"Stand up."
Zane felt his strength leaving him. All he could do was move a finger, but even that exhausted him more than he ever thought possible.
"I said, stand up."
Whoever was telling him to stand was asking the impossible of him. The Sacred Beasts under Wilona have already started to drain everything, even his dueling spirit. He barely had the strength to breathe, and that was rapidly fading.
"Come on! I thought you said the magic would work!"
"I've done all I can. But they've all been drained before we came."
"This is absolutely unforgivable! You foiled us at every turn, and this is what fells you?!"
... Zane felt so sleepy...
"Stand up. If you do not, Jaden Yuki will fail, and your world will suffer."
Zane... remembered. He saw how Wilona accessed the power of the Sacred Beasts, how only Jaden and Chancellor Sheppard took to the skies while everyone else, even he, started to fall.
The Kaiser of Duel Academy forced his hands to move even if he couldn't feel them. It took more effort than he was used to, but he was able to get off the ground and open his eyes.
He was not expecting the Revendread Slayer to be the first thing he saw.
"Much better." The 3rd Shadow Rider offered him a hand that the senior took.
Zane stood up and saw the owners of the other voices he heard. "What? T-The other Shadow Riders?"
He was not expecting to see Camula, Witchcrafter Aruru, and the Dark Scorpions alongside The Revendread Slayer.
"I-I..."
When Zane struggled to speak, the 3rd Shadow Rider continued for him. "You thought the two over there were dead?" Revendread Slayer turned to Camula and Aruru. "Well, the 1st didn't mention that if they suffered a truly horrific defeat, their essences would be trapped and used in containers for the Spirit Keys."
"I would have torn the 1st into pieces had I not heard he passed on." Camula hissed.
Now that Zane focused better, he noticed a golden dome around everyone that fell. The 3rd explained, "After being defeated by Paradox, The 8th Shadow Rider asked me to help revive and find the other Shadow Riders. I did not realize he meant for this."
It didn't take long, but more and more people started to wake up under Aruru's protective dome.
"HAAA!?" Professor Crowler shrieked when he saw Camula.
"Aruru?" The witch gave a warm smile when Bastion called her name.
"Chazz! I'm so glad you're alright!" Gorg of the Dark Scorpions cried as he gave the teen a bear hug that may or may not be crushing his spine.
As more of everyone started to regain their senses, they all found themselves looking up towards a floating isle. When they did, they saw the elements battling against each other with a ferocity only described in the mythological Ragnarok. Fitting, considering what would happen if Jaden lost this duel.
"Jaden and Wilona are dueling up there." Alexis frowned. "It looks brutal."
"We gotta get up there!" Jesse looked back down at the Shadow Riders. "Can y'all help?"
"Creating this barrier to prevent more of our energy getting drained was hard enough." Witchcrafter Aruru waved her magic hammer while motioning to the dome that protected everyone. "Moving it with all of you is impossible with how my magic works."
"So what? We just have to sit here and wait for the end of the world by the witch?" Chazz narrowed his eyes before he thought to check his cards. Unfortunately for him, Ojama Yellow's card was still blank, which meant his other cards were still blank as well. This only meant that the Sacred Beasts were still draining the world despite Kagemaru's defeat.
"Come on, guys! Maybe Jaden will win! He always pulls through!" Chumley tried to lift everyone's spirits, but even he looked somewhat apprehensive.
Before others could comment on that statement, two people appeared where the battlefield of Wilona and Jaden once was.
"Do they?" Paradox's voice made everyone turn to the 2nd Shadow Rider.
But they saw the 8th Shadow Rider... without his mask? Wait. Why did he look like...!?
Syrus blurted out what everyone saw. "J-Jaden!?"
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Jaden: 4000 LP.
Wilona: 4000 LP.
Wilona gripped her cards tighter than she wanted to. Jaden suddenly found it hard to position his duel disk either higher or lower. Hesitation was all over their faces, but only Wilona had the resolve to move.
"I go first!" Wilona drew her card as lightning flashed and thunder crashed behind her. "I discard one card to special summon Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal in defense mode!"
Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Pyro/ Attribute: FIRE/Level: 3/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
Jaden watched as a spark of flame grew into the familiar elemental vassal.
"Also, that card I discarded? It was Card of Compensation. If it was discarded, I'm allowed to draw two more cards." The girl refilled her hand. "I now set three cards down!"
The number scared Jaden as he remembered that both Hamon and Uria required that number of set cards. But, Wilona didn't summon either monster right away. Did she not have it? Then again, Wilona was never one to waste her resources so quickly in a duel.
"I end my turn there."
Turn 2: Jaden. Cards: 5.
Jaden kept looking at the facedowns. Did Wilona have Uria or Hamon? If so, why didn't she summon either of them? Somehow, not summoning either card was worse! In the meantime, Sheppard—who had gone over to help Kagemaru—realized what was going on. Wilona was already playing mind games on her first turn! She was abusing the fact that setting three cards would suggest summoning Hamon or Uria, but they might be nothing more than normal set cards! She made Jaden guess at what those facedowns could be. And unfortunately for them, Jaden wasn't known for destroying back-row cards.
Jaden drew his card and looked at his hand. "I play Sparkman in attack mode!"
He could always count on his Elemental Heroes.
Elemental HERO Sparkman. [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400]
"Sparkman, attack Berlineth!" Jaden punched forward as his Elemental HERO aimed his hand and fired a ball of electricity at the vassal.
Unfortunately, Wilona pointed to the set card on her very left and Jaden's right. "I reveal my continuous Trap, Escalation of the Monarchs! I can now tribute summon during my opponent's battle phase!" Jaden grunted as he remembered that card had saved his bacon multiple times during their tag duel. Now he had to battle against that?! "I sacrifice Berlineth to Tribute Summon Zaborg!"
Thunder struck the vassal before Zaborg appeared once more to the field. The monarch raised his hand and absorbed the electricity as if it was nothing more than a snack.
Zaborg The Thunder Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Thunder/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 5/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
Wilona pointed to Sparkman. "When Zaborg is tribute summoned, I can destroy one monster on the field! Show Sparkman your thunder, Zaborg!"
The Thunder Monarch gathered energy before firing a ball of electricity thrice the size of Sparkman's.
Jaden reached for a card in his hand faster than he realized. "I've got a quick-play spell card, Urgent Fusion! I can fusion summon using only Elemental Heroes! I choose Sparkman and Clayman in my hand! Appear, Thunder Giant!" Clayman jumped out of Jaden's hand and rushed to Sparkman before Zaborg's attack could make contact. Before the electricity orb exploded, the two heroes were able to combine in time. When a burst of electricity unleashed itself, it was soon absorbed by Jaden's trusty monster.
Elemental HERO Thunder Giant. [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Thunder/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 6/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1500]
Jaden knew that Urgent Fusion had a drawback: the Fusion Monster he summoned would go to the graveyard at the end of the turn. He had to act now, or else Wilona would have the board advantage! "You avoided my attack! I avoided your ability! But there's no avoiding this! Thunder Giant, attack Zaborg!"
The Thunder Giant started running for the Monarch, who flew at increasing speeds towards the Elemental Hero. The two forces of electricity crashed into each other with both their hands pressing against each other in an attempt to overpower the other. Their combined, rising power unleashed electricity that shot out in all directions and could even be seen outside the floating isle.
Sheppard shielded both himself and Kagemaru as the clashing energies shot out from the duel.
"They have," Kagemaru breathed heavily. "The same Duel Energy? How did a soul like that? ...Remain undetected?"
"Sir, we need to get to a safer area. Can you move?" Sheppard asked.
"Sheppard, you can't hide from the end of the world." The weakened man turned his gaze towards the tear in the sky. Even for someone like him, he could tell it was growing bigger by the second as life around them quieted. "I wanted to rule the world, but I think she might destroy it. How could it all have gone so wrong?" It was such a shame that the man's self-reflection came far too late.
Sheppard looked back at the duel with defiant hope. "I believe in Jaden! He's pulled through tougher duels!"
"But is his heart in it?" The old man looked at Sheppard, and the kind man's determination faltered. "You saw it, Sheppard. Neither of them wants this duel, but only the girl has the strength to see it through."
Sheppard winced as he knew Kagemaru was right. Jaden's strength always came from protecting his friends and having fun no matter what, but this situation forced him against a good friend. Even if he could win, would he take the chance?
Meanwhile, the two electrical beings unleashed an even greater output of electricity before they both burned from the clash.
As the attack faded, Jaden took a card. "I'll throw one card down and end my turn."
Turn 3: Wilona. Cards: 2.
The opposing duelist drew her next card before she placed it on her duel disk. "I normal summon Eidos, the Underworld Squire!"
As she claimed this, the familiar monster appeared on the field.
Eidos, the Underworld Squire. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 2/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
Wilona moved to take another card from her hand. Jaden knew how Eidos grants another Tribute Summon for her turn when he's summoned, so he braced himself as he heard the words...
"I now sacrifice Eidos to summon Granmarg, The Rock Monarch!"
The floating isle shook as Granmarg emerged from the ground, bursting through stone and earth so easily when many other lesser creatures would struggle to even crack it. A piece of Jaden always wanted to see what it would be like to face Wilona's monarchs.
Yes, he was regretting it now.
Granmarg the Rock Monarch. [Type:Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Rock/Attribute: Earth/Level: 6/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1000]
"I activate his summon effect! I can destroy one set card on the field, and I choose yours, Yuki!"
Granmarg roared as he punched the ground, and a rock spike shot out from underneath, stabbing through the only card on Jaden's field.
Without a single card on her opponent's field, Wilona pointed forward. "Now! Granmarg, attack Yuki directly!"
But even with an empty field, Jaden acted with purpose. "Sorry, Wilona! I knew you like to play cautiously! The card you just destroyed was Silent Alarm! If this trap card is destroyed by an opponent's effect, I can special summon one monster from my deck in defense mode! I need your help, Bubbleman!"
Elemental HERO Bubbleman. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1200]
"There's more! Thanks to Bubbleman, I can draw two cards! Not only that, Silent Alarm prevents Bubbleman from being destroyed this turn!"
The Rock Monarch crashed his fist down on the Elemental HERO. Even from the intense blow, Bubbleman was able to rise from the crater made by the Monarch. But he still looked weakened from the strike even though his points didn't go down.
"Sorry, pal. But you did great taking one for the team!" Jaden drew his two cards.
Wilona narrowed her eyes. "That will be all for my turn."
Turn 4: Jaden. Cards: 4.
Only a few turns in, and Jaden had to admit Wilona pushed him on the back foot more than the others have. Sure, he's been at a disadvantage in duels before. But usually, it was because his opponent was already using the best of their cards. Wilona still hasn't used any of the Sacred Beast cards because her regular cards were pushing him and his deck to the limit already!
"Wilona, you gotta stop this!" Jaden drew his next card. "If the Sacred Beasts get all that power, the world will end! You're putting our friends in danger!"
"Oh?" Jaden didn't like how Wilona sneered after hearing that. "Let's see. Who suggested to Truesdale and Huffington that they should go visit an abandoned and cursed dorm because it sounded cool?"
The teen winced. "I—"
Wilona did not let him speak more than that. "Who was it that talked me into going back to that hellhole? Who did I have to save when said idiot sacrificed himself instead of coming up with a better plan? Who was it that tried to lead away an unthinking storm? Who let himself get captured by pirates!?"
"H-Hey! I didn't mean—"
"Who was it that almost damned us the second time because of her obsessive need to find her brother!? Who decided to live in the wild and thinks being a jungle man will make him a better duelist!? Who thinks that just because he's been bullied by his rich brothers, he can act like a snob to everyone!? Who hangs around you to fill some older brother complex?! Who spends all their time eating and sleeping and cares only when he has to do physical activity!? Who the hell steals a deck from the King of Games!? Who has to wear a spacesuit or else everyone will get stupid sleepy!?" Wilona went on, implying all of the people they knew. But one of them caught Jaden's attention. "And which bastard lied to us the whole time and pretended to be a caring teacher?!
She pointed at Jaden as the earth below started to crack under her rage. "You've all done nothing but endanger everyone for your own selfish needs ever since the school year started! And everyone called me an Evil Witch when I was doing something legal and nonviolent like building a club!? Now it's my turn to really be selfish. And you all get to put up with it this time!"
"No! Sorry, Wilona, but this is too far!" Jaden looked at his hand. "I play O - Oversoul! This lets me bring back Sparkman in attack mode!" Jaden knew that two heroes would still not be enough to take on one of Wilona's monarchs. Even a normal fusion had trouble with them. Instead, Jaden took another card from his hand. "I play Polymerization! I fuse Bubbleman, Sparkman, and Avain in my hand to bring out Elemental HERO Tempest!"
The three heroes flew to the sky in a blinding light before an Elemental HERO floated in the air, ready to fight.
Elemental HERO Tempest. [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WIND/Level: 8/ ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2800]
"I'll throw down a facedown. Now Tempest, attack Granmarg!" Tempest aimed his cannon arm at the Rock Monarch before firing a concentrated laser.
Wilona pointed over to the card on her very right and Jaden's left. "I reveal the continuous trap, Spellbinding Circle! This card stops your attack and freezes your monster in place!" A circle appeared and intercepted the laser of Tempest. It grew and quickly raced for the Elemental HERO until it ensnared and trapped the Fusion inside its ring.
"Two continuous traps!?" Sheppard gasped. "Does that mean Wilona placed down 3 of them to prepare for Uria?!"
Jaden overheard this too. Usually, he wasn't bothered with knowing anything for a test. But this mind game of if Wilona had Uria or not was giving him more pressure than usual, trying to guess which strategy his friend was going for!
"Alright, Wilona. Your move." He said reluctantly.
Turn 5: Wilona. Cards: 1.
The green-haired girl drew her next card before she revealed it. "I play Spell Books from the Pot. We both draw an extra 3 cards."
The two Slifer Reds did so. Jaden's eyes widened when he saw Wilona reach for her Field Spell Slot.
"I play the field spell, Domain of the True Monarchs!" As she placed the card in, the area around them started to shift and change. Jaden recalled seeing the giant throne behind Wilona before, but seeing it used against him was intimidating. "I don't think I've ever had a chance to use this against the right opponent, but my field spell does something else besides raising my monarchs' attack points and lowering the levels of my high-level monsters! If I control no Extra Deck, and if I have a Tribute-summoned monster, like Granmarg, my opponent cannot summon from his extra deck. This isn't like Misawa's Non-Fusion Area, Yuki. You can't even special summon from the Extra Deck!"
Jaden gasped as he heard that. His fusions were the best part of his deck, and he would need them to defend against Wilona's Monarchs. That's not even including the Sacred Beast monsters Wilona still wasn't using this duel! How could he hope to win without his best if he was struggling to survive normally with them!?
But that was only the beginning of the Slifer Ace's problems. "Granmarg attacks Tempest! And he gains an 800 attack point boost!" (ATK: 2400 →3200)
The Rock Monarch lifted his hand as pieces of the island rose from the ground and started to form into rock spikes pointed at the immobile Elemental Hero. Then, they fired off with the speed of an executioner's axe.
Jaden pressed a button on his duel disk. "I play Negate Attack! It saves Tempest and ends your battle phase!" An energy barrier appeared in front of Tempest and prevented the fusion from becoming a rock version of a pincushion.
Wilona continued to glare at her opponent. "I end my turn there."
Turn 6: Jaden. Cards: 4.
Jaden looked at his cards after drawing his 5th. He honestly didn't expect Wilona's Field Spell to have a devasting effect against Extra Deck monsters. Nor did he expect it to be used at the worst possible moment for him as well. But then again, against Bastion, he was still able to fuse at least once. Hey, wait. He was able to still fuse his monsters!
Jaden thought back to Wilona's field spell. She said that he couldn't summon from the Extra Deck. That gave him an idea, and he had the cards to do something about it!
"I play the spell card, Heroic Team-Up! I send one Elemental HERO fusion monster from my extra deck to my graveyard, and another Fusion HERO gets a 150 point boost for every level of the monster I sent! I choose Elemental HERO Terra Firma! So Tempest gains 1200 points!"
(ATK: 2800 →4000)
Most would be confused at boosting a monster that could not attack or change his position. But Wilona saw through the surface instantly.
Jaden noticed Wilona preparing herself. The Slifer Ace had hoped this would catch his friend off guard, but he should have known better as Wilona recognized his ability to pull off the impossible better than most. "I now play Monster Reborn! I choose a monster from either graveyard then special summon it from the field! I choose Elemental HERO Terra Firma!"
Elemental HERO Terra Firma [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: EARTH/Level: 8/ ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000]
Jaden's Elemental HERO came in a dazzling light show in the darkest hour. But though Jaden summoned a Fusion Monster even with a seal on his extra deck, Wilona looked unimpressed...? Suddenly, the Slifer Red Ace had trouble reading his friend's reaction as she tilted her cap downward to obscure her face.
The Slifer Ace felt sweat pour down his face. Did Wilona still have a defense to this? Or was she bluffing him again as she did with the Sacred Beasts? Regardless, this was the only move he had to play! "Now, I activate his special ability! I can tribute one other Elemental HERO on the field, and Terra Firma gains his attack points! Tempest, give your strength to Terra Firma!"
Terra Firma flew up to Tempest. The trapped Fusion monster nodded once before Terra Firma started to absorb the hero's essence. (ATK: 2500 →6500)
Even with her face obscured, Jaden knew Wilona was ready for it, but if there was a chance to end this all before Wilona could summon any of the Sacred Beasts, he had to take it!
"Terra Firma, destroy Granmarg and end this duel!"
The Elemental HERO summoned twin energy blades and rushed for the earthbound monarch.
Yet Jaden's heart rate skyrocketed as he saw Wilona look up—with a defiant look in her eyes. The final facedown rose, revealing the final continuous trap. "I reveal Jealousy of the Monarchs! If my opponent's monster gains an attack boost, I can make it so that monster gets destroyed after battling with a Monarch Monster!"
Granmarg reared his fist back and punched forward the same time as Terra Firma brought down his blades. The clash of the two Earth Monsters unleashed shockwaves that could even blow away the withered trees down below.
"But you still take damage!" Jaden shouted over the shockwaves. "You lose, Wilona!"
The girl grunted before she pushed back against the wind and yelled, "No, I do not! Jealousy of the Monarchs halves the Battle Damage I would have taken and sends the other half to you! Instead, we both take 2050 points of damage!"
Jaden's eyes widened after hearing that second effect. "Uh-oh!?"
The two monsters exploded in a flash of light, knocking both duelists off their feet.
Jaden: 4000 → 1950 LP
Wilona: 4000 → 1950 LP
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
It was a gap between reality and the void. As such, it was a place that both existed and did not.
However, even there, they could feel the clashing souls battling for the fate of the world.
"Huh. That looks like a lot of fun." Paradox looked up before he avoided a blast of thunder sent his way.
But it was still the battlefield of both Malefic Monsters and Evil Heroes. Unworldly powers clashed against each other as monsters from both decks dealt blow after heavy blow to each other.
The 8th Shadow Rider ducked under the swipe of Malefic Galaxy-Eyes Dragon before Evil HERO Malicious Edge swooped in and kicked the dragon in the face.
"I'm surprised you're still using those monsters!" Paradox ran as he avoided Evil Hero Infernal Wing's fires that burned the floating white platform he was on. "We're the only ones here!" He flipped over the fusion as Malefic Red-Eyes slammed his weight down on the Evil Fusion.
Evil HERO Dark Gaia punched Malefic Blue-Eyes with enough force to crash into Malefic Odd-Eyes. The 8th Shadow Rider landed on a platform that appeared before him. However, he barely dodged a spike from Malefic Truth Dragon's attack. Despite his best attempt to evade the attack, one of the spikes nicked and cracked the 8th Shadow Rider's mask.
Paradox hopped on top of Malefic Paradox Dragon. "I think it's time to lay the cards on the table." He sounded giddy as if aiming for that mask was the true goal of dragging his opponent into this dimension. "I know who you are, 8th! Or should I say, Yuki Judai?"
As the 8th Shadow Rider removed his hand, revealing a familiar face. Yet the face looked older and sharper than the one on the naive and friendly teen that was currently dueling his best friend for the fate of the world.
As soon as he revealed himself, the Evil Heroes shined with bright light. Elemental Heroes appeared where the Evil counterparts once were. Malicious Edge, who was being pinned down by Malefic Barreload Dragon, turned back into Bladedge. Elemental HERO Neos swooped in and punched the dragon with enough force to send him flying. He helped the golden warrior up before support from the other Elemental Heroes with Neo Spacians came in to help against the Malefic Dragons.
The one known as Judai had his eyes glow both green and orange. "If we are honest, how about you reveal who you are?"
Paradox tilted his head to avoid a fire blast by Flare Scarab. "I am Paradox. But that's not what you want to hear, is it?" Paradox jumped down and a platform appeared beneath him to break his fall. He then began to walk to the side. "It would be more appropriate to say that I have taken this identity since the original user is now erased from time thanks to the efforts of you, Yugi Mutou, and especially Yusei Fudo."
Judai narrowed his eyes after hearing those names. "Take his identity?"
"Why yes. I did not have one before I took his. He may no longer exist, but the scars he put in the timeline will always remain. I was able to exist through those scars. So in a way, I am Paradox II. Consider me the upcoming sequel!"
Judai's eyes started to glow. "That explains your interference. You're trying to destroy the future all over again like the first of your namesake!"
Despite the claim, Paradox folded his arms and tilted his head. "I admit, I still wish to destroy the future."
The otherworldly young man looked confused after hearing the half-confession. He wanted to destroy the future, but it didn't mean he was aiming for that specifically. Yet, everything he's done felt like there was a purpose behind the madness. If that was the case... "What's your real plan, then?"
"Who said it was mine?"
Judai's eyes widened before they narrowed after hearing the response to his question.
"You already know who's behind this. But the question is," Paradox raised his hand and snapped his fingers. "Do they?"
The area around them shifted. Judai and Paradox were no longer in the void. It looked like they were back where they started before Paradox dragged him into that pocket dimension.
"J-Jaden!?"
Judai's eyes widened with alarm as he turned back to see... everyone, even the Shadow Riders he recruited, looking at him without his mask.
"As fun as it would be to stick for that conversation, I'd rather watch the duel above." Paradox mocked bowed. "See you later, Mr. Yuki!~"
Faster than Judai could react, Paradox vanished. No doubt, heading towards the battle between the two Slifer Students. But that left him alone with everyone else.
"Jaden!?" Syrus ran up to the 8th Shadow Rider. "W-What are you doing here!? What happened with Wilona!? Why are you wearing the 8th's..." Syrus trailed off as he realized something. Jaden was taller and older than he remembered. Not by much, but it was noticeable.
Alexis and Jesse stepped forward, followed by everyone else. "Who are you?" The blonde asked.
The 8th Shadow Rider sighed as he stood up and turned to the familiar but different faces. "I go by Yuki Judai." He looked up. "And I came here to prevent that duel."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains.]
Jaden: 1950 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Turn 6: Jaden. Cards: 3
As the dust settled, Wilona and Jaden groaned as they both sat up from that explosion. Wilona noticed that the dust around Jaden made him look like he had an eye patch and the most awkward-looking sideburns. Jaden saw that the dust made it look like Wilona had a beard.
The two saw each other before... before...
They broke into laughter at how silly the other looked.
"Seriously, Wilona!" Jaden managed to say. "You countered whatever I threw at you! How could you say that I'd beat you easily!?"
"I played my field spell, hoping you wouldn't use your blasted fusions anymore. I'm more annoyed than surprised that you found a way to get around it, especially how fast you did." She slowly stood on her feet after dusting herself off. "How can you do something like that but struggle with a multiplication table?"
"Those things are evil, Wilona!" Jaden yelled as he stood back up as well.
"Blair could do those better than you, and she was too young for this school!" Wilona couldn't help it and laughed again. Jaden followed suit.
However, it soon became quiet. And the two remembered where and what they were doing.
"Wilona," Jaden gulped as he realized if there was a chance to talk his friend out of this duel, it was now. He had to do this right. "I'm sorry about your mother. I really am. Please, stop doing this."
The green-haired girl remained quiet, even as Jaden offered a hand in her direction.
The girl looked like she just wanted to walk up and take his hand.
However...
The Monarch Duelist looked around them and saw the world dying around them. The trees continued to grow black instead of green, the winds howled, and fires started. The volcano threatened to erupt and burn the entire island while the sky cracked like glass as a strange rainbow-like aura appeared behind it.
"Out of everyone, my mother deserved happiness more than me." Wilona stepped back, making Jaden's heart sink. "Finish your turn, Yuki. Or I make mine."
"I... end my turn." Even though they were still tied in life points, Jaden felt like he had just lost the most important part of the duel.
Turn 7: Wilona. Cards: 3.
When Wilona drew her next card, she sighed with all the exhaustion of someone who had lost too much. "You know, I finally understood how fun dueling could be. A shame it has to end now."
Jaden felt the shift in the air when Wilona drew her card. The Slifer Red Ace knew what was coming. He noticed that because he tributed Tempest instead of destroying it, Spellbinding Circle was still on her board, along with two other trap cards.
In total, there were 3 trap cards on the field. And Jaden was there when Kagemaru used 3 specific cards to summon...
"Wilona, don't!"
"I set two spell cards before I sacrifice them and my field spell to special summon Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder!" As Wilona called this, the crack in the sky grew, and the area of her field spell vanished. Thunder crashed behind the female Slifer Red, and where that thunder struck, Hamon appeared, cackling in energy Jaden did not see the first time and unleashing a roar that made a mockery of its appearance under Kagemaru.
Hamon, Lord of Striking Thunder [Type: Divine-Beast/ Attribute: DIVINE/Level: 10/ ATK: 4000/ DEF: 4000]
Jaden took a step back as the Sacred Beast towered over him. "Uh, no offense, but with how you set up those trap cards, I thought for sure you were going to summon..." The hero duelist looked back at Wilona.
The Slifer Red student watched his friend raise her final car, before flipping it to reveal Uria.
"You had Uria the whole time!?" Jaden could not believe how loud he shouted that. Then again, he couldn't believe that Wilona held off playing a Sacred Beast!
Wilona prepped the card. "I had him after activating Spellbooks from the Pot. But I knew if I summoned him sooner, you would have defeated him, even with his reincarnation ability. So I used my Monarch cards to bait your Fusions against them instead of the Sacred Beasts."
Jaden winced after hearing that. Sheppard gapped while Kagemaru was starting to understand what the girl meant about playing the cards correctly.
Yet Wilona did what all of them feared. "Now, I sacrifice my three continuous traps to special summon Uria, Lord of Searing Flames!" Similar to Hamon, Uria appeared in a much more fearsome pillar of fire and exuded an energy that made his first summoning look like a joke.
Uria, Lord of Searing Flame [Type: Divine-Beast/ Attribute: DIVINE/Level: 10/ ATK: ?/ DEF: ?]
The Monarch Duelist threw her hand out. "With 3 trap cards in my grave, Uria gains up to 3000 points!" (ATK: ? →3000/DEF: ? → 3000)
Sheppard had to give Wilona credit for seamlessly switching into summoning two Sacred Beasts after Jaden spent resources fighting off her Monarch monsters. But this wasn't good for Jaden. He had no card on his field while Wilona summoned two Sacred Beasts at the same time!
Wilona pointed forward. "Uria, attack Yuki directly!"
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
"Yuki Judai?" Jesse raised his brow as the word left his lips. "I gotta admit it feels weird saying that."
"Johan, it's not that weird." Judai suddenly looked away while clicking his tongue.
"Johan? I'm Jesse!"
Zane stepped forward. "There's no time for that. But we are going to need answers. What did you mean that you were trying to stop Wilona and Jaden from dueling?"
Judai turned back and sighed. "That's a long story. And I'm really not good at explaining things." He scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously.
Everyone gaped in awe at how Judai acted exactly like Jaden.
"What the heck!? How is there an exact copy of Jaden now!? Is my gimmick really that useless?!"
Everyone ignored Dimitri.
"Now I understand." The 3rd Shadow Rider moved towards Judai. "I was wondering why you had an aura similar to Paradox's. You're from another timeline, aren't you?"
"Another timeline? You're kidding, right? That's impossible!" Chazz looked over to the undead duelist, who was also from another world. And who stood next to a magically-crafted, artificial witch. Who also stood next to a vampire.
Chazz shut himself up.
Judai turned to Revendread Slayer. "Yes. I come from a different but similar timeline to this, but several years into the future."
"Okay, my brain is starting to hurt." Chumley held his head.
The cooler heads of the group didn't quite accept it, but there were more important things to discuss. "I've seen enough movies to know time traveling even to alternate timelines is a can of worms no one wants to do. So why did you do it?" Seika looked at the alternate Jaden. "I think even our Jaden is savvy enough to know Time Travel is bad."
"Because it is that bad that I had to intervene." Judai sighed. He took a second to gather his thoughts before he spoke again. "To make a long story short: something happens in this timeline that causes a cosmic storm that destroys all other timelines around it with no sign of it stopping, even threathening my world. I came too late to investigate what caused it. Seeing no other alternative, I had to go travel into the past of this timeline to figure out what happened."
"And you think it's Wilona and the Sacred Beasts," Alexis added before she realized something that Judai overlooked. "Wait a second, Jaden—I mean, Judai—how did you travel between timelines so easily?"
"That's not important, Asuka—Alexis." He sighed and shook his head. "This name thing is more annoying than I thought it would be." He looked back up. "Yes, I had a hunch that the Sacred Beasts were involved with this. Their energy was similar to the storm that wiped out this timeline originally. But I never expected things to escalate to this point. They're more powerful here than they ever were in my timeline!"
"Ah!" Bastion seemed to light up. "Wait, perhaps you can tell us how you defeated them in your timeline! Maybe it can still work!"
Everyone else looked hopeful after hearing Bastion's hypothesis. However, Judai's expression remained unchanged. "I'm sorry, Daichi—dang it! ...Gaston?"
"Bastion!" The Ra Yellow corrected a little too hotly.
Judai went on. "Point is, this Jaden should have the keys to defeat the Sacred Beasts, the card the last Shadow Rider gave him." Everyone recalled Jaden holding the card after he was blown away from the Duel Between Wilona and Kagemaru. "But the problem is that he's not fighting the Sacred Beasts themselves."
"... He's fighting Wilona as well as the Sacred Beasts. You don't think Jaden can handle both at the same time." Sora pointed out.
The 8th's sigh was the same as a confirmation. "It's why I tried to form a tag duel with him. He couldn't handle her alone."
"Well, let get up there and help him!" Jesse raised his fist. "We can still join him! If Wilona lets us give her an extra 4000..."
"What do you think Paradox did to me when I tried to Tag Duel with Jaden?" Judai quickly asked.
Jesse deflated as he and the others realized that Paradox would prevent anyone from intervening in this duel.
"C-Come on!" Syrus shouted as he looked up to Judai. "There's gotta be something we can do!" Under Syrus' gaze, Judai looked away. It seemed like even in an alternate timeline, Syrus was one of Jaden's soft spots.
Judai was silent before he, and everyone else, looked up to see the tear in the sky growing bigger.
"I can help you all get up there. If it's not too late."
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
Jaden: 1950 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Turn 7: Wilona. Cards: 0
Uria roared before it gathered fire in its maw to the point that it shook violently trying to contain the energy it was about to unleash.
Jaden, knowing that this attack would end the world and not just the duel, grunted before he reached for a card in his hand. "When a direct attack is declared, I can special summon Swordsman of Revealing Light in defense mode!" When the fireball shot towards Jaden, the armored warrior clad in familiar light appeared and created a wall of light swords to protect the Hero Duelist.
Swordsman of Revealing Light. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 2400]
As the flames around the barrier started to disappear, Swordsman of Revealing Light lowered the forcefield. "Remember this card you lent me, Wilona? I can negate one attack with him, and I negated Uria's!"
"But you can only do that once per turn, Yuki." Wilona narrowed her eyes. "And that's why Hamon is here as well! Attack!"
Hamon roared as it unfurled its wings and let the skies above strike the guardian down with raw power.
"Don't forget, Yuki! Hamon deals 1000 points of effect damage after destroying a monster!" Hamon did not hesitate to unleash a bolt of thunder on the Slifer Ace. Jaden screamed as he felt his soul starting to leave him.
Jaden: 1950 → 950 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Kagemaru sighed as if accepting his death. "And just like that, the stalemate shatters."
Sheppard was about to say something when he noticed a group of people suddenly appearing behind him from thin air. He soon found himself in a golden dome with everyone that was left behind now there.
"Chancellor Sheppard," Atticus asked. "What happened while we were gone?"
The man looked between his students and then looked over to the Shadow Riders. He especially could not believe the 8th Shadow Rider as he saw his face.
"Chancellor, please. We don't have time." Zane stepped forward.
"R-Right. The two have been dueling evenly, but Wilona baited Jaden into using his fusion against her Monarchs. She summoned two Sacred Beasts in this turn and used them to overwhelm an already exhausted Jaden."
"That's... diabolically brilliant." Bastion despised how fast Wilona could come up with a tactic like that by simply adding three cards to her deck. "Not to mention the ease in which Wilona can use those cards without even rebuilding her deck!"
Jaden and Wilona spared a glance over to the others as they appeared out of thin air. However, they didn't even spend a second to ask how or why since they were both focused on their respective opponent.
Turn 8: Jaden. Cards: 3.
Jaden drew his card but heaved for air.
"Why does he look exhausted?" Chumley asked.
"I think I'm one of the few here that can sense it," Aruru pointed to the Sacred Beasts. "The lower Jaden's life points are, the weaker his duel spirit becomes. Uria and Hamon are now able to drain chunks of it."
As she explained this, everyone felt the island they were standing on start to move up into the tear in the sky.
"This isn't good." Judai looked up as they entered into what looked like a rainbow wormhole. "We're already entering through the gaps between the 12 worlds."
"That sounds bad. Is it bad?" Professor Crowler asked Judai.
"Well, there's a good chance that things from the other 11 dimensions might hitch a ride with us if we get too close to the edges. I recommend staying in the barrier." Everyone, even Professor Crowler, found themselves taking the Other Jaden's advice.
"Alright!" Everyone looked to Jaden as he took a card out. "I play Legacy of a Hero! This spell card allows me to send back two fusion monsters from my grave back to my extra deck, and then I can draw 3 cards! I send back Terra Firma and Tempest!" Jaden placed the cards back where he needed them to be before taking more cards out of his thinning deck.
Jaden then spotted it: Professor Banner's last card! That could help even the playing field! But it looks like Jaden also drew another interesting combo.
"I summon Winged Kuriboh in defense mode!" Jaden Yuki cried out as his partner appeared on the battlefield.
Winged Kuriboh. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fairy/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200]
The little creature cooed as he saw how weak Jaden looked. "Yeah, I know. Even my losses weren't as tough as this duel. But we can't afford to lose here, buddy!" He took out the other card from his hand. "I play Transcendent Wings! By sacrificing two cards from my hand, I can turn Winged Kuriboh to Winged Kuriboh Level 10!"
Winged Kuriboh Level 10 [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fairy/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 10/ATK: 300/DEF: 200]
"Ah-ha! There we go!" Chazz remembered how that monster humiliated him during the promotion exams. Now he was cheering for the silly furball.
Jaden pointed in Hamon and Uria's general direction. "Now Winged Kuriboh gains the ability to tribute itself and destroy all attack position monsters on your side of the field! Then you take damage equal to their attack points!"
Winged Kuriboh Level 10 unfurled his wings that spanned over the floating battlefield. It turned into a dragon of pure light and raced for the dark alternates of the Egyptian Gods.
However, even with that energy, Wilona threw her hand outward. "Did you know, Yuki, that one of the spells I tributed for Hamon has a quick grave effect? Graveyard Party can be banished from my graveyard. When it is gone, I can turn all my monsters to defense position! I know Winged Kuriboh's 10th Level can only destroy attack position monsters!"
Hamon raced forward and used its wings as shields to intercept Winged Kuriboh Level 10. Witchcrafter Aruru pushed her staff-hammer forward while Judai told everyone to brace for impact.
Unfortunately, few could describe what happened next due to the blinding light that exploded when Winged Kuriboh clashed with Hamon. However, they could feel the shockwaves even as Aruru's barrier held.
Eventually, Hamon repulsed Winged Kuriboh, forcing back the monster into his spirit form and sent him flying until Honest flew up to catch the little one.
As Honest flew back down to Jaden, Winged Kuriboh cooed weakly.
"Don't worry, buddy. You did your best." Jaden looked up to the other spirit. "Thanks, Honest."
"Jaden, when you defeat the Sacred Beasts, give me a chance to speak with Wilona."
The Hero duelist looked up to the Angel Spirit. "Alright, but Wilona's covering her bases. I haven't even made Uria go through his reincarnation phase once."
Honest nodded as he understood what he was asking. He then disappeared into Jaden's deck. Yet, the brunette realized letting Honest have his words might be the next big chance to saving Wilona and everyone else if the duel continued with Wilona's momentum.
"I throw down a facedown, and I end my turn!"
Turn 9: Wilona. Cards: 0.
Wilona drew her card, but Jaden then shouted. "Go, Pinpoint Guard! I can special summon a level 4 or lower monster in my grave in defense position, and it can't be destroyed by battle or card effects this turn! Come back and lend me a hand, Winged Kuriboh!" Jaden had to activate this card now, or else Uria would have destroyed it without him being able to chain it.
Winged Kuriboh. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Fairy/Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 1/ATK: 300/DEF: 200]
The little creature cooed as he returned to the field.
Wilona looked at the card in her hand. "I play Card of Sanctity. We both draw until we have six cards in our hand."
They both drew from their decks, but as Jaden did so, he and everyone else noticed Uria and Hamon roaring.
"I have a bad feeling about one of the cards Wilona just drew." Brier looked up at the Sacred Beasts, who both seemed to be making space.
"I play the spell card, Vassal Pledge! If I have a Vassal Monster in my graveyard, such as Berlineth, I'm allowed to special summon two Vassal Cards from my deck in exchange for not summoning from my Extra Deck and that I can't attack this turn. Since Kuriboh is invulnerable, I don't mind this stipulation. I special summon Landrobe and Garum!"
The two vassal monsters appeared on the field before they both knelt on the ground.
Landrobe the Rock Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Rock/ Attribute: EARTH/Level: 4/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
Garum the Storm Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Winged-Beast/ Attribute: Wind/Level: 3/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
"And Vassal Pledge isn't finished! When the two are successfully summoned, Berlineth returns to the field!" The fire vassal bowed as he returned.
Berlineth the Firestorm Vassal [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Pyro/ Attribute: FIRE/Level: 3/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
Everyone saw how three monsters appeared on Wilona's side of the field. Then, they watched her pick up a card as the wormhole around them started to speed up even though it should already be impossible. "I summon the final Sacred Beast by sacrificing my vassals! Come forth, Raviel, Lord of Phantasms!"
The vassals all melted into a dark shadow, and soon, it formed and grew into the Sacred Beast that Wilona first wielded.
Raviel, the Lord of Phantasms [Type: Divine-Beast/ Attribute: DIVINE/Level: 10/ ATK: 4000/ DEF: 4000]
With all three Sacred Beasts re-summoned, they let loose roars that shook everyone and even the wormhole to the very core. Some of the watchers swore they saw cracks in the wormhole and spotted what looked to be glimpses of other worlds.
But then the acceleration went so fast that even the light of colors could not keep up. Eventually, the rainbow lights of the wormhole stopped, and all around them was not even darkness but the color black.
"W-Where are we?" Beauregard asked as he and the others looked around.
"Everyone," They all turned to Revendread Slayer as he pointed upward. "Look."
Above the battlefield of Wilona and Jaden, there was something like a small star. Aruru waved her hammer, and an image appeared before them.
"Is that a...?" Alexis trailed off before everyone tried to look at the zoomed image.
"That is!" Chumley shouted.
The Copy-Cat duelist pointed. "That's a Kuriboh!"
Well, it was more like a piece of cosmic space that took the form of a Kuriboh. Instead of eyes, it had stars in the shape of crosses.
"So that is it. That's the Tag Force?" Revendread Slayer studied the source of this entire war.
"It's much more complicated than my spell can reveal." Aruru began. "Its true form is nothing but pure cosmic energy balancing worlds that we don't even know. In fact, it's encompassing the entire void, but we're all perceiving it as an image we can comprehend. I don't recommend anyone leaving the barrier even more than before. Who knows what could be pulled here due to our presence alone?"
"If I may take a step back in that conversation: to me, it looks nothing like a Kuriboh."
Everyone watching turned to the voice to see Paradox looking up at the miniature star. "But if I were to tell you what I see, well... that's some big spoilers."
"Paradox!" Chazz snarled. "You've got a lot of nerve standing right over there when you've messed with not only us but some of the other Shadow Riders!"
"As much as I would love to see him eviscerated," Camula began as she sharpened her nails, "Even I know what were to happen if we fight him here and now."
"What? Come on, can't you Shadow Riders use all your powers to at least deck the guy? He's been like a huge pain the whole dang war!" Gloria leered at the masked blonde.
"Would you say the same towards the 8th and the 3rd Shadow Rider?" Aruru's answer was meant for everyone, not just as an answer for one. "Sadly, the second is a powerful being that only those two can harm him."
"This barrier Aruru put up is important," Judai kept leering at Paradox as he said this. "A fight might destroy this dome, and then the Tag Force will... let's say it will repel us since it only cares about Wilona and Jaden."
"Why do I get the feeling you're using a much kinder term?" Bastion started to feel uneasy the longer he looked at the Kuriboh.
Paradox's voice held in a laugh. "Oh, it'll repel you. It just won't care enough to return you to where you belong. You might not end up at either the Human or Spirit world if it recognizes you're not one of the two who are dueling right now. But as long as you all behave like good little girls, boys, and whatever you call yourselves, we'll have front row seats to a great show."
Back at the duel, Wilona finished staring at the Tag Force from where she stood. "Now, I switch Uria to attack mode and leave Hamon in defense mode!"
"Why is she leaving Hamon in defense mode?" Alexis asked.
"I was going to do that," Everyone turned to Kagemaru. "Hamon has an ability that if he's in defense mode, you can only target Hamon with attacks and card effects due to his strong electromagnetism. With Raviel getting stronger for every monster Jaden summons, and Uria destroying all set cards, it would have been the perfect combo I'd use to defeat Jaden. How did she figure out that combo so quickly?"
Everyone felt worried that Wilona figured out the Sacred Beasts' combo formation even though she had just taken the cards. They turned back to the duel as Wilona placed one set card and waited for Jaden next.
Turn 10: Jaden. Cards: 6.
If there was one upside to this state, Jaden had seven cards in his hand: more than enough to bring out a good play.
"You know? I'm glad you summoned Hamon, Wilona. If you kept that field spell up, I wouldn't have my fusions again! I first summon Elemental HERO Stratos in attack mode!"
Elemental HERO Stratos [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WIND/Level: 4/ ATK: 1800/ DEF: 200]
Wilona pointed towards the blue Sacred Beast. "Raviel has an ability that lets me special summon a fiend token in defense position whenever you summon a monster." As she exclaimed this, a smaller fiend similar to Raviel appeared on the field. [Type: Token/Sub-type: Fiend/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 1/ ATK: 1000/ DEF: 1000]
"You're not the only one with summon abilities! I can activate one of Stratos' effects when he's summoned, and I choose to add an Elemental HERO from my deck to my hand! Then, I play Polymerization! I fuse Lady Heat and Stratos to summon Elemental HERO Great Tornado!"
Elemental HERO Great Tornado [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WIND/Level: 8/ ATK: 2800/ DEF: 2200]
The winds formed together to bring out a cloaked hero who floated the ground.
"Raviel summons another token when you summon a monster." Wilona motioned to her last monster zone as another Token soon took its place.
"Here comes my Hero's effect! I can Half the Attack and Defense Points of all monsters on my opponent's side of the field! That's right, all! Even Hamon can't protect you from that!"
Great Tornado unleashed a gale of winds that forced the Sacred Beasts to cower.
(ATK: 4000 →2000/DEF: 4000 → 2000)(ATK: 4000 →2000/DEF: 4000 → 2000)(ATK: 3000 →1500/DEF: 3000 → 1500) (ATK: 1000 →500/DEF: 1000 → 500) (ATK: 1000 →500/DEF: 1000 → 500)
"Way to play, J!" Syrus shouted as everyone saw the Sacred Beasts weakening from the Wind Hero's effect.
"I'm not done, Wilona!" Jaden took out another card. "I play Call of The Earth! By sending Elemental HEROes Ocean and Woodsman to the grave from my deck, I can re-summon Elemental Hero Terra Firma!"
Elemental HERO Terra Firma [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: EARTH/Level: 8/ ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2000]
As he said this, the familiar hero returned to the field in a blinding light.
"Now I play Fusion Recovery to bring back Polymerization and Elemental HERO Avain! Then, I fuse him and Burstinatrix to bring out Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
Elemental HERO Flame Wingman [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WIND/Level: 6/ ATK: 2100/ DEF: 1200]
With all three heroes, and Winged Kuriboh, Jaden's field looked exactly like a scene where the heroes arrived to take down the big bad once and for all.
"Licious! Look at all those Fusion Monsters!" Chumley looked pumped up.
"If Jaden can destroy Hamon with Flame Wingman, then he can deal 2000 points of damage to Wilona! That's more than her remaining Life Points!" Crowler shouted.
Jaden punched the air while all of his monsters readied for their final assualt. "Go, Flame Wingman! Attack Ha—"
If Jaden was dueling against Kagemaru or any other duelist, his attack would have went through, and he would have saved the world. "Go, Threatening Roar!" Yet Wilona's determination and honed talent with dueling rivaled that of Jaden's drive to win. "You cannot conduct a battle phase this turn, Yuki!"
All three Sacred Beasts unleashed a combined roar that made all of Jaden's monsters cover their ears and writhe in pain.
Jaden started to sweat when he saw his attack thwarted. He looked back to Wilona, but saw the same deadly serious look on her face she had when she started this duel. "I'll end my turn by throwing two facedowns!"
"This isn't good. Wilona is countering whatever Jaden throws at her." Atticus said aloud.
Seika narrowed her eyes. "Even on the defensive, she's keeping up the pressure. She's forcing Jaden to waste resources on beating the Sacred Beasts. At the rate things are going, Jaden's soon going to make a mistake, and Wilona will capitalize on it."
Chazz gripped his fist before he turned to Judai. "You said he had the keys to defeating the Sacred Beast!"
"He does. Believe it or not, I'd probably do the same in this situation. He's doing the same to Wilona. He's trying to get her to waste her defenses so that he'll have a clear shot to use Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone."
Bastion looked back at the field while sweat rolled down his face. "In other words, they're both waiting for the other to make the first mistake."
However, they could all tell that if someone was going to make the first mistake, it was going to be Jaden.
Turn 11: Wilona. Cards: 3.
Wilona drew her next card before she looked forward in the duel. "Raviel can take the power of his two tokens and gain their attack points to add to his own!" Everyone watched as the blue Sacred Beast reached for his fiend tokens and crushed them for more power.
(ATK: 2000 →3000)
Wilona then motioned to Uria. "Uria, destroy one of Yuki's set cards!" The red Sacred Beast unleashed a fireball that destroyed Jaden's centermost card. The girl thought about setting Hamon back to attack mode, but decided against it incase Jaden's last facedown was a target ability. Then she pointed to Great Tornado. "Raviel, destroy his Wind Hero!"
"Wait a second! I know how Great Tornado works!" Dimitri cried out. "As long as he's on the field, the Sacred Beasts will have their points halved! But when he's destroyed, the others will regain their attack points! And Uria will have enough attack points to wipe out the rest of Jaden's life points!"
"Oh no!" Syrus cried out.
"You didn't destroy this card, Wilona!" Jaden motioned to his last set card. "I play Elemental Recharge! I gain 1000 Life Points for every Elemental Hero Monster on my field! I have 3, so I gain 3000 Life points!"
Jaden: 950 → 3950 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
The green-haired girl narrowed her eyes as she realized her own misplay. Instead, she moved on and pointed at the Wind Hero. "Raviel, attack Great Tornado!"
The Blue Sacred Beast roared before punching the air, creating a shockwave in the form of a giant fist that smashed the Wind Hero into the pieces as he crashed into the ground.
(ATK: 3000 →4000/DEF: 2000 → 4000)(ATK: 2000 →4000/DEF: 2000 → 4000)(ATK: 1500 →4000/DEF: 1500 → 4000)
Jaden: 3950 → 3750 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
With Great Tornado no longer on the field, the attack points of the Sacred Beasts returned. "Now, Uria, destroy Elemental HERO Flame Wingman!"
The being roared as instead of firing again, it swooped in with uncanny speed then swallowed Jaden's favorite hero whole. With the Hero trapped inside, Uria enflamed his entire mouth while clamping his mouth shut. Jaden and the others could feel Wingman being burned inside the maw despite not being able to see the creature.
Jaden: 3750 → 1850 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Yet, the despair only continued as Wilona pointed forward once more. "I'm not finished, Yuki! Raviel can attack twice if he used his tribute ability!"
Jaden's eyes widened while everyone gasped at the realization that Wilona didn't need to use that ability against Kagemaru.
"Raviel, destroy Terra Firma!" The Sacred Beast looked over to Jaden's most prized hero before unleashing a swipe of dark energy that tore the warrior into pieces.
Jaden: 1850 → 350 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Jaden fell to his knees as he felt more of his energy leaving him. All three Sacred Beasts did not hesitate to absorb more of Slifer Red's essence. When they did, the star above them grew brighter while everyone could feel movement in the void around them. Belowski clutched his head as he could hear voices from other realms slipping through.
"Mmmaann! This ain't looking good, bros!" The Moki-Moki duelist winced before falling back down even with the support of Damon and Beauregard. He seemed to be extra sensitive towards the energy flowing around them.
"We're moving closer to the Tag Force," Aruru looked up. "The more Dueling Energy the Sacred Beasts absorb from Jaden, the closer we're getting to it."
"And the closer we are, the bigger the chances of something from the other worlds will notice us." Judai narrowed his eyes. "And with how violent the Sacred Beasts are? There's a good chance of something entering here from another world completely alien to the two we're used to."
"I'm worried. What's happening to the world right now if we're this close? Is it already dead?!" Damon asked.
"Don't panic," Judai turned to the former jungle boy. "As long as Jaden is still dueling, your world can still be saved."
"You do realize he looks like he can barely stand now, right?!" Camula turned to the Alternate Jaden.
"Oh, Wilona. You gotta stop this." Alexis whispered as she looked over to her friend. She quietly put her hands together to pray that this was all just a nightmare.
But this was one nightmare that needed to be seen through. Wilona placed a card into her duel disk. "I'll end my turn with one facedown."
Turn 12: Jaden. Cards: 1
Both Kuriboh and Honest turned to Jaden as he struggled to stand. With everyone looking over at Jaden, no one but Paradox noticed Wilona showing concern and stepping forward as if to help her friend. However, she stepped back and look down in shame.
"L-Looks like I don't have a choice now." Jaden drew his next card and then looked at Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone. "Alright, let's see how this is going to work."
While Jaden read the card's effects, The Tag Force slowly turned its "eyes" towards the Slifer Red.
"Okay! I'm going to need card number 1!"
Jaden: 350 → 175 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Wilona's eyes widened when she saw Jaden's life points drop for almost no reason. She thought back to what card in the Hero Duelist's deck could do such a thing, but then she recalled Professor Banner's last words.
"Don't tell me," Chazz saw Wilona's eyes hardening. "The witch knows about the Anti-Sacred Beast card?!"
"She was there when Professor Banner handed Jaden the book, but maybe she forgot?" Syrus hoped.
"Syrus, I know you mean well, but that's not helping," Jasmine said flatly.
"I'm going to summon Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier in defense mode!"
Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ ATK: 1400/ DEF: 1300]
"When Liquid Soldier arrives, I can bring back a hero from my graveyard! I choose to bring back Elemental HERO Sparkman in defense mode!"
Elemental HERO Sparkman. [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 4/ ATK: 1600/ DEF: 1400]
"Because you summoned two monsters, Yuki," Wilona pointed to him before motioning to Raviel. "I can summon two more tokens to my side of the field thanks to Raviel."
Jaden went on and took the card he drew this turn. "I now give Sparkman the Spark Blaster!"
"Spark Blaster at this moment? You better know what you're doing, Slifer Slacker!" Chazz tightened his fist.
"With Spark Blaster, Sparkman has three shots that can change the position of a monster! I choose to bring Hamon back to attack mode!" Sparkman aimed his gun at the Sacred Beast. He shot a blast of concentrated energy right into Hamon's blue orb above his face. The Sacred Beast cried out in anguish and furled his wings as he went back into attack mode.
"With Hamon back in attack mode, I can use my abilities on the others!" Jaden took out Sabatiel and concentrated on his second card.
Jaden: 175 → 88 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Jaden smiled as he saw the second card appear in his hand. "I play Miracle Fusion! I can banish both Sparkman and Elemental Hero Flame Wingman to bring out Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman!"
A distortion in the void allowed Sparkman and Flame Wingman to jump into the wrinkle in time and space. As they made contact, a light shined in the form of one of Jaden's most powerful Elemental Heroes.
Elemental HERO Shining Flare Wingman [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 8/ ATK: 2500/ DEF: 2100]
"And he gains 300 attack points for every Elemental HERO monster in my graveyard! And you never knew that I sent Elemental HERO Necroshade when I summoned Winged Kuriboh Level 10! That means there's a whopping total of 12 Elemental HEROes in my graveyard!"
"3600 extra attack points!?" Alexis screamed what everyone realized.
(ATK: 2500 →6100)
"Just in case," Jaden used Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone a third time.
Jaden: 88 → 44 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
Yet Jaden held on to his 3rd and final card before taking Professor Banner's card. "I now play Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone! I can equip this card to a monster, like Elemental HERO Flare Wingman! His attack gets multiplied by the number of monsters on my opponent's side of the field! You have 5, Wilona!"
(ATK: 6100 →30500)
"WHAT!? 30,500 Attack points!? That's the most I've ever seen!" Syrus shouted out loud.
"It's time to end this nightmare! Flare Wingman, destroy Raviel!" As Jaden punched the air, Flare Wingman sped off fast enough to create a shockwave. He reeled his fist back as far as he could that sparked with shining light before unleashing both power and speed right into Raviel.
The resulting explosion was so big that it swallowed Hamon and Uria along with them. And as the cloud of fire raced towards Wilona, she only sighed and looked down before seemingly allowing the attack to consume her.
"Wilona!" Jaden cried out before he and everyone else had to brace themselves from the shockwave of the attack.
...
...
...
As the attack finally settled down, Jaden looked up to his duel disk. "Huh? What!?"
Jaden: 44 LP
Wilona: 1950 LP
He looked up to Wilona's side of the field. As the dust settled, Wilona was seen standing there... with a trap card activated.
"I play the card, Meat Shield! By sacrificing all other monsters before damage calculation, I take no Battle or Effect Damage for the rest of this turn!" She declared. "I sacrificed Uria, Hamon, and the tokens to negate both battle damage and Flare Wingman's effect damage!"
"Okay," Everyone turned to see even Judai sweating. "I wasn't actually expecting her to survive Sabatiel."
After Judai admitted that, many started to realize that this might be their last moment in life.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but," Chazz sighed. "Jesse, out of everyone here, you're the only one I ever considered a friend."
Everyone felt the world really was going to end if Chazz was being nice to other people. "L-Let's not get too hasty there, Chazz!" Bastion stepped forward. "Jaden might still turn this around! He has the highest attack monster I've seen in any duel, possibly ever!"
"And I heard what you said, Yuki!" Wilona pointed to Flare Wingman. "Sabatiel multiplies your monster's attack by how many monsters are on my field! I have zero! So your monster's current attack is now...!"
(ATK: 30500 →0)
Everyone watched in stunned silence as the massive attack point boost turned into the most dreaded number they could imagine.
"She's exposed Sabatiel's only weakness when no one else ever has," Judai gulped. "Okay. If you guys start to panic now, I won't blame you."
Bastion turned to Alexis. "Alexis, I've had a crush on you ever since we've met."
"What!? Hey, Ra Yellow Jerk! Alexis is who I love!" Chazz yelled before he got into the Ra Yellow's face.
"I am curious to learn more about this crush," Aruru spoke with a dark interest while Grace silently shared her sentiments.
"I've had a crush on Alexis too!" Syrus blurted out.
"Me too!" Dimitri concurred.
"Same." Damon raised his hand.
"Man, I wouldn't mind surfing the cosmic waves with her," Belowski managed to sigh dreamily.
"I-I always thought she was really nice," Beauregard poked his fingers together shyly.
"I always wished I was taller so I could ask her out," Brier muttered with a flushed face.
Seika saw an opportunity to mess with her friends even now. "Zane too!"
"HE WHAT!?" Atticus glared at his former best friend.
"Atticus, do not listen to Seika. Seika, do not spread lies about me at the end of the world."
After hearing a majority of the Music Club males having a crush on Alexis, Mindy stepped forward. "Aww, Alexis, I'm so jealous that you could capture so many boys' hearts! And I never got to be with anyone!" Mindy hugged Alexis and began to tear up. "Hold me until the end of the world!"
"...Suddenly, I hope Wilona destroys us all faster." It was very tough being Alexis Rhodes at that moment.
Back at the Duel, Jaden gritted his teeth. He took the last card from Sabatiel and placed it facedown in his Trap and Spell zone.
"Jaden, you've done well." The tired Slifer Ace looked up to see Honest unfurling his wings. "Let me handle it from here."
The Angel spirit flew over towards Wilona. The young teen looked up before she looked back towards her deck.
Yet, Honest did not say anything.
"Well?" Wilona scoffed. "Aren't you going to tell me to stop? Aren't you going to scold me for being so selfish? So stupid? That I'm risking everyone and everything for something that might not even be real? Why are you just—"
The sad and angry girl could not believe that Honest placed a hand gently on her shoulder... and gave her the warmest smile she had seen in what feels like forever.
"Did you know, in Yusuke's first year in Duel Academy, he found an injured rabbit not too far from his dorms?" Honest began gently.
Wilona looked at the spirit in disbelief. "What?"
"Most people wouldn't have even spotted the poor creature, but Yusuke just... felt the fear and pain of the creature enough to search and search until he found it hidden behind a bush. I watched him spend an entire week feeding and healing the small creature until he was ready to let him back into the wild." The Duel Spirt continued the story with a nostalgic smile. "It was thanks to him that I learned how kind and empathetic humans could be. And now I know that you are so much like him, Wilona."
Wilona could only stare in disbelief at the Duel Spirit.
"It's not that you're doing this because you don't care about anyone but yourself. You're threatening the world because you love your mother so much that you're willing to be the worst person in the world for her. Just like Yusuke locked me up because he didn't want me to suffer with him when he lost his parents."
Back in the group, everyone watched Honest speak with Wilona.
"What's that Angel doing?" Brier asked.
Bastion couldn't tell. "I don't know. He's speaking too softly to hear anything. Aruru?"
"Sorry, I can't enhance sound like I can with visuals because of how I created this dome."
"What..." Alexis trailed off before noticing the calmer look on Wilona's face. "What's he saying to Wilona?"
Judai turned to Atticus as the green-haired young man quietly grabbed his head in pain.
"Wilona," Honest gently said her name. He moved slow and was able to give the broken-hearted girl a hug. "You are one of the kindest and most caring people I have ever met, and I thank you for being yourself. It's alright to feel hurt and angry. I promise that we will all be there for you as long as you take your time. I wish I could have told this to Yusuke before he put me away, but now? I am here for you. And just like him, I will never forget you."
Wilona paused before the light in her eyes returned. She didn't realize how much people did love her besides her mother. The words of Honest warmed her heart, and Wilona ended up hugging the duel spirit in return. She dug her face into his torso and started to cry.
Jaden sighed in relief. Honest did it! He stopped Wilo—
SNAP!
Everyone had let their guard down at the worst possible moment. Judai and Revendread Slayer turned to see Paradox had just finished snapping his fingers.
No one then expected Wilona's shadow to rise up and take the form of a being of devilish being that looked similar to the Token from the Dark Dimension. Faster than anyone was prepared for, the darkness being ripped Honest away from Wilona and seemingly fired something at the Tag Force.
The audience watched the enhanced image of what looked like a lance stopping just before hitting the Tag Force Kuriboh. Its star eyes burned red as it turned its gaze down on both Honest and the darkness being wrestling on the ground away from the duel. With a wave of both its tiny hands, a giant red laser struck the two from above.
"No!" Wilona reached out for the angel. "Hone—" In a flash of light, both Honest and the darkness being had vanished, leaving only one of Honest's feathers behind. "—st...?" Wilona stared with horrifying silence at the vanishing of her friend.
There were no words, but there were fists as Revendread Slayer punched Paradox into the ground before he used one of his tendrils to pin the 2nd Shadow Rider.
Then he punched him some more.
However, even as the 3rd wailed on him, Paradox managed to speak in between beatings. "What!? ... Judai used... that Darkness Token... on... me back in our... duel... why... couldn't I... use... it... now?!" Even though Slayer was punching hard enough to crack the ground beneath them, Paradox only laughed after each punch.
Slayer picked Paradox by the collar and slammed him back down.
Specifically, Paradox got thrown at the feet of an enraged Yuki Judai. The 8th Shadow Rider's eyes glowed both green and orange while an oppressive aura shot out of him.
"What did you do, Paradox?" Everyone else was surprised as this was the first time they had seen Jaden furious, even if it was from an alternate version of him.
"What? All I did was influence the token into thinking Honest was harming his host. How was I supposed to know their tussle would make the Tag Force banish them?" They could all tell he was lying. "Oh, don't worry. He's got a 1 in 12 chance of being in the Human world. And a 1 in 6 chance of being in either the Human or Spirit World. Those are pretty good odds, right?"
Aruru raised her hammer and slammed it down on Paradox's head. As she lifted it, a specialized orb of energy surrounded the second Shadow Rider's face.
"I should have used that seal on him earlier." Aruru managed to spitefully say.
"Wilona, calm down!"
Everyone turned towards Jaden as he shouted that. When they looked at Wilona, they saw that she was still frozen at where Honest vanished. However, when Aruru used an enhanced image of the green-haired girl, they noticed several things. Wilona was trembling, her pupils were dilating, and tears were falling down her face.
"She's hyperventilating." Sheppard gasped. "Don't tell me she's having a panic attack at this moment!?" Wilona snapped because her mother died, and Kagemaru made the situation worse for the poor girl. Now? The one person who seemed to finally calm her down was forcibly ripped away from her again by forces that were beyond her control.
The number of wild emotions in Wilona was enough to make the void feel unsettled at that moment.
"Wilona, we can get him back, but you gotta relax!" Jaden tried to calm his friend.
However, Jaden had a bad feeling in his stomach when he saw Wilona's hand curled into a fist.
"...aaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?" The girl unleashed a yell that held nothing but pain... and the need to inflict it unto others.
Turn 13: Wilona. Cards: 3
She reached for her deck and practically ripped the top card off.
When she did, everyone saw the black void around them start to... crack?
"Oh. Oh shit." Judai appropriately observed the very state of their situation. "Is she summoning that!? Now!?"
Without even looking at the card she drew, she held it up high. Only Paradox and Judai noticed a dark aura physically changing the card before she played it. "I play the Spell Card, Dimension Fusion Destruction! I banish Hamon, Raviel, and Uria to fusion summon this ultimate monster!"
"Fusion summon? But Wilona, you don't have a single card in your extra deck!"
Unfortunately for Jaden Yuki, no one—not even the laws of reality— wanted to prove a wrathful Wilona wrong.
As such, the void behind her started to crack. And a monster bigger than even the Sacred Beasts eventually broke through the void. What appeared before everyone was nothing short of nightmare demons put together into a being that could make gods cower at its presence alone.
"I don't care about where you come from. I don't care what you are! All I want is to see the world bleed and broken before me! Come forth, Armityle the Chaos Phantasm!" Wilona's soul cried out the name of the beast before it unleashed a conclave of madness that barely constituted as sounds.
Even under Aruru's barrier, everyone could feel their eardrums splitting apart.
Armityle the Chaos Phantasm [Type: Divine(?)-Beast/ Attribute: DIVINE(?) (DARK)/Level: 12/ ATK: 0/ DEF: 0]
Jaden, after regaining his senses, looked at the beast. He could only gasp in horror as he realized the being was an amalgamation of all three Sacred Beasts. Not only that, it was practically the size of the very Volcano of Duel Academy! Jaden couldn't even see its lower half!
"Other Jaden!?" Chazz looked over to Judai for some semblance of sanity and maybe hope. "What the hell is that!?"
"That's Armityle! The fusion form of the Sacred Beasts! But something's wrong! It was never this big and powerful in my timeline!"
"The Sacred Beasts... can fuse? I-I did not know..." Kagemaru gapped in awe. In the meantime, everyone really started to hate how much worse the situation kept getting.
Back at the Duel, Jaden faced down one of the biggest and baddest duel monsters he's ever seen. "Alright. That's not good." The Slifer Ace was correct, but that didn't make it any less scary.
"Armityle, destroy Flare Wingman!" Wilona commanded the beast towards Jaden's Elemental Hero.
The Hero duelist had a bad feeling about what was about to happen. "You have a monster again, Wilona! Thanks to Sabatiel, Flare Wingman regains his original attack boost!"
(ATK: 0 →6100)
Jaden shouted to the girl. "Whatever effect it has, I bet even that fusion can't beat over 6000 points!"
Wilona turned her point into a clenched fist. "Armityle's ability allows him to deal 10,000 points of Battle Damage to an opponent!"
"Me and my big mouth." Jaden looked at his very solid 44 life points. Yeah—he needed to act now. "I reveal my last card from Sabatiel! The continuous Trap, Astral Mischief! If Necroshade is in my graveyard, I can redirect your monster's attacks and card effects to another one of my monsters! I'm changing the target to Winged Kuriboh!"
The spirit of Necroshade appeared and grabbed Winged Kuriboh. It teleported in between Flare Wingman and the behemoth of a monster about to unleash enough power to make a nuke look like a joke.
Winged Kuriboh started to shine and created a dome around Jaden and the other two heroes on his field.
"Aruru!?" Judai turned to the Witchcrafter Golem as Armityle started finishing his attack.
"Everyone brace yourself!" She shouted as she slammed her hammer into the ground and solidified the barrier around them.
Wilona pointed forward, in too much pain to realize the damage she was about to do. "Armityle, Extreme Extermination!"
One moment. There was just one moment where the beginning of the attack made no sound what so over. That moment passed when light, heat, and power exploded like a supernova right into Winged Kuriboh's barrier.
It was a miracle that the battlefield of Jaden and Wilona held even under the presence of the Sacred Beasts.
But Armityle had enough power to kill miracles.
The island started to crack and explode into pieces, even throwing off Aruru's barrier into the void around them.
Meanwhile, Winged Kuriboh struggled to hold the barrier as he took the brunt of Armityle's attack.
"Hold on, buddy!" Jaden cried out as he braced himself. However, the barrier could not withstand such an attack for long. Before the beam got to them, Liquid Soldier and Flare Wingman both moved in to shield their duelist.
After the attack—no. After the catastrophe, there was no longer an arena. Instead, debris floated aimlessly around the void while the Tag Force continued to watch in silence.
Jaden opened his eyes first and gasped as he realized he stood on nothing more than a floating rock. He quickly turned to his friends. While he didn't pay much attention, he did know that they arrived during his duel with Wilona and tried to find any sign of them.
"Guys!?" He shouted to the void. "Where are you!? Answer if you're alright!?"
Then he heard someone answer, not from his friends, but from right in front of him. Jaden turned to see Winged Kuriboh fading?!
"Buddy!? What happened?!" Jaden took his partner's card and saw it turning white in one corner. "No! Don't tell me this new fusion can absorb you guys now?!"
The little creature cooed weakly. "Phew! You scared me, buddy. You just gave your all to stop that attack? Thanks for saving our bacon there."
Kuriboh pointed across from Jaden. With the battlefield mostly gone, Jaden could now see all of Armityle's form. And he wished he didn't.
"With that," Below the mega-monster, Wilona also stood on a floating rock that took the shape of a platform. "I end my turn with one set card."
Turn 14: Jaden. Cards: 0.
Jaden started to sweat. He put Kuriboh's card to the graveyard before he reached for his deck.
It was then that Jaden realized how low his deck count was. This was a problem since Jaden knew he spent some of his best combos on the Monarchs and the Sacred Beasts. But now he had to face a fusion version of the Sacred Beasts; Wilona knew how to expose Sabatiel's weakness, and now? Jaden didn't know if his deck had any plays left in it to help him out.
Jaden's eyes widened when he realized what he drew. He forgot that Syrus gave him that card when they got their rare packs during the Promotion Exams. It was super lucky to even find this card, but Syrus let him have it. That made Jaden super happy to keep the card.
How could he not be happy? It was the same card Yugi once used.
"I play the spell card, Swords of Revealing Light!" Jaden slapped the card hard into his slot. As he claimed this, over a hundred swords of light surrounded and restricted Armityle's movements. Wilona herself only narrowed her eyes towards the spell card in question. "For the next three of your turns, Wilona, you can't attack!"
Jaden felt relief after calling that. And here he was doubting his own deck!
"I end my turn!"
Turn 15: Wilona. Cards: 2. (Swords of Revealing Light: 1)
The green-haired girl was quiet before she took her next card.
"Wilona!" Jaden shouted. "Please, you gotta..." He stopped himself as he knew he was repeating himself. Darn it! If only he heard what Honest was saying to her! Why did he have to be so gentle with...
Gentle?
Jaden's thoughts got interrupted when Wilona cried out then pointed to his continuous trap and continuous spell. "When my opponent has two cards in their spell and trap zone, I'm allowed to special summon Escher the Frost Vassal in defense mode!
Escher The Frost Vassal . [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Aqua/ Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ ATK: 800/ DEF: 1000]
Jaden started to panic when he saw the frost vassal. If Wilona summoned Mobius at this point in the game, he could destroy Swords of Revealing Light, which would allow Raviel to attack again! He'd be doomed if that creature could freely attack once more!
"I sacrifice Escher to bring our Caius the Shadow Monarch in defense mode!" While Jaden was relieved to hear that Swords of Reveal Light was safe, he still knew Caius as one of Wilona's more prominent Monarchs.
Caius The Shadow Monarch. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-type: Fiend/ Attribute: DARK/Level: 6/ ATK: 2400/ DEF: 1000]
"You've got two monsters again, Wilona!" The Hero Duelist tried to remain calm. "Thanks to Sabatiel, Flare Wingman's attack increases again!"
(ATK: 6100 →12200)
"Caius can banish one card on the field!" The Slifer Ace had forgotten about Caius' banish ability! "I choose..." Jaden's heart skipped a beat as the girl pointed towards what he thought was Swords of Revealing Light. "...Flare Wingman as his target!" The shadow Monarch quickly threw a shadow orb right for the shining fusion.
The Monarch Duelist's target was even worse than Swords of Revealing Light! If Wilona got rid of Flare Wingman, he'd also lose Sabatiel. He needed both to stand a chance against Wilona and Armityle! "I activate Astral Mischief again! I move the target of Caius' effect to Elemental HERO Liquid Soldier!"
Liquid Soldier moved to intercept Caius' shadow attack. Jaden saw Caius' devasting ability before, but being on the recieving end of it in a shadow game was another thing entirely. His water hero actually screamed in pain as his body was erased by the dark orb.
"Sorry, Liquid!" Jaden lowered his arms after the blast died down. But this was good! With two monsters on Wilona's field, he could overpower Armityle or even attack Caius for the game on his next turn!
Jaden looked back at Wilona's side of the field and blinked.
He blinked again.
Then he brought his hands up and rubbed his eyes as hard as he could. However, he still saw the same thing! Or, more concerningly, a lack of something important.
"Uh? Wilona? Where the heck is Armityle?!" How could a giant demon-behemoth capable of destroying an entire island disappear in a void like this!?
"Armityle has a special ability that can only be activated on my main phase." The girl monotonously said to Jaden. The brunette did not like how she pointed to him. "I can send him over to your side of the field."
...Jaden could not believe what he had just heard. "Hey, is there something wrong with the sound here? It-It almost sounds like you just said that you gave Armityle to me." Wilona didn't respond, and Jaden—against every fiber of his being screaming at him not to do it—looked at his duel disk.
The card was on his Duel Disk, a dark aura surrounding it while it stayed on the duel disk. Then, both he and Flare Wingman heard a conclave of sounds that felt like mocking laughter. When they turned, they saw how much Armityle towered over the hero and his duelist, making them feel so small and hopeless to a wave of darkness that his presence never showed in Wilona's side.
And the worst part of it all?
Armityle's smile showed he savored how powerless they were against him.
"Now, I only have one monster on my field." Wilona, with determined but tired eyes, said. "You know what that does to Sabatiel."
(ATK: 12200 →6100)
"With that, I end my turn. However! Armytile's effect activates! At the End Phase, he can return to my side of the field. When he does, he banishes all monsters on his side of the field except for himself!"
"What did you say!?" Jaden gasped before he watched Armytile grab Flare Wingman. The dark fusion gave off another combination of cruel sounds that almost sounded like laughter before it vanished into the void with Flare Wingman in tow.
As it appeared on Wilona's field, the Swords of Revealing Light surrounded it once more. But Flare Wingman and Sabatiel, the only thing Jaden had that could stop Armityle, were gone.
Turn 16: Jaden. Cards: 0
"Okay. I lost Sabatiel. Wilona has an even stronger form of the Sacred Beasts out. Both Winged Kuriboh and Honest are gone. I'm the only one left to stop the end of the world. And I'm really tired." Jaden groaned. "Yeesh! I know I love great comebacks, but did someone break the difficulty button?"
"Come on, guys. I know things look bad, but please tell me we can pull something off!" Jaden drew his next card.
But even his deck was feeling fatigued because the card that Jaden drew was H - Heated Heart. And all that did was increase a monster's attack by 500.
...
"I end my turn." With that, Jaden slumped to his knee. If his deck couldn't help him in his time of need, even after believing in it with every fiber of his being, then this might really be the end. Even his deck realized they could no longer fight against the onslaught of the Sacred Beast's growing power under Wilona's exceptional dueling skills.
Turn 17: Wilona. Cards: 1. (Swords of Revealing Light: 2)
Wilona snapped out of her anger a second time. She suddenly realized how—dare she think—defeated her usually brave and stubborn friend was. It... it didn't suit him at all. She looked down at the card that she drew: it was Mobius the Frost Monarch. If she summoned him now by sacrificing Caius, she could destroy Swords of Revealing Light and end this duel here and now.
"Wilona."
The girl looked up to Jaden.
"Were you finished? With the song? I remember you told me last time that you were almost done with it. Did you finish it?"
The green-haired girl paused for a second. In her anger and sorrow, she had forgotten about that. Seeing Yuki look so tired, she eventually answered. "I did finish it. Funny enough, it was the night I talked to you before Professor Banner's duel. I thought my mother could wait because you needed help more at that moment." Wilona did a combination of both a scoff and a laugh. "I missed her. I missed her by so little. I wish I..."
"Can... can I hear it?" Wilona looked to Jaden, who had his eyes closed. "I heard parts of it before, but you never showed more than a few notes. And I was always pumped to hear it. I... I really want to hear it." Even though he said it, there was a silent message that Wilona heard all too well. Jaden was too tired to fight back after the monarchs, the Sacred Beasts, the draining of his soul, and now? Even Armytile was pushing Jaden more than even he could handle.
Jaden Yuki, the most optimistic and stubborn person on the entire planet... was giving up.
Wilona found out that she hated what she did to her friend.
The girl's fist trembled. For the longest second of her life, she fought herself whether to end it all... or give it one more chance.
"Tell ya what?" She put Mobius into her hand. "If you can beat me, I'll play it for you. I end my turn."
Armityle growled as if sensing the hesitance in their master.
"Hush. You'll get your victory soon." Wilona snapped back to the creature. A small piece of her didn't want this duel to end with her victory. That same piece begged Jaden to pull off one last miracle.
Turn 18: Jaden. Cards: 1.
Jaden groaned as he tried to stand back up. "Do ya gotta be so uptight even now?"
"If I wasn't, you'd slack off more than usual." Wilona's voice was soft towards her fellow Slifer.
However, Jaden found it hard to even move up. His adrenaline stopped working at a critical moment. If he couldn't get rid of Armityle this turn, Swords of Revealing Light would fade. But how could he do it without Sabatiel? A small part of him even thought about throwing the towel right then and there.
Jaden was so despondent that he didn't notice something appearing from the void and heading towards him. "Stand up."
The Slifer Ace blinked as he looked up. Who was saying that?
"Stand up."
He was trying!
"Jaden Yuki, stand up."
Jaden spotted a small light float over to him that soon transformed into a figure that he wasn't expecting to see all the way here.
"N-No way! Yugi Moto?!" To Jaden, it was the King of Games himself! Wait, why was he wearing all those fancy Egyptian Gear? And was he always that tan? "You... look really good with a tan and those Egypt clothes."
The King of Games(?) gave him a small smile. "Thank you. But please, stand up. Your friend needs you."
"I don't even know if they're still around." Jaden winced as he finally got back up to his feet.
"I didn't mean them, even if they do need you." Jaden looked up as Yugi pointed to Wilona. "I meant her."
"Wilona?" Jaden looked at his friend. Now that he did, she looked sadder now than she did angry. Even at his state, Jaden had this feeling that made him want to go over there and cheer her up.
Yugi's voice brought the teen back to his senses. "It's not only for some friends you fight. You must fight for all of them as well."
But even though the King of Games said that, Jaden recalled everything he did and how it still wasn't enough. "But Yugi! I have! It's just..."
Yugi nodded after seeing Jaden look away. "I understand. You and your deck have been pushed to your limits, and it still doesn't seem to be enough. But then it means you must take a different approach."
"What'd ya mean?"
"If you cannot defeat your friend, save her." He then reached for Jaden's H - Heated Heart. "I will give you a little help." His hand shined as he touched the card. And in a flash, Yugi was gone.
Jaden looked around, trying to find any trace of the King of Games. However, the ghost vanished as quickly as he came. When Jaden looked down at his only card, his eyes widened to saucers.
"WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAA—"
Judai, and everyone else, woke up to the sound of an idiot screaming.
Aruru lowered her barrier enough so everyone could see again. The watchers saw debris around the area while Jaden was screaming his lungs out.
"W-What is that idiot doing?!" Chazz yelled.
Judai felt a shift in the air as if someone familiar had been there recently. "Yugi? Wait. No. No, it can't be..."
Unfortunately for them, Slayer turned his eyes where they needed to be. "Where's Paradox?"
Everyone looked to see Paradox long gone from where he was last left. However, they were interrupted when Jaden finally stopped screaming like a loon.
"Did you see that?!" Jaden looked over to Wilona as he pointed to where Yugi once stood.
"See what? All I saw was a strange light." The green-haired girl raised her brow.
Jaden just looked back at his card. As he did, he recalled the words Yugi told him. All this time, he's been trying to beat Wilona. But all that did was make Wilona fight even harder. Honest had the right idea: don't fight her, let her feel! Let her grieve! Be there for her at her worst! ... Like Jaden promised under the stars.
"Wilona!" Jaden shouted with renewed energy and pointed to his friend. "I promise! I promise that I will be there for you until the end!"
... "What?" Wilona had a hard time processing what Jaden had just said.
"I'm renewing my vows as they say! I promise that I'll be there when you're sad, when you're happy, and I won't ever leave you alone again!"
Everyone else watching just gapped for different reasons. However, the Tag Force watched Jaden create this promise towards the girl he was dueling with concentration it never showed to anything else.
"What," Bastion lost the ability to form words. "What in blazes is he doing?"
"It almost sounds like a love confession." Seika began to say.
"Shhhhhh!" Atticus silenced his friend as tears formed in his eyes. "I'm being moved by his passion!"
On the other hand, Wilona felt the need to melt into the void because Jaden was saying these kinds of things in front of everyone they knew.
"You idiot!" Her face was as red as her uniform. "Shut up! Don't say it like that!"
"You gotta keep your promise too, Wilona." When the purple-eyed girl heard Jaden, she noticed how determined he sounded. "Do you mean it!? That if I win, you'll play your song for me? No, for everyone in the end-of-the-year party!?"
Wilona became quiet for a moment. She eventually nodded once, much to the ire of Armityle.
Jaden's smile returned full swing. "Then I can't wait to hear it! I draw!" He looked at the card he drew. "Looks like you guys also got your second wind, huh?" He asked his deck. "I play my own Card of Sanctity!"
Zane's eyes narrowed. "What is Jaden doing? His deck can't be higher than 10 after the second Card of Sanctity."
Sora looked at the cards remaining in Jaden's deck, but could barely see anything under the top card. "It might even be less than 5 after the draw."
"He's making a comeback." Judai found himself smiling. "We might survive this after all. Yeesh, is this how everyone felt whenever I had to play in these situations?"
The two teens drew until they had six cards in their hands.
Jaden took another card from his hand. "I play my second Miracle Fusion! this time, I banish Bubbleman, Clayman, Burstinatrix, and Avain to bring out Elemental HERO Electrum!"
The Elemental Hero appeared in a flash of multi-colored lights.
Elemental HERO Electrum [Type: Fusion/Effect Monster/Sub-type: Warrior/ Attribute: LIGHT/Level: 10/ ATK: 2900/ DEF: 2600]
"When he's summoned, all banished cards return to their deck!" Jaden said this as Electrum sent all the banished cards back into both players' decks, giving at least a few more cards to Jaden's minuscule deck. "Next, I play De-Fusion!"
Wilona raised her brow. Was Jaden going to use it on Armityle? He'd have to deal with three monsters instead of the strong one, but he already lost the use of Sabatiel. So what would he be able to do?
"And I use it on Electrum!" When everyone heard him say that, many were confused, surprised, and horrified. However, Electrum vanished, and all four Elemental HEROes appeared on the field in defense mode.
Elemental HERO Clayman. [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: EARTH/Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF:2000]
Elemental HERO Avian. [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: WIND/Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF:1000]
Elemental HERO Burstinatrix. [Type: Normal Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: FIRE/Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 900]
Elemental HERO Bubbleman. [Type: Effect Monster/Sub-Type: Warrior/Attribute: WATER/Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF:1200]
"And here we go!" Jaden took his 3rd card. "Everyone here is in for the treat of a lifetime! For one duel and this duel only! I sacrifice Bubbleman, Avain, and Burstinatrix for a card given to me by the King of Games himself!"
"Wait? What? The King of Games was here? And he gave something to Jaden? Did he hit his head from Armityle's last attack or something?" Dimitri raised his brow.
However, Jaden was so excited that he punched upward and shouted, "Everyone, give a warm welcome to SLIFER, THE SKY DRAGON!"
Red thunder started to strike around the void until the energy started to form into a being that was as long as he was legendary. No one could believe their eyes as the iconic God Card revealed itself just as the King Games would call upon it.
Slifer the Sky Dragon. [Type: Divine-Beast/ Attribute: DIVINE/Level: 10/ ATK: ?/ DEF: ?]
Slifer unleashed a roar towards the dark god, Armityle that shook the void. And the presence of the Egyptian God made the fusion of the Sacred Beasts roar in anger and wrath at the opposing god. The auras of their roar clashed with each other, causing everyone to cover their ears and made cracks appear in Aruru's barrier.
Syrus and Chumley later dropped their jaws when they saw that their classmate summoned their Dorm's mascot.
"Ain't this craaaazyyy? Jaden Yuki summoning Slifer the Sky Dragon?" Belowski looked up and laughed. "I've had dreams tamer than this, maaannnn."
Jaden did his best to not giggle like a schoolgirl. He was doing a poor job of it. "I can't believe it! I actually did it! I summoned Slifer! I summoned Slifer! The King of Games himself came to save me and let me play Slifer! This is the best day of my life! No, possibly ever! This is the best day ever in the history of Duel Monsters!"
Wilona could only sigh and shake her head. Even when the fate of the world hinged on these last few turns, Yuki still was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning. She didn't notice Armityle leering at her the less angry she became. She also didn't notice a small tendril reaching for the back of her neck and her facedown card.
Slifer made a soft grunt and turned his eyes towards Jaden.
"Oh! Uhh, right! Sorry about that, Mr. Slifer! I can't believe I'm about to say this, and it's not a dream! Erhm!" Jaden cleared his throat. "I activate Slifer's effect!" Jaden fought the urge to pause and savor how saying that felt. "For every card in my hand, Slifer gains 1000 points! And I have 3! So he gains a total of 3000 points!" (ATK: ? →3000/DEF: ? → 3000)
"Look, Slifer is like, the coolest," Grace Tyler began. "But uh? And I can't believe I'm saying this, an Egyptian God card isn't enough."
"She's got a point," Brier said to everyone. "Unless Jaden somehow summons Obelisk and Ra as well, I really don't see him winning this with only Slifer. Please tell me he'll summon Ra and Obelisk?"
"Sorry, I think our miracle could only afford Slifer," Judai shook his head with a smile as he realized what he said. "But don't worry. Slifer is more than enough for this."
"First, I attack Caius with Thunder Force Strike!" Jaden cried out with stars in his eyes. The Egyptian God unhinged its maw as it unleashed the legendary bolt of thunder on the Monarch of Shadow.
"Now, I activate the quick-play card, Over Bluff! When one of your monsters gets destroyed, all monsters on your side of the field get banished until the end of the turn! The price for this card is that I can't attack directly anymore!" With one less card in Jaden's hand, Slifer's points went down. (ATK: 3000 →2000/DEF: 3000 → 2000)
Armityle roared as the Swords of Revealing light coalesced into the shadowy god, binding him in a cocoon of light.
"What's that going to do?" Jesse didn't understand. "Armityle is just gonna re-appear at the end of the turn and destroy a weakened Slifer!"
"No," Judai smiled as he realized what his counterpart was doing. "Jaden has just found Armityle's weakness! Oh, he's doing so much better than when I faced that monster for the first time!"
"What? What's Jaden doing?" Syrus' question couldn't be answered fast enough as back in the Duel, Jaden declared,
"And now I'm ending my turn! Which means, Armityle returns to your field!"
Armityle struggled in its cocoon before it broke free with an empowered roar.
"That didn't hold him for long at all!" Atticus shouted out loud.
However, Jaden only smiled at seeing the temporary chains break. "And that's what I was waiting for! You see, Wilona, this counts as Armityle being special summoned back to the field! Now, Slifer's effect activates! He deals 2000 points to whatever monster gets summoned! And if the monster in question happens to be less than 2000 points?" Jaden smiled, making everyone realize that despite the amazing power of the Sacred Beast Fusion, it had an abysmal 0 in its stats! "Well, show Armityle exactly what you mean, Slifer! Thunder Bullet!"
Slifer unleashed one of its most powerful Thunder Bullets right into the face of Armityle. And the attack sailed like the truest of arrows, nailing the enemy fusion with devasting power.
For the first time since it appeared, the Sacred Beast fusion roared in agony as the Egyptian God bypassed its overwhelming power.
"He did it! I can't believe that he did it!" Jesse shouted before he and Syrus did a happy dance.
Even Judai had stars in his eyes after seeing the play. "Man! That play was the sickest I've ever seen in two dimensions! I feel like dueling this Jaden myself!"
"Are you really that excited over the prospect of dueling yourself? Well, you definitely are a Yuki, no matter the timeline." Alexis rolled her eyes but let a smile appear on her face. Jaden, with a lot of help, pulled off what looked impossible.
"Haha! How'd ya like that, Wilona!?" Jaden's smile faded as he saw the lack of movement in his friend's form. "Wilona?"
The girl lifted her head, and it was then that Jaden knew something was wrong: Wilona's eyes were purple, not two different colors of red and yellow.
"I reveal the facedown, Apex Evolution." Wilona's voice overlapped with a dark and foreboding voice.
"Ooo," Paradox, who sat on a floating rock above the entire field, winced. "It seems like the Sacred Beasts thought their master was being too soft. Now they've borrowed the driver's seat. I wonder what they're going to do next?"
"When Armityle is destroyed by battle or card effect, this card activates and ends your turn automatically." A multitude of voices overlapped with Wilona's.
Turn 19: Wilona. Cards: 6. (Swords of Revealing Light: 3)
After the light swords disappeared, Jaden noticed the trap card glowing. The possessed Wilona continued to speak. "Next, I activate the second effect of Apex Evolution. By discarding my whole hand and by banishing Armityle, I can fusion summon the Sacred Beasts' most powerful form!"
"You've gotta be kidding me!?" Gloria shouted. "There's an even stronger form than Armityle!? Judai, what is it!?"
Everyone turned to the 8th Shadow Rider, but soon they realized that even Judai looked stunned and horrified.
"T-There is no final form after Armityle in my timeline! The only one I could possibly think is..." His pupils dilated as he remembered long ago: when a mad and broken spirit attempted to fuse the 12 dimensions of his timeline. "No! I stopped that from existing! Is it really appearing here!? Now!?" Judai thought back to how this could be? The duel wasn't even over yet! Wait! Did the Sacred Beasts drain that much of Jaden's Duel Spirit that they've filled the rest of it with Wilona's Duel Spirit?! They've finally gotten enough energy to reach the peak of their powers like this!?
"Man, our timeline really sounds like it sucks." While not inaccurate, Damon undersold how royally screwed over they were.
Wilona raised her hand, and everyone felt the void rumble at the incoming presence. "I call upon the essences of the twelve dimensions to bring forth that which has been denied. In this gap between worlds, our existence shall herald a new era! I special summon Phantasm Emperor Trilojig!"
There was a crack behind Wilona. Everyone stared as this giant white crack in the void simply existed there for a second. Then, just as fast, more and more cracks of white started to show all around the void. The most horrifying part about this was that the Tag Force itself seemed to be writhing in pain as something was about to break through into this plane by force!
A giant fist punched through the void, shattering the rest of it completely and revealing an empty white. The new figure that flew above Wilona looked sleek, powerful, and took a humanoid shape. But even the air around the GOD oozed with power that was born once and only once.
Phantasm Emperor Trilojig. [Divine Fusion/ Attribute: DIVINE (END)/Level: 12/ ATK: 5000/DEF: 5000]
"I-I'm starting to see how our timeline ended." Chumley gulped as even looking at the creature felt oppressive to his soul.
Jaden shook his head and quickly tried to act. "You summoned a monster! Slifer can deduct 2000 points from Trilojig!"
The Egyptian God unfurled his wings and gave off another impressive roar. He fired another Thunder Bullet that smashed head-on to Trilojig.
"...That didn't do a scratch on him, didn't it?" Jaden hated being right as the smoke cleared and revealed that not even a single point of Trilojig went down.
"Emperor Trilojig is immune to all card effects, even the ones from the loathsome Egyptian Gods!" The voices from Wilona cried out.
Jaden grunted before he looked over to his friend. "Alright, who are you guys!? And what have you done with Wilona!?"
"Fool! How dare you address our master without bowing! Soon, after your fall, we will be complete at last! The Era of the Egyptian Gods will fall, and the Sacred Beasts will rise!"
"The spirits of the Sacred Beasts have possessed Wilona. This bodes poorly." Revendread Slayer's eyes blazed as he realized this.
Slifer roared in defiance after hearing those words. "I'm with Slifer! We'll put a stop to you and save Wilona!" Jaden raised his fist towards the monster.
"With those pathetic numbers!? Trilojig attacks Slifer! And when he battles, he can multiply his attack by 3!"
(ATK: 5000 → 15000)
An oppressive aura shot out that reached the far corners of the void. Trilojig gathered energy in its eyes, energy that even made Slifer back off in fear.
"Slacker, you better do something!" Chazz desperately cried out.
Luckily for them, Jaden still had a continuous trap on the field. "I activate the final effect of Astral Mischief!"
"Trilojig is immune to all effects, boy! You lose!" The voices behind Wilona cried out as Trilojig unleashed a laser beam that could wipe out even an Egyptian God card.
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not aiming for Trilojig! By banishing Necroshade and Astral Mischief, I can end the battle phase before it can begin!"
Elemental Hero Necroshade appeared in his astral form to intercept Trilojig's beam. Everyone braced themselves as another powerful shockwave spread out through the white void. Luckily for them, the lower half of Slifer's body coiled around the barrier, adding further protection from the attack of Trilojig. Similarly, Slifer lowered to protect Jaden from the brunt of the stopped attack.
However, the stopped attack was still strong enough for Slifer to get repelled and crash into one of the bigger debris floating around the void.
"Slifer!" Jaden cried out to the Egyptian God that protected everyone. This was getting worse by the second! No one thought they'd ever see the day where an Egyptian God gets utterly outclassed in power! They were rightfully feared as the strongest monsters in the game! But even against the Sacred Beasts, the Egyptian Gods were powerless!?
"You only stopped our attack, boy. But Trilojig can target one monster on the field, such as the weakened Slifer, destroy him, and you take damage equal to his attack points!"
Everyone gasped as they heard this. Emperor Trilojig gathered energy into his hands and aimed both at the weakened Slifer.
"This is it!" "We're done for!" "After every miracle, we still lose!?"
"I... activ... I... I... END MY TURN!"
Turn 20: Jaden. Cards: 2.
Jaden gasped as he realized who screamed those last words. "Wilona!?"
The girl fell to her knees and clutched her head. When she looked at Jaden, he could see her eyes flashing between purple and the red and the yellow of Hamon and Uria.
"Y-Yuki... e-end it... I-I can't... hold them... back...!"
Jaden saw his friend in pain and quickly reached for his deck. However, his hand froze when he realized how little of his deck was left. All miracles have been spent, and his deck already used the best of its combos earlier in the duel. What was left that could stop this nightmare?!
...
"Y-Yuki..."
No.
No!
Jaden held tighter to the last card atop his deck. "I'm not giving up on you, Wilona! We're all going home together!" Jaden knew he couldn't save Wilona. That is, he knew he couldn't save her alone! He had to ask for more help! And there was only one place that could give him the help he needed! Jaden Yuki looked up to the Tag Force. "Please, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but you gotta help me save my friend!"
The Tag Force looked down on Jaden. But no one could tell what it was thinking, even if it could.
Syrus, seeing all of this, felt something rising in his chest. Jaden was fighting harder than anyone ever could against odds that would have defeated a million other duelists in his place. But even he couldn't win! Not alone! How could Syrus do this? Every time Jaden's been fighting, he's been on the sidelines and hiding behind the Slifer Ace! Jaden needed help, and this time, he was going to be there for Jaden!
Syrus bolted from where he stood and sprinted towards Jaden and Wilona. He even surprised Judai as he ran out of Aruru's barrier!
"Jaden!" Syrus shouted as he jumped from one rock to the other, trying to get closer. "I believe in you! In both of you! Don't quit yet!"
Aruru's warning came to life, but not in the way anyone expected. Syrus' determination woke up something that was long slumbering within the 12 Dimensions. It was never supposed to awaken or even be discovered, but the young boy's voice had reached that which was never meant to be found.
(Faith)
"What is he!?" Zane couldn't finish as Bastion, Alexis, Chazz, and Jesse ran after Syrus.
"Look, I get family can be a pain! But you idiots taught me that I'm not the only one who feels that way! And If I can't repay you back for that, I don't deserve the Princeton name! So you keep fighting Jaden and Wilona!" Chazz shouted out the names of the two Slifers he disliked the most.
(Empathy)
"It doesn't matter how many times we get pushed around, even when we're ignored!" Bastion didn't know what came over him, but that didn't matter right now! He had to help in any way! "No matter how much we anguish and despair, we must keep moving on! We can and will prove to the world that we are stronger than it's worst!"
(Perseverance)
"It thanks to you two that I was able to feel happy again!" Alexis shouted as she followed after the guys. "I promise to make sure you two also feel the same way!"
(Joy)
"Ya hear that, fellas!? Now hurry it up, and let's get back to the world and games we love!" Jesse shot up his fist as he jumped.
(Love)
All five of them got close as they possibly could and looked at the Tag Force.
"HELP US SAVE OUR FRIEND!"
(Faith) (Empathy) (Perseverance) (Joy) (Love)
Then... the Tag Force moved one of its arms. Five symbols appeared over each student that ran out to meet it.
Judai instantly knew those symbols, or rather, he knew the opposite of those symbols. "Love, Joy, Perseverance, Empathy, and Faith?" His mind wandered back to his darkest hour when the words, Hate, Sadness, Anguish, Anger, and Doubt created the most powerful card in his world. "The opposite of the Wicked Runes!?"
Judai took out a card, Super Polymerization, and felt the card pulsating. "Wait. This time there are five runes. Does that mean!?"
He and Paradox watched as the five runes combined into a single light and flew into Jaden's last draw.
The Slifer Ace could feel the power as he touched it with his fingertips. He turned to the five. "You guys are the best! Now let's get ready to go home!"
Jaden pulled the card out of his deck with all of his might. When he did, light trailed after the card.
As the brunette saw it, a smile appeared on his face, one full of hope. "I play the once-in-a-lifetime spell card, Polymerization - Apotheosis!" As soon as the word left his lips, the card exploded with heavenly and calming rainbow light that soon filled the void. Trilojig raised a hand to protect itself from the light shining from the card.
"Polymerization - Apotheosis can fuse monsters from anywhere: my grave, those that have been banished, my deck, YOUR graveyard, your deck, your field, your banish pile, and your hand!" Jaden knew that, even now, Trilojig could not be targeted for this card, but that wasn't what he was searching for. "It can even fuse with cards outside of this duel! So I fuse Elemental HERO Terra Firma, Winged Kuriboh Level 10, Slifer The Sky Dragon, and... HONEST! Get back here, buddy!"
All other cards returned to the field, and a portal opened up, dragging Honest back into Jaden's field.
The angel seemed surprised but calmed down when he saw Jaden once more. "Thank you for the save. I feared the worst when I arrived in... what do you need of me, Jaden?" The Angel asked.
"Just for you to join what will, without a doubt, be the best fusion ever!" As Jaden said this, Slifer The Sky Dragon rose from his fallen state and moved in with those Jaden had chosen. "Now go get 'em, guys!" The future King of Games pointed.
All four monsters rose into a new swirling vortex of stars and galaxies.
"Jaden is fusing an Egyptian God!?" If Beauregard's eyes were any wider, they would fall out of their sockets. "Can that be done!?"
"He's doing it anyway. And there's no better way than that." Sheppard said with a smile.
As the warm light filled the void, Jaden pointed over to the new monster. "Everyone, let me be the first to introduce Miracle HERO Ultimate Crimson!"
As Jaden exclaimed this, the white void around them turned briefly into a blinding red before returning to the original black, as if healing the void broken by Trilojig.
What appeared next was what looked to be a combination of a superhero, a masked warrior, and an angel. He had a long, white cape with red wings sprouting from behind the cape. His helmet was in the shape of Slifer's head while his torso held the symbol that was the shape of a Kuriboh with a blue orb etched to its center. The rest of his armor was red with gold trims at his wrists and knees styled after Slfer's body. On his right hand, he held a shield that also was in the shape and size of a Kuriboh.
What was interesting to note was that this new monster was the same height as Jaden's. The new fusion turned his gaze towards Trilojig, and brown eyes opened up then glowed behind its visor.
Miracle HERO Ultimate Crimson. [Divine Hero/Attribute: DIVINE/Level 1/ ATK:?/DEF: ?]
Wilona, who still writhed in pain, suddenly screamed. When she did, Trilojig aimed his hands at the new Hero.
"Wilona!" The teen narrowed his eyes at the monster for forcing his friend into a painful position. "So that ability is a quick effect, huh?" Jaden had enough of the Sacred Beasts! It's time to end them once and for all! "Too bad! Just like you, Ultimate Crimson is immune to card effects and all forms of removal!" As Trilojig launched his blasts, Ultimate Crimson raised his shield and created a barrier that nullified and drained the attacks. Its destructive power was cut off instantly.
"Now, Ultimate Crimson! Attack Trilojig!" Jaden cried out before Ultimate Crimson's wings spread out, and he flew at speeds incomprehensible towards Trilojig. Yet the Phantasm Emperor's aura exploded to life as he reclined his fist.
(ATK: 5000 → 15000)
"That's not going to work either!" Jaden yelled out. "When Ultimate Crimson attacks, he gains the attack points of the monster he's fighting, multiplied by the number of materials used to summon him! There are 4! So Ultimate Crimson's attack reaches...!"
(? → 60000)
"Okay, the numbers are generous today." Seika's eyes widened as she saw the new biggest number she's seen in a duel so far.
Jaden punched towards the Fusion monster holding Wilona captive. "Ultimate Crimson, end this war once and for all!"
The final hero shined with a blinding red light as he too reclined his fist to meet with Trilojig. The two fusions unleashed their punch, and the entire void collided with colors that only a shrimp could perceive.
At last, Ultimate Crimson punched through Trilojig and created a hole in his chest.
The Sacred Beast fusion unleashed a pained sound before gathering energy that leaked out like a breaking dam. Its cracks soon covered its whole body, and the light in his eyes faded.
With that, Trilojig was no more as he exploded from the attack.
Jaden: 44.
Wilona: 1950 → 0
Jaden: Winner!
"Ah!" Jaden saw Wilona's form falling from the explosion of Trilojig. "Wilona!" Without a second thought, he dove after his friend." He was able to catch her as she fell. "Ultimate Crimson!"
The monster appeared behind Jaden and rescued them both. It brought the two back towards one of the bigger rocks left over from the battlefield.
"Wilona!" Jaden started to shake the girl in his arms. "Come on! Speak to me! Say something!"
"God, why do you have to be screaming at my ear?" The girl groaned before her eyes fluttered open. The last explosion caused her glasses and hat to get blown off, letting the girl's hair down.
As she finally focused and saw Jaden, Wilona gave a small smile. "Yuki, thanks."
"No problem! That's what friends are for!" Jaden smiled before he winced and held his right arm. "Ow! Ow!" Now that Wilona took a good look, Jaden looked pretty roughed up as well. Then again, how could he not when his soul was almost absorbed into the Sacred Beasts?
"Idiot," Wilona whispered before she moved up and gave the teen a hug. "I mean it. Thanks for managing... my episode."
Jaden returned the hug. "I still owe ya for saving my bacon every now and again, but we'll call it even. How about we duel right next time? We were pretty evenly matched before you busted out the Sacred Beasts."
"Jaden!" "Wilona!" The two let go when they saw the others coming.
"Whoa!? The Shadow Riders!? You guys are back!?" Jaden cried out as Aruru managed to drive their platform towards the two. Yet, Jaden and Wilona noticed the face of the 8th Shadow Rider.
"WHAT!? WHO'S THAT!?" Jaden quickly stood up and pointed towards the guy with the same face as him.
"To make it less of a headache, just call me Judai." The 8th said in the same exact voice as Jaden.
Wilona was still on the ground and looked over to Alexis. "Uh, Rhodes? Why is there literally another Yuki?"
The blonde rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. "Yeah. That's a long story."
"Witch," Chazz folded his arms. "You almost destroyed the dang world! ..." He sighed. "But I'm sorry about your mom. If there's anything I can help you with?"
"I'll mention it. Thank you, Princeton." Wilona gave a soft smile. "I'm really surprised all of you are willing to forgive me after I was so close to destroying the world."
"You were in a bad state, and the circumstances weren't in your favor." Zane walked up to the group. "Not to mention, you helped save everyone from your mistake by stopping Trilojig from activating his effect on Slifer. I'm sure everyone is willing to fogrive you."
Seika raised a hand. "More importantly, whenever there's schoolwork trouble, everyone turns to you for help."
Most of the first years, especially the Slifers, had to agree with that.
"Eh. I'll take it. I do promise not to do this again." Wilona then saw Jaden offer his hand to her, similar to how she did to him before they faced Banner. Wilona took it and let Jaden lift her back up. "So, how do we get home?"
...
...
...
"Guys, you do know how to get home, right?" Wilona asked again with more force before turning to the Shadow Riders. "You all are magically inclined!"
"Eerr," Judai turned to Aruru, who only shrugged her shoulders.
"Well. This is quite alarming." Bastion calmly said as he tried not to think about life living in the void.
It was at that moment that Ulitmate Crimson started to glow. In a flash of red light, Honest, Winged Kuriboh, and Slifer the Sky Dragon reappeared.
The Egyptian God unfurled his wings before Winged Kuriboh motioned his arm towards the Sky Dragon.
"Oh! Slifer will bring us home! And this is why you're the best Egyptian God!" Jaden translated for everyone else that didn't speak Kuriboh.
Syrus, and many others, sighed in relief.
However, before anyone could make a move, the Tag Force teleported in front of Jaden.
"Whoa! Uhh! Whoa!" After almost falling into the void again, Jaden looked at the cosmic force holding together the 12 dimensions. "So uh? What's the deal?"
The Cosmic Kuriboh wiggled his hand. It was then that Polymerization - Apotheosis, flew out of Jaden's duel disk. Everyone watched as the small creature opened its maw and swallowed the card as if taking it back. After the bizarre event, the Tag Force started to float away.
"Uhh? What was that?" Jaden had no idea what just happened.
"I do not know. However, this only proves that the Tag Force does not grant wishes," The Revendread Slayer sounded tired as he admitted this. "I suppose this war was a colossal waste of time."
"Which means I almost destroyed everyone for nothing," Wilona looked downcast. "I apologize once more."
"No biggie, Wilona!" Jaden turned to the Shadow Riders. "And hey! It's not all bad! Now that you guys aren't our enemies, I'd love to duel you all properly! Especially you, Slayer!"
"Hmm. Dueling for fun?" His expression softened as he closed his eyes. "Perhaps one day."
"Oh!" Jaden's eyes widened. "And you guys gotta let me see some of those special cards you have! Especially those black alphabet cards like the Sink-crows or something!"
"You mean the Synchros and the XYZs?" Judai asked.
Jaden nodded. "Yeah! Man, I wish those cards were in our world!"
As soon as the young Slifer Red blurted this, the Tag Force raised its hand.
Everyone, with wide eyes, turned to the cosmic Kuriboh as it created a circle and sent it off into the void before it transformed into a giant portal of some kind. Stars and galaxies floated after the circle before vanishing at the same part where the Kuriboh had sent it. After inhaling a hundred or so stars and galaxies in mere seconds, the portal closed. Everyone turned to the Tag Force before it floated back to where it came from.
After a few seconds of disbelief and processing, Atticus clicked his tongue. "Did the Tag Force just grant Jaden's wish?"
"Now that I think about it, he did win the Shadow War," Grace muttered out loud. "Only Jaden could get a wish. Then again, it wasn't exactly clear on how to state those rules."
"Disappointing, to say the least," Revendread Slayer sighed. "But I also suppose this means it's time to finally move on."
Wilona also sighed. "Of course the wish that gets granted is Yuki's want of special cards." But she also didn't feel too bad that the wish was wasted.
"Uhh? Sorry! My bad! I really didn't know!" Jaden seemed panicked. "I totally would have given it to you, Wilona! Or Slayer!"
"Thank you, Yuki," The green-haired girl began before putting a hand on his shoulder. "But it's getting late, and I want to rest. Then, we should all get ready for the end-of-the-year party. I have a song I promised to play."
They all had to agree that it was a long day and that rest sounded wonderful. Everyone eventually got on Slifer, and the group got the unique privilege of being able to ride an Egyptian God Card. As the Egyptian God started to fly down towards an opening portal, Judai looked back and saw Paradox waving goodbye at them.
Judai realized that as close as the world got to being destroyed, the energy that Trilojig exuded was not the same as the storm that continued to grow and destroy timelines. This made the young adult groan inwardly. This was only the beginning of this madness.
[Tag Force: Heroes and Villains]
One week later, it was the Duel Academy's End-of-the-year Dance. Although it was called a dance, it was really just a party. Final Tests were over, and everyone was getting ready for summer.
"Hey, everyone!" Sora, in front of the main stage, hyped everyone up. "Are you ready for some sick music!?"
"Yeah!" The students all cheered back, enjoying the festivities for now.
"Boy, does the Music Club have a treat for all of you guys! Please welcome our President and Founder's first song!" Sora stepped off the stage as the curtains pulled back. Wilona stood at the center of the stage holding a mic, Jaden prepped a guitar, Jesse was on drums, and Grace strummed a bass guitar.
Everyone else in the Music Club got in position. But before that, Wilona found some time to say a few more words.
"Thank you for that, Perse. But before I begin... I'd like to dedicate this song to my mother. She was supposed to be the first one to hear this..." Wilona closed her eyes before she opened them back up with a smile. "But right now, I think it would be better if she would hear this song with all of you. I hope you like it."
Wilona inhaled before she looked at Yuki, Anderson, and Grace. After making sure they were all ready, she nodded once.
And then, the three practically opened the floodgates with how fast they began to shred.
"~Chillin' out with the crew in the schoolyard!~" Wilona began to sing like a rock star."~Finding trouble, never looking too hard! We're back at class — they never taught us this! Somethings you gotta learn, hit or miss!"
"~Tough Times! Hard Climbs!~" Alexis, Bastion, Mindy, Jasmine, and Damon sang from the sidelines.
"~We'll take them on together!~" Jaden, Grace, and Jesse sang at the same time.
"~ Right now?! Let's go!~" Wilona punched the sky.
"DUEL MONSTERS GX! GENERATION NEXT!" Everyone from the Music Club shouted at the same time.
"~Game on! Get your game on!~"
While Wilona sang the chorus, and outside the school while sitting atop a cliff, Judai listened with a smile.
"Now that's a catchy song!" The alternate version of Jaden admitted as he nodded along to the beat of the music.
"I see you're enjoying yourself," Judai turned around to see Revendread Slayer and the other Shadow Riders.
"So?" Judai stood up. "What did you say to Principal Sameji—I mean, Chancellor Sheppard?"
"All of us politely declined. As interesting things would be if we took the offer to be teachers and staff here, there is still one more thing we Shadow Riders would like to do." The 3rd said.
"We know about how you want to keep looking for Paradox. Since the Shadow War was useless, the only thing we have left is to make sure that clown doesn't recreate a mess like that again," Camula folded her arms. "And perhaps a little revenge would be very nice."
"I may have a 'home' of sorts, but I've been enjoying my time here in the human world." Witchtcrafter Golem Aruru fixed her hat. "But the others are right. Stopping Paradox comes first before any of us can truly start again."
The Dark Scorpions posed. "And wherever he is, he won't be able to stop the combined might of the Dark Scorpions!" Don Zaloog spoke with pauses.
Everyone turned to Revendread Slayer. "I don't have a home to return to anymore. So I will do my best to make sure this world is not a repeat of mine. Besides, the idea of being a hero instead of a ghost of vengeance sounds too... wonderful... to pass up."
Judai couldn't help but realize what was happening. The Shadow Riders of this world were now reforming as an anti-hero group to hunt down those who would destroy the world that they've come to like. And the best part? He got to lead them.
Irony is nothing if not creative.
"Alright! The Shadow Riders are reborn! Our first mission: hunt down Paradox. I have a feeling he's still trying to ensure the cosmic storm in the future. And we're going to need all the help we can get to stop it."
At the same time, in a different place, Paradox entered through a door. "Hello? You have been expecting me, right?"
"Indeed, come in." The owner of this voice allowed the masked blonde to enter. "You are the one the cards told me about. I must say, you make quite the first impression."
"Thank you." Paradox sat across from the stranger. "Now, I'd like to get to business. I want you and your boss to reconsider your plans for this planet."
There was a slight pause that came from the man. Even though Paradox already saw it, the man leaned in with interest. "Oh? And why would we do that?"
"You don't know?" Paradox pretended to gasp in shock. "It would be such a waste to do so! Earth has the potential to make a certain Light stronger than it could ever dream to be."
"... Go on?" Curiosity filled the stranger's voice.
Beneath his mask, Paradox smirked. "Tell me, Sartorius, has the Light of Destruction ever heard of the Wicked God Cards?"
All around the world and beyond, forces moved with purpose. Powers long slumbering were reawakened. And the aftershocks of Jaden and Wilona's fight in the center of the 12 dimensions changed things that were never meant to have been changed.
Yet for one night in Duel Academy, the future Heroes and Villains of the world were taking the musical world by storm.
"~Game on! Get your game on!~"
A young man looked at the night sky. One day, for sure, he would find his father's killer and bring them to justice.
"~Come on ya better play your cards right!~"
A sister continued to pray for her brother. She knew her prayers were futile. But, for some reason, she sensed a change in the winds. But she couldn't tell if it was for good or for ill. Instead, she found an injured and strange girl outside her shrine.
"~Game on! Get your game on!~"
A woman with long black hair stormed out of the hospital. How could this have happened? Why did her brother suddenly wake up from his coma but leave without telling her anything!? "Koyo, where are you?!"
"~We'll make the grade and win this fight!~"
In a random bar, a fallen duelist continued to drink his life away. He was unaware of the dark glow sparking a forgotten power back to life.
"~We'll make the grade somehow! Yeah!~"
In the American Duel Academy, the headmaster walked up to three students. "Are you ready?"
One, a female with familiar purple-colored eyes, smiled. "Duel Academy, huh?"
By then, the entire school knew what to say next. Along with the Music Club, they sang!
DUEL MONSTERS GX! GENERATION NEXT!
"Come on and get your game on!" Wilona ended the song gasping for air.
The crowd. No. The entire school roared with applause at the end of Wilona's song. But the green-haired girl knew that it was a team effort. If not for Yuki, none of them would be here right now.
"That was amazing, Wilona!" Jaden smiled at her. "I think they want an encore!"
Ba-dump!
(Hmm? What was?) Wilona thought to herself.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
(Huh.) Wilona found it very hot all of a sudden. Why were her cheeks flushed after seeing... Yuki... smile?
...
(No.)
Ba-dump!
(No!)
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Wilona quickly thought back to whenever she was alone with Yuki. As she recalled the intimate moments, her heart rate started to skyrocket and her cheeks felt hotter.
(NO!)
Wilona couldn't believe it. She absolutely refused to believe it!
"Hey, Wilona? Are you alright?" When Wilona turned around, she was caught off guard when Jaden moved closer to her to feel her forehead.
BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP!
"I-I'm fine! Get ready, you idiot!" Wilona pushed the boy away faster than both he and she were ready for.
"Yeesh. I'll never understand girls." Jaden got back into position.
Wilona got ready to sing again. She had to focus.
There was absolutely no possible way that she developed a crush on JADEN-FLIPPING-YUKI!
[Author Notes]
I think that there's no better way to end my first season than with the Yugioh GX opening Dub Theme. This is my season one end/love letter to one of my favorite Childhood Anime. I'm blown away by the reviews and support this fic got when I posted at the last chapter, and I'm lucky enough to even have time to both write and edit as much as I could within two weeks. Thank you all for your kind words and some of your honest critiques. I will try to do better; it's why I continued to write in the first place.
Man, where do I begin with this chapter? It now ranks as the longest chapter I've ever written in all my accounts. The second one marks at only 20K words, while this one reaches 24K words! (25K from future edits) I knew I wanted to make this Duel as balls-to-the-wall crazy as humanely possible, and I was able to do so! I was able to pull off so many of my writer's dreams with this chapter, and it felt cathartic to write.
One of my favorite parts was writing the "Alexis Confession" and I didn't even plan this one. Poor Alexis. She's everyone's favorite Waifu, and that's not always a good thing.
Another thing I am psyched to write about is Wilona realizing her crush. Now my intro text is correct at last! Man, compared to all this occult stuff, teenage crushes are much worse for Wilona, especially considering who she has a crush on.
Also, let's not forget that I've taken a risk with the 8th Shadow Rider. Everyone, re-meet Yuki Judai from the anime! I was kinda surprised no one recognized the people speaking early on in the series where it was random dialogue tags with no descriptions. I thought I revealed who they were several times over, but no one mentioned it. Having a "future" Jaden around gives me an idea to really expand the world of Heroes and Villains. And because of how desperate he is to stop the Cosmic Storm, we'll see him doing things time travelers shouldn't be doing. But he's but the first domino of this story and there's more to fall later.
After this, though? I'm going to take a break. Yeah, nearly 40 K words in one month is... you know.
But I am excited for Season 2 of Tag Force: Heroes and Villains. I've got some new ideas and expansions for this world I've made. I have a few more paralogue stories before Season two starts, but other than that, I thank you all for supporting this fic.
Hopefully, there's more to come with this series!
Thanks for reading!
[Altered/Made-Up Card List]
Edit. Fusion Summoning from the Grave first: My friend, Kurimaster13 pointed out, and I forgot that you can't special summon Fusion/Extra Deck monsters until you Fusion/Extra summon them properly. But I think this will still work because I've based my duels on Anime and Manga more than the TCG. As much as I respect those who can fully write TCG cards and effects, they don't cut it for my vision, so I take a more anime style to my duels here. Sorry to those who expect pure TCG stuff, but I'm not that well-versed in them.
Edit 2. I wanted to spruce up a few sentences and add a few more thoughts and such.
Deck Number: I decided to count the cards of this duel. Wilona had 43 while Jaden had 41 approximately. I might not always do this, but I kept track of all the cards used in this duel. If I did my math correctly, by the end of the duel, Jaden had around 4 to 5 cards left in his deck if you don't count Electrum's effect. This is funny because there's still a bunch of monsters and cards in his deck that I didn't use this duel. Wilona had 14 (without Electrum). Yeesh. 20 turns in a one vs one duel are harder than I thought. It makes me love the Yugi Vs Kaiba duel in Battle City so much more.
Card of Compensation: a manga Yugioh card. (From Yugioh 5D's.)
Urgent Fusion: I wanted to use Flash Fusion, but it wouldn't let me use cards from the hand.
Silent Alarm: A bait version of Hero Signal.
Spellbooks from the Pot: This manga card is super helpful as a mini-Card of Sanctity.
Heroic Team-Up: I made up this card to circumnavigate Wilona's Field Spell and make it look like Jaden found a loophole to still summon his heroes.
Jealousy of the Monarchs: This card was made to set up how evenly matched Jaden and Wilona were in the first phase of their duel.
Swordsman of Revealing Light: I combined the TCG summoning effect with the Anime battle negate effect on this card.
Winged Kuriboh 10: I wanted this card to be in the duel, but I found out that in both TCG and Anime, his effect only works during the opponent's battle phase. But with how I wrote the duel, Wilona would not only recognize what Jaden would be doing, but she'd have Uria's ability to destroy set cards without responses. So I reworked it as an ability that can work at any point of the duel. That, and it also said Original Attack Points. With how I keep relying more on Anime duels instead of TCG duels, I'm reworking that part too.
Graveyard Party: I made this card to circumnavigate Winged Kuirboh's stipulation that it could destroy only Attack Position monsters.
Pinpoint Guard: Again, Uria is starting to turn into another Amano Iwato situation where he makes me change so many cards just to accommodate his actual abilities. This card can only work on the battle phase of an opponent, but I had Jaden activate beforehand to prevent Uria's ability from activating.
Vassal Pledge: Basically to help me get Raviel on the field.
Hamon: I gave him a few changes like Uria such as making his defense mode like a super magnet/black hole to absorb attacks and target effects.
Great Tornado: Now that I found out about the Rulings page on the wiki, I looked this guy's ability up. Apparently, there's a specific line saying that if Great Tornado works on Uria, Uria's attack won't go up even if more trap cards are sent to the grave. What?! Luckily, when he leaves the field, he also removed the half attack.
Raviel: Okay, from what I've read. This Obelisk knock-off only gets a temporary attack boost aside from just summoning tokens. Since I buffed both Hamon and Uria. Raviel gets an extra attack, and his attack boosts are permanent.
Meat Shield: I made this just to prevent a stupidly boosted Flare Wingman from ending the duel too soon.
Sabatiel - The Philosopher's Stone: Now, this card is weird. I read from the actual anime description that this card had to—and hear me out—switch with whatever card was used. Then it would return to the hand after the summoned card was used. I tweaked it a little because when I watched the dub, I always thought the cards were just added to Jaden/Judai's hands. So, yeah. This card is weird even by Yugioh Deus Ex Machina standards.
Astral Mischief: I made this trap card to give Jaden some help. At this point of the duel, his deck was almost reaching the single digits if I let him have exactly 40-41 cards. If my calculations were correct, the lowest he got to was maybe 5-4 cards if he was only allowed 40-41 cards in the duel compared to Wilona's 43.
Over Bluff: I made this card so that Slifer could defeat and expose Armityle's one weakness.
Apex Evolution: I set up an evolution beyond Armityle to really sell the idea that Wilona is meant to be the true master of the Sacred Beasts in this timeline. Why? Continue reading the story to eventually find out.
Phantasm Emperor Trilojig: When I saw this monster's design, I fell in love with it. And when I saw it, I thought it was supported with the Sacred Beast cards. This made me utterly rework this card as the "Fusion God" that Yubel tried to summon at the end of Season 3. Because of its status as a fusion god, I had to give it to the most OP of stats and abilities. Technically speaking, his destroy monster ability is not once per turn!
Polymerization - Apotheosis: My take on the true form of Super Polymerization had the fifth rune been added in. *Keep an eye on this card. There's a reason why the Tag Force took this card back specifically.*
Miracle HERO Ultimate Crimson: I heavily based this monster on the Digimon, Alphamon. I thought it would be cool if that Jaden not only got to use Slifer but use it in a way that only he ever could. Plus, who would ever think to use an Egyptian God card as Fusion Material?
