THE PALE RIDER (2)
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Joey had two cards in his hand: and there didn't seem like there were too many other obvious moves for him to make using them for the rest of the turn.
He closed his eyes for a second, trying to clear his mind of all else besides the prime task at hand: winning the duel.
"Fine. I'll go to my end phase, where I'll activate the effect of Red-Eyes Wyvern (1800/1600) from my graveyard."
The faint translucent image of a smaller Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared on his field. It was mostly identical to the original aside from size, and a faint purple glow that emanated from its body.
"I can remove this monster from play at the end of my turn to special summon the real Red-Eyes back to the field from my graveyard!"
With a screech, the translucent outline on Joey's field began to solidify and grow. When it reached full size, the purple aura disappeared, and the dragon let out a deafening roar (2400/2000).
"Perhaps after I end this duel I'll take that dragon for myself," hissed Sylar. "After all, I'm the reason you have it in the first place."
Joey was about to explode angrily in response but then saw the still catatonic Tristan through the side of his field of vision, and thought the better of it.
"I can't let this guy go on another one of his rants… That's just not gonna be good for Tristan. I just gotta handle whatever mud he slings at me without responding, and 'course I can do that. Joey Wheeler's heard worse… a lot worse."
That wasn't strictly true, because while the words of his opponent weren't as profane as some of the colorful and cuss-laden turns of phrase he had been subjected to by some of his nastier classmates growing up, they still landed a hell of a lot harder… because deep down Joey knew at least some of the accusations were unfortunately true.
It made him ashamed to think about, which was not an emotion he needed to deal with right now, so he tried not to ruminate on it. Yet, the bitterness in Sylar's voice just kept coming back to haunt him…
"You think you've ever been angry? Ever felt humiliated? Believe me, you fool… You don't know what humiliation IS!"
Yes, the things that Tristan had gone through were objectively pretty terrible. Yet neither Joey nor any of their other friends had ever really bothered to acknowledge any of them, nor had Tristan ever really received any praise for his contributions over the years, which while Joey had listened to Sylar list them out, he had to admit were not insignificant.
The fact that this realization was something he was having only now was just another failure on his part as a friend, one of several.
It was something he intended to atone for once this was over.
"Tristan, hang in there buddy. I've got a lot to make up to you, and I plan on startin' right after I win this duel."
Sylar drew.
"I activate Pot of Extravagance."
A two-faced pot appeared on his field. On one side it resembled more or less exactly the Pot of Greed's grinning green face, while on the other it was golden and kind of deformed, with broken teeth and swollen features.
"By banishing six cards facedown from my fusion deck, I can draw two more cards."
"Jesus, he already played Pot of Greed and now he has this?"
Joey watched silently as Sylar looked over his now three card hand.
"I activate my facedown Call of the Haunted, to special summon Cyber Venom – Lizard Bomber (500/1900) from my graveyard once again."
Reappearing in front of its master was the lizard-like monster whose entire body was inflated to such a large extent that it really did resemble a balloon, with limbs and a head that looked like they had been glued on and light brown scales. Noticeably, it had a pair of rocket launchers on its shoulders, along with a laser-shooting mechanism in its mouth. It seemed like the air within its body was enough to make it float as it did over Sylar's field.
"Next I chain Inferno Reckless Summon. When a monster with less than fifteen hundred attack points is special summoned to my field, I can call upon all other copies of it from my deck."
As he finished speaking, two more identical floating lizards appeared flanking the original one (500/1900) (x2).
"Of course, Inferno Reckless Summon allows you to summon all copies of any monster on your field you choose… but we both know you were never able to acquire another Red-Eyes Black Dragon without my help," hissed Sylar nastily.
"Just get on with it," grunted Joey, bracing himself. He knew something big was coming given Sylar had just flooded his field with weak monsters, most likely for tribute fodder.
"You will soon wish I hadn't."
Sylar raised a hand rather dramatically.
"Triple sacrifice."
The newly summoned trio all transformed into balls of light, and then simultaneously shot up into the dark ceiling above them.
"Come, Cyber Venom - Gogiga Gagagigo (3450/3300)."
The darkness which the balls of light had been absorbed into shot a column of light back down onto Sylar's field. The column began to form into a shape, and then the light faded to reveal its full features.
It was a reptile that resembled a humanoid Godzilla. Heavy jaws leaked saliva as razor sharp fangs glowed silver. It was almost completely mechanized. Tubes ran all along its body, green liquid bubbling within as they were transported along its spine, neck and veins. They had thick black steel plates interlocking around them with only a few dried-up reddish patches of scales visible here and there to indicate that it had once been alive.
A thick metal plate had been welded over its eyes with the letters 'CV' branded onto it and its fangs have been replaced by hollow energy charged blades dripping with acidic venom. Its hands were now fully mechanical, each one twice their original size; the fingers replaced by enormous axe like claws.
Joey grimaced at the sight of the newest arrival. A fair number of Duel Monsters didn't evoke the word "monster" just by their appearance… but this one most definitely did.
"Now, it's time for your dragon to die."
The newest monstrosity began to stalk forward. Its movements were slow and lumbering given the amount of metal armor weighing it down, and the whirring that echoed through the air seemed to indicate the machinery built into its body was already working overtime. Slowly, its speed began to build, each step causing sparks to fly as its steel talons ripped through the ground.
The Red-Eyes let out a defensive roar and spat out a crimson fireball at its advancing enemy, which connected and exploded. The dragon seemed confident it had won, but then the Cyber Venom - Gogiga Gagagigo's gigantic silhouette emerged from the billowing smoke and dealt its target a vicious blow at the neck. Its talons tore through the dragon's scales, decapitating it before it could even roar in pain.
With that, the body exploded, sending out a shockwave that almost knocked Joey off his feet.
(Sylar: 2200, Joey: 1150)
"Would that you had another monster on the field I could have ended this charade right here and now," snarled Sylar.
"Cyber Venom - Gogiga Gagagigo allows me to grant it one additional attack per turn at the cost of a single pitiful discard, but unfortunately that does not apply to direct attacks. So you are spared… for now. Make your next move and savor it, as it's quite possibly your last."
Joey's vision was still a bit bleary and his footing unsteady after the last attack.
He shook his head to clear his eyesight out, his breathing still a bit shallow. Wearily, he turned to glance at Tristan once again, who was still watching the events of the duel with a completely expressionless look on his face, his eyes betraying no emotion.
Joey opened his mouth to say something to him, but immediately stopped himself.
"No… Nothing I say now is going to make this any better. The mission comes first here."
"Are you even able to continue or has your true and cowardly nature come to the fore?" came Sylar's spiteful hiss, breaking Joey's thoughts.
He straightened his posture, turned back to his opponent and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, I'm gonna be fine, don't you worry about that. You on the other hand, are gonna have your hands full soon," he growled in response, before finally drawing.
"Ok, first up is the effect of The Black Stone of Legend (0/0) that I discarded to Graceful Charity a couple turns ago. I can return it to my hand and at the same time return one Red-Eyes monster with seven level stars or less from my graveyard to my deck."
He quickly flipped through his discard pile and located the two cards he was after, placing them where he needed to.
"Then, I'll play one monster facedown in defense mode and one more cards facedown before calling it a turn."
Two brown cards materialized on his field, one horizontal and the other vertical, both dwarfed by the horrific behemoth hulking over Sylar's field.
"How pitiful," growled Sylar. "For all your talk about your achievements as a duelist, here you are going down with a whimper instead of a bang."
He snapped the top card off his deck and gnashed his teeth in anger once he saw it. Clearly, it wasn't a monster.
"Your comeuppance is forestalled for now, but my Gogiga Gagagigo still deserves a chance to flex his muscles some more. Attack his facedown monster!"
The mechanized reptile commenced the process of lumbering across the field again, picking up speed once it reached the halfway point just as it did before. Right as it was upon Joey's facedown, drawing its arm back to deliver another brutal downward swipe, he reacted.
"Here's a trick I picked up not too long ago in a duel with another one of your master's pet freaks: Command Silencer!"
A massive metal totem pole materialized in between the oncoming mutant and its target. It shivered and let out a loud sonic clang that caused the attacker to let out a pained and horrifying screech, momentarily clawing at the sides of its headbefore retreating back to its master's field.
"As you know, this negates your attack and also lets me draw another card."
"Another pitiful delay tactic. Are you that terrified to face your sins?" spat Sylar.
"It's called strategy, wise guy, and I'm gonna teach you a thing or two about it pretty soon, so just get on with it" snapped Joey.
"Fine," came the frosty reply. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."
Joey rolled his eyes and drew.
"All right, now here's that lesson I was telling you about… First up is Fusion Recovery, which allows me to add Polymerization, which I also discarded to Graceful Charity, and one fusion material monster from my graveyard to my hand. I'll pick The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion (1000/1600)."
Joey did just this, increasing his hand size to five.
"Then, I'll flip summon my facedown… No prizes if you guessed right, it's The Black Stone of Legend (0/0)."
Joey's facedown flipped up to reveal a glowing red gem floating in the groove of a rock face.
"Then I activate its effect: I can sacrifice it to summon a level seven or lower Red-Eyes monster from my deck… So welcome back the king himself, my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!"
The gem vanished, as the large and iconic dragon once again graced Joey's field, its crimson eyes glowing with hatred at the monster that had destroyed it a couple of turns ago while its dark scales glinted with the reflection of the little light within the room.
Sylar's face contorted with anger at the reappearance of this monster, but Joey ignored this.
"Don't get too used to him, because he won't be around for too long… I play Polymerization, to fuse Red-Eyes with The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion in my hand, who I'm gonna substitute for Summoned Skull (2500/1200) so that I can summon Archfiend Black Skull Dragon (3200/2500)!"
The floating black sphere appeared on Joey's field next to the Red-Eyes, tentacles and all. A swirling vortex of blue and orange appeared behind them, and the two monsters were slowly sucked in.
The portal continued to spin for a further moment before a new form began to press its way out onto Joey's field.
As details began to become more visible, one could see that it an enormous dragon, easily a match for the Cyber Venom – Gogiga Gagagigo in size, standing on two legs. Its scales were a deep crimson but large parts of it were obscured by black armor plates, which ran along the front of both legs, its torso and forearms. All four limbs were tipped with enormous shining talons, with spikes on both elbow and knees. Huge red wings flared out behind it, but the tops of them were obscured by orange flames that spewed out of its nostrils every time it seemed to take a breath.
It fixed Sylar and his monster with its small crimson eyes and let out an Earth-shattering screech.
"Impressive creature… yet not impressive enough to challenge mine," stated Sylar dryly.
Joey ignored him, before raising his index finger.
"Now, Archfiend Black Skull Dragon… attack his monster! Molten Fireball Attack!"
The fused dragon began to breathe out heavily through its nostrils, but kept its mouth shut. Smoke billowed out as flames built up within its maw. Finally, when enough was charged up, it then unsealed its jaws and spat out a massive orange ball of flames and rock at Sylar's own behemoth.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn't enough. The Gogiga Gagagigo snarled and swiped its claws in an upward scything motion, deflecting the attack right back towards its source. The flames collided with Joey's dragon, which let out a screech of pain as its own attack consumed it within seconds, leaving first a burnt and unrecognizable corpse which then further disintegrated into ashes.
(Sylar: 2200, Joey: 900)
"Has all the guilt brought on by my reminders of all your sins made you suicidal?" snarled Sylar.
Joey was panting in exertion from the small life-point hit, but he grinned through it.
"Not quite…"
As he spoke, the translucent, spectral form of the Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared on his field.
"What is this?" muttered Sylar suspiciously.
"Real simple. If my Archfiend Black Skull Dragon was involved in a battle, at the end of my battle phase I can select one normal Red-Eyes monster in my graveyard… and you take damage equal to its attack points!"
Sylar instantly went pale. "What… no!"
"And that's two hundred more damage than you have life-points left… So this duel is history."
The astral Red-Eyes spat out its iconic crimson-gold fireball, which slammed into the Cyber Venom - Gogiga Gagagigo and Sylar's field in general, before exploding and consuming it with smoke.
"Sayonara," grinned Joey, before exhaling and then turning to look at Tristan, whose features seemed to have softened… a bit.
"Tristan… Look, buddy, I…."
"Did you think that was all it was going to take you to win this duel?" came a furious voice.
Joey whirled back around to see the smoke clearing. He then glanced at the life-point counters on his Duel Disk, and was dumbfounded at what he saw.
(Sylar: 3250, Joey: 900)
"What the-…"
"I was prepared for your conniving tricks," growled his opponent, now visible as the last of the smoke had disappeared.
"How exactly?" groaned Joey wearily. He had been really proud of that last play and was sure it would end the duel. Yet here they still were, his opponent now with a bigger life-point lead than before.
"By activating my facedown Destruct Potion, which allowed me to tribute my Gogiga Gagagigo in order to increase my life-points by an amount equal to its attack points."
"Fine," snapped Joey moodily in response. "I'll set one card facedown and end my turn… This won't last much longer, one way or another."
"No, it's only one way, not the other," retorted Sylar, snapping the top card off his deck.
He glanced at it and snarled in frustration. He only had two cards in his hand and clearly neither of them were playable at the moment.
"I end my turn."
Joey drew, and immediately tapped a button on his Duel Disk.
"I activate my facedown Spirit of the Red-Eyes… Its effect is pretty simple: I can summon any "Red-Eyes" monster from my graveyard. So one more time, say hello to my Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400/2000)!"
His field shone with bright, almost blinding light, and when it cleared the fabled wyvern once again loomed over it.
"No sense in waiting any longer… Attack his life-points directly! Inferno Fire Blast!"
Once again, the dragon charged up flames between its jaws and then spat out a giant fireball that collided with Sylar's mid-section, charring his trench coat and knocking him down to one knee.
(Sylar: 850, Joey: 900)
"Have you had enough?" Joey muttered.
Sylar slowly got to his feet. As he looked up, Joey could see the sheer malice gleaming in his eyes.
"That blasted creature has been a thorn in my side this entire duel," he stated simply. "I think, however, at this point, that it's germane for it to be your chosen weapon as we enter the endgame. That dragon, in a way, represents the anonymity and mockery I've been forced to live under for so many years now. Defeating it… and you in the process, will be the appropriate way for me to throw off these shackles."
Joey lost his patience at that point.
"Dude, what is wrong with you?" he snapped angrily. "Look, I get it. Yeah, Tristan helped me win that duel against Rex, and no, I wouldn't have my Red-Eyes without his help… and yes, you're right that I've never really thanked him properly for that. That's mea culpa, I fully admit it… But that sort of thing can't be the only reason you've turned into this."
He raised his hand and gestured vaguely at Sylar.
Before Sylar could respond, another voice interjected quietly.
"He's right," muttered Tristan. Joey whirled around to look at his friend who had finally come out of the shell he had entered after Sylar's rant some minutes ago.
His body language was that of someone under an incredible amount of stress, with his arms crossed in front of him but his hands clenching and unclenching themselves constantly. His right foot was constantly tapping on the floor, and his head was cocked to one side.
His words, however, were firm and clear.
"You're right about everything you've said. We've both been through a lot over the years, and it hurts like hell when no one else has seemed to care. Existing in the background just straight up sucks. More than once I've thought about joining the military so I can just get away from this group and start my own life path."
Joey's eyes bulged. "Tristan, are you serious buddy-…"
"Like I said, you're completely right about all that," Tristan continued, interrupting his friend. "But… We're still different, you and I. I'm here grappling with all this stuff, and while it's eating me up inside, Joey's correct that I'm still not like… you."
He didn't even need to gesture towards Sylar to make his point clearer as Joey had done.
"Clearly we've gone through a lot of, if not all the same stuff, but there's stuff that's happened to you that made you change into what you are. You said you died and were brought back, but that's pretty vague. I want to know now... What happened to you?"
Joey looked from his friend to his opponent and then back, observing the questioning and neutral expressions on each of the doppelganger's faces.
Finally, Sylar replied.
"Fine, you want to know my story? I won't just tell you… I'll show you."
He closed his eyes and murmured something under his breath, before snapping his fingers.
Instantly, the room around them began to warp and change. Joey and Tristan both did a double-take in alarm as their entire field of vision was consumed by swirling and chaotic colors, with the exception of Sylar himself.
When things settled, they realized that they were now somehow floating in mid-air, looking down on a large room with marble flooring.
Before either could speak, they heard Sylar's voice coming from their right.
"Look closely, you're about to witness what you asked for."
On the ground beneath them were two figures, seemingly engaged in a duel. One was clearly recognizable as Seto Kaiba, and the other was a large, olive-skinned shirtless man with blonde hair down to his shoulders and what looked like a light-blue Millennium Puzzle hanging off his neck.
"The man facing Kaiba is Anubis, the self-proclaimed God of Death, a being that I expect does not exist in this plane of existence, or at the very least has not been unsealed from his prison."
It seemed that Kaiba had somehow decked out. He fell to his knees, hopelessly clawing at the empty deck slot in his Duel Disk, trying to draw a card that didn't exist.
Anubis said something with a cruel smile, but no sound reached the watching party of three.
Kaiba's life-points dropped to zero, and he collapsed forward, unmoving and unconscious.
The door to the room was suddenly blasted off its hinges, and standing at the entrance was an angry Pharaoh Atem, flanked by Joey and Tristan.
Atem and Anubis seemed to engage words, the former furious and the latter derisive judging by the expressions on their faces.
Anubis bent down and placed a hand on Kaiba's body. The blue artifact around his neck began to glow.
The Tristan they were watching shouted something and charged forward.
Anubis raised his eyebrow, and a bolt of energy issued forth from the item around his neck. It struck Tristan plumb on the chest, and he let out a horrified scream as his body was slowly atomized.
Joey, the one watching, turned to look at his friend in concern, expecting him to be looking away. Instead, his eyes never left the scene, his expression stone-faced.
It took a few seconds for the entirety of Tristan's body to vanish, while Anubis melted away into a portal with Kaiba's body in the meantime.
The Joey on the ground fell to his knees, his hands grasping at the air where his friend had been an instant ago.
The scene froze, and Sylar turned to face his audience.
"Yes, that was my fate. As it happened, however, my story did not end there…"
The scene warped and changed again, and suddenly Joey realized he was now not just floating above a large room, but seemed to be over a thousand feet in the air, off the edge of what seemed to be the Empire State Building.
He gave a yelp of shock, but upon regaining his bearings he shifted his focus to what seemed to be another duel on the roof of said building.
It seemed to be between Atem and Yami Marik. How he had returned, Joey didn't know and Sylar didn't offer an explanation either.
It seemed that Atem had already won. His opponent lay unconscious in a heap after being attacked by Atem's Dark Magician.
Joey suddenly noticed that the clouds above them were darkening and beginning to shift and swirl, until they had formed a circular shape.
A tall figure was descending from the opening, clad in a black helmet and armor, with a flowing cape behind him. He continued to float downward until he was level with Atem, off the edge of the building.
He raised a gauntlet-covered hand and raised the metal grille of his helmet, so that Atem could see what was beneath it.
From his angle, Joey could not, but he did hear the next words, which sent a shiver down his spine. It was a voice that seemed to shake the very air around it and indicate a presence much larger than the actual size of the one who spoke them… just like Apep.
"I am Apocalypse. And you set me free."
"Apocalypse? What-…?" began Joey, before cursing as the scene around them began to change again.
Now, the trio were looking down at a graveyard of sorts… If only the largest graveyard ever built. Thousands, no, millions of gravestones popped out of the gray soil beneath and stretched in all four directions as far as the eye could see.
Joey's attention, however, was drawn to one specific stone out of the uncountable number, only because two figures were standing over it. Well, one was standing, dressed in black and gold medieval looking armor, a headdress covering his entire head and most of his face, and the other was lying on the ground next to the grave, gray of hair and wearing a white suit.
The armored figure placed what seemed to be a card on the grave, before producing a knife from his armor and slicing his own palm, allowing a few drops of blood to fall on the card. All the while, he seemed to be speaking words too softly for Joey to hear.
Right after that, ethereal, ghost-like figures appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the two figures. They hung there for a moment, before slowly dissipating. They had taken the prone figure with them, it seemed.
Then, a new figure arose out of the grave. He was naked, tall and tanned. The front of his hair was groomed into a familiar sharp and pointed shape.
Joey did a double take, glancing at both Tristan and Sylar, and then back at the newly resurrected figure.
It was unmistakable. The risen man was Tristan.
The Tristan on the ground spoke in a quivering voice, and this time the words did reach Joey.
"Who am I?"
"You are Sylar, Third Horseman of Apocalypse."
"Wait, what the hell is-…" demanded Joey, but again everything warped rapidly around him just as he spoke, and Sylar pointedly ignored the words anyway.
They were now watching another duel, this one in a dark room that looked almost like a cellar.
One of the participants was Sylar himself, in his trench coat and mask. The other was… Serenity Wheeler.
Joey did a double-take.
The sounds from the scene were inaudible again, but the Sylar they were watching seemed to coldly order his Cyber Venom - Gogiga Gagagigo to attack Serenity directly, winning him the duel as she fell to her knees in despair.
Joey's eyes were also drawn to some trashing in another corner, where he saw himself shackled to the ground while a cobra sank its fangs into his arm.
Before he could even process what he was seeing, the scene changed again. The shifts were coming more rapidly now.
Soon they were watching Sylar standing over Duke Devlin, as the latter was being crushed by a boa constrictor.
Then they saw another duel, this time it was Sylar against Seto Kaiba. A gigantic shadowy eight-headed form on Sylar's field attacked Kaiba, blasting off his left arm in the process. He lay screaming on the ground, clutching at the stump while his opponent spoke cruel and imperceptible words.
Joey glanced at both Tristan and Sylar. The former's expression remained completely unreadable, while the latter had a sadistic smile in place.
The scene shifted again.
Now they were once again floating high above the ground, this time an open space that seemed to be a battlefield. Two armies were in the midst of a titanic clash.
They were so high up it was difficult to make out the details, but it seemed like one army was mostly made up of black armored demons and zombies, while the other consisted of green reptilian creatures that may have been extraterrestrial in origin.
At the back of the army hovered Sylar himself, in line with three other men: one was the black-armored one from the graveyard, another was older and bald, clad in white armor, and a third was younger, muscular and wild-looking with glowing green eyes.
Behind them was the foreboding black-armored figure that called himself Apocalypse while addressing Atem. He was… larger than before. Much larger. He was at least a hundred feet tall and his shadow loomed over much of the battle.
The five impassively watched as their army seemed to slowly overwhelm the supposed aliens, Sylar and the others occasionally adding blasts of energy to expedite the process.
The scene changed again.
They seemed to be in outer space, or at least in the upper atmosphere of a planet that was definitely not Earth. Apocalypse was floating there, and he had now grown so big that he seemed to blot out the Sun.
A tennis ball sized glass sphere hovered in his titanic hand. Some kind of energy was swirling inside of it.
He closed his fist, crushing the glass, and then suddenly his body glowed and then spasmed. The glow continued to grow in intensity, and it seemed like he was developing a gravitational pull of his own, as pieces of the planet below them were breaking off and being pulled towards him.
Suddenly, he threw both hands out to the side, and then everything went black.
Before Joey could even curse, he realized he was now back where they had started: in the room at the Kaiba Corp HQ on the thirtieth floor.
He stared at Sylar, who had also returned, standing in the same place as he had before.
Joey couldn't even begin to process what he had just seen.
"What… What was that?"
"You asked for my story," came the simple, smug reply. "I showed it to you."
"You mean you… You actually died, came back to life and worked for that thing that exploded at the end?"
"I did what I had to," stated Sylar simply.
He turned to look at Tristan.
"You likely had no idea what you were capable of, but perhaps now that you've had a glimpse you're beginning to realize our true nature. I was cast aside like worthless trash by my so-called friends, but in the end I had the last laugh as you can see. I was reborn into the service of my master with power beyond my wildest dreams and was able to exact vengeance on not only the traitors from my previous life but also the world itself that wronged me."
He raised an open palm to eye level.
"You could do the same. You've already accepted that the people you're surrounded by are silver-tongued turncoats who have never cared for you. The next step is to embrace the darkness inside you, as I did."
His palm closed into a fist.
"Then, and only then, will you be able to reclaim your honor."
Tristan stared blankly at him, before finally speaking.
"Everything you showed us… You call that honor?"
"A man exacting recompense from those who have wronged him is an honorable man, yes."
Tristan paused for a moment before responding slowly this time.
"You and I may have the same face and the same experiences… But that's it. We're not the same person… and you're definitely not someone who knows a thing about honor."
Sylar's face first changed to confusion, and then rage.
"How dare-…"
"No, how dare YOU!" exploded Tristan. "Jesus Christ, I can't believe I ever even listened to any of your bull this whole time."
He pointed at Joey while continuing to stare down Sylar with seething hatred in his eyes.
"This man is my friend. He's not perfect, none of my friends are. Hell, I'm not perfect… but part of being human is accepting our loved ones' flaws… and our own. Yes, some of the stuff from my past is frustrating and it hurts, but I didn't turn into a psychotic murderer and ally myself with some evil maniacal overlord because of it!"
"That's because you're weak," snarled Sylar. "Too weak to seek justice for the crimes committed against us-…"
"There is no us here, buddy," retorted Tristan flatly. "Like I said, we may have the same face and the same experiences, but clearly you turned out one way and I another… So we are not the same."
"I DIED you ungrateful brat!" roared Sylar. "Or have you forgotten that convenient fact? Clearly you haven't had all the same experiences as me, so don't sit in your ivory tower and pontificate at me so self-righteously."
He stamped a foot down on the ground to emphasize his point.
"Perhaps we are not exactly the same, but the difference between me and you: in fact, even the difference between me and everyone else, is much smaller than you think."
He smiled bitterly.
"All it takes is one bad day… That's how far the world is from where I am. One bad day."
Silence followed. Joey's mind was like a dam, straining to hold back a flood of thoughts and emotions that wanted to spill out after what he saw, but he knew this was still Tristan's moment.
His friend paused to absorb what he had just heard, and seemed to consider its implications, before finally speaking.
"No. I just don't believe that."
Sylar's expression hardened but he didn't respond.
"We've got to be better than our circumstances," Tristan continued. "I haven't had a great run of things in some ways, and yeah, you've definitely had it a lot worse… But that is not an excuse for what you've done. Every evil son of a bitch that's ever lived can come up with some kind of sob story as an excuse for all the people he's hurt."
He shook his head, almost as if he was disagreeing with his own thoughts from half an hour ago.
"Yeah, you may have died, but your friends weren't the ones who killed you, so you can't use that as an excuse for all the things you've done… Really they're all just a part of this one big, evil tantrum."
He then turned to Joey.
"Buddy, do me a favor and put this guy away. For good."
The blonde duelist cracked a grin. "With pleasure."
He turned to face Sylar. "Seems like you liked tormenting helpless victims. So I think it's time you picked on someone your own size."
"Fine, I don't care if you imbeciles disagree with my world view. A lion doesn't concern himself with the opinion of sheep," snapped his opponent, gnashing his teeth.
"Clearly you do, or else you wouldn't be getting so heated," stated Joey coolly, before sliding a card into his Duel Disk.
"I'll play one card facedown and end my turn."
Sylar drew angrily, before sliding his newest draw into his Duel Disk.
"I activate my Card of Demise, which allows me to increase my hand size to five, at the cost of discarding my entire hand in five turns."
The familiar card depicting a deck of Duel Monster cards being sliced by a guillotine appeared on his field, and he drew a further three cards.
"Of course, that won't come to be as this duel isn't going to last a further five turns."
"Them some mighty big words considering I've got my Red-Eyes and you've got nothing," replied Joey calmly.
"That won't be the case for long," snapped Sylar. "When you control a monster, and I do not, I can special summon Cyber Venom – Drill Snake (1400/1200) from my hand."
Appearing on his field was a boa constrictor with green skin on its back but a yellow underbelly. It had crimson optic lenses covering both eyes, and most notably, a long steel drill attached to its snout.
"I offer a tribute."
The constrictor vanished into a ball of light as soon as it appeared, and the silhouette of a larger form materialized in its place.
"Cyber Venom – Mechadilus (2200/2400), come."
Soon, the new arrival was revealed to be a huge, standing crocodile, with a scale body covered in metallic plates. It had enormous biceps, with a long snout, two, yellow, beady eyes and large axe blades on its shoulders. Its original teeth had been replaced by a set of titanium ones, razor edged to give it a grin like a bear trap. Its arms now ended in spiked drills the tips of which were equipped with flamethrowers with wires running into an energy pack built into its spine. The initials "C.V" had been branded onto its chest.
"Mechadilus, slaughter that dragon."
The crocodile fixed its gaze on his Red-Eyes and began to grind its metal teeth. Sparks flew and all its biceps bulged even further, as it seemed to be consumed with a rage unusual for a creature that was part-machine (4400/2400).
"How in the-…" began Joey, but he was cut off as Mechadilus raised its arms, the flamethrowers on the end igniting. Sickly green and yellow fire washed over his Red-Eyes, which let out an angry and defiant screech before it finally disappeared into nothingness.
Joey noted, however, that his life-points were unaffected. It figured, there had to be a catch.
"Once per turn, Mechadilus can double his own attack points when attacking. This is at the cost of reducing battle damage to zero, but at the very least he has rid me of that pathetic beast once and for all," sneered Sylar.
"Not the first time you've destroyed Red-Eyes this duel, and he's always managed to find his way back… So I wouldn't be so sure about that," retorted Joey.
His opponent simply glared in response.
"I set one card facedown and end my turn."
Joey drew and grinned at the sight of what he had just drawn.
"Well, here's another classic: Gearfried the Iron Knight (1800/1600) in attack mode!"
Appearing before him was a warrior dressed entirely in thick black armor. Razor sharp gauntlets were attached to his wrists, and the alchemical suit was covered with lines of solid silver that ran all over it. Behind his helmet shone blood red eyes.
"That pitiful creature can't harm Mechadilus!" observed Sylar.
"Not alone he can't, you're right… That's why I'll play Dragon's Mirror!"
A brass framed purple mirror appeared on his field, with wings and feet built into it.
"This lets me summon any dragon-type fusion by banishing its materials from my field and hand… So I'll fuse Gearfried with Red-Eyes Black Dragon in my graveyard!"
A translucent image of the famous black dragon appeared on Joey's field before both it and the knight vanished into the mirror. Its purple surface pulsed for a moment before a new form began to emerge by pushing its way out of the other side of the mirror onto the field.
"This is my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon (2800/2400)!"
The newest dragon looked similar to the original Red-Eyes but its skin resembled that of Gearfried's, in that it was a lighter gray instead of jet-black, with silver lines running up the front of all four limbs. It also had rubies set into its hips, knees, toes and above its eyes. Crimson eyes retained the ferocious glint of its fusion material.
"Just how many fusions does this blasted dragon have?" roared Sylar in frustration.
"As many as it takes to put you down," shot back Joey. "Now get ready: Red-Eyes Slash Dragon, attack his Mechadilus!"
The dragon let out a screech, and began to charge up a fireball in its mouth. Before it was released, however, the translucent image of the Dark Flare Knight that Joey had used earlier in the duel appeared on the field, before transforming into a ball of energy which was the dragon then absorbed (3000/2400).
"Whenever my dragon attacks, I can equip him with one warrior-type monster in my graveyard… and he gains two hundred attack points for each!" explained Joey, as the fused behemoth finally spat out a black fireball at Sylar's field, red sparks dancing all over it.
"Sakuretsu Armor, activate! Your dragon is destroyed before its attack is even completed!" snapped Sylar.
Shining metal armor appeared out of nowhere and covered the hulking crocodile on his field, to the point where the Red-Eyes was practically staring at a reflection of itself.
"Yeah, that's not gonna fly," stated Joey simply, and at his words the dragon glowed (2800/2400), and the armor on Mechadilus vanished just as quickly as it had appeared.
Before Sylar could protest, or rather angrily snarl his frustration, the black fireball collided with his monster and exploded, completely covering his field with smoke. When this had cleared, there was only a faint burn mark where Mechadilus had once been.
(Sylar: 250, Joey: 900)
"Red-Eyes Slash Dragon can dump anything equipped to it in order to negate and destroy any card that targets it with an effect," explained Joey, as his opponent coughed with pain before regaining his composure and fixing both him and Tristan with a silent but furious glare.
"I'll go ahead and end my turn there," he finished. The next attack would finish this, he was sure of that.
Sylar drew, gritting his teeth.
"I place one monster facedown in defense mode and end my turn."
Joey slid the top card off his deck smoothly.
"All right, I'm gonna go ahead and summon Red-Eyes Baby Dragon (1200/700) in attack mode."
A miniature Red-Eyes Black Dragon appeared on his field, approximately ten percent of the size of the original. It was identical in almost every other way, down to the shape of its claws and pattern of its scales, with the exception of a slightly larger head proportionate to the rest of its body.
"It's over for you this turn!" declared Joey. "First, I'll equip my Red-Eyes Slash Dragon with Dark Flare Knight from my graveyard once again!"
The armored soldier reappeared and was once again sucked up as an energy ball into the dragon (3000/2400).
"Now, attack his facedown card!"
The fused dragon screeched and let out a black fireball once more. At the last second, the card flipped up to reveal a stainless steel turtle shell with the initials "C.V." emblazoned on it. Glowing red eyes were visible from the front opening, but no other details of its body could me made out before it was incinerated.
"You destroyed Cyber Venom – Drone Turtle (1200/1400), which when flipped face-up allows me to summon two more copies of itself from my deck in defense mode."
Two more turtle shells appeared on his field at these words.
Joey frowned. These were too strong for his Red-Eyes Baby Dragon to destroy, which meant Sylar now had the resources to mount a counter-attack. With his weaker Red-Eyes in attack mode, this presented a bit of a problem.
"I'll put one card facedown and end my turn."
Sylar drew, and looked up at Joey with a dark look on his face.
"It's time you learned the true extent of my power: and just how far I am willing to go to punish those who have humiliated me."
"Do yer worst, creep," snapped Joey, despite feeling some trepidation at Sylar's tone.
"I activate the ritual spell card Cybernetic Resurrection of the Serpent Lord."
A large rocket launch pad appeared right in the center of Sylar's field. It was flanked on both sides by tall metal towers that seemed to function as service structures.
"I tribute my two level three Cyber Venom – Drone Turtles and the level six Cyber Venom – Giga Grappler from my hand."
The two turtles vanished into balls of light, and joined by a third as Tristan discarded one of his two remaining cards, before migrating over to the launch pad. The three spheres merged, and then began to grow.
"Damnit… Sacrificing twelve levels worth of monsters… This is gonna be big," thought Joey with a grimace.
The sphere grew to the point where it was now truly gigantic, bigger than the launch pad itself, before finally beginning to take shape. It was a vaguely draconic form, wingless and standing on two legs. Most notably, it had eight heads, each at the end of a long sinuous neck. It soon became evident, however, that seven out of the eight heads were mechanical, each wearing a futuristic looking shogun helmet that had a different Japanese kanji inscribed on it. Lifeless and cruel eyes peered out from under them.
The eighth head was green-skinned, as was the whatever of the creature's original body that was still visible. The rest was covered in adamantium armor that seemed to creak and whir every time the monster shifted. Old wounds and scarred were littered all over its body, from near its mechanical heads all the way down to the massive tail that hung out behind it.
"Meet your maker: Cyber Venom – Neo Yamata no Orochi the Iron Serpent Lord (4500/4500)," stated Sylar coldly.
Joey took an involuntary step back despite himself, in awe of the sheer size of the beast that stood before him.
"The hell is that thing?" he muttered.
Sylar drew his arms out to his sides.
"Orochi was once the greatest weapon of Anubis, the God of Death… The one who killed me. Little did he know it would fuel my resurrection and itself be rebuilt by the Cyber Venom Legion into the marvel you now see before you."
He pointed at the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon.
"Yamata no Orochi… Destroy his dragon and bring this pretender of a duelist to justice," whispered Sylar.
The single organic head let out a screech and that sound seemed to activate the remaining mechanical ones.
"Hakai."
The living head retreated back on its coiled neck, before roaring another command, causing the mechanical ones to rise, their dead eyes now flashing. Maws agape, all seven simultaneously fired out a different colored beam of energy at Joey's dragon, which melded into one.
Just as it was about to strike, Joey reacted.
"I activate my facedown trap, Kunai with Chain! This switches your monster to defense mode!"
A three-pronged ninja blade on the end of a chain materialized out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the gigantic Serpent Lord's hind legs, pulling tight and knocking it off balance. Despite the living head's angry screech of protest, the mechanical ones ceased their attacks just before they reached their target.
Sylar let out his own pained roar of frustration, stamping on the ground hard enough to tear the carpet and chip the concrete underneath.
"You will NOT deny me my due ANY further!"
Joey exhaled, ready to retort but then decided not to. Better to let the guy be consumed with fury and potentially slip up somewhere.
Finally calming down somewhat, Sylar glared at Joey.
"There isn't going to be anywhere for you to hide soon. Your sins have already been laid bare and you will get what you deserve one way or another. My turn ends."
Joey ignored the diatribe and drew.
He had only two cards in his hand, but looking at them along with the monsters on his field he could begin to see the beginnings of a potential plan.
He glanced back up at the eight headed monstrosity towering over both fields. There wasn't going to be much room for error…
He looked over at Tristan briefly, who had been watching the field but gave him a reassuring nod. Joey returned it before turning back to his hand.
"I switch both Red-Eyes Baby Dragon and Red-Eyes Slash Dragon to defense mode. Then I put one card facedown and end my turn."
Both dragons lowered their heads and crossed their wings over their bodies as a vertical card appeared behind them.
Sylar drew, barely glancing at the single card he held.
"I switch Cyber Venom – Neo Yamata no Orochi the Iron Serpent Lord to attack mode."
His goliath had been stooped, but now it stood tall, mechanical gears whirring as its various heads moved into position.
"Then, Orochi attacks your stronger dragon. Hakai."
Once more, the living head screeched out an order and the subservient metal ones obeyed. Brown, gray, blue, orange, white, black and green energy beams all issued forth, melding together into one brilliant multifaceted column that once again bore down on its target.
"Not so fast!" called out Joey. "I activate Graverobber, which lets me copy any spell or trap in your graveyard… and I'm gonna go with Sakuretsu Armor."
Just as the energy beam was about to vaporize Joey's dragon, it was covered by reflective silver armor. The gargantuan energy blast bounced off it somehow and was fired right back at where it came from: Orochi.
When the attack collided, it was a rather awe-inspiring sight. The single living head let out an Earth-shattering roar of pain as the rest of its mostly mechanical body groaned and whirred as it thrashed in response to being slowly consumed by its own attack.
The actual destruction process was surprisingly less gruesome than expected. Instead of being burnt or exploding, the eight-headed Serpent Lord merely began to vanish into thin air from the ground up. It began with the legs, each thicker than multiple tree trunks put together, before soon reaching the torso and eventually the many necks and heads. The organic one was the last to go, the echo of its agonizing screech hanging around even after it was gone.
Joey allowed himself a momentary grin before he realized Sylar looked unperturbed.
"Whenever Neo Orochi is destroyed, I can discard one card and revive it… with five hundred more attack points."
Joey did a double take as the ground shook and the creature he just destroyed reappeared, only stronger (5000/4500).
Sylar's eyes glinted.
"Now, where were we?"
The seven separate energy beams formed and issued forth once again and this time they struck true. Just as Orochi a minute ago, the Red-Eyes Slash Dragon was simply atomized from the ground up, leaving not even a single speck of ash when it was gone.
"When Red-Eyes Slash Dragon is destroyed I can summon the Dark Flare Knight (2200/800) that was equipped to it to my field," declared Joey.
The black armored soldier appeared, its sword sheathed and in a half-kneeling position with its ornate shield held in front of it.
"With your Mirage Knight banished, that pathetic creature will do you no good," spat Sylar.
Joey did not respond and merely tightened his lips.
With no cards in his hand, there wasn't much for Sylar left to do.
"I will end my turn there."
Joey drew, and looked at his newest card.
His eyes lit up momentarily when he realized what he could possibly do depending on how his opponent chose to conduct his next move.
"I'll put one card facedown and end my turn."
He found himself holding his breath as Sylar drew.
"Since you were nice enough to allow me an opportunity to use one of Neo Orochi's abilities last turn, I think I will reward you by demonstrating another."
As he spoke, something began to flash in the dead eyes of each mechanical head of Orochi. Joey was barely able to wonder why no attack was forming within its maws before a high-pitched and ear-splitting screech sounded through the room.
Joey clutched his head, trying to block the sound from reaching his ears but it was to no avail. Sinking to his knees, he could see Orochi's eyes still flashing. This was some of the worst pain he'd ever experienced.
Finally, it was over. The light in those fourteen sets of eyes died as soon as it had appeared, and the sound went with it.
(Sylar: 250, Joey: 100)
"If Neo Orochi has been revived by its own effect, I can skip my battle phase to deal you eight hundred points of damage for each time this has happened. In other words, I don't need to slog through destroying your pitiful creatures to get to your life-points… This duel is going to end my next turn no matter what. Make your final move."
Joey was still on his knees, his ears ringing and his head throbbing. Despite this, he looked up with a massive grin on his face.
"You're right about one thing, this is going to be my final move… and that stunt you just pulled has ensured that."
He slowly got to his feet, the grin still present.
"What are you talking about?" growled his opponent suspiciously.
"You know, I think I understand you now. You've been so brainwashed by that dark lord you showed us earlier that you just don't have any original thoughts left. All you want to do is destroy, destroy, destroy. You don't even consider to stop and think about your actions because you've let those freaks turn you into this mindless machine," Joey continued, while gesturing at his opponent, before drawing.
"Lemme tell you this right now: I haven't beaten a duelist… I've beaten a slave."
"You haven't beaten ANYONE!" roared Sylar.
"Not yet I haven't, but that's gonna change very soon," retorted Joey. "I activate De-Fusion, to split Dark Flare Knight back into Flame Swordsman (1800/1600) and The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion (1000/1600).
The fusion vanished, now replaced by the floating dark sphere with tentacles floating around it and the blue and orange armored swordsman, gigantic blade at the ready.
"You decided to leave both Dark Flare Knight and Red-Eyes Baby Dragon on my field because you were so desperate to win and overconfident that I couldn't do anything to stop you that you just went straight after my life-points. Well, that was a really bad mistake and I'm going to show you why now: you're not the only one with a really overpowered and broken boss card!"
His last remaining dragon and the floating sphere began to glow and slowly float toward each other.
"I'm using The Dark – Hex-Sealed Fusion's effect to have him substitute for Dark Magician (2500/2100) so I can sacrifice him and my Red-Eyes Baby Dragon to fuse them together!"
The two monsters sped up, slamming into each other and disappearing into a spinning vortex.
"Whatever pitiful creature you call upon this time is still going to be no match for Orochi!" roared Sylar.
Joey merely smiled as the portal finally began to slow, and a new form emerged from within it.
"My final monster: Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon (3000/2500)!"
Standing on Joey's field was a humanoid figure that looked somewhat like the Dark Magician itself. It was a man dressed in black armor over flowing robes, with really only his face showing. His skin was pale and his hair was white. The helmet he wore actually resembled the gaping maw of a Red-Eyes Black Dragon, replete with teeth and all, his face poking out in between the jaws.
Rings of gold lined his limbs and three claws were set into his shoulder gauntlets. In one hand he held a long staff that ended with an ornate blade. Flapping out behind him were two large black wings tipped with rubies, while a spiked tail lay on the ground.
"It's no match of Orochi," snarled Sylar.
"In terms of attack points maybe you're right, but he has a couple of effects of his own… I'm only gonna need one though."
The fusion slowly grasped its saber-staff in both hands.
"Once per turn I can destroy one monster on your field, and obviously I'm choosing Orochi. While I know you can just revive it, it don't matter… because you also get hit with damage equal to its attack points."
Sylar's eyes shot wide open.
"NO!"
Regardless of his objections, the Dragoon brought its staff down hard. A large arc-shaped shockwave was generated by this and it raced across the field before slamming into Orochi. The Serpent Lord's living head let out another painful screech as the mechanical parts of its body whirred, desperately trying to resist the wave.
It was futile. Slowly, the beast's body imploded. Heads fell off and came crashing onto the ground while the rest of its body simply crumbled, leaving a pile of scrap metal on the field.
(Sylar: 0, Joey: 100)
Finally, the remains vanished to reveal a shellshocked Sylar on his knees, gaping at his empty field in disbelief.
Joey stared at him impassively as he began to slowly vanish from the ground up.
Mortal surprise still etched on his face, Sylar turned to look at Tristan and opened his mouth to speak.
"No, we're not gonna have any more of that," growled Joey, cutting him off. "I think you've run yer mouth just about enough."
Sylar turned back to Joey and simply fixed him with a hateful glare before the rest of his disappeared too.
Joey stood in silence for a moment before turning to Tristan.
"Joey, I-…"
"No," interrupted the victorious duelist. "You don't gotta say anything man."
Tristan gave a forced smile but it was obvious he was still very uncomfortable.
Joey walked over and gave his friend a rough one-armed hug. At first, he stiffened up but then eventually relaxed and returned it.
When Joey withdrew he could see that Tristan looked somewhat emotional, but the smile was no longer forced.
"Like I said, what are brothers for?" encouraged Joey.
Tristan merely nodded at this, seemingly too focused on keeping his emotions check to vocalize a response.
"How about we go and find the others?"
"Yeah, that might be a good idea," managed Tristan.
Joey placed a supportive hand on his shoulder and slowly guided him back in the direction they entered the room from.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Yugi and Tea rode up in their elevator in relative quiet for the first fifteen or so floors.
"Feels like old times, doesn't it?" she quipped, finally breaking the silence. "Our friends and us on another adventure to save the world…"
"Yeah, I guess you could say that," mumbled Yugi, staring directly ahead and not meeting her gaze as she spoke.
It took Tea a second to register the lack of enthusiasm in his voice.
"What's wrong, Yugi?" she asked, concerned.
"It's nothing," he said hastily. "I just hope everyone wins their duels."
Tea frowned, crossed her arms and stepped in front of Yugi so that he couldn't avoid looking at her.
"Yugi, we've known each other long enough that I know when something is bothering you. Don't try and hide it, please."
Yugi sighed.
"Look… I just have an idea of what is waiting for me when we get off this elevator and it's something I really don't want you to see."
"Why not?" she replied crossly. "You think you need to protect me like some kind of fragile child? I was around for Pegasus, Marik, Dartz, Bakura and Diva. Marik possessed me for a while and I literally helped you fight that monster Zorc directly. So don't act as if I need things hidden from me."
Yugi closed his eyes.
"Do you remember what Marik said about how Apep gains his power as compared to other Gods?"
"Yeah, that he feeds off fear or something like that."
"And you know that the Quantum Cube can open gateways to any dimension, including Apep's own?"
"Yeah, I remember that," she responded, growing increasingly confused.
"Well, Marik, Pegasus and I theorized that the energies from that dimension can play on our own fears and bring them to life."
Tea furrowed her brow.
"Wait… So you think that Apep is going to create some live version of your nightmares? What exactly do you think it was going to be."
Yugi opened his eyes, a blank look in them.
"Do you remember what happened at Duelist Kingdom, before we entered Pegasus' castle for the finals?"
"Yeah, I dueled Mai to get you her extra star chips."
"Before that."
"Look, Yugi, stop speaking in riddles!" Tea exclaimed. "Just tell me what is waiting up there and why you're so worried about my having to see it!"
Yugi remained silent for a moment. As if on cue, the elevator dinged and they reached the fortieth floor.
The two stepped out into a dimly lit corridor.
"I dueled Kaiba, remember… and lost."
"Yeah…" realized Tea. "So, wait a minute: you were having a really hard time after that dealing with the idea that you might not be able to get your grandpa back? Is that what you're afraid of being brought to life? Losing your grandfather?"
"No," admitted Yugi. "I was pretty distraught about the possibility of losing grandpa, yeah, but that wasn't the thing that terrified me the most that day."
He noticed a neon arrow on a wall and slowly began to walk in the direction that was indicated.
"What I was afraid of was the fact that I almost killed Kaiba to win that duel."
Tea did a double-take. Of course! She remembered. She was the one who had convinced him not to go through with it and to call off his attack, saving Kaiba from being knocked off the tower in the first place.
Then, another realization dawned on her.
"Wait, but that wasn't you."
Yugi nodded, his fists clenched by his sides as they walked on.
"I didn't know it right at that moment but soon after I realized that the Puzzle wasn't just affecting my personality, but that there was something else living within it… Someone else."
Tea stopped short. "That was Atem."
"Yes, it was. Obviously, he eventually regretted the decision to attack Kaiba in that situation, and we know he turned out to be as good, decent and honorable as they came."
"Yeah, of course he did," agreed Tea. "But…"
"But for a while, I didn't know that," muttered Yugi.
"Wait, are you saying…"
"Yes, I'm saying that for some time I was terrified that I had unleashed some kind of monster on the world when I completed that Puzzle. For all I knew, he was a magical spirit that was ready to kill anyone in order to get what he wanted."
"But that wasn't Atem!" insisted Tea.
"Not the Atem we knew," corrected Yugi. "Our Atem didn't end up killing Kaiba, because I was able to stop him, ironically thanks in large part to you. But what about… some other version of Atem."
"Some other version of him that went through with it and knocked Kaiba off that tower, you mean?"
Yugi nodded.
"Yeah. Let's be honest, ancient Egyptian morals weren't… quite in line with ours today. Pharaohs were supposed to have absolute authority. Disobedience was treason, and treason was punishable by death. A part of me feels like if Atem did kill Kaiba that day, he may have gotten a taste for it."
Yugi closed his eyes for a moment again.
"I don't know exactly where that chain of events would have led, but it wouldn't have been pleasant."
Tea shuddered. No, it really wasn't a pleasant thought.
"So are you saying that is what is waiting for you behind those doors?" Tea inquired, pointing at the set of giant oaken doors they could now see at the end of the corridor.
"Maybe," mumbled Yugi. "I hope not, but this is what Marik's theory seems to suggest."
He looked directly at her. "Now do you know why I'd rather you weren't here with me?"
Tea balled up a fist angrily. "Even if it is why, I don't care. Like I said Yugi, you don't need to protect me from anything, least of all this! I'm more concerned with supporting you than having my memory of Atem stained by some magical illusion."
Yugi's breath quickened for a moment, but he didn't reply, and just looked directly at the door again.
They continued the rest of the walk there in silence, stopping once they arrived.
"Are you ready?" asked Tea softly.
Yugi stared down a the door, almost boring a hole in it with his gaze, before finally nodding slowly.
As he raised his right hand to push it open, he realized that Tea's had taken his left. It was likely just to be supportive, but his mind was also telling him it could be a million different things. He banished those thoughts, as this really wasn't the time for it.
He finished pushing the door open, and they stepped into the next room together.
It was… not what either of them anticipated.
What they expected was some kind of large corporate conference room.
What they got looked like the inside of an ancient Egyptian palace. It was huge, the length and width of multiple basketball courts put together with a ceiling thirty feet high. The walls were made of sandstone with hieroglyphics engraved into them, including the Eye of Anubis multiple times.
A flight of steps led up to a raised platform on the far wall opposite Yugi and Tea, and on it was a throne.
On the throne sat a lithe olive-skinned man with spikey blonde, magenta and black hair. Wearing white robes, a blue cape fell out behind him as he stood up.
They took a couple steps closer, and Tea's breath caught in her chest as she got a closer look at the man on the throne.
He definitely looked more or less exactly like Atem, and it was almost confirmed by the fact that the Millennium Puzzle hung around his neck. That… however, was not all.
Below the Puzzle also hung the Millennium Ring.
Above it was the Milennium Necklace.
In one hand he held the Millennium Rod, and in the other the Scales.
As Tea took another tentative step forward, she could see what vaguely looked like the Millennium Key and the Eye lying on the armrests of the throne.
"So, you finally made it."
The voice sounded like what Tea remembered Atem's to be, but it had none of his warmth and dignity. The words fell out more as a part of a cold and cruel drawl.
She felt Yugi's hand leave hers and he took determined steps forward, meeting the gaze of the other man unflinchingly.
She shivered despite herself.
Some other version of Atem.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
-Vegeta, what does the scouter say about his word count?
-It's over eleven thousaaaaaand.
Wow, that was a whopper of a chapter. Twenty-six pages long and I wrote the whole thing in two weeks exactly. Apologies for the delay, June was very busy for me and I didn't get to start work on this until last Monday.
If anything, this just proves to me that once I get momentum going it's off to the races and these chapters are fairly easy to write at that point.
Anyway, it's here, and we're making great progress on the story. Absolutely at the business end now and I want to reiterate again that anyone worried should have no fear, this story WILL be completed. I know exactly what is going to happen from here and just have to write the damn thing.
Onto the actual chapter itself: I hope my holdover readers from Nightrise enjoyed the flashbacks to that era when Sylar showed Joey and Tristan his origin story. In fact, the scene where Anubis killed him was actually from the story before Nightrise: Advent of Power. That very scene was written in October 2007 for the first time so it's SIXTEEN years old.
That being said, this will be the extent of the cross-dimensional shenanigans in this story. This fic is a standalone and will NOT refer to the plot of Nightrise or it's predecessor anymore. These two chapters with Sylar were a really fun callback, because as I said he was probably a top 3 plot twist back then, but the rest of the story will be very much focused on the main plot itself.
I hope everyone enjoyed the ending. Someone came very close to guessing who Yugi's opponent was by saying it would be the Orichalcos Atem, but no one guessed this version. This next duel is going to be CRAZY and I can't wait to write it.
ChroniclerDL: I appreciate the kind words. I felt like I delved even deeper into Sylar's character in this chapter so I hope you enjoyed that even more!
Galaxyquest420: Like I said, this story was always supposed to incorporate some of the best plot points of Nightrise and polish them up now that I have a decade more experience and frankly common sense when it comes to writing, so Sylar's return was one of the parts I frankly couldn't wait to write. I am glad you enjoyed the first half of it and hope the second measured up just as well!
Metal Overlord 2.0: Buddy, if you find it surreal to see those cards after all this time imagine what it's like to write them xD. I definitely agree the Cyber Venom cards are kind of overpowered in a vacuum but it makes sense given they were meant to be used by a literal herald of the Armageddon. I nerfed one or two cards here or there but frankly I think they measured up fine with Joey who is using a bunch of the new Red-Eyes support which itself is pretty powerful. I am really glad you enjoyed it all this much as this entire duel was written primarily for the enjoyment of my old readers like you!
Well, that's that for now. Should hopefully have the next one up in a few weeks. In the meantime, please review!