It was the next day after Nightshroud's defeat, and Yusei and the others were visiting Alex in the hospital while Atticus looked after Jayla. Alex was still asleep, but the doctor assured them he was fine. "I hope Alex will wake up soon," Luna said. Yusei assured her that Alex would wake up soon while Akiza walked up next to Alex's bed and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"I can't believe how much Alex has had to endure in his life," she said. " He definitely hasn't had it easy, that's for sure," Jack agreed. Suddenly, Alex's heart monitor started beeping loudly. They all looked at it and saw Alex's heart was racing, and he looked pained. "Alex, wake up!" Akiza shouted as she shook his shoulder.
Alex opened his eyes and focused on Yusei and when he saw him, Alex became enraged. "Get away from me!" Alex shouted before he jumped out of his bed. "Alex, what's wrong?" Yusei asked. "It's all your fault Yusei!" Alex yelled, tears streaming down his face.
"What are you talking about Alex?" Yusei asked, unsure what Alex was blaming him for. "My parents are gone and it's all your fault! If you had never come into my life, I wouldn't have been dragged into this stupid fight with the Dark Signers and my parents would still be here!" Alex responded.
Yusei tried to approach Alex to try and talk to him, but before Yusei could get close to him, Alex created a gust of wind and knocked Yusei back against the wall. "Just stay away from me! It's your fault my parents are gone! Because of you I'm all alone! I'll never forgive you Yusei!" Alex yelled.
"Alex, I'm your friend!" Yusei shouted. "My friend? Ever since I met you my life has been torn apart. I was almost replaced by my sadistic alternate personality, barely survived two shadow duels, lost my parents, and became Nightshroud's puppet. And it all started the day I met you! You ruined my life!" Alex responded.
"Alex, I want to help you!" Yusei yelled, trying to get Alex to calm down.v"Why don't you just go away and leave me alone!" Alex shouted before his powers created a whirlwind of shadows around him. Eventually it died down enough that he was visible again, and he was wearing his armor. "No. Alastor is back," Luna said, worried they'd lost Alex again.
"Wrong," Alex said as he lifted his faceplate to reveal he was still in control. "Alex I know you're in pain, but I want to help you!" Yusei shouted. "I don't need your help! All I want is to make you pay for what you did to me! Face me in a duel Yusei!" Alex demanded. "I don't have a choice. Fine, I accept this duel!" Yusei said as he pulled out his deck and Alex made duel disks appear on their arms. They both inserted their decks and began their duel.
Alex: 4000 LP
Yusei: 4000 LP
"The first move is mine. I draw! And I play the spell Dark Fusion! I fuse Evil HERO Flare Mage and Evil HERO Stone Guardian to summon Evil HERO Infernal Sniper in defense mode!" Alex declared.
Level 6/Fire/Fiend
ATK 2000/DEF 2500
"And now Flare Mage's effect activates, so since Sniper is level 6, you now take 600 points of damage! Flare Mage, hit Yusei with Firestorm Blast!" he continued as Flare Mage launched a volley of fireballs at Yusei, burning part of his jacket.
Yusei: 3400 LP
"Now I activate Infernal Sniper's effect! Since she's in defense mode, she can deal 1000 points of direct damage to your life points. Strike Yusei with Shadow Bullet!" Alex ordered as Infernal Sniper launched a sphere of black energy that knocked Yusei flat on his back. Luna cried out for Yusei, but he assured her that he was okay.
Yusei: 2400 LP
"Yusei's down to almost half his life points and it's only the first turn," Jack commented. "I end my turn. Get up Yusei. I won't be satisfied until I've returned the pain you've caused me tenfold!" Alex shouted. "Alex, you're hurting more than I could possibly know right now, but in spite of what you're doing, I want to help you," Yusei thought to himself as he got to his feet and started his turn.
"First I activate the effect of Quickdraw Synchron from my hand. By sending a monster card from my hand to the graveyard, this card can be special summoned, so I send my Level Eater to the graveyard. Come on out, Quickdraw Synchron!" he exclaimed.
Level 5/Wind/Machine
ATK 700/DEF 1400
"And now I activate Level Eater's effect from my graveyard. By reducing the level of a level 5 or higher monster on my field by one, Level Eater can be revived. I'll reduce Quickdraw's level to 4 to summon back my Level Eater," Yusei explained.
Level 1/Earth/Insect
ATK 600/DEF 0
"And now I normal summon Speed Warrior!"
Level 2/Wind/Warrior
ATK 900/DEF 400
"And with him out, I tune level 1 Level Eater with level 4 Quickdraw Synchron in order to synchro summon Junk Warrior!" Yusei shouted.
Level 5/Dark/Warrior
ATK 2300/DEF 1300
"And due to his special ability, when he's synchro summoned, he gains attack equal to the combined attack of all level 2 or lower monsters on my field, so since Speed Warrior is level 2, Junk Warrior gains 900 attack points," he explained.
Junk Warrior: 2300-3200 ATK
"Now Junk Warrior, attack Infernal Sniper with Scrap Fist!" Yusei ordered before Junk Warrior drove his fist into Infernal Sniper, destroying her. "Now Speed Warrior attacks you directly, and due to his special ability, since he was normal summoned this turn, his original attack points double until the end of the battle phase," he explained as Speed Warrior delivered a swift kick to Alex's chest.
Alex: 2200 LP
"Alright, Yusei caught back up!" Leo exclaimed. "Why am I not surprised? It's only a matter of time before the people I call my friends all turn against me. Fine, if people only wanna see me as a monster, why not just act like one and give them a reason to?" Alex asked. "You're not a monster Alex!" Akiza shouted.
"Really? Because last time I checked good people aren't supposed to have a life like mine," Alex responded. "Alex, I know you must feel like you're alone, but there are people who still care about you," Yusei assured. "You're just trying to save yourself! It's your fault I'm alone Yusei! Now quit stalling and start dueling!" Alex shouted.
"I guess it'll take more than words to get through to you. I set a card face-down and end my turn," Yusei concluded. "I draw! And I play the spell Dark Recovery. Now I can add Dark Fusion and Flare Mage from my grave to my hand. And now I activate Dark Fusion again, and fuse Flare Mage and Sky Slash in order to summon my Inferno Wing!" Alex declared.
Level 6/Fire/Fiend
ATK 2100/DEF 1200
"Now Flare Mage, strike Yusei with Firestorm Blast!" he ordered. Flare Mage launched her attack at Yusei, knocking him onto his back again.
Yusei: 1800 LP
"And next I equip Inferno Wing with the Eternal Evil spell card. Now, attack Junk Warrior with Inferno Blast! And don't forget, due to Eternal Evil's effect, she gains attack points equal to half Junk Warrior's attack points, for a total of 1600 more points," Alex explained as Inferno Wing launched a ball of blue flames at Junk Warrior, destroying him.
Inferno Wing: 2100-3700 ATK
Yusei: 1300 LP
"Inferno Wing's effect activates. Now you take damage equal to Junk Warrior's original attack points, so you take 2300 points of damage! Inferno Wing, strike Yusei down with Inferno Wave!" Alex shouted before Inferno Wing sent a wave of blue fire at Yusei. "I play the trap Burst Synchro Summon! This card will make the damage from Inferno Wing's effect 0!" Yusei explained as a barrier appeared in front of him, blocking the flames.
"Alright, he blocked it!" Leo cheered. "Then I can summon a synchro monster from my extra deck with its effects negated, as long as its attack is equal to the damage I would've taken, so I summon Junk Archer!" Yusei shouted.
Level 7/Earth/Machine
ATK 2300/DEF 2000
Alex ended his turn and Yusei began his turn. "I activate Level Eater's effect, so I reduce the level of my Junk Archer by one to revive him from my graveyard in defense mode," Yusei declared as Level Eater appeared on his field. "Trying to shore up your defenses? It won't make a difference," Alex mocked.
"I'm not defending, I'm just setting up for my attack. From my hand I play the One for One spell card, so by sending my Shield Warrior to my grave, I can summon my Needle Soldier from my deck," Yusei explained.
Level 1/Earth/Machine
ATK 100/DEF 100
"And now I play the Changer Synchron tuner monster!"
Level 1/Earth/Machine
ATK 0/DEF 0
"And now I tune Junk Archer and Needle Soldier with Changer Synchron! I synchro summon Stardust Dragon!" Yusei shouted.
Level 8/Wind/Dragon
ATK 2500/DEF 2000
"So that's the legendary Stardust Dragon. I look forward to ripping him apart," Alex said "We'll see if you get the chance. I activate Changer Synchron's effect. When he's sent to the graveyard for a synchro summon, I can change the battle mode of one of your monsters, so I'll change your Inferno Wing to defense mode," Yusei explained.
Inferno Wing: 1200 DEF
"Now Stardust, attack Inferno Wing with Cosmic Flare!" he ordered as Stardust Dragon launched a beam of energy at Inferno Wing, taking her out in a single stroke.
Alex: 900 LP
"Why did I take damage?" Alex questioned. "Due to Needle Soldier's effect, when a monster that uses him as synchro material attacks a monster in defense mode, the difference between my monster's attack and your monster's defense is dealt to you as damage," Yusei explained.
"Due to Eternal Evil's effect, when the equipped monster is destroyed, it returns to my hand," Alex reminded. Yusei laid down two face-downs and ended his turn. "It's my turn, I draw," Alex declared. "Alex, we don't have to continue this duel," Yusei insisted. "I won't stop, not until you've felt the same pain that I have," Alex responded with his fist clenched.
"Alex, you don't have to do this! I know how you feel!" Akiza shouted. "No you don't! My parents are gone! The only people in the whole world who made me feel loved and wanted, the only people who looked at me like I was a normal person and not some freak, and because of these stupid marks of yours, they're gone! And now I'll pay you back for my pain tenfold. And then I'll make the Dark Signers wish they'd never been born!" Alex yelled.
"Alex, you have to listen to me, getting revenge won't fix anything," Yusei said firmly. "You have no right to give that speech, Yusei. It was your desire for revenge against Jack that dragged me into this! If it wasn't for you, my parents would still be here!" Alex shouted angrily.
"Alex, I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, really I am, but what you're doing isn't going to fix anything!" Yusei responded. "You think I don't know that? I know this won't bring my parents back, but if I can at least make the ones who took them from me suffer, then I don't care what I have to do or become to make it happen!" Alex resolved.
Yusei just looked on, feeling bad for Alex, wanting to help him more than anything. "Now where were we? Oh right, it was my turn. I'm going to start by bringing down your Stardust Dragon, and once you lose, I think I'll take him for myself," Alex considered.
"I'm not going to let you take Stardust, Alex," Yusei responded. "I know you'll try. I set a card face-down and play Card of Demise, so I draw until I have 5 cards in my hand. I activate Dark Fusion. I merge Evil HERO Malicious Edge and Evil HERO Earth Shaker to summon Evil HERO Malicious Fiend!" Alex shouted.
Level 8/Fire/Fiend
ATK 3500/DEF 2100
"I activate the equip spell Eternal Evil! Now once my monster attacks, this duel will be over!" he continued. "I play my face-down card, the counter trap Armor Break! This will card can negate the activation of an equip spell and destroy it," Yusei explained as Alex's spell card shattered.
"Fine. Even without Eternal Evil, Malicious Fiend has more than enough attack to defeat your Stardust. Malicious Fiend, attack with Claw Shred!" Alex ordered as Malicious Fiend launched blades from his arms, striking Stardust. "I activate Shield Warrior's special ability from my graveyard! By banishing him, Stardust won't be destroyed by this battle!" Yusei shouted.
"You may have spared Stardust, but you still take damage," Alex pointed out as Malicious Edge's claws passed Stardust and struck Yusei, one of them cutting his cheek as it flew past.
Yusei: 300 LP
"He's only got 300 life points left, one more attack like that and he's done for!" Luna exclaimed. "I end my turn. Make your move count Yusei, because judging by your life points, it just might be your last," Alex advised. "It's my move. I draw! I change Stardust Dragon to defense mode," Yusei declared as Stardust crossed its arms and its body turned blue.
"Trying to save the few life points you have left?" Alex asked. "No, I just switched Stardust to defense so I could play this, the Prevention Star equip spell! So now your Malicious Fiend can't attack or change battle modes as long as I have Prevention Star out," Yusei explained as a white aura surrounded Malicious Fiend.
"Fine, prolong this duel, it just gives me more chances to make you suffer," Alex responded. Yusei placed a single card face-down and ended his turn. "I draw. First I play the Magical Stone Excavation spell. So by discarding two cards, I can add one spell from my grave to my hand, and I think I'll pick my Card of Demise. And now I'll play it, and draw 5 new cards," Alex declared before he looked over his hand.
"Now I play the Altar of Restoration spell card, so by banishing the top 2 cards of my deck, one card from my graveyard comes back to my hand, and I choose Dark Fusion, which I'll activate in order to fuse Malicious Fiend with Evil HERO Galactic Ruler in order to summon my Evil HERO Neos!" he shouted.
Level 7/Dark/Fiend
ATK 2500/DEF 2000
"And due to his special ability, he gains 300 attack points for every Evil HERO in my grave, so with ten in my grave, he gains 3000 attack points," Alex continued.
Evil HERO Neos: 2500-5500 ATK
"It has over 5000 attack points?!" Jack exclaimed. "You like star gazing Yusei? Well here's an attack I think you'll like. Neos! Destroy Stardust Dragon with Dark Cosmic Blast!" Alex shouted as Neos launched a sphere of black energy at Stardust, destroying him.
"Stardust Dragon!" Yusei shouted as his ace monster was reduced to space dust. "You'll see him again soon. I activate the Evil Rebirth spell card! With this card, if my Evil HERO destroys your monster in battle, I can summon that monster to my field, and it becomes a fiend type monster and is treated as an Evil HERO," Alex explained.
"What?" Yusei asked in shock. "Let's give a warm welcome to Evil HERO Stardust Dragon!" Alex shouted as Stardust revived onto his field, but his color was different, like if you were looking at a picture with a negative filter effect. "I don't believe it, he turned Stardust against Yusei!" Leo exclaimed.
"Be happy to be defeated by your dear friend, Yusei. Stardust Dragon, attack Level Eater with Dark Cosmic Flare!" Alex shouted as Stardust began charging a sphere of black energy in his mouth. "But since Level Eater is in defense mode, Yusei won't take any damage," Luna pointed out.
"Not once I activate the effect of Evil HERO Shadow Piercer in my hand. If my Evil HERO attacks one of your monsters in defense mode, I can discard this card to give my monster the ability to deal piercing damage," Alex explained. "But then Yusei will take 2500 damage and lose!" Akiza exclaimed. "It's over!" Alex shouted as Stardust launched his attack.
"I play the trap Defense Draw! With it, I can draw one card and make the battle damage I'd receive 0!" Yusei explained as Stardust's attack passed right through him harmlessly. "Due to Neos' effect, since there's another Evil HERO in my grave, he gains another 300 attack points," Alex said.
Evil HERO Neos: 5500-5800 ATK
"Why won't you just give up already?!" he asked in anger. "You should know I don't give up Alex. Especially on my friends," Yusei responded. "You're not my friend. I don't have any friends. Who would want to be friends with a freak who's managed to hurt everyone who ever cared about him?" Alex asked, tears rolling down his face.
"It's not true Alex!" Akiza assured. Alex looked up and saw that Akiza and Luna were pushing through the winds coming off him, trying to get closer to him. "Alex, I may have only known you for a short time at the Arcadia Movement, but the boy I knew wasn't a monster. He was the kindest, most caring person I'd ever had the joy to meet. You care about others Alex. You made me feel loved, and I care about you," Akiza affirmed.
"Akiza's right. You're not a monster or a freak. You're our friend. We all care about you, and we won't stop caring about you. I love you Alex," Luna added. "They're right Alex. I know bad things have happened to you, but we're all here for you. Together we'll help you move forward, and we'll make things right," Yusei promised.
Suddenly, everyone's marks glowed, and the symbol of the Crimson Dragon appeared on Yusei's back.
"What's going on?" Yusei asked before he looked at his deck and saw that the top card of it was glowing. "It's my move, I draw!" Yusei shouted, and as he did, it was like he could hear the voice of the Crimson Dragon. "I summon the tuner monster Majestic Dragon!" he declared.
Level 1/Light/Dragon
ATK 0/DEF 0
"And since I normal summoned a monster, I can special summon Turbo Booster!"
Level 1/Earth/Machine
ATK 0/DEF 0
"Now I play the trap Synchro Material! This card lets me synchro summon using monsters from either of our fields, so I tune Stardust Dragon and Turbo Booster with Majestic Dragon in order to synchro summon Majestic Star Dragon!" Yusei shouted as he summoned a new monster that none of them had seen before.
Level 10/Wind/Dragon
ATK 3800/DEF 3000
"And now Majestic Star Dragon's effect activates. Once per turn, he can negate the effect of one monster you control and gain its effect until the end of this turn, so Neos' effect is canceled out," he explained.
Evil HERO Neos: 5800-2500 ATK
It was then that Luna and Akiza reached Alex. They wrapped their arms around him and the wind stopped. His armor slowly dissolved, sinking down to the floor. Alex looked at Yusei with tears still in his eyes and nodded.
"Majestic Star Dragon, attack Evil HERO Neos and end the duel," Yusei said calmly. Yusei's monster charged an energy blast before launching it at Neos. "Yusei, thank you," Alex said as his life points dropped.
Alex: 0 LP
Winner: Yusei
Once the duel ended, Alex collapsed into Akiza's arms. "Alex! Are you okay?" Akiza asked. "Yeah. It still hurts though, knowing that they're gone. "I know it does. I'm right here for you, we all are," Akiza consoled. Alex rested his head against her shoulder and just cried.
"I know, I know. Just let it out," Akiza said as she held him. Alex stopped crying after a few minutes and pulled back.
"Thank you. I guess I got really lucky meeting you after all," he said once he collected himself. "Alex, I can't begin to understand how you must feel, but just know we're all here for you. And I promise, the Dark Signers are gonna pay for everything they've done," Yusei vowed.
Hey everyone. So Majestic Star Dragon got to come out early. And something I think I need to make clear, the anime version of Synchro Material doesn't lock you out of your battle phase like the TCG version does, and Evil Rebirth only causes a monster to be treated as an Evil HERO, but doesn't actually change the monster's name. I hope everyone is enjoying the story and I'll see you all in the next chapter.