Chapter 45: You Show's Defence! The Last Signer!
Crow looked around as he drove through Acatopia's streets on his D-Wheel. "Quaint little town," he observed. "Kinda rustic,"
If there was one thing it wasn't, though, it was lively. The place was like a well-maintained ghost town. "Where is everyone?" the orange-haired boy demanded.
Finally, he spotted a young-looking boy dash between buildings. "Hey, you!" Crow shouted, gunning his D-Wheel's engine and speeding down the alleyway to find him.
Within a minute, he was looming over the boy, dressed in a red blazer with a white suit underneath. He had buried his face in his hands, and, as he spotted Crow staring down at him, the boy begged, "Please, don't hurt me! I'll be good, I swear! Don't turn me into a card!"
"Whoa, slow down, kid. Who said anything about being turned into a card?" Crow asked.
"We did!" a trio of voices chorused in unison from behind him. Crow righted himself and turned to face the challengers, seeing a trio of similarly dressed, but older, teenagers. "We're the Juvenile Officers, official troops in service to Academia! It's our job to track down and punish any student who escapes from Academia, to ensure a bad example can't be set! So stand aside, pedestrian, and let us do our jobs!"
Crow's jaw tightened at the mention of Academia. "Who the hell are you calling a pedestrian?" he demanded, revving up his D-Wheel and speeding a ways down the road, before screeching into a U-turn and charging towards the Juvenile Officers. "Riding Duel; Acceleration!" he challenged, activating the Duel mode.
One of the officers scratched his head in confusion. "Is that pedestrian going to try to Duel us on a motorbike?" he blinked. The three armed their own Duel Disks, stepping back as Crow parked between the troops and their quarry.
"I'll take the first move!" the man declared, drawing his hand. "I Summon Blackwing - Pinaki the Waxing Moon!" A cartoonish bird with a bow and 1200 ATK appeared on the field. "While I control a Blackwing, I can Special Summon Blackwing - Kris the Crack of Dawn from my hand!" he declared, following though with another monster, unarmed but clad in an oriental gown, with 1900 ATK. "Now, I'll Tune my Level 3 Tuner monster Pinaki to my Level 4 Kris!" he declared, bringing his monsters together in a pillar of Synchro energy. "Spread your jet-black wings and soar in tandem with the roaring thunder! Synchro Summon! Cut through the lightning! Cascade, Assault Blackwing - Raikiri the Rain Shower!" His semi-cybernetic ace appeared with a fearsome bellow and 2600 ATK. "I Set a card and end my turn," Crow grinned.
"Whoa," the boy he was protecting gasped.
"Very impressive," the first grunt said, taking his turn. "I Normal Summon Armoredog Cannon Boxer from my hand," he declared, bringing forth a mechanical mutt with 1400 ATK. "When Cannon Boxer is Summoned, I can Summon an Armoredog with a lower level from my hand. Come, Armoredog Bull Copter!" A second metal canine monster, lifted into the air by helicopter blades, appeared and growled. 600 AKT. "When Bull Copter is Summoned, I can add a 'Polymerization' from my Deck to my He hand," the grunt grinned, taking the card from his Deck. "Now, I play Polymerization, and fuse together my Armoredogs! Rise, Fullarmoredog Bull Fortress!" A new monster, chrome grey and more powerful than it's predecessors, appeared and howled. "I activate Bull Fortress' effect! I can discard any number of Polymerization or Fusion cards from my hand, and he'll gain 1000 ATK for each! I'll discard Fusion Recovery and Ancient Gear Chaos Fusion!" he declared, relieving himself of tow of his hand's remaining cards, an dincreasing his monster's ATK to 4000. "Now, Bull Fortress! Attack that bird!"
Nothing happened.
"No one can attack on their first move in a Tag Duel, dumbass," his teammate reminded him, and he sighed, nodding. "Fine, turn end,"
"My turn!" the grunt opposite him cheered.
Crow watched, dumbfounded, as he proceeded to completely replicate his partner's moves, right down to discarding Fusion Recovery and Ancient Gear Chaos Fusion to boost his own Bull Fortress to 4000 ATK. "I'll end my turn here," he grinned, his field a mirror of his teammate's.
"My turn," the third, leading grunt, decided.
"Let me guess. Summon Cannon Boxer, then Bull Copter, search Polymerization and fuse into Bull Fortress?" the Synchronian asked.
The man paused, and groaned. "This is why we should use different Decks," he huffed, performing the appropriate procedures without saying anything, and ending his turn.
"My move!" a new voice shrieked, as a cloaked figure appeared from the alleyway, arming their Duel Disk and entering the fight. "Intrusion Penalty; 2000 LP," their Duel Disk blared.
"I play my Spell, Machine Angel Ritual! By Tributing Cyber Angels Benten and Idaten in my hand, I Ritual Summon!" the figure declared. "Angel of light with unrivalled power! Come forth to this dark world and shine your light upon all creation! Descend! Level 10! Cyber Angel - Vishnu!"
A great dais appeared, with a pentagram surrounding it. Slowly, a slender figure with a massive cape and a great golden gear on her back, wielding 3000 ATK, appeared.
"Cyber Angel - Vishnu's effect! I can destroy all monsters on the field that were Special Summoned form the Extra Deck, and inflict damage to my opponents equal to that number times 1000!" she declared, and the three Bull Fortresses, along with Raikiri the Rain Shower, were swept up into a pillar of light, which pulsed into the three Academia troops. Crow braced himself, expecting the same fate, but was surprised when his Duel Disk beeped, signifying victory.
In the background, the floored troops moaned, as the stranger pulled their cloak off and turned to Crow.
"You looked like you needed a little help, so I figured I should step in," Alexis Rhodes smiled. "Still, thanks for looking out for that kid. Most people would just look away and keep walking,"
"I'm new around here," Crow responded. He turned to the boy he had been sheltering. "You okay, kid?" The younger boy silently nodded.
"Let's get the two of you back to You Show. We can talk there. I'm guessing you're from another dimension?" the Ritual Duelist asked.
The orange-haired boy nodded. "Synchro Dimension. I take it this is Fusion?"
"Yup. Me and everyone else at You Show are the closest thing to a rebellion against Academia in Fusion. If you're not with them, your best bet is with us," Asuka told him.
"Gotcha. Get on," Crow offered, patting the seat behind him.
A nervous expression crossed the woman's face. "Uh, sure," she stammered, taking a seat behind the boy and coaxing the runaway to join her. "Where to?" the Synchronian asked.
"See the mountain over there? Head there, and we'll go from there," Asuka commanded, and, with a nod, Crow sped away.
He noticed that Asuka was clinging to his waist surprisingly tightly, and smiled ruefully. Tourists.
X
As soon as she leap off the motorbike with undue haste, Asuka regained her confidence. She guided him to a hidden door in the side of the mountain and opened it, revealing a set of stairs.
"Stairs? Don't you have a ramp or something?" Crow asked.
Asuka shrugged apologetically. "You might have to leave your bike outside,"
The Commons huffed. "Screw that. Stand aside," he commanded, gunning the engine. Correctly guessing his intentions, Asuka leapt aside in a panic as he roared down the stairs, the reinforced rubber tyres of his D-Wheel sliding down the stairs effortlessly.
"Is everyone in the Synchro Dimension insane?" Asuka demanded, as she and their rescue rushed after them.
"Nope. But none of us would ever leave our bikes behind," Crow grinned, carefully leaning the D-Wheel against a wall, out of the way, and starting to walk down the corridor. "So, this is You Show Duel School?"
"Yes, presided over by a good friend of mine. Come on, I'll take you to meet him," Asuka declared.
It wasn't long before they were sitting in an office, and Crow was staring at a tall, strapping, tanned man with spiky black hair, wearing a red suit, a purple bow tie and a tall, black top hat.
"Don't tell me; you know me somehow too," Yusho Sakaki deadpanned.
"Sorry, but I can't say I do," Crow admitted.
"Well, that's a refreshing change," the man chuckled. "I am Yusho Sakaki, the Headmaster of You Show Duel School,"
"Crow Hogan. So, you named the place after yourself?" the boy asked, folding his arms.
Yusho's eyes widened, and he chuckled. "Most people don't get that at first, well done,"
Crow paused, coming to a realisation. "Wait, Sakaki? Are you related to Yuya Sakaki?" he asked in surprise.
"Yuya?" The man's eyes widened, and he leaned forwards. "You know my son?"
The Signer shrugged, scratching his neck awkwardly. "I wouldn't say I know him. I rescued him and his friends from Security, we met a few times after that, y'now. I'd call him a friend, but I can't say I know him,"
"How is he?" Yusho demanded.
"Your son was largely responsible for saving my home city from a rebellion that would have otherwise plunged it into chaos," Crow informed him, and grinned. "Kid's amazing,"
Yusho smiled at that, nodding to himself. "I always knew my boy would be a shining star," he agreed with a smile. "Now, how did you come to be here? Asuka tells me that you're from Synchro Dimension,"
The orange-haired criminal shrugged, admitting "I'm still not sure about that one. There was a voice in my head, some kind of brand on my arm," As he spoke, he fished out Stardust Chronicle Spark Dragon from his Duel Disk, "Magic dragon cards in my Duel Disk, and next thing I know me and my bike are in the middle of the ocean and washing up here,"
Yusho looked at him in surprise. "Okay, that's a new one on me," he admitted, inspecting the golden dragon card. "Pretty cool dragon, though," he nodded, handing the card back, and Crow returned it to his Duel Disk.
"Well, I don't think we have too much to talk about. Take a look around, get settled in. The best of luck to you in Fusion Dimension, Crow Hogan," the man smiled.
"Seems to have treated you well," Crow nodded, rising. "Don't suppose you have a Riding Duel arena here?"
Yusho rose from his own chair, revealing that he walked with a limp and carefully grasped his cane. "I can't say that I do, sorry," he admitted, guiding the younger man towards the door.
Asuka suddenly dashed in. "Headmaster! You shouldn't be up in your condition! This is why we got you the chair with the little wheels!" she demanded, dashing around the desk and wheeling out a plush-lined office-style swivel chair with wheels on the bottom.
"We've been over this, Asuka. I can't get around wheeling myself in an office chair," Yusho protested, refusing to sit back down.
Crow watched in amusement as Yusho and his overeager protector grappled over the chair. "So, is this normal, or should I step in?" he curiously asked.
X
The day passed. Crow looked around, and was surprised to find Yuzu Hiragi practicing in one of the rooms.
Which was nothing compared to her surprise at seeing him. "Crow? From the Friendship Cup? What are you doing here?"
"Wish I knew," the boy shrugged. "I'm still not clear on the specifics,"
"Well, it's good to see a familiar face," Yuzu replied. "Were you caught in Jean-Michael's machine too?" she suddenly asked.
"No. it was something else," Crow shook his head. "But let's not talk about that now. What's this place like?"
"It can't compare to the You Show back in Standard," Yuzu admitted. "But this You Show's pretty good too. Come on, I'll show you around,"
The pinkette was true to her word, and before he knew it, Crow was putting his bag near a spare bunk and settling down for bed. He paused, thinking of his three young charges. "I hope they're alright," he murmured.
X
"You asked to see me, Mr. Professor?" Dennis MacField asked, strolling into Leo Akaba's office.
It was one heck of an office, more of a hall than anything. Massive windows showed the stars in the night sky, which raised another question. Why was he being called so late? It must be urgent. The office had easily enough room to hold a Duel. Maybe that was the point?
"Mr. MacField. While I'm not completely certain why you're in such a good mood, given your abysmal recent track record," Leo started, "an opportunity has come for you to redeem yourself. Our spy has successfully infiltrated You Show Duel School, and transmitted the location. Given someone vandalised Yuri's room, and he's busy cleaning up, and Kisara -" he paused and grimaced, thinking of his adoptive daughter's latest tantrum.
Her Goyo cards were currently lying in shreds at the bottom of a garbage can. He left it at that.
"Essentially, you are to take a squad of Obelisk Force warriors and wipe out You Show. Bring its ringleader back alive. Card everyone else," he commanded.
Dennis saluted. "As you wish, Professor,"
"Unless, of course, you find one of the Pieces. But I don't think that's likely. Leave on the ferry tonight, and you'll be there by morning. You are dismissed," the bald man commanded. His student saluted again and turned to leave.
"It's Showtime," Dennis grinned.
X
The next day shone bright and early. Crow was woken by a ruckus among the students. "Something's going on in the main hall," the whispers spread.
The Signer didn't waste time acting. He pushed through the crowd and rapidly made his way to the entrance hall, where he walked in on a standoff.
"Well?" Dennis demanded, looking at the sea of frightened faces. "Where's the big man on campus? Takw me to your leader?"
The students parted, letting the old man, supported by Asuka, through. Crow shoved his way through the others and moved to join them.
"What do you want?" Yusho demanded.
"Why, to eliminate this opposition to Academia. Extra credit, y'now?" Dennis affably smiled. He paused. "Wait. You're Yusho Sakaki! Oh my gosh, I am a huge fan!" the boy declared with a grin. "Don't tell me you're with this rabble?"
Yusho's unimpressed glare was all the answer he needed.
"Aww, that's a shame. But oh well," he armed his Duel Disk. "Let's get to it,"
"Like hell that's gonna happen!" Crow challenged, leaping in front of his friend. "I'm gonna give you one chance to turn around and walk back through that door,"
"As tempting as that offer might be, I'll have to decline. I mean, we can't let all these children get corrupted by his ideas, now can we? They're safer back at Academia, under the watchful eye of the Professor. And if any of them resist, then they can serve the cause another way,"
"By being turned into cards?" Asuka spat. Crow stiffened at this. He looked back, took in the frightened faces of the children under Mr. Sakaki's protection. It was all too easy to imagine Frank, Amanda and Tanner among them.
"Well, of course. Arc-V won't feed itself," Dennis shrugged.
"Shut the hell up!" Crow demanded, arming his Duel Disk. "I won't let you touch a single hair on my kids!" He turned and looked at Yusho and Asuka. "Get everyone out of here, I'm sure there's a back door or something. I'll take care of this clown,"
"Stage magician!" Dennis hotly corrected.
Crow snorted. "What's the difference?"
"I'll show you. My turn! Draw!" the man grinned. "I'll start by Normal Summoning Performage Mirror Conductor!" A pearly mirror with a face appeared with a chuckle and 600 ATK. "Mirror Conductor's effect; I can switch his ATK and DEF, then take 500 damage," Dennis narrated, activating it. The mirror's ATK Changed to 1400, and he loosed a laser blast at his controller.
But the man was prepared. "When an effect is activated that inflicts damage, I can Summon Performage Flame Eater from my hand and reduce the damage to 0!" His black PAC-Man clone appeared, swallowing the laser whole. 1200 ATK. "Plus, when Flame Eater is Summoned, we both take 500 damage,"
"What?" Crow blinked, as rampant flames burnt them both to 3500 LP.
"Now, while I control 2 or more monsters, I can summon Performage Hat Tricker from my hand," Dennis smirked. "Come!" A jester wearing a pair of glasses appeared, growling. 1100 ATK. "And now, I overlay my Hat Tricker and Flame Eater together! The shoe must go on!" he declared, bringing forth a brilliant green and golden Overlay Network. "Artisan of the stage, swoop down from the sky! Xyz Summon! Appear now! Rank 4! Performage Trapeze Magician!" His ace Rank 4 swept down, 2500 ATK and a dazzling smile.
"Xyz Summon," Yusho frowned, raising an eyebrow. Asuka tugged at his free arm. "Sir, we really have to go!"
"No. I have faith in Crow. He won't let us down, and it would do him a disservice to abandon him when he's risking so much for us," Yusho shook his head. Unfortunately, the students Crow was defending didn't share the sentiment, swarming out of the room as fast as they could go.
"I'll end my turn here," Dennis nodded with a sweeping bow as his Mirror Conductor returned to 600 ATK. "Your move,"
"At least Sawatari's melodramatics are funny and entertaining. Yours are pitiful," Crow snorted.
"Don't compare me to that last-rate loser!" Dennis growled.
"I'm not. I said he was better, didn't I?" the Synchronian grinned. "My turn! When I control no monsters, I can Special Summon Blackwing - Gofu the Vague Shadow from my hand! And when he's Summoned with his own effect; I get two Vague Shadow Tokens!" A tiny, maroon bird appeared, flanked by two dull copies, each with 0 ATK. "And now, I'll Summon Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky!" A slim bluebird materialised with a screech and 100 ATK.
"A field of flops? Funny," Dennis chuckled.
"I Tune my Level 5 Gofu to my Level 1 Jetstream and my two Level 1 Tokens!" Crow commanded. Gofu burst into five rings, which superimposed themselves over the other three, each becoming a single star. "Darkened gales, become the wings that soar from resolved hope! Synchro Summon! Soar, Black-Winged Dragon!"
His own ace dragon manifested with a mighty screech and 2800 ATK.
Dennis gulped.
Crow smiled. "Black-Winged Dragon! Attack and destroy Trapeze Magician!"
"Wrong! I activate Performage Mirror Conductor's effect! I can switch your monster's ATK and DEF until the end of the turn! And then, I would take 500 damage but Trapeze Magician prevents that!" Sure enough, the acrobatic Xyz blocked the laser from hitting Dennis, before releasing its holographic hangwire and swinging its pole to meet Black-Winged Dragon, powered down to 1600 ATK.
"Attack Mirror Conductor instead," Crow growled, and his dragon obeyed, destroying the problematic mirror. Trapeze Magician sighed in mock disappointment.
The orange-haired boy blinked, seeing that Dennis' 1000 damage didn't register. "Oh, didn't you get the memo? It isn't jut effect damage that Trapeze Magician blocks. As long as I have him, I never take any damage that's less than or equal to his ATK," Dennis shrugged. "It's a shame, but what are you going to do?"
"So any damage that I could possibly deal him that's less than 2501 won't register?" Crow frowned. "I need some way to deal 3500 damage in one shot," His thoughts turned to his strongest Blackwing. "I guess that might work, but I'll need to use that if I'm gonna get him out," he noted. "But I might need an insurance policy,"
He eyed a spell in his hand. "I activate my Spell, Against the Wind, which lets me return a Blackwing to my hand and take equal to its ATK. I return Jetstream the Blue Sky, and activate Black-Winged Dragon's effect; I negate the effect damage and place a counter on him. He loses 700 ATK for every counter, but by removing that counter, I inflict 700 damage to you!"
"No you don't. Trapeze Magician's effect, remember?" Dennis tapped his nose.
"Well, yeah, but I couldn't let that counter stick around," Crow bashfully shrugged. "Finally, I end my turn!"
"My turn! Draw!" his opponent smiled. "And look what I just got?" he simpered, revealing the card he had just drawn. "Polymerization," Crow recognised it.
"Oh, you know it? Good. I play my spell, Polymerization, and fuse together Performage Stilts Launcher and Performage Fire Dancer in my hand!" the Entertainer commanded, opening a purple Fusion vortex. "Acrobat that freely dances with pain! Merge with the master of fire, and become a new witch that spurs the sky! Fusion Summon! Appear, Level 7! Performage Trapeze Force Witch!"
A new monster, who resembled a female, Fusion counterpart to Trapeze Magician, appeared with a cute smile and 2400 ATK. "Alright! Now that my co-star's here, it's time for your finale! I activate Trapeze Magician's effect; by using an Overlay Unit he can attack twice this turn!"
"What good does that do you?" Crow frowned.
"Watch! Trapeze Magician, attack Black-Winged Dragon!" Dennnis commanded. His monster gladly obeyed. "And now, Force Witch's effect! When another Performage attacks, I can make the opposing monster lose 600 ATK!"
"What?" Crow gasped as his dragon shrank to 2300. "If Black-Winged is destroyed, and they both attack me directly, I'll lose!" he muttered.
"Too right you will! Say goodbye!" Dennis taunted him.
"So it's a good thing that that isn't gonna happen! I activate the effect of my second Blackwing - Jetstream the Blue Sky in my hand! By sending it to the Graveyard, Black-Winged Dragon cannot be destroyed this turn!"
"But you'll still take the damage!" Dennis retorted, slicing away three hundred of Crow's LP. "Again! Trapeze Magician! And Force Witch decreases your ATK once more!"
This time, Crow took 900 damage, leaving Balck-Winged with 1700 ATK. "And Force Witch! Go! Unfortunately, O can't activate her effect again, but that's still another 700 of your LP!"
The boy was down to 1600 LP as Dennis ended his turn and Black-Winged returned to 2800 ATK. "Come on, come on," he gritted his teeth. "All I need is a Tuner. My turn! Draw!"
He drew, and grinned. Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind. "Yes!"
"Oh?" Dennis snorted.
"Watch this!" Crow declared. "I Normal Summon Blackwing - Gale the Whirlwind!" His 1300-ATK Tuner appeared with a shrill screech. "And while I control a Tuner, I can special Summon Magical King Moonstar from my hand!" The dancing jester smiled as it appeared. 900 ATK. "Moonstar's effect!" Crow crowed. "I can target a monster in my grave and make his level become the same as that monster's! By targeting Jetstream, he becomes Level 1!"
The Commojs paused to draw breath, and smiled. "Now, I'll tune my Level 3 Gale to my Level 1 Moonstar and Synchro Summon!" 3 + 1 = 4. "Come forth, Phonon Pulse Dragon," The Level 4 Synchro Tuner growled as menacingly as it could, with a mere 1900 ATK.
"So, what does that thing do and how useless is it?" Dennis asked.
"This! I now tune my Level 4 Phonon Pulse Dragon to my Level 8 Black-Winged Dragon!" Elation lit up Crow's eyes with a savage grin, and he chanted. "Jet-black wings, wield the power of thunder, and resonate through the skies! Synchro Summon! Slash! Assault Blackwing - Onimaru the Divine Thunder!"
With a crash of lightning that echoed through the cavern roof, a tall, avian cyborg with 3000 ATK and a thunderous expression took form, glaring down as its opposition. Crow smiled up at his strongest Blackwing. "Onimaru cannot be targeted or destroyed by card effects, and if he was Synchro Summoned using only Synchro monsters as Material, he gains another effect that I'll use now! Onimaru! Attack Performage Trapeze Magician!"
The Blackwing warrior charged forwards, aiming for the frightened XYZ. "What effect? What are you talking about?" Dennis asked, panicked.
"With the right Summoning Conditions, when Onimaru battles; his ATK Is doubled!" Crow declared. With a roar, Onimaru increased to a mighty 6000 ATK, and the performer paled.
"6000 minus 2500 is 3500. Which is also your current LP value. It's finished," Crow grinned, as Onimaru obliterated its opposition. "You Show Duel School stands!"
Dennis slumped into the waiting arms of his backup, and in a rush, Obelisk Force cleared out. Smiling, the victor turned to Alexis and Mr. Sakaki. "So, whaddya think of Synchro style?"
The blonde was slack-jawed. "Can you teach me how to do that?" she finally asked.
"That will have to wait for later. I've made up my mind," Yusho frowned. "I won't stand for this any longer. I am going to go to Academia and talk sense into my old friend, Leo Akaba," He looked at Alexis, and nodded. "I know you'd never let me go without you . . Crow. I would be honoured if you would accompany us," the entertainer smiled respectfully.
"We're gonna go meet the head honcho of those goons? Sounds good to me," the boy nodded.
Mr. Sakaki smiled. "There's an overnight ferry leaving this evening. Grab your things. By tomorrow, we'll be in Academia,"
A/N
A/N
Hah hah! Perfect! I am so satisfied with this chapter's Duel . . . . which makes me really sad that that means we're back on the hiatus for now. I don't want to lay down any absolutes this time, but I need to understand the entire in-universe situation before getting into the heavy stuff.
Reviews!
dark5523, bleh. You know I play pretty loose with the specifics. Frankly, it's amazing I do as well as I do. XD Take a look at this chapter's Duel; technically Jetstream's effect only works on Blackwings, something that Black-Winged technically isn't. But who cares?
And . . . that's it. :( Peace!