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 29 – Surpass Humanity's Limits! Duel of Revelations, Taiyou vs. Placido
Standing opposite Placido with a black stare of total shock on his face, Taiyou only kept up his surprised expression while Placido stared back at him with his single visible eye. The flesh on his face, now completely returned to where it has been, gave a human look to what had just been a mechanical, nightmarish being which Taiyou could previously only have dreamed of.
"It's rude to simply look on at someone with one's mouth open," Placido finally said with a chuckle, the same sinister look on his face. "Perhaps now you understand the appeal of transcending the limitations of the frail human coil, to cast off the shackles of mortality."
"What the fuck are you…?" Taiyou finally brought himself to ask, half-whispering and half-gasping while he and his monster simply looked into the single visible eye of the Yliaster leader.
"Proof that human understanding is far too narrow," Placido answered vaguely. "Tell me, Kenshi Taiyou, does the name Ponce de Leon mean anything to you?"
"The conquistador who sought the fountain of youth," Taiyou responded, nodding. A second later, the wave of realization hit him and he spat out, "Wait… you…"
"Were a member of his infantry, yes; however, that relationship ended in blood…"
Several hundred years earlier, in the muggy swamps of the Florida everglades, Placido stood over the roots of a half-fallen tree, dressed in Spanish navy attire and holding a large sword in his hand. Opposite him, on a large rock, stood the likewise-armed form of the infamous Captain, staring Placido dead in the eyes. Overhead of them, the black storm clouds had begun to roll in, and small bursts of thunder could be heard.
"Placido, why have you turned against me so?" de Leon asked of him despairingly (obviously in Spanish), indication the countless bodies of dead sailors surrounding them in a strange formation. Ponce had come across Placido, his outfit drenched in blood, as he had been arranging the dead soldiers in a circular formation with a figure eight reaching to the edges. "Why did you do this to our fellow man? Why did you forsake our Queen, our God?"
Staring back at his commander with cold eyes and pointing to the men with his sword Placido replied darkly, "Everything we thought we knew is a lie." When he was met only with a blank stare from his confused commander he elaborated: "The fountain of youth is not a vessel of water, or anything of that sort; it is a fountain of blood."
"What in God's name are you talking about?" de Leon declared accusingly, pointing his sword at Placido. "The fountain cannot be a Heathen blood sacrifice; God would not allow it to be so!"
"God tests the hearts of humans," Placido responded coldly, "and many of us fail. No amount of prayer or faith will make us any greater in his eyes; if we truly want to prove ourselves to Him, we must show that we can do the darkest things."
"Those are the words of the Devil," de Leon shot back, terrified at what Placido was saying. "God would never ask such dark deeds of his loyal followers."
"Believe as you wish from your Bible," Placido spat back. "God speaks directly to me; and he wishes for me to become his servant in a blood baptism. If you wish to try and stop me, I cannot allow you to live."
"I feel sorry for you, Placido," de Leon said solemnly, lowering his gaze. "The Devil has possessed you, tainted your soul. May I set you free in death, so that your soul may go to Him in peace." Jumping forward from the stone and tree, de Lion and Placido met in the centre of the circle and immediately locked swords, throwing each other a few feet back and simply running straight at each other again.
"I did not want it to come to this if it did not have to," Placido informed his superior, "but you have left me no choice!" Swinging around with his sword, Placido cut through his master's left arm and sliced it off at the elbow. The immediate reaction of the man was to kick Placido straight in the chest, slashing him across the face as he did so and sending the man flying face-first into the roots of the trees.
Grunting in pain, de Leon reached for the fabric of his coat and made quick work of tying it off at the end of the stump. Stepping forward and noting Placido's lack of motion, he could see the blood pouring down the right side of the man's face. Lying beside the man's foot was his lacerated right eye and fragments of his facial structure lay around it; looking at Placido's damaged face, it was obvious the pain he must have felt.
"For the heathen sins which have died your soul black," de Leon stated, flipping Placido over onto his back with his foot and holding his sword above the man's chest, "may your spirit rest in peace with Him." In a quick thrusting motion he shoved his sword straight down at Placido incredibly quickly; but Placido blocked with his left arm, causing it to be cut off just below the shoulder.
"It is not my time to die," Placido explained, not giving de Leon time to process the thought. As he spoke, his sword was pushed straight up through the bottom of de Leon's head, killing the man instantly. At that very moment, a lightning bolt from the sky above was attracted to the blade and struck it, enveloping the area in a white radiant glow.
When the glow had faded away, Placido found himself floating in a white void. His arms were broken, his ram gone and his face damaged, but he could still feel that the world around him had no wind, no warmth. Staring forward, he could see a red glowing orb at the centre of the white world, his reflection roughly appearing.
"Why have you come to me?" a deep voice suddenly asked, Placido feeling himself being drawn closer as it spoke. When he was within a few feet of it, its red energy expanded and took on a face-like shape; one with glowing yellow eyes and mouth, staring back at him with a great prominence.
"I seek escape from the dreariness of human society," Placido answered confidently, not knowing what the being's reaction would be. At first be received nothing but a solemn, stern stare of reply; but after a few seconds, a dark smile came over the being's face.
"Then I will make an offer which I doubt you will refuse," it answered. "I will relieve you from the mortal constraints of humanity; but in return, you will be my servant and emissary to create a new world."
"A new world?" Placido questioned. "Then you are just as disgusted by humanity's failures as I?"
"The world is going down a path of darkness," the being answered. "When humanity came into being, their role was to instil a balance in this world; instead, they have caused greater misery. If you will help me undo that darkness, I will give you the new life you seek…"
"Very well…" Placido replied, ending the conversation. Then, the being's face disappeared and its energy began to radiate out, covering Placido and consuming him into an energy which he had never felt before. Instantly, an intense wave of pain consumed him and his senses grew overwhelmed; and so he screamed out in pain, not knowing what was happening.
Seconds later, the redness disappeared and the whiteness faded into blackness, leaving Placido in a true void. There, the intense pain continued as he felt his bones crumbling from within him. His own body then began emitting its own glow and he felt a new structure forming where his bones had been. His skin felt as though it was becoming fluid, and he could even feel his eye regenerating in a disturbing way…
Eventually Placido simply passed out from the intense sensation, only to awaken seemingly instantly back in the swamp. Looking around, his sense of sight seemed greater than he had ever known before, along with the rest of his senses so he could see that all of the bodies were gone, even de Lion's.
Then, he heard a dark chuckling from behind himself and so he turned around, shocked at what he saw. Standing atop the fallen tree was a black, white and red-clad form of a man with long blond hair with purple sections, clad in a mask and with rather odd attire. "Congratulations, Placido," the man said in a deep voice. "You have started down destiny's path."
"So it seems you too have been touched by the desire to change this world," Placido inferred, staring at the man and pointing his once again present left arm at him. "However, I sense malice in you; and hatred, sorrow and misery."
"You have gained great powers Placido," the man told him. "From this point on, your fate and mine will be intertwined on a journey which will twist the very fabric of nature, of reality. When next we meet, you will know the truth of this world; and then, perhaps we can make right what once was wrong…" With that the man faded off into blackness, leaving nothing behind to show he had been there.
Looking down upon the stump, Placido could see that his sword's hilt now had an Infinity Symbol; and beside that he saw a metal plate the size of his left face, also bearing the symbol. Picking up and putting on the plate the symbol on it began to glow green, this he could sense; and so he picked up his sword, sheathed it, and began to walk out of the swamp.
"So you were…" Taiyou gasped out at Placido's story, hardly believing what he had heard. "You saw…"
"That was the day I started down the new path of this world," Placido informed him. "There is no longer any need for human darkness; but unlike Paradox, I know that not everyone has to die. Only those who have sinned against the world and have defied His will."
"Even so… that offers no explanation for why you have turned against the Signers."
"I have done no such thing," Placido denied. "The Signers are God's servants just as I am, and I needed to know that they had the strength to carry out His mission."
"So you've been… testing them," Taiyou deduced, looking back at the man with understanding of the goal at hand. "But, if your goals are as benevolent as you claim they are, then why did my world have to suffer? Why did that need to occur?"
"So that your eyes could also be opened to the truth," Placido informed, his Infinity Symbol starting to glow red on his face. "The darkness which had infected the world of Magicians needed to be removed; and as tragic as it was, it needed to be done." Turning sombre for a second, he added, "I truly regret that such hateful slaughter needed take place."
"Stop hiding behind that crock of shit, Placido," Taiyou replied coldly, getting a look of frustration from the man. "What happened to the Placido I knew? Where is the soldier who would do anything for the good of others? And why has he been replaced by this… thing I see before me?"
"I could ask you the same thing, Kenshi Taiyou," Placido charged, getting the stunned reply from Taiyou that regained him advantage. "Why did you not, when you heard my name in connection with all this, simply lead the others to me? It was because you believed in what I was doing."
"That's a lie!"
"But is it? You knew deep down inside that what I was doing was right, and that opposing me would simply create worse chaos than it already has. Now, as I recall, it was still your turn."
Taiyou: LP 4000
Placido: LP 2200
"Then I shall set 3 cards," Taiyou responded, pulling 3 of the 4 cards from the hand tray on his Duel Disc and placing them face-down onto Magic and Trap Zones. "And that will end my turn."
"I draw," Placido declared simply. "I Summon Wise Core in Defence Position (DEF: 0, LV: 1)." With that the horizontal card emerged and recalled the white egg-like machine, whose body then split apart vertically in a rough way to reveal a green orb. "I set 4 cards, and that shall end my turn." With that he took said cards and placed them along the tray, face-down, in a sweeping motion.
"I draw!" Taiyou declared, snapping up his card instantly.
"Then at this moment, I activate Deck Destruction Computer Virus," Placido declared, causing a green circuit board pattern to appear both on Taiyou's Deck and his monster. "I destroy a DARK Machine-Type Monster with 500 or less ATK I control, and in exchange I send the top 10 cards of the opposing Deck to the Cemetery."
"What?' Taiyou realized, grabbing 10 cards from his Deck and simply throwing them away into the Cemetery. A second later, the core's main body began to spark with green energy and it eventually exploded. As it did, the singular glowing orb changed into a column of green light and the electricity formed on the tray of Placido's Duel Disc, solidifying into 5 cards.
"Come forth: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Wisel Top (ATK: 500, LV: 1), Wisel Attack (ATK: 1200, LV: 1), Wisel Guard (DEF: 1200, LV: 1), and Wisel Top (ATK: 800, LV: 1)," Placido declared, his face twisting into an insane look of pleasure, "and assemble into the form of Machine Emperor Wisel (ATK: 2500, LV: 1)!"
From the light then appeared the oblong Infinity-crested oblong object, the cobra-like object which shifted into a lead, the two football-like objects which became a shielded and a bladed arm respectively, and a two-lobed object which folded around into a pair of rounded legs. In a flash of green electricity the pieces fused together and the lights of the face turned on in red, showing that the machine was operational.
"With the power God has handed down to me, Machine Emperor Wisel," Placido informed, clenching his fist, "all those who oppose His will, shall be eliminated!"
"I won't fall so easily!" Taiyou yelled back defiantly, his gaze growing hard under his mask as he motioned at Placido. "I activate Magical Archer's effect: by removing the Magic Counter from my Archer, I attack you directly with half of his attack strength (ATK: 900, LV: 4)! Go, Spellman's Bolt!" With a draw of its bow the archer before Taiyou shot a bean straight from its bow at Placido, who flipped up a card in response.
"Permanent Trap Open: Shock Stun!" Placido declared strongly. "With this card in play, all Battle Damage from direct attacks is doubled!" Saying this, he watched as the bolt of energy grew larger and more intense, this time going straight through his chest and creating a glowing hole. To Taiyou's shock the hole healed over in a green glow as with before; and as his Life Points fell, Placido pointed at Taiyou's Deck.
Taiyou: LP 4000
Placido: LP 400
"In return for this larger blow, the player who declares a direct attack loses 1 card from their Deck for every 500 Points of damage they inflict. Therefore, you must discard 3 cards from your Deck, Kenshi Taiyou." Glaring angrily, Taiyou gripped his top cards and threw them into the Cemetery, just in time to hear the man chuckle darkly.
"You, my dear friend, are one of the most powerful Duellists I have ever had the fortune to meet. If I tried offensive play, you would simply retaliate; if I played defensively, you would strike harder. However, there is one strategy your Deck cannot counter; and that is Deck Destruction. Against the cards I have selected, you have no hope."
"He's right," Taiyou realized, looking down at his Deck. "It's my second turn and 20 cards are gone from my Deck. Unless I can win in a few turns, my Deck will be destroyed." "I set one card and end my turn."
"Draw," Placido declared, flipping around the card instantly and watching it float. "I activate the Field Magic Card known as Z-ONE." The floating card then dissolved into a green flash of computer code, generating a huge white burst of light that completely took over Taiyou's field of vision for a few moments. As this occurred, he got a strange feeling as though his mind had been separated from reality, like he couldn't focus.
A few seconds later, however, he snapped back into the world around him to see that the field around them with a red glowing circuit board pattern and a white fog that seemed to go on eternally.
"Once in one turn, by skipping my Battle Phase, Z-ONE sends one card from y opponent's Deck to the Cemetery for each Wisel Monster I control. Since I have 5 Wisel Monsters, that seems a wise choice." With the red pattern glowing on his cards, Taiyou grabbed 5 of them and threw them away, watching as Placido sneered.
"With that I end my turn."
"He has no need to attack," Taiyou realized. "Why would he? In 3 more turns my Deck is gone, and then I lose automatically." "Draw!" Snapping up the card, he took a card from his hand and declared, "I sacrifice Magical Archer for Magician's Destroyer (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" With that his monster was replaced with the black bulky monster which stood behind him, ready to attack.
"Next I activate my Permanent Trap, Pitch-Black Power Stone," he revealed, his card coming into view and gaining 3 glowing orbs appearing over it. "When Destroyer destroys a monster by battle, you will take 200 points of damage for each Magic Counter on this card. Thus, it will be my win. Go, Destroyer!"
"Is that what you think?" Placido questioned, snapping his fingers. "Trap Card Open: Astral Shift! I change the attack to a direct attack, and I draw one card!" Snapping up the card from his field of view, Placido watched as the Magician strayed from its trajectory and shot straight at him.
"What is this? Taiyou questioned. "Your move makes no sense, because you still lose the duel!"
"Or do I?" Placido questioned. "Trap Card Open: Wise Charger! For each Wisel monster in play, I recover 1000 Life Points. Thus, even with the doubled damage, I recover enough Life to survive this attack!" In a quick swing the magician slashed through Placido's robes, shattering them into green energy; and after that his Life Points climbed due to the effect.
Taiyou: LP 4000
Placido: LP 600
"My damage is 4800," Placido stated. "Therefore, you must discard the top 9 cards of your Deck!" With a complete gasp of disbelief, Taiyou grabbed 9 of his remaining cards and threw them into the Cemetery, watching valuable resources disappear. "Now you have only 5 cards left in your Deck. You'll last but one turn, and all will be over."
"Whether that's true or not," Taiyou rebutted, "I still have a few turns. I set one card and end."
"How utterly pathetic," Placido patronized. "I Draw," he declared, reaching for a card on top of his Deck and pulling it before pointing straight at Taiyou. "Next, I activate the effect of Z-ONE, and I send the last 5 cards of your Deck to the Cemetery."
With a green glow consuming his cards, Taiyou look the last pieces of his Deck and threw them away, leaving nothing but an empty Deck tray. "I see no need to continue, so I set one card end my turn."
"Big mistake," Taiyou declared confidently in reply. As Taiyou looked back with a surprised expression, a red glow emanated from his Cemetery slot and a card slid from it, which he grabbed and held up. "By skipping my Draw Phase, I return Magical Blast to my hand. Thus, I never draw the card that puts me over the edge."
"Not from your own hand, no," Placido sneered, moving his hand over to his set card and showing it off. "I activate Pact of Greed," he informed, "And due to this card, both players are forced to draw one card. That means my victory."
"Let's just see about that," Taiyou shot back. "As long as hope exists, I will never falter. Trap Card Open: Circuit Collapse! When a draw effect is activated, that effect is negated and its controller receives 1000 damage! That's game over Placido!"
"What?" was all the man could get out before the card started glowing and a similar glow began under his feet. In a few seconds the energy burst up overtop of him; and with a final rebel yell, he disappeared into the energy along with his monster.
"That's that," Taiyou thought to himself with this last move; however, seconds later, when the field had not disappeared, he realized that something was not as it seemed. The white field then changed into a huge red glow that overwhelmed his eyes, reducing his vision to a white haze.
"Such a foolish mistake, Summoner," Placido's voiced scorned from nowhere as Taiyou's vision suddenly returned. Looking back at where Placido had stood, he realized that the man was still there, and that the duel was exactly where it was after Z-ONE had been activated. "To think such a duel could progress."
"What did you do?" Taiyou snapped at the man, who simply adorned a confident glare. "How did you survive that duel? There's no way… unless…" When the realization hit him, he looked back and spat, "That whole thing was just a hypnotic vision."
"I wanted to give you the satisfaction of knowing a proper victory before I stole it from you," Placido clarified. "It's the least I can do for an old friend."
"Don't pull that trick with me!" Taiyou snapped. "You and I are on opposite sides now, and nothing you say will change that now!"
"Then I will continue with my plan," Placido informed. "I activate Magic Planter, and raw 2 cards by sending my Shock Stun to the Cemetery." With the card on his field dissolving into particles of light, Placido pulled 2 cards from his Deck and looked at them, an evil glare coming over his face.
"Placido's mill cards were just to further my delusion and to advance his real goal," Taiyou realized quickly. "What happens next is anyone's guess." Before he could think anything more, however, a sudden rumbling sensation came over the building in feel and sound, and he knew that something was afoot. "What is this?"
"You'll see soon enough," Placido informed as the Infinity Symbol on his eyepiece again began to glow red and his now-returned robes shattered into green energy just as they had in the vision. Then, he spun around one of the cards and declared, "I activate Wise Wave, and I evolve my pieces into Wisel Top 3 (ATK: 800, LV: 3), Wisel Attack 3 (ATK: 1600, LV: 3), Wisel Guard 3 (DEF: 2000, LV: 3) and Wisel Carrier 3 (ATK: 1100, LV: 3)."
In the green light of the activated card, the head, arms and legs of the monster disappeared, producing the form of the four new parts in their base form; the snail-like right arm, the four-bladed right arm, the frog-like head and the twin-booster legs. These pieces then folded into the three-bladed and shielded full arms, the head and shoulder pads, and the long legs, and fused into the body of the machine for its new form (ATK: 3500, LV: 1).
"This will be the true power of the Wisel Deck," Placido informed, a sneer on his face that led into a short maniacal laugh, the green gem lighting up on his face. Then, sneering, he looked at Taiyou and declared, "Battle"; and after that, the monster proceeded to swing its left arm with blades straight down upon the magician.
"You think your little move scares me?" Taiyou inquired, reaching for the one card he never flipped in his vision. "Trap Card Open: Holy Barrier – Mirror Force! Though this effect, I destroy my opponent's attack position monsters. To your Machine Emperor I say, fare thee well."
"Such foolishness," Placido scorned smugly. "I'll show you just how wrong you are. Wisel Top 3's Monster Effect: once in one turn, I negate the effect of a Spell or Trap Card activated during my turn, and destroy it!" As Taiyou only looked on stunned, Placido's monster shot a pair of lasers from the black screen-like face of its head, shattering the card.
"Now, your monster." Swinging its arm straight downwards, the monster cleaved the magician in half and then sliced straight through Taiyou's ectoplasmic form. Though his body brought itself back together, he found himself clutching at his chest in pain, as though he had still been alive. With Placido crossing his arms and watching intently, he saw Taiyou's Life Points drop.
Taiyou: LP 2300
Placido: LP 400
"The duel has almost run its course," Placido informed as the trembling continued, "and soon it will arrive. I activate Life-Shaving card Treasure." When he placed the card in his Cemetery, he pulled 5 new cards and took two of them, setting them instantly. "Your move."
"Draw!" Taiyou declared, snapping up the top card of his Deck and finding a different draw, due that his Deck had not been further damaged. "His little trick threw me off, but I can still win this thing. I just need to play this move right!" "I activate Double Magic, and I discard Village of the Magic Tribe." With the two cards in his hand warping away, Placido's card then appeared in his hand and Taiyou held it up, pulling 5 cards.
"So now you have a fresh hand as well, you say?" Placido confirmed. "But this does nothing to save you."
"We shall see," Taiyou declared, looking at his hand before flipping a set card. "Permanent Trap: Pitch-Black Power Stone!" With the card now face-up, he held up another card and declared, "I activate Dimensional Magical Technique, and I remove 1 Counter to Summon without release… Magician's Destroyer (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!"
Another counter from the card then disappeared while Taiyou slapped the card down onto the tray, unleashing the black-armoured monster from his vision. "Next, I activate Magic Burial, and for 800 Life Points I resurrect the Apprentice of Endymion you discarded (ATK: 1000, LV: 2)!" When his power had fallen, the Tuner from Taiyou's duel in the other world appeared.
Taiyou: LP 1500
Placido: LP 400
"So you've inherited your master's Deck," Placido realized, smiling. "How interesting… I want to see this inheritance."
"Then see it you shall," Taiyou yelled. "I Tune my Level 2 Apprentice to my Level 6 Magician's Destroyer!" Two counters from the body of the magician released white orbs that became green rings around the other monster, changing it into a yellow outline with six white orbs inside that became a column of light.
"The darkness of the Sorcerer's might shall now take form, and envelop the enemy in true hell! Become the power of Death! Synchro Summon! Soul of Black Magic, Magician's Deathscythe (ATK: 2800, LV: 8)!" In front of Taiyou them emerged his old ace monster; the black-cloaked magician with glowing red eyes from the darkness of his cloak, a scythe-like staff and tattered robes with 4 lit up orbs on them.
"Since my Monster was Synchro Summoned with Apprentice of Endymion, both effects place 2 Magic Counters on it, for a total of 4 Counters (ATK: 3600). Next, I use one of Power Stone's Counters and move it to Deathscythe (ATK: 3800)." In an instant the counter from the trap died out and 1 appeared on the magician's scythe, leaving the trap card with one.
"Battle! I attack Machine Emperor Wisel with Deathscythe! Demise Disenchanting!" Jumping into the air, the monster swung its scythe straight at the body of the machine monster; but to Taiyou's surprise, the right arm of the machine came into the way of the scythe and took it without receiving a scratch. "What?"
"Such human foolishness," Placido scorned. "I can change the attack target of any opposing monster to Wisel Guard 3; and once per turn, Guard 3 cannot be destroyed by battle." Stating this, Placido watched Taiyou simply stare at his hand, dumbfounded, while he took his last 2 cards and set them.
"Then I have no choice but to end my turn with 2 set cards," he realized, a complete look of defeat on his face. "Is this truly the best I can do? After gaining Endymion's legacy, his power… I cannot even save myself from the effect of his monster. But maybe, just maybe, these last 2 cards can buy me enough time to win."
"I draw," Placido declared, reaching for his Deck and snapping up yet another card. "I activate Wisel Infinity's effect: I equip Magician's Deathscythe to Wisel, and absorb its power!"
"Trap Card Open!" Taiyou declared, reaching for the set card before him. "Sub-Space Matter Transfer Device! I exclude my Deathscythe for this turn!" "That's it Placido; negate this card. Then, I can show you what I can truly do."
"Then your card is wasted," Placido informed, the lasers of his monster again blasting and erasing the card Taiyou had played. With that the Infinity Symbol of his monster glowed and opened, revealing a slew of tentacles that wrapped around the body of the magician and drew it in, closing again with that power in hand (ATK: 6300).
"I had so hoped for more in our duel Taiyou," Placido said, sounding legitimately disappointed, which irritated Taiyou. "Ever since I first met you as a young street punk, I had hoped for you and me to duel some day. Back then, I had to keep my cover and obey you; but now, I serve the true master. Battle!"
Swinging back its arm again, the monster brought it crashing towards Taiyou, who simply snapped his fingers and flipped up his card. "Trap Card Open: Trap of Darkness! I pay 1000 Life Points and exclude my Mirror Force, and so I activate its effect again to…"
Before he could complete this sentence, however, Taiyou watched and felt as a burst of energy flew down the length of the building, shattering all the windows as it went. A loud hum rung out and a blast of orange energy shot straight down through the ceiling and floor of the building, the force of which cracked and shattered the eyepiece Placido was wearing.
"It has arrived," Placido realized, watching the energy descend into the darkness. "The final Machine Emperor, Jose's monster; it has come to us." After hearing these words, Taiyou looked to Placido to growl; but what he saw caused all anger to be replaced with shock, terror; for where his eye should have been was a segmented metal case cover a red lens, wires connecting it to his face.
"That matters not," Taiyou reminded, the art of his card simply changing to that of his previous card, along with the text. The swing of the monster's arm the struck it and a shockwave shot back, striking every single piece of the machine and exploding them into a ball of smoke. "Your Emperor is vanquished," Taiyou sneered, only to see Placido start laughing again.
In a second, horror occurred to Taiyou when he saw that all pieces of the monster remained on the field, unscratched, and Taiyou could only take a step back while his card shattered explosively. "Sorry, but Wisel Carrier 3's effect applies; Wisel Monsters cannot be destroyed by card effects."
"No… but, then I…" Taiyou stammered, his body starting to tremble while Placido simply chuckled darkly. "I… lost, to you… Judai, Yusei, I'm sorry…"
"Perish, along with your heritage," Placido declared, red energy charging up on the lens of the mechanical eye and blasting Taiyou straight across the chest. Though he blocked with his Duel Disc, he was sent flying straight into the wall of the Field Magic; then, Placido blasted him again and he disappeared into red and black mist, leaving to trace of himself.
Taiyou: LP 0
Placido: LP 400
With that the Field Magic simply vanished, with the Machine Emperor instantly disappearing too; and then his Sword diffused from his arm back into his scabbard as a beam of light. "Master Placido," a voice suddenly yelled as one of the security guards ran up to the door. "Master Placido, what was…?" When the man saw Placido's eye, however, he simply pulled out his gun to fire; but before he could, the eye fired another laser beam straight through his forehead, boring a hole through his head and killing him.
With that Placido simply jumped forward and down the huge hole from the falling tablet, watching as he passed by 50 stories in a blur of motion. When he had gone past what was the sub-basement and parking lot, he slowed and began to levitate in a green aura above a standing Jose, who was before the tablet with his left hand on it.
"The time is drawing near," Placido stated with crossed arms. "Alessandro and I will soon eliminate the last of the opposition from the Signers, Summoners and the Darkness of Justice; then, we can use the power of the Machine Emperors and eliminate Paradox, leaving nothing in our path."
"Be patient, Placido," Jose scorned, the tablet bursting into an orange light and simply shrinking to the size of a Deck. With that its form even transmuted into cards, and Jose fanned through them to look at his new cards. "We must complete the Circuit before we will have the power needed for that."
"Keep in mind that I completed the Circuit to become who and what I am," Placido reminded. "This time, though, Momentum and modern technology allow for a bigger, more efficient Circuit than with human sacrifice; enough for more than a single human transmutation."
"Your hordes of Riding Roids will allow us to collect some energy, but the Saviours will offer the strength we need better than anything else will."
"In addition to these," Placido added, reaching into the fold of his outfit and pulling out a handful of three cards. "Using the power of these cards, the Circuit will be completed that much faster."
Shooting along the highway towards the Neo Domino Hospital, Paradox silently planned what he was going to do when he got there. What he did not see was the white-cloaked figure following behind him on rollerblade-like shoes behind him; because his entire form was cloaked in a stealthy field.
The figure on the D-Wheel had 2 Figure-8 patters on his body – one on the front, one of the back – which came to points rather than closing, holding up his hood and a cape. An Infinity-like band held his robe shut like a belt and held up a cloth in front of the main robe. His chest, shoulders and legs were covered in armour plating, with Infinity-like knee pads and symbols on the shoulders; and his fingerless gloves covered the sleeves of his robes.
Within the hood, long, thin, black, dreadlock-like strands of hair formed a pair of lengths of bangs; the left of which covered his left eye, the right beside his face. An Infinity patch plate on his headband held them in place; and a scar under his right, blue, lightless eye gave him the look of somebody who had seen great hardship.
"So tell me Paradox," the figure thought to himself, staring intensely, "What exactly do you intend to do at that Hospital? Do you intend to find Lucciano? Or perhaps, the traitor." Before this train of thought could be completed, however, an earpiece gave him a signal that he was about to receive instructions.
"Alessandro," the voice of Placido stated, getting the full attention of the man. "If you are still following Paradox, do not confront him. All I want you to do is retrieve Lucciano."
"I have Paradox in my sights," Alessandro protested, not raising his voice but showing contempt for the command. "Besides, she is at this location, and I intend to…"
"Now is not the time to try and fulfill your own agenda," Placido hissed sharply, actually making the long-haired man flinch. "Do as I tell you and bring Lucciano back to headquarters; then, after you do that, you may have the girl if you wish."
After cringing for a few seconds of dead air, Alessandro finally said, "Understood, El Capitán," though it was in a growling, frustrated tone. As the communication cut off, his eye narrowed and his face twisted into rage. Then, he thought to himself, "I can get Lucciano back to him no problem; but Paradox and that bitch are mine, not later but now..."
When Paradox arrived at the door of the hospital, he simply slid his D-Wheel into a parking space and jumped off it, landing on his feet with crossed arms as the vehicle brought itself to a perfect stop. Paradox's form then became hazy, covered with a black aura, and then his form simply disappeared, leaving Alessandro with no visual.
"It takes more than that to lose track of me," he thought to himself, jumping up into the air with a downward thrusting motion of his legs until he reached a height of ten stories. His inertia ten brought him into the open window of an empty patient room, where the wheels on his metal boots retracted and he took up a standing pose.
Stepping forward and out into the hallway, Alessandro sneered darkly as a black burst of electricity consumed him, streams of energy jumping off and solidifying into solid forms that resembled the Riding Roids which had infested the highway. When roughly 50 of these beings existed, Alessandro turned to them all and said; "Go forth, X Units, and bring me the energy to complete the Circuit."
Nodding and chuckling evilly, the individual units dissolved into black electricity and slid through the walls, ceiling and floor in various directions, leaving only Alessandro standing alone in that hallway. Looking down at his sleeve, he punched in a code with some keys on a wristband and a 3-dimensional hologram of the hospital emerged over it.
Pressing a few more buttons, Alessandro's model zoomed in on the 12th floor, specifically a room whose form contained 2 energy signatures in the form of a red blip and a green one. "Both in the same room?" he questioned, breaking out into a light chuckle and a dark grin afterwards and added, "That makes things so much easier…"
Speeding down the Duel Lane towards the hospital had done no good for Judai, Jack and Kyojo, who now found them going around and around in circles as Battle Royal Duels were issued to them one after another; by now their spirits and energy were wearing thin, and even Kyojo's usual confidence had been lost to fatigue.
"It's my turn," Jack yelled, drawing his sixth card as a swarm of six Riding Roids tailed them. "I Summon Interceptor Daemon (ATK: 1400, LV: 4)!" In a flash Jack's football player-like six-armed demon appeared before him, chuckling madly as Jack threw 3 cards onto the tray in a single motion. "I end my turn."
"Then I draw," One of the Riding Roids issued, pulling a card from his Deck and playing it down. "I summon Ally Bomb in Defence Position (DEF: 300, LV: 2)." In front of him then emerged a single purple orb with gold trim around several purple glass windows, which floated in a seemingly inert pattern. "I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"It's my draw," Kyojo insisted. "I play Speed Spell – Angel Baton." Drawing 2 cards from his Deck at once, he inserted one from his hand into the Cemetery and started up. "I Summon Vice Dragon as a Special Summon (ATK: 1000, LV: 5)!" As the dragon came into view with a snarling form, Kyojo reached into his hand and simply grabbed another card.
"Next, I Release Vice Dragon and Summon material Dragon (ATK: 2400, LV: 6)!" With the monster disappearing into white light, a golden dragon with a thick build, three-clawed hands and feet and six segmented wings appeared with an eagle-like cry, ready for a fight. "Battle! I attack Ally Bomb with Material Dragon! Materia Burst!" Rearing back its head, the dragon shot a burst of energy straight at the orb, blasting it to pieces.
"I activate Ally Bomb's effect," the Ghost declared. "Since you destroyed Ally Bomb with a LIGHT Monster, I destroy Intercept Daemon and Material Dragon!" At that point a red aura formed around the bodies of the two monsters; but before that Kyojo dropped a card from his hand.
"Sorry, but by discarding 1 card, Material Dragon can negate a monster-destroying effect and destroy it. Therefore, Ally Bomb's effect is lost!"
"Is that what you think?" The Ghost questioned, getting the jump on Kyojo. "I activate a Trap Card, Ally Shock; and this effect negates the effect of a LIGHT Monster and lets me draw one card!" As the Robot pulled one card, Kyojo watched in horror as the monster before him and the monster before Jack were blown to pieces, leaving nothing to protect them.
"Damn it, I blew that one," Kyojo realized. "I got too cocky, and forgot that Allies were anti-LIGHT." Reaching into his hand, he pulled out two cards from it and slammed them down, adding, I end my turn."
"Draw," a second Ghost declared, placing its card onto the tray instantly. "Speed Spell Vision Wind! I bring back from my Cemetery the Ally Bomb (ATK: 400, LV: 2)!" In a flash of light the small machine reappeared on the Ghost's field; and then the previous one flipped a card that got everyone's attention.
"Trap Card Open!" It declared. "Ally Barrage! When an Ally Bomb is Special Summoned, both players Special Summon as many Ally Bombs as possible from their Deck."
"Which means I Special Summon 3 Ally Bombs!" the Ghost declared, bringing into play three more of the orbs before holding up a card. "Next, I Release one Ally Bomb and Advance Summon Ally Mind (ATK: 1800, LV: 5)!" One of the orbs then disappeared into light as a new orb – a black one with many wires and plugs on its body – came into play, electricity flying.
"Next, I Tune my Level 5 Ally Mind to 2 of my Ally Bombs!" In a sudden burst, the large black orb exploded to release 5 green rings; and the two smaller orbs exploded within them to release 2 white stars each, combining them into a column of light. "Synchro Summon! Ally of Justice – Field Marshall (ATK: 2900, LV: 9)!"
From this light then emerged a tall, white metal object with flat arms and several lights along its body; this creature then swung its ram back and thrust it at Kyojo, striking him dead in the chest before the other object also came in and struck him. The resulting shockwave sent Kyojo crashing into the guard; and with that, only Jack and Judai remained riding.
"I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"It's my turn," another Ghost declared, pulling yet another card.
Card of the Week – Taiyou
Magician's Deathscythe
Type: DARK
Level: 8
Family(s): [Magic User/Synchro/Effect]
Effect: Magic User Tuner + 1 or more Magic User non-Tuner Monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned, place 2 Magic Counters on it. When this card destroys a monster by battle ad sends it to the Cemetery, activate by removing up to 2 Magic Counters from this card and selecting 2 monsters whose DEF are les than the DEF of the destroyed monster. Destroy those cards.
ATK/ 2800
DEF/ 1300
*Thing are getting serious fast… Review if you wish.*