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.
"(こんにちは、みんな!) Kon'nichiwa, min'na! (Hello, everyone!)" began David in Japanese, "Lisa-chan and I have a lot we want to say to all of you today!"
"Except if we did that, we'd be here all day long, and it would get pretty boring very quickly," cut in Lisa, before she and David looked towards the nearby blackboard with the five cards (still showing their backing) lined up, "Instead, let's just view the cards we have to show off for all of you today!"
The five face-down cards on the blackboard all automatically turned over and revealed themselves to be:
-'Power Invader' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Upstart Goblin' (Spell Card)
-'Smile Kid' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Endless Loan' (Trap Card)
-'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' (Effect Monster Card)
"Wait, that's the one?" blinked Lisa, staring at the middle card ('Smile Kid'), "Well, it's not too much of a monster, but I'm certain it still has its use."
"You're right," agreed David, before reading one of the card's effect, "You can discard 1 card; Special Summon this card from your hand," He then got thoughtful, "Doesn't the second effect allow you to Special Summon-"
"Spoilers, Dave! Spoilers!" Lisa scolded, covering her friend's mouth, "We don't wanna ruin the surprise for our audience, do we?" After David briefly shook his head, he and the pink-haired girl then started addressing the audience after his mouth was released, "Sorry about that, everyone. It would seem that sometimes Dave here can say a little too much like I often do."
"Hardy har har," laughed David sarcastically, but managed to smile. He and Lisa started waving goodbye, "(さようなら、仲間の聴衆!) Sayōnara, nakama no chōshū! (Goodbye, fellow audience!)"
The audience cheered and clapped in response.
Title: Don't Fear the Repo
Opening up within the hideout of the Dark Signers still in the middle of the night, Dark Signer 1, Dark Signer 2, Dark Signer 3, Vincent, and Rutger all gathered for a quick meeting, with Rutger being at the head of the table. Despite the plan being a failure, Rutger wasn't looking upset or discouraged.
"Well, that was a bust," grumbled Dark Signer 1.
"It would seem our plan to defeat the Signers didn't work out as well as we hoped," dismissed Rutger, "But we still know what else to expect from them, as of now."
"Yeah right!" snapped Vincent, banging on the table with his right fist, "If you ask me, you should have let me go after robo-boy when I had the chance!" Rutger frowned when the complaining from him (Vincent) went on, "But did you say yes to the request? Nooooo! You instead tell me to bide my time…" He swing his right hand about in frustration, "…while you went after that worthless-!"
"Ugh! Can't you just, for five lousy minutes, shut up about David?!" exclaimed Dark Signer 2.
Vincent scowled, but bit his tongue and kept quiet. Just then, he and the other Dark Signers heard the nearby door open and looked over. A familiar, yet shadowed figure, was shown in the darkness.
"Am I late to the party?" The shadowed man asked jokingly.
"Ah, welcome," greeted Rutger in a welcoming tone, "You're just in time for the meeting… Azrael."
The man stepped out of the darkness and revealed himself to be none other than, as Rutger said, Muruta Azrael, head of the Blue Cosmos school in Albany. He appeared to have heard that the plan to defeat/kill the Signers with possessed slaves ended in failure, but he wasn't upset by it. Mainly because he had an idea of his own—and it was one he was certain would see much more success than the initial plan.
"Since our original plan didn't work out, I think I might try my own plan out," offered Azrael, "Instead of relying on mind-controlled slaves do the job, why not…let the Signers destroy each other?"
"Signers destroying each other? What are you implying?" quizzed Vincent, which caused Azrael to raise an eyebrow over the objection, "In case you haven't heard, leaderman's spiders might be able to control ordinary humans," He slammed his fist on the table again, crushing one of the little spiders, "However, they can't control a Signer thanks to the power of the Crimson Dragon protecting them."
"And that's why you disagree with my idea?" said Azrael calmly, before, after a beat, smiling evilly again, "But I'll admit you're right about one thing; our spiders wouldn't be able to control the Signers no matter how many we use," The other Dark Signers listened to him (Azrael) well, "Yet what if I were to tell you…" He soon finished his sentence, "…we don't need spiders to do it?"
"Huh?" gasped Vincent.
Azrael nodded, "That's right," he went on, "Just leave everything to me."
Dark Signer 1, Dark Signer 2, and Dark Signer 3 each looked at each other for a moment before turning to face Azrael and let out devious, yet dangerous, snickers, indicating that whatever the evil blonde-haired man had planned, they would enjoy helping him with it.
(elsewhere…)
Inside Matt's dorm at Orb, Matt and Ashima, both naked yet covered conveniently by the blanket and sheets, were still sleeping in bed after having made love into the early morning before finally falling asleep. Despite getting to bed very, very late, Matt was able to wake up without fail. He then noticed Ashima still asleep, cuddled up to him, and with her head pressing against his chest.
"Ashima…" thought Matt, smiling gently.
Carefully slipping out of her grasp, he got out of bed and approached the nearby window to look out it. It looked like another beautiful summer day. Matt then looked at the clock on the dresser, which read '10:15 am'. Nodding a little bit, Matt decided to take a quick shower and go get something to eat, while also deciding to let Ashima sleep for a little bit longer.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the docking bay, James R., wearing a mechanic's outfit, was shown assisting Mr. Murdoch in working on the M1 Astrays and/or constructed brand new ones. It was more than assisting, James R. had gotten a temporary job of being the assistant to Mr. Murdoch and the docking bay crew.
"Come on, come on!" The voice of Mr. Murdoch echoed throughout the job, "Get those Duel Runners in tip top! That's it, that's the ticket!"
After a montage of working on six different M1 Astrays, James R. nearly collapsed from exhaustion since he had been up since the crack of dawn. He was glad to have gotten the job, since it allowed him to experience what it's like to work in the real world—but he still didn't expect it to be this tiring, and, crying out loud, it was still the morning! Either way, James R. finally collapsed onto a chair with a bottle of cold, refreshing water in his left hand, about to drink from it when footsteps rang in his ears. Walking up to the brown-haired young man was Lisa, coming to see how he's doing.
"Hi, Lisa," greeted James R..
"Yo," replied Lisa, with her left hand on her hip, "Whoa, you look pooped. I assume the job is going well?"
James R. took a long drink from his water before putting it down and wiping his mouth. The cold water definitely helped due to how hot, sweaty, and tired he was after spending about four hours moving stuff around, repairing M1 Astrays and also building new M1 Astrays.
"It's certainly more than I expected," admitted James R., before throwing in a question, "By the way, do you know where Mike is by any chance?"
"Mike?" said Lisa thoughtfully, "Actually, I did see him about half-an-hour ago. He went with Juri to one of the local outdoor coffee shops for breakfast."
"He's out again?!" gawked James R., which earned him a nod from Lisa, "That's the third time alone, this month!" He stood up in a bad mood, "I'm going to confront Mike about how he needs to do some hard work for a change!"
"Eh?" Lisa pondered, "What the heck are you talking about?"
"Long before Ashima arrived, I spoke to Mike, Carlie, and Matt about how we should make ourselves useful during our summer vacation here in Hartford," explained James R., as a thought bubble formed and showed images of him working on an M1 Astray, then with Carlie inside a hospital room, and finally with Matt standing while carrying a tool box, one image at a time, "For example, I'm working as an apprentice to Kojiro and his crew, Carlie is volunteering for the city's hospital, and Matt has plans to work as a handyman."
The bubble popped, and Lisa simply raised an eyebrow, wondering if that was even the right thing to say, then she watched as her friend started to leave the docking bay.
"Hold up, James!" called Mr. Murdoch.
"What is it?" pressed James R., turning around.
"Don't forget your break is only fifteen minutes long," Mr. Murdoch reminded, before adding as a threat of sorts, "After that, you'd better haul your bum back here before I decide to tan it on the spot!"
To prove his point, he held up his wrench and started beating it into the palm of his left hand with a creepy smile on his face. Comically spooked, James R. nodded as fast as he could before turning and leaving the docking bay as quickly as his legs could carry him.
"Really, Mr. Murdoch? Really?" deadpanned Lisa.
Mr. Murdoch chuckled sheepishly, thinking that maybe he went a little too far with what he wanted from James R.. Well, what's said was said, and there was no going back. Still, Mr. Murdoch had a feeling James R. would come back on time, since he was shown to be very reliable in his duties.
(elsewhere…)
At one of the outdoor coffee shops, Michael was shown sipping some coffee from a tea cup. The coffee had an aroma that he found very appealing. Also seated at the table was Juri, and she was enjoying some coffee and a breakfast sandwich. She was also enjoying her time with her new friend and crush, but still wished Michael would at least notice her a bit more—unfortunately, she was still mostly shy around him, so it wasn't as easy as she wanted it to be. Meanwhile, walking down the other side of the street was Megan Haw of the Daily Writer's Group in New York City, now enjoying a week-long vacation of her own.
"It sure is good to be back in Hartford," whistled Megan, before sniffing the air, "The air sure smells good," She chuckled, "Okay, that's more like the smell of coffee… Wait, that aroma is different from normal."
Curious about the smell of coffee, Megan sniffed again before looking nearby and, across the street at the coffee shop, she saw, seated at a table enjoying breakfast, Michael. In an instant from noticing him, Megan's eyes turned into hearts when she saw her crush and most favorite duelist.
"Heeeeey, it's Mike!" Megan squealed in delight, but her eyes returned to normal upon seeing someone else sitting at the table, "Huh?"
Sitting at the table with Michael was Juri Wu Nien of Orb, and she appeared to be blushing and acting in a shy-like manner. The sight did not please Megan in the slightest; she narrowed her eyes in jealousy.
"Juri? Hanging out with the King?!" hissed Megan, "What's up with that ugly glasses girl?"
Now Megan did honestly like Juri, but Juri was her rival in earning Michael's attention, so, henceforth, insults were bound to be uttered from either side. Back across the other side of the street, Juri tried her hardest to muster up the courage to talk to Michael, hoping to strike up a conversation with him. There were times where she succeeded, and there were other times where she failed.
"So, err… Mike," began Juri, which caused Michael to look over at her, "I… um… I mean, huh…"
"Juri, is something wrong?" asked Michael, not putting his cup of coffee down.
"Oh, n-nothing!" stammered Juri in embarrassment, "Just…take your time with breakfast!" She sighed to herself mentally, feeling humiliated over that, "I couldn't talk to him again," The intelligent, dark blue-haired young woman then looked up and decided to go inside the building for a few minutes (likely to get something like water), "I'll be right back, Mike, I just need to get some water."
Michael simply grunted a short response, and Juri got up from the table and walked into the shop, closing the door behind her. Noticing that Michael was now alone, Megan grew excited and, without even thinking, started running across the street without looking both ways. This form of stupidity nearly got her hit by a car, causing her to freak out in a comical way.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" snapped the driver (male), sticking his head out the window.
"S-Sorry!" freaked out Megan, before letting out a sigh of relief, "That was too close for comfort."
Once she was across the street, she walked towards the outdoor coffee shop and made a greeting towards Michael.
"Hi, Mike!" began Megan, "It's me, Megan, from New York City."
"Oh, it's you," acknowledged Michael, looking up for a moment, "What are you doing here in Hartford?"
Megan felt giddy, "Vacation time," she said, before sitting down, "I've worked so hard at my job lately, that I was given some time off as a reward."
"I see."
As the two chatted, with Megan even asking Michael how life in Hartford was treating him, Juri finally emerged from the shop with a purchased bottle of water. She turned and gasped when she (Juri) saw Megan and Michael talking, narrowing her eyes in response to the former while also fuming in jealousy.
"What the heck is Megan doing here?" thought Juri angrily, "Is she seriously trying to make a move on Mike? Oh no, she isn't!" She spoke aloud, "Hey…" Michael and Megan both heard the yell aimed at the latter, "…you! Megan!"
Megan looked and saw Juri glaring at her intensely, and she started glaring back.
"Juri," uttered Megan dangerously.
She stood up from the table and stormed over to her love rival. Both young women had shark-like teeth, and also had anger pressure marks on their respective foreheads. Michael simply paid no attention to the argument and focused on enjoying his breakfast. While the near-catfight between Juri and Megan heated up, they stopped arguing when they saw a slightly miffed-looking James R. approaching. He walked past the two, stood in-front of the table, placed both hands at his sides, and made a small coughing sound to get Michael's attention.
"Oh, James," greeted Michael shortly, "How's your job working with Kojiro and his band?"
"It's going well, thank you very much," answered James R., "Currently I'm on break, and I thought I should go and find you."
"Really?" Michael remarked without a care, then, with a grin, he pushed his cup of coffee towards the center of the table, "You should try this coffee. It has a really rich flavor."
James R. stared curiously at the coffee before looking down at the check, which read how much it cost.
"$30.00?!" exclaimed James R., "That's how much this coffee costs?"
"That price must mean it's excellent," smiled Michael pleasantly, before taking a bite out of his breakfast sandwich, "I've never tasted coffee so good before."
Already annoyed by his friend's absentmindedness towards buying surprisingly expensive coffee and not being aware of the real world, James R. finally slammed his fists onto the table, shaking it up and startling both Megan and Juri.
"What's wrong with you, James?!" cried Juri.
"You seem mad at me," Michael said calmly, "I'm just enjoying breakfast."
"What the heck is the matter with you?!" shouted James R., "You know how I've taken up a part time job recently for our stay in Hartford, right?!"
"Why bother?" huffed Michael, who was not at all interested in finding a job, "We're rich, meaning we don't need to work to make a living."
"Don't give me that!" James R. argued hotly, "I'm experiencing what working an actual job in the real world is like, and I'm really lucky that Lisa got me the job of being Kojiro's assistant."
"Oh yeah," recalled Juri thoughtfully, "I remember the scene very well…"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Inside one of Orb's classrooms a few days before Ashima's kidnapping that infamous night…
"I was there when Lisa agreed to help get him the job," narrated Juri.
Flashback James R. was seen on his hands and knees practically begging Flashback Lisa for something—which was some help in finding a job somewhere in Hartford or even Orb.
"Please!" wailed Flashback James R., bowing at Lisa's feet, "Please, please, please! I really," As his begging, pleading, and ranting intensified, Flashback Lisa listened on with a bemused look on her face, "really want a job to see what it's like working in the real world!"
"You…really need my help?" groaned Flashback Lisa, embarrassed.
"Yes! More than anything!"
Nearby, Flashback Asagi, Flashback Mayura, and Flashback Juri each silently listened to the whining and begging from Flashback James R. as massive sweatdrops appeared on the back of their respective heads.
(new scene…)
Before long, Flashback Lisa managed to convince Flashback Mr. Murdoch to give Flashback James R. the position of apprentice.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" praised Flashback James R., now decked out in a mechanic's outfit and hat, "I owe you big time for the help!"
"I wouldn't go thanking her, just yet," warned Flashback Mr. Murdoch, "You have tons of work ahead of you."
"I won't let you down, Kojiro!" Flashback James R. vowed.
(montage)
In no time at all, Flashback James R., in four different freeze frames, was hard at work on cleaning the docking bay, moving stuff around, and even helping with repairing or building M1 Astray Duel Runners.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, James R., now trying to provoke Michael, sat down at the other end of the table as Michael simply gave an excuse for not bothering to find work.
"I know that and more," insisted Michael, "But it's not my fault that there aren't any jobs that suit me."
"Suit you?" scoffed James R., smiling smugly, "Yeah right."
"Now, now, let's try to calm down," suggested Megan.
"You keep out of this," frowned James R., glaring at the black-haired young woman.
Megan stammered and backed off. Before long, a young man with short blonde hair and glasses arrives at the coffee shop.
"Morning, Juri," The young man greeted.
"Hi, Sai," Juri greeted back.
Sai Switzer, his full name, was also a student from Orb, learning to become a Turbo duelist. But since attending Orb required a fair bit of money to pay for the stay, he worked at the coffee shop part time to earn the money needed to pay to attend and to also help support himself, his Mother, and two younger siblings. Once Sai entered the building, James R. turned his attention back to Michael.
"Sheesh, he's completely different from you," joked James R., continuing to provoke Michael, "He works from day to night in order to take care of his family. You should follow his example!"
Michael narrowed his eyes, "Who do you think I am?" he growled, "Don't compare me to that guy."
"You don't have a job because of that attitude!" taunted James R., "You keep bragging that you're Michael Atlas. Michael Atlas this, Michael Atlas that! It's a new era, man!" As he (James R.) went on, Michael narrowed his (Michael) eyes dangerously, "No one remembers you anymore!"
Juri and Megan both gulped, wondering if James R. had gone too far by saying that. Unfortunately, he (James R.) was far from being finished with trying to get Michael riled up enough to get up and actually try getting a job.
"If that frustrates you, then earn some money on your own!" dared James R., "If it wasn't for us being adopted by Discord, you'd probably be stuck at the orphanage eating very little!"
"Fine! If that's what you say, I'll show you!" offered Michael, now angry and determined to prove to James R. that he (Michael) 'could' work and earn money of his own, "I'll dump tons of money in front of your feet before you know it!"
And he stomped off in a huff. James R. simply smiled to himself in triumph for finally provoking Michael into getting off his (Michael) butt and go find some work. Megan and Juri watched the occurring scene with concern before Juri approached and tried changing the subject.
"So, James…" she started calmly, "How's Ashima holding out?"
"Well, I heard from Carlie that Ashima spent the night with Matt in his dorm," replied James R., "I'm hopeful it will help jumpstart Ashima's road to recovery."
"I hope so, too," worried Juri.
"Hey, who's Ashima?" pondered Megan.
"Ashima Nilgiri is the girlfriend of Matt Fudo," explained James R., "She's also one of India's best duelists," This got Megan intrigued as she listened to the rest of the explanation, "She competed in 'The Great International Duel Cup' in Atlanta a few years ago."
"And last night," added Juri, "she and Matt endured a huge scare which we really shouldn't talk about."
Realizing the matter was personal, Megan decided to not press any further with it. Instead, a waitress emerges from the building, ready for the two customers to pay for their meals. She left the check behind earlier on to let Michael and Juri eat in peace and now wanted it paid. The waitress, however, noticed that Michael had left the scene before even paying.
"Excuse me," said the waitress, getting Juri's attention, "but where is the handsome gentleman?"
Juri sweatdropped once the question was asked, realizing that since Michael left before he could pay for his meal, she would have to handle not only her bill but Michael's bill, too. Why, oh why, did James R. have to show up and provoke Michael before this point happened?
(elsewhere…)
Inside a diner an hour and a half later, at around lunch time, Michael had applied to help make the meals for paying customers. While he meant well, his method of preparing the food was…less than admirable, and the cooks soon found that out.
"Look!" Michael, wearing an apron, boasted arrogantly, as several cooks watched in unamused surprise, "This is Michael Atlas's specialty, the Synchro Lunch!"
The meal…did not look very good. The head cook could only groan dreadfully.
(outside…)
Back outside the diner…
"Get out of here!" The voice of the head cook hollered.
No longer wearing an apron, Michael walked out the door seemingly without a care in the world.
(elsewhere…)
A little later, Michael, wearing another apron, tried his luck with assisting in a video store. He was busy dusting and cleaning shelves when he noticed someone buying a DVD of some of 'The Great International Duel Cup's' greatest duels.
"Ah, that there's a very good choice, friend," complimented Michael, taking the DVD case from the male customer, "This one features the climatic duel between Matt Fudo and Thomas Billinton, ending with Thomas's victory."
"What?!" The male customer cried out, outraged at having the ending of the duel spoiled, "You jerk! I didn't want to learn of the ending before I watched it!"
And the customer stormed off in a bad temper, not bothering to buy the DVD. The owner of the store, and Michael's boss, looked unhappy that Michael scared away another customer.
(outside…)
Outside the video store, the door opened as some angry words were heard coming from inside.
"You're fired!" The voice of the video store owner roared.
No longer wearing an apron, Michael walked out the door seemingly without a care in the world.
(elsewhere…)
Not giving up, Michael tried working at a bookstore. The door at the store opened, and a man carrying a large delivery of magazines walked inside.
"Good afternoon!" The delivery man greeted, but was greeted by a feather duster, "Eh…?"
"We don't need these magazines!" scolded Michael, wearing an apron, "Bring ones that have special features on Michael Atlas, and only Michael Atlas!"
The boss of the bookstore, overhearing the commotion, ran over to try and stop it. Unfortunately, he was not having any luck, and was forced to do one thing about it.
(outside…)
Outside the bookstore, the doors opened…
"You are through! Finished! Fired!" The voice of the bookstore owner yelled out.
No longer wearing an apron, Michael walked out the door seemingly without a care in the world.
(elsewhere…)
Refusing to give in, Michael gave it one last shot. This time it was at a laundromat. It seemed to be going well, but then, one customer raised his dry cleaned dress shirt and found a large hole in the right sleeve.
"What the hell is this hole doing here?!" The male customer demanded in outrage.
"There's no need to feel ashamed," Michael, again wearing an apron, reassured, before lifting the sleeve of his coat, removing his glove, and exposing the Mark of the Dragon (Dragon's Wings) on his right forearm, "You're now part of our team."
The co-owner of the laundromat was less than thrilled when he overheard what just happened.
(outside…)
Outside the laundromat, the doors opened…
"You're fired!" The voice of the laundromat owner screeched, "Get outta here!"
No longer wearing an apron, Michael walked out the door seemingly without a care in the world. That was the fourth place he tried working at, only to get the boot in around ten minutes or so.
"These people don't understand me," muttered Michael, "If only they saw how good of a worker I could actually be."
As he walked away, he remained unaware that someone was watching over him. That someone was none other than Megan, who had been hiding behind a building borner and spying on Michael's attempts to get a job but failing in the end.
"Mike…" whispered Megan, "I want to help him. But if I do, Mike will get mad at me."
(elsewhere…)
While Michael's hijinks in getting a job was happening, outside Orb, noon hour had struck, and various students were coming and going from the building. Over near the window of Matt's dorm, a voice could be heard coming from inside.
"It's morning?" The voice of Ashima was saying, "It feels like I've been sleeping forever."
(inside…)
In the room, Ashima rubbed her tired eyes and felt a little better with some sleep. It was then she realized she was alone in the room, meaning Matt had woken up and proceeded to attend to his duties around Orb. Curious, the black-haired young Indian woman looked over and checked the nearby clock, noticing it was '12:15 pm', meaning the afternoon was beginning.
"I was sleeping until noon?!" gasped Ashima, "Goodness me, I really slept in!" She started to move the blanket off of her nude body when she quickly stopped and felt some jolting pain below the waist, "Ngh…"
Ashima looked under the blanket and reached in to rub at the unseen womanhood between her legs, seeing as that spot was sore since she willingly gave up her virginity that fateful night. Once she recovered from the brief amount of pain, Ashima decided to try something; she got out of bed and approached the nearby table, where she left her Deck before she and Matt went to bed and made love. After looking at her Deck for what seemed like forever, Ashima finally picked it up off the table and just…stopped, being completely frozen by both fear and remorse.
"So many negative emotions!" thought Ashima, visibly pained.
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
During the Turbo Duel between Flashback Matt and Flashback Ashima…
"Battle!" declared Flashback Ashima (possessed), entering her Battle Phase, "I'm going to defeat you this turn, Matt!" As she gave the order for her monster to attack, 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' started to, again, hold both hands out, "'Assembled Nightingale', attack the enemy player directly!"
'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' started to fire off a blast of wind from her hands.
"Trap Card, open!" shouted Flashback Matt, as one of his Set cards flipped face-up and revealed itself from the front of Fudo Go, "'Spirit Force'! During my opponent's turn, at damage calculation: I must make the battle damage I take from this battle 0, then I can add 1 Warrior Tuner with 1500 or less DEF from my GY to my hand.
A protective barrier formed around Fudo Go, shielding him from the wind blast.
"Since I don't have any Warrior Tuners in my GY, I don't get to add anything," continued Flashback Matt, "Still, what matters is I've blocked your initial attack."
"You know I still have four remaining attacks left, yes?" reminded Flashback Ashima (possessed), "For every material attached to 'Assembled Nightingale', she gets an additional attack during the Battle Phase!" 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' started to fire off another blast of wind from her hands, "Attack again!"
"And I'll block your second attack!" cut in Flashback Matt, as his second Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself beside Fudo Go (on its left), "I activate a Trap, 'Defense Draw'! During my opponent's turn, at damage calculation: I must make the battle damage I take from this battle 0, and if I do, draw 1 card."
Another protective barrier formed around him and Fudo Go, causing the attack from 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' not to collide and harm him, while also allowing him to draw one more card. The drawn card was a rare Spell Card called 'Forbidden Droplet'.
"You might have saved yourself from defeat, but I can still attack and significantly damage you!" raged Flashback Ashima (possessed), just as 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale' started to fire off another blast of wind from her hands, then a fourth, and finally a fifth "Attack a third time! A fourth time! And a fifth time!"
The multiple blasts of wind finally hit their mark, pushing Fudo Go back a little bit as Flashback Matt cried out and took repeated damage (LP: 4000 → 2800 → 1600 → 400).
(new scene…)
Flashback Ashima (possessed), with both hands at the temples of her head, let out screams of pain as she fought the control of the Dark Signers's spider the best that she was able to. At first, it looked like she would succeed.
"I… I am…Ashima Nilgiri!" winced Flashback Ashima (possessed), as her tone of voice started to go from rough-sounding to soft-spoken and polite, "I won't…hurt the man…I love!"
Flashback Matt looked very hopeful; Flashback Ashima really was about to return to her normal self. Unfortunately, it was easier said than done, because a certain card given to Ashima (possessed) by Vincent was not going to let its user become good again.
"You don't have a free will anymore!" A deep, menacing voice from the 'Fusion Parasite' Monster Card in the possessed Ashima's hand boomed, "You serve the Dark Signers—and me!"
The card itself started glowing purple, further intensifying the pain within the head of Flashback Ashima (possessed) and causing her to start screaming even louder as she struggled to fight the power of the Dark Signers, but was losing badly. Flashback Matt, watching, was growing more and more worried.
"Ashima!" he called out again, "You can do it!"
"S-Shut up, you bastard!" snarled Flashback Ashima (possessed), still under the control of the Dark Signers. From there, she made a face-down card materialize on the field, which flipped face-up and revealed itself to be… "Quick-Play Spell, 'Lyrilusc - Bird Song'! When a 'Lyrilusc' monster I control inflicts battle damage to my opponent: I must Special Summon 1 Level 1 monster from my hand in Defense Position."
"What monster will she play?" thought Flashback Matt, "Another 'Lyrilusc' monster?"
Flashback Ashima (possessed) reached for the 'Lyrilusc - Beryl Canary' Monster Card in her hand, but the other card ('Fusion Parasite') glowed purple and spoke to her once more.
"No!" The evil voice (male) refused, "You will play me!"
Trying to resist, the pain in Flashback Ashima's head got worse until she retracted her hand from the first card ('Lyrilusc - Beryl Canary') and instead took the other card ('Fusion Parasite').
"This will be my Level 1 monster!" began Flashback Ashima (possessed), readying the card before placing it onto a Monster Zone (sideways) on her Duel Runner, "Appear now, 'Fusion Parasite'!"
Appearing onto the field was an Insect monster resembling a parasite of sorts (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). With the appearance of that monster, the pain that Flashback Ashima (possessed) was experiencing was growing as she started screaming even more from the mind rape.
(elsewhere…)
Within her darkened heart, a saddened, guilty-looking Flashback Ashima realized what was happening.
"Matty… please help me…" whimpered Flashback Ashima, before sinking deeper into darkness.
(elsewhere…)
Back outside, Flashback Ashima (possessed) soon stopped screaming and had an insane-looking slasher smile on her face. Whatever good remained inside of her was completely gone thanks to 'Fusion Parasite' now being on the field. Speaking of which, it was a card Flashback Matt had no familiarity with.
"Wh-What the-?!" gasped Flashback Matt, "That's not one of your cards!"
"It's too early to be surprised!" retorted Flashback Ashima (possessed), before going over her new monster's second effect, "If this card is Special Summoned: I can Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, using monsters from my hand or field as Fusion Materials, including this card, then equip this card from the GY to the Fusion Summoned monster."
"Fusion Summon?!"
"Did I stutter?!" The possessed black-haired young Indian woman retorted hotly, "In addition, while this card is face-up on the field, it can be used as a substitute for any 1 Fusion Material listed on the Fusion Monster Card," She then started to go over which other monster would serve as a Fusion Material, "I fuse 'Fusion Parasite' with my Xyz Monster 'Assembled Nightingale'!"
The two monsters began fusing together as a Summon Chant ensued.
"Twitter of the songbird that resounds in the dark night. Become one with the inner voice and cry more intensely!" chanted Flashback Ashima (possessed), before bringing both hands together, "Fusion Summon! Fly down! Noble isolated night bird! 'Lyrilusc - Independent Nightingale'!"
Appearing within the sky and flying around, as the Fusion Summon sequence ended, was a female, adult-like humanoid bird monster similar to 'Lyrilusc - Assembled Nightingale', but with a different choice of outfit in terms of color and sharp claws for the wing-like arms (Level: 1/ATK: 1000/DEF: 0).
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and Ashima, still reeling from shock, sadness, and guilt, dropped her Deck back onto the table. The last time she had felt such depressing and negative emotions when touching cards was when she touched Thomas's Deck just before they dueled in 'The Great International Duel Cup' a few years ago. While she was horrified and heartbroken from feeling such emotions from her opponent's Deck, this time it all came from her own Deck of cards.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the dorm's currently steaming bathroom, the still naked Ashima was in the middle of taking a hot shower (with steam from the hot water covering up the very intimate body parts). Instead of scrubbing herself, Ashima simply allowed the water to wash away the soap as she stood still for what seemed like forever.
"I could feel such negative emotions from my own cards," thought Ashima, "I've never felt them to be so hurt and maybe even distrusting towards me," She closed her eyes while falling into a deeper depression, "They have every right to feel so angry and betrayed, since I failed them during their time of need."
She remained in her spot for the duration of her shower of angst.
(elsewhere…)
Soon after the shower, a fully dressed, brooding Ashima entered one of Orb's cafeterias and looked around a few times before sitting down at a table, alone and depressed with no one to talk to in order to help make her feel better. Nearby, James R., done work for the day, and Lisa both watched from another table, looking and feeling horrible for Ashima.
"Ashima…" mumbled James R..
"The poor thing," came from Lisa. Even the tough, tomboyish girl felt saddened by how broken Ashima appeared to be, "She's really having a hard time trying to feel good again, isn't she?"
"Sadly so; she was kidnapped and possessed by the Dark Signers, after all."
Finally deciding to do something, Lisa stood up and walked away, with a curious James R. following her. Over at Ashima's table, Ashima, looking up at the ceiling, continued to be haunted by bad memories of her possession. Suddenly, upon looking down at the table after hearing a short sliding sound, a tray of food was moved into her line of sight.
"Huh?" realized Ashima.
"Go on, eat," The voice of Lisa suggested, which caused the black-haired young Indian woman to look to her right. She stood at the other end of the table with a kind smile on her face, "You look like you need this more than I do."
Touched by the act of kindness from Lisa Drake, Ashima managed a small smile before giving a polite bow before beginning to eat; after sleeping until noon, she was feeling hungry, after all. Interested in getting to know her better, Lisa took a seat beside Ashima and tried talking to her, and they were then joined by James R. bringing some food for Lisa and also carrying a tray of food for himself. Soon, the three were sharing a pleasant conversation. Was this a small start to Ashima's journey to recover and forgive herself? That's hard to say.
(elsewhere…)
At around '3:10 pm', Michael was seated by the river, throwing stones, and sulking. For the last few hours, he had been trying to prove James R. wrong by finding a job—only to get fired after between ten and twenty minutes.
"Those people are a bunch of dolts," grumbled Michael, "They just don't understand my worth."
That part was technically not true. Without ever realizing it, he actually got the boot from those jobs because of him being egotistical, difficult to work with, and basically a fish out of water during work despite getting much better control over his ego since his days as North America's champion. After hurling another stone into the river, he heard footsteps and looked to his left. He saw Megan approaching with two bags and two medium sodas from a burger diner.
"Oh, it's only you, Megan," grunted Michael.
Megan sat down, "Here," she offered sweetly, giving Michael one of the bags, "I got you something to eat."
Michael felt silently thankful, since he hadn't eaten anything else since breakfast. He reached into his pocket to get out some money, but was stopped by Megan.
"It's all on the house," insisted Megan.
For the next little while, the two young adults ate their respective burgers, French fries, and drank their medium sodas. Afterwards, they went for a little stroll through the eastern part of the city. Throughout the walk, Michael remained neutral and stoic, while Megan felt very giddy over it.
"Oh, Mike, you really care about me," thought Megan, blushing hard, "Instead of taking a roundabout route, you should've just asked me directly because I'm already yours," Suddenly, she was grabbed by Michael and pulled aside, "WAAAH!"
She got pulled into an alleyway, with Michael covering her mouth.
"W-What was that all about?!" wailed Megan.
"Shh. Be quiet," hushed Michael silently.
"Why?"
"Because I spotted someone suspicious," The lime green-haired young man said back, before peeking out from the alleyway, "Good! He hasn't spotted us."
Up ahead, a familiar young man with short blonde hair and glasses was shown standing a good distance away from the alleyway, looking around to see if he was being followed, and then made a run for it. Emerging from the alleyway, Michael and Megan began to follow.
(elsewhere…)
The search ended up at a local cemetery, where the young man was standing before a tomb that read 'Lucien Switzer, 1967-2012. Loving husband and Father' across it. This meant that the young man visiting the cemetery was none other than the very same Sai, whom Michael briefly noticed at the coffee shop.
"Dad, I'm sorry…" apologized Sai, falling to his knees and clutched the tomb, "I tried, but I failed," Nearby, Michael and Megan arrived to hear everything, "When you died, I vowed to help Mom raise the family, but we fell on hard times most recently."
"Hard times?" pondered Michael, before walking over.
"Huh? Hey, wait up, Mike!" cried Megan, trying to follow.
Back over with Sai, he continued to grieve until he looked up upon hearing footsteps. Looking over his shoulders, he saw Michael and Megan approaching and stood up to face them.
"Who-?!" began Sai.
"You're Sai of Orb, aren't you?" said Michael simply.
"Y-Yeah…" stammered Sai, before realizing who he's talking to, "And you're Michael Atlas, one of the country's strongest duelists!"
Michael nodded.
"My name's Megan Haw," introduced Megan, "I'm a reporter for the Daily Writer's Group in New York City."
"Oh yeah, I remember seeing you arguing with Juri at the coffee shop," acknowledged Sai, before looking down again, "Unfortunately, you two caught me at a bad time."
"A bad time?" repeated Megan.
"Yeah," confirmed Sai, as he looked over his shoulder at the tomb, "I was speaking and apologizing to my deceased Father for failing him," He looked back at the two arrivals, "My family's recently run into some very hard times."
With that said, Megan led Sai to a nearby bench, and Michael followed. Once he sat down, Sai revealed everything that's been going on with his personal life.
"A few days ago, my family, consisting of my Mother, my two younger siblings, and myself received a visit from Don Garome," began Sai, "He's a ruthless money trader rumored to be a mob boss."
"No way!" exclaimed Megan, "Not 'that' Don Garome!"
"You know of that guy?" pressed Michael.
"Of course," frowned Megan, "He's an illegal money lender who preys on the poor, traveling from major city to major city after his job is done. After lending money, he makes them sign a fake contract that takes all of their possessions if they don't pay him back. He must have also tricked poor Sai!"
"That's the same man," groaned Sai, before slamming his right fist down on the bench's handle, "If nothing changes soon, I'll have to leave Orb and dueling behind entirely."
"Becoming a duelist has been your dream," reminded Michael, "I remember seeing you tell Juri and her friends that."
"I know that!" A frustrated Sai assured, "But a dream of mine simply can't become reality if my family becomes broke and loses everything to a mob boss," His fists shook with emotion as he spoke on, "After my Father died, we all started falling into hard times."
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Inside the Switzer household weeks earlier, a short, stocky man wearing a fancy yellow business suit and toupee was speaking to Flashback Sai and Flashback Mrs. Switzer.
"We met Don Garome soon after my Father's death," narrated Sai, "He claimed that he chose my family out of hundreds he 'helped' across the country."
Although the conversation couldn't be heard, Flashback Garome was smiling cheerfully and pitching his plan to Flashback Sai, who listened to every word being said.
"I knew I shouldn't have listened to those words, but I was desperate to help Mom and my siblings," Sai went on, just before Flashback Garome handed over a contract, "I foolishly believed every single word before agreeing to signing the contract."
After some hesitation on his part, Flashback Sai looked to his Mother, who nodded and allowed for him to sign the paperwork. With it being okay, Flashback Sai signed the contract, causing Flashback Garome to happily smack the blonde-haired young man's back and claim that he made the right choice.
(new scene…)
All seemed well, at least until the days before Ashima's kidnapping. One night, the door to the Switzer household burst open by two burly men and followed by Flashback Garome, having come to collect his payment. Minutes later, Flashback Sai, Flashback Mrs. Switzer, and the two young children (a boy and a girl) silently watched with terror as Flashback Garome looked at his initial payment and bellowed with laughter.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, and Sai removed his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on.
"Even with my job at the coffee shop to try and help pay Garome back, it isn't much help," he sighed in dread, "Unfortunately, Garome is visiting tonight to collect the second half of the payment—which I still don't have very much of."
"Sai…" whispered Megan.
"That man…" hissed Michael, clearly angered, "How dare he take advantage of families going through hard times!" He then looked towards Sai, "Quick, tell me, does this Garome guy duel?"
"Huh?" blinked Sai.
"I'm going to meet with him," said Michael sternly, "Now, tell me, does he duel?"
Sai briefly flinched, "Y-Yeah…"
"Mike, you aren't going to do what I think you're gonna do?" protested Megan.
"Sai, I need you to do something for me," requested Michael, ignoring the objections, "Lend me your Deck."
Sai remained surprised, but didn't move a muscle.
"I need you to lend me your Deck!" repeated Michael, more loudly.
Sai reluctantly complied; he reached into his jacket pocket and handed his Deck to Michael, who started looking it over card by card.
"Just to warn you, this Deck isn't very good," Sai pointed out, "Maybe you should use your own Deck, Mike?"
Michael soon finished looking over the Deck, with the bottommost card being a Monster Card known as 'Smile Kid'. Michael simply grinned to himself and uttered a few simple words…
"I'll win using this Deck."
(elsewhere…)
Inside the Switzer residence later that night, Sai was helping his Mother with washing the dishes from dinner. They both were dreading the arrival of Don Garome, but the best they could do was proceed with the evening as though it was normal. The two younger children were thankfully upstairs and unable to see what would possibly happen once Garome showed up.
"Sai, I'm scared," whimpered Mrs. Switzer.
"I am, too, Mom," Sai agreed, trying to remain strong, "But we'll all get through this."
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the front door, and it was then roughly kicked open, getting the attention of Sai and Mrs. Switzer. Sire enough, two burly men walked inside the house before allowing their boss, Don Garome, to come inside. A small, deadly smile formed on the ugly man's face as he noticed both Sai and Mrs. Switzer showed up.
"Don Garome!" gasped Mrs. Switzer.
"Good evening, you two," greeted Garome 'politely', but with a hidden sense of contempt in his tone, "I hope I haven't come at a bad time," When no response came, he cleared his throat and continued, "In any case, I'm here for my second payment."
"We can't!" argued Mrs. Switzer, "Please try to understand, Mr. Garome, we've fallen into some hard times since my husband passed away."
"We only signed that contract when you offered to help us," added Sai, "While you did provide us some money to help keep us going and we're thankful for it, you're asking for way too much in payment."
"It's part of the deal," reminded Garome, "You might have paid me…" As he (Garome) went on with his explanation, both Sai and his (Sai) Mother listened in distress, "…a little bit of what I'm owed, but it's not enough!"
"We just need another week!" pleaded Mrs. Switzer, "Please, we'll pay you back in full! We just need more time!"
"You had more than enough time," snapped Garome ruthlessly, as Mrs. Switzer listened in horror, "You will either pay me back now, or I'll have my boys here take all of your valuables."
"You're horrible!" insulted Sai, getting the attention of Garome, "You'd really make us lose everything just to fill your greedy pockets?!"
Unamused, Garome snapped his fingers and one of his two bodyguards proceeded to punch Sai in the face, throwing him into the kitchen with a loud, pained yell, injured. Mrs. Switzer was in tears when she went to help her eldest son. Garome sneeringly looked at the pair before making himself very clear.
"This is your final warning," he threatened without any empathy, "Pay me my share in full, or most of your valuables become mine."
"N-Never…" growled Sai, despite being injured, "We'll never give you our money."
Unhappy he was refused, Garome, by snapping his fingers again, allowed his two bodyguards to begin raiding the living room of anything valuable. Sai and his Mother knew that there was nothing they were able to do to stop the looting—or was there?
"Hold it right there!" A voice (male) echoed.
"What?!" cried Garome, before a camera flash followed.
The bodyguards also stopped looting and looked at the nearby staircase leading upstairs. There, standing at the top of the stairs, was none other than Michael Atlas, and by his side was Megan Haw. In Megan's hands was a camera, which she used to snap a picture of the crime being committed.
"Are you Garome?" asked Michael coldly, walking down the stairs.
"Oh my! If it isn't Michael Atlas, the Duel King of the highest order," greeted Garome, who wasn't even upset over being caught in the act of looting a house and was instead delighted to see one of the strongest duelists in the world in his sights, "And what brings one of the country's best duelists to my presence?"
"Who's Michael Atlas?" The first bodyguard whispered.
"Beats me," The second bodyguard shrugged.
Michael overheard the comment as his eyes flared with anger. Garome, however, resumed speaking before anything else could be said or done.
"If you need money, I'll lend you as much as you need," offered Garome. He pulled out an unsigned contract from his jacket and held it out towards a potential sucker, "You can pay me back once you have the money to do so."
Scowling, Michael simply slapped the so-called contract out of Garome's hands in disgust, which seemed to surprise him (Garome) a fair bit.
"You can cut the act out," warned Michael, "You know you were caught commiting a crime."
"He's right, Don Garome," agreed Megan, holding out the camera, "Since I took a picture of you ordering your minions to attack Sai and begin stealing stuff from the living room," Garome listened as her explanation came to an end, "I now have proof I can deliver to the police!"
"Is that so?" scoffed Garome, before smiling deviously, "In that case…"
With the snap of the fingers from his right hand, one of the two bodyguards roughly pushed Michael aside, rushed up the stairs, and grabbed the camera out of the shocked Megan's hands, tossing it down to his boss, who caught the camera with a greedy snicker and looked at the picture taken.
"Well now, 'that' is a handsome-looking devil," The voice of Garome chuckled sarcastically, satisfied he got himself something cool. He looked up with a triumphant look on his face, "This will look great for my desk."
An upset Megan gritted her teeth over her proof being taken from her. Garome and his henchmen were prepared to leave with the loot, when…
"Hold it!" interrupted Michael, while returning to his feet, "Duel me!"
"Hm?" quizzed Garome, "A duel, did you say?
"Yes," Michael went on, "If you win, I'll do whatever you want," He (Michael) pointed at Garome, "But if I win, you'll give back that camera, return everything you stole, and terminate the fake contracts you made Sai and everyone else sign!"
"Lord Garome!" The first bodyguard protested.
"Are you gonna let that punk push you around?" The second bodyguard added.
"Now, now, do you know how many possessions I've been collecting?" teased Garome, "Even if you want them back, you have nothing of value to offer me," He stopped and remembered that he was speaking to the King of Turbo Duelists, "Actually, there might be something you can give me should I win."
Michael winced, waiting for the wager to come forward.
"How about this?" began Garome, "If I defeat you, then you will give me your two best cards, 'Red Dragon Archfiend' and 'Red Nova Dragon'!"
"Eh?!" shrieked Megan, as Michael merely gritted his teeth, "'Red Daemon's' and 'Scar-Red Nova'?!"
"And," added Garome, pointing at his latest victim, "throw in your Duel Runner, Wheel of Fortune, while we're at it! Accept my little offer, and we'll duel."
"Don't do it, Mike!" begged Sai.
"It's not worth it!" added Megan.
"So, that's your game," muttered Michael, before looking up and fearlessly making his decision, "Fine, I accept your wager."
To prove it, he holds up Sai's Deck, aiming to use it to win the duel.
(elsewhere…)
Outside Orb, some voices were heard coming from inside the building.
"My powered up 'Vylon Epsilon' attacks your 'Scrap Dragon', Mayura!" The voice of Asagi proclaimed with excitement.
"Darn it, you've destroyed my monster," The voice of Mayura groaned.
(inside…)
In a classroom, Matt, Ashima, and the Astray trio were the only ones inside at the time. While the former two sat nearby and chatted, the latter three were busy dueling for fun. Not with Duel Disks or their M1 Astrays, but just with the playmats. To be more specific, Asagi and Mayura were dueling, and Juri was just watching and waiting for when it was her turn to duel.
"Ashima, is it true you've sensed immensely negative emotions from your cards?" asked Matt.
"Yes, it is true," replied Ashima quietly, "It means my cards harbor great doubts about me."
"You?"
"They don't realize that I wasn't myself during our duel," The black-haired young Indian woman said more clearly, "They believe it was all me."
Matt didn't know what to say about that startling statement; Ashima was not only traumatized over her possession and now afraid to even duel, but she found that her own cards distrusted her. He then felt Ashima's hand touching the top of his left hand, which he looked down at for a few seconds before looking up to his left and finding Ashima, despite being sad, smiling at him a little bit.
"But…so long as I'm with you, I'll begin to recover," proclaimed Ashima softly, "You and all of our friends."
Just then…
"Matt! Ashima!" The voice of Asagi called out.
Matt and Ashima looked over, noticing that Asagi was, indeed, calling out to them, with Mayura and Juri both waving.
"Asagi just kicked my butt again," admitted Mayura sheepishly.
"Ashima, is it alright if Matt has a duel with me?!" requested Asagi, "I'd like to see, first hand, how good he is in a simple duel!"
Matt started to get up from his seat, but then remembered something. He turned to Ashima and gave her an apologetic look for not seeing if it's alright. But rather than get upset, Ashima simply gave Matt an understanding nod.
"Go ahead, Matty," she pressured, "I can just watch."
Matt remained unsure, but since he was given permission, he nodded back and started to walk over to the nearby desk. While watching Matt, Ashima started to smile rather sadly as she retreated into her thoughts about dueling.
"Matt is still fully capable of dueling," Ashima thought to herself, "But look at me; I'm afraid to even pick up a card. Will I ever be able to duel again?"
At one of the tables, Matt shuffled his Deck before placing it onto the Deck Zone on the mat, while Asagi did the same with her own Deck. Before both duelists could draw their opening hands, they, along with Ashima, Mayura, and Juri, heard the door to the classroom burst open. Standing inside the classroom out of breath was none other than Megan, and she looked very desperate.
"Megan?" uttered Juri.
"Why is she here?" came from Mayura.
"Megan, what's going on?" asked Matt.
"It's Mike!" panicked Megan, "He's about to engage in a duel with none other…than Don Garome, a mob boss!"
This caused Matt, the three Astray girls, and even Ashima to gasp.
(elsewhere…)
Pretty soon, Megan was leading the people she went to see down the street towards a small park with two basketball baskets on both sides. On one side was Michael, with Sai, his Mother, and two younger siblings watching and cheering him on. On the other end was Don Garome, with the two bodyguards watching and cheering him on.
"This is the duel?" pondered Matt, before noticing Sai, "And isn't that-?"
"Sai!" Asagi called out.
"What's happening?!" put in Mayura.
Sai, Mrs. Switzer, and the two younger kids noticed the arrivals.
"You three-!" gasped Sai, before easing up and gesturing nearby, "See for yourself. Mike's about to duel Garome to try and free my family from that unfair contract."
"Unfair contract?" repeated Ashima.
"It'll take too long to explain, but basically if Mike wins the duel, my family will not have to pay a huge sum of money to Don Garome," Sai explained, before looking forward, "But…" His (Sai) focus was shifted towards Michael, "…if Mike loses, we have to pay everything we have, and he'll have to give up 'Red Dragon Archfiend', 'Red Nova Dragon', and Wheel of Fortune."
"He's also using my son's Deck instead of his own," added Mrs. Switzer.
The Astray trio all gasped again, but Matt remained on the neutral side, wanting to see what the duel would be like. Ashima? Well, she originally wanted to just leave, but Michael was a friend of hers, and she didn't want to abandon him. So, she decided to stay and watch, too, despite her fear of dueling. On the field, Garome and Michael were addressing each other one more time before the duel began.
"You understand that if I win, I get 'Red Dragon Archfiend', 'Red Nova Dragon', and Wheel of Fortune," recalled Garome.
"Yes," agreed Michael, "Michael Atlas never goes back on his word!"
With that said, both duelists drew their opening hands and commenced their ante duel
"Duel!" Michael and Garome both declared at once (LP: 4000) x2.
Over with the audience…
"Good luck, Mike!" called Megan.
"You can do it!" encouraged Juri.
Back on the field…
"I'll start the duel off!" requested Garome, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn One: Don Garome (LP: 4000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector", "Trojan Blast", "Spell Purification", "Nefarious Trader", "Cemetary Bomb", and "Upstart Goblin"
His drawn card was a Spell Card called 'Upstart Goblin', which he slotted into his Duel Disk.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Upstart Goblin'!" announced Garome, as the mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field. He then drew a card and pointed forward, "I must draw 1 card, then my opponent gains 1000 LP," The mafia-like man was pointing at Michael, "Please accept my generosity and gain 1000 more LP!"
Dollar bills began raining down on Michael's field as his LP went up (LP: 4000 → 5000).
"That guy raised Mike's LP?" questioned Ashima.
"Don't believe that's him being nice," warned Sai, "He always suckers you in by coming up to you with a smile on his face!" He started calling out to the one person helping him, "Mike, don't be fooled by his generosity!" As he (Sai) continued his warnings about Garome, Michael turned and listened, "That's how Garome always gets his way in the end!"
"Just keep quiet and watch!" responded Michael, unfazed, "His acts don't fool me one bit."
"Hmm…" mumbled Garome, before placing a card onto his Duel Disk, "I Special Summon 'Nefarious Trader'!"
Appearing onto the field was a demon with wings and wearing a business suit and carrying a huge cellphone (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"If my LP are lower than my opponent's, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand) in Attack Position," explained Garome, before placing one more card onto his Duel Disk (sideways), "Now, I'll Summon 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' in Defense Position!"
Appearing onto the field was a large demon monster wearing a business suit and appearing to act like an accountant or something (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 1300).
"King, you know you will have to repay the amount of LP I gave you in earnest," said Garome smugly, "Do you admit it?"
"I don't recall ever having to pay you for anything!" refused Michael.
Garome chuckled, "As I expect you to say," While speaking, he slotted a card into his Duel Disk, "I Set one card face-down and end my turn!"
A face-down card materialized on the field.
"'Nefarious Trader' and 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector'…" observed Mayura, "What are those two monsters like?"
"Extremely bad news," answered Sai, "I know a bit about them."
"They might be bad news, but Mike isn't concerned about them," Asagi pointed out.
Back on the field…
"It's my turn!" announced Michael, drawing a card.
Turn Two: Michael Atlas (LP: 5000)
Deck: 34
Current Hand (6): "Dancing Fairy", "Zero Hole", "Spirit of the Breeze", "Compulsory Recoil Device", "Zerozerock", and "Power Invader"
His drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Power Invader'.
"If my opponent controls 2 or more monsters, I can Normal Summon this card without Tributing," As he said that, Michael placed his card onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Power Invader' in Attack Position!"
Appearing onto the field was a huge, humanoid Fiend monster wearing dark red and dark blue clothing (Level: 5/ATK: 2200/DEF: 0).
"Good!" rejoiced Juri, "With 2200 ATK, Mike can easily destroy Garome's monsters!"
Back on the field…
"It appears that you have no intention to pay me back," Garone remarked, letting out a heavy sigh, "You leave me with no choice, then… Continuous Trap, 'Endless Loan', activate!" His Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Each time my opponent Normal or Special Summons a monster(s): I…" As he continued explaining, a lizard-like monster appeared onto Michael's field before catching a large weight with the number '1000' written on it (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), "…must Special Summon 1 'Loan Token' to their field in Defense Position. This Token cannot be Tributed."
"A 'Loan Token'?!" gawked Michael.
"Isn't that-?" came from Juri, briefly removing her glasses.
"A loan is a loan. One has to help pay back the LP you borrowed," said Garome, shrugging his shoulders, "I will do anything to get my payment, even in the style of the mafia," He then started speaking about one of his monsters—namely 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector', "And 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' will be dropping by to do the collecting by using its second effect!" The audience listened to his ever word, "Once per turn: I can inflict 1000 damage to my opponent for each 'Loan Token' they control!"
"1000?!" cried Asagi, "That's far too high!"
"There are cards that inflict higher effect damage than that," reminded Matt dryly.
"Oh, and attacking won't do you any good, either," taunted Garome, twirling at his mustache, "While there is a 'Loan Token' on the field, this card cannot be destroyed by battle," His smile grew even more smug, "But I'll give you a tip… My Continuous Trap, 'Endless Loan', has a second effect!" Focus then went towards his face-up 'Endless Loan' Trap Card, "My opponent can send 1 card from their hand to the GY, then target 1 'Loan Token' they control; they must destroy that target."
"So, to prevent himself from taking any damage," Mayura was saying, "he has to send cards in his hand to the GY, therefore cutting down the number of 'Loan Tokens'?"
"Mr. Atlas!" called Mrs. Switzer, "You need to discard your hand and pay off the loan quickly before you end up in deep trouble later!"
"I won't!" Michael refused yet again, "Who would pay off an unfair loan they don't remember making!?" He pointed forth and entered his Battle Phase, "Battle! I use 'Power Invader' to attack 'Nefarious Trader'!"
'Power Invader' jumped into the sky and threw a punch, striking 'Nefarious Trader' and destroying it. Garome groaned weakly as he lost a lot of LP, but managed to shrug it off (LP: 4000 → 1800).
"Nice going, Mike! Really take it to him!" cheered Megan.
"Do your best!" added Juri.
Back on the field, Garome, even with his LP getting low, was far from being finished with his opponent.
"It would appear you don't comprehend the terror of the 'Loan Tokens'," he sneered, "Well, you will, now! I activate the second effect of 'Nefarious Trader'!"
Before Michael knew what was happening, another 'Loan Token' appeared on his field (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"If this card is destroyed by battle: I must Special Summon 1 'Loan Token' to my opponent's field in Defense Position," The voice of Garome, as the above scenario played out, explained. He then held his right hand out, "This Token cannot be Tributed."
Over with the audience…
"If Mike keeps summoning monsters, more 'Loan Tokens' will appear on his field and add up potential damage," said Ashima urgently.
"It's literally a 'Loan Token' Hell!" agreed Asagi.
Back on the field…
"So, what will you do?" teased Garome, "Will you discard cards from your hand to get rid of the 'Loan Tokens'?"
Michael glared.
"Hurry and pay!" yelled Sai, "If the loan gets any bigger, then…"
"I refuse!" The voice of Michael yelled back, making Sai flinch. He then took two cards from his hand and slotted them into his Duel Disk, "I Set two cards face-down and end my turn!"
Two face-down cards appeared on the field.
"You sure are stubborn," commented Garome, "You'd risk taking damage by 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' just to keep your hand intact?" When he got no answer, he drew a card, "It's my turn! Draw!"
Turn Three: Don Garome (LP: 1800)
Deck: 32
Current Hand (4): "Trojan Blast", "Spell Purification", "Cemetary Bomb", and "Illegal Business Practices"
On cue, a Spell Card called 'Illegal Business Practices' materialized face-up on the field behind 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector'.
"Equip Spell, 'Illegal Business Practices', activate!" The voice of Garome announced, as the above scenario played out, just before withdrawing his fingers from one of the Spell & Trap Zones on his Duel Disk, "Once per turn: I can double the effect damage inflicted to my opponent by the equipped monster's effect."
"Double effect damage?" pondered Megan.
"It's really bad," frowned Juri, explaining what she meant when both 'Loan Tokens' received another weight, "Mike originally would have taken 2000 damage by 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector', but now he'll take 4000 damage instead."
Over with Garome…
"Refusing to pay to the bitter end…" The mafia-like man tittered, "In that case, I guess I'll just make my collection," He swung his right arm about, "I activate 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector's' second effect!"
'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' took out a piece of paper with writing on it and held it out, causing the two 'Loan Tokens' to cry out as the weights they're carrying injured them a fair bit. This also caused Michael to glow purple and wince and lose a massive amount of LP (LP: 5000 → 1000).
"Mike!" called Sai.
"Mr. Atlas!" added Mrs. Switzer, while the two younger kids watched in shock.
"Back!" The voice of Michael demanded, causing Sai to step back into line with the rest of his family. He slowly stood back up, determined yet injured, "Just watch… I will win the duel!"
The audience watched silently.
"Well now, King… How does it feel to be roughed up by my ultimate Loan combo?" mocked Garome, before entering his End Phase, "I end my turn!"
"You think I'm going to pay a loan just because I'm losing?" scowled Michael, "You sleazy mob boss! I refuse to give into your demands!"
Garome chuckled at the insult, taking it as a compliment. With the audience again…
"Mr. Atlas is being stubborn in refusing to give Garome what he wants," worried Mrs. Switzer.
"He is, but that stubbornness is actually one of Mike's greatest strengths as a duelist," Matt pointed out, "He never gives up and gives it his all in a duel."
Ashima listened to those words for a moment before resuming her attention to the duel going on. Speaking of which, it was Michael's final possible turn, and he had to defeat Garome that turn before he got taken down by 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector's' second effect.
"It's my turn!" announced Michael, drawing a card.
Turn Four: Michael Atlas (LP: 1000)
Deck: 33
Current Hand (4): "Dancing Fairy, "Spirit of the Breeze", "Zerozerock", and "Smile Kid"
His drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Smile Kid', which was just what he needed. He took another card ('Zerozerock') from his hand and sent it to the GY.
"I can discard 1 card; I must Special Summon this card from my hand," As Michael spoke and did the above scenario, he took another card and placed it onto his Duel Disk, "Come, 'Smile Kid'!"
Appearing onto the field was a small fairy-like monster with a cheerful smile on his face (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Oh no!" exclaimed Megan, "By Summoning another monster," While still speaking, another 'Loan Token' appeared on Michael's field (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0), "another 'Loan Token' will appear on Mike's field!"
"Say, Sai, isn't that-?" began Mrs. Switzer.
"Yup, it's one of the first cards I ever got," confirmed Sai, "Mike wants to prove that any card, no matter how weak, can defeat a tough duelist."
Back on the field, Michael made another move.
"Continuous Trap, 'Compulsory Recoil Device', activate!" The lime green-haired young man went on, as his first Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself. He then took a card from his hand ('Spirit of the Breeze') and discarded it, "I can send 1 card from my hand to the GY, then target 1 monster I control; I must return it to its owner's hand."
'Smile Kid' returned to card form and got added into Michael's hand, but then he discarded one more card ('Dancing Fairy') from his hand.
"Then, I'll activate 'Smile Kid's' effect again!" declared Michael, placing the 'Smile Kid' Monster Card onto his Duel Disk, "I Special Summon 'Smile Kid'!"
Reappearing onto the field was 'Smile Kid' (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). Normally, that would result in the Summon of another 'Loan Token', but, currently, Michael's Monster Zones were completely filled up, which was not lost by the audience.
"With all of his Monster Zones filled…" began Mayura.
"That's right! No more 'Loan Tokens' can be Summoned," finished Ashima.
"It looks like you can't take out a loan any longer," remarked Garome, unconcerned about that minor detail, "You only have 1000 LP left," His focus went towards the 'Loan Tokens' and his stern-looking opponent, "Next turn, the amount of LP 'Toichi the Nefarious Debt Collector' will collect from you will be 6000 due to the effect of 'Illegal Business Practices', defeating you by overkill!" He pointed at his opponent, "Michael Atlas! You're already bankrupt! Now both those cards and Wheel of Fortune will belong to yours truly! Your time is finally up, 'Former King'!"
Garome, along with the bodyguards, burst into evil, arrogant laughter as though he already won the duel, while Megan, Sai, his Mother and siblings, Ashima, and the three Astray girls looked distressed. Unfortunately, Garome made a massive blunder on his part by calling his opponent the 'Former King'. Now visibly furious, Michael put a small, malicious smile onto his face and uttered a few words as a response.
"Is that so?" commented Michael.
Garome eased up, wondering if his opponent had another card to play. That was then he (Garome) realized that Michael did, indeed, have another card to play—a Set card, that is.
"Trap Card, 'Zero Hole', activate!" announced Michael, as his final face-down card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"'Z-Zero Hole'?!" cringed Garome.
Over with the audience…
"If you have no cards in your hand: Destroy all cards on the field," explained Matt, telling the Astray trio, Ashima, as well as Sai and his family what the 'Zero Hole' Trap Card did, "Now we know why Mike refused to pay to get rid of the 'Loan Tokens'."
"It was to prepare to use 'Zero Hole'!" came from Asagi.
"He really thought this all out," murmured Sai.
Back on the field…
"Wait…" gasped Garome, before really panicking, "Did you say 'all' cards?!"
A black hole appeared in the center of the field, and the mafia-like man wailed as every single card, including the 'Loan Tokens', were wiped out in an instant.
"And 'Smile Kid' didn't go to waste, either," continued Matt, "He has a second effect."
Back on the field, Michael knew what Matt had been thinking about, and he (Michael) was about to take advantage of it.
"The second effect of 'Smile Kid' activates!" Michael, drawing a card, began, "When this card I control is destroyed by a card effect and sent to the GY: I can Special Summon 1 'Smile Angel' from my Deck," He placed the card onto his Duel Disk in triumph, "Appear now, 'Smile Angel'!"
From the face-up 'Smile Kid' Monster Card, a perky female angel-like monster with short pink/red hair emerged onto the field and happily giggled (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 300).
"Now I know…" whispered Sai, "My Deck really does have what it takes to become great—Mike has shown me that possibility."
Back on the field, poor (not) Garome was in a big panic since one attack would defeat him.
"What?!" squealed Garome, "An ATK of 1800?!"
"Battle!" exclaimed Michael, entering the Battle Phase, "'Smile Angel' attacks you directly!" As he announced his monster's attack name, 'Smile Angel' started firing off a surge of pink hearts, "Super Smile!"
The sight of how cute 'Smile Angel' was, along with the hearts hitting him, caused Garome to let out another loud squeal.
"That attack is too sweet!" The mafia-like man wailed, "I think I'm gonna be sick!"
When the attack ended, he fell to his hands and knees in defeat as his remaining LP fell all the way to 0 (LP: 1800 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Michael Atlas wins!
"He did it!" cheered Juri, hugging Mayura and Asagi tightly, "Mike's the winner!"
Megan hugged Sai as she and him cheered, and Matt and Ashima looked at each other for a moment before the both of them smiled and the former flashed Michael a thumbs up. As Garome tried to gather his bearings from his loss, the two bodyguards, calling him 'Lord Garome', ran over to try helping him to his feet.
"There's no way!" complained Garome, "How could I lose!?"
He then heard some footsteps and looked nearby. The footsteps came from Michael, who was approaching and going to make a demand for Garome to sever all ties to Sai's family and more.
"I've won the duel, and as we agreed to, you'll return all of the stuff you've taken," said Michael firmly, as Megan walked up and stood by his side, "More to it, you will also never go near the Switzer family again."
"And you'll return that camera you took from me," finished Megan, folding her arms.
Garome's two bodyguards were angry and prepared to move in and attack the two fools for daring to hurt their boss, but they stopped when they noticed Michael giving them a very intense glare—as though he was 'daring' them to try him; it didn't help that they severely pissed him off back at Sai's home earlier. Frightened and knowing they shouldn't mess with the King, the two burly-looking men turned and started to make a run for it as though they were dirty cowards. Garome, getting up, started running as well, with the camera still in his hands. Silently, Michael took a random card out of his pocket and threw it like a shuriken star. Garome was hit in the back of the head by the card, knocking off his toupee and revealing the top of his bald head while also causing him to accidentally throw the camera high into the air.
"The camera!" screamed Megan, running forward to make a catch, "I got it!"
Diving onto the ground, the camera landed safely in her hands. Megan let out a sigh of relief that the proof she got earlier on was still intact, and returned to her feet to flash her friends a reassuring smile. Soon, Don Garome and his bodyguards were out of sight, not even bothering to return to the Switzer residence to get the stuff they stole.
"But now that Don Garome knows he's busted, he'll try to make a break for it," protested Mrs. Switzer, "He might try to escape to another city in order to avoid the criminal justice system."
"Not to worry, the police station is close by," reassured Megan, holding up the camera, "In fact, I'm going straight there with the camera," The rest of the group listened, "If my hunch is right, once I give the police the proof, they will go straight to the Don's mansion and conduct a raid before arresting him," She winked, "You can bet he won't escape justice."
With that said, Megan Haw turned and ran down the street to the police station as fast as she could. Once she was gone, Sai and his family turned their attention to Michael, who was looking over the borrowed Deck once more.
"Hey, Mike!" The voice of Sai called out, which caused Michael to look behind him. He, his Mother, and his two younger siblings all approached their savior, "Mike… I want to thank you for defeating Garome and ending his tyranny over my family."
"Hmph! It was not a problem," replied Michael, before handing over the borrowed Deck, "Here, this belongs with you," When Sai didn't accept the cards immediately, he went on, "It's true that society's winds can be cold and discourage you, but you can never lose sight of your dreams."
Sai continued to listen carefully, while Matt, the Astray trio, Mrs. Switzer, the two younger kids, and especially Ashima all listened, as well.
"Never give up, and your dreams will become reality," The voice of Michael advised, "Just like how your 'Smile Angel' defeated Garome."
Smiling, Sai finally took his cards back and bowed in thanks, before being approached by the three Astray girls.
"So, Sai, what do you say?" began Mayura.
"Are you going to keep attending Orb?" put in Juri.
Sai nodded, "You bet!" he accepted, "I will finally accomplish my dream of becoming a great Turbo duelist."
"Great choice!" encouraged Asagi, wrapping her right arm around Sai's shoulders, "Who knows? Maybe you'll eventually become as skilled as all of us are!"
Michael nodded in agreement, before he turned and started addressing Ashima.
"So, Ashima," began Michael, "I see you were watching the duel."
"Huh?" pondered Ashima.
"I think what Mike is referring to," corrected Matt, "is that since you came to watch the duel, he's wondering if you're doing better since being rescued from the Dark Signers last night."
"Oh, I see," understood Ashima, before closing her eyes, "I admit watching the duel has helped me feel a little better," She opened her eyes as uneasiness entered her tone, "But…"
After some silence from the group members present and accounted for, Matt closed his eyes for a few seconds and let out a small sigh.
"I guess it's not that easy to go right back to dueling," The dirty blonde-haired young man figured, before opening his eyes, "You still need more time, am I correct?"
Ashima nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry," comforted Michael, "Just continue taking all the time you need," As he continued speaking, Asagi, Mayura, Juri, and even Sai all nodded, "Know that your friends will remain by your side throughout the process."
"Yeah," agreed Matt.
All of the support from her friends, both old and new, helped Ashima feel even more better.
(elsewhere…)
That night inside Matt's room at Orb, Matt and Ashima were seated at a table having a small discussion about them making love last night into the early morning.
"Matty, can I tell you something?" asked Ashima.
Without responding, Matt merely listened carefully.
"I'm very glad we got to express our love for each other in the most intimate way possible last night," admitted Ashima, "I never felt so good when we finally did it."
"Same here," acknowledged Matt, before reaching over and placing his right hand on top of Ashima's hands on the table, which caused her to gain a curious look on her face, "Ashima, will you be okay sleeping in your own dorm again?"
"I'll be alright, now," Ashima answered, sounding much more positive than before. But then faltered a little bit, "But you know, I never thought I would end up in a similar situation as Thomas did."
"None of us did," said Matt, "But we were able to help him overcome that."
"There's a key difference between us, though," The voice of Ashima interrupted, which caused Matt to ease up slightly. As she spoke, faded stills of Thomas dueling in 'The Great International Duel Cup' were superimposed over her, "Unlike me, Thomas never at least let his trauma from the summer of 2009 stop him from dueling, despite dueling being such a large factor in his suffering."
"I know that," insisted Matt, "You've become afraid to duel after your possession. But remember that you've recently managed to become open to everyone again after watching Mike's duel with Garome."
Smiling, Ashima had to agree with that. At last, she stood up from the table, deciding to head back to her dorm and get ready for bed.
"I have to head back to my dorm now, Matty," uttered Ashima, before looking over her shoulder and winking, "I'll see you and everyone else tomorrow morning."
"Okay, have a good night, Ashima," assured Matt, before giving a thumbs up.
Smiling still, Ashima left the room, leaving Matt alone to do a little thinking.
(outside…)
Outside the room, Ashima closed the door and let out a short sigh before looking back at the door to her boyfriend's dorm. Without anything more to say, she walked down the hallway to her dorm, acknowledging that there might be hope for her on her road to recovery. But what about Michael? Would he continue to find work and prove James R. wrong? Weeeeell about that tidbit…
(elsewhere…)
The next day, outside the same coffee shop Sai currently worked at…
"You're fired!" A male voice yelled from inside the building.
The doors opened, and Michael casually walked out in a huff.
"You don't need to tell me that, because I quit this stupid shop!" countered Michael hotly, before turning away from the shop, "Pah! Some people just don't understand my worth."
Nearby, Megan, Juri, and Sai each watched the resulting scene and sighed to themselves. I guess the more things that changed, the more they stayed the same.
I have some sad, sad news for all "Yu-Gi-Oh!" fans out there; the creator of the series, Kazuki Takahashi, has unfortunately passed away at the age of 60. I learned of this from Aaron (AaronCottrell97) this morning. The man started work on the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" manga in 1996, ending it in 2004 after around eight years. He will be sorely missed. RIP, Kazuki Takahashi, you will never be forgotten.