Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5Ds
"Director Goodwin, we have news from-" Lazar, the-technically deputy-director who dressed like a clown walked into the Stadium at the most inopportune time, "oh is this a duel? I always love seeing the great Jack Atlas in action."
Well, he certainly isn't going to help my chances of getting out of here, neither is Goodwin if that constipated look on his face is any indication.
"A satellite! In a duel! And here of all places. I could have her thrown in the Facilities right now if you'd like." Lazar offered gleefully as he recognized me, seems like he got caught up in the situation. I know his sob story, that doesn't deter my strong dislike for the man. But he did look a little like Team Rocket, so that does add some points in his favor. Neither Goodwin nor even Mina objected to Lazar's proposal.
"Lazar, just a second" I called out, stopping the Vice Director of Domino City before he could leave. The clown who broke into my house only days before glared back at me smugly, I could see his delight in me being trapped in Domino City, which he must have thought was his territory. But he had misread the situation entirely. This time, he had no control over the room, his opinion couldn't possibly make matters worse for me. So, as the idea occurred to me, I stopped him, to do something I really wanted to do, but didn't get the chance last time, I punched him in the face.
"That's for trying to frame Vincent," I smiled cheerfully, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and swung again, "and that's for Chaos."
Technically, Chaos wasn't his fault, it was mine. But I needed to punch somebody for it, and I certainly wasn't going to punch myself.
As I let go, the purple-haired man immediately stepped back several paces, still speechless from the shock, and cringing as I straightened.
"Don't worry, we're even, for now," I smirked as the clown shrunk back under my gaze, then again when noticing the blood on my knuckles "I won't hold it against you for trying to arrest me back there, till next time."
Lazar looked at Goodwin and I in turn, before wincing at the pain from his bruises, and making an exit as well.
I turned back to face Jack Atlas at the other end of the arena with a satisfied smile, "Let's get this started, shall we?"
Turn 1, Yuki's Turn; Yuki 4000, Jack 4000
"I summon, Raiden, Hand of the Lightsworn (lv 4, tuner, 1700/1000), in attack mode, I activate his special effect, which allows me to send the top two cards of my deck to the graveyard." No Lightsworn monsters were sent to the grave, so my monster's attack remained unchanged.
"Now I lay two cards face down and end my turn." I announced a little louder than necessary, forgetting the sound system that lined this auditorium.
"A tuner monster on the first turn!" Mina exclaimed. I don't know why she was so excited, half of Yusei's deck was tuners.
Turn 2, Jack's Turn; Yuki 4000, Jack 4000
"My move!" Jack stood impressively, looking intimidating even from twenty feet away. 'Looking' being the operative word, I knew everything there was to know about him, and really, he was just a spoiled brat. It takes a certain gift to manage to become so petulant growing up in the Satellite. Now that the 'Destined' had lost their edge, Jack was nowhere close to being a threat.
"First, when you have a monster on the field and I don't, I can special summon Vice Dragon onto the field (lv 5, 2000/2400). His attack and defense points are halved but that won't matter, because I summon Dark Resonator (lv3, 1300/500) from my hand. Now, Vice Dragon, tune with Dark Resonator, only in the hands of the King, can true power be harnessed. Come forth my ultimate beast, Red Dragon Archfiend!"
"Jack!" Mina all but swooned in the audience stands. I looked over in time to see her imitating my 'mock anime girl happiness/gratitude leg-bend', only she was entirely sincere. How did this woman end up controlling the security of a metropolis?
"Jack is in top form today," Rex Goodwin said approvingly. This place really had an excellent sound system.
All was going according to plan, I was prepared for the Jack Atlas at the end of the series, this Jack was hardly going to be a challenge.
"When I have an Lv 8 or higher Synchro Monster, I can special summon this from my hand, come forth, Creation Resonator (Lv3, tuner, 800/600). Now Red Dragon Archfiend, attack!"
"I activate my trap," I waved my hand, "Compulsory Evacuation! This returns one card from the field to the hand. So I return Red Dragon Archfiend to your extra deck." It's great to have cards I was used to again, dueling feels so much easier this time.
Mina gasped.
"Grr," Jack growled, "I lay down three cards and end my turn."
Jack had ended his turn with an empty hand, not usually a good sign.
Turn 3, Yuk's Turn; Yuki 4000, Jack 4000
"My turn then," I drew casually. Looking at my opponent's imposing stance, I stood up straighter, only to look attentive and respectful rather than intimidating, and gave up. "Fine then, I summon, Tour Guide from the Underworld (1000/600) from my hand, when I summon her, I can special summon another lv 3 fiend monster from my deck, and I choose, Dark Resonator."
"How!" Jack protested, "How could you have that card!"
"It's one of the few lv 3 fiend tuners," I shrugged off his outrage, "you can't honestly expect to be the only one using that card. Now, I tune Lv 3 Tour Guide with lv 3 Dark Resonator, to synchro summon, Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius (lv6, 2400/1500). I activate Raiden's effect and send two cards from my deck to the graveyard." Neither cards sent to the graveyard where Lightsworn monster, my warrior's attack remained unchanged at 1700.
"Now, Raiden, attack Creation Resonator (Lv3, tuner, 800/600)!" I commanded calmly, my warrior sliced the animatronic egg-machine hybrid back into its metallic components. Jack's life points dropped to 3100 as he shielded himself from the blast somehow generated by holograms. I have to look into that one of those days. "Now Wolf Lord, attack Jack directly!" I looked on eagerly.
"Not so fast!" Jack swiped his arm and revealed the trap card,
"I reveal my trap card, Cursed Prison, which allows me to special summon a synchro monster from my extra deck in defense mode, as long as its effects are negated. Come back onto the field, Red Dragon Archfiend (lv8, 3000/2000)!"
My wolf stopped short as a giant dragon rose up from the ground and blocked its path.
"No matter," I shrugged. I could leave his monster on the field for this turn, stuck in defense mode and with no effects. Jack doesn't have higher-level synchro monsters yet, so he can't even use his dragon as synchro material. Red Dragon Archfiend would be entirely useless. But that's not how I duel. "Wolf Lord, destroy that dragon!"
My beast charged again, its claws digging through translucent scales into flesh and bone. I saw the majestic monster twist in pain, heard its agonizing roar as its head was severed from the rest of the body. It bled red. I was thankful holograms cannot yet imitate the sense of smell. Some monsters just appear more realistic than others.
"That's exactly what I thought you'd do!" Jack announced triumphantly, "I activate, Miracle's Wake. This trap allows me to summon one monster destroyed by battle this turn back onto the field. So say hello again to my Red Dragon Archfiend!"
"Go Atlas-sama!" Mina called from the sidelines. It was a good combo, using two trap cards to special summon Red Dragon Archfiend at its full strength on your opponent's turn. I took the chance to sneak a peek at Goodwin, he was looking thoughtfully at Jack's arm. Ahh, Jack still needed train for his tattoo. Alright, as long as I got my cards, I'll play.
"I lay another card face-down, and end my turn." I announced, leaving only two cards in my hand.
Turn 4, Jack's Turn; Yuki 4000, Jack 3100
"My turn!" Jack drew forcefully, "now prepared to be crushed by the King! First, I activate Red Carpet, when I have a dragon type Synchro monster on the field, I can special summon two Resonator monsters from my graveyard. Come back to the field, Dark Resonator (lv3, 1300/500), Creation Resonator (lv3, tuner,800/600) , in attack mode!"
With Red Dragon Archfiend on the field, any monsters that didn't attack would be destroyed at the end of the turn.
"Next, I summon Lancer Archfiend. I tune my Creation Resonator with my Lancer Archfiend (lv4, 1600/1400), to synchro summon, Chaos King Archfiend (2600/2600, lv 7), when he attacks, I can switch the attack and defense powers of all your monsters."
"Two synchro monsters in two turns," I heard Goodwin comment, "Jack's not missing a beat in his duel." I followed his eyes to Jack's arm, still nothing.
"You're the best, Atlas-sama!" Mina jumped around, waving her arms and cheering. I worried for her mini-skirt.
"Hmph." Jack grunted in contentment, "Now you'll know what it's like to face somebody far superior in every way! Chaos King Archfiend, attack Raiden Hand of the Lightsworn, Ultimate Pandemonium!"
I don't know what he was so happy about, he had no cards in his hand, while I had two. He had nothing in the spell-trap zone and only three monsters out on the field, utterly vulnerable, Jack Atlas was about to learn the importance of keeping a reserve.
My LP dropped to 2400, as Raidel only had 1000 def (now attack), against Jack's Archfiend's 2600. His LP stood at 3100.
"Now Red Dragon Archfiend, destroy Celestial Wolf Lord!" Jack ordered, I guess he was prepared to sacrifice his dragon, but I wasn't ready to let my monster go just yet.
"Activate trap, Dimensional Prison, this card banishes the attacking monster." I explained as Jack's gigantic dragon monster was sucked into a dark vortex.
Jack leaned back as though physically struck, and his face contorted in rage and dismay. I struggled to hold back the laughter. He just looked so adorable when defeated. Okay, not yet defeated, but soon.
"I end my turn," Jack admitted reluctantly.
Turn 5, Yuki's Turn; Yuki 2400, Jack 3100
"Then I can summon Evilswarm Zahak (lv4, 1850/850), I should warn you that when he's destroyed, he takes with him one lv5 or above special summoned monster." I also had Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius (lv 2400/1700) on the field, which can decrease a monster's attack by 2400 when he leaves the field. The point being, either of those monsters would take a high-level synchro monster with them when they leave, allowing me unfettered access to Jack's life points.
I could sacrifice Wolf Lord and destroy his Archfiend, but it's not worth it.
"Celestial Wolf Lord, attack and destroy his Dark Resonator!" I saw Jack gritting his teeth as the dust from the attack settled. My puppy just bit off 1100 of his LP.
"And don't forget," I smirked at the floating voodoo creature holding a tuning fork who stayed on the field despite the attack, pleased at having turned Jack's monster's special effects against him, "Once per turn, Dark Resonator is not destroyed by battle, so I get to attack him again. Evilswarm Zanak, attack!"
I looked down at my hand, the other two cards I held were Draguinty Arma Leyvetan (lv8, 2600/1200), and Herald of Purple Light (lv2, 300/500), not a bad hand, just not quite appropriate for this case, more specifically, not designed for this deck. I thought I'd add enough cards for a Draguinity deck for Galen since I have the chance, it would work reasonably well with his Red Eyes Darkness Metal Dragon.
So I declared the end to my turn. I had Book of Moon (turn one monster into facedown defense position) on the field, it wasn't much, but it'll be enough for this turn.
Turn 6, Jack's Turn; Yuki 2100, Jack 1350
"My move then!" Jack growled. I thought I saw a hint of red light under his sleeves, it was hard to be certain since he put that trench coat back on before our duel. Jack started his turn before I could study Goodwin properly. "I draw! Don't get carried away yet, you can't defeat Jack Atlas that easily. I summon to the field, Chain Resonator (lv1 tuner, 100/100), when this card is summoned and I have a synchro monster on the field, I can special summon one resonator monster from my deck, and I choose, Dark Resonator, in defense mode!"
Interesting choice, Jack's playing a little defensively now that his life points are on thin ice, though I still didn't see how he could get around the effects of both of my monsters.
"Now Chaos King Archfiend (2600/2600), attack Celestial Wolf Lord, Blue Sirius (1500/2400)!" Jack commanded. The activation of Chaos King Archfiend's special ability again switched my monsters' attack and defense to deal more damage, but my Evilswarm Zanak was still too powerful for his resonator to destroy. My armored wolf went down in a heated blast, I was uncertain if I felt the impact or merely imagined it.
My LP dropped to 1300 from 2400.
"I activate my monster's special ability, when he's destroyed and sent to the graveyard, I can decrease your monster's attack by 2400 pts." I pointed to Chaos King Archfiend, its attacked dropped to a measly 200. On his field were three monsters, Chaos King Archfiend and Chain Resonator in attack mode, with 200 and 100 atk respectively, and Dark Resonator in defense mode. He had to have another plan. I was trying to remember special effects for the cards in his graveyard when he spoke again.
"Now, Chain Resonator, tune with level 7 Chaos King Archfiend to synchro summon, Stardust Dragon (lv8, 2500/2000)!" He didn't pronounce a cute little rhyme this time.
"What?" I muttered, too surprised to shout or protest. 'What the actual hell' were my exact thoughts, but being in this world had caused me to instinctively tune out the more negative aspects of my speech.
"Go Jack!" Mina shouted excitedly, obviously oblivious to the source of that monster.
I glanced over to see Goodwin touching his arm thoughtfully, as surprised as I was by Jack's use of Yusei's dragon. Did that sound a little off? I thought it did.
"Are you kidding me?" I finally blurted out the most PG version of my thoughts, "Are you effing kidding me! Stardust Dragon?" I removed most of the expletives for the benefit of Jack and Mina. I wonder if either of them were still underage.
"It's my card now and I'm going to use it however I like." Jack responded defensively. Objectively speaking, it's not a bad choice, Stardust Dragon's special ability neutralizes Evilswarm Zanak's monster destruction effect perfectly.
"It's not your card," I rebuffed, "and I'm sure he hates you for using him in a duel." Jack's actual method of getting the card was worse than immoral and borderlined 1st degree murder. It's the one thing that always gave me reservations about him. In reality, nobody wants to befriend someone who'd do literally anything to get ahead.
"I don't care what He thinks," Jack turned his nose up again, refusing to meet my eyes, "I've moved on from that life now, and there's no way I'm going to let Him get in my way."
He thought I was talking about Yusei when I was actually referring to Stardust, but they both hate him at the moment, so there's no point correcting this misunderstanding.
"Very well," I shrugged, "I shall defeat Stardust Dragon, then you, if you insist."
"Do your worst," Jack scoffed.
"You asked for it." It wasn't hard to defeat a monster with no backup.
Turn 7, Yuki's Turn; Yuki 1500, Jack 1350
As I drew my next card, I heard Stardust Dragon roar, he struggled as though bound by invisible chains. Of course he's bound by invisible chains, he was in a friggin' card doomed to serve whichever teenager got their hands on him. I thought I felt a jolt of electric energy innervate my body when I picked up the next card, and when I looked, it was Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning (3000/3000, aka BLS-EoB). That was the trump card in this deck, and could definitely win me the duel this turn. A lucky draw at a critical juncture, I thought cynically. Or rather the first time a magical lizard worked for me instead of against, Stardust's own work, if the Crimson Dragon hadn't been lying to me. It felt cheap, as though I was handed the victory by some mysterious force. Magical or not, I refuse to be the puppet to a giant lizard, even if it belonged to the protagonist of the series.
"I special summon," I decided finally, "Plaguespreader Zombie from my graveyard by placing one card from my hand to the top of my deck." I replaced BLS-EoB to the deck. "Next, I'll summon Cardcar D (lv2), in attack mode. So I can use him to tune Plaguespreader Zombie and synchro summon, Armory Arm (lv4 1800/1200) in attack mode. He can be equipped to a monster, and when the equipped monster destroys another monster, the attack points of the target is subtracted from your life points! Now I equip Armory Arm to my Evilswarm Zanak (now 2850), and use it to attack your, sorry, not yours, Stardust Dragon!"
Jack stood stunned as Stardust Dragon was blasted into dust, I could swear that dragon looked happy. The effect of Armory Arm activated, the rocket detached from my three-headed dragon and fired directly at Jack, decreasing his LP to 0.
Mina rushed onto the arena, Rex Goodwin followed. Lazar joined the crowd too.
I watched as the group circled Jack, encouraging him and trying to cheer him up. None of them was on my side, yet any of them could keep me in prison until my corpse rotted. On the other hand, I never did rely on Goodwin's word to get back to Satellite.
"Director Goodwin," I said quietly, crossing the duel arena and tapping Goodwin on the arm because I couldn't reach his shoulders, "a word."
His sulking interrupted, Jack looked up (down) and looked at the clown, sending him cowering silently. Though the majority of his resentment was still directed at me, his eyes red with rage and foaming at the mouth, all he was missing was photophobia to be mistaken for a rabies case. Obviously furious not only over his loss, but over my cavalier attitude towards it.
"That's not possible!" He held his head in his hands, "How did you defeat me? I was the King!"
"Oh, Atlas-sama" Mina hovered over the obviously uninjured Jack, "are you okay?"
"Jack," Goodwin followed, "we all encounter setbacks in life, the important thing is to learn from our mistakes and emerge even stronger." While he was spewing this chicken soup for the soul nonsense. I noticed him caressing Jack's right arm, inconspicuously pushing the sleeve back. If I hadn't known what he was doing, I would have called it perverse.
"Yes Jack," I faced the once-King. Nah, who am I kidding, he would never measure up to the real King of Games. "Accept your defeat, you'll get used to it soon enough."
Jack stood up with a fire burning in his eyes, I could practically hear his teeth grinding. If only he was passionate about things that mattered.
"Jack!" Mina exclaimed, holding onto his arm. He impatiently waved her off.
"I lost," his hands were clenched so tightly I could see veins pop out of his pale skin; if it were for his perfectly manicured nails, surely his palms would be bleeding now. "To a bloody nobody!"
'Bloody', +1 point for British Jack over Australian.
Jack brushed past Goodwin, but not before even I saw the unblemished skin on his right arm.
Goodwin grabbed his protégé, "Jack, get a hold of yourself. One duel means nothing, it's your consistency that makes you the king."
I nodded in complete agreement. Plus, if Jack didn't get his mark yet, Goodwin still needs me.
"I'm not the King anymore Goodwin," Jack snubbed, "I was beaten by a mere child!"
I gritted my teeth, not in anger as they expected, but so to bite back the line 'who would've thought even a child could win a children's card game' line.
"So..." I ignored Jack acting like the petulant teenager that he was and looked at Goodwin expectantly, "Zigzix, you said I could have him?"
"Yes, of course," Goodwin waved off the request, "I'll have him sent to the Satellite, you can receive confirmation from your little team once he gets there."
Guess he's not letting me go yet, I don't have the physical prowess to actually escape the control of Domino City, but I did have a plan.
"Rest assured," Goodwin scowled, understanding my silence to mean something entirely different. "You may contact your minions once the deliveries arrive."
"Minions!" I was both offended and flattered, "employees. They're my employees, Director Goodwin. Not everybody has lackeys or minions to do their bidding." I shot a glance at Jack pointedly.
Jack remained ignorant of our little banter, and despite Mina's pleas, he strode decidedly towards the exit.
"Atlas-sama!" Mina chased after him, wanting to hold him back but not daring to touch even the tails of the white trench coat.
Seeing an opportunity, and realizing Goodwin certainly wasn't going to let me go if Jack was in a mess, I decided to make the best of the situation.
I nudged Goodwin with a smirk. When he turned his eyes down to me, I pointed at Jack's retreating figure with my chin, then rubbed my thumb and forefingers together.
Goodwin's expression twisted in a very creative manner that I had never seen before.
"Twenty more cards," he said simply, "from Mina's list."
What's wrong with him? You don't buy people off with trading cards.
"Corporate license, tax-exempt status and," I counted off my fingers but failed, "a few pardons for my friends, and now, presumably me."
Goodwin's eyes widened in surprise. I'm really giving his facial muscles a workout today, or maybe he insisted on looking impassive to prevent wrinkles, he certainly didn't have any.
"Fine," He spat out, "now deal with Him."
"We'll iron out the details later," I patted him on the arm, careful to avoid the metal. It's dangerous to reveal how much you know when you already know too much.
"Jack," I called out, the pointy-blonde hair froze, "now you know why I was so surprised to see you with Stardust Dragon. He's not your card, and you'd be surprised what a powerful card like that can do to the order of your deck, and mine."
"What do you mean?" Jack swerved around, his trench coat made a perfect twirl despite wind resistance. I remembered nostalgically to Seto Kaiba's anti-gravity trench coats. "What does Stardust Dragon have to do with this?"
"You do know that your cards can influence your deck and even the outcome of your duel, right?" I asked as though 'sentient being living in paper capable of influencing reality' was the most natural thing in the world.
"Yeah?" Jack acted like it was.
"That's why you can never win with cards that aren't yours," I continued bluffing through my teeth, "not against a worthy opponent anyways."
"Stardust Dragon," Jack picked that card out of his deck, holding it between his fingers "it's the reason I lost?"
"He," I corrected, thus effectively avoiding the question. I would worry about the card, except Goodwin would never let anything happen to it. "Your deck would run better without him."
"So let's duel again!" Jack replied immediately, "I demand a rematch." I was sincerely freaked out by how much he sounded like me when I was asking for another duel with Crow, it's not a good sign when you find yourself similar to Jack Atlas.
"You'll get your chance, Jack," Goodwin interrupted, presumably worried Jack would lose again "The Fortune Cup shall be held next month, Ms. Tono will of course get an invitation. If she wins then, she'll get to duel you in a fair match."
Fair, I hid a condescending sneer, there's nothing 'fair' about kidnapping somebody and forcing them into any kind of conflict. The Fortune Cup was a lot earlier than I expected, but I guess it doesn't affect my long-term plans, seeing as I don't have any long-term plans. Though it did mean I would have to figure out some way to defeat the Dark Signers with Exodia very, very soon.
Jack didn't look pleased with the arrangement, but Rex Goodwin had that look on his face that clearly said there was no room for argument. Fine, he needed to fix his deck anyways, so next time they meet, he could crush that satellite. Jack consented with a curt nod and left with another swirl of his trench coat. Mina quickly followed behind.
"You have no plans to leave here I see," said an obviously amused Goodwin.
Seeing the coast is clear, I nonetheless waited till all three were out of sight before I spoke again, ignoring his previous comment.
"Director Goodwin," I looked straight ahead, talking quietly, "the man in the Shadows sends his regards to the Light."
"Who are you speaking of?" Goodwin asked quickly. When I walked towards the exit, he followed.
"Your brother," I said flatly, "I'm here to see what progress you've made with the Signers. Looks like Jack Atlas still has a long way to go, are the others stronger?"
"How did you learn of this?" Goodwin demanded, "Who told you?"
"The person who sent me." I answered matter-of-factly, "Now I just need an answer, will everything be ready then?"
"So that's why you came here without resistance," Goodwin mused. Excellent, he's filling in the blanks for me. That's what happens with the cunning types, they think too much. "It's Kalin Kessler, isn't it?" He didn't mean it as a question, so I didn't answer.
"I would still like to keep my deck," I said instead, prompting surprised laughter from the man who dominated this city. The request was made solely to quell his suspicions for the time being, though I really did need a decent (ish) deck.
"Very well," Goodwin nodded, "Mina will arrange for your transport back to the Satellite." Perfect. I was reasonably sure if he thought I was sent by Roman, he'd let me go, even if he did still have his doubts. Not because Roman had a particularly strong hold on him, rather because he didn't want his big brother to realize he was out of control. I was too insignificant to the younger Goodwin be worth the risk. There's no evidence that my presence played a significant role in Yusei's summoning of the Crimson Dragon, and more importantly, he thinks he could pick me up again at any time if he changed his mind.
"I appreciate it." I nodded graciously, "and as for the Signers?"
"Let me brother know, all will be done in due time," Rex Goodwin assured me.
"As you wish," I nodded my goodbyes.
"You will come for the Fortune Cup?" Rex Goodwin asked offhandedly.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I assured him, looking equally nonchalant, like accepting a dinner invitation.
"I look forward to seeing you on stage," Goodwin smiled meaningfully before making his exit. I wonder what he meant.
I wasted no time getting hold of Jack's blue-haired assistant. Right after I comforted the distraught weeping Mina so she was restored to a functional state. Zigzix and I were escorted back to the Satellite by the future chief of police herself. I made a mental note to investigate how she got (will get?) the job.
A/N: Fighting Black Rose, difficulty: 5 stars, equipment: explosives, gasoline, duel runner
Fighting Jack Atlas: difficulty: 1 star, equipment: deck of cards (provided by Jack Atlas), duel disk (provided by Rex Goodwin)
Yuki got off easy, wouldn't you say?
Finally, the Fortune Cup arc!