Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 12: The Dead City
"You're deluded if you still think you and Shark still have a chance at winning this duel." Kaito told Hikari.
"Well if you're so sure about that, then attack." Hikari dared. "We're wide open."
"Fine! Neo Dead Star, obliterate Stardust Dragon!" Kaito ordered. "Ultimate Extinction Stream!"
"I activate a Trap, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Hikari quickly announced. "This card blocks Neo Dead Star's attack!"
The three heads of Kaito's red dragon of light fired three streams of light from their mouths that cam together to form a single blast of red energy. Moments before the attack could hit though, Hikari's scarecrow of junk popped up in front of Stardust Dragon and blocked the blast with an invisible shield. When the attack ended, Scrap-Iron Scarecrow vanished from the battlefield.
"I knew you might try a move like that, so I activate a Trap of my own, Dead Star Rampage!" Droite announced. "When the attack of a Dead Star monster is negated, this card allows it to attack a second time this turn!"
"Neo Dead Star, attack Stardust Dragon again! Ultimate Extinction Stream!" Kaito commanded. The dragon opened its three mouths a second time and sent forth another blast.
"Then I activate another Trap, Defense Draw!" Hikari announced. "This card blocks the damage from your attack and allows me to draw one more card!"
The blast of red energy stuck Stardust Dragon and vaporized him in an instant. When the attack was over however, Shark and Hikari's life points were untouched. As the smoke from Neo Dead Star's last attack cleared, Durbe and the other entered the lab. Yuma and Alit had already regained consciousness.
"Oh boy. This does not look good." Vector observed as he assessed the situation.
"Shark and Hikari are really dueling Kaito and Droite?" Yuma asked.
"Yes. And it appears that they're losing badly." Durbe replied.
"I'll end my turn there." Kaito announced.
"Then I'm gonna end this right now!" Shark declared as he drew his next card. The card flashed with a red light as it was taken from the deck. "I activate Rank-Up-Magic The Seventh One! With this card I summon Number 101: Silent Honors ARK and use it to Xyz Summon Number C101: Silent Honors DARK!"
A large swirling vortex in the form of a galaxy formed behind Shark and Hikari. Flying out of the vortex was a vehicle that looked like a small blue submarine with three very long spikes projecting outward from the front. Suddenly bursting out from the circular window of the craft's small cockpit was a humanoid figure clad completely in dark-blue armor. In his right hand he carried a long red spear. Projecting back from the armor on his waist were two long fin-like blades. Adorning the right blade was the number 101 in light-blue alien writing.
"I activate the effect of Silent Honors DARK!" Shark announced. "One per turn I can have him attach an opponent's special summoned monster on the field to himself as another overlay unit! And the monster I choose is Neo Galaxy-Eyes Dead Star Dragon!"
A beam of blue light shot from Number C101's chest towards Neo Dead Star. But before the beam of light could hit, it struck some kind of invisible barrier.
"What the… what the hell just happened?" Shark demanded to know.
"Nice try, but Neo Dead Star can't be targeted by the effects of Number monsters." Kaito explained with a small smirk.
"No way!" Alit exclaimed. "Silent Honors was their last shot at getting rid of that dragon! How're they supposed to win now?"
"Don't worry. I'm sure Nasch and Hikari will find a way." Durbe assured him.
"I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!" a somewhat irritated Shark announced.
"Then prepare yourselves for the end!" Droite told them as she drew her next card.
"Guys, wait!" Yuma interrupted. "Do all of you really have to go through with this?"
"Stay out of this, Yuma." Shark told him. "This is no different from the duel we had two years ago. The only way we can settle things with Kaito and Droite now is to fight them."
"But…" Yuma tried to argue.
"Forget it, Yuma. It's pointless for you to try and talk them out of this." Vector told him. "The only thing we can do now is watch."
"I there are no more interruptions, then I play the Spell, Mystical Space Typhoon and destroy Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" Droite announced. A small twister appeared on the field and blew Hikari's Trap to bits. "Now… Neo Dead Star, attack Silent Honors DARK! Ultimate Extinction Stream!"
"I activate a Trap, Poseidon Wave!" Shark announced. "This card negates Neo Dead Star's attack! And since Hikari and I have a Water monster on the field, you take 800 points of damage!"
Just as Neo Dead Star was about to fire another blast from its jaws, a massive wave of water came in and washed over the entire battlefield. The wave passed and Kaito and Droite's life points had taken a small drop to 4300.
"You two are harder to get rid of than we thought." Droite remarked. "I'll end my turn."
Hikari drew her next card. "I summon Mono Synchron in Attack Mode!"
Appearing on the battlefield was a small green and yellow robot. On the end of each of its arms in place of a hand was a large red stamp of the number one.
"Next I activate Monster Reborn and bring back Fortress Warrior from the Graveyard!" Hikari announced. The large stone warrior materialized again on the battlefield. "When I perform a Synchro Summon using Mono Synchron as the Tuner, the other monster used as material becomes a level one. So I tune the level one Mono Synchron with the now level one Fortress Warrior for a level two Synchro Summon!"
Mono Synchron fired a red beam from one of its stamps at Fortress Warrior, hitting the stone figure in the forehead. A large red number one appeared on Fortress Warrior's head. Mono Synchron flashed orange and changed into a green ring of light that encircled Fortress Warrior. Fortress Warrior then changed into a single white star.
"Clustering wills shall come together and break the barrier to a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari chanted. "Synchro Summon! The power of light, Synchro Tuner, Warship Synchron!"
The star flashed and became a horizontal column of golden light. Emerging from the light was a small blue and white spacecraft with two green blade-like wings on each side. On top of the ship was a black helmet with a single red light for an eye.
"Now I activate my final face-down card, Wicked Rebirth!" Hikari announced. "By paying 800 life points, I can bring Stardust Dragon back from the Graveyard!"
Shark and Hikari's life points dropped to 800. In the next instant Stardust Dragon flew up through a hole of white light that had appeared in the ground.
"That ends my turn." Hikari announced.
"That's it? You're not going to try and put up a better defense than that?" a somewhat surprised Kaito asked.
"Just make your move." Hikari told him.
"Fine then!" Kaito agreed as he drew his card. Hikari meanwhile took a breath and closed her eyes. "Neo Dead Star, attack Stardust Dragon. Ultimate Extinction Stream!"
"Clustering crystal dreams open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon!" Hikari began to chant as a gust of wind suddenly picked up around her. Meanwhile the three-headed dragon fired another blast. "Accel Synchro!"
Suddenly Stardust Dragon and Warship Synchron took off in a streak of pinkish-red light and vanished from the room, causing Neo Dead Star's attack to continue on and hit nothing. As everyone else tried to figure out what had just happened, a hole in space appeared behind Hikari and a new dragon shot out of it like a bullet, much to everyone's surprise. The new dragon resembled Stardust Dragoon but was slightly larger and more muscular. It had a sleeker head with shorter horns. The dragon's wings had become more like fins, and had gained a second pair that jutted upright out of its back.
"Be born, Shooting Star Dragon!" Hikari called out.
"What… what kind of summoning was that?" a stunned Yuma asked.
"That's… impossible!" an equally stunned Kaito declared. "I've read about this summoning method, but I thought it required a D-Wheel!"
"Normally you'd be right, but thanks to the powers I inherited from my mom I don't need a D-Wheel to pull off Accel Synchro." Hikari explained.
Kaito quickly shook off his amazement. "Well, even if you were able to summon a new monster, it only has 3200 ATK. It still can stand against my dragon! Neo Dead Star, attack Shooting Star Dragon with Ultimate Extinction Stream!"
"I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect!" Hikari announced. "By banishing it until the end of the turn, I can negate your dragon's attack!"
Neo Dead Star fired another shot from its three heads at Shooting Star Dragon. But before the attack could strike, Shooting Star Dragon vanished with a flash of green light. Neo Dead Star's attack hit a barrier of green energy that suddenly appeared.
"I guess I'll end my turn then." Kaito announced. With the end of his turn, Shooting Star Dragon reappeared in another flash of green light.
Shark drew his next card. "I'll set one card on the field and end my turn!"
Droite drew her next card. "I activate the Spell card, Dead Star Burner! With this card, I detach all of Neo Dead Star's overlay units and inflict 500 points of damage for each one!"
Suddenly the three crystal spheres orbiting Neo Dead Star ignited with crimson flames. The spheres broke their orbit around the three-headed dragon and headed for Shark and Hikari.
"I activate my Trap, Lightning Rod Trident!" Shark quickly announced. "Since you activated an effect that inflicts damage, I can tribute Silent Honors DARK and bring that damage to zero!"
As the spheres neared Shark and Hikari, Number C101 quickly jumped in the way and took the hit. The aquatic dark knight was instantly destroyed in a flash of fire and smoke.
"How noble of you to sacrifice your monster like that." Droite remarked. "Unfortunately you've only just dug yourselves deeper. Thanks to that last move, Dead Star Dragon, Silent Honors ARK and Silent Honors DARK are now in the Graveyard. Which means Neo Dead Star's ATK is now 8000."
"Power up your dragon as much as you want." Hikari dared. "In the end it won't mean anything! Ryoga and I are still going to win!"
"I can't attack anyway because I used Dead Star Burner." Droite revealed. "So I'll end my turn. But I'm only going to say this one more time. You should both just give up. In the end your struggles are pointless."
"Ryoga and I will never give up! Now while we card still draw cards from our decks!" Hikari declared. "I can't let your reign of destruction any longer! So one way or another, I'm taking you both down!"
With that, Hikari's Signer Mark began to glow. At the same time, the top card of Hikari's deck began to shine with a red light.
Hikari drew her next card. "From my hand I equip Shooting Star Dragon with the monster, Dragon Star Weapon-Dead Star Killer!"
Appearing on the field was a monster that looked like a red spacecraft with a cockpit shaped like the head of a dragon. On the sides of the craft was a pair of rocket engines that broke off and flew over to connect to the top of Shooting Star Dragon's wings. From the front end of each rocket extended a long silver spike. The spacecraft's head then disconnected from the rest of vehicle. It flew over and attached itself to Shooting Star Dragon's chest like a piece of armor. The rest of the craft attached itself to the silver dragon's back, becoming like a large booster engine.
"Dead Star Killer?" Alit repeated. "You mean all this time Shark's girlfriend had a card that could kill Dead Star monsters?"
"I'm not so sure." Mizael answered. "I think that card is some kind of incarnation of the Crimson Dragon that we saw earlier. It appeared in her deck with her determination to defeat Tenjo and his wench."
"Because he's equipped with Dead Star Killer, Shooting Star Dragon's ATK rises to 5100!" Hikari revealed. "But that's not all. Thanks to Dead Star Killer, any Xyz Monster that Shooting Star Dragon attacks loses ATK equal to its own!"
"What?" Kaito exclaimed. "But… that means…"
"It means your dragon's toast!" Shark finished.
"I activate Shooting Star Dragon's effect and pick up the top five cards from my deck!" Hikari announced. "For every Tuner among the five cards I pick up, Shooting Star Dragon gets an attack!" She took the first five cards on top of her deck and looked at them. "Two of the monsters I picked up are Krebons and Debris Dragon! Which means Shooting Star Dragon can attack two times!"
With that, Shooting Star Dragon split into two versions of itself. One of the copies glowed with a red light while the other glowed blue.
"Go all out, Shooting Star Dragon!" Hikari commanded. "Star Slayer Blitz!"
Both dragons flew forward at full speed. The blue dragon collided with Neo Dead Star, destroying the three-headed beast in a massive explosion. The remaining dragon continued on and hit Kaito and Droite. The life points dropped to zero. With the duel at an end, Shooting Star Dragon vanished. Kaito and Droite both fell to their knees.
"Kaito!" Shark called as he and Hikari went over.
A small smile appeared on Kaito's face. "Well… looks like you two were able to beat us after all."
"What's happening to you two?" Shark asked.
"I want you both to know that Droite and I don't have any regrets about all that's happened." Kaito continued. "But you should probably know… you've probably already lost."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hikari asked.
Kaito and Droite merely looked at one another. Smiling, they both took each other's hands. Suddenly, the two of them changed into balls of red energy that shot through the ceiling of the lab, leaving a pair of holes.
"Does… does this mean Kaito and Droite are…?" Yuma began to ask.
Before anyone could respond, everyone suddenly heard several unholy noises coming from outside of the lab. They sounded like screams of some kind, but they didn't sound at all human.
"What the hell was that?" Gilag asked.
To answer his question, Orbital sped into the room. "Y-Y-Yuma!"
"What is it, Orbital?" Yuma asked.
"It's Kotori… s-s-she's gone!" the robot explained. "She turned into some kind of energy and flew through the ceiling. The same thing seems to be happening to every other vampire in the building."
"Oh god!" Hikari spoke as a look of horror appeared on her face.
Before anyone could ask about her reaction, Hikari quickly ran out of the lab. Shark and the others ran after her. In moments they exited the tower and stood outside the door. Outside they say several balls of red light shooting into the sky.
"What's happening?" Shark asked.
"In some of the old stories about vampires… killing the head vampire also killed off every other vampire he or she created." Hikari recalled. "When we killed Kaito and Droite in that duel, every vampire that sprang from them died too."
"But… practically everyone in Heartland besides us had become a vampire." Cathy realized. "That means…"
"This whole city is dead." Hikari finished.
At that, Yuma fell to his knees as tears began to stream down his face. "That… that can't be…. Kotori… Kaito… my sister… everyone's gone?"
Suddenly a loud booming noise was heard from above. Everyone looked up to see what looked like a massive black spaceship floating above the city. The ship had a very organic look and resembled a whale. On the sides of the craft was a pair of large bat-like wings in place of where the whale's dorsal flippers might be.
"Now what?" Vector complained.
"That ship… that was in that vision I saw earlier." Hikari recalled. "The one the Crimson Dragon showed me during Kaito and Mizael's duel."
Suddenly a small point of blue light began to shine from underneath the ship. An object emerged from that point and began to fly down towards the group. It wasn't long before they could see that the object was a transparent crystal coffin containing a mummified corpse. As the coffin flew, several of the red balls of energy that had once been vampires flew into the coffin. The crystal casket stopped before the group and exploded with a flash of blue light.
The light faded after a moment to reveal a woman who appeared to be in her twenties with very pale skin and long white hair that grew down a little past her waist. She was nude for a moment, but the floating shards of her coffin quickly formed into her clothing. Appearing around her waist was a silver belt with a butterfly-shaped crest on the front. Hanging from the belt was a long white skirt made from a shimmering fabric. On her chest appeared a piece of silver armor that left her midriff exposed and showed off her large cleavage. On her back was a long white cape made from the same shimmering fabric as her skirt. Silver bracelets appeared around her wrists, and hanging from her neck was that same butterfly necklace that Droite had worn as a vampire.
The white-haired woman floated to the ground and opened her orange eyes. The others were shocked to notice that her face looked almost exactly like Droite's.
"Droite, is that you?" Yuma asked.
The woman looked at Yuma with a cold emotionless expression. "Droite? …I see. From the sound of it, my daughter bared a very striking resemblance to me. One strong enough for you to mistake me for her."
"You're trying to say that you're Droite's mother?" Shark asked.
"This is the woman that was in my vision." Hikari quickly realized. "Who are you?"
"I am Morphia." The woman answered. "As of now, the life of this world belongs to me."
Author's Note: The Synchro Tuner that Hikari used in this chapter is a card that I came up with to use in 5D's Alternative Book 3: The God of Time. Rather than letting the player Synchro Summon during the opponent's Main Phase of the opponent's turn when most monster and Spell card effects would be used, it Synchro Summons during the opponent's Battle Phase. Originally that card was used by Z-one in The God of Time. I changed the coloring of the monster in this story since Hikari was the one using it. Another concept I brought back from my 5D's Alternative series is the Dragon Star Weapon monsters like the one Hikari used to beat Kaito and Droite. I designed them to work like the ZEXAL Weapon monsters used by Yuma and Astral, but for the Signer Dragons.
So in the next chapter, our heroes confront Droite's mother (in this story). Will they be able to defeat her? Is there a way to bring back Droite, Kaito, Kotori, and everyone else in Heartland? Stay tuned to find out.
Please review and let me know what you think.