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, Gaia, Abyss, Chaos (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. This chapter also has a scene of near rape. 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: Gaia, Chaos, and Abyss
Opening up in Orb's docking bay, the Astray trio, Mr. Murdoch, and the staff had found themselves being confronted by a trio of Turbo duelists who were a part of Sergey's attack force to take over the whole school.
"Who do you think you guys are?!" demanded Mayura.
With that said, the three Turbo duelists started to remove their helmets. Once removed, their identities were shown… The first youth was a 19-year old young adult male with light green hair. The second youth was also male, but aged 18 and with light blue hair. The third youth was female and the youngest at 17-years old with chin-length blonde hair.
"My name is Stella Loussier," The blonde-haired girl began.
"I'm Auel Neider," The light blue-haired boy added, who was smiling pleasantly (but there was sheer disdain in his tone).
"And I'm Sting Oakley," The light green-haired young man finished, "Together, we're 'The Extended'!"
"The Extended?" blinked Mr. Murdoch.
"Hey, that sounds similar to a term known as 'The Biological CPU'," commented Asagi, "Orga, Clotho, and Shani each like to call themselves that sometimes."
"Wait just a second," interrupted Juri, who seemed to remember something about Sting, Stella, and Auel, "I seem to recall something from Blue Cosmos a year ago… They had accepted some new students early into 2011," She then pressed the question to the trio, "I wonder… Did they happen to be-"
"Yes, they were. They were Sting, Stella, and I," confirmed Auel.
"It was during the time I thought would become our destiny," added Sting, as a flashback started up.
FLASHBACK
In January of 2011, Flashback Sting had arrived outside of the Blue Cosmos Duel School. He was very nervous, but at the same time was eager to become a duelist like other famous people like Thomas Billinton of the Island of Sodor, Matt Fudo of the United States, etc.. With a sigh, Flashback Sting walked through the parking lot towards what he thought would be his destiny.
(inside…)
Inside the academy-like school, Flashback Sting was looking around in amazement, wondering how much it cost to build such a big school. He was just about to turn a corner when he saw trouble…
"Oh, I'm really sorry. I-I just found it, and-and I thought I should give it to him" A blonde-haired teenage girl (Flashback Stella) was stammering, with four male students surrounding her, "I didn't know one of you had dropped it."
"Well, I sure did!" The first boy snapped, shoving Flashback Stella onto the floor, "And I was about to get it before you swooped in and ruined everything! You shouldn't pick up things that don't belong to you."
"It…doesn't really belong to you, either," whimpered Flashback Stella.
"Excuse me?!" The voice of the first male Blue Cosmos shouted, causing Flashback Stella to flinch fearfully, "That's what I thought. It's as good as mine, and you know it. You really are pathetic. It's no wonder your so-called best friends abandoned you after you arrived at this great school."
"Heh! What a little baby!" A second boy taunted, "She doesn't belong at this school. I don't know what Headmaster Azrael was thinking when he accepted this wimp!"
That was all Flashback Sting could take; he ran towards the four boys bullying Flashback Stella and punched the first one in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"W-What the-?!" A third male Blue Cosmos demanded, surprised.
"How dare you speak to her that way!" snarled Flashback Sting.
The first boy looked up and seethed, "What did you say?"
"I said, 'How dare you speak to her that way'!" replied Flashback Sting hotly, "I don't know what your deal is, but everybody deserves a chance in becoming duelists. You four should be exceptions to that rule if you're gonna bully people younger and smaller than yourselves!"
None of the four male Blue Cosmos students were remotely amused with being told off like that.
"You must be new here," The first boy sneered, being helped back up by two of his friends before looking Flashback Sting straight in the eye, "I and my friends can speak to anyone any way we see fit. We're elite duelists, and you're not."
Looking fearless, Flashback Sting didn't back down, despite being outnumbered. Eventually, the four male Blue Cosmos students backed off and walked away, which allowed Flashback Sting to turn and address Flashback Stella.
"Hello there," greeted Flashback Sting, extending a hand to Flashback Stella, "My name's Sting, Sting Oakley. What's yours?"
"S-Stella Loussier," whimpered Stella, taking the boy's hand and being helped to her feet, "I can't believe you did that."
"Did what?"
"Stand up to those guys," The blonde-haired girl pointed out, "It's just that nobody ever stands up to the elites of Blue Cosmos."
"Well, I couldn't just stand there and let you be pushed around," insisted Flashback Sting modestly, "As I mentioned seconds ago, everybody deserves a chance in becoming duelists."
Flashback Stella immediately looked down to the floor.
"Did I…say something wrong?" worried Flashback Sting.
"Oh no, you didn't," Flashback Stella corrected, "It's just I don't want to talk about my reasons for coming here."
Just there, there were some loud yells mixed with some swearing, which caused both teenagers to look nearby. The same four male Blue Cosmos students were currently fighting a teenage boy with light blue hair (Flashback Auel).
"Just what makes you think you'll ever become a duelist anyway?" The third boy questioned harshly.
Both the first and second boys punched Flashback Auel into the wall, who only stroked his cheek with a hard scowl on his face.
"Better me becoming a duelist than any of you four bastards," he retorted.
"What'd you say?!" The fourth male Blue Cosmos student hollered, before striking Flashback Auel with a roundhouse kick, "It's you who has no right to become a duelist!"
And Flashback Auel was thrown to the floor, just as Flashback Sting and Flashback Stella both arrived.
"What's going on here?" wondered Flashback Sting, which brought all eyes onto him.
"Oh, not you again," groaned the first male Blue Cosmos student, before gesturing towards Flashback Auel for a moment, "Well, if you must know, a certain someone here thinks he can bite off more than he can chew," He continued smiling smugly, "Blue Cosmos only wants people who are strong and want to win duels and nothing more."
"I 'can' become a strong duelist!" yelled Flashback Auel, getting back onto his feet, "You guys won't admit it, but you know deep down it's true!"
"It's true? Boy, what planet did you come from?" scoffed the second male Blue Cosmos student, rolling his eyes, "We four are elite duelists, soon to catch up to the infamous Biological CPU students, Orga, Clotho, and Shani," He then smiled coldly, "You? You're just a pathetic loser…" Flashback Auel listened while seething hard, "…who probably got invited to Blue Cosmos out of pity."
It was then Flashback Auel, taking a knife out of his pocket, finally lost all form of self-restraint; those so-called 'elite' Blue Cosmos students believed he wasn't good enough and just a loser? Well, they were about to learn just how big of a mistake it was to do that.
"DAMN YOU!" screamed Flashback Auel, trying to lunge at the second male Blue Cosmos student while trying to stab him in a blind rage. Unfortunately, he got grabbed and held back by Flashback Sting, "Hey! Lemme go!"
"Just stop it!" requested Flashback Sting, "Fighting isn't worth it, and killing would get you into huge trouble!"
"That's right," said the first male Blue Cosmos student mockingly, "Fighting and killing is not worth anybody's time—namely our time. Besides, if we four had fought you for real, you'd be back on the floor with several broken bones so fast, it would make your head spin," He then turned to leave, but kept looking over his shoulder, "Now, a word of advice; just stay out of our way, and you just 'might' have what it takes to become a duelist."
With that, the first student and his pals turned and walked away in laughter.
"Why? Why did you stop me?!" raged Flashback Auel, looking at Flashback Sting in anger, "I couldn't let them make fun of me! You should have let me gut them! I had to make those guys pay! I… I…" He was then let go as he turned and punched at the wall, "Damn it all!"
"Sting's right," cut in Flashback Stella, "Fighting others like this isn't worth it. Besides, what would your Mother think if she heard you were trying to kill the other students?"
Losing his anger, Flashback Auel froze when he heard the word 'Mother'. Suddenly, while dropping his knife, he started shaking like a leaf as he sank to his knees while gripping the sides of his head with his hands as though he were having a panic attack.
"Huh?" wondered Flashback Stella.
"M-Mother…" stammered Flashback Auel, now sounding absolutely traumatized, "They… I… I was… Mother tried to stop them, but she… she…"
"Hey! Get a grip!" cried Flashback Sting, kneeling down to Flashback Auel's level and placing both hands on his shoulders, "Take it easy! Come back to your senses! Hey!"
The only response from the light blue-haired boy was crazed sobbing, while several other students in the hallway took notice of the breakdown. Thinking fast, Flashback Sting directed Flashback Stella to help him take Flashback Auel outside for a little fresh air and to hopefully calm down.
(outside…)
Outside, Flashback Sting and Flashback Stella both took Flashback Auel to a bench to sit down and regain his senses, which he thankfully did.
"Are you feeling better, now?" asked Flashback Stella gently.
"Yeah, I am," admitted Flashback Auel, "Thanks so much for asking."
"What the hell happened to you back there?" Flashback Sting questioned, "Why'd you flip out when Stella mentioned your…" He stopped himself from saying the word 'Mother', since he didn't want Flashback Auel to have another emotional breakdown, "What I meant to say was, why did you break down when Stella mentioned your, err, M-o-t-h-e-r?"
"To be fair, it's something I don't want to talk about," said Flashback Auel glumly, before he looked up while smiling cheerfully, "By the way, I haven't told you two my name… I'm Auel Neider."
Flashback Sting smiled back, "Sting Oakley."
"And my name's Stella Loussier," finished Flashback Stella, before growing very uneasy, "If I can be honest with you two, I really don't want to be at a place like Blue Cosmos. If anything, I never wanted to come and become a duelist, at all."
"I never wanted to become a duelist, either," Flashback Auel shrugged, before narrowing his eyes darkly, "But after enduring a very dark period in my life… I realized that if I want to survive in this kind of world," As he continued on, Flashback Sting and Flashback Stella briefly looked at each other, then back towards their new friend, "I need to duel, hence why I was fighting with those four elite students over whether I can succeed in becoming one or not."
"Everything's going to be okay," reassured Flashback Sting, which brought the eyes of both teenagers to him, "I'm tellin' you both, dueling is a lot of fun. You two can't let those guys who bullied you get inside your heads," He seemed to smile fondly as he thought of his favorite duelists, "You see, I came to Blue Cosmos because I want to learn to become a great duelist like Matt Fudo, Thomas Billinton, and Scott 'The Flying Scotsman' Gresley. There are many others, but those are the three who I admire the most and wish to become like," Flashback Stella and Flashback Auel both listened to the words with admirement, "Look, if it helps any, I'll make sure nothing happens to either of you."
Flashback Stella and Flashback Auel both did not know what to say about that, but in the end they smiled and decided to trust the light green-haired boy's encouraging and confident words.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Ever since then, we three became best friends," admitted Sting, "And we each also agreed to leave Blue Cosmos after staying for only four months. It turns out I was foolish to believe things would get better at that school, since its teachings there were absolutely inhuman!"
"If we didn't leave, we would have eventually become psychopaths like those three Biological guys, so we got the hell out of there when we could," added Auel, before smiling like a shark, "Of course, we didn't leave without first metaphorically giving them the middle finger by stealing their new Duel Runners."
Another flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
One night in the middle of June, Flashback Sting, Flashback Auel, and Flashback Stella each were snooping in the middle of a hallway trying to find the docking bay.
"Are you sure about this?" Flashback Stella whispered to Flashback Auel.
"Positive," grinned Flashback Auel, "Those Duel Runners are perfect for us! By stealing them as we escape, we'll teach these stinkin' Blue Cosmos that we're not going to take their bull$*#^ and abuse."
"I hate to say this, but Auel has a point," said Flashback Sting, "We need to at least teach this school a lesson for their mistreatment. Those Biological CPU guys might have put up with it to become the school's best duelists, but look what it did to their psyches."
Flashback Stella knew her two best friends were right. When the coast was clear enough, the Extended trio continued on their way.
(elsewhere…)
In the docking bay of the school, Flashback Sting, Flashback Auel, and Flashback Stella each arrived to find the coast seemingly clear. Near the currently shut gate, there were three brand new Duel Runners waiting…
-Duel Runner 1: The military green-colored Duel Runner was named Chaos.
-Duel Runner 2: The blue/white-colored Duel Runner with two large shields was named Abyss.
-Duel Runner 3: The black/yellow-colored Duel Runner was named Gaia.
"These are the Duel Runners…" breathed Flashback Sting.
"And they're all ours!" bragged Flashback Auel, "Quick! Let's suit up and use them to get out of here!"
But…
"Going somewhere?" A familiar voice (male) laughed sneeringly.
"Nice try, you idiots!" Another familiar voice (male) jeered.
To the shock of the Extended trio, the same four male Blue Cosmos students they encountered on their first day emerged from behind some crates.
"We knew you were planning to steal those Duel Runners and blow this school off," said the third male Blue Cosmos student, "We're not stupid, you know."
"But how did you figure out our plan?" pressed Flashback Sting.
"Simple, we overheard you going over it earlier in the day," The fourth male Blue Cosmos student replied arrogantly, before adding something else in as a really tasteless joke, "Seriously, you guys need to keep things like that to yourself. Do that, and we might never have found out about your escape attempt."
Flashback Auel snarled, "Shut up!" he yelled, running at the students, "Get out of our way!"
As expected, a fight broke out in the docking bay. While Flashback Sting and Flashback Auel did most of the actual fighting, Flashback Stella was backing away from one of the male Blue Cosmos students (who was armed with a knife).
"K-Keep away from me!" The blonde-haired girl begged, scared.
The fourth male Blue Cosmos student ignored the plea and pounced onto Flashback Stella, pinning her to the floor and making sure she couldn't try fighting back. Flashback Stella struggled and screamed, but she couldn't get the student off of her.
"Stella!" gagged Flashback Sting, pinned to the wall while being choked by the first male Blue Cosmos student.
Flashback Auel, meanwhile, was being viciously pummeled by the other two students, meaning he was not able to do anything to save Flashback Stella from potential rape. The fourth male Blue Cosmos student, leering over his pinned prey, had a slimy, sadistic smile on his face, while Flashback Stella, with tears of fear leaking from her eyes, could no longer speak as she waited for the end to come for her.
"Actually, I won't kill you yet," chuckled the fourth male Blue Cosmos student, mockingly dropping the knife onto the floor beside Flashback Stella's head since he knew she could not grab it, "Somebody like you doesn't deserve a quick death. I want you to live for a few minutes longer, and then you'll die."
"I don't wanna die," thought Flashback Stella, terror-struck, "I want this scary thing to…go away!" She then saw the monster moving in to kiss her against her will, "Stop it! STOP IT!"
Struggling in her state of anger and fear, the blonde-haired girl managed to summon beastly strength and flip herself and the fourth male Blue Cosmos student around, with her now being the one on top and in-charge. Not losing any of her state of panic, Flashback Stella grabbed the nearby knife, raised it, and, with a shrill scream, stabbed the fourth male Blue Cosmos student in the chest, killing him instantly.
"What?!" The second male Blue Cosmos student exclaimed, as he and the third student stopped hurting Flashback Auel and turned to see one of their own being killed, "Why that lousy-!"
Unfortunately, with their grip loosened, Flashback Auel was able to use his feet to throw both male Blue Cosmos students off of him and into some nearby crates, knocking the two of them unconscious while also wrecking the creates. The first male Blue Cosmos student, meanwhile, did not seem to care what happened to his fellow comrades and only continued to choke Flashback Sting with the intent to kill. A few seconds later, he let the light green-haired boy go and collapsed onto the floor, dead, with the same knife sticking out of his back. Flashback Sting collapsed onto the floor and started coughing and hacking as he tried to get oxygen back into his system after nearly being choked to death.
"Sting!" exclaimed Flashback Stella, who had killed the guy trying to kill her friend.
"I-I'll be…okay!" reassured Flashback Sting, being helped back up. He then looked to Flashback Auel, "Auel, are you okay?"
"Ugh… Never better," grunted Flashback Auel, before rushing over to one of the undamaged crates and pulling some motorcyclist suits out, "Chances are someone, or a bunch of someones, will have overheard the commotion going on in here, so let's grab our motorcyclist suits, put them on, and escape with the Duel Runners while we still can!"
After spending a minute getting into their motorcyclist suits, the Extended trio climbed aboard the new Duel Runners built by the mechanics at Blue Cosmos. Flashback Sting took Chaos, Flashback Auel took Abyss, and Flashback Stella took Gaia. It was then the nearby doors were smashed open by several adult males, and one of them happened to be…Flashback Azrael.
"Headmaster, they're getting away with the new models!" One mechanic proclaimed.
Flashback Azrael remained calm, "I must say," he said smoothly, not at all concerned about the Duel Runners being stolen, "I'm surprised you three are leaving this soon. Didn't you appreciate the hospitality this school has offered?"
"We didn't," retorted Flashback Sting, "Your staff's mistreatment of us is inexcusable! We weren't going to allow you to turn Stella, Auel, and I into possible weapons of mass destruction."
"Oh dear, is that what you think we would have done?" chortled Flashback Azrael.
"Consider us, and your new Duel Runners, gone," finished Flashback Auel, sharply.
Flashback Stella was the only one who said nothing, but there was clear indication she would have agreed with her two friends if she had spoken up. And thus, the Extended trio slipped on their helmets and revved up the three new Duel Runners.
(outside…)
Outside, the large gate broke open as Chaos (Flashback Sting), Abyss (Flashback Auel), and Gaia (Flashback Stella) each burst through, while a few of the workers emerged from the destroyed gate to try and catch the escapists before they got away. Unfortunately, the three Duel Runners escaped from the parking lot into the distance, never to be seen at Blue Cosmos ever again. Stepping outside, Flashback Azrael simply closed his eyes and shook his head.
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in the state of New York, the Extended trio had stopped outside a diner to take a little break and grab a bite to eat.
"Damn…" uttered Flashback Sting, taking off his helmet and beginning to remember how much cash he and the other two current had, "With us stealing these things, Azrael will likely go see the police and place a bounty on our heads, which means we can never return to Albany ever again," He pocketed the money, "Not to mention we've driven for miles, and we hardly have enough money to sustain ourselves at our current ages."
Flashback Auel said nothing, but he seemed to think that this was for the best. As for Flashback Stella, she removed her helmet and started to think back to all of the chaos that ensued when she and her friends stole the three new Duel Runners; she was almost raped, and she even killed two people in the process (although it was out of self defense). The trauma of her short time at Blue Cosmos took a strong hold on her and she finally allowed her tears to fall as she completely broke down.
"Stella…" whispered Flashback Sting, as the poor blonde-haired girl turned and cried into his chest and he tried to comfort her. He then looked to Flashback Auel, "Auel, you and I are all Stella has left to a potential family."
"Yeah," agreed Flashback Auel glumly, before going over the money issue, "Currently, we only have enough money for one meal and to refuel the new Duel Runners. After that…"
He left that statement to hang, since it would be clear the three of them would not be able to afford anything, and they would likely starve.
"W-What do we do?" sobbed Flashback Stella, looking at Flashback Auel.
There was no immediate answer to the question. What would the Extended trio do once they used up their money?
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Using what money we had left, we fled to New York City," revealed Stella, as faded clips of what she, Auel, and Sting each did in New York City were shown superimposed over her, "Once there, we started stealing—money, food, clothes, Duel Monsters cards—just to survive," The clips ended, as she and her two best friends faced down the opposition, "Seeing as we can never see our own families again, Sting, Auel, and I all practically became a family instead; we always have each other's backs, whether it's evading the police, dueling, or dealing with bad people who want to hurt us."
"Speaking of dueling, since we didn't stay at Blue Cosmos for very long, we had to learn to fully play Duel Monsters on our own or from other people," added Auel, "Thanks to the cards we stole, we've constructed really good Decks."
The Astray trio and the staff of Orb's docking bay all remained dead silent over this rough, and even somewhat tragic, backstory for the Extended trio.
"Up until a few days ago, our life-style worked fairly well," said Sting, "But when we tried stealing from a gift shop, something went wrong and we were forced to return to our temporary home to get some of our stuff in preparation to flee the city. During our escape, we happened upon Sergey Volkov."
A third and final flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
After their failed robbery, the Extended trio had returned to the old abandoned building they were living at to gather a few of their belongings; they were planning to flee New York City for another potential city to try and live. Before long…
"Привет," A voice (male) greeted in brief Russian, "Is this bad time to see you?"
At first, Flashback Sting, Flashback Auel, and Flashback Stella each thought the police had arrived and caught them, but when they turned around to find the source of the voice, they saw the person who spoke wasn't even a police officer, but rather a hulking man appearing to be of Russian background.
"You three be duelists, yes?" The hulking man (Flashback Sergey) questioned.
"Y-Yes…" replied Flashback Stella, slowly.
"And who are you supposed to be?" barked Flashback Sting.
"My name is Sergey Volkov, a feared criminal like yourselves," answered Flashback Sergey, "As a matter of fact, we are criminals who should be working together."
"We're not criminals!" snapped Flashback Auel, "We're just three youths trying to survive in a world that seems to hate us!"
"I see… Then…maybe I help you out?"
"What?" blinked Flashback Sting, while Flashback Stella also looked surprised, "You want to help us out? How would you help us?"
"I want you three to first help me with something big," explained Flashback Sergey, "I'm gathering a group of people to help me take over a very important place. If you three agree to assist, then I can give you a proper place to live while also cleaning your records of wrongdoings committed."
"Really? You'd find a way to clear our records?" asked Flashback Stella, "And this is if we help you find other willing members to take over this location in-question?"
"I promise you that and more," Flashback Sergey confirmed, as Flashback Sting, Flashback Auel, and Flashback Stella each listened on, "However, you need to promise to follow me without question. Can you comrades do that?"
Knowing they had no time to go over if they should trust this man, the Extended trio merely looked to each other for a few seconds before they nodded in agreement. By promising to help Flashback Sergey and obey his orders, they would get a new home and their criminal records wiped clean—which would effectively allow them to start new lives without any sort of worry.
"We're in," said Flashback Sting at last, "But, just so we know, what location are we taking over?"
Flashback Sergey smiled evilly, "Orb."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"And that's that," continued Auel, "By helping Sergey out, we now have a new place to call home again. We just need him to erase our records, and things will finally be okay for us three," He then seemed to sneer, "It's too bad though. Taking over the school was way too easy of a job. Right now, I'm looking for a real challenge."
Asagi clenched both her hands into fists out of anger. Sure, she genuinely pitied the Extended trio over their rough backstories, but the fact they willingly helped Sergey take over Orb still disgusted her to the extremes.
"If you're looking for a real challenge," The wavy blonde-haired young woman uttered, before looking up, "then why not try us?!"
Mayura and Juri both joined their best friend in facing down the Extended trio. Speaking of whom, Sting and Auel both seemed to smirk with satisfaction, while Stella merely frowned over being challenged.
"Then how about this? You three can face us in a Battle Royale-styled Turbo Duel?" offered Sting, "Does that sound interesting? It does slightly even the odds."
Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each nodded in agreement, accepting the duel challenge.
(elsewhere…)
Back in New York City, a limo was shown driving down the streets while several citizens could be seen on the sidewalk protesting the cancellation of the Action Duel tournament and demanding that Rex find a way to "Free Orb!" from Sergey Volkov's control even though he was not the governor of Connecticut. It was not the only protest Rex had seen on his way to his place of work. The limo soon pulled up beside city hall. The right door opened up, and a serious-looking Rex emerged from it. Very quickly, he was swarmed by reporters and the press, and they were all shouting various questions to the governor about the tournament ending prematurely, along with questions on what he would do to help the people of the state of Connecticut regarding the Orb Duel School. Rex simply ignored the questions being asked and walked towards the building, entering it.
(inside…)
Inside the main office, a very troubled Lazar was waiting anxiously for his boss to arrive. A few minutes ago, the secretary had delivered him some bad news about some protests breaking out all across the state of New York by people angry and confused as to why the biggest and most creative Duel Monsters tournament, funded and created by Rex himself who also promised it would continue to the very end, was suddenly cut short during the final battle and why one of the most successful duel schools in the whole country had been attacked and taken over by the infamous Russian criminal Sergey Volkov. Before long, the door opened, causing Lazar to gasp and turn around, relieved that Rex had finally shown up.
"G-Governor Godwin, thank goodness you've come!" cried Lazar, as his boss removed his jacket and sat down at his desk, "It's the people all over the state of New York! They've begun protesting, demanding that you take swift action to help the governor of Connecticut with negotiating the liberation of Orb from Sergey Volkov's ownership!"
"I see," frowned Rex, who was very aware of the unrest.
"The sudden news has also caused mass hysteria, with citizens fearing for their safety, should the threat brought on by Volkov find its way here in our state."
The New York governor brought his left hand to his forehead and sighed loudly, silently pondering on what to do about it.
"Sir, if I may, perhaps bringing in some private security to safeguard the city for the time being might be in order?" requested Lazar.
"No," refused Rex, shaking his head. He then turned to look out the window, "The military being here would only cause more potential unrest, with the citizens believing the worst has happened."
"B-But, sir-!" objected Lazar.
"Hold on…" Rex suddenly interrupted, started to remember something, "You mentioning private security has just touched upon a memory of mine…" He brought his left hand to his chin and stroked it thoughtfully, "Hmm… Lisa's last name is 'Drake'… I wonder… Lazar, could you bring me the papers containing the background of Lisa Drake? I believe I might have a solution, but I need to confirm my suspicions first."
"At once, governor," Lazar obeyed, bowing in respect before leaving the room.
A few minutes later, he returned with a bunch of papers and placed them on the desk. Rex started looking them over, which contained Lisa's personal information; it was mostly on her birthdate, her height, weight, and lineage. One relative in particular sparked his interest. The last name 'Drake' was the exact same one that a member of the very famous military group, 'The All-Star Squad', stationed in 'Bangor - Maine' has. Rex then seemed to smile slightly, believing that he had found his answer.
"Sir, what are you thinking of?" pondered Lazar.
"Lazar, are you at all familiar with 'The All-Star Squad'?" Rex asked, looking up from the papers he was given.
"I have heard of their accomplishments," answered Lazar, "Sir, are you suggesting 'they' would be a good fit to protect the city?"
"It's simple," began Rex thoughtfully, "Having the streets be patrolled by a uniform platoon would not provide the citizens with much confidence to continue their lives without the fear of a potential threat. But this group, however, with their mass outward appeal and dexterity would be the ideal alternative."
"They're just like-"
"What you'd see in a video game," The governor finished, raising an eyebrow.
Lazar quickly perked up to the idea, "Sir, I believe this could indeed be the solution," he acknowledged, "But how will you be able to bring them here?"
"There's only one way to find out," said Rex, standing up, "Lazar, get me a video call with General Damas Drake."
"As you request," replied Lazar, growing hopeful, "I'm certain you can convince this famous group to send aid to this fair city."
(elsewhere…)
Back in Hartford, inside the Orb Turbo Duel Track, the Astray trio, with their M1 Astrays, plus Mr. Murdoch and the docking bay staff had gathered with the Extended trio and their stolen Duel Runners.
"So, those are Chaos, Gaia, and Abyss," murmured Mr. Murdoch.
"Don't they look cool?" bragged Sting.
"These aren't as advanced as the Duel Runners used by the Biological CPUs, but they are still forces to be reckoned with," proclaimed Stella.
"One more thing; we're gonna give you girls one chance to back out," teased Auel, looking at Asagi, "For in this Turbo Duel, anything goes."
"What does that mean?" whispered Mayura, looking at Juri.
"I don't know, but we'll just have to watch our backs," Juri whispered back.
A minute later, the six Duel Runners were lined up at the starting line, being revved up as they waited for the automatic countdown to finish. Upon reaching the last few seconds…
"Turbo Duel!" Sting, Stella, and Auel each began.
"Acceleration!" Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each finished.
And the six Duel Runners roared down the track. The three Astray girls initially believed that things were going well for them, but then…
"Aaaahhh!" cried Juri, as her M1 Astray got bashed by Gaia.
"Juri!" called Asagi, before she herself yelled out when Chaos bashed into her M1 Astray.
Apparently, this was what Auel meant by 'anything goes' in the duel; the Extended trio were so determined to win, that they would even try to throw their opponents off their Duel Runners in an attempt to eliminate them from the duel without even depleting their LP gauges. Mayura was able to evade most of the actual attacks from Sting and Stella, but when she neared the finish line, Auel, on Abyss, caight up and started bashing into her M1 Astray, resulting in her backing off and also resulting in him winning the race. Mayura's M1 Astray came in second, Stella came in third, Juri came in fourth, Sting came in fifth, and Asagi was in last place.
"Looks like I'm the winner!" gloated Auel, while looking over his shoulder, "That leaves you, Mayura, to go second!"
Mayura scowled, "Alright," she grumbled, "The first turn's yours!"
In the stands, Mr. Murdoch and his fellow mechanics all watched as the next big duel of the siege of the Orb Duel School commenced.
Turn One: Auel Neider (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Chaos Hunter", "Chaos Zone", "Chaos Valkyria", "Chaos Grepher", "Chaos Space", and "Dimension Wall"
Back on the track, Auel saw that his drawn card was a Trap Card called 'Dimension Wall', which was one card he would definitely use. For now, however, he had something else to use…
"From my hand," began Auel, taking a card ('Chaos Zone') from his hand and slotting it into his Duel Runner, "I'll activate the Field Spell, 'Chaos Zone'!"
The scenery around the six Turbo duelists began to change into a huge network of black and white portals.
"Each time a monster(s) is banished, I must place 1 Chaos Counter on this card for each of those monsters," As Auel spoke, he made another Spell Card called 'Chaos Space' materialize face-up on the field beside him (on his right), "Then, I'll activate 'Chaos Space'! I must send 1 LIGHT or DARK monster from my hand to the GY; I must add 1 LIGHT or DARK monster that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set from my Deck to my hand, with a Level from 4 to 8, and with a different Attribute than that monster."
The light blue-haired boy then took a card ('Chaos Valkyria') from his hand and discarded it, resulting in a card to slip from the top of his Deck, which he drew and looked at. The card was a Monster Card known as 'Chaos Daedalus'.
"The monster I discarded was 'Chaos Valkyria'," explained Auel, while adding the card into his hand, "Since it was a LIGHT monster, I get to add a DARK monster into my hand—with it being 'Chaos Daedalus'," He then took another card from it and placed it onto his Duel Runner, "That's not all, I'll also Summon 'Chaos Grepher'!"
Appearing onto the field was what appeared to be 'Warrior Dai Grepher', which was a monster (or Duel Spirit) Thomas Billinton had encountered in the Duel Monsters spirit world a few years ago, now sporting a 'Chaos'-styled attire (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600).
"While face-up on the field, this card is also DARK-Attribute," explained Auel, which made the three Astray girls concerned as this was a rare ability. He then went on with using his monster to the fullest of its abilities, "That was effect no.1, now for effect no.2! I can discard 1 LIGHT or DARK monster; I must send 1 LIGHT or DARK monster with a different Attribute from my Deck to the GY, but for the rest of this turn, I cannot Special Summon monsters with the same name the sent monster had in the GY."
With that said, Auel took a card ('Chaos Hunter', a DARK monster) from his hand and sent it to the GY, then he drew a card ('Chaos-End Master', a LIGHT monster) and also sent it to the GY
"Here's where the fun really intensifies!" grinned Auel, as he made two cards ('Chaos Valkyria' and 'Chaos Hunter') eject from his GY before fading away into oblivion, "I banish both the LIGHT 'Chaos Valkyria' and the DARK 'Chaos Hunter' from my GY!" From there, another portal of chaos began to open within the sky, "Appear now, 'Chaos Daedalus'!"
Something shot out of the portal, which turned out to be a black serpent-like monster, which hovered above Abyss with malicious intention (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1500). Also thanks to two cards being banished, the 'Chaos Zone' Spell Card gained two Chaos Counters.
"While a Field Spell is face-up on the field," explained Auel, going over his monster's first effect while looking over his shoulder, "my opponent cannot target LIGHT or DARK monsters I control with card effects. This will make it far harder to take down, wouldn't you agree?"
Mayura, Juri, and Asagi each said nothing in response.
"Then, I'll activate my banished 'Chaos Valkyria's' second effect!" continued Auel, drawing another card ('Chaos Command Magician', a LIGHT monster) and sending it to the GY, "If this card is banished: I can send 1 LIGHT or DARK monster from my Deck to the GY, but for the rest of this turn, I cannot activate cards, or the effects of cards, with the same name as that card," He then took one more card from his hand and slotted it into his Duel Runner, "Now, I'll Set one card face-down and end my turn!"
A face-down card materialized on the field before fading away for later use. Mayura grimaced, not knowing what the Set card could be. Unfortunately, that was the least of her worries; as she started to draw a card, she cried out as she felt her M1 Astray getting battered by Sting's Chaos Duel Runner.
"Q-Quit it!" yelled Mayura.
"Not a chance!" refused Sting deviously, "As Auel mentioned, anything goes in this duel!"
"Ngh…! Asagi!"
"I've got 'im!" declared Asagi, managing to pull up beside Chaos and bash into it with her own M1 Astray.
"Gah!" exclaimed Sting, as his Duel Runner fell behind, "You damned-!"
"Thanks!" Mayura said, as she and Asagi both rode side-by-side.
"No prob," grinned Asagi, giving her best friend a thumbs up, "Now, take your turn!"
"Right!" With that said, Mayura drew a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Two: Mayura Labatt (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Scrap Orthros", "Scrap Sheen", "Scrap Raptor", "Scrap Beast", "Scrap Whirlwind"(!), and "Fellow's Gift"
Her drawn card was a Trap Card called 'Fellow's Gift'. Adding it into her hand (which contained 'Scrap Orthros', 'Scrap Sheen', 'Scrap Raptor', 'Scrap Beast', and 'Scrap Whirlwind'), she took another card ('Scrap Raptor') from it and held it out for a moment before placing it onto her Duel Runner.
"I Summon 'Scrap Raptor'!" announced Mayura.
Appearing onto the field was the familiar dinosaur fashioned from scrap metal (Level: 3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000).
"I'll use this moment to activate 'Scrap Raptor's' first effect!" continued Mayura, "I can target 1 monster I control; I must destroy it, also, during my Main Phase this turn, I can Normal Summon 1 'Scrap' monster in addition to my Normal Summon/Set," She held her right hand out, "I choose to destroy…my own 'Scrap Raptor'!"
'Scrap Raptor' fell completely to pieces.
"She destroyed her own monster?" blinked Stella.
"Why would she do that?" came from Sting.
"Now, I know this might seem confusing to you guys," joked Mayura, "However, I need to do this in order to activate 'Scrap Raptor's' second effect!" She then drew a card ('Scrap Factory') and looked at it, "If this card is destroyed by the effect of a 'Scrap' card and sent to my GY: I can add 1 'Scrap Factory' or 1 non-Tuner 'Scrap' monster from my Deck to my hand."
She spent a few seconds continuing to look at her added card, but what she didn't know was that Stella was driving up on Gaia to try and knock her off her M1 Astray. Fortunately, Juri saw the incoming attack.
"Mayura, to your left!" The intelligent, dark blue-haired young woman called out.
Mayura was able to overhear the warning, looked over, and saw Stella approaching with the intention of attacking. Revving her M1 Astray up, she zoomed away from Gaia enough to gain enough breathing room. On cue, the 'Scrap Factory' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"Next, I'll activate the Field Spell, 'Scrap Factory', which destroys 'Chaos Zone'!" declared Mayura.
The chaos portals all around the area fizzled out as a huge factory setting was constructed in their place.
"Crap…!" muttered Auel.
"Don't look so sad," taunted Mayura, "This newly created area will make you—or rather me—smile! All 'Scrap' monsters gain 200 ATK/DEF!" She then took another card ('Scrap Beast') and placed it onto her Duel Runner, "Now, thanks to the effect of 'Scrap Raptor' I'll Normal Summon 'Scrap Beast'!"
Appearing onto the field was a mechanical wolf-like monster, who had heightened stats due to the effect of the 'Scrap Factory' Spell Card (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).
"Next, since I control a 'Scrap' monster," As she spoke, Mayura placed another card ('Scrap Orthros') onto a Monster Zone on her Duel Runner, "I'll Special Summon 'Scrap Orthros'!"
Appearing onto the field was a huge, two-headed 'Scrap' monster (Level: 4/ATK: 1900/DEF: 1300).
"With that, I'll activate 'Scrap Orthros's' first effect!" began Mayura, before pointing towards her 'Scrap Beast' in preparation, "If Summoned this way: I must target 1 'Scrap' monster I control; I must destroy that target," 'Scrap Beast' let out a howl before exploding from its own destruction, "That target will be my own 'Scrap Beast'!"
"You sure are fond of destroying your own monsters, huh?" remarked Auel.
"It's all for a good cause," retorted Mayura, "You see, the second effect of 'Scrap Beast' activates now!" She took a card ('Scrap Raptor') from her GY and added it into her hand, "If this card is destroyed by the effect of a 'Scrap' card and sent to the GY: I can target 1 'Scrap' monster in my GY, except 'Scrap Beast'; I must add that target to my hand."
"Too bad you can't Summon it!" reminded Sting.
"Actually," Mayura smiled in response, which made Sting and Auel both unnerved, "I can Summon something," Then, to prove her point, she pointed upward at the 'ceiling' of the 'factory', "I activate the second effect of my Field Spell, 'Scrap Factory'! When a face-up 'Scrap' monster(s) on the field is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY (except during the Damage Step): I can Special Summon 1 'Scrap' monster from my Deck," Her Deck started shuffling on its own, "Now, let's see who the lucky monster will be…"
A random card slid out from Mayura's Deck, while the crane reached a pool of molten metal as the head of a 'Scrap' monster emerged. The crane lowered and grabbed the monster and pulled it out.
"The 'Scrap' monster chosen is the Level 5 'Scrap Golem'!" announced Mayura, holding her picked card up.
Appearing out of the pile of scrap metal was a huge, metallic golem (Level: 5/ATK: 2500/DEF: 1600).
"I'll use this opportunity to activate 'Scrap Golem's' effect!" Mayura went on, taking a card ('Scrap Beast') from her GY and placing it onto her Duel Runner, "Once per turn: I can target 1 Level 4 or lower 'Scrap' monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target to either player's field," And something started happening around her field, "Resurrect, 'Scrap Beast'!"
Within seconds, 'Scrap Beast' returned to the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1500).
"I tune Level 5 'Scrap Golem' into Level 4 'Scrap Beast'!" cried Mayura confidently.
'Scrap Beast' jumped into the air and turned into four Synchro Rings, which overwhelmed 'Scrap Golem' and turned it into five orbs of light while a Summon Chant from Mayura echoed throughout.
"When one mighty guardian falls, a new one will arise from its remains with twice the destructive force!" chanted Mayura, as the symbols 5 + 4 = 9 were shown briefly just before the five orbs within the four Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light and slammed onto her M1 Astray on the track, "Synchro Summon! Come forth! Level 9! 'Scrap Twin Dragon'!"
When the beam of light finally died down, there, in the sky above Mayura and her M1 Astray, was the huge two-headed dragon molded from scrap metal (Level: 9/ATK: 3200/DEF: 2400).
"'Scrap Twin Dragon'-!" winced Auel.
"Yup, and there's still more to come!" warned Mayura, before holding another card ('Scrap Whirlwind') out, "Like this for example! Spell Card, 'Scrap Whirlwind'!" With the swing of her right arm, the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field in-front of her M1 Astray, "I must destroy 1 'Scrap' card I control, and if I do, Special Summon 1 'Scrap' monster from my hand or GY."
A large whirlwind formed from the face-up 'Scrap Whirlwind' Spell Card, gathering up many pieces of scrap metal from nearby.
"The 'Scrap' card to be destroyed will be my own Field Spell, 'Scrap Factory'!"
From there, the whirlwind struck the factory, causing it to explode, and return the scenery to normal. This also resulted in 'Scrap Twin Dragon' (ATK: 3200 → 3000/DEF: 2400 → 2200) and 'Scrap Orthros' (ATK: 1900 → 1700/DEF: 1300 → 1100) both having their ATK and DEF stats returning to their default values.
"But this isn't a bad thing, at all," smirked Mayura.
"She's right," agreed Asagi, "Now she gets to Special Summon a 'Scrap' monster from her hand."
"And we know what one she has in her hand at the moment," finished Juri.
On cue, 'Scrap Raptor' reappeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1000).
"Dammit…!" swore Auel.
"I activate the first effect of 'Scrap Twin Dragon'!" announced Mayura, before announcing the name of the effect, "Scrap Twin Inferno!"
'Scrap Twin Dragon' charged blasts from both its mouths and fired, vaporizing not only 'Scrap Raptor' but also the 'Chaos Grepher' and 'Chaos Daedalus' under the control of Auel.
"Once per turn: I can target 1 card I control and 2 cards my opponent controls; I must destroy the one I control, and if I do, return the ones my opponent controls to the hand," explained Mayura, "So, while my 'Scrap Raptor' was destroyed, both 'Chaos Grepher' and 'Chaos Daedalus' have gone back to your hand."
To Auel's dismay, two cards reappeared in his hand. Not only that, two face-down cards materialized on the field in-front of Mayura's M1 Astray.
"I Set two cards face-down," The tomboyish, red-haired young woman went on, before entering the Battle Phase, "And now, I'll attack! 'Scrap Orthros', you're up first! Attack Auel directly!"
'Scrap Orthros' obeyed, lunging towards Auel to take a bite. Although the 'Scrap' monster didn't sink its teeth into actual flesh, the Duel Runner Abyss did get bitten.
"Augh!" grunted Auel, as he took major damage (LP: 4000 → 2300).
"The final blow!" shouted Mayura, "'Scrap Twin Dragon', take Auel out of the duel!" While announcing her monster's attack name, she punched her right fist forward, "Scrap Twin Blaze!"
'Scrap Twin Dragon obeyed, starting to charge another double blast of fire. All of a sudden, Auel smiled with triumph.
"Actually… 'you' will be the one to take the damage," he said, slowly and smugly.
"What?" flinched Mayura.
"I was saving this Set card for this exact moment," continued Auel, as his Set card reappeared on the field behind Abyss, "Face-down card, open! 'Dimension Wall'!"
The face-down card flipped up and revealed itself.
"Oh no!" wailed Mayura.
"When an opponent's monster declares an attack: My opponent takes the battle damage I would have taken, instead," explained Auel, "As a result, instead of me being attacked by 'Scrap Twin Dragon'…" He pointed at his opponent, "…you instead take it!"
A mirage-like mirror appeared in-front of Auel, showing a reflection of Mayura. The blast of fire was unleashed, which struck the reflection and caused the 'real' Mayura to cry out in pain as her LP score took a really big hit (LP: 4000 → 1000).
"MAYURA!" Asagi and Juri both exclaimed, scared for their best friend.
"Oh no!" worried Mr. Murdoch, as he and the staff continued to watch.
"Hmhmhm… What a pity," joked Auel, watching as the pink M1 Astray fell behind Gaia, "You're quite the reckless one, aren't you? You should really watch what you do before using a powerful monster to attack, because you never know what surprises the opponent might have waiting for you."
Mayura weakly looked up, "I…" she struggled to speak, "I end my turn."
That was all Auel and Stella both needed to hear, since it was now the latter's turn to do some damage to the opposition.
"Stella, you take the left," stated Auel calmly.
"Understood," obeyed Stella, drawing a card.
Turn Three: Stella Loussier (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Chaos Valkyria", "Darkflare Dragon", "Chaos Space", "Eclipse Wyvern", "Eternal Chaos", and "Chaos Grepher"
Her drawn card was the 'Chaos Grepher' Monster Card.
"From my hand," Stella began, adding the drawn card into her hand (which contained 'Chaos Valkyria', 'Darkflare Dragon', 'Chaos Space', 'Eclipse Wyvern', and 'Eternal Chaos'), and taking another 'Chaos Space' to play, "I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Chaos Space'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field in-front of Gaia.
"Since Auel already used this earlier on, I see no need to explain what it does," Stella remarked, taking a card ('Eclipse Wyvern', a LIGHT monster) from her hand and sending it to the GY, before drawing a card ('The Chaos Creator', a DARK monster), "What I will say instead, is that I'll send the LIGHT monster 'Eclipse Wyvern' from my hand to the GY, and then add the DARK monster 'The Chaos Creator' from my Deck into my hand. Then I'll activate the first effect of the 'Eclipse Wyvern' in my GY! If this card is sent to the GY: I must banish 1 Level 7 or higher LIGHT or DARK Dragon monster from my Deck."
A card ('Arkbrave Dragon') ejected from her Deck and vanished into oblivion. Before long, Stella took another card from her hand ('Chaos Grepher') and placed it onto a Monster Zone on her Duel Runner.
"I Summon my own copy of 'Chaos Grepher'!" she declared.
Appearing onto the field was another copy of the 'Chaos' swordsman (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1600).
"Again, I won't need to explain what it does since Auel used it earlier on," As she spoke, Stella took a card from her hand ('Chaos Valkyria', a LIGHT monster) and sent it to the GY before taking a card ('Chaos Sorcerer', a DARK monster) from her Deck and also sending it to the GY, "Next, I'll send 'Chaos Valkyria' from my hand to the GY in order to take 'Chaos Sorcerer' from my Deck and send it to the GY."
All of a sudden, 'Eclipse Wyvern' and 'Chaos Sorcerer' both appeared on the field for a very short amount of time.
"As of now, I'll banish the LIGHT monster 'Eclipse Wyvern', and the DARK monster 'Chaos Sorcerer'!" continued Stella, as both mentioned monsters faded away into oblivion. She then placed another card onto her Duel Runner, "Appear, 'Darkflare Dragon'!"
Appearing onto the field was a black and red dragon with two sets of wings (Level: 5/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1200).
"Then I'll activate my banished 'Eclipse Wyvern's' second effect!" said Stella, as a card ('Eclipse Wyvern' itself) reappeared in her hand, "If this card is banished from my GY: I can add the monster banished by this card's effect to my hand. Then I'll activate "Darkflare Dragon's' effect! Once per turn: I can send 1 Dragon monster from my hand and 1 Dragon monster from my Deck to the GY, then target 1 card in either GY; I must banish that target," She discarded a card ('Arkbrave Dragon'), and then sent a card ('Chaos Dragon Levianeer') from her Deck to the GY, "With two Dragons of mine sent to the GY, I'll target the 'Chaos-End Master' in Auel's GY and banish it!"
Auel nodded with approval, as a card ('Chaos-End Master') ejected from his GY and faded away into oblivion. Finally, Stella made two more cards ('Chaos Valkyria' and 'Chaos Dragon Levianeer') emerge from her GY.
"Once more, I'll banish the LIGHT monster 'Chaos Valkyria', and the DARK monster 'Chaos Dragon Levianeer' from my GY!" While speaking, Stella placed another card ('The Chaos Creator') onto the Duel Runner, "Now appear, 'The Chaos Creator'!"
Appearing onto the field was a huge, winged being made with black shell (Level: 8/ATK: 2300/DEF: 3000).
"Those three appear to run 'Chaos' Decks," thought Asagi, "They mostly focus on using LIGHT and DARK monsters and banishing them from the GY in order to Special Summon the stronger monsters."
"Hey, let me give you Orb girls some important info about Stella," suggested Auel, which caused Asagi to look up and wonder what her opponent was talking about, "She may seem a bit absentminded… but when she gets angry, she's the scariest thing alive."
Stella didn't pay any attention to the description her friend gave about her; instead, she went on with her turn.
"The second effect of 'Chaos Valkyria'!" The blonde-haired girl, drawing a card ('Chaos Betrayer') and sending it to the GY, "That's another DARK monster sent to my GY! Next, is the effect of 'The Chaos Creator'! If I control this card that was Special Summoned from the hand: I can target 3 banished monsters with different names; I must Special Summon 1 of them, then place the rest on the bottom of the Deck in any order," She took three cards from her GY and looked them over, "Well, these cards look like they will be of great help to me."
The cards were both her 'Chaos Valkyria' and 'Eclipse Wyvern', as well as Auel's 'Chaos-End Master'. After thinking things through, Stella made a decision on which one to Special Summon and which ones to shuffle back into her Deck…
"I Special Summon Auel's 'Chaos-End Master'!" proclaimed Stella, holding one of the cards ('Chaos-End Master') up.
Appearing onto the field was a male angel with white wings (Level: 3/ATK: 1500/DEF: 1000). Afterward, Stella shuffled the remaining two Monster Cards back into her Deck.
"Next, I'll activate the second effect of the 'Chaos Space' in my GY!" Stella went on, making a card ('Chaos Space') eject from her GY before allowing it to fade away into oblivion, "I can banish this card from my GY, then target 1 of my banished LIGHT or DARK monsters that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set; I must place that monster on the bottom of the Deck, then draw 1 card," She motion her right arm about and held it out from her side, making a card ('Chaos Dragon Levianeer) appear, "I will shuffle 'Chaos Dragon Levianeer' into the bottom of my Deck and then draw a card!"
After adding the card in-question into the of her Deck, Stella drew another card, which she noticed was a helpful Trap Card called 'Chaos Burst'. For now, however, she had special action in mind…
"I tune Level 5 'Darkflare Dragon' into Level 3 'Chaos-End Master'!" cried Stella.
With that being said, 'Chaos-End Master' turned himself into three Synchro Rings, which 'Darkflare Dragon' flew into and turned itself into five orbs of light as a Summon Chant from Stella echoed throughout.
"Light and darkness, intertwine and unite as a force beyond mortal comprehension!" chanted Stella, as the symbols 5 + 3 = 8 were shown briefly just before the five orbs of light within the trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Appear! Level 8! 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon'!"
Appearing out of the beam of light and flying above Gaia was a huge, fiendish-looking dragon (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).
"It has 3000 ATK! Just like my 'Scrap Twin Dragon'!" worried Mayura.
"Now I'll activate 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon's' first effect!" continued Stella, drawing the top five cards of her Deck and looking them over, "If this card is Synchro Summoned: I can excavate the top 5 cards of my Deck, and if I do, I can add 1 excavated LIGHT or DARK monster to my hand, also send the remaining cards to the GY."
The five cards were as followed:
-'Chaos Trap Hole': Trap Card
-'White Dragon Wyverburster': Effect Monster Card
-'Chaos Daedalus': Effect Monster Card
-'Chaos Greed': Spell Card
-'Black Dragon Collapserpent': Effect Monster Card
"The monster I'll keep will be 'Chaos Daedalus'," As she said that, Stella sent four of the cards ('Chaos Trap Hole', 'White Dragon Wyverburster', 'Chaos Greed', and 'Black Dragon Collapserpent') to the GY, "Now, prepare yourselves, duelists of Orb! I will banish the LIGHT 'White Dragon Wyverburster', and the DARK 'Black Dragon Collapserpent' from my GY!"
The two dragons briefly appeared on the field before vanishing for good.
"The final of my monsters!" boomed Stella, placing her card ('Chaos Daedalus') "Come forth, 'Chaos Daedalus'!"
Appearing onto the field was her own copy of the 'Chaos' leviathan (Level: 7/ATK: 2600/DEF: 1500).
"One of you is about to be knocked out of the duel before you even take a turn!" warned Stella, addressing both Asagi and Juri before deciding who she would strike down, "And I think I'll start with the one with the glasses."
Juri gasped, just as Auel and Sting both drove over and started boxing her in.
"What are you doing?!" The intelligent, dark blue-haired young woman gasped.
"Making sure you don't think of trying to escape from-" began Auel, but then felt his Abyss getting bashed on, "What the-?!"
"Back off!" snarled Mayura, who was using her M1 Astray to attack Auel's Duel Runner.
Auel was forced to break off from trying to keep Juri in place. Sting, however, was not pleased with the interference.
"You Orb idiots have no sense of battle wits," hollered Sting, and started to attack Mayura and her M1 Astray, "Just go down already!"
"Mayura!" exclaimed Asagi, before charging her M1 Astray at Chaos in anger, "You bastard! Leave her alone!"
Both Duel Runners bashed at each other in an attempt to overpower the other, but soon Sting was forced to back off. Stella, meanwhile, decided to attack anyway.
"'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon', attack Juri directly!" she commanded.
'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon' obeyed, charging a powerful blast.
"Hang on, Juri!" cut in Mayura, which caused the eyes of both Stella and Juri to move towards her in surprise. She then made a card ('Scrap Whirlwind') eject from her GY, "I activate the second effect of the 'Scrap Whirlwind' in my GY! During my opponent's Battle Phase: I can banish this card from my GY; monsters my opponent controls can only attack 'Scrap' monsters I control this turn."
"That means I can only attack either your 'Scrap Twin Dragon' or 'Scrap Orthros'?" frowned Stella, which caused Mayura to nod in confirmation. She then made a very reckless decision, "So be it! 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon', sacrifice yourself to destroy 'Scrap Twin Dragon'!"
"Stop, Stella! Don't do that!" called Sting, watching as Stella's monster started to attack 'Scrap Twin Dragon', "You're falling into a trap!"
But it was too late…
"I activate a Quick-Play Spell!" announced Mayura, as one of her Set cards reappeared on the field in-front of M1 Astray, flipped face-up, and revealed itself to be… "'Scrap Sheen'! I must target 1 face-up 'Scrap' monster I control; I must destroy it, and if I do, all face-up 'Scrap' monsters I control gain 1000 ATK until the end of this turn! The 'Scrap' monster to be destroyed will be 'Scrap Orthros'!"
'Scrap Orthros' broke apart into pieces of trash, which were then added on to 'Scrap Twin Dragon', making it grow stronger (ATK: 3000 → 4000). Speaking of which, 'Scrap Twin Dragon' started to unleash a Scrap Twin Blaze in the form of a counterattack.
"Now I'll activate the second effect of 'Scrap Orthros'!" As Mayura explained her monster's next effect, a card ('Scrap Beast') ejected from her GY and took hold of it, "If this card is destroyed by the effect of a 'Scrap' card and sent to the GY: I can…" She added the card into her hand, then pointed forth, "…target 1 'Scrap' monster in my GY, except 'Scrap Orthros'; I must add that target to my hand," As she (Mayura) finished, a stunned Stella only listened, "And don't forget, your attack is still ongoing and not able to be stopped!"
The two dragons' blasts collided until 'Scrap Twin Dragon' managed to overpower 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon', destroying it in an explosion.
"My 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon'-!" stammered Stella, taking some damage from the attack (LP: 4000 → 3000), "Damn you…!"
Mayura grinned, "Pretty good, don't you think?"
"I Set two cards face-down!" growled Stella, taking two cards and slotting them into her Duel Runner at the same time, "Then I'll activate my destroyed 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon's' second effect! I can banish 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from my hand and/or GY, except this card; I must Special Summon this card from my GY, but banish it when it leaves the field," She held out two cards (the LIGHT 'Arkbrave Dragon', and the DARK 'Darkflare Dragon') she took from her GY, "By banishing both 'Arkbrave Dragon' and 'Darkflare Dragon', I'll bring back 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon' for one more go!"
Within seconds, the mighty dragon returned to the field (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2500).
"I end my turn here!" finished Stella, "Which means, as of now, the effects of both 'Scrap Sheen' and 'Scrap Whirlwind' both wear off!"
'Scrap Twin Dragon' lost the bits from 'Scrap Orthros' and lost its power bonus (ATK: 4000 → 3000).
"Juri, as you take your turn, just try to take it easy," encouraged Mayura, briefly riding up to her friend, "I'll provide backup if you need it."
"Okay," nodded Juri, before resuming focus and drawing a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Four: Juri Wu Nien (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Ally Dominance"(!), "Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway", "Ally of Justice Unlimiter", "Ally Revival", "Angel Baton", and "Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator"
Before anything else could happen…
"I activate a Trap, 'Eternal Chaos'!" declared Stella, as one of her Set cards reappeared on the field beside Gaia (on its left), "I must target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; I must send 1 LIGHT and 1 DARK monster from my Deck to the GY, whose combined ATK is less than or equal to that monster's, also for the rest of this turn after this card resolves, I can only activate 1 monster effect in the GY," She then took two cards (the LIGHT 'Chaos Valkyria' and the DARK 'Chaos Necromancer)' from her Deck and sent them to the GY, "Two more LIGHT and DARK monsters have gone to my GY, and it's all thanks to Mayura's 'Scrap Twin Dragon'!"
"I don't know how effective that strategy is, but what I do know is I can't take any chances," thought Juri, before taking another card from her hand and holding it out, "I activate the Spell Card, 'Angel Baton'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field in-front of Juri's M1 Astray.
"I must draw 2 cards, then discard 1 card," As she spoke, Juri drew two cards ('Remove Brainwashing' and 'Swords of Concealing Light'). Thinking carefully, she took and sent a card ('Ally of Justice Unlimiter') to the GY, "This card of mine will go to the GY."
Stella and Auel both wondered what the intelligent, dark blue-haired young woman discarded. They would soon find out, but first…Juri continued with her turn; she took a card from her hand, and placed it onto her Duel Runner.
"I Summon the Tuner monster, 'Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator', in Attack Position!" proclaimed Juri.
Appearing onto the field was a red, robotic bird with cyclone fans on its wings (Level: 3/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1200).
"As of now, I'll activate the effect of 'Cyclone Creator'!" Juri went on, sending a card ('Swords of Concealing Light') from her hand to the GY, "Once per turn: I can discard 1 card; I must return Spells/Traps from the field to the hand equal to the number of face-up Tuners on the field."
'Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator' opened its beak and fired an electrical blast at the area around Gaia, causing a face-down card to reappear on the field behind the Duel Runner, flip face-up, and reveal itself before shattering into shards of glass.
"That was 'Chaos Blast'," mused Juri, before putting a teasing smile on her face, "If I had attacked, you could have used that card to Tribute one of your own monsters to destroy the attacking monster and inflict 1000 damage to me."
Stella scowled in annoyance, while Auel was angry with his friend.
"Stella, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" The light blue-haired boy snapped, "You need to focus!"
"Auel-!" Stella tried arguing.
"Do you want to die at the hands of Sergey if we fail?" pressed Auel carelessly, "You know we can't afford to lose this duel, so stay focused!"
Unfortunately, the word 'die' being said around Stella started to have a profound effect on her, because she started to have quick, mental flashbacks to when she was regularly abused by the Blue Cosmos staff and bullied by many of the other students, which included groping and other forms of sexual harassment by the males. Of course, her almost being raped and also her killing two of the students were the worst of the memories.
"Die?" peeped Stella, before the trauma started overtaking her and caused a growing panic attack, "I… I don't want to die… I don't! NO!"
"Stella…" whispered Sting, before addressing Auel, "Auel, was that even necessary?"
"It had to be said," Auel responded, rather coldly, "We need Stella to fight harder if we want to be able to win."
"I know that. In duels like this, failure is no option when we have to please Sergey if we want to stay at our new home and keep it safe, but really? Using Stella's trigger word just to get her to focus just isn't right."
While the two friends were arguing, Juri was continuing with her turn.
"From my hand, I'll activate a Continuous Spell!" As she said that, Juri made a Spell Card known as 'Ally Dominance' materialize face-up on the field in-front of her M1 Astray, "'Ally Dominance'!" She then started explaining what her card initially did, "While I control an 'Ally of Justice' monster: Monsters my opponent controls become LIGHT!"
Every monster on the track went from being various Attributes (mostly DARK) directly to being LIGHT monsters.
"Furthermore," continued Juri, while placing another card onto her Duel Runner, "If my opponent controls 2 or more monsters including a LIGHT monster, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)!" She swung her right arm about before holding her right hand into the air, "Come forth, 'Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway'!"
Appearing onto the field was what looked like a hovering generator machine that also seemed to be alive (Level: 8/ATK: 2400/DEF: 1200). This was followed by the 'Ally Revival' Spell Card also materializing face-up on the field right beside 'Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway'.
"Then, from my hand, I'll activate the Equip Spell, 'Ally Revival'!" said Juri, taking a card ('Ally of Justice Unlimiter') from her GY and placing it onto her Duel Runner, "I must target 1 'Ally of Justice' monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target in Attack Position and equip it with this card. Now, resurrect, 'Ally of Justice Unlimiter'!"
Appearing onto the field was an odd sort of spaceship (Level: 2/ATK: 600/DEF: 200).
"I would explain the second effect of my Equip Spell, but with what I'm about to do, I don't need to use it," As those words left Juri's mouth, she pointed at two of the 'Ally of Justice' monsters ahead of her, "I tune Level 2 'Ally of Justice Unlimiter' into Level 3 'Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator'!"
'Ally of Justice Cyclone Creator' turned into three Synchro Rings, which 'Ally of Justice Unlimiter' flew into before becoming two orbs of light all while a Summon Chant was heard.
"Destroyer built by complete and perfect cooperation, deploy and reap major gains on the battlefield!" chanted Juri, as the symbols 2 + 3 = 5 were shown briefly before the three orbs of light within the two Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Level 5! 'Ally of Justice Catastor'!"
Appearing out of the beam of light and onto the field, was the familiar large yellow and gold robotic 'Ally of Justice' monster with four robo-like legs (Level: 5/ATK: 2200/DEF: 1200).
"Next, I'll use this opportunity to activate the second effect of my Spell Card, 'Ally Dominance'!" announced Juri, "I must target 1 'Ally of Justice' Synchro Monster I control; this turn, that monster can attack all LIGHT monsters my opponent controls, once each, during each Battle Phase this turn."
Once that explanation came to an end, a very haunting realization overcame Auel…
"I have no monsters on my field… And with Juri controlling two monsters, she'll use one of them to attack and finish me off!" The light blue-haired boy worried, before trying to call out to Stella, "Stella! I need you to protect me from an attack with one of your monsters!"
But poor Stella didn't listen; she was still overcome with fear over dying after hearing the word from her friend.
"Stella! Stella!" called Auel in a futile effort, before becoming overwhelmed with guilt over terrifying his friend, "It's no use, she can't hear or understand me! Only now I realize I shouldn't have told her that she would die if we failed Sergey…"
Unfortunately for him, he only realized this too late. Finally, the Battle Phase began.
"'Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway', attack Auel directly!" ordered Juri, "Knock him out of the duel!"
'Ally of Justice Cosmic Gateway' obeyed, lunging towards Abyss. Upon collision, an explosion was left in its wake, and Auel yelled in defeat as he was thrown from his Duel Runner before hitting and tumbling across the track before laying still.
Auel Neider has been eliminated!
"AUEL!" cried Sting, horrified.
"Auel?" gasped Stella, finally regaining her senses. She then realized one of her friends was out of the duel, "No! Auel!"
"Unfortunately, this isn't the end of my Battle Phase," warned Juri sharply, "Thanks to the effect of 'Ally Dominance', 'Ally of Justice Catastor' is able to attack all of my opponent's LIGHT monsters this turn!" She gave a command, "'Ally of Justice Catastor', attack 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon'!"
"What?! Is she nuts!?" wondered Sting, "With an ATK of only 2200, 'Catastor' is much weaker than almost any of Stella's monsters!"
"That's not true, you know," corrected Asagi, who then revealed 'Ally of Justice Catastor's' effect, "At the start of the Damage Step, if 'Ally of Justice Catastor' battles a face-up non-DARK monster: Destroy that monster."
Sting and Stella both recoiled when they heard that.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Asagi," agreed Juri, before turning her attention back to Stella, "Thanks to 'Ally Dominance', the opponent's monsters are all LIGHT monsters, making them vulnerable to being attacked and instantly destroyed without applying damage calculation!" She then held her right hand out, "Go forth, 'Catastor'!"
'Ally of Justice Catastor' obeyed, diving forward. The now LIGHT 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon' was no match for the power of the 'Ally of Justice' monster and instantly shattered into shards of glass. Once it was gone from the field, it was banished by its own effect.
"My second attack!" thundered Juri, "'Catastor', take down 'Chaos Daedalus' next!"
'Ally of Justice Catastor' obeyed, firing its weapons at 'Chaos Daedalus' next. Like with 'Chaos Ruler, the Chaotic Magical Dragon', 'Chaos Daedalus' ended up destroyed without any effort because it was a non-DARK monster, leaving only two monsters remaining on Stella's field.
"'Catastor', attack 'The Chaos Creator'!" commanded Juri.
'Ally of Justice Catastor' attacked again, firing its weapons at 'The Chaos Creator' and vaporizing it on contact. Now there was only one monster standing between Stella and a possible direct attack.
"There's only one more to go!" declared Juri, "'Catastor', wipe out 'Chaos Grepher'!"
'Ally of Justice Catastor' obeyed, firing its weapons and vaporizing 'Chaos Grepher' on contact.
"There are no more monsters on your field!" Asagi pointed out.
Stella, frightened beyond belief, had genuine tears streaming down her eyes, since she knew there was nothing she could do with whatever happened next.
"Stop it!" begged Stella, "Just leave me alone!"
"I'm sorry," replied Juri, sounding very regretful over having to take the poor blonde-haired girl out of the match in this manner, "We don't want to hurt you like this, but this is the only way to save our school from Sergey!"
"She's right," added Mayura, before making her final Set card reappear on the field in-front of her M1 Astray, which flipped face-up and revealed itself, "The only way to move forward in rescuing Orb is by defeating you guys! I activate a Trap, 'Fellow's Gift'! If I control exactly 1 monster: I must target that monster; I must give control of it to my opponent."
"This is a Battle Royale, so even though we three are working together, we're still technically opponents," explained Asagi, referring to herself, Mayura, and Juri, "That means Mayura can give control of her 'Scrap Twin Dragon' to not only you or Sting, but even to Juri or me."
"And with that, I'll give control of 'Scrap Twin Dragon' to Juri!" finished Mayura.
From there, 'Scrap Twin Dragon' shifted over to Juri's field—or, rather, flying above her M1 Astray.
"Now 'Scrap Twin Dragon' belongs to her!" declared Asagi.
"Take 'im down, Juri!" Mayura encouraged.
"Right!" nodded Juri, before resuming her Battle Phase, "'Scrap Twin Dragon', attack Stella directly!" She then announced 'Scrap Twin Dragon's' attack name as it let out a roar, "Scrap Twin Blaze!"
'Scrap Twin Dragon' obeyed, firing two blasts towards Gaia, hitting the Duel Runner head on and causing it to explode, resulting in her screaming as she, like Auel, was sent flying off the machine as her LP ran out (LP: 3000 → 0).
Stella Loussier has been eliminated!
"No way!" cried Sting, watching what happened to one of his friends.
"Now, I'll Set one card face-down," concluded Juri, making a Set card materialize on the field in-front of her M1 Astray before fading away for later use, "My turn has ended here."
After a hard landing, Stella laid on the track, barely conscious. Nearby, Auel got onto his hands and knees weakly, before slowly crawling over to try and comfort his defeated friend.
"Stella… Hang…in there," muttered Auel.
As soon as he reached Stella, Auel collapsed again—but not before reaching out and placing his right hand on top of her left hand.
"Auel…?" whispered Stella weakly.
"I'm sorry…" apologized Auel, "I never should have said… said…"
He was not able to finish his sentence in time, and thus closed his eyes and finally fell unconscious. Stella, knowing what the apology was for, could only smile before she, too, lost consciousness. Both teenagers seemed to be at peace. Nearby, Mr. Murdoch and the rest of the docking bay staff watched with surprise and actually felt sorry for the two ex-Blue Cosmos students. Meanwhile, now that he was the only one left in the duel, Sting clenched his right hand into a tight fist. He was angry. He was angry over his two friends (almost siblings in a way) getting hurt, and he was also angry with himself for somehow not being able to do anything to prevent it from occurring. No matter what he did on his coming turn, Sting was going to get back at the Astray trio for getting both Auel and Stella hurt.
"How dare you both… You're gonna pay for this, big time!" threatened Sting in an absolute fury, before drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
From there, a faded image of an enraged Sting (from shoulders up) appeared near the ceiling (or sky) of the arena while looming over the three M1 Astrays used by Asagi, Mayura, and Juri respectively. With Stella and Auel both out of the duel, it was all up to Sting to win the Turbo Duel in the name of Sergey Volkov. Would he be successful in taking revenge for his two fallen friends? Would the three Astray girls be successful in winning the duel and being one step closer to saving Orb from Sergey and his band? Stay tuned for more dueling action!
And so, here we are! A new chapter for the start of the brand new year (2022, that is)! Also, say hello to three characters (Sting Oakley, Auel Neider, and Stella Loussier) from the anime series "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny", which happens to be the sequel to "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED"! Unfortunately, I'm also perfectly aware that "Gundam SEED Destiny" is easily one of the most polarizing entries in the Gundam franchise for a number of reasons, which I will definitely not be going over. However, I do like the show a little bit despite some of its noticeable flaws (mostly character-related).
Now then, I should point out that Sting, Auel, and Stella each have different backstories (I don't think they had any in the original show) and vastly different personalities in this series compared to their anime counterparts, but they do still share a few traits of the anime versions. Anyway, have a happy 2022, and continue to stay safe in these uncertain times.