Author's Note: As it turns out, there isn't really any work that I have to do this week for the new online class I just started taking. So I might actually be able to finish this story this week. Just thought I'd mention that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL.
Chapter 13: Morphia
"So you're this mother goddess that Droite mentioned before." Hikari observed.
"I am the first of my people to attain the form of existence we now have." Morphia confirmed. "When I achieved this state, I quickly elevated the other people of my old world to the same existence."
"Just what the hell are you things, anyway?" Shark asked.
"Our old name has long been forgotten." Morphia replied. "The word, vampire is as good a name to use for us as any. But eons ago we were not unlike you humans. We had the same mortal existence as you do. We had also attained a high level of technological advancement. Yet one day we found that the star our planet orbited was on the verge of death, which also spelled the end of our world as well.
"My people began to search for our race to survive. As technologically advanced as we were, we had no way of saving our dying sun. And the technology we had to travel into the stars was in its infancy. The best my people could do was to build a generational ship that could only travel through space at an extremely slow speed. For me, that was not good enough. So while the scholars of my world continued in vein to save my people through science, I turned to the spiritual for a solution.
"I determined that to survive, my people needed to evolve into a new type of being. I studied ancient myths from my world that told of a people of light that had ascended to a higher form by a process known as Ranking Up. So I tried to do the same thing through meditation and mysticism. I don't remember if it had taken me days or months, but through my efforts I became the being that you now see before you, an immortal creature beyond the grasp of death. Of course I found that the transformation came at its price. To remain active, I found that I needed to drain the life force from other beings.
"Despite the costs however, the new form of existence was infinitely better than the alternative of the fate that awaited my people. So I elevated the rest of my race to my plain. After most of my kind had evolved, we used our abilities to improve the arc we had created to escape our dying world and left to travel the stars. It is that arc that is now above your city."
"You're saying that all the people of your world are aboard that ship that's above us?" Durbe asked.
"Most of them." Morphia confirmed. "There were some who resisted the transformation, but they were quickly eliminated."
"In other words, there were people who didn't agreed with your way of thinking, so you killed them for it." Hikari observed.
"I took no joy from it." Morphia indifferently replied. "I was simply being practical. They couldn't understand the great gift that I was trying to give them. In the end, they would've died anyway from staying on our dying world."
"So what exactly did you vampires do once you got into space?" Shark asked.
"We sought out other worlds with life." Morphia answered. "Both to learn about them and to drain their life force to sustain ourselves."
"You mean you've destroyed other worlds?" an appalled Hikari asked.
"We did not bring destruction." Morphia told her. "We gave them eternity by elevating them to our plain. You cannot even begin to comprehend the bliss that is our existence. Our minds, our very souls are connected on a level that you can never achieve as humans."
"But the people of those worlds you drained the life out of never asked for that existence!" Hikari argued. "You and your people just moved in and stole those lives from them!"
"Just how many worlds did you 'elevate' during your travels?" Shark asked.
"It is impossible to say." Morphia answered. "Just as it is impossible to tell you how long we have existed. When you live for eternity, you stop bothering to keep track of the years."
"There's one thing that I'd like to know." Vector cut in. "Just how exactly were you and your people sealed away?"
"You already know some of the story through my daughter, but I will explain a little of how things led to that point." Morphia replied. "One of the ultimate goals of my people and I was to find that world of light spoken of in our myths, the world where its people had achieved a higher existence through Ranking Up. Over time we achieved the means to cross the barriers to other dimensions and eventually came to that world of light."
"You found Astral World." Vector deduced. "So what happened then?"
"Our hope was that by joining with the people of Astral World, we could attain an even higher state of being than we had before." Morphia explained. "They seemed to strive for the same thing that we did, which was to continue to Rank Up and evolve. But in the end, they sent their envoy to oppose us."
"So you fought Astral and lost." Shark replied.
"And as punishment we were sealed away in another dimension where nothing else existed." Morphia continued. "We tried to break free of our prison, but the barrier was far too strong."
"If there was nothing else in that dimension you were trapped in, why didn't you die out?" Mizael asked. "I thought you said you needed to drain the life force of other beings to survive."
"You misunderstand. We do not need life force in order to live, merely to remain active." Morphia explained. "Our bodies do not decay. They can be destroyed through accident or violence, and they do become withered if energy is not replenished. But as long as our physical forms exist, we continue to live. We became dormant trapped in that void for untold eons. Though our bodies become inert, our minds continued to remain active, waiting for the eventual time when we would be revived."
"What about Droite?" Hikari asked. "You said that she was your daughter. How is that even possible?"
"My daughter was a surprise even to me." Morphia replied. "One day my people came up another world with beings not unlike you humans, just as my race once was. I found a rather handsome male of that race and decided to mate with him before draining him. But as a result I had become pregnant with his seed, something that I did not expect to happen. When I finally gave birth to her, I found that she was more like a human than my own kind. I did however see that she could easily become one of us. All I needed to do was awaken her.
"But I decided that my daughter needed to reach adulthood before I awakened her true self. Around this same time, my people began our siege on Astral World. I sensed that the people of Astral World might resist, and taking their power into account I decided to take some precautions for the sake of my daughter and the rest of my people. So I placed her in a crystal pod and launched her into a portal through space and time. Through chance she ended up on your world and lived life as a relatively normal human. Then eventually a doorway to my people's prison was opened and I was able to awaken her. The web of destiny led my daughter back to me, and she became the key to my people's long awaited revival."
"So what, Droite was just a tool to you?" Hikari asked.
"Do not misunderstand me. I care for my daughter a great deal, just as much as I care for the rest of my people." Morphia told her. "Through the centuries my consciousness was able to reach out to hers, and I was able to witness her hard life growing up on this world. I wish that I could've made her human existence easier somehow. If it is any comfort to you, her soul now exists within me, as do the souls of my daughter's consort and the souls of every other person in this city."
"And what the hell kind of existence is that?" Hikari demanded to know.
"I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand." Morphia coldly replied.
"Oh, I understand alright!" Hikari shot back. "What I understand is that you're a total psycho!"
"Your opinion of me is irrelevant." Morphia told her. "I merely explained my origins and the origins of my people to you so that you could all better understand what is to come. The life of this world will be drained, and the rest of your people shall become like us."
"That's not gonna happen." Yuma suddenly declared as he rose back to his feet and stepped forward. "My friends and I are gonna stop you right here and now!"
"You wish to challenge me?" Morphia observed. "Are you merely trying to save your world, or are you trying to avenge your fallen comrades?"
"Of course I'm trying to save my world." Yuma confirmed. "But I'm also going to save Kotori, Kaito and everyone else in this city who became a vampire! I heard what you said about the souls of Kaito and the others being inside you, and I believe that if I beat you I can somehow bring them back!"
"And what do you base this belief on?" Morphia asked.
"I don't know. But I have faith that if I can beat you, I can bring back all the souls you took!" Yuma declared as he grabbed the golden key hanging from his neck. "So I'm gonna give it everything I've got!"
"I'm with Yuma!" Shark declared. "I don't know about bringing back everyone in Heartland who was turned, but I'll fight you to save this world and make you pay for everything you've done!"
"I'm in too!" Hikari declared. "I don't know if beating you will bring everyone back like Yuma thinks. But there is one thing I do know, Morphia! And that's that you and your people have to be destroyed!"
"So be it." Morphia agreed. "If you wish to face me, then we can do battle right now."
Yuma, Shark and Hikari all activated their D-Gazers and duel disks. Meanwhile, the bracelet on Morphia's left write glowed with a blue light and changed shape. The light faded from the piece of jewelry to reveal that it had taken the form of a silver duel disk with a panel shaped like the wing of a butterfly. A deck appeared in Morphia's deck holder with another flash of blue light. At the same time, a red tattoo in the shape of a butterfly appeared around her left eye, which changed from orange to blue. As soon as everyone else's D-Gazers activated, the color of the surrounding area changed slightly. A large circle of blue light appeared beneath the feet of Morphia and her three opponents and caused them to rise a few feet into the air. With each side's life points set at 12000, the duel was ready to commence.
"I will let one of you go first." Morphia decided.
"Then it's my move!" Shark declared as he drew his first card. "I'll set one card on the field and summon Drill Barnacle in Defense Mode!"
Appearing on the battlefield was a large sea creature with several pink drills that were retracted into the shell that was its back. On its underside was a mouth filled with several tendrils.
"That ends my turn!" Shark announced.
"Now it's my move!" Yuma announced as he drew his first card. "I summon Gogogo Golem in Defense Mode and end my turn!"
Appearing on the battlefield next to Drill Barnacle was a creature with an almost football-shaped body made of smooth red brick. Rather than a head, it had a single red eye that was visible through a slot at the top of its round torso. It had thick arms ending in very large black stone hands, and on its back was a pair of cylinders that resembled gun barrels.
Hikari drew her first card. "I set one card on the field and summon Fortress Warrior in defense Mode!" The giant stone warrior appeared on the field holding his control tower top above his head. "That ends my turn!"
Morphia calmly drew her first card. "I summon Dead Light Specter in Attack Mode."
Appearing on Morphia's side of the battlefield was a humanoid figure made of light-blue light. The shape of the figure appeared to be female. She seemed to have of a long transparent dress and long flowing hair. She appeared to be featureless except for a pair of red eyes.
"When Dead Light Specter is summoned to the field, I can special summon a monster of light from my hand at the cost of making that monster's ATK zero." Morphia announced. Suddenly a familiar large red cross appeared in her right hand. "Appear and serve me, Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon!"
Morphia threw the cross into the air, causing it to explode with a brilliant blue light. The light soon faded and Kaito's glowing blue dragon descended to the battlefield.
"How could that witch have seized control of Photon Dragon?" a stunned Mizael wondered.
"How can you have Kaito's dragon?" Yuma demanded to know.
"When I absorbed your friend's soul, I also gained his cards." Morphia explained. "Now then, when Dead Light Specter summons a monster to the field, her level becomes the same as that monster's. Which means her level rises from four to eight."
"Don't tell me…" Shark spoke.
"I overlay Photon Dragon and Dead Light Specter to summon the dragon of extinction!" Morphia announced. "Arise and serve me, Galaxy-Eyes Dead Star Dragon!"
A large vortex of purple light appeared in the center of the battlefield. Photon Dragon and Dead Star Dragon changed into balls of purple energy and were pulled in. Rising out of the vortex a moment later was the purple butterfly-winged dragon of light that Kaito had used as a vampire.
"Because I now control a Dead Star Xyz Monster, I summon two Dead Light Bats using their effects." Morphia announced.
Materializing on the field was a pair of small balls of light-blue light. Each ball of light had a small pair of purple crystal batwings.
"I overlay these two level four monsters and Xyz Summon Dead Star Butterfly Priestess!" Morphia announced.
Another vortex of purple light appeared in the middle of the battlefield. Both winged balls of light changed into purple energy and were sucked in. Rising out of the center of the anomaly a moment later was Droite's butterfly-winged priestess.
"This is nuts!" Alit exclaimed. "Morphia just summoned both of Kaito and Droite's Dead Star monster in the same turn!"
"How are Yuma and the others supposed to survive against that?" Cathy asked.
"You three shall soon see that no matter what you do, you cannot prevail against me." Morphia told them. "Your resistance is futile."
Author's Note: Originally the final duel wasn't going to start until the next chapter. But the exposition about the vampires and how Morphia is Droite's mother (in this story) ended up being a lot shorter than I thought it'd be. I have this funny little policy about not posting any chapters that aren't at least close to being 2,000 words. Under other circumstances, I probably just would've waited until tomorrow to finish this chapter, but I didn't want to wait another day to put it up. So I sort of had to improv the first few turns of the duel on the spot. Of course I already have at least a pretty good idea of how this duel is going to go anyway.
As for the origin of Morphia and the rest of the space vampires, I admit that I was a little sketchy going into it. I actually feel like I could've come up with something just a little better. Looking at it now, Morphia and her vampires turned out to be a bit like the Borg from Star Trek (I even admitted that with Morphia's final line in the chapter). Maybe one of these days I'll come back and edit this chapter a little. I also hope that the explanation about Droite's birth and how she ended up on Earth wasn't too "out there".
Please review and let me know what you think.