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 5 – An Unforeseen Threat! Dark Synchro Summon of Former Friendship!
The bartender at the Bootleg Tavern was surprised to see the 2 Neo Domino champions, the red-jacket young man and the green-haired friend of his, return to the Tavern. Especially at this time of night, with two cloaked figures slung over Jack's and Judai's shoulders. Thankfully, most of the patrons were already over served and couldn't tell.
"Hey," he snapped at Yusei, since he was the first one down. Turning to him, Yusei – or the person imitating him – he yelled out "What are you doing here with two stiffs? You trying to scare my patrons off?"
Yusei, who the Barkeep didn't know wasn't himself, simply stared back at him and swiftly and sternly said, "We need to use one of your back rooms. Got any empty ones?"
"Maybe for you guys, not for them," he said, pointing at the two Dark Signers as the others stepped down. "Two-drink minimum. I don't let anyone in who doesn't pay."
"Then we'll cover them," Yusei replied flatly.
"No. I can't let you carry dead or unconscious people into my place. The cops show up looking for you guys, they'll close down my place of business here."
A great look of anger filled up Yusei's eyes quickly. Reaching across the table, he grabbed the barkeep by the collar and yanked his neck over the counter. Patrons started gasping in their own drunken ways and the other group members looked on stunned as Yusei said aloud, in a demented-sounding male voice, "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. We need one of your empty back rooms. Either you point us in the right direction, or the cops will be the least of your worries."
The scared barkeep finally bent. "Okay, okay…" he said, gasping for air, "Just… let me go… so I can… give… you… the key…" Finally Yusei released him, and he pulled a key from under the counter. "Down the left hallway… first door on the left…" he said quietly, still trying to catch his breath.
"Thank you." Yusei said, still in the male voice. The group of four then started toward and down the hallway, leaving the confused patrons staring at the wheezing barkeep.
As they reached the end of the hallway, Judai turned to Yusei angrily and spat, "What were you thinking back there?"
"I just wanted us to get our way into that room," Yusei explained in his normal voice. "I didn't think he'd be so hard to convince."
"You can quit imitating him Yubel," Judai said as Yusei handed him the key and he inserted it into the latch. Yusei merely smiled at this and grabbed the Dark Signer off Judai's back. Working up some strength, Yusei threw the figure up against a nearby bunch of boxes of empty bottles.
Soon Jack and Johan entered the room as well, and Jack also threw his Dark Signer against the boxes before closing the door. He then began to crack his knuckles, but was cut short as a yellow glow began emanating from Yusei. The glow came apart from him and took on the rough form of Yubel. Yusei began to fall to the ground before the figure caught him and set him down on the floor gently. The light died down as Yubel took full form, not smiling but looking rather serious.
"Alright," Yubel declared, "allow me to finish what I began in the alleyway." She began stepping towards the figures, but was stopped by Judai. Judai shook his head sternly as Jack began advancing toward the two.
"Hey!" Jack barked at one of the figures, trying to awaken him. When this failed, he licked the man up and began to shake him violently until his eyes opened slightly. "Listen to me you bastard," Jack spat out threateningly, "you'd better start talking before I get really angry."
When the figure did not respond, Jack repeated the threat. "Talk now, or I crack your skull open!" When the figure further did not respond, Jack gripped his collar and punched him in the chest hard enough to knock him into the nearby wall.
"Jack!" Judai yelled, getting the man's attention. "Stop. You'll not get him to talk."
"Why not?' Jack asked angrily, looking at his now-bloody knuckles.
"Look at his eyes," Yubel issued, as Jack noticed they were glossed over. "He's catatonic. He might be awake but he's not conscious of our presence. Whoever he was working for wasn't willing to let him talk."
"Then how do we get the information out of him?" Jack seemed impatient as he asked this.
Yubel smiled coyly before slyly saying, "Like this." Then, Yubel's eyes closed as most of her body, save for her left lower arm, was consumed by a yellow glow. The glowing parts turned into a jelly-like orange plasma, which reassembled into the form of a faceless boy with the demonic hand. The figure then hopped slowly over to the figure against the wall, while Jack looked on in disbelief and Judai in anger.
"Yubel!" he snapped, remembering what Yubel had done to Professor Cobra in this form. "Don't do this!"
But Yubel disregarded his words. Getting up in the Dark Signer's face, she began speaking in the voice of a creepy young boy. "If you are not willing to talk, then I will persuade you to." After the figure did not respond, the boy then continued with, "Then you leave me no choice." The boy grabbed the figure's face with its demonic arm, and a current of mystic energy began to flow.
The spider mark on the figure's arm began to spark with energy, until the mark turned into a glowing beacon that leapt off his arm. The mark turned into a big glowing spider that began to crawl towards the four boys.
"Damned spiders," Jack snapped out as he stepped on the creature and shuffled his heel, turning the creature into a smear of energy. "The same bug that possessed Ushio at the hospital."
At this time Yusei regained consciousness, surprising everyone, and sat up in time to see the bug squashed. Hearing the last of Jack's statement, he continued with, "and Dick Pitt in the parking lot." The energy from the bug then disappeared, as did the fellow mark on the other figure's arm. As the energy stopped, the plasma boy let go of the Dark Signer, causing the figure's hood to fall off.
"Amon!" Johan gasped as he recognized the figure, with his red hair, grey eyes and earrings.
"Who?" Yusei and Jack asked, almost in unison.
"Amon Garam, the heir to the Garam Group," Judai answered. Amon seemed as surprised to be there as they were to see him. The other figure then stirred a little and lifted his own hood, revealing him to be another acquaintance of Judai's. "Misawa?"
"Where… where am I?" Misawa asked, getting to his feet. "And why am I wearing this robe?"
"The Bootleg Tavern in Neo Domino city," Yusei answered, getting to his own feet. "You've been possessed by an organization known as the Dark Signers."
"Dark Signers?" Amon asked. "I've heard that phrase before. But, I…" Before he could finish, a black aura consumed him and Misawa. Both gasped out as though for air as they both fell upon the floor and stopped moving.
"What's this?" Yusei asked.
"Yubel!" Judai snapped as Yubel changed back to her normal form. "What did you do to them?"
"Nothing that would do this," she replied, just as shocked as the others were. Bending over to check on their state of being, she informed, "Their souls have been taken."
"But by whom?" Johan questioned. After he asked, the sound of a dark, maniacal laughing echoed out from the main room, and soon Johan opened the door. The entire hallway had gone dark, and the place was filled with thick black fog. "Something's happened."
Yubel disappeared back into the shadows as the four boys stepped out into the hallway. They ran down the long hallway until they reached the main room of the tavern. Within the black fog were visible the soulless bodies of the barkeep and the patrons, and in front of the doorway was a black-haired figure in a black leather trench coat. His face wasn't visible because of the absence of light and the fact that his head was hung downward so his eyes faced the floor.
"Who are you?" Johan questioned.
The figure chuckled darkly for a moment before the figure replied, "You should know me well by now." The sound of the familiar voice shocked Johan and Judai as the figure raised his face to them. Opening his eyes, he revealed red irises and black veins over his face. But despite these features, Judai recognized him.
"Kaiser?" he gasped out, stunned.
"Marufuji 'Hell Kaiser' Ryo?" Jack asked aloud, stunned at the realization. "What happened to you?"
Hell Kaiser did not answer verbally, but instead flexed his left arm, drawing attention to a black steel claw on his arm. It became apparent that it was a Duel Disc, and he activated it with this flexing motion. A blade spun around from the top half, and extended out into a sword-like duel tray. He then pointed as Johan with his clawed arm.
"You want to duel me?"
"Exactly," Hell Kaiser replied, smiling darkly. "The two matches we've had previous are inconclusive, and I think it's time somebody came out on top."
"You're insane," Johan scathed. "You've just taken away a room full of people, and you did it just for a pointless duel."
"Then allow me to give you incentive. If you win, I'll return Amon and Misawa to you, and let you all go."
"And if I lose?"
"Then all you lose is some self-respect." Hell Kaiser's face seemed honest, if disturbing, but Johan still had his doubts. So, he added one final line. "Refuse to duel, and I'll make Judai duel in your place. You'll get to watch him suffer on your behalf."
"Alright!" Johan snapped back, not wanting to hear anymore. Pulling his own North School duel disc from his back, he fixed it on his arm and pulled his deck from his pocket, shuffled it, and slotted it in. Hell Kaiser also pulled his deck, but put it directly in, where his disc auto-shuffled it. Each player pulled 5 cards instantly, and both yelled the infamous word:
"DUEL!"
Hell Kaiser: LP 4000
Johan: LP 4000
"I'll go first," Hell Kaiser declared. "And I think I'll summon my Hell Dragon in attack position (ATK: 2000)." Hell Kaiser called forth a black dragon with a white underbelly and facial frills. "I set 3 cards and end my turn."
"I draw!" Johan declared strongly, pulling a card from his hand. "I activate the Permanent Magic Gem's Tree. With each time I place 1 Gem Beast in my Magic & Trap Card Zone, this tree gets a Gem Seed Counter." Pulling another card from his hand, he continued with another card.
"I summon Gem Beast Sapphire Pegasus (ATK: 1800)." A round sapphire crystal appeared before Johan and quickly shattered. Johan's monster appeared as a white Pegasus with sapphire stone on his wings, and his effect kicked in. "By summoning my Pegasus, I select one card from my deck with Gem Beast in its name, and place it in my Magic & Trap Card Zone. I select Gem Beast Topaz Tiger."
Putting the card in his back row, the card appeared in the form of a roughly cut yellow stone, and a round seed-like gem appeared on his tree. Then, he played yet another card.
"I activate Gem's Contract. I release Topaz Tiger from my Magic & Trap Card Zone and special summon it (ATK: 1600)." The Pegasus was joined by a white tiger covered in yellow gems, complete with saber-teeth and blades on its forehead and ankles. Then Johan pulled another card.
"I equip the card Gem's Release to Topaz Tiger, and add 800 ATK to my Tiger (ATK: 2400)." The Tiger was covered with a blue aura that increased his strength. "Topaz Tiger, attack Hell Dragon!"
"Trap Activate: Zero Gazer!" Hell Kaiser flipped his trap as the tiger jumped into the air. "With this Trap I reduce the ATK of my Hell Dragon to 0 in order to draw 1 card." The Dragon was consumed by a dark red aura that zapped its strength as Hell Kaiser pulled 1 card. The dragon was hit by the tiger and exploded into a cloud of smoke that consumed his side of the field."
"Sapphire Pegasus, direct attack! End this duel!" The Pegasus made its forehead horn glow and shot a beam into the smoke, seemingly striking its mark.
"Way to go, Johan!" Judai cheered.
"A One Turn Kill," Jack remarked happily, but they both straightened up when they saw Yusei seemed certain of another outcome.
"Something tells me that's not what happened." He said gravely. His fears were confirmed when they heard Hell Kaiser's sinister laughing from the smoke. As it cleared, they saw him standing there with almost full Life Points and a face-up Trap Card on his field.
Hell Kaiser: LP 3800
Johan: LP 4000
"I activated my Strength Increaser - Super Z Trap Card. Because I made Hell Dragon's ATK 0, my damage would have become 2400 instead of 400. Since my damage was above 2000, my Trap gave me 4000 additional Life Points." The Trap then disappeared from his field.
Johan, disappointed by having failed to defeat Hell Kaiser, growled lightly and declared "I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Not so fast," Hell Kaiser smirked. "Trap Activate: Recharge Damaged! This trap activate during the opponent's End Phase. For each of your successful attacks, I draw 1 card, and then 1 additional card. You attacked twice, so I draw 3 cards." Hell Kaiser pulled more cards and noted, "The tables are turned Johan. Your hand is empty, and mine full."
"As it true of my field," Johan retorted.
"Even so, it's my turn." Hell Kaiser drew another card, then pulled a card from his hand to play. "I activate the effect of Cyber Dragon: with my field empty and yours including a monster, I may Special Summon Cyber Dragon from my hand (ATK: 2100)." Hell Kaiser was joined by his infamous Dragon-like machine, which roared mechanically.
"Then from my hand I activate Future Fusion! This spell sends the Fusion-Material monsters from my deck to my Graveyard to Fusion Summon said monster in 2 turns. I select F.G.D., and so I send 5 Dragon-type monsters from my Deck to my Cemetery." Pulling out his cards, he selected 5 Dragons (3 Hound Dragons, Bomb Dragon and Kaiser Glider) and placed them in his Cemetery slot, where they fed in all at once.
"I summon Cyber Dark Keel (ATK: 800)!" Hell Kaiser's dragon was joined by a black serpent with many wires along its body. "When Dark Keel is summoned, I select 1 Level 3 or lower Dragon-type monster from my Cemetery to equip to it, then it gains ATK equal to that monster's. With 1700 ATK, I certainly select to equip Hound Dragon to Dark Keel." The serpent was joined with a grey-orange and dull yellow dragon, which it wrapped its wires around and stabbed into its back. Then, its ATK rose (ATK: 2500).
"Dark Keel, attack Topaz Tiger!" The serpent dragon lashed around its tail and struck the Tiger, destroying it instantly. "And now my monster's effect activates; when it destroys a monster in battle, 300 points of damage is inflicted on the opponent." The serpent swung its tail again, striking Johan in the chest and knocking him back a few steps.
Hell Kaiser: LP 3800
Johan: LP 3600
Getting his wits about him, Johan flipped his trap. "Reverse Card Open: Gem Set! When my Gem Beast is destroyed by battle and I send it to the Cemetery, I place 1 Gem Beast in my Magic & Trap Card Zone to reduce my battle damage this turn to 0. I select Ruby Carbuncle." Johan place an irregular-cut red stone in his field, which created a counter on his tree.
"Also, because Gem's Release was destroyed, I place another Gem Beast in my Magic & Trap Card Zone. I select Amber Mammoth." Another stone, an oblong-ish orange one, appeared beside the red stone, again placing a counter on the tree.
"Like a good opponent Johan, you never give up," Hell Kaiser complimented, before getting a dark look in his eye. "Too bad it won't save you from me. I set 2 cards and end my turn."
"It's my turn." Johan declared, flipping his card around near-instantly. "Magic card activate: Rare Value! You select one of my Gem Beasts in my Magic & Trap Card Zone to send to the Cemetery, and I draw 2 cards."
"Send Ruby Carbuncle to the Graveyard," Hell Kaiser replied flatly. After that the red gem shattered and Johan pulled 2 cards.
"Excellent. Alright Hell Kaiser, now I turn things around. I release Sapphire Pegasus and Advance Summon Magna Slash Dragon (ATK: 2400)." The Pegasus disappeared from his field, and was replaced by a white dragon with bladed arms for wings. "And I activate its effect: By sending 1 Gem Beast to the Graveyard, I destroy a Magic or Trap Card on the field." The orange gem shattered as the dragon swung its arm and cut through the hound dragon on Hell Kaiser's dark serpent.
Hell Kaiser growled a moment before issuing, "You'll still not win this match."
"We'll see," Johan countered, pointing at the white serpent-dragon. "Magna Slash, destroy Cyber Dragon!" The white dragon swung its arm again, this time cleaving at the white machine. However, Hell Kaiser wasn't budging.
"Trap Activate: Attack Reflector Unit. I release Cyber Dragon to Special Summon Cyber Barrier Dragon from my deck." The white dragon shattered and was replaced by a new, hexagonal dragon with a collar for its head that had 2 hydro-foils attached. "And since my Dragon is in Attack Position, your attack is negated." The dragon's head retracted and its foils extended, forming a green barrier that reflected the dragon.
"I'm not worried," Johan said confidently. "During Main Phase 2, I send Gem's tree to the Graveyard to activate its effect, and place 3 Gem Beasts in my Magic & Trap Card Zone. I place my remaining three: Cobalt Eagle, Amethyst Cat and Emerald Turtle." The tree shattered, except for the three counters, and then they disappeared as Johan's field was joined by a spiky purple gem, a dull blue jagged orb gem and a cylindrical green stone appeared before him. "I set 1 card and end my turn."
"Then it's my turn." As Hell Kaiser drew, he pulled another card from his hand. I activate Angel's Gift, and draw 3 cards." Pulling 3 cards, he then pulled 2 that he'd drawn and said, "And next I am required to discard 2." Putting them in his Cemetery, he then pulled a card and played it. "I summon Cyber Oroboros (ATK: 100)." Hell Kaiser was joined by a brown machine snake with a spike-like tail, before flipping his set card.
"Trap Activate: Undying Class!" As he revealed this trap, its significance hit home for Judai and Johan, who remembered it from the duel with Martin. "I release Cyber Barrier Dragon and Cyber Oroboros to resurrect Dark Tuner Cyber Manticore (ATK: 0)." The two cards disappeared as a multi-colored lion-like machine with wings and a dragon tail appeared before him, and for Jack and Yusei this message really hit home.
"A Dark Tuner," Jack blurted out. "That can only mean…"
"He's a Dark Signer," Yusei said gravely.
"I tune my Level 10 Manticore to my Dark Keel, and Dark Synchro Summon a powerful beast." The Manticore turned into a series of 10 red rings that flew over to the serpent, turning it into 4 black orbs. The resulting energy wave created a pulse of black light that formed a black metal dragon with a blade-fitted collar and spines along its body.
"What… is that monster?" Johan questioned.
"It's Cyber Sabre Dragon (ATK: 2800). And, due to the effect of my Manticore, my Dragon's ATK doubles (ATK: 5600). And finally, I activate Limiter Removing to double his ATK further (ATK: 11200). Now attack Magna Slash Dragon!" The dragon formed a black bolt of lightning in its moth that shot straight through the white Dragon, hitting Johan square on and knocking him flat on his back.
Hell Kaiser: LP 3800
Johan: LP 0
"Nobody makes a fool of Hell Kaiser," Hell Kaiser said aloud, repeating his final words to Johan in the alternate dimension. Powering down, he turned to leave, the other group members stunned at how things had unfolded.
"Kaiser!" Judai yelled, getting his attention. "How could you sell out everything you believed in… for this?"
Hell Kaiser did not reply. Instead, he turned and started up the stairs.
Card of the Week – Hell Kaiser
Cyber Saber Dragon
Level: -6
Attribute: DARK
Type(s): [Machine/Dark Synchro/Effect]
Effect: 1 Machine-type [Cyber] monster – 1 [Cyber] Dark Tuner Monster
In order to summon this card, you must subtract the Level of the Dark Tuner Monster from the Level of the non-Tuner Monster to equal this card's Level. When this card attacks a Defence Position monster with less DEF than the ATK of this card, inflict the difference as battle damage on the opposing player. When this card is destroyed, draw 1 card.
ATK: 2800
DEF: 800