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
On a stage inside the Orb Duel School, five face-down cards were lined up on a large blackboard. On cue, David Xadashi and Lisa Drake both showed up and began speaking to the audience.
"Guess what everyone?" began Lisa, "I hope everyone's wearing warm clothes like a sweater today, because have we got a 'cool' segment of 'This week's noteworthy cards' for all of you!"
There were crickets chirping from the audience.
"Yeeeeah, that's a bad joke, Lisa-chan," muttered David, rolling his eyes.
"Okay, okay! I realize maybe it was poor in taste!" complained Lisa, before recovering and motioning her right arm towards the nearby blackboard with the five cards (still showing their backing) lined up, "Let's just reveal what cards we have to show off."
The five face-down cards on the blackboard all automatically turned over and revealed themselves to be:
-'Blizzard Lizard' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Overlay Network' (Spell Card)
-'Frozen Fitzgerald' (Synchro Monster Card)
-'Photon Papilloperative' (Xyz Monster Card)
-'Catastrogue' (Tuner Monster Card)
"Huh?! Lisa-chan, it appears to be a card I've never seen before!" gasped David, looking at the middle card ('Frozen Fitzgerald').
"I never saw it until now, either!" agreed Lisa, "Hmm… Let me see…" She started reading one of the card's effects, "When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY while you control no monsters: You can discard 1 card; Special Summon this card from your GY in face-up Defense Position."
"That alone can make it nearly immortal," realized David, "That's what I would call a pretty 'chilling' effect."
And there were more crickets chirp in the silent audience.
"Oh? So now who's making the bad ice jokes and puns?" joked Lisa, before she and David turned to speak to the audience once more, "Sorry for the too obvious jokes about ice, cold, and the likes, everyone. We'll try not to do them in the near future. However, one of our friends is going to get herself stuck in a blizzard, so I suppose we couldn't resist making a joke each," She waved goodbye, "Anyway, have a good night, everybody!"
The audience cheered and clapped in response.
Title: Chilling Butterspy
Opening up inside a classroom at Orb one morning, Matt was busy, at the request of Patrick, giving a lecture to the class on dueling. The Astray trio, Ashima, and Erica Simmons all were amongst those listening to it.
"To most people, Duel Monsters is nothing more than a simple card game meant for fun," explained Matt, as the class listened carefully, "However, to some, including myself, it is far 'more' than that. It is a way of life, a way of deciding many things—like the fate of you or your loved ones, or the chance to stand up and fight for something you truly believe in. Take the Duel Monsters world champion, Thomas Billinton, for example," He remembered Thomas very well, having great respect for the King of Games, "Ever since he started dueling, Thomas never believed his new favorite game to be something more than what it was. It wasn't until several unexpected close calls that he began understanding that there was far more to it. After losing almost everything he cherished because of this game, many would have believed that Thomas would have sworn never to duel again. But he didn't. And do you know why?"
No one seemed to have an answer. This allowed Matt to continue speaking.
"Because he knew quitting never led to success. Thomas realized that if he was to ever take back what he had lost, and regain his passion for life, the only way was to keep fighting and to never give up," The dirty blonde-haired young man went on, "And none of you should ever quit either. No matter how afraid you are, no matter how desperate the situation is, even if there's no 'chance' of victory, you must never give up. Because the path to becoming a True Duelist is to keep fighting until the last card is played, win or lose," He soon finished his speech with a bow, "Thank you."
The class started clapping over the lecture. As the clapping continued, a few of the students were telling each other that they're glad the champion of North America was the one who spoke to them about how to become a great duelist. Pretty soon, the clapping stopped, and one of the students, a teenage boy with spiky black hair, spoke up.
"Matt, I think you're amazing," he admitted, bashful over speaking to a duelist he greatly respected, "And…I'm wondering…if you'd like to have a quick duel with me?"
"A duel?" repeated Matt, which earned him a nod from the teenage boy, "Hmm… Grady Pitt, wasn't it?"
"Yes, that's me," said Grady (as he was named).
"As much as I would like to duel with you, I'm afraid I have to go to the next classroom," apologized Matt, "Perhaps we can duel another time?"
Grady felt disappointed, but then felt a hand touching his shoulder, which came from Ashima.
"How about this? Why don't I duel you?" offered Ashima kindly.
"Really? You would face me, Ms. Ashima?" Grady asked hopefully.
"Of course. I have my Deck with me, and I can spare a couple of minutes," replied Ashima, before looking nearby at Ms. Simmons, "That is, if it's okay with your teacher."
"I believe it's no problem," smiled Ms. Simmons, before shaking her head, "Although since this is a small classroom, I don't think using the Duel Disks here is a good idea."
"That's okay, we can use the playmats instead," proclaimed Grady.
"Sounds like a plan!" encouraged Mayura.
"Let's see how the best of India duels!" A female Orb student insisted.
A minute later, Ashima and Grady, with their playmats placed on a table, sat opposite from the other and placed their shuffled Decks down.
"Are you ready, Ashima?" began Grady.
"I sure am," Ashima said back, "This time, I'm going to use my old 'Butterspy' Deck. Since I haven't used it in a while, it should give you a small advantage."
Before long, both players drew their opening hands and started the match, just as the other students gathered around to watch the game play out.
(outside…)
Outside the classroom, an half-an-hour has passed, and the door soon opened as various students started coming out, and this included Ashima, Grady, and the Astray trio.
"That duel was fun," Grady was saying, "Ashima, could we duel again soon?"
"Sure," accepted Ashima.
"However, could we perhaps do it at the park?" continued Grady, "That way, we can use our Duel Disks for the match."
Ashima nodded, "Of course," she agreed, "We'll meet up at the park later this afternoon."
"That was a great duel, Ashima!" rejoiced Asagi.
"Congrats on winning!" put in Mayura.
"Speaking of which, can we three come with you to the park?" asked Juri, "We'd like to see you and Grady duel each other again."
"Let them come along," offered Grady, "The more people to watch, the better."
Ashima nodded once more, agreeing to the terms. Unknown to anyone in the hallway, a small black spider could be seen spying on the conversation. Before Grady walked away to head to the cafeteria to buy a snack, the spider stealthily lowered itself onto his neck without being spotted.
"I'm off to the cafeteria," said Grady, "I'm gonna purchase a small snack to keep me going until lunch," He turned around, but continued looking over his shoulder, "I'll see you four later this afternoon."
"See you then, Grady," waved Mayura.
From there, the spiky black-haired young man ran off. As that happened, an evil chuckle could be heard echoing without anybody in the hallway actually hearing it. Whatever just happened, Ashima and the others would have to take care.
(elsewhere…)
Later that afternoon when classes ended, Ashima and the three Astray girls arrived at the park for the former's rematch with Grady, but he had not shown up yet. The girls waited for over twenty minutes before Mayura started to become a little impatient, seeing as Grady promised to meet them.
"Where is he?" grumbled Mayura, before stomping her left foot on the ground a few times, "Grady promised to be here!"
"Just relax," soothed Juri, "Grady will be here."
Once those words left her mouth, she and the others overheard footsteps from a short distance away, and they were getting louder. Sure enough, Grady came running up to the four young women., and he stopped, placed his hands on his knees, bent over, and tried catching his breath from the mad sprint.
"S-S-Sorry for my tardiness, you three," panted Grady, "Apparently, I misplaced my Deck back at Orb."
Asagi, Mayura, Juri, and Ashima all looked at each other before looking back at Grady before giving him a smile and reassuring that he was forgiven.
"Hey, it's fine; we all sometimes misplace our belongings," reassured Ashima, before holding her left arm (with the Duel Disk) up, "I have my Duel Disk with me, and I'm aware you do, too. Let's begin our rematch, shall we?"
Grady accepted the other, and, very quickly, he and Ashima were on opposite ends of the grass field. Nearby, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri were waiting for the duel to begin.
"Well, Grady, I hope you and I will have just as much fun as we did back at the school," said Ashima pleasantly, "What do you say?"
"I say I hope it's fun like last time," responded Grady, "Because, this time, our duel…" He then added in a dark tone, "…will be a Duel of Darkness."
That form of statement caught the girls completely off-guard. It got far worse when a circle of ghostly fire started forming and surrounded both Grady (possessed) and Ashima, leaving the Astray trio left outside with no way to get in and rescue their friend.
"Is this-?" began Asagi.
"What in the world?" added Mayura.
Within the circle of fire, Ashima looked around in shock, before looking back towards Grady.
"Grady, what's the meaning of this?" she demanded, "What have you done?"
Without actually speaking, Grady (possessed) simply held his right arm up as a birthmark of a spider showed up on the forearm. Ashima recoiled when she saw the new birthmark, since it appeared to be very similar to the Crimson Dragon birthmarks Matt and the other Signers possessed.
"That birthmark… It looks exactly like the birthmarks Matty and the others have," thought Ashima, "Could this mean Grady is secretly a special Signer or something? I'll just have to win the duel and find that out."
Both duelists activated their Duel Disks and began their match.
"Duel!" Ashima and Grady (possessed) declared at once (LP: 4000) x2.
Outside the ring of fire, the three Astray girls watched anxiously, praying for Ashima to be careful and to defeat Grady (possessed). And back inside the fiery ring, Grady (possessed) started to say something about the duel he and Ashima were having.
"We are sacrifices offered up on the altar of darkness," explained Grady (possessed), "There is no escape for either of us until one of us falls."
"Grady, what do you mean by that?" questioned Ashima.
Rather than answer, Grady (possessed) drew a card and looked at it.
Turn One: Grady Pitt (LP: 4000)
Deck: 39
Current Hand (6): "Ice Mirror", "Call of the Haunted", "Blizzard Lizard", "Frozen Catastrophe"(!), "Pot of Avarice", and "Catastrogue"(!)
"My turn!" announced Grady, adding the drawn card into his hand, taking another out, and placing it onto his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Blizzard Lizard' in Defense Position!"
Appearing onto the field was a lizard with blue and white fur across its body (Level: 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 1800).
"I also will Set one card face-down and end my turn!" finished Grady, swinging his right arm and making a face-down card appear on his field, "Now, it's your turn."
Outside the ring of fire…
"What's gotten into Grady?" wondered Juri, "And how did he summon a ring of fire?"
"I don't know," replied Asagi, "However, we can't leave Ashima there! We have to find a way to save both her and Grady."
"Might I suggest we call Matt and the others?" suggested Mayura, "They might have an idea on what to do."
Asagi and Juri both agreed with that idea, since they each were not Signers. Back in the ring of fire, Ashima was both determined and ready to duel for real.
"It's my turn!" The black-haired young Indian woman exclaimed, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Two: Ashima Nilgiri (LP: 4000)
Deck: 54
Current Hand (6): "Morpho Butterspy", "Hairstreak Butterspy"(!), "Xyz Bento", "Swallowtail Butterspy", "Butterflyoke", and "Overlay Network"
Her drawn card was a Spell Card known as 'Overlay Network', which was a good card for this early into the duel.
"Come, 'Swallowtail Butterspy'!" ordered Ashima, placing a card onto her Duel Disk.
Appearing onto the field was a humanoid, female butterfly monster with long blades for hands (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 1200).
"Furthermore, I'll activate a Continuous Spell," continued Ashima, slotting a card into her Duel Disk. This caused the 'Overlay Network' Spell Card to materialize face-up on the field in-front of her, "'Overlay Network'!"
"Keh! I know you're an Xyz-user," huffed Grady (possessed) coldly, "I don't fear your use of those monsters!"
"I activate the effect of 'Overlay Network'!" acknowledged Ashima, ignoring the taunt, "During my Main Phase: I can activate 1 of these effects."
These were the effects written on the Spell Card in-question:
-"I must target 1 face-up monster I control that has a Level; I must Special Summon 1 monster with the same Level from my hand or GY in Defense Position (its effects are negated). The turn I activate this effect, I cannot Special Summon monsters from the Extra Deck, except Xyz Monsters."
-"I must target 1 Xyz Monster I control; I must add 1 card attached to it to that card's owner's hand."
"Tch!" grunted Grady (possessed).
"One of these effects will be enough for me," As that was said, Ashima held her right hand out, "I activate the first effect of my card!"
The face-up 'Overlay Network' Spell Card started glowing and activating when those words left her mouth. Ashima then took a card ('Hairstreak Butterspy') from her hand, held it out, then placed it onto her Duel Disk.
"By targeting my Level 4 'Swallowtail Butterspy', I'm able to Special Summon a monster with the same Level from my hand or GY at the cost of its effects being negated," she was saying, "Come, 'Hairstreak Butterspy'!"
Appearing onto the field was a humanoid, female butterfly monster with hair-like markings on the wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1700).
"I overlay Level 4 'Swallowtail Butterspy' and 'Hairstreak Butterspy'!" The voice of Ashima proclaimed.
As the command to overlay ensued, the Overlay Network appeared in the center of the field, absorbing both mentioned monsters inside. Pretty soon, a new monster could be seen coming out of it. The monster was a humanoid, female butterfly with two large black, purple wings.
"Graceful dancer of the sky, spread your glowing wings and shine with the beauty of might!" chanted Ashima, "Xyz Summon! Appear! Rank 4! 'Photon Papilloperative'!"
The monster fluttered into the sky (Rank: 4/ATK: 2100/DEF: 1800). Despite facing a stronger monster, Grady (possessed) was not worried.
"The second effect of 'Hairstreak Butterspy'!" declared Ashima, "An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as material gains this effect."
This was the effect written on the mentioned Monster Card in-question:
-"This card gains 300 ATK for each material attached to it."
Two materials floated around 'Photon Papilloperative', which meant it would gain 600 ATK (ATK: 2100 → 2700).
"With two materials attached, 'Photon Papilloperative' gains 600 ATK!" The voice of Ashima was saying. She then motioned her right arm about, "But I'm going to give up one material to activate 'Photon Papilloperative's' effect!" While the explanation proceeded, one of 'Photon Papilloperative's' materials faded away as she prepared to unleash an attack of sorts, "Once per turn: I can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 Defense Position monster on the field; I must change it to face-up Attack Position, and if I do, it loses 600 ATK."
'Photon Papilloperative' started releasing particles of yellow dust upon 'Blizzard Lizard', which caused it to stand back up into Attack Position while losing whatever ATK it had (ATK: 600 → 0). While the loss of one material caused 'Photon Papilloperative's' to drop slightly (ATK: 2700 → 2400).
"Battle!" yelled Ashima, entering her Battle Phase, "'Photon Papilloperative' attacks 'Blizzard Lizard'!" While announcing her monster's attack name, 'Photon Papilloperative' raised her hands into the air as she gathered power, "Butterfly Distortion!"
Colorful copies of 'Photon Papilloperative' gathered around her before they all charged towards 'Blizzard Lizard', striking the weakened monster and causing it to shatter into shards of glass. Grady (possessed) felt the backlash of the destruction of his monster, but managed to stay on his feet as his LP took a big drop (LP: 4000 → 1600).
"Hmhmhm… That was good of you…" chuckled Grady (possessed), before lowering his right arm, "I activate 'Blizzard Lizard's' effect!"
"Huh?" wondered Ashima, she then watched as 'Blizzard Lizard' reappeared on the field, "What?!"
"Blizzard Tail!" ordered Grady (possessed).
'Blizzard Lizard' obeyed, beginning to spin its tail about and unleash a very cold blizzard all across the area, which caused Ashima to shiver violently at how real and cold it was before falling to a knee as her own LP took a small hit (LP: 4000 → 3700).
"Did I…just feel an impact shock?" Ashima asked herself.
Outside the ring of fire, there was some real snow on the ground and a very cold breeze in the air, which the Astray trio failed to not notice.
"Brrr! Why do I feel so cold?" shivered Asagi, trying to warm up her bare arms. She then let out a sneeze, "Isn't it supposed to be really warm today?"
"And there's snow on the ground," added Juri, lowering herself onto a knee in order to reach out and touch the ground and feel the snow, "Just what's going on?"
"More importantly," cut in Mayura, "what kind of duel is this supposed to even be?"
Back in the ring of fire, Ashima slowly returned to her feet.
"When this card is destroyed by battle: I must inflict 300 damage to my opponent," explained Grady (possessed), "You do recall me using this card in our duel at Orb, yes?"
Ashima did not bother answering; all she did was take two more cards from her hand and slot them into her Duel Disk without a word. Two face-down cards materialized on the field near her feet. Her thoughts were a different story, however…
"I don't understand," thought Ashima, "Why would Grady suddenly want to hurt me when he was so warm and friendly back at the school? It doesn't make any sense."
Nearby with Grady (possessed), he simply uttered an evil-sounding chuckle with a shadow looming over his eyes.
(elsewhere…)
In the parking lot at Orb, Matt, David, Lisa, and Carlie all were preparing to leave the school to drive to the park in order to assist their friends with what's going on.
"I don't get it. Grady's turned evil?" wondered Lisa, puzzled. Apparently, she got the phone call from Asagi, "I know him, and he's nothing like that!"
"We might figure out the problem if we see it for themselves," suggested Carlie.
"Agreed," accepted Matt, as David nodded silently.
Before long, Fudo Go (Matt), Bloody Kiss (Carlie), The Wild Card (David), and Strike Rouge (Lisa) all left the parking lot for the park, hoping they were not too late.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the park…
"It's my turn!" announced Grady (possessed), drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Three: Grady Pitt (LP: 1600)
Deck: 38
Current Hand (5): "Ice Mirror", "Frozen Catastrophe", "Pot of Avarice", "Catastrogue", and "Ice Mirror"
Without wasting a beat, he pointed to his face-down card with the intention of activating it.
"Continuous Trap, 'Call of the Haunted'!" Grady (possessed) went on, as the face-down card flipped up and revealed itself, "I must activate this card by targeting 1 monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target in Attack Position."
Reappearing onto the field was 'Blizzard Lizard' (Level: 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 1800).
"I'll Special Summon 'Blizzard Lizard' from my GY!" The voice of Grady (possessed) explained, as the above mentioned event ensued. He then took another card ('Ice Mirror') from his hand and held it out, "Next, I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Ice Mirror'! I must target 1 Level 3 or lower WATER monster I control; I must Special Summon 1 monster with the same name from my Deck, but I cannot Special Summon from the Extra Deck while I control that face-up Special Summoned monster."
"That will allow you to bring a second copy of 'Blizzard Lizard' out from your Deck!" realized Ashima.
"You catch on real quick," confirmed Grady (possessed), before readying in his right hand a card he had taken from his Deck. He placed the card onto his Duel Disk, "Come forth, 'Blizzard Lizard'!"
Appearing onto the field was another copy of 'Blizzard Lizard' (Level: 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 1800).
"However, I'm also going to activate a second 'Ice Mirror'!" As Grady (possessed) said that, the mentioned Spell Card flipped face-up and revealed itself and started glowing, "Come forth, my third 'Blizzard Lizard'!"
Appearing onto the field was a final copy of 'Blizzard Lizard' (Level: 3/ATK: 600/DEF: 1800), joining the other two copies in facing down Ashima.
"Now, I'll offer the two 'Blizzard Lizards' Summoned by 'Ice Mirror' as a Tribute!" announced Grady (possessed), before removing two cards (both 'Blizzard Lizard') from Monster Zones of his Duel Disk. He then placed one more card ('Catastrogue') onto a free Monster Zone, "I Tribute Summon the Tuner monster, 'Catastrogue'!"
Two 'Blizzard Lizards' faded away in streaks of blue, and appearing onto the field in their place was a demon-like monster with two bat-like wings (Level: 8/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). The sight of this monster shocked Ashima and the three Astray girls, since they never saw that card when Grady had offered to let them see his Deck back at Orb.
"This Tuner monster of mine has no ATK or DEF to speak of, but its first effect will be of great help for me," bragged Grady (possessed). As he explained the effect in-question, the Level of 'Catastrogue' dropped (Level: 8 → 2), "If this card is Tribute Summoned by Tributing 2 Level 3 or lower monsters: I must reduce this card's Level by the total Level of those monsters."
"Since those two 'Blizzard Lizards' were Level 3 monsters, 'Catastrogue' has become a Level 2 monster," acknowledged Juri, "And since the first copy was brought back through 'Call of the Haunted'…"
"Darn right; Grady can still use it for a Synchro Summon," finished Mayura.
Very much so, but it was no ordinary Synchro Summon.
"I dark tune Level 3 'Blizzard Lizard' into Level 2 'Catastrogue'!" announced Grady (possessed).
"Wait, dark tune?" repeated Ashima, "What's that?"
'Catastrogue' giggled madly and turned itself into two balls of darkness. They then were absorbed into 'Blizzard Lizard', causing the creature to growl in pain before exploding into a total of five balls of darkness, which then began spinning together in a circle above as a sinister-sounding Summon Chant was heard.
"When dark overlaps with dark, the doors of the underworld will be opened to the world without light!" chanted Grady (possessed), as the symbols 3 + 2 = 5 were shown briefly just before a massive beam of darkness exploded from within the five dark stars, "Dark Synchro! Show yourself, 'Frozen Fitzgerald'!"
When the beam of darkness died down, floating in the air was what appeared to be an icy version of 'Catastrogue'. Despite only being a Level 5 monster, 'Frozen Fitzgerald' was surprisingly very powerful in terms of its ATK and DEF stats (Level: 5/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2500). The face-up 'Call of the Haunted' Trap Card shattered into shards of glass since the monster used in the Synchro Summon left the field.
"I remember this monster," thought Ashima, as faded clips of her and Grady interacting and him showing her his Deck, including the 'Frozen Fitzgerald' Synchro Monster Card played over her, "He never used it during our first duel, but I did catch a glimpse of it when he allowed me to check through his Deck and Extra Deck. But for this duel, he brought it out with a Synchro Summon I never even heard of before…"
"Heeeeey!" The voice of Lisa hollered.
That snapped Ashima out of her thoughts, and the Astray trio also heard the voice calling out to them. Nearby, Matt, Carlie, Lisa, and David all ran over to see what was going on, only to stop when they saw the flaming ring surrounding Ashima and Grady (possessed). Matt instantly recoiled when he saw the familiar ghostly fire, since it was the same fire he experienced when he dueled against Sergey.
"Ashima-san's in there-!" David started to say, but stopped when his birthmark (Dragon's Heart) started glowing and responding to the ghostly flames, "Grrah!"
Matt, Carlie, and Lisa each also felt their respective birthmarks (Matt: Dragon's Head, Carlie: Dragon's Foot, Lisa: Dragon's Hand) glowing and responding, bringing them some great pain. In the flame ring, the possessed Grady's own birthmark of the spider started glowing purple and responding to the Mark of the Dragons being close by, but he paid no attention to it. Outside the flames, Matt was grimacing hard, trying to resist the pain he was feeling.
"This pain…" The dirty blonde-haired young man uttered, loud enough for everyone else to hear him, "This is the exact same pain I experienced while dueling against Sergey not long ago!" He managed to looked back at the wall of fire, "Could this be the result of Grady or something else?"
Soon, the pain the four Signers were experiencing stopped, but the birthmarks continued to glow.
"Much better…" groaned Lisa, before turning her attention to the flame ring, "So, what do you guys think? Should we try using a bucket of water to put that fire out?"
"That won't work," denied Grady (possessed), "The flames will only fade away when a winner is decided—and it will be me."
"What the hell is your problem?!" exclaimed Lisa angrily, "Why are you dueling Ashima like this?"
"That isn't Grady, Lisa," interrupted Matt, "I mean, it is Grady, but something, or someone, is possessing him."
"How can you be so sure of that, Fudo-san?" pressed David.
"That's because I experienced this kind of duel once before."
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
In the streets of Hartford, Flashback Matt and Flashback Sergey's Turbo Duel was ongoing.
"Battle!" Flashback Matt went on, "'Stardust Dragon', attack Sergey directly!" While speaking, 'Stardust Dragon' reared itself head back while charging its attack, "Roar! Cosmic Flare!"
'Stardust Dragon' obeyed, firing off the white blast of energy towards Duelist Crusher.
"Counter Trap, open!" exclaimed Flashback Sergey, "'Earthbound Beginning'!" While talking on, his Set card was already shown to be face-up on the field, "When my opponent's monster declares a direct attack while I have 3000 or less LP: I must halve the battle damage I take from this battle, and if I do, activate 1 Field Spell Card directly from my Deck."
Cosmic Flare struck Duelist Crusher, knocking it back a little bit as Flashback Sergey's LP dropped once again (LP: 3000 → 1750). Alas, this also activated the shock devices on the Duel Runner, zapping Flashback Sergey and making him yell out in pain. Despite that, he simply drew a card ('Earthbound Wilderness'(!)) and chuckled maliciously when the shocking ended.
"Now I activate a Field Spell from my Deck!" declared Flashback Sergey, before slotting the card into the Field Zone on his Duel Runner, "I destroy 'Earthbound Prison' and activate 'Earthbound Wilderness' in its place!"
Before long, purple flames started erupting on the sides of the road, trapping both duelists on the open road until the Turbo Duel finally ended with either player being defeated.
"Wh-What is all-?" spluttered Flashback Matt, before he overheard sinister chuckling, "What did you-?"
To make matters worse, when Flashback Matt looked over his shoulder at his opponent, Flashback Sergey's eyes started becoming dull and empty as a large purple spider symbol appeared on his chest and his mouth formed an absolutely insane slasher smile.
"Now that 'Earthbound Wilderness' is active, neither of us can escape until duel is over!" snickered Flashback Sergey, "And there be more to my card… Neither player can Summon monsters in Defense Position, also face-up Attack Position monsters on the field cannot change their battle positions! Even worse! If an 'Earthbound' Fusion or Synchro Monster I control destroys an opponent's monster by battle; that monster is banished instead of being sent to the GY!"
He started to laugh loudly and rather demonically.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and Matt clenched his right hand into a fist.
"And now, Ashima's gotten herself involved in our fight," uttered Matt.
Inside the fiery ring, Ashima did not look afraid of Grady (possessed) or his 'Frozen Fitzgerald'.
"Whoever you are, I'm not afraid of you," said Ashima bravely, "I will win this duel and save Grady from your hold on him!" In her mind, "It's not gonna be easy though, since it's still Grady's turn, and he seems to have big plans on how to sadistically torture me."
Speaking of which, Grady (possessed) had more secrets of his new card to reveal.
"I activate the second effect of 'Catastrogue'!" he began, "If this card is sent to the GY as material for the Synchro Summon of 'Frozen Fitzgerald': I must destroy 1 card my opponent controls."
A pillar of ice erupted underneath the ground where 'Photon Papilloperative' fluttered, destroying the monster before the pillar broke apart into tiny chunks of ice. Ashima was left with no monsters to protect herself.
"Battle!" continued Grady (possessed), "'Frozen Fitzgerald', attack directly! Blizzard Strike!"
'Frozen Fitzgerald' obeyed, firing shards of ice at the opposition.
"Face-down card, open!" cut in Ashima, as one of her Set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself—only to short out and return to its face-down position, "What?!"
"The first effect of 'Frozen Fitzgerald'… If this card attacks: My opponent cannot activate any Spell/Trap Cards until the end of the Damage Step,"
Ashima flinched fearfully, just as the ice shards collected with her repeatedly before throwing her against the wall of fire, which felt more like an invisible wall than actual fire. After the attack stopped, she fell onto the ground and lost much of her LP (LP: 3700 → 1200).
"Ashima!" cried Carlie.
"This is really bad!" warned David, "Ashima-san won't be able to withstand another blow like that!"
Back in the ring of fire, Ashima continued lying on the ground, while Grady (possessed) made one more face-down card materialize on the field.
"I Set one card face-down and end my turn!" he finished.
"I… I won't give up…" muttered Ashima, getting back on her hands and knees, "I will save you, Grady… I swear I will…" Once back on her feet, she drew a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Four: Ashima Nilgiri (LP: 1200)
Deck: 53
Current Hand (2): "Morpho Butterspy" and "Metalmark Butterspy"(!)
Her drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Metalmark Butterspy'. Outside the ring of fire, Carlie looked towards Matt with a curious look on her face.
"Matt, what did you mean by 'you recognized the pain'?" asked Carlie.
"This is what Godwin was telling us at his mansion," answered Matt, which caused Carlie to react with surprise, "I recognize the birthmark on Grady's right forearm," While going over what happened that time, clips of his Turbo Duel with Sergey were shown in the background, "It's the same one that Sergey had on his chest when I dueled him, and you and the others likely sensed the pain in your birthmarks at some point. Grady being possessed like this means the Dark Signers are definitely involved in this."
Lisa, David, and the Astray trio all reacted in shock over what they were hearing, while in the fiery ring, Ashima overheard the mention of the Dark Signers, wondering what they were. She then overheard Grady (possessed) letting out another evil chuckle, and turned to look at him once more.
"They will be coming soon…" threatened Grady (possessed), "They will come to drown this whole planet into darkness."
Ashima scowled, "I won't let that happen!" she said in defiance, before placing another card ('Morpho Butterspy') onto her Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Morpho Butterspy'!"
Appearing onto the field was a humanoid, female butterfly with two large cyan and purple-colored wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1200/DEF: 1600).
"Furthermore, I'll activate the first effect of 'Metalmark Butterspy'!" continued Ashima, taking a card ('Metalmark Butterspy') from her hand and holding it out for a few seconds before placing it onto her Duel Disk, "If I control a 'Butterspy' monster, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand)."
Appearing onto the field was a humanoid, female butterfly with metal-looking spots on her two wings (Level: 4/ATK: 1700/DEF: 1400).
"I'll activate the first effect of 'Overlay Network' again!" As Ashima spoke, 'Hairstreak Butterspy' reappeared on the field (Level: 4/ATK: 1400/DEF: 1700), "By targeting my Level 4 'Morpho Butterspy', I'll bring 'Hairstreak Butterspy' back from my GY!" By that point, the Overlay Network reappeared in the center of the field, "I overlay Level 4 'Morpho Butterspy', 'Metalmark Butterspy', and 'Hairstreak Butterspy'!"
All three mentioned monsters were absorbed inside the Overlay Network, before a blast of energy erupted from inside it. The new monster revealed a humanoid, female butterfly with two huge blue/purple-colored wings with red and black tips.
"Dance in the darkness, beautiful incarnation of death!" chanted Ashima, "Xyz Summon! Come forth, Rank 4! 'Night Papilloperative'!"
The new monster floated in midair while waiting for orders (Rank: 4/ATK: 2600/DEF: 2000).
"Oh? So it seems like you still have some fight left in you," remarked Grady (possessed) sarcastically.
"Now, I'm sure you remember the second effect of 'Hairstreak Butterspy'?" recalled Ashima, just as 'Night Papilloperative' grew stronger (ATK: 2600 → 3500), "'Night Papilloperative' gains the ability to increase her ATK by 300 for each material attached to her," She then held up her right hand, snapped her fingers, and winked, "But there also the third effect of 'Metalmark Butterspy' you need to be worried about."
"Really?" frowned Grady (possessed).
"Yup," nodded Ashima, "An Xyz Monster that was Summoned using this card on the field as material gains this effect."
This was the mentioned effect written on the Monster Card in-question:
-"It cannot be destroyed by battle or my opponent's card effects."
"Ugh…" grumbled Grady (possessed).
"As you can see, I plan to end this duel as fast as I can," insisted Ashima, "I'll start by activating my 'Night Papilloperative's' special ability!" As she explained the effect, 'Night Papilloperative' allowed one of her materials to be absorbed as she wiggled about and released purple particles across the field, "Once per turn: I can detach 1 material from this card; this card gains 300 ATK for each material attached to a monster on the field," The black-haired young Indian woman nodded firmly, "There are two remaining material on the field, which grants my Xyz Monster 600 more ATK, minus 300 because I detached one of the material."
Yet again, 'Night Papilloperative' grew stronger (ATK: 3500 → 3800).
"And since I detached 'Metalmark Butterspy', I'll activate her second effect!" Ashima went on, drawing a card, "If this card is detached from an Xyz Monster to activate that monster's effect: I must draw 1 card," After spending a few seconds glancing at her drawn 'Butterspy Protection' Trap Card, she entered her Battle Phase, "Go forth, 'Night Papilloperative'!"
'Night Papilloperative' obeyed, charging towards 'Frozen Fitzgerald' before…
*SLASH!*
…slicing right through the enemy monster, splitting it in two before both halves shattered into shards of glass. The destruction of his monster caused Grady to brace himself from the attack's backlash as some of the shards soared past him and his LP dropped to very low levels (LP: 1600 → 300).
"Alright!" cheered Lisa.
"And if you have a way to bring your monster back, I won't let you do that!" When those words left her mouth, Ashima pressed a button on her Duel Disk, "I activate a Trap, 'Xyz Bento'!"
The first Set card on her field flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"If a monster(s) my opponent controls is destroyed by battle or sent to the GY: I must target 1 Xyz Monster I control; I must attach 1 monster from my opponent's GY to it as material!"
"That's a great idea!" acknowledged Asagi, "If Grady plans to revive 'Frozen Fitzgerald' in any way, shape, or form, Ashima can just steal it away and use it as material!"
Inside the flaming ring, Grady (possessed) remained stoic initially, but then…smiled maliciously as he uttered only five simple words…
"I activate a Counter Trap…" whispered Grady (possessed)
Despite the words being fairly quiet, they were still loud enough for everyone else to hear, and they all wondered what card the possessed spiky black-haired young man planned to use to try and stop Ashima's effective strategy. Sure enough, Grady (possessed) swung his right arm about and made his Set card flip face-up and reveal itself.
"What?!" winced Ashima.
"That card was also never in Grady's Deck!" protested Mayura.
"This is 'Frozen Catastrophe'," explained Grady (possessed), "When my opponent activates a Trap Card during the Battle Phase: I must negate the activation, and if I do, negate the effects of all monsters my opponent controls," He let out a sinister cackle as Ashima looked very horrified, "That's right! Not only will your 'Xyz Bento' be negated, but your 'Night Papilloperative' will have her effects negated!"
The face-up 'Frozen Catastrophe' Trap Card unleashed a blizzard, striking all across Ashima's field and chilling her and 'Night Papilloperative' both to the bone—while also greatly weakening 'Night Papilloperative' in the form of rendering her effect null and void (ATK: 3800 → 2600).
"Now I'll activate the second effect of 'Frozen Fitzgerald'!" continued Grady (possessed), taking a card ('Pot of Avarice') from his hand and sending it to the GY, "When this card is destroyed by battle and sent to the GY, while I control no monsters: I can discard 1 card; I must Special Summon this card from my GY in face-up Defense Position."
Reappearing on the field was 'Frozen Fitzgerald' (Level: 5/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2500).
"But I'm far from being finished torturing you," sneered Grady (possessed), allowing a card ('Catastrogue') to eject from his GY, which he took hold of, "I activate the third effect of 'Catastrogue'!" He held the mentioned card out until it dissolved into dust, "If I Special Summon 'Frozen Fitzgerald' from my GY through its own effect: I can banish this card from my GY; I must destroy 1 monster my opponent controls that battled this turn, and if I do, inflict damage to my opponent equal to half of that monster's DEF, then gain LP equal to half of that monster's DEF."
"Oh crap!" cried Lisa.
"Ashima!" called Carlie.
Too late, I'm afraid… The spirit of 'Catastrogue' briefly appeared on the field before merging with 'Frozen Fitzgerald', who then fired off more ice shards at 'Night Papilloperative', striking and freezing her in solid ice. Seconds later, the ice crumbled and destroyed Ashima's monster. A few stray ice shards also collided with Ashima, throwing her against the invisible wall again as her LP took another fall (LP: 1200 → 200). Grady (possessed) also gained LP from the attack (LP: 300 → 1300).
"Dammit! Is this really the end for Ashima?" cursed Lisa.
"Whoever's out there, stop this duel at once!" shouted Matt, which caused Grady (possessed) to look in his direction, "Keep Ashima out of this horror and face me, a Signer, instead!"
"Don't get anxious," retorted Grady (possessed), before smiling smugly, "You'll get your turn to duel, but not until this current one ends…with Ashima's final defeat ever."
Matt gritted his teeth in frustration and stopped himself. Back in the fiery ring, Grady (possessed) resumed his focus on Ashima, who slowly returned to her feet while feeling a ton of pain from the powerful attacks her opponent had been making.
"I…Set one more card and…end my turn!" struggled Ashima, slowly slotting a card into her Duel Disk.
A face-down card materialized on the field by her feet.
"You have a lot of strength inside of you," admired Grady (possessed), "However, that strength of yours not be enough to defeat me!" He drew a card, "Draw!"
Turn Five: Grady Pitt (LP: 1300)
Deck: 35
Current Hand (1): "De-Synchro"
All of a sudden, 'Frozen Fitzgerald' shifted from a defensive stance back into an attack stance (DEF: 2500 → ATK: 2500).
"I switch 'Frozen Fitzgerald' into Attack Position!" The voice of Grady (possessed) declared, as the above event proceeded. He then prepared to continue with his turn, "And then, I'll-"
"I activate a Trap!" interrupted Ashima.
"What?" frowned Grady (possessed).
On Ashima's field, one of her two Set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"'Butterspy Protection'!" explained Ashima, "I must target 1 face-up Attack Position monster on the field; I must change it to face-up Defense Position, also any damage I take for the rest of this turn is halved," As she continued going over her card's effect, 'Frozen Fitzgerald' found itself going right back into a defensive stance (ATK: 2500 → DEF: 2500), "Ergo, 'Frozen Fitzgerald' will go back to Defense Position!"
"Grrr!" growled Grady (possessed), "I activate the second effect of the Trap Card, 'Frozen Catastrophe'!" While speaking, the mentioned Trap Card ejected from the GY, which he took hold of and held out to show before it faded away into oblivion and became another card ('Catastrogue'), which he placed in his GY instead, "During my Main Phase, I can banish this card from my GY: I must target 1 of my banished 'Catastrogue'; I must return it to the GY. And now, I'll end my turn there."
Outside the fiery ring, everyone who watched immediately knew what was going to happen should Grady (possessed) get another turn.
"I know what Grady aims to do," said Asagi gravely, "He plans to banish 'Catastrogue' on his next turn to destroy a possible monster Ashima attacks with and inflict damage to her based on half of its DEF, meaning if she does not defeat him on her coming turn…it would be game over."
Inside the flame ring, Grady (possessed) let out yet another evil chuckle, enjoying this duel very much—since he was going to win on his next turn no matter what Ashima tried to do on her turn.
"Do not fear defeat, Ashima," reassured Grady (possessed) falsely, "The cold, empty realm of darkness will be more than happy to have a beautiful flower such as yourself to keep it company."
"That's enough!" The voice of Matt yelled out, causing Grady (possessed) to become annoyed with the interruptions. He was shown standing near the ring's outer wall and slamming his fists on it in a futile way, "I want you to stop this duel and face 'me' instead! Leave Ashima alone!"
"Shut up, fool," warned Grady (possessed), as Matt listened to the threat, "If you interrupt our duel one more time, I'll make absolutely sure you never see Ashima ever again," He smiled dangerously, once again, "You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"You bastard!" snarled Matt.
As David, Lisa, Carlie, and the Astray trio all listened to the argument going on…
"Fudo-san…" murmured David with sympathy.
Inside the fiery ring, despite the great amount of danger she was in, Ashima kept a calm yet firm look on her face as she proposed a question to whoever was controlling Grady.
"Just what on Earth do you want?" questioned Ashima.
"I won't tell you anything," Grady (possessed) refused, "You'll know only if you win the duel—but it will be outright impossible since you have no monsters, and even if you do bring one out…" His focus turned towards his 'Frozen Fitzgerald', "…it won't be strong enough to defeat 'Frozen Fitzgerald's' DEF of 2500," Within the darkness (GY), the 'Catastrogue' slowly emerged, "I either can just either attack for the win or use 'Catastrogue's' effect to destroy the monster you attack with and inflict damage based on half of its DEF," He looked absolutely certain of his impending victory, "No matter what, you can't win against me!"
"I see…" mused Ashima, before preparing to draw her final card, "In any case, I won't let you do as you please any further!" She drew a card with a Destiny Draw, "It's my turn!"
Turn Six: Ashima Nilgiri (LP: 200)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Rank-Up-Magic Butterfly Force"(!)
Upon seeing her drawn 'Rank-Up-Magic Butterfly Force' Spell Card…
"It's here!" thought Ashima, before speaking aloud, "I activate the Spell Card, 'Rank-Up-Magic Butterfly Force'!" She slotted the card into her Duel Disk, causing the mentioned Spell Card to rise face-up on the field, "I must target 1 'Papilloperative' Xyz Monster in my GY; I must Special Summon it, then Special Summon from my Extra Deck, 1 monster that is 1 Rank higher than that monster, by using it as material, and if I do, attach this card to it as additional material. (This is treated as an Xyz Summon.)"
"What?!" worried Grady (possessed).
"Yes," confirmed Ashima, "It's time I introduced 'you', Grady, to a monster I never got the chance to Xyz Summon during our first duel," She then held her right hand up and gave the command, "Resurrect, 'Night Papilloperative'!"
Reappearing on the field for a short amount of time was 'Night Papilloperative', before she got absorbed into the reformed Overlay Network in the center of the field. Soon, a new monster started to emerge into the sky; she was a humanoid, female butterfly with four massive purple-colored wings and a very slender body clad in form-fitting armor.
"Empress of strength and beauty, soar through the skies and let your blessings of hope rain!" chanted Ashima, "Rank Up Xyz Evolution! Rank 5! 'Twilight Papilloperative'!"
The new monster flew around the flame ring before posing in mid-air for battle (Rank: 5/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2200).
"'Twilight Papilloperative's' first effect!" pressed Ashima, "It gains 500 ATK for each material attached to it," She recalled how many materials were currently attached to 'Twilight Papilloperative', who then grew stronger as a result of that effect (ATK: 3000 → 4000), "As a result of two materials, my monster gains 1000 ATK!"
"How naive," said Grady (possessed) scornfully, "Did you forget? You placed 'Frozen Fitzgerald' in Defense Position during my last turn, meaning even if you attack and destroy it, I won't take any damage, and I can revive my monster by discarding a card—meaning no matter what, you will never defeat me!"
"Are you sure about that?" smirked Ashima, taking a page out of her boyfriend's book of catchphrases.
"What?!"
"'Twilight Papilloperative' has a second effect," The black-haired young Indian woman pointed out, "If this card has a 'Papilloperative' Xyz Monster as material, it gains this effect."
This was the effect written on the Monster Card in-question:
-"Once per turn: I can detach 1 material from this card, then target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; I must change its battle position, and if I do, change its ATK/DEF to 0."
Grady (possessed) was shocked to hear of this. But all he could do was watch helplessly as 'Twilight Papilloperative' released one of her materials and started shaking as though she were dancing elegantly, releasing yellow specks of dust upon his whole field, causing 'Frozen Fitzgerald' to react and rise into an attack stance as its ATK stat was completely emptied (ATK: 2500 → 0).
"Battle!" thundered Ashima, entering her Battle Phase, "Grady, this attack will bring you back to your senses!" She gave the command to her ace monster, "'Twilight Papilloperative', obliterate 'Frozen Fitzgerald', right here and now!"
'Twilight Papilloperative' obeyed, doing a few twirls in the sky initially before motioning her right hand towards the weakened 'Frozen Fitzgerald' and firing off a blast of purple and black plasma at it. 'Frozen Fitzgerald' got hit and ended up with a hole being blown in its chest, causing the enemy to explode massively from its destruction. Grady (possessed), bracing himself from the explosion's backlash, let out a demonic scream of anger as his remaining LP completely emptied (LP: 1300 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Ashima Nilgiri wins!
With the duel being over, 'Twilight Papilloperative', the face-up 'Overlay Network' Spell Card, and Ashima's unused Set card each faded away. Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each cheer over the fact their friend was victorious, while, inside the fiery ring, Ashima let out a relieved sigh. However, she then overheard quiet, maddening laughter, which, as expected, came from Grady (possessed), who, despite losing, had expected to lose.
"Not bad… That wasn't half bad at all, Ashima Nilgiri," admitted Grady (possessed), "You're as strong as we've heard you are," He looked up with a nightmarish-looking smile on his face, "However, this is not the end! We will come for you soon enough… We will come and use you for our plans! Try to look forward to that."
From there, as the fiery ring finally started dying out, he collapsed onto his front in a state of unconsciousness. Not only that, the birthmarks (Matt: Dragon's Head, Carlie: Dragon's Foot, Lisa: Dragon's Hand, David: Dragon's Heart, Grady: Spider) all stopped glowing—with the spider marking on Grady's right arm even disappearing. Everyone then rushed over to see if the teenager was okay.
"Hey! Grady! Pull it together!" begged Asagi.
Matt, meanwhile, took a more aggressive stance; he picked up Grady by his shirt collar, lifted him up slightly, and started shaking him roughly. This form of force appeared to be enough to knock the small black spider off his neck, which landed on the ground and dissolved after a few seconds.
"Come on, wake up!" exclaimed Matt, "Get a hold of yourself! Tell me who you are!"
"Matt, take it easy!" requested Carlie, touching her friend's upper right arm and trying to calm him down, "Grady's been knocked out, and we don't know when he'll wake up."
Matt let Grady go out of disgust over not getting the answers he wanted. While that happened, David noticed that Grady's Deck had split from his Duel Disk onto the ground. Curious, he knelt over and scooped up two of the cards, which were 'Catastrogue' (Tuner Monster Card) and 'Frozen Catastrophe' (Trap Card). Without any warning, the two cards turned to shadows and faded away.
"Th-They're gone!" David gasped.
"What?!" quizzed Lisa.
"Those mysterious cards Grady-kun had," protested David, "I picked them up and they just vanished into darkness!"
Lisa then carefully looked down at Grady's exposed right forearm and noticed that the birthmark was missing, having seemingly disappeared after he lost to Ashima. Suddenly, Grady slowly began to open his eyes.
"W-Where am I?" asked Grady groggily, "What's going on?"
Juri gasped, "Grady!" she realized, "You're awake! Oh, what a relief."
"Right now, you're a little groggy after dueling Ashima in a Dark Duel," explained Mayura, "Currently, you're here with all of us."
"I dueled Ashima in a Dark Duel?" quizzed Grady, who seemed to have no memory of the most recent of events, "Last thing I remember was feeling some sort of bug biting me on the back of the neck…" He then stopped, "Wait, where am I? And what about Ashima? Wasn't I supposed to duel her at the park? Where is she?!"
"Shhh! It's okay," soothed Ashima, placing a hand onto Grady's left arm to try and comfort him, "Right now, you're in the park and was under the control of somebody else, and that you dueled and tried to kill me."
Grady instantly became shocked when he heard that he tried to kill Ashima, one of the sweetest, kindest girls he had ever met.
"I…tried to kill…" stammered Grady, becoming sick with remorse. He looked up at Ashima with shame in his eyes, "Ashima, I'm so sorry! Everyone, please forgive me, I… I…"
"It wasn't your fault," reassured Matt, "Something or somebody possessed you and made you act against your will."
"That somebody is an evil that's trying to resurrect legendary creatures known only as the 'Earthbound Immortals'," added David.
"'Earthbound Immortals'?" Grady and Ashima wondered at the same time.
"These super freaky evil monsters are based on the Nazca Lines," said Lisa, trying to describe the 'Earthbound Immortals' the best she could, "Basically, they are bad news."
"Are the Dark Signers connected to them in any way?" asked Ashima, which surprised Matt and the other three Signers, "I kinda overheard Matty mention them earlier."
"They are indeed," confirmed Carlie, "As it turns out, it's our mission as Signers to defeat them and save the world from possible destruction."
The description of both the Dark Signers and Earthbound Immortals worried Ashima, Grady, and the Astray trio. While Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each knew of them since they were told earlier on, Matt felt bad for not telling the first and second about them when he had the chance to.
"I'm really sorry, Ashima, Grady, for not letting you both know," apologized Matt, "Ashima, believe me when I say I really didn't want to get you involved in such a battle."
"Matt, I don't blame you for not telling us the first chance you got," insisted Ashima, not sounding angry—but, rather, determined, "In any case, I want to help you and the other Signers in your battle against the Dark Signers and Earthbound Immortals."
"We do, too!" added Asagi, as Mayura and Juri both nodded.
This declaration stunned Matt, since he was very reluctant to put his other friends in mortal danger, considering they likely didn't have the cards or powers to fight against such dangerous villains. Ashima may have the power to sense the feelings of a duelist by touching their cards, but that wouldn't help against the Dark Signers.
"I… I don't know about that…" uttered Matt.
"Matt, maybe we should let them help us," offered Carlie, "They're being serious in offering to join the fight."
"The more help we have, the better chance we have at defeating the Dark Signers," agreed David.
"Listen, if you're scared to let them help, then you're not alone," remarked Lisa, "I'm just as scared of allowing Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each to fight the Dark Signers, but, ultimately, it's their choice," Matt listened as she finished her sentence, "And besides, we'll need all the allies we can get."
The dirty blonde-haired young man looked down, wondering if it was a good idea. He knew that Carlie, David, and Lisa each made some compelling arguments, but, still, he was afraid of letting his friends and loved ones do something this dangerous.
"I hope I won't regret this," Matt sighed to himself, before shooting Ashima and the Astray trio a weak smile and making his decision, "Alright, you four can join the fight."
On cue, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each cheered with delight, while Ashima was very happy that she would be able to fight alongside her boyfriend.
"Um…" interrupted Grady, which caused everyone to look down at him, "Can we go back to Orb, now? I'm a little pooped from that duel you guys claim I was in."
"Good idea, Grady," agreed Lisa, "Besides, when we get back, we oughta let Mike, James, and Zack know about what our friends plan to do."
With that agreed to, the party started to leave the park and make their way back to Orb on the Duel Runners.
(elsewhere…)
That evening, Matt was seated on a bench outside looking at the sun going down, thinking about whether he made the right choice in allowing his friends to fight alongside him and the Signers. The Dark Signer threat was not great yet, but they had made themselves known by finding a way to possess a student of Orb like they did with Sergey not that long ago. Before long, Ashima approached, noticing that Matt was brooding.
"Matty?" peeped Ashima, "Are you alright?" When she got no response, she tried another question, "Can I sit down with you?"
"Oh, sure," accepted Matt, quietly.
Ashima sat down on the bench beside Matt, who simply remained very quiet. Ashima quickly figured out that Matt was being very hesitant in allowing her and the others to fight alongside him and the Signers against the Dark Signers.
"Matt, I know you're being hesitant," commented Ashima, "In fact, you're starting to behave like Thomas did during 'The Great International Duel Cup'."
"I know I'm being hesitant," said Matt glumly, "It's because this is a battle for the Signers to deal with, and you and the others have no part in it."
Ashima frowned, "I'm sorry, Matt, but what you're telling me is nonsense," she dismissed, which caused Matt to look over in surprise, "You're scared of your friends and I all getting hurt, am I right about that? Please, I just want you to tell me the honest truth, okay?"
After a few seconds of silence…
"Alright, I'll tell you the truth," accepted Matt, even though the memory of Asagi getting badly hurt during her duel against Sergey in New York City was still fresh in his mind, "Yes, what you're telling me is true. I am scared of you and everyone who wants to fight alongside us Signers getting hurt. You see, during Godwin's tournament, one of our friends got into a duel with a man going by the name of Sergey Volkov."
"Sergey Volkov?" repeated Ashima, not daring to ask who that Russian man was.
"During which, he badly injured Asagi through that duel," Matt went on, "She almost didn't survive the encounter, and I blamed myself for not being able to save her from serious injury," Although he had since recovered from the incident, it was clear his guilt over it had not completely gone away, "To be honest, I'm terrified of the situation happening again to someone else, but on a larger scale if the Dark Signers are capable of doing such a thing."
He then felt a hand touching his left arm softly, which caused Matt to open his eyes and look towards Ashima, who could only smile warmly.
"Matty, I can understand why you're afraid to let us fight," acknowledged Ashima, "But I can reassure you that something like that will not happen to me or anyone else dear to you," She didn't let up with her pleading, "Please, let me and the others fight alongside you and the Signers against the Dark Signers should they ever fully emerge. The more of us there are, the greater chance you have at stopping them."
Matt was quiet for a second. Should he truly risk the safety of his closest friends just for the chance to save the entire world? Was the safety of thousands of strangers really more important to him than the safety of a mere handful of people? When he stared into Ashima's eyes, all he found was bravery and determination even at the risk of her own life. Realizing that Ashima was being dead serious in her dedication to help save the world, Matt finally smiled back and gave his answer.
"Alright, welcome to the fight," agreed Matt, "I mean it this time, too."
Overjoyed, Ashima embraced her boyfriend affectionately, and Matt immediately returned the hug. The two stayed in their warm embrace as the sun continued to go down. After what seemed like forever, Ashima broke away from the hug to offer one final question.
"So, um, what do you know about Coordinators?" pressed Ashima, noticing the confused look on Matt's face when he was asked that, "I overheard the guy possessing Grady mentioning that term."
"Well…" stammered Matt, "Ahem! This story could take a little bit of time to go over."
"I don't mind that," grinned Ashima, "After all, I'm not going anywhere for quite the amount of time."
The couple then shared a laugh over that remark. Once the laughter ceased, Matt finally began to tell Ashima all about his origins based on what he learned from Rex about a month ago. What about that spider that possessed Grady? Wasn't there another one sent out by the Dark Signers? Where could it even be? Would Matt and the others enjoy someone possessed by the remaining spider at some point? Well, that's for me to know, and all of you to eventually find out.
I have one quick message for John Wilkins: Again, I'm really glad you're enjoying my stories and I really do want you to continue reading them, but I believe I've asked you a few times before to keep certain comments to yourself when you're reviewing.