Hey guys! Before this chapter starts, I'd like to quickly say something. Thank you so much for the support on this series we hit 2000 views today! I know that might not seem like much, but for a fic like this one that's a big achievement I feel so I wanted to thank you all again for the support you've shown on the story. But now, the moment many of you have been demanding to read. As always, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 20 – Future's Fate: Part 2
The welcoming glow emanating from Shooting Star Dragon warmed Tanion's back. Royal Knight himself seemed to almost get perked up from being in the dragon's presence, something he hadn't expected. Behind him, Seto look on with gritted teeth, while Irene, the President of The Grand Order, seemed too shocked to be able to form words.
"This madness ends here, Irene," Yusei said deeply with a deathly stare. "For all the destruction you've wrought, for all the lives you've destroyed and taken, I will have you pay with your life."
"You can't!" Irene managed to sputter. "There's… there's no way you can win!"
Yusei simply huffed. "Shooting Star Dragon, attack Elemental Entity of the Light! Stardust Mirage!"
Shooting Star Dragon screeched and split into five versions of itself, one orange, one red, one green, one blue, and one yellow. Following Yusei's orders, the yellow version streaked forward, blasting through the light entity like it was nothing, the monster simply crumbling under the foot of the dragon. Irene seemed to stagger at the ferocity of the attack, as if losing the monster had affected her directly.
"Next, the darkness!" Yusei ordered, anger dripping from his voice. "Stardust Mirage!"
The blue version of Stardust stepped forward, launching itself across the room at the dark entity. It seemed to growl as it raised a hand up high and squashed the monster against the floor, crushing it with unrelenting power. Shooting Star Dragon is reacting to Yusei's pain, Tanion realised. All the pain and suffering he's gone through, both as a leader of the resistances and as a friend and partner to those he held dear, is being poured into this assault. He simply can't hold it back anymore.
"The third attack!" Yusei screamed, tears of anger beginning to well in his eyes. "Destroy the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Instead of charging the dragon as it had done before, the green version of Shooting Star Dragon let loose an ear-piercing howl, one that echoed of pain and anger. The scream of a tortured soul. Everyone in the room, including the soldiers outside, had to cover their ears as the dragon's wail continued onward, until eventually Blue-Eyes crumbled under the pain and simply vanished from the field. Once the screech was over, Jorann simply looked at Yusei with wide eyes.
"Yusei…" the old man whispered. "What happened to you?"
"The fourth," Yusei said lowly, ignoring Jorann as tears began to flow freely. "Destroy Maiden."
"Irene, use her effect," Seto ordered.
"But that will –"
"I know what it'll do, just do it!"
Irene huffed. "I activate Maiden with Eyes of Blue's monster effect!" she said grumpily. "I negate your attack, switch her to attack position, and revive Blue-Eyes White Dragon from the grave. Return to us once more, legendary dragon!"
As the white dragon returned to the field, Royal Knight let loose with another attack as Tanion remained deep in thought. Irene is too shaken to see the bigger picture, he realised. Either way they were going to take 3300 damage, but at least now they'll have Blu-Eyes on the field. I've no doubt Seto has a plan for that, despite what Irene did to him.
"And now, the fifth," Yusei growled. "Shooting Star Dragon, destroy Maiden with Eyes of Blue! Take 3300 damage, murderers! This is for all the lives you've ruined! For all the loved ones we've lost! For Akiza!"
The final version of Shooting Star Dragon left to attack, the red one, seemed to almost roll its shoulders as it moved forward. It picked up the Maiden in one hand, the girl struggling in vain to wiggle free. Raising its hand high, Shooting Star threw the Maiden with all its might, destroying the throne with which Seto had been sitting on only a few moments before.
"Fucking hell," Jorann whispered.
"How did you…?" Irene gasped.
"His anger tore down the barrier between a normal duel and a Duel of Strength," Seto realised. "Shooting Star Dragon, its anger at being separated from Yusei, combined with his overwhelming emotions…"
"He's a monster," Irene whispered.
"I set one card face down and end my turn," Yusei said, tears still rolling down his cheeks. "Take your move, Seto, before I bury you along with the witch."
Yusei/Jorann – 2300 LP (Shooting Star Dragon, one face-down)
Seto/Irene – 1900 LP (Blue-Eyes, one face-down)
"I still don't think you realise how badly you've crippled my game, Irene," Seto said angrily.
"Destroy them," Irene demanded, her voice unhinged and afraid. "That is an order, Seto!"
"I am not one of your servants, Irene!" Seto bellowed. "Do not think to lord over me like I am lesser than you!"
"Just do it, you idiot!" she screamed in return.
"Hmph. My turn!" Seto said bitterly, drawing.
A bit of armour cracked off from Royal Knight's shoulder as the soldiers fired a volley as the monster from their cannons. Although he seemed to be holding up okay thanks to Tanion's conviction, Tanion himself was beginning to tire, the fight having drawn out much longer than he had hoped. I have to do something. If I leave things as they are, then it's only a matter of time before they break through. What can I do?
"You are unlucky, Jorann, Yusei," Seto admitted. "I must say, before I drew this card, the most I could've done was switch Blue-Eyes to defence and end my turn. But now, I'm afraid Shooting Star Dragon has to go."
"Did you draw Polymerisation?" Jorann asked.
"No," Yusei answered for him. "Even if he summoned the Ultimate Dragon, Shooting Star Dragon could negate its attack with his effect. This must be something else."
"I activate the spell card Chaos Form!" Seto announced. "Irene, this is why I needed the dragon!"
"He's summoning Chaos MAX?" Tanion whispered under his breath. "Oh, shit…"
"My very soul, reside within the powers beyond and evolve into a stronger form! Become the power to crush our foes with absolute force!" Seto chanted as Blue-Eyes was absorbed into a dark sphere. "Ritual Summon! Appear before us now, Level 8! Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! (ATK:4000/DEF:0)."
"What the hell is that?" Jorann whispered.
"It can't be targeted by effects and deals double piercing damage," Tanion offered as Royal Knight weathered another attack. "Just survive this turn and whatever you do, don't put anything in defence."
"Thanks for the heads up," Jorann said, nodding.
"Battle!" Seto exclaimed. "Chaos MAX Dragon, attack Shooting Star Dragon! Chaos Burst of Annihilation!"
Unable to activate Shooting Star's effect, Jorann and Yusei could only watch on as a violent burst of blue light erupted from the dragon's mouth, blasting a hole straight through Shooting Star and destroying it, with both men struggling to hold their ground against the shockwaves.
"Such power…" Tanion heard Yusei whisper.
"With that, I end my turn," Seto said. "Your move, Jorann."
Yusei/Jorann – 1600 LP (One face-down)
Seto/Irene – 1900 LP (Chaos MAX, one face-down)
"I hope you have a plan, Jorann," Yusei said as he stood in the shadow of the Chaos MAX Dragon.
"I do," he answered calmly. "Just hold out a big longer for us, boy, we're almost done."
Tanion's chest rose and fell quickly as he took in heavy breaths. The damage Royal Knight was taking was beginning to take its toll, and he was beginning to struggle under the effort of summoning and sustaining three monsters. What can I do? he thought in frustration. There must be something more… some way I can surpass myself… surely that's possible here in this world?
"Irene!" Jorann shouted. "You tried to sever the bonds between us and our cards. You tried to cheat your way to victory. I'm going to show you now that that bond can never be broken, and remains as strong as ever!"
"Don't make me laugh," Irene chuckled. "You have one face down and two cards in hand. What can you possibly do?"
"You're about to find out. My turn!" Jorann said, drawing.
Another volley was fired and Royal Knight finally took a step back as his strength began to fail him. The soldiers were tentatively pushing forward, their Double Cannons primed and getting ready once more to fire. We can't take much more of this, Tanion managed to think between breaths. What can I do?
"I activate the trap card Synchro Spirits!" Jorann exclaimed, revealing the trap. "By banishing Shot Star Dragon from the grave, I can revive Formula Synchron and Stardust Dragon to my side of the field. Return to us one final time, Yusei's most trusted monsters!"
Formula Synchron and Stardust Dragon returned to the field, and immediately Tanion knew what Jorann was going to do. He's using Yusei's monster to summon Edilisna, he realised. That's what Synchro Summoning is all about. Combining monsters together to create something more powerful. That's it!
"I tune the Level 8 Stardust Dragon to my Level 2 Formula Synchron!" Jorann said, raising a hand. "Machine and dragon, become one within the light's embrace and shine forth with your everlasting might! Accel Synchro! Appear before us now, my strongest servant! Level 10! High Dragon Edilisna! (ATK:3600/DEF:2800)."
To break through my limits, I must push forward. "Royal Knight, it's time you got some help. I summon forth the Level 9 Synchro monster, Mary, Queen of Knights!" Tanion exclaimed.
He felt his chest erupt in pain as his depleting Synchro energy was mostly wiped out. He fell to one knee as the form of Mary appeared at his side. Mary has an effect that revives a Knight from the grave when she's destroyed, he thought as he gulped in air. If that effect transfers into a Duel of Strength… perhaps…
"Tanion, what do you think you're doing?!" Yusei yelled, noticing the monster. "You can't handle that level of summoning you idiot!"
"I… I activate Mary's effect!" Tanion managed to say. "Revive Royal Knight!"
Everyone in the room looked on as Mary walked over to Royal Knight, who was evidently struggling from the blows. She placed a hand on the man's shoulder, and slowly faded away into millions of tiny balls of light, only for them to be absorbed by Royal Knight. There was a blinding flash of light, and once it had dimmed, Tanion's ace seemed totally revitalised, with a faint white glow surrounding its entire being.
"He… he merged the two monster's energies…" Seto whispered in astonishment.
"See, Irene? This is the power of the Resistance. This conviction... this is why we won't lose here!" Yusei said.
"Don't kill yourself, boy," Jorann whispered.
"Finish this, old man," came Tanion's low reply.
Jorann nodded. "Seto, I'm going to destroy that corruption of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon here and now. I won't let it stay on the field any longer."
"And just how are you going to do that?" Irene demanded. "Edilisna is weaker than Chaos MAX."
"I activate the spell card High Dragon's Gift!" Jorann said. "By sending the High Dragon Paranel in my hand to the graveyard, I can add it's attack and defence to Edilisna until the end of the turn. So now, Edilisna's attack strength rises by 1800 to 5400!"
"This can't be…" Seto said.
"Battle! High Dragon Edilisna, attack Blue-Eyes Chaos MAX Dragon! High Judgement!"
"Royal Knight! Sacred Blade!"
The two attacks launched simultaneously. The blast from Edilisna tore straight through Chaos MAX, the dragon standing no chance against the furious assault. Likewise, the soldiers stood no chance against Royal Knight's extra powerful attack. The blow knocked many of them back by a decent margin, and any Double Cannons caught in the blast were destroyed instantly. Once the dust had settled, the front line of the soldiers waiting outside the door had been thrust backward, and Seto and Irene were picking themselves off their feet.
"You bastard…" Irene muttered. "You'll pay for this, old man."
"No, I won't," Jorann said confidently. "I activate High Dragon Edilisna's monster effect!"
Tanion stopped. Wait a second…
"You aren't done?" Irene said irritably.
"You have two cards in your hand, Irene," Jorann said. "I can pick one and reveal it. If it's a monster, you lose life points equal to its level times 200. If it's a trap, you take 800 damage. If it's either of those, I've no doubt that this duel is over!"
Irene gulped. "Monster…"
"The card I choose is the one on your right!" Jorann said, pointing to Irene's hand. "Reveal it!"
The whole room seemed to go silent as Irene removed the card from her hand to reveal it. If it's a monster or trap, then we win. We actually will have beaten them, Tanion thought in amazement. But if it's a spell…
"The cards you've chosen is a second copy of Elemental Call, a spell card!" Irene gloated as she revealed it.
Jorann's hand tightened into a fist. "Since it's a spell, it goes to the bottom of your deck," he gritted out. "I play two cards face down and end my turn with this, with Edilisna's attack droping back to 3600. Your move."
Yusei/Jorann – 1600 LP (High Dragon Edilisna)
Seto/Irene – 500 LP (One face-down)
"I must applaud you, Yusei, Jorann," Irene said ominously. "I never expected you to push me as far as you have. When we set this trap for you, I never expected that you might actually succeed in getting close to beating us in a duel."
"You have 500 life points left," Yusei said. "On my next turn –"
"You won't get a next turn," Irene cut off. "I still can't believe it's come to this, but now… now I have no choice."
"Irene, don't do it!" Seto suddenly cried out, realisation spreading across his face.
"Do what?" Yusei demanded.
"My turn!" Irene said madly, drawing a card. "I activate the face down card, Synchro Sacrifice! By paying half my life points, I can target up to 2 Synchro monsters in my graveyard and special summon them with their effects negated and their ATK and DEF become 0! Additionally, I cannot normal summon or set for the remainder of the turn!"
"What was the point of summoning them then?" Jorann asked, confused.
Tanion gasped. Wait a minute… Two level 6's…
"Irene, please, you don't need to do this!" Seto pleaded.
Ignoring him, Irene took a deep breath. "Using the Level 6 Elemental Entity of the Light, and the Level 6 Elemental Entity of the Darkness, I build the Overlay Network!"
"Impossible…" Yusei whispered. "That's not possible!"
"Power of the elements, be consumed by the ever-growing blackness and transform into a new power! Bend reality to your will and rise above all!" Irene proclaimed. "XYZ Summon! Appear before us now, Rank 6! Void Elemental Entity! (RNK:6/ATK:2800/DEF:2800)."
"She… she did it," Yusei managed to say as the almost black hole-like Entity, who still had the form of a humanoid and yet seemed to be made up of the void itself, materialised onto the field.
"Irene, are you okay?" Seto asked, rushing to her aid as the woman staggered slightly.
That's so unusual, Tanion thought. The Seto I know would never had done that to anyone except maybe Mokuba. And she just XYZ Summoned… Just what the hell is going on here?!
"Void's monster effect activates!" Irene said, shrugging off Seto's help. "When it is XYZ Summoned, it can destroy one monster on my opponent's side of the field and gains attack equal to that monster's attack. Void Feast!"
Yusei, Tanion and Jorann could only watch on helplessly as High Dragon Edilisna's energy was absorbed by the horrifying emptiness of the creature that Irene had summoned. Before long, the dragon was gone, and Yusei and Jorann were staring down the barrel of a monster with 6400 ATK.
"Additionally, I detach one material from Void to activate its other effect!" Irene continued ruthlessly. "Once per turn, I can destroy cards on the field equal to half the number of 'Elemental Entity' monsters with different names in my graveyard. I currently have 5, meaning I can destroy 2 cards! Say goodbye to your two face-downs!"
"I... I don't believe it…" Yusei murmured, lowering his duel disk. "We… we…"
"Void Elemental Entity, attack Yusei and Jorann directly!" Irene commanded. "Ultimate Surge!"
Tanion could only watch as blackness seemed to seep out of the XYZ monster on Irene's field, creeping forward as Jorann and Yusei seemed rooted in place. They were unable to do anything as the blackness seemed to hit them on all sides, causing them to cry aloud as the last of their life points trickled away.
"They lost…" Tanion gasped, before turning to face the soldiers again.
Despite the power surging within Royal Knight, the soldiers, having seen their leaders defeat Yusei and Jorann, began to grow in confidence and push forward into the room. As the XYZ monster faded away, Irene finally seemed to relax, and the toll that had evidently been taken on her for summoning Void began to show, as her breathing began to get heavier.
"We need to get out of here," Tanion whispered before cursing under his breath. "Jorann, Yusei, can you stand?"
"It's pointless," Yusei muttered blankly. "We failed. Theta failed."
"Jorann, can you summon a monster to get out of here on?" Tanion asked him desperately.
"I can barely stand," the old man rasped. "That monster…"
Tanion gritted his teeth as he thought desperately for a way out. The soldiers we advancing, spreading their ranks as they filed into the room. Behind him, Irene was stabilising but Seto seemed ready to capture them at any second. If he didn't think of something soon, then it really was the end. So this is what Jaden meant… One last push. That's all we need. Please, my monsters, give me strength.
"I… I summon the Level 7 Synchro monster, Charger of the Knight!" Tanion exclaimed.
Wind suddenly burst through the room, and in a gust of air the horse appeared before them as if from nowhere. Tanion doubled over as his energy left him, his vision blurring as he struggled to not go under. Without thinking, he stumbled towards the horse and it appeared Jorann was doing the same, with a seemingly lifeless Yusei draped over his shoulder.
"Don't let them escape!" Seto screamed. "Blue-Eyes, appear before us!"
"Royal Knight, defend!"
As the trio managed to fit very snugly on Charger's back, Yusei propped up between Tanion and Jorann, Blue-Eyes White Dragon let loose with a burst of white lightning. Royal Knight stepped in the way, and Tanion coughed up blood as the attack hit, barely managing to stay aboard the horse's back. However, once the attack was over, the knight remained.
"Royal Knight… a way out… please," Tanion whispered as his vision began to darken.
Seeming to respond to Tanion's will, the broken and bruised knight turned away from the legendary dragon and faced the soldiers, who had halted in fear from seeing a monster survive the onslaught of the White Dragon. Raising Garnix above his head, the Knight let loose will its mightiest attack yet, pouring seemingly all its energy into it. Charger moved out the way as a laser the width of ten men and the height of the room blast from the blade, obliterating everything in its pain.
"Charger, go…"
The next thing Tanion knew, he could feel the horse's hoofs beating below him. His vision was nearly gone, and he could taste metal in his mouth from the blood. His head seemed very light, as if no oxygen was getting to it. Glancing at his duel disk, he noticed that Royal Knight was gone, but before he could react, a part of the wall collapsed behind them.
"Just hold on, you two, we're getting out of here!" he heard Jorann yell, but it seemed so distant.
Suddenly they were running across open ground, through what seemed to be some sort of courtyard. He could just make out what seemed to be soldier advancing from every side. In the distance, sirens. He tried to right himself, but his body wouldn't respond to his commands. What… what's happening? What have I…?
And his world went black.
Coming Soon: Chapter 21 - Reunion