Dueling For Respect - Part 2
Last time, Yusei ended up in the Facility, where he befriended an old man named Yanagi. Yanagi was an eccentric person who traveled around the world and gathered cards that were magic relics. Just before they could get to know each other more, a former pro duelist named Bolt Tanner dragged them out of their cell to force them to duel. Yanagi gladly accepted the challenge and tried to defeat Tanner with his Treasure Deck. Unfortunately, Yanagi didn't do so well. Tanner crushed his relics with ease and wiped out his life points like it was nothing. But as the former pro duelist stepped on the old man's cards and insulted him, Yusei stepped in and challenged him, declaring to use Yanagi's Treasure Deck.
At the same time, Cody, Jeremy and Cindy headed to an abandoned warehouse in hope to find a hidden message from Cody's deceased parents. But this wouldn't be easy because that place was inhabited by street punks whose leader was another former pro duelist named Kai Hutchins. In order to get what they came for, Cody challenged Kai to a duel. At first, Kai had the upper hand, but Cody managed to turn the table. But after that, Kai activated a field spell that changed the scenery into a creepy looking forest.
"What is this?" Cody asked, bewildered by this forest.
"This is Zombie World!" Kai replied with a grin. "This field spell changes everything... literally. You see, when it's in play, all monsters on the field and our graveyards become zombie types!"
"What!?" Cody exclaimed as he suddenly turned to his Lightning Warrior, and to his shock, his appearance has changed. His face was now decayed and his once wild blonde hair was gray, and mostly gone, dangling behind his head. And his armor was now rusty and full of holes, and revealed his right, bony leg. "No way!"
"And don't think I'm done just yet, kid! Cuz now I summon Master Kyonshee in attack mode!" A purple clad martial artist with some kind of cloth covering his face appeared. (ATK: 1750 DEF: 1000 LV: 4) "And now I activate Plaguespreader Zombie's special ability!"
"Say what!?" Jeremy said.
"It works like this; by taking one card from my hand and place it on the top of my deck, I can do this..." Kai trailed off as he took a card from his hand and placed it on the top of his deck. And then, a hole was formed on the ground next to Archfiend Zombie-Skull, from which the chimerical mixture of different animals climbed up with a moan. (ATK: 400 DEF: 200 LV: 2)
"That thing is back?" Cody asked in shock.
"Yep, and you know what means, don't you? I can perform another synchro summon by tuning my Plaguespreader Zombie with Master Kyonshee!" The zombie's body turned into two stars that circled around the martial artist before turning into circles of green light. "Now watch as I bring out the creature that will burn your soul with its unholy hellfire!" Master Kyonshee's body turned transparent and revealed 4 stars that lined up before creating a ray of light. "I synchro summon Doomkaiser Dragon!"
A hellish roar was from within the light before two rotting wings spread from it. When the light died down, the rest of the new monster's body was revealed. It was an immense serpentine dragon with rotted gray flesh, an orb of hellfire blazing in its chest and its eyes blazing crimson. Its only limbs were were its immense wings, which were crowned with scythe-like talons, and its tail ended in a barbed point. The dragon let out another roar as it landed, its serpentine body coiling up around it. (ATK: 2400 DEF: 1500 LV: 6)
Cody couldn't help but widen his eyes. The longer he looked at the creature, the more he realized something. 'That thing is like a zombie version of Chthonian Emperor Dragon!'
"You look scared. You should be, because when my dragon is summoned, it brings back a zombie type monster from your graveyard to my side."
"Say what..!?"
"And guess what, I'm taking your Phoenix Gearfried!" At that, something clawed itself from the ground to stand beside the dragon. It was Phoenix Gearfried. But just like Lightning Warrior, he was now more zombie-like. His big sword and shield were full of cracks, and the flames on his back were now eerily purple. (ATK: 2800 DEF: 2200 LV: 8)
Cody gritted his teeth at this. 'Huh?' He then noticed a thin line of dark energy going between the warrior and the dragon.
"Now I play the spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon!" Kai held up the named card. "Thanks to this, one spell or trap card is destroyed. There goes your Synchro Boost!" The spell card unleashed a cyclone that blew the equip spell away. (ATK: 2900-2400 LV: 8-7) "Now let's see how you like being attacked by your own monster! Gearfried, attack!" The undead warrior moaned as he swung with his sword and cut Lightning Warrior in half.
Cody: 3350-2950
"My Lightning Warrior!" Cody muttered.
"Don't cry just yet, kid! Cuz I still got two monsters left, and Doomkaiser Dragon is up next! Go, Royal Hellfire!" The dragon roared and unleashed a stream of flames from its maw. Cody cried out as the flames seared him.
Cody: 2950-0550
"Cody!" Jeremy called out.
"Are you okay?" Cindy asked worriedly.
Kai grinned. "He won't be after my Zombie-Skull is through with him! Now finish him!" The skeletal zombie unleashed a bolt of purple lightning.
"I activate the trap card, Defense Draw!" Cody's facedown card flipped up and blocked the attack.
"What!?" Kai said, surprised.
"Sorry Kai, but with this trap, I can reduce the battle damage from this attack to zero. And as a bonus, I get to draw a card." Cody drew.
"No way! That twerp just blocked Kai's attack!" The guy with yellow bandana said.
"That was just a lucky move." The hoodie guy scoffed.
But Kai smirked slightly. 'I don't know about that. That guy was obviously waiting for the right moment to use that trap card. He's probably better than he seems to be. But that remains to be seen.'
"You got away this turn, but you can't keep this up forever."
Cody frowned. 'That's true. I can't keep defending myself forever. I need to strike back. But the question is, how?'
Back in the Facility
There's no way you've got the skills to take me down!" Tanner said. "Do you have any idea what you're getting into, kid?"
"Bring it on and find out." Yusei said evenly.
Tanner smirked. "Well at least you the whole attitude thing covered."
"You're gonna duel with the old guy's deck?" The guy clad in orange asked like he was amused.
"Guess you're looking to get embarrassed by Tanner as well." The short guy added.
"They are bunk mates, maybe crazy's contagious." One of the other prisoners commented.
"You don't have to do this, you know!" Yanagi said, not wanting to see Yusei lose because of his deck.
"If I don't step up, I'll never live it down."
There was apparently nothing that was going to stop Yusei from confronting Tanner. Yanagi could tell that he was no ordinary young man. 'There's something special about this whippersnapper. If I really saw what I think I saw the other night, is it possible that this kid is who I think he is?' Yanagi couldn't help but wonder. "Who are you?"
"Just a guy trying to get by."
"You lose a duel in here, rookie, and no one's gonna respect you." Tanner said, activating his duel disk. "And trust me, around here, you survive on respect."
"Well the you better hope you don't lose." Yusei replied, activating his won duel disk.
"Let's do this!"
Yusei: 4000
Tanner: 4000
"Seniority rules here. I'm going first!" Tanner drew his sixth card and grinned. "Let me introduce you to my little pet, Jirai Gumo!" A large brown spider appeared in front of him. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 100 LV: 4)
It was scary-looking enough to frighten Yanagi. "Eeeek! Spider!"
"What's wrong, Gramps? Creepy crawlies giving you the shakes?" The guy in orange asked mockingly.
The other prisoners cheered while Tanner inserted two cards into his duel disk. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn. It's your move, kid. How's the old-timer's deck looking? You're gonna throw some garage-sale rejects at me?"
Those words stung for Yanagi, especially when he knew how awful his deck was. "Hey, Yanagi." Yusei spoke up, getting his attention. "Don't listen to anything these guys have to say. They don't know what they're talking about."
"But you saw me duel! Everything blew up in my face! I had my old butt handed to me!"
"Well let me show what these ancient relics of yours can do in the right hands."
As this went on, the duel was being monitored by a person who was sitting at a desk in a big office. He was a large, overwhelming man. He seemed to have large, muscular arms but also a thick, fat, and slightly jutting/overhanging belly, giving him a generally bulky and stocky overall appearance. He was dark skinned with brown eyes and a bald head which was covered by a Sector Security cap. He also had a large, pointed black beard. His outfit consisted of a dark gray Sector Security uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, a black belt with a rope and a deck box attached. He also wore brown armbands that extended from his wrists to his elbows.
The large man picked up his phone and called a certain someone.
And that someone was Goodwin, who was about to enter his mansion, on the highest skyscraper in New Domino City. Jack was with him. The director was told what was happening in the Facility via phone. "Yes, understood. Just be sure to keep an eye on that due, Mr. Armstrong. Write a up report. Be sure to note if anything unusual happens." After that, he hung up. "Sound slike your old buddy from the Satellite is making some new dueling friends at the Facility."
"Hmph." Jack was still bothered by what he found out at the office this morning.
As the two of them entered the mansion, and walked through a luxurious, decorated room, Goodwin spoke up again. "Look Jack, I'm sorry about how recent events have transpired, but allow me to explain. So far, our relationship is operated on a need-to-know basis, meaning I know things that you don't, cause you haven't needed to know these things... until now."
At that point, they entered an elevator, Goodwin took off his right glove and pressed a button to close the elevator door. he then placed a finger on some kind of fingerprint scanner. "Fingerprint verification." A computerized voice said. Goodwin leaned in to scan his eye. "Optical analysis. Scan complete. Welcome, Mr. Goodwin." The elevator descended, passing floor after floor. Eventually, they reached what appeared to be a basement floor. But it wasn't what Jack expected. The walls, floor and ceiling were all made of rough stone, with strange tablets carved into it. The only sources of light were the person-height pillars of stone that lined themselves on either side of the room, topped with torches.
"You're a lot more important than you know, Jack." Goodwin continued. "But what makes you important is not that you are a great duelist, rather you're a great duelist because of what makes you important."
"I'm gonna pretend that made sense." Jack replied.
"Beyond this door lies your destiny." A giant stone door slid open as they entered into a room. As soon as both of them were inside, the door slid back, surprising Jack.
"What's going on, Goodwin!?"
"What I'm about to show you is one of the world's best kept secrets." Goodwin replied, getting Jack's attention again. The blonde noticed something that was right in front of them. A large structure of stone surrounded by several small structures, as well as an oddly-shaped circle of red light. "Amazing, isn't it?"
It wasn't long until Jack noticed a strange arced dragon symbol carved on what seemed to be the smaller structures' main entrance. "Hey, that dragon symbol looks like..." He trailed off as he rolled up his right sleeve, revealing his symbol, which looked like the wings of that dragon.
"Now listen closely, Jack. You're standing in front of the stairway of the Crimson Dragon. It was originally erected in Peru, but my predecessors relocated it here."
"That's all well and good, but how does that relate to this mark?"
"The mark on your arm represents the wings of the Crimson Dragon. The same dragon you and Yusei somehow summoned at the end of your duel. Like I said Jack, you're much more important than you know."
Meanwhile, back in the Facility
"My move, Tanner." Yusei drew his sixth card and looked at it. It was a spell card. 'This won't help now.'
"Uh, whatever you do, don't use the Crystal Skull!" Yanagi warned him.
But Yusei grabbed it. "The Crystal Skull. Good idea."
"What are you... I said don't use it! Didn't you see what it did to me!?"
"I summon Crystal Skull in defense mode!" The big skull made of crystal rose up on Yusei's field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) It then unleashed light-purple energy that enveloped Yusei.
"You can't say I didn't warn you!" Yanagi cited.
While the other prisoners laughed at this, Tanner wasn't as amused as he was when he dueled Yanagi. "You know that skull's cursed. Why play something that attacks yourself?"
But despite being surrounded by the purple energy, Yusei was calm. "Good question. Why would I?" That response made Tanner confused. "It'd be a stupid move... unleass I had this!" Yusei inserted a card into his duel disk, making a big image of a spell card appear.
"Oh, I remember that one!" Yanagi said, recognizing the spell card that just appeared. "I got it from a friendly shaman in Africa. But he never got the chance to explain how it worked." A white paper doll came out of the spell card and flew up right above the Crystal Skull... right into the torrent of energy. And then, it absorbed said energy and turned black before breaking into smaller dolls that instantly flew towards Tanner.
"What's going on!?" The former pro questioned before the dolls rained down on him. He was forced to hold up his arms for protection.
Tanner: 4000-3000
Everyone, including Tanner, was shocked that he just lost life points. And as for Yusei...
Yusei: 4000
"What just happened?" The short guy wondered. "Seems everything played out all opposite-like."
"Tanner ended up losing a thousand life points, and the new guy didn't take any damage at all!" The guy in orange observed.
"How'd you do that!? What was that card you just played!?" Tanner demanded.
"The Curse Reflection Doll." Yusei answered. "Normally it's used to reflect curse attacks sent by the opponent, but I'm gonna use it to turn my own curse into an attack against you."
"So the newbie found some crazy clever way to put that curse in reverse!" The guy in orange realized.
"I'm just so glad that someone other than me can see the true value of these cards." Yanagi said, feeling a bit better.
"Well I never met a card I didn't like." Yusei replied, getting his attention. "You see, every card is special and you just have to learn to appreciate its power in order to figure out how to best use it."
"So you don't think they're worthless?"
Yusei smiled. "No way, this deck is incredible."
That made Yanagi feel even better. He was even teary-eyed now. "I knew it. I just knew it."
"Hey, come on, don't sweat it, Tanner!" The short guy called. "The new kid just got lucky, is all. Don't let it get to ya!"
"No." Tanner simply said, making his followers confused. On top of that, he was smiling. "That was not luck. If the Pro-duels taught me one thing... it was how to spot a good opponent. And something tells me that this newbie may actually know what he's doing."
"It's your move, Tanner." Yusei called.
The short guy couldn't help but wonder what just happened. "Hey you guys, was Tanner actually being nice for once?"
"It's my turn! I draw!" Tanner drew his next card, and liked what he got. "Sweet. I release Jirai Gumo in order to summon Ushi Oni!" The spider turned into a portal that called out the pot, which released the familiar bull-demon. (ATK: 2150 DEF: 1950 LV: 6)
"Now why would he do that?" Yanagi wondered. "Jirai Gumo is more powerful than this monster."
"Just wait, Old-Timer." The guy orange replied.
"The real show's about to begin!" The short guy added.
"Now I release Ushi Oni to summon Giant Ushi Oni!" The bull demon was replaced by its more fiendish, spider-legged form. (ATK: 2600 DEF: 2100 LV: 8) "And next my Giant Ushi Oni is taking out your Crystal Skull!" The spider bull charged forward. While the prisoners were cheering on, Yanagi watched with worry. "Go, Spector Spike!" The spider bull used two of its legs to shatter the skull to pieces, then pixels.
"That was only the beginning of your worries! Cuz when Giant Ushi Oni destroys a monster in battle, it gets to attack again! And with Crystal Skull gone, you've got no defense, so you're open for a direct attack!" Giant Ushi Oni spewed several thick strands of webbing, which tangled over Yusei for amoment before disappearing.
Yusei: 4000-1400
"You're really getting caught up with this duel, aren't ya?" Tanner cracked.
"You okay?" Yanagi asked, concerned.
"That was awesome!"
"This just ain't got what it takes!"
"So are you any good at all kid, or are you the loser these guys say you are?!"
Meanwhile in the warehouse
"It's my turn." Cody drew. He looked over the cards in his hand before grabbing two of them. "I play a facedown monster in defense mode." A facedown card appeared. "Then I'll place another card facedown and end my turn." Another facedown card appeared.
"That's all? Just when I thought this duel started to get interesting." Kai drew. "Oh well, it's your funeral! Doomkaiser Dragon, attack!" The dragon unleashed another stream of flames that engulfed the facedown monster completely. "Heh! Now you're... huh!?" Kai stopped in mid sentence when 4 orbs of purple light came out of the flames. When they landed on the ground, they revealed four familiar sheep in dark colors. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) x4
Cody smirked. "Nice try, Kai. But you just attacked Scapeghost. And it has a flip effect that creates Black Sheep Tokens."
Kai scoffed. "So what? None of them can stand up against my zombie army. Speaking of which, my Zombie-Skull and Gearfried are about to slaughter two of them!" The skeletal zombie fired a bolt of lightning and fried one token, while Gearfried swung with his sword downwards and destroyed another.
"Yeah!"
Go get him, boss!"
The street punks cheered as Kai looked satisfied. "Your move, kid."
"Come on, Cody." Jeremy muttered, clenching his right hand. "You can win this."
"I'm sure he has a chance to win." Cindy replied with her arms crossed. "But it won't be easy. Kai's got 3 powerful monsters on his field, including the one he took from Cody. Unless he can take down that zombie army, then it's game over."
"My move." Cody drew. "And I summon Masked Chameleon in attack mode!" The monster that appeared was a really big chameleon. The second it was revealed, most of its body turned invisible. The only part of it being visible was some kind of mask that covered its face. It was green with some yellow on it and had purple eyes. (ATK: 1600 DEF: 1100LV: 4) Zombie World took its effect, but because the chameleon's body was mostly invisible, the only visible change was the mask that got some cracks over it and lost some of its colors.
"A lizard playing masquerade? Is this some kind of joke?" Kai asked.
"You won't be laughing after this; I activate Masked Chameleon's effect! As soon as it's summoned, I can summon a monster back from my graveyard in defense mode. But only if that monster has 0 defense points, so I'll bring back Scapeghost!" The dark-red sheep rose up next to the chameleon. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) "Then I activate the spell, Star Changer! This lets me either increase or decrease a monster's level by 1. And I'm gonna use its power to increase the Masked Chameleon's level." A blue aura surrounded the chameleon, which funnily enough formed a silhouette of its invisible body. (LV: 4-5)
"And now I'll tune it with one of my Black Sheep Tokens in order to synchro summon Gravity Warrior!" The chameleon's body turned into 5 stars and circled around of the tokens before turning into circles of green light. The Black Sheep Token then turned into one single star before creating a ray of light. "Now then, time to accelerate!" The light faded and revealed a tall, robotic figure made of blue and grey metal. It was humanoid, with sharp claws on its hands, a tail made of a cable, and a beast-like head with a mane of cables, making it resemble a lion. (ATK: 2100 DEF: 1000 LV: 6) And then, because of Zombie World, its body started to rust in a few places, and it lost its jaw.
Kai's followers laughed at Cody's new monsters.
"Oooh, look at the kitty cat!"
"What's it gonna do? Cough up a hairball?"
Cody smirked. "Actually, he's gonna tear Kai's monsters apart! And his special ability will make that task easy. You see, when he's synchro summoned, he gains 300 attack points for every face-up monster on the opponent's field."
Kai's eyes widened. "And since I've got 3...!"
"That gives my Gravity Warrior 900 extra attack points!" The lion-like warrior glowed with a blue aura and roared. (ATK: 2100-3000)
"Yes!" Jeremy cheered.
"Gravity Warrior, attack! Destroy his Doomkaiser Dragon!" The lion-like warrior leapt at the dragon and shredded it with his claws until it exploded.
Kai: 2650-2050
And then, Gearfried exploded as well, much to the street punks' shock. Cody smirked. "I noticed earlier that Gearfried was linked to your dragon. I thought it was strange, but I had a feeling that it must be a reason. And then, it dawned on me: What if destroying Doomkaiser Dragon would destroy him as well? That's what I figured, and it seems I was right."
"Then Kai is left with only one monster on his field." Jeremy realized.
Cindy narrowed her eyes. "Not quite."
The smoke cleared slowly, and when it did, Cody widened his eyes when he saw that Gearfried was still there. His shock seemed to amuse Kai. "You may have figured out how my dragon's ability works, but you're still way over your head. Remember, I have another monster on my field: Archfiend Zombie-Skull." The skeletal zombie was glowing purple. "See, as long as this guy is on my field, my zombie type monsters can't be destroyed by card effects."
"So then..." Jeremy trailed off.
"Yeah, his Zombie-Skull keeps his other monster safe from the dragon's backlash." Cindy said.
"So, do you still think you can win this, kid?" Kai asked snidely.
"I do." Cody replied calmly. "And I'll show you by tuning my Scapeghost with my remaing Black Sheep Token!" The dark-red sheep turned into one circle of green light and surrounded the other sheep, which glowed briefly and then created a ray of light. "I synchro summon Puralis, the Purple Pyrotile!" The light died down and revealed a small, brown-scaled lizard. It had a pair of puny wings on its back and was enveloped in purple flames. (ATK: 800 DEF: 1400 LV: 2) And then, the field spell took effect and the flames around the lizard's body swirled for a moment, and then, the lizard was revealed again, except that it was nothing more than a skeleton.
The street punks laughed.
"Haha! Another lame lizard!" The guy with bandana insulted.
"Talk about pathetic!" The hoodie guy added.
'It sure does look pathetic. But then again, he could be planning something with that thing.' Kai thought suspiciously.
"I end my turn." Cody concluded.
Kai drew his next card and looked at it. "Then it's time for me to end this!" He held it up. "I activate the spell card, Zombie Power Struggle! With this, I can make a zombie type monster on the field 1000 attack points stronger or weaker. And just for fun, I'm gonna weaken your Gravity Warrior!" The lion-like warrior glowed was surrounded by a red aura. (ATK: 3000-2000)
"Oh no!" Jeremy muttered worriedly.
Cindy narrowed her eyes.
"Now Gearfried, take down his Gravity Warrior!" The zombified warrior raised his sword.
"I activate the trap card, Lost Wind!" Cody's facedown card flipped up and unleashed a black colored gust that caused Gearfried to stumble. "This lets me choose a monster on the field that was special summoned. And you used your dragon to summon Gearfried. Therefore I can negate his abilities and cut his original attack points in half!"
"No way!" Kai exclaimed.
"Which means he'll be down to 1400 points." Jeremy noted with a smile.
"Not bad." Cindy smiled as well.
(ATK: 2800-1400) Before Gearfried could do anything else, Gravity Warrior leapt on him and slashed him with his claws.
Kai: 2050-1450
Kai couldn't help but grinned. "Not bad at all! But you have nothing to protect your Gravity Warrior from my next attack! Zombie-Skull, let him have it!" The skeletal zombie fired a bolt of lightning and zapped Gravity Warrior until he exploded.
Cody: 0550-0050
"And that's a wrap!" Kai concluded.
While street punks cheered, Jeremy was worried again. "This is bad. Cody's almost out of life points, and all he has left on the field is that Puralis. A monster that can't even give that monster a burn mark. It's over."
Cindy, however, smirked. "And yet he seems really calm right now."
True to her words, Cody was calm indeed. Not even the slightest hint of worry on his face.
Kai noticed that. 'Look at him. All confident, despite having the odds against him. That's what I like with my opponent. It takes me back to the old days, when I used to be a pro, crushing any opponent who stood in my way. That is... until I faced Jack Atlas.'
Flashback
In the Kaiba Dome, Kai was riding his runner, with Revived King Ha Des, Archfiend Zombie-Skull and Doomkaiser Dragon by his side.
While Jack had his Red Dragon Archfiend, which turned around and spat out an intense torrent of flames that burned all three zombies at the same and made Kai cry out as his runner made a stop.
Kai: 0600-0000
'That was the end of my career.'
Flashback end
'But this guy...' He glanced at Cody. 'He has potential. I bet he'd come on top in the pro circuit.'
"It's my move." He paused as he prepared to draw. 'I need a good draw, or I'll never get my parents' next message. Here goes!' He drew his next card, and stood still momentarily before looking at it. He smiled.
Which the street punks noticed. "Did he just smile?" The guy with bandana asked.
"What'd he get?" The hoodie guy wondered.
Kai waited patiently for Cody's next move.
"First I summon Blazewing Butterfly!" A giant butterfly appeared next to Puralis, and as the name suggested, its wings were made of fire. (ATK: 1500 DEF: 1500 LV: 4) Due to Zombie World's effect, the fiery wings turned purple, one of the butterfly's antenna's was broken and it lost a few legs. "And next I'll let Puralis give it a tune up!"
Kai's eyes widened. "You mean that thing is a tuner monster?"
"Exactly!" The lizard's body turned into two stars that circled around the butterfly before turning circles of green light. The butterfly itself turned transparent and revealed four stars that lined up before creating a ray of light. "I synchro summon Mighty Warrior!" The light died down and revealed a strong-looking warrior in blue armor with some golden linings and three golden rings attached on his left arm. The most notable feature was his right arm. It was bigger and more mechanical than the left arm. (ATK: 2200 DEF: 2000 LV: 6) And then, because of Zombie World, a few cracks were form on the warrior's armor, while his left arm decayed, leaving nothing more than the bones.
"Mighty Warrior, eh?" Kai smirked. "He doesn't look so mighty to me, especially since his attack points are a little lower than my Zombie-Skull's."
"Not if my Puralis has anything to say." The fiery little lizard appeared again, surprising Kai. "You see, my little friend has a special ability. When it's sent from the field to the graveyard, every monster on your field loses 500 attack points!" The lizard tackled the skeletal zombie and exploded. when the smoke cleared, the Archfiend was down on its knees, weakened. (ATK: 2500-2000)
"No way!"
"Mighty Warrior, show him how mighty you really are!" The blue-armored warrior dashed forward and delivered a really powerful right hook that obliterated Zombie-Skull.
Kai: 1450-1250
"My Zombie-Skull..." Kai growled. "It's gone."
"Here's another surprise for you: when Mighty Warrior destroys a monster in battle, you take damage equal to half the destroyed monster's original attack points."
The former pro widened his eyes. "Say what!?"
"Half the original attack points?" Jeremy repeated.
"Yup, and the Zombie-Skull's original attack points are 2500." Cindy reminded with a smirk. "So that's 1250 points of damage for Kai."
The armored warrior used his aright fist and slammed on the ground right in front of Kai, shaking the place and sent him skidding before he lost balance and fell on the ground.
Kai: 1250-0000
As the holograms disappeared, Cody was approached by his friends. "Cody you did it!" Jeremy said.
"That was a nice comeback you made." Cindy added.
"Thanks. Huh?" Cody said, before noticing the street punks surrounding them. And they looked quite angry.
"How dare you do that to our boss?!" The guy with bandana growled bringing up a metal pipe.
"You're gonna pay!" The hoodie guy added, holding a baseball bat.
"Back off!" Kai called out as he got up, getting incredulous looks from his followers. "The kid beat me fair and square. So no beating him to a bloody pulp!"
"But boss..." The hoodie guy spoke up.
"I said back off!" He repeated, his harsh tone making them step away from Cody and the others, not wanting to anger him. As he approached the trio, he spoke up. "I didn't expect you to defeat my Zombie World combo. Not many duelists were lucky enough to do that. You've got some mad skills." He finished with a smile.
"Thanks." Cody said, still a little wary of him.
"So, what was your name again?"
"It's Cody."
"You said you were looking for something here, right? If so, then none of us will stop you guys."
"But boss!" The bandana guys protested.
"But nothing!" He replied firmly, making him go silent. "The kid showed me how a real duelist is like." He then gave Cody a smirk. "And I know pro material when I see it."
Cody smiled at his words.
"Before we discuss about your future career..." Cindy spoke up, almost amused. "How about we get what we came for?"
"Right." Cody nodded as he, Jeremy and Cindy walked down some stairs they found at the corner, arriving a dark basement. It looked more abandoned than the floor above.
"Okay, according to the video, the next message is supposed to be buried somewhere down here." Jeremy noted.
"So we just have to try to dig it up." Cindy assumed.
"No problem at all." Someone spoke up, making the trio to turn around, and saw Kai, with some of his followers standing behind him, carrying pickaxes and shovels. "Luckily for you guys, this place was once used by those who dealt with digging."
"Now that's convenient." Cindy commented.
"Just leave this job to us. Come on, boys! Let's get started!"
"Okay boss." One of them replied as they gathered around in the area and started to dig, letting Cody and the others wait.
Meanwhile, at Goodwin's mansion
"Jack, allow me to she some light." Goodwin spoke up. "I am a 360th Guardian of the Star. Throughout history, my order has been known by many names: The Defenders of Peace, The Servants to the Stars, we have sworn to maintain balance in the universe by taking..." He turned from the stone stairway to Jack. "...The Oath of Iliaster."
"The what now?" Jack asked confused.
"It is the power that gives everything in nature its inner essence and outward form. The universe, energy, mankind. Iliaster is the power flowing through all of these things, binding them together."
"So it's glue." Jack joked. "You've sworn allegiance to magic glue!"
"Joke all you want, but that mark on your arm, it means you're part of something much greater. And if your friend Yusei really does have a mark, then he's part of it too."
Back in the Facility
"From my hand, I summon Ashoka Pillar in defense mode!" The very tall, ancient pillar rose up on Yusei's field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 2200 LV: 3)
The prisoners laughed at it. "Ooh, look at me, I just summoned a giant stick!" The guy in orange mocked.
"Now you got us really scared!" The short guy added.
"Knock it off, you two!" Tanner argued, stopping their laughter. "I'm interested to see how much he can squeeze out of his deck." He turned to Yusei. "You got another surprise up your sleeve?"
"I'm all about surprises, like this next card: Stonehenge." Yusei played a spell card, making the famous circle of stone structures appear. "See, the power of Stonehenge lets me summon a monster with no attack points from my graveyard. So I'm summoning Crystal Skull in defense position!" The crystal skull appeared from a flash of light. (ATK: 0 DEF: LV: 1) And just like before, it unleashed purple energy that enveloped Yusei. He seemed to be calm, even though he took damage.
Yusei: 1400-0400
"Is your skull as empty as that Crystal Skull?" The prisoners laughed. "Cuz unless you got another of those reflection dolls, that was the stupidest move possible!"
"Think again, boys." Tanner disagreed. "Giant Ushi Oni can attack twice. If he hadn't summoned that skull, I would've been able to take him out after demolishing his Ashoka Pillar. But with that Crystal Skull in the way..."
"Ushi Oni will have to attack it instead of him!"
"So uh, he basically saved himself from a big beating by taking a little medium sized beating?"
"Yup, except he made one major mistake."
"What kind of mistake?" The short guy asked.
"When Ushi Oni demolishes that pillar, he'll take 2000 points of damage!"
"Sorry kiddo." Yanagi said. "I wish I could've given you a better deck."
"Don't give up on your deck now, Gramps." Yusei replied calmly while inserting a card into his duel disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."
'A trap card. Now, if only I can get him to use it.' Tanner smirked. "Don't think that facedown card can save you, kid!"
Meanwhile
Goodwin and Jack started to walked closer to the stone stairway. "This is the shrine of Iliaster." Goodwin said.
"What are those little drawings?" Jack asked, noticing some weird pictures on the walls.
"They're carvings, Jack." Goodwin corrected. "Carvings that narrate ancient myths and legends. How the universe began, the dawn of time, the the birth of civilization, the creation of my order, the great war of the demons." Goodwin raised his right hand. "Come Jack, let me take you on a journey through time." The entire room changed form, as both of them were now soaring above the clouds; they were confronted by a small island floating on the clouds, which approached them at top speed. Then suddenly, the sky changed to night (which had a faint red tint from a glowing red star above them) and they were once again standing on solid ground, watching many people kneel in front of the stairway.
"Long ago, in the Pre-Incan civilization of South America, the People of the Stars built a giant building of stone known as the Stairway of the Dragon."
"Okay...?"
"The Stairway was built in the honor of the Dragon Star which was said to govern all of creation. All the wisdom held by the star was handed down to their ruler, the Star Dragon King. Led by the star and their king, the people of the stars built an incredible civilization. But then the gate to the Shadow Realm was opened. Legends tell of evil demons and spirits led by the Demon Lord, engaging in a great war. The king climbed the stairway and begged the Dragon Star to help his people. And the Dragon Star answered the king's cry. The great Crimson Dragon came down from above and swept over the land, sealing the forces of evil deep beneath the earth."
"...like in the dirt?"
"Precisely. Behold..." Goodwin raised his right hand again, and once again, the entire room changed again. This time, the two men found themselves floating above a desert. There were some strange line sketched to the ground.
"Are those the legendary Nasca Lines?" Jack asked, recognizing them.
"They are the seals of the Crimson Dragon." Goodwin replied.
"Alright newbie, my turn!" Tanner called and drew his next card. "Let's how your little trinkets can stand up to this move!" Giant Ushi On flexed its muscles, scaring Yanagi in the process. "Giant Ushi Oni, tear down that Ashoka Pillar!" The spider bull dashed forward.
"I activate the Totem Pole trap card!" Yusei revealed his facedown card, which called out a decorated wooden pole. One of the three heads fired off and took Ushi Oni's slashing attack, exploding on contact. The top head dropped to the third one to fill out the missing space.
"How incredible!" Yanagi cheered.
"No way!" The guy in orange said, as he and the other prisoners were shocked by this.
"Keep 'em coming Tanner, cuz Totem Pole can block your monster's attacks up to three times!"
"This is fantastic! With my deck, you're gonna win!" Yanagi celebrated until he heard Tanner chuckle.
"You think I didn't see that coming? I was counting on it! Cuz now i can build my Spiderweb Castle! And it's all thanks to you activating your trap card!" One of Tanner's facedown cards flipped up before the field was full of many threads of webbing, with a tall Japanese tower appearing behind him as the final touch. "So now, if your monster attacks, it'll get caught in web and only able to use half its attack points. But the best part is that I can also just send a card to my graveyard... and then jump past your defense for a direct attack!"
"I take it back, kid. You're not gonna win." Yanagi whined.
"Now I place one card facedown and end my turn." Tanner concluded as a facedown card appeared. 'Bring it on, kid, cuz my field is perfect. Thanks to Trap Hole, if you summon a new monster with a thousand or more attack points, it'll get destroyed, and if you summon some weaker ones in attack position, hoping for a straight-up brawl, I can use Mirror Force to wipe them out before they even move. This duel's got me all fired up. I love it. It reminds me of better days; back when I was on my way to the top of the speed world circuit...'
Flashback
'The roar of the crowd, the energy in the air, heart pounding blood racing. It was the greatest feeling in the world! Until... I took a run for the championship and Jack Atlas took me out in one move!'
Tanner and Jack were racing through track of the Kaiba Dome arena, until his Giant Ushi Oni was instantly destroyed.
'That was the most humiliating defeat of my career.' After the match, Tanner was sitting on the ground at his trailer, devastated.
He was approached by Jack, who took off his helmet and revealed his smug expression. "Guess you'll have to wait a little longer to take your victory lap, huh, Tanner? Maybe next time, I'll actually try." After those words, he walked away.
'It was all downhill from there.'
Flashback end
'But I like this kid.' Tanner snapped out of thought and took a glance at Yusei. 'He reminds me of... well, of me.'
"It's my move, Tanner!" Yusei looked down at Yanagi's deck. 'I know this deck won't let me down.' He put his fingers on it preparing to draw. 'If I can get one more monster on the field, I can win this. If not, I'm a goner.'
"It's your move, newbie!" Tanner called out, a little impatient.
Finally, Yusei drew his next card. He paused as he looked at it, and smiled. Which Tanner noticed.
And so did the others. "Uh oh, he smiled." The guy in orange said.
"I activate the Piri Reis Map spell card!" A decayed treasure map appeared above him.
"What can you with some old piece of paper?" The short guy asked rudely.
"It's not paper, it's gazelle skin!" Yanagi protested. "It was drawn by..."
"There he goes again!"
"Enough with the lectures, Professor!" The guy in orange interrupted angrily, making Yanagi whimper a bit.
"The Piri Reis Map can show a monster with no attack points, a clear path from my deck to my hand." A card slid out from the middle of Yusei's deck, which he took.
"So does that mean you get to draw another card?" Tanner asked.
"I'm not just drawing the card, I'm summoning it! Cabrera Stone!" A giant onyx stone with strange runes appeared on the field. (ATK: 0 DEF: 0 LV: 1) The stone suddenly released some vibrations that caused Yusei to lose a few points.
Yusei: 0400-0200
"What's some little rock gonna do?" The short guy asked.
"It's a stone! The Cabrera Stone to be exact." Yanagi corrected. "They say a lost civilization..."
"NOBODY CARES, OLD MAN!"
But Yanagi just continued. "This is an archeological spectacle! The Crystal Skull, the Cabrera Stone and the Ashoka Pillar, I'm getting historical goosebumps! The world's best museums don't boast collections as rare as this!"
Tanner, however, was about a thing. "Something I don't get; the downside of that map of yours is that you had to lose half your life points in order to summon that rock you added to your hand. That leaves you with only 200 life points. Why would you put yourself at risk like that, to summon something with no attack points?"
"To win this duel." Yusei gave Tanner a daring eye gaze. "Sorry Tanner, but now that I gathered Crystal Skull, Ashoka Pillar and Cabrera Stone on my field together, I can activate another card!" Yusei held the spell card he drew on his first turn.
"It can't be!" Yanagi recognized it.
"I activate the spell card Triangle O!" A small glowing appeared on the floor, which divided into three circles forming a triangle. As the glowing triangle got bigger, Yusei's relics started to crack and crumble.
"What kind of hocus-pocus is this?" Tanner asked before the triangle surrounded the entire field. And when it did, the Spiderweb Castle vanished, and Giant Ushi Oni started to crack and crumble as well. It was a shocking sight for him.
And his followers. "It's demolishing everything!"
"Amazing! I can't wait to see what this can really do!" Yanagi said awe and amazement.
"Triangle O's power destroys every card on the field!" All the artifacts, and Ushi Oni, broke into pieces. "And all the damage I would have taken cuz of the cards' effects dealt to you! Respect that, Tanner!" The ancient treasures collapsed and the giant shards of what was left of them hurled towards Tanner, who grunted when they made contact before falling down to one knee.
Tanner: 3000-0000
"I... I don't believe it."
"Tanner, are you okay?" The short guy asked as he and the other prisoners rushed over to him.
Yanagi approached Yusei extremely happily. "Dear boy, dear boy, that was stupendous! I traveled the world over, but I've never seen dueling like that! You never even attacked! I could hug you, but don't worry, I won't."
Yusei looked behind him and smiled. "I couldn't have done it without this awesome deck of yours."
"Actually, I will hug ya!"
Now Yanagi was teary-eyed, and clung to Yusei while trying to give him a few smooches.
Meanwhile, Tanner stood up calmly. But his followers were not happy. "Don't worry, we don't care if he won, he's still slime to us!" The guy in orange said.
"Yeah, we're gonna take that Treasure Deck!" The short guy added.
"Hang on!" Tanner held up his arms, stopping them from moving.
"Huh? Hang on for what?" The guy in orange asked confusedly.
Tanner walked toward Yusei and Yanagi. "You won the duel without ever attacking once. That's a pretty amazing thing to pull off. And I know what I'm talking about, kid. The old man was right."
"Right about what?" Yanagi asked.
"I used to be a pro, but I never dueled someone quite like you. You're good. So, you got a name, newbie?"
"...It's Yusei."
Tanner then turned his attention to the old man. "Hey Gramps, I apologize for stepping on your cards."
"I hope you learned your lesson, Tanner. Now take a look at these." Yanagi fanned his cards for Tanner to see. "Aren't they wonderful? You had me doubting their value, but Yusei showed me how special they are."
"My time in the spotlight is long gone, but want to do everything I can to get you to the world of the pros." Tanner reached his hand to Yusei. "What do you say? You interested?"
Yusei smiled and grabbed it for a firm handshake. "...very."
"Alright, alright! Break it up, fellas!" The moment was short-lived as a pair of smirking guards with nightsticks showed up. "Let's go, 88. The chief would like to see you, now!"
Yusei knew by the number that the guard was referring to him. Whatever he's about to go through, it was not going to be funny.
Meanwhile
"Many centuries have passed since the Crimson Dragon sealed the Demon Lord and his forces beneath the earth." Goodwin continued as he and Jack float over the Nasca Lines. "But those forces continue to draw energy from mankind. They feed off our sadness, our jealousy, our anger, our greed. Soon, the Demon Lord's forces will gain more power than they had before. They will break the Dragon's seal, and return to pillage the earth."
"That's bad." Jack simply said.
"On the day the seal breaks, and the Demon Lord resurrects, my order will be prepared to summon the Crimson Dragon and protect humanity. But we must find the Signers, those bearing the Mark of the Dragon, like you, and that Satellite, Yusei."
Jack rolled up his sleeve and took a look at the mark on his arm. "So I'm supposed to save the world. Why didn't you just say so?"
It's been a little while since Kai's followers started digging and Cody, Jeremy and Cindy have been waiting ever since. So far, no one seemed to have found anything yet.
"Anything?" Kai asked.
"Not yet, boss!" One of them replied.
"I wonder how long it's gonna take." Cindy said, feeling a little bored.
"I know they will find it." Cody said, still being patient.
"I just hope we don't wait the whole day." Jeremy added.
"Ah!" The hoodie guy gasped. "I think I found something!"
Everyone turned to him. "Are you sure?" Kai asked.
"Yeah!" The guy kneeled down and used his hand to move some dirt away. "Aha!" He then picked something up. "Here it it!" What he found was a small metal box.
"It's a box." One of the other street punks noted.
The hoodie guy handed the box to Kai, who in turn handed it Cody. "You think this is it?"
Cody took it. "Let's find out." At that, he grabbed the lid and opened it slowly...
That's it folks! And that was the third chapter in a row, so it's time for me to focus on GX again. Until next time.