YuGiOh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Beta Reader: Yami Zelgadis
The underground interior of the large crater in which the Ener-D reactor resided, was as dark as it ever was, save for the lit candelabra standing on either side of a long table, where Roman was sitting at the far end. One of the small flickers of flame snuffed out.
"Kalin's flame has been extinguished. How disappointing," Roman growled. He pulled down the glove on his right hand. His upper arm appeared quite unhealthy, covered with areas of purple, diseased skin. Beneath his glove, the purple patches faded to thin, meandering cracks that appeared grey. "The darkness inside of me is growing. But I cannot let it overcome me just yet. Not until I've done what I must do..."
He walked over to a smaller table in the room, and picked up a small, framed photograph. In the photo are four adults in white labcoats, posing for a group picture against a bright blue sky. The one on the far left wore a black necktie, a maroon shirt, and grey khaki pants under his labcoat, and his hair was a darker blonde, but the same shape, as Roman's; he was grinning in the picture. The man on the far right looked a few years younger and more uptight, less smiley; his lab coat was buttoned up such that you only see his robin's-egg-blue shirt and teal tie, and his charcoal-black hair sat stiffly above his shoulders. The third man in the inner right was much shorter, only standing as tall as their shoulders. He wore a grey shirt and black pants under his labcoat and looks happy and carefree. His hair was arching in six areas in opposite directions. The last person was a young woman, who looked the youngest among the four of them. She wore a periwinkle shirt and a long violet skirt, and her straight, waist-length hair was a dark shade of metallic-silver. That woman was Margaret's mother, Ekaterina Spires, head of the ill-fated and disastrous reactor project, with a younger Professor Fudo, Roman and Rex Goodwin.
"It seems the thistle doesn't fall far from the brush; destiny has made their children a thorn in my side," Roman glared at the woman in the picture, "No matter. I will be rid of them just as I got rid of her."
YuGiOh 5D's
Reverse of Arcadia
Ride 44: Destiny's Will
Part 1: Guided Destiny
Meanwhile...
Yusei placed Stardust Dragon in the slot on the plinth inside the tower of the Giant. Soon after, the ground begins to rumble. Yusei retrieved Stardust and ran for the door, not stopping to look back as the tower sank into the ground until he stopped beside Margaret far away from the sunk tower. Margaret took a glance at Yusei and saw that he was still grim over that whole affair.
"Yusei!" the two turned and was the twins, Trudge and Crow running toward them.
"That was awesome!"
"I'm so proud of you!"
"Nice job, man! So hey, uh, is that your doing?" Crow pointed towards a dome of light that appeared before scaling down out of existence, "That light appeared as soon as you won the duel!" the group returned to the run-down overpass they were standing on and saw a multitude of people where the light was.
"Who are they?" Trudge wondered, "Where did they come from?"
"Maybe it's... of course! By defeating Kalin's Earthbound Immortal, you freed all the people imprisoned inside of it!"
"So then, there's hope for the others, right?" Leo guessed.
"Yeah!" Luna said.
"Ha, give it up, buddy!"
"Right here," Yusei and Crow fist bumped, before Yusei turned serious again, "But we can't take a victory lap just yet. With the gate to the Netherworld still open, we need to go in and activate the last three control-units. And even though Kalin and Devack are out of the picture, there's still four Dark Signers left."
As Yusei spoke, a small, purple-glowing spider drifted through the air and landed on Trudge's neck. Oblivious, he scratched there. Trudge suddenly got a vacant expression and zoned out. Margaret then noticed a gleaming purple spider mark appearing on Trudge's right arm, "everyone get back!" she warned. The children scurried away while the adults stepped back.
"Trudge..." Yusei began.
"I'm sorry," someone elses voice came from Trudge's mouth, "Officer Trudge isn't here right now."
"Roman," Yusei spat, "I shoulda known!"
Trudge/Roman looked directly at Yusei, "I believe it's time that you and I faced each other, Yusei. If you think you're strong enough to defeat me, come to the site of the Old Reactor."
The mark of the spider faded from Trudge's arm, and the spider that bit him dropped to the ground and vanished; Trudge staggered, confused but himself again. He saw that everyone was somber and resolved. "What? What's everyone looking at? Huh?"
"Yusei, you can't go through with this," Margaret said, "He could be leading you to a trap."
"Of course it's a trap," Yusei said, "But I'm gonna have to face Roman sooner or later."
"No you don't!" Margaret argued, "You don't have to keep doing this! Look, Roman's done a lot of terrible things, he's the reason Satellite's what it is now. He cowered behind Rally and he turned Kalin on you! But this doesn't have to be your fight; it isn't your fault!"
"Roman may have been pulling the strings, but it's my fault my friends are involved. I was supposed to protect Kalin from Sector Security when they found out he sabotaged their headquarters. They managed to find him and catch him even when I tried to take his place!"
After a short pause, Margaret sighed, "They didn't just find out, Yusei... I told them."
All was deathly silent except for the faint howling of wind. Everyone remained quiet, mouths a-gasped from that rather shocking truth. Yusei was the first one to break the ice, "Magic..."
"It didn't happen... how you think it happened-"
"Well what did happen that I didn't think happen happened?"
"When I found out Sector Security was attacked I figured Kalin would be crazy enough to pull it off. So I ran towards the site of the explosion to see for myself. I ran into Kalin midway. He was wearing a cloak so Security didn't see his face when he was chasing him. He made me swear not to tell about him before he ran off. But when Security caught up to me, they recognized me as one of the Enforcers. So after I told them that it was Kalin they offered me a deal..."
"That they'd let the rest of the Enforcers go if the catch Kalin. Is that right?"
Margaret nodded, "I'd let myself be taken into custody, knowing you'd have to choose between me and Kalin. And eventually, Kalin was apprehended. I just wasn't counting on Kalin blaming you like he did," Yusei remained silent, not looking at her, "Yusei..." the Signer walked closer to her befor stopping just inches away. He said nothing as he gave a hardened glare towards her. His face twitched as he struggled to release his rage. It was then that one swift movement gave Margaret the message to shut her eyes...
When the impact never came, she reluctantly opened her eyes. She found herself in Yusei's arms; she actually felt his body tremble, his voice breaking as if he were whimpering...
"All this time, Kalin had spent every waken moment since that night being angry at me, and ever since the I blame my self for not being able to help him. I've been holding this burden for three years thinking countless time I could've changed what happened. Margaret what you did back then was selfish and reckless; I should be angry at you! But somehow I can't! If it weren't for you, Kalin wouldn't so mad at me... But I don't know any other way out of it."
"Yusei I-"
"You don't have to say anything," Yusei said as he let go, and turned away, "All I know is, that burden's truly gone now. So if you're anxious to wonder...I forgive you, "he turned barely to face her again, "Don't worry, it's okay."
Margaret was taken aback by Yusei's words. She may have never seen him bore ill will towards others, but even she deserved no sympathy from him. However, she should be thankful he forgave her.
"Wait a minute, no it's not okay!" Margaret was suddenly confronted by Crow who was then standing in-between the two, "I can't believe you did something so underhanded! You actually turned him over to Sector Security?!"
"But I had no choice! There's nothing else I could do!"
"I'd find a way! Satellites find a way every day! Why'd you let Yusei take the heat like that?! You should've told him right away, Margaret! You should've told all of us!"
"I did what I had to do! Kalin was putting all of us in danger! He would have gotten arrested either way; he would've taken all of us with him! Don't you see I did it for us!"
"No, you did it for you! You could've came to us right away and let us help you! But instead you brought the Man to us and let them take Kalin away, and pretended that none of it happened! If that's not the most selfish thing a person can do, I don't know what is! You're no better than the Dark Signers!"
Crow's words dug into Margaret's heart like a stake. Suddenly she felt a surge of anger welling up inside of her, "Well, excuse me for trying to help!" she then ran off.
"Where do you think you going?!"
"After Roman!"
"Why?!"
Margaret stopped, "Because Roman's the root of all this madness and I'm planning to rip that root out of the ground," she turned back to Crow, "At least my mother would appreciate that." before running away again.
"Wait! Margaret, don't do anything stupid! Magic!" Crow chased after her, with Trudge and the twins following, leaving Yusei to tend to his broken runner. By the time they reached the highway, she was already speeding off. "Man, why did I have to open my mouth at a time like this...?"
Meanwhile...
Two aircraft with helicopter-rotors on their undersides were landing beside the huge crater, the edge of the Old Reactor. In no time at all, Goodwin was striding toward the crater, as armed Security troops stood at attention beside one of the aircraft. Goodwin pulled out a remote control and pressed a single button. Out of the ground appeared a building with a door in the side; an entrance. Goodwin looked back at them, somber. "Commander. This is far enough. I can take things from here."
The captain, (the only soldier with no visor on his helmet) stepped forward and answers him. "All due respect, Director, but our assignment is to protect you at all costs. So wherever you go, we go, no ifs, ands, or buts. If you want us to stand down, you'll have to get authorization from headquarters. And that might take awhile."
"I understand. But be warned, Commander; your weapons will be of little use where I'm going." Goodwin was referring to the shiny two-handed guns cradled by many of the Security troops. The Commander nods, appearing unfazed, maybe even intrigued.
Down the elevator and into the dark ruins of the Reactor. Each Security soldier had a flashlight out as they walked down the empty corridor, two in front of Goodwin and two more behind. The door exploded from its hinges and several troops ran into the room under the cover of the dust, leveling their guns at the table with the candelabra casting the only light in the room. The commander steps to the front of the line and addressed the person sitting on the far end, "Identify yourself!"
"I was starting to think you weren't going to show, Rex," Roman greeted from the dark, "But this is a private party! Why did you bring these pitiful specimens with you?"
Goodwin stepped forward, ahead of the troops. "These 'pitiful specimens' are my personal escort, Roman."
"I see. Well, we have very important matters to discuss, so unfortunately... your toy soldiers will have to go!" as Roman's eyes glowed. The soldiers were suddenly standing in the shadow of a massive spider, a Shelob with glowing eyes and claws. The soldiers poured lasers into the thing, to no avail. The commander and the two men on either side of him found their arms pinned to their sides with thick webs, and those same rope-like webs incapacitated them, forcing them to the ground unconscious or dead. In seconds, the entire team of Security troops were on the floor, each one unconscious and wrapped in webs. Goodwing remained unmoved, "Now that's more like it, wouldn't you say? I have to confess, I thought you'd forgotten the promise you made." he stood up and moved from the table.
"I don't forget promises, big brother," Rex said, "I've been living that promise, every day. I've done everything you asked me to do. I stayed in contact with Yliaster. I've watched the stars. I brought the Signers together... I'm the reason we're standing here now!"
"Be careful how you speak! Let us never forget that we are merely pawns in a game bigger than we will ever know!" Roman threw off his cloak; his bare arms were heavily-muscled, and strange purply skin patches ran all the way up his right shoulder and are established on the right side of his face, "Seventeen years ago at the eve of Zero Reverse Pandora's Box was opened..." he pulled off his left glove, revealing a silver gauntlet made completely of metal, "And then, putting my faith in destiny, I entrusted you with the key to Earth's survival! We must hurry, the Netherworld is calling out for me, my dear brother! My time here is fleeting. We must do everything we can to bring the Great Spirits together! I've played the part that destiny wanted me to play. I have fed the Army of Shadows; I've opened the gate to the Netherworld! Soon, the king of this Netherworld will emerge, ready to fight! But your Signers, Yusei in particular, they're trying to close the gate. They're trying to stop destiny! But so be it... If that is what ends up happening, then I suppose we must respect Fate's will." Roman puts on his duel disk, and activated it.
"Perhaps you're right," Rex said uncertain, "But for the past few years, I've been thinking about everything we've been trying to accomplish, and I realized something. There's another possible outcome, one we've never considered!"
Roman's eyes narrowed, "There are hundreds of possible outcomes, little brother."
"I suppose you're right; then let's not waste any more time, let's finally learn what destiny has in store!" Goodwin held out his left arm and a pair of wings unfolded from his mechanical prosthetic arm, bursting his sleeve. His arm was functioning as a duel-disk.
The others rode their way towards the large crater holding the original reactor. Crow was thinking over what he had said to Margaret, and how she ran off to fight Roman. He never regretted what he said, everything he said was true. But he also felt bad about running her way trying to prove herself. He did not want her to go hurting herself as some way of apology.
"Look at that!" Leo pointed ahead, and saw the crater.
"The old reactor site!" Luna exclaimed, "I can't imagine what it was like when that thing blew up way back when."
"Think every disaster movie you've ever seen. Roll it all into one, then multiply that times ten," Trudge said, "Here's hoping that nothing like that happens today."
Leo heard Luna whimper and tried to comfort her, "Don't be scared, Luna!"
"There's something powerful and terrifying down there, Leo, I can feel it!"
"Right, but... I mean, uh, I'll be with you, so that's good, right?" Luna nodded uncertainly.
Meanwhile, Margaret had made it to the crater where the original Ener-D reactor. She stood standing at the edge of the crater, looking down into the dark abyss. This hole had reminded her that the spider geoglyph depicted the machine that created this wasteland, the machine that was abused by the Dark Signer Roman. She still could not forgive him for the way he berated her mother like he did.
Flashback...
"My brother Rex and I worked for Professor Fudo, who in turn, worked for you mother, at the original Ener-D Reactor site. The professor feared that should the reactor suddenly spin in reverse, the abrupt change in revolution would cause it to release a massive burst of negative energy; which is just what she- I mean, I wanted. He tried many times to warn her, but she was just too obsessed with success to listen to reason. It was only a matter of time before she decided ascend the generator past its limit. And then, boom... it all fell down... the reactor Yusei's father worked so hard to create was a means to an end."
...End Flashback.
Without saying a word, she went to the nearby stairs and descended into the crater. She was dashing down the stairs, and finally came to a narrow, all-metal slats-on-wire bridge, hung across this dark chasm to a doorway on the opposite wall. A dark laugh echoed from the darkness as someone in a dark hooded cowl stepped onto the bridge from the other end.
"Roman," she managed to grumble under her breath.
"I had a feeling you'd be the one to take Yusei's place," the Dark Signer chuckled, "Figures he'd be too torn up over what you made him do to his best friend!"
"What? What I did?!" Margaret barked, feeling her anger rising, "What happened to Kalin was his own fault; I am not responsible for him or Yusei! If anyone's to blame it's you, Roman! You took advantage of a mentally $& (ed-up kid!"
"Come, now. No need to get worked up," Roman replied, removing his hood, "I wasn't blaming you. We all did what destiny wanted us to do; we're just pawns, Margaret, no one's to blame. From the beginning you Enforcers were meant to befriend each other, and for you to turn them against one another. You were meant to manipulate your friends, just as your mother was meant to manipulate Professor Fudo!" Roman pulled a chain nested in the fake arm that held his duel-disk, and far below them, the reactor was ripped apart by a fiery explosion as a fountain of Ener-D itself erupted into the world, forming a swirling pool of rainbow light down beneath them. To the mundane eye it was a beautiful sight, a double helix of light swirling out of the bottom of the cavern. But in Margaret's perceptive, it was nothing but an oversize omen, "Can you feel it? Margaret... twenty years ago your mother and I discovered a gateway leading to something more incredible than either of us could imagine! On the other side of that light swoops a magnificent power, Margaret... Once the Netherworld gate fully opens, that power will spill into this world and consume it completely!"
"Do you even care about the people you've taken, Roman?!" Margaret cried, "The live that you've ruined so that your so-called 'Immortals' can gain power?! Up 'til now you've done whatever you wanted to do! Not anymore! I am gonna make you pay for all the damage that you've done!"
Roman gave an insane grin, "In the face of new possibility, it's inevitable that some change be incurred!"
"You don't get it!"
"You don't get it! There are incredible forces in play here, Margaret! We humans are just the means to an end! We're not important! We're disposable cogs in a machine; our individual lives mean nothing! Look around you; just look at this beautiful light. This light is alive; it's part of a chain reaction that took Professor Fudo and Ekaterina, and soon... an even greater destiny will find me as well!"
"Well, too bad! 'Cause this madness stops now! And I'm gonna start with the root of all evil: you!" Margaret activated her duel-disk and drew her opening hand.
"If you're so eager to join your mother then I welcome you to try! Come, fight me!" Roman dared as he played his own disk.
"LET'S DUEL!"
Magic: 8000
Roman: 8000
"The first move is mine!" Roman announced as he drew his sixth card You came here to challenge the power of the shadows; so, let's find out who destiny favors. First I activate the spell card Spider's Lair!" small threads began to attach to the bridge from the rocky walls surrounding it, "I then summon (1) Howling Insect(4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1300) in DEF mode!" a large black cricket appeared, "I end my turn."
"It's my turn!" Magic started her first turn, "I activate the field-spell Magical Citadel of Endymion!" the giant tunnel was suddenly riddled with bands of glowing runic circles rising from the hole one after the other.
"A field-spell..." Roman mused, "You do realize an Earthbound Immortal can only be summoned with a field-spell in play, whether it be yours or mine?"
"Next activate the spell Double Summon! This lets me summon an extra monster this turn! And since a spell card is played, my field-spell gains 1 spell-counter(CTR: 1)! And as for Double Summon, the first monster I call out will be (8) Apprentice Magician(2/ATK: 400/DEF: 800)!" a young blond apprentice mage appeared in purple carrying a staff (ATK: 400), "And as soon as she's summoned, another spell-counter is added onto another card, like my Magical Citadel(SCR: 2)! Next I'll use my second summoning and release her to advance-summon (9) Dark Red Enchanter(6/ATK: 1700/DEF: 2200)!" the apprentice vanished and was replaced by a man in dark-red clothes. He held a golden staff and wore a helmet disguising the top-half of his face, but still showing his golden hair. He also wore large gold shoulder-pads with a red gem on each (ATK: 1700), "And just like Apprentice Magician, he has a special-ability that activates as soon as he's summon, an ability which in his case gives him 2 spell-counters, and 300 ATK points for each one!" both gems on the enchanter's shoulders glowed (CTR: 2/ATK: 2300), "Dark Red Enchanter, attack Roman's insect card with Scarlet Flash!" the magician aimed its staff and fired an orb of crackling red energy at Roman's insect monster and destroyed it.
But that only made Roman chuckle, "Like a moth to the flame, you walked right into my hand. When Howling Insect is destroyed in the heat of battle, I'm allowed to summon another insect-type monster from my deck that has 1500 or fewer ATK point. And the monster of my choice will be (2) Pinch Hopper(4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1200)!" a large green grasshopper appeared in place of Howling Insect (DEF: 1200), "And that's not all, look at your monster."
Margaret looked to see that the Dark Red Enchanter was ensnared by a series of threads, "What did you do to my magician?!"
"It's your fault for attacking my monster. When you destroyed it you've triggered the effect of my Spider's Lair spell card, which then forces the attacking monster to DEF position. But that's not the best part: as long as this card remains on the field. The monster remains in DEF mode. Now that Dark Red Enchanter is useless against me."
"Not completely useless!" Magic argued, "My Enchanter has another special-ability: by removing his 2 spell-counters, he discards a card randomly from your hand! But here's where it gets interesting: with my Magical Citadel in play, I can use the counters on it instead!" the two counters floating along the area hovered down and flew into the enchanter's staff. Then the monster aimed and fired a bolt of lightning at Roman's hand, forcing a card out of his hand.
The card Earthbound Immortal Uru fluttered down the crevice and into the light, "Interesting. I was planning on using Pinch Hopper's effect, to summon Uru straight from my hand. It appears that fate has decided to favor your for the moment."
"I place 1 card face-down and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"Then it's my turn," Roman drew his next card, "I activate the Insect Imitation spell card. This card allows me to sacrifice an insect-type monster on my field to summon another from my deck that's a level higher than the one I sacrificed. So by releasing my Pinch Hopper..." the grasshopper disappeared, "I can now summon the level-5 (5D's)(3) Hard-Silk Spider(5/ATK: 700/DEF: 2100) in DEF mode," a large sandy-brown spider with a hard white shell on its thorax and its two most front and back legs appeared (DEF: 2100).
"Since you activated a spell card, both Dark Red Enchanter and my Magical Citadel gains another spell-counter(CTR: 3/1)
"And let's not forget Pinch Hopper's ability. I can now summon another insect from my hand, like my (4) Ultimate Insect LV1(1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0)!" a small blue worm with a swelled red backside appeared (DEF: 0), "And with that I end my turn."
"I draw then!" Magic drew her next card, "I summon Defender, the Magical Knight in ATK mode! And when summoned, he gets his very own spell-counter!" the blue shield-wielding warrior appeared (ATK: 1600/CTR: 1), "Now attack that Ultimate Insect!" Defender charge forward with his shield in front of him. Suddenly the brown spider arranged its legs to form a white shield and intercepted the magician, the defensive wizard recoiling from the impact as he retreated to home field. "What?!"
Magic: 7500
Roman: 8000
"By attacking you activated Hard-Silk Spider ability, which allows it to step in once a turn and defend its comrades with its iron-clad webbing. And because of that attack you've once again triggered the effect of my Spider's Lair spell card, which means your Defender in force into DEF mode for the remainder of the duel!" Defender was then trapped in the strong webbing (DEF: 2000).
Margaret growled, "I end my turn."
"Then that means it's my turn now," Roman drew his next card, "And during my standby-phase, my Ultimate Insect evolves..." the small worm glowed until it morph into a gruesome red-and-violet worm (5)(3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 900), "And it gains a special-ability, an ability which lowers the ATK power of all your monsters by 300."
Dark Red Enchanter: (ATK: 2000)
Defender, the Magical Knight: (ATK: 1300)
"But I guess it won't matter, considering your monsters are tangled in my spider's web. But they won't be tangled for long: I sacrifice Dark Red Enchanter and Defender the Magical Knight to summon (8) Mother Spider(6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1200)!" Margaret's two monsters were melded into multicolored shapes and formed a portal which hovered to Roman's field. A series of bladed appendages sank out, followed by a large purple, yellow-lined body with an oversize head (ATK: 2300).
"But those are my monsters!" Margaret argued, "You can't just take them!"
Roman chuckled, "I believe that I can; and I have you to thank, Margaret. You see, this unique spider monster can be special-summoned from my hand my sending two monsters on my opponent's field to the graveyard, granted that they're in DEF position at the time. And since you have no monsters out, show her your gratitude, Mother Spider!" the large spider spewed a blast of webbing.
"I activate the trap card Waboku!" when Margaret activated her reverse-card, a group of women in blue robes appeared and formed a shield around them and Margaret to defend against the spider's attack, "And once activated, I won't take any damage for the rest of the turn!"
"Then I'll place one card face-down," a reverse-card appeared, "It's your move!"
"It's my turn!" Margaret drew her next card, "I summon Royal Magical Library in DEF mode!" a large stone case appeared (DEF: 2000), "Next, I activate the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!" a series of glowing swords surrounded Roman's field, "Not only do my swords prevent you from attacking for 3 turns, it also gives my monster and my Citadel another spell-counter(CTR: 1/2), "Finally I place 1 card face-down!"
"Which means its my turn now!" Roman drew his next card, "And my Ultimate Insect reaches another stage of evolution!" the insect spewed out a sticky white substance and encased itself with it. The substance hardened until it was as tough as iron. Only its head was revealed with four sharp blade-like legs supporting it (6)(5/ATK: 2300/DEF: 900), "And now that it reached LV5, every monster on your field loses 500 ATK points. Next I activate the spell Shield Crush! This card allows me to obliterate any monster on the field that's in DEF mode. And the card I chose will be Informer Spider!" the spy-geared spider was destroyed.
"Why destroy your own monster?" Margaret wondered.
"I would have used to to destroy your Royal Magical Library, but then your Magical Citadel field-spell would accumulate your monster's spell-counters, not to mention the fact that I won't be able to attack thanks to your Swords of Revealing Light. Besides, that monster of yours seemed quite useful, as it allows you to draw extra cards from your deck. So why not take advantage of the situation, by activating Informer Spider's special-ability! When a card-effect causes it to be sent to the graveyard, I'm allowed to control a monster you have in DEF mode! So your Royal Magical Library is on my my side now!" Margaret gasped as her monster disappeared and reappeared on Roman's side of the field, "And if memory serves me, this monster gains a spell-counter whenever a spell card is played; so now Royal Magical Library hold all three!" the third gem on the large case glowed (CTR: 3), "Now I activate the special-ability of my Royal Magical Library! By removing the three spell-counters, I'm allow to draw an extra card from my deck(CTR: 0)!" Roman drew once, "Finally I place one card face-down. It's your turn."
Swords of Revealing Light: 2
Margaret drew and found one particular card, 'Silent Magician...' the white spellcaster appeared to the duelist in spirit, 'So you want in on this?' the magician nodded in determination, and Margaret smiled in return, before turning back to Roman, "Get ready, Roman! I summon Silent Magician in ATK mode!" the spellcaster appeared in monster form(ATK: 1000-500), "Next I activate the spell Pot of Greed and draw 2 more cards," she then drew twice more, "This is just the card I needed! I activate the spell card Level Up! This card increases my magician from Lvl4, all the way to Lvl8!" the Silent Magician transformed into her adult form (ATK: 3500-3000), "Silent Magician! Attack that Hard-Silk Spider!" Silent Magician fired a shot of pure white magic. Even the spider's silk shield stood no chance as it was broken through and the spider destroyed.
"Will you never learn? Whenever an insect of mine is destroyed in battle, my Spider's Lair spell card permanently forces your monster into DEF mode!" like the others, the Silent Magician became entangled in spider threads, until a surge of white magic from her loosened its grip and dropped to the bridge floor.
"I guess you didn't know about Silent Magician's special-ability! When she's at Lvl8 she's immune to any spells you throw at her! So your Spider's Lair spell card has no effect!"
Roman scowled, "Most impressive..."
"Now I place one card face-down, and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my move..." Roman started his next turn, "And during my standby-phase my Ultimate Insect reaches its final stage...to Lvl7!" the upper shell of Ultimate Insect LV5 split open and from it emerged a fully-developed adult insect with an exoskeleton studded with spines and great enormous pincers on its head. Its rapidly buzzing wings carried it over Roman and his other monsters (7)(7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1200), "And just like before, it lowers your monsters' ATK points; but this time, they lose 700 in both ATK and DEF!" the large insect's wings released a white mist that covered the bridge. Silent Magician tried to cover her mouth as the inhaled dust weakened her (ATK: 2800/DEF: 900).
"She can still toughen out whatever monster you throw at her!" Margaret boasted.
"Then I suppose I'll set this card face-down for now. But not before I activate Royal Magical Library's ability, by using all three of its counters to draw another card." a reverse-card appeared before Roman drew from his deck.
Swords of Revealing Light: 1
"It's my turn!" Margaret drew her next card, "Silent Magician, attack Royal Magical Library!"
"Not so fast, I activate the Security Orb trap card!" Roman's reverse-card summoned a small floating red orb with a yellow lens, "I can play this card when you declare an attack, and forces your attacking monster to DEF mode!" the orb fired a bright blue light over Silent Magician which had her kneeling in DEF position (DEF: 1600), "You just wasted your only attack!"
"Not my only attack! I activate my Magician's Circle trap! And that means I can summon a spellcaster from my deck with 2000-or-less ATK points! And the card I'm choosing is Magical Marionette!" a large runic circle appeared from the card and the armored caped puppeteer rose from out of it before the circle vanished (ATK: 2000-1300), "And he comes with a handy special-ability: by removing 2 counters off of him, he destroys one monster on the field! And by using my field-spell's effect, I remove 2 of its spell-counters(CTR: 3) to destroy Ultimate Insect!" Magical Marionette formed a ball of violet energy in his hands before tossing it towards the blue insect, effectively destroying it, "And with that monster gone, both my monsters' ATK points now return to normal!"
Silent Magician Lvl8: (ATK: 2800-3500/DEF: 900-1600)
Magical Marionette: (ATK: 1300-2000/DEF: 300-1000)
"Magic!" Margaret heard a young boy's voice and turned back to see the twins and Trudge approaching her on the ledge connecting the bridge.
"Leo, Luna? But where's Crow?"
The twins looked around for the Blackwing duelist, "He was with us at the crater, we thought he came with us!"
"I say it was smart of him to turn away when he had the opportunity," Margaret turned her head back to Roman's laugh, "After all, why would he waste his time on a traitor?"
"Watch it!" Margaret snapped.
"Don't pretend this isn't your fault. You're the reason Kalin became a Dark Signer. You had Sector Security take him away, and in turn had him sought after by our Herald, granting him with the power of darkness."
"He wouldn't leave well enough alone! He did it to himself!"
"You could have revealed yourself before Kalin was shipped off but you chose to speak no evil! You created a monster who exerted his burning rage on the person who tried to save him! Just admit that you are no better than that seductress you would call a mother!"
"That's enough! Someone needs to shut you up right here! I summon Night's End Sorcerer!" the scythe-wielding anthro-rabbit appeared (ATK: 1200), "And now I tune him with Magical Marionette to form the synchro-monster, Arcanite Magician!" the frames of both monsters vanished as both the arcs and stars formed around Margaret. The the friction from them grinding with each other formed a barrier of light around her. Everyone shielded their eyes from the brightness it caused before the light died down. They then watched in awe as Margaret revealed a white magician's robe designed with lilac flames covering her body (ATK: 400-2400)(CTR: 2).
"That's something you don't see every day." murmured Trudge.
"Now, I'm going to ask you, tell you only once..." Margaret seethed, gripping her staff in both hands, "Take back what you said about my mother."
"Why would I, when what I said is true?" Roman sneered, then spread his arms, "If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you make a liar out of me!"
"Fine! I activate Arcanite Magician's special-ability! By removing a spell-counter on my field, I get to destroy a card on yours!"
"Too bad you won't get the chance! I play Forbidden Chalice!" Roman announced as he revealed his face-down quick-play; everyone could hear the sound of rumbling clouds overhead, "With this spell one of your monsters gain 400 ATK points, but loses their special-ability. And since your Silent Magician is immune to spell cards, Arcanite's effect is canceled on account of rain!" soon the clouds broke and it started to rain, which suddenly turned into a down pour. Trudge and the twins covered their heads while Roman just stood there. It was moments before the rain stopped.
"So what's the point of those waterworks again?" Margaret asked cynically. Suddenly she felt a strange sensation in her body before she felt herself grow weak. It was as if her body turned to putty. She fell to her knees, hugging her staff to support herself.
"Look at you, shivering like a wet dog," Roman chuckled, as he removed his hood, "If this is enough to get you to your knees, you won't stand a chance, not that you had a chance to begin with."
"Don't underestimate me!" Margaret snapped, "I activate the spell card Heart of Clear Water!" as the card was played, it released a golden necklace with a red gem as an ornament which was then attached around Margaret's neck. She finally found the strength to stand, though her legs still felt heavy, "Alright, you're up."
"Of course," Roman said as he drew his next card, "I grow tired of this foreplay. I think it's time I show you the true power of an Earthbound Immortal, don't you think?"
Margaret narrowed her eyes, "But your immortal's in the graveyard; I made sure of it. Uru's useless now!"
"That's what you think!" Roman laughed, "I activate the Revival of the Immortal! And with it, I can summon an Earthbound Immortal directly from the graveyard!" the pool of Ener-D then instantly formed a geyser that sprung into the sky from the reactor. Eight long appendages poked out and touched the wall, followed by a full spider body. Margaret's eyes widened as Earthbound Immortal Uru appeared on the field with a hiss (ATK: 3000).
"Did you really think you can save yourself from Uru by sending him to the graveyard? Besides, you must actially destroy him in order to free all those souls he consumed. And to think you wanted to bring your nanny back."
Margaret gasped at this realization. She had completely forgotten about the fact that the souls inside Uru are still intact and can be saved if the immortal is destroyed. She held her head in shame, looking down at the pool of light. She felt so ashamed.
"That's right. You were too worried about trying to avoid Uru that you failed to put into account the spirits within him. You put your own protection ahead of theirs. Perhaps you're not so different from your mother after all! And now it's time to face the product of her selfishness and greed!" Roman gave one more laugh as Margaret held her head low. "And this time, you will be consumed just like the others!"
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Howling Insect
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 3 ATK/1200 DEF/1300
Attribute: EARTH
Description:
(2) Pinch Hopper
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 4 ATK/1000 DEF/1200
Attribute: EARTH
Description:
(3) Hard-Silk Spider
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 5 ATK/700 DEF/2100
Attribute: EARTH
Description: Once per turn, when an Insect-Type monster you control is attacked, you can change the attack target to this card.
(4) Ultimate Insect Lv1
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 1 ATK/0 DEF/0
Attribute: WIND
Description: While this card is on the field, it is unaffected by the effects of Spell Cards. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV3" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
(5) Ultimate Insect Lv3
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 3 ATK/1400 DEF/900
Attribute: WIND
Description: If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV1", while it remains on the field all of your opponent's monsters lose 300 ATK. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV5" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
(6) Ultimate Insect Lv5
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 5 ATK/2300 DEF/900
Attribute: WIND
Description: If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV3", while it remains on the field all of your opponent's monsters lose 500 ATK. During your Standby Phase, by sending this face-up card to the Graveyard, Special Summon 1 "Ultimate Insect LV7" from your hand or Deck. (You cannot activate this effect the turn this card is Normal Summoned, Special Summoned, or flipped face-up.)
(7) Ultimate Insect Lv7
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 7 ATK/2700 DEF/1200
Attribute: DARK
Description: If this card was Special Summoned by the effect of "Ultimate Insect LV5", while it remains on the field all your opponent's monsters lose 700 ATK and DEF.
(8) Mother Spider
Stats: [Insect/Effect] Level 6 ATK/2300 DEF/1200
Attribute: DARK
Description: If you have only Insect-Type monsters in your Graveyard, you can send 2 face-up Defense Position monsters your opponent controls to the Graveyard and Special Summon this card from your hand.
(9) Apprentice Magician
Stats: [Spellcaster/Effect] Level 2 ATK/400 DEF/800
Attribute: DARK
Description: If you have only Insect-Type monsters in your Graveyard, you can send 2 face-up Defense Position monsters your opponent controls to the Graveyard and Special Summon this card from your hand.
(10) Dark Red Enchanter
Stats: [Spellcaster/Effect] Level 6 ATK/1700 DEF/2200
Attribute: DARK
Description: When this card is Normal Summoned, place 2 Spell Counters on it. Each time a Spell Card is activated, place 1 Spell Counter on this card. It gains 300 ATK for each Spell Counter on it. Once per turn, you can remove 2 Spell Counters from this card to make your opponent discard 1 random card.
DUEL-MON TRIVIA: "Hey, Duelist! Did you know: The effect of Ultimate Insect Lv7 resembles that of "Perfectly Ultimate Great Moth" from the Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses series, which is meant to mimic the anime-only ATK-reducing effect of "Great Moth"."
Margaret: With that monster Uru out on the field his attack power is the least of my worries as it turns my own monsters against me one after another. But I have one more trick up my sleeve that Roman won't suspect. I'm bringing that Earthbound Immortal back down to earth! Next time on Reverse of Arcadia: Destiny's Will: Part 2! It's time to make some Magic!"
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