Disclaimer: I do not own YGO 5ds
A/N: Plenty of foreshadowing in the last chapter (by my standards), curious how much you guys guessed right
Also, I would strongly suggest reading the duel if you don't already, just because of the plots intertwined into the game.
My Master Hyperion looked a little different as it charged into Rex Goodwin, more solid somehow. The giant figure of Rex Goodwin faltered, and for a second I thought I saw a wound on its body before the attack dissipated. Rex Goodwin stumbled, almost falling off the self-made pedestal before catching himself at the ledge.
Even though I know these holographic attacks can have physical effects (somehow...) that was surprisingly powerful against Rex Goodwin in his current form. I hesitated, then decided I wasn't disappointed that Rex didn't fall to his death, I'll win this game hands-down anyway: his deck sucks.
As it stood, Goodwin had no cards in his hand, and only one card, Fiendish Chains on the field. I had Sanctuary in the Sky, Master Hyperion, and Red Nova Dragon on the field, with one card face-down on the field and one in my hand. He would get his Moon Dragon back the next turn, but that thing couldn't do much damage at all. The only challenge that remains, if I were to commit to keeping him alive, is to get his Earthbound Immortal to the field.
I placed Dimensional Prison on the field, pensive.
"I guess that's it for me." I ended my turn with no cards in my hands. Goodwin growled, staring at me darkly. Finally I got his attention.
Turn 4, Goodwin's Turn: Yuki 2500, Goodwin 1300
"I draw!" Goodwin announced like it was something worthwhile. "And now my Moon Dragon Quilla returns to my side of the field." I watched on, curious how he was going to turn this around.
"I play from my hand, the spell Pot of Dichotomy, I will return Fire Ant Ascator, Weeping Idol and Oracles of the Sun to my deck, and draw two cards in return." Okay, that was worth announcing.
Seeing my slight uneasiness, Goodwin smirked. It looked hotter now that he looks like he's in his twenties and all muscled up. Still weird, but hotter.
"I play Dark Hole," he then added needlessly, "which as you know, destroys all monsters on the field."
I watched helplessly as both of my extremely powerful monsters were destroyed by a simple spell card. 'At least they banned Raigeki', was all I could think of.
"Now that my Moon Dragon was destroyed, Sun Dragon Inti returns to my field, in attack mode!" Goodwin stretched out both arms, the giant hologram did the same, as though to encompass the powers of his dragon.
"No!" Roman Goodwin exclaimed from the sidelines, "Rex, don't!"
The giant hologram was an exact replica of Rex Goodwin, so I could see the hesitation in his eyes, his whole face twisted in an effort to make the best decision. Maybe the Dark Signer mark introduces another consciousness into the body and induces multiple personality disorder? That would explain why Roman Goodwin give away the Signer Powers to his brother, knowing that his own battle had been lost. In other words, the personality created by his Signer Mark had lost to the personality induced by his Dark Signer Mark? Otherwise, a person either turned evil or not, doing good deeds (giving away Signer powers) while knowing you'd turn evil isn't exactly common. Or maybe he was just taken over by another consciousness altogether.
"I-" Rex Goodwin literally bit down on his own tongue. I had perfect vision when I got here, but all the late nights and computers were beginning to ruin my eyesight, so I couldn't see the actual Rex Goodwin very well, but I could see the blood trickling down his lips on the giant hologram. Like his older brother, the 'Light' (pssh, whatever that means) could not defeat the 'Darkness' inside him. The giant figure licked the blood off his lips almost greedily, and wiped off the rest with the back of his free right hand, smudging the blood across his right cheek, obscuring even the Dark Signer mark.
"Sun Dragon Inti, attack that human and show her your powers!" The dragon readily complied, with a deafening roar, it let out a blast of fire in my direction.
"I activate my trap, Dimensional Prison." I laughed. While I knew I wasn't going to be in danger, I nonetheless felt immense relief at the disappearance of the dragon along with its stream of fire. "This card banishes your dragon from play, so your cute little sun-moon eclipse pattern is broken."
The hologram looked stunned at how easy it was for me to destroy his most prized combo. Rex Goodwin really doesn't have a great deck, even with magical assistance.
"In that case," Rex looked more furious than I had ever seen him, his fingers tightened around the single card in his hand. "I end my turn."
Turn 5: Yuki's Turn Yuki 2500 Rex 1300
Goodwin ended his turn with no cards on his field and only one in his hand. I knew he was betting on the fact that I wouldn't end the duel here and therefore kill him.
"Master Yuki!" Roman begged, stepping up then stopping abruptly, probably realizing that seeing him would only remind me of the times he had tried to kill me. "Please, Rex is no threat against your powers! You would take control of Neo Domino as easily as you had destroyed his synchro monsters!"
That's a horrible comparison. Also, back then, I didn't have Ruler of the Netherworld on the horizon. On the other hand, all the Neo Domino money... If the past couple of weeks taught me one thing, it's that money (legit money, not the ones we printed ourselves) can be really, really useful.
It just irritates me to no ends that Rex Goodwin would be proven right.
"I summon, Agent of Mystery -Earth (lv2, tuner 1000/800) to the field," I said loudly, proud of how much my deck supported me. (A little creeped out, but proud nonetheless) "and with his effect, I can bring Master Hyperion to my hand."
Even as a hologram, I could see my opponent turn pale.
Still need the money, I reminded myself again.
"Agent of Mystery, attack directly!"
Rex Goodwin withstood my attack with a smug grin, knowing he had beat me for this turn.
Turn 6: Goodwin's Turn Yuki 2500 Rex 300
"Next, I'll place one card face down and end my turn." He continued smoothly,"The field is yours."
Turn 7: Yuki's Turn Yuki 2500 Rex 300
I looked at his face-down card hesitantly. Goodwin's field is completely empty except for a face-down spell/trap card.
The original plan was, of course, to defeat Goodwin's Earthbound Immortal and free him (into our custody and possibly a life-time of imprisonment, but you know, 'free' him).
Alternatively, if I win the duel now I may doom him to an eternity of, actually, what happened to these guys? Did they stay in limbo? Did they die? Did they get trapped in the Shadow Realm? The anime featured two brothers walking into a portal, the implication being that they somehow sacrificed themselves to destroy the huge muddy monster, but you can never be sure with this magic mumble-jumble. I kind of feel bad for the monster, I mean you're an evil powerful overlord, then you get destroyed by two measly mortals just because they had strong willpower.
Although currently, our 'Ruler of the Underworld"-based timer is steadily ticking away, every step it takes taking us closer towards global destruction.
Considering how confident he was when his turn ended, I decided to take a chance. If I guessed wrong... Well, I tried.
"Agent of Mystery-Earth, attack," my command is a lot less confident than usual.
Luckily, Goodwin retaliated exactly the way I thought he would, "I activate my trap, Offering to the Immortals. When I'm attacked directly while having less than 3000 life points, I can negate your attack and special summon 2 Ceremonial Tokens on to my field. And bring my Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca from my deck to my hand."
Not a fantastic move, given I had Master Hyperion in my hand, therefore could destroy both of Goodwin's tokens with his special effect. Then again, Goodwin didn't have much of a choice, he would be dead if he hadn't activated his trap.
"I think that'll be all for my turn" I said finally to Rex Goodwin,who looked every bit as confident as I did. "Make your move. Let's see what your Immortal can do."
Turn 8: Goodwin's Turn Yuki 2500 Rex 300
"Very interesting decision, but very foolish. A mistake, I'm afraid, that neither you nor your friends will live to regret," Goodwin used the time drawing his next card to get his bearings and changed his expression from confident nonchalance to victorious megalomania, "You never should have challenged me, he's too far gone to be saved!"
He looked past me with an expectant smile. I turned around to see the Netherworld monster crossing the Daedalus bridge, almost halfway to the ancient ruin that is the site of our duel. In another 10, maybe 15 minutes, it would be here, presumably leading to the destruction of the world... Or not. To be fair, I have no idea what would actually happen if the Ruler of the Netherworld wins, the YGO world isn't exactly known for details.
"I tribute my two Ceremonial Tokens to summon, Earthbound Immortal Wiraqocha Rasca (lv10, 1/1)! Come forth, the ultimate powers of Darkness, and bring with you the next Era for Humanity!" Rex Goodwin looked absolutely insane.
"Now that my Immortal is on the field, I do believe we are ready for the next stage." Goodwin grinned again, opening his arms as though to greet a brave new world. "I have fully embraced the power of the Shadows! As the sole remaining Dark Signer, the powers of the Ruler of the Netherworld is channeled through me and me alone! Now it's time to complete my Transformation, and extend my control to the Light!"
I distinctly 'felt' something before seeing the Signer mark on Yusei's arm disappear, Jack and Crow's soon followed. Luna had stayed in the Satellite but I could see her mark, the Claw of the Dragon, flying towards us to join the others.
The four Signer Marks melted into Goodwin's body, joining Head of the Dragon to form a circle at the center of his chest, forming a tattoo of the Crimson dragon surrounding the purple of the Dark Signer mark. Goodwin turned around, flaunting a similar design in purple on his back, clearly the mark of the Netherworld monster. I appreciated the broad shoulders, trailing down the defines muscles on his back to narrow hips, disappearing into his dress pants, bulging with the muscles on a now-twenty-year old body.
Ahem... Rex Goodwin had gathered all five Signer marks.
"Oh no." I said in a sarcastic monotone, "What ever shall we do."
"I'm sure it's fun to keep poking Goodwin with a stick and all, he does have the powers of the Signers and the Dark Signers right now." Galen agreed with my words but not its spirit.
"You mock me!" Rex Goodwin looked more alien than human, his eyes a whirl of dark and light energy, though his mentality seems to have remained somewhat intact.
"These Creatures are sentient beings," I shook my head, "What makes you think you could manipulate their powers at will?"
No sooner did my words fall than the Signer marks come alive once again. As though repelled by the Dark Signer mark, the Crimson Dragon mark broke apart back into its constituents, seeking its new masters. The Head of the Crimson Dragon landed on Yusei's arm as expected. The Tail of the dragon flew towards me, eager to attach itself to my arm.
"No!" I replied firmly to the unasked question. The mark wavered, as though disappointed, before landing on Crow.
Claw of the Dragon similarly approached Felice, the current owner of Fairy Dragon, before being turned away, presumably in search of its old owner Luna.
I was relieved.
Through the Dark Signer marks, Ruler of the Netherworld is able to manipulate and manipulate its spawn. There is no reason to believe the Mark of the Crimson Dragon cannot do the same. The Crimson Dragon appears more powerful, and the marks appear otherwise identical. An argument can be made that the Crimson Dragon had not accessed this power during the show, but that's hardly evidence it does not have such powers should the need arise.
I didn't get this far just to become the minion of some anime superpower, supernatural or otherwise.
"What?" Goodwin grabbed at the flying marks, catching only air. He watched as the last shred of Light slipped through his fingers.
"Just as well." Rex Goodwin boomed, his eyes now a dark void, just like what's left of his soul. "Now that I can finally focus on what's really important, the infiltration of this world by the Shadow Realm."
It was clear the man, if it were still a man, standing on the pedestal before us was no longer Rex Goodwin, whether he had been brainwashed or taken over by the Ruler of the Netherworld, I cannot tell.
"By activating my Immortal's ability, your life points are reduced to 1." 'Goodwin' announced with an exaggerated wave of his hand.
If it's not Goodwin in controlling his body, who/what is it? I wondered idly. I hope it's not a ghost, I'm scared of ghosts...
"One more turn, then my Earthbound Immortal will bring about your ultimate destruction. I will now lay one card down, and end my turn" Despite his words, his stoic expression indicated that this duel was not going was he had planned.
Turn 9: Yuki's Turn Yuki 1 Rex 300
"Right, one more turn," I nodded. "This should be our last turn."
"I will banish Agent of Creation- Venus from my graveyard, and special summon Master Hyperion to the field, in attack mode. Next, I'll activate his special ability, I remove Mystical Shining Ball from play, to destroy your Immortal." I trailed off, waiting for his next move.
"I activate, Fiendish Chain," Goodwin smirked, "and I believe I already told you what it does."
The same trick isn't going to work on me a second time," I bragged. Of course I was bragging, I have fallen to procrastination thousands of times, I'm so familiar with the routine I can practically predict exactly what was going to go wrong at every stage. But what I said sounded much more impressive.
"I activate, Solemn Judgement. At the price of half of my life points, I am able to negate your trap!" I declared. My LP was already at 1, so I don't actually pay a price. Again, the advantage of having been able to google rulings.
"Now Master Hyperion, destroy his Immortal!" I ordered again, as my monster activated his ability.
"NO! REX STOP!" I heard Roman call out a little too late.
As my Master Hyperion dove towards the giant bird on the field, Rex Goodwin reached under his duel disk.
His immortal was shattered. I could see the light it absorbed being released again into the atmosphere, the freed souls of those it once possessed.
It feels just like the last time Crimson Dragon stopped time, except this time, I knew that time did not stop. Though I could swear I saw Rex Goodwin pull out the gun in slow motion, then the the bullet flying towards me.
I was still wearing my bullet-proof vest- I haven't taken it off since the Greiger incident.
Rex Goodwin was smart enough to aim at my head, and he had excellent aim.
I distinctly remember my mind trying in vain to move my body out of the way, and wondering why it was so slow.
I also remember the feeling of the bullet piercing skin, then flesh, then my skull. I never did feel any pain, possibly because that part of my grey matter had been shattered before the signals for pain even reached them. For a second, I was sure that I was dead (In retrospect, that makes much more sense than it has a right to). So when I heard, or rather felt the Ruler of the Netherworld telling me I had a chance at life, I didn't hesitate, I took it.
Forget the so-called 'Battle between Light and Darkness', forget the 'Fate of the World' nonsense, forget the rest of humanity. I was overwhelmed by the most primitive desire for survival. Instead of rejecting it like I did the Signer mark, I allowed the Darkness to invade my body.
For the first time, I felt true power running inside my veins. No longer would I be powerless against the likes of Rex Goodwin, no longer will I need help to capture Sayer, nor would I ever rely on the unreliable loyalties of those around me. I had power. I Was power, and it's intoxicating.
I have never been so grateful that I wasn't a Signer. Unless being a Signer prevents you from getting shot, in which case I wish I had become a Signer when I had the chance.
I lifted my left hand, the angry red mark of a Dragon now embedded into flesh, the head of the dragon resting at the base of my thumb. My Dark Signer Mark.
There were no surprise from the crowd, I guess I must have missed the part where I was engulfed by dark energy and reborn. Might have been out for that bit.
The Ruler of the Netherworld requires a Dark Signer to anchor it into this dimension, therefore when Rex Goodwin's Earthbound Immortal was destroyed, it chose a new vessel to carry its powers - Me. I just realized where I had seen Red Nova Dragon, that was Jack's reward for defeating the Crimson Devil, the last of the Earthbound Immortals. Now it's picked me as its new master, so that I too could be marked for its cause.
With my death and subsequent revival, the Netherworld Monster continues unimpeded in Neo Domino.
"We must have another duel as soon as possible!" Yusei said worriedly, glaring at the monster drawing near as though his anger would hold it back. "That's the only way to free your soul and save the world!"
I chuckled, such a main character thing to say. Truth is, the Netherworld Ruler is at most 10 minutes away, even I don't have time to finish a duel in such a short period of time, especially when a part of my body is literally trying to stop it.
"The duel, Master Yuki. Please." Roman Goodwin gestured to the field desperately, fully aware that he was asking a Dark Signer to save the man who just killed her.
"Right." I glanced at Rex Goodwin, now free of all supernatural influences, standing atop a shaky pedestal of his own making, where the slightly breeze can push him off the ledge to his death. Utterly powerless against me despite of whatever advantage he might have had. I had no need for Neo Domino, not with powers like these. My mind weighed the satisfaction of killing him now against allowing him to live out a pointless life, the inconsequential nature of his existence being his ultimate punishment.
I can't claim to have been altered by the Netherworld Ruler. This side was within me the whole time, the power I possess, rather than any other magical influences, had allowed these thoughts to come to the forefront of my mind now that they have a chance to become a reality.
I grabbed at the air in front of me and Goodwin's pedestal collapsed, dropping him back onto the earth.
"Do your worst!" Rex Goodwin challenged with a hint of defiance, crawling out of the rubble that once propelled him into the skies. He's now fully mortal, bleeding and bruised like the rest of them. He survived, because I didn't want him dead yet.
"Master Yuki," Roman rushed up, the barrier separating our duel from our audience now broken, since I never saw a need for its existence.
I turned to him with a teasing smirk, suspecting he had nothing to say in Rex Goodwin's defense now that I no longer need Neo Domino or human currency... Or you know, humanity.
"Rex would be must more entertaining when he's alive," Roman had really outdone himself, he spoke rapidly, cutting off and drowning out Rex Goodwin's protests. "Until you lose interest of course."
"Fair enough, can always kill him later." I replied with a careless shrug, Rex Goodwin really isn't on the radar of things I care about right now.
"I activate a trap," I pointed to the first trap I laid down in this duel, "Destruction Ring. By tributing my Master Hyperion, I am able to decrease both players' life points by 1000."
The duel area dimmed down as both our LP reached, Rex Goodwin collapsed and I almost did as well.
I felt the same yet a little different as the duel ended. Like just getting off a roller coaster or just finished a horror film of some kind, when the adrenaline rush wears off and you realize that you hadn't quite been yourself for the past several minutes. Somehow, I knew that effects of the Netherworld monster are amplified during duels, just as it is amplified as time progressed.
Though I didn't know how I knew, and that concerns me.
"Your mark!" Kalin moved to approach me, something in my eyes must have stopped him.
I pulled my left sleeve back to show him the dragon encircling my wrist. A simplistic, almost prehistoric-looking tattoo embedded itself onto my arm, extending from the base of my thumb to the lower half of my forearm. Dark red, almost like the colors of the Crimson Dragon. Of course, there was still one Earthbound Immortal left, though it was never referred to by such a name- the Red Devil, aka Red Nova Dragon, had chosen its host.
Unlike the other Dark Signer tattoos I had seen, this one looked alive. The dragon clung to my skin, I could feel it digging deep into flesh and bone as it climbed up my arm.
Chaos and Felice exchanged a look, Galen quickly caught Vincent's eyes and shook his head firmly. The old me wouldn't have noticed it, but now I can see everything.
Vincent looked at me as though to speak, but held back.
"Maybe the Netherworld Monster wouldn't be so bad," Galen offered with a forced chuckle. "Five thousand years ago, the Crimson Dragon won, right? We didn't really have a choice back then and things turned out okay."
Felice hesitated, but nodded her agreement, struggling very hard to sound cheerful. "We were going to create a brand new world together anyway, so is this monster thing!" She failed to sound cheerful by the way.
"Right." Chaos supplied to my surprise, he even smiled a little, "I really don't think this Monster thing can be worse the Goodwin. I think we should give it a chance."
"What are you guys talking about?" Yusei stared at each of us in turn, filled with horror. "We can't let the Darkness conquer our world! Just look at what the Dark Signers have done, how can you possibly risk the entire World on their Master? Yuki, why won't you accept my duel? We don't have much time!" Yusei still doesn't understand, he's being even denser than usual. His mind just doesn't tend to go in that direction.
"We have about five minutes before that thing gets here,there's no time for a duel." Kalin barely managed to say, as though each word coming out of his mouth is physically hurting him. He looked at me helplessly.
I waited for him to voice his opinion. He didn't. Or maybe he did and I need to learn to read between the lines.
Of course, the rest of us all understand that there's a very simple solution to this. The Ruler of the Netherworld requires a Dark Signer to anchor it to this dimension, that's why it converted me.
I'm the sole surviving Dark Signer.
There were always two options to destroy the Ruler of the Netherworld, either defeat the Dark Signers through dueling, or kill them.
At the split second when I was faced with death, I didn't hesitate to choose Life at whatever cost, survival instincts prevailed. But now that I have (slightly) more time to think about it, I don't know if I can justify the same decision.
My hesitation doesn't have much to do with the 'Fate of the World' nonsense, after all, this is just an anime, right? ...Right?
The problem is, I don't know what would happen to my mind if I were completely taken over by Dark Signers. I've seen and fought many Dark Signers, every one of which thinking they were acting out of their own free will, when in fact they had been brainwashed by the Ruler of the Netherworld.
I think therefore I am.
When I crossed over into this world, I had lost not only my body, but also all external factors that defined me. I used to joke that I'm really only living half a life. If I lose my mind as well, would I be living at all?
Then I guess there's the rest of the world. I don't care about most of it but there are plenty of people that I'd rather see alive than dead. The kids and adults who joined Zephyrs seeking a better life, those who held onto and even continued to buy our mock currency in hopes of upholding our (nonexistent) financial system. The fraction of Satellite population who is trying in vain to slow the Ruler of the Netherworld on its path to Neo Domino, while having literally no idea what's going on, for no reason other than their faith in and loyalty to me.
If not from the goodness of my heart, then at least my pride prevents a choice that would throw them to the wolves.
Plus, the majority of my team just agreed to risk the world instead of risking my death. I think they'll regret it after they had time to think over it, but it still means something.
If I want them to survive, there're some choices I have to make.
"I'm sorry buddy," I turned with my left side facing Chaos, my lips twitched in the mix of a grimace and a smirk. I took off my jacket and lifted my left sleeve past my shoulder as through getting a flu shot. The Dark Signer mark, in the shape of a dragon, had already inched its way to my elbow. Taking off my duel disk, I handed it to Chaos with the sharp edge facing me.
"Would you mind doing the honors?" I gestured to my shoulder.
"If this doesn't work?" Chaos pressed, though we both know he already knew the answer to that question.
"Then you'll have to finish what you started." I completed the thought he didn't want to finish, scratching my face apologetically. "Sorry to put you through this."
"It would be an honor." He replied.
Of course, it had to be him.
If the Dark Signer side of me could be removed with my left arm, great. If not, I would need to be... And Chaos had to be the one to do it.
The Zephyrs has roughly three spheres of power at this point. Galen who had taken over our milit- I mean security forces. Felice, who handles sales and therefore our finances. Chaos had led internal management, and therefore had significant influence over the majority of our personnel. (Vincent would have been a natural leader as well, if it weren't for the Dark Signer thing.)
With their history of conflict, limited education and complete lack of political experience, even anime villains could play them off each other until there's enough dissonance to pull the Zephyrs apart. Then the Momentum falls into the hands of Ra-knows-who and we restart the 'impeding-apocalypse' bit, this time without involving card games. There can only be one leader in the Zephyrs at this point in our expansion.
Chaos is too easily persuaded to lead an organization that can destroy the world. Felice would have been ideal, but a significant part of her powers come from her fellow Magicians, who has too many ties to the Satellite to finish what I started.
Killing me, should that be necessary, would naturally prevent Chaos from being the next leader of the Zephyrs. However, preventing the apocalypse would ensure he had enough among those who matter. I know him well enough to know he would chose Galen, if only because the Magicians had failed once before to change the city they love. Chaos support would provide Galen with enough sway to become the undisputed leader of the Zephyrs.
With any luck, Galen is just stubborn enough to carry out our plan exactly as I planned it: to move out the Satellite and start afresh.
And no, I didn't think of all this stuff on the spot.
I told you I had a will.
"Well?" I patted my arm, "Let's get this over with." The dragon had inched its way to the middle of my arm in less than a minute, any longer and taking off an arm might not be enough.
"Oh," I poked my head out from his arms, "Kill the Goodwin brothers if they try anything."
"It's been an honor, Yuki-sama," Chaos held me in his arm gingerly, letting me bury my head in chest, leaving only my left arm exposed. I didn't see my duel disk coming down but I did feel the pain.
I should just carry morphine around with me in a syringe from now on. It's not like anybody would arrest me when I own the police.
A/N: A lot happened, will probably need to edit this later.
A/N 2: No, Yuki isn't dead.
A/N 3: Please review XD