Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, and the character of Raven is the creation of sammycrusinix.
Chapter 19: Necessary Evil
Kiryu arrived at the courtyard of the Goodwin mansion just as Jack, Carly, and the Goodwin brothers rode onto the track of light that Rex had created. He pulled up next to Yusei and the others to get a closer look.
"What the hell's going on?" Kiryu asked.
"Jack and Carly are about to duel Goodwin and the Skeleton Knight." Yusei explained.
"Yeah, only the Skeleton Knight is actually Goodwin's brother." Crow added. "And if Jack and Carly lose this duel, those brothers are going to summon some kind of demon to kill Z-one and rule the world or something."
Back on the track of light, the four duelists neared the first corner. Jack was about to make it there first, but at the last second, Rudger pulled ahead on his undead steed.
"Because I have the first turn, I will decide the order of the duel!" Rudger announced. "I of course shall go first, followed by Carly, then my brother, and then Jack shall go last. With that decided, I now activate the Track Field, Domain of the Earthbound!"
In an instant, the mansion and the surrounding city were replaced by a dark wasteland under an overcast sky. The only things of the original landscape that remained were the pyramid and the track of light.
"I set two cards and one monster on the field!" Rudger announced. "That ends my turn!"
Carly drew her first card. "I summon Fortune Lady Water in Defense Mode!"
The water elemental of the Fortune Lady sisters appeared on the track. "Oh, so I have to participate in this? Very well, if I must."
"Did… did that monster just talk?" a startled Sect asked on the sidelines.
"It's no big deal. My cards talk to me all the time." Luna pointed out to him.
"Yeah, I can hear them too because of my Signer mark." Leo revealed.
"Next I activate the Spell card, Double Summon!" Carly announced. "With this card I also summon Fortune Lady Wind in Defense Mode!"
Wind appeared on the track next to Water and glanced at Rudger. "Hey sis, isn't that the son of a bitch who hurled Carly through a window last night?"
"Yes, it seems we have to fight him in some sort of tedious rematch." Water sighed.
"Whatever." Wind shrugged.
"I activate Wind's effect!" Carly announced. "Because she was Normal Summoned, I can destroy an opponent's Spell or Trap card for each Fortune Lady I have out. So I'll use her effect to destroy the two card Rudger set out last turn!"
"Blow off!" Wind called as she swung her staff and sent a blade of air across the track. The blade of wind shattered Rudger's two cards.
"That ends my turn!" Carly announced.
"An impressive move, young lady." Rex remarked as he drew his first card. "But I'm afraid you'll soon be wishing that you had saved your monster's effect for another time. I summon Heavenly Sentinel-Mithral the Sentry in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on the track near Rex was a warrior with white-feathered wings sitting in a cross-legged position. He had on white armored gauntlets and a robe of shining chain mail. On his head he wore a white helmet that covered the top half of his face.
"Next I play a Continuous Spell, Heavenly Veil!" Rex announced. "This card prevents Heavenly Sentinel monsters from being destroyed by card effects! I also play a second Continuous Spell, Heavenly Shield! Once per turn, this card lets me prevent a Heavenly Sentinel I control from being destroyed in battle!"
"So that's it? You're just going to hide behind that little wall of yours?" Jack smirked.
"This wall, as you call it, is harder to break than your think." Rex told him. "As long as Mithral is on the field, my opponent can only attack with one monster per turn."
"This isn't good." Bruno remarked on the sidelines. "The Goodwin bothers have put up a very strong defense. Because of Mithral's effect and Heavenly Shield, Jack will have no other choice but to either attack Rudger's monster or not attack at all."
"At least Carly managed to destroy Rudger's two Traps." Raven pointed out.
"True, but Rudger's monster could be a trap itself." Yusei pointed out. "The safe option would probably be to not attack and just wait things out. But knowing Jack, he probably won't play it safe."
"I end my turn." Rex announced. "Let's see your next move, Jack."
Jack drew his first card. "I summon Force Resonator in Attack Mode!"
A small demon similar to Jack's other Tuners appeared on the track. Mounted on his back was a large ornate ball.
"Oh, what an adorable little demon you are!" Water remarked to Jack's monster. Force Resonator seemed to blush at the comment.
"Really? You think that little thing is cute?" Wind asked her with a raised eyebrow.
"Clearly, little sister, I am of a more sophisticated taste than you are." Water replied.
"Am I really the only one who doesn't think this is weird?" Sect asked on the sidelines.
"I tune my level two Force Resonator into Carly's level four Fortune Lady Water for a level six Synchro Summon!" Jack announced.
"You heard him, you charming little thing." Water spoke to Force Resonator. "Lay it on me."
Force Resonator rather excitedly shot bolts of yellow lightning into the air from his fingertips before changing into two rings of green light. The rings encircled Water and transformed her into four balls of white light.
"Lord of the dog star who scorches the heavens! Tear apart these earthbound toothless dogs!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! Appear now, Siruis, the Blue Dog Star!"
The lights flashed into a pillar of blue light. The energy soon faded to reveal a large bipedal wolf with red eyes and blue fur. He had on light-blue armor, and on each hand he had a metal wolf head carved in the image of his own face.
"Sirius, attack Rudger's monster!" Jack commanded. "Wolf Fang!"
The blue wolf king lunged at Rudger's monsters, which was soon revealed to be a fairly large dark-green spider with four red eyes and a white skull mark on its abdomen. Sirius crushed the spider with the head on its right arm, causing it to explode into green gunk that scattered onto the wolf. Suddenly Sirius collapsed to one knee.
"What's happening?" Jack wondered.
"I'm afraid because you destroyed Skull Spider-Plague Venom, its poison has cut the ATK of your monster in half." Rudger explained.
"How typical of you, Jack." Rex remarked. "Always charging in without considering the full consequences of your actions. If you had thought things through a little more, you might not be in this situation."
"Shut up! I don't need you to tell me how to duel!" Jack told him. "I end my turn!"
Rudger drew his next card. "Because you have one more monster on the field than my brother and I do, I can Special Summon Skull-Spider King Weaver in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on the track was a very large fat black spider with bulky purple legs. It had four red eyes and a red skull mark on its abdomen.
"Next I summon the Tuner monster, Skull Spider-Silk Strummer!" Rudger announced. The banjo-playing spider appeared next to King Weaver. "With Silk Strummer effect, I summon Skull Spider-Plague Venom back to the field!" The dark-green spider Jack's monster had destroyed reappeared. "I now tune the level two Silk Strummer into the level three Plague Venom and level five King Weaver for a level ten Synchro Summon!"
Silk Strummer played an odd tune on its banjo before changing into two rings of red light. The rings encircled the other two spiders and changed them into eight balls of crackling black energy.
"The threads of the underworld shall be woven together to create the web of ancient evil! Behold the ascension of its dark ruler!" Rudger chanted. "Synchro Summon! The consort of the dark spider god, Skull Spider Queen-Bride of Uru!"
The dark lights exploded into a massive pillar of black energy. The energy faded to reveal a young-looking well-endowed woman with chalk-white skin and six arms. Her long blonde hair extended all the way down to her waist. She had on a skin-tight black bodysuit with red lines running down the arms and legs and two red markings on the belly. On her chest was a silver breastplate styled like a pair of skulls, and around her waist was a transparent miniskirt styled like a spider web. On each hand was a set of long red nails. On the front of her chest just above her cleavage was a purple spider-shaped mark like the one on Rudger's arms, and on her cheeks were red tribal markings like the ones on Rudger's face. The spider queen's eyes were black with red irises.
"Bride of Uru! Attack Sirius!" Rudger commanded. "Total Desiccation!"
The spider queen lunged at Sirius and bit down on his neck with a pair of vampiric fangs. Jack and the others watched in horror as Bride of Uru sucked the life from the wolf king, quickly reducing him to a withered husk that collapsed into dust. Wind was especially disgusted by the display. The queen wiped the remaining fluid from her mouth as Jack and Carly's life points dropped to 6200.
"What… what kind of attack was that?" a disgusted Carly asked.
"Spiders feed by draining the fluids from their victims." Rudger explained. "Each time Bride of Uru feeds on a monster this way, she gains that monster DEF. Which means her ATK has risen from 3000 to 4500."
"For now." Jack smirked.
"What?" Rudger exclaimed.
Before Jack could answer, a ghostly blue wolf's head appeared and went inside the spider queen. Bride of Uru fell to her knees and clasped her neck with the hand on her upper arms.
"What have you done?" Rudger demanded to know.
"When Sirius is destroyed, his raging spirit removes 2400 ATK from an opponent's monster." Jack explained. "Meaning your Bride of Uru's ATK has just dropped down to 2100."
"I'm impressed, Jack." Rex praised. "I never expected you capable of such tactics."
"You've always underestimated my power Goodwin!" Jack told him. "Today I'm going to make you regret that!"
"I end my turn!" an annoyed Rudger announced.
Carly drew her next card. "I set one card on the field and end my turn!"
"I believe it's time to go on the offensive." Rex decided as he drew his next card. "I sacrifice Mithral to summon Heavenly Sentinel-Gram the Enforcer!"
Mithral shattered into bits of light and was replaced by another angelic warrior with massive white wings. He wore ornate white armor with gold trim. In his right hand he carried a silver spear, and a white helmet covered the top half of his face.
"I now activate another Continuous Spell, Heavenly Arua!" Rex announced. "While this card is in play, my Heavenly Sentinels can inflict battle damage to the opponent even when the monster is in Defense Mode!"
"Carly's monster only has 900 DEF!" Aki realized on the sidelines. "If Goodwin's monster destroys it, Jack and Carly will take a lot of damage."
"Plus he can still attack with Bride of Uru." Yusei pointed out. "Still, even after the attack is over, Jack and Carly should still have enough life points to last for another turn."
"That's actually not a bad monster." Jack remarked.
"I'm glad you approve." Rex replied. "But there's one other thing you should know. In addition to having 2500 ATK, when Gram destroys a monster, he inflicts damage equal to that monster's level time 400 points. Gram, attack Fortune Lady Wind! Divine Spear!"
"Crud!" Wind cursed as the angelic knight charged at her.
"I activate my Trap, Advanced Future!" Carly announced. "When a Fortune Lady is attacked, I can banish her to stop your attack and end the Battle Phase!"
A split second before Gram's spear struck, Wind vanished with a flash of green light. The attack was stopped and Carly breathed a small sigh of relief.
"The two of you are certainly holding your own." Rex remarked. "But I should tell you both that it'd be far easier for everyone if you didn't fight us. The human race is far better off if you let our plan succeed."
"Really?" Jack scoffed. "And how do you figure that? Just what is this grand plan of yours?"
"My brother and I researched this thoroughly, and it turns out what Z-one told us is true. Momentum energy truly is influenced by human emotion." Rex explained. "Humanity's dark desires do indeed have the potential to cause the Zero Reverse. But we have come up with a solution more perfect that Z-one's plan. Once Z-one is dead, we shall guide the human race. We will create a utopia where wickedness and greed will no longer exist.
"In order to accomplish this, we shall eliminate human desire. And we shall do this by giving each person a role in society that will be decided from birth. In that role, they shall want for nothing. Each person shall be perfectly content."
"But, it sounds like you'd be taking away a person's right to choose how to live." Carly pointed out.
"It is the only way to save the human race." Rudger told them. "It may seem evil, but if it is, than it is a necessary evil. The human race cannot be entrusted with its own destiny."
"What a load of bull!" Jack scoffed. "I played the role you assigned me for two years, and even though your gilded cage had its perks, it was still a hallow life. No person wants their right to decide their own fate taken away from them, Goodwin! There's nothing more humiliating than that! Carly and I are going to put an end to this scheme of yours!"
"Go ahead and try." Rex dared. "I end my turn."
"Because you end your turn, Advanced Future returns Wind to the field at level five!" Carly announced.
Wind reappeared on the track with her arms crossed and glared at the Goodwin brothers. "You old jerks are so dead!"
Jack drew his next card. "I summon Dark Resonator in Attack Mode!" The small tuning fork demon appeared on the track. "I now tune my level three Dark Resonator into Carly's level five Fortune Lady Wind for a level eight Synchro Summon!"
"Now wait just a damn minute!" Wind loudly protested, startling Dark Resonator. "You expect me to help summon the dragon that almost creamed Light in the last duel?"
"Just shut up and cooperate!" Jack ordered.
"Kiss off!" Wind fired back.
"Look Wind, you can either help Jack summon his dragon, or you can let yourself get killed by one of those two monsters." Carly pointed out.
Wind looked back over at Gram and Bride of Uru. The spider queen hissed Wind, causing her to shudder.
"Well?" Jack impatiently asked.
"…Fine, I sure as hell don't wanna go out like that wolf." Wind finally relented. "Do it, you weird little demon!"
"You're right Sect. This duel is getting weird." Crow finally agreed down on the sidelines.
Dark Resonator gave an exasperated sigh before clinking his tuning fork. The little demon changed into three green rings of light that encircled an irritated Wind. Wind crossed her arms and turned up her nose before transforming into five balls of white light.
"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" Jack chanted. "Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend!"
The lights flashed and erupted into a pillar of red flames. The flames soon died down to reveal Jack's red and black dragon.
"Red Dragon Archfiend, crush Bride of Uru!" Jack commanded. "Absolute Power Force!"
A ball of fire formed in the dragon's claw, and it used that ball to punch Rudger's spider queen. Bride of Uru was knocked backwards by the attack before shattering apart into bits of energy and vanishing. The attack had dropped the life points of the Goodwin brothers to 7100. But suddenly, Rudger started laughing.
"What's so funny?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Fools! When Bride of Uru leaves the field, I can summon her consort from my deck!" Rudger revealed. "Arise, Earthbound Immortal Uru!"
A massive pillar of red light suddenly erupted from the pyramid below. When the light faded, a spider web of purple flames had formed inside the condor glyph that was the track for the duel. And standing in the center of the web was Rudger's giant shadowy black and red spider.
"Your fates are now sealed!" Rudger declared. "No matter what you do, a new world order shall soon begin!"
Author's Note: The outline for the duel actually turned out to be not that hard to do. I ended up having to tweak a few card effects and correct a few mathematical errors, but nothing big. One of the harder parts was figuring out how to work in the part where Fortune Lady Wind gets ticked off about being used to summon Jack's dragon. Another hard part was figuring out the cards Rex was going to use. Just like with Rudger and Jaeger, it didn't seem like Rex's cards from either the anime or manga would work. So I came up with a new small set. By the way, I admittedly borrowed the Goodwin brothers' master plan for the human race from Gundam SEED Destiny. Not very original, I know. But it works.
Please review and let me know what you think.