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 30 – Alessandro and the Circuit of Infinity
"I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder," the newest Ghost declared, pulling a card rom his hand and throwing it down. "I Special Summon Ally of Justice – Unlimiter (ATK: 600, LV: 2)!" With this a teardrop-shaped grey metal machine appeared in front of the Ghost, just as he pulled another card.
"I also Summon Ally of Justice – Garadholg (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!" Placing the card onto the tray called up an orange robot with two plasma-bladed swords and a face like a visor. "Next, I release my Ally of Justice – Unlimiter and double the power of my Garadholg for this urn (ATK: 3200)!" With the monster called out, he dissolved it into energy and the other monster grew stronger, signified by a grunt.
"Trap Card Open: Demon's Chain!" Jack declared, flipping up one of his cards in a desperate panic; but before it worked, the Ghost who had received a turn already lashed out.
"Trap Card Open: Trap Stun! For this turn, I negate the effect of all Trap Cards on the field!" With a shocked sigh, Jack's trap simply spun around into the standby mode; though it was still up, its effect was inactive as he watched the monster swing. Shooting forward, his D-Wheel was struck by the blade and sent crashing onto its side, spinning away and leaving Judai along with the Ghosts.
"What am I to do?" Judai questioned. "We've lost so much energy that these duels are taking us out before our Life Points even expire. Even if I take out a few Ghosts, I can't beat them all at once; and even if I could, more will come and I'll succumb to weakness."
"Hey, that's not fair play!" Judai heard Yusuriha's voice yell out, snapping him out of his funk in time to see Yusei's, Yusuriha's and Kiryu's D-Wheels come flying over the guard and onto the track beside Judai, entering the Infinity loops as they did so.
"Hey, great timing!" Judai nodded to the three smiling friends of his, noting that they all had 4 Speed Counters from a previous duel of this type. "Jack and Kyojo can't continue, so it's down to us."
"On it!" Kiryu and Yusuriha said in unison, the Wrist Dealers of all three duellists shuffling their Decks and dealing them 5 cards each.
"It's my turn!" Yusei yelled, reaching into his Wrist Dealer and pulling a card. "I send one monster from my hand to the Cemetery to Special Summon Quick Synchron (ATK: 700, LV: 5)!" With this action Yusei called out his blue cowboy-like robot, which fired off its two guns as Yusei reached his Cemetery.
"Next, I Exclude Tuning Mechanic, and I Special Summon a Level 2 or lower Machine-Type Monster from my hand. Come, Tuning Supporter (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" When the monster came into the field, Yusei further took a card and yelled, "Next, I activate Speed Spell – One Force! I Special Summon 2 more of a Level 1 monster in face-up Attack Position!" Slapping the two cards onto the tray, he called out two more of the yellow robot.
"I Tune my Level 5 Quick Synchron, as Road Synchron, to my Level 1 Tuning Supporters!" Turning on the red, green and blue lights on its chest, the robot projected the forms of eight cards spinning in a circle; it then shot the image of the one Yusei had named, shattering it and making the others fade out.
After this, the monster rose up and simply turned into 5 green rings, which the three monsters flew into and changed into a column of light within. "Clustering hopes will call upon a brand new horizon," Yusei chanted. "Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Dash onward, Road Warrior (ATK: 3000, LV: 8)!"
In a quick flash, the cream-coloured warrior with red eyes, a projector on its back and claws on its wrists appeared, grabbing its shooter and bringing it up to fire a beam. "Due to this effect, I Special Summon Needle Gunner from my Deck (ATK: 100, LV: 1)!" from that light then emerged a purple warrior with a spiked head and spiked tips to its arms; and the Yusei drew the three cards from his earlier effects, holding one up.
"I Summon Synchron Explorer (ATK: 0, LV: 2)!" Yusei then called up a round-bodied red robot with stocky limbs and a hole in its body; this hole glowed and released the blue robot from a second ago, guns at the ready. "Next, I again Tune my Synchron, this time as Junk Synchron!"
Shooting off its gun, the robot became 5 white orbs that became green rings, surrounding the other two monsters and turning them into a column of light. "The clustering fighting spirits will invoke the raging wicked God. Become the path its light shines upon! Synchron Summon! Obliterate, Junk Destroyer (ATK: 2600, LV: 8)!"
In a flash of might, the brand new monster, with its four arms and many blades and spikes, fired bursts from its fists straight into the two set cards on the fields of the two Ghosts that still had them. "Battle!" With this the two monsters shot straight at two of the Ghosts that had not yet had turns, dealing them damage instantly.
"I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Draw!" Judai finally yelled, looking at his hand and acting instantly. "I Summon Bubbleman (ATK: 800, LV: 4), and draw 2 cards!" As son as the blue warrior appeared on his field, Judai snapped up two cards and took them, along with one from his hand, and spun them around.
"I activate Speed Spell – Speed Fusion, and I Fuse Bubbleman, Necro Darkman and Wildman!" With the two mentioned monsters appearing beside his, Judai watched them fuse into a ball of light, only to release a huge red-armoured warrior with turbine-like structures on its shoulders and face, giving it a cyclopean appearance.
"Come, Vision Hero Trinity (ATK: 2500, LV: 8)!" Judai declared, getting the approving glares of the rest of the group. "Next, this new Hero's strength becomes twice its power (ATK: 5000); and also, it can attack thrice." Glaring, he snapped his fingers and added, "I equip Jack's Assault Spirits to my Trinity!"
"What?" the Ghosts asked, seeing Judai spin around his D-Wheel to face them.
"I discard Cross Porter (ATK: 5400), and I attack Ally Bomb!" The monster then shot a red laser beam from its face, shooting the orb instantly and causing the D-Wheel to explode likewise. "Due to Cross Porter's effect, I add Black Panther to my hand; then, I attack again and discard it (ATK: 6400)!"
With a mighty leap, the red warrior shot over to the small orange robot and punched it in the torso, exploding it and carrying the shockwave to the D-Wheel. With that the second Ghost exploded, leaving only four left – on par with the crew's count.
"Let's go!" Kiryu yelled, pulling a card from his Deck. "I set 3 cards, and I activate Speed Spell – Summon Speeder! Come, Infernity Beetle (ATK: 1200, LV: 2)!" In this flash Kiryu called out his black and green beetle, which made a clicking noise.
Standing on the platforms of their two thrones, Placido (now again dressed in his robes but with his mechanical eye still exposed) and Jose gazed down upon a circular screen that depicted a rather unique site. Several different coloured blips existed on a screen depicting Neo Domino City's highways; green for the Riding Roids, and red for all other signatures. They watched as several of the red lights went out, signifying the end of a duel; and as this happened, the sections where they had been started to light up yellow.
"The Diablo Project seems to be going according to plan," Placido said to himself, slightly smirking as he did so. "Well Jose; it seems you were wrong about my Riding Roids. They're doing their job flawlessly."
"Only because the Signers fight so stubbornly against them," Jose replied, indicating several red blips larger than the others which passed by several green blips as those went out. "And look; your Riding Roids cannot defeat the Signers, even in swarms."
"That doesn't matter," Placido stated nonchalantly as the sections lit up anyway. "Even if the duels do not end with a defeat, the energy is still captured. Win or lose, the Signers will complete the circuit for us."
Suddenly, both men's attention turned to an alarm-like sound as another spherical screen appeared, above their heads, and depicted Neo Domino hospital covered in a blue circuit-board pattern. "Unidentified signature detected?" Jose questioned just as the screen changed to depict the inside of the hospital. "What on earth is this?"
On the inside of the building, the two men could see several patients and nurses being assaulted by what looked like Riding Roids without D-Wheels, losing duels and falling on their knees in weakness. "Why would you release your robot hordes upon a hospital?" Jose questioned critically, turning to a surprised-looking Placido. "You should know better than anyone that the ill have little energy to offer."
"Those are not by robots," Placido denied, indicating the blue glow in their eyes instead of the green glow which Placido's held. Turning bitter-looking instantly, he hissed and added, "That Alessandro… he's responsible for this. He couldn't just do as I told him. Where is he?"
Suddenly, the screen shifted to show Alessandro walking down a hallway, a dark sneer on his face; but in a split second, Placido's eye glowed red and the image of a screen appeared before Alessandro, Placido's face on it looking at the man. "What do you want?" the man asked impatiently. "I have work to do."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Placido barked at him, showing real anger on his face. "I gave you a very simply instruction; retrieve Lucciano and return to base. Instead you decide to waste time and resources draining all then energy from those who have none to give."
"At least I'm doing something to collect energy!" Alessandro snapped at Placido. "Ever since Lucciano was decommissioned, you two have done nothing but piss around and accomplish nothing! We'll never complete a circuit unless energy is collected. Besides, this will allow us to harness the energy of Paradox within this building."
"That's not the point." Placido hissed scathingly. "I gave you a direct order, one I expect to be obeyed. If I had wanted you to collect energy, I would have given you that instruction. Do as I tell you, or you will live to regret it. Keep in mind that I'm the one who gave you this life, and I can just as easily take it back away if you force me to."
"You think I'm scared of two old decrepit pieces of scrap-metal like you and Jose?" Alessandro shouted back. "I have things to do; fuck off until I'm done." With that the screen in front of Alessandro was smashed by his fist, causing the screen above the heads of Jose and Placido to go dead instantly.
"Why you…!" Placido yelled angrily, blasting the screen with his laser eye and exploding it. Sparks then flew down from the shattered energy sphere, shocking Placido and making him shudder a bit from the recoil of his wiring being shorted.
"We can deal with him in due time," Jose said calmly to Placido, attempting to temper his partner before he lashed out at him too. "For you we have to watch and see what happens." Though this comment got Jose a hateful glare from Placido, it amounted to nothing as the damaged entity simply sat down in his throne, looking back down at the circuit.
Inside the Neo Domino hospital, one of the patient rooms suddenly had its door go flying open as one of the X-Units passed straight through one of the doors, Duel Disc still on as it walked up to one of the patients. "Interesting…" it stated in its mechanical voice. "This one will supply vast amounts of energy…"
Lying in the bed, sleeping, Hell Kaiser looked completely inert and without any sort of motion. Expecting to wake the man up, the robot reached for his shoulder to shock him awake; instead, a black aura surrounded Hell Kaiser's form and shot back at the unit in electrical bolts, shredding its form before the man's eyes snapped open.
"What is this siege I'm sensing?" Hell Kaiser asked aloud, pulling back the covers and standing up. The black aura then surrounded his hospital gown and changed into his regular black outfit, complete with Duel Disc; and he opened the nightstand drawer to take out his Deck and put it into place.
"Paradox… no matter how you ravage my body," he said to himself, "you will never crush my will to fight." Stepping over to the door, he turned the latch and stepped out into the hall, seeing the horde of about ten X-Units coming straight towards him with Duel Discs on. Sneering, Hell Kaiser held up his arm and his Duel Disc activated; then, he drew 5 cards and a robot to the same.
"Draw!" Hell Kaiser declared, taking his drawn card and one from his hand and holding them up. "I activate the Magic Card, Treasure of Harmony. I Discard the 1000-AK Dragunity – Acuris and draw 2 cards." Throwing the two cards into his Cemetery, he picked up his two new objects and then slapped one down.
"I Summon Cyber Dark Horn (ATK: 800, LV: 4)!" With this action, his brown dragon-like metal object came into play, a black aura between its four claws manifesting into a red and green dragon. "Due to its effect, it gains the ATK of the Acuris it has been equipped with (ATK: 1800).
"Next, the Permanent Magic, Dragon Honour Art. All Monsters equipped with Dragunity Monsters receive 500 more ATK (ATK: 2300). I set one card and end my turn."
"Draw," the first of the cybernetic entities declared, reaching for its Deck and grabbing a card. "I activate the Magic Card, Ancient Rules. Due to this card, I Special Summon 1 Level 5 or higher Normal Monster from my hand. Appear now, Ally of Justice – Clausolas (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!"
Holding up the monster caused the image of a brass vulture-like machine with black feathers, beak and talons, red eyes and a tubing-like neck, to appear before the entity as he reached for another card. "Next I Summon Ally of Justice – Blind Sucker (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!"
This next monster took the form of a red and orange bulb with a black screen, arms, six spider-like legs and two cannons, which looked as though it was guided only by radar. "An Ally Deck..." Hell Kaiser realized, looking down at his cards. "I bet they're all the same way... The Anti-Light Strategy renders my Cyber Dragons vulnerable..."
"Instant Magic: Limiter Remove!" the entity declared suddenly, holding up the card. "I double the power of my two Machines for this turn (ATK: 4600) (ATK: 3200)! This is it, Hell Kaiser Ryo! Battle! I attack Cyber Dark Horn with Clausolas! Justice Talons!"
As the monster shot forwards, talons first, Hell Kaiser made a swift motion and flipped over his only set card. "Trap Card Open: Power Wall! For ever card I send from my Deck to the Cemetery, I reduce my Battle Damage by 100 Points. I send 23 cards to the Cemetery, and cover my damage!"
Reaching for the cards of his Deck, he grabbed a huge stack of them and flung them into the air, causing each one to glow green. Eventually energy spread from all of them into a web-like barrier; and as the talons of the oncoming monster struck his creature, they destroyed only the attached dragon and bounced off the wall.
"This buys you only a few turns of time," the robot declared, pointing at his other monster. Seconds later, however, his monster burst into a huge explosion that caught him off guard, Hell Kaiser smiling at this turn of events as his electrified cards disappeared one by one. "What the…?"
"Then Acuris equipped to a monster is destroyed and sent to the Cemetery," Hell Kaiser explained, "such as by the effect of Cyber Dark Horn, I get to destroy one card on the field. I destroyed Blind Sucker, meaning you can declare no more attacks this turn."
"In the End Phase," the robot declared, "the effect of Limiter Remove destroys Clausolas." As he said this, a red aura consumed his monster and caused it to explode, leaving him without guard. "But, your Dark Horn has lost all of its extra power (ATK: 800)."
"Even so," Hell Kaiser pointed out, "I still have every advantage. My have more cards in hand, more cards in play, and a strategy ready to use. This will be no difficult task."
"That is not so," the robot corrected. "Your Deck contains a mere 9 cards. In Battle Royal Duels, having so few cards means enough enemies can simply stall you until you run out of cards, and lose."
"Then I think I too should get in on this duel," a familiar voice to Hell Kaiser suddenly stated. Turning around, he looked and saw a figure whom he could not believe was there…
"Direct attack with Stardust Dragon!" Yusei yelled, commanding his white dragon to shoot a bolt of white energy straight through the last remaining Riding Roid in their path. With this last threat eliminated, the four figures shot on towards the hospital, Crow still on Judai's D-Wheel.
"What happened?" Jack yelled out suddenly as he and Kyojo appeared from a side street and rejoined the pack, taking up spots beside Judai and Yusei.
"We had to defeat those Riding Roids without you guys," Judai responded. "What the hell happened to you guys?"
"The wheels locked on my ride," Kyojo explained, "and Jack lost all traction. Those Riding Roids must have done something funky with our vehicles. Sorry 'bout that."
"It doesn't matter now," Kiryu stated. "We're there." With a final swing all six riders shot off their vehicles, Judai taking Crow in his shoulders, and their rides all slid into place to park. Once this occurred, all of them headed straight for the door and threw it; and what they saw thet couldn't believe.
"Direct attack with Chimeratech Fortress Dragon!" Hell Kaiser yelled, firing a blast of clear energy from the mouth of a purple, segmented dragon straight through a lone X-Unit and clearing a path between him and the group.
"Kaiser," Judai said half-cheerily as Hell Kaiser's monster disappeared. "I see you've been holding down the fort." Hell Kaiser's response was to sneer confidently at Judai; but a second later he cringed and fell on his hand and knees, before getting straight back up. "What's wrong?"
"These Robots drained the energy of everyone inside," Hell Kaiser clarified. "I don't know of anyone else whose conscious; well, any living beings that are conscious, that is."
"What are you talking about?" Yusuriha asked out of nowhere, getting her answer when an elevator door opened and a figure dressed in purple robe-like clothes and black armour with gold trim stepped out. The striking bit for everyone, besides the long black and red hair and the face paint down from the eyes, was the mask; it looked almost exactly like the one worn by Endymion.
"Taiyou," Jack realized, just as the man raised his two fingers and motioned for everyone to come closer. "Where have you been, and why are you dressed like that?"
"There was a civil war in the Dominion World," he explained as everyone gathered around. "Endymion did not survive." As sorrowful expressions came over everyone's faces, he reached for his mask and pulled it off, to reveal his familiar yet new face to them.
On his chin, around his eyes and on his forehead, crimson face paint formed a runic pattern with two long blade-like pieces down from his eyes. Said features had now changed to feature yellow scleras, red irises and smaller, rhombus-shaped pupils; and no light was reflected from these eyes. Reaching around, he put his mask along his belt, at his right side, and he stepped back into the elevator with everyone in tow.
"We must hurry," Hell Kaiser warned. "I cannot be sure, but I believe that Paradox is somewhere inside this building. I know because I could sense Cyber End Dragons spirit; but it was different from before. Darker, more malice…"
"And if I'm right," Taiyou added, "then somebody was controlling these robots. An Infinity member whose aura is blue."
"That was Lucciano," Judai stated, recalling the duel from earlier. "But Lucciano lapsed into a coma and never recovered; so that can't be the case."
"Then somebody has taken her place," Yusei realized. "But who…?"
Bursting through the door to another patient's room, Paradox staggered into the chamber, keeping a hand on the wall the whole time. Due to all the intense duels he had been forced to fight, he had felt his own strength wane, and so now he could barely stand up due to exhaustion.
By the time he reached the far end of the room, he was standing before the form of a white-cloaked woman, with long red hair and a metal patch over her left eye. Without a doubt, he had found Lucciano; and now that he had here, he was determined to do her in.
Grabbing her by the throat with his left hand, he was surprised that she gave no sort of reaction; but he made nothing of it as he hoisted her above his head, nearly to the ceiling. In a twisting motion he spun her by her nack with his arm, and threw her at a wall opposite him. At first, he expected this move to snap her neck; but what he saw next actually surprised him.
When Lucciano's head hit the wall, her neck split open and revealed a huge bundle of wires and hydraulic lines, with a blue energy radiating through the wires. Instead of killing her, he had revealed something he never guessed; she was an android, and a very resilient one at that.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps coming near the room. Not wanting to get caught in his weakened state, he simply stood up straight and dissolved into his black aura. After he was gone, Alessandro stepped into the room, seeing one bed covered by a sheet and Lucciano's broken form lying slump against the wall.
"Damn it," he said under his breath, knowing that it would take precious time to restore her to any workable condition. "What a shame too; she was such a good member of our society. I'll repair her later; first, I have unfinished business."
Turning, he stepped over to the curtained-off bed and gripped the sheet, pulling it straight off the rings. What he discovered inside was that the person he was expecting to see was not there. Lying unconscious, Duel Disc and Deck on the side table, was Sherry; in rage, he threw the curtain aside and stood there, and angry look upon his face.
"That bitch isn't here…" he finally said under his breath, whispering his anger. "Where is she? I see her insolence continues beyond what I had expected."
"So you're the one responsible for this farce," Yusei's accusing voice suddenly issued to the man, causing him to stand up straight and turn to face them. When he did so, he saw the faces of the entire group staring back at him; including the face which made his own expression twist into anger.
"Alessandro…" Kyojo whispered out in surprise, recognizing quickly the man he had duelled before. Noticing the plate on the man's headband, bearing the symbol of Infinity, his face twisted into an angry cringe and he said, "Why you! You're a member of Infinity, and the one who sent these helpless people through hell."
"Such hot-headed ignorance astounds me," Alessandro replied callously. "If you're going to call us by name, we are the Three Emperors of Yliaster. I would have though the traitor would have told you that already." With that he instantly pointed, indicating Yusuriha, and added, "She could have told you everything you needed to know."
"We've played this game already," Taiyou replied strongly. "It worked about as well as your Riding Duel with Kyojo; you came close, but ultimately you lost because you simply weren't good enough."
"Ah, but on both occasions," Alessandro clarified, "we weren't doing as we seemed. The Deck I used against Kyojo was an old Deck one of the Riding Roids collected, one I decided to use to judge your abilities. And as for confronting Yusuriha, we chose her over the one truly withholding information."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jack inquired. "Nobody here is withholding any information." But as he said this, Taiyou's expression intensified as he looked at the smirking Alessandro; and taking note of this, Jack asked him, "What do you know?"
"For starters, he knew Placido better than any of the Summoners did," Alessandro explained. "Back when he played the role of a foot soldier for Yliaster. He also knew that Placido had the mark of Infinity on his eye patch; but most important, he knew the connection between Placido, the Brothers Godwin, and Maenou."
"Is this true?" Judai asked critically of Taiyou, who simply growled at Alessandro. "How dare your? You were sitting on this information this whole time? What else have you not told us?"
"Stop this," Taiyou threatened to Alessandro. "You know as well as I do that this is nothing more than a pack of lies. I did know Placido the best, that's true; but I knew nothing of Placido's connection with Maenou."
"Then perhaps you'd like to tell them about how you handed over the Aeons to Placido for safe keeping." This time only the two Summoners gave looks at Taiyou; but they then redirected them to Alessandro and Kyojo blurted,
"Try again, Hos. Those cards were still in our possession after Taiyou got disembodied. This pack of lies you're feeding us is nothing more than bullshit meant to rile us all up; well we're not fallin' for it, so just shut your damn trap!"
"Such narrow-minded insolence," Alessandro stated disdainfully before raising a hand to Kyojo in an unfurled pose. In a split second Kyojo was sent flying back against the wall, knocking the wind from his lungs and just leaving him slumped against the wall, Alessandro chuckling darkly at this fact.
"Bastard!" Judai suddenly yelled, jumping forwards in a lunging pose as his eyes flashed into Yubel's. Alessandro threw up a punch to strike the man in the face, but Judai managed to lunge downwards and stand in front of him. Because Alessandro was nearly a foot taller, Judai was in perfect position to give an uppercut to Alessandro, causing his head to snap upwards and the man to stagger back.
"Take this!" In a split second Judai had shoved his fist straight into the left side of Alessandro's chest; but instantly Judai felt the sensation of his bones and muscles trembling in pain from the impact. Taking advantage, Alessandro brought his hands together and shoved Judai downwards with a hit to the dome of his head; then, an upwards-moving knee to the face sent Judai flying onto his back.
"Stop this!" Yusuriha yelled, running forwards and stepping in front of Judai. She then outstretched her arms and held her ground, showing Alessandro that she would not budge as Judai pushed himself up and into a standing position. His eyes still changed to Yubel's, Judai immediately turned to Yusuriha.
"Get back," Judai warned his partner, sounding just as stern as she just had. "I won't let you put yourself in harm's way for me."
"And I won't let one of my friends get hurt so he can be a lone wolf and die for my safety," Yusuriha shot back, pulling her Duel Disc onto her arm and activating it. "Alessandro, let's settle this properly; if I win, you leave us be!"
"Very well," Alessandro said, his blue eye and his robes starting to glow blue. "But should I win, you come with me back to Yliaster." Flexing his muscles, Alessandro grunted and his sleeves, front cloth, cape and hood exploded into blue energy dust, his robe flying open like a trench coat to reveal a navy undershirt as the Infinity belt re-fixed itself under his coat.
Reaching onto his back, Alessandro took one of the two sections of his Infinity bands and moved it across his left arm, slashing through the fabric and fixing to, of all things, a mechanical arm. The energy floating around then filled in the trapezoidal band to create a beam of blue energy; then the top of his arm stretched upwards, creating a Deck Zone and a Cemetery slot.
"Mechanical limbs," Judai realized, "and I'm guessing a metal chest plate too." Stepping back over to where the rest of the group was, he and Yusei both reached and helped Kyojo to his feet, where the man brushed dust off of his trench coat.
"He's a robot, like Placido and Lucciano," Taiyou then added, getting a smirk from Alessandro as the man loaded his Deck.
"You wanna find out?" Alessandro asked, he and Yusuriha both drawing hands. "Then you'll have to wait." With that he and Yusuriha locked eyes and yelled,
"DUEL!" Once this was yelled, a blue Infinity symbol briefly flashed and surrounded both combatants for a few seconds; then, it faded out.
Yusuriha: LP 4000
Alessandro: LP 4000
"I take the first turn," Yusuriha insisted, pulling a card and spinning it around. "I Summon XX-Sabre Fulhelmknight (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." Taking up a crouching position, Yusuriha's young female knight in leather armour and carrying a segmented whip turned blue as Yusuriha reached for another card.
"I activate the Magic Card, To Arms. Due to this card, I add 1 Level 3 or lower X-Sabre Monster from my Deck to my hand. I select XX-Sabre Emmersblade." Once said monster had been named, her Deck slid out the card instantly and she picked it up, her Deck shuffling afterwards. Then, she took that card and two others, holding them up and showing them all.
"Magic Activate: Treasure of Golden Swords. When only 1 X-Sabre exists on my field, I send 2 X-Sabre Monsters with levels equal to or lower than that monster's from my hand to the Cemetery, and draw 2 cards. I discard XX-Sabre Emmersblade and a second XX-Sabre Fulhelmknight."
Once these cards had been thrown into the Cemetery slot, she picked up three cards one by one; then, she took the middle card and one from her hand, and placed them on her rear tray. "Lastly, I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"An impressive opening move," Alessandro commented. "Just as to be expected by a Summoner, and an Yliaster member going back almost as far as me. Draw!" When he saw his card, he smiled and took another card from his hand, placing it on the tray. "I Summon Infinity Soldier (ATK: 1400, LV: 1)." With Judai cringing, Alessandro called up the animated pieces of armour from X's Duel with Judai.
"Next, I activate the effect of Angel's Gift from my hand," Alessandro stated. As he pulled three cards from his Deck, he took two from his hand already and threw them away; after that, he pointed to his monster and sneered.
"The controller of Infinity Soldier cannot summon monsters," Alessandro stated. "But once per turn, I can equip 1 opposing effect monster with 1000 or less ATK to Infinity Soldier, increasing its ATK by that of the equipped monster."
"Fulhelmknight has 1300 ATK though," Yusuriha calmly pointed out, "So your effect is completely moot."
"Not with this card in my hand," Alessandro countered, placing a card face-up on his tray. "Instant Magic: Half Shut! For this turn, Fulhelmknight's ATK is halved (ATK: 650) and it cannot be destroyed by battle. Now go, Infinity Soldier, absorb Fulhelmknight!" Upon command the suit of armour lunged forward, sword pointed straight at the opposing monster; but Yusuriha simply snapped her fingers and a card popped up.
"Trap Card Open: Gatmuz's Urgent Orders! When an X-Sabre Monster is in play, I may Special Summon 2 from either Cemetery. Come: Fulhelmknight (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)! Emmersblade (DEF: 800, LV: 3)!" On either side of the targeted warrior came another one of the monster, as well as the mantis-like monster with two blades from her duel with Placido.
However, the sword of the monster still connected with its target, shattering it and making the pixels flood into the armour. Within seconds the form of the female warrior was within the shell (ATK: 2700), its sword growing the long whip. "Now, I attack Fulhelmknight with Infinity Soldier!"
"Sorry," Yusuriha countered, her female monster's whip striking the metal monster and knocking it back, "but one time only I can negate an opposing monster's attack. Therefore, your attack accomplishes nothing."
"Very well," Alessandro snarled, realizing his own card had been used against him. "I set 2 cards and end my turn." "I never expected this to be an easy duel; but already this girl has given me the kind of fight that makes my soul truly burn."
"Draw!" Yusuriha yelled, snapping her card into her hand and pointing into the air. "I tune my Level 3 Fulhelmknight to my Level 3 Emmersblade!" Swinging its whip around, the female warrior created a three-layered spiral the created three green rings; these surrounded the insect and created three white orbs, followed by a column of light.
"Synchro Summon! XX-Sabre Hyunlay (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)!" Slicing its way through the light, the female samurai with electronic weapons emerged, generating energy along the blade and swinging it back.
"When this card is Synchro Summoned, I can destroy up to 3 Spell or Trap Cards on the field. Since that's exactly how many you have, I'll leave you completely defenceless!" Slashing forwards, the female warrior sent all of its energy flying into the three opposing cards; but with a dark smile, Alessandro flipped all his set cards.
"Trap Cards Open: Core Extraction and Infinity Gate! First to resolve, the Gate allows me to release an Infinity Soldier to call out a Core with the same level. I choose Sky Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)." The mechanical monster then faded out into particles, shattering the monster within; and then the blue egg-like object appeared before him, opening to reveal all its crystals.
"Next, by skipping my Battle Phase, I draw 2 cards and destroy my Sky Core!" Watching everyone gasp, Alessandro picked up 2 cards from his Deck and watched his core burst into a blue column of light; then, he took 5 cards from his Deck and put them into play, watching the silhouettes form.
"Due to Sky Core's effect, I call forth Machine Emperor Skiel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), Skiel Top (ATK: 600, LV: 1), Skiel Attack (ATK: 1000, LV: 1), Skiel Guard (DEF: 300, LV: 1) and Skiel Carrier (ATK: 400, LV: 1)!" The energy then exploded to reveal the blue bird's head-like orb, the hummingbird-like object, the dandelion seed-like object, the bug-like object and the strange sickly structure, causing everyone to look upon them in terror.
"Join as one: Machine Emperor Skiel (ATK: 2200, LV: 1)!" Opening its two panels under the Infinity symbol, the orb magnetized the hummingbird into it, folding it into a head and neck; then, the stick-like structure split in two and formed a pair of wings. The bug then unfolded into a tail, and the seed folded into a cannon, and both fused to the underside as the glowing red eyes of the beast looked upon Yusuriha in anger.
"That's Lucciano's Machine Emperor," Judai realized, remembering its two previous uses. Looking over upon the broken mechanical frame of Lucciano, he knew what had transpired and Alessandro simply sneered.
"I Summon X-Sabre Airbellum (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)," Yusuriha informed simply, trying to bring the topic of focus back to the duel as her lion-feaced humanoid with long metal claws came into play, growling at the opposing monsters. "Battle! I attack Skiel Top with Hyunley!"
Raising her sword, the female warrior them jumped up into the air to slash at the head of the monster; but much to Yusuriha's shock and chagrin, the tail of the monster swung around and blocked the sword, causing absolutely no damage to behold. "What is…?"
"Sorry to disappoint," Alessandro informed, sneering, "But once per turn, Skiel Guard can negate an opponent's attack. Therefore, your Synchro Monster's power is wasted."
"We'll see about that," Yusuriha yelled. "I attack Skiel Top with Airbellum!" Jumping up and forward, her monster swung its claws straight at the form of the monsters' head, as its previous counterpart did; this time though, a strange glowing shield with an Infinity Symbol on it speared, taking the strike and exploding. "What was that?"
"That was Infinity Gardna," Alessandro replied, holding up the card as he threw it away. "By removing from play this monster from my Cemetery, I negate an opponent's attack against a Skiel Monster. In other words, your attack is useless again." Just then the card dissolved into nothingness upon impact with the ground, leaving no trace of itself.
"Trap Card: Urgent Tuning!" Yusuriha suddenly declared, her trap flipping up. "With this card, I tune my Level 3 Airbellum o my Level 6 Hyunley within the Battle Phase!" Clawing at the air, the lion-headed monster created three glowing claw marks that changed into green rings, surrounding the other monster and bursting it into a column of light.
"Come to me, Gatmuz (ATK: 3100, LV: 9)!" From the light then exploded the form of the gigantic monster, which instantly swung its sword at the opposing monster. As it went towards the wings of the monster, yet another shield appeared from Alessandro's Cemetery and took the hit, leaving Yusuriha alone.
"I set two cards and end my turn," Yusuriha stated in frustration, Alessandro simply sneering at the woman.
"Draw," Alessandro said passively, drawing his card and motioning at Yusuriha. "I activate Skiel's effect, and I absorb your pathetic Synchro Monster!" The Infinity Symbol on the chest of his monster then glowed blue and shot tentacles at the opposing giant; but then Yusuriha revealed a card, shocking Alessandro.
"Trap Card: Tuner's Mind! When a Synchro Monster is targeted, I return it to the Extra Deck and bring back its materials. Come: Airbellum (DEF: 200, LV: 3)! Hyunley (DEF: 1300, LV: 6)!" In a flash of light the monster split apart into its two component monsters. Thus, the tentacles simply dissolved, leaving the monster with nothing to show.
"That's certainly one way of dodging my blast," Alessandro stated, holding up a card. "But it's as much a farce as the rest. From my hand, I Equip Infinity Breaker to my Skiel Infinity!" Just the an orb-like machine with a drill and an Infinity symbol on it appeared in front of his monster, only to change into a drill-like cannon and fasten itself to the existing gun.
"Battle! I attack Airbellum with Skiel!" Charging up the cannon quickly, the machine blasted a beam of energy straight through the monster; then the blast struck Yusuriha, making her shake and eventually fall on her knees.
"Yusuriha!" Judai yelled, punching the wall out of frustration.
Yusuriha: LP 2000
Alessandro: LP 4000
"When a Monster equipped with Infinity Breaker attacks, Penetration Damage is inflicted," Alessandro revealed. "Now, I set one card, and activate my Life-Shaving Card Treasure." Once the man had picked up his 5 cards, he took one more and threw it down before saying, "Your turn."
Getting back to her feet by pushing off her knee, Yusuriha silently pulled her card and looked at it, seeing a way out. "I change Hyunley to Attack Position (ATK: 2300) and summon Rescue Cat (ATK: 300, LV: 4)!" This card called up a small grey cat with white and black stripes, wearing a hard hat and a whistle. "Next, I release this card and Special Summon from my Deck X-Sabre Airbellum (ATK: 1600, LV: 3) and XX-Sabre Dark Soul (ATK: 100, LV: 3)!"
In a burst of light, Yusuriha's monster vanished and was replaced by another of the lion-headed monsters, and a bear-like monster under a red cloak, carrying a scythe. "Next, I play Sabre Draw, and draw one card for each of my X-Sabres!" Once she had her three cards in hand, Yusuriha held out her hand and pointed to her two monsters.
"I Tune Airbellum to Dark Soul!" Roaring, the lion-headed monster became three green rings that surrounded the other monster, creating another column of light. "Come on, Hyunley! (ATK: 2300, LV: 6)" once another of the monsters appeared, it too slashed its sword at Alessandro's cards; and again, he flipped one.
"Trap Card: Threatening Roar!" With the card up, it, the drill, and the set card all exploded; but then the set card appeared again and he added, "Plus, thanks to Dummy Marker, I draw one card." Alessandro then picked up his fifth card; and Yusuriha simply looked on for a few seconds before gripping her hand tightly.
"I set 2 cards and end my turn." "This might be my last turn, but I won't give up hope..."
"Draw!" Alessandro yelled. "Now, Skiel, Absorb Hyunley!" With a mechanical screech, the monster again shot tentacles, these ones hitting and dissolving one of the two female warriors. The monster's form the appeared briefly behind him; but he also held up another card.
"I activate Sky Changer," Alessandro said. "With a Synchro Monster equipped to Skiel, I declare one card name, and if it's in the opposing Extra Deck I switch them. I choose Gatmuz!" Sneering, Alessandro dissolved the Synchro Monster he had and watched as the card slid from Yusuriha's Duel Disc into his own (ATK: 5300).
"Battle! I attack Hyunley with Skiel!" The gun then shot a huge blast of energy straight a Yusuriha, who only barely had time to flip a card before the impact.
"Permanent Trap: Declaration of Bushido! I halve Battle Damage from X-Sabre battles!" However, after this activation, Yusuriha was struck and sent flying straight into the opposite wall, knocking her out when she hit the structure.
Card of the Week – Yusuriha
X-Sabre Hyunley
Type: EARTH
Level: 6
Family(s): [Warrior/Synchro/Effect]
Effect: Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner "X-Sabre" Monsters
When this card is Synchro Summoned, destroy up to 3 Magic or Trap Cards on the field
ATK/ 2300
DEF/ 1300
*Sorry about how rushed this one was; I had a lot to get done. Review if you wish.*