Sekhmet: FINALLY. Holy shit its been like 84 years but we did it.
Susano-o: Final battles over, we can finally move onto the meme chapter and then the meme season.
Sekhmet: I can't wait.
Duel 71: The Land Down Under
Cold, cold and dark, those were the two words that could describe how they all felt at that moment. The blackness was all consuming and no one could seem to move away from their spot as the void swallowed them whole.
"S-Shit," Rose groaned as she forced herself to move forward. "Hello! Where is everyone!"
"I'm over here. Where the fuck are we?" Yuko asked, waving Rose down from a good distance away.
"You are in my world now," Nightshroud said, floating across from the two.
"Yeah, that much is evident, it doesn't answer my question." Yuko said, agitated.
"We are in the World of Darkness," Nightshroud answered, his voice reverberating off seemingly nothing. "And soon the whole universe will be swallowed inside."
"Oh no," Rose said, activating her duel disk. "No no no no no we are not doing this again, let's just start this duel already."
"Yeah, I'm so tired, not just in general but of this guy already." Yuko said, activating her disk as well.
"Bad idea! Bad idea!" Yubel screamed in her mind as she phased into reality. "This is not a good idea!"
"Why not?" Rose asked.
"He has the power of Darkness and Light!" Yubel explained. "He won't be defeated with one duel, he'll just return instantly."
"Hey that's new." Yuko said. "So we'll just beat him multiple times, no big deal. We've done more for lesser stakes."
"Yeah, but if you lose once it's all over and you're dead," Yubel responded.
"We'll it's not like we've got any other options! It's literally just us and the dragon businessman over there. It's like there's a spotlight quest marker on him like "hey you have to fight me to proceed!"!" Yuko said.
"Look we'll just drag it out as long as we can," Rose said, drawing her first card. "I summon 'Elemental Hero Avian' (1000/1000) and use 'Mask Change' to summon 'Masked Hero Divine Wind' (2700/1900)."
"My turn," Darkness said, summoning his card. "I activate the field spell, 'Darkness'." The field was covered in a black miasma and then five facedowns appeared on the field. "These facedowns are very special, three of them contain the power of darkness, and two contain everything from zero to infinity. When I activate these cards, any of them between zero and infinity will activate, because between those two there is only darkness."
"Could you be any edgier? And you've had your blinker on for the last five blocks!" Yuko sighed.
"I summon 'Darkness Eye' (0/1000) and end my turn." Nightshroud said, ignoring Yuko.
"Anyway, let's crack this open. I'll discard this card to special summon 'The Tricky' (2000/1200) from my hand, and then have him attack your 'Darkness Eye'."
"Now it's time to see your demise, I choose the first and the fifth." Nightshroud said, as the cards revealed themselves to be 'Zero' and 'Infinity'.
"Ok, what do those do then?" Yuko asked.
"Now I'm allowed to activate all three cards in between them to enhance the first one," Nightshroud answered as the cards flipped up, the first was 'Darkness 2'. "Now my 'Darkness Eye' gains 1000 attack, as well as an additional 1000 for each 'Darkness' card activated after the first, for a total of 3000," (Darkness Eye 0-3000/1000). "Say goodbye to your monster." (Yuko's LP: 8000-7000)
"Fine. I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn then." Yuko said. "What an annoying gimmick. I hope this is the only trick he has up his sleeve." She whispered over to Rose.
"It's not," Yubel responded.
"Can one of you explain what is going on here!" Rose yelled. Yubel sighed and simply gestured over to Nightshroud.
"The Gentle Darkness was taken from this world and I am this world's sole inhabitant," Nightshroud explained. "Your ancestors' decision to take the darkness from my world to fight the light opened a bridge between our worlds that I used to leave."
"And now you're pissed because?" Rose asked.
"Not angry, I'm merely finally finishing what I started, dragging your world and all the others into mine to swallow everything in darkness," Nightshroud corrected. "I was defeated once, but now with the powers of both Darkness and Light I cannot be defeated."
"Yes, that's what I said," Yubel said. "He lost once and we ripped his soul from his body and sealed it away in a card hoping he wouldn't get free, then Kagemaru just had to find his soul, and build his school on top of where we buried his body."
Rose's brow furrowed as she turned to Yubel. "You buried his body on the same island where the 'Sacred Beasts' were sealed?" She asked.
"No they buried the 'Sacred Beasts' where we buried his body," Yubel corrected. "Sumerian, we were their first."
"Wait, how did you even get out here?!" Rose yelled. "We're in the Pacific ocean off the coast of Japan! There is no way Sumerian explorers got here!" Before Yubel could answer, Rose continued. "And now that I think about it, how did the 'Sacred Beasts' get here!? The war was over in Egypt and they didn't have ocean faring vessels!"
"You have a power from an otherworldly space, playing a game with real monsters, while talking to your demonic protector from a past life, and fighting against the very personification of a fundamental force, and you're really wondering how we crossed the continent?" Yubel deadpanned.
"...Still doesn't make sense," Rose grumbled, crossing her arms.
"I don't know whether to be relieved or insulted that this whole thing is just business. I don't think it matters anymore." Yuko said.
"I'm just doing what I do, control the darkness of the world," Nightshroud said. "I reset my cards."
"I draw," Rose said. "And I activate 'Mask Charge' to add 'Avian' and 'Mask Change' back to my hand, then I activate 'Polymerization' to fuse 'Avian' and 'Burstinatrix' to make 'Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer' (2100/1200), and this little guy can't be destroyed by battle," Rose smirked. "Now I play 'H-Heated Heart' to give him an extra 500 attack (2100-2600/1200), attack 'Darkness Eye'!"
"I activate two and five," Nightshroud said as his cards were revealed, 'Zero' and 'Infinity', "And now lets see what awaits you," Nightshroud said as the two cards flipped up, 'Darkness 1' was the first. "Now I can destroy two cards on your field, say goodbye to your two 'Heroes'." 'Divine Wind' and 'Phoenix Enforcer' were destroyed in a blast of black lightning.
"Shit," Rose mumbled looking at her hand. "I set a card and end my turn."
"My turn," Nightshroud said. "Because the total attack of my monsters is 0, I can special summon 'Darkness Slime' (0/0), then I summon 'Darkness Outsider' (0/0), using his effect to discard a card and take control of one monster in your decks, Yubel (0/0) come to me."
"Rose!" Yubel yelled as their card was ripped from Rose's deck and summoned on Nightshroud's field.
"I activate my third and fifth card," Nightshroud's pick proved to be right again as 'Zero' and 'Infinity' activated, then 'Darkness 2'. "I'll give my 'Darkness Slime' 1000 extra attack (0-1000/0), and attack Yuko directly."
"I activate 'Threatening Roar' to stop your attack and prevent you from attacking this turn."
"Hmm, very well, I'll end my turn by sacrificing my 'Slime' for 'Yubel'."
"I draw. Due to the effect of 'Marie the Fallen One' in my Graveyard, I gain back 200 Life Points during my Standby Phase. (Yuko's LP: 7000-7200) I'll set a monster and one facedown and end my turn."
"My turn," Rose said, drawing then felt the world snap into place around her. "What the-?" She asked, looking at her card. "Elemental Hero Neos?"
"Rose!" Yubel yelled across the field. "Fuse him with me, that's Neos, he came from Neo Space to defeat Nightshroud!"
"Right," Rose nodded. "I activate my facedown 'Super Polymerization'!" She yelled. "I send one card to the grave to fuse my 'Neos' and 'Yubel' to summon 'Elemental Hero Neos Krieger (3000/2500)!" The bat winged hero landed on the field with a wave of energy that made Nightshroud take a step back. "Attack 'Darkness Outsider' with Lightning Warcry!"
"I activate the first and last!" Nightshroud yelled. "'Darkness 3' now deals you 3000 points of damage as well!" (Nightshroud LP: 8000-5000) (Rose LP: 8000-5000).
"I end my turn," Rose said smiling.
"I grow tired of this," Nightshroud growled. "I summon 'Darkness Necroslime' (0/0) and use its effect to summon 'Darkness Slime' (0/0) back to the field, since you have a monster on the field I can use 'Slimes' effect to copy the attack and defense of your monster (Slime: 0-2500/0-3000), now I activate the first and third card, revealing 'Darkness 2' and giving 'Slime' and extra 1000 attack (2500-3500), attack 'Krieger'."
"Bad move Nightshroud when 'Krieger' battles you take damage equal to your monster's attack!" (Nightshroud LP: 5000-1500) (Rose LP: 5000-4500). "And that's not all, I get to summon another monster from my deck 'Neos Wiseman' (3000/3000)!"
"I end my turn," Nightshroud said.
"I draw. 'Marie The Fallen One's' effect activates. (Yuko's LP: 7200-7400) I summon 'Nimble Beaver' (400/200), and when I Normal Summon it, I can Special Summon another Level 3 or lower 'Nimble' Monster from my Deck. I chose another 'Nimble Beaver'. I can't do much of anything else, so I end my turn."
"I draw," Rose said. "I send 'Captain Gold' to the grave to add 'Skyscraper' to my hand, then I'll attack your 'Darkness Necroslime'."
"I activate the effect of 'Darkness Demise', by sending two 'Darkness' monsters and this card to the grave I can end the battle phase and summon 'Darkness Neosphere' (4000/4000)."
"Is it really fair that we can't see his hand?" Rose asked, annoyed.
"No it isn't," Yubel said, rolling their eyes.
"At the end of each turn, my life points now reset to 4000." (Nightshroud LP: 1500-4000)
"I draw." Yuko said. A bolt of ice shot through her nerves. (Yuko's LP: 7400-7600) "Man, you picked a bad time for this. You were so focused on Rose, you forgot about me! I tribute all three of my monsters to summon 'The Wicked Avatar'! (?/?) While it may mimic your 'Darkness Neosphere's Attack and Defense points and add 100, its other effect is what we need right now. For the next two turns, you cannot activate Spell or Trap cards!" (?-4100/?-4100) "There may be no use in me attacking you, but I do not think it matters anymore. Between both of our monsters, your chances of victory have been reduced to 0%."
"...No, No it's not the end," Nightshroud chuckled. "You forget, I have the powers of light and dark, I will resurrect myself and this duel will begin again, I only need to win once to destroy you both."
…
Everything was dark, there was seemingly no end to the blackness surrounding them.
"Anyone here!?" Syrus yelled. "Come on guys, we need to go home!"
"There is no way home." A voice called back.
"Who's there!?" Syrus yelled.
"It's me," The voice said, condensing around Syrus, transforming the world around him into a classroom with Zane standing in front of him. "You are a failure of a duelist."
"Oh god damn it," Syrus groaned, taking off his glasses and rubbing his nose. "This is what we're doing now?"
"You will never be as good as me, you're a disgrace to this academy."
"Yeah yeah whatever Zachary," Syrus said, waving his hand dismissively. "At least I'm getting laid and didn't become an edgelord," He said walking away from Zane.
….
"Guys where are you!?" Alexis yelled, turning around in the darkness. "We need to get back to the Academy."
"Oh my god you're such a bad teacher."
Alexis raised an eyebrow and turned around to reveal the world had changed to a classroom full of first years sneering at her. "Excuse me?" She asked, confused.
"Why do you even bother, you're just awful!" Someone else yelled.
Alexis's eyebrow went higher till she looked down and saw herself dressed as a teacher. "Ah that explains it," She said, smirking. "Well then," She chuckled looking at the class. "If you think that's the case, leave, I'll make sure to mark you as absent, also this next duel test will be worth 35% of your grade, better hope you don't need help!" She chuckled grabbing a chair and sitting behind her podium with her feet up, sometimes it's good to be the queen.
…
"Alright, bring it on, World of Darkness!" Chazz yelled at the void. "I've been through the worst of the worst, I fought a polar bear for a children's trading card! I can handle anything you throw at me!"
Ojam shambled forward from the darkness. "Hello~"
Chazz screamed and recoiled into a ball.
…
"That sounded like Chazz!" Syrus yelled happily. Pushing through a weak barrier, he found Chazz recoiling from Ojam O's mere existence.
"Well that was surprisingly easy to find." Syrus said, repulsed b as well.
"Syrus, get it away!" Chazz shrieked. Syrus ran up and kicke in an attempt to punt kick it. It didn't move at first, but after the inertia settled, it slowly slid away, leaving a mucus trail and making a sound like a wet squeegee on glass.
"Oh that just gross…" Syrus muttered. "Come on, let's get out of here."
….
Alexis let out a long exhale as she smoked her joint, thankful she had stolen one before they went searching for Chazz. "I needed this," She said relaxing into her chair as her students looked on in anger and horror.
Chazz opened the sliding door. "Alexis!"
"Yeah!?" She yelled back, trying to hide her joint under the podium.
"...are you gonna share that shit or not?" Chazz replied indignantly.
"...No," Alexis said, taking another drag.
"Come on, don't bogard the roach!" Syrus added.
"Get your own," Alexis said, waving her hand at the class. "Or ask one of these little shits if they have some."
You can't call us that!?" One of them yelled.
"Wow you are young," Alexis chuckled. "This Academy has no rules, I'm pretty sure I could kill one of you and not get in trouble," She said, rubbing her cheek in contemplation. "Actually yeah I know I could, considering Sheppard almost did that to me my first year."
"I told him that was a bad idea," Crowler said walking in from the teacher's door.
"Dr. Crowler, good to see you!" Hassleberry said happily running into the room too.
"Yes I'm glad to be out of that hellhole I was in," Crowler mumbled shivering in revulsion.
"What was yours?" Alexis asked.
"I was on a bus with the Bay City Rollers in orange plaid bell bottoms listening to Andy Gibb sing Shadow Dancing on loop," Crowler replied as if that made sense to anyone but him.
"Ok, moving on then, Hassleberry what was your nightmare?" Syrus asked.
"Summer of '96." Hassleberry said.
"Care to elaborate on that?" Chazz asked.
"I refuse to." Hassleberry said.
"Like do you mean the song or-?" Syrus asked.
"Not elaborating," Hassleberry said.
"Alright then, so how do we get out of here?" Syrus asked. "Is it one of those things where if we just believe hard enough?" Chazz started visibly imagining.
"Don't believe too hard, you'll hurt yourself like last time." Alexis said.
"We should try to find the other students," Crowler said. "Then at least we'll all be safe together."
"No need," Jesse said happily walking in with Axel, Jim and Bastion. "Found them all when I was leaving that casting center for America's next top model!"
"...You know what I don't wanna know," Hassleberry sighed.
"Ok we're all here now," Bastion said thinking. "So logically we were all able to overcome our fears, how though?"
"Well, we deal with a lot of bullshit, so maybe we're just all too tired to deal with it." Syrus said.
"And who caused all this bullshit?"
"Yuko and Rose?"
"Exactly!" Bastion snapped smiling. "Our friendship with Rose and Yuko has given us the power to overcome our fears, so with the power of friendship we can leave this place!"
Chazz grabbed Bastion's shoulder, "Bastion, not gonna lie, that sounds really dumb." Chazz said.
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No. I just don't want it to be that."
"Ok everyone hold hands," Alexis said, grabbing everyone's hands. "Now I guess we just focus on our friendship."
"This is so damn stupid!" Chazz snarled, closing his eyes.
"Yeah I'm with him on this," Axel said looking around at the group. "I'm sure Yuko would rather punch me than befriend me."
"Just shut up and concentrate," Alexis growled, closing her eyes.
The nine of them concentrated and were then teleported to the center of the world where the duel was going on.
….
"Shit," Rose mumbled as she looked at the field, Nightshroud was right, they couldn't kill him in one duel.
"I told you not to do this," Yubel snarled. "We're stuck here now without a way to get free."
"What about that?" Yuko said, pointing to the group floating above them.
"Son of a bitch," Rose smiled. "Looks like the rescue party is here."
"Hey!" Syrus yelled happily as they landed. "Look, it worked!"
"That was the single biggest asspull ever," Chazz growled.
"But it worked," Alexis countered, walking over to Rose. "Hey," She said, smiling the smile that Rose fell in love with when they first met.
Rose blushed. "Umm hey," She mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.
"Seems like you got yourself in a sticky situation," Alexis asked.
"That's putting it mildly," Yubel snarked glaring at Alexis before Rose smacked her shoulder.
"Play nice," Rose chastised. "And yeah, we can't beat him, we're the Sans to his Chara."
"I think we can help," Jesse piped up. "We can beat him together."
"If his power comes from fear and loneliness, we can beat him together," Crowler suggested. "Together we beat the Shadow Riders, how much harder would this one man be?"
Jim and Axel nodded their agreement, and Rose turned to Yuko. "You wanna give it a shot?" She asked.
"We ain't got much more to work with at this point, it might be the only thing that DOES work." Yuko said.
And with a nod they activated their duel disks.
….
"Alright Nightshroud," Alexis smirked. "Let's do this."
"I summon, 'Cyber Angel Vrash' (3000/2000)!"
"I summon, 'Barbaroid, the Ultimate Battle Machine' (4000/4000)!"
"I summon, 'Rainbow Overdragon' (4000/0)!"
"I summon, 'Ultimate Conductor Tyranno' (3500/3200)!"
"I summon, 'Armed Dragon Catapult Cannon' (3500/3000)!"
"I summon, 'Water Dragon Cluster' (2800/2600)!"
"I summon, 'Volcanic Doomfire' (3000/1800)!"
"I summon, 'Fossil Dragon Skullgios' (3500/0)!"
"I summon, 'Ultimate Ancient Gear Golem' (4400/3400)!"
"I summon, 'The Wicked Dreadroot'!" (4000/4000)
"I summon, 'Yubel-Ultimate Nightmare'!" (0/0)
"I summon, 'Contrast Hero Chaos!' (3000/2600)!"
"I attack Nightshroud!" They all shouted at once as their monsters all rushed Nightshroud.
"What!?" Nightshroud yelled as he was bombarded by monster attacks that tore into his soul. "What is this!?"
"It's the power of friendship, love, and these cards we own," Rose yelled. "And when our powers combine we can do anything!"
Yubel flew over and grabbed Nightshroud's exposed soul. "I'll be taking this back," They smirked ripping The Light crab out of Nightshroud's body.
"No you can't do this!" Nightshroud screamed. "I won't go back to the nothingness!"
"Oh you won't," Yubel grinned evilly. "When you fused yourself with the Light you tied it fully with the Gentle Darkness, so without it you now cease to exist, the dark is ours to command, and you will get nothing."
Nightshroud gave one last scream as his soul faded away, this set off a chain reaction that crumbled the World of Darkness and freed the trapped souls within, landing them back on Duel Academy Island.
"...Is it over?" Rose asked, looking around. "Anyone see another possessed midget around here?"
"Who's not dead? Sound off." Yuko added. A chorus of groans and mumbling responded. "Good, I think that's everyone. Now how the fuck do we go home?"
"I know how," Bastion said, raising his hand. "And barring any other interruptions, I can finally get us out of here."