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, Akatsuki (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
Jak and Daxter characters, Spargus, Tough Puppy, Sand Shark, Dune Hopper, Gila Stomper, Slam Dozer, Heat Seeker, Dust Demon, Desert Screamer (c) Naughty Dog
Crash Bandicoot characters, Wumpa (c) Activision
Ratchet & Clank characters, Veldin, Sargasso, Shatterbomb (c) Insomniac
Sly Cooper characters (c) Sucker Punch
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.
"Welcome one and all!" greeted Lisa, "Who's excited to join our very last segment for 'This week's noteworthy cards'?!"
The audience cheered and clapped in response.
"I'm glad to hear you all say that," grinned David, before he and Lisa held their arms out at the blackboard with the five cards (still showing their backing) lined up, "Ready? Then we will present the final five cards!"
The five face-down cards on the blackboard all automatically turned over and revealed themselves to be:
-'Golden-Eyes Idol' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Psychic Bulwark' (Trap Card)
-'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' (Effect Monster Card)
-'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' (Fusion Monster Card)
-'Earthbound Geoglyph' (Spell Card)
"Lisa-chan, it's another of those evil Gods!" cried David, staring at the middle card ('Earthbound Immortal Cusillu'), "This one's based on the Monkey!"
"If this card would be destroyed by battle, you can Tribute 1 other monster instead, and if you do, halve your opponent's LP," Lisa explained, reading one of the card's effects, "Yeah, this Monkey does not play around—especially if your controller is a genocidal madman," From there, she and David turned to face the audience one last time, "Can Discord pull off a win even against it? That's a secret, I'm afraid."
"We all hope you enjoyed these little segments," encouraged David, before he and Lisa started waving goodbye, "We'll all miss you! (さようなら,) Sayonara, (Goodbye), everyone!"
The audience cheered and clapped in response, despite being sad this would be the very last segment ever.
(elsewhere…)
Inside Lisa's bedroom at the Drake household a little later, David found himself collapsing onto the bed in exhaustion.
"I suppose…that is that," he stated in a melancholy manner.
From her computer desk, Lisa looked just as disappointed as David; seeing as they would not be doing any more of those exciting segments.
"Too true…" added Lisa, "But, hey, it was fun while it lasted, right?"
Upon seeing the downcast look on David's face as he continued lying on the bed and staring up at the ceiling in deep thought, Lisa got up from her chair and slowly made her way over, slipping her boots off as she did, got on the bed, and laid down next to him so quietly he didn't notice. With a short whistle, she got his full attention as she propped herself up on her arm, peering down at him.
"It's really impressive how much you know about every card in the game," Lisa commented slyly, fluttering her eyes.
Catching onto her tactic, David smirked back.
"And your ability to delight the crowd at every turn was most admirable," said David right back.
"How we'd spend hours brainstorming new ideas every week," Lisa recalled fondly.
"And how we would be so fatigued from rehearsing we'd just rest in each other's arms," David added, before carassing Lisa's face.
The two teenagers gazed lovingly at each other before embracing in a kiss. Without breaking contact, David rolled himself over until he was on top of Lisa as they continued to make out. They suddenly stopped seconds later and turned to address whoever was out there watching them.
"(すみません?) Sumimasen? (Excuse me?)" frowned David.
"Can Dave and I have a little privacy, please?" huffed Lisa indignantly.
With that said, she reached for one of her discarded boots and threw it at the screen, causing everything to go to static before shutting off entirely.
Title: Despair is Coming
Opening up in Orb's parking lot, the dark duel between Discord J. Crawford (LP: 2000) and Muruta Azrael (LP: 4600) continued with it currently being the former's turn. Discord finally took a look at his drawn card before knowing what to do with it.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Pot of Greed'!" announced Discord, before holding his card ('Pot of Greed') out. He then drew two cards (one at a time), "I must draw 2 cards!"
He took a long look at his drawn cards, looked initially surprised, but then looked up at his opponent and smiled slightly.
"What…did you draw?" asked Azrael with initial concern, but then shook his head and brushed it all off, "Even so, it doesn't matter much, since you can't win anyway because…" He then spoke about his face-up 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card, "…my 'Psychic Bulwark' prevents any of your Toon monsters from getting off direct attacks."
Discord said nothing back. Back with the rest of the group…
"Damn it!" cursed Asagi, "Discord's left without any way to get off doing massive damage that easily!"
"There must be something he can do!" put in Juri.
Meanwhile, Discord finally spoke up to his hated enemy…
"Azrael, I'll admit you've set up a really solid defense against my 'Toons'," he complimented, before getting ready for what came next, "But I already have a solution to deal with it."
"Huh?" quizzed Azrael.
"I activate 'Toon Black Luster Soldier's' second effect!" continued Discord, "Once per turn, if I control 'Toon World': I can target 1 card on the field; I must banish it, also this card cannot attack the turn this effect is activated!" From there, as he announced the effect name, 'Toon Black Luster Soldier' raised his sword, "Removal Slash!"
With one mighty slash, a sword beam was fired towards the face-up 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card.
"If this works, Azrael will be left without his best defense to direct attacks!" rejoiced Michael.
"Discord-senpai!" called David in joy.
"It's not that easy!" interrupted Azrael, completely unworried, which caused David and Michael both to ease up. He held up his right hand and wagged the index finger of it, "As good of an idea that is, it won't be of any help against me!" To prove it, his face-up 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card faded away in a blue streak, "I activate the third effect of 'Psychic Bulwark'!"
The sword beam ended up not hitting anything.
"What?!" gasped Discord, "What happened to your Trap Card?"
"When my opponent activates a card or effect that targets this face-up card: I can banish this card; I must Set 1 'Psychic Bulwark' directly from my Deck," explained Azrael, before, during his explanation, holding up a card. He then slotted the card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, "It can be activated this turn."
A face-down card materialized on the field.
"A second copy?!" panicked Carlie.
"And it can be activated immediately?!" added Juri.
Sure enough, the Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be a second copy of the 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card, putting Discord back in the situation he was in seconds ago..
"Continuous Trap, 'Psychic Bulwark', activate!" The voice of Azrael proclaimed, as the above scenario played out. He was smiling as smugly as ever over his successful counterattack, "Nice try, but your tricks won't get you much further!"
"Hmhmhm…" Discord, back to smirking, chuckled humorlessly.
"Hm? What are you smiling about?" frowned Azrael.
"Because I 'expected' you to try something like that," answered Discord, before making himself very clear to his spoiled brat of an opponent, "My plan was to use 'Toon Black Luster Soldier's' effect to make you waste a Trap Card effect," He held both drawn cards up (without showing them), "My two cards here are my real aim!"
Azrael gasped anxiously, wondering what Discord was going to do with them—he was going to activate them, that's what.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Shadow Toon'!" began Discord, holding one of the cards ('Shadow Toon') out, "If I control 'Toon World': I must target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls; I must inflict damage to my opponent equal to the ATK of that face-up monster!"
A shadow ghoul-like creature emerged from the ground beneath 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode', to Azrael's surprise.
"I target your 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode'!" The voice of Discord announced.
The shadow creature laughed creepily and attacked Azrael directly, throwing the ruthless blonde-haired man against the fire wall and causing him some massive damage (LP: 4600 → 1100).
"Damn…" groaned Azrael.
"Furthermore, I'll activate the Equip Spell, 'Comic Hand'!" As Discord spoke, the mentioned Spell Card materialized on the field before causing a large gloved hand to emerge from the face-up card before extending towards the opponent's field, "If I control 'Toon World', I must equip to an opponent's monster. I must take control of it!"
Azrael watched in shock as his 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' was grabbed by the hand and pulled into the large book before it closed up.
"It is treated as a Toon monster," finished Discord, done going over his card's first effect.
"'T-Toon'?!" recoiled Azrael.
From there, the book opened up and released 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode'—except it was nowhere near as terrifying as it once was. As a matter of fact, it was now as cartoonish-looking as many of Discord's other cards. Nearby, the audience, with an exception to the usually stoic and more serious members, were either gawking or blinking over what Discord just did.
"That essentially turns Azrael's monster…into 'Toon Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode'," peeped David, making a brief pause.
The realization caused Lisa to burst out laughing (even falling onto her back) over how funny this was.
"Good Lord! That's got to be the funniest thing I've ever seen!" she chortled, "Well, it serves him right and more!"
While this was definitely funny to Lisa, it most certainly was not to Azrael.
"How dare you!" Azrael growled in hatred, "Transforming one of my most powerful monsters into a living, hideous joke!"
"I'm sorry, but that's just how my cards work," Discord pointed out, as focus went onto the large book where countless Toon monsters were shown around it, "Toon monsters are the perfect life form! And, unfortunately, your cards are not."
Azrael hissed angrily, "What?!"
"Normally when an '/Assault Mode' monster is destroyed, you Special Summon the original Synchro Monster from your GY," teased Discord, "But now that your own monster is a 'Toon', my 'Toon Kingdom' prevents you from targeting or destroying it with any card effects."
That was a very good thing for the creator of Duel Monsters.
"Alright, Discord's now in a really good position," Zack was telling the group.
"Right," agreed Mr. Zimmerman, going over some of the cards on the field, "While he can't attack due to 'Psychic Bulwark', since he now has 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' under his control, he's forced Azrael into a situation where he can't afford to summon any monsters with more than 1100 DEF, seeing as 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' will inflict that DEF as damage if it attacks, while also increasing Discord's own LP based on the destroyed monster's ATK."
"In other words, Azrael has to make sure that he has no monsters on his field by the end of his turn," summarized Matt, "Otherwise, 'Psychic Bulwark' won't be able to protect him."
"Because using 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' to destroy a monster with 1100 or more DEF will defeat Azrael, and he clearly knows it," finished James R..
Back on the field…
"My turn is over," concluded Discord.
"You're gonna pay for making a complete mockery out of my 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode'!" vowed Azrael, drawing a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Five: Muruta Azrael (LP: 1100)
Deck: 43
Current Hand (1): "Card of Burial Magic"
Without wasting a second, he held his drawn card ('Card of Burial Magic') out.
"Spell Card, 'Card of Burial Magic'!" declared Azrael, just as three cards ('Contingency Fee', 'Psi-Impulse', and 'Psychic Path') ejected from his GY before fading away into oblivion, "I must banish 3 Spells from my GY; I must…" He drew two more cards, "…draw 2 cards."
Upon seeing what he drew, Azrael's anger turned into excitement as he looked back up at his opponent.
"Well, well, it seems to me you're wrong about your 'Toons' being perfect life forms," Azrael remarked, bringing Discord some discomfort, "Your 'disgusting' Toon monsters have had their fun, but now it's time for me to really get serious!" To prove it, he slotted one of the two cards into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, "From my hand, I'll activate a Spell!" Materializing face-up on the field was none other than… "'Miracle Synchro Fusion'! I must Fusion Summon 1 Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck that lists a Synchro Monster as material, by banishing Fusion Materials listed on it from my field or GY!"
"What monsters will he banish?" wondered Mayura.
"The only other Synchro Monster Azrael has in his GY besides 'Hyper Psychic Blaster' is 'Psychic Lifetrancer'," remembered Mr. Kisaka.
Back on the field, reappearing on the field was, as pointed out, 'Psychic Lifetrancer' and 'Krebons'.
"I fuse the Synchro Monster, 'Psychic Lifetrancer', and the Tuner monster, 'Krebons'!" The voice of Azrael proclaimed.
Before long, the Fusion Summon sequence began as Azrael, standing with a background consisting of the artwork of the 'Polymerization' Spell Card, began a Summon Chant.
"Psychic girl of life! Psychic jester of defense! Submit to the dark flames of revenge and emerge as the light of death!" chanted Azrael, before bringing both hands together, "Fusion Summon!" A pair of demonic wings and sharp claws were first to be shown, "Appear! Level 10! 'Ultimate Axon Kicker'!"
The new monster was what appeared to be an upgraded version of 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' (Level: 10/ATK: 2900/DEF: 1700).
"My monster's first effect!" explained Azrael, "It cannot be destroyed by card effects."
"I'm not concerned by that," dismissed Discord, as Azrael listened with disinterest, "'Ultimate Axon Kicker', while powerful, will only be a burden if you allow it to remain on the field since I can attack it and deplete the last of your LP."
"And that is precisely why I won't allow that to happen," smirked Azrael, before holding up another card ('ESP Amplifier'), "I activate the Quick-Play Spell, 'ESP Amplifier'!"
A large helmet materialized on the field before being attached to the head of 'Ultimate Axon Kicker'.
"When this effect resolves, all face-up Psychic monsters I control gain 300 ATK for each of my banished Psychic monsters," Azrael chuckled humorlessly, "but I must banish all monsters that were affected by this effect during the End Phase of this turn," Images of three Psychic monsters loomed in the background, "I have three Psychic monsters banished, which causes…" As he rambled on, 'Ultimate Axon Kicker' found itself getting electrocuted from the helmet it was wearing before growing even more powerful (ATK: 2900 → 3800), "…'Ultimate Axon Kicker' to gain 900 ATK!"
"3800 ATK…!" winced Discord.
"Battle," added Azrael calmly (slightly), entering his Battle Phase, "I use 'Ultimate Axon Kicker'…" While talking on, 'Ultimate Axon Kicker' opened its mouth, "…to attack 'Toon Dark Magician Girl'!"
And a darkness-based breath attack was unleashed, striking 'Toon Dark Magician Girl' as she screamed. Discord, bracing himself from the force of the attack, glowed red and took more damage (LP: 2000 → 200).
"'Toon Kingdom's' fourth e-effect!" stammered Discord weakly, drawing a card and letting it fade away into oblivion—which allowed 'Toon Dark Magician Girl' to stretch her body out of the enemy attack and back to safety before letting out a relieved sigh, "If a Toon monster(s) I control would be destroyed by battle or card effect, I can banish 1 card from the top of my Deck, face-down, for each of those monster(s) instead."
Despite that, the attack then struck Discord and violently threw him to the ground near the group.
"Discord!" yelled James R., while Mayura and David both looked horrified.
"This is so, so, so bad!" wailed Asagi, "One more attack, and Discord's history!"
And the situation did not get any better…
"I also use this time to activate the second effect of 'Assault Mode Zero'," said Azrael, as a card ('Assault Mode Zero') first ejected from his GY and faded away into oblivion before another card ejected from the middle of his Deck, "During my Main Phase: I can banish this card from my GY; I must Set 1 'Assault Mode Activate'…" He took and held the card ('Assault Mode Activate') up to show everyone, "…directly from my hand or Deck. It can be activated this turn. However, I can't activate it just yet, anyway."
Seconds later, a face-down card ('Assault Mode Activate') materialized on the field near Azrael's feet, as Discord, still trying to get back up, listened.
"And with that, I'll end my turn!" The voice of Azrael finished, just as 'Ultimate Axon Kicker' collapsed on the ground and dissolved into specks of blue dust, "And due to it being the End Phase, the effect of 'ESP Amplifier' banishes 'Ultimate Axon Kicker'!"
"Azrael allowed his monster to be banished so easily," remarked Carlie.
"Despite that, he still has that second 'Psychic Bulwark' of his," reminded Shinji, "And it prevents any and all direct attacks."
"Meaning that while Azrael controls no monsters, he isn't defenseless, at all," concluded Sherry.
"Discord…" whispered Matt.
Back on the field, Azrael watched with amusement as Discord finally returned to his feet.
"Not planning to give up, are we?" The ruthless blonde-haired man taunted, "How pitiful," He then looked at his two prisoners in Sean and Janice, "What do you two think? Isn't it pathetic of Discord not giving up when he knows he can't win?" After some silence, he closed his eyes, smirked, and looked away from the two, "Yes, I agree, it is both sad and pathetic."
"(貴様!) Kisama! (Damn you!)" threatened David in Japanese, before directing his attention to his two motionless best friends, "Sean-kun! Janice! I just know I can reach both of you! You have to free yourselves from Azrael's control!" Unfortunately, he got no response, but that didn't stop him, "Sean-kun! Janice!"
"No, David-boy, it's no use," cut in Discord, "Those spiders made Azrael's hold on them too strong," He then looked over his shoulder and smiled, "But not to worry, I'll win the duel before we lose them for eternity."
"Discord-senpai…" fretted David.
Azrael huffed in response, while Discord turned back around to face his enemy.
"It's my turn!" exclaimed Discord, drawing a card, "Draw!"
Turn Six: Discord J. Crawford (LP: 200)
Deck: 41
Current Hand (1): "Card of Sanctity"
Looking at his drawn card, he looked up at his opponent with studying eyes. Realizing that both players would refresh their hands, he decided it was worth the risk if he ended up drawing the cards he needed to turn things around.
"I activate 'Card of Sanctity'!" continued Discord, holding his drawn card ('Card of Sanctity') out, "Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand!"
"You wish for me to refresh my hand?" pondered Azrael, "You know you may come to regret doing that."
With that said, both players drew their six cards. Discord saw that his hand now contained 'Relinkuriboh', 'Millennium-Eyes Illusionist', 'Toon Terror', 'Golden-Eyes Idol', 'Present Card', and 'Pre-Preparation of Rites', meaning the risk was well worth it. Nodding over it, he looked up at Azrael one more time.
"Azrael, as of now, I can't afford to play around with you any longer," Discord admitted.
"Playing around? You mean you haven't even been trying?" scoffed Azrael.
"And with that, I'll activate 'Toon Black Luster Soldier's' second effect again!" As Discord spoke, 'Toon Black Luster Soldier' did a few fighting poses with his sword before raising the weapon, "At the cost of not being able to attack with this monster, I'll target and banish your second 'Psychic Bulwark'! Removal Slash!"
With the swing of the sword, 'Toon Black Luster Soldier' sent another sword beam towards Azrael's field. From there, it struck the face-up 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card, causing it to shatter like glass—but not because of 'Toon Black Luster Soldier'.
"Did you forget about 'Psychic Bulwark's' third effect?" scolded Azrael, before taking a third copy of the card from his Deck and slotting it into his Duel Disk and causing the 'Psychic Bulwark' Trap Card to materialize face-up on the field, "I'll banish my second copy and activate my third copy! You will never attack me directly, Discord!"
"Then you can observe as I Summon 'Golden-Eyes Idol' in Defense Position," retorted Discord, holding up a card ('Golden-Eyes Idol').
Appearing on the field was what appeared to be 'Thousand-Eyes Idol', but had a completely golden body with multiple Millennium Eyes (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"'Golden-Eyes Idol'?" wondered Michael, "What kind of monster is it supposed to be?"
"I believe it's a retrained version of 'Thousand-Eyes Idol'," explained Zack.
"That's correct, Zack," The voice of Discord confirmed, before going over his new monster's first effect, "Once per turn (Quick Effect): I can activate this effect; I must look at my opponent's hand, also this card's name becomes 'Thousand-Eyes Idol' until the End Phase."
"Show you my hand?!" shouted Azrael in outrage, "You can't just-!"
"It's perfectly fair, Azrael," said Discord firmly, "Even you yourself know that," He pointed forward, "Now, show us the cards you've drawn!"
Without any choice, Azrael gritted his teeth, took, and held his six card hand out. His hand contained 'Psychic Wheeleder', 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu', 'Teleport', 'Lifeforce Harmonizer', 'Earthbound Geoglyph' and 'Dark Psycho Warlock'(!). The card that everyone noticed and became deeply worried over was the second card…
"Could that be-?" began Ms. Simmons.
"The 'Earthbound Immortal'?" put in Mr. Kisaka.
"The one belonging to Azrael?" finished Mr. Zimmerman.
David, however, was the most horrified over seeing it, because all Azrael needed was just two monsters as Tributes in order to bring the monster out—and Discord would really be in trouble, plus Janice and Sean would have their souls sacrificed to appease the devils.
"So, he really has it…" murmured Discord, before raising his voice, "But I won't let you call it out!" He then took and held a card ('Pre-Preparation of Rites') out, "Spell Card, 'Pre-Preparation of Rites'!" While explaining what it did, two cards ejected from the top of his Deck, "I must add 1 Ritual Spell from my Deck to my hand," He took both cards and saw what they ('Black Illusion Ritual' and 'Relinquished') were, "and add 1 Ritual Monster from my Deck or GY to my hand whose name is listed on that Ritual Spell!"
"Ritual Spell and Ritual Monster…" realized James R., "There's one such monster Discord has in his Deck—tending to use it when he gets serious!"
Back on the field, Discord, somewhat reading that mind, thought the same thing.
"Prepare yourself, Azrael," warned Discord, before slotting a card into his Duel Disk, "From my hand, I'll activate the Ritual Spell, 'Black Illusion Ritual'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field.
"There's the card!" realized Asagi.
"This card is used to Ritual Summon 'Relinquished'," explained Discord, "I must also Tribute a monster from my hand or field whose Level is 1 or more," He took another card ('Relinkuriboh') from his hand and held it out, "I Tribute Level 1 'Relinkuriboh' from my hand!"
Appearing on the field was a 'Kuriboh' with a Millennium Eye for a back. Then, rising from the group was a large pot and two torches. 'Relinkuriboh' was quickly sucked inside the pot of the torches lit up with purple flames.
"From the wells of chaos, emerge the unpredictable being who consumes those around him!" chanted Discord, before the pot exploded, "Ritual Summon! Descend, 'Relinquished'!"
On the field, in the place of the pot, was a fiendish blue creature (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0). Nearby, Matt was observing the duel when he felt a presence beside him, which, to no one's surprise, was Junkuriboh.
"Junkuriboh?" pondered Matt shortly, before understanding his Duel Spirit, "Yeah, I know. However, there shouldn't be any need to worry."
"Kuri?" squeaked Junkuriboh.
"'Relinquished' might have no ATK or DEF, but getting rid of it still isn't exactly easy," Matt went on, "We've all seen how Discord's 'Illusion' monsters work many times before, and we also know he can protect them extremely well."
Junkuriboh felt unsure, but trusted his master/friend's judgment enough. Back on the field…
"I activate the first effect of 'Relinkuriboh'!" declared Discord, drawing a card, "If this card is Tributed: I must draw 1 card," From there, three Set cards materialized on the field near his feet and behind 'Relinquished', "Finally, I'll Set three cards face-down and end my turn, which ends the effect of 'Golden-Eyes Idol'!"
Azrael was seething, both inside and outside, due to Discord discovering the 'Earthbound Immortal' monster in his hand.
"So, you've found the 'Earthbound Immortal' in my hand? It doesn't matter if you know or not!" fumed Azrael, "It's my turn!" He drew a card, "Draw!"
Turn Seven: Muruta Azrael (LP: 1100)
Deck: 33
Current Hand (7): "Psychic Wheeleder", "Earthbound Immortal Cusillu", "Teleport", "Lifeforce Harmonizer", "Earthbound Geoglyph", "Dark Psycho Warlock", and "Esper Thrasher"(!)
"Hold it right there, Azrael!" cut in Discord.
"Huh?!" flinched Azrael, just about to add his card into his hand.
"It's time I refreshed your hand again," Discord went on, before pressing a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate a Trap, 'Present Card'!" The middle Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "My opponent discards their entire hand, then draws 5 cards."
Azrael nearly screamed in outrage, but managed to resist long enough to take his whole hand and send it to the GY one card at a time. With the rest of the group, there was some major rejoicing going on.
"Discord defeated the 'Earthbound Immortal' without it even being on the field!" cheered James R., as Mayura happily hugged him.
Back on the field, Azrael drew five new cards, making his hand now contain 'Earthbound Immortal Revival', 'Psychic Feel Zone', 'Overdrive Teleporter', 'Mental Subjugator'(!) and 'Premature Burial'—the final card was what got his attention.
"This isn't over, Discord," snarled Azrael, before taking and holding out one of his drawn cards ('Premature Burial'), "Equip Spell, 'Premature Burial'!" His LP took a hit (LP: 1100 → 300), "I must activate this card by paying 800 LP, then target 1 monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target in Attack Position and equip it with this card," He started acting all desperate, "You know what this means, right? It means I get to resurrect the 'Earthbound Immortal'!"
"Ah ah ah, Azrael," denied Discord, making Azrael grit his teeth. From there, the Set card on the left flipped face-up and revealed itself, "Counter Trap, 'Toon Terror'! When a Spell/Trap Card, or monster effect, is activated," As the explanation went on, 'Toon Dark Magician Girl' jumped into the sky and pointed her wand downward and charging an attack, "while I control both 'Toon World' and a Toon monster(s): I must negate the activation, and if I do, destroy that card!"
A blast of Black Burning was fired, striking the 'Premature Burial' Spell Card in-between the fingers of Azrael's right hand and sending it straight to the GY.
"What the-?!" cringed Azrael.
"No 'Earthbound Immortal' for you," scolded Discord, "along with no soul sacrificing!"
"Grr… Spell Card, 'Psychic Feel Zone'!" Azrael growled out, holding out another card ('Psychic Feel Zone'), "I must target 2 of my banished monsters (1 Psychic Tuner and 1 Psychic non-Tuner); I must return them to the GY, then Special Summon 1 Psychic Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck in face-up Defense Position, whose Level equals the total Levels of the returned monsters," From there, two cards ('Krebons' and 'Psychic Lifetrancer') materialized in-between the 'Psychic Feel Zone' Spell Card, "I target 'Krebons' and 'Psychic Lifetrancer'…" He sent all three cards to the GY, "…and place them back in my GY!"
Appearing on the field was an even bigger, more powerful version of 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' (Level: 9/ATK: 3300/DEF: 3000).
"With 2 plus 7 equaling 9, I've Special Summoned 'Overmind Archfiend' from my Extra Deck," gloated Azrael.
"In that case, it's time I did some fusing of my own," replied Discord, before his remaining Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself, "I activate a Quick-Play Spell, 'Relinquished Fusion'! I must Fusion Summon 1 'Eyes Restrict' Fusion Monster from my Extra Deck, by banishing materials from my hand, field, and/or GY!" Focus then went to both 'Relinquished' and 'Golden-Eyes Idol', "Naturally, I choose to banish 'Relinquished' and 'Golden-Eyes Idol'."
And the two monsters started fusing together, complete with a Summon Chant.
"Monster stealer! Idol made of gold! Combine your powers together and descend from beyond with the magic of control!" chanted Discord, before bringing both hands together, "Fusion Summon! Golden creature of darkness, 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict'!"
When the Fusion Summon sequence ended, there, standing on the field in the place of both monsters, was a purple-colored 'Relinquished' with golden flap-like shields with countless Millennium Eyes covering the main body (Level: 1/ATK: 0/DEF: 0).
"Is that your final ace monster?" pressed Azrael, still unimpressed, "Just like 'Relinquished', it has no ATK or DEF to speak of."
"Are you sure about that?" cut in Discord, causing Azrael to ease up slightly, "Take a close look at what's happening to your 'Overmind Archfiend'?"
Azrael did so, and gasped in shock; his monster was being drawn towards 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict'.
"W-What's going on?" cried Azrael.
"I've activated the second effect of 'Golden-Eyes Idol'," said Discord, as a faded clip of the 'Golden-Eyes Idol' Monster Card was superimposed over him, "If this card is banished, or sent to the GY by card effect: I can target 1 Effect Monster my opponent controls; I must equip that Effect Monster to 1 'Eyes Restrict' or 'Relinquished' monster I control that cannot be Normal Summoned. While equipped by this effect, that monster gains ATK equal to the ATK of the equipped monster."
"That's a great idea!" realized Michael, "Since 'Overmind Archfiend' has 3300 ATK, that power is given to 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict'!"
After fully absorbing 'Overmind Archfiend', 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' motioned its arm as though it were roaring while gaining serious amounts of power (ATK: 0 → 3300). Despite his field being empty again, Azrael was not discouraged since he had another way to bring his 'Earthbound Immortal' monster either back to his field or his hand.
"I activate 'Earthbound Immortal Revival'!" announced Azrael, making the mentioned Spell Card materialize face-up on his field with the swing of his right arm, "I must discard 1 card, then target 1 'Earthbound Immortal' monster and 1 Field Spell in my GY; I must add those targets to my hand."
Discord gasped, and Azrael smiled sadistically as he held up two cards ('Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' and 'Earthbound Geoglyph').
"It appears that the toying has ended here, Discord J. Crawford," sneered Azrael, before taking one of the cards ('Earthbound Geoglyph') and placing it near the Field Zone, "I activate the Field Spell, 'Earthbound Geoglyph'!"
The Field Zone opened up, and the 'Earthbound Geoglyph' Spell Card was placed inside before closing up. With a few Field Spell played, a very shocked Discord helplessly watched as the face-up 'Toon Kingdom' Spell Card, the face-up 'Comic Hand' Spell Card, and 'Toon Dark Magician Girl' were each destroyed (the second due to its third effect, and the last also due to her own third effect). Luckily, 'Toon Black Luster Soldier' didn't need the 'Toon World' (or 'Toon Kingdom') Spell Card to be on the field in order to stay, so he was safe—not that Azrael really cared about that.
"While any Level 10 monsters are on the field, neither player can target this card with card effects, also it cannot be destroyed by card effects," explained Azrael, going over the first effect of his 'Earthbound Geoglyph' Spell Card, "And with your 'Comic Hand' destroyed, 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' is no longer a revolting 'Toon'!"
Indeed, 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' was no longer treated as a Toon monster, and that pleased Azrael greatly.
"The real power of my card comes from its second effect," ranted Azrael, "I can treat 1 Synchro Monster as 2 Tributes for the Tribute Summon of an 'Earthbound Immortal' monster."
The reactions from the group were not pretty.
"Two Tributes?!" yelled Matt.
"That means Azrael will be able to bring his 'Earthbound Immortal' out immediately!" panicked Mayura.
Back on the field, a very worried Discord was busy pondering what the next move would be, while Azrael was about to get himself a Synchro Monster back—with which to use as a Tribute to Summon his 'Earthbound Immortal' monster.
"I activate the second effect of 'Esper Thrasher'!" continued Azrael, before holding up a card ('Esper Thrasher') taken from his GY, "If my opponent controls a monster and I control no monsters: I can banish this card from my GY, then target 1 face-up monster my opponent controls with the highest ATK; I must destroy that target, and if I do, gain LP equal to that monster's original ATK," The card faded away into oblivion, "I target the 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' you stole from me!"
"Don't think you'll get 'Hyper Psychic Blaster' back that easily," retorted Discord, "I activate the first effect of 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict'!" From there, the Millennium Eyes all across 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' started glowing, "Millennium-Eyes Curse!"
Beams of golden energy erupted from the body of 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict', striking all across the field as 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' shattered into shards of glass. Then 'Hyper Psychic Blaster', from the second effect of 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode', reappeared on Azrael's field from his GY before something happened to it.
"What?! What are you doing?" demanded Azrael, regaining massive LP (LP: 300 → 3800)
"Once per turn, when my opponent activates a monster effect (Quick Effect): I can target 1 Effect Monster my opponent controls or in their GY; I must equip that target to this card I control," answered Discord, revealing his ace monster's first effect. He then held his right hand out, "Now 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' absorbs 'Hyper Psychic Blaster'! Evil Eye!"
The glowing main eyeball of 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' sent out a greenish beam, striking 'Hyper Psychic Blaster' and drawing it over to Discord's field before being sucked up by 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict', who lowered both its shields to show the two monsters it absorbed from Azrael's field.
"'Millennium-Eyes Restrict's' second effect," proclaimed Discord, as his 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' grew even more powerful than it already was (ATK: 3300 → 6300/DEF: 0 → 2500), "This card gains ATK/DEF equal to that equipped monster's!"
"6300 ATK…!" winced Azrael.
"And there's a third effect, too," revealed Discord, "Monsters with that equipped monster's original name cannot attack, also their effects on the field and their activated effects are negated!" He smirked confidently "Since I stole 'Hyper Psychic Blaster', the second effect of 'Hyper Psychic Blaster/Assault Mode' doesn't work, meaning you don't have any Synchro Monsters to use as two Tributes!"
"Don't be so sure about that," grinned Azrael, making Discord ease up once again, "I still have one more trick capable of giving me a Synchro Monster."
"What else does he have that's so broken?" complained Lisa.
"We're gonna find that out, like it or not," figured Sherry.
To that end, a card ('Dark Psycho Warlock') ejected from Azrael's GY, which he took and held out to show Discord and everyone else.
"The effect of 'Dark Psycho Warlock'!" began Azrael, "During my Main Phase, if this card is in my GY: I can target 1 Level 7 or lower in my opponent's GY; I must banish it and this card, then Special Summon 1 DARK Psychic Synchro Monster from my Extra Deck whose Level is equal to the total Level of the banished monsters (This is treated as a Synchro Summon)."
Discord was stunned by this revelation and briefly looked down at his GY, knowing that any of his monsters could be chosen. Sure enough, a card ('Toon Harpie Lady') ejected from his GY and floated over until it was caught by Azrael.
"This one will do nicely, 'Toon Harpie Lady'!" laughed Azrael, holding up the card in-question.
Briefly appearing on the field with a pose was 'Toon Harpie Lady', who then became confused over why she was not on Discord's field before noticing that 'Dark Psycho Warlock' was turning into four balls of darkness. They then were absorbed into poor 'Toon Harpie Lady', who screamed in pain before exploding into a total of eight balls of darkness, which then began spinning together in a circle above as Azrael echoed a sinister Summon Chant throughout.
"Surge, my black flames of vengeance!" chanted Azrael, as the symbols 4 + 4 = 8 were shown briefly just before a massive beam of darkness exploded from within the eight dark stars, "Dark Synchro! Come, 'Thought Ruler Archfiend'!"
When the beam of darkness died down, there, standing on the field, was the familiar two-winged demon-like monster (Level: 8/ATK: 2700/DEF: 2300). Matt silently shook with horror when he saw that Azrael got a Synchro Monster onto the field again.
"Now that Azrael has a Synchro Monster again, he now can Tribute it and summon the 'Earthbound Immortal'!" reminded Michael, equally horrified.
"Discord, you can't let Azrael do it!" protested Lisa.
Back on the field, Discord was silently waiting for Azrael to do it. Speaking of whom, the ruthless blonde-haired man was not quite done preparing to end the duel.
"The third effect of 'Earthbound Geoglyph'," As he spoke, Azrael drew a card ('Roar of the Earthbound Immortal') and added it into his hand, "If a Synchro Monster(s) is Special Summoned (except during the Damage Step): I can add 1 'Earthbound Immortal' Spell/Trap from my Deck to my hand," He then looked at his Dark Synchro Monster, "As fun as this duel's been, it has to come to an end, and I'll do it with my 'Earthbound Immortal'!"
"As I said many times before, I won't give you the chance to Summon it, Azrael," promised Discord.
"Hm?" quizzed Azrael.
"I activate…" Discord declared, taking and holding one more card ('Millennium-Eyes Illusionist') up, "…'Millennium-Eyes Illusionist's' first effect activates! (Quick Effect): I can discard this card, then target 1 Effect Monster my opponent controls; I must equip that target to an 'Eyes Restrict' Fusion Monster or 'Relinquished' I control, as if it were equipped by that monster's effect! That means I can use 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict's' Millennium-Eyes Curse to absorb your 'Thought Ruler Archfiend', adding its ATK to my monster and, most importantly, giving you no monsters to Tribute for your destructive God!"
There was a long silence on Azrael's field, and he had his head bowed with a shadow over his eyes. However, his mouth soon formed a small smile as he snickered to himself, surprising everyone as the snickering grew louder and louder. Soon, Azrael, with his hands on the sides of his head, was laughing maniacally, which greatly disturbed everyone within the geoglyph—with an obvious exception to Sean and Janice.
"Perfect!" The voice of Azrael hollered, as Discord listened while stunned in place, "This is just perfect!" He calmed down, but the look of insanity remained on his face, "I expected you to desperately try something like this, and I'm all ready for it."
"Is he serious?" wondered Juri.
"Judging from him laughing seconds ago, he must be," replied David.
And so, Azrael's final move began…
"I'm dead serious," he insisted, before holding up a card and turning it ('Mental Subjugator') over and showing what it was to everyone, "This is 'Mental Subjugator', and its effect has been activated!"
"'Mental Subjugator'?" repeated Discord nervously.
"When an opponent's monster effect that targets a DARK monster(s) I control is activated in the hand or GY (Quick Effect): I can Tribute this card from my hand or face-up field; I must negate that effect!" With that said, Azrael sent his card to the GY, "'Millennium-Eyes Illusionist's' effect has been made useless!"
Discord gasped in shock, and the rest of the audience didn't look any better; they watched as 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' raised both hands in an attempt to activate its Millennium-Eyes Curse effect—but found itself glitching out and failing to use it, therefore leaving 'Thought Ruler Archfiend' untouched.
"Dammit! After getting this far, Discord failed to stop Azrael from getting a Synchro Monster to Tribute!" complained Michael.
Over on Azrael's field, he, about to win the duel, decided he didn't need Sean nor Janice under his control any longer and looked in the direction of the crowd (particularly David).
"You know, since you want to see your friends so badly, I'll release them," offered Azrael cruelly, "That way, you can talk to them one last time…" He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers, "…before their souls are lost!"
On the respective necks of Sean Smith and Janice Kings, both spiders fell off and hit the ground before dissolving away. Both teenagers lost consciousness while standing, but quickly regained it as they opened their eyes (which were normal again).
"Oh man… Where are we?" asked Sean groggily.
"The last thing I remember is hearing the news that a Dark Signer appeared in New York City and killed Megan," remembered Janice, before shutting her eyes and wincing from a headache, "After that-"
"Sean-kun! Janice!" The voice of David called out, causing the both of them to look over. He was looking very scared for his two best friends, "Get away from Azrael! Hurry!"
Sean and Janice blinked before looking over to their left and gasping. Azrael was holding up a very familiar card ('Earthbound Immortal Cusillu').
"I sacrifice the souls of these spirits!" chanted Azrael, before placing his card onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "Advent, 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu'!"
As those final words left his mouth, an earthquake in the area began. Within the sky, something was seen emerging from the geoglyph in the sky. It looked like the same huge, stone heart that appeared when Rutger dueled against Matt, and when Misty dueled Megan.
"Oh crap…" stammered Lisa, looking up into the sky.
"Hurry, everyone, gather around!" instructed Matt.
The non-Signers did as they were told; the three Astray girls, Ms. Simmons, Mr. Kisaka, Mr. Zimmerman, Sherry, and Shinji all huddled around the Signers in order to prevent their souls from being taken as an offering to the 'Earthbound Immortals'. Unfortunately, there were some souls they were unable to save, and two very unfortunates were Sean and Janice…
"David! Everyone! You must defeat the Dark Signers!" called Sean.
"Please save us!" begged Janice.
With that said, the souls of both teenagers were ripped from their bodies and rose towards the heart high in the sky like purple mist. David was so shocked by the sight that he was not able to speak up about it, but when was finally able to, all he could do about it was scream.
"SEAN-KUUUUUUN! JANIIIIIIICE!" cried David, heartbroken.
Slowly, the heart began to beat in response to the souls that were offered, and, soon enough, it exploded with power. Finally emerging from the ghostly flames was a gigantic monkey creature with black and yellow skin, and a long tail. This monster was none other than Azrael's 'Earthbound Immortal' monster, 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' (Level: 10/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2400). Discord and everyone else stared up at the monster in complete terror; despite doing his absolute best, Discord failed to stop the appearance of 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' and had no way to defend himself from a likely direct attack.
"Kneel before the 'Earthbound Immortals', Discord J. Crawford!" roared Azrael in triumph, entering the Battle Phase, "'Cusillu', attack directly!"
Because there was a Field Spell ('Earthbound Geoglyph') on the field, the 'Earthbound Immortal' monster was allowed to strike the opponent due to its first effect, which was shared by the others. Anyway, 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' obeyed, raising a fist and, with a loud, screeching shout, brought it down. In a final attempt to save Discord, both 'Toon Black Luster Soldier' and 'Millennium-Eyes Restrict' soared into the sky and attempted to attack the enemy monster right back, but they were unsuccessful; only getting destroyed by the fist despite being stronger than 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' in terms of ATK. Discord, looking up into the sky at the incoming attack, knew he failed Cynthia.
"No…" Discord whispered, then, as the gigantic fist got closer to striking, let out a huge scream, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"
The fist from 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' was merely a second away from connecting.
(elsewhere…)
*BOOM!*
(elsewhere…)
The impact of the attack was so powerful that the whole area shook from the impact, while the group of spectators was thrown back and out of the geoglyph (even the non-Signers).
(elsewhere…)
Outside the city, 'Earthbound Immortal Cusillu' could be seen hunched over with many buildings surrounding it after punching whoever was in its way, but then stood tall and let out a roar before fading away after doing its job.
(elsewhere…)
Back in Orb's parking lot, it was a complete mess in terms of damage as the fire wall belonging to the geoglyph died down with the duel being over. Nearby, Matt and the others were on the ground, but luckily not injured. Matt slowly got to his hands and knees with a pained grunt before lifting his head and looking ahead—only for his eyes to widen over the sight. There was a blanket of smoke covering the area, and when it did clear away, there, laying under some concrete rubble, was a fatally wounded Discord, bleeding heavily from his face as the last of his LP ran out (LP: 200 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: Muruta Azrael wins!
"Discord!" called Matt, standing back up and running over.
"Matt…?" groaned Ms. Simmons, weakly sitting back up.
She came to regret looking in the direction Matt was running towards, because she gasped the second she saw Discord J. Crawford, her old friend, buried, battered, and broken. Before long, everyone else was shown to be okay as they looked in the direction Discord was in. Matt reached the buried Discord and held him in his arms.
"Discord, Discord! Hang in there!" begged Matt.
Discord weakly opened his eyes, knowing there was no way he could ever apologize to his adopted children for failing them.
"M-Matty-boy… I'm so sorry," Discord apologized sadly, "I dueled the best that I could, but Azrael's new Deck was too much for me to handle."
"Don't say that! You'll be alright!" objected Matt, trying to remain strong, "You'll live! We'll get you to the hospital and save your life!"
"It's no use," rebutted Discord, "You heard what happens after being defeated; the loser of this duel has to disappear as a penalty… But this is for the…best, since it means I'll…be reunited with my darling Cynthia in the afterlife," He smiled weakly, "Matty-boy… you and the others…are the world's last…hope. I know you can… I-I know you can…"
Discord never got that further, as his eyes closed and his body became lifeless. Greatly upset, a desperate Matt shook the body repeatedly for a response, but never got one. To make matters all the sadder, Discord's whole body turned into a stone-like color before breaking apart and leaving nothing behind except for the specks to be blown away by the wind. Matt remained in his place and on his knees in stunned silence. Finally realizing that Discord, his adopted Father, was gone forever, he shut his eyes with emotion and did the only thing he could do about it—which was scream in grief.
"DISCOOOOOOOORD!" Matt wailed out.
Everyone else limped over to join Matt in grieving Discord's death. Carlie simply collapsed onto her own knees and cried, while Michael slammed his fist onto the concrete in both anger and anguish. Meanwhile, David was equally devastated over not only failing to save Sean and Janice from Azrael, but also failing to save Discord at the same time. Unfortunately, there was very little time for everyone to mourn…
"Well, isn't this saddening?" The voice of Azrael remarked coldly.
Everyone looked nearby, noticing Azrael standing a good distance away, having seen the (in his eyes) pathetic performance of grieving from the good guys, and being quickly joined by the arrival of the other Dark Signers in Rutger, Vincent, Orga, Clotho, Shani, and a hooded Misty (which nobody else knew about).
"That was quite the interesting show," chuckled Rutger, "But this is where the battle between Signers and Dark Signers comes to breaking point."
"You got that right, leaderman," agreed Vincent, "Each battle will be decided by the stars of fate—or whatever we decide."
"The stars of fate?" questioned Carlie.
"That's right," confirmed Clotho, before looking over towards Matt—who had his head bowed and was still on his hands and knees, "You know, with the way everything's shaping up, I think our rematch is going to be the greatest battle ever!" He smiled evilly, "That is, unless you've become too afraid to fight us because you lost Discord."
The red/orange-haired young man let out an amused cackle to finish his taunting. At last, Matt, shaking again with anger, finally spoke up, having reached his breaking point with his enemies. The Dark Signers were going to pay for all of the destruction and deaths they brought to the innocent people of the world.
"Yeah, I 'am' afraid," uttered Matt, now completely furious. His head was kept down and there was a shadow over his eyes as he spoke on, "However, I'm not afraid of any of 'you'," He looked up, dispelling the shadow as he returned to his feet and glared with gritted teeth, "No, I'm afraid of the rage I'm feeling over how badly I want to defeat and make you all pay!"
"Fudo-san's right!" agreed David, who truly hated the Dark Signers just as much, "You not only took Sean-kun and Janice away from me," As he finished speaking, Lisa joined him by his side, "but also took Discord-senpai away from all of us!"
"I swear, we will defeat you, Dark Signers!" vowed Michael.
"Prepare yourselves!" threatened Lisa.
Zack, James R., and Carlie each nodded in total agreement, with the latter two being ready for battle.
"How amusing! You all believe you can stop us?" laughed Azrael, before spreading his arms out in welcome, "Then let the war between light and darkness officially begin!"
And with a bolt of lightning striking the center of the field where Azrael and Discord had their duel, the group of enraged protagonists and most of their surviving friends and allies faced easily the greatest threat to the whole world. This was it, the war between light (Signers) and darkness (Dark Signers) that Azrael announced seconds ago had finally begun.
Dark Valentine Arc
The End
And the second arc has finally come to a close, ending with Discord's death and the war between Signer and Dark Signer alike finally beginning. Things are going to get even darker starting here, and, to go with the final arc, there will be an intro and outro change. But before we (DaveMan1000, Sodormatchmaker, and AaronCottrell97) begin work on the final arc, I'm going to be taking a long break to relax and/or work on other projects, all in addition to planning out how the arc will go. Got any questions about this story? You can find me on DeviantART under the name "SF64Rules91", where you can shoot me a note and I'll answer your questions the best that I can—without giving away any potential future spoilers, that is. As ever, continue staying safe during these really troubling times.