what the card does," Crow countered as X pulled 2 cards from his deck, taking a card already in his hand and sending it to the Cemetery.
"I Summon dark Sprocketer (ATK: 400, LV: 1)." Out of a blue vortex emerged a black conical cog-like monster with a length of chain-like chord spiraled around itself and a gear-like head with eyes drawn on it. "Then, I tune my Level 1 Dark Sproketer to my Level 7 Kaien Token!"
"Jack's Tuner and a Level 7 monster," Crow noted. "He's going for that monster again." As he thought, the gear-like creature spun until it changed into a green ring, sliding over the female figure to change her into a yellow outline containing 7 white orbs. The outline disappeared and the orbs remained to form a white column of light.
"The ruler's heartbeat will now file through here," X chanted, imitating Jack once again. "Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Emerging from the light was one of the darkened versions of Jack's grey and red dragon that roared viciously, signaling its power to Crow.
"You bastard!" Crow yelled back at the entity. "How dare you use my friend's card like that?!"
"Red Daemon's Dragon, attack Shura of the Azure Flame," X commanded. "Absolute Power Force!" Roaring, the dragon formed a fireball over its fist and swung it into the blue bird, exploding it and showering Crow in flames to make him scream in pain.
Crow: LP 2800
X: LP 2200
"That pain…" Crow realized, breathing hard as the flames died away. "It's just like the other duels with him…"
"Gorz, direct attack the player!" X then commanded, making the warrior-like monster draw its sword and jump at Crow. In turn, the man pulled a card from his hand and placed it onto the tray, calling forth a black and red six-winged bird-like figure who took the sword slash and exploded, sparing Crow from harm.
"I Special Summoned Ghibli of the Hot Winds," Crow explained, "So I took no Battle Damage. Next, I Activate Recharged Damage, and I draw 1 card for each attack plus an additional one!" Looking down at his Deck, Crow picked up 3 cards and looked them over before placing them in his hand.
"You got off lucky this round," X stated, taking 3 cards from its and placing them onto the tray wile 3 cards appeared in front of, to the left of and to the right of him before disappearing. "But that will not happen again. I end my turn."
"Then I draw (Crow: 3 SPC/X: 3 SPC!" Crow yelled, reaching for a card the instant he pulled that one. "I also activate Speed Spell – Angel Baton! I draw 2 cards and I discard Black Feather – Vayu of the Big Flag!" Pulling his two cards in one shot, he took the one still clutched against his palm that he had just drawn and placed it into the Cemetery slot. He then took one of his cards and spun it around.
"Since I drew Breeze of the Gentle Winds, I Special Summon it (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)!" Crow then slapped down the card and once again called out his orange bird-like creature before spinning a card around. "I activate the Permanent Trap, Boosting Resurrection, so I Special Summon Ghibli the Hot Winds from my Cemetery with 100 more ATK and DEF and 1 more star (ATK: 100, LV: 4)!"
From his Cemetery slot appeared a light that once again produced the black and red six-winged bird with a cry, and then the two monsters fell into line as the orange one started to glow. "I Tune my Level 3 Breeze of the Gentle Winds to my now Level 4 Ghibli of the Hot Winds!" Screeching, the orange bird changed into 3 green rings to surround the other monster, changing it into 4 white orbs and then a horizontal column of light.
"Darkened gales, become the wings which will soar to heavens! Synchro Summon! Black Feather – Armoured Wing (ATK: 2500, LV: 7)." Out of the light then shot the armoured bird-like monster as Crow stared on in glee before taking 2 more cards from his hand. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Draw (Crow: 4 SPC/X: 4 SPC!" X declared, flipping a card the instant he did. "Trap Card: "If we Die, We Die Together"! When both players have 3 or more cards in their hands, they discard their entire hands and take 100 damage for each card lost before drawing 5 new cards."
Growling in anger, Crow inserted his hand into the Cemetery slot as X did the same and they both pulled 5 new cards, X sneering as he looked on at Crow.
Crow: LP 2500
X: LP 1900
"I Activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion! When my Speed Counters are at 4 or more, I Fusion Summon a Fusion Monster with its materials. I Send E-HERO Edgeman and E-HERO Sparkman, and I Fusion Summon E-HERO Plasma Viceman (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!" From the hand of the entity appeared the gold bladed warrior and the navy and gold warrior, who jumped up into the air and spun together.
Out of the spiral then emerged the partly gold and partly navy warrior with large arms and a bulky build, floating between the black-clad figure and the dragon. "By discarding 1 card from my hand, I destroy my opponent's Attack Position monster! Thus, I Discard Dark Resonator and I Destroy Armoured Wing!" Forming yellow electricity between its hands, the warrior jumped forward as X placed a card into the Cemetery slot while the warrior positioned his hands on either side of the monster and electrocuted it, causing it to explode.
"This is bad," Crow said under his breath as the monster returned to its place and he analyzed the situation; he had no monsters to his opponent's 3 monsters over 2500 ATK. But then, when he felt things couldn't get worse, X flipped a card that made Crow cringe.
"Trap Card: Revival Gift! I Special Summon Dark Resonator from my Cemetery without an effect (ATK: 1300, LV: 3), and Special Summon 2 Gift Tokens to my opponent's Field (DEF: 1500, LV: 3) (DEF: 1500, LV: 3)." Beside the entity's existing monsters emerged the raccoon-like demon creature while Crow's field gained two salamander-like cartooned creatures.
"Oh no!" Crow realized with this latest move. "He's going for another Synchro Summon!"
"Permanent Trap: Boosting Resurrection!" X yelled, shocking Crow with the same card he had just used. "I Special Summon E-HERO Sparkman from the Cemetery with a Power-up (ATK: 1700, LV: 5)!" Out of the Cemetery slot emerged a light that spawned the gold and navy warrior with a battle cry, just before the demon struck the glass orb on its staff with its Tuning fork.
"I Tune my Level 3 Dark Resonator to my now Level 5 Sparkman!" The demon changed into 3 green rings in an instant, surrounding the warrior and changing it into 5 white orbs and then a pillar of light. "Synchro Summon! Red Daemon's Dragon (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!" Out of the light then tore out a second of the grey and red dragon with a guttural roar, creating a tremor for Crow's D-Wheel.
"Battle! Plasma Viceman, attack the Token! Plasma Shock!" Grunting, the warrior shot forward and placed its electrified arms around the token, exploding it and shocking Crow in one move. As Crow screamed, X explained, "When Plasma Viceman attacks a monster whose DEF is lower than its own ATK, it inflicts Penetration Damage equal to the difference!"
Crow: LP 1400
X: LP 1900
Just after the monster again returned it its post, the entity declared, "I destroy the second Token with Gorz!" Then, drawing its sword again, the monster jumped forward and swung straight through the Token, shattering it in a split second and retreating to its spot.
"I need for this next move to go right in order to survive this duel," Crow realized. "There's no telling what consequences losing will have in this duel."
"Battle! I attack directly with Red daemon's Dragon! Absolute Power Force!" Roaring, the dragon formed a fireball in its hand and swung it forward at Crow, making him duck as the burning claw got closer and closer behind him.
A few meters back of the duel, they two competitors were unknowingly being pursued by Paradox, whose D-Wheel was long, white, had a pair of turbine engines on its rear sides and whose nose resembled the face of a dragon. "That's it Crow, tap into the power of that dragon," he thought. "I need to know if that beast is a powerful enough addition to my collection..."
"Where could Crow have gone?" Yusei asked of Jack, Judai and Kyojo, who were all riding their D-Wheels parallel to him. After Crow went missing, they turned on their GPS units and saw that his D-Wheel was engaged in a Riding Duel, but then the signal has disappeared.
"We should split up and try to look for him separately over town," Judai stated, getting a nod from the others right before they all shot off in separate directions.
"I thought you said the X unit had lost its files for Jack and Judai's Decks," Lucciano asked of Placido, with the trio watching the Riding Duel with their portal.
"I thought it had," Placido answered sincerely, "but apparently it made a master copy for a Deck using multiple Decks of cards."
"And it has combined them quite well," Jose stated. "Using Fusion Monsters and their effects to set up a Synchro Summon is one of the more difficult moves to pull off, but it almost always produces favourable results."
"Hold on for a second," Placido suddenly stated urgently, freezing the frame. When the other two looked at him, he pointed to an area about twenty meters back of the Duel and blew it up, revealing a black-robed figure in a mask riding a White D-Wheel.
"Well, well, well," Jose stated, intrigued. "It appears X's duel has pulled in more than just our honorary Signer."
"Why would Paradox be following the Riding Duel?" Lucciano asked of Placido. "Why doesn't he just travel to the end of it and take the card he wants?"
"Because the creation of Blackfeather Dragon changed the events of the future," he explained. "Paradox can travel back to the past because he is certain of what happened; but going to a future with an outcome he does not know would be fruitless."
"Interesting…"
"What interests you so much about that?"
"The fact that even for a Time-Traveler like Paradox, the future is uncertain," Lucciano replied. "It's almost Paradoxical in itself."
"Let us focus on the true topic at hand, shall we?" Jose interrupted, getting the attention of his younger cohorts. "Do we think Crow will be able to unlock a Savior Dragon?"
"It's doubtful," Lucciano replied. "He can barely grasp handling Blackfeather Dragon's power, let alone a monster as strong as a Savior."
"I get the feeling that outburst by the dragon wasn't anything Crow did, nor was it the dragon itself," Placido countered, producing an image of the duel between Kiryu and Crow. Pointing to a nearby rooftop, he zoomed in the image to reveal that at the moment the Dragon went berserk, Paradox was standing there with his eyes glowing through his mask.
"You mean that Paradox…" Lucciano started, Placido nodding even before she finished. "Why…?"
"Because he wants Crow to discard the dragon altogether," Jose explained. "I think Paradox wants it for his collection; after all, it's the only of the Signer Dragons for whom no Summoner Counterpart exists."
"If his target was the Five Dragons though, why did he bother with Blue-Eyes and Red-Eyes?" Lucciano then inquired. "How does that benefit him?"
"I don't know," Placido answered solemnly. "Paradox's twisted mind is too difficult to read one-hundred percent of the time."
"What is for certain," Jose said, "is that the Signer Dragon, Blackfeather, will soon be used to its proper potential – either by its Signer, or my its slave master."
"And I'm just dying to find out which," Placido stated.
Passing under an overpass, Judai made his way to the central area of the city in record time, only to notice something out of the corner of his eye on a higher roar. Noticing this, he quickly found a ramp and shot up 2 roadways to the lane where he had seen the action, turning onto it and following it. He then accelerated, closing the 50-metre gap between them down to 10 in a few seconds. Once there, he saw the setup.
"Yusei, Jack Kyojo," he then said into his headset, contacting the crew. "I've found Crow! He's in a Riding Duel on Tama Street, heading southwest."
"Riding Duel?" Jack inquired. "Riding Duel with whom?"
"I think it's X," the red-head replied. "Yes; it's definitely X. There's no doubt of that in my mind."
"I thought I destroyed him!"
"Then either this is a different one, or you didn't."
"We'll be there as soon as we can," Yusei finally cut in. "Just hold a tight formation with them."
"Copy that," Judai relied just before the line went dead. However, his focus was quickly taken up again when he looked forward and saw the red and grey dragon raise its burning fist to swing at Crow, making him gasp as he saw what was about to happen.
"CROW!" he yelled out, just before the burning fist made contact with the D-Wheel and an explosion rang out. A huge fireball formed and changed into a smoke ball, which Judai quickly rode through in pursuit of X, seeing no traces of Crow anywhere…
Card of the Week – Crow
Blackfeather Dragon
Type: EARTH
Level: 9
Sub-Types: [Dragon/Synchro/Effect]
Effect: 1 Tuner + 2 or more non-Tuner Monsters
Once per turn, when your opponent activates a card effect which would destroy this card, activate by halving this card's ATK and DEF. Negate that card's effect and destroy that card. When this card battles with an opponent's monster, you can skip Damage Calculation and halve the ATK and DEF of that opponent's monster.
ATK/ 3200
DEF/ 2500
NOTE: The card is clearly not the same Blackfeather Dragon released in The Shining Darkness or featured in the anime.
*This duel will all come down to the play of a single card, I guarantee you. Review if you wish.*