Chapter 10

Mechanical Mayhem: Part 2

St. Joan's Trinity Attack

In the cave, Yugi, Joey and the girls heard Serenity shouting as Tristan fell into the molten slag. "That sounded like Serenity!" AJ shouted. "Don't worry, Joey. We'll find her." Yugi said, reassuringly. "Hold on, Serenity!" the desperate brother shouted before he started running again, with the others following behind.

Back at the duel, the part of the floor Tristan was standing on returned. "I'm afraid your friend will never be the same again." Soichiro said. "Tristan..." Spike began to say, devastated. "This is all my fault. I'm so sorry." Serenity said, just as devastated as tears escaped her eyes. "Serenity, don't say that. It's not true. We got to stay strong" Duke responded, trying to calm Serenity.

"He lost trying to protect me." Serenity said as Duke tried to approach and comfort her. "Where do you think you're going?" Soichiro asked. "This duel isn't over, and me and the Big Five need FIVE of your bodies. Your friend was only the first." he pointed out. "Now, it's the female's turn, so make your move already." he added. "You can do it, Serenity!" Spike called.

"What's the matter, my dear? Can't you duel without your friend, Tristan, by your side?" Soichiro asked, tauntingly. "Don't listen to him." Duke said, trying to get Serenity to snap out of it. "Too late for that. I think she's already blown a fuse. She's in no condition to duel." Soichiro pointed out. 'He's right. Serenity's in a bad mental state, but I need her help if we're gonna crush this guy.' Duke thought.

'I ruined everything. Thanks to me, Tristan is...melted away.' Serenity thought, still in shock over what happened. "Serenity, we may be able to bring Tristan back, but you got to get up, brush yourself off and play!" Spike shouted. "Spike is right, you can't give up when your body and Duke's body are both on the line!" Rarity added. But none of their words got through to her.

'It's no use.' Duke thought. "Alright, we'll skip her turn!" he said at last. "Very well. It makes no difference to me." Soichiro replied as Duke drew his next card and saw what it was. 'Awesome. This is gonna be tricky, but if it works, it could pay off, big time. Just need a little luck.' the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters thought. "I activate Dimensionhole!" he declared.

"This magic card removes a monster from the field for one turn, and I'm using it on my own monster, Dark Assailant. Which means your Machine King loses 100 attack points." he explained as Dark Assailant was sucked into the portal and disappeared and Machine King's attack points lowered to 3300.

"And it gets better, cause I'm gonna play this card next." he continued. "Play any card you wish, there's absolutely nothing that can save you now." Soichiro replied. "Is that so? Not even this?" Duke asked as he showed the card he drew. "A Dice Dungeon field spell? That's a relatively new card, is it not?" Soichiro asked. "You're right about that. Now, you don't know me, but let's just say I know a thing or two about dice. And now its time for me to roll you out of this duel and turn the field into a dice board." Duke replied before playing his card, turning the battlefield into a grid board, similar to that seen in Dungeon Dice Monsters.

"And now, I play the Dimension Dice magic card." he added. "What are you planning to do with this dice game of yours?" Soichiro asked. "You'll find out soon enough, Soichiro, when my high rolling sends you back to the junkyard." Duke replied. "I'm afraid you'll need a lot more than a few dice to dismantle a superpowered machine like myself. So make your move." Soichiro stated.

"For starters, I'll use the magic of Dimension Dice to sacrifice Yaranzo and The 13th Grave. This allows me to special summon a superpowered creature of my own, meet Orgoth the Relentless!" Duke declared as his new creature, a level seven, Earth attribute warrior/effect monster with 2500 attack points and 2450 defense points, appeared in place of both of the sacrificed monsters.

"Now you lost two more machine monsters that are giving Machine King a boost in attack points." he added as Machine King's attack points lowered to 3100. "And now that that's out of the way, it's time for our dice game to begin." he continued. "Here's how it's gonna work; we'll each pick a monster to step onto the dice board and take turns rolling the die you see in the middle of it." he explained.

"As you wish. I choose my still-powerful Machine King." Soichiro said. "And I'll place Orgoth on the board." put in Duke as both monsters were put in place. "Why am I not surprised that Duke would make this duel into his specialty?" Rarity asked. "That's why he's called the Domino Dice Man" Spike added.

"Alright, I'll go first. The die will determine the strength of the monster." Duke said before the die went up and tumbled down before clattering, rolling to a stop and landing on a six. "Alright! A six, which doubles Orgoth's attack points. Granting it a total of 5000 points!" he declared as his monster's attack points GREATLY increased.

"Now to see what Machine King's attack power will be." Spike said, hoping for a low number. "Commence dice roll." Soichiro said as the die went up, tumbled down, clattered, rolled to a stop and landed on a one. "You rolled a measly one, and that means Machine King loses 1000 attack points!" Duke said in delight as Machine King's attack points decreased to 2100.

"I've read the description of the two cards you played, so I know you're not making things up as you go, but don't let it go to your head." Soichiro said. "Much obliged, now here's where the fun starts. Orgoth, attack the Machine King with Diamond Blade Strike!" Duke commanded before, with one slash, Machine King was destroyed, GREATLY decreasing Soichiro's life points to 1100.

"Goodbye, Machine King, hello, scrap pile. That one was for Tristan." the creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters concluded. "That was pure luck, but your good fortune is about to run out." Soichiro said as he drew. "Since I'm acting as my own Deck Master, I shall call myself to the field. Robotic Knight is now in play." he added as he moved stepped onto the field.

"Next I'll play a magic card known as Recycling Plant." he continued as he played said card. "This allows me to revive one of my former monsters and tribute it with myself to call forth my ultimate weapon." he explained. "So, Machine King, merge with me to form my truly unstoppable creature." he commanded before both he and Machine King combined to form a level eight, Earth attribute machine/effect monster with 2700 attack points and 1500 defense points.

"I am now more powerful than ever, for I have become Perfect Machine King!" he declared. "Perfect Machine King?!" Duke asked in shock. "As if the first one wasn't hard enough to handle." Spike said, frustrated. "You have no idea of the power I possess. I gain an extra 500 attack points for every machine on the field." Soichiro stated as his attack points rose to 4700.

"But it doesn't stop there. Thanks to my Clockwork Night magic card, I get an additional 500 point boost." he added as his attack points increased to 5200. "No way! He's become unstoppable!" Duke said in shock. "Precisely. Now, prepare to join Tristan as the next two victims of the Big Five. For when both of you are wiped out, all three of your bodies will be ours, then we can finally escape to the real world and live again." Soichiro confirmed.

"Our dice game is still on, so roll." Duke pointed out. "Very well." Soichiro replied before the die went up, tumbled down, clattered, rolled and stopped on a five. "Excellent, a five is a high roll." he said, hopeful that it would benefit him. "Maybe, but you must've skipped over some information in the card description, because a five cuts your attack points in half." Duke said before Soichiro's attack points slashed down to 3850.

"It seems there's very little logic to dice games. But no matter, even with half my strength, I'm still more powerful than your Orgoth, it only has 2500 attack points." Soichiro said, clearly not enjoying Duke's game. "Go ahead and roll, but I'm afraid that nothing can save you now." he taunted. "The die has been good to me so far, so let's see if my luck continues." Duke said as the die rose, tumbled down, clattered, rolled and landed on a one.

"I guess not." Soichiro simply said. "No, now Orgoth will lose 1000 attack points!" Spike said, worried about his relatively new friend as Orgoth's attack points lowered to 1500. "And now that Orgoth is weaker, I can blast it away with ease" Soichiro said as his shoulders revealed missile launchers that opened fire on Orgoth, blasting him to Kingdom Come and GREATLY decreasing Duke's life points to 150.

'I can't let Duke lose his body, too. We need to beat this robot menace and avenge Tristan, if not find a way to bring him back. But if I try to help, I'll probably just mess everything up again thanks to my lack of dueling experience.' Serenity thought. "So much for your dice rolling talents. With Orgoth gone, your dice game comes to an end." Soichiro said. "This isn't good. Not even Duke's best monster could destroy that tin can!" Rarity said in worry.

"Tristan's gone, Serenity's frozen and I'm fresh out of ideas." Duke said, frustrated. "I knew you mere mortals couldn't stand up to the power of a high-tech machine like me." Soichiro said, confidently. Meanwhile, Noah was watching the duel from his command chair. "You're acting like a fool, Soichiro. You should know that you're not a true robot. It's actually quite sad, you may look like a robot that belongs in Mobile Suit Gundam, but deep down, you're just a man. And the spirit and will of any man, or woman in Serenity's case, can be easily broken." Noah said.

"The rest of the Big Five and I will return to the life we once knew, only this time, we won't have to work under Seto Kaiba." Soichiro boasted. Meanwhile, Fluttershy and the Kaibas were still wandering through the virtual desert. 'Destroying Soichiro's old weapons, vehicle and munitions research lab was the smartest decision I ever made.' Seto thought as he remembered the day it was demolished and how Soichiro was quite upset about losing the place where he helped create many weapons and vehicles of war because the man in charge changed the direction of the company to game-related avenues and virtual reality.

"I spent months creating cutting edge gaming software and working on cutting edge gaming and virtual reality hardware for Seto Kaiba and I hated every second of it. I joined KaibaCorp to build tanks, submarines and missiles. Not consumer products." Soichiro said as he, too, remembered that very day. All the while, Duke was having little success getting Serenity back to her senses.

"Serenity, please, you have to get up and keep dueling. The only way we can prevent this guy from claiming your body or mine and avenge Tristan is by defeating him." Duke urged. "The probability of that happening is extremely low, because I have you two right where I want you. You're down to your last few life points and she's already given up. Victory will be mine." Soichiro taunted.

"Serenity, if you don't make a move, you'll be next to lose your body!" Spike shouted. "That is correct. The young female must make her move." Soichiro concurred. "Keep your bolts on and give her a moment!" Duke retorted. "She's got two minutes to comply. Otherwise, I will consider it a forfeit and she'll join Tristan." Soichiro stated. 'It's hopeless, now. Unless...' Duke thought, getting an idea.

"Serenity, Tristan and me need you, just like Joey needed you in the Battle City tournament!" he called. "You're right. Joey did need me." Serenity said, remembering her brother's duel against Odion and how she nearly ran out on him before he told her she was his inspiration. 'My big brother and I never give up on each other. So why should I give up when my friends and dueling partners need me? I can't let them down.' she thought.

"It's my move, metal mouth!" she said, finally getting to her feet. In the cave, Yugi, Joey and the girls kept on running. "Does Joey even know where he's going?" Tea asked. "I doubt it, but since there's only one path in this cave, he's sticking to it and so should we." Twilight replied. "Hey, look ahead, yawl! The light at the end of the tunnel!" AJ shouted as they approached the exit before finding themselves in the same room the duel was taking place in.

"There she is!" Joey shouted. "Hey! Up here, Serenity!" he called, getting her, Duke's, Spike's and Rarity's attention as well as Soichiro's. "Is that really you?" Serenity asked. "Of course it is, who were you expecting?" Joey replied. "Guys! You're here!" Duke called. "Finally, some friendly faces!" Rainbow said. "Sorry to interrupt this touching reunion, but I have a duel to win and a virtual world to escape from." Soichiro interrupted.

"Just as we thought, one of the Big Five." AJ said. "Wait, those other two cards on the field with no Duelist behind them, whose are those?" Twilight asked. "Those were Tristan's, but...he's... gone. He lost." Duke answered, grimly. Bringing a look of worry and shock to the new arrivals. "He lost?! Then that means..." Rainbow began to say. "His body's up for the taking by one of the Big Five." Pinkie finished.

"There's no way that tin-plated creep is gonna strut around in Tristan's body!" Joey said, completely in disbelief. "He tried his best, but he was only trying to protect me, thanks to my lack of experience playing Duel Monsters. And now we may never get him back." Serenity explained, tearing up. "Joey, you think it's possible for you to enter the duel in Tristan's place?" Twilight asked.

"Negative. Intruders are forbidden to duel, your two friends behind my opponents already know this." Soichiro answered. "Well, if that's the case, whatever you do, don't give up, Serenity! I'm here for you, and I know you can do this!" Joey called. "We all do!" Twilight added, to which Serenity nodded. "You've got a guardian angel in the form of your brother up here in the rafters. Now show them what you've got!" AJ called.

"Thanks, guys." Serenity said before getting back up on her feet, ready to duel. "He's all yours. Show em why you never mess with a Wheeler." Duke said with a confident smirk. "I'm afraid its too late, for both of you." Soichiro said. "This one's for Tristan!" Serenity declared before she drew. 'As Joey and Yugi would say, I have to trust in the Heart of the Cards.' she thought as she remembered the moment Tristan taught her how the game worked while on the train ride to Domino City.

'I think I need to do what Duke and Soichiro did and sacrifice a weaker monster to summon a stronger one, and I know just which one to pick. And I know just the monster to sacrifice.' she figured. "I sacrifice Lady Panther so that I can summon, Darklord Marie!" she said at last as her new monster, a level five, Dark attribute fiend/effect monster with 1700 attack points and 1200 defense points, appeared and lowered Soichiro's attack points to 4700.

'Looks like Serenity's getting the hang of this, especially if she has a monster that I know Fluttershy has in her deck. But she has to play smart because if she messes up this move, Soichiro will have the duel won on his next turn.' Spike thought, worried.

'Okay, I have the monsters I need, but no Polymerization to fuse them together.' Serenity thought before a voice called her name. "Was that you?" she asked her Deck Master. "Fear not, Serenity. As your Deck Master, I carry with me a very special ability, the power of monster fusion. I can combine two compatible monsters of yours together without the need for a Polymerization card. But you must discard one magic card to activate my Deck Master ability." Goddess with the Third Eye replied.

"Okay, Soichiro, watch this move. I discard this magic card to activate my Deck Master's special ability!" Serenity said as she discarded her single magic card. "Fusion Vision!" Goddess with the Third Eye declared. "My Deck Master can fuse together my two monsters together just like a Polymerization card, allowing me to summon St. Joan!" Serenity declared as her new monster, a level seven, Light attribute fairy/fusion monster with 2800 attack points and 2000 defense points, appeared and lowered Soichiro's attack points to 4200.

"Impressive, but I'm afraid your monster isn't powerful enough to take me offline." Soichiro said before he noticed a glow coming from Command Angel. "What's going on?! This can't be!" he said in shock as St. Joan's attack points increased to 3200. "Awesome, Command Angel's special ability kicked in! It raises the strength of every Fairy monster on the field by 400 points, including St. Joan!" Duke said, quite pleased.

"Looks like we can still do this, thanks to the monster Tristan left behind." Serenity said, confidently. "Well, her monster gotten stronger, but Perfect Machine King has 1000 points more than St. Joan." Twilight said. "So, how can she get another power boost?" Rainbow asked. "I think I know how." Pinkie said, eyeing and pointing out the facedown Tristan left behind with Command Angel.

"Time is wasting, so finish your move, now." Soichiro urged. 'What was Pinkie talking about?' Duke thought before looking at what she was. 'Wait a minute! That facedown Tristan left before he fell! Looks like I'll have to put my faith in that one card.' he figured, realizing what had to be done.

"I activate my own Deck Master's ability!" he declared, catching Soichiro off-guard. "Strike Ninja, I discard two cards so you can do your thing and activate the card Tristan left facedown on the field!" he declared, shocking Soichiro. "I hope Tristan left a card worth using." he added. "Well, cross your fingers and hope this works." AJ said before Strike Ninja made several hand gestures like it was about to perform a jutsu from Naruto before the facedown card was revealed.

"That's Rare Metal Soul!" Spike shouted. "Awesome! Looks like Tristan really came through!" Duke said, pleased with what he saw. "Too bad for you, Soichiro, because Rare Metal Soul raises the attack points of fusion monsters by 1000!" he declared as St. Joan's attack points rose to 4200, equaling Soichiro's. "That's impossible! Your monster's attack points are matched with mine!" Soichiro declared.

"I think we know what's going to happen next." Pinkie said.

(Don't we?)

"Serenity, you do the honors and eliminate this pile of junk once and for all." Duke graciously offered, to which she nodded. "Go, St. Joan, attack Perfect Machine King!" the girl commanded before her monster formed wings on its back and flew as fast as it could towards Soichiro as he tried to punch it back. But in the collision, they were both destroyed.

"Told you! Perfect Machine King and St. Joan had the same attack points, so that means they destroyed themselves, and since he was the Deck Master, he automatically loses!" Pinkie shouted. "Way to go, sis!" Joey called. "You fools. I may be going offline, but I won Tristan's body as per the rules of this tournament." Soichiro stated. "We'll find a way to save him!" Twilight shouted.

"You'll never see him in his own body again! I'm finally free!" Soichiro retorted before laughing as he was annihilated. "We'll see about that, you mechanical snake in the grass." Duke said as he dropped to his hands and knees. "I don't believe it. One of the Big Five may have lost, but he also won. And it's my fault." Serenity said as she collapsed to her knees. "You alright, Serenity?" Joey asked as he and the others descended from the catwalk above.

"It's okay, sis. Really." he said as he comforted his sister, who tearfully embraced him. "Tristan can't really be gone. He just can't be." the poor girl said. "I promise, darling, we WILL find a way to bring him back." Rarity said, reassuringly. "Well, if Tristan's body is gone, than his mind has been sent somewhere in this virtual world, and we're going to find it." Twilight said, confidently.

"We're almost all together. But we need to find where Tristan's mind was sent to and find Fluttershy and the Kaibas." Spike said. Meanwhile, in another part of the virtual world, Tristan's digitized mind was uploaded into the body of a little robotic monkey. "Where am I?" he wondered, unaware of what happened to him.