Okay people, in this chapter we will at last return to Yugi's group after Yuzu's group finishes their mission. To that one guest reviewer, Duke's father was in the manga and was addressed as "Mr. Clown" but had his original Japanese last name and not Duke's dub last name. I gave him the name Hector cause I wanted him to have a proper name for the story. I hope this was worth the wait. Now, let's get a move on!
Yugioh: The Hope of Six
Chapter 22: Kaiba Arc – Part 12
"That was unexpected." A surprised Vivian said after witnessing how Yuzu saved her father from falling to his death. Noah had the same reaction.
"I wasn't anticipating Yuzu to deploy a tactic like that. Still… nothing has changed." Vivian turned to him, eyebrow raised.
"How?" She asked. Noah grinned widely as he pushed a button on the console.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Around that time, Yuzu had just met back up with the rest of the group with her father and Valon. After having Saffira catch Shuzo, Yuzu had her dragon fly down to pick up her injured friend from the arena. From what she saw, the slash on his chest definitely looked worse up close. Valon had to get to a doctor quickly. Mai pointed this out after wrapping some makeshift bandages around him.
"That should hold for now. Just try not to stretch so much. You're lucky to be alive; that wound could've been deeper and you would be in bigger trouble. After we get back out it's the hospital for you." Valon chuckled.
"Sure, thanks Love. Always looking after your favorite bonehead." Mai smirked at him before turning to Yuzu.
"How's your dad?" She asked. Yuzu looked down at him. He remained unconscious.
"I think he's okay. Just out cold." She then tried to gently shake him awake. "Dad? Dad, can you hear me?" Everyone waited. At first, nothing happened. He still lay there with no reaction. A moment later, Shuzo then began to stir. Slowly he opened his and noticed his daughter straight away as he sat up.
"Y-Yuzu?" Yuzu smiled as she hugged him tightly.
"It's me Dad. I'm so glad I found you." Shuzo gladly returned the hug.
"Me too." The whole group smiled warmly at the scene. Yuzu was more than grateful to have her father back safe and sound. She was so afraid for his life after learning of his kidnapping. Now he was okay. They just needed to get the hell out along with everyone else. Yuzu hoped Yuya and the others would also be able to reach his mom in time.
"Are you alright, Mr. Hiragi?" Miho asked kindly. Shuzo turned to her after breaking the hug.
"Yeah, I think so. My neck is killing me though…" He gasped as the memory came back to him. "I remember now. Yoko and I were on our way home from our grocery shopping when that woman, Vivian, just popped up out of nowhere and confronted us. When we refused to "come quietly" as she put it, she chopped both our necks and I blacked out. I don't recall anything else after that. Wait, where exactly are we? And where is Yoko?" He asked as he frantically scanned the unfamiliar location.
"There's a lot to tell, but the short version is that we're in a tower filled with lethal traps and Yoko is being held captive at the very top. We are currently beneath it." Bakura explained to Shuzo, shocking him.
"A tower with traps?!" He then turned to his daughter, clearly upset. "Yuzu, are you telling me that you almost got yourself killed trying to find me?!" Yuzu expected this and didn't flinch.
"I had no choice Dad. If I hadn't, you and Yuya's mom would've died! I had to come!" She retorted. Shuzo grimaced at what his precious little girl had to go through to get to him.
"It is the parent's job to look after their child, not the other way around. I don't know what you faced to get here, but you shouldn't had to…" Shuzo paused a moment before moving on. "Vivian is really twisted isn't she?" Yuzu sighed.
"Actually, this all came from the mind of Vivian's "boss"." She told him.
"Her boss? Who? And how did you all of you find me?" He insisted.
"Look, we'll tell you on the way out. I don't want to be in this place anymore than we already have." Mai advised.
"What about Yoko?" Shuzo asked, still worried for her safety.
"Yuya is rescuing her with Yugi and the rest of our friends right now." This only worried her father even more.
"Yuya?! Hasn't that boy been through enough danger already?!"
"I'm sure they'll be fine. They will look after each other, just like we have." Yuzu reassured him while looking her group. Shuzo sighed as he shook his head.
"Why do these kids always get themselves into situations like this?" He complained to himself.
"Mr. Hiragi, we're all getting out of here. We just have believe…" Miho was cut off when a loud crumbling noise made everyone jump. They turned behind them to see something bad. The exit leading back out had been sealed off by a pile of large rocks.
"Um, tell me that wasn't our escape route." Shuzo said nervously. When nobody answered, he knew he didn't need and answer.
"Now what?" Bakura asked.
"There's got to be another way out." Valon said.
"There isn't! None of you will be leaving, ever!" Noah declared to the shocked group.
"Noah! What did you do?! Let us go!" Yuzu angrily demanded. Noah snickered.
"That's not going to happen! No one leaves my Death-T Tower alive! No one! You are all now going to die… excruciatingly! Enjoy your last moments of life!" He laughed insanely before he left the group to their fate.
Everyone was now starting to believe what Noah's real intentions were. "That sneaky, underhanded bastard! He was never going to let any of us out!" Valon cursed as he pounded one of the rocks with his fist. Doing so, however, caused his wound to open up and bleed again. He moaned in pain as well, which did not escape Mai's attention.
"What did I just say, Valon?" She said in exasperation. Valon gave a feeble apology in response.
"Guys, we cant just be trapped! There's gotta be a way out!" Miho yelled, now seriously scared.
"And we need to find it fast! Look!" Bakura said as he pointed at the boiling lethal liquid in the chamber. As if things weren't bad enough, the stuff had begun to rapidly rise!
"If we don't get out of here soon we'll all end up boiled alive, just like Chopman!" Mai said.
"Any ideas?" Shuzo questioned. Yuzu raised up her Duel Disk.
"I may have one. I'll have one of my Monsters blast through those rocks!" However, as she tried to turn on her Disk, she found it would not do so. It remained inactive. "What?! My Disk isn't working! It worked when I saved my dad! Why won't it activate now?!" She complained.
"I'll bet Noah's doing something to interfere with your Duel Disk's operating systems. Probably the rest of ours too." Bakura suggested.
"So what do we do?!" Miho panicked.
In his control room, Noah smiled victoriously. "Simple, Miho. There's nothing you can do… except die." He said quietly. He knew there would be no escape for Yuzu's group because their only exit was blocked off by rocks, not some door that closed in their faces. Noah didn't forget about that mysterious hack that resulted in Yugi's gang escape from Death T-2. He was sure that wouldn't happen this time, especially since he sent out that signal that disabled all their Duel Disks. Soon, all of them would perish in the rising lake of death. It would only be a matter of minutes before it reached them. Noah knew there truly was no way out for that lot.
Except once again, he was proven wrong.
As he stared at the screen, he straightened himself and went wide eyed with shock. "What?! How?! That shouldn't be possible!" Vivian didn't say anything, she just watched with the same reaction as her boss.
What they were seeing was the same thing Yuzu and those with her were seeing. Before their eyes, the bridge that retracted itself earlier was extending itself back out from the center platform to the ledge where the group was standing.
"I don't believe it! What's going on?" Mai asked, dumbfounded.
"But why? The bridge only leads to that platform! There's still no way out!" Shuzo pointed out. Yuzu then remembered something as the bridge connected to their side.
"Yes there is! When Chopman showed up, he came up from an elevator in the center of that platform! That has got to lead to another exit! Come on!" She commanded as she broke out into a run.
"You heard my daughter! Move it!" Shuzo added as he ran beside her. Mai, Valon, Bakura, and Miho ran like they had never run before to the platform.
"Hurry!" Miho called out. The liquid was touching the surface now and was flowing across toward the gang. Thankfully, when they got to the platform the elevator was still there, waiting for them. The deadly liquid was fast approaching. Once the group was standing on it, the pad began to descend below.
As soon as they were beneath the platform, the opening above them closed and thus stopped the stuff from touching them. The whole group fell on their butts, exhausted by their run for dear life. "I can't believe… we made it." Bakura said, sounding out of breath.
"Neither…can I. But we're safe… all of us." Yuzu said as she also breathed hard. She wondered how the bridge came back and led them to the elevator they were currently riding on, aiding with their escape. All she knew was that they were safe… for now. The girl then looked upward, a look of worry on her face. 'Yuya, Yugi, everyone… I hope all of you are okay…'
/\/\/\/\/\/\
Noah was fuming in his chair. "Impossible! My systems have been hacked again! First on Death T-2, now on Death T-F!"
"Could it be the same person as before?" Vivian asked, also annoyed by the incident.
"It has to be! But this doesn't make sense! After the first hack, I took the precaution of isolating my more "sensitive" operating systems in the tower to a private server. It was so that I, and I alone, could access them! Yet, it did nothing! It still happened! How could this have occurred?!"
"And you still can't trace it back to the source?" Vivian questioned further. Noah growled.
"No, and that's what is troubling me the most. How can I not trace a hack? It should be child's play for someone like me."
"This hacker is beginning to be a huge pain in the ass. He or she stopped Chopman from getting any of Yugi's pals, and now Yuzu and her bunch got away too."
Noah agreed. His thoughts then turned back to his older stepbrother. 'I believed it was impossible before, but could Seto somehow be behind this? I don't see how he could, but there's no one else I can think of.' He should check on him, to see if he had been lending a "helping hand" to Yugi and the others. Although… he had another idea.
"What are you thinking?" Vivian asked. Noah looked up at her.
"I have my suspicions. Also, I think I kept a certain group sitting around long enough." He said as he focused two center screens on two images. One screen showed the white room where Yugi Muto's group was, while the other showed a still imprisoned Seto Kaiba. "Time for Death T-3 to get underway. Vivian, you watch them and tell me if you see anything unusual. I'll keep a close watch on my stepbrother. If he is the hacker, I'll catch him at it this time."
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Man, how long has it been?" Joey asked, sounding bored out of his mind.
"It's been at least half an hour. Maybe a little longer." Yuya answered, making Joey groan.
"I don't like this waiting. What's Noah up to now?" Tèa asked.
"Nothing good for us, that we can be sure of." Tristan said before he turned to Serenity. "You okay?" He asked. Joey's sister nodded.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm starting to think we should reschedule our date for tomorrow night." The young man nodded in agreement.
"I don't blame you. When we get out of this we'll both need a good long rest. Dating tomorrow night sounds better." Serenity smiled.
"Thanks for understanding. Also…" she hesitated, knowing how he'll feel about it.
"What?" Tristan asked.
"I wonder what happened to that monkey we fought?" The teen snorted.
"Who knows? I doubt we'll bump into that little chimp again. Personally, I hope we don't."
"That monkey sounded like it was a real pain." Yuya said. Tristan scowled.
"If you met him Yuya, you would know just how much of a pain it was."
"Why are you worried about that monkey anyway, sis? Didn't it try to kill you and Tristan?" Joey asked, not really caring about the animal that attempted to knife his sister and close friend to death. Serenity shrugged.
"Well, yeah it did. I don't really blame it, though. I think whoever trained it to be hostile really hurt him just to make it obedient. Plus, we never saw it again after Chopman came bursting in to kill us all. Those two were in the same room together for a short time. And I like animals. Monkeys are one of my favorites."
"There was nothing cute about that particular monkey." Tristan noted with disdain.
"He was pretty scary, I'll admit." Serenity conceded. "Still, I hope nothing bad happened to him."
"Maybe it made a getaway along with those mercenaries we dealt with." Yugi guessed.
"You should be more concerned for yourselves than some primitive primate." Everyone got on their feet and looked up. An old woman was descending toward them on a floating circular pad. She had long gray hair, dark blue eyes and wore a dark, tattered cloak. Her wrinkled face and her overall frail appearance gave the gang the impression she was a witch from one of those old fairy tails. The pad touched the floor, opposite where everyone was.
"Who the heck are you?" Tèa demanded.
"I am Agatha, Mistress of Darkness. Master Noah has sent me to initiate his next game, Death T-3."
"About freaking time. We were starting to get tired of twiddling our thumbs." Joey complained.
"Wait. How come Noah hasn't told us himself?" Yugi asked. Usually Noah spoke to them about their challenges. Why was now any different?
"He has other matters on his mind for the moment. I will explain your next challenge on his behalf."
"Alright. What game are we playing now?" Yuya questioned. Agatha smiled.
"Look above on your right." They did so, and saw what looked like an opening. It appeared to be several stories up. None of the gang remember seeing it when they first entered this room. They figured it opened when Agatha showed up. "That is the exit. It is too high for anyone to reach for the moment, and all your Duel Disks are still disabled so you can't use your Monsters to do your work for you. The only way out is to get up there."
"How?" Serenity asked, seeing no means to reach the opening. Agatha continued to smile.
"You will see… during a Duel against me. Master Noah will allow whoever my opponent is to use their Duel Disk for the Duel and no one else's. So, which of you will dare to take me on?"
"I will." Tèa boldly declared as she stepped toward the older woman. When she was in position, her Duel Disk came online.
"Tèa, are you sure?" Yugi asked, afraid for his girlfriend's life. "We don't know what kind of Duelist she is or what game she's playing." Tèa nodded as she inserted her Deck and Extra Deck into their slots.
"I'll be fine Yugi. You and everyone else just keep an eye out. Something tells me we really need to be on our toes for this one."
"Okay. Just be careful." Yugi advised.
"Don't worry Yugi. Tèa is a stronger Duelist now. We have to believe in her, like we did for Serenity." Atem told his partner. Yugi said he will, though he still felt concerned. Agatha chuckled.
"Oh, this is going to be quite fun! Let us begin!" The two women then began the next game.
"DUEL!"
(Tèa: 4000) (Agatha: 4000)
"I will make the first move. My turn. Draw." Agatha appeared calm as chose her cards. "I Set a Monster in Defense Mode, then I Set one card facedown and end my turn. Now show me the kind of Duelist you are." Tèa smirked.
"Be careful what you ask for, because you just might get it. My turn! Draw!" Before she could do anything, Agatha pulled a fast one.
"I activate a Trap, Dark Scheme! Now you have a choice to make, dearie! If you don't discard a card from your hand to negate it, Dark Scheme will force us to discard two cards and then draw two cards to replace them! What will it be, young lady?" She said while smirking. One look at the cards she held told Tèa what the right choice was. She smirked back, confusing her opponent.
"I'm not gonna let you get the upper hand Agatha! I discard a card to negate your Dark Scheme!" Agatha frowned, clearly disappointed by the move.
"So sure of yourself, are you?" Agatha asked.
"Definitely." She confirmed. The older woman then smiled, unnerving Tèa. "What?" Her question was answered in an unexpected way…
"Heads up!" Joey yelled as pulled his sister away. If he hadn't, Serenity would've been crushed from the huge white block that fell from above. Yugi, Yuya, and Tristan else also backed away just in time. This shocked everyone aside from Agatha. "You okay Serenity?" Joey asked, worried. His sister nodded.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks Joey."
"It's what big brothers are for." Her brother then turned to the enemy Duelist, looking very pissed. "What the hell was that about you hag?!" Agatha chuckled.
"It's part of the game. During this Duel, blocks such as that one will randomly drop to try to squash you flat. Only me and my opponent are safe; it's just the spectators that are at risk." Everyone was scared now.
"What?!" Tèa now looked furious. "You mean there's no telling when the next one will fall?!" She asked incredulously.
"That's correct." Agatha answered without worry. "I do hope this doesn't distract you from dueling me."
Tèa gritted her teeth. Now she had another problem. To help everyone escape Death T-3 she had to defeat Agatha. But at the same time, giant blocks would try to crush her friends. And the worst part was there was no way of knowing when or where they will impact next. She wasn't sure if she could do it. Seeing the worry on Tèa's face, Yugi faced her.
"Tèa, listen! Focus on the Duel! It's the only way to get out of here! The rest of us will avoid getting squashed!" The others told her the same.
"Are you sure?" Tèa asked, sounding fearful. Yugi nodded.
"I'm sure. We'll be fine. Now put all your mind and heart on defeating Agatha!" With her boyfriend's encouragement, Tèa gave him a thumbs up and smiled.
"Thanks Yugi! I will!" With that she turned back to her opponent. As she did, Yugi advised the others to split up to increase their chances of survival and keep their eyes upward for more falling blocks. Yugi hoped that would be enough. Tèa now locked eyes with her adversary. "Okay, it's still my turn! First, I'm bringing in some celestial muscle by Summoning The Agent of Force – Mars in Attack Mode!" (LIGHT; Level 3; ATK: 0; DEF: 0) A dark red skinned man with pale wings and holding a long handed hammer appeared before it's master. "This Monster is unaffected by any Magic cards, so don't even try doing anything magical on him!"
"Some muscle. It has no Attack Points." Agatha pointed out with a snort. Tea smiled.
"I'm about to change that. For my next move, I play The Sacred Water of the Sky! This Magic card lets me either activate "The Sanctuary in the Sky" directly from my Deck or add a Monster that specifically mentions that card in the text from my Deck to my hand! I'm going with the former and activate my Field Magic card from my Deck!" Just like in her last Duel, a heavenly temple covered by clouds surrounded both Duelists. "After that, Sacred Water gives me 500 Life Points for each "Agent" or "Hyperion" Monster I control! Mars happens to be one of them!"
(Tèa: 4000 + 500 = 4500)
"Your Monster is still powerless." Agatha mocked.
"Not anymore. With The Sanctuary in the Sky on my Field and my Life Points now being higher than yours, Mars gains Attack and Defense Points equal to the difference!" Mars gave off a bright red glow as it gain power.
(The Agent of Force - Mars' ATK: 500; DEF: 500)
Agatha still didn't seemed worried. 'It still isn't strong enough to be very threatening. Not compared to what I plan for her…' She thought.
"Next, with Sanctuary in play I can Special Summon The Agent of Entropy – Uranus from my hand!" (DARK; Level 5; ATK: 2200; DEF: 1200) A dark male figure with four black wings wielding a scepter with an glowing eyeball appeared next to Mars. "Battle! Uranus, attack Agatha's facedown Monster! Celestial Eye blast!" One orange energy beam from the dark Fairy's weapon and Agatha's only defense was gone. However, she didn't seem bothered at all.
"As I expected. You activated the Effect of Scarr, Scout of Dark World! When it is destroyed in battle and goes to the Graveyard, I can take a Level 4 or lower "Dark World" Monster from my Deck and add it to my hand! I choose Zure, Knight of Dark World." The older woman stated as she added said Monster to her hand.
"I'm not done! Mars, attack Agatha directly! Solar Hammer!" Tea's other Monster flew right at her opponent and struck her hard.
(Agatha: 4000 - 500 = 3500)
"Alright Tèa!" Serenity cheered.
"That's what I call getting hammered!" Joey added.
"Watch out Joey!" Tristan warned.
Joey jumped back to narrowly avoided getting squashed by a block. "Whew, close one! Thanks man!" His friend nodded approvingly.
"Guys, over there!" Yuya shouted as he pointed to the wall where the exit was. A block had also fallen beneath the opening. "That block landed there the exact same time the other one tried to kill Joey!"
"Right when Agatha took damage to her Life Points." Zarc noted. Yugi had the same thought.
"Of course! The more Life Points Agatha loses, the more blocks build our way to the exit! If Tèa wins…"
"We'll be able to get out!" Serenity finished.
Of course, that meant they had to still be alive to take advantage of that. But that caused another thought to occur to Yugi. 'What would happen if Tèa's Life Points took a hit?'
"Hey Tèa! If you beat her, we can get to the exit!" Yuya told her. Tèa nodded.
"Thanks for letting me know!" She then focused on the Duel again. "Now that the difference in our Life Points just got bigger, Mars gets even stronger." Tèa declared as Mars' Attack and Defense Points both rose up to 1000. "I end my turn."
Agatha grunted. "Don't think you can hold off my darkness for long. My turn! Draw!" She smiled. 'This should suffice for the moment.' "I play my Dark World Dealings Magic card! We both draw one card, then discard one." She and Tèa then drew and discarded their cards. The old crone was satisfied with her drawn card. But that would come later. "I activate the Effect of the Monster I just discarded! If it is discarded to the Graveyard by a card effect, I can Special Summon it to my Field! Come Forth Sillva, Warlord of Dark World!" (DARK; Level 5; ATK: 2300; DEF: 1400) A bulky silver armored demon holding a sharp pale blade rose up before it's controller. "Your pathetic angels cannot withstand the might of my strong demons! Battle! Sillva, attack The Agent of Force – Mars! Silver Slash!" The fiend roared as it charged ahead to stab the red fairy to death.
"My Monsters are not pathetic! Thanks to the Effect of my Sanctuary, any damage to the controller of a Fairy Monster in battle is reduced to 0! In other words, my Life Points won't go down one bit!" At the last second, Mars raised it's hammer to block the attack.
"No matter. Your Monster is still vanquished." Agatha stated.
"No it isn't! Since Mars has "The Sanctuary in the Sky" mentioned in it's card text, I can banish The Sacred Water of the Sky from my Graveyard to prevent it from being destroyed in battle! Your attack was totally wasted!" Tèa declared as Mars managed to push Sillva back.
"Nice save!" Tristan called out before barely avoiding being crushed by another block. "Come on!" He yelled in frustration.
Despite failing to inflict damage, Agatha still maintained her cool. "An adequate defense, I suppose. But very soon, my darkness will extinguish your light. I Set one card facedown and end my turn."
"Don't bet on it. My turn! Draw!" She was momentarily distracted when she heard Yuya yell from behind. She turned and saw (with great relief) that he too avoided getting squashed. The girl knew her friends couldn't keep this up forever. She had to win the Duel as soon as she could, and she had a way to get there. "Hold on guys." She told them before continuing. "I activate Uranus' Monster Effect! Once per turn, I can send a "The Agent" Monster from my Deck to my Graveyard! By doing that, I can change the Level of Uranus to the Level of the sent Monster! I send my Level 2 The Agent of Mystery – Earth from my Deck to the Graveyard to make Uranus a Level 2 Monster!"
"Why would she do that?" Vivian and Agatha both asked themselves as they watched curiously.
Yugi, Yuya, Joey, and Tristan had a good idea what Tèa was about to do. Serenity gasped. "Is Tèa planning to do what I think she's planning?" She asked. Joey merely chuckled.
"Alright Agatha, here's something I know even Noah hasn't seen before. Uranus isn't just any Monster. It is also known as a "Tuner" Monster, and I'm about to show you what's so special about it." Tèa told the old woman.
"A Tuner Monster?" This actually got Noah's attention, watching the Duel now instead of Kaiba.
Tea smiled as she revealed her latest move. "Here goes! I'm Tuning my Level 3 Mars to my now Level 2 Uranus!" Uranus then became a pair glowing green rings that surrounded Mars before the latter turned into three bright stars and vanished in a bright light. "When a Tuner and other non-Tuner Monsters have the right combined Level, they can bring out a new kind of Monster! Here's one of them! Thanks to my Monsters, I am able to Synchro Summon this Synchro Monster: The Executor of Hades – Pluto!" (DARK; Level 5; ATK: 2300; DEF: 0) Tea's new Monster took the place of her first two. It was a pale skinned man in a dark suit with small dark purple wings. This shocked everyone who hadn't seen a Synchro Summon before.
"So that's a Synchro Monster?!" Serenity exclaimed in surprise. She heard about them when she was told about her friends' adventures in Yuya and Yuzu's world. Now she got so see one for herself.
"Okay, that is definitely a new one. What about you?" Vivian asked an equally stunned Noah.
"I've never seen anything like it. Where did Tèa learn to use that kind of Monster?" He wondered. Noah knew he should be keeping an eye on his stepbrother, but he was too distracted by the Duel. He decided to see how the rest of Tèa's turn played out before he resumed his focus on his prisoner.
"What trickery is this?" Agatha mouthed in utter confusion. Tea shook her head.
"It's no trick. Synchro Monsters are real and this one is going to clear the way! I activate Pluto's Monster Effect! Once per turn, I can banish a Monster from my Graveyard to target one Effect Monster on the Field and change it to facedown Defense Mode!"
"What?!" Agatha shouted in surprise.
"You heard right! I banish The Agent of Entropy – Uranus from my Graveyard to force Sillva, Warlord of Dark World facedown in Defense Mode!" Agatha's brute vanished from sight and left only the image of a sideways facedown card could be seen. "Since it's Defense Power is much weaker than it's Attack Power, Sillva is much easier to get rid of now. Battle! Pluto, attack the facedown Sillva! Orb of Exile!" A crackling purple energy sphere launched from Pluto's hands and disintegrated it's target.
"Great move Tèa!" Yugi cheered before narrowly dodging another block.
"Damn you, wench." Agatha cursed. Tèa didn't let that get to her.
"Hopefully this will be over soon. I Set one card facedown and end my turn." Agatha growled.
"It seems I underestimated you, child. You are not as weak as I initially believed. That will change. My turn. Draw!" Agatha began formulating a plan to take back control of the Duel and crush her opponent. "I activate a Magic card called Dark World Calling! By sending a card from my Deck to my Graveyard, I can Special Summon a "Dark World" Monster directly from my Deck! I Special Summon Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World!" It's stats were the same as Sillva's. It also appeared similar to it's counterpart, only it the big fiend wore gold armor around it and held a golden axe in it's huge hands. "After that, I end my turn."
'She didn't try to make her Monster stronger and try to attack. Why?' Tèa wondered. She was distracted again when she heard Serenity yelp in pain when her right arm got grazed by another block. Joey told her it wasn't bad, nothing serious. Tèa was starting to worry again. Her friends were beginning to get tired of dodging from large falling blocks. She had to end the Duel fast. "My turn! Draw!" Tèa couldn't afford to waste time thinking when her loved ones were in constant danger. "I won't lose any of my friends here! I banish Mars from my Graveyard to activate Pluto's Effect again! I will change…" Agatha suddenly grinned in a horrific way.
"You will change nothing, not this time! I activate one of my most dangerous cards: Dark World Brainwashing! This Continuous Trap will turn things to my favor now, Tèa! When my opponent's Monster activates it's Effect while I have three or more cards in my hand, I can return a "Dark World" Monster I control to my hand! Retreat for now, Goldd!" The hag commanded as her golden behemoth vanished.
"Why return your only Monster to your hand?" Tèa asked, not understanding what Agatha was up to. The older woman chuckled.
"Here is why. When my Monster has successfully returned to my hand, my Trap can change the activated Monster Effect into a different one!"
"What Effect?" Tèa asked.
"I'm so glad you asked. Thanks to Dark World Brainwashing, your Pluto's new Effect is "Discard one card from your opponent's hand"!" Agatha answered triumphantly.
"Oh no!" Tèa knew this had to be bad, since her opponent relied on discarding cards to use their Effects.
'Not good! Agatha must have something nasty in her hand that can cause a big problem for Tèa!' Yugi said in worry.
"My feelings exactly." Atem agreed, also worried for Tèa. They were right to be concerned.
Tèa had no choice but to proceed. "Fine then, I'll have you discard a card from your hand!" Agatha beamed.
"I thought you'd say that, and I have just the card in mind. I discard Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, per Pluto's new Effect! Now that Grapha has been discarded by a card effect, I can target a card my opponent controls… and destroy it! Your Synchro Monster is no longer a threat!" Agatha cackled as a shadow of a dragon appeared, grabbed Pluto and dragged it down, out of sight.
"No! Pluto!" Tèa cried out in dismay. Agatha was very giddy to see her opponent react the way she did.
"Yes, despair as the darkness grows and spreads! And there's still more from my precious Dragon Lord! Because Grapha was discarded due to an opponent's card effect, I can also look at one of the cards in your hand! If it happens to be a Monster, I can Special Summon it to my Field! Show me the card on your left!" Agatha revealed while pointing to said card in Tèa's hand.
Although Tèa was not happy about the turn of events, she still hadn't lost hope nor her confidence. She revealed the card her opponent picked… a Trap. "Sorry Agatha. No Monster for you to take." Agatha shrugged.
"Lucky for you." She responded calmly. "Anything else you can try?"
Tèa really had one thing she could do. "I Set two cards facedown and end my turn." She declared reluctantly, Setting the last cards she was holding.
"That's too bad. My turn will be much more impressive, for this is the turn that I will extinguish your light, girl! My turn! DRAW!" She looked pretty deranged at this point. "First I play Pot of Greed, giving me two more cards! Next, I Summon Zure, Knight of Dark World!" (DARK; Level 4; ATK: 1800; DEF: 1500) A caped demon with a sword now stood before Agatha. "Now I activate the Effect of Grapha in my Graveyard! By returning a "Dark World" Monster I control except "Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World" to my hand, I can Special Summon my great beast from the Graveyard! I return Zure to my hand and call forth my ultimate creature! Rise from the darkness… GRAPHA, DRAGON LORD OF DARK WORLD!" (DARK; Level 8; ATK: 2700; DEF: 1800) A dragon-like demon slowly crawled out of a blanket of dark mist. It was the color of graphite and it towered over it's master's enemy.
"I really don't like that thing." Serenity commented ash she shivered from fear. Agatha went on.
"If you think he looks terrifying now, wait until you see this! I play my own Field Magic card: The Gates of Dark World!" Two big black gates appeared behind Agatha and slowly opened, revealing a swirling dark portal.
"But I already have a Field card in play!" Tèa pointed out. Agatha waved a finger.
"Yes, and according to the rules, no two Field cards can be active at the same time. So in other words, your Sanctuary in the Sky has to go!" A burst of wind from Gates of Dark World blew away all traces of Tèa's Sanctuary.
"No!" Tèa cried out.
"First Tèa's Monster, now her Field card! That old crone is vicious." Tristan said with clear hate for her. Agatha felt victory was near for her.
"I'm glad that eyesore is finally out of my sight. Now witness the power of my darkness! The Gates of Dark World grant all Fiend Monsters 300 Attack and Defense Points! Now my Grapha grows even more powerful!" Her Ace roared as it felt it's power increase.
(Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World's ATK: 2700 + 300 = 3000; DEF: 1800 + 300 = 2100)
'This is really not good!' Tèa thought, knowing she was in big trouble now.
"My Gates has another useful Effect! Once per turn, I can banish a Fiend Monster from my Graveyard to discard another Fiend from my hand and draw one card! I banish Scarr, Scout of Dark World from my Graveyard to discard Goldd and draw another card! Then, since a Level 5 or higher "Dark World" Monster got discarded by a card effect, I can also banish Dark World Calling from my Graveyard to Special Summon the Monster I just discarded! Return to the battle Goldd, and receive your power!" As her previous Monster reappeared, it also got stronger from the Effect of The Gates of Dark World.
(Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World's ATK: 2300 + 300 = 2600; DEF: 1400 + 300 = 1700)
"Definitely not good!" Yuya said, knowing what would happen next. Agatha smiled wickedly.
"Tèa Gardner, your resistance was amusing, but ultimately futile. Your end is nigh! Battle! Grapha, Dragon Lord of Dark World, attack directly! Graphite Claw!" With a swipe of it's massive claws, Tèa got knocked down and took a heavy blow to her Life Points.
(Tèa: 4500 - 3000 = 1500)
"Tèa!" Yugi yelled. Suddenly, he felt something grabbing his legs and looked down. He was shocked to see his feet were clamped to the spot he was standing. He could not move. "What? What is this?!" He immediately knew what this meant. When the next block fell, it would fall on him. Only now, he could not escape.
"Yugi!" Yuya and the others shouted.
"YUGI! NO!" Tèa screamed, upset that she could do nothing to protect him.
Inside his control room, Noah quickly resumed watching Kaiba for any sign he would try something. He zoomed in on the image of his stepbrother enough to see what he would do. Vivian still watched the action, actually hoping Yugi would somehow be saved. After all, she still desired him. She would not be very happy if he got pancaked.
And then… a miracle occurred. Just as the block could be seen falling, the clamps on Yugi's feet snapped open. Yugi jumped away just in the nick of time before the block got him. The others ran to him, looking glad he was unharmed. "Yug, you okay pal?" Joey asked. Yugi nodded in relief.
"I'm fine, Joey. Thanks." He then turned to his girlfriend. "I'm okay, Tèa." Tèa shed a tear, grateful he was alive and well.
Vivian was also just as pleased. "For once, I'm glad something didn't happen like it was supposed to. However…" She gave her boss an unhappy look. "You didn't have to pick Yugi out of all of them to test your theory."
Noah did not look at her as he answered. "Oh relax, Vivian. He's alive, isn't he? Besides..." He pointed at the screen showing Kaiba. More specifically, he was pointing at Mokuba's body. "I think I know how Seto has been messing up our fun. And if I'm right…" He then suddenly sneered. "He's going to pay for it most severely!"
Back in Death T-3, Agatha had shown actual surprise seeing Yugi survive that. "What is this? Why wasn't the boy crushed where he stood? How did he get free?"
Tèa was wondering the same thing. She thought for sure Yugi was done for. Yet, somehow he got saved. It was similar to what happened when they escaped from Chopman. 'Could someone be looking out for us on the outside?' She asked herself. If so, she would be sure to thank them if she got the chance. She then looked back at Agatha with more anger than ever. 'When she takes damage, a piece of our way out will fall into place near the exit. When I take damage, one of my friends gets trapped and can't move away from the falling block on top of them. I can't let that happen again! I have to beat that witch here and now!' With that goal in mind, Tèa got back up to resume the Duel. Agatha scoffed at her.
"Won't stay down, will you? Doesn't matter, it all ends now! Goldd, Wu-Lord of Dark World, attack that brat directly! Finish her off now with Gold Smite!" Goldd held up it's mighty axe and prepared to deliver the final blow.
"I'm not going down! I activate a Continuous Trap of my own, Miraculous Descent! This Special Summons one of my banished Fairy Monsters to my Field! I bring back The Agent of Force – Mars in Defense Mode!" Mars reappeared before Tèa before getting sliced in half by Agatha's Monster. When it was destroyed, so was the Trap that revived it. Agatha became annoyed.
"So stubborn. You should learn to accept the inevitable, girl. The Battle may be over, but not the Duel. I play Corridor to Dark World! This Special Summons a "Dark World" Monster in my Graveyard, but I won't be allowed to Summon any more Monsters this turn! I bring back Sillva, Warlord of Dark World!" As her destroyed Monster returned, it also got stronger due to Agatha's Field card.
(Sillva, Warlord of Dark World's ATK: 2300 + 300 = 2600; DEF: 1400 + 300 = 1700)
"It's a trio of terror." Tristan commented grimly.
"I could've revived Sillva before I attacked, but I didn't believe it would be necessary. You proved me wrong. On my next turn, it WILL be over for you. I end my turn." Agatha declared as she at last finished her turn.
Tèa never felt more determined to win a Duel, especially when her friends' lives were literally at stake. She vowed to herself she would take down Agatha now and get everyone out. "Things may look bad for me, but I'm not giving up Agatha! Not a chance! My turn! DRAW!" Tèa knew her drawn card wasn't going to do any good. Thankfully, she had a way to better her odds. "I play my facedown Beckoning Light! This Trap card makes me discard my entire hand, then for each card sent I add a LIGHT Monster from my Graveyard to my hand! Since I only have one card in my hand, I can only get one Monster back! I return The Agent of Mystery – Earth to my hand!"
"That puny little angel won't do you any good." Agatha taunted. Tèa couldn't have disagreed more.
"Wrong! She will help! But first, I activate another Trap, Balance of Judgment! If my opponent controls more cards than the combined number of cards in my hand and that I control, I can draw cards equal to the difference! Right now you control five cards, while I have only two; one in my hand and the other on my Field. That means I can draw three more cards!" Tèa smiled at the cards she had gotten and started getting a winning plan together.
"No matter what cards you have now, your light will never conquer my darkness." Agatha declared. Tèa continued to smile.
"Light always beats darkness! I will prove that by beating you! Next I play Twister, a Magic card that will destroy one face-up Magic or Trap card on the Field at the cost of 500 Life Points! With this, I'll destroy your Dark World Brainwashing!"
(Tèa: 1500 - 500 = 1000)
"You dare?!" Agatha yelled angrily as her Trap was no more.
"Sweet! Now Tèa can use her Monster's Effects again without that hag changing them!" Joey happily noted.
"With that Trap gone, I can use Pluto's other Effect! Once per turn, by banishing Pluto from my Graveyard I can take "The Sanctuary in the Sky" from my Deck or Graveyard and add it to my hand! I'll take it back from the Graveyard… or rather a card that shares it's name!" Tèa said while smirking.
"What do you mean by that?" Agatha asked, not knowing what her enemy was talking about.
"When my first turn started, you played a Trap that had me discard a card. Well, when that card is on the Field or in the Graveyard it's name becomes "The Sanctuary in the Sky". Now I can use the Effect of Pluto to take it back! Since it is in my hand again, my Continuous Magic card regains it's real name: The Sanctum of Parshath! And now I activate it, with it taking Sanctuary's name again!" Agatha was annoyed Tèa had this planned early on in the Duel.
"Nice thinking ahead!" Tristan praised.
"Next, I Summon the Monster I just recovered: The Agent of Mystery – Earth!" (LIGHT: Level 2; ATK: 1000; DEF: 800) A young girl in white and light green robes with wings of the same color appeared while holding a scepter with a white orb attached. "The Effect of Sanctum gives all Fairies a 300 Attack and Defense Point boost, similar to your Field card!"
"Copy cat. Still, it is no match for any of my Monsters." Agatha insulted with a snarl. Tèa ignored her as her Fairy glowed white from the power up.
(The Agent of Mystery - Earth's ATK: 1000 + 300 = 1300; DEF: 800 + 300 = 1100)
After that, Earth raised it's scepter up high and it too gave off a bright glow. "My Monster's Effect activates! When Earth is Normal Summoned, I can add one "The Agent" Monster from my Deck to my hand, but with "Sanctuary" in play I can take "Master Hyperion" instead!" Tèa revealed as she added her Ace Monster to her hand. "Now by banishing a "The Agent" Monster from either my hand, Field, or Graveyard, like The Agent of Force - Mars, I can Special Summon Master Hyperion from my hand!" (LIGHT; Level 8; ATK: 2700; DEF: 2100) Tèa's flaming sun Monster materialized next to Earth. "Like Earth, Master Hyperion also gets stronger from Sanctum's Effect!" Hyperion glowed as it's power also rose.
(Master Hyperion's ATK: 2700 + 300 = 3000; DEF: 2100 + 300 = 2400)
"So this was your aim, was it?" Agatha inquired. "Your Hyperion may be as strong as Grapha, but it won't win this battle."
"Not exactly." Tèa told her. "Like Uranus, my Level 2 Earth is also a Tuner Monster. And guess what? I'm Tuning it with my Level 8 Master Hyperion!"
"Another Synchro Summon?!" Agatha said, aghast. Like before, Earth became a pair of rings that covered Hyperion.
"If you thought Pluto was a problem, it was nothing compared to this guy! Here is my Level 10 Synchro Monster in all his flaming glory: MASTER FLARE HYPERION!" (LIGHT; Level 10; ATK: 3200; DEF: 2600) The new Hyperion had a vibrant more red and black armor and had wings of golden fire. Like the other Fairies before it, Master Flare Hyperion also got more powerful from Sanctum's Effect.
(Master Flare Hyperion's ATK: 3200 + 300 = 3500; DEF: 2600 + 300 = 2900)
"Yes! Tèa is really on fire now!" Yuya said.
"Go get her Tèa!" Serenity cheered.
"She has a second Synchro Monster?!" Vivian exclaimed. Noah didn't say anything as he watched.
Agatha also felt dread from the new creature. She shouldn't though, since she controlled three Monsters while Tèa had just one. Why should she feel afraid? "Your new angel doesn't frighten me! Even if you do manage to destroy one of my Monsters in battle, I'll still have two other Monsters and plenty of Life Points remaining!" Tèa grinned.
"Not quite! I play Sacred Life Trade! When my Life Points are lower than my opponent's while I control "The Sanctuary in the Sky", I can switch our Life Points around! Now my Life Points are higher again!"
"Damn you wretched brat!" Agatha cursed angrily as her Life Points became much lower.
(Tèa: 3500)
(Agatha: 1000)
"Oh yeah! That crone ain't too happy about that switcheroo!" Joey exclaimed.
Agatha gritted her teeth. "It changes nothing! I'll still have Life Points left after you attack!" Tèa's grin widened.
"I wasn't planning on attacking at all." She told the now stumped old woman. "I activate Master Flare Hyperion's Monster Effect! Once per turn, I can send one "The Agent" Monster or a Monster that specifically lists "The Sanctuary in the Sky" in it's text from my hand, Deck, or Extra Deck to the Graveyard! My Monster's name becomes the sent Monster's original name, and it's Effect gets replaced with that Monster's original effects until the End Phase! I discard The Agent of Judgment – Saturn from my hand to give it's name and Effects to my Synchro Monster!" Tea's Monster then started to glow blue.
"What is this?" Agatha asked, her voice now a little shaky.
"If my Life Points are higher than my opponent's while "The Sanctuary in the Sky" is on the Field, Saturn's Effect will allow me to Sacrifice it to inflict damage to you equal to the difference between our Life Points! I have to skip my Battle Phase this turn by using that Effect, but this should do just fine since the damage you'll be taking is 2500!"
"WHAT?!" Agatha yelled, truly terrified now after realizing Tèa's real objective. 'This was why she had to make her Life Points higher! That wretched little…!'
"Your Monsters won't be able to save you from this! I'm ending this now Agatha! Master Flare Hyperion, blast that old witch with Saturn's Effect: Judgment's Light!" Tea's Synchro Monster transformed into a blue transparent spirit and flew directly at her master's enemy, bypassing the Dark World Monsters in the process. Agatha made a horrible scream as she, and her remaining Life Points, took the hit that finished her off.
(Agatha: 0)
To be continued.