Yugioh 5D's: Konami/Kazuki Takahashi
Beta: Gammatron and The Duelist of Dawn
A/N: I'm sorry for the late update. I wanted to end this story by the end of 2013, but I'm without a computer I could use as my own. This is posted using a computer I'm borrowing momentarily. It may take a little longer to post new chapters, but I'll give them to you as soon as I can. I hope I don't lose any fans because of this. If you have any questions or comments, please post them by review or Pm. Thank you, and enjoy this chapter. I hope at least this one is to your liking...
Outside the holographic dome of prismatic glass created by Misty's Mirror Labyrinth, the twins nervously approached.
"Hey Luna, what's with the dome?"
"Akiza's duel must've started!"
"I hope she's winning, for all our sakes!"
Akiza's eyes became flat and hostile. "Black Rose Dragon! Take out Misty's Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings!" She laughed with uncharacteristic nastiness. The dragon unleashed a fiery blade that eradicated the demonic dragon.
The twins gasped as the attack dug a trench in the ground where it struck.
"Uh-oh, that attack was, like, real!" Luna whimpered.
"And that means Akiza's using her psychic powers again!" Leo added.
"It's your move, Misty." Akiza said in a sinister, deadly whisper.
"That power you possess; that's why my brother went looking for you. And I'm sure that's why he went missing! It's time for you to pay for what you did!" Misty raised her arm, and the Mark of the Lizard glows as the ground starts to rumble, "Come forth, ancient seal! There is no escape for you now!" purple fire shot from the ground. From above, the Mark of the Lizard can be clearly seen, painted across the landscape of the abandoned carnival, with a bubble of bluish crystal around its middle.
Akiza: 1900
Misty: 3500
YuGiOh 5D's
Reverse of Arcadia
Ride 54: Truth and Consequences
Part 2: At the End of Truth
Magic woke up due to a sudden pressure pressed on her. She sat up and looked around, finding herself in a small, broken room. The only source of life she could find had it back turned. All she could see was a mat of red hair and an overcoat. Why does this guy look so familiar...? "When will these Dark Signers learn that they cannot control the uncontrollable. Now, educate them, Akiza!" wait, that voice! She recognized to instantly as it sent chills down her spine. This was the person who kidnapped her, who brainwashed her! All she could think about is to get even with him. So she picked up the first think she could find and got up to sneak up behind him.
"I see you managed to stand up," Magic stopped in her tracks as Sayer turned his gaze towards her, "I don't know how you did it but you managed to overcome my Paralyzing Potion," he turned fully around so that she got a good look at him, never letting his smug smile.
"Nobody wants you here, Sayer!" Margaret snarled, "Just what are you doing here?!"
"It's quite simple. I want revenge for what the Dark Signers did to me, and the Arcadia Movement." He lifted the wild patch of hair that had been covering his right eye, scarred, destroyed skin around it.
"That's a good look for you." Margaret muttered.
Sayer chuckled, "I have to admit, I like your spirit. All that fire, all that passion. I wish you showed that when you were a member of Arcadia. At least I know Akiza will never disappoint me like you did."
"I'm not your puppet! And neither is Akiza! I'm my own person and so is she!"
"You'll be whatever I say you are. And right now, I say Akiza is a one-woman army who will obey my every order, until my war with the Dark Signers is over."
"Maybe I haven't made myself clear yet! Me, Akiza, even Luna and Rico; were through with the Arcadia Movement!
"Did you say 'through'?" Sayer sneered, "No one's through with anything until I say they are. I'm *never* letting her go!" Suddenly Sayer played a card from his duel-disk and shot a fireball at Margaret, who ducked down just in time for the fireball to pass and hit the wall behind her. She looked back and saw a big, gaping hole where the wall used to be. "Besides, who do you think was the one who taught you and Akiza to control your powers? If it weren't for me, then Akiza would still be destroying buildings downtown."
"I taught myself, thank you very much!" Margaret snapped, "All you want is some mindless soldier to do your bidding! How's training someone to be some war machine 'teaching'?!"
"Some people need direction so they don't hurt others or themselves. And Akiza has always needed someone to guide her, to help keep calm and focused. So even though she is under my control, it is because of me that she will finally be free to unleash all her true powers! And that is something which no one else could give her. Not her parents, not Yusei, ...and most definitely not ungrateful runt Rico!" He then took out a Brain Control Spell Card, causing Margaret to gasp, "It's time I did to you what I did to Akiza!"
Sayer inserted the Spell, using its brain waves to spread towards Margaret. Soon, a flash came from her deck and the painful pulses never came. Margaret found herself looking at one of her favorite monsters, holding a large notepad written, 'You shall not touch my partner!'
"What!?" Sayer shouted in shock, stunned at the turn of events, "How is she here!? Your duel disk isn't active!"
Magic was just as stunned, looking at her monster, 'I'm wondering that myself...' She thought.
The Silent Magician tore the front page from her pad and wrote something on the next page. Without leaving her glare from Sayer, she showed what she wrote to Margaret. 'Due to the mass of supernatural energy the barrier over Satellite is putting out, Duel Monsters are given the ability to exist in this world. When I saw you in danger, I emerged just in time to save you.'
Sayer got over his shock and smirked, "I don't know what you just did but I'm impressed. Once I dispatch of this Monster, I can use its power for my ambitions!" Soon, Sayer activated his Psychic Sword and charged, but bars of light shot down through the ceiling and surrounded him.
"I guess you're not so tough now, are you?" Magic smirked with her duel-disk active, Sayer could see that she recently played Swords of Revealing Light.
"I can see you're quite the quick learner. But I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that." Sayer played a De-Spell card, and with a swing of his sword he broke through the barrier of swords, the shards vanishing into nonexistence. After that, he played the spell Lightning Vortex, and the sword he held had electricity coursing through it, "Let me show you the power of a real psychic." when he swung once more, he blasted everything in front of him a wide array of lightning.
The entire back half of the floor exploding, destroying everything in Lightning Vortex's path. From out of the smoke Silent Magician and Magic floated down, latching off of Defender the Magical Knight when they touched the ground, "It's a good thing I called you out when I did..." Magic thanked Defender and the knight nodded before he vanished, "Sayer's about to notice us any minute. I think it's time to give you a little boost," she activated the Level Up spell card which allowed Silent Magician to morph into her adult form. But as soon as she appeared, several black chains sprouted from out of the ground and wrapped tightly around her, preventing her from moving or even lifting her wand. "Silent Magician!"
Before she could search her deck for something to free Silent Magician, a mechanical three-armed bolo came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her, causing Magic to drop her cards. One of the arms had wrapped over her mouth so she could not speak, Sayer appeared then with his Psychic Sword in hand. "You don't really think I'd let you get the upper hand, now, did you? And now that you magician's all chained up..." he rebrandished his Brain Control card, "Let's do this right, this time."
Suddenly six tendrils shot down between Sayer and his captives. A cybernetic humanoid was being heaved down to the ground with those same tendril that were attached onto its back. It was the monster Jinzo-Lord, "If Jinzo's here, that would mean..." he looked back behind and found a teenager with spiky black hair with red streaks, holding out a duel-disk, "Nathan, how'd you get here?" Sayer wondered.
Nathan walked passed him and stopped in front of, with Jinzo standing in front of him, "Don't worry about the 'how'. I just thought I'd come to the rescue," he took a good look past Jinzo and found Silent Magician and Magic captured. "I just wish I knew what's going on."
"I came here to bring Akiza and the rest of our own back to Domino City," Sayer said as he walked past him, "They've been somehow convinced by those Dark Signers that the Arcadia Movement is a threat."
"This is some very extreme measures you ask me? You're not planning on hurting her, are you?"
"Desperate times call for drastic measure, Nathan. She's not making it easy," Sayer lied, "Don't worry. I'll take it as easy as I must."
"Alright, fine them." David backed away with Jinzo.
With Nathan and his monster out of the way, Sayer raised his Brain Control cards to his captives, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you," he spoke, playing coy, "Just hold still and everything will be alright," but before he could play it, the binds on the Silent Magician suddenly broke and he found himself at the end of her wand. A bright, violet glow shone behind Sayer and he looked back to see Jinzo-Lord charging for an attack. The psychic scowled. "You sneaky little punk."
"I told you I was coming to the rescue," Nathan smirked, "Sorry if you thought I meant yours."
Meanwhile, down in the dark warehouse elsewhere in the carnival, Trudge was still straining on the pipe he had wedged between the plates of the metal mesh of the floor; below, the basement was filling up with water, and Yusei and Mina were barely staying above the surface.
"Trudge! We're not getting any drier down here!" Yusei warned.
"Stop your yappin', Yusei, it's not helping!" Trudge barked.
Mina strained to keep her head above the water as it kept running down her face. "Jack! If you can hear me, help!"
"Rrrgh... did she say Jack?!" that was when Trudge became furious. And with that, Trudge broke through at last, and the gate wnet flying.
"Yeah! I knew you could do it!" Yusei cheered.
And soon they escaped the warehouse before Mina stopped Yusei, "Yusei, hold up! Misty thinks that Akiza has something to do with her missing brother."
"Missing brother?" Yusei wondered, "That can't be true!"
"I know what you mean. But Akiza said Misty's out to get her!"
"It's my move, Akiza!" Misty drew her next card, "But due to the effect of my Sad Story spell combo, the card I picked is returned to my deck and then reshuffled!" the card is shuffled back into the deck, "But then who needs to draw a card in order to call a monster to the field, when I can simply send my Sad Story-Sorrowful Memories spell to the graveyard, and bring out my Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings!" the demonic dragon reappeared on the field, "And now that I have the power of my Dragon Queen in play, I think I'll give her a little makeover! So I'll play the equip spell Reptilianne Rage! This gives my dragon a whole new look, to the tune of twenty-seven-hundred attack points!" a colorful mask latched itself onto the dragon's face, the dragon itself roaring behind it (ATK: 2700), "Now attack, and take out Black Rose Dragon!" the masked dragon charged.
"Not so fast, Misty! I activate my trap, Rose Blizzard!" Akiza's reverse-card released a giant, rose-scented maelstrom against the Dragon Queen, forcing it back to its original spot, "And since my monster was the target of your dragon, not only does the attack get blocked, but your beast gets switched into defense mode (DEF: 2600)!"
"You may have managed to elude my attack," Misty growled, "but trust me, Black Rose; next time you won't be so lucky!"
"Leo! Luna!" Yusei hurried up to a landing at the top of a set of stairs, where the twins were watching the duel.
"Yusei, Akiza's dueling!" Luna informed.
"But not the nice Akiza," Leo added, "the mean, scary Akiza!"
"Whaddaya mean?" Yusei asked.
"Look at 'er! It's like the Black Rose is trying to make a comeback or something!"
Yusei looked down past the crystal dome and spotted Akiza, reminding him of how she was back at the Fortune Cup, "Akiza, what happened to the friend I knew?" as he wondered, an explosion was heard at the other side of the barrier.
"What was that?!" Leo cried.
Yusei looked towards the sky and found Hyper Psychic Blaster descending between the buildings. "That's one of Divine's monsters! But what would he be doing here...?" Yusei jogged off the landing to investigate. "You two stay right here."
"Huh! Hey, where'ya going!" Leo asked.
"It's my move, Misty," the Black Rose drew her next card, "And next I remove Rose Fairy in my graveyard from play, so that I can activate Black Rose Dragon's special ability! Now, not only is her Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings forced into attack mode, but its attack points become zero!" After chomping a phantom of Rose Fairy, Black Rise Dragon's vines slithered around the Dragon Queen (ATK: 0)
"You'll pay for that!" Misty roared, in which Akiza's only responded with wicked laughter.
"Black Rose Dragon, attack!" the dragon's purple flames engulfed the entire field, as well as scorched the Dragon Queen into nothingness.
Akiza: 1900
Misty: 1100
"That was quite the 'tragic ending' for your dragon," the Black Rose purred, "Looks like you're about to lose!"
"The only one losing anything around here is your Black Rose Dragon. You see, by removing my Reptilianne Rage from the game, your beast loses 800 ATK points!"
Black Rose Dragon: (ATK: 1600)
"Well then I had better 'plant' myself a little defense," a pair of leaves with eyes appeared on Akiza's field (DEF: 1000) "And now that I have my Dark Verger in place, I'll turn it over to you."
"It's my move, Akiza!" Misty drew her next card, "And I summon Reptilianne Gardna in DEF mode!" the large tortoise appeared, "Next I'll remove the continuous-spell Sad Story-Unwavering Truth from the field, so that I can bring back Dragon Queen of Tragic Endings from my graveyard!" the dragon returned (ATK: 1900), "Now as long as I have a continuous-spell on my field, if my Dragon Queen gets destroyed I can bring it back over and over again! Too bad your Black Rose Dragon won't be around to witness its amazing ability! Go, Tragedy Stream!" Black Rose Dragon got blown away by the queen's attack. Akiza never felt discomfort for her loss, only more insanity.
Akiza: 1600
Misty: 1100
"And since I successfully destroyed your pathetic beast, I can now activate my Dragon Queen's special ability, which forces you to select one card in your hand, and send it to the graveyard," Akiza discarded from her hand, "Now that that's done, I get to draw one card from my deck. You're up, Akiza."
"Yes, I am," Akiza drew her next card, and played a spell which destroyed Dark Verger, "And I'll bet this next move's gonna blow you away! By destroying my Dark Verger while Fragrance Storm is in play, I can draw a card from my deck. Now if I'm lucky enough to actually pick another plant-type monster, all I need to do is show you the card I selected, and I get a bonus draw!" Akiza's drawn card was revealed as the Copy Plant monster, "So I guess I'll pick a card! And next I'm summoning Copy Plant to the field in DEF mode!" the personified bundle of vines appeared (ATK: 0), "And since I played a plant-type tuner-monster, I get to bring back my Dark Verger from the graveyard!" Dark Verger reappeared on the field (DEF: 1000).
"Play all the weeds you want, Akiza!" Misty snarled, "Because I'm gonna mow them down, along with the rest of your life-points!"
"I place two cards face-down, and end my turn."
"Then it's my move, Akiza!" when Misty drew her next card, she could hear the roar of a mighty beast; she knew this was time, "This duel is over! From my hand, I activate the spell Advance Force! Due to the effect of this continuous-spell card, all level-5-or-higher monsters count as two monsters when they're sacrificed! And that lets me summon out this little guy!" the Dragon Queen formed into a ball of light, "Prepare yourself for the netherworld, Akiza! Come forth, Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua!"
By the time Trudge and Mina had joined the twins on the sidelines, all four watched the purplish-white ball of light rise out of the top of the dome. High above the duel, the ball of light became the trademark seal of an Earthbound Immortal, pulsing as it seemed to absorb darkness from the very air. It shone like a beacon, and exploded into a column of light. The purple flames rose higher and the ground began to rumble. The lizard Immortal rose, its bulbous eyes rolling all the way around as it looked about (ATK: 2800). Akiza seemed unfazed by the titan's appearance; it just looked like another victim for her dragon.
Amidst the fire Sayer now stood facing Nathan and Magic who both controlled Jinzo-Lord and Silent Magician LV8. "Why are you fighting against me? We're all friends here, right?"
"Don't give me that!" Magic snapped, "You wanted o control us like puppets, nothing more!"
"There's nothing that could change your mind, is there?" Sayer sighed, "I guess I'll have to teach you the hard way." he then played a card onto his duel-disk.
"Don't waste any time, Jinzo!" Jinzo-Lord took Nathan's command and launched a blast of psychic energy at Sayer; but the attack had been deflected by a Krebons a Telekinetic Power Cell.
"I'm afraid your powers are a long way from exceeding mine." Sayer chuckled. Krebons then grabbed him and carried him off over the buildings.
"Figures! That's all he's good for!" Magic said and turned to her Silent Magician, "Mind giving me a lift?" Silent Magician nodded and wrapped an arm around her master's waist, then used her magic to levitate after Sayer, with Nathan and Jinzo-Lord following.
Soon they found the psychic-type monster aboard of a large wooden ship as one of the carnival's attractions. Once the landed, Sayer was nowhere to be seen, as well as the Krebons that vanished. Suddenly, Silent Magician pulled Magic away just when a series of black swords dropped down around her and Jinzo Lord, before being surrounded by a field of dark electricity. Silent Magician managed to escape while Jinzo-Lord was held down by the Swords of Concealing Light.
"My Jinzo-Lord!" Nathan growled, "He the only monster I could use! Magic, we have got to get him out of there!"
"Yeah, I follow you," Magic replied before turning towards Silent Magician, "Do you thing!"
Silent Magician nodded and prepared to break the swords, but was interrupted when she had to barely evade a blast of psychic energy.
Sayer stood at the other side of the boat, aided by Hyper Psychic Blaster, "Finish him off." he ordered before the synchro-monster fired away at Jinzo-Lord. The barrier shattered and Jinzo shattered into pieces, the shrapnel smashed into Nathan and knocked him out cold.
"Nathan!" Magic cried, "No...!"
"That's one down..." Sayer stared down towards Magic and her Silent Magician.
"You'll pay for that!" Magic exclaimed.
"Don't be ridiculous. It'll be a long time before your level of ability could even compare to mine. Stop wasting your time and surrender."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Magic muttered, gritting her teeth.
"Is that a no? I guess I'll have to handle this the hard way. And with this..." he played another card into his duel-disk and Hyper Psychic Blaster had extra armor attached to it, "I may as well test the limits of you newly-acquired power. I'll make sure not to hurt you too bad."
"Do your worst," Magic growled. Sayer simply chuckled as Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode charged its blasters. Seeing this, Silent Magician grabbed Magic and flew off. Hyper Psychic Blaster fired a pair of rounds in which the magician dodged. As she flew through the sky, Hyper Psychic Blaster kept firing, trying to hit its target.
"So, Magic, from what I hear, you used to be part of a group of wannabe freedom-fighters!" Sayer said as Hyper Psychic Blaster continued to fire at Silent Magician, "Is clutching onto your monster as she dashes through the sky to escape the only thing you learned? I isolated you from your friends so it'll be easier to recapture you! No one can save you now!" Hyper Psychic Blaster stalled its blasters to charge them for something larger.
Silent Magician saw that opportunity and charged her staff to fire a large ball of magic that crashed down on Hyper Psychic Blaster, covering the ship's deck with dust and smoke. When it settled down the psychic monster was no where in sight, and neither was Sayer!
"Where'd he go, now?!" Magic wondered, looking around the ground in panic.
"Looking for me?" Suddenly she found Sayer's voice from above, and looked up to see Hyper Psychic Blaster pointing right at her.
Magic laid on the ground, badly hurt from that last blow. She had admitted she underestimated the psychic, but she still refused to surrender. She looked around for Silent Magician but could not find her. She must have taken the full force of the fall to protect Magic and called herself back due to the combined damage of that and Hyper Psychic Blaster's attack.
"Magic!" she looked up to see Yusei running towards her. When he made it to her he helped her up, "Are you okay? What happened?!"
"That!" Yusei looked up to where Magic was pointing and saw Hyper Psychic Blaster landed into the alley in front of them.
"Yusei..." the monster spoke, "How did you escaped my trap?!"
Yusei recognized his voice, "Sayer...?"
"Careful, Yusei!" Magic warned, "This guy can use his powers like you wouldn't believe. He almost mopped the floor with me!"
"One more won't make a difference. You'll all go down the same!" Sayer said as he fired at them. Yusei grabbed Magic and dodged the blasts, throwing themselves to the ground.
"Yusei! Try calling out a monster!" Magic said.
"But what good would that do?"
"Just trust me!"
"Alright..." as Sayer was seen charging for his next attack, Yusei quickly drew a card and slapped it onto his duel-disk, "Zero Gardna, go!" the large ornament-wearing monster appeared just as Sayer fired. The monster was destroyed, causing a huge cloud of smoke to pick up. Yusei took that opportunity to lead magic away from Sayer. They stopped when they reached a dead-end. "I guess we're trapped. What happened back there, how'd you know that would work?"
"The same thing happened to me when I was saved from Sayer by Silent Magician. Basically the barrier over Satellite allows Duel Monsters to exist into our world."
"Oh!" Yusei's eyes lit up, "So that must mean we have a chance against this guy!"
"Any chance you have against me are zero!" Yusei and Magic saw Hyper Psychic Blaster at the other end of the corridor, blocking their path out. He played another card and a strange mechanism attached itself to Yusei's duel-disk.
"What did you just do!" Yusei demanded as he tried to pry the mechanism off.
"I activated my Deck Lockdown spell card so you won't draw any new cards, that's what. Now hold still..." Sayer pointed his blasters, "So I won't have to hurt the Spirit Caller."
But Magic stood in front of Yusei, "When are you gonna get it through your think skull: I'm not your puppet and I never will be! You'll have to get past me to get to Yusei!"
Sayer sighed with mock-exasperation, "Fine, have it your way," he fired away two volleys of psychic energy which caused a huge explosion within contact. "There. i just hope I didn't hurt her too bad," But the smoke cleared showing Arcanite Magician standing over Yusei, Magic under its cloak, "So, you can merge with your monsters too, huh? Once again you exceeded my expectations. So why don't you stop this foolishness and return to my side. You're much better off in my hands.
"Your hands?! You stole me from my family! That's not gonna happen twice!" Magic played her Assault Mode Activate and ripped off her robe, revealing the armor underneath.
"And you have an Assault Mode form as well, hm? Interesting. Tell me, can it fly as well?" Sayer asked as he began to float up.
"Does this answer your question?" Magic muttered as she summoned Night Wing Sorceress. The monster faded away and her wings sprout from Magic's back, "Stand back, Yusei!" she warned as she beat her wings.
"Magic, hold on!" Yusei said. Magic halted her wings and turned back towards him. "There's something you gotta know if you're planning to go through this!" Magic looked at him wondering what he meant.
"So you know what to do, right?" Yusei asked.
Magic nodded, "Don't worry, you can count on me." she the spread her wings and shot off the ground. Soon she met Sayer in the sky.
"Look at us, like two gods overlooking a world of mortals, "Sayer said, "We're this close to making that dream a reality."
"You're a sick man!" Magic growled, "How many lives do you have to ruin to achieve your so-called dream?!"
"Almost done. I already have a powerful psychic under my control. All I need now is the power of a Spirit Caller and I can have an army of Duel Monsters under beck and call."
"My powers aren't for you to control, Sayer!"
"We'll see about that. And speaking of 'control'..." Sayer looked down at the duel, "This 'Misty' is quite a pathetic individual. she's let the hate she has for Akiza cloud her ability to think clearly. Why else would she enter into a shadow duel with a psychic duelist where the outcome is oblivion? And all this to find out the truth about her little brother's disappearance!"
"Her brother...?" Magic then put the pieces together as she remembered what Mina had told her and Akiza...
"Sayer was a master manipulator who would take in duelists with powers like yours, and depending on their strength they would either stay or disappear."
"You're the one responsible behind Misty's brother's disappearance! He wasn't good enough for you so you ditched him; so you could pin the blame on Akiza if you had to!"
Sayer sneered menacingly, "He's just some excess baggage I needed to get rid of."
"You..." Furious, Magic went charging in on Sayer.
Magic continued to chase Sayer in the sky, the psychic dodging every magical blast Magic fired. Sayer allowed her to get close enough and blocked her staff with one of his blasters. "Where's Misty's brother?! What have you done to him?!"
Sayer easily pushed Magic back and retreated a few meters, "If you must know, I just couldn't jeopardize my work with the Movement, and Akiza's troubled past made her the perfect scapegoat. The boy's telekinetic abilities were pathetic. He didn't even come close to meeting the high standards the Arcadia Movement required. Akiza, however, was one of my greatest finds. Her powers were as strong as she was naïve! Yours would've been a triumph as well, if only you had discovered the full extent of your abilities sooner..."
"Well that's the last person you're ever gonna take advantage of!" she fired another larger ball of magic that connected and exploded. But through the cloud of smoke a large blast of water struck her.
The smoke parted showing the original Hyper Psychic Blaster, "Don't you know you can summon an Assault Mode monster's previous version when it's destroyed?" he snickered, "And by the way, that last attack was courtesy of Forbidden Chalice."
"What?!" Magic gasp as she felt her wings go numb, and suddenly fell from the a few yards before crashing, a Shield Wing grabbed her by the arms and guided her to the ground, dropping her into an intersection with Yusei. Magic dropped to her knees, feeling the weight of her armor push her down.
"Magic! Are you alright?" Yusei asked worriedly.
"She will be. Your safety, however, is put into question." Sayer called as he descended, "I think it's time I rid myself of this nuisance once and for all," he pointed his blasters at the two, "Any last words?"
"I got a few..." Magic huffed at the psychic. "I wonder what Misty would say if she found out you're responsible for her brother's disappearance!"
"Too bad she won't find out." Sayer fired his blasters.
"Yusei! Now!"
"I activate my trap!" Yusei pressed a button on his duel-disk and a card rose up. Then a pair of large tubes materialized between Magic. The energy Sayer launched was sucked into the one on her left.
"What?!" Sayer gasped.
"You surprised?" Magic smirked, "I guess you didn't realized I had a trap set up! But it doesn't take an expert to know that Magical Cylinder not only absorbs an attack headed my way, it also redirects it..." Magic pushed herself up and pointed her staff at Sayer, "So now it's headed your way!" the tube on the right spat out the energy. Sayer looked on in shock as he was slammed with his own attack. He was crashed through a building and then skid across the ground at the opposite side, his armor ripped apart.
Magic walked over the fallen rubble to see him lying on the ground, still conscious. She had already lifted her own armor, winded from the battle she had, "This isn't over." he groaned.
"You're right, Sayer. It's not over," Yusei said, "Now until you paid for what you did to Misty's brother!"
"There's no use trying to hide it anymore!" Magic said, "We made sure Misty heard the truth!"
"What are you babbling about now?" Sayer growled as he stood up.
"While you were busy fighting, I made sure everything you said was being broadcasted to Misty. Remember these?" Yusei held up his duel-disk, which had a blinking light on the life-point counter, "I enabled the live-feed function on our duel-disk. So all those secrets you spout out, they're not so secret anymore."
Sayer gasped and turned back at the duel in progress. Everyone stared at him, especially Misty. "Now that I know the truth, now that I know it was you, I want to know where my brother is!"
"I'm afraid it's a little late to help him now."
"I won't stand for any more stalling! Now tell me-"
"No, I mean, it's too late because your brother's as dead as a doornail."
Everyone gasped, including Misty whose eyes widened. "W-what?"
"Dead; as in 'the opposite of alive'. He was caught in an... 'unfortunate' accident which took his life..."
Gabriella stood over the mist created by Lilith Temptation, like a queen looking down on her subjects just as she looked down at her opponent, "I know you're feeling the effects of my trap card by now," she said smugly, "I just can't wait for you to tell me your every desire, your every dream, any and everything you ever wished for. Now tell me, what is your dream? What is is that you desire?" Gabriella watched as she expected a glossed, blank stare from her opponent...
"I don't know what you're trying to do..." Jason said with a determined glare, making Gabriella drop her smile, "But you're not gonna distract me from what I came here to do."
The Dark Signer pouted, "Funny. The last person I used this on I had her sniveling on on fours. So what's different now...?" she spotted a shimmer of light on Jason's arm. His Mark of the Dragon glowed through the fog, "That mark. I should've known."
Jason looked down at his Mark, 'She's right. This mark must've protected me somehow. That's good. Maybe I can get past all of those illusions and mindgames.'
"Whatever. I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way. Especially when my Lustsworn evolved from inside my Ecstatic Incubation Machine, this allows me to activate the equip-spell Crown of Vices straight from my deck!" Gabriella's spell came to life and formed a gold visor with a pair of small demon wings over Lucifer's eyes, "This little accessory brings out the best in my seven Fragrance cards, or worse, depending on the perspective. But first, let's have a little tussle, shall we. Lustsworn Herald of Pride, attack Gaia Knight with Dead or Alive!" the Herald vanished out of thin air. Moments later Jason's knight was being launched into the air. He could barely see his monster being swarmed by a flurry of punches as it traveled up to the dark atmosphere until it cannot be seen; he met Gaia Knight again when it was shot back down to the mist and below. Lucifer rose up to her original position, as if she was the one who sent Gaia Knight down to the abyss with a piledriver, "Good for you, you don't take any battle-damage while Lilith Temptation's on the field for the next seven rounds. But that won't save you from taking damage at all. Because every time Luci destroys a monster, you take damage equal to that monsters ATK points!" Jason suddenly found himself being hit from below by a gust of dark wind.
Gabriella: 17700
Jason: 3200
"I also get the same amount in DEF points as life-points." a runic white circle appeared over Gabriella and shone light over her before it vanish.
Gabriella: 18500
Jason: 3200
"Now for the effect of my Crown of Vices' Gluttony Fragrance! Now its original ATK points are added to my life-points!" a yellow circle appeared in the same spot and applied the same action.
Gabriella: 21100
Jason: 2800
"Now she has over 20,000 life-points..." Katherine whimpered, "How's Jason supposed to get out of this?"
"I'll lay this card face-down and leave you to your devices." a reverse-card appeared.
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card, 'I hope Yusei doesn't mind I use one of his moves...' "I summon Junk Synchro!" the rust-orange tuner appeared (ATK: 1300).
"I see you're using one of Yusei's cards," Gabriella said, "I supposed now you'll use its ability to help summon a Junk Warrior this turn?"
"Nothing that simple. But I will use his special-ability to summon a level-2-or-lower warrior from my graveyard; a warrior like Vengeful Shinobi!" the dark assailant appeared from a portal next to Junk Synchron (ATK: 400), "Next I'll tune Vengeful Shinobi with Junk Synchron!" the two monsters formed a jet of light while Jason chanted:
"Divested stars from many fields of battle, unite as one to aid me one more! Synchro-Summon!"
"(1) Scarred Warrior(5/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000), Accelerate!" a dark-skinned man appeared wearing patches of silver armor. His head was bandaged and so was his right arm, which had a blade strapped to his wrist. His right leg was replaced by a silver prosthetic (DEF: 1000). "Then, after I switch my Command Knight to DEF mode, I'll end my turn there."
"You're much better off with both those last two monsters in DEF mode. All you managed to do was send another powerful warrior out to the slaughter," Gabriella said, "And about my Crown of Vices, it's true I have to remove a Fragrance Card from play, but I decided to keep them. So I activate Imperial Iron Wall!" she revealed her reverse-card.
"But with that card out..."
"I don't have to banish anything from this duel. That means I can use the same effects again and again each round. It's my turn now," Gabriella drew her next card, "I activate the spell card Pot of Avarice! With this, I can take five cards from my graveyard and add them to my deck. Then I draw two new cards! Next, I place this card face-down, and activate Crown of Vices' effect and once again use Gluttony Fragrance's effect as its own. That should do for now."
Gabriella: 30700
Jason: 2800
"It's my turn," Jason drew his next card,
"I summon Rose the Warrior of Revenge tuner-monster!" the female assailant appeared, "Now I tune Command Knight with Rose to synchro-summon Colossal Fighter!" the two monsters combined as Jason chanted:
"Divested stars form a timid soul, discovered in the darkest reaches! Unlock the gates to remove the shadows, and create the titan it will become, on its long-forgotten journey! Synchro Summon! Colossal Fighter, Accelerate!"
Jason's signature white titan appeared (ATK: 2800), "And as you know, he gains 100 ATK points for every warrior in the graveyard. And thanks to you, there are 16 (ATK: 4400). Colossal Fighter, attack!" Jason waited for a response but received none from his monster. "Why isn't it working?!"
Gabriella gave a light and childish giggle, "Are you already forgetting about Lilith Temptation trap? Your Colossal Fighter has been entranced in a blissful fantasy in its own making. That means none of your monsters can attack as long as my trap's on the field!" her smile widened watching Jason's glare lower to his feet, "It must be quite a pill to swallow, having summoned a monster with over 4000 ATK points an can't to anything with it. Why don't I take those points away from you. I activate my trap, Fiendish Chain!" After Gabriella's reverse-card flipped up, several chains sprouted from all directions and wrapped themselves around the warrior. They all tugged back and pull Colossal Fighter back to his original position, its body stretched out on display, "Not only will it keep your warrior from attacking; it also cancels his special-ability, meaning Colossal Fighter's ATK is reduced to his original 2800."
'So now I can't attack with Colossal Fighter, either?!' Jason growled, "I place 1 card face-down and end my turn."
Lilith Temptation: 5
"That was quick," Gabriella drew her next card, "Let's see. Here on my field I have Lucifer equipped with my Crown of Vices. And over on your field is a Colossal Fighter all tied up and useless. And both have 2800 ATK points. That could only mean if I let Lucifer destroy Colossal Fighter, you'll take 2800 points of damage and that's all the life-points you have. But I can't just risk my precious Lucifer in a suicide attack. Let's see... I could activate my face-down card," the Dark Signer's reverse-card opened, "This Emergency Provisions spell lets me add 1000 points to my score for every spell/trap card I remove from the field. So I think I'll get rid of Mirage of Nightmare!" the continuous-spell shattered.
Gabriella: 31700
Jason: 2800
"And now that I have more room, I think I'll play my Card of Sanctity spell to even thing up." both players restored their hand.
"Why did you play a card that lets me draw a new hand?" Jason asked, "You clearly had more cards that I did before."
"Because of my Crown of Vices, silly!" Gabriella teased, "And this time, I'll use the power of my Greed Fragrance!" the fog's color changed to purple, "And with this effect, every monster on the field loses 300 ATK and DEF points...! Save for Lustsworns, of course.
Colossal Fighter: (ATK: 1000/DEF: 0)
"Figures." Jason muttered.
"Now your Colossal Fighter is weaker than ever! Let's see you try to save him now!"
"That's just what I'm about to do! I activate the trap card, Assault Mode Activate!" Jason's reverse-card opened, "And with this, my Colossal Fighter transforms into Colossal Fighter-Assault Mode!" a blue blur zipped through Colossal Fighter's chains and broke through its restraints, shown to be the blue jet when it slowed in front of Colossal Fighter. The jet broke apart and attached itself onto Colossal Fighter as armor (ATK: 3300-1500/DEF: 1500-0), "Colossal Fighter now has a new special-ability. Instead of increasing his own ATK points, your monster's ATK points are lowered 100 points for each warrior in my graveyard! And when I discard 2 more from my deck, Lucifer loses 1900 ATK points!"
Lustsworn Herald of Pride-Lucifer: (ATK: 800)
"Lucifer! Hold your attack!" the Lustsworn halted and retreated. "Okay, so you were able to last one more turn. I'll just set the one card face-down for right now. And the effect of my Darkness Paradisio activates."
Gabriella: 36500
Jason: 2800
"Then it's turn!" Jason drew his next card, "And I activate the spell card Forbidden Lance! By lowering his ATK points by 800, Colossal Fighter becomes immune to other spells and traps for this turn! That includes your Greed Fragrance trap!"
Colossal Fighter/Assault Mode: (ATK: 2500)
"Next, I summon Royal Arms Squire and equip him to Colossal Fighter!" a the small golden knight appeared and morphed into its weapon form for Colossal Fighter, "Colossal Fighter, attack her Lustsworn Herald of Pride!" Colossal Fighter's jetpack roared as it shot him across the field, "Go, Colossal Comet Assault!" one swift strike into Lucifer shattered her into pixels.
Gabriella: 34800
Jason: 2800
"Jason was finally able to destroy one of her monsters!" Katherine cheered.
"And by Royal Arm's effect, I get to draw 1 more card." Jason drew another card.
Gabriella seemed unfazed from the loss of the monster, and only clapped, "I guess you deserve some congratulation. But I wouldn't say I didn't see that coming. In fact, I was hoping to make use of my Crown of Vices' second effect: when it's sent to the graveyard when the equipped monster's destroyed in battle, it goes right back to my hand." the equip-spell was pulled out from her graveyard pile.
"Fine then," Jason said as he placed another card into his duel-disk, "I place 1 more card face-down and end my turn."
Lilith Temptation: 4
Gabriella drew her next card, "I have to say, I've been waiting for this very moment to play this card. It's time to enter the next stage of darkness. Brace yourself..." Gabriella's trap opened, and a large wooden door with seven symbols erected from the fog...
"So yes. I was the one who took your brother form you. But what happened was his own fault. He couldn't withstand a simple experiment. So in the grand scheme of things, I did you a favor. I relieved you of a deadbeat for a brother." at that Sayer laughed.
"In that case, you're not worth anything to me!" Misty's Dark Signer markings glow violet with her rage. "So prepare yourself for oblivion!"
Sayer spat, "If you want to hate someone, then hate your brother for being so weak."
Just then, Sayer noticed that Ccarayhua loomed over him. Its lizard tongue shot out as though he was a tasty fly, and wrapped around Sayer. Everyone watched in awe and horror as the monster swallowed him whole.
"Uh, guys?! Sayer just, like, disappeared into that thing?!" Leo babbled at the top of his lungs.
'My revenge is complete... There's no more reason to fight..." Misty wondered to herself before she looked at Akiza, who was still coming out of her trance. Misty's eyes turned white and her marking disappeared, "I'm so sorry, Akiza. I was so absorbed in my quest for vengeance that I didn't care who I hurt..." she reached under her cloak and pulled out Rico's toy, looking at it, "I even gambled with the life of a child. My hatred almost cost the life of another boy. He must really care about you to have traveled across Satellite by himself to help you."
Suddenly the door from the control tower opened. Rico then stumbled past the entrance, holding onto the edge when he almost stumbled off his feet, "Rico!" Misty stumbled to the boy and dropped to her knees, his toy clutched to her chest. "Rico, I'm so sorry I put you in danger like that! Please forgive me!"
"It's okay, Misty," Rico said tiredly, "You don't have to apologize."
"But I still killed Sayer and Divine! I killed them but they still didn't think twice about everything they done! That's what you hated, right?"
"Yeah, I didn't like that at all. And I really wished you didn't do that. But you managed to realize that what you did was wrong," Rico pulled a lollipop out of his jacket and held it out to Misty, "At least you managed to conquer your hatred... Right?"
Misty stared for a moment before smiling and took the lollipop, giving him his toy back in exchange. "There's someone else who needs saving too."
Rico's eyes followed where Misty looked over her shoulder and ran past her. "Akiza!"
"Someone's calling to me..." Akiza's eyes blinked and came back to life. When he saw Rico, her eyes widened, "R-Rico?" she fell from her feet to greet the young boy with a strong hug, "Rico! You're safe!"
"Perhaps you weren't responsible for what happened to my brother after all. I am so sorry for blaming you for everything that happened," Misty said softly, "Perhaps by forfeiting this duel, you will see that I am sincere." As Misty's hand hovered over her duel disk...
'I will not allow you to end this duel!' a dark voice roared inside her. Misty began to radiate dark energy. Her posture caved as she fought the pain, and she dropped to her knees. 'The only purpose a Dark Signer has is to destroy the Signers! That is why you were resurrected!"
"Misty, fight it!" Rico cried, "You already overcame your hatred!"
"I'm sorry! I can no longer control the dark power inside me..." Misty groaned over pull from control, "Akiza! You have to defeat me! I can't fight it any longer!" the murky light vanished and Misty got to her feet with unnatural speed, her Dark Signer markings and irises glowing bright purple, "So instead I think I'll fight you, Signer, and send you to the Netherworld!"
"Oh, no. It's too late..." Rico whimpered, "Akiza, you don't have a choice anymore. You have to finish this duel!"
"I'll do it." Akiza declared.
"You'll do nothing but lose! Now, attack!" Ccarayhua reached down through the globe, as though reaching into the water in a fishbowl.
"I activate the trap card Ground Capture!" When Akiza's reverse-card opened a hand of earthly substance reached up from the ground, and gripped Ccarayhua's outstretched hand, keeping it away from Akiza and Rico, "With this in play, the damage I would've taken is halved!" Ccarayhua won the arm-wrestling contest, and shattered Akiza's stone hand. Akiza pushed Rico to the ground and ducked over him, shielding him from the sharp chips of rock slicing her back.
Akiza: 200
Misty: 1100
"Akiza!" Rico cried.
"Don't worry, Rico," Akiza winched over her new scars. She stood up and faced her opponent, "but due to the effect of my trap card, I am definitely not out. In fact, I get to draw a new card!"
"With only 200 life-points left, it doesn't matter what card you drew, Akiza!" Ccarayhua sets a reverse-card, "In fact, I'm so sure of that that I'll end my turn with a face-down!"
'If I win this duel, then Misty will be sent to the Netherworld. But if I can destroy that Earthbound Immortal, maybe I can destroy the darkness and free her!' "I'm up!" Akiza drew her next card, "I activate the Spellbook inside the Pot to draw three cards from my deck," both players drew three cards, "Next I activate my Copy Plant's special-ability. Now it becomes the same level as my Dark Verger until the round's over!"
Dark Verger: (Lvl: 2)
"Next I'm summoning Hedge Guard to the field in ATK mode!" the wall of twisted bamboo appeared (ATK: 0), "Now that my Guard's in place, I activate the spell Shining Rebirth! With this in play, by sending the required monsters on the field to the graveyard, I can synchro-summon a synchro-monster in my graveyard! So I send level-two Dark Verger, level-three Hedge Guard, and the now-level-two Copy Plant to the graveyard, in order to synchro-summon your Immortal's destruction! Now, come forth, Black Rose Dragon!" the dragon returned to the field (ATK: 2400), "When Black Rose Dragon is successfully summoned, it can destroy all cards on the field. And due to the effect of Shining Rebirth, Black Rose Dragon cannot be destroyed this turn."
Are you sure you want to do that," Ccarayhua sneered, "because by defeating me, you're defeating Misty."
"I'm not going after Misty's life-points. I activate my Dragon's special-ability!" Black Rose Dragon generates a huge storm of petals. "Now, take out Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua!"
"You seem to think that you've outsmarted me. Well nothing can be further from the truth, and you're about to see why! I activate the trap card Overwhelm!" the lizard reared back and unleashed a powerful roar, which pushed down the storm. Akiza and Rico ducked away from the razor petals. "With my Overwhelm trap card in play this turn, my Earthbound's given the power to force back any trap and monster effect! You just wasted your last move!"
Akiza looked down at her hand, "There is one left... I combine my dragon's Black Rose Flare attack with the Burning Land spell card!" Black Rose Dragon fired a powerful crimson flame at the sky and the surface of the dome. Ccarayhua's eyes widened as the dome shattered and withered away, "With Burning Land on the field, every field spell is destroyed! And with Mirror Labyrinth gone, your Earthbound Immortal loses all of its special-abilities!" the immortal now stood a large hunk of rock, "Now I activate Black Rose's other special-ability! I remove Dark Verger from my graveyard to lower your monster's ATK to zero! Go, Rose Restriction!" after consuming Dark Verger, Black Rose Dragon formed several vines to bind the giant (ATK: 0).
"You can't do that!" Ccarayhua screeched.
"I can and I just did! And this next card will turn that Earthbound Immortal to rubble!" Akiza glanced at Rico with a solemn look before turning back to her opponent, "Let me introduce you to a little furry friend of mine: Mobian Hero Meiru!" a rapidly-gyrating yellow ball popped out of the card before it unfurled and landed as the golden hedgefox heroine (ATK: 1600). "Now attack Earthbound Immortal Ccarayhua!" Meiru curled back up and shot off the ground, speeding along the vines and launched herself at the immortal. The impact shattered the statue, the hundreds of pieces falling attop of the Dark Signer Ccarayhua. The Dark Signer's influence disappeared, especially its barrier.
Akiza: 200
Misty: 1100
"Misty!" Akiza ran over to the huge pile of rubble, tossing away pieces of debris, "C'mon! Somebody help me!" Yusei, Magic, and eventually everyone else helped move away the rubble until they were able to uncover Misty. They gently moved her away from the pile and onto the floor, with Misty's head resting on Akiza's lap.
"Now the loser will vanish..." Misty managed to speak, "That is the rule of a Shadow Duel."
"No, Misty! Hang in there!" Akiza cried.
"Thanks to you... I finally managed to discover the truth before I leave this world..." Misty wheezed, "Akiza... you have no time to mourn over me. You have a duty as a Signer to protect this world," she then looked towards Rico, "I can see a lot of my brother in you, Rico. I only wish that you and he could meet..."
"But you could get to see him again," Rico whimpered, "...Right?"
"I wish I could. But I can always hope..." Misty began to feel his life fade, deciding to say her final goodbyes and looked towards the burning orange sky, "Please... Always remember me..." those were the final words she said before she became nothing more than dust. The only thing left of her was her locket. When Akiza opened it she could see Misty and her brother embracing each other, smiling.
"Toby...! I'm sorry I brushed you off when we first met," Akiza whispered, "I promise to make up for it."
"Akiza..." Rico approached in front of her.
"When I first came here I already decided it was my duty to fight as a Signer... I want to make sure this tragedy does not get any worse than it already is..." Akiza lowered her face to her forearm. Rico reached out and delicately pushed her arm down and saw Akiza's face stained with fresh hot tears still streaming from glossing eyes. Rico placed his arms around her neck, hearing his toy squeak as he tightened his grip. Akiza pressed herself over his shoulder as she continued to cry. "I'm so sorry, Rico... I'm sorry I pushed you away. Please, just don't leave my side. I don't want you to leave me..." everyone stood around the two, not wanting to interrupt their moment. But unfortunately there was no time so be spared...
"Hey everybody, check out the sun!" Leo pointed towards the last bit of sunlight visible over the horizon.
"We're too late. It's setting and the last tower hasn't been sealed." Trudge stated.
"At least all of the people that were absorbed by that Earthbound Immortal have been returned, right?" Mina said. Suddenly the ground began to shake.
"What's happening, why is the earth shaking!" Yusei questioned.
Jason and Katherine tried to hold their ground as the quake continued. "What the heck's going on?! What did you do?!"
"You'll see..." the Dark Signer teased.
"Look over there, everyone!" A single column of golden light had appeared in the distance where Magic was pointing, shining straight up like a laser.
"It's coming from New Domino City!" Mina deducted.
The beam widened and turned more white than yellow, then faded, revealing the outline of a new mark: the mark of a giant bird glowing yellowish-white against the sky like a beacon, "Another Dark Signer?!" Yusei gasped, "But who could it be!"
I don't know," Magic said, "but I have a feeling we're about to find out!"
DUEL-MON DATABASE
(1) Scarred Warrior
Stats: [Warrior/Synchro/Effect] LV: 5 (ATK: 2100/DEF: 1000)
Attribute: EARTH
Effect: 1 Tuner + 1 or more non-Tuner monsters
Your opponent cannot target face-up Warrior-Type monsters for attacks, except this one. Once per turn, if this card would be destroyed by battle, it is not destroyed.
DUEL-MON TRIVIA
"Hey, Duelists! Did you know..."
"Scarred Warrior's ability follows through thematically with its art and title. As your opponent cannot declare attacks on other Warrior monsters while it is on the field, it acts as a shield for them; in other words, it gained its scars from taking hits for other monsters."
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