This story was done in collaboration between me, Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and DaveMan1000 (both here and on DeviantART), and we own the OCs that are used in the story. AaronCottrell97 (known as stevecottrell on DeviantART) provided the Duel Layouts and additional ideas. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Gundam SEED characters, Orb, Blue Cosmos, M1 Astray, Strike Rouge, Murasame (c) Sunrise
Character of Lisa Drake (c) DaveMan1000
Character of David Xadashi (c) DaveMan1000
WARNING: Once again, this story is rated T for violence, some blood, suggestive themes, and some language. Reader discretion is advised.
WARNING 3: If you haven't read "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 2", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles Season 4", "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Sodor Chronicles (Pyramid of Light", "David Xadashi", "Lisa Drake", or "Team 4D's", you might want to do so before reading this story
Title: Fan the Flames
Opening up inside the abandoned warehouse, all Lisa, still tied up to a chair, could do was watch as David Xadashi and Vincent Stevens, two bitter and hated enemies, faced each other in a duel to the finish. David, who was dueling to rescue Lisa, was not about to back down.
"Dave…" whispered Lisa.
Back on the dueling field, Vincent could simply chuckle at how the duel was going thus far—him being with the advantage, that is.
"So, tell me, do you get it, now?" he teased, "Do you get that you cannot defeat me without luck? In fact, you can spare yourself the pain of the inevitable loss if you give up now."
"Vincent, if you think my formation is cowardly, then you are sorely mistaken, because 'Morphtronic Boarden's' second effect will be of great help for me," retorted David, "While in Defense Position: Other 'Morphtronic' monsters I control cannot be destroyed by battle. You know what that means, right? It means that you can only destroy 'Boarden' through battle, and because of 'Morphtronic Radion's' effect, 'Boarden's' DEF exceeds 'Dark Strike Fighter's' ATK. Tactical is a far more accurate assessment than cowardly, which is something that you would never be able to understand."
"Tch! You're one of the most delusional punks I've ever met in my life, but whatever," scoffed Vincent, sounding like an absolute hypocrite (since he himself was delusional about himself). He then took and held another card ('Polymerization') out, "Fine! From my hand, I'll activate the Spell Card, 'Polymerization'!"
"What?!" cried David, "You're gonna…fuse two monsters?"
"That's right, robo-boy," replied Vincent, holding up two cards ('Summon Reactor・SK' and 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog') taken from his hand, "Using my card, I'll fuse 'Summon Reactor・SK' and 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog' both from my hand!
And so, appearing onto the field briefly were 'Summon Reactor・SK' and a monster known as 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog', which was a hedgehog with rather fiery-looking quills. The two monsters then began fusing together.
"I Fusion Summon 'Ignition Beast Volcannon' in Attack Position!" The voice of Vincent announced gleefully.
Appearing onto the field, once the Fusion Summon was completed, was a robotic creature that resembled a dragon, with a barrage of armor (Level: 6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1600).
"This must be one of the new cards Vincent somehow received," thought David, "But where could he have even gotten them? Did he buy them in his spare time, or… Could it be possible someone else has given them to him?"
"Now, I'll admit that this guy really isn't all that much in terms of stats," acknowledged Vincent, "However, its effect is what you should be most worried about, because it's gonna cripple your so-called 'tactic'. When this card is Fusion Summoned: I can target 1 monster my opponent controls; I must destroy that target, also destroy this card, then if both monsters were destroyed, inflict damage to my opponent equal to the ATK of the monster in the GY that was targeted by this effect," He gave motioned his left arm (with the Duel Disk) about, "By taking out my own 'Ignition Beast Volcannon', I'm gonna take your friggin' 'Morphtronic Radion' out!"
'Ignition Beast Volcannon' let loose a roar before exploding in a huge ball of fire, which claimed the life of 'Morphtronic Radion'. Seeing as his monster had an ATK of 1000, David was forced to take 1000 damage (LP: 2000 → 1000).
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! How was that?!" laughed Vincent, "Without 'Morphtronic Radion', your 'Morphtronic Boarden's' 2800 DEF…will return to being just 1800 DEF!"
'Morphtronic Boarden's' DEF dropped like it had been pointed out (DEF: 2800 → 1800). Without its added DEF to survive an attack, David's monster was now a sitting duck for 'Dark Strike Fighter'.
"Battle!" yelled Vincent, entering the Battle Phase, "'Dark Strike Fighter', send that weakling 'Morphtronic Boarden' all the way to the junkyard!"
'Dark Strike Fighter' obeyed, firing a barrage of explosives at 'Morphtronic Boarden', destroying the weaker monster in an explosion. Luckily, David took no damage since his monster was in Defense Position.
"And there's more!" As Vincent spoke some more, he pointed to his face-down card, "Face-down card, open!"
The Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself to be…
"I activate a Continuous Trap, 'Call of the Haunted'! I must activate this card by targeting 1 monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target in Attack Position," explained Vincent, taking a card ('Ignition Beast Volcannon') from his GY and holding it out, "Resurrect, 'Ignition Beast Volcannon'!"
On cue, 'Ignition Beast Volcannon' reappeared on the field (Level: 6/ATK: 2300/DEF: 1600).
"Since he brought it back during the Battle Phase, it can still attack," thought Lisa, "If Vincent's attack is successful, David's LP will be wiped out!"
Back on the field…
"Oh my friggin' God, I've been waiting far too long for this moment!" jeered Vincent, "The 'Level-up King' is about to regain his lost momentum, ladies and gentlemen! 'Ignition Beast Volcannon', attack directly!"
'Ignition Beast Volcannon' obeyed, firing off a large barrage of explosives towards a seemingly defenseless David.
"I'm the winner, robo-boy!" cackled Vincent.
"Wrong!" interrupted David, "I'm not going to lose to you like this!" He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "Reverse card, open! 'Morphtronics, Scramble', activate!"
The face-down card flipped up and revealed itself.
"When an opponent's monster declares a direct attack while I control no monsters: I must target the attacking monster; I must negate the attack, and if I do, Special Summon 1 'Morphtronic' monster from my hand."
As "Dark Strike Fighter's' attack was about to collide with David, a barrier formed around and protected him from being defeated. From there, David took a card from his hand and showed it.
"With your attack negated, I'll Special Summon this 'Morphtronic' monster," said David, turning the card over and revealing it to be… "'Morphtronic Magnen'!"
Appearing onto the field was a large, blue, U-shaped magnet-like monster (Level: 3/ATK: 800/DEF: 800).
"Thank God…" whispered Lisa, deeply relieved her friend was still in the duel.
Vincent, however, was not happy about David's survival at all.
"Damn it…" The spiky black-haired young man whispered, before he started stomping the ground in a tantrum, "Damn it! Damn it! Dammit! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" He stopped with the stomping and fumed, "Fine, so you get to live for another turn! I can live with that."
"Sure," groaned David dryly, rolling his eyes. He then drew a card, "It's my turn!"
Turn Four: David Xadashi (LP: 4000)
Deck: 51
Current Hand (1): "Pot of Greed"
On cue, the 'Pot of Greed' Spell card materialized face-up on the field.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Pot of Greed'!" began David, drawing two more cards, "I must draw 2 cards."
His drawn cards were 'Damage Eraser' (Trap Card) and 'Morphtronic Celfon' (Effect Monster Card). Nodding, David held one of the cards ('Morphtronic Celfon') out to show the opponent.
"Here's my next card…" As he spoke hard, David placed the card onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "'Morphtronic Celfon'!"
Appearing onto the field was the large yellow cellphone, which changed into robotic humanoid form (Level: 1/ATK: 100/DEF: 100).
"I activate its Attack Position effect!" continued David, as an enlarged image of the 'Morphtronic Celfon' Effect Monster Card loomed in the background, "Once per turn, during my Main Phase: I can roll a six-sided die, excavate that many cards from the top of my Deck, and if I do, Special Summon 1 excavated Level 4 or lower 'Morphtronic' monster, ignoring its Summoning conditions, also shuffle the rest into the Deck."
From there, a light flashed on 'Morphtronic Celfon's' keypad before rapidly changing numbers. Eventually, the light slowed down and stopped on the number '6', much to Vincent's dismay.
"A six!" rejoiced David, drawing the top six cards of his Deck and looking them over. The cards were 'Morphtronic Monitron' (Trap Card) , 'Morphtronic Remoten' (Tuner Monster Card), 'Morphtronic Clocken' (Effect Monster Card), 'Morphtronic Forcefield' (Trap Card), 'Gadget Hauler' (Effect Monster Card) and 'Morphtronic Accelerator' (Spell Card). One card he was waiting for was amongst those revealed cards.
"I've picked up what I need," grinned David, holding the card ('Morphtronic Remoten'), "The Tuner monster, 'Morphtronic Remoten'!"
Appearing onto the field was a white remote control which grew limbs and a robotic face on its screen (Level: 3/ATK: 300/DEF: 1200).
"I activate 'Morphtronic Remoten's' Attack Position effect!" announced David, "Once per turn: I can target 1 'Morphtronic' monster in my GY; I must banish that target, and if I do, add 1 'Morphtronic' monster with the same Level as the target from my Deck to my hand!" He then took a card ('Morphtronic Boarden') from his GY and let it fade away into oblivion as another card ejected from the middle of his Deck (which he took), "I'll banish 'Morphtronic Boarden' and add 'Morphtronic Datatron' into my hand. Now, however, the stage is set!"
"Stage? Yeah, I know that too well," thought Vincent.
"My Level 3 'Morphtronic Remoten' tunes Level 3 'Morphtronic Magnen' and Level 1 'Morphtronic Celfon'!" called David.
'Morphtronic Remoten' turned into three Synchro Rings, to which both 'Morphtronic Celfon' and 'Morphtronic Magnen' flew into while becoming orbs of light (one for the former, and three for the latter) as David started a Summon Chant.
"Docking strength with courage to protect the world's peace!" chanted David, as the symbols 3 + 1 + 3 = 7 were shown briefly just before the four orbs of light within the trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Envoy of love and justice, 'Power Tool Dragon'!"
Appearing out of the beam of light was the yellow, robotic dragon (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2500).
"Grr… 'Power Tool Dragon'," Vincent muttered to himself, "While weaker than 'Dark Strike Fighter', it's still going to give me trouble starting now."
"I activate 'Power Tool's' first effect!" began David, as his Deck randomly got shuffled before stopping automatically, "Once per turn, during my Main Phase: I can add 1 random Equip Spell from my Deck to my hand."
A card slipped from the middle of the Deck, which he took and looked at and smiled.
"And why are you grinning all about, sucker?" snorted Vincent.
Still smiling over what his random Equip Spell was, David slotted his added card into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk and continued with his turn.
"Equip Spell, 'Double Tool C&D', activate!" exclaimed David, as a new weapon appeared on 'Power Tool Dragon's' right hand, "I must equip only to a 'Power Tool Dragon' or Level 4 or higher Machine 'Morphtronic' monster I control. While equipped…"
He went over two big effects written on the Spell Card in-question:
-"During my turn: The equipped monster gains 1000 ATK. If it attacks, I must negate the effects of the attack target during that Battle Phase!"
-"During my opponent's turn: My opponent's monsters cannot target monsters for attacks, except the equipped monster!"
"Dammit!" recoiled Vincent, "Because it's your turn, 'Power Tool Dragon' is going to gain 1000 ATK!"
Vincent was right; 'Power Tool Dragon' became stronger (ATK: 2300 → 3300).
"Go, 'Power Tool Dragon'!" commanded David, entering the Battle Phase, "Crafty Break!"
'Power Tool Dragon' obeyed, diving forward with its new buzzsaw weapon on its arm. Striking at 'Dark Strike Fighter', the enemy monster exploded from its destruction, and Vincent tried to shield himself from the explosion's backlash as he lost some LP (LP: 2200 → 1500).
"'Dark Strike Fighter' has been destroyed!" declared David triumphantly, before taking a card from his hand and slotting it into a Spell & Trap Zone on his Duel Disk, "I Set one card and end my turn."
A face-down card materialized on the field behind 'Power Tool Dragon', whose ATK then returned to being normal (ATK: 3300 → 2300).
"The first effect of 'Double Tool C&D' has worn off, but now its second effect begins, Vincent, and it will more than make up for the ATK bonus being lost! 'Power Tool Dragon' is now the only monster you can attack," continued David, as Vincent's eyes twitched, "And there's a second, more deadly effect I wish to tell you…" Focus went towards the face-up 'Double Tool C&D' Spell Card, "At the end of the Damage Step, if the equipped monster battled an opponent's monster: I must destroy that opponent's monster!"
(outside…)
Outside the warehouse, Shani was busy looking over his Deck for his upcoming duel while listening to the conversation going inside on Orga's special laptop. He could hear Vincent snarling incoherently, as though he was frustrated and not dueling very well.
"So, Vincent doesn't seem to be faring well against David?" Shani was telling himself, "He'd better get his act together, since the nerd needs to be defeated in order for my plan to work!"
(inside…)
Back inside the warehouse…
"Bastard! I'm not going to be beaten by you again!" hollered Vincent in hatred, before drawing a card, "It's my turn! For this turn, I'm gonna pull all stops and show you the rest of my new cards!"
Turn Five: Vincent Stevens (LP: 1500)
Deck: 50
Current Hand (1): "Card of Sanctity"
His drawn card was the 'Card of Sanctity' Spell Card. It was handy, but it would also mean lending David a helping hand. Without any other choice, Vincent held the drawn card ('Card of Sanctity') out to show the opponent.
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Card of Sanctity'!" began Vincent, "Each player draws until they have 6 cards in their hand."
"You would allow for me, your most hated enemy, to refresh my hand?" joked David, drawing five cards, "How very considerate of you."
"I'm not doing it for 'you', I'm doing it for 'me'!" snapped Vincent, drawing six cards. He noticed that his new hand contained 'Neo Flamvell Lady', 'Flamvell Counter', 'Rekindling', 'Flamvell Archer', 'Polymerization', and 'Synchro Ejection', "And with this new hand, I plan to completely crush you, robo-boy!"
David awaited to see what else would be played.
"Now, from my hand, I'll activate a second copy of 'Polymerization'!" continued Vincent, just as another copy of the 'Polymerization' Spell Card materialized face-up on the field. He then took and held another card out ('Neo Flamvell Lady'), "This time, I'm gonna fuse the 'Ignition Beast Volcannon' on my field with the 'Neo Flamvell Lady' in my hand!"
The 'Polymerization' Spell Card flipped face-up and revealed itself, while briefly appearing on the field was a woman made completely of fire.
"Fuse together! Show my opponent a fiery Hell!"
Both 'Ignition Beast Volcannon' and 'Neo Flamvell Lady' were absorbed into the face-up 'Polymerization' Spell Card and, as a result of it, started fusing together. The face-up 'Call of the Haunted' Trap Card also shattered into shards of glass since the monster Special Summoned by it had left the field.
"She who wields the flame, ignite the blazing inferno within the mechanical heart of the flying machine of death!" chanted Vincent, before bringing both hands together as an explosion of fire ensued in the background, "Fusion Summon! Appear now, 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird'!"
Appearing out of a blazing fire and onto the field, was a huge, bird-like creature made of fire with metal-like armor (Level: 8/ATK: 2800/DEF: 2300).
"This is another of my new monsters!" boasted Vincent, "And using its effect, I'm gonna take you down!" As he explained the effect, focus went onto his field and especially towards 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird', "Once per turn, during my Main Phase: I can inflict 300 damage to my opponent for each card on the field. This card cannot attack during the turn I activate this effect," He smiled and went on as ever so smugly, "Oh, but guess what? There are four cards on the field, and you only have 1000 LP left."
From there, 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird' let loose a powerful blast of fire from its mouth with the intent of roasting David alive. The fire blast soon slammed onto David's whole field, making it seem like Vincent succeeded in burning David to the bone.
"Oh no…" thought Lisa, closing her eyes while looking away in devastation.
Vincent, meanwhile, was smiling as though he won the duel. But as the flames died down, there was a face-up, activated Trap Card called 'Damage Eraser'. And, most importantly, standing behind the hologram of the card, with a smile on his own face and more LP than before, was David Xadashi (LP: 2200).
"WHAT?!" screamed Vincent, "You're still standing?! And…what's that card of yours?"
"It's a Trap Card called 'Damage Eraser'," explained David, "When I would take damage from an opponent's card effect: I must gain an equal amount of LP instead. The 1200 damage I would have taken from 'Blaze Fenix's' effect was instead added to my LP," His smile then became more taunting and cold, "I hate to have to say this about you, but your dueling is sloppy, 'Level-up King'!"
Nearby, Lisa couldn't help but laugh over David's stinging, sarcastic comment about Vincent. Speaking of whom, the spiky black-haired young man became further infuriated over being mocked. No matter what, he (Vincent) was going to defeat David and avenge his (again Vincent) injured pride as both a duelist and as the 'Level-up King'.
"You won't be laughing anymore when I'm through with you, robo-boy!" roared Vincent, before holding another card out, "I activate the Spell Card, 'Rekindling'! I must Special Summon from my GY as many FIRE monsters as possible with 200 DEF, but banish them during the End Phase of this turn," A fire seemed to start on his field, although it meant more monsters were going to show themselves shortly, "Show yourselves, 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog' and 'Neo Flamvell Lady'!"
From there, as the flames died down, the two 'Flamvell' monsters returned to the field.
"Here comes my final new monster!" bragged Vincent, before sweeping his left arm (with the Duel Disk), "My Level 3 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog' tunes Level 4 'Neo Flamvell Lady'!"
As the command was given, 'Neo Flamvell Hedgehog' turned itself into three fiery Synchro Rings, which hovered above 'Neo Flamvell Lady' before lowering and engulfing it as Vincent was heard booming a Summon Chant throughout.
"Deep from within the caverns at the center of the earth, engulf the world with your ancient blaze which will never extinguish!" chanted Vincent, as the symbols 4 + 3 = 7 were shown briefly just before 'Neo Flamvell Lady' within the flaming trio of Synchro Rings turned into a massive pillar of fire, "Synchro Summon! Explode, 'Ancient Flamvell Deity'!"
Exploding out of the pillar of fire and onto the field, was a huge, fiery being with golden armor (Level: 7/ATK: 2500/DEF: 200).
"My final new monster!" laughed Vincent, "Now, I'll activate its monster effect! If this card is Synchro Summoned: I must banish cards from my opponent's GY, up to the number of cards in their hand, and if I do, this card gains 200 ATK for each card banished by this effect," He pointed at the cards in David, but mainly the cards in his hand, "You have, let me see, six cards in your hand! You know what that means, right?"
The look on David's paled face signaled what it meant.
"Well, it looks like you finally understand your situation, right?" said Vincent darkly, before pointing at David, "With six cards in your hand, thanks to 'Card of Sanctity' helping you out, I get to check your GY and banish up to six different cards from there. Actually, scratch that, I already know what cards in your GY I'm gonna banish!" As he finished his bragging, David listened carefully, "They are 'Morphtronic Radion', 'Monster Reborn', 'Gadget Driver', 'Morphtronic Magnen', 'Morphtronic Celfon', and 'Morphtronic Remoten'!"
From there, David watched as his GY started emitting white light as the six mentioned cards ejected one at a time while fading away into oblivion.
"My monsters!" he cried out.
"Now you have no more monsters to resurrect!" cracked Vincent, "And with six cards banished, my 'Ancient Flamvell Deity' gains 1200 ATK!"
'Ancient Flamvell Deity' got stronger (ATK: 2500 → 3700).
"Although I'm stronger now, I'm not finished ensuring I win this turn," insisted Vincent, before taking another card from his hand and placing it onto his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Flamvell Archer'!"
Appearing onto the field was a human male with hair and an archer's bow literally made of fire (Level: 3/ATK: 1000/DEF: 200).
"I activate 'Flamvell Archer's' special ability!" Vincent went on, as he then removed the 'Ancient Flamvell Deity' Synchro Monster Card from his Duel Disk and held it up before sending it to the GY, "Once per turn: I can Tribute 1 face-up Pyro monster I control; all face-up "Flamvell" monsters on the field gain 800 ATK until the end of this turn. Oh, and did I mention it itself can be Tributed as well?"
'Flamvell Archer' turned into an aura of fire and shot one of its arrows at 'Ancient Flamvell Deity', causing it to grow even stronger yet (ATK: 3700 → 4500).
"4500 ATK?!" cringed David.
"This is enough to destroy 'Power Tool Dragon' AND deplete your 2200 LP!" smirked Vincent, "This time, you will not live to see another turn!" He entered the Battle Phase, "'Ancient Flamvell Deity', attack 'Power Tool Dragon'! Put an end to robo-boy's dueling career!"
'Ancient Flamvell Deity' obeyed, launching a flaming fist towards 'Power Tool Dragon'.
"DAVE!" screamed Lisa in horror.
David, however, was far from being beaten, which was something Vincent did not know about.
"Vincent, your attack is reckless and careless!" The aqua blue-haired boy chastised, before holding a card ('Gadget Guard') out, "I activate the effect of the 'Gadget Guard' in my hand! During the Damage Step, when my 'Morphtronic' monster or 'Power Tool Dragon' battles an opponent's monster (Quick Effect): I can send this card from my hand to the GY; until the end of this turn, my monster gains 500 ATK, and if it does, it is unaffected by my opponent's card effects."
A mechanical monster resembling 'Gadget Driver' (but with more of a defensive build) appeared on the field briefly before combining with 'Power Tool Dragon', causing it to grow stronger (ATK: 2300 → 2800).
"Tch! Your monster can't withstand 'Ancient Flamvell Deity'!" reminded Vincent.
"And this is also where 'Power Tool Dragon's' second effect kicks in," As David spoke, he held up his 'Double Tool C&D' Spell Card before sending it to his GY, "If this card would be destroyed while equipped with an Equip Spell(s), I can send 1 of those cards to the GY instead."
'Ancient Flamvell Deity' punched at 'Power Tool Dragon', who recoiled but managed to hang on.
"Heh! Your monster might be protected from total destruction, but your LP are NOT protected!" countered Vincent, "You're gonna take 1700 damage!"
David, glowing red, grunted a bit in pain as major damage was sustained (LP: 2200 → 500). Very quickly, two face-down cards materialized on the field behind 'Ancient Flamvell Deity'.
"I Set two cards and end my turn," finished Vincent, "And with that, the effects of my 'Flamvell Archer' and your 'Gadget Guard' wear off respectively."
'Ancient Flamvell Deity' (ATK: 4500 → 3700) and 'Power Tool Dragon' (ATK: 2800 → 2300) lost their momentary power bonuses.
"So, tell me, robo-boy…" Vincent pressed maliciously, "Are you ready to admit that I truly am the better duelist than you? If you do, I 'promise' to make the humiliation end more quickly."
"Vincent!" yelled David angrily.
Vincent raised an eyebrow, curious to hear what his enemy had to say—although it was likely to be stupid and a waste of time.
"You are undoubtedly the worst excuse for a human being I have ever had the displeasure of knowing!" ranted David, speaking nothing but the cold, hard truth and giving his bully a harsh reality check, "Since our first encounter, you've been nothing but a cruel, selfish, condescending, and outright sadistic brute! In fact, it was thanks to people like you that, for a long time afterward, I was very, very reluctant to make any sort of new friends outside of Sean-kun and Janice!" Images of Team 4D's, Zack, Discord, the Astray trio, Mr. Kisaka, Ms. Simmons, and Lisa were then shown behind him, "However, then I met people like Fudo-san and the likes… But, most importantly, I met Lisa-chan."
He cast a quick glance at Lisa for a moment and smiled at her, causing her to smile back.
"It's thanks to them that I learned that not all people were judgmental bullies like you, and I finally managed to let go of my insecurities about me making friends, because they truly care for me just for who I am as a person, and not just for my cards and powers," continued David, "As for you, Vincent?" As he continued to be critical about his bully, Vincent just listened with boredom, "You're still nothing more than the same pathetic loser who has to torment others just to feel good about himself," He shook his head in disappointment, "You're just sad."
Vincent scowled in denial. David then prepared to draw a card and begin his final turn, knowing that he had to end this duel as fast as he could so he could free Lisa and then get the police over to the warehouse in order to give Vincent the charges he deserved.
"This is the last turn!" declared David, drawing a card with a Destiny Draw, "Draw!"
Turn Four: David Xadashi (LP: 4000)
Deck: 42
Current Hand (6): "Morphtronic Datatron", "Morphtronic Bind", "Synchro Return", "Gadget Arms", "Morphtronic Mix-up", and "Morphtronic Smartfon"
His drawn card was the 'Morphtronic Smartfon' Tuner Monster Card.
"It's here!" thought David, adding the card into his hand and taking another one ('Morphtronic Datatron') out and placing it onto his Duel Disk, "I Summon 'Morphtronic Datatron'!"
Appearing onto the field was a large, orange lighter, which morphed into a robot (Level: 3/ATK: 1200/DEF: 600).
"I activate 'Morphtronic Datatron's' Attack Position effect! Once per turn: I can Tribute 1 monster; I must inflict 600 damage to my opponent," explained David, before holding his right hand out, "By Tributing 'Datatron', I will inflict 600 damage to you, Vincent!"
'Morphtronic Datatron' turned into a ball of fire and shot towards Vincent, striking him and making him wince from his LP getting lower (LP: 1500 → 900).
"That was step one on my road to winning though," As David spoke, he made a card ('Morphtronic Datatron') eject from his GY and placed another card ('Morphtronic Smartfon') onto a Monster Zone on his Duel Disk, "Next, I'll Special Summon 'Morphtronic Smartfon' from my hand by banishing 'Morphtronic Datatron' from my GY!"
Appearing onto the field was a large smartphone, which changed into its robot form (Level: 1/ATK: 100/DEF: 100).
"Crap…" complained Vincent, "I went out of my way to banish every monster in your GY so that you couldn't summon 'Smartfon' this turn. But since you managed to get 'Datatron' into your GY, you were able to banish it and then bring out your annoying monster…"
"Next, I'll activate 'Power Tool's' first effect once more!" declared David, before announcing his monster's effect name, "Power Search!"
From there, a random card ejected from David's Deck, which he took and noticed was the 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card. All of a sudden, Vincent snickered quietly before bursting into loud, mocking laughter.
"I fail to see the humor behind your chuckling, Vincent," deadpanned David.
"That's because I'm well aware you're trying to Synchro Summon the very monster that beat me the first time!" answered Vincent, after getting his laughter under control, "This time, I'm not going to let you bring out 'Life Stream Dragon'!" He then pressed a button on his Duel Disk, "I activate a Trap, 'Synchro Ejection'!"
The first face-down card flipped up and revealed itself.
"What?!" panicked David.
"A secret weapon of mine, you could say," teased Vincent, "I must target 1 face-up Synchro Monster my opponent controls; I must banish it, then my opponent draws 1 card."
From there, 'Power Tool Dragon' was sucked into a dimensional hole, causing it to vanish into oblivion.
"'Power Tool'!" cried David.
"Without 'Power Tool', Dave can't bring out 'Life Stream'!" added Lisa.
David, disappointed over his monster being gone, then drew his card, but then his disappointment became outright relief when he saw what the card was. It was a Spell Card called 'Magnet Reverse'.
"This card can be of big help," thought David, before looking up and glaring firmly at Vincent, "Sorry, Vincent, but my 'Power Tool Dragon' won't stay banished for much longer. And I have you to thank for letting me draw this special card of mine."
Vincent was rather taken aback by this comment. Then, to prove a point, David held his drawn card ('Magnet Reverse') out to show his opponent.
"I activate a Quick-Play Spell!" While saying that, David slotted the card into his Duel Disk, "'Magnet Reverse'!"
The mentioned Spell Card materialized face-up on the field in the same spot where 'Power Tool Dragon' had been standing before getting banished.
"I must target 1 of my Machine or Rock monsters, that is banished or is in your GY, that cannot be Normal Summoned/Set; I must Special Summon it," explained David, "'Power Tool' is a Machine monster, so I will target and bring it back to my field!"
"I think not," interrupted Vincent.
"Huh?"
"I have other ways to prevent you from getting 'Power Tool Dragon' back!" The spiky black-haired young man pointed out, and then pressed another button on his Duel Disk, "And this is one of them… I activate a Counter Trap, 'Flamvell Counter'!"
The remaining Set card flipped face-up and revealed itself.
"When a Spell/Trap Card is activated: I must banish 1 FIRE monster with 200 DEF from my GY; I must negate the activation, and if I do, destroy it," said Vincent smugly, before he smiled like a shark (again). He then took a card ('Flamvell Archer') from his GY and showed it to his opponent as it faded away into oblivion, "By banishing 'Flamvell Archer' from my GY, your 'Magnet Reverse' is negated and destroyed!"
From there, the face-up 'Magnet Reverse' Spell Card shorted out and shattered into shards of glass. Vincent continued to smile, wanting to see his opponent squirm and beg for mercy before being defeated. However, David was not squirming at all; rather, he was smiling as well.
"What the hell?" gasped Vincent, "You should be cowering before me by this point! Why are you looking so confident? What the hell's going on?"
"That's because your strategy to prevent me from Synchro Summoning 'Life Stream Dragon' is sound and effective… However, it did not disrupt 'all' of my plans to bring 'Power Tool Dragon' back," replied David, taking another card from his hand, "You see, I have one more card capable of bringing back my banished monster," He turned the card over and revealed it to be… "'Synchro Return'!"
"Oh, bollocks!" swore Vincent, using an Irish/British expletive referring to the testicles, "Not that card!"
On cue, the 'Synchro Return' Spell Card materialized face-up on David's field.
"I must target 1 banished Synchro Monster: I must Special Summon it to my field, but banish it during the End Phase of this turn," explained David, "Of course, there is only one monster I need to pick and use…" He raised his right hand into the air, "…and that's 'Power Tool Dragon'!"
From there, a portal formed near the warehouse ceiling, which reopened and 'Power Tool Dragon' flew out and returned to the field (Level: 7/ATK: 2300/DEF: 2500).
"The advantage is mine once again, Vincent!" hollered David, before giving the ultimate command, "My Level 1 'Morphtronic Smartfon' tunes Level 7 'Power Tool Dragon'!"
'Power Tool Dragon' zipped into the sky (or near the ceiling of the warehouse), while 'Morphtronic Smartfon' turned itself into a single Synchro Ring. As that was going on, David began a Summon Chant…
"The courage and power to protect the future of the planet is a revolution!" chanted David.
'Power Tool Dragon' flew into the single Synchro Ring, turning into seven orbs of light in the process. During which, the symbols 7 + 1 = 8 were shown. Pretty soon, the seven orbs turned into a massive beam of light as something happened within it.
"Synchro Summon!" thundered David, "Evolve, 'Life Stream Dragon'!"
Within the beam of light, 'Power Tool Dragon's' mechanical body became flesh and blood—although it retained the chisel-like weapon that 'Power Tool Dragon' had on its left arm. Now emerging from the beam and flying through the whole warehouse, 'Life Stream Dragon' soon stopped in midair to pose for battle (Level: 8/ATK: 2900/DEF: 2400).
"With 'Life Stream's' arrival, comes the final end of your crimes!" continued David, as his LP became replenished (LP: 500 → 4000), "The first effect activates… When this card is Synchro Summoned: I can make my LP become 4000. And for the second effect… I take no effect damage."
Scared witless, Vincent looked as though he pooped himself (even though he did not). Quickly though, he recovered and thought he could hold off 'Life Stream Dragon' and win the duel this time around. However…
"I know what you're thinking," The voice of David cut in, causing Vincent to look up. The aqua blue-haired boy was shaking his head scornfully, "However, I'm afraid the duel is about to end in your defeat."
"My defeat?" repeated Vincent.
"My last card!" From there, David made the 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage' Spell Card materialize face-up on the field behind 'Life Stream Dragon', "Equip Spell, 'Dragon's Tranquil Barrage', activate!"
"What?!" wailed Vincent, "That's a card I've never seen before!"
"It's a very rare and powerful card," explained David, before going over his card's first and second effects respectively, "I must equip only to a Level 8 or higher Dragon Synchro Monster. The equipped monster can attack all monsters your opponent controls, once each, during each Battle Phase, but it must attack the monster with the highest ATK first. When it battles an opponent's monster, it gains ATK equal to half of its current ATK during damage calculation only."
Now Vincent was really scared; with 'Life Stream Dragon' able to attack all of his monsters AND gain ATK equal to its current ATK, his loss was all guaranteed. All he could do about it right now, was let out a scream of rage.
"Battle!" declared David, entering the Battle Phase at long last, "'Life Stream Dragon', begin your final attack upon Vincent-kun's monsters!"
'Life Stream Dragon' roared and began charging its signature attack. Now at the Damage Step, it then gained ATK based on half of its current ATK (LP: 2900 → 4350).
"Life's Beauty Howl!" The voice of David commanded.
'Life Stream Dragon' obeyed, firing its charged attack, overwhelming 'Ancient Flamvell Deity' first (it had the highest ATK), and then overwhelming 'Blaze Fenix, the Burning Bombardment Bird'. Finally, both enemy monsters exploded massively. While David was able to brace himself and stay on his feet from the backlash of the explosions, Lisa, still tied up to her chair, was accidentally knocked over. Vincent, meanwhile, was shown trying to brace himself and stay on his feet despite the powerful backlash, but was eventually thrown across the area as he yelled in defeat and his LP finally ran out (LP: 900 → 0).
DUEL RESULTS: David Xadashi wins!
As the smoke from the explosion died down and the remaining holograms faded away, David briefly fell to a knee, tired but triumphant. He then looked nearby at Lisa, who had been knocked over from the backlash of his final attack.
"Lisa-chan!" exclaimed David, before running over to help his pink-haired friend out. Upon reaching her, he knelt down and started untying her, "Hang on, I'll get you out of there."
Once Lisa was freed, she tried to stand back up, but stumbled on her heels and fell over.
"Take it easy, Lisa-chan," David, still kneeling, reassured, before he heard the sounds of crying, "Huh? Lisa-chan? Are… are you-?"
He then recoiled when Lisa went and hugged him tightly, shaking and sobbing. This was the first time he saw Lisa cry or show any signs of vulnerability despite her usually rock solid attitude.
"Oh, Dave! I've never been so scared in my life," whimpered Lisa, as tears streamed down her eyes, "I can stomach being groped and fondled by Vincent, but when he… he…" She closed her eyes and hiccupped slightly before exclaiming a loud, "Oh my God! I truly thought he was going to shoot me!"
Seeing the state his friend was in reminded him of his breakdown the night of the failed jailbreak. Remembering the technique his Father had used to calm him down, David simply embraced Lisa and allowed her to sob into his shoulder.
"Everything's going to be okay, Lisa-chan," soothed David, "You're safe now, and I swear I will never let something like this happen to you again."
After taking the time to calm down, the two teenagers slowly let go of each other, with Lisa whipping the remaining tears from her eyes; her usual demeanor beginning to return.
"Thanks, I really needed that," she said with a smile.
Looking off to the side slightly, Lisa then noticed something on the ground. It was the gun Vincent had threatened to shoot her with. After being sent flying, he ended up dropping it. Picking it up, Lisa stared at the weapon for a few seconds before a cold, angry look crossed her face as she and David both walked over to see Vincent, who was still lying on his back when he overheard a *CLICK* sound.
"Alright, $*#^head," hissed Lisa, aiming the gun directly at Vincent's forehead, "I'm giving you till the count of ten to tell us where you got those cards from, and who gave you the bright idea of kidnapping me! Otherwise, and I don't like the thought of doing it, 'you'll' be the one with a bullet through the head."
"You can forget it; I ain't saying a word," refused Vincent, before grinning smugly, "Besides, that gun you're holding isn't even a real weapon—it's a fake."
Silence…
"…what?" Lisa uttered in disbelief, looking at the gun.
Thinking Vincent was pulling her leg, she tried shooting him, but, alas, was only given fake clicking sounds.
"Hey, I told ya so, toots," grunted Vincent.
"He tricked us this whole time…" realized David, feeling a tad silly for letting his fear talk him into this, "Well, this is a bit awkward and embarrassing."
A shadow, meanwhile, covered the top part of Lisa's face as she started shaking. Neither Vincent nor David could tell if she was about to laugh in hysterics, or if she was building up her rage. Needless to say, it was her anger that was building up.
"You mean… that all this time… I was scared to death…OF A FAKE GUN?!" screamed Lisa, before tossing the gun away and picking up Vincent by his shirt's collar, "You lousy son-of-a-bitch! If you're not gonna talk, then I'm gonna MAKE you talk! Besides, you chose death the second you reached into my dress to fondle me when I warned you specifically to not do it!" She hurled her enemy into a nearby pile of crates, destroying them on contact, "I warned you what I was going to do to you once I was free, and I 'never' go back on my threats or promises!"
Vincent looked up from his spot, but visibly flinched when he saw a very, VERY angry Lisa approaching him with the intention of doing him harm. Even David looked very uneasy as to what was about to happen.
(outside…)
Outside the warehouse, all that was heard was Vincent's ignored protests evolving into high-pitched screams of pain.
(elsewhere…)
On the expressway, the Turbo Duel between Orga (LP: 700) and Michael (LP: 2400) was ongoing. The former controlled a monster known as 'Gladiator Beast Essedarii', and the latter had only a Set card.
"It's my turn!" announced Michael, drawing a card.
Turn ?: Michael Atlas (LP: 2400)
Deck: 46
Current Hand (4): "Cost Down", "Polymerization", "Dark Bug", and "Mad Archfiend"
His drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Mad Archfiend'.
"Continuous Trap, 'Powerful Rebirth', activate!" continued Michael, as his Set card reappeared on the field behind Wheel of Fortune, flipped face-up, and revealed itself, "I must activate this card by targeting 1 Level 4 or lower monster in my GY; I must Special Summon that target. I must increase its Level by 1 and ATK/DEF by 100," He took a card ('Flare Resonator') from his GY and placed it onto his Duel Disk, "I Special Summon the Tuner monster, 'Flare Resonator'!"
Appearing onto the field was the one member of the 'Resonator' family with the fire style—now stronger than before (Level: 4/ATK: 400/DEF: 1400).
"'Flare Resonator'?" pondered Orga.
"Then, from my hand, I'll Normal Summon 'Mad Archfiend'!" finished Michael, placing his drawn card onto his Duel Disk.
Appearing onto the field was a rather wild-looking 'Archfiend' monster with a set of jaws for its midsection (Level: 4/ATK: 1800/DEF: 0). From there, it and 'Flare Resonator' took to the dark sky.
"Level 4 'Flare Resonator' tunes Level 4 'Mad Archfiend'!" The voice of Michael began, as the above scenario played out.
Doing as it was told, 'Flare Resonator' turned itself into four Synchro Rings (would have been three, but it was now a Level 4 monster), which 'Mad Archfiend' soared into before turning into four orbs of light as Michael's most famous Summon Chant echoed throughout.
"The ruler's heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power!" chanted Michael, as the symbols 4 + 4 = 8 were shown briefly just before the four orbs within the four Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! My very soul, 'Red Dragon Archfiend'!"
Appearing out of the bursting beam of light and now flying above Wheel of Fortune, was the ever mighty 'Red Dragon Archfiend' (Level: 8/ATK: 3000/DEF: 2000).
"'Flare Resonator's' sole effect activates," The voice of Michael confessed, just as, within the sky, 'Red Dragon Archfiend' started glowing the same fiery color that 'Flare Resonator' had, "A Synchro Monster that used this card as material gains 300 ATK!"
In no time at all, 'Red Dragon Archfiend' roared and gained some more power (ATK: 3000 → 3300).
(elsewhere…)
Somewhere in Central Park, both Fudo Go and Raider raced down the road. The good thing about it being night time was there would be MUCH less people around, meaning there was a very low chance of encountering someone on the path both Duel Runners were taking by complete accident. Anyway, the Turbo Duel between Matt and Clotho was ongoing.
"With 'Infernity Doom Dragon' out and my hand being empty," bragged Clotho (LP: 2000), "it's clear I'm gonna be the winner this time around! Of course, I would have won last time had you not gotten so lucky with your draws. For now, I'll end my turn here!"
"Clotho, even you should know by now that a duel isn't over until the last card is played," reminded Matt firmly (LP: 1900), before drawing a card and starting his turn, "It's my turn!"
Turn ?: Matt Fudo (LP: 1900)
Deck: 44
Current Hand (3): "Nitro Synchron", "Final Attack", and "Level Warrior"
He noticed that his drawn card was a Monster Card known as 'Level Warrior'.
"I Special Summon 'Level Warrior'!" declared Matt, placing the card onto his Duel Runner.
Appearing onto the field was a Warrior monster decked out in a red superhero's outfit with a series of stars embroidered on it (Level: 3/ATK: 300/DEF: 600).
"If my opponent controls a monster and I control no monsters, I can Special Summon this card (from my hand) as a Level 4 monster," explained Matt, "Since you control 'Infernity Doom Dragon', I've Special Summoned 'Level Warrior' and made him into a Level 4 monster!"
'Level Warrior's' Level was changed as a result of being Special Summoned (Level: 3 → 4). Far from being done, Matt took and placed another card onto his Duel Runner.
"Next, I'll Summon the Tuner monster, 'Nitro Synchron'!" he went on.
Appearing onto the field was a pink nitro tank with yellow shoes, limbs, and a cartoonish face (Level: 2/ATK: 300/DEF: 100).
"Then, I'll activate the effect of 'Quillbolt Hedgehog'!" From there, as Matt spoke, an orange hedgehog with bolts for quills suddenly appeared on the field (Level: 2/ATK: 800/DEF: 800), "If this card is in my GY: I can Special Summon this card, but banish it when it leaves the field. I must control a Tuner to activate and to resolve this effect."
Clotho knew that this was very bad for himself, mainly because he was well aware of what was coming next…
"Level 2 'Nitro Synchron' tunes Level 4 'Level Warrior' and Level 2 'Quillbolt Hedgehog'!" announced Matt, before raising his right hand up into the air, "Let's rev it up!"
Floating into the air, 'Nitro Synchron' turned itself into two Synchro Rings, which both 'Level Warrior' and 'Quillbolt Hedgehog' soared through while their bodies became outlined with orbs of light (four for 'Level Warrior', and two for 'Quillbolt Hedgehog') as Matt echoed a Summon Chant throughout.
"Clustering wishes will become a new shining star! Become the path its light shines upon!" chanted Matt, as the symbols 4 + 2 + 2 = 8 appeared briefly just before the six orbs of light within the pair of Synchro Rings turned into a massive beam of light, "Synchro Summon! Take flight, 'Stardust Dragon'!"
Appearing from the beam of light and flying into the night sky, was the majestic-looking white/silver dragon itself (Level: 8/ATK: 2500/DEF: 2000). Needless to say, both Orga and Clotho were far from being happy with seeing 'Red Dragon Archfiend' and 'Stardust Dragon' respectively.
(elsewhere…)
Back inside the abandoned warehouse, Lisa was shown standing over Vincent, while David watched from nearby in both bemusement and amazement. In only a short period of time, Vincent Stevens, despite his massive ego and insistence on not being afraid of anything, was reduced to a sniveling mess by whatever form of violence Lisa performed to get him to speak and confess what his plan was.
"Are you going to talk to us, now?" asked Lisa sharply, still looming over her downed enemy, "Where did you get those cards, and who told you to kidnap me? If you don't speak up, I'll-!"
"Okay, okay, okay!" wailed Vincent, practically sobbing by this point, "I'll tell you everything! Just no more, I beg of you! Earlier today, I was approached and given the new cards by three young men, Orga Sabnak, Clotho Buer, and Shani Andras!"
"Those three Blue Cosmos jerks?!" recoiled Lisa, as it all started to become clear to her, "Why did they come to see you?"
"They came to me with an offer!" confessed Vincent, "They wanted to bring you, pink girl, over to their side to try and spite their girly rivals," David and Lisa both listened to the so-called plan some more, "Shani gave me the idea to kidnap you, lure robo-boy to this warehouse because they knew he likes you a lot, and then defeat him in a duel! Then he would suddenly show up and duel me in David's place, where I would deliberately lose to him so that he would 'save' you—again, the pink girl!" He continued to look both tearful and scared, "That way, you'd be so thankful that-"
"Hold it! I think that's quite enough out of you," interrupted Lisa, holding her right hand up to get her victim to become quiet, "You told us all we needed to know."
"So…does this mean I can finally leave?" peeped Vincent meekly.
"Absolutely."
The spiky black-haired young man, believing himself to be safe, sighed and started to stand back up…
*CHOP!*
…but only to be met with a surprising hard karate chop between the collarbone and neck, knocking him unconscious. Though satisfied with the little confession, Lisa still delivered that sharp chop on Vincent in revenge for violating her, threatening her with a fake gun, and basically being an annoyance all-around. Satisfied, Lisa turned and saw David giving her a weird, yet disapproving, look.
"What?" she asked defensively.
"Was that really necessary?" frowned David, "I can always just call the police to come and get him."
"I was pissed off, okay?" insisted Lisa, waving her right hand and acting as if her actions just now were no big deal, "He ruined my dress! And besides, I needed a way to release my pent up anger somehow."
David just shook his head and took out his cellphone to make a call to the police.
(outside…)
Outside the warehouse in his hiding spot, Shani, fuming over the fact Vincent lost and confessed to aiding him, Orga, and Clotho, shut off the laptop and kicked at the nearby pile of wood in a fit of anger.
"Dammit! The jig is up!" he yelled in frustration, "It was all for nothing, and it's all thanks to that idiot Vincent!"
Just then, Shani heard the warehouse doors open, and, upon grabbing the laptop and hiding out, saw both David and Lisa emerging to meet up with the police when they showed up.
"They should be here shortly," claimed David.
"Hopefully hearing this info will get the Blue Cosmos school shut down forever," added Lisa, "The less of those monsters we have to deal with, the better."
Already in a bad mood, Shani was 'not' happy to hear about this. If Vincent spoke to the police, all of Blue Cosmos would surely be in huge trouble as well, and Azrael would surely eat him and his two best friends alive for breakfast if it were humanly possible. So, while being extra sneaky and careful, Shani began finding his way inside the warehouse. Soon, Lisa and David overheard police sirens in the distance, which grew louder and louder before two police cars drove up.
"It's about time!" sighed Lisa, "Come on, let's go and get Vincent."
David nodded in agreement.
(inside…)
But when they entered the warehouse, David and Lisa were surprised to find it empty.
"Hey, he's gone!" realized David.
"But that can't be right!" gawked Lisa, "He was out cold last I checked! What the hell?!"
Two police officers then entered the warehouse, wondering where the person the two teenagers called them about was.
"Well, where is this guy you called us about?" The first (female) officer pressed.
"He 'was' down there on the floor," replied Lisa, pointing at the ground, "He was completely out like a light, but when we came back he was gone. Somebody must have snuck in and dragged him out while we were waiting for you guys to arrive."
"Without him, we have no guaranteed proof of corruption at Blue Cosmos," sighed David, before looking at the police officers, "We're sorry, I guess it was all a false alarm."
"Just in case it wasn't false, give us a brief description of the man so we can keep an eye out for him along with Sergey Volkov," The second officer (male) promised, "Meanwhile, we'll send a message to the police department in Albany to keep a closer watch on that dueling school Blue Cosmos to be on the safe side; I've been hearing some unflattering rumors about its staff and their treatment of its students… All I can say is thank heavens I talked my wife out of sending our kid there to learn how to play Duel Monsters."
Soon, the police were gone, and David and Lisa both were left alone in the warehouse as quiet as can be.
"Lisa-chan…" began David.
"Dave, just… just take me back to the hotel, please," requested Lisa, now speaking in a very frustrated manner, "I'm so upset, right now; the whole night's ruined, the dress Mayura lent me is messed up, and…I just wanna go back…"
David looked very sad.
(elsewhere…)
Back on the expressway, Michael's game winning strategy was about to go through. Orga was, for a lack of a better term, furious that he was about to suffer defeat yet again. However, he soon heard a voice coming from his Duel Runner.
"Orga! Clotho! The plan's a failure; Vincent lost to David," The voice of Shani reported, "Hurry and abort your duels!"
"What?! A failure?" exclaimed Orga, before realizing that Vincent lost the duel. After briefly swearing in dismay, he then spoke aloud and addressed his opponent, "It looks like we'll have to settle the score some other time, King!"
"Say what?!" gasped Michael, as the holograms of 'Gladiator Beast Essedarii' and 'Red Dragon Archfiend' both faded away, "You're leaving in the middle of a duel?"
DUEL RESULTS: No results
"We'll meet again," insisted Orga, before making his Calamity over a railing and vanishing into the city, "See ya later, 'Former King'!"
"Wait! Come back here!" called Michael, while stopping Wheel of Fortune near the bridge railing.
(elsewhere…)
As both Raider and Fudo Go exited from Central Park into upper Manhattan, Clotho had overheard from Shani that the plan they crafted along with Orga had failed—and he only had one person to blame for it.
"Why that worthless dumbass-!" hissed Clotho, likely speaking about Vincent.
Although he was not aware of the plan (and likely never would), Matt simply continued with his game winning strategy…
"I activate the Spell Card, 'Final Attack', from my hand!" The dirty blonde-haired young man announced, slotting a card ('Final Attack') into his Duel Runner. The mentioned Spell Card then materialized face-up on the field in-front of Fudo Go, "I must target 1 face-up monster I control; I must make the ATK of that monster I control become double its current ATK, but it cannot attack directly, and is destroyed during the End Phase of this turn," He pointed upward at the roaring 'Stardust Dragon', "By targeting my 'Stardust', its ATK will become doubled for the rest of this turn!"
From there, 'Stardust Dragon' became even stronger than normal (ATK: 2500 → 5000). Clotho flinched, but then realized he didn't have to duel against Matt anymore (at least for the time being).
"Unfortunately for you, I have to cut this rematch of ours short!" called Clotho.
"Cut it short?" pondered Matt, watching as both 'Stardust Dragon' and 'Infernity Doom Dragon' both faded away, "H-Hey! What the-?!"
DUEL RESULTS: No results
"But don't think this is the end," continued Clotho, "We'll duel again at some point, and when that happens your champion's crown will become all mine! Try to look forward to it."
Upon pressing a button on the dashboard, he turned his Raider into its MA Mode and used its newly gained speed to make his escape without telling Matt anything about what he and Orga were planning.
"Just what was that all about?" Matt asked himself, after stopping Fudo Go for a quick breather, "Before I could win the duel, he suddenly just gave up and fled?"
(elsewhere…)
"What were they up to?" wondered Michael, speaking about both Orga AND Clotho, "Those animals wanted to duel us for a reason, but what is the reason?"
Unfortunately, without an answer from either Clotho or Orga, they would never know what was going on. Matt and Michael then revved their respective Duel Runners and rode off for home.
(elsewhere…)
Inside the hotel room the Orb representatives were staying at, the Astray trio, Mr. Kisaka, and Ms. Simmons all were watching some TV while waiting for Lisa's return from her date with David.
"I hope Lisa and Dave are having a great time!" squealed Asagi.
"I can't wait to hear all the details about the date!" added Juri.
"Man, Lisa's so lucky to have found the perfect boy!" finished Mayura.
"You three certainly are supportive of Lisa and David both getting together, aren't you?" giggled Ms. Simmons.
Just then, before Mr. Kisaka could add something in, the door opened up and David led Lisa inside.
"They're back so soon?" wondered Asagi, but, nonetheless, happy. When she, her friends, and her teachers got a look at both teenagers, that happiness immediately evaporated, "Lisa!"
"The dress!" cried Mayura.
"What happened to the both of you?!" gasped Mr. Kisaka.
The remaining Orb representatives saw that Lisa's dress and hair both were shown to be messed up, while she and David also looked very glum.
"It's a long story," groaned Lisa.
"Most of which we'd rather not disclose, right now," agreed David, "All I can say about it, is that our first date was a bit of a bust."
There was a long, disappointed silence from both parties in the room. Later on, while Lisa was in the bathroom taking a shower to try and clean the places she had been groped by Vincent and more, David sat in the living room with the other Orb representatives and explained what had happened (without going over the bigger, dirtier details) while apologizing the best he could as though the bad first date was all his fault. Thankfully, the remaining Orb representatives all reassured him that he rescued Lisa and got her home safely, and that was all that should matter. And despite the dress she lent to Lisa being ruined, Mayura was telling David that it was perfectly fine.
"Look, it's no problem at all, Dave," The tomboyish, red-haired young woman was insisting, "I'm not mad about it at all. The dress can always be dry cleaned and fixed up."
"I'm glad to hear that," said David, "No doubt Lisa-chan will be, too."
"Just remember that lives are far more important than a first date being ruined, David," cut in Mr. Kisaka, "We're all very relieved you two have returned here unhurt."
Pretty soon, the shower could be heard stopping, and, after a few additional minutes, Lisa, with her hair roughly dried and unkept and also wearing her pyjamas, emerged from the bathroom looking much happier than she did when arriving back at the hotel with David.
"Ahhh, that feels so much better," she sighed happily, before noticing David standing up, "Dave? Where are you going?"
"I'm heading back to the hotel I'm staying at," replied David in sadness, "I completely understand if you don't wish to see or talk to me ever again after what happened tonight…" He closed his eyes, "After all, my tormentor went after you, meaning I got you involved in my feud with him."
"David…" whispered Ms. Simmons sympathetically.
Before David could begin leaving…
"Don't be an idiot!" objected Lisa, who then grabbed onto her friend's right forearm and forced him to turn and stare into her eyes, "You really have no idea how thankful I am that you came to save me. As a matter of fact, I want you to stay in my life for at least a little bit longer."
"R-Really?" David asked, now sounding hopeful, "Do you mean it?"
"Yes, I really do mean it," smiled Lisa truthfully, "You know we're friends."
David felt bashful, "Then…" he said shyly, deciding to come up with an idea, "…perhaps you'd maybe like to unwind and watch some TV in this hotel room for a little while, just the two of us? As some sort of, you know, 'make-up' date?"
"You know what?" accepted Lisa, before grabbing and holding onto David's hand, "That sounds like a great idea, and a hell of a better first date idea rather than going out to dinner."
"I'm glad you think so."
Almost immediately after that was said, the three Astray girls blushed and went "Aww!" over the cute scene.
"Alright, alright, come along, you three," requested Mr. Kisaka with a light chuckle, looking at Asagi, Mayura, and Juri, "We'd better leave these two along for at least a little while."
Ms. Simmons nodded in agreement, although she couldn't help but admire the growing relationship between David and Lisa; it almost reminded her of when she first met her ex-husband many years ago. Soon, everyone except David and Lisa had left the room, leaving the two teenagers alone for at least a little while.
"Um… Lisa-chan—err, I mean Lisa," said David, calling Lisa without adding an honorific to her name, "Before we start searching for a movie to watch, I…want to ask you something important… Are you…really happy being with me?"
"What, are you crazy?" scoffed Lisa playfully, before lightly punching the aqua blue-haired boy's upper left arm, "Of course, I'm happy being with you. Sure, we got off on the wrong foot in the stadium lobby, but that's all in the past—I mean, just look where we are, now?"
David smiled, but then faltered a little because he was still new to the world of romance. He then tried to extend a handshake, but instead, to his surprise, Lisa leaned in and gave him a light peck on the cheek. Blushing, David brought his hand to his cheek, having never been kissed by another girl that wasn't either his Mother or younger sister before. Lisa simply giggled, but then she and David both overheard some barely audible gasps of joy.
"Huh?" wondered David.
"'Huh' right," agreed Lisa, before looking towards the door leading into the hallway and saw it was not closed all the way, "That's weird, the door's not fully closed. Ms. Simmons, Mr. Kisaka, Asagi, Mayura, and Juri all left the room mere seconds ago," She looked rather thoughtful, if also naive, about the door, "Wouldn't they have closed the door all the—wait a second…" The answer hit her like a ton of bricks, and not exactly in a good way (to her), "ASAGI! MAYURA! JURI!"
The door opened more fully and revealed the Astray trio, who had been listening in on the conversation and watching the kiss Lisa gave David. As expected, the three young women were absolutely giddy and overjoyed with what they just saw.
"Oh my gosh! I can't believe you kissed Dave, Lisa!" beamed Juri.
"We're so happy for you!" added Mayura.
"It's about time you did that!" teased Asagi.
Lisa humorously seethed, "You three were spying?!" she freaked out, blushing a little bit as an anger pressure mark appeared on the left side of her head, "What the hell is the matter with you?! Dave and I are on a date in case you haven't noticed!"
"Actually, we weren't spying," corrected Juri jokingly, "We were actually coming back to get our Decks and Duel Disks. When we opened the door, we came upon you kissing Dave on the cheek. True story!"
"Is the talk of marriage going to be next?" came from Asagi, while Mayura giggled, "If so, can we three serve as your bridesmaids?"
That did it.
"GET OUT!" screeched Lisa, finally losing her temper. She started charging at the three Astray girls in an attempt to throw them out of the room, "GET OUT, OR I'LL KICK YOU THREE OUT—'MY' WAY!"
Asagi, Mayura, and Juri each laughed playfully as they quickly ducked out of the way of Lisa's raging charge, picked up their Duel Disks and respective cards, and then they escaped the hotel room and their hot-headed friend's wrath. David, meanwhile, stood nearby and actually laughed a little bit himself, because he found the scene to be pretty funny and light-hearted. All-in-all, it was a happy ending for him and his new friends.
(elsewhere…)
In an alleyway somewhere in Time Square, Shani had managed to hurl Vincent (despite his size and weight) onto the ground near the feet belonging to both Orga and Clotho, who had their arms folded and very displeased looks on their respective faces.
"That was too close a call," scolded Shani, leering in anger, "You almost got our actions exposed to the authorities! More importantly, you failed to keep your end of the bargain!"
Vincent looked up, but had no strength to respond back.
"Do you remember the promise?" put in Orga, watching as Vincent got onto his hands and knees before looking up slightly, "You were supposed to help get Lisa onto our side. To that end, we gave you some powerful cards in order to help you defeat David in a duel."
"But what do we hear?" sneered Clotho, with his eyes narrowed, "We find out that you not only lost to the nerd, but you also confessed the entire scheme at the same time!"
"It's not my fault! You guys should be blaming that psychotic pink-haired chick, not me!" protested Vincent pathetically, "I can't believe you three actually wanted someone like 'her' in your ranks! She's practically a monster in a teenage girl's body!"
"Shut up!" snarled Orga, roughly kicking Vincent's Duel Disk and causing it to malfunction and spill out the entire Deck.
"You're absolutely pathetic!" insulted Shani, before stomping on the 'Flying Fortress SKY FIRE' Effect Monster Card with his left foot.
"More than that, you're nothing but a born loser," agreed Clotho, before stomping on the "Dark Strike Fighter' Synchro Monster Card with his (Clotho) right foot when Vincent tried reaching over to grab it, "We hope you rot!" He then turned to leave the alleyway, "Come on, you two, let's leave this heap of trash lying around for someone else to pick up."
With that being said, the three Bio-CPU boys departed for the Plaza Hotel, knowing that they would be going with their headmaster to a library to look up more info on the Crimson Dragon in the morning. Once he was alone, Vincent, left completely embarrassed and disgraced, stayed on his hands and knees for what seemed like forever as he looked at both of his ruined ace cards. Eventually, he clenched his right hand into a fist and slammed it into the alley wall.
"Damn you, robo-boy… Goddamn you to hell!" hissed Vincent in complete hatred of David, "You've made a mockery of me for the very last time, you &$#! No matter how long it takes me to do so, I vow complete retribution against you until the end of time! If I have to sell my own soul to Satan in order to accomplish it, then so be it!"
"Do you, now?" A voice (male) chuckled mockingly.
"W-Who's there?" Vincent gulped, looking around for the source of the voice, "Are you a cop?"
But there was no police in the area. Instead, emerging from the shadows nearby was the same cloaked man who had appealed to Sergey Volkov. Vincent never saw the man before, but he could feel a frightening aura coming from him.
"You do not need to fear me, I am merely a friend who wishes to offer you your desire of revenge," The cloaked man answered in a deep, menacing voice, "You have a burning hatred for that Signer deep in your heart, correct?"
"What?" quizzed Vincent, "What's a…Signer?"
Rather than answer, the cloaked man instead held his right forearm up and revealed the glowing purple birthmark of a spider on it. Vincent recoiled, but then, while still on his hands and knees, moved in closer to get a better look at it. He had to admit, but that tattoo (actually a special birthmark) looked pretty cool.
"Tell me again… Do you hate David Xadashi?" The cloaked man pressed, "Do you hate him that much?"
"What kind of a question is that supposed to be?!" snapped Vincent defensively, getting onto his feet once more, "Of course I do! I hate him with all of my heart! It's thanks to him I'm a washed up duelist who can't seem to win anymore!"
"Then I am more than willing to grant you the power you will need to exact your revenge," The cloaked man offered, "You and I share a common enemy; you harbor deep hatred towards David Xadashi, and I harbor hatred towards the Signers."
"Okay, I'm getting real tired of your dumb riddles!" whined Vincent, clutching the sides of his head with annoyance, "What is this 'Signer' you're always referring to? Is David Xadashi one of them?"
"If you want to know more about the Signers, you should join me," The cloaked man replied, holding his right hand out, "If you join the group I'm trying to build up, you will learn all you need to know about the Signers and Crimson Dragon. Are you interested, young Vincent?"
Vincent Stevens was silent for a minute or two, due to him compensating if he should join this group or not. While he hadn't the foggiest idea on what a Signer or the Crimson Dragon was, there was also a chance for him to finally crush David and make him pay for making his life a living hell? The answer was obvious; how could the spiky black-haired young man pass up such an opportunity? At long last, with Vincent's greedy heart full of nothing but hate and rage towards David Xadashi, a dark smile spread on his face as he gave into the temptation for revenge before giving the cloaked man an answer.
"I thought you'd never ask…" accepted Vincent, before uttering an evil chuckle, "I'm in."
He and the cloaked man then shook hands at the new partnership.