Chapter 46: Dimensional Road Trip! The Dragon's Parasite!
The trip was long. Apparently the Fusion and Xyz Dimensions were 'directly opposite each other', so it took longer to travel between them. And as brilliant as the Different Dimension Airship was, it couldn't teleport.
It gave everyone time to sit and think.
Katie decided to be productive, setting out her Deck on the floor and going over it. "Hey, Shun?" she called. "Can you help me modify my Deck to better accomodate Xyz?" she asked. Shun wordlessly crossed over to her, joining.
Following in her example, Yuya decided it might be worth looking over his own Deck in turn, setting out his cards on one of the Airship's benches. Junior and his black brother manifested on the bench next to him, looking around, and Yuto's metaphysical form slid out of his body, hovering beside him.
Ryuna decided to join him, curious.
"Hey, Flare, you're pretty good with Rank 7, right?" Yuya immediately asked, spotting the Duel Spirit hovering over his shoulder. He held up Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon, Odd-Eyes Absolute Dragon, Red-Eyes Flare Metal Dragon and Number 74: Master of Blades. "Can you help me tweak my Deck so that I can get them out easier?"
She looked over it, and immediately saw the problem. "You only have five Level 7 monsters in your Deck," she pointed out, gesturing to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Odd-Eyes Saber Dragon, Dragondescent Magician, Xiangke Magician and Dragonpit Magician. "Maybe you should try adding a couple more. What happened to that Ritual Monster?"
"Odd-Eyes Gravity Dragon?" Yuya replied, fishing it out of his Duel Disk. "I was only using him while we were in the Crashlands,"
"Well that's stupid," Ryuna shook her head. "Gravity's effect combos well with Absolute, and with all your Deck's search power, you won't have much of a problem getting the Spell if you draw the monster," She paused, reading over the card text of some of the Performapals in Yuya's Deck. "I honestly don't know how you get anywhere with a mess of effects like these," she shrugged.
"They're weird, but they work," the entertainer responded. "But it's not like there's no synergy,"
"Your basic strategy seems to be powering up Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon so that his effect can deal massive amounts of battle damage and win you the Duel in one or two hits. Problem is, you only have one copy of Odd-Eyes in your Deck, and you don't have anything else that really works for that. That Synchro, Enlightenment Paladin, might be a nice alternative with that burn damage effect, if not the the fact that you only have one Tuner in your Deck, and she can't be searched," she reasoned, eyeing Tuning Magician. "I don't suppose there's a Performapal Tuner monster?" Flare wondered, before eyeing his row of Traps. "You've got some good Traps that can be pretty disruptive, negating attacks and searching Performapals, who in turn can search Odd-Eyes. Maybe you should lend some more thought to the stalling power your Deck can offer," she suggested. On a whim, she pulled a pair of cards out of her pouch of spare cards for her Deck, and offered it to her friend. "These might help with both your problems. I used to use them in my Deck, so I've got spares,"
Yuya took the offered cards. Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast, and Draw Muscle. "Thanks. I might have something for you too," he nodded, finding a couple of his own spares, and offering them to her.
"The Phantom Knights of Silent Boots, and Rank-Up-Magic Phantom Knights' Launch?" Flare read.
"I know you only have one Rank-Up-Magic, and Flare Metal and Assault Flare are both DARK, so it should work," Yuya offered. "Yuto doesn't mind you borrowing them,"
She was about to voice an objection, but, after a second's thought, nodded. "Sounds good. Thanks," the Duel Spirit grinned.
"I'm glad those Pendulums my pendant gave you are working out," her friend offered, and she paused, nodding. "Yeah, they have been, huh?" With that, she picked out a nearby station and began setting out her spare cards. Yuya peered over, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"I just realised . . . Ever since I got Pendulums, I've been using them too much. My Duelling style's shifted to the point where I'm reliant on them, and I don't want that," Flare explained. "But I also don't want to change my regular Deck, so I'm gonna use my spares to rebuild and maybe update my old Deck,"
"Good luck," Yuya nodded, turning back to his own Deck. Unseen, Yuto floated away from his host and peered over Ryuna's shoulder, watching her sort through her older monsters. "Wow, there's stuff here I haven't used in ages," she commented, considering Dragon Knight of Creation, Slacker Magician, and Gemini Trap Hole, before adding all to the new Deck. "Oh hey, my Field Spell. Now there's a blast from the past. Heh, literally," she thought aloud, considering Catalyst Field, and adding it to the growing pile. The Duel Spirit paused, considering the two Phantom Knight cards Yuya had given her. "Should I add these in? I don't have any other Rank 8 DARK monsters,"
She sensed a card with the special kind of potential only possessed by Numbers flutter across to the back of her chair. As Ryuna bent to pick it up, she caught Shun's eyes for a second. He nodded, and turned back to Katie.
She picked up the card and read it. "Number 22: Zombiestein. Neat," she nodded, adding it to the Extra Deck pile and moving on.
Yuto shivered. Shun had unintentionally thrown the card straight through him. Returning to his original purpose, he had been wondering if, due to her status as a Duel Spirit, she might be able to see him in a way that the others could not.
Waving his hand in front of her face proved fruitless. So did trying to move her cards, affect her Duel Disk and provide suggestions.
Sighing in defeat, the boy returned to Yuya. "Where'd you go?" his green-haired counterpart asked. "Nothing important," he shook his head. "Are you sure we should remove those Spells?"
"If we're adding more Traps to the Deck, something's gotta give. My Deck's already pretty Spell/Trap light, anyway," Yuya reasoned.
"Maybe Echo Oscillation would help with that?" Yuto suggested, gesturing at a Continuous Trap lying to the side.
X
Kisara hummed to herself as she strolled through Academia's corridors, making her way towards the Doktor's laboratory. "You vs. me, competition for the victory! I can be the best, one day, we'll make history! Activate the Spell, let your powers come to life, it's go time, who will win the fight?"
The song was extremely catchy, and had topped charts in the Standard Dimension. "I am ready to Duel, go ahead and make your mo-ove, dun dun dun dun, I'll win this Duel, you can't beat my move, I'm in that groove, you know I can't lose, your turn, your tricks, now what will you choose? Can you feel the power?!"
The girl interrupted herself, spotting the frail, hunched form of her favourite teacher in the corridor ahead, lugging a box of batteries.
"Oh, Herr Doktor! Let me help you with that!" she squealed, dashing forwards and snatching the box away from the man. White energy trailed around her hands as she lifted it.
"Thank you, Kisara," he smiled at the girl, affectionately ruffling her hair. "I've got a new little project in the works, and I needed an extra Solid Vision router. And those things are blasted heavy, you know?" he shrugged, a wizened cackle escaping his lungs.
"Not to me," Kisara shrugged, effortlessly lifting it and setting off down the corridor. "Wait, you've got a new test subject? Can I watch?" she asked, excited.
"Of course, of course. Anything for my favourite experiment," the Doktor amicably chuckled. "Come along,"
Before long, the two were standing in the Doktor's laboratory. Kisara gazed up at Yugo, strapped to a table with metal restraints and blissfully unconscious.
"Hey, he looks like Yuri," the white-haired girl observed, before gasping. "Don't tell me that he's -"
"Quite astute," the elderly professor smiled. "This is -"
"Ab-bup-bup!" Kisara interrupted. "I said don't tell me. I know that my father would not approve of you trying something like this, and if you were to tell me, I would have to report it to him,"
"I see," he cunningly smiled. "Well then. What if this boy were a relative of Yuri's that originates from the Synchro Dimension? The fact that he owns this would confirm that hypothesis, if he was," he smiled, gesturing to a card laid on a small table. Clear Wing Synchro Dragon.
Kisara was slack-jawed. "Shiny,"
"Oh, I am going to have so much fun with him," the Doktor smiled, connecting several wires to the new reactor, and entering some commands into his computer terminal.
"Where are the others? The girls?" she asked, watching her friend set up his machinery.
"The Professor had them sent to the Mainland, in hopes of intercepting the Lancers," the Doktor shrugged. "Oh, speaking of my other subjects, how have you been feeling?"
"I'm good," Kisara sweetly smiled. "I don't know what your little bug's doing up there, but it helps a lot,"
"Yes, indeed. It was my success with you, you know, that inspired me to develop my Parasites to this extent!" the Doktor crowed.
"So, things were bad before? I," she awkwardly scratched her neck. "I don't actually remember anything from before your little bug got into my brain,"
"Oh, yes," the Doktor nodded. "When your father attempted to invoke a Duel Spirit, it was an astonishing success," He lowered his voice dramatically. "On every front but one,"
X
White lightning crackled through the room. Leo Akaba watched, emotionless, as his colleague, the Doktor, squealed with glee. "Just think, my friend. If this experiment succeeds, if we can successfully pull a Duel Spirit away from the Spirit World and into a Solid Vision body, imagine the extents to which we could take that technology!"
"Indeed," Leo smiled, before massaging his temples. "I just can't help but have a bad feeling that I can't quite place, like some sort of déjà vu,"
The conversation was interrupted as the lightning in the great dome of glass began to coalesce. "Activate the template. Now!" Leo commanded, and obediently, the Doktor took a card from a sample table and slid it into the machine.
"Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Used by the legendary Seto Kaiba himself, this is one of the three originals that have survived to this day," Leo recognised. "This card was very difficult to obtain, but if any Duel Spirit will have the strength to withstand being pulled into the human world, it will be Blue-Eyes White Dragon,"
The Solid Vision system activated, projecting the mighty monster into the dome. The lightning, sensing this new target, flowed into it. Blue eyes shone with unearthly light as the dragon roared.
"The power levels are increasing. I'm not sure we can maintain the drain," the Doktor panicked.
"Increase the output. I don't care if we blow every fuse in Domino, just get that thing all the power it needs!" the bald man commanded.
The Doktor went to obey, but drew up short at the sight of what was happening.
The flickering lights that were a by-product of the radiation within the Solid Vision machinery were being drawn out, the energy being pulled away in a tapering line. "Impossible," Leo's eyes widened, as the Solid Vision system went dark, absorbed by the rampaging monster.
"It's become a singularity. E-endlessly producing enough energy to sustain itself," the Doktor realised in shock.
Their wonder rapidly turned to fear as the dragon's whipping tail smashed into the glass dome. Cracks spiderwebbed throughout the dome as the lightning dimmed, but the self-maintaining monster remained, smashing a hole in the dome. Hungrily, the dragon roared, eyeing the two scientists.
"Cut the power!" Leo commanded, and his colleague pulled the circuit breaker. At once, every light dimmed and died.
Cut off from its constant intake of electricity, Blue-Eyes White Dragon's body flickered with white, before collapsing in on itself and shrinking down, until a naked, preteen human girl with a massive mess of gleaming white hair lay on the floor, unconscious.
"Is it . . alright?" the Doktor asked, peering down at the specimen.
Her eyes shot open, revealing blue irises that shone like spotlights, and she screamed, barking up at the two like a wild animal.
Leo sighed. "Call security. We're going to need to tame that monster,"
"No no, my friend. I think I have a better idea," the Doktor smiled. "There's something I've been working on that might just do the trick,"
X
The first thing that Kisara remembered was opening her eyes to find herself gazing at a wall. "- see, her entire body is a self-contained, biological Solid Vision system. It's a completely unique phenomenon, and really quite fascinating - oh, look, she's awake!" a voice crowed.
"Do you think she can understand us?" another, deeper voice whispered.
"It's hard to say, really. I'm not sure what level of intelligence we can expect at this stage," the first responded.
A face appeared, holding a tiny torch and shining it in her eyes. Her eye twitched, following the moving light. "She's responding to stimuli. That means brain activity," the dark-skinned man reported.
"Are . . are you my father?" she slowly asked.
The face paused in shock, before regaining his composure. "Uh, yes, sure. My name is Leo. Do you know what your name is?"
An image swam in her mind, a tall man with dark brown hair, in some kind of robe, screaming something. What was he saying? . . "K-Kisara," she slowly spluttered.
This obviously wasn't the expected reaction, but the man nodded, a small smile on his lips. "Good morning, Kisara. I'm Leo, Leo Akaba. Do you remember anything?"
She paused, squinting, but the man was gone, without anything to replace him. "N-no," Kisara responded.
Leo smiled. "Good. There are some things that should be forgotten," He gently stroked her hair. "Don't worry, everything's alright,"
"Here. She should keep this with her," the other voice interrupted, handing her father a card. Leo promptly offered it to her. "Now, it's very important that you keep this with you at all times, okay?"
Kisara weakly nodded, taking the card and casting it a glance. It read, "Parasite Progenitor".
X
"It's that parasite you put in my brain that stops me from going mad again," the Duel Spirit nodded, remembering. "I've been told the story before," she testily sniffed.
"You still have the card, of course?" the Doktor checked, and she nodded, producing her Deck and opening it to reveal the old, frayed Parasite Progenitor. "I haven't used it in a while, but I've got it," she grinned.
"Good, good. Now then, let's add to my collection," the man grinned, sliding a copy of Parasite Fusioner into the Solid Vision generator. A tiny insect manifested, floating in the air, until its creator scooped it up and placed it on Yugo's shoulder. The insect shrieked, before scuttling up the boy's neck and cheek. It paused, looking back at its master for confirmation. The Doktor nodded, and the parasite scuttled into Yugo's ear.
He instantly crossed to the screens, monitoring its progress. Kisara watched in fascination as Yugo flinched, his eyelids tightening, and his body almost seemed to spasm but was held in place by the restraints.
"Yes, yes! Come on, come on!" the Doktor demanded.
Finally, Yugo slumped, motionless, and his body went limp. Kisara squeed in sadistic pleasure, and the Doktor cackled. "Success!"
"Y'now, I kinda wanna Duel him now," the younger admitted.
"I'm so sorry, but I can't allow that," her teacher shrugged. "This is a delicate process, and I need to formulate the Parasite cards I give him,"
Kisara huffed, rolling her eyes. "Oh, fine,"
With that, she turned and made for the exit. "Well, the interesting part's over with. I'll see you around, Herr Doktor," the girl shot a playful wink at her friend, before returning Parasite Progenitor to her Deck and strolling outside.
"Oh, yes, Kisara. Yes, you will," the man coldly smiled. As soon as she was out of hearing range, he looked over at a screen and brought up the data stream from the parasite inside Kisara's brain. "A Solid Vision Parasite that suppresses memories and alters the host's personality, all without affecting free will or, indeed, any other adverse effects," He deeply chuckled to himself. "Truly, Kisara, you were indeed my greatest success,"
A/N
A/N
{a door creaks open, and Technow walks in, looking around} Wow, I have not been here in years. {picks up old microphone, brushing the dust off it} Testing, testing, IT'S TIME TO D-D-D-D, DDDDDUEL! {taps} I can't believe this still works.
Then again, last time I was here, I almost got eaten by a giant evil ice eel, so . . eh. Time to resurrect an old tradition. Welcome, everyone, to the Shamar Author's Note Editing Studios!
{looks around awkwardly; the entire place is covered in dust, the bookshelf by the door is collapsed across the floor and there is a suspicious-looking chunk missing from the wall with frozen edges} Evidently, I need to clean up. After the Dark Moray attacked back when I was writing amateur-level Skylanders fanfiction, I suppose I just never got around to fixing the place up. Well, that changes now!
{winks at the camera} From here on out, I am officially recording any and all Author's Notes from my home office, which . . . {looks out through the broken windows} Oh, right. Shamar's a ghost town now. I guess I have to move. Hmm . . . eh, I'll think of something by the end of this A/N. Now . . .{pulls out script} Enough posturing. Time for the actual Author's Note.
Heh, a chapter while the story is on hiatus? It's almost like I REALLY don't want to stop writing. XD
In case the isn't already clear, Leo created Kisara before he regained his memories of the Original Dimension. Which, in light of the new information as to the origin of Solid Vision with Mass, is my explanation as to why this came to be.
Oh, and how about that? This puts Kisara in a new light, eh? I was originally going with the 'psychotic to the core' design for her, but after finding out about first the Doktor and his mind-altering parasites, and then the fact that Leo Akaba already had a daughter . . . I decided some changes were in order. ^^
And if anyone thinks that the Doktor's control over Yugo when he canonically couldn't control Yuya is a plot hole, I beg to differ. See, I think that Yuya's Zarc-iness was doubled by absorbing Yuto. The power of two Zarc fragments was refuting the Parasite, which was enough to overpower it, whereas one wasn't enough for Yugo.
Anyway. {sits down on emancipated couch} Time to get moving. {opens armrest to reveal hidden panel of buttons, presses one. Hidden speakers begin blaring Owl City music} Okay, wrong button. {presses another, the fridge swings open} Nope. {Third button; massage mode} Wrong again - I'm starting to feel like my office doesn't even have an interdimensional matter transporter - hey, there's an idea! {produces Duel Disk and card} I activate my Spell, Interdimensional Matter Transporter!
{rift opens outside the window and begins to suck the building in} Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeace!