Hey guys so just a quick word before I start. As some of you may know, I have begun writing other fanfics in addition to this one for both RWBY and Fairy Tail. Due to this, I will be releasing one chapter a week from here on out at the very least, although depending on how much I write during the week that may increase. However, I can guarantee one chapter a week from this point forward. Anyway, as always, I hope you enjoy.
Chapter 25 – Angel and Demon
Tanion and Elise watched on as Darrien and the apparition engaged each other in battle. Although he wasn't quite sure what was going through Elise's head, he knew that this meant more to Darrien than he seemed to be letting on. This fight isn't just for him to get stronger to protect his loved ones, Tanion thought to himself. Just as it has always been since I got here, this is also about survival.
"I'll go first," Darrien said. "First, I play a monster face down in defence mode. Then, I set two cards face down and end my turn."
"Hold up, that's the same play he used against me the first time we met," Tanion realised.
"It is, isn't it?" Elise asked. "I wonder…"
"What is it?"
"Maybe this is his way of showing his growth to us," Elise said. "To show how much further he can go now."
"It's your turn," Darrien repeated. "Let's get this over with."
Darrien – 4000 LP
Apparition – 4000 LP
"My turn," the apparition whispered in an etheric voice as they drew a card. "I normal summon the monster known as Fusion Wight (Lvl:4/ATK:1700/DEF:1400). When this card is summoned, I add one 'Polymerisation' from my deck to my hand."
"A Fusion Summon on the first turn," Elise noted. "What else would you expect really."
"I activate the spell card Polymerisation," the apparition said. "I fuse the Fusion Wight on the field with the Fusion Hound in my hand. Oh protector of our souls, be born from the united energies of these two creatures and come forth with your eternal might! Fusion Summon! Level 8! Fusion Guardian! (ATK:2800/DEF:2400)."
The hound and the skeleton disappeared into the ball of energy behind the apparition, and Tanion had to shield his eyes as the ball flashed a brilliant purple. Then, as he was able to focus once more, he saw a giant soldier step out of the orb onto the field. Clad in black armour, purple smoke writhed around the monster, tying it directly to the ball of energy in the centre of the room.
"Fusion Hound's monster effect activates," the apparition continued. "If it is used for the Fusion Summon of a 'Fusion' monster, then that monster can now deal piercing damage. Additionally, Fusion Guardian can attack every monster my opponent controls once each during each Battle Phase."
"Not good," Tanion said as Darrien gritted his teeth. "Fortunately, if he's going to do what I think he is, then he should be able to deal with the Guardian on his next turn."
"Battle! Fusion Guardian, attack his face down monster!" the apparition ordered. "Soul Tear!"
Raising one of its arms, the Guardian began to seemingly leech energy from Darrien's face down card, revealing it to be Shining Angel. The monster seemed to clutch at his heart as the energy drained from his body, before finally turning to stone and turning to dust. Darrien weathered the piercing damage without hesitation, and Tanion realised that he had barely even registered the attack as he went along with his plan.
"I activate a trap card, Heavenly Call!" Darrien said, revealing the trap and mimicking his duel with Tanion. "When a LIGHT monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, I can special summon one LIGHT monster from my deck with one level lower than the destroyed monster! Additionally, since Shining Angel was destroyed by battle, I can special summon one monster with 1500 or less ATK to my field in attack position."
"Simply more fodder for Fusion Guardian," the apparition said. "You've already lost half of your life. This will be the end."
Darrien gritted his teeth. "Appear before me now, Shining Angel (Lvl:4/ATK:1400/DEF:800) and Angel of Light! (Lvl:3/ATK:900/DEF:1500)."
"Fusion Guardian, attack Angel of Light!" the apparition commanded. "Soul Tear!"
"I activate my other face down card, Negate Attack!" Darrien countered, revealing the face down card. "This stops your attack and ends the Battle Phase."
The apparition grunted with displeasure. "You have spared yourself, for now. Turn over."
Darrien – 2000 LP
Apparition – 4000 LP
"He's played exactly the same cards that he did against me," Tanion said. "Let's see if that trend continues."
"My turn," Darrien said, drawing a card. "I tribute both Angel of Light and Shining Angel! I Tribute Summon Zerath, Herald of Light! (Lvl:8/ATK:3000/DEF:2800)."
"Just like last time," Tanion whispered.
"Zerath's monster effect activates!" Darrien announced. "I banish Shining Angel from my graveyard, increasing Zerath's attack by half of the banished monster until the end of this turn. Therefore, Zerath now has 3700 ATK!"
"And here comes the spell," Tanion recalled.
"Battle!" Darrien said, much to their surprise. "Herald of Light, attack Fusion Guardian with your mighty blade!"
Going into the same animation that it did when he faced it, Tanion watched as Zerath's sword swung down, slicing through Fusion Guardian in one strike from its right shoulder to its left hip. As the Guardian dissipated into nothing, Tanion noted that the apparition seemed rather unperturbed about the development.
"I activate Fusion Guardian's effect," the apparition stated. "By banishing one 'Fusion' monster from my graveyard, I can resurrect him to the field. Appear by my side once more, Fusion Guardian!"
"All that effort for nothing," Elise said through gritted teeth.
"Relax, Elise," Tanion said, putting one hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure Darrien has something up his sleeve."
"I play my final two cards face-down," Darrien said, emptying his hand. "At this point, Zerath's ATK returns to normal. Turn over."
Darrien – 2000 LP
Apparition – 3100 LP
"He's betting everything on those two face-downs of his," Tanion said. "But he's begun to deviate from our previous duel."
"Perhaps his new strength lies within those cards," Elise wondered.
"Only one way to find out," Tanion said.
"My turn," the apparition said, drawing. "From my hand, I activate the Field Spell card Fusion Gate. This allows us both to perform Fusion Summons without the need for a Polymerisation spell card to do so, although the materials are banished instead of being sent to the grave."
"They're going to do multiple Fusions," Tanion realised.
"From my hand, I fuse the two monsters Fusion Serpent and Fusion Jurrac together!" the apparition proclaimed. "Lady of the eternal, be revived from the souls of your servants. Come forth and grant us your divine protection! Fusion Summon! Appear before us now, Level 7! Fusion Maiden! (ATK:2500/DEF:2000)."
"They aren't done," Elise noted.
"And now, I perform another Fusion Summon using the Fusion Maiden and Fusion Guardian on my side of the field!" the apparition said, confirming Elise's words. "Maiden and Guardian, combine your powers together to form the ultimate protector of our soul! Come forth from within our radiance and bask our enemies in your brilliance! Fusion Summon! Defend our soul, Level 11! Fusion Keeper! (ATK:4000/DEF:4000)."
As the Maiden and Guardian returned to the ball of energy behind the apparition, they all soon saw Fusion Keeper appear, but its appearance was quite unexpected. The ball of energy itself moved forward onto the field, and slowly began morphing into some of sort of humanoid shape. Eventually, armour similar to the one Guardian had worn appeared around it, although this one appeared more regal than Fusion Guardian's. Additionally, the ball of Fusion Energy could be seen nestled neatly within the chest of the monster, almost like it's heart.
"A 'Fusion' monster that uses Fusion Maiden as material is unaffected by all card effects," the apparition stated. "Additionally, Fusion Keeper cannot be destroyed by battle except by a Fusion monster, and if it destroys a non-Fusion monster in battle, it deals 800 points of damage to the opponent."
"Shit," Darrien whispered.
"Before Keeper destroys your Herald, there is one more thing I must do," the apparition said. "I play the spell card Fusion Restoration! By destroying one card with 'Fusion' in its name, I get to draw two cards from my deck. I destroy Fusion Gate!"
"That was planned from the beginning," Elise realised. "They took full advantage of Fusion Gate's effect before stopping Darrien for taking advantage of it. Stay strong, Darrien!"
"I will, Elise," Darrien assured her. "I'm not gonna lose."
"Battle! Fusion Keeper, attack Zerath, Herald of Light!" the apparition commanded. "Ethereal Fusion Stream!"
Tanion saw Darrien brace for the attack as a blast of purple energy erupted from Fusion Keeper's extended palm. It tore through Zerath in an instant, knocking Darrien to the ground as he took damage from both the battle and Fusion Keeper's effect. However, Tanion noted that he was quickly back on his feet, his eyes still filled with a steely determination.
"I activate a trap card, Origin of the Heart!" Darrien proclaimed, revealing the trap. "When a LIGHT monster is destroyed by battle and sent to the grave, I can add one LIGHT monster and one 'Polymerisation' from my deck to my hand."
"Did he just say…"
"He did," Tanion assured her. "This was his plan all along."
The apparition's curiosity grew at the sight of the trap. "So you intend to Fusion Summon? How interesting. I end my turn."
"Not so fast," Darrien said. "I activate my other face-down card, Light Revival! Since a LIGHT monster was destroyed and sent to the graveyard this turn, I can special summon one LIGHT monster from my grave, but it's ATK and DEF become 0. Return to the field once more, Zerath, Herald of Light!"
"He intends to use Zerath for the fusion," Elise realised.
"Can he pull it off though?" Tanion wondered.
"He can. He will," Elise said confidently.
The apparition was now genuinely interested in what Darrien had to offer. "Turn over," it said, but Tanion could tell that it was eager to see what happened next.
Darrien – 200 LP
Apparition – 3100 LP
"Elise, I told you I would get stronger," Darrien said. "And now is my time to do so. Using the energies that swirl around us, I will show you that I have grown and become stronger."
"You can do this, Darrien," Elise said reassuringly.
"You wish to harness our Fusion Energy?" the apparition asked curiously.
"I do," Darrien replied. "Because of the concentration of Fusion Energy here, I am able to draw on its power to perform a Fusion Summon. In doing so, I hope to prove to you and everyone else that I am worthy of bearing its power as my own."
"I see," the apparition said. "Let us see this Fusion Summon then."
"Alright, here I go," Darrien said, drawing a card from his deck as he took a deep breath. "I activate the spell card Polymerisation! With it, I fuse the Disciple of Light in my hand with the Zerath, Herald of Light on my field!"
"Here we go…" Elise whispered.
"Oh great Herald, become one with the light and shine forth with your vivid radiance! Reveal your true strength and reign over this battlefield with your purity!" Darrien proclaimed. "Fusion Summon! Descend before us now, Level 10! Gabriel, Heart of the Light! (ATK:3700/DEF:3200)."
Before Zerath, a priest in some kind of robes appeared. He kneeled before the mighty warrior, before both of them became absorbed by a white light of some sort and ascended to the ceiling of the underground temple. Everyone, including the apparition, had to look away as the light grew brighter and brighter until eventually a figure of some sort began to descend from it. Eventually, the figure landed in front Darrien, and Tanion was in awe of it. Brilliant white wings extended from the back of the shirtless warrior, with flowing gold hair draping down over its shoulders. It was almost god-like in its appearance.
"He really did it," Elise said, shocked. "He really performed a Fusion Summon…"
"While Gabriel is on the field, all monster effects are negated unless they are LIGHT attribute," Darrien explained, pressing forward without hesitation. "Additionally, since Zerath was used as fusion material for his summon, another of Gabriel's effects activates! I banish one copy of Shining Angel from my graveyard in order to inflict damage to you equal to its ATK. So here's 1400 points of damage!"
The apparition seemed unconcerned with the damage. "A good effect, but still not enough," it said. "Not only do I still have 1700 life points left, but Gabriel is weaker than Fusion Keeper."
"I activate the last card in my hand, the equip spell Sword of Light!" Darrien announced, and a sword of pure white energy appeared in Gabriel's hand. "A LIGHT monster equipped with this card gains attack equal to its level times 200, raising Gabriel's attack to 5700 points!"
"You actually did it…" Tanion head the apparition whisper.
"Gabriel, attack Fusion Keeper and end this duel!" Darrien commanded. "Shining Nova!"
Gabriel raised his sword into the air and beams of pure white light began to shoot out from it, scattering all around the room. Every time one hit Fusion Keeper Tanion could see the monster almost grunt in pain, until eventually it began to falter under the barrage of light. Soon it fell to one knee, and then Gabriel let out a mighty cry, enveloping the room in light. When Tanion was able to see again, the monsters, and the apparition, were gone, leaving only the ball of Fusion Energy left in the middle of the room once more.
"It's over," Darrien huffed. "I won."
"You performed that Fusion Summon brilliantly, Darrien," Elise said with a huge grin on her face. "I'm very proud of you."
"Thank you, Elise," Darrien said with a smile. "Now to claim my prize."
Tanion and Elise watched as Darrien walked towards the ball of Fusion Energy in the middle of the room. As he got closer, tendrils of purple vapour began to extend from the ball, wrapping themselves around Darrien, almost as if accepting him. As he got closer and closer to the ball of energy, it seemed to get brighter, as if it were getting ready to be taken by Darrien and absorbed. Taking one last step forward, Darrien placed one hand on the sphere and it immediately reacted to his touch.
The ball began to get noticeably smaller, and Tanion noted that Darrien's left hand, the one not connected to the Fusion Energy, was balled in a fist as he absorbed the energy into his body. It seems that this process does take a toll on his body after all, Tanion thought to himself. I mean, he's changing the very fabric of his being through this process. It shouldn't really be a surprise. As the last remnants of the Fusion Energy absorbed into Darrien's body, his hand fell by his side and he stood still for a moment.
"Darrien?" Elise asked caringly. "How do you feel?"
Purple energy began to wrap around Darrien's body. "Never better," he said in a deep voice.
Before Tanion could react, Elise fell to her knees screaming in pain, and he realised that purple energy was trying to escape from her body. Desperately, Tanion grabbed Elise and held her close, not knowing what else to do. Fortunately, whatever he did worked, as Elise's entire body relaxed as whatever Darrien had been doing came to an abrupt end, although she had been knocked unconscious by the process.
"What the hell did you do?" Tanion demanded to Darrien, who was still facing away from him.
"How are you unaffected?" Darrien asked in a voice clearly not his own. "Wait… you are not of this world, are you? How annoying?"
"What did you do?" Tanion asked again.
Darrien turned to face him, and Tanion gasped as he met Darrien's eyes, which were completely black. "I was attempting to absorb her energy, but you stopped me by shielding her from my power. Your Duel Energy is different to ours, isn't it?"
"What are you, a Duel Energy Ghoul?" Tanion asked warily, not wanting to let go of Elise in case Darrien attempted to absorb her power again.
"No, nothing so pedestrian," the being controlling Darrien said. "I am the essence of the energy your people call Fusion. I am what you would call its being. This host was simply not strong enough to resist me, and so I was able to take control. It's a process that often happens when people try to gain the power of Fusion."
"What do you want?" Tanion asked.
"I want what is mine," the essence of Fusion said. "Fusion Energy is me, I am it, and I will reclaim what is mine."
"If all this is true, surely you would've been able to achieve your goal by now?" Tanion asked curiously. "These shrines have existed for millennia. Surely there have been others similar to Darrien that you could've possessed and used as a puppet throughout the ages."
"False," it replied. "Throughout the ages, people have sort to gain my power, calling it many different things throughout history. However, I was always too powerful for them defeat me. It has only been recently, with the creation of this card game of yours, that humanity has been able to fight me on the same level. In fact, since its creation, only one other has found one of my shrines throughout the world."
"Only one?" Tanion wondered. "And you didn't possess them?"
"They were much too strong for me," the essence said angrily. "But this person was the perfect vessel. Strong enough to defeat me in physical combat, but not strong enough to resist me in mental combat. And now I'm free to take what is mine."
This is ridiculous, Tanion thought to himself. I can believe many things about this world. Duel Monster spirits, using Duel Monsters as a weapon, all of that. But what we're talking about here is energy having sentience. Is that even possible? Despite being sceptical about the true nature of the possessed body in front of him, Tanion knew that he had a problem. He had been able to stop it from taking Elise's Fusion Energy, but now he was faced with two problems. Not only did he have to stop it from leaving the monastery, but he also had to get it out of Darrien's body. Wait a minute, Tanion realised. I'm from Eden, and thus my Duel Energy is different to everyone else's. That's why I could stop it taking Elise's power. Maybe I can use that to my advantage.
"I propose a deal, whatever you are," Tanion said. "We duel. If you win, I let you go about your business. But if I win, you leave my friends body and go back to being Fusion Energy. Deal?"
"You want me to risk losing everything I've just gained?" the essence said. "As if I would ever accept a deal like that."
"You've seen how I stopped you from absorbing Elise's power," Tanion said, feigning confidence. "If you don't accept my deal, I'll separate you from Darrien myself."
The supposed essence of Fusion stopped to consider this, and Tanion made sure to keep a straight face as his mind worked at a million miles an hour. If it calls my bluff then it's all over, he thought to himself. But if it agrees to the duel, then I should be able to handle it. I beat Darrien in the past, after all, and he defeated this being. Or at least I think it was the same being. Either way, please don't call my bluff. Please don't call my bluff. Please don't…
"I accept your challenge, outlander," it said finally, a duel disk made of some sort of black energy appearing before it. "I will not be stopped now, not with freedom so close."
"I'm afraid I have to," Tanion replied, readying his duel disk. "Not just for Elise and Darrien, but for everyone else whose lives you'll ruin if your allowed free. I won't let you bring even more despair to this world, demon."
"We will see about that, human," it replied.
DUEL!
Coming Soon - Zera