Chapter 30: The Promise Seventeen Years Ago! Destiny Guided By Moment!
Deep in the Dark Signers' lair, there are two candelabras on the long wooden table, one close to the end of the table where Rudger's sitting and one at the center of the table. The one close to him is entirely dark and the one in the center has two candles left lit. One of these snuffs out suddenly. "So you defeated Kiryu, Yusei Fudo." Rudger thinks to himself. "Mmm, aagh!" Rudger says. With his left hand, he pulls down the glove on his right hand. Rudger's arm appears quite unhealthy, the upper arm is covered with areas of purplish skin, as though the flesh is diseased, beneath his glove, the purple patches fade to thin, meandering cracks that appear gray. Rudger's dismayed. "I can't afford to stop yet." Rudger thinks to himself. He walks over to the other table in the room, ignored until now, and picks up a small, framed photograph. In the photo are three men in white lab coats, posing for a group picture against a bright blue sky. The one on the left wears a black necktie, a maroon shirt and gray khaki pants under his lab coat, and his hair is blonde, but the same shape as Rudger's, he's grinning in the picture. The man on the right looks a few years younger and more uptight, less smiley, his lab coat is buttoned up such that his robin's-egg-blue shirt and teal tie are the only things that can be seen, and his brown hair sits above his shoulders, stiffly. The third man, an arm around each of them, is much shorter, only standing as tall as their shoulders. He wears a gray shirt and black pants under his lab coat, he looks happy and carefree. His hair looks just like Yusei's, without the gold streaks. This is Yusei's father, Professor Hakase Fudo, head of the ill-fated and disastrous Moment project, with a younger Rudger and Rex Godwin. "It seems I'll have to settle our issues from seventeen years ago against my own daughter, Professor Fudo." Rudger thinks to himself. Light flickers across the glass of the frame as, held at a different angle, the glass now reflects one of his black-filled eyes. A spider descends onto the glass on a fragile strand of web.
Yusei places Stardust Dragon's card in the slot on the plinth inside the tower of the giant. It glows, and the ground begins to rumble. Yusei picks up Stardust and runs for the door, not stopping to look back, as the tower sinks into the ground, until he's far away. He looks grim and slightly upset.
"Yusei!" Says Lua.
"Huh?" Yusei asks. He turns.
Lua's waving at Yusei from the run-down highway overpass they've been standing on to see the duel, and Ushio's smiling. "Yusei! Over here!" Says Lua. His face then turns sad. "Now come on up here quick!" Lua says.
Yusei frowns, seeing that he's upset about something.
In no time, he joins them on his D-Wheel and pulls off his helmet. He now knows why Lua seemed upset.
Crow's still holding Sakura in his arms, slightly, while Luca is lying her head on her chest, gently, possibly trying to make out her heartbeat. Subaru and Velvet are clinging to each other, the former hugging the latter close, they both have tears trickling down their respective faces. Grim and Aurora are still down on the ground, barely moving.
"Sakura." Says Yusei. He climbs off of his D-Wheel and runs to the side Luca's on. "What happened?" Yusei asks. Luca moves her head off of Sakura's chest. "She gave up the heart of the Crimson Dragon to you, in order for you to finish your duel. Only, her heart has stopped beating, Yusei." Says Luca. "She's also stopped breathing." Crow says. Yusei then takes Sakura into his arms, cradling her within them. "First father… and now mother…" Says Subaru, somberly. "Daddy… Mommy… Please, come back..." Velvet says, devastated. Usagi walks over to her and Subaru, and holds the crying twins close to herself, trying to console them. Yusei's trying to fight back his own tears, for the sake of his niece and nephew, but it's becoming a hard fought battle. He presses his forehead to Sakura's, gently, with tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, teeth clenched and his hands are trembling. "Sakura, please wake up. You can't die on me, sis." Yusei thinks to himself.
He's suddenly lit by a glowing crimson red light. The Crimson Dragon's heart of power has returned. Yusei looks at it, fascinated at its beauty. It then surges back into Sakura's chest where it belongs, making the Seal of the Crimson Dragon reappear on her stomach, glowing through her shirt. The Seal soon goes dim. Yusei gasps when he hears Sakura's heartbeat and can hear her breathing again.
Grim soon starts to stir and opens his eyes. "Hey. Grim's okay." Says Lua. Grim sits himself up, with a yawn. Luca hugs him close to herself, burying her face and hands in his long, dark fur.
Following suit, Aurora opens her eyes, slowly, and starts to move. "Aurora." Velvet says. Aurora sits herself up. Velvet kneels down before her and hugs her, burying herself in her beautiful, white mane.
Sakura's eyes then flutter open, which are still blank. "You're alive, thank goodness." Says Yusei. Sakura has a small smile and so does he. She closes her eyes and when she reopens them, her eyes have returned to normal. "It's good to have you back." Yusei says. He then helps Sakura to her feet. Grim gets up and jumps on Yusei, who just pets him. "Yeah. You too, boy." Yusei says. Grim gets down and looks up at Sakura, who strokes his head, petting him. Aurora brushes herself up against her and looks up at her, who pets her, acknowledging her. "Mommy!" Says Velvet. Sakura kneels down, as she and Subaru run into her outstretched arms, which turns into an embrace. "We thought we were going to lose you too, Mother." Subaru says. "I told you everything was going to be alright." Says Sakura. "Yusei." Crow says. He points. "Look at that." Says Crow.
In the distance, there's a dome of light, like an explosion, but quiet, scaling down out of existence. Through the mist, they can see people standing in the middle of the wasteland where the light was. They look like Satellites, and they look lost and disoriented. "Huh? What happened to us?" "I remember being surrounded by a black fog."
"Who are they?" Ushio asks. "They're… I know! By defeating Kiryu's Earthbound Immortal, the captured souls have returned!" Says Crow. "Whoa! That's awesome!" Lua says. "You did it, Yusei. Says Crow. "Yeah." Yusei says. He and Crow bump fists, sideways not head-on. Then, Sakura turns serious. "However, it's too early to celebrate. In order to close the gates to the underworld, we have to create two more seals. And there are still three Dark Signers remaining." Says Sakura.
A small, purple-glowing spider suddenly drifts through the air and lands on Ushio's neck. Oblivious, he scratches there. "What's wrong?" Lua asks. "Huh?" Asks Ushio. He suddenly gets a vacant expression on his face, a zoned-out zombie.
That's when Crow, Sakura and Yusei notice. "What's wrong, Ushio?" Crow asks. "Huh?" Asks Yusei.
A gleaming purple spider mark appears on Ushio's right arm, though, he still just stands there.
"Hm? Everyone, get back!" Sakura says.
Crow, Yusei and Usagi step back a few feet, and both sets of young twins hurry to stand over near her. "What's going on?" Asks Crow. "Ushio?" Sakura asks.
Ushio finally speaks, with Rudger's voice. "Yusei, you finally defeated Kiryu."
"Are you Rudger?" Asks Yusei.
"Huh." Ushio turns to look Sakura in the eye, he has an uncharacteristically evil look on his face. "I'm your next opponent, Sakura. If you want to battle me, come to the old Moment."
"What?" Asks Sakura. Grim and Aurora are standing at either side of her, their teeth bared and growling at Ushio.
The spider drops to the ground and vanishes.
Ushio staggers, confused, but himself again. Everyone is somber and resolved, staring at him like he's their next epic battle. "What's wrong?" Ushio asks. "What will you do, Sakura? It could be a trap." Says Crow. "Even if it is a trap, I have to battle him. If I defeat his Earthbound Immortal, Martha, Rally and the other missing people will return." Sakura says. "Martha…" Says Ushio. "I'm going to the old Moment in order to finish things with my father!" Sakura says. Her irises flash in bright red, briefly, at her resolve.
Aerial of the City. Angela, reporter for WDGK, Neo Domino's biggest and most trusted news source, is reporting from the scene. She speaks in her same professional tone, but her voice betrays a hint of frantic fear underneath it. "This is the main street in Neo Domino City's west fifth district. Martial law has been declared in Neo Domino City. Mysterious geoglyphs appeared, and several hundred citizens have disappeared. I don't see any other people on this main street." Says Angela.
Jaeger's watching her report on a television screen in one of the many offices with screens in Godwin's headquarters building. "Several days have passed since the incident, but there has been no announcement from the Public Maintenance Department. This leaves the people feeling uneasy." Angela says, via-screen. Jaeger smirks and clicks off the TV. "Hmhmhmhm." Jaeger laughs. "Despite what she says, it's impossible to explain this phenomenon to regular people." Jaeger thinks to himself. He walks over to a gadget on the wall, that appears to be some sort of control panel or data display. Behind it is a secret door, and it slides open for Jaeger with a whoosh. He walks into a small, dark box, the wall covered with metal and a screen appears on the wall. Jaeger walks to the screen, and a silhouetted figure speaks to him. "Did Rex already leave?" Jaeger's rubbing his hands together, with quiet glee. "Yes, just a little while ago." Says Jaeger. "Then I'll believe in them. We've been waiting for almost twenty years for the brothers to turn the page in this world's history." "It is exactly as you say. Mmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhmhm!" Jaeger says.
Two aircrafts, with helicopter rotors on their undersides, are landing beside the huge crater, the edge of the Old Moment.
In no time at all, Godwin's striding toward the crater, as armed Security troops stand at attention beside one of the aircrafts. He pulls out a remote control and presses a single button.
Out of the ground appears a building with a door in the side, an entrance.
The troops look like they're trying not to be scared that they have no idea what's going on, or if their Director-General is some sort of evil super genius. And they get to follow him who knows where.
Godwin looks back at them. "Commander, this is far enough. You can leave." Says Godwin, somberly.
The only soldier with no visor on his helmet steps forward and answers him. "But Director, never-before-seen phenomenons are occurring in Neo Domino City. Our job is to protect you, even if it costs us our lives."
"I see. But I don't think your weapons will work against the person I'm meeting." Godwin says.
He's referring to the shiny two-handed guns cradled by many of the Security troops. The commander nods, appearing unfazed and maybe even intrigued, he's game.
Down the elevator and into the dark ruins of the old Moment. Each Security soldier has a flashlight out, as they walk down the empty corridor, two in front of Godwin and two more behind.
The door explodes from its hinges and several troops run into the room under the cover of the dust, leveling their guns at the table with the candelabra casting the only light in the room. The commander steps to the front of the line and addresses Rudger. "We now control this area."
"Congratulations on making it this far, Rex. But who are these uncultured people?" Asks Rudger.
Godwin steps forward, ahead of the troops. "This is their job." Godwin says.
"I see, but we're going to have a complex conversation. I want the two of us to be alone." Says Rudger. His eyes glow purple.
The soldiers are suddenly standing in the shadow of a massive spider. The commander steps back and points. "Fire!" The soldiers pour rounds of little sparks, lasers or bullets, into the thing, to no avail. The commander and the two men on either side of him find their arms pinned to their sides with thick webs, and those same rope-like webs seem to incapacitate them, forcing them to the ground unconscious or dead. In seconds, the entire team of Security troops is on the floor, each one unconscious and wrapped in webs.
Godwin doesn't move.
"Now no one will interfere." Rudger says.
"I made a promise, big brother. I live in order to keep that promise. I hid my social status, threw away my own future and became Director of the Public Maintenance Department. I even divorced my beloved wife, kept my precious daughter at a distance, paid a low-life woman to be a surrogate for my test tube baby, and then used her for experimental purposes." Says Godwin.
"My younger brother Rex, I've never forgotten the promise I made back then." Rudger says. He throws off his cloak, his bare arms are heavily-muscled, and the strange purple skin patches run all the way up his right shoulder and are established on the right side of his face. "Seventeen years ago, I opened Pandora's Box." Says Rudger. He pulls off his left glove and his hand from the elbow down is made of metal. "Along with my left arm, I entrusted you with my final hope. My own daughter, my one and only child. My body won't survive much longer. But before I die, there are the Signers led by the Crimson Dragon and the Dark Signers led by the evil god of the underworld. I have to see with my own eyes which is the creator and which is the god of destruction. The destiny from seventeen years ago still lives today. Professor Fudo's spirit still lives inside his son Yusei Fudo. However, it is Sakura, my daughter, who holds a tremendous burden." Rudger says.
"She's a Signer, as well as the Crimson Dragon's host body. A fate that acts as a double-edged sword." Says Godwin.
"Hm, sounds to me like someone's trying to protect his niece. Do you care for Sakura that much, Rex?" Rudger asks.
"Well, I guess one of us has to. I do have to admit, I have grown quite fond of her, Rudger. She embodies her mother's spirit. I knew it was her the moment I first saw her two years ago. That's the main reason why I wanted her brought to Neo Domino City, but given the circumstances that happened, it took some time to find her again. Then when I finally met her over a year ago, I knew it was her, even though she was hiding under the alias Sakiko Kuro. Aside from her eyes, she looks so much like her mother, she doesn't even have any of your physical traits. However, Sakura's personality is a mixture of you and Keiko. I looked out for her and sort of took care of her for over a year now, not that you seem to care." Says Rex.
"Actually, I do. And I'm grateful for what you did for her. But, her and I are never meant to co-exist. I knew I wasn't ready to be a father. That's why when I found out about Keiko's pregnancy, despite whether they were either mine or Hakase's, I decided to give up my rights to him. I still remember the night at the hospital eighteen years ago, I remember when the paternity test revealed that she was mine and when I held her in my arms for the first and only time. I've lived with that memory for the past eighteen years, it was the only time I truly wanted to protect something, but I knew she wouldn't be safe with me. And seeing her now, she reminds me so much of Keiko. Sakura's grown into quite a lovely young woman, she's beautiful like her mother was. Believe me, knowing you're a father isn't the same as being one. So many times, I wanted to go to her and be a father to her. But every time, I was reminded of the darkness that lived inside of me and I feared that it would do something to hurt her. So, I stopped trying to be her father and gave up altogether. I did it out of the love I felt towards her being my daughter. And yet, everything I did has failed. Sakura became a Signer, she was chosen to be the Crimson Dragon's Host. And now, I must duel and defeat the daughter I tried so hard to keep safe and out of this whole ordeal. If that is what ends up happening, then I suppose we must respect fate's will. Rex. If I'm defeated, follow that destiny." Rudger says. He puts on his duel disk and activates it.
"Brother, I've continued to think for the past seventeen years and came to one conclusion. It's a new possibility that even you don't know about." Says Godwin, uncertainly.
"A new possibility?" Rudger asks.
"You will now witness it." Says Godwin. He holds out his left arm and a duel disk unfolds from his mechanical prosthetic arm, bursting his sleeve. Yes, Godwin's arm is a built-in duel disk.
Sakura, with Usagi sitting behind her, holding onto her around the waist, Yusei and Crow's D-Wheels draw three parallel lines of dust through the streets of Satellite, with Ushio and both sets of young twins following in their jeep. They're approaching the massive crater.
"There it is!" Lua says. "The Moment that Yusei's father created is located there." Says Luca. "Moment caused Zero Reverse, and City and Satellite were split apart. That's also when Yusei's dad died." Ushio says. Luca whimpers. "What's wrong, Luca?" Asks Lua. "I sense terrifying power coming from that place." Luca says. "Luca, it's fine. I'll protect you." Says Lua. Luca nods, uncertainly.
A short while later. "It's huge!" Lua says. They're standing at the lip of the huge, dark hole in the ground. "It's like a crater created by a meteor." Says Luca. "We're finally here." Crow says. "Yes. Lets go!" Says Sakura. "'All right!" Crow says. Sakura extends her hands out in front of herself and down to the ground. "Grim, my faithful familiar. Aurora, my loyal guardian spirit. Come forth." Says Sakura.
Wisps of shadowy mist suddenly emerge from her shadow and Grim soon takes form, standing alongside her, with his unnaturally long tail being the last thing to form.
Weaves of mystical fire warp around Sakura and as the flames disperse, Aurora takes form at her side, standing opposite of him, with all nine of her tails being the last things to appear from the divine flames. Grim suddenly wraps his tail around Subaru and places him on his back, while she grips at Velvet's hood and picks her up with her teeth, placing her on her back.
Sakura soon leads the way down the metal staircase that leads into the pit, with Grim and Aurora, having Subaru and Velvet riding on their backs, respectively, following at her heels.
Luca follows.
Then Lua.
Then Yusei.
Then Ushio.
Crow's about to climb after them, then he sees that Usagi has walked away from the group. "Huh?" Crow asks. He jogs over to where she's standing, several feet away from the pit and tops a hill. "Hey, Usagi. What's going on?" Asks Crow. Usagi just points and he follows what she's gesturing at, seeing Godwin's aircraft waiting below. "That's…" Crow says. He sees the logos on the aircraft. "Public Maintenance Department?" Asks Crow. "He's here." Usagi says, entranced. She walks forward, very much in some sort of trance.
"Usagi, wait up." Says Crow. He notices the building with the secret entrance to the reactor complex, where Usagi's heading towards.
Crow, following after her, edges around the side of the building, wary, and approaches the big door. There's a plinth against the wall to the right of them, Usagi puts her palm on the big red button and the door slides open, one layer up and the next apart at the center, revealing a big elevator. Crow runs over to the center of the doorway, and then grins, mischievously. "I'll follow her and check it out." Crow thinks to himself.
Meanwhile. Sakura, Yusei, with Grim and Aurora, carrying Subaru and Velvet on their backs, respectively, keeping pace at his heels, Luca, Lua and Ushio dash down the stairs, and finally come to a bridge. Sakura hesitates, then steps onto it.
As soon as she does, she braces, she knew it.
Across the slung bridge, in the doorway, Rudger appears, once more hooded in his Dark Signer cowl.
Luca, Lua, Yusei, with Grim and Aurora at either side of him, carrying their respective young twin on their backs, and Ushio join Sakura on the landing before the bridge. "Sakura!" Lua says. "Mommy!" Says Velvet.
"Stay back!" Sakura says.
Luca, Lua and Ushio stand closer together, ready for anything. Grim encircles his unnaturally long tail around Subaru and places him down on the ground, gently. He then moves to step up and join his mistress at her side.
"You too, Grim! Aurora, as well!" Says Sakura.
Grim stops and stays back, standing next to Yusei, while Aurora stands opposite of him.
Rudger walks out onto the bridge, chortling. "Heheheheheh. You're here, Sakura. And Yusei, you sent your former friend and your sister's rapist plunging into the depths of hell." Rudger says.
"You're wrong!" Says Yusei. He pauses, slightly regretful, then throws the feeling away with a motion of his arm. "There shouldn't have been any hate between me, Sakura and Kiryu!" Yusei says.
"The Dark Signers took advantage of our misunderstanding!" Says Sakura.
"Misunderstanding? There was no misunderstanding. It was fate." Rudger says. He pulls back his hood. "You half-twins and Kiryu were destined to risk your lives and hate each other. Your hate, sadness and pain created sparks, spinning Moment towards destruction! Just like me and Professor Fudo!" Says Rudger.
"What?" Yusei asks.
"Hmhmhahahahaha!" Rudger laughs. He pulls a chain nested in the fake arm that holds his duel disk, the spire heard of before in the Moment complex explodes, and multicolored fire, the light of a duel energy reactor, pours from it.
The ground rumbles, Crow grabs Usagi and a stair rail to keep them from flying off of them. "Auaaagh! What was that?" Asks Crow. Usagi's face is unchanged, she's still very much entranced.
Multicolored energy is now spiraling from below the duel, around the edges of the cavern, lighting up the spectators' faces. "It's beautiful." Luca says. "This is Moment's light." Says Lua. It really is quite beautiful, a double helix of light swirling out of the bottom of the cavern.
Sakura, though, is unsettled, not trusting Rudger one bit. "What is this?" Sakura asks.
"Can you see it, Sakura? This is the gateway to a new possibility that Professor Fudo and I discovered seventeen years ago. The power to change this world is on the other side of the light. Before long, this light will flow in and completely fill this world." Says Rudger.
"Even if that causes many casualties?" Sakura asks.
Flashback. Martha falls as though in slow motion, arms spread and gowns fluttering like an angel in reddish-brown, glowing blue around the edges. As she falls, she turns into a purple sphere of light.
Rally gazes up at Yusei, smiling through exhaustion, as he begins to turn gray, then vanishes as though made only of dust or smoke. The flashback ends.
Back to the present. "Father, I shall never forgive you for what you have done!" Says Sakura.
Yusei nods, as though in agreement. Subaru and Velvet are clinging to him, their eyes are smoldering. Grim and Aurora's eyes are fixed on Rudger, as their furs stand on edge.
Rudger, face uplit by Moment below, appears somewhat insane. "When facing a new possibility, it's inevitable that there will be some casualties." Rudger says.
"Some?" Asks Sakura.
"Sakura, humans are tiny creatures that live in a wide expanse known as destiny. Against destiny, individual lives vanish like trash. Sakura, look at this beautiful light. This light is destiny itself. This light is alive. My destiny engulfed Professor Fudo's destiny and gave me life!" Rudger says.
"You're insane! I won't let you do whatever you want!" Says Sakura.
"I'll bury you in this light. Bring it, Sakura!" Rudger says.
Both slot their decks, the father-daughter duel is on.
"Sakura!" Says both Lua and Luca. "Mommy!" Velvet says. "Be careful, Mother!" Says Subaru.
Sakura's sign, additional markings, symbolic designs and Seal of the Crimson Dragon all begin to glow, one by one. The red gradation half of her raven black hair starts flaring in fiery red light. Sakura closes her eyes and when she opens them, her irises have begun to flare in bright red, while her scleras have faded to black, with glowing red veins across her eyes.
Rudger's sign follows suit. He brandishes his spider sign, and it shines brighter. "Ha!" Rudger says.
Outside the crater, the sky has grown dark, and the light from below the duel shines from the crater, like a gigantic flashlight. Purple flames zigzag across the landscape, creating the mark of the spider, with the crater at its center.
Sakura and Rudger are standing above the unearthly glow of Moment on a bridge made of wire.
She brandishes her mark of the dragon.
While Rudger holds up his mark of the spider.
"Duel!" Says both Sakura and Rudger. Both draw five cards in an eye blink, and begin with 4000 life points.
"My turn." Rudger says. He draws. "I was looking forward to dueling you. Now show me your power! I set one card and end my turn." Says Rudger.
"All he did was set one card. Is he taking her lightly?" Yusei asks.
"My turn." Says Sakura. She draws, swiftly. "He only has one set card on his field. Is he trying to lure me in? However, no matter what awaits me, all I can do is attack!" Sakura thinks to herself. "I can Special Summon this card by sending a monster in my hand to the graveyard. I send Boom Bloom to the graveyard to Special Summon Déjà Vu!" Sakura says.
Déjà Vu has 900 attack points and is a Level 5 monster. "Then the effect of the Boom Bloom that I sent to the graveyard activates! When this card is in the graveyard, I can Special Summon it by lowering the Level of one Level Five-or-above monster on the field by one!" Says Sakura. Déjà Vu's Level lowers to 4.
Boom Bloom has 800 attack points and is a Level 1 monster. "Déjà Vu can be substituted for a Tuner that's of the opposite element." Sakura says. Déjà Vu positions her staff and takes aim, blasting Hex's card. "Level Four Déjà Vu tunes Level One Boom Bloom!" Says Sakura.
Déjà Vu dissipates into her four stars, and the stars weave four parallel rings around Boom Bloom, who disappears, leaving only its single star in its place.
"The energy of the stars shine as one to bring forth a new power! Become the light that emerges from the darkness! Synchro Summon! Come forth, Ninjini!" Sakura says.
Ninjini has 2500 attack points and is a Level 5 monster. "Go, Ninjini! Attack him directly! Wishblades!" Says Sakura.
Rudger holds up his duel disk like a shield, catching the blow on it and holding his ground, being pushed backward by inches skidded on the ground. Ninjini breaks off the attack and soars away, as he loses over half of his life points and they drop to 1700 without so much as a flinch.
"All right!" Ushio says. "She did it! Sakura got the first hit in!" Says Lua.
"At this moment, my trap activates! 'Wolf in Sheep's Clothing'! When I take damage from your monster's direct attack, I get to Special Summon a Level One monster from my hand… and also Special Summon a monster with the same name from my deck!" Rudger says.
The Dark Spider's have 0 attack points and are Level One monsters.
"I set one card and end my turn." Says Sakura.
"Ha! They have zero attack points! He has no skills!" Lua says. "You're wrong. He hasn't made a single pointless move." Says Velvet. "That's because he has everything he needs to bring out his most powerful card." Subaru says. "Huh?" Asks Lua. They turn back to the duel, anxiously. "Dark Signers have a terrifying card that can instantly change the course of battle. He has two monsters right now that he can release." Says Yusei. "I can sense it. All of you, don't leave either mine or Yusei's side!" Luca says. "You mean an Earthbound Immortal is going to appear?" Asks Lua.
"My turn! I activate the Field Spell 'Spider Web' from my hand!" Rudger says.
"It's coming!" Sakura thinks to herself.
As the lights continue to swirl, tendrils of the light creep up the sides of the metal cylinder in which they're contained and onto the walls of the cavern, like myriad cracks in the walls or a mural of a multicolored lightning-storm.
Lua and Luca cling to Ushio, while Velvet and Subaru do the same with Yusei, frightened. "What is it?" Asks Lua.
The tendrils of light grow too high above them, and form into a domed spider web above the duel.
"Sakura, you can no longer escape from this spider web. I release two Dark Spiders! Dead spirits that hide inside my light of destiny, give me your power to bring true darkness to this changing world!" Rudger says.
The light below them flares brighter, and the lights zip around the bridge.
"What is this?" Asks Sakura.
Ushio and Yusei hug their respective twins close, determined to protect them, all seven look terrified in their own ways. "Ohhh." Luca says. Grim and Aurora start growling, as their furs stand on edge.
"Hahahahahahahaha! Appear, Earthbound Immortal Uru!" Says Rudger.
The floating stone that heralds the summoning of an Earthbound Immortal appears in the air above them. High above the duel, the clouds are rolling in dark spirals, and some of the darkness in the clouds stream downward, funneling into the crater and twining around the geoglyph, seeping in through its pulsing cracks. It explodes, the purple light from above outshining even the multicolored from below.
Sakura shields her face, then looks up when the light stops.
Insect legs burst through the walls of the chasm in a fiery purple glow, followed by a body, Earthbound Immortal Uru is bracing its legs on either side of the chasm, purple flames at its feet, staring down at them. Earthbound Immortal Uru has 3000 attack points and is a Level 10 monster.
Subaru, Velvet, Yusei and Grim, and Aurora, Lua, Luca and Ushio are now standing in their respective bubbles of bright red light. "Earthbound Immortal appeared!" Ushio says.
For a moment, it appears that Sakura, too, is in a bubble of red light.
Only to realize the red bubble is an eye, in which her image is reflected, one of ten glowing red eyes.
"Damn!" Says Sakura.
"When there's a Field Spell, Earthbound Immortal can attack you directly. Go, Earthbound Immortal Uru! Attack Sakura directly! Hell Thread!" Rudger says.
A dozen webs shoot toward Sakura.
"Ah!" Both sets of young twins scream. "Sakura!" Says Lua. "Mother!" Subaru says.
"I activate my trap 'Magic Barrier'!" Says Sakura. Ninjini gets in front of the blast, and blocks the attack with her katanas, absorbing the attack.
"What?" Rudger asks.
"With 'Magic Barrier', by releasing one Synchro Monster on the field, I can make battle damage become zero this turn!" Says Sakura.
"Hmhmhm! You somehow managed to survive the attack. I set two cards. I activate this spell card. The Continuous Spell 'Destiny Activator'! When this card activates, I send the top card on my deck to the graveyard. If the card you draw from now on is the same type as this card, your life points are halved." Rudger says.
"Rrgh." Sakura growls under her breath.
"The card I sent to the graveyard was a monster card! Now it's your turn! The card you draw next will affect your destiny!" Says Rudger.
"My turn!" Sakura says. She draws and flips the card. "It's a trap card." Says Sakura.
"Hahaha! You're lucky." Rudger says.
Lua and Subaru both breathe sighs of relief. "She can't let her guard down yet. How is Sakura planning to battle against Earthbound Immortal?" Yusei thinks to himself.
"I summon Stealth Elf!" Says Sakura.
Stealth Elf has 1100 attack points and is a Level 2 monster. "Earthbound Immortal is a deceptive monster that can't be the target of attack. He has one thousand seven hundred life points remaining. In that case..." Sakura thinks to herself. "I activate Stealth Elf's effect! On the turn that she's successfully summoned, her attack points are doubled!" Sakura says. Total of 2200 attack points. "Go, Stealth Elf! Attack my father directly!" Says Sakura.
"All right! If this attack succeeds, Sakura wins!" Ushio says.
"Not good enough, Sakura! I activate my Continuous Trap! 'Roar of the Earthbound'! Your attacking monster is destroyed, and you take damage equal to half its attack points!" Says Rudger.
"Rrrgh!" Sakura growls under her breath.
As Stealth Elf slashes at Rudger's life points, Uru blasts her out of the air with a gust of wind.
Sakura's down to 3100 life points. "I set one card and end my turn." Sakura says.
"My turn." Says Rudger. He draws. "Can you keep dodging Earthbound Immortal's attacks, Sakura? Go, Uru! Attack my daughter directly! Hell Thread!" Says Rudger.
"I activate my trap 'Dark Spirit Force'! For one time only, the battle damage I take becomes zero. Then I can add one monster in my graveyard with one thousand five hundred-or-fewer defense points to my hand!" Sakura says.
"Sakura, it looks like this is the end." Says Rudger.
"What?" Sakura asks.
"My Counter Trap 'Earthbound Wave'! It negates one of your spell or trap card's activation and effect!" Says Roman.
"Oh no! Aaaah!" Sakura says. Before she can so much as brace herself, Uru's attack hits, striking her with webs, she flies backward and lands on her back further up the bridge. Sakura curls up and winces, momentarily floored and in a lot of pain. She's down to 100 life points.
"Sakura!" Says both Lua and Luca. "Mommy!" Velvet says. "Mother, no!" Says Subaru. "Sakura!" Ushio says. "Sis!" Says Yusei. Grim and Aurora growl, deeply.
Sakura's still on the ground, wincing.
"Sakura, I'll soon send you into the light where your stepfather rests." Rudger says.
Sakura looks over her shoulder, up at him. She's not beaten, but she's scared.
"Hahahahah, ahahahahahahaha!" Rudger laughs.