I'm back! Jaden, Otto and Reggie must now face the most wicked and dangerous of all the Shadow Riders - Amnael - in a duel that will not only decide their fate, but the fate of all their friends...AND THE WORLD!
In the depths of space, we find a collection of Duel Academy students floating in bubbles. In one of the bubbles, we find Sam.
"What's going on here?" Sam asked himself. As he looked around, he found his friends floating in other bubbles.
"Chazz? Atticus? Alexis? Clio too? Where on Earth am I?"
Newsflash, Sam! You ain't on Earth!
"Strike that...where OFF THE EARTH am I?"
Meanwhile, back on Earth at Duel Academy, 11 of the 14 Spirit Gates have been opened. That also means 11 pillars of light have arisen from the waters surrounding Academy Island.
"What's going on here?" Chumley asked.
"Those 11 laser beams of light just shot out from nowhere!" Syrus added.
"Uh, Syrus...I don't think they shot out from nowhere," Otto freaked.
"I think you're right, Otto!" Jaden agreed. "I think they shot out from the Spirit Gates! 11 of them must be unlocked! Question is...how were they unlocked?"
"I'll tell ya how! That 7th Shadow Rider is vicious!" said the spirit of Ojama Yellow.
"You mean to tell us he took them all down? Chazz, Alexis, Clio, Sam, Twist AND Banner?" Reggie called out. "But that means that..."
"Everyone's lost but the 3 of us..." Otto finished for his sister.
"You guys have the last keys!" Syrus said.
"This 7th Shadow Rider must be really good..." Chumley told Syrus.
Syrus warned the trio, telling them to hide before they end up like their friends.
"We're not hiding, Syrus..." Otto told the Vehicroid user.
"...our friends need our help and we have to give it to them! We have no choice!" Reggie added.
"Besides, we don't have to worry about this 7th Shadow Rider finding us...because we're gonna find him first!" Jaden beamed. "It's all come down to this - everything we've been working for has led up to this! And we want you guys to be there when we beat this guy and save the world!"
Over at the Abandoned Dorm, a cloaked and hooded figure was standing by, waiting for our heroes.
"All is going according to plan. All that's left now is the endgame, where Jaden and the Rocket siblings will face a dueling trial unlike anything they have ever seen!"
Just then, the Mark of Amnael appeared, leading them to the Abandoned Dorm.
"Figures...it all started at the Abandoned Dorm, makes sense that it would all end here..." Otto quipped as the group made their way inside. Deep in the bowels of the Abandoned Dorm, there was a room that looked like a haunted science lab. Inside said room, there was a wooden coffin. Guess who was inside?
"Oh no...this is...or WAS Professor Banner!" Reggie called out.
"But it can't be! Probably made out of wax or something, right?" Otto asked.
"WRONG!"
There was the hooded figure.
"That was the body of the one you knew as Professor Banner!"
"WHO ARE YOU? SHOW YOURSELF! RIGHT NOW!" Otto called out.
"The 7th Shadow Rider..." the figure said to the group.
"That's the one there! He's the duelist that took down Chazz! But you gotta beat him to get Chazz back! You just gotta!" the spirit of Ojama Yellow said to Jaden.
"It's true, Jaden. To get any of your friends back, you'll have to defeat me...AMNAEL."
"IT'S HIM, ROCKET GIRL!" Otto said to his sister.
"Amnael..." Reggie said in a hushed tone.
"So you're Amnael! As in 'The Mark of Amnael' Amnael?" Jaden assessed.
"That is correct..." Amnael started, pulling out a tome. "All your friends are in here and if you cannot defeat me, you will be joining them...ALL OF YOU!"
"But what about Professor Banner? How can we get him back? Or is it too late?"
"It was always too late. It's best that you forget the one you know as Banner. He is no more."
"What do you mean?" Reggie asked.
"We want to know just what you've done with Professor Banner! RIGHT NOW!" Otto called out.
"To understand everything, you must do just one thing...and that is: duel and defeat me! Only then will the truth be revealed, only then will this tome and the secrets it holds be unlocked. Will you accept this challenge? Will the 3 of you face me?"
"Of course we'll face you!" Jaden responded as he, Otto and Reggie jumped into the dueling ring.
"LET'S THROW DOWN!" Otto called out as he, Reggie, Jaden and Amnael activated their Duel Disks.
"GET YOUR GAME ON!" Jaden called out as the 4 duelists drew their hands.
"Since this is a 3 on 1 match, the 3 of you will start with 8000 Life Points while I start with 3 times that amount - 24,000. Additionally, no one may call an attack on the first turn. Any questions?"
"None here!" Jaden responded.
"Works for me!" Reggie added.
"Rocket Boy is good to go!" Otto finished.
"DUEL!"
Otto: 8000
Reggie: 8000
Jaden: 8000
Amnael: 24000
"I'll take the first move! Here goes!" Otto declared, drawing his first card. "I summon the Tuner Monster SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI BATTLEBALL!"
ATK: 100
DEF: 800
"And this Superheavy Samurai lets me also summon SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI HEXAGON from my hand! Now let's rally the troops!"
ATK: 600
DEF: 600
"I'll tune level 2 Battleball with Level 6 Hexagon! Temper and toughen your battle-tested blades and forge them in fierce flames of fury! I Synchro Summon...SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI SWORDSMITH!"
ATK: 0
DEF: 2400
"When Swordsmith is summoned successfully, I can summon every Superheavy Samurai I have in my hand! First up...SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI THIEF!"
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1000
"Then SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI SWORDSMAN..."
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1800
"...followed by SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI TRANSPORTER..."
ATK: 1200
DEF: 1800
"And finally, SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI BIG BENKEI!"
ATK: 1000
DEF: 3500
"My turn's done!"
"And that starts mine! DRAW!" Reggie called out as she drew her first card. "I set the Pendulum Scale with Scale 2 D/D Savant Schrodinger and Scale 8 D/D Savant Dirac! Now I can simultaneously summon monsters between Levels 3 and 7 at the same time...and simultaneously put your plans of universal destruction in jeopardy! I Pendulum Summon...AND CALL UPON MY 4 MONSTERS TO EMERGE! First up...D/D NIGHTHOWL!"
ATK: 300
DEF: 600
"Next...2 D/D SAVANT NIKOLAS!"
ATK: 2000
DEF: 2000
"And lastly...D/D VICE TYPHON!"
ATK: 2300
DEF: 2800
"I overlay my 2 Savant Nikolas in order to build the Overlay Network! I EXCEED SUMMON! RANK 6! D/D/D WAVE HIGH KING CAESAR!"
ATK: 2800
DEF: 1800
"Next I tune Level 3 Nighthowl to Level 7 Vice Typhon! I SYNCHRO SUMMON! LEVEL 10! D/D/D GUST HIGH KING ALEXANDER!"
ATK: 3000
DEF: 2500
"Finally comes Vice Typhon's ability! By banishing Nighthowl and Vice Typhon, I can now...FUSION SUMMON! LEVEL 8! D/D/D FLAME HIGH KING GENGHIS!"
ATK: 2800
DEF: 2400
"Now, since there's at least 2 D/D monsters in play, High King Alexander's Attack Points double to 6000! That ends my turn."
"I'm up!" Jaden called out. "And we're getting our friends back, no matter what it takes!"
"But what if the 3 of you do not possess what it takes? Because to defeat me, you'll have to reach a whole new echelon of dueling expertise..."
"Is that so? We'll see about that! Now then, I summon HERO BUBBLEMAN!"
ATK: 800
DEF: 1200
"And since he's out all alone, I get to draw 2 more cards! Next up, I'll hook him up to BUBBLE BLASTER! This grants Bubbleman an extra 800 points! I'll call it a turn with that."
"Now the games will truly begin..." Amnael remarked, drawing his card. "I begin with this Spell Card - CHAOS DISTILL! Now any card that would be sent to the Graveyard in this duel will instead be removed from play!"
'Why would he want his cards removed from play?' Otto thought to himself.
"Now for 3 more Spells! Here are STEEL LAMP, BRONZE SCALE and LEAD COMPASS! Since Chaos Distill is in play, I can use these Spells to summon ALCHEMY BEAST - SALAMANDRA THE STEEL, ALCHEMY BEAST- OUROBOROS THE BRONZE and ALCHEMY BEAST - LEON THE LEAD!
Alchemy Beast - Salamandra The Steel:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Ouroboros The Bronze:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Leon The Lead:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
"I'll now end with a face-down..."
Otto drew his next card. "So you summoned 3 monsters in your first turn...so what?! My Samurais are about to tear them apart! I think I'll start with my Swordsman! Take out Leon the Lead now!"
"BUT HOW?! Your monster is in Defense Mode!"
"Swordsman has a special ability - he can attack while he's in Defense Mode! And when he attacks in this manner, his Defense Points are applied during damage calculation! Swordsman, ATTACK LEON THE LEAD WITH STEALTH SABER SLICE!"
On cue, Otto's Swordsman rushed in and slashed Leon the Lead, destroying him.
Amnael: 22700
"Now Big Benkei attacks Salamandra the Steel!"
Big Benkei charged in, leaped into the air and slashed Salamandra, destroying him.
Amnael: 19700
"That ends my turn."
"I'm up now!" Reggie called out, drawing her card. "I activate CARD OF SANCTITY! This forces us to draw until we each have 6 cards! Now Wave High King Caesar, ATTACK AMNAEL'S OUROBOROS!"
"I'm afraid not! I play a Trap! ELEMENTAL ABSORBER! Now I can block the attack of any monster on your field by removing a monster in my hand from play, so long as both monsters have the same Attribute, that is!"
But Rocket Girl was prepared for that!
"Saw that coming a mile away! I chain Flame High King Genghis's special ability! For every other D/D monster on the field, Genghis can cancel out the effects of 1 Spell or Trap Card that you control! So...Elemental Absorber and Chaos Distill are out of commission!"
"That's what you think! I chain my EFFECT VEILER! This cancels out the effect of your Flame High King Genghis! Now, I use Elemental Absorber's effect, banishing Aqua Spirit from the game to block your Wave High King Caesar's attack!"
A tidal wave appeared and blocked the attack of Reggie's monster, taking her aback.
"NO WAY! And thanks to Elemental Absorber, no other Water Attribute monsters can attack! I guess I'll just use Fire! Genghis, follow Caesar's lead and take down Ouroboros the Bronze!"
"GO, ELEMENTAL ABSORBER! I remove Spirit of Flames from play to block the attack of that FIRE monster!"
Water didn't work, Fire didn't work...why not try Wind?
"Alexander, why don't you give it a try? ATTACK!"
"I play ELEMENTAL ABSORBER! I remove Garuda the Wind Spirit from play to negate your attack!"
Reggie growled. She thought she had Amnael until he totally turned the tables on her.
"I'll play 4 cards face-down and end my turn."
"Which means you deal with me! And I summon CLAYMAN!"
ATK: 800
DEF: 2000
"Next up, I'll equip him with MUD MAX! This powers up Clayman to the tune of 300 extra supercharged Attack Points! And guess what, Amnael? I'M GONNA USE THEM TO RUN OVER YOUR LIFE POINTS! ATTACK!"
Not so fast, Jaden!
"I play the effect of Elemental Absorber! By removing The Rock Spirit from play, I can negate the attack of that EARTH attribute monster! And that brings things back to me! I play the Spell ALCHEMIC REBIRTH! This revives all Alchemy Beasts that were destroyed in battle this round! Next, I play my own CARD OF SANCTITY! Now for my Alchemy Beasts to attack! STRIKE JADEN DIRECTLY!"
Jaden: 6500
"Next up, I play 2 SURPRISE ATTACK FROM BEYOND Spells! Alchemy Beasts, ATTACK THE ROCKET SIBLINGS!"
Otto: 6500
Reggie: 6500
"I'll then play 2 cards face-down on the field, then activate BLACK PROCESS-NIGLEDO! Since Chaos Distill is on my field and I have no other cards in my hand, I can remove all my Alchemy Beasts from play and draw an extra 2 cards per Beast!"
All 3 Alchemy Beasts were destroyed in plumes of fire as Amnael drew his 6 cards.
"Now let's play some of these cards. I activate the Spells TUNGSTEN DOOR, SILVER KEY, TIN SPELL CIRCLE, MERCURY HOURGLASS and GOLD CHAIN! And with Chaos Distill in play, I can now call out TOBIAS THE TUNGSTEN, MOONFACE THE SILVER, ARETOS THE TIN, EKENAS THE MERCURY and GERARDO THE GOLD!"
Tobias The Tungsten:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Moonface The Silver:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Aretos The Tin:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Ekenas The Mercury:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
Gerardo The Gold:
ATK: 500
DEF: 500
"I'll end my turn with the Spell - ALCHEMIC ASSAULT! I can play this when I have an Alchemy Beast out! Thanks to this card, you take 100 points of damage for each card I've removed from play! At last count...that's 25!"
Otto: 4000
Reggie: 4000
Jaden: 4000
"It's high time I got rid of your Absorber, Amnael!" Otto called out, drawing his card. "And I've got just the card to do it with - SUPERHEAVY SAMURAI THIEF! By tributing him, I can take 1 Spell or Trap that wasn't activated this turn and add it to my hand! So I'm afraid that's all for your Elemental Absorber, Amnael!"
Superheavy Samurai Thief vanished, as did Amnael's Elemental Absorber. However, Elemental Absorber reappeared in Otto's hand.
"Now for my assault! Big Benkei attacks Tobias the Tungsten!"
Otto thought he had destroyed another Alchemy Beast...but Tobias still stood!
"EXPLAIN YOURSELF, AMNAEL!"
"When you attacked, my ALCHEMIC DEFENSE Trap Card activated! While this card is out, no Alchemy Beasts can be destroyed in battle. However, your attack still dealt me 3000 points of damage."
Amnael: 16700
"And you're about to take a whole lot more damage when Swordsman attacks Tobias!"
Tobias wasn't destroyed by Swordsman's sword attack, but Amnael still took damage.
Amnael: 15400
"That'll do for now."
"I'm up!" Reggie called out. "High Kings Caesar and Genghis, ATTACK MOONFACE THE SILVER!"
Both swords struck Moonface, but didn't destroy it due to Amnael's Trap.
Amnael: 10800
"Alexander, follow Caesar and Genghis's lead and attack Moonface!"
Amnael: 5300
Amnael laughed. "Thank you, Ms. Rocket. For you see...you've activated my Trap! ALCHEMIC DAMAGE! Since I took damage from your attacks, I can deal damage to Jaden equal to the original Attack Points of your High King Genghis!"
Jaden: 1200
"I'm done for now."
"And that means I'm up! HERE GOES...SOMETHING!" Jaden said, drawing his card. "I think I'll spring AVIAN on you!"
ATK: 1000
DEF: 1000
"Monsters, ATTACK EKENAS THE MERCURY!"
Amnael: 4100
"I'll throw-down a face-down and call it a turn!"
Amnael drew his next card. "I expected more from the 3 of you...how disappointing. I activate WHITE PROCESS-ALBEDO! And since Chaos Distill is in play, I can now sacrifice Tobias to summon GOLDEN HOMUNCULUS! Golden Homunculus is not like any other card you've seen. Its Attack and Defense Points are equal to the total number of cards removed from play multiplied by 300! Since 29 cards have been removed from play so far, Golden Homunculus's Attack Points become 8700! And your Life Points are about to become 0. Now, my Alchemy Beasts...ATTACK OTTO NOW!"
Otto: 2000
"I'm not through yet! GOLDEN HOMUNCULUS ATTACKS HIGH KING ALEXANDER! STONE SHARD SHOWER!"
Reggie: 1300
"BIG MISTAKE! I play HERO SIGNAL! Since you just destroyed a monster, I'm allowed to spring an Elemental Hero from my deck! I think I'll be calling...BUSTINATRIX!"
ATK: 1200
DEF: 800
"Impressive..."
"And that brings me up! I think I'll end my turn. Rocket Girl?"
Reggie drew her card. "I play MONSTER REBORN! Return to battle, HIGH KING ALEXANDER! That's all for me!"
Jaden was next up. He drew his next card and got an idea in his head. "I activate BURST RETURN! Now all Elemental Heroes other than Burstinatrix are returned to my hand! COME ON BACK, GUYS!"
Clayman, Avian and Bubbleman all returned to Jaden's hand, setting him up for his next move.
"Next up is the Spell Card BURST IMPACT! Now all monsters other than Burstinatrix...ARE DESTROYED! And for each of your monsters that bites the dust, you take 300 points of damage!"
Every single monster that was on the field - Reggie's High Kings, Otto's Superheavy Samurais as well as Amnael's entire field - all were annihilated. Since 5 monsters were destroyed on Amnael's field, he took 1500 damage.
Amnael: 2600
Syrus and Chumley celebrated as it looks as though Jaden, Otto and Reggie finally have Amnael on the ropes. It's at this point Pharaoh came in. When Syrus picked him up, he clawed at Syrus's face and ran towards Amnael.
"That's odd...Pharaoh's NEVER that friendly to strangers," Reggie remarked.
"But that would mean that Amnael..." Otto began.
"...is no stranger - to Pharaoh...or to you!"
Amnael removed his cracked mask, revealing that he was indeed...PROFESSOR BANNER!
"BANNER? It can't be!" Reggie remarked.
"Then who's that mummy?" Jaden asked.
"That mummy...is also me!" Banner told everyone. "Oh my children...there is more going on here than you could possibly imagine. But the truth will be revealed soon enough..."
To be continued...NEXT TIME! Will Otto, Reggie and Jaden overcome Amnael and save the world? What are Amnael/Banner's true intentions? And what of that weird mummy? Find out next time!
DUEL ON, EVERYONE!