Flight 8: The Belly of the Whale
Twenty years ago...
"Julian, old chap," said a cheery voice from the door. "How goes your research?"
"Oh, hi Albert," Julian replied, barely looking up from a book that was probably heavier than the desk he was sitting at. "I'm not sure if you'll find it as interesting as what you're working on with my father, but there's actually a lot more information about this phenomenon than I thought."
"Come now, you know I find psychology just as intriguing as engineering," Albert said, walking into the study and glancing over Julian's shoulder. "What have you found?"
"Well," Julian began. He lifted up one of the small books off a stack on the ground. "This was about the Japanese blood type theory." He flipped to a bookmarked page. "The basic theory is that people with Type A blood are patient, calm people whereas people with Type B blood are passionate, wild people. But people with Type AB blood have both characteristics. They're adaptable. Though the book also claims they can be indecisive and prone to split personalities."
"I think you're straying a bit off your original theory, my friend," Albert shook his head. "You should be looking for pairs of people who have... what did you call it?"
"Sanguinis par. Partners of blood. This is the same thing, Albert!" Julian said excitedly. "If combining two opposite types of blood in one person creates a balanced individual, why wouldn't two people with opposite types of blood bring out the best in each other?"
"Yes, but you're after that... thing where people can flawlessly predict each others' thoughts? Soul Pact, correct?"
"My theory is still that two people who are too similar will have a hard time achieving soul pact because they project their own thoughts onto the other person too easily. Two people who think completely differently couldn't possibly confuse their own feelings for those of the other person. Though the mention of blood might just be a coincidence, it's one I don't want to overlook."
"Well, that's how we all start," said Albert. He glanced at his pocket-watch. "Hmm, I should get back to the others. George will go crazy if I spend too much time looking at psychology."
...
Ray, Lilith and Julian stood on the top deck of the Eternal Eclipse. "This is it," said Julian, as a distant speck came into view. "Remember everything you've learned from the duels against Otto and Fritz, Lise and Leo, Scrapman and Junkgirl."
"And the Ambrosia sisters already," Lilith added dully.
"Don't underestimate them just because you've beaten them once before," said Julian. "They just beat the winners of the tournament. They've gotten a lot better. It's possible they've improved at the same rate as you two."
"How?" Ray asked. "Lilith and I only sucked at the beginning because we'd never worked with each other before. How could Nephele and Demetria get better at the same rate?"
"Demetria said it herself, did she not? 'Now, we have something to play for'. Nephele and Demetria truly believe they're fighting for a good cause," Julian said solemnly. "They believe – they know – that they can't afford to lose."
"Resolve, huh?" Ray asked.
"Precisely." Julian turned to the ever-growing speck. It became obvious that it was an airship, but even when it looked as big as the Eternal Eclipse, it was still far away. It continued growing via approaching until it was obvious that it was several times the size of the Eclipse. It rose above their heads, for whatever reason, giving Ray and Lilith the opportunity to read the airship's name in large brass font on the side.
"The Belly of the Whale," Lilith read aloud. "Quite a mouthful."
"There they are," said Ray, holding his hand over his eyes to blot out the sun. Two two-seat ornithopters raced off the side of the giant airship's top deck and landed neatly behind the trio.
"Hello again," said Demetria.
"Will you give us the Eldricytes?" Nephele asked eagerly.
"No," Ray and Lilith said definitively. Nephele's mouth dropped open. Then she shook her head.
"Albert told us you wouldn't," Demetria said. "Hopefully we at least don't need to use this." She jerked her thumb to her ornithopter. An automated butler unit hopped off. "It's been equipped with weapons."
"It's just for self-defence!" Nephele added. "Albert had us take it in case the two of you tried to kill us and take the Eldricytes or something. We're not going to do anything like that."
"Oh," said Lilith, eyeing up the ABU, which simply stood silent and stationary.
"I know this is something that really shouldn't be decided through card games, but..." said Nephele. "Albert told us that if we lost, that was it. We wouldn't worry about the Eldricytes anymore. We're going to do this fairly."
"As are we," said Julian. "We never had any intention of threatening you." He paused. "I don't suppose you'd have any intention of listening to why we're after the Eldricytes?"
"Albert said you'd say something about how dangerous the Lymph Nodes will be," said Demetria fiercely. "And that we shouldn't believe a word of it."
As Julian shook his head and sighed, Ray glanced at Lilith. Frankly, Lilith's voice rang through Ray's head. threatening two people sounds like a good deal.
We have to do this fairly,Lilith's mind said, in Ray's voice.
Julian smiled knowingly, watching Ray and Lilith. Then he said, "Well, if words will move neither of us, shall we get this duel started?" He showed his Eldricytes; Demetria and Nephele each held up one too. "I assume there's no reason to have more than one duel."
"Winner takes all the Eldricytes," Demetria agreed.
"Albert said you'd be all right with that," said Nephele.
"Duel!"
Demetria began the duel. "I summon Amazoness Swords Woman," she said. A fit, tan warrior hopped out of her card and drew a giant scimitar. (1500 ATK) "I set one card. That's all."
Lilith looked at Ray. I'm up, She realized. We can't do the Wild Explosion combo. "I activate Moray of Greed," Lilith announced. A dull green vase with a hideous face appeared in front of her. "By returning the WATER-attribute Illusionist of Lunanima and Seadancer of Lunanimato my deck, I can draw three cards." Holograms of the cards appeared and flew into the vase as Lilith drew more cards. "I set one monster... and one backrow. End turn!"
"My turn," said Nephele. "I summon Harpie Girl!" A young, blonde harpie appeared. She covered herself with her wings, as if embarrassed by the harpies' traditional clothing. (500 ATK) "Now, I activate Divine Wind of Mist Valley!" The ship's deck around them turned into an oddly-colourful valley.
She's changed her deck considerably,Ray thought.
Yeah, using Divine Wind instead of Harpie's Hunting Ground is a big change. Be careful.Lilith's voice replied.
Are you really going to be here all the time?Ray wondered.
Same to you.Lilith's voice muttered.
"I set two cards," Nephele announced. "and I end my turn."
Three set cards. Be careful.Lilith's voice told Ray.
"Yeah, yeah," Ray said aloud. "I summon Solanimus Blazing-Mane Lion!" The beast with fur of fire pounced onto the field, letting out a roar. (1700 ATK) "Lion attacks Harpie Girl!" Ray's lion ran towards the nervous winged girl. As it approached, a draft of wind blew Harpie Girlinto the air.
"Trap card – Evasive Flight," Nephele said. "When you attack a WIND monster, I can return that monster to my hand to end the Battle Phase."
"That's all?" Ray asked. "Okay then."
"Of course that's not all!" Nephele retorted. "When a WIND monster is returned to my hand, Divine Wind of Mist Valley lets me Special Summon a Level 4 or lower WIND monster from my deck." She pulled her deck out of her disc and riffled through it. "Here it is! Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon!" A small pink dragon flew out from one of the twists in the valley, landing neatly in front of Nephele and roaring. (1200 ATK)
"Right. That," said Ray. "Okay then, I'll set a card and end my turn."
"During the End Phase of a turn that a monster was returned to my hand with Evasive Flight, it returns to the field," Nephele explained. "Come on back, Harpie Girl!" The little girl fell down from the sky; Nephele's dragon flew up to catch her. (500 ATK) "And, still in your End Phase, I activate my other facedown card – The League of Uniform Nomenclature!"
"The League of what?" Ray asked.
"I select a Level 2 or lower Normal monster I control," said Nephele, pointing at Harpie Girl. "Then, I Special Summon two more from my deck." On cue, two more Harpie Girlsflew through the valley, joining the original and her dragon. (500 DEF) "Baby Pet Dragon, by the way, now has all of its effects active." (2400 ATK)
Good move,Lilith admitted mentally.
"My turn!" said Demetria. "I'll match your lion with this – Amazoness Tiger!" A pink-and-white cat raced onto the field, but promptly exploded.
"Solanimus Wild Explosion," said Ray. "Your tiger is destroyed, and I get to Special Summon this. Solanimus Shining Star!" A human figure made of light stepped onto the field. "It gains 500 ATK by the effect of my Lion." (1500 - 2000 ATK)
Nephele glanced at Demetria. "I know!" Demetria said. "I'm on it."
Julian's eyes widened. Soul Pact? But... they're sisters. They should be way too similar for Soul Pact!
"I equip Amazoness Swords Woman with Amazoness Heirloom," said Demetria, as an amulet appeared around her warrior's neck. "Swords Woman attacks Solanimus Shining Star!" She ran at the starlight man, sword drawn.
"Not a problem," said Lilith. "My facedown – Mystical Space Typhoon. I'll destroy Heirloom." A typhoon flew around Swords Woman. She ran through it effortlessly, but her amulet exploded. "The attack still goes through!" Lilith reminded Demetria, as Swords Womanslashed through the star-man.
"You take the Battle Damage," said Demetria. "But..."
"Your monster is destroyed," said Ray, as Shining Star put its hand on Swords Woman's forehead, and she burst into flames. (500 damage to Ray/Lilith - 7500 LP) "Me, I'm okay with that deal."
"Dammit," Demetria muttered, glaring at Lilith. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine, fine. I set a card. End turn."
Demetria wasn't even looking at Nephele that time,Julian noted nervously.
"My turn," said Lilith. "I Flip Summon Potion-Brewer of Lunanima," She announced; a witch in dark robes appeared, stirring a cauldron. (1000 ATK) "Her Flip effect lets me add a Lunanima to my hand. I'll take Wilting Lotus. And now... I summon Magic Sealer of Lunanima!" A young, blue-haired woman rose from her card beside Potion-Brewer. She held a small, pointy wand. (1200 ATK) "They're both Level 4, so I'll overlay Potion-Brewer andMagic Sealer. Goddess of the frozen wasteland, cast the world into eternal winter!" The two women hopped into a galaxy forming on the valley floor. "Xyz Summon! Ice Priestess of Lunanima!" The pale woman emerged; two lights circled her body. (2500 DEF) "I'll activate her effect." Lilith snapped her fingers; a light disappeared. "By detaching a material, I'll freeze one of your monsters, negating its effect. Obviously, the only threat right now isHarpie's Pet Baby Dragon." As soon as she finished saying the name, an ice cube formed around the dragon. "I set a card. End turn!"
"Good move," Nephele said. "Both of you were really impressive when we first met. I wish... I wish we were on the same side now."
"We still can be!" said Ray. "Listen to us about – "
"No! We can't!" Nephele cried. "My turn! I activate Winds of Change! With this, I can return two WIND monsters I control to my hand and draw two cards. I'll return my frozen dragon and a Harpie Girl!" Two twisters launched them up into the air, and they landed nearly in Nephele's grasp as cards. "By the effect of Divine Wind, I Special Summon Harpie Lady 1 from my deck." A fully-grown, pink-haired harpie stepped onto the valley floor, towering over her two sisters. "Next, I'll play Feather Dance."
Oh crap,Lilith thought suddenly.
Is it that good?Ray asked.
"To activate Feather Dance, I have to Tribute Harpie Girlsfrom my hand or field. I'll tribute three." Nephele explained, as the two remaining girls on her field disappeared and she discarded a card. "Now, for each one, I Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Harpie card from my deck. But there's a bonus if I tribute all three – one of them can be a Harpie of any Level."
"So?" Ray asked. "Are there even any Harpies that aren't Level... oh."
"I Special Summon Harpie Lady 2, Harpie Lady 3 and Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Nephele announced, pointing upwards. Two more harpies flew down from the sky, screeching fiercely. Following them was an enormous, grown-up version of the little dragon from before, which bellowed a low roar.
"Now that," said Ray, "is a dragon."
"Let's calculate ATK, shall we?" Nephele asked rhetorically. "Lady 1 gives each WIND monster 300 extra ATK, so each harpie is at 1600 ATK. Then, Harpie's Pet Dragon gains 300 ATK for each harpie I control, and then another 300 from Harpie Lady 1– that's a total of 3200."
And that's not everything, is it?Lilith asked.
She hasn't Normal Summoned yet,Ray agreed.
"I summon Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon again," said Nephele, as a smaller version of the dragon appeared. Each Harpie Lady now held two leashes, three connecting to each dragon. (2700 ATK) "And now that I've summoned a bunch of monsters in one turn, I'm going to put them to good use. Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon's effect destroys Lilith's facedown card!" The dragon let loose a fireball; it raced across the field.
"I was going to activate it anyway," Lilith said. "Moonlight Veil!" A shiny wall of light appeared around Ice Priestess and Blazing-Mane Lion. "Both of our monsters are protected from your bunch of monsters."
"Next turn, then," said Nephele.
"The three Harpie Sisters and both Pet Dragons. What an awesome field!" Ray exclaimed. "I summon Solanimus Blinding Blade!" A knight in white and gold armour appeared, readying a sword and shield. (1700 - 2200 ATK) Now I can either tune Shining Star with Blinding Blade or Blazing-Mane Lion – whichever I pick will be revived, but have its effect negated. I'm gonna need Blazing-Mane Lion's effect later, but it's a shame to useBlinding Blade's effect before summoning Raging Dragon.
It won't be a one-turn kill no matter what, since you have to get through Baby Dragon before attacking the big one.Lilith's voice replied.
"You're right," Ray muttered. "I activate Blinding Blade's effect – reducing the ATK of Pet Baby Dragon by my lion's 1700!" (1000 ATK) "And now, I tune Solanimus Shining Star with Blinding Blade!" As the knight and star flew into the sky, he cried, "Master of destruction, burn down everything in your path! Synchro Summon!" He raised his hand as an enormous orange serpent descended from the sky. "Solanimus Raging Dragon!" (3000 - 3500 ATK) "And now, by the effect of Shining Star, I can Special Summon Blinding Blade back." The knight appeared from nowhere, readying itself for battle. (2200 ATK) He pointed at the opposing dragons. "Solanimus Blinding Blade attacks Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon!" Ray's knight raced across the valley and neatly cleaved the little dragon in twain. (1200 damage - 6800 LP)
"To fight back like this against all these monsters..." Nephele said, clearly trying not to grin. "Impressive."
"Well, this'll be more impressive! Solanimus Raging Dragon attacks Harpie's Pet Dragon!" Ray's dragon released an enormous stream of fire that flew towards Nephele's remaining Pet Dragon. As it approached, a tube with a question mark on it appeared and caught the fire.
"Magic Cylinder," Demetria announced, as one of her facedown cards flipped up. "This negates your attack, and..." Another cylinder appeared. "Fires it right back at you!" The second tube launched Raging Dragon's fire back at Ray; it enveloped him completely. (3500 damage - 4000 LP)
"So you've still got some fight in you after all," said Ray. "I set a card myself. Turn end!"
"My turn, then!" said Demetria. "I activate Monster Reborn, to revive Amazoness Swords Woman." As soon as her warrior appeared, it vanished. "Now, I Tribute it to summon Amazoness Queen!" In its place was a much taller, older woman with an eyepatch and larger sword. (2400 ATK) "Now, I activate my other set card – Amazoness Willpower! With this, I Special Summon an Amazoness in my Graveyard. Be reborn! Amazoness Tiger!" Her cat launched itself onto the field, landing beside Amazoness Queen and roaring. (1100 ATK - 1900 ATK) "Finally, I activate Amazoness Fighting Spirit!" An aura surrounded both the tiger and queen. "Now, whenever an Amazoness attacks a stronger monster, it gains 1000 ATK. Amazoness Tiger attacks Blazing-Mane Lion!" The two felines clashed; after a brief brawl, only the tiger remained. (200 damage - 3800 LP)
It's time,said Ray, moving his thumb towards the switch that would trigger his backrow.
Save it for later! Lilith's voice argued. I'll handle this.
"With the Lion gone, Raging Dragon's ATK drops back to 3000 – that's enough for Amazoness Queen to destroy it! Attack!" Amazoness Queen's aura shone brighter, and it ran at the dragon. However, its sword slashed not a reptile, but a tombstone-shaped ghost of ice.
"By discarding Snowflake Ghost of Lunanima, I can negate the battle," Lilith announced. "And then, I Special Summon a Lunanima from my Graveyard. Magic Sealerreappears!" The blue-haired woman from before hopped out of her card, landing in an aggressive stance. (1000 ATK)
If I had've done that on Tiger's attack, Amazoness Queen could've just destroyed Magic Sealer, Lilith considered. Good thing we waited.
Wasn't that your idea?
It's hard to keep track at this point, isn't it?
Demetria sighed. "Fine, I set a card. End turn."
"My turn, then," said Lilith. "First, how about a change of scenery? I activate Lunar Impact!" The enormous valley around them became an infinite dark sky. "Next, I activate Ice Priestess' effect." Lilith snapped her fingers. The second light around Ice Priestess disappeared and ice rose from the ground to seal Amazoness Queen's arms and legs. "Now, I summon Voodoo Princess of Lunanima!" A young shaman appeared beside Ice Priestess, yanking on a rope that went underground. (1000 ATK) "Voodoo Princess revives Potion-Brewer of Lunanima." The zombified witch appeared on the end of the rope.
"Three Level 4 monsters..." Demetria muttered.
"I Overlay Potion-Brewer of Lunanima, Voodoo Princess of Lunanima and Magic Sealer of Lunanima! Goddess of night, cast the world into eternal shadow!" The three women hopped into another galaxy that formed on the ground. "Xyz Summon; Gravity Queen of Lunanima!" From it emerged a woman with royal, dark robes and a silver sceptre. (1500 ATK, 3 Materials) "Gravity Queen's effect!" Lilith snapped her fingers again; one of the lights flying around Gravity Queenvanished and the moon grew larger in the sky. (1/7 Moon Counters)
"Let's see it!" Ray said.
"Gladly. I Overlay Gravity Queen and Ice Priestess!" The two monsters descended into another galaxy. As soon as they were fully immersed, it suddenly expanded to fill the ship's deck. "Goddess of magic, to whom the moon is but a puppet! Cast the world into an eternity of unceasing shadow." From the centre of the galaxy emerged a pitch-black woman with a silver mask and scythe. "GalaXyz Summon! Hecate, Witch Goddess of Lunanima!" (2500 ATK, 4 Materials)
"GalaXyz Summon..." said Nephele. "Cool!" Demetria glared at her. "Couldn't help it."
"Hecate's effect!" Lilith continued. "Each turn, it adds a Moon Counter to Lunar Impact!" Now it was Hecate's turn to snap her fingers as the moon moved forward another stage. (2/7) "End turn."
"GalaXyz Summon..." Nephele repeated. "This is such an awesome game... but... I can't lose sight of why we're here. We're here to save the world! I'll make the two of you understand!" She drew her card. "I'll start with you, Ray. I activate Chains of Taming! This equips to one of your monsters, and we take control of it as long as we control either a Harpie or Amazoness. So, come on over, Solanimus Raging Dragon!" Chains appeared in the hands of each of her Harpie Ladies, and even the frozen Amazoness Queen; the other ends flew towards Ray's dragon.
"Sorry," said Ray. "But I walk the same path as Lilith. It's my decisions and hers that will change the future! I'm not going to walk anyone else's path!" He flipped the backrow switch on his disc and grabbed the card in it. "Almighty overlord of destruction, everything in your path will be annihilated by fires of fury!" He held the card above his head. "Assault Mode Activate!" The chains phased through Raging Dragon, as bursts of fire produced new blue-and-orange armour, and its horns changed. "Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode! When this card is Summoned, I destroy two of your cards. Good-bye, Harpie Lady 1 and Harpie's Pet Dragon. Sorry!" He chuckled as Nephele's dragon and pink-haired woman burst into flames.
"No, I'm sorry!" said Nephele. "Because I expected that. I activate Hidden Armory! By sending the top card of my deck to the Graveyard, I can add an Equip Spell in my Graveyard to my hand. Chains of Taming returns, and I'll activate it again! Join me, Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode!"
"What the hell?" Ray cried as the chains linked neatly to his dragon's armour. It flapped its wings and hopped over to Nephele's field.
"We don't have to be enemies," said Nephele. "All you have to do is join us."
"Like hell!" Ray bellowed. "You're just blindly following Albert!"
"This isn't blind!" Nephele argued. "Besides, whose word do you have that the Lymph Nodes are dangerous? Just Julian's? Aren't you just blindly following him?"
"Julian isn't trying to kill anyone!"
"Albert's trying to save everyone!"
"Didn't we already say this is getting us nowhere?" Lilith asked, rubbing her eyes.
"Y-yeah, fine," Nephele muttered. "Anyway, with Harpie Lady 1 gone, there's no sense keeping the other two Harpies. I activate Polymerization!" Harpie Lady 3 flew into the sky, and Amazoness Queenburst out of its ice prison and joined her. "Ready, Demetria?"
"I've been ready this whole game!" Demetria said.
"The courage of Athena joins with the beauty of Aphrodite!" They said together. "Heaven and Earth become one! Fusion Summon!" An armoured, winged Amazoness with a whip-sword flew down from the air. (2800 ATK) "Winged Amazon – Mistress of Earth and Sky!"
Oh crap oh crap oh crap.Ray's voice repeated through Lilith's head.
Hecate's got four materials. Calm down. We'll just stall until we can take back Raging Dragon.
"By the way, while Winged Amazon is on the field, Chains of Tamingcan't be destroyed by card effects," said Nephele.
Oh crap,Lilith agreed.
"Solanimus Raging Dragon/Assault Mode attacks Blinding Blade!" Nephele ordered, as the bound dragon released a stream of fire. However, Hecateswung her scythe and diverted the blast with a wall of moonlight. (3 Materials) "I expected that too. End turn."
"Dammit," said Ray, drawing. "How dare you take Raging Dragon?"
Ray, calm down! Lilith pleaded. You can already get it back.
"Oh, right," Ray agreed, looking at Blinding Blade. "I summon Solanimus Magmagician!" A red warlock appeared in a burst of flame. (1900 ATK) "I won't use its effect. But I will use Blinding Blade's, which clocks downRaging Dragon's ATK by my magician's 1900!" The knight raised his sword again, and it shone with a brighter glow than before, and the armoured dragon shrunk (1600 ATK) "This is great – once I destroy Raging Dragon, I'll get back the regular version. Magmagicianattacks!"
"You think I'd let my sister's effort go to waste that easily?" Demetria asked. "Amazoness Archers!" An army of women with bows appeared behind Demetria and Nephele. They fired a barrage at Ray's monsters. "All of your monsters lose 500 ATK, and they have to keep attacking this turn!"
"Dammit," said Lilith. "I activate Hecate's effect, activating Moonlight Veil again!" Hecate swung her scythe; the now-1400 ATK Magmagician struck Raging Dragonwith a fireball, but it didn't retaliate. The knight scratched its scales as well, dealing no damage to either team. (2 Materials)
"You missed your shot," said Nephele. "Anything else?"
"E-end turn," Ray muttered.
"Then I'm up," said Demetria. "When Winged Amazon is on our field, we can perform a specific Fusion Summon with only one material. I Tribute Amazoness Tiger!" Demetria said, as the tiger leapt into the sky.
"The forests' legendary beast will emerge from its slumber! Behold the union of dragon and tiger!" A furry, striped dragon fell from the sky, landing with a shockwave and mighty roar. "Mistress' Tiragon!" The beast walked obediently over to Winged Amazon, who grabbed a chain that appeared around its neck. (2400 ATK)
"So it's normally a Fusion of Amazoness Tiger and a Pet Dragon," said Lilith, reading the card. "That's interesting. Wait..."
"I see you got to that part," said Demetria. "Mistress' Tiragon gives all Harpies and Amazonesses 1000 extra ATK. But, since it's Winged Amazon's pet, it gives her 1200 instead." The lone remaining Harpie Lady 2 put its arm around Tiragon (2300 ATK) and the amazon harpie stroked its fur (4000 ATK). "Furthermore, Winged Amazoncan't be targeted by card effects!"
We have to get rid of three cards to get my dragon back? Ray's mind demanded. Lilith doesn't have enough materials to last until Lunar Impact... this is bad.
"Mistress' Tiragon attacks Blinding Blade!" Demetria ordered, as the tiger-dragon released a stream of somehow-striped fire.
"Hecate's effect!" Lilith countered; the witch swung her scythe and the fire disappated. (1 Material)
Blinding Blade's our only chance. Lilith's voice rang through Ray's head. You can still destroy the amazon by using Blinding Blade with Fireraptor or something.
Right,Ray's voice replied, not sounding convinced.
"I set a card," Demetria said lazily. "Your turn, Lilith."
"First, I'll add a Moon Counter to Lunar Impact," Lilith said, as Hecate snapped her fingers. (3/7) "Next, I play Gift of Moonlight, letting me draw two cards." She did so and smiled at one of them. "I activate One for One. I'll discard a lotus to Special Summon another. Next, I banish the Magic Sealer in my Graveyard to revive the first!" Two unhealthy flowers sprouted from the floor. (0 DEF) "While I have two, you can't attack either of our monsters. But I'll switch Hecateto Defence Position to be safe. End turn!"
"You can't defend from us forever!" Nephele said angrily. "You're going to have to face the truth eventually! I activate Confusion Twister!" A whirlwind appeared around Hecate. "If I control two WIND monsters, this negates a monster's effect until the End Phase. Also, you can't activate the effect in response to Confusion Twister."
"I'll clear the way!" said Demetria. "My facedown is Offerings to the Doomed! This destroys a monster, but skips my next Draw Phase. I destroy a Wilting Lotus!" One of the flowers exploded.
"Thanks," Nephele smiled smugly. "Don't think I'm done yet. I discard Harpie Queen to add Harpie's Hunting Ground from my deck to my hand. I'll activate it!" The pitch blackness was replaced with a cloudless sky. "Now, I activate Winged Amazon's effect. I banish Amazoness Queen in our Graveyard to Special Summon Harpie Lady 1, with Amazoness Queen's effect. But more importantly, since a Harpie was summoned, I can destroy that backrow of yours!" A pink-haired harpie returned to the field, bouncing off Lilith's field before taking her position.
"You have a backrow?" Ray asked.
"Since my second turn," said Lilith. "Luckily, it's chainable. Half Moon! This will halve all damage we take this turn." And we're going to need it,She added mentally.
Nephele closed her eyes. After a couple seconds, she opened them again and said, "I understand. Harpie Lady 2 attacks your other Wilting Lotus!" The girl flew through the tiny flower, eradicating it. "With that gone, I can attack whatever I want. Winged Amazon destroys Hecate, as per Demetria's request." The two women faced off; Winged Amazon's whip-sword shattered Hecate's scythe, and Hecate herself fell to the ground.
It'll be okay.Lilith thought to herself.
Have you seen what we're up against? Ray demanded. Does this look okay to you?
Go back to your own brain.
"Harpie Lady 1 attacks Magmagician!" Nephele declared. "Harpie Lady 1's at 2800 ATK, by the way – 1000 from Tiragon, 200 from Hunting Ground and 300 from its own effect." The harpie launched itself at jet speeds, piercing through Magmagiciancompletely and drilling a hole through it with its talons. (350 damage - 3450 LP) "And Ray, I've saved your dragon for last."
"Forgive me if I don't leap for joy," Ray said dully.
"Solanimus Raging Dragon / Assault Mode! Attack Blinding Blade!" The enormous orange beast unceremoniously crushed the knight with its claw. (1800 damage / 2) "And now, since Blinding Blade's ATK is less than 2500, you take an additional 2500 damage! Well, before its halved anyway." A stream of fire flew from Raging Dragon's claw, striking Ray and knocking him off his feet. (2500 damage / 2 - 1300 LP)
"See?" Demetria said. "Your way would've brought them down to 350 Life Points, but this way we got rid of everything."
"Yeah, I didn't do the math beforehand," Nephele said. "I thought that attacking an attack-position monster with Winged Amazonwould've ended the game."
"Nephele," said Ray, putting his hand on his deck. "You said that your dream was to go off on a grand adventure. Explore the world on a quest to save the world... something like that?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"You see yourselves as the heroes, obviously," Ray continued. "But for that to be true, Lilith and I would have to be the villains. My idols once told me to be careful about the path we choose. That was good advice. Lilith and I thought long and hard about the decisions we should make. The path we should choose. Don't think we've been following Julian blindly. Once we heard about the atomic bomb, he told us we could leave if we wanted. We've been under no obligation to help him anymore."
"Then why – "
"Because we believe in humanity," Lilith continued. "Building the Lymph Nodes condemns millions of people to a definite death. The apocalypse Albert dreamed up will only come about if the world lets it. We have faith that humanity will choose the right path themselves."
"You can't convince us to join you right when you're about to lose!" Demetria cried suddenly. "You have no field, 1300 Life Points and you're up against an army. You're just trying to make the duel irrelevant!"
"My idols also told me to protect what was important to me," said Ray. "I can't honestly say that every human being is important to me. I can't possibly protect all of them. But what I can protect – what Lilith and I together can protect – is the future!" He drew his card. "And if it takes a miracle to do so, we'll just use a miracle! I activate Miracle Synchro Fusion!"
"We'll fuse Gravity Queen of Lunanimain my Graveyard..."
"With Solanimus Raging Dragonin mine!" said Ray.
Words appeared in both Ray and Lilith's head. It was both unknown and irrelevant who was coming up with them. They said together, "The sun's raging fires will become one with the moon's calming seas. Light and darkness, join together into one body – one soul. Fusion Summon!" Gravity Queen and Solanimus Raging Dragon flew into the sky. "Champion of Solanimus and Lunanima..." The dragon flew back down. It was covered in gold armour to the point where it was barely recognizable as the same dragon anymore. Its passenger was a woman in silver armour. She wielded a scimitar that looked about as big as herself. Her helmet opened in the back to reveal hair made of fire and water. "Eklepia, Dragon Knight of Syzygy!" (3500 ATK)
"Another boss card?" Demetria asked.
"We activate Eklepia's effect!" Ray and Lilith said simultaneously.
"Once per turn, we can negate the effect of a card you control," Lilith explained. "And the one we choose is... Chains of Taming!"
"What?" Nephele demanded.
"If we can't destroy the chains, we'll just ignore them!" Ray said triumphantly, as Raging Dragon/Assault Mode flew back to Ray's field, almost dwarfed by the gold-armoured version. "This one's all mine, sorry, Lilith.Raging Dragon/Assault Mode attacks Mistress' Tiragon!" The two dragons clashed; Demetria's immediately exploded in a torrent of fire. "And now, you take 2500 damage, since your dragon thing's ATK is only 2400. That's a total of 3600!" (3600 damage - 2200 LP)
"With that, Winged Amazon's ATK is back down to 2800," said Lilith. "Or, rather, 3100, taking into account the boost from Harpie Lady 1."
"And it's my next target!" said Ray. "Nephele and Demetria, prepare to be barbarized. Eklepia attacks Winged Amazon!" The two warriors clashed in the sky, whip-sword against scimitar. Eklepia's mount released a burst of fire from its mouth and she cleanly sliced Winged Amazonin half. (400 damage - 1600 LP)
"And what would Eklepiabe without Solanimus' favourite effect?" Lilith asked.
"When she destroys a monster by battle, you take damage equal to its ATK," said Ray. "Miracle created." The two halves of Winged Amazonexploded in giant fireballs. (2800 damage - 0 LP)
"I can't ask you to instantly believe us," said Lilith, walking over to the Ambrosia sisters. "But frankly, it makes sense that the Lymph Nodes will hurt people. At least ask Albert about it.
"Not that it makes any difference anymore," Julian piped up, as Demetria reluctantly handed him two Eldricytes. Julian snapped his binder shut. "Mission accomplished."
"Promise us this, at any rate," said Demetria. "At the first mention of an atomic bomb, build the Lymph Nodes."
"No," said Ray. "Humanity will move forward. I'm sure nuclear weapons will be built, but humans won't destroy the only world they have. We're stupid, but we're not that stupid."
"Idiots," said Demetria. "We ask one simple thing, a precaution to stop the apocalypse, and – "
"Demetria," said Nephele. "We lost. The Eldricytes are theirs. Whatever they want to do with them is no longer our business." She picked up her ornithopter. "Let's go."
Demetria shook her head. "We are building a bunker as soon as we get home." She muttered to Nephele, as she picked up her own ornithopter.
"Nephele, Demetria!" Ray called, as they flew off the side of the ship. "Despite the circumstances... it was a great duel!" Nephele waved back, as the two winged bicycles descended onto the giant airship below.
"Congratulations," said Julian. "It has been a long journey, but it's finally over. The Eldricytes are ours, and we will see the progression of science forever more. There will be dark times, true. But as long as we believe – " He was cut off there as the automated butler raced out of one of the ship's doors and barrelled towards the railing.
"Yoink," it said in a monotone, snatching Julian's binder and leaping off the side in one motion. Ray and Lilith ran to the side, watching as the robot landed neatly on the deck of the airship below.
"Did... did that actually just happen?" Julian asked.
"...right about now," said Albert, as the robot landed on the deck, binder in hand.
"But we lost!" Nephele argued. "The Eldricytes belong to Julian now."
"I'm sorry, Nephele," said Albert. "But the duel was simply a way to get all the Eldricytes in the same place. This is too important to risk on a card game, where luck and chance trumps true skill! The two of you clearly deserved that victory anyway – it was dumb luck that caused your loss." He flipped through the binder. "Don't worry about that. Now, we have what we need to save the world."
"They're going to come get the cards back, you realize," Demetria said.
"I had thought of that as well," Albert said. He knelt down to the robot and flicked some switches. "Nephele, you may want to avert your eyes now."
"What? Why?"
"This is for humanity's future," said Albert. He pulled a switch on the ABU's back and glanced towards the Eternal Eclipse. A noise like thunder crashed through the sky. The Eternal Eclipserocked back and forth. Another thunderclap sounded, and the back of the ship burst into flames.
"What the hell?" Nephele shrieked. "What did you do?"
"Demetria said it herself," Albert replied. "We can't have them following us, correct?" He looked to Julian's binder. "I didn't want to do it this way, but... to save the world, I will sacrifice my former friend." He walked to the railing himself and solemnly watched as the airship spiralled through the clouds.
"My apologies, Julian."
"Goodbye."