YuGiOh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Beta Reader: Gammatron
CFGX: "This chapter was originally going to be two due to it being over 14000 words long. But I thought I'd put them together. This chapter was co-wrote and approved by Gammatron. Enjoy."
P.S.: "The following insert in this chapter belongs to the group AAA."
Rico had been running as fast as his little feet could carry him. Some time ago after his abduction, he overheard Divine planning to meet Sayer at an abandoned fairground. As soon as they arrived, Rico took the opportunity to escape his confines and sneak away, but he did not go far unnoticed. Now he was running for his life through the dead carnival.
A few explosions nearby caused Rico to fall off his feet. He got up on his hands and knees, catching his breath. He must have known by now that he was nearby. He heard a loud whistle when led him to find Divine walking from a corner, in his duel monster's armor.
"You know, you were a pain ever since you came into the Arcadia. Even now, I think you're more trouble than you're worth!" Divine spat as he held the rising Rico at gunpoint, "I should open fire on you right now! After all, Sayer figured you out lived your usefulness! But I prefer to mix business with pleasure! So how about you and me have one last duel before I send you to your grave?"
As smug and self-centered as he was, Rico knew Divine to be one of the most powerful and deadliest psychic duelists in the Arcadia Movement. Rico rarely saw him duel, and recently four times, the latest being at the Arcadia Movement building when he picked on Katherine. He was ruthless and his power was overwhelming, a deadly combination. Rico always wondered if his cards would be enough to duel him, but was afraid of when the time comes. But then he remembered when he lasted against Kai. If the Dark Signers were enough to defeat the Arcadia, if he was enough to defeat one of their own, the Rico has a chance. So he strapped on his duel-disk and reached into his toy, bringing out one of his decks and slotting it in.
"Figures you would try to play Hero," Divine smirked as he removed his armor and activated his own duel-disk. "So, let's get started."
Divine: 8000
Rico: 8000
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Reverse of Arcadia
Chapter 51: A Hero's Journey
"Age before beauty, as they say. So I'll be going first-"
"No, I'll be going first!" Rico snapped and drew his first card, "I set a card face-down and another in DEF mode!" two reverse-cards appeared, "I end my turn!"
"You didn't waste any time, did you?" Divine asked as he drew his next card, "I guess you really are in a hurry to lose. I activate the spell Nobleman of Extermination!" when he placed the spell card in his duel-disk, a large knight in silver armor appeared, wielding an equally large sword, "This card allows me to remove a card in your spell/trap zone from play! Then, if that card is a normal-trap, the every copy you have in your deck are removed along with it!" the knight leap towards the opposite field, his swords ready to stab at Rico's face-down.
"I activate my trap card, Threatening Roar!" Rico's reverse-card opened and emitted a shockwave which pushed back the knight which then disappeared.
"Then I guess I'll summon Krebons in DEF mode," the harlequin psychic appeared (DEF: 400), "Then I'll equip it with Telekinetic Charging Cell!" two circular objects appeared beside the tuner. Then several loops of energy intersect each other at the objects, "You may remember this from when I dueled at the Fortune Cup. But in case you forget, as long as Krebons is hooked up to its Charging Cell, it can activate his special-ability without having to pay life-points! Now that I have an impenetrable defense, I'll end my turn there."
"Then it's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "First I activate the continuous-spell Card Trader! Next I flip my monster over to summon (5D's)(1) Squadron Hero Red Hurricane(3/ATK: 300/DEF: 300)!"
As his card flipped over and turned, a warrior in red spandex rose from it. The sleeves were made of a dark-grey mesh and had red gauntlets that were made of a hard material along with white gloves and red boots with gold leg-bands and a black belt with a gold buckle. The helmet had a gold plating over his black visor and around his face, like a pair of wings shielding its baby from the storm, the emblem of a hawk embedded on its forehead. There was also a while symbol of a pair of spread winds on his chest. The warrior reached over his shoulder and drew out a new-fashioned katana (ATK: 300).
"And what're you planning to do with a monster with only 300 ATK points?" Divine mocked.
"When Red Hurricane is summoned flipped over, one monster on your field that's level-3-or-lower is destroyed!" holding down his sword, Red Hurricane stabbed it into the ground and sent a shockwave towards Krebons. The ground exploded right under the monster, destroying it along with its power cells.
"When a monster is destroyed equipped with Telekinetic Charging Cell, I can pay 1000 life-points to add the spell back to my hand." Divine said as he returned the card back into his hand. "And considering how weak your monster is, I'm sure it won't make a difference since I won't take much damage."
Divine: 7000
Rico: 8000
"Not of I activate this card!" Rico said as he played a continuous-spell card, showing three warriors silhouetted in red, yellow and blue, while surrounded in a hurricane, "When Ninja Squadron is activated with Red Hurricane on the field, I can call out a couple of his friends!"
Two whirlwinds descended to either side of Red Hurricane, revealing two more warriors in spandex. The left one in yellow's helmet had his gold face-plate designed as a roaring lion, with the lion itself roaring on his forehead. The teeth poked into his visor and below the mouthpiece. The symbol on his chest has a similar roaring lion. The one in blue had a skirt, signaling she was female, with gray mesh over her thighs. Her gold face-plate had a dolphin on her forehead and the symbol of its tail-fin on her chest.
"And what's that supposed to be!" Divine's demand was answered with the sky suddenly sprinkling with apple blossom petals while the sound of wood knocking on wood was being heard.
The curtains open to show the three with their back's turned, each holding an umbrella with their respective symbols.
"Hurricanger, roll call!" Rick shouted.
Red Hurricane turned to face Divine, "The Wind howls, the Sky rages!" he tossed his umbrella into the air, letting it float back down as he struck a pose before holding his re-sheathed sword over his shoulder, "Air Ninja, Hurricane Red!"
"The Water dances, the Waves jump!" the one in blue tossed her umbrella and struck a pose, resting her outstretched right arm over the top of her left hand, "Water Ninja, Hurricane Blue!"
"The Ground shakes, the Flowers sing!" the one in yellow struck a pose, somewhat showing flexing out his biceps, "Earth Ninja, Hurricane Yellow!"
"People don't realize..."
"The world doesn't realize..."
"We're shadows that battle evil!"
"Ninpuu Sentai...!" the three clapped their hands before posing one more time, holding their swords over their shoulders, "Hurricanger!"
"Asa~njo!" Red Hurricane ended as he craned his neck (ATK: 900).
"An melodramatic entrance and 900 ATK points to show for it!" Divine laughed.
"And with no cards on your field, you take direct damage!" Rico said as the Hurricanger pulled out a series of weaponry; a hawk-based blaster from red, a lion-based hammer from yellow and a fin-based megaphone by blue. They then combined them to make a larger weapon, with the blaster in front, the hammer in the middle and the megaphone in the back.
"Triple Gadget!" shouted the Hurricangers as Hurricane Blue and Hurricane Yellow held the weapon on the sides and Hurricane Red held the trigger, which he pulled and shot a massive fireball at Divine, who barely flinched.
Divine: 6100
Rico: 8000
"That didn't hurt one bit!" Divine scoffed.
"I place one card face-down and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"Then it's my turn again," Divine drew his next card, "I summon Mind Protector in DEF mode, equipping it with Telekinetic Power Cell!" the mechanized robot-encased brain appeared, and gathered energy to create a force-field. "And as long as this monster's out on the field, no non-psychic monster with 2000-or-less ATK can even touch him! With that I end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "And during the standby-phase I can shuffle a card into my deck and draw a new one! Next I activate the spell Double Summon, so I can summon an extra monster this turn! And the monster I summon are (5D's)(2) Squadron Hero Crimson Hercules(3/ATK: 500/DEF: 500) and (5D's)(3) Squadron Hero Navy Stag(3/ATK: 500/DEF: 500)!" the moment Rico played his two monsters the entire area became dark. Flashes of lightning revealed two more warriors akin to the Hurricanger, addition with with golden gauntlets, leg-bands and shoulder-pads. Both of them had their backs turned.
"Crimson lightning..." the one in crimson looked back towards Divine from behind his golden hercules-beetle mask, the turned to face him with his arms crossed. "Horned Ninja Kabuto Raiger!"
"Azure thunderclap..." the one in navy looked back as well before he turned towards his enemy, "Fanged Ninja Kuwaga Raiger!"
"Facing the shadows, slicing the shadows..."
"Facing the light, slicing the light!"
The two warriors struck a pose as they grasped the staff in their backs before they tugged at it. "Lightning Speed Gouraiger revealed!"
"And with 2 more Squadron Heroes on the field, Red Hurricane gains 300 ATK and DEF points for each one!" Rico explained as all five warriors struck one last pose (ATK: 1500).
"More weak monsters?" Divine laughed, "I thought you'd come with something stronger than that!"
"I end my turn with a face-down!" Rico said ignoring him.
"Then it's my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "This is how you summon a monster! Since I have a psychic monster out, I can summon Armored Axon Kicker without releasing a monster!" the armored psychic humanoid cyborg appeared (ATK: 2200), "Attack that Red Hurricane with Axon Shocker!" Armored Axon Kicker held out his hands and fired an electrical attack which discharged against the Hurricanger in sparks, knocking them down.
Divine: 6100
Rico: 7300
"When Red Hurricane's out with Ninja Squadron, he can't be destroyed in battle while in ATK mode!" Rico explained.
"I guess your monster really is useful after all," Divine admitted, "But since my Telekinetic Shocker's out, you still can't attack. And While it's equipped with Telekinetic Power Cell I don't have to pay any life-points for its effect! Finally I end my turn with a face-down."
"My turn!" Rico drew his next card, and activated Card Trader, "I activate the effect of Ninja Squadron! Now the Hurricanger can attack Armored Axon Kicker with their signature move!"
Hurricane Red made a hand-sign as the other four rangers ran past him, "Cho Ninpo: Kage no Mai (Shadow Dance)!" he announced before he went charging in with them.
After that, the scene became hidden behind a silhouette curtain. Armored Axon Kicker could see nothing but shadow as he was being struck by the shinobi passing by at undetectable speed. The one-sided fight ended with red, yellow and blue kicking Armored Axon Kicker off screen as the scene returned to normal, with the psychic covered in dents and deep gashes; its ATK points were lowered by Red Hurricane's ATK points (ATK: 700).
"I activate the spell card (5D's) Hero's Tactical Retreat!" the card he played showed Avian flying away from an overwhelming army of Skull Servants, "I can send up to 2 Hero monsters from my field to my deck, then draw 1 card for each one! And if there's a Hero monster among those, I can draw one more!"
Crimson Hercules and Navy Stag re-sheathed their staves and bowed before they disappeared into Rico's deck in rays of light; and, after the deck was shuffled, Rico drew two more cards. When he looked over them, he picked one up and showed it to Divine.
"One of the cards I drew was Squadron Hero Shark Fist! Meaning I can draw another card!" he then drew one more, "It's time to get rid of that Armored Axon Kicker! Since I have Red Hurricane on my field, I can summon (5D's)(17) Squadron Battle - Tri-Battle Hawk(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500)!"
Hurricane Red revealed a wrist-mounted device on his right arm. It contained a gold medallion with his red symbol on it. He plucked it out and replaced it with another, this showing a sword with a pair of wings sprouting from the hilt. Pulling a ripcord, the medal spun to near non-existence, forming a growing red hurricane from it with an orb of red light rose. The orb grew in size before it dispersed and revealed a compact metal hawk with a blade-like tail, the same color as Red Hurricane (ATK: 1500).
"And as a union-monster, Tri-Battle Hawk can be equipped to a Hero monster with 1000 ATK points or less, adding 1500 points to their ATK points!"
Red Hurricane spun the medal once more and formed another hurricane around himself. Soon he was fitted with armor on the shoulders, wrists, thighs and shins, as well as chestplate with his engorged wing symbol. Red Hurricane jumped in the air as the hawk separated into the head, wings, talons, back and tail. The pieces reunited onto Red Hurricane, the talons attached onto his shoulders, the back and wings onto his back, and the head and and tail as a shield and sword (ATK: 2400).
"Red Hurricane, attack Armored Axon Kicker with Ultra Laser!"
The wings on Red Hurricane began to ignite and grow into live wings of fire. Then he pointed his shield and sword at the psychic, calling out the said attack, before a single wingbeat brought forth a blast of red energy, resulting in the monster's destruction.
Divine: 6100
Rico: 7300
"I supposed I should be glad this battle won't go one-sided..." Divine said dispassionately, "Now I won't feel bad putting up a better fight! I activate the trap card Telekinetic Power! So not only will your monster be joining mine in oblivion, I also gain life-points equal to Armored Axon Kicker's ATK!"
"I activate my trap card, (5D's) Passing the Torch!" Rico's reverse-card flipped open, revealing two red warriors high-fiving each other as they walked pass each other, one of the walking toward the light, "When a "Squadron Hero Red" monster that's equipped with a 'Squadron' continuous-spell card destroys a monster that's level-5-or-higher, I can return them both to the deck with every other monster on the field and add another of each from there!" Rico's field was then wiped clean of monsters, "Then, if there are any other 'Hero' or 'Squadron Battle' monsters among them that targets a Hero Red monster, then I can draw 1 card for each one!" Rico added two more cards from his deck to his hand, and after shuffling he then drew one more, "But I can't summon anything since I activated this card. So I end my turn with a face-down card!" a reverse-card appeared on Rico's field.
"Okay, my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "And lookie what I got here! I release Mind Protector to summon Overdrive Teleporter!" Mind Protector was then replaced by a burgundy-haired doppelganger wearing porcelain-white overcoat and a green visor (ATK: 2100), "Now I activate his special-ability! By paying 2000 life-points, I can special-summon two level-3 psychic-type monsters from my deck! I summon Psychic Commander..." the hover-tank-mounted psychic appeared next to the teleporter, "...and another Mind Protector!" a double of the gold-armored android appeared as well (DEF: 2200), "And since you don't have a single monster to your name, Overdrive Teleporter, Psychic Commander, attack Rico directly!" Overdrive Teleporter gathered a ball of psychic energy and hurled it towards Rico, while Psychic Commander's hovercraft fired a beam which drove through Rico's path, knocking him on his back.
Divine: 6100
Rico: 3700
"C'mon kid, get up! I'm not done playing with you yet!" Grunting, Rico got back up on his feet, "That's more like it! It's not fun when you're not fighting back! Finally I end my turn with a face-down."
Someone ought to teach you to pick on someone your own size!" Rico drew his next card and activated Card Trader, "And I'd be happy to volunteer! First I activate the spell Hand Destruction! Now we each discard 2 cards from our hand and draw 2 new ones!" Rico replaced two of his card with two more from his deck; Divine did the same thing, "Next I activate my face-down Ultimate Offering!"
"Yeah, that's the trap card that allows a player to summon an extra monster for 500 life-point each," Divine said, "But can you really afford that?"
"I pay 1000 life-points from Ultimate Offering so I can summon 2 extra monsters!"
Divine: 6100
Rico: 2700
"Now I can summon from my hand (5D's)(4) Squadron Hero Shark Fist(4/ATK: 1600/DEF: 0), (5D's)(5) Squadron Hero Bat Fist(4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 0), and (5D's)(6) Squadron Hero Elephant Fist(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 0)!"
On cue, three more colored heroes descended from each of their card forms and rose up. One wore a sky-blue spandex with white spacing accenting shark fins. He wore the same blue-colored shoulder-pads as well as gauntlets with fins attached. The helmet he wore was of a fish's nature, with a pair of fins sprouted down from the mouthpiece up on either side, with a third sprouted atop of his head behind the black lining over his visor (ATK: 1600). The second wore similar black spandex with silver accenting bat wings, with blacks shoulder-pads and orange gauntlets. His helmet was silver with terrifying-looking bat wings splayed apart (ATK: 1400). The third was green with similar design, white accenting heavy-mammal hooves and the green over his chest as an elephant's trunk. His helmet was based on an actual elephant, its tusks on ether side of his mouthpiece and its ears folded back on both sides of the head (DEF: 0).
"Now I activate Bat Fist's special-ability!" the bat warrior pulled out his signature weapon: a pair of metallic gold-edged fans,"When Shark Fist and Elephant Fist are out on the field, Bat Fist can change his Jungle Fans into Bat Axes, giving him 1000 ATK points for this turn!" the fans glowed and grew in size until they were replaced by a set of large, metal bat-wings split in two (ATK: 2400), "Bat Fist, attack and destroy Psychic Commander!" the black warrior charged towards the army of psychic monsters and and jumped, seemingly running in the air as he spread his arms out. Then he brought the axes down on the commander and its hovercraft, cleaving it in three.
Divine: 5100
Rico: 2700
"Finally I end my turn!"
"And I'll start my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "And I summon (14) Pandaborg(4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1400) in DEF mode!" a large mechanical panda with green eyes appeared (DEF: 1400), "Now I'll have Overdrive Teleporter attack your Bat Fist!" Overdrive Teleporter fired another ball of psychic energy.
"I activate Elephant Fist's special-ability!" the green warrior stood in the way of the attack with a ball-and-chain in hand, which was then morph into a large elephant-related shield, which deflected the attack. "When Shark and Bat Fist are out on the field with him, not only can I change the target of your attack, his Jungle Mace is changed into an Elephant Ram, raising his DEF power by 2200!"
Divine: 5000
Rico: 2700
"Why am I not surprise," Divine replied with an impartial tone, "Those heroes are always useless on their own so they huddle together one way or another."
"And I always like it like that! It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "First I switch Elephant Fist back to ATK mode! Then I activate Bat Fist's ability one more time!" the black warrior's fast transformed into axes once more (ATK: 2400), "Now Bat Fist attacks Mind Protector!" Bat Fist slashed through the android.
"Now it's time for Shark Fist to attack! Activate your special-ability!" the blue warrior dashed towards enemy lines and pulled out a pair of floppy swords and put them together, making a single sword taller and more dense. Then the sword itself glowed and changed shape until it formed a larger blade with a long shark-like handle and guard, "With Bat and Elephant Fist on the field with him, his Shark Sabers form together into the Shark Blade, increasing his ATK power by 1000 during the damage-step (ATK: 2600)!" the ground under Shark Fist then suddenly erupted with sea water, and the blue warrior stood under it using the velocity to shoot him straight forward and slashed right through Overdrive Teleporter.
Divine: 4500
Rico: 2700
"And finally, Elephant Fist attacks Pandaborg!" the green warrior brought back up his mace. Swinging the ball along the chain, he brought it into the ground. The ground was split in half, drove straight towards Pandaborg and exploded right under it.
"Already you fell right into my hand! When Pandaborg is destroyed in battle, I can summon one level-4 psychic from my deck, like Telekinetic Shocker!" a bulb-wearing psychic wearing red and black tights appeared (ATK: 1700).
"I end my turn!"
"Then it's my turn," Divine drew his next card, "I release Telekinetic Shocker to summon (15) Final Psychic Ogre(5/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1700)!" Telekinetic Shocker disappeared and was replaced by a purple-haired, baboon-like creature with yellow electricity coming out of it (ATK: 2200), "Next, I activate Double Summon! So with an extra summon, I call out Psychic Snail(4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1200), "Next, I activate Psychic Snail's special-ability! At the cost of 800 life-point,he can give his attack to Final Psychic Ogre for this turn!Now my ogre can attack twice!" the ogre's arms were charged with green electricity and then hurled it towards the three heroes, when Elephant Fist intercepted with his Elephant Shield.
"I told you already, my Elephant Fist can block your attacks each turn!"
"Good thing I don't have to attack once each turn!" the ogre attacked once again, this time it managed to destroy Bat Fist.
Divine: 3700
Rico: 1900
"And with one of your monsters destroyed, I can activate Final Psychic Ogre's special-ability, paying 800 points to return a psychic from my graveyard!" Divine shown Psychic Commander before returning it to his hand, "Finally, I end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "I set a monster in DEF mode and which the rest to DEF as well! I end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "I summon Psychic Commander in ATK mode!" the psychic on the hovercraft returned (ATK: 1400), "Next I activate Psychic Snail's effect, paying 1600 points to add an attack to both Final Psychic Ogre and Psychic Commander! Now I can attack a total of four times! Final Psychic Ogre, attack Shark Fist and Elephant Fist!" Final Psychic Ogre fired its psychic energy and destroyed the remaining two fist warriors, "Since your little team was missing a member, your Elephant Fist can't activate his ability! And since I destroyed two monsters with Final Psychic Ogre, I now pay 1600 points to return two more psychics to my hand!" Divine returned Mind Protector and Krebons, "And Psychic Commander, destroy Rico's face-down!" Psychic Commander fired down upon Rico face-down, which was a fiend-like spellcaster with a tattered cape and a wand .
"The monster you destroyed was (7) Phantom Magician(3/ATK: 600/DEF: 700)!" Rico explained, "Now I can summon a Hero monster with 1000-or-less ATK from my deck, like Masked Hero Platinum Bullet!" the silver bullet-train hero appeared in DEF mode (DEF: 400).
"Just another monster for me to eradicate! Attack!" Psychic Commander blasted away Platinum Bullet. "There. No more monsters. I end my turn."
Divine: 2600
Rico: 1900
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "And since I have no monsters on my field, I can summon the level-5 (8)(5D's) Squadron Hero Red Captain(5/ATK: 500/DEF: 500)!" another red warrior appeared wearing a black bodysuit under with a red coat and a red helmet that looked like he was wearing a pirate hat with a angled black visor. On his chest was a white angular skull with a pair of sword crossed. He had the appearance of a pirate (ATK: 500), "And next, I activate the continuous-spell card called (5D's) Pirate Squadron!" soon, Red Captain was surrounded by four other warriors in similar clothing, in blue, yellow, green and pink, with yellow and pink wearing matching skirts, "The effect of this card brings Red Captain together with his fellow crew mates, with 500 points for each one! Time to introduce yourselves!" Rico commanded and the warriors announced:
"Gokai Red!"
"Gokai Blue!"
"Gokai Yellow!"
"Gokai Green!"
"Gokai Pink!"
"Kaizou Sentai!" Red initiated, with the others following... "GOKAIGER (ATK: 2500)!"
"Gokaigers, attack Psychic Commander!" the five heroes drew out their pistols and each fired a blast of energy that ripped through Psychic Commander's hovercraft.
Divine: 1500
Rico: 1900
"Now I place 1 card face-down and end my turn!" a reverse-card appeared.
"Now it's my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "I activate Spellbook Inside the Pot! Now we each get to draw three more cards!" both Rico and Divine drew three cards, "Next, I activate the quick-play Emergency Teleport to summon Mind Protector from my hand!" the glass-jar android reappeared (ATK: 0), "And I summon Krebons from my hand as well!" the Harlequin psychic appeared along with the android (ATK: 1200), "Next, I activate the spell card Star Blast! By paying 500 life-points, I can lower the level of Mind Protector by one."
Mind Protector: (Lv: 2)
"5...2...2..." Rico then silently gasped, "That means..."
"I see you did the math! And now I tune my level-5 Final Psychic Ogre, with my level-2 Mind Protector and Krebons!" the ogre and the android rose up and dissolved into seven stars, while Krebons separated into two synchro-gates for the stars to run though, "Now what was it I usually say...? Right! It goes something like..."
"Stars of verlism, unite as one! Unlock the gate of cyberspace to uncover the arms, and array me with the rods of destruction! Synchro-Summon! From the depths of the cyber world, enter Hyper Psychic Blaster!"
The light shot down on the psychic duelist, and was now armed with his Hyper Psychic Blaster armor (ATK: 3000), "You know, I always wanted to try this on you! And now I'll finally get the chance! And with Psychic Snail's ability, I can attack twice this turn!"
Divine: 700
Rico: 1900
Divine the pointed one of his blasters at the Gokaiger, "Let's see, your Ninja Squadron card-effect prevents your Red Hurricane from being destroyed once per turn. I wonder if Pirate Squadron does the same." he then pulled the trigger and fired a blast of psychic energy.
"I activate my trap card Spirit Barrier!" Rico's reverse-card flipped open and formed its barrier while the Gokaiger were toppled down by the blast. "While there's a monster on my field, I won't take any battle-damage!"
"Well you won't have a monster for long!" Divine fired at the red pirate and his crew, made sure to destroy them that time. He then laughed, "You're serving up your monsters one by one and yet I still keep knocking them down! I'm starting to think you don't even care what pawn you bring out!"
"These cards aren't pawns!" Rico yelled, "They're my friends!"
"Did you just say 'friends'?" Divine chuckled, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You always did like playing make-believe with Duel Monsters."
"What would you know?!" Rico snapped.
"I know about all the trouble you been doing with those cards of yours," Divine frowned under his mask, "Thanks to your meddling Akiza has turned her back on the Arcadia!"
"The Arcadia used her!"
"The Arcadia saved her! She was neglected by the very parents who raised her, just because they were too scared of her special gift!"
"They were scared! But that's not the same as not loving her! And besides, she forgave them for what happened! They have no reason to be afraid anymore now!"
"It was Akiza's parents who allowed her to run away from home to begin with! We were the ones who found her and put a roof over her head! We were the ones who shaped her into the duelist she is today! They don't deserve their forgiveness! And she could've realized that if it weren't for you!"
"Then I'm glad I did..."
"I bet you are. You know you always have gotten on my nerves, specially with those Hero cards of yours. ''Masked Hero', 'Cosmic Hero', and now 'Squadron Hero'! But what really made my skin crawl was that yellow furball of yours!"
"That 'furball' has a name!" Rico yelled, "And these cards are the only thing I have left! And you may not like it, but at least I had someone who I can call family! Just like Akiza still does!"
Divine's armor stood like a statue, his mind clicked on what he just remembered on Rico, on how he could use that to his advantage. When he figured out his Achilles Heel, he chuckled.
"Alright, I give up," he said, "Since you so determined to continue drawing out this farce, I supposed I'll humor you and let you play hero for a while. In the meantime, I'll activate my trap Metaphysical Regeneration to increase my life-points by 1000 for each psychic sent to my graveyard," Divine was then surrounded by a brief green aura, "Let's see how far your little 'bond' will get you..."
Divine: 3700
Rico: 1900
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card, "And I'll start by playing the (5D's) Rock Quarry field-spell!" as he played the spell card the buildings around him and Divine suddenly vanished. There was nothing under them but sand and gravel before they were surrounded by stories of cliffside from afar. The only vegetation that can be found was the short layer of grass and weeds that are at the edges over the deserted pit.
"This might cause a problem," Divine muttered looking around.
"Next, I activate the equip-spell Premature Burial! By bringing Masked Hero Platinum Bullet back from the graveyard, I can equip it to the monster to use as an anchor!" the card flashed as a small metal belt fell out. It was streamlined and primarily silver. Traces of black were on the front and buckles while a blue arrow was painted on the right half of the buckle which had a symbol of an interchanged three-way set of train tracks etched onto it.
"And just where's your monster supposed to be?"
Rico picked up the belt and looked at it, "Let me show you..." with a flick of his forearm, Rico slung the belt around his waist, the belt fastened with a click. The belt then discharged on him, causing him to painfully winch.
"Oh! Wait! Are you doing what I think you're doing?!" Divine laughed.
Rico pulled out a small rectangular object with a clear plastic screen on it. Looking down at the belt, he swung the black object over the belt's buckle, which flashed. It released a trail of white energy that quickly solidified and altered Rico's appearance. He was now the height of an adult male and wore the same uniform as Platinum Bullet did. Rico held his hands up as he looked himself over his new armor (ATK: 900).
Divine: 3700
Rico: 1100
"So, you can meld with your monsters just like I can," Divine calculated, "This might be more interesting than I hoped."
Remembering the he still had his duel-disk equipped, he added another card in his hand to it, "Next, I summon the (5D's)(9) Mystic Time Genie-Blazing Shusha(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800) from my hand!"
Sand sprayed from the enlarged card and formed a man-like shell and then into a warrior in a chinese armored tunic with furred sleeves. It also came with a breastplate with flaming shoulder-pads, and an emblem of a wild-maned wolf in the middle. Around his forearms and shins were flame-styled cuffs and fur-rimmed boots. His head was covered with a bestial imaging of a dog-like face in human-like design, wearing a wild, fiery mane (ATK: 1500).
"Now I activate Shusha's special-ability and use his power to give 900 ATK point to Platinum Bullet!" Rico removed the union-monster, which then completely changed format with a digital set of numbers set in front of the time genie.
He then took out the black 'rider-pass' and flipped it open, slipped the card into it and closed it. Then, Rico pressed the red button that was on the left side of the buckle, emitting an electric-based music combined with the traditional chinese percussion and strings. He held up the pass, which was burning brightly in his hand.
"Henshin..." He whispered as he swiped the pass over the buckle once again and the music instantly stopped.
=BLAZE FORM!=
Shusha compressed into a ball of fire and entered inside of Rico. A train's whistle was heard as a diamond-shaped shield was guided from behind his head to over his face. Pieces of armor rose from behind Rico and floated around him, before the suddenly attached to him and locked with each other. His armor was the same as Platinum Bullet when he was merged with the Red Oni, orange alloy with red flame accents. The shield on his face opened, revealing a prong of three blades behind a pair of large, red rhombus' of eyes with red flame pattern (ATK: 1800).
"1800 ATK points? What's the point of powering up if you can't even go up to par with my Psychic Snail?" Divine asked, then realized, "There's more, isn't there?"
"That's why I sent us to the Rock Quarry to set the stage," Rico nodded as he removed two small train-like pieces from his left hip and and tossed it into the air, "lots of room to move around and no obstacles to hinder them, the ideal battlefield for the unsung heroes of japan," he removed two other parts from his right hip and held them apart with one in either hand and waited for the attached part to fall, catching it by linking the parts together he held up his new weapon in his right hand as a red, flame-shape blade plumed from it, "That's when why a Masked Hero or Squadron Hero attacks a stronger monster, they gain 1000 ATK points during the damage step (ATK: 2800)!" he then retrieved his rider-pass and swiped it over his belt one more time.
=FULL CHARGE!=
Rico's blade ignited and shot off the sword, connected by s stream of electricity. Rico then swung the sword diagonally, the blade following Rico's movements and struck the Psychic Snail, leaving a burning gash on its chest. He then raised the sword as the blade burned even brighter, "Extreme Slash, Blaze Edition!" Rico called and brought the hilt down, causing the blade to crash down on Psychic Snail, destroying it.
Divine: 2800
Rico: 1100
"With that, I end my turn." Rico said as he lowered his sword.
"Then it's my turn," Divine drew his next card, "First I place one card face-down, then I'll use Hyper Psychic Blaster's attack on your Masked Hero!" Divine fired on his opponent.
"I activate the trap card Climax Impasse!" Rico activated his continuous reverse-card, "Now no Masked Hero can be attacked by any stronger monster!" Rico took the full brunt of Divine's attack and was knocked back with sparks flying out. Although the armor protected him it did not block the pain after being heard groaning. "All that extra protection for your life-points, and you can still feel my attacks, huh? I guess you know how your monsters felt. I'll let you make your next move."
Ignoring him Rico drew his next card, "I activate Shusha's ability and summon him back to the field!" Rico lost his extra armor and the red lion genie returned (ATK: 1500), "Then I release him to summon the Mystic Time Genie-Necroid Anubis!" Shusha deformed into sand and regenerated into the female anubis monster (ATK: 2200), "Next I activate the spell card Metamorphosis! By releasing a monster on my field, I can summon a fusion-monster from my extra-deck with the same level! Now Necroid Anubis will take on a new form!" Another similar belt appeared in Anubis' hand and was slung around her waist with a click. Pressing a violet button on the side of the buckle, an electric tone mixed with an egyptian melody was heard as Anubis swiped the pass over the buckle. "Henshin..."
=ADJUCATOR FORM=
Pixels of silver metal began to form around her until it she was covered in a gold leather catsuit. There were bands of obsidian-black metal along her forearms and ankles, linked to the suit by black bands with Egyptian glyphs marked up along the arms and legs. Her chest-plate was black with a gold collar embedded with studs of black gem. A black jackal's head rode to the front of the helmet and split open, rearranging itself until it became a boomerang-shaped visor behind a small vertical bronze trapezoid in the center pointing downward (ATK: 2000).
"Now I activate one of the effects of (5D's)(10) Masked Hero Dark Conduct(4/ATK: 2000/DEF: 1500)! She can't attack this turn, but she can summon a Mystic Time Genie from hand or deck, like (5D's)(11) Freezing Fenrir(4/ATK: 800/DEF: 1600)!"
Anubis removed a large object from her left hip: a silver circle with a handle that has a train track running across ether side as it did around the sides of the circle. At he end where the handle was aligned was a knob with three square holes, one facing the front while the other two poked from each side of the front one. Anubis switched hands and removed a part from the same side and attached it to the hole facing the front. Then she grabbed the last two pieces from her right and attached them to the two remaining connectors. After turning the handle 45 degrees and treating it like a firearm's handle, the side parts sprout a pair of triangular blades. Anubis then pulled out her pass and opened it, placing the monster card inside and attaching the opened pass as the end of the front part. Pointing it outwards the pulled the trigger and the card came to life and formed a humanoid sky-blue female wearing a navy-blue tunic with a halter neckline made of short leather straps and metal rings. Over her shins were knee-high fur boots and around her shoulders she wore a white fur cape. Her face was human yet wore a ferocious lupine mask with yellow eyes, and long show-white hair (ATK: 800).
"Now I combine her with Platinum Bullet!" Rico placed the card into the pass and scanned it like before.
=JAZZ FORM!=
A new set or armor had appeared and locked itself around him. His new armor was similar to Golden Bear as his Ax Form with the gold replaced by a metallic blue, and the new mask held a spiked silver axe between the blue-plated, vented visors, "Next I activate a continuous-spell card, (5D's) Battle Ride!" the spell card showed two red warriors clashing at each other with a sword and gun in hand, "And with its effect, now Masked Hero or Squadron Hero on my field can't be destroyed once per turn! And when they attack a monster on the opponent's field, that monster loses 100 ATK points for each level my monster has! Now Platinum Bullet and Dark Conduct will attack Hyper Psychic Blaster!" Rico launched his blade from his sword and struck it at Divine before retracting it again.
Hyper Psychic Blaster: (ATK: 2600)
"Now it's Anubis' turn! And since she has fewer ATK points, she gains 1000 more!" Anubis detached the front part and replaced it with an v-shaped blade she had hanging on her right. Turning the handle to align with the front piece the blade extended into a large sword, giving her weapon the expression of a large ankh ornament (ATK: 3000).
"Before you attack I activate the trap card Waboku to protect my monster and my life-points!" After Divine revealed his trap card, Dark Conductor fired an arc of energy which placed a large gash on Divine's chest armor.
Hyper Psychic Blaster: (ATK: 2300)
"I end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "I activate the spell Magical Stone Excavation! By sending 2 cards from my hand, I can search my graveyard for another spell card and add that card to my hand! Next I activate the card I just brought back, Spellbook Inside the Pot!" both players drew three cards, "Next I summon (16) Reinforced Human Psychic Borg(4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 800) in ATK mode!" a partially-mechanical warrior with a body coated in cables and armor plates and wielding a sword (ATK: 1500), "Now for his special-ability! By removing up to two psychics from my graveyard from play, my Psychic Borg gains 500 ATK points for each one!" Divine removed two monsters from his duel-disk (ATK: 2500), "But since you have that Climax Impasse trap out, I can't actually destroy your monsters. But what I can do is give you more of the real Duel Monster's experience! Psychic Borg attacks Platinum Bullet!" Psychic Borg charged in and brought its sword down on Rico, who protected himself with his own. The force from the psychic's attack brought a small sprain on Rico's arm as the psychic retreated, just then Rico was bombarded with a series of psychic blasts from Divine. "That ends my turn."
"It's my turn!" Rico drew his next card and activated Card Trader, "And I summon (5D's)(12)Mystic Time Genie-Crackling Kirin(4/ATK: 800/DEF: 1600)!" more sand formed a genie in a metallic-yellow gi and the same-colored baggy pants and black boots. His arms were covered under golden fur on the biceps and black armor plating on the forearms. His face was similar to Fenrir, in the form of the chinese beast Kirin with light-blue eyes and a small, curved horn from his forehead (ATK: 800), "Next I activate Dark Conduct's special-ability, with Platinum Bullet on the field, I can bring back a Mystic Time Genie from my graveyard, at the price of her not attacking this turn! Now I use her effect to summon Blazing Shusha!" Dark Conduct slashed into the air and tore into a dimensional vortex, which the red shusha genie came through (ATK: 1500), "Now I activate Dark Conduct's third effect! This allows me to equip a Mystic Time Genie onto her, like Blazing Shusha!" the red genie turned into a ball of light and reformed as a qing-dynasty niuweidao sword with Shusha's face over the handle, "Normally I can only equip a Time Genie to a normal-monster, but thanks to her special-ability she can wield them too! And just like before Blazing Shusha grants 900 ATK points (ATK: 2900)! Now I activate Platinum Bullet with Freezing Fenrir's ability!" Rico removed the parts on his side and arranged them into an axe-like weapon with a serrated white blade. Then he smashed it into the ground sending down a frosty wind until it reached Reinforced Human Psychic Borg, entrapping it in a large shell of ice, "Now your monster can't attack or change his battle-modes! And with that done it's time for a switch!" Fenrir left his body and appeared in DEF position (DEF: 1500) and Kirin replaced her as Rico scanned her pass again.
=VOLT FORM!=
The blue chest armor detached itself and split open before attaching itself again onto him. He now resembles Blue Turtle's Rod Form, the chest armor end shoulder-pads resembling Tang Dynasty warrior armor. A horned dragon rode down the head and rearranged itself into a full yellow faceplate with a golden three-pronged crown. He then took his axe and rearranged it into a gun-like weapon, the barrel having a pair of curved blades on the sides giving the impression of a crossbow.
"Now Platinum Bullet attacks Hyper Psychic Blaster!" Platinum Bullet fired an electrified arrow at Divine's armor and triggered Battle Ride (ATK: 2000), "Now I place 1 card face-down and end my turn!"
"It's my turn!" Divine drew his next card, "First I place one card face-down! Next my Hyper Psychic Blaster attacks Platinum Bullet!"
"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Shift!" Rico revealed his reverse-card, and Divine's attack was deflected by Dark Conduct's sword, "Now the target of your ATK will be Dark Conduct! And since she has more ATK points, your Hyper Psychic Blaster is history!" Dark Conduct scanned her belt with the rider-pass.
=FULL CHARGE!=
The sword Dark Conduct created glowed with energy as she tossed it towards her enemy.
"I activate the trap Mirror Force!" as Divine revealed his reverse card, the sword became held by a barrier in front of him energy being discharged from the contact, "And I'm sure you know what that means; every monster you have in ATK mode is destroyed!" the barrier's destructive power expanded and reached the opposing field, causing destruction all around Rico and his fellow monsters. The power struck them down and pounded hard on their armor. Platinum Bullet and Dark Conduct were now on their knees, with the sword stuck in the ground near them, the Volt Form armor nor the shusha's sword can be found. "And figures, the union protects your monsters from destruction. You're pretty resilient from a little boy. Though that's to be expected from one of our own."
"Shut up!" Rico snapped as he and Anubis got back up, "I'm not like you and I never will be!"
"Don't try to kid yourself! You were born with a special gift that no one else can comprehend. You're no different from the rest of us. You need us more than we need you!"
"You only want me for my power! You don't care about me! You don't care about any of us!"
"We brought you into the Arcadia to perfect your abilities! You're not there to be cared about! ...Then again that is the impression we give our fellow psychics."
"So all that hospitality you gave us was a lie after all!"
"I don't think so. You see, we wouldn't hesitate to treat our psychics as they were our own family."
"You don't know about family any more than I do!"
"We all had families at one point! But their scorn for us if not someone else forced us out of our homes and led us to Sayer!"
"Not my family! Not my mom! She never abandoned me!"
"Your mom's dead! That pretty much as close as abandonment as you can get! Besides, you're better off in our hands like the rest! We coerced most of their parents to bringing their children into our group!"
"And what about the parents who don't buy your stories?"
"Then, we have other ways to get them to come with us. And you should know, you were our first example!"
Rico wondered what he meant by what he said. That led him to seeing her mother's face. A cold sweat formed on his face.
"You...What did the Arcadia do?!" Rico trembled.
"You know damn well what we, or rather I, did."
Rico stood as his heart pounded harder and harder. If the adults were smart enough not to trust their children unto strangers, there would be only one alternative the Arcadia would turn to; and that very outcome caused Rico to fall to his knees. "It was you...You took her away..."
Divine just gave a dry laugh, "If it's any constellation, I didn't really enjoy it. I didn't even get to use my Hyper Psychic Blaster. But your mother would have gone out either way. She tackled shit like you do now."
"Shut up!" Rico snapped, "My mom was a great woman!" for him it was true. Rico never knew his father, the man dying a year after he was born, so he only had his mother there. He knew she used to be part of Industrial Illusions, being the one who had made many of his cards for his decks, but she changed to being a stay-at-home worker, changing from designing cards to writing books. Akiza had surprised him last year on his birthday by finding all the books that his late mother wrote.
"It wasn't much, really," Divine recalled, "You actually led us to your home, you know? When you were playing with some Kuriboh from what Sayer told me."
Rico began to shiver at that. A few days before his mother died, he had been at a park near his home. No one was there at the time, so he could enjoy talking with the Duel Spirits that normally lived in the park. The last Duel Spirit he had played with that day was a Winged Kuriboh.
"Sayer followed you home once you were done playing around with that little fuzzball," Divine continued, "He came back to the Arcadia and got me. A few days later, we went out there and got the job done."
Rico knew what he was saying. He remembered getting ready for bed when his mother entered his room, worry etched on her face. She gave him a backpack with some spare clothing, all the emergency cash she had saved up, and his doll before sneaking him out through the back. She gave him a hug, told her how much she loved him, and told him to run as far as he could. She made him promise to do that and he never went back on a promise (the only one that knew of that was Akiza), so he ran. He ran even when he heard his mother scream out along with gunshots.
"And it took us two damn years to find you." Divine scowled.
Rico trembled, not sure of what he was feeling. Was he starting to despair, realizing it was his fault his mother was killed? Was it anger at knowing the man before him was the killer of his mother? He just didn't know. A gloved hand placed itself on his shoulder, making him look up at the older of the two grasshopper-themed warriors Kai had seen.
"I...Ichigo-san..."
"Revenge is never the answer," the figure informed before the other appeared beside him.
"Man, kiddo, you sure seem to be in trouble," the second one noted.
"Nigo-san..." Rico whispered as the two helped him up.
Divine scowled as he watched Rico wander his gaze away from him, knowing that he was talking to spirits again. He was however a bit surprised when Freezing Fenrir rise up and spoke, "I knew you were trouble the moment Rico met you," she growled.
"...To prey on a child is one thing," Anubis said, rising up and pulled her sword from out of the ground, pointing it towards Divine, "But to orphan him by ending a mother's life is unforgivable!"
"Oh, as if I care what you pathetic cards think," Divine snorted.
"You should," Fenrir replied, "It's because of us 'pathetic cards' that you Psychic Duelists are so strong."
"Rico-kun, think you can still go on?" Nigo asked.
"I...I can still duel," Rico replied with a nod.
"Just hold out for as long as you can," Anubis informed, not looking away from the Psychic Duelist, "No matter how powerful he is, he's not invincible. There is a way to defeat my, you just need to draw the right card."
"Yeah but..." Rico trailed off.
"Rico-chan," the boy turned to Freezing Fenrir, who had removed her mask a little to give an assuring smile at him, "Dark Conduct is right. There's someone in your deck that can help take this guy out; someone who's waiting for you to call her out."
"Are you sure?" Rico asked.
"We will be fine," Fenrir replied, straightening her mask back on, "Just do your part and don't let this guy intimidate you."
Rico nodded and returned to the duel. "I place 2 cards face-down and end my turn!"
"Finally it's my turn," Divine drew his next card, "And look what we have here! I activate the spell Card of Sanctity!" both duelists drew until they each held six cards; Divine managed to catch the glimmer on Rico's eyes behind his helmet. And with what he overheard over his little conversation with Fenrir... "I hope you found that card you're looking for! Because if you did, this next move may disappoint you! I activate Card Destruction! So now we both ditch our entire hand for a new one!" Rico stood as his hand shivered. Divine had managed to flush out whatever Rico was planning to pull with his recent maneuver, "I guess that you're all out of options now. And to make matters worse I activate Mystic Wok, sacrificing my Psychic Borg and transferring his ATK points into my life-points!"
Divine: 5300
Rico: 1100
"Next I activate Psychokinesis!" Hyper Psychic Blaster held out his white blaster and it started charging a mass of condensed black energy, unstable as it traveled across Divine's armor and damaged him a bit, "It may cost me 1000 points, but it'll help me get rid of a card on your field, like your Spirit Barrier!" Divine fired upon Rico's continuous-trap and destroyed it.
Divine: 4300
Rico: 1100
"Now I can really do some damage, on you that is!" Divine resumed to open fire upon Platinum Bullet.
"I activate the No Entry! trap card!" Rico revealed one of his reverse-cards, "Now every monster in ATK mode are switched to DEF mode!" suddenly everything around them went heavy, the gravity in the area increased as it kept pushing Divine to his knees.
"Do you think you can stop my attack with just some trap card...?" Divine grunted, using more strength to rise back up on his feet, and even more to maintain that position under the pressure, "Let me show you one of my own!" crossing his arms and slowly lowering them, Hyper Psychic Blaster's armor began to exhaust from the seams. His body twitched as he was then being covered over most parts in a black digital substance, transmutating parts of his armor including his torso and his blasters, "This is a little something I picked up before coming here, something that will make you so-called heroes look like the weaklings they are; it's a little something I'd like to call, Assault Mode Activate!" a pair of mechanical glowing wings burst from behind him as the digital substance broke from him revealing a new, heavily armed suit of armor complete with a black dome over his head connecting onto a white collar, more plates of the black material shielding the rest of his form, the module on his back charging his new wings with electric blue energy, and his blasters now larger and connected to his armor with several cables.
"What is that." Rico muttered involuntarily.
"I'm glad you asked," the eye on Hyper Psychic Blaster flashed, "The effect of the trap I played caused my monster to unlock its true power, transformed into (17) Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode(11/ATK: 3500/DEF: 3000)! And now that I'm stronger than ever it's time to pay you back for all the trouble you caused me today, starting with that Dark Conduct!" Divine pulled out his blasters and opened fire on Rico's line of defense. The masked hero and genie looked away as their fellow hero was reduced to nothing but smoke and fire. "That monster may have been in DEF mode, but that only activates my monster's special-ability: whenever Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode battle a monster, my life-points increase by the ATK of the monster it battles; while you take damage equal to its DEF points! And with only 1100 life-points to your name, I think it's time for you to say goodbye!" Divine's black blaster pulsed with more destructive power, practically overflowing to the brink, "And good riddance!" pulling the trigger, Divine fired a giant blast of dark energy which then broke into a series of smaller streams of psychic energy.
"Rico! Look out!" Fenrir screamed as she stood in Rico's path, arms outstretched to protect him. However, Rico said nothing as he pushed her our of the way past her and onto her side. Fenrir was given no chance to comprehend his actions when all she could do is watch as the psychic missiles took a direct him, kicking dust and smoke everywhere.
"I think that's about does it," Divine smiled under his helmet. He then proceeded to walking towards the silent dust storm, ready to retrieve the boys corpse. "I know Sayer told me to bring him back alive; but truth be told, all that hero talk has been getting on my nerv-" the psychic was suddenly bombarded by a flurry of shooting light. There were so many, swarming around him like a swarm of angry bees, until finally the gathered at the point of his chest and shot him off his feet. "What... What was that?!" the first thing Divine did as he staggered back up was looked at his duel-disk, checking his opponent's life-point counter...
Divine: 4300
Rico: 1100
"That doesn't make sense! I'm sure my attack connected! This duel should have been done!"
"This duel's not over until I say it is!" the smoke cleared to find Platinum Bullet behind a barrier of glowing light.
"How come you're not dead yet!"
"I activated my trap card, Pikeru's Seal of Enchantment!" Rico revealed his reverse-card, "That means I don't take any damage from card-effects this turn!"
"So you managed to last one more round; and that's the very last opportunity you're allowed to have," Divine growled, "After all, it doesn't matter what you do. Once I take you to Sayer for what he has in mind for you, I'll end you the same way I did that bitch you had for a mother."
"Don't call her that!" Rico growled as he drew his next card, "I activate the spell Monster Reincarnation! By sending a card from my hand to the graveyard, I can return a monster card from there to my hand! Next, I release Freezing Fenrir to summon (5D's)(13) Mystic Time Genie-Sage Kyuubi(6/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1100)!" before waving goodbye Fenrir disappeared and was replaced by by a figure in a traditional priestess attire: a white long-sleeved kimono and a tall red skirt. She wore a full yellow fox mask with her long hair tied into nine curled ponytails bunched together (ATK: 2200), "And now I'll use her ability to combine with Platinum Bullet!" the fox sage entered inside Platinum Bullet, the buckle on his belt attached with a wide plating in the shape of a fox, the emblem etched in the middle. The sound of an old-era japanese melody before Rico swiped his pass...
=SHRINE FORM=
A new set of armor rose and attached itself onto Platinum Bullet. It was a yellow-and-while chestplate with shoulder-pads covering his biceps. The mask attached to his face was formed from a fox's head into a full face-plate visor with a boomerang-shaped emblem as its crown.
"Oh joy," Divine muttered as he saw that trick countless times.
"Now I activate the equip-spell, (5D's) Voltic Mask Sword!" as Rico pushed the card into his duel-disk, something shot out of the sky and bore itself into the ground for him to pull out and pick up. It was a small shield modeled after a rail-track turntable with a large silver blade erected behind it as well as a pulley handle at the bottom, "With this out, I can remove from play 4 Mystic Time Genies from my graveyard, and add 1500 to my ATK points, as well a four Mask Counters! Now come out!" as he removed four more cards, the sword itself sounded off as Blazing Shusha, Freezing Fenrir, Crackling Kirin and Necroid Anubis, appeared in their incorporeal form and were absorbed into the sword until the four masks had been attached around the turntable shield. Rico took out his rider-pass and found a slot behind the sword in which to insert it.
(Cue: AAA Climax Jump)
=SHU SWORD/FEN AX/KI ARROW/ANU ANKH/DEN-O LINER FORM=
jikan no nami wo tsukamaete
imasugu ni yukou yakusoku no basho
(Grab on to the waves of Time
Let's go to the promised place right now)
A loud whistle caught Divine's attention before a glowing white bullet train charged out of a portal and dove at Platinum Bullet. He exhausted what little reason he had left to be excited as the machine turned transparent, allowing it to pass through Rico's armor and bringing about a new change. The black bodysuit turned navy -blue with white siding as blue armor with yellow headlight pieces appeared on his chest. His helmet gained a new mask which was black with red accented flames near the lower corners; and had red, blue, and yellow extensions on it. An ornament slid and folded down on the top of his head like a train's antenna. Finally, the sword's blade flashed and gained a blue coloring (ATK: 2400)(CTR: 4).
genkai mugen iza tobikome Climax Jump!
(With infinite boundaries, just jump in. Climax Jump!)
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
"Now I activate it's effect! By removing a Mask Counter from my hand, I can return one of the cards that were removed from the game and add its effect!" Rico brought his sword beside him, "I still need one of you with me if I need to pull this off," he whispered to it, "Fenrir, can I count on you?"
kanaetai yume ga aru nara
shinjinakucha negatta hibi wo
(If you have a dream you wish would come true, then you must have believed in it coming true every day)
Catch the wave
"Don't worry, Rico; I'll be with you until the very end!" Fenrir secured, before she skipped over and held Anubis' arm, giving a cute pout under her mask, "Aw, but I am gonna miss this lovely lady fighting by my side."
"You and your intimate habits," Dark Conduct muttered as she gently tried to remove herself from the clinging snow-wolf, "I knew that letting Urataros be your babysitter would bite all the girls in the decks one day."
mayoisou na toki kanarazu
omoi no tsuyosa ga michibiku
KIMI ga nozomu mirai sude ni
In your hands
(In times of doubt, you will be lead the way by the strength of your emotions without fail)
(The future that you wish for is already in your hands)
"I remove a Mask Counter to activate Necroid Anubis' ability!" Rico shuffled Anubis to his deck and pulled the sword's lever twice, making Anubis' mask align with the sword (CTR: 3).
=ANU ANKH=
"And thanks to her ability, other than 1000 ATK points, by paying 800 life-points I can bring back a monster that's in my graveyard! I summon a monster you discarded with Card Destruction; and old friend of mine named Mobian Hero Meiru!" the furry fox-eared monster appeared in a gyrating yellow ball, which uncurled before she landed on the ground (ATK: 1600).
hajimari wa itsumo totsuzen
unmei wo tsurete yuku Time tripin' ride
fukannou koete tsukami toru sa Climax
(Every time it begins, a time tripin' ride brings forth your fate)
(A Climax that's impossible to exceed nor have a grip on)
Divine: 4300
Rico: 300
"I take it that's your furry yellow rat of yours?" Divine cracked.
Roll's ears twitched at that hurtful insult, "Just say the word, Rico! I'll rip him out of that armor he's hiding under!"
"Now I remove another Mask Counter and use Kirin's ability!" Rico pulled the lever and the tabled turned on Kirin's mask.
=KIR ARROW=
"Hey, Big Brother!" Fenrir asked Kirin, "You ready to teach this guy a lesson?"
"What kind of Student of the Hero of Ikargua do you think I am?!" Kirin demanded as he stood up, donning a red scarf while he pulled out his crossbow, "Rico, I swear upon my teachings under my master that I will not fail in doing my best to aid you in this psychic's reign of terror! This fiend shall meet his defeat by our might!"
kawaru koto wo osorenai de
ashita no jibun miushinau dake
(Not afraid of transforming, losing sight of myself tomorrow)
"Uh...Okay?" Rico blinked under his mask while Fenrir facepalmed and sighed, "With Kirin's ability, I can lower a monster's ATK by 600! Normally it can only affect monsters level-4-or-lower! But that no longer applies while using this sword!" the sword crackled with electricity as Rico made a swing with it, tossing the electric current towards Divine.
It interfered with Hyper Psychic Blaster's systems and left him immobilized (ATK: 2900), "Is that supposed to stop me?!"
"Finally, I remove my third counter to activate Shusha's effect!" Rico pulled the lever once more and aligned Shusha's mask once more with he sword.
=SHU SWORD=
dare yori takai sora e tobou ze Climax Jump!
(Higher than anyone else, soaring higher than the sky, Climax Jump!)
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
"And his effect adds 900 points to my ATK points!" The sword's blade then began blazing with fire (ATK: 4300), "And that makes me strong enough for me to beat you!" Rico scanned his pass (which was still in his sword) one more time and an echoing hymnal melody sounded.
=CHARGE AND UP=
Rico sprinted towards Divine as the blazing sword lit up in multiple colors detached itself from the shield, a trail of electricity connecting the two. He swung the shield and the blade was led horizontally, slashing across Divine's new armor. But he was not done; he gathered his strength and jumped high in the air, "Blazing Slash...!" the lightning trail pulled the blade back to its home as Rico raised it over his head, glowing even brighter its aura extended in length, "Liner Version!" he brought the sword down on Hyper Psychic Blaster; the blade's aura escaped into a blaze of colorful light and struck across Divine's chest, forming a large gash. Rico escaped as Divine's psychic power escaped from his wounds and shot out in sparks unable to be contained.
"This duel isn't over! Not by a longshot!" still unable to move, Divine proceeded to falling on his face before his armor exploded. But although Rico got rid of his armor he was not done yet. Beneath the dust-cloud a series of psychic blasts shot out which Rico was pushed back by while using his sword to defend himself. The dust settled revealing Divine in his original armor. What did I tell you! Even if did have more ATK points, all you managed to accomplished was stripped me of my Assault Mode! That allows me to retrieve my original armor; and it's as strong as ever (ATK: 3000)! You just wasted you last major attack!"
mune no naka minna hisoka ni
kaki kaetai kioku mo aru
(Secretly in everyone's heart, memories are being rewritten)
Means nothing!
Divine: 2900
Rico: 300
"And this is the time I get a do-over! I activate the quick-play Combination Attack!" Rico slapped the spell card into his duel-disk, "By removing a union-monster from a monster and summoning it to the field, that monster can attack one more time!" the fox priestess removed herself from Rico's body and returned to the field (ATK: 2200).
Divine began to panic, "Wait a minute, that means-"
atarashii asa wo matsu nara
"ima" wo nurikaero soko kara
(While waiting for a brand new morning, to repaint the present)
honno sukoshi yuuki wo mote
In your mind
(You just need to have a little courage in your mind)
"That Hyper Psychic Blaster won't be hurting anyone else!" Rico pulled the lever multiple times, letting the masks on the sword turn until they all passed through the blade.
=FULL CHARGE AND UP=
tabitachi wa itsumo hitsuzen
douse nara tobimaware Time tripin' ride
sagashidasu no sa jibun dake no Climax
(Every time you set off on a journey, a time tripin' ride will always come bustling by
Discover your own Climax)
A stream of gold light shot out from the tip of the blade and stretched forward, expanding into a glowing rail track. Rico rand beside the track and jumped on, letting the train tracks lead him fast towards Hyper Psychic Blaster. Divine kept blasting away but his attacks were being deflected by an aura that formed into an incorporeal train. Rico held his sword beside him at the ready.
kinou made no kioku subete
hitsuyou to wakaru hi ga kuru HAZU
(From all your memories of yesterday, it is necessary to understand the HAZ* that comes with the day)
"Finishing Move: Super Shinkansen Slash!" with all his might he crashed his blade against Hyper Psychic Blaster as he shot by, Divine's armor shattered into countless pieces, letting the psychic duelist fall to his knees as Rico traveled back to where his monsters were.
hakoeru you ni sara naru Climax Jump!
(In order to be proud of further Climax Jump)
Divine: 1600
Rico: 300
"I don't believe it!" Divine growled, "My most powerful monster; in its most powerful form; bested by this little brat!"
"That goes to show your Hyper Psychic Blaster isn't as invincible as you say it is!" Rico said, "Your Hyper Psychic Blaster was the strongest monster in your deck! And even after Jason bested it you still act like a Class-A Jerk! Why are you still like this?! Why do you still insist on being Sayer's pawn?! Have you not realized all the horrible things he did to people?!"
kokoro wo tsuyoku suru
daiji na kotoba toka
kakegaenai omoide wo atumete
(A strong heart, important words
They are attained from the assembling of memories)
Divine sat with a ridiculed expression on his face before he chuckled, "His pawn, huh? Is that what you think...? Well, sorry to disappoint you but I'm afraid that's not the case!"
"What are you talking about?!"
mou sukoshi ato sukoshi...
todokanai hoshizora
akirametara soko ka shuuten sa
(For a while, just a little while, unable to reach the starry sky,
Without giving up the last stop)
"You know, I hate it when people relate me to a dependent lamb! I never have to rely on anyone else and I always get what I want! That's the same before and after I met up with Sayer! Don't bother expecting some sappy sob-story from me, little boy; I work for Sayer on my own accord," Divine finally got up on his feet. "There doesn't have to be any rhyme or reason as to what I do beside the fact I have the power to get away with it! Sayer might as well be the most powerful person on earth! He's got billions of dollars of bail-out money and can own the entire world through debt; and I'm just trying to be his best friend! So if Sayer asks me to jump, I'm gonna say 'how high', and throw your short ass in the air!" Rico knew one would be capable of evil and destruction, but that would usually be cause by a darkened past or some twisted ambition. But for Divine to treat such wicked and selfish notions as natural...
"I'm sick of this guy!" Roll growled as she dropped on all fours, "C'mon, Rico! Let's hurry up and finish this!"
hajimari wa itsumo totsuzen
unmei o tsurete yuku Time tripin' ride
(Every time it begins, a time tripin' ride brings forth your fate)
fukannou koete tsukami toru sa Climax
(A Climax that's impossible to exceed nor have a grip on)
"You're like Imperer mixed with Ohja. You don't care about anyone or anything unless it benefits you really and get rid of those that 'vex' you," Rico frowned under his mask, finally, he reached for one more card and played the Quick Attack spell card, "Onee-chan? Attack Divine with Lightspeed Dash!"
"I was hoping you'd say that," Roll grinned deviously.
kawaru koto wo osorenai de
ashita no jibun miushinau dake
(Not afraid of transforming, losing sight of myself tomorrow)
With that, she curled up into a ball. It began to spin in place, a soft hum growing louder and louder with each second emanating from the spinning ball. Soon, light began to appear from all over the viewable area of the two duelists, coalescing into spheres that shot into her. Roll stopped spinning, crouched down with a smirk on her face, "Here I..." Roll instantly turned into a golden light as she rocketed at Divine, "Go!"
dare yori takaku kinou yori takaku
(Higher than anyone else, higher than yesterday)
Climax Jump!
Divine was struck in the face first before Roll struck him in the back. Bruises and cuts began to appear on him as the assault she was unleashing was going at a speed rivaling lightspeed itself. Roll finished the attack with a kick to his groin and zipped back over to Rico.
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
ii jan! ii jan! sugee jan?!
Rico: 300
Divine: 0
"We...We won..." Rico gasped softly, as the field returned to the old amusement park, "We actually beat him..."
"I say we toss him to Ohja. Venoseeker could use a snack," Fenrir noted.
"Nah. The big snake would get indigestion," Kirin snorted before both had their ears tugged on by Roll.
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" both repeated quickly in their pain.
"It would be better if we looked for Akiza-chan first, understood?" Roll asked, giving an added tug for emphasis.
"Hai," both whimpered before their ears were released and they flew off as spheres of light.
Alone once more, Rico got up and began dragging his feet forward. He kept moving and stopped only to face his fallen opponent, watching him gather what little strength he had to just keep breathing. Rico was relieved; for all the evil Divine caused, he was glad he did not kill him, "And for the record, that was for Katherine. And Toby and Carol too." after muttering those words he felt it was time to leave. He turned and walked away...
"Typical idealistic morality!" Rico had no time to turn back as he suddenly felt the force of a wrecking ball hit him from behind. That was the last sense of feeling he was able to register as he was thrown across the wasteland. Divine struggled to get back up on his feet, and lurked towards the boy, "This is so humiliating, to be beaten by a child, by some deluded, self-rightcious sense of heroics, it's hurts my pride!" he stopped to hover over Rico, whose face was pressed on the ground, "But then again, it's well worth it, seeing you on the ground like that. You could've taken the opportunity to take your revenge on Katherine or whoever else you were mumbling about. You pathetic act of pity will cost you!" he then delivered a swift kick on Rico's side. Hearing a small yelp from the boy, he gave him another. Soon he was beating the poor boy, "That's what you get for showing mercy on the battlefield!" he laughed as he continued sending blow after blow on Rico. Each him hurried his heart rate as he listen to the boy cry and whimpered. He enjoyed the lament Rico must be feeling, yet he still wanted more. So he raised his foot... "Tell your mommy I sent my regards!"
But before he can slam it down on the young boy's skull he was suddenly struck from the side, and launched off his feet away from Rico. After skidding across the ground, he sat on the ground, holding his bruised ribs. "Who did that?!"
The smoke cleared for Divine to find a hideous-looking gorgon-based monster, their eyes and serpent-like hair staring right at him. The monster then slithered aside to reveal the true threat; the one person who despised the Arcadia more than anyone on the face of the earth. But that only made things more exciting.
"I was wondering when you'd show up..."
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Squadron Hero Red Hurricane
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV3 ATK/300 DEF/300
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is flipped-summoned, target 1 level-3 or lower monster; destroy that target. (If the target is Set, reveal it, and destroy it if it is level-3 or lower. Otherwise, return it to its original position.) When this card is targeted by a face-up 'Ninja Armada' you control, your opponent cannot select any other monster you control as an attack target.
This card is based on the Red Wind Ranger/Hurricane Red from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger/Power Rangers Ninja Storm. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(2) Squadron Hero Crimson Hercules
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV3 ATK/500 DEF/500
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is summoned while you control no other monsters, or the only monster you control is 'Squadron Hero Red Hurricane', you can special-summon 'Squadron Hero Navy Stag' from your hand. While you control this card, 'Squadron Hero Red Hurricane' gains 300 ATK and DEF. Once per turn, you can select 1 face-up 'Squadron Hero Navy Stag' you control that's in ATK position; that monster cannot attack this turn and the ATK of this monster becomes 2000 until the end-phase.
This card is based on the Crimson Thunder Ranger/Kabuto Raiger from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger/Power Rangers Ninja Storm. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(3) Squadron Hero Crimson Stag
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV3 ATK/500 DEF/500
Attribute: WIND
Effect: When this card is summoned while you control no other monsters, or the only monster you control is 'Squadron Hero Red Hurricane', you can special-summon 'Squadron Hero Crimson Hercules' from your hand. While you control this card, 'Squadron Hero Red Hurricane' gains 300 ATK and DEF.
This card is based on the Navy Thunder Ranger/Kugawa Raiger from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger/Power Rangers Ninja Storm. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(4) Squadron Hero Shark Fist
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1600 DEF/0
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When you control this card along with each a face-up "Squadron Hero Bat Fist" and "Squadron Hero Fist Elephant", this card gains 1000 ATK during the damage-step when he attacks. Once per duel, this card can attack your opponent directly. When it does, only that monster can attack this turn and the damage dealt is equal to this monster's original ATK.
This card is based on the Shark Spirit Ranger from Power Rangers Jungle Fury. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(5) Squadron Hero Bat Fist
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1400 DEF/0
Attribute: WIND
Effect: Once per turn, when you control this card along with each a face-up "Squadron Hero Shark Fist" and "Squadron Hero Elephant Fist", this card gains 1000 ATK until the end-phase. Once per duel, this card can attack your opponent directly. When it does, only that monster can attack this turn and the damage dealt is equal to half this monster's original ATK.
This card is based on the Bat Spirit Ranger from Power Rangers Jungle Fury. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(6) Squadron Hero Elephant Fist
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/0
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Once per turn, when you control this card along with each a face-up "Squadron Hero Shark Fist" and "Squadron Hero Bat Fist", this card gains 2200 DEF until the end-phase. Once per turn, you can change the target of an opponent's monster's attack to this card.
This card is based on the Elephant Spirit Ranger from Power Rangers Jungle Fury. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(7) Phantom Magician
Stats: [Spellcaster/Effect] LV3 ATK/600 DEF/700
Attribute: DARK
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard: You can Special Summon 1 "HERO" monster with 1000 or less ATK from your Deck in face-up Defense Position.
(8) Squadron Hero Red Captain
Stats: [Warrior/Effect] LV5 ATK/500 DEF/500
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When you control no other monsters, you can normal-summon this card without a tribute. One per turn, you can add 1 "Squadron Hero Red" monster from your deck to hand instead of conducting your normal-draw. You can return this card you control to your hand to special-summon a "Squadron Hero Red" monster from your hand.
This card is based on Gokai Red from Kaizou Sentai Gokaiger/Power Rangers Super Megaforce. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
(9) Mystic Time Genie-Blazing Shusha
Stats: [Pyro/Union] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/800
Attribute: FIRE
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to level-4-or-lower 'Hero' normal monster you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the attribute of this card becomes FIRE and gains the following effect: This card gains 900 ATK points. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(10) Masked Hero Dark Conduct
Stats: [Warrior/Fusion/Effect] LV4 ATK/2000 DEF/1500
Attribute: DARK
Effect: Cannot be Special Summoned except from the extra-deck by the effect of "Metamorphosis". Once per turn, you can equip a "Mystic Time Genie" union-monster you control to this card, ignoring the conditions needed to be equipped. Once per turn, you can activate one of the following effects; this card cannot attack on that turn:
Special-summon one "Mystic Time Genie" union-monster from your graveyard.
Add to your hand one "Mystic Time Genie" union-monster from your deck.
(11) Mystic Time Genie-Freezing Fenrir
Stats: [Aqua/Union] LV4 ATK/800 DEF/1600
Attribute: WATER
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to level-4-or-lower 'Hero' normal monster you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the attribute of this card becomes WATER and gains the following effect: Once per turn, you can select 1 level-4-or-lower monster your opponent controls. It cannot change its battle position or declare an attack until the end of your opponent's next turn. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(12) Mystic Time Genie-Crackling Kirin
Stats: [Thunder/Union] LV4 ATK/800 DEF/1600
Attribute: WIND
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to level-4-or-lower 'Hero' normal monster you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the attribute of this card becomes WIND and gains the following effect: Once per turn, you can select 1 level-4-or-lower monster your opponent controls and decrease its ATK and DEF by 600 until the end-phase. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(13) Mystic Time Genie-Sage Kyuubi
Stats: [Fairy/Union] LV6 ATK/2200 DEF/1100
Attribute: LIGHT
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to level-4-or-lower 'Hero' normal monster you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the attribute of this card becomes LIGHT and gains the following effect: Once per turn, while this card is in ATK mode, any damage you take that is 2000 or less becomes 0. While this card is in DEF mode, it cannot be destroyed in battle. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
(14) Pandaborg
Stats: [Psychic/Effect] LV4 ATK/1700 DEF/1400
Attribute: WATER
Effect: When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, you can pay 800 Life Points to Special Summon 1 Level 4 Psychic-Type monster from your Deck.
(15) Final Psychic Ogre
Stats: [Psychic/Effect] LV5 ATK/2200 DEF/1700
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: If this card destroys an opponent's monster by battle, you can pay 800 Life Points to select 1 Psychic-Type monster in your Graveyard, and add it to your hand.
(16) ReinforcedHuman Psychic Borg
Stats: [Psychic/Effect] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/800
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: Up to twice per turn, you can remove from play 1 Psychic-Type monster from your Graveyard to have this card gain 500 ATK.
(17) Squadron Battle-Tri Battle Hawk
Stats: [Machine/Union] LV4 ATK/1500 DEF/1500
Attribute: WIND
Effect: Once per turn, during your Main Phase, you can equip this card to a face-up "Squadron Hero Red Hurricane" you control as an Equip Card, OR unequip it to Special Summon this card in face-up Attack Position. While equipped to a monster by this effect, the equipped monster gains 1000 ATK. (A monster can only be equipped with 1 Union Monster at a time. If the equipped monster would be destroyed by battle, destroy this card instead.)
This card is based on the Tri-Turbo Battlizer used by the Red Wind Ranger from Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger/Power Rangers Ninja Storm. All rights of copyright go to Tokusatsu/Saban Entertainment.
DUEL-MON TRIVIA-
Hey duelists! Did you know:
The Shark, Bat and Elephant Rangers are one of the few U.S. made rangers for the series, the first being the Titanium Ranger from Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.
Please Read and Review.