Author's Note:
Chapter 36! Yup, it's been awhile. I'm hoping 37 doesn't take as long but life likes to get in the way when you least expect it.
This chapter is all duels, guys. The only one I went through the trouble of logging and tracking properly each turn is Yusei vs. Set. Others follow the rules but aren't as detailed. I wish it was like anime where it's easy to do 10 or more turns an episode. Writing them suuuuuucks.
So here we have: Aki versus Yusei in memory world, Set versus Yusei in real world, Kiryu and Crow tag-teaming Jack, and Ruka dueling Ruka.
A couple of you had reviewed the last chapter and offered very good constructive criticism. I actually agree with you: the whole evil Aki thing had been done to death before. To be honest, I'm not a very creative person lol. BUT because of all the suggestions you've made, I did some thinking and I'm going to make a few small tweaks moving forward. I actually added a couple of things to this chapter - the end game won't just be evil Aki/Set versus Yusei :) Not so simple now. If you end up reading this chapter, let me know what you think, I really do appreciate all your thoughts and contributions to this.
Huge thanks go out to haloangel21, Just a host, Guest (there are a few of you, wish I could thank you individually!), Jade546, Vasto Lordemon, Ale15, feic. flame.
Thank you for reviewing, following, favouriting, critiquing, and just taking the time to view and read this crazy story!
NineInchNailed.
"The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark."
~Thomas Paine.
It was the first turn of her duel against Yusei Fudo inside that hospital room.
Aki summoned Evil Thorn, a Level 1 monster with only 100 Attack points.
As the plant-type monster appeared, she added: "Its monster effect activates. By releasing this monster on my field you take 300 points of damage."
The plant literally burst open and its thorns flew across the field, exploding against Yusei Fudo.
He fell back from the impact. Once he got up, his Life Points had dropped to 3700.
"Since she's not allowed to attack on the first turn," the Signer girl's twin brother commented, "She used her monster's effect to take away his Life Points."
"That's not all," Jack Atlas remarked, as observant as expected of the one who used to be King of Games.
Since Yusei's friends were standing around there commenting on their duel, Aki thought she may as well explain everything out loud and not keep them guessing.
"By releasing Evil Thorn, I can Special Summon two more Evil Thorns from my deck," Aki elaborated. Both monsters appeared again although unfortunately the effect of the original Evil Thorn was gone from them.
His friends continued discussing their dueling strategies and so she went on with her turn. "I activate the Spell Card, Closed Plant Gate, from my hand! I can activate it when there are two Plant-type monsters on my field with the same name." She explained what it meant to Yusei: "You're not allowed to attack on your next turn." Finally, she ended her turn.
"My turn!" Yusei declared. He couldn't attack so he summoned Shield Warrior in Defense position, set two cards face down and ended his turn.
Our duel during the Fortune Cup was a fluke, Aki thought, studying her opponent. He met her eyes. He looked very serious. But…honestly there didn't seem to be anything special about him, after all. He was just a guy. Maybe it was as Divine had said: Yusei Fudo's got decent cards but he's mostly gotten lucky. Yes, him and her weren't friends; they were barely acquaintances. What shared destiny of the Crimson Dragon? She was embarrassed of all the times she'd thought of him in the past couple of days. It was but a mad fantasy, the fruits of her imagination, all which fell apart when faced with the gray of reality.
Divine was dead. Arcadia Movement became a heap of rubble. Her parents and all the duelists in this room – strangers.
"My turn," Aki announced, frowning. I can't let any of them see my loneliness or my despair. When I finish this duel, I'm walking out of here – by myself. I don't need anyone. And she summoned a Tuner Monster, Twilight Rose Knight. The tiny knight had 1000 Attack Points. She saw on Yusei's face that he figured out what she was doing to do next. She couldn't disappoint him now, could she?
"Due to Twilight Rose Knight's effect, I can Special Summon a Level 4 or lower Plant-type monster from my hand." She selected Dark Verger, who promptly appeared on the field.
And it began. Level 3 Rose Knight tuning to two Level 1 Evil Thorns and a Level 2 Dark Verger. All the ingredients, ready.
"The cold flame envelopes the entire world. Black flower, bloom! Synchro Summon. Appear, Black Rose Dragon!" she chanted. And her monster's grand appearance sent a hurricane blast towards the spectators in the room.
But she wasn't done. "Then I activate the Equip Spell Thorn of Malice," she stated. "The equipped monster gains 600 Attack points!" Black Rose Dragon's attack went up to 3000.
Her father, who'd shielded himself from the blast, spoke up:
"Aki," was literally all he said. There was sorrow in his voice and she could not stand it. He couldn't master anything else, at all, to say to her!?
"Papa, your eyes are the same as before," she accused him. "They're looking at me like you're seeing a monster!"
"Izayoi!" Yusei called out to her.
Fine. "I'll make you feel the same pain I felt, Yusei," she promised. "If I no longer have the home that Divine gave me… I will destroy everyone else's!"
Together, Yusei thought, studying the glowing mark of the Crimson Dragon. He felt the faint connection to Crow and Ruka. Together we can fight and we can win. "I'll declare the first turn!" he exclaimed, drawing a card.
"Finally taking some initiative, huh?" Dark Aki sneered. She'd had gone first during every one of their duels, until now.
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"I summon Dead Guardna in Defense mode," Yusei went on as if he'd heard nothing. A thin, white robot appeared on his side of the field. Its Defense was at 1900 and Attack was at zero. He had to play defensively from the get-go, going by Set's characteristic quick damage strategies.
"Then I'll set three cards facedown and end my turn," he concluded.
[Yusei Fudo]
[End of Turn One: Dead Guardna (Lvl.4) ATK0/DEF1900 in Defense Mode; 3 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"Playing it safe, Osiris," Dark Aki quipped, drawing a card. "That's a stupid thing to do. You don't have a lot of time left."
[Dark Aki]
[Beginning of Turn One: 0 Monsters; 0 Cards on Field; 6 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"Trap card – open!" Yusei interrupted.
Dark Aki gaped at him.
"Secret Barrel!" Yusei flipped a card up on his field, revealing a colourful machine gun. He had come prepared with a few new tricks. "For each card you have in your hand, you take 200 points of damage. Take 1200 to your Life Points, now."
Dark Aki recoiled, looking away while Solid Vision shots fired at her. Her Life Points dropped to 2800.
"You were saying?" he prompted.
She smirked. "Okay. You took something from my book. But payback is coming now." She appraised her draw and went on.
"I summon Makyura the Destructor, in Attack Mode," she ordered and one of Mahdi's very familiar, disturbing monsters appeared. It made a mandatory appearance during each of his duels, probably because he stacked like 5 copies of it into his deck. Its Attack points were at 1600, still less than Dead Guardna's Defense points.
"And I activate Magic Card, Black Pendant." A dark necklace dangled around Makyura's neck. She needn't bother explaining this card to him anymore. It added 500 Attack points to the equipped monster and, when destroyed, inflicted 500 points of reactive damage.
"Makyura the Destructor, attack Dead Guardna!" she ordered.
"Trap card open!" Yusei retorted, fighting to keep his helpful monster on the field. "Scrap-Iron Scarecrow!" It negated his opponent's attack and then flipped facedown on the field. It was one of his signature and most reliable traps.
She gritted her teeth. "Of course. Then I set two cards facedown and end my turn."
[Dark Aki]
[End of Turn One: Makyura the Destructor (Lvl.4) ATK2100/DEF1200 in Attack Mode, equipped with Black Pendant Magic card; 2 Face down Cards; 2 Cards in hand; LP2800]
She turned her attention to the reactor. "I know you see it too. It's going to blow, oh so very soon."
"Was that your goal this whole time, Set? What, to blow everything up? Seems awfully complicated the way you've gone about it. Couldn't get your hands on some dynamite?"
She laughed. "How stupid you are. It couldn't be a simple bomb. The explosion is just a reaction to what it's meant to do for me."
"What, to kill you and everyone along with it?"
She grinned. "Everyone within the radius will die, yes. But I'm not going to die. In fact, quite the opposite: I'm going to be born."
"My turn, draw!" Kiryu shouted. While Jack and Crow drove side by side, virtually colliding to keep the other from taking the turn, Kiryu took the risky path on the inside of the curve. His foot was millimetres away from touching the ground while taking such a sharp turn. Then he straightened out, just ahead of the two of them.
"Yes!" Crow cheered him on. Jack snarled, angrily.
Kiryu summoned Infernity Necromancer, a level 3 monster with 2000 Defense points and set four cards face down. With only one card left in his hand, he was on his way to a handless combo right from the start.
Crow's turn was next, as per the two-on-one dueling rule. However, both he and Kiryu started with 4000 Life Points and Jack with 8000.
"My turn!" Crow announced, drawing a card. He summoned Blackwing - Shura the Blue Flame in Defense mode, at 1200 points. Then he set two cards facedown and ended his turn.
Watch over us, he prayed silently to the Crimson Dragon as he glanced at his shining Signer mark, the tail of the dragon. The bond incomplete. He looked over at Jack: no light on his arm.
"Is this all the two of you have brought against me?" Jack challenged. He glared at Crow who was persistently keeping up with his speed and at Kiryu who was somehow just a smidge ahead.
"I'm looking forward to seeing the strength of the underground King of Games," Kiryu complimented him distantly, gaze focused on the road ahead. The next curve of the stadium was coming up.
"I know both your strategies, inside and out," Jack proclaimed. He drew a card and got down to business:
"When my opponents control monsters and I don't, I can Special Summon Big Piece Golem." A Level 5 rock monster made an appearance. Its attack was at 2100.
"Then I Normal Summon Flare Resonator," he went on and a Level 3 Tuner monster appeared.
Crow's eyes grew larger, betraying his composure as he figured out what was going to happen next. "First turn? Are you kidding?"
Kiryu calmly looked over his shoulder at Jack.
"Level 5 Big Piece Golem tunes Level 3 Flare Resonator," Jack Atlas chanted, revealing the silver card in his hand. "The rulers' heartbeats will now file through here! Take witness to its creation-shaking power! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Daemon's Dragon!"
The magnificent and intimidating Signer dragon had appeared with 3000 Attack and 2000 Defense points.
"I'm not done!" Jack shouted. "When Flare Resonator is used as synchro-material, Red Daemon's Dragon gains 300 additional Attack points." The monster roared and seemed to grow even larger in scale.
"You're going down, Crow!" he decided to target the one that's been pissing him off most. "Go, Red Daemon's Dragon! Absolute Power Force!"
The dragon gathered a ball of fire at its fist, about to deliver a strike to Blackwing – Shura the Blue Flame.
"Crow," Kiryu warned.
Crow contemplated. His monster was in Defense mode but it was a bad idea to be without a monster at any time in a tag-duel like this. "Yes, do it."
"Trap Card open," Kiryu announced, activating one of his multiple facedown cards. "Depth Amulet! I can discard one card to negate your attack on Crow, Jack." He got rid of his final card in hand.
"Thanks, brother!" Crow called to him. This worked out in the mutual favour as it cemented Kiryu's handless combo.
Jack looked away. "I place two cards facedown and end my turn." He was ready: next turn was going to hurt them, badly.
"I summon White Bear in Attack mode," Ruka called out and the monster made its appearance, attack at 1800 points. Rua had already summoned Morphtronic Magnen in Defense mode (ATK800/DEF800) and had one card facedown. These were Rua's cards although under the foul magic of the sacrificial circle his monsters had developed a residual sinister quality to them: glowing red eyes, odd creepy spikes and other subtle, asymmetric defects all over them.
"Then I activate my Magic Card, Ancient Forest!" she commanded and a massive, deep forest grew out of the ground, pressing up against the red bubble of the seal. "With this card, all Defense Position monsters switch to Attack." She watched as Rua's monster was forced into Attack position.
"Your continuous Magic will hurt you more than me," Rua warned, a disquieting smile on his face.
"White Bear, go!" she went on, ignoring his threat. "Attack Morphtronic Magnen!"
Rua let the damage go through, not batting an eye. His Life Points dropped to 3000.
"Ancient Forest effect activates – once a monster attacks, it's destroyed at the end of the Battle Phase," she said and the White Bear disappeared. "However! If White Bear is destroyed by a card effect, I can Special Summon Regulus from my Deck. Come, Regulus!"
Her trustworthy companion and a majestic white lion – Regulus – appeared by her side. And with Regulus' presence next to her and with the Signer mark shining on her arm, Ruka felt confident and unafraid. "Finally, I set three facedown cards and end my turn."
"It's my turn," Rua called out. He looked at the card he drew with a small smile. "Oh I see."
"I know all your cards, Rua," his sister called to him. "I know how to counter them. It's exactly how it used to be when we were kids."
"So you think."
"Let's just end this okay? I think you know how to make this sacrificial circle disappear without anyone getting hurt. Don't you?" she asked desperately, trying to read his face. "Don't let Set win, okay? You're better than this. Remember this." She showed him her mark of the Crimson Dragon. "This. The bond between us and our friends."
"Why don't you shut your mouth?" Rua asked, harshly, and Ruka winced. She could never get used to how cruelly he was speaking to her. It's not him, she told herself. It's the venom in his head.
He activated a green card on his duel disk. "I won't let you confuse me, ever again. I play Magic card – Poison of the Old Man."
"What's this?" Ruka did not recognize it.
A creepy robed figure appeared, holding two vials in hand. One was green and one was red.
"This card lets me pick one of two effects. I can gain 1200 Life Points. Or –" he smiled lightly "- Inflict 800 damage to you."
Regulus' fur stood up. He was wary.
"Rua," she tried to read him again. "Just… remember? Don't you remember? Rua, you're my best friend."
"Yeah, it's easy to decide," Rua said. "Take 800 points of damage."
The creepy figure snickered and threw the red vial at her. As it landed near her feet, it literally exploded and Ruka felt a flash of pain.
"Black Rose Dragon's effect activates," Aki told Yusei inside the memory world, the hospital - their battleground. Her loathsome parents and the other so-called Signers watching the battle unfold. "By removing Evil Thorn in my Graveyard from play, Shield Warrior switches to attack position and its Attack points become 0. Black Rose Gale!"
Her dragon snagged Shield Warrior by its thorned tentacles, ready to obliterate it.
"Trap card open!" Yusei interjected. "Realize Defense! When a monster with more Defense points than Attack points is in attack mode, I can switch it to defense position!"
"Keep going, Black Rose Dragon!" she ordered.
"Due to the effect of your equipped card, you can't destroy a monster in battle," Yusei pointed out to her, as if she didn't know how her own cards worked.
"But if the equipped monster's Attack points are greater than your defense monster's points, you lose Life Points equal to that difference," she said, impatiently.
Yusei gasped. He thinks he's clever but he had no idea about this, she thought with satisfaction.
His monster was wiped out into pieces of Solid Vision…real pieces. And as Yusei shielded his face from the powerful blast, a shard had cut across his cheek and she saw that she'd wounded him. His Life Points dropped to 2300.
"When my monster equipped with Thorn of Malice attacks yours, your monster loses 600 Attack and Defense points after damage calculation," she added.
Shield Warrior's Defense dropped to 1000.
She declared the end of her turn then. Then looking directly at him, she promised: "I won't defeat you quickly. You will feel more pain."
She turned her attention to the mark on her arm. "It is a detestable mark," she said. "I don't care about Signers! Fudo Yusei… You can't save me either."
"So that's it?" a voice asked her.
It was as if someone had pressed a "Pause" button on a TV remote. A glitch in the memories.
Aki looked at Atem by her side. He was still here.
"What do you mean?" she asked him.
"That's how this battle had ended? He went ahead and saved you?"
"Well…" she hesitated, looking at the rip in the memory world as if it were a television program. The past her was breathing heavily, disheveled, drained, irrational. Borderline psychotic. She threw everything at them: at Yusei, at her parents, at her soon-to-be friends who were clawing towards her.
"And you did nothing. You wouldn't have fought for yourself unless he came."
"What? I was fighting!"
"Really? I see you fighting against your friends, sure. But to me it looks like you're letting them guide the outcome of this duel. You're not fighting for yourself at all. It's sad."
"What…why…" Aki protested, feeling angry and shocked by his words. But was she angry because his comment nicked at a partial truth? "That's the opposite of what's happening! I was fighting because I did not want him to save me. Because I didn't want anyone to save me."
"Why not?"there was clear concern in his bronzed face, reflected in the purple of his eyes.
BECAUSE YOU WERE BEYOND SAVING, a sick, foreign thought surfaced in her mind. She shook her head to get rid of it. "Because… I wanted everyone to leave me alone. I wanted to be by myself. I didn't want them there, forcing themselves at me. I wanted this to be my own decision, for once. I wanted to…"
"Save yourself?"
"How are you possibly going to be born?" Yusei demanded of Set.
"What did you think the end goal of my sacrificial duels was?" Dark Aki asked. "Sure, I wanted them to trigger the awakening of whoever the other gods sent to rid of me. But why not hit two birds with one stone? All the sacrifices I've gathered have not gone to waste. Every dead duelist's soul. They are all in there, cooking." She nodded at the reactor, at the pulsing and spinning red particles.
"Is that what it was? That red… river we saw along the sky?"
"Such special sight, isn't it?" she grinned. "Yes. All the sacrificial souls are pouring in from my duels and feeding into Higuchi's reactor. He had no idea that it's what I was actually using his invention for."
"So everyone who'd died from your duels," Yusei glanced at the infernal humming machine behind him. "Are trapped in there?" He had to pause, almost too bewildered to understand this. "And you're using them to be reborn? How?"
"After death, energy remains. This energy would normally disperse and be swallowed up by the atmosphere. But I cultivated it. Saved it. You know that once the fission of the reactor goes, the explosion will be enough to level half this country. But if you know how, you can use that massive amount of radioactive energy. It's going to birth me. I'm going to use it to re-construct my true form. No more weak vessels of flesh and blood. Just me, the way I've always been within the celestial realm."
"But…but why?"
"Why?" Dark Aki repeated, raising her eyebrows. "We, gods, aren't allowed in the human realm. Not unless we have limitations, restrictions in place. It's the rule of the Great Balance. In this realm we must be confined to temporary forms as humans or as talismans, like the powers hidden inside the cards. Our power reduced to decimals of a percent of what we're actually capable of."
"But why even stay here, trying to find these loopholes?"
"To stay here, be free and rule this realm," Set smiled, "Or to go back into the dominion of the gods and be imprisoned for infinity. That's an easy choice, Osiris. It's why I've escaped here. And I'm done playing by the rules of Ma'at. Today is the beginning of my new kingdom here on Earth. You have front seats, Osiris."
"I won't let you!" Yusei refused, understanding how much more was at stake here today. Losing was not an option. "I draw a card."
[Yusei Fudo]
[Beginning of Turn Two: Dead Guardna (Lvl.4) ATK0/DEF1900 in Defense Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 3 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"An even bigger weight on your shoulders now, huh?" Dark Aki murmured compassionately. "This could have been easily prevented, you know? I told you we could have had a partnership, you and I. A mutual understanding. No need for the drastic measures I had to take. I had asked you to join me. You told me to fuck off instead."
"And my answer remains unchanged," Yusei countered. He didn't have time to feel regret or to be intimidated. Besides, he was no fool: a "peaceful" pact would not have stopped Set from carrying out his plan with Senator Higuchi. He wouldn't have let all that work go to waste. What was happening today would probably have been the outcome, one way or another.
Yusei studied his draw and suppressed a sad smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth. He'd gotten Jack's trap – Card of Last Will – on his first draw. And on his second turn he'd drawn the one Rua and Ruka gave him on his birthday – Dragon's Retribution. The time to use them was near. But in the meantime…
"I summon Bri Synchron, in Attack mode!" he announced and a Level 4 monster shaped like a red mecha robot appeared. Its Attack was 1500, Defense 1100.
"Level 4 Bri Synchron tunes Level 4 Dead Guardna," Yusei resumed and began chanting: "Clustering stars become a shining new hope…"
Set started cackling.
"…Become a light that reveals itself-"
"No, that's enough of that," Set interrupted irritably and flipped up a Trap card. "Continuous Trap activates - Discord. You can't Synchro Summon for the next three turns."
"I had anticipated that you'd have it," Yusei said, undeterred, and a large grin on Set's face vanished. "My own Trap card activates!" and he gestured at the second facedown card he had on his field. "Panic Wave! I select one card I control and I destroy it." He regretfully pointed at his helpful reliable trap, the Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, and it vanished as a tribute. "During this turn, I negate the effects of all face-up Continuous Spell Cards, Continuous Trap Cards and Effect Monsters on the field."
"What?" Set blurted out, revealing his disappointment.
"Appear!" Yusei smiled as the Synchro Summon had completed. "Stardust Dragon!" The magnificent Signer dragon soared high, shining as brightly as a silver moon inside this claustrophobic underground space.
"Go, Stardust!" Yusei ordered, pointing at Makyura the Destructor. "Shooting Sonic!"
As her monster was obliterated, Dark Aki had covered her face. Forgetting that she was the only one capable of causing real damage in this duel. And with Panic Wave's power, the effect of Black Pendant was negated and Yusei wouldn't be receiving 500 points of damage.
Her Life Points dropped by 400 down to 2400.
"Then I will set two cards facedown and end my turn," Yusei finished, placing both Jack's and Rua and Ruka's Trap cards.
[Yusei Fudo]
[End of Turn Two: Stardust Dragon (Lvl.8) ATK2500/DEF2000 in Attack Mode; 2 Face down Cards; 0 Cards in hand; LP4000]
"Not bad…" Dark Aki breathed. She looked unsteady, like something was making her a little sicker with each passing minute. And Yusei didn't doubt what it was. "Well…no matter. None if this matters, really."
"Not so much fun when you're losing, huh?" Yusei called out, trying to provoke his enemy a little.
"Don't you worry, I'm the one who'll have the last laugh. I'm going to have a laughing fit-" Set drew a card and studied it, lethargically, "-Once explosion from the reactor melts the skin off your bones."
[Dark Aki]
[Beginning of Turn Two: 0 Monsters; Continuous Trap Card Discord in Play; 1 Face down Card; 4 Cards in hand; LP2400]
"I will defeat you before anything like that happens," Yusei promised. The more he said it, the more he believed it without a doubt. He took a quick glance back at the statistics of the reactor. They didn't look good. The pressure was still accelerating. It was rapidly overheating and half-way through the orange gage already. And once in the red…
Dark Aki smirked and wiped a sleeve across her forehead. "Your blind hope reeks of stupidity. I play Magic Card – Allure of Darkness." It looked like a Black Hole itself had formed on top of her deck. She drew two extra cards and sent a card to the Graveyard. "With Allure of Darkness I can draw two cards if I purge a Dark-type monster from my hand, which I of course had."
"Next, I summon Reptilianne Gorgon in Attack mode," she went on and a bizarre looking snake appeared on her side of field. It was a Level 3 and it had 1400 Attack points and 1400 Defense points.
Attack mode? Yusei pondered, frowning. It had approximately half the points of his Signer dragon.
"And now we play!" Dark Aki squealed. "Go Reptilianne Gorgon! Quick-Attack Stardust Dragon!"
"What?" Yusei exclaimed. The snake-like monster hurled at Stardust Dragon and his dragon had launched a counter-attack. The Gorgon vanished in a beam of light.
Set's Life Points dropped by 1100, down to 1300.
"You've self-destructed your own monster?" Yusei asked, baffled.
"Oh yes!" Dark Aki exclaimed, undeterred. "Because Reptilianne Gorgon has a very useful special effect. After damage calculation, the attack of the monster that battled the Gorgon becomes zero. Oh and it also cannot change its battle position."
Stardust Dragon let out a cry akin to pain. Yusei's head snapped to look as the dragon collapsed on the ground. There were many, many red marks that appeared over its body, like somebody had whipped it until blood was drawn. His dragon looked barely alive as its Attack points dropped to 0 and Yusei cringed, feeling a phantom of its pain through the bond they shared. Hold on, Stardust.
He knew he had to do something quick because Set still wasn't finished with his turn.
"Trap Card, activate!" he exclaimed and opened Jack's hidden card. He had to use his help, now. "Card of Last Will! When my monster is destroyed or loses Attack points, I can draw 5 extra cards." He quickly drew five cards to his hand, which had been empty since his previous turn.
"Oh, a familiar card," Dark Aki commented. "You've used it to defeat me with the power of an Egyptian God during our duel. Alas, seems like you've gotten rid of the only advantage you had as an incarnation of Osiris. How dumb. Without that card in your hands you're nothing more than a human."
"A human is all I've wanted to be," Yusei answered distractedly. As if this was a choice I made? He studied his new draw. Thanks to Jack, he had drawn many good cards and solidified his hope. "And it's all the power I need to defeat you."
"You still think so?" Dark Aki smirked. "Well. Let's see what you're going to do next while your Signer dragon is rendered an invalid." She pulled out a card from her hand and showed it to him. "Next I'm going to summon Dark Armed Dragon. Oh it can't be summoned normally, you see. It can only be Special Summoned when I have exactly three Dark-type monsters in my Graveyard. It was worth paying the price of 1100 Life Points for earlier."
Yusei winced. Makyura the Destructor, a Dark monster Set got rid off while using Allure of Darkness, and a self-destructed Reptilianne Gorgon. And this summoning condition wasn't affected by an earlier attack phase?
"Come, Dark Armed Dragon!" she ordered and a massive dark dragon materialized on her side of the field. Its eyes shone bright red and the armour it wore was all sharp blades and spikes. It was muscular, vicious and merciless. It released a low, startling roar that mimicked the nuclear reactor's devastating hum. Its Attack points were at 2800, Defense at 1000.
Yusei involuntarily took a step back at the sight of this new monster, feeling pangs of fright. A drop of perspiration rolled down the side of his face.
Stardust Dragon, by his side, let out a helpless moan.
"Ah, isn't he gorgeous?" Dark Aki, studying her monster gleefully. "He's new, you know. I had to get him. After all, you and your whore tore up my cards. Took La Magra away from me. I needed another ace. He'll do just nicely, don't you think?"
What do I do? Yusei thought frantically. He had nothing to protect him if this monster had the power to attack in the end phase. Desperately, he activated Rua and Ruka's Trap card on his field – the only hidden card he had left. It would do some damage at least. "Continuous Trap open! Dragon's Retribution! I can target a Dragon-type monster on the field and to inflict 300 points of damage per turn to the owner. I choose Dark Armed Dragon!"
"That's it?" Dark Aki stifled a fake yawn. Her Life Points dropped to only 1000. "And now you've got nothing else left to protect you. Dark Armed Dragon takes attack! Kill Stardust Dragon, now!"
Yusei stared at the powerless Stardust Dragon lying on the ground, suffering from those inexplicable wounds. Its blue eye revealed its resignation.
"I'm ready too, Osiris," Dark Aki called to him, clenching her fists. "Taking 2800 points of damage at once? Oh I gotta make this one hurt."
Dark Armed Dragon flew up and then lunged down, claws out.
"Stardust!" Yusei couldn't help but shout. No, this wasn't just a monster: it was a companion, a piece of him, an inseparable part of his soul. And in the last second, his Signer dragon had raised its head and spread its wings wide to shield him from any damage.
"No, that'll just make it worse," Set's warning reached him.
The dark Dragon had clawed through Stardust's mangled form in half, like a hundred hot knives through soft butter.
The brilliant silver dragon had shattered violently into millions of tiny pieces, as if it were made of glass. Yusei screamed, trying to shield his face but it wasn't enough. As countless of those sharp shards had pierced into him, he'd also become weightless; thrown by the blast. Then there was the hard ground, an explosion of stars and lightning as the back of his head slammed against the concrete and white…and gray…and black…all black…
"It's my turn, draw," Kiryu announced, adding the only card to his hand.
"If I have no other cards in my hand, I can Special Summon Infernity Archfiend!" he declared, setting the Monster card he'd just drawn in Attack mode. One of his signature Infernity monsters appeared, Attack at 1800. "When this card is Specal Summoned, I can add one Infernity card from my deck to my hand." A card of his choice had popped out of his deck and he added it to his hand.
"You think I don't know how to counter your handless combo, Kiryu?" Jack threatened.
"I'm looking forward to it, old friend," Kiryu deflected, just as passively and politely. He went on: "Next, I summon Tuner monster Infernity Beetle!" A dark beetle appeared on his side of the field. It had 1200 points and it was only a Level 2 monster. "Now, when I have no cards in my hand, I can tribute Infernity Beetle to Special Summon up to 2 other Infernity Beetles from my deck. Come!"
There were now two beetle monsters on his side of the field, both Level 2 next to his Level 4 Infernity Archfiend.
"Go Kiryu!" Crow cheered and Jack felt such irritation at their buddy tactics that he ground his teeth.
"Level 4 Infernity Archfiend tunes Level 2 Infernity Beetle and another Level 2 Infernity Beetle!" Kiryu chanted. "The evil dragon escapes from its eternal prison. Synchro Summon! Come, Infernity Doom Dragon!"
A large gray dragon with what looked like an exposed brain on its skull appeared and let out a roar. Its Attack points were at 3000.
"Still weaker than Red Daemon's Dragon!" Jack commented.
"Special effect activates," Kiryu smiled. "Once per turn, if I have no cards in my hand, I can select one monster my opponent controls." He pointed at Jack's dragon. "By forsaking an attack this turn, I can destroy your monster and inflict damage to you equal to half of its attack. Take 1650 points of damage to your Life Points, Jack!"
"I will not let you, Kiryu!" Jack yelled and flipped up a Trap card. "I activate Crimson Fire! If my opponent activates an effect that would inflict damage while my face-up monster's Attack points are higher than the damage, I take no damage!"
Red Daemon's Dragon resumed flying like nothing happened.
"Oh and I'm not done," Jack smirked. "With my trap, my opponent takes twice the damage I would have taken instead."
Kiryu flinched, glancing back at Jack who was driving a foot behind him.
Didn't anticipate this, you calm pale bastard? Jack mused. Did that satisfy you? "I'm going to pick who'll take the damage. All 3300 points. Take it, Crow!"
"Fuck!" Crow let out.
"Crow, I-" Kiryu began. He had a trap card he'd been saving as back-up for worst case scenarios like this. And he was going to use it anyway if that damage was oriented at him.
"No!" Crow shouted. He couldn't let Kiryu save him one more time and all before he even had a chance to take a second turn. What kind of a duelist would he be? "I've got this. Bring it on, Jack!"
The massive damage hit him and the Signer screamed. It had to have been Solid Vision only, all but a hologram, and yet he felt the fires lick at his skin, the scorching burning. His hands gripped hard the handlebars of the bike and he'd gone from driving 120 kilometres an hour to maybe 30.
Crow's Life Points dropped to measly 700.
Jack Atlas laughed, pleased that he'd fallen behind. And while Kiryu watched Crow with distress, Jack took advantage of his weak reaction, revved his engine to over 6000rpms and overtook as the first driver, ahead of the pack.
"He's your friend," the ex-Dark Signer attempted.
Jack thought Kiryu had become too soft as duelist and he didn't respect that. "This is a duel," he countered uncaringly. "Don't challenge the King if you're not ready to get crushed. I warned the two of you."
"Oh it's fine," Crow managed. There were thin wisps of smoke coming off him. He made a reassuring lopsided grin at Kiryu.
Jack had easily looped around the stadium already. As he passed by his slow-moving bike, Crow flipped him off. Then he revved his motorcycle and picked up speed to begin catching up to other two Team Satisfaction members. "Trap card open!" Crow called out, hiding the shortage of breath from his voice, and activated one of his two hidden cards. "Black Feather Beacon! When I take damage from a card effect I can Special Summon one Level 4 or lower Blackwing monster from my hand or deck. I choose a Tuner monster, Blackwing – Kochi the Daybreak from my deck!" The second raven monster appeared on his field now. For his upcoming turn he had everything in place to summon his ace dragon.
"I will not let your sacrifice be in vain, Crow! It is still my turn so let me help you with yours!" Kiryu insisted and activated another trap card. He still had two facedown cards after this. "Infernity Break! When I have no cards in my hand, I can banish one Infernity monster from my Graveyard in exchange for destroying yours, Jack!"
"I will not let you take Red Daemon's Dragon," Jack rebuffed. "Trap card open! Interdimensional Matter Transporter! I select one monster I control and remove it from play until the end of this turn."
Red Daemon's Dragon disappeared by Jack's own volition, untouched by Kiryu's trap.
The silver-haired duelist glanced at the two remaining hidden cards on his own field.
"Anything else you want to try?" Jack dared.
Things weren't going exactly as they planned but they still had more turns ahead. "I end my turn," Kiryu decided.
"Red Daemon's Dragon returns," the ruling King of Games declared and his powerful monster re-appeared to fly by his side as he drove. Its Attack points were still at 3300.
"He's got no more traps," Kiryu pointed out to Crow who'd started catching up to them.
"Bad mistake," Crow grinned.
"The two of you think you have what it takes to deplete a single Life Point from the King of Games?" Jack goaded as he rode ahead.
"Oh yes," the red-haired Signer laughed. "I've got just an idea. Something even a fake King like you, Jack, would appreciate." He drew a card, declaring a start of his turn.
Ruka studied her brother, distraught. There were small scratches all over her from the shards of the exploding vial Rua had thrown at her. Her Life Points depleted to 3200.
"My turn continues," Rua went on nonchalantly as if he didn't just toss something akin to a Molotov cocktail at her. "Since your Ancient Forest forces all my monsters to be in Attack mode, I'm summoning my Tuner monster - Morphtronic Scopen," he said. One of Rua's many recognizable Level 3 monsters appeared. In the past it looked like a normal machine but with corruption of the sinister sacrificial circle it looked like a torture device.
Tuner monster? Ruka thought, worryingly.
"You said you know all my cards?" he asked his sister. "Then you must know its special effect. Once per turn I can Special Summon a Morphtronic monster from my hand and it would be destroyed during my End Phase. I summon Morphtronic Videon in Attack mode." Another one of Rua's monsters appeared. It had only 1000 Attack points but it was a Level 4.
However, it wouldn't be any of these current monsters that would be going against Regulus.
"I tune Level 3 Morphtronic Scopen to Level 4 Morphtronic Videon," her brother began the summoning ritual. He slapped a silver card on the duel disk that emanated red energy. Not the Momentum-based duel disk but something else, more ominous. But then instead of his usual chant "Strength and courage combine to protect world peace. Messenger of love and justice, Power Tool Dragon!" he'd said something else: "Revenge and power combine to disrupt this world. Messenger of hatred and justice, Power Tool Dragon!"
Don't come, don't let him summon you, Ruka begged.
But Rua's obedient Signer dragon came. It's become trapped in this evil too, a tainted servant. It used to be such a friendly, sweet dragon. But its eyes shone red and it was breathing out something out of its open maw. Fire, smoke (ashes). Its metallic body was covered in red rust. There was a heavy chain around its neck.
The blue-haired teenage girl glanced again at the mark of the Crimson Dragon on her arm. It didn't change. It didn't recognize the presence of the two ahead. It couldn't do anything to wake them.
"Next I'll activate my Equip Magic Card, Megamorph!" Rua exclaimed and a scarlet shield with mysterious inscriptions appeared in his dragon's paw. "If my Life Points are lower than my opponent's – which they are! – the original Attack of my monster's doubles." Power Tool Dragon's Attack points went up to 4600.
A hand went up to cover Ruka's mouth. She felt afraid. "If-if you attack him, Power Tool Dragon will be destroyed at the end of this turn due to Ancient Forest's effect!" she pleaded, hoping for another, more peaceful resolution. "Rua, please just listen to me. I-"
"And I don't care!" Rua exclaimed, sending his dragon into certain suicide. "Go Power Tool Dragon! Destroy Regulus!"
Regulus, the white mountain lion, leapt away and charged at the dragon that had almost three thousand points on it. Even in the face of the impossible, Regulus was still trying to protect her.
"No!" she screamed and activated a powerful Trap card on her field. "Twinkle Wall! When my opponent declares an attack, I can negate it."
Power Tool Dragon stopped its offence and returned to Rua's side of the field. Because it didn't finish its attack, it wouldn't be destroyed by Ancient Forest's effect this turn.
Regulus looked at her, taken aback.
She smiled lightly at her loyal monster. "And then I take direct damage equal to half the attack of Power Tool Dragon."
A sudden blast detonated next to her and she screamed covering her face with her scratched arms. Her Life Points dropped by 2300, down to only 900.
Rua was laughing while she dropped to her knees, shaking. Next to her, Regulus wasn't just making upset noises: he was howling in distress.
"Okay. So you chose to keep your monster, take direct damage and let me keep Power Tool Dragon for the next turn?" Rua asked. "You've always been the worst duelist out of all the Signers!"
"I choose to protect the things I love," Ruka managed. She tried to smile as she reached and petted Regulus next to her. Her monsters were never simple illusions around her. They were real. The lion licked her arm, where a scratch was beginning to bleed. "Protecting the ones I love is what the Signer bond means to me. It's how I choose to fight. And my brother Rua knows this about me more than anyone."
"Yeah," Rua agreed, adding a facedown card to his field. "I know this alright. And it's how you'll end up dead by the end of this duel. I finish my turn."
Regulus was looking at her, eyes sad with compassion. "Don't worry, Regulus," she reassured him. She got up to her feet and faced her brother, confidence and resolve on her face. "I know what to do next."
"Save myself?" Aki repeated. "From what?"
"From here," he answered. "Can't you see? You're trapped in here and you're the only one who can make the decision to get out."
"Trapped…" Aki looked and saw the rip in the memories again. The duel with Yusei in that hospital room. A few more minutes and she was going to start torturing Stardust Dragon. "I'm fighting though. Can't you see? I'm fighting in that duel. Soon I'm going to be free."
"Those memories aren't the ones that matter. Once this duel is over you will loop back, to the beginning. You will never reach a resolution. These old memories have been a trap: to have you forget about what happened after, to have you regress, to keep you lost."
"Then…" she hesitated and decided: "Then I will go to where it matters." She was going to figure out how, eventually, she supposed.
"And you must. There is no time left. This is your last and only try."
Aki nodded. She didn't understand why the there was a time crunch and she felt anxious of the Unknown. But she felt resolved to fight.
A sad smile crossed his features. He was dressed in shimmering lilac robes and in elaborate precious ornaments and jewels. An ornate crown of pure gold rested on his forehead, held by his colourful and extravagant hair. "Then this is a goodbye."
"Goodbye?" she repeated and felt a surge of panic. "What do you mean? No! You can't go!"
He gave a regretful shake of his head and there was a quiet chime of all his jewelry as he did so. "You must know one more thing before I go. A precipice has formed: the worlds have grown closer due to impending doom. There is a rupture in the stream of Ma'at, the Great Balance. The end is nigh in the foreseeable future. So others will try to interfere, to ensure that it doesn't happen."
"I…I don't…" she tried. She didn't understand this. What did he mean, why couldn't he explain it? Why did he have to leave? "Others will interfere?"
"Those who usually exist on the outside the human realm. But there is one that's been dormant. He's got unfinished business. Inside this abyss he will have power outside of laws of the Great Balance. His presence is near but you mustn't let him come."
"But…what?" Aki blinked. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. How could I stop him?"
"You mustn't let him," Atem stressed. "You must remember what I say. Because if he comes and resolves his primordial vendetta, he will ascertain the end of your current world as you know it."
"Okay. I…I will try," she promised. She didn't know how she could possibly have the power to stop the Egyptian God of Chaos during this arc…but if Atem believed in her, perhaps there was something she could do after all. "But please just tell me – how?"
"If you are successful…if you escape, Izayoi Aki, then please remember my words. You have to stop him. You may be the only one who can."
"I promise I'll remember," she said. "I promise I'll do what I can to stop Set."
Atem's eyes widened, as he understood he'd overlooked an important piece of the puzzle. "No, it's not Set. It's-"
The world had flipped.
As Aki's footing had vanished and there was no ground to support her, she screamed his name. She fell through the deepest, darkest silence and…
She was flung back inside the duel against Yusei in the hospital room. Tears were welling in her eyes.
"Izayoi, don't you understand?" Yusei shouted. "You've had a home from the very beginning!"
"No. Because …When Divine died, this world had died with him. It's detestable. And that's why…" she reached for the pin holding her hair and ripped it off. "I will destroy everything."
Power ripped through her, surges so strong it hindered her breath. Sending locks of hair cascading down her forehead and shoulders.
Her hair was the (ugly) colour of burning sunset, of ripened rose, of fresh-
-blood
Aki looked up. Blurry surroundings came into focus. Computer screens near her, a broken warehouse roof. She tried moving but she was bound to a chair, electrodes attached to her head. Some distance in front of her Yusei was lying lifeless on the ground, in the puddle of his own blood.
She began shaking and wailing uncontrollably. I'm back, I'm back in this horrible place! she sobbed, screaming Yusei's name over and over again. Regressing into a self-pitying, guilt-ridden form: the one that's been ostracized at school and at home, the one who pushed everyone away, the one whom only a sociopath like Divine could care for, the one who hurt and destroyed others.
"That's right, you can't ever get out of here. You will always be stuck," Set said. He stood right by her. He was…fading in and out of focus. If you concentrated enough, he had the shape of that white-haired thin man. Otherwise, like an optical illusion, he had another form: that of a disembodied, black smoke.
"Aren't you proud of what you've done? It's all your fault," Mahdi had asked her inside the memory. He picked up a roll of sicky tape and started walking towards the bleeding Signer.
"I-I-I didn't know! I DIDN'T KNOW. I didn't mean for this to happen!" she screamed, fighting against the tight ropes holding her in place.
"Well that's a lie," Set answered, back next to her. Ahead of them, the memory of Mahdi was conversing with semi-conscious Yusei. "Of course you knew. Your whole life you used your powers to hurt people. You enjoyed doing that. Humans don't change."
"I…I…I didn't-"
"You're so ugly," Set hissed. "You always knew you were, didn't you? Didn't you see it in your memories? Your powers destroyed everything around you. You're a horrible monster. There is nobody in this world who could see past your hideous form."
Wait. Aki had suddenly paused in her crying.
A picture had flashed in her mind.
The Team 5D's celebrating their win at WRPGs. Three bottles of champagne, one winning cup, six friends and her. They battled together, side by side, each and every one of them equal and valuable. That win and that day belonged to them. All of them joyous, laughing. This WRPGs photo was in a picture frame in Yusei's room. He had shown it to her that night. As Yusei and her reminisced about the events in the photo, she shivered in her clothes wet from the rain. Some ten minutes later, those clothes had ended up on the floor by his bed. That night she had experienced love in its most primal, rawest form. There was not a shade of doubt what it had meant or in how Yusei had looked at her. She saw her own reflection in the devoted, passionate sapphire of his eyes.
"No, that's…that's not true at all…" she denied quietly. She blinked tears away.
She wasn't an ugly monster. She had so many friends and people who cared about her. People who knew about her past and who accepted her, supported her, believed in her. And people who loved her.
That picture, that was the truth. It was nearly supernatural and magical in its power, despite being so ordinary an item.
All the friends in that photo beamed at her: Rua, Ruka, Bruno, Jack, Crow and Yusei.
"Aki-san!" Ruka exclaimed. "Aki-neesan," Rua called.
"Hi!" Bruno said.
"Yo!" Crow winked at her. Arms crossed, Jack nodded at her with a smile.
"Ready to come home, Aki?" Yusei asked and held his hand out to her.
"What are you doing?" Set interrupted angrily. "ACCEPT IT! Accept that this was all your fault, Izayoi Aki! You know it is!"
He pointed at Yusei's mangled form in the background, at that ongoing horrible duel. "LOOK. Look at what you've done to him. Accept the truth of your actions! STOP. FIGHTING."
Instead, Aki turned away from the scene that occurred in the past and, in the present, stared at the strange, talking shadow of Set with disbelief and sudden clarity.
THE END.
Lol, just kidding. But we are getting closer, with each chapter!
All three of our good Signers got beat-up during their last turn but it's okay – they can still win this!
I also hope you like the small twist revealed by that final conversation between Aki and Yami Yugi (very much brought on by some of your reviews). Whahhh, it's not just Set they gotta watch out for in the end, there is someone else? Is Aki the only one who can stop it? WHO COULD IT BE?
Stay tuned to find out soon (hopefully). I'm going to try my best to keep writing! Thank you!