Hey guys! So I aim to have the next chapter up soon. Also, please forgive any errors as I upload these without editing. Anyway, I hope you enjoy as always!
Chapter 19 – Future's Fate: Part 1
The rules of this duel seem so odd, Tanion thought to himself. By the looks of it, both decks will be available to use at all times, and yet they will share a field… I wonder if Jorann and Yusei can take advantage of that somehow. He shook his head at the thought at turned back to the doorway. His attention needed to be there, not on the duel.
"Irene, I will make you pay for doing this to me," Yusei declared, still clutching at his chest. "How dare you try and separate us from our monsters."
"I'm not stupid, Yusei," Irene replied, suddenly serious. "I know that going up against you at full power would be a foolish idea. So I had you led here, to the one place where you could be taken down."
"Who was the informant?" Jorann demanded. "Who do you have on the inside telling you everything?"
"That's something you'll never know," Seto stepped in. "Now play your cards so I can defeat you with my own hands."
"As you wish," Yusei grunted. "We will defeat you, mark my words."
Yusei/Jorann – 8000 LP
Seto/Irene – 8000 LP
"How's your hand looking, Jorann?" Yusei asked, eyeing his cards with disgust.
"Whatever she did, it must've worked," Jorann answered. "Let's just hope our cards will respond as our energy comes back."
"It's all we can do," Yusei said angrily. "I set one monster face down in defence mode, and two cards face down. Turn over."
From his position just behind them, Tanion could hear everything that the two men were saying, and how the duel was going to progress. I can't believe that whatever happened managed to weaken Yusei that much, he thought to himself in horror as Defender blocked some of the cannon fire with his shield. If Yusei has been affected that badly, just how is Jorann supposed to fight? He's already weakened… I'm surprised he's still standing.
"Yusei, if that's the best you can do, then you may as well surrender now," Seto said. "There's no point dragging this out if that's the limit of your strength!"
"Take your turn, Seto," Yusei grumbled. "This duel's only just getting started."
Yusei/Jorann – 8000 LP (One set monster, two face-downs)
Seto/Irene – 8000 LP
"My turn," Seto said, drawing. "Irene, I hope you realised that burning the Duel Energy affected me as well."
"Don't worry, Seto, I'm fully aware," the President replied. "I have faith in you, just as I've had since we first met. I'm sure you won't let me down this time either."
"You assume too much of me sometimes," Seto said. "I summon Maiden with Eyes of Blue to my field! Come forth, Maiden of the Dragon! (Lvl:1/ATK:0/DEF:0)."
Tanion turned to see the maiden appear. Donning a brown dress, her pale blue-white hair and bright blue eyes radiating with power stood in stark contrast to her outfit. Tanion was in awe. The card has been central to the Blue-Eyes deck back home ever since it came out. To get to see the actual Seto Kaiba use it in a duel… if only it could've been under different circumstances.
"Summoning a monster with no attack seems like a foolhardy move," Jorann commented.
"If you target it for an attack or effect, she will switch to defence and summon a Blue-Eyes," Yusei warned him. "If you want to defeat her, you must be ready to contend with the dragons as well."
"What a nuisance," Jorann said bitterly.
"I now set one card," Seto said. "Your turn, Jorann."
Yusei/Jorann – 8000 LP (One set monster, two face downs)
Seto/Irene – 8000 LP (Maiden, one face down)
"There's one thing I don't understand, Irene," Jorann said. "You being unaffected by the Duel Energy burn raises enough questions, but what is the Grand Order's goal? It's been five years since the first attacks and yet all you've been doing is attacking. You've made no demands, there's no end game. What's the point?"
"If you must know, this war was started to achieve but one purpose, that of which I will not speak," she said darkly. "I will stop at nothing to achieve that goal, and if that meant constantly attacking the world then so be it."
"You knew this was her plan, didn't you Seto?" Yusei asked, pissed. "You knew this was what she was going to do and you still joined her?"
"I told you already, the writing was on the wall from the beginning," Seto repeated. "I wasn't about to let more people die than there needed to be, so I joined them to save as many innocent people as I could."
"They've been targeting innocent people since the beginning!" Jorann shouted.
"No, they haven't!" Seto snapped back. "It may have seemed that way, but it was necessary. Not everyone was targeted, believe me."
A Double Cannon fired and the ball flew towards Defender's shield. The already cracked shield shattered, the ear-piercing sound breaking through the tension in the room as the shield split into thousands of tiny pieces. The knight himself was alright, but Tanion could feel a slight pang in his chest as part of his monster disappeared.
"Are you alright, Tanion?" Jorann asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," he assured him. "Just beat those two."
This is bad, Tanion thought to himself, his mind racing. Shadow is barely making a dent, and Defender can't take much without his shield… Looking upon the Double Cannons getting ready to fire again, he thought back to the duel he had with the servant in his homeland. The man used equip cards to boost the strength of his War Machine Omega, Tanion recalled. And Jorann mentioned that taking one down with the augmentations used wasn't hard in a duel, but in a Duel of Strength… I wonder…
"I play two trap cards!" Tanion shouted suddenly.
"What are you doing, boy?" Jorann gasped.
"I activate the trap cards Knight's Shield and Knight Bulwark!" Tanion continued.
A shield appeared before Defender, which the monster quickly grabbed before another volley hit him, the cannon balls bouncing harmlessly off the new shield. As soon as the volley was shot, the ground between Tanion and the front line of soldiers began to rumble, and the ground fell away as a stone wall emerged from the earth. It came to rest as about three metres high, just low enough for Tanion to see over, but high enough to temporarily stop the enemy.
"How did he…?" Seto gasped from surprise.
"Did you teach him that?" Yusei asked in shock.
"No," Jorann admitted, as surprised as they were. "He probably doesn't realise how hard that's supposed to be."
"I told you, I can handle this," Tanion said, overhearing their whispers. "You can trust me."
"Then I will do so," Jorann said in agreement, turning to face Seto and Irene once more. "Fortunately for you, there's not much I can do this turn. First, I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face-down card. Then, I set one monster and two face downs, just as Yusei did. Turn over."
Yusei/Jorann – 8000 LP (two set monsters, four face downs)
Seto/Irene – 8000 LP (Maiden)
"Couldn't even attack, Jorann?" Irene asked smugly. "I expected more from one of the Coalition's elite duelists. Did your duel with Yusei take that much out of you?"
"Irene…" Seto said, shocked.
"The mole is amongst your ranks, it seems," Jorann said to Yusei.
"Why reveal that to us after vowing silence?" Yusei demanded. "What is your aim?"
Irene simply laughed. "Do you know what they say about some predators, Yusei?"
"Tell me."
The President simply grinned. "They like to play with their food before going in for the kill. My turn!" she said with flair, drawing a card.
The wall that Tanion had created crumbled under the blows from the soldiers outside, and immediately another volley was fired. Although the shield deflected the cannon balls, Tanion could feel that his monster was tiring. It would seem that the cards seem to retain some of their in-game effects, Tanion noted. The shield reduces damage to nothing, and Defender can't be destroyed by battle. But he can't keep this up forever. Eventually, just like any knight, he'll pass out from the effort. What else can I do?
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Elemental Entity of the Blaze!" Irene said, showing the card. "I target Maiden and change her battle position in order to special summon it from my hand!"
"Oh, shit…" Jorann whispered.
"This triggers Maiden's effect," Seto continued. "When targeted by an effect, I can special summon a Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my hand, deck, or graveyard. Come forth, my greatest servant and protector, the dragon of legend! Blue-Eyes White Dragon! (Lvl:8/ATK:3000/DEF:2500)."
So that's why Irene set up the tag duel the way she did, Tanion thought as he looked over his shoulder in awe. Even the soldiers stopped briefly to take in the majesty of the dragon now resting behind Seto. Although it was a grand spectacle, Tanion couldn't help but grit his teeth at the situation it had now but Jorann and Yusei in. They, too, seemed to be fully aware of what was coming.
"Now that that has happened, I summon Elemental Entity of the Blaze to my field. Come forth, heart of the fire! (Lvl:4/ATK:1800/DEF:1200)," Irene said, as a child-like flame spirit appeared on the field in front of her. "Additionally, I now normal summon the Tuner monster, Elemental Entity of the Frost. Come forth, ice's core! (Lvl:2/ATK:300/DEF:300)."
Another spirit, similar to the first, appeared in front of Irene, except this one was covered in ice and had mist rolling off of it, as if the air itself was freezing from its presence. Already Seto and Irene had four monsters on their field, and Tanion somehow knew that the President's turn was far from finished.
"A Tuner monster," Jorann said. "You are a Synchro user?"
"It is only natural for me to be one, don't you think?" Irene answered. "It's the most powerful force of this world after all."
"How much do you know about the other worlds?" Yusei demanded.
"Enough," Irene replied curtly. "I know about Eden and its place as the catalyst. I also know how you came upon this knowledge as well."
"Yusei?" Jorann asked. "You never did explain how you knew about the other worlds when you told us about it all just after the war started."
"After we finish our mission, I will tell you," Yusei answered. "For now, it's your turn, Irene. Take it."
"Pushy, pushy," Irene said playfully. "Very well then. By paying 1000 life points, I activate the spell card Elemental Call! By targeting Frost, I can summon one 'Elemental Entity' monster from my deck whose level is one higher than Frost, although its attack and defence become 0. Come forth, the Tuner monster, Elemental Entity of the Land! (Lv1:3/ATK:0/DEF:2000)."
Just like the other two Elemental Entities on the field, this one was a spirit, although it seemed male whereas the other two were more feminine. Covered in dirt and rock, it embodied its namesake in much the same way as the other two Entities. Five monsters… Tanion thought to himself. Will Yusei and Jorann even last this turn?
"I use Land's effect!" Irene said. "Upon being summoned, he can return one spell or trap card on the field to the owner's deck! Be gone, the face-down card on the far left!"
"Dammit," Yusei whispered as he returned Scrap-Iron Scarecrow to his deck.
"And now, I tune my Level 4 Elemental Entity of the Blaze with my Level 2 Elemental Entity of the Frost!" Irene announced. "Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 6! Elemental Entity of the Light! (Lvl:6/ATK:2400/DEF:2100)."
"It bears a remarkable resemblance to Felirae's Dakuran," Jorann commented.
"The forces of this world can be manipulated by more than one person at a time," Irene said. "And just like your leader, I too can control the power of the darkness."
"This can't be good," Jorann whispered grimly.
"From my hand, I activate the effect of Elemental Entity of the Wind!" Irene declared. "Since I control an 'Elemental Entity' monster, I can special summon this card, however the only monsters I can summon for the rest of the turn at 'Elemental Entity' monsters. Come forth, spirit of the air! (Lvl:3/ATK:1000/DEF:1000)."
"Another Synchro?" Yusei asked.
"You betcha," Irene laughed, winking. "I tune my Level 3 Elemental Entity of the Wind with my Level 3 Elemental Entity of the Land! Descend before us now, Level 6! Elemental Entity of the Darkness! (Lvl:6/ATK:2300/DEF:1300)."
"You two going to be alright?" Tanion asked.
"Focus, boy!" Jorann ordered through gritted teeth. "I told you, we will handle it!"
"I'd like to see you try!" Irene said. "Darkness' attack goes up to 2700 if another 'Elemental Entity' is on the field. And now, let's battle! Elemental Entity of the Light, attack the monster that Yusei played face-down. Purity Ray!"
The light tore into the card Yusei had face-down, however, as the dust settled, the monster was still there. Shield Wing (Lvl:2/ATK:0/DEF:900) had withstood the attack, and now sat in front of the two Synchro duelists, its wings blocking Irene's path.
"How annoying," Irene huffed. "However, that won't stop me from picking apart your field. Light's monster effect activates! At the end of the damage step after this card has attacked, it can destroy one card on the opponent's side of the field! I choose to destroy the face down card in the middle!"
"That was a useful card too," Jorann said angrily as he sent Blessing of the High Dragons to the graveyard.
"Next, it's time for a surprise!" Irene said happily. "Elemental Entity of the Light, when summoned by using 'Elemental Entities' as material, can attack twice!"
"What?" Yusei gasped.
"Light, attack the other face-down monster!" Irene order hungrily. "Purity Ray!"
Unlike the last time, this monster did not survive the attack. The monster, revealed to be a High Dragon that Tanion hadn't seen before, was wiped from the field. Jorann and Yusei were losing resources fast, and Irene was far from done.
"Light's effect activates!" she said. "I destroy Shield Wing!"
"Brace yourself, Jorann," Yusei ordered as their last line of defence was destroyed.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Elemental Entity of the Darkness, lay waste to their life points!" Irene ordered. "Burst Stream of Destruction! Consuming Beam!"
The combined blast knocked the duo off their feet, and even caused Tanion to lose his balance. Once the dust had settled, Tanion could see that Jorann was in a bay way, and Yusei seemed for worse as well. Nothing is going to plan, Tanion realised. It's all falling apart.
"Are you okay, Jorann?" Yusei asked as he got onto one knee.
"I'll survive, just give me a moment," the old man said.
A sudden pain shot through Tanion's body, causing him to double over and cry out in pain. Looking at his duel disk, he noted that the faint aura that surrounded his cards when they were active was missing from the Shadow Knight.
"Tanion, what happened?" Yusei asked.
"They got Shadow," he answered breathlessly. "Defender's not doing so well either."
"You can do this, Tanion," Yusei said reassuringly. "Just as you have faith in us, I have faith in you. We can still pull this off, for everyone's sake."
"Yusei, I –"
"Are you done?" Irene cut in, suddenly serious. "I set one card, and my turn ends here, gentlemen. Do what you can, for this will be settled on our next turn."
Yusei/Jorann – 2300 LP (two face-downs, Yusei has two cards in hand)
Seto/Irene – 7000 LP (Blue-Eyes, Maiden, Light and Darkness, one face-down)
"You underestimate us, witch," Yusei said lowly as he got to his feet. "Do you honestly think that this will keep us down? Every time you've struck us down, every time you think you've got us beat, we come back stronger than ever. This time will be no different!"
"That's right," Jorann said gingerly as he got onto one knee. "You've never been able to get rid of us, not matter how hard you've tried."
Yusei pointed his finger at Irene. "You thought that you could sever our connection to our decks, that it would somehow give you the upper hand," he said defiantly. "There's one thing you don't seem to understand. The bond between a duelist and their deck can never be broken. Their deck will always come through from them if they have faith in their cards!"
Tanion couldn't help but smile as he too rose back to his feet. He sure knows how to motivate people, he thought. That aspect of him hasn't changed at all. Now it's time for me to repay the faith he has in me. He looked down at his deck, and he knew that there was one thing he could do in this situation. Since defending had done nothing for him, it was time to go on the attack.
"Defender, I relieve you," Tanion said, removing the card from his disk and the knight winked out of existence, the shield with it. "And now, I call forth the one monster that I believe in the most! My deck's ace, the Level 8 Synchro, Royal Knight! Come forth, old friend!"
"A change of tactic, boy?" Jorann asked as he, too, finally stood.
Tanion nodded, the loss of Synchro Energy causing him no pain as the Knight protected him. "I equip Royal Knight with Divine Blade Garnix, increasing its strength!" he said as Royal Knight picked up the massive sword. "Now, Royal Knight, take the fight to them! Destroy those cannons!"
Royal Knight almost seemed to nod as he raised the mighty sword above his head. Everyone in the room watched as the sword began to glow, even Seto and Irene. The soldiers tried to get the Double Cannons to fire, but it was too little, too late. Royal Knight swung the sword sideways, and a ray of light cut through every cannon as if it were nothing, sending a swath of the soldiers flying from the impact.
"Why you little…" Irene growled.
"This is the power true duelists hold, Irene!" Yusei said. "Just as Tanion has found a way, I'm sure my deck will respond to me as well. My turn!"
"Get anything good?" Jorann asked as Yusei looked at the card.
The man simply smiled. "You could say that."
"What did you draw?" Seto demanded.
"Since I control no monsters, I special summon Junk Forward! (Lvl:3/ATK:900/DEF:1500)," Yusei said. "Next, I normal summon the card I just drew, the Tuner monster Junk Anchor! (Lvl:2/ATK:0/DEF:0). And now, I tune my Forward to the Anchor! Synchro Summon! Appear before us now, Level 5! The Synchro Tuner, Accel Synchron! (ATK:500/DEF:2100)."
"I think I know where this is going," Jorann said with a slight grin. "You're free to use my face-down when you need it, Yusei."
"Thank you, Jorann," Yusei said. "Accel Synchron's effect! I send Jet Synchron from my deck to the graveyard, and raise it's Level by Jet's, so now it's a level 6! However, I'll immediately use Jet Synchron's graveyard effect! I send Tuningware from my hand to the grave and special summon it! However, it is banished when it leaves the field. Come forth, Jet Synchron! (Lvl:1/ATK:0/DEF:0)."
"Two tuners and nothing to tune them with," Irene said. "What are you scheming?"
"I told you," Yusei answered. "My deck has responded to me, and now I'll break through your field."
"I'd like to see you try," Irene huffed.
"I activate the face-down card, Graceful Revival!" Yusei said. "I use it to special summon Tuningware from the graveyard! (Lvl:1/ATK:100/DEF:300). And now, I tune my Level 1 Tuningware with my Level 1 Jet Synchron! Gathering wishes will call out a new speed's horizon! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! The Power of Hope, Synchro Tuner, Formula Synchron! (Lvl:2/ATK:200/DEF:1500)."
"Another Synchro Tuner…" Seto whispered.
"Formula Synchron and Tuningware's effect activates, allowing me to draw two more cards!" Yusei announced, before grinning as he saw his cards. "Jorann, may I?"
"Of course," the old man complied.
"I activate the trap card Level Offering!" Yusei said, revealing the trap. "I banish the level 2 Junk Anchor in order to summon a monster of the same level from my hand! Come forth, Synchron Explorer! (Lvl:2/ATK:0/DEF:700)."
"It's here," Jorann whispered.
"I tune my Level 2 Synchron Explorer to my Level 6 Accel Synchron!" Yusei continued. "Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Take flight, Stardust Dragon! (Lvl:8/ATK:2500/DEF:2000)."
"The dragon finally appears," Tanion whispered as Royal Knight threw another blow. "It's about time Yusei summoned it."
"However, I'm not done yet, Irene. My deck has put its faith in me, and I will reward that faith," Yusei said in a serious tone. "I now tune my Level 8 Stardust Dragon to my Level 2 Formula Synchron! Clustering crystal dreams, open the door to a new evolution! Become the path its light shines upon! Accel Synchro! Be born, Shooting Star Dragon! (Lvl:10/ATK:3300/DEF:2500)."
I get it now, Tanion thought to himself. I wondered how he would manage to pull it off, but I had forgotten that this world follows the same rules written down in the anime. This Yusei is the same one I watched take down duelists time and again. This Yusei's deck will reward him, just as it has always done.
"You're relying on luck?" Irene said. "Don't make me laugh!"
"Shooting Star Dragon's monster effect activates!" Yusei said, ignoring her statement. "I reveal the top 5 cards in my deck, and for every Tuner revealed, Shooting Star can attack that number of times. And now, I draw!"
"What did you get?" Jorann asked.
Yusei revealed the card. "The Tuner monster, Quickdraw Synchron! And now, I draw again!" he continued. "The Tuner monster, Nitro Synchron!"
"Irene, what the hell have you done…?" Seto said angrily.
"The third!" Yusei continued, drawing once more. "The Tuner monster, Road Synchron!"
"This can't be…" Irene whispered.
"The fourth! The Tuner monster, Turbo Synchron!" Yusei announced, revealing the card.
"What the hell are you?!" Irene shouted, her voice cracking. "This shouldn't be possible! I severed the connection! I stopped this from happening! I –"
"You know nothing!" Yusei shouted, causing Irene to shrink back slightly. "You know nothing of the suffering your armies have put us through, the pain we've had to fight through. For everyone who sacrificed themselves to get us to this point, I won't lose to the likes of you!"
"I warned you, Irene," Tanion heard Seto said.
"And now, the fifth draw!" Yusei said as he revealed the card. "The Tuner monster, Junk Synchron!"
"Inconceivable…" Irene bumbled. "Five Tuners, five attacks…"
"Time to battle!" Yusei shouted. "Let's go, Shooting Star Dragon!"