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 32 – Secrets of Dark Glass, Accel Synchro Monster
Inside the layer of the Three Emperors, Alessandro walked into the room with the broken mess of Lucciano over his shoulder, throwing her onto his throne and turning to face Jose. "I brought you back your hunk of scrap, just as I promised you I would."
"You still did not do as you were told," Jose scorned harshly. "You were instructed to return her to us without engaging the enemy; and although I am glad more energy was collected for the Circuit, Placido and I are very displeased by your insubordination."
"Where is the rusty old piece of slag, anyway?" His question was then answered as Placido jumped down from the hole from the falling tablet, kicking Alessandro in the chest and sending him flying backwards. The man then landed on the floor as Placido took up a stance, firing his laser eye and forcing Alessandro to roll and avoid it.
"You insubordinate little piece of shit!" Placido growled at the man, acting more enraged than normal as he jumped over to Alessandro and picked him up by the collar. Though Placido was a head shorter than the man, Placido held him up with a single arm, showing the man his enraged face.
"What's the matter?" Alessandro jeered. "Jealous because my plan actually worked out, unlike everything you try?" Infuriated by this, Placido threw Alessandro backwards and sent him straight through the wall, crashing his head into a steel I-beam forming the frame of the structure.
Stepping up to the pinned man, Placido put his hand on the man's throat, applying just enough pressure to make the man cringe. "Let me explain something to you; when Jose or I give you an order, as our lowest-ranked member, you are expected to obey it to the letter."
"Let him go Placido," Jose requested, forcing the angry entity to pull Alessandro out of the wall and throw him face-down onto the floor of the room. "We're short a member as it is; we cannot afford to lose Alessandro as well."
"Arrogant human," Placido hissed judgmentally under his breath. "Until he learns to do as we tell him," he added, finally responding to Jose as he walked towards the door, "I'm restricting him to rebuilding Lucciano."
"And what do you intend to do in that time?" Jose inquired, causing Placido to stop just in front of the door and turn his head so his normal eye could see him. "You and I cannot confront the group by ourselves."
"I have no intention of doing that," Placido answered calmly, pulling a Deck out of his Pocket. "But… that Dark Glass seems to have something worth knowing. He has some sort of power, perhaps the same kind as us; and if that is the case, I want to know why he is here."
"You'd waste our time on a frivolous venture like that?" Alessandro scoffed at Placido, an angered look on his face. "What good would that do us?"
"If I'm right," Placido informed him, "then the Circuit is closer to completion; far closer than your horde of X Drones could possibly have gotten us." With that Placido turned back around and walked through the doorway, leaving Jose, Alessandro and the broken Lucciano alone in the room.
"Can one D-Wheeler truly have that kind of power?" Alessandro asked, completely stunned at such a comment by Placido. Jose gave no answer in reply; instead, he turned back to the view of what was going on, deep in thought.
Shooting in between buildings as break-neck speeds, Dark Glass simply swerved around the Riding Roids that filled the streets, their scanners missing him completely. "That Placido…" he said under his breath. "What does he think he's doing?"
"Something that should have been done Centuries ago," Placido's voice suddenly yelled down, causing Dark Glass to pull over to one side. Looking on his monitor, Placido's cloaked face came over the screen, his green gem glowing in the shadows of his hood, and a business-like look upon his face.
"What do you want from me?" Dark Glass asked, looking at the man with his cold blue eyes through his red visor. "Your efforts to drain the Signers were going well, as I had thought; so what could I possibly give you?"
"That's because your efforts to aid the Signers intrigue me," Placido answered, his voice sounding interested in the same way a scientist is interested in the result of an experiment. "That, and the fact that you can fly past my Riding Roids without them detecting you. That's no ability that any human can manage."
"So then you've figured it out," Dark Glass responded, knowing what Placido was about to imply."
"If He sent you here, then he must have doubts in what we are already doing," Placido deduced, emphasising the word 'you'. "Did you honestly think that I would not recognize you from the last time we met? I want to know why He decided to send you here, with us already in place."
"God's will has changed," Dark Glass explained calmly, getting a look of stern intrigue from Placido. "Destroying this city will not complete the goal, nor is it any longer a valid sacrifice."
"If God truly thought that, he would have told me," Placido countered. "I won't fall for such moves or tricks."
"Believe what you will, but it is the truth. I have no reason to lie about what our common master wants."
"We'll see about that." Suddenly, the screen went dead and a bolt of red lightning struck at the top of a tall building. Looking up, Dark Glass could faintly make out the form of Placido standing atop this building, a sneer on his face as he looked at Dark Glass.
"Prepare for a Duel with true stakes," the man said under his breath, the Infinity Patch over his eye lighting up red as he jumped down feet-first. As he was going down, a field of red energy that resembled binary code surrounded him and flashed through his iris that caused his robes and hood to dissolve into red energy, the particles assembling over his head to form a grey metal helmet.
"What is this?" Dark Glass asked under his breath, watching as the transformation continued. The metal pieces around his waist, which resembled a war skirt, also changed into energy and dissolved, the pieces surrounding his torso and fusing the fabric into a single red and white riding suit.
Continuing, Placido pulled out his sword and pointed it straight down, causing a red column of energy to explode downwards to the ground. Placido then fell into it and vanished, only to shoot out of it a second later on the back of a grey D-Wheel with 2 front wheels in single file, 4 rear boosters and a pair of throttles attached to the console.
When the energy field disappeared, the engine of the vehicle roared to life, shooting through the air and landing on the road about 100 metres behind Dark Glass. The vehicle then pulled to a stop beside Dark Glass and Placido smirked at the man, his eyes behind a purple visor on the grey helmet. "Say hello to Unit T-666; or, as I call it, Terrible Omen."
"You wish to Riding Duel?" Dark Glass questioned, looking and seeing that Placido's regular left sleeve had rotated around. The red dome overhung his arm laterally, raised from the white plate it was normally attached to so that it could hold a Deck. "Then very well; allow me to show you the power of Delta Eagle!"
"Excelente," Placido said, turning back to his console as Speed World 2 appeared on both Consoles and activated Duel Mode. Like a pair of rockets the 2 vehicles shot forwards as both players pulled 5 card hands and placed them into trays; then, Placido pulled ahead and snapped up his first card.
"I draw," he declared, taking his card and placing it onto the tray instantly. "I Summon Core Releaser (DEF: 1000, LV: 3)." The form of a large mechanical orb with three glowing lights of different colours on it – one yellow, one blue and one green – appeared beside Placido and turned blue save for the lights. "I also set 2 cards on my field to end my turn."
Placido: LP 4000
Dark Glass: LP 4000
"I Draw (Placido: 1 SPC/Dark Glass: 1 SPC)," Dark Glass stated, looking at his cards and grabbing one from his hand. "Since cards only exist on the opponent's side of the field, I Special Summon Tech Genus Powered Wyvern DR-05 from my hand (ATK: 2000, LV: 5)!" Placing his card onto the tray, he called up his metal-winged dragon in a flash before grabbing a card from his hand.
"Next, I reduce the Level of my Special Summoned Tech Genus Monster by 2 (LV: 3) and I Special Summon Tech Genus Blast Lizard RE-03 (ATK: 500, LV: 3)!" In a flash the form of yet another monster appeared beside his existing monster and he yelled, "Now, I tune my now Level 3 Powered Wyvern to my Level 3 Blast Lizard!" Both players then watched as the dragon rose into the air and became 3 green rings surrounding the other monster and creating a column of light.
"Synchro Creation Zone," Dark Glass started to say, the words mostly in English. "Limiter Release, Level 6. Power injection: complete. Systems check: complete. Take-off protocol: all clear! Go, Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus – Sonic Dragon DRX-1000 (ATK: 2600, LV: 6)!"
Out of the Synchro Summon column of light emerged the form of his large, light blue, 4-winged dragon, complete with its mechanical components; then, he took a card from his had and placed it down. "I also Summon Tech Genus Rush Rhino BE-04 (ATK: 1600, LV: 4)!"
Placing yet another card down onto the tray, Dark Glass called forth the form of a large rhino-like humanoid in multi-coloured armour, with thick limbs and a pair of crimson horns. "Battle! I attack Core Releaser with Sonic Dragon! Mechanized Shockwave!" Folding in its wings, the dragon shot forwards and straight through the form of the machine, causing its body to dissolve and its three orbs to scatter.
"Due to the effect of Sonic Dragon," Dark Glass informed, "because I destroyed a monster by battle, it attacks once again! Attack him directly!" Spinning around in mid-air, the dragon shot back straight towards Placido; but instead of striking its target, the attack simply bounced off a field around him and continued on. "What was that?"
"I had Guard Block activated," Placido explained, reaching for his Deck and pulling a single card as the one he mentioned spun around and then disappeared. "Thus, you cannot deal enough damage to defeat me this turn." Getting a shocked look from Dark Glass, Placido looked over his shoulder and continued, a sneer on his face.
"The last time you Summoned this Sonic Dragon, it was to perform a One Turn Kill against two Public Security Officers just after the first attacks by Ghost and X. That's right; I've been watching you for some time, and so far I'm impressed."
"Then far be it from me to fall short of expectation," Dark Glass informed, regaining his composure. "When Rush Rhino attacks, it gains 400 ATK for damage calculation (ATK: 2000)! Battle! I attack you directly with Rush Rhino!" Grunting, the monster shot forward with a pair of rocket boosters and punched into Placido, causing him to receive damage but keep riding safely.
Placido: LP 2000
Dark Glass: LP 4000
"Is that the bets you can manage?" Placido taunted of Dark Glass, knowing full well that Jose and Alessandro were most likely watching. "I thought for sure a man of your calibre would be able to launch a more powerful attack than that."
"You'll see what I can do," Dark Glass shot back, grabbing 2 cards from his hand and throwing them onto the tray. "I end my turn by setting these two cards."
"In your End Phase," Placido interjected, the green orb left over from his monster floating over and changing into a glowing green card in his hand. "In the End Phase of a turn it is sent to the Cemetery, I can add one Core from my Deck to my hand." Placing his new card into his hand, Placido sneered and reached for his Deck, grabbing a new card.
"I Draw (Placido: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 2 SPC)," he stated, placing his new draw onto the tray instantly. "I play Speed Spell – Angel Baton!" Grabbing two cards from his Deck, Placido took one of them and threw it into the Cemetery before he held up another one. "I Summon Wise Core (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!"
With the card now on the tray, the white egg-like object appeared and opened, revealing a green orb at the centre of a puzzle-like set of metal. "That's not the card he added to his hand," Dark Glass realized, noting that the aforementioned card was on the far end of his hand. "What is he planning?"
"Next, I send this monster to the Cemetery and Special Summon Wise Core 3 (ATK: 0, LV: 3!" Converting the whole of the machine into green energy, Placido forged a rounded cube-like white machine with red markings, whose six sides opened helically and revealed a glowing green core at its centre.
"Wise Core 3 can only be Special Summoned by sending a Wise Core I control to the Cemetery," Placido explained, holding up the card to show Dark Glass as he reached for something else. "Furthermore, I Special Summon Wise Breaker (ATK: 1600, LV: 3)!" Placido then called up the white metal warrior with electric staff that Ghost had used previously, and thus its staff started sparking.
"I activate the effect of Wise Breaker," Placido informed. "Since I Special Summoned it from having Normal Summoned Wise Core this turn, I can destroy 2 cards on the field; then, the controller of those cards draws 1 card for each destroyed card. I choose to destroy Wise Breaker and Wise Core 3!"
"What's this?" Dark Glass questioned, watching as green electricity burst off the staff and exploding; then, the core from within the machine rose up into the air while Placido drew, changing into a vortex.
"When Wise Core 3 is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the Cemetery, I destroy all monsters I control and Special Summon: Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity (ATK: 0, LV: 1), 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)!"
Out from the light then emerged five objects one by one. First to appear, the central oblong object with an Infinity Symbol on its chest, whose metal panels behind the opened to reveal an atomic core. Second, the rat-like object appeared and folded its legs together under its body, forming a head with a neck and fusing atop the object.
Third, the bladed machine came into play and extended a section of its structure down, extending a blade and forming a three-bladed arm that attached to the left side of the machine. Next, a large round object like a snail appeared, its body folding down and gaining a six-bolted plate and creating a shielded right arm that attached as well.
Finally, the twin-booster device appeared at the bottom of the group, folding its form into a pair of long jointed legs and a lower body that fused onto the bottom of the original object. Finally, the entire object was surrounded in a green aura and red lines lit up on the black face, and the whole thing flexed to show that it worked.
"Behold; Machine Emperor Wisel 3 (ATK: 3500, LV: 1)!" Placido said confidently, spinning his D-Wheel around to face Dark Glass as he pointed at the card still on Dark Glass' field. "Next, I activate Wisel Infinity's effect, and absorb the form of your pitiful Synchro Monster!"
"Trap Card Open: Synchro Barrier!" Dark Glass yelled, his monster disappearing instantly as his card came over into play. However, two laser beams then fired from the face of the machine, cleaving the card in half and making it shatter before anything further happened. "What's this?"
"Once per turn," Placido explained, "I can negate a Magic or Trap Card used during my turn; thus, your card effect to reduce your damage to 0 is null and void. However, you did remove Wisel's effect target; sadly, this is not true of its attack target! Battle! Wisel, shred his Rush Rhino!"
Shooting forwards, the machine used its jet-like legs to get to the smaller animal while its three bladed arm came crashing down, cutting the monster in half and exploding it in Dark Glass' face. As the smoke cleared, Placido and his gigantic machine spun around, shooting ahead of Dark Glass a bit.
Placido: LP 2000
Dark Glass: LP 2100
"Only 100 Life Points difference," Placido observed, sneering. "However, your move means you have no cards that can stand up to Wisel."
"I'll always find a way," Dark Glass countered, a card shooting from his Deck as he placed it into his hand. "When a Tech Genus Monster is destroyed, its owner can add a monster of the same name to their hand from their Deck."
"Do all the adding you want; in the end, as long as you use Synchro Monsters against Wisel, your moves are fruitless. I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Draw (Placido: 3 SPC/Dark Glass: 3 SPC)! I activate my Trap Card: Dying Altogether! Both players have 3 cards in hand, so they both discard their hands, draw 5 cards, and take 300 damage." Watching passively, Placido threw out his cards as Dark Glass did the same; then, they both pulled 5 new cards while their Life Points fell.
Placido: LP 1700
Dark Glass: LP 1800
"Since monsters only exist on your side of the field," Dark Glass explained, holding up a card from his hand, "I can Special Summon Tech Genus Striker WA-01 (ATK: 800, LV: 2)!" Dark Glass then took his card and slid it onto the tray, calling up a blue-armoured warrior with a double helix of armour and a black suit underneath.
"At this moment, I activate the effect of a monster in my Cemetery." After he said this, three cards – his previous Synchro Monster, his previous Tuner and another card – shot out from the Cemetery as he added, "When a Tech Genus Tuner exists on my field, I can exclude 2 Tech Genus Monsters from my Cemetery and Special Summon Tech Genus Tank Turtle AQ-03 from my Cemetery (ATK: 0, LV: 3)!"
After the first two cards disappeared into green binary energy, he placed the third card onto the tray and called up a tortoise-like animal with a green metal shell, guns on its back and treads in place of legs; and then he added, "I tune my Level 2 Striker to my Level 3 Tank Turtle!"
Jumping up into the air, the warrior became two green rings that surrounded the other monster. As a result, it became a yellow outline of itself with 3 white orbs inside; then, the light collected into a column and burst through. "Synchro Zone Control! Limit Release, Level 5! Boost Level 120%! Recovery Network: All Clear! Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus Power Gladiator WAX-1000 (ATK: 2300, LV: 5)!"
Out from the light then shot the axe-wielding, green-armoured warrior with long black hair and darker skin, swinging around its blade in a battle-ready position while Dark Glass put down a card. "I Summon Tech Genus Portal Dragon DR-01 (ATK: 0, LV: 1)!" Right beside the existing monster then appeared a long metal serpent with wings, which folded itself into a loop and created a blue vortex.
"Once per turn, Portal Dragon cal Special Summon one level 4 or lower Tech Genus Monster from the own hand! Come on, Tech Genus Warp Phoenix WB-04 (ATK: 1700, LV: 4)!" From the blue energy then emerged the burning red bird with metal parts; then, the dragon became a single green ring, and flew over to it.
"Limit Release, Level 5. Booster Launch: OK. In Creation: OK. Ground Support: All Clear!" As Dark Glass spoke, the green rings surrounded the burning monster, causing it to change into a set of 4 white orbs and then more light. "Go, Synchro Summon! Come on, Tech Genus Wonder Magician SCX-1000 (ATK: 1900, LV: 5)!"
From the light then appeared the form of the red-clothed female magician with a long grey X on her back, a green long across her face, and long pink hair down to her feet. "Due to the effect of Warp Phoenix, I draw one card!" With the new card in his hand, Dark Glass pointed at Placido and went, "Battle! I attack Wisel Top 3 with Power Gladiator! Mechanized Slash!"
Jumping forwards, the larger monster swung its blade in an attempt to strike the creature's head; however, its right arm got in the way and caused it to bounce off. "Sorry," Placido explained, "but any attack can be redirected to Wisel Guard 3; and once per turn, it cannot be destroyed in battle."
"But even so," Dark Glass replied, "Power Gladiator's effect inflicts Penetration Damage!" Growling, Placido saw a red aura surround himself as his Life Points fell slightly; however, he felt no pain, and simply sneered after it finished. Then, he pointed to one of the cards on his tray, causing it to flip over.
"Trap Card Open!" Placido declared, showing off his card. "Circuit Gravity! During either player's turn, all monsters that can attack must attack a Machine-Type Monster their opponent controls. Thus, your Magician is forced to attack Wisel Guard 3!" Watching in shock, Dark Glass watched his magician form an orb of energy and shoot it at the upwards arm; this blast simply shot back and struck Dark Glass, causing him to swerve and take his damage.
Placido: LP 1400
Dark Glass: LP 1700
"I set 2 cards and end my turn!" Dark Glass declared, looking at Placido as he reached for a card on his own Deck and grabbed it, pulling it up instantly.
"Draw (Placido: 4 SPC/Dark Glass: 4 SPC)!" he added, looking at his monitor and thinking critically. "If I target either of his Synchro Monsters, he'll Accel Synchro Summon his Blade Gunner; but, doing so means he still cannot defeat my Machine Emperor. I'll force his hand."
"I activate the Speed Spell – Summon Close!" Placido declared, placing his card onto the tray. "When my Speed Counters are at 4 or more, I prevent opposing Special Summons this turn! Sorry, but your Accel Synchro is sealed!"
"Counter Trap!" Dark Glass declared, showing off one of his cards. "Genus Buster! When I control 2 or more types of monsters, I can negate a Magic or Trap Card and destroy it!" A double helix of energy thus appeared around the card, causing it to shatter instantly.
"Then I activate Wisel's monster effect," Placido explained, causing the Infinity Symbol on his monster to glow green. "Once per turn, I absorb one Synchro Monster my opponent controls. Therefore, Power Gladiator will become a power boost for a true monster from God!"
From the green symbol then shot a series of tentacles of energy, wrapping around the limbs, torso and neck of the green-armoured monster. However, when he did so, Dark Glass simply pushed down on his accelerator, causing his two monsters to dash far forward of Placido straight through the tentacles.
A few seconds later, Dark Glass and his two monsters disappeared into blue energy, leaving only Placido jetting along the highway. "It's come forth," he realized, sneering beneath his helmet. "Show me the Accel Synchro. Show me the alternate possibility that you showed Fudo Yusei."
A second later, his wishes were answered when a burst of light produced Dark Glass again, this time with his tall, green, mechanical monster, glowing blade attached to gun and all. "Tech Genus Blade Gunner MAXX-10000, come forth (ATK: 3300, LV: 10)!" he yelled, holding up the card before tossing it onto the tray with vigour.
Outside of the hospital, Yusei and the rest of the crew had taken to their D-Wheels; including Yusuriha and Crow, who were now in good enough shape to ride, and Taiyou, who was on the back of Kyojo's ride. The only one left behind was Hell Kaiser, who had chosen to secure the hospital and recover everyone he could, to get them to a safer place.
Looking around, the others saw that all the Riding Roids had strangely moved away from the hospital, to the lower levels of the highway. This was certainly surprising to everyone; with how badly the Riding Roids had been swarming everything in sight, they had expected them to be present. Instead, they were nowhere to be seen.
A few seconds later, Judai realized why with a resounding gasp. "It's the testing day for the WRGP," he realized, getting the attention of everyone and creating grave looks. "All the people who entered are taking this chance to test out the tracks."
"The Ghosts are locked onto their location," Yusei affirmed, seeing the red dots representing them on the layers below. Then, in the far corner of his screen, he saw two unregistered signatures; one of which he recognized, the other he had inkling as to its identity.
"That's Dark Glass' energy signature, isn't it?" Crow asked, Yusei's reply coming from a very brief nod. Pressing their accelerators, the entire group started shooting in the direction of the signatures; and after a few minutes, when they were even close, the face of Placido in his helmet came over Yusei's monitor.
"How fitting, Fudo Yusei," he said, the sneer on his face. "The man who showed you the alternate possibility… you get the honour of seeing how worthless that possibility truly is!" Looking down, Yusei and the group could see the Machine Emperor Wisel in its evolved form, as well as the Accel Synchro Monster Dark Glass used; and so they jumped their vehicles to that level, just behind the duel.
"He managed to evolve Wisel to its third form without Wise Wave," Yusuriha said under her breath, knowing first-hand how much advantage the second form of Wisel gave Placido. "This might be Dark Glass' final performance."
"It's still my turn," Placido reminded Dark Glass, pointing at his monster. "I attack Blade Gunner with Wisel!" Again the machine monster spun around, pointing its bladed arm at the smaller creature and swinging it downwards; however, Dark Glass flipped over yet another card, one which actually surprised Placido.
"Counter Trap: Attack Nullification! I negate the attack and end the Battle Phase!" A vortex then appeared in front of the monster and took the brunt of the vortex, sending the larger machine flying back into place. "I know how to dodge Wisel Top 3 now; Counter Traps cannot be negated by monster effects."
"That maybe true," Placido agreed, "but ultimately it's not enough. I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"Draw (Placido: 5 SPC/Dark Glass: 5 SPC)!" Dark Glass suddenly issued, looking at his card for all of a second before flipping over his last set card. "I activate Strike Slash! For this turn, Blade Gunner gains 700 ATK (ATK: 4000) and inflicts Penetration Damage! Go, attack Wisel Guard 3!"
"Trap Card Open: Wise Charge!" Placido revealed, surprising everyone as his card appeared. "Since I control 5 Wisel Monsters, I recover 5000 Life Points before your damage unsuccessfully topples my monster!" With one felled swoop the smaller machine fired its gun straight at the shield arm; and though Placido sparked, it had no effect at all.
Placido: LP 4400
Dark Glass: LP 1700
"He's got more than his starting Life Points!" Judai realized, his face twisting into a growl. "There's almost no way to stop him now!"
"I set two cards and end my turn," the man finally declared, a helpless tone to his voice.
"This duel has been fun," Placido stated reaching for his Deck, "but I think it's about time to end this. I Draw (Placido: 6 SPC/Dark Glass: 6 SPC)!" Looking at his card, he pointed at one of his set cards and declared, "I activate Trap Stun!"
Watching in horror, Dark Glass saw all of his set cards simply become frozen, unable to move, as Placido spun his hand around. "By removing 4 Speed Counters from my Speed World 2 (Placido: 2 SPC/Dark Glass: 6 SPC), I inflict 800 damage for each Speed Spell in my hand! And I have 3!"
"That means…" Yusei stuttered, seeing Speed Spell – Over Boost, Speed Spell – The End of Storm and Speed Spell – Angel Baton in Placido's hand. A second later, a burst of energy from Placido's D-Wheel struck into Dark Glass' ride, creating an explosion that sent him flying up into the air.
"Be gone, the thorn in my side," Placido issued, his Machine Emperor swinging its blade arm straight at the flying D-Wheel and cleaving it in half. The machine itself then exploded, leaving Dark Glass falling straight towards the ocean below.
"Yusei!" the man yelled, taking a card form his pocket and throwing it to Yusei. "Take this!" A second later, the card landed in Yusei's grip and Dark Glass simply fell into the ocean; and then Placido braked and swerved, his D-Wheel perpendicular to the crowd and they were forced to stop.
"What the fuck was that for?" Crow yelled to the man as his visor retracted, revealing his red eye and Infinity patch. "There was no need to fucking kill they guy!"
"If you knew what I knew, you'd doubt that would truly kill him," Placido responded calmly, looking at the man with a dark glare that gave Crow chills. "That's the problem with humans like you: you're unable to understand our ways. Even Alessandro is ignorant to the great truth."
"Great truth?" Jack questioned, getting off his D-Wheel and running up to Placido. "What the hell are you talking about?" With that he simply grabbed Placido by the chest and picked him up with both hands, bringing Placido's face up his own and yelling, "You'd better start talking straight you fucking mechanical piece of shit!"
Instead of responding, Placido simply discharged a bolt of electricity from his Infinity plate, exploding it and shocking Jack badly enough to drop Placido and fall on his knees. Getting up on the seat of the bike, Placido's body became surrounded in the red binary again and returned to his cloaked form, his mechanical eye giving everyone a dark glare.
"Humans like you are precisely the problem with my mission," Placido explained to them, drawing his sword and pointing it at them. "Though you all stand up for what you feel is right, you are biased for your own species. You cannot see the evil ones for who they are, and you unknowingly protect them."
"We are well aware that there are humans who are greedy and selfish," Yusei said, placing the card he had been handed in his Deck box and standing up. "But we know that humans as a whole are good, and the majority do not need to suffer for the misdeeds of a few."
"Such an idealistic point of view," Placido responded, closing his normal eye for a second before looking back at Yusei. "Ponce de Leon used to think the same way you did, back hundreds of years ago. That's how everyone thought; I was the only one to see the harsh truth. Innocent ones to deserve to exist; but that does not mean that the sinners get a free pass.
"It's not just the likes of you. The world over, human society is plagued by the Criminal Justice systems, and other failed institutions like that; they allow the guilty to simply do as they wish, while the true victims are treated as garbage by the very system which protects them."
"You're doing all this for a simple political rant?" Kiryu questioned, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a throwing knife. Before anybody could tell, he threw the knife straight at Placido; who, surprisingly, grabbed the knife with his free hand and tossed it aside. Then, pointing his blade at Kiryu, he fired a bolt of red energy that sent him flying off his D-Wheel, straight into one of the barriers.
"Stop this right now!" Yusei instructed both Placido and his own crew. "At this rate, we're simply going to do ourselves irreparable harm. Now is not the time to fight; we owe it to ourselves and this man to listen to what he has to say."
"You always were the voice of reason, Yusei," Placido said in amusement, looking at the man with a dark smile. "Even as a Dark Signer, you sought out Judai because he was the one who could save you. I knew you were the proper choice to appeal to; as well as you, Yuki Judai."
Pointing to Judai, Placido gave him the non-verbal cue to stand up; and he did so, taking off his helmet and getting off his D-Wheel. Stepping over to where Yusei was, Judai gave Placido a dark glare, to the extent where his own brown eyes changed into the golden eyes of the Supreme King; upon seeing these, Placido growled and turned to him.
"What hypocrisy," Placido declared judgmentally. "You call yourself an entity of justice. Was it just to sacrifice thousands of lives? Or to mercilessly discard your friends after torturing them? Or give shelter to a destructive psychopath? What does this mean of you? Do you truly serve justice; or are you in denial?"
"I regret the mistakes I have made to get to where I am now," Judai admitted in his stern tone. "For many of them, I can never be forgiven; but I have never let those things become my destiny. I have served justice ever since my trial by hellfire; and I will continue to do so until I face judgment for my misdeeds there."
"Just as I thought," Placido responded, looking at Judai solemnly. "You are a true Supreme King. Yusei may lead; but you are his true second, and the most powerful member of the group. You and Yubel. For that reason you, as well as Yusei, deserve to know the truth."
"Then tell us of this truth," Yusei requested, clenching his fist and speaking in an exasperated tone. "What do we need to know? If there is a greater truth that we need to know, why not simply reveal it to us now?"
"Now is not the time for this meeting," Placido responded. "But you will learn in due time; Meet me at the Old Momentum at midnight tonight; and there, you will learn the truth within truths." With this said, Placido and his D-Wheel burst into red energy and disappeared, leaving the group standing alone in the middle of the lane.
"It looks like we don't have much choice," Judai realized, turning to Yusei as they both put their helmets back on and extended their visors. "We will meet him at midnight tonight; until then, we have people to save."
"Right," Yusei responded, both of them running to their D-Wheels and jumping on. "Those people testing for the WRGP need our help; and maybe there, we can learn the truth of the card I was given."
"An Accel Synchro Monster?" Jack questioned as both him and Kiryu limped back to their own D-Wheels and got back on. Yusei's response was to simply give a nod; and after he did both men put their helmets on and the lot of them sped off, shooting back towards the lower levels where chaos was unfolding.
Stepping back into the Infinity control room, Placido looked upon Jose and Alessandro as the latter hovered over Lucciano's body, working on it; and as the former looked over him, only looking away long enough to give a quick applause to Placido.
"That was an excellent performance," Jose commended him. "The duel between you and Dark Glass has increased the energy within the Circuit considerably; in fact, we are nearing 85% complete."
"But more importantly," Placido pointed out, "we now have the Signers and the Darkness of Justice where we want them. As you wished, their power will be used to complete the circuit."
"Then you intend to duel them?" Alessandro inquired, inserting a new length of wire under the outer skin while Placido looked upon him intently. "Then you do realize that your own life is on the line in such a battle. It is the power of bonds that allows them to win, after all; there's a high chance you will lose."
"I am both well aware and well prepared to embrace the consequences. Even if I should die in that battle, the energy released from such a struggle would see the Circuit completed entirely. Our goal would be completed, even in my absence. Does that make sense to you, mortal? That's called selflessness and devotion to a goal; in other words, loyalty."
"I understand what loyalty is," Alessandro replied, growing more frustrated and standing up to face him. "How long do you intend to keep rubbing my face in my mistakes?"
"Not for much longer," Placido reassured, his voice growing calmer and Alessandro's expression doing the same. "Your work rebuilding Lucciano almost redeems you in my eyes; but I have one last assignment for you after that that will truly put you back in my good vision."
Reaching under the fold of his robe, Placido pulled out a slip of paper and handed it to Alessandro. When the man took a look at this document, he looked back up at Placido and asked, "What is this about?"
"Call it a backup strategy," Placido answered. "In the event that my plan fails, and the Circuit is not completed by this battle, the WRGP becomes our last chance at doing so. For that to work, all of us are needed for this plan."
"Then you want me to…?" When Placido gave a reassuring look and nodded, Alessandro gave a confident sneer and turned to Jose, who simply nodded. "Is Lucciano aware of this plan?"
"She will be once she is rebuilt," Jose explained. "This plan arose after her destruction, when Placido and I realized that fighting the Singers one by one would not work to our advantage. With the style of duels in the WRGP, we can get all the energy we need in a single match."
"Now that sounds like my kind of plan."
"But before we can get to that, I still have one last thing to do," Placido informed, pulling out his sword and slashing it through the air. Instantly a white slash appeared through the air that he stepped into, the air closing behind him and leaving no trace that he had ever been there.
Inside the darkness of the Old Momentum, Paradox stood at the control panel, using it to brace himself while he looked at the data. When he heard the sound of electrical crackling, he turned to see Placido step out, his regular and mechanical eyes both glowing in the blackness just like Paradox's mask.
"Your little plan with the X Units and Riding Roids completely got in my way," Paradox issued sharply, turning and looking at Placido with an angrily look on his face under his mask. In response, Placido simply pulled down his hood to reveal his face and hair, and then he responded.
"My apologies for that incident," he reassured, looking to the man as he too took off his mask to reveal his glowing yellow eyes. "My apprentice Alessandro got a tad overzealous and unleashed all those units. As for the Diablo, that's affecting everyone. But, as you may have guessed, I'm not here to argue semantics."
"Then what are you here to do?" the yellow-eyed duellist inquired sceptically, raising his long red eyebrow.
"At midnight tonight, Judai and Yusei will be here; and when they arrive, a Riding Duel will commence that will give us both all the power we desire. If you want this to succeed, however, you must ensure that the duel goes uninterrupted."
"That sounds fair enough to me," Paradox agreed, his expression returning to a calm, collected one. "But how do I know I can trust you?"
"Because I'm going out of my way to trust you," Placido reminded him. "Unless I thought this was important, I wouldn't bother; it should say something that I did."
"Very well; I'll ensure that the duel goes uninterrupted," Paradox agreed, before an alarm went off on his panel. Looking at the device, he recognized the intruder alarm and pulled up a visual, showing that one of Placido's Diablo-intercepted practice duels had made its way to Satellite.
"My apologies for this as well," Placido stated, looking up to the platform above. "I had thought that the exits from Neo Domino had been adequately sealed; evidently something has rendered that moot."
"This isn't a real issue," Paradox informed him, putting his mask back on and stepping over to his parked D-Wheel. "This will only take a few seconds to deal with." With that Paradox started up the vehicle and started lapping it around the room until it reached a point where it burst into blue light, disappearing and leaving Placido alone in the room.
"Excellent," Placido thought of this situation, stepping over to the panel and pulling his hood back up. "I knew that he would be so easily distracted by this move." Pressing a few buttons on the display, he saw the energy levels for the Old Momentum to be at a whopping 90%, something Placido was very interested in.
"Your little plan is near completion then, is it? Let's see how this influences things." Sneering, Placido stared down upon the control panel, his Infinity symbol glowing red as he did so. Red electricity then emanated from his mechanical eye and struck the panel, decalibrating the device until it read only 75%. "That should definitively trifle with his little experiment."
With that, Placido simply turned and sneered, stepping to the edge of the room before he faded out like a ghost. Before he completely faded out, however, he saw the energy along the walls, its glow brightening and fading in a heartbeat pattern; and he thus sneered, knowing that his plan was soon to reach fruition.
Card of the Week – Placido
Wise Core 3
Type: DARK
Level: 3
Family(s): [Machine/Effect]
Effect: This card cannot be Normal Summoned or set. This card can be Special Summoned from the hand by releasing 1 "Wise Core" on your side of the field. When this card is destroyed by a card effect, activate by destroying all monsters on your side of the field. Special Summon 1 each of "Machine Emperor Wisel Infinity", "Wisel Top 3", "Wisel Attack 3", "Wisel Guard 3" and "Wisel Carrier 3" from your hand, Deck to Cemetery.
ATK/ 0
DEF/ 0
*We're nearing the final laps. Review if you wish.*