This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 2: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
Title: The Beauty of Destruction
Opening up outside John F. Kennedy Airport, cars were coming and going, and planes were either landing to drop off passengers or taking off with new passengers aboard. One plane, however, had been flying all the way from Eastern Europe, and one passenger in particular was eager to make himself known in this new country.
(inside…)
Inside the airport, a tall and muscular man was shown emerging from one gateway, having arrived all the way from Russia (a European country). He was wearing a full-body riding suit with green and purple parts, which were separated by red lines. There were spikes on the elbows, around his middle and on bracelets. The suit's opening was very broad, exposing a lot of skin from his upper torso, showing the many criminal marks he has on his head, neck, and upper torso. His left eye seemed technological in nature, resembling a high tech scanner. Without saying anything, the Russian man looked at his surroundings before going on his way. Whoever this guy was, he was either here in the United States for a vacation, or was here to cause big time trouble.
(elsewhere…)
Outside the New York City stadium, Team 4D's and all of their friends had emerged from the building as they got ready to leave to do some exploring. The good news about the semi-finals was that the first duel would not begin until noon tomorrow. The only ones not present? David and Lisa both slipped away as soon as they were able to. They wanted to get to Bryant Park as quickly as possible, and were most embarrassed when their friends (and family members in David's case) figured out what was going on.
(elsewhere…)
Later on inside the NYPD headquarters, Paul was inside the lunchroom eating some dinner with a couple of his fellow officers.
"So, how are you enjoying New York City, sir?" One officer asked Paul.
"It's alright, but I'd rather be back in the San Francisco Police Department," grunted Paul, eating some hot vegetable soup.
The second officer felt sorry, "Aww, gee, sir," he sympathised, "We're real sorry you feel unhappy staying here. But do cheer up, we know you'll eventually grow to like being a part of the New York City police force."
Before anything more could be said, the chief of the NYPD opened the lunchroom door and entered, causing Paul and the officers to stand up from their seats and saluted their superior. The police chief had messy brown hair and a scar on his left cheek.
"Chief Waltfeld!" began Paul, "W-What brings you in here?"
"I was originally coming here to make a cup of coffee, but now I bring bad news to all of you," The police chief, full name Samuel 'Sam' Waltfeld, replied grimly. Speaking of bad news, Paul and the two police officers listened carefully to it, "The infamous Russian criminal Sergey Volkov has arrived in New York City from Poland after escaping from a prison camp all the way in Siberia, and, according to our sources, he's looking for duelists to pummel."
"Say what?!" The first officer gasped.
"It can't be!" The second officer protested.
"Sergey Volkov…" whispered Paul, knowing a little bit of the man. He then eased up and saluted again, "Sir! Leave this case to me. I promise that my squad and I will catch that criminal scum and bring him to justice—that way, I can redeem myself for my previous goof ups."
Sam nodded firmly.
(elsewhere…)
Meanwhile, the Russian man (known as Sergey) was shown driving into Brooklyn through a car he had stolen from one unlucky man outside the airport.
"This the United States…" Sergey was saying to himself, speaking in slightly broken English, "Feh! I expect more than what I seeing," He then smiled wickedly, "Oh well, I hear that there are thousands of duelists in country. There be plenty to 'hunt down'. I think I'll start with Manhattan area…"
And the stolen car drove down the expressway through Brooklyn.
(elsewhere…)
Within Bryant Park, David and Lisa both arrived for their little outing. The park looked beautiful, and there were many, many people wandering around.
"So this is Bryant Park," mused David.
"That it is," agreed Lisa, "Although… I never saw this many people around here before."
That there was. Because of how crowded it was, the two teenagers decided to try and find a more quiet part of the park to try and talk things out.
(elsewhere…)
Back outside the New York City stadium, Megan was shown happily interviewing Michael, who simply sat down, had his arms folded, and gave it without much interest. He just casually answered questions the best that he could. Juri, meanwhile, watched the interview from nearby. The way Megan was smiling and acting around Michael caused the intelligent, dark blue-haired young woman to soon narrow her eyes in jealousy towards the former. Before she could even begin complaining about it…
"Hey, Juri!" interrupted Asagi, "We should go and try out one of the many restaurants in this city!"
"It might do you some good," put in Mayura.
"Eh?" peeped Juri, turning around to look at her two best friends before they approached and grabbed an arm respectively and started pulling her away, "Hey!"
"Hey, Ms. Simmons, Mr. Kisaka, are you two coming with us?" asked Asagi, turning to look at the two teachers.
"Oh, I'm afraid not," denied Ms. Simmons, shaking her head, "Ledonir and I have some paperwork we need to catch up on, so we'll be returning to the hotel to eat."
"We knew we'd fall behind in our work if we're gone for this long, so we took it with us," said Mr. Kisaka.
As the Astray trio blinked at their teachers' explanation on why they were unable to go with them to a perfectly good restaurant, James R. was shown preparing to approach them to ask if he could come along for the ride (since he wanted to get closer to Mayura). Before he could speak up, a ring tong could be heard. It was coming from Matt's cellphone, which he took out.
"I wonder who that could be?" The dirty blonde-haired young man wondered, before answering the call, "Hello?"
"Is this Matt Fudo?" The voice of Maria responded.
"Officer Strienhart?" replied Matt, which got the attention of almost everyone else around him, "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry to call you at a time like this considering you've just finished competing in the second round of the tournament, but we need you, Michael Atlas, Carlie Izayoi, and James Hogan all to come down to the police station," The voice of Maria requested, as Matt listened to what he was being urgently told, "We need your help, and, unfortunately, I don't have time to explain the situation, right now. You'll learn the full story when you arrive."
Before Matt could say anything back, Maria hung up. Confused, yet concerned, Matt looked at his friends.
"Matty-boy?" pressed Discord.
"Why did Officer Strienhart call you?" pondered Carlie.
"I don't know," answered Matt, looking serious (as usual) about the whole thing, "However, we'll find out what's wrong once we get to the police station. During the call, Officer Strienhart asked for you, Mike, James, and I to visit the NYPD headquarters."
Carlie looked thoughtful, "I wonder what for?"
James R. shrugged, and then remembered one little tidbit…
"Oh yeah…" With that said, he turned towards the little 'interview' going on nearby, "Hey, Mike! Sorry to interrupt your little time with Megan, but we've been summoned to the police station!"
Michael opened his eyes when he heard his name and stood up from the stone step.
"H-Hey! Why are you leaving right now!?" wailed Megan, "I haven't finished asking you the questions!"
"I'm afraid they will have to wait," countered Michael, "My friends and I are needed at the police station, and it sounds urgent."
Despite Megan's comical objections and disappointment over her interview being cut short, Michael turned and approached the rest of Team 4D's.
"I just have one question," Zack spoke up, looking at Matt, "Does Officer Truman still hold a grudge against you?"
"Unfortunately, I don't know," admitted Matt, "But, frankly, I don't have the time to worry or care about something like that."
While that was going on, the three Astray girls snuck away to catch a bus leading back to Manhattan. They were so excited to try out one of the city's many restaurants, that they believed that nothing could go wrong for them on this night. Would anything go wrong? That's a little hard to say.
(elsewhere…)
Half an hour later, outside the NYPD headquarters…
"Now, you're all wondering why we called you four here, right?" The voice of the police chief was saying, which was coming from inside the building.
(inside…)
Within the chief's office, Matt, Carlie, James R., and Michael were all meeting with Chief Waltfeld, Paul, and Maria. Paul, still not pleased with being around Matt and fuming at having to potentially work together with him, had to keep a restraint on his temper, lest he and Maria both lost their jobs. This also happened to be the first time Team 4D's was visiting ever since the incident where Matt, Michael, and James R. were framed for a crime and got locked up, along with both Zack and David. Whatever the reason for them being called before them this time, the answer was about to be revealed.
"Well, duh," deadpanned James R., before Michael roughly elbowed his side, "OUCH! What? What did I say?"
Carlie simply sighed.
"What James means," corrected Michael, "is that we're wondering what this is all about? What's the 9-1-1, you could say—and no pun intended."
"Very well, I'll explain everything," began Sam, "But first… are any of you four familiar with the Russian criminal Sergey Volkov?"
Matt, Michael, Carlie, and James R. all looked at each other for a moment, and then back at Sam, Paul, and Maria.
"Nope," said James R..
"Can't say we are," added Carlie.
"I see…" mumbled Maria, almost looking disappointed.
"Who is he?" quizzed Matt.
"In that case…" As Paul spoke, he took a picture out of his jacket pocket, "…this should show you guys what he looks like."
Matt was given the picture, and he and his friends looked at it carefully.
"Sergey Volkov is a sadomasochistic Russian duelist who duels in a cruel manner; he continually inflicts damage to himself without attempting to stop it in addition to reveling in his own pain," explained Paul.
"Reveling in his own pain?" repeated Carlie, looking highly uneasy, "That sounds a bit… um… gross."
"Not only that, he also revels in the suffering he causes towards his opponent, even physically beating on them after winning," put in Maria, "He enjoys giving his opponent a false hope of victory and then crushing them, being submissive for most of the duel, then defeating them with overwhelming power."
The description of Sergey reminded the four duelists about a certain someone they met a few years ago while on vacation, and who was far, far worse in the sadomasochism department. Nevertheless, he was gone forever in the darkness, and no longer a threat towards anybody.
"Sergey had been sent to a prison camp in Siberia after being charged and convicted of many dueling homicides in the cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Volgograd," Sam added to that, "However, he broke out of the camp and escaped from Russia into Poland, where he snuck aboard a plane heading for New York City. And that's according to our sources."
"I mean no disrespect," cut in Michael, "but why call for us when you guys can do just fine in apprehending a criminal like Sergey?"
"We would be able to stop him if we could," frowned Maria, "However, since Sergey is so physically brutal and dangerous, you four might be the only duelists in the whole city capable of stopping him."
That was a fairly good point; out of all the duelists in the United States, Team 4D's (especially both Matt and Michael) were among the strongest there were. After thinking to themselves about helping the police and nodding to each other to confirm their assistance, Matt eventually forth to speak up for his friends and teammates.
"We'll help," he acknowledged, "We will defeat Sergey and bring to justice."
Paul flinched, wanting to object to the (in his eyes) unneeded assistance, but a stern glare from Maria kept him quiet.
"We were hoping you'd say that," praised Sam, before looking to both Paul and Maria, "Officer Truman, Officer Strienhart, are you two okay with this?"
"We are," confirmed Maria, before looking at Paul, "Right?"
"Y-Y-Yes…" flinched Paul, reluctantly.
"Very good," grinned Sam, turning to face Matt again while holding his right hand out, "We will start the search at once."
Matt nodded back, as he and the brown-haired man shook hands to seal the deal.
(elsewhere…)
Back on the island of Manhattan, there were a lot of busy crowds all across Times Square. There were no worries or anything; it was completely peaceful. The city bus pulled up along the sidewalk, and Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each got off after an enjoyable ride.
"Boy, this area is really busy," whistled Mayura.
"Times Square always was well known for being an important part of the Big Apple," Juri pointed out, "Some musical festivals are usually held here."
"And it must have plenty of swell places to eat," said Asagi, gleefully rubbing her gloved hands together, "Come on, let's find one."
And the three young women started exploring Times Square, unaware they were being watched by somebody big and mean from nearby. The various restaurants they came across were pizza ones, grill bars, salad bars, Mexican food, Italian food, Chinese food, etc.. Naturally, they all sounded like very good places to have dinner, but for some given reason Asagi wasn't all that interested or satisfied.
"How about that chicken diner?" suggested Juri.
"Nah," declined Asagi, "I'm looking for someplace more…excellent…to eat at."
"Excellent?" pondered Mayura, before looking nearby and getting an idea, "Hmm… When you put it that way, why don't we take a shortcut through this alley? We might find the perfect restaurant to eat beyond it."
"Yeah!"
"I don't know about that, you two…" worried Juri, thinking that going through an alleyway might be a bad idea, "I mean, what if we encounter any drunkards or muggers in that alley?"
"Don't worry about that, Juri," reassured Asagi, "You, Mayura, and I are tough nuts to crack. I think we can handle a drunkard or two."
"Plus I've recently upped my game in boxing," reminded Mayura, confidently pounding her fists together, "And Asagi's also recently been learning judo. Everything will be okay—just leave things to us; we'll look out for you."
Asagi silently winked in agreement. Although touched that her two best friends would look out for her if they ran into any trouble, Juri still had a funny feeling about this idea, but there was nothing else she could do to convince her two friends otherwise, and so she reluctantly agreed to take a shortcut. From there, the Astray trio entered the nearby alleyway, unaware they were being followed by practically a wild animal.
(elsewhere…)
Before long in the alleyway, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri came across a dead end.
"Phooey! We can't go any further," pouted Asagi, stating the obvious.
"Shortcut, huh?" deadpanned Juri, looking at Mayura in annoyance.
"Okay, maybe my instincts were wrong about that," admitted Mayura, shrugging it off as though it were no big deal. She and her friends then started to leave, "It's all fine. All we need to do is turn around and—hey!"
To their surprise, the three young women suddenly found their path out being blocked by what appeared to be a large behemoth of a man.
"Going somewhere?" The male figure asked darkly, speaking in a thick Russian accent.
"Huh?" blinked Asagi, "Who's that guy?"
"He's someone I've never seen or met before," commented Mayura.
The hulking Russian man stood in his spot with his arms crossed, not about to let the three Astray girls out of the deep alleyway for anything.
"You three be duelists, yes?" he asked in a low tone.
The tone of voice actually made Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each pretty nervous.
"Y-Yes, we are," stammered Juri truthfully.
The Russian man smiled sadistically, having gotten the answer he was looking for.
"So, why do you…ask?" quizzed Asagi.
"Because," The Russian man (Sergey) replied, "I find my first victims in short time of being in America."
Uh-oh…
(elsewhere…)
In another part of Bryant Park, both David and Lisa found themselves at a playground with a bench and swings. There were currently very few people around, so it looked like the perfect place to talk.
"I…guess this place will do?" Lisa suggested uneasily.
"Quite," accepted David, shrugging somewhat uncaringly.
As the two sat down on the swings, it was clear as day that there was still some major awkwardness (and maybe a little tension) between them. Lisa casually rocked her swing back and forth slightly, kicking at the dirt below, while David nervously tapped his fingers together; both struggled to come up with something to break the ice, but were unable to think of anything, out of the risk of resulting in another heated argument between them. Finally Lisa let out an irritated sigh.
"This was a mistake," she grunted, "Agreeing to come here with you was a huge mistake. Why did I have to open my big, fat-"
"I'm sorry," interrupted David.
"Huh?"
Lisa looked back at her friend as though he was crazy. But David was not at all crazy, because he really wanted to make things right between him and Lisa.
"What did you say?" whispered Lisa.
"I said I'm sorry, Drake-san," repeated David sincerely, "I'm sorry for unwittingly grabbing you where I certainly shouldn't have. I was blindsided by the alarm when we fell on the floor, and acted purely on reflex as a result. It was a force majeure, but I really am sorry about it."
Lisa listened on, and, despite feeling embarrassed over the incident being brought up, actually managed to smile a little bit over receiving a heartfelt apology.
"Alright," Lisa said at last, "I'll admit I did kinda overreact back at the mansion by letting my temper get the better of me. So, I'll cut you a break; you're off the hook. Or, rather, I forgive you."
David sighed with relief, thinking their feud was over. Just then, Lisa grinned mischievously.
"Although…" The pink-haired girl continued on, smirking, "Bet I felt good, right?"
David looked over, "Hm?"
"Getting the chance to grab me there must've felt nice for you," Lisa reiterated, grinning at the sight of David's panicky expression. Not letting up, she went on, "To think, throughout your time here in America, you pride yourself on keeping a clean personal record," She pointed towards her chest with both index fingers, "yet you still ended up groping a young woman's chest! How lucky are you?! Whatever next? You walk in on me in the shower?"
Hearing such an accusation caused David's face to turn red with embarrassment, causing Lisa to laugh playfully over the jumpy reaction. Initially irritated by the jab, David soon softened up and joined in the laughter, too. Maybe, just maybe, this won't be as bad as they initially thought it would be.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the alleyway, Sergey was still standing in the way of the Astray trio, not about to let them out now that he knew they each were duelists.
"Who the hell are you?" demanded Asagi, trying her hardest to mask her fear.
"You don't know?" chuckled Sergey, "I be Sergey Volkov, the most dangerous Russian duelist that country come to know. Months ago, I was arrested, convicted, and sent to a prison camp in Siberia for dueling homicide in several large Russian cities. But, I eventually broke out and fled to Poland in order to board a flight all way to America, so I can continue my dueling 'career'."
Now the three Astray girls were scared; they had only been in New York City for a few days, and they had already come across a dangerous criminal. They were also well aware they had no way to call the police (no cellphone) or even escape seeing as their way out was blocked off. Was this the end of them?
"You three scared?" teased Sergey, which he really liked seeing. When he got no answer… "How about we make deal?"
"A deal?" repeated Mayura.
"One of you duel me one-on-one," offered Sergey, "You win, I let you pass safely without harm. But if 'I' win…" He chuckled darkly, "…well, let say the experience won't be pleasant."
Even though they were some of Orb's best duelists, Mayura and Juri weren't even sure if they were good enough to take on such a dangerous man in a duel, considering they knew nothing about his Deck or how he even dueled. However…
"I'll take you on!" exclaimed Asagi, stepping forth.
Sergey smiled to himself.
"Asagi?!" gasped Juri.
"You think you can take him?" came from Mayura.
Asagi nodded, "I don't 'think'," she corrected, before smiling, "I 'know' I can. Listen, I'm pretty scared of this Sergey guy myself, but don't you two worry, I'll still beat this big bully down so we can escape and find the police. You two are my best friends, and I want to do everything in my power to protect you."
Both Mayura and Juri did not know what to say. A part of them wanted to tell Sergey to let them help Asagi, but they knew he would only say no to that. So, rather reluctantly, they looked at their wavy blonde-haired best friend almost pleadingly.
"Alright," accepted Juri.
"Just please be careful out there," requested Mayura.
Asagi merely kept her smile, reassuring the tomboyish, red-haired young woman that she (Asagi) would be just fine in the duel. Then, losing her smile, she turned to face Sergey.
"Let's do it, Sergey!" declared Asagi, activating her Duel Disk.
"In Mother Russia, Duel Monsters rules screw 'you'," mocked Sergey, activating his own Duel Disk.
Both duelists faced each other, drew their opening hands, and allowed their respective LP gauge to activate (LP: 0 → 4000) x2.
"Duel!" Asagi and Sergey announced at the same time.
Mayura and Juri both silently stood nearby, praying for their best friend to win as fast as she could.
"I'll take the first turn!" proclaimed Asagi, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Vylon Element", "Desperate Battle", "Vylon Hept", "Vylon Matter", "Vylon Tesseract", and "Vylon Material"
Her opening hand contained 'Vylon Element', 'Desperate Battle', 'Vylon Hept', 'Vylon Matter', 'Vylon Tesseract', and the drawn 'Vylon Material'.
"Good," thought Asagi, adding the drawn card into her hand before taking another and holding it out, "Continuous Spell, 'Vylon Element', activate!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"When any face-up 'Vylon' Equip Card(s) I control are destroyed (except during the Damage Step): I can Special Summon an equal or lower number of 'Vylon' Tuners from my Deck. They cannot be used as Synchro Materials, except for the Synchro Summon of a 'Vylon' Synchro Monster."
Sergey frowned a little bit, but mostly out of boredom.
"Furthermore," As Asagi spoke, she took another card from her hand and placed it onto a Monster Field Zone on her Duel Disk, "I'll Summon 'Vylon Hept'!"
Appearing onto the field was a floating, mechanical fairy with no legs (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 800).
"Next, I'll activate an Equip Spell from my hand…" continued Asagi, slotting a card into her Duel Disk. On cue, the 'Vylon Material' Spell Card materialized on the field behind 'Vylon Hept', "'Vylon Material'! I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. It gains 600 ATK."
Being equipped with an Equip Card, 'Vylon Hept' grew stronger (ATK: 1800 → 2400). Before ending her turn, Asagi took another card from her hand and, once again, slotted it into her Duel Disk.
"I Set one card face-down and end my turn," she concluded, as a Set card materialized on the field, "By Summoning 'Vylon Hept' and powering it up, I've prepared my attack for the next turn."
"Hmm! That all you do? How boring!" insulted Sergey, before drawing a card, "It my turn!"
Turn Two: Sergey Volkov (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Thorn Growth", "Terrors of the Underroot", "Thorn Prisoner Darli", "One by One", "Thorn Boma", and "Thorn Prisoner Van"
His drawn card was a Monster Card called 'Thorn Prisoner Van'. Without changing the expression on his face, he placed the card onto his Duel Disk.
"I Summon 'Thorn Prisoner Van' in Attack Position!" announced Sergey.
Appearing onto the field was a cloaked fiend with bat wings, wrapped practically whole in thorny vines (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Eh?" gawked Asagi.
"He's Summoned a Level 1 monster with no ATK?" pondered Juri, "And he even put it in Attack Position."
"What's going on?" finished Mayura.
Sergey kept himself calm.
(elsewhere…)
Back in Bryant Park, David and Lisa, still on the swings, continued to talk, slowly growing to enjoy each other's company.
"So, what you said back when we first met; about being aware of my 'audacious behavior', as you put it," said Lisa, mimicking David's voice at the end, "May I ask how?"
David rolled his eyes, "I'm a very thorough individual," he groaned, a little annoyed at his friend's impression of his voice, "When the occasion of a tournament of any kind is concerned, I always ascertain the information on who I will be potentially engaging in combat with. And to be up-front, your résumé stood out particularly."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Lisa stated, smiling proudly. She then recalled another thing she wanted to know, "Say, Dave, there's something else I'm curious about…" David looked over with curiosity, "What's your story like? I mean, what was it like growing up in such a country like Japan?"
David was surprised by the question, but still looked down at the ground.
"Dave?" pressed Lisa, "What's the matter? Didn't you enjoy your life in Japan before moving to England?"
"Well, let's just say it's a long and personal tale," admitted David, "Even then, I'll tell you all about it."
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Years ago within the city of Tokyo in Japan, all was pretty normal in the streets with people wandering about, cars driving in the streets, markets and stores booming with business. Yup, it was normal all year round.
"As a young boy living in Tokyo, I always had a fascination with both robotics and machinery," narrated Present Day-David.
"Always?" The voice of Lisa wondered.
"Always, Lisa-chan."
(new scene…)
Inside one school's computer room, Young David and some friends of his were busy with some machines and computers.
"Even back then I wasn't especially a social butterfly, but there were a select group who shared in my passion for the art," Present Day-David went on, focusing on the individuals that were with him.
The first being a young girl with copper-colored hair tied in two pigtails typing away at a keyboard.
"There was our resident coder, Rise Niijima…"
There was also a young a boy with dark grayish-black hair welding some machinery together with a blowtorch
"…our leading mechanical engineer, Zenkichi Iori…" added Present-Day David.
Finally a young girl with long red hair and glasses, who was sitting with Young David drawing up schematics.
"…and my long time partner and fellow visionary, Sumire Amagi," Present Day-David finished, "Despite taking priority and dedication in our work, they were the closest I had to friends."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Speaking of inventions," remembered David, before looking down at his gauntlets, "These gauntlets here were supposed to be mine and Sumire's crowning achievement, but our aspirations were hindered when I was set to move away. I tried to let her keep them to finish, but she insisted I take them, saying they would be better suited for me."
Lisa eyed the gauntlets curiously, "So what exactly do they do?"
"They house state of art holographic projectors and interactive user interface for personal or professional use," answered David, "With the release of Boxford Corporation's Dimension Dueling technology, I installed my own modified version of that programming to implement a more user-friendly interface. Here, I'll demonstrate how they work."
Flicking both his wrists, two triggers flipped out onto his palms, and he pressed them down with his middle and ring fingers. Several small thin plates then flipped up for his gauntlets in different positions, each projecting a different screen that encircled the two teenagers. Some showed different inventions currently in progress, one displayed the general information of his Deck, one was a slideshow of photographs with David and his family, one showed the time and date, another displayed their current location, and several others that Lisa couldn't keep track of as they moved around them.
"Holy crap!" cried Lisa, struck speechless (in a good way), "This is amazing… Dave, this is truly amazing!"
"Y-You really think so?" asked David bashfully. When he got no answer from the awestruck Lisa, he continued speaking, "Someday, I intend to perhaps expand this creation of mine into mass production for purposes outside of Duel Monsters."
"I think you should go for it," insisted Lisa, "You have a gift, my friend, and it should not go to waste. Anyway, I thought you said your story's supposed to be personal? It sounds to me like your life in Japan went off without a hitch."
"If only that 'were' true…" murmured David, catching the pink-haired girl off-guard by the sad tone in the voice, "There's actually more to my story than what I'm telling you."
The flashback resumed.
FLASHBACK
In another part of Tokyo, Flashback Ren was shown walking out of a robotics factory in shame, while some people in the streets gave him dirty looks. Sheesh, I wonder what their problem was?
"For you see, my Father was wrongfully accused and charged with assault back when he was a teenager," narrated Present Day-David, "While our lives weren't strained per say, it was still rather tight due to Dad not being able to hold a steady job thanks to his reputation hovering over him."
"That sounds pretty unfair," The voice of Lisa chimed in, "Regardless if what happened was true or not; what you did years ago shouldn't impact who you are now."
"And I agree," replied Present Day-David, "But unlike in the west, criminal records are a much more colossal factor in Japan, because regardless of the offense, the mere fact that a person possesses one can drastically damage their personal reputation."
(new scene…)
A large crowd of people were gathered at Shibuya Town Square, watching one of the giant television screens. On which a tall, bald man with a small black goatee, wearing a business suit and a pair of orange-tinted square glasses was speaking, and looking rather guilt ridden.
"The one responsible for ruining my Father's reputation was the disgraced former Prime Minister, Masayoshi Shido," narrated Present Day-David, "One night, he witnessed an intoxicated Shido attempting to harass one of his female subordinates, and, in a hasteful act, pulled Shido down onto the ground, injuring him. But due to his position, he was able to gain the loyalty of the authorities, as well as blackmailing the woman he harassed to say my Dad assaulted him."
"The bastard!" The voice of Lisa growled out, "How could he just get away with that?!"
"He wouldn't forever," Present Day-David stated as he continued again, "As a few months following on from that event, Shido's vail would be pulled away, and the country would see the real man being the facade. Dad never disclosed how he or his friends managed to make Shido confess to his wrongdoings; something regarding 'changing his heart'? But on the day of his inauguration, he experienced a complete heel turn and admitted to it all, among other underhanded tactics he had partaken in to secure his position, and thus immediately stepped down as prime minister."
(new scene…)
In the Tokyo Hospital, Flashback Futaba was in a bed holding a newborn Gabriella in her arms, while Flashback Ren and Young David stood nearby.
"After Gabriella was born, things only got more tight due having another mouth to feed," recalled Present Day-David, "Even once my Father's record was cleaned, we were still at an impasse due to his reputation still lingering amongst our fellow neighbors and our fellow colleagues, meaning we wouldn't be able to sustain ourselves in Japan for much longer. Which led to us moving out of Asia all the way to Europe—namely the United Kingdom."
(new scene…)
The Xadashi family arrived outside their new home in 'Manchester - England', in which Flashback Ren put an arm around his wife and son, reassuring them that everything would be okay. Young David, however, looked upset.
(inside…)
Later inside the home, Young David stood outside Baby Gabriella's room glaring bitterly at the crib.
"When we arrived, I grew a bitter resentment towards Gabriella," acknowledged Present Day-David shamefully, "Believing she being born was the reason we had to move away, since as I was uninformed of the actual circumstances that had occurred."
(new scene…)
Later on, Young David was watching TV when his Mother arrived with Baby Gabriella. Flashback Ren sat down on the couch beside her as the two began to talk, but Young David simply turned away from his baby sister. That all changed when he felt a small hand tug on his arm. He turned to see Baby Gabriella looking at him with the biggest eyes one could muster.
"(お兄ちゃん,) O nīchan, (Big Brother,)" she managed to say innocently.
"At that very moment, any ounce of animosity I harbored towards Gabriella completely evaporated," Present-Day David stated warmly.
Upon hearing those words from his sister, Young David brought her in for a hug as she crawled into his arms.
"Though I do still maintain some level of remorse for acting the way I did to begin with, I always make sure she knows that I love her more than anything. Since my new start in England, she has always been my light in the darkness; my island in the sea, if you will."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback, and David removed his glasses for a moment to dry his eyes.
"Dave…" whispered Lisa, looking sad herself, "I… I think I'm beginning to better understand what you've been through."
For the next little bit, both teenagers remained quiet on the swings.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the alleyway of Times Square…
"I end my turn," said Sergey.
"All Sergey did was Summon a monster with 0 ATK in Attack Position," thought Asagi, "Is it on purpose? What is he thinking… Still, nothing will happen if I think on it," Shaking her head and clearing it of those suggestions, she drew a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Three: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 4000)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (3): "Vylon Matter", "Vylon Tesseract", and "Angel Baton"
On cue, the 'Angel Baton' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Angel Baton'!" declared Asagi, drawing two cards, "I must draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card."
She took and discarded her drawn 'Vylon Vanguard' Monster Card, added the other card into her hand, took another from there, and placed it onto a Monster Zone on her Duel Disk.
"I play this card, 'Vylon Tesseract'!" Asagi went on, "Attack Position!"
Appearing onto the field was a rather dark and bizarre-looking cube-like creature (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 600).
"Union monster…" realized Sergey.
"That's right," confirmed Asagi, "Once per turn, I can either: I must target 1 face-up 'Vylon' monster I control; I must equip this card to that target, OR: I must unequip this card and Special Summon it in face-up Attack Position. Obviously, I'll equip my 'Vylon Tesseract' to 'Vylon Hept'!'"
From there, 'Vylon Tesseract' combined with 'Vylon Hept', causing the latter to feel stronger.
"Battle!" yelled Asagi, "I use 'Vylon Hept' to attack 'Thorn Prisoner Van'!"
'Vylon Hept' obeyed, diving in to punch the vine-wrapped creature. The attack struck the enemy monster and caused an explosion to be left behind in its destruction.
"Awesome!" rejoiced Mayura, "Asagi dealt 2400 damage with a single attack!"
"I activate 'Van's' effect," interrupted Sergey, which caused Mayura and Juri both to ease up, "When this card is targeted for an attack: I can reveal 1 'Thorn Prisoner' monster from my hand and pay 400 LP; I take no battle damage from this battle," He then took and held a card ('Thorn Prisoner Darli') out, "I have 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' in hand."
All of a sudden, thorn vines constricted Sergey's body, causing him great amounts of pain as he groaned and paid his 400 LP (LP: 4000 → 3600). Such a sight caused the three Astray girls to wince.
"At the end of the Damage Step, I must Special Summon both this card from my GY and the revealed 'Thorn Prisoner' monster from your hand, in Attack Position," panted Sergey, taking a card ('Thorn Prisoner Van') from his GY and a card ('Thorn Prisoner Darli') from his hand and holding them both out, "Now, I'll Special Summon both 'Van' and 'Darli'!"
Appearing onto the field was 'Thorn Prisoner Van' (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), along with a fiendish woman strapped to a wheel while also bound in thorny vines (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Another monster with 0 ATK?" blinked Juri.
"And it's in Attack Position, just like 'Thorn Prisoner Van'," frowned Mayura, "What is he thinking? I thought he was supposed to be brutal and dangerous?"
Back on the field…
"My Battle Phase is not over!" exclaimed Asagi, "I activate the effect of 'Vylon Tesseract'! While equipped by this effect, if the equipped monster destroys an opponent's monster by battle: I can target 1 Level 4 or lower 'Vylon' monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target," She then held her right hand out, "Come, 'Vylon Vanguard'!"
Appearing onto the field was a winged, machine-like fairy of a silver and gold color (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000).
"Since I Special Summon 'Vylon Vanguard' during my Battle Phase, I can attack with it," While Asagi said that, she motioned her left arm (with the Duel Disk) about, "'Vylon Vanguard', attack 'Thorn Prisoner Darli'!"
'Vylon Vanguard' obeyed, diving in for a punch.
"I activate the effect of 'Thorn Prisoner Darli'!" cut in Sergey, "Once per turn, during my opponent's Battle Phase, when an opponent's monster declares an attack while I control another 'Thorn Prisoner' monster: I can pay 400 LP; I must negate the attack."
More thorns appeared around the hulking Russian man, constricting and making him grimace in pain again (LP: 3600 → 3200). In addition, a barrier formed around 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' and protected it from 'Vylon Vanguard's' attack. The thorn vines faded away as Sergey was left huffing and puffing. Despite almost getting seriously hurt, Sergey…simply smiled over it.
"Beautiful," he remarked, earning a gasp from Asagi, "Paying LP to do this is nothing for me."
Stunned a little bit, Asagi blinked a couple of times before closing her eyes and grinning.
"Oh really?" The wavy blonde-haired young woman retorted, before opening her eyes and looking far more serious, "If you thought that paying up LP was beautiful, you should LOVE what happens next!" Her face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, "Trap Card, 'Desperate Battle', activate! During my Battle Phase: I must target 1 face-up monster I control; it loses 1000 ATK until the end of the Battle Phase, and can make a second attack."
"That will work!" realized Juri, "Even if it has 1000 less ATK, Asagi can use 'Vylon Hept' to attack 'Thorn Prisoner Darli', and since it can't use its effect again, it's a sitting duck for destruction!"
"Not to mention it will heavily damage Sergey," agreed Mayura.
Back on the field…
"I'm gonna target 'Vylon Hept' and reduce its ATK by 1000 to allow it to attack again!" announced Asagi, "Take 'im out!"
'Vylon Hept's' ATK dropped by 1000 (ATK: 2400 → 1400), but did not discourage it from attacking. It dove in and punched the fiendish woman, causing another explosion to be left behind. The force of the explosion managed to budge Sergey just a little bit as his LP took a serious hit (LP: 3200 → 1800).
"Alright, Asagi!" whooped Mayura.
"You can do it!" added Juri.
Nearby, Sergey simply looked up with an unamused, bored expression on his face, startling Asagi a little bit. Fortunately, she recovered enough to finish her turn.
"With my Battle Phase over," said Asagi, entering her Main Phase 2, "the effect of 'Desperate Battle' wears off."
'Vylon Hept's' ATK returned to normal (ATK: 1400 → 2400).
"From there, I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn!" concluded Asagi, slotting a card into a Spell & Trap Zone on her Duel Disk.
A face-down card ('Mirror Force') materialized on the field.
"Is my turn," declared Sergey, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Four: Sergey Volkov (LP: 1800)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (5): "Thorn Growth", "Terrors of the Underroot", "One by One", "Thorn Boma", and "Thorn Prisoner Darli"
Upon seeing another copy of his 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' Monster Card…
"I Summon second 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' in Attack Position!" continued Sergey, placing his drawn card onto his Duel Disk.
The vine-wrapped woman strapped to her wheel returned to the field (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"I tune Level 1 'Thorn Prisoner Van' into Level 1 'Thorn Prisoner Darli'!" ordered Sergey.
As the order was given, 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' turned itself into a single Synchro Ring, which 'Thorn Prisoner Van' soared into while turning into a single orb of light and Sergey began a Summon Chant…
"Lay bare your twisted and wicked desire and offer your flesh to the thorns!" chanted Sergey, as the symbols 1 + 1 = 2 were shown briefly just before the single orb within the lone Synchro Ring turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 2! 'Thorn Observer Zuma'!"
Appearing onto the field out of the beam of light, was a cloaked figure trapped in a stockade while bound in thorny vines (Level: 2/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"The effect of 'Zuma' activates," said Sergey casually, "If this card is Synchro Summoned: I must place 1 Thorn Counter on all monsters on the field. While this card is on the field, monsters with Thorn Counters cannot attack, also during each player's End Phase, the turn player takes 400 damage for each Thorn Counter on their field."
(elsewhere…)
In Bryant Park, David and Lisa both decided to stroll around the park for a little bit.
"So, Lisa-chan, what was your family history like?" pressed David, "Considering your dueling prowess, I'm assuming it was rather active?"
"You bet it was," confirmed Lisa, resting both hands behind her head, "Man, oh man, those were the days."
It was then a flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Somewhere at a military base in the Arizona desert, two men were shown patrolling the grounds. One was Flashback Jak (Lisa's Father), a lean, muscular, and athletic man with yellow-green short and rough hair with a matching goatee and cerulean blue eyes. He was wearing a tattered blue tunic covered in a bronze chestplate with matching gauntlets, off-white trousers with matched bronze leg guards, and bronze metal plates on his shoulders. In his hands was a sleek looking rifle with a gray canister with yellow stripes protruding diagonally from the base.
The other was a much younger, more leaner man with messy orange hair, with a pair of goggles peeking out. He was wearing a light orange vest, three-quarter length denim shorts, and a pair of aviator's gloves. He also had a large staff of some kind strapped to his back. The other soldiers often questioned why the orange-haired young man would carry such a thing when he should be carrying a rifle instead, but he never really gave a clear answer.
"Both my Dad and Uncle were army vets stationed in the Arizona desert at the time—which was known to them as 'The Lost Frontier'," narrated Lisa, "Though they weren't your typical military troops. They were known as 'The All-Star Squad'; basically given carte blanche to do things how 'they' wanted, provided they didn't break protocol. I'll always remember this one day…"
(new scene…)
One day, Young Lisa along with her Mother, Flashback Kiera, were entering the compound of 'The All-Star Squad', with a thin man with smooth green hair and wearing a slick pair of shades guiding them.
"Now you know the drill, just stay within the designated safety zones at all times unless accompanied by a member of the team," he told the visitors.
"Thank you, Gex," Flashback Keira said to the man in question, as she and her daughter proceeded into the base.
As they pressed on, Young Lisa was amazed at all the various troops all around her. From one of the warehouses, she saw a dirty yellow-haired man and a light gray-haired woman around the same age (maybe siblings). The man was holding a large metal wrench of some kind, while the woman had a metal hammer slung over her shoulder. Following them was another man wearing silver armor plates and a woman with dark yellow armor. On one of the tables, Young Lisa saw two guys talking, while several purple crystals and different colored gemstones were scattered around them. The first was an orange-haired man wearing only a pair of blue shorts who was eating what looked to be a fruit resembling a mango. The other man had purple-hair, and was admiring a diamond-cut ruby. And on the roof of one of the buildings, the pink-haired young girl saw a dark gray-haired man wearing a blue jacket and hat and holding a cane with a large gold hook on the end. Behind him was a long blue-haired woman in a dark blue tank top and skirt who was wielding a bulky handgun. Although Young Lisa paid attention initially, her attention quickly went to something else.
Ahead of her, she saw a large gathering of troops who were chanting two different names. Immediately she knew her Father was there and ran ahead, with Flashback Keira running after her. Upon reaching the crowd, half of them erupted into cheers, while the other half groaned loudly in dismay. Pushing through the small spaces, Young Lisa quickly reached the front, and saw her dad standing proudly and another man laying next to him dazed and hurting. Clearly both of them had been sparring.
"Hurray for Dad!" she yelled out.
That got the attention of Flashback Jak, who motioned her to come forward, to which she did, and embraced him, with him lightly ruffling her hair.
(elsewhere…)
A little later, Flashback Jak was taking Young Lisa out for a little ride in the desert aboard one of the dune buggies the military owned.
"There were a few times during the summer when my Mom and I visited where they were stationed," Present Day-Lisa went on, "Funny thing about those visits, my love for collecting things actually started when my Dad took me out in one of the dune buggies almost every day to retrieve artifacts unearthed by sand storms before they got buried again," She chuckled lightly, "Dad even sometimes let me drive the dune buggy."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and David's eyes widened; did he hear that right? Did Lisa actually get a chance to drive a dune buggy even though she was too young at the time? Lisa noticed that her friend looked like he didn't believe her.
"Hey, it's true," The pink-haired girl insisted, "If you don't believe me, just ask my Dad if you ever decide to visit Hartford."
David nodded at the invitation. As the two teenagers continued walking through the park (which was slowly becoming empty because the sun was going down), David grew curious on how his friend became interested in Duel Monsters.
"So, uh, Lisa-chan," he spoke up, "How did you get into Duel Monsters?"
"I initially wasn't too interested in actually playing the game when it first came out," confessed Lisa, recalling her early times trying out Duel Monsters, "I was more into collecting every card that was made. Now, I'm perfectly aware there's way more than five thousand cards out there, but it's still a mission I aim to complete even if I have to grow old to succeed. As for dueling itself, I often lost to other people, but then I met Asagi, Mayura, and Juri, and they brought me to the duel school Orb, where I met Ms. Simmons, or Erica-senpai as you would call her, and I ultimately decided to enroll in order to learn how to play the game better. But then we got a visit from Blue Cosmos's headmaster, Muruta Azrael, and you should know the rest of the story."
"Indeed," replied David, before looking away and up at the sky, "Now, I'm to guess you'll inquire as to how 'I' got into playing Duel Monsters, yes?"
"Yeah," said Lisa, before looking a little more serious, "From what we can tell during your duels, you never seem to be happy while playing it, so what I wanna know is how you decided to become a duelist if you don't enjoy it."
David looked down dejectedly, "When I first moved to England, I didn't make a whole lot of friends because of my mannerisms and my admittedly broken English," he explained, "I was bullied quite a bit, too. There's already one bully I'm sure you're aware of."
"If you mean that son-of-a-bitch named Vincent, then yeah, I know," nodded Lisa, remembering their initial encounter with Vincent at the lobby of the New York City stadium, "Anyway, please continue."
"Well, after I received a Starter Set for my Birthday, I tried challenging him to a friendly little match. He decimated me without even trying, and the other kids laughed at me."
"Ouch… That does suck," The pink-haired girl cringed, feeling sympathetic.
"I then vowed to further hone my skills in dueling," rambled David, "With Sean-kun and Janice's help, I did begin to improve. Then we learned of a mini tournament at our school, and I enlisted—only for Vincent-kun to enter as well. I was determined to prove myself to him and everyone else."
"And I take it you gave him what he deserved," Lisa added, given how she and the others knew that David had been victorious in his payback against Vincent, "Am I not wrong about that?"
"I did win, but at what cost?" frowned David, which made Lisa fall into silence, "Before I received my birthmark and 'Life Stream Dragon' during the duel, Vincent-kun had me beat. To make things worse, the other students were laughing and jeering at me. After I won, they suddenly started cheering for me out of the blue, as though they had completely neglected to remember what they were partaking in mere minutes prior… It was almost as though it wasn't 'me' they were cheering, but rather 'my cards'."
Lisa froze when she heard something like that. She was so surprised that she still didn't say another word.
"Ever since then," David went on, "I cannot seem to shake the feeling that people don't like me for who I am, but only for my power and cards," He looked away from the person he was speaking to, "Ever since then, with the exception of one match, I could never find myself having fun in dueling."
"Dave, that's preposterous!" countered Lisa, finally finding her voice, "In case you haven't noticed, you 'do' have friends who genuinely care about you!" She then grabbed the chain of the swing David was sitting on and tugged it, making him turn to face her, "And if you don't trust different people, then why go through all the trouble of dueling them? Why play a game if it doesn't make you happy?"
"I heard that question many times from Sean-kun," grumbled David, "And I… I… I honestly have no clue how to properly answer that. It's something that has eluded me for years now."
"You have no idea?" Lisa shot back, "You're telling me that you insist on dueling despite all the trouble you've been through, fear of trusting others, and feeling no joy by dueling, and you have no idea 'why' you keep going? That makes no sense! There has to be a reason for 'everything' we do in life."
"However, I will say that, right now, I truly am happy," cut in David, looking at his new friend while softening up considerably, "I'm happy…just by being here with you."
Lisa felt surprised and touched to hear something like. In fact, she was so touched by the confession that she immediately decided to drop the conversation.
"You stupid idiot," smiled Lisa, making her insult sound more like a compliment. She then reached over, wrapped her right arm around David's shoulders and started giving him a noogie with her left fist, "Now that you say that, I want to tell you that I'm just as happy being alone with you."
Despite the rather painful fist rubbing the top of his head, David was laughing over the good time he was having. By this point, both have pretty much stopped thinking about their little feud earlier on, and were more focused on just enjoying each other's company.
(elsewhere…)
Back in an alleyway within Times Square, Sergey had just Synchro Summoned 'Thorn Observer Zuma'.
"The first effect of 'Zuma' activates," Sergey was saying casually, "If this card is Synchro Summoned: I must place 1 Thorn Counter on all monsters on the field."
"Thorn Counters?" repeated Asagi.
"And this triggers 'Zuma's' second effect," continued Sergey, "While this card is on the field, monsters with Thorn Counters cannot attack, also during each player's End Phase, the turn player takes 400 damage for each Thorn Counter on their field."
Asagi gasped, watching as all three monsters ('Thorn Observer Zuma', 'Vylon Stigma', and 'Vylon Vanguard') on the field got constricted in thorn vines.
"Finally, I'll Set two cards face-down and end my turn," finished Sergey, slotting two cards into his Duel Disk. On cue, two Set cards materialized on the field, "As of now, I take 400 damage for every Thorn Counter on my field due to 'Zuma's' second effect."
More thorn vines constricted Sergey's body as he grimaced in agony and lost 400 more LP (LP: 1800 → 1400). Nearby with both Mayura and Juri…
"Now I'm really confused," groaned Mayura, briefly massaging her temples, "Why the heck does Sergey keep losing or giving up LP just to stop Asagi's attacks?"
"I wish I knew," Juri answered gravely, "But what's important right now, is that Asagi can't attack with any of her monsters since they're equipped with Thorn Counters. How can she fight back now?"
Back on the field…
"It's not over yet—it all starts here!" exclaimed Asagi, becoming more determined than ever to win, "I'll bet everything on my next draw," She then drew a card with a Destiny Draw, "It's my turn!"
Turn Five: Asagi Caldwell (LP: 4000)
Deck: 50
Current Hand (2): "Vylon Matter" and "Vylon Charger"
Her drawn card was a Monster Card called 'Vylon Charger'.
"I've drawn it!" rejoiced Asagi.
"I activate a Continuous Trap, 'Thorn Growth'!" declared Sergey, as one of his Set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself, "During each player's End Phase, the turn player takes 400 damage for each Thorn Counter on their field."
The thorn vines around 'Thorn Observer Zuma', 'Vylon Stigma', and 'Vylon Vanguard' tightened even further.
"Tch! I can't let that happen," thought Asagi, scowling. She then spoke aloud, "I unequip 'Vylon Tesseract' from 'Vylon Hept', Special Summoning it in Attack Position!"
'Vylon Tesseract' removed itself from 'Vylon Hept', reappearing on the field as a regular monster (Level: 4/ATK: 800/DEF: 600).
"I overlay Level 4 'Vylon Hept', 'Vylon Vanguard', and 'Vylon Tesseract'!" ordered Asagi.
The three monsters turned to yellow light and flew into the forming Overlay Network in the center of the field.
"You who watches from the skies above. Shine down from the heavens and melt away the shadows of despair!" chanted Asagi, "Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! 'Vylon Disigma'!"
Appearing out of the Overlay Network and onto the field, was a being that seemed to resemble the combined form of all three monsters used for its Summon (Rank: 4/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2100).
"Yes! One of Asagi's ace monsters has arrived!" acknowledged Juri.
"Here comes a comeback, baby!" whooped Mayura.
Back on the field…
"The second effect of 'Vylon Material' activates!" As she spoke, Asagi took a card ('Vylon Segment') from Deck and readied it for a moment, "If this face-up card is sent from the field to the GY: I can add 1 'Vylon' Spell from my Deck to my hand," She then pointed to her face-up 'Vylon Element' Spell Card, "I'll also activate the effect of my Continuous Spell, 'Vylon Element'! I'll use it to Special Summon a 'Vylon' Tuner monster from my Deck, and, as I've mentioned before, I can't use it as Synchro Material except for the Synchro Summon of a 'Vylon' Synchro Monster."
Appearing onto the field was 'Vylon Prism' (Level: 4/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1500).
"I Special Summon, from my Deck, 'Vylon Prism'!" The voice of Asagi finished.
"In that case, I activate second effect of 'Thorn Growth'," grunted Sergey, "If a Thorn Counter(s) leaves the field, I take 100 damage for each Counter."
More thorn vines appeared and constricted the hulking Russian man, again causing him great amounts of pain as his LP dropped (LP: 1400 → 1200). Asagi grimaced, almost feeling sorry for her opponent. But she had a duel to win, so she did her best to ignore it.
"I activate the first effect of 'Vylon Disigma'!" Asagi barked, pointing forth, "Once per turn: I can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up Attack Position Effect Monster my opponent controls; I must equip that target to this card."
A material was absorbed by 'Vylon Disigma'.
"I target-" began Asagi, but got interrupted.
"I activate Continuous Trap, 'Thorn Boma'!" shouted Sergey, as his remaining face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, "My opponent cannot target or destroy 'Thorn' monsters I control with card effects."
'Vylon Disigma' tried to unleash an attack, but a barrier quickly formed around the enemy monsters, forcing him to fall back while leaving Asagi dismayed—yet, also remained as determined as ever.
"Not yet!" she continued, before taking and placing a card onto her Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Vylon Charger'!"
Appearing onto the field was a columned creature with golden rings and beams of green light beneath (Level: 4/ATK: 1000/DEF: 1000).
"I tune Level 4 'Vylon Charger' into Level 4 'Vylon Prism'!" commanded Asagi.
'Vylon Prism' soared upward and turned into four Synchro Rings, which 'Vylon Charger' jumped into before turning into four orbs of light as Asagi was heard echoing a Summon Chant…
"Through the eyes of heaven and beyond, touch down upon the mortal realm and pierce against the darkness of ruin!" chanted Asagi, as the symbols 4 + 4 = 8 were shown briefly just before the four orbs within the four Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Descend! Level 8! 'Vylon Epsilon'!"
Appearing out of the beam of light and onto the field, as the Synchro Summon sequence came to an end, was the gold and silver, angelic being with large wings and no bottom half (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 1200).
"Then I'll activate the effect of the 'Vylon Prism' in my GY!" said Asagi, taking a LP hit (LP: 4000 → 3500), "If this card is sent from the Monster Zone to the GY: I can pay 500 LP, then target 1 face-up monster I control; I must equip this card to that target. With that, I'll target 'Vylon Epsilon' and equip 'Vylon Prism' to him!" From there, 'Vylon Prism' reappeared on the field and equipped itself to 'Vylon Epsilon', allowing her to explain the second effect of her resurrected monster, "If the equipped monster battles: It gains 1000 ATK during the Damage Step only."
Sergey grunted a response of sorts, but it sounded more like a grunt of pain from being crushed and/or impaled by his own thorn vines.
"And if you're gonna try something funny, don't bother," warned Asagi, "'Vylon Epsilon' has an effect to stop that from happening… Equip Cards equipped to this card cannot be targeted by cards or effects," She then took one more card from her hand and held it out, "Then I'll equip 'Vylon Disigma' with 'Vylon Segment'! I must equip only to a 'Vylon' monster. It cannot be targeted by the opponent's monster effects or Trap effects."
Well, that certainly wasn't going to make Sergey's day…
(elsewhere…)
Meanwhile, in another park of the city, Fudo Go, followed by a police car (containing Paul), was driving down one street searching for Sergey.
"He doesn't seem to be here," commented Matt, looking around. He then pressed a button on his monitor, revealing an image of James R., "James, are you having any better luck?"
"Nope," The image of James R. sighed, shaking his head.
(elsewhere…)
Down in the middle of Brooklyn, Blackbird was driving by some buildings while a police car escort followed.
"We're searching throughout Brooklyn," continued James R., "But for some reason, we can't find that Sergey fellow anywhere."
On the monitor of Blackbird, the image of Matt closed his eyes and sighed, before opening them.
"Alright," he acknowledged, "Keep looking, Sergey has to be somewhere in the city. Make sure you keep everyone posted if you manage to find him."
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in the Bronx, Michael, riding Wheel of Fortune, was also busy searching for Sergey. For whatever reason, he was searching on his own with no police escort.
"That bloke has to be around here somewhere," huffed Michael.
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in Queens, Carlie parked Bloody Kiss nearby, removed her helmet, climbed off, and walked over to the police car that was accompanying her, namely to talk to the police officers.
"Any luck?" asked Carlie hopefully.
"So far, nothing," The female police officer answered, speaking in a Mid-Atlantic accent, "It doesn't look like Sergey's in Queens."
Carlie was disappointed, "He has to be around here in the city somewhere," she mused thoughtfully, "If he's not in Queens, then which part is he in?"
That's a darn good question…
(elsewhere…)
"Battle!" hollered Asagi, entering the Battle Phase, "'Vylon Disigma', attack 'Thorn Observer Zuma'!"
Back in the alleyway within Times Square, 'Vylon Disigma' obeyed the command, diving in for an attack. The attack was a successful hit, destroying the monster in an explosion.
"I activate 'Zuma's' third effect," said Sergey, "If this card is targeted for an attack while all of the monsters that were used for the Synchro Summon of this card are in my GY: I can pay 400 LP, then target all of those monsters; I take no battle damage from this battle."
More vines constricted the hulking Russian man, crushing him some more as his LP took another hit (LP: 1200 → 800).
"That may be so, but 'Zuma' has been destroyed," reminded Asagi, "Not only that, you'll take 100 damage because a Thorn Counter left the field."
The same thorns tightened their grip, making Sergey gasp for breath (LP: 800 → 700).
"Now third effect of 'Thorn Growth'…" gagged Sergey, "If I control no Thorn Counters, I must destroy this card."
The face-up 'Thorn Growth' Trap Card shattered into shards of glass, all because there were no more Thorn Counters on the field.
"However, 'Zuma' has one more part of its third effect!" Sergey pointed out, "At the end of the Damage Step, I must Special Summon this card and those targets from my GY, in Attack Position."
Reappearing on the field were 'Thorn Observer Zuma' (Level: 2/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), 'Thorn Prisoner Van' (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), and 'Thorn Prisoner Darli' (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Is Sergey doing this on purpose?" wondered Mayura, "Is it for some kind of strategy?"
Who knows?
"My Battle Phase has not ended!" yelled Asagi, "'Vylon Epsilon' will now attack 'Thorn Observer Zuma'!"
'Vylon Epsilon' obeyed, lunging towards 'Thorn Observer Zuma'.
"I activate 'Thorn Prisoner Darli's' effect," winced Sergey, taking another LP hit (LP: 700 → 300), "Once per turn, during my opponent's Battle Phase, when an opponent's monster declares an attack while I control another 'Thorn Prisoner' monster: I can pay 400 LP; I must negate the attack."
Another barrier formed, this time around 'Thorn Observer Zuma', protecting it from being attacked and destroyed by 'Vylon Epsilon'.
"He stopped Asagi's attack again," remarked Mayura, "But it only resulted in his LP falling to 300."
"It's like he's self-destructing!" agreed Juri, but then thought of something else, "Or maybe…he's planning something big."
Back on the field, Asagi had nothing left to do, but she was still in a very good spot; she still had above 3000 LP, controlled two powerful monsters, had a handy Set card, and her opponent was down to 300 LP and in control of three monsters with 0 ATK.
"I end my turn," The wavy blonde-haired young woman finished, before going into her thoughts, "Sergey only has 300 LP left… If I can hold out on his upcoming turn, I can win on my next turn," She then looked at her face-down card again, "While if Sergey does try attacking with anything strong enough on his turn, I can just destroy it with my Set Trap Card, 'Mirror Force'. There's just no way for Sergey to win against me!"
"Hey, you," called Sergey weakly, causing Asagi to snap out of her thoughts and look up, "Do you truly believe you win? The look on your face… it does not say 'I'll win', but rather 'I've won'."
Asagi listened on, not daring to say anything back.
"Instead of the desperate desire to win… I'd rather crush the face of someone who's sure they'll win," Sergey went on, before his mouth formed an insane smile, "It's the most beautiful of all."
"Beautiful?" repeated Asagi, not liking where this was heading.
"I've endured… I've endured, and endured…" muttered Sergey, slowly losing his mind, "I've endured, and endured, and endured… Endured… Endured, and endured… My endurance was not in vain!" He began raising his even further voice, "I've endured, and endured, endured, and endured… Endured! ENDURED!"
The sight of Sergey yelling like that really freaked the Astray trio out.
"You know, this reminds me of time I killed first duelist in Russia," ranted Sergey madly, "He was no fun. That duel wasn't beautiful in least!" He eyed Asagi with malicious intent, "But you're different. You're all but certain of your victory. Beautiful. Truly a beautiful battle. This should end beautifully. And it will end…" He then showed off a nightmare face, "…stained in your blood and defeat!"
Asagi gasped in horror.
(elsewhere…)
Back in Bryant Park, David and Lisa both were preparing to leave and find their friends (and in David's case, his family). Suddenly, Lisa felt her stomach growl.
"Man, I could really go for some ice cream right about now," she groaned.
"Actually, ice cream does sound rather appetising," admitted David, before stopping Lisa from leaving, "But first, I just wanted to say… This evening's been really good."
Lisa smiled back, "Yeah, it has been," she acknowledged brightly, "It helps that we're now on more friendly ground than before. Now, come on. Let's race to the nearest ice cream parlor! The loser has to pay for everything!"
"You're on!"
And the two teenagers took off from the park to the nearest ice cream parlor, hoping it was still open. However, unknown to them, they were not alone in the park… Hiding behind a nearby tree and watching were the three Bio-CPU boys, and they, especially Shani, were not pleased with what they were seeing. Silently, they walked away.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the alleyway somewhere in Times Square, a repeat of a few seconds ago ensued…
"Beautiful. Truly a beautiful battle," cackled Sergey, who had been ranting and raving about enduring pain and calling it beautiful, "This should end beautifully. And it will end…" He then showed off a nightmare face, "…stained in your blood and defeat!"
Asagi gasped in horror, while both Mayura and Juri didn't look any better.
"IT'S MY TURN!" howled Sergey, drawing a card.
Turn Six: Sergey Volkov (LP: 300)
Deck: 52
Current Hand (3): "Terrors of the Underroot", "One by One", and "Greater Polymerization"
His drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Greater Polymerization'.
"It finally here!" rejoiced Sergey, before gesturing towards his face-up 'Thorn Boma' Trap Card, "Second effect of 'Thorn Boma' activates! Once per turn, during the Standby Phase, I must pay 100 LP (this is not optional), or this card is destroyed."
More thorns constricted the hulking Russian man, causing him further pain as his LP got reduced even more (LP: 300 → 200). Even though he was left struggling to breathe, Sergey was shown smiling afterwards despite his LP being dangerously low and his body was aching like no tomorrow.
"That feels so good!" Sergey said grossly, "And you know, it reminds me of a phrase I heard of; 'before volcano erupts, magma amassess until it reaches limit. It then hurls that pain into sky like scorching heat searing through skin'. That's how good it feels, приятель!" After speaking the last part in Russian, he then gestured towards his face-up 'Thorn Boma' Trap Card, "And now, I activate final effect of 'Thorn Boma'! Once per turn, during my Main Phase: I can send this face-up card I control to the GY; I must negate the effects of all face-up Spells/Traps my opponent controls."
The face-up 'Thorn Boma' dissolved into dust, but not before causing several thorn vines to erupt from Asagi's field, which proceeded to constrict all of her face-up Spell Cards and render them powerless.
"Oh no!" Asagi cried out, watching helplessly.
"Finally, I'll activate Spell Card from hand, my secret weapon!" As Sergey said (or yelled) that, he slotted his drawn card into his Duel Disk. On cue, the 'Greater Polymerization' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field, bringing even more horror to the Astray trio the second they saw what it was, "'Greater Polymerization'!"
"Aaaahhh!" screamed Mayura.
"Not that card!" came from Juri.
Asagi said nothing about it, but the frightened look on her paled face signaled she also knew about the card being played.
"I see you girls know of my card," grinned Sergey, greatly enjoying the sight of how scared his victims were becoming, "I must Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, using 3 or more monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Material, and if I do, it gains these effects."
These were the effects written on the Spell Card in-question:
-"This card cannot be destroyed by card effects."
-"If this card attacks a Defense Position monster, I must inflict piercing battle damage."
"The first effect is gonna make whatever he Fusion Summons invulnerable to destruction by card effects," thought Asagi, growing increasingly scared as she cast another glance at her only face-down card, "As a result, my Set 'Mirror Force' is now worthless!"
Before long, 'Thorn Prisoner Van', 'Thorn Prisoner Darli', and 'Thorn Observer Zuma' each were absorbed into the face-up 'Greater Polymerization' Spell Card as a Summon Chant began.
"Leave your suffering, pain, and vulgar values to your corpse! Now, cast everything away and embark on the path of thorns!" chanted Sergey, before bringing both his hands together, "Fusion Summon! Appear now, 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma'!"
Appearing out of the Fusion Vortex and onto the field, was a huge, thorny-like plant with the three imprisoned monsters from its Summon trapped within its mouth (Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). The appearance of this new monster was enough to further disturb the three Astray girls.
"It's hideous!" freaked out Juri, while pressing her hands on her cheeks.
"Hideous doesn't even cut it," gagged Mayura, looking a little sick before easing up slightly. She and Juri were looking at what was on Sergey's field, "Still, it's another monster with only 0 ATK. Its Level is 8, but otherwise it can't attack or even defend itself."
Sergey smiled madly again, "This duel be over, yes? Duel is going to me."
"I-I'll lose?" Asagi murmured to herself, before speaking to her opponent, "But your monster… 'Thorn Overserver Vandarlizuma' doesn't have any kind of ATK! It's no match for either of my monsters."
Sergey bowed his head slightly, closed his eyes, and remained quiet at first. Eventually, some words escaped from his mouth…
"Вы уверены, что?" he hissed in Russian.
Asagi's eyes widened.
(elsewhere…)
In another spot in Manhattan (outside Times Square), Matt had stopped Fudo Go near the sidewalk and climbed off. He was then approached by Paul and a few police officers, who had parked their police car behind Fudo Go. They had been searching most of lower and upper Manhattan for any sign of Sergey, but there was no sign of him.
"For some reason we can't find Sergey anywhere," figured Matt thoughtfully, after making the faceplate of his helmet retract, "Maybe he's no longer in New York City?"
"Damn… He just has to be around here someplace," blurted Paul, obviously frustrated at the lack of progress they were making, "We can't let him start going after any duelists in this city, otherwise it could result in a blood bath!"
All of a sudden, the small group heard a loud explosion from a good distance away, and it was immediately followed by a loud scream mixed with pain and terror.
"What the-?!" One of the police officers exclaimed, "What was that?"
"There was an explosion followed by a woman screaming," The second police officer remarked.
"Hold on, I recognize that scream…" realized Matt, as he made his faceplate return. His eyes widened with shock as the answer then came to him like a boomerang, "Oh no! Asagi and her friends don't know anything about Sergey! They must have been found by him!"
"And that explosion came from Times Square, meaning Sergey and those young women have to be there!" said Paul urgently, "I'll quickly send all available units and your friends to those coordinates. In the meantime, we'd better haul our—hey, wait for us, scumbag!"
Without wasting another second to listen to the plan, Matt had jumped back on Fudo Go, revved it up, and tore down the road with the police soon following. They 'all' hoped they would not be too late to prevent Sergey from committing another 'dueling' murder, and his first one in the United States…
Cliffhanger! Where will we go from here? Will Matt and the likes make it in time? Find out next time.