Chapter 26: Locked and Loaded, Part 2
Varis and Roget are in a heated duel in an abandoned railyard in the Synchro Dimension. Roget has Varis backed into a corner with his Link monster, Ancient Gear Ballista. His Ancient Gear Warrior has already destroyed the Hanoi leader's Triple Burst Dragon. He also has a face-down card and his spell Branch! His Pendulum Scale contains Ancient Gear RAY and Ancient Gear REX. All Varis has are a pair of face-down cards and Boot Sector Launch.
Varis: 300 LP
Jean-Michel Roget: 3400 LP
"Now to hit the final nail on this coffin. Ancient Gear Wyvern, attack Varis directly and end this!" Roget commanded his monster to attack Varis. It flies right at the leader of the Knights of Hanoi.
"Master! NO!" Baira yelled.
Varis simply smirked. "Roget, did you honestly think you'd win that easily?" That question earned him a puzzled glare from Roget. "Well, you're sadly mistaken! I activate the trap Draining Shield!" His trap depicts Freed the Brave Wanderer blocking an attack from Giga Gagagigo with a mystical shield. "This puts a stop to your attack." A clear blue barrier deflects Wyvern's attack. Roget scowls upon seeing his attack blocked. "And then I gain Life Points equal to Ballista's Attack points." A healing glow envelops Varis.
Varis: 300→2000
"You always have an answer for everything, don't you?" Roget glared. "Very well. Ancient Gear Ballista, attack his Life Points!" The mechanical centaur fires two bolts at Varis.
"As I said earlier, your thoughts of victory are just delusions of grandeur! When you attack me, I can summon Checksum Dragon from my hand!" Varis plays a disc-headed dark red dragon with glowing wings and a blue underbelly.
Checksum Dragon: Level 6/400/2400
"And by summoning Checksum Dragon, I gain Life Points equal to half of Checksum's Defense Points." Varis is healed once more.
Varis: 2000→3200
"Not bad. I'll end my turn." Roget is forced to end his turn.
"If this is your best, then the Knights of Hanoi have nothing to worry about." Varis said as his turn begins.
Turn 4: Varis (3200)
"It's my turn. I draw!" Varis draws his card. "I activate Boot Sector Launch's effect. Since you have more monsters than me, I'm allowed to resurrect Rokket monsters from my Graveyard in Defense mode. Come on back, Autorokket Dragon and Silverrokket Dragon." Varis' two Rokket monsters emerge from the graveyard. "And Boot Sector Launch raises their Attack and Defense Points by 300."
Autorokket Dragon: Level 3/1600→1900/1000→1300
Silverrokket Dragon: Level 4/1900→2200/100→400
"Next, I summon Triggering Wurm!" Varis summons another dragon, one that is dark brown with small gold wings and a blue underbelly.
Triggering Wurm: Level 2/600/600
"And I'll use these monsters to manifest my circuit!" Varis opens the arrow portal again. "This time, the summoning conditions require at least 2 Effect Monsters. "I set Triggering Wurm, Autorokket Dragon, Silverrokket Dragon, and Checksum Dragon in the Link Arrows!" The three monsters turn into energy twisters. The twisters enter the up, down, down-left, and down-right arrows. "I Link Summon! Link 4 Topologic Bomber Dragon!" One of Varis' strongest monster emerges, which is a dark orange draconic monster with its tail resembling a mobius strip and has thin wings.
Topologic Bomber Dragon: 3000/Link 4/↑↙↓↘
"That's one mega-sized monster!" Roget said.
"And these attack points aren't just for show. I'll demonstrate its power firsthand, but before that, Triggering Wurm's special ability activates, allowing me to summon it back in Attack mode." Triggering Wurm emerges.
Triggering Wurm: Level 2/600/600
"Why summon a monster that can revive itself?" Roget asked.
"You should worry less about what my monster can do and worry more about where I summoned it." Roget looked puzzled until Playmaker realized what he did.
"He's summoned it next to Topologic Bomber Dragon's Link!" Playmaker deduced.
"Exactly! And that in turn activates my Bomber Dragon's special ability! When a monster is summoned next to a Link Monster's Link, every monster in both our Main Monster Zones is destroyed!" Varis confirmed.
"You can't!" Roget yelled.
"I can and I will! Go, Decimation Destruction!" Topologic Bomber Dragon's wings let out a powerful shockwave that destroys Triggering Wurm and Ancient Gear Warrior and Wyvern. Roget scowls.
"And when Triggering Wurm is destroyed, I'm allowed to draw one card." Varis said before drawing a card.
"Now, Topologic Bomber Dragon, attack Ancient Gear Ballista!" Varis commands his attack. Topologic Bomber Dragon charges a beam of red energy.
"You'll never defeat me! I activate the Spell Gear Grind!" Roget plays his Spell. It depicts Freed the Brave Wanderer trapped within a cluster of old gears. "By discarding one of my Ancient Gear monsters, your monster loses 300 attack points equal to its Level until the end of the turn. So I'll be discarding my Level 6 Ancient Gear Beast." Roget discards his monster. "Now your Bomber Dragon loses 1800 Attack Points." Gears suddenly appear around Bomber Dragon and grind it down, weakening it.
Topologic Bomber Dragon: 3000→1200
"Now Bomber Dragon is target practice for my Ballista!" Roget smiles wickedly.
"Maybe, but it's not an easy target to hit." Varis said, earning a gasp from his opponent. "From my hand, I activate the Spell Link Charge!" Varis' spell depicts Booster Dragon gaining energy from Gateway Dragon and DMZ Dragon. "For every Link Arrow that's on the field, my Link Monster gains 200 Attack points until the end of the turn!"
"Topologic Bomber Dragon is Link 4 and Ancient Gear Ballista is Link 2." Faust noted.
"That means Bomber Dragon gains 1200 Attack points." Varis finished. Topologic Bomber Dragon roars as it is energized.
Topologic Bomber Dragon: 1200→2400
"Now I can't do anything to stop it!" Roget yelped.
"Bomber Dragon, annihilate his Ballista! Malicious Mayhem!" Topologic Bomber Dragon fires a beam of energy at Ballista, destroying it upon contact. Roget reels from the shockwave.
Roget: 3400→2500
"And Bomber Dragon has another ability. After it battles your monster, you take damage equal your monster's Attack Points." Bomber Dragon's wings electrify the air and strikes Roget.
Roget: 2500→1000
"I place three cards face-down and end my turn." Varis places three cards face-down to end his turn.
"Varis… If you think you can defeat me, you are sadly mistaken!" Roget scowled.
"If I'm mistaken, then why do I have the lead in Life Points?" Varis taunted.
Turn 5: Roget (1000)
"You won't have the lead for long, Varis. I draw!" Roget draws his card. "I'll start by activating Spell Absorption!" He plays the card he just drew. "Now, whenever one of us plays a Spell card, I gain 500 Life Points."
"Like this one here: Supremacy Berry." Roget plays another Spell. "Its effects differ based on whether my Life Points are higher or lower than yours. If they're higher, I take 1000 points of damage, but if they're lower, I gain 2000 Life Points. And last I checked, mine are definitely lower." A healing light shines from the card.
Roget: 1000→3000 LP
"And since I just played a Spell, I gain 500 more Life Points." Roget reminded him as his Life Points increase again.
Roget: 3000→3500 LP
"Next, I play Spell Books from the Pot! Now we both draw 3 cards from our decks." Both duelists draw 3 cards.
"Since he's played another Spell, Roget gets another 500 points." Baira said as Roget is healed again.
Roget: 3500→4000 LP
"Next, I summon Ancient Gear Hunting Hound." Roget then summons a mechanical hound, emerging with a howl.
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 3/1000/1000
"And whenever I summon my Hunting Hound and you have a monster in play, you take 600 points of damage! Go, Canine Cannon!" Hunting Hound let out a wave of flames, damaging Varis.
Varis: 3200→2600
"Next, I play Polymerization, and I'll use it to fuse the Hunting Hound on my field with the one in my hand." Roget declares as he fuses the two mechanical hounds. "Watch as these two mongrels mix into a crazed canine! I Fusion Summon! Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" He summons another hound, this one sharing two heads.
Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 5/1400/1000
"And thanks to Spell Absorption, I get another 500 Life Points." Roget heals again.
Roget: 4000→4500
"Next, I activate Pendulum Draw! If my two Pendulum Zones are occupied, I can draw cards equal to half the difference in their Scales." Roget plays another Spell, depicting Stargazer Magician and Timegazer Magician energizing a duelist's deck.
"Ancient Gear RAY is Scale 1 and Ancient Gear REX is Scale 9. That sets the difference at 8." Playmaker deduced.
"And half of 8 is 4, so I draw 4 cards." Roget said as he draws four cards.
"And the more Spells I play, the stronger I become." Roget said as his Life Points become even higher.
Roget: 4500→5000
"And now, I activate Ancient Gear Blast-Off!" Roget's next spell depicts several Ancient Gear Soldiers being deployed. "For every Special Summoned monster that's on the field, I can summon that many Ancient Gear monsters from my deck and Extra Deck by negating their special abilities. Come on out, Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound and Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" A three-headed mechanical hound and a four-headed mechanical hound appear beside the two-headed hound.
Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 7/1800/1000
Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 9/2800/2000
"Of course, the monsters summoned by Blast-Off can't attack and I have to discard two cards to keep them in play, otherwise they're destroyed." Roget discards two cards. "But that won't be a problem, especially since I get another 500 Life Points."
Roget: 5000→5500
"And since one of the cards I discarded was Card of Compensation, I draw another 2 cards." Roget draws 2 more cards.
"Next, with my two Ancient Gear monsters in their place, I can summon monsters from Level 2 through 8 at the same time. I Pendulum Summon! Rise, Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" Ancient Gear Hunting Hound emerges again.
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 3/1000/1000
"And now everything is in place to summon Duel Academy's most powerful monster. Ancient Gear Hunting Hound's special ability allows me to Fusion Summon without the need for Polymerization. I fuse all four of my Hunting Hounds to create a monster that will crush everything in its path!" Roget chanted as his four monsters transformed into different rays of light that became a rainbow swirl. "Stand in awe of the ground-shaking Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!" A megaton machine covered by metal dog heads with a single eye resting in its head appears behind Roget.
Chaos Ancient Gear Giant: Level 10/4500/3000
"It has 4500 Attack Points!" Playmaker noted.
"That's right, and it'll put them to good use! Chaos Giant, attack his Topologic Bomber Dragon! Chaotic Crush!" Chaos Ancient Gear Giant deals a massive punch to Topologic Bomber Dragon, destroying it instantly. Varis is sent back a few feet but is still standing.
Varis: 2600→1100
"Not bad. You managed to summon your most powerful monster and destroyed my Bomber Dragon all at once." Varis complimented.
"And that was just a warm-up. I place three cards face-down and end my turn." Roget ends his turn with three face-down cards.
"This'll be hard." Playmaker noted.
"How so?" Genome asked.
"Roget's Chaos Ancient Gear Giant has 4500 Attack points and none of Varis' Spells and Traps work against it. And what's worse, it can attack all of Varis' monsters. And then, there's Roget's two Spell cards: Spell Absorption and Branch! If Varis plays any Spell cards, Roget gets Life Points, and Branch summons one of Roget's Fusion Materials if he destroys it in battle." Playmaker analyzed the situation. "And then, there are those face-down cards. Roget must have something planned."
"Well, Varis? Care to give up?" Roget taunted. "You may as well admit it: it's impossible to defeat me!" Varis responds with a smirk.
"Just because it's impossible doesn't mean it can't be done."
"Then, by all means, give it a try." Roget challenged Varis.
Turn 6: Varis (1100)
"Oh, I will." Varis starts his turn. "I draw!" He analyzes his hand.
"Before you make a move, I'm activating two Trap cards!" He reveals two of his face-down cards. One of them depicts a wall of Ancient Gear monsters defending the Ancient Gear Fortress from an army led by Warrior Dai Grepher. "The first is Gear Formation. Since I have an Ancient Gear Fusion Monster in play, I can summon its Fusion Materials from my Graveyard. Return to battle, Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, and Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" His pack of mechanical hounds emerge from the Graveyard.
Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 3/1000/1000
Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 5/1400/1000
Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 7/1800/1000
Ultimate Ancient Gear Hunting Hound: Level 9/2800/2000
"They're no match for me. I'll take them down with a snap of my fingers."
"Easier said than done thanks to my second Trap: Fusion Trench!" Roget shows his second Trap. "As long as this card's in play, we can only attack with Fusion monsters. And if I don't summon a Fusion monster on my next turn, any one of my Fusion monsters can attack you directly. Face it, Varis, you're finished!"
"Am I?" Varis smirked.
"Hm?"
"I activate the Spell Revolve Roulette!" Varis reveals a spell, depicting Shelrokket Dragon tumbling on a roulette wheel. Two roulette wheels with six panels numbered 1 through 6 appear beside Varis. "With this, I can take a gamble and spin these two roulette wheels. And you have the option of choosing one result or both. Whichever you choose, I can check that many cards from the top of my deck, and if any of the cards I reveal are Rokket monsters, I can summon them. Anything else is banished, and I lose 1000 Life Points per card."
"This is a risky move he's making. Odds are Roget will pick both, and if he does, if at least two of cards are banished, then Varis will lose." Faust said.
"Let's see who Lady Luck will be smiling on today. Roulettes spin!" Both roulettes start spinning simultaneously. The air becomes tense around the players and spectators. The first roulette lands on 3. "The first roulette has landed on 3." The second roulette slows to a stop on 5. "And the second has landed on 5."
"So Roget, which will it be?" Varis said.
"He must be nuts. He's risking his Life Points to make a comeback. Well, I won't let him." Roget's thought ring in his head. "Then again, it would be nice if he lost from his own card. I may as well give him a chance."
"All right, Varis, I'll play your little game. I pick 5." Roget made his choice.
"Then I'll be checking the top five cards for Rokket monsters." Varis said. He then checks his cards one by one as he draws them. He checks the first card.
"The first card is Magnarokket Dragon! And since it's a Rokket monster, I can summon it!" Varis plays a blue-armored dragon. "And remember, Boot Sector Launch raises my Rokket monsters' Attack and Defense Points by 300."
Magnarokket Dragon: Level 4/1800→2100/1200→1500
"Now comes the second card." Varis draws his second card. "The second card is Shelrokket Dragon!" He summons a small yellow and green dragon.
Shelrokket Dragon: Level 2/1100→1400/2000→2300
"So you're two for two, big deal." Roget said.
"Well then, let's see if I can keep it going." Varis draws his third card and reveals it. "The third card is Exploderokket Dragon." He summons a dark brown and orange dragon with glowing wings.
Exploderokket Dragon: Level 7/2000→2300/2000→2300
"Let's see if I can go four for four." Varis draws his fourth card. "The fourth card is Rokket Recharger." He summons another dragon, one with a six-spoke gear on its back.
Rokket Recharger: Level 4/0→300/2100→2400
"You seriously can't be this lucky with your draws!" Roget argued.
"It's not luck, Roget. When backed into a corner, I can easily anticipate what card I can draw next." Varis countered. "Now to check the fifth and final card." Varis draws with a lot of energy. He checks the card. Varis smiles confidently. "My fifth card is the Tuner monster, Rokket Caliber!" His fifth monster is a snake-like dragon with glowing magenta wings.
Rokket Caliber: Level 4/1700→2000/100→400
"Impossible! One card got you five monsters?!" Roget said in shock.
"Surprised?" Varis glared.
"Not at the least, especially since you played another Spell card, which gives me another 500 Life Points, thanks to Spell Absorption." Roget reminded him as he is healed by his Spell card.
Roget: 5500→6000 LP
"6000 Life Points. This'll be harder than I thought, but I can't falter. I manifest my circuit!" Varis opens the Link portal. "The summoning conditions require at least 2 Effect Monsters. I set Magnarokket Dragon, Shelrokket Dragon, and Exploderokket Dragon in the Link Arrows!" The three dragons turn into energy twisters and enter the up, down-left, and down-right arrows. "I Link Summon! Link 3 Topologic Trisbaena!" Varis summons another Link-3 monster, one with dark armor and giant transparent wings.
Topologic Trisbaena: 2500/Link-3/↑↙↘
"Is that supposed to scare me?" Roget asked.
"No, but perhaps this will. Since I have a Link 3 or higher monster, I can summon Drop Draco from my hand in Defense Mode." He summons a blue dragon with long wings. Bronze cannons are seen on its body and wings.
Drop Draco: Level 5/ATK: 1000/DEF: 2200
"And since I summoned Drop Draco next to Trisbaena's Link, its ability activates!" Varis declares the activation of Trisbaena's ability. "It banishes Drop Draco and all our Spell and Trap Cards and for every one of your cards that's banished, you take 500 points of damage!"
"That means you'll lose your cards as well." Roget realized.
"Maybe, but I can still play the Spell card Emergency Provisions!" Varis reveals his Spell. "For every Spell and Trap I send to the Graveyard, I gain 1000 Life Points. I send my three face-down cards and Boot Sector Launch to the Graveyard to gain 4000 Life Points." Varis' Field Spell and other face-down cards, revealed as Tactical Exchanger, Borrel Cooling, and Mirror Force Launcher disappear. Varis is healed.
Varis: 1100→5100 LP
"And now our cards are banished! Go, Exile's Retribution!" Trisbaena exudes energy claws that slice Drop Draco, Emergency Provisions, and Roget's six cards. Roget reels back from the shockwave.
Roget: 6000→4000 LP
"Excellent! With Fusion Trench gone, Varis can attack now." Genome said.
"But without Boot Sector Launch, his Rokket monsters become weaker." Faust pointed out.
Rokket Caliber: 2000→1700/400→100
Rokket Recharger: 300→0/2400→2100
"You may have got rid of my defensive line, but I still have my Chaos Giant!" Roget reminded him.
"But not for long." Varis said. "Watch this! I now manifest my circuit!" He opens the Link portal again. "The summoning conditions require at least 3 Effect Monsters, I set Rokket Recharger, Rokket Caliber, and Topologic Trisbaena in the Link Arrows." The three monsters turn into energy twisters, Trisbaena, splitting into 3. The twisters enter the up, left, right, down-left, and down-right arrows. "I Link Summon! Link 5 Borrelend Dragon!" His strongest monster is a combined version of Varis' three Borrel monsters. It flies overhead with a set of Borreload and Borrelsword's wings and it lets out a loud roar with its three heads.
Borrelend Dragon: 3500/Link-5/↑←→↙↘
"A Link 5 monster?!" Roget gasps.
"And that's just the beginning. I activate Trade-In!" Varis plays another Spell card. "This allows me to draw 2 cards from my deck by discarding a Level 8 monster." He discards a Level 8 monster and draws 2 cards from his deck.
"Now I play another Spell: Field Recovery. By banishing a Spell card from my Graveyard, I can reactivate a Field Spell from my Graveyard. I banish Quick Launch and once again activate Boot Sector Launch." Varis' Quick-Play Spell disappears from the Graveyard and his Field Spell reappears on the field.
"And Boot Sector Launch's effect activates. When you have more monsters than me, I'm allowed to resurrect Rokket monsters from my Graveyard in Defense Mode equal to the difference. Come on back, Magnarokket Dragon, Rokket Caliber, Rokket Recharger and Metalrokket Dragon!" His four monsters emerge from the Graveyard. "And with Boot Sector Launch back in play, my Rokket monsters gain 300 Attack and Defense points."
Magnarokket Dragon: Level 4/1800→2100/1200→1500
Rokket Caliber: Level 4/1700→2000/100→400
Rokket Recharger: Level 4/0→300/2100→2400
Metalrokket Dragon: Level 4/1700→2000/1400→1700
"Next, Borrelend Dragon's ability activates! I can negate the abilities of one monster on the field, and I can summon a Rokket monster from my Graveyard. The monster I choose is your Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound!" Borrelend Dragon's steely gaze paralyzed Double Ancient Gear Hunting Hound, giving it a gray aura. Roget sneers.
"Now, I can revive a Rokket monster from my Graveyard. Come on back, Silverrokket Dragon." Silverrokket Dragon emerges from the Graveyard.
Silverrokket Dragon: Level 4/1900→2200/100→400
"Varis is going all-out." Baira said.
"Now to begin my ultimate formation!" A bolt of green lightning strikes Varis, greying the area. Silverrokket Dragon and Rokket Caliber disintegrate into energy that form 2 sets of rings, one magenta and the other orange. "Level 4 Rokket Caliber tunes Level 4 Silverrokket Dragon!" The rings turn blue and stack into a tower before a screen displaying "4 + 4" appears in front of it. The screen changes to "8" as light surged through the rings.
"The fuel of the cosmos mixes with the boundaries of speed to transcend the beyond!" Varis chanted. "I Synchro Summon! Borreload Savage Dragon!" A white-armored version of Borreload Dragon appears with a roar.
Borreload Savage Dragon: Level 8/3000/2500
"A Synchro Monster!?" Roget gasps.
"And that's just the beginning. Borreload Savage Dragon's special ability activates. When it's Synchro Summoned, it allows me to equip a Link monster in my Graveyard to my Borreload Savage Dragon. And for each of its Link Arrows, Savage Dragon gains one Borrel Counter. I equip Borreload Savage Dragon with Topologic Bomber Dragon. And since my Bomber Dragon has four Links, it gains four Borrel Counters." Four yellow orbs enter the chamber in Savage Dragon's chest.
Borreload Savage Dragon: Borrel Counters: 0→4
"It also gains half of Bomber Dragon's Attack points, raising it to 4500!" Varis finished. Savage Dragon roars as it is energized.
Borreload Savage Dragon: 3000→4500
"What good will that do? Your monsters don't stand a chance against my pack of monsters." Roget said.
"My formation's far from done. I activate the Spell Rapid Trigger!" Varis plays his Spell card. "By destroying my Magnarokket Dragon and Metalrokket Dragon, I can use them to Fusion Summon!" Magnarokket and Metalrokket explode.
"You can Fusion Summon?!" Roget gasps.
"When the roar and anger merge together, they coalesce into the source of all rage!" Varis chants. The energy left behind from the destroyed monsters turn into streams of particles, which swirl together and burst upward into colored vortexes. They twist around each other and merge into a larger purple twister, the Fusion Monster inside. "I Fusion Summon! Borreload Furious Dragon!" A purple-armored version of Borreload Dragon appears with large blue wings and a loud roar.
Borreload Furious Dragon: Level 8/3000/2500
"Next, I activate Borrel Reloading!" Varis plays a Spell, depicting Metalrokket Dragon and Magnarokket Dragon being reloaded into Borreload Dragon's chest. "It lets me pick a Borrel Link Monster on the field or in my Graveyard and I can draw a card for each of its Links. Borrelend Dragon has 5 Links, so I can draw five cards!" Varis draws five cards.
"Next, I activate Borrel Regenerator! It allows me to revive a Rokket monster from the Graveyard. Come out, Silverrokket Dragon." Varis' Equip Spell revives Silverrokket Dragon.
Silverrokket Dragon: Level 4/1900→2200/100→400
"How much must you take before you're able to accept the fact that you're beaten?" Roget taunted.
"If anyone is beaten, it's you, Roget! And this card will bring me one step closer to victory! I activate the Ritual Spell card Heavy Interlock!" Varis reveals his Ritual Spell card.
"Is Varis really going for it?" Faust asked.
"With Heavy Interlock, I can tribute monsters from my hand or field to Ritual Summon, and if I happen to use any Rokket monsters in my hand or on my field, I can destroy them to also pay the cost. I tribute DMZ Dragon from my hand and destroy Silverrokket Dragon on my field." The two monsters form eight flames that form a mystic circle.
"The fury of the gods crashes down upon the land, giving birth to a beast that eradicates everything in sight!" The flames in the circle explode. "I Ritual Summon! Borreload Riot Dragon!" A blue-armored version of Borreload Dragon emerges with an earsplitting roar.
Borreload Riot Dragon: Level 8/3000/2500
"Synchro, Fusion, Ritual, Link…" Roget sneered. "Just how many of these do you need before you are satisfied?!"
"Some things are better mastered when you utilize what you know." Varis said. "When Borrel Regenerator is destroyed, I can draw one card." Varis draws another card.
"Next, I summon Gateway Dragon." A gold dragon with a hexagonal cybernetic gate appears.
Gateway Dragon: Level 4/1600/1400
"I've never seen Varis duel this seriously before." Baira said.
"You're about to witness why the Knights of Hanoi are second to no one! I overlay Level 4 Rokket Recharger and Gateway Dragon to build the Overlay Network!" Varis declares. Green lightning crackles from his Duel Disk and a blue X-shaped array with four red circles between the spokes materializes.
"When steel and darkness synergize into one, the portal to the edge of the universe opens to invite its solitary denizen!" Rokket Caliber and Gateway Dragon disperse into colored particles and enter the red circles. Then data stream-like energy flows from the tips and form a light-blue Overlay Network. "I Xyz Summon! Rank 4 Borreload eXcharge Dragon!" A black-armored version of Borreload Dragon appears with its glowing red wings.
Borreload eXcharge Dragon: Rank 4/3000/2500/OLU: 2
"Amazing!" Faust said in awe. "Master Varis has summoned his strongest monsters in a single turn."
"And they each represent 5 of the 6 summoning techniques." Genome noted. "Fusion, Ritual, Synchro, Xyz, and Link."
"So you have five dragons, big deal." Roget scoffs. "My monsters far dwarf yours."
"We shall see. Borrelend Dragon, attack his Chaos Ancient Gear Giant!" Varis commands his Link 5 monster to attack.
"Why would you attack a monster that's stronger than mine!?" Roget asked.
"Perhaps this Spell card will answer your question. I activate Star Power!" Varis' next spell depicts The Calibrator, The Calculator, and Hip Hoshiningen hyping up a crowd. "When my Link Monster battles your monster, it gains 400 Attack Points for every Level and Rank the monsters that are linked to it have during damage!" An overhead view of the field shows Borrelend Dragon linked to Riot Dragon, Savage Dragon, and Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound.
"Riot Dragon and Savage Dragon are Level 8 and Triple Ancient Gear Hunting Hound is Level 7." Playmaker noted.
"That's a total of 23. Together, they provide 9200 Attack Points!" Borrelend Dragon roars at it is energized.
Borrelend Dragon: 3500→12,700
"12,700 Attack Points!?" Roget gasps with horror.
"More than enough to blast your Life Points to ashes!" Varis said.
"Not if I have anything to say about it! From my hand, I activate Limiter Removal!" Roget plays a Spell from is hand. "It doubles my Machine monsters' Attack Points!" The energy from the card energizes Roget's monsters. "It may not save my monster, but at least it'll lower the damage enough to keep me in the game!"
"I'm afraid that's not happening." Varis said.
"Come again?"
"Borreload Savage Dragon's second ability activates! Since you activate a Spell, I can remove one of Savage Dragon's Borrel Counters to negate it." Borreload Savage Dragon glows purple for a moment.
Borreload Savage Dragon: Borrel Counters: 4→3
The energy from Limiter Removal dissipates as it disappears. "No… No! This can't be happening!"
"Sorry, Roget, I'm afraid that this is checkmate! Borrelend Dragon, finish him! Reduce his Chaos Ancient Gear Giant to scrap metal!" Varis shouts as Borrelend Dragon charges six cannons on its shoulders, wings, and chest and another in its mouth. "Borrel Cannon Barrage!" The cannons fire, merging into a massive energy beam. They hit Chaos Ancient Gear Giant. It screeches in agonizing pain as it disintegrates. Roget tries to withstand the force of the attack, but he is easily sent flying with a pained scream. He crashes back first into a rusted railcar, leaving a large dent. He falls forward and lands face-down.
Roget: 4000→0 LP
"Varis did it. He won." Faust smiled. Varis approached Roget.
"A tyrant like you doesn't deserve to be a leader." Varis said to his downed opponent. He gathers a Link Crystal from Roget.
"Well done, Varis." Faust thanked his leader.
"You sure showed him." Baira complimented.
"I did, didn't I?" Varis said, turning his gaze towards Playmaker. "I saw your duel against Weevil. I never saw you to be that aggressive, especially that early."
"You played well, Varis." Playmaker said.
"I'll take that as compliment. See you at the finals, if you can make it." Varis said as he and the Hanoi left the Synchro Dimension.
Inside SOL Technologies main hall, the Queen is walking in a huff.
"Stupid Blue Maiden, telling me that I only run the company for money. When I get my hands on her…" The Queen ranted. She walks out of the building before bumping into someone. She falls.
"Ow! Watch it, buddy! I'm walking here!" Queen yelled. She saw a man. The angle of the sunlight saw that he's young and cute.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." The young man apologized. "Are you hurt?" He offered to help the Queen up, making her blush. She takes his hand, and he pulls her to her feet.
"N-No."
"Good." The man said. He suddenly noticed something. "Hey, I know you. You're the Queen, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"A good friend of mine told me about you. Said you were mean and only helped others for money."
"They said what?!" The Queen said with anger.
"But personally, I disagree." He continued. "How can someone so mean be so beautiful?" His words calmed her down and let out a warm blush.
"Whoa. Nobody said anything like that, especially to me of all people." The Queen said.
"It could be because they don't see what you really are." The man said before realizing something. "Oh, forgive me. I got caught in the moment and forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Lightning."
"Lightning? As in the Light Ignis?" The Queen asked.
"The one and only."
"Who'd imagine that I'd be running into one of the Ignis?" The Queen's thoughts echo in her head.
"Say, if you have time, why don't we have a walk? I know some good viewing spots."
"That... sounds nice." The Queen accepted Lightning's offer and the two took a walk together.
Fan-Made/OC Cards
Gear Grind
Normal Trap
When your opponent attacks an "Ancient Gear" monster you control, discard 1 "Ancient Gear" monster; the attacking monster loses ATK equal to the discarded monster's Level x200.
Link Charge
Quick-Play Spell
When your Link Monster battles, it gains ATK equal to the number of Link Arrows on the field x200. You can only activate 1 "Link Charge" per turn.
Pendulum Draw
Normal Spell
If you have 2 cards in your Pendulum Zones: Draw cards equal to half the difference in those cards' Pendulum Scales (rounded down).
Ancient Gear Blast-Off
Normal Spell
If a Special Summoned monster is on the field, Special Summon "Ancient Gear" monsters from your Deck and/or Extra Deck up to the number of Special Summoned monsters on the field. Their effects are negated and they cannot attack as long as they are on the field. You must discard the same number of cards equal to the number of monsters summoned, otherwise, destroy the summoned monsters.
Fusion Formation
Normal Trap
If you control a Fusion Monster, if its Fusion Materials are in your GY, target those monsters; Special Summon them.
Revolve Roulette
Quick-Play Spell
Roll 2 six-sided dice, then your opponent chooses one or both results rolled; excavate that many cards from the top of your Deck, and Special Summon as many "Rokket" monsters among them as possible, ignoring their Summoning conditions. Banish the remaining cards, face-down, and if you do, lose 1000 LP for each.
Field Recovery
Quick-Play Spell
Banish 1 Spell Card from your GY; activate 1 Field Spell from either player's GY. You can only activate 1 "Field Recovery" per turn.
Borrel Reloading
Normal Spell
If you control a "Borrel" Link Monster, target that monster; draw 1 card for each of its Link Arrows. You can only activate 1 "Borrel Reloading" per turn.