Chapter 21
"Deck of Armor"
Yami and his group finally reached the spot on the train tracks where they derailed. "Alright, we're back where we left off." Twilight said, brushing some dust off her. "Okay, all we have to do now is follow the tracks." Fluttershy pointed out. "If all goes well, they should lead us to where the others are, assuming they haven't wandered off and gotten lost." Yami figured.
"We'd better find them, we still need to locate Dartz and Doma and find out where he keeps all the souls his Swordsmen capture." AJ pointed out. "I only wish it were that easy." Yami replied. Meanwhile, miles away, Joey and his group were still following the tracks. "Guys? I think it's time...to switch shifts...for carrying Rex." Spike said weakly before collapsing. "It's only been four minutes, Spike, but we get that you aren't the strongest guy around." Tristan replied.
"Come on, Spike, I'll take him from here." Joey offered while Rainbow helped him up. "Well, these tracks have to lead to civilization, and hopefully some food." Pinkie figured. "Regardless, the sooner we find where these tracks lead, the better." Rainbow said as she carried an umbrella to keep the sun off her. Meanwhile, at the downtown Phoenix headquarters of Doma, Dartz and the Swordsmen were having a meeting in the board room, with Mai among them.
"Just leave Joey Wheeler to me." she said, confidently. "We do nothing until Master Dartz gives us assignments. We already lost Keith, Hachu and those two runts Weevil and Rex, already." Raf replied. "What is this, seventh grade? I decide who I'm gonna duel, no one else. I don't wait for someone to tell me." Mai responded, not willing to be told what to do. "Why don't you show a little respect?" Raf asked, annoyed. "Forget about it, Raf. Little Miss Loudmouth doesn't know the meaning of the word." Alister replied.
"Come again, buster?" Mai asked, irked. "Relax, Alister." Raf said to his comrade. "Look, I was doing perfectly fine until Johnny Stuntman over there stepped in. If it wasn't for you, I would've won." Mai stated, pointing the finger of blame directly at Valon before turning to Dartz. "And as for you, Dartz, I don't need some scrawny cult leader dictating everything I do! I'm outta here!" she shouted before taking her leave. Valon stood up to try and go after her.
"Just let her go, Valon." Dartz said. "She can try to run away from fate, but in the end she'll get what she deserves. For using Doma just to get her hands on Joey Wheeler and not even considering what it is we ask of her." he explained. Soon, Mai was riding away on her bike through the streets of Phoenix. 'It's time to finish what I started.' she thought before she rode beyond the city entrance. On the outskirts of town, a gang of four bikers spotted her coming in their rearview mirrors.
"Looks like we got company, someone looking to ride with the big boys." said the lead biker. "Pardon me, boys." Mai said as she tried to pass, only for the four to box her in. "Nice bike, little miss. Surprised you were able to afford it let alone take the training wheels off." the lead biker said. "We run these outskirt roads, so head back to the city." said another biker. "Enough games, now move it or lose it!" Mai shouted. "That supposed to be a threat?" asked the lead biker. "No, it's a warning, your only warning!" Mai replied before activating her Chaos Disk to summon Harpie Lady.
"Nice try, but we know that there's just a hologram." the lead biker said with a laugh, but the Harpie proved she was the real deal, for once she was equipped with the Rose Whip, the bikers were knocked off their rides and onto the road. Mai rode on while the Harpie vanished. "Can't say I didn't warn them." she said, but she soon saw someone else on the road with a bike, and heading her way. 'Great, more company.' she thought as she saw the new rider, which turned out to be Valon, sped up. 'And he's looking to play hardball.' she added before she, too sped up.
But before either could blink, they hit their brakes and came to a stop just a foot apart from each other before Mai saw who it was. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of my way, Valon?" she asked, annoyed. "I came out here to help you." he replied. "Didn't you do enough yesterday? You nearly destroyed your arm with that stunt you pulled at Industrial Illusions." Mai pointed out. "You need me and I need you. We can take Wheeler down as a team." Valon suggested.
"Valon, I duel alone. You as a partner is the last thing I need." Mai replied, not looking to join forces with him. "Don't you remember the night we met?" Valon asked. "Of course I do. What's your point?" Mai replied. "If I remember correctly, I saved you that night. You were at the end of your rope, tired of living in the shadows of both Joey and Yugi, not to mention all those nightmares you said you were having about the runner-up of Battle City, Marik Ishtar. I saw you reaching for a broken bottle, ready to end it all, but then I stepped in and brought you in to Doma." Valon answered as he and Mai remembered the events of that night.
"I can help you again, Mai, by helping you get what you always wanted since Battle City ended." he continued. "And what would that be? More power?" Mai asked. "No, you've already got that in spades. I'm talking of notoriety, to make the whole world know that you were a great Duelist long before Joey Wheeler stepped in at Duelist Kingdom." Valon replied. "Trust me. Once you and I beat him, the whole world will finally know your name." he continued. "Can't you take a hint?! I don't want anything to do with you!" Mai snapped.
"Do you really mean that? Do you still have feelings for Joey?" Valon asked. "You need to understand that we're not so different, Mai. It's how we found each other, we're both lonely and misunderstood." he stated. "Is that so? Well speak for yourself. Your parents never left you at a young age like mine did to me." Mai replied. "We need each other, get me?" Valon insisted. "You have no idea of who I am. Mai Valentine always has and always will work alone, and that's never gonna change!" Mai responded as she moved his hand away from her shoulder.
"But, Mai, I'm telling you that this will work, just give me a chance." Valon insisted, but little did either of them know that Professor Hawkins' pickup truck and camper were coming their way, with Duke at the wheel and Rebecca sitting next to him. "Should we have left so soon?" Duke asked. "Of course. Time is running out, we have to catch up with the others before they get to Sky Harbor now. Besides, gramps can get just as much rest on the road. Plus, we can't translate the ancient Greek text at that Florida museum without his help, Duke." Rebecca answered.
Soon, the master of Dungeon Dice Monsters spotted Mai and Valon up ahead. "Look, it's Mai! What's she doing near the outskirts of Phoenix?" he wondered before he remembered seeing Valon at Industrial Illusions when Mai dueled Joey. "Wait a sec! That guy works for Dartz as one of the Swordsmen!" he said. "Stop the truck, Duke." Rebecca said before he did so, causing Valon and Mai to take notice. Right at that moment, she climbed out of the truck with Duel Disk in hand. "Rebecca, hold on! We're dealing with lunatic cultists here!" Duke shouted, but his words fell on deaf ears as Rebecca came to a stop.
"Alright, tell me what you did with Yugi! Your cult had no right to take his soul!" she shouted. "Sorry, kid, never heard of this Yugi." Valon replied. "Then how about we make a deal? I win, you talk! So let's duel!" Rebecca stated before strapping on and activating her Duel Disk. "Rebecca, no! It's too dangerous to duel against one of these Doma creeps!" Duke called as he ran up to her with his Duel Disk strapped on. "I'll be fine. I've dueled tougher opponents than this guy for the United States Duel Monsters championship." Rebecca replied as she inserted her deck into the display drive recognizer.
"Now what do you say, punk? Do we have a deal or not?" she asked. "You can't be serious, kid. You're the youngest Duelist to win the Duel Monsters US title?" Valon replied. "Here's your big chance, Valon. Why don't you show your stuff?" Mai suggested. "Let's go, I don't have all day." Rebecca said, impatiently. "Well, why not? Miss Youngest US Champ here could use a lesson in manners and I've got some time to kill. Plus I can show off my own dueling strategies. Alright, you talked me into it. Let's have a go." Valon replied.
"Hold up. If you duel her, you duel me, too, tough guy." Duke said before activating his Duel Disk and inserting his deck. "Peachy, now I can take both of you blokes on in a two-on-one handicap duel!" Valon replied before his Chaos Disk activated. "Pay attention now, especially you, Mai. You might learn some things." he added. "Remember, don't let him play the Seal of Orichalcos." Duke instructed, to which Rebecca agreed. And so, with their life points set to 4000 and an equally determined 'Let's duel!', the game was on.
"We're gonna mop the floor with you." Duke taunted. "And then you're gonna tell us where you Doma sickos are keeping Yugi's soul. Now let's do this!" Rebecca added before they all drew their opening hands. "I'll start things off, with this." Valon said before drawing. "I summon Psychic Armor Head in attack mode." he declared before his creature, a level four, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack points and 500 defense points, appeared.
"That helmet's got no attack points, I don't trust this guy." Duke said, warily. "Yeah, he's probably up to something. I bet he wants one of us to attack, but he's in for a disappointment." Rebecca figured. "That's all for now, then." Valon said, ending his turn. "Then let the fun, begin!" Duke declared as he drew. "I activate this, my Summon Dice magic card, but first I have to pay 1000 life points to give it a roll." he continued before his life points decreased to 3000 before a die started rolling on the battlefield.
'If I roll a one or two, I can summon a monster automatically to go along with my first summoning of the game. Rolling a three or four would be worthless because it'd mean I'd summon a monster from my graveyard, and its currently empty. But I'm really aiming for a five or six.' he thought before his die landed on the highest number possible, a six. "Alright! Now I can summon a level five or higher monster without making a sacrifice." he declared before picking his monster. "Meet Orgoth the Relentless!" he declared before his best monster appeared.
"Now it's my turn to bring a monster to the field." Rebecca said before drawing. "And I summon forth the Luster Dragon in attack mode!" she declared before her first monster, a level four, Wind attribute Dragon with 1900 attack points and 1600 defense points, appeared in its shining glory. "Then I'll set a card face down and end my turn." she added as she finished her move. 'Its his move now, and since me and Duke have two strong monsters on the field, we should be ready for anything.' she thought.
"It's showtime! First, I activate the special ability of my Psychic Armor Head." Valon said proudly. "Here's the thing, it allows me to choose any armor monster I want from my deck and move it to my hand." he began to explain before picking his card. "Then I'll sacrifice my Psychic Armor Head to summon Double Cloth Armor!" he continued before his new monster, a level six, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack and defense points, appeared. "Next I'll set a card face down and call it a turn, for now." he concluded.
'What's this guy thinking? He summoned another armor monster with 0 attack points?' Duke wondered. "Since I already know I'm gonna win, why don't I help you two out a bit by telling you what my new armor can do?" Valon offered. "If you're dumb enough to attack my Double Cloth Armor, the attacking monster will be destroyed right on the spot. Then half your monster's attack points get subtracted from your life points." he explained.
'Let's see, that means if I attack his Double Cloth Armor with Orgoth, I'll lose 1250 life points. But after that, he'll have nothing on the field to protect himself.' Duke thought. "Thanks for the tip, big shot." he said before drawing. "I'll set this face down." he added before looking at Rebecca. 'In order for this to work, I need Rebecca's help.' he thought. The two nodded at each other, seemingly knowing what had to be done. "Alright, Orgoth, attack Double Cloth Armor with Diamond Blade Strike!" he commanded before the attack was blocked by the left arm of the suit of armor, destroying Orgoth instantly.
"I warned you." Valon said before the suit of armor attacked Duke, DRASTICALY decreasing his life points to 1750 before it went to the graveyard. "Alright, take him out!" Duke called, giving Rebecca the chance she needed. "It'll be my pleasure!" she said before drawing. "I set one card face down, then I'll sacrifice the original Luster Dragon to summon Luster Dragon #2!" she declared before her dragon appeared. "Luster Dragon, attack his life points directly!" she commanded. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I was expecting that. I activate Magnet Armor!" Valon declared before his trap sprung.
"This little number allows me to summon any armor monster from my graveyard to the field, so that means, kid, my Double Cloth Armor returns!" he explained before his suit of armor reappeared, shocking both Duke and Rebecca. "Oh, no!" Duke said in alarm before the suit returned and destroyed the second Luster Dragon with one kick. "Now for your life points." Valon said before his armor struck Rebecca, decreasing her life points to 2800 before it returned to the graveyard from whence it came.
"Are you alright?" Duke asked as she skidded to a stop. "I'm fine, and I happen to have a few tricks of my own. I activate Rope of Life!" Rebecca replied before her trap sprung. "Fist I discard my entire hand, and then my rope can pull my dragon out of the graveyard and back to the field, only this time it gains 800 attack points!" she explained as she sent her hand to the graveyard. Right then and there, her dragon came back with 3200 attack points and ready to rumble.
"Nice work, Bec. I'll take it from here, by activating Adamantine Sword Revival!" Duke declared as his card was revealed. "Here's how it works; whenever a dragon is brought back from the graveyard, this card automatically activates. It lets me sacrifice Luster Dragon #2 and summon another dragon in its place, only it'll be Rebecca's monster." he explained. Soon, Luster Dragon #2 was gone. "Meet Diamond Head Dragon!" he declared before Rebecca's new monster, a level eight, Light attribute dragon/effect monster with 0 attack points and 2800 defense points, appeared.
"The Diamond Head Dragon absorbs all of Luster Dragon's attack points, plus it gets an extra 1000 added to it." he explained before Diamond Head Dragon's attack points greatly increased to 4200. "Thanks, Duke, you're a real pal." Rebecca said before turning to Valon. "One more turn and you're done, guvnor." she said, but Valon chuckled. "What's so funny?" she asked. "Did you think I'd let you win that easily? Sorry to disappoint you, mate, but I'm just getting warmed up. Check this out." Valon answered before drawing.
"I'm about to change the rules of this game." he added before his Psychic Armor Head returned from the graveyard, catching Duke and Rebecca off-guard. "Time to use a card with unmatched power in the world of machine-class Duel Monsters. A card unlike any other in the whole game." he continued. 'Mai's bound to be impressed with this. Once I've pulled this off, she'll be begging to runaway with me and leave her former boyfriend behind.' he thought.
"Hold on! The Seal of Orichalcos isn't associated with machine-class Duel Monsters." Rebecca pointed out. "Perceptive, you two numbskulls must know you're not worth unleashing the power of the Seal. This is much more fitting of how I play the game! I play Armored Gravitation!" Valon declared before lightning struck him, blinding his opponents, while four more pieces of armor appeared, first was a level four, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack and defense points, then came a level three, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack and defense points, followed by level four, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack points and 1000 defense points, and lastly came a level four, Earth attribute machine/armor/effect monster with 0 attack points and 2500 defense points.
Suddenly, within the bright light, the five different armor monsters ATTACHED THEMSELVES TO HIM. The light soon faded and Duke and Rebecca saw Valon was wearing the armor monsters. "No way! He merged with those monsters?!" Duke shouted in alarm. "Don't worry, he can't stand up to my dragon." Rebecca said, reassuringly. "Wrong. When I attack you while wearing this armor, I automatically win, thanks to my armor's special abilities." Valon replied.
"Its made up of five different armor monsters; Psychic Armor Head, Big Bang Blow, Trap Buster, Over Boost and Active Guard." he explained. "My new suit of armor does more than put Iron Man, War Machine, Titanium Man and Crimson Dynamo from those Marvel comic books to shame, it can destroy every monster on the field and the damage comes out of all of our life points." he added.
"Are you nuts?! If you do that, you'll lose the duel, too!" Duke pointed out. "Care to test that theory?" Valon asked. Duke and Rebecca braced as Valon readied to strike. "Cheerio." he said before darting forward. "I don't think so, because you activated my Mirror Force Trap card!" Rebecca revealed as her trap sprung. "That trap's useless!" Valon declared as he SHATTERED the Mirror Force trap. "No way!" Rebecca said in shock before Valon flew up to Diamond Head Dragon. "It's been fun, mates, but all good things must come to an end!" he declared before one shot to the dragon's heart destroyed it with a great, thunderous blast while Valon escaped just beforehand.
But the force of the blast was so great, Duke and Rebecca got sent FLYING. 'I gotta admit, that was impressive.' Mai thought. Valon soon approached his fallen and defeated victims. "Fine, you won. Now leave us alone, you and Doma." Rebecca said as she looked up at him. "Get lost, cockney punk." Duke added as the armor holograms faded away. "I got a message for Wheeler if you should happen see him again. Tell that punk he's next." Valon said with a chuckle before turning to see Mai on her bike and ready to leave.
"Where you going, Mai?" he asked. "I told you, I work alone." Mai answered before riding away, leaving Valon dejected. Meanwhile, Joey and his group stopped for a rest. "Could someone remind me again why we're carrying this punk, who doesn't even like us, all over the Arizona desert?" Rainbow asked. "Because he needs help, he lost his soul and we're just that nice." Pinkie answered. Soon, Joey looked up and saw an aurora. "Now I'm seeing things." he said, thinking the exertion was making him hallucinate.
"Wait a minute, we're all seeing what you're seeing." Spike said as they saw the display dancing in the sky. Elsewhere, Yami and his group saw it too. "Everyone, do you see what I see?" he asked. "You mean that strange aurora in the sky?" Twilight asked. "I fear its the Great Leviathan." Yami said before remembering the night it first appeared. "The same thing happened when it emerged the first time." he added. 'We're running out of time.' he thought.
Meanwhile, in downtown Phoenix, at Doma headquarters, Dartz took notice from his office. "Yes, Great Leviathan, keep feeding, my child. You're almost ready." he said with a chuckle. "As are we." he added. Meanwhile, miles away and 41,000 feet in the air, Kaiba's private company Boeing aircraft flew towards the United States with both Kaiba bros aboard. "Do you think its true, Seto? I mean, could Yugi really have lost to one of Alister's partners in a duel?" Mokuba asked. "It just means Yugi's not as perfect as everyone thinks he is, including myself. He may not have lost his world championship title, but he's not worth my time anymore. We've got more important things to do." Seto answered.
Mokuba soon noticed the aurora outside one of the windows. "Seto, what's with this weird weather?" he asked. "What do you mean? It's been cloudy, dreary and overcast ever since we took off." Seto replied. "Are you sure? Because I think that's the Northern Lights out there." Mokuba said before Seto took a look out the same window. "What do you think is the cause? Electromagnetic storm?" Mokuba asked. "I have no idea, but I don't trust this light show." Seto answered.
Soon a voice came on over the intercom saying the plane was about to experience some mild turbulence before asking the Kaibas to fasten their seatbelts. But little did the Kaibas know just how turbulent the flight was gonna be.